Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 China sets 2025 GDP growth target at around 5%, projecting confidence in economy Global Times) 10:31, March 05, 2025 (Graphic/Global Times) China on Wednesday set a growth target of around 5 percent for its economy in 2025, which remains the same as last year's goal, indicating top policymakers' solid confidence in the stable growth of the world's second-largest economy despite rising global risks and challenges. The annual official growth target was unveiled in the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Qiang to the national legislature, which began its annual session on Wednesday morning. In addition to the GDP growth target, the Government Work Report also contained a slew of other targets. The deficit-to-GDP ratio, another closely watched figure, was set at around 4 percent for 2025. The country has set the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent for 2025, while the CPI is set at around 2 percent in 2025. China plans to issue 4.4 trillion yuan (about $613.67 billion) of local government special-purpose bonds in 2025, an increase of 500 billion yuan over last year, according to the Government Work Report. For context, in 2024, China's GDP grew by 5 percent, surpassing 130 trillion yuan ($17.82 trillion) for the first time, successfully achieving key economic and social development goals. "At a time of rising uncertainties in the external environment and growing challenges, achieving such a growth target will be no small feat. However, China still possesses many comparative advantages, along with a series of forthcoming macro-level incremental policies, to ensure that the goal will be achieved," Yu Miaojie, the president of Liaoning University and a deputy to the NPC, told the Global Times. Yu noted that the growth target of around 5 percent is in line with China's potential economic growth rate, and setting such a goal is necessary to help unleash the potential of China's economic development. "I am fully confident about China's economic growth," he said. China's official growth target for 2025 also exceeded projections made by some international organizations. In December, the World Bank raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2025 to 4.5 percent from its previous forecast of 4.1 percent. Meanwhile, the growth target is in line with some foreign financial institutions' expectations. In a research note shared with the Global Times ahead of the release of the official target, researchers at Standard Chartered, a UK-based bank, said that they expected a growth target of about 5 percent for 2025, noting that local two sessions have revealed growth targets between 4.5 percent and 7 percent, resulting in a weighted average growth target of 5.3 percent. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Estimates of the average yearly citations per publication (including all publications) by scholar group, misconduct type, and time. Credit: Maimone et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Scholars accused of sexual misconduct saw a significant decline in citations within three years of public allegations, reveals a new study from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management. The study, published in PLOS One, also finds there is no significant citation decrease for scholars accused of scientific misconduct in the same timeframe. It is the first paper to systematically compare the ramifications of sexual and scientific misconduct on the citations of alleged perpetrators. The study utilized citation data from Web of Science that included 31,941 publications by 30 scholars (15 each) accused of either sexual or scientific misconduct who were compared to 142 non-accused scholars. These scholars span across 18 disciplines in STEM fields and social sciences. In addition, the study included a survey of 240 academics to gauge their attitudes toward citing work by researchers accused of sexual and scientific misconduct. The survey results contradicted the Web of Science findings: Academics indicated they would be more likely to cite research from scholars accused of sexual misconduct than from scholars accused of scientific misconduct. This suggests academics might mis-predict their citing behavior or be reluctant to disclose their true preferences. "Powerful social movements like #MeToo amplified awareness of sexual misconduct across industries, including academia," said lead author Giulia Maimone, who conducted the research while a graduate student at the Rady School. "We saw some consumers boycotting the music of accused recording artists and realized that while in some contexts it might make sense to penalize the work of individuals accused of immoral behavior, in others, such as science, the issue is not as straightforward." She added, "Traditionally, researchers cite a publication for its scientific relevance, not for its authors' behavior regarding non-scientific matters. So, if scholars used citations purely for their scientific purpose, allegations of sexual misconduct should not impact the accused's citation rates because these allegations are unrelated to the research's scientific merit." Maimone and co-authors, which include Gil Appel, assistant professor of marketing at the George Washington University School of Business; Craig McKenzie, professor of psychology and management who has a joint appointment with the Rady School and Department of Psychology at UC San Diego; and Ayelet Gneezy, professor of behavioral science and marketing at the Rady School, point to several factors that could contribute to the citation penalty incurred by academics accused of sexual misconduct. "Researchers may have attempted to distance themselves from individuals accused of reprehensible behaviorswhether consciously or notor to punish colleagues for their immoral behavior," they write. The more a publication is connected with the author accused of sexual misconduct, the less it is cited The study found that in instances where a paper had fewer authorsmaking it more likely to identify the accused author with a publicationthe citation penalty incurred by scholars accused of sexual misconduct is significantly larger than that incurred by scholars accused of scientific misconduct. The study also included a survey of 231 non-academics. Respondents were asked to indicate which misconduct type, sexual or scientific, was more disgusting, deserving of punishment and worse in general. They were also asked to consider that both types can have different degrees of severityfor example, sexual misconduct can range from an unwanted compliment, to sexual assault, and scientific misconduct, which can range from manipulating data on a "harmless" topic, to falsifying medical research which could be severely damaging to patients. The non-academic respondents overwhelmingly indicated sexual misconduct to be worse than scientific misconduct on all dimensions. "What this tells me is academics are human and might experience a stronger negative reaction when learning about sexual misconduct allegations in comparison to scientific misconduct allegations, which could explain the differential citation penalty we observe in the short term," said Maimone, who earned her Ph.D. in consumer behavior from the Rady School and is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Scholars accused of sexual misconduct did receive a significant citation penalty, both in absolute terms and compared to similar scholars with no accusation The 30 accused scholars in the study were identified because their cases received comparable attention and detailed online media coverage, as the authors wanted to ensure that the cases were equally known by most scholars. These researchers had at least 200 citations and their accusations all happened in 2017 or earlier. Each accused scholar was compared to about five scholars (142 total) who are similar professionally, but who had no accusations at the time of data collection. They were matched based on factors like research topic, academic rank, gender and total citations. The authors then analyzed whether being accused of either scientific or sexual misconduct affected how much other researchers cited their work. They found that scholars accused of sexual misconduct did receive a significant citation penalty, both in absolute terms and compared to similar scholars with no accusations. Scholars accused of scientific misconduct did not incur a significant citation penalty in absolute terms, nor compared to similar researchers with no accusations. The results were surprising to the authors, who note "our findings emerge from considering a relatively short period of time (three years) after the accusations became public. The pattern of results we observed might disappear or even reverse over longer periods of time." More information: Giulia Maimone et al. Citation Penalties Following Sexual versus Scientific Misconduct Allegations, PLOS One (2025). journals.plos.org/plosone/arti journal.pone.0317736 Journal information: PLoS ONE This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: AI-generated image People who have a minority viewpoint on a controversial topic are more likely to "self-silence" themselves in conversationand that may lead them to behave against their own beliefs, a new study found. Researchers found that those who felt they were in the minority didn't want to elaborate on why they supported their position when they spoke to someone who held the majority opinion. But even more important, those with the minority viewpoint showed behavior that wasn't in line with their true opinions after they spoke to those with the opposing view, the study found. "We found that those with the minority belief didn't just refrain from speaking upthey conformed their behavior to the majority, which is very consequential," said Nicole Sintov, co-author of the study and associate professor of behavior, decision making and sustainability at The Ohio State University. The research was published online recently in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. The research involved 248 undergraduate students at Ohio State. At the beginning of the study, the participants were asked "how supportive are you of The Ohio State University providing more plant-based (vegetarian/vegan) foods in on campus dining facilities?" They rated their support on a scale of 1 (very opposed) to 7 (very supportive). The participants knew, by virtue of being a student at the university, that they were immersed in a campus-wide culture that generally supports plant-based foods, the researchers said. Participants were also informed of the university's sustainability goals, which signaled support for sustainable foods. Participants were told they would be paired with a fellow undergraduate student conversation partner to discuss the proposed plant-based food policy. In actuality, these partners were confederates who worked with the researchers and were assigned to give the same three arguments (on ethical, health and environmental grounds) either for or against the food proposal. The three-minute conversations were recorded and the responses of the participants were analyzed. Findings showed that those with minority viewpoints self-silenced when speaking with the confederates who expressed the majority opinion. But even those students with minority views who spoke to confederates who shared a similar opinion self-silenced, although not to the same extent. Sintov, a faculty member in Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources, said that wasn't entirely surprising. "They were strangers, so they still may not have felt comfortable sharing these minority views. And some people are total self-silencers who have this policy that they just won't discuss controversial subjects, under any circumstances," she said. It wasn't that self-silencers didn't say anything, the researchers found. But they weren't expressing their true opinion. They may have used avoidance tactics, such as showing uncertainty, indifference, or just changing the topic of conversation. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Overall, those with the minority viewpoint used fewer total unique arguments for their position than did those holding the majority opinion. "If you don't speak up with your true opinion, then you're not processing the conversation as deeply," Sintov said. "You're not analyzing and thinking and reflecting on the information in the conversation in the same way that you might if you did speak up." And that may have even affected their behavior. After the conversation, the students took part in an activity where they could raise money in support of the plant-based foods policy. They did this by clicking their mouse as many times as they could in 40 seconds, a task that had been validated in a previous study. Findings showed that those who opposed the plant-based foods policy clicked the mouse about as many times as did those who said they supported it, in opposition to their own self-stated beliefs. Overall, the study findings suggest self-silencing can have concerning effects, Sintov said. "It leads to a public perception that the minority viewpoint doesn't existit is less important. It becomes this vicious cycle where people's true thoughts aren't expressed and the public belief is the majority opinion is overwhelming and can't be changed," she said. "That's especially true if those with the minority viewpoints are behaviorally going along with the majority. It is just more evidence that the majority opinion is dominant." The findings call for people to become more aware of their own beliefs and how they express them. Those with minority views need to be willing to discuss their true beliefs, even if they feel uncomfortable, Sintov said. And on the other side, those in the majority need to be willing to hear the thoughts of the other side, even if they don't agree with them. "We need to be open to civil discourse in our society. It has to be a two-way street," Sintov said. More information: Kristin F. Hurst et al, Self-silencing predicts behavioral conformity in sustainability contexts, Journal of Environmental Psychology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102555 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: As part of a landmark study, African eggplant crops (inset) cultivated from a field in Mukono, Uganda (left) underwent trait analysis at Uplands Farm in Cold Spring Harbor, NY (right). Credit: Lippman lab/CSHL About 75% of the world's food comes from 12 plants. Scientists estimate up to 30,000 species are edible. Not only does this bottleneck jeopardize our food supply if a major crop is impacted by drought or diseaseit also limits our choices at the grocery store. For years, breeders have struggled to expand food selection. Part of the reason is a problem familiar to biologists. The same methods of selecting for advantageous traits can produce different results in related species. Now, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has unearthed a likely solution to the predictability issue. The work has been published in Nature. CSHL researchers and colleagues around the globe have sequenced dozens of complete genomes for the plant genus that includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. In a process they deem "pan-genetics," the biologists use their new, high-quality pan-genome to map the genes behind specific traits of agricultural significance across the genus, and target those genes to create desirable mutations. Their research reveals the importance of understanding the evolution of paralog genesthose that arise through gene duplicationin predicting genome editing outcomes. CSHL Professor & HHMI Investigator Zachary Lippman led the study. "There's a lot of wonderful food crops out there," he says. "How many of them have not received the attention they would benefit from, compared to 'major' crops?" Researchers have studied gene duplication for decades. But how paralogs relate to physical changes across species has not been deeply studieduntil now. Lippman collaborated with colleagues on four continents to fill this gap. Importantly, their biggest breakthroughs didn't come from plants in Lippman's backyard. Instead, it was African eggplant. A tomato relative indigenous to the sub-Saharan region, African eggplant varies highly in fruit shape, color, and size. This map illustrates the approximate central growing locations and agricultural uses of 22 indigenous crops included in the Solanum pan-genome. Credit: Lippman lab/CSHL These images highlight the remarkable diversity of plant shoots and fruits among just one subset of Solanum species in the pan-genome. Credit: Lippman lab/CSHL Lippman and longtime collaborator Michael Schatz at Johns Hopkins University turned to a breeder in Uganda to exchange ideas and expertise. Mapping tens of thousands of paralogs, the team identified a previously unknown gene in African eggplant that affects fruit size. The paralog has the same function in tomatoes. The team, involving Joyce Van Eck from the Boyce Thompson Institute and Matthias Benoit from INRAE, discovered they could influence tomato size by editing it. "Reciprocal exchange between indigenous and major crops creates new, predictable paths for better breeding," says Benoit. "This is key to boost the diversity and resilience of the food system." "Crop diversity benefits nutrition, choice, and health," Lippman adds. Determining how related paralogs function across species could help improve crop yields, flowering times, and food selection. In other words, it's a win-win-win for scientists, farmers, and consumers everywhere. More information: Solanum pan-genetics reveals paralogues as contingencies in crop engineering, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08619-6a Journal information: Nature This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Rover traverse and light-toned float rocks detection. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01837-2 Sometimes scientists must dig and work and sweat to make scientific discoveries. And sometimes a robot rolls over a rock that turns out to be a revelation. That's what happened when Mars exploration expert Roger Wiens, professor of Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences in the College of Science at Purdue University, had NASA's Perseverance rover shoot its laser at some oddly pale rocks lying on the Martian surfaceand discovered that they are composed of unusually high aluminum associated with the mineral kaolinite. That was interesting on its own, but what made the discovery fascinating is that this mineral typically forms only in very warm and wet environments. The discovery, published by Wiens and his team in Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that Mars may have been warmer, wetter and weirder than scientists suspected. "On Earth, these minerals form where there is intense rainfall and a warm climate or in hydrothermal systems such as hot springs. Both environments are ideal conditions for life as we know it," Wiens said. "These minerals are what's left behind when rock has been in flowing water for eons. Over time, the warm water leaches away all the elements except those that are really insoluble, leaving behind what we found on Mars. It's fascinating. It's unexpected on a cold, dry planet like Mars." Rock hound rover Wiens has worked on and with Mars rovers for decades and literally gave Perseverance its head. The blocky projection on top of the rover, which superficially resembles a quadruped's neck and head, is SuperCam, an instrument developed by an international team of researchers and engineers that Wiens led before coming to Purdue. SuperCam is the result of a collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie. The instrument uses a suite of techniques to analyze the Martian surface. Now Wiens leads the research team that uses SuperCam's tools to make discoveries on Mars. Mars expert Roger Wiens and his team, including the rover Perseverance, discovered fascinating rocks incorporating kaolinite and spinel on Mars surface that form in warm, wet environments but the origin of the rocks remains a mystery. Credit: Kelsey Lefever Researchers observed the small, pale pebbles in the Martian soil the first day the rover landed. But the rover team was too busy working on other things to check out the odd little rocks. Eventually, scientists observed some larger rocks of a similar color lying on the surface, not part of the bedrock beneath the rover's wheels. Geologists call these loose rocks "float rocks" because they are "floating" above the bedrockthey are out of place, away from where they were formed. Once SuperCam's laser analyzed the rocks, the team members realized they had an interesting discovery. "These rocks are very different from anything we've seen on Mars before," Wiens said. "They're enigmas." The team proceeded to analyze the rocks more deeply for insights into their composition and structure. Two researchers from Wiens' team led the study. Candice Bedford, research scientist, and Clement Royer, postdoctoral researcher, had just arrived at Purdue when the discovery was made, and they developed the detailed study, along with Briony Horgan, professor of planetary science in the College of Science, and several of her and Wiens' students. The team found more than 4,000 of these white rocks and pebbles scattered across the surface. The mineral that makes up many of these pale rocks is called kaolinite. What especially excites the scientists is that it typically forms in environments that are warm, wet and hospitable to some forms of microbial life. On Earth, it is found in sedimentary deposits resulting from ancient soils and coastlines and intense hydrothermal environments, and the mineral is quite soft. On Mars, the rocks are white but not as soft, possibly due to other processes that may have hardened the rocks. These rocks were also found to contain spinel, likely aluminum spinel, which can form either in an igneous or a metamorphic environment, and can be found as remnants in sedimentary rocks. Wiens and his team are unsure which happened herewhether the spinel formed from the kaolinite or the kaolinite formed around the spinel. Hypotheses for the origin, alteration, and eventual emplacement of aluminum (Al) rich material in Jezero crater, Mars. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01837-2 Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Once upon a blue Mars "The big questions about Mars are about water," Wiens said. "How much water was there? How long was there water? Given how cold and dry Mars is now, where did all that water go? As a mineral, kaolinite has a lot of water bound up in its structure. It's possible that a lot of the water is still there, on Mars, bound up in the minerals." "Although we have not seen these rocks 'in place' in bedrock with the rover, and we're not sure where these float rocks came from, from orbiting satellites we know that there are kaolinite-rich rocks in Jezero crater's rim," said Bedford, co-lead author of this research. "Investigating these rocks in place will help us test our hypotheses on how the rocks formed, how they relate to Mars' ancient environment and the habitability of the planet in the past. We are keeping our eyes wide open looking for the source of these rocks now that Perseverance is exploring the crater rim." Those insights might help guide humans to the first true signs of ancient extraterrestrial life, since, as far as we can tell, life can't exist without water. By studying Mars' present, scientists uncover clues to itsand Earth'spast, as well as insight into where to look for hints of life in the future. More information: C. Royer et al, Intense alteration on early Mars revealed by high-aluminum rocks at Jezero crater, Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01837-2 Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain "Women are the problem"this unspoken narrative has been circulating in the world of work for decades. Countless initiatives and programs are designed to make women "fit" for a career. But what if the problem isn't the women, but the system? With this in mind, Professor Anja Danner-Schroder calls for entrenched structures and ingrained habits to be changed instead. To this end, she has analyzed the podcast "The Fix," which addresses gender inequality in the workplace. Together with two research colleagues, she examined the episodes from a practice theory perspective and published her findings in the journal Organization Studies. For two decades, the issue of gender (in)equality has been receiving increasing attentionboth in academic circles and in public initiatives. "Often, attempts are made to make women 'fit' for the professional world," explains Danner-Schroder, head of the Management Studies department at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau. "They are encouraged to become more self-confident, market themselves better, and even plan their births strategically to meet the demands of the labor market. But that's exactly where the problem lies: these initiatives assume that women need to be 'fixed,' instead of questioning the system." Gender inequality is not an inevitable reality but rather a pattern of behavior that is sustained through collective and repeated actions. This is where we need to start: "We must finally break with and change the everyday actions that perpetuate inequality, and that requires work and courage from everyone involved," explains the scientist. Dismantling established narratives The podcast The Fix, hosted by Michelle Penelope King and analyzed in the study, takes a step further. In conversations with researchers, politicians, actresses, founders, and executives, King challenges the narrative that gender inequality can be resolved by "fixing" women. Instead, she shifts the focus to how the system needs to change in order to achieve true equality. Through more than 200 episodes, The Fix demonstrates how deeply rooted structures and everyday practices contribute to the reproduction of inequality. For example, in the airline industry, the proportion of female pilots is only five percent because inflexible work schedules slow down women with caregiving responsibilities. In companies, women, despite their best efforts, still feel they must try to "be one of the guys." Another example of systemic inequality is that women and marginalized groups often adapt their behavior to avoid being stereotyped. They try to "make everyone feel good about their success" or "not unsettle others with their authority." These micro-adjustments accumulate into a stressful everyday life. "In research, this is described as 'death by a million cuts,'" says Danner-Schroder, "an emblem of how many small disadvantages can have a large impact." The podcast also shows how things can work differently: the example of Iceland, where paternity leave is the norm and parenting is seen as a cross-gender task, illustrates what systemic change can look like. Another example from the podcast shows that alliances with male colleagues can be important. Instead of merely standing by when women face discrimination at work, male colleagues can already achieve a lot by taking small actions, such as addressing problematic comments. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. The path to success runs through the system In other words, gender equality cannot be the sole responsibility of women. It requires the involvement of all actors who shape and determine the systems in the workplace. "We argue that there needs to be a shift in our understanding of what gender inequality is. It is equally important to gain a deeper understanding of what gender inequality does and how it operates. A practice-based perspective is needed that focuses on everyday actions," says Danner-Schroder. In her view, this process of system correction requires not only questioning and changing one's own actions but also taking a stand and raising awareness by questioning visible and hidden practices, establishing new practices, and developing them further. Ultimately, it is the systemic approach that brings sustainable success. Those who have the courage to challenge established patterns not only open themselves up to new opportunities but also create an environment in which all participants can achieve long-term success. More information: Anja Danner-Schroder et al, Media Review: The Fix PodcastImmersing Ourselves in the Practice of Gender (In)Equality, Organization Studies (2024). DOI: 10.1177/01708406241310000 Journal information: Organization Studies Provided by Rheinland-Pfalzische Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern-Landau State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code ATLANTIC CITY Veronica Jones has lived in Atlantic City Housing Authority units since 1993 and raised her seven children there, most of the time in Stanley Holmes Village, where heat and hot water have been in short supply for years. Disabled since 2007, she has paid her rent in her name and never had a problem until her section of Stanley Village 3 was targeted for moving residents out and eventual demolition, she said. They told me I wasnt on the lease, Jones, 63, said Tuesday morning in an interview in her apartment, where all of her belongings are packed in bags and boxes in case she can find alternative housing and move. Jones has mobility issues and relies on a home health aide to help her do basic tasks. I went to the doctor yesterday, now I have high blood pressure from all of this, she said. I asked them to put me across the street (in Stanley Village 1 or 2), or in Jeffries Towers. They wouldnt do that. The Housing Authority has told her she hasnt been on the lease since 2016, so she has no right to replacement housing and must leave by Friday so her unit can be boarded up and utilities stopped. Housing Authority Executive Director Tom Sahlin said late Tuesday that he would look further into Jones situation, but none of the documents he has seen show she was put back onto her lease after leaving it in 2016 to go to rehab. Jones said her granddaughter moved in with her in 2015 and she added her to the lease. In 2016, she made her granddaughter the head of household because she was ill and had to go to rehab for a time. When she returned in 2017, she said, she applied to become the primary leaseholder again and an authority employee told her that had been done. She has some documents showing she went through much of the process, but not a final document saying she was back on the lease as leaseholder. Ive had no issues since then, she said. Im a good tenant. Now, the authority has given her granddaughter alternative housing, Jones said, and she has moved. Steve Young of the National Action Networks South Jersey Chapter has been trying to help Jones and others with various problems moving out of Village 3. Others have Section 8 vouchers but are waiting for (Housing Authority) inspections so they can move in, Young said. This has to stop and desist immediately. We are paying as taxpayers so people can have decent, safe housing. Most of her neighbors have also either moved to other Housing Authority complexes or found private rentals with Section 8 vouchers from the authority. Some, like Leon Williams, 50, have been allotted apartments in Villages 1 or 2 of Stanley, but cannot move yet because repairs on the units they are moving to have not been done. Stanley Holmes Village heating system rebuild in final stages, board chair says The Atlantic City Housing Authority is testing its new heating system at Stanley Holmes Village and still has some tweaking to do before the project is complete. They claim they have units but are not fixing them like they are supposed to do, said Williams, who grew up in public housing. I think they are rushing. Units all around Jones are empty and boarded up, and squatters have moved in to at least one unit near her, she said. But Jones has been told she has to leave by Friday with nowhere to go. They got my money order every month, Jones said. Why dont they have the same paperwork I have? The authority has been deemed financially troubled by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and in December 2023 signed an agreement to bring the way it operates in line with federal requirements. HUD found the authority had not been following federal rules for years in how it runs its programs. Jones said poor management in 2017 led to her lease changes not being properly recorded. Everyone knows her, she said, and knows where she lives. Atlantic City Housing Authority consultant tells judge heating system fix coming in January Two years after bringing a lawsuit to force the Atlantic City Housing Authority to provide Stanley Holmes Village residents with consistent heat and hot water, the system is still being worked on and is now not likely to be fixed until January, according to court testimony Friday. I sat on that porch almost 15 years, Jones said, waving to every car that goes by. For years she has reported problems in her unit that were never fixed, she said. My oven hasnt worked for a year, Jones said, and her refrigerator recently broke down, spoiling all her food. Theres a rat hole in the kitchen ceiling thats been there nine years. She hasnt had heat, she said, and cannot use a space heater because it trips the power off. Last Friday someone came to board her unit up, she said. I said, Were in here, she said. A lawyer has advised her to stay put and said by law the authority cannot make her leave without an official eviction process. But she is hoping common sense prevails and the authority decides to move her to another unit. I dont know which way to go, Jones said. Its hard to trust anybody. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe The "tiniest of patients" at Monument Health in Rapid City will have access to more lifesaving tools thanks to a grant providing equipment for the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. On Tuesday, Monument Health announced a more than $2 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase "state-of-the-art" NICU equipment. This investment will allow newborns and their families to access critical care close to home and transport to the hospital for babies in the Black Hills, hospital officials said. The grant allows for the purchase of more than 20 medical devices, including a high-frequency oscillatory, two transport incubators, a 24-hour EEG machine, and much more. With the addition of this equipment, physicians, nurses and caregivers expect to greatly improve neonatal outcomes within a 250-mile radius of Rapid City, South Dakota, hospital officials said. That wasn't the only news on Tuesday. Dr. Kyle Lemley, medical director for the hospital children's program, also announced the hospital will break ground on a women and children's expansion project at Rapid City Hospital. "Today is the day that truly defines the meaning of partnership, and what makes this partnership so significant and special is that it exists between two organizations with South Dakota roots," Hans Nelson, director of the Monument Health Foundation, said during an announcement event at the hospital on Tuesday. Nelson explained over the last year the foundation put together a task force to identify health care needs specific to the Rapid city area. "Between emails, phone calls, teams, meetings and a handful of text messages, we created a very strategic and impactful list of equipment and programs," he said. "Then the magic truly happened when we partnered with the Helmsley Charitable Trust with their gracious donation. I can confidently say that the impact and support to our NICU and the children of the Black Hills will provide resources for us to continue on our mission for being here for generations to come." Lemley told the story of one baby who benefited from the machines. Laney Milliken, whose family allowed Lemley to share the story, was admitted with a life-threatening viral infection and despite efforts by health care staff, she continued to get sicker and was intubated. She eventually was put on an oscillator, a higher level of care than a standard ventilator. "If we didn't have the oscillator that time, Laney would have had to transfer to another institution, either across the state or in a different state, to get the care that she needed. Thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust, we were able to have one of those ventilators that we needed to provide that care for Laney. The family was able to stay here. The parents were in June's room almost every day. Her sister was in the room all the time," the doctor said. There are countless stories like that, Lemley said. One of them came from Walter Panzirer, a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "I was personally touched with friends of mine here at Rapid City Regional who had a very early baby here. They kept that baby here, and the baby survived and grew and was a healthy individual. Alternatively, that baby would have had to go down to Omaha, Nebraska really, really far away, and that's next to impossible for many working families and most people to make those commutes," Panzirer said. "I always say your zip code should not determine your healthcare outcomes, but unfortunately, it does, and at the trust we are here to level that playing field to keep care local." The grant will also fund equipment and technology assisting with transport, monitoring, thermal regulation, airway and oxygenation support, infant and mother safety and care staff development. This investment strengthens Monument Health's commitment to delivering exceptional health care services to western South Dakota's communities. "Our entire team makes a difference every day, but the children also make a difference to us every day," Lemley said. "This allowed us to buy life-saving equipment that we could use immediately to impact care in our community, today, in Rapid City." Lemley noted the nearest children's hospital is more than 350 miles away. "This grant has impacted numerous families," he said. Lemley said the groundbreaking for the women and children's expansion will be held in about a year. Just a few years after a book ban movement upended Rapid City Area Schools, what some call a censorship movement could return to the shadows of Mount Rushmore. Only this time its via a House bill which will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Thursday that could potentially lead to criminal charges for librarians for "dissemination of material harmful to minors and obscenity offenses," the bill's language stated. While prime sponsor Rep. Bethany Soye, a Republican from Minnehaha County, and bill proponents expressed in a recent House session the goal isnt to hurt librarians, bill opponent Elizabeth Fox, president of the South Dakota Library Association, said it would cause surges of anxiety and may even result in South Dakota losing librarians. If passed, the bill would remove affirmative defense protections for such dissemination at libraries and elsewhere. Current protections include exemptions for a defendant who had reason to believe the minor was 18 or older, the minor was accompanied by a parent or guardian or is the parent or guardian of the minor involved. The bill would remove a portion that read "the defendant was a bona fide school, college, university, museum, or public library, or was acting in the capacity of an employee of such an organization or a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purposes of such an organization." Museums, schools and universities could be impacted, too. Rapid City Public Library declined to comment. Rapid City Area Schools Interim Superintendent Cory Strasser said We are closely monitoring House Bill 1239 and evaluating its potential impact on our district. Our top priority is ensuring that our educators and staff are not negatively affected in their ability to provide students with a well-rounded education." The bill passed in the House Education Committee 10-5 on Feb. 19, then 38-32 in the House of Representatives on Feb. 26. "(It's) unnecessary (and) a piece of legislation that's in search of a problem that doesn't exist," said Mary Garrigan, a former Rapid City Public Library board member who said she doesn't speak on behalf of the library currently. During the Feb. 26 House session, Soye and proponents talked about how the bill isn't intended to harm librarians. Instead, it's geared toward protecting children from content that could be alarming. To illustrate why she's in favor of the bill, she brought up the book "Tricks." It's a 2009 novel which includes rape, sex and prostitution. I ask all of you to read that and look me in the eyes and tell me that's not pornography. Tell me that's not material harmful to minors, Soye said. Besides, just look around, Soye argued. Twelve other states, ranging from conservative-leaning Alabama, North Dakota and Montana to progressive-leaning Rhode Island and Colorado have similar laws. To quell concern, she said, I have not seen anything in the news about librarians being put in handcuffs and taken to prison. I just want clarification, Jana Hunt, a proponent and Republican representing counties in mid-South Dakota, said during House floor discussion. ... If I just walked up to an 8-year-old and said, Hey, read this book. It's a really great book, and it had obscene material in it, would I be held criminally responsible for that? Thank you for the question. Yes, you would be, Soye replied. Hunt followed up with, So this bill is specifically saying we want our librarians and museums to be held to the same standards as every citizen in the state? Yes. Thank you for the question. That's correct, Soye replied. Even if HB 1239 doesn't result in jail time, Fox considers it to be unjust and insulting. For starters, she hasnt heard of a case where a librarian disseminated material unfit for a child. Plus, there should be responsibility placed on parents to monitor what their child is renting from the library. Lastly, We (librarians) got into this profession because we love the act of reading, and we want to share that love with other people that has nothing to do with hurting people. I've never met a librarian who wanted to hurt anybody, Fox said. The point of having books like "Tricks," that contain adult content, is that it can inform and support adolescents ascending into adulthood, according to Fox. And when it comes to books containing difficult topics such as sexual assault, it can help young adults whove unfortunately experienced it first hand. It's very isolating to have something happen to you, especially when it's something like being molested or being raped, Fox said. She added: And so it's really important that people can see that it's not just them, that kids understand that bad things happen, and people can get through it." While Fox said the bill passing may not yield a massive impact, she worries about the mental health of librarians and how there could be a chilling effect among librarians in book selection, creating a different kind of censorship. Even more pressing: She harbors fear South Dakota will lose librarians. I absolutely know one librarian, because I had to talk them out of it, who had pretty much decided to leave the state over this issue, Fox said. But at least that librarian is taking a little more time to think about it now. There were similar effects for Rapid City Area Schools when it was at the epicenter of a literature censorship movement. In the 2021-22 school year, RCAS teachers resigned and faced public ridicule when five books containing sex and LGBTQ+ representation were designated to be destroyed by school board members. Sean Bradley, a Central High School English teacher, told the Rapid City Journal last fall he was very vigilant to lock his homes doors and windows to make sure my family was protected during the controversys height. In a 2022 Washington Post article about the matter by David Eggers, a bestselling author whose novel The Circle was among those to be destroyed, Jill Westbrook, a Central High School English teacher, told him, Teachers are breaking their contracts in the middle of the year and just leaving. While RCAS overcame it, thanks in part to the nationwide platform Eggers provided, the book ban movement has only skyrocketed. According to Pen America, a free-expression advocacy organization, 3,362 books were banned in the 2022-23 school year. That number grew to more than 10,000 the following school year. In November, when a documentary about RCAS overcoming the controversy called To be Destroyed was screened in Rapid City, Westbrook told the Rapid City Journal she was proud of the progress, but it definitely feels like it's not over. Months later, as HB 1239 could alter the future of libraries, Westbrooks frustration now reverberates through Fox. It's the fact that we feel like these people are telling us that they trust us so little that they need the possibility of criminal prosecutions to keep us in line, Fox said. When Francisca "Cisca" Tobacco searches for a missing person, she roots herself in cultural values. When arriving to a search, Tobacco said she first calls out the missing person's name, meant to help bring their spirit towards her. When she arrvies, she lays down tobacco and centers herself in her Lakota culture. "What I do really helps me along the way, and it can be hard to explain," Tobacco said. "I'm always in tune with the Earth, the animals and the weather. I pay attention. I was asking for help that day and praying." In December, Tobacco found herself surrounded by thick green trees nestled deep in the Black Hills near Deadwood searching for a missing man. She called his name out, trying to draw his spirit in. Not long after, an eagle flew over her. Tobacco said she watched as the eagle circled over her before flying in towards a hill. She and a volunteer followed its path up and around the hill and found the man. "I just knew," she said. "It's hard for people to understand, but it's part of how I carry myself. The Oglala Lakota woman has dedicated nearly six years now to searching for Indigenous people. Guided by her Lakota name Okichile, meaning look for them Tobacco's operations are entirely self-funded and grassroots in every sense of the word, but what she does works. "It's good because families are getting closure," she said. "(In the community) we have people who do marches and gatherings, but when it comes down to looking for them, there's few doing it." Tobacco is currently being mentored by Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase, founder of Sahnish Scouts, a North Dakota-based MMIW search organization that travels the nation on searches. On Jan. 15, standing in a remote wooded pocket of Wanblee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Tobacco was following an anonymous tip she'd received in connection to the disappearance of Michelle Elbow Shield, who'd last been seen in Rapid City in fall 2023. "I've been working with her family since day one," Tobacco said. "I've been meeting with them at the Rapid City library, touching base, asking what they've heard and what they need." The anonymous tip was a sign she needed to continue searching for the Oglala Lakota woman, Tobacco said. With the help of Yellow Bird-Chase and her two certified cadaver dogs, Tobacco searched the wooded area, eventually finding Elbow Shield's remains and alerting authorities. "I want to give credit to Cisca and the dog that found her," said Elbow Shield's mother, Sheila Returns From Scout. "They found my baby." Tobacco's search efforts started with the suspicious death of her auntie, Hope Stands Tirado. Tirado was found unresponsive on Dec. 21, 2017 in her Oglala home, the windows broken out. Her official autopsy results stated the 50-year-old Lakota woman died of hypothermia, but Tobacco has always suspected foul play was involved. The United States Army veteran was covered in bruises when she was found, Tobacco said. "I was on a mission after that," Tobacco said. "To this day we don't have answers, we don't even know who found her (like that). It's a messed up feeling, not knowing who killed your auntie. After that, when I see families going through the same thing, I want to help." Less than a month after her death, Tirado's house mysteriously burned down, Tobacco said. When Tobacco went out to record damage to the property, a suspicious vehicle pulled up and watched her. Tobacco said she's reported her concerns to the authorities, but nothing has come of it something that happens too often to Indigenous families, she said. "I think the authorities have so much already that they're dealing with," Tobacco said. "I feel like that's where I come in. I get information, see what people can tell me, what they've heard. Because I'm Lakota, I know Lakota people and I know sometimes it's really hard for our people to trust the authorities, especially if they've had bad experiences with them." Law enforcement is limited in what they can do, but as an advocate Tobacco has more time and liberty to investigate whenever she can. "I'm still learning, too, as I'm going along," Tobacco said. "I'm researching and looking into law, looking into what can be done, asking, 'What's the red tape that I can't cross?' I let the family know this is what should be done, and this is the questions that you guys can ask. I make my own sheets and files, record information to give law enforcement." So in 2019 she launched Okichile. It's not a nonprofit, and purely grassroots. She doesn't receive any funding; everything she does comes from her own pocket, she said. So she does what she can. She spends hundreds of her own dollars helping families make flyers for their missing loved ones driving all the way to Rapid City to print them, she takes time off from her job to search for missing people and to accompany victim's families to court hearings. She uses her Facebook page and TikTok page @c1ska1 with over 17,000 followers to raise awareness and post missing person fliers. Tobacco said she has no plans on stopping, only to grow and learn how she can better advocate for families. "I follow through," she said. Tobacco said that Okichile needs support, more gear, better resources and even travel assistance. Tobacco lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation and uses her own vehicle to travel to searches or to meet with families. Tobacco can be reached through her email, okichiley@gmail.com or by cellphone at 605-522-0566 or 310-387-6582. Commissioners from Montana have been going to Washington, D.C. for years to advocate for funding for roads and schools in forested counties, where logging revenue used to make up the difference. But now, the stakes are higher. Last fall, the renewal of the bill that carries this funding, the Secure Rural Schools Act, failed in Congress. Now the pressure is on to get this funding approved, with Montana out a total of $14.2 million and Ravalli County out nearly $620,000 without it. Two-thirds of the funding goes toward roads and one-third to schools, mostly through school equalization dollars distributed by the state. Thirty of Montanas 56 counties received funding from this bill in the last fiscal year and Montana is the fourth-largest recipient of these funds in the U.S., according to the Office of Public Instruction. Members of Montanas all-Republican congressional delegation are all co-sponsors on bipartisan bills in the Senate and House to get this funding across the finish line, which have both received bipartisan support. Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott and Beaverhead County Commissioner Mike McGinley spoke to more than 20 members of Congress unfamiliar with the issue, some in leadership, to explain why these funds are important for counties. Chilcott told the Ravalli Republic on Tuesday they spoke during the Republican whip meeting. Chilcott said they told Congress that more active forest management would lead to job growth and revenue for counties, but in lieu of bigger changes in federal law, counties needed this funding to get by. In the short term we need some assistance to offset the impact of their federal policy shifts over the last three decades, Chilcott said. The wheels of change in Washington, D.C., are notoriously slow, but they're proud to carry our message to their colleagues. What is the funding is used for? McGinley told the Ravalli Republic that the Beaverhead County road budget is just under $2 million, so $600,000 is a big, big portion of it. Beaverhead County received more than $750,000 total from the bill in the last payment in September of 2023. The money goes toward maintenance and repair of the countys 132 bridges, with McGinley saying the funds arent earmarked for a specific project and typically go toward wages. He said schools wont face the same impact as county roads because if they dont get this funding, local taxpayers can bridge the gap and schools wont directly feel the pinch but counties would. If [schools] don't get it, they get it from the taxpayers the next year, and their budgets are made whole, he said. If we don't get it, we lay off people, or don't get bridges. Chilcott said in an interview funding has gone down over time the payment to Ravalli County in 2008 was $1,600,000 and the countys road payment in the last cycle was just under $400,000. But hes just hoping to get the funding renewed, even at a lower rate. Ravalli County received a total of almost $620,000 in September of 2023, but nothing last fall since the measure didn't pass. We've been going back to Congress pretty much every year trying to make sure it gets reauthorized, and we weren't successful this last year, Chilcott said. Politics plays a part in why funding gets held up. McGinley said its a popular bill, but federal lawmakers dont typically vote on it by itself. Its always thrown in with a bunch of other stuff, he said. That is the reason it usually doesn't get through there they use it as that candy to get some other bills through which is frustrating for us guys that do the work on the ground. Why do forested counties get this funding? Counties used to get 25% of the revenue from logging projects to take care of roads and schools. With changes in environmental protections at the federal level, the timber products industry all but died, Chilcott said. McGinley said when logging projects dwindled down over time, counties took a financial blow. When the spotted owl came along and they quit cutting treescounties were going broke, he said. The Secure Rural Schools Act was first passed by Congress in 2000 to help counties make up the difference, and its been renewed every few years since. Last fall however, the bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House. There are two separate bills one starting in the House and another in the Senate to get this funding across the finish line. Montanas congressional delegation are all in support of both pieces of legislation. Rep. Ryan Zinke facilitated welcoming the commissioners to Washington, D.C., and was one of the first co-sponsors of the bill in the House. Zinkes Chief of Staff Heather Swift said in an email the funding was a vitally important revenue stream for forested counties like Ravalli, Beaverhead and Lincoln. Rep. Troy Downing is one of the latest co-sponsors to the bill in the House as well. Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Tim Sheehy are co-sponsors to the legislation in the Senate. Daines said in a statement it is absolutely crucial that the SRS program is reauthorized. Many of Montanas rural counties depend on the program for school funding, infrastructure, road construction and public safety, Daines said. Its critical these communities continue to receive the resources they need to operate and Ill fight to make sure this bill gets across the finish line. Sheehy said he supported the bipartisan bill to support county roads and schools, in a statement. Especially in rural Montana counties with an abundance of natural resources, one of my top priorities is working to unleash prosperity with commonsense policies that allow us to take advantage of our natural resources here at home, boost real wages for the hardworking Americans who keep our economy running, and secure a stronger future for the next generation, Sheehy said. Americans wanted by Interpol for fraud arrested inside Cancun International Cancun, Q.R. Two Americans wanted by Interpol Mexico have been arrested inside the Cancun International Airport. The pair were taken into custody Wednesday on charges of fraud that date back to 2021. The pair, identified by police as Americans Paul N and Christy Lin N, were wanted for ripping off a hotel for more than $116,000 USD. They were arrested by members of the National Guard on outstanding warrants and transferred to police facilities in Cancun. Elements of the Investigative Police in coordination with Interpol Mexico are reported to have made the arrests. In a statement, authorities explained the events for which the man, of American and German nationality, and the American woman were served with an arrest warrant occurred when, on August 8, 2023, the legal representative of a hotel chain filed a complaint against them. On November 21, 2021, both parties entered into a contract for the sale of membership rights through which the suspects purchased a membership to a club which gave them benefits such as preferential rates on the companys products and services. Through said contract, the accused left as collateral a credit card whose holder was Paul N, in which the monthly membership charges would be made. Via email, the hotel chain received 13 notifications, between August 31 and November 4, 2022, from the cards banking institution reporting the cancellation of the 13 transactions that had been made by Paul N. According to authorities, the hotel reported those 13 cancelled transaction totaled $116,587 USD which was equivalent (at the time) to more than 2.4 million pesos. Authorities say the cancellations were made fraudulently by not recognizing the charges made to his card. As for Christy Lin N who also signed the contract as a membership user, she shared messages on a Facebook page describing how they committed the fraud against the hotel, police reported. A judge issued an arrest warrant against both Paul N and Christy Lin N for the crime of fraud, which was executed at the Cancun International Airport when they arrived on an international flight. Following their arrest, Paul N and Christy Lin N were placed at the disposal of authorities. Their legal situation will be resolved within the constitutional term provided. The State Attorney General (FGE) says they have informed the American Embassy of the arrest of the Americans in compliance with an arrest warrant. Cozumel authorities investigating baby sea turtle release for paid tourist hotel show Cozumel, Q.R. Island authorities are investigating allegations of the illegal removal of baby sea turtles for a staged event. The newly hatched turtles were reportedly removed from one beach location and brought to another for a tourist show. The incident occurred during the 2024 sea turtle season and is said to involve an island hotel and two municipal employees. The National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (Conanp) began their investigation last week into the illegal removal of baby sea turtles allegedly perpetrated by the municipal employees. The two municipal employees named in the complaint are accused of having baby sea turtles removed from a beach on the east end and transferred to a beach on the west for a staged hotel show where tourists were charged to see the natural event. The collected sea turtle hatchlings were then released in front of paying tourists. Tampering with sea turtles is prohibited by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa). It interferes with their natural behavior, affecting their orientation and potential return to the coasts of Cozumel to reproduce when they are adults. Adult sea turtles return to their place of birth to lay their own eggs as seen here on a Cancun beach in 2024. The Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas (Conanp) is currently investigating personnel within the Municipal Ecology Department after the Tourism and Ecology Commission of the Cozumel City Council presented a formal request to the Municipal Comptroller to investigate. The man and woman named in the complaint are being looked into on accusations of organizing the relocation of the sea turtles for a paid baby sea turtle release hotel show. Sea turtle hatchlings making their way to the sea on their own schedule is a natural part of their cycle. Once Conanp has solidified their findings, a new complaint will be filed with the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (Profepa). Tampering with sea turtles is a federal offense. If found guilty, those involved could face prison time. Incoming cold front will change sunny Yucatan Peninsula weather Riviera Maya, Q.R. An incoming system of cold air from the U.S. is going to have an affect on Yucatan Peninsula weather. The hot sunny days being enjoyed will come to a halt with the official arrival of the cold weather Wednesday. The system, cold front 31, is expected to reach the state of Quintana Roo Wednesday evening. The arrival of U.S. cold winter air will create thunderstorms and showers for most of the peninsula. According to Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (SMN), cold front No. 31 will cause rain in central, eastern and southeastern areas of the country. Strong wind gusts are also expected. State Civil Protection is reminding residents to check with local port authorities before heading out to sea. On Tuesday, three Mexican states were left without electricity due to winds with the arrival of the cold front 31. According to the CFE, the front left more than 300,000 in the north without power. They reported a total of 366,149 users affected due to the strong winds from cold front 31 causing damage in a staggered manner. Strong winds from cold front 31 affected power in three states. By status, 10,109 CFE users were affected in the state of Durango. In Coahuila, 24,099 people were left without power and in the state of Nuevo Leon, 331,941 residents found themselves in the dark. Coordinacion Estatal de Proteccion Civil of Quintana Roo released a state weather warning. Attention Quintana Roo. The approach and movement of cold front 31 to the Yucatan Peninsula from the evening of Wednesday, March 5 and during Thursday, March 6, will affect the state of Quintana Roo. Increasing cloudiness, rain with intervals of showers (5 to 25 mms) with probable electrical activity is likely. Due to its characteristics, higher accumulated rainfall may be recorded in some areas as well as waves of 1 to 2 meters high. The wind will be from the north and northeast with gusts of 35 to 45 kms/h mainly on the northern coasts of the state during the evening of Wednesday and into Thursday. A very slight drop in temperatures is expected, perceived mainly in rural areas of the state, the State Coordination of Civil Protection of Quintana Roo reported. The state agency is also recommending residents get information from Port Captains about at sea activities, follow their instructions and heed the restrictions issued by the local authority. Maintain precautions when sailing and doing water activities along the coasts of the state and the Yucatan Channel and follow the instructions of lifeguards in beach areas. The cold air is forecast to leave the region for the weekend. Sheinbaum to announce tariff actions in response to U.S. decision to impose export fees Mexico City, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says she will announce her own tariff actions in response to the U.S. decision to impose fees on Mexican exports. Sheinbaum said Tuesday that she will present Mexicos tariff and non-tariff actions Sunday from the Zocalo of Mexico City. Her announcement was made in response to the unilateral decision of the United States Government to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexican exports, despite the Trade Agreement that exists between both nations. I call on Mexicans to an Informative Assembly in the Zocalo of Mexico City Sunday at noon to share with you the actions we will undertake. Together we will face this challenge. We are proudly a free, independent and sovereign country. Together we will move forward, she said during her Tuesday morning press conference. I call on the people of Mexico, on all of us, to face this challenge together. To remain united. I repeat: it is time to defend Mexico and its sovereignty. We must be vigilant and remain calm and cool-headed. Our people and our blessed nation are very strong and powerful, she added. He pointed out that the application of tariff and non-tariff measures is not intended to start an economic or commercial confrontation, however, she said that it is inconceivable that no one considers the damage that is being done to the economies and peoples of the two countries. Nobody wins from this decision, on the contrary. It affects the people we represent, she said. Sheinbaum said that since the beginning of her administration, the Government of Mexico has led forceful actions against organized crime and fentanyl trafficking. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures show that fentanyl seizures in the United States from Mexico decreased by 50 percent from October 2024 to January 2025, she detailed. Sheinbaum pointed out that the United States government must take charge of the opioid consumption crisis that has caused so many deaths in that country, which represents a profound public health problem. They must also take action against criminal groups that illegally import fentanyl precursors through their ports and airports as well as against criminals that illegally produce, distribute and sell fentanyl and other drugs in their territory, poisoning their inhabitants, he said. She noted that according to a study by the Cato Institute in Washington, 80 percent of those arrested at U.S. ports of entry for fentanyl trafficking between 2019 and 2024 were U.S. citizens. She also noted that the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that 81.9 percent of those prosecuted for drug trafficking are U.S. citizens. Sheinbaum recalled that the United States Department of Justice acknowledged on January 8 that 74 percent of high-powered weapons seized in Mexico come illegally from the United States. I want to make it clear that we will always seek a negotiated solution as we have proposed within the framework of respect for our sovereignty. But the unilateral decision taken by the United States affects national and foreign companies operating in our country and affects our people. We are emphatic. There is no motive, reason or justification that supports this decision that will affect our peoples and nations. We have said it in different ways. Cooperation and coordination, yes. Subordination and interventionism, no. Mexico must be respected. We are equal nations, she added. She said the Mexican government will continue to seek talks with the United States to find an alternative based on arguments and rationality. An old joke: A man walks into a psychiatrists office and says, Doctor, my brother is crazy. He thinks hes a chicken. The doctor ponders this and suggests that the man bring his brother in to be treated. Well, Id like to, Doctor, but you see, we need the eggs. Jonathan Rauch was in no joking mood, however, when he wrote Cross Purposes: Christianitys Broken Bargain with Democracy. Donald Trumps persistent presence on the national stage rendered Rauch in a permanently sour mood. The book is the latest in the long line of our democracy is under threat! jeremiads and suffers in many ways from its inability to reflect seriously on whose democracy is under threat or whether we have a democracy at all. The book possesses many of the earmarks of Rauchs work: a breezy and accessible style; an ability to categorize complex phenomena into intelligible rubrics; a disposition both libertarian and progressive, making him, to his credit, difficult to categorize; an iconoclasm that never fully challenges regnant orthodoxies; and an ability to engage serious ideas and thinkers without himself getting too serious. His references to historically important thinkers seldomwith the exception of Nietzschebleed into the superficial, but neither do they go deep. As a result, the analysis of democracy gestures at a level it never quite achieves. Its a book that allows people to feel smart but also smug. So why the joke? Rauch claims that modern American democracy is a bargain made between secular liberals and Christians. He also argues that Christianity is a false religion. Democracy needs Christianity as its load-bearing wall, but that wall is also hollow. My brother thinks hes a chicken, and we need the eggs. Rauch makes it clear throughout the book, repeatedly, that he is an atheist, a Jew, gay, and a secular liberal. He acknowledges his audacity in telling Christians what they believe, or at least ought to believe, but this only downplays his theological ignorance. His book also does no small amount of cherry-picking of authors whose books support his prejudices, such as Whitehead and Perrys diatribe against Christian Nationalism entitled Taking America Back for God, while ignoring Mark David Halls thorough takedown of their work: Whos Afraid of Christian Nationalism? None of that would matter were it not for Rauchs normative claim concerning Christianitys role in sustaining American democracy even while he debunks both its truth claims and its practitionerswith one notable exception. More on that anon. ~~~ According to Rauch, religion in general and Christianity in particular must align itself with secular liberals for democracy to survive and thrive. He argues that secular liberalism and Christianity are instrumentally interdependent as well as intrinsically reliant on one another, thus ignoring at least 1,600 years of Christian history. Only that relationship can create a morally and epistemically complete and coherent account of the world. Each incomplete in its own right, secularism and religion play complementary roles in developing a fulsome and enduring worldview. This bargain has sustained our constitutional republic for nearly 240 years, until one of the parties ceased playing its proper part. Thus, American liberalism and American Christianity are pulling apart, largely (though of course not entirely) because of the tragically misguided choices made by many white evangelicals. The result is a crisis for both Christianity and democracy. To make his case, Rauch resorts to one of his clever shorthands: the four Ms that make us complete as moral beings: mortality, morality, murder, and miracles. In Rauchs telling, religion does a competent job with the first two as secularism struggles, while the roles are reversed as regards murder and miracles. Rauch concedes that religion does a swell job creating a moral system and giving people a sense of meaning and purpose, but cant resist noting that its no less false because of it. Demonstrating his misplaced hatred of Nietzsche, Rauchs position might well be described as seeing Christianity as nothing more than Platonism for the masses, replete with noble lies. As head-scratching as his assessments of the first two Ms are, the second two tend more toward hair-pulling for the reader. Under murder, Rauch offers the standard problem of evil as the cudgel with which he hopes to batter religion. One can reasonably take Rauchs approach that the universe, being nothing but inanimate matter, contains no moral order in and of itself, a point of view rejected not only by religious thinkers but also philosophers such as Plato. But if one is going to raise the theodicy question, one could at least read writers who have dealt with it intelligently, such as Dostoevsky. When accused of not appreciating the atheist argument, Dostoevsky rightly pointed out that the accusers had apparently not read his work, because if they had they would realize he made better arguments for atheism than they did. I dont think atheism is trite, but it comes off that way in Rauchs hands. The argument against miracles is even less literate and points to what I regard as the central problem of his book. Rauch relies exclusively on Humes arguments against miracles, which, Rauch claims, have never been successfully answered. I suppose Rauch can be forgiven for not knowing that William Paley had an ongoing dispute with Hume over that very issue, and I doubt Rauch read the pretty thorough response given by Richard Swinburne, but apparently he hasnt even glanced at C.S. Lewis. That aside, Rauch argues that religious affirmation of miracles necessarily results in a world of warring revelations and violent conflicts over competing supernatural dogmas that not only destroy social life but breaks the universe. So what kind of system of government requires such nonsense to sustain itself, as Rauch claims democracy does? How can democracy be stable and solidhow can it be right?if its foundations are all wrong? The truth claims of Christianity are not really Rauchs concern, however. Christians can be useful to democracy so long as they are the right kinds of (democratic) Christians. What happens to democracy in the hands of the wrong kinds of Christians? Here Rauch has two groups in mind: Catholic post-liberals and American evangelicals. Taking on Patrick Deneens argument, Rauch argues that post-liberals wrongly see democracy as a threat to Christianity. Deneen, like Rauch, sees democracy as a kind of alliance between religion and secularism, but specifically Protestant Christianity. Not attuned to the difference between Catholics and Protestants, Rauch misses how Deneens thought stands as a work of Catholic social theory, seeing political allegiances as subordinate to religious ones, and not the other way around, as Rauch would have it. The liberal effort is to reverse that relationship, most notably present in the HHS mandate and the case against the Little Sisters of the Poor, connected to Americas long-standing anti-Catholicism as well as an imperious ideology that seized control of democratic institutions to advance an agenda. Rauch is mute about all that. This silence results in Rauchs inability to recognize how the advancement of progressive ideology created a counterreaction within certain Christian quarters. For Rauch, good Christianity is old-fashioned noble mainline Protestantism, which not only embraced progressive ideology but in many ways created it. Rauch confirms that he would love to see a revival of mainline Christianity, ignoring the fact that its decline is largely due to people not wanting to join the Democratic Party at prayer. The few theologians Rauch affirms as obviously right in their views come out of this camp and include James Brownson and his controversial defense of gay marriage, which Rauch, without considering the actual argument, declares hermeneutically and morally sound. I suspect Rauch didnt read a lot of the books he lists in his bibliography. Indeed, most of his conclusions are drawn from informal conversations he had with select scholars and church leaders. His book isnt rigorous in the least. ~~~ Rauch never considers Trumpism as a counterreaction to progressivism. Evangelical Christians, he repeats, mistakenly consider themselves a persecuted minority; instead, Rauch wants to consider the role Christianity has played in its own demise. Rather than following the enlightened example of their mainline brethren, evangelicals took a more radical and perilous path that resulted in Trumpism. Granted, Rauch does ask an important question backed by some data: What if partisan politics becomes the main reason people decide to identify as evangelicals? The identification of a religious group with a political party creates concern whether it happens on the left or right, but Rauch is only concerned when it results in the election of Donald Trump. Rauch claims that evangelical Christianity needs to give up its fear that it is under siege by the secular world and the political left. This fanciful narrative of aggrievement counters the obvious truth that conservative American Christians are not just the least persecuted religious community in the world today; they are arguably the least actually persecuted religious community in all of history. As evidence, he offers the string of victories Christians have enjoyed at the hands of the Supreme Court, without asking why so many religious liberty cases have appeared in the courts in the first place. America, he writes, is anything but a combat zone for Christianity. Perhaps, but Rauch makes no effort to consider why Christians might think it so, what sorts of progressive actions sparked the court cases, nor how the culture in general regards bigotry against evangelical Christians as permissible. It may be the case, as Rauch recognizes, that the courts upheld the rights of bakers and florists not to cater gay weddings, but that those court cases arose because progressives were using the blunt instrument of the law to compel private businesspeople to violate their conscience. Rauch evinces no memory of what happened to Memorys Pizza. Never drawing attention to this important background, Rauch instead makes the remarkable claim that cultural institutions in the media and education are friendlier to religious worldviews than a generation ago. Permit me to doubt. Neither does Rauch attend to rhetoric on the left such as that which law professor Mark Tushnet provided in May of 2106. Overly confident that Hillary Clinton would be Barack Obamas successor, thus continuing historys arc, Tushnet argued it was time for liberals to get out of their defensive-crouch Constitutionalism (this after Obergefell, no less) and to show no mercy to their vanquished opponents. For liberals, the question now is how to deal with the losers in the culture wars. Thats mostly a question of tactics. My own judgment is that taking a hard line (You lost, live with it) is better than trying to accommodate the losers, whorememberdefended, and are defending, positions that liberals regard as having no normative pull at all. Trying to be nice to the losers didnt work well after the Civil War, nor after Brown. The wars over, and we won (emphasis in original). This is live and let live Madisonianism? In one thought experiment, Rauch concedes some legitimacy to the evangelical fear narrative, but wonders why that results in supporting Donald Trump, whose one political skill is sociopathic cruelty. The paradox is obvious: A religious group that values moral rectitude enthusiastically embraces a morally objectionable human being. Fair enough. As far as it goes, I have no objection to Rauchs argument. Its what he doesnt consider that bothers me. For example, he doesnt acknowledge the fact that the vast majority of evangelicals voted against Donald Trump in the 2016 primaries, nor the possibility that they voted for Trump only because a) the alternative candidate had already called them deplorable, and b) Trump promised to deliver to them the kinds of justices who defend the religious liberty they experienced as under threat. Its possible that people might vote for a person they find otherwise objectionable because of the role interest plays in politicsan essential part of the Madisonianism Rauch defends. Here, too, Rauchs narrow understanding of Christianity simply juxtaposes the Beatitudes to Machiavellianism, arguing that evangelicals have subordinated the former to the latter. Christian thinking about politics, however, has seldom submitted to that rigid either/or, a point carefully made by Barack Obama in his Nobel Prize address. ~~~ Mainline Protestantism may have struck Rauchs preferred and nostalgic balance between Christianity and liberalism, but its waning means any renewal is unlikely to come from that quarter. Rauch has no hope for either white evangelicalism (hes strangely silent on the black churches and Trumps increasing support among racial minorities) or Catholicism. So if the bargain gets renewed, as it must if democracy is to survive, from whence will that renewal come? For todays most intellectually complete and pragmatically proven vision of a distinctively scriptural pluralism, we should travel to Utah. The Mormons, because they regard the Constitution as divinely inspired, strike the proper balance between Christian belief and Madisonian liberalism. The problem with Catholics and evangelicals (The Church of Fear) is that they are purists. Mormons alone understand the value of compromise. They are the most willing to put religious principle aside. Yet isnt that also his complaint against evangelicals who supported Trump against their own best principles? Rauch seamlessly identifies evangelicalism and Catholicism as the Church of Fear, which he elides into Christian Nationalism. Such elision is illegitimate, nor is Christian Nationalism the widespread phenomenon in Christian circles that Rauch thinks it is. It is likely the case that Trump would not have won either election without the support of Christian evangelicals, but that doesnt mean they see him as the means to creating a coercively Christian nation. Nor does that mean they are opposed to political compromise or pluralism. The big problem Rauch never addresses is the outsize importance of the presidency and presidential power in our politics, nor does he recognize the role progressives played in turning our politics into a zero-sum game. How does this align with the thin Madisonianism he misidentifies as the essence of American Constitutionalism? How does he make sense of the polling data that indicate that people on both the left and the right regard their opponents as evil, as needing to be vanquished? I found myself sympathetic to many of Rauchs instincts and conclusions but less so to his arguments. No doubt part of my reaction stems from the fact that Rauch doesnt really understand Christianity nor have much of a grasp of the history of Christian reflection on politics. Hes on surer ground when discussing liberalism, but here too its a pretty thin understanding, even if I share his general endorsement of the liberal project. I suppose the issue comes down to the degree to which we see Trump as a threat to democracy, how effective the guardrails are, and whether the threat he poses is absolutely sui generis. My own view is that Trump is a scourge rather than an autocrat-in-waiting. If Im wrong, a lot of eggs are going to get broken including, I would expect, my own. Either way, its no joke. Climate Adam: Protecting our Planet from President Trump Posted on 5 March 2025 by Guest Author This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy and climate communicator Becky Hoag. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). In just a few weeks President Donald Trump has done everything he can to attack climate action - from halting research to censoring data. But Earth's not going down without a fight. Environmental groups, scientists, states and countries are fighting back for our planet - doing what they can to protect climate research and safeguard environmental policy. Becky and I break down all the climate action for ya! Support ClimateAdam on patreon: https://patreon.com/climateadam Check out Becky's Youtube channel: @beckisphere Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. James David Vance is an American vice president. Hes a hillbilly, an elegist, and a Yale Law School graduate. But Vance is also a millennial, a scroller, and a poster. Even from his newfound perch on Pennsylvania Avenue, the veep logs on to X to vent. These people are such idiots, he wrote of the New York Post Tuesday. The day prior, he posted the Pepe Silvia meme from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, asserting that Sen. Chris Murphy is engaging in conspiracy theories about Trumps coziness with Vladimir Putin. And he recently posted a few fire emojis to express his pleasure at the Senate confirmation of FBI Director Kash Patel. In other words, Vance speaks the language of the millennial internet. So the latest social media trend must be simply devastating for him. Images of Vance have sprouted up on X contorting his face into that of, well, everything you can imagine. This week, pictures of a chubby-faced Vance were ubiquitous; not so much a fat edit of the vice president as it is as if someone photoshopped an overweight middle schoolers countenance on his besuited figure. This pubescent Vance has been adorned with a rainbow propeller hat and a swirly lollipop, morphed into a patriotic Minion from Despicable Me, and rendered as lisping Hans Landa, the Nazi villain from Inglourious Basterds. Hes a beautiful woman, a curly-haired puffer fish of a man, a Furby, and of course a shrugging Kevin James. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have completely forgotten what the real JD Vance looks like at this point. pic.twitter.com/rMaKcY5h3w Spergler Acolyte (@SperglerAcolyte) March 3, 2025 The memes are everywhere. Twitter is fucking unusable, one user wrote. Im trying to get updates on whether world war 3 is on but all im seeing are fat JD vance memes. Someone replied with an image of 27 different Vances all agreeing in unison. I have completely forgotten what the real JD Vance looks like at this point, another user posted. Advertisement Vance has not acknowledged these memesI mean, why would he? But they are unavoidable for someone who spends ungodly hours on the internet each day. When the vice president scrolls on his phone, does he stare into a fun-house mirror, where hes been stretched into forms once thought unimaginable? Related From Slate The Most Tragic Part of That Disastrous Trump-Zelensky Meeting Read More The beauty of social medias algorithmic culture is that engagement of any kind often begets more of that content in ones feed. Every time Vance clicks on a picture of himself, even out of disgust, itll catalyze the system to show him even more. (Its a special kind of torture weve built, isnt it?) The Vance edits are a vice presidential body horror, a dysmorphic smattering of ridicule seemingly from all sides of the Vance-loathing political spectrum. But perhaps the sharpest barbs take aim at Vances very real performance in the Oval Office, where he berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, falsely claiming that the visiting leader never thanked the United States for its support of Ukraine. Have you said thank you once? asked Vance as the red Teletubby. Tony I want him taxed, he didnt say thank you, he told Tony Soprano. YOU SHOULDA SAID PWEASE, Chubby Vance told off-screen Zelensky in a now-iconic Oval Office pic. Advertisement Advertisement YOU SHOULDA SAID PWEASE pic.twitter.com/PixKbWKrUK Mr. Frog, (Road to Redemption Arc) (@TheMisterFrog) March 1, 2025 The reality is that the Vance edits will never be as embarrassing as what the vice president said to one of our most crucial allies, a man who has spent years defending his country from unwarranted Russian aggression. The fun-house mirror cant really hurt Vance. Only he has that power. Dear Prudence is Slates advice column. Submit questions here. (Its anonymous!) Dear Prudence, I was adopted, and most of my biological family was gone when I started looking. I did have a chance to meet my great grandmother who was Dutch. Her name was Sanne. Pronounced Sah-nuh. My husband and I are expecting a little girl, and I want to name her Sanne. My husband is fine with the name but disagrees with the spelling. He thinks it is going to be a hassle for our daughter to have to explain and correct her name to people for the rest of her life. He proved it to me by texting it to friends and asking them to pronounce it. The majority was Sand. He thinks we should name the baby Sana. Which is phonetically close, but nowhere near Dutch. I feel like I am getting ganged up on here a little. Everyone likes the name and has been supportive of me wanting to honor my great grandmother, but agrees with my husband or suggests using it as a middle name. I need an outside opinion, please. Does Not Like Sand Dear Does Not Like Sand, Your husband is right, a name that many people will mispronounce will be a hassle. That doesnt mean you cant or shouldnt use it. Its a wonderful way to honor your great grandmother. And many kids, especially those with names rooted in cultures other than the ones they live in, deal with much worse. Your daughter wont be irreparably damaged by having to explain spelling and/or pronunciation each time shes in a new environment. That said, there never should have been an opportunity for people to gang up on you about this because there should only be two people in this conversation: You and your husband. Shut down the outside input and talk about it as a couple. What are his fears about Sanne having to explain and correct people? What makes this less concerning to you? Is there any way he can see having a unique name as a good thing that would teach her how to command respect? Can you understand why he might want ease and simplicity for her? What do each of your views have to do with your larger philosophies about the life you want for your kid? Like many parenting topics in your future, theres a legitimate debate herebut it should be between the people whose names will be on the birth certificate and no one else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dear Prudence I am a freshman in college with major anxiety. This is the first year Ill be living away from home, and my anxiety is just getting worse. I frequently find myself missing classes because my anxiety is inducing me to vomit. This happened my freshman year of high school, and I have tried everything except medication. My mom and I have a strained relationship, but she handles my doctors appointments and everything until I graduate college. She wont make me an appointment, and this is getting out of hand. Anxious About Everything Dear Anxious, You are not alone here, I promise. You are surrounded by freshmen just like you who are nervous, stressed, homesick, and deeply anxious. And you deserve help. The great news: You do NOT have to rely on your mom to make an appointment. Find your way to student health services and ask to see a counselor. If that feels like too much, email a professor who seems kind and ask for help. Knock on your RAs door. Ask a friend or roommate to help you make an appointment. Whatever it takes. This is the perfect time to get the support you need. Dont wait until the missed classes turn into failed classes which turn into academic probation, and all of these things increase your anxiety even more. Addressing the situation nowincluding by taking medication, if a doctor says its appropriateis going to change your college experience and empower you to take control of your life back from your mom. Which cant happen soon enough. Advertisement Dear Prudence, My 86-year-old father has a lady friend. My mother died four years ago. Lady Friend is rude, is a horrible gossip, and an all-around unpleasant person to be around. Its almost like my dad chose the opposite of my mom to make it okay. He is clear that he doesnt love her and does not want to be married to her (or anyone else). Currently, my father is undergoing serious health issues. Lady Friend frequently texts me with demands to let her know when something medical has happened. My biggest issue (besides despising her) is that she never says please. Is it beyond petty to let her know that I would prefer a request to a command? And how do I do so? Please F Off Dear Please F Off, Advertisement So I have bad news. Youre going to despise her even if she pops a Please, if you dont mind, when you have the opportunity onto the top of each text she sends. I think a better approach will be to decide when you want to give updates, and give them then (every day, every Sunday, after every major procedure, whatever) and let her know what the plan will be going forward, so you dont even have to deal with her requests. Catch up on this weeks Prudie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Advice From Slate Dinnertime has become a daily struggle in our household and Im at a loss as to what to do. For the entirety of our childrens lives my husband has had a job that requires him to work late, and he has very rarely eaten dinner with the children (ages 9 and 11) and me. This spring he changed jobs and is now able to be home in time for family dinner almost every evening. That sounds great, but has actually been a nightmare. He spends every meal berating our kids about their table manners so that they (and I) now dread dinnertime This piece was originally published on State Court Report , a hub for reporting, analysis, and commentary about state courts and constitutions. State Court Report is a project of the Brennan Center for Justice. One of the most important state cases on reproductive rights may hinge not on abortion protections offered by the state constitution, but instead on whether the medical providers and abortion rights groups have the right to bring the lawsuit. Last month, the Georgia Supreme Court remanded a challenge to Georgias six-week abortion ban to the trial court, instructing it to evaluate the case, Georgia v. SisterSong, in light of a January state high court decision that eliminated third-party standing in Georgia courts. This latest development in SisterSong exemplifies how state supreme courts are imposing new limits on standing, with unpredictable effects for conservative and progressive movements alike. In July 2022shortly after the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization paved the way for the abortion ban the Georgia Legislature passed in 2019 to go into effectSisterSong, as well as other reproductive rights groups and medical providers, sued, arguing the Georgia ban violated state constitutional provisions on privacy, equality, and equal protection. A separate claim that the ban was void because it was enacted when abortion was still federally protected pre-Dobbs was litigated first and rejected by the Georgia Supreme Court in October 2023. On remand to consider the rights claims, a district court in September 2024 declared the ban unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement. The following month, the Georgia Supreme Court stayed that ruling, allowing the ban to go back into effect while the litigation continued. Related From Slate Montana Trafficking Bill Shows Endgame for Abortion Rights Foes Read More The high court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in SisterSong mid-March, but its January ruling in a separate case, Wasserman v. Franklin County, resulted in the February return of the abortion ban litigation to the trial court. The Wasserman decision revolutionized the rules that apply when anyone brings a claim on anothers behalf, known as third-party standing. Wasserman involved a strange set of facts: Sherran Wasserman had struck a deal with Anthony Pham to sell him property, contingent on Pham being able to place chicken houses on the property. Pham petitioned for permission to do so, but the Franklin County Board of Commissioners voted against him. Wasserman sued the board on Phams behalf. The Georgia Supreme Court sided against Wasserman, holding that third-party standing was no longer valid in Georgia state courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its opinion, the court stressed it had been a mistake to uncritically import rules from federal courts, including on issues of third-party standing. Considering Georgias history and tradition, the justices identified a practice of allowing parties to sue only to vindicate their own rightsa conclusion in line with most case law in the state. The factors of stare decisis, which requires some deference to a courts past precedents, did not require a different outcome, the court said. When the high court remanded SisterSong, it asked the trial court to address whether any of the plaintiffs were seeking to defend their own rights rather than relying on third-party standing to protect the rights of others. It is quite possible that the SisterSong litigation will be dismissed on standing grounds and any challenge to the states law will need to start over. Advertisement Standing hurdles have already blocked challenges to Kentuckys abortion ban. In 2023, the Kentucky Supreme Court held in Cameron v. EMW Surgical Center that abortion providers lacked third-party standing to bring claims on behalf of their patients. The court spotlighted dicta from Dobbs suggesting that Roe v. Wade (which Dobbs reversed) had distorted third-party standing doctrine. The providers in Cameron, the court reasoned, had failed to show either a close relationship with their patients or an obstacle that prevented the patients from seeking to vindicate their own rights. A later suit filed by Jewish women challenging the states ban on religious liberty grounds was rejected by a trial judge for lack of standing because none of the plaintiffs were currently pregnant or undergoing in vitro fertilization. The judge ruled any potential harm to them was too speculative. Advertisement Advertisement Not every state has narrowed its approach to standingeven some that have upheld stringent abortion bans. The Idaho Supreme Court, for example, upheld the states ban in 2023, but simultaneously found that a group of physicians had standing because they could face future criminal consequences under the states ban. Advertisement Ongoing challenges to other states abortion bans have continued without special concern about standing. A group of providers challenged the constitutionality of Utahs abortion ban, arguing it violated state constitutional rights to equality, bodily integrity, and the right to care for ones family. In 2024, the Utah Supreme Court held that providers had third-party standing to challenge the constitutionality of the states ban on behalf of their patients because of the practical obstacles to bringing suits faced by patients themselvesdetailed in affidavits from several patientsand because disallowing providers from suing threatened to dilute any rights the constitution protected. The court kept in place an injunction against enforcement of Utahs law as the constitutional challenge continues. Advertisement The North Dakota Supreme Court likewise has said abortion providers standing is not an issue in Access Independent Health Services v. Wrigley. The state supreme court had previously enjoined a state ban before the state Legislature passed a virtually identical measure. The plaintiffs challenging the current ban have argued, among other things, that the law is impermissibly vague. Denying the states request to pause a trial court ruling striking the new law, the North Dakota high court found that the plaintiffs had adequately established standing based on their own conduct by arguing that the law impedes their ability to provide patient care. It didnt matter to the court that the law had never been enforced; the threat of injury was real enough that it rose beyond speculation. Advertisement Advertisement Rulings narrowing standing wont always cut the same way when it comes to reproductive rights, a lesson arising from litigation in Mississippi. That state already bans abortion, but a group of doctors affiliated with the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists sued to overturn a 1998 Mississippi Supreme Court ruling implying the state constitution protects a right to abortion. A trial judge in Hinds County, home to state capital Jackson, ruled the physicians didnt have standing because they couldnt trace an injury to the 1998 decisionMississippi was, after all, already enforcing its ban. Advertisement Advertisement An unrelated ruling on third-party standing from the Mississippi Supreme Court may also make it harder for both conservative and progressive organizations to bring abortion cases in the future. That 2024 case involved a group of parents challenging the constitutionality of a state-created program designed to provide grants to independent and private schools. The parents relied on the idea of associational standing, suggesting that the members of the group would have standing to sue because their children attended public schools and might be impacted by the diversion of resources. The Mississippi Supreme Court offered a narrow interpretation of associational standing requiring a present interest. The parents, the court suggested, could only speculate about a future threatened harm in the form of a competitive disadvantage for Mississippi public schools. Its too soon to know what role standing will play in reproductive rights cases unfolding in other state courts across the country. But the ruling in SisterSong is a reminder of how much standing rules will shape the next chapter of struggles over state abortion bansand how procedural hurdles may prove as important as the interpretation of state constitutions themselves. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. President Donald Trump spent only 15 minutes of his nearly two-hour speech Tuesday night on foreign policybut those minutes were as full of falsehoods, distortions, and personal insults as the rest of what must be the most angrily divisive presidential address to a joint session of Congress. His first lie on the subject was that, because he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had removed wokeness from our military, recruitment rates are higher than at any time in the past 15 years. In fact, according to a headline in Fox News, of all places, Army recruiting is up, but data show trend began before the election. According to that data, there were more recruits in August 2024, three months before the election, than there were in December, one month after the election (a lot more: 7,415, compared with 5,877). Nor did recruitment in January 2025 surpass the August numbers. The reason is that, back in 2023, the military put 1,200 more recruiters in the field and set up a six-week preboot camp to help lower-performing recruits meet the required standards. This highlights an ominous fact for the future: The nation is having a hard time recruiting physically and mentally fit people to join the military. However, steps were taken to adjust for that in the final year and a half of the Biden administrationand higher numbers were achieved during that time than in the time since Trump was elected. Related From Slate Trumps Foreign Policy Has Completely Departed From Reality Read More The second howler of the night was Trumps characterization of what he is now calling the Golden Dome system, to defend the United States from nuclear attack. He said that President Ronald Reagan wanted to create such a defense but the technology didnt exist. Now we have the technology, Trump claimed. Its incredible, actually. And other placesthey have it, Israel has it. Other places have it. And the United States should have it too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of those sentences are false. Israels Iron Dome program is designed to intercept missiles with a range of 40 miles traveling at twice the speed of sound. The sorts of missiles that would attack the United States would fly at a range of 6,000 miles, traveling at 10 times the speed of sound. The technology required for the one is completely different from the technology required for the other. The U.S. already has plenty of air and missile defenses at least as good as Iron Domethe Patriot and the Standard Missile, to name just two. No country has a defense of the sort that Reagan had, and Trump has, in mind. We have spent more than $10 billion a year for the past 40 years trying to develop such a defense, to little avail. At best, we are now able to hit one mock warhead with one anti-missile missile in a carefully planned test. The test managers have never even tried to hit two with two, or a dozen with a dozenbecause they know they cannot. Advertisement The third distortion came with Trumps announcement that he would create an office of shipbuilding in the United States. He didnt say what such an office could do that the U.S. Navy could not. Well wait for details. But then he segued, as if it followed that promise, with a pledge to reclaim the Panama Canal, which he said President Jimmy Carter gave away. In fact, the biggest defenders of the treaty that Carter signed, transferring the canal to the country of Panama, were top U.S. military officers, because they knew they could not easily defend the waterway in the face of rising anti-American sentimentand they knew that actual ownership of the canal wasnt necessary to use it. Trump has said in recent months that China has taken over the canals ports and that U.S. ships have been overcharged while transiting through. Neither claim is true. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then said that he was putting Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge of getting the canal back. Good luck, Marco, he said, to laughter. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. As if Rubio hasnt experienced enough humiliation in the first six weeks on the job, his failure to make progress on this taskall the while realizing, deep down, that its a mad missionmay eclipse all prior demoralization. Then came Greenland. At first, Trump seemed to soften his earlier commitment to get Greenland. He said, as if speaking to that countrys citizens, And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And were working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it, really, for international world security. And I think were going to get it. Then he added, One way or the other, were going to get it, thus renewing his threat. Advertisement Greenland does occupy potentially valuable geostrategic territory, near the Arctic, alongside possible ship and submarine routes by Russia and other adversaries. However, Greenland and its present owner, Denmark, are both NATO members. The U.S. has a massive military base on Greenland and other bases nearby. There are no local protesters to U.S. presence. The U.S. does not need to own the place. Advertisement Advertisement The Ukraine portion of Trumps speech was filled with exaggerations. He said the U.S. has donated $350 billion to Ukraine, while all of Europe, which should have a higher stake in the countrys defense, has given only $100 billion. In fact, the U.S. has given $175 billionhalf as much as Trump claimedof which $66 billion was in military aid, much of which was paid to American defense manufacturers. Meanwhile, the European Union and its member states have provided about $200 billionmore than the United States. Advertisement Advertisement But then came an interesting, possibly hopeful twistthe only one in the entire speech. He read parts of a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible, ready to work under Trumps strong leadership. I appreciate that he sent this letter, Trump said, signaling a possible do-over of the Oval Office meeting last week in which he and Vice President J.D. Vance screamed at Zelensky for being insufficiently thankful to his hosts. Trump then said hed spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who told him that Russia is ready for peace too. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Trump mused. Well see what kind of peace Putin wants. Well also see if Zelenskys letter moves Trump to reverse his decision to halt all arms transfers to Ukraineeven the arms in the pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement That would be less likely. When he itemized (though incorrectly) the billions that the U.S. has spent on arms for Ukraine, many Democrats started applaudingfor the first and only time in the speech. Trump looked over to them and muttered, You like that? Then he said, Pocahontas says yesPocahontas being his belittling nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. To her credit, the camera showed her smiling and nodding in response. As usual, Trump spent more time and energy chiding Warren, other Democrats, and especially former President Joe Bidencalling him the worst president, among other insultsthan he spent criticizing any of the countrys adversaries. To any foreigners watching the speech to glean Trumps priorities, that said it alland it wasnt at all assuring. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Last week, photos emerged of 15 right-wing social media influencers posing outside the White House, grinning and holding thick white binders. This set of people, which included the woman behind the bullying social media account Libs of TikTok and the Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, had good reason to be excited: the Trump administration had promised them something explosivesomething their fans had been clamoring for for years. On the cover of the binders, under the seal of the Department of Justice, printed in red letters, was the title The Epstein Files, Part 1. This was a huge moment for the right-wing social media ecosystem. Ever since financier and child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead from suicide awaiting trial in his jail cell in 2019, certain conspiratorial-minded figures have insisted that he was killed to protect the identity of one or more powerful figures on an alleged client list of, presumably, sexual predators of underage girls. (No evidence of such a list has emerged.) In the vein of the Pizzagate and QAnon web of conspiracy theories, the Epstein conspiracy theories posited that the government had documentation that would prove that certain liberal celebrities and Democratic donors and politicians had sexually abused minors on board Epsteins plane or on his private island. This theory twisted something realthe horrific sex trafficking Epstein engaged in, as well as the protections and leniency his riches bought him in the criminal justice systemand leaped past genuine inquiry to wild accusations, fueling political disinformation. The rage it inspired relied on the notion that there was a cover-up: It wasnt just that Epstein had criminally predatory friends among the elitesa plausible presumption. It was that the federal government was hiding slam-dunk proof of those elites crimes. Trump, aware of his bases enthusiasm for the Epstein theories, had through his second presidential campaign vowed to release Epstein documents. On Thursday, through the orders of Attorney General Pam Bondi, he was finally making good. Bondi had promised as much the night before, pledging radical transparency during a Fox appearance. Almost immediately, though, everyone realized that it was a dud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Virtually all the information in the binders, it turned out, either was redacted to protect victim privacy or had already been made openly available through the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, civil litigation, and Freedom of Information Act requests. When the DOJ released the information publicly, conservatives on social media expressed frustration that they had been duped. I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today, Florida Rep. Paulina Luna wrote on social media, referring to the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. She added, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. The radio host Glenn Beck called the files a total joke and wondered aloud, Who is subverting POTUS? The conservative pundit Tony Kinnett blasted the fun little photo shoots as cringe and childish. The conservative commentator Robby Soave called it a disaster. Some noted that the influencers enthusiasm had made it worse; some had hyped up the release with identical language praising the administrations transparency. It was hard not to see it as humiliating for everyone involved, a PR stunt gone completely awry. Advertisement At first, conservative anger over the episode was directed at Bondi. The far-right author Raheem Kassam reported that the AG had rolled out the information recklessly, springing the binders on the influencers, who were at the White House for policy briefings, he wrote. Steve Bannon chastised Bondi for overselling the files and called the whole thing a fiasco. The conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer went further, calling on Bondi to resign. Bondi had either lied, Loomer said, or failed to read the materials in the binders before she handed them out to the influencers. This is absurd, Loomer wrote on X. Everyone is laughing at the admin today. Advertisement But other influencers came to Bondis aid, pivoting quickly to blame the FBI. Liz Wheeler, one of those given a binder, claimed without proof that the attorneys at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had hidden the actual juicy files. These swamp creatures at SDNY deceived Bondi, Kash, and YOU, she wrote. Be outraged that the binder is boring. You should be. Because the evil deep state LIED TO YOUR FACE. Advertisement Advertisement Bondi quickly seized on this narrative herself, making public a letter she sent to FBI Director Kash Patel Thursday, demanding to know where the real documents were and why she had received less than 200 pages. I repeatedly questioned whether this was the full set of documents responsive to my request and was repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents, she wrote. In the letter, in which she also demanded an internal investigation, she claimed that a source had told her the FBI field office in New York had withheld thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation. When you and I spoke yesterday, you were just as surprised as I was to learn this new information, she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement By Thursday evening, Patel was expressing similar levels of outragedirected toward his own agency. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturnedand anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued, he wrote on social media. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them. Advertisement By Saturday, a new narrative had solidified on the right: Corrupt Democrats acting within the FBI and New York courts had clearly hidden certain files because, as Fox host Mark Levin put it, they dont like the names on the listreferring to the alleged client list. (Bondi, appearing on Levins show, nodded when he said this and made a small affirmative noise.) As Fox News Jesse Watters would explain to his viewers, James Comey had been the one to originally suppress the client list; now, in a new Trump era, it was his daughter doing the dirty work. Maurene Ryan Comey, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, had been one of the lead prosecutors against Epsteins associate Maxwell. (She has also joined the team prosecuting Sean Diddy Combs.) If anyone needed further proof of the corruption in New York, there was also James E. Dennehy, the top agent at the FBI field office there, who in January wrote an email defending the FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 criminal cases, urging his staff to dig in and resist the administrations assaults on the agencys independence. Advertisement Advertisement In this way, the conspiracy theory that has motivated many right-wing actors, as well as Bondi and Patel, was duplicated: They were still hiding the files, but now they were hiding within Bondis and Patels own agencies. Bondi made herself out as a victim of this conspiracy, despite being one of the most powerful people in government and the person who had literally released the files herself. I kept saying, there has to be more. There has to be more, Bondi told Levin Saturday. But as Jacob Shamsian at Business Insider noted, Bondi was doing more than just playing the victim: She was using the incident as a political tool for firings at the FBI in New York. And sure enough, on Monday, Dennehy, the head of the FBIs New York office, was forced out. In the end, one of the administrations silliest controversies had serious repercussionsbut only for the FBI official who had overseen nonpartisan work to investigate legitimate cases of corruption. It was a classic ending to a Trumpian news cycle that hinged on a conspiracy theory without any evidence. And it showed this administrations reliance on partisan lies, even when it has complete and total access to the truth. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. President Donald Trumps early, vicious attacks on the rights of trans Americans faced a critical test in federal courts last week. This initial round went to supporters of the rights of trans people to access basic health care needs. In a surprising move, though, the judge in one of these cases went even further than expected by debunking some of the most pernicious myths that conservatives and the Trump administration have disseminated to justify their brutal assaults on trans youth. On Friday, Judge Lauren King of the United States District Court of the Western District of Washington in Seattle released a 53-page decision in Washington v. Trump. The decision transforms a previously issued temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction against two of Trumps recent anti-trans executive orders. Judge Kings opinion, written under time pressure to respond to the risk of denial of gender-affirming health care for minors and adults in states that still allow it, presents a remarkable criticism of the governments arguments against providing this necessary health care. The importance of her analysis goes beyond the bottom line of the decision to enjoin the practical effects of the anti-trans orders at hand. King forcefully refutes the federal governments arguments in a way that also directly undermines whatever red states are currently arguing in their attempts to justify state laws prohibiting gender-affirming care in courts nationwide, including the Supreme Court. Fridays decision pertains to a pair of executive orders. One of them attempts to block medical services for trans people under the age of 19, minors and adults, which the order defines as children. The other order tries more broadly to erase the existence of gender identities that differ from the sex assigned to people at birth, a reality the order calls gender ideology. For example, it commands the federal government and its agencies to remove all mentions of gender identity and stop funding any project recognizing it. King found that both orders conflicted with the Constitutions order of separation of powers because they limited spending that Congress deemed needed, namely federal research and education grants to medical institutions, including medical schools and hospitals. The judge wrote that the President does not have unilateral authority to refuse to spend the funds Congress appropriates. The decision also concludes that the orders violate the Fifth Amendments equal protection guarantee [that] prohibits the federal government from treating people differently based on sex or transgender status unless the government can establish an exceedingly persuasive justification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Supreme Court Rules the Clean Water Act Doesnt Actually Require That Water Be Clean Read More Judge King highlighted that the order cutting off funding to providers of gender-affirming care: is not limited to children, or to irreversible treatments, nor does it target any similar medical interventions performed on cisgender youth. It rejects the prevailing medical consensus without engaging with the basis for that consensus or weighing the relevant risks against the countervailing benefits established in the record And it prevents both transgender and cisgender youth and adults from obtaining necessary medical care completely unrelated to gender-affirming care. Most significantly, unlike other courts, King did not shy away from delving into the evidence. The judge refused to simply accept the governments pretextual arguments that barely tried to hide the orders animus toward trans people. Perhaps most impressive is Kings treatment of the governments primary justification that it is seeking to protect trans minors from future regret. For example, King writes that the Medical Services EO takes into account only the risks associated with regret, making no attempt to balance them against the very real risks (supported by ample medical data) facing transgender youth who desire gender-affirming care but do not receive it. Advertisement There is also much in the decisions footnotes that might escape immediate attention but provides essential disproof of the administrations distortions about the experiences of trans people. Among other evidence repudiating the regret fiction, the decision cites parents of a child who had engaged in self-harm before receiving gender-affirming care who said: The possibility of regret was absolutely one of the closed-door conversations I had with my spouse as we weighed the possibility of a medical transition for our child. Granting that regret was a possibility, we still decided that it was more important to be affirming and supportive of the choices our daughter made today. We knew that having our love and support would help keep her alive. Advertisement Judge King is also probably the first in the judiciary to raise and consider the possibility that regret might operate precisely the opposite way the government claims, emerging not due to treating gender dysphoria but rather as a result of delaying or forgoing necessary gender-affirming care. On this point, she quoted a parent who said: My wife and I have dedicated so much to understand our child in order to overcome our own misconceptions. Our one regret is that we let our own fears and misunderstandings get in the way of getting our child treatment sooner. Advertisement There is also more to the science of regret that the law ignores at the expense of trans individuals, particularly the young ones. Research demonstrates that regret is more associated with missed opportunities and failure to take action (here, lack of treatment) than with behaving proactively (here, undergoing treatment). But, of course, there is only so much King could have covered in a few days. Her reasoning is much more thorough than what the conservative justices of the Supreme Court were willing to consider as they entertained regret as a possible justification for banning gender-affirming care for minors during the oral arguments late last year in U.S. v. Skrmetti. The entire judiciary owes trans people and their families a proper review of pretextual arguments raised by the Trump administration and red states without factual support and with unprecedented hostility. Any comedy practice should be done in a setting like this, right? No real audience. No big judgment. No consequences. Just a forum in which to find your feet I mean, I love getting all this writing practice in on a blog that nobody reads. The first published piece I ever wrote was in front of tens of thousands and that was honestly a little terrifying. Its much harder to learn your craft in front of a large audience if you ask me. Understand: Everyone starts badly. The theater was run by Woody Wilson, a dead ringer for W. C. Fields, and a boozer, too, and the likable George Stuart, who, on Saturday night, would entertain the crowd with a monologue that had them roaring: Youre from Tucson? I spent a week there one night! Four paying customers, in a house that seated two hundred, was officially an audience, so we often did shows to resonating silence. Woody Wilson, on one of these dead afternoons, peed so loudly in the echoing bathroom that it broke up us actors and got laughs from our conservative family audience. -Steve Martin, Born Standing Up (Amazon) Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has partnered with Vantage Towers, Europes second-largest telecom tower operator with a network of 86,000 sites, to launch a digital service platform aimed at transforming the experience of property owners that lease land for telecom tower installations. The partnership aims to streamline service processes for property owners, enhance retention, and strengthen telecom site partnerships for Vantage Towers across Europe. TCS will also deploy TCS Crystallus for Telecom, an industry-specific offering designed to accelerate digital transformation. Through this program, property owners across eight markets in Europe will benefit from round-the-clock personalized access to customer support via their preferred channels. This approach empowers landlords and enables Vantage Tower agents and other stakeholders to seamlessly access crucial information across the enterprise through the unified platform. Tobias Steinig, Chief Digital Officer at Vantage Towers said, Long-term relationships with our landlords are a win-win-situation for both sides and, in addition, the foundation for a successful network expansion and digitalization in Europe. This joint project underscores our commitment to operational excellence and reinforces our promise of stable partnerships based on high-quality service experience and transparency. Top Breaking News Of The Day The partnership builds on the long-standing relationship between TCS and Vantage Towers, signaling a deeper collaboration focused on creating value through technology-driven offerings. Vantage Towers relies on these property partners to expand its extensive infrastructure across Europe. This initiative is expected to accelerate growth by converting property partners into long-term advocates, driving Vantage Towers mission of sustainable telecom expansion. Akhilesh Tiwari, President, Communications, Media and Information Services (CMI), TCS, said, We are delighted to partner with Vantage Towers on this strategic initiative to transform their landlord experience, driving business agility and seamless site operations. Our strong partnership with ServiceNow will enable sustained ideation and innovation aligned to Vantage Towers growth and transformation imperatives. Leveraging its deep telecom expertise, TCS will collaborate with ServiceNow, a leading digital workflow and business service platform, to revolutionize the service experience, enabling landowners to raise requests seamlessly. Rohit Batra, General Manager and Vice President for Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Media, and Technology at ServiceNow, said, At ServiceNow, were committed to helping organizations like Vantage Towers transform their operations through intelligent digital workflows. This strategic partnership will enable Vantage Towers to consolidate disparate systems into a unified platform, delivering enhanced experiences for their landlords while optimizing operational efficiency. Were proud to support Vantage Towers in their journey to becoming a fully digital tower company and setting new standards for the telecommunications infrastructure industry. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This undated photo provided by Dawn Graves shows Richard Sutton. Credit: Dawn Graves via AP Teaching machines in the way that animal trainers mold the behavior of dogs or horses has been an important method for developing artificial intelligence and one that was recognized Wednesday with the top computer science award. Two pioneers in the field of reinforcement learning, Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton, are the winners of this year's A.M. Turing Award, the tech world's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Research that Barto, 76, and Sutton, 67, began in the late 1970s paved the way for some of the past decade's AI breakthroughs. At the heart of their work was channeling so-called "hedonistic" machines that could continuously adapt their behavior in response to positive signals. Reinforcement learning is what led a Google computer program to beat the world's best human players of the ancient Chinese board game Go in 2016 and 2017. It's also been a key technique in improving popular AI tools like ChatGPT, optimizing financial trading and helping a robotic hand solve a Rubik's Cube. But Barto said the field was "not fashionable" when he and his doctoral student, Sutton, began crafting their theories and algorithms at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "We were kind of in the wilderness," Barto said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Which is why it's so gratifying to receive this award, to see this becoming more recognized as something relevant and interesting. In the early days, it was not." This undated photo provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst shows Andrew Barto. Credit: Zinj Guo /University of Massachusetts Amherst via AP Google sponsors the annual $1 million prize, which was announced Wednesday by the Association for Computing Machinery. Barto, now retired from the University of Massachusetts, and Sutton, a longtime professor at Canada's University of Alberta, aren't the first AI pioneers to win the award named after British mathematician, codebreaker and early AI thinker Alan Turing. But their research has directly sought to answer Turing's 1947 call for a machine that "can learn from experience"which Sutton describes as "arguably the essential idea of reinforcement learning." In particular, they borrowed from ideas in psychology and neuroscience about the way that pleasure-seeking neurons respond to rewards or punishment. In one landmark paper published in the early 1980s, Barto and Sutton set their new approach on a specific task in a simulated world: balance a pole on a moving cart to keep it from falling. The two computer scientists later co-authored a widely used textbook on reinforcement learning. "The tools they developed remain a central pillar of the AI boom and have rendered major advances, attracted legions of young researchers, and driven billions of dollars in investments," said Google's chief scientist Jeff Dean in a written statement. In a joint interview with the AP, Barto and Sutton didn't always agree on how to evaluate the risks of AI agents that are constantly seeking to improve themselves. They also distinguished their work from the branch of generative AI technology that is currently in fashionthe large language models behind chatbots made by OpenAI, Google and other tech giants that mimic human writing and other media. A lodging for construction workers is seen in front of a Data center in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor state of Malaysia, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian "The big choice is, do you try to learn from people's data, or do you try to learn from an (AI) agent's own life and its own experience?" Sutton said. Sutton has dismissed what he describes as overblown concerns about AI's threat to humanity, while Barto disagreed and said "You have to be cognizant of potential unexpected consequences." Barto, retired for 14 years, describes himself as a Luddite, while Sutton is embracing a future he expects to have beings of greater intelligence than current humansan idea sometimes known as posthumanism. "People are machines. They're amazing, wonderful machines," but they are also not the "end product" and could work better, Sutton said. "It's intrinsically a part of the AI enterprise," Sutton said. "We're trying to understand ourselves and, of course, to make things that can work even better. Maybe to become such things." 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Audience members gather at Made By Google for new product announcements at Google on Aug. 13, 2024, in Mountain View, Calif. Credit: AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File Google is updating its ubiquitous search engine with the next generation of its artificial intelligence technology as part of an effort to provide instant expertise amid intensifying competition from smaller competitors. The company announced Wednesday that it will feed its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine so it can field more complex questions involving subjects such as computer coding and math. As has been the case since last May, the AI-generated overviews will be placed above the traditional web links that have become the lifeblood of online publishers dependent on traffic referrals from Google's dominant search engine. Google is broadening the audience for AI overviews in the U.S. by making them available to teenage searchers without requiring them to go through a special sign-in process to see them. The stage is also being set for what could turn out to be one of the most dramatic changes to the search engine's interface since Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the company in a Silicon Valley garage during the late 1990s. Google is going to begin a gradual rollout of an "AI mode" option that will result in the search engine generating even more AI overviews. When search is in AI mode, Google is warning the overviews are likely to become more conversational and sometimes head down online corridors that result in falsehoods that the tech industry euphemistically calls "hallucinations." "As with any early-stage AI product, we won't always get it right," Google product vice president Robby Stein wrote in a blog post that also acknowledged the possibility "that some responses may unintentionally appear to take on a persona or reflect a particular opinion." More stringent guardrails are supposed to be in place to prevent AI mode from steering people in the wrong direction for queries involving health and finance. The need for additional fine tuning is one reason Google is initially only offering AI mode in its experimental Labs section, and only subscribers to its $20-per-month Google One AI Premium will be allowed to test it out at first. But these tests almost always result in the technology being released to all comersa goal that Google is pursuing in response to AI-powered search engines from ChatGPT and Perplexity. Google's amped-up usage of more sophisticated AI overviews is likely to amplify worries that the summaries will make web surfers even less likely to click on links to take them to sites with useful information on the topic. Those traffic referrals are one of the main ways that online publishers attract the clicks needed to sell the digital ads that help finance their operations. Google executives insist AI overviews are still driving traffic to other sites by driving up people's curiosity so they engage in more queries to learn more, resulting in more clicks to other publishers. But those reassurances haven't placated publishers who believe that Google will be the main beneficiary of AI overviews, further enriching an internet empire that already generates more than $260 billion in annual ad revenue. The expanded use of AI overviews also could expose Google to more allegations that it is abusing the power of a search engine that a federal judge last year found to be an illegal monopoly in attempt to maintain its position as the internet's main gateway. The U.S. Justice Department, which filed the monopoly claims against Google in 2020, is now proposing a partial breakup of the company that would include the sale of its Chrome browser as part of its punishment. The hearings on the proposed penalties against Google, which may include digging deeper into its use of AI, are scheduled to begin next month in Washington D.C. Online educational online service Chegg already has amplified on that monopoly case with a lawsuit filed last month in the same Washington court accusing Google of improperly cribbing information from its site to present in its AI Overviews. Google has denied the allegations. 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Google is urging officials at President Donald Trump's Justice Department to back away from a push to break up the search engine company, citing national security concerns, according to people familiar with the discussions. Representatives for the Alphabet Inc. unit asked the government in a meeting last week to take a less aggressive stance as the U.S. looks to end what a judge ruled to be an illegal online search monopoly, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the private deliberations. The Biden administration in November had called for Google to sell its Chrome web browser and make other changes to its business, including an end to billions of dollars in exclusivity payments to companies including Apple Inc. Although Google has previously pushed back on the Biden-era plan, the recent discussions may preview aspects of the company's approach to the case as it continues under the Trump administration. A federal judge is set to rule on how Google must change its practices following hearings scheduled for next month. Both sides are due to file their final proposals to the judge on Friday. "We routinely meet with regulators, including with the DOJ, to discuss this case," Peter Schottenfels, a Google spokesperson, said in a statement. "As we've publicly said, we're concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security." A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment. Google's argument isn't new, and it has previously raised these concerns in public in response to antitrust pressure from regulators and lawmakers. But the company is re-upping the issue in discussions with officials at the department under Trump because the case is in its second stage, known as the "remedy" phase, during which the court can impose sweeping changes on Google's business. After the Justice Department proposed its remedy in November, Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, said in a blog post that the department was pursuing a "radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America's global technology leadership." In a separate post in January, unrelated to the department's case, Walker highlighted the company's work with the government in using artificial intelligence to police cybersecurity threats. Illegal monopoly In a landmark ruling last August, a federal judge found the company illegally monopolized the search and search advertising markets. The Biden administration move to seek a breakup of the company is Washington's first since unsuccessful efforts to split up Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. During their meeting last week, company representatives argued that Google's critical importance to the U.S. economy and national security requires a softer touch, according to the people. They didn't raise specific threats from the DOJ proposed changes, the people said. In November, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington to force Google to sell its popular web browser Chrome and license data to rivals, outlaw payments to Apple Inc. and others for pre-installing its search engine on their devices and curtail investments in AI companies, among other requests. Google's national security arguments echo recent statements from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, urging European Union regulators to back off from their approach to U.S. tech giants. In a statement late last month, the White House called out two European Union laws, the Europe Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, saying, "America's economy will not be a source of revenue for countries that have failed to cultivate economic success of their own." And in 2022, Google and other major tech companies, including Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon and Apple, pushed back vociferously against an antitrust bill that would have required them to open up their networks to competitors, arguing in part that they would cause the U.S. tech sector to cede ground to China. AI investments Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Omeed Assefi will make the final decision on what the Justice Department will recommend later this week. Assefi is running the antitrust division until Trump's nominee Gail Slater is confirmed. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 20-2 last week to send Slater's nomination to the full chamber, but a vote hasn't yet been scheduled. The changes under consideration by the Justice Department include whether restrictions on Google's AI investments should be retroactive or forward-looking only, the people said. Under the current proposal, Google would have to unwind its investments in companies including Anthropic, Bloomberg previously reported. Anthropic recently weighed in "to address the threat to its business and contractual relationships with" Google it says are teed up by the Justice Department's proposal. Separately, in recent weeks, the two sides have been preparing for the April hearings, including a deposition late last week of Google CEO Sundar Pichai by government lawyers. Liz Reid, the company's head of search, is scheduled to be deposed this week. Employees from Microsoft Corp., OpenAI and Perplexity AI Inc. have also sat for depositions in the past several weeks, according to the people. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: 'Real-Time Monitoring Equipment for Hydrogen Fuel Quality' Developed by KRISS. Credit: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has developed equipment that monitors the quality of hydrogen fuel supplied to vehicles through hydrogen refueling stations in real-time. This equipment is expected to prevent hydrogen vehicle accidents caused by impurities in the hydrogen fuel and improve the quality of hydrogen production. The study is published in the Journal of Separation Science. Hydrogen fuel is more prone to contamination during production, transportation, and storage compared to conventional fuels. This is because hydrogen production is more complex than conventional fuel production, and the high-pressure processes involved in storage, transportation, and usage increase the likelihood of impurities being introduced. If contaminated hydrogen fuel is injected into a hydrogen vehicle, the risk of explosion and accidents significantly increases. Impurities in the fuel damage the catalyst in the fuel cell, causing overheating and a decline in performance. This can trigger unexpected chemical reactions, raising the risk of hydrogen explosions. Additionally, there is concern about secondary accidents due to a decrease in engine performance. In Korea, the quality of hydrogen fuel is monitored by inspection agencies that visit fuel production sites quarterly, collect fuel samples, and measure impurities using specialized equipment. However, this process presents significant challenges. Detecting impurities that occur outside the scheduled inspection periods is difficult, and identifying the root cause and nature of the issue proves to be even more complex, making it hard to provide effective, real-time assistance. Schematic of the 'Real-Time Monitoring Equipment for Hydrogen Fuel Quality' Developed by KRISS. Credit: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) Although expensive foreign equipment is used on-site for testing impurities in hydrogen production, these devices can only analyze one or two components at a time. Additionally, the maintenance of such equipment is problematic, complicating the process of conducting thorough and continuous quality inspections. As hydrogen infrastructureincluding refueling stations and production facilitiescontinues to expand, the demand for hydrogen fuel quality analysis has grown substantially. This surge in demand has highlighted the need for easy-to-use, domestically produced, real-time monitoring equipment that can ensure the quality of hydrogen fuel at all times. Recently, KRISS's Semiconductor and Display Metrology Group successfully developed equipment that monitors, in real-time, the components and concentrations of impurities in hydrogen fuel supplied to vehicles through refueling stations. Dr. Lee Jeongsoon, Principal Research Scientist at KRISS's Semiconductor and Display Metrology Group, who developed the real-time monitoring equipment for hydrogen fuel quality, explained, "The equipment displays both the measurement values and their uncertainty (the degree of doubt in the results). The analysis values and uncertainty, obtained using standard materials, are traceable to standards, ensuring the reliability of the results." KRISS Principal Research Scientist Lee Jeongsoon (left) and Postdoctoral Researcher Kim Sang Woo (right) are inspecting the monitoring equipment installed at the hydrogen bus refueling station in Chungju City. Credit: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) The equipment developed by the research team is capable of accurately measuring eight of the fourteen impurities that are regulated by ISO. If the concentration of any impurity in the hydrogen fuel exceeds the standard threshold, the management system sends a warning signal, allowing the operator to detect and take action before contaminated fuel is injected into the vehicle. By applying the newly developed equipment at hydrogen refueling stations, it will be possible to continuously monitor and maintain the quality of hydrogen fuel, which is expected to enhance the safety of hydrogen vehicles and reduce user concerns. Additionally, at hydrogen production facilities, the equipment will enable easy and accurate inspection of the quality of the hydrogen fuel being produced, which is expected to further improve the quality of domestically produced hydrogen. Dr. Lee Jeongsoon stated, "We are currently conducting a demonstration of the equipment at the hydrogen bus refueling station in Chungju City, and after the demonstration is completed, we plan to transfer the technology to domestic companies." More information: Dongkyum Kim et al, Development of an online hydrogen fuel quality analyzer with gas chromatographypulsed discharge helium ionization detector for applying hydrogen infrastructures, Journal of Separation Science (2024). DOI: 10.1002/jssc.202400088 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A layer-by-layer cycle of susceptor coating deposition and B schematic representation of the microwave heating setup used in this study. Credit: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s42114-024-00853-2 A research team at the University of Limerick in Ireland has developed a new method of producing carbon fiber while drastically reducing its energy footprint. Researchers at UL are leading a project that has developed a new method of producing carbon fiber, a high-cost lightweight material used in sectors such as aerospace, wind energy, construction, and transportation. The CARBOWAVE project uses an innovative plasma and microwave heating method to make carbon fiber, replacing the conventional heating processes and significantly reducing energy consumption by as much as 70% while maintaining the materials' performance. The reduction in the energy required to produce the material will make the process greener and less expensive. The ambitious new project, coordinated by UL's Professor Maurice N Collins and Dr. Anne Beaucamp McLoughlin, is set to transform the energy-intensive carbon fiber industry by deploying cutting-edge alternative heating technologies. The advancement, the first results of which were published in the Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials Journal, will help to address environmental challenges like energy consumption and emissions while also contributing to sustainable industrial growth. The advancements developed by the research team will enable a more efficient conversion of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a key component in carbon fiber production, which needs a vast amount of energy to be converted into carbon fibers and is a strategic material vital for Europe's future energy security. The CARBOWAVE team will use susceptor-induced microwave heating utilizing self-assembled nanostructures technology, initially developed by researchers at the University of Limerick and University of Valencia, to convert PAN into carbon fiber. This will allow it to be heated quicker, making the production process more efficient. Remarkably, during their research, the UL team discovered that carbon fiber can be produced in an inexpensive domestic microwave and exhibit mechanical performance equivalent to that produced using conventional heating. A SEM images of CFs produced via full-power MW carbonisation from PAN precursors, B, C mechanical properties of CFs and carbonisation temperature profiles of CFs coated D before and E after stabilization. Credit: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s42114-024-00853-2 Professor Maurice Collins, principal investigator on the project and Professor of Materials Science in UL's School of Engineering, explained, "Europe's reliance on energy-intensive processes has long been a barrier to achieving sustainability. CARBOWAVE addresses this challenge and is an exciting project which offers the potential to produce more sustainable and cheaper carbon fiber. "The long-term implications are enormous as it could allow the deployment of carbon fiber in all sorts of applications where high strength and stiffness are needed from construction, transportation, hydrogen storage to wind energy and beyond." Co-principal investigator Dr. Anne Beaucamp McLoughlin, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at UL, explained that the project "aims to revolutionize the carbon fiber industry by significantly reducing the energy consumption and the cost of the carbon conversion process without losing their mechanical properties. "This project will allow for carbon fiber production to be more energy efficient, faster and cheaper, and to significantly reduce their environmental footprint." Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs), derived from carbon fiber, are crucial in sectors like wind energy, construction, and transportation. The light weighting capabilities of CFRPs enhance wind turbine efficiency, support decarbonization in construction, and improve fuel efficiency in transport, particularly electric vehicles. However, current carbon fiber production is highly energy-intensive and relies heavily on electricity and natural gas. CARBOWAVE's solutions aim to reduce this energy use by over 70% while maintaining material performance. Europe's advanced carbon materials market, which dominates 37% of the global market, will directly benefit from this groundbreaking initiative. Professor Collins added, "This project promises to unlock the broader industrial use of carbon fiber by drastically reducing its production costs and environmental footprint. "CARBOWAVE represents a step toward decarbonizing Europe's energy-intensive industries. By integrating plasma and microwave heating technologies, the project not only addresses immediate challenges like energy consumption and emissions but also paves the way for sustainable industrial growth." The project unites leading research institutions and industry partners across Europe to drive this transformative change with the research team at UL partnering with the Deutsche Institute fur Textil- und Faserforschung in Germany, the University of Valencia, Spain, Fraunhofer IFAM in Germany, Microwave Technologies Consulting SAS in France, Muegge GmbH in Germany, Centro Ricerche Fiat in Italy, Juno Composite Ltd in Ireland, and Eirecomposites Ltd, also Ireland, form the CARBOWAVE consortium. More information: Micha A. Strozyk et al, Decreasing the environmental impact of carbon fibre production via microwave carbonisation enabled by self-assembled nanostructured coatings, Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s42114-024-00853-2 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Uranium chloride fuel salt. Credit: Idaho National Laboratory After five years of trying to find the right ingredients, scientists at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) believe they have created the perfect recipe to fuel the world's first critical fast-spectrum molten salt reactor. The Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) at INL will test a new type of nuclear reactor that uses a mixture of molten chloride salt and uranium as fuel and coolant. This experiment allows researchers and scientists to evaluate the safety and physics of a molten chloride fast reactor that Southern Company and TerraPower plan to build. This type of advanced reactor is an attractive option to provide electricity and heat for communities and industry. They operate at higher temperatures for improved efficiency, potentially reduced waste generation and inherent safety features due to the liquid fuel design. Making this special kind of salt requires a highly valuable ingredienturanium. The process involves converting uranium metal into a compound that dissolves in the molten salt, forming the fuel. "It's like baking a cake," said Bill Phillips, technical lead for MCRE. The key challenge was efficiencyconverting over 90% of metal uranium feedstock into usable fuel salt. "Nobody has ever made this amount of uranium chloride before," Phillips noted. "We had to develop the process from scratch." It began in 2020 when Phillips and his team began developing the process and equipment needed for salt synthesis at the Fuels and Applied Science Building at INL's Materials and Fuels Complex. It wasn't easy, said Nick Smith, MCRE project director. "We started out wasting too much of the uranium metal we have access to, and we would not be able to make enough fuel salt for the reactor to go critical," Smith said. "After years of experimentation and revision, we finally found the right process to reach the perfect yield. "It takes a special kind of perseverance to keep working on the problem when there is no guarantee that you will find a solution," Smith added. Overcoming challenges The team faced numerous technical challenges, including the need to develop a custom prototype furnace and specialized equipment to ensure safety. Bill Phillips, technical lead for MCRE. Credit: Idaho National Laboratory "We've been doing experiments with different food names to help communicate the processeslike angel cake or stone soup," Phillips said. "Even coffee-making approaches like a French press." Overcoming these hurdles was crucial. Phillips pointed out that highly enriched uranium is an extremely valuable and expensive resource. By using depleted uranium for experimentation, the team could test and refine its processes without wasting enriched material. "When I joined the project, we were having success at making about 2-3 ounces of fuel at once," said Jacob Yingling, research scientist and key figure in fuel salt technology development. "We were having serious difficulties at larger scale. Now we can make more than a dozen pounds of reactor fuel in a single batch." Other INL projects are in the works to build comprehensive molten salt reactor capabilities, including a molten salt characterization facility and fuel salt irradiation. In 2023, Phillips synthesized and irradiated enriched uranium-fueled molten chloride salt in the Molten Salt Research Temperature Controlled Irradiation experiment, advancing the understanding of how such fuel will perform in commercial reactors. The Molten Salt Flow Loop Test Bed, which recently became operational, allows for continuous, real-time monitoring and analysis that makes molten salt fuel research much more efficient and effective. As INL continues to pioneer nuclear technology, the development of uranium chloride fuel salt for MCRE marks a significant milestone that could feed the energy needs of the future. Now, the project is at a crucial stage. "We're almost at the moment where we can bake the cake," Phillips said. This means the team has all the ingredients and knows the precise conditions and methods needed. The next goal is to demonstrate the full-scale production of enriched fuel MCRE salt and to make five batches by October 2025. MCRE should be operational by 2028, running parallel to the development of the Laboratory for Operation and Testing in the United States (LOTUS) test bed, where MCRE will be the first reactor experiment. "We're motivated by what molten chloride reactors can do that other energy technologies can't," Yingling said. "Everyone involved in MCRE is mission driven to get this world-changing technology deployed." China tells U.S. not to use fentanyl issue to pressure, blackmail it Xinhua) 10:35, March 05, 2025 BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese spokesperson on Tuesday told the United States that the Chinese people have never been swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation, or cowed by bullying. Pressuring, coercion or threat is not the right way to engage with China, and exerting maximum pressure on China is a mistargeted and miscalculated approach, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said when commenting on the U.S. imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese imports citing the fentanyl issue as an excuse, despite China's repeated opposition. "It is legitimate and necessary for China to take countermeasures to defend its rights and interests," he said. The root cause of the fentanyl issue lies in the United States itself. "In the spirit of humanity and our friendship with the American people, we have taken strong steps to help the U.S. with its response to the fentanyl issue. This is obvious to all and people from various sectors in the U.S. have expressed thanks to China on multiple occasions," Lin said. "Instead of recognizing our effort, the U.S. has smeared and shifted blames onto China, and pressured and blackmailed China with tariff hikes. They are punishing us for helping them," he said. If the United States really wants to settle the fentanyl issue, it needs to stand by the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit and engage in consultation with China to address each other's concerns, Lin said. "If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and insists on waging a tariff war, trade war or whatever war, China will not flinch and is ready to make due response," he said. "We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Watch the speech: President Donald Trump will address both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, at 9 p.m. ET. You can watch through the video player above. WASHINGTON Donald Trump loves a good spectacle, and it's hard to top a speech to a joint session of Congress. The House chamber is packed with lawmakers, and the president's arrival is announced in a booming voice by the sergeant-at-arms, triggering cacophonous applause. Trump's speech on Tuesday evening isn't technically considered a State of the Union address that comes next year, after he's been on the job for longer but there's no distinguishable difference for anyone watching at home. Almost no detail is left to chance in these situations. Here's an idea of what to look and listen for: Where is Elon Musk? The most powerful people in American government are usually on the dais during an event like this. While the president addresses the nation, the House speaker and the vice president, who doubles as the ceremonial leader of the Senate, sit behind him. However, they've been largely overshadowed by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency and serving as a top adviser to Trump. There's no precedent for Musk's operation, which has burrowed into federal agencies, led to thousands of firings and counting, and rewired how Washington works. Special guests at presidential speeches often sit above the chamber in the gallery. Will Musk, the world's richest person, be there or somewhere else? What does Trump say about Ukraine? It's been only a few days since the most dramatic encounter in the Oval Office in recent memory. Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to solidify a partnership involving critical minerals, only for a deal to fall apart after Trump and Vice President JD Vance laced into Zelenskyy over a perceived lack of respect. Now the future of U.S. support for Ukraine, which has been fending off a Russian invasion for three years, is increasingly in doubt. "You either make a deal or we are out," Trump told Zelenskyy. Will Russia try to press its advantage on the battlefield? Does Zelenskyy patch things up with Trump? Will fragile U.S. relationships with European allies deteriorate further? There are no clear answers right now. But Tuesday's speech will be a high-profile opportunity for Trump, a Republican, to explain his vision for the war and his approach to foreign policy. How do lawmakers behave? Presidential speeches to Congress have become rowdier affairs. Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, famously shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama's address to Congress in 2009, and decorum hasn't improved much since then. President Joe Biden got into his own back-and-forth with Republicans, and Trump is known for deviating from his script with attempts to stir outrage among his opponents. How will Democrats respond? Sometimes their protests have been quiet, such as when women wore white, the color of the suffragette movement, to previous events. But at a time when Democratic voters have been eager for their representatives to be more aggressive, it's possible that they become more vocal. Reaction from Republicans is more predictable. Expect them to try to outdo one another with their embrace of the president. Does Trump spell out a legislative plan? Trump has demonstrated his desire to push the limits of presidential power during his second term in office, but there are some things that he still needs congressional help to accomplish. The president wants spending cuts, border security funding and tax cuts a politically sensitive combination at a time when Republicans have only slim majorities in the House and the Senate. The party will need almost complete unanimity to move forward. So far, Trump has followed his typical approach of playing one side off against the other, sometimes endorsing the House plan for one massive piece of legislation and sometimes supporting the Senate strategy of breaking the proposals into multiple bills. Don't expect a lot of details from the president that's not something that usually happens in speeches like this, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. But Trump could reveal more about his goals or prod lawmakers to work faster. Given the power that Trump has over the party, any remark could reshape the debate. Which version of Trump shows up? The president is in his element when he's delivering freewheeling remarks, bouncing from topic to topic in what he likes to call "the weave." But that's not usually how these kinds of speeches go. They're often carefully scripted, the kind of monologue that Trump might label "BORING" in a post on Truth Social if he were watching it on television. How long will Trump stick to the teleprompter this time? And how much does he veer off track? A hint could be Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention last summer, when he accepted the party's presidential nomination. He started off subdued, even somber, as he shared the story of his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. But the appeal for national unity eventually gave way to a flood of grievances more typical of Trump's stump speeches. Microsoft Shutting Down Skype Microsoft has announced that it will discontinue service for its Skype telecommunications and video calling services on May 5, 2025. The service, which was acquired 14 years ago for $8.5 billion, is being retired in favor of Microsoft Teams which the company said already includes most of Skype's features. "With Teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype, such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging, and file sharing," said Jeff Teper, president for Microsoft's Collaborative Apps and Platforms division, in a blog post. "Additionally, Teams offers enhanced features like hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities for free." Paid Skype features, including Skype Credit and phone call subscriptions, will no longer be available. Current subscribers can continue using their existing Skype Credit and subscriptions until the end of their next renewal period, the company confirmed. Users with remaining Skype Credit will still be able to use their balance until the service officially shuts down. Microsoft said those who have not made the jump from Skype to Teams can do so by logging into the newer service with their Skype credentials. Conversations and contacts will automatically transfer. Before Skype officially shuts down, Teams users will be able to communicate with those still on Skype, and vice versa. For those that do not wish to migrate to Teams, Microsoft is offering the ability to export their contact and chat data before the service is halted in early May. Skype for Business Online, which became redundant with the introduction of Microsoft Teams, shut down in 2021. Microsoft's previous two on-premises versions, Skype for Business Server 2016 and Skype for Business Server 2019, will lose support this October. They will be replaced by Skype for Business Server SE. However, Microsoft recommends that business users also make the jump to Teams. Gia xang dau trong nuoc hom nay (3/7) uoc du bao co the giam tu 6,8 - 7,5% so voi ky ieu hanh truoc o. Cu the, gia ban le xang E5 RON 92 co the giam 1.412 ong (6,9%) ve muc 19.118 ong/lit; xang RON 95-III co the giam 1.440 ong (6,8%) ve muc 19.670 ong/lit. Trong khi o, dau hoa co the giam 7,5% ve muc 17.631 ong/lit; dau mazut co the giam 7,2% ve muc 15.730 ong/kg; dau diesel co the giam 7,1% ve muc 17.977 ong/lit. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). Bilateral trade between Trinidad and Tobago and India reached a record TT$1.2 billion (US$368.96 million) in the last fiscal year, according to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She disclosed this as she announced that her Government aims to expand exports to tap into Indias market of 1.4 billion consumers, and will pursue a Partial Scope Trade Agreementthe first from a Caricom countrywhile laying the foundation for a new Bilateral Investment Treaty. This years Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) results have revealed a concerning learning gap among primary school students, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath has said. Speaking at a recognition ceremony for the top five performers in the 2025 SEA yesterday at the ministrys head office in Port of Spain, Dowlath said the data will be analysed for better performance moving forward. Investigators are trying to determine if a medical issue led to a crash Tuesday morning in Sahuarita in which an 89-year-old woman died. About 9:20 a.m., Marcia Jones was driving south on South Nogales Highway just south of East Sahuarita Road when she left the road and struck a tree, Sahuarita police said in a news release. Jones, the sole occupant, died at the crash scene. She was wearing a seatbelt and initial indications are that a medical issue might have caused the crash, the release said. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 520-351-4900 or 520-344-7000 during regular weekday business hours. Senior Vice President for Research Tomas Diaz de la Rubia told the Faculty Senate the UA has received nine stop-work orders and seven termination orders on federal grants. In turn, faculty senators blasted UA administrators for not providing more updates and concrete plans on how to navigate the many executive orders and funding cuts from the Trump administration. The vice president for research is not doing anything, as far as we can tell, Keith Maggert, a UA professor of molecular and cellular biology and a faculty senator, told Diaz de la Rubia in response to his report Monday to the senate on federal funding orders. Im sorry to be so blunt. The (UA) president has not announced anything to help research. Its down to the department, who is the least able to cover this, Maggert said. Diaz de la Rubia told faculty senators the seven terminations were mostly from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and that there was no going back on that. USAID canceled four foreign aid projects at the UA last week, which led to the loss of $8.5 million in unspent federal research funds. He said there is also a $3 million impact so far from the stop-work orders. We dont know whats going to happen, said Diaz de la Rubia, who appeared to be taken aback by the blunt questions. He said the administration is in constant communication with officials in Washington, D.C., and colleagues at the federal funding agencies, and repeated his advice that UA faculty and researchers keep in touch with their program managers because they are the ones with the most information. In response, Maggert said program officers werent returning emails or communicating with researchers so Diaz de la Rubias advice didnt get them anywhere. If I dont get bridge funding, I will have to shut my lab in about two or three months, Maggert said. I have graduate students that cant be paid. I have organisms that need to be fed. I havent heard anything about any of these ideas or bridges that youre talking about. So, it may be occurring in your office, but its not matriculating out to the people who (have) research programs, the students that rely on them, and the staff that helps support them, he continued. And so, what specifics can you give us other than broad statements that have yet to turn into action? How can the University of Arizona support the research infrastructure that it has created, that we have invested in, that our lives and careers depend on? Diaz de la Rubia said his office and the university administration were tracking every project and having meetings with a campus advisory group three times a week to listen to all issues and concerns. He said they are looking at bridge funding mechanisms and plans to help the UAs research infrastructure as it is affected. The Trump administration is attempting to slash funding from agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and USAID. NIH, one of the biggest contributors of federal funds to the UA, announced it was capping indirect or overhead costs for research grants at 15% across the board, which at the UA would reduce it from 53.5%. Diaz de la Rubia said Monday the UA is still operating on the 53.5% since there is no decision from a federal judge on the 15% cap. We continue operating, we tell everybody to put in your proposal. If the portal is open for your agency, we will send your proposal (and) we negotiate it, he said. So, you know, thats where were at. Its something new everyday, but were trying to be agile and dealing with data and provide as much information as we can on a daily basis. However, when asked by Maggert if administrators could give researchers a specific date for announcing a bridge funding mechanism, Diaz de la Rubia said no. He said they expect to have something to announce shortly, but couldnt say when. The Faculty Senate meeting took place two hours after UA President Suresh Garimella announced that UA will devote $20 million to research in space sciences, water and energy, biomedicine and health care, and mining as a one-time investment as part of its strategic imperatives initiative. Maggert told the Arizona Daily Star Tuesday that the only communications researchers receive from UA administration are passive posts to the website set up by Diaz de la Rubias office, which is hidden behind university ID access and isnt open to the public. His advice to me yesterday (contact my program officer, keep submitting grants) and his inability to answer when a bridge funding program would be available were shocking this is not business-as-usual, and his responses came across as naive. Or aggressively indifferent, said Maggert. Many, many, many labs rely on federal funds, and any disruption to that can be the end of us. Were supposed to be discovering things, treating and curing diseases, and training the next generation of scientists. That may seem trite or quaint, but I (and my colleagues) take it seriously, he wrote in an email. It does not seem that the university is helping, has no idea what to do, and does not care to support the faculty, staff, and students who are already here. Frankly, hearing (Diaz de la Rubias) non-responses on the heels of the presidents announcement of $20 million in new initiatives and not a word on the current crisis was demoralizing. UA spokesperson Mitch Zak said university officials recognize the significance of the changing federal research landscape and are working with faculty and researchers to navigate these changes. We will do our best to protect our research operation that is among the best in the country and to continue to partner with our state and federal governments on critical appropriations, which includes financial aid that many of our students rely upon, said Zak. He did not state specifics on how they would carry out these partnerships. Lucy Ziurys, a UA professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a faculty senator, said she wanted to encourage the bridge funding program as soon as possible, since other universities such as Yale were doing it. She said UA needs to put this in place so researchers dont have to fire graduate students midway through their PhD careers. The Yale School of Medicine announced at the end of February that it would provide bridge funding, which is basically temporary financial support provided to researchers facing gaps in funding. I think the frustration expressed by Keith is really real, and we need to get going on this, said Ziurys Monday. Its just impossible for the departments theyve already been squeezed dry of funds for them to do this. What I found a little strange was that they dont have the money, theyre not making any promises yet, but they have $20 million to give out to other grants, Ziurys told the Star Tuesday. If I had money, I would just first put it towards helping these researchers out for the bridge funding, as opposed to new initiatives. Faculty Senator Suzanne Eckert, a UA professor of anthropology and curator at the Arizona State Museum, said the UA has had budget crises before and the university has multiple plans going simultaneously during those fast-changing situations. Your office and the presidents office should be creating multiple simultaneous working models to kind of plan ahead for what the possible federal and state level changes are going to be, Eckert told Diaz de la Rubia. And what Im hearing is, you dont even have a single plan yet, she said. And we are not just panicking, we are on the verge of shutting down our ability to do research and to support graduate students, which is the main aspect of a top research university. ... I understand that this is all new administration, but you guys have got to get going and have these plans in place. Faculty members said they are concerned research support staff will also lose their jobs. Secretary of the Faculty Katie Zeiders said at Mondays meeting, Importantly, there needs to be some guidance on how they (researchers) handle sudden termination of awards or awards that are frozen. Its not only leaving PIs (principal investigators) and staff in really difficult positions, but actually college administrators as they try to navigate what to do financially and through HR. Maggert said he knows this is a confusing time and everyone is scared, but UA leaders should be interacting with researchers, assuring them, listening to them, analyzing their situations and explaining what they are doing to help, plan and anticipate what might be coming. The state legislator from Snowflake, a town five hours drive from Mexico, described confidently the way things go in the borderlands. Supporting his bill to let police officers shoot down drones within 30 miles of the border, Rep. David Marshall suggested theres no innocent explanation for flying drones near the Arizona-Mexico line. Since some might be carrying drugs, they all must be carrying drugs. If the drones are flying near the border, theyre not children out there doing this, Marshall said in a February press conference covered by Capitol Media Services. What are you out there looking for? Tortoises? he continued. Cactuses? No. Most likely its going to be drones with narcotics on it. It was just one small example of a phenomenon thats been going on for years and hit a peak Tuesday with Pres. Trumps new tariffs: Outsiders hurting the borderlands people because they see the region through the prism of crime. In the case of drones, its obvious that innocent residents would fly unmanned aerial vehicles within 30 miles of the border the same as people do anywhere in Arizona, including Snowflake. For example, Tucsonan Myles Traphagen, borderlands program coordinator for the Wildlands Network, flew his drone over much of the international line around 2021, mapping the border walls. I took the drone out there and flew it to every place I could, to get endpoints (of wall segments). You snap a picture, and a drone geotags it. I did that in California, New Mexico and Arizona, and put that all together for a ground-truthed border-wall map. It was a cool project. But outsiders like Marshall, most importantly including federal officials in Washington D.C., keep treating the border region like a place where crime and misconduct is the default setting and normal behavior is an aberration. The factor that makes a place like Nogales, Douglas or San Luis a viable community the border is also the thing that makes them a target for unequal and punitive treatment. Nogales exists because of the border crossing. A forward-thinking merchant named Jacob Isaacson founded a trading post there in 1880, anticipating the arrival of the railroad, which happened two years later. The downtown port of entry opened in 1903 and the U.S. and Mexican towns called Nogales grew around the border crossing. In Tucsons early decades as an American city, trade with Mexico was as common as the bright sun. Tucsonans traveled back and forth to ranches and mines in Mexico, and Mexican customers came north to shop at suppliers like the F. Ronstadt Co. downtown. But now, because fentanyl is smuggled across the border from Mexico, along with thousands of tons of legal merchandise, towns like Nogales must be punished. President Trump justified the 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico by citing fentanyl smuggling, but of course it wont just hurt Mexico. It will hobble the economies of places like Nogales by reducing the trade that the community is built on. These are communities where much of the populace is employed in cross-border commerce. There are the customs brokerages, the produce warehouses, the maquiladoras. There are even specialized businesses like Port Devanning Services, a logistics company that specializes in unloading trucks for U.S. Customs inspections. They employ 50 people. The Nogales U.S. Customs Broker Association has donated more than $2 million over the last 10 years to groups like the local Boys and Girls Club, the Santa Cruz County Rodeo and Fair Association and the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District. But 25 percent tariffs will have a tendency to suppress trade, as consumers choose not to buy more expensive products. Where we could see the most impact is in the produce industry, said Joshua Rubin, chairman of the Greater Nogales Port Authority. Its something that Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado, a veteran of the produce industry, is worried about. The less trucks we see, the less employees were going to have, he said. There's also a potential impact on local tax revenue. In addition to the sales taxes collected from Mexican shoppers, which could be endangered by higher prices in the United States, the city collects about $450,000 per year in overweight-vehicle fees for the trucks entering the city. Those, of course, are just local impacts. Nationally, well be paying more for all kinds of winter produce tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers. And thats just the food. Auto parts, medical devices and many other manufactured products also are imported through Nogales, even Ford cars from Hermosillo. The tariff impacts will be felt doubly in the border region, because it depends so much on trade and also must absorb price increases like the rest of the country. Its just another price paid for living in an area colored by criminality in the view of outsiders. Drugs produced much further south and consumed much further north pass by, and that means neither cross-border trade nor piloting drones can be considered innocent activity. Kevin Canfield Tulsa World Reporter Follow Kevin Canfield Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The fines for dog owners who fail to spay or neuter their pets or for those who abandon animals are going up. The increases are significant: The fine for failing to spay or neuter a dog is now $250, up from $75, with repeat offenders facing a fine of up to $500. The fine for abandoning an animal has gone up to $300 from $75. The problem is a big one. In making the announcement at City Hall on Tuesday, Mayor Monroe Nichols said 80% to 85% of the animals that come through the citys shelter have not been spayed or neutered. In 2024, the shelter took in 6,347 dogs, according to the city. I dont think just by increasing fees means that everything gets better, and the last thing that we want to do is create an additional hardship for folks who may be well-meaning but just have not had the opportunity to do what we know to be the responsible things, Nichols said. The mayor offered a carrot to go with the stick a voucher that those cited for failing to spay or neuter a dog can use to get those services for just $30. And thats just the half of it. Those who take advantage of the voucher program can use it to have their charges waived. Nichols said the fine increases and voucher program are intended to finally get a handle on the citys large population of unaltered dogs and the public safety and other problems that come with it. Make no mistake, in addition to meeting the needs around public safety and young people, this is also about the fair and humane treatment of animals, Nichols said. And so you will hear us talk a lot about the dangers of stray animals, but at the end of the day, this is about how we treat animals in this community. City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper has been a long-time advocate for strengthening the citys ordinances to address the problem. This crucial issue impacts our communities and presents a critical public safety concern, Hall-Harper said. I consistently hear from my constituents about their concerns with these dogs attacks from large dogs that have caused serious bodily injury, people living in fear of walking in their own neighborhood, children carrying big sticks to fend off aggressive dogs on the way to school, children not attending school because they are afraid of at-large dogs. The voucher program is being offered through a partnership among the citys Tulsa Animal Services Department, Tulsa SPCA, Oklahoma Alliance for Animals and Humane Society of Tulsa, and city officials indicated that they would welcome other partners. Sherri Carrier, director of Tulsa Animal Services, said her team didnt choose the work it does because it wanted to collect fines. They got into this because they legitimately care about Tulsas pets and their people, Carrier said. Fines have a legitimate source for enforcement in our community, and we have to be the ones to enforce those penalties. I want to put a message out here that, first of all, were very serious about spaying and neutering. This population problem has gone on too long, and this is just the start of us trying to do something thats going to make a difference. But if you need help, please reach out to Tulsa Animal Services or any of our partners, because they do have resources. Nichols and Carrier said the city will continue to work with the citys homeless residents to help ensure that their animals are spayed and neutered. Well find a way to help them, just like its been done all the time, Nichols said. I mean, this is not intended to be a gotcha deal. But there needs to be a real consequence for not treating animals in a humane way, and a consequence for abandoning those animals, and so thats what this is really about. For more information about spay and neuter services and the voucher program or to adopt a dog or cat, call Tulsa Animal Services at 918-596-8010. The Tulsa World is where your story lives Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World Reporter Follow Randy Krehbiel Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today U.S. Sen. James Lankford said Wednesday that he broadly supports the direction of the Trump administration but acknowledged that implementation of some initiatives has been less than ideal. In a teleconference with Oklahoma reporters less than 12 hours after President Donald Trump's 100-minute address to Congress, Lankford said his office is having trouble getting answers to such questions as why Oklahoma City's federal building was classified an "underutilized" property to be sold and why the lease for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Muskogee was slated for termination. "We followed up on that and asked, 'Where are the attorneys going to be?'" Lankford said, referring to the Muskogee situation. "Now they're saying they're not going to actually cancel (the lease)." He said Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is "throwing out" as many ideas as can be thought up "and saying, 'Unless somebody complains, we're going to keep moving.'" Lankford said he doesn't believe that 600 Defense Department civilians will be laid off from Tinker Air Force Base, as has been reported, or that the Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester could lose 1,000 civilian jobs, as has been speculated. Neither could function, Lankford said, if those layoffs were to happen. He said that while "last-hired, first-fired" may be standard in private industry the realm of Trump and his adviser Elon Musk it is often not the best way to reorganize a workforce. "I don't like the blanket approach," Lankford said. "You wind up firing people and then have to hire new people because it turns out you need someone in those positions." He cited the Clinton administration, which eliminated 400,000 federal positions "but in a strategic manner over eight years. Government reform is long overdue, but Tinker Air Force Base can't operate if it loses 600 civilian employees." He expects the process to smooth out as Trump's Cabinet secretaries move into their new jobs and take control of the reorganization away from Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that jobs have been lost, often without any real explanation, and that more seem likely to follow. "A probationary employee (one hired in the past year) can be fired by the federal government. But because something is allowed and it is legal does not necessarily make it right," Lankford said. He said he has heard Oklahomans who are all for the new administration's cutting and slashing, as well as people who are opposed. The former, Lankford said, tend to be people not yet personally affected, while the latter are. "There are four years of pent-up energy in this administration," he said, referring to the gap between Trump's first term, which ended in 2021, and the current one. Recapping Tuesday night's address by Trump, Lankford praised the president's approach to illegal immigration and tempered concerns about trade wars and foreign relations by saying Trump is "negotiating." The rest of Oklahoma's all-Republican congressional delegation were similarly enthusiastic after Trump's Tuesday night speech to Congress. President Trump laid out a bold, unapologetic vision to renew the American dream, 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern said in a written statement. From lowering costs for families, to restoring peace abroad, and slashing waste, fraud, and abuse the possibility of America is in our hands, and under his leadership, the next four years will be a golden era of prosperity, strength, and security. @POTUS commanded the podium for TWO hours," U.S Sen. Markwayne Mullin said on social media. "Hes restoring the American Dream with relentless determination. The Golden Age of America has only just begun. "The days of pushing leftist gender ideology are over with President Trump back in office!" 2nd District Congressman Josh Brecheen said on X. ""Every child is made in the image of God!" "President Trump is moving quickly to restore common sense through actions like removing biological men from womens sports, drilling our energy right here at home, increasing American shipbuilding, pushing to renew the Trump tax cuts, cracking down on evil terrorist organizations, and more, said 4th District Congressman Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "What a remarkable night," said 5th District Congresswoman Stephanie Bice, adding that Trump "really laid out his vision for the next four years." Video: Republicans cheer on Musk as Trump praises work of DOGE Video: Trump closes his joint address declaring 'the golden age of America has only just begun' ABCs Ombudsman Fiona Cameron has found no breach of editorial standards following 6 content complaints over Q+As episode featuring PM Anthony Albanese. The complainants raised concerns that the program failed to disclose an audience members alleged affiliations with a political party. Q+A audiences are open to everyone with only limited exceptions: paid political staffers, and people who pose a security threat or may want to disrupt Q+As civil discussion. Beyond these exceptions, Q+A aims to be inclusive and transparent and welcomes people interested and involved in politics and public discussion. Being a member of a political party for example is not a barrier to asking a question. In the episode a woman introduced herself as a Jewish mother of four boys and asked: when will it be safe for us to openly identify as Jews in Australia? The question appeared in a section of the program discussing social cohesion in Australia and was directly followed by an audience question about instances of Islamophobia. ABC Ombudsman Fiona Cameron found the question and the discussion that followed related to the audience members experience of being Jewish. In this context we do not consider it was required that she disclose her political preferences or any alleged unpaid work with a political organisation. In this instance the questioner self-identified as a Jewish mother and this was relevant and appropriate in the circumstances, allowing the audience to judge her perspective on its own merits, the ABC Ombudmsan report said. We note that later in the episode an audience member was asked to declare their political affiliations in the interest of transparency. In this case the audience member was running as a Senate candidate for the Victorian Socialist Left in the next federal election. As this was directly relevant to his criticism of the Labor Partys housing and rental policies, it was appropriate that this information be disclosed for audiences. ABC factual commissioners have emphasised the importance of access to subjects in true crime documentary pitches. Access is currency, Kalita Corrigan, Factual Commissioner, said at the Australian International Documentary Conference. Weve got a development slate of true crime which we cant announce yet, but access is what separates them apart. Its great if you want to tell a story, but if you dont have the person, somebody on screen, or a series of people on screen to tell that story, how are you going to convey that? There are some ways you can creatively solve that. But I just think access is absolutely everything, and exclusive access is everything really, in true crime. I think. ABC Commissioning Editor Stephen Oliver said the main one reason he might knock back a true crime pitch is because it lacks the real reason that it should be on the ABC. Like, why should we do this? What is the reason for opening this story up and telling it on a public broadcaster? We have the great privilege and responsibility of spending taxpayers money, that has to be spent wisely. Why would we tell this story? We dont just tell it for salacious reasons, he said. If you dont have access thats how you do cheaper, kind of cable, true crimes, because you just use whats available. But you dont actually have the inside story. Access actually means that youre getting to the heart of the story. Youre actually hearing from the people who are involved. So thats what ABC true crime is all about. Its embedded. Its deep. Its really getting to the heart of story. So it almost inevitably has to have some sense of really unique and special access. Neville Perry returns to the legendary German Gully with unfinished business, Alan and Salty set their sights on a record-breaking 1000 oz total. 7:30pm Thursday on Discovery. Discovering Film: Gene Hackman SBS SBS Gogglebox 10 10 Deli Boys Disney+ Disney+ Survivor 9 9 The Amazing Race 7plus Raqif Makhdoomi, TwoCircles.net Kunan Poshpora, a village in North Kashmirs Kupwara district, carries a story that continues to haunt its people even after 35 years. The victims still await justice. The case has travelled through every court High Court, Supreme Court and even the State Human Rights Commission but justice remains a distant dream. Support TwoCircles On the night of February 23, 1991, as the village drifted into sleep, around 300 soldiers from the 4 Rajputana Rifles cordoned off the twin villages under the pretext of conducting an anti-insurgency operation. Militant activity had surged in the region in the early 1990s, and the Army claimed they were responding to an attack. However, a local leader of the Hizb-e-Islami militant group, in an interview with The New York Times, denied these claims, stating that his commandos were armed only to defend themselves. The 4th Rajputana Rifles remained in the village until 9 am the next morning. A rational mind would ask why were they there for so long? What were they doing? And most importantly, who rapes in retaliation for being fired upon? A survivor recalls being raped by 8 to 9 men. Imagine one woman, raped 8 to 9 times. What must she have endured? Reading about this night feels like watching all hell break loose. Women still cry as they recount the horrors of that silent night. Since then, the darkness of that night refuses to turn into dawn. A newlywed bride, married just 20 days before, was among the survivors. She had stepped into a new chapter of life, unaware of the fate that awaited her. Investigations into the incident Justice Bahauddin Farooqi, former chief justice of the J&K High Court, stated that in his 43 years on the bench, he had never seen a case where investigative procedures were ignored as blatantly as in this one. The First Information Report (FIR), filed after a visit by the local magistrate, listed 23 rape victims. However, the Human Rights Watch assessed the number to be as high as 100. The Army denied the accusations, and the government dismissed the evidence as insufficient, labelling the charges as terrorist propaganda. This is the reality of Kashmir. Anything that happens here is dismissed as propaganda and buried under bureaucratic silence. But how many people can be lying? 10? 20? Even 50? Here, the number of victims is over 100. Yet, the governments investigations rejected their testimonies as baseless. However, international human rights organisations raised serious concerns about the integrity of these probes. The Human Rights Watch accused the government of launching a campaign to shield the perpetrators and discredit those seeking justice. Kunan Poshpora is not the only tragedy. Kashmir has witnessed countless massacres Gaw Kadal, Handwara, Zukura, Doda, Bijbehara. Each one still awaits justice. Each time, the perpetrators remain faceless, and the blame is conveniently shifted to terrorists. A few grainy photographs published in newspapers were enough to convince people of their guilt. No one dared to question the official narrative. Why? Because speaking out meant being silenced forever. The Press Council of India investigated the case in 1991 and concluded that the rape allegations could not be proven. Following this, the government declared the case unfit for prosecution and closed it within a month. However, the Human Rights Watch criticised the Press Councils findings, accusing it of protecting the government rather than uncovering the truth. The United States Department of State, in its 1992 human rights report, stated that there was credible evidence supporting the mass rape charges. In December 2017, the J&K government itself obtained a stay from the Supreme Court on the High Courts orders. Since then, the case files have been gathering dust. No government, past or present, can claim to have done justice to the victims of Kunan Poshpora. At the time of the incident, the central government was led by the Congress, and the state was under Governors rule. In 1996, the National Conference (NC) came to power but ignored the case just as effectively. In 2013, when the NC government returned, they even deleted a crucial part of the confidential report on Kunan Poshpora, which had called for a police investigation. This report had been prepared by the then Divisional Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah. Litigations in the case Like countless other cases in Kashmir, Kunan Poshporas legal battle has spanned multiple courts, with justice deliberately delayed at every turn. No government has taken it seriously. In 2004, one of the survivors approached the J&K State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to demand a reinvestigation. In 2007, more survivors followed. The villagers of Kunan and Poshpora formed the Kunan-Poshpora Coordination Committee (KCC), led by 70-year-old Ghulam Ahmad Dar, to fight for justice. In October 2011, the J&K Human Rights Commission recommended a reinvestigation and compensation for the victims. But, as expected, the government ignored it. In 2013, a writ petition was filed in the J&K High Court, alleging that over 30 women had been raped. The charges remained unproven, and the trial saw no progress. The High Court directed the government-appointed committee to implement the SHRCs recommendations swiftly, but nothing changed. In December 2017, the J&K government approached the Supreme Court against the High Courts orders. The apex court directed that the appeals be heard expeditiously. On February 23 this year, the horror of Kunan Poshpora marked 35 years. Even after over three decades, the survivors have no hope of justice. The officers allegedly involved were promoted, retired and are now living peaceful lives, while the survivors wake up each day to the haunting memories of that night. In an interview, an Army officer admitted that the incident had happened. But this is Kashmir who listens? Who cares? The survivors have nowhere to go. They have spent years narrating their horrific stories to journalists, human rights activists and anyone willing to listen. They have become nothing more than camera attractions. But they do not need cameras. They need justice. Kunan Poshpora always makes me wonder how can people be so cruel as to shield the accused in such a soul-shattering event, one that still awaits justice? (The views expressed are personal. The author is a student of law and Human Rights activist) National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), scheduled for March 2-8, is a collaborative initiative between the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This annual event is dedicated to educating consumers about their rights and providing essential information to help them recognize and avoid scams, fraud, and identity theft. Empowering Consumers Through Education In todays digital age, consumers face a myriad of challenges, from online scams to identity theft. NCPW aims to address these concerns by offering resources and events that inform the public about preventive measures. Throughout the week, the FTC will host a series of free webinars focusing on various topics, including scam prevention, identity theft protection, and fraud detection. These sessions are designed to equip consumers with the knowledge and tools necessary to safeguard themselves in an increasingly complex marketplace. Key Recommendations As part of NCPW, the BBB emphasizes several fundamental practices to enhance consumer protection: Exercise Caution with Unfamiliar Contacts: Avoid sending money to individuals you havent met in person, especially through wire transfers, prepaid debit cards, or gift cards. Such requests are often indicative of fraudulent schemes. Be Wary of Unsolicited Communications: Refrain from clicking on links or downloading attachments from unsolicited emails or text messages, as they may contain malware designed to compromise your personal information. Verify Authenticity Independently: Scammers can easily replicate logos and official graphics to create convincing emails and websites. Always verify the legitimacy of communications by contacting organizations directly using official contact information. Skepticism Towards Caller ID: Caller IDs can be manipulated to display false information. If you receive a suspicious call, especially one requesting personal information or immediate action, hang up and verify the callers identity through official channels. Ensure Secure Online Transactions: When shopping online, use reputable websites. Look for URLs that begin with https:// and display a lock icon in the address bar, indicating a secure connection. Research Businesses Thoroughly: Before engaging with unfamiliar companies, especially when making significant purchases or investments, consult resources like BBB.org to read reviews and assess their credibility. Protect Personal Information Vigilantly: Treat sensitive data, such as banking details, Social Security numbers, and insurance information, as confidential. Share them only when absolutely necessary and with trusted entities. Beware of High-Pressure Tactics: Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency to prompt hasty decisions. Take your time to evaluate offers, and dont hesitate to decline or seek further information if pressured. Obtain Written Documentation: For any agreements or offers, ensure all details are provided in writing. This practice allows for thorough review and serves as evidence should disputes arise. Limit Personal Information on Social Media: Oversharing on social platforms can provide scammers with data to craft personalized attacks. Adjust privacy settings and be mindful of the information you share publicly. Keep Travel Plans Confidential: Sharing vacation plans publicly can signal opportunistic thieves. Its advisable to discuss such details only with trusted individuals and share experiences after returning. Dispose of Sensitive Documents Properly: Shred documents containing personal information, such as bank statements, medical records, and bills, to prevent unauthorized access. Regularly Monitor Financial Accounts: Frequently review bank and credit card statements for unfamiliar transactions. Early detection of unauthorized activity can prevent further financial loss. Utilize Strong Passwords and Update Software: Employ complex passwords and change them periodically. Keeping software and antivirus programs up to date adds an additional layer of security against potential threats. Engagement Opportunities Consumers and businesses are encouraged to actively participate in NCPW. The FTCs webinars offer valuable insights into current scam trends and preventive strategies. Additionally, the FTCs business blog provides up-to-date guidance for business owners on maintaining ethical practices and protecting their enterprises from fraudulent activities. For those who have encountered scams or wish to report fraudulent activities, BBB Scam Tracker is a valuable tool. Reporting scams not only aids in tracking fraudulent schemes but also helps warn others within the community. National Consumer Protection Week serves as a vital reminder of the importance of consumer awareness and proactive protection measures. By leveraging the resources and guidance provided by the BBB and FTC, individuals can navigate the marketplace with increased confidence and security. Staying informed, exercising caution, and sharing knowledge are essential steps in fostering a safer consumer environment for all. Smith County joined a statewide program aimed at strengthening collaboration among law enforcement entities across Texas. If I send personnel, or if I receive personnel from an agency that is in the agreement, once they come to help us and cross into Smith County They can enforce every law we can without having us even there with them, Sheriff Larry Smith said. Its going to be a game changer. At its meeting March 4, the Smith County commissioners court approved Operation Lone Star, which eliminates jurisdictional barriers, allowing law enforcement to collaborate on cases involving drugs, human trafficking, illegal immigration and other crimes. So far, more than 50 sheriffs offices and police departments have joined the agreement. Smith has been asked to recruit regional agencies, explaining the programs purpose to generate interest among law enforcement. The program covers domestic crimes as well as international drug and human trafficking. If a crime occurs in Smith County and has an impact on neighboring counties, law enforcement agencies can collaborate to address it. The one with the most information would be the lead agency, Smith said. Operation Lone Star has been something Smith has shown support for in the past. In March 2024, Smith drafted a letter signed by numerous Texas sheriffs expressing support for Operation Lone Star. Smith and other members of the state sheriffs association hand-delivered the letter to the capitol. Jurisdictional challenges have long been an issue unless a task force is in place. Even now, the East Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) unit faces limitations working in areas like Texarkana, where they lack authority. If Texarkana were to join the program, it would grant participating agencies jurisdiction to operate there. They would have jurisdiction here as well, Smith said. If you had to stop at the city limits or the county line, youd never get anything done. Criminals are mobile. Smith County is a hub for law enforcement innovation, with Tyler home to one of two anti-gang centers in Northeast Texas. On Tuesday, the East Texas Anti-Gang Center gained approval to seek continued funding from the Governors Homeland Security Division. By bringing representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement together in a dedicated facility at the East Texas TAG Center, agencies can work more efficiently, reducing miscommunication and duplicate investigations. The TAG grant also provides access to advanced technology that individual partner agencies might not be able to afford on their own. A $588,521.16 grant funded by the Governors Public Safety Office/ Border Prosecution Division makes it possible for the Smith County Criminal District Attorneys Border Prosecution Unit to work with East Texas TAG to focus on border-related crime cases. The assistant criminal district attorney assigned to the Border Prosecution Unit will assist with legal advice, review affidavits relating to arrest warrants, search warrants, electronic surveillance, mobile tracking devices and stored communication in ongoing investigations. Nearly all of the funds will be used for personnel salaries, with $7,000 allocated for training and travel, and a small portion, $2,888.18, designated for supplies and operating expenses. Under the Trump administrations zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration, the Smith County Sheriffs Office entered into an agreement on Feb. 18, certifying deputies to perform immigration officer duties under ICE supervision as part of the 287(g) task force model. Several residents voiced concerns during the meetings public comment portion, describing the fear and anxiety the program has caused their families. Smith said the office would not conduct raids on churches, hospitals or schools, nor would it engage in racial profiling. An investigation happens only after a crime has been committed. The department cannot officially begin implementing the task force model until selected officers complete the required training. It would seem to me this is the kind of collaboration that should go on anyway, Commissioner Precinct 2 John Moore said. Grant funding also helps prevent vehicle-related crimes, including burglaries, thefts and other related criminal activity. The East Texas Auto Theft Task Force (ETATTF) secured hundreds of thousands of dollars through three grants from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority. This task force includes agencies from Texas Department of Public Safety, Smith, Henderson and Rusk counties, and the City of Tyler. Its coverage area spans 11 additional counties including Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Rains, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood. One grant, totaling $185,804, was allocated for travel, supplies and direct operating expenses and equipment. The majority of the funds were used for equipment, including a ready-made pickup truck, four laptops with docking stations and a mobile unit that combines a standard radar speed display with an advanced license plate recognition system. Another grant, totaling $665,702 with a cash match of $28,179, was used for professional and contract services, including investigators, two permanent personnel salaries and supplies such as fuel and fleet maintenance. A third, awarded for $32,000, with a cash match of $1,333, was spent on license plate recognition system subscriptions. While continuing to collaborate with law enforcement and secure funding for immigration and vehicle crime efforts, the commissioners also renewed funds for legal contracts with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Every seven years the county must renew its agreement with the DFPS to reimburse a portion of attorney contract fees for the 321st court and expenses for the local Child Protective Services division with the District Attorney. In other business: The commissioners court approved a resolution declaring Feb. 27 as Veteran-Friendly Community Day in Smith County. The court also received the 2024 Annual Audit for Emergency Services District No. 1. Utility line installation requests were received for various projects across the county: Brannon Corporation installed 15 and 10 sanitary sewer lines on County Roads 472 and 411 in Precinct 3; CenterPoint Energy performed a road bore for a service line on County Road 4232 in Precinct 4 and installed a service line on County Road 128 in Precinct 1; Jackson Water Supply Corporation installed a service line on County Road 26 in Precinct 3; Oncor Electric upgraded utility lines with pole replacements on County Road 4115 in Precinct 3; and Texas Land Company installed a service line on County Road 383 in Precinct 3. The court also received a report on the Smith County Jails operations, inmate population, employee overtime and vacancies. As brass horns blared and bass drums boomed, a lively crowd danced down Houston Street, bringing the spirit of New Orleans to Tyler on Fat Tuesday with a vibrant Second Line Parade. I love a good Second Line Parade, paradegoer Evans Smith said. I think it was an awesome turnout. The fourth annual parade was a lively celebration of culture and community. Stanleys Famous Pit Barbecue has hosted the event for years, but in recent years, local nonprofit PATH has joined in with its Mardi Gras fundraiser. This is really the culmination of a months worth of fundraising that PATH has been doing with eight community members who make up our Mardi Gras court, said Andrea Wilson-Lobaugh, executive director of PATH (People Attempting To Help). We have four men and four women who have been raising money on behalf of PATH, and whoever raises the most is crowned king or queen of Mardi Gras. The 2025 Mardi Gras Court members are Dustin Becker, Henry Bell, Elena Gomez, Daniela Jackson, Casey Muze, Candace Polk, Nicole Robbins, and Alan Wharton. The fundraiser was a peer-to-peer effort, allowing participants to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues for contributions. These efforts culminated in Becker being named King and Jackson being crowned Queen of the Mardi Gras fundraiser. They reach out to their circle for a good cause, Wilson-Lobaugh said. Someone was crowned winner, but at the end of the day, PATH wins, and the families we serve here in East Texas win because were able to help them. PATH is a Tyler-based nonprofit dedicated to restoring hope and providing resources to individuals and families facing hardship. Through various programs, including transitional housing, PATH empowers the community by offering housing assistance, food support, and other essential services to those in need. We want to shorten the line of need at our front door, Wilson-Lobaugh said. The event, according to Wilson-Lobaugh, was born from a collaboration between PATHs development director and local community members. Stanleys Famous Pit Barbecue then reached out, offering to sponsor the event, provide support, and help fundraise for the organization. PATH is such a great organization, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to get people involved and have fun while fundraising, said Nick Pencis, co-owner of Stanleys Famous Pit Barbecue. We had a great turnout last year and raised $40,000. Its very fun. The parade, which started at PATHs headquarters on Front Street and made its way to Stanleys at 525 S. Beckham Avenue, continued the festive tradition of Mardi Gras with music, movement and celebration. Members of the Texas College marching band kept the rhythm, and their lively tunes drew smiles and cheers from the crowd along the route. It was really cool to be at the intersection of Broadway and Houston where the traffic stopped and everybody was dancing and just having a great time, Smith said. A Second Line Parade is a traditional New Orleans procession featuring a brass band and dancing participants. The first line consists of the main group, often a social club or the family of the honoree, while the second line is made up of followers who join in, waving handkerchiefs or twirling parasols as they dance through the streets. The second line was led by the Tidal Wave Brass Band, who traveled from from New Orleans, Louisiana. Trumpeter and New Orleans native John Perkins Jr leads the band, featuring Caleb Shake Windsay (Rebirth Brass Band) on Trombone, Morale Hoskins (Tidal Wave Brass Band) on Sousaphone, and Glen Finister Andrews (Preservation Hall Jazz Band) on drums. The Mississippi Bastard Project (also known as The Revelers Hall Band from Dallas) and other special guests, including Texas College band students, played in the parade. The parade ended at Stanleys, where the party continued through the evening. According to Wilson-Lobaugh, over $63,000 was raised well over the $50,000 goal. It is so fantastic, she said. We are very excited and grateful. Smith shared his admiration for PATHs impact on the community. I hope it continues to grow, he said. Tyler should continue supporting PATH and other organizations that bring hope and encouragement to our community. Stanleys, a Tyler staple since 1958, is not only known for its barbecue but also for its philanthropic efforts in supporting local nonprofits and initiatives. Pencis believes everyone can contribute to making a difference. My wife Jen always says, When youre empowered, you extend your responsibility to empower. So thats all were trying to dojust pass it along, he said. The restaurant has a roundup program, where customers can round up the total of their bill to donate a small amount to whichever nonprofit is the beneficiary of the program that month. While individual contributions may seem small, they add up over time. For the month of March, PATH is the recipient of these donations. You dont have to be a wealthy philanthropist to lift this community up, Pencis said. You can just round up that 43 cents, and it really does work. So, to everyone whos participating, thank you youre making this happen. Last year, the roundup program raised over $25,000, which was reinvested back into the community by benefiting local nonprofits. For more information on how to support PATH, visit www.pathhelps.org. For more information on Stanleys, visit www.stanelysfamous.com. HAWKINS A Hawkins City Council member said she expects three former city police officers to sue the city for wrongful termination, though the towns mayor said the officers werent city employees to begin with. Hawkins Place 2 Alderwoman Eleta Taylor said Tuesday that she believes now-former officers David Morris and Vernon Polk and former detective Dale Lundberg will sue the city for wrongful termination because Mayor Deb Rushing on Monday blocked a vote to appeal their terminations, which effectively occurred Feb. 18. What its going to cause is lawsuits that are going to cost the city a tremendous amount of money, Taylor told the News-Journal. But Rushing, who has criticized the citys police department, has stated repeatedly that the officers were hired improperly in 2024, so they werent technically city employees and therefore couldnt be technically terminated. The situation is the latest development in months of controversy surrounding the police department. Since the three officers were let go, the city has had only one police officer on duty, Lt. Eric Tuma. The department has been without a chief since January when former Chief Paul Holland resigned. The Wood County Sheriffs Office is assisting Tuma. Mondays meeting came a little more than a month after Rushing tried and failed to disband the police department, claiming officers were unprofessional and had become involved in city politics. I didnt break the law During a special council meeting Monday at the Hawkins Community Center, council members Taylor, Clara Kay and Eric Maloy entered into an executive session to discuss termination appeals from Morris, Lundberg and Polk. Rushing and Place 1 Alderman Greg Branson did not enter into the executive session Monday. Rushing claimed the session was illegal but didnt provide a basis in law for the claim. Rushing has said the officers were not hired in 2024 according to city ordinance. When Holland was hired as chief in June 2024, Rushing gave him authority to hire officers on his own. However, city ordinance requires that the mayor and police chief interview officers and bring them before the council, which must vote whether to hire them. Rushing said Monday that she knowingly sidestepped the councils authority by allowing Holland to hire officers without council approval, a revelation that audience members and council members werent happy with. That doesnt sound good at all. Thats telling me that you knew that you broke the law, Maloy said. Rushing replied: I didnt break the law. Other council members and attorneys for the officers have said the officers were hired legally. The hirings of the officers were discussed in monthly departmental reports to the City Council, which members approved. Rushing swore the officers into office, though that doesnt mean they were hired according to ordinance, she said. Officers and their attorneys were present during Mondays meeting. Attorney Kenneth Biggs said he believes the officers were hired properly. The only thing unlawful done by you is firing them or allegedly firing them, Biggs said to Rushing. Rushing replied: I didnt fire them because I didnt hire them. The backstory The claim that the officers werent hired properly has significant legal implications. If true, it means actions the officers took including arrests made and citations issued could be rendered void under law, Rushing and Municipal Judge Mitch Henderson said during the Feb. 18 meeting. The city could face lawsuits from people who were cited or arrested. The Hawkins Police Department has been the subject of controversy for months. In November, Morris and Hawkins resident Todd Eddington got into a scuffle during a council meeting. City utilities director Mike Maberry was arrested in January for his role in the altercation, the same day Holland resigned as chief. Eddington was later arrested on two counts of obstruction or retaliation for posting city officials phone numbers on his Facebook page. Rushings relationship with Holland soured after he refused to take part in her attempt to have Branson arrested. Police were investigating whether Branson co-wrote or co-signed improper checks from the Hawkins Community Development Corp. to the Hawkins Chamber of Commerce. Branson serves as president of both organizations. Rushing said she was willing to sign a warrant for Bransons arrest based on an affidavit of probable cause written by Eddington, a friend of the mayor. Rushing told Holland that he would serve the warrant if she signed it, but Holland refused, citing concerns about her depth of involvement in the case and saying she was trying to supersede the authority of law enforcement. Rushing tried to disband the police department in January citing its lack of a chief. She said the department had become unprofessional and involved in city politics. The council heard from numerous residents who spoke in favor of or against the department, and Rushing ultimately was the only council member who voted to disband the agency. Rushing blocks appeals Rushing on Monday blocked the councils vote to grant the officers termination appeals, which would have allowed them to return to work. Rushing said the motion to grant their appeals was out of order because it was illegal. After more than an hour of discussion, the meeting ended, and no action was taken. The officers and their attorneys left the meeting and, for the most part, declined to comment on the matter. But Lundberg told the News-Journal that the officers want to return to their jobs to complete work on some criminal cases. Biggs did not return calls requesting comment Monday. Rushing said she wanted to fix the situation by rehiring the officers in accordance with city ordinance. That would require the officers jobs to be posted for hiring, and Rushing and the police chief would interview the officers and bring them before the council for approval. That process could take at least a month to complete. But theres a snag: The city is still without a police chief, and Rushing insists that Tuma who has served as interim chief previously isnt qualified to do fill the position, a notion Tuma contests. However, the city has two applicants for the chiefs position, City Secretary Mandy Thomas said Monday. Taylor said she was upset with the outcome of Mondays meeting. I do not feel that justice was served, Taylor said Tuesday. I feel that the officers and the detective were let down, even though they also had tremendous support from our community. The businesses, the citizens do not want Hawkins to be without a police force. The community is rallying to support the family of a 21-year-old Tyler man who was killed in a crash Saturday in Tyler. A fatal crash occurred around 5 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Broadway Avenue, just north of Cumberland Road. According to the Tyler Police Department, an SUV was waiting to turn left into a shopping center when it turned in front of two southbound motorcycles, causing a collision. The crash resulted in the death of Dakota Hunter, 21, who was driving his motorcycle. The second motorcyclist and the SUV driver involved in the crash were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The crash remains under investigation. In memory of Hunter, a light ceremony is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the crash site. A cross will be placed at the location, and attendees are encouraged to bring candles and flowers. The victims sister is organizing the event via Facebook. For details, visit: tinyurl.com/lightceremony. Additionally, Mills Automotive is hosting a car and motorcycle show in remembrance of the motorcyclists involved. The event will take place at Bergfeld Park on March 29 at 9:30 a.m., serving as both a tribute to the victim and a fundraiser to support their family. For more information, visit: tinyurl.com/remembrance-cycleshow. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to assist with funeral and memorial costs. As of Tuesday afternoon, over $2,800 had been raised of the $25,000 goal. The fundraiser states Hunter leaves behind his two children, a wife, younger siblings, mother and close friends. Money raised through the online fundraiser will go toward funeral costs, memorial, help with Hunters children, and any other expense related to Hunter and his family. The family asks for prayers during this difficult time. To donate, visit: tinyurl.com/gofundme-funeralcosts. Safety tips recommended by TxDOT Below are safety precautions, from Texas Department of Transportation, motorists should keep in mind to help prevent motorcycle crashes: Stay alert. Give driving your full attention. Even a momentary distraction, such as answering a phone call or changing the radio station, can have deadly consequences. Pay special attention at intersections. One-third of all motorcycle fatalities happen at roadway intersections. Take extra care when making a left turn. Always assume motorcycles are closer than they appear and avoid turning in front of an oncoming motorcycle. Look twice when changing lanes. Check mirrors, check blind spots, and always use turn signals. Give motorcyclists room when passing them. Move to the passing lane, and dont crowd the motorcyclists full lane. Stay back. If youre behind a motorcycle, always maintain a safe following distance. When a motorcyclist downshifts, it can catch drivers off guard since there are no brake lights to signal reduced speed. Slow down. Obey posted speed limits and drive according to conditions. From Staff Reports Thousands were without power in Smith County after a severe thunderstorm passed through the area Tuesday morning. Although sunshine returned after the morning storm, thousands more homes lost power due to heavy winds that continued through the afternoon. At Bullard ISD, students were released early due to persistent power outages. Arp ISD reported it was without power Tuesday morning; it later returned and school continued as normal. Trees were reported blocking roadways throughout the county. Crews were also working to secure power lines, including a live wire that was across Rice Road on Tuesday morning. The Smith County Road and Bridge Department reported a partial washout of County Road 165, also known as Henry Moore Road, southwest of Tyler. Smith County Emergency Management Coordinator Brandon Moore reported that a couple of mobile homes in The Grove at Brook Hollow, located off Rhones Quarter Road, had trees that fell through them. To report downed trees or wash outs of county roads, call Smith County dispatch at 903-566-6600. Smith County residents who suffered property damage due to Tuesday mornings storms are being asked to report them the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the county said in a statement. To report property damages caused by the storm, visit: https://damage.tdem.texas.gov/ From Staff, Wire Reports Texting scams are targeting toll customers in Texas saying theyre from TxTag, and the Texas Department of Transportation is warning residents to be on the lookout. There have been multiple reports of TxTag customers, including East Texas residents, receiving text messages claiming to have a balance due or past due. These SMS text phishing scams, also known as smishing, have been occurring since April but appear to have increased recently, according to TxDOT. TxDOT representatives said they are working to have fraudulent websites taken down in hopes of preventing customers from becoming victims. People who receive these fraud messages should never click on or open any links. TxTag takes customer account security and verification very seriously. While TxTag currently communicates with customers via email, text and outbound phone calls, it will not send text messages regarding final payment reminders or past due balances. Any text messages sent to TxTag customers will be sent from 22498. Emails and texts are sent to the email address and/or the phone number that customers provide in their account. Customers are required to opt into email and/or text notifications in order to receive emails and/or texts from TxTag. If customers are unsure if they are opted into email and/or text notifications, they can log into their TxTag online account or contact TxTag customer service to confirm. TxTag requires all customers to confirm their account information and verify their identity before providing any information to ensure they are speaking with the correct person on the account. If a customer receives a phone call, email or text message they believe may be a scam, they should contact TxTag customer service directly at TxTag.org or by calling 1-888-468-9824. Anyone who believes they have received a fraudulent text can file a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov. Additionally, anyone who receives an unsolicited text, email or message pretending to be from TxTag or another toll agency should contact TxTag Customer Service directly at TxTag.org or by calling 1-888-468-9824. Similar scam texts are being received across the country, including some from the IRS about a $1,400 Economic Impact Payment for you. In these instances, recipients are urged to click Report Junk or delete the text message. The common thread in these scams is that they often demand immediate payment, according to a smishing warning from SunPass, a legitimate toll service based in Florida. By forcing you to act quickly, you are less likely to question the request. Dont be rushed. The texters dont want to you to send them your money. They want you to send them the tools to take your money your personal information. Please provide your accurate, personal information, the fake IRS text requests. We will deposit the amount into your bank account or mail a paper check within one to two business days. An official-looking link ends with .gov, which previous federal agency fraud warnings told users to look for at the end of a federal agency web address. But the fake text links .gov comes in the middle of the address. It means nothing other than designating this link as hook-and-bait for a fraud victim. Common signs of smishing High winds clouded East Texas skies Tuesday with West Texas dust, and it could remain that way for a day or two. Strong winds have pushed a cold front through East Texas and into the Great Plains, stirring up dust and carrying it eastward. A wind gust of 70 mph was recorded Tuesday in Abilene, and a 45-mph gust was recorded in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, said Chris Nutall a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport. Tuesdays weather ended differently than it began: High winds knocked down trees and damaged buildings in some parts of East Texas, and some streets were covered with high water Tuesday morning. East Texas will remain windy through Wednesday, with speeds ranging between 15 and 20 mph and gusts as high as 35 mph. Its gonna be pretty windy for a while, Nutall said. While West Texas dust occasionally blows into the Dallas area, its less common for it to travel as far east as the Piney Woods, he said. Some people with respiratory issues are highly sensitive to dust in the air. For those who arent, it could create some unique sunset viewing opportunities, Nutall said. East Texas will have cooler temperatures during the middle of the week, but conditions should return to normal by the end of the week, Nutall said. Demand on the Texas power grid is expected to expand so immensely that it would take the equivalent of adding 30 nuclear plants worth of electricity by 2030 to meet the needs. Thats according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the grid. The forecast is based on the addition of new data centers needed to power artificial intelligence. And its raising concerns about whether infrastructure in the state will be able to expand fast enough and at what cost. Coming out of the pandemic, electricity demand on the Texas grid was already growing faster than anywhere else in the country. Now thats being supercharged by AI, with the state vying to become the data-center hub of the country, if not the world. Individual projects are already starting to request 1 gigawatt of power and they pose new risks to maintaining a stable grid, said Agee Springer, Ercots senior manager of grid interconnections. A gigawatt is typically enough to power 250,000 homes in Texas. The data centers present a reliability risk to the Ercot system, said Springer, who spoke on a panel at Infocasts ERCOT Market Summit in Austin this week. Weve never existed in a place where large industrial loads can really impact the reliability of the grid, and now we are stepping into that world. Risk of grid stress Ercot said its gotten requests equal to 99 gigawatts for new connections to the grid from big power users, including data centers, bitcoin miners and hydrogen producers, according to an internal grid presentation Thursday. Thats up from 40.8 gigawatts last March. The state grid is projecting that peak power demand will jump by 75% by 2030 from the current record of 85.5 gigawatts. The outlook was recently revised up sharply to factor in data centers on top of strong demand from the electrification of the economy. Ercot, lawmakers and regulators are trying to figure out how to bring online data centers without adding stress to the grid, which in extreme conditions increases the chance of blackouts, or if they can be throttled back when needed. There cant be anymore demand than there is supply, said Beth Garza, a senior fellow at think tank R Street Institute. Infrastructure needs Theres a big question as to whether infrastructure can be built fast enough because of supply chain issues, resulting in long wait times for things like big turbines to produce electricity and other key equipment such as transformers. Another critical issues is who is going to pay for all of this build out. Data centers make money until power prices reach about $2,000 a megawatt-hour, but the price cap from Ercot is $5,000, Resmi Surendran, vice president of regulatory policy at Shell Energy north America, said on a panel at the summit in Austin. Its unclear whether data centers are willing to be flexible, but she noted that such ability to ramp and down in response to price signals known as demand response could help solve significant problems. Flexibility from data centers and other big electricity consumers, though, creates another issue: shifting costs for transmission projects to households and smaller businesses. This is because of a program launched about two decades ago that allows the states chemical plants, refineries and even Bitcoin miners to reduce or eliminate millions of dollars of contributions for grid upgrades by throttling back their power usage during the highest demand periods of the summer months. Known as four coincident peaks, or 4CP, it was seen as a way to reduce stress on the grid during the hottest times of the year, when electricity is needed to run air conditioners. But this methodology for socializing costs is just not right as reliability risks have shifted, Texas Senator Charles Schwertner said in an interview at the event. A current Texas Senate bill is proposing to reform this. We need to make sure the methodology respects all rate payers, Schwertner said. DALLAS The measles outbreak that began in West Texas has now grown to 159 confirmed cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced on Tuesday afternoon. The case count, up from 146 cases on Friday, is still spread across nine counties in West Texas and the Panhandle, with no new counties impacted as of Tuesday. Since late January, 22 people have been hospitalized and one child, who was unvaccinated, has died, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas confirmed case count does not include nine cases reported by New Mexico health authorities. State officials there have said they believe those nine cases are connected to the Texas outbreak, which continues to grow even as New Mexicos count holds steady. The outbreak began in a Mennonite community in Gaines County, near the New Mexico border. The cases spread through a community with relatively low vaccination rates. Only a handful of the Texas cases have been in people who are confirmed to have had at least one dose of the measles vaccine, according to the Texas public health department. So far, the outbreak has not spread out of West Texas and the Panhandle, although an infected person did travel to San Antonio and San Marcos over Valentines Day weekend, potentially exposing people in both places. The outbreak also has not spread to Dallas-Fort Worth, according to the states most recent numbers. Last week, health authorities did identify a measles case in Rockwall County, just outside Dallas. However, health officials said they believe that case is not connected to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Two cases reported in Harris County and a single case reported in Travis County are also not connected to the West Texas outbreak, according to the state public health department. Health experts have repeatedly said that vaccination is the best way to protect against measles. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, and it spreads easily among unvaccinated people. The virus can live in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left, meaning that people can catch the virus without ever being in the same room as an infected person. But the two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is highly effective and provides 97% protection against the virus. The vaccine is recommended for most people, with the exception of pregnant women or the severely immunocompromised. The vaccine is typically given in childhood, with the first dose around 12 months of age, although a single dose can be given to babies as young as six months old in cases of international travel or ongoing outbreaks. As Texas outbreak continues, some local health agencies are hosting vaccine clinics. People can also talk to their doctor or their pharmacy to ask about vaccination. Europeans now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) permit to visit the UK heres what to know The vast majority of overseas visitors to the United Kingdom must now obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance. The Home Office says it is creating a more streamlined, digital immigration system which will be quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through the UK border each year". The government says: Everyone wishing to travel to the UK except British and Irish citizens will need permission to travel in advance of coming here. This can be either through an Electronic Travel Authorisation or an eVisa. Most leisure and business travellers to the UK do not need a visa. But starting from 2 April 2025, almost all these overseas visitors, are now required to have an ETA. (Non-Europeans already needed the permit, but a large majority of visitors to the UK are from the EU.) ADVERTISEMENT The exceptions are Irish citizens, and people who have permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status or right of abode). Ministers say rolling out the scheme worldwide will prevent abuse of our immigration system. But under pressure from London Heathrow airport, they have dropped the bizarre requirement for passengers merely in airside transit for a couple of hours to obtain an ETA. These are the key questions and answers. What is the ETA? The United Kingdom, in common with many other countries, is demanding more information in advance from prospective visitors before they board planes, ships or trains to Britain or drive across the border from Ireland to Northern Ireland. The starting point of the journey to the UK is not relevant it is the travellers nationality that counts. ADVERTISEMENT At present a relatively small number of arrivals do not qualify for visa-free status. They must go through the complex and expensive business of applying for an eVisa. Until the Electronic Travel Authorisation was launched, everyone else just turned up. But now they almost every foreign visitor must obtain the ETA, with the exception of Irish citizens. As with the US Esta scheme, and similar systems used by Canada and Australia, applications must be made online in one of two ways: Via the app: search for UK eta on the Apple app store or Google Play. Through the official website. Applicants must supply a photograph and answer a set of questions on suitability and criminality. The government says: This will ensure we have information on those seeking to come to the UK helping to prevent dangerous individuals, such as criminals, entering the UK. ADVERTISEMENT The ETA is linked to the travellers passport. The cost is 16 payable by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The permit is valid for repeated stays of up to six months at a time within two years or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. How long does an ETA take to issue? The Home Office says: You will usually get a decision within three working days. Most people get a much quicker decision. Occasionally, it may take longer than three working days. In practice, as with Australian and Canadian permits, most decisions will be made and the permit issued within minutes. Helpfully, you need not have been issued with the pass as you start a journey to the UK. The Home Office says: You must apply for an ETA before you travel to the UK. You can travel to the UK while waiting for a decision. ADVERTISEMENT This loophole could be extremely helpful to passengers who do not realise they need an ETA when they turn up at an airport, seaport or international rail terminal to travel to the UK. They can make an application on the spot and meet the condition for continuing their journey. What if the answer is no? That all depends why the answer is no. If a persons ETA application is rejected because of an error they made, they will be told the reason and can apply again. If a persons ETA application is refused because they are regarded as unsuitable, they cannot appeal. The Home Office says: You may want to apply for a standard visitor visa instead if you have a criminal record or you were previously refused entry into the UK. Who checks the traveller has the ETA? For the majority of travellers, airlines and ferry companies are expected to verify the ETA status before the passenger boards a flight or ship to the UK. They are penalised if they fail to check. The government says: Where an inadequately documented arrival (IDA) is brought to the UK, the carrier may be liable for a fine of up to 2,000. Ferries from France to Dover, Eurostar trains to London, and Eurotunnel shuttles to Folkestone have juxtaposed controls and UK Border Force staff will check the permit while the traveller is in Continental Europe. The glaring gap in the UK Border is Northern Ireland. A tourist to the Republic of Ireland who inadvertently or deliberately strays into Northern Ireland is legally obliged to have an ETA, but there is no indication how their status will be checked. Does the ETA guarantee entry to the UK? No. The Home Office says: An ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK. You still need to either: see a Border Force officer. use an ePassport gate. All clear? UK eGate (Simon Calder) How does the cost compare with other countries? The 16 fee is mid-range, and the same as a US Esta. In ascending order of cost: Australia issues free eVisitor permits. Canadas eta costs C$7 (4) and is valid for up to five years. Europes much-delayed Etias scheme is set to cost 7 (6) for up to three years. The US Esta costs $21 (16) for up to two years New Zealands NZeTA is NZ$17 (8) for up to two years. But it requires a further payment of NZ$100 (44) as the International Visitor Levy, and is NZ$6 more if you apply on the website rather than the app. Commercial sites that pay search engines to appear ahead of the official site have already appeared. They include one called eta-uk.site, which appears to be based in Florida, and charges up to $99.99 (78) on top of the fee. Do transit passengers need an ETA? Not if they are remaining airside, ie not going through the UK Border and remaining in the transit area at London Heathrow or Manchester airport. But anyone going through passport control for example, landing at Gatwick and later flying out from Luton will need one. Whats different about Irish citizens? Besides being well behaved, polite and good looking, they are are allowed free movement to the UK under the long-standing Common Travel Agreement. China's 'two sessions': Bridging public voice and policy action 10:35, March 05, 2025 By Xu Jun ( People's Daily As China's top legislature and top political advisory body convene this week for their annual sessions, the global spotlight shifts to Beijing. The "two sessions" the annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) commenced on March 5 and March 4, this year, respectively, providing a crucial insight into the nation's policy directions. These gatherings serve as pivotal indicators of China's political and economic course. This year's "two sessions" have brought together nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and over 2,000 CPPCC National Committee members to deliberate on state affairs, exemplifying the country's commitment to whole-process people's democracy. A press center for China's annual sessions of its top legislature and political advisory body, known as the "two sessions," opened at the Media Center Hotel in Beijing, Feb. 27. 2025. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu) A pertinent question arises: Do the suggestions and proposals put forward by NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members actually influence policy? The data speaks volumes. In 2024, government departments under China's State Council addressed 8,783 suggestions from NPC deputies, accounting for 95.1 percent of all submissions, and 4,813 proposals from members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, representing 96.1 percent of total submissions. More than 5,000 suggestions and proposals were formally adopted across the government departments, resulting in the enactment of over 2,000 targeted policy measures. These efforts have accelerated progress in key areas: fostering high-quality economic development, advancing the national strategy to invigorate China through science and education, driving comprehensive rural revitalization, and safeguarding and elevating public well-being. Each motion, suggestion, and proposal underscores meticulous research and resolute commitment. Legislators and political advisors not only benefit from structured avenues to articulate insights but also observe concrete policy impacts stemming from their contributions. For example, as new energy vehicles (NEVs) gain traction among China's younger demographics, post-purchase servicing has risen to prominence as a critical challenge. NPC deputy Cao Jingfang dedicated six months to investigating the issue, conducting on-site visits to maintenance facilities and engaging industry specialists before formally offering suggestions for NEV aftercare infrastructure. In a decisive response, China's Ministry of Transport pledged to establish a robust regulatory framework encompassing 32 standards spanning technical certifications, service benchmarks, and inspection protocols. Concurrently, the ministry is spearheading efforts to formally classify "NEV maintenance technician" as a state-recognized profession, thereby institutionalizing workforce development for this burgeoning sector. State mechanisms, as evidenced here, continue to serve as pivotal conduits for translating deliberative input into actionable governance. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs processed and formally responded to 313 suggestions from NPC deputies alongside 174 proposals from CPPCC National Committee members in 2024, with priorities centered on eldercare systems, social welfare, and administrative governance reforms. Wei Hua (third from left), a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and head of the internal medicine department at Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, discuss patient care improvements with on-duty nurses, seeking their insights on enhancing healthcare satisfaction, Mar. 1, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhuang Wenbin) The ministry implemented a three-phase protocolpreliminary stakeholder consultation, real-time progress briefings, and outcome accountability reviewsto systematize policymaking. To deepen alignment, officials institutionalized direct participation by inviting NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members into ministerial forums, joint research task forces, and policy drafting deliberations, ensuring that expert input directly informed regulatory agendas. This structured engagement yielded 24 relevant policy measures over the past year, based on more than 220 suggestions and proposals. For NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members, participation in the "two sessions" is both an honor and a responsibility, with their performance subject to evaluation. Many regions have introduced evaluation mechanisms for NPC deputies based on their attendance, constituent engagement, and the quality of their motions and suggestions. This year, the NPC will review the draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels, further defining their responsibilities and requiring regular performance reports. During the meeting of the NPC, deputies will deliberate on the government's work report, and the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court, and Supreme People's Procuratorate. They will also review the government's annual budgets and national development plans. These reports, which outline legislative, administrative, and judicial developments, as well as how government funds are allocated, undergo rigorous scrutiny before final approval, ensuring the smooth operation of state institutions. In addition, NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members also engage in inspections, research projects, and law enforcement oversight, submit motions, suggestions, and proposals, engage in deliberations, make inquiries, take part in elections and voting, and attend biweekly consultative sessions. They fulfill their duties in accordance with the law and serve the people wholeheartedly. As the "two sessions" unfold, NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members carry with them the voices and aspirations of all sectors of society. Their discussions will help shape national development and public policy, ensuring that the concerns of citizens are heard at the highest levels of government. In this dynamic exchange between policymakers and the public, China's governance model continues to evolve, translating suggestions and proposals into tangible progress. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming) Participating in this exhibition is the Italian Trade Agency in Vietnam (ITA), which, in cooperation with the UCIMA Association, will introduce 17 businesses from Italy in the packaging and converting machinery industry. Over the three days of the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to meet and connect directly with Italian businesses to learn more about a range of advanced technologies across a wide variety of packaging machinery, as well as specialisations in processing, filling and capping, alongside primary and secondary packaging for industries ranging from food processing, beverages, confectionery, and agro-products to personal care and cosmetics. Italy is one of the leading countries in developing environmentally friendly packaging, helping businesses meet ESG (Environmental Social Governance) standards. Italy is also renowned in the packaging sector, thanks to its combination of advanced technology, innovative design, and the ability to flexibly respond to global market needs. Italian companies focus on investing heavily in machinery and automated packaging lines, which helps increase productivity and reduce production costs. Additionally, IoT and AI systems are applied to optimise production processes and monitor quality, which explains why many large Italian packaging corporations have exported machinery and technology to more than 150 countries. March 23, 1973, was also an important milestone in VietnamItaly relations, being the date when the two countries officially established diplomatic relations. Vietnam is currently Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, and vice versa, Italy is Vietnam's third-largest trading partner in the EU. For many years, ITA has organised an Italian pavilion at ProPak Vietnam, attracting a large number of Italian businesses, helping them to find partners, expand cooperation, and strengthen their brand presence in the market./. Phuong Uyen HA NOI Viet Nams rice export sector has encountered significant turbulence in the first two months of 2025. The global rice market has shifted rapidly, particularly after India lifted its export ban in September 2024. As of March, Viet Nams 5 per cent broken rice price plummeted to US$393 per tonne, marking a staggering 40 per cent drop from the end of 2023. This sharp decline places Viet Nams rice price at the lowest among the major exporting nations, only slightly above Pakistan. Amid these challenges, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment convened a crucial meeting on Tuesday, bringing together key stakeholders, including local authorities, industry associations and leading rice exporters, to assess the situation and devise immediate and long-term solutions. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), global rice production is forecast to hit a record 532.7 million tonnes in 2025, contributing to a total supply of 712.15 million tonnes. However, consumption, though growing to 530.5 million tonnes, is still lagging behind the supply surge. This imbalance has intensified price pressures, exacerbated by Indias return to the market and increased exports from Kazakhstan. Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, Ngo Hong Phong, said that global rice trade in 2025 is projected to reach 58.5 million tonnes, slightly below 2024 levels. Despite strong demand from countries like China and Indonesia, abundant supply is weighing down prices worldwide, Phong noted. Production and export pressures Viet Nams Mekong Delta, the nations rice bowl, is expected to produce 24.05 million tonnes in 2025, with an estimated over 7.54 million tonnes allocated for export. Yet, despite this robust output, exporters face immense difficulties securing favourable contracts as importers, especially in Southeast Asia, delay purchases, anticipating further price drops. An Giang Province, a key rice-producing region, reported that it had exported 29,900 tonnes in the first two months of 2025, generating $15.2 million. While this contributes significantly to the local economy, Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial Peoples Committee Ngo Cong Thuc stressed the need for stronger government support. We must attract large-scale investments and build integrated production-consumption chains to stabilise the market, he said. Proposed solutions To navigate the current turmoil, industry leaders and government officials proposed several strategies. The Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association, o Ha Nam, urged the State Bank of Viet Nam to ease access to credit, increase lending limits and extend repayment periods. This would enable enterprises to hold inventory, avoid distress sales and wait for more favourable prices. Additionally, creating state-supported rice warehouses would allow businesses to stockpile during periods of oversupply and release inventory strategically to stabilise prices, he added. Stakeholders also recommended reinstating a minimum export price under Decree 107/2018/N-CP, suggesting a floor price of $500/tonne (FOB) to protect exporters from excessive losses. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is actively reviewing this measure while exploring ways to activate strategic reserves for market stabilisation. Furthermore, stricter monitoring of intermediary traders who drive speculative price drops was suggested to prevent market manipulation. Diversifying export markets beyond traditional partners like the Philippines and Indonesia was essential, said the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan. Simultaneously, enhancing rice quality and promoting high-value, specialty rice varieties could help Viet Nam differentiate itself in the global market. This should include fostering partnerships with international research institutions to develop resilient, high-yield rice strains and promoting organic and sustainably grown rice, which could command premium prices. The Government and private sector could collaborate on large-scale infrastructure projects, such as modernising rice milling and packaging facilities to meet international quality standards. Investing in better logistics networks would reduce transportation costs and enhance Viet Nams competitiveness in distant markets like Africa and the Middle East. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is compiling all feedback from the recent meeting to draft an emergency directive for the Prime Minister, outlining both immediate relief measures and structural reforms. Our priority is to balance export growth with domestic price stability, while accelerating market access efforts globally, Tan said. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI About 40-50 per cent of localities in Viet Nam have plans to turn existing industrial parks into eco-industrial parks by 2030, and between 8 to 10 per cent of them will build new ecological parks. The shift is coming, experts say, as part of an important trend in industrial and economic development in Viet Nam. The model not only brings financial benefits to businesses and the community, but also positively contributes to environmental protection and improves workers' quality of life. The eco-industrial park is a special model in which businesses participate in production activities to create green products and optimise resource use. This industrial park model focuses on the connection and cooperation between businesses in the same industrial park to promote symbiotic production activities, ensuring sustainability and contributing to the sustainable development of the industrial sector as a whole. In recent years, FDI capital in industrial parks and economic zones has accounted for about 35 40 per cent of the total additional registered FDI capital of the country. A survey by Savills Vietnam shows that, although the number of eco-industrial parks currently is still limited, the demand for this type of real estate is set to grow substantially. Senior Manager of the Industrial Real Estate Department of Savills Hanoi, Thomas Rooney said that most existing industrial park projects were developed according to traditional models and had not applied sustainable design solutions. The development of green industrial parks is currently in the early stages and will be a long-term story, said Rooney. According to experts, eco-industrial parks are also a tool to achieve sustainable development goals following three pillars - the economy, society and the environment. Sustainable development is increasingly becoming an overarching trend and green economic development and creating a circular economy are currently the development model chosen by many countries. According to the Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Zones Management, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vuong Thi Minh Hieu, said that the eco-industrial park model towards sustainable development has been implemented since the 1990s and achieved many positive results in countries such as Denmark, Korea, Japan and China. In Viet Nam, green economic development and circular economy have received special attention from the Party and State, included in major and important policies. With the efforts and determination of the Government and the support of international organisations and experts, Viet Nam recently has piloted the conversion of many industrial parks from traditional models into eco-industrial parks by promoting cleaner production and linking cooperation in production to more effectively use resources. Since 2014, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has coordinated with international organisations and cooperation from foreign partners to form and develop a sustainable eco-industrial park model on the three pillars. The ministry has coordinated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to carry out the pilot implementation in three local areas, including Ninh Binh, a Nang and Can Tho. From 2020 to 2024, with financial support from the Swiss Government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment continued to coordinate with UNIDO to expand eco-industrial park model and achieved encouraging results in three localities of Hai Phong, ong Nai and HCM City. Industrial park infrastructure investors also proposed many new eco-industrial park infrastructure investment projects from the beginning with stronger commitments to sustainable development strategies right from the planning stage, preparing documents to approach investment policies as well as orientation to attract secondary investors. With 25 years of experience, IDICO is a pioneer in the journey of developing industrial park real estate in Viet Nam. To date, IDICO has invested in and operated a system of 12 industrial parks across the country with a total area of nearly 4,000 hectares, attracting more than 400 businesses, including major investors such as Suntory Pepsico, Fujiya, Hyosung and Messer. Deputy General Director of IDICO Corporation Phan Van Chinh said that the company had proactively launched the journey to realise the goal of developing sustainable, modern and environmentally friendly industrial parks. IDICO has pioneered the transformation of the development model of industrial parks towards green and sustainable orientation, to become a typical model of ecologically oriented smart industrial parks in Viet Nam to meet the diverse and increasingly demanding needs of domestic and international businesses, said Chinh. IDICO initially is converting from traditional industrial parks to green industrial parks in Phu My II Industrial Park and the expanded Phu My II, becoming the first eco-industrial park model in the area, according to Chinh. IDICO currently has been implementing many practical solutions, such as applying advanced technology to minimise the amount of waste and emissions into the environment and using a smart industrial park monitoring platform that allows for effective management and monitoring of energy use. Kingspan, an investor from Ireland and also a strategic partner of IDICO in the expanded Phu My II Industrial Park, said that Kingspan Phu My recently completed the installation of a solar power system on the entire roof of the factory. The system is expected to help reduce more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, significantly contributing to the companys on-site energy production target of 20 per cent. The project is not only a Kingspans commitment to the environment but also demonstrates its sustainable companionship of businesses operating in IDICO's industrial park system. Developing industrial parks following ecological models will not only help businesses here meet strict export standards but also create a sustainable production ecosystem, contributing to the goal of reducing emissions and moving towards net zero. VNS HA NOI The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, Viet Nams sole representative at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, is showcasing cutting-edge Vietnamese technologies at the global event, held in Barcelona, Spain, from March 3 to 6. Viettel Chairman and General Director Major General Tao uc Thang said that the MWC provides a crucial platform for the group to present its latest technological solutions, gain insights into global advancements and explore opportunities for technology investment and exports. At MWC Barcelona 2025, Viettel is exhibiting 22 products across three key categories of network infrastructure, digital platforms and applications. This marks the largest number of products the company has ever introduced at the annual event, with an increase of five compared to 2024. Specifically, the network infrastructure solutions on display include its 5G ecosystem (5G Private, 5G ORAN, 5G Core), self-designed semiconductor chips (RF-SoC, security chips, 5W X-Band FEM chips), digital twins for telecom stations and logistics robotics systems. The digital platform offerings, meanwhile, range from Application Programming Interface (API) services, content delivery networks and a data centre management system to new-generation cybersecurity platforms and intelligent traffic management solutions. The category of digital applications includes virtual assistant, meCall video ringtone, Mydio audiobook and TV360 streaming services. During the event, Viettel is set to sign business and technology development agreements with TikTok, Visa, China Telecom Global, Pegatron, Twilio and SANY. MWC Barcelona 2025 attracts leading global tech giants such as Samsung, Qualcomm, Intel, Huawei, Ericsson, Dell Technologies, Meta, Docomo and AT&T, along with representatives from over 200 countries seeking business and research partnerships. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Industry and Trade has called on domestic logistics businesses to join a delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar from April 6-14. The mission aims to enhance logistics cooperation between Viet Nam and the Middle East, as part of the national action plan to strengthen Viet Nams logistics competitiveness. The delegation will be led by a senior representative from the Agency of Foreign Trade and will consist of 20 to 25 participants, including those from logistics associations and businesses, and enterprises involved in import and export operations across Viet Nam. It is scheduled visit Qatar from April 6-8. From April 9 to 10, the delegation will be in Abu Dhabi, where they will participate in a seminar on logistics cooperation potential between Viet Nam and the UAE. The event will also include business-to-business (B2B) meetings, allowing companies from both sides to establish direct contacts. From April 10-13, the delegation will visit Dubai. While there, they will meet with local authorities and representatives of trade associations and logistics businesses. They will also conduct site visits to logistics infrastructure, seaports and free trade zones. The Agency for Foreign Trade noted that the Middle East represents a highly promising logistics market, offering increasing opportunities for enhanced cooperation, especially as Viet Nam accelerates its integration into global supply chains. The Middle Easts logistics market was estimated at US$163.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $222.6 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6.36 per cent in the 2024-2029 period. Thanks to its strategic location, Viet Nam has the potential to become a vital transshipment hub linking Asia and the Middle East. Partnerships with major logistics players in the region such as Abu Dhabi Ports Group, DP World and Qatar Free Zones will enhance supply chain efficiency, not only within the Middle East but also between Viet Nam and the broader Middle East-North Africa region. Furthermore, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Viet Nam and the UAE presents a valuable opportunity for businesses on both sides to strengthen trade, investment, and logistics cooperation in the near future. In recent years, the agency has organised numerous delegations to connect Vietnamese logistics providers with international partners in Cambodia, Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan (China). For participating businesses, the visit will offer them a valuable platform to engage directly with potential partners, explore market trends and gain first-hand insights into the business environment in Qatar and the UAE. It also provides a forum for companies to exchange experiences, develop collaborative strategies and identify opportunities to enhance operational efficiency and promote sustainable growth. VNS HA NOI The Viet Nam Trade Office in the Philippines has advised Vietnamese exporters to actively cooperate in the investigation to avoid unfavourable outcomes, after the Philippines imposed tariffs on imported cement. Phung Van Thanh, Trade Counselor at the Viet Nam Trade Office in the Philippines, said that during the preliminary investigation, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) identified 33 cement exporters supplying the Philippine market, including Vietnamese companies. "The Philippine DTI sent questionnaires to these exporters, but only 9 out of 33 responded, including six Vietnamese exporters," he said. To minimise potential losses, Thanh recommended that during the upcoming formal investigation, Vietnamese cement exporters should actively provide relevant information to the investigating authorities. This is crucial to prevent unfavourable decisions based on incomplete or pre-existing information. "The core aspect of a safeguard investigation is to assess the severe injury suffered by the domestic industry due to imported cement, he said. Therefore, Thanh emphasised that it is necessary to have a representative from the cement industry to bring businesses to review collectively, provide information and have a common voice with the Philippine investigating agency in reviewing and analysing the actual impact. On February 20, the Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry issued order No. 25-01, imposing provisional safeguard duties of 400 pesos per tonne (approximately US$6.9) on two types of imported cement, to protect domestic cement production. Specifically, the DTI initiated a safeguard investigation on certain imported cement products, including portland cement (AHNT Code 2523.29.90) and blended cement (AHNT Code 2523.90.00), based on the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHNT). The investigation covers imports of these cement types from 2019 to 2024. The preliminary investigation led to the imposition of provisional safeguard duties. These duties will remain in effect while the Philippine Tariff Commission conducts a formal investigation. It will be imposed for 200 days from the date the Philippine Bureau of Customs issues the tariff order. The DTI has listed countries and territories exempt from these duties, but Viet Nam is not among them. Vet Nam holds the largest market share of imported cement in the Philippines. In 2024, cement exports to the Philippines were estimated at 7.2 million tonnes, accounting for 94.4 per cent. Given these figures, the imposition of a provisional duty will have a considerable impact on Viet Nams cement exports. VNS HA NOI The VietShip 2025 exhibition is expected to serve as the launchpad for solutions, investment collaborations and innovation in the development of the shipbuilding, renewable energy and offshore infrastructure industries in the years to come. Chairman of the Member Council at the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), Pham Hoai Chung, made the remarks during his opening speech at VietShip 2025, which opened in Ha Noi on Wednesday morning. The exhibition is on until Friday at the National Convention Centre, featuring over 100 exhibitors with nearly 200 booths, including two universities. Half of the exhibitors are Vietnamese companies, while the other half comes from international businesses hailing from Norway, the Netherlands, China, Finland, South Korea and Singapore. The diverse range of displays covers maritime transport vehicles and services, maritime logistics, shipbuilding equipment, materials and technology for ship construction and repairs, as well as offshore oil and gas extraction and offshore wind power technologies. At the event, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang praised the return of the VietShip after several years of hiatus, especially given the context of the National Assembly's target to achieve 8 per cent growth in 2025. He emphasised the necessity for growth across all sectors of the economy, including the development of the maritime and shipbuilding industries. VietShip 2025 marked a significant milestone in the revival of SBIC, following its restructuring efforts, which continued to drive the company's expansion and growth. The event also held particular significance as Viet Nam pursues its commitments to reducing net emissions, aiming for net-zero by 2050. Through the event, Sang also urged companies to continue collaborating in the process of business development and SBICs restructuring, contributing to the national socio-economic development. Chairman Chung said that the maritime transport and shipbuilding industries had the broadest impact within the maritime economic development strategy of every coastal nation. SBIC and its joint ventures operated in large-scale shipbuilding and repair, accounting for over 60 per cent of Viet Nam's shipbuilding capacity. The Government had instructed ongoing research into new policies to support the development of the shipbuilding industry, promote partnerships with international players, encourage infrastructure investment and facilitate technological modernisation, he added. Norways strong presence At the event, Norway had a strong presence at its pavilion featuring the Norwegian leading companies to showcase innovations and advanced solutions for green maritime. The pavilion was visited by the Norwegian Ambassador to Viet Nam, Hilde Solbakken, Norwegian Commercial Counsellor, Director of Innovation Norway, Karin Greve-Isdahl and representatives of the seven companies of VARD, Jotun, DNV, Metizoft, Bergen Engines AS, Brodrene Aa and Brunvoll AS and their local partners. Speaking at the event, Hilde Solbakken said: We are very pleased to be at VietShip this year, alongside the seven Norwegian companies that prominently represent Norways maritime cluster." The Norwegian Pavilion not only served as a platform for Norwegian companies to showcase their state-of-the-art maritime solutions and technologies, but also to exchange knowledge, promote a business network, and discuss collaboration opportunities with local partners. The shipping industry currently accounts for approximately three per cent of human-made greenhouse gas emissions. In July 2023, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) made an important move by adopting a strategy that aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by 2050. As oceanic nations, Norway and Viet Nam share a strong connection through their seas, which also underpinned their bilateral trade. Both countries were members of the IMO, and green maritime technology presented promising opportunities for collaboration, ultimately creating jobs in local communities along their coastlines. Navigating a green voyage is a mutual interest, Solbakken said. We look forward to new partnerships being established between Norwegian and Vietnamese companies. Also at the event, Norwegian Commercial Counsellor, Director of Innovation Norway, Karin Greve-Isdahl who said with its long history as a seafaring nation, Norwegian companies had a wealth of expertise to offer when it came to innovative and sustainable solutions that would drive the green transition in the maritime industry forward. Together, the Norwegian companies at VietShip 2025 will tell a story of how each of them contributes to the industrys success by leveraging its maritime expertise, setting ambitious emission reduction targets, leading the zero and low-emission vessel construction, fostering a comprehensive green maritime ecosystem and engaging in international collaboration. She noted that green, smart, and innovative qualities defined Norway's maritime solutions, positioning the country as a global leader in developing and adopting green shipping technologies. Vietship is the largest and longest established exhibition in Viet Nam featuring all aspect of shipbuilding, shipping and offshore technology. The event was first held in 2002 and has gone through nine successful editions. In 2025, Vietship comes back with a completely new appearance, focusing on shipbuilding and offshore technology. Co-organised by the Viet Nam's Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) and Viet Nam Shipbuilding Engineering Company (VISEC), Vietship 2025 is expected to be the convergence and platform of advance technologies both regionally and globally. Encompassing both shipbuilding, repairs, marine equipment, construction of marine structure and offshore energy services, with the goal of creating collaborative and innovative solutions to the challenges in the development of maritime and offshore energy industries. VNS HA NOI Algerias recent reduction of import duties on coffee has created significant opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises. Currently, the total import taxes and fees on green Robusta coffee have been reduced to just 10 per cent, down from the previous 63 per cent. Algeria's Finance Law for 2025 includes reducing or exempting import duties on coffee to lower coffee prices for domestic consumers. Specifically, the import tax has been cut from 30 per cent to 5 per cent, while the value-added tax (VAT) of 19 per cent and the domestic consumption tax of 10 per cent have been removed. This consumption stimulus measure will be in effect until the end of 2025, offering a great opportunity for Vietnamese coffee to expand its presence in the North African market. As Algeria does not yet cultivate coffee, it relies entirely on imports to meet domestic demand. With a population of over 46 million, the country imports about 130,000 tonnes of coffee beans annually, valued at around US$300 million. The main coffee-exporting countries supplying Algeria include Viet Nam, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Cote dIvoire, Ethiopia and Uganda. According to Viet Nam Customs, in 2024, Vietnamese enterprises exported 34,158 tonnes of green coffee to Algeria, generating a revenue of $127.4 million. There is still ample room for Viet Nams coffee exports to grow in Algeria, as importers and consumers highly appreciate its quality and flavour. Experts note that Vietnamese coffee possesses a distinct aroma, produces a thick foam and absorbs sugar more effectively than coffee from other countries. BIZHUB/VNS HCM CITY Nearly 650 businesses from 20 countries and territories are displaying a wide range of products at the 16th Viet Nam International Furniture & Home Accessories Expo (VIFA EXPO 2025) that opened on March 5 in HCM City. VIFA EXPO 2025, taking place at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in the citys District 7, will last until March 8. It is organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry - HCM City Branch (VCCI-HCMC), the Vietnam Association for Building Materials (VABM) and Lien Minh Company, with support from the Vietnam Coconut Association (VCA), the Ho Chi Minh City Advertising Association (HAA), and the Vietnam Investment Construction - Services in Agriculture and Forestry Association (VICSAFA). Speaking at the expos opening ceremony, ang Quoc Hung, CEO of Lien Minh Company, said the VIFA expo is an annual trade promotion event for furniture and handicrafts, and has been recognised by international organisations as one of the 10 largest furniture fairs in the world. As an international-caliber exhibition, the expo promotes development and increases the export turnover of the industry, he said. This years expo is the largest event of its kind to date, featuring 2,500 booths from domestic and international exhibitors, with the participation of three major global e-commerce platforms Alibaba, Amazon and Wayfair. This includes 52 per cent international exhibitors and 48 per cent Vietnamese exhibitors from 17 provinces and cities, with leading prestigious brands in the indoor and outdoor furniture industry. Through the four-day expo, relationships among exhibiting businesses and international buyers will be further strengthened, effectively fulfilling the role of promoting and developing the furniture and handicraft industry of Viet Nam, the region and internationally, he said. VIFA EXPO 2024 attracted 13,000 local and foreign visitors. Attending the event, Vu Ba Phu, director of the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the wood and forestry products sector has always been recognised as one of Viet Nams critical industries, making significant contributions to export turnover and affirming the countrys position on the global map. Viet Nam is not only a leading exporter of furniture and wood products, but is also known for unique and exquisite handicrafts that embody the national cultural identity, he said. Businesses in the wood industry have continuously innovated technology, improved designs, enhanced product quality, developed brands and expanded export markets. To date, Vietnamese furniture and wood products have been present in more than 160 countries and territories, including key markets such as the US, EU, Japan, South Korea and China, and continue to access more potential-rich markets. Last year, the industry experienced robust growth, with wood and wood product export turnover reaching US$16.3 billion, a substantial increase of 20.9 per cent compared to 2023, surpassing the record established in 2022 and maintaining Viet Nams position among the worlds leading furniture and wood product exporters. 2025 presents numerous opportunities as consumer demand recovers in major markets, and free trade agreements between Viet Nam and countries/regions continue to provide tariff advantages, expanding opportunities for wood and processed products. However, the wood industry also faces numerous challenges from global political and economic fluctuations, trade protectionism trends and increasingly stringent requirements for traceability, environmental standards and sustainable development, he said. This requires businesses to continuously innovate and adapt flexibly to enhance competitiveness, he said. In addition, the industry should pay special attention to exploiting the potential of the domestic market of more than 100 million people, where purchasing power is increasing strongly, providing a foundation for businesses amid international market fluctuations, he added. VNS LAM ONG A delegation from China Railway No. 2 Group has expressed interest in resuming the long-dormant a Lat Thap Cham railway line project and expanding international flights from Lien Khuong airport to several Asian countries. At a working session on March 5 with the groups Deputy General Director and Chief Accountant Guan Huapinh, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Tran Hong Thai confirmed that the a Lat Thap Cham railway line has been included in detailed planning under decisions issued by the Prime Minister and the Politburo. Approved by the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) on July 6, 2022, the project will operate under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with an estimated investment of VN27 trillion (US$1.08 billion). Greenlit by the PM on October 19, 2022, the railway line is now integrated into the national railway network planning through 2050. Thai expressed support for the groups planned investment in the project as it is essential for the province's tourism and economic development, especially as a Lat City and Lam ong welcomed ten million visitors last year. He shared updates about Lien Khuong Airport, which has been upgraded to international status. Local authorities are actively working with airlines to expand international flight routes. Recent charter flights between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Lien Khuong have already taken off, proving the skies above a Lat are ripe for expansion. This year, Lam ong plans to introduce direct flights connecting a Lat with major destinations such as Singapore, Siem Reap, and key Northeast Asian markets like Japan and the RoK, he said. Guan, for his part, showcased his companys impressive portfolio, highlighting its extensive experience in railway, transport, and construction projects across 50 countries, with a production value reaching 100 billion CNY ($13.7 billion). The group is now involved in high-speed railways, eco-tourism developments, and mining operations in China. He expressed strong enthusiasm for expanding cooperation with Lam ong in the fields of railways, aviation, and tourism. Recognising Lam ongs immense tourism potential, he proposed establishing a transport corridor connecting Sichuan province where the company is headquartered with Lam ong to boost cultural exchange and attract Chinese tourists to the region. In reply, Thai assured that Lam ong is ready to facilitate these cooperation projects in line with Viet Nams legal regulations. He assigned the Department of Construction and the Department of Finance to coordinate further discussions with the Chinese group to explore specific details. VNS by Ray Riches* Sitting on the 16th floor of an office building in HCM City, I look out across the skyline at a haze that is full of everything bad and nothing good for human consumption. HCM City has become one of the top 20 most polluted cities, and this may have far-reaching effects on the long-term future of the city. With 12 million residents in the wider city, pollution has become a significant challenge for the community. Housing density, due to many factors, is high in HCM City. While this is not inherently bad, it does contribute to the air we end up breathing every day. Several key factors contribute to this emergency. Transportation, influenced by the city's density, has been a major issue. But it goes beyond just transportation. HCM City's transport system is still developing. The first Metro line opened in 2024, and a fleet of electric buses replaced old fuel units at the same time. However, the lack of public transport over many decades has created a motorbike culture in the city. Unlike cities such as Singapore, people in HCM City dont rely on public transport because it is not convenient. Motorbikes are synonymous with Viet Nam. These cheap and reliable small vehicles have been the backbone of development across the nation, but their very technology contributes to the pollution issue. Small motorbikes, especially the older ones, lack pollution control devices found in modern cars and larger motorbikes. This means that, while each vehicle emits only a small amount, collectively, motorbikes release immense amounts of pollution into the environment. Cars also play a significant role in the pollution issue. The city was designed with small personal vehicles in mind. The reduction of tariffs and taxes on cars around six years ago led to an increase in the number of larger vehicles on the streets of the city. For every car that entered the roads, delays were added for everyone else using the network. People say the traffic in HCM City is among the worst in the world. This is because cars fill spaces where motorbikes once ran freely. Indeed, my 3km ride to work should take around seven minutes, but with the traffic, it can stretch to as long as 40 minutes. It takes me 45 minutes to walk to work. This is unacceptable and exacerbates the pollution issue with vehicles idling for extended periods in traffic. Burning rubbish also contributes to the air pollution in the city. Sometimes for religious purposes, but mostly just to remove leaves and rubbish from the street, burning organic matter is a common practice for homeowners in Viet Nam. Globally, cities are now banning all fires in an attempt to reduce air pollution. For example, in Sydney, Australia (a city double the size of HCM City and half the population), burning of any kind has been banned for over 30 years. The results are clear: Sydney transformed from a highly polluted region to one of the cleaner cities in the world. I believe this can also happen in HCM City if small changes are made. It has long been known that industrialisation affects the environment. Factories produce goods and the result is pollution entering the environment in many ways. This also occurs in HCM City, but from speaking with friends in this area, exceptional measures are taken to ensure that the pollution produced is limited, and high-polluting factories are moved out of the city. The last factor, which is rarely spoken about, is the geography of the region. Viet Nam sits on a peninsula of Southeast Asia, and as a result, particularly in winter, there is a stream of cooler air that flows all the way from China, through Laos and Cambodia, across the south and out into the ocean. This stream collects pollutants from three or four countries as it makes its way south, affecting the entire southern region of Viet Nam. The solutions are vast, and some are already in their early stages. A public transport system is being developed, electric buses are replacing outdated fuel ones, new roads are being built to improve traffic flow, and factories are being moved out of the region. But there is so much more to do to bring this citys air quality back to a safe level. We need to get people off motorbikes and out of cars. We need more reliance on public transport and the use of alternative transport methods such as bicycles. Burning rubbish needs to stop, and big businesses must play their part by looking at how they can reduce pollution from their factories. If everyone plays their part, HCM Citycan return to its glory days of clean air and a more attractive environment. This will do a lot to attract tourism and make this city one that is the envy of many around the world. * Ray lives in HCM City and works as a teacher and freelancer. Apart from teaching, he is a keen runner and bicycle adventure rider. He has visited many parts of the country by bicycle and loves the smaller parts of this beautiful country. After ten years in Viet Nam, Ray has a love and passion for the smaller things and enjoys sharing his experiences with people all over the world. HA NOI The recent decision of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Viet Nam to waive all school fees for students from kindergarten to high school levels in the public school system nationwide is a significant step toward integration and equal opportunities for all children, according to UNICEF Representative to Viet Nam Silvia Danailov. Danailov congratulated Viet Nam on this decision, stating that it is conformable to the countrys international commitments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goal 4. The tuition waiver policy is a crucial investment in Viet Nam's future, enabling more children to complete their education regardless of their socio-economic background, she stressed, noting that this is a key policy during the countrys transformative development period. Danailov suggested several key recommendations to maximise the effectiveness of this policy, saying that tuition exemption must be accompanied by efforts to ensure the quality of teaching and learning. It is necessary to ensure sufficient resources, expertise, infrastructure, and quality learning materials, and attention should be given to the costs that families still have to cover, such as textbooks, uniforms, and transport, as these expenses can pose challenges for vulnerable households, she said. The UNICEF official underlined the need to ensure the principles of equity and inclusion in implementing the policy, providing necessary support for children with disabilities and those in ethnic minority-inhabited areas to fully participate in and benefit from education. Expanding access to high school education can be achieved by increasing the number of public schools and boosting investment in community-based education, including developing satellite primary schools, she noted. Danailov said UNICEF stands ready to support Viet Nam in realising this vision by improving the ability of teachers and education administrators, and promoting digital learning opportunities, and integrating advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to assist educators. Additionally, it advocates for investments in green school models in response to climate change, as well as promoting inclusive education policies. She called for close cooperation to ensure that all children in Viet Nam have the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. VNS HA NOI Defence cooperation has remained a key pillar in Viet Nam-Laos relations, significantly strengthening political trust and the close bond between the two countries' armies, Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang affirmed on Wednesday. Receiving Lieutenant General Saichay Kommasith, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army, who is on an official visit to Viet Nam from March 4-6, Giang said bilateral defence cooperation mechanisms have expanded in both scope and depth. Border security and order have been further reinforced, while collaboration in human resource training has been prioritised, he said, adding defence industry and military economic cooperation have also yielded positive results. The host minister urged both sides to continue closely coordinating efforts to effectively implement cooperation framework agreed upon by the two defence ministries, as well as the outcomes of the recent trilateral meeting between the Party chiefs of Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia in February. Key priorities include enhancing personnel training quality, strengthening border management and protection, providing advisory support, assisting Laos in building a UN peacekeeping force, and preparing for the 2025 annual meeting of the three countries' defence ministers. Saichay Kommasith highlighted the positive outcomes of Vietnam-Laos military cooperation and expressed gratitude for Viet Nam's support in helping Laos successfully assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024. Moving forward, the two General Staffs will work together to effectively implement their cooperation plans in line with agreements signed by their respective defence ministries. VNA/VNS HA NOI Viet Nam will support Laos in establishing its UN peacekeeping force, as agreed by the two countries' defence officers at their talks in Ha Noi on Wednesday. At the talks between General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam Peoples Army (VPA) and Deputy Minister of National Defence, and Lieut. Gen. Saichay Kommasith, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of General Staff of the Lao People's Army (LPA), the two sides pointed to a number of focal points for future cooperation between the two armies. Based on the agreements signed between the leaders of the two Ministries of National Defence, both sides will focus on promoting the effective implementation of the cooperation contents following the common perceptions reached by the two countries' high-ranking leaders, particularly the Viet Nam-Laos high-level agreement signed in 2024, and the meeting among leaders of Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia on February 22, 2025, while further enhancing strategic dialogue through high-level meetings and the Defence Policy Dialogue mechanism. Both sides also emphasised the need to enhance cooperation between their armed forces and border protection units, strengthen human resources training, and foster collaboration in logistics, information technology, and defence industry. They also reaffirmed their mutual support at international forums. At the talks, both sides also exchanged views on global and regional developments of mutual interest, as well as the situation of their respective armed forces. General Cuong congratulated Lieut. Gen. Saichay Kommasith on his new position, and expressed confidence that, in his new role, Lieut. Gen. Saichay Kommasith will contribute to the continued development of the LPA and further strengthen the military cooperation between Vietnam and Laos. General Cuong emphasised that, in recent years, the defence cooperation between the two countries, particularly between the two General Staffs, has achieved tangible results, becoming one of the key pillars in the bilateral relationship between Viet Nam and Laos. He noted that the two sides have worked closely on advising leaders of both countries on strategic military and defence matters. Military collaboration has been effectively implemented, particularly along the border areas, where the armed forces and border guards of both countries have cooperated to maintain security and public order. Additionally, cooperation in human resources training has been given special focus, emphasising both quantity and quality. Furthermore, logistics and defence industry cooperation have been promoted, he added. For his part, Lieut. Gen. Saichay Kommasith highlighted the importance of the meeting between the two Chiefs of General Staff of the Viet Nam and Lao People's Armies. He confirmed that the defence cooperation between Viet Nam and Laos has increasingly deepened and become more practical. Last year, the two sides saw comprehensive growth in bilateral cooperation, including delegation exchanges, training, and meetings among armed forces. Both sides have actively supported each other at international forums, he noted. The Lao officer agreed on the need for the continued promotion of the partnership based on signed agreements, contributing to strengthening the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations and their armies, ensuring this bond remains evergreen and everlasting. VNA/VNS HA NOI Denmark is willing to support Viet Nam in its green transition, said Michael Aastrup Jensen, chairman of the Danish Parliaments Foreign Policy Committee, as he met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on Wednesday. The Danish lawmaker was leading a delegation of the committee on a working visit to Viet Nam from March 3-6. The visit was an opportunity for Danish officials to understand the realities of Viet Nam and explore the cooperation potential between the two countries, thereby proposing effective directions to increase the efficiency of their bilateral relations. During the meeting on Wednesday, Vietnamese deputy PM and foreign minister Son expressed gratitude towards the support from the Danish government and people to Viet Nam on its development path. Denmark is an important partner in the Southeast Asian nations foreign policy, he said, praising key cooperation mechanisms between the two countries such as the Strategic Partnership in the areas of climate change, environment, energy and green growth (2011), the Comprehensive Partnership (2013) and the Green Strategic Partnership (2023). To strengthen political trust and create momentum for further cooperation in the future, Son requested that the Danish parliament continue to support bilateral activities, especially in the lead-up to the 55th anniversary of Viet Nam-Denmark establishing diplomatic ties in 2026. Viet Nam also hoped that Denmark would encourage other parliaments in the European Union (EU) to soon ratify the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). Viet Nam and Denmark have great potential for cooperation, especially with the trade-economic benefits brought by the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), in addition to emerging sectors such as green transition, digital transformation and new technologies. Noting that Denmark is one of the global pioneers in green transition and sustainable development, Son requested that the European country maintain its support for Viet Nam in policy development, governance experiences, technology transfer and human resource training. Denmark also attaches great importance to the cooperation with Viet Nam and the Southeast Asian region, Jensen said, adding that the two countries share similar sustainable development goals. Discussing foreign policies and international issues of mutual concern, the two officials agreed to enhance cooperation in regional and international multilateral forums, as well as ASEAN-EU frameworks. Viet Nam and Denmark will also help address global challenges and ensure peace, stability, and sustainable development in their respective regions and the world. VNS HA NOI Kyrgyzstans Prime Minister Adylbek Kasimalyev will pay an official visit to Viet Nam on March 6-7 at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. This marks the first visit by a Kyrgyz government leader to Viet Nam since the two countries established diplomatic relations, serving as a catalyst for strengthening their traditional friendship and cooperation across various fields. Growing traditional friendship After Kyrgyzstan declared independence on August 31, 1991, Viet Nam recognised the countrys independence on December 27 the same year. Diplomatic relations were established on June 4, 1992. Since then, both sides have maintained friendly relations, though high-level exchanges have remained limited. Notable visits include Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuongs trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2009 for political consultation, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Abdyldaev Erlan Bekeshovichs visit to Viet Nam in 2014, and National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac inhs visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2023. Most recently, on February 17, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang held phone talks with her Kyrgyz counterpart Abakirov Meder. During the talks, Deputy Minister Hang affirmed Viet Nam's commitment to deepening its ties with traditional partners, including Kyrgyzstan. Both sides acknowledged positive developments in bilateral relations, providing a solid foundation for further cooperation. Deputy Minister Abakirov Meder expressed his willingness to work closely with Viet Nam to explore new avenues for collaboration and deepen multifaceted cooperation. The two diplomats agreed to to work together in preparation for future delegation exchanges and visits. They stressed the importance of economic and trade ties and pledged to effectively implement the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Kyrgyzstan is a member. They also discussed facilitating direct connections between businesses, ministries, and agencies to negotiate and sign cooperation agreements that would promote mutually beneficial cooperation. They held that Viet Nam and Kyrgyzstan have supported each other in international organisations, particularly the United Nations. Strengthening economic and trade ties Economic and trade cooperation between the two nations has seen encouraging progress. From 2017 to 2021, two-way trade averaged US$1.36 million annually. Recent years have witnessed significant growth, with trade reaching $4.5 million in 2022, $7.5 million in 2023, and $13.5 million in 2024. Viet Nam's key exports to Kyrgyzstan include pepper, tea, cashews, computers, electronics, and components, while Kyrgyzstan exports machinery, equipment, tobacco products, silk, and alcoholic beverages to Vietnam. Both countries have leveraged the FTA between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union to boost trade. Kyrgyzstan is among the few countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and the world to unilaterally grant Vietnamese citizens a 60-day visa exemption, facilitating greater business and tourism exchanges. In terms of investment, as of October 31, 2024, Kyrgyzstan had run one investment project in Viet Nam's Khanh Hoa Province. The project, valued at $5 million, focuses on the production and trade of alcoholic beverages. Kyrgyzstan currently ranks 83rd among 148 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. The Vietnamese community in Kyrgyzstan remains relatively small, with around 100 people, including three families who have obtained Kyrgyz citizenship. They maintain close ties with the homeland and actively contribute to strengthening bilateral relations. PM Kasimalyevs visit to Viet Nam is expected to mark a new chapter in Viet Nam-Kyrgyzstan relations, deepening their traditional friendship and unlocking cooperation potential in key sectors. VNA/VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Ha Noi on March 5 for Lao Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao Peoples Army (LPA) Lieut. Gen Saichay Kommasith, believing that he will play a crucial role in developing the Lao army while bolstering bilateral defence ties. Stressing the enduring significance of the great Viet Nam-Laos friendship in national building and safeguarding of both countries, PM Chinh reaffirmed Viet Nams appreciation for Laos' support in national defence and development. Viet Nam will continue to stand by Laos as it navigates challenges and strives for sustainable growth, he said, reaffirming Viet Nams commitment to facilitating the two armies' cooperation. Defence collaboration, he noted, stands as a crucial pillar of the bilateral relationship, underpinned by shared achievements across a wide range of areas, including joint military and defence planning, intelligence sharing, strategic consultations, mutual support in enhancing defence capabilities, human resources training, and effective mechanisms for military exchanges, dialogues and twinning. Kommasith, for his part, informed the host about the successful talks between the General Staff of the LPA and the General Staff of the Viet Nam Peoples Army, saying that both sides agreed to accelerate joint work, focusing on effectively realising common perceptions reached by leaders, especially the 2024 Viet Nam-Laos High-Level Agreement and outcomes of the recent trilateral meeting among leaders of Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. According to him, they pledged to enhance strategic consultations through high-level meetings and the Defence Policy Dialogue mechanism; reinforce border security coordination, including the building of border village clusters; prioritise human resources training, expand collaboration in logistics, information technology, defence industry, economic development and mutual support at multilateral forums. PM Chinh suggested the two armies enhance coordination and provide strategic advice about national defence and security matters. He underscored the need of translating the outcomes of the February trilateral meetings among the party leaders and prime ministers of Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia in HCM City into actions, thus reinforcing the close solidarity among the three nations and advancing existing cooperation mechanisms. Key priorities include increasing military exchanges and joint activities, personnel training, collaboration in cybersecurity, logistics, and technical support, strengthening management and protection of the Viet Nam-Laos border for peace, stability and development, fighting transnational crime, and enhancing awareness about the Viet Nam Laos great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and armies. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang visited Uzbekistan from March 3-4 for a political consultation, at the invitation of the host country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On March 4, Hang and her Uzbek counterpart I. Khaydarov co-chaired the political consultation. Both sides provided updates on their respective countries' recent socio-economic development and expressed satisfaction with the positive progress in bilateral traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation. The two deputy ministers agreed to continue working closely to strengthen the bilateral relations in all fields, capitalising on each other's potential and advantages to contribute to the development of both nations and their respective regions. They underscored the importance of fostering exchanges via the Party, State, parliamentary and people-to-people diplomacy channels. Trade between Viet Nam and Uzbekistan have shown growth, increasing by approximately 25 per cent per year since 2021. In 2024 alone, bilateral trade surpassed US$200 million, an annual rise of 26.5 per cent. However, both officials acknowledged that this figure remains modest, failing to catch up with potential and aspirations of the two nations. They agreed to further facilitate business and investment cooperation, particularly in the oil and gas, mining, and agricultural product processing sectors. Additionally, they said it is necessary to bolster collaboration in science-technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation, education-training, culture, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and locality-to-locality cooperation through research-sharing activities, cultural events, tourism promotion, scholarship programmes, and Vietnamese language courses at Uzbek universities. The deputy ministers agreed to maintain regular political consultations and strengthen direct and online exchanges between the leaders of their ministries to coordinate and promote bilateral relations effectively. Discussing global and regional issues, they commended Viet Nams and Uzbekistan's foreign policies of openness, balance, and diversification and multilateralisation. They acknowledged the rapidly evolving global landscape and agreed on the need for close coordination, regular exchanges of views, and mutual support in international organisations and multilateral forums, including the United Nations, for peace, stability, cooperation, and development. Hang affirmed Viet Nams readiness to serve as a bridge in enhancing ASEAN's relations with Uzbekistan, as well as with regional organisations of which Uzbekistan is a member. She also expressed her gratitude to Uzbekistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs for supporting the Vietnamese community living and working in the country and called for continued assistance. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work closely with the Uzbek ministry and relevant agencies to facilitate travel, residency, education, investment, and business opportunities for their citizens and coordinate efforts to protect their legitimate rights and interests. During her visit, the Vietnamese diplomat also paid courtesy calls on Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Saidov and First Deputy Chairman of the Uzbek Senate S. Safoev. Saidov pledged to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese side in preparing for upcoming visits of high-ranking leaders of the two countries. Meanwhile, Safoev affirmed Uzbekistans wish to strengthening ties with Viet Nam, including inter-parliamentary cooperation. He proposed Viet Nam establish a friendship parliamentary group to enhance legislative exchanges between the two nations. Hang also toured the Technopark industrial park in Tashkent, where the Uzbek side informing her of their interest in connecting with Vietnamese enterprises and future preferential policies to attract Vietnamese investors. VNS HA NOI Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Adylbek Aleshovich Kasymaliev arrived in Ha Noi on March 5 evening, beginning his official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. This is the first visit to Viet Nam by a Kyrgyz prime minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations. The trip is expected to promote friendship ties and deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields between the two nations. The Kyrgyz delegation was welcomed at the Noi Bai International Airport by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Pham Thai Nhu Mai. Economic and trade cooperation between the two nations has seen encouraging progress. From 2017 to 2021, two-way trade averaged US$1.36 million annually. Recent years have witnessed significant growth, with trade reaching $4.5 million in 2022, $7.5 million in 2023, and $13.5 million in 2024. Viet Nams key exports to Kyrgyzstan include pepper, tea, cashew nuts, computers, electronics, and components, while Kyrgyzstan exports machinery, equipment, tobacco products, silk, and alcoholic beverages to Viet Nam. Both countries have leveraged the FTA between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union to boost trade. Kyrgyzstan is among the few countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and the world to unilaterally grant Vietnamese citizens a 60-day visa exemption, facilitating greater business and tourism exchanges. In terms of investment, as of October 31, 2024, Kyrgyzstan had run one investment project in Viet Nam's Khanh Hoa province. The project, valued at $5 million, focuses on the production and trade of alcoholic beverages. Kyrgyzstan currently ranks 83rd among 148 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. The Vietnamese community in Kyrgyzstan remains relatively small, with around 100 people, including three families who have obtained Kyrgyz citizenship. They maintain close ties with the homeland and actively contribute to strengthening bilateral relations. PM Kasimalyevs official visit to Viet Nam is expected to mark a new chapter in Viet Nam-Kyrgyzstan relations, deepening their traditional friendship and unlocking cooperation potential in key sectors. VNS HA NOI Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang hosted a reception in Ha Noi on Wednesday for General Director of Samsung Viet Nam Na Ki Hong. Quang congratulated Na on his appointment as General Director of Samsung Viet Nam, emphasising that the strong partnership between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) provides a solid foundation for Samsungs operations in Viet Nam. He also hailed Samsung Viet Nam as a bright spot in economic and investment cooperation between the two countries. Commending Samsungs achievements in Viet Nam, the minister highlighted the companys role in researching and manufacturing advanced technology products, which have significantly contributed to Viet Nam's economic growth. As Viet Nam is stepping up digital transformation and high-tech development, Quang requested Samsung Viet Nam's leaders to ensure the company's compliance with the host country's laws, particularly labour, taxation, and fire prevention regulations. He also proposed Samsung Viet Nam enhance cooperation in training specialised personnel in information technology and artificial intelligence for the Ministry of Public Security. Additionally, Quang suggested Samsung support the ministry in applying advanced technologies in national security management and oversight, while supporting scholarship programmes or providing training equipment, and funding social initiatives in healthcare, education, and environmental protection. The minister also called on Samsung Viet Nam to maintain regular dialogue the Ministry of Public Security on its business and production as well as its difficulties and obstacles for settlement. Expressing his appreciation for the ministry and minister's long-standing support and coordination, Na noted that 2025 marks 30 years of Samsungs presence in Viet Nam. The company is now operating six factories, a Research & Development Centre, and a sales entity in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Ha Noi, and HCM City, with a total investment of US$23.2 billion. Highlighting Samsung Viet Nam's 2024 performance, he reported that the company earned $62.5 billion in revenue and $54.4 billion from exports, accounting for 14 per cent of Viet Nam's total export turnover. The General Director also affirmed the companys commitment to supporting Viet Nam's economic growth target of over 8 per cent in 2025. VNA/VNS HCM CITY HCM City authorities have banned short-term rentals, such as those on Airbnb, in residential apartment complexes due to rising tensions between long-term residents and short-term renters. Under the new regulations, only tourist-specific developments (known as condotels) can be legally rented for short stays. Regular residential apartments are prohibited from short-term rentals. Renting out apartments for short-term stays or for tourism purposes requires specific legal compliance, including guest registration with local authorities. The new Housing Law, effective August 1, 2024, reinforces these restrictions, classifying daily or hourly rentals as hotel operations requiring proper licences. In addition, under the 2023 Housing Law, residential apartments must be used solely for living, and misuse for business purposes can lead to severe consequences. The growing popularity of Airbnb rentals over the years has led to complaints from long-term residents about noise and the misuse of shared facilities, local media reported. Investors in short-term rental properties have been concerned about potential financial losses due to the ban, especially since many have financed their purchases with loans. Local media reports indicated that property owners can earn between VN5-6 million (US$200-250) monthly per unit, with some managing multiple units generating up to VN35-40 million after expenses. VNS HA NOI On their primary mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, border guard officers and soldiers are deeply involved in the socio-economic development of remote border communities. Their contributions not only enhance the livelihoods of local people, but also reinforce national security, making them indispensable pillars of both defence and development. Extending over 330 kilometres, Cao Bang Provinces border faces an array of complex criminal activities. To counteract these threats, the Cao Bang Border Guard Command has intensified patrols and bolstered crime prevention measures. In 2024 alone, the provinces border guards conducted 1,615 patrols, deploying more than 18,360 personnel. Their efforts cleared over 392 kilometres of routes, while 17 joint patrols with international counterparts saw over 190 officers and soldiers working in unison. Additionally, they executed 21 specialised plans targeting criminal activities and collaborated in four major anti-drug and human smuggling cases. The Tra Linh international border guard station, responsible for nearly 29 kilometres of boundary, remains vigilant against smuggling and illegal crossings. Lieutenant Colonel Vu Van Duong, the stations Political Commissar, underscored their commitment to fostering awareness among officers and residents alike, ensuring a seamless security apparatus that involves community participation in reporting illicit activities. Fostering socio-economic growth Embracing the spirit, The station is home, the border is the homeland, and ethnic minorities are family, border guard officers extend their role beyond security, actively assisting in local development. Their initiatives range from eliminating makeshift housing to encouraging hygienic livestock relocation, key changes that improve living conditions. Chu Thi Cai, a resident of Ban Khau Village in Ha Lang District, exemplifies this transformation. She voluntarily moved her livestock pen away from her stilt house after awareness campaigns by border guards and local authorities. Our home is cleaner now, my children are healthier and even my own well-being has improved, she told Tin Tuc (News) newspaper. Cao Bang Province successfully eradicated over 7,000 makeshift and dilapidated houses in 2024, with the border guard force playing a crucial role. Major Nguyen Vu Le, Deputy Political Commissar of the Ta Lung International Border Gate Guard Station, highlighted their mobilisation of resources and personnel, raising funds to support four impoverished families with VN44 million (US$1,720) each. Among the beneficiaries was am Thi Nguyet from Na Sao Hamlet, Quang Hoa District. A widow raising two children in a deteriorated house, she was deeply moved when border guards and local authorities helped her build a new home, securing a brighter future for her family. Nestled in Thanh Hoa Provinces western border, Na Meo Commune hosts the provinces only international land border gate, linking Viet Nam and Laos. Tasked with securing this crucial passage, the Na Meo International border guard station employs a unique approach that blends security with community empowerment. Through the "all people participate in protecting border security" movement, local residents have actively collaborated with border guards, providing 135 intelligence reports over the past decade. These contributions led to 113 administrative violations being addressed, impacting 166 individuals and recovering numerous contraband goods. Furthermore, the community has participated in 35 joint patrols involving 400 personnel and nine dedicated individuals have voluntarily taken responsibility for protecting border markers. Vi Van Hoi, a resident of Cha Khot Village and a volunteer guardian of border markers, praised the guidance provided by border officers. Thanks to their training, we now understand the importance of border protection and take pride in our role in national security, he said. Na Meos border guards also spearhead agricultural development projects, such as introducing double-cropping wet rice cultivation. This initiative has boosted yields in three Mong ethnic villages of Che Lau, Mua Xuan and Xia Noi, by over two tonnes per hectare. Moreover, collaboration with Viengxay District in Laos has expanded dry-season wet rice farming across 60 hectares, enhancing food security on both sides of the border. Lieutenant Colonel Truong Van Hai, head of the Na Meo border guard station, said: By embedding ourselves in local communities, living and working alongside them, we help raise awareness, foster unity and contribute to lasting peace and development. Nurturing future generations Border guards are not only security enforcers but also guardians of the next generation. Through initiatives such as adopting children and supporting students' education, they provide crucial assistance to disadvantaged youth, ensuring they have access to education and a stable upbringing. Tran Cat Nguyen Vu, an eighth-grader at Hai An Secondary School in Quang Tri Province, has found a second home at Hai An border guard station. Orphaned at a young age, he was taken in under the "border guards adopting children" programme in 2019. Living under the care of Major Ho Ngoc Viet, Head of Administrative Planning, Vu has thrived academically and personally. At first, I was scared and uncertain, but thanks to the kindness of the border guards, especially Dad Viet, I now feel safe and supported, Vu said. His guardian, Major Viet, admitted: I worry about him as much as I do about my own children. Its a big responsibility, but its worth it. Similarly, Nguyen Thi Hong Ngoc, a sixth-grader from Hai Khe Primary and Secondary School, has received monthly support of VN500,000 since 2019 through the supporting students' education initiative. This assistance has enabled her to continue her studies despite financial hardships. Since 2016, Quang Tri Border Guard Command has provided foster care for 24 children and financial aid for 71 students, with funding sourced from officers contributions and charitable donations. Through their unwavering commitment to both security and socio-economic advancement, border guards have become an integral force in strengthening border communities. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam's obstetrics field continues to make significant strides, achieving medical feats that have drastically improved neonatal survival rates. The latest testament to these advancements came on January 3, 2023, when the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NHOG) announced the successful care and nurturing of a Canadian baby boy, born prematurely at just 500g at 25 weeks and six days of gestation, Suc khoe & oi song (Health and Life) newspaper reported. The baby suffered from intrauterine growth restriction and his mother, who had pre-eclampsia, had experienced four unsuccessful pregnancies before. Bui Ngoc Dung Jennie, a Canadian national, had faced multiple pregnancy complications. Her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at nine weeks, while the following three resulted in stillbirths between 20-22 weeks due to pre-eclampsia. Determined to ensure a better outcome this time, she returned to Viet Nam at 12 weeks for prenatal monitoring at two leading hospitals in Ha Noi. At 24 weeks, she was transferred to NHOG due to severe pre-eclampsia, with a dire prognosis for her baby. Doctors closely monitored her in the intensive care unit, aiming to prolong the pregnancy for as long as possible to enhance the baby's chances of survival. However, despite their efforts, the baby exhibited severe intrauterine growth restriction, malnutrition, and chronic foetal distress. On September 30, 2022, when the mothers condition deteriorated further, showing signs of worsening pre-eclampsia, doctors performed an emergency C-section. The baby was born weighing just 500g, facing high risks of necrotising enterocolitis, feeding difficulties and infections. Babies born at 26 weeks are considered extremely preterm, with high risks of severe complications such as brain haemorrhage, heart failure and cerebral palsy. However, thanks to advances in neonatal care, an increasing number of such infants are surviving. Typically, a 26-week-old preterm baby weighs around 760g and measures about 35cm in length so this particular infant, weighing just 500g, was incredibly fragile. He also suffered from hypotension, leukopenia and severe intestinal ischaemia, making him highly vulnerable to infections and intestinal perforation. Doctors immediately intubated the baby and transferred him to the Neonatal Care and Treatment Centre for ventilatory support. Dr Pham Hoang Thai of NHOG said that the baby was fed breast milk from the first day, gradually increasing intake. Initially, medical staff fed him drop by drop, just ten drops at each feeding, 16 times a day. By day 12, he was on full enteral feeding. During his hospital stay, he received extensive respiratory support. Associate Professor Dr Le Minh Trac, Director of the Neonatal Care and Treatment Centre, attributed the baby's survival to refined medical strategies, including early intubation, early feeding and early massage therapy. Massage therapy was vital, stimulating the nervous system, improving circulation and supporting respiration. It reduced apnoea, cyanosis and feeding issues, while providing nutrition through oil absorption and preventing ulcers with beneficial skin bacteria. After more than three months of intensive care, the baby had reached 2kg in weight, was breathing independently and had developed a strong feeding reflex. He could smile and respond to massages, showing signs of comfort. From day 76, the mother was trained in the Kangaroo Care method, and by day 97, the hospital discharged him into his family's care. Holding her baby, the mother described the moment as a dream come true. Preterm births are on the rise globally, with approximately 900,000 neonatal deaths annually. For babies weighing between 1,000-1,500g, the survival rate is nearly 90 per cent, but for those under 1,000g, the rate drops to about 30 per cent. Every additional week in the womb significantly improves a babys survival prospects. Successful outcomes depend on immediate resuscitation at birth and access to advanced neonatal care. In most cases, neonatal viability begins at around 24 weeks. Professor Dr Tran Danh Cuong, former Director of NHOG, said that infants born before 28 weeks fall into the 'extremely low birth weight' category and face severe complications due to underdeveloped organs, including the liver, brain and respiratory systems. Beyond advanced medical equipment, successful care depends on strategies like early feeding and massage therapy. Dr Cuong said that this was the sixth baby weighing 400-500g successfully treated at NHOG, highlighting the hospital's expertise in managing extreme preterm cases. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on AstraZeneca to accelerate the transfer of proprietary drug manufacturing and vaccine technologies to Viet Nam while hosting a reception in Ha Noi on March 5 for Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director of AstraZeneca Vietnam. PM Chinh expressed his appreciation for AstraZeneca and Kapoors practical and effective support during Viet Nams battle against COVID-19 pandemic. He spotlighted the companys delivery of 30 million vaccine doses ahead of schedule and at a reduced cost, despite global supply chain disruptions. Beyond healthcare, AstraZeneca has invested nearly US$100 million in Viet Nams pharmaceutical sector and committed $50 million to forest and landscape restoration. The company has also collaborated with the Ministry of Health on various initiatives and contributed VN1.2 billion to support disaster relief efforts following Typhoon Yagi. At the Viet Nam Business Forum (VBF), AstraZeneca and Kapoor provided timely feedback, recommendations and insights from the foreign business community to the Vietnamese Government. PM Chinh stressed that Viet Nam is further improving its business climate and reforming administrative procedures to reduce time and costs for enterprises. To achieve sustainable development goals, the Vietnamese Government remains committed to fostering deeper cooperation with foreign investors. He urged AstraZeneca to continue investing in Viet Nam, transferring technology, and bolstering the countrys vaccine and pharmaceutical industries, and public health care, while expanding its contributions to forest restoration, social welfare and assistance for vulnerable communities. Praising the Vietnamese Governments decisive and effective leadership during the pandemic, Kapoor expressed his gratitude to Viet Nam, calling it his second home, and commended the nation's efforts and resilience in development, as well as its target of over 8 per cent economic growth this year. He agreed with the hosts proposals and expressed his desire to strengthen collaboration with Vietnamese partners, especially the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. AstraZeneca will continue accompanying Viet Nam on its path to realise set goals, he said, adding that through afforestation and biomass energy projects, carbon credit initiatives and public health campaigns focused on disease prevention and early detection, the company will support Viet Nams sustainable development, GDP growth and net-zero emissions. VNS VIENTIANE Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and his Japanese counterpart Ishiba Shigeru have exchanged congratulatory messages marking the seven-decade diplomatic ties between Laos and Japan (March 5, 1955 - 2025). The Lao Prime Ministers message read On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and Japan, on behalf of the government and people of the Lao PDR, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to Your Excellency and through Your Excellency to the Government and entire people of Japan for good health, prosperity, and continued success in national development. I am deeply delighted and highly value the fruitful outcomes of our long-standing relations and good cooperation between our two countries over the past 70 years, which was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January 2025. All of this milestone reflects the success of our strengthened friendly ties and cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to the people of our two nations. Furthermore, our two countries have continued to maintain regular coordination, exchange views, and mutual support in the regional and international fora. Once again, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the government and people of Japan for the invaluable support and assistance in the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR over the past years. I strongly believe that the flourishing friendship and cooperation between our two countries under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be strengthened and developed continuously to bring tangible benefits to our people as well as contribute to peace, stability, and development cooperation in the region and the world at large. On this auspicious occasion, I wish Your Excellency good health, happiness, and continued success in your noble duties. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. For his part, PM Shigeru highlighted the growing ties over the past decades and expressed the hope that they would grow further. His message read, On this day 70 years ago, Japan and Laos established diplomatic relations. On behalf of the Government and the people of Japan, I am delighted to celebrate this occasion together with the people of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. I would like to express my gratitude once again for the warm welcome extended to me by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and the people of Laos during my official visit to the Lao PDR in October last year, immediately after I took office as Prime Minister. During Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandones official visit to Japan in January this year, we elevated our bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, marking a significant milestone in our 70-year history of friendship and cooperation, heralding the beginning of a new era. Through our close dialogue and the Joint Statement we signed, we charted a concrete path towards further deepening and expanding our cooperation. I look forward to steadily advancing our cooperation along this path to raise our bilateral relations to even greater heights. Furthermore, I wish to strengthen our collaboration to ensure that our excellent bilateral relations contribute to peace, stability, and development in both regional and international contexts, and to work together with Laos to realise a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) based on the rule of law. Japan places great importance on cooperation that contributes to Laos autonomous and quality economic growth, including fiscal stabilisation. To this end, we will continue to support Laos efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, agriculture, education, healthcare and medical services, climate change measures, disaster risk reduction, and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the first dispatch of JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to Laos in 1965. Each volunteer who has served in Laos has made significant contributions to expanding mutual understanding and trust between our countries. Moving forward, we aim to further strengthen the bonds between our nations through enhanced youth and regional exchanges, as well as cooperation in investment and tourism. I hope that the various commemorative events held this year will further promote mutual understanding between our peoples. The Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, beginning this April, will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase Laos wonderful culture and specialty products to Japan and the world, allowing many people to learn more about Laos. I look forward to continuing close cooperation with Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone towards the success of this exposition. In closing, I extend my heartfelt wishes for the continued prosperity and happiness of Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and the people of Laos. VIENTIANE TIMES/ANN Christiaan was found safe. (Photo: VNA) Lao Cai A Dutch man who went missing while trekking Fansipan, Vietnam's highest peak, was found safe by the authorities of Sa Pa township, the northern province of Lao Cai, at 11am on March 4. Christiaan, a 60-year-old adventurer, embarked on his trek at 9 am on March 3. His last communication with his wife, Nathalie Margaretha Carola, was at 4:11 pm, when he warned her that his phone battery was running low and he might have to spend the night in the forest. Alarmed by the sudden loss of contact, Carola promptly reported his disappearance to local authorities. Upon receiving the report at 3am on March 4, Hoang Lien communes search and rescue command quickly mobilised an extensive rescue operation involving the public security force, rangers, and military personnel. Two initial search teams, each comprising 14 members, set out at 4 am, navigating separate trails from Sin Chai village and Tram Ton - Nui Xe, within the expansive Hoang Lien National Park. At 7:30 am, two more 12-member teams joined, scouring trails along streams from Cat Cat hamlet and using the Fansipan cable car to widen the operation. After hours of relentless search, rescuers finally spotted Christiaan in Sin Chai village, tired but unharmed. He was safely escorted back, bringing relief to his family and the rescue teams. Authorities have issued a stern reminder to trekkers attempting to conquer Fansipan, saying that they must make thorough preparations via understanding the terrain and weather conditions, ensuring physical fitness, and carrying adequate gear. Yarn production at the Logitex Co. Ltd in the Vu Ninh Industrial Cluster, Thai Binh province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Vietnam's impressive economic growth in 2024 was fueled by contributions from various sectors, with foreign direct investment (FDI) playing a pivotal role. As the country aims to achieve a growth rate of at least 8 per cent in 2025 and double-digit growth in subsequent years, the contributions from the FDI sector need to be amplified. Vietnam in top 15 destinations for FDI According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam secured 38.23 billion USD in FDI last year, positioning itself among the top 15 developing countries for FDI inflows. Notably, the disbursement of FDI capital hit a record high of 25.35 billion USD, up 9.4 per cent from the previous year. The influx has contributed significantly to Vietnam's position as a regional leader in economic growth. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said the FDI sector has left a significant milestone in bolstering Vietnams collaboration with global tech giants such as NVIDIA in R&D activities, technology transfer, and high-quality human resources development to capitalise on semiconductor and AIs potential, helping deliver on the countrys targets in the new era. FDI has shared the investment burden in a context where state budget resources remain limited and spread across various priorities. Besides generating millions of jobs, the sector has boosted exports, expanded international economic relations, and enhanced Vietnam's competitiveness in global economic integration. It currently accounts for over 70 per cent of the country's total export turnover. The sector has actually emerged as one of the main drivers of Vietnam's economic growth, with its influence extending deeply into the country's socio-economic landscape. Against the backdrop, it is necessary to identify strengths and weaknesses to enhance the sectors effectiveness and contributions. With a view to realising the target of luring some 150-200 billion USD in FDI for 2021-2025, and 200-300 billion USD for 2026-2030, measures need to be taken to settle several existing issues within the FDI sector, including cases of non-compliance with Vietnamese laws, violations of environmental protection regulations, labour and wage infractions, and tax evasion. Besides, transfer pricing has become increasingly sophisticated, raising questions about why some FDI enterprises report losses while simultaneously proposing expansion of their investments in Vietnam. Although regulatory authorities have identified and penalised many companies, combating transfer pricing remains challenging. Improvements for enhanced attractiveness Experts proposed several ways to enhance FDI's impact on Vietnam's economic growth, laying stress on the significance of maintaining preferential policies to lure the capital and making them more transparent, attractive, and competitive. They held that FDI policies should be selective, with priority given to quality, efficiency, technology, and environmental protection. Furthermore, administrative reforms should enhance support for the FDI sector while management should be tightened with proactive post-inspection measures, creating conditions for investors to shorten preparation and implementation time of projects. They also suggested that Vietnam should prioritise projects featuring advanced and clean technologies, modern governance, high added value, spillover effects, and global connectivity between production and supply chains. Additionally, the country should continue negotiating and signing free trade agreements to create a favourable environment for foreign trade, thereby attracting FDI to launch production for export in Vietnam. Vietnam is gradually shifting towards enhancing FDI quality by focusing on selective, proactive attraction of high-tech, environmentally friendly projects in spearhead sectors. Notably, in recent years, Vietnam has identified semiconductors and AI as two strategic industries to drive national development. Deputy Director of the National Innovation Centre (NIC) Vo Xuan Hoai said that Vietnam has proactively developed a domestic semiconductor ecosystem and created a favourable legal corridor to welcome global enterprises. He said Vietnam has made impressive progress in semiconductor cooperation with the US, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, Taiwan (China), and Europe. Last year, the NIC announced its partnership with NVIDIA, a major chip and AI corporation, to set up an AI R&D Centre and an AI Data Centre. The Vietnamese Government is planning to train some 50,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030 to meet the increasing demand of this strategic sector. To enhance the capacity for genuine and effective evaluation and control of the FDI sector's contribution to the economy, the Prime Minister recently issued a decision establishing criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of foreign investment in Vietnam. Notable among these are 29 economic indicators measuring important factors such as budget contributions, profit before tax, profit margins, and linkages between FDI enterprises and domestic companies. In another move, the Government issued a decree on the establishment, management, and use of the Investment Support Fund, affirming its commitment to to promoting high-tech enterprises, particularly in semiconductors and AI. This initiative not only serves as an important driver for enhancing competitiveness but also helps Vietnam integrate more deeply into the international market. Director General of the RoK-based Hana Micron, Inc. Lee Dong-Chul said that Vietnam has become an attractive destination for high-tech enterprises on the back of the Governments strong support, sound infrastructure, and high-quality human resources at rational costs. No slowdown felt in China+1 FDI strategy Asurge of foreign inflows into Vietnam so far in 2025 is highlighting the countrys increasing role as a China+1 destination. Criteria for evaluation of FDI efficiency in Vietnam issued These criteria assess the impact of foreign investment on economic development, considering factors such as capital, growth, operational performance, technology, tax contributions, spillover effects, and links to domestic enterprises. Illustrative image. Over 4,000 Ford Explorer will be recalled in Vietnam due to concern that an exterior trim piece on the A-pillar that flanks the windshield may detach. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of 4,142 Ford Explorer vehicles in Vietnam to inspect and replace the exterior trim on the A-pillar, as part of the automakers global safety recall programme, according to Vietnam Register (VR). The affected vehicles were manufactured in the US between May 17, 2010, and March 3, 2019, before being imported and distributed by Ford Vietnam Co. Ltd. The recall campaign runs until January 15, 2030, ensuring ample time for owners to bring their vehicles in for inspection and repairs. The process is estimated to take about 1.5 hours per vehicle and will be provided free of charge. According to Ford Motor, the issue involves A-pillar retention clips, the components responsible for securing the trim that covers the vehicles roof supports along the windshield. In some cases, these clips may not be properly engaged, potentially causing the trim to become loose or detach completely while the vehicle is in motion. This could pose a safety hazard to other road users, as detached trim pieces may fall off unexpectedly. The automaker attributes the issue to assembly process errors or previous repairs involving windshield replacement or reattachment. As part of the recall, affected vehicles will undergo a free inspection and replacement of any loose or improperly secured A-pillar trim. The procedure will be carried out in accordance with Ford Motors official technical guidelines. Ford Vietnam recommended customers to visit an authorised dealership for a free safety inspection and replacement of any affected parts, ensuring their own safety and that of their passengers. For Ford Explorer vehicles imported through independent channels (such as personal imports, diplomatic vehicles, or units brought in by other companies), Ford Vietnam is willing to provide assistance upon request if the vehicles are covered under Ford Motors recall. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh addresses the dialogue (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a dialogue in Hanoi on March 4 with businesses from ASEAN member countries that are operating in Vietnam. This was the 10th working session in a month that the Vietnamese Government leader had held with both domestic and foreign business communities, aiming to promote investment, production, and business activities, helping Vietnam achieve a growth target of 8% in 2025 and double-digit rates in the following years. Over the years, Vietnam-ASEAN relations have stood as a vivid testament to solidarity, mutual support, cooperation, and successful regional integration. Vietnams total trade with ASEAN countries reached 83.6 billion USD in 2024. ASEAN is now Vietnams 4th largest export market and 3rd biggest import market. Several ASEAN countries are also among the top foreign investors in Vietnam. Specifically, Singapore takes the lead with 3,946 projects worth 84.3 billion USD, followed by Thailand with 755 projects worth 14.3 billion USD, and Malaysia with 767 projects totaling 12.9 billion USD. Conversely, Vietnam has invested in 871 projects across ASEAN countries, with a total investment nearing 12.1 billion USD, mainly in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Singapore. However, these results remain modest compared to ASEANs potential and the expectations of Vienam. At the dialogue, ASEAN businesses pledged to work with Vietnam to achieve at least 8% growth in 2025 and double-digit expansion in the following years. They plan to boost investment in key sectors such as high technology, semiconductors, AI, aviation, energy, e-commerce agriculture, finance and logistics. They also urged Vietnam to improve its legal framework, enhance tax transparency, simplify customs procedures, ease land and visa regulations, and speed up investment licensing, while raising concerns about ongoing projects. PM Chinh thanked the firms for their proposals, and assigned ministries and sectors to promptly address businesses concerns. He affirmed that Vietnam is actively addressing these matters, guided by the spirit of "harmonising interests, sharing risks, and ensuring no one is left behind." He urged businesses to maintain close collaboration with relevant ministries, sectors, and local authorities to resolve any remaining bottlenecks through open, equal, and honest dialogue. Analysing the current world situation, he proposed that ASEAN countries and businesses pursue greater political and diplomatic solidarity and unity; stronger economic connectivity and more effective, deeper cooperation; bolder and more effective mindset reforms; more practical and responsive solutions to meet real-world demands; and more decisive and focused implementation, with tighter coordination between countries and businesses. PM Chinh underlined that Vietnam views ASEAN as a common home and close neighbour, identifying it as a strategic priority in its foreign policy. Vietnam is committed to working with ASEAN to build a united and strong community, he stated. However, the cooperation potential between Vietnam and ASEAN remains substantial, he held, urging both sides to exert even greater efforts, moving from effective to even more effective, with ASEAN businesses taking the lead in this process. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and delegates at the dialogue (Photo: VNA) The leader affirmed Vietnam consistently pursue its renewal process and foreign policy, aiming for at least 8% growth in 2025 and double-digit growth in following years, with the goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and high middle income by 2030 and a high-income developed nation by 2045. He highlighted Vietnams improved business environment and upgraded global rankings in 2024, positioning the country as a strategic production hub. Vietnam is focusing on three breakthroughs - institutional reform, infrastructure, and human resources development, to support sustainable business operations, calling on ASEAN businesses to expand investment, transfer technology, support legal reforms, and help train skilled workers. Particularly, the PM urged Singaporean businesses to actively support the implementation of the Vietnam-Singapore Economic Connectivity Framework Agreement and the Green and Digital Economy Partnership, initially focusing on digital transformation, circular economy, innovation, and clean energy. He encouraged the expansion and transformation of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) into smart, green, sustainable ones, and called on Singapore to maintain its position as Vietnams top ASEAN investor while improving FDI quality, especially in high-tech, digital economy, circular economy, clean energy, semiconductors, and AI, and to help Vietnam develop international financial centres. For Thai businesses, he urged efforts to raise bilateral trade to 25 billion USD, with a more balanced trade structure. He highlighted cooperation opportunities in the "three connectivity" strategy, particularly supply chains, transport, tourism, digital economy, and green economy. As Vietnam target 18 billion USD in bilateral trade with Malayia, Chinh called for reduced trade barriers, easier Halal certification, and increased imports of Vietnamese Halal products. He also highlighted cooperation in digital economy, green economy, energy transition, innovation, smart agriculture, e-government, and cybersecurity. For Indonesian businesses, he proposed removing agricultural and Halal trade barriers, targeting 20 billion USD in trade. He encouraged investments in new sectors such as digital economy, green economy, e-commerce, digital transformation, and EV ecosystems. Talking to Philippine businesses, he said he hopes two-way trade will reach 10 billion USD soon, with smoother agricultural trade and increased cooperation in food processing, infrastructure, automotive, renewable energy, and high-tech agriculture. The leader also reaffirmed Vietnams commitment to a fair, transparent, and competitive investment environment, protecting businesses legal rights and interests, ensuring political and social stability, and maintaining consistent laws and policies. He concluded by stressing that the Vietnamese Government will always stand by businesses to foster breakthroughs, unite strengths, and shape the future, keeping ASEAN a dynamic, innovative, and growth-centered region that benefits all member countries. Since its inception, SmartSolar has deployed nearly 1MW of rooftop solar projects across dozens of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. With this funding, the company plans to accelerate its growth here and expand its footprint across Southeast Asia. The companys long-term vision extends beyond installations, with ambitions to develop a comprehensive EnergyTech platform that empowers SMEs to transition seamlessly to renewable energy. As Southeast Asia grapples with the dual challenges of rising energy demand and climate change, SmartSolars innovative financing model and execution speed could position it as a key player in decarbonising the regions gridone rooftop at a time. Specifically, SmartSolar installs solar systems on commercial rooftops at zero upfront cost, allowing businesses to transition to clean energy without financial barriers. The companys innovative approach also tackles another major hurdle: limited access to financing. Abhijay Thacker, senior vice president at Picus Capital, highlighted the critical role of energy in economic development and SmartSolars potential to transform the sector, saying, "Electricity is one of the basic building blocks of any economy, with development directly linked to energy intensity. We are very excited about SmartSolars approach to supplying Southeast Asia with clean and inexpensive power." "We strongly believe in the significant value they can generate for customers, the environment, and the region at largestarting with rooftop solar and soon expanding across the EnergyTech stack," added Thacker. In the same vein, Soren Wiberg Holm, Venture Lead at 2degrees, underscored SmartSolars potential to solve one of the biggest barriers to solar adoption for SMEsaccess to upfront capital. "We see the market for solar in Vietnam at an inflection point, with surging local demand, favourable natural conditions, and strong policy tailwinds. SmartSolar is poised to build the financing infrastructure that will power the transition to clean energy across the region," said Holm. Kamereo bags $7.8 million in Series B funding Kamereo, a business-to-business (B2B) food supply e-commerce platform in Vietnam, announced on December 9 that it had raised $7.8 million in its Series B funding round. Agritech firm 'enfarm' secures seed funding Vietnamese agritech company enfarm announced on December 26 that it has secured a seed funding round led by Touchstone Partners, with participation from Aiviet Venture and Conservation Vietnam. From right: National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh, UN Women Representative in Vietnam Caroline Nyamayemombe, and UNICEF Deputy Representative in Vietnam Michaela Bauer. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh held a meeting in Hanoi on March 4 with Caroline Nyamayemombe, UN Women Representative in Vietnam, and Michaela Bauer, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Vietnam, to strengthen cooperation on gender equality and womens empowerment. Thanh praised the strong collaboration between UN Women and Vietnam in developing and implementing policies on gender equality and preventing gender-based violence. She reaffirmed that Vietnam remains firmly committed to promoting gender equality and empowering women, noting the NA and Government's continuous efforts to improve legal frameworks and ensure gender equality is integrated into all socio-economic development policies, strategies, and plans. On January 1, 2025, Vietnam officially began its membership of the UN Women Executive Board for 2025-2027, Thanh said, highlighting Vietnams intention to contribute actively to shaping UN Womens programmes that align with the common goals of UN member states, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals and the key documents of the Summit of the Future. Vietnam has also made significant progress in enhancing womens participation in leadership and management roles, with female deputies now accounting for over 30% of the NA seats. However, the official noted that considerable challenges remain, particularly in improving access to education, employment, science, and technology for women and girls in rural, remote, and disadvantaged areas. Mentioning her participation at the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York on March 10, Thanh said she will present Vietnams concerns and proposals aimed at accelerating the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. She will also highlight Vietnams achievements and share its experiences in promoting gender equality and advancing womens rights. The legislator called on UN Women to maintain close cooperation with the Vietnamese Government under the UN Womens Strategy Note for Vietnam for 2022-2026. She asked the organisation to prioritise programmes that help Vietnamese women access science and technology, adopt digital and AI tools, and improve their skills to secure quality jobs. She also urged greater efforts to enhance womens roles in politics, economy, and society, while supporting the implementation of Vietnams National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Meanwhile, Thanh reaffirmed Vietnams recognition of UNICEF as a vital development partner, with long-standing contributions to child protection, education, and welfare in Vietnam over past decades. She asked UNICEF to mobilise more resources to support Vietnamese children, particularly those in climate-vulnerable and disadvantaged areas, and to strengthen policy advice and capacity building for officials working in child-related sectors. Both Nyamayemombe and Bauer commended Vietnams prioritisation of gender equality and child protection, as reflected in its policies, plans, and programmes. They highlighted the significance of CSW69 in setting ambitious global goals for gender equality and empowering all women and girls. They expressed confidence that the Vietnamese delegation, led by Thanh, will hold productive exchanges at CSW69 on key issues including advancing gender equality within government structures, developing a national action plan to end violence against women, promoting a just transition to a green economy with a focus on new skills for green jobs, and ensuring womens equal access to technology and economic opportunities. The UN Women Representative in Vietnam said she hopes that Vietnam will help rally global momentum for policy changes and practical actions that foster a more inclusive and equitable environment for science, technology, and innovation to ensure that women and girls are not only using technology, but leading and shaping the future of science, technology, and innovation itself. This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Mar 5th, 2025 Wrexham.com has invited the four North Wales Members of the Senedd to write a monthly column with updates on their work. You can find their updates along with contributions from the local MPs and MSs here. In this months column, Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd Sam Rowlands writes: Its coming up to the time of year when council tax rates are decided across Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom. There are many factors contributing to the finances of local Councils, and its important to note that the majority of funding for each Council in Wales comes from the Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay. That means Councils rely heavily on the decisions of Labour Ministers down south, who are quite happy to underfund North Wales as theyve done for the past quarter of a century. It was particularly disappointing to see the final settlement for Wrexham Council had actually been cut by 3000 since the initial draft proposals back in December. That is completely unnecessary from Welsh Government, particularly when you consider only one other Council also had a reduction since the draft figures were released. Its also worth pointing out that decisions taken by the Labour Government in London are also having a negative effect on Welsh Councils just look at the hike in National Insurance (NI) contributions, which will put further financial strain on councils. Councils, in their role as employers, will face higher payroll costs which could very well lead to cuts in services or increased local taxes. So, how are the figures worked out by Welsh Government? Councils are funded through a funding formula, which is outdated and doesnt make much sense to most people who look at it! Through this formula, Councils in North Wales and rural areas tend to lose out, which means more pressure on local authorities in our part of the world. The formula uses data points that are literally decades out of date, that dont reflect the state of Wales in 2025. Just think how much Wrexham has changed in the last few years, never mind the last two or three decades! A clear example of this is that Welsh Governments funding formula assumes that an extra 1,500 a year will be needed to support each person over the age of 85. However, for people aged between 60 and 84, this figure is just 10.72. That is a massive difference and has a really significant knock-on effect for Councils and the services they are able to provide. This funding formula needs to be changed it needs to be made fair for all in Wales, and not leave an array of winners or losers as it does now. More consistency in funding it not only fairer, it means Councils can plan their budgets more efficiently and on a longer-term basis. Another example of the funding formula not working is certain Councils being left with a huge build up of reserves, like Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council. They are certainly a winner from the funding formula and have plenty of cash tucked away, whilst other Councils are forced into penny pinching. At the last count, the Labour-run RCT was sat on over 200 million in reserves and Welsh Councils as a whole currently hold over 2 billion in usable reserves. That money should be utilised properly to protect frontline services such as school and social care provision. It is often said that reserve money is there for a rainy day, and I think its fair to say that the current circumstances constitute a rainy day. I know people on the ground would expect that reserve money to be made more use of. Indeed, there are lots of things that you would expect Councils and Welsh Government to be doing in the process of setting budgets. However, all too often, it feels like these decisions are happening so far away from the people who are actually impacted by it. We need to see a renewal of local democracy, and there is an idea to better involve residents in the council tax setting process. Id like to see a local referendum if Councils want to raise council tax above 5%, which would mirror what takes place in England. That is a common sense move that puts power in the hands of local people, enhancing accountability and ensuring that residents have a direct voice in decisions impacting their tax bill. It comes back to that theme of fairness its fairer when local people have more involvement in these decisions, and it will lead to fairer outcomes. As ever, if youd like to get in touch with me then you can send an email to sam.rowlands@senedd.wales A483 closed northbound from Rossett due to RTC This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Mar 5th, 2025 The bypass is closed northbound due to a collision in a separate incident that caused earlier queues. As of 6:30pm North Wales Police said, The A483 is currently closed on both lanes from Junction 7, Rossett to the roundabout on Pulford, Chester due to a Road Traffic Collision. Emergency Services are dealing. More shortly. Earlier an incident involving a manhole created sizeable queues in the area: More: https://wrexham.com/news/a483-gridlock-with-1-5-hour-delays-northbound-due-to-manhole-cover-266570.html Senedd passes 26bn budget by one vote after Lib Dems secure 100m in concessions This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Mar 5th, 2025 The Senedd signed off on the Welsh Governments 26bn budget for the coming year after ministers struck a deal with the Liberal Democrats. Senedd members voted 29-28 in favour of the final budget, with Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds abstaining after securing more than 100m worth of commitments from ministers. Labour, which holds half the Senedds 60 seats, needed the support of at least one opposition member to pass spending plans for the 12 months from April. The deal with Ms Dodds, the Lib Dems only Senedd member, included a promise to ban greyhound racing in Wales and allocate 15m for a pilot of 1 bus fares for under-22s. The MP-turned-Senedd member secured 30m for childcare, 30m for social care, 10m for playgrounds and leisure centres, 10m for rural investment and 5m to address pollution. Deep sense of responsibility Ministers also committed 8m to a funding floor to reduce variation across Wales 22 councils, with each set to receive a minimum increase of 3.8%. Leading a debate on March 4, finance secretary Mark Drakeford said the 2025/26 budget provides an additional 1.6bn for public services. The former first minister told the Senedd: No party has ever had a majority since devolution began, so we have always had to craft a path to stability in Wales. Prof Drakeford added: Those who send us here believe it is a strength to see different political parties working together and so do I. So, Im grateful to Jane for putting the interests of the people of Wales above the daily clash of politics. Without the deal, ministers faced losing more than 4bn in the financial year from April. Ms Dodds, who represents Mid and West Wales, said she felt a deep sense of responsibility to reach an agreement on the crucial budget. Frittered away She told the Senedd: If we dont pass this budget, we risk losing billions for the people of Wales and I cannot in good conscience let that happen. But, explaining her decision to abstain, she said: I cannot fully support a budget that falls short of delivering the investment and radical change Wales needs. Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives shadow finance secretary, was disappointed to see the sole Lib Dem propping up the Welsh Government through a pretty weak deal. Darren Millar, leader of the Tory group, told the Senedd his party would vote against the budget to bring to an end 26 years of a failing, tired, clapped-out Labour government. Our money is being frittered away, he said, criticising spending on nationalising Cardiff Airport, Transport for Wales, the 20mph default speed limit and more Senedd members. Fire and fury Referring to Mr Millar missing a debate on the draft budget last month for a prayer breakfast in the US, Labours Alun Davies said: We listened to the fire and fury from Darren Millar. He obviously learned more when he was in Washington than simply what Donald Trump enjoys for breakfast. And, of course, he talks about closing overseas offices hes the greatest travel agent weve had in this chamber. In recent years, Plaid Cymru helped the Welsh Government pass its budgets in return for 46 commitments but the party pulled out of the co-operation agreement last May. Party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth criticised a spurious argument that by voting against the flawed budget, Plaid Cymru would be voting against individual spending decisions. Heledd Fychan, the partys shadow finance secretary, called for fairer funding for Wales, pointing out that resource funding sees the lowest real-term increase of all devolved nations. She warned additional funding could be swallowed up by national insurance increases. Stop digging Mark Drakeford accused Plaid Cymru of washing its hands, claiming he met Ms Fychan three times and not once did she set out the partys demands to support the budget. Mr ap Iorwerth said: Its very, very clear that we took a different approach to this budget from [the] Welsh Government: our demands were too great in this instance. Prof Drakeford replied: The political cul-de-sac into which Plaid Cymru has backed itself is a prime example of the Denis Healey first law of holes if youre in one: stop digging. But youve been digging as though there was no end in sight. The Senedd agreed to make no changes to Welsh rates of income tax in 2025/26, as has happened every year since Wales gained some powers to vary rates in April 2019. Prof Drakeford said he would commission a review into more income tax powers, similar to Scotland where there is an additional band and rates that diverge from the rest of the UK. Senedd members also approved the final 9.5bn settlement for councils as well as the Welsh Governments 112m component of funding for police and crime commissioners. By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter A dangerous fugitive was captured in a joint effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service Nevada Violent Offender Task Force on March 4, 2025. On February 8, 2020, Guillermo Verano-Cruz was charged with aggravated sexual assault in Mexico, and a warrant was issued. Mexican officials asked the U.S. Marshals Service to help them find and capture 46-year-old Guillermo Verano-Cruz, who, in addition to their warrant, had an active ICE administrative deportation warrant, was known to have a lengthy criminal record, and had already been deported three times prior, on February 28, 2025. After his car was seen on Highway 50 in Carson City on March 4, 2025, Verano was taken into custody without incident by ICE and the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force. The arrest was made with assistance from the sheriff's offices in Carson City and Douglas County. Pull Quote This arrest reflects our commitment to protecting victims and removing dangerous individuals through strong collaboration across the state. - U.S. Marshal Gary Schofield Due to the Mexican foreign fugitive warrant, Verano was taken into custody. After being found to have violated U.S. immigration regulations, another person in Verano's car was taken into custody by ICE. Amp up your wardrobe with pieces from Gap's eclectic collaboration with emerging Black designers. Plus, Sezane brings a slice of Paris to Santana Row and Sardine brightens your day with bold sunnies. Sezane says bonjour to San Jose's Santana Row. (Courtesy of Sezane) Silicon Valley shoppers no longer need to trek to San Franciscos Fillmore Street to get their fix of French-girl staples. Pourquoi? Because Parisian brand Sezane just opened its second Bay Area boutique at Santana Row. Unlike the Pac Heights store, the new 2,700-square-foot LAppartement San Jose is not permanent. The new space is part of the retailers US tour and strategy to engage with local communities, devoted fans (including obsessive online shoppers), and new customers alikeand is scheduled to close up shop at the end of 2025. The Iconics Collections, chic pieces designed in Paris but made expressly for California, is the centerpiece of the bright SJ space. Think cozy cardigans and signature knitwear, feminine blouses and cool denim, plus ooh-la-la-worthy jewelry, handbags, and shoes crafted in Europe. Throughout its run, the boutique will host various special events with a French twist, as well as collabs with local artisans and businesses. // 333 Santana Row, Suite 1115 (San Jose), sezane.com Federal Bank, one of India's leading private sector banks with an impressive legacy over the years, today announced the appointment of acclaimed actress Vidya Balan as its first-ever brand ambassador. The announcement was made during a special ceremony in Mumbai, where Ms. Balan was presented with a commemorative memento by K.V.S. Manian, Managing Director & CEO of Federal Bank. This association is an important milestone in the brand's journey as it continues to enhance its market position. The Bank's senior team in a recent analyst meet had laid out clear directional path for the Bank and brand transformation was one of the significant themes. M V S Murthy, Chief Marketing Officer of the Bank said Ms. Balan was a very strategic choice to capture the attention across geographies, genders and generations. He said, "We are super-stoked to have Vidya Balan champion Federal Bank. She is versatile, appeals across demographics and gender, has a pan-India fan following, and is multi-faceted. An actor's actor, she becomes the character on camera while continuing to charm us in her interpersonal interactions off-screen. Her preparation, desire to understand nuances, and consideration of various scenarios all contribute to her ability to bring out the essence of every role she plays. We have experienced this as we sought to bring her on board. At Federal Bank, too, empathy is our segue to understanding and servicing our customers. Its a universal trait that transcends geographies, generations, and customer demographics. Our NPS scores and Peer Comparison in the Nielsen studies, clearly indicate the stripes we have earned by being a Human at The Core, Digital at The ForeTM Franchise. Much like Vidya, we too make light of our chores and celebrate the wins created through the collective effort of our teams. I am sure Vidya will power prosperity for everyone associated with Federal Bank. Character, Culture and Customers are how we celebrate ourselves and the Brand." Balan, who has earned critical acclaim and a devoted following through her versatile performances in films like 'Kahaani', 'Parineeta', and 'Shakuntala Devi', etc. expressed her enthusiasm about the partnership. "Being an ambassador for varied Brands in the country, I believe we are telling the India Story to the World. And Federal Bank, makes the cut, in terms of powering our economy from down South to up North. They have a very broad brush when it comes to having a generationally loyal franchise, being the leading employer for Women in the country, creating a work culture where people stay and contribute to all round growth. I am deeply appreciative of their efforts in supporting communities and causes, while continuing to build a very robust business. I genuinely sense the vibe when Federal Bankers tell me that they are Human at the Core, Digital to the Fore TM. Looking forward to a very exciting Rishta with Federal Bank. The multi-year association of Federal Bank will span across various marketing initiatives, including television commercials and digital campaigns. As Federal Bank gears itself for the breakthrough journey, the first brand ambassador will help tell the brand's Kahani to the world and deepen the Rishta with its stakeholders. Just as Vidya has redefined female leadership in Indian cinema through her powerful performances and meaningful choices, Federal Bank, at this juncture is pursuing breakthroughs across product propositions, service lines and geographies. The Forbes India Leadership Awards 2025 culminated in a grand ceremony at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, where the country's top leaders were honoured for their innovative and transformative leadership and contributions to their industries and the nation. The first awards of the evening celebrated breakthrough innovations and stellar achievements: Emerging Innovator Award: BugWorks Research, with Dr Anand Anandkumar, Dr V Balasubramanium and Dr Santanu Datta remarking, Innovation isnt just discovery; its impact. BugWorks Research, with Dr Anand Anandkumar, Dr V Balasubramanium and Dr Santanu Datta remarking, Innovation isnt just discovery; its impact. Outstanding Startup Award: BrowserStack. Recipients Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal noted, We power half the worlds airlines, banks, and tech firms. BrowserStack. Recipients Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal noted, We power half the worlds airlines, banks, and tech firms. Icons of Excellence: Ajay Singh of SpiceJet and Katrina Kaif of Kay Beauty were honoured, with Singh saying, We started SpiceJet against all odds," and Kaif emphasising, "If you enter business, you must have something unique to say. Fireside Chat Katrina Kaif on Business and Branding: Katrina Kaif, in conversation with Naini Thaker of Forbes India, talked about her journey from Bollywood to the boardroom, underscoring the importance of inclusivity and self-expression in branding. Business & Economy Panel: This segment featured robust discussions on the economic outlook and key business strategies: Leaders like KVS Manian, Rajesh Jejurikar, and Madan Sabnavis explored topics ranging from global trade challenges to growth projections and the role of MSMEs in job creation. A standout quote from Rajesh Jejurikar: The world needs India more than India needs the world. Final Set of Awards and Closing Highlights: The ceremony recognised outstanding leaders: Icons of Excellence: Jay Shah, Chairman of ICC; Shyam Srinivasan, Veteran Banker; and Mohit Joshi of Tech Mahindra were honoured. Jay Shah, Chairman of ICC; Shyam Srinivasan, Veteran Banker; and Mohit Joshi of Tech Mahindra were honoured. Promising Startup: Presented to Minimalist, received by Rahul Yadav and Mohit Yadav. Presented to Minimalist, received by Rahul Yadav and Mohit Yadav. Regional Goliath: Presented to MTR Foods, received by Sunay Bhasin and Sanjay Sharma. Presented to MTR Foods, received by Sunay Bhasin and Sanjay Sharma. Grassroots Philanthropists: Rizwan Koita and Rekha Koita of Koita Foundation. Rizwan Koita and Rekha Koita of Koita Foundation. Climate Warrior: Presented to Indra Water, received by Amrit Om Nayak and Krunal Patel. Presented to Indra Water, received by Amrit Om Nayak and Krunal Patel. Turnaround Star: Presented to Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), received by Puneet Chhatwal. Presented to Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL), received by Puneet Chhatwal. Next-Gen Entrepreneur: Varun Jaipuria of Varun Beverages. Varun Jaipuria of Varun Beverages. Institution Builder: Ashish Dhawan of Central Square Foundation and Ashoka University. Ashish Dhawan of Central Square Foundation and Ashoka University. Entrepreneur of the Year: Supam Maheshwari of FirstCry. Supam Maheshwari of FirstCry. CEO of the Year: Rajesh Jejurikar of Mahindra & Mahindra. These are tricky times, when great leaders and transformational leadership are needed more than ever. These are people who seize the day. Today, we have a hall full of people who seize the day, and we are here to raise a toast to them, said Suveen Sinha, Editor, Forbes India. The event concluded with a grand finale that included a celebratory toast and a group photo of all the winners, embodying the spirit of collaborative success and leadership. Special thanks were extended to partners Federal Bank, KIA, Indiqube, Rajasthan Tourism, and Reliance Industries for their support in making the event a success. Skoda Auto India, in collaboration with Publicis India, has released an inspiring new film, Own Your Dream, featuring Skodas first-ever Brand Superstar - Ranveer Singh, along with the all-new Skoda Kylaq. The film will be the first-ever Skoda ad campaign to be translated in multiple regional languages, signalling a bold step in Skodas journey to expand its footprint across India, from Metropolitan regions to Tier-2, Tier-3 and beyond, while redefining the aspirations of a new generation of Indian consumers. Featuring Skoda Auto Indias first-ever Brand Superstar, Ranveer Singh, the film is an ode to the bold, uncompromising Indian - one who pursues success on their own terms and refuses to settle for anything ordinary. More than just a vehicle, the Kylaq emerges as a trusted companion on this journey, where ambition meets European engineering, now within reach like never before. With a fresh, consumer-first approach, the film weaves an evocative tale of aspiration and progress, positioning the Kylaq as a catalyst for dreams, seamlessly aligning with the growth strategy outlined for India, the most important market for Skoda Auto outside India. Speaking about the campaign, Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India said, 2025 is a landmark year for us in India and globally. It marks the advent of the New Era for us in India with a slew of activities and actions headlined by the Skoda Kylaq and our product offensive strategy. The Kylaq will build the Skoda brand further in existing and new markets across India, inspiring customers across tier II-IV markets. Our film, Own Your Dream, beautifully captures the synergy between the unstoppable Kylaq, the new aspirations and emotions of our customers, and the electrifying personality of Ranveer Singh. Just like our all-new SUV, the Kylaq campaign will resonate with those who aspire for something more than the ordinary. Own Your Dream moves beyond specs and features, telling a story of ambition in motion. The film follows individuals chasing their dreams, newlyweds on an adventure, an athlete striving for greatness, a family shaping young minds, and musicians creating art, along with Ranveer Singh who moves forward to clear clouds of aspiration, revealing the Skoda Kylaq. With stunning visuals and an uplifting narrative, the film celebrates Indias unstoppable spirit. Speaking on the association, Paritosh Srivastava, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis India said, We are thrilled to partner with Skoda Auto India for the introduction of their first-ever sub-4-metre SUV in India. Aligned with roll out of the new era of Skoda Auto in India, we have built a full-funnel, consumer-first approach that ensures deeper market penetration while bringing European craftsmanship to an evolving India thats ready for more. With Team Driveour bespoke Power of One unit created for Skoda Auto India, we are uniquely positioned to support their ambitious vision of becoming a dominant European player in the Indian market. The launch of the Kylaq is just the beginning, and we are excited for all thats in store. The campaign is now live across TV, print, digital and other social platforms, with extensions into Out of Home, Radio and Dealer outlets. To connect better with consumers across the country, the ad has also been translated into 8 regional languages. This full-funnel approach enables the brand to reach consumers across the country while empowering them to dream big. Kriti Kharbanda and Pulkit Samrat have always been adored for their chemistry, but their unwavering support for meaningful storytelling makes them stand out even more. The couple recently celebrated TAPS, a powerful LGBTQ+ relationship drama marking Ullas Samrats acting debut. Directed by Arvind Caulagi and produced by Sudhanshu Saria, the short film has already made waves at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. Sharing their excitement on social media, Kriti and Pulkit unveiled the films second poster with a heartfelt message: Kriti and I couldnt be prouder of Ullas and the entire team of TAPS! Watch it now on YouTube and help us spread the love. Their post also gave a shoutout to director Arvind Caulagi, co-star Rohit Mehra, and producers Lotus Visual Productions, Kashish Film Festival, and Four Line Films. They also expressed gratitude to Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha for presenting the film, adding a fun Fukrey reference to their message. By championing TAPS, Kriti and Pulkit are not just supporting familytheyre using their platform to amplify a heartfelt story of love and acceptance. Their genuine allyship reinforces the importance of representation, proving once again that cinema has the power to create real change. MINI has appointed a new creative partner: From now on, MINI will work with Jung von Matt Group Ltd. as the lead creative agency for international campaigns,driven by the agencys London and Zurich offices. The corresponding call for tenders was issued on a regular basis at the expiry of the existing contracts. Jung von Matt prevailed in an extensive pitch. The decision for the new agency was primarily the international orientation and profound expertise of the team in the required areas. MINI and the Jung von Matt agency have already worked together successfully in 2000 and from 2015 to 2021. MINI would like to thank the previous partner Anomaly for their successful and good cooperation over the past few years. "JvM LONDON is thrilled to welcome such an iconic British brand ironically, this is huge, and we cant wait to get started." - Charlie Hurst & Marcos Gemal, ECDs Rob Conibear, MD of JvM London added "We are a rare combination - a global network that is still independent. We put together a truly international team for this, proudly led from London and Zurich." PepsiCo has announced the promotion of Om Jha to Director - Global Media Capabilities, marking a significant step in his career with the company. Jha, who previously served as Director - Media, Data, Marketing Capabilities and Partnerships for PepsiCo in India, will now take on a global role within the organization's Media & Transformation Team. Jha expressed his enthusiasm and acknowledged the support he received during his tenure in India, crediting Vishal Kaul for his initial hiring and George Kovoor and Anshul Khanna for empowering him to shape his role over the years. He conveyed a mix of excitement and anticipation as he embarks on this new chapter. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Jha built a diverse and extensive career spanning various industries. He began his professional journey at Mahindra Group as a Section Engineer before transitioning to Abbott Laboratories. His experience further expanded with roles at Idea Cellular, KPMG India, Airtel, GroupM, and Disney Star, providing him with a well-rounded understanding of media, data, and technology. In his previous role at PepsiCo, Jha was instrumental in connecting the company's portfolio of brands with consumers through innovative media, data, and technology strategies. He notably led the procurement and negotiation efforts for advertising and marketing initiatives, focusing on enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. His expertise in navigating the complex media landscape played a crucial role in driving PepsiCo's marketing endeavors. This promotion to a global role reflects PepsiCo's confidence in Jha's capabilities and his contributions to the company's marketing success. His experience in India, coupled with his diverse background, positions him well to contribute to PepsiCo's global media strategy. Founded in 2021 by Radhika Ghai, Vidit Jain, and Manasa Garemella, Kindlife is an online marketplace catering to the growing demand for new-age beauty and wellness products. As global beauty trends gain traction in India, the platform aims to bridge the gap between international standards and local accessibility. With over 2 million visitors per month and operating in a $250 billion total addressable market, Kindlife is positioning itself as a key player in the evolving beauty and wellness space. In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Radhika Ghai, Founder and CEO, Kindlife, discusses the inspiration behind launching the platform and the journey so far. She shares insights into the thought process behind the brand name, strategies for scaling further, and the significance of their newly revamped AI-driven logo, Kiki 2.0. She also highlights the shifting consumer approach toward beauty and wellness in India and the key trends shaping the industry's future. What inspired you to start Kindlife, and how has the journey been so far? Also, what was the thought process behind choosing the name Kindlife? There was a shift in consumer preferences after COVID. Young Indian consumers, particularly Gen Zillennials, were looking for high-quality ingredients, better-for-you, efficacious products in their self-care routines. For this generation, self-care is central and an essential form of self-expression. While both brands and consumers were ready, the challenge lay in discovery and curation. This is where Kindlife came into bridge this gap and transform the beauty and wellness space. In under three years, we have rapidly grown to become the go-to destination for young Indians looking for trending global beauty, especially Korean and Japanese. The platform offers over 800 brands, with 25% being global brands. The name Kindlife was thoughtfully chosen with self-care at its core. Kindness is in the actions you take, and the platform enables millions to make choices that are kind on the body, in the body, and around the body. At its essence, Kindlife is making self-care mainstream. Any move towards a better you is a kindmove, regardless of whether its big or small. With over 2 million visitors every month and a $250 billion total addressable market, how do you see Kindlife scaling further? Kindlife is on a strong growth trajectory with immense potential to scale further. Our focus is on expanding brand partnerships, enhancing discovery, building unique experiences for Gen Z and strengthening omnichannel reach. With technology central to our business, and utilizing our proprietary AI-tech kiki.AI, we are creating a unique, personalized experience to make product discovery seamless, ensuring consumers effortlessly find high-quality, globally trending brands. Through Kindbox, we are exclusively bringing global brands into the country, enabling them to tap into the massive 700 million consumer potential through online and offline channels. Kindlife is set to redefine the future of beauty and wellness with the launch of revamped logo Kiki. Could you share what makes it unique? Our new logo embodies cuteness, self-expression, and the spirit of a new generation that values authenticity and purpose. Beyond being cute, it has to have the right tonality and meaning attached. AI is transforming the beauty and wellness industry, especially for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. As they move away from the Google to AI-driven ChatGPT world, their approach to self-care discovery is also undergoing a significant shift. We stand at the forefront of this digital revolutionwhere technology meets cutting-edge beauty to empower and inspire a new generation. Were leveraging AI to enhance user experiences, foster deeper connections, and create a more intuitive and personalized journey. Our proprietary AI tool, kiki.Ai, helps consumers navigate the app with ease, offering personalized recommendations, tips, and guidance tailored to their unique beauty and wellness needs your go-to companion, always evolving alongside you. Do you see a shift in Indian consumers approach to beauty and wellness? Definitely! There is high awareness of global beauty trends, and young consumers are interested in high-quality products. With Gen Z and Gen Alpha prioritizing authenticity and efficacy, we curate the best of trending brands that truly resonate with this new generation of beauty enthusiasts. The growing influence of Hallyu (the Korean Wave) and J-Wave (the Japanese Wave) has further shaped preferencesIndian consumers are embracing K-beautys intricate multi-step routines alongside J-beautys minimalist, results-driven approach. This evolving landscape presents an exciting opportunity to redefine beauty and wellness in India. At Kindlife, as young Indias go-to beauty destination, we are at the forefront of this shift. Kindlife is not just a marketplace, but also builds first-party brands. What drives your product development strategy? At Kindlife, our aim is to bring the best of trending brands to young consumers, allowing them to experience global beauty firsthand. Were exclusively launching 35 brands over the next two quarters. We carefully curate these brands and our focus is on enhancing discovery, and strengthening omnichannel reach to make international beauty more accessible. With live shopping on the app and creating unique online and offline experiences for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, we are bridging the gap between international brands and Indias thriving beauty community, creating a new era of beauty retail in the country. The beauty and wellness market in India is evolving rapidly. What key trends do you see shaping its future? The beauty and wellness industry in India is experiencing a significant transformation, driven by trend-driven consumer choices, ingredient efficacy, and global trends. At Kindlife, we observe several key factors shaping its future: Inside-Out Skincare: Consumers are increasingly prioritizing skin health by choosing science-backed formulations that deliver real results. There is a growing demand for multi-functional products that not only nourish the skin externally but also support its health from within. Collagen-based solutions, for example, are gaining popularity for their ability to enhance skin elasticity, hydration, and overall resilience. This shift highlights a more holistic approach to skincareone that focuses on overall benefits rather than just surface-level improvements. AI & Technology in Beauty: The integration of AI-powered skin analysis, personalized product recommendations, and virtual try-on features is revolutionizing the beauty experience, making it more customized and accessible for individuals. Multi-Step Skincare as Self-Care: Inspired by K-beauty, layered skincare routines are evolving beyond just achieving healthy skintheyre now seen as holistic self-care rituals. In 2025, this trend reflects mindfulness, encouraging individuals to dedicate time to their well-being while achieving radiant skin. Targeted Actives for AM & PM Routines: Theres a growing awareness of using specific active ingredients at different times of the day. Consumers are embracing separate AM and PM skincare routines, ensuring their skin receives the right ingredients when needed. The Rise of Masking: Face masks remain a cornerstone of K-beauty, with 2025 seeing a surge in their popularity as a deeply restorative practice. From instant hydration to detoxification and targeted skin treatments, masks are now an essential part of skincare regimens worldwide. At Kindlife, we are committed to curating brands that embody these values, ensuring that Indian consumers have access to the best of high-performance beauty and wellness. Valueleaf Group, a global leader in digital technology across India, the UAE, and the United States, has appointed Nitin Goswami as Senior Vice President of Media Strategy. This strategic move reinforces Valueleafs commitment to advancing AdTech and MarTech through pioneering solutions and strategic media collaborations. Goswami, a seasoned media strategist, brings over a decade of expertise in digital transformation, revenue optimisation, and content monetisation. He has held leadership roles at GroupM, Reliance Broadcast Network, and Red FM, driving impactful influencer marketing initiatives and high-growth brand partnerships. His expertise in digital strategy has consistently delivered significant engagement and revenue growth for top brands. Beyond corporate leadership, Goswami has been instrumental in the startup ecosystem, advising fintech companies in the USA and UAE on go-to-market strategies. As Senior Vice President of Media Strategy at Valueleaf, he will focus on scaling revenue models, forging high-impact media partnerships, and driving digital innovation. Valueleaf is a powerhouse in data-driven customer acquisition and transformative digital solutions, said Goswami. I look forward to contributing to our shared vision of expanding market reach, delivering groundbreaking strategies, and strengthening Valueleafs leadership in the digital space. Valueleafs Founders, Satish Saraf and Sriknath Bureddy, welcomed Goswami to the leadership team. Nitins ability to craft and execute innovative strategies aligns perfectly with our long-term vision, said Saraf. His leadership will be instrumental as we expand our global footprint in AdTech, MarTech, and FinTech, added Bureddy. Goswamis appointment marks a significant step in Valueleafs global expansion strategy, reinforcing its position as an industry leader in delivering advanced digital solutions. Sambhaji Maharaj: A Legacy of Valor, Controversy, and Modern Discourse 2 When the film Chaava, based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, was released, it resonated deeply with the public. This cinematic portrayal of the second ruler of the Maratha Empire stirred powerful emotions, particularly because of the haunting depiction of his brutal death. The film, an adaptation of Shivaji Sawants Marathi novel Chhava, directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films, left many viewers distraught. The final scenes, in which Sambhaji was shown enduring unimaginable torture before his execution, proved to be especially heartbreaking. Prior to this movie, the historical figure of Sambhaji was relegated to the pages of obscure articles and Wikipedia updates, with few truly engaging with his complex legacy. However, the release of the film catapulted him into the limelight, transforming him into a political symbol. In fact, the Maharashtra government, now embroiled in the controversy surrounding his portrayal, raised objections against certain aspects of his biography on Wikipedia, questioning the accuracy and fairness of the portrayal. Sambhajis life, marked by triumphs and tragedies, was not merely one of royal ascent but also one of hardship and political struggle. Born at Purandar Fort to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his first wife Saibai, he lost his mother at a tender age and was subsequently raised by his grandmother Jijabai. At the age of nine, he was sent to live with Raja Jai Singh of Amber as part of a political arrangement that ensured the Marathas compliance with the Treaty of Purandar, signed by Shivaji with the Mughals in 1665. This agreement also saw young Sambhaji enter the Mughal fold as a mansabdar, a title that bound him to the Mughal Empire. Despite this early submission, Sambhajis life would be anything but ordinary. In 1666, he, along with his father Shivaji, was summoned to the Mughal court at Agra. The emperor, Aurangzeb, put them under house arrest, but the pair managed a daring escape two months later. This episode marked the beginning of a fraught relationship between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire, one that would persist for decades. Upon Shivaji Maharajs death in 1680, the political landscape of the Maratha Empire was thrown into turmoil. While some of Shivajis ministers schemed to place his half-brother Rajaram on the throne, Sambhaji was not one to passively accept such attempts. Instead, he acted swiftly, seizing control of the crucial forts at Panhala and Raigad, and on 20th July 1680, he was crowned Chhatrapati. His reign was soon marked by military campaigns against several neighboring kingdoms. The Marathas, under his leadership, engaged in frequent skirmishes with the Mughals, starting with an attack on Burhanpur. In addition, Sambhaji fought against the Siddis of Janjira and the Portuguese in Goa, establishing his authority as a formidable leader. The alliance with the English in 1684, aimed at acquiring vital weapons and gunpowder, was a pragmatic move in the face of escalating conflict. However, not all of Sambhajis military ventures met with success. The Battle of Wai in 1687, fought in the dense forests of Wai and Mahabaleshwar, ended in a victory over the Mughals, but it came at a high cost. The Marathas lost their commander-in-chief, Hambirao Mohite, a blow from which their military position struggled to recover. In the aftermath of this setback, Sambhajis authority was increasingly questioned, not just by his enemies but by members of his own court and family. Political conspiracies festered in the shadows, and his position became increasingly precarious. The turning point came in 1689, when Sambhaji was betrayed and captured by the Mughals at Sangameshwar, along with 25 of his trusted counselors. Among them was his close confidant, the poet Kavi Kalash. They were taken to Bahadurgad, where they endured inhuman torture. The Mughals, determined to break his spirit, subjected him to unspeakable cruelty before executing him by beheading at Tulapur on 11th March 1689. With his death, the Maratha throne passed to his brother Rajaram, marking the end of a turbulent chapter in Maratha history. Yet, the complexities of Sambhajis reign and character have remained subjects of debate among historians. Accounts of his life are often at odds, shaped by conflicting political allegiances. While some sources emphasize his ruthlessness and perceived failings, others argue that such portrayals are biased, written by those who opposed his rule. Some have suggested that Sambhajis behavior, including his alleged indulgence in sensual pleasures, led his father, Shivaji, to imprison him in 1678 at Panhala. The reasons for this imprisonment remain murky, with one theory pointing to a scandal involving a Brahmins wife. Even so, these narratives remain contentious, and many historians, such as Stewart N. Gordon, suggest that Shivaji may have intentionally sought to divide his empire between his two sons, with Sambhaji receiving the newly conquered territories of Karnataka and coastal Gingee, while Rajaram would govern the heartlands of Maharashtra. This division, they argue, could have led to Sambhajis dissatisfaction and eventual alignment with Diler Khan, a Mughal general, in a bid for power. However, the relationship between Sambhaji and Diler Khan quickly soured, leading to his return to the Maratha fold. In recent years, even as history continues to be reinterpreted, Sambhajis legacy remains contentious, symbolizing both valor and controversy. The Wikipedia page that once chronicled his life with dry historical facts has now become the focal point of political debate. The Maharashtra governments objection to certain controversial aspects of his portrayal reveals the contemporary tensions surrounding his image. Where once the figure of Sambhaji was relegated to the annals of history, it is now caught in the web of modern political discourse, a symbol of the enduring struggle between historical narratives and contemporary politics. As the echoes of Chaava reverberate through the collective consciousness, the Maratha rulers legacy continues to evoke a complex blend of admiration, resentment, and unhealed woundsboth from the past and the present. Trump Declares Trade War: Reciprocal Tariffs on India and China from April 2 2 US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh offensive against India, China, and other countries, accusing them of imposing unfair tariffs on American goods. Declaring that the US has been ripped off for decades, Trump announced that reciprocal tariffs will take effect from April 2, ensuring that foreign nations imposing high tariffs on US exports will face equal levies on their goods entering the US. In his first address to Congress since securing a second term, Trump criticized the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Canada, stating they charge the US tremendously higher tariffs than what America levies in return. Its very unfair, Trump asserted, emphasizing that the US must retaliate. Targeting India, he pointed out that the country imposes auto tariffs exceeding 100%, labeling it as unacceptable. He reiterated his stance from February, stating that he had warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India would not be exempt from these measures. Trump further condemned Chinas and South Koreas trade policies, stating that Chinas average tariff on US products is twice as high as Americas, while South Koreas is four times higher despite receiving significant US military aid. We will impose the exact same tariffs they impose on us. If they use non-monetary barriers to block our products, we will do the same to them, Trump declared. Promising that these measures will generate trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs, he boasted about successfully implementing similar strategies against China in his previous term. Slamming past administrations for failing to act, Trump concluded, We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer. DEAR MISS MANNERS: Do people say How do you do? anymore when being introduced to someone? The phrase seems to have faded away. If it is no longer used, what should I say when being introduced to someone new? GENTLE READER: You are right about this conventions having fallen into disuse. It tended to confuse people because it seemed to be a question, was nevertheless pronounced as if it were a statement, and the correct response was not to say how one was, but to repeat the remark. So probably not worth saving. That makes your question a crucial one: What should one say? A common answer is Pleased to meet you. Very few seem to remember, or care, how declasse that phrase was once considered. (It still is in England, where there was national sneering when Carole Middleton, mother of the current Princess of Wales, said it upon first meeting Queen Elizabeth.) The rationale for objecting to this phrase is that one cannot know, when meeting a stranger, whether or not it will be pleasant. This is similar to the objection that How do you do? does not really ask how anyone does. Perhaps we should not be subjecting mere conventions to such analysis. Meanwhile, for lack of a better solution, Miss Manners continues to puzzle people by saying How do you do? when meeting someone. In letter salutations, the Hi that has been replacing the conventional Dear (Dear being yet another victim of such analysis) is too cheeky for her. Just Hello? Maybe. But she is hoping a Gentle Reader will come up with a better solution. Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to dearmissmanners@gmail.com, or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. A former Alabama police officer has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman while on duty and receiving sexually explicit photos of a minor. Jarrod Gailen Webster, who was a Killen police officer, admitted that on Nov 12, 2023, he violated the civil rights of a woman after initiating a traffic stop on the woman, according to federal officials. Webster, 27, asked the woman to step out of her vehicle, and he asked her what she wanted to do to get out of this. When the woman told Webster that she was not going to do anything for him, Webster handcuffed the woman, opened the rear door of his patrol vehicle, removed his bulletproof vest, turned off his body cam and raped her. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to his plea agreement. The victim, investigators said, did not feel like she could say no...and believed that (Webster) would shoot and kill her if she did not engage in these sex acts. Webster, according to the plea agreement, said if she told anybody what happened, he would find out where she was. DNA from some of the body fluid evidence showed that is was 99 septillion times more likely Webster was a contributor to those fluids. Additionally, Webster admitted that between June 2016 and October 2018, he communicated with a minor by phone. The girl was 15 when the communication began. Webster asked the minor to produce and send him sexually explicit images of herself. The minor victim sent multiple photos to Webster at his request, at least one of which constituted child sexual abuse material. Webster pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of sexual exploitation of children. Jarrod Webster took an oath to protect and serve citizens of his community, said Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona. He violated that oath when he sexually assaulted a woman and exploited a minor to produce and send sexually explicit images. The FBI Birmingham Field Office investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Royster and Senior Sex Crimes Counsel Maura White and Trial Attorney Sarah Howard of the Civil Rights Divisions Criminal Section. Police officers are given immense trust and responsibility to serve and protect, and are therefore held to a higher standard, said Carlton Peeples, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Birmingham Division, so there are serious consequences when one tarnishes the badge by breaking the law. Jarrod Gailen Webster disgraced the uniform when he abused his authority, Peoples said, and his conviction affirms that the FBI has zero tolerance for officials who prey on the citizens they have sworn to protect. Webster is set to be sentenced on May 20. He faces a maximum of life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 for the charge of deprivation of rights under color of law. For the child sexual exploitation charge, he faces a prison term of 15 to 30 years, a supervised release term of 5 years to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. Legislation to give Alabama teachers and state employees up to eight weeks of paid parental leave is moving quickly through the state legislature. Two bills, SB199 and HB327 , were recently approved by House and Senate committees and now await a full vote in their respective chambers. The bipartisan legislation would give pregnant women eight weeks of paid leave and men up to two weeks of time off for the birth, stillbirth, miscarriage or adoption of a child. Its so exciting to get to this point, sponsor Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg said in a committee meeting Wednesday. The legislation has the support of Gov. Kay Ivey , who championed the bills in her State of the State address. Some members, however, disagreed on length of coverage for some scenarios and said they needed more information on the total cost of the program. We dont have a good fiscal note, and that gives us some pause, said chairman Danny Garrett, R-Trussville. Its currently unclear how much will need to be allotted in the state budget to cover a new parental leave policy. A fiscal note says the legislation would decrease the potential savings of schools by an average of $8,600 per female employee that uses eight weeks of leave, and $2,100 per male that uses two weeks of leave. It also would cost schools an estimated $120 a day to hire a long-term substitute teacher. Shaver said the legislation could impact an average of 2,000 employees a year, according to data on new insurance dependents from the Retirement Systems of Alabama, but that number ebbs and flows. Public school educators must build up a bank of sick leave days or take unpaid leave to care for a newborn or adopted child. Public school teachers generally are given 10 sick days each year. Shaver said schools already budget for teachers yearly salaries, regardless of whether they plan to take leave or not. I dont think theres people out there waiting on this to happen to have a baby, she said. But those costs are already being paid now, theyre taking leave one way or another. Last year, a similar effort to give teachers paid maternity leave gathered steam, but failed to gain passage through both houses. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, a former sponsor of the legislation, said she learned from visits with teachers that a lack of paid parental leave and other pay issues were leading them to discourage their peers from joining the profession. I do know that it costs the state money, but I do think that its incredibly important that we offer maternity leave for our educators, Wood said. Its a recruitment tool. The legislation currently covers paid leave for miscarriages, so long as they occur after 12 weeks of pregnancy and are confirmed by a medical professional. In a Senate committee last week, SB199 sponsor Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, said she would be open to an amendment to loosen those restrictions. Some members, however, said they believed the length of time off for miscarriages and adoptions should be shortened. Bill sponsors said they would also work to ensure some state entities, such as community colleges and youth services, are also included in the legislation.. Garrett said he hopes updated versions will include more information about how much the program will cost. The bills will head to the House and Senate for a full vote before they can be signed into law. If passed, the legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2025. Jacob Stull is the owner and executive chef of Reve, a new tasting-menu restaurant that is opening March 8 in Birmingham's Pizitz Food Hall. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission) A new-to-Birmingham tasting-menu restaurant will open this Saturday, March 8, in downtowns Pizitz Food Hall. Reve, a fine-dining restaurant that will offer such French favorites as steak au poivre and coq au vin, is the fulfillment of a longtime dream for chef Jacob M. Stull, who fine-tuned his tasting-menu concept at a series of pop-up dinners in Birmingham last year. Reve means dream in French, and the name holds deep personal significance, Stull, the restaurants owner and executive chef, says. Its always been my dream to transform this idea of a tasting menu into a permanent restaurant. A native of Maryland, Stull worked in restaurants on the East Coast and New Orleans (including the revered French Quarter restaurant Brennans) before he moved to Birmingham in 2018 and became the opening chef de cuisine at the former Whistling Table in Forest Park. He later served as the opening executive chef at the French-inspired brasserie Forte and the rooftop bar Roll Call in the Nick Saban-backed downtown Tuscaloosa luxury hotel The Alamite. Back in Birmingham, Stull began Reve as a pop-up concept in March 2024, hosting six- and 10-course tasting-menu dinners two and three nights a week at The Sage event space in Pepper Place and Dillards Chophouse in the Westin Hotel. He found a receptive, and appreciative, audience. The good thing about the pop-ups was we were able to test the market and see if Birmingham was ready for something like this, Stull says. And after six, seven months of doing pop-ups, we made the decision that they were. Reve will seat 78 guests, including tables and booths in the main dining room, seats at the chef's bar and a private dining space that fronts Second Avenue North. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission) Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn Stull found a permanent home for Reve in the former SOCU Southern Kitchen & Oyster Bar space in the Pizitz Food Hall, which he moved into in December. He has spent the past three months transforming the space into his vision for Reve. The 3,000-square-foot, 78-seat restaurant anchors the northwest corner of the food hall, opening onto the courtyard and including an entrance near The Standard food stall. Reve is the only full-service restaurant in the Pizitz. In addition to tables and booths in the main dining room, the space includes a chefs bar that offers guests front-row seats to the action in the exposed kitchen, a private dining room that faces Second Avenue North, and outdoor seating that is available on the patio when weather permits. The interior features preserved tile floors and century-old heart pine that goes back to the early days of the Pizitz building, as well as cold-rolled steel countertops that pay homage to Birminghams industrial roots. The goal was to make it Parisian meets kind of edgy Brooklyn, where its not too stuffy, Stull says. And theres a lot of history in this building, which is fun for us. Stull commissioned Birmingham artist Mandy Maples to create two expressionistic abstract paintings -- which she titled Joie de vivre (or joy of life) I and II -- that help tell the story of Reve. One of her paintings includes the French translation of a quote from famed chef and cookbook author James Beard: Food is our common ground, a universal experience. Jacob sent me musical playlists that he listens to, so I listened to a lot of his French playlists while I made these pieces, Maples says. I layered the pieces with quotes and writings about his journey, so theyre really kind of a portrait of Jacob. Paintings from Birmingham artist Mandy Maples on the far wall of the restaurant help tell the story of Reve chef Jacob Stull's culinary journey. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission) A journey of gastronomy While other chefs around the city have hosted tasting-menu pop-up dinners -- which feature small portions of multiple, chef-selected dishes -- Reve is believed to be the first tasting-menu-centric restaurant to open in Birmingham. Opening a concept like this is daunting because were the first ones to do the brick-and-mortar, Stull says. But whats fun about it is we get to see how people react to the food and the story that goes with it. When youre doing a six- or 10-course tasting menu, it truly is a journey of gastronomy, he adds. For me, its fun -- especially in an open kitchen because I get to see everyones reaction. For the opening week, Stull will start with a six-course menu that is priced at $150 per person. Reservations are required 24 hours in advance. The six courses, according to a media release, include: Canapes, with house-made bread and fried truffle beignets dusted with charcoal powder. La Gargouillou, an iconic dish from an iconic dish from French chef Michel Bras that features spring vegetables from local farms and is complemented by Bentons country jamon broth, molasses yolk, jamon consomme and mirepoix -- all poured tableside. Pho Au Buf , a French-infused take on Vietnamese pho, showcasing seared veal cheek and consomme served in a crystal wine glass adorned with chili oil and garnished with Thai basil. Canard et Melasse, featuring sustainably sourced Hudson Valley duck, dry-aged and served with confit legs, root beer and molasses glaze, beet, oxalis, sorghum and cherries. Lait et Miel, a pre-dessert, New Orleans-inspired honey snow cone made with kombucha honey and topped with caramelized a pre-dessert, New Orleans-inspired honey snow cone made with kombucha honey and topped with caramelized Foxhound Bee Company honey and creme fraiche. L Vallee de la Foret-Noire, a traditional German Black Forest torte made with , a traditional German Black Forest torte made with Cacao Noel , glazed with candied griotte cherries from France and finished with an orange bitters sorbet. Obviously, a tasting menu is smaller portions, Stull says, but I promise you, youre not going to leave hungry. Beginning Friday, March 14, Stull will add a 10-course tasting menu, and later in March, Reve will offer a brasserie-style a la carte menu that will include steak au poivre, steak tartar, coq au vin and a chocolate souffle. The a la carte menu is like my greatest brasserie hits of things of mine that people have enjoyed in the past, Stull says. Its a little more casual still really nice (and) high-end, but more casual than a tasting menu. The Reve team includes, from left, dining room manager Blake Boyd, sous chef John Smith, executive chef and owner Jacob Stull, pastry chef Caitlyn Cate Cole and beverage director Chelsea Cheyenne. (Photo by Mason David Erwin; used with permission) A city of camaraderie Stull didnt have to look far to assemble his support staff at Reve. Sous chef John Smith and pastry chef Caitlyn Cate Cole both worked with him at Forte in Tuscaloosa and followed him to Birmingham. Those guys have been with me since Forte, he says. After we all left Forte, they decided, Look, if youre doing Reve, Im coming. Blake Boyd, who helped with the Reve pop-up dinners, is the dining room manager, and Chelsea Cheyenne, who comes from Luca Lagotto, oversees the beverage program at Reve. Were just super-excited to be able to be part of Birmingham and have a brick-and-mortar (restaurant), Stull says. Its been a dream of mine since I came to the city, and everyone in this city has been nothing but awesome. Its a city of camaraderie, he adds. I just cant wait to be a part of that tapestry of restaurants in Birmingham. Reve is in the Pizitz Food Hall at 1821 Second Ave. North in Birmingham, Ala. The phone is 205-593-4154. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For reservations and more information, go here. The circuit clerk in Jefferson Countys Bessemer Cutoff Division has been cited with contempt of court for her reported failure to help find missing evidence in 1974 rape case. Circuit Judge David Carpenter issued the citation against Karen Dunn Burks, saying she has repeatedly and willfully refused to comply with multiple court orders to locate the missing evidence. This court has been exceptionally patient with the clerk and exceedingly lenient, Carpenter wrote. No party to any case before this court would ever receive the deference and tolerance that has been bestowed on the clerk in this case. Burks, elected as clerk in 2018, is set to appear before Carpenter on March 11 to show cause why she should not be found in contempt. Burks denied any wrongdoing and said she will soon release more information. The ordeal has been going on since 2021, when the Conviction Integrity Unity launched by District Attorney Lynneice Washington began to look into the conviction of Ervin Harris. The unit is designed to remedy wrongful convictions within her jurisdiction Harris was convicted of rape in 1975 and served more than 40 years in an Alabama prison. Though he has completed his sentence, Harris to this day maintains his innocence and is seeking a pardon, and an expungement of his criminal record. He is represented by The Innocence Project in New York. His lawyers declined to comment Court records show that among the many items of evidence introduced at Harriss trial were articles of clothing which may contain DNA. In a report from the Alabama Department of Toxicology dated Dec. 18, 1974, a state toxicologist described several items of clothing taken from the victim that revealed the presence of blood and semen. At the time of trial, Carpenter wrote in his contempt citation against Burks, there was no way to test to identify the DNA or from whom it may have originated. In September 2021, the Conviction Integrity Unit filed a motion for the clerks office to release the transcripts, evidence and the entire file. The following month, Burks office produced one brown envelope containing only paper documents. The district attorneys office discovered from its records that there were multiple items of evidence introduced at trial that could possibly be tested now. District attorney officials told Carpenter that employees of the clerks office said they had looked for evidence in the case, and also verified that some or all of the evidence existed and was in the possession of the clerks office. The first court hearing where Burks testified was held in June 2023. At that point, Carpenter ordered Burks to certify that employees had searched seven specific locations and to provide the dates and the names of the employees who did the searches. Carpenter wrote in February that there had not been any certified response. In April 2024, Carpenter issued a citation for civil contempt against Burks and set a show cause hearing for May. At that time, the judge didnt hold her in contempt because he said he received assurances from Burks that she would conduct the searches. She was given 45 days to complete the searches. In July 2024, Burks sent the court an email saying she had searched all of the requested areas and wrote, as I stated, no evidence exists. All efforts have been exhausted in this task. Carpenter said the email was not in compliance with his orders. In December 2024, Carpenter entered an order requiring Burks to allow investigators from the District Attorneys Office who are sheriffs employees to accompany the clerks office employees to search the seven specific locations. In January, a status hearing was held. At that point, Carpenter wrote, Burks said the ordered search had taken place in July 2024 and said Deputy Daniel Tipton had been there for the search. On Jan. 28, Tipton filed an affidavit, testifying that he was told by the clerks office he was searching for a rape kit and that he went to two places, possibly three places. At one of those locations, Tipton said, clerks office employees didnt even enter the room. The district attorneys office has made it clear that they are not searching for a rape kit, but for clothing that may contain testable evidence, and other items that appear on the index of evidence introduced at trial, Carpenter wrote. Carpenter said he spoke with Burks personally in February and told her to coordinate the ordered searches, since two deadlines had passed. On Feb. 7, Carpenter issued the citation of contempt for Burks and ordered she appear on March 11 for the hearing. Carpenter suggested she have legal counsel with her, and to bring any keys or card keys or any other devices that are necessary for accessing the requested search locations. On March 4, district attorneys officials added an eighth area they would like to search, believing some of the evidence they seek could be in that location. Carpenter on Wednesday granted the request and ordered the search in the basement of the Bessemer Criminal Justice Center to take place. Thanks for spending part of Ash Wednesday with us. Todays report includes a couple of images from the Comic Cowboys parade and our first Barkley-ism section (but certainly not our first Charles Barkley quote). Thanks for reading, Ike Yesterdays weather I hope everybody was holding on to something yesterday afternoon and evening. We were pleased to hear a few reports of trees that are still standing in some locations ... Storms came through the state overnight and into the early hours this morning. But it was the high winds ahead of the storm you can blame for toppling so many of the trees and power lines. By 10 p.m. the state already had more than 100,000 customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us. AL.coms Howard Koplowitz reports that a brush fires were caused by downed power lines in parts of central Alabama ahead of the storms. Check al.com/weather for the most recent weather news and forecasts. Decatur to D.C. If you watched President Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress last night, you mightve caught a piece that included Jeff Denard of Decatur. Denard, reports AL.coms Howard Koplowitz, attended the speech as a guest of First Lady Melania Trump. The president shared that Denard was a 27-year worker at Nucor Steel as well as a volunteer firefighter. He said he has seven children and has cared for more than 40 foster children. Trump was highlighting Denard while touting his heavy use of trade tariffs, which Trump said were making America rich again and making America great again. Possible unemployment change A bill that came out of the Alabama House of Representatives would tighten up a qualification for unemployment, reports AL.coms Mike Cason. That bill, by state Rep. Ed Oliver, a Dadeville Republican, tweaks a three-year old law that requires unemployment recipients apply for three jobs a week. The proposed bill would raise that to five. It wouldnt apply to counties with populations less than 20,000. It has passed a Senate committee and now goes before the full Senate for final passage. Opponents argue that Alabamas unemployment laws are strict enough and that some low-income job seekers without childcare or good transportation are more limited in the number of jobs they can apply for. Qualifying unemployment applicants -- who are out of work due to no fault of their own -- can receive up to $275 per week for up to 20 weeks. More Harper Lee fiction Harper Lee will have a new book out in October, reports AL.coms Kelly Kazek. Lee, of course, was the Monroeville writer who became a literary legend with her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Not long before she died, her other novel, Go Set a Watchman, was published. According to publisher HarperCollins, the yet-to-be-published work includes eight short stories and is called The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays. Hopefully this will be another chance to get into the mind of the famously reclusive Lee, who died nine years ago. But it wont be her mind in recent decades. According to the publisher, the new-to-us short stories were written before Mockingbird. Todays Barkley-ism Where did we get to as a country when were like, Were not going to the White House, we dont like whos in there. Thats just stupid. Leeds native and NBA legend Charles Barkely, on The Steam Room podcast, on teams that may boycott their White House visits because President Trump is in office. By the Numbers 21 kilograms Thats how much cocaine the Calera Police Department said was found on two Columbian nationals in the U.S. illegally and traveling through Alabama, according to a federal grand jurys indictment. Investigators believe the paid was The traffic stop happened on Feb. 7. Picture That The Comic Cowboys shared their satirical signs during their annual Fat Tuesday parade on the final day of Mardi Gras in Mobile. (Photos by Mike Kittrell) 34 1 / 34 Mardi Gras - Comic Cowboys More Alabama News Born on This Date In 1951, singer/songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey of Birmingham. The podcast Fort Lauderdale Mounted Police officers escort revelers off the beach on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 16, 2022.(Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images The beginning of March signals the return of warmer weather and the arrival of spring break activities. For those with plans to attend beaches or beach towns along the Gulf Coast, understanding the rules and regulations for each location may help the ensure the experience is enjoyable. For example, while Miami has been a premier destination for spring breakers, city officials instituted several measures in 2024 to address disorderly crowds and violence. The city intends to implement similar measures in 2025 to, reinforce the message that the city is not interested in being a spring break party destination. Here are the rules/regulations for several spring break destinations on the Gulf Coast: Gulf Shores Pets are not allowed on any of the sand beaches in Gulf Shores. Pets are welcome at Gulf Place, but they may not travel on the sand beaches. No glass or breakable containers No alcoholic beverages on public beaches in Gulf Shores from March 1 until April 17. No tents / canopies larger than 7 feet by 7 feet by 4 feet unless they are placed in a designated tent area No fishing at Gulf Place No tobacco and e-cigarettes Motorized vehicles are prohibited Holes can only be dug up to 12 inches. Those who dig are asked to cover holes for the safety of residents and visitors. Fires, grills or cooking devices are prohibited No fireworks, sky lanterns, sparklers No drone operation No solicitation No walking or standing on sand dunes. Use beach walkovers and boardwalks where provided. Staying off the dunes will help us to preserve our dune system and the habitat it provides. No entering the Gulf while double red flags are flying. Beachgoers are advised not to leave any structures or equipment on the beach after leaving. Any structures or equipment left on the beach an hour after sunset until sunrise will be removed and disposed of by beach patrol except permitted beach services. Orange Beach Alcohol is allowed on the beach but glass containers are prohibited. Dogs and bonfires are prohibited. Fishing is allowed but chumming is prohibited. Drones are prohibited unless a proper permit is provided. No personal vehicles are allowed on the beach. Camping is prohibited on any public beach. Panama City Beach Alcohol consumption and possession are prohibited on the beach during March. Alcohol sales will not be allowed after 2 a.m. and until 7 a.m. Alcohol is prohibited in parking lots or vehicles. Riding on the exterior of vehicles, including sitting on windowsills, or standing through sunroofs, is strictly prohibited. Loud music that disturbs the peace, or music heard more than 25 feet away, is illegal. Loitering in vacant parking lots, in parking lots after a business closes, or on the shoulder of the road is prohibited. Climbing, jumping from, or throwing objects from balconies is strictly prohibited. No metal shovels are allowed on the beach. Holes cannot be dug deeper than 2 feet. Beachgoers are asked to fill all holes after use for the safety of others. Miami Beach Consumption of alcohol in public is illegal. It is illegal to smoke on beaches or in parks. A curfew is expected to be released for 2025. In 2024, a curfew was implemented during March beginning at midnight until 6 a.m. Narcotics and marijuana are illegal. Driving under the influence is against the law. It is illegal to drive a scooter or vehicle irresponsibly No cigarettes. Coolers, inflatable devices, tents or tables are prohibited Loud music is not allowed. Glass containers are prohibited Styrofoam, plastic straws and balloons are prohibited. Parking rates, such as $100 for non-residents, will be increased at certain locations throughout March. The non-resident towing rate will be at least $530. A DUI sobriety checkpoint will be in place along the 400 block of 5 Street starting at 7 p.m. between March 14-15 and March 21-22. Destin Alcohol is allowed on beaches but not public parks. No curfew for adults, only for minors. No pets are allowed No fires or bonfires No fireworks No glass or glass containers are allowed Littering and vehicles are prohibited on the beaches. Fort Walton Beach Many Christians will line up in church and get a smudge on the forehead in the shape of a cross. Clergy applying the ashes traditionally quote Genesis: You are dust and to dust you shall return. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Today thousands of Christians in Alabama and millions worldwide will observe Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, the penitential season leading up to the celebration of Easter on April 20. Many Christians will line up in church and get a smudge on the forehead in the shape of a cross. Clergy applying the ashes traditionally quote Genesis: You are dust and to dust you shall return, a reminder of human mortality, or an alternative such as, Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel. By confronting sin and death, Christians begin a journey of spiritual renewal. On Ash Wednesday, many Christians fast and begin penance by giving up something for Lent. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the last day of indulgence allowed before the period of fasting and penitence. Roman Catholic, Episcopal and many other liturgical churches hold services today that include the rubbing of ashes on the forehead, a sign of repentance for sins. Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, in which the church traditionally has urged self-examination, penance and fasting. Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and the company said there will be meaningful pressure on its profits to start the year because of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and other costs. Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters Tuesday at its annual investor meeting that shoppers will start seeing the prices of produce like avocados, which come from Mexico, go up industrywide as early as in a few days. He declined to comment specifically on what type of price hikes shoppers will see on Target shelves. But Cornell warned that shoppers will see price increases on certain goods at Target. I think things are unfolding so quickly, Cornell said. We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think were going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we dont want to overreact right now to one day and one headline. The retailer beat most quarterly estimates, however, but shares fell nearly 3% in late afternoon trading as the overall market sell-off continued. Target also said that sales declined in February in part because of brutal weather that hurt apparel sales and declining consumer confidence. It anticipates that sales could be unchanged for the year amid increasing economic uncertainty. Targets fiscal fourth-quarter results were announced the same day the discounter held its annual investor meeting in New York. Target said it plans to invest anywhere from $4 billion to $5 billion this year in new store expansions, speeding up its online delivery, shortening its production cycle and other initiatives. Shortening the time it takes to get products to the shelves from conception will help the company stay close to trends and also reduce risk of having too much inventory, executives said. Target plans to add 20 new stores this year, and it expects to add $15 billion in sales by 2030. But tariffs and economic uncertainty loomed over the results. President Donald Trumps long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, pushing markets in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. lower, and setting up costly retaliations by the United States North American allies, not to mention China. China said Tuesday that it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. Americans have been pulling back on spending and retailers face a lot of uncertainty in the year ahead. Target said that back in 2017, 60% of its store-label products were sourced from China. Thats now at 30%, Target executives said. The company is on its way to reducing that number to 25% by the end of next year, the company said. Thats four years ahead of schedule. Target is shifting to sourcing in Guatemala and Honduras and is looking to sourcing in the U.S., Target said. Rick Gomez, Targets chief commercial officer, said Tuesday. Gomez said Target cant give specific price increases on items right now because its teams are working out situations in real time. For example, Target sells $3 Christmas ornaments, but it doesnt want to go up to $3.60 so it may look to holiday stockings to increase prices. As for its $5 T-shirts, Gomez said it wants to keep that price so it may look at dresses where there is more flexibility to raise prices. Its not as simple as just flowing through cost, Gomez said. We have to think about this from a consumer perspective and make sure that our pricing architecture makes sense and puts us in a place where we have affordable options. Consumers have already been pulling back on discretionary spending because the costs of groceries have risen so sharply. That is an area where Target can be vulnerable because so much of its sales come from discretionary items like clothing, electronics purchases. Target reported net income of $1.1 billion, or $2.41 per share, far better than the $2.26 that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by FactSet. That is down from the $1.38 billion profit the company reported in the same period last year, though the most recent quarter had one fewer week of sales. Revenue fell to $30.91 billion, from $31.9 billion, but that also beat expectations. Target said Tuesday its earnings per share for the current year will be between $8.80 to $9.80. Wall Street had been projecting per-share earnings of $9.29 for the year. The company expects net sales to be up 1% and comparable sales to be flat this year. During the most recent quarter, comparable sales those from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months rose 1.5%. That was higher than the 0.3% gain during the third quarter. Target posted a 2% gain in the second quarter and a 3.7% drop in the first quarter. Speaking about the current quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee said sales should pick up. We will continue to monitor these trends and will remain appropriately cautious with our expectations for the year ahead, Lee said. The 13-year-old who won hearts across the U.S. during President Trumps speech to Congress was an honorary Birmingham police deputy chief before he was sworn in tonight as the youngest ever U.S. Secret Service agent. At Trumps direction, Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented Devarjaye DJ Daniel with an honorary badge. The little boy with a big personality and a fatal disease was momentarily speechless, which is unusual for DJ. But the internet had plenty to say, saying DJ brought tears to their eyes. The hug DJ Daniel, an amazing 13-year-old boy battling brain cancer, gives Secret Service Director Sean Curran just demolished me. The best moment of the night. So much joy. So much hope. The vibe shift is deafening. pic.twitter.com/t0QjscRb98 Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) March 5, 2025 TRY NOT TO CRY: President Donald Trump honored DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old who dreams of becoming a police officer. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and given only five months to live, DJ has defied the odds for over six years. To recognize his bravery, Trump announced that DJ pic.twitter.com/T39EEgcqER Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) March 5, 2025 DJ was diagnosed with terminal brain and spine cancer when he was just 6 years old. Despite undergoing 13 surgeries, the Texas boys determination to become a police officer has never wavered. In 2019, he was first sworn in as an officer by the Brookshire Police Department in Texas. When he was initially given five months to live, he set a goal of being sworn in by 100 police departments. Since then, he has been sworn in by more than 871 police departments across the U.S. and beyond, including recently in Italy. U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented Devarjaye DJ Daniel with an honorary badge during President Trump March 4, 2025, address to Congress. (Carol Robinson) Late in 2024, led by the Birmingham Police Department, officials from 33 law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the FBI, presented DJ with badges, resolutions and more. DJ had learned earlier that week that he had three new tumors on his brain. Its a heavy load to carry but you see he doesnt care, his father, Theodis Daniel, said. So, were not going to worry. Were going to keep on pushing. Daniel, who is raising his three sons as a single father, said DJs dream to become a police officer started when the family was displaced by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and were staying in a shelter in Houston. They stayed there for weeks, sleeping on the floor at times, and lost their home in the storm. DJ and his two brothers ran around the shelter from sunrise until sunset, collecting water and granola bars like squirrels getting ready for the wintertime. One day, three police officers brought the boys to Daniel and the father initially though they were in trouble. Police assured them they were not, and they just wanted to provide some pizza for the boys. At a moment in our lives when we just didnt know what to do because the emotional trauma was so high and we had lost hope, Daniel said. Something as small as three officers giving us pizza pretty much put it in the minds of Devarjay, and his brothers to be police officers. You definitely inspire us, especially him, Daniel, a veteran, told Alabama law enforcement officers in October. Im comfortable with someone in a uniform because I was in the military, and theyd make fun for me for always talking to police officers. I told them thats because I trust the uniform, and now they understand that, he said. When he leaves in the morning to go to school, its no different than your families and loved ones looking at you in your uniform as you walk out the door and theyre praying that you come back in, Daniel said. I do that every day with him. Hes literally fighting for his life every day and hes living like its his last day. DJ told AL.com he wants to keep traveling the world visiting police departments until my gas tank runs out. Im pretty sure you know what that means. Thats when God calls you home, DJ said. Pray for kids that have brain cancer. You just made his day, Daniel told the officers, but youve been saving his life for the last five years. A woman was hospitalized Monday after being bitten by an alligator while paddling at a nature preserve in Polk County, officials say. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to a report Monday that a woman was bitten on the elbow by an alligator while paddling at the Tiger Creek Preserve in Babson Park, according to a spokesperson from the agency. The FWC and Polk County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and the woman was taken to the hospital. The spokesperson said a trapper has been sent to remove the alligator from the location. A spokesperson from the Polk County Sheriffs Office, which is assisting FWC, said the injured individual was airlifted to the Osceola Regional Medical Center. The Sheriffs Office said the individual was part of a group of 20 kayakers and that another member of the group had the life jacket ripped off. 2025 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. TechBirmingham CEO and President Deon Gordon (left) with Chris Moody of the Foundry Group at last years Sloss Tech conference. Photo by Kenslie McGuire for Telegraph Creative. Sloss Tech will expand to a three-day format this summer, taking place June 25 through 27 in downtown Birmingham. The tech and innovation conference is aiming for more than 1,000 attendees, with early bird tickets available in a few weeks and general admission tickets going on sale in early April. TechBirmingham members will receive special discounts on ticket purchases. Companies interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact the organization directly at sponsors@techbirmingham.com. For more information about Sloss Tech 2025, visit the website or follow @SlossTech online. Founded in 2015, Sloss Tech has had six consecutive sold-out events, bringing together founders, investors, developers and tech enthusiasts. New for this year is a partnership with Birmingham Area Software Enthusiasts (BASE) to deliver specialized programming for developers, accessible through either full conference or separate track tickets. TechBirmingham CEO Deon Gordon said the expansion to three days will create more opportunities for meaningful connections between founders and funders while showcasing Alabamas growing reputation as a hub for inclusive innovation. Theres a special magic that happens when tech meets Southern hospitalitysmall talk leads to big ideas, and those relationships drive real progress," he said. Innovate Alabama returns as the presenting sponsor for Sloss Tech 2025. CEO Cynthia Crutchfield said the events programming will encompass all the regions in state. This statewide approach will empower more Alabamians to connect, collaborate and contribute to our growing innovation economy, Crutchfield said. Together, were helping to build a future where Alabama is a hub for entrepreneurship. Speakers will be announced in coming weeks. Previous figures included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, Venture for America founder Andrew Yang, Ubers former Chief Brand Officer and Cameo co-founder Devon Townsend. In 2023, VT MAE was expanding in Mobile to begin modifying Airbus passenger jets like the one shown to carry freight. Now VT MAE is shutting down its Mobile operations.(Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com). Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com One of Mobiles biggest aerospace companies has announced it plans to shut down local operations in the next few months, progressively rationalizing hundreds of jobs. VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering released a statement Wednesday morning saying that it has made the strategic decision to undertake a capacity transition plan for its operations in Mobile, Alabama. Under this move, the company explained, VT MAE will progressively rationalize its Mobile operations and transition its airframe MRO activities to facilities in Pensacola, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas. The process is estimated to take place over the next few months. While the euphemistic phrasing did not explicitly state that the company plans a complete shutdown of its Mobile site, a quote from general manager Alvin Bass clarified that: We are grateful for the support and successful history we have had in Mobile for more than 30 years, and we deeply value our long-standing relationship with the Mobile community. The difficult decision was made after we had gone through a long and careful consideration of multiple factors and options. Thank you, Mobile, for the incredible memories and unwavering partnership. Your support has been instrumental to our journey, and we will always hold this community close to our hearts. VT MAE did not provide figures, but based on comment from local officials, it appeared that Mobiles aerospace sector was in line to lose upwards of 300 jobs. Bradley Byrne, president and CEO of the Mobile Chamber, said the company currently has 350 direct employees in Mobile and about 40 contract employees. Byrne said that he learned in a Wednesday afternoon briefing that company officials expect to offer some employees the option of working in Pensacola or San Antonio, but that at least 200 will not get that offer. The figures provided by Byrne indicate that VT MAEs Mobile footprint has grown smaller in recent years. In a May 2023 article on the company, Business Alabama reported that the company had 579 full-time employees and had more than 1,000 workers if contractors were included. At the time, it also was planning to hire 200 more full-timers for an expansion that would refit Airbus A320 passenger jets to carry freight. A city spokesman said Mobile had offered tax incentives on that project but, because the jobs never materialized, the money never was distributed. Byrne verified that the incentives on offer were never claimed by the company. The city of Mobiles Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023, listed VT MAE among the citys principal employers, ranking it ninth with 1,280 employees. VT MAEs Mobile operation specialized in whats known in the aerospace industry as MRO work, for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul. Work on aircraft must be done to exacting standards, with extensive certifications required for parts, procedures and workers. The companys statement said that the shutdown was driven by efforts to further optimize its operations and enhance its competitiveness in the global airframe Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) market. Providing comprehensive support to employees will be a top priority during this transition, continued the statement. This includes redeployment opportunities at its other U.S. facilities, as well as outplacement and transition assistance. The company will also work with the local communities including the state, city, landlord and industry partners for a smooth transition. Byrne was upbeat about the opportunities for workers who will be let go, partly because Airbus is expanding and there are other companies doing MRO work at Brookley. I would hope over 6 months we can find work for all of them, he said. I cant speak for Airbus, but I would think they would be interested in talking to at least some of those people, and we have at least one [other company] who had had gotten word of it and was very interested in talking to some of these employees. So well see how this all plays out over the next 6 months, but it certainly appears as if we can get all those people a job. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said he received a phone call about the company consolidating in Pensacola and was appreciative of them reaching out to stakeholders affected by the move. He said the company also had discussions about possible uses for their location at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. This gives us an opportunity to move on that, Stimpson said, referring to the property VT MAE is leaving after 30 years within the heart of the citys aerospace complex. He said it could also be an opportunity for Airbus to expand as well. Byrne likewise said that the property that VT MAE had been leasing from the Mobile Airport Authority should be appealing to potential new tenants. Obviously, thats very important land right there and we have direct interest in it because weve got some prospects that were talking to who might be very interested in it, Byrne said. I mean, a hangar thats available right now on an airbase like that? Its really valuable. Andy Wilson, executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority, likewise said the facilities represent an opportunity. It could be that a new tenant moves in, or it could be that the MAA takes the opportunity to modernize some of them. We hate to see anybody go, said Wilson. But on the other hand, there are some of the oldest, least attractive buildings that we have here on the property that probably could be replaced with newer facilities. Some of Brookleys buildings still date back to its use as a WWII-era military airfield. Ive always told people, the best thing about Brookley is that it used to be an Air Force base, Wilson said. The worst thing about it is its still an Air Force base. Stimpson noted that the companys workforce has been declining over the past six months, and that they are trying to determine what is their best path way forward. Theres an irony to the fact that Mobile jobs will be transitioned to Pensacola: Back in 2014, VT MAE signed a deal with the Florida city to lease property there. The planned new facility was described as a satellite facility to the Mobile operation, which reportedly employed about 1,500 people at the time. Wilson took a more philosophical view. VT needed room for expansion that wasnt available in Mobile, he said. And the space that its departure opens up likely will be in demand as Airbus continues to grow and the MAA opens a new international passenger terminal nearby. We heard some rumblings, he said of VTs evolution. I mean, theyve been moving their facilities to Pensacola for a number of years, and changing the fleet mix here, the aircraft that they serviced. They have a very large operation and part of it, I would believe, is that they just dont have the room to grow into it here, Wilson said. Theres a lot of room in San Antonio, and theyve already built, I think, four hangars over at Pensacola. San Antonio may well have a workforce advantage as well, Wilson said, because of its proximity to a major Air Force base, Joint Base San Antonio. The base is a source of trained young aircraft mechanics and future airframe and power plant technicians, Wilson said. All those kids that come off active duty, whether theyre kids or career airmen, theyve got a good job waiting for them. The rise of Airbus in Mobile was seen as a positive development for VT MAE. One of Airbus partner companies, MAAS, built a jetliner painting facility at the Brookley Aeroplex, and partnered with VT MAE to present Mobile as a place where jet owners could have aircraft serviced and repainted. VT MAE is a subsidiary of Singapore-based ST Engineering. The parent company recently reported achieving record revenue and net profit in 2024 with revenue of $11.3 billion and Group Net Profit that increased 20% year-over-year. In August 2024, WPMI-TV15 and the Pensacola News-Journal reported that VT MAE had shed up to 300 Chilean workers holding jobs in Pensacola and Mobile. The employees were first notified there was a problem with their visas, then told their jobs and health insurance were being cut. The company disputed the terminology of saying the affected employees had been laid off and said it was a matter of work authorization expiration. Byrne said that Mobile would be represented by a small delegation at the Paris Air Show in June, and would hold a reception with Alabama partners including representatives of Montgomery and Birmingham. That would be a chance to market the vacant facility, he said. The aviation world is smaller than you think, so this news will get out pretty quickly, Byrne said. There may be some prospects that weve talked to who will get re-energized and there may be some prospects we havent talked to wholl hear about this and say, Hey, I need a hangar now. Wilson said the MAA had been working closely with the Chamber and we already have some ideas about possible new tenants. Its a shame that theyve chosen to to go elsewhere, said Wilson, but I think that the other the other side of that coin is positive and it gives us the opportunity now to focus on accommodating all of the growth thats coming our way with the remainder of our tenants. A bill that would require people under 21 who are charged with murder to be tried as adults passed the Alabama House of Representative on Tuesday after several lawmakers spoke in opposition to the legislation, including a retired circuit judge. Current law says that a minor charged as an adult for any crime can apply to a judge for youthful offender status and be tried in juvenile court. HB146 by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, would take away that discretion for judges if the charge is for capital murder or intentional murder. Pettus, a retired state trooper, said a Clay County case from about eight years ago was one in which a teen defendant was unjustifiably granted youthful offender status after shooting his ex-girlfriend in the head and throwing her over a cliff. Pettus also noted that shooters in the mass shooting in Dadeville in 2023 were eligible for youthful offender status, although he said none were granted that. Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, a former St. Clair County circuit judge, opposed the bill. Hill said he hears legislators saying they dont want judges making law or legislating from the bench, and he agrees, saying judges should never, never, legislate from the bench. However, the court handles cases and controversies that come before it, Hill said. And to remove the discretion of the judge who knows the facts of the particular case that is coming before that judge, you are eroding the ability of the court to make the decisions that it needs to make. Several Democratic lawmakers also spoke in opposition to the bill. Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, said judges should be able to use their experience to decide when youthful offender status is appropriate, even for youths who have committed murder. Its sending a very bad message to our children, for us to sit here today and say, We cant forgive you, we cant give you a second chance, we want you the first time to be criminalized as an adult, Warren said. Pettus said he looked at it differently. He said three years is the maximum sentence if a defendant is tried as a juvenile. I look at the victim and the victims family, Pettus said. The child that got killed. They have no chance for the rest of their life. They have no second chance. Theyre dead. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, offered an amendment that narrowed the scope of the bill, which originally applied to all categories of murder charges. Under the amendment, judges could still grant youthful offender status on some categories, such as cases in which the defendant is charged with causing death by reckless conduct or extreme indifference to human life. The amended bill applies only to capital murder and intentional murder charges. The bill passed by a vote of 67-33. It moves to the Senate. A bill that would increase a requirement to qualify for unemployment compensation in Alabama has moved closer to becoming law. House Bill 29 by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, would require a person seeking unemployment compensation to contact at least five prospective employers each week. Thats up from the current requirement to contact at least three prospective employers a week, which was established in a law passed in 2022. The increased requirement to five would not apply to people in counties with populations of less than 20,000. Twenty-two of Alabamas 67 counties had populations below 20,000 as of the 2020 census. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, spoke for the bill at a public hearing held today by the Senates County and Municipal Government Committee. Orr said several other states have already increased their required job contacts to five, which he said is the most allowed by the federal government. Orr said the requirement is reasonable and noted that there are 127,000 open jobs in the state. What are you doing for 40 hours a week? Orr said. The current requirement is only three searches that you have to do, or putting in applications. You can do that electronically. You dont have to physically go to the place. Whats the harm in providing a fourth and fifth application into finding a job? Because we cant sustain people staying on unemployment forever. Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, said some people who are unemployed face challenges such as a shortage of public transportation in Alabama and the high cost of child care. You may live at one end of the county but the job may be at the other end, Coleman-Madison said. David Stout, a lobbyist for Alabama Arise, which advocates for policies to help low-income families, spoke in opposition to the bill. I understand that people think if you just pass another more stringent bill, youre going to help people get a job. Thats not so, Stout said. Stout said requirements for drawing unemployment are already strict. Unemployment claims are handled by the Department of Workforce, previously called the Alabama Department of Labor. Those who qualify can receive a maximum of $275 per week for a period of as much as 14 weeks to 20 weeks. To be eligible, you must be able and available for work and be out of work due to no fault of your own. Stout called HB29 a bad bill. Its not going to help people who are looking for work, Stout said. And youre going to force more people off of those rolls that are presently drawing unemployment compensation. The committee approved the bill. That puts it in position for final passage by the Senate. It has already passed the House. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth today appeared to hint at soon making the long expected announcement he is running for governor of Alabama. In the social media post, Ainsworth is pictured after participating in a race and states that he has been, eating my Wheaties and getting into running shape. Ainsworths tweet, which linked to a story about Sen. Tommy Tubervilles possible run for governor, said the race may be shaping up to be one for the history books. Ive been eating my Wheaties and getting into running shape. Looks like the 2026 governors race may be shaping up to be one for the history books. #ReadyToRun https://t.co/rb4E75mrhk pic.twitter.com/GK8IoXJNIL Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) March 5, 2025 Ainsworth previously stated that he would announce whether he was running for governor or returning to the private sector by March 2025. The only position Id have an interest in running for when my time is up, and I am term-limited, would be governor, Ainsworth said. And so, Ill either run for governor or go back to the private sector. I imagine I will make a decision on that sometime (around) the beginning of next year, probably February or March, something like that, about what Im going to do. Ainsworth provided a statement to AL.com about what the post meant. Its an official announcement that Im eating my Wheaties, getting in shape, and think the next year or so may be interesting, Ainsworth said. Ainsworths post hinting a potential run was in reference to Tuberville, R-Ala, also acknowledging a possible run for governor. In January, Tuberville told reporters that he would not rule out a run for governor. But on Tuesday, Tuberville again hinted at running for Alabamas top political position. According to Punchbowl News, Tuberville has told colleagues that he is considering running for governor instead of seeking re-election in 2026. Tuberville told the outlet that he would make a decision by May. So far Ainsworth has been the presumptive favorite to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey. However, Tuberville would likely become the frontrunner if he joined the race due to his name recognition and alliance with President Donald Trump. Other potential candidates who have thrown their name out there include Alabama Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate and former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis. No one has officially announced their run for governor yet. As Ainsworth said, if Tuberville were to run for governor it could make the 2026 governor race, one for the history books. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP) AP A Democratic congressman was chucked from President Donald Trumps speech Tuesday night before a joint session of Congress after constantly interrupting Trump. Rep. Al Green, D-Tex., took issue with Trump maintaining that he had a mandate after Novembers election victory. Green stood up from his chair and shouted at the president while waving his cane in the air. The outburst prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to caution Green to behave. Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions. Thats your warning, Johnson said. Green continued to raise his cane as Republican members tried to drown out his protests. Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, Johnson said, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session. Mr. Green, take your seat, the speaker continued. Take your seat, sir. Green did not heed the warning. There is no mandate, the Texas Democrat said. Johnson then called on the sergeant at arms to remove this gentleman from the chamber. Green was then led out of the chamber to cheers from Republicans, who chanted na na na na hey hey hey goodbye. Trump said there was nothing he could to get a show of support from Democrats. Once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, Trump said. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded, and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. Richard Scrushy and wife Leslie raise their hands as defense attorney Donald Watkins, right, looks on, after Richard Scrushy was acquitted of all charges, June 28, 2005, in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a stunning acquittal on charges of leading a $2.7 billion earnings overstatement at HealthSouth Corp. (Joe Songer | jsonger@AL.com) Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy wants President Trumps pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson, to review what he says was a politically motivated prosecution that led to a 2007 conviction and a stint in federal prison. Scrushy and his attorneys are planning a press conference in Montgomery on Thursday. Scrushy wants the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., investigate corruption, widespread fraud, and weaponization of the DOJ in the middle district of Alabama in his conviction, an announcement of the press conference states. Prosecutors said Scrushy directed high-level employees to falsify the books for Birminghams HealthSouth when its earnings didnt meet Wall Street expectations. About $2.7 billion was at issue, overstated in financial reports from 1996 through 2002. Scrushy was again tried in federal court - this time for bribery involving ex-Gov. Don Siegelman. Scrushy was accused of bribing Siegelman with $500,000 in exchange for a seat on the Certificate of Need Review Board, the state agency with oversight over HealthSouth. In 2006, a federal jury convicted Siegelman of bribery for appointing Scrushy to that board. Siegelman, the last Democrat to serve as governor, who was out on appeal for some time after his conviction, was released from prison in 2017. He unsuccessfully sought pardons from Obama and Biden. Scrushy says his lawyers uncovered and continue to uncover clear and convincing evidence that he was wrongly convicted and incarcerated for five years. The public will be shocked at the diabolical ploy and actions of the officials within the Middle District Department of Justice that destroyed the lives of Richard Scrushy and his family who were prominent Alabamians, said attorney Tommy Gallion. Federal prosecutors knowingly and wrongly sought to destroy Scrushy and his familys lives by their actions. Scrushy says the U.S. Attorney General should vacate or reverse his conviction and he should be considered for a presidential pardon. Scrushy said he would reveal details of his blatantly unconstitutional and criminal prosecution today. In February, Trump named Johnson his pardon czar. Johnson, who was previously incarcerated in Alabamas Aliceville Federal Correctional Institution, has worked with Trump since her life sentence for drug offenses was commuted by the president after Kim Kardashian pleaded her case. President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, as Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker Nancy Pelosi look on. (Leah Millis/Pool via AP) AP President Donald Trumps speech will have blanket television coverage and all the pomp and circumstance of previous speeches, but it isnt technically a State of the Union address. The president delivers remarks at the invitation of the speaker of the House. Speaker of the House Mike Johnsons invitation welcomed Trump to deliver an address, a recognition the president needs to be in office a full year before giving an official State of the Union. Every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 has addressed a joint session of Congress shortly after their inauguration. That includes Trump, whose first speech took place on Feb. 28, 2017. As for the annual speech itself, the Constitution states the president shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. George Washington, in 1790, was the first to deliver a regular address to Congress. The address has transformed over the years, shifting from a speech to a written statement, and back to a speech with the advent of radio and later television. Since 1947, it has officially been known as the State of the Union. ___ 2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Steel plant worker Jeff Denard (R) stands as he is recognized by US President Donald Trump during Trump's address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images During his speech Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump highlighted the story of an Alabama steelworker who has worked at the same plant for nearly three decades while serving as a volunteer firefighter captain, fathering seven children and fostering more than 40 others. Decatur resident and Nucor Steel employee Jeff Denard, who attended the speech as a guest of First Lady Melania Trump, was greeted with cheers as Trump detailed his story in the House chamber. The president shared Denards story while outlining his tariff policy. Trump noted Denard has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years while serving as a volunteer firefighter captain. Denard also has seven children and has cared for more than 40 foster children. While drawing applause, the Decatur resident held up a raised fist in appreciation. Stories like Jeffs remind us that tariffs are not just about American jobs. Theyre about protecting the soul of our country, the president said. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, and its happening and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but were OK with that. It wont be much, Trump said. The president then expressed his gratitude to Denard. Jeff, I want to thank you very much, Trump said. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch at 11:05 p.m. on Tuesday in effect until Wednesday at 6 a.m. for Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties. Tornado watch vs. Tornado warning: Know the difference When it comes to tornadoes, understanding the distinction between a Tornado watch and a Tornado warning can be a matter of life and death. Here's a breakdown: Tornado watch: Be prepared! A Tornado watch is your advance warning that conditions are ripe for tornado formation. It's your signal to review your emergency plans, ensure your supplies are in order, and identify your safe room. While it doesn't mean a tornado is imminent, it's a heads-up that you should be ready to act quickly if a Tornado warning is issued or if you suspect a tornado is approaching. Watches come from the Storm Prediction Center and often cover a large area, potentially spanning multiple counties or even states. Tornado warning: Take action! A Tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted or detected by weather radar. This is the real deal there's an immediate threat to life and property. Your response should be quick: seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows. If you're in a mobile home, a vehicle, or caught outdoors, find the nearest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Warnings are issued by your local forecast office and pinpoint a much smaller area, typically the size of a city or a small county, where a tornado has been identified, either by radar or by trained spotters and law enforcement. Knowing the distinction between these two alerts is paramount for staying safe during tornado season. Stay informed, have a plan, and act promptly when danger looms. Get ready for tornadoes Be weather-ready: Keep an eye on the weather forecast to stay informed about tornado risks. Tune in to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updates on tornado watches and warnings Sign up for notifications: Familiarize yourself with your community's warning systems. Some places have outdoor sirens, while others rely on media and smartphone alerts for severe storm notifications. Create a communication plan: Create a family emergency plan that includes a designated meeting place and important contact information. If your home lacks a basement, identify a nearby safe building, like a church or a relative's house, that you can reach quickly. Choose a secure shelter: Pick a safe room within your home, such as a basement, storm cellar, or an interior room on the lowest floor without windows. Establish a communication plan: Conduct a family severe thunderstorm drill regularly so everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching. Make sure all members of your family know to go there when tornado warnings are issued. Don't forget pets if time allows. Secure your home: Consider having your safe room reinforced. You can find plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection on the Federal Emergency Management Agency website. Extend a helping hand: Encourage your neighbors and loved ones to prepare for possible tornadoes. Consider taking CPR training to be of assistance in case of injuries. Tornado survival guide: Immediate actions for your safety When a tornado strikes, taking swift action is crucial to ensuring your safety and minimizing potential harm. Follow these guidelines from the weather service: Stay informed: Remain vigilant and stay updated by listening to local news broadcasts or a NOAA Weather Radio for tornado watches and warnings. At home: If you find yourself under a tornado warning, immediately seek refuge in your basement, safe room, or an interior room without windows. If there's enough time, bring your pets with you. At work or school: If you are at your workplace or school, adhere to tornado drill procedures. Move promptly and calmly to your designated tornado shelter, avoiding large open areas like cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums, and steer clear of windows. Outdoors: When you are outdoors and a tornado is approaching, seek immediate refuge inside a sturdy building. Remember that sheds, storage facilities, mobile homes, and tents are not safe options. If there is sufficient time, make your way to a secure structure. In a vehicle: Being in a vehicle during a tornado is highly unsafe. Your best option is to drive to the nearest shelter. If reaching shelter is not possible, either stay inside your car, covering your head, or abandon the vehicle and seek refuge in a low-lying area like a ditch or ravine. Always keep in mind that taking swift action and following established safety procedures are crucial for your well-being when a tornado threat is imminent. Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service. The United States should continue to support Ukraine, but insist that Europe carry its own share of the load as many countries are already doing. We should have learned from the Munich Agreement that one does not reward a dictator with territorial gains or anything else, because behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated, and Vladimir Putin is a dictator. The United States is however $36 trillion in debt and counting because, at the end of the Second World War, we had to assume the cost of keeping the Soviet Union from overrunning a weakened Europe. Instead of "friends with benefits," we have become an empire without benefits. This means we have all the costs related to the protection of an empire, but few if any of the revenues. Harrington Emerson's Twelve Principles of Efficiency pointed out this issue in 1912. Our fifth great proposed expenditure is for an American Navy. If there had been no "Maine" there would have been no Spanish war, no war expenditure of one thousand million dollars, no Philippine problem making us an Eastern Asiatic power when we have not yet solved a dozen simple elementary problems at home, such as living wages for sweat-shop workers, lack of employment, civic honesty and cleanliness. The Mexican War gained us what is now the Western United States; the Spanish-American War gained us a few non-profitable islands unless one counts Cuban cigars and Puerto Rican sugar. This required us to build and maintain a two-ocean Navy, and our Pacific possessions would bring us into conflict with Japan in 1941. England's need to defend its own vaster empire including India, Australia, and New Zealand compelled it similarly to divert resources to the Pacific and away from the conflict in Europe, including protection of its homeland. Unlike the United States, England had an empire with benefits, namely one whose enormous resources could pay for the most powerful navy on earth along with Sepoys, Sikhs, Gurkhas, and other native troops whom the Roman Empire would have called auxiliaries. Questions arise nonetheless as to whether empires are worth the cost. Even in the nineteenth century, when England was on top of the world, the influx of colonial wealth benefited primarily the land-owning nobles who supplied the army's officers as opposed to poor men who often enlisted because they could find no other paying work. The ordinary Briton was little if any better off than the ordinary German of that era even though Germany had but a few colonies and those primarily for prestige. The Price of Empire Rudyard Kipling, who may well have been the best friend the ordinary British soldier, Tommy Atkins, ever had recognized the problem in the nineteenth century. Walk wide o the Widow at Windsor, For alf o Creation she owns: We ave bought er the same with the sword an the flame, An weve salted it down with our bones. (Poor beggars!its blue with our bones!) Then eres to the Lodge o the Widow, From the Pole to the Tropics it runs To the Lodge that we tile with the rank an the file, An open in form with the guns. (Poor beggars!its always they guns!) Now it's the American Empire, but one without benefits, that runs from the Pole to the Tropics, and our men and women in uniform have salted it down with their bones. I recently saw Blackhawk Down, which depicts the Battle of Mogadishu in which 18 Americans died, and far more were wounded, in a United Nations peacekeeping operation. "After the battle, dead US troops were dragged through the streets by enraged Somalis." Kipling's "Shillin' a Day" goes on to describe how a Sergeant-Major, the veteran of countless battles, must practically beg in the streets to supplement his measly pension while "The Last of the Light Brigade" depicts the similar fate of the heroes of Tennyson's poem. "And we leave to the streets and the workhouse the charge of the Light Brigade!" The same goes for our own veterans who often can't get what they need. If we go beyond the human costs, we have to pay for military bases and naval bases around the world, along with the operating costs of numerous carrier battle groups. This is not to say we should not keep the aircraft carriers because, as Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke told us long ago, "Gentlemen, all nations are equally in need of peace, and I am convinced that all nations will maintain peace as long as they are strong enough to command it." He added elsewhere that it is only the sheathed sword that keeps other swords in their scabbards. The wisdom of dispersing our military establishment all over the world, and fighting wars like Vietnam with no clear objectives for victory, should however be open to serious question. Let us not forget that George Washington warned us against foreign entanglements because he "knew first hand how costly wars could be and wanted the young nation to maintain a goal of neutrality with all foreign governments as much as possible." What We Should Do Western Europe was weakened severely by the Second World War, and thus unable to stand up to the menace of Soviet invasion. Now, however, the European Union's gross domestic product is upward of $20 trillion a year which is about ten times that of the Russian Federation. Russia is, in fact, a Third World outhouse country with nuclear weapons, without which it would be nothing. Europe is quite capable of standing on its own feet today without American support, but it needs to be weaned from this support rather than being disconnected precipitously with a headlong withdrawal. We should therefore continue to support Ukraine but insist that the EU and U.K. do as well, and they are now stepping up to the plate to do exactly that. We should also announce long-range plans to reduce our presence there, but with enough of a horizon for other NATO forces to replace us. As the Russian Federation and communist China are both in violation of the United Nations Charter, which proscribes threats or use of force for territorial expansion, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is contingent on the U.N. Charter, is essentially null and void. Poland, Germany, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and all other countries against which Russia, China, and North Korea have made threats are well within their rights to build nuclear weapons and delivery systems. To paraphrase von Moltke, it is only nuclear weapons in their silos that keep other nuclear weapons in their silos. If Ukraine had kept its own nukes, Putin would have not dared to have invaded in 2022. If however the influx of money and weapons to Ukraine results in the economic collapse of the Russian Federation, we may well see a repetition of the 1917 revolution. Then we and the Europeans can cut our defense expenditures enormously. The Russian people should be informed that, if they de-Putinize their own country and become a democratic nation the same way Germany did after the Second World War, they will be welcomed into the European Union and all the economic opportunities this implies. The bottom line is however that we are accumulating more debt every year, and we have been an empire without benefits for far too long. We should absolutely continue to help the free world stand on its own feet, but we cannot afford to carry it on our backs. Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to being subjected to "cancel culture" for denouncing Black Lives Matter's incitement of civil disorder. Image: Pexels // Pexels License If youd have asked a Roman citizen on New Years in the year 1 AD what kind of a nation he lived in, hed have likely said a republic. And he would have been right. That year, just a few years after Jesus was born, Rome was ostensibly a proud republic. While Romans had a Senate, which was an unelected aristocratic body, they also had Consuls, who consisted of a two-man quasi-executive that was elected by representatives of the people. They had Tribunes, who were elected by the people (sans the aristocrats) and who acted as a check on the Senate and Consuls. And they had Censors, whose ultimate job was to oversee public morality and manage finances. Most of those institutions had been in place for half a millennium and the Republic had a long history of increasing power for the common citizens as a balance to the elites. So, again, the average Roman citizen looked around and saw a republic. Image made using AI. It was an illusion. In reality, the Roman Republic, for all intents and purposes, was gone. You could argue that it ended around the end of the first century BC with the reigns of Marius, then Sulla. You could make a stronger case that it ended around 60 BC with the advent of the First Triumvirate or in 48 BC when Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, eventually having himself declared dictator for life. Most historians dont quite count the Republic as gone at this point because the Senate still had real power. By 27 BC, four years after Caesar Augustus defeated Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium, Senate power no longer existed. At that point, the tables had shifted sufficiently that Augustus was an Emperor in everything but name. Offered the title of king, Augustus would refuse, instead preferring to be called Princeps Civitatis, or First Citizen...ostensibly a man of the people. The reality is that the Republic was dead, and Rome was a tyranny (albeit a relatively peaceful one for the moment). The only thing that mattered was power, in the form of Legions. And Legions Augustus had, and they were loyal to him, not Rome. But in the eyes of the common man, it looked like a republic because all the adornments of a republic were still there. What he didnt see was the fact that Augustus pulled all of the strings behind the scenes. Because of his personal control over the critical legions and richest provinces, Augustus was the undisputed ruler of Rome and dictated who could fill critical posts (including himself as Consul and Censor), what edicts the Senate would pass, and much else of what went on across the empire. But again, his Princeps title and the governmental window dressing gave the citizens the illusion of a republic. Once Augustus was gone, the facade disappeared and, for most of the next 400 years, it was crystal clear that power derived from control of the Legions and or the Pretorian Guard. At times they would literally choose the Emperor by auction. If youd have asked an American citizen the same question 2020 years later, most would have said they lived in democracy and a few, a republic. Makes sense. We had all the trappings of a democratic form of government. We had elections, a president, Congress, and a Supreme Court, one with members nominated by said president and confirmed by that Senate, and this Court stepped in whenever the other branches overstepped their constitutional powers. But then the election happened in November 2020 and extraordinary inconsistencies made many think that the democratic form of government we thought we had wasnt quite working. This was followed by four years of something like a Twilight Zone episode. Then of course came the relatively inconsistency-free election in November of 2024 and the inauguration of Donald Trump in January. Finally, Americans felt as if, maybe, they were in control over their country once again As soon as the new administration took office and unleashed its DOGE hounds, however, it became clear that America was far less of a democratic form of government than anyone had ever imagined. It turned out that yes, we could elect new members of Congress and even new presidents, but that control was an illusion because behind the facade of democracy is a hardcore leftist bureaucratic machine that operates the governmentand affects much of the worldand that is essentially separate from but funded by the constitutional branches of government. It turns out that our government has been spending more than $40 billion a year for decades funding leftist causes across the country and around the world. At home theyve funded George Soros Tides Foundation as it sought to install leftist prosecutors and DAs across the country. Abroad, working in concert with the CIA, the USAID funded revolutions and undermined governments around the world. Not surprisingly, 95% of agency employees were leftists and 95% of the funding went to leftist causes, including media organizations. Among other efforts were DEI, trans opera in Columbia, and Sesame Street in Iraq. Beyond USAID spending itself, the government is rife with spending that simply continues regardless of whos in office. Senator Rand Paul in his 2024 Festivus showcased over $1 trillion in waste and abuse in the federal budget, funding things such as breakdancing, Girl-Centered Climate Action in Brazil and $10 billion a year to maintain virtually empty buildings. These problems are rife in all branches of the governmentDefense, Interior, State, and virtually all departments and agencieswhich mostly funneled their billions of dollars through NGOs, which are Non-Government Organizations. In reality, these organizations should really be called Not Government Officially because they give the CIA, State, Defense and others the ability to do things theyre either legally prohibited from doing or arent constitutionally empowered to do. Indeed, the EPA recently revealed that the Biden administration was allowing just eight entities to distribute $20 billion of taxpayer dollars at their discretion. This included $2 billion to Stacey Abrams brand new green energy scam. Leftists complain that DOGE is focusing too much attention on USAID, which is only 1% of the government budget. Thats true, but that misses the point for two reasons. First, DOGE is looking at the entire government; its simply that USAID abuse has been so blatant that its basically low hanging fruit. Second, about 75% of the federal budget is non-discretionary, essentially meaning it gets spent regardless of whos in charge, on things such as interest, Social Security, Medicaid, etc. Of the remaining 25%, half is Defense. That means that of the 13% of the budget thats discretionary, USAID makes up almost 10%! In a recent Joe Rogan interview, Elon Musk perfectly articulated why leftistsboth in government and outare going crazy. Suggesting that DOGEs revelations may be the most important revolution in American history since the original revolution, he said Normally the bureaucracy eats revolutions for breakfast. This is the first time theyre not, that the revolution might actually succeed. DOGE may still find itself eaten by the bureaucracy its targeted, but at least for the first time in decades Americans have an idea whats being done behind their backs, and theres someone in office who seeks to do something about it. When the facade of the Roman Republic fell, it exposed a tyranny that would last four centuries. We can only hope that exposing the cancer behind the American facade results in a stronger Republic that can last half as long. Follow Vince on X at ImperfectUSA Democrats in America and Europeans everywhere are delusional regarding the Ukraine war. They utter simplistic statements regarding the origin of the conflict, and jingoistic slogans regarding the likelihood of Ukrainian victory. A review of the facts reveals the fallaciousness of their claims. What Caused the War? Although Putin directly created this conflict by invading Crimea in 2014, and by invading eastern Ukraine in early 2022, serious provocations led to those interventions. Here are some of them. 1. NATO expansion to the border of Russia not one inch eastward. Several scholars (e.g., Jeffrey Sachs, Rajan Menon, John Mearsheimer) have documented the many assurances that were given to Russian officials regarding the boundaries of NATO expansion. Famously, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker assured Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 that NATO membership would go not one inch eastward. Despite that assurance, President Bill Clinton pushed for NATO expansion in the mid-1990s. In 1999, NATO was expanded to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. In 2004, the NATO expansion included Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Russia complained bitterly, but did nothing. A breaking point was reached in 2008, when the NATO alliance considered the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine. Although they were not admitted, NATO members issued this statement: These countries will become members of NATO. In response, Russias deputy foreign minister, Alexander Grushko, sternly warned: Georgias and Ukraines membership in the alliance is a huge strategic mistake which would have [the] most serious consequences for pan-European security. It is now clear that Grushko was correct. To understand why this expansion was provocative, just consider the likely U.S. reaction if the old Soviet Union tried to make Mexico a member of its Warsaw Pact alliance. 2. Western nonprofit organizations acted like the CIA. According to Victoria Nuland, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, the U.S. gave more than $5 billion to Ukraine as of 2013 to help it achieve the future it deserves. Much of the money went to fund the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a nonprofit organization that sponsored at least 60 different programs, some of which created civil unrest in Ukraine. The organization does not have clean hands. Indeed, a co-founder of NED (Allen Weinstein) said in 1991: A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA. I doubt that Vladimir Putin found those words to be reassuring. NED still boasts (on its website) that it financially supported the 20132014 Revolution of Dignity, which involved public protests that led to a violent coup detat in Ukraine. 3. The removal of a Ukrainian president. Depending on the perspective, former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych was either neutral or pro-Russian. In 2014, he was removed from power by political unrest that culminated in a coup detat. As noted, that unrest was largely funded by western groups such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Yanukovych was replaced by a pro-western president, a fact that caused great consternation among Russian leadership. A few days after Yanukovych was removed from power, Russia invaded Crimea. Who Started the Conflict? Trump has been criticized for saying that Zelenskyy caused the conflict that began in 2022. Although his statement is false and simplistic, it is not without support. Trump and others have argued that Zelenskyy could have ended the fighting, almost before it began. The invasion started on February 24, 2022, and a peace plan (an off-ramp) was available to Zelenskyy just three or four weeks later. The off-ramp was in the form of a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. It has been widely reported that the deal was scuttled by Boris Johnson in early 2022 (at the behest of U.S. leaders). Zelenskyy argues that this is false, but the reasons he gives are troubling. Zelenskyy claims that Johnson could not have killed the plan because he, Zelenskyy, never gave my approval for it. By making that statement, Zelenskyy seems to acknowledge that a peace plan was available; however, he (not Boris Johnson) chose to reject it. Before Europeans promise security commitments for Ukraine, they should carefully investigate this matter to ensure that Zelenskyy is seriously seeking peace. Can Russia Be Driven from Eastern Ukraine? Many military experts believe that it is virtually impossible to drive Russia from all of Ukraine, even if the U.S. supplies massive amounts of military aid. As stated by Ukraine expert Anatol Lieven, supporters of complete Ukrainian victory have engaged in hopes that range from the overly optimistic to the magical (emphasis added). Lieven notes that the Russian strategy has been to engage Ukrainians in, prolonged battles for small amounts of territory...where they have relied on Russian superiority in artillery and munitions to wear them [Ukrainians] down through constant bombardment. They are firing three shells to every one Ukrainian. The Russians also rely on their larger population of fighters. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated (undiplomatically), the U.S. has been, funding a meat grinder, and unfortunately for the Ukrainians, the Russians have more meat to grind, and they dont care about human life. Recently, the BBC has reported that, in the last two years, Russia has increased its control steadily, gaining about 25 miles across the eastern parts of the region. The losses sustained by Ukraine may not be obvious to most Americans because (according to Anatol Lieven) Biden spent his last year in office trying to ...sustain Ukrainian defense until after the U.S. presidential elections.... Is Zelenskyy Acting Rationally? Understandably, Zelenskyy hates Russia and Putin, and this hatred has caused him to behave irrationally. In the weeks and months before the contentious Oval Office meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy stated that he had not ruled out NATO membership, and that NATO membership should be offered to all of Ukraine even the parts held by Russia. That is a delusional statement because any single NATO member can veto such an arrangement. Does Zelenskyy seriously think that Trump can be persuaded to welcome Ukraine into the alliance? During the Oval Office meeting, Zelenskyy made more statements that seem unrealistic. For example, he indicated that Putin would need to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine. In response to a reporters question, Zelenskyy said: They have to pay. This is the rule of the war during all the centuries all the history. This is the rule of the war. Who began, those pay. Those who began this war he has to pay all money for renovation. He has to pay. Who exactly is going to induce Putin to make these payments? Perhaps Zelenskyy believes that frozen assets (of the Russian nation and its citizens) can be used to rebuild Ukraine, but that is questionable. A Russian official said it would amount to theft. I suspect that most of the seized Russian funds will be returned to Russia as an inducement to gain Putins willingness to stop the fighting. Should Trump Give Security Guarantees? Much of the world views Trump as selfish and nationalistic because he does not want the U.S. to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. Although he is focused on U.S. self-interest, his policy is also best for Ukraine, Russia, and neighboring countries. As Trump says, the killing must stop. After the contentious meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump made this statement on Truth Social: I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. For three years, Biden gave Zelenskyy the keys to the car, so to speak. Perhaps Zelenskyy felt like superman because he was using the enormous military arsenal of the United States. I agree with Trump: The car keys must be taken away before Zelenskyy will negotiate seriously. Trump should not give security guarantees to Ukraine. When Russia Wins, Who Will Be Blamed? Trump, of course! Joe Fried is an Ohio-based CPA who has performed and reviewed hundreds of certified financial audits. He is the author of Debunked? An auditor reviews the 2020 election and the lessons learned). It explains why the certifications of six swing state elections were made prematurely. He also authored Who Really Drove the Economy into the Ditch, which describes the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. Image: Free image, Pixabay license. Trumps EPA has started the process to rescind the EPAs authority to regulate CO2 and other alleged greenhouse gasses. It would remake our nation and shake a Western civilization already being pummeled by green madness. These regulations, both here and abroad, have been stalking horses for socialism and vehicles for fraud. graft, and funding left-wing actors on a scale unseen in human history. On the international stage, the move to declare CO2 a pollutant and man its evil cause agent began in the 1970s with the first communist billionaire in the west, Maurice Strong. In 1988, Strong was instrumental in creating the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC), an organization that had as its primary purpose proving that human activities were increasing CO2 and to plan reparations for poor nations caused by western polluters. Until 2007, the US resisted the claim that CO2 was a pollutant that could be regulated to adjust the worlds climate. That year, five activist Supreme Court Justices donned white lab coats of climate scientists in Massachusetts v. EPA to hold that the Clean Air Act was written so broadly that it gave the EPA, created simply to clean up pollution, almost unlimited authority to regulate carbon dioxide, an essential, albeit minute, part of our atmosphere. This judicial overreach mattered because even a super-majority of congressional Democrats had rejected a law that would have authorized the EPA to regulate CO2. Armed with this Supreme Court ruling, Obamas EPA acted unilaterally in 2009 to declare CO2 a pollutant it could regulate. Hows that for spitting in the face of Art. 1, Section 1 of the Constitution, which holds that the power to legislate is vested solely in Congress? Today, according to those steeped in the canard of global warming, we sit at the edge of climate catastrophe. The climate is warming at an unprecedented rate. Sea levels will rise to inundate the lands. Floods and hurricanes are increasing in number and severity. Perhaps worst of all, the evil little troll, Greta Thunberg, is mad at us 'How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood.' Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg blasted world leaders for failing to stem climate change https://t.co/fednieolmr pic.twitter.com/kMo4FSXtp6 Reuters (@Reuters) September 23, 2019 Thats the narrative: We are in a climate crisis and humanity itself is in danger. The WEF tells us that the cost of failing to respond to climate change will bankrupt the world. The only solutions are to adopt socialism and transfer the wealth of the US to the UN, where it can be redistributed as a form of green reparations. Except...all of that is hot garbage. Climate science is little more than modern Lysenkoism. It has been subject to decades of gatekeeping in universities, grant-making entities, the UN, and science journals, all working together to suppress any challenges to the anthropogenic climate change consensus. All too often, climate modeling has transformed from a scientific tool into a mechanism for manufacturing hysteria. When @NOAA doesn't have monthly temperature data for a particular USHCN station, they fabricate data from a computer model. In 2024, almost half of the US data was fake, and based on that fake data declared "hottest year ever"https://t.co/naI8idPTLN https://t.co/nwyZvhy2uG pic.twitter.com/fYrIjvRwNW Tony Heller (@TonyClimate) February 28, 2025 The climate models used to forecast doom in the coming decades are a canard. They have uniformly and grossly overstated the actual warming trends. Wait until Democrats find out climate models are the opposite of science. The climate prediction models which are basically astrology plus math are the tentpole hoax of the climate debate. https://t.co/33G3lWoMMq Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 16, 2025 The temperature records have been reworked repeatedly over the past decades to create a warming trend far in excess of the raw historic data, and which data is, itself, questionable. NOAAs Homogenized Temperature Records: A Statistical House of Cards? | Charles Rotter, Watts Up With That For years, climate scientists have assured us that NOAAs homogenized temperature datasetsparticularly the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)are the gold pic.twitter.com/8TSnZNz7Ve Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) February 26, 2025 Many climate studies rely on questionable peer review as ostensible proof of their reliability rather than reproducing the studies. Notably, there has been no increase in the number or severity of weather-related disasters for decades. The actual trendline, according to Roger Pielke, Jr., is completely flat. [T]he completely false notion that global weather and climate disasters have increased and will continue to increase is commonly reported in the legacy media, buoyed by the promotion of false information by organizations that include the United Nations. In 2020 the U.N. claimed falsely of a staggering rise in climate-related disasters over the last twenty years. Yet despite all of the abovemuch of it known for well over a decadethe climate change juggernaut has ignored it all and rolled on. The twin benefits to those pushing this canard are increased government power and access to almost limitless wealth. Bill Nye went on CNN to claim wildfires in the Carolinas 'didnt use to be a thing before climate change. The largest wildfire in the state's history was in 1976. 5,000 wildfires occur in SC in a typical year. Bill is just another lying radical climate activist. pic.twitter.com/NswgLgJvYn Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) March 3, 2025 CO2 is involved in every act and aspect of life. Any government that can fully regulate CO2 has the power to control society in a way even George Orwell could not imagine. As for profiteering, there can be no greater justification for transferring wealth than to avert an imminent world catastrophe. Bjorn Lomborg observes that across the Western world, green campaigners are loudly calling for governments to spend up to 25% of our GDP, choking growth in the name of climate change. To put that into perspective, the GDP of the US and Europe is roughly $34 trillion. It is the greatest gravy-train in history for government bureaucrats, universities, academics, and leftwing cronies positioned to profit from this madness. At current levels alone, the massive push into green energy is coming at a very heavy price. Germany, but a decade ago one of the worlds manufacturing leaders, is now suffering from its war on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Its energy prices are twice that of the US, putting Germanys entire industrial base on the verge of collapse. The EU and UK, all similarly heavily invested in renewables, are likewise suffering high energy prices. In the US, under Biden, we were on the same trajectory as Europe, but had not yet felt the extreme costs of the green policies. That said, if we do nothing, we will soon feel the pinch: The projected costs to implement only a handful of President Bidens most sweeping environmental regulations have reached an eye-popping figure: more than $845 billion. Thats according to an analysis of new Environmental Protection Agency policies, such as electric vehicle mandates, from Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The analysis concluded that the EPA rules to enforce Mr. Bidens climate change agenda present devastating financial costs for consumers and businesses that outweigh the benefits. As to the roughly $1 trillion authorized by Congress over the past four years of green projects, almost all have come to naught: The money was authorized, but the projects didn't come to completion. As Politico reported last month in an overview of Biden's signature green energy infrastructure projects, "a $42 billion expansion of broadband internet service has yet to connect a single household... [A] $7.5 billion effort to install electric vehicle chargers from coast to coast has so far yielded just 47 stations in 15 states."...Congress authorized more than $1 trillion in spending for Biden's major climate, clean energy, and infrastructure programs, but more than half of it has yet to be obligated or is not yet available for agencies to spend. [snip] [Bidens administration] sent more than $3 billion to further fund California's long-delayed high-speed rail system. The rail project was supposed to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco, but it's currently years behind schedule and $100 billion over budget. ... Biden threw billions at a worthless project, and America got nothing for it. Moreover, after four years of Biden pushing green energy, the US is seeing its highest energy prices ever. Space prevents me from discussing in detail the many other poisons that come with the climate change madness, but here are a few: Our government funds Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) that are in turn funding lawfare to destroy the fossil fuel industry. Public schools are using trauma induced learning to inculcate climate hysteria in our nations children. Vast sums spent on climate change seem to be being lost to fraud. For instance, the World Bank, loaning almost $100 billion annually for climate change, cant account for at least a quarter of the funds. The same potential problem with fraud happens in the US. The FBI is now investigating a $20 billion green fund that appears to be shot through with fraud. This should be the icon for Democrat waste, fraud, and corruption: DOGE discovered $2 billion in taxpayer funds set aside for a fledgling nonprofit linked to . . . Georgia Democratic . . . Stacey Abrams. The [Biden EPA] . . . awarded Power Forward Communities the grant in April S David Sultzer (@s_sultzer) February 20, 2025 Culturally, climate change is, as Michael Crichton stated, a modern pagan religion supplanting Judaism and Christianity. This neo-pagan religion, as Andrea Widburg opines, makes of each person his own God with power over life and death, and the earth itself. The existential ramification of neo-paganism is a cratering of families and birthrates. Population collapse due to plummeting birth rates continues to worsen https://t.co/vBBLAycWwz Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2024 Climate change madness is a canard that threatens the economy, culture, and governing systems of our nation, the trustworthiness of our science, and the Judeo-Christian values that have long been the Wests moral and ideological foundation. Of all the beneficial things the Trump administration could do for the future of our nation, ending climate change madnesswhich is on the Trump agendawill be among the most consequential. Once he achieves that, he then needs to proceed against climate madness on an international stage, at its black heart in the UN IPCC. Seventy (70) years in the making, there was a multi-car crash in the Oval Office on February 28 with Ukraines president, Donald Trump, and J.D. Vance. As with any multi-car pile-up, we cannot look away. The Zelensky-Trump meeting actually was a success, although we are admonished that no one should see legislation or sausage being made. Despite a dysfunctional testosterone-choked machismo fog that filled the White House that day, the massive divide became crystal-clear on the most important issue. President Zelensky does not want to end the war. He wants to crush Russia completely and drive Russia out of all Ukrainian land. And I am sure I would feel the same. But I hope I would have the life experience and clarity to overcome those emotions with the life lessons of The Rolling Stones You Cant Always Get What You Want. Yes, it hurts. Life is often painful. We cry out in our hearts against the wrongs and injustices of this fallen world. But no perfection is found on this side of heaven. Yet every European official, leader, diplomat, and military hack, and most of those in the USA anyone with credentials as a supposed expert has spent years infecting Ukraine with the delusional fantasy that Ukraine, with 38.7650 million people (many parked in Europe during the war) can defeat Russia, with 145 million people. Russia could send 10 million troops into Ukraine armed only with bows and arrows. Ukrainians could kill 23 million, but Russian victory is guaranteed. Where did the establishments delusion come from? Seventy years ago, planned as early as 1948. See this CIA Memorandum, June 22, 1955: The CIA planned, organized, trained, and funded a Ukrainian separatist movement for the purpose of de-stabilizing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The irrational delusion that hot-headed Ukrainian nationalists could overthrow the KGB and Soviet system was actually created by the United States of America through its intelligence services. Again, those who hope to profit from the war will quickly attack this as Putin propaganda. These are the CIAs own documents. Remember: At the time, the CIA and public officials were proud of their efforts. But really, the CIA was building on the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists founded in 1929. See Harvard Ukrainian Studies and The Holocaust Explained. The USA told Ukrainian extremists that they could topple the Soviet Union. Worse, we implied that the USA would back them up back stop is todays term and fight with them in their war against Russia. Zelensky came demanding from Trump, Where is the back stop the USA promised us? Today, we have the Lets pillage Russias natural resources war-mongers. I heard them myself with my own ears, in the room, at meetings and speeches by conservative think-tanks starting in 1992. We can defeat Russia once and for all, they loudly insisted. (If I heard it, I suspect that Russias intelligence services might have gotten wind of it, too, and factored it into their assessment of trusting the West.) The McCain/Cheney Cold War Dead-Enders made a fatal mistake. No one cared about fighting for the Soviet Union anymore. But if you threaten their homeland, Russians may fight back ferociously. The smash hit , ecstatically celebrating that they are Russian, hardly tracks with the defeated backwater that Western war-mongers are portraying. Donald Trump has clearly been negotiating to negotiate, discussing the shape of the table, so to speak, as clarified by secretary of State Marco Rubio. We dont know the specifics, and it appears there are none. Trump is also engaged in shuttle diplomacy. Do we really think Trump is going to put Vladimir Putin in the same room, around the same table, as Volodymyr Zelensky? Seriously? That would be a Western saloon brawl. But Trumps plan to acquire mineral rights appears to have been a masterstroke. One should remember that Trump thinks as a businessman. So when Trump talks about securing repayment of the $350 billion the USA has allegedly provided (the amount is disputed) Europe will largely be repaid this has a precise meaning in business finance. When Trump mentions $500 billion, he is saying the USA would provide Ukraine $150 billion more up to a $500-billion total. So Zelensky could have another $150 billion to fight with. When he says secure, this means as a last resort. Security has precise meanings and procedures in business finance. Thus, Ukraine could repay the USA (and Europe) any way it wants, with the mineral rights as collateral. But here the genius part: Ukraine and Europe are screaming about [military] security guarantees, by which they clearly mean that the U.S. military should be posted on Ukrainian soil (while the Europeans frolic in the forests with wine and cheese and drag queens). Putting armed U.S. and/or European soldiers in Ukraine will trigger World War III. And it would be nuclear, if necessary for Russia to win. Even if Putin doesnt want war, like a street gang leader who is dissed, Putin will have no choice but to preserve his street cred. But what about (unarmed) business managers, engineers, U.S. miners, transportation workers? With a wink and a nod to a fully awake Vladimir Putin looking the other way to avoid a thermonuclear world war, the United States would have U.S. citizens inside Ukraine. This would give Ukraine the only guarantee it can get. Russia will not attack Ukraine with significant numbers of U.S. citizens in the country. Russia and Trump know what this means. The gimmick depends upon biting their tongues and pretending they dont see it. So a reporter asked Trump how long would it take to mine the rare minerals a decade? Trump toyed obviously with the topic, saying things like I dont know, things can take a long time, you know? You go looking, and the metals arent where you think they are. Who knows? It could take lots of time. So Trump was clearly telegraphing that this is a charade. This is a security guarantee dressed up as a business venture. Maybe well keep doing it for 50 years. But Zelensky couldnt hear that over the noise of a sensation-hungry old-school news media establishment. Zelensky lacks the sophistication to deal with a man-eating, bloodthirsty, clickbait Western news media establishment. It was also a mistake for President Zelensky it would be a mistake for anyone to go into a high-profile event without his own translator. Zelenskys English is very good, but those of us who have done any business or professional activity across languages have learned that good enough quickly falls short when the content gets specialized or complex. Zelensky badly fumbled by failing to understand nuances and explain himself precisely. Image: Trump White House Archived via Flickr, public domain. The survival of Western civilization rests upon sacrosanct core pillars enshrined within constitutional adherence, and with all of its inviolate protections bestowed upon legal citizens. These are basic anchors, which must never be vitiated, regardless of political persuasion whether in America, Europe, or even Israel, regardless of being in the belly of the barbaric Middle East beast. Indeed, Israel has yet to enact a Constitution. Even so, this writers mentor, Professor Paul Eidelberg, at the request of the Knessets constitutional committee, set benchmarks within the legislative branch for its eventual institution/implementation; Professor Eidelberg is a political scientist now residing in Jerusalem. He has drafted a constitution for the State of Israel, with his primary interest is the convergence of science and Torah. (His magnum opus is Rescuing America from Nihilism: A Judeo-Scientific Approach.) Still yet, the Knesset adopted a host of Basic Laws to guide the raison detre of Israel, that is, the Jewish homeland. It is alongside the above trajectory that minefields must be carefully navigated, regardless of ideological/political leanings. Tragically, the twin pillars of Western civilization, America and Israel (lets leave aside Europe for this analysis), have lost their foundational moorings; thus, they teeter towards the abyss. Inextricably, the weaponization of the so-called legal-judicial spheres within both nations have poisoned every touchstone of constitutional norms. In fact, the reader would be hard-pressed to distinguish between the fires (purposefully) set by the arsonists within America and Israel. For instance, recall the unhinged response to judicial reform in Israel: Akin to their U.S. counterparts, all manner of monstrous threats are not only acceptable, but considered to be the moral high ground. We will get to the frightening comparative analysis; first things first though. Under the canard and guise of their ever-handy, highly-charged bugaboo, that is, safeguarding democratic norms, Israels leftist standard-bearers are ready to kill anyone who dares to get in their way. Imagine that. As of January 2024, Israels Supreme Court had overturned the reforms, a windfall for the leftist agenda. Heading to America, the Super Power of the free world, President Trump yes, the only POTUS capable of saving the nation from the rapacious grip of the weaponizers within the recesses of every power center imaginable has assembled the most capable team in U.S. history, to right the ship of state! Most tellingly, Pam Bondi, as the new AG, launched the new Weaponization Working Group to review government officials involved in the obvious lawfare against Trump, such as Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, and Letitia James. Resultant, the following is a direct knock-on effect, with scores more to come: Head of the FBI in New York quits after Trumps DOJ accused him of hiding thousands of Epstein documents. Online journalist Collin Rugg reported that The resignation comes after AG Pam Bondi instructed FBI Director Kash Patel to launch an investigation into claims that the New York field office was hiding thousands of documents. Indubitably, as is said: Every dog has its day! Image: Pexels. A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. -Cicero What words best describe our current Democrat party? Colossally rude, crude, boorish, arrogant, puerile. At President Trumps address to the joint session of Congress last night, they could not have demeaned themselves more. They showed up with little pre-made signs the size of ping-pong paddles with pathetic little phrases on them like Musk steals! Steals what? He is donating his time to save the country billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. Most of their little signs said false. They had decided to use them no matter what Trump said. If he had said the sky is blue, they would have waved their little paddles. It was beyond pathetic. It was embarrassing. Weve long known that the Democrats are obedient, like automatons. They do what they are told, vote how they are told. If former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told them all not to clap and/or stand even once for anything Trump says, that is what they would do. That is what they did. They do not have minds of their own; the party is a hive mind. Anyone can see that the Democrats are lost, without a bench, let alone even one smart or charismatic leader. They are regressing, devolving into delinquency. They would not honor by standing and clapping for any of the people in the audience Trump introduced neither Laken Rileys mother and sister, nor Jocelyn Nungarays mother; both lost daughters to violent migrants who came into the country illegally thanks to Bidens invasion. They ignored the young boy who has survived brain cancer, the presence of presidential assassination attempt victim Corey Comperatores family, and the young man who had just been accepted to West Point. Not one of the people the president introduced stirred their hearts or souls. They are a hard-hearted bunch of petty, angry people. What does get their juices flowing? Ukraine! The Democrats love Ukraine. They love that little gangsta president. They love spending billions to protect Ukraines borders but supported Bidens open border invasion of the U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren clapped loudly and long for the war in Ukraine. What does that tell us? She and her pals want the war to continue, many of them making money from it. They pretend Russia is the biggest threat to us, when it is China. They hate America and the Americans who love their country. They hate happy people. That room last night was half filled with really happy people, the GOP; The other half was sullen, angry, disruptive Democrats who really hate happy people. There was a group of Democrat women who showed up all dressed in hot pink, for passion they said. Passion for what they did not say but it clearly was nothing good. Texas Rep. Al Green was so disruptive, he had to be removed from the room. He, too, is angry. None of them had ever considered the possibility that Trump might be president again. Now they've got him, and they are very, very mad. They actually thought Kamala Harris was going to win the last election and are still unable to accept the results of it, despite all that Trump has accomplished in these first six weeks. President Trumps speech was spectacular, masterly, and powerful. He covered what has been done these past six weeks, what has been learned about the corruption that has gone on for decades, and what his plans for the future are, all of which was and is a blessed relief from what weve endured over the past four years total incompetence. The Democrats knew full well that Biden was suffering from dementia; they knew when he ran in 2016, and did not care. They knew that the Obama cabal would run things, and they did into the ground. The Democrats' appalling behavior was probably a first time in American history that every member of the Democrat party who was present was silent in protest of every word the president said. Trumps speech was one for the ages spectacular in every way, American in every way. The hard-core Trump deranged are melting like Frank L. Baums witch and for the same reasons they are wicked. But they are fools. America will survive them thanks to President Trump and the citizens who voted for him. Image: Screen shot from Face the Nation video, via YouTube One meaning of the phrase sit on it is quite derogatory, especially as popularized in the 1970s sitcom Happy Days. One version is even quite vulgar, and that one is the deserving message to Dems who showed no heart during President Trumps SOTU last night: Sit on it. D.J. Daniels, the joyous, cancer-surviving boy endeared himself by hugging the Secret Service agent as he was awarded an honorary badge. Everyone in the chamber clapped rapturously, except for the Dems with no heart. D.J.s story stirs the soul, but I guess Dems dont own one because they just sat on it. When President Trump hailed progress towards peace negotiations in Ukraine, everyone stood and clapped. Except Dems, who just sat on it, even while Pocahontas ludicrously applauded sending Ukraine so much of our money. When released Russian hostage Marc Fogel was introduced with his stalwart, 95 year-old mother, everyone with a heart stood and clapped. Unbelievably, even for them, cold-hearted Dems defiantly remained seated. When President Trump discussed the heroism of Corey Comperatore at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, there was rousing acclaim for his attending family members except from those demented Dems. They have no shame. They have no magnanimity. President Trump informed Jason Hartly, an ambitious young man from a family of service and sacrifice, that he was accepted into West Point. Youd think that human nature would overcome political party passion, and at least provoke some courteous, lukewarm applause. Not so with the Dems, who continued to sit on it. In fact, throughout a dynamic and sometimes entertaining speech that reflects the spirit of his first 43 days, the only Dems who didnt sit on it were those who were escorted out by the Sergeant at Arms (Rep. Al Green) or left steaming under their own steam. How on earth can one not even stand to recognize Laken Rileys mother and sisters, after being acknowledged by a compassionate President Trump? And still, the Dems remained seated wheres their humanity? By the way, in his screeching SOTU last year, Biden couldnt even get her name right, such is his inauthentic posturing, calling her Lincoln Riley. If one cant stand for any of those ordinary Americans who were thrust into extraordinary circumstances, then one is not only anti-Trump, but anti-American. Good luck with that in the new Golden Age of America President Trump is still standing! In a night that will live ignominiously in Dem history, they sat on their hands. For that, they can sit on it thatd be the vulgar version, for they are beyond humanity and reason. Image: Screen shot from ABS-CBN News video, via YouTube In a last-minute maneuver, former Maryland governor Martin OMalley, in his final days as commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), pulled a fast one on American taxpayers. Shortly after citizens voted for a change in direction in the 2024 elections, OMalley inked a sweetheart deal with union leaders before resigning on November 29, allowing SSA employees to continue teleworking until at least 2029. Donald Trump has challenged this union agreement, stating in a memo, Such last minute, lame-duck CBAs, which purport to bind a new president to his predecessors policies, run counter to Americas system of democratic self-government. The courts will likely have the final say on whether this agreement stands. Despite the final resolution, this situation highlights a critical issue: why do federal workers need union representatives? The financial burden on American taxpayers is significant for federal employees in unions. The Office of Personnel Management calculated in 2019, federal employees spent 2.6 million hours time that should have been dedicated to their job responsibilities on union activities, costing taxpayers a staggering $135 million. According to the Economic Policy Innovation Center, this figure has likely soared to over a billion dollars annually during the Biden administration. At the SSA alone, OMalley allocated 14 employees to work exclusively for the union, all at the expense of taxpayers. How did we arrive at this point? Much of the blame can be traced back to President Kennedy, who, in 1962, signed Executive Order 10988, granting federal employees the right to join, form, or support labor organizations. This order established a three-tiered recognition system: exclusive representation, formal recognition, and informal recognition. Subsequent presidents, including Nixon, Ford, and Carter, further expanded union rights and codified them into law. I have no beef with unions in the private markets, as forming unions is part of free association and free markets. In the public sector, it is a different animal, as this isnt a free market. If the argument is that without unions, federal employees will be mistreated, this line of thought is an insult to the American citizenry, as, after all, our government is by We The People. We all know that federal unions help finance the Democrat party. In 2023, Fox News reported that the top four unions alone funneled $700 million to the Democrat party, who in turn are beholden to federal employee unions, which gives them incentives to sign sweetheart deals when they are in power. These deals cost taxpayers millions in inflated wages, protection from rightful termination, and so on. It is time to end this ugly conflict of interest. Although unions representing federal workers may have been codified into law, remember, whatever has been made law can be reversed by future legislatures working with the Executive Branch. Until November 2026, Republicans have a golden opportunity to reverse 60 years of bad policy and improve federal services to Americans, as well as saving taxpayers billions. President Trump, Elon Musk, and the members of DOGE, the moment for change is now! Image via Picryl. Did you hear that Indiana has a new employer? It is coming and bringing some economic development. Let's look at the story: Honda opens new tab has decided to produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in the U.S. state of Indiana, instead of Mexico, to avoid potential tariffs on one of its top-selling car models, according to three people familiar with the matter. The change underscores how manufacturers are scrambling to adapt to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada. While several automakers have expressed concerns about the levies, Honda's move is the first concrete measure by a major Japanese car company. Japan's second-largest automaker had initially planned to manufacture the next-generation Civic in Guanajuato, Mexico, according to the three people. Production was slated to start from November 2027, according to one of the people. Mexico was chosen because rising costs were making it tough to produce the car in Indiana and Canada, one of them said. It now plans to build the new Civic model in Indiana from May 2028 with an expected annual production of around 210,000, one of the people said. Honda would look to import from nations not hit by tariffs if production in Indiana falls short of demand, one of them said. This is very significant and I think it goes beyond tariffs. I've heard from foreign businessmen that Mexico is no longer the cheap labor option that it used to be. Have you tried renting an apartment in Mexico City or Monterrey? And I wouldn't be surprised if the overall security situation was a factor here too. In other words, many of these executives move to Mexico with their families and some of their wives may not be thrilled with all the violence around them. We just learned that Guanajuato is called "Mexico's most violent state, according to official homicide statistics." My guess is that Indiana does not have that problem. So maybe it's all a coincidence and not related to the tariffs or the violence. Time will tell. In the meantime, don't be surprised if you favorite oldies stations plays a song called "Indiana Wants Me." It was not about cars but rather love and someone running away from the law. P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. Image: Henryk Borawski Indias on the rise a tech powerhouse and a vital U.S. ally against Chinas dominance. So whys it being smeared as a cybercrime hub? Reuters, once a respected outlet, is accused of sloppy journalism funded by $9 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) money thats fungible, blurring lines between aid and influence. The Association for Appin Training Centers, a network of Indian software trainers, calls it more than bad reporting its a deliberate, state-funded campaign to tarnish Indias reputation. The target is Appin, a defunct New Delhi cybersecurity firm Reuters branded a hacking for hire kingpin from the early 2010s. Vikram Sharma of the Association calls it bunk shoddy reporting twisting old classroom slides into evidence and leaning on a 2013 Norwegian study that never conclusively linked Appin. The word Appin appears in isolated contexts, but were not suggesting inappropriate activity by the company, the Norman Shark report noted, even speculating that Appin could have been a victim of falsified evidence. The Reuters reporters concede that todays Appin-named training centers arent culprits, yet their guilt-by-association smear has cost students jobs and sullied Indias image. The training centers have also suffered, and the Association of Appin Training Centers says the Reuters reporters never contacted it. The USAID connection raises eyebrows. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) flagged Reuterss taxpayer-funded payout, suggesting a coordinated effort to cast India as a rogue state alongside Russia and China. This aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modis accusations of USAID meddling in Indias elections a charge echoing the Associations claim of a broader anti-India agenda. A 2022 Indian study supports this, noting that Western outlets like Reuters often inflate weak claims into exaggerated attacks on New Delhis progress. The sloppiness is blatant. Delhi court filings allege that the Reuters reporter posed as a recruiter to trick students into spilling dirt, crafting a flimsy tale of global hacking conspiracies. Reuters once confused a Delhi herbalist for a hacker and got the man arrested for a crime he did not commit yet its doubled down on a narrative that the Appin network, which trained 100,000 white-hat hackers to strengthen cybersecurity, dismisses as fiction. Reporting on a defunct company served no purpose. Despite this, the Association alleges that the reporting created a damaging ripple effect. One former Appin student reportedly lost his job due to the negative publicity, according to court documents filed in Delhi in 2022. When taken in the broader context of a campaign of negative publicity against India, a pattern emerges that paints a friendly country as a villain like Russia or China. This is at a time when India is needed to counter China. India isnt flawless no country is but the Associations vast alumni network shows that its producing talent, not criminals. The real offense? Reuterss propaganda-by-proxy, funded by USAID dollars, has threatened a U.S.-India partnership that thrives when Washington respects New Delhis rise. Donald Trump gets this; hes criticized the Biden administrations anti-India bias while advocating stronger ties. Yet USAID funded sloppy journalism that has undercut both nations interests. Reuters stands by its story, but the bias is glaring. This isnt journalism; its a taxpayer-funded hatchet job posing as news. India deserves better, and so do Americans paying for it. This further justifies the Trump administrations decision to cut off USAID funding. Image: Jon S via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. March 1 was the beginning of Ramadan, the month-long Islamic celebration thats marked by daytime fasting and nighttime feasting. Muslim countries, of course, celebrate Ramadans beginning and end. Traditionally, Christian countries do not. Instead, they celebrate things like Christmas and Easter. However, in the UK, once a proudly Christian country, Ramadan is now a thing. How else to explain its being celebrated in Parliament (with a speech by the Prime Minister about the suffering in Gaza) and in Windsor Castle, the home of Englands Christian kings and queens for almost a thousand years? Ordinary Brits are not happy but, frankly, what can they do? Christianity came to England during the Roman era, around the 3rd century A.D. In 597, St. Augustines mission from Rome came to England and, just three years later, King Aethelbert, one of the Anglo-Saxon rulers in the disparate territories that made up England, was the first Anglo-Saxon monarch to be baptized. Other rulers soon followed. Within 100 years, England was mostly Christian and, for the next 800 years, it looked to Rome for spiritual guidance. In 1534, as part of the Protestant Reformation and Henry VIIIs desperate need for a son, England severed itself from Rome but retained its Christian identity, an identity that spilled into America, shaping our national character. Since Henrys time, all British monarchs have identified themselves as the Defender of the Faiththat is, the Christian faith. But the times they are achangin. For decades now, the UK has been receiving millions of Muslim immigrants. Once in England, these immigrants do something the native Brits do not: they have children. Theyre also very aggressive, at the voting booth, on the streets, and through little dollops of remedial terrorism here and there. The UKs leftists love Islam because both leftism and Islam have a common enemy: the Bible, whether practiced through Judaism or Christianity. Thats why Britains Labour government, which won thanks in significant part to Muslim votes, is doing its best to make those Muslims feel at home. With Ramadan having begun, that this is your country, not ours approach to Islam in England has moved to Parliament, the center of the British government for over a thousand years, and Windsor Castle, the Christian monarchs home. Indeed, in Parliament, while Iftars been celebrated there for a while, this was the first time a Prime Minister attended. And Keir Starmer went the extra mile, letting the Muslims in attendance know that the governments heart lies with Hamas, an organization that commits genocide against both Jews and Christians: Keir Starmer at the Ramadan Iftar event inside the British Parliament: I know this has been a very difficult time for Muslims in the UK with the pain of the conflict in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinians. Is this a joke? What the hell? pic.twitter.com/rzVfUzI812 Vivid. (@VividProwess) March 4, 2025 England was conquered without even a shot fired. Windsor Castle, 2025: pic.twitter.com/4L5A7crnvc End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 4, 2025 King Charles having allowed this at Windsor Castle reminded me that there have long been rumors that he is a Muslim convert, with his apparent allegiance to the Church of England merely a fiction to maintain the throne. (His own version of Taqiyya.) As the linked article explains, whether or not hes a convert, Charles has long made it clear that he really, really likes Islam. And, as you can see, so does his government. Its not just hosting celebrations on ancient Christian sitesand Muslims especially appreciate the symbolism because they always built their mosques on the sites of former churches. State-run schools, for example, are going heavy on Islam and light on Britains long and storied history: British teenager: They are forcing us to learn about Islam and prophet Muhammad in school. I dont want to learn about that. I want to learn about my culture. I am proud to be English! pic.twitter.com/zEWOAWYt55 Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) February 26, 2025 When theyre not focusing on Islam, British schools (at least one), really, really want to recruit your children to LGBTQ-ism: They want you, they want you, they want you as a new recruit. https://t.co/s22WanCKZw Andrea Widburg (@Bookwormroom) March 5, 2025 And in the British criminal justice system, moving forward, one of the ways to avoid prison time will be to say that you belong to a minority religious community (read: Islam): A pre-sentence report is the first step to avoiding a prison sentence. Its very rare to get a non-custodial sentence without one. The new guidelines that come into force on the 1st April dictates that this report is necessary if you are any of the following: pic.twitter.com/M2O88afFHO Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) March 5, 2025 Small wonder that the British people are desperate for a Trump of their own: The United Kingdom stands with Donald Trump and the USA Keir Starmer and the Labour Party definitely dont represent the views of ANY SENSIBLE Brit. GOD BLESS THE USA pic.twitter.com/a24eLfPfNh The British Patriot (@TheBritLad) March 4, 2025 The problem, of course, is that the British people allowed their socialist government to disarm them. The British military may be pathetic, but its still got nothing to fear from people who arent even allowed to carry around a knife, even a kitchen knife. The UK is what it looks like when you have unlimited migration from cultures antithetical to yours, when the government ceases respecting its own history, and when it makes sure that ordinary people lack weapons and free speech. Image: X screen grab. Watching President Trump speak to both Houses of Congress, two colorful Yiddish words kept floating into my mind. I believe that each captures an aspect of the reality of that unprecedented gathering that the English language fails to convey with the same level of nuance. As President Trump spoke, I kept thinking that hes a real shtarker, which is often translated as tough guy, but which carries considerable historical context. At Quora, Wolf Krakowski explains: In Europe, studious, myopic Jews who spent their days warming a yeshivah bench were easy pickins for their loutish, violent anti-Semitic neighbors and were often attacked and beaten. Every community had their tough guy (shtarker = strong one) who could be summoned to prevent or mitigate a beating, by showing up. There can be a less savory aspect to shtarkers when they turn their abilities to crime. During Prohibition, there were Jewish gangsters like Bugsy Siegel who were also called shtarkers because they were capable of and willing to use force to accomplish their aims, just like gangsters of any stripe. One of my vivid childhood memories is of my parents abruptly leaving a social gathering when a notorious gangster nicknamed Kid Cann entered the room, and they vowed they would never expose their children to a shtarker like that. Image by Freepik. President Trump is a shtarker of the first type, using his forceful personality to accomplish highly legitimate and desirable goals for our country. When needed, he will use force, as any shtarker must, but his preferred option is to have his foes recognize the futility of fighting him. Overseas antagonists like Maduro of Venezuela no doubt regard him as a shtarker of the second typethat is, a gangster exploiting them, because he stands up for Americans. For their part, Democrats believe him to be the spiritual heir of Mickey Cohen, a thug who took over the rackets in Los Angeles, but as Trump has noted, he is the most-investigated person in the history of the United States. If there were any gangsterism in his past, he would have been indicted and convicted in the now notorious courts of New York State. The congressional Democrats last night were classic shtoonks. The Free Dictionary defines shtoonk as: slang A rotten, worthless, or utterly incompetent person; someone who is extremely petty, negative, and dishonest.From Yiddish.I just dont understand why anyone would vote for a schtoonk like her. She has all but admitted to tax evasion, forPetes sake!Jeff is managing the project? That schtoonk couldnt manage his own sock drawer.I wish that schtoonk would bring a bit more to the office than his constant carping and negativity. Refusing to applaud, much less stand and applaud a little boy who has recovered from brain cancer is pretty much a classic shtoonk behavior. So is yelling at a President as he addresses the assembled legislative branch. I believe that last night the Democrats defined themselves to the American people as shtoonks, people with nothing of value to add, who are only interested in spoiling the fun of others. It was a catastrophe for them, one that they must be waking up to this morning. Chinese ambassador calls for China, Australia AI cooperation Xinhua) 10:37, March 05, 2025 CANBERRA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian has called on Australia to strengthen artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation with China. "Taking restrictive measures against DeepSeek under the pretext of 'security risks' is an attempt to overstretch the concept of national security and politicize trade and tech issues. This would hinder technological progress worldwide and is detrimental to global economic recovery and development," Xiao wrote in a signed article published on Monday in the commentary section of the Australian. In the article, he elaborated on China's positive contribution to the global development of AI technology and data protection, and called on China and Australia to strengthen cooperation in the field of AI. China's AI efforts are driving global technological progress. In recent years, new breakthroughs in AI technology have become a key driver of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, he said, adding DeepSeek is one of the outstanding representatives in this field, providing a low-cost, high-performance model for AI development in countries around the world, including Australia. DeepSeek has accelerated the democratization of the latest AI advancements, propelling the global technology industry to new heights, and it has received widespread acclaim from international tech giants, Xiao said. Besides, China extremely prioritizes data security in AI development. It has never required, nor will it require, companies or individuals to collect or store data illegally. In the field of AI, China has always maintained a dual focus on development and regulation, ensuring strict protection of data security, he said. Currently, China is working with more than 100 countries and regional organizations to implement the global data security and AI governance initiatives put forward by China over the last five years. "In contrast to some AI companies that conceal data processing details under the guise of 'commercial confidentiality,' DeepSeek not only implements privacy policies that comply with the most stringent international standards, but also clearly outlines the location and methods of data storage," said the ambassador. The company uses advanced data encryption and anonymization technologies to ensure that user data is not misused, earning high praise from AI experts worldwide, including those from Australia, he said. As the AI era accelerates, China is ready to work with Australia to jointly build an open, inclusive, equitable, secure, and non-discriminatory AI development environment, Xiao said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) During President Trumps address to Congress last night, Democrats: *Refused to stand for Laken Rileys family, relatives of a young girl who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien. *Refused to stand for D.J. Daniel, a 13-year-old boy who is battling brain cancer and who has long dreamt of becoming a police officer, as he was being made an honorary member of the U.S. Secret Service. *Refused to stand for the family of the firefighter who was killed at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, by a bullet that was meant for President Trump. *Refused to stand or clap when Trump talked of the importance of supporting our farmers. (Didnt the F in DFL used to stand for farmer?) Some Democrats did, however, wear pink in support of womens rights. Which is odd, since they all just voted against keeping men out of womens sports. Democrats almost certainly would have stood for: *The unfettered right to kill your unborn child. *The genital mutilation of young children. *Biological men in womens bathrooms and locker rooms. *Hamas. *Endless war and death in Ukraine. *Repeal of Americans right to defend themselves via the Second Amendment. *The proposal of restrictions on free speech (First Amendment rights). *Continued unlimited financial and moral support for unvetted and unchecked illegal immigration. *Continued waste, fraud, and graft in our federal government agencies, and a continued total lack of transparency and accountability as regards same. *A motion to impeach Trump a third time. One Democrat, Al Green, was escorted out of the chambers after causing a disturbance. Another appeared to throw a paper at Trump. (Some were allegedly contemplating throwing other things at the president, possibly including eggs.) What one stands for or doesnt can be quite revealing. At this point, todays Democrats no longer comprise a legitimate political party. They despise America, common decency, and the truth, while touting and supporting death, lies, destruction, and outright evil. They are truly revolting, disgusting, immoral. They are more akin to a bizarre death cult. One that would like us all to drink the Kool-Aid. And that acts up when we refuse to do so. Image: Screen shot from SkyNews Australia video, via YouTube As Democrats pulled one petulant stunt after another at President Trump's address to Congress last night, polls show that the public wasn't buying it. Instead, it was impressed with what Trump had to say. According to The Hill: Most people watching President Trumps first joint address to Congress approved of his speech according to snap polls. Seventy-six percent of people approved of the presidents remarks, while 23 percent disapproved as reported Wednesday in CBS News and YouGov survey results. A majority of respondents, 63 percent, said Trump spent a lot of time on issues they cared about compared to 28 percent who said the opposite. Another 9 percent said he spent no time at all on their topics of interest. Respondents also noted that his speech left them with a positive feeling overall, 68 percent said the speech made them feel hopeful, 54 percent said it made them proud, and 27 percent were worried by the remarks while 16 percent said they were angry, according to the data. CNN's polling reflected a similar result. The pollsters found that Trump was addressing issues that mattered to voters -- ending waste, fraud and abuse in government spending, closing the open border, getting rid of men competing in women's sports, explaining tariffs, outlining the new initiatives of Bobby Kennedy in making America healthy again, honoring heroes and those who have bravely endured obstacles. Those things matter to voters -- and with Trump taking those issues, all Democrats had were crazy protests, getting thrown out of the session for uncivil behavior, waving weird paddleboards, color-coordinating wardrobes, doing walkouts, and making robotic talking-point videos, such as this one: Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker posted identical videosword for wordright before Trumps speech. pic.twitter.com/1iYUuuhaEN Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 4, 2025 It was summed up this way by Mary Katherine Ham: An old man waving a cane and booing is a good rebranding for the Dems. Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) March 5, 2025 No wonder the public isn't buying it. Every childish thing Democrats have done in these last 24 hours has been toxic for their prospects as Trump rises in the polls, just by addressing things people care about. Deep down, they seem to know this. I was struck by how official Democrat respondent, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, seemed to go out of her way to appropriate President Trump's ideas as if they were her own. She spoke of border enforcement. She nattered on about being against government waste. While we are on the subject of Elon Musk pic.twitter.com/02ziXW5UlR Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) March 5, 2025 She postured about 'defending the country' as a former CIA hack, which was not the rimshot she thought it was, given what we know about the agency's illegal censorship of Americans and illegal partisan acts directed against President Trump in his last term. She even cited Ronald Reagan as the great role model, mangling her history a bit, given how Democrats treated Reagan. This is rich coming from @ElissaSlotkin who helped craft the Iran Deal that put hundreds of billions of dollars into Iran that let them fund and foment terror in the Middle East. Slotkin's reckless policies led to October 7. Not taking diplomacy advice from her. https://t.co/hS3nmfRWXx stusandler (@stusandler) March 5, 2025 Democrats are now suddenly onboard with all these things, after what we saw with Joe Biden? They really care about fiscal discipline and the migrant surge? They say they now inherit the Reagan mantle? Oh, and she didn't mention stuff like this: This is the Democrat Senator who gave the rebuttal to Trumps speech reading an LGBTQ book to children about how kids can be transgender pic.twitter.com/kBZOrflC7r Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 5, 2025 ... just the usual pretty talk about 'inclusion.' Such phony stuff, given their record. Either they're having a deathbed conversion to these ideas they have utterly rejected in the last four years or they're up to the usual gaslighting, hoping that can fool the public this time as Biden and Kamala Harris were unable to do, claiming they've been Trumpist all along, knowing full well the popularity of his ideas. It's just the cherry on the sundae of this miserable confection. But the public has moved on, not wasting time with this series of idiocies -- Rep. Al Green on the stupid end, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin on the 'wears shoes' end. What a wretched party. They aren't going to win anyone over, and all they do is reveal themselves as a party on the rocks. No wonder a cold realist like David Axelrod, could see how bad it all was: NEW: CNN panel says Dems' "performative" behavior during Trump speech backfired DAVID AXELROD: "I don't think the performative stuff was very helpful at all last night." MARC SHORT: "I think the Democrats look foolish last night waving those silly paddles. And I think Al pic.twitter.com/J7eobsiyY6 Jason Cohen (@JasonJournoDC) March 5, 2025 David Axelrod is trying to speak truth into the Democrat Party: "I think there were times when [Democrats] should've risen. I think what Al Green did was despicable." He'll be ignored. pic.twitter.com/mBtz14Xvd9 Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 5, 2025 The story is in the polls: Trump rising. Trump is vanquishing his enemies for good. Image: Screen shot from X video In 1899, the Chicago & Alton Railway introduced a new intercity rail service between Chicago and St. Louis. Pulled by a 4-6-2 steam locomotive, the Alton Limited consisted of six perfectly symmetrical cars, including two Pullman parlor cars, strikingly decorated both inside and outside. The Alton Limited was billed The Handsomest Train In The World. According to the company, no railway train in the world had ever presented a design so uniform and symmetrical. The windows were of the same size, shape and style from the mail car to parlor car. All the cars were mounted on standard six-wheel trucks. Every car in the train had precisely the same length and height, including the tender of its locomotive which was built to the same height as the body of the cars following. Even the hood of the locomotive had the exact height of the roofs of the cars. This gave a fascinating beauty to the train, the company pronounced, carrying out of the principal features with classic regularitythe absolute unity of detail from cow-catcher to observation platform. George Lawrences Mammoth Camera built to photograph the Alton Limited. Shortly after the train was built, the company decided to participate in the Paris Exposition of 1900 where they planned to impress the public with the trains unprecedented symmetry. But rather than ship the entire train to France, the Chicago & Alton Railway decided to create a huge photograph of the train and exhibit it instead. For this task, the company hired George Raymond Lawrence, a remarkable photographer, who ran a studio in Chicago with the slogan: The hitherto impossible in photography is our specialty. The railroad company wanted a picture clicked of their prized creation in its entirety, all in one frame. At first, Lawrence suggested that the train be clicked in section, which would then be joined together during the printing process. But the company rejected the idea; they wanted a flawless picture of their flawless train. They also insisted that the length of the photograph must not be less than eight feet. George Raymond Lawrence Accepting the challenge, Lawrence sought the assistance of camera manufacturer J. A. Anderson, and within eight months, they designed and built the Mammoth Cameraa massive contraption weighing 1,400 pounds and requiring fifteen operators. When fully extended on steel-track wheels, the bellows measured twenty feet. The lens were reported as the largest ever built for photographic purposes, and were especially made by the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company of Rochester, New York. Two lens were built; one was a wide-angle of 5.5 feet equivalent focus and the second one was a telescopic rectilinear lens of 10 feet equivalent focus. The camera used an 8 feet by 4.5 feet single glass negative, which was almost three times larger than those used by existing panoramic cameras. The camera was so large that prior to exposure a man could enter and dust off the plate as follows: The holder is put in position, the large front board, or front door as it may be called, is swung open, the operator passes inside with a camel's hair duster, the door is then closed and a ruby glass cap placed over the lens, the curtain slide is drawn and the operator dusts the plate in a portable dark room, after which the slide is closed and he passes out the same way as he entered. In a letter to the editor of Photographic Times, Lawrence's partner, Anderson, described the largest camera in the world: This camera is constructed to allow a full exposure of a plate measuring 56x96, and embodies, in its construction, all the improvements an up-to-date camera can have, being reversible, having double swing back, rising and swinging front, and an arrangement for bracing the back that makes it as rigid as the back of a small camera, thus dispensing with any jar or vibration while an exposure is being made. In the construction of the four bellows-two cone and two square-there was over fifty yards of heavy black rubber sheeting used, and though they allow an extreme focus of fifteen feet, yet so compact were they made, the whole camera can be folded to three feet. The holder is curtain slide, and although fifty feet of five eight inch lumber was used for the slide it was made to work so easily that a boy of fourteen years would have no difficulty in drawing it. As a ground glass for focusing in this mammoth camera would be clumsy to handle and liable to breakage two frames were made to slide on the back of the camera, and celluloid strips made to fit in these frames, making a very light and satisfactory substitute for the usual ground glass. After months of planning and preparation, on a clear spring morning in 1900, the camera was painstakingly transported by a flatcar to Brighton Park, about six miles from Chicago. From there, a padded van took the camera to a suitable location in an open field. At the distance stood the Alton Limited. After aiming the camera at the motionless train on the tracks, four men inserted the mammoth glass plate while another six operated the bellows and lens. Lawrence removed the lens cap and after an exposure of two-and-a-half minutes, replaced the cap and the exposure was completed. The Alton Limited photographed by George Raymond Lawrence. Lawrence made three gargantuan prints from the negative and sent them to Paris to be exhibited at the Exposition. One was hung in the United States Government Building, another in the railway exhibit, and one in the photographic section. At first, the judges in the photography competition were skeptical; no one had seen such a large photograph before. They believed the photograph was a composite and hence a fake. It was only after the French Consul in New York was dispatched to Chicago to verify the existence of the camera and to observe its mode of operation, were the organizers convinced of its authenticity. Eventually, it earned Lawrence the 'Grand Prize of the World for Photographic Excellence'. The Mammoth Camera was just one of many inventions of photographic genius George Raymond Lawrence. His most remarkable exploit was aerial photography where he sent tethered cameras high up in the sky using kites, as opposed to hydrogen-filled balloons, allowing him to take stunning panoramic photographs without exposing himself to the perils of high-altitude ballooning. His most famous aerial photograph was that of San Francisco taken from 2,000 feet above the bay after the devastating earthquake of 1906. San Francisco in ruins photographed by George Raymond Lawrence. A train of kites Lawrence used to hoist his camera. George Lawrence was also a pioneer in flash photography. He invented a flash powder that was brighter and created less smoke than magnesium that photographers normally used. He also set up a system where he could fire multiple flashes simultaneously using electricity, thereby greatly increasing the amount of available light. This allowed him to take large scale indoor photographs with absolute safety. In recognition of these inventions Lawrence received the highest award for artificial light photography from the Photographic Association of America in 1899, as well as the nickname Flashlight Lawrence. Another large-scale photograph by George Lawrence. This unique photo of the Kexholm Regiment of the Russian Empire shows more than 1,000 people, arranged in 25 rows of 50 men each. Lawrence built a camera and the objective with a diameter of about 1 meter for this photograph in 1903. References: # The Mammoth Camera Of George R. Lawrence, Simon Baker # Photography Genius: George R. Lawrence & "The Hitherto Impossible", Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Like all business and corporations, LGthe South Korean multinational conglomerate, best known for their electronic products and household appliancestakes pride in its logo. Full of personality, our smiling logo signals humanity and intelligence. We always use it with confidence. It's what makes us feel uniquely LG, the company declares on its corporate website. The familiar ruby-red logo, featuring a playful face, has adorned televisions, refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, and air conditioners for decades. According to LG, its design is inspired by an ancient artifact known as the Smile of Silla, which dates back to the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE935 CE). This artifact is an ornamental roof-end tile called sumaksae, which is typically round in shape to fit the curved tiles at the edges of traditional Korean roofs or walls. While such tiles often feature lotus patterns, the smiling design is exceptionally rareindeed, it is the only known example from the Silla period. Smile of Silla The Silla Kingdom occupied the southern and central regions of the Korean Peninsula. Along with Baekje and Goguryeo, it formed the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which fiercely vied for dominance over the peninsula during ancient times. Each kingdom controlled distinct territoriesGoguryeo ruled the northern half of the peninsula, along with the Liaodong Peninsula and Manchuria, while Baekje dominated southwestern Korea. Silla was the earliest of the three kingdoms and initially the smallest and weakest. However, it employed shrewd diplomacy to forge strategic alliances, first with its Korean rivals and later with the powerful Tang dynasty in China. In 503, the kingdom changed its name from Saro to Silla. By the early 6th century, it had annexed the Gaya confederacy, provoking an alliance between Goguryeo and Baekje to counter its growing influence. Facing mounting pressure, Silla strengthened its ties with the Tang dynasty, leveraging its newfound access to the Yellow Sea for direct contact with China. With Tang support, Silla conquered both Goguryeo and Baekje, then expelled the Tang forces from the peninsula, securing control over the lands south of Pyongyang. Seorabeolnow the modern-day city of Gyeongjubecame the capital, and Silla reached its peak from the late 7th to the late 8th century. However, internal conflicts and external threats, particularly from the rising Goryeo Kingdom, gradually weakened Sillas monarchy. In 935 CE, the last ruler, King Gyeongsun, surrendered to Wang Geon, marking the end of Silla. The kingdom was peacefully absorbed into Goryeo, ushering in a unified Korean state under Goryeo rule. Smile of Silla. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Examples of roof end tiles excavated from Goguryeo archaeological sites in the Han River valley. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons The roof tile known as the Smile of Silla is believed to have originated from the site of the Silla-era temple Yeongmyosa. It first gained academic attention during the Japanese colonial period (19101945) when a Japanese doctor and collector named Tanaka Toshinobu purchased it from an antique shop in Korea in 1934. That same year, Osaka Kintaro, director of the Gyeongju branch of the Government-General of Chosen Museum, wrote about the tile in a research paper. Sometime between 1935 and 1940, the collector, Tanaka, took the tile to Japan. Osaka remained in charge of the museum until Koreas liberation in 1945, after which he returned to Japan. The tile was largely forgotten in Korea until 1972, when Park Il-hun, a former student of Osaka and then director of the Gyeongju National Museum, visited Japan. Park persuaded his former mentor to convince Tanaka to return the artifact. By then, Osaka was 96 years old and reportedly saw this effort as the final achievement of his career. Tanaka, who had already returned many Korean artifacts he had collected, had been reluctant to part with this particular tile, which he had been hanging in his living room wall. Tanaka eventually agreed to return the tile to Korea. LG Corporation The LG Corporation traces its origins to Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corp., founded in 1947. The name Lak Hui was pronounced similarly to lucky, which inspired Chairman In-hwoi Koo to rename the company to Lucky Chemical Co., Ltd. in 1952. Two years later, the company developed Koreas first-ever toothpaste, Lucky Toothpaste, building on the success of its pioneering cosmetic product, Lucky Cream. In 1959, following the establishment of Lucky Oil and Fat Co., Ltd., the company expanded into full-scale production of soaps and glycerine. While Lucky Chemical was emerging as a leader in Koreas chemical industry, another companyGoldstarwas making its mark in electronics. Founded in 1958, Goldstar became Koreas first electronics company, introducing ground-breaking products such as the countrys first radio, black-and-white television, refrigerator, air conditioner, and more. A promotional campaign for Lucky toothpaste and Lucky soap. Photo credit: LG By the late 1960s, the Lucky Group had grown into a conglomerate with 11 subsidiaries, expanding its business into high-tech industries, including petrochemicals, energy, and semiconductors. It also ventured into construction, securities, distribution, insurance, and other service sectors. As part of its continued growth, Lucky and Goldstar merged in 1983, forming Lucky Goldstar. The company later simplified its name to LG, and on January 1, 1995, it introduced its now-iconic logoa round, red smiley facealong with the slogan "Lifes Good." Today, the Smile of Silla remains a treasured symbol of Gyeongju, reflecting the artistry and craftsmanship of Koreas ancient past. Meanwhile, LGs emblematic logo, inspired by this legacy, is a modern expression of world, future, youth, humanity, and technology. It remains a recognizable symbol of quality and innovation worldwide. Google has delivered another treat to its users in the form of a new Pixel feature drop. The Android 15 QPR2 just landed, and it adds some neat features to Pixel phones. Also, it makes them a bit safer. We already reported some of the new features that Google introduced, so here are some more. In case you dont know, Google drops a handful of features on supported Pixel phones every three months. Aptly called the Feature Drop, its one of the perks of being a Pixel phone owner. If this is something youd like, then you should consider picking up a Pixel phone. Right now, the most affordable Pixel phone is the Pixel 8a, which costs $499. Act fast, and you can get it for $100 off with this sale! Buy on Amazon Google releases the Android 15 QPR2 with features and tighter security As part of the latest QPR (Quarterly Platform Release), Google made the software safer with the latest security patch. The update fixes a decent 31 security issues. This update couldnt come soon enough because they were all classified as either High severity or Critical severity. Its available for the Pixel 9 series all the way back to the Pixel 6. Notification cooldown Its an age-old problem; youre trying to study and your phone just keeps going off. While its fun being popular, getting a bunch of notifications when youre trying to focus can be annoying. Well, the latest QPR comes with a neat feature called Notification Cooldown. When your phone detects that youre getting a bunch of notifications in a short span of time, the phone will lower its volume. Along with that, it will reduce your notifications for up to two minutes so as to give you a breather. Do Not Disturb Instead of being its own option, Google lumped DND together with other functions like Flip to Shhh, Game Dashboard, Pixel Stand, and Bedtime as a Mode. When you go to your settings, youll find a new Modes section that gives you the ability to create your own. When you create a mode, youll be able to choose from one of the aforementioned functions and customize them. You can even choose an icon and name for the mode. Also, Do Not Disturb is now more customizable. You can set a schedule, choose which people to block, the apps you want to block, which alarms you want to mute, and your display settings. As for the display settings, you can choose to make the screen grayscale, dim the wallpaper, keep the screen dark, or enable dark mode. Bluetooth page A neat aesthetic feature comes to the Bluetooth Device details page. Youll see battery rings around your devices as a way to see their percentages. If youre excited about this update, make sure that you check your settings. Go to the Software section and select the Update page. There, youll tap the button to search for the latest update. IF its available, then your phone will download and install it. A trusted source has just confirmed the launch month of the Galaxy S25 Edge. Based on Max Jambors X post, the phone will arrive in April, as expected. Weve seen several reports regarding that thus far, but this more or less confirms it. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edges launch month has just been confirmed, kind of Back in January, a Samsung representative said that the phone will arrive around April. That could mean both March and May. Following that, at the end of last month, a report from Korea mentioned April 16 as the launch date for the device. Max Jambors post basically confirms April, but were still not sure about the launch date. It could be accurate. Considering that the phone was on display at MWC 2025, its expected to arrive to global markets too. Thats what a number of reports said already. The thing is, we dont know if that April 16 launch event that is mentioned goes for Korea only, or will it be a global launch event. Its even possible Samsung wont make a big deal out of its launch, well see. It will be made out of ceramic and aluminum, and weigh less than its small sibling This handset will allegedly be made out of ceramic and aluminum. It appeared in a now-deleted YouTube video, but some images remained from that video. You can expect 12GB of RAM to be included, along with UFS 4.0 flash storage. A 4,000mAh battery will seemingly also be included, along with a 200-megapixel main camera. Were not sure about the second camera on the back, but chances are it will be a 12-megapixel ultrawide snapper. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge will be only 5.84mm thick, and it will be lighter than the Galaxy S25, if a trusted tipster is to be believed. That is quite a feat, considering that the Galaxy S25 Edge will have a much larger display. Its essentially expected to include a 6.7-inch panel. If you thought that there was no way the government could spy on your phone, the authorities in Serbia have some magic beans theyd like to sell you. Amnesty International has uncovered a case where a Serbian youth activist had their device unlocked by using an Android zero-day exploit. The good news? Google has fixed it. Exploiting the exploit According to the report, Cellebrite, an Israeli-based digital forensics company, exploited the flaw as part of an Android zero-day attack. The exploit targets Android USB drivers, making billions of Android devices vulnerable regardless of manufacturer. But isnt that the whole point? After all, Cellebrite is one of several tools law enforcement agencies around the world use to gain access to the locked phone of a suspect. However, it highlights the dangers of Cellebrites tools falling into the wrong hands. It also reinforces the stand of companies like Apple. Law enforcement had previously asked the company to build a backdoor to access locked iPhones. Apple said it didnt believe in a backdoor just for the good guys. It also said that these backdoors could be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers. Smartphones encrypt data when locked, making it inaccessible without a PIN, password, or biometrics. This is why law enforcement turns to companies like Cellebrite to bypass these security measures. Android exploit fixed Thankfully, though, this exploit has been fixed. Amnesty International discovered the exploit chain in mid-2024 while analyzing logs. However, Google shared a fix for the exploit with its partners in January 2025. The company also released a statement to BleepingComputer confirming the fix. We were aware of these vulnerabilities and exploitation risk prior to these reports and promptly developed fixes for Android. Fixes were shared with OEM partners in a partner advisory on January 18. This isnt the first time weve seen governments and law enforcement agencies spy on its own citizens. It wont be the last time either. Its up to companies like Google and Apple to stay ahead of these threatsbefore governments exploit them first. The massification of AI-powered services has opened the door to countless possibilities in virtually every area of the tech industry and consumer market. From easily editing an image to summarizing long documents, artificial intelligence just makes things easier. However, malicious actors also have access to this technology. In a recent report, Google revealed that its AI tools have been used to generate deepfake terrorism content. In Australia, big tech companies are required to periodically submit reports on their harm-minimization efforts regarding the use of their developments to the authorities. The Australian eSafety Commission is in charge of receiving and analyzing these reports. Repeated violations of the law expose companies to fines or potential sanctions. Google discloses that Gemini has generated deepfake terrorism and child abuse material Googles latest security report covers the period from April 2023 to February 2024. According to the Australian agency, the Mountain View giants technology was responsible for generating AI deepfake terrorism content. Additionally, Googles report mentions the use of Gemini to generate child abuse material. This underscores how critical it is for companies developing AI products to build in and test the efficacy of safeguards to prevent this type of material from being generated, said Julie Inman, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. Google says it received 258 reports of cases of AI deepfake content related to terrorism or violent extremism. There are also 86 case reports of bad actors generating child exploitation or abuse material with Gemini. Google is more strict in removing child exploitation material. The company uses a hatch-matching system to detect such images and remove them as quickly as possible. However, Google does not apply the technology to extremism-related content. One of the main goals of regulators regarding artificial intelligence is for companies to establish stricter shields to prevent the creation of this type of material. The arrival of ChatGPT in 2022 raised the first concerns in this regard. However, years later, it seems that the issue is still present, although perhaps to a lesser extent. The Australian Commission has already sanctioned Telegram and X The eSafety Commission praises Google for its transparency in revealing the malicious uses that some criminal actors are making of its AI tools. The Australian eSafety Commission called Googles report world-first insight. Other firms have not had favorable words from the agency. Telegram and X (FKA Twitter) received fines due to shortcomings in their reports. With Trump, theres always a deal to be madeor at least, thats what Google hopes for. Google reportedly met with President Donald Trumps administration last week and urged them to reconsider the plan that would result in the company breaking up. The US versus Google The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Google are embroiled in a lawsuit. The DoJ accuses Google of being a once, twice, three times a monopolist over its dominance in the search and digital advertising sector. The lawsuit claims that Google monopolized these technologies to control the advertising ecosystem, harming competitors, advertisers, and website owners in the process. This includes actions like paying Apple and Mozilla billions of dollars to ensure Google remains the default search engine. To settle this lawsuit, the DoJ has proposed that Google break itself apart. It also proposed Google sell off some products, like Chrome. Googles former CEO, Eric Schmidt, called it a terrible idea. The company has also offered a counterproposal. However, it feels more like a game of semantics rather than an actual change proposal. Sensing defeat, Google has turned to the Trump administration, hoping to sway them against the break up plan. Google has defended its meeting, saying it routinely meets with regulators. It also expressed its concern that the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security. A deal to be made Trump has a history of feuding with Big Tech. However, his administration has shown a willingness to negotiate if the right incentives are in place. Plus, his general disdain for the Biden administration means that if theres an opportunity for him to undo something done by his predecessor, he might jump at it. This means that if Google plays its cards right, it could negotiate a favorable outcome. If it does deal, it wont be the first company to try to play nice to stay in Trumps good graces. Other big tech firms, such as Apple and TSMC, have made similar deals, resulting in investments worth $500 billion and $100 billion, respectively. Maybe Google needs to make a similar investment of its own. This goes to show that under the Trump administration and his business-minded approach, companies may be able to navigate legal challenges if they are willing to make deals. Today, Sony announced a new beta program that its officially calling Beta Program for PlayStation, and itll let those who participate test out new PS5 games. The beta program also incorporates opportunities to test out new PS5 console features, as well as new features and updates headed to the PlayStation app and PlayStation website. Past betas that Sony has held were mostly for the PS5, and these would allow you to test out new PS5 software features. These would usually be features rolled out to everyone in the months that followed. For example, it launched a beta software update that added SSD expansion a few months before it was available to the general public. It did the same thing with its rollout of Discord chat on PS5. The new beta program will still incorporate those software betas but also add a few other opportunities. Plus, Sony says this new beta program is easier to register for. In addition, it should be easier for Sony to target interested users with what they want to test most. All thanks to its short and sweet set of questions that it asks you before submitting. You can register for Beta Program for PlayStation right now If youre interested in being a part of this beta program, you can register your interest right now through Sonys official PlayStation website. Youll have to accept some terms, and then Sony will ask you a short set of questions. These are to gauge your interest in what you want to test. Youll need to let Sony know what your favorite types of games are. As well as what you prefer for play modes, like Single Player or PvP. Sony also asks if you play mostly on PS5, PC, or both. Once you finish up selecting all your answers, hitting continue should register you. A word to the wise, though, you may have some trouble with it. I went through the registry process myself a few times because it kept telling me something went wrong. If you complete the registration successfully, you should see a message like the one in the image below. Youll also get an email notification welcoming you to the beta program. Youll need a valid PlayStation account in good standing This should be obvious, but Sony requires that you have a valid PlayStation account to participate. That account will also need to be in good standing. Sony says that accounts with violations or restrictions may not be eligible. Basically, if youre not a menace online, youre more likely to be considered. You also need to live in a region where the Beta Program for PlayStation is available. Additionally, you have to be of legal age to participate. This is based on the age requirements for your region. If you meet all those requirements, click the link above to sign up. Ahmed Rajab left Zanzibar in the mid-1960s after an armed revolt overthrew the ruling sultan Photograph: none My father, Ahmed Rajab, who has died aged 79, was a journalist and political analyst whose views on African politics and economics were much sought after, particularly by television networks. His career began in broadcasting, where he worked in various production roles at the BBC World Service in London before serving within the Unesco communications office in Kenya and then, in 1984, returning to the BBC as a producer. In the early 1990s he switched to print journalism as editor of Africa Analysis, a fortnightly magazine dedicated to African politics and economics. It was around that time that he became a go-to commentator on African affairs for broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4 News and CNN. In later years, before his retirement, he served as head of the newsroom at the Middle East/Asia bureau of Irin, the United Nations Humanitarian News Agency. Ahmed was born in Vuga in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) to Bi-Mhaza Ali, a teacher, and her husband, Ali Muhammed, a tool maker. His early life was shaped by the revolutionary upheaval of 60s Zanzibar, culminating in an armed revolt in 1964 and the overthrowing of the ruling sultan, events he described many years later for a BBC Witness History podcast in 2020. To avoid the turmoil Ahmed moved to the UK to study philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, and then a masters in African studies at Sussex University. After that he went straight to the BBC World Service to serve in its Swahili service, fulfilling various broadcasting and production roles, including reading the evening radio news. Aside from his work on radio and television, Ahmed contributed articles and poems to anthologies, including African New Voices (1997) and Pioneers, Rebels, and a Few Villains: 150 Years of Journalism in Eastern Africa (2021). A respected figure on the African literary scene, he contributed his expertise as a judge on various panels, including for the 1999 CNN African Journalist of the Year Awards, the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing and the 2019 Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature. In 2023 he delivered the keynote speech at a House of Lords reception to celebrate World Kiswahili Day, a recognition of his appreciation for the role that the Swahili language plays in African culture. He is survived by his wife, Aysha (nee Omar), an NHS ward administrator whom he married in 1984, their children, Tahar, Zakiya, Umi and me, and seven grandchildren. West End impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh has said the Governments proposed changes to amend copyright law around artificial intelligence (AI) would be an idiotic and undemocratic own goal. It comes after British stars including Sir Elton John and Simon Cowell backed a campaign calling for plans to allow big firms to use online material for AI without paying the creators to be changed. Under the proposals, an exemption to copyright would be created for training AI, so tech firms would not need a licence to use copyrighted material, and creators would need to opt-out to prevent their work from being used. Sir Cameron, who has established himself as a leading figure in musical theatre over the last five decades, pushed back against the plans in an opinion piece for The Times on Wednesday. I know firsthand the amount of hard work, talent and time it takes to develop a finished work whether it succeeds or fails. Im approaching 80 and I still work 50 to 60 hours a week much of the year, he wrote. So why should our Government be advocating that AI be given the right to mine our work for free? In a desperate rush to plug the nations leaky finances it is rightly embracing the latest game-changing technical development, but without thinking through the unintended, damaging consequences. He continued: The UK no longer has many industries that are truly world beating and increasing in value, so it would be an idiotic and undemocratic own goal to cripple one of the very few professions where people from any background or race, poor or rich, can succeed. Sir Keir Starmer said he wants creatives to thrive after artists hit out against proposed changes around copyright law and artificial intelligence (Henry Nicholls/PA) So I am indignant that the Government should consider that it has the right to disregard our intellectual and moral rights by handing over, to a handful of powerful high-tech corporations, the fruits of our creative labour for free, enabling them to exploit and make money out of content they did not create, without any reasonable remuneration or say. Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn are among more than 1,000 musicians who have recorded a silent album in protest at the proposals as they believe they would greatly damage the creative sector and see artists replaced in the long term. Some of the UKs biggest newspapers also launched a coordinated campaign across their front pages last week to raise their concerns about AIs impact on the creative industries. Following the push back, Sir Keir Starmer said he wants creatives to thrive and that responses to a consultation on the proposals were being reviewed. Sir Cameron, who has produced three of the worlds longest running musicals Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Cats added that this was a watershed moment for the Government to make the right decision for the future not only of our country, but of humanity. An anti-abortion group has been branded disgusting and told you dont care about the women as it staged a vigil near a maternity hospital. A woman who lives nearby strode over to accost members of the 40 Days For Life group as they held a prayer vigil close to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. The campaigners are outside the 200-metre abortion buffer zone in place around the hospitals maternity unit but are still visible on one of the main approaches to it via Shieldhall Road. They are planning a series of vigils from March 5 until April 13. On Wednesday morning, El Johnstone crossed the road from her home nearby to shout at the group and told them: You should be ashamed of yourselves. Referring to the hospital, she said: You have no idea what the women there have gone through or are going through, you do not know. You have no respect for the women, you dont care about the women. Speaking to media afterwards, Ms Johnstone, who has experience of miscarriage, said: I woke up this morning and went to have my breakfast and could see this from my bedroom window. Im not receiving the healthcare and this has upset me so much. So imagine if you were going through a horrible, horrible decision in your life, and youre faced with this. You can pray in your church. You can pray in your houses. You do not need to come and pray outside a healthcare facility and upset everybody whos going there. The group plans a series of vigils near the hospital (Jane Barlow/PA) I just have empathy for the people that do need access to services today, people who are going through something, people who might be miscarrying, like I have, and seeing this, it just adds to more stress and a horrible situation made worse. I just dont think its necessary. She said the buffer zone should be expanded so campaigners cannot be in the vicinity of the hospital. There were shouts of disgusting from motorists driving past as the group stood praying. Ms Johnstone also said she thinks people have been emboldened by comments from US Vice-President JD Vance, who recently criticised Scotlands buffer zones and said he fears free speech is in retreat. Scotlands First Minister John Swinney dismissed his comments, saying: JD Vance is just wrong. Pointing to the campaigners, Ms Johnstone said: These are the minority, and I feel like they are emboldened by JD Vances recent comments saying that we have no freedom of speech. A woman with a baby was among the 40 Days for Life protesters (Jane Barlow/PA) We do have freedom of speech. What we dont have is freedom from consequences. The buffer zone is there for a reason. Six members of the group took part in the vigil on Wednesday, holding 40 days for Life placards with messages such as Choose life. They did not want to speak to the media, saying only we are here to pray, as they stood at the junction of Shieldhall Road and Hardgate Road. Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who introduced the abortion buffer zone law which was passed last year, says it will face a real test during the protests. She said she will work with police and health authorities to ensure the Safe Access Zones Act is upheld. In February, a 74-year-old woman became the first person in Scotland to be arrested over an alleged breach of the legislation. Gillian Mackay was behind the buffer zone legislation (PA) Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Mackay said: Safe access zones were introduced to protect patients and staff at our hospitals and to keep the protesters at bay, and that is what they have done. The fact that only a small number of protesters turned up and they have been consigned to roads that are further from the hospital is an important step forward. Nobody should have to pass graphic banners and placards to access healthcare, and I hope that these protests will become a thing of the past. I urge the protesters to read the testimony of the many women who have felt intimidated and judged by their actions and to ask themselves if they really want to be responsible for such hurt. Abortion rights are human rights. The ignorant claims from the US vice-president have emboldened trolls on social media, but the vast majority of people in Scotland support the right to go to hospital without harassment. Earlier, an organiser for 40 Days for Life, which began in Texas, pledged not to beach the law. Mary Gilroy told the PA news agency: The 40 Days for Life prayer group will not be operating within the buffer zone but will instead pray for help and protection for mothers and their unborn babies from a 200-metre distance from the abortion facility. We have arranged to meet with police services ahead of the planned dates and are grateful for our good working relations that protect our ability to pray. We invite anyone who wants to chat to us about support for continuing their pregnancy to feel free to do so. In a nation like Scotland, it should never be illegal to pray or to have a consensual conversation. Arsenal and Aston Villa both put one foot into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with big wins on the road on Tuesday night. Arsenal recorded their biggest away win in the Champions League as they crushed Feyenoord 7-1 at the Philips Stadion. Justin Timber opened the scoring in the 18th minute and it was 3-0 with half-an-hour gone as 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino joined in. Martin Odegaard scored twice for the Gunners (Peter Lous/PA) Although Noa Lang got one back from the penalty spot, Arsenal piled on the misery in the second half with Martin Odegaard scoring twice and Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori also on the score sheet. Two late goals put Villa in charge of their tie against Club Brugge as they came away from Belgium with a 3-1 advantage. Leon Bailey had fired Unai Emerys side in front after only 135 seconds with a fine strike, but the hosts levelled through Maxim De Cuyper in the 12th minute. Two late goals put Aston Villa in control against Club Brugge (PA via Belga) As it was beginning to look like it would end all square, Brandon Mechele put the ball through his own net in the 82nd minute before Christos Tzolis fouled Matty Cash and Marco Asensio converted the late penalty to give Villa a significant advantage. Real Madrid hold a slight edge over rivals Atletico after Brahim Diazs second-half strike gave them a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu. Rodrygos curling strike put the hosts ahead just four minutes in before an outstanding effort from Julian Alvarez brought Atletico level just after the half-hour mark. Brahim Diaz, right, celebrates with Carlo Ancelotti after scoring what proved to be the winner against rivals Atletico (Manu Fernandez/AP) But it was another Manchester City old boy who proved the winner as Diaz struck a low left-footed shot 10 minutes into the second half. Borussia Dortmund were left frustrated as the first leg of their tie with Lille ended in a 1-1 draw. Karim Adeyemi took advantage of space on the edge of the box to fire the hosts in front in the 22nd minute and they thought they had a second just before half-time, but Pascal Gross header was ruled offside. The hosts failed to take advantage of further chances before Lille equalised with their first shot on target in the 68th minute, with Hakon Haraldsson off-balance when he turned in Jonathan Davids pass. In one group, women and their male partners were given tablets and topical cream, and in the other, only the women received the treatment. Photograph: alvarez/Getty Images Bacterial vaginosis can be passed to women by male sexual partners, researchers have said, challenging the longstanding view that it is not a sexually transmitted infection. Experts say the study offers a new way to reduce the risk of the infection returning in women, with another scientist saying it showed up the UKs NHS website as outdated and misleading. BV is thought to affect up to a third of reproductive-aged women and is caused by an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the vagina and a reduction in good bacteria. While some people experience no symptoms, BV can cause unusual, unpleasant-smelling discharge and can increase the chance of miscarriage and premature birth in pregnant women. It has also been associated with an increased risk of infertility. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers in Australia report how they studied two groups of monogamous, heterosexual couples in which the women had BV. In one group of 81 couples, the women and their male partners were given oral and topical antimicrobial treatment. In the other group of 83 couples, only women received the tablets and cream. The results were stark. The trial was stopped by the data and safety monitoring board after 150 couples had completed the 12-week follow-up period because treatment of the woman only was inferior to treatment of both the woman and her male partner, the researchers write. Overall, 24 of 69 women (35%) in the group where both partners were treated had BV return, compared with 43 of the 68 women in the group where only women were treated. In addition, the team found the average time until an infection returned was longer when both partners were treated. While sex has long been known to be a trigger for BV, experts previously thought it did not meet the criteria for a sexually transmitted infection, partly because earlier research found no improvement in cure rates in women with BV when male partners were given oral antimicrobials alone. Dr Janet Wilson, a consultant in sexual health at Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust who was not involved with the work, said the study, while small, supported the view BV was an STI. But she added that many people with BV became celibate and found the condition could still be difficult to clear meaning treating partners did not provide a full solution for preventing infections recurring. This is a great paper and it will change how we manage BV in those in long-term monogamous relationships, she said, adding it was a big step forward. Of the NHS websites current page on BV, she said: Much of the information is outdated and misleading. It should be updated in line with current evidence. The UK Government has been urged to do more to secure the return of a British citizen who has been detained in India for more than seven years. Jagtar Singh Johals family celebrated a major milestone in their campaign to return him when he was cleared on Tuesday of one of the cases against him. But Mr Johal, a Sikh activist from Dumbarton, near Glasgow, still faces a number of other cases and his brother has called on the UK Government to act to prevent him from languishing in an Indian jail for another decade. Gurpreet Singh Johal said: Our position, my familys position, is that the UK Government now need to do more to bring Jagtar back, because if they dont act then there is a double jeopardy element where my brother would be tried on eight cases on the same facts where one court has found him to be not guilty. He welcomed the acquittal of his brother in a case in Punjab as a major milestone in the campaign, and said it confirmed what we have said from day one, that the Indians have no evidence. But speaking on BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme on Wednesday, he added: That does not take away that for seven years and four months my brother has been in prison, continues to be in prison, and he hasnt been convicted of any of the charges that have been put against him. Jagtar is British born and bred and the Government havent done as much as they could. However he said Tuesdays acquittal means the light at the end of the tunnel is getting lighter, adding: We believe with the political will from the UK Government, we could bring Jagtar back home sooner rather than later. Campaigners have been lobbying the UK Government to act in the case of Jagtar Singh Johal (James Manning/PA) It is clear there is no evidence against Jagtar, he was acquitted, albeit it has taken seven years and four months to get to this stage, but in this one case they have found Jagtar to be not guilty of all charges against him. He added the family hope this decision can now result in hopefully the UK Government coming forward and protecting a citizen. Jagtar Singh Johal was in Punjab, northern India, for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car. He is said to have been tortured, including with electric shocks, and faces the death penalty because of his campaigning for Sikh rights. He said he was forced to sign a blank confession after being tortured and made to record a video which was broadcast on Indian TV. The 37-year-old has been held in solitary confinement in a prison in Delhi since 2019. In 2022, a United Nations panel acknowledged Mr Johal had been arbitrarily detained in India. His brothers comments came after West Dunbartonshire Labour MP Douglas McAllister also demanded action, saying: The Government must act now to secure Jagtars release. This is a unique opportunity to secure a resolution with the Indian authorities and bring this young British man back to his family in Dumbarton. Without decisive diplomatic action, he faces being imprisoned for decades while the remaining trials drag on, despite the complete lack of credible evidence against him. A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office said: We welcome the progress in the case. The UK Government remains committed to working for faster progress on Jagtars case, and the FCDO continue to work to support Mr Johal and his family. The spokesperson added that Foreign Secretary David Lammy met Mr Johals brother, his MP and a representative of the campaign group Reprieve which is working for Mr Johals release on October 20 2024. A professional group of travelling burglars broke into Premier League star Alexander Isaks home and stole his car, jewellery worth 68,000 and up to 10,000 in cash, a court has heard. The Newcastle United and Sweden forward was not in his house in Darras Hall, Northumberland, when the gang broke in through a glass door last April, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The thieves had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than 1 million from a Tyneside businesswoman and designer goods worth 100,000 from a woman living on Wearside in the previous days. Three members of the same family, living in Italy, have admitted conspiracy to commit burglary, Newcastle Crown Court has heard. A fourth family member, Valentino Nikolov, 32, denies the charge. Dan Cordey, prosecuting, said Isak left his home between 4pm and 10pm on April 4, and he discovered the break-in when he returned and saw his bins had been moved. The gang broke into his TV room and inside an untidy search took place, Mr Cordey said. Cash between 5,000 and 10,000 was taken, along with jewellery worth about 68,000 and his Audi car, which a member of the public later found abandoned, jurors were told. The gang also took a safe, which had been left by the homes previous occupant, although it did not contain anything valuable, Mr Cordey said. CCTV images of the break-in were recorded on what Mr Cordey described as a doggy cam. He said: This was a professional group of travelling burglars. It contained one female and three men all related. Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty. Mr Cordey said the fourth man was the defendant Valentino Nikolov. The gang arrived in the UK via a ferry from Calais to Dover in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome last March. They headed to London, then drove to the North East a few days later, the court has heard. The gang used the Citroen to travel to break-ins and the motorhome was a base where they slept, the prosecution claimed. Nikolov, of Tew Park Road, Birmingham, is representing himself at the trial and requires an Italian interpreter. Jurors have been told his brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, his sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who all reside in Italy, have admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolovs former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, denies handling stolen goods. Jonathan Reynolds could be facing a lifetime ban, according to two legal experts - Paul Grover The Business Secretary faces being fined thousands of pounds for allegedly lying on his CV, two lawyers have claimed. Jonathan Reynolds could be hit with a substantial penalty and banned from legal practice for life if he is found to have inflated his job history, according to a barrister at a leading London chambers. The Cabinet minister is currently being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Agency (SRA), which protects the public from bogus lawyers, over claims he lied about his work experience. He has previously said on several occasions that he worked as a solicitor before becoming an MP, despite never qualifying for the legally protected title. He was forced to update his online CV last month to remove a claim that he held the role after a warning from the SRA, which has since launched a fresh investigation into his conduct. Two lawyers, including a barrister who represents the SRA at tribunal cases, have told The Telegraph they believe the Business Secretary has breached the Solicitors Act 1974. The Act states that it is illegal for any unqualified person to take or use any name, title, addition or description implying that they are qualified to act as a solicitor. A breach would be subject to a fine of up to 2,500, in line with Sentencing Council guidelines. Undermines confidence in legal profession Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said a failure to prosecute Mr Reynolds would risk creating one rule for Cabinet ministers and another for everyone else. Andrew Dinsmore, a barrister at Twenty Essex, a commercial chambers based in London and Singapore, said it was beyond question that Mr Reynolds had misrepresented that he was a solicitor. He said this could result in a substantial fine, likely to be in the thousands of pounds, with the risk of a permanent ban on pursuing legal practice. Mr Dinsmore, a former Tory parliamentary candidate, said: My colleagues, who are solicitors that have worked incredibly hard to qualify, are an integral part of our world class legal sector. Mr Reynolds behaviour and his disregard for the law undermines confidence in the UKs legal profession. The other barrister, who wished to remain anonymous, represents the SRA at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which adjudicates on alleged breaches of the rules. He has been warned before The barrister said: Mr Reynolds does appear to have committed repeated breaches of section 21 of the Solicitors Act 1974 by falsely claiming to be a solicitor. It seems to me that it would be difficult for Mr Reynolds to claim that he has not made his false claims wilfully. He must know that he is not a qualified solicitor. He has been warned before about claiming that he is. It is unlikely to be enough for him to say that, when he referred to himself as a solicitor, he meant that he was a trainee solicitor or that he worked at a law firm. He should be well aware of the distinction and not claim to be a solicitor when he is not on the roll. Mr Jenrick urged Sir Keir Starmer to grow a backbone and sack Mr Reynolds, telling The Telegraph: If the SRA fails to prosecute it would create one rule for Cabinet ministers and another for everyone else. Parliament explicitly gave them a duty to prosecute cases like this. Mr Reynolds and the SRA have been approached for comment. China's President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images China has set its GDP target for 2025 at around 5%, a figure which was unveiled by Premier Li Qiang at the opening session of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Wednesday. Li announced the growth target in the annual government work report, which also outlined plans to stabilise economic growth by boosting domestic demand and creating 12m new urban jobs. Economists believe that the 5% growth target, which is in line with 2024s figure, will be challenging. China reached its target last year with a last-minute export boom. Exports surged by 10.7% in December, pushing Chinas trade surplus to a record $1tn. But with a new US-China trade war as Donald Trump settles into his second term in the White House, this year it will be harder to boost the economy through trade. Related: China and Canada retaliate after Trump trade tariffs come into effect This week, Trump doubled tariffs on most Chinese goods to 20%, with some duties reaching 45%. China swiftly announced retaliatory tariffs of its own, imposing duties of up to 15% on agricultural goods. The target is very ambitious, said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, the chief economist for Asia Pacific at investment bank Natixis. She said it was non-reachable without a bigger stimulus, especially in light of the increased tariffs. Chinas challenge for 2025 will be shielding its economy from the impact of the trade war. Economists have urged policymakers to boost stimulus measures, especially those that would put more money in consumers pockets to boost domestic demand. In Wednesdays work report, Li said the government wanted to make domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth. But details on how the government would do this were scant, save for a pledge to issue 300bn yuan ($41.2bn) of special treasury bonds to support consumer goods trade-in programmes. That is double the amount that was issued to support last years subsidies scheme, in which consumers can trade in old household appliances such as microwaves and rice cookers to get a discount on new purchases. Officials said that last years scheme resulted in 240bn yuan of home appliances sales. Beijing is increasingly focused on the need to develop domestic innovation and hi-tech industries, fields which Xi Jinping, Chinas leader, calls new quality productive forces. Addressing the nearly 3,000 delegates who gathered in Beijings Great Hall of the People for the opening session of the NPC, Li said the government would establish a mechanism to increase funding for industries of the future such as artificial intelligence and 6G. The push for new quality productive forces, which include electric vehicles and battery storage, is linked to Chinas green ambitions. But experts warned that a key climate pledge in Wednesdays report to reduce carbon intensity by 3% per unit of GDP was insufficient. Carbon intensity refers to how much CO2 is emitted for every dollar of economic activity. The prominence of heavy industries in Chinas economy means that Chinas carbon intensity has traditionally been much higher than other countries. In 2023, it produced twice as much CO2 per dollar as the global average. Achieving the 3% target announced on Wednesday means that China would miss its target of reducing carbon intensity by 18% between 2021 and 2025, said Zhe Yao, a global policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia. Despite the record expansion of renewables, an inconvenient truth is that Chinas economy hasnt become much more energy efficient in recent years As policymakers continue to look for new drivers of growth, they shouldnt forget the need for a new mode of growth that is less dependent on energy, Yao said. The government work report also said China would firmly advance the cause of unification with Taiwan and refine the mechanisms for strengthening mutual support between civilian sectors and the military, a reference to the civil-military fusion strategy that has caused alarm in the west. Another official report released on Wednesday said China would increase defence spending by 7.2% this year, the same as last years figure. China spends less than 2% of its GDP on the military, a much lower share than the US, whose defence spending is over 3% of GDP. The NPCs annual session will run until 11 March. The Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, a high level advisory body, is also meeting in Beijing this week. A Chinese PhD student has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was found guilty of the attacks after a month-long trial at Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted on Wednesday of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced. He filmed nine of the attacks as souvenirs, and kept a trophy box of womens belongings, jurors in his trial were told. The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence. Zou showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court. Prosecutors said Zou appears to be a smart and charming young man, but is in fact a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist. Jurors had to watch footage of nine of the rapes during court proceedings, appearing visibly upset and being given regular breaks as the troubling material was shown. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. The student first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queens University before heading to London in 2019 to do a masters degree and then a PhD at UCL. A Chinese PhD student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China is feared to have targeted more than 50 more potential victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced. He filmed nine of the attacks as souvenirs, and kept a trophy box of womens belongings, jurors in his trial at Inner London Crown Court were told. Judge Rosina Cottage said he is a dangerous and predatory sexual offender and warned him he faces a very long jail term when he is sentenced on June 19. Police believe more than 50 other women may have fallen prey to the engineering student, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders the UK has seen. They found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China. A camera police say was used by Zhenhao Zou (Metropolitan Police/PA) After a month-long trial, Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, and five counts of possession of controlled drugs to commit a sexual offence, namely one count involving MDMA, three involving ketamine, and one of alprazolam. Prosecutors said Zou appears to be a smart and charming young man but is in fact a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist. He comes from a wealthy family, and had enough money to afford a Rolex, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, and cosmetic procedures including a hair transplant and facial surgery, while paying thousands a month in rent. Senior Crown prosecutor Saira Pike said Zou is a danger to women, and praised the two victims who gave evidence for their courage in coming forward. Another potential victim has contacted police following the publicity around Zous criminal trial. Jurors had to watch footage of nine of the rapes during court proceedings, appearing visibly upset and being given regular breaks as the troubling material was shown. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. The case was being heard at Inner London Crown Court (John Stilwell/PA) The student first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queens University before heading to London in 2019 to do a masters degree and then a PhD at UCL. Investigators first charged Zou in January 2024, but waited for more than a year until he had been convicted before making public appeals for further victims to come forward. The full raft of 35 charges was laid against him in August last year. His crimes began to be uncovered in November 2023, when a woman went to police to allege that she had been attacked by Zou. There was not enough evidence to bring a criminal charge over her claim, but when Zous phone was seized officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, and pipettes and sedating drugs in his flat. One of the two victims who has been identified by police told the jury she was raped after Zou pushed her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and would not let her leave his flat in Elephant and Castle in May 2023. The second, who is now living in China, said she was also raped by Zou, in his student flat near Russell Square in October 2021, when she was unconscious. Jurors rejected Zous claims that the sexual interactions were consensual, that drugs and alcohol were consumed by the women voluntarily, and that some of the footage captured involved role playing. He told jurors that he was in the habit of taking photos and videos of sexual activity, and liked pornography where it appears that a woman is asleep or unconscious. Among the disturbing videos shown in court was footage of an attack on a woman identified only as female A, that is also believed to have taken place at Zous student flat in Woburn Place near Russell Square. In it the woman is heard telling Zou to stop while struggling to stay awake. At one point he tells her the sound insulation here is very good. Zou was also convicted of rapes believed to have taken place in his native China, because foreign nationals who are living in the UK can be charged with offences committed abroad if the crime is also illegal in the country where it took place. The case has chilling parallels with Reynhard Sinaga, 41, who jailed for life in January 2020 at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of 159 counts of sexual offences against 48 different men. He also befriended his victims and invited them back to his flat, before drugging and sexually assaulting them. There was also the case of serial killer Stephen Port, who received a whole life term after raping and murdering four men with overdoses of the sedative drug GHB, and drugging and sexually assaulting seven others who survived. UK detectives have said the Chinese authorities were responsive and helpful over the investigation into Zou, although no properties where he lived in China have been searched even though many of his crimes took place on Chinese soil. They are in discussions with China about whether social media appeals to potential victims can be made on WeChat and Little Red Book, that are more commonly used in the country. I still can't understand people who think that cats as a whole don't make cuddly and affectionate pets. Not all cats are super cuddly, but plenty of them are, including the three cats in my household (any time there's a laptop on my lap, my eldest cat seems to take it as an invitation to lie across my arms and take a nap). But there's cuddly cats, and then there's Pancake the Siberian Cat, who takes his cuddles to a whole other level. This extremely affectionate kitty couldn't stop "aggressively" cuddling his dad long enough to let him leave the house! This ain't your ordinary kitty cuddle seshthis is death by snuggles! The clingy Siberian cat was, quite literally, all over his dad, nuzzling his noggin into the back of his head and neck as hard as he could, to the point where he nearly pushed Dad's beanie off and accidentally "choked" him with his paws. Pancake was relentless, and as soon as Dad got him down, Pancake jumped right back on his shoulders to start his crazed cuddles all over again! I guess Pancake really, really didn't want Dad to stop hanging out with him! Related: Siberian Cat Chilling in Snow With Moose Bull Like It's NBD Is Downright Amazing Judging by their other TikTok videos, Pancake (along with his near-identical brother Donut) is a very affectionate cat in general, especially when it comes to his dad. Pancake spends a lot of his time perched on his dad's shoulders like a parrot, and though Dad pretends to act inconvenienced by his son's over-the-top displays of affection, it's clear that the two share a really beautiful bond, one that TikTok fell head-over-heels for instantly. "Pancakes is making sure you are not going to meet another pancakes," joked @dukas367. "I feel like Pancake has cuteness aggression!! And hes taking out his daddy!!" said @jenniferjanecorbett. "[Hes] rubbing [his] scent on you. [Hes] claiming you as [his] own!!!! Thats so sweet," exclaimed @maxwellhouse61. The Affectionate Temperament of Siberian Cats While the intensity of Pancake's aggressively clingy cuddles isn't exactly common among Siberian cats, Siberians are known to be a very affectionate cat breed overall. Purina UK describes them as "affectionate, but not overly clingy" (clearly Pancake is an exception) and friendly, getting along well with just about anybody, including kids and other pets. Daily Paws writes that these "super affectionate" cats have playful personalities and take a long time to mature both physically and mentally, taking about five years to reach full adulthood. Essentially, their exuberant, playful "kitten" phase lasts quite a long time! Of course, any time we talk about a cat breed's temperament, traits, or other characteristics, I always like to give the caveat that genetics can influence attitude, but aren't a predictor of it. Not all Siberian cats will be equally affectionate, and even the more affectionate ones usually aren't as over-the-top about it as Pancake is. A lot of how a cat's personality shapes up comes down to nature more than nurture, so if you're raising a cat from a kitten, foster an affectionate bond with them by playing, petting, and spending lots of time with them from an early age. Build that bond with them when they're little so that they'll grow up to recognize you as a safe, loving, and cuddly person throughout their whole lives! Co-op is rewriting more than 100 unlawful land agreements that prevent rival supermarkets from opening stores nearby, after the UKs competition regulator found it breached rules in locations across the country. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was concerned by the very large number of breaches by the supermarket chain. Rules that have been in force since 2010 stop large grocery retailers imposing land restrictions that prevent rivals opening competing stores in the local area. Co-op has addressed over 100 land agreement breaches which restricted rivals opening nearby. Read more: https://t.co/FPdLJfwIe8#ConsumerProtection pic.twitter.com/GQrvssVOZ2 Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) March 5, 2025 The CMA has taken action against other supermarkets in recent years, including Tesco for 23 breaches, Sainsburys for 18, and Morrisons for 55. Tesco, the UKs largest supermarket, ran into trouble with the watchdog in 2020 for leaning on its landlords not to rent nearby sites to rivals for up to a decade. And in 2022 Waitrose admitted it signed deals with landlords to prevent new stores being opened on the same block. The number of restrictive agreements that Co-op had in place, in towns and cities across the UK, demonstrates significant failures in compliance for a business of Co-ops size, resources and standing, the regulator said. Co-op has already addressed 104 of the agreements, and has agreed to resolve the remaining three. Daniel Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: Restrictive agreements by our leading retailers affect competition between supermarkets and impact shoppers trying to get the best deals. We know that Co-op has made a considerable effort to amend all their unlawful agreements, given this order has been in place since 2010. Co-op and the other designated retailers must make sure they do the right thing by their customers in the future. A spokesperson for Co-op said: As a business that is committed to operating fairly, we recognise this is extremely disappointing. Co-op operates in a range of markets, both as a community retailer and a national funeral provider and the number of breaches amount to less than 2% of transactions across our entire property portfolio. This is a matter we take very seriously, and we have taken all necessary action to ensure this issue is resolved and does not happen again. Emma Raducanu has revealed she couldnt see the ball through tears and could barely breathe during a stalking ordeal at the Dubai Open last month. The 22-year-old Briton was left cowering behind the umpires chair after receiving repeated unwanted attention from a fixated man before and during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova. Raducanu told reporters: I was obviously very distraught. I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, I dont know how Im going to finish. I literally couldnt see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, I need to just take a breather here. Raducanu disclosed she had previously been approached twice by the man off-court. The former US Open champion was speaking to media ahead of the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she will return to action this week for the first time since the ordeal. The incident occurred early in the first set of the Muchova match. She regrouped to play on after the man was removed from the arena but lost 7-6 6-4. She later opted not to press charges but the individual has been banned from future tournaments. It was a very emotional time, Raducanu said. After the match I did break down in tears, but not necessarily because I lost. There was just so much emotion in the last few weeks of the events happening, and I just needed that week off to take a breather and and come here. I feel a lot better. Raducanu will face Japans Moyuka Uchijima, who is ranked three places above her at 52 in the world, in the first round in California on Thursday. The winner is guaranteed to face third seed Coco Gauff, with the top 32 players all receiving byes through to the second round. HM Naval Base Clyde - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images In 2016 the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of renewing the UKs nuclear deterrent. Then hardly a second thought was given to undertaking the upgrade programme without the full involvement of the US military. Ever since the British government first opted to introduce the Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD) model to deliver our nuclear weapons capability replacing the Royal Air Forces airborne Vulcan system it has been an article of faith that the project should be a joint US-UK undertaking. From the initial Polaris programme, through to the current Trident system, the deterrent is regarded as a key pillar of the transatlantic partnership. It is on a par with the importance of the joint intelligence-sharing set-up between Washington and London involving key institutions such as Cheltenhams GCHQ listening post. Given the size and scale of the US military, it is perhaps unsurprising that a great deal of the technology and hardware involved in the British deterrent is American, including the Trident II D5 missile systems that carry up to eight warheads each. While some of our Trident missiles are stored at Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport, they are maintained at the US Strategic Weapons Facility at Kings Bay, Georgia. The Ministry of Defence leases them from the US. More recently there have been discussions about forging closer US-UK cooperation on developing the next generation of nuclear warheads. The need for closer collaboration on building new warheads has been prompted by US plans to upgrade the missile systems, raising concerns that they could no longer be compatible with the UK-made warheads. Despite the long-standing cooperation between Washington and London on developing the UKs nuclear deterrent, Whitehall insists that the British government retains full control over their use. As Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard told the Commons in November: The United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent is completely operationally independent. Only the Prime Minister can authorise the use of our nuclear weapons, even if they are to be employed as part of a Nato response. Nevertheless, the tumult caused by US President Donald Trumps return to the White House has inevitably raised concerns both about the wisdom of relying so heavily on US support for our own nuclear deterrent, especially in the wake of Trumps less-than-friendly treatment of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited the White House last week. If the leader of the free world can treat someone like Zelensky, who is supposed to be one of Washingtons key allies, with such studied contempt, then why not other allies, such as the UK? Zelenskys miserable visit to the Oval Office was quickly compounded by Trumps decision to suspend all US military support for Ukraine, a move that could ultimately have a disastrous impact on Ukraines ability to continue its war against Russian aggression. This has raised concerns that Trump, who has been a vocal critic of the failure of Natos European members to pay their fair share towards the continents defence, could make a similarly capricious move by terminating Washingtons membership of the alliance. This would have implications for the future effectiveness of the UKs independent nuclear deterrent, especially if it disrupted the supply of Trident missiles to the nuclear submarine patrols. It may well be that such concerns are far-fetched, especially as any attempt by Trump to disrupt such a vital pillar of the transatlantic alliance would constitute an egregious act of self-harm on the part of the US. US-UK cooperation on key capabilities such as nuclear deterrence, together with other key areas of transatlantic cooperation, such as intelligence-sharing, is undertaken as much to protect American interests as those of Britain. Any attempt by the Trump administration to interfere with the operational integrity of the UKs nuclear deterrent could compromise Washingtons ability to protect its own interests in northern Europe and beyond. That said, the likelihood of Trump disrupting the UKs nuclear defence arrangements remains unlikely, especially as he is so keen to undertake his second state visit. Of more concern should be the profound lack of urgency that appears to have settled over the Trident renewal programme which, despite being signed off 10 years ago, is being implemented at a snails pace. Despite the government committing an estimated 31 billion to replacing the Vanguard submarines with four new Dreadnought-class boats, as well as upgrading the warheads and delivery systems, progress has been painfully slow. The first Dreadnought is not due to enter service until the early 2030s at the earliest. Moreover, despite constant delays to the nuclear deterrent upgrade programme, Whitehall remains seemingly oblivious to the increased global threat environment created by rogue states like Russia. At this rate, rather than worrying about Trump undermining the UKs nuclear deterrent, a more valid concern is that the Trump administration will conclude it is not worth bothering with British support to protect the transatlantic alliance, and decides to go its own way. Sir Keir was asked about Ukraine updates, education policy and wealth tax at PMQs - HOUSE OF COMMONS Today is Ash Wednesday and nothing says penitence quite like another session of Prime Ministers Questions! There are members of Opus Dei who spend several hours a day whipping themselves who would baulk at having to sit through our half-hourly weekly national embarrassment. Perhaps in honour of the day or just in light of the parlous state of international affairs, all seemed very restrained at the start of the session. The PM began by paying tribute to British troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, in a clear rebuke to US vice-president JD Vance. After a classic bottom-crawling question from a Central Casting Starmtrooper, the Leader of the Opposition requested a series of updates about Ukraine. At the end of her questions, Kemi Badenoch asked whether the PM might consider changing tack on his economic policies, given they were pretty damaging to the national interest too. Following this brief foray into dignified debate, we were back to the usual. The PM couldnt resist pulling out the patronising tone he reserves especially for women who disagree with him: We were doing so well, he smarmed, before deploying the mythical 22 billion black hole. Kemi Badenoch managed to glean some informed debate with Sir Keir about Ukraine and Labours economic policy - HOUSE OF COMMONS Next came more Labour backbench questions designed to keep the sick-bucket industry in business: one MP who presumably lives on the Planet Zog asked a prattling non-question about how great Labours education policy was. Even Bridget Philistine looked a bit shocked at this departure from reality. But the stand-out toad was Dover MP Mike Tapp, who lavished praise on Oinkys diplomatic skills as if he were a latter-day Palmerston. Following this display of whimpering deference, Harlow MP Chris Vince did a fist-pump in Tapps direction. Even by PMQs standards, it was mortifying. It took a blast from the past to correct the narrative closer to reality. Sir Oliver Olive Dowden popped up from the back benches and begged the PM to rethink the deranged VAT hike on education. Sir Keir acted as if this were a monstrous imposition; Olive, he added, was only pretending to be interested in state education. The Queen of the Spite herself, the Education Secretary, nodded in agreement. Others were less impressed; shadow Defra secretary Victoria Atkins audibly accused the PM of lying. While demonstrably true, it isnt the done thing in the House. Cue much lowing and booing, the sort of response youd expect from the bottom-set maths class to being given extra homework. Atkins was forced to retract. Sir Oliver Dowden begged Starmer to re-evaluate VAT being imposed on private schools - HOUSE OF COMMONS The PMs woman problem reared its head again. Rosie Duffield quizzed him on the quiet dumping of his wealth tax policy and received a dismissive half-sentence in response. Perhaps the sessions best skewering came from David Davis. The Tory grandee baited the PMs legalistic instincts to try to get him to admit that he thought activist judges pursuing elderly servicemen was a good thing. Daviss question put paid to Starmers earlier efforts to portray himself as a great defender of the Armed Forces. Our government may be proud of you but if you shoot a terrorist, prepare to spend your twilight years being persecuted by ambulance-chasing lawyers. Over on Toad Corner where the Parliamentary Private Secretaries sit, a couple of ministerial bag-carriers tutted and sighed though there were also several nods of approval on the Labour back benches. Sir Keir wriggled I havent read the details, he whimpered an excuse which makes the dog ate my homework look like Clarence Darrows defence in the Leopold and Loeb trial. Still, Oinky scuttled from the chamber to squeal another day. Just pity those of us who have to be there to see it. England coach Steve Borthwick is looking forward to unleashing Marcus Smith once opponents Italy are fatigued after dropping him to the bench for Sundays meeting at the Allianz Stadium. Smith was moved from number 10 to full-back following the 27-22 defeat to Ireland in Dublin that began Englands Six Nations campaign but, despite compelling victories over France and Scotland, the Harlequins playmaker has been ditched from the line-up. It opens the door for Elliot Daly to step in at 15, while there is also a change at centre with Fraser Dingwall recalled for his first Test appearance in a year in place of Henry Slade, who is out of the 23 altogether. Jamie George is set to make his 100th England appearance Head coach Steve Borthwick has named his match day squad to face Italy at @allianz_stad on Sunday.@O2 | #WearTheRose England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 5, 2025 However, Smiths exclusion from the starting XV is the biggest bombshell, continuing a rapid fall from grace for the 26 year old. He has been involved in all 10 of Englands Tests since the last Six Nations but, having lost the 10 jersey to Fin Smith after Dublin, he now finds himself watching on as cover. I think weve got a lot of talented players, a lot of talented backs with attacking ability, said Borthwick. Marcus has done so many things we want. Hes a game-changer. He has impact in games. When he has the impact, its a different time of the game now to what it has been. I think Marcus has done some really outstanding things. He has the ability to find space that other players cant. Steve Borthwick has led England to back-to-back victories since losing the Six Nations opener to Ireland (Adam Davy/PA) The exiting thing Im looking forward to is unleashing him when theres a bit of fatigue on the pitch, theres a bit of space, he comes on with his freshness. I think the whole of Allianz Stadium will be excited to see him come onto the pitch in the second half. England trail leaders Ireland by four points going into the penultimate weekend and have lifted themselves back into title contention with two impressive victories. As well as the ousting of Smith, a recall for Dingwall who is more of a facilitator for those around him than an impact player is a curveball selection given he was axed after winning his two caps in the 2024 Six Nations. In certain positions, we are in a really strong circumstance, to have quality players all competing and helping each other, said Borthwick. You see that at 10, you see it at 15. Id love to have it in every position but it allows me to have slight tweaks, slight changes in the makeup of the team. Fraser Dingwall has been recalled for the first time since the 2024 Six Nations (Adam Davy/PA) The rejig means that Borthwicks backs selection for Italy is made up of five Northampton players. Along with Dingwall at 12, wingers Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme both start, as do Fin Smith at 10 and Alex Mitchell at scrum-half. Borthwick was asked whether benched Harlequins star Smith would therefore find it tough to reclaim his place, saying: Its one of the factors. When you need to change the team, when you want to keep consistency in the team. I want to build a togetherness, Im not going to change the team hugely but there will always be little tweaks and I feel this is the right one for this game. I think Elliot Daly is a really good attacking, strong player. Its never just about one player, its about the team. Andrew and Tristan Tate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday. Photograph: Marta Lavandier/AP The attorney general of Florida has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after the pair were able to fly into the state last week despite facing trial in Romania on charges of rape, sex with a minor, people trafficking and money laundering. James Uthmeier, appointed to be the state attorney general by the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, said on Tuesday he had begun an active criminal investigation of the brothers and was prepared to use the full force of law in his examination of their conduct. These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Uthmeier said. He added: Many of these victims are coming forward, some of them minors. People can spin or defend however they want, but in Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious. Were not going to accept it. Self-styled misogynist influencer Andrew Tate and his brother arrived in Fort Lauderdale last week after flying from Bucharest to the US in a private jet, as prosecutors suspended their travel ban and a court lifted a precautionary seizure on some of their assets. The pair, who are dual US-UK citizens, were arrested in Romania in 2022 and still face trial there. As they arrived in Florida last week, Uthmeier said: Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable. Related: What is Andrew Tate accused of and why has he travelled to the US? On Tuesday, Uthmeier said that they had chosen to come to Florida and he would pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable and had that day secured and executed subpoenas and warrants as part of an active criminal investigation. DeSantis last week criticized the brothers. But the Tate brothers are outspoken supporters of Donald Trump and several members of the US presidents inner circle have spoken out publicly against their treatment in Europe, including Donald Trump Jr, who described their detention as absolute insanity. Trump aide Elon Musk responded to a suggestion from Andrew Tate that he would run for prime minister of the UK by saying hes not wrong. Paul Ingrassia, a lawyer for the Tates, is the White House liaison official for the US Department of Justice. Last week Andrew Tate said: Weve no criminal record anywhere on the planet ever. The lorry equipped with a machine gun that was used to attack the Coalisland RUC station lies in the church car park in Clonoe after the shootout in which four IRA men were killed The Government has refused to commit to a judicial review of a ruling that could bring the prosecution of SAS veterans for killing four IRA terrorists. Al Carns, the veterans minister, failed to back calls from former military leaders and the Tories to launch a judicial review into a ruling by a senior coroner. The coroner found members of an SAS unit used unjustified lethal force when they killed four IRA terrorists in an ambush in 1992. Mr Carnss response to a letter from James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, emerged on Wednesday, as Sir Keir Starmer was challenged on the case in the Commons, and urged to do more to protect soldiers and veterans from prosecution. Army morale at risk Mr Cartlidge warned that the Governments refusal to commit to a review of the coroners ruling would damage Army morale. The IRA men were gunned down in a car park minutes after they attacked a Royal Ulster Constabulary police station in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, firing 30 rounds from a Soviet-made DSHK anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the back of a stolen lorry. The SAS unit was lying in wait for the terrorists as they fled two miles to the car park of a Roman Catholic church in the village of Clonoe. Peter Clancy, 19, Kevin O Donnell, 21, and Sean OFarrell, 23, (left-right) were killed in the shootout along with 20-year-old Daniel Vincent Soldiers surround the car park of the church, its roof damaged by fire during the shootout as a helicopter hovers above Last month, Mr Justice Michael Humphreys, the coroner, rejected claims made by two of the soldiers, now in their 50s, that they held the honest belief they needed to use lethal force. Military sources have said the coroners verdict means they expect the case to be referred to Northern Ireland prosecutors and police for criminal investigation. The previous Tory government introduced a law last year which granted soldiers immunity from prosecution if they cooperated with a new information recovery body. The Government is currently in the process of repealing the legislation, which Sir Keir has said did not get the balance right between the rights of veterans and victims. Mr Cartlidge wrote to the Ministry of Defence after the coroners decision, urging the Government to seek a judicial review of the ruling, which critics say was legally flawed. Al Carns, the veterans minister and a former Royal Marines officer, declined to commit to a judicial review of the case - PO Phot Lee Blease/Royal Navy In his response to Mr Cartlidges letter, Mr Carns wrote: We owe a great deal of debt to our Armed Forces the vast majority of those who served in Operation Banner during the Troubles, did so with distinction. The Government is committed to ensuring that the legacy of the past is addressed sensitively, efficiently, and lawfully. It is important, as we seek to find an agreed way forward, that we recognise the many bereaved families of ex-service personnel who continue to seek answers about the circumstances of their loved ones death. Ministers will take time over response Whitehall sources told The Telegraph ministers would take time to carefully consider their response to the coroners ruling. The veterans involved in the case are being provided with welfare and legal support by the Government. But Mr Cartlidge warned that the response would undermine military morale at a sensitive time. He said: At a time when the Government is talking about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, it is shocking that they are not going to do the right thing by our veterans by judicially reviewing the Clonoe verdict. Given the clear reluctance of the MoD to defend the veterans concerned, the PM should recognise the harm this could do to Army morale and personally intervene. Earlier, Sir David Davis, a former soldier in the Territorial Armys 21 SAS regiment, challenged Sir Keir on the verdict at PMQs. The former Tory minister told the Commons the judgment was based on no evidence whatsoever, and urged the Prime Minister to do more to protect veterans from prosecution. Partisan parodies of justice Soldiers who serve our country with honour, heroism and skill are being punished in their declining years for doing nothing but carrying out their patriotic duty in the face of enormous risks, he said. Does he not think that he and his Government have a duty to protect those soldiers from such partisan parodies of justice in their declining years? Sir Keir replied that he had not seen the details of the Clonoe case, despite it being raised repeatedly with ministers in recent weeks. The Prime Minister added: On the broader point, it is right that we should protect those who serve our country, wherever they serve our country. Last month senior military figures including Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, wrote to The Telegraph calling for a judicial review in the Clonoe case. The open letter, which was also signed by Ben Wallace, the former Tory defence secretary, said overturning the verdict was vitally important in the interests of natural justice. Women who suffer greater menopause symptoms are more likely to experience memory and thinking problems as they age, research has suggested. Experts found that women who recalled a heavier burden of menopausal symptoms were more likely to report issues with memory, language and in areas such as planning, organisation and self-control. The findings suggest the menopausal phase could be important for assessing dementia risk, academics said, though more work is needed. Canadian researchers looked at data from 896 post-menopausal women whose average age was around 64. Their menopause symptoms started around the age of 49 on average. The women reported menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, brain fog and mood swings. They were given a list of 11 symptoms, scoring them between zero to 10 based on how often they experienced them. Hot flushes were the most common, reported by 88% of the group, followed by night sweats. The study found that women who recalled more symptoms reported more problems with thinking, learning and memory. They also had more mild behavioural impairment symptoms, such as changes in personality, decreased motivation or impulse control issues. Researchers said the findings, published in the journal Plos One, suggest menopausal symptom burden may predict susceptibility to dementia. They added: Greater menopausal symptom burden may be associated with greater cognitive and behavioural decline in later life, both risk markers of dementia. Estrogen-based hormone therapy may contribute to mitigating clinical symptoms, particularly behavioural symptoms. The data used by researchers was taken from the Canadian Platform for Research Online to Investigate Health, Quality of Life, Cognition, Behaviour, Function, and Caregiving in Aging (CAN-PROTECT) study, which forms part of the PROTECT study, run by the University of Exeter and NHS. Professor Anne Corbett, of the University of Exeter and PROTECT study lead, said: Changes in cognitive function are part of the normal ageing process and are often nothing to worry about. However, we know that Alzheimers disease starts long before diagnosis and identifying the earliest factors influencing its progression is crucial to helping people access the best treatment and support. This study suggests that the menopausal phase could be an important period for assessing dementia risk. However, its important to note that dementia risk involves many different factors. Its difficult to know at this stage how much of an effect menopausal symptoms really have and more research is needed before we can say for certain whether menopause severity should be considered a major risk factor. What we do know is the best way to reduce our risk of dementia is to stay physically active, maintain a healthy weight and to manage other medical conditions. Aimee Spector, a professor of clinical psychology of ageing at UCL, said: Whilst they found an association; there is no evidence that the menopause symptoms led to the cognitive changes and there could be many possible reasons why people with more menopause symptoms may experience more cognitive changes, such as depression or physical health conditions. I dont think that the study can tell us anything about menopause symptoms and the risk of dementia, as subjective cognitive complaints do not imply that the person has or will get dementia. Dr Sheona Scales, director of research at Alzheimers Research UK, said the research adds to our understanding of how menopause may relate to brain health for women in later life, although it does not show that these women are more likely to go on to develop dementia. Dementia is caused by diseases in the brain and while menopause could play a role in our brain health, we need more research to understand if and how this influences dementia risk, she added. Some symptoms of menopause, like brain fog or forgetfulness, are similar to early dementia symptoms. Long-term studies will be key to determining whether menopause-related changes have lasting implications and whether interventions like hormone replacement therapy could play a protective role. With women making up two-thirds of people in the UK living with dementia, it is crucial that we invest in research that explores why women are more at risk of developing the condition. Donald Trumps claim in his address to Congress that the US will acquire Greenland one way or the other was widely condemned in Nuuk as disrespectful and was said to present an unacceptable view of humanity. In his speech on Tuesday night, the US president was met with laughs, including from the vice-president, JD Vance, who was sitting behind him, when he said: I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. Trump said if the Arctic island, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, chose to become part of the US, it would be welcomed. I think were going to get it [Greenland]. One way or the other were going to get it, he said to laughs and applause. Addressing Greenlandic people, he added: We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenlands minister for natural resources, equality, business and justice, said the scenes showed a fundamental lack of respect for us as a people, for our historical connection to these lands and for our democratic institutions. She said she was not blind to the potential for increased trade and cooperation, but the absence of a respectful tone stands in the way. She said: Hearing American legislators giggle over statements like we are gonna get it one way or the other is disrespectful. I say no thank you to the idea of Red, White and Blueland. No thank you to the prospect of becoming an American state or some other form of American subsidiary. Nathanielsen said the US was sending some very unclear signals about who it considered allies and how it used its enormous power. Using the Greenlandic name for Greenland, the prime minister, Mute Egede, said: Kalaallit Nunaat is ours. He wrote on social media: We dont want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland. Denmark formerly ruled Greenland as a colony and continues to control its foreign and security policy. Greenland goes to the polls on 11 March in a high-stakes general election that could prove pivotal in terms of its relationship with the US and how quickly it moves towards independence from Denmark. According to an opinion poll commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske in January, 85% of Greenlanders do not want Greenland to be part of the US. Nathanielsen said she did not see Trumps comments as a reason to panic, adding: The speech is aimed at an American Republican audience and is intended to entertain and shock. But she added: The handling of our strong neighbour will be an important issue for the upcoming Inatsisartut [parliament of Greenland] and Naalakkersuisut [government of Greenland] to deal with and I hope and believe that a majority of parties will create a common front and speak with one voice. She urged people to vote for a party that is not naive about the American interests in our country. The finance minister, Erik Jensen, said: It is terrible to see the view of humanity in the speech. The vice-president also laughs. It shows that they have an unacceptable view of humanity. The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reiterated previous statements that the future of Greenland would be decided by the Greenlandic people, but said: I hope as Danish prime minister that we can hold on to our commonwealth, because I believe that is to the benefit of all three countries. In another interview, she said Denmark and Europe had benefited from very strong collaboration with the US and that they would do what we can to hold on to the Americans. She added: It is important right now that we make ourselves as strong as possible, so that we can stand in our own right in a completely different way than before. Hundreds of jobs at TikTok in Ireland are reportedly under threat. Around 300 roles are in danger amid a global redundancy programme at the video-sharing platform. There are almost 3,000 staff employed by TikTok in Ireland, and RTE reported that the Irish Government has been told around 300 jobs are at risk. The Department of Enterprise said it has received a redundancy notification from TikTok. The department received a collective redundancy notification in relation to potential redundancies at TikTok Technology Limited on 4 March 2025, a spokesperson for the department said. Any further queries should be directed to the company, they added. TikToks Dublin offices were moved to The Sorting Office at the Docklands in December 2023. TikTok has been contacted for a response. Delhi government ministers inspect Bhalswa landfill site which can reach heights of up to 200 feet - Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Delhi has vowed to clear a huge mountain of rubbish by next year as part of a plan to eradicate unsightly landfills dotting the megacitys skyline. Around 32 million people live in greater Delhi, where a slipshod approach to waste management has left numerous landfills with garbage piled up to 200-feet high (61 metres) and visible from miles away. Regular spot fires during the capitals long and intense summer see the rubbish piles turn into toxic conflagrations, spilling dangerous chemical fumes into nearby neighbourhoods. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the Delhi environment minister, told reporters on Tuesday that work was underway to process and dispose of waste at one of the citys biggest rubbish mountains. The sites, which emit toxic fumes and often catch fire, are a danger to its neighbours - some of the poorest people in Delhi - REUTERS/Adnan Abidi By the end of the year, waste at the Bhalswa dump on the citys northern outskirts will be reduced to a point where it will no longer be visible from a distance, he said. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that no new garbage mountains are formed, he added. Local neighbourhoods around the Bhalswa landfill are home to thousands of Delhis poorest residents who have migrated from grinding rural poverty in search of work. Mr Sirsa said the Bhalswa site would be cleared by March next year, with similar remediation work to follow at Delhis other two main rubbish dumps. Delhi generates more than 11,000 tonnes of solid waste each day, according to official estimates in 2023. The Bhalswa dump has more than four million tonnes of waste, according to official estimates. Untreated domestic waste burns in the landfills during the hot summer months, producing excess methane, which further pollutes Indias already smog-choked urban centres. Indias dirty air is caused by a host of factors: including coal-fired energy and industry emissions; agricultural and rubbish burning; road dust; and vehicle emissions. Work has already begun on clearing Bhalswa landfill site, which can be seen from miles away - AFP/MONEY SHARMA In 2022, the Indian capital was engulfed in smoke after the Bhalswa dump caught fire during a heatwave. Delhi regularly ranks as one of the most polluted cities in the world, and almost never dips below the level that scientists consider hazardous to human health. Currently, only Lahore, in Pakistan, is suffering from worse conditions. The pair are followed in the rankings by Karachi, in Pakistan, and Kolkata, in India. In 2023, the air quality in the city reached 500 on the air quality index 100 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation and the highest that the index can go. The spike was a herald for a catastrophic season of pollution. A slew of emergency measures were introduced, including a ban on polluting trucks from entering the city, as well as restrictions on commercial four-wheelers including public buses, construction activities and the sale and use of firecrackers. Men with better sperm quality live longer. Men with better sperm live longer Boffins have analysed data on semen quality from almost 80,000 men over a period of 50 years and found that chaps with over 120 million motile sperm - sperm that are able to move or 'swim' - typically live two to three years longer than those with under five million. The team at Copenhagen University Hospital looked at data from men who had their sperm quality assessed as part of an infertility examination - meaning it varied from very good to those with no sperm at all. Senior researcher Dr. Lrke Priskorn said: "Previous research has suggested that male infertility and lower semen quality could be associated with mortality. "We conducted this study to test the hypothesis and at the same time get an absolute estimate of how much semen quality predicts a man's lifespan and to understand whether diagnosed diseases prior to semen quality assessment might explain some of the reported association. "We calculated the men's life expectancy according to their semen quality and found that men with the best quality could expect to live two to three years longer, on average, than men with the lowest semen quality." The Government has rejected farmers concerns over inheritance tax (IHT) changes and insisted the reforms are a fair way to raise money. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was urged by opposition MPs to reverse the family farm tax and stop running away from meeting farming unions, as farmers continued their protest action on Tuesday with a Pancake Day Rally in Westminster. But her Treasury ministerial colleague James Murray said he spent time meeting with farmers representatives and listening to their concerns, telling the Commons: We have to be honest that we disagree. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow environment, food and rural affairs secretary Victoria Atkins during a farmers protest in Whitehall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The policy would require farmers to pay a rate of 20% inheritance tax on agricultural property and land worth more than 1 million when they previously paid none. There is a higher threshold of 3 million for couples passing on their farms and the changes are due to come into force from April 2026. TUV leader Jim Allister, MP for North Antrim, told Treasury questions in the Commons: With farmers again protesting in Westminster today, why is the Chancellor of the Exchequer running away from meeting the farming unions across this nation? Why do those who feed our nation not deserve some of the Chancellors time? Ms Reeves remain seated and left the question to Mr Murray, who replied: Just two weeks ago I spent a fair amount of time meeting with representatives from the NFU and other representative organisations from different nations within the UK. I listened to their concerns, I listened to what they had to say. We have to be honest that we disagree. They do not agree with the Governments policy and I need to be direct about that because we had to take a number of difficult decisions at the budget, but I do not apologise for the importance of balancing the public finances and sticking to our fiscal rules. Tim Farron, the environment, food and rural affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: Britain is only 55% food secure. In these deeply uncertain times internationally, isnt it time to change policy when it comes to agriculture? Isnt this the day to get rid of the family farm tax and to undo the 76% cut in basic payments and invest in the people who keep us food secure? Mr Murray replied: As Ive made clear to other MPs, the changes to agricultural property relief are a fair way to raise money which is necessary to balance the public finances. Britain has excellent food security and that is a priority for this Government. Conservative former Treasury minister Dame Harriett Baldwin earlier said: The art of taxation is extracting the largest amount of money with the lowest amount of squeaking from the goose and yet the Chancellor will have heard the honking of the tractors on Whitehall today, to raise an amount of money that will pay for less than one day of NHS spending. Farmers protest in Whitehall, London, over the changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules (Jordan Pettitt/PA) So will she commit today to reversing the family farm tax? Mr Murray replied: The changes weve made to agricultural property relief and business property relief retain a generous relief for people who are accessing that benefit within the taxation system. It means that people will get 1 million without any inheritance tax being due, that is in addition to the existing nil-rate band spousal transfers over that is up to an effective rate of 20% and any money which is due can be paid over 10 years interest free. An international appeal is being launched to trace dozens more potential victims who may have fallen prey to serial rapist Zhenhao Zou. The Chinese PhD student could be one of the most prolific sex offenders the UK has seen, amid fears he could have drugged and assaulted more than 50 other women in the UK and China. The 28-year-old used hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, keeping the footage and sometimes the womens belongings as souvenirs. He targeted young, Chinese women, inviting them to his flat for drinks or to study, before drugging and assaulting them. Zou was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim, as well as three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. The appeal poster put out by police to trace potential victims of Zhenhao Zou (Metropolitan Police/PA) Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: Zou was clearly a dangerous, prolific and predatory individual who preyed on his victim survivors in the most cowardly and despicable manner. In addition to the charges that youve seen brought during this trial, we also have evidence that he may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature, and thats why were launching this appeal now in the hope that as many of those victim survivors as possible will come forward and give us the opportunity to give them the support that they deserve, and ultimately bring him to the further justice that he deserves for what he has done. Zou is a particularly cowardly and deceitful individual. He has done all that he can in these offences to incapacitate his victims to the point where they could not resist his attack, and in many instances may not even remember what has occurred to them. Its a particularly appalling set of crimes, and my heart goes out to the victim survivors and to all those who may have been affected by his awful behaviour. The Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force either by emailing survivors@met.police.uk, or the major incident public portal on the forces website. Mr Southworth said: We believe he may have met some of the potential victims socially and then invited them back to his property, essentially on the basis of inviting them around for drinks or to study, and then, ultimately, once there, hes spiked their drinks using drugs and then committed these awful offences against them. He said the investigation into Zou was one of the most complex rape investigations ever carried out by the Met and an exceptionally difficult case. The major incident portal will be translated into languages other than English for the first time, and interpreters will be available for non-English speaking victims. During Zous trial, a call to police from one of the women led to questions over the quality of interpreter made available. Mr Southworth said: Its a matter of severe regret that the victims didnt necessarily get that best translation at the time. Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Richard Mackenzie said: Our message to potential victims is to please come forward and speak with us. We will robustly investigate. But intrinsic to that is that we can offer support and can signpost to external partners so victims can get the help they may need. Each victim will have a dedicated officer overseeing their case and supporting them through the criminal justice process. We are keeping an open mind currently about the identities of the unidentified victims. However, we are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student community who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019 and 2024. We would also like to speak to potential victims who may have met Zou while he was living in China. Women may have met him on online platforms, including student forums on the Chinese social media apps WeChat or Little Red Book, or they may have spoken to him on dating apps such as Bumble. We also know that Zou kept items from victims, such as jewellery and clothing, but we hope that sharing information regarding those may jog womens memories in the event they are missing these personal items. Zhenhao Zou kept items belonging to his victims as trophies, the jury at Inner London Crown Court was told (Metropolitan Police/PA) Zou lived in a student flat in Woburn Place, near Russell Square in central London, and later in a flat in the Uncle building in Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle, south London. Mr Mackenzie added: Due to the nature of his offending, we believe some women may not, in fact, know that they are a victim, and we do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about these crimes following this verdict. We want to reassure those women that reports will be fully investigated and dealt with with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion. However, we also understand that not every victim may wish to speak to the police. So we have taken advice from the independent charity Rape Crisis. They offer support for women to seek help and guidance from advisers via their 24/7 helpline. As part of our appeal, we are also keen to speak to any witnesses who might have helpful information, in particular, anyone who might have met Zou at parties or spoken to him on social media apps. The Taoiseach has said, while Ireland is willing to be part of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, it will not participate in any troop deployment designed as a military deterrent. Micheal Martin, who is in Liverpool for a UK-Ireland political summit, also insisted he wanted to have a respectful meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House next week, when issues around Ukraine and wider European security may feature in discussions. Mr Martin hailed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmers effective and impactful role in the unfolding geopolitical events related to the conflict in Ukraine. Taoiseach Micheal Martin speaks to the media in Liverpool, ahead of the first in a new series of annual UK-Ireland summits (PA). Indicating that Irelands long-standing position of neutrality would preclude its involvement in a deterrence force, Mr Martin reiterated that the Irish Defence Forces could play a role in a peacekeeping mission. He comments come as the Irish government is moving to make a law change that would give it more latitude to deploy troops overseas. Under current Irish rules, Ireland can only participate in peacekeeping missions that are formally sanctioned by the UN. That places a significant limitation on Irelands latitude to deploy troops, as members of the UN security council, such as Russia, are able to veto any missions they do not support. The Government is seeking to remove this element of its so-called triple lock rules for deploying troops. We all want peace, Mr Martin told reporters in Liverpool. There are too many wars in the world, too many young people are losing their lives on the battle fronts. It impacts on livelihoods all over the world, particularly Ukrainians, particularly people in the Middle East, particularly in Sudan and other areas. And I think Keir Starmer is really looking at the realities of the world today. I think he is leading well in terms of working with the European Union and other leading European states to try and deal with this situation. Weve made it clear that if a ceasefire develops or if theres a cessation of hostilities, Ireland has always been open to peacekeeping, but we wouldnt be part of a deterrent force. Theres just two separate areas there, in other words they are two different and distinct issues. But we are open, and always have been, depending on the context to any invitation to participate in genuine peacekeeping and to ensure that any cessation of hostilities can lead to a durable and sustainable peace, because any peace in Ukraine has to be durable and it has to be sustainable. Mr Martin said he hoped the UK and Ireland could enhance security co-operation at the summit meeting in Liverpool. He highlighted areas of cyber security and protecting undersea cables as areas where the two nations could work together more. We will be discussing how we can enhance that type of security cooperation and engagement, he said. The Irish premier declined to be drawn on whether he would push back on any claims the US president might make in the Oval Office St Patricks encounter next Wednesday. Im honoured to be going to the White House as well as looking forward to, again, celebrating what is a major historic tradition and relationship between Ireland and United States, particularly for Irish Americans and our diaspora there too, Mr Martin told reporters. Patricks week is always a very significant week and we will be discussing a range of issues, and particularly, again, the importance of the Irish/US relationship, but today its about the UK/Irish relationship. He added: People come to the table with different perspectives. I respect people. I respect the offices that people hold. And Im honoured to be invited to the White House as an Irish Taoiseach, given the relationship between our two countries, very strong economic relationship, but also the ties that bind Ireland and America together for a long, long time. And, you know, we will engage in a respectful manner. We will put our perspectives. No doubt, President Trump has his views and perspectives as well. But the important thing is to engage, and the important thing is to reflect on that relationship today and to make sure we can protect Irish economic interests, protect the livelihoods of people in Ireland many, many workers depending on that and also pointing out then how significant Irish investment is in the United States. Companies like Ryanair, Glanbia, Kerry Group, Icon, many, many more who create many, many thousands of jobs in America. And so its a very, very robust economic relationship that brings benefits to both sides. And we will have a good discussion, Im sure. Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been trying to remove the head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. Photograph: Maya Alleruzzo/AP Israels internal security agency, Shin Bet, has said Benjamin Netanyahus policies were among the underlying causes of the 7 October 2023 attack in which Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 Israelis. In its report on the 7 October attack, Shin Bet acknowledged its own responsibility, admitting it was aware of warning signs that Hamas was planning an operation, but the agency, also known as the General Security Service (GSS), did not grasp the scale, timing and location of the planned attack. However, the report also argued that a string of Israeli government policies helped pave the way for the Hamas assault. Among the main reasons for a Hamas military build-up before the attacks, an eight-page public summary of the report listed an Israeli policy of quiet towards the group, apparently referring to a policy of restraint in the use of force to keep Hamass military capability in check. It also listed Netanyahus acquiescence in the flow of funds from Qatar to Gaza, a policy designed to divide Palestinians by boosting Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian state. The Shin Bet report also pointed to the daily Jewish prayers that have been taking place in recent years in the compound around Jerusalems al-Aqsa mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The prayers violate a 58-year-old understanding with Jordan that only Muslims should be allowed to pray at the al-Aqsa and the esplanade around it, but they were championed by the governing coalitions former national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. The cumulative weight of violations on the Temple Mount, the treatment of [Palestinian] prisoners and the perception that Israeli society had been weakened because of the damage to social cohesion were all contributory factors to Israels vulnerability to attack, the report said. Shin Bet argued that it had not underestimated Hamas and its desire to mount a major attack from Gaza by overwhelming Israeli fortifications around the coastal strip. The security agency said it even gave the plan the code name of Walls of Jericho, but it did not lead to heightened security. The plans were not viewed as a relatable threat, and the series of weak indicative signs that began in the summer of 2023 were not attributed to that threat, the report said, adding that a Hamas insurgency in the West Bank was seen as more likely at the time. That led to the mortal flaw in the decision-making on the night between 6 and 7 October, the report said. The night before the massacre, Shin Bet raised an alert over the activation of 45 Israeli sim cards by Hamas militants. The agency labelled the sim activation as unusual and a possible pointer to an impending attack, if other indicative signs emerged. The fact that no defensive preparations were taken, the Shin Bet report blamed in part on lack of cooperation with army intelligence. In response to the report, sources described as close to Netanyahu briefed Israeli reporters against the head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, whom the prime minister has been trying to remove. Bar, the Netanyahu associates were quoted as saying, failed completely in dealing with the Hamas threat and had been a slave to preconceptions about the militant group. Related: Israeli security chief condemns terrorism of militant settlers Netanyahu recently removed Bar and the Mossad chief, David Barnea, from Israels delegation to ceasefire talks in Doha and Cairo, in what was widely seen by Israeli political observers as a reflection of the rift between the prime minister and the security agencies over the conduct of the war, and whether it should proceed with a second phase of the ceasefire. The internal friction comes amid a regional struggle to define Gazas postwar future, which was heightened by Donald Trumps shock declaration last month that the US would take on ownership of the occupied territory, which would be emptied of its 2.2 million Palestinian residents and turned into a Riviera of the Middle East. At a summit in Cairo on Tuesday, the Arab League endorsed an Egyptian-drafted alternative plan, in which the reconstruction of Gaza would take place under a technocratic committee of Palestinians, in place of Hamas. An Arab diplomat on Wednesday said the initial feedback from Washington to the plan had been disappointingly negative. They still prefer Trumps plan, the diplomat said, noting that the administration has so far not presented a blueprint for how Trumps vision of US control of Gaza and the construction of luxury resorts would be implemented. A delegation of Arab foreign ministers is planning to go to Washington later this month to lobby Trump officials in favour of the Egyptian postwar plan. The Trump administration has separately reported to have been conducting secret talks with Hamas on the possibility of releasing US hostages being held in Gaza. Reports from the Reuters news agency and Axios said the US special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, had been holding the direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha. A source said the talks had focused on gaining the release of US nationals still held hostage in Gaza, but also included discussions about a broader deal to release all remaining hostages and how to reach a long-term truce. The US state department designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boehlers office declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The King tried his hand at gilding an antique dragon during a visit to the Royal Collection Trusts Decorative Arts conservation workshop. Charles had a go at applying gold leaf to the ornate 19th century Chinese-inspired artefact which will go back on display to be seen by visitors in Buckingham Palaces East Wing. The King was also shown objects being conserved for the forthcoming exhibition The Edwardians: Age Of Elegance. The King concentrates as he applies gold leaf to the dragon (Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025/Royal Collection Trust/PA) Charles, a keen artist, was filmed concentrating hard as he practised delicately applying gold leaf to the dragons tooth under the supervision of gilding conservator Gary Gronnestad, using a flat wide brush. Gilding is the process of applying a thin layer of gold leaf to a multi-layered carved and prepared surface. This dragon is one of a pair that sit on top of a decorative pelmet above a window in the East Wing of the Palace. Their gilding had worn away over the centuries and once their conservation is complete, they will be returned to the Centre Room Lobby, where they can be seen by visitors during tours of the East Wing. They were originally made for the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and reflected the extravagant George IVs love of Asian art and design. When the Pavilion was sold in 1850, its contents were transferred to the Palaces East Wing and inspired the Chinese-themed decor of its principal rooms. Charles also met senior metalwork conservator Sophy Wills and art handler David East on the visit in London last Tuesday, and was shown objects being prepared for the exhibition The Edwardians: Age Of Elegance display which begins at The Kings Gallery at Buckingham Palace in April. The King with senior metalwork conservator Sophy Wills (Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd/Royal Collection Trust/PA) Among the pieces were an elaborate table mirror inscribed To age and youth I tell the truth, a silver and enamel bowl given to Queen Alexandra by her Russian relations, and a Frederic Leighton sculpture of an athlete wrestling with a python. The King was seen pointing at a large gilded screen which adorned the private rooms of his ancestors King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at Sandringham House and features black and white photographs of their glamorous social circle. The workshops experts use a combination of centuries-old techniques and state-of-the-art technologies to conserve furniture, ceramics, sculpture, giltwood and metalwork from the Royal Collection. The King peers at a marble statuette (Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd 2025/Royal Collection Trust/PA) Charles is patron of the Royal Collection Trust, the charity caring for one of the worlds great art collections which is held in trust by the King for his successors and the nation. The Edwardians: Age Of Elegance will delve into the family lives, personal collections, global travels and glittering social circles of two of British historys most fashionable royal couples Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary. It will bring together more than 300 items including jewellery, fashion, paintings and books the majority never seen before by famous figures such as Cartier, Oscar Wilde, Sir Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. The Edwardians: Age Of Elegance is at The Kings Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from April 11 to November 23 2025. Smoke from burning rubber lingers in the air at the Portland International Raceway during a drag racing event in 2023. Photograph: Mason Trinca An Oregon legislator has moved to ban the use of leaded fuel at a racetrack in Portland following community outcry and a Guardian investigation. Leaded fuel has been banned for use in regular automobiles for decades, due to the toxic and irreversible impact of lead on the human brain and body as particles are emitted from tailpipes. However, it is still legal to use leaded gasoline in off-road vehicles, such as farm equipment and racecars. Recent research has linked leaded gas emissions from racetracks to cognitive impairment in children living nearby. The Guardian calculated that third graders students aged eight or nine who have grown up within two miles of Portland International Raceway could experience more than a six percentage point decline in their standardized test scores. Related: The path forward is clear: how Trump taking office has turbocharged climate accountability efforts The bill, which was was introduced in the Oregon legislature in February, would ban leaded fuel use at racetracks in Oregon cities with populations over 500,000. It would specifically affect the Portland International Raceway (PIR), the only racetrack in Oregon within a large city. The bill is being sponsored by Travis Nelson, a state representative, whose staff says that the Guardians investigation was instrumental in Rep Nelsons ability to get a bill this session to ban leaded gas at Portland International Raceway. As the Guardian reported, leaded gasoline is being used regularly in dozens of racetracks around the US. Lead is a well-documented hazard, banned worldwide for good reason. Yet, leaded fuel continues to be used in close proximity to people who live in the area, including schools, daycares, and parks. The use of leaded gas at PIR is something that my constituents have spoken out about for a very long time, and I am ensuring their voices are being heard by the state, said Nelson. Nelsons constituency includes the North Portland neighborhoods closest to the racetrack. His efforts are the latest step in a years-long battle between the neighborhood, out-of-town racing enthusiasts and the racetrack itself, which is owned and operated by the city of Portland. Linda Wysong, a resident who lives near the track, said the recent research requires urgent action. The extent of the potential harm from use of leaded fuel in racing is a relatively new finding. Now we know of this danger, it is time to act. Recreation should not be prioritized over the health and wellbeing of our children and elders. A spokesperson for Portland parks & recreation (PP&R), the department that oversees PIR, said that the racetracks reliance on event revenue has made it challenging to phase out the use of leaded gasoline. PP&R is prepared to fully eliminate leaded fuel use at PIR upon completion of a feasibility study and transition planning process that helps to identify solutions that will allay community concerns, recognize the historic importance of the site, and identify a financially sustainable future for the facility. As written, the bill would give the racetrack three years to phase out the use of leaded gasoline. It is due for consideration by Oregon lawmakers in the coming weeks. Liam Paynes girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, has said that sometimes its hard for me to get out of bed, following the death of her former partner. The One Direction star died in October last year at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. Cassidy appeared on Lorraine Kellys ITV talk show to support the programmes March4March mental health campaign. Payne was buried last November (Jonathan Brady/PA) She told the Lorraine talk show that Payne was so open about his mental health and she is supporting the awareness campaign as he no longer can help people. I genuinely believe Liam, in a way, guided me to this campaign and wanted me to be involved in this, and to help other people, she said. She added: Im going through this healing journey, sometimes its hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and something I dont want to do. But I have this responsibility and this obligation that I am almost in a way I have no choice. I have to get out of bed (for my dog) Nala and whether its a five-minute walk or 20-minute walk first thing in the morning. Either way, it just wakes me up and refreshes my mind instead of laying in bed all day just scrolling through social media or old photos, it gets me out of bed and really, really helps my mindset and my mental health. Becoming emotional, Cassidy said she is still working on accepting the fact that hes not here any more. Its hard for me to refer to him in the past tense, and when I do refer to him in the past tense it almost stings that little bit more because it just its more official. Cassidy also said she has her harder days, but Im surrounded by such a great support system that I cannot thank enough. She also called Payne one of a kind, who would light up any room he walked into. Cassidy added that he had this sense of humour, where he really could make anything better, and his presence was comforting and warming, and thats something that Ill never forget about with him, ever. She also said that she wants to help people feel less alone and get through grief and healing. Cassidy said the number four in the campaign also attracted her to supporting it, as its me and Liams angel numbers, which symbolise support and guidance from your angels. Its still so special, I see it so often, and its going to be something that is going to be involved in my life forever, and just every time I see them I know hes there with me, she said. She had been staying with Payne in Argentina but flew back to America before the fatal incident. On Saturday night, Payne was remembered at the Brit Awards. One Direction won seven gongs at the Brits in total before his band split up. Paynes family said on Sunday they will forever remember the joy that his music brought to the world and called for privacy from the constant media attention and speculation on Paynes death. Kate Cassidy spoke out about her grief (Ian West/PA) Last month, a court in Argentina dropped charges of criminal negligence against three out of the five people who had been charged in connection with the performers death. Cassidy, who had been romantically linked to Payne since 2022, has previously said on Instagram that Payne sent her a note saying that he planned for them to get engaged. She joined Paynes family and One Direction bandmates last year at his private funeral in Buckinghamshire. Payne previously spoke about his mental health, and struggles with alcoholism at the peak of his success with One Direction, describing to The Diary Of A CEO podcast how he hit rock bottom. He admitted his addiction to alcohol continued during the Covid pandemic, but in 2023 he posted a YouTube video confirming he was almost six months sober after nearly 100 days in a US rehab facility. Payne spoke in 2021 to Ant Middletons Straight Talking programme about going through a mental health crisis, saying he was quite lucky to be here still. Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey has called on the Prime Minister to request the urgent extradition of Andrew Tate and his brother to the UK. The controversial influencers, who are now under criminal investigations in three countries and deny all wrongdoing, flew from Romania to the United States on Thursday after travel restrictions were lifted. On Tuesday, Florida attorney general James Uthmeier said on social media that he had ordered a criminal inquiry. He said: Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers. Andrew Tate hit back, claiming that US authorities are trying to find crimes on an innocent man. The brothers are already subject to an ongoing investigation into alleged people trafficking in Romania, and are due to be extradited to the UK following that inquiry to face separate accusations of rape and trafficking dating back to between 2012 and 2015. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Ed asked Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer whether the Government will request urgent extradition of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan from the United States. Sir Ed Davey asked the PM if the Government will request urgent extradition of the brothers (House of Commons/UK Parliament) Sir Ed said: Im delighted that Florida has thankfully opened a criminal investigation. But does the Prime Minister agree that people who are wanted by British police for such appalling (alleged) crimes should stand trial in our country? Sir Ed also asked: Given (the Prime Ministers) assessment that President Trump really is a reliable ally, will his Government request an urgent extradition of the Tate brothers? Sir Keir replied: This is a live issue, as hell appreciate, therefore Ill tread carefully but the principle is absolutely clear justice must be done in all cases including in this case. But I wont go into the detail as its a live case, as he knows. Sir Keir said he would not go into detail because the Tate case is live (House of Commons/UK Parliament) In Romania, the Tate brothers are facing allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. A separate case against them, in which they are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, has been sent back to prosecutors. In the UK, as well as the allegations being investigated by Bedfordshire Police, a civil action is being brought against Andrew Tate by four women after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute in 2019. Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary which was closed in 2019. In a separate case in December, Devon and Cornwall Police was given permission to seize more than 2 million from the siblings after a magistrate ruled they had failed to pay a penny in tax on 21 million of revenue from their online businesses. The Trump administration reportedly pressed the Romanian government to lift travel restrictions on the brothers earlier this month, although US President Donald Trump denied any knowledge of the case. In a statement issued on Thursday, a spokesperson for the brothers said six cars and five properties had been returned, but some assets remained under precautionary seizure. Romanias anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said prosecutors had approved a request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania. DIICOTs statement said: The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure. Liz and David Murphy, pictured left with their children Tom and Charlotte, bought a mini village in France with Liz's parents, embracing their multi-generation home. (SWNS) (SWNS) A couple who sold their 400k Manchester home and bought an entire village in France say they have no regrets, four years on. Liz Murphy, 47, and her husband David, 56, took the plunge back in 2020 and joined forces with Lizs mum Helen Diaper and her stepdad Terry, both 73, to create a multi-generation home in the beautiful French countryside. Together, they were able to buy six 400-year-old houses, two barns and three acres of land and one of the huge benefits of having Lizs parents living just one minute away is that theyve been able to help with looking after the couples two children Tom, now 14 and Charlotte, 10. "Having them so close by for the kids has been really great, says Liz. Its great to have on-site babysitters." "They are so integral to our lives," she continues. "Its lovely to just cross over the driveway to see them. They are so much more involved in the kids lives. We see them every day. Its really nice to see the special bond they have with their grandchildren." Helen Diaper, Liz's mum, and her step-dad Terry, joined the family to start a new life in France. (SWNS) (SWNS) As well as the benefits of free on-site childcare, for Liz and husband David in France, their set-up has allowed them to create their dream lifestyle, by sharing the financial investment with her parents. They have turned their rural hamlet of Lac De Maison, in Poitou-Charentes, south west France into a thriving business, by converting three of the buildings into holiday homes, sleeping 19 people in total. Liz Murphy (with husband David) says she loves her parents being closely involved in their grandchildren's lives. (SWNS) (SWNS) Before their big move to France, the couple used to work in radio, but felt trapped in the "rat race", working busy nine-to-five jobs. After being put on furlough in 2020, the couple followed their dream of leaving behind their lives in Manchester and buying a place in France. They were delighted when Lizs parents agreed to join them. "In France, were mortgage-free, so although were making less money than we did in the UK, its massively outweighed by our quality of life," says Liz. "My mum and stepdad decided to sell their house in Nottingham and come with us. Covid made us reassess, and David and I said if theyd like to come with us, wed really like that. They both said, 'Why not have one last adventure, lets do it?'" Pooling resources with Liz's parents has enabled them to buy six houses, two barns and three acres of land in France. (SWNS) (SWNS) Four years on, they couldnt be happier, working for themselves and feeling "in control of their own destiny." France now feels "like home" and their children have thrived in French schools. "Theyre both fluent in French and I think my daughter especially feels more French than English," says Liz. "We loved the UK," she adds, "but we dont regret moving here and dont have any plans to move back." Liz and David Murphy's children have thrived in French schools. (SWNS) (SWNS) The rise in multi-generation living Three-generation living similar to Lizs set-up but where three generations of the same family live in the same house has become more popular in recent years. The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that multi-family households accounted for 1.4% of all households in 2021, an increase from 1.2% back in 2011. This is partly in response to the rising cost of living and increasing childcare costs. "Intergenerational living arrangements are common in many cultures," says psychotherapist Susie Masterson. "During lockdown, this started to become more prevalent in the UK, and has continued for many people due to the rising cost of living." As well as being driven by the convenience of having childcare on tap, it can happen for other reasons too. "With young people finding it harder to move out of the parental home and older (adult) children returning to care for their parents, there is increasing diversity in the way we live," adds Masterson. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's three-gen set-up Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen divided his house in Cirencester into three separate homes: one for him and his wife Jackie, and two more for each of his daughters Cecile and Hermione and their partners Dan and Drew, plus their four grandchildren. Laurence has pointed out in the past how their domestic set-up could be a brilliant solution to the UKs childcare problem, as at the time his wife Jackie was providing full-time childcare to the grandchildren, to allow their own parents to work easily. "The crazy thing is this is exactly how families were 200 years ago," Llewelyn-Bowen said back in 2022. "You used the older generation as a social support network for the younger generation to be able to do their thing." Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and wife Jackie, pictured at the Shooting Star Charity Ball, London, back in 2022. Laurence has spoken about the benefits of three-generation living. (Getty Images) (Suzan Moore - PA Images via Getty Images) Challenges to consider While Liz and her husband have had no issues with their close-knit family set-up, psychotherapist Tina Chummun, the founder of Care2Counsel, explains there are some challenges with this kind of arrangement. "While proximity can be a blessing, it may also blur boundaries between the parents and grandparents, leading to enmeshment where individual autonomy of the parents is compromised due to over-involvement of the grandparents," she says. "Parents may feel pressured to conform to their own parents expectations regarding child-rearing, leading to conflict or feelings of guilt." Before taking the plunge and buying a property with or next-door to your parents or in-laws, its crucial of course to think carefully about how strong and respectful your existing relationship is with them. Chummun advises, "Ask yourself: Are boundaries well established? Can both parties communicate openly about expectations and space?" You also need to think about the impact on your own partnership as a couple. "Even as adults, we often fall into childhood patterns of relating with and responding to our parents," says Masterson. "This can result in us being less present in our romantic relationships." "Prolonged external involvement can sometimes shift dynamics," agrees Chummun. "This can leave one partner feeling overwhelmed or unheard. A good rule of thumb is to ensure that support enhances, rather than replaces, a couples autonomy in decision-making." Clear communication and boundary-setting are crucial, she says. "Couples should discuss practical aspects before moving in, such as childcare expectations, privacy needs and how to navigate disagreements," continues Chummun. "Having a structured approach such as designated childcare days rather than an open-ended arrangement can help maintain equilibrium." She also warns dont expect parents to "just understand boundaries". Have direct conversations, rather than relying on passive communication. Additional reporting: SWNS Read more about grandparents and childcare: Denise Richards will "never get divorced" again. Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers have been married since 2018 The 54-year-old actress split from 'Two and a Half Men' star Charlie Sheen, 59, in 2006 after four years of marriage and is now married to Aaron Phyphers but claimed during a meeting with her friend Camille Grammer that she will remain married for good this time as they reflected on their respective breakups. Speaking on the first episode of her new reality show 'Denise Richards and her Wild Things', she explained: "Camille Grammer and I, we first met over twenty years . "She was married to her ex, Kelsey [Grammer], and I was married to Charlie [Sheen]. At the time, her husband and Charlie, they would always be up against each other at every single award show because 'Frazier' and 'Two and a Half Men' were on at the same time. "So we have the exes and the 'Housewives' together. "The judgment from other people and being made out to be this awful woman. "I'll never get divorced, even if we hate each other." Camille noted to 'The World Is Not Enough' star that women tend to get "tossed to the curb" in a divorce. She said: "I felt like my whole world fell apart. "We get tossed to the curb. Denise - who has Sami, 20, and Lola, 13, with Charlie but also adopted Eloise, 13, in 2011 - then discussed her marriage with Aaron himself, who seemed to share her stance on staying together. She said: "It's not easy being married to me!" He replied: "It's not...and she said it! But this is it, I'm done." Denise said: "Yeah, Im never getting divorced again. Even if we hate each other, I'm not gonna f****** get divorced." Aaron then reasoned that if a split did happen to come about, the two of them would just live separately rather than go through all the legal proceedings. He said: "No, well just have different homes or something. But we're not gonna hate each other." Correction: An earlier version of this story included information from a source whose expertise may not be valid. The quotes from the source have been removed. With Love, Meghan, launched today with the Duchess of Sussex describing her 'delight' at being a more 'present parent'. (Netflix) (JENNA PEFFLEY/NETFLIX) Meghan has talked about her love of being "a present parent" during a clip from her new Netflix show, which launched in the UK this morning. A teaser from With Love, Meghan reveals the Duchess of Sussex making a large rainbow coloured and shaped platter of fruit, and suggesting families make one for their childrens breakfast to make mornings "a lot more fun". Meghan, who is mum to Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three says: "Its a real delight in being able to be a present parent, and its a luxury sometimes, because we all have to work. We all have a lot of stuff to do, but when you can take a minute to just One of the filming crew adds "Saturday morning" with Meghan agreeing, before adding: "Finding the fun in those moments makes for a really sweet start to the weekend." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are parents to Archie and Lilibet. (Netflix screengrab) (Netflix screengrab) The 'present parenting' myth When you're busy trying to navigate the work/life juggle it can be difficult to try be more present with your children, but experts say parents often assume being present is about spending more time with kids. The key is not just being physically there but also showing up emotionally. 'Present parenting' is about creating connections with children. (Getty Images) (Getty) How to be a more 'present parent' Create micro-moments of connection Family reconciliation expert Richard Ramos advises carving out short, simple moments of connection with your child. "A heartfelt 'How was your day?' with eye contact, a hug before bed, or a shared meal without distractions can build trust and openness," he says. Be fully engaged This is a big one - put away your phone, pause work thoughts, and give your child your full attention, even if its just for a few minutes. "Its not about how long youre there, but how deeply you listen," Ramos advises. Make parenting rituals a priority Whether its a weekly movie night, a five-minute morning check-in, or a bedtime pep talk, Ramos says routines provide children with a sense of security and consistent connection. "Real connection comes from showing up fully in those small but significant moments," he adds. Read more about Meghan Markle and parenting: Georgina Fuller's three children in thrown-together World Book Day costumes in 2016. From left to right: Eddie, then four, Charlie, then seven and Jemima, then two. (Supplied) (Supplied) As I frantically dig through my wardrobe looking for a black dress which is small enough not to look like a tent on my 10-year-old daughter, along with some tights and a cape I once wore to a Halloween party, I silently curse World Book Day (WBD) for what feels like the 100th time. You see, as a tired and slightly scatty mum-of-three (Charlie, 16, Eddie, 12 and Jemima, 10), Ive had over 10 years of it but I'm hoping that, as its my daughter's final year of primary school, this will be my last ever one. Hallelujah! As much as Id love to be an arts and crafts type mum who could rustle up a costume at the drop of a hat, Im more of a last minute 'add to basket' Amazon one. And now its WBD again and the pressure is on. I find myself frantically ordering green face paint from Amazon so my daughter can try and emulate Elphaba from Wicked and hunting for a pair of black tights which havent been laddered. My daughter tells me that one of the boys in her class is going as The Wizard of Oz, another girl as Wednesday and that two other classmates are going as the teenager from Dork Diaries. Her BFF is going as Glinda from Wicked and has already stocked up on jewellery from Claires Accessories and a wig. The theme this year is 'Read Your Way' which apparently includes either a character from a much loved book or an outfit they would feel comfortable reading in. Im not sure a pair of pyjamas is quite going to cut it though? Journalist Georgina Fuller says she's had enough of the pressure of World Book Day. (Supplied) (Supplied) Parental competition And, while Im a huge fan of books, I wont look back and miss WBD because I think the value of reading gets lost in the competitive scrum of costumes. Instead, it's become just another needless burden for stressed-out working mums like me. Dont get me wrong, I know every mother is a working mum but Ive been self-employed ever since my three were babies and I have always worked around them. My working life as a freelance journalist for the national press is often erratic and filled with last-minute deadlines. So alongside the school fairs and assemblies, fundraisers, information evenings, meet-the-teacher sessions and parents evenings, WBD just feels like yet another thing I have to fit in and manage alongside my day job. WBD just feels like yet another thing I have to fit in and manage alongside my day job. Where we live, on the edge of the glorious Cotswolds, I would say around half, possibly more, of the mums at my daughters primary school don't work which means they have more time, energy and inclination to devote themselves to all the school stuff. And good on them, I say, because its just as well someone does. My three are all at different schools and just keeping on top of the emails feels like a full-time job at times. And dont get me started on the stay-at-home dads (SAHDs.) They are the really competitive ones. I think its marvellous they want to be so involved but some obviously see WBD as their chance to shine. Naturally, these parents put time-poor working mums like me to shame. Writer Georgina Fuller with her three kids in Halloween costumes in 2016. (Supplied) (Supplied) Mum guilt In one standout year, there was the mum who made a Matilda dress for her daughter from scratch and the SAHD who made his son a costume covered in small silver pans Mr Saucepan from the Magic Faraway Tree. My daughter, by contrast, was wearing an old jacket and some old jodhpurs (Fern from Charlottes Webb) and my son was in a Willy Wonka top hat I bought at the last minute from Sainsbury's costume section and a massive waistcoat I borrowed from my dad (which was probably last worn in the late 1980s). 'I had the worst costume,' my daughter said. 'Why couldnt you make me one like the other mums?' Then there was the mum in my daughters class who sent her daughter in as the Queen of Hearts complete with a crown, a white rabbit toy and a beautifully embroidered bodice which wouldnt have looked out of place in a BBC production of Elizabeth 1st. It made my poor daughter, who was basically just wearing her nightie, a la Sophie from the BFG, feel underdressed. When I picked her up that day, I was met by four foot of pure stroppiness. "I had the worst costume," she said. "Why couldnt you make me one like the other mums?" I promised to do better next year. Georgina pictured with her three children at Disneyland in 2024. (Supplied) (Supplied) Bending the rules It could be worse I suppose. I remember when all three were at primary school and it was a nightmare trying to think of ideas. My middle one is autistic and has sensory issues, so he hates wearing itchy costumes or anything with labels scratching him. I'd have no choice but to put him in whatever the one costume he'd wear at the time would be. I think he probably did about two or three WBD dressed as a Stormtrooper and at least one as Batman and Spiderman. Not exactly literary heroes, are they?! In the flurry of the morning, I realised I was still wearing my slippers at school drop-off too. "Bless him!" I remember one mum, whose daughter was dressed as Gangsta Granny, saying, consolingly, as I waved my son off at the school gates. In the flurry of the morning, I realised I was still wearing my slippers at school drop-off too. Whoops! So I for one will be very glad when its all over and I dont have to pretend to care about World Book Day. This year Ill be setting the alarm a bit earlier so Ive got time to help my daughter cover herself in green paint. Lets hope this is the last one I'll ever have to do. Read more on parenting: New research has found weight training could help the older generation sleep better. (Getty Images) (Renata Angerami via Getty Images) Lifting weights could help older people get a better night's sleep and beat insomnia, new research has suggested. Resistance or muscle-strengthening exercises, such as lifting dumbbells or using gym equipment, was found by experts to reduce sleeplessness. The study, published in the journal Family Medicine And Community Health, revealed how "sleep quality declines with age" with "older people having more significant insomnia" than their younger counterparts. Researchers explained that between 30% and 48% of seniors complain of sleepiness while 1220% have insomnia problems, but while they tested a number of exercises results revealed that strength/resistance exercise was the most effective at cutting insomnia. The research team, from the Mahidol University Faculty of Medicine in Bangkok, concluded that "exercise that strengthens muscles, rather than aerobic or combination exercises, is the most effective way to enhance sleep quality." There are a number of ways sleep is impacted as we age. (Getty Images) (Tetra Images via Getty Images) How is sleep impacted with age? How much sleep we need changes and evolves throughout life, but older adults (65+) generally need seven to eight hours of sleep per night. While 40% of this age group report they sleep for this long every night, sleep expert, Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, says the quality of that sleep is often compromised by things like health conditions or poor lifestyle habits, whether that's over napping during the day, reduced physical activity, exposure to daylight and even inadequate nutrition and hydration. "As you get older, you might experience lighter and more fragmented sleep, making you more susceptible to waking up during the night," she adds. "Health conditions such as arthritis, restless leg syndrome, nocturia (needing to urinate during the night) and sleep apnoea can disturb your sleep even more. Your circadian rhythm might also shift, causing earlier sleep and wake times." Retirement can also impact your daily routine and this has a knock-on effect on sleep. "Retirees may find they're staying up later than normal because if their less structured daytime schedules," Dr Ramlakhan adds. Thankfully, resistance training isn't the only way for the older generation to get a better night's sleep. How to sleep better as we age Get regular light exposure Most importantly morning light. Dr Kat Lederle, sleep and circadian rhythm specialist at The London General Practice recommends getting outside in the morning so your body clock sees natural daylight and knows day has started. "Natural light helps to keep your body clock in sync with the external world as well as keeping all the various internal processes of your body aligned with one another," she explains. "Morning light is a powerful time cue!" Sleep at the right temperature As part of falling asleep, our body lowers its temperature by giving off heat to the environment. "To get the heat out of the body we need a temperature gradient, ie the environment has to be cooler," explains Dr Lederle. She says the ideal setting is around 18 degrees, but things might be different when we are older. "Older people find it more difficult to regulate their skin temperature, with some studies have looked at externally warming up peoples skin to help them fall asleep." And setting the temperature slightly higher may help too. Accept sleeplessness Dr Ramlakhan recommends trying to accept that it's normal to wake during the night sometimes. "If you struggle to get back to sleep, try to focus on resting (rather than sleeping)," she adds. As part of that acceptance she also suggests avoiding clock watching. "We need to be alert to register numbers, so checking the time only brings your brain back into wakefulness and makes it much harder to get back to sleep," she adds. Getting out in the morning light and exercising can help older people get a better night's sleep. (Getty Images) (Harbucks via Getty Images) Breathe yourself sleepy Dr Ramlakhan recommends this simple exercise to return to slumber: "Gently place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly as you breathe, silently saying 'In' and 'Out' to yourself to focus." Address poor lifestyle habits Things like excessively napping during the day, poor nutrition, too much caffeine and watching TV too soon before bed (or even in bed) can contribute to sleep disruption and poor sleep quality, according to Dr Ramlakhan. Invest in a low-level nightlight This will give you just enough visibility for those trips to the bathroom in the middle of night. "The low level of light shouldn't interfere with your natural sleep cycle like turning on a ceiling light might, and it also helps to reduce fall risks and disorientation," Dr Ramlakhan explains. "Keeping floors and hallways clear of things like rugs and furniture can help you move about safely and easily during the night." Up your exercise Older people who exercise regularly tend to fall asleep faster and have better quality sleep. "Look for exercises that can help you to maintain flexibility and strength, like yoga or tai chi," recommends Dr Ramlakhan. "But avoid vigorous exercise too close to bedtime, as it may have a stimulating effect and interfere with falling asleep." Limit naps While it is tempting to squeeze in an end-of-the day snooze Dr Ramlakhan recommends limiting daytime naps to 20-30 minutes, and ideally taking them in the early afternoon. "While naps can be rejuvenating, too much sleeping during the day can interfere with your sleep at night," she explains. Switch up your bed An adjustable bed that can lift you into a semi-contoured position for sleeping can have huge benefits, especially if you suffer from conditions like poor circulation, back problems (including sciatica), or arthritis. "That's because sleeping in an elevated position can help keep your blood flowing and reduce swelling, which in turn helps to ease joint pain," Dr Ramlakhan explains. Dont skip breakfast Eat within the first 30 minutes of waking up. "This helps to stabilise blood sugar levels and enhance your ability to produce melatonin needed for sleep later," Dr Ramlakhan adds. Not skipping breakfast is another way to sleep better. (Getty Images) (Fly View Productions via Getty Images) Go to bed early Aim to be in bed between 9.30pm and 10pm at least three nights a week. "Even if you are just resting at first," Dr Ramlakhan adds. Set healthy boundaries on tech It might seem an easy way to distract from the unwanted thoughts about not sleeping, however, the light from the phone or tablet will fool your body clock into thinking it is daytime. "Not only will this alert you, but your body clock might also start to assume the new day is starting and actually wake you up," Dr Lederle explains. "Using your phone can also bring about more thoughts, because now you think about what you read." Read more about health and ageing: Zhenhao Zou was convicted of raping 10 women in London and China. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA Media Police fear the PhD student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women could be one of the worst sexual offenders in British history after recovering videos of him attacking a further 50 victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted on Wednesday of raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2024. He filmed most of his rapes, and the videos provided key evidence leading to him being convicted and facing years in jail. Most of his victims, who in the videos are unconscious or stupefied because of the drugs he gave them, are as yet unidentified. He ignored their pleas to stop his attacks as they lost consciousness after being drugged, videos played in court showed. Some victims may not even know they were attacked because of the effect of the drugs Zou slipped them. Some jurors were left in tears as they watched videos of his attacks. The Guardian understands that 32 of the videos Zou made of rapes were carried out in Britain. Detectives who investigated him believe he may have had about 100 victims in Britain and China. One new potential victim came forward in the last week, with more expected as news of his convictions and method of offending spreads. In all police recovered 58 videos of rapes filmed by Zou, his victims being young women of Chinese heritage. Detectives are still examining mountains of evidence, including millions of social media messages in Mandarin. Zou told the jury at Inner London crown court he was a user of extreme pornography who was aroused most by watching videos of sex with unconscious women, as well as by rape role play. He is the subject of what is believed to be the biggest rape investigation in Britain. The Metropolitan police have appealed for anyone who fears they may have been a victim of the seemingly charming well-off student to contact them. Zou, who was studying engineering at University College London, bragged in court of having five new sexual partners every month. The Met commander Kevin Southworth said Zou was predatory and cowardly and one of the worst offenders police had investigated in recent times. The effect of the date-rape drugs he used could mean victims may not know Zou attacked them. Southworth said: This man may well turn out to be one of the most prolific sexual offenders we have ever seen in this country. Some women may not know they were victims. Zou, a Chinese national, was convicted of 28 counts, including 11 rapes on 10 women and one count of false imprisonment. He was also found guilty of 10 counts of possessing extreme pornography, three of voyeurism and three of committing an offence, namely of possessing butanediol, to commit rape. Once in the human body it is metabolised into the date rape drug GHB. Victims gave harrowing accounts of their ordeal. The prosecutor, Catherine Farrelly KC, said Zou appeared respectable and a gentleman, but the reality was different. He was a wolf in sheeps clothing and every womans nightmare, she said. He was a man who was sexually excited by having sex with a sleeping woman and sexually excited by the idea of rape. He is a serial rapist, he is a predator. He would use drink or drugs to incapacitate women. During one video, a woman said: I really dont want I beg you, dont do this and Zou replied: Dont push me, its pointless The sound insulation here is very good. His tactic was to invite women to his home in Woburn Place, central London, or a flat in south London, for drinks or to study. One victim went to Zous home for drinks, which were drugged, and later felt tired. Zou had sex with her. She told police: I cant fight back, I have no strength, and was raped while unconscious, the court heard. Video of the incident shot by a camera on a bedside table confirmed her account. The womans speech was slurred, and she complained of feeling unwell and wanting to go home, later telling Zou not to restrain her. She screamed and tried to get up from the bed on several occasions, but Zou pushed her back down. The first woman went to the Met on 18 November 2023. Zou was not arrested, and two days later flew to China. He was arrested on his return to the UK in January 2024. Police found designer clothing at Zous London home, some of which still had tags on, and a box believed to contain souvenirs of his victims. Zou gave evidence during the trial across five days, changing his evidence as he went along. In a police interview, he claimed he had one date-rape drug for use as a moisturiser, but then changed his story before the jury to claim he had used it to get high when he went out clubbing. The jury was told that searches of Zous London home had found a cache of drugs. He was acquitted of seven counts, including of possessing MDMA, ketamine and alprazolam so he could commit rape, and two counts of possessing an extreme pornographic image. Zou said he was in the habit of filming himself having sex. He first came to Britain to study in 2017 at Queens University Belfast. He began his studies at UCL two years later. The judge, Rosina Cottage KC, warned Zou she was considering a life sentence and told his barrister: I find your client is a dangerous and predatory sexual offender. He need be in no doubt that the sentence will be very long. He will be sentenced on 19 June. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Zou can contact police on this portal. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said the 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' will put 'local people in the driving seat' of regeneration. (Getty Images) (Ian Forsyth via Getty Images) Ministers have promised "local people" will be given control of a 1.5bn fund for deprived areas that is earmarked to be spread across 75 different areas of the UK. Up to 20m is on offer to every town selected for the scheme, dubbed the Plan for Neighbourhoods, with the selected areas mainly in northern England, but also in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Ministers have also hinted the scheme could be expanded in the future. The money is expected to be spent on projects such as youth clubs and cultural venues, as well as health and education services. According to the government, the plan has targeted 'left behind' places in need of investment for their high streets and public services. Here, Yahoo News UK outlines where and how the cash could be spent. Where will the Plan for Neighbourhoods funding be spent? Ministers have selected 75 communities across the UK to receive up to 20m each. Of these, 29 more than a third are in northern England. A further 16 are in the Midlands, 10 are in Scotland, five are in Wales and two are in Northern Ireland. The remainder are in southern and eastern parts of England. How will the scheme work? Selected areas will be handed up to 20m each under the Plan for Neighbourhoods. This money will then be administered by a local board comprised of residents, businesses and campaigners, who will decide how the money is used. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, options could include repairs to pavements or neighbourhood watch schemes. Money will be made available from April 2025, with projects expected to be able to get up and running in 2026. What has the government said? Deputy PM and local government minister Rayner said: For years, too many neighbourhoods have been starved of investment, despite their potential to thrive and grow. "Communities across the UK have so much to offer rich cultural capital, unique heritage but most of all, an understanding of their own neighbourhood. We will do things differently, our fully-funded Plan for Neighbourhoods puts local people in the driving seat of their potential, having control of where the Whitehall cash goes what issues they want to tackle, where they want to regenerate and what growth they want turbocharge. Alex Norris, the local growth minister, added: When our local neighbourhoods thrive, the rest of the country thrives too. Thats why we are empowering communities to take control of their futures and create the regeneration and growth they want to see. Norris has also hinted a successful roll out of the scheme could see it expanded into other areas. Hartlepool, where Labour suffered an embarrassing 2021 by-election defeat to the Conservatives, is in line for cash under the scheme. (ChrisSteer via Getty Images) Has there been any opposition to the plans? The scheme follows long-term plans developed by the previous Conservative government under Rishi Sunak, which pledged funding for the same areas across Britain and Northern Ireland. But following the latest announcement, the Tories now claim the cash will be used to fund wasteful pet projects. Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: Local areas are feeling increased pressure due to immigration, increased council tax and Labour changing the local government finance settlement to benefit urban areas over rural areas. Labour erased the phrase levelling up from government and instead of delivering for local communities are now spending taxpayer cash on wasteful pet projects this country cant afford. 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' or neighbourhood plan? The 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' should not be confused with the existing 'neighbourhood plan' policy. Originally introduced in 2010, these are planning documents drawn up by communities and then put forward for approval in referendums to try and influence development. Migrants wade into the water off Gravelines, near Dunkirk, to reach a people-smugglers boat - Sameer al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images Wintry sleet pelts down outside the bus on which Aland and Shino, a couple from Iraq, are travelling in the north of France. Theyre praying the weather will improve so that they can attempt, for a fourth time, to cross the Channel to the UK. Im with them on the bus, which is bumping along the 25 miles between Calais and Dunkirk, stopping in small towns along the way. As we travel, they tell me about their plan. The idea, directed by people-smugglers to whom they have paid 10,000 (8,280), is to sneak onto a specific lorry parked in Dunkirk that will drive to Calais and then onto a ferry bound for Dover. One time, when the driver discovered us, he said to me: Sorry, you didnt have luck this time, youll have to try again, says 33-year-old Shino. Amid increased patrols by British and French authorities seeking to halt small boat Channel crossings, some migrants like Aland and Shino believe the lorry-to-ferry option will be safer, even though it can be a long journey. Lines of migrants on the beach at Gravelines head out to join a smugglers boat. Many people make dozens of Channel crossing attempts - Sameer al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images As we sit on the bus, Shino points out a depot where they once spent 17 hours on board a truck before giving up. A smuggler had told them to get on the lorry on a Friday and hide for three days until it drove to Calais on Monday. But they could not stand being cooped up inside for that long. For Aland, who is five months pregnant with the couples first child, it was particularly difficult. The two refugees met and married in Germany after they had both separately left Iraq. But now the couple hope to get to the UK by whatever means possible to reunite with the rest of Alands family before she gives birth. Its simple when you say it like that they want to join their parents, sister or brother in the UK, said Feyrouz Lajili, a field coordinator in Calais for Doctors Without Borders. We advocate for safe routes for people to be able to reach their destination without having to put themselves in danger and having to die. Migrants wait for a bus in Calais after a failed Channel crossing attempt in 2022 - Sameer al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images At each bus stop, pensioners and students pile aboard, sitting down next to migrants including Iraqi Kurds such as Aland and Shino, as well as war refugees from Sudan. Its an interesting, diverse mix of people, but it strikes me that, while these two worlds co-exist, there seems to be little interaction between them. For the French who live along the coast, it has become a fact of life, with lifejackets and rubber boats littering beaches going further and further south as far down as Berck, about 80 miles from Dunkirk. Smugglers are launching boats along a much longer swathe of coastline in an attempt to evade detection. For migrants, this means taking more risks, as they have to travel longer distances across the Channel. It has led to more deaths last year was the deadliest on record for Channel crossings, with at least 80 deaths, including a four-month-old infant, according to the UNs migration agency. There are also migrants who cannot afford to pay the smugglers. Often coming from Sudan, these refugees are penniless, fleeing the horrors of war and the worst famine the country has seen in 40 years. They may try to stow away by leaping on to lorries when drivers are parking or slowing down at roundabouts, aiming to land between the drivers cabin and the cargo bed. This is an option so dangerous that two people are believed to have died doing so in the last month. In his three months in France, Aziz, 16, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy and who comes from Darfur, has tried twice to stow away on a boat and tried 30 times to jump on to a truck. In between all this, he sometimes stops at a youth centre in Calais run by Doctors Without Borders, where he hangs out with other Sudanese boys. For him, its a brief moment of relative normality in what is otherwise a dangerous and difficult life. For Aziz, Aland and Shino, their daily routine means shuffling between migrant camps and the occasional aid shelter where they might be able to have a warm meal, then trying yet again to get across the Channel. Sometimes it includes a stint in custody, as it did for Aland and Shino when they were again discovered in a lorry and shooed away by French police. Still, nothing seems to dim their resolve to find what they hope will be a safe haven in the UK. Even if it cost 20,000 euros for each of us, I would pay, says Shino. A Government minister has faced questions over his attendance at Ronnie Scotts jazz club after MPs were told he was in the Middle East pushing for a peace deal. Green Party MP Ellie Chowns was informed Middle East minister Hamish Falconer did not reply to her urgent question on Gaza in the House of Commons as he was in the region pushing for a peace deal. But the MP for North Herefordshire has since questioned why Mr Falconer also attended a Labour Party networking lunch at the Soho venue on the same day. 3-The MP for Lincoln and Minister for the Middle East and North Africa @HFalconerMP joined the SME4Labour annual lunch, contributing to valuable discussions and fostering connections in support of SMEs. A great event for collaboration and growth! #SME4Labour #MENA pic.twitter.com/7ruJHc9VW2 SME4Labour (@SME4LABOUR) March 4, 2025 The SME4Labour annual lunch took place on Tuesday and the groups X account published photographs at 3.19pm of Mr Falconer on stage addressing attendees. Ms Chowns urgent question took place in the House of Commons from 12.39pm on Tuesday, with Foreign Office minister Catherine West replying for the Government. On Monday, Turkeys Ministry of Foreign Affairs published photos of Mr Falconer in the country for talks and the UK minister issued a social media post on Wednesday about his trip to Ankara. Speaking on Wednesday, Ms Chowns raised a point of order on the issue. She told the Commons: Yesterday during my urgent question on Gaza, the minister responding (Ms West) said that the minister responsible (Mr Falconer) could not answer the question himself because he was in the region pushing for a peace deal. However, Ive since received a communication from the press with evidence suggesting that he was at a Labour Party networking lunch at Ronnie Scotts at the time. As you know: given I wasnt out the airport until after 12 following talks in Turkey, it wasnt possible to get to the HoC to answer at 1230. I spoke briefly at an event only after the UQ had finished and on my way back to the FCDO to meet those affected by the conflict. Hamish Falconer MP (@HFalconerMP) March 5, 2025 Could you advise, madam Deputy Speaker, on whether the record should be corrected if it is shown not to be correct? Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins, in her reply, said: The chair is not responsible for the content of ministerial answers but she has put her point on the record and there is a procedure for ministers to correct the record if they wish to do so. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: Due to ministerial travel, minister West covered parliamentary business for Foreign Office issues relating to the Middle East on Tuesday. Minister Falconer landed from Ankara at 11.45am and would not have been able to attend the urgent question at 12.30am. Mr Falconer, writing on X in reply to criticism from shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, said: As you know: given I wasnt out the airport until after 12 following talks in Turkey, it wasnt possible to get to the HoC (House of Commons) to answer at 1230. I spoke briefly at an event only after the UQ had finished and on my way back to the FCDO to meet those affected by the conflict. Nandy says BBC review of Gaza documentary must look at finance and translation Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has called on the BBC to act on the failings in the broadcast of a Gaza documentary so a serious error of this magnitude is not repeated as she pushed for a review to include translation and finance issues. Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was removed from BBC iPlayer after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamass deputy minister of agriculture. The broadcaster apologised for the making of the programme, about children living in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, after conducting an initial review and it has launched a further internal probe. The BBC said it is seeking additional assurance from production company Hoyo Films after it admitted they paid the boys mother, via his sisters bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Other accusations have been made that parts of the documentary were mis-translated, and more children who appeared in it were linked to proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas. In a written statement to MPs, Ms Nandy said she has been deeply shocked and disappointed, after the BBC and its board recognised a number of serious failings in their commissioning and editorial processes. She added this damages vital trust in an organisation which must retain the confidence of the public, and said she spoke to the BBC chairman Samir Shah, and told him of her concerns on Friday. While I appreciate that the BBC apologised for its failings, and the BBC board acknowledged that the mistakes were significant and damaging, it is vital that the BBC now takes action so that trust is restored and a serious error of this magnitude is not repeated, she said. Reflecting the concerns of (the) House (of Commons) I sought assurances from the chair that the fact-finding review the BBC has commissioned will be swift and rigorous. I emphasised that it must include a robust financial audit and address concerns raised (by MPs) on translation. I made clear that the chair and his board must lead and hold the BBC robustly to account for resolving the issues already exposed, and implementing the reviews recommendations. She also said the BBC has provided me with further information on their approach to enhanced compliance procedures but I have not yet received the full range of assurances and have requested further details and assurances and expect to be provided these by the BBC leadership urgently. The duty to report on what is happening to people in Gaza is absolutely fundamental, Ms Nandy also said. That is why the Government believes that the BBC and others have a responsibility to exercise utmost care and due diligence in the way in which they report on this conflict. It is in no ones interest for the public not to have confidence in the information that they are receiving. BBC director-general Tim Davie told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee he was very sorry to the audience, because we dont want to be in a position where we have flaws in the programme-making. He added to MPs on Tuesday that he has overall been proud of the way were covering some of these polarised, fiendishly difficult events. Mr Davie also said that there had been around 500 complaints about the film being biased against Israel, and around 1,800 complaints wanted the film put back on iPlayer, and he is not ruling anything out on it returning to the BBCs online streaming platform. In a letter to the BBC on Monday, Ofcom chairman Lord Grade said the regulator could step in if an internal inquiry into the making of the documentary is not satisfactory. Presenters Gary Lineker and Anita Rani, and actors Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margolyes are among more the 500 media figures who had condemned the withdrawal from iPlayer. Former BBC One controller Danny Cohen, who was among those wanting the BBC to pull the programme, has called for a full independent inquiry. A BBC spokeswoman said: We take these issues incredibly seriously which is why we have commissioned (director of editorial complaints and reviews) Peter Johnston to lead a full fact-finding review. That work has commenced. It is vital that this work moves quickly, but it must also be thorough and get to the answers we are seeking. Rishi Sunak appears to be more savvy about Net Zero now that he is no longer the prime minister. (Pictured at the Cop26 summit in 2021) - Stefan Rousseau/PA Can we make Rishi Sunak prime minister again? I ask this not because he was any good at it, obviously. But because, now that hes no longer in the job, hes finally figured out how to do it. Or so we must conclude from his big interview on Radio 4 this morning, in which he argued that Britain should abandon its legal commitment to deliver Net Zero. This is, of course, something that he himself could have done during the 20 months in which he was running the country. Only now, however, has he realised that we simply cant afford it. Well, at least hes got there in the end. Because the truth is: Net Zero was never a good idea. But now its a dangerous one. Even before the Government started frantically rummaging down the back of the Treasury sofa to find some extra pennies for defence, it looked far beyond our means. In fact, we were never even certain how huge the bill could grow. Back in 2019, Philip Hammond the chancellor at the time predicted that by 2050, pursuing Net Zero would cost Britain more than a trillion yes, trillion pounds. Downing Street rejected his claim. But even today, no one truly knows what the cost will climb to. All we do know is that, with our economy continuing to flatline, and our energy bills continuing to soar, this reckless commitment made law by Theresa May in the delusional dying days of her own premiership could ruin us. And what will we gain, in return for our noble economic self-sacrifice? Not much. Even if we magically achieved Net Zero by three oclock tomorrow afternoon, this triumph would have a negligible impact on global temperatures for the obvious reason that were a very small country, responsible for less than 1 per cent of the planets annual greenhouse gas emissions. So, unless China, the US, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Iran and all the many other countries with far greater emissions magically achieve Net Zero too, well have impoverished ourselves for nothing. Climate change will still have made British beaches as balmy as the Caribbeans. And yet, none of us will even be able to afford an ice cream. Funny, isnt it. Labour ministers spent their first months in office loudly complaining that the Tories had left them a 22 billion black hole. Yet they seem hell-bent on making that black hole even bigger. First with their 18 billion handout to Mauritius as part of their bonkers Chagos Islands deal. And then with Ed Milibands exciting plans to destroy our remaining industries, deface our countryside and freeze our living rooms. Still, there is a tiny sliver of hope. Rumour has it that Miliband may be for the chop in a spring reshuffle, with the Government allegedly plotting to dial back on some of his more extortionate schemes. At least by a little, anyway. So maybe, if were lucky, Net Zero will end up costing us only half a trillion pounds, instead. The vast majority of overseas visitors to the United Kingdom must now obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance. The Home Office says it is creating a more streamlined, digital immigration system which will be quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through the UK border each year". The government says: Everyone wishing to travel to the UK except British and Irish citizens will need permission to travel in advance of coming here. This can be either through an Electronic Travel Authorisation or an eVisa. Most leisure and business travellers to the UK do not need a visa. But starting from 2 April 2025, almost all these overseas visitors, are now required to have an ETA. (Non-Europeans already needed the permit, but a large majority of visitors to the UK are from the EU.) The exceptions are Irish citizens, and people who have permission to live, work or study in the UK (including settled or pre-settled status or right of abode). Ministers say rolling out the scheme worldwide will prevent abuse of our immigration system. But under pressure from London Heathrow airport, they have dropped the bizarre requirement for passengers merely in airside transit for a couple of hours to obtain an ETA. These are the key questions and answers. What is the ETA? The United Kingdom, in common with many other countries, is demanding more information in advance from prospective visitors before they board planes, ships or trains to Britain or drive across the border from Ireland to Northern Ireland. The starting point of the journey to the UK is not relevant it is the travellers nationality that counts. At present a relatively small number of arrivals do not qualify for visa-free status. They must go through the complex and expensive business of applying for an eVisa. Until the Electronic Travel Authorisation was launched, everyone else just turned up. But now they almost every foreign visitor must obtain the ETA, with the exception of Irish citizens. As with the US Esta scheme, and similar systems used by Canada and Australia, applications must be made online in one of two ways: Via the app: search for UK eta on the Apple app store or Google Play. Through the official website. Applicants must supply a photograph and answer a set of questions on suitability and criminality. The government says: This will ensure we have information on those seeking to come to the UK helping to prevent dangerous individuals, such as criminals, entering the UK. The ETA is linked to the travellers passport. The cost is 16 payable by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The permit is valid for repeated stays of up to six months at a time within two years or until the passport expires, whichever is sooner. How long does an ETA take to issue? The Home Office says: You will usually get a decision within three working days. Most people get a much quicker decision. Occasionally, it may take longer than three working days. In practice, as with Australian and Canadian permits, most decisions will be made and the permit issued within minutes. Helpfully, you need not have been issued with the pass as you start a journey to the UK. The Home Office says: You must apply for an ETA before you travel to the UK. You can travel to the UK while waiting for a decision. This loophole could be extremely helpful to passengers who do not realise they need an ETA when they turn up at an airport, seaport or international rail terminal to travel to the UK. They can make an application on the spot and meet the condition for continuing their journey. What if the answer is no? That all depends why the answer is no. If a persons ETA application is rejected because of an error they made, they will be told the reason and can apply again. If a persons ETA application is refused because they are regarded as unsuitable, they cannot appeal. The Home Office says: You may want to apply for a standard visitor visa instead if you have a criminal record or you were previously refused entry into the UK. Who checks the traveller has the ETA? For the majority of travellers, airlines and ferry companies are expected to verify the ETA status before the passenger boards a flight or ship to the UK. They are penalised if they fail to check. The government says: Where an inadequately documented arrival (IDA) is brought to the UK, the carrier may be liable for a fine of up to 2,000. Ferries from France to Dover, Eurostar trains to London, and Eurotunnel shuttles to Folkestone have juxtaposed controls and UK Border Force staff will check the permit while the traveller is in Continental Europe. The glaring gap in the UK Border is Northern Ireland. A tourist to the Republic of Ireland who inadvertently or deliberately strays into Northern Ireland is legally obliged to have an ETA, but there is no indication how their status will be checked. Does the ETA guarantee entry to the UK? No. The Home Office says: An ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK. You still need to either: see a Border Force officer. use an ePassport gate. All clear? UK eGate (Simon Calder) How does the cost compare with other countries? The 16 fee is mid-range, and the same as a US Esta. In ascending order of cost: Australia issues free eVisitor permits. Canadas eta costs C$7 (4) and is valid for up to five years. Europes much-delayed Etias scheme is set to cost 7 (6) for up to three years. The US Esta costs $21 (16) for up to two years New Zealands NZeTA is NZ$17 (8) for up to two years. But it requires a further payment of NZ$100 (44) as the International Visitor Levy, and is NZ$6 more if you apply on the website rather than the app. Commercial sites that pay search engines to appear ahead of the official site have already appeared. They include one called eta-uk.site, which appears to be based in Florida, and charges up to $99.99 (78) on top of the fee. Do transit passengers need an ETA? Not if they are remaining airside, ie not going through the UK Border and remaining in the transit area at London Heathrow or Manchester airport. But anyone going through passport control for example, landing at Gatwick and later flying out from Luton will need one. Whats different about Irish citizens? Besides being well behaved, polite and good looking, they are are allowed free movement to the UK under the long-standing Common Travel Agreement. President Donald Trump has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, intensifying pressure on Kyiv to engage in peace negotiations with Russia. This decision follows a contentious meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, during which Trump accused Zelensky of "gambling with world war three," leading to an abrupt end to the talks. The suspension includes halting the delivery of military equipment currently stationed in Poland, as the U.S. administration seeks assurances of Ukraine's commitment to peace efforts. European leaders have expressed alarm over this development, emphasizing the need for continued support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. In response to the aid freeze, European allies have rallied behind Zelensky, underscoring their steadfast support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have both emphasized the importance of maintaining assistance to Kyiv to counter Russian advances. The suspension of aid has raised concerns about Ukraine's defense capabilities and the potential prolongation of the conflict. The U.S. administration has indicated that the pause is temporary and subject to review, contingent upon Ukraine's demonstrated commitment to pursuing peace negotiations with Russia. This policy shift has also sparked debates within the U.S., with some officials advocating for a reevaluation of foreign aid strategies. The administration is considering reallocating resources to strengthen alliances in other regions, such as Latin America, reflecting a potential pivot in U.S. foreign policy priorities. As the situation develops, the international community remains watchful of the implications of the U.S. aid suspension on the broader geopolitical landscape and the ongoing efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. James Scott Rhys Anderson has been ordered to serve 15 years of his sentence in a high-security penal colony. Photograph: Telegram A British citizen captured while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army has been sentenced in Russia to 19 years in prison on charges of terrorism and mercenary activities. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was captured by Russian forces last November while fighting on Ukraines side during its cross-border offensive in Russias Kursk region. Russian investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing the border into Russia while armed and carrying out criminal acts against civilians, causing significant harm to property and destabilising the activities of the authorities. The trial took place behind closed doors at a military court in Kursk. Anderson will serve 15 years of his sentence in a high-security penal colony. The courts press service said Anderson pleaded guilty, and it published a photograph of Anderson in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind in which defendants in Russian court cases are placed. Britains Foreign Office condemned the sentencing on false charges late on Wednesday, and called for Anderson to be treated as a prisoner of war. Under international law, Prisoners of War cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities, it said in a statement. We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using Prisoners of War for political and propaganda purposes. In November the foreign secretary, David Lammy, said the government would provide Anderson with all the support that we can. While British nationals have previously been captured in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Anderson is the first known foreign fighter to be captured and sentenced on Russian territory. Russia traditionally treats foreigners fighting with the Ukrainian army as mercenaries and says they are not subject to standard protections offered to prisoners of war protections that Russia regularly violates in any case. In a video interrogation released on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels after his capture last year, Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years before joining Ukraines International Legion to fight against Russia. Andersons family later confirmed he was formerly a soldier in the British armys Royal Signals Corps. Since Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a call in February 2022 for foreigners to join the fight against Russia, thousands of people from around the world have travelled to Ukraine. Many have joined units such as the International Legion, known as the most selective of the foreign groups and operating as part of a military unit within the Ukrainian ground forces. Andersons father previously told British media that he feared his son would be tortured in captivity and that he had begged him not to go to Ukraine. He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right, Anderson told the Daily Mail. Im hoping hell be used as a bargaining chip, he added. One person who spent time with Anderson in Ukraine described him to the Guardian as a very giggly, positive, funny and energetic person who loves to hang out with his boys He is observant and is a really fun and comfortable person to be around. In the summer of 2022, two Britons captured while fighting in Mariupol as members of Ukraines marines were sentenced to death after a show trial in a court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. The men were later released as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was brokered by Saudi Arabia. Russia has previously sentenced a 72-year-old American to nearly seven years in prison on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's home was targeted by raiders. (Getty Images) (George Wood via Getty Images) A "professional group of travelling burglars" raided the home of Premier League star Alexander Isak for cash, clothes and jewellery before stealing his car, a court has been told. Newcastle United striker Isak, 25, only realised his house in the suburb of Darras Hall, Ponteland, Northumberland, had been raided when he returned after 10pm on 4 April and realised his bins had been moved. Newcastle Crown Court heard today (5 March) the gang had broken into the Sweden international's TV room and conducted an "untidy search". Cash between 5,000 and 10,000 was taken, along with jewellery worth about 68,000, jurors were told. The player's Audi car, which a member of the public later found abandoned, was also stolen along with a safe left by the homes previous occupant, although it is not believed to have contained anything valuable. Dan Cordey, prosecuting, claimed the thieves had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than 1million from a Tyneside businesswoman and designer goods worth 100,000 from a woman living on Wearside in the previous days. Newcastle Crown Court has heard other homes in the North East were targeted by the same gang. (PA) (Owen Humphreys, PA Images) He added: This was a professional group of travelling burglars. It contained one female and three men all related. Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty. Mr Cordey said the fourth man was the defendant Valentino Nikolov, of Tew Park Road, Birmingham, who is representing himself at the trial and requires an Italian interpreter. Jurors have already been told his brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, his sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who all reside in Italy, have admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolovs former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, denies handling stolen goods. According to prosecutors, the gang arrived in Dover via ferry in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome in March 2024 and headed to the North East a few days later. The MHRA has advised consumers to return paracetamol tablets to Boots after a packaging error led to them being mislabelled as aspirin. (PA) Boots customers who have bought certain paracetamol tablets have been urged to return them over a packaging error. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a recall alert after foil blisters inside the carton were found to be labelled with aspirin and not paracetamol. Officials from the regulator said people should return the packs, even if they are aware of the error, because it could lead to confusion and an incorrect dose being taken. The MHRA advised customers to check the batch number on their packets to determine if they are affected. What we know People who have purchased Boots Paracetamol 500mg Tablets 16s with the batch number 241005 which can be found on the bottom of the box and expiry date 12/2029 have been urged to stop using the product immediately. The recall alert was issued due to a packaging error where the foil blister inside the carton incorrectly states Aspirin 300mg Dispersible Tablets instead of Paracetamol 500mg Tablets. Customers have been urged to take the tablets back to Boots for a full refund. (PA) (martin berry) Manufacturers have confirmed the tablets in the pack are paracetamol 500mg. The recall affects 119,964 packs. Anyone with the affected packaging can return the item to Boots, with or without a receipt, and get a full refund. Dr Stephanie Millican, the MHRAs deputy director of benefit risk evaluation, said: Patient safety is always our priority... If you are unsure which pack you have purchased, or have taken Boots Paracetamol 500mg Tablets and experienced any side-effects, seek advice from a healthcare professional. Anyone with suspected adverse reactions should report these via the MHRAs Yellow Card scheme and seek medical advice. What we don't know We do not know how long the tablets have been on sale. It isnt known how the error happened but there is nothing to suggest that any other medicines have been affected. What is the difference between paracetamol and aspirin? Paracetamol is generally used for reducing mild to moderate pain such as headaches, muscle aches and colds. It is generally more gentle on the stomach and doctors often recommend it for children or individuals with sensitive stomachs. Paracetamol may also be better than aspirin for headaches, toothache, sprains and stomach aches. Aspirin is similar to ibuprofen in that it acts as an anti-inflammatory painkiller, reducing swelling and high temperatures. Aspirin is anti-inflammatory and is used for conditions like period pain and arthritis. (PA) (Ed Rooney) The NHS states that aspirin may be better than paracetamol for treating conditions like period pain, migraines or arthritis. Aspirin is also often prescribed in low doses to thin the blood and reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes. However, it has more of a tendency to irritate the stomach lining and the NHS does not recommend it for those with high blood pressure, pregnant women or people with stomach ulcers. Aspirin unlike paracetamol should also not be given to anyone under 16, unless prescribed by a doctor. Kyle Clifford is seen buying cans of petrol days before he murdered three people. (PA) The rape trial of Kyle Clifford has been shown CCTV footage of the triple killer buying rope and petrol just days before he murdered three people. Clifford previously admitted three counts of murder of his former partner Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt and their mother Carol Hunt. He also admitted one count of false imprisonment against Louise Hunt and two counts of possession of offensive weapons the crossbow and the knife. CCTV issued by Hertfordshire Police of Kyle Clifford purchasing rope, which was shown in his court case. (PA) (Hertfordshire Police/PA Wire) Footage seen at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday showed Clifford petrol cans and rope in the days leading up to the murders. Clifford is being tried in his absence for raping Louise Hunt on the same day that he murdered her. For more than 50 years, the Gateshead flyover a hulking concrete relic of 1960s ambition has stood as both a vital artery and a divisive landmark in the heart of the Tyneside town, bearing the weight of 40,000 Geordies commuting to and from work every day. Its quite ugly, admits Kevin Wallwork, 64, who recalls watching it being built as a schoolboy. But its useful. The security guard has used the flyover every weekday for the past seven years to commute to his job on the north end of the Tyne Tunnel. Last December, however, his routine as well as those of thousands of fellow drivers suddenly stopped. A major inspection, carried out every 20 years, found the crumbling flyover was in danger of collapsing. It was shut down immediately. Traffic chaos ensued, with diversions causing huge tailbacks from the Tyne Bridge, itself already down to a single lane each way due to roadworks. Not helping was the partial closure of the Tyne and Wear Metro, which was also deemed a risk as it ran underneath the flyover. The closure of the flyover led to traffic chaos, with diversions causing huge tailbacks from the Tyne Bridge - Asadour Guzelian To get to his 7pm shift in time, a journey that once took only 20 minutes or so by car now sees Wallwork having to leave home at 4.30pm. Gateshead council is to blame, he claims, standing outside a greying block of flats. Theyve not been keeping up with repairs. Kevin Wallworks journey to work used to take 20 minutes; now, it takes him two and a half hours - Asadour Guzelian Indeed, while the closure was sudden, it shouldnt have been surprising. The Labour-run council has known for 13 years the flyover was starting to crumble, and its now eight years since it first admitted it may have to be replaced. So how did a routine survey so suddenly turn the heaving dual carriageway into a redundant stretch of Tarmac? The Telegraph investigates 1971 It was never actually meant to be like this. Like so many northern towns, Gateshead in the 1960s was suffering a decline and its cityscape of Victorian buildings was seen as outdated. So it chose to do what many others did: regenerate, quickly and in concrete. Terraced streets were switched with tower blocks built on open grassy lawns, hosting council estates, offices and multi-storey car parks. Its Brutalist architecture owed much to the influence of T Dan Smith, a huge political figure in Newcastle at the time whose vision was to turn the city into a Brasilia of the North. His projects would often prioritise traffic and commercial interests, sometimes at the expense of established communities. Though he did not have direct authority outside Newcastle, his planning ethos, indirectly, shaped much of Tyneside. And so it was that Gateshead found itself in 1971 spliced in half by the great Gateshead Highway, intended as the initial phase of an extensive urban motorway that would carry on farther north, over the river and through Newcastle. Yet the rest of the road never materialised, leaving the 954m flyover an awkward and isolated structure. The flyover has been an awkward and isolated structure since the 1970s - Paul Barker/Guzelian 2008 Ask the ladies getting their hair done at the New Inspirations salon on Gateshead High Street and theyll tell you the town was once a smashing place to live. You had everything you could have wanted, says Dawn, 57, as she gets her monthly trim. Im still proud of being from Gateshead, but Im not proud of what its become. Its a dump. Youre scared to go anywhere. Theres no proper shops here anymore, and a lot of problems with drink and drugs. Its a stark assessment but one that Gateshead council has been aware of for years. In 2008, the authority unveiled its grand vision to regenerate the town by 2030. Key among the plans was replacing the concrete roads and car parks with greenery including proposals to turn the flyover into a tree-lined boulevard, the first suggestion that officials knew it was coming to the end of its life cycle. They should have just knocked it down years ago, Dawn puts it bluntly. Its been an eyesore for decades. Proposals in 2008 to turn the flyover into a tree-lined boulevard did not come to fruition - Asadour Guzelian One of the only proposals within the plans actually to come to fruition was the 150 million revamp of Trinity Square shopping area in 2013, built on the multi-storey car park made famous in Michael Caines Get Carter. Yet the town couldnt escape its reputation Trinity Square was nominated the year after for the Carbuncle Cup, an award recognising the ugliest buildings in the UK. 2011 Three years later and impending budget cuts put paid to any dreams of trees rather than cars lining the highway every day. Instead, the first real signs transpired that the dilapidated flyover was on its last legs. In 2011, site inspectors found water was getting into the reinforced steel structure holding it together and starting to rust. The expanding metal was causing the concrete to spall and break off. Its not unusual given the type of build, Dr Sean Wilkinson, a lecturer in structural engineering at Newcastle University, told The Chronicle local paper. But it will probably prove a nightmare for the council, he warned. Replacing bridges is a nightmare from a traffic management point of view it needs to be done as quickly as possible. Gateshead council implements a monitoring strategy to assess where the concrete is falling off. 2017 Six years on and the flyover is quite visibly falling apart, peeling in several places with chunks of rock missing, according to local media reports at the time. Transport chiefs remain adamant, however, that the road is still safe for drivers. We carry out regular visual inspections and remove any identified areas of concrete under controlled conditions, says Anneliese Hutchinson, the service director for development, transport and public protection at the time. Although the spalled concrete affects the visual appearance of the viaduct, its structural integrity is, at present, unaffected. For the first time, Gateshead council admits the flyover may need to be removed at some point in the future. In 2017, Gateshead council admitted that the flyover may need to be removed at some point - Asadour Guzelian 2019 A decade on from unveiling its glamorous regeneration plans and there is little sign that Gateshead council has made any progress. So what was the hold-up? Money, according to leader Martin Gannon. Council funding had hollowed out, he told reporters last month, with local authorities becoming hugely reliant on bidding wars for central government funding. In 2019, the cash-strapped council applied twice for government help. First as part of a 74 million application to help make the town more green including knocking down the flyover in a bid to comply with a government directive to slash emissions levels by 2021. The second, in October, a request for 18 million to tear it down. Neither is accepted. Gateshead High Street is now in a state of disrepair after two applications for funding in 2019 were knocked back - Asadour Guzelian 2020 The anger directed at Gateshead council after closing the bridge late last year should really have come as no surprise. Five years ago, officials unveiled a cheaper, green plan to reduce car journeys on the flyover as part of their ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2030. In July 2020, northbound traffic was shut on the upper deck. The result? Uproar. More than 10,000 locals signed a petition, organised by local pressure group Stop the Madness, claiming it would only increase congestion and pollution, not minimise it. The council responded by claiming the closure was due to the flyover being life-expired. In an open letter, the groups founder, Rob Lawson, wrote back: The first mention I can find of this from the council was in 2009, so you have had over a decade to come up with a sensible plan to close or replace it, as opposed to the current knee-jerk fudge. Within days, the measure was rescinded. 2024 The day of reckoning finally arrives. On December 13 2024, a major site inspection by engineers revealed serious concerns about the structural integrity of the flyover, with one of the supporting pillars in particular deemed a risk to safety. It is shut down to all traffic with immediate effect to keep the public safe. Enormous mechanical jacks are sent in to prop the now-empty road to stop it falling. A supporting pillar had to be strengthened after an inspection revealed concerns about the flyovers structural integrity - Asadour Guzelian It only adds to the congestion funnelling into the Tyne Bridge, itself down to one lane while undergoing a four-year restoration project. Its always been difficult at peak times, says a local mother-of-two, ferrying her kids around during half term. But since all this work has been carried out, Id say its got 50 times worse. The owner of Tonys Fish Bar reports the traffic has hit sales. Its adding 10 minutes minimum to delivery times for takeaways certainly enough time for a 10.49 large cod and chips to get cold and 25 per cent less customers are coming into the shop to collect too, he says. Now, he opens the doors only at lunchtime. The owner of Tonys Fish Bar says traffic congestion has affected his sales, and he opens now only at lunchtimes - Asadour Guzelian 2025 By the time locals returned to work after the new year, the metro was back up and running and traffic, according to council data, had eased. Engineers began work encasing the two central pillars with concrete, aiming to get them back to full strength by mid-March. But any hope the flyover might reopen is quickly scotched by Gannon, who tells reporters its demolition, once funding is received, will take around a year. Fred Dibnah could do it in a weekend, or the lads from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, he jokes. Unable to afford it itself, Gannons Labour-led council has returned cap in hand to the Labour Government. The alternative is millions being spent on making it safe to use again, and continuing to spend millions keeping it safe, which is money we dont have, he told The Telegraph this week. Meanwhile, Labours North East mayor, Kim McGuinness, elected just months prior on a manifesto promising to create the infrastructure of opportunity, has also offered to step in. Overseeing a 48 million budget, the 39-year-old announced in December that it was too urgent to wait for government funding and offered to pay. She was instantly met with a backlash from neighbouring council chiefs. Her commitment now appears to have been put on hold. So who will end up paying? We have a Labour council, a Labour mayor and a Labour government caught in a contest of who blinks first, says Ron Beadle, a Liberal Democrat councillor, who has accused the local authority of ducking a decision until crisis point. He accuses it of decades of chronic underinvestment, adding: The council has known for a long time that this was coming to the end of its natural life. Gannon remains optimistic, having held promising talks with Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, over the past two months. It offers a chance to make Gateshead great again, he says. The flyover cuts Gateshead in two and so we want to use the opportunity this current situation presents us in terms of regenerating the whole area. Yet its a promise that local residents have been hearing for the past 14 years and few have much faith that it will actually happen. I think Gannon just wants the Government to pay, says Steve Cooper, 70, who lives above an office he leases out on the high street. Gateshead council are really into knocking things down and not putting anything back up again. Over the past five years, the council has been buying up most of the properties along the street to develop, he says, but theyve yet actually to do anything with them. Half the shops are now boarded up, while two vibrant community spaces Curleys bar and the William IV pub recently closed. Steve Cooper says the council has been buying up most of the properties in the high street but not done anything with them - Asadour Guzelian Theres a deflated air across the town. A flyover that signalled opportunity some 50 years ago has brought anything but. Back at the hairdressers, owner Docvay Dumitrache says its only getting worse. A decade ago, her customers were one in, one out, but now shes lucky if she gets two or three a day sometimes she gets none. She shows me a bed tucked behind the counter she recently put in to have a nap during the long waits. Above it now also sits a plastic screen, installed to stop customers grabbing money from the till when they pay. The William IV pub in Gateshead has recently closed after seeing trade affected - Asadour Guzelian At least half a dozen have run off without paying recently, she adds, a sign of the desperation within the town. Just as I leave, another elderly lady walks in a busy day for the hairdressers, thankfully. Youve brought me luck! says Dumitrache. Keen to add her own dismay at the towns decline, the new customer tells me: It was smashing here a long time ago, it really was. But now? Im ashamed to walk down the high street. Its an embarrassment. A Ghanaian woman has won the right to remain in the UK after organising a proxy marriage in Ghana, which she did not attend, 12 days before the Brexit deadline A Ghanaian woman has won the right to remain in the UK after organising a proxy marriage in Ghana, which she did not attend, 12 days before the Brexit deadline. An immigration tribunal was told that Elizabeth Owusu claimed to have married Tamba Dumbar Matrui, an EU citizen in the UK, before the Dec 31 2020 Brexit deadline. Under immigration rules, anyone who can prove they married an EU national in Britain before it left the bloc is entitled to remain in the country. Ms Owusu told the tribunal that the marriage took place via proxy in Ghana on Dec 19 2020. Neither she nor her prospective husband were there. However, the marriage was not legally registered until May 7 2021, more than four months after the UK had left the EU. A lower tier tribunal ruled that she was therefore not entitled to remain in the UK because she did not have a registration certificate before the deadline and had not cohabited in a relationship akin to marriage before Dec 31 2020. But an upper tribunal ruled that proxy marriage was recognised in law and that its registration at the same time as the ceremony was not mandatory. Upper tribunal judges Sarah Pinder and Jessica Smeaton allowed Ms Owusus appeal against the lower tier courts decision, enabling her to remain in the UK with her new husband. The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph in which migrants or convicted foreign criminals have won the right to remain in the UK or halt their deportations, often by citing breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights. The cases include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile who was jailed for child sex offences but escaped removal from the UK as it would have been unduly harsh on his children. There are a record 34,169 outstanding immigration appeals, largely on human rights grounds, which are threatening to hamper Labours efforts to fast-track the removal of illegal migrants. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to close a loophole that enabled a Gazan family to come to the UK after applying under a refugee scheme for Ukrainians. The appeal for Ms Owusu centred on whether the marriage was valid and effective on Dec 19 2020 before the Brexit deadline 12 days later, the court was told. The judges said there was nothing in the Ghanaian marriage act to suggest that a customary or proxy marriage, where neither party attends, was not valid or effective unless and until registered. They dismissed suggestions that the delay in registering the marriage was a potential criminal offence that invalidated the proxy wedding and drew the analogy with the UKs gap between the birth and registration of a baby. They granted Ms Owusus appeal on humanitarian protection and human rights grounds. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: If this is a sham marriage concocted for immigration purposes, it should certainly not be allowed to enable this person to stay. All too often, immigration judges make decisions that defy common sense on the most tenuous of grounds. This may be another such case. It follows a similar case, revealed last month by The Telegraph, in which a Ghanaian tourist was granted the right to live in Britain after meeting her future husband on a trip to the UK, returning to divorce her then partner and organising a proxy wedding in December 2018. Because the marriage lasted three years from the date of the proxy wedding, she was entitled to claim UK residency under the terms of the Brexit deals EU settlement scheme. This was because her husband, as a German national, was eligible for settled status, enabling her to claim the same right to residency. The NHS should follow Denmark and offer chemotherapy at home, a leading MP has said. - PHYNART STUDIO/E+ The NHS should follow Denmark and offer chemotherapy at home, a leading MP has said. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Tory MP who chairs the public accounts committee, urged the health service to learn from other countries in modernising the way care is delivered. He said that a committee visit to Denmark had found cancer patients there often had better outcomes when treated at home. His comments come as the Government takes part in a public listening exercise on the future of the NHS ahead of publishing a 10 year plan, expected in May. Shifting care out of hospitals New NHS models are expected to take inspiration from other countries, including Denmark and Germany, in shifting more care out of hospitals and emphasising ill-health prevention. Clive Betts, a Labour MP, called for at-home chemotherapy to be offered on the NHS during a debate in the Commons, saying it is cheaper and it benefits the patients. Mr Betts, who is currently being treated for myeloma, said arranging sessions for chemotherapy can be difficult particularly for those travelling many, many miles for appointments at specialist hospitals. In response, Sir Geoffrey said: In the last Parliament (the committee) went to Denmark, and they do precisely what hes just saying chemotherapy in peoples homes, where they have a history of not reacting to it. Clive Betts called for chemotherapy to be offered at home for patients - DAVID WOOLFALL/LONDON PORTRAIT PHOTOQRAPHER The MP has previously described how the committees visit found a country which had completely reformed its approach to healthcare over 15 years. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has promised that a 10 year plan for the NHS will herald three big shifts in the way healthcare works from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. Delivered to the home Sir Geoffrey said the Danish system had an overall vision for patients to spend as little time in hospital as possible, telling the Commons how the country has cut bed numbers and the length of hospital stays. Today in Denmark people spend an average of 3.5 days in hospital compared to six in the UK, he said, after the visit last year, with even quite complicated procedures, such as chemotherapy delivered in the home. Denmark has also been hailed for its digital health revolution allowing many health services to be accessed online. The use of telemedicine, and an expansion in GPs, has increased early discharges from hospital and allowed the number of beds to be cut by one fifth. NHS must move quickly On Wednesday, Mr Betts urged the NHS to move much more quickly with the roll out of chemotherapy at home, saying the idea had been discussed for a long time, without significant expansion. He told the Commons: This idea has been around for two years now, its again lost in the labyrinth of NHS discussions and boards and committees. The MP for Sheffield South East said: Come on, lets do it now, its a good idea, it actually is cheaper and it benefits the patients. So why cant these ideas be got up and moving much more quickly? The NHS has rolled out a limited number of services which offer chemotherapy at home, but the service is only available for some treatments and in some parts of the UK. In such circumstances, specialist chemotherapy nurses visit people at home. Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers. A woman walks past burnt cars after a drone attack in Odesa. (Getty Images) (OLEKSANDR GIMANOVOLEKSANDR GIMANOV via Getty Images) The future of Ukraine is looking more precarious than ever, after the US administration announced it was suspending all military aid to the war-torn country. It follows a tense week in which US president Donald Trump told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that he was "gambling with World War Three" and instructed him to "come back when he is ready for peace" in an extraordinary row in the Oval Office on Friday. Trump appears to be pressuring Kyiv into a ceasefire with Russia, as the US president attempts to form closer ties with Vladimir Putin. However, Trump's actions have prompted outrage from Democrats, who said he has "kicked the door open" for more Russian aggression in Ukraine. Many fear Putin will not stop at Ukraine, with advocacy group Razom for Ukraine accusing Trump of "hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to continue marching west". Relations between the US and Ukraine have crumbled following a tense exchange in the Oval Office, and later a suspension of military aid. (Reuters) (Reuters / Reuters) While European leaders are still intent on working with Trump to secure peace, many have agreed they need to step up their defences collectively as a continent, to deter any future Russian aggression. Holding a summit in London on Sunday, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said the continent is at a "crossroads in history" and called on leaders to help put Ukraine in the strongest position possible militarily, while ramping up their own defence spending. Leaders at the Lancaster House meeting also agreed to present a common peace plan for Ukraine to Trump, with Starmer saying the UK, France and others are prepared to put "boots on the ground, and planes in the air" as part of a future peacekeeping mission. This drew scorn from US vice president JD Vance, who said giving America an "economic upside in the future of Ukraine" would be a better solution, while Russia has already accused Britain and France of trying to "further fuel the conflict" by sending troops. None of this bodes well for Ukraine's future, but how worried are you about the war escalating? Let us know in the poll below. Who do you think is to blame for this break down of peace talks? Are you worried about the conflict spreading beyond Ukraine? Have your say and your comment may be featured in our results article on Friday. Vance insists 'random country' remark was not about UK or France The US vice president has been forced to clarify that his criticism of a possible European peacekeeping force in Ukraine was not aimed at the UK or France after a backlash from British politicians and ex-soldiers. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, JD Vance appeared to downplay the potential of 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years in monitoring any ceasefire. His comments were widely perceived to be directed towards the UK and France, who have been leading European efforts to secure a peace deal between Russia and Kyiv. In an apparent reference to a deal being pushed by the US to gain access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, Vance added: If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine." JD Vance denied aiming his jibe at the UK or France. (Alamy) (Bill Clark, Associated Press) Some UK politicians and ex-personnel reacted furiously to the vice-presidents remarks, including Liberal Democrat defence spokeswoman Helen Maguire MP, a former Captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq. She accused Vance of "erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan" and called on the UK's ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, to seek an apology. Later on Tuesday, Vance claimed it was absurdly dishonest to suggest he had been referring to either France or Britain. I dont even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond, he said. Come back on Friday to read the results and analysis via the link below. Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles Pope Francis arrives to celebrate the mass for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces at St. Peter's square in the Vatican on February 9 (AFP via Getty Images) Pope Francis was resting on Wednesday after sleeping through the night with a ventilation mask as he undergoes hospital treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said. In its latest update, the Vatican said that the pope rested well overnight, waking up shortly after 8am Pope Francis remained in stable condition, with a guarded prognosis, meaning he was not out of danger. The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had two respiratory crises on Monday in a setback to his recovery. On Tuesday, he was breathing with just the help of supplemental oxygen after respiratory crises a day earlier, but resumed using a ventilation mask at night, the Vatican said. Francis' hospitalization began on February 14 and is the longest of his 12-year papacy. Francis' treatment continues as Lent, the solemn period beginning with Ash Wednesday and leading up to Easter on April 20, begins. A cardinal has been designated to take Francis's place at Vatican celebrations, with a traditional service and procession in Rome. On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality. It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics that signals the start of Christianity's most penitent season. The Pope was also supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this coming weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in "spiritual communion" with him. The theme, selected weeks ago and well before Francis got sick, was "Hope in eternal life." Francis, who is not physically active, uses a wheelchair and is overweight, had been undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to improve his lung function. The accumulation of secretions in his lungs was a sign that he doesn't have the muscle tone to cough vigorously enough to expel the fluid. Doctors often use noninvasive ventilation to stave off intubation or the use of more invasive mechanical ventilation. Francis has not been intubated during this hospitalization. It's not clear if he has provided any instructions on the limits of his care if he declines seriously or loses consciousness. Catholic teaching holds that life must be defended from conception until natural death. It insists that chronically ill patients, including those in vegetative states, must receive "ordinary" care such as hydration and nutrition, but "extraordinary" or disproportionate care can be suspended if it is no longer beneficial or is only prolonging a precarious and painful life. Michael Hall School in Forest Row, East Sussex, has been sued for unfair dismissal - Simon Dack/Alamy A teacher at a 17,000-a-year private school who was unfairly sacked after he let his pupils take off their face masks has won more than 8,000. Henry Howlett told students they could take their masks off if they felt anxious or uncomfortable during the pandemic-era performance, an employment tribunal heard. The teacher was sacked from Michael Hall School at Forest Row in December 2020. The independent Steiner school in East Sussex follows the holistic belief that young children learn with their head, heart and hands. The tribunal heard he was fired for gross misconduct over the mask incident and after taking his students on an educational school trip without seeking the appropriate consent forms from parents. He sued for unfair dismissal and the tribunal has upheld his claims after hearing of the unstable school environment, which was heavily criticised by Ofsted. Opportunistic enterprise The judge said his sacking was a dishonest, money-driven, and opportunistic enterprise which did not reflect the averred ethos of this school. Mr Howlett has been awarded 8,063.19 in compensation. The tribunal, held in South London, heard that Mr Howlett started working for the school in 2015. The institution the oldest of its kind in England follows the ethos of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian social reformer who believed in learning through play and hands-on experience. The panel heard that the school faced challenges in 2019 and had been rated inadequate by Ofsted after the appointment of principal, Paul Farr. The schools head came from a mainstream education background and his colleagues branded him as an authoritarian leader who was unsympathetic to the Steiner ethos. Educational trip The tribunal heard that in October 2020, Mr Howlett arranged an educational school trip to Battle Abbey in East Sussex, which is the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings. It was heard that at this time, the school which charges up to 5,750 a term had introduced a new system for parents to give their consent to such trips, which was regarded as being unreliable. Days before the trip, the schools health and safety manager emailed Mr Howlett to say that four students did not have up-to-date consent forms. That week, he emailed a member of the senior leadership team informing them of his intention to take the pupils to the abbey, and she told him to have a wonderful trip. Mr Howlett read this email and regarded it as a sign-off so assumed it meant that the paperwork was in place. The trip took place on Oct 15 and the health and safety adviser later realised the missing consent forms had not been secured. Mr Howlett did not have direct access to the system so there was no way for him to check this. Talent show Later that month, on Oct 21, the school hosted a school talent show, in which the attendees were asked to stay in their classes or bubbles and wear masks because of Covid. An email was sent on behalf of Mr Farr to pupils which said obviously those students who cannot wear a face covering due to physical reasons or if they cause them distress will be exempt. It was noted that schools had the discretion to require face coverings if needed. During the talent show, a lot of Mr Howletts students were not wearing masks, it was heard. He informed that (sic) a number of students felt restricted by them, and they did not need to wear them, the tribunal said. Fact finding meeting This triggered outrage amongst some of his colleagues, and he was asked to attend a fact finding meeting on the matter. It was heard that during this discussion, he dismissed the matter as being neither urgent nor safeguarding issue. He left the meeting midway through and a member of the senior leadership team warned him that this would amount to insubordination, a choice of word that the panel found to be unusual in the context of an informal chat. Mr Farr suspended Mr Howlett on Oct 22. The teacher was called to a disciplinary meeting where he was asked if he told students they didnt have to wear masks. In response, he said: Yes, but only if they felt anxious or uncomfortable about wearing it. Pattern of apathy towards safeguarding Another class attended the show without wearing masks and Mr Howlett said this may have influenced some of his pupils. Mr Howlett denied an accusation that he told the students not to wear them. The teacher was accused of displaying a pattern of apathy towards safeguarding which resulted in his dismissal for gross misconduct in December 2020. The tribunal heard evidence by one member of staff who said that Mr Howlett was a good teacher, who they did not want to lose as good Steiner teachers are hard to come by. The teacher took the school to an employment tribunal which has now upheld Mr Howletts claims of unfair dismissal. Employment Judge Denis Harley said Mr Howletts dismissal was an attempt for the struggling school to save money. Unpopular with management This dismissal represented a net saving in cash terms, at a time when the school was actively trying to save money, the judge said. The trip incident was used as a bolt-on to the mask issue to justify the dismissal of a member of staff, unpopular with management. I consider this dismissal was not simply the result of an unfair process, or an inept investigation lying beyond the band of reasonable responses, but rather was a dishonest and opportunistic enterprise, which did not reflect the averred ethos of this school. Georgia lawmakers moved forward with a proposed bill on Monday that effectively bans transgender treatment for children. The proposal, known as Senate Bill 30, is sponsored by Sen. Ben Watson and bans sex-change surgeries, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers for minors who have gender dysphoria. This is a condition where a person feels distress due to their gender not matching their sex. Transgender Treatment for Children Under the new bill, doctors and hospitals who push forward with administering those procedures to children are at risk of being stripped of their licenses. The proposal passed in the Senate by a 34-19 vote and is now set to go to the House for final approval. Additionally, Senate lawmakers were expected to move forward with Senate Bill 175 on Monday evening, which is sponsored by Sen. Randy Roberts. This particular bill bars prisons from using state funds for inmate sex-change surgeries and hormone treatments. The debates on the two proposed bills followed House lawmakers' approval of another measure, House Bill 267, last week. According to State Affairs, this proposal requires student-athletes in schools and universities across the state to play on teams based on their biological sex. Backers of SB 30 argued that the proposed ban would work to protect children and their families from sex-related surgeries and treatments that they could regret later in life. Watson, who is a primary care physician, said that minors are not allowed to do a lot of things right now, such as smoke cigarettes and get tattoos. On the other hand, critics slammed the proposed bill as an attack on the medical rights and dignity of the state's transgender community. They described the community's members as collateral damage in a political "witch hunt" that is being done to please far-right voters. Watson's bill comes two years after Republican lawmakers assured parents of transgender children that legislation passed in 2023 to ban specific procedures to assist minors in their gender transition was only a "pause," AJC reported. Legislations Restricting Transgender Care In 2023, Watson had a hand in letting minors take hormone treatment before the law that year to continue. Additionally, he pushed to remove the ban on puberty blockers from legislation. However, he seems to have changed his stance this year. Furthermore, the state Senate passed a bill last month that aims to block state employees benefitting from the state-sponsored health plan from receiving gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy. Sen. Blake Tillery, who sponsored Senate Bill 39, said it would apply to state employees and minor children. The lawmaker noted that it aims to address a loophole that allowed parents to get banned treatments for their kids using the state plan, as per the Georgia Recorder. Originally published on parentherald.com Abdullah al-Yazouri narrated the BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone - Amjad Al Fayoumi The family of a Hamas minister was paid 790 for his teenage sons role in the BBCs Gaza documentary. The money was paid into a bank account belonging to the sister of Abdullah al-Yazouri, a 13-year-old boy who narrated Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Their father, Ayman al-Yazouri, is the deputy agriculture minister in Gazas Hamas-run government. The documentary has been pulled from iPlayer after the BBC acknowledged serious flaws in its production, including its failure to disclose Abdullahs links to Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Abdullah has said that his parents did not write his lines in the film. The director of the movie had guided me to the lines that I had spoken, and no, my parents werent involved in any of the lines that I spoke as a narrator, he said. The money was paid by an independent production company Hoyo Films, which made the documentary under contract for the BBC. No payment went from the BBC directly to Abdullahs family. The existence of the payment was disclosed in a statement made by the BBC last week, in which the corporation admitted its own failing in not uncovering the boys family connection to Hamas prior to transmission. The BBC said: Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boys mother, via his sisters bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration. The identity of the woman who received payment will be investigated. The amount has never been disclosed until now. The Telegraph has learnt that the sum was in the region of 790 equivalent to about a months salary in Gaza. The BBC has demanded a full audit of expenditure in the making of the programme by Hoyo. The company has told the BBC that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift. The size of the payment to Abdullahs family has reassured senior executives inside the BBC that the money represents an insubstantial sum, in the face of demands by campaigners for counter-terrorism police to open an investigation. Abdullah is the son of Ayman al-Yazouri, who is the deputy agriculture minister in Gazas Hamas-run government - Amjad Al Fayoumi/BBC However, Abdullah said the contract was signed with the production company and his mother. Describing his involvement, he said the story is pretty simple and that the cameraman eventually reached out to me and asked if I wanted to contribute to this documentary and I accepted. I signed the contract between the production company of the documentary and my mother. There was no payment for me or my family. However, $1,000 was transferred to my sisters account which was for personal expenses nothing else. He said: I was a character first. Then I was the narrator of the documentary talking about the stories of other characters during the war. The Telegraph revealed last week that Safia al-Yazouri, who is believed to be his sibling, appeared to celebrate the Oct 7 attacks. On the day of the atrocity, she wrote on Facebook: Amen O Lord, along with an emoji of hands clasped in thanks and a green heart. As well as seeming to praise the Oct 7 attacks, Ms Al-Yazouri has appeared to support other attacks on Israel. In May 2023 she reposted, alongside a heart emoji, a message on social media praising a rocket attack on Tel Aviv that closed Israels main airport. She has also posted a picture depicting a map of Gaza alongside a bullet. The Telegraph disclosed earlier this week that Scotland Yard had been asked to begin an inquiry. The BBC has admitted that it wrote a number of times to Hoyo asking if Abdullah was connected to Hamas. In an official complaint to the police, UK Lawyers for Israel cited this as possible evidence that the BBC had enough concerns to have warranted contacting the police. Under terrorism legislation, an organisation has a duty to report to police any concerns that a terrorist offence is being committed. The BBC has insisted that it is aware of our legal obligations and complies with them. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, accused the BBC of failing to show enough urgency in its review of the documentary. She said she was yet to see anywhere near enough action and expected progress to have been made by early next week, when she plans to update the Commons. What I havent seen from the BBC yet is anywhere near enough action to grip the problems that have emerged, she said. There isnt enough urgency and Ive been absolutely clear with the BBC leadership about that. We need proper explanations about what went wrong in this case, why due diligence wasnt done on the people that were featured in the film, people who worked on the film and also on the use of language. Ive been really clear with the BBC leadership that I expect answers to those questions and I expect progress to be made by early next week when I intend to update the House of Commons again. Number of reports The Metropolitan Police said it had received a number of reports raising concerns about the Gaza documentary. It said it was currently assessing whether any police action is required. Police have stressed that no investigation has yet been launched and the scale of the payment to Abdullahs family, at under 800, makes that highly unlikely, unless the BBC audit finds other payments of concern. It has been reported that the BBC paid Hoyo 400,000 out of licence payers funds to make the documentary, which took nine months to complete. Hoyo has said it is co-operating fully with the BBCs internal investigation to understand where mistakes have been made. The film-makers added: We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors who have no say in the war should have their voices heard. Sources inside the BBC have pointed out that Israels refusal to allow Western journalists to report on the ground from inside Gaza had contributed to the confusion and difficulties that have arisen from the Gaza documentary. The connection between Abdullah and his fathers role within the Hamas government was uncovered by David Collier, an investigative journalist, within hours of the programme being broadcast. It raises serious questions over the failure of the BBCs own due diligence. Abdullah this week criticised the BBC for pulling the documentary. Abdullah has criticised the BBC for pulling the documentary, which he had hoped would give viewers an insight into life in Gaza for children - Amjad Al Fayoumi/BBC Speaking to Middle East Eye, a news website that is critical of Israel, the schoolboy said he had a message to the BBC that anything happens to me, the BBC is responsible for it. Ive been working for over nine months on this documentary for it to just get wiped and deleted it was very sad to me, he said. It was pretty disappointing and sad to see this backlash against me and my family, and this harassment. Some anonymous people, lets say, had tried to hide the true suffering of Gazas children by attacking me and my family. He said the row had caused mental pressure and led to him to fear for his safety and he did not receive an apology from the BBC after the documentary was dropped. Vladimir Putins Russia vowed to inflict maximum defeat on the ground for Ukraine as it unleashed a huge attack with 181 drones and four missiles. Former president Dmitry Medvedev also claimed Donald Trump would restart military aid to Kyiv once Ukraine signs a deal giving America access to Ukraines mineral wealth. Russia is advancing. The enemy is resisting and has not yet been defeated, said Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russias Security Council. Inflicting maximum defeat on the enemy on the ground remains our main task today. Warring parties normally seek to gain as much territory as they can before peace talks start so they are in the strongest possible position. Britain has stressed the need for the West to increase its backing for Ukraine given the prospects of a peace agreement to end Putins three-year war. But Trump has been accused of strengthening the hand of Putin by pausing military aid to Kyiv following his spectacular bust-up with Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky in the White Houses Oval Office. Trump will consider restoring aid to Ukraine if peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are taken, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday. Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to act as an honest broker to bring America, Europe and Ukraine together on peace moves but the Government has warned that a peace deal is still a long way off. On the battlefield, the Ukrainian military said Russia used 181 drones and four missiles in an overnight attack on the country. The air force shot down 115 drones and another 55 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic countermeasures, according to a military statement. It did not specify what happened to the remaining 11 drones. Putins army has been gradually seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine but while being hit with heavy losses. Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in his three-year war, with Ukraine also suffering high casualties, with thousands, if not tens of thousands of civilians killed. Doubts remain over whether Putin wants a peace deal, with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy having previously argued that there was little or no evidence that he does. Trump caught European capitals by surprise with a phone call to Putin to discuss a possible peace deal, following his return to the White House in January. But America has faced criticism for the way Trump has approached the possible peace talks, with former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace even saying there was the stench of Nazi appeasement. Trump has launched astonishing attacks on Mr Zelensky, branding him a dictator and claiming he is not popular in Ukraine despite polls suggesting otherwise. The Ukrainian president has sought to mend fences with the US president after their clash and has said he is ready to sign a deal to give America access to Ukraines mineral wealth in return for its support in the war. Mr Zelensky is also seeking a security guarantee from Trump, as a backstop to a peace-keeping force in Ukraine if the war ends led by Britain and France. But so far the US president has refused to commit to such a security pledge. Two teenage boys have been arrested after a viral video showed a seat being launched from a third-floor barrier at Westfield Stratford, narrowly missing shoppers. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were detained on suspicion of criminal damage after a heavy seat was thrown by a thug in the shopping centre. Footage of the incident, which has been viewed more than eight million times, shows a teenager, along with two other boys - including the one filming - running away and shouting as they made their way up an escalator at the east London complex. At the top of the escalator, the boy says: I cant believe I did that. The video, filmed on Snapchat and uploaded to TikTok, appeared to show a second person saying, theres no way this guys doing this, oh my God, before the chair narrowly misses a shopper below. The clip is captioned: No way bro almost killed someone. Inspector Dan Window, from the Stratford Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: Police are investigating after a heavy seat was thrown over a barrier at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford on Saturday, March 1. File: A general view outside the Westfield Stratford Shopping Centre (Getty Images) The seating was reported to have narrowly missed members of the public below; fortunately there were no injuries. The matter was reported to police on Monday, March 3 and inquiries continue. A Met spokesman said that officers from Newham, east London, had arrested two boys following an incident that saw a heavy seat thrown from the third floor at the busy shopping centre. The force added: They have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remain in custody. "This was a serious incident and we would encourage anyone who may have further information to contact the police. Westfield Stratford said the case was being handled by the Met Anyone with information can contact officers quoting the reference CAD 5623/04Mar. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Donald Trump has said he appreciated Volodymyr Zelenskyys willingness to sign a minerals deal with the United States and come to the negotiating table to bring a lasting peace in Ukraine closer. Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the US president said in a speech to Congress after last weeks disastrous meeting at the White House. Quoting from the letter, Trump said Zelenskyy told him that Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts, Trump quoted Zelenskyy as writing. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Related: Resist shirts and a little disturbance: key takeaways from Trumps speech Trump also said he had been in serious discussions with Russia and claimed he had received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? he said. Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides. The comments marked a slight softening of Trumps language on Ukraine in the wake of the Oval Office clash, after which he ordered a pause on all US military aid to Ukraine. Trump was expected to further outline his plans for Ukraine and Russia in the speech to Congress, but did not reveal any more details. In the same speech Trump said that he would take control of Greenland one way or another, adding that the US was ready to accept the people of the Danish territory, during a speech that escalated the rhetoric surrounding his territorial ambitions in the western hemisphere. He defended recent foreign policy moves including the introduction of new tariffs against Mexico and Canada that the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, had called a very dumb thing to do. Trump claimed that the US would be reclaiming the Panama canal, and weve already started doing it. The US president said the US needed Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark, for national security and even international security, adding: I think were going to get it one way or the other, were going to get it. I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland, he said during his speech, as both the vice-president, JD Vance, and the house speaker, Mike Johnson, smiled behind him. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We will keep you safe, he said. We will make you rich. On the Panama canal, he reacted positively to news that a China-headquartered company had sold two ports near the canal to American-owned BlackRock. Trump had claimed the ports could be used to exert Chinese control over the canal, and recounted that the canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. But others could use it. We didnt give it to China; we gave it to Panama, and were taking it back, he said during the speech. He also gave a backhanded compliment to his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who recently travelled to Panama during a Latin American tour that was largely focused on migration and efforts to regain control over the canal. We have Marco Rubio in charge, Trump said with relish. Good luck, Marco. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. A Chinese PhD student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China is feared to have targeted more than 50 more potential victims. Persistent sexual predator Zhenhao Zou, 27, had presented himself as a smart and charming young man, but had in fact been preying on vulnerable women, often while they were semi-unconscious, and keeping the twisted videos as souvenirs. He has been found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women before covertly filming them in a string of sex attacks, after a month-long trial at Inner London Crown Court. The camera used to film two of the rapes (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire) Judge Rosina Cottage said he was a dangerous and predatory sexual offender and warned him he faced a very long jail term when he is sentenced on 19 June. The student, who moved to Belfast in 2017 to study at Queens University before coming to London in 2019 to do a masters degree and then a PhD at UCL, denied all 35 of the charges. He has been convicted of raping three of the women between September 2019 and May 2023, while he was studying in London, while the other seven victims were assaulted in China. Only two of the victims shown in his videos have been identified by the police, while the other eight remain unidentified. But police believe more than 50 women may have fallen prey to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders ever in the UK. They found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China. He was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug, butanediol, with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. An international appeal is being launched to trace dozens more potential victims who may have fallen prey to rapist Zhenhao Zou (PA) He first came to the attention of the Met Police in May 2023, when one of the identified women claimed that he had raped her after not allowing her to leave his flat in Elephant and Castle, southeast London. She did not pursue the allegation at that point but later, in February 2024, investigators found a social media post in which the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave her account of what had happened. When contacted by detectives, the alleged victim told them that on 18 May 2023 Zou invited her to his friends flat for a drink, and then back to his apartment. Zou told jurors that his favourite pornography was of women sleeping (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire) They were drinking wine together but she began to find him odd and boring and wanted to leave, but he would not let her go, the court heard. She said she was crying on the floor, and when she tried to run away he dragged her back by her clothes, before pushing her to drink a big glass of vodka and then raping her while she was unconscious. Police found video footage of the alleged attack and graphic photographs of the alleged victim in Zous possession upon his arrest. The second victim who has been identified by police, got in contact with the first woman in response to social media posts she had made on LittleRedBook and WeChat giving her account of what had happened. She had consensual sex with Zou on one occasion in September 2021 then, the following month after a dinner with friends, she found herself alone with him in the street in Chinatown and remembers vomiting. Her next memory is Zou allegedly raping her at his flat. She told police that she had asked him to stop before she lost consciousness. It is claimed that Zou had video recordings of him raping a number of other women while they were unconscious and unable to consent. A camera used to film one alleged rape, which was shown to the jury during the trial of Zhenhao Zou (Metropolitan Police/PA) (PA Media) Footage shows two of them telling him to stop as they struggle to stay awake, it is claimed, with the student telling one of them: The sound insulation here is very good. In text message exchanges between him and the first identified victim in the days after the rape, she told him you are so disgusting and you should feel guilty for what you did. Among the disturbing videos shown in court was footage of an attack on a woman that is believed to have taken place at his student flat in Woburn Place near Russell Square in London. He was also convicted of rapes believed to have taken place in his native China, because foreign nationals living in the UK can be charged with offences committed abroad if the crime is also illegal in the country where it took place. Giving evidence, Zou told jurors that his favourite pornography involved sleeping women, and that he watched specialist timestop more than any other genres. Asked by his lawyer Mark Cotter KC why that particular genre appealed to him, Zou said: I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex. Mr Cotter then asked Zou: What about being asleep? The student replied: Yes, thats my favourite type. But I could not find that. Zou had lured women to his flat under the premise of drinks before raping them (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire) He also said that he came into contact with cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ketamine from parties and going to nightclubs in London, and that he had bought xanax after meeting a drug dealer at a party because he suffered from insomnia. Prosecutors said Zou appeared to be "a smart and charming young man", but was in fact "a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist". Jurors had to watch footage of nine of the rapes during court proceedings, appearing visibly upset and being given regular breaks as the troubling material was shown. The jury rejected Zous claims that the sexual interactions were consensual and that the women consumed the drugs and alcohol voluntarily. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. The appeal poster put out by police to trace potential victims of Zhenhao Zou. (Metropolitan Police/PA) He said he was born in Guangdong Province in China to a father who works in a state-owned enterprise and a mother who works as a teacher. His family are wealthy, and he had enough money to afford a Rolex, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, while paying thousands a month in rent, the court heard. Between March 2020 and July 2021 he returned to China due to the Covid pandemic, and said he was online for a lot of time during the pandemic, adding sometimes, a whole day. Zou said he had undertaken cosmetic operations in China including a hair transplant and operations on his eyelids, adding that he often wore make-up. After he was convicted, Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, thanked the courageous women who reported Zous heinous crimes. They have been incredibly strong and brave there is no doubt that their evidence helped us to secure today's verdict, she said. Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. Being part of the prosecution team on this case has been incredibly challenging, having to review the evidence and see what he did to women, many of whom were unconscious and rendered defenceless by the drugs he had given them. The prosecution team has worked with the police for over a year to pick apart an unprecedented amount of footage and web chats showing his meticulous planning and the horrifying execution of his crimes. Ms Pike said prosecutors had not been able to identify all of his victims, and without knowing who the women were, they had been unable to support them through a deeply distressing time. Judge Cottage KC thanked the jury, saying it was a "mammoth task" and that their "hearts must've dropped to some extent" when they heard what the case was about. She excused them from jury service for 20 years. UCLs President and Provost Dr Michael Spence said the university had been appalled by Zous crimes, that the prevalence of sexual harassment, violence and abuse in society is extremely alarming. Support is available through the university for anyone who has been affected either directly or indirectly. The owner of a paddleboarding company has admitted the manslaughter of four people who drowned in an avoidable tragedy on a river in south-west Wales in 2021. Paul ODwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, all died on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021 when their paddleboards went over a weir during extremely hazardous conditions. The four victims had been part of a stand-up paddleboarding tour, organised by former police officer Nerys Bethan Lloyd. Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, Paul ODwyer and Andrea Powell (Family handouts/PA) Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, south Wales, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, when she appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday. She was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the tour. In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said an expert had concluded the tour should not have taken place and Lloyd did not have a suitable qualification, with her planning and supervision inadequate. The CPS added there had been heavy flooding on the day, with the river running fast and severe weather warnings in place. Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division, said: This was an avoidable tragedy. Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir. The majority of participants had limited experience, and Lloyd was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions. There was no safety briefing or formal risk assessments, and the participants were not advised that they would be traversing a weir or instructed on options to get out of the water. Final decisions to continue with the event were Lloyds decision, and as a result she held complete and entire responsibility. I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice for those affected and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims at this time. Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court, where she pleaded guilty to five charges in connection with the four deaths (George Thompson/PA) Lloyd acted as the instructor alongside Mr ODwyer, who was killed in the incident. As the group approached the weir, three participants were pulled over the top and became trapped. Mr ODwyer, who initially got out of the river safely, re-entered in an attempt to rescue the others, but was immediately dragged over the weir. All four victims died from drowning. There were four survivors of the incident. Mrs Justice Dame Mary Stacey set a sentencing date of April 15. The judge said she suspected it was in everyones interest for it to be dealt with without delay, saying it had been some time since the incident occurred. Lloyd, who appeared in the dock wearing a blue shirt and dark trousers and using crutches, was released on unconditional bail until the sentencing. She left the court surrounded by friends, who attempted to shield her from view using coats as a barrier. Nerys Lloyd leaving court as people attempted to use coats to shield her from view (George Thompson/PA) Speaking outside the court, Detective Superintendent Cameron Ritchie said: On October 30 2021 Nerys Lloyd had led a paddleboarding tour on the river as the owner of Salty Dog Ltd. The catalogue of failures on her behalf led to these tragic and unnecessary deaths. He said the investigation had been challenging and complex and thanked the survivors and the families of the deceased for their support and patience. He added: Its difficult to imagine what its like from their perspective. Their loved ones went out to do an enjoyable activity on the river, expecting them to come back home to them, and they should have, but unfortunately, due to these failures, they didnt . Theyve been robbed of their family members. Hanae experienced recurrent bacterial vaginosis until both she and her partner, Marcus, were treated together. Photograph: Hanae Stephenson Like almost one in three women, Hanae has developed bacterial vaginosis (BV) a condition when the normal healthy bacteria in the vagina are replaced by an overgrowth of other mixed bacteria. When she got it for the first time in 2021, she took the standard treatment of antibiotics, only for the condition to come back weeks later. It came back time and time again, no matter how many times I got antibiotic treatment, said Hanae, who lives in Melbourne. I thought there was something wrong with me. The BV came back roughly every three months, affecting her confidence and the relationship she was in at the time, creating a barrier between us. Hanae and her current partner were part of a new study, which has found BV is sexually transmitted between partners despite not being classified as a sexually transmitted disease. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine alongside an editorial, showed there is more than double the rate of women being cured of BV if their male partner is treated at the same time. Related: As menopause wars rage, social media skirmishes erupt over new approaches to hormone therapy and Sydney is about to be a flashpoint Researchers had thought BV was an STI years ago, but a number of trials in the 80s and 90s did not find treating a man alongside his female partner was effective. Prof Catriona Bradshaw, of Monash Universitys Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, said those studies were taken as very conclusive evidence that bacterial vaginosis wasnt sexually transmitted. The key thing is that all previous trials had only tried oral antibiotics, and oral antibiotics should work quite well for BV bugs inside the urethra, but no one had tried a topical antibiotic on the skin to also get rid of the bugs on the skin of the penis. This was our hypothesis. Bradshaw together with her colleagues at Monash University and Alfred Health studied 164 monogamous heterosexual couples where the pre-menopausal woman had BV. The trial ran from April 2019 through November 2023 across two sexual health services and three family-planning services in three states. The couples were randomly assigned to two groups one where both the male and female partner were treated, and one control group where only the female partner received treatment. The researchers ensured there was equal representation in each group of women using an intrauterine device (IUD) and uncircumcised males both of which have been linked with an increased risk of BV. Related: Women are suffering unnecessarily: Australians to get subsidised endometriosis treatment Women in each group received the same treatment of oral antibiotics, while men in the partner treatment group received oral antibiotics taken twice daily for seven days, and an anti-bacterial cream over that period. Researchers then followed up with the couples regularly for 12 weeks to establish how effective their intervention was in curing BV. BV recurred in 24 of 69 women (35%) in the partner-treatment group, and in 43 of 68 women (63%) in the control group. Bradshaw said the results of the study are a big paradigm shift. Its proven sexual transmission of BV. Bradshaw acknowledges that while reinfection with BV bacteria from male partners may be responsible for recurrence in many women, there were some women who werent cured. Antibiotics might not have worked for women with a dense biofilm the biological tissue of the vaginal microbiome or with an IUD, which the bacteria coats, making it harder for antibiotics to clear, Bradshaw said. Further strategies need to be developed for these women, such as a longer course of antibiotics, she said. The editorial also noted that 14% of the men in the intervention group reported taking less than 70% of their prescribed doses of medication, an early signal that male partner buy-in could be challenging in some situations. Bradshaw said that the cure rates in women whose male partners were 100% adherent to the tablets and the cream were far higher. The authors acknowledged a limitation of the study was that the participants largely included people attending sexual health centres, which may reflect a higher-risk population. Prof Rebecca Guy from the Kirby Institutes Sexual Health Program said this was the first study to show sustained and substantial benefit for a common and debilitating vaginal infection. It also provides evidence for sexual transmission of the bacteria that causes bacterial vaginosis. Guy said the findings will inform clinical guidelines and new clinical protocols on treatment of the condition. Success will rely on strategies to ensure high treatment cooperation rates among male partners, as achieved in the trial. Sir Keir Starmer has sought to downplay fears of Britain being drawn into conflict with Russia over any deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. The Prime Minister was challenged by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch to address concerns over the possibility of British troops being attacked either directly by Russia or by proxies if they are required in the event of a peace deal. Sir Keir also said he is doing everything he can to ensure the US and Europe are working together on lasting peace for Ukraine, adding the UK must not choose between the two sides. Mrs Badenoch adopted a largely conciliatory approach at Prime Ministers Questions as the two leaders agreed on many of the issues following a turbulent week for relations between the US and Ukraine. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, London (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) The Prime Minister opened the session by paying tribute to British soldiers who have died in conflict in recent years, which came after US vice-president JD Vance was forced to clarify that his criticism of a possible European peacekeeping force in Ukraine was not aimed at the UK or France. Mr Vance had appeared to downplay the potential of 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years in monitoring any ceasefire, with his comments widely perceived to be directed towards the UK and France. Sir Keir told the Commons: Tomorrow marks 13 years since six young British soldiers were on patrol in Afghanistan when their vehicle was struck by an explosive tragically killing them all. He added: These men fought and died for their country, our country. And across the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 642 individuals died fighting for Britain alongside our allies, many more were wounded. We will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice, and I know the whole House will join (with) me in remembering them and all those who serve our country. Screen grab of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, London (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) In her opening remarks, Mrs Badenoch said: Divisions between Ukraine and the US only serve Vladimir Putin. President Zelensky is right to try and rebuild his relationship with President Trump. He is keeping a cool head under very difficult circumstances and I was glad to see President Trump receive his letter positively. What is the Prime Minister doing to help rebuild their relationship after a challenging week? Sir Keir replied: Shes absolutely right that we need to do everything we can to ensure that the US, Europe and Ukraine are working together on lasting peace, and I am doing everything I can to play my part in that, in regular contact with all of the key players at the moment, including talking to President Zelensky yesterday afternoon. Mrs Badenoch described the UKs armed forces as a huge source of pride to our country, adding: They put themselves in harms way to defend our values. As the Opposition, we support efforts to resolve this conflict but we cannot write a blank cheque. If British peacekeeping troops in Ukraine were attacked whether directly or via proxies we could be drawn into conflict with Russia. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, London (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) Can the Prime Minister reassure all those who are concerned about the UK being drawn into war? Sir Keir replied: Yes, thats the last thing anybody wants to see and the whole point of ensuring theres a lasting peace and that any deal, if there is a deal, is defended is to avoid conflict to ensure that we do have peace. The way to ensure we have peace is to ensure there are guarantees for any deal that is in place because the surest risk that there will be conflict is if Putin thinks he can breach any deal that may be arrived at. Sir Keir later said security guarantees have been discussed, noting on Mr Trump: The president made absolutely clear his commitment to article five of Nato, absolutely clear he would have our backs because of the relationship between our parties and agreed that our teams would sit down together to talk through security guarantees. Ive spoken to him, three times I think since then, on the telephone because it is vitally important that we work with the US, with Europe and Ukraine, and make sure that if there is a deal it has proper security guarantees in place. Mrs Badenoch raised concerning reports that the US has instructed Britain to suspend intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and concerns over the future of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership. She said: We need to make sure that America does not disengage. There are some in this House who argue Europe should go it alone. But does he agree with me that without this countrys greatest ally, any peace agreement would place a terrible burden on Britain and our taxpayers? Sir Keir agreed wholeheartedly with Mrs Badenoch before saying: Ive always been clear that we need to ensure that the US, the UK, Europe and Ukraine are working together, but we must not choose between the US and Europe, we never have historically, and were not going to do so now. Mrs Badenoch went on to press Sir Keir on the economic impact of trade wars, saying: The best way to avoid America putting tariffs on Britain is to reach agreement on a US trade deal. Following the Prime Ministers trip to Washington, have talks on a UK-US trade deal begun? Sir Keir replied: I was pleased in the meeting I had last week that we did discuss an economic deal and agree that our teams would indeed sit down rapidly to talk through an economic deal and that is what theyre doing. The New South Wales premier has warned that the number of homes that could be affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred might be akin to the 2022 natural disaster in Lismore but he hopes it is less. Chris Minns on Wednesday said the State Emergency Service was speaking to vulnerable communities in the northern rivers region about whether they need to be evacuated before Alfred makes landfall likely to be early on Friday morning. The states SES commissioner, Mike Wassing, said that by Thursday afternoon it would be too late for communities to leave. By that stage we need people to bunker down and ride out the significant wind as the cyclone crosses and then we will deal with what comes on Friday, he said. The category-two cyclone is expected to cross the coast between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, with heavy rain and wind forecast to peak on Thursday night and Friday morning. Related: How to prepare for Cyclone Alfred and what to do if its too late to leave Wassing said the state was dealing with three natural disaster events in one, not seen since Tropical Cyclone Nancy in 1990, with wind, rain and high tides. The Bureau of Meteorology expects moderate to major flooding in NSW from the Queensland border down to the Manning River. The Manning is not forecast to flood. Damaging wind gusts up to 120km/h were expected in south-east Queensland and north-eastern NSW between Double Island Point and Grafton from Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. Wassing said such winds would likely bring down power lines, trees, [cause] damage and [restrict] access. Asked on Wednesday morning how many homes were expected to be affected, Minns said it fluctuated and agencies planned for the worst. As far as the actual number of houses, well, many more than we would hope to see, obviously, the premier said. Our planning is for something akin to the 2022 natural disaster in Lismore, but I hope it is less than that. Right through the entire operation since Alfred emerged in the Coral Sea we have been planning for the worst and hoping for the best. About 4,000 homes were deemed uninhabitable after the 2022 floods. Minns said on Wednesday the government was setting up multiple evacuation centres in the states north. For the northern rivers, which just passed the three-year anniversary of the worst floods in Australias modern history, Minns said: We hope for the best but we must prepare for the worst. The premier on Tuesday said the northern rivers had gone through hell over the last few years and we are particularly concerned about some of those communities. Flooding could continue into the weekend, he warned. Already 122 schools in the region from the Clarence Valley up to the Queensland border and west to Cuyahoga were closed on Wednesday. They would remain closed on Thursday. That decision has been made to ensure that if there are parents or individuals involved with emergency service preparation they are able to focus on that situation, Minns said. The MP for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, said airlines had cancelled all flights to and from Ballina on Wednesday due to high winds. In a post to Facebook, she said customers had been notified and could change their flight for free up to seven days before and up to 14 days after their original travel date. Gales hit Byron Bay on Wednesday morning. Cape Byron recorded gusts of more than 100km/h. According to Essential Energy, an unplanned outage was affecting 1,537 customers at Bangalow, with the cause unknown and under investigation. Near Ballina, there were seven outages due to vegetation impact on power lines and three near Myocum due to multiple faults. Further north there were 27 outages near Tweed Heads for an unknown reason. A supermarket in Murwillumbah, near the Queensland border, was low on many products after opening on Wednesday. A resident shared a photo on Facebook of empty produce aisles and said: A busy start as soon as the doors opened. The lovely staff are working hard to fill stock as it arrives. Please be patient and kind. Earlier on Wednesday the premier warned against panic buying and said good logistical lines with major supermarkets were in place. The NSW emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, urged communities to take the danger of the cyclone seriously. He urged people in the affected regions to download the Hazards Near Me app. As a government, we are doing as much in terms of preparation as we possibly can. This is the moment before the storm and we are not trying to create a sense of panic, [but] we want to cover all bases as much as we possibly can. What we want to do is ensure the people of NSW, particularly of the northern rivers, who we know were still suffering the trauma of the major incident from three years ago, that we are doing everything possible. Read more of Guardian Australias Tropical Cyclone Alfred coverage: For some workers, compiling a weekly progress report is a routine part of their job, and forgetting to do it usually carries little or no consequences. However, the ramifications can be more severe for others as many US federal employees found out when they received an email instructing them to submit their weekly accomplishments or face having to quit. Elon Musk, who leads the White Houses Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), warned on X: Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. While the latest move by the Trump administration to curtail government spending through funding cuts and firings may not apply to everyone, the situation does highlight the potential pitfalls of employers asking staff to compile a list of what they've done over a certain period. Downsides of listing workplace achievements Summarising accomplishments in the workplace can lead to issues such as heightened stress and an increase in performative work in a bid to look busy, instead of carrying out more meaningful chores, warns John Beck, a lawyer and founding partner at Beck & Beck Missouri Lawyers. When you force workers to justify their jobs on a weekly basis with the threat of resignation, you create an environment where actual productivity takes a backseat to survival. The outcomes are rarely positive," says Beck. Read more: Does AI lead to less pay for workers? It forces employees into a defensive mindset. Instead of focusing on meaningful work, they start thinking about how to protect themselves, leading to unnecessary documentation, redundant reports, and wasted time. Its likely workers will prioritise engaging in performative work, where workers give the appearance of productivity rather than delivering actual results. When people know theyre being judged based on what they can prove in writing every week, they will focus on tasks that look good on paper rather than those that actually matter, Beck adds. Another issue is that it can be difficult to convert qualitative tasks into quantifiable achievements. Workers are under increasing pressure to be productive, but it can be difficult to quantify what counts and what should be included on a formal list. Asking employees to list their accomplishments in the workplace can lead to unnecessary stress. (Peopleimages via Getty Images) This issue of forcing workers to list achievements comes back to our inability to clearly articulate what we mean by productivity for those working in an office, says Jenni Field, a leadership expert and founder and CEO of Redefining Communications. While that remains a challenge, there is a more practical issue here and that is giving employees objectives, having regular conversations about how those objectives are progressing and dealing with any challenges along the way, adds Field. How can we expect people to list achievements if there has been no conversation about what success looks like? While some workers may find it easy to list what theyve done in a week, for others, it isnt so straightforward. Those with intangible contributions who often handle ongoing work that doesnt fit neatly into a weekly progress report may struggle to create such a report. Read more: What is career catfishing and why is it on the rise? Subjective interpretability makes this worse what one manager sees as essential, another may dismiss as trivial, says Beck. Different managers will interpret these reports differently, leading to unfair treatment and arbitrary decisions. For example, Ive had clients penalised for not producing enough despite handling critical behind-the-scenes work that kept entire operations running. Many companies require workers to outline their achievements and, usually, this is for the purposes of a performance review. According to David Rice, a HR expert at People Managing People, it is a fairly standard practice at a lot of companies. It's just something for managers to engage employees around and ensure they're working on the right things and provide feedback, he says. This is obviously a far more extreme and toxic version of that, which will feel threatening and micromanage-y and thus create a lot of stress, job insecurity, and people lying about what they're doing. Alternatives to listing achievements Is there a better alternative to forced accomplishment lists? Instead of pressuring employees to list their weekly achievements, employers should focus on creating a supportive and collaborative atmosphere that emphasises ongoing feedback and recognition. "Regular check-ins and feedback are a much more effective approach," says Rice. One-on-one sessions allow employees to share progress, seek guidance, and celebrate successes. Leaders should prioritise overall performance and long-term objectives, rather than tracking weekly output. A happier, more relaxed employee is more likely to be engaged, motivated, and feel valued without the fear of punitive consequences. And if you're asked to list your achievements, highlight tasks that demonstrate impact, such as completed projects, problem-solving, or progress towards goals. If expectations are unclear, dont panic ask for guidance on how best to present your accomplishments in line with team or company goals. Read more: Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Authorities are still investigating the circumstances behind the deaths of legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, whose bodies were found last month in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The couple - Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65 - were discovered by a neighborhood security guard who was alerted by pest-control workers who had been unable to reach the pair. There are no longer fears of a carbon monoxide leak, but speculation has been rife that it could have been a "companion suicide." An expert who did not participate in the investigation, however, said she remains skeptical of the theory. 'Companion Suicide' Theory Is Unlikely Expert James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told PEOPLE that based on the particulars of the case, such a scenario is improbable. "Couples who die by dual suicide are usually found together in bed," Gill explained. Authorities said, though, that Hackman, who used a cane, was found in the mudroom of the home, and his sunglasses were nearby, while Arakawa was found in the bathroom, and prescription pills were on the bathroom countertop. Guilford said the timeline and medical history may provide investigators with some clues. The two are thought to have died days before they were found around February 26. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Hackman's pacemaker was last logged as working on February 17, and that was possibly the date he died. Hackman's medical history could be a significant factor, Gill noted. He was a heart patient with a pacemaker, so it was not surprising if he collapsed, he said. More Questions Than Answers The fact that Hackman was still mobile before his death also makes it unlikely that he was left helpless after Arakawa died first, he added. "Sometimes we see cases where a bedridden person with dementia dies after their caregiver passes away due to dehydration or other factors," Gill explained. "I don't think that's the case here." While authorities are still investigating the timeline surrounding Arakawa's death and the circumstances, it is generating more questions than answers. Gill said it's harder to determine exactly when she died. He replied, "That's a little bit of a gray area." Because the investigation remains open, officials haven't released a final cause and manner of death ruling for either Hackman or Arakawa. Originally published on Enstarz DJ Daniel in the US Capitol for Donald Trumps congressional speech - SAUL LOEB/AFP Rachel Maddows MSNBC co-host has been criticised after saying she hopes a cancer-stricken child invited by Donald Trump to a congressional speech does not kill himself. During Tuesday nights joint address, the president paid tribute to 13-year-old DJ Daniel for persevering in his battle with brain cancer, and had him sworn in as an honorary member of the Secret Service. The teenager, wearing a police uniform, was lifted into the air by his smiling father, held up his new law enforcement badge to the audience and was greeted with chants of DJ! DJ! DJ! by congressmen. Ms Maddows co-presenter Nicolle Wallace, speaking on The Rachel Maddow show, said: I hope hes alive for another 95 years and I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop, he knows what he wants to do and maybe when you have childhood cancer that crystallises for you, she said, after admitting feeling joy over the boys moment in the limelight. I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trumps supporters and if he does, I hope he isnt one of the six who loses his life to suicide. And I hope he isnt one that has to testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then lived to see Donald Trump pardon those people. Comments ridiculed online Ms Maddow, meanwhile, branded Mr Trumps tribute disgusting. For the record and this is disgusting the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man whos thus far survived pediatric cancer as if the president had something to do with that, the Left-wing television host said. The presenters comments were ridiculed online, with some branding their leaps of logic hateful and vile. Rachel Maddow is upset that Trump praised a child who beat cancer This is the hateful, modern Democrat party. Theyll never win another election again, wrote one commenter on X. Maddow cant even leave the boy with cancer alone, said another. MSNBC really needs to fire this vile woman. Charlie Kirk, a hard-Right influencer, wrote: This take is disgusting, Rachel. Others questioned whether the MSNBC presenters commentary was actually doing damage to the Democratic Party. When will Democrats be brave enough to point out @MSNBC is actually hurting them? asked one commenter. These people are out of touch and in a bubble. During his inauguration, Ms Maddow, who reportedly earns millions of dollars a year, was ridiculed for questioning why people with tons of money were seated prominently behind the president. Daniel, an aspiring police officer, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and was given no more than five months to live. He has since undergone 13 brain surgeries and is still alive more than six years later. DJ Daniel waves as his father lifts him into the air - Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP During his speech, the president said that DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true to be sworn in as an honorary police officer, adding that the police love him. Tonight, DJ, we are going to do you the biggest honour of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service, he said. In a touching moment, Daniel was raised into the air while Republican congressmen chanted his name. They were joined by some Democrats, with New York congresswoman Laura Gillen rising to her feet to join in the applause. Mr Trump went on to say that Daniels cancer is believed to have been caused by exposure to carcinogenic chemicals and said that reversing increased rates of childhood cancer is one of the top priorities of his health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a video shared by The White House, Daniel thanked Mr Trump, saying: If it wasnt for him, I wouldnt be here today. Representatives for Ms Maddow and Ms Wallace were approached for comment. Its the best time of year the Michigan Animal Rescue Leagues Whipped Cream Race! The shelter shared just a snippet of the race, which pits some of their cutest shelter pups against each other in the race of a lifetime. Okay, its not really that intense. But it certainly is cute! Its hard to know who to root for in the race, theyre all so adorable! First theres Jimbo, then theres Goodwin, Dennis, and Beth! Hmmm, looks like some stiff competition. How the race works is pretty simple; the shelter used whip cream to draw lines across the floor. First pup to eat their way to the other side wins! Now normally, we arent super competitive, but we can tell this was one race that the puppers really enjoyed taking part in. Related: Moment Rescue Dogs Are Surprised with their Best Friend After 3 Weeks Is Full of Happy Cries Some of the volunteers at the shelter were there to help out at the race. They held onto each of the contestants until it was time to start. Three, two, one go! We wont tell you the winner, but lets just say the race was so close! Great effort from all participants! Congratulations to our big winner, they wrote in the caption. Commenters couldnt get enough. Its always heartwarming to see competitors help their opponents when they need it, wrote one person. Omg, omg, omg, omg, omg this is THE CUTEST THING, another commenter praised. Such cute pups, I showed them off at a birthday party to all of the dog people Hoping someone would come and get 1, 2 or 3 or all 4, chimed in another commenter. The internet was invented for this exact moment. Jimbo, you are a champion for the ages. I hope your prize is a pup cup as big as you are, someone else added. About The Michigan Animal Rescue League Today can be the day that you save an animals life. All you need is to head to the Michigan Animal Rescue League website and browse the available pets online. If you see an animal that catches your interest, youll fill out an adoption application to get the process started. Itll take three to five business days to process your application, a staff member will contact you with any questions and arrange for you to meet with your chosen pet. If youre approved, youll get to bring your pupper home! And while you might not want to have your pup competitively eat whipped cream, you can certainly give them a treat every now and then! Thatll make them feel like a winner every time. Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. A Royal Navy warship has shadowed a Russian task group as it sailed through the English Channel and the North Sea. HMS Somerset kept watch over the Russian corvette Boikiy for three days as it escorted merchant vessel Baltic Leader on its voyage from Syria. The cargo ship was transporting military hardware from the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria, with crew on the accompanying warship seen burning papers and manning the ships machine guns, the Times reported. Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset (rear) follows Russian corvette Boikiy during a three-day operation monitoring the progress of a Russian task group (Royal Navy/PA) A Royal Navy spokesman said: The British Type 23 frigate utilised its powerful sensors and radars to report on Russian movements, launching her Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron to gather valuable information from the sky. The ship worked hand in hand with UK patrol aircraft and allied Nato forces during the operation, providing constant watch on the task group. The spokesman said the operation began on March 1 as the Russian warship headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet Baltic Leader to escort the vessel back to Russia. HMS Somerset then shadowed the Boikiy for the return journey after the vessel met Baltic Leader at Ushant, near France. Commander Joel Roberts, commanding officer of HMS Somerset, said: Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions. Great professionalism has been shown by the ships company to remain vigilant whilst operating in UK waters and integrating with our Nato allies to monitor Russian activity around Europe. The Plymouth-based warship was previously deployed alongside patrol ship HMS Tyne to track suspected Russian spy vessel Yantar in January. And the operation comes two weeks after HMS Iron Duke, HMS Tyne and RFA Tideforce monitored five ships, including three merchant vessels, as they sailed for a Russian Baltic port from Syria. James Anderson appeared in a glass cage in the courtroom, where his trial was held behind closed doors - Reuters A former British soldier captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine has been jailed for 19 years. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities in a closed trial. Mr Anderson, who was caught in November in Russias Kursk region, was sentenced to serve the first five years of his term in prison and the remainder in a penal colony in strict conditions. He had been charged with committing a terrorist act as part of an armed group, with investigators saying he illegally crossed the border into Russia, carried out criminal acts against civilians and destabilised the activities of authorities. It is unclear what evidence, if any, prosecutors presented during the proceedings behind closed doors. Court footage showed Mr Anderson, who was a signalman in the British Army until he was dismissed last year, being led into a glass cage in a winter hat and jacket that appeared to be a prison uniform. James Anderson, handcuffed to a Russian guard, is led into court - Reuters While British citizens have previously been captured in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Mr Anderson is the first known foreign fighter to be captured and sentenced in Russian territory. Last August, Ukraine mounted a surprise cross-border offensive into the Kursk region, seizing hundreds of miles of territory. Seven months later, Kyiv still reportedly controls a third of that foothold inside Russia. The court said Mr Anderson admitted guilt, and had decided to take part in the conflict for financial reward. He allegedly told Russias Izvestia newspaper he was paid $400 (311) a month to fight for Ukraine. Russia describes foreign fighters who volunteer to help Ukraines military as mercenaries, charging them under its criminal code rather than as captured prisoners of war with protections under the Geneva Conventions. In footage of his interrogation widely shared in November, Mr Anderson said he regretted signing up to fight for Ukraines international legion. I had just lost everything, I had just lost my job. My dad was away in prison. I see it on the TV, he said, adding: It was a stupid idea. The Russian authorities released photos and video footage of James Anderson, who was filmed saying he regretted his decision to fight for Ukraine - Reuters James Anderson is questioned by a Russian official His father, Scott Anderson, said in November he had begged him not to go but he thought what he was doing was right and he wanted to defend Ukrainian people. Im hoping hell be used as a bargaining chip, he told the Daily Mail. A spokesperson for the UKs Foreign Office called on Russia to respect its obligations towards prisoners of war as it denounced the sentencing. We strongly condemn the sentencing of James Anderson, a British national, in a Russian court on false charges, the spokesperson said. In November, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the Government would provide Mr Anderson with all the support that we can. In 2022, a court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced two Britons who fought for Ukraine to death in a show trial. Shaun Pinner, a former British soldier, and Aiden Aslin had been captured after a siege at the steelworks in Mariupol in southern Ukraine. Both were released in a prisoner swap later that year. Paul Urey, a British aid worker, died in Russian custody in July 2022 after being captured at a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine. His family blamed Russia for murdering him, although Moscow-backed officials claimed he died of underlying health difficulties and stress. On average parents are spending almost 20 per child on World Book Day costumes. (Getty Images) (FamVeld via Getty Images) World Book Day is almost here and parents are feeling pressure to cobble together creative and increasingly expensive costumes, with research revealing 11% of parents are forking out upwards of 50 per child. The event, which this year falls on Thursday March 6, aims to instil a lifelong love of reading in children by celebrating their favourite books, authors and illustrators. The sentiment of the day is wholly necessary with figures from the charity BookTrust revealing that despite 95% of parents with children under seven knowing how crucial reading is one in five children aged up to four have a book read to them less than once a month. It seems, therefore, that the true meaning of the day is being lost amongst the scramble to kit out kids in costly costumes. Research commissioned by cashback service Rakuten reveals that parents estimate they will spend an average of 19 per child this World Book Day a 2 increase from last year's average spend of 17 per child. Not only are parents feeling the pressure financially, the event also appears to be unlocking something of a competitive element, with just over a fifth (22%) feeling the need to impress, according to the Opinium survey of 2,000 people across the UK in February. Experts suggest recycling old costumes for World Book Day to save money. (Getty Images) (craig fordham via Getty Images) And it isn't just World Book Day parents have to fork out for, from Comic Relief to Christmas Jumper Day, Children in Need to World of Work dress-up day, there are a whole heap of occasions children may need costumes for. But given the ongoing cost of living crisis and a growing time/to-do-list gap, parents are increasingly feeling the dress-up day pinch, so much so that some schools are choosing to opt out of the costume element entirely, while others are asking pupils to wear just one colour or take part in T-shirt decorating sessions. Some experts say dress-up days also highlight financial disparities among families. "While World Book Day and other dress-up events at school can be fun, they can also unintentionally highlight economic disparities among children," explains Sebrina McCullough, director of external relations at Money Wellness. "Pupils from lower-income families can often feel left out or stressed if they can't afford costumes - and this could lead to bullying for some too." Thankfully, there are some ways to help parents keep the cost of World Book Day and other dress-up days down. Parents are feeling the dress-up day pressure. (Getty Images) (Christopher Hope-Fitch via Getty Images) How to save money on World Book Day and other dress-up day costumes Raid the wardrobe Chances are, your child already owns something that can be turned into a costume with minimal effort. "A white shirt and black trousers can instantly be turned into Alex Rider or a Harry Potter character. A stripy top is your Wheres Wally? outfit sorted," suggests Fiona Peake, money saving expert at Ocean Finance Swap with other parents If youre part of a school WhatsApp group, ask around. "Other parents will have costumes from past years gathering dust, and a simple swap means no one needs to spend a penny," Peake suggests. Scour charity shops and online marketplaces You can often pick up barely used costumes for a couple of pounds in charity shops or on sites like Vinted and Facebook Marketplace. Re-use and repurpose If you do buy a costume, think about how it could be used for multiple occasions. "A wizard robe can be Harry Potter one year, a magician the next, and a vampire at Halloween," Peake advises. Then once you've pulled together an outfit you could start a dress up box, so the next time you need a costume you'll have a number of other items to choose from. Focus on props Many dress-up characters, particularly those in books, have a prop or item that epitomises their character so instead of trying to pull together an whole outfit parents can focus on that particular prop. Instead of an entire outfit dedicated to a theme, add accessories such as character wellies, soft toys or hats to make the prop the main part of the costume," advises Catherine Reed, children's fashion buyer at JoJo Maman Bebe. "For example, a plush dinosaur prop creates a zookeeper character. Get creative and crafty Some of the best costumes come from things you already have at home. "A cereal box can become a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book cover, or an old bedsheet can be repurposed into a Greek mythology character," suggests Peake. Reed says old loo rolls can be used as goggles or binoculars or a cardboard box can help create a robot costume. Think outside the costume box and flex your creative skills. Experts suggest re-using old costumes or getting creative with cardboard. (Getty Images) (SBenitez via Getty Images) Upcycle decorations For a last minute costume idea, Reed suggests scouring through old decorations to make use of. "Christmas baubles are perfect for this as you can attach them to a green dress to make a Christmas tree," she adds. Don't forget about non-fiction Non-fiction can be an interesting way to get a book theme on a budget or for free. "A section of books that are often overlooked are non-fiction books," advises Reed. "These are easy wins as you can use existing clothing to dress your child as historical figures, inventors or celebrities." Set a spending limit Some families may also find it useful to set a spending limit, to avoid going over budget. Louise Hill, CEO and co-Founder of GoHenry advises turning this into a fun activity to do with kids. "You could set a budget and challenge each other to find the best item for your agreed spending limit," she says. "Its a great way to save money but also teaches kids the importance of shopping sustainably." Use it as a learning opportunity If kids are determined to buy something new for World Book Day, Hill suggests parents encourage children to save up for it - or part of the costume - themselves. "Teaching simple skills, through giving regular pocket money, will help kids grasp the concept of saving and budgeting, adopting healthy financial habits far beyond World Book Day," she adds. Read more about parenting: Scientists have described the Eureka moment when they discovered how aspirin may prevent some cancers from spreading. Their new research builds on existing evidence and suggests aspirin supports a boost in the immune system to help catch deadly cancer cells. Clinical trials in cancer patients are currently continuing into how aspirin could help stop the disease coming back. However, experts said cancer patients should not routinely take aspirin without speaking to their doctor because of potential side-effects, such as bleeding in the stomach. The new work was published in the journal Nature and funded by the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust. Led by the University of Cambridge, it suggests a path for aspirin to become a cancer treatment, alongside the development of more effective drugs to prevent cancer spreading. Researchers screened 810 genes in mice and found 15 that had an effect on cancer spread. In particular, they found that mice lacking a gene which produces a protein called ARHGEF1 were less likely to have cancer spread to the lungs and liver. The experts discovered that ARHGEF1 suppresses a type of immune cell called a T cell, which is important for recognising and killing metastatic (spreading to other parts of the body) cancer cells. They found that ARHGEF1 is switched on when T cells are exposed to a clotting factor called thromboxane A2 (TXA2) this was an unexpected finding for the scientists. TXA2 is produced by platelets in the blood and aspirin is already known to cut the production of TXA2. The research found that aspirin can prevent cancers from spreading by decreasing TXA2 releasing T cells from being suppressed so they can kill cancer cells. In mice given aspirin, the frequency of metastases was reduced compared with mice not on the drug, and this was dependent on releasing T cells from suppression by TXA2. Professor Rahul Roychoudhuri, from the University of Cambridge, who led the study, said: Despite advances in cancer treatment, many patients with early stage cancers receive treatments, such as surgical removal of the tumour, which have the potential to be curative, but later relapse due to the eventual growth of micrometastases cancer cells that have seeded other parts of the body but remain in a latent state. Most immunotherapies are developed to treat patients with established metastatic cancer, but when cancer first spreads theres a unique therapeutic window of opportunity when cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to immune attack. We hope that therapies that target this window of vulnerability will have tremendous scope in preventing recurrence in patients with early cancer at risk of recurrence. Dr Jie Yang, also from the University of Cambridge, said: It was a Eureka moment when we found TXA2 was the molecular signal that activates this suppressive effect on T cells. Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin. It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of inquiry than we had anticipated. Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally. Researchers are now working with Professor Ruth Langley at University College London, who is leading the Add-Aspirin clinical trial, to find out if aspirin can stop or delay early stage cancers from coming back. This trial, supported by Cancer Research UK, includes patients with breast, oesophageal, stomach, prostate and bowel cancer. Professor Langley said of the new work: This is an important discovery. It will enable us to interpret the results of ongoing clinical trials and work out who is most likely to benefit from aspirin after a cancer diagnosis. In a small proportion of people, aspirin can cause serious side-effects, including bleeding or stomach ulcers. Therefore, it is important to understand which people with cancer are likely to benefit, and always talk to your doctor before starting aspirin. Alan Melcher, professor of translation immunotherapy at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, said the side-effects of aspirin are not trivial such as stomach bleeding. He added: This new research may help to design better, more targeted drugs, that interfere with the mechanism discovered here to do the good things that aspirin does, without the harmful side-effects. Tanya Hollands, research information manager at Cancer Research UK, said further work is needed. She added: At the moment, there are no national guidelines for the general population to take aspirin to prevent or treat cancer Cancer Research UK is funding similar research, including the Add-Aspirin trial, the worlds largest clinical trial designed to look at aspirin as a way to stop cancer coming back after receiving cancer treatment. We look forward to seeing how research develops in this area. Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital, in Sydney, where where two NSW public hospital nurses allegedly made antisemitic comments and boasted they would kill Israeli patients in a video circulated in February 2025. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP A second Bankstown nurse involved in a viral video showing both he and his colleague allegedly threatening Israeli patients has been charged by Strike Force Pearl detectives. Ahmed Rashid Nadir, who worked at the Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital in Sydneys west, was arrested on Tuesday evening, and later charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, and possessing a prohibited drug. The 27-year-old Bankstown man was granted bail to appear at the Downing Centre local court on 19 March. The other nurse featured in the video, Sarah Abu Lebdeh, was charged with three offences last week: threatening violence, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. There had been a delay in police speaking to Nadir, after he was taken to hospital for assessment earlier in February, when paramedics were called to his Bankstown home after a concern for welfare report. In an edited video taken from a Chatroulette-style website discussion posted by the Israeli influencer Max Veifer last month, Nadir and Abu Lebdeh are shown allegedly speaking to the former soldier, who reveals in the video he served with the Israel Defense Forces. One day, your time will come and you will die the most horrible death, Abu Lebdeh says on the video. The investigation was made more complex due to jurisdictional challenges, given Veifer is located outside Australia. The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, said Strike Force Pearl, the forces antisemitism taskforce, had now arrested 15 people and laid a total of 78 charges. I must commend the work Strike Force Pearl detectives are doing to investigate, charge and put these individuals before the courts, she said in a statement on Wednesday. There is a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work going into all these investigations. Detectives have overcome many challenges including huge public expectation to put these individuals before the court, Webb said. The two nurses have been barred by the Australian health practitioner watchdog from working in the profession nationwide in any context, and had their registrations suspended by the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Council. Volodymyr Zelensky, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron met in London on Sunday. Now plans may be afoot to restore Ukraines relations with Donald Trump - Justin Tallis/WPA/Getty Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are considering accompanying Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington to salvage his relationship with Donald Trump. The visit would be part of a three-pronged plan being worked out by Kyivs European allies after a dramatic spat in the Oval Office between the US and Ukrainian presidents led to Washington suspending military support for the war-torn nation. We are considering potentially having President Macron travel again to Washington, alongside President Zelensky and his British counterpart, an Elysee Palace spokesman said. Were currently engaged in tight negotiations which involve the French president, as well as the entire government. Mr Macrons office later said there were no current plans for the trip, while No 10 also denied plans were under way. It comes as Mike Waltz, the US presidents national security adviser, said the president would consider restoring aid to Ukraine if peace talks were arranged and confidence-building measures on the table. Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that Mr Trump was now looking for Mr Zelensky to offer more than just the minerals deal to move peace talks forward. The White House said it had opened discussions about a new round of talks and if they are successful, the Americans may resume military assistance. In a tweet on Tuesday offering to reopen talks with Mr Trump, Mr Zelensky said the first stages could include the release of prisoners and a ban on firing long-range missiles. Sir Keir and Mr Macron, meanwhile, as the leaders of a European coalition of the willing, are devising proposals for a settlement and post-war security guarantees alongside Kyiv that will be presented to Mr Trump as part of the efforts to win back his support. Mr Zelensky on Tuesday said Ukraine was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible as he sought to defuse the tensions with Washington. Kyivs European allies then advised him to sign the minerals deal set out by Mr Trump, which the Ukrainian president said he would do at any time and in any convenient format. But they have also warned that these overtures are unlikely to be enough to convince the US president to restart weapons supplies. Kyiv will have to show more than just for the deal itself to be signed. The White House now wants to start discussing peace conditions, a European diplomat told The Telegraph. Mr Zelensky has been told he will have to go further than simply expressing that he supports peace and engaging with Mr Trump on possible concessions. Mr Waltz last week said Kyiv would have to cede territory to Russia as part of any settlement. Ukraines president has avoided offering his support to a number of strategies set out by allies to end the three-year-long war because they were not backed by cast-iron security guarantees. However, in his conciliatory message to Mr Trump, he signalled a willingness to work towards a partial, month-long ceasefire proposed by Mr Macron, an idea he previously rejected. Sources in Kyiv have told The Telegraph that while they are optimistic the US will one day restart weapons deliveries, they are 50/50 on whether the latest plan will deliver immediate results. Meanwhile, European leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency meeting of the EU council to discuss Ukraine and continental security. The bloc has agreed that it must significantly raise defence spending as part of a wider strategy to placate Mr Trump. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commissions president, set out plans for a 650 billion (543 billion) boost to military expenditure ahead of the meeting. EU leaders will also discuss potential post-war security guarantees for Ukraine, including possible troop deployments to deter future attacks by Russia. But the main strategy is to continue building up Ukraines armed forces in order to make it capable of heading off any potential third invasion. Since the meeting on Sunday, Mr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible - Javad Parsa/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Mrs Von der Leyen has described this as turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine which is indigestible to invaders. The steel porcupine is the first pillar of the security guarantees in the event of a peace agreement, they can be in a position where they can defend themselves where any future Russian aggression would meet such a resistance it would be quashed or not take place because it would be obvious for any aggressor it would not succeed, a senior EU official said. This is the strategy and the strategy shared by a majority of member states. The official said it was premature to discuss possible troop deployments to Ukraine because there was no ceasefire or final peace settlement on the table. We do not have a peace agreement. We dont even have negotiations to achieve a ceasefire. So it is premature to already try to specify what needs to be done, the source said. Hungary and Slovakia, which are loyal to the Kremlin, are understood to be holding up EU statements pledging more immediate military aid to Kyiv. EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels early on Wednesday failed to agree on a complete draft text, with a few points left open for the leaders to sign off on Thursday, an EU diplomat said. Opposition from Budapest and Bratislava means there will be no mention of an EU plan to deliver between 20 billion and 30 billion of artillery ammunition, missiles and drones to Ukraine in 2025. Keir Starmer on the international stage There are plenty of observers willing to hail Keir Starmer as the saviour of the free world. They praise him as a brave voice defending the principle of freedom from aggression at a time when the United States has, at least temporarily, vacated its historical role to do the same. And then there are the unpersuaded. These critics have concluded long ago that the Prime Minister is out of his depth on domestic policy and his sudden emergence on the international limelight has been a happy accident rather than the consequence of strategy. This latter group will insist that Starmer is less of a power broker in the unseemly war of words between presidents Trump and Zelensky than a mere conduit. That his role could be played by almost any other national leader. This is unfair. Starmer is not the first UK Prime Minister to have failed on the domestic front and benefitted from an unanticipated foreign conflict. Margaret Thatcher, for example, was not exactly feted at home when she became a war leader in the wake of the Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982. John Major did his own reputation no harm at all when, only weeks after becoming Prime Minister at the end of 1990, he found himself in the deserts of Kuwait in support of British troops deployed to repel the invasion by Iraq. Starmer has been lucky in that the war instigated by Russia against Ukraine does not directly involve Nato or the UK, even if both have a role to play in its resolution or in the worst case scenario its escalation. Unlike the Falklands, where Mrs Thatchers tenure as Prime Minister would have been ended by a military defeat, Starmer can play the part of Ukrainian ally with relatively little at stake politically. No one will blame him if Ukraines fight for freedom is ultimately thwarted by the Russian aggressor. At the same time, if he is seen as playing any significant part in helping to facilitate a long-lasting peace in the region, Starmer has much to gain. As for the unthinkable third option an unfortunate escalation of the conflict it can only be blamed on the side that tried to grab a neighbouring countrys territory. Those close to Starmer believe he is only living up to the responsibilities fate and international politics have given him. If he looks more comfortable dealing with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky than with budget challenges and angry farmers, this should be welcomed even by his domestic critics. The Prime Minister is not the first holder of the office to rediscover a taste for politics or even to discover a talent for politics at all on the international stage. And he is not the first to discover that more parochial concerns about the daily bread and butter of British politics start to look rather small when compared with international affairs. Inevitably, though, he will have to return to domestic politics. British voters have a limited attention span, as well as limited patience, for their leaders foreign jaunts. But for now, as the polls seem to indicate, they are willing to offer Starmer the benefit of the doubt as well as their good will in his efforts to resolve the crisis. Most voters are realistic about Britains and Starmers role in all of this. No one seriously believes that Britain can throw its weight around as it could in the days of Empire, or even in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, when it played a crucial role in redrawing the global map and creating new international institutions. Nevertheless, Britain has a unique place in the jigsaw: outside the European Union but maintaining close and friendly relations with both Europe and the United States. Starmers personal positive relationship with Trump may well benefit Britain in the longer run and might even help broker a peace deal that sees Ukraine secure and intact. His well-known antipathy towards Brexit and his desire for a reset of relations with the EU mean that European leaders are more positively disposed towards him than any UK Prime Minister since Gordon Brown. All of which means something of value at this precise moment in time. It gives Starmer the freedom and influence to play a part in ameliorating or even concluding this crisis. That may not gel with his critics determination to condemn him as a failed Prime Minister, but as the saying goes, facts dont care about your feelings. The question of power broker or conduit hardly matters in this frightening situation. What matters is that men and women who happen to find themselves in positions of influence and leadership use all their talents and abilities to see us through it. There is no doubt that Starmer is rising to that challenge. Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to British personnel who have died fighting alongside US allies after JD Vance came under fire over a perceived attack on UK troops. In a unusual move, Sir Keir began Prime Ministers Questions by highlighting the 642 personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. US vice president Mr Vance faced a backlash after hitting out at the potential for 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years monitoring any ceasefire in Ukraine. This is absurdly dishonest. I dont even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond. https://t.co/hrkb5pTV8p JD Vance (@JDVance) March 4, 2025 The UK and France have promised troops to lead a peacekeeping force although Mr Vance later insisted he was not referring to them but to other, unnamed, nations. Opening Prime Ministers Questions, Sir Keir said Thursday will mark 13 years since six young British soldiers were killed on patrol in Afghanistan and 18 years since the death of a Royal Marine in Helmand province. He added: These men fought and died for their country, our country. And across the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 642 individuals died fighting for Britain alongside our allies, many more were wounded. We will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice, and I know the whole House will join (with) me in remembering them and all those who serve our country. Asked why Sir Keir had chosen to begin the session in that way, his official spokesman told reporters: Its totally legitimate for the Prime Minister to pay tribute to people who died fighting for this country the day ahead of their anniversary. Pushed on whether he would have made the comments without Mr Vances intervention, the spokesman said: You can draw your own conclusions on that. Following a backlash from UK MPs and veterans to his comments on Tuesday, Mr Vance claimed it was absurdly dishonest to suggest he had been referring to either of the countries. I dont even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond, he said. But lets be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge described Mr Vances initial remarks as deeply disrespectful while Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, said they were unacceptable. But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended the vice president and Conservatives were ordered to refrain from public attacks. NATO Article 5 has been invoked once on 12/9/01 by , after 9/11. & came to their aid deploying 1,000s of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother & numerous parliamentary colleagues, past & present. Its deeply disrespectful to ignore such service & sacrifice. https://t.co/qMUaSKF7tT James Cartlidge MP (@jcartlidgemp) March 4, 2025 A spokesman for Mrs Badenoch said: The fact is that he didnt say Britain or France in his original answer and then when he saw that it was being alleged that he had, he came out and clarified that he wasnt talking about Britain and France. And Kemi wants to take the vice president of the USA at his word. He added that she asked chief whip Rebecca Harris to send a text out saying that views dont necessarily need to be aired on Twitter immediately, this is a time for cool heads. Apple has announced the launch of new MacBook Air models featuring a more powerful M4 chip and an upgraded videoconferencing camera. The tech giant also surprised consumers with a $100 price cut in the U.S., even as fresh tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump took effect this week. The 13-inch MacBook Air now starts at $999, while the 15-inch version begins at $1,099. Customers can opt for additional memory and storage upgrades. Despite maintaining last year's design, the new MacBook Air introduces a fresh sky blue color option and the ability to support three external monitors. The updated models will be available for purchase starting March 12. As one of Apple's top-selling products, the MacBook Air plays a crucial role in the company's business. In the December quarter, Mac sales climbed 15% to nearly $9 billion, primarily driven by increased laptop demand. However, overall Mac sales remain below their fiscal 2022 peak, which was fueled by heightened demand for remote work and learning during the pandemic. Apple's latest product rollout extends beyond laptops. Alongside the MacBook Air, the company introduced a high-end Mac Studio desktop powered by a chip designed for advanced AI applications. This follows the release of the M4-equipped iPad Air earlier this week and last month's launch of the budget-friendly iPhone 16e. The new Mac Studio, tailored for professionals in graphics, audio, video production, and artificial intelligence, starts at $1,999. Higher-end configurations can exceed $14,000. The MacBook Air's price cut comes amid speculation about how Apple will respond to the Trump administration's tariffs. While Apple has so far refrained from raising prices, the impact of tariffs remains a concern. The new iPad Air retains its $599 starting price, but the iPhone 16e now costs $599up from the $429 price tag of the low-cost model it replaced. Analysts at Bank of America Securities previously predicted that PC makers, including Apple, would likely pass tariff-related costs on to consumers. Rival brand Acer has already implemented price hikes in response to the U.S. tariffs. "Tariffs on imported PCs act like a tax that PC vendors largely pass to end customers," BofA analysts wrote last month. Apple's supply chain is also under scrutiny, as most of its products are manufactured in China and could be affected by both U.S. tariffs and potential Chinese retaliatory measures. Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Trump at the White House last month, after which Trump stated that Apple "doesn't want to be in the tariffs." Cook assured investors in January that Apple is "monitoring the situation." To mitigate risks, Apple has been diversifying its production locations, with some Macs now assembled in Malaysia and Vietnamcountries that would bypass Chinese import duties. However, Apple has not disclosed the assembly locations of the new MacBook Air models. This is the first picture of a very bright schoolboy who was shot dead by gunmen on a moped dressed as Deliveroo drivers. Lathaniel Burrells family said the 16-year-old boy had been targeted in broad daylight close to Stockwell Tube station in south London on Tuesday afternoon. Metropolitan Police officers were called to Paradise Road at 3.21pm, alongside paramedics, but the boys life could not be saved. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have yet been made. Relatives who attended the scene to lay flowers on Wednesday confirmed to reporters his first name was Lathaniel. A man who said he was the boys uncle, who asked not to be named, claimed the gunmen posed as food delivery drivers. He said: They came on a moped dressed as Deliveroo drivers. An eyewitness told BBC London two boys came down the stairs at a block of flats when the moped driver took out a gun and shot the teenager. The other boy ran away, and the driver sped off, they added. Lathaniel Burrell, 16 (Metropolitan Police) The witness claimed Lathaniel was well known in the area and involved in gangs. Other relatives, who declined to give their names, described him as a Manchester United fan who enjoyed playing Playstation 5, and had one sibling, a sister. A resident, who said she knew the boys mother, said Lathaniel was very bright at school and said his father worked at a nearby go-karting facility. He is great at looking after this community, said the woman. Forensics examine an escalator at Stcokwell Tube station for evidence (UKNIP) Scotland Yard said it was working at pace to confirm the boys identity and trace his next-of-kin. Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, who is leading the local policing response, said: This is an enormously shocking incident which I imagine will cause huge distress to the local community. Our thoughts are with the young boys family at this devastating time. Local officers are on the scene gathering CCTV and speaking to witnesses to piece together what has happened. They will be supported by specialist homicide investigators shortly. Please rest assured we will work around the clock to identify and find those responsible. Police cordon in place at the scene (James Manning/PA Wire) Aftab Khan, 18, who runs a corner shop near the road where the incident took place, said the teenager often came into the store and described him as a nice kid. He told The Telegraph: He would always say hello. I saw him yesterday he bought a bottle of Fanta. He would always pay me back if I let him have a drink for free if he didn't have enough money. He was a good guy. Now I can't go outside I'm scared. It's a very bad area. A Stockwell resident told MyLondon that she had been shocked to the core that such an incident could happen to a child in the area. Stockwell has always had crimes like phone theft, but overall its a friendly area, she told the newspaper. It's terrible to think of what his family is going through. It's so wrong that teenagers should worry about things like this when they should be enjoying their childhood. The death was described as a life wasted by Florence Eshalomi, the MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green. She also said she was very sad to hear of the fatal shooting. The scene in Paradise Road Clapham, south London (James Manning/PA Wire) A crime scene and cordons remain in place, with several police cars and officers stationed nearby. Another resident who knew Lathaniel said she was distressed to hear the news, saying that her own son had also died in a stabbing a few years ago. And a young woman who lives nearby said: This area is not safe at night. There are a lot of teenage boys that cause a lot of trouble who live around here. They hang around at night, play around with the cops. Things like playing with fireworks and running from the police. But it can get serious. Someone I know got stabbed some time last year. I think about where the cameras are when I am walking at night, but there are no cameras in that area (of the shooting). Speaking about the shooting, she said the attackers had no shame as well, there is a primary school next door. An older resident who lives nearby said: This area hasnt been like this since the 80s. Adrian Lindo, 50, who lives nearby, said I would have thought that the younger generation would have learnt about what has happened in this area in the past. They have to learn from the previous generations. My commiserations to the family. London mayor Sadiq Khan added: My thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community in Stockwell following the shocking fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy. "This abhorrent violence has absolutely no place in our city. I am in close contact with police leaders an investigation is underway to find those responsible and local residents will see increased patrols in the local area. A Lambeth Council statement said: Were devastated to hear that a teenage boy has been shot in Stockwell today. A crime scene remains in place while specialist detectives carry out their investigations. Witnesses are being urged to contact police on 101 with the reference 4116/4MAR. You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 if you want to remain anonymous. Militants struck the base from two sides, with two suicide bombers ramming explosives-laden vehicles into the perimeter - Abdullah Khan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Eighteen people, including children, have been killed and dozens more wounded after a group of gunmen and suicide bombers launched a coordinated attack on a Pakistani army base. Heavily armed militants struck the base from two sides on Tuesday, with two suicide bombers ramming explosives-laden vehicles into the perimeter, detonating them at the main cordon. A gang of 12 armed fighters then stormed into the compound, firing rocket-propelled grenades and engaging in a fierce gun battle with soldiers. The attack took place in the north-western district of Bannu, as residents were breaking their fast during Ramadan. Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister, denounced the cowardly terrorists who target innocent civilians during the holy month of Ramadan and said that they deserve no mercy. The attack started at about 6.30pm local time, minutes after iftar the fast-breaking meal taken by Muslims during Ramadan a senior security official said. In total, five soldiers, 13 civilians and 16 militants were killed. They said: Militants fired RPGs and grenades during the assault, and additional troops, including commandos, were rushed to the area. One resident told The Telegraph: The explosions were massive, shaking buildings and shattering windows several kilometres away. The attack took place in the north-western district of Bannu, as residents were breaking their fast during Ramadan - Abdullah Khan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock In a statement issued late on Tuesday, Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistani interior minister, paid tribute to the security forces for taking timely action and thwarting the attack after killing six terrorists from Fitna al-Khawarij, the name the government uses to refer to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates. Military helicopters and drones have been deployed to flush out remaining attackers holed up inside the compound, an army official said. In the initial engagement, three of the attackers were shot dead, but security forces continued to battle militants throughout the night. Videos circulating on social media showed scenes of panic at the District Headquarter Hospital in Bannu, to which the wounded were ferried in ambulances. Footage also showed plumes of smoke rising into the air, while gunfire could be heard in the background. A statement from a Bannu rescue 1122 spokesman confirmed that the agency had moved 11 bodies and 30 injured people to the hospitals. Authorities have declared emergencies in all district hospitals, with staff, including those off duty, recalled. The wounded also included 10 Pakistan security personnel. Three of the attackers were shot dead in the initial engagement, and security forces battled militants throughout the night - Abdullah Khan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Nearby homes and a mosque bore the brunt of the blasts. We were preparing to break our fast when the explosion shattered our roof and doors, Mohsin Haider, a resident, told The Telegraph. Mr Haider recounted that three bodies were pulled from the rubble of a mosque, which collapsed as worshippers prayed. A faction of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, which has long supported the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Our fighters gained access to an important target and took control, the group said in a statement, although The Telegraph could not independently verify this claim. John Swinney has hailed the phenomenal contribution made by two senior members of his Cabinet as they announced plans to step down at next years Holyrood election. The Scottish First Minister said he is very sorry Finance Secretary Shona Robison and Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop are to leave at the May 2026 election. He said the women, who have both been MSPs since 1999, are significant players within the Scottish Government who have made a phenomenal contribution to the work of the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Government over the years. With more than a dozen SNP MSPs including former first minister Humza Yousaf and current further and higher education minister Graeme Dey now having announced they will not run again in May 2026, Mr Swinney insisted the party has a very strong talent base from which to select candidates. Ms Robison, who has previously served as deputy first minister, said her decision comes after careful consideration and reflection, while Ms Hyslop said she wants to spend more time with her family, particularly her seven-month-old grand-daughter. John Swinney hailed both Fiona Hyslop, left, and Shona Robison (PA) Ms Robison said: By the time of the next election, I will have been an MSP for 27 years and I believe now is the right time for me to take on some new challenges and contribute to public life in a different way. The MSP for Dundee City East has served in a variety of roles in the Scottish Government, including as health secretary when Nicola Sturgeon was first minister. Before that she was in charge of preparations for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Alex Salmonds government as a minister, before stepping up to join the Scottish Cabinet during his time in charge. She was social justice secretary when the Parliament passed controversial gender recognition reforms, which despite being approved by MSPs were blocked by the then Conservative government at Westminster. She became deputy first minister when Mr Yousaf took over as first minister, holding the finance brief in the Scottish Government at the same time. Both Shona Robison, front row second left, and Fiona Hyslop, front row right, have served in a variety of Government roles (Andrew Milligan/PA) She retained the role of Finance Secretary when Mr Swinney took the leadership last year. She said she is deeply proud of my ministerial contributions and achievements, including overseeing preparations for the 2014 Games and implementing minimum unit pricing for alcohol hailing this as a world-leading policy that has saved hundreds of lives. Ms Robison also highlighted her role delivering and more than doubling the game-changing Scottish child payment, as part of our journey to eradicate child poverty in Scotland. Despite her achievements in Government, she added: The best moments over my time at Holyrood have come from representing and supporting my constituents. I will forever be grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to serve them over the many years I have represented the city. I have some personal news this morning pic.twitter.com/HuTR848ozm Shona Robison MSP (@ShonaRobison) March 5, 2025 She thanked them for allowing her to speak up for them and our city, and added: Although I will no longer serve in Parliament, I will continue to campaign for and support the SNP, alongside my lifelong goal of delivering independence for Scotland. Ms Hyslop has also served a number of roles in the Scottish Government, including as education secretary, culture secretary and economy secretary. She stepped down from the Government from this role in 2021, but later returned in 2023 to take charge of the transport brief, first as a minister and then as a cabinet secretary. The Linlithgow MSP said it had been an enormous honour to serve as an SNP MSP since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999. But she added: After much careful thought and consideration, I have decided that the time is right for me to retire, which means that I will not be seeking re-election in the forthcoming 2026 election to the Scottish Parliament. Retirement is a big decision and I have loved representing West Lothian and its various, strong and resilient communities but today I am announcing I will be retiring in 2026. With a full on 14 months to go I will continue to serve my constituents and support the First Minister. pic.twitter.com/kRgLR4kskO Fiona Hyslop (@FionaHyslop) March 5, 2025 The decision to retire is entirely personal and I do it for positive reasons. I recently became a grandmother and having served 26 years as an MSP 27 years at the next election with 16 of those in Government at Cabinet level, I have decided that this is the right election for me to retire and it is a decision which will give me the valuable opportunity to spend more time with my family and loved ones. She highlighted her work to end tuition fees for Scots who study at university in Scotland as well as efforts where she championed our culture sector and showcased our world-class culture sector to the world. While she said the transport brief is one of the most challenging roles in Government, she said in the job she had secured major investment in the rail network for the next five years, and had brought the Caledonian Sleeper service into public ownership. Ms Hyslop said she will of course continue as an MSP until May 2026, and will continue to be an activist for the SNP. She added: There is still a great deal of work to be done to elect an SNP government in 2026, and I remain passionate about securing a better future for Scotland as an independent nation. The High Court trial of Noel Clarkes libel claim against the publisher of The Guardian newspaper is set to begin. The 49-year-old is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles, including one from April 2021, which said 20 women who knew Clarke in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of misconduct. In a statement when the articles were published, Clarke vehemently denied any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing. GNM has said it will defend its reporting as being true and in the public interest. The trial of the libel and data protection claims is now due to begin on Wednesday, lasting between four and six weeks with a Guardian spokesperson previously saying that 32 witnesses are set to give evidence against Clarke. The trial in London is expected to only deal with liability, and not the assessment of any damages if Clarke is successful. Guardian News and Media is defending the libel claims (John Stillwell/PA) Clarke made his first TV appearance more than 20 years ago in the Channel 4 series Metrosexuality, and gained fame for his roles as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who and Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He later wrote and starred in the acclaimed film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood, and directed two of them. Clarke was first recognised by Bafta in 2009, when he won the Rising Star prize, before being awarded the outstanding British contribution to cinema award in 2021. Following the allegations reported in The Guardian, Bafta suspended his membership and his outstanding British contribution to cinema award. Clarke filed a libel claim against the publisher in April 2022, and has attended several of the preliminary hearings in the case. The trial before Mrs Justice Steyn is due to begin on Wednesday at 10.30am. Brisbane residents fill sandbags as they prepare for flooding accompanying Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which the BoM forecast predicts will make landfall on Friday. Photograph: Andrew Messenger/The Guardian Queensland authorities are advising some residents to leave coastal properties in the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, amid warnings that a storm surge of up to 1 metre higher than typical tides could inundate communities. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australian Defence Force assets have been placed on standby to respond to the looming storm, which was tracking towards the heavily populated coastline between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. Alfred was expected to reach landfall early on Friday morning. Schools will be closed and public transport halted from Thursday as preparations continued and forecasters warned that multiple-day rainfall totals could reach 800mm in some areas, particularly to the south of the centre of the cyclone. Updated tracking maps on Wednesday morning showed Alfred maintaining its intensity, speed and likely path to landfall. It was on track to reach the coastline about 1am on Friday somewhere between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane as a category 2 storm. The model also showed Alfred potentially crossing just south of Brisbane. Hundreds of Queensland police recruits have begun doorknocking coastal properties that had been identified by local council flood map modelling as being at risk of inundation from a storm surge. Some of these residents will be advised to head to evacuation centres, which were being opened across the south-east. High tides due in the early hours of Friday are a particular concern for those in waterside communities. Matthew Collopy, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Alfred could bring elevated sea levels of between 25cm and 1 metre above the normal highest tides that people see. There is some modelling that indicates it may even be slightly higher than that for locations around the South Bay of Redlands and the Gold Coast, he said. [Wind] gusts up to 90km/h may develop very later today and into early Thursday, increasing to destructive winds up to 130km/h gusts as Alfred approaches the coast. Daily rainfall totals of between 200mm and 400mm were predicted. This could mean the event totals over 800mm, Collopy said. This sort of rainfall is expected to produce life-threatening flash and riverine flooding. Brisbanes lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said he had been updated on new modelling that showed 20,000 properties across Brisbane could be impacted by storm surge or flooding. These 20,000 properties could experience anything from minor inundation in their yards to significant flooding inside homes. Ive just been updated on new modelling ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The modelling shows almost 20,000 properties across Brisbane could be impacted by storm surge or flooding. pic.twitter.com/iWKTiljqxb Adrian Schrinner (@bne_lordmayor) March 4, 2025 Brisbane a city of 2.5 million people has been severely flooded three times in 15 years. Schrinner said the areas most at risk were beachside communities including Nudgee Beach and Brighton and low-lying suburbs near rivers and creeks, including Windsor, Ashgrove, Morningside and Rocklea. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said people in evacuation zones should make a plan and consider your alternate arrangements in the hours of the days ahead. Related: Alice thought Brisbane wouldnt flood twice in one decade. Now shes bracing for Tropical Cyclone Alfred to hit If you are not in one of the zones, if youre not in storm tide zones or one of the riverine flooding areas, the safest place for you is in your home and thats the vast majority of Queenslanders. Albanese announced subsidies that would mean families with children in childcare would not pay fees if centres were closed in the coming days. He said the federal government had been assisting with coordination between the New South Wales and Queensland governments. There is no Tweed border here, Albanese said. This is not recognised by the cyclone and it certainly should be recognised by government responses. There were long queues for sandbags as residents prepared homes for the unusual phenomenon of a tropical cyclone in a large city outside the tropics. The storm turned back towards the coast, as forecast, on Tuesday afternoon, having moved slowly south from the Coral Sea over about two weeks. The current forecast has the system intensifying to a high-end category 2 system prior to landfall on Thursday evening or Friday morning, the bureau said on Wednesday. The possibility of the system reaching a low-end category 3 strength before making landfall cannot be ruled out, but remains a low risk. The system was moving about 11km/h as it tracks towards the coast. Read more of Guardian Australias Tropical Cyclone Alfred coverage: On Friday morning, meteorologists mapping the trajectory of Tropical Cyclone Alfred were predicting it would make landfall either Friday night or Saturday morning somewhere between Noosa and Coolangatta. The most recent tracking map suggested it could cross north of Brisbane. Alfreds slow progress to the mainland could prolong already severe conditions to the south of its projected path, particularly in parts of the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales. Related: Cyclone Alfred live updates: Brisbane, Queensland and NSW BoM path tracking map; landfall time and category; weather forecasts TC Alfred rain and flooding warnings latest Australia news Thousands of people in parts of the NSW Northern Rivers were told to leave their homes on Thursday night, including residents in Lismores CBD, north and south. Evacuation orders were issued as far south as the Nambucca shire, more than 400km south of the Queensland-NSW border. The NSW State Emergency Service warned people in 11 locations to evacuate before 9pm on Thursday: Uki, Fingal Heads and Tumbulgum in the Tweed catchment; North Lismore, South Lismore, Lismore CBD and East Lismore in the Lismore catchment; Bungawalbin and low-lying parts of Kyogle and Coraki in the Richmond catchment; and Billinudgel in the Brunswick catchment. Queensland police warned people on the Gold Coast to prepare to take shelter on Thursday night. Authorities in Brisbane said 20,000 properties in the city were at risk of inundation from a storm surge or flooding as Alfred continued its track towards the populated south-east Queensland coast. When and where is Tropical Cyclone Alfred going to hit? The bureaus track maps include a large area in grey outside the main track that represents the area where the cyclone could go. In advice published at 7.52am Queensland time (8.52 AEDT) on Friday, the BoM said the centre of Alfred was expected to cross the Queensland coast at about 10am on Saturday morning, most likely between Double Island Point and Noosa and just south of Brisbanes CBD. Staying up to date with the maps is the best way to stay informed. At 9am Queensland time (10am AEDT) on Friday, the BoM said Alfred remained a category 2 system with sustained winds near the centre of 100km/h with wind gusts to 140km/h. It was still moving slowly towards the coast, 160km east of Brisbane and 135km east-north-east of the Gold Coast. Related: Why did Tropical Cyclone Alfred slow down on its destructive path towards Australias east coast? The centre of the cyclone was expected to cross over the Moreton Bay Islands on Saturday morning before crossing the mainland coast, most likely between Noosa and Beenleigh, later during Saturday. Communities from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in NSW including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina but not including Grafton were in the warning zone as of Friday morning. Since Thursday night, the strongest wind gusts have been seen at Cape Byron, where there was a mean wind speed of 92km/h and gusting up to 120km/h. Gold Coast airport also experienced 100km/h wind gusts, with Evans Head and Cape Morton seeing 98km/h wind gusts. Destructive wind gusts of up to 155km/h may develop about the Moreton Bay Islands and exposed coastal locations on the northern Gold Coast from Friday night, the BoM said, as Alfreds destructive core approaches the coast. Cyclones rotate clockwise, meaning the strongest onshore winds are underneath the eye. Potentially life-threatening floods As well as high winds and storm surges, affected areas were preparing for intense rainfall that the bureau warned could lead to life-threatening flash flooding. Unfortunately, the northern river systems and New South Wales are already on their way to major flooding, said Sarah Scully, a senior meteorologist at the BoM. The Bellinger River in NSW was already at moderate flood level on Friday morning. Major flood warnings have also been issued for the Logan, Tweed, Brunswick, Wilson, Richmond, Orara, Bellinger and Nambucca rivers of NSW, with more flood warnings and watches likely to be upgraded over the coming days. Related: Cyclone Alfred update: storm may weaken as it makes landfall but winds and torrential rain batter Australias coast In the 48 hours to 6am Friday AEDT, parts of NSW had already seen hundreds of millimetres of rain, with 440mm falling at Meldrum, 429mm at Dorrigo and 321mm at Mullumbimbi. The rain has been slightly lighter in Queensland: 246mm at Lower Springbrook, 206mm at Currumbin Creek and 170mm at Coolangatta. Scully said Brisbane had experienced far lighter rainfall totals and was yet to see any of the gale-force winds because it was far more sheltered from the south and further away from the coast. We are expecting Brisbane winds to start to build throughout today and into this afternoon, and also the rainfall to increase as well, she said. Abnormally high tides are also expected to continue to cause flooding to low-lying areas between Double Island Point and Ballina, particularly during the high tide early on Saturday night. Damaging surf and significant beach erosion is likely for the open beaches between Double Island Point and Grafton, and further south over the NSW coast. Which suburbs are at risk? Earlier in the week the Brisbane lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said the suburbs most at risk were beachside communities including Nudgee Beach and Brighton and low-lying suburbs near rivers and creeks, including Windsor, Ashgrove, Morningside and Rocklea. South of the city, Redland city council has issued warnings for a very dangerous storm tide for coastal areas. Gold Coast city council is warning of destructive wind gusts and significant flooding. Evacuation centres Brisbane city council has set up a temporary refuge shelter at RNA showgrounds, and two further shelters would be set up on Friday if required at the Chandler arena in Chandler and Kedron Wavell in Chermside. More information can be found on the councils website. Gold Coast city council has opened evacuation centres at Runaway Bay indoor sports centre, Burleigh Waters community centre and Pimpama sports hub. Moreton Bay had three evacuation centres open by Friday morning, at Caboolture memorial hall, Strathpine community centre and the Hope Centre in Rothwell. In NSW multiple evacuation centres have been set up all the way down the coast from the Queensland border as far south as Port Macquarie. A full list of centres with their opening times is on the NSW SES website. Why is this a big deal? Tropical cyclones are typically a tropical phenomenon and the fact that Alfred could reach the coastline hundreds of kilometres south of the tropics could be quite dangerous. There is a huge population in the potential path of the cyclone of more than 4 million people, most of them living in and around Brisbane. And the Queensland capital is not particularly well-equipped to cope with a cyclone. Residents of north Queensland and the Northern Territory are well-versed in preparing for cyclones; most have a cyclone kit with emergency supplies, and many buildings and homes are constructed to withstand strong winds. Related: Fallen trees, howling wind and drunken parrots: bracing for Alfred, I remember another Queensland cyclone Brisbane is also used to storms but doesnt cope particularly well with them. The city has severely flooded three times (in 2011, 2017 and 2022) in the past 15 years. Predictions of 300mm to 600mm of rainfall in some areas, after a particularly wet summer, are worrying authorities. It is unusual to be taking the threat of a cyclone this seriously this far from it making landfall. But authorities are taking this very seriously. When was the last cyclone in Brisbane? It is rare but not unheard of for tropical cyclones to reach landfall south of the tropics. The closest a cyclone track has come to Brisbane was in 1990 when Tropical Cyclone Nancy tracked erratically towards the Queensland capital before taking a southward turn just off the coastline and never making landfall. Tropical Cyclone Wanda the cause of Brisbanes historic 1974 floods crossed the coast near Kgari and Hervey Bay. A severe tropical cyclone crossed the coast near Tweed Heads in 1954. It is far more common for a tropical cyclone to cross the coast north of the Tropic of Capricorn and return overland to the south-east as a destructive low storm. This occurred with Cyclone Debbie in 2017. How should people prepare? The Queensland government has a guide for residents to get ready for cyclones, which includes packing a kit with enough basic items for your family to use for three days at home without power. Residents should make sure loose items are secured or put away. How will travel and public transport be affected? On Friday morning, Qantas announced an extension of its suspension of all flights including budget carrier Jetstar out of Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ballina airports until at least Sunday morning. Virgin operations are also suspended in those airports until at least Sunday morning. All bus, train, ferry and tram services in south-east Queensland have been suspended until further notice. Updates will be provided on the Department of Transport and Main Roads website. The department also said it expected damage to roads and bridges due to flooding as well as high winds. The Brisbane regional harbour master has issued a red alert for those on boats to seek/take shelter, and no vessels are permitted on the water until further notice. NSW and Queensland school closures Hundreds of schools across south-east Queensland and northern NSW will be closed on Friday, with 1,051 schools closed in Queensland including 663 state schools, and 254 NSW public schools, along with some independent schools. Tafes and universities including the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland University of Technology, the University of Queensland and Griffith have closed their campuses. Theme parks closure extended Village Roadshow said the closure of Gold Coast theme parks, including Movie World, Sea World and WetnWild, would be extended to Sunday, but it would provide updates as the situation progresses. Read more of Guardian Australias Tropical Cyclone Alfred coverage: Donald Trump has said he appreciates Volodymyr Zelenskys letter saying Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement at any time after the deal broke down last week. The US president also said he has had strong signals from Russia that Moscow is ready for peace, adding: Wouldnt that be beautiful? The Ukrainian president had earlier said it is time to make things right with Mr Trump after a fractious meeting in the Oval Office last week and the US decision to suspend military aid to Kyiv. The UKs diplomatic push towards securing peace in Ukraine will continue as Defence Secretary John Healey heads to Washington on Wednesday. In an address to Congress, Mr Trump quoted the Ukrainian leaders words from a letter. He read: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Mr Trump added: I appreciate that he sent this letter Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides. Mr Healey is due to meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday. The Defence Secretarys trip was agreed last week after Sir Keir Starmer announced an increase in the UKs defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and comes just days after the US halted military aid to Kyiv. I would like to reiterate Ukraines commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025 Diplomatic efforts had continued on Tuesday, with the Prime Minister speaking once again to the Ukrainian leader. In their call, Sir Keir pushed the idea that it is vital for all parties to work towards peace. It came after a further call with the US president on Monday. Mr Zelensky posted on X later on Tuesday to say Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to secure peace. Relations between the US and Ukraine appeared to be in tatters last week after a confrontation between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky at the White House. The Ukrainian leader called for a truce in the sky and a truce in the sea if Russia agrees to the same, and described the Oval Office clash as regrettable. Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be, he said. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future co-operation and communication to be constructive. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace (Justin Tallis/PA) Sir Keir had hailed Mr Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace in a phone call on Tuesday. A readout of the call offered by Downing Street said: The Prime Minister updated on his discussion with President Trump last night. It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible, the Prime Minister added. Turning to President Zelenskys most recent calls for further diplomatic efforts to achieve the swiftest possible end to the war, the Prime Minister welcomed President Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace. Underscoring that any peace for Ukraine needed to be lasting and secure, the Prime Minister said no-one wanted peace more than Ukraine. The leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days. Ahead of his trip, Mr Healey hailed the special relationship between the UK and the US and said it is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. He added: In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too. The Prime Minister was clear following his meetings over the past week that we will continue our dialogue with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace in Ukraine. We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days. The push for increased defence spending comes as figures showed one in 10 armed forces personnel more than 13,500 people are unfit to be deployed. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence in a parliamentary answer showed just 54,695 members of the British Army 76.9% of the total are classed as medically fully deployable (MFD), with 9,478 (13.3%) classed as medically limited deployable (MLD) and 6,973 (9.8%) medically not deployable (MND). Across the forces, 99,162 (78.1%) are fully deployable, 14,361 (11.3%) are classed as MLD and 13,503 (10.6%) are MND as of January 1. Mr Trump also criticised European countries in his address to Congress for spending more money buying Russian oil and gas than on defending Ukraine, while thanking Mr Zelensky for his willingness to resume peace negotiations. Mr Trump said: I want (the war in Ukraine) to stop. Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. And weve spent perhaps 350 billion dollars (273 billion), like taking candy from a baby. Thats what happened. And theyve spent 100 billion dollars (78 billion) what a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. Donald Trump's mineral agreement The minerals deal set to be signed between Ukraine and the United States will mark the first official agreement in Donald Trumps efforts to end three years of war with Russia. The historic document has been described as the basis for a new international order by Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister. We are publishing the full text of the draft deal below, with our own analysis of what the key points mean for the future of Ukraine and the world. When Mr Trump first mooted a US-Ukraine minerals deal, he claimed Washington was owed $500 billion (394 billion) worth of Ukraines resources in exchange for past military support to defend against the Russian invasion. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, was eventually dispatched to Kyiv to open talks. Volodymyr Zelensky had hoped for a rare earths agreement to guarantee future US military support. He rejected a first draft partially because of a lack of security guarantees. By agreeing to back a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine, the US is offering a compromise that does not commit directly to protecting the country. This language represents a point of order, making it clear that the war with Russia could have been avoided. Mr Zelensky has repeatedly raised the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which promised US, UK, French and Russian security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv giving up its arsenal of Soviet-inherited nuclear weapons. Neither Washington, London or Paris offered sufficient guarantees to prevent Russias 2014 incursion into the Donbas or its full-scale invasion eight years later. This is the first time the documents allude to minerals that could be exploited under a peace deal. The country is estimated to hold 10 per cent of the worlds reserves of lithium, used in the production of batteries. Two of Ukraines largest lithium deposits are currently in Russian-held territories and Vladimir Putin has signalled he wants in on any minerals deal in areas his forces occupy. This section of the deal could serve as a nod that Russia must not benefit from the US-Ukraine deal a win for Ukraine in early negotiations. At the heart of the deal is the creation of a Reconstruction Investment Fund for Ukraine to be financed through the joint exploration of Ukraines untapped natural resources. The term joint ownership is used in this framework agreement, but one of the main questions is how large Washingtons stake in the fund will be and how it will make money from it. It is not clear what either side will gain from the agreement, but it is stipulated that decisions pertaining to the fund cannot be taken without either Kyivs or Washingtons consent. This is a minor victory for the Ukrainians, who were insisting that they would not sign a colonial treaty giving the US full rights and ownership. This is where we get into the nitty-gritty. It commits Ukraine to giving half of all profits from future mining and extraction to the joint fund. What is interesting here is the scope of the agreement has grown from rare earths and minerals to include other hydrocarbons, such as oil and natural gas, as well as the infrastructure linked to it, such as ports used to export the resources. Ukraine secured guarantees that Mr Trump, or any other future US president, will not be able to tap into the profits of resources that are already being mined. The deal is limited to future profits only. Before it emerged that Kyiv had agreed to the US offer, a top European Union official said Brussels had a similar win-win proposal for sharing Ukraines minerals already on the table. Language in the draft agreement here attempts to ensure that Kyivs natural resources will be ring-fenced for America, keeping others, such as the EU, out of the equation. A crucial element of the agreement is how it will deal with international sanctions on Russia. While the details of this part are still to be negotiated, there is already a desire here that the reconstruction fund should not be allowed to get around any of the punitive measures slapped on Moscow as a result of Putins invasion. This is perhaps the most important part of the text. It is the closest thing in writing so far to a promise from the US to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression. Mr Zelensky had rejected previous iterations of the deal because they did not contain explicit pledges of security guarantees from the US in exchange for the minerals in Ukraine. But this new wording is just a hint in that direction, and not yet a cast-iron one. The Ukrainian president told a press conference on Wednesday the document did not contain concrete steps on security guarantees because they were still to be negotiated between the US and Europe. But hope is not lost, with Mr Zelensky saying the agreement provides a framework that could be part of future security guarantees. He said he would discuss this with Mr Trump, when they are expected to meet to sign the deal in Washington on Friday. Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump exchange heated words in the Oval Office - Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America More than any other politician, president Donald Trump excels in his ability to reframe political conversations in terms favourable to him. To any fair-minded observer, his lashing out against Volodymyr Zelensky last Friday was disgraceful, as was his regurgitation of Russian talking points about Zelensky supposedly provoking World War Three or about a putative $300 billion in US aid (an apparent invention of Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of Russias sovereign wealth fund). Yet, much of the subsequent coverage in the United States focused on Zelensky and his failure to keep his cool, or to wear a suit to the Oval Office. Trumps power to bend political reality to his will is not unbounded especially when the president seeks to deny elementary facts about the world. Given the brazenness with which the administration is trying to portray Zelensky as the villain of the war in Ukraine, while airbrushing away the role played by Russia, some of those basic facts bear repeating. First and foremost, neither Ukraine nor Zelensky started Russias war against Ukraine, which has been unfolding since 2014. As Vladimir Putin was preparing to launch the full-scale invasion in the early weeks of 2022 with the grotesque aims of demilitarising and denazifying the government in Kyiv, there was no deal for Zelensky to strike, short of ending Ukraines independence and surrendering to imperial aggression. Second, throughout this war, US assistance to Ukraine has been neither a matter of charity nor of reckless escalation. Setting Ukraine up for success as it inflicts debilitating losses on Russias war machine and forces Putin to reorganise the countrys entire economy is the most economical and prudent way to ensure that Russia is contained and does not pose a threat to Nato. Ukrainians estimate Russian casualties dead, wounded and missing in action at over 800,000. Even if that figure is inflated, it is still a tribute to the effectiveness of US assistance in degrading the military of one of our key adversaries, at a price tag of less than 5 per cent of the Pentagons budget on an annualised basis, without placing any American military personnel in harms way. My colleagues at AEI have also assessed the budgetary implications for the US of Ukraines defeat, insofar as Washington would continue to play a role in securing Nato territory. The findings are eye-watering. Over a five-year horizon, the fall of Ukraine would require $808 billion in extra defence spending to keep Americas current posture in Eastern Europe intact. On a yearly basis, that is four times more than what the United States has spent on all assistance to Ukraine, military, financial, and humanitarian. Third, pressuring Kyiv into an ill-thought out and premature peace agreement, as Trump seems intent on doing by cutting US assistance to Ukraine, undermines American interests in Europe and beyond. Under the very best of scenarios, the British and the Europeans will succeed in filling the gap to either keep Ukraine in the fight or to deter future Russian incursions. That will not happen, however, without irreparable damage to the transatlantic partnership, of which the future German Chancellor Friedrich Merzs call for Europes independence from Trumps America is an early indication. It is already hard to imagine that the Trump administration could succeed in the coming years in building an effective global coalition with the Europeans against China, for example. Worse yet, should a Trump-Putin deal give an appearance of Russian victory and open the way to Moscows domination of Ukraine, Xi Jinping will be emboldened to make a decisive move against Taiwan in the coming years. Under those circumstances, moreover, Nato would become a dead letter unless the Trump administration is keen to spend those extra $808 billion to reassure Poland, Lithuania, and others and nuclear proliferation will accelerate, with all the associated risks. In short, it is not Zelensky who is recklessly toying with a future global conflict but rather the Trump administration and, of course, Russia. That is not to say that the behaviour of others has been beyond reproach. The Biden administration never articulated a strategy for victory, and for Europe the war has failed to provide the much-needed wake-up call that many EU leaders like to talk about but very few live by. But as the worlds superpower, America does carry a special responsibility. And no amount of spin by the bottom-shelf Charles Lindberghs of today can change the fact that a Ukrainian victory and the nations secure future, free of the depredations of Putins Russia, remains intimately in Americas interest. Dalibor Rohac is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. Twitter: @DaliborRohac. Two men have been charged with the murder of a man in 1984. Anthony Littler, 45, was found with head injuries in an alleyway known as The Causeway, near East Finchley Tube station on May 1 that year. Investigators believe the Customs and Excise officer, who was single and lived a short distance from the station, was murdered in a random attack. On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police announced that two men who were originally arrested in March last year have now been charged with murder. Michael Stewart, 55, of Station Road, New Barnet, north London, and Anthony Stewart, 59, of Old Farm Road, Finchley, north London, will appear at Willesden Magistrates Court on Thursday. Another three men who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder remain under investigation. Deputy suggestion process to be standardized 10:58, March 05, 2025 By Cao Yin ( China Daily Residents sit with community workers in a neighborhood square to discuss the problems they face in their daily lives in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in May. (Li Shurong/Xinhua) After her suggestions related to new energy vehicles were addressed last year, national legislator Cao Jingfang plans to continue advocating for the people's interests in the automotive sector again this year. Last year, during the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, Cao, a National People's Congress deputy from Shandong province, made suggestions on strengthening after-sales services for NEVs. The deputy, who also works at a power plant in Zouxian county, called for vocational schools to add courses or offer training for NEV maintenance technicians and to establish a public spare parts supply platform. The reason for the suggestions stemmed from the fact that many NEV owners had told her they had encountered problems in finding skilled technicians and high repair costs. "I was elected by the people. It's my duty to speak for them and help solve difficulties they face in work and daily life," she said. However, Cao didn't expect that her suggestions would receive the amount of attention from the NPC Standing Committee that they actually did. It prompted government departments involved in the NEV industry, including the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to increase communication with Cao to learn more about her concerns and take action to address the issues. As a result, the job category of NEV maintenance technician has been included in China's occupational catalog. The training and selection of outstanding technicians have also been improved, with maintenance skills competitions organized nationwide. This process for handling suggestions from deputies is set to be standardized in a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels. The draft amendment is due to be reviewed by Chinese legislators at the third session of the 14th NPC, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Beijing. This means that all stages of the suggestions-related process, including making, communication, handling, response, and feedback are expected to be formalized in legal terms. "It will further encourage deputies to fulfill our duties and, more importantly, help effectively solve difficulties raised by the people," Cao said. Zhou Yefang (left) and Xu Lihong (second left), who are deputies to local people's congresses in Tongshan town of Zhuji, Zhejiang province, conduct field research at a construction site in Tongshan in September to make sure that livelihood improvement projects are progressing smoothly. (Xu Yu/Xinhua) Closer connection Wang Zunyi, a deputy to the people's congress in Xiangyang, Hubei province, is closely following the modification of the law. "This piece of legislation is a yardstick for guaranteeing and overseeing my performance," he said. "As deputies, we come from the people and need to serve the people," said Wang, who is also head of Gaozhuang community in Fancheng district. In the past few weeks, he visited residents to learn more about their needs for elderly care services, and also researched on how to strengthen the district's greening through the utilization of industrial heritage. "I talked to the people living in my residential area and participated in inspection tours organized by the standing committee of the city's people's congress in other regions," he said. "The face-to-face communications made me more broadly aware of the public's ideas on the issues, so that I could better advocate for them." For Jiang Yuqin, a deputy to the people's congress in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, mini programs on WeChat and websites have become quicker and more crucial channels for her to connect with the people, listen to their voices and collect their opinions. Jiang, who is also head of Zoujiajiao community, posted QR codes at the entrances of each apartment building. By scanning the code, residents can access an online platform where they can report any challenges they face in their daily lives. In addition, residents can share their ideas on repairing and renovating old houses on the platform, which is also an issue Jiang is researching, involving joint participation in the maintenance and management of the community, she said. "Face-to-face talks and group discussions are more suitable for the elderly or for figuring out complex issues," she said. "Online services are more appropriate for young people who can express their thoughts anytime and anywhere. "The more varied the ways of communication, the greater the likelihood that people's difficulties will be seen, and this also makes the connection between deputies and the people closer," she added. Zhou and Xu collect senior residents' opinions on the operation of a local activity center for seniors during their field research. (Xu Yu/Xinhua) Better problem-solving While bridging the gap between deputies and the people, online platforms have also offered deputies a treasure trove of knowledge to enhance their performance and monitor their behaviors. Every morning when Cao, the NPC deputy from Shandong, exercises, she opens an information platform established by the NPC Standing Committee to learn about the latest national policies and laws, as well as the experiences of other deputies. "The learning has enriched me and given me a clearer understanding of how to better speak for the people and fulfill my mission as a deputy. It has also made me stronger, enabling me to help people address difficulties more effectively," she said. Thanks to digital services designated by the Suzhou People's Congress, Jiang has access to a wide range of learning resources and participated in numerous training activities. "Information technology breaks through the limitations of time and space," she said. "With just a mobile phone, I can contact legislative staff, businesses and even government departments right from within my community. "The digital platform has also made my communication and interaction with other deputies more convenient and frequent. We learn from each other and talk about hot issues, which helps us find better solutions for problems raised by the people," she added. Both Jiang and Cao are calling for the stronger application of information technology in their duties, as this approach will contribute more to affirming that the people are the masters of the country, Cao said. With digital services being widely utilized by deputies, they have also enabled the standing committees of people's congresses and government departments to enhance their work efficiency, thereby addressing people's difficulties more efficiently. Data released by the NPC Standing Committee shows that it received 9,235 suggestions from NPC deputies during the second session of the 14th NPC last year. "The large number of suggestions reflects deputies' engagement in the country's governance and decision-making," the committee said, adding that the suggestions were forwarded to 213 relevant departments for review and action, with all lawmakers receiving feedback. To respond to the concerns of NPC deputies in a timely manner, the committee launched an information platform last year for suggestion making, communication, handling, response, and feedback. "The platform makes it easier for deputies to make and track their suggestions, and the streamlined workflow also accelerates the pace of handling suggestions," the committee said. It added that such quick responses and efficient processes are more conducive to solving people's difficulties and implementing whole-process people's democracy. Self-improvement The draft amendment ready to be contemplated by all NPC members is essential for deputies, as it outlines their rights and obligations in the new era, Cao said. "Improving the law is like updating our work manual. The new version, I believe, will be conducive to invigorating the vitality of China's democratic system, better pooling the wisdom and strength of the people into the country's development, and making policies more in line with the people's interests and more scientific," she added. Wang said that he is looking forward to the new deputy guidance. "After summarizing the good practices and experiences of the past decade, the legal document will also draw clearer boundaries for us on what to do, and help us understand the priorities for future work," he said. "It will also enable us to improve the quality of duty performance and promote whole-process people's democracy." Jiang emphasized that the people's congress system has provided an important institutional guarantee for the Chinese people, adding that amending the law will optimize the system to uphold the principle that the country is run by the people and for the people. "I regard the modification of the law this time as an opportunity for self-improvement," she said. "It urges me to enhance my ability to serve the people, broaden my horizons, and make up for my own shortcomings. "I'll continue to contribute to the socioeconomic development of our region, and work toward improving the quality of life of the people." (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Microsoft recently contributed to a funding round that raised $6.6bn for OpenAI. Illustration: Jaque Silva/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock The UKs competition watchdog will not hold a formal investigation into Microsofts partnership with the startup behind the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, stating that while the $2.9tn (2.3tn) tech company has material influence over OpenAI it does not control it. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Microsoft, OpenAIs biggest financial backer with a $13bn investment, acquired material influence over the San Francisco-based business in 2019 but did not exercise de facto control over it and therefore did not meet the threshold for an official inquiry. The decision follows expressions of disquiet over the appointment of the former boss of Amazon UK, Doug Gurr, as the CMAs interim chair. The organisations chief executive, Sarah Cardell, has also said the CMA does not want to create a chilling effect on business confidence, amid pressure from the UK government on regulators to produce pro-growth proposals. Related: Competition watchdog to speed up decisions after UK government pressure The CMAs executive director for mergers, Joel Bamford, said: We have found that there has not been a change of control by Microsoft from material influence to de facto control over OpenAI. Because this change of control has not happened, the partnership in its current form does not qualify for review under the UKs merger control regime. However, Bamford added that the decision should not be read as the partnership being given a clean bill of health on competition concerns. The CMA started investigating the OpenAI relationship after the dramatic sacking and reinstatement of Sam Altman as OpenAIs chief executive over a hectic few days in November 2023, Microsoft announced it had hired Altman, only for him to rejoin the startup. The CMA highlighted a recent reduction in OpenAIs reliance on Microsoft for computer power a key factor in operating an AI business as an influence over its decision. A Microsoft spokesperson said the partnership with OpenAI and its continued evolution promote competition, innovation, and responsible AI development We welcome the CMAs conclusion, after careful and prudent consideration of the commercial realities, to close its investigation. Last year, the CMA decided not to investigate Amazons investment in the AI firm Anthropic and further Microsoft partnerships with the AI firms Mistral and Inflection. Microsoft recently contributed to a funding round that raised $6.6bn for OpenAI and valued the business at $157bn. OpenAI is run by a non-profit board but has a for-profit subsidiary, in which Microsoft is the biggest backer, with returns to investors and employees capped. Despite concerns over Gurrs appointment and the CMAs efforts to avoid a chilling effect on the economy, the CMA did target big tech with investigations in January, the month that Gurr was appointed. Google is being investigated over its dominance in internet search and search advertising, while it is also conducting a separate inquiry on the impact of Apple and Googles mobile platforms on consumers and businesses. In January, Microsoft said the CMA was making a fundamental mistake in its investigation into the cloud market, after the watchdog said the tech firm was making it harder for Google and Amazon to compete effectively for customers in cloud computing, the term for providing IT services such as data storage and computing power over the internet with a pay-as-you-go pricing structure. Margaret Young during her climb of Denali. Photograph: Courtesy of Abrams Press In 1970, Alaskan doctor and mountaineer Grace Hoeman led a team of six women in the first all-female attempt to summit Denali which was the first all-womens ascent of any of the worlds big peaks. At the time, people thought that women were incapable of climbing mountains without mens help. We had sent men to the moon, and women still hadnt stood on the highest points on Earth, which made Hoemans bold idea all the more audacious. From 1917 to 2015, North Americas tallest mountain was officially named Mount McKinley. But over that century, Alaska Natives, climbers and many others still called it by the name it had held for millennia: Denali, Koyukon Athabascan for the great one. President Barack Obama restored the peaks Indigenous name in 2015. President Donald Trump ordered the mountain be re-named Mount McKinley in January 2025. But Alaska Natives and climbers have already come forward in droves to affirm they will continue calling it Denali. When expedition leader Hoeman dreamed up the idea of the first all-womens ascent of Denali, she was hardly the first female adventurer of her genre. Women had been scaling mountains and exploring polar regions for decades. Before the turn of the 20th century, American Josephine Peary wandered the cold Arctic in the company of her husband, North Pole explorer Robert Peary. Around the same time, Elizabeth Le Blond, an Irish alpinist, climbed in the Alps without a husband. She was an anomaly who scandalized prim English society in the 1880s and 90s by staying in the mountains overnight with her male guides. Le Blond wrote that the main reason so few women climbed in that era was that unless they had the companionship of a father, brother, or sister, it was looked at as most shocking for a female to sleep in a hut or bivouac. Another reason might have been the total lack of acceptable mountaineering clothing. Women were expected to climb in skirts, an outrageous norm that left them struggling with heavy fabric, often wet with snow, encumbering their legs and feet. Le Blond often shucked her skirt once out of sight of towns, villages or huts, and hiked in her knickers, loose-fitting trousers gathered at the calf that served as underthings for women, and would retrieve her skirt at the end of the climb. Once, an avalanche carried away her skirt from its hiding place. Back in town, she had to hide behind a tree while her guide fetched another from her hotel room. He returned carrying an evening gown. During the womens suffrage movement, American adventurer Fanny Bullock Workman smashed female altitude records in the Himalayas (again, with her husband) and used her success as a platform for womens equality; in 1912, she was famously photographed on a high pass on the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram holding up a newspaper with the headline Votes for Women. As for Denali, only two women had stood on that windswept summit by the time Hoeman and her team aimed for it. In 1947, Barbara Washburn climbed the mountain alongside her husband, Bradford Washburn, a pioneering cartographer, photographer, and explorer who was the first to fully map the enormity of Denali. Barbara didnt attempt the summit for the glory or distinction of being the first woman, although she called it the thrill of her life. She actually had to be persuaded to make the ascent; she had three small children at the time whom she was reluctant to leave. But RKO Radio Pictures, making a documentary on mountain climbing and intrigued by the idea of a female climber, offered to pay for a nanny to enable her to join the expedition. She wrote later of the feat: Reporters expected me to come up with some deep psychological reason why I needed to be the first woman on the summit of Mount McKinley, why I felt I needed to excel like this. They were always disappointed when I said I simply wanted to be with my husband. Fifteen years after that, a climber named Anore Bucknell ascended the mountains north flank with a team of five other men to stand on the summit as well. Even if theyre not well-known, these early womens accomplishments have at least lasted in the historical record. There are many more whose names never even made it into our collective history, as male explorers often failed to mention women in their expedition diaries if women were along at all. Women were shunted to the background, left largely unrecorded, and often discouraged from participating in the first place. Like many outdoor spheres, the male-dominated pursuits of mountaineering and climbing were (and still are, in many senses) overwhelmingly masculine in participants, approach and culture. Its why a beginner-level climb was dubbed in slang, an easy day for a lady. When a woman did achieve success in the mountains, it was never due to her own strength or skill; cultural narrative often attributed her success to a man who carried her pack, held her hand on scary heights, or helped her over plunging crevasses. When women did achieve summits or climbing routes alone, those mountains were deemed too easy for men to attempt ever again as when Miriam Underhill and Alice Damesme climbed The Grepon in 1929. A steep granite spire in the Mont Blanc massif, the Grepon was a famously difficult climb. A tight, 60ft (18 meters) vertical crevice called the Mummery Crack, beneath which is nothing but empty air, required the lead climber to squeeze up it while belayed from below; but the belay here was almost superfluous, as no leader whod fallen from the top of the Mummery had survived. A crowd of male climbers on the route gathered to watch the two women navigate it. They did, successfully, and went on to climb the rest of the route. But the day had not even ended before French climber Etienne Bruhl declared: The Grepon has disappeared. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb. But when women failed in the mountains, it was only validation of the climbing communitys certainty of their inferiority. In 1959, French alpinist Claude Kogan led a team of 12 women on the first all-female ascent, albeit with male guides and Sherpas, of Cho Oyu, which reaches to 26,867ft the sixth highest peak in the world. When Kogan, one of her expedition mates, and two Sherpas were killed by an avalanche at their high camp at 23,000ft before reaching the summit, British reporter Stephen Harper called it a verdict that even the toughest and most courageous of women are still the weaker sex in the white hell of a blizzard and avalanche-torn mountain, that in the face of violent death and peril, men go out in front and women accept it. And there was the not-so-small matter of motherhood with which to contend. In 1970, the Roe v Wade decision and the social and economic liberation for women that came with reproductive choice was still three years in the future. The idea of women transcending the narrow confines of motherhood and domesticity was gaining steam but the idea of women rejecting cultural norms and putting off having children to pursue such an outlandish and traditionally masculine passion as mountaineering was still way off the map. Eighteen years after the Denali expedition, famed New Zealand climber Lydia Bradey would undergo sterilization to pursue her mountaineering career. Bradey grew up the only child of a single mother. From a young age, it was impressed upon her that being a good parent required a lot of time and attention. With her climbing career gaining momentum, she recognized she didnt have those things to give to a child, didnt want to risk being a sub-par parent as a result, and wanted to prioritize mountains. As she first began raising the topic of sterilization with doctors in her early 20s, she was constantly advised that she was too young. It wasnt until she found a female doctor that she finally got the operation. A year later in 1988, at the age of 27, Bradey became the first woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. In her memoir, Going Up is Easy, Bradey recalled: When I started mountaineering, I would see men who were fathers pushing themselves and taking risks. And it seemed to me that their wives and girlfriends back home were in the dark about what was going on. So men got away with what they were doing and it was only when women who were mothers started climbing that the spotlight fell on the subject. The spotlight hit hard in 1995 when Alison Hargreaves died on K2 in a violent storm. Hargreaves was one of the best mountaineers of her generation, also summiting Everest without supplemental oxygen and soloing all six of the classic north faces of the Alps in a single season. But rather than eulogized for her skill, she was attacked after her death as irresponsible and selfish for being a mother of two and taking the risks inherent in any mountaineering career. The idea that women could be both mothers and mountaineers wouldnt start gaining acceptance until well into the 2000s, although even now, female big-mountain skiers, avalanche experts, climbers and mountaineers still worry about how pregnancies will impact their careers and whether sponsors will pull contracts. Some among the 1970 Denali expedition members perhaps all of them felt an enormous pressure to succeed, and not just to put to rest the demeaning jabs from the climbing community about weakness, emotional instability, and catfights breaking down the ranks of an all-female team. They aimed to prove that women definitively had a place in the world of high-altitude mountaineering. If anyone could meet that pressure, it was these six women, already accustomed to navigating mens worlds. Grace Hoeman, Arlene Blum, Margaret Clark, Margaret Young, Faye Kerr and Dana Smith were doctors, chemists, physicists, pilots and geologists. Between them, they had already scaled both literal and figurative mountains across the globe. They had but to summit this next one. And survive it. An excerpt from Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Womens Ascent of Denali by Cassidy Randall, which is out now. Arsenal thrashed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 in the Champions League in a stunning return to form while Aston Villa also enjoyed a good night in the competition on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was also speaking about his sides game against Paris St Germain on the day further details emerged about his sending-off in last months Merseyside derby. Gunners run riot Arsenal were outstanding in the Netherlands (Peter Lous/PA) Mikel Artetas side all but secured their place in the quarter-finals as they ran out emphatic winners in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Philips Stadion. The Gunners may have suffered some costly slips in the Premier League title race of late, but they wasted little time in proving they remain firm contenders on the European front. Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino all found the target inside half an hour. Noa Lang replied from the penalty spot, but two goals from Martin Odegaard and further efforts from Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori completed a rout. Late joy for Villa Marco Asensio celebrates scoring Villas third against Club Brugge (PA Wire via Belga) Aston Villa also put one foot in the last eight after two goals in the last 10 minutes secured an impressive 3-1 win at Club Brugge. The tone for a glorious night in Belgium was set after just 135 seconds when Leon Bailey fizzed his side in front. Maxim De Cuyper brought Brugge level in the 12th minute but Villas late flurry, with Brandon Mecheles 82nd-minute own goal followed by Marco Asensios penalty six minutes later, meant they took a firm grip on the tie. Slot anger at referee Arne Slot was at the centre of controversy at Goodison Park last month (Nick Potts/PA) Referee Michael Oliver claimed Liverpool boss Arne Slot told him he would be to blame if the Reds did not win the Premier League, it has emerged. Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were both sent off by Oliver in a stormy end to last months 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park. The pair had both confronted the official after the hosts James Tarkowski scored a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser. They have since been given two-match touchline suspensions and fined for their behaviour by an independent regulatory commission. In its newly published written reasons, the commission revealed Oliver had described Slot as confrontational and aggressive in his match report. He added that Slot told him: If we dont win the league, Ill ******* blame you. Slot admitted the charges but insisted he said: If we dont win the league, I will have you to thank for that. Slots focus is now on Wednesdays game at PSG, ahead of which he has been downplaying plaudits for the Premier League leaders outstanding season to date. The best team in Europe has to win the Champions League, but we are far away from that, he said. Magpies determined to keep stars Alexander Isak has enjoyed a superb season for Newcastle (Owen Humphreys/PA) Newcastle would be crazy to consider selling star players like Alexander Isak this summer after their latest accounts showed a big drop in losses, chief executive Darren Eales has said. The Magpies had lost in excess of 70million in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 accounting periods after heavy investment in players like Isak, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes. Player sales since, allied to a 28 per cent growth in revenue bolstered by participation in last seasons Champions League, led to the club announcing losses of 11.1million on Tuesday for the year ending June 30, 2024. Eales said: Weve got that wish and desire to keep our key players. We have no intention at all of those players being moved on. Itd be crazy for us to consider it. Whats on today? Liverpool are in action in Paris (Peter Byrne/PA) The first legs of the second four Champions League last-16 ties take place. As well as Liverpools clash with PSG at the Parc des Princes, there is a mouth-watering all-German clash between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. LaLiga leaders Barcelona are in action at Benfica while Feyenoord host Inter Milan. Womens Super League leaders Chelsea will hope to take another step towards the title as they take on Leicester. Protesters outside the John D Dingell Veterans Affairs medical center in Detroit on 28 February. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP Mass layoffs are being planned for two more vital federal US government agencies as the IRS and Veteran Affairs have emerged as the latest targets of the Trump administrations unprecedented purge through billionaire Elon Musks department of government efficiency (Doge), new reports suggest. The IRS is drafting plans to slash its 90,000-strong workforce by up to half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and buyouts, according to the Associated Press. The federal tax collector has offices across the country, with women accounting for 65% of the workforce, while people of color represent 56%. A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS dysfunctional, John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, told the AP. About 7,000 probationary employees with 12 months or less of service were already laid off in February. In addition to the extraordinary planned cuts, the Trump administration reportedly intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with the crackdown on immigrants. Related: Trump declares administration just getting started in address to Congress Meanwhile, the Veterans Affairs (VA) department is planning lay off as many as 83,000 workers by the end of 2025, according to an internal memo obtained by the Government Executive, a news outlet covering the executive branch. The leaked memo sent to senior staff on Tuesday said the VA would work with Musks Doge to slash its workforce to 2019 levels which is before millions of veterans became newly eligible for care. The cuts will be sweeping and spare no part of the department, wrote the VA chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, in the memo. More than one in four VA employees are veterans. Staffing at the VA rose substantially under the Biden administration in response to the 2022 Pact Act, which expanded health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxins from burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances. The legislation was passed after years of campaigning by veterans and their families who struggled to receive care and support for injuries and illnesses linked to their military service. The planned cuts were an outright betrayal of veterans, Representative Mark Takano, the top Democrat on the House veterans affairs committee, told Government Executive. The latest layoffs are part of the Trump/Musk administrations plan to gut federal agencies that provide crucial, sometimes life-saving services to millions of people in the US and overseas. USAid has been largely shuttered, leaving staff and their families stranded across the world and millions of people without food, medicine and clean water. The mass firings and buyouts are unprecedented and legally dubious, and in some cases are being challenged in court. The federal workforce, excluding military personnel and postal workers, comprises about 2.4 million people, of whom only 20% are in Washington DC and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia. Zander Fagerson insists Scotland have banished their Calcutta Cup disappointment and are focused on trying to finish their Guinness Six Nations campaign with back-to-back wins over Wales and France. The Scots have won only one of their three championship matches so far and are out of title contention after consecutive defeats at home to Ireland and away to England. Their last outing at Allianz Stadium was particularly frustrating given the opportunities they let slip and the sense that some key decisions went against them as they lost 16-15. Big sessions on the training park #AsOne pic.twitter.com/EPoIcTe7dH Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 5, 2025 However, they are now intent on salvaging their campaign with victories at home to the Welsh this Saturday and then away to Les Bleus a week later. We were all pretty gutted after the game, said prop Fagerson. We were close. The boys put in a good shift, but its just that one percent, that five percent in international rugby, its all about the small margins. But weve had that week to regroup. This competition, it comes so thick and fast that you cant rest on your last performance, so its all about making sure we just right our wrongs and go out there and win these last two games. Thats the goal going forward, going out there and putting in performances that Scotland, and we ourselves as players, can be proud of. Wales are heading to Murrayfield aiming to stem a demoralising 15-game losing streak, although they will be buoyed by the way they played in their 27-18 defeat at home to Ireland in their first match under caretaker coach Matt Sherratt last time out. Despite being hot favourites, Fagerson is adamant Scotland will not be taking a third consecutive win over the Welsh for granted. The Welsh have always been a really passionate team, said the forward. Theyre really proud to play for their country and theyve got some dangerous players, so you cant be underestimating them at all. It doesnt matter whats happened with the last results. On their day, theyre a very dangerous team, so were preparing to the best of our ability to make sure we go out there and try and nullify their threats. Theyve got some dangerous backs and theyve got a good forward pack as well so its going to be a tough game. Scotland were edged out by England at Allianz Stadium (Gareth Fuller/PA). Fagerson is widely expected to be selected for this summers British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, but the Glasgow tighthead insists that is not on his radar at present. No, not at all, he said. Its all about doing the controllables. What can I control? I can put my best performances out on the pitch. What will be will be afterwards in terms of who gets picked. All I can do is control what I can and thats going out there and making sure I do my role for the team on Saturday, if selected. New Zealand will take on India in the final of the Champions Trophy after centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson saw them outmuscle South Africa in their Lahore semi-final. The Black Caps piled on the pressure with a new tournament-record score of 362 for six, Ravindra with 108 and Williamson adding 102, and their bowlers finished the job in clinical fashion to seal a comfortable 50-run win. Captain Mitchell Santner took a crucial three for 43 with the ball and his side will now depart for Dubai which is controversially hosting the showpiece due to Indias ongoing political tensions with Pakistan. Awaiting them on Sunday is a rerun of the 2000 final, which they won by four wickets. Santner opted to bat first on a fine-looking pitch that promised plenty of runs and saw his batters deliver in style. Lungi Ngidi removed Will Young for 21 in the powerplay, but that breakthrough merely brought together Ravindra and Williamson for a 164-run partnership that built their side a formidable foundation. Both men maintained a strike-rate of better than a run-a-ball as the Proteas failed to find a way through, Ravindra hitting 13 fours and a six and his experienced partner clearing the ropes twice alongside 10 boundaries. Heinrich Klaasen dropped Williamson on 56, meaning the second-wicket pair were not parted until the 34th over when Kagiso Rabada finally drew an edge from Ravindra, who has now scored all five of his ODI hundreds at ICC world events. Williamson carried on the momentum as he brought up his 15th with a cheeky ramp off Wiaan Mulder, who exacted revenge four balls later when Ngidi held on at short leg. Any hopes South Africa had of finishing well disappeared as they leaked 110 from the last 10 overs, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips both hitting rapid-fire knocks of 49. Charged with producing the biggest chase in Champions Trophy history, Temba Bavumas side stumbled to 312 for nine. At 125 for one the innings looked to have legs but Santners left-arm spin swung things decisively for his team when he dismissed Bavuma (56), Rassie van der Dussen (69) and the in-form Klaasen for just three. David Miller compiled an unbeaten 100 off the very last ball of the match but, with a regular flow of wickets at the other end, his knock never came close to making the Kiwis sweat. Zhenhao Zou appeared to be charming and a model student, but the videos he made of his crimes revealed the sinister truth that he was a serial rapist. The Chinese national, who was studying for a PhD in engineering at UCL, enjoyed a busy social life while living in London and was described by police as seeming very self-assured. Born in Guangdong Province, his father works in what was described as a state-owned enterprise and his mother is a teacher, the jury was told. Zou, 28, was wealthy enough to study in the UK for several years, and while in London had a wardrobe full of designer clothes and a Rolex watch. He could afford to pay thousands per month in rent and had facial surgery and a hair transplant. Zou first came to the UK to study in Belfast in 2017, before moving to London two years later where he did a masters and PhD at UCL. Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Zhenhao Zou (Elizabeth Cook/PA) While in London, and during trips to his native China, he would contact women mainly on social media apps, before inviting them back to his flat for drinks or to study. But he would then spike their drink and rape them, often filming the attack on hidden or handheld cameras as a souvenir. Police studied the footage to work out whether the attacks had taken place in either of his flats in London, or used the dates when he would have travelled back to China. They found sedative drugs in his flat as well as MDMA Zou told investigators he brought some drugs back from China, while others he bought in nightclubs in London. Although he had studied in the UK for several years in English, he refused to speak English during his trial at Inner London Crown Court, and also used an interpreter during police interview. Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton said that on the surface Zou was a model student with an active social life. He came across in interview as really self assured, she said. I think the interviewers described him as charming. Clearly the evidence and the videos show him in a completely different light. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration over USAID's funding. The decision upholds a lower court's ruling to release funds to USAID contractors. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, saying he was "stunned" by the high court's ruling. The US Supreme Court on Wednesday sided against the Trump administration and upheld a lower court's decision to force the release of nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funds. The nation's high court ruled 5-4 in rejecting the Trump administration's request to cancel the foreign aid money from the US Agency for International Development. Justice Samuel Alito, in his dissenting opinion, wrote that he was "stunned" by the court's decision that ultimately forces the Trump administration to pay out the billions to USAID contractors. "Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic 'No,' but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned," Alito wrote in his dissenting opinion. The opinion was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. Alito wrote that the government has "shown that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm" if a lower court's decision "is not stayed." "The Government has represented that it would probably be unable to recover much of the money after it is paid because it would be quickly spent by the recipients or disbursed to third parties," Alito wrote. Alito added in his dissent that the Supreme Court made a "most unfortunate misstep that rewards an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers." The relief ordered by the Supreme Court, Alito said, "is, quite simply, too extreme a response." "A federal court has many tools to address a party's supposed nonfeasance. Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them. I would chart a different path than the Court does today, so I must respectfully dissent," Alito wrote. The Supreme Court did not provide details about when the funds should be released, but said that the district court judge who issued the temporary restraining order that halted the freeze of USAID funding "should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines." Last month, two nonprofits the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Donald Trump's executive order calling for a 90-day pause of all US foreign assistance programs. The nonprofits argued in their lawsuit that the order was "unlawful." District Judge Amir Ali of Washington, DC, issued a temporary restraining order in the case, which the Trump administration appealed. The administration petitioned the Supreme Court on February 26. Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group who represents the plaintiffs, cheered the Supreme Court's decision. "Today's ruling by the Supreme Court confirms that the Administration cannot ignore the law," Bateman said in a statement. "To stop needless suffering and death, the government must now comply with the order issued three weeks ago to lift its unlawful termination of federal assistance." This story was updated to add more details from the ruling. Read the original article on Business Insider A Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlor as seen Sept. 23, 2021, in Miami, Florida. One of the sweetest days of the year is right around the corner. Ben & Jerry's will service up free scoops of ice cream at participating stores during Free Cone Day on Tuesday, April 8, about three weeks after Dairy Queen does their own free cone giveaway. "During the much-loved tradition, Ben & Jerrys aims to spread some joy across the globe, one ice cream-filled cone at a time," Ben & Jerry's said in a news release on Tuesday. Ben & Jerry's scoopers served up over 1 million scoops of ice cream on Free Cone Day in 2024, the Vermont-based company said. "Free Cone Day has always been about gratitude we want to thank our fans for being the best fans in the world with free ice cream and a moment of pure joy, Dave Stever, Ben & Jerrys CEO, said a statement. This year, more than ever, were reminded how powerful those small moments of happiness can be." Here's what to know about Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day, including how to get the sweet treat. When is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's? Free Cone Day is on Tuesday, April 8 from 12 to 8 p.m. local time. Ben & Jerry's has celebrated Free Cone Day since 1979, a year after the ice cream company was founded. The event has been a way for Ben & Jerry's to give back to the community of Burlington, Vermont, which helped it grow from a single Scoop Shop in a renovated gas station to one of the most beloved ice cream companies worldwide. "What started as a simple 'thank you' from co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield to fans for helpingthem survive their first Vermont winter, where average temperatures reached a record low of 14.1F and the winter season snowfall set a record of 52.9 inches, Free Cone Day has turned into a global celebration, with fans lining up for free scoops in more than 35 countries," according to Ben & Jerry's. How to get a free Ben & Jerry's cone Ben & Jerry's pints on display at a grocery store in New York City on March 24, 2022. All that's needed to get a free Ben & Jerry's scoop and cone is to turn up at any participating Scoop Shop anywhere in the world from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, April 8. No minimum purchase is required. "Join the line and dream of which flavor to choose from theres a flavor sure to sweeten up everyones day, from a classic like Phish Food, a Scoop Shop exclusive like Mango, a Non-Dairy favorite like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or an ice cream with a mission like Chocolate Fudge Brownie." Ice cream enthusiasts are encouraged to "get back in line as many times as theyd like so why choose one flavor when they can try them all," the news release read. To find your nearest participating Scoop Shop, visit the Ben & Jerry's website. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben & Jerry 'Free Cone Day:' How to get free ice cream We may earn money from links on this page, but commission does not influence what we write or the products we recommend. AOL upholds a rigorous editorial process to ensure what we publish is fair, accurate and trustworthy. Statistics show that 12.2 percent of U.S. adults have a disability that limits their ability to walk or climb stairs. Mobility scooters are a great solution if you live with physical limitations and cannot maintain adequate mobility using manually powered devices. They allow you to traverse longer distances and utilize the same ramps and access points available to wheelchair users. Depending on the features you need, pricing for mobility scooters can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. "Mobility scooters are an instrumental tool for many who need assistance walking or moving in general," says Terrance Walless, DPT , Founder of Smyl Fitness Rx and Board Secretary for Center for Better Aging. "When youre considering your options for scooters, you have to take a different approach than one might take when considering another accessibility tool, such as a walker or cane. You would need to consider budget, where youll be using it, battery life, and safety features to make sure youre getting a complete picture and setting your expectations accordingly. With that in mind, we researched all the best mobility scooters on the market today, taking price, features, and expert recommendations in mind in our ranking. Here are all the best ones we've found. Go-Go Travel Mobility Best overall Pride Go-Go Elite Traveller 4-Wheel Mobility Travel Scooter Pride Mobility offers the Pride Go-Go Elite Traveller 4-wheel scooter, a popular travel option. With its sleek design and 4-wheel configuration, the Go-Go Elite Traveller is a highly sought-after option. Its compact size and maneuverable design make it ideal for navigating tight areas. The Go-Go Elite Traveller boasts multiple battery options that cater to different driving needs. Users can choose from 12AH batteries, which provide a travel range of up to 7.2 miles, or opt for 18AH batteries, which offer a whopping 14 miles of range before requiring charging. The scooter boasts a robust 17 foldable seat, ensuring comfort during extended rides. Its weight capacity of up to 300 lbs further reinforces its reliability. The scooter features four-wheel mobility, allowing you to maneuver easily in tight spaces. Its lightweight design makes it easy to assemble and disassemble. Two sets of panelsred and blueallow for easy scooter customization to fit your style. The scooter also features black, non-scuffing tires that allow you to travel without worrying about damaging your surroundings. Dr. Brittany Ferri, an occupational therapist with the National Council on Aging, shared, I recommend the Pride Mobility Go-Go Elite Traveller, which is a great choice for its compact design and ease of disassembly/assembly, making it perfect for regular travelers. Pros Evenly balanced to handle indoor and outdoor settings safely Easy assembly and disassembly, with the heaviest portion weighing only 29 lbs Range of up to 14 miles with optional high capacity batteries Cons Weight limit of 300 lbs may not accommodate some users Maximum speed is only 4 MPH $1,279 at Amazon Drive Medical Best affordable Drive Medical Spitfire Scout 4-Wheel Power Luxury Travel Scooter Affordability is an important factor when shopping for a mobility scooter. The Drive Medical Spitfire Scout delivers lots of bang for the buck. The Scout is the ideal scooter for those seeking an efficient and convenient mode of transportation. The Scout offers exceptional portability and ease of assembly. With a foldable seat back, the unit provides a user-friendly and space-saving design for effortless storage and transport. The Scout boasts a robust set of features, including 12AH batteries that provide up to 9 miles of driving on a single charge. Users can opt for upgraded 20 AH batteries on the Extended version, offering a maximum range of 15 miles on a full charge. Dr. Ferri states this model offers excellent stability and comfort and is ideal for outdoor use. Pair this performance with its sub-$1,000 price point and it became our choice for the most affordable mobility scooter. Pros Choice of 12AH or 20AH batteries provides up to 15 miles of range Easy free wheel operation Enhanced stability on rougher outdoor terrain Cons Weight of 118 lbs may be cumbersome for some users Disassembles into five pieces, does not fold like other compact models $924 at Amazon LIVING WELL STORES Best outdoor Pride Baja Raptor 2 The Pride Baja Raptor 2 4-Wheel Mobility Scooter is an exceptional outdoor scooter that offers robust performance and unmatched comfort. Weighing in at 400 lbs and boasting a top cruising speed of 13 mph, this scooter is engineered to deliver exhilarating speed and effortless maneuverability. It boasts an impressive range exceeding 21.2 miles on a single charge, catering to riders with various weight capacities. The scooter's weight, including batteries, is a relatively substantial 355.6 lbs, but its stability and secure design ensure a smooth and controlled ride. The Pride Baja Raptor 2 is Dr. Ferris choice if you want to go fast. With speeds up to 13 MPH, you can get to where you want much faster than smaller models. Dr. Ferri also praised its stylish design and comprehensive lighting package. Pros 400 lb weight capacity 5-year extended warranty Full LED lighting Cons Weighs over 350 lbs Does not disassemble or break down for easy transport $3,773 at Amazon Drive Medical Best four-wheeler Drive Medical Zoome Flex Ultra Compact Folding Travel 4 Wheel Scooter The Drive Medical Zoome Flex's Automatic Folding Travel Scooter is an electric scooter that boasts rapid and effortless folding/unfolding capabilities thanks to its lightweight and durable aluminum frame. The airline-safe lithium battery ensures safe and secure operation, making it an ideal choice for those seeking an efficient mode of transportation. The protective high-gloss shrouds not only enhance the scooter's sleek appearance but also add a touch of elegance to its design. The intuitive throttle control simplifies maneuvering, catering to users with limited mobility, while the adjustable armrests facilitate comfortable seating. Additionally, the flat-free tires, adjustable tiller, and various safety features contribute to overall safety. With the addition of ignition keys and a key fob, this scooter offers seamless operation and convenience. The Drive Medical Zoome Flex's four-wheel design allows for maximum stability on a variety of terrain. As Dr. Ferri puts it, "it's pretty convenient as it folds automatically with just the push of a button on a wireless key fob, making storage and transportation easier. Pros Weighs only 66 lbs Folding is automated and controlled with easy to use remote control Range of 13 miles Cons Weight capacity of 275 lbs may be limiting for some users Relatively slow max speed of 4 MPH $2,499 at Amazon Challenger Mobility Best compact Golden Technologies Buzzaround XL 3 Wheel Power Scooter The Golden Technologies Buzzaround XL is an electric scooter that offers an exceptional riding experience thanks to its robust construction, upgraded features, and user-friendly design. It boasts a spacious wraparound delta tiller that provides ample seating and a comfortable riding posture. The increased ground clearance of 3.5 makes it suitable for riders of various heights, while the extended range battery option offers up to 10 miles on a single charge, providing exceptional driving range. Another notable feature is the stadium-inspired stadium seat, which offers more comfort and seating capacity compared to traditional scooters. The Buzzaround XL's modular design allows for effortless disassembly, making transportation and storage a seamless process. Dr. Ferri describes the Golden Technologies Buzzaround XL as great for long rides around town, with its battery life and comfortable seating. The Buzzarounds three-wheel design and 101-lb weight make it our choice for the best compact scooter. Other great features include the free rear basket and cup holder Pros Lifetime frame warranty Easy wireless disassembly Up to 13 mile range Cons Heaviest disassembled piece is 50 lbs Relatively slow 5 MPH top speed $1,437 at Amazon How we picked the best mobility scooter To ensure the optimal selection of mobility scooters, we enlisted the assistance of an experienced occupational therapist and a physical therapist. They generously shared their expertise, offering invaluable insights into mobility challenges, potential pitfalls, and the critical features that make a scooter suitable for individual needs. Drawing upon my extensive nursing knowledge, I meticulously evaluated numerous models from prominent brands, seeking those that best suited the specific requirements of our intended users. What to look for when buying a mobility scooter Dr. Ferri provided some valuable information on this topic. When buying a mobility scooter, consider the weight capacity to make sure that it can support your weight comfortably. Also, be sure that your home offers a safe place to store and charge the equipment. Be sure it can fit in the home without blocking walkways or otherwise placing someone at risk of injury. If you travel a lot, choose a model that's easy to fold or disassemble. Make sure the scooter is suitable for the terrains you'll be using it on, whether indoors or outdoors. People can also get a range of accessories to make it more personalized for their needs. For example, clip-on baskets and pouches can be used to store important belongings in a way that does not prevent the safe operation of the scooter. Key considerations when buying: Range and Battery Life Outdoor performance Adjustable seats and armrests Easy-to-use controls Portability Dr. Walless provided some additional insight into buying scooters. The size of a scooter can also have a greater impact than most people realize. The larger the scooter, the larger the turning radius, which can make or break whether or not it will even fit in your home, in grocery aisles, or in common public spaces. Mobility scooters will also need to adhere to certain safety standards and protocols. Look for scooters that are in agreement with local or government regulations. Dr. Walless concludes, Mobility scooters can open up a world of possibilities if you cannot get around on your own, so dont be afraid to take a scooter for a test drive or spend the time getting a feel for the steering and acceleration. Types of mobility scooters When buying a scooter, you have several options to choose from depending on your needs. Travel Scooters Compact, lightweight scooters can be easily disassembled or folded up and transported in a car or airplane. 3-wheel scooters The three-wheel design allows for a smaller frame, which improves maneuverability and has a smaller turning radius than four-wheelers. This design also makes navigating hallways and doorways easier. 4-wheel scooters Adding a fourth wheel provides improved balance and stability, and a wider wheelbase than three-wheelers makes them more capable in uneven terrain or rough surfaces. Heavy-Duty scooters Weight capacity can be an important factor when buying a scooter. Heavy-duty options are built to handle larger individuals and those who require medical equipment like oxygen tanks. All-terrain scooters Built for off-road capabilities, all-terrain scooters feature rugged tires and strong suspensions, allowing them to travel on any surface easily. FAQ Will Medicare pay for a mobility scooter? We asked Dr. Ferri this question, and she answered yes; Medicare Part B might cover the cost of a mobility scooter if a doctor prescribes it for use in your home and/or the community. The doctor will need to provide a written statement, prescription, or other supporting medical documentation that proves the scooter is necessary for medical purposes (known in the insurance/medical industry as medical necessity). The scooter supplier and the doctor must both be enrolled in Medicare in order to receive coverage. Generally, people also need to pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after their Part B deductible has been met. Which mobility scooter has a battery generator? Models from Drive Medical and Golden Technologies incorporate advanced battery technology including generators to increase battery life and range. Is a mobility scooter a wheelchair? The ADA defines wheelchairs as a manually-operated or power-driven device designed primarily for use by an individual with a mobility disability for the main purpose of indoor or of both indoor and outdoor locomotion. Mobility scooters fall under the ADA category of other power-driven mobility devices. How much does it cost to rent a mobility scooter? The average cost to rent a mobility scooter ranges from $35 to $70 per day and $150 to $340 per week. These prices can vary greatly depending on the location, rental company, and scooter type. How do I get a free mobility scooter? Dr. Ferri shared this valuable information regarding obtaining a scooter for free: You can look into several options to potentially get a mobility scooter for free. Check if your health insurance policy includes mobility scooters. You can also investigate grants from organizations like the MS Society or the ALS Association. Also, some state assistance programs offer financial support based on disability or income criteria. Veterans might be eligible for mobility aids through VA programs. Organizations such as churches and senior centers may have "libraries" of used medical equipment that they can donate to people in need of it. How do I transport a mobility scooter? Models that can be folded or disassembled can be placed in a trunk or the back of an SUV. Larger models that cannot be folded or disassembled can be transported on a specialized carrier that mounts to the rear of your vehicle using a trailer hitch. Many of these carriers offer hydraulic lifts that make loading and unloading your scooter easier. How do I replace the battery in a mobility scooter? Depending on the model, battery replacement can be a simple plug-and-play operation or require tools for compartment access and battery removal. Most manufacturers place batteries in relatively easy-to-reach locations to allow the consumer to replace them without needing a visit to the service center. If you have any questions about mobility scooters or you just wanna chat about your favorite products you think we should check out send us an email at shopping.editors@aol.com and we'll write you back! The body of a Colorado man who went missing two weeks ago has been found, according to the resort he was visiting. The man has been identified as 26-year-old Connor Gill from the Denver metro area, according to television stations KMGH-TV and KKTV. His remains were found Friday. Gill was visiting Vail Mountain ski resort in Eagle County, according to public updates from the Eagle County Sheriffs Office, which announced him missing on Feb. 16. He had gone snowboarding and failed to come back, the sheriffs office added. Vail Mountain confirmed to USA TODAY Wednesday morning that the missing snowboarder was found on the property. "On behalf of Vail Mountain and Vail Ski Patrol, we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our guest, Beth Howard, Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer, said in the statement. We appreciate all of the rescue agencies who conducted this search alongside Vail Ski Patrol." Gill was last seen when he was scanned at a lift around 8:50 a.m. on Feb. 14, KMGH-TV reported. He was headed toward the Avanti route area. He was reported missing around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, according to the sheriffs office. Team members from Vail Mountain Rescue and Vail Ski Patrol began to search areas where he was last seen, as well as areas he commonly snowboarded, the sheriffs office said. Between Feb. 14 and 16, temperatures ranged from 7 degrees to 27 degrees, according to AccuWeather. From Feb. 13 to Feb. 21, 56 inches of snow accumulated at the Vail Mountain ski resort, according to a forecaster from the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. The Eagle County coroner did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Snowboarder Connor Gill found dead weeks after he was reported missing BERLIN (Reuters) - Israel must meet international obligations regarding the provision of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza," the statement read. "Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool," it added, calling on all parties to uphold the ceasefire. (Reporting by Rachel More, editing by Thomas Seythal) Military delegates march ahead of the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) China said Wednesday it will increase its defense budget 7.2% this year, as it continues its campaign to build a larger, more modern military to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia. Chinas military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S. and it already has the worlds largest navy. The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National Peoples Congress, the annual meeting of Chinas legislature. The Pentagon and many experts say China's total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets. The boost is the same percentage as last year, far below the double-digit percentage increases of previous years and reflecting an overall slowdown in the economy. The nation's leaders have set a target of around 5% growth for this year. Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors who have overlapping claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as driving spending on increasingly high-tech military technologies. Those include stealth fighters, the country's three soon to be four aircraft carriers, and a broad expansion of its nuclear arsenal. China generally ascribes the budget increases to exercises and maintenance and improving the lives of its 2 million service members. China reiterates opposition to Taiwan's independence The Peoples Liberation Army the military branch of the ruling Communist Party has build bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea but its main objective is asserting Chinese control over Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing claims as its own territory that has close ties to the U.S. China deployed a smaller contingent of five planes and seven ships near Taiwan on Wednesday, just days after sending dozens of aircraft. Such missions are intended to demoralize and wear down Taiwan's defenses, which have been bolstered by upgraded U.S. F-16s, tanks and missiles, along with domestically developed armaments. In his comments at the Congress, Premier Li Qiang told the nearly 3,000 party loyalists that China still preferred a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue, but resolutely opposes those pushing for Taiwan's formal independence and their foreign supporters. "We will firmly advance the cause of Chinas reunification and work with our fellow Chinese in Taiwan to realize the glorious cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Li said. Taiwans defense minister this week said the island is planning to boost military spending in the face of the rapidly changing international situation and the escalating threats from adversaries. Feeling the economic crunch Faced with slower growth, China will likely prioritize key strategic goals over social and economic reforms, said Antonia Hmaidi, a senior analyst with the Mercator Institute for China Studies. "Those resources are more important to the CCPs goals of advancing a techno-industrial agenda and modernizing the military," Hmaidi said, using an acronym for the governing Chinese Communist Party. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who oversees the armed forces, has attempted to force through major reforms and removed senior military leaders including two former defense ministers and the head of the missile corps. Whether that will reduce the armed forces' influence remains unclear though, and the official Xinhua News Agency ran an item after Wednesday's announcement praising the government for keeping defense spending at below 1.5% of GDP for the last decade and criticizing the U.S. for not cutting its spending. Chinas development strengthens the worlds forces for peace, and the country will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism no matter what stage of development it reaches, Xinhua said, using standard Chinese terms defining its stance as purely defensive in nature. In its 2004 report on military and security developments involving China, the U.S. Defense Department portrayed China's ever-growing ambitions, saying the PLA concepts and capabilities focus on projecting power far from Chinas shores. The navy's movement from offshore defense to open seas protection and the air force's interest in becoming a strategic force "reflect the PLAs interest in conducting operations beyond (China) and its immediate periphery," the department said. The stock market surged on Wednesday after the Trump administration granted automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs imposed a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the trading session up nearly 500 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 also jumped 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased nearly 1.5% on Wednesday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had ordered the delay of auto tariffs after a request from the Big 3 U.S. automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler. "The president is giving them an exemption for one month so theyre not at an economic disadvantage," Leavitt said during a press conference at the White House. The automakers' shares soared after the announcement. Ford's stock price ended the trading day up nearly 6%, while General Motors climbed more than 7%. Stellantis surged more than 9% on Wednesday. The tariffs are expected to pose a challenge for U.S. automakers, many of which depend on a supply chain closely intertwined with Mexico and Canada. The American Automotive Policy Council, or AAPC, a trade group that represents the Big 3 U.S. automakers, praised the one-month tariff exemption. "American Automakers Ford, GM and Stellantis applaud President Trump for recognizing that vehicles and parts that meet the high US and regional USMCA content requirements should be exempt from these tariffs," AAPC President Matt Blunt told ABC News in a statement. "We look forward to working with President Trump and his administration on our shared goals of increasing US automotive production and expanding exports to markets all around the world," Blunt added. While easing some tariffs, Trump criticized Canada on Wednesday for what he described as failure to take the steps necessary for the United States to withdraw all of the tariffs imposed a day earlier. Trump said he held a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday during which the two leaders discussed a path to U.S. withdrawal of the tariffs. Such an outcome would require sufficient action by Canada to address drug trafficking, Trump recounted relaying to Trudeau. A week ago, Trump alleged that illicit drugs such as fentanyl had continued to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Canada despite agreements reached last month to address the issue. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said "nothing has convinced me" that the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. had stopped. "[Trudeau] said that its gotten better, but I said, 'Thats not good enough.' The call ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner!" Trump said. Since September, nearly all fentanyl seized by the U.S. came through the Southern border with Mexico, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, or CBP, a federal agency. Less than 1% of fentanyl was seized at the Northern border with Canada, CBP found. PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the tariffs on Tuesday, calling them a "dumb" policy that does not "make sense." The reason for the tariffs is based on a false allegation about Canada as a major source of drugs entering the U.S., Trudeau added. Persistent tensions between the U.S. and Canada emerged after China issued a warning on Tuesday night that it stands ready for any "type of war" with the United States in the aftermath of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The U.S. slapped 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said the tariffs would not lead to a resolution of U.S. concerns about fentanyl originating in China. "If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other's concerns," Chinese spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference late Tuesday. "If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the spokesperson added. The comments came soon after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month. Within minutes of the new U.S. tariffs taking effect, China unveiled on Tuesday its initial response by placing additional 10% to 15% tariffs on imported U.S. goods, like chicken, wheat, soybeans and beef. MORE: What to know as tariffs go into effect on Mexico, Canada, China "The retaliatory tariffs that China is imposing is very specific and directly targeted at American farmers, who are mostly in red states and mostly voted for Trump," Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, told ABC News. "So China is trying to create pain where it matters for Trump, and it's hoping to get Trump to the negotiating table and offer relief for this group of Trump supporters," Thomas added. The recent duties will be placed on top of similar tariffs imposed by China during the first Trump administration's trade war in 2018. Some of those tariffs are already at 25%, though Beijing issued some waivers as a result of the 2020 "phase one" trade deal. The new Chinese tariffs are set to come into effect for goods shipped out March 10. In a series of social media posts last month, Trump said he would place tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for hosting the manufacture and transport of illicit drugs that end up in the U.S. During an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump also sharply criticized tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on U.S. goods. "President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensuring U.S. trade policy serves the national interest," the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday afternoon that Trump may soon offer Canada and Mexico a pathway to relief from tariffs placed on some goods covered by North America's free trade agreement. Lutnick did not mention a potential compromise with China. ABC News' Selina Wang, Kevin Shalvey, Karson Yiu and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report. Stock market surges after Trump permits carmakers 1-month tariff exemption originally appeared on abcnews.go.com This is an undated photo issued by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 of Zhenhao Zou. Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, who has been found guilty at Inner London Crown Court of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023. (Metropolitan Police via AP) LONDON (AP) A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offenses relating to one victim. After more than 19 hours of deliberations, jurors concluded Zou raped three of the women in London and seven in China. Police have only been able to identify two of the victims and said after the verdict that more than 50 other women may have fallen victim to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history. Using hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as souvenirs and often kept a trophy box of womens belongings. Zou, a mechanical engineering student who was doing his PhD at University College London, claimed that the sexual interactions were consensual. He will be sentenced on June 19. Jurors, who had to watch footage of the attacks during the trial, were given regular breaks. Judge Rosina Cottage described the defendant as a dangerous and predatory sexual offender and that his sentence will be very long. Zou, who showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out in court, was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offense, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offense. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow students of Chinese heritage on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his apartments in London or an unknown location in China. He has done all that he can in these offenses to incapacitate his victims to the point where they could not resist his attack, and in many instances may not even remember what has occurred to them, said Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth. He thanked the two women who testified against the particularly cowardly and deceitful Zou and said there is evidence that he "may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature. The Met is appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force. During the trial, a call to police from one of the women led to questions over the quality of the interpreter made available. Its a matter of severe regret that the victims didnt necessarily get that best translation at the time," Southworth added. Zou moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queens University before heading to UCL in 2019 for a masters degree and then a PhD. Our thoughts are with the survivors and we wish to pay tribute to the bravery of the women who reported these crimes and gave evidence at the trial, said UCLs president, Dr. Michael Spence. WASHINGTON The nation's capital plans to paint over a large, yellow Black Lives Matter mural that was erected one block from the White House during racial justice protests in 2020, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Tuesday. The move comes as congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have threatened to interfere with the citys management. On Monday, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., introduced legislation that would require the city to repaint and rename the plaza or else lose millions of dollars in transportation funding. Bowser, a Democrat, appeared to address the legislation in a post on X, announcing the change Tuesday night. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference, she said. "The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern." The plaza will be repainted as part of a citywide mural project celebrating the countrys 250th birthday next year, Bowser said in the statement. When reached for comment Wednesday, the mayors office declined to reveal whether the city will also rename Black Lives Matter Plaza. The legislation introduced by Clyde threatens to withhold transportation funding unless the city removes the Black Lives Matter lettering from the street, renames the intersection to Liberty Plaza and removes any mention of Black Lives Matter from the citys websites and official documents. People begin to gather in Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021, ahead of Congress certifying electoral votes giving Joe Biden victory in the 2020 presidential race. It is the most recent in a string of proposals from Republican lawmakers that seek to strip the district of its power to govern itself. In February, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced legislation that would repeal the district's "home rule" status, citing what they called the citys failures, including high crime rates, such as car jackings and assaults against members of Congress and staffers. Named the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, the bill would reverse the districts more than 50 years of self-rule at a time when its residents have overwhelmingly pushed for statehood. Trump in February expressed support for the federal government to take over and govern the District of Columbia. In a statement to USA TODAY, Clyde said he was "pleased" by Bowser's announcement but planned to continue pursuing his legislative effort until Black Lives Matter Plaza was "officially gone for good." Police manage traffic along H Street between the White House and Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC two days after election day for the 2020 Presidential election between Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden and Republican candidate President Donald Trump on Thursday, November 5, 2020. Bowser originally directed crews to paint the roughly 50-foot-wide mural on a section of 16th Street where protests erupted in summer 2020 over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police. Protesters were at one point forcibly removed from the area with smoke canisters and pepper spray just before Trump, who was in his first term, walked through Lafayette Park to pose for photographs at a nearby church. After the incident, Bowsers chief of staff said the mayor wanted to make it "abundantly clear" the street belonged to the city. The plaza quickly became a symbol of defiance against the Trump administration. Demonstrators leave a note on the repainted section of 16th Street leading to the White House which DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza" after days of protests over the death of George Floyd, seen here on June 9, 2020, the day of Floyd's funeral in Houston, Texas. The D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter decried the move as a performative distraction from real policy changes" at the time and said it was an attempt to appease white liberals while ignoring the movement's demands. Black Lives Matter D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Bowsers decision to replace the mural. Contributing: Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says city will repaint Black Lives Matter Plaza Peter Burnett / Getty Images Distilled in Scotland since the 1400s, Scotch whisky is one of the worlds most enduring and iconic spirits. Theres such romanticism and mythos that surround the water of life that it can create a fractured narrative. Misinformation fosters confusion, which can make scotch intimidating and cause some people to avoid the category. A lot of the myths are a product of snobbery coming from older men, says Mitch Bechard, a whisky entrepreneur and consultant based in Aberdeen, Scotland. This kind of snobbery goes back a couple of generations in Scotland, and its all [garbage]. In an effort to make one of the world's finest spirits more approachable and less pretentious, here are the most prominent myths concerning scotch, debunked. Related: Not All Scotch Whiskies Are Smoky Here's Why Myth #1: All scotch are smoky peat bombs For many people, burly, heavily peated expressions that taste like bonfires define scotch. Yet it represents only a sliver of this rich and varied category. Its a particular style of single malt Scotch whisky, says Rory Glasgow, national brand ambassador for The Glendronach, Benriach, and Glenglassaugh single malt scotch brands. It just happens to be a style thats loved by some and loathed by others. There are five traditional scotch-producing regions in Scotland. The smoke bombs are produced almost exclusively in the Islay region, a small island just off Scotlands west coast. The other four regions dont lean into peat like Islay, which allows fruity and spicy notes to rise to the surface. Some bottles skip peat entirely, which results in scotches bearing aggressive tropical fruit flavors. Myth #2: Blended scotch is inferior to single malt Blended scotch has long been viewed as boring, mass-produced whisky that lacks distinct character. Journalists may have helped to perpetuate this mindset, but there are other factors at play. Johnnie Walker is the first scotch many people have, and its a smoky, blended scotch, says Bechard. People may assume that they dont like blends based on that initial experience. However, a properly blended scotch can be fantastic. The careful combination of meticulously ratioed whiskies can form unique and complex flavor expressions that can stand up to their single malt counterparts. Some still cling to this myth about blended scotch, but some informed enthusiasts know better. The blends from Compass Box Whisky, for example, are highly coveted by scotch aficionados. Myth #3: The older the scotch, the better The age displayed on a scotch bottle isnt a definitive symbol of superiority. The number represents how long the whisky matured inside a barrel, but there are other factors that affect how a scotch evolves. A prominent fruity note in a 12-year expression could transform into a faint whisper in its 18th year. This can be disappointing for those who love that fruity note. Conversely, those who drink the older stuff exclusively may miss out on a fresher expression thats not as shaped by barrel influence. Age is but a number, says Glasgow. A single malt whisky can produce whiskies of all sorts of flavor profiles and quality over its years. Myth #4: Scotch doesnt belong in a cocktail The Penicillin, Rusty Nail, Rob Roy, and Blood & Sand are all famed cocktails known for their scotch whisky base. Blended scotches and peaty single malts work particularly well, as the cocktails other ingredients balance out the scotchs more aggressive qualities. Cocktails that feature scotch dont necessitate that you sacrifice the good stuff, either. There are plenty of affordable scotches on the market that make solid additions to anyones home bar. Myth #5: Only ingredients from Scotland are allowed in scotch Strict rules surround scotch distillation, one of which dictates that the whisky must be distilled from 100% barley. However, these rules dont specify where to get the barley. The casks that hold the whisky also often come from outside of Scotland. Our casks are sourced from across the world, says Glasgow. Much of the oak will come from America, with some coming from Continental Europe and small amounts from Japan. Myth #6: Scotch isn't for those just getting into whiskey This idea stems in part from the gatekeeping often evident among enthusiasts back in the day. At the start of my career, I was a young lad speaking to these older boys, and they all wanted to flex their knowledge of scotch, says Bechard. They also tended to look down at women when they talked. Scotch was [considered] a mans drink for a mans world. Scotch is a spirit for all (who are of age) to experience, learn about, and enjoy. All it takes is to find an entry point into the category. Once that happens, all of these myths wont matter. Read the original article on Food & Wine The United States is prepared to go to war with China, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Wednesday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared early Wednesday that the US is prepared to go to war with China, hours after alarming threats from Beijing in response to President Trumps stiff new tariffs. Were prepared, Hegseth said on Fox News Fox & Friends in response to China saying it was ready to fight any type of war. Those who long for peace must prepare for war, Hegseth said, stressing it was important to be strong. The United States is prepared to go to war with China, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Wednesday. Fox News Thats why were rebuilding our military. Thats why were re-establishing deterrence in the warrior ethos. We live in a dangerous world with powerful, ascendant countries with very different ideology. Theyre rapidly increasing their defense spending, modern technology, they want to supplant the United States, the defense sec continued. If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong. Hegseths threat came after China declared late Tuesday they were ready to clap back if the US was bent on waging a trade or tariff war soon after Trumps initial 10% tariff on Chinese imports doubled to 20%. Were prepared, Hegseth said on Fox News Fox & Friends in response to China saying it was ready to fight any type of war. Fox News If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a statement. China swiftly retaliated against the fresh tariffs, announcing its own 10%-15% hikes to import levies covering a range of American agricultural and food products. It also placed 25 US firms under export and investment restrictions on national security grounds. Hegseths threat came after China declared late Tuesday they were ready to clap back if the US was bent on waging a trade or tariff war. Getty Images China retaliated against the fresh tariffs, announcing its own 10%-15% hikes to import levies covering a range of American agricultural and food products. AFP via Getty Images Hegseth, meanwhile, later insisted Trump had a great relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the US would continue to push for historic peace and historic opportunities. My job as the secretary of defense is to make sure were ready, he said. We need the defense spending, the capabilities, the weapons and the posture in the Indo-Pacific, which is something were very much focused. With Post wires Texas Rep. Al Green shouts out as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber on Tuesday. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images) The House on Thursday voted to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green after he was removed for disrupting President Trumps address to Congress on Tuesday night. It was a 224 to 198 vote, with 10 Democrats voting with Republicans in favor of the censure, making Green the 28th member of the House to ever receive one. To "censure" a lawmaker is a formal punishment members of Congress can give to their colleagues for disorderly behavior. While it does not typically carry consequences beyond the member having to hear a description of their disorderly behavior being read aloud in the House, it is considered a mark on Green's record as a lawmaker. Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse from Washington introduced a resolution to censure Green on Wednesday morning over the outburst during Trump's speech, reportedly beating out three alternative censure measures being composed by Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, Texas Rep. Troy Nehls and the House Freedom Caucus. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson instructed the House sergeant at arms to eject Green after he stood up and interjected as Trump spoke to lawmakers. Green stood and shouted, You have no mandate! Republicans, sitting on the other side of the room, drowned Greens protests out, chanting USA! USA! Johnson asked the room to sit down and stay quiet, but Green refused. Johnson then instructed the sergeant at arms to remove Green from the room for interrupting the speech and, as Green exited, Republicans stood up again and cheered, shouting, Get out! Rep. Al Green makes his protest (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters) (via REUTERS) You have no mandate to cut Medicaid! Green shouted at Trump before he was escorted out of the chamber. Johnson later told reporters that Green "should be censured" for interrupting Trump's address to Congress. Some House Democrats also disapproved of Green's disruption. New York Rep. George Latimer told Axios he thought it was "inappropriate." When a president my president, your president is speaking, we dont interrupt, we dont pull those stunts, he said. Rep. Tom Suozzi also told Axios that he thought Green's behavior was a "big mistake." Im an old school traditional type guy, I think we should be treating the president with deference, Suozzi said. So I think it was inappropriate. Green, 77, is a representative from Texass Ninth Congressional District and has served in Congress since 2005. He has helped lead impeachment efforts against Trump since 2017 and was one of the first members of Congress to propose articles of impeachment against Trump during his first administration, specifically in connection to Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey. In late January, Green announced to the House his plans to introduce new articles of impeachment against Trump over the war in Gaza. "The movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring Articles of Impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done," Green said. "Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. Before Congress, Green was a civil rights attorney and the president of the Houston NAACP for nearly a decade. Rep. Al Green is removed from the chamber. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters) (via REUTERS) Green wasnt the only Democratic lawmaker who shouted out during Trumps speech. Many others interjected Not true! or Those are lies! at the president. California Rep. Gil Cisneros reportedly shouted, Talk about the $400 million to Tesla! as multiple representatives held up protest signs that said Musk steals. Several Democrats exited the chamber throughout Trumps speech, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Veronica Escobar, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin. Some of the Democrats leaving were protesting Trumps commentary, reportedly wearing shirts with resist printed on the back. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman posted on X Wednesday that he disagreed with Green's behavior and the Democrats walking out of Trump's speech. "A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained," Fetterman wrote. "We're becoming the metamorphical car alarms that nobody pays attention toand it may not be the winning message." There was one moment during Trumps speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans: Trumps acknowledgment of the United States' financial aid for Ukraine. Several Democrats have said they do not plan to attend President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday. The address, which will be attended by members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, marks his first speech to Congress during his second term. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, is expected to deliver the Democratic rebuttal to Trump's speech. PHOTO: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks with reporters after a House Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Senator Chris Murphy is seen in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., on Feb. 20, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | SIPA via AP) MORE: Trump speech live updates: Tariff wars, Ukraine, firings to take spotlight House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said he will be in attendance "to make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the administration." Here are the Democrats who have said they will skip Trump's remarks Tuesday night. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said she will not be attending the address. "I'm not going to the Joint Address. I will be live posting and chatting with you all here instead. Then going on IG Live after," she wrote in a post on BlueSky. Sen. Chris Murphy Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is also skipping Trump's remarks, and will instead attend an event with the progressive advocacy organization MoveOn. "I think every Democrat needs to make up their own mind. I think that State of the Union speech is going to be a farce. I think it's gonna be a MAGA pep rally," Murphy told CNN. "We have to fight every single day, every single day." "A lot of Democrats think maybe you should fight every third day, you should reserve your power and jump out of the bushes at the right moment," he added. "I just think we have to be on the offensive 24/7." MORE: How to watch, stream Trump's address to the joint session of Congress tonight Sen. Ron Wyden PHOTO: Sen. Ron Wyden arrives to speak at a news conference on social security benefits, March 3, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has said he will host an online town hall instead of watching the address. "In this unprecedented time in American history, my top priority is making sure Oregonians from every corner of our state can keep weighing in directly with me," Wyden told ABC affiliate KEZI. Sen. Patty Murray PHOTO: Sen. Patty Murray speaks with reporters following the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) Washington Sen. Patty Murray said in a statement that she would skip Trump's address. "I will not be attending President Trump's address to Congress. The state of the union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law and he is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will," Murray said. Murray said she will instead be "meeting with constituents who have been harmed by this administration's reckless firings and its illegal and ongoing funding freeze across government." Sen. Martin Heinrich In a statement to ABC News, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich said he is "not going to President Trump's Joint Address tonight." "I'll start attending when he starts following the law," he said. MORE: Trump to address nation amid sagging approval ratings Rep. Gerry Connolly PHOTO: Congressman Gerald Connolly speaks at a rally in support of the United States Postal Service (USPS), organized by the American Postal Workers Union, amidst debates over changes to the USPS, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Shutterstock) Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly is also sitting out Trump's remarks to Congress. "Since being elected to Congress, I have never missed a State of the Union address," he wrote in a statement. "But we have never seen our democracy so tested. We have never seen our laws, institutions, and the separation of powers so attacked from within." Rep. Becca Balint In a statement, Vermont Rep. Becca Balint announced she will not attend the address. "I watched him take an oath to uphold and protect the constitution, and all he did was spew lies, stoke division and fear and make no effort to unify our country. I won't sit and watch him lie to the American people again," she wrote in a post on X. Rep. Don Beyer Virginia Rep. Don Beyer is also skipping the event. "This evening President Trump will address a coequal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard," Beyer wrote in a post on X. "Meanwhile my constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally. What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable, and I won't be attending." MORE: Who is Elissa Slotkin, the senator giving the Democratic response to Trump Rep. Sean Casten Illinois Rep. Sean Casten will not be in attendance, his office told Axios. Rep. Diana DeGette Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette said in a statement that she would not be at the event. "Trump's childish and shameful actions in the Oval Office towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as his barrage of illegal attacks against public servants and vulnerable groups, have disgraced and embarrassed our country," she said. "His actions are beneath the office of the President and do not merit my attendance at this Joint Address." Rep. Jan Schakowsky Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky also announced she would skip the speech. "I will continue to take every opportunity I can to speak out against this Administration's efforts to dismantle our democracy, end Medicaid as we know it, get rid of Social Security or Medicare, undermine veterans benefits or nutritional assistance to children and families, and so much more," she said in a statement. "I have heard from thousands of constituents who want me to resist. That is why I will not attend tonight's joint address." MORE: Trump 2nd term live updates: US, Ukraine could agree to mineral deal as soon as Tuesday Rep. Maxine Waters Speaking from the Capitol, California Rep. Maxine Waters said she "absolutely will not be there" Tuesday night, The Hill reported. "He's a dishonorable, deplorable human being," Waters said. "He's full of lies, and deceit, and he's aligned with Putin in Russia -- as a matter of fact, he should be tried for treason." Rep. Kweisi Mfume In a statement, Maryland Rep. Kweisi Mfume said he would not attend Trump's address. "Donald Trump and Elon Musk are destroying the state of the union," he said. "I don't need to be there to watch him claim otherwise." Rep. Mike Quigley Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley said in a statement that he "cannot in good conscience adhere to the norm of attending his joint address," saying Trump has "set flame to every democratic norm and principle of our government." "From starting a coup attempt on January 6, 2021, to appointing an oligarch to assault government services, and blatantly ignoring the separation of powers, Donald Trump has undermined our democracy every day since taking office," he said. "I plan to spend this time working on behalf of my constituents and focusing on making government work better to address the pressing problems facing Chicagoans including increasing prices for groceries, housing, and health care; public safety; and climate change." Some Democrats to skip Trump's joint address to Congress originally appeared on abcnews.go.com President Donald Trump will deliver his primetime address, similar to a State of the Union, Tuesday evening, to a room packed with lawmakers, family members and a variety of special guests. Around 200 to 300 guests are expected to file into the House chamber for the speech. Of those, about two dozen received an invitation from the president or first lady Melania Trump, while several others are there at the request of members of Congress. President Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania view the Florida Atlantic University Marching Band Performance outside Trump International Golf Club, Sunday, February 3, 2019. President Trump was arriving for his annual Super Bowl watch party at his golf club in West Palm Beach. [ALLEN EYESTONE/palmbeachpost.com] Here are some of the names and faces expected in the crowd Tuesday evening. President, first lady invite fallen Americans' family The president and first lady extended invitations to Tuesday's address to a variety of "everyday Americans." Included on this list are the family members of Corey Comperatore and Laken Riley. Comperatore was a 50-year-old firefighter shot and killed in July during an attempted assassination on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. His widow, Helen, and daughters, Allyson and Kaylee, will be in the audience for Trump's address. BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 05: Helen Comperatore (R), the widow of firefighter Corey Comperatore who was shot and killed at Trumpas rally in July, wipes away a tear as she and her daughters attend a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds on October 05, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. This is the first time that Trump has returned to Butler since he was injured and Comperatore was killed during an attempted assassination on July 13. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, killed last February while out for a run. Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, was found guilty in November for her murder. Riley's mother, Allyson, and sister, Lauren, were invited by Trump to hear his speech in person. Who else is on the first family's guest list? Other guests invited by the president include: Jeff Denard: A steel plant worker, volunteer firefighter and foster parent from Decatur, Alabama. Stephanie Diller: The widow of Jonathan Diller, a New York City police officer killed during a traffic stop last March. The suspect in her husband's case had prior arrests. Marc and Malphine Fogel: An American school teacher, Marc, who was recently released after more than three years in Russian custody, and his mother, Malphine. January Littlejohn: A Tallahassee mother who sued the local school board for allegedly allowing her 13-year-old daughter to transition without her consent. Payton McNabb: A former high school athlete from Murphy, N.C., who suffered a brain injury after a transgender female athlete spiked a ball at her in a volleyball match in 2022. Alexis Nungaray: The Houston mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was killed last summer. Two undocumented men from Venezuela have been charged with her murder. Roberto Ortiz: a border patrol agent from Weslaco, Texas. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes former detainee Marc Fogel to the White House after he was freed from Russia in Washington, DC, on Feb. 11, 2025. The first lady also extended invitations to a former foster child and recipient of a scholarship by Melania Trump's foundation, as well as a 15-year-old "deepfake" pornography victim from Texas. Democrats use their invitations to protest Trump Several members of the minority party say they plan to bring guests directly impacted by Trump's second term policies, including federal workers recently fired as a result of his and Elon Musk's government downsize efforts. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., will bring 20-year-old army veteran Luke Graziani who was employed at a veterans hospital in New York and was suddenly laid off two weeks ago, according to a press release. And Sen. Tina Smith has invited a Minnesota park ranger recently and "unjustly fired." Rep. Sara Jacobs of California announced her guest, Kianna Shlemon, a small business owner who Jacobs said will be hurt by Trump's recently implemented tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., extended an invite to a woman whose child relies on Medicaid, amid questions of cuts to the federal health program. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rips up the speech after President Donald J. Trump concludes delivering the State of the Union address from the House chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington on Feb 4, 2020. Xxx Jh19672 Jpg A Usa Dc Pelosi's guest, Elena Hung, is the founder and executive director of Little Lobbyists, a group promoting Medicaids assistance to children with complex medical needs and disabilities. Her daughter, Xiomara, was born with multiple serious medical conditions and relies on Medicaid, Pelosi said in a statement. At a time when Medicaid is under assault by those who seek to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, I am honored that Xiomaras story will be told through Elena's attendance as my guest to this years address to a joint session of Congress," Pelosi said. Contributing: Bart Jansen and Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, first lady, member of Congress invite guests to speech Idaho doomsday mom Lori Vallow believes she and her murderous husband will be cleared and freed from prison because Jesus showed her so, she said in her first interview since being convicted of killing her two youngest children. We will both be exonerated in the future, Vallow insisted in a preview clip of a Dateline episode slated to air Friday at 9 p.m. EST. I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven. And we were not in jail. And we were not in prison. And they were still in the future from now, she said, while wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with her hands cuffed in her lap. Lori Vallow will appear in her first post-conviction interview with NBC Dateline Friday night at 9 p.m. EST Dateline NBC Its the first time Vallow has given an interview since she was sentenced to life in prison in May 2023 for murdering two of her kids Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16 and her 56-year-old husband Chad Daybells wife, Tammy, in 2019 as part of a twisted plot to get married and make off with insurance money. Youre the most hated mom in America, Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison told Vallow in a preview for the interview, to which she responded that she was going to reveal what really happened to her family. Youve got a lot of stuff, Keith, but what I tell you will be the truth, she vowed. Vallows explanation of the truth has been persistently zany including claims that she was a goddess ushering in an apocalypse and that her kids died so their bodies could be cleansed of evil spirits that had possessed them and turned them into zombies. Her tall tales and career writing self-published apocalyptic novels that expanded the fantasy world around her familys death earned her the nickname Doomsday Mom. Vallow murdered two of her kids, 7-year-old Joshua JJ and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan AP In reality, though, Idaho jurors ruled Vallow and Daybell decided to murder their family so they could run off together. Indeed, just two weeks after Daybells wife Tammy was suffocated to death, the lovebirds were married. About a year later, the bodies of Vallows children were found in Daybells yard. Vallows prior husband, Charles, was shot to death in 2019 by her brother Alex Cox. Cox has since died of natural causes, but Vallow is going to trial in Arizona at the end of March for charges of conspiring to kill her former husband. Chad Daybell and his wife Tammy, whom he and Lori murdered. It was part of an elaborate plot for cash and sex Facebook Daybell was sentenced to death after his 2023 conviction. Dateline also spoke with Vallows surviving son, 29-year-old Colby Ryan. I always was a positive, see the best in people kind of person. And then I watched someone I knew my entire life do what she did, and it just changed the way I view people, Ryan said. The way that my sister was treated, was with hate. Thats not even human to do what they did to her, he added. Africa Studio/Adobe Stock Sometimes, figuring out what to make for dinner can feel like the most daunting task of the day. Luckily for me, however, I was raised in a household where if we were running low on groceries or didnt have that much time to cook, we defaulted to my grandmas three ingredient dinner of egg noodles, tomato soup, and bacon. All that to say, Im easy to please when it comes to mealtime. In fact, the fewer ingredients and less time spent in the kitchen, the better. While I might be alone in the tomato soup sauce or my moms microwaveable nachos, Im certainly not in wanting to keep recipes quick and easy. After a flip through my hometowns community cookbook, I realized that most of us are looking for that criteria on a weeknight. So, when I stumbled upon a soup with just five simple ingredients that only takes 15 minutes to make, I knew it would join my recipe rotation. Now, it just might join yours. Allow me to introduce you to Pierogi Soup. What Is Pierogi Soup? I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has a large Polish and Eastern European populationmeaning we love pierogies. We like the potato-filled dumplings so much that we dedicate a festival to them every year and have Mrs. Ts Pierogi races at our MLB games where The Pirates Pierogies (all with their own pierogi flavor-themed names) compete in the Great Pittsburgh Pierogi Race during the fifth inning. And, if theres one thing we love as much as a pierogi, its the Pittsburgh-based grocery store Giant Eagle. So, in a best of both worlds scenario, this pierogi soup recipe comes from the former Food and Nutrition Advisor at Giant Eagle, Judy Dodd, MS, RD. Bailey Fink Dodds recipe in my A Taste of the Township community cookbook calls for just five ingredients: frozen pierogies, onion, mushrooms, chicken broth, and Romano cheese. Naturally, she calls for Giant Eagle-branded ingredients, but, of course, your favorite brand or any generic option works, too. Dodd doesnt specify what flavor of frozen pierogies she uses, but when I made the recipe I opted for Mrs. Ts Classic Cheddarthough, next time I might go with Loaded Baked Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar, or even Sour Cream and Chive for a little extra flavor in the pierogies. As someone whose mom brings a pierogi casserolemade with lasagna noodles, mashed potatoes, Cheddar, and lots of butterto every potluck, pierogi soup is right up my alley. Its so quick and easy to make and a delicious, new way to enjoy the Polish dumplings. The soup is also entirely customizable using different pierogi flavors, veggies, and proteins. It's unassuming in looks, but the perfect warm comfort food that you'll actually look forward to making on a busy weeknight. Heres how to make my community cookbook's pierogi soup. How To Make Pierogi Soup Bailey Fink Ingredients 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced 2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth 1 (16-ounce) package frozen pierogies Romano cheese, grated Directions Spray a large saucepan with cooking oil spray. Heat the saucepan and saute chopped onion and sliced mushrooms. Add canned chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add frozen pierogies and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve topped with grated cheese. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising President Donald Trump on plans to radically shrink the U.S. government, said on Wednesday that the U.S. Postal Service and passenger railroad Amtrak should be privatized. "I think logically we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized," Musk said at a Morgan Stanley conference. "I think we should privatize the Post Office and Amtrak for example... We should privatize everything we possibly can." He said he thought those actions would require congressional approval. Last month, Trump said he was considering merging the Postal Service with the U.S. Commerce Department, a move Democrats said would violate federal law. The Postal Service has lost more than $100 billion since 2007, including $9.5 billion in the 12 months ending September 30. Earlier this month, however, it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $144 million. As email boomed, the agency has been hurt by an 80% decline in first-class mail volume since 1997. Volume is now at the lowest level since 1968. USPS declined to comment. Amtrak said in December ridership topped 2019 pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time in 2024 when it increased 15% over 2023 to a record 32.8 million customer trips. The rail operator reported an adjusted operating loss of $705 million for the 12 months ended September 30, down 9% versus 2023. Musk said that in comparison with Chinese high-speed rail, Amtrak "is a sad situation... It will leave you with a very bad impression of America." Asked about Musk's comments, Amtrak said Wednesday its "business performance is strong. Ridership and revenue are at all-time highs.... The train service we operate across our nationwide network, as mandated by law, is on-track to reach operational profitability - for the first time in history - during this administration." Amtrak in March said it was boosting passenger services on the East Coast as it aims to double ridership nationwide by 2040 to 66 million passengers. Congress approved $66 billion for rail projects as part of a massive infrastructure bill in 2021, with $22 billion dedicated to Amtrak over five years on top of regular funding. President Donald Trump during his first term repeatedly sought to cut funding to Amtrak, which received about $2.4 billion in annual federal support last year. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Christopher Cushing) Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, pictured in 1989, were reclusive in their final years, according to friends. (Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch /IPX) (Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch/MediaPunch/IPx) As questions remain surrounding the death of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, authorities released a new update from the New Mexico Gas Company on March 4. The statement further eliminates the likelihood that the couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) conducted "an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide" at the couple's home on Feb. 26, the day the 95-year-old actor and his wife, 64, were found dead. According to Tuesday's press release from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, "there were no significant findings." "NMGC did issue five red tags. One red tag was for a minuscule leak (0.33% gas in air not a lethal amount) at one of the stove burners. The other four red tags were for code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide involving a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces," the statement concluded. On Friday, investigators announced that both Hackman and Arakawa had tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning. Both showed no signs of external trauma. Police are awaiting the results of a toxicology report that will help determine the cause and manner of the deaths. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said a full autopsy report will "be key to this investigation." The last day of Hackman's life was probably Feb. 17, when his pacemaker recorded his "last event." One of Hackman and Arakawa's three dogs was found dead near her body. There has been some confusion over which dog died, as police initially said it was the pair's German shepherd. However, that dog is alive and well with a family friend. A mixed-breed dog named Zinna was found deceased. Joey Padilla, a dog day care owner who worked with the couple's dogs for a decade, spoke to Fox News Digital about how protective Arakawa was of her husband and their pets. "You know, after COVID, she was very particular about bringing people around Gene. So, she was super protective," Padilla said. He added that Arakawa and Zinna were "attached to the hip." "It's hard to explain and encompass how much these dogs meant to these people," he said. Padilla told the outlet that it had been at least a month since he last saw Arakawa. Friends of the pair have given various interviews to media outlets that paint a similar picture of the reclusive life of Hackman and Arakawa in recent years. A Santa Fe couple, Barbara Lenihan, 75, and her husband, Daniel Lenihan, were longtime friends of the couple. They told the New York Post the pair had increasingly "become insular." "We used to spend a lot of time at their house but it'd been a while since they were comfortable having others over," she said. "They were a little insular and that was fine, it just got tougher for them to have people over." Daniel said it had been "years" since he saw Hackman in person. Barbara saw Arakawa earlier this year and told the outlet they had corresponded via email in recent weeks. Hackman's friends and his children have publicly offered different perspectives on his health before his death. Leslie Ann Hackman, one of his three kids from a prior marriage, told the Daily Mail "there was no indication that there was any problem" with his health. "Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition," she said, but admitted she had not spoken with him in the months before his death. BRUSSELS (AP) European Union leaders plan to hold emergency talks on Thursday to agree ways to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signaled that Europe must take care of its own security and also suspended assistance to Ukraine. In just over a month, President Donald Trump has overturned old certainties about U.S. reliability as a security partner, as he embraces Russia and withdraws American support for Ukraine. On Monday, Trump ordered a pause to U.S. military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia, bringing fresh urgency to the EU summit in Brussels. Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime. Some of our fundamental assumptions are being undermined to their very core," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in a letter to the EUs 27 leaders, who will consider ways to access more money for defense spending and ease restrictions on it. But perhaps the biggest challenge for the EU on Thursday will be to take a united stance at a moment when it's fractured, since much of what the bloc does requires unanimous support. Focus is Europes security Whatever happens, the meeting is not expected to address Ukraines most pressing needs. It is not aimed at urgently drumming up more arms and ammunition to fill any supply vacuum created by the U.S. freeze. Nor will it unblock the estimated 183 billion euros ($196 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in a Belgian clearing house, a pot of ready cash that could be seized. Ukraines armed forces, meanwhile, are still battling to slow Russias advances along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. Tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed. The focus of Thursdays summit will be finances, and how to set the EU up as quickly as possible to provide for its own security, and help Ukraine, while breaking with decades of dependence on the U.S. defense umbrella. In view of the increasing threat situation, it is clear to us that Europe must now very quickly make very big efforts, very quickly, to strengthen the defense capability of our country and the European continent, Germanys likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said Tuesday. The prospective partners in Germanys next government are seeking to loosen the nations rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending. A call for Europe to increase its defense spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte who fears that Russias armed forces might be capable of launching an attack on another European country by the end of the decade has warned that U.S. allies will have to spend more than 3% of gross domestic product on their military budgets. The Trump administration is demanding that the Europeans spend as much as 5%, well beyond the NATO benchmark of at least 2%. Seven European allies still fall short of even that target. The U.S. spends around 3.4%, according to NATO figures, and a Pentagon audit that could reduce that is pending. Von der Leyen has proposed that the EUs executive branch, the European Commission, raise up to 150 billion euros ($161 billion) on financial markets that would be loaned to member countries buy new military equipment for themselves, or to send to Ukraine. The commission would also aim to free up funds from other sectors of the blocs massive long-term budget and to relax its stringent debt rules so that each country could invest up to 1.5% more of their GDP on defense, should they want to. The leaders will also discuss whether to place more arms contracts with Ukraines defense industry, and to help integrate it into the European industrial network. Production costs in Ukraine are much lower, providing a relatively fast way to supply more arms and ammunition. It's an approach that Zelenskyy has praised. Last year alone, thanks to Ukrainian and partner efforts, we produced over 1.5 million drones of various types. Ukraine is now the world leader in drone warfare. This is our success. But its also your success, he said earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference. Possible EU support for a future force to police any peace agreement in Ukraine will also be weighed. Britain and France are leading that effort, which could involve several other European countries. EU faces major challenges The summit comes as the EU is arguably at its weakest point, fragmented by the steady rise of a hard right that is often pro-Russian. Hungary and Slovakia have routinely undermined support for Ukraine. Hungary is threatening to veto a joint statement drafted for Thursdays summit but would not be able to block any major security or financing decisions. Meanwhile, many larger countries face uncertainties at home. Germany will soon have a new chancellor, but Frances latest government is fragile, and Spain relies on small parties to keep its coalition intact. Poland offers strong leadership under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, however a presidential election looms and a right-wing candidate is well placed. The Dutch cabinet dominated by hard-right leader Geert Wilders is shaky. Its been a difficult three years for American farmers. Costs of everything from gasoline to feed to equipment have risen, while most crop prices have fallen. Now many farmers say they worry President Donald Trumps incipient trade war will make things even tougher. Hes out there with his wrecking ball just throwing tariffs around, says Barb Kalbach, a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer in Dexter, Iowa. Trumps 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, and the President doubled the levy on products from China to 20%. China retaliated with taxes of up to 15% on U.S. farm imports, while both Canada and Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canadas 25% tariffs on $30 billion of U.S. products affect poultry, meat, dairy, wheat, and other food products. Farmers know from experience that these retaliatory tariffs are going to hurt them. When Trump launched a trade war against China in 2018, Beijing responded with tariffs aimed at the U.S. farm industry. Exports fell as Chinese buyers looked to places like Brazil for soybeans, reducing the market share of American farmers. Farmers were hit so hard that the Trump Administration ended up spending $23 billion to make them whole. Read More: Heres Where Chinas Retaliatory Tariffs Could Hit Hardest. Agriculture took the brunt of retaliatory tariffs by China last time, and certainly agriculture is going to be the main target of todays retaliatory strikes, says Marc Busch, a professor at Georgetowns School of Foreign Service who studies trade. This time, its not just China retaliating, but also Mexico and Canada, two of America's top trade partners. The expectation among ag stakeholders is that it will only be worse this time, Busch says. Kalbach, the Iowa farmer, fears the newest tariffs will only make it harder to export her products. This is just going to take parts of our markets away, she says. In the last trade war, around 80% of the money the U.S. government took in from tariffs on Chinese imports went back to paying farmers who were hurt by retaliatory tariffs, Busch says. Such payments keep farms afloat, but what will really boost the agriculture industry is to find new markets, says Clark Packard, a research fellow at the Cato Institute. Its a question of whether we want welfare payments or whether we want to actually make sales, Packard says. We are getting back into this business of doling out more and more payments to the agricultural industry. Read More: How Trumps Tariffs Could Affect U.S. Consumers. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. farmers have lost money on almost every major crop planted in the last three years. Adding even more costs and reducing markets for American agricultural goods, federation president Zippy Duvall said in a statement, could create an economic burden some farmers may not be able to bear. Trump addressed such concerns in a post on Truth Social, encouraging farmers to sell more products within the U.S. To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold inside the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun! he wrote Tuesday. But farmers say that limiting sales to domestic markets would hinder their businesses and lower prices. The U.S. exported $83 billion in agricultural products to Canada, China, and Mexico last year, according to the farm bureau. Were really good at raising healthy, safe, and cost-effective food to the point that we produce way more than this country needs, says Chad Franke, the president of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, which represents 14,000 farmers across Colorado, Wyoming, and Mexico. To say that were just going to sell it domestically is like saying you should put 20 gallons of gas in your 15 gallon gas tank. Take the dairy industry. About 20% of U.S. milk production is exported annually, with about 40% of that going to Canada, Mexico, and China, according to Chuck Nicholson, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. If the domestic dairy industry gets only a little more milk than traders were expecting, prices drop as a result, Nicholson says. So if the dairy industry started trying to sell that 20% domestically instead of exporting it, prices would plummet, making it difficult for farmers to continue to operate. Already, Trump Administration policies are giving dairy farmers a headache, Nicholson adds, from immigration crackdowns to potential cuts to government programs such as food stamps, which contribute to demand for domestic dairy products. Farmers are uncertain about what markets will still want farmers products, whether the federal staffers they work with on a daily basis will still be there the next day, how much farm equipment and gas are going to cost, and how much theyll be able to sell their crops for. Farmers and ranchers already have enough uncertainty in their daily lives, says Franke, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union president. They dont need any more. Contact us at letters@time.com. Ben & Jerrys will give out free ice cream cones at scoop shops on April 8. This is the 46th year the company has hosted Free Cone Day. The promotion started as a thank-you to customers who helped the company survive its first winter in Vermont. Lets be honest with ourselves The New Years resolution to eat better and avoid sugar? If its not forgotten at this point, but its on very unsteady legs. And Ben & Jerrys might have just delivered the knockout punch. The ice-cream chain has announced the date for this years Free Cone Day. And youve got just over a month before temptation goes into overdrive. Tuesday, April 8, is when this years giveaway will take place. Whether your preferences is Chunky Monkey or Phish Food, youll be able to pick up a cone for free. Last year, the chain set a record with fans taking over 1 million scoops of free ice cream. "Free Cone Day has always been about gratitudewe want to thank our fans for being the best fans in the world with free ice cream and a moment of pure joy," said Dave Stever, Ben & Jerry's CEO. This will be the 46th year Ben & Jerrys has offered a free day of ice cream in its shops. It was first offered by founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1979 to thank customers for helping the shop survive its first wintera particularly brutal year where the average temperatures fell to 14.1 degrees and there were 52.9 inches of snow in Burlington, Vt. (Not exactly the sort of weather that encourages one to chow down on a cup of Cherry Garcia.) To find the store nearest to you, visit www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/free-cone-day. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Big Tech is moving quickly and aggressively to ensure it stays on President Trumps good side. Companies ranging from Apple (AAPL) and Meta (META) to Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) have taken steps to improve their standing with Trump, whether thats through promised investments in American factories or changes to their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. Apple has promised to pour $500 billion into projects across the US, including sourcing servers for its Apple Intelligence platform from a factory in Texas, while TSMC (TSM) has pledged to spend $100 billion building out new plants in Arizona. Google renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America in Google Maps, cut its DEI efforts, and removed a clause in its AI policy that would have prevented the company from using the technology for weapons. Metas Mark Zuckerberg has installed Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White as a Meta board member, curtailed DEI programs, and paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed after the social media network banned his account following the Jan. 6 attack. Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, meanwhile, has exerted his influence over the Posts editorial board, preventing it from endorsing Trumps rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris, in the run-up to the 2024 election and telling the board to focus on personal liberties and free markets. There is an old saying in DC that youre either at the table or on the menu, explained Edward Mills, managing director and Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. We saw significant resistance [from tech] in Trump 1.0, and very frequently tech [companies] found themselves on the menu through much more aggressive antitrust actions and a very unfriendly DC. In Trump 2.0 it is clear to me that they are trying to be at the table. Big Tech playing the game Apple laid out the prototype for how to engage with Trump during his first administration. CEO Tim Cook took a more diplomatic route, inviting Trump to a plant that assembled the companys Mac Pro desktop and laying out how the company relied on suppliers from across the country. Mark Zuckerberg has made a series of changes at Meta to appease Trump. (AP Foto/David Zalubowski) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) The overtures paid off over time, helping Apple win exceptions to tariffs on goods from China. And the company has continued to follow the same playbook this time around, saying it will spend billions in the US on everything from Apple TV+ production to growing its US Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion. I think Tim Cook showed ... how to deal with the Trump administration by being accommodative, respectful, providing President Trump with good press and that helped Apple in what ... was already a precarious position of being caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade dispute, explained D.A. Davidson head of technology research Gil Luria. Read more: What are tariffs, and how do they affect you? The other CEOs of these large companies took good notes from ... Mr. Cook, and in fact, they have all made a pilgrimage to either the White House or Mar-a-Lago, and most of them have come back with deliverables, Luria added. For Google, that has meant making changes to its AI policy and eliminating portions of its DEI programs. In February, the company told Yahoo Finances Alexis Keenan that it made the changes to its DEI effort based on recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 seeking to end such programs. Meta similarly gutted DEI services. In February, Zuckerberg also announced he was getting rid of fact-checkers in favor of a Community Notes-style program found on X. He also said he is loosening policies on speech related to immigration and gender, claiming that it has hurt free speech on his platform. Immigration and gender were major topics of Trumps campaign, and he has focused on deporting migrants while targeting transgender people and nonbinary individuals via executive orders. Zuckerberg also claimed the company needed to move its trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California to Texas to combat concerns about alleged bias. Zuckerberg had an acrimonious relationship with Trump during his first administration and is looking to win over the president in this second administration. Doing so could also help Zuckerberg as he looks to push back against regulations on tech companies in Europe and battles the FTCs antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up the company. Google and Amazon have also looked to improve their respective relationships with Trump. Google banned the president from YouTube following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, while Amazon faced repeated attacks from Trump during his first administration because of the Posts coverage of the White House at the time. Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, is also hoping to grab government contracts for space launches, and a positive relationship with Trump could go a long way in helping that effort. Cook, Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Bezos also attended Trumps inauguration, standing just behind the president as he was sworn in, and donated millions toward the event. Trump previously threatened to jail Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (Carl Court/Pool via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) It was almost as if Trump was demonstrating that he had won the fight and was having them take a front-row seat to his victory, Mills said. Fellow tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) may not have made such public overtures to the Trump administration as their peers, but they are still working with the White House to address their own concerns. Microsofts Satya Nadella met with Trump in January to discuss the companys AI investments, and Nvidias Jensen Huang joined a meeting with the president later that month. Microsoft president Brad Smith has called on Trump to loosen certain export rules that limit Big Techs ability to build data centers in countries like Poland, Israel, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia. Huang, for his part, is contending with the potential for further export controls on Nvidias chips to China, which are already subject to limits, as well as Trumps planned 25% tariffs on semiconductors. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei is also hoping to avoid taking a hit from Trump's tariffs, laying out his company's investments in a press conference with the president. Its still early in this second administration, and tech companies have another four years before a new president takes office. Theres no guarantee their efforts to appease Trump will work, and there could still be hiccups down the road. There is the normal way in which D.C. works, and then there's the Donald Trump way in which D.C. works, Mills said. Now Big Tech has to make sure it's figured that out. Sign up for Yahoo Finance's Week in Tech newsletter. (yahoofinance) Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance ARM Holdings CEO Rene Haas speaks during a ceremony for the launch of a collaboration between Malaysia and ARM Holdings in Kuala Lumpur on March 5, 2025. (Mohd RasfanAFP via Getty Images) Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahims drive to make the Southeast Asian country a major chip player just got a key partner. On Wednesday, Malaysian officials revealed the countrywhose semiconductor industry contributes around 40% of its total exportswill partner with Arm Holdings to move up to the higher-end of the market. Malaysia already plays an important role in the chip supply chain as a hub for testing, packaging, and assembly. The country commands about 13% of the global market for those backend processes. The country unveiled a National Semiconductor Strategy in May 2024 that pledged to attract at least 500 billion Malaysian ringgit ($113 billion) in investment, train 60,000 local engineers, and establish at least 10 local semiconductor firms in design and advanced packaging. In a Wednesday TV interview with Bloomberg, Malaysia's economic minster Rafizi Ramli unveiled a first of its kind deal with Arm Holdings, suggesting it was the first time the British semiconductor firm is working with a national goverment rather than a private company. The Malaysian government will pay Arm $250 million over the next decade for seven of the company's high-end chip blueprints. Malaysia hopes the deal will help foster 10 local chip companies with annual revenue between $1.5 billion to $2 billion each. Arm generates revenue from developing and licensing its intellectual property for processors used in devices like smartphones and servers. The company licenses its instruction sets, which partners then customize to make chips for their own purposes. Its not yet clear whether Arm will receive royalties for products designed in collaboration with Malaysian companies using its IP. Arm declined to comment. Malaysia's chip ambitions In recent years, Anwar has touted Malaysias non-aligned status and pushed the country as a home for semiconductor companies amidst growing global geopolitical uncertainty. Possessing the IP behind chip designs could help Malaysia build a supply chain that doesnt rely on either the U.S. or China. Malaysia launched an IC design park, the largest in the region, in Selangor last year. In January, Rafizi told Fortune that Malaysias recent surge in data center investments was part of a broader plan to develop the countrys chip ecosystem. Three to four years down the line, these data centers will go into a replenishment phase. They may need to upgrade their chips, Rafizi told Fortune at the time. The hope, he added, was that those chips will eventually be made by Malaysia. Update Mar. 6, 2025: This piece has been updated with Arm Holding's response. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com In late February, hackers breached the Dubai-based Bybit, one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and stole about $1.5 billion of Ethereum. It was the largest hack in cryptos Bitcoin. Specifically, the firm builds open-source software that companies like Bybit use to create online wallets to store their crypto. The wallets are akin to bank vaults that need multiple keys to be unlocked. Bybit used Safe to safeguard at least $1.5 billion of Ethereum, the worlds second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Any time an employee from Bybit wanted to move the exchanges Ethereum to another location, he or she signed into Safes website. Because Safes software is open-source, the company and Bybit had no formal business relationship, Stefan George, one of the original developers behind Safes technology, told Fortune. Malware download Even as Bybit was placing stores of Ethereum in Safes digital vault, North Koreas group of elite hackers lay in wait, watching their moves. They prepared it over a very long period of time, like definitely more than a month probably many months, George said. Then they pounced. The Safe team has about 30 engineers, and a handful of them are sys admins, or system administrators. Sys admins are senior developers who are able to update Safes live website and code. North Korean hackers targeted one admin in what was likely a phishing attack, George said, probably by tricking them into downloading an application or divulging personal info. The FBI has called the tactic North Korean hackers use TraderTraitor. George wouldnt disclose any more details about how a Safe employee was tricked, citing an ongoing investigation. Site update After hackers duped the Safe system admin, they used their access to the persons controls to download malware to the developers machine, which gave North Korea control over the admins computer, George said. From there, hackers updated Safes website with a snippet of code designed exclusively for Bybit, like a virus that activates when in contact with the right host. In late February, the dormant code detected that a Bybit employee had opened its Safe account and was about to authorize a transaction. At the last moment, hackers swapped in a new command to drain Bybits crypto holdings. The employee unknowingly authorized the command, and North Korea was suddenly flush with $1.5 billion in crypto. Two minutes after the heist, Safes website was updated to hide the hackers tracks and erase the code snippet, according to a security investigation Bybit commissioned. The investigation into how North Korea compromised a Safe developers computer is still ongoing, George told Fortune. Goldberg, the CEO of Chaos Labs, told Fortune that the hack of Bybit is indicative of a broader problem in software. The vast majority of programmers use code from other programmers, who reference apps built by yet another batch of developers. We're building on houses of cards, and you know what you build, he said. You dont know whats going on underneath. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Fairfax Media via Getty Miss Australia Kathryn Hay is pictured in 1999 A former Miss Australia has been found guilty of emotionally abusing her ex-husband, a court in Tasmania has heard Kathryn Isobel Hay, 49, is accused of threatening Troy Shane Richardson with violence, punching him and hitting him several times with a shoe, per reports The former couple were together from 2010 until 2022 and share two children together, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) A former Miss Australia has been found guilty in court of emotionally abusing and intimidating her ex-husband. On Wednesday, March 5, Kathryn Isobel Hay, 49 who was Miss Australia and Miss Tasmania in 1999 was found guilty of emotional abuse or intimidation at the Launceston Magistrates Court in Tasmania, per the Australian Associated Press (AAP). According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Hay pleaded not guilty to a single charge of emotional abuse or intimidation in 2023 before she faced a hearing last year. She's accused of emotionally abusing her former partner, Troy Shane Richardson, during a time frame that allegedly took place between January 2014 and November 2022, per the ABC. The outlet stated the former couple were together from 2010 until 2022 and share two children. The court heard on March 5 that Australian Labor politician Hay who is a former Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly was found guilty, with the "majority of the particulars on the charge proven," per 9 News. Fairfax Media via Getty Kathryn Hay photographed in 2001 Richardson had told the hearing in 2024 that his former partner had been verbally abusive when they were together, as well as accusing her of threatening him with violence, punching him and hitting him several times with a shoe, per the AAP. The ABC added that Hay also threw a bowl of cereal at him, as well as frequently abusing him online. The outlet reported that Hay had claimed that she was the victim of abuse. Richardson, who said he met Hay at a dog show in 2009 before they tied the knot in 2012, previously told the court their relationship had deteriorated around 2013 after their second child was born, the AAP reported. "She would often make a point of having an argument in public just to make me feel low," he said of the alleged abuse, per the outlet, claiming that the suspect punched him in 2020, stating he was left with a black eye. The following year, Hay was then taken into police custody after being accused of slapping her then-partner for "driving around a corner too fast," per the AAP. A family violence order was placed against her, but the victim claimed the suspect had "later demanded he have the order revoked." Magistrate Simon Brown told the court on Wednesday, "It was the prosecutors' case that the defendant controlled and abused the complainant," per the ABC. "It was the defense case that the reverse was the case," Brown added, according to the outlet. Hay a Labor member for the northern Tasmanian seat of Bass between 2002 and 2006 reportedly claimed the couple's finances were "entirely controlled" by her former partner, the publication stated. However, Brown claimed this likely wasn't the case as the ABC added that she'd allegedly purchased a property at Norwood in northern Tasmania. "The evidence here proves that it was the defendant [Hay] who was the prime mover she paid a handsome, somewhat overly inflated price [for the property]. The property was registered in her name and her name only," Brown said, per the outlet. Fairfax Media via Getty Kathryn Hay photographed in 1999 Brown continued, "Generally, I found her [Hay] to be a dishonest and unreliable witness," the ABC reported. "She, over a period of years and years, caused the complainant distress," Brown said. "If the defendant had stopped to think, she ought to have known that her conduct would have caused her husband to be intimidated." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The suspect denied physical abuse but did admit that bad language might have been used occasionally as the relationship became toxic, per the AAP. Hay has been bailed and is expected to be sentenced on April 17, the outlet reported. The Launceston Magistrates Court didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People March 5, 2025 at 5:40 AM If fashion is an art form, these stars may be walking masterpieces. A slew of A-list celebrities, from supermodels Gigi Hadid and Tyra Banks to fashion heavyweights Anna Wintour and Jean Paul Gaultier, descended on The Louvre in Paris on Tuesday for "Le Grand Diner du Louvre," a glamorous exhibition held at the iconic French art museum. The inaugural showcase was designed to highlight the "Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion Statement Pieces" exhibit, Olivier Gabet, director of the decorative arts department at the Louvre Museum, told Women's Wear Daily in August 2024. The collection explores how "precious objects" across history have shaped the realm of fashion design. "This is really the first time that the Louvre has decided to create an exhibition about the relationship between fashion and its own collections," Gabet said at the time. Check out the stars who were in attendance. Gigi Hadid Gigi Hadid attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Hadid was a full-blown glamazon in an asymmetrical, off-the-shoulder gown. The floor-length frock was overlaid with a bewitching black and yellow patchwork print. Tyra Banks Tyra Banks attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Banks is taking business formal to a chic new level. The model and TV personality rocked a flowy blazer with tassel embellishments and paired it with a black bustier. Anna Wintour Anna Wintour attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Wintour is the reigning fashion queen for a reason, folks. The Vogue Editor-in-Chief looked elegant in a long-sleeved, floral-printed dress and sleek black coat. Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The French haute couture designer stayed true to his signature style with a striped, navy-blue and white T-shirt, which he elevated with a crisp black suit. Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Yeoh may be in her villain era, but there's nothing sinful about her Louvre look. The Oscar-winning actress and "Wicked" star captivated in a jet black, asymmetrical dress. Naomi Campbell Naomi Campbell attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Campbell can make anything a fashion statement. The model took a simple black dress and paired it with a vibrant hot pink coat and '60s-inspired hairdo for a casually glamorous number. Dev Patel Dev Patel attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Patel is a leading man on and off the screen. The "Monkey Man" director and star charmed in a trim navy-blue suit and white button-down shirt. Keira Knightley Keira Knightley attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Knightley is a black dove in more ways than one. The Oscar-nominated actress and "Black Doves" star radiated in a whimsical black dress, which featured a jewel-studded and semi-ruffled bodice. Doechii Doechii attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Doechii was truly the belle of the ball. The Grammy-winning rapper sparkled in a sumptuous canary gown that glinted with the help of some reflective beading. Jisoo Jisoo attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Jisoo is flying solo in style. The Blackpink star evoked old Hollywood glamour in a strapless black gown, which she accessorized with a dazzling, leaf-shaped necklace. Paris Jackson Paris Jackson attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. For Jackson, superstar style doesn't skip a generation. The model-actress and daughter of pop icon Michael Jackson wowed in a feathery, semi-sheer frock that belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ashley Graham Ashley Graham attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. If anyone can flip the fashion script, it's Graham. The model looked sharp in an all-black suit and tie, which she complemented with a bold red lip. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Rosie Huntington-Whiteley attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Huntington-Whiteley aced the first rule of model behavior: Always be runway ready. The model-actress sizzled in a sequined black dress, which she paired with a matching shawl. Joseph Quinn Joseph Quinn attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. In the battle for fashion stud supremacy, Quinn is a clear victor. The "Gladiator II" star was a total knockout in a crisp black suit, which he topped with a wine-hued button-down shirt. Danai Gurira Danai Gurira attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Only the fiercest of Wakanda survive, and Gurira fits that bill. The actress and "Black Panther" star popped in a showstopping halter gown. Gemma Chan Gemma Chan attends "Le Grand Diner du Louvre" at the Louvre Museum in Paris on March 4, 2025. Chan has us seeing red in the best way possible. The actress and "Crazy Rich Asians" star captivated in a floor-length scarlet gown. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Le Grand Diner du Louvre photos: Gigi Hadid, Tyra Banks, more stars An ex-Maryland priest currently imprisoned for child molestation will be deported to Colombia after federal officials convicted the predator of lying on his immigration paperwork to obtain US citizenship. Jorge Antonio Velez-Lopez, a Colombian immigrant, will be booted back to his native country after a federal judge in Louisiana sentenced him for passport fraud, according to the US Attorneys Office for the Western District of Louisiana. Prosecutors said the fraudster was naturalized as an American citizen in May 2013 after repeatedly misinforming immigration officials that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested. Jorge Antonio Velez-Lopes will be transferred to the custody of ICE after completing both federal and state sentences. AP Officials later learned he had sexually abused a teenage girl from 2005 to 2009 while serving as a priest at the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Laurel a heinous crime that earned him a 9-year sentence in 2021 after pleading guilty to multiple sex offenses. The United States Department of Justice, ICE, and our other federal law enforcement partners will use every tool in our arsenal to protect children and will prosecute and seek deportation of those who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship, Acting US Attorney Alexander Van Hook said in a statement. Velez-Lopez arrived in the US as a temporary religious worker in 2003, was approved as a permanent resident in 2007 and filed his fraudulent application in March 2013, prosecutors said. He again lied to a USCIS officer two months later during an interview where he verbally confirmed, and later swore under oath, that he never provided false information during the citizenship process. While working at the Maryland parish, under the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Velez-Lopez was accused of sexually abusing the young victim, who reported the abuse in 2016, according to WMAR. The former cleric was arrested in February 2020 for the sick crime after he was relocated to the Archdiocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, the outlet reported. The former cleric was arrested in February 2020 for sexually abusing a child. Velez-Lopez, who is currently serving his state prison sentence at the Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland, was sentenced to 12 months time served on his federal charge and a year of supervised release, prosecutors said. He will be transferred to the custody of ICE after completing both sentences. This case sends a clear message to individuals who commit any type of sexual offense, particularly those involving children, during the naturalization process we will ensure that justice is done, Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth said. The Justice Departments Office of Immigration Litigation will continue to hold individuals responsible for sexual offense, especially those involving child victims. If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673. LIVINGSTON, Texas - David Leonard Wood is angry. Hes angry that hes been on Texas Death Row for nearly four decades when no DNA evidence links him to the murders of six women and girls in El Paso. Hes angry at every cop and prosecutor who put him behind bars, and hes angry that his community largely believes he is the so-called Desert Killer. But right now, hes mostly angry about his execution, scheduled for next week. In an hour-long interview with USA TODAY at the states Death Row just north of Houston, Wood stood behind his longtime claims of innocence, picked apart the states case against him and talked about his struggle to find peace as his death nears. David Leonard Wood, known as the "Desert Killer," is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Huntsville Unit prison in Livingston, Texas on Feb. 26, 2025. Wood has been on Texas Death Row since 1992, when he was convicted of killing six women and girls. Wood is set to be executed by lethal injection on March 13, which would make him the seventh man put to death in the U.S. this year and the third alone in Texas, by far the nations deadliest state for Death Row inmates. Im accused of killing six people when an entire police force couldnt find a single shred of evidence of anything, Wood told USA TODAY. How can I not be angry at the corruption that put me here? How can you let people just dump cases on you and not be angry? Who is David Leonard Wood? Wood, who grew up in El Paso in the 1960s, said he was a problem child who turned into a partier as an adult, hanging out in biker bars and strip clubs. He said he started running with the wrong crowd as a teen and got kicked out on his very first day of high school for fighting. His family, speaking in court, described him as a hyperactive kid who was placed in foster homes twice. When Wood was 18, he caught some jail time for siphoning gas from an off-duty cop car. Less than two years later in 1977, he was convicted of indecency with a 12-year-old girl and served just over three years in prison. In 1980, he was convicted of raping a 13-year-old and 19-year-old in separate crimes, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He served seven years before he was paroled and freed in January 1987 at the age of 29, one month before the Desert Killers victims began disappearing. Wood, now 67, told USA TODAY that he didnt rape the girls but acknowledged some wrongdoing, and blamed it on alcohol and marijuana. He said, Im sorry. Anybody would tell you, my friends or my family, if I hadnt have been drunk or high, I wouldnt have did what I did, he said. David Leonard Wood, known as the "Desert Killer," is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Huntsville Unit prison in Livingston, Texas on Feb. 26, 2025. Wood has been on Texas Death Row since 1992, when he was convicted of killing six women and girls. David Leonard Wood was convicted of being the Desert Killer In 1992, a jury convicted Wood of killing six women and girls in 1987 in a case dubbed by local media as the Desert Killer. The victims are: 14-year-old Dawn Marie Smith, 15-year-old Desiree Wheatley, 17-year-old Angelica Frausto, 20-year-old Karen Baker, 23-year-old Ivy Susanna Williams, and 24-year-old Rosa Maria Casio. Dawn was a ninth-grader who may have been pregnant, Desiree was a middle school student who liked to collect plushies, Frausto was a beloved sister with an infectious laugh, Baker was a mother of three who wanted to go to cosmetology school, Williams was a dancer who loved riding her Harley Davidson and Casio was about to start community college. She was my partner in crime, Fraustos sister, Jolieen Denise Gonzalez, told USA TODAY. I miss her laugh the most. From left to right counterclockwise, David Leonard Wood, Desiree Wheatley, Rose Maria Casio, Ivy Susanna Williams, Karen Baker, Melissa Alaniz, Marjorie Knox, Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes, Dawn Marie Smith and Angelica Fausto. Wood is on death row in Texas for the murder of six of these young girls and women. The bodies of the six victims were all found in various states of decomposition in shallow graves in the same desert area in northeastern El Paso. Investigators couldnt determine how many of them were killed, though at least one had been strangled. Police believed three missing girls 12-year-old Melissa Alaniz, 14-year-old Marjorie Knox, and 19-year-old Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes - were also victims of the Desert Killer, but their bodies were never found. What was the evidence against Wood? Woods conviction was based mainly on circumstantial evidence. No DNA evidence has ever connected Wood to the murders. El Paso Assistant District Attorney Karen Shook told jurors during the trial that the case in the totality points to David Wood. Its clear that the signature aspect of these murders was the shallow graves in this dark, isolated desert area, she said. It became the private graveyard of the defendant, David Wood. Jurors heard testimony from two jailhouse informants who said Wood confessed to the killings, and a sex worker who said Wood raped her in the same desert area where the bodies were found and had begun digging her grave when a nearby noise startled him. Wood, who was convicted of the sex workers rape, told USA TODAY during his recent interview that all three were lying and were only helping prosecutors in exchange for leniency in their own cases. Ive never confessed anything to anybody about anything, Wood said. David Leonard Wood sits in 171st District court listening to both the judge and attorneys discuss his appeal. In a recent court filing, Woods attorneys said that both jailhouse informants and the sex worker either got many years shaved off of prison sentences or were seeking a financial reward. The filing also details a statement from a man named George Hall, who described how El Paso police tried to get him to lie that Wood had confessed to the murders while they were jailed together. Additional testimony came from a 26-year-old woman who said Wood raped her under an El Paso bridge when she was 13, according to archived coverage by the Associated Press at the time. Another woman testified that she was 12 when Wood lured her by saying he needed help finding a lost dog and then raped her at a nearby construction site, AP reported. The states remaining evidence included testimony from witnesses saying they had seen some of the women and girls with Wood ahead of their murders and microscopic orange fibers that prosecutors argued connected one of the womens bodies with Woods vacuum cleaner and a blanket in his truck. Woods attorney, Gregory Wiercioch, told USA TODAY this week that the states evidence connecting him to the murders is weak and criticized prosecutors for failing to test barely any of the items collected from the scene for DNA. Only three pieces of evidence of hundreds were ever tested fingernail scrapings from one victim and bloodstains on the clothing of two other victims. Tests on the fingernail scraping and one of the bloodstains were inconclusive. The other bloodstain belonged to a man but couldnt have been Woods, new DNA testing obtained by defense attorneys in 2010 found. This is a serial murder case, a case with six victims, and in a serial murder case, I would expect the government, the state, to have a mountain of evidence direct evidence tying David Wood to these victims, and theres not, Wiercioch said. Its incomprehensible to me how little evidence there is. What do the families of the victims say? Jolieen Denise Gonzalez, whose 17-year-old sister Angelica Frausto, was among the Desert Killers victims, told USA TODAY that she believes Wood helped plan her sisters death but that he didnt kill her himself. She said Frausto had been selling drugs on behalf of a bar manager and a police officer, and believes that she was killed for showing off an apartment where bags of marijuana were being stored. I believe in my heart that he didnt do it, Frausto told USA TODAY last week, adding that her sister was tough and strong, and at 5 feet, 10 inches, Wood isnt that big. My sister could have taken him out. Marcia Fulton with photos of her daughter Desiree Wheatley in the living room of her West El Paso home. But she said Wood deserves the death penalty and has had plenty of time to tell the truth about her sisters murder. We dont need a person like that on this planet anyway, she said. Marcia Fulton, whose 15-year-old daughter Desiree Wheatley was murdered, told the El Paso Times part of the USA TODAY Network that she believes Wood is guilty and is planning on attending his execution. The last thing he sees when he dies will be me, she said in 2017. I dont care if I gotta crawl, I will be there. I said to Desi at her funeral, I put my hand on her coffin, and I said, I will find out who did this, and I will bring them to justice. Jolieen Denise Frausto Gonzalez sits at the front porch of her home in Central El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Gonzalezs 17-year-old sister, Angelica Frausto, was reported missing on Sept. 16, 1987, and her body was found Nov. 3, 1987. David Leonard Wood, known as the "Desert Killer" has been on Texas death row since Nov. 10, 1992, and is scheduled to be executed on March 13, 2025. Wood was convicted of killing Angelica and five other women and girls whose bodies were found in El Paso's Northeast desert. Is there a chance Woods execution will be stopped? Wood and his attorney continue to argue for a reprieve, with Wiercioch focused on fighting for more DNA testing, only to be rejected over and over again. Wiercioch filed actions seeking to stop the execution with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Feb. 21. That court can intervene and if it doesnt, Wood could plead his case with the U.S. Supreme Court, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott still has the power to intervene. A Texas district judge and the criminal appeals court rejected previous requests for more DNA testing in 2022 and 2024, respectively. To this day, it is still mind-boggling why (the state) didnt agree to more testing, Wiercioch said. I think theyre afraid of what they would find. If they believe David Wood is the desert serial murderer, then why are they afraid of additional testing? Weve never tested anything other than those three items out of 135, and one excluded David Wood. Thats very troubling. The Texas Attorney Generals Office has not responded to repeated requests for comment from USA TODAY. The El Paso District Attorneys Office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment about the strength of the evidence, saying it recused itself from the matter in 1993 over a conflict of interest. The El Paso County District Attorneys Office has not worked on or been involved in Mr. Woods case for more than 30 years, and it would be ill-advised to insert ourselves into the case now, El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said in a statement. About Wierciochs calls for his office to push for additional DNA testing, Montoya said that would require a comprehensive review of the entire case and the state of the evidence, both as it was in 1987 and now in the present day which is precisely why our office is ill-suited to offer an opinion one way or another; it has not been our case for over 30 years. The El Paso Police Department hasnt responded to USA TODAYs request for comment about the strength of its evidence and Woods claims that officers unfairly targeted him, planted evidence and sought false testimony. David Leonard Wood, known as the "Desert Killer," is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Huntsville Unit prison in Livingston, Texas on Feb. 26, 2025. Wood has been on Texas Death Row since 1992, when he was convicted of killing six women and girls. David Leonard Wood, facing death Back on Texas Death Row, Wood vowed to continue fighting tooth and nail as long as possible. Ive done everything I could to prove my innocence ... Ive given enough body specimens from every part of my body on multiple times to create 15 crime scenes. Believe me, theres nothing I havent done to cooperate, to show I had nothing to do with this case. So am I angry? Yes, yes, I am, he continued. But I believe in God above, and anybody leaves this Earth, if youre believing Christian, then youre going home. Contributing: Greta Cross, Fernando Cervantes, USA TODAY, and El Paso Times archive reports. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death Row inmate David Leonard Wood is angry over execution: Interview FILE - Bryan Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) BOISE, Idaho (AP) An Idaho judge is warning attorneys to quit filing so many sealed documents in the murder case of a man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. Bryan Kohbergers defense attorneys and prosecutors have made secrecy the norm rather than an exception, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler wrote in a court order on Monday. This runs counter to the public's First Amendment rights to know what is going on in its courts, Hippler wrote. He ordered the attorneys to use the least restrictive steps necessary to protect confidential information in the case, such as redacting some lines or using initials instead of an individual's full name. Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, students who were killed in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home near their campus in Moscow, Idaho. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. Hipplers directive came as a flurry of new motions were filed ahead of the August trial, including a sealed defense motion to take the death penalty off the table that cited autism spectrum disorder. Other sealed motions include one on whether the terms psychopath or sociopath can be used during the trial, and one from prosecutors about the presence of immediate family members in the courtroom during the trial. Some of the currently sealed documents will be redacted and made public, and others will remain sealed, the judge ruled. A trial is expected to begin Aug. 11 and last for more than three months. Getty Images / Allrecipes There are some celebrities out there who just seem like they can do it all. Kate Hudson is one of them. Between her illustrious acting career, ranging from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey to the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion and Bride Wars with Annie Hathaway; her brand ventures, including Fabletics and King St. Vodka; her podcast Sibling Revelry with her brother Oliver Hudson; her books; and now her music debut, Hudson is one busy lady. So, like many home cooks, Hudson is all for recipes that are simple, fast, and, of course, delicious. Plus, with three kids to feed, the recipe has to be a crowd-pleaser. Thats why she turns to her four-ingredient family-favorite tacos. Hudsons easy tacos arent just her kids and husband Danny Fujikawas favorite dish, either. Theyre beloved by her whole superstar familyincluding Kurt Russell, who is Hudsons mother Goldie Hawns life partner. These are the go-to tacos in our house. Theyre my dads favorite. He actually had this dream to open a car wash and my tacos would be the only thing that you could get there, Hudson said on a recent episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show." If Hudsons tacos are good enough that acclaimed actor Kurt Russell would open a business just to sell them, then, of course, we need the recipe ourselves. Kate Hudson's Easy 4-Ingredient Tacos Hudson made her simple ground beef tacos on her longtime friend Drew Barrymores daytime show while promoting her new Netflix series Running Point. Now, dont think these ground beef tacos are just something you can get at Taco Bellbecause they arent. The trick to Hudsons tacos is that she fries the soft tortilla in oil, then adds the cooked taco meat and fries it for even longer, until the tortilla is brown, but still a little chewy. A few commenters on The Drew Barrymore Show TikTok video noted that this style is called Taco Dorados, but its also similar to a taquito just not rolled completely up. In 2024, a version of fried beef tacos, also known as Arizona Tacos, went viral on TikTok for the raw meat that you add to a tortilla before frying the entire thing. If you were worried about the raw meat cooking through, Hudsons method solves that problem by browning the ground beef with onions and taco seasoning before adding it to the tortillas. Then, once the taco is finished frying, you can add any toppings you like. Its all about the garnishes, Hudson said, adding cilantro salsa, guacamole, pickled onions, and sour cream to the inside of the taco. Its the best texture, Barrymore said after taking a bite. This is what I dream of. This isnt the first thumbs up Hudson has received from a daytime talk show host for her fried tacos. She made this recipe for Rachael Ray back in 2017, who also gave rave reviews. Youre the best person on the planet because this taco is delicious, Ray said. With Russell, Barrymore, and Ray all loving Hudsons tacos, how many more stars need to try the recipe before youre sold on the recipe? Hopefully none, because heres how to make Hudsons easy tacos at home. How To Make Kate Hudson's Tacos Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Hudson starts by sauteing one chopped onion in oil, then browns two pounds of ground beef and adds taco seasoning. She doesnt say if she uses a specific brand or makes her own on The Drew Barrymore Show, but when she made it for the Rachael Ray Show, she made a blend with chili powder, cumin, paprika, celery salt, Mexican oregano, onion powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch. While the meat cooks, she heats a soaking level of high heat oil (like vegetable, canola, or avocado) in a pan. Once shimmering, she adds a tortilla and lets it bubble a little. Then, she spoons in the meat and closes the taco. Hudson fries the tacos for 10 seconds on each side, then removes them from the heat and onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Then comes the fun partthe toppings, which are all up to you to decide. We can understand why Barrymore was salivating just looking at the tacos because our mouths are watering just thinking about them. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES A serviceman pays his last respects to late Ukrainian soldier Vasyl Ratushnyy, 28, during the funeral ceremony in St. Michael Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Russia on Wednesday asked how Ukraine could attend potential talks on ending their three-year war when a Ukrainian decree from 2022 rules out negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Dmitry Peskov noted during a daily call with reporters. Zelenskyy expressed readiness Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible, and Peskov called that positive." However, the details have not changed yet, the Russian spokesman added, apparently referring to the decree. Ukraine's government did not immediately comment. Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have mentioned the presidential decree, signed seven months after Russias full-scale invasion, in the context of U.S. President Donald Trumps latest efforts to stop the fighting in a war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. The United States seeks to pressure Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. The Trump administration on Monday suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, U.S. officials said Washington has also paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. However, Trump administration officials said that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean the suspension may not last long. In the war's early months, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlins decision in September 2022 to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The Kremlin at the time said it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president took office. Ukrainian forces are now toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, costly for its troops, hasnt brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. As European leaders scramble to adapt to the sharply changing U.S. position on Ukraine under Trump, the French government on Wednesday said Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington eventually. Spokesperson Sophie Primas did not elaborate. Macrons office later said no trip to Washington was being planned. The reason for the discrepancy between the statements was not immediately clear. The three leaders traveled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Trump. Zelenskyy's turned into the extraordinary scene of an open dispute with Trump in the Oval Office. The U.K.'s Starmer didn't comment on the possibility of a joint trip when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday. His spokesman, Dave Pares, would not confirm such a trip. Meanwhile, a Russian court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a British national captured last year while fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk border region of Russia, according to court officials. James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict and sentenced to 19 years in prison. The case was heard behind closed doors. According to media reports at the time of his capture in November, the 22-year-old Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed shortly after Russia's invasion. Ukrainian forces captured parts of Kursk in a shock offensive in August 2024. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday night. WASHINGTON Lawyers working on a case against the Department of Government Efficiency found new ammunition late Tuesday night in the form of President Donald Trump's own words during his joint address to Congress. "I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Perhaps youve heard of it. Perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said during his speech. The quote was quickly picked up by Kelly B. McClanahan, a lawyer in a case that centers on the legality and operations of DOGE. McClanahan, who represents parties suing DOGE, entered a new court filing shortly after the president's remark highlighting the quote as "new evidence," emphasizing that Trump had affirmed Musk was heading DOGE. The filing marks the latest push into determining who calls the shots in DOGE, as Musk appears to take a lead role despite not being named the administrator. NBC News has previously reported that some legal analysts believe the lack of clarity around Musk's role could be intended to shield him and DOGE from lawsuits over its activities. McClanahan wrote that the president's comment "conclusively demonstrates that expedited discovery is urgently needed to ascertain the nature of the Department of Government Efficiency and its relationship to the United States DOGE Service, of which Amy Gleason is the Acting Administrator." The White House announced late last month that Gleason, a former U.S. Digital Service adviser, is serving as the acting administrator of DOGE, a revelation that came after repeated questions about who was serving as the group's head. However, Musk still appears to take the lead there, and the White House has repeatedly connected him with spearheading its efforts. Elon Musk is overseeing DOGE, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shortly before Gleasons role was announced. Trump has previously said that Musk is leading DOGE's efforts, remarking in February that he had signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge. But when asked about Musk's role at DOGE, the White House has referred to him as a special government employee, insisting he is not the administrator. In a separate case, Trump appointee Joshua Fisher wrote last month that Musk is a senior adviser to Trump and "has no greater authority than other senior White House advisers." "Mr. Musk is an employee in the White House office," added Fisher, who is the director of the Office of Administration. "He is not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization. Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator." A Justice Department lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning. We may earn money from links on this page, but commission does not influence what we write or the products we recommend. AOL upholds a rigorous editorial process to ensure what we publish is fair, accurate and trustworthy. Here's why our 70-year-old testers loved the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress. (Leesa) Buying a mattress online may seem risky, but we promise it's not. All the brands we cover offer generous sleep trials, meaning you can sleep on the mattress for months before deciding if you want to keep it. Most online mattress brands also offer White Glove delivery and installation, meaning they'll set-up your mattress for you and haul away your old one. We tried all this out with the Leesa Sapira Hybrid, one of the highest rated mattresses you can find on the internet right now. Leesa is a popular Arizona-based bedding company thats been designing and shipping beds to buyers since 2015. Nowadays, you can buy Leesa mattresses online or find them at stores like West Elm and Pottery Barn, if you want to try one out in person before buying. The Sapira Hybrid one of the first mattresses Leesa rolled out has remained a bestseller for the brand. It's marketed as a medium to medium-firm mattress that works for all sleep positions. There are plenty of mattress companies that claim they can satisfy everyone. Our 75-year-old tester and his 71-year-old wife spent two months testing the Leesa Sapira Hybrid to see if it could live up to the hype. Leesa Best Mattress for All Sleepers Leesa Sapira Hybrid The Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress is designed to support a variety of sleeping positions, with an emphasis on crowd-pleasing comfort and cooling features. The mattress is constructed from two layers of memory foam and individual-wrapped springs, combining cushioning and support. Our tester, a 75-year-old man who shares a bed with his 71-year-old wife, tried the mattress for two months and fell in love with its firmness, feel, and cooling properties. Pros Great edge support May keep hot sleepers cool Comfortable balance of firmness and give Easy setup with white glove delivery Cons Only one firmness option White glove delivery costs extra $1,599 at Leesa Leesa Sapira Hybrid Key Features Best Mattress for Combination Sleepers The Leesa Sapira Hybrid is a good choice for combination sleepers people who change positions throughout the night. Both our tester and his wife tend to shift positions while sleeping. They confirmed that this mattress was remarkably comfortable all through the night, no matter how they tossed and turned. Medium-firm mattresses are usually best for combination sleepers. Ideally, these mattresses will be firm enough to keep you supported when you lie on your stomach or back, but plush enough to let your shoulder sink in when you lie on your side. How firm your mattress feels will depend partially on how heavy your body is, with heavier bodies sinking in more than lighter bodies. Because of this, a lot of medium-firm mattresses wind up being a tad too firm for some people or a tad too soft for others. But the Leesa Sapira blew us away. Both our 61 tester and his petite wife enjoyed comfortable nights of sleep, with minimal dipping or jostling in the mattress. Theres no one mattress that will work for everyone, but the Leesa Sapira Hybrid might come close. Hybrid Construction The Leesa Sapira is a hybrid mattress, which means its constructed with both innersprings and layers of foam. Traditionally, a spring mattress will feel supportive, bouncy, and responsive. An all-foam mattress, meanwhile, will conform to the shape of your body without bouncing back. Hybrid mattresses split the difference, offering a bit of extra cushioning on top of supportive springs. Hybrid mattresses are popular with couples, since they offer a compromise between different mattress types. With foam on top, they can also do a decent job of reducing motion transfer (all-foam mattresses will always be top performers if youre really trying to prevent jostling). Our tester found that the Sapira did a wonderful job cutting down on unwanted motion transfer. He regularly gets out of bed several hours before his wife, and the mattress absorbed motion so well she often didnt even wake up when he rose. Great Edge Support Edge support was important to our tester, who was replacing a bed with edges so soft he often felt like he could fall off the side. By comparison, the edges of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid were even and firm, providing the same support as the rest of the mattress. Not every sleeper will need or even notice excellent edge support. But when a mattress has soft edges, it can add to the feeling that the sleeper is going to roll off especially if they share the bed with a partner. Supportive edges are also important for anyone who needs a little extra stability to help them stand up in the morning. Our tester noted this, remarking, Its nice to have that edge. It gives me the confidence to get out of bed. Cooling Mattress for Hot Sleepers Our tester is a hot sleeper. In the past, he had been bothered by heat that was retained in his mattress, making it difficult to fall or stay asleep. He was happy to note, therefore, that he had no problems with overheating on the Leesa Sapira Hybrid. This mattress comes in two models the Sapira Hybrid and the Sapira Chill Hybrid, which is specifically designed for hot sleepers. The main difference between the two is that the Chill model has an extra layer of quilt foam and an additional mattress cover made of cooling fibers. That being said, even the basic Leesa Sapira Hybrid promises to help sleepers stay cool with enhanced airflow through the springs and foam topper. Our tester didnt try the Chill model, but he was still very pleased with the cooling. The Leesa mattress is easy to setup. Unroll it and slide it on your bedframe then enjoy! Setting Up the Leesa Sapira Hybrid We opted for Leesas white glove delivery service, which cost an extra $199. With this service, a delivery crew will handle bringing the vacuum-sealed mattress inside, taking it out of the box, and removing the old mattress if needed. Our tester had a wonderful experience with Leesas delivery service. The two-man crew was pleasant, neat, and very efficient it only took them about 15 minutes to get the new bed set up and the old one hauled away. The only thing we did was strip the bed and make sure there was an open pathway downstairs to their truck, said our tester. The white glove delivery was wonderful. Thats a selling point in my eyes. Leesa Sapira Hybrid Policies 100-Night Sleep Trial Leesa offers a 100-night trial for all the mattresses it sells. Your 100-night trial period will begin the day your mattress arrives, regardless of when you start sleeping on it. It can take a month or longer to get used to a new mattress, so its a good idea to take advantage of this period to really make sure youve picked the right mattress for you. If you decide its not the right fit, Leesa will coordinate a pickup and refund the cost of the mattress minus any discount you might have gotten. White Glove Delivery Leesa offers in-home delivery and setup for new mattresses for $199. The delivery crew will email to coordinate a time for delivery, and then call or text when theyre 30 minutes away. The crew will bring your packaged mattress into your home, remove it from the box, and set it up on your bed frame. All the buyer needs to do is make sure the area around the bed is clear and any linens are stripped from the old mattress. You also have the option to opt-in for removal of your old mattress (and bed frame, if applicable). This white glove delivery service was a big highlight for our tester. He found the crew efficient and neat, and appreciated that they were there to bring the mattress up two flights of stairs. Return Policy Leesa requires you to keep your new mattress for at least 30 days before initiating a return, which is standard for the mattress industry. After the first month of the 100-night trial period, you can initiate a return on the phone or through email. In some cases, Leesa may give you the option to donate your mattress to a local charity. If you do this, be sure to collect a receipt so you can show it to the Leesa customer service team and still get your refund. This approach requires you to transport the mattress yourself, but if thats not an option, Leesa will come and pick it up for you. Returns are free during the trial period in most states. In Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada, youll be charged $100 for a return. Availability You can order a Leesa Sapira Hybrid online or buy one from certain brick and mortar locations. Leesa mattresses are stocked at various stores and showrooms across the United States. You can explore Leesas interactive map to find a location close to you. The Leesa mattress arrives neatly packed in a cardboard box. (Leesa) Warranty Leesa offers a limited lifetime warranty. For the first 10 years you own your mattress, Leesa will cover the cost of a replacement if there are any manufacturer defects (this includes things like cracked foam or extreme sagging). After 10 years, Leesa will offer you prorated discounts on a replacement mattress, ranging from 50% to 25% off the purchase price. Leesa will consider your warranty void if you remove the mattress cover at any time, and it never covers damage from spills, burns, or other accidents. How We Tested the Leesa Sapira Hybrid To get the best sense of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid, we sent it to one of our testers a 61 75-year-old man who sleeps in multiple positions and tends to run hot. In the past, he struggled with overheating in the night, feeling like his bed didnt offer adequate edge support, and sagging in the middle of the mattress. Our tester shares the mattress with his wife, a 71-year-old petite woman. Because she has a smaller stature than her husband, she has often battled the feeling that she was rolling towards him in the night, rather than enjoying even support. The two of them slept on the Sapira Hybrid for two months, taking notes on their experience and reporting their findings through a final survey and interview with our team. After two months of sleeping on the mattress, our tester and his wife were both delighted with its performance. They reported consistent support, comfort, and satisfactory cooling properties. Our tester particularly appreciated the firm edge support and how easy it was to get in and out of bed. Final Thoughts The Leesa Sapira Hybrid is an all-round excellent mattress that has earned its accolades for good reason. With superb edge support, pressure point relief, and a solid balance of comfort and firmness, were hard-pressed to find drawbacks. Finding the right mattress is personal. Some people want a bed they can sink into, while others will only be comfortable on a very firm surface. We think the Leesa Sapira Hybrid is the best bed for just about anyone, especially if you sleep hot, require solid edge support, or sleep alongside a partner. Leesa Best Mattress for All Sleepers Leesa Sapira Hybrid The Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress is designed to support a variety of sleeping positions, with an emphasis on crowd-pleasing comfort and cooling features. The mattress is constructed from two layers of memory foam and individual-wrapped springs, combining cushioning and support. Our tester, a 75-year-old man who shares a bed with his 71-year-old wife, tried the mattress for two months and fell in love with its firmness, feel, and cooling properties. Pros Great edge support May keep hot sleepers cool Comfortable balance of firmness and give Easy setup with white glove delivery Cons Only one firmness option White glove delivery costs extra $1,599 at Leesa If you have any questions about mattresses or you just wanna chat about your favorite products you think we should check out send us an email at shopping.editors@aol.com and we'll write you back! Mystery continues to swirl around the deaths of Gene and Betsy Hackman, who were found deceased in their Santa Fe, N.M., home around at about 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Gene, 95, was found in the home's mudroom, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and wearing slippers. A pair of sunglasses and a cane were nearby. Betsy, 65, whose maiden name was Arakawa, was found dead in the bathroom, where prescription pills were scattered on a counter. It looked like both had been dead for days, said authorities. Authorities have since launched an investigation into what happened to the couple, who'd been married since 1991. Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner, with the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, is not investigating Hackman's death in his professional capacity. But he offered insight into the tragedy to PEOPLE, theorizing that a companion suicide where a couple dies by suicide together is not likely. I've seen cases like that usually they're together in bed, he says. The fact that theyre in two separate locations tells me that I think thats less likely. Related: Gene Hackman Was Likely Dead for 9 Days Before His Body Was Found: Sheriff Ron Galella Collection via Getty Betsy and Gene Hackman From the initial kind of circumstances, it seems like he may have collapsed he's got a history of heart disease. He's got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual, Gill says. And the fact that he's ambulatory, that I think is important too, because sometimes we'll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there's no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you. I don't think that's the case in this. Roberto Rosales/AP the home of Gene Hackman and his wife Related: Sheriff Reveals How Long He Thinks Gene Hackman and Wife Were Dead Before Their Bodies Were Discovered Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Hackmans pacemaker was last working on Feb. 17, nine days before the couple was found. Gill says there are different types of pacemakers and defibrillators, some of which can shock the heart if needed, and newer models often have WiFi or Bluetooth to record irregular rhythms, which could help determine the time of death. What's the time [of Gene's death] related to his wife?," Gill says. "When did she die? Thats a little bit of a more gray area, I think. Related: How Did Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Die? As Police Try to Unravel the Mystery, Insiders Detail Their Final Days (Exclusive) Authorities also found one of the couple's dogs, a German shepherd, dead in a kennel crate in a closet near Betsy. I think the dog could easily be explained by just not getting enough food and water, he says. "And they can only survive for a week or so without food and water. Two other dogs were found alive and are currently being cared for by a family friend. Hackman and his wife were found by a pest-control worker who stopped by the house. When the couple didnt answer, he called a neighborhood security officer, who saw the bodies through a window and called 9-1-1. Read the original article on People GMP Stuart Everett A man in England is accused of murdering and dismembering his housemate before impersonating him, according to reports. Marcin Majerkiewicz has denied in court murdering Stuart Everett at their home in Winton, Greater Manchester, after police found 27 pieces of the victims body parts in April 2024, BBC News, The Times and Manchester Evening News reported. A third of Everetts body was recovered by police after his lower abdomen and thighs were first found wrapped in cling film by members of the public at the Kersal Dale nature reserve in Salford on April 4. He is believed to have died between March 27 and 28, according to reports. During the police investigation, detectives found that a man was seen entering the pathway nearby carrying a heavy blue bag, walking to the wooded area where the body part was found at around 5:00 p.m. local time before reemerging with the bag folded up, BBC News reported. Majerkiewicz, who is Polish, was traced and arrested on suspicion of murder on April 25, per The Times. Police later found blood stains and a clean-up operation during a search at his home, according to reports. GMP Stuart Everett Related: She Killed Her Husband and Impersonated Him on Facebook. It Was How She Hid the Body That Led to Arrest Manchester Crown Court heard that police found two mobile phones on Majerkiewicz, including one belonging to Everett, who was also Polish, and several bank cards in his name, which enabled them to identify the victim, the outlet reported. Prosecutors claim the defendant sent texts and birthday cards posing as Everett to his family after his death, including a birthday message to Everetts niece on April 16 sent in terminology which was not consistent to be from him and a birthday card to his brother Richard Ziemacki, per The Times. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Majerkiewiczs fingerprints were reportedly found on the card, according to prosecutors. He is also accused of having used Everetts bank account to pay rent on April 6 before sharing that he was planning to move out, according to reports. Prosecutors claimed in court that Majerkiewicz had a growing sense of frustration and wrote in a text message to his partner before his death, " The f-- heard what Im planning, per Manchester Evening News. Related: Daughter Accused of Dismembering Mom with Chainsaw, Then Putting Her Remains on Grill The pathology of the fragments recovered from Everetts skull indicates that he sustained a severe blunt force physical assault with repeated blows to his head. It was also determined that a hacksaw was used to dismember the body, per Manchester Evening News. A third Polish man named Michal Polchowski lived at the same address as the defendant and victim, but he has not been charged or linked to the murder, according to The Times. The investigation is ongoing as of the time of publication. PEOPLE reached out to Manchester Crown Court for comment, but they did not immediately respond. Read the original article on People Orlando Police Department Jaythan Gilder, pictured alongside an image of his body scan taken in jail A man has been charged after he allegedly swallowed $769,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. earrings in a botched robbery, according to reports. Jaythan Gilder allegedly swallowed two pairs of diamond earrings after fleeing the Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 26, according to local media outlets WFLA, Fox 35 Orlando and WKMG. According to an arrest affidavit from the Orlando Police Department, per the outlets, authorities said Gilder, 32, gained access to the jewelry after he impersonated a representative for an Orlando Magic player who was interested in making a purchase and was taken to a VIP room to see the earrings. In surveillance footage obtained by Fox 35 Orlando, Gilder, who is from Texas, was seen grabbing jewelry from a counter in the store and attempting to leave the room. Gilder allegedly stole two pairs of diamond earrings, worth $769,500 altogether, and a ring worth $587,000, which was later recovered by police. Police located the suspects vehicle on Interstate 10 in Washington County, heading towards Texas, and he was charged for resisting arrest during a traffic stop. He did not receive a theft charge as the jewelry could not be found on him at the time, WFLA reported. However, police said during Gilder's arrest on Feb. 28 he "swallowed several items," according to the arrest affidavit, per WKMG. Orlando Police Department Jaythan Gilder A body scan taken in jail then appeared to confirm the investigators suspicions as officials spotted "foreign objects" in Gilders stomach that they believed to be the missing earrings. These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co. earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected by WCSO after they are passed through Gilders system prior to confirming, the arrest affidavit stated, per WFLA. According to the arrest affidavit, per the outlet, Gilder spontaneously asked jail staff if he was going to be charged with whats in my stomach. He also reportedly said, I should have thrown them out the window. Gilder was charged with first-degree grand theft and robbery with a mask. He also has 48 outstanding warrants out of Colorado, according to reports. Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty An image of a Tiffany & Co. store entrance in Florida Fox 35 Orlando reported that authorities found Tiffany & Co. earring forms, price tags, receipts, and a cell phone in his vehicle, per the arrest affidavit. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Gilder was previously linked to a robbery at another Tiffany & Co. store in Houston in 2022, per Fox 35 Olando. According to the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office, forensics tied him to the theft after a single hair from his beard was found at the scene. The defendant has been arrested multiple times for theft over the last 13 years, according to reports. PEOPLE has reached out to the Orlando Police Department for comment. Read the original article on People If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. A Michigan judge on Wednesday declared that three brothers who have been missing since 2010 are dead but ruled there was not enough evidence to find that they were murdered. Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton who were 9, 7 and 5 years old have long been presumed dead, though their bodies have never been found. Investigators from the Morenci Police Department, Michigan State Police and FBI all testified on Monday that they believe the boys' father, John Skelton, killed his sons sometime in the early morning of Nov. 26, 2010, about 12 hours before he was supposed to return them to their mother. Skelton, who is in prison but has not been charged with murder, has long denied allegations that he killed the boys and has suggested they could still be alive in some underground organization. Here's what to know about the case, including why the judge decided to declare the date of the boys' death as five years after they went missing. Forensic artists at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have created new age progression images to show what, from left, Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton might look like at 19, 17, and 15 years old. The photos were released in 2021. Judge sets boys' death date 5 years after disappearance During Monday's hearing, the boys' mother asked Lenawee County Probate Judge Catherine Sala to declare Nov. 26, 2010, as the date of their deaths so it can be added to their grave markers. "Their dad showed them no respect," their mother, Morenci resident Tanya Zuvers, said at Monday's hearing. "Any loving father would not have done what he did. And I owe them the respect that we may not have their bodies, but their lives still meant something and there is a place to go." But Sala said that the evidence presented was not enough to find that Skelton murdered the boys. Because of that, Sala set their date of death as Nov. 26, 2015. She said she based the date on Michigan law that allows for a person to be legally declared dead if they have not been heard from for five years and their absence is not explained after a diligent search or inquiry. "No condolences will ever be enough for such losses suffered," Sala said. "The presentation of evidence, however, does not present clear and convincing evidence that John Skelton murdered his children. The information provided at this trial provides ample opportunity for speculation and theories. But to make such a finding the court would only be joining those voices offering such speculation and theory, given the lack of information." Tanner, Andrew and Alexander Skelton are pictured as they looked when they went missing at Thanksgiving 2010. Brothers last seen in Skelton's backyard in 2010 The three brothers were last seen in their fathers backyard in Morenci, Michigan, on Nov. 25, 2010, according to reporting by The Daily Telegram, part of the USA TODAY Network. The next morning, Zuvers reported them missing after Skelton failed to return them to her. An Amber Alert was issued soon after. Skelton attempted to kill himself and later told police he gave the boys to a woman named Joann Taylor so she could return them to Zuvers. A search for the boys ensued across Michigan and Ohio that week, and two days later Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said he wasn't sure Joann Taylor existed. On Nov. 30, 2010, Weeks said he wasn't expecting a positive resolution in the search. That day Skelton, who had previously been in the custody of a mental health facility, was arrested on three counts of parental kidnapping. Skelton was found guilty of three counts of unlawful imprisonment in July 2011. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in September 2011. FBI Special Agent Corey Burras said during Monday's hearing that investigators reviewing Skelton's laptop found he had recently created an email address with the name of Joann Taylor and an account on a website where moms could share experiences and exchange ideas. Zuvers also had an account on the website. Pretending to be Taylor, Skelton would message Zuvers on the site, according to Burras. Skelton also had done online searches in the days leading up to the boys' disappearance about rat poison and how to break a neck, spine, spinal cord, brain and brain stem, Burras said. Investigators were able to track Skelton's cellphone from his home in Morenci down into Williams County, Ohio, and then back to Morenci between about 4 and 6:45 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2010, Burras said. He said that is likely when the bodies were dumped. Skelton to be released from prison in November Skelton's 15-year sentence is slated to end this year, with his release set for November. The 15 years is the maximum allowed under state law for that offense. Skelton did not attend Wednesday's hearing but appeared briefly by video on Monday from the prison where he's housed . Judge Sala gave him the option of staying to watch the proceedings or leave. He opted to leave. "Everyone else got lawyers. I don't," he said. USA TODAY has reached out to Skelton, who is incarcerated at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, for comment. Zuvers couldn't move to Florida due to sex offender status Zuvers told the court she thought that she and Skelton had a good marriage until September 2010, when Skelton took the boys to Jacksonville, Florida, for about a week. She said they had recently talked about moving to Jacksonville, where Skelton has family. However, she told him they couldn't uproot themselves because the boys had just started school and she did not know how a move to another state would affect her status then as a registered sex offender. That case from 1998 is no longer on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Zuvers and Skelton were estranged following the discourse about where to live and the two have since divorced. Zuvers described getting a court order for parenting time in Lenawee County, then driving with her mother to Florida, finding an attorney there and meeting with a judge. That judge conferred with a former Lenawee County judge and they agreed that they all should return to Michigan, where a parenting time order would take effect. After they returned to Morenci, Zuvers said, she and Skelton started working out a parenting time schedule through their attorneys, including him having the boys on Thanksgiving and returning them to her by 3 p.m. the next day. If the boys were alive today, Andrew would be 23, Alexander 21 and Tanner 19. This story has been edited to correct first reference to Andrew, change the headline to "declare," and delete an extraneous word in the subheadline. Crisis Text Line: provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they text "HOME" to 741741. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan judge declares 3 missing brothers dead at mother's request Workers walk outside a damaged warehouse after storms moved through Lewisville, Texas, on March 4. - LM Otero/AP A mammoth and multifaceted storm is slamming the eastern half of the United States with powerful winds, blizzard conditions and severe thunderstorms for the second consecutive day. The near-record strong March storm reached the East Coast early Wednesday after delivering deadly thunderstorms and whipping up choking dust and fast-spreading wildfires in the central and southern US Tuesday. Heres the latest: Potent thunderstorms reach the East: Some storms prompted early morning severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in parts of the Carolinas. These damaging storms continued to push east in the afternoon, reaching into Virginia. The threat for tornadoes and damaging winds will wrap up by Wednesday evening. Storm turned deadly: Five weather-related deaths have been reported this week. At least three people are dead in Mississippi after severe thunderstorms swept across the state on Tuesday. Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland told CNN one person was electrocuted and another died when a tree fell on a car. Another person died in Clarke County, according to the states emergency management agency. In Nebraska, two people died after losing control of their vehicle amid Tuesdays winter weather, according to the state patrol. Damage left behind: Violent storms left a trail of damage behind in the South and Plains on Tuesday. An EF1 tornado tore through a community in Ada, Oklahoma, on Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Images on social media showed toppled structures and widespread destruction. Adas tornado was one of at least eight EF1 tornadoes that hit parts of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. A warehouse partially collapsed near the Dallas area as thunderstorms also damaged roofs, tore down power lines and left debris scattered in nearby towns. Widespread power outages: The storms powerful wind gusts, severe thunderstorms and snow have knocked out power in more than 20 states. More than 75,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark across the central US, the Southeast and parts of the Midwest Wednesday evening, down from a peak of more than 500,000, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 37,000 of them were in Texas. Airports report delays and cancelations: More than 870 flights within, into or out of the US were canceled and nearly 5,000 flights were delayed Wednesday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. Fires prompt evacuations in two states: Dozens of fires broke out across Texas Tuesday amid a serious fire risk across a large portion of the state. The Welder Complex Fire erupted in Sinton Tuesday afternoon, burned multiple structures and forced evacuations, CNN affiliate KRIS reported. Crews stopped forward progress of the fire Wednesday and Sinton residents who evacuated were allowed back to their homes. High winds in Atascosa County resulted in several house fires Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officials said. The fire risk decreased on Wednesday but lingering strong wind could cause issues for any blazes in progress. Wildfires also prompted evacuations in Tennessee. Evacuations were lifted in Sevier County Wednesday morning and in Monroe County by the afternoon. Blizzard conditions: Blowing snow created whiteout conditions and snarled traffic in parts of Iowa and Nebraska Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon, the same storm brought blizzard conditions to western Kansas, where the city of Hugoton recorded a wind gust of 93 mph. Piled up vehicles are seen on Highway 20, just west of I-35, in Iowa during a storm. - Iowa State Patrol Dust storms rage: The sky over Dallas on Tuesday resembled a Martian landscape as winds kicked up red dust. It was the second consecutive day a disruptive dust storm raced through parts of the state. Dallas skies turned hazy and buildings "disappeared" Tuesday afternoon after a dust storm. - Earthcam Hazardous weather continues The mid-Atlantic region will continue to see severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts through the afternoon before the storms largely push out over the Atlantic Ocean by the early evening. Tornadoes will be possible until the line of violent storms moves off land. A few strong or severe thunderstorms could also develop in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania through the evening. The storm threat doesnt stop there. Heavy rain will continue to drench areas north of where severe thunderstorms rumble. It isnt expected to cause widespread flooding concerns, but cities such as Philadelphia, New York City and Boston could see some flash flooding, especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Strong wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph will blow over much of the eastern half of the US into Wednesday night. These persistent winds could hinder power restoration efforts or bring down additional trees and power lines. Much of the storms precipitation will come to an end Thursday, but gusty winds will persist in its wake. Blizzard slams multiple states Powerful winds combined with snow to wreak havoc in parts of Iowa and Nebraska late Tuesday and Wednesday. Gusts of 50 to 70 mph roared in both states Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Hazardous travel conditions remained in the afternoon even after the snowfall stopped. The Iowa State Patrol warned travel Wednesday was very dangerous. Crews responded to more than 100 crashes and assisted more than 400 motorists by the evening, according to the patrol. Overnight, hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the interstate for hours in snowy conditions between Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Rodney Larson told CNN. Portions of Interstate 80 are impassable, the Iowa Department of Transportation said Wednesday morning, warning motorists to avoid using these roadways. Part of Interstate 35 north of Des Moines also shut down Wednesday following a series of crashes amid whiteout conditions. Neighboring Nebraska wasnt spared from the storms chaos. The two people killed in a crash lost control of their vehicle and struck a semi-truck on Interstate 80 near Grand Island, Nebraska, Tuesday afternoon, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. The driver of the semi was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Severe winter weather was a factor in the crash, the patrol noted in a news release, adding the incident is still under investigation. CNNs Robert Shackelford, Hanna Park, Joe Sutton, Gene Norman, Sara Smart, Karina Tsui, Zoe Sottile, Jeremy Grisham, Chris Boyette, Aaron Cooper and Dawn Sawyer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The mother of a Kansas woman found dead in a chest freezer buried in an Oklahoma cow pasture filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the five people charged in her murder, which included the grandmother of her daughters' children. Amanda Verner filed the 32-page lawsuit on Monday, nearly a year after the bodies of her daughter, Veronica Butler, and another woman, Jilian Kelley, were discovered. The two women vanished in March 2024 after Butler, 27, went to pick up her two young children for a supervised visit. Kelley, 39, was approved by the court to accompany Butler on the visits. Jilian D. Kelley, left, and Veronica C. Butler. In April 2024, their bodies were found inside a freezer that had been buried in a roughly 12-foot hole filled with dirt, cement, rocks and equipment, the lawsuit states. The grandmother of Butler's children Tifany Adams, along with her her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, Paul Grice, Cora Twombly, and Cole Earl Twombly were arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and kidnapping. The suit alleges that Adams plotted to kill Butler in an attempt to gain "control" of Butler's children and enlisted Cullum, Grice, and the Twomblys to help her. The alleged murder plot stemmed from a bitter custody battle involving Butler and Adams' son. (The son was at a rehab facility at the time of the murders and has not been charged in connection with the case). Butler was awarded full custody of her children in 2021. She lost custody the following year after Adams falsely accused a relative of Butler's of sexually assaulting the children, the lawsuit alleges. Adams was also accused in the lawsuit of falsifying records that helped her son get full custody of the children. Butler was awarded limited supervised visitation. "At some point Adams unilaterally took custody of the children from her son," the suit states. "Adams then intervened in the custody dispute ... in an attempt to gain control over the children." The suit alleges that in February 2024, Adams began threatening the judge handling the custody case. Things took a turn when the court learned that Adams had allegedly falsified records that led to her son being granted custody. The suit says that custody of the children was most likely going to be awarded back to Butler when she was killed. Adams allegedly purchased five stun guns and three prepaid phones that she gave to the defendants, the lawsuit says. On March 29, 2024, Adams contacted Butler so she could pick up her children. Butler and Kelley left Kansas the following day to meet Adams. According to the lawsuit, Cole and Cora Twombly allegedly used their vehicle to "block" the road to divert Butler and Kelley to where Adams and Cullum were waiting to "ambush them." Butler and Kelley were tasered with stun guns, abducted and transported to the cow pasture, the suit states. A medical examiner's report said that Butler had been stabbed 30 times. The lawsuit is seeking damages for medical and burial expenses, and mental pain and anguish. Gary Yeowell / Getty Images If you've ever splurged on a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino, you know the magic of Tuscany's most celebrated red wine. But another wine from the same picturesque hillside town deserves your attention. One that won't require a second mortgage. Enter Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello's younger, fresher sibling, which is quickly becoming the talk of the wine world. Made from the same Sangiovese grapes as Brunello, Rosso offers a livelier, more approachable style thats perfect for everyday drinking. Montalcino is actually unique in Italy because we produce more of our prestigious wine, Brunello, than we do of Rosso di Montalcino, says Riccardo Fratton, winemaker at Poggio San Polo. For years, Rosso was seen as second-best, made from grapes that weren't good enough for Brunello. But that mindset is changing completely. A fresh take on tradition Winemakers have started to treat Rosso with the same care that they give to Brunello. Rather than use leftover grapes or rush the winemaking process, they craft wines that showcase the freshness and energy that made people fall in love with Italian wine. Rosso has graduated from the kids table, says Chicago sommelier Covin Davis, of RPM Italian restaurant. The typicity of a Rosso is still yet to be determined. From producer to producer, styles range from light, easy drinking, reminiscent of young Chianti, to more serious second wines like the great chateaus of Bordeaux. This represents a significant shift in how producers view Rosso di Montalcino. We need to break away from the old idea of Montalcino wines with their searing acidity and firm tannins, says Fratton. While tradition and terroir remain crucial, we're now focusing more on balance and elegance. Brunello can show the more structured, age-worthy side of Sangiovese, while Rosso displays its freshness and drinkability. Single-vineyard standouts Perhaps the most telling development in Rosso di Montalcinos pedigree is the emergence of single-vineyard offerings. These wines showcase the unique characteristics of specific sites within Montalcino, which indicates that Rosso can be just as terroir-driven as its big brother Brunello. Val di Suga produces a Rosso from its prized Vigna Spuntali vineyard on Montalcinos southwestern slope. The Mediterranean-influenced site with sandier soils creates a fresh, complex wine that captures the essence of its location. An innovative aging approach, six months in Slavonian oak barrels followed by 12 months in concrete vats, preserves the wines vibrant fruit character, yet adds depth and structure. Il Marronetos Ignaccio Rosso is made from a one-hectare plot of sandy, mineral-rich soil and offers vibrant acidity. Pioneering producer Poggio di Sotto ages its Rosso for at least two years in wood thats selected with the same care it uses for Brunello. Such attention to detail shows just how far Rosso has come. Climate change and quality An unexpected factor has propelled Rossos quality even further. Climate change is a real threat, says Davis. Producers are searching for vineyards at higher elevations and cooler sites. Some of the regions best producers are ripping up their estate vineyards so they can plant new vines at higher elevations, which will eventually be destined for Brunello. In the interim, these vines will be used for Rosso, and the wines will be crafted to the utmost quality. Montalcinos wine authorities have made significant changes to production rules. In June 2024, producers gained more flexibility in how they use their vineyards, a move away from strict plot-by-plot designation for either Rosso or Brunello. This allows winemakers to adapt to vintage conditions and climate challenges. They can choose which grapes go into which wines based on the years unique characteristics. The region also approved an expansion that will add about 1.5 million bottles to Rosso's annual production, which brings the total to 5.5 million bottles, a clear response to growing global demand. Sangiovese is incredibly versatile, says Fratton. It can express both power and structure, as well as lightness and drinkability. Montalcinos unique terroir lets us show both sides of this grapes personality. Value in the glass Rosso di Montalcino offers a perfect entry point into one of Italy's most famous wine regions without the steep price tag of Brunello. The price differences can be dramatic. While top Brunellos like Biondi-Santi ($228) and Poggio di Sotto ($200) command serious investment, their Rossos offer a similar pedigree at around $87 and $100, respectively. Even more accessible options like Baricci ($40), Le Ragnaie ($45), and San Polo ($30) deliver exceptional quality at prices perfect for everyday enjoyment. Their Brunello counterparts typically run $60-90. With the rising costs of the Brunello category, wines labeled under Rosso di Montalcino have a seat at the table for an approachable option, and a way to not sacrifice quality while remaining budget conscious, says Alisha Blackwell-Calvert, sommelier at Madrina in St. Louis. When it comes to highly sought-after premium producers like Biondi-Santi, Valdicava, or Case Basse, the Rosso offering gives the consumer a more reasonable introduction to the acclaimed winerys style. Davis agrees with this value proposition. You need to be patient with Brunello, and in our world of instant gratification, sometimes a young Brunello will leave you feeling far from gratifying, he says. On the other hand, you can enjoy a Rosso at a fraction of the cost, which gives you a peek into a producers style without handing over a mortgage payment. A modern style for a new generation These wines show typically what Blackwell-Calvert calls hallmark Sangiovese characteristics of Morello cherry, cranberry, and tomato leaf, with medium-bodied structure and ageability. But what makes Rosso particularly exciting is its immediate appeal. Rosso showcases a fresh representation of Sangiovese before the extended oak aging Brunello requires, says Blackwell-Calvert. The brightness of Rosso tends to resonate with younger palates. Such accessibility doesn't compromise quality. My recent excursion to Montalcino was very enlightening for many reasons, but the quality of the Rosso di Montalcino we tasted was very eye-opening, says Blackwell-Calvert. Rosso is no longer an oversight, but being taken more seriously as a contender for market and wine list share with the overall attention to greater quality and presentation. The next time you browse the Italian wine section, consider a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino. You might discover your new favorite Italian red and have enough money left to order pizza to go with it. Rosso di Montalcino bottles to try The following selections offer their own interpretation of what makes Rosso di Montalcino special, whether through single-vineyard bottlings or traditional blends. Baricci 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, $40 Food & Wine / A benchmark producer from Montosoli, Baricci crafts a Rosso di Montalcino that is fresh and vibrant, showcasing bright red cherry, wild herbs, and a mineral-driven finish. Known for their elegant and structured Brunellos, their Rosso captures the same precision and energy in a more youthful, accessible expression. Canalicchio di Sopra 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, $42 Food & Wine / Canalicchio di Sopra One of Montalcinos historic estates, Canalicchio di Sopra delivers a Rosso that balances freshness with depth. Notes of ripe red berries, floral hints, and subtle spice lead to a silky yet lively palate, reflecting the estates refined winemaking approach. Il Marroneto 2021 Rosso di Montalcino Ignaccio, $46 Food & Wine / Il Marroneto From the renowned Il Marroneto estate, famous for its traditionally styled Brunellos, "Ignaccio" is a Rosso that brims with purity and elegance. Bright raspberry, pomegranate, and rose petals shine alongside a fine-boned structure, offering a glimpse into the finesse of the estates age-worthy wines. Poggio San Polo 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, $34 Food & Wine / Poggio San Polo A modern, sustainably focused estate, Poggio San Polo produces a Rosso that is juicy and fruit-forward, featuring lush cherry, plum, and soft tannins. This is a bright and easygoing take on Sangiovese, emphasizing drinkability and charm. Val di Suga Vigna Spuntali 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, $75 Food & Wine / Val di Suga An outlier in the category, this single-vineyard Rosso from Val di Sugas Vigna Spuntali, typically reserved for Brunello, delivers remarkable depth and concentration. Dark berry fruit, balsamic tones, and velvety tannins set it apart as a Rosso with serious pedigree. Le Ragnaie 2021 Rosso di Montalcino, $40 Food & Wine / Le Ragnaie Le Ragnaies high-altitude vineyards lend an ethereal quality to this Rosso, marked by lifted aromatics of red currant, orange zest, and delicate spice. With a light touch and bright acidity, it epitomizes the refreshing, food-friendly side of Montalcinos younger wines. Read the original article on Food & Wine By Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -"Cool heads" is the mantra of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he tries to heal a rapidly growing rift between the United States, Europe and Ukraine. Starmer, who has played up his role as go-between over Ukraine, faces a diplomatic balancing act to keep both Europe and U.S. President Donald Trump on side and protect Britain from U.S. tariffs that would damage his country's strained finances. He has formed an unexpected alliance with French President Emmanuel Macron, a sharp critic of Britain's departure from the European Union, and a solid relationship with Trump, who UK officials say likes Starmer's lack of pretension. "You are a very tough negotiator ... I'm not sure I like that, but okay," Trump told Starmer at a press conference after they met at the White House on Thursday. Starmer had earned his salary with his efforts to end the threat of U.S. tariffs, Trump said, without saying that he had succeeded. Since Trump upended Washington's supportive approach to Ukraine earlier this year, Starmer has helped to defend Kyiv's position while not offending the U.S. leader, who wants a swift peace deal, with or without President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. After convening talks with European leaders in London on Sunday, Starmer said Britain, France and others would work on a proposed peace deal to deliver to Trump and "a coalition of the willing" to defend it. He and Macron hope their leadership can help them rescue their reputations at home and cement European security as Germany recovers from months of domestic political uncertainty. But Starmer's announcement did not say which other nations would offer peacekeepers or step up weapons deliveries quickly. Some countries have reservations about sending troops - Poland, which a person familiar with national security said was coming under "significant pressure" to send its forces to Ukraine, says no decision will be made before elections in May. Britain is still hopeful of getting others on board, but time is of the essence, with Trump ramping up the pressure by pausing the delivery of military support to Ukraine. Starmer urged nations on Sunday "to keep the pace behind these actions", adding "this is not a moment for more talk It is time to act". 'TIME FOR COOL HEADS' A trained lawyer sometimes criticised for a lack of humour, Starmer's dispassionate and methodical approach at the White House talks and subsequent meetings in London with Zelenskiy and European leaders at the weekend, has been widely praised. "This weekend he has not really put a foot wrong," former foreign minister James Cleverly from the opposition Conservative Party told parliament on Monday. While Starmer has yet to win U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, he has worked to repair the unprecedented rift in U.S.-Ukraine relations encapsulated by the heated exchange between Zelenskiy and Trump in the Oval office last Friday. A British source said Starmer has been advising Zelenskiy on what would close the gap with Trump. The Ukrainian leader wrote to Trump on Tuesday saying he was ready to negotiate. Starmer called Zelenskiy earlier that day, praising his commitment to securing peace. It was the surprise phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 that spurred Starmer into action. "Time for cool heads," said a government source at the time, using a phrase that officials repeat. That prompted a meeting with Trump's special envoy to the United Kingdom, Mark Burnett, a day later when the U.S. president called in - the first of five phone conversations and one meeting with the U.S. leader since. Those conversations have been interspersed with calls with Zelenskiy and Macron, a relationship described by one British official as being presented to Trump as so close he couldn't get 'a cigarette paper' between them". 'PRINCE OF DARKNESS' Starmer's team said the British leader had made some progress with Trump, citing the U.S. leader reiterating Washington's commitment to NATO's Article 5, which states that if a member country is attacked, all members will consider it an attack on themselves. Despite the setbacks, Starmer is ploughing on with drafting a peace plan, while his newly appointed ambassador to the U.S., veteran Labour troubleshooter Peter Mandelson, keeps the Trump administration on side. Mandelson, dubbed the Prince of Darkness by the British media for his negotiating skills behind the scenes, suggested on U.S. television on Sunday that Zelenskiy back the mineral deal with the United States and get "back on the same page" as Trump. Starmer is betting that if European countries can come back with pledges to increase defence spending and a plan to ensure the security of Ukraine, Trump will offer U.S. security backup, something he says is vital to deter Putin from attacking again. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative former lawmaker who has chaired the parliamentary committee on defence, said it was important to get the balance right and prepare to work without Washington if necessary. "In the same way that Trump respects bullies who stand up to him, we must stand firm in what we believe in," he told Reuters. Addressing top ministers on Tuesday, Starmer said of his seven days of shuttle diplomacy that "everyone was aligned in pursuit of a plan that will bring lasting and durable peace to Ukraine". He told ministers, according to his spokesperson, "he would continue to have conversations at pace". (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, additional reporting by Kate Holton in London, Barbara Erling in Warsaw and Michel Rose in Paris; editing by Philippa Fletcher) By Tim Kelly, Kentaro Okasaka and Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese electronics giant Sony and drinks maker Suntory are stockpiling inventory in the United States while their peers shift production or supply chains in efforts to fend off an evolving threat of U.S. tariffs on the export-reliant economy. In his latest trade salvo this week, President Donald Trump hinted that he might target Tokyo next, after throwing up new tariff barriers against Mexico and China, low-cost production hubs favoured by key Japanese industries, such as automakers. The scale of the tariff threat for Japan Inc has been further highlighted by Honda's decision to produce a new model of one of its top-selling cars in the United States, instead of Mexico, Reuters exclusively reported on Monday. Japan Display, a major supplier of LCD screens to the auto industry, said it was also considering production of some items in the United States, partly to avoid tariffs, a move a recent survey showed is being considered by hundreds of peers. Major Japanese suppliers to iPhone maker Apple - Alps Alpine and Murata Manufacturing - are among other firms looking to insulate supply chains from escalating trade tension. "Corporates are now more aware that Japan could also be a target," said Norihiro Yamaguchi, a senior economist at Oxford Economics. Yamaguchi pointed to Trump's warning that the United States may use tariffs to offset any competitive disadvantage to its manufacturers if Japan and China do not stop reducing the value of their currencies. The protectionist U.S. president is set to levy reciprocal tariffs globally and industry-specific duties that could further hurt Japan, the world's fourth largest economy, a top exporter to the United States and its biggest source of foreign investment. Japan has denied devaluing its currency and pledged U.S. investments to assuage Trump's concerns on trade. Its trade minister is set to visit Washington as soon as next week to seek tariff exemptions, domestic media have said. Japanese companies are particularly exposed to trade duties as many have concentrated for decades on overseas sales, particularly to the United States, to counter weak domestic demand and a shrinking population, Yamaguchi said. Almost nine in 10 Japanese companies expect Trump's policies to hurt business, a Reuters survey showed last month. Of these, 72% saw his trade strategy, including more tariffs, as the most detrimental factor, while 26% chose friction between the United States and China, Japan's other major trading partner. Even before accounting for tariffs that may target Tokyo, think tank the Daiwa Institute of Research projects that a trade war between the United States and other countries including China could shave 1.4% from Japan's $4.2-trillion economy over two to three years. Stefan Angrick, a senior economist with Moody's Analytics, said it was challenging to quantify the economic damage from tariffs as the business uncertainty they created could be more devastating than any direct impact. SHIFTING STRATEGIES More than 300 Japanese companies not yet operating in the United States have indicated they want to set up there, a survey by Japan's export-promotion agency JETRO showed this month, up about 50% from the previous year. "Concerns about future U.S. tariff policies were frequently mentioned in our interviews," said Hirotoshi Ito, an official involved in the survey, which did not identify the companies. Other firms had already begun stockpiling products. Sony Group President Hiroki Totoki told a press conference last month that the Playstation maker had been preparing for tariffs by building up inventory from its gaming and electronics divisions in the United States. A company spokesperson declined to provide details. Drinks giant Suntory said it had shipped tequila from its Mexican brands to the United States in anticipation of tariffs of 25% imposed on Mexico and Canada on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the firm said it was also considering shifting sales of Scotch whiskies to Europe from the United States, while focusing on selling more American whiskey in the U.S. to mitigate "more tariff war and tit-for-tat actions". Other tariff response strategies have aimed at moving supply chains to try and avoid trade spats. Electronics component maker Alps Alpine said it was advancing a plan to return production to Japan that could help protect its business from tariffs imposed on third-party countries. Alps is a leading maker of smartphone camera actuators, tiny motors that essentially run a camera's focusing system. It supplies Apple from factories in China, Japan and Malaysia, the iPhone maker's latest supplier list shows. The firm said it now makes some items in Mexico for U.S. export that stand to be affected by tariffs. Another Apple supplier, Murata Manufacturing, said it was pushing ahead with efforts to "double-track" its supply chain. That involves making items in China for Chinese customers only, and shipping products to the rest of the world from its plants in Japan and Thailand. Specialist talent is in high demand to help companies navigate the minefield of evolving global tariffs. Since Trump's election in November, firms based in Japan have stepped up demand for tax managers and audit professionals, partly to chalk out tariff strategies and compliance, said Grant Torrens, Japan head for recruitment firm Hays. But more broadly among export-focused clients, the uncertainty has also fuelled a trend of lengthier decision-making about new hires. "Organisations are still wanting to pipeline for future hiring, but are cautious to bring in that talent now in case a larger decision is needed on relocating entire production facilities offshore to the United States," he added. (Reporting by Tim Kelly, Kentaro Okasaka, Rocky Swift, Ritsuko Shimizu, John Geddie, Hirata Noriyuki and Sam Nussey; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Migrants wait in Naucalpan de Juarez, a suburb of Mexico City, on Jan. 28, 2025, to complete their paperwork for their Customs and Border Protection appointment. President Trump canceled the CBP One app for migrants who seeking U.S. entry. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images) It wasn't long ago that record numbers of migrants were claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border, overwhelming federal agents and backlogging the immigration courts. Now the border is the quietest it's been in years, largely because the Trump administration has stopped processing asylum claims there and pushed that responsibility farther south. Mexico has seen more asylum applications over the last several weeks than at any time in recent memory, its refugee agency thronged by recent U.S. deportees, as well as migrants who were headed north but wound up stranded by President Trump's crackdown. The Mexican government has not released recent data on asylum claims, but an official familiar with the figures said that the numbers are three to four times greater than before Trump was elected in November, with as many as 1,000 migrants a day starting the process. U.S. Marine Corps forces near San Diego patrol at the border with Mexico on Feb. 7, 2025. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) The surge underscores the ways Trump's border policies are putting new pressure on Mexico. Previously a country where migrants simply passed through en route to the United States, it is increasingly seen as a Plan B for those who don't make it or have been deported and feel they cannot return to their homelands. But there are growing fears that Mexico's asylum system is unprepared to deal with the increase. And matters have been made worse by the Trump administration's 90-day freeze on U.S. humanitarian aid. Read more:How Mexico's president has kept Trump at bay for now Around $2 billion in annual U.S. aid destined for Latin America and the Caribbean is now on hold, forcing nonprofit shelters, legal aid providers and other groups that work with migrants in Mexico to lay off staff members or suspend their operations at a time when they are needed most. The freeze is also expected to result in cuts to Mexico's refugee agency, which was indirectly funded with U.S. money channeled through the United Nations. "This is worse than anything I've ever seen," said Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Institute for Women in Migration, a Mexico-based nonprofit that advocates for migrants, referring to both the shift in U.S. border policy and the sudden withdrawal of aid. "There's just a lot of frustration and confusion." The U.S. has turned to its southern neighbor for help blocking migrants since at least the Obama administration, when Mexico agreed to increase deportations and dramatically militarize its border with Guatemala. More recently, the Biden administration and the first Trump administration struck deals with Mexico to require asylum seekers to wait there while their claims were processed. President Claudia Sheinbaum has acknowledged that her country is receiving non-Mexican deportees and is repatriating some to their homelands. This is what Mexico has done for years, said Josue Leal, who runs a migrant shelter in southern Mexico called Oasis De Paz del Espiritu Santo Amparito. We have been doing the dirty work for the United States. Read more:Immigration & the Border Leal once worked alongside 11 others at the tin-roofed shelter in the city of Villahermosa. After the U.S. aid freeze, he was forced to lay off half of his staffers. At the same time, demand for legal services has surged, he said. In January, the shelter's paralegal helped 224 people apply for asylum in Mexico, up from 106 the month before. It appears that most of those seeking refuge here are among the estimated 270,000 people who were waiting in Mexico while they sought appointments at the U.S. border using a Biden-era cellphone application known as CBP One. Trump abruptly ended the program on his first day. At a branch office of Mexico's refugee agency in Naucalpan de Juarez, a suburb of Mexico City, the line of people waiting for appointments on a recent morning wrapped around the building. Most were from three countries beset by poverty and political repression: Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. Nereida Carrera, 40, of Venezuela is flanked by her daughters outside Mexico's refugee agency in Naucalpan de Juarez. Carrera, who worked on the campaign of a Venezuelan opposition leader last year, fled the country after its authoritarian leader claimed victory. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Nereida Carrera, 40, a political activist who worked on the campaign of an opposition leader in Venezuela's presidential election last year, fled with her family after the nation's authoritarian leader claimed victory despite ample evidence that he had lost. Carrera's husband managed to lodge an asylum claim at the U.S. border and was given a permit that allows him to legally work in Florida while he awaits the outcome of his case. Carrera and her two daughters, 20 and 11, had an appointment to present their asylum claims at the Mexicali border on Feb. 3. The girls were thrilled, Carrera said. After months apart, they thought they were about to see their father." Trumps cancellation of the app devastated them all. "Hes there," she said of her husband, "and were here with broken hearts." Now, there is a vigorous family debate. The daughters aren't ready to give up on the U.S. Their father, meanwhile, is considering self-deporting to Mexico to reunite with his family. Read more:U.S. official says drone flights over Mexico may signal future strikes Carrera said she is looking into claiming asylum elsewhere in the world, possibly in Europe. I dont know where to go, she said. But were going to get refugee status here in Mexico while we figure it out. It is unclear how many of those applying for asylum in Mexico now plan to stay here long term, and how many may be using the process to gain legal status that allows them to work and avoid harassment by police while they make other plans. Carrera and others spoke about the challenges of living as immigrants in Mexico, where work is ample and food is relatively cheap but where xenophobia, violence and corruption are common. Humberto Briceno, 39, of Venezuela, waits for an appointment outside Mexico's refugee agency in the city of Naucalpan de Juarez. He is among the migrants seeking to stay in Mexico after the Trump administration in effect ended asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Humberto Briceno, 39, also from Venezuela, said gangs and immigration agents have extorted money from him while he waits in Mexico for a chance to claim asylum in the United States. He eventually found work as a security guard, but said he earns less than $80 for a 72-hour workweek. Now that Briceno's dream of reuniting with family in the U.S. seems out of reach, he hopes to stay in Mexico. Returning to Venezuela is not an option. They would call you a terrorist and put you in jail," he said. "They would disappear you. His friend Carlos Ordaz, 50, also said he would not voluntarily return to Venezuela, even though Mexico has been offering migrants free flights back to Caracas in recent months. We sold our houses, our cars, to make this journey, he said. We have nothing to go back to. Carlos Ordaz, 50, also of Venezuela, is now seeking refuge in Mexico instead of the U.S. "We sold our houses, our cars, to make this journey," he said. "We have nothing to go back to." (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Asylum applications in Mexico have skyrocketed in recent years, increasing to a record 140,982 in 2023 from 1,295 in 2013. Mexico, the world's 13th largest economy, has the capacity to absorb them, said Andres Ramirez, the former director of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance. "There are many countries in the world that have much poorer economies than Mexico and many more migrants," he said. As Mexico's immigration agents have sought to restrict migrants from reaching the U.S. border in recent years, apprehending people en masse and busing them south, many have become caught in bottlenecks in poorer communities near Guatemala. Addressing the needs of those populations and processing a rising number of asylum claims nationally will require "strengthening the operational capacity of Mexico's institutions," Ramirez said. Yet the refugee agency is poised to lose resources. It is supported in part by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which has long received funding from the United States. U.S. donations to the U.N. are on hold because of the humanitarian aid freeze. Mexico recently increased the budget of the refugee agency. But it included a much larger increase for the country's National Immigration Institute, which is tasked with deporting migrants without legal status. Ramirez said that was an indication that authorities are more interested in policing migrants than helping them. He said the country's ability to cope with growing demand on its asylum system may depend on whether Trump's threat of widespread deportations actually materializes. During his first month in office, Trump deported fewer people than the average every month during the last full year of the Biden administration. But many fear more deportations are coming both of Mexicans and third-country migrants. But in the absence of widespread deportations, some migrants may decide it is still worth it to try to reach the U.S., even by illicit means. Ramirez said that migrant smugglers, who are known in Mexico as coyotes, were already making that pitch. Coyotes are encouraging people that there is still hope, he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office on January 20, aiming to reduce illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border and deport record numbers of immigrants without legal status. BORDER SECURITY Trump issued a series of executive orders when he returned to the White House, implementing a broad ban on asylum for migrants encountered at the southern border and surging military troops to assist border security efforts. The Republican president also pressed Mexico and Canada to block more migrants from illegally crossing. The efforts built on some initiatives already underway at the end of Democratic President Joe Biden's tenure, including a similar asylum ban and push to increase Mexican enforcement, but appeared to have had immediate results. U.S. Border Patrol arrested 8,300 migrants at the southern border in February, Trump said on social media over the weekend, the lowest monthly level on record. Border Patrol's monthly enforcement statistics go back to 2000. The lowest monthly total on record previously was April 2017, when the agency arrested about 11,100 at the start of Trump's first term. Migrant arrests are often used as a proxy to estimate illegal crossings although some migrants also enter undetected. The February arrest total was a steep drop from the 141,000 migrants picked up in February 2024 and down from 29,000 in January, according to U.S. government figures. The Trump administration aims to keep illegal crossings low or drive them lower. The Pentagon recently announced plans to increase its deployment of 10,000 active-duty and National Guard troops at the border. The Republican-led Senate passed a budget resolution in February that would boost spending by $85 billion a year for four years for Trump's immigration, energy and defense priorities. ARRESTS AND DETENTION The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated that some 11 million immigrants lacked legal status in 2022, a figure some analysts say has climbed to 14 million. Trump said in December that he wanted to deport all immigration law violators. Trump's initial executive orders aimed to ramp up arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally but yielded mixed results during his first month in office. Trump rolled back a Biden-era memo that limited U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of non-criminals or low-level offenders, emphasizing that anyone without legal status could be subject to arrest and deportation. At the same time, his administration is pulling employees from ICE's investigative arm, the Justice Department, the IRS and the State Department to assist with immigration enforcement. During Trumps first three weeks in office, ICE arrested about 14,000 people, border czar Tom Homan said last month. That amounts to 667 per day - twice last years average but on pace for a quarter million arrests annually - not millions. ICE arrests spiked to around 800-1,200 per day during Trumps first week in office, then fell off as detention centers filled up and officers surged to target cities returned home. Still, ICE has cast a wider net than during Biden's presidency, picking up more non-criminals and people with final deportation orders, including those who come to ICE offices for routine check-ins. The number of immigrants without criminal records arrested by ICE and detained rose by 221% from mid-January to mid-February, according to ICE statistics. ICE detention space remains a limiting factor. ICE data published in late February showed the agency had nearly 44,000 immigrants in detention, beyond its funded level of 41,500. The private prisons company Geo Group announced last week that it would reopen a 1,000-bed detention facility in New Jersey. CoreCivic, another private prison company, said it would modify ICE contracts to add some 800 additional beds. The Trump administration also has flown migrants to a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Migrants held there have said they were treated inhumanely and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit over the weekend to stop some possible transfers. DEPORTATIONS The Trump administration has struggled to increase deportation levels even as it has opened up new pathways to deport migrants of other nationalities to Mexico and Central America. Trump deported 37,660 people during his first month in office, Reuters reported in February, far less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Biden's administration. The figures include both ICE "removals" and more informal U.S. Customs and Border Protection "returns" to Mexico. A senior Trump administration official and experts said deportations were poised to rise in coming months as countries accept more deportees. But initial figures suggested Trump could struggle to match higher deportation rates during the last full year of the Biden administration when large numbers of migrants were caught crossing illegally, making them easier to deport. The Trump administration has not yet released detailed deportation data that would show how many of those deported were arrested by ICE in the interior of the U.S., as opposed to those arrested at the border and quickly processed for deportation. The Trump administration rolled back Biden-era extensions of Temporary Protected Status for people from more than 1 million people from Venezuela and Haiti, potentially broadening the pool of people who could be deported. The Trump administration swiftly struck or expanded agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica to take deportees from other nations. The deportations to Panama have raised concerns about treatment of the migrants, including that of more than 100 sent to a camp near the Darien Gap jungle. Trump ordered the U.S. military to assist with deportation operations, leading to military deportation flights to Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and India. (Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken and Chizu Nomiyama) By Yannis Souliotis ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece's top court has ordered the release of Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz, setting aside a lower court ruling for his extradition to Romania on an arrest warrant, his lawyer and a source with knowledge of the case told Reuters on Wednesday. Steinmetz was initially detained by Greek police on October 13, hours after he arrived on a private aircraft at Athens International Airport. He had been freed from custody, under restrictions, and then detained again in January after a judicial panel ordered his extradition to Romania. Steinmetz had appealed against that decision at the country's Supreme Court. "The top court has accepted his appeal," the source said on Wednesday. An arrest warrant has been issued against him in relation to a case dating back several years and concerning his involvement in a group that allegedly tried to illegally secure land rights in Romania. Steinmetz's legal advisors had dismissed the Romanian authorities' accusations as "unfounded" and called the extradition requests by Romania "abusive", arguing that he has the right to travel freely. "This is another vindication for Beny Steinmetz. The decision is exceptionally important as it comes from the higher level of justice in Greece," his lawyer, Stavros Togias, told Reuters. Steinmetz was expected to be freed from a prison in Athens later in the day. Romanian authorities have repeatedly attempted to indict Steinmetz in various jurisdictions on the same allegations. In 2022, a Greek court that examined his case had ruled against his extradition. Last year, Cyprus' Court of Appeal also ruled against his extradition to Romania, overturning a lower court ruling. A court in Italy has also rejected the request. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis, writing by Renee Maltezou, Editing by Alex Richardson) By Ali Sawafta, James Mackenzie BARDALA, West Bank (Reuters) -Just metres from the last houses in Bardala, a Palestinian village at the northern end of the occupied West Bank, Israel's army has been bulldozing a dirt road and ditch between the community and open grazing land on the hills behind it. Israel's military told Reuters the works were for security and to allow it to patrol the area following the killing of an Israeli civilian in August near the village by a man from another town. It did not detail what it was building there. Farmers from the fertile Jordan Valley village fear the army patrols and Israeli settlers moving in will exclude them from pastures that feed around 10,000 sheep and goats, as has happened in other parts of the West Bank, undercutting their livelihoods and eventually driving them from the village. Israeli settler outposts have appeared around the village since last year, with clusters of blue and white Israeli flags newly fluttering from nearby hilltops. The settlers intimidated semi-nomadic Bedouin shepherds to abandon their camps in the area last year, four Bedouin families and Israeli human rights NGOs told Reuters. Over recent weeks, caravans and shelters have begun appearing on the scrub-covered hills a few hundred metres west of Bardala, on land behind the new track, Reuters reporters saw. Such temporary shelters have been the first signs of new outposts being built. Reuters was unable to contact any of the new arrivals in the outposts around the village. The tighter military control in the Jordan Valley and arrival of settler outposts in the area over the past months are new developments in a part of the West Bank that had mostly avoided the build up of Israel's presence on the ground in central areas of the Palestinian territory. With each advance of Israeli settlements and roads, the territory becomes more fractured, further undermining prospects for a contiguous land on which Palestinians could build a sovereign state. Most countries consider Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal. Israel's pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has proposed Palestinians leave Gaza, a suggestion widely condemned across the Middle East and beyond as an attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinian territories. Ibrahim Sawafta, a member of the Bardala village council, said two dozen farmers would be prevented from reaching grazing land if soldiers and settler outposts obstruct their free movement. Unable to keep their large flocks in pens within the village itself, they would be forced to sell. "Bardala would be a small prison," he said, sitting on a bench outside his house in the village. He said the overall goal was "to restrict people, to force them to leave the Jordan Valley." In response to Reuters questions, the army said the area behind the dirt road outside Bardala was designated as a live fire zone but included "a passage" manned by Israeli soldiers, suggesting limitations on free movement in the area. It said the passage would allow for "the continuation of daily life and the fulfilment of residents' needs," without giving further details. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the Yesha Council and the Jordan Valley Council, that represent settlers in the West Bank did not reply to requests for comment for this story. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sawafta said gunmen had been known to come into the area from towns to the west and the barrier appeared intended to make access more difficult and force traffic through main roads with security checkpoints under Israeli control. But he said the effect of the move would be to obstruct access to the land, which in some cases was owned by villagers. The activity around Bardala is part of a wider Israeli effort to reshape the West Bank. Over the year and a half since war broke out in Gaza, settlement activity has accelerated in areas seen as the core of a future Palestinian state. In recent weeks, army raids in refugee camps near volatile West Bank cities, including Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, near Bardala, have sent tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes, fuelling fears of permanent displacement. The raids come amid a renewed push to formally absorb the West Bank as part of Israel, a proposal supported by some of Trump's aides. Israel's military has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war. CORNFIELDS AND GREENHOUSES Bardala, with a population of about 3,000, lies a few metres from the pre-1967 line separating the West Bank from Israel. It prospered quietly over the past 30 years as Israel's settlement movement swallowed up thousands of hectares of land in other parts of the West Bank. The cornfields and clusters of plastic-sheeted greenhouses where its farmers grow aubergines, peppers and zucchini for the markets of the West Bank and Israel underscore how fertile the land is in the narrow strip of valley alongside the Jordan River, running from the Dead Sea north towards the Sea of Galilee. But the new Israeli-controlled path will squeeze the village against Highway 90, a road that runs north-south along the riverine border with Jordan from the Dead Sea. Highway 90 ends at the separating line between the West Bank and Israel, just outside the village. The separating line is marked by a high fence. Citing the experience of other villages, Dror Etkes, founder of Israeli rights group Kerem Navot, said the new track and settlement activity would block access for Palestinians to the area north of Bardala, "all the way up to the separation barrier." Kerem Navot tracks Israeli settlement and land management policy in the West Bank. The authorities "will take a few thousand dunhams, mainly of agricultural land and prevent the Palestinians from cultivating this land," he said. A dunham is a tenth of a hectare. ANNEXATION FEARS The West Bank, so named because of its relation to the river that separates it from Jordan, has long been seen by religious nationalist hardliners in Israel as part of a Greater Israel through historical and Biblical connections to the Jewish people. Jewish settlement building has roared ahead under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allies in government such as hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler, who said last year he would push to gain Washington's support for annexation in 2025. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at the time that the government's position on annexation had not yet been settled. Israel's opposition to ceding control of the West Bank has been deepened by its fears of a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack near Gaza. Since the start of the war in Gaza, 43 new outposts, the seeds of future settlements, have been built in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, an Israeli organization that tracks settlement building. Most are farm outposts that exclude Palestinians from agricultural land. At least seven were built in the Jordan Valley, according to Palestinian Authority figures. As in other areas of the West Bank, Palestinians and rights groups say the arrival of outposts coincided with more violence from bands of settlers, now free of the fear of U.S. sanctions since Trump cancelled penalties imposed under former President Joe Biden for previous violence. For months, Bedouins living in semi-permanent stockades in the hills grazing sheep and goats around the Jordan Valley have been subjected to harassment by violent groups of settlers. In late January, the local school in Bardala itself was attacked, after the settlers said stones had been thrown at them. "The settlers would attack us every Saturday, not allowing us to leave the house at all," said Mahmoud Kaabneh, who left his home in Um Aljmal, an area in the hills some 20 km south of Bardala for Tubas, along with a dozen other families after repeated incursions by threatening bands of settlers. The creation in 2023 of the Settlements Administration, a civil department for the West Bank answerable to Smotrich, has fuelled Palestinian concern that the move from military occupation to annexation is already happening by stealth. In his first term, Trump overturned decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. But he has not so far given U.S. approval to the calls for full annexation, which could be an obstacle to one of his main foreign policy goals, a security pact with Saudi Arabia that could include normalizing relations with Israel in an expansion of the so-called Abraham Accords. Extending Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank would end already slim hopes of creating an independent Palestine alongside Israel, which Saudi Arabia has declared to be a non-negotiable condition for normalizing relations. But Trump's talk of redeveloping Gaza as a U.S.-controlled waterfront resort, along with his aides' ties to the settler movement, has alarmed Palestinians, still haunted by the "Nakba," or catastrophe, in the 1948 war at the start of the state of Israel, when some 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes and never returned. For Sawafta, from the Bardala village council, developments like the one in his home village point to an effort to dispossess Palestinians in the way their parents and grandparents were dispossessed before. "Israel effectively and practically confiscates the land," he said. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel) First lady Melania Trump has invited two young women who exemplify causes she has championed to be her special guests at her husbands address Tuesday before a joint session of Congress. Trump will be joined by Elliston Berry of Aledo, Texas, a victim of an AI-generated, sexually explicit deepfake image, and Haley Ferguson of Spring Hill, Tennessee, a former foster child who is the recipient of a scholarship instituted during Trumps first tenure as first lady. Berry was at Melania Trump's side on Capitol Hill on Monday as the first lady used her first public comments since her husband's inauguration to speak out about the publication of non-consensual, sexually explicit images. First lady Melania Trump sits next to Elliston Berry after a roundtable discussion Monday on the "Take It Down Act" at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Berry shared her story during the event. She was 14 when a classmate used an AI app to attach a nude body to an Instagram photo of her before circulating it on social media. "Fear, shock and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt," Berry said. "I felt responsible and began to blame myself and was ashamed to tell my parents, despite doing nothing wrong." When she reported the matter to her school, the authorities said it was out of their control. It was only after the office of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, heard her story and personally reached out to Snapchat that the photo was removed, she said. Berry and the first lady spoke out in support of the Take it Down Act, which was unanimously passed by the Senate in February. The bill, introduced in August by Cruz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., criminalizes the publication of non-consensual, sexually exploitative images, including AI-generated deepfakes. The legislation requires technology platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours of receiving a valid request. Trump called Berry brave. "Its heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," she said. "This toxic environment can be severely damaging. Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm." The other guest, Ferguson, is a former foster child who is now a senior at Middle Tennessee State University majoring in elementary education. She is the recipient of the Fostering the Future scholarship, which was launched by the first lady as part of her "Be Best campaign to promote youth well-being and combat cyberbullying. The mission of the scholarship is to prepare recipients to enter the workforce and ultimately reach financial independence. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is sitting with Melania Trump at president's address to Congress? Elon Musk had a prime seat for Trumps congressional address Tuesday in the House gallery, and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency was at the front and center of Trumps remarks. Musk has been the dominant player in Trumps administration, besides the president himself, and tearing through federal agencies as the driving force behind DOGE. It has moved with lightning speed to cut government, implementing mass layoffs and wreaking havoc at various federal agencies and sparking backlash. "I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency. Perhaps you've heard of it. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said. "Thank you, Elon, for working very hard. He didn't need this, he didn't need this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it." Musk stood up in the gallery, nodding his head in acknowledgment as Republicans applauded. The president proceeded to list off federal spending he described as "scams" that DOGE has targeted, from $45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in the Asia nation of Burma to $59 million in hotel rooms for illegal immigrants in New York City. Trump said DOGE is "headed" by Musk but his administration, which is contrary to what the administration said in a recent court filing. The White House has said Amy Gleason is the acting administrator of DOGE. Elon Musk applauds as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. Democrats urge Trump to fire Musk The Tuesday address comes after over three dozen Democratic lawmakers called on Trump to fire Musk. In a joint letter to the president Monday, Democrats argued the new Republican administration illegally fired dozens of government officials whose agencies were either investigating or prosecuting companies owned by Musk. Among those leading the charge against Musk are top Democrats Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and officials on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Jamie Raskin, D-Md. The Trump administrations removal of agency heads and workers has impacted 11 federal agencies investigating Musk-owned companies like Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, according to the letter. Those agencies are conducting 32 ongoing investigations, complaints or enforcement actions against Musk-owned companies. Contributing: Riley Beggin, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk, DOGE team praised by Trump during Congressional speech Joe Biden, Donald Trump The Trump administration is working to cancel the Biden-era humanitarian parole program that allowed more than 500,000 Venezuelans, Haitians and other migrants into the US. The move would close a loophole that allowed migrants to fly into the country and stay. The policy change would revoke the legal status of migrants in the program, and make them targets of ICE deportation raids. Roughly 530,000 migrants entered the US under the Biden administration program that allowed foreign nationals with sponsors living in the country to stay and work for up to two years. The Biden admin paused and then restarted the program previously over major fraud concerns. Stephen Yang The program allowed more than 500,000 Venezuelans, Haitians and other migrants into the US. Michael Nagle It was open to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they arrived in the country by plane an attempt to drive down illegal immigration during record surges at the border. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Post that the Biden admin abused the parole system turning it into an unrecognizable shell of itself used for fraud and to exploit the immigration system. The Trump Administration is restoring integrity back into our immigration system, McLaughlin said. President Trump already stopped the program from accepting new applications on day one of his administration. REUTERS Now, those migrants are being encouraged to voluntarily leave now with the offer that they may be able to enter legally in the future and live the American dream, she said. But if they fail to leave they will face the inevitable consequences, she said. She pointed to the tens of thousands of migrants who have been taken off the streets by ICE with such arrests surging more than 600% in a single month. If aliens do not leave the country they will be tracked down and face additional financial penalty and potentially criminal, she added. ICE arrests have increased more than 600% over the past month. James Keivom The Biden administration temporarily paused the program in mid-July over widespread fraud occurring among thousands of the migrants sponsors. Many listings were found to be using fake social security numbers or phone numbers including those of dead people. A review of the program had also found that many applications used the same physical address. Some 100 addresses were listed on over 19,000 forms and many applications were submitted by the same IP address, according to documents obtained by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The parole program started accepting Venezuelans in October 2022 and was expanded three months later to include Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans with the top three cities parolees flew into being Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and New York City. President Joe Biden allowed more than half a million migrants to enter the US under the program. AFP via Getty Images Trump swiftly ended the program on his first day in office, stopping any new applications. Before assuming his latest role as Trumps border czar, Tom Homan previously said he worried that the migrants enrolled in the program by Biden would more than likely [be] staying here forever given the availability various legal avenues allowing them to apply for protected status and permanent residency. Roughly 200,000 migrants who dont have any protections aside from the parole would likely have their legal residency status in the US immediately cancelled, according to Manhattan Institute fellow Daniel Di Martino. Roughly 200,000 migrants who dont have any protections aside from the parole would likely have their legal residency status in the US immediately cancelled. Michael Nagle House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) also previously called on the Biden admin to immediately end the program in light of the fraud. This is exactly what happens when you create an unlawful mass-parole program in order to spare your administration the political embarrassment and bad optics of overrun borders, he said at the time. Trump has already moved to end another program that protected hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Venezuelan migrants from deportation and allowed them to work in the country. On Monday, immigrant rights groups sued to stop the policy change to the Temporary Protected Status program which is designed to protect refugees from countries facing political and humanitarian upheaval. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Japan, South Korea and other countries want to partner with the United States in a "gigantic" natural gas pipeline in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, claiming they would invest "trillions of dollars each." Trump said in an address to the U.S. Congress that the pipeline would be one of the largest in the world. "Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner, with investments of trillions of dollars each," he said. South Korea's industry ministry said Minister Ahn Duk-geun discussed the project with U.S. officials during a visit to Washington last week, but no details had been decided. "We will actively engage in discussions with the United States moving forward as it is a matter of mutual interest of the two countries," a ministry spokesperson said after Trump's remarks. Earlier on Tuesday, Ahn said the United States had asked South Korea and other countries if they were interested in participating in the Alaskan liquefied natural gas project. He said Seoul and Washington had agreed to establish a working-level group to discuss the pipeline, energy, shipbuilding, tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Ahn's visit to Washington was aimed at seeking exemptions from Trump administration tariffs that are expected to hit South Korea's export-reliant economy hard. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Wednesday expanding American gas, bioethanol and ammonia imports would "meet the national interests of both Japan and the U.S." as it would stabilize Japan's energy supply while reducing the U.S. trade deficit. He made similar remarks after meeting Trump last month. "We will carefully examine its technical possibilities and profitability," Ishiba told a parliament session. In the address to Congress, Trump highlighted his tariff plans and said it was now the turn of the United States to use tariffs against other countries as they had against the United States. He said he would impose reciprocal tariffs on April 2. He said South Korea's average tariff was four times higher than that of the U.S., despite military and other assistance the United States has provided to the country. South Korea's tariff rate on U.S. imports was around 0.79% as of last year under a free trade agreement between the two countries, Seoul's trade ministry said. Seoul would actively communicate with Washington about its tariffs through multiple channels, the ministry added. On Sunday, the co-chair of the White House National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum said the 800-mile LNG gas pipeline would allow the United States to sell energy to its allies and "raise money for the U.S. Treasury." While the Alaska LNG proposal faces cost and logistical hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly. Japanese officials have not said they had agreed to participate in the pipeline but have agreed to look into the matter, according to people familiar with the conversations. Japan's trade minister plans to visit Washington this month to seek exemptions from Trump's tariffs and discuss Japan's plans to buy more U.S. LNG. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, Heekyong Yang in Seoul; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Kanishka Singh, Kantaro Komiya and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Deepa Babington, Sonali Paul and Bernadette Baum) President Trump President Trump brutally needled Sen. Elizabeth Warren, belittling the Massachusetts Democrat with his favorite nickname for her Pocahontas during his address to the joint session of Congress Tuesday night. The taunt came after Trump mocked Democrats for wanting to keep supporting Ukraine with military aid in its war with Russia over the next five years, which prompted Warren (D-Mass.) to clap. She kept doing so even as the president ridiculed her. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraines defense, Trump complained during his address, drawing rare claps from Democrats. Sen. Elizabeth Warren clapped in support of US aid to war-torn Ukraine when President Trump tried to disparage it during his address. AP You want to keep it going for another five years, Trump shot back before singling out Warren. Pocahontas says yes. Warren clapped enthusiastically and even upped the pace of her clapping with a grin on her face despite Trumps broadside. Trump has branded Warren Pocahontas for years, alluding to her controversial claims of having partial Native American heritage in her remarks to the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard law schools, institutions where she taught in the 1980s and 1990s. She was listed as Native American in a national law school directory of faculty, according to the Boston Globe, which reported on the scandal back in 2012. The Massachusetts senator has long denied that she used her claims of partial Native American heritage to further her career. President Trump scoffed at Sen. Elizabeth Warrens backing of aid to Ukraine. AP During the 2020 campaign cycle, she revealed that a DNA test showed that the vast majority of the individuals ancestry is European but that there was evidence she is the decedent of an unadmixed Native American ancestor going back six to 10 generations. Trump and Republicans pilloried her for citing such a distant connection. Warren has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine as Kyiv seeks to fend off brutal Russian invaders in an unprovoked war. 2,000 people are being killed every single week. More than that, Trump added after his slight against Warren. Theyre Russian young people. Theyre Ukrainian young people. Theyre not Americans, but I want it to stop. Trump ordered a pause on all US military aid to Ukraine the day before his speech to Congress. The president proceeded to rip into European allies for spending more on Russian fossil fuels last year than on aid to war-torn Ukraine. He also praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for penning a letter to him that in Trumps words, said, Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainianswe do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence, the president said Zelensky wrote. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has scrambled to mend fences with President Trump. via REUTERS The Ukrainian leader had made a public overture toward Trump via X earlier Tuesday, following strained tensions in the wake of a blow-up between the two men in the Oval Office last Friday. Vice President JD Vance had reamed out Zelensky during that meeting for not expressing more gratitude for American assistance. Trump also claimed during his speech which essentially functions as a State of the Union address despite not technically being one that he has received strong signals from the Russians that they are ready for peace. By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives kicked off a process on Wednesday that could lead lawmakers to censure Democrat Al Green, who was kicked out of the chamber after yelling at President Donald Trump during an address. Representative Green, a Texas Democrat who has been in Congress for 20 years and has repeatedly called to impeach Trump, is facing a House censure resolution for yelling at the president, waiving his black cane and refusing to sit down during Trump's Tuesday night speech. Green's message was drowned out by boos from Republicans, but he told reporters on Tuesday that he was saying Trump had no electoral mandate to slash funding for Medicaid, the government healthcare program that helps cover costs for people with limited income. Green was eventually escorted out by chamber staff who maintain the decorum and security of the floor. Representative Dan Newhouse, a moderate Republican from Washington, introduced the resolution to censure Green for a "breach of proper conduct." A vote by the full House chamber on the censure resolution is expected in coming days, and Green will be required to be on the floor at that time. Censure is a symbolic reprimand that carries no fines or other penalties. The censure process was once a rarity, but four House lawmakers have been publicly reprimanded by their colleagues in the last four years for inappropriate social media posts, actions that a majority of the House found problematic, and disrupting a vote. In 2009, Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina faced a resolution of disapproval - a lesser form of punishment - after he shouted "You lie!" at Democratic President Barack Obama during an address to a joint session of Congress. Wilson's outburst at the time drew gasps from other lawmakers, but on Tuesday that type of behavior was happening almost every minute inside the chamber. Republicans cheered Trump's speech and taunted Democrats, while other House Democratic lawmakers held signs to fact-check the president and repeatedly yelled from their seats in opposition. Green's outburst - and moves by some of his colleagues who walked out during the speech - marked a sharp contrast with Democratic leaders who had urged decorum and tapped a moderate senator from Michigan to deliver their rebuttal speech. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon unfurled a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag as Trump spoke about the country's war with Russia. (Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Scott Malone and Nia Williams) A member of the medical staff administers a dose of the measles vaccine to a child at a health center in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 27. One mom told her pediatrician she was skipping a checkup for her 4-month-old because she was afraid the baby would catch measles from the doctors office before he could be vaccinated even though there were no cases reported in the area. Another parent said he was refusing to inoculate his 1-year-old because he didnt want to experiment on his child. These and other recent discussions about measles vaccinations at Dr. Alex Cvijanovichs Albuquerque, New Mexico, pediatric practice have been fraught since the highly contagious virus started making national headlines and theyre only getting more challenging. The people who are willing, are willing to give it early, said Cvijanovich, who is also a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. But the people who have dug in their heels, it just becomes a more frustrating conversation. As virus cases rise and the United States recorded its first measles death in a decade, pediatricians are in a dilemma. How do they convey the seriousness of the virus to vaccine-skeptical parents while also quelling the anxieties of families who want to immunize their newborns but cant yet? Its a delicate balancing act, according to six doctors in practices from West Virginia to Washington state. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccination has a proven track record against the highly contagious disease, with two doses of the shot 97% effective against measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Decades of studies have shown it to be safe and have refuted false claims that it is linked to autism. The measles outbreak so far has been concentrated in West Texas. But it comes at a pivotal moment for the country: Vaccine hesitancy, on the uptick for years, accelerated during the Covid pandemic. And now misinformation about vaccines has been spreading, fueled in part by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who led a large anti-vaccine advocacy group before becoming head of Health and Human Services last month. Shortly after his confirmation, Kennedy vowed to investigate the schedule for childhood vaccines that prevent dangerous diseases like measles. Pediatricians say theyre seeing a lot of fear, both from parents who trust vaccinations and those who dont, and they worry the anxiety from both sides will create confusion that will hamper public health efforts. The death of an unvaccinated child in Texas last month has not been enough to sway everyone to immunize their children, and pediatricians are worried more kids will get sick. I feel like this is still snowballing, said Dr. Lesley Motheral, a pediatrician in Lubbock, Texas. I think we still have a lot of work to do, to be very honest with you. The CDC recommends administering the first MMR shot at around age 1 and the second at ages 4 to 6. In cases where an infant has been exposed to measles or is traveling to a known outbreak area, pediatricians can administer a dosage as early as 6 months old something some parents have pleaded for as more measles cases are reported. Most children in the United States receive their MMR vaccinations on schedule, with nearly 93% receiving the shots by kindergarten, according to the CDC. But in West Texas, where the measles outbreak is concentrated with at least 159 reported cases, vaccination rates are significantly lower. In Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, the immunization exemption rate was more than 17% for the 2023-2024 school year, according to health department data. Experts say that at least 95% of a community must be vaccinated to protect against a measles outbreak. We rely on herd immunity for measles prevention, said Dr. Christina Hermos, division chief of pediatric infectious disease and immunology at UMass Memorial Childrens Medical Center. Measles is so incredibly contagious that you only need one person flying in or traveling to a region to give a nonimmune person a case. The respiratory virus spreads rapidly because it is transmitted through droplets that can linger in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours, meaning an infected person doesnt have to remain in a room to contaminate other people. Measles causes a telltale rash, but an infected individual can spread the virus up to four days before the rash appears. Measles also causes fevers and red, watery eyes and can lead to complications such as pneumonia or, in rare cases, brain damage and death. For every 1,000 children who get measles, about one to three will die from respiratory and neurologic complications, the CDC says. The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, despite some cases being reported since. Pediatricians now fear the country could backslide in its containment efforts, especially because Kennedy has long criticized childhood vaccinations. As the measles outbreak has unfolded under his watch, he has not urged widespread vaccination, drawing ire from health experts and politicians. In an op-ed published on Fox News website, he called the decision to vaccinate a personal one and wrote, All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. Dr. Elizabeth Meade, a Seattle pediatrician, said she finds it enormously concerning to have a vaccine-skeptic person as the nations health secretary. I think there is this real sense among people in the United States that they are not at risk for these diseases, especially if theyre not traveling outside of the U.S., said Meade, who is also an American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson. Unfortunately, it is just not true. Some parents who once supported immunization have since changed their minds. I see incredibly intelligent people coming in, said Hermos, who in addition to being an infectious diseases doctor is an associate professor of pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School. Their child has a full vaccination record, and then theyre due for their next one, and theyre completely convinced that theyre making a decision between two potentially harmful things for their kids, like, I could potentially harm them with this vaccine versus I could potentially harm them with this disease of the vaccine. In Morgantown, West Virginia, pediatrician Dr. Lisa Costello has found that acknowledging the common ground she has with vaccine-hesitant parents is helpful. Everyones coming from the space that theyre trying to do whats best for their child that they love, and its a matter of having those conversations and sharing from the medical literature we have on this, said Costello, an assistant professor of pediatrics at West Virginia University. But its keeping some parents of newborns home out of fear that, because others in the practice might not be vaccinating their children regularly, their tiny babies who are too young to get the MMR shot could be at risk. The doctors said there are steps that parents can take to protect their children if they are too young to get the vaccination, such as asking the adults who spend time near their kids if they are vaccinated themselves; asking at their day care if all children who are eligible for vaccinations have been immunized; and not being around anyone who is or recently was sick. They also recommended bringing up early vaccination with their pediatrician. There are those folks now that are calling that are anxious about it and want to get it even earlier than the recommended schedule, said Dr. Steven Abelowitz, medical director of Ocean Pediatrics in Orange County, California. Its OK to do it after six months, but make sure the insurance covers it and its not out of pocket. In Texas, Motheral said her local health department has been giving free MMR vaccinations. She hopes more people will agree to receive them. It is so sad that a disease that we once felt was eradicated in this country, and really still should be, is making a resurgence, she said. Even one death for measles is too many. WASHINGTON First-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump's address to Congress, according to two House Democratic lawmakers who were informed of his death. He was 70 years old and had just taken the oath of office in January. Turner previously faced bone cancer. His office later confirmed in a statement that he had died on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., paid tribute to Turner, calling the former Houston mayor and state lawmaker an "iconic leader" and a "fighter until the end." "The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner. Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston," Jeffries said. At a closed-door Democratic meeting Wednesday morning, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced to colleagues that Turner had died and that his family has been notified, according to one lawmaker who attended the meeting. Rep. Sylvester Turner previously served as the mayor of Houston. Another Democrat who saw Turner in the underground tunnel that connects the Capitol with the Cannon Building said that it appeared Turner was having a medical emergency early Tuesday afternoon. Capitol Police were notified and went to assist him, the lawmaker said. Several Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday they either saw Turner or spoke to him on the House floor before Trump's joint address to Congress. Photographs and video from the speech also show Turner seated toward the back of the chamber. Around 8:30 p.m. ET, shortly before the address began, Turner posted a video on social media with his guest, Angela Hernandez, who was advocating for her daughter who has a rare genetic disorder. "Angela is here to advocate on the importance of Medicaid," Turner said in the video. "So please let people know, 'Don't mess with Medicaid.'" Jeffries referenced that video in his tribute to Turner. "Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard," Jeffries said. "In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us 'dont mess with Medicaid.'" Turner was elected to Congress in November and served as mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024. Before that, he had graduated from Harvard Law School, worked as an attorney in Houston, and then served more than a quarter century as a state lawmaker. When longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died of pancreatic cancer last July, Turner, an ally of the congresswoman, announced he would run for her seat and was selected by local Democratic leaders to appear on the November ballot since Jackson Lee had already won her primary that March. He easily won the seat and was sworn in on Jan. 3. Turner was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Turner's death means that Republicans now hold a 218-214 majority. Under that breakdown, Republicans can still only afford one GOP defection on any vote if all lawmakers are present and voting. According to Texas election law, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, must call a special election to fill the vacancy, but that process could take months. On social media, tributes poured in for Turner. Fellow Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said on X that Turner "leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service as Mayor of Houston and the Representative for Texas 18th Congressional District." Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, also remembered Turner and his constituents. "Deeply saddened by the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a dedicated public servant who stepped up to take the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lees seat in January," McCaul wrote on X. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, loved ones, and the people of Houston as they grieve yet another loss." Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X that Turner "served his community faithfully, not only as a member of Congress, but as a former state legislator and a mayor of Houston. Our prayers are with his family and constituents as they mourn his loss." Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko -- a close ally of President Vladimir Putin -- warned that the Kremlin "will never" accept a European troop deployment to Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv continue to maneuver for advantage in U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations. In a wide-ranging interview with blogger Mario Nawfal published late Tuesday, Lukashenko praised President Donald Trump's forthright approach to Russia's war on Ukraine and suggested Putin was ready to make peace. Any proposal is unlikely to win Russian support if it includes the deployment of European forces into Ukraine, Lukashenko said. "Russia will never agree to this," he said. "At least, this is Russia's position today. Especially since the leadership of the European Union, primarily in the person of Germany and France, is taking a very aggressive position at the moment." PHOTO: Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko speaks at a press conference after casting his vote in the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But the Belarusian leader also countered attacks by Trump and Putin on the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while offering Belarus as a location for peace negotiations. Unsuccessful ceasefire talks were held in Belarus in the hours and days after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. "There is no need to push Zelenskyy now," Lukashenko said, as quoted by the Belta state-owned news agency. "We need to convince and come to an agreement with Zelenskyy, because a large part of Ukrainian society is behind Zelenskyy." "If you want, come. Here, it is nearby -- 200 kilometers from the Belarusian border to Kyiv," Lukashenko added. "We will come to an agreement calmly, without noise, without shouting." "Tell Trump: I am waiting for him here together with Putin and Zelenskyy. We will sit down and come to an agreement calmly," he said. "If you want to come to an agreement." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded positively to the offer of talks in Minsk. "This issue has not been brought up or discussed in any way," Peskov told reporters Wednesday, as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency. "This is our main ally. Therefore, for us it is the best place for negotiations." Moscow has repeatedly accused NATO and its members of seeking to use Ukraine as a launching pad for aggression against Russia. Putin cited NATO expansion since the collapse of the Soviet Union as a key Russian grievance in the run up to his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. MORE: The impact 'shocking' halt on US aid to Ukraine could have on war Lukashenko appeared to play down that issue. "It is not so much about NATO expansion to the east, but about the threats that were created in Ukraine," he said of Putin's decision to launch the 2022 attack. Leaders in Kyiv have framed the proposed and contentious U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal as a means to securing long-term American backing, and as a possible bridge to lasting U.S. security guarantees. Lukashenko suggested that the deal, which seems to have become a cornerstone of Trump's Ukraine strategy, may unsettle the Kremlin. "I have not discussed these issues with Russia and Putin," he said. "But, most likely, this could be alarming if Russia feels that these agreements will go beyond the framework of economic relations." Lukashenko repeatedly appealed directly to Trump, who he described as an "incredible person" and a political "bulldozer." The Belarusian leader also encouraged the U.S. to align closer with Russia -- a prospect that has unsettled European and Ukrainian leaders since Trump's return to the White House. Indeed, Trump's decision this week to freeze all U.S. military aid to Ukraine left officials in Kyiv and across Europe reeling. PHOTO: A float portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump squashing Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pictured during a parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, on March 3, 2025. (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images) "The U.S. is the first country in the world, high-tech, rich," Lukashenko said. "They are capable of many things. Russia understands this. And Russia will strive to establish very good relations with the United States of America." "In order for the planet to be in balance, so that there are no incomprehensible wars, like in the Middle East or in Ukraine, so that there are no conflicts, an alliance between Russia and the United States is possible and very important," he added. "An alliance for economic development. It is possible and important. It will last a long time." The Belarusian leader appeared to chastise Trump for his unique political style, warning that the president must deliver on his promises. "There are too many statements that should not have been made at all," Lukashenko said. "You need to cool down after the elections. And you need to take steps in the interests of U.S. voters, first of all, and, secondly, the entire world community." "You don't have much time to prove to American society that you are capable of something," he continued. "If you don't do this, the Republicans will suffer a crushing defeat in the next elections. And it will be justified." Russia 'will never agree' to European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Lukashenko says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns Georgia House of Representatives | Facebook (The Center Square) Objections by Georgia Democrats that a proposed school safety database could harm students failed to stop the House of Representatives from overwhelmingly passing a school safety bill Tuesday afternoon. House Bill 268 would create a Student and School Safety System storing information on credible threats made to the state's schools and students. Democrats voiced their support for portions of the bill but said the database is different from ones that track grades and attendance. "This isn't neutral data," said Rep. Mekyah McQueen, D-Smyrna. "This is subjective labeling, deciding on which children are considered a threat based on a feeling, a perception, a judgment." The bill also requires school systems to share the data. Tips on school threats could be reported anonymously. Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams would be adopted in all schools, and a mental health coordinator would be hired in each school district, according to the proposal. The bill is in response to a shooting at a Barrow County high school last year. Two teachers and two students died. A student and his father are facing charges in connection with the shooting. House Speaker Jon Burns encouraged the chamber to vote "yes" on the bill in a speech from the well. "Our children demand that we address this issue," Burns said. A fiscal note on how the database would be funded is not included with the bill, raising concerns from some Democratic lawmakers. It passed 159-13 and goes to the Senate for approval. The House also passed a bill that provides up to a $300 income tax credit for the purchase of firearm storage devices and safety classes. House Bill 79 could not impact state revenues more than $10 million, according to the bill's fiscal note. Todays House passage of HB79 and HB268 reaffirms our commitment to protecting Georgias children, and to implementing proactive measures that ensure a tragedy like what happened at Apalachee High School never happens in our state again, Burns said. Empty nuclear waste shipping containers in front of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., in 2014. WASHINGTON The shadow of the long-stalled proposed nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, loomed over Supreme Court proceedings Wednesday as the justices weighed a dispute over the federal government's decision to approve a temporary storage site in Texas. The nine justices heard oral arguments on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission correctly allowed a company called Interim Storage Partners to store spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas, for up to 40 years. The demand for the facility is largely because the Yucca Mountain project, which the federal government spent years and billions of dollars developing as a permanent storage site, has never been completed amid local opposition. Despite being effectively killed during the Obama administration, Yucca Mountain is by law still considered to be the only long-term solution for permanent storage. The question of whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the power to authorize a temporary, privately owned storage site that could effectively end up being permanent lingered in the background of the argument. "It's a hole in the ground," Justice Neil Gorsuch said of Yucca Mountain. As a result, any interim storage site is not temporary "in any meaningful sense," he added. Justice Samuel Alito noted that the 40-year license for the Texas site could potentially be renewed, maybe indefinitely. "Where is the incentive to go forward, to do what Congress wanted to have done, which is to establish a permanent facility?" he asked. But the fraught political question of where to store nuclear waste is not the key question before the court. It is possible the court will dispose of the case by finding that Texas and others who challenged the proposal could not bring their claims because they had failed to intervene at an earlier stage, which several justices indicated was their view. If the court concludes the challengers can intervene, it is unclear how it would rule on the scope of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority. The agency maintains that under the Atomic Energy Act, it can order spent nuclear fuel to be transported across the country and held temporarily at a different, privately owned site from where the fuel was used. Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that it has long been understood that the agency theoretically could authorize private temporary storage facilities that are not at the site of decommissioned reactors. Kavanaugh added that Congress, in a later 1982 law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, did not bar the agency from allowing such projects. "Congress in 1982 had a chance to, was well aware of this issue, and did not expressly preclude this, and then thats been the way its been for 50 years," he added. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Congress seemed to favor "incentivizing onsite storage, which appears to be a different thing than prohibiting off-site storage." The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had faulted the NRC for its 2021 decision, prompting the Biden administration to appeal. The Trump administration has now taken over the case and is defending the commission's authority to approve private nuclear waste storage sites. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris, representing the Trump administration, said in court papers that Texas' legal argument, if adopted by the court, "threatens to deprive the commission of authority to license the private storage of spent nuclear fuel in any location." "That would grind the operations of nuclear reactors to a halt. Reactor operations automatically generate spent fuel; those operations cannot proceed if there is nowhere to store that spent fuel," she added. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others, including major landowner Fasken Land and Minerals, challenged the NRC decision in court, with the appeals court ruling both that they had a right to file suit and that the agency did not have the authority to issue the license. Texas officials say the NRC would allow up to 40,000 metric tons of waste to be stored above ground in the Permian Basin, which in addition to being a prominent oil field is also a source of water for surrounding communities. It is for now unclear whether the Trump administration will consider reviving the Yucca Mountain project. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a federal judge's power to order the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to U.S. Agency for International Development contractors but did not require immediate payment. In doing so, the court on a 5-4 vote rejected an emergency application filed by the Justice Department after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a series of rulings demanding the government unfreeze funds that President Donald Trump put on hold with an executive order. The court delayed acting on the case for a week. In the meantime, the contractors have not been paid. Volunteers at a displacement camp unload an aid delivery from USAID on Dec. 17, 2021 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. In an unsigned order, the court said that Ali's deadline for the immediate payment had now passed and the case is already proceeding in the district court, with more rulings to come. As such, Ali "should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill" in order to comply with a temporary retraining order issued Feb. 13, the court said. Ali should consider "the feasibility of any compliance deadlines," the court added. Ali had already scheduled a hearing for Thursday, and after the Supreme Court order, he also asked the government to file a status report on how it will comply with his earlier order. Four conservative justices dissented from the denial of the application, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that Ali did not have "unchecked power to compel the government to pay out ... 2 billion taxpayer dollars." "I am stunned," Alito added. The other dissenters were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The government had said it was unable to comply with Alis order earlier this week that the $2 billion in payments be made by last Wednesday night. Specific projects affected by the payment freeze include the installation of new irrigation and water pumping stations in Ukraine; waterworks upgrades in Lagos, Nigeria; the supply of medical equipment in Vietnam and Nepal; and measures to combat malaria in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia. In the meantime, the administration has worked frantically to review all of USAID's existing spending. It recently concluded that assessment, confirming a decision to cut thousands of programs the bulk of the agencys activity worth up to $60 billion. Those actions are also set to be challenged, but were not at issue at the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay last week, putting the lower court judge's ruling on hold while the Supreme Court decided the next steps. The underlying lawsuit was brought by nonprofits and businesses that receive USAID funding to provide foreign aid services. Unions representing USAID workers filed their own lawsuit. Upon taking office, Trump and his ally Elon Musk have taken aggressive actions to downsize the federal government, with USAID one of the major targets. Last Thursday, USAID staff who lost their jobs were clearing out their desks at the Washington, D.C., office while supporters gathered outside. But in acting so abruptly, the government left contractors out of pocket for work already completed, the contractors alleged. Among other things, they said in their lawsuit that the government had failed to follow the correct course under a law called the Administrative Procedure Act. Ali originally issued his temporary restraining order that blocked part of a Trump executive order requiring a re-evaluation of foreign aid. The judge ruled that the executive order could not be relied upon as a reason to terminate foreign aid funding across the board, although that did not prevent officials from carrying out a case-by-case review. Two weeks later, Ali issued a new order saying the government needed to make immediate payments for certain completed contracts, prompting the administration to appeal. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the Supreme Court in the governments filing that while the government is committed to paying legitimate claims for work that was properly completed, Ali did not have the authority to order that specific payments be made. Plaintiffs have said it is urgent that the payments be made, with contractors being forced to lay people off and those working in foreign countries, including Ukraine, Georgia and Nigeria, potentially fearing for their safety because of unpaid bills. In their filing at the Supreme Court, lawyers for the contractors said one organization laid off 110 workers last week as a result of the nonpayment while another faces legal exposure for failing to pay severance. The lawyers said the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to get involved at such an early stage in the litigation. They also argued that the Trump administration has for almost two weeks openly flouted the temporary restraining order issued by Ali. Nikita Casap, 17, was arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28. A Wisconsin teenager who never missed school suddenly stopped showing up leading police to discover his mom and stepdad murdered at home, and the boy to be arrested while driving in another state with a gun, according to authorities. Nikita Casaps two-week absence from Waukesha West High School as well as weird or suspicious text messages sent from his stepdads phone prompted a police welfare check at the familys Waukesha home on Feb. 28. There, cops found the 17-year-olds mom, identified by WISN as Tatiana Casap, buried under clothes with a bullet wound in her shoulder and her face blackened from decomposition with dried blood on the floor around her, according to a criminal complaint. Nikita Casap (left) has not yet been charged in connection with the deaths of Tatiana Casap and David Mayer. Her husband, identified by relatives as Donald Mayer, was also found under clothing with an obvious wound to the back of [his] head, according to a criminal complaint. Nikita was arrested the same day during a traffic stop in Wakeeney, Kansas some 850 miles away while driving his stepdads VW Atlas with the family dog inside, the complaint said. Officers observed in plain view a gun on the passenger side floorboard that was later determined to be a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum firearm, the complaint said, matching a gun his stepdad recently bought. Further, officers located [the dead parents} drivers licenses, unused ammunition for the .357 Magnum and spent shell casings. The teen who does not have a license to drive was charged with one count of theft and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owners consent. He faces a maximum prison sentence of six years if convicted. Nikita Casap was arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas, allegedly with a gun in the car. WISN-TV The married couple were found dead in their Waukesha, Wisconsin home on Feb. 28. WISN-TV He has not been charged in connection with his parents deaths, which remains an ongoing and active investigation, police said. The alarm was raised in part because the teen had had a perfect attendance before the sudden unexcused absences and nobody was able to get in touch with his family to find out why that suddenly and so drastically changed. The stepfathers work manager told cops they had been texting between Feb. 13 and Feb. 25 but got messages saying he was sick and not able to speak on the phone. Investigators also learned that a vacation hold had been put on mail at the home. Debris piles on vehicles in Lewisville, Texas, on Tuesday after a storm with powerful winds swept through the area - Firehouse Movers Inc. A powerful storm is moving across the country and spawning multiple fires and severe thunderstorms with hurricane-force wind gusts and tornadoes that are knocking out power and causing damage Tuesday. At least two people have been reported dead due to storm-related incidents. Stretching from border to border, the storm in the central US is strengthening as it goes and putting tens of millions of people at risk of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and fire weather on its warm, southern side, and blizzard conditions on its cold side in the Plains and Midwest. Heres the latest: Extreme fire risk: A level 3 of 3 extremely critical fire weather risk is in effect Tuesday for a large portion of Texas including Austin and San Antonio and part of southeastern New Mexico, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Powerful winds and very dry soil in the area are primed for very rapid wildfire spread/extreme fire behavior, the SPC warned. Fire departments were battling multiple house fires in far southern San Antonio Tuesday afternoon, as a wind-driven brush fire broke out and forced evacuations. At least 15 fires have been reported in the jurisdiction of the National Weather Service for Austin and San Antonio, which covers 33 counties, according to meteorologist Monte Oaks. 2 deaths and widespread power outages: Severe thunderstorms with intense damaging wind gusts are roaring across the South. At least two people died in Madison County, Mississippi, due to storm related-incidents, including one person who was electrocuted and another who died from a tree falling on a car, Coroner Alex Breeland told CNN. Wind gusts in excess of 70 mph have occurred in multiple states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Gusts up to 78 mph rocked the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex around sunrise and an 87 mph gust blew through southern Oklahoma. Over 458,000 homes and business were without power in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi by Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Winds across southern and western Texas will ease significantly Tuesday night, potentially allowing fire fighters to get a better handle on the situation. Blizzard conditions possible: Blizzard warnings were posted Tuesday in parts of five states and were active in Nebraska. Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening, the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska, warned. Additional blizzard warnings will go into effect Tuesday evening from the Kansas City, Missouri, area to just south of Minneapolis. Mardi Gras threatened: In New Orleans, officials rushed to reschedule Mardi Gras day events and shorten parade routes to avoid the potentially destructive weather. Winds were gusting to 40 mph in the city by late Tuesday morning and a high wind warning is in effect until 9 p.m. local time. The city is also under a level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms through the evening. Dust storm: A massive dust storm swept over swaths of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico on Monday, bringing violent winds and cloaking roadways in near-zero visibility. Officially called a haboob, the fast-moving wall of dust and debris prompted New Mexico officials to close parts of multiple interstates after the sudden wall of dust appeared to force some vehicles off the road. Dust was still blowing across the region Tuesday and could cause similar troubles, especially in Texas, as strong winds continue. Dallas skies turned hazy Tuesday afternoon after a dust storm hit the region. - Earthcam Significant damage in Texas and Oklahoma Severe thunderstorms caused significant damage to buildings and created hazardous conditions Tuesday morning across several cities in Texas including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area and Oklahoma. The Benjamin Moore paint plant in Lewisville, Texas, was damaged in the early hours this morning, prior to any of our employees being on the property, its spokesperson Kimberly Flores told CNN. None of our employees were injured and we are currently assessing the damage and implications to our operating procedure. Strong winds also brought down trees and power lines around 5:30 a.m., leaving debris strewn across roadways and neighborhoods, according to the citys office of emergency management. Images shared by local businesses showed damaged vehicles and large amounts of debris near commercial properties, but police told CNN there have been no reports of injuries in Lewisville thus far. In nearby Irving, Texas, police confirmed significant storm damage, including downed power lines. The Atascosa County Sheriffs Office in Jourdanton, Texas urged people to avoid an area about 30 miles south of San Antonio: Fire departments from around the county, as well as ACSO Deputies and DPS Troopers, have responded to multiple house fires in the area of Old Pleasanton Road and Big Leaf Road that are being driven by high winds. The Duke fire, burning at least 50 acres near San Antonio, started around 1 p.m. and consumed 37 structures, including homes, said Bexar County Fire Chief Ralph Rodriguez during a news conference. The fire is nearly fully contained as about 100 firefighters battle the blaze, Rodriguez said, but hotspots remain. Pleasanton Fire Department Chief Brad Chambers said at least 17 structures in the unincorporated Atascosa County were destroyed by fire, including 9 homes. On South Padre Island, the Air and Marine Operations (AMO) said one of its aerostats broke free from its tether after experiencing a severe wind event. Due to damage occurred from the weather event, contact with the aerostat was lost shortly after breaking free, the AMO statement said. The agency said its working with state and local partners and the US Coast Guard to locate the system. An EF1 tornado tore through a community in Ada, Oklahoma, Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Images on social media showed toppled structures and widespread destruction. A mobile home was destroyed and another was damaged, according to CNN affiliate KOCO. In Corpus Christi, a wildfire outside the National Weather Service office forced an evacuation around 4 p.m. as wind-gusts were reported up to 6 mph, the agency said on X. The city government urged residents to stay at home given the significant damage, including downed power lines, fallen trees and gas leaks. CNN affiliate KFOR reported the Union Valley Fire Department was destroyed, along with the nearby Salvation Army building. Byng Public Schools near Ada canceled classes Tuesday due to multiple bus routes that cannot run due to damage and debris on roads and power outages, according to an update on Facebook. A person photographs a downed power line following an early morning storm in Irving, Texas, Tuesday. - Julio Cortez/AP Utility crews are working around the clock to restore power outages across both states, but officials warn restoration efforts may take time due to the extent of the damage caused by the fast-moving storm system. The storms have also disrupted air travel: More than 500 flights within, into or out of the US were canceled and more than 2,000 were delayed by the afternoon, according to Flight Aware. Around a third of all delayed flights were either to or from Dallas-area airports. Strong winds gusting to 56 mph at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport also led the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop for departures there Tuesday afternoon. Hazardous weather wont let up soon Strong tornadoes, powerful winds, hail and heavy rainfall are all possible in the Lower Mississippi River Valley through the evening. These storms will last into the night as they track over the Southeast, with tornadoes still possible after dark. Nighttime tornadoes are nearly twice as likely to be deadly as those occurring during the day, a 2022 study found. The worst of the tornadoes are expected to hit the southeast and the National Weather Service continues to provide updates on where warnings are in effect. Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Arkansas, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle will likely experience the worst severe weather Tuesday. Its in this area that strong tornadoes rated EF2 or higher wind gusts over 74 mph and large hail are possible. Other parts of the Mississippi Valley and Southeast, including Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, will see a slightly less intense threat for severe storms, but tornadoes, gusty winds and hail are possible in any storm Tuesday. The wide-reaching storm will hit the East Coast Wednesday. More than 29 million people from Florida to Pennsylvania including Washington, DC, and Baltimore are under a level 2 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms, according to the SPC. Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are possible within these storms. About 8 million people in the Carolinas and southern Virginia are under a level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms. Storms in this area could unleash damaging wind gusts in excess of 75 mph and tornadoes. Heavy rain and strong winds will impact much of the Northeast while the storm creates blizzard conditions in parts of the Midwest. Wind gusts of 40 mph or more could occur over much of the eastern half of the US throughout the day, even outside of any wet or wintry weather. These winds could wreak havoc on air travel, especially with hubs in Chicago and the New York City area impacted. More than a dozen states could also face power outages. Much of the storms precipitation will come to an end Thursday, but gusty winds will persist in its wake. CNNs Joe Sutton, Gene Norman, Sara Smart, Dawn Sawyer and Jeremy Grisham contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference on imposed U.S. tariffs in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP) TORONTO (AP) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unwilling to lift Canadas retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump leaves any U.S. tariffs on Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official confirmed Trudeau's stance on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The official said Trump and Trudeau spoke by phone around midday. Other Canadian officials publicly echoed Trudeau's position. Were not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed, Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada's most populous province, agreed. Zero tariffs or nothing. This attack was not started by our country. This was started by President Trump. He decided to declare an economic war against our country and our province, and were going to hold strong, Ford said. Trump launched a new trade war Tuesday by imposing tariffs against Washingtons three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin. Trump put 25% taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. A day after the new tariffs took effect, Trump said he would grant a one-month exemption for U.S. automakers. The announcement came after Trump spoke Wednesday with leaders of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler and Jeep. His press secretary said Trump told the chief executives to move auto production to the U.S. to avoid tariffs. A number of industries have reached out to us to ask us for exemptions to the tariffs, Vice President JD Vance said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said exceptions might be considered a statement that reflected a softening of the American position after the import taxes hurt the stock market and worried consumers. Ford took note of the anxiety, saying the American people "woke up two days ago when the market was crashing." Americans "are voicing their opinion. The CEOs, the market tanked. Thats what really caught his (Trump's) attention. Some Canadian provinces banned the sale of American booze, including Manitoba, whose leader, Wab Kinew, mocked Trump by signing a beautiful order that officially removes all U.S. liquor from stores in his province. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said they are not interested in going through this psychodrama every 30 days so. Theres too much unpredictability and chaos coming of the White House right now, Joly said. He wants to weaken us and once he has weakened us possibly try to annex Canada. He has said this in the past. In an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg Television, Lutnick said: There are going to be tariffs. Lets be clear. But he also said the president was considering offering relief to some sections of the market until April 2. On April 2, Trump plans to announce what he calls reciprocal tariffs to match the tariffs, taxes and subsidies from other countries. That could dramatically increase the tariff rates charged globally while maintaining the risk of broader tariffs. If the tariffs are not removed, Ford told the AP, the American and Canadian auto industries will last approximately 10 days before they start shutting down assembly lines in the U.S. and Ontario. People are going to lose their jobs, Ford said. Lutnick said he would talk Wednesday with Trump about the possible options regarding Canada and Mexico, saying that both countries are working to address the U.S. presidents concerns about drug trafficking. Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, noted that Trudeau called the tariffs very dumb at a news conference Tuesday and said Trudeaus tough talk resonated well with Canadians. Canada had a choice: to go along with Lutnicks proposal or to reject it. The government opted for the latter, but that may be a negotiating ploy. It is playing well with Canadians. They are very angry with Trump, Wiseman said. Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to Trump who said he watched Trudeaus news conference, told CNN on Wednesday that it would be useful if the prime minister toned stuff down. But Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trudeau's comments were likely intended to project strength. Trump thrives on intimidation, and any sign of weakness on the part of Canada might help pave the way for more economic bullying. So thats probably why the prime minister is showing resolve, at least in public," Beland said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he spoke with the premiers of Manitoba and Ontario, calling it an "unnecessary and costly trade war." While the President may not value the partnerships that contribute billions of dollars to our economy, Minnesota does, Walz posted on social media. President Donald Trump, pictured with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, believes talks between the U.S. and Hamas are part of a "good-faith effort to do whats right for the American people," the White House press secretary said. President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to have members of Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza killed if hostages are not immediately released. "'Shalom Hamas' means Hello and Goodbye You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," Trump wrote on Truth Social. I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance, he added. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER! The White House said in a statement that Trump met Wednesday with eight hostages released from Gaza: Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani. Follow live politics coverage here The administration is engaging in direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday. Trump believes the dialogue is part of a "good-faith effort to do whats right for the American people," Leavitt said at a White House news briefing. "There are American lives at stake," she added, saying Israel had been consulted. The six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended Saturday with no extension of peace negotiations in sight. It is the first time the United States has held direct talks with the group, which it has designated a terrorist organization. Axios first reported the talks between the United States and Hamas. Asked whether the scope of the talks included Trump's proposal to take over Gaza, Leavitt said she would not go into details and referred questions to the State Department. Initially, the idea for a second phase of a ceasefire included Hamas releasing more hostages in return for Israel's withdrawing from the Palestinian territory, with the aim of ending the war. But with no talks continuing, Israel reinstated a halt in the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza after the initial phase of the ceasefire ended. Hamas then accused Israel of violating their agreement by evading the commitment to end the war and withdraw completely from Gaza. Israel recently approved a plan from the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that would have continued the first stage of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover instead of proceeding to the second phase of peace talks. Witkoff's plan called for the release of half of the remaining hostages, including the bodies of those who have died, on the first day and the remaining hostages once a permanent ceasefire deal is reached, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. But Hamas rejected the proposal, saying it didn't honor the original, multiphased ceasefire agreement. "Unfortunately, these positions by the United States strengthened the position of the Zionist right within the government and pushed for taking punitive steps, including closing the crossings in this manner and using the starvation policy against the people of the Gaza Strip," the groups spokesman, Hazem Qassem, said in a statement Sunday. White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement Sunday that Israel has "negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists." Hughes added that the United States will support Israel's decision on next steps "given Hamas has indicated its no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire." On Monday, Netanyahu warned Hamas in remarks before the Knesset, Israel's legislature, that if the group didn't release more hostages, "there will be consequences beyond your imagination. We are preparing for the next stages of the campaign not everything is visible, and thats a good thing." The Biden administration announced initial ceasefire in January just days before Trump's inauguration. It required a pause of Israel's military operations in Gaza and the release of both living and dead hostages held there in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump launched a full court press this week to get Congress to provide his administration with the resources it needs to carry out mass deportations. The administration is seeking money for detention beds and repatriation flights as it ramps up an effort to remove migrants who are in the country without legal permission. The president met with House Freedom Caucus members about his budget request on Wednesday. He urged Congress to send him money for accelerating removals "without delay" on Tuesday evening and told Republican leaders on Capitol Hill: "Lets get it to me. Ill sign it so fast you wont even believe it." President Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, as Vice President JD Vance listens in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, on March 4, 2025. Trump made immigration the centerpiece of his joint address to Congress and sent Vice President JD Vance to the U.S. southern border on Wednesday to amplify his message. "Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded," Trump said Tuesday evening. The administration has not said how much money it needs to carry out Trump's directives. But part of the money would go toward family residential centers. Trump officials have said they want to conduct DNA testing to ensure children brought to the country by adults are blood relatives. The administration has also indicated it intends to deport families together. His administration has said it is targeting dangerous criminals who are in the country illegally but often are found residing with migrants who are not a priority for removal and are then also taken into custody. The Biden administration responded to higher encounters by pushing a bipartisan bill that would have provided additional resources to immigration agencies and given the president the power to close the border. Trump said Tuesday that new legislation was not needed. "It turned out that all we really needed was a new president," he said. President Joe Biden largely suspended asylum at the border in June 2024, and Trump continued to restrict the asylum application process when he took office. Trump officials have argued more money is needed to enforce their priorities. We need money for more beds, border czar Tom Homan said at the White House this week. We need money for more flights. We need money to keep concentrating on the worst of the worst. ICE is already in the hole, and we need Congress to step up and give us the funding. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in February that the administration was seeking $175 billion. The nonpartisan American Immigration Council estimates it would cost at least $88 billion per year to deport 1 million people. After the House Freedom Caucus meeting, Texas Rep. Chip Roy told USA TODAY conservative lawmakers discussed the issue with Trump. "We need to make sure they've got the resources necessary for ICE, for beds, to be able to deliver and get on with removals and repatriations while they're carrying out the president's agenda there," Roy said. But under the current plan, that money would not be appropriated until the next fiscal year, the Republican pointed out. Lawmakers are discussing an extension of government funding at the current levels to meet a March 14 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. In his address, Trump blasted the Biden administration for increased encounters and said that "virtually all of" the migrants who were taken into custody during his predecessor's term were released into the U.S. "They heard my words and they chose not to come. Much easier that way," Trump said. Illegal border crossings often fall dramatically when a new administration arrives, as migrants take a wait-and-see approach before deciding to try their luck at the border. For those who do come, Border Patrol agents and CBP officers take fingerprints and examine each migrants available record before releasing them with a notice to appear in immigration court.Trumps tough message, along with an ongoing crackdown by Mexican authorities along migration routes, helped push unlawful border crossings to a historic low in February. Trump said Saturday on his social media site that encounters during his "first full month in office" - running from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 - illegal border crossings fell to 8,300. There is no direct comparison, but the number would be far below the roughly 190,000 migrant encounters in February 2024. U.S. Customs and Border Protection hasn't posted official encounters for February yet. Vance heads to the US-Mexico border Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vance flew to Texas on Wednesday to continue Trump's immigration push. They toured the border, received a briefing and met with government and law enforcement officials in Eagle Pass. Eagle Pass was a symbolic site of the spat between Texas and the Biden administration, where Gov. Greg Abbott anchored his Operation Lone Star and state authorities took control of a piece of the border at the city's Shelby Park along the Rio Grande. Abbott joined Trump officials on Wednesday. In a news conference at the end of their visit, Vance said the administration wants migrants who are not in the U.S. lawfully to return to their home countries of their own accord and apply for entry through the proper channels. "We don't want to have to go around and arrest every person, but we will enforce the American peoples' immigration laws," Vance said. Contributing: Zac Anderson This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump launches full court press for immigration funding President Donald Trump delivers his first address to Congress of his seconf administration. White House (The Center Square) President Donald Trump touted a list of border security measures hes implemented in his first month in office before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded, he said. In February, illegal border crossings were the lowest in recorded U.S. history, The Center Square reported. This was after Trump issued multiple executive orders to secure U.S. borders, including declaring an invasion, a national emergency at both the southwest and northern borders, and directed the U.S. military to assist with apprehensions and deportations, The Center Square reported. Twenty-one million people poured into the United States under the Biden administration, Trump said. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world. They illegally entered the U.S. because of Joe Biden's insane and very dangerous open border policies. They are now totally embedded in our country, but we are getting them out and getting them out fast. In Trumps first month in office, more than 20,000 illegal foreign nationals were arrested, a 627% increase in monthly arrests compared to 33,000 at large arrests in all of last year, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. Overall, total removals of illegal foreign nationals exceeds 50,000, including some of the most violent offenders, according to DHS. Trump cited examples of violent criminal illegal border crossers killing Americans, including University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, and 12-year-old Houstonian, Jocelyn Nungaray, whose angel mothers were in attendance. Trump also countered a narrative of the previous administration that we needed new legislation to secure the border. It turned out that all we really needed was a new president, he said. The bill Democrats touted would have codified existing Biden administration policies, worsening the border crisis, The Center Square reported. Trump also criticized the Biden administration for opening the U.S. borders by flying illegal foreign nationals into the country to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, which buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobody's ever seen before. Beautiful towns destroyed. By implementing a mass deportation effort, he said his administration was undergoing the great liberation of America. Trump also highlighted his decision to designate drug cartels and violent transnational criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, saying, They are now officially in the same category as ISIS. Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration but now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they're too dangerous, put in jails standing trial in this country. Because we don't want them to come back, ever. He also praised former Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz, who was fired upon by cartel members in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, saying, he leapt into action, returning fire and providing crucial seconds for his fellow agent to seek safe safety. The U.S.-Mexico border, which was dominated by Mexican cartels under the Biden administration, pose a grave threat to our national security and are waging war in America, he said. It's time for America to wage war on the cartels, which we are doing. Trump also highlighted Mexican authorities transferring 29 cartel leaders to the U.S. That has never happened before, he said. However, Mexican and Canadian officials can do much more, he said, to stop fentanyl and drugs from pouring into the U.S., which is why he was holding steadfast on imposing tariffs. Trump said he submitted a detailed border security funding request to Congress. It lays out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history, he said, calling on Congress to pass it so he can sign it into law. WASHINGTON Administration officials said Wednesday the U.S. is withholding critical wartime intelligence from Ukraine as a way to force President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace talks with Russia on President Donald Trumps terms. Outraged Democratic lawmakers said the tactic is yet another overly conciliatory Trump administration approach to Russia that could get Ukrainian warfighters and civilians killed as Russian President Vladimir Putin presses his military attack against his much smaller neighbor. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed the U.S. decision in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, saying intelligence sharing with Kyiv had been stopped temporarily along with U.S. military assistance as a way to pressure Ukraine to more fully cooperate with the Trump administrations goal of achieving an immediate end to the grinding three-year war. Trump had a real question about whether President Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said, 'Lets pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that,' Ratcliffe told Fox Business Maria Bartiromo. More: Trump pauses aid to Ukraine after dramatic Oval Office clash with Zelenskyy But Ratcliffe also praised Zelenskyy, saying the embattled Ukrainian president did the right thing by putting out a conciliatory statement just days after a contentious televised confrontation in the Oval Office with Trump and Vice President JD Vance last Friday prompted a U.S. pullback of assistance. President Zelenskyy put out a statement that said, I am ready for peace and I want President Donald Trumps leadership to bring about that peace, Ratcliffe said. And so, I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, Ratcliffe said. And I think well work shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as we have, to push back on the aggression thats there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward. The CIA said it would have no further comment in response to USA TODAY's requests for details about what kind of intelligence was being withheld, and when and whether it might be resumed. Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on another Fox News program that Trump would consider restoring assistance to Kyiv if Ukraine agrees to scheduled peace talks and takes unspecified confidence-building measures. For years, U.S. intelligence has proven critical to Ukraines efforts to defend itself from an onslaught of Russian ground and air attacks, including targeting data used to allow it to strike Russian military targets. President Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, as Vice President JD Vance listens in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, on March 4, 2025. In his address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump said he had received a letter from Zelenskyy earlier in the day saying, Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Trump also quoted Zelenskyy as saying Ukraine was ready to sign a deal at any time in which Kyiv would give the U.S. a share of its critical mineral deposits, which Trump has demanded to repay the costs of U.S. military aid. The president did not provide details in his speech. 'Cutting off intelligence support ... will cost lives' The withholding of intelligence drew swift condemnation from the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees that oversee the CIA and the 17 other U.S. intelligence agencies. Allied intelligence support has been crucial to enable Ukraine to defend itself from the first days of the conflict in February 2022, to unmask Russian invasion plans and intentions, and to save countless innocent lives, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. Let me be clear: Cutting off intelligence support to our Ukrainian partners will cost lives. Warner described the negotiating tactic as part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to give away American power to Russia from voting at the UN with Russia and North Korea and against all of our allies, to directly negotiating with Russia at the highest levels while excluding Ukraine, to refusing to condemn Vladimir Putins dictatorship while unjustly calling the democratically elected Ukrainian president a dictator and ejecting him from the White House. And, all the while, Warner said, Putin has not let up on his illegal assault against Ukraine. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called for an immediate end to any pause in intelligence sharing. As Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, I have observed how critical our intelligence relationship with our Ukrainian partners has been in holding the line against Russias relentless and brutal offensive, Himes said in a statement. It has saved the lives of Ukrainian servicemembers and civilians alike. Himes added that the separate pause on providing military supplies, equipment, and weapons to Ukraine is unconscionable on its own, but the idea that we will now withhold life-saving intelligence from Ukrainians who are fighting and dying is unforgivable. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump withholds US intelligence from Ukraine, angers Democrats Heavy smog in Mumbai, India, in 2023. HONG KONG U.S. embassies and consulates have stopped monitoring air quality abroad, ending a program that had provided essential public health data for more than a decade. The State Department said its collection of air pollution data at more than 60 U.S. embassies and consulates around the world had been suspended as of Tuesday due to budget constraints. The current budget climate requires us to make difficult cuts, a spokesperson said. Unfortunately, we cannot continue to publish this data. The announcement follows the Trump administrations mass layoffs of federal workers offering environment-related services last week. The air quality data had been published on AirNow, a website run by the Environmental Protection Agency, and ZephAir, a mobile app managed by the State Department. The website was offline as of Wednesday, while data is no longer available on the app for numerous cities including Chinas Beijing, Indias Mumbai and Thailands Bangkok, all of which were among the worlds most polluted cities on Wednesday according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality-monitoring company. Outdoor air pollution caused an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019, according to the World Health Organization, most of them in low- and middle-income countries where residents lack access to reliable air quality data. A 2022 study found that air-quality monitoring by U.S. embassies significantly lowered pollutant levels in host cities and raised local awareness of environmental issues. The program has been incredibly important for regions of the world without access to high-quality, timely and credible monitoring, said Andrea La Nauze, co-author of the study and an associate professor who specializes in environmental economics at Deakin University in Australia. The data led to improvements in local air quality, resulting in an average of 303 fewer premature deaths in each city and generating $127 million per year in savings associated with lower mortality, she said in an email. The study noted ancillary evidence that the monitoring program and the resulting improvements in air quality reduced costs for the State Department, which provides diplomats and other overseas employees with hazard pay if they are working in highly polluted places. Monitoring began in 2008 with a pilot program at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where a device installed on its rooftop recorded levels of PM2.5, an air pollutant associated with premature mortality and heart attacks. The readings were then shared in real time online. The program made international headlines in 2010 when its PM2.5 reading for Beijing surged past 500, about 20 times the upper limit recommended by the World Health Organization, in what the embassy labeled crazy bad pollution. The U.S. global air quality monitoring program provided an independent data source to help us understand the air pollution situation in Beijing during the time period, said Steve Hung-Lam Yim, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Health at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Though the program initially drew the ire of the Chinese government, the U.S. embassys hourly release of data compelled China to set up its own PM2.5 monitoring system in its capital in 2011. Ive never seen an initiative of the U.S. government have such an immediate, dramatic impact in a country, Gary Locke, the U.S. ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, was quoted as saying in 2013. China has since acknowledged that Beijing was experiencing persistent, large-scale, high-concentration severe air pollution. In 2014, Chinese authorities announced that the country would launch a war against pollution. Over the following years, the city of Beijing promoted alternatives to smog-producing coal and shut down more than 2,600 manufacturing companies associated with pollution, among other measures. A U.N. report in 2019 described Beijings progress as outstanding, praising its air pollution control policies as a model. A senior Chinese environmental official said last month that China aimed to effectively eliminate severe air pollution by the end of this year, according to Xinhua, Chinas state-run news agency. The U.S. monitoring program also served as an independent reference to assess the reliability of air quality data collected by various nations, Yim said. Having valid air quality data, he said, is important for studies examining the connection between air quality and health. Even [when] we have health data, we cannot fully understand the associations between various diseases and air pollutants if air quality data is missing, he said. Given the foreseeable changing climate, air pollution may get worse, he added. The United States and Israel have rejected a Gaza Strip reconstruction plan that sees the devastated enclave being fully rebuilt without displacing Palestinians, as envisioned under President Donald Trumps proposal to transform the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East." Under the $53 billion reconstruction plan proposed by Egypt at an emergency summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Gaza, which has been largely destroyed in Israel's nearly year-and-a-half military offensive in the enclave, would be rebuilt over the span of under six years. Artificial intelligence-labelled images, released as part of a version of the plan agreed at a summit that included representatives from across the 22-member Arab League, show modern housing developments and busy city streets, with the document outlining plans for tourist destinations, including resorts. The proposal, which also includes plans for a commercial harbor and an airport, suggests it be funded by a variety of international sources, including the United Nations and international financial organizations, as well as foreign and private sector investments. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the proposal would enable the reconstruction of Gaza while ensuring Palestinians are able to "stay on their land without displacement." Graphic illustrations detail the amount of debris in Gaza's major settlements. The White House swiftly dismissed the plan, with National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes saying late Tuesday that the proposal did not "address the reality that Gaza is current uninhabitable." He said Trump stood by his "vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas," according to Reuters. According to local officials, more than 48,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli shelling and bombing. Most of the population has also been displaced and more than half of the infrastructure destroyed, including hospitals and schools, according to estimate from the United Nations. Trump's proposal for the U.S. to "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East" sparked outrage across the region and around the world last month, with some analysts warning that his plan to see Palestinians at least temporarily and possibly permanently displaced was tantamount to ethnic cleansing. The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry echoed Trump's proposal Tuesday, saying it provided an "opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will." "This should be encouraged," it added. While Israeli officials have repeatedly suggested Trump's plan would give Palestinians in Gaza the ability to leave the enclave freely something they have not been able to do under Israel and Egypt's nearly two-decade-long blockade on the territory it has not expanded on whether they would just as easily be able to regain access to the territory. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also condemned the Egyptian proposal's plan for a committee of independent Palestinian technocrats to govern Gaza in preparation for the eventual return of the Palestinian Authority, accusing the Fatah-controlled government body of "corruption" and "support for terrorism." Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas commended the reconstruction plan in a statement, also thanking Trump for his efforts surrounding the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Hamas, which has run the enclave for almost two decades and is a bitter rival of the Palestinian Authority, welcomed the proposal embraced by Arab nations in a statement Tuesday. An AI-generated image resembling a street scene in a newly rebuilt Gaza, included in the report. In Gaza, Palestinians balanced hope with doubt that the plan agreed by Arab nations would be enacted. "We want this suffering to end," Usen Abdul Jawad told NBC News' crew on the ground in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. "We want the rebuilding of Gaza again. Ebrahim Al Khalili, 27, warned that the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where the Muslim majority was marking the month of Ramadan, was becoming "much more dire" after Israel halted the flow of aid and goods. Israel also warned of "further consequences" after Hamas refused to accept its proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Israel launched its offensive following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage, per Israeli tallies, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. The first phase of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas in January expired Saturday, with negotiations for the second of three phases stalled for weeks. "Palestinians in Gaza have suffered beyond measures, and the risk of even greater devastation looms," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office on February 28. - Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Security guarantees. Its the phrase Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used countless times during an explosive clash with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance at the White House last week and since. How can Ukraine be assured that Russian President Vladimir Putin would abide by any ceasefire deal and not resume fighting in a year or two, Zelensky asks. And how can Ukraine be protected from the unyielding ambitions of its more powerful neighbor? Trump has been openly dismissive of Zelenskys preoccupation with such guarantees. Security is so easy, thats about 2% of the problem, he said during Fridays Oval Office showdown. Trumps answers to the wider issue of Ukrainian security have been vague, beyond claiming the Europeans will handle it and that therell be no need for a US backstop. It should not be that hard a deal to make, Trump said Monday, hours before he announced a pause in shipments of US military aid to Ukraine. He also suggested that the presence of American companies exploiting Ukraines rare-earths and other minerals would be enough to keep Russia at bay. I dont think anybodys going to play around if were there with a lot of workers, he said. There were plenty of US companies operating in Ukraine on the day before Russias full-scale invasion of 2022. A mining pit in the Kirovohrad region, Zavallya, Ukraine, on February 28. - Olena Koloda/Bloomberg/Getty Images US Secretary of State Marco Rubio might have a more realistic take. In a Fox News interview last week, he said that what Ukraine really needs is a deterrent to make it costly for anyone to come after them again in the future. He added that this doesnt have to just be America. I mean, the Europeans can be involved in that. Other US officials have said the US wont be part of that deterrence. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said European troops in Ukraine would not enjoy protection under NATOs principle of collective security. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has said the matter of security guarantees is squarely going to be with the Europeans. A Ukrainian DMZ? European leaders met in London on Sunday to begin to search for some answers for Ukraine as well as longer-term solutions to the unravelling of transatlantic relations. This is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, calling for a coalition of the willing. Europe knows one thing: the deal, if it happens, is not simply about carving up Ukraine or securing a quick ceasefire it is about a lasting and secure peace agreement, about existential security issues for all of Europe, Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to Washington, wrote in Foreign Affairs. But Claudia Major and Aldo Kleemann at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs said in a recently published paper that the Europeans lack both the necessary military capabilities and the political will and unity to shoulder the burden. French President Emmanuel Macron optimistically suggested negotiations would take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a (troop) deployment. The deployment would have to be agreed with Russia. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron hold a meeting during a summit at Lancaster House in central London on March 2. - Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images Macron acknowledged, however, that a truce along the 1,000-kilometer (6,200 mile) front line would be very difficult to enforce. Peacekeepers would have to operate in a landscape of forests, fields and the wreckage of industrial towns, surrounded on three sides in some areas, with poor or non-existent roads. The UK and France have expressed a willingness to be part of a post-conflict force to maintain the peace. Australia has also said that it is open to discussing a role. But the response of other Europeans has been underwhelming. Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it will require an effort that many are not yet really sufficiently prepared for. Other allies evaded questions about their readiness to join a peacekeeping mandate. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that deploying Italian troops has never been on the table. Starmer says other countries are ready to contribute but has not identified them. But the UK prime minister also said that the effort must have strong US backing, which is far from assured. Estimates for the size of this proposed force vary as wildly as ideas for its mission and powers. Is it a small tripwire force that deters because it is backed by a more robust response to any violation? Is it a fully equipped mission able to defend itself? A UN force is unlikely because Russia, as a concerned state and permanent member of the UN Security Council, would have to agree to a deployment, Major and Kleemann wrote in a paper, yet to be published and shared with CNN. But they warn that a bluff and pray approach that deploys too few troops and relies essentially on the hope that Russia will not test it would be irresponsible. Zelensky pressed the same point in London over the weekend, insisting on the need for very specific security guarantees and with very specific providers of these (guarantees) that would make 100% impossible any kind of opportunity for Russia to come with another aggression. A full-fledged peacekeeping force would need to be at least 100,000-strong, an overwhelming commitment for European armies alone, especially when necessary rotations are included. By comparison, the peacekeeping mission that began in Kosovo in 1999 had 48,000 soldiers. Ukraine is more than 50 times the size of Kosovo. Analysts also say that such a force would require a substantial demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the combatants and a constant liaison with both sides to handle violations. There would need to be a Line of Control and the withdrawal of heavy weapons to a minimum distance of 40 kilometers (around 25 miles), they say. And neither side could fly drones in the DMZ. There is also the issue of drones. Intervening in a conflict where drones and missiles have changed the nature of warfare, the peacekeeping force would require electronic warfare, counter-drone and counter-intelligence capabilities, Mick Ryan, the author of the blog Futura Doctrina, said. Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops on March 3. - Inna Varenytsia/Reuters There are countless escalation risks, too. If Russian forces were to drop long-range shells on an outpost of French or British soldiers, would that put NATO states at war with Russia? That might even be tempting for the Kremlin. If it targeted European troops near Ukraines front lines, NATOs European members might find themselves at war with Russia without US support. Meanwhile, a lightly policed ceasefire is unlikely to cut it. At best, a highly unstable situation would obtain, where a renewal of hostilities would be easily possible or even likely, Marc Weller, a professor of international law at the Cambridge Initiative for Peace Settlements, said. The best-case scenario Matthew Schmidt, professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven, told CNN that realistic security guarantees involve three components: a substantial international presence on the ground, US backing, and a modernized and enlarged Ukrainian army. Up to 100,000 peacekeepers, alongside a Ukrainian land force of some 200,000 soldiers, might suffice as a deterrent, he said. That would amount to roughly one-third of the Russian force deployed in or around Ukraine. Starmer insisted that the effort must have strong US backing. Even a well-equipped peacekeeping force would require US airlift capabilities, satellite coverage and missile defenses to deter fresh Russian offensives, all assets the Europeans lack. Zelensky asserts that the best security guarantee is a strong Ukrainian army and a strong Ukrainian army that has enough numbers. Ukrainian capabilities would also have to include longer-range Western missiles that would allow Ukraine to go after Russian supply lines and logistics hubs, as well as far more potent air power, in the event hostilities resume. But unless the Kremlin is forced to negotiate, this is all a pipedream. The Russian Foreign Ministry has already said that the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, whether under the Alliance banner or not, would be categorically unacceptable. Official Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted the Foreign Intelligence Service on Tuesday as saying that a force of 100,000 peacekeepers would amount to the de facto occupation of Ukraine. Russia has made maximalist demands and will prove very difficult to budge, Ischinger wrote. It is an illusion to believe that a durable peace with Russia will break out simply by enshrining the line of contact in eastern Ukraine. Russias upper hand? By Putins theory of war, Russia is winning. Its making incremental gains that may be accelerated if Ukraine loses critical US military hardware. The Institute for the Study of War said Putins priorities are to prevent Ukraine from acquiring and sustaining the manpower and materiel needed to stop gradual but continued Russian advances. With Trump in the White House, the Kremlin sees Zelensky as isolated, and the Europeans as left to fend for themselves. Russia has no incentive to compromise on its demands, which include possession of all four eastern regions of Ukraine that have been illegally annexed (even if Russia doesnt occupy all of them); strict limits on the size and capabilities of the Ukrainian military; and Ukrainian neutrality. Ukraine should adopt a neutral, nonaligned status, be nuclear-free, and undergo demilitarization and denazification, Putin told an audience last summer. By Moscows logic, Zelensky must go, because Russia cannot sign a deal with an illegitimate leader. When push comes to shove, would the Trump administration turn the screws on the Kremlin? Trump and other senior US officials have said that Russia will be expected to make concessions, without providing details. Under international law, recognition of Moscows rule over the four eastern regions of Ukraine would break every precedent, so the territorial question would have to be deferred, as has been the case in the Korean Peninsula for more than 60 years. Steel porcupine As the Trump administration indicates that a defense review will lead to an eventual reduction of the American military footprint in Europe, and in the wake of its decision to pause military aid to Ukraine, all eyes are on European leaders next moves. Europe can only contribute to the security guarantees that Ukraine needs through developing its own defense identity, combining joint research, production and training. This will not happen overnight, but steps to resuscitate Europes defense industries are already underway. Now they need to be turbo-charged. The European Commission has been bullish about developing a fund for the defense industries, and on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed allowing EU countries to draw up to 150 billion in loans and unlocking up to 800 billion of additional defense spending over the coming years. She said EU members could pool demand and to buy together and, of course, with this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine. The goal: to turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine that proves indigestible for future invaders. Ukrainian servicemen ride on top of a T-72 tank in the Kharkiv region on February 10. - Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images Looming over any prospect of a ceasefire deal, however, is the question of Russias long-term intentions whatever the Kremlin might publicly agree to. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum included an assurance that Russia, along with the UK and the US, would respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine in return for Ukraine giving up Soviet-era nuclear weapons it had inherited. Moscow repeatedly undermined the Minsk process designed to resolve the status of territories in eastern Ukraines Donbas region that were seized in 2014-15 by pro-Russian militia. Putin persistently insisted Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine, until it did. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko recalled Monday how the ceasefire deal for Donbas signed by Russia in Paris in 2019 was violated by Moscow within weeks. Then, on February 18, 2020, Russians launched one of the largest assaults of the war. This is the Kremlins pattern: deception, false promises, and escalation, Svyrydenko said. More than Zelenskys demands for security guarantees, that pattern is the greatest obstacle to peace. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Shirlaine Forrest/Getty A Border Collie competing at Crufts in 2022 (Zola not pictured) Talk about an underdog! After Jessica Gibson adopted Zola, a former stray, the pup was kicked out of obedience school for bad behavior. Three years later, she's headed to the world's biggest dog show, Gibson told the BBC. Gibson, a 19-year-old from Limavady, Ireland, appeared on BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today program on Monday, March 3, to discuss how she and Zolaa collie with black, white, and tan coloringwent from expulsion to competition. The pair is heading to Birmingham, England, on Thursday, March 6, to compete in Crufts, an international dog show hosted in the U.K. Gibson told the BBC that the scenario once seemed impossible, given Zola's old behavior around other dogs. Related: Monty the Giant Schnauzer Wins Best in Show at the 2025 Westminster Dog Show When she first adopted the collie from Pet FBI, an animal rescue, about three years ago, the canine was enthusiastic immediately. "She was very excited," Gibson recalled, and "she was jumping up on the side of the kennel, and she was just buzzing to get out." Jacob King/PA Images via Getty A dog competes in Crufts dog show in 2024 (Zola not pictured) She told the Irish outlet Derry Now that she and Zola "just had this instant connection" and "understood each other straight away." "She had been found as a stray," Gibson added of Zola, "so not much was known about her background, but I could tell she was special. However, the high-energy pup quickly ran into trouble when her new owner enrolled her in obedience school. Zola "got kicked out," Gibson told the BBC. When asked why she was expelled from the training program, the owner said, "She was very bad her and other dogs." But the pet-owner duo has been training regularly ever since, entering and winning "a few fun competitions." Now, Zola is a Young Kennel Club grad and has qualified for Crufts, where she will run, twirl, and jump in one of the dog show's agility competitions later this week. "We had started agility training two years ago," Gibson told the BBC. "And it's been a very long, very hard journey. There's been lots and lots of setbacks, but we're doing really well." Related: U.K. Family's Missing Beagle Mix Returns Home with Third Place Ribbon from Dog Show "I've put in a lot of work with her myself," the owner said. Particularly, she added, to get Zola "to focus around other dogs and in public." It's a good thing Zola has studied upcompeting in Crufts is no small feat. Organized by The Kennel Club, the U.K. competition is the biggest show of its kind in the world. According to the Crufts website, last year's show attracted 24,000 dogs, 155,000 visitors, and 8.7 million viewers. OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty A dog competes in Crufts dog show in 2024 (Zola not pictured) Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. When asked if she always wanted to participate in something like Crufts, Gibson admitted that she "always liked watching agility, but it seemed so out of reach" given her rescue's struggles with etiquette. "And I didn't think that Zola would've been the dog for it once I got her, and I realized that she had lots of problems," Gibson added, "but we worked through them." Regardless of Thursday's outcome, Gibson is proud of Zola's progress and journey. "I'm over the moon I cannot get over how far she's come," she told the BBC. "She's nowhere like the dog she used to be." Read the original article on People Co-founders and owners of Baidam, Jack Reis and Philip Jenkinson have began a nationwide search to fill the newly created role of managing director to be based in Sydney. The position will fill the management gap left as Reis and Jenkinson move into executive director roles. Baidams company ownership structure will remain unchanged. Our incoming managing director will be charged with leading Baidam on its next phase of growth and expansion, Jenkinson said. Meanwhile, Jack (Reis) and I will continue working on our national security business, creating innovative and diverse offerings to the local and international market, and actively championing our social impact initiatives at an executive level. Since its inception in 2018, the Indigenous cyber security specialist has accumulated an impressive record of industry awards and milestones in recognition of both the excellence of its cyber security services and its commitment to profit with purpose. We are excited to be making this move from a position of strength, Jenkinson said. Its a celebration and acknowledgement of how well Baidam has done that we can confidently hand the management reins over to a new generation. by Nirmala Carvalho Thousands in Ladakh have joined the hunger strike in Bodh Gaya for full control of the Mahabodhi temple, the place where according to tradition the Buddha received enlightenment. At the heart of the protest is the management committee, which is dominated by Hindu members. Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena calls on the Indian government to recognise the right of Buddhists to independently run their holiest site. Meanwhile, support for the protest grows in India and abroad. New Delhi (AsiaNews) Thousands of Buddhists in Ladakh, a Union territory in north-western India, yesterday joined fellow monks who are on a hunger strike at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, in the north-eastern Indian state of Bihar. Since 12 February, hundreds of Buddhist monastics have been fasting demanding changes to the shrine's current management system, which in their view marginalises the Buddhist community. The Mahabodhi Temple was built by Emperor Ashoka in the third century BC and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to tradition, it is the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment. However, its administration is regulated by a 1949 law that mandates a nine-member Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), which includes five Hindus, including a district magistrate who chairs the body, and four Buddhists. Protesters want this changed so that the site is entrusted entirely to the Buddhist community, without state interference in religious affairs. The ongoing debates surrounding the Mahabodhi Temple Management Act, 1949, underscore a deeper issue of religious representation and governance, said Bhikkhu Sanghasena, a monk and spiritual director of the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre. Although the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya has "immense significance for Buddhists globally. However, its governance structureoriginally mandating a Hindu majority and later amended to equal Hindu-Buddhist representationhas long been a point of contention, Bhikkhu Sanghasena explained. The continued presence of Hindu authorities in its administration is often justified by historical circumstances, particularly the role played by local Hindu caretakers in preserving the temple when Buddhist influence in India had waned, the monk added. But this dates back to the 19th century and no longer have any validity today. Precedents from other religious institutions in Indiasuch as the Ram Mandir for Hindus and Jama Masjid for Muslimsclearly show that places of worship are typically governed by their respective religious communities. Given this, the demand for exclusive Buddhist control over the Mahabodhi Temple is both reasonable and justified. Recent protests, hunger strikes, and petitions by Buddhist organizations at nationwide highlight the growing urgency of addressing this issue. India, as the Birthplace of Buddhism, has a unique responsibility to preserve and honour its Buddhist heritage, said Bhikkhu Sanghasena, who, after serving in the Indian army, dedicated himself to various humanitarian works in Ladakh, for which he was nominated, in 2017, a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has actively leveraged Buddhism as a key aspect of Indias diplomatic outreach, the monk noted. Granting full Buddhist administration of the Mahabodhi Temple [. . .] would be a significant step toward fairness in religious governance, strengthening Indias cultural and diplomatic ties with Buddhist-majority nations and reinforce Indias credibility as a protector of Buddhist heritage. Ultimately, A viable solution could be the repeal or amendment of the Act to grant full administrative control to Buddhists while ensuring that the historical Hindu presence in Bodh Gaya is acknowledged with due respect. Yet, despite the mounting pressure, the Indian government has not issued any official statements on the matter. For their part, protesters accuse the Bihar government of using intimidating methods to disperse peaceful demonstrations, and blamed the temple authorities for mishandling donations and mistreating pilgrims. The hunger strike has garnered support nationally and internationally, with more than 500 organisations joining, including the All India Buddhist Forum and the Ladakh Buddhist Association. Buddhist communities in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada and Mongolia have expressed solidarity with the protest, while groups of supporters from different regions of India are travelling to Bodh Gaya to join the movement. by Dario Salvi For the pacifist rabbi, the humanitarian aspect of the issue has given way to a fight over the government. For Netanyahu, it is an excuse to pursue the war and oppose an independent inquiry into the events of 7 October. Hostages relatives have been forcibly dragged away from the Knesset and are now the most recognisable face of the opposition in Israel. Milan (AsiaNews) Jeremy Milgrom, an Israeli rabbi and member of the NGO Rabbis for Human Rights, spoke to AsiaNews about the latest developments in the Gaza conflict and in Israel. Unfortunately, the suffering of the hostages and their families is no longer a humanitarian issue, he said. Whether it is the faltering truce between the Jewish State and Hamas, or the still unresolved issue of the hostages and the bodies of those who died in the last 15 months, the political aspect is now predominant. Meanwhile, security guards at the Knesset tried to stop hostages relatives from entering the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament). Some say that solidarity with the hostages and their families is an anti-government position; others urge us to trust the government and that these protests are no good, a position I do not share, noted the Israeli pacifist. In reality, the government forgot the hostages, then used them or considered them a pretext, an excuse to continue the war, to continue with the military campaign, and not one more reason to end [the military campaign], and sign an exchange to bring them home. Monday evening, Knesset security guards used force to push the relatives of the hostages trying to enter the Knesset, where a debate was underway centred on the events of 7 October and the demand for an independent inquiry, something Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu opposes. Knesset guards eventually dragged protesters away, injuring at least three people, and only after some time, were some members of the delegation allowed to walk to the visitors' gallery. Some 40 members of the October Council, which represents some 1,500 survivors, former hostages, and victims families, had initially tried to reach the gallery. Speaking before the debate, the families renewed their call for an investigation, but Netanyahu reiterated his opposition seeing it as an attempt to remove him. For Jeremy Milgrom, Israeli public opinion is certainly not happy with what has been done so far regarding the hostages issue, with a majority critical of the government. While he thinks that the war is not likely to resume since many reservists would refuse to fight again and war fatigue is widespread, seeing that Hamas has somehow survived 15 months of attacks and war came as a shock. Actually, he majority in Israel is against the war, but a large part still wants the elimination of the group or, at least, see it lose control of the Strip, the activist explained. The movement the developed around the hostages, which has spent a lot of time in the past year calling for their release, is certainly one of the few critical voices in Israeli civil society and, perhaps, the only real force opposed to the government, not only over the war and the hostages, but more generally against its policy of pressure and occupation towards the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, where another war is taking place in the shadow of Gaza. I think, the lack of solidarity, of attention, towards the Palestinians is really shocking, like the lack of attention to the hostages, to our soldiers. For us Israelis, these are truly dark and difficult times. Since the goal remains to bring home those who are still held by Hamas, some thought must go to the role played by US President Donald Trump who is expected to meet a delegation of former hostages and family members, including Eli Sharabi. Although not yet finalised, the meeting is the work of Miriam Adelson, an American Jew, the widow of billionaire and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of Trumps main financial backers in his run for the White House. Trump is an ironic, unpredictable figure. In a certain way, his efforts have contributed to the release of some hostages, but no one can really say they know what he wants to do. Regarding his plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a luxury resort, the worst thing is many Israelis would be happy to see that. Finally, the controversial proposal for a commission of inquiry on 7 October remains a politically hot potato. So far, only the army and Shin Bet have investigated the matter. Neither is likely to rock the boat. They wont note dysfunctions; rather they believe in the use of force, not in reconciliation. Many in Israel call for greater aggressiveness, more actions against Hamas", unconcerned by the needs of the Palestinians; in fact, nothing has been done to make their lives better, which is one of the factors for the climate behind the attack. It is important to note that, No Other Land, this years Academy Award for Best Documentary Film, was directed by Basel Adra, a Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli. In Israel few have seen it or will see it because the government has tried to ban it, to prevent people from seeing it, and it's a shame, said Jeremy Milgrom. But for us, it is a great recognition, a great achievement. (Photo taken from the Facebook page of Bring Them Home Now) Today's news: Twin suicide attack in Pakistan; Campaigns for the recognition of marital rape gain strength in India; The Arab League approves Egypt's plan for the reconstruction of Gaza; A Russian website has collected 60,600 requests for information on soldiers who disappeared in Ukraine. USA CHINA The Hong Kong company CK Hutchison Holding, which manages two ports in the Panama Canal, one on the Atlantic Ocean and one on the Pacific Ocean, has agreed to sell the majority of its shares to a group led by the US investment company BlackRock for 22.8 billion dollars. Founded by billionaire Li Ka-Shing, the company is not owned by the Chinese government, but has controlled the ports since 1997. PAKISTAN At least 11 people, including several children, were killed in a twin suicide attack in Bannu, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The walls and roofs of some houses collapsed due to the intensity of the explosions, burying dozens of people under the rubble. Pakistani security forces later reported killing six attackers. Those responsible are believed to belong to a faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). INDIA Following the acquittal of a man who had raped his wife, who died a few hours after the attack, campaigns for the recognition of marital rape have gained momentum in India. Rape within marriage is not considered a crime in India, according to a legal provision dating back to the colonial era and kept intact in the recent Indian Penal Code. For Mariam Dhawale, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), it is a declaration of patriarchy that tells the wife she has no rights over her body. MIDDLE EAST The countries of the Arab League approved a billion plan for the reconstruction of Gaza over five years at an emergency summit in Cairo. The Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, without specifically referring to the ideas put forward by US President Donald Trump, emphasised that the Arab position is to reject any displacement, whether voluntary or forced of the Palestinian population. PHILIPPINES A religious movement calling for the impeachment of Vice-President Sara Duterte, on the occasion of the beginning of Lent, burned the seven sins of Duterte, in reference to the Catholic tradition of burning the palms of the previous year to obtain the ashes on Ash Wednesday. At the same time, a campaign was launched to collect a million signatures and put pressure on the Senate to immediately start the process of impeaching the daughter of the former president of the Philippines. RUSSIA UKRAINE 60, 600 requests regarding soldiers who disappeared in Ukraine without being found; in January alone there were 8,500, and they mostly concern citizens of nationalities smaller than Russia, Bashkirs, Komi, Buryats and Tuvans, often volunteers who went to the front out of desperation, unemployment, conviction and other reasons. ARMENIA The president of the Armenian party Country for Life, Mane Tandilyan, has announced that she will publicly go on hunger strike in Freedom Square in Yerevan, in support of the former State Minister of Artsakh, Ruben Vardanyan, who is on trial in Baku, Azerbaijan, and in critical health conditions precisely because of a hunger strike against false accusations. Card De Donatis led the imposition of ashes, reading the Popes homily sent from Romes Gemelli Hospital. In it the pontiff warns against conflicts, identity politics, exploitation of the land and violence, which are fine dust that pollute the world. Instead, the hope of Easter allows us not to fall into sadness and desolation. Meanwhile, the pontiff's health conditions remain stable but critical. Vatican City (AsiaNews) From the Gemelli Hospital, where he is still in critical condition, Pope Francis called on the faithful to look at Lent, which begins today. In the homily prepared for Ash Wednesday Mass, he writes that, The ashes remind us that we are dust, but they also set us on a journey towards the hope to which we are called. For Jesus descended to the dust of the earth and, by his Resurrection, has drawn us with himself into the Fathers heart. Per tradition, the Mass with the imposition of ashes was held this afternoon in Romes Basilica of Santa Sabina, on the Aventine Hill. Card Angelo De Donatis, Major Penitentiary, led the celebration in lieu of the Pope. After reading the Gospel, he read the pontiff's meditation. In it, the Holy Father emphasises the fragility that comes to mind with the sign of ashes at the beginning of Lent, which we experience fragility through illness, poverty, and the hardships that can suddenly befall us and our families. We realise that we are fragile, when we find ourselves exposed to the fine dust that pollutes our world: ideological opposition, the abuse of power, the re-emergence of old ideologies based on identity that advocate exclusion, the exploitation of the earths resources, violence in all its forms and war between peoples. Yet, the condition of fragility reminds us of the tragedy of death. In many ways, we try to banish death from our societies, so dependent on appearances, and even remove it from our language. Death, however, imposes itself as a reality with which we have to reckon, a sign of the precariousness and brevity of our lives. For Francis, the ashes remind us of who we are. This is good for us. It reshapes us, reduces the severity of our narcissism, brings us back to reality and makes us more humble and open to one another: none of us is God; we are all on a journey. This is the other face of the ashes, a sign to rekindle our hope. [T]he Lenten season does not end there. On the contrary, we are invited to lift our eyes to the One who rises from the depths of death and brings us from the ashes of sin and death to the glory of eternal life. Without such hope, we are doomed passively to endure the fragility of our human condition. Particularly when faced with the experience of death, a lack of hope can lead us to fall into sadness and desolation. By contrast, the hope of Easter that we journey towards reassures us of Gods forgiveness. Even while submerged in the ashes of sin, hope opens us up to the joyful acknowledgment of life: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth (Job 19:25). Francis calls on everyone to make Lent a time to turn our lives towards God, becoming a sign of hope for the world. Let us learn from almsgiving to go beyond ourselves, sharing each others needs and nurturing the hope of a fairer world. Let us learn from prayer to discover our need for God or, as Jacques Maritain put it, that we are beggars for heaven, and so foster the hope that beyond our frailties there is a Father waiting for us with open arms at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. Finally, let us learn from fasting that we do not live merely to satisfy our needs, but that, hungry for love and truth, only the love of God and of one another can truly satisfy us and give us hope for a better future. Today Pope Francis also sent a message to the Catholics of Brazil for the beginning of the Fraternity Campaign, the annual Lenten initiative promoted by the countrys Bishops' Conference whose theme this year is "Fraternity and integral ecology". This marks the tenth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si', which is also set to be the Church's contribution to COP 30, the world climate conference to be held in Belem, the gateway to the Amazon, in November. I hope that this Lenten journey will bear much fruit and fill all of us with the hope which we carry as pilgrims during this Jubilee. I hope that the Fraternity Campaign will once again provide great help for the people and communities of this beloved country in their process of conversion to the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ and actual commitment to integral ecology." This morning, the catechesis that Francis prepared for today's catechesis for the Wednesday audience was also released. Concluding the part on the Infancy Gospels in the Jubilee cycle dedicated to "Jesus Christ our hope, the pope turns to the episode of the discovery of the 12-year-old Jesus who remained in the Temple without his parents during the pilgrimage (Lk 2:46-50). In his commentary, Francis observes how the Infancy Gospels close with Marys final words, which recall Josephs paternity towards Jesus, and with Jesus first words, which recognize that this paternity traces His origins from that of His heavenly Father, whose undisputed primacy He acknowledges. Dear brothers and sisters, like Mary and Joseph, full of hope, let us also set out in the footsteps of the Lord, who does not allow Himself to be contained by our precepts, and allows Himself to be found not so much in a place, but in the response of love to the tender divine paternity, a response of love that is filial life. by Vladimir Rozanskij The international sanctions against Russia and Iran have allowed Azerbaijan to exploit its central position, and not only in geographical terms. The bet is on a large north-south transport corridor that would open the doors of the Indian Ocean to Moscow, from where it could circumvent any form of pressure. Baku (AsiaNews) - Iran and Azerbaijan are two countries that have historically been in conflict with each other, due to mutual claims of territorial and ethnic supremacy, but today the geopolitical changes underway are bringing them closer together due to Tehran's increasingly close ties with Moscow, which inevitably pass through Baku. International sanctions, of which Russia and Iran are world record holders, cause their economies to depend on export routes for energy materials, as they have to support each other in their opposition to the West, and Azerbaijan tries to exploit its middle position not only geographically, but also in its political relations with its two neighbours and the many Western partners. There have been several announcements about the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran, crossing the territory of Azerbaijan, even if for now there are no concrete steps towards its realisation. Iran is structurally and technologically dependent on Russia, but Moscow's interest in Tehran is linked to the possibility of opening a major North-South transport corridor, given that on the East-West line Russia has been effectively excluded from the major traffic routes that lead from China to Europe, which are increasingly oriented towards the exploitation of routes in Central Asia. If it were to succeed in reaching Iran, Russia would have access to the Indian Ocean, from where it could circumvent any form of pressure. In 2023 an agreement was signed between Moscow and Tehran for the joint construction of the 162-kilometre Rest-Astara railway line between the Azerbaijani-Iranian borders, which connects to the Russian city of Derbent on the northern border of Azerbaijan. This is a strategic centre on the North-South line, and this part is the subject of ongoing negotiations that are very advanced, as is clear from the recent visit to Iran of the advisor to the President of Azerbaijan, Khikmet Gadziev. Immediately after the meeting, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev confirmed the agreement, according to the modifications approved in the meeting with the Russians on 21st December last. Following these negotiations and confirmations, the necessary installations for the railway stations of the two cities of Astara, the Azeri one and the Iranian one on either side of the border, have begun to be prepared. Kazem Djalali, the Iranian ambassador to Russia, has meanwhile announced a meeting of the foreign, transport and energy ministers with the customs services of Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran, to agree all the specifications relating to the new directive in the programme. At the 3rd Caspian Forum, held in Tehran on 17th and 18th February, the Russian Minister of Transport, Roman Starovojt, declared that the preparatory work for the railway line could begin within one or two months. He added that there is also another agreement in place between Moscow and Tehran, which allows access to technical analyses of the territory even before the process of acquiring the areas necessary for the new railway has been finalised, a procedure that is also essential for determining the real costs of the entire project. During his visit to Iran on 25th February, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov also reiterated that Moscow is counting on a rapid implementation of the project, which will be financed by the Russian export credit budget. Gadziev referred to this in order to clarify the real intentions of the Iranians, who would become increasingly dependent on Baku as a result of this initiative. The three partners are in fact looking at each other with a great deal of mistrust, also in view of the recent tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia after the tragic accident of the Azerbaijani aeroplane that exploded in Kazakhstan due to a Russian missile. Tehran is trying to understand to what extent Baku's willingness to cooperate could open a period of real collaboration between the two countries, given that the North-South corridor would offer the Azeris a decisive role in recovering the traffic of the Central Eurasian Corridor, placing them at the centre of the alternative world from Asia to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 5 March 2025 14:12 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has reported that Armenian armed forces opened fire on Azerbaijani Army positions on March 4 at approximately 22:05, Azernews reports. According to the statement, the attack came from Armenian positions near the Khanazakh settlement in the Gorus region, targeting Azerbaijani forces. No casualties or significant damage have been reported. The Azerbaijani side has called for an end to such provocations, emphasizing that continued military aggression threatens regional stability. 5 March 2025 16:58 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Once again, Nikol Pashinyan is attempting to rewrite history, portraying Armenia's obstructionism as a "constructive approach." Reading his latest statements published in Armenian media, one might wonder whether Pashinyan is deliberately deceiving the public or simply incapable of managing his government's obligations. How else can one explain his blatant distortion of facts, refusal to acknowledge obligations, and continued pretence of being the reasonable partydespite Armenia's four-year blockade of agreed transport routes? Another key element of Pashinyans deception is his claim that "Azerbaijan has not opened its roads either." This is nothing but a weak attempt at deflection. Azerbaijans transport routes, including its road and railway networks, are already operational and facilitating regional trade. Baku has long demonstrated its commitment to transit cooperation, signing agreements with regional partners and actively investing in infrastructure. Meanwhile, Armenia has refused to provide legal guarantees for transit through its territory, insisting on new terms that were never part of the original agreement. If Pashinyan is sincere about opening transport routes, why has his government spent years obstructing the Zangazur corridor? Even more absurd is Pashinyans claim that "if Azerbaijan does not agree, it can use routes through Iran." This statement exposes Armenias real intentions. For years, Yerevan has weaponized transit as a political tool, refusing to engage in genuine regional cooperation while hoping to pressure Azerbaijan into accepting unfavourable terms. Now that Baku has secured alternative transit routes, Armenia suddenly pretends to be constructive. But the truth is obviousif Yerevan had been serious about regional connectivity, the Zangazur corridor would have been operational years ago. Yet amidst all this commitment and responsibility, Yerevan interestingly came up with an idea to establish an alternative version of this corridor, named the 'Crossroads of Peace'. This latest article is perhaps another way of giving a certain credibility to this project but in a different form. In reality, his willingness to push imaginary projects instead of fulfilling real obligations demonstrates his lack of sincerity in pursuing genuine peace. This statement is self-contradictory. If Armenia were not obstructing transit, the corridor would already be operational. The facts are clear: In 2021, Armenia refused to recognize the corridors status. In 2022, it proposed unnecessary international oversight. In 2023, it stalled negotiations citing logistical issues. Now, after Azerbaijan developed alternate routes, Yerevan suddenly remembers "constructivity." But its too late. If Armenia does not fulfil its commitments, Azerbaijan will move forward without it. Pashinyan also introduces another deceptive argument, claiming that Armenia is "ready to transfer control to an international organization, but Baku refused." This is yet another attempt to manipulate the narrative. No one is demanding that Armenia hand over its territory to international control. The only requirement is that Yerevan abides by its obligations and ensures the same level of unrestricted transit that it enjoys elsewhere. Pashinyans insistence on "international oversight" is a deliberate tactic to complicate the process with unnecessary bureaucracy, making implementation nearly impossible. The November 10 agreement does not mention any international mechanismthis is purely an Armenian invention to delay the inevitable. Then there is the classic Armenian claim that "Azerbaijan threatens escalation." This is ironic coming from the country that occupied Azerbaijani lands for 30 years, repeatedly violated ceasefires, and continues to block agreements that would ensure regional stability. If Baku had truly wanted to impose unilateral solutions, it could have done so long ago. The only reason Azerbaijan is still negotiating is because it seeks a peaceful resolutionbut patience is not unlimited. We seek to establish the security of our future generations. The truth is that Pashinyans government has never intended to honor its commitments. Instead, it has spent four years stalling, distorting facts, and presenting itself as a victim while actively blocking agreements. However, these tactics are no longer working. Azerbaijan has already strengthened its regional ties, securing alternative trade routes and forging stronger partnerships. Meanwhile, Armenia remains stuck in a cycle of diplomatic evasion, clinging to outdated strategies that have already failed. Pashinyan can continue his charade, but the facts are undeniable. Either Armenia honors its commitments and opens transit routes, or it will be left behind as the region moves forward without it. 5 March 2025 15:28 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. In 2024, Azerbaijans trade turnover with the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) reached a total of 6.89 billion USD, Azernews reports, citing the State Customs Committees. In 2024, Azerbaijan exported non-oil products worth 542.3 million USD to Turkiye, 131.3 million USD to Kazakhstan, and 39.3 million USD to Uzbekistan. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 5 March 2025 10:44 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The D-8 Economic Cooperation Organization has expressed its confidence that cooperation among Azerbaijan and its fellow member states will significantly contribute to the development of strategic sectors such as trade, transportation, energy, tourism, agriculture, and youth policy, Azernews reports. This statement was made in a post on D-8's official social media account, following a meeting between D-8 Secretary-General Isiak Abdulqadir Imamla and Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov. The post highlighted that during the meeting, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed Azerbaijan's commitment to contributing to the realization of the D-8's goals. The Minister also identified several key areas, including energy, climate, transportation, youth, and the media sector, where immediate actions could be taken. The post concluded by noting that the accession of a new member to the D-8 is seen as a promising development. 5 March 2025 10:38 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The Ministry of Emergency Situations' "112" hotline received reports of a fire at an oil refinery in Baku's Nizami district, Azernews reports. In response, the State Fire Protection Service was promptly dispatched to the scene. It was noted that firefighting efforts are currently underway. "The Ministry will provide additional updates," officials stated. 5 March 2025 11:23 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have held discussions on regional and international security issues, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. During the discussion, the ministers also addressed ongoing efforts within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as cooperation prospects in both bilateral and multilateral contexts. The ministers expressed confidence that in 2025, cooperation between the two countries would further expand in areas such as politics, economy, trade, energy, and tourism. Additionally, the conversation included exchanges on cooperation in other international platforms and a discussion on the situation in the Middle East. 5 March 2025 17:40 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more On March 4, the House of Lords in the British Parliament hosted the opening event of the "Parliamentary Friends of Azerbaijan Group", marking a renewed commitment to strengthening ties between the two countries. The event was held in the historic "Attle" room and was hosted by Lord David Evans, a long-time advocate for Azerbaijan in the UK Parliament, Azernews reports. The event saw participation from members of the House of Commons and Lords, including Bob Blackman, former chairman of the Azerbaijan Group, Baroness Nicholson, the UKs Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan (2016-2024), and Lord Alderdice, the newly appointed Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan and Central Asia. Representatives from various British sectors with an interest in Azerbaijan also attended. In his speech, Lord Evans highlighted the longstanding cooperation between the two nations, noting that Britain remains Azerbaijans largest investor. He emphasized the strategic importance of bilateral relations and expressed his support for the newly re-established Friends of Azerbaijan Group. Azerbaijans Ambassador to the UK, Elin Suleymanov, thanked Lord Evans and British MPs for their continued support. He pointed to the deep economic and trade ties between the countries and recalled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmers visit to Azerbaijan for the COP29 summit, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev. Suleymanov also expressed gratitude for the UKs contribution to COP29s success and looked forward to expanding cooperation. The event coincided with Ramadan, and Ambassador Suleymanov extended congratulations to Muslim MPs. Additionally, he informed attendees about Novruz traditions, as March 4 marked Fire Wednesday, a key celebration in Azerbaijan's heritage. 5 March 2025 17:45 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye, participated in the opening ceremony of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline via video link from Ankara. Azernews reports that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed President Ilham Aliyev. The two leaders posed for a joint photograph. The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Turkiye were then played. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Azerbaijans Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov stated that the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline project will not only diversify Nakhchivans gas supply but also contribute to the well-being of both the Nakhchivan and Igdr populations. He noted that while the pipelines current maximum capacity is 730 million cubic meters, there are possibilities for future expansion. Turkiyes Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar described the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline project as another symbol of Turkiye-Azerbaijan brotherhood. He expressed gratitude to both heads of state for making this project a reality, emphasizing that it will fully ensure Nakhchivans gas supply. X X X The President of Azerbaijan addressed the ceremony. Speech by President Ilham Aliyev - Dear Mr. President, my dear Brother, Dear participants of the ceremony, Today is an important day in the history of Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and brotherhood today we are celebrating the opening of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. As mentioned here, together with the esteemed President, we laid the foundation stone of this gas pipeline in Nakhchivan a year and a half ago and are now participating in this wonderful ceremony. As you may know, Nakhchivan is ancient Azerbaijani land. However, it has been separated from the rest of Azerbaijan for more than a century. The reason for this is that five months after the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1920, the Soviet authorities separated West Zangezur from Azerbaijan and annexed it to Armenia, thus interrupting the overland connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and its inseparable part, Nakhchivan. This injustice has lasted for more than a century and has had a very negative impact on the lives of our compatriots living in Nakhchivan. When the First Karabakh War broke out, Armenia occupied Karabakh and, at the same time, kept Nakhchivan under blockade. Their plan was to occupy Nakhchivan as well. However, my father, Heydar Aliyev, then the leader of Nakhchivan, did not allow this to happen, and all the people of Nakhchivan mobilized their efforts to defend Nakhchivan, protect their native lands, and push the occupiers back. One of the reasons why Nakhchivan was not occupied at the time was that the Umid bridge, connecting Nakhchivan with Turkiye, was built, and the aid from Turkiye made a very significant contribution to the protection of Nakhchivan. Today, Turkiye and Azerbaijan, two brotherly countries, are implementing huge projects. Oil and gas pipeline projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, and TANAP have not only connected our countries but also redrawn the energy map of Eurasia. Today, gas flowing from Azerbaijan through Turkish territory contributes to the energy security of many countries. Last year, Azerbaijan's gas exports reached 25 billion cubic meters, about half of which were exported to Turkiye. In addition to Turkiye, 11 countries, including 10 in Europe, are strengthening their energy security by purchasing Azerbaijani gas. The project we are inaugurating today will ensure the energy security of Nakhchivan. The gas coming from Azerbaijan will be transferred to Nakhchivan through the territory of Turkiye in the form of a swap and will save Nakhchivan from this problem. Our joint energy initiatives have also enabled the implementation of transport projects. Today, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which connects Turkiye with Azerbaijan, provides great advantages both for our countries and for a wider region. This transport link has tremendous significance and benefits, especially in terms of uniting the Turkic world. Naturally, the unity and brotherhood between Turkiye and Azerbaijan make a great contribution to the entire Turkic world. My dear Brother, the esteemed President, has played an immense role in the unification of the Turkic world. Under his leadership, Turkiye has achieved great successes and created new opportunities for closer Turkic unity. Azerbaijan has always attached great importance to the unification of the Turkic world and has spared no effort to ensure this unity, make it eternal, and establish relations based on common interests and shared history. Today's ceremony is yet another testament to the unity, friendship, and brotherhood between Turkiye and Azerbaijan. It is a visible manifestation of this bond. I am sure that about 500,000 of our compatriots living in Nakhchivan will celebrate this occasion as a holiday today in the blessed month of Ramadan. On my own behalf, I would like to express my gratitude to our friends who contributed to this achievement. The construction was completed in a short time, in just over a year, and we are already participating in this wonderful ceremony. Once again, I sincerely congratulate both of usTurkiye and Azerbaijanon this remarkable event and wish our peoples and states continued success. Thank you. X X X Then, the President of Turkiye delivered a speech. Speech by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - My dear brother, President Ilham Aliyev, Distinguished ministers, dear guests, I am greeting you from the bottom of my heart. I would like to express my great pleasure in welcoming my dear brother, President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, to Turkiye. I am saying to you and your valuable delegation you are welcome to Ankara! Standing in front of me are our brothers, workers and engineers who have contributed to this work. Inshallah, after our speeches, we will have commemorative photos taken with them for Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Through my dear brother and his delegation, I would like to congratulate the Azerbaijani people on the blessed month of Ramadan. We are making tremendous progress in all areas of our brotherly relations, which are based on the slogan One nation in two states. The relations between our countries are continuously developing in a wide range of areas from defense to trade. It is beyond doubt that the energy sector, which we have crowned with many projects, is at the forefront of this cooperation. Just like the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline, which some consider a dream, we have managed to take our energy cooperation further by commissioning the Shah Deniz field and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline. We are experiencing the joy of delivering a large amount of Azerbaijani gas to Europe through the natural gas pipeline passing through Anatolia TANAP. We are in full agreement with Azerbaijan on implementing strategic and extraordinary projects in this field. Today, together with my brother Ilham Aliyev, we are very pleased to add a new project to this cooperation. The Igdir-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline, which we will soon inaugurate, will complement our previous strategic initiatives in the field of energy and also serve as a sign of our common destiny with Nakhchivan. This 80 km pipeline, built by BOTAS with a daily transport capacity of up to 2 million cubic meters, will meet all of Nakhchivan's natural gas needs for at least 30 years. Thus, my brother and I have delivered a project to our countries that will ensure the energy security of Nakhchivan for many years to come. Taking this opportunity, I would also like to say that Turkiye and Azerbaijan are on the side of peace, stability and prosperity. We only want peace in our region, we want cooperation, and we want all of us to develop together. For this purpose, we have taken a number of steps and demonstrated how sincere we are. Inshallah, from now on, we are determined to implement all kinds of projects related to regional peace, prosperity and security together. Just as we saw Azerbaijan by our side in our most difficult days, especially in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes, we will be by our brothers' side whenever they need us. Inshallah, we will continue this process by strengthening our electricity connections with Nakhchivan. With these sentiments, I do believe that our ceremony today will further strengthen the Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood. I congratulate everyone who has contributed to the implementation of this important project, all our institutions for their attention, all those who contributed whether they are employees or engineers. May God make our unity, solidarity and affection permanent. I do hope that this project will be of benefit to the entire region. I would like to express my gratitude to my brother Ilham Aliyev for the visit on my own behalf, on behalf of my family and on behalf of my nation. X X X Following the speeches, the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline was officially inaugurated. Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Turkiye's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar launched the gas pipeline in Igdr. At the end of the ceremony, a commemorative photo was taken. Confidence voiced on economic prospects 11:01, March 05, 2025 By Zhu Wenqian, Ouyang Shijia ( Chinadaily.com.cn Lou Qinjian, the spokesman for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, interacts with journalists at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. (Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily) China's resilient domestic market and its efforts to boost the private economy, advance technological innovation and strengthen macro-economic policies will continue to drive the country's economic growth, national lawmakers and political advisers said on Tuesday. Lou Qinjian, the spokesman for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said at a news conference on Tuesday that despite adverse impacts brought about by the external environment and continued challenges, China's economy is underpinned by a stable foundation, multiple advantages, strong resilience and great potential. China is at a critical stage of growth driver transition, with new drivers emerging, Lou said. The supporting conditions and fundamental trends for long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, he said, expressing "full confidence" in China's economic prospects. China has a supersized domestic market and a complete industrial system, with ample room for upgrades of demand, structure and growth drivers, and this provides strong support for economic growth and ensures sufficient flexibility to navigate various risks and challenges, he said. Last year, China's GDP surpassed 130 trillion yuan ($17.9 trillion) for the first time, growing 5 percent year-on-year, thereby maintaining the nation's position as the world's second-largest economy, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Ma Jiantang, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said China is confident that its economy will be able to make further progress on the basis of last year's stabilization and rebound. Ma made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, which started on Tuesday. This year marks the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), and it is highly important to do a good job in this year's economic work, noted Ma, who is also the former secretary of the leading Party members group of the Development Research Center of the State Council. Ma added that China's confidence comes from the strong leadership of the Party, adequate and powerful macroeconomic policy tools, and the support of the country's comprehensive deepening of reforms. Liu Hanyuan, an NPC deputy and vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said that increasing people's income is the key to enhancing consumer confidence and improving economic prospects. Boosting the stock market and stabilizing the real estate market are important areas of focus, he added. The Central Economic Work Conference held in December determined that China will implement more proactive macroeconomic policies this year and strengthen its fiscal policies. Since the beginning of the year, various sectors such as science and technology, film, culture and tourism have shown vigorous vitality, and the country's focus on nurturing high-tech industries and fostering new quality productive forces has led to rapid advancements. For example, the significant technological breakthrough made by artificial intelligence company DeepSeek represents the rise of a group of Chinese companies in the AI field, said Lou, the NPC spokesman. Meanwhile, China will continue to support the growth of its private economy and accelerate the finalizing of a draft law aimed at promoting the growth and protection of private enterprises, according to Lou. A large number of private enterprises in Jiangsu province have grown due to resilience in international trade. Last year, the total import and export value of private enterprises in the province reached 2.55 trillion yuan, up 7.3 percent year-on-year, according to Nanjing Customs. Suzhou Mingzhi Technology Co, a private company based in Suzhou, Jiangsu, has been exporting products such as water heater components. Last year, the total import and export value of the company grew 6 percent year-on-year. "As an innovation-driven 'little giant' company, we will continue to highlight our technological innovation advantages and contribute to the growth of the Chinese economy," said Hu Jun, customs manager of Mingzhi Technology. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) 5 March 2025 18:49 (UTC+04:00) The President emphasized that the gas coming from Azerbaijan, transported through Turkish territory to Nakhchivan, will meet the region's energy needs. "The project we are inaugurating today will ensure Nakhchivan's energy security," said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline via video link. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 5 March 2025 18:52 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has commenced his one-on-one meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye, in Ankara, Azernews reports. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 5 March 2025 21:17 (UTC+04:00) President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the Igdir-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline as a symbol of common destiny between Turkiye and Nakhchivan, Azernews reports. Speaking at the new pipeline inauguration ceremony, the Turkish leader noted that the 80-km pipeline built by BOTAS with a daily transport capacity of up to 2 million cubic meters, will meet all of Nakhchivan's natural gas needs for at least 30 years. He also stated that Ankara plans to take new steps to support Nakhchivan, particularly in electricity supply. President Erdogan assured that Turkiye will continue to support Azerbaijan, Just as we saw Azerbaijan by our side in our most difficult days, especially in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes, we will be by our brothers' side whenever they need us. 5 March 2025 22:11 (UTC+04:00) On March 5, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye, attended an iftar ceremony in Ankara, Azernews reports. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 6 March 2025 00:02 (UTC+04:00) Footage of President Ilham Aliyevs visit to Ankara has been posted on his official Instagram page. According to Azernews, the post reads: "President Ilham Aliyevs working visit to the Republic of Turkiye (05.03.2025)". 5 March 2025 08:00 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva Nineteen aircraft and five ships of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) approached the shores of Taiwan, Azernews reports. According to the Taiwanese military, 19 aircraft, five warships, and three civilian vessels were observed near the island. Eleven of the 19 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, entering Taiwans southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The Ministry of Defense of Taiwan stated that they had been closely monitoring the situation and responded appropriately, deploying air patrols and naval forces as a precautionary measure. The Taiwanese military emphasized their readiness to defend the nation and ensure regional security. The frequent incursions into Taiwan's airspace and territorial waters have become a point of rising tension between China and Taiwan, with the U.S. and other Western nations closely watching developments in the region. These military maneuvers are often seen as part of China's strategy to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province. Taiwan, on the other hand, continues to maintain its position as a self-governed entity with a democratic system and seeks international recognition as such. 5 March 2025 21:22 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva The US imposition of additional 25 percent duties on products imported from Canada and Mexico starting March 4 will also affect Japanese automakers, Azernews reports. The tariffs will apply to cars manufactured by Japanese companies in Canada and Mexico. The Japan Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO) predicts that the decision to impose tariffs will significantly impact the production and sales of these companies, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. This is particularly concerning since a large portion of the cars produced at Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, and Honda plants in Mexico and Canada are exported to the United States. Japanese media reports that companies are now seeking solutions, with some considering exporting auto parts to the US and completing the final assembly process there. According to JETRO, Nissan exported 40 percent of the 615,000 vehicles it produced in Mexico to the United States in 2023, while Toyota exported 90 percent of its 250,000 vehicles. Mazda and Honda sold 50 and 80 percent of their products in the US, respectively. The US tariff policy also poses a threat to the future plans of Japanese companies. For instance, Asahi Kasei, in partnership with Honda, planned to open a plant in Canada to produce lithium batteries for electric vehicles. This plan may now be jeopardized by the new tariffs. President Donald Trumps tariff plan threatens to disrupt $40 billion worth of auto exports from Japan to the United States. Automobiles account for about 25 percent of Japan's exports to the US. In response, Japanese companies have urged their government to put pressure on the Trump administration. Katayama Masanori, Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, met with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Muto Yoji, to discuss the issue. Katayama warned that the 25 percent duties would not only harm the Japanese economy but could also have negative consequences for the United States. This move is part of a broader trend where tariffs and trade policies are becoming increasingly influential in shaping the global automotive industry. Japanese automakers, known for their global production networks, are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on exports from North America. This situation highlights the growing complexity of international trade and the potential ripple effects that tariff policies can have on manufacturers, workers, and consumers alike. 5 March 2025 22:40 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings will sell a 90% stake in its subsidiary, which operates ports on both sides of the Panama Canal, to American investors, Azernews reports. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! Oregon Coast Town Turns 60: How Lincoln City Began Published 03/04/25 at 5:45 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) Without a huge amount of fanfare, one little Oregon coast just turned 60 years old. It was in late 1964 the town voted itself into existence, but it was on March 3, 1965 when it officially got its name. (Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum) Lincoln City is unique in the complex history of the coastline in that - in many ways - it's a bit of a newcomer: most towns along this shoreline were incorporated or established under their respective names by the '20s or '30s. It's also different because it formed from seven little other villages: Cutler City, Taft, Oceanlake, Nelscott, Kernville, Delake and Roads End. Other little villages had existed before such as Wecoma, but had been absorbed by the larger ones at different points. There's also Neotsu at the northern edge of town left over from that period. Now, you can still find signage marking these neighborhoods, but there were other little names that have disappeared with time. The idea of joining together all these little coastal villages was born in 1948, and even then the name first discussed was Lincoln City. However, though it was finalized in early '65, there have been occasional movements to change it as late as this century. Metal Mystery Appears on Oregon Coast at Lincoln City's D River - The find takes you through L City history, how nature won In '49 the first vote happened to combine the towns and it was defeated hard. Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum The second vote on this didn't come until mid 1964, and then it was shut down by a mere 7 votes. In late '64 it finally passed, and the name Lincoln City was the top contender. Well, sort of. For the first months of '65 committees and voters (and even school kids) wrestled with the name. The big finalists were Miracle Beach, Miracle City, Surfland, Holiday Beach and Lincoln City. Surfland was the other big fave and by some accounts it nearly won. There were contests held with the public, but in the end it was a committee that had the final say and they landed on good ol' L City. Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum Yet that wasn't the end of the name issue. Some tried to change it in '67, again in the '90s and even in 2015. The full story on this is in parts one and two: Lincoln City Formed from Six Small Towns: Intricate History -- and Naming Lincoln City was a Wobbly, Wacky Process Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Sharks of Oregon Coast Featured on New License Plate: Vouchers Now Available Published 03/03/25 at 8:45 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Newport, Oregon) Can't get enough of sharks? Of the Oregon coast? Perhaps you'd like to wear such fandom on your vehicle? Just that possibility has arisen as Oregon State University and its Big Fish Lab have partnered with Oregon's DMV to bring the state a license plate called Vibrant Ocean with three species of shark often found in Oregon. Vouchers for the plate are now on sale, said OSU. Buy a voucher The Big Fish Lab needs to sell 3,000 vouchers before the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles can start manufacturing the plates. Vouchers are priced at $40, with approximately $35 going directly to the lab. For more information or to purchase a voucher, visit Oregon State University's Marine Research. The funds raised will support research on the ecological roles of sharks in coastal marine ecosystems, community outreach and education, and training opportunities for students and staff. Photo OSU "Funding shark research is challenging. Sharks may not be lovable or tasty, but they are crucial," said Taylor Chapple, assistant professor and founder of the Big Fish Lab. "Our goal at the Big Fish Lab is to understand the importance of sharks and share their stories. This license plate will help us achieve that." Chapple emphasized the significance of changing public perception of sharks. "With each plate sold, we hope to move closer to the realization that sharks are not the mindless predators portrayed in Hollywood but vital and dynamic elements of our vibrant oceans." Established in 2019, the Big Fish Lab is Oregon's first dedicated shark research program. It operates out of the College of Agricultural Sciences Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. As apex predators, sharks play a crucial role in maintaining ocean ecosystems by regulating species abundance, distribution, and diversity. However, they face significant threats from overfishing, habitat loss, climate change, and pollution. Thesher shark: Seaside Aquarium "The 15 shark species off our shores contribute to the vibrancy and productivity of Oregons coastal ecosystems and economies," Chapple explained. "From the crab in your pot to the salmon on your grill, our ocean's abundance owes much to these sharks. Public support is vital in helping us understand and protect these critical predators." The license plate's design was created by Natalie Donato, a third-year Honors College student from Folsom, California. Donato, who is majoring in marine biology and ecology at OSU's College of Science, integrates her artistic talent with science communication through her interdisciplinary approach. Her design features a large salmon shark with two blue sharks on the left and a common thresher shark on the right. They are regulars of Oregon coast waters. I set out to create a scene that represents the feeling of a vibrant underwater world, depicting the sharks in a more realistic form and the vivid, inspiring feeling that resonates with me when I view the ocean, she said. Capturing the flow, depth, and fluid feeling of being underwater and present with the calm, inquisitive sharks played a key role in the direction of the design, channeling that feeling from the imperfection and variation of the light beams, scars and details on the sharks, and the individual shimmering fish meant to bring the scene to life. There is also a Beaver plate in the works, to be released by DMV in April. MORE PHOTOS BELOW Seaside Aquarium photo More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Washington Coast Razor Clam Digs Get Green Light for March 8 - 14, More Coming Published 03/04/25 at 6:45 p.m. (Copalis, Washington) The dinner bell will soon be ringing out in a big way on the Washington coast. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) shellfish managers have just confirmed seven days of razor clam digs on coastal beaches beginning Saturday, March 8. The upcoming low tide series occurs before sunset each day, resulting in daylight digs, said Bryce Blumenthal, WDFWs recreational razor clam manager. Hopefully, the swell and weather cooperate to allow for some successful harvest opportunity. However, it is important to note that not all Washington coast beaches will be open for every dig. Diggers are urged to verify the status of their intended destination before heading out. The most successful digging typically occurs between one and two hours before the listed time of low tide. Areas like Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis have gotten the green light on various dates, including a long list of proposed dates going into May. Copalis, courtesy WDFW The first digs are scheduled for late afternoon and evening low tides (from noon to midnight), will proceed as planned, following the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) confirmation that razor clams are safe to eat. DOH mandates testing for marine toxins, including domoic acid, which must fall below the guideline level before a beach can open for digging. Domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin produced by certain marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in large quantities. More information is available on DOHs website. These are: March 8, Saturday, 2:13 p.m.; 0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks (change to daylight savings time) March 9, Sunday, 4:18 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis March 10, Monday, 5:10 p.m.; 0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis March 11, Tuesday, 5:52 p.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks March 12, Wednesday, 6:28 p.m.; 0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks March 13, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis March 14, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; 0.7 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis Final approval for each digging series typically occurs about a week or less before the start date. For more details on domoic acid and current levels at ocean beaches, visit WDFWs domoic acid webpage. On all open beaches, the daily limit is 15 clams per person. Each digger must keep their clams in a separate container and retain the first 15 clams they dig, regardless of size or condition, to prevent waste. See obtaining a license. Tentative dates during late afternoon/evening (noon to midnight only) low tides: March 26, Wednesday, 5:08 p.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks March 27, Thursday, 5:50 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks March 28, Friday, 6:29 p.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis Copalis - courtesy Washington State Parks Tentative dates during morning (midnight to noon only) low tides: March 29, Saturday, 6:58 a.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis March 30, Sunday, 7:43 a.m.; -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks March 31, Monday, 8:28 a.m.; -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 1, Tuesday, 9:17 a.m.; -1.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 2, Wednesday, 10:09 a.m.; -1.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 3, Thursday, 11:07 a.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks Tentative dates during morning (midnight to noon only) low tides: April 12, Saturday, 6:57 a.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 13, Sunday, 7:29 a.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 14, Monday, 8:00 a.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 15, Tuesday, 8:33 a.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 16, Wednesday, 9:08 a.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 17, Thursday, 9:48 a.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 18, Friday, 10:33 a.m.; 0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis Tentative dates during morning (midnight to noon only) low tides: April 26, Saturday, 5:53 a.m.; -0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 27, Sunday, 6:40 a.m.; -1.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 28, Monday, 7:25 a.m.; -2.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks April 29, Tuesday, 8:12 a.m.; -2.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis April 30, Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.; -2.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis May 1, Thursday, 9:52 a.m.; -1.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis May 2, Friday, 10:47 a.m.; -0.9 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks (digging extended until 2 p.m.) May 3, Saturday, 11:48 a.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks (digging extended until 2 p.m.) Oceanside, Oregon - Oregon Coast Beach Connection Along the Oregon coast, razor clamming is closed from about Neskowin down to the California border due to the biotoxin domoic acid. This includes Lincoln City, Newport, Florence, Charleston, Bandon, Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings. However, the entire upper third of Oregon's coastline is open, including Seaside, Cannon Beach, Garibaldi, Oceanside, Netarts Bay, and Pacific City. MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Providers are sounding the alarm on the impending shortage and what it could mean for the specialty. This shortage is driving a shift in practice models, particularly in states requiring supervision, where anesthesiologist assistants are unable to practice independently, Jeff Tieder, MSN, CRNA, clinical assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, told Beckers. The key question is, How will anesthesia care teams adapt when there arent enough physician anesthesiologists to supervise? In response, we may see a growing reliance on CRNA-led models, as CRNAs in most states can practice independently or under the supervision of a surgeon, whereas AAs cannot. The American Society of Anesthesiologists, led by Richard Dutton, MD, presented a number of responses to the impending shortage in a new report titled National Anesthesia Workforce. The report lays out that because every single hospital and surgery center in America needs anesthesia services, hiring and retaining qualified talent is becoming increasingly more difficult. Here are three proposals to address the problem: 1. Train more providers. ASA recommends expanding existing residency programs, adding more spots for new practitioners. New residency programs are opening nationwide every year, and this needs to continue. 2. Import more overseas clinicians. Currently, practicing anesthesia in the U.S. is favorable to overseas physicians. Currently, state and local laws nationally impact overseas physicians ability to practice in the U.S. The ASA recommends a revision to those policies. 3. Take advantage of MD specialties with a surplus of workers. Some emergency medicine or primary care physicians could work as sedationists with current training. This exclusive event is limited to, and free for, independent orthopedic and spine surgeons and their executives, and offers critical strategies for navigating todays market shifts. Attendance is limited to 100, so please register in advance. Register for the Orthopedic & Spine PTC here. Key Takeaways: Latest trends in orthopedic group consolidation Key challenges driving strategic partnerships Various options for strategic transactions vs. staying the course Benefits of joining larger organizations with more resources Financial benefits and wealth planning strategies for orthopedic & spine surgeons Key aspects of income repair and second bite transactions Tips on how to maximize the value of your practice and your medical real estate Hear from orthopedic surgeons who entered into different partnerships regarding key insights and pitfalls to avoid Register to learn more details on this topic at the Orthopedic & Spine PTC while at the AAOS Annual Meeting in San Diego here. Trivikram Reddy, DNP, was sentenced May 25, 2021, for his role in orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Cigna, the Justice Department said in a March 4 news release. Dr. Reddy created fraudulent patient bills by using the provider numbers of six physicians as the treating physicians on the claims, even though they did not perform the services. After his conviction, the government traced laundered fraud proceeds to nearly 200 bank accounts in India and obtained seizure warrants for more than $40 million. If you have an appointment at the hospital or any of our clinics on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, please understand there may be delays, however, we remain open and here to care for you, the hospital wrote in a March 4 Facebook post. The hospital did not disclose further details about the cyberattack but said it is making progress in resolving the issues. Partnerships like that allow us to broaden our reach and provide more care for the community and the region, Charlton Park, CFO and chief analytics officer for University of Utah Health, said during a Beckers CFO+Revenue Cycle Podcast episode. Mr. Park has been with the system for more than 16 years and in his current position for more than eight. The partnership also expands University of Utah Healths capacity to provide more patient care along a major metropolitan region in north-central Utah, the Wasatch Front. When looking for a strong strategic partnership, Mr. Park said the system focuses on three things. Were looking for partnerships and growth that will allow us to expand access while were able to maintain that focus on high-quality care, a great patient experience and, as a CFO, [I am] focused on maintaining and increasing the financial strength of the organization, he said. University of Utah Health is also focused on growing within its existing footprint to meet community needs. The system is currently working on a project to build a health complex in West Valley City, Utah, that will house a multi-specialty outpatient health center, emergency department and hospital. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in mid-2025 and the project will be completed in phases. Were super-excited about really bringing the University of Utah Health brand to a really underserved and growing area of Salt Lake County, he said. The reception that weve received as weve been in the planning phases has been just great from the community AI and automation are other areas that Mr. Park focuses on, particularly AI scribe solutions to improve engagement with providers and patients. He said it is imperative to keep up with the changes in healthcare technology to lighten the load for providers working to keep up with demand. As CFO, I have really got to stay attuned to different opportunities, investments and discover and go after those [investments] that are going to provide the most active return on investment, not just in dollars, but really in lightening the burnout and burden placed upon our physicians and clinicians. Healthcare is complex across the industry, Oklahoma City-based Integris Health CFO Mike Weed told Beckers during a CFO+Revenue Cycle Podcast episode. It is critical that we are partnering with our physicians, both our employed and our community physicians, setting standards and expectations that we all want to work towards that will drive quality and improved outcomes. Mr. Weed has been in the healthcare industry for 30 years. Prior to joining Integris in 2018, he served in various financial roles at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health for around 23 years. He said that along with a strong focus on physician partnerships, its important to also focus on building strong relationships with government and industry leaders. You cant do any of this in a silo, he said. It requires us to be strong partners with everybody that we come in contact with. With partnerships also comes growth. Integris currently comprises 20 hospitals, 184 clinic locations, nearly 12,000 employees and 19 urgent care clinics. Mr. Weed said the system is looking to expand in the form of smart growth opportunities. Theres a shift towards more ambulatory, he said. We are exploring opportunities in that space. What it really comes down to is we know that Oklahomans value the care and the partnership that they receive from Integris Health. We are looking for opportunities where we can provide even greater access to care for more Oklahomans. Mr. Green assumed the new role Feb. 23 after serving as director of human resources since 2021, according to a hospital news release. Before joining Jones Memorial, he retired from the U.S. Air Force as a senior master sergeant in 2017. Jones Memorial, a 49-bed acute care facility, is an affiliate of UR Medicine in Rochester, N.Y. Mr. Jimenez brings nearly 30 years of healthcare leadership experience to the role. He joins Main Line from University Hospital in Newark, N.J., where he served as president and CEO for the past two years. Before that, he spent eight years at the helm of UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla. During his tenure at UF Health, he oversaw the systems growth into a $2.7 billion organization with 14,000 employees. At University Hospital, he led an ambulatory expansion strategy and spearheaded a $1.8 billion campus renovation project. He succeeds Jack Lynch as CEO of Main Line Health. Mr. Lynch shared plans to retire last September, after more than 20 years in the role. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley had first issued a temporary restraining order in February to halt the policy, and with the March 5 ruling, she extended the block through a longer-term preliminary injunction as lawsuits proceed. The NIH proposal aims to lower reimbursements for overhead costs for medical research projects from the current average of about 27% to 28%, which the Trump administration has said would save more than $4 billion annually. Lawsuits filed by 22 states and organizations representing research institutions have argued it would limit research activity and endanger patients. A Feb. 10 lawsuit from the Association of American Medical Colleges and other organizations said the cuts would cause irreparable harm. In a statement March 5, the AAMC applauded Ms. Kelleys preliminary injunction to keep the cuts on hold. The AAMC is heartened that a federal court agreed that critical research funding must continue while the case proceeds, AAMC President and CEO David Skorton, MD, said in the release. These unlawful cuts would slow medical progress and cost lives, and we will continue our fight to stop the implementation of this harmful action. Three more recent federal health updates: 1. President Donald Trumps first address to a joint session of Congress took place March 4. Healthcare policy mentions were largely absent from the roughly 1-hour, 40-minute speech in which the president recapped executive orders his administration has issued since taking office Jan. 20. Much of the speech focused on his administrations promise to slash wasteful spending within the federal government, tariffs, immigration and the military. On healthcare, President Trump mentioned an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which he signed on his first day in office. He said the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has found hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud, including $22 billion in HHS spending. The DOGE website estimates it has identified $105 billion in savings. However, reports from national media outlets have found miscalculations in the savings estimates, with errors such as inflated contract values and double counting. Medicaid did not come up during the address. The omission comes as hospitals nationwide raise alarms over the Houses recently passed budget resolution, which is expected to trigger significant reductions in Medicaid funding. 2. The White House has rescinded termination letters for an unknown number of CDC employees fired in February, NPR reported March 4. Most of the roughly 750 dismissed staff members were in their probationary periods, with inadequate performance cited as the justification, according to NPR. Some CDC staff members received emails March 4 stating that their terminations had been rescinded, according to sources at the agency and emails reviewed by NPR. As a result, your physical and logical access has been restored and you are cleared to return to work on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, one of the emails reviewed by NPR stated. We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused. The reversals come as federal agencies must develop restructuring plans by March 13, which could result in further staff reductions. 3. Also on March 4, a federal judge extended a block on President Trumps executive orders cutting federal funding for providers of gender transition care for individuals younger than 19, The Washington Post reported. The ruling stems from a February lawsuit filed by families with transgender or nonbinary children, who alleged the executive orders disrupted their healthcare. Multiple hospitals across the U.S. have paused gender-affirming care for minors following the executive order. The preliminary injunction occurred a day before the temporary restraining order was slated to expire, the Post reported. Editors note: This story was updated March 5 at 5:16 p.m. Central time. Under the terms of the deal, Deaconess will invest at least $95 million in Jennie Stuart. The health system will also fully fund Jennie Stuarts transition to Deaconesss iteration of the Epic EHR system, which would cost Jennie Stuart between $40 million and $60 million as a standalone entity. The news comes shortlhy after a settlement agreement that had delayed the vote until late March was modified, the Hoptown Chronicle reported March 3. In December, Save Jennie Stuart a group opposing the deal reached an agreement with the hospital and its board to extend the due diligence period for the proposed transaction until March 31, 2025, and that the board will not vote on the deal before that date. On Feb. 26, a judge signed an order modifying the agreement and dismissing the case with prejudice. Save Jennie Stuart alleged in its lawsuit that the fair market value of the hospital is substantial and that the hospitals board breached its fiduciary duties to the hospital by agreeing to essentially transfer the hospital and all of its assets to Deaconess without sufficient consideration coming back to the community. Save Jennie Stuart said in a statement that its efforts led Deaconess to make an offer with more favorable terms to the community, according to the report. The group said it still opposes the acquisition, but it hopes the takeover will result in better medical care for the community and a continuation of the charitable contributions made by Jennie Stuart to the community over the years. Jennie Stuart Health signed a non-binding letter in October to join Deaconess. At an Oct. 30 informational meeting about the proposed acquisition, Jennie Stuart Health Medical Staff President Matthew Robinson, MD, said the hospital is seeking to switch its EHR to Epic, which is too expensive to do on its own. He said Deaconess promised a very expedited deployment that once everything is finalized, we could have Epic up and running within six to nine months. The transaction is anticipated to close on or before Aug. 1, pending regulatory and closing conditions. The Global Allergy and Asthma Excellence Network led the creation of the new standards, which were recently published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. U.S. organizations involved in the effort included Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Three takeaways: 1. The new definition of anaphylaxis emphasizes its potential to progress rapidly and cause death. It also details the affected organ systems and key signs of life-threatening reactions to improve recognition and response. 2. The report offers an educational resource for healthcare professionals on recognizing anaphylaxis, its causes, symptoms and the importance of timely epinephrine treatment. 3. The new standards also include a clinical support tool to help healthcare professionals diagnose and treat anaphylaxis, featuring updated criteria, epinephrine dosing guidelines and the first infant-specific findings to improve pediatric care. Our sprawling medical system, from first responders to hospital emergency staff, does not consistently follow guidelines for diagnosing and treating anaphylaxis. This is partly because no uniform guidelines are used internationally to define, recognize and treat anaphylaxis, lead author Tim Dribin, MD, an emergency medicine expert at Cincinnati Childrens, said in a March 4 news release. Since late January, 159 cases have been reported in the South Plains region of the state, with 22 hospitalizations and the death of one child, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Here are five notes: Lenore Uddyback-Fortson, regional director of the Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor in Philadelphia, said the investigation began Feb. 22, following the incident. The agency has a total of six months to conduct its investigation and release its findings, Ms. Uddyback-Fortson added. No further information is available at this time. The incident occurred between 10:35-11:13 a.m. in the hospitals ICU when a man identified by authorities as Dogenes Archangel-Ortiz allegedly held staff members hostage before Mr. Archangel-Ortiz was killed by police in a shootout that left West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte dead. Two other officers were shot by the suspect, and three hospital staff members a physician, a nurse and custodian suffered gunshot wounds, according to authorities. A fourth staff member was injured in a fall. OSHA investigates imminent danger situations; severe injuries and illnesses; worker complaints referrals of hazards from other agencies, individuals, organizations or the media; targeted inspections; and follow-up inspections, according to an agency fact sheet. In a statement shared with Beckers, UPMC spokesperson Susan Manko said the hospital is fully supporting the OSHA investigation. We are grateful that our staff members who were injured are continuing their recovery at home while they have our full and ongoing support, she said. Our hearts remain heavy with sadness and infinite gratitude for Officer Andrew Duarte, whose ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty exemplified sheer heroism. We will never forget his bravery and selfless commitment to protecting our community. We are thankful also for the outpouring of support, prayers, and words of comfort that we have received from so many individuals and organizations across our region and nation, including many other health systems. Across UPMC hospitals, our armed police officers and security teams are devoted to keeping us safe. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the safety and well-being of all at our facilities. Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. Beckers invites all spine surgeon and specialist responses. Next question: What spine procedure do you think will see an increased case volume in the outpatient setting? Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Tuesday, March 11. Editors note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Question: Whats one textbook all spine surgeons should read? Hansen Bow, MD, PhD. UCI Health (South Orange, Calif.): One textbook that I believe all spine surgeons should read is Benzels Spine Surgery. It gives a great introduction and overview to all aspects of spine surgery, including indications, preoperative optimization, surgical technique, and complication management. I thought the Fourth Edition was terrific, with fantastic chapters on the history of ACDF plates in addition to the biology of spinal fusion. Its impressive how much spine surgery has changed over the past 50 years, and the textbook provides excellent historical context with respect to techniques that were more frequently performed in the past, such as thoracoscopic surgery, Harrington rods, and sublaminar wiring. It also gives insight into where the future is headed, with sections on minimally invasive surgery, motion-preservation surgery and big data. Jason Cuellar, MD, PhD. Cuellar Spine (Jupiter, Fla.): All spine surgeons should read Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities by Stanley Hoppenfeld. This is a classic textbook on the art of physical examination, which is so important for spine surgeons but more and more seems to be overlooked. Brian Fiani, DO. Spine Surgeon. (Birmingham, Mich.): Handbook of Spine Surgery is the go-to handbook on the current evaluation and surgical management of spinal disorders. I co-authored the chapter on microdiscectomy. Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: I am a bit biased, because I know him a little, and wrote a chapter in another of his books, but Dr. Ed Benzels Biomechanics of Spine Stabilization remains the most important book a trainee or fellow should read. When I was working on a game for spine surgery a few years ago, it was absolutely critical to helping the programmers understand why we do what we do. It was marvelous to revisit and also refresh the physics and engineering of spine surgery. The book remains key to how I got to understand how to break down spine problems, understand the pathology, and to figure out how to handle them. It is a seminal volume, to be sure. G. Alexander Jones, MD. Endeavor Health Neurosciences Institute (Elmhurst and Naperville, Ill.): Ed Benzels Biomechanics of Spine Stabilization. This covers the fundamental principles of spine biomechanics, and applies those principles to different hardware constructs and fracture patterns. Understanding these concepts really helped me, as a spine surgeon, understand why some construct designs work really well, and others dont. And, unlike many textbooks, the writing is very concise and down to earth. Its a must-read for anyone practicing in the field! Suken Shah, MD. Nemours Childrens Health, Delaware Valley (Wilmington): Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Essentially the diary of the great Roman emperor, he had stunning observations of human behavior, power, dealing with adversity, developing resilience and expressing humility. It has become a classic in the teachings of stoicism. Surgeons can relate to many of the trials and tribulations, keeping a level head and enjoying everyday life and small things keeping real what will make you happy. David Skaggs, MD. Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles): My favorite is Operative Techniques: Spine Surgery by Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, and Eli Baron, MD. A new edition just came out. It is concise, practical and well-illustrated. The only problem is my partners borrow it so frequently I may need a second copy. Noam Stadlan, MD. Endeavor Health Neurosciences Institute (Skokie and Highland Park, Ill.): I dont think that there is one specific textbook that all spine surgeons should read. Thankfully, there are many high-quality textbooks available by both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons. However, I think it is important to have both a broad base of knowledge and highly detailed knowledge of ones area of concentration; so it is important to read a high-quality textbook cover-to-cover, and also stay up-to-date in the field by reading journals and attending meetings. Christian Zimmerman, MD. St. Alphonsus Medical Group and SAHS Neuroscience Institute (Boise, Idaho): Upon arriving at the BNI, the first textbook given to me by my mentor Volker Sonntag, MD, was The Clinical Biomechanics of the Spine. by Augustus A. White III and Manohar M. Panjabi (1990) This was required reading for both fellows and residents alike. Principled and erudite were renowned elementals of teacher and student at this institution. Former Kainos CEO Russell Sloan (right) stepped down from the role before ex-boss Brendan Mooney was re-appointed in December 2024. A Belfast-based IT firm has announced its axing 190 jobs in response to challenging trading conditions which are causing clients to delay making decisions on projects. Kainos plc, the only NI company listed on the FTSE 250, currently employs around 3,000 meaning that the number of redundancies equate to around 7% of its global workforce. The move comes just months after the firm replaced its chief executive after telling shareholders to expect full year sales to come in below market expectations. On Tuesday, Kainos confirmed it had made the "difficult decision" to reduce staff numbers in response to the "current market environment". "This decision was made with careful consideration and a focus on the long-term growth opportunities of our business, a statement read. "While our business fundamentals remain strong, this step allows us to manage costs responsibly while continuing to support our customers. "We recognise that this means saying goodbye to talented colleagues who have made valuable contributions to Kainos. "They leave with our deep gratitude, and we are committed to supporting them in their transition to new opportunities." Just last April the company was given planning permission to build new 14-storey city centre headquarters on Dublin Road with construction reportedly due be finished in early 2027. In November, Kainos reported a 5% fall in revenue to 183.1m in interim results for the six months to September 30, 2024. But Kainos said it had maintained profitability with a 1% decline in adjusted pre-tax profits to 38.2m. While it had strong growth in its Workday products division, it said there was a subdued services market amid a tougher trading environment. The figure for adjusted pre-tax profit included a 1.2m investment to support its partnership with Workday. Overall bookings were 11% lower at 179.5m, down from 201.9m. But there was a 8% rise in contracted backlog at the end of the six months to 354.1m, and a strong cash position of 151.6m. The company operates across three divisions digital services, Workday services and Workday products. Then in December, the companys former chief executive Brendan Mooney made a surprise return to his old job which he retired from in September 2023 after 22 years in charge. His successor Russell Sloan stepped down with immediate effect. After being reappointed, Mr Mooney insisted there is "significant growth opportunities" for the business and said his time off had given him "a fresh perspective on future potential". Kainos chair, Rosaleen Blair, thanked his predecessor insisting the Mr Sloan left with our gratitude and respect and we wish him every success in the future". Mr Sloan said: "It has been a privilege to work with so many talented people over my 25-year career in Kainos and I'm tremendously proud of everything we have achieved and delivered for our clients." Millions poured in for Live Aid as wives pawned wedding rings and even Geldof was proud to be Irish LATEST | Serial rapist who once studied at QUB 'collected souvenirs' that could help trace dozens of international victims Zhenhao Zou, 28, found guilty of drugging and raping 10 womenPolice fear further unidentified attacks by Zou, who studied in Belfast in 2017-2019At this time, there is nothing to suggest that any offences relate to his time at Queens University Bodycam footage shows Former Queen's University Belfast student Zhenhao Zou being arrested for drugging and raping 10 women Tristan Kirk and Mark Bain Evening Standard Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 19:00 A former Queens University Belfast student kept a grim collection of souvenirs from the women he is suspected of attacking including earrings, a lipstick and a fridge magnet from Seville. The new museum brand, UNTOLD Stories of the Irish in the British Army, has been developed to appeal to a wider audience Pte Duffy, born in Gweedore, Co. Donegal, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions as a stretcher bearer on 27 December 1917 (Royal Irish - Virtual Military Gallery) The beautifully restored, listed linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street, situated in the heart of the Linen Quarter Iconic Water Gate at Enniskillen Castle, the historic site where Tiffins Regiment was raised in the 17th Century New spaces and galleries will be developed through extensive participant-driven research and co-design work, supporting the creation of an immersive, inclusive and accessible space in the heart of Belfasts Linen Quarter The history of Irish involvement in the British Army will be told in a new museum planned across two sites in Belfast and Enniskillen. The 13.6million project will trace the 350-year story of Irish soldiers and their families who served. Untold: The Museum will be located at the restored linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street in Belfast, with a second site at redeveloped galleries at Enniskillen Castle. The beautifully restored, listed linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street, situated in the heart of the Linen Quarter Phase one of the project, in Belfast, is expected to open in summer 2027. Hugh Crossey, chair of the new museum, said: Untold stories of the Irish in the British Army will hopefully inspire people to see things differently and make meaningful connections across generations. Iconic Water Gate at Enniskillen Castle, the historic site where Tiffins Regiment was raised in the 17th Century During the 19th century, around 40% of the British Army comprised soldiers from across the island of Ireland. Nowhere was the Irish influence in the British military more evident than at the Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte famously described the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot as the most obstinate mules I ever saw. The victorious Duke of Wellington likewise praised Corporal James Graham from Co Monaghan one of the 7,000 Irish who fought in the battle - as the bravest man at Waterloo. Pte Duffy, born in Gweedore, Co. Donegal, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions as a stretcher bearer on 27 December 1917 (Royal Irish - Virtual Military Gallery) Some 103 years later, on November 23, 1918, Irish soldiers once again took to the field at Waterloo. The 2nd Leinsters became the first British Army Regiment to march across the battlefield since Napoleons defeat in 1815.Funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will support the planning phase, helping to recognise, explore and preserve the shared heritage of Irish men and womens contributions. The Heritage Fund has awarded initial development funding of 249,239, with an application for a full National Lottery grant of 1,721,595 to be made later. The new museum brand, UNTOLD Stories of the Irish in the British Army, has been developed to appeal to a wider audience The project will bring together collections from The Inniskillings Museum, The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum, The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum, The Royal Irish Regiment Museum, The Collections and Archives of The Royal Irish Regiment and The Collections and Archives of The North Irish Horse. Southern disbanded regiments will also be included. The Battle of Waterloo (Royal Irish - Virtual Military Gallery) Mr Crossey added: Education will be at the heart of all the exhibitions, offering our visitors the chance to explore the lives of the Irish men and women who rose above divisions of class, politics and religion and overcame extremes of hardship to make an indelible mark on our history. In sharing these stories, Untold seeks to contribute to ongoing peace and reconciliation across the island. We are already surprised at the number of people from a range of traditions who have discovered ancestral and family histories amongst Irish regiments in the British Army. When fully completed I would encourage everyone to visit this new immersive exhibition and learn more about our and potentially their shared heritage. Dr Paul Mullan, The National Lottery Heritage Funds Northern Ireland director, said the new museum would bring an exceptional heritage building in Belfasts Linen Quarter back into use. Like all parts of our health system, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is under strain Questions have been raised about just how many patients in Northern Ireland have died in recent years while waiting for an ambulance. According to new figures, 70 cases have been recorded in the past five years. However, there has been confusion about this, as a much higher number had been previously disclosed last December. It comes after the Belfast Telegraph reported how a Co Antrim man died from a heart attack as his wife drove him to hospital because no ambulances were available. Willy Darragh died en route to Antrim Area Hospital just four days before Christmas. An ambulance had been called when he took ill at his Cullybackey home, but his wife Caroline was told she would have to drive him as it would take too long for paramedics to arrive. Willy Darragh Across the system, our health service is under pressure, with high numbers of patients attending emergency departments, as well as bed shortages and long waits outside hospitals for ambulance handovers. In January, it came to light that a patient was left waiting in an ambulance outside Antrim Area Hospital for more than a day before being admitted. The total length of the wait was 25 hours and 15 minutes. The second-longest ambulance handover time in December was at the Ulster Hospital, where a patient waited for 23 hours and 36 minutes. This week, figures have been released showing how many patients in NI have died while waiting on ambulances in recent years. During the 2020/21 financial year, there were four such cases. This doubled to eight in 2021/22 and again increased to 17 the next financial year. In 2023/24, a total of 31 people died while waiting for an ambulance. So far in 2024/25, up to February 21, a further 10 people have died waiting. It is not possible to determine from the figures if ambulance waits contributed to the deaths of these individuals. Previous information released on December 9 last year following an Assembly question tabled for Mike Nesbitt gave much higher figures for the number of these cases a total of 149. This was from the beginning of 2020/21 to the date the Assembly answer was issued. This week, however, Mr Nesbitt said his original response was inaccurate and the figure of 70 deaths was provided. A Department of Health spokesperson said: A recent further validation of data led to the correction of an earlier administrative error. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) apologises for the error and has given assurances to learn from the incident. The minister acted quickly to place the correct information into the public record. SDLP opposition health spokesperson Colin McGrath SDLP health spokesperson Colin McGrath questioned if the latest figures provided are accurate. I would question these new figures from the Health Minister, given the huge pressures facing both our ambulance and health services in recent years, he said. It took months for this to be corrected and I would be seriously concerned that the department may not know the real figure. Our ambulance and health staff give everything to their jobs, but both they and patients are being let down by political failure. Everyone deserves dignity in death and I cannot imagine what these patients or their families went through while waiting on these ambulances. The figures may have been lowered, but one death of this nature is too many. Until we see the Executive taking the difficult decisions necessary to transform our health service and ensure ambulances can respond to those in need in a timely manner, deaths of people waiting on an ambulance will continue and it should be a priority for every party to address this. Mr Nesbitt said: Sadly, given the nature of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Services work, patients do, at times, pass away while awaiting an ambulance to arrive. However, the determination as to whether a delayed ambulance response has directly contributed to a patients death is complex and requires the consideration of a number of factors. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt As part of NIASs adverse incident management procedures, all reported incidents of patient death are evaluated to assess whether the timeliness of ambulance response may have impacted the outcome, and, where required, learning and corrective actions are implemented to service delivery. Last month, this newspaper reported a significant rise in complaints against the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, complaints increased from 93 to 280. Earlier this year, the Assembly passed a motion calling on the Health Minister to urgently bring forward proposals to improve the availability and capacity of ambulance services. During the debate on the motion, Mr Nesbitt said that patient flow and resources are at the core of the issue and he would be commissioning a review of emergency care capacity. Our ambulance staff are facing the daily challenge of not having sufficient available resource to respond appropriately for timely dispatch, timely response and timely delivery into EDs, he said. Like all staff involved in emergency health service delivery, they are asked again and again, day after day, to make judgement calls not about what is the best option, but about what is the least-worst option. With that comes a constant worry about whether they have made the right least-worst decision, and that is a worry that they often take home with them at night. A major weapons manufacturer is set to open a third facility in Northern Ireland, Assembly members have heard. Thales UK operates two sites in the region with high-precision missiles designed and produced at a plant in east Belfast, and final missile assembly at another plant in Crossgar, Co Down. It designs and produces missiles including Starstreak, Lightweight Multi-role Missile (LMM) systems as well as final assembly of the Saab designed NLAW. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently announced that Thales would supply 5,000 LMMs to Ukraine in a deal worth up to 1.6 billion. Engineers at the Thales Belfast factory assembly line (Thales) Appearing at the Stormont Economy committee, Nigel MacVean, managing director for Thales in Northern Ireland, revealed plans for a third site. He also told MLAs that missiles have been shipped from Belfast to the front line in Ukraine and are making an impact. He said LMMs are widely recognised as one of the key drivers in keeping Russian helicopters out of Ukraine, while the NLAW is widely regarded as being responsible for keeping Russian tanks out of Kyiv. Mr MacVean said the firm has been on a rapid growth curve over the last couple of years, and will continue to grow rapidly. He said there are currently 850 direct employees in Belfast and they expect to create another 200 jobs over the next two years. Well expand our footprint from the two existing sites we have in Northern Ireland to a third site as well as part of that expansion plan, he told MLAs. Were at the moment just launching around 100 million worth of investment in our facilities, capital infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Thatll be largely undertaken by local companies. Nigel MacVean, managing director of Thales UK in Northern Ireland, gives evidence to the Stormont Economy committee (NI Assembly/PA) The committee heard from a number of firms during its meeting on Wednesday morning which included a briefing from the UK Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industries (ADS) on the need for a long-term strategic plan to support the industry. Leslie Orr, from the ADS Group a trade body for sectors, said the industry is now worth 2.2 billion to the Northern Ireland economy, and employs more than 10,000 people. Its a critical sector for Northern Ireland, he added. Communities minister Gordon Lyons, Rev Robert Miller and Helen Quigley from the Inner City Trust outside the former Austins department store building in Derry. Communities minister Gordon Lyons, Rev Robert Miller and Helen Quigley from the Inner City Trust outside the former Austins department store building in Derry. The former site of Austins department store in Londonderry city centre has been awarded a 1.2m grant from Stormont. The Department for Communities (DfC) has allocated the money to the Inner City Trust (ICT) for the purchase of the landmark listed building situated in the heart of the walled city as part of a regeneration project. The site, based in a prime location, has been vacant for the past nine years. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the decision was taken in recognition of the strategic importance of the signature building and forms part of a wider initiative to address dereliction and vacancy across the city centre. I am pleased my Department has been able to fund the purchase of the Austins building, he added. "The investment of 1.2million is the first step in the regeneration of this iconic building located at the heart of the Historic Conservation Area. This investment will have a transformative effect, not only on Austins, but will contribute to the regeneration of the wider city centre and underlines my commitment to delivering projects which regenerate our urban areas, develop stronger communities and support their continued growth. "This is an exciting time for the city and the wider region and this project, along with several others which my Department are also supporting, contributes to these commitments. Communities minister Gordon Lyons, Rev Robert Miller and Helen Quigley from the Inner City Trust outside the former Austins department store building in Derry. In the short term, the funding will ensure the ICT can complete the purchase and undertake immediate restoration works to secure the important built heritage of this key property and begin to advance the physical, social, and economic regeneration of the city. The ICT has already begun to engage with a range of public and private sector bodies regarding the potential future uses of the building. The trusts chairman, Robert Miller, hailed the announcement as a significant step forward in the rescue and revitalisation of one of the citys most iconic buildings This investment is a testament to the power of partnership," he added. "I am deeply grateful to the minister and his department for their commitment to this key project, which aligns seamlessly with the Inner City Trusts vision to drive the physical, social, and economic regeneration of the City Centre. This restoration will not only breathe new life into an important historic building but will also strengthen the Department for Communities Public Realm Scheme and the transformative ambitions of the Derry City and Strabane District Councils City Deal. "It sends a clear message of confidence to other investors that our city is a place of progress, innovation, and opportunity. "Our built heritage is a cornerstone of our identity, and through projects like this, it will play a pivotal role in shaping a vibrant, reimagined City Centre - one that fosters prosperity and inspires generations to come. SDLP councillor John Boyle, who is a member of the Austins Taskforce, welcomed the good news for the city, particularly traders. The former Austins building is an iconic and important part of the built heritage of our city centre and I welcome the news that there is an identifiable route to giving the building a new lease of life, he said. It will be an enormous undertaking to breathe life back into the Austins building, but I am confident that the Inner City Trust, with their track record, are well placed to take the next steps to achieve that goal. It is pleasing to know that future generations will be able to enjoy the Austins building as much as countless others have in the past. I congratulate the Inner City Trust on having the courage, ambition and the vision to take the building forward into the future." Mr Boyle said the ICT has a brilliant reputation for rescuing, regenerating and reimagining older buildings and making them vibrant and viable again and expressed confidence in the groups ability to make the area an attractive place to live, visit and do business. I also pay tribute to and thank, on behalf of the people of Derry, the outgoing owners who, I know, did all that they could to retain the physical integrity of the building in order to save it for future generations," he added. This is an exciting time for our city as we continue to see the realisation of our extensive City Deal projects and the expansion of our University campus at Magee College. "I believe the Inner City Trust will continue to be a very important player in recognising the dreams and aspirations of a city and its people, playing an important role as our city moves onwards and upwards. Long may our ambitions as a city and people flourish. DUP MLA Gary Middleton said the investment represents a significant step towards restoring the vibrancy of the city centre. This landmark listed building has remained vacant for nearly a decade and this will not only restore a crucial piece of Londonderrys heritage but also provide a tangible opportunity for further investment in the area, he added. I commend my DUP colleague Gordon Lyons MLA, Minister for Communities, the Department for Communities and the Inner City Trust for their vision and dedication to this project. I look forward to seeing the building transformed into a space that serves the needs of the community and contributes to the economic prosperity of the region. Stop point-scoring over Omagh bomb probe, QUB academic urges politicians DUPs criticism of Dublin about lack of co-operation with inquiry described as probably unhelpful Aftermath of the Omagh bomb in 1998 Liam Tunney Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 07:25 Elected representatives should avoid politicising the Omagh Bombing Inquiry amid calls for the Irish government to hold a parallel probe into the atrocity, a QUB academic has said. Dangerous criminal linked to 100 burglaries hid in NI as cops searched for him for two years Suspect linked with a series of incidents in Munster and west of Ireland The pick-up truck seized in last week's Operation Thor raid in Co Kildare Ken Foy Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 11:40 Gardai have identified at least 60 burglaries carried out by a 39-year-old career criminal who was arrested last week, but the actual figure could be double that. The Prime Minister will meet with the Irish premier in Liverpool this evening for the first of a series of annual UK-Ireland summits. Sir Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheal Martin will co-host a reception on Wednesday evening, which is designed to celebrate cultural links between the UK and Ireland. It comes after both governments signalled a desire for a reset in relations, which had been put under strain throughout Brexit and the previous Conservative governments laws to deal with legacy issues of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) The two leaders will also host a round table with businesses across the tech, energy, construction and manufacturing sectors which have operations on both sides of the Irish Sea on Thursday morning. They are expected to agree what is being described as a wide-ranging programme of new and enhanced strategic co-operation between Ireland and the UK, to be taken forward by both governments through to 2030. Mr Martin said: This summit is one of the most significant bilateral engagements between the British and Irish Governments in a generation and shows the resolve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I to put in place the building blocks to bring strategic co-operation between our two countries to a new level. Simon Harris with Sir Keir Starmer in Dublin (Peter Morrison/PA) I am keen now that we work in partnership on a structured and ongoing basis to realise the full potential of the British-Irish relationship across a comprehensive programme of co-operation, including on infrastructure delivery, opportunities for SMEs, marine planning, energy, education and culture. Mr Martin will be joined by Irelands deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the countrys defence and foreign affairs minister for the summit plenary meeting later on Thursday. The Prime Minister previously met Mr Harris in Dublin when he held the position of taoiseach last year. The Irish delegation also includes Education Minister Helen McEntee, Climate, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh OBrien, and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jim OCallaghan. Irish premier Micheal Martin has committed to raising Irelands views on Ukraine and Gaza when he meets US president Donald Trump next week. The Taoiseach is due to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump next week as part of an annual tradition to mark the week of Irelands national holiday St Patricks Day. Mr Martin said Ireland will express a desire for a durable and sustainable peace in Ukraine, as well as a consolidation of the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. He was responding to Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of the largest opposition party Sinn Fein, who said she was deeply concerned by Irelands place within international order. She said: Will you put it to President Trump that Ireland stands on the side of international law and diplomacy, that the sovereignty of Ukraine must be upheld, that the pressing and immediate priority now is to build peace through inclusive engagement and good faith dialogue? And what, Taoiseach, will be your message to the American president in standing with the Palestinian people? Will you express Irelands strong view that the US is catastrophically wrong on Gaza, that the proposal for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is absolutely an unacceptable breach of international law, deeply destabilising for the Middle East and the wider world? Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (Gareth Chaney/PA) Mr Martin said the countrys relationship with the US is extremely important and older than the State itself, in reference to the US being the first country to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with the Irish Free State in 1924. He said he was travelling to celebrate the historic links between Ireland and the US, adding that the week of St Patricks Day was the traditional time to do that. He said: In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. Were an open, small economy, pro-free trade and Ill be articulating that perspective. We will also articulate views in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East also. Pressed on what exactly he would say to Mr Trump on those two conflicts and the Palestinian question, Mr Martin said: We want a peace settlement thats durable and sustainable in Ukraine. President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that. He added: Secondly, in terms of Gaza and the Middle East, again, lets be clear: We want to consolidate the ceasefire and well be very strongly making that point. Mr Martin also called for a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach also said the visit was important for the Irish diaspora, as 30 million US citizens claim Irish descent. Disinformation after the Southport killings was said to have sparked riots across the country (Owen Humphreys/PA) The authorities failure to disclose basic facts about the Southport killer led to dangerous fictions that could have been far more prejudicial to his murder trial, a terror watchdog has said. The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, said it would have been far better for authorities to provide an accurate lead rather than an ineffectual near silence which led to the disinformation that sparked the riots. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Hall called for an urgent need to understand the balance of prejudice in the digital age as contempt of court laws are being reviewed in the wake of the case. Following the attack by Axel Rudakubana, 18, last July, in which he murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, false claims began circulating online. Sir Keir Starmer has defended the decision taken by authorities not to share information about the case earlier on, insisting that to do so would have risked collapsing a potential jury trial. But Mr Hall wrote: The failure by the authorities to spell out basic and sober facts about the attacker led to contagious disinformation about a murderous Muslim asylum-seeker that stoked the ensuing riots. I would go further than that: it led to dangerous fictions that could have been far more prejudicial to the prosecution of Rudakubana than some of the true facts which were suppressed in the name of contempt of court. Had there been a trial, jurors could have entered court with the impression that Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum-seeker and, more toxically, that the authorities were determined to hush it up. Earlier this month, Merseysides police chief Serena Kennedy told MPs she wanted to dispel disinformation in the immediate aftermath of the Southport murders by releasing information over Rudakubanas religion, but was told not to by local crown prosecutors. Riots broke out after Axel Rudakubana murdered three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed class (Merseyside Police/PA) Police did disclose that the suspect was a 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff. Mr Hall added that an unintended consequence of the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking has been a cooling of relations between the police and mainstream media, but that cases such as Southport show how the information void will be filled with speculation and mischief. Accurate information is crucial for public trust and confidence, particularly in the wake of terrorist attacks and other horrors, he wrote. The watchdog also reflected on the national security landscape where social media, a major source of news, is closely connected to the policies of US tech companies. The bracing approach of the new administration is to emphasise, with some justification, the need for freedom of information from government influence or control, he said. This will inevitably clip the wings of the UKs Online Safety Act. Sir Keir Starmer has hailed Volodymyr Zelenskys steadfast commitment to peace, as a report suggested that Ukraine and the US could sign the much-anticipated minerals deal. Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump had told advisers he wanted to announce the deal in his speech to Congress on Tuesday night. However, it was cautioned that nothing had been signed and the situation could change. Mr Zelensky had earlier said Ukraine is ready to sign the deal at any time and in any convenient format, describing it as a step towards greater security. A deal had been expected to be signed on Friday, however the agreement appeared to be in tatters after a confrontation between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky at the White House. Earlier on, the Prime Minister praised the Ukrainian leaders commitment to peace in a phone call with Mr Zelensky, and said that no one wanted peace more than Kyiv. It comes as Mr Zelensky has called for a truce in the sky and a truce in the sea if Russia agrees to the same, and said it is time to make things right after his clash in the Oval Office with Donald Trump last week. Issuing a read out of the call between the leaders, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister updated on his discussion with President Trump last night. It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible, the Prime Minister added. Turning to President Zelenskys most recent calls for further diplomatic efforts to achieve the swiftest possible end to the war, the Prime Minister welcomed President Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace. Underscoring that any peace for Ukraine needed to be lasting and secure, the Prime Minister said no one wanted peace more than Ukraine. The leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Mr Zelensky said the two leaders discussed the current developments and exchanged views on the next steps, saying he was grateful for the advice and support during this challenging time. We are co-ordinating our positions and doing everything to achieve guaranteed peace as soon as possible and bring an end to this war, he said. The US had halted military aid to Kyiv on Monday, days after the dramatic scenes in Washington, which Mr Zelensky has now described as regrettable. The White House has suspended delivery of ammunition and other equipment to Kyiv, announcing overnight that assistance is being reviewed to ensure that it is contributing to a solution. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Zelensky had said: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal. He added: Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively. The transatlantic alliance on the war in Ukraine has been strained in recent weeks as the US diverged away from the stance of other Nato allies. US vice president JD Vance was forced to clarify that his criticism of a possible European peacekeeping force in Ukraine was not aimed at the UK or France after a backlash from British politicians and ex-soldiers. In an interview Mr Vance had appeared to downplay the potential of 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years in monitoring any ceasefire. His comments were widely perceived to be directed towards the UK and France, who have been leading European efforts to secure a peace deal between Russia and Kyiv. Later on Tuesday, Mr Vance claimed it was absurdly dishonest to suggest he had been referring to either of the countries. I dont even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond, he said. The matter of security guarantees that could be given to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal to discourage Vladimir Putin from reinvading has been a key topic in discussions. Sir John Sawers, the former chief of MI6, told LBC on Tuesday evening that there could be border incursions into the Baltic states as a test of Nato Article 5 resilience. He said: I think well see more targeted attacks against undersea cables and maybe gas pipelines, just to unnerve the Europeans. And we might see some border incursions into the Baltic states, for example, just to test whether Article 5 is still there. The French government says Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron could return to Washington for talks with Donald Trump (PA) Sir Keir Starmer could return to Washington DC for talks with US President Donald Trump, Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky and Frances Emmanuel Macron, a spokeswoman for the French government said. The UK and France have been co-ordinating European efforts to support Ukraine and develop a peace plan to end the war with Russia after Mr Trump alarmed allies on the continent by opening talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The French government said Mr Macron, Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky could potentially travel to meet Mr Trump, although that was a wish at the moment and there had not been an invitation from the White House. Spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters: It is envisaged that President Macron might possibly go to Washington again with President Zelensky and his English counterpart. Asked when French President Mr Macron, Mr Zelensky and the UK Prime Minister might visit Washington and whether it would be within days or weeks she said: I dont have the information. I think it is in the short-term. When asked whether there has been an invitation from the White House or whether the visit is a French wish she replied: Its a wish I think. Downing Street said details of any future travel by the Prime Minister would be set out in the usual way. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Weve said that we will progress these discussions, that includes progressing discussions with the United States. At Prime Ministers Questions, Sir Keir said: We need to do everything we can to ensure that the US, Europe and Ukraine are working together on lasting peace, and I am doing everything I can to play my part in that, in regular contact with all of the key players at the moment, including talking to President Zelensky yesterday afternoon. Relations between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Mr Zelensky appear to have been patched up following last weeks dramatic White House bust-up. Mr Trump also said he has had strong signals from Russia that Moscow is ready for peace, saying: Wouldnt that be beautiful? The US president used a wide-ranging speech in Congress to say he had received a letter from the Ukrainian leader saying Kyiv is ready to sign a minerals agreement with Washington at any time after the deal broke down last week. The Ukrainian president had earlier said it is time to make things right with Mr Trump after a fractious meeting in the Oval Office last week and the US decision to suspend military aid to Kyiv. Mr Trump quoted the Ukrainian leaders words from a letter. He read: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Mr Trump added: I appreciate that he sent this letter Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides. Mr Trump also criticised European countries for spending more money buying Russian oil and gas than on defending Ukraine. Mr Trump said: I want (the war in Ukraine) to stop. Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. And weve spent perhaps 350 billion dollars (273 billion), like taking candy from a baby. Thats what happened. And theyve spent 100 billion dollars (78 billion) what a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. The UKs diplomatic push to act as a bridge between the US and Europe is continuing with Defence Secretary John Healey crossing the Atlantic. Mr Healey is due to meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday. The Defence Secretarys trip was agreed last week after Sir Keir announced an increase in the UKs defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and comes just days after the US halted military aid to Kyiv. Before his trip, Mr Healey hailed the special relationship between the UK and the US and said it is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. He added: In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too. The Prime Minister was clear following his meetings over the past week that we will continue our dialogue with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace in Ukraine. We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days. The increase in defence spending comes as figures showed one in 10 armed forces personnel more than 13,500 people are unfit to be deployed. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence in a parliamentary answer showed just 54,695 members of the British Army 76.9% of the total are classed as medically fully deployable (MFD), with 9,478 (13.3%) classed as medically limited deployable (MLD) and 6,973 (9.8%) medically not deployable (MND). Across the forces, 99,162 (78.1%) are fully deployable, 14,361 (11.3%) are classed as MLD and 13,503 (10.6%) are MND as of January 1. US President Donald Trump has said he appreciates a letter from Volodymyr Zelensky saying Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement at any time after the deal broke down last week (Carl Court/PA) Donald Trump has said he appreciates Volodymyr Zelenskys letter saying Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement at any time after the deal broke down last week. The US president also said he has had strong signals from Russia that Moscow is ready for peace, adding: Wouldnt that be beautiful? The Ukrainian president had earlier said it is time to make things right with Mr Trump after a fractious meeting in the Oval Office last week and the US decision to suspend military aid to Kyiv. The UKs diplomatic push towards securing peace in Ukraine will continue as Defence Secretary John Healey heads to Washington on Wednesday. In an address to Congress, Mr Trump quoted the Ukrainian leaders words from a letter. He read: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Mr Trump added: I appreciate that he sent this letter Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides. Mr Healey is due to meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday. The Defence Secretarys trip was agreed last week after Sir Keir Starmer announced an increase in the UKs defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and comes just days after the US halted military aid to Kyiv. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Diplomatic efforts had continued on Tuesday, with the Prime Minister speaking once again to the Ukrainian leader. In their call, Sir Keir pushed the idea that it is vital for all parties to work towards peace. It came after a further call with the US president on Monday. Mr Zelensky posted on X later on Tuesday to say Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to secure peace. Relations between the US and Ukraine appeared to be in tatters last week after a confrontation between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky at the White House. The Ukrainian leader called for a truce in the sky and a truce in the sea if Russia agrees to the same, and described the Oval Office clash as regrettable. Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be, he said. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future co-operation and communication to be constructive. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace (Justin Tallis/PA) Sir Keir had hailed Mr Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace in a phone call on Tuesday. A readout of the call offered by Downing Street said: The Prime Minister updated on his discussion with President Trump last night. It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible, the Prime Minister added. Turning to President Zelenskys most recent calls for further diplomatic efforts to achieve the swiftest possible end to the war, the Prime Minister welcomed President Zelenskys steadfast commitment to securing peace. Underscoring that any peace for Ukraine needed to be lasting and secure, the Prime Minister said no-one wanted peace more than Ukraine. The leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days. Ahead of his trip, Mr Healey hailed the special relationship between the UK and the US and said it is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. He added: In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too. The Prime Minister was clear following his meetings over the past week that we will continue our dialogue with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace in Ukraine. We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days. The push for increased defence spending comes as figures showed one in 10 armed forces personnel more than 13,500 people are unfit to be deployed. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence in a parliamentary answer showed just 54,695 members of the British Army 76.9% of the total are classed as medically fully deployable (MFD), with 9,478 (13.3%) classed as medically limited deployable (MLD) and 6,973 (9.8%) medically not deployable (MND). Across the forces, 99,162 (78.1%) are fully deployable, 14,361 (11.3%) are classed as MLD and 13,503 (10.6%) are MND as of January 1. Mr Trump also criticised European countries in his address to Congress for spending more money buying Russian oil and gas than on defending Ukraine, while thanking Mr Zelensky for his willingness to resume peace negotiations. Mr Trump said: I want (the war in Ukraine) to stop. Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. And weve spent perhaps 350 billion dollars (273 billion), like taking candy from a baby. Thats what happened. And theyve spent 100 billion dollars (78 billion) what a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. The nations papers are led by Volodymyr Zelensky saying he is ready to seek a peace deal in the war with Russia. The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times and Daily Mail all lead with the Ukrainian president declaring he stands ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The story is also carried by the i, which says Defence Secretary John Healey is heading to Washington to meet with US counterpart Pete Hegseth. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Metro and Daily Star all lead with criticism of US vice president JD Vance, after he suggested in an interview that British troops havent fought a war in 30 or 40 years. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The Financial Times reports stocks fell in Europe as a result of Donald Trump implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The wife of former BBC presenter Jermaine Jenas has said she and her husband have split up, according to The Sun. President Donald Trump took credit for swift and unrelenting action in reorienting the nations economy, immigration and foreign policy as he updated Congress and the American people on his turbulent first few weeks in office. Tuesdays joint address to Congress, was the latest marker in Mr Trumps takeover of the nations capital, where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake Americas place in the world. With a tight grip on his party, the president has been emboldened to take sweeping actions after overcoming impeachments in his first term and criminal prosecutions in between his two administrations. It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action, he said of his opening weeks in office. The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it. Democrat Representative Al Green is removed from the chamber as Donald Trump speaks (Win McNamee/Pool Photo/AP) Mr Trump, who has billionaire adviser Elon Musk orchestrating his efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, said he is working to reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy and threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda. Mr Musk, who was seated in the House gallery, received a pair of standing ovations from Republicans in the chamber, as Mr Trump exaggerated and shared false claims about alleged government abuse uncovered by the Tesla and SpaceX founder and his team. The president repeated false claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, prompting some Democrats to shout Not true! and Those are lies! Democrats made an immediate display of dissent with stone faces, placards calling out lies and Texas Representative Al Greens ejection from the House chamber after heckling Mr Trump that he had no mandate to cut Medicaid. After several interruptions, House Speaker Mike Johnson jumped in and called for decorum to be restored in the chamber as Republicans shouted USA to drown out the cries from the other side of the aisle. Mr Johnson then ordered Mr Green be removed from the chamber. Its worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up to Mr Trump, Mr Green told reporters after being thrown out of the chamber. Other Democrats held up signs criticising like Save Medicaid and Protect Veterans during Mr Trumps remarks, seeking to drive public awareness to elements of his agenda they believed might offer them a pathway back to the majority. Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families, Mr Trump said. He promised to organise the federal government to lower costs on eggs and energy, although he offered scant details. Elon Musk gestures as Mr Trump addresses a joint session of Congress (Alex Brandon/AP) Mr Trump seemed prepared to double down on his trade war, which experts have warned will raise prices for consumers. Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them, he said. A 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect early on Tuesday ostensibly to secure greater co-operation to tackle fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration triggering immediate retaliation and sparking fears of a wider trade war. Mr Trump also raised tariffs on goods from China to 20%. Mr Trump also celebrated his sharp crackdown on migration , fulfilling a key campaign promise and taunting Democrats for not doing more to secure the border, saying: It turns all we really needed was a new president. He also used his speech to address his proposals for fostering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he has unceremoniously upended the policies of the Biden administration in a matter of just weeks. On Monday, Mr Trump ordered a freeze to US military assistance to Ukraine, ending years of staunch American support for the country in fending off Russias invasion. Mr Trump also said he had ended a weaponised government that he accused Democrats of wielding against him, referring to his legal troubles over the years, claiming they were political persecution. The president also used his high-profile moment to press his efforts to reshape the countrys approach to social issues, as he looked to continue to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the country and to roll back some public accommodations for transgender individuals. Outside Washington, the latest round of public protests against Mr Trump and his administration on Tuesday saw loosely co-ordinated groups held demonstrations at parks, state houses and public grounds as protesters gathered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. They condemned his presidency as dangerous and un-American, although they cited a wide variety of actions they wanted to push back against, including the government cuts, Mr Trumps tariffs and his stance on Ukraine. US President Donald Trump has issued what he called a last warning to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. He issued the sharply worded message after the White House confirmed he had recently dispatched an envoy for unprecedented direct talks with the militant group. Mr Trump, in a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting at the White House with eight former hostages, added that he was sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is over for you, Mr Trump posted. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! President Donald Trump said he was sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP) The pointed language from Mr Trump came after the White House said on Wednesday that US officials have engaged in ongoing talks and discussions with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging in the militant group. Confirmation of the talks in the Qatari capital Doha came as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. It is the first known direct engagement between the US and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide details on the substance of the talks but said Mr Trump has authorised his envoys to talk to anyone. Egyptian and Qatari intermediaries have served as mediators with Hamas for the US and Israel since the group launched the attack on Israel on October 7 2023 that sparked the war. Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do whats in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is (a) good faith, effort to do whats right for the American people, she said. Ms Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, but noted that there are American lives at stake. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office offered a terse acknowledgement of the US-Hamas talks. Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas, the prime ministers office said. Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages including Edan Alexander, an American citizen as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza. Adam Boehler, Mr Trumps nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the direct talks with Hamas. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials (Alex Brandon/AP) The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official. The official added that no progress was made but the step itself is promising and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks. The direct engagement comes as continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains uncertain. Mr Trump has signalled that he has no intentions of pushing Mr Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas does not agree to terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by US envoy Steve Witkoff. The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages the militant groups main bargaining chip in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners a key component of the first phase. The talks between US and Hamas officials was first reported by the news site Axios. PSNI wont deny spying on veteran investigative journalistMcIntyre said he is appalled at the news - and believes the PSNI may have broken into his car at Heathrow Airport14-year-old Noah Donohoes death is the subject of substantial public concern and speculationAn inquest, which the coroner hopes will begin before the summer, will seek to answer how Noah died Noah Donohoes body was found in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020. The 14-year-old had been missing for almost a week. The tragic and highly unusual nature of Noahs death, along with criticism of the police search for him, had led to substantial public concern, speculation, and anger. Almost five years later, significant questions remain unanswered ahead of an inquest which the coroner has said he hopes will begin before the summer. But entirely separate to the inquest is the question of how the PSNI has dealt with other aspects of the case. Two years ago, investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre began investigating the disappearance and the circumstances around it. His investigation was funded by online donations, totaling over 150,000. However, a source has now told the Belfast Telegraph that as Mr MacIntyre began his work, the PSNI moved to put him under significant and intrusive online surveillance. Ciaran Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraphs Northern Ireland Editor Sam McBride, who broke the story. Disgraced businessman busted in 2023 over NIs biggest ever fraud One of Northern Irelands biggest fraudsters is being targeted by dissident republicans. Bleary-eyed Paul McStravick had nothing to say when Sunday Life called at his west Belfast home first thing just days after he was released from prison. Pervert has convictions stretching back to 1991 A paedophile previously described as incurable has had his lifelong Sexual Offences Prevention Order (Sopo) lifted. Ian Magill, who has dozens of convictions for child sex abuse, will now be able to reapply for his passport and travel the world. Pexels Pope John Paul II first traveled to Jordan during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the Great Jubilee year 2000. His Holiness opened his visit atop Mount Nebo, the site where Moses stood and gazed into the Promised Land. Praying on behalf of "Jews, Muslims and Christians," he blessed the land of Jordan and asked God to "bestow upon all who live here the gift of a true peace, justice and fraternity." Today, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is proud of its homegrown tradition of tolerance and interfaith harmony. Today, Catholic pilgrims are welcome to visit the sites of earliest Christianity, including the spot where Jesus began his ministry. Pope John Paul II designated the five sites in Jordan which as official destinations of catholic pilgrimage, with special spiritual blessings for those who make the visit to all five sites in Holy Jordan. Baptism Site Jesus Christ was baptized in "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" (John 1:28), in the place where John the Baptist lived and preached. Today, the Baptism Site (or Al-Maghtas in Arabic) feels like stepping into the pages of the New Testament, with wildflowers in spring and buzzing honeybees among the reeds and palms. Old stone churches and pathways reveal the pilgrims' path through the Jordan Valley. Plan for at least a half-day in order to visit the entire site (including John the Baptist's cave and the hill where Elijah ascended to heaven on a chariot of fire). Visitors wanting to be baptized (or baptize infants) should contact the site beforehand to arrange for a Catholic priest. Mount Nebo The Old Testament says that Moses was buried somewhere on Mount Nebo, although the exact location remains a mystery. Revered by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, the site is managed by the Franciscans, whose contemporary monastery tastefully preserves the marvelous 6th-century mosaics on the chapel floor. Pathways lead through a grove of fragrant olive trees and among the older ruins of the monastery, while the museum and gallery offer a deeper historical context of this two-thousand-year-old pilgrimage site. To catch a glimpse of the same view Moses had, walk out to the edge of the peak, some 2,631 feet (710 meters) above sea level. Tel Mar Elias Just outside the town of Ajloun, "Elijah's Mound" is the place where early Christians believed the prophet Elijah the Tishbite was born. Historically, this is the land of Gilead (as in, "Balm of Gilead"), and at least two separate Christian churches were built on the spot. Stone steps lead up to the larger church ruins that include mosaics dating back to the 6th century. The panoramic view atop the mound offers a great perspective towards Ajloun Castle (from the Crusader era) and the evergreen forests of northern Jordan. Venture down to the lower level to the rock wall and flowing spring to find a small shrine meant for quiet prayer and contemplation. Mukawir The sprawling stone ruins of Herod's desert castle rest atop this barren beige mountaintop near the Dead Sea. Once home to Herod the Great, and then his son Herod Antipas, the palace-fortress, is where John the Baptist was betrayed and beheaded (Matthew 14:8). Now considered a site of Christian martyrdom, pilgrims follow the long curving slope around the mountain up to the plateau at the top. The ancient palace ruins are extensive, including a stark dungeon where some archeologists believe John the Baptist was imprisoned before his execution. Our Lady of the Mount in Anjara Perhaps the least-known and least-visited of the five catholic sites, Our Lady of the Mount Church is located in the tiny village of Anjara, just outside the historic city of Ajloun. Early Christian writings maintain that the Virgin Mary accompanied Jesus as they passed through these mountains on their way from Jerusalem to Galilee. The traditional pilgrimage gathering for Jordanian Catholics is on June 18th. The events and lessons of the Holy Scriptures flow through the landscape much like the river that bears the country's name. If you want to walk in the footsteps of the Prophets and truly immerse yourself in the stories of the Bible, Jordan is the destination. To learn more about the biblical history and events in Jordan, please visit www.holyjordan.com Shutterstock.com Weve always known America to be a religiously devout democracy, even more so than other Western democracies. Yet, religion is declining at a rapid pace, changing the religious landscape. The overarching conclusion we can take away from American religion over the past few decades is that fewer people identify with an established religious tradition each year, and the religious nones continue to grow. Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University, explains that nearly two-thirds of people raised as nones are still nones, even in adulthood, meaning the retention rate is high. We are now seeing second and third-generation nones. As our nation grows to be more secular, it has opened the space for our country to be more divided, including divides around political ideology. This brings up the question, have politics replaced religion in America? First, we have to look at how we got here. The rapid shift in American religion was mainly driven by evangelicals who began to become more prominent in American culture. There was also the rise of televangelists like Jerry Falwell that overlapped with the Religious Right starting to assert itself in electoral politics. At the time, the religious nones were a much smaller group. Evangelicals had become 25 to 27 percent of the population, and the mainline population was just around 20 percent by the last 1980s, Christianity Today reports. While evangelicals hit their peak in the data around 30 percent in 1993, they have been on a slow but steady decline over time. Before the major religious declines, there was more religious commonality. This helped our country maintain a certain level of political cohesion. When people in a society abide by roughly the same religious beliefs, there are better odds that pollical common ground will be broader among its members. Now that religion has declined, and weve become more politically divided, Americans have much less common ground than ever before, particularly when it comes to deeply-held values and beliefs. There was a time when Christianity provided a significant amount of commonality among our culture, but the intrusive political chaos is tearing away at the fabric of our society. While these ideologies are not only ascending and dominating, they cant fill the void left by the Christian faith. As religion has declined in America, many are asking if political tribalism is filling the vacuum left behind? In the essay Americas New Religions, Andrew Sullivan says he believes established faiths in America are giving way to political tribalism. He explained that the desire for religious fulfillment is in our genes. Sullivan expressed that as Christianity declines in America, two discrete political religions are taking their place in search of meaning. He says that this has given rise to Trumpism and the cult of social justice in recent years. In the essay, he appeals to Evangelicals who voted for Trump when he was the least Christian person in America. Throughout Americas history, people have replaced faith in God with political ideology. Trumpism is one modern example of it. In our nation and across our world, people have been placing their faith in God with a multitude of ideologies and worldly pursuits. As Christians, we know that the only path to God is through Jesus Christ. If we are clear about this, we can also be clear that there are many ways to go astray from Him. There is so much division between the Left and the Right, and God doesnt appear to be at the center. There are so many problems that need solving, and there are growing spiritual needs of our country. When God is not placed at the center, we become even more desperately in need. This is the time where we need to work together and come in unity. First John 4:7-21 says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Maybe the key to diminishing political divides and bringing religion back to the forefront is love. Our society emphasizes focusing on the flaws and sins of elected officials. While we should always hold government leaders accountable, we need to take a look at our flaws and sins. Gods Word instructs it. Matthew 7:3 says, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? We must focus on living our lives in pleasing and dignified ways. Psalm 47:8 says, God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. Many kingdoms and nations have appeared and disappeared throughout history, but Gods kingdom is eternal. Headlines can make you feel uneasy, but we should always remember that God is in control. We cant deny that we are living in a politically divided nation. Sometimes political ideologies seem to supersede religious ones. There is so much hatred, fear and violence taking place in the hearts of those around us. It feels like God is no longer in the public square. As Christians, we must remember that God is present and call on Him in these divided times. Lesli White is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications and a concentration in print and online journalism. In college, she took a number of religious studies courses and harnessed her talent for storytelling. White has a rich faith background. Her father, a Lutheran pastor and life coach was a big influence in her faith life, helping her to see the value of sharing the message of Christ with others. She has served in the church from an early age. Some of these roles include assisting ministry, mutual ministry, worship and music ministry and church council. Opinion Here are some questions the candidates for the interim Deschutes County Sheriff should answer: Is there anything in If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Eagle Archives, July 2, 1957: The Marauders drum and bugle corps will be absent from the 1957 Fourth of July Parade after a split with the Pittsfield Firemens Association, which demanded the return of all instruments amid tensions over name changes and sponsorship. PITTSFIELD Pittsfield has unveiled a two-phase plan to tackle the citys potholes in the coming weeks. In Phase 1, which begins now, highway crews are using an asphalt recycler to produce their own material for patching potholes. Phase 2 begins on March 20, when blacktop plants reopen, allowing crews to use freshly produced asphalt for more permanent repairs. We have to rely on our own ability to cook our own asphalt until we have plants that are open, said Ricardo Morales, commissioner of public services and utilities. The first plant that will open near us that we can ... get product from is West Sand Lake in New York." For now, city crews are using a pavement recycler the Bagela to cook small batches of asphalt. The material is then transported into hot boxes which keep it warm until its used to fill a pothole. Two crews, made up of five or six Highway Department workers will be patching potholes during this phase, since there are only two hot boxes. Crews have already started work on the main roads, including South and Newell streets and North Street near the Lanesborough town line. The city is also looking at Onota and Linden streets and the Hubbard Avenue underpass, which had some work done last week but will be retouched later this week, Morales said. However, Morales noted that the work is weather dependent, as the Bagela is unable to work in freezing temperatures and asphalt does not stick well in heavy rain. We're expecting some not-so-great weather with rain later this week that's not going to help, Morales said. Any really low temperatures is going to put us back. Once asphalt plants reopen, multiple crews will be working on more permanent repairs across a wider range of streets, including neighborhoods. The city buys from multiple blacktop plants during this phase, including Pittsfield, Lenox Dale and the plant in West Sand Lake in New York's Rensselaer County, , which opens March 20. There are also several road resurfacing projects planned for this year, which will apply a fresh layer of asphalt to smooth out the entire road. We received the award of the projects for South Street, First Street and outer North Street, by the state, Morales said. They're going to start with South Street in the spring and then move along to North and then continue on. Berkshire Gas will start utility work underneath Lyman Street in the next week or so, and once its done, they will resurface the road, Morales said. Valentine Road will also be resurfaced following the water line replacement project, and the state will also resurface the East Street corridor between Lyman Street and Merrill Road. Residents can report potholes using the online PittSMART system or email dpw@cityofpittsfield.org. PITTSFIELD The Silvio O. Conte Federal Building has been labeled as surplus and therefore under consideration for possible sale by the Trump administration. Named for the late Republican U.S. congressman from Pittsfield, the federal building at 78 Center St. houses offices for the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and one of two district offices for U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass. It is the only location for Veterans Administration offices in Berkshire County. The listing of the building on the non-core property list compiled by U.S. General Services Administration was first noticed late Tuesday evening by The Eagle. As of Wednesday morning, the list of properties which included a pair of major office buildings in Boston and the Internal Revenue Service Center in Andover, among other locations no longer appeared on the website. Federal lawmakers and organizations serving veterans and seniors were quick to criticize the move. Having a single federal building providing services in Pittsfield makes a difference for citizens, Neal said in an interview with The Eagle. They know that they can travel there and have questions answered. That property belongs to the United States of America. People understand the connection between constituent service and their federal government. The building, built by David J. Tierney Jr. Inc., was completed in 1978 for $1.6 million and was later named for Conte (1921-1991), a city native who served 16 terms in the House. It was part of the "urban renewal" project that leveled 86 acres of the West Side in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Catherine VanBramer, the city's director of administrative services and spokesperson for Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti, said the mayor's office was still gathering information about the potential sale and not yet prepared to comment. The Conte buildings tenants include a VA outpatient clinic providing primary care and specialty health services, including mental health care and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Most of the veterans served by the Pittsfield-based veterans nonprofit Soldier On use the Pittsfield clinic, said Bruce Buckley, the organizations chief executive. He said the location has provided care more quickly and efficiently for veterans who no longer need to travel to VA hospitals in Leeds or Albany, N.Y., for service. It's really critical to their health care, Buckley said. As you know many of the veterans health issues are related to their military service ... [health care] goes hand in hand with how we treat our veterans. Its needed. Its not underused in my opinion, Buckley added. The cost of getting rid of it is greater than the loss of access to regular heath care. It serves a vital role in our veteran community. Another Berkshire veterans organization leader, speaking on condition he not be named, noted theres still a possibility that if the building was sold, the clinic would find another home. My hope is that they would see the need and they would just relocate if that building was repurposed, they said. But if the SSA and VA offices were to close, I think it would have a significant impact on veterans in our area, they said. Pittsfield Council on Aging Director Jennifer Reynolds said many of her agencys clients rely on in-person service from the Social Security Administration to answer questions about their benefits That would be pretty detrimental to seniors, Reynolds said. There are a myriad of frauds and scams surrounding Social Security. There are also updated rules with postal workers and county workers now eligible workers for Security. I imagine that will be a challenge if they cant go downtown to get help. As for Social Security, Neal made a point of calling Trump's assertions of waste and fraud in the agency a "falsity." "Social Security pays 99.8 percent of the benefits that the American people have earned accurately," he said. Also included on the list of buildings deemed "surplus" were the John F. Kennedy and Thomas P. ONeill federal buildings in Boston, the Internal Revenue Service Center in Andover, a U.S. Customs office in New Bedford, a Social Security Administration office in Fall River, the John Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, and the Philip J. Philbin Federal Office Building in Fitchburg. "This plan raises serious concerns, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, said. As Donald Trump and Elon Musk dismantle our government, piece by piece, and sell it for parts, its the seniors relying on Social Security, the veterans looking for health care, and entrepreneurs applying for small business loans that are paying the price. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., was similarly critical. Trump and [the Department of Government Efficiency] want to turn the federal government into a fire sale firing workers, shuttering critical agencies, and cutting programs that serve working people and communities across Massachusetts, he said. On its website, the General Services Administration said it owns and maintains more than 440 non-core assets representing nearly 80 million square feet. Divesting those properties and their maintenance costs could save more than $430 million in operations costs, according to the agency. Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce. We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these longstanding issues, the agency said. The agency also said it would consider market research and customer feedback in deciding how to proceed, and will consider current use, occupancy, cost of agency relocation, and local market conditions when assessing disposition. It said it would welcome creative solutions such as sale-lease backs and public-private options. Patrick Tutwiler is on a "Financial Road Show" to get more students to apply for financial aid for college. He said there is "a lot of money on the table" for students. But first they have to apply using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. GREAT BARRINGTON The town appears to be getting closer to taking possession of an abandoned timeshare mansion off West Avenue. A notice of foreclosure has been issued in Massachusetts Land Court for the Stonegate Condominium Trusts property, which has sunk into disrepair due to back taxes owed by its more than 600 owners. The foreclosure notice marks the next step in the towns efforts to take possession of the property at 111 West Ave. If those with an interest in the property do not respond to the court filing by April 21, they may "lose the chance to dispute the facts in the Complaint or to pay the taxes owed," the citation says. They also might "lose all ownership rights or interest in the land." The notice was also published by the Land Court on Feb. 28 in The Eagles legal postings. For town officials, it has been a decade-long slog through Land Court, as well as through the deed registry, in an effort to locate the propertys hundreds of owners. In 2022, the town discovered there were 620 separate owners. Together they owed more than $267,000 in back taxes. An Eagle investigation revealed that the tax mess was the result of the original property developer, Robert F. Hatch, overselling timeshare intervals by almost 50 percent. There were more timeshare intervals sold than could be used by the owners of what were just eight units. A timeshare is typically a vacation home in which multiple owners agree to use it for a specific time during the year. Back taxes sparked the towns two cases in Land Court, which it initially opened in 2016 against Hatch, Stonegates Treasurer/Director Leslie A. Cory, and the Stonegate Condominium Trust. As of November 2023, back taxes had reached more than $267,000. The trust had stopped paying the town in 2008. To foreclose in Land Court, the town had to determine who all the owners were. That challenge caused the case to stall, and the court to deactivate the case in 2020. With a new attorney who specializes in municipal real estate tax law, the town reopened the court case in 2023. In 2023, a new tax title examiner finally finished the work and identified hundreds of people who owned a stake in the timeshare. The 27-room Victorian is currently assessed at $933,300 by the towns assessor. The towns new attorney, Holyoke-based Iris Leahy, previously told The Eagle that the case had cost the town thousands of dollars in legal fees. Leahy also said she had never seen a municipal tax case this complex. Leahy could not immediately be reached for comment. Nor could Interim Town Manager Christopher Rembold. Hatch also could not be reached for comment. Jeff Robbins, a part-time resident of Stockbridge, is a former U.S. delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Council and a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief counsel for the Democrats on the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He is the author of Notes from the Brink: A Collection of Columns About Policy at Home and Abroad. While sales saw big year-over-year increases early on as legal cannabis became more accessible across the state, the pace of growth "has generally slowed over time," according to Julie Johnson, the researcher who presented the report to the Cannabis Control Commission. For one reason or another, lots of us can get into the habit of prayer being our only spiritual practice. We send a quick thank you to God before a meal or whisper a request for help during work. The hectic days drown out any other form of discipline, so we try to stay tethered to our Lord through simple prayers. Such a scenario is understandable, especially when we consider the type of technological age we live in. And there is certainly nothing wrong with praying to the Lord throughout the day; we are told to pray continually, which includes the tidbit times of prayer we snatch during the trek through our schedules (1 Thessalonians 5:17). But there is something wrong if we are unable to engage in other vital practices, like Bible reading and meditation, worship, meeting with other believers, and serving. Prayer is a significant discipline, but it alone is not enough to nourish us completely. Even if someone devoted themselves to prayer in a cloistered life away from distractions and busy schedules, his or her spiritual life would still be hindered if this was all they did. Think what would happen if we took this mindset with other parts of life, such as making a recipe. Broth alone does not make soup. Neither is spaghetti a proper dish if there are only noodles or meatballs. Likewise, there are many other ingredients in the Christian life that we need if we are going to walk in obedience to the Lord, loving Him and our neighbor in the way He intended. So, let us take a breath as we step away from the busyness and consider why we need prayer and other practices to have a strong relationship with our Lord. Photo credit: Getty Images/Jacob Wackerhausen BillOReilly.com is not available in this country. We apologize for any inconvenience. Senores Pharmaceuticals acquires 14 ANDAs from Dr. Reddys Laboratories March 05, 2025 | Wednesday | News Acquisition funded through the Initial Public Offer (IPO) proceeds raised by Senores image credit- shutterstock Ahmedabad-based Senores Pharmaceuticals Limited (SPL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Senores Pharmaceuticals, Inc., USA (SPI), has signed agreements to acquire a basket of 14 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) from Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddys Laboratories and its applicable affiliates. The basket acquired, comprises of 13 ANDAs, which are approved by the USFDA and 1 ANDA, which is pending approval from the USFDA. The addressable opportunity of the acquired ANDAs in the USA is approx. $421 million as per IQVIA and ~ approx $1.13 Billion as per the specialty data aggregator Symphony. The acquisition will be funded through the Initial Public Offer (IPO) proceeds raised by SPL. Commenting on the acquisition, Swapnil Shah, Managing Director, Senores Pharmaceuticals Limited said, We are glad to announce the acquisition of a basket of products from Dr Reddy's. It spans across various therapeutic areas with growing consumption. The portfolio consists of controlled substances and general category of products. These products can be distributed through multiple/diverse channels, with large requirements in government, retail and specialty clinics. This Portfolio of products significantly increases our products offering in the US, and also it has a significant value in other regulated and semi-regulated markets of the world. Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, will convene a meeting of the EMS Task Force at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the McKean County Department of Emergency Services, 17175 U.S. Route 6, Smethport. With all of the healthcare challenges we face in rural Pennsylvania, ensuring the sustainability of our emergency medical services system is more important than ever, Causer said. Well talk about some progress made and discuss new action items under consideration. I encourage our EMS providers, local government leaders and others who are interested to join us. Causer will provide an update about grants awarded to local EMS agencies, property tax incentives for volunteers and relevant legislation. Reports will be offered by area emergency services directors, as well as from EMS West and the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania. All who plan to attend should RSVP to Rhonda Race in Causers office at rrace@pahousegop.com. (TNS) A Penn Highlands Healthcare executive has been promoted at a challenging time for the diversified Clearfield County-based system. Josh LaFleur is taking control of a region that includes troubled hospitals in Washington and Fayette counties as the DuBois-based system confronts widening losses from operations. Mr. LaFleur was named Regional Market president Southwest Region, which includes oversight of Penn Highlands Connellsville and Penn Highlands Mon Valley hospitals. Since 2023, he has served as vice president of operations at Penn Highlands Clearfield Hospital. In the interim, he will be replaced by Will Chinn, president of Penn Highlands DuBois and Penn Highlands Clearfield, who will oversee operations at Penn Highlands Clearfield. Before joining Penn Highlands, Mr. LaFleur, who received an MBA from Louisiana State University, held management positions at Ochsner Health, Baptist Campus in New Orleans. He began his health care career in radiology management at medical centers in Louisiana and Colorado. In a two-notch bond rating downgrade for Penn Highlands in December, S&P Global Ratings said its negative outlook reflected the outsized impact on the negative operating trend spurred by the acquisitions of Mon Valley and Connellsville hospitals, as well as losses at the systems State College micro hospital, which opened last year. Penn Highlands acquired Mon Valley Hospital in 2021 and the Connellsville hospital a year later. Penn Highlands reported a loss from operations of $19.3 million for the six months ending Dec. 31, an increase of $7.5 million from the $11.8 million loss a year ago, as the number of patient admissions, births and emergency room visits all fell sharply for the three months ending Dec. 31. In its bond rating change, one of three Penn Highlands downgrades by rating agencies last year, S&P said it would consider a lower rating if management fails to significantly improve 2025 operating performance or if unrestricted reserves were to decline any further. Penn Highlands was formed in 2011 and currently owns nine hospitals along with retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, residential living communities, ambulance service and other assets. The health system employs some 6,200 people at more than 150 outpatient care and other locations in 26 counties. MONTH: March is Womens History Month. The first Presidential Proclamation declaring it so came from President Jimmy Carter in 1980. On social media, an interviewer asked a woman if men or women contributed more to the world. She said women. He listed the achievements of men, like Bill Gates and Neil Armstrong. She responded, A woman gave birth to them. So much of history is filled with the accomplishments of women First Lady Dolley Madison saving the portrait of George Washington and the Declaration of Independence from the White House before the British set it ablaze in 1814; future first lady Abigail Adams urging her husband, Founding Father and future president John Adams to remember the ladies when crafting the new American government; suffragettes working for the passage of the 19th Amendment; Amelia Earharts solo flight; Rosa Parks and the launch of the Civil Rights Movement; investigative journalist Nellie Bly and so many more. Senator Tammy Duckworth, retired National Guard lieutenant colonel who lost both of her legs following a helicopter attack in the Iraq War. Shes the first woman with a disability elected to Congress. And the first to give birth in office. Wilma Mankiller was the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, a position she held for a decade. During her tenure, infant mortality dropped, tribal enrollment grew and employment grew, according to Time Magazine, which selected her for a cover. Physician and researcher Jane Cooke Wright was among the researchers to discover chemotherapy for cancer treatment. In 1964, she was the only woman among the seven physicians who helped to found the American Society of Clinical Oncology. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code The High Court has ordered Virgin Media to amend its training manuals to ensure that financial incentives to its agents for successfully dissuading customers from switching to another TV, internet and phone service provider do not breach an EU regulation. On Wednesday, Mr Justice Denis McDonald made formal orders in a case in which he found that Virgin, one of the country's biggest service providers, had breached EU Universal Service Regulation obligations in the way in which its phone agents dealt with customers seeking to switch. Advertisement The judge however rejected a separate claim by the communications regulator, Comreg, that Virgin was also in breach of the regulations by requiring customers to give 30 days notice before terminating their contract. The court heard had Comreg been successful on this issue, it could have opened up Virgin to a potential multi-million euro liability in refunds to affected customers. The judge also rejected Comreg's argument that customers, who phone up Virgin to cancel, should be dealt with through a "two step approach". This would involve the customer being first offered a choice to consent to listen to the agent's "save (the customer from switching) activity" or go directly to cancellation without having to listen to it. In his judgment last month, the judge said that while Virgin argued the financial incentives to agents were for resolving customer issues, it was clear the event which triggered the payment of the incentive was the retention of the customer. He said: "Not only are agents instructed through the manuals to take that approach but they are encouraged and incentivised to do so by the availability of financial commissions which are only payable where the agent succeeds in saving the customer",he said. Advertisement Following submissions on Wednesday from Eileen Barrington SC, for Comreg, and Niall Buckley SC, for Virgin Media, in relation to the formal orders to be made, the judge said he would make an order in relation to contract termination in accordance with wording suggested by Comreg, subject to amendment. He said it would require Virgin's conditions and procedures for contract termination do not act as a disincentive to changing service providers. This will be done by amending its training manuals and associated documents to include, where relevant, materials in relation to financial incentives available to agents, he said. He also ordered that where a customer wishes to cancel, it should be given effect as soon as the customer makes his or her intention clear. This would also apply in circumstances where it is clear the customer "does not welcome 'save' activity", he said. However, he said, this does not preclude an agent from asking a customer why they wish to cancel and if the customer has a particular issue with the service the agent is not prohibited from addressing that issue so long as they do not persist after it becomes clear the customer wants to proceed to cancellation. Advertisement He said the order does not prevent a financial incentive for an agent for resolving an issue if that is the reason the customer phoned up. This preserved the ability of Virgin to provide such incentives to agents in those circumstances, he said. The judge said the retraining of agents should be carried out within an eight week period and that all new agents be provided with similar training. He was not persuaded that there should be an evaluation of the new procedures after six months. Ireland Virgin Media breaching rules over customer cancell... Read More In relation to costs, he said both sides had been partially successful in the case. However, he rejected Comreg's claim that it should be entitled to 70 per cent of the costs because, it argued, that much of the case had been taken up dealing with the "saving" of the customer issue. He said there were a number of other matters which took up time in the case including the very serious issue of the 30-day termination notice and for which Comreg had failed to prove its case. Advertisement In all the circumstances, he believed the success of either party on the issues was nearer to 50/50 and it seemed appropriate that there should be no order for costs. This means both sides pay their own costs. In a statement, Virgin Media said: We are pleased to note the Commercial High Court's decision to refuse the Regulators attempt to mandate a prescriptive cancellation process on Virgin Media Ireland. This decision now provides clarity for the industry. We have no further comment to make. Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe, who was convicted of a public order offence last year after he refused to make a donation to the Irish Refugee Council, on Wednesday appealed that conviction with the court hearing that his issue with paying was religious in nature. Blighe of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork was last year given the opportunity by Judge Colm Roberts at Fermoy District Court to avail of the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act by making the donation. He was convicted when he failed to make the contribution. Advertisement At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court today barrister Alan ODwyer said that it was purely a religious matter". He said that his clients difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle told Mr Blighe that she would vary the order of the district court. She said that instead of paying 400 to the Irish Refugee Council Blighe could pay 500 to Nasc. Nasc is an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights. Advertisement Mr Blighe (44) indicated his willingness to make this contribution via his barrister. Judge Boyle then adjourned the appeal for eight weeks to allow for confirmation of payment of the monies to Nasc. State solicitor Jeremiah Healy said that the area where the public order offence occurred during a protest by Blighe and other individuals had quietened down. No further issues have occurred. Meanwhile, Mr Blighe via solicitor Matthew Bermingham had last year told Fermoy District Court that his client was willing to donate to another charity rather than the Irish Refugee Council. Advertisement Threatening and abusive behaviour Mr Bermingham had said that Blighe had an issue with the genuineness of the applicants [seeking asylum and assisted by the council]". At the time Judge Roberts said that it was not up to Blighe to choose the charity to which he was willing to donagte. At a previous court sitting, Insp Jason Wallace said it was alleged that Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22nd, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Advertisement Mr Gomez said he had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. When the delivery truck arrived at about 11am, he said Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. He said Blighe then told him the drivers not going to give you oil and the truck left. Facebook video Mr Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched. He opened the gates when it arrived and the driver began making the delivery. Blighe then began recording Mr Gomez with his phone and the court was shown footage he uploaded to Facebook in which he castigated Mr Gomez. In the video, Blighe can be heard telling Mr Gomez: You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from. Mr Gomez said Blighe live-streamed the incident which really traumatised me. He later downloaded the footage and provided it to gardai when making a complaint. He said he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had never experienced anything like this before. Advertisement Immigration Garda Dane Murphy said he visited the protest at Abbeyville later that day and the atmosphere was borderline volatile. He said Blighe made a cautioned statement regarding the incident on January 9th last, but replied no comment to every question he was asked. The judge said he found the black and white attitude towards immigration hard to understand especially from an Irish perspective where generations of Irish people had emigrated and the vast majority of them illegally. He then gave Blighe, whom the court heard had eight previous convictions, including one for public order, the opportunity to avoid a criminal conviction by making the donation to the Irish Refugee Council. Bank of Ireland has been ordered by the High Court to pay a 350,000 settlement in a case in which it was alleged that the bank released a womans bank details to a third party, her estranged father, who then used it to find her abroad and stalk her. At the High Court on Wednesday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty was told the settlement, which was made without admission of liability by Bank of Ireland, meant the bank would pay 275,000 to the woman and 75,000 to her partner to settle the matter. Advertisement The woman claimed her father used the confidential bank transaction data to track her down abroad, to then "watch, beset and harass" her, causing her psychological trauma. In her High Court case against the bank, her father and her fathers firm, the woman sought damages for the alleged breach of duty, privacy and confidence. The bank had claimed it was a stranger to much of the womans case but accepted the woman raised issues with it and the Data Protection Commissioner in relation to her personal data. It had denied there had been any breach of duty in the case and made no admission as to how the documents came to be in the possession of the womans father as claimed. Following the involvement of the Data Protection Commissioner, the bank moved to acknowledge it had fallen short of the standards the woman should have been able to rely upon. Advertisement Ms Justice Greally was told by John ODonnell SC, who appeared with Ben Clarke BL, instructed by Coleman Legal LLP, for the two plaintiffs, that there had been an unhappy and traumatic history between the woman and her estranged father, who "watched, beset and harassed" her. Mr ODonnell said that the plaintiff banked with Bank of Ireland that her estranged father either accessed or was provided access to her banking details and from there able to trace the plaintiff and her partner in Spain and in the UK when working there. Her father would then inform her by email of where she was and tell her he would be at these locations. Ireland Brendan Mullin found guilty of stealing hundreds o... Read More Mr ODonnell said the bank admitted falling short of conduct expected from a bank and that an order was made in February 2023 for a lodgement but time to do so had been extended. Advertisement Mr ODonnell said the lodgement was now made and that 350,000 was to be split between the couple with 275,000 and 75,000 accepted by the woman and her partner respectively. As part of the settlement, said counsel, the plaintiffs will have their costs awarded in the case up to October 9th, 2023. Mr ODonnell said cases taken by the couple against the womans father and his business could be struck out with no order as to costs. Belfast Lough is on a knife edge with failure to invest in wastewater infrastructure creating a profound risk for its ecosystem, MLAs have been warned. The loughs shellfish industry is collapsing in real time as water quality levels continue to decline, a senior NI Water representative told a Northern Assembly scrutiny committee. Advertisement The warning comes amid similar pollution concerns over Lough Neagh, which has experienced major green blue algae blooms over recent summers. Paddy Brow, from NI Water, gives evidence to committee members (NI Assembly TV/PA) NI Water announced last week that it had been forced to stall planned upgrades to sewer and wastewater treatment plants as part of its Living With Water Plan (LWWP) for Belfast after being unable to secure the required funding from the Department for Infrastructure. Paddy Brow, from NI Water, told the Stormont Committee for Infrastructure on Wednesday that the deferment move could have significant consequences for Belfast Lough. He explained that the decline of the shellfish population was a serious issue, as mussels play a key role in filtering the water in the lough. Advertisement He said replicating the function the mussels perform would add a further 50 million (60 million) to the cost of upgrading the Belfast wastewater treatment facility, as well as ramping up operating costs by another 1 million per year. For Belfast Lough, the consequences are potentially profound, he said. One of the things we set out and predicted was that if we dont address the investment needs of Belfast, the water quality would continue to decline and the shellfish industry would collapse, and we are seeing that. Successive Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) reviews of Belfast Lough have shown that water quality is declining. The shellfish industry used to produce 10,000 tonnes of mussels a year in Belfast Lough and thats fantastic. That provides something called ecosystem services. Each shellfish, each individual mussel, filters about 18 litres of water a day. Advertisement Now were down to 1,000 (tonnes), the beds are moving from an acceptable class to an unacceptable class. So were watching in real time the collapse of the shellfish industry. And NIEA reports are telling us the water quality is declining. If we lose that ecosystem service, it costs us a lot more to invest. At the Belfast wastewater treatment works alone, the additional cost could be 50 million if theres no shellfish industry there. And in terms of operational costs, which is a real challenge for us and a real concern, that would mean that the operational cost of that plant alone would increase by 1 million a year. We would have to import methanol, which is carbon, and pay for that to achieve more stringent standards. Advertisement So, it just underlines that we are on the knife edge with regard to Belfast Lough. Weve got to maintain the shellfish industry and protect it and deferring this investment is a real challenge. Ireland Blue-green algae on Ireland's largest lake to be o... Read More Chief executive of the NIEA David Reid, who also gave evidence to the committee, expressed concerns for the future of Belfast Lough. We would have concerns in relation to the water quality in Belfast Lough, he said. That includes concerns that are echoed in terms of all fresh water bodies across Northern Ireland at the minute of what were seeing in terms of pollution. Taoiseach Micheal Martin is facing a difficult diplomatic task ahead of his meeting with US president Donald Trump. Mr Trump's fiery exchange with Volodymyr Zelenskiy has sent shockwaves through Europe, and Mr Martin will be the next leader to visit Mr Trump for the annual St Patrick's Day meeting. Advertisement Mr Trump announced a pause in US military aid to Ukraine after the meeting, in another sign of increasing US alignment with Russia. While Mr Martin will look to emphasise Irish investment in the US, and the huge Irish diaspora, he is also under pressure to bring up Ireland's solidarity with Ukraine and Gaza. Some people have even called for the Taoiseach to snub the White House invite. In messages sent to the Taoiseach's Office, seen by BreakingNews.ie after a freedom of information request, members of the public urged Mr Martin to sit out the Washington DC visit. Advertisement One email urged Mr Martin to "stand strong taoiseach" and "don't bow down to a dictator, bully and felon". If you don't attend and Trump attacks us as a country with tariffs then the world will see what kind of a weak person he is. The message, sent on Monday, January 27th, read: "I am asking you taoiseach to not attend the White house this year on St Patrick's Day. And for no other member of the government to attend. The reason is that it is showing that you agree and side with Trump [sic] and his views. "This person Trump is a bully and is hurting many people in his country and other places. I am 55 years old and have watched many issues from around the world happen and yet this issue I feel is one that I need you to solve by not attending. "If you don't attend and Trump attacks us as a country with tariffs then the world will see what kind of a weak person he is. Stand strong taoiseach and don't bow down to a dictator, bully and felon." Advertisement A "proud Irish American" asked Mr Martin to cancel the trip after refugee resettlement programmes lost their funding amid the sweeping cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Trump adminisration. "As a proud Irish American, I am asking you consider cancelling any plans you may have to continue the tradition of meeting the President of the United States at the White House on St Patricks Day 2025. Five days ago, funding for refugee resettlement programs were suspended." The email continued: "In the name of my maternal grandparents and all Irish who came to my country as immigrants, refugees when Ireland could not sustain them during time of famine, rampant poverty, and political unrest I am asking you to take a stand. Stay home on St Patricks Day, have a pint, enjoy the parade, and do so with a clear conscience." People urged Taoiseach Micheal Martin to cancel the annual St Patrick's Day White House meeting, where he faces a number of issues as he meets Donald Trump. Another person asking Mr Martin not to attend the meeting cited Mr Trump's executive orders to limit healthcare for transgender people. Advertisement "In recent months, numerous US states have introduced laws that severely restrict the rights of transgender individuals, including bans on access to gender-affirming healthcare, limits on public accommodations, and measures targeting transgender youth. These actions not only endanger lives but also undermine the universal values of equality, inclusion, and compassionvalues that Ireland has increasingly championed on the world stage. "By choosing not to participate in official visits to the US this St. Patricks Day, Ireland could send a powerful message of solidarity with marginalized communities, reaffirming our commitment to human rights. Such a decision would resonate deeply with those fighting for justice and inspire others to stand up against discrimination. I recognise the importance of Irelands relationship with the US and the significant contributions of the Irish diaspora there." The person added: "However, silence our continued business-as-usual diplomacy risks being perceived as complacency in the face of injustice. We have an opportunity to lead with integrity, guided by the principles that underpin our identity as a nation. "I respectfully urge you to reconsider this year's plans and explore alternative ways to celebrate St Patricks Day that reflect Irelands unwavering support for equality and inclusion." Advertisement The Taoiseach is due to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump next week as part of an annual tradition to mark St Patricks Day. Stance on Ukraine and Gaza When pressed on whether he would bring up Ireland's stance on Ukraine and Gaza in the Dail, Mr Martin told Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald that he would. Ireland Taoiseach pledges to raise Gaza and Ukraine in Tru... Read More Pressed on what exactly he would say to Mr Trump on those two conflicts and the Palestinian question, Mr Martin said: We want a peace settlement thats durable and sustainable in Ukraine. President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that. He added: Secondly, in terms of Gaza and the Middle East, again, lets be clear: We want to consolidate the ceasefire and well be very strongly making that point. Mr Martin also called for a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Raise trade practices to global standards, deputy says 11:05, March 05, 2025 By Cao Desheng, Hu Meidong ( China Daily Huang Maoxing, a deputy to China's National People's Congress from Fujian province, has called for greater efforts to align domestic economic and trade practices with global standards, laying a solid foundation for a new open economic system. Huang, who is also vice-president of the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences in Fuzhou, has submitted suggestions to the top legislature's annual session every year since 2018. One of his suggestions this year focuses on fostering institutional innovations to develop systems that align with international rules and standards, advancing higher-level opening-up. "In the face of an increasingly complex international environment, China needs to focus on key areas and comprehensively enhance its adaptability and capabilities to meet international trade and economic rules and standards," he said. Huang stressed the need for greater coordination and an efficient collaborative management system to ensure the orderly implementation and enforcement of reforms. He also called for stronger legal safeguards to support alignment with high-standard global economic and trade rules. Fujian has long served as a key hub for China's opening-up policies. The Xiamen Special Economic Zone, one of four such zones in the country, remains at the forefront of reform. During an inspection tour of Fujian in October, President Xi Jinping urged the province to adapt to global changes and steadily advance institutional opening-up, producing more achievements in institutional innovation to support China's broader push for high-level opening-up. Huang said further reforms should focus on streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services to foster a level playing field. Strengthening intellectual property rights protection is also crucial to safeguarding innovation, he said. He proposed creating new models for international trade and economic cooperation, particularly by using digital technology to enhance trade facilitation. Huang also emphasized the need to expand markets in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and other emerging economies to build a more open and diverse international trade landscape. He called for stronger international production capacity cooperation and encouraged competitive domestic industries to expand overseas, deepening the integration of global industrial, supply and value chains. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) A jury has asked for an explanation of the legal definition of joint enterprise as they consider the evidence in the trial of two former lovers accused of murdering a 66-year-old, whose body was put over Ireland's tallest cliffs. The jury of seven women and five men began their deliberations on Tuesday in the trial of Alan Vial (39) from Drumanoo Head and Nikita Burns (23) of Carrick, Co Donegal, who both deny murdering Robert 'Robin' Wilkin in Donegal on June 25th, 2023. Advertisement Each accused has claimed that the other used a rock to beat Mr Wilkin's head before he was put over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag. The prosecution, however, alleges that they were part of a joint enterprise to cause serious injury to Mr Wilkin and are therefore both guilty of murder. Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Wednesday told the jury that a person's mere presence at the scene of a crime is not, on its own, participation in the crime. To become part of the joint enterprise, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that each accused assisted in the killing and had the intention to kill or cause serious harm. The agreement may be explicit or tacit, he said, and can be formed in a very short time. He told the jury to look at all the circumstances leading up to Mr Wilkin's death and the actions of each accused afterwards. Advertisement Ireland Jury told possible alternative verdicts in Sliabh... Read More If one of the accused went beyond what was contemplated, he said, the other is not liable for that to which he or she did not agree. The jury also today viewed a pair of leggings worn by Ms Burns at the time of the killing. The trial heard that the leggings had bloodstains on them with DNA matching that of Mr Wilkin. Ms Burns's defence counsel, Eoin Lawlor SC, suggested that the blood could have gotten on her leggings when she helped to clean blood from the car in which Mr Wilkin died. The jury will return to the Central Criminal Court on Thursday to continue their deliberations. The Taoiseach will meet with the British prime minister in Liverpool this evening for the first of a series of annual UK-Ireland summits. Micheal Martin and Keir Starmer will co-host a reception on Wednesday evening, which is designed to celebrate cultural links between Britain and Ireland. Advertisement It comes after both governments signalled a desire for a reset in relations, which had been put under strain throughout Brexit and the previous UK governments laws to deal with legacy issues of the Troubles. Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) The two leaders will also host a round table with businesses across the tech, energy, construction and manufacturing sectors which have operations on both sides of the Irish Sea on Thursday morning. They are expected to agree what is being described as a wide-ranging programme of new and enhanced strategic co-operation between Ireland and the UK, to be taken forward by both governments through to 2030. Mr Martin said: This summit is one of the most significant bilateral engagements between the British and Irish Governments in a generation and shows the resolve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I to put in place the building blocks to bring strategic co-operation between our two countries to a new level. Advertisement Simon Harris with Keir Starmer in Dublin (Peter Morrison/PA) I am keen now that we work in partnership on a structured and ongoing basis to realise the full potential of the British-Irish relationship across a comprehensive programme of co-operation, including on infrastructure delivery, opportunities for SMEs, marine planning, energy, education and culture. World Trump hits out over calls from Starmer for US guar... Read More Mr Martin will be joined by Irelands deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the countrys defence and foreign affairs minister for the summit plenary meeting later on Thursday. The Prime Minister previously met Mr Harris in Dublin when he held the position of taoiseach last year. The Irish delegation also includes Education Minister Helen McEntee, Climate, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh OBrien, and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jim OCallaghan. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has committed to raising Irelands views on Ukraine and Gaza when he meets US president Donald Trump next week. The Taoiseach is due to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump next week as part of an annual tradition to mark the week of Irelands national holiday St Patricks Day. Advertisement Mr Martin said Ireland will express a desire for a durable and sustainable peace in Ukraine, as well as a consolidation of the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. He was responding to Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of the largest opposition party Sinn Fein, who said she was deeply concerned by Irelands place within international order. She said: Will you put it to President Trump that Ireland stands on the side of international law and diplomacy, that the sovereignty of Ukraine must be upheld, that the pressing and immediate priority now is to build peace through inclusive engagement and good faith dialogue? And what, Taoiseach, will be your message to the American president in standing with the Palestinian people? Will you express Irelands strong view that the US is catastrophically wrong on Gaza, that the proposal for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is absolutely an unacceptable breach of international law, deeply destabilising for the Middle East and the wider world? Advertisement Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (Gareth Chaney/PA) Mr Martin said the countrys relationship with the US is extremely important and older than the State itself, in reference to the US being the first country to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with the Irish Free State in 1924. He said he was travelling to celebrate the historic links between Ireland and the US, adding that the week of St Patricks Day was the traditional time to do that. He said: In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. Were an open, small economy, pro-free trade and Ill be articulating that perspective. We will also articulate views in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East also. Advertisement Pressed on what exactly he would say to Mr Trump on those two conflicts and the Palestinian question, Mr Martin said: We want a peace settlement thats durable and sustainable in Ukraine. President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that. He added: Secondly, in terms of Gaza and the Middle East, again, lets be clear: We want to consolidate the ceasefire and well be very strongly making that point. Mr Martin also called for a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Taoiseach also said the visit was important for the Irish diaspora, as 30 million US citizens claim Irish descent. Young drivers are 85 per cent more likely to be involved in road accidents than older drivers, according to AXA. The insurer released data that revealed young drivers under the age of 24 were 85 per cent more likely to be involved in accidents than 2024 than drivers over the age of 25, and 135 per cent more likely to cause injury to another party. Advertisement Their claims data has also shown that young male drivers were 43 per cent more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents than females last year. AXA shared the data to mark the launch of its national Roadsafe Roadshow for 2025, run in association with An Garda Siochana, members of the emergency services, and local authorities. The roadshow is aimed at transition year students across the country. The AXA Roadsafe Roadshow is to visit 10 locations around Ireland and will be attended by an estimated 18,000 transition year students. Advertisement It provides a recreation of a night out that ends in tragedy with a serious road accident, along with first-hand accounts from the first responders to road traffic accidents, the survivor of an accident and Leo Lieghio, the father of Marisa Leighio, who died following a road traffic accident in Clondalkin. The AXA Roadsafe Roadshow aims to encourage the next generation of young road users to actively consider the importance of road safety and the impact that dangerous driving, speeding, substance use and distracted driving can have on themselves and others. AXA has also partnered with the Irish School of Motoring to provide the 12 essential driver training lessons at a discounted rate to further support safer driving among young road users. Mick Comerford, retail direct director at AXA said that for young people, getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time and learning to drive is an exciting milestone. Advertisement However, with that additional independence comes responsibility to drive safely for yourself and for all road users. Our data shows that young drivers are significantly more likely to be involved in road accidents than older drivers, Mr Comerford said. The AXA Roadsafe Roadshow will visit locations in Cork, Mayo, Louth, Kildare, North Dublin, Kerry, Meath, Donegal and the Midlands throughout 2025. We have two books from the prestigious Womens Prize for Fiction 2025 longlist this week, one by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the other by Laila Lalami Fiction 1. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is published in hardback by Fourth Estate. Available now After 10 very long years, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is back with a new novel, which, rather dauntingly, has been heralded as the feminist War and Peace. But do not be put off, its far less impenetrable than that makes it sound. Chiamaka is a wealthy travel writer seeking true, all-encompassing love, while her best friend Zikora, a lawyer, is simply trying to align her life and relationships with her biological clock. Kadiatou, Chiamakas housekeeper, is working multiple jobs when a brutal encounter upends her life, while high-flying Omelogor grapples to work out what she really wants. Advertisement Complicated by layers of race, wealth and shame, Adichie deftly explores what women are and are not allowed to desire, the pressures they are under to appease and not just men, but family and friends, other women and even their own ideas of themself to not be needy or too much. She also examines motherhood, and how we think we know the woman that birthed us, but theres always so much more to know. An incredible feat of a novel that weighs heavy in your mind once its finished. 8/10 Review by Ella Walker 2. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Circus. Available now Sara isnt a prisoner, although she cant leave the sinister facility in which she is detained. And she hasnt committed any crime but one day she might, according to data harvested from multiple devices. In this vision of the near future, every moment is monitored, including peoples dreams, providing evidence to detain them indefinitely on the grounds that they might, in future, break the law. With its ever-shifting rules, maddening bureaucracy and sadistic guards, the facility seems impossible to escape. But somehow Sara must find her way out of this algorithmic nightmare and get back to her family. To do this, she has to both look deep into her past and understand the true purpose of her detention. With its tense and engrossing narrative, Dream Hotel is both a page turner and a salutary warning about putting our trust in big tech. 8/10 Review by Jackie Kingsley 3. Stag Dance by Torrey Peters is published in hardback by Serpents Tail. Available March 12th The four stories in this collection span vastly different genres, from sci-fi to Western but what unites them is Torrey Peters incisive thoughts about gender. This was also central to her breakout 2021 debut, Detransition, Baby, but while that novel felt fully realised, some of the stories in Stag Dance feel somewhat unfinished. The opener a look into a dystopian alternate reality where a virus, originating from trans women, is sweeping the world, is a masterful display of world building, but leaves you wanting more. The titular story tells of a burly logger in the middle of the forest, who wants to explore his femininity, which proves tough in his macho environment. Peters is skilled at drawing characters and building a background sense of discomfort, but you just cant help but wish she picked one story and fleshed it out into a novel. 7/10 Review by Prudence Wade Non-fiction 4. Maternity Service: A Love Letter to Mothers from the Front Line of Maternity Leave by Emma Barnett is published in back by Fig Tree. Available March 13th Broadcaster Emma Barnett is on a mission to rebrand maternity leave as maternity service and the case she makes is thoroughly convincing and enormously reassuring. Written in real-time while off with her second child, Barnett examines how taking time out from your life to care for your baby is less leave (its no holiday) and more a tour of duty, akin to military service. Void of parenting tips, the book purely focuses on mums and the new liminal world they have entered, describing unabashedly the crushing boredom, the tedious jobs (nappies, laundry), the discombobulating lack of sleep, the astonishing physical and mental changes, and the joy beneath it all of a newborns soft little head resting on your shoulder. She goes big on undeniably important caveats were lucky to have mat leave at all, not everyone enjoys it, not everyone can afford it etc but in a slim book, they arguably dont warrant quite so much reiteration. A vital, heartening manual that will help anyone whos done their own tour of duty feel seen. 7/10 Review by Ella Walker Advertisement Childrens book of the week 5. Gozzle by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, is published in hardback by Macmillan Childrens Books. Available March 27th To celebrate the upcoming new story Gozzle, we're giving away the opportunity to WIN one hardback copy of Gozzle and a framed Gozzle art print both signed by the author Julia Donaldson and the illustrator Sara Ogilvie! Preorder to enter: https://t.co/15u0X6kNdb pic.twitter.com/ahTRiQEHIB Waterstones Kids (@WaterstonesKids) March 1, 2025 Childrens fiction stalwart Julia Donaldson whose groundbreaking work in the sector is too eminent to list here returns with a new picture book for young school-aged children, illustrated by her long-time partner Sara Ogilvie, who collaborated with her on the sensational The Detective Dog. Gozzle follows an orphaned gosling who attaches herself to a grumpy bear she believes to be her daddy. The confused bear tries to shake off the unwelcome young protege, but finds Gozzle relentlessly mirroring his every move. In a departure from her usual rhyming style, Donaldson presents a sweet story about the home and family we make for ourselves with rich illustrations that parents will enjoy. However, younger readers are likely to miss the lyrical charm of the authors more classic work. 6/10 Review by Holly Cowell CHARTS BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAR 2nd HARDBACK (FICTION) 1. The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon 2. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 3. We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes 4. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler 5. Quicksilver by Callie Hart 6. We Do Not Part by Han Kang 7. Pagans by James Alistair Henry 8. Cursebound:Faebound by Saara El-Arifi 9. The Lamb by Lucy Rose 10. Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis (Compiled by Waterstones) Advertisement HARDBACK (NON-FICTION) 1. Nancys Green and Easy Kitchen by Nancy Birtwhistle 2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 3. In the Hide: How the Natural World Saved My Life by Gordon Buchanan 4. Poppy Cooks: The Potato Book by Poppy OToole 5. Easy Air Fryer by Jamie Oliver 6. Take Care by Lindsey Burrow 7. Minority Rule by Ash Sarkar 8. Ungovernable:The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip by Simon Hart 9. Whats Your Dream? by Simon Squibb 10. The Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius (Compiled by Waterstones) AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NONFICTION) 1. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 2 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 3. Atomic Habits by James Clear 4. We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes 5. The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson 6. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods 7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 8. Belsay by LJ Ross 9. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman 10. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling (Compiled by Audible) Israels cut-off of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gazas two million people has sent prices soaring and humanitarian groups into overdrive, trying to distribute dwindling stocks to the most vulnerable. The aid freeze has imperilled the tenuous progress aid workers say they have made to stave off famine over the past six weeks during Phase 1 of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, agreed in January. Advertisement The UN food agency says it only has enough food supplies in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks. Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza (AP) The World Food Programme said on Wednesday that its stocks are low because it prioritised delivering food to the population. After more than 16 months of war, Gazas population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid. Most are displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Fuel is needed to keep hospitals, water pumps, bakeries and telecommunications as well as trucks delivering aid operating. Advertisement Children and families across Gaza are struggling to survive without enough food, medicine or shelter. The ceasefire must hold, and more aid must be allowed in to prevent further suffering and loss of life. - @UNICEFmena's @E_Beigbeder. Details: https://t.co/JcGKpz2b22 pic.twitter.com/2C6U1sUoWX UNICEF (@UNICEF) March 3, 2025 Israel says the siege aims to pressure Hamas into accepting its spin-off ceasefire proposal. Israel has delayed moving to the second phase of the deal it reached with Hamas, during which the flow of aid was supposed to continue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he is prepared to raise the pressure and would not rule out cutting off all electricity to Gaza if Hamas does not budge. Rights groups have called the cut-off a starvation policy. There is no major stockpile of tents in Gaza for Palestinians to rely on during the aid freeze, said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council. The aid that came in during the ceasefires first phase was nowhere near enough to address all of the needs, she said. If it was enough, we wouldnt have had infants dying from exposure because of lack of shelter materials and warm clothes and proper medical equipment to treat them, she said. Advertisement Six infants in the Gaza Strip died from hypothermia during Phase 1. The area has been devastated by war (AP) Aid groups are now trying to assess what stocks they have in Gaza. Were trying to figure out, what do we have? What would be the best use of our supply? said Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication for Unicef. We never sat on supplies, so its not like theres a huge amount left to distribute. He predicted a catastrophic result if the freeze continues. Advertisement During the ceasefires first phase, humanitarian agencies rushed in supplies and quickly ramped up their capabilities. Aid workers set up more food kitchens, health centres and water distribution points. With more fuel coming in, they were able to double the amount of water drawn from wells, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency the OCHA. The United Nations and associated nongovernmental organisations brought in around 100,000 tents as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians tried to return to their homes, only to find them destroyed or too damaged to live in. But the progress relied on the flow of aid continuing. The International Organisation for Migration now has 22,500 tents sitting in its warehouses in Jordan, after supply trucks brought back their undelivered cargo once entry was barred, said Karl Baker, the agencys regional crisis co-ordinator. Advertisement The International Rescue Committee has 6.7 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies waiting to enter Gaza, the delivery of which is now highly uncertain, said Bob Kitchen, vice president of the Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Department. In the last few weeks, we have witnessed a meaningful improvement with the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. Commitments must be upheld & implemented in full. Serious negotiations for the ceasefire in all its facets must be resumed without delay. Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 4, 2025 Its imperative that aid access is now immediately resumed. With humanitarian needs sky-high, more aid access is required, not less, Mr Kitchen said. Medical Aid for Palestinians said it has trucks stuck at the border carrying medicine, mattresses, and assistive devices for people with disabilities. The organisation has some medicine and materials in reserve, said spokeswoman Tess Pope, but, she said, We dont have stock that we can use during a long closure of Gaza. The UNs humanitarian office also said prices of vegetables and flour shot up after the crossings closed. Following the Hamas attack on October 7 2023, Israel cut off all aid to Gaza for two weeks a measure central to South Africas case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. That took place as Israel launched the most intense phase of its aerial bombardment campaign on Gaza, one of the most aggressive in modern history. With the ceasefire expiring and aid again frozen, Palestinians fear a repeat of that period. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip welcomed Arab leaders adoption of a plan to rebuild the territory without depopulating it. We are satisfied with these decisions and this summit, said Atef Abu Zaher, from the southern city of Khan Younis. We are clinging to our land. The plan advanced at the Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday is seen as an alternative to US President Donald Trumps proposal to resettle Gazas roughly two million Palestinians in other countries and redevelop it as a beach destination. Even as they welcomed the Arab plan, many Palestinians expressed doubts over whether it would be implemented. The important thing is that the Arab countries are serious, said Yasser Abed. He expressed hope they would follow through on the plan, unlike the thousands of (other) decisions they have taken about our cause. The parties hoping to form Germany's next government agreed to create a 500 billion infrastructure fund and overhaul borrowing rules, a tectonic spending shift that jolted markets on Wednesday on hopes of reviving Europe's largest economy. Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), who are in negotiations to form a coalition after a national election last month, will put their proposals to the German parliament next week. Advertisement Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, has seized the moment after the return of Donald Trump to the White House threw the transatlantic alliance into turmoil, and has underlined the urgency for Europe to strengthen its own defences. Trump froze military aid to Ukraine after a bitter clash last week with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reinforcing fears that the US could strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine while disengaging from Europe. Economists and investors have long urged Germany to reform its constitutionally enshrined state borrowing limits known as the "debt brake" in order to free up investment and support an economy that has contracted for the past two years. The reform would mark a rollback of borrowing rules imposed after the 2008 global financial crisis that many now say are outdated and keep Germany in a fiscal straitjacket. Advertisement "A really big bazooka," wrote Berenberg economist Holger Schmieding, commenting on the German measures. "These proposals for an immediate loosening of Germanys fiscal rules will likely be enacted. They are a fiscal sea change for Germany." The euro hit its highest level in nearly four months on Wednesday after the news. Euro zone bond yields jumped, with 30-year German yields on course for their biggest one-day rise since the late 1990s. Germany's blue-chip index jumped 3.4 per cent in morning markets to near a record high, while the midcap index soared 10.3 per cent, on track for its biggest daily gain in three years. Construction firms were among the top gainers, with Heidelberg Materials, the world's second-largest cement maker, up 13 per cent at the top of Frankfurt's blue-chip index. Advertisement European defence company shares have also soared as momentum to ramp up spending gathers pace. German defence companies Rheinmetall, Hensoldt, Thyssenkrupp and Renk had notched up gains so far this week of between 16 per cent and 35 per cent as of Wednesday morning. Amending constitution Merz said the CDU/CSU and SPD would submit a motion to the Bundestag lower house of parliament next week to amend the constitution so defence expenditure above 1 per cent of economic output is exempt from the debt brake. A commission of experts will separately develop a proposal for modernizing the debt brake to boost investments on a permanent basis. According to a poll by INSA, 49 per cent of Germans support loosening the debt brake while only 28 per cent are against. But changing the debt rules and creating a special fund require a two-thirds majority in parliament. Advertisement The conservatives and SPD are rushing to get the moves passed in the outgoing parliament, given far-right and far-left parties will have a blocking minority in the new parliament after scoring strongly in last month's election. The radical Left party has threatened a legal challenge if Germany takes on new debt to fund defence expenditure. The Greens party, whose support is needed to get the debt brake reform across the line, said it would examine the proposals but made no firm commitment. And while markets were jubilant, sceptical voices also emerged. Kyrill-Alexander Schwarz, a constitutional lawyer at the University of Wuerzburg, said it was "extremely problematic" for an outgoing parliament to take such big binding decisions. Advertisement German newspapers said Merz was breaking a campaign promise of fiscal rectitude just 10 days after the election. "Mr Merz, that is voter deception!" warned top-selling paper Bild. "Merz carried out a 180 U-turn in record time" wrote Handelsblatt. Business Euro strengthens against sterling amid Germany's d... Read More Left-leaning papers were more indulgent. "Good that Merz breaks his campaign promise," wrote the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Friedrich Heinemann from the ZEW economic research institute said Germany's debt to GDP ratio could exceed 100 per cent by 2034. It is now around 64 per cent, far below other major industrialised countries such as the US, France or Japan. The US has repeatedly pressured Germany to increase its defence spending to overhaul a military that has felt neglected since the end of the Cold War and has diverted weapons to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. "Pending more clarity on this issue, and being mindful of some execution risk, we believe this is one of the most historic paradigm shifts in German postwar history," said Robin Winkler, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Research. A federal judge in the US has denied Elon Musks request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company. However, the judge said she could expedite a trial to consider Mr Musks claims against the ChatGPT maker and its chief executive. Advertisement US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Mr Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits in his request for a preliminary injunction. She offered to hold a trial in her California courtroom as soon as this autumn, given the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred. Elon Musk escalated the legal dispute late last year (AP) Mr Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT maker and chief executive Sam Altman a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a non-profit. He escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants, including Microsoft, and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAIs plans to convert itself into a for-profit business. Advertisement Mr Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff, claiming that OpenAI was unfairly stifling business competition. He and a group of investors more recently made an unsolicited 97.4 billion dollar bid to buy a controlling stake in the non-profit a move that undermined Mr Musks claim of irreparable harm, the judge wrote. OpenAI said it welcomed the courts decision. This has always been about competition, a statement from the company said. Elons own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or US interests. Advertisement OpenAIs chief executive is Sam Altman (AP) Mr Musk alleges in the lawsuit that the companies are violating the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. He had invested about 45 million dollars in the start-up from its founding until 2018, his lawyer has said. Musk lawyer Marc Toberoff said in a statement late Tuesday that he is pleased that the court offered an expedited trial on the core claims. We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musks charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the publics benefit rather than his own enrichment, Mr Toberoff said. The judge, in a hearing last month, called it a stretch to claim irreparable harm to Mr Musk, and she called the case billionaires vs. billionaires. Advertisement She questioned why Mr Musk invested tens of millions in OpenAI without a written contract. Mr Toberoff responded that it was because the relationship between Mr Altman and Mr Musk at the time was built on trust and the two were very close. That is just a lot of money to invest on a handshake, the judge said. The dispute has roots in a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling start-up that led to Mr Altman becoming OpenAIs chief executive. Advertisement Emails disclosed by OpenAI show Mr Musk had also sought to be chief executive and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the start-up succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence. Mr Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. Mr Altman eventually succeeded in becoming chief executive and has remained so except for a period in 2023 when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. A Ukrainian decree from 2022 ruling out negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin raises the question of who could sit at the table in potential peace talks aimed at ending the two countries three-year war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Mr Peskov noted during his daily conference call with reporters. Advertisement He said it was positive that Mr Zelensky had expressed readiness on Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible. But the details have not changed yet, Mr Peskov added, apparently referring to the Ukrainian decree. The war has been raging for three years (AP) Neither Ukrainian nor western officials have recently mentioned the September 2022 presidential decree, signed seven months after Russias cross-border invasion, in the context of US President Donald Trumps efforts to stop the fighting. On Monday, the Trump administration suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine as the US sought to pressure Mr Zelensky into negotiating an end to the war. Advertisement The US has also paused its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation target Russian invaders, but Trump administration officials said on Wednesday that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean it may only be a short suspension. Information about Russias intentions and military movements has been critical to Ukraines defence and a strong indication of support from the US and other western allies. We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship, national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday. Comments from top Trump administration officials suggest the pause is part of the broader negotiations between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, and that intelligence could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon. Advertisement CIA director John Ratcliffe called the suspension a pause and said it came after the disastrous meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week. Mr Ratcliffe said Mr Trump wanted to know that Mr Zelensky was serious about peace. On the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen will go away, and I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have, Mr Ratcliffe said. The CIA declined to respond to questions about the change in intelligence sharing. Ukrainian forces are toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 600-mile front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, which has been costly for its troops, hasnt yet brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. Advertisement The war of attrition has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Mr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington, the French government spokesperson said. Today, I spoke with the President of Finland @alexstubb, the Prime Minister of the UK @Keir_Starmer, the Prime Minister of Greece @kmitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Croatia @AndrejPlenkovic, the NATO Secretary General @SecGenNATO, and the leader of Germanys CDU party pic.twitter.com/WeNkXKwWyj Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025 It is envisaged that President Macron could eventually travel again to Washington with President Zelensky and his British counterpart, spokesperson Sophie Primas told reporters. Mr Macron was due to give a televised address to the nation later on Wednesday about what he called the great uncertainty in global affairs. Advertisement The three leaders travelled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Mr Trump. World Starmer hails Zelenskiys peace commitment as repo... Read More In the early months of the war, Mr Zelensky repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Mr Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlins decision in September 2022 to illegally annexe four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Mr Zelensky enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The decree enacted a decision by Ukraines National Security and Defence Council to bolster Ukrainian defences and seek more weapons from the countrys Western allies. The Kremlin said at the time it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting that such a step may not happen until a new Ukrainian president takes office. US President Donald Trump has vowed to keep up his campaign of swift and unrelenting action in reorienting the nations economy, immigration and foreign policy. His comments came in an unyielding address to Congress that left Democratic legislators registering their dissent with stone faces, placards calling out lies and one members ejection. Advertisement The presidents address, clocking in at a record 99 minutes, added up to a defiant sales pitch for the policies Mr Trump promised during his campaign and leaned into during his first weeks back in office. President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) He pledged to keep delivering sweeping change to rescue the nation from what he described as destruction and mistakes left by his predecessor Joe Biden. He seldom addressed his comments directly to the American people, who are trying to keep up with the recent upheaval, while repeatedly needling the Democratic lawmakers seated before him. Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, who delivered the Democratic response, said: America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy. Advertisement Emboldened after overcoming impeachments in his first term, outlasting criminal prosecutions in between his two administrations and getting a tight grip on the Republican-led Congress, Mr Trump has embarked on a mission to dismantle parts of the federal government, remake the relationship with Americas allies and slap on tariffs that have sparked a North American trade war. It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action, he said of his opening weeks in office. The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it. Mr Trump, who has billionaire adviser Elon Musk orchestrating his efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, said he is working to reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy and threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda. Mr Musk, who was seated in the House gallery, received a pair of standing ovations from Republicans in the chamber, as the president exaggerated and shared false claims about alleged government abuse uncovered by the Tesla and SpaceX founder and his team of disrupters. Advertisement "My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future-because the Golden Age of America has only JUST BEGUN." - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Ddm8AzmqY9 President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) March 5, 2025 Mr Trump repeated false claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, prompting some Democrats to shout, Not true! and Those are lies! He seemed prepared to double down on his trade policies, which experts have warned will raise prices for consumers. Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them, he said. At the same time, he tried to ease concerns about the resulting price increases, saying: Therell be a little disturbance, but were okay with that. It wont be much. Advertisement He said one of his very highest priorities was to rescue the economy and offer relief to working families. He promised to organise the federal government to lower costs on eggs and energy, blaming Mr Biden for the situation and offering scant details of his own plans. Mr Trump also called for the extension of his first-term tax cuts and additional federal funding for his border crackdown, including for his promised efforts at mass deportation of people in the US illegally. He celebrated his crackdown on migration, saying: It turns out all we really needed was a new president. Speaking about his promised tax cuts, he seemed to goad Democrats, saying: Im sure youre going to vote for those tax cuts. Because otherwise I dont believe the people will ever vote you into office. Advertisement Elon Musk claps during Mr Trumps address (Win McNamee/Pool Photo/AP) The backdrop was the new economic uncertainty unleashed after the president opened the day by placing stiff tariffs on imports from the countrys neighbours and closest trading partners. A 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect early on Tuesday ostensibly to secure greater co-operation to tackle fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration triggering immediate retaliation and sparking fears of a wider trade war. Mr Trump also raised tariffs on goods from China to 20%. Republicans were boisterous as Mr Trump stepped to the lectern in the House, chanting USA! USA! as the president basked in the cheers. Across the aisle, out-of-power Democrats set the tone early, with most remaining seated without applauding or making eye contact with Mr Trump as he was introduced in the chamber. After several interruptions, House Speaker Mike Johnson jumped in and called for decorum to be restored in the chamber as Republicans shouted USA to drown out the cries from the other side of the aisle. Mr Johnson then ordered Texas Representative Al Green to be removed from the chamber. Its worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up to Mr Trump, Mr Green told reporters after being thrown out of the chamber. Other Democrats held up signs including Save Medicaid and Protect Veterans, seeking to drive public awareness to elements of the presidents agenda they believed might offer them a pathway back to the majority. "I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason: I was saved by God to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN." - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/uO6gU7tlAJ The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2025 Some Democrats chose to highlight the impact of Mr Trumps actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests, including a disabled veteran from Arizona, a health worker from Maryland and a forestry employee who worked on wildfire prevention in California. Mr Trump used his speech to address his proposals for fostering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he has unceremoniously upended the policies of the Biden administration in a matter of just weeks. On Monday, Mr Trump ordered a freeze to US military assistance to Ukraine, ending years of staunch American support for the country in fending off Russias invasion. He also recited a letter he received earlier on Tuesday from president Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader wants to come back to the table after an explosive Oval Office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace, Mr Trump said. Wouldnt that be beautiful? He also announced the arrest of a suspect in the 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed US troops during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr Trumps one hour and 39 minute speech was the longest annual address a president has delivered to Congress, breaking Bill Clintons record of one hour and 28 minutes. Republicans cheered the conclusion of Mr Trumps address with chants that echoed his words after he was struck in the ear by a bullet: Fight! Fight! Fight! Advertisement The award-winning Everleigh cocktail bar on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy and sibling venue Bar Margaux in a basement in the CBD have announced they are closed, after yesterday appointing liquidators. The Everleigh was opened in 2011 by couple Michael and Zara Madrusan, and became a training ground for many of the citys best bartenders, many of whom posted messages of support on the bars social media page in response to the closure announcement. The Everleigh bar in Fitzroy is closing. Thanks so much to @michaelmadrusan and @zaramadrusan for allowing all that worked there to hone their craft and give people some of the best service and coldest drinks the country had to offer, wrote bartender Lachlan Bentley. Its Prohibition-era style, seated service and attention to the fundamentals of making cocktails, including many drinks from bygone eras, earned it a solid reputation here and abroad. Advertisement It won The Age Good Food Guides Bar of the Year award in 2012, and was regularly included on the Worlds 50 Best Bars list from 2013 onwards. After opening The Everleigh, the Madrusans went on to add Heartbreaker, a dive bar in the CBD; Navy Strength Ice Co, one of the first high-quality ice makers for contemporary bars in Australia; and Bar Margaux, a New York-style bar and bistro underground in the CBD. But in September, The Everleigh Melbourne Pty Ltd and the other businesses appointed restructuring practitioner Andrew MacNeill to help manage debts. Inside late-night basement bar and bistro, Bar Margaux. Chris Hopkins Bar Margaux appointed the same liquidators as The Everleigh, PFK, on March 4 and posted a message to social media announcing the closure. It won the Good Food Guides Bar of the Year in 2019 for its 5am licence and basement lair glitter. Advertisement The reason for the closures are put down to current trading conditions and the financial impact still being felt from challenges from the past five years, said a spokesperson for the group in a statement provided to Good Food. Both venues attempted to restructure under the Small Business Restructuring scheme ... for which they were both eligible, but unfortunately were rejected. Michael and Zara wish to thank all the incredible employees who have worked at The Everleigh and Bar Margaux, and to the thousands of guests who have visited the venues. The Madrusans will continue to own and operate Heartbreaker and Navy Strength Ice alongside their hospitality consultancy business, Bartenders Choice. They will also release their second book later this year, the spokesperson said. The Herald Sun reported in November that Heartbreaker went into voluntary administration in October but was allowed to continue trading under a deal that saw the Madrusans commit to paying back at least part of the companys debts. Related Article Nail your cocktail party with tips and recipes from The Everleigh Layering up in gloves, scarf and beanie, Im about to head out the door to an interview when something makes me go back into the bedroom and grab my passport from the bottom drawer. I check that my international press card is in my wallet. On the train, I text my husband where Im headed. Freedom of information is under pressure in Trumps White House. Credit: AP Its something I havent done for years not since living in Malaysia, where I covered protests calling for fair elections that often ended with police making mass arrests, spraying water cannons, beating protesters and sometimes journalists. Back then, Id leave a note on the kitchen bench with the name and phone number of a local lawyer I knew. It wasnt much of a plan but as a freelancer working with editors in other countries, I figured I needed some kind of back-up, just in case. Stinging tear gas was the worst I encountered on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. As is usually the case, the worst treatment was reserved for local reporters, some of whom were beaten by police. Im now far from Malaysia and in a country with a long history of journalists holding governments to account. Yet as I left my New York apartment on that winter morning a few weeks ago, I felt I better have all my ID ready in case I encountered authorities. I was going to meet undocumented immigrants who feared they could be caught in raids as part of President Trumps plan to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. Believe it or not, there is enormous opportunity for Australia in this unusual situation. If the government acts quickly, this is a once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity. To date, DOGE has allegedly made only $ US 105 billion of cuts . This means they have, at minimum, hundreds of billions to go. In the science and technology sector, these early cuts may be just the beginning. Elon Musk, pictured with the Argentinian president, told the crowd at last months conservative political conference in the US, this is the chainsaw for bureaucracy! Credit: AP Caught up in these enormous cuts are scientists, researchers, medical experts, technologists and PhD scholars who are losing jobs, grants and scholarships at an unprecedented rate as funding streams are cancelled or put on hold. President Donald Trump, his powerful offsider Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are slashing public spending in an effort to save US taxpayers anywhere between $US500 billion ($793 billion) and $US2 trillion. Australia should take a two-pronged approach. We should attract some of our best and brightest back home from places such as Silicon Valley while also offering fast-track visas to top US-based scientists and researchers who are newly out of a job or low on the funding they need to keep their start-up or scientific lab running. Loading Australias ability to keep up with rapid advances in scientific developments and critical technologies will determine the shape and size of our economy for decades to come. Most of our strategic partners the US, Japan, the UK, the European Union and South Korea are larger and have globally competitive tech sectors theyve spent decades building. In recent years, these have included artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum and biotechnology. As a mid-sized mining and tourism-dependent economy, Australia has long known we need to diversify our economy and increase our low national spend on research and development, which sits well below the OECD average. We also know we need greater self-sufficiency so we dont continue to become overreliant on any one single market for access to technologies we have deemed critical to our future. Building greater sovereign capability in our science and technology sector is a more important goal than ever. But we are struggling to keep pace with others. We havent spent decades investing in building up our tech sector or making big technological bets when weve had the opportunity. Things are now moving so quickly that were increasingly in danger of being completely left behind. Personal records of hundreds of thousands of Australians are being copied and sent to a secretive mountain vault in Utah owned by the Mormon Church following an agreement with the National Archives of Australia (NAA). Government records with details including birth dates, school yearbooks, marriages and migration are being digitised by FamilySearch International, a not-for-profit owned and run by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Granite Mountain Records Vault in Utah is owned by the Mormon Church. Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In return, the NAA is allowing the LDS enterprise to copy the records as part of the in-kind agreement. Theyll be added to the LDSs already vast collection of 16.5 billion worldwide records stored in the Granite Mountain Records Vault, 180 metres deep inside a mountain on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah. The vault was custom-built to withstand earthquakes and nuclear attacks, to preserve records in a natural, temperature-controlled environment. Prominent workers rights law firm Maurice Blackburn is poised to effectively lock out its own unionised lawyers in a fight over pay and conditions, after the lawyers signalled they would participate in an Australian-first ban on recording billable hours. The lawyers, who are members of the United Services Union in NSW and the Australian Services Union across the rest of the country, are seeking a pay increase and 10 days of reproductive leave. Maurice Blackburn is locked in a dispute with its staff over pay and conditions. The proudly pro-union firm is chaired by former Victorian Labor premier Steve Bracks and is famous for its We fight for fair advertising campaign. The unions notified Maurice Blackburn last week that members employed by the firm would engage in protected industrial action on Thursday, March 6. Industrial action is rare in the legal profession because rates of unionisation are low, but the majority of lawyers at the firm are unionised. Millions of people are hunkering down in their homes, while others rush to evacuation centres, as the nervous wait for Cyclone Alfred to pummel Brisbane stretches hours past early forecasts. The cyclones movement towards the coast has slowed, with latest models from the Bureau of Meteorology predicting it to hit the city on Saturday morning. Brisbane could cop the worst of the storm for six hours or longer as the cyclone crosses over the city, the weather bureau warns, with destructive wind gusts up to 155km/h. Alfred, the first cyclone to hit Queenslands south-east in more than 50 years, could dump 400 millimetres of rain almost half a years worth on the states capital in just 24 hours. When Gladstone Road resident Deb Graham appealed to community groups on Brisbanes southside to deliver sandbags to a block of units on Wednesday afternoon, it wasnt because her own home was at risk of flooding. The complex lies in the dip of the road between Highgate Hill and Dutton Park, and while Grahams place has been safe in the past, she has been busy mobilising support for her low-lying neighbours, most over 80 years of age and isolated from family. It took me two hours to talk to six people, explained Graham, who has become the unofficial natural disaster co-ordinator for her public housing block. Kathy (left) and Deb Graham (right) at their block of units on Brisbanes southside. Credit: Courtney Kruk Ive been going around and speaking to people, pointing out things they need to bring inside so their pots dont turn into missiles. Donna Southern feels like shes been living in a suburb on steroids but with a main road thats on life support. When she first moved to Rockbank 11 years ago, it was then considered a small town, home to just over 1000 people between metropolitan Melbourne and Melton. Rockback resident Donna Southern started the Leakes Needs Lights campaign. Credit: Simon Schluter Today, it is the heart of the countrys fastest growing region. The most recent available population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the area spanning from Rockbank to Mount Cottrell grew by 4300 people in 2023 to 27,259 a bigger jump than any other region in the country. But Southern says, like in much of Melbournes outer west, infrastructure has not kept pace with rampant greenfield housing development. Delays on the West Gate Freeway are finally starting to ease after a multi-vehicle collision wreaked havoc on Melbournes evening commute. Three of the five westbound lanes on the West Gate Bridge were closed for six hours, leading to a traffic jam all the way back to Burnley. The lanes reopened just after 6pm. A motorcyclist was injured just after midday when he was forced to take action to avoid a gold Toyota that had swerved into his lane on the bridge, causing him to hit another motorcycle, police said at the time. Victorian independent candidate Alex Dyson has amassed a campaign war chest of more than half a million dollars since June 2024, forcing Liberal shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan to stay at home in his electorate and fight to hang on to his seat of Wannon. Dysons website is declaring donations in close to real-time and was at almost $540,000 on Wednesday morning, more than four times what he spent in 2022 and a long way from the $5000 he spent in 2019. The biggest contributor to Dysons third tilt at unseating Tehan has been Climate 200, which has given Dyson $249,102 in four tranches in September 2024 last year, two in December and one last month. Liberal member for Wannon Dan Tehan (left) and independent candidate Alex Dyson. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, Supplied Tehan, the local member since 2010, would not say how much he had raised before the upcoming election, but conceded I will have to fundraise more and that he would not be able to match the independent. Asked about the fact conservative campaign outfit Advance had been sending flyers to households in the electorate warning people off Dyson, Tehan distanced himself and said only, Theyre doing what they do with their [anti]-Greens and teals campaign. Tech giants have complained about the federal governments allegedly secretive planning for its under-16 social media ban following the threat made by US President Donald Trump last month to penalise countries targeting American digital platforms. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, accused Communications Minister Michelle Rowland of taking a stealth approach to working out the details of how the age restriction would work. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to make social media safer for children. Credit: Michaela Pollock The government is conducting a closed door consultation about the rules that will determine which services are included within the social media ban law, Meta said in a statement. This goes against commitments the government made to parents, safety organisations and technology platforms and services that they would undertake public consultation. Despite the world being driven to the edge of madness by an American president girdled by his convoy of lickspittles, with the economy facing new threats from a tariff war and social cohesion assaulted by opportunistic politicians of the left and right, Australians appear set to hand decisive power to a group of raw (mostly) female MPs. Not that long ago, if confronted by such a volatile, potentially dangerous environment, voters would have sought refuge with the major parties. Not today. Illustration by Dionne Gain After a few months of steady campaigning, during which barrels filled with billions have been rolled out by Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese, interest rates and inflation have dropped and jobs have been created, the dial has barely shifted. Labor might have clawed back some ground, yet successive polls show that faced with a choice between Labor and the Coalition, roughly one-third of voters say neither. Australians seem unfazed by the prospect of the community independents known collectively as the teals holding the balance of power in a hung parliament. Except for that special breed hungering for a Trump Down Under. When the architecturally splendid Oculus opened in 2016 as the new transport hub for New Yorks World Trade Centre, its $US4 billion price tag ($5.3 billion at the time) made it the most expensive train station in the world. The New York World Trade Centre Oculus station was the worlds most expensive to build when it was completed in 2016. Credit: Shutterstock The cost for Sunshine station in Melbournes west is already up to $4 billion. If it follows the budgetary path of the West Gate Tunnel, the Metro Tunnel, North East Link and most major projects in Australia, its final cost will put the Oculus gleaming white steel and glass structure in the shade. How can you spend $4 billion on a train station? Gdansk, Poland The European Solidarity Centre. Credit: iStock Gdansk is not alone among Polish cities that could make this list: Warsaw and Krakow are similarly reasonably priced. Gdansk, though, is still relatively unknown, with its terracotta-topped terraces and broad boulevards. Summer visitors might combine their visit with time in the nearby beach resort of Sopot, or head further down the coast to Gdynia. A train ticket averages about $8.70, so its certainly a viable way to turn a city break into an extended holiday at the seaside. The city was largely destroyed during the Second World War, and so its Dutch Renaissance style architecture is all actually a modern replication although no less impressive because of it. To explore the citys many museums, invest in a $17.50 tourist card that allows complimentary entry; on Mondays, most cultural sites are free anyway. Most unmissable is the European Solidarity Centre: a hulking, rust-coloured monolith that houses a permanent exhibition about the Solidarnosc movement, the Polish trade union formed in 1980 that was, at the time, the only free mass social organisation in the Communist Bloc. After getting your fill, follow the line of Communist history to milk bars such as Bar Turystyczny a canteen-style meal will cost you just under $5. Nights at the stylish PURO Gdansk Stare Miasto start at $130. Porto, Portugal Walking over the Dom Luis I Bridge is free. Credit: iStock Portos cheapness does not indicate a trade-off: think elegant restaurants and varied attractions to rival the best of the Continent. And the weather is spectacular, too. Averaging 2667 hours of sunlight each year, its an ideal destination for a vitamin D fix even in November, when the temperature often tops 15C. Porto is undeniably very charming inclining towards the river Douro, the visitor finds themselves bouncing between stylish tinned sardine shops and dodging custard-yellow trams, until the narrow streets open on to the bright waterfront. In most cities, this would be an extortionate, if very beautiful, place to stop for a drink. Not so in Porto: a glass of wine at the beautifully appointed Esplanada do Teleferico bar costs just $6.50. In the city more generally, a meal for two averages $73-74; a pint of beer under $5. As for things to do? Walking over the Dom Luis I Bridge is free. As is gawping at the ornate tiles in Sao Bento railway station. In fact, its possible to escape the city with an affordable, rambling train journey to Pinhao in the Douro valley, where vineyard tours start at around $38. The trendy M.Ou.Co hotel offers nights from $128. Kaunas, Lithuania Youll remarkably low prices in Kaunas. Credit: iStock As Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, celebrated its 700th birthday last year, the rest of the country basked in its rays. Among the glowing sister cities was Kaunas, a cool, lively spot with great cafes and remarkably low prices. The city is built outwards from a 14th-century castle complex, but for something weirder, head to the Devils Museum (entry costs $6.50), an exhibition of, naturally, depictions of the Devil. Formed from a private collection, plinths display folk art depictions and ancient stone deities from around the world its certainly a memorable place to visit. If you prefer your city breaks to have direction, Kristina Stalnionyte, a travel writer based in Lithuania, recommends Urmo Baze, an open-air market where locals hunt for antiques. Combining shops and stalls, youre likely to find a quaint souvenir without breaking the bank. While prices in Vilnius remain cheap, Kaunas is even less expensive a lunch is usually between $10-14. Kristina warns that the penny-pinching visitor might feel hesitant to enter the more upmarket-looking restaurants, but says the exteriors dont necessarily indicate high prices. The best restaurants, coffee shops and bars are usually very cosy and good-looking, as Lithuanians dont like to go to places which dont look appealing. I think this is a national trait. A three-course meal for two, according to Numbeo, costs just over $77. As the nation ramps up its tourism offering, now is the time to take advantage. Amberton Cozy Hotel Kaunas, in a leafy part of the city, offers rooms from $97 per night. Zaragoza, Spain Zaragoza, a fascinating place most tourists dont visit. Credit: iStock Zaragoza, in the north east of the country, is Spains fifth largest city although tourists rarely make it here. Its a shame, because it is a fascinating place, full of Roman ruins, Islamic architecture and quaint tapas bars. You can eat very well, for very little (a meal for one averages around $24.35 AUD). Loading But before you tuck into pinxtos and sangria, visitors should soak in the culture, which is itself reasonably priced. The Zaragoza Museum with its works by Francisco de Goya and other Spanish luminaries is free to enter, while the dedicated Goya gallery (temporarily closed) charges $13.50. Beyond the art, there is a wealth of spectacular churches and cathedrals to explore, including the pilgrim-friendly El Pilar. Its easy to move around on foot, so you likely wont spend much on transport. Hotel options include Innside Zaragoza, which offers double rooms from $144. The top end: Europes 10 most expensive cities Zurich, Switzerland Lausanne, Switzerland Geneva, Switzerland Basel, Switzerland Bern, Switzerland Reykjavik, Iceland London, United Kingdom Trondheim, Norway Oslo, Norway Bergen, Norway We have seen even more Australians reaching out to their mortgage brokers in uncertain economic conditions, she said. We know this is driven by a broad range of reasons, such as understanding when and how to refinance, or opportunities to seek a better rate on their existing mortgage. Trump Lashes Out at Zelensky Over Ukraine War Comments as White House Mulls Aid Suspension (Photo: The Trump White House / Public domain) The United States has halted intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, according to a report by the Financial Times, in a move that could have significant battlefield consequences for Kyiv. The decision follows the Trump administration's earlier suspension of military aid, signaling a broader pullback of American support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia. According to the FT, two U.S. officials confirmed that Washington has "frozen intelligence channels with Kyiv." However, a Ukrainian official told Bloomberg News that intelligence-sharing was still ongoing, adding to the uncertainty over the extent of the policy shift. The FT report also stated that while Ukraine is being cut off, intelligence on Russia and Ukraine is still being shared with close U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom. The decision comes days after a tense Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader later described the meeting as "regrettable" and acknowledged that "it did not go the way it was supposed to." Zelensky has since attempted to mend ties, stating on social media that Ukraine is "ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible" and that he would work under Trump's "strong leadership" to pursue peace. The Ukrainian leader also expressed gratitude for past U.S. military support, including the provision of Javelin missiles, which he credited with helping Ukraine maintain its sovereignty. The loss of U.S. intelligence-sharing could significantly impact Ukraine's military operations, as Washington has provided crucial satellite imagery and targeting data throughout the war. Military analyst Mykhailo Zhirokhov, speaking to Al Jazeera, warned that a complete severance of intelligence-sharing could undermine Ukraine's air defense capabilities, particularly in major cities such as Kyiv and Odesa. He noted that U.S.-supplied Patriot missile systems, which have been critical in countering Russian airstrikes, rely on continued U.S. logistical and intelligence support. Washington's actions have raised concerns among European allies, who were reportedly not consulted before the decision was made. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the suspension of aid as a major shift that could leave Europe facing "the biggest [security risk] in decades." He added that Poland was prepared to "intensify activities in Europe to increase our defense capabilities." Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also addressed the situation, stating that two things were now essential: "additional aid-military and financial-for Ukraine, which is defending our freedom. And a quantum leap to strengthen our EU defense." Political analysts suggest that Trump's latest moves are part of a broader strategy to recalibrate U.S. foreign policy. Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera that Trump sees Ukraine as an obstacle in his efforts to realign global power dynamics. "Trump thinks he has to do it fast," Tyshkevych said. "To him, it's of paramount importance to finish pressuring Ukraine so that it agrees to concessions to Russia and to a ceasefire." Meanwhile, political figures in the U.K., France, Canada, and Germany have used the moment to push for a stronger European defense strategy that is less dependent on Washington. Some analysts believe that despite the short-term risks, the situation could ultimately lead to greater European military coordination and investment. By David Young, PA The Taoiseach has said, while Ireland is willing to be part of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, it will not participate in any troop deployment designed as a military deterrent. Micheal Martin, who is in Liverpool for a UK-Ireland political summit, also insisted he wanted to have a respectful meeting with US president Donald Trump at the White House next week, when issues around Ukraine and wider European security may feature in discussions. Mr Martin hailed UK prime minister Keir Starmers effective and impactful role in the unfolding geopolitical events related to the conflict in Ukraine. Taoiseach Micheal Martin speaks to the media in Liverpool, ahead of the first in a new series of annual UK-Ireland summits (PA). Indicating that Irelands long-standing position of neutrality would preclude its involvement in a deterrence force, Mr Martin reiterated that the Irish Defence Forces could play a role in a peacekeeping mission. He comments come as the Irish Government is moving to make a law change that would give it more latitude to deploy troops overseas. Under current rules, Ireland can only participate in peacekeeping missions that are formally sanctioned by the UN. That places a significant limitation on Irelands latitude to deploy troops, as members of the UN security council, such as Russia, are able to veto any missions they do not support. The Government is seeking to remove this element of its so-called triple lock rules for deploying troops. We all want peace, Mr Martin told reporters in Liverpool. There are too many wars in the world, too many young people are losing their lives on the battle fronts. It impacts on livelihoods all over the world, particularly Ukrainians, particularly people in the Middle East, particularly in Sudan and other areas. And I think Keir Starmer is really looking at the realities of the world today. I think he is leading well in terms of working with the European Union and other leading European states to try and deal with this situation. Weve made it clear that if a ceasefire develops or if theres a cessation of hostilities, Ireland has always been open to peacekeeping, but we wouldnt be part of a deterrent force. Theres just two separate areas there, in other words they are two different and distinct issues. But we are open, and always have been, depending on the context to any invitation to participate in genuine peacekeeping and to ensure that any cessation of hostilities can lead to a durable and sustainable peace, because any peace in Ukraine has to be durable and it has to be sustainable. Mr Martin said he hoped the UK and Ireland could enhance security co-operation at the summit meeting in Liverpool. He highlighted areas of cyber security and protecting undersea cables as areas where the two nations could work together more. We will be discussing how we can enhance that type of security cooperation and engagement, he said. The Taoiseach declined to be drawn on whether he would push back on any claims the US president might make in the Oval Office St Patricks encounter next Wednesday. Im honoured to be going to the White House as well as looking forward to, again, celebrating what is a major historic tradition and relationship between Ireland and United States, particularly for Irish Americans and our diaspora there too, Mr Martin told reporters. Patricks week is always a very significant week and we will be discussing a range of issues, and particularly, again, the importance of the Irish/US relationship, but today its about the UK/Irish relationship. He added: People come to the table with different perspectives. I respect people. I respect the offices that people hold. And Im honoured to be invited to the White House as an Irish Taoiseach, given the relationship between our two countries, very strong economic relationship, but also the ties that bind Ireland and America together for a long, long time. And, you know, we will engage in a respectful manner. We will put our perspectives. No doubt, President Trump has his views and perspectives as well. But the important thing is to engage, and the important thing is to reflect on that relationship today and to make sure we can protect Irish economic interests, protect the livelihoods of people in Ireland many, many workers depending on that and also pointing out then how significant Irish investment is in the United States. Companies like Ryanair, Glanbia, Kerry Group, Icon, many, many more who create many, many thousands of jobs in America. And so its a very, very robust economic relationship that brings benefits to both sides. And we will have a good discussion, Im sure. Eimear Dodd A Dublin man found to have possession of nearly 3,000 images of child sexual abuse material has been given a suspended sentence. Keith Farrell (50), of Le Fanu Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on dates in May and October 2021. Detective Garda William Doyle told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that an investigation started after a referral was made to gardai. Google supplied information to gardai in May 2021 on foot of a court order and it transpired that Farrell had uploaded four images of child sexual abuse material to Google's infrastructure. A search of his home was carried out the following October during which four exhibits were seized. These included a MacBook, on which 2,868 images were found in deleted files later recovered via software analysis. Farrell was present during the search and fully co-operated. He made full admissions when interviewed. He has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since. The court heard that four images were classed as Category 1, the most serious type of material. Of the 2,868 images found in deleted files, over 1,300 were of a sexual nature and a further 458 depicted child exposure. Det Gda Doyle agreed with defence counsel that his client provided gardai with his passwords and apologised. It was further accepted that the deleted images were found in unallocated cluster files, which gardai accessed using high-level software analysis. Counsel told the court that his client has a work history in construction and as DJ socially. He is not working presently due to health issues and is receiving social welfare. Farrell had a difficult upbringing and turned to drink and drugs to cope, the court heard. He is a carer for his mother and his other personal circumstances were also outlined to the court. Judge Martin Nolan noted that possession of child sexual abuse material is a well-trodden crime in this court. He noted the court must follow advice given by the higher courts, which have indicated that a non-custodial option must be considered in the absence of aggravating factors. Having considered the facts of the case and Farrell's circumstances, the judge noted aggravating factors, such as previous convictions or distribution of this material, were not present in this case. He imposed a two-year sentence, suspended on strict conditions. By David Young, PA The Taoiseach has made clear he disagrees with the Northern Ireland First Ministers apparent criticism of a large order for a Belfast factory to supply missiles for Ukraine. Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill told the Stormont Assembly this week that she was incredulous at the deal for the Thales plant in east Belfast. It was announced at the weekend that Thales is to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth up to 1.6 billion (2 billion). The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF). Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he disagreed with Michelle ONeill (PA) UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the order for the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) would create 200 jobs. However, Ms ONeill told the Assembly on Monday that said she found the deal incredulous at a time of public service cuts, winter fuel payment cuts, national insurance hikes and inheritance tax changes for farmers. Her comments prompted criticism from the DUP, her partners in the coalition government at Stormont, who accused Sinn Fein of hypocrisy for supporting Ukraines right to defend itself at the same time as apparently criticising an order to supply it with weapons to do so. Mr Martin was asked about the First Ministers remarks as he arrived for an engagement to mark the UK Ireland political summit in Liverpool. He said he had always been an advocate of peace but he understood the reason for the order as he made clear Ukraine needed the capacity to defend itself. I wouldnt agree with the First Minister on that, he said. Nobody likes the utilisation of weapons. I certainly dont. All my life Ive been on the peace side of the equation. I still am, and I do want durable peace within Ukraine. I also want peace in the Middle East. I want peace in Sudan, which very few people are talking about. But its Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago. Thats the reality. Ten per cent of Russian national income has been spent on militarisation. People are afraid of that. People are worried about that. He added: Collectively, people are coming to the conclusion that Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence there to avoid any attempted encroachment on any member state of the European Union. In a new appearance on the February 26 episode of tvN's You Quiz on the Block, actress Han Ga In cleared up some misunderstandings about how she raises her kids. During the show, host Yoo Jae Uk asked Han about all her activities, including her priorities as a mother. "Other than the filming, I am just a mom,' said Han Gain before adding, "There's one thing that I need to clarify today." The actress vehemently denied allegations that she was putting academic pressure on her children. "I do not force my children to study as much as people believe," she said. According to Han, her children are not the type to be forced into studying. "The thing is, I never got to find out what I really likeso I only really started doing that after 40. I hope my kids find that out long before I did," she said of what she hopes for her children. Han Ga In was similarly forthcoming when the topic of her children came up, discussing her parenting style and emphasizing the importance of maintaining a peaceful home. "I will never argue in front of my kids. And I can tell you from experience it is impactful. I don't even give my husband a sidelong scowl in front of them,' she said. Meanwhile, Han Ga-in also spoke about personal struggles, the miscarriages she went through, and her parents' problems in an emotional message. You Quiz on the Block is a variety show where hosts Yoo Jae Suk and Jo Se Ho have conversations with different celebrities. It airs every Wednesday at 8:45 PM KST. Breaking News Would you like to receive our breaking news news? Signup today! e-Edition Subscribers e-Edition Only - $39.00 Year This is the exact replica of our weekly printed paper. Great for searching archives! General Interest Imported List: General Interest 7/5/2025 Here is the latest Hamilton County arrest report. (If your case is dismissed, just email us your name and date we ran it and we will promptly take off. Email to news@chattanoogan.com ) ANDRUS,KIMBERLEE ... more A Tyner Middle School student was arrested on Tuesday after authorities said he made threats. At approximately 3:50 p.m., the School Resource Deputy assigned to Tyner Middle was contacted by a school administrator regarding a student threatening to shoot up the school. The student was located by the SRD and school administrator and admitted to making the threat, authorities said. The juvenile was transported to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center and charged with threat of mass violence. Middle Valley Church of God, located at 1703 Thrasher Pike in Hixson, announces that Pastor Mitch McClure will be preaching on Sunday, March 9, in the 10:30 a.m.service. His sermon title will be, 'Help Me Fix My Problems(I Need Jesus Now!)'. The goal of this sermon series is to assure the listener that they have access to God through Jesus Christ in all situations of life along with His promises to help. All are welcome to participate. Each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. the church conducts a Prayer Meeting. The Prayer Meeting is open to all who wish to participate and is designed to encourage prayer. Information on various methods of prayer will be shared with participants. The goal of this prayer meeting is to encourage Believers to seek God through prayer. All are welcome to participate. Each Wednesday at 7 p.m., an Interactive, Interesting, and Informative Bible Study will be held in the church auditorium. Kelly Selby is currently leading this Bible study. All are welcome to participate. The goal of this Bible study is to encourage Believers to study the Bible and discuss with others, making the Scripture their guide. Middle Valley Church of God is a community focused church with various ministries in the Middle Valley area and in Cusuna, Honduras. The community is welcome to join in times of worship and community service. MVCOG has been ministering in the Middle Valley Community since 1948 from the same location. If you have questions, please contact the church office at 423.843.1539. All are welcome. Please note that MVCOG will make public announcements about dangerous road conditions and cancellations. Postings about cancellations will be made on the church Facebook page. Please look there for information. Police received a call on a theft that occurred on Wiley Avenue. Officers spoke with the victim who stated a wedding set was stolen from her room. She believed the suspect was her roommate. Both parties got into a verbal altercation over the ring the previous evening after the victim realized it was gone. The owner could not provide an image of the ring but stated she only wanted the ring back and did not want to prosecute. The reporting party sated an unknown suspect took out a loan in his name.Pending identification of the suspect, warrants for Theft of Property and Identity Theft will be sought. Following a traffic stop, a woman was found to have a warrant out of Collegedale and was subsequently transported to jail. An employee at the hotel found a loaded rifle magazine on the ground near the dumpster. The magazine contained 27 rounds of .300 Blackout ammunition. The magazine and ammo were turned into ERPD Property and Evidence for safekeeping. Police were called to this residence to assist an ERAS Officer with the issuance of citations to a woman who on multiple occasions had failed to keep her dogs on her property. Police responded to a multi-vehicle crash involving a tractor trailer, pickup truck and van. One driver was transported for treatment. Police spoke with a man sleeping inside his vehicle in the parking lot. He advised his girlfriend, and he got into an argument the night prior and he left. He also stated he had a marijuana pipe in his vehicle. He consented to a search of his vehicle where a marijuana pipe was found. Police seized the pipe and placed it into property and evidence. The man was checked for warrants and sent on his way. Police spoke with a man sleeping inside his vehicle in the parking lot. The man was identified and advised he was travelling from Florida in hopes to find a job in East Ridge. The party stated he was down on his luck and hoping for a fresh start. Police asked why he was sleeping at the location, and he responded that he had ran out of gas. The officer offered to pay for the partys fuel. He was checked for warrants and provided with gas to go along his way. Police were dispatched on reports of screaming and yelling from inside the business. Upon arrival, an officer spoke with an employee who said she was on the phone and was yelling loudly. Police checked the business and found everything to be secured with no signs of distress. Police were dispatched to the dog park on reports of juveniles harassing dogs and their owners. The juveniles were antagonizing the dogs and threatening the owners so that if they got bitten, they would take legal action. The juveniles were asked to leave. Police found an open door at the incident location, cleared the home, and found no intruders. They made sure all doors were secured. Throughout the shift, Patrol worked with ERFD, the Streets Department, and EPB to resolve several road hazards, fallen power lines, and fallen trees. Road Closures due to flooding and down trees: - 6500 Slater Road Flooding: marked with road barriers - 2200 Cemetery Road Tree in the roadway with a down power line: marked with road barriers and cones - 6100 N Mack Smith Road Water main break: marked with road closed sign While in custody at the Hamilton County Jail, a man was served with an Alias Capias warrant through the City of East Ridge. The original charge for the capias was Driving on a Revoked License. Police responded to a disorder at the motel and located five individuals arguing over a blue Jeep Liberty. A member of the group was found to have a Petition to Revoke warrant through the City of East Ridge. The original charge was Simple Possession. The party was arrested and transported to the Hamilton County Jail without incident. Police responded to the report of a disorder involving two adult males. On scene, police located no disorder and no unusual activity. Upon further investigation, officers found that a female customer called in the complaint because she felt the two males were talking too loudly, and they made her uncomfortable. The female agreed to leave the business. Authorities must clear homeless encampments within 30 days, under Taylor bill 9:30 a.m. CT - Transportation & Safety - Watch - SB 0217 *Taylor Legislation by Republican Sen. The aggressive timeline outlined in this bill will create challenges for the unhoused people being removed, the nonprofit organizations assisting this community and the local governments that the bill compels to assist in these operations. Clearing encampments will do nothing to address the root of the problem: Tennessees housing affordability crisis. Housing costs in Tennessee have hit a 10-year high and an estimated 44% of households in the state cant afford the basics. Lees ag chief sits for budget hearing as Trumps trade war hits Tenn. farmers 11 a.m. CT - Agriculture, Energy & Nat. Resources - Watch Gov. Bill Lees commissioner of agriculture will sit for a budget hearing as the chief representative of an industry bracing for another Trump trade war this time with Tennessees three largest world trading partners. All three nations targeted by Trump announced retaliatory actions sending shockwaves through the nations agriculture industry, which lost $26 billion during Trumps first trade war in 2018. Tennessee soybean farmers among the biggest losers in 2018 export more than $600 million worth of product around the world. But soybeans only represent a portion of the agriculture products that Tennessee farmers currently sell to China, Mexico and Canada. Universal child health coverage: Sen. Lamar bill gets more kids covered 1 p.m. - Health & Welfare - Watch - SB0401 by Sen. London Lamar The Kids Health Care Report Card says 5.6% of Tennessee children are uninsured and state estimates suggest that two-thirds of those children are eligible for one of the states youth insurance programs, TennCare or CoverKids. To get more kids covered and keep them insured, Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, is proposing legislation to implement a continuous eligibility policy for children who are eligible for TennCare or CoverKids. Under SB0401, children under age 18 who are enrolled in TennCare or CoverKids would have their health coverage automatically renewed except under certain circumstances. Republicans target undocumented children 3 p.m. CT Education - Watch - SB0836 by Watson Republican Party politicians will introduce callous legislation to challenge a 53-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that states cannot deny students access to public K-12 schools based on immigration status. Their bill would explicitly allow public schools the authority to refuse to enroll undocumented students. This partisan attack on immigrant children is part of a broader assault on the American promise of a high-quality public education. The Plyler v. Doe decision from 1982 affirmed what we already knew: Its in our shared interest to ensure that every child in our community can attend a public school, no matter their parents, wealth, religion or where they were born. Oliver bill could give child care centers access to vacant school properties 3 p.m. CT Education - Watch - SB1014 by Oliver Legislation by Sen. Charlane Oliver would give child care centers access to underutilized public school property, a move that could help centers open or expand across the state. The policy proposal comes from a January state report focused on improving child care in Tennessee. Parents have reported numerous child care challenges, including affordability, quality and access. In Tennessee, child care costs as much as college tuition, according to a recent report from the Commission on Children and Youth. Full Senate Schedule 8:30 a.m. CT Government Operations 1. *SB0958 by Lamar. (HB1068 by Hakeem.) Public Funds and Financing - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 67 and Title 71. As introduced, creates in the department of human services a community grant advisory board for the purpose of administering the community-based organizations grant program to financially support eligible nonprofit organizations that serve communities in the areas of education, public health, housing, social issues, and economic and workforce development. 2. *SB0321 by Massey. (HB0498 by Hale.) Health Care - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 62 and Title 63. As introduced, creates the advisory task force on state reimbursement rates to make recommendations on annual adjustments to rates paid to agencies that perform healthcare functions and services, the purpose of which is to ensure such reimbursement rates are adequate. 3. *SB0088 by Jackson. (HB0266 by Lafferty.) Sunset Laws - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 38, Chapter 6. As introduced, extends the Tennessee bureau of investigation to June 30, 2029. 4. *SB0092 by Jackson. (HB0270 by Lafferty.) Sunset Laws - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 58, Chapter 2. As introduced, extends the Tennessee emergency management agency to June 30, 2029. 5. *SB0098 by Jackson. (HB0276 by Lafferty.) Sunset Laws - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 33, Chapter 11. As introduced, extends the Tennessee opioid abatement council to June 30, 2029. 6. *SB0101 by Jackson. (HB0279 by Lafferty.) Sunset Laws - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49, Chapter 8. As introduced, extends the Tennessee Technological University, board of trustees, to June 30, 2030. 9:30 a.m. CT Transportation & Safety 1. *SB0728 by Lowe. (HB0810 by Grills.) Motor Vehicles - Amends TCA Title 55. As introduced, authorizes utility terrain vehicles to operate on county roads and state highways throughout the state, subject to certain restrictions. 2. *SB0778 by Lowe. (HB0816 by Travis.) Driver Licenses - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 50. As introduced, designates a traffic citation issued solely on the basis of a violation for the offense of driving while the person's driving privileges are canceled, suspended, or revoked as a nonmoving traffic violation. 3. SB0429 by Reeves. (*HB0191 by Lamberth.) Criminal Offenses - Amends TCA Title 39. As introduced, creates a Class B misdemeanor for knowingly activating and pointing a laser pointer or other device utilizing a laser beam at a person driving an automobile, boat, airplane, or any other motor vehicle. 4. SB0248 by Watson. (*HB0302 by Martin G.) Traffic Safety - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 54 and Title 55. As introduced, creates the offense of an occupant of a vehicle parking, leaving standing, or stopping the vehicle on a street or highway and blocking or impeding the normal movement of traffic for the purpose of soliciting, negotiating, or consummating an employment transaction with a person standing on or in proximity to the street or highway. Watch. 5. SB1069 by Johnson. (*HB0974 by McCalmon.) Motor Vehicles - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 17 and Title 62, Chapter 19. Caption for a Wilson County car auction 6. *SB1297 by Johnson. (HB1316 by Lamberth.) Driver Licenses - Amends TCA Section 2-7-112 and Title 55, Chapter 50. As introduced, prohibits the use of digital driver licenses and digital photo identification licenses for voter identification purposes; regulates the use, retention, and disclosure of data submitted by persons participating in the digital driver license system, including biometric identifiers; prohibits geolocation data from being collected for purposes of the digital driver license system; revises other provisions related to driver licenses. Watch. Prohibits a situation that does not exist in Tennessee. 7. SB0141 by Kyle. (*HB0016 by Clemmons.) Traffic Safety - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 49; Title 54 and Title 55. As introduced, requires the department of transportation to establish and administer a student pedestrian protection grant program; under certain conditions, authorizes grants to be awarded to local governments for designing, constructing, and repairing sidewalk infrastructure around public schools. 8. *SB0144 by Walley. (HB0969 by Hawk.) Public Funds and Financing - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 54; Title 55; Title 65 and Title 67. As introduced, directs department of transportation to study transportation infrastructure needs, costs, and funding sources for the years 2026, 2050, and 2075; allocates and deposits tax revenue from the sale and use of new or used motor vehicles and new or used tires in the state highway fund. Watch. Diverts tax revenue from the General Fund to the Highway Fund. Pot for Potholes is a much better solution. 9. *SB0660 by Hensley. (HB0737 by Vital.) Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 4 and Section 55-6-101. As introduced, authorizes a county clerk, during a period when the clerk's office is closed due to an emergency, to request the assistance of a county clerk in a contiguous county for purposes of registering motor vehicles and related transactions. 10. SB0217 by Taylor. (*HB0197 by Leatherwood.) Highways, Roads and Bridges - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 13; Title 39; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 71. As introduced, requires the department of transportation to develop and implement a policy, through partnership with other state and local agencies and nonprofit entities, regarding the collection, storage, claiming, and disposal of personal property used for camping from the shoulder, berm, or right-of-way of a state or interstate highway, or under a bridge or overpass, or within an underpass, of a state or interstate highway. Watch. Bill requires the removal of homeless encampments within 30 days of a complaint. 11. Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security -- Budget Presentation 11 a.m. CT Energy, Agriculture & Natural Resources 1. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency -- Budget Hearing 2. Tennessee Department of Agriculture -- Budget Hearing 3. *SJR0099 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Hanes Torbett, Fish and Wildlife Commission 4. *SJR0114 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Rosemary McIlhenny, Fish and Wildlife Commission 5. *SJR0115 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - John McCarty, Fish and Wildlife Commission 6. *SB0206 by Massey. (HB0646 by Carringer.) Game and Fish Laws - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 70. As introduced, authorizes persons to wear daylight fluorescent pink as a substitute for daylight fluorescent orange when hunting big game during gun hunts; deletes statutory definition of daylight fluorescent orange. 7. *SB0323 by Massey. (HB0422 by Marsh.) Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - Amends TCA Section 3-2-112; Section 4-1-412 and Title 70, Chapter 1, Part 2. As introduced, authorizes the commission to name real property, infrastructure, improvements to infrastructure, or features under the agencys jurisdiction. 8. *SB0128 by Bailey. (HB0164 by Marsh.) Professions and Occupations - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 63. Defines animal chiropractic. A chiropractic physician must receive certification from the Board of Chiropractic Physicians in order to perform animal chiropractic. The Board of Chiropractic Examiners is given the authority to adopt rules governing the performance of animal chiropractic and to establish educational standards governing the certification of chiropractic physicians to perform animal chiropractic. 9. *SB0564 by Pody. (HB0803 by Grills.) Water - as amended, creates a right of first refusal for local public utilities (water systems of counties, metro governments, or incorporated cities) once an initial application for a treatment works, which meets department standards, has been submitted by developers of subdivisions for approval by the utility. 10. SB0772 by Briggs. (*HB0100 by Howell.) Utilities, Utility Districts - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 34; Title 7, Chapter 36 and Title 7, Chapter 52. As introduced, authorizes the members of the board of directors of energy authorities formed under the Municipal Energy Authority Act to receive certain additional compensation for attendance at meetings for each additional utility system over which the board has jurisdiction and health insurance coverage. 11. SB0561 by Hatcher. (*HB0530 by Eldridge.) Boats, Boating - Amends TCA Title 69, Chapter 9. As introduced, removes the monitoring requirement for boating safety examinations; replaces statutory fees for boating safety certificates and replacement cards with authorization for TWRA to set such fees. 12. *SB0558 by Reeves. (HB0921 by Cepicky.) Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - Amends TCA Title 70. As introduced, authorizes the commission to regulate the operation of sport shooting ranges rather than firing ranges; authorizes the Tennessee wildlife resources agency to establish fees for the use of such ranges in operation prior to July 1, 1998. OK. Clean up bill. 13. *SB0884 by Reeves. (HB1143 by Boyd.) Energy - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 64; Title 65; Title 67 and Title 68. As introduced, clarifies that a political subdivision that imposes requirements or expectations related to the type of clean or green, or renewable, energy used by a public utility in an ordinance, resolution, or other regulation must include certain sources of energy as permissible sources of clean or green, or renewable, energy, regardless of whether the political subdivision classifies the requirements or expectations as relating to clean or green, or renewable, energy. 14. *SB0885 by Reeves. (HB1133 by Boyd.) Taxes - Amends TCA Title 67. As introduced, allows nuclear energy production facilities to seek pollution control tax credits for certain machinery and equipment. Watch. Interesting details in the fiscal note: There is one small modular reactor (SMR) planned to begin operations by 2033. It is assumed that the proposed exemption will apply to machinery and equipment purchased with regards to the construction of the SMR, if such purchases are not made directly by TVA. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administrations (EIA) January 2024 report entitled Capital Cost and Performance Characteristics for Utility-Scale Electric Power Generating Technologies, capital costs for an SMR range between $1,000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000. According to the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Councils Final Report and Recommendations released in October 2024, the construction costs of an SMR in Tennessee is estimated to be approximately $1,400,000,000. 1 p.m. Health & Welfare 1. Department of Children's Services -- Budget Hearing 2. SB1012 by Oliver. (*HB0936 by Glynn.) Day Care - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5. As introduced, treats nieces and nephews of the whole or half-blood of a primary caregiver as being related to the caregiver for purposes of present laws governing child care agencies. 3. *SB0902 by Oliver. (HB0992 by Love.) Day Care - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 3. As introduced, enacts the "Child Care Workforce Improvement Act," which directs the commissioner of human services to develop a program to provide longevity payments to eligible child care workers and a program to provide child care assistance payments to certain early childhood educators. 4. *SB0401 by Lamar. (HB1387 by Harris.) TennCare - Amends TCA Title 71. As introduced, requires, on and after July 1, 2026, a minor who is enrolled in TennCare medicaid or the CoverKids program to remain eligible for such program until the minor reaches 18; prohibits the division of TennCare from subjecting the minor to a redetermination of eligibility or disenrollment, except under certain circumstances; requires the director of TennCare to submit any necessary federal waiver request by December 31, 2025. 5. *SB0849 by Lamar. (HB0960 by Love.) Medical Occupations - Amends TCA Title 63. As introduced, requires the board of medical examiners, the board of osteopathic examination, and the board of examiners in psychology to each develop and offer an optional course in maternal mental health when establishing continuing medical educational requirements for persons licensed to practice medicine, osteopathic medicine, or psychology, respectively. 6. *SB0619 by Harshbarger. (HB0657 by Hicks T.) Health Care - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 63 and Title 68. As introduced, allows a healthcare provider to petition a relevant board after completing a peer assistance or treatment program contract to remove information from public dissemination regarding the adverse action and consent order after 10 years from the probation date; authorizes the division of health related boards to promulgate rules to effectuate such petition process. 7. SB1342 by Campbell. (*HB1169 by Hemmer.) Children - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 3. As introduced, requires on or before June 30, 2026, and each June 30 thereafter, the council on children's mental health care to submit a report to certain officials regarding the status of the statewide system of care for children's mental health and the service delivery system and the status of children's mental health in this state. 8. *SB0318 by Lowe. (HB0395 by Terry.) Anatomical Gifts - Amends TCA Title 56 and Title 68. As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Genomic Security and End Organ Harvesting Act." Watch. Odd bill. 9. SB1178 by Akbari. (*HB0712 by Hale.) Disability and Aging, Dept. Of - Amends TCA Title 52 and Title 71. As introduced, directs the commissioner to develop guidelines for service providers for hiring qualified family members as a family care giver; specifies that the department shall not prohibit qualified individuals from employment as a family care giver at a service provider agency based on certain listed criteria; directs the director of TennCare to develop guidelines for service providers for hiring qualified family members as a family care giver; specifies that the bureau of TennCare shall not prohibit qualified individuals from employment as a family care giver at a service provider agency based on certain listed criteria. 10. *SB0577 by Haile. (HB1000 by Rudder.) TennCare - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5. Authorizes the coverage assessment on hospitals for FY24-25 to be implemented and imposed without the approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of an adjustment to the budget neutrality agreement with CMS, if the other required CMS determination, approvals, and confirmation have already been obtained. Establishes that, if the coverage assessment on hospitals is implemented under such conditions, the expenditures for directed payments to hospitals must be limited to either the same amount authorized for FY23-24, or a greater amount as determined by the Division of TennCare (Division) in consultation with the Tennessee Hospital Association, up to the amount approved by CMS, until such time as the CMS determination, approvals, and confirmation have been obtained and the Division provides written notice to the Tennessee Hospital Association. Watch. Need more info. 11. *SB0706 by Massey. (HB0711 by Hale.) TennCare - Amends TCA Title 71. As introduced, enacts the "TennCare Network Reporting Reform Act." 12. *SB1031 by Bowling. (HB1157 by Lynn.) Drugs, Prescription - Amends TCA Title 53 and Title 68. As introduced, enacts the "Restore Trust in Public Health Messaging Act." Watch. Creates a state government prohibition on promoting some FDA-regulated vaccines, masks or emergency use authorizations products. 3 p.m. CT Education 1. *SJR0097 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Todd Skelton, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Advisory Board 2. *SJR0101 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Dakasha Winton, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 3. *SJR0102 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Charles Traughber, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 4. *SJR0103 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Marquita Qualls, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 5. *SJR0104 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Terica Smith, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 6. *SJR0105 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Jeffery Norfleet, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 7. *SJR0106 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Trevia Chatman, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 8. *SJR0107 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Dimeta Smith Knight, Tennessee State University Board of Trustees 9. *SJR0109 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Thomas Lehrman, Public Charter School Commission 10. *SJR0113 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Rick Spell, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Advisory Board 11. *SJR0091 by Johnson. General Assembly, Confirmation of Appointment - Billy Bryan, Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission 12. SB0836 by Watson. (*HB0793 by Lamberth.) Local Education Agencies - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49. As introduced, authorizes LEAs and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States. Watch. Bill aimed at overturning four decades of SCOTUS precedent Spirit Airlines announced its planes will soon be soaring over the Scenic City with new service at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) launching June 4. The introduction of the only nonstop flights between Chattanooga and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) will have an introductory fare starting at $50* one-way. "We're excited to expand our Tennessee network and welcome our CHA Guests onboard as we launch three new nonstop routes, just in time for a fun summer vacation," said John Kirby, vice president of network planning at Spirit Airlines. "Chattanooga is known as the Scenic City for good reason, and travelers from major East Coast cities can discover a new destination with southern charm, breathtaking views and endless outdoor activities." "We are delighted to partner with Spirit Airlines to bring these highly sought after destinations to our community," said April Cameron, president and CEO at Chattanooga Airport. "Spirit will deliver high-value travel options to our passengers with dozens of connections from these new nonstop routes. We are thankful for the investment of Spirit and can't wait to welcome visitors from these locations here to the Scenic City." CMAA Chairman Jim Hall said, "The addition of these three nonstop Spirit Airlines flights is a testament to the leadership of President and CEO April Cameron and her team as well as Mayor Kelly and the Airport Board, who continue to work tirelessly to bring more travel options to our community," said Jim Hall, Chairman of the Chattanooga Airport Board. "The new routes strengthen our connectivity, support economic growth and enhance convenience for our passengers. This exciting milestone opens up a whole new horizon of opportunities for travelers, allowing them to visit and experience even more destinations with ease." Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said, "Spirit Airlines' investment in new nonstop service is fantastic news for our city. More flights mean more affordable, convenient ways for our community to explore and for visitors to experience all that Chattanooga has to offer. This growth in flight options wouldn't be possible without the continued support of our passengers who choose to fly local and make Chattanooga Airport their first choice." Chattanooga will be the third Tennessee market on Spirit's route map. The carrier first launched service at Nashville (BNA) in 2019 followed by Memphis (MEM) in 2022. Officials said, "Chattanooga guests can enjoy a more comfortable and elevated travel experience with Spirit. The carrier's recent transformation includes four new travel options, ranging from premium to economical, that empower Guests to choose how they want to fly: - Go Big to get enhanced comfort with a big front seat, a carry-on and first checked bag, no change or cancel fees, priority check-in and boarding, complimentary snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages and streaming access to fast Wi-Fi. - Go Comfy to choose an aisle or window seat with no one in the middle, a carry-on bag, no change or cancel fees, priority boarding, a small snack and non-alcoholic beverage. - Go Savvy to get a standard seat selection, carry-on bag and no change or cancel fees. - Go to keep it simple with no extras. Standard seat selection, checked bags and other options can be purchased separately. *Guests traveling between Chattanooga (CHA) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Newark (EWR) and Orlando (MCO) can take advantage of an introductory fare starting at $50* one-way for travel from June 4 through Aug. 12, 2025. Must be purchased 14 days in advance to be eligible. These special introductory fares are available for purchase through March 20. Margaret Ann "Maggie" Harwell Greene, of Dunlap, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the age of 90. She was born in 1934 in Nashville, where she attended Hillsboro High School and then Vanderbilt University as a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority. Her youthful natural beauty and many social activities resulted in frequent appearances in the society pages of The Tennessean throughout her college years. She graduated from Vanderbilt in 1957 with a degree in nursing and began a long career in service to others. Maggie spent nearly two decades in nursing at TVAs Sequoyah Nuclear Plant and retired in 1994. She lived for the last 45 years in the picturesque Sequatchie Valley, where she and her husband Ernie Greene built and enjoyed their dream home, Greene Valley Farm. For many years, she and Ernie loved hosting family reunions at the farm, creating so many cherished memories of fireworks and fun with loved ones. She thrived in her retirement years assisting Ernie with his business, Colonial Exterminating, and traveling frequently, including cruising the world with friends and family. Maggie was a devoted member of Dunlap United Methodist Church and an active contributor to numerous community organizations: the Lions Club, Gideons, Sequatchie County Senior Citizens Center, and Book Club, among others. Maggies love and devotion to family anchored her life. She will be remembered for her warmth, generosity and welcoming spirit, with a heart for people in need. Her sweet demeanor punctuated by a sharp wit brought joy to so many throughout her 90 years. Maggie is survived by her sons, Steven Swink (Sheila) of Ooltewah, and Thomas Swink (Megan) of Mt. Juliet; daughter Katherine Swink (Mary) of Decatur, GA; Linda Williams, companion of her late son, Michael Swink of Dunlap; grandchildren Drew, Thomas, Maggie, Maddox, Kimbel, Ryan, Megan, Nathan, Jeffrey, Sarah, Amanda, and Tiffany; and numerous nieces, nephews and great-grand-children. The family is grateful to the staff at StoryPoint Senior Living who surrounded her with loving comfort and care in her final weeks. A celebration of her life will be held at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 8, at Ewton Funeral Home in Dunlap, TN with visitation starting at 11 a.m. CT. A graveside service at Chapel Hill Cemetery will follow along with a reception at Dunlap United Methodist Church. The family requests that memorial gifts may be given to Dunlap United Methodist Church, or to the charity of your choice. Ewton Funeral Home & Cremation Center is in charge of arrangements for Ms. Greene and asks that you share your memories and condolences for her family on our website at www.ewtonfuneralhome.com. The Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday approved legislation creating four new state natural areas and expanding six existing ones. Guided by State Representative Greg Vital, House Bill 126 passed unanimously.The bill designates: Clifty Creek Gorge in Morgan County, an 89-acre forested area that features a scenic gorge and protects the federally threatened Virginia spiraea. Rocky Hill Road Glades in Rutherford County, home to limestone cedar glade habitat and the state-endangered running glade clover. Union Grove in Hamblen County, a 59-acre area with oak and mixed forests, headwater streams and the state-endangered Tennessee trillium, a species discovered in 2013. Versailles Knob in Rutherford County, a 40-acre forest with large limestone outcrops that provides habitat for the federally endangered Brauns Rockcress.The bill also expands six existing natural areas: Barnetts Woods and Prairie, Cedars of Lebanon, Couchville Cedar Glade, Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens, Ozone Falls and Radnor Lake.Additionally, it clarifies acreage measurements for Hawkins Cove, Pogue Creek and William B. Clark to reflect more accurate data.House Bill 126 provides critical protections for Tennessees most treasured landscapes by restricting development in these areas and giving the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) the authority to enforce penalties for damage or vandalism, Rep. Vital said. This legislation helps mitigate the risk of native species being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act by ensuring the long-term protection of their habitats.Since the passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Tennessee has designated 84 state natural areas to safeguard the states most valuable ecosystems. However, state-owned lands managed by TDECs Division of Natural Areas that are not designated under the statute currently lack these protections. The legislation closes this gap by updating the law to reflect the lands comprising the State Natural Areas System, ensuring proper protection for future generations, officials said.All acquisitions were from willing sellers with no eminent domain involved. The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee has donated the land for the proposed Clifty Creek Gorge area.The companion bill, Senate Bill 1277, will be heard in the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in the coming weeks. Each year the Red Bank Soddy Daisy Charitable Foundation awards a grant to both cities. The money comes from interest on money derived from the sale of the Red Bank Community Hospital. This year each city was given $21,000. To receive it, the city must accept conditions that are put on the gift by the foundation. The cities are asked for suggestions of projects that would benefit the most citizens and the foundation chooses the project. This year Red Bank suggested two public art installations. At the Tuesday night commission meeting the commissioners appropriated $7,000 of the grant to be used at the Red Bank Kids Club Park at 3817 Redding Road. A mural will be painted on all four sides of the restroom facility in the park. Ten artists submitted applications and the Red Bank Public Art Advisory Board selected Adam Stephenson to paint the mural. A second mural will be on a retaining wall along Morrison Springs Road at a later date. New members were appointed to fill three vacancies on the art advisory board of 10. They were welcomed at the commission meeting. They are Julie Goss, Philip Luckey and Catherine Billings. The Active Older Adults Program in the city will be getting two new activities. The commissioners authorized signing an affiliation agreement with the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Music Therapy Department. This will give the students in the field of music therapy experience and will offer enrichment experiences to the adults who participate in the program. Another new program for the older adults will be Bingo at 12 p.m. on Thursdays. The fiscal year 2025 budget was amended to appropriate unbudgeted expenditures and grant funding in the amount of $20,000. After Finance Director John Alexander retired last year, the city engaged Kristina Pickle who was a full-time employee of the Robert Half agency as his replacement. Ms. Pickle was later hired by the city, which was then obligated to pay the Robert Half Agency a contract release fee of $20,000. The commissioners authorized the payment for hiring Ms. Pickle as the citys CFO. The Red Bank Beer Ordinance was amended to allow a beer vendor to obtain a single license to sell beer at multiple city-sponsored events in one calendar year. It will prevent the vendor from having to apply for every event individually, such as the Red Bank Jubilee and the Christmas Parade. City Manager Martin Granum invited all residents to come to the ribbon cutting for the new playground beside the community center. It will be on Thursday, March 18, before the Commissioners Work Session Meeting that day. An appeal was filed March 3 with the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court over the disqualification of David Walkingstick as a candidate for Tribal Council. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Home News 'Perfect exactly the way God made you': 7 highlights from Trump's address to a joint session of Congress President Donald Trump delivered an address to a joint session of the United States Congress in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday, a month and a half after he took office as the 47th president of the United States. At over 99 minutes, Trump's speech is reported to be the longest from any modern president, casting a vision for what Trump refers to as a "golden age" in American history. He laid out several requests for Congress after he and his administration had taken swift executive actions in their first 43 days that have had a wide-ranging influence on the American political and societal landscape. With outbursts from congressional Democrats, Trump offered sharp criticisms about the consequences of LGBT ideology and illegal immigration while defending federal workforce layoffs and his tariffs policy. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Here are seven highlights from Trump's speech. Home News Former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Responsible citizenship is inseparable from Christian morality Activist and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali quoted from Scripture in an impassioned defense of the nation-state and advocated for a return to Christian morality at a conference in London. The Somali-born former Dutch parliamentarian and research fellow at the Hoover Institution used her platform last month at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference to attack what she depicted as modern liberalisms rejection of nationalism. Modern liberals trashed the nation-state and nationalism, invoking Hitler and Mussolini and arguing that nationalism had caused World War II, not to mention the Holocaust, she said. They failed to make a distinction between bad nationalism and good nationalism. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Hirsi Ali, 55, identified these modern liberals as a murky coalition of social democrats, tenured intellectuals who transformed the modern university into a place for brainwashing young minds into hating their national identity and history, editors in charge of legacy media, activists within the web of think tanks and NGOs, and the administrative state, the bloated bureaucracy that has come to see itself as the benign guardian against fascism while routinely suppressing liberty. The founder of the AHA Foundation, and host of "The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast" also took aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, calling them a radical pursuit of heterogeneity in the name of multiculturalism and diversity. She pointed to powerful international and supranational entities designed to transcend or sidestep the nation-states, such as the United Nations or the European Union, which, Ali argued, have proven dysfunctional, tyrannical rule of bureaucracy and wasteful, chronically prone to fraud and abuse. Citing the failure of what she called the experiment based on the virtuous theory of multiculturalism to bring about heterogeneous societies in Europe even amid the ghastly hellscapes of Muslim-dominated states, Ali said the solution, in her mind, is simple and unequivocal: Stop the post-national experiment it has already gone too far. After detailing the decline of the post-war rules-based international order, Ali speculated that era might have officially ended on the 20th of January 2025 the date of President Donald Trumps inauguration or perhaps even earlier with Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014. Celebrating this shift, she hailed the weakening of globalism in the U.S., claiming, The Democratic Party today [has] no clear leadership no funding no media monopoly no control of government. In short, they have no power, and that is good news. The speechs most provocative moment came when Ali extolled the virtues of a Christian-dominant Europe, one which she recalled vividly from her journey from Somalia to Holland in 1992. When I came to Europe fleeing a forced marriage that was part of a failed clan system, this was the type of nation-state that I found wealthy, peaceful, stable and optimistic, but still rooted in the Calvinist and Catholic traditions. Since then, said Ali, shes witnessed in both America and Europe what she described as a sustained effort to drive Christianity to the margins of our society. I believe this gamble on secularism will go terribly wrong, she added. It already has. Quoting Bible verses like Genesis 1:27, All humans are created in Gods image, and Leviticus 19:18, Love your neighbor as yourself Ali argued these principles underpin Western values such as human rights and limited government. Biblical ethics stress that rulers and citizens are accountable to a higher moral law, ensuring that government acts justly and protects the vulnerable, she said. Romans 13:3-4, these principles collectively shaped Western values, like democracy, human rights and constitutional government. Hirsi Ali closed her remarks with a call to stress that responsible citizenship in the West is inseparable from Christian morality. Please, let's aspire to build or restore the nation-states on which our security depends, and let's ensure that they run as they used to on that Christian operating system without which we can have no moral compass, she added. Last year, Hirsi Ali announced that she had become a Christian and explained her journey to faith to atheist apologist Richard Dawkins. "I had a personal crisis ... I lived for about a decade with intense depression and anxiety, self-loathing. I hit rock bottom. I went to a place where I actually didn't want to live anymore, but I wasn't brave enough to take my own life. I was self-medicating. Over a long period of time, I saw psychiatrists and other doctors. I was trying to understand my condition, and I was trying to treat it with the help of pure evidence-based science." Dawkins asked Hirsi Ali, "You don't believe Jesus rose from the dead, surely?" She said, "I choose to believe that Jesus rose from the dead." Every follower of Christ believes in the Lord's death on the cross for our sins, as well as His resurrection from the dead. Hirsi Ali then said, "It has to go back to, 'Is there something or is there nothing?'" Home News Christian converts deported from US could face death penalty if they return home, advocates warn Christian human rights advocates are warning that some Christian immigrants could face death if deported from the United States, actions that may violate international treaties and contradict one of President Donald Trump's executive orders. Jeff King, president of the U.S.-based watchdog organization International Christian Concern, has responded to a report that at least 10 of the roughly 350 migrants deported last month from the U.S. to Panama for their eventual return home are Iranian Christian converts from Islam. As The New York Times highlighted in a Feb. 18 report, the migrants put on a military plane to Panama last month and housed in a hotel come from a variety of countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Uzbekistan. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe King noted many of these countries have a history of persecuting Christians, and while he acknowledged Pakistan as a place of concern, the ICC president cited Iran as the bigger threat. "If returned to Iran, they will face the death penalty for apostasy a severe crime under Sharia law," King told The Christian Post. "Iranian Christians have been heavily persecuted for decades despite a long history in the country." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the outlet that all migrants deported to Panama were in the U.S. illegally and none of them "asserted fear of returning to their home country at any point during processing or custody." A DHS spokesperson maintains that all were "properly removed from the country." King cited Iran's constitution, which was finalized soon after the 1979 revolution, calling it a "religious manifesto." King said Iran's constitution quotes the Quran extensively and mandates the military to fulfill "the ideological mission of jihad in Allah's way; that is, extending the sovereignty of Allah's law throughout the world." Iran's government adheres to a strict interpretation of Shia Islam, which King said doesn't even leave room for Sunni Islam, much less religious minorities like Christianity. As ICC reported when it first responded to the news of the deportations last month, the forced return of asylum seekers or refugees to countries where they are likely to face persecution is prohibited in numerous international treaty bodies. The advocacy group cited as an example the United Nations Convention against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. ICC also cited the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which states that adherence to non-refoulement is "an implicit guarantee flowing from the obligations to respect, protect and fulfill human rights." While King acknowledged the current situation as "concerning," he believes that there is a lot of nuance to the issue that The New York Times article didn't touch upon, feeling the outlet didn't criticize former President Barack Obama's administration enough over its handling of the Islamic State and its persecution of Christians. Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, pointed to an executive order from Trump's first presidency, Advancing International Religious Freedom. She said the order, signed in June 2020, has never been withdrawn. "Our asylum and refugee practices should first and foremost go to those fleeing religious persecution," Shea told CP. "President Trump aims to champion religious freedom as a fundamental American, indeed 'unalienable,' right. On this basis, these Iranian Christians should not be deported." Tony Perkins, a leading Evangelical conservative activist who leads the Washington-based Family Research Council, expressed gratitude toward Trump and his administration for consistently protecting the U.S. borders. "At the same time, we also recognize the importance of providing an opportunity for legal refuge in the United States for those who face religious persecution and encounter death threats in their home countries, including Christian converts who put their lives on the line to follow Christ," Perkins told CP. "As we protect our homeland, we must preserve and utilize effective refugee and asylum programs that protect vulnerable religious believers from repatriation into near certain danger," he added. "This is consistent with President Trump's commitment to elevate religious freedom in American foreign policy." Earlier this year, Article 18, a London-based religious freedom nongovernmental organization, released an annual report chronicling rights violations against Christians in Iran. The report, titled "The Tip of the Iceberg" and released in partnership with Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Middle East Concern, found that Christians in Iran were sentenced to a combined total of 250 years in prison in 2024, a sixfold increase compared to 2023's report. Home News Trump drops Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho abortion ban The Trump administration has moved to drop a Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho for a state law that bans abortion in nearly all circumstances. Under former President Joe Biden, the federal government sued Idaho, claiming that its abortion ban violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. A stipulation of dismissal filed on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, Southern Division, stated that both parties stipulate to the dismissal, without prejudice, of all of the United States claims in this action, each party to bear their own attorneys fees and costs. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Thus, the Courts preliminary injunction in this matter is dissolved, read the court document. The district court loses jurisdiction upon this stipulations filing. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador released a statement Wednesday celebrating the dismissal, saying, there is no conflict between EMTALA and Idahos Defense of Life Act. The goal of each is to save lives in every circumstance, both the mother and their unborn child, stated Labrador. We are grateful that meddlesome DOJ litigation on this issue will no longer be an obstacle to Idaho enforcing its laws. Idaho will continue defending life as intended by the legislature and our people. Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the American Civil Liberties Union, released a statement denouncing the dismissal, claiming that the Trump administration would let women die rather than get an abortion. Trump has sided with a radical fringe position that would put doctors who act to save the lives of their patients in jail and supports letting women die rather than access abortion, Schifeling argued. The ACLU will continue to fight at the ballot box, in the courts, and in the streets across the nation to guarantee the fundamental rights of all Americans, including accessing emergency medical care. Litigation over the state law continues, however, as the St. Lukes hospital system that brought a lawsuit earlier this year secured a temporary restraining order to guarantee their ability to perform emergency abortions, CNN reported. In July 2022, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance stating that EMTALA required hospital emergency staff to perform abortions. The Biden Department of Justice sued Idaho over its abortion ban, which only allowed the procedure if a mother was facing a medical emergency, citing EMTALA as a justification. In September 2023, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Idaho, overturning a lower court decision in favor of the HHS guidance. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case in April of 2024, with U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar rejecting the claim that the case was about abortion bans in general. "Even states that have sharply restricted access to abortion after Dobbs generally allow exceptions to safeguard the mother's health," Prelogar said. "But Idaho makes termination a felony punishable by years of imprisonment unless it is necessary to prevent the woman's death." In June of last year, the Supreme Court issued a brief per curiam opinion in the case, concluding that it had been improvidently granted, meaning that the high court should not have heard arguments. Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored a concurring opinion, being joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing that the shape of these cases has substantially shifted since we granted certiorari. The parties dispute whether EMTALA requires hospitals to provide abortions or any other treatment forbidden by state law as necessary stabilizing care. They also disagree about whether EMTALA, as a statute enacted under Congress spending power and that operates on private parties, can preempt state law (an issue aired for the first time in this Court), she wrote. In my judgment, it would be imprudent to answer these important questions now. Since this suit began in the District Court, Idaho law has significantly changed twice. And since we granted certiorari, the parties litigating positions have rendered the scope of the dispute unclear, at best. Home News Trump task force targets antisemitism on university campuses; Columbia, Harvard among those facing funding cuts Ten universities are under scrutiny as a new task force has been unleashed to crack down on the unprecedented displays of antisemitism that have plagued U.S. campuses since Oct. 7, 2023. The universities, including Colombia University and Harvard University, could face massive cuts in federal funding, if found to be allowing illegal protests, Trump declared on his Truth Social platform. The U.S. Department of Justice said the task force will meet with university officials, students, staff and local law enforcement to determine whether remedial action is warranted. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In the comprehensive review, it will be determined whether the $5 billion given to Columbia University in federal grant commitments should be halted, given the schools ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students," according to The Jewish Chronicle. A joint statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED) and the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the plan on Monday, specifying that the federal governments new Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is considering halting $51.4 million worth in contracts with Columbia University. Last year Columbia University received $1.3 billion in government grants, according to their financial overview for fiscal year 2024. While Columbia has been the site of some of the most extreme scenes of antisemitism, it is by no means the only educational institution that has been beleaguered by pro-terror group protests. All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came, he posted. He warned that while foreign students could expect to have their visas revoked, American students will be permanently expelled or arrested, depending on the crime. He finished by saying, NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter. In response, Columbia University, which has seen some of the more extreme protests and instances of antisemitism, issued a statement on Monday saying that they were reviewing the communication from the federal agencies. The statement from the Ivy League institution continued, Columbia is fully committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our University. We look forward to ongoing work with the new federal administration to fight antisemitism, and we will continue to make all efforts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff. According to the Times of Israel, the Columbia announcement came after anti-Israel protesters last week invaded a campus building at Barnard College, which is an affiliate of Columbia, and had injured a university employee. The debacle followed the recent expulsion of some students after they disrupted an Israeli professors class. Laura Ann Rosenbury, president of Barnard College, said the disruption of the Israeli professors class was a calculated act of intimidation, and that protesters have exploited the conflict in the Middle East to try to tear our campus community our Barnard home apart. She reported that the protesters caused $30,000 in damages, but have been identified for the most part despite wearing masks. Linda McMahon, the new secretary of education, has made it clear that such intimidation and hatred on campuses must come to an end. On the day she was sworn into office, she said, Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators, adding, Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled. McMahon continued: Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination. Columbias apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institutions fitness to continue doing business with the United States government. This article was originally published by All Israel News. Home News Wyoming governor signs bill barring men from women's bathrooms, spaces Wyoming has become the latest state to ban trans-identified males from entering women's spaces in government buildings as a nationwide effort to ensure privacy and safety for women and girls continues. Wyoming's Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 72 into law Monday. The Republican-controlled Wyoming House of Representatives passed the measure in a 52-8 vote on Feb. 7, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against it. The Republican-controlled Wyoming Senate passed the legislation in a 25-6 vote last week, where four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the bill. The legislation, scheduled to go into effect on July 1, establishes definitions for the terms "male" and "female" that align with an individual's biological sex and requires public facilities to reserve multi-occupancy changing areas, restrooms and sleeping quarters "for use exclusively by males or exclusively by females." It prohibits individuals from entering sex-segregated spaces that do not correspond to their biological sex. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The measure permits the provision of "a reasonable accommodation for a person" while stressing that "a reasonable accommodation shall not include access to a multi-occupancy changing area, restroom, or sleeping quarters designated for the opposite sex." "In each public facility, a person who, while accessing a changing area or restroom designated for use by the person's sex, encounters another person of the opposite sex in the designated changing area or restroom shall have a cause of action against the public facility that" either "provided the other person permission to use a changing area or restroom of the opposite sex" or "failed to take reasonable steps to prohibit the other person from using the changing area or restroom of the opposite sex," the legislation states. The bill also provides a right of action for anyone required by either a "correctional facility" or an "educational facility" to "share sleeping quarters with another person of the opposite sex." Sara Beth Nelson, legal counsel for the religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, praised Gordon's approval of House Bill 72 in a statement published Wednesday. "States have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and girls. Letting men intrude on women's spaces whether at college, in public buildings, or in correctional facilities is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the two sexes," she said. "By signing this bill into law, Gov. Gordon is protecting women and girls in Wyoming for generations to come," Nelson added. Wyoming has now become the 16th state to enact legislation designed to require trans-identified individuals to use bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities that align with their biological sex as opposed to their stated gender identity in government-owned buildings in some or all cases. Florida and Utah have laws in place that apply to all government-owned facilities including K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Legislation in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Ohio applies to K-12 schools and some other government-owned buildings. Laws on the books in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia apply to K-12 schools. The presence of trans-identified males in women's spaces has caused safety and privacy concerns for women. In 2023, a group of sorority sisters sued a University of Wyoming sorority for accepting a trans-identified male applicant, saying they were made uncomfortable by the presencse of a male on several occasions. Their lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in August 2023, ruling that the organization's bylaws don't define who qualifies to be a woman. Female swimmers who had to share a locker room with trans-identified male swimmer Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania due to the athlete's presence on the women's swimming team reported experiencing "extreme discomfort" over having to share an intimate space with someone who still has male genitalia. In Colorado, a school district has faced a lawsuit after a female student was forced to share a bed with a trans-identified male on an overnight school field trip. Earlier this year, a Virginia school district defended its policy allowing individuals to use bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identity after a registered sex offender was able to access a high school girls' locker room. Amie Ichikawa, who runs a nonprofit organization designed to meet the needs of incarcerated women, elaborated on the consequences of allowing trans-identified males in women's prisons at an event hosted by The Christian Post last year titled "Unmasking Gender Ideology." Ichikawa specifically highlighted how "44 male-born individuals" have "been successful in transferring into women's prisons." As a result, she lamented, "babies are being born in custody." Home News Franklin Graham calls for an 'end to this terrible war' in Ukraine The Rev. Franklin Graham is calling for an end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict after a tense meeting between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week. In a social media post published Saturday, the day after the contentious meeting in the Oval Office, Graham acknowledged the fact that the meeting "was tense and unfortunately did not end well." "The progress we had all hoped for is again delayed," Graham wrote. "Pray for the people of Ukraine, and that there would be an end to this terrible war." Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe As the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid charity Samaritan's Purse, Graham's organizations have actively provided relief to the Ukrainian people since Russia invaded the eastern European nation three years ago. Russia invaded Ukrainian territory in February 2022, claiming it wanted to secure the rights of pro-Russian communities in Eastern Ukraine regions like Donetsk and Luhansk. In the days after the invasion, Samaritan's Purse deployed disaster response specialists to Poland and Romania, where refugees fleeing the war-torn nation were arriving in large numbers. In April 2022, Graham preached an Easter sermon in Ukraine. The hostile exchange between Trump, Vance and Zelensky began when Zelensky criticized Vance's suggestion to embrace the Trump administration's "diplomacy" with Russia in an effort to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Vance accused Zelensky of acting "disrespectful" by attacking "the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country." "Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump told Zelensky after the Ukrainian president suggested that the U.S. would experience difficulties as a result of the war. "We're trying to solve a problem." Trump told Zelensky, "You're in no position to dictate what we're going to feel," predicting that "we're going to feel very good and very strong." "You're right now not in a very good position," Trump also said to the Ukrainian president. "You don't have the cards right now." As the two presidents engaged in crosstalk, Trump assured his Ukrainian counterpart that "with us, you start having cards," while asserting that "you're gambling with the lives of millions of people." "You're gambling with World War III and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, disrespectful to the country, this country, that's backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have," Trump added. Vance jumped in and asked Zelensky if he had ever "said thank you" during the meeting. While Zelensky insisted that he had, Vance implied that Zelensky had an ulterior motive by bringing up how the Ukrainian leader "went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October." Zelensky accused Vance of speaking "loudly," which prompted Trump to proclaim, "he's not speaking loudly." Trump stressed to Zelensky that "your country is in big trouble." The Ukrainian president responded, "I know." "You're not winning," Trump maintained. "You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us." After Vance accused Zelensky of trying to "litigate" disagreements between the U.S. and Ukraine in front of the media, Trump took issue with Zelensky's rejection of a ceasefire. Trump touted a ceasefire as a way to ensure that "the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed," stressing Zelensky should be "more thankful" for all the U.S. has done for his country. The meeting ended with Trump kicking Zelensky out of the White House without holding a planned joint press conference or signing a rare minerals deal with Ukraine. Trump elaborated in a statement shared on social media, describing the meeting as "very meaningful" while concluding that "Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations." "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE," he stated. "He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he's ready for Peace." Feature: Chinese doctor leaves lasting impact in Zimbabwe through traditional medicine Xinhua) 11:08, March 05, 2025 Xiao Zhiqiang, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor from the 22nd batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, treats a local patient in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) HARARE, March 4 (Xinhua) -- After two years of dedicated service, Hu Sha, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor, is preparing to return to China. Yet, as she bids farewell, she leaves a lasting legacy in Zimbabwe, where her work has touched countless lives. Despite occasional bouts of homesickness, the sight of her patients finding relief kept her motivated. "When I see my patients who once suffered smile again, when I hear a local child with cerebral palsy say 'thank you' to me in Chinese, I know all my efforts have been worthwhile," Hu told Xinhua. Affectionately known as Doctor Chipo, which means "gift" in Zimbabwe's Shona language, Hu has spent the past two years making a profound impact on the lives of patients at the Zimbabwe-China TCM and Acupuncture Center, located at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, the southern African country's capital. "I believe Zimbabwe and its people are a gift to me," she said. "Their trust in TCM and Chinese doctors is the best gift I have received in the past two years." Hu first arrived in Zimbabwe in March 2023 as a member of the Chinese medical team, initially for a one-year service. Inspired by the growing impact of TCM, she decided to extend her stay for another year to continue providing critical care. As head of the TCM center, she oversaw daily operations, patient care, training, and the promotion of TCM culture. The increasing acceptance of TCM among Zimbabweans exceeded her expectations. "The remarkable healing effects of Chinese medicine have spread widely in Zimbabwe, and the number of patients continues to grow. Appointments at the TCM center are now fully booked until April," she said. Last year, with the technical and financial support of the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine in central China's Hunan Province, Hu established Africa's first TCM emergency room and exhibition room at the center. "I wanted to create a space where Zimbabweans could experience TCM firsthand --where they could see, learn about, and trust in its benefits," she said. One of her most significant contributions has been treating children with cerebral palsy. "In my clinical work, I discovered a high number of children with cerebral palsy in Zimbabwe. TCM acupuncture plays a positive role in their rehabilitation," Hu explained. In response, the TCM center has introduced a specialized cerebral palsy clinic, offering acupuncture therapy to local children every Thursday. "Traditional Chinese medicine is not just about physical healing. It also nurtures the soul. I hope to use this ancient wisdom to light up the future of these children," she said. For Rudo Gonyora, a mother of a four-year-old child with cerebral palsy, acupuncture has helped improve her child's condition. "Since we started the acupuncture treatments, he's more active, bubbling with energy, and his movement has improved. His head control is getting better. We can see real progress," she said. Local colleagues at the TCM center have also benefited from Hu's presence. "From children to adults, she treated every patient with love and compassion," said Charlotte Muziri, an assistant at the center. "She has been a true blessing to our clinic." As Hu prepares to leave, her work will be carried forward by Xiao Zhiqiang, a TCM doctor from Hunan Province. "Seeing patients' lives improve through Chinese medicine and witnessing the deep friendships formed here is an honor," Xiao said. "I will continue helping the China-Zimbabwe traditional medicine cooperation project take root and grow." A member of the newly arrived 22nd batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, Xiao looks forward to expanding the reach of TCM in the country. "I hope Chinese medicine can bring relief to even more people in Zimbabwe," he said. Hu Sha, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor from the 21st batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, treats a local patient in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. In late February, Mike Koshmrl, a reporter for the independent news outlet WyoFile, was having a hard time getting a government official on the phone. He had gotten a tip that the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery, a 120-acre, ten-building site in southern Wyoming that breeds millions of trout to stock the nations rivers, had lost all its employees thanks to government cutbacks. But no one would tell him if that was trueor if anyone would ultimately remain to care for the stock. There were just no numbers, he said. So Koshmrl turned to an old-fashioned solution: he got in the car and drove a hundred and fifty miles to see the hatchery for himself. Thats not a normal approach to try to get the basic information, Koshmrl said. But thats kind of what were left to do. Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has spent the past month making sweeping cuts to federal employment. Its a story that has largely been observed through the experiences of federal workers in and around Washington, DC. But over 80 percent of the federal workforce lives and works outside the greater DC area, doing jobs from monitoring nuclear facilities to researching plant diseases, which means that the fallout from DOGE has been a local story, too. Nicole Blanchard, an investigative reporter for the Idaho Statesman, has been covering the cuts in her state, where 60 percent of the land is owned by the federal government, and dozens of federal forestry workers have lost their jobs. Last year, half a million acres burned in wildfires across Idaho, and while the cuts have so far reportedly spared firefighting crews, other key roles in fire mitigation have not been so lucky. It was trail crews, biologists, botanists, educators, and all these different people, Blanchard said. So far, the cuts have led to large protests in the capital, Boise, as well as smaller ones in towns across the state, where job losses affected hundredsin McCall, for instance, more than fifty forest service workers were laid off, including backcountry rangers and people who worked in avalanche safety. Idaho fancies itself a small-government state, but it no longer feels detached from Washington, said Royce McCandless, who has been reporting on the cuts for the Idaho Press. This is affecting people in their day-to-day lives, and its affecting the public lands that define the Idaho experience. In Alaska, the state that receives the most federal funds per capita, Corinne Smith, a reporter for the Alaska Beacon, said the sudden job losses pose an entirely new challenge, even for locals who are used to uncertainty and adapting to change. In remote communities that rely on small planes for everything from mail and daily groceries to medical appointments, Smith noted, the cuts to weather service employees in particular could be catastrophic. Weve heard from pilots who say they are terrified of not having that data available, Smith said. And fewer national park staffers could mean increased risk for tourists, especially in the expansive bear country. I think its going to get dangerous. The cuts are radically different than anything Ive seen in over forty-five years of reporting, said Angus Thuermer, another journalist for WyoFile who has been covering the local effects of the layoffs. Thuermer pointed to the loss of a longtime state official whod recently joined the Bridger-Teton National Forest as a spokesperson, and was laid off along with other probationary employees. For years, Thuermer and other reporters have relied on the spokesperson, Mark Gocke, for connections to wildlife experts and access to areas not normally open to visitors. He did more to help educate the public about their wildlife resources than almost anyone else in the state, and now the public doesnt have him anymore, Thuermer said. At the Saratoga hatchery, Koshmrl found two staff members and an intern struggling to keep the facility operatingless than half of the usual team. Chaos, is how a US Fish and Wildlife Service employee put it, when Koshmrl asked about the conditions at the site. Just trying to do the bare minimum to keep things going. If the hatchery is forced to shut down, that could result in a major loss of trout populations across the country. Covering these stories has given Koshmrl a renewed sense of purpose. While some federal employees in the state remain reluctant to speak to a reportermany still hold out hope that the layoffs will eventually be rescindedothers have been more open, particularly after WyoFile rolled out a blanket offer of anonymity, something the publication has never done before. People I spoke to are bothered about how theyre being treated, and also really sad, Koshmrl said. A lot of people are losing their jobs, and their livelihoods. And theres really no prospect for them to stay employed in those communities. Sign up for CJRs daily email Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. Among the billionaires in attendance at Donald Trumps inauguration were Elon Musk, the owner of X; Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta; and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, which also owns YouTube. Their presence starkly illustrated a concern that many social media critics have echoed for some time: these companies, as key as they are to our social infrastructure, are also at the whims of their leaders. Musk is, at the moment, the most emboldened of these billionaires. Upon entering office, Trump entrusted him with running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, through which Musk has been given permission to eliminate the jobs of thousands of government workersa repeat of his takeover of X, in 2022, after which he laid off almost 80 percent of the workforce. In the weeks that followed, Musk was rarely absent from the news cycle, apparently relishing every memeable moment, whether that entailed deploying slurs against astronauts on his platform or brandishing a chainsaw onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference. This state of affairs can be doom-inspiringbut a group of technologists, researchers, and other concerned social media users are treating it as the impetus to argue that alternatives should be explored expeditiously. One result has been Free Our Feeds, an initiative to raise money to open up the AT protocolan open-source technology that provides the tools for users to create different and interoperable appsthat undergirds Bluesky, a social platform that many see as an alternative to X. It really is about figuring out how, as people who are not necessarily engineers in powerful companies, we can have a say in how technology works in the public interest, Robin Berjon, a tech custodian of Free Our Feeds, said. Berjonwho worked on data governance at the New York Times for several years and is now the deputy director of the IPFS Foundation, a nonprofit that stewards another open networkheard about Free Our Feeds and jumped on board. Its not every day that you can get people to talk about infrastructure, he said, as important as it is. The campaign has since attracted the attention of celebrities and tech watchers like Cory Doctorow, who coined the term enshittification to refer to the deterioration of tech platforms that we all use. Over the next three years, Free Our Feeds aims to raise thirty million dollars toward its goal of setting up a foundation to oversee the transformation of Blueskys AT protocol into a public social ecosystem. Recently, I spoke with Berjon about what this could look like, what it could mean for journalists, and how he thinks the media is covering alternatives to big tech platforms. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. FM: How would you describe this current moment for the major social media platforms that we use, the people who control them, and the start of Donald Trumps second presidency? RB: If you dont mind me taking just a very small step back, I think weve fallen into the trap of describing legacy social media as the public square, and the truth is, theres never been anything public about it: Its been privately owned, privately governed, privately operated for a long timeand not just private as in the local mom-and-pop store, but by very powerful companies with clear agendas of continuously expanded control. Whats happening now politically in the US and in many other countries around the world is the logical conclusion of that mistake. Weve essentially privatized the governance of critical social infrastructure, so we cannot be surprised that, once that power over infrastructure becomes concentrated and has no checks and balances, its used in favor of the people who operate it. Those people have had essentially techno-authoritarian preferences for a long time. Theyve rarely been shy about it; weve seen it in how those platforms operated, even before the current moment. Its just the continuation of what weve seen before. Are you hopeful about getting through to people who more or less accept the general toxicity in our social media systems? I think one thing thats very special about this moment is that the migration away from legacy social media is not being driven primarily by activists and civil society people whove been concerned about it for a long time. Like, Im a technologistof course Ive known about these problems for a long time. But now Im getting people who have not cared about this, ever, coming to me and asking what they should do, where they should go, how they should change. And not just because of the news; of course, the news is definitely creating a moment around this, but also a lot of people are telling me that, for instance, Instagram, which they treated as a platform [where they could go] to relax and see pretty things, is becoming the same kind of far-right hellscape as Twitter. Theyre feeling that they are continuously exposed to content that they dont want to go online for. Sign up for CJRs daily email Similarly, Ive had a number of artists reach out, especially [about] the Free Our Feeds project, and theyll say the same thingthat they initially used these platforms, particularly Instagram, as a way of getting their creations out there and finding people interested in what they do, but also for themselves, and that these platforms are completely failing them because their owners are only interested in advancing their own political agendas. Whats interesting is that this is very much regular people who are unhappy with social media and are no longer willing to put up with a certain level of toxicity. What is Free Our Feeds plan to address this? At this stage of Free Our Feeds, were basically just a campaign to raise money to start a foundation. We have to get to the point at which were sufficiently funded to make the system work. But once we get to [fund a] nonprofit, we can really start operating independent infrastructure. Its hard to talk to people about infrastructure without their eyes starting to glaze over. But really, the way to think about it is to imagine the road system entirely belongs to this one billionaire; because roads are hard to replace, because they are used for many different things, and because you dont really have an alternative to using the road, if you need to drive somewhere or transport merchandise, then whoever operates it has a lot of power over transit. And so the billionaire could impose arbitrary taxes, exactly like were seeing with Apples and Googles app stores, where they take 30 percent of [app makers] revenue just because they can. Or they could come up with their own governance rules. Continuing with this metaphor, what were doing is were making sure that these new protocols remain open, just like an open road. What could that look like when this sort of public system is up and running? How do you visualize it? Ideally, from an end users perspective, once its up and running you will see no difference whatsoever, because infrastructure, when it works, is invisible. Most people, when you walk into a room and flip the light switch on, dont worry about whether the power company and the electrical grid are functioning. But the impact that it will have on peoples lives to have open public-interest infrastructure in the digital sphere is that you wont ever have to switch social media ever again. It basically provides long-term, lifelong, sustainable protection against enshittification, and it makes sure that the system remains competitive so that you have a wide offering of options but you dont need to register with a new system to create a new account: you dont need to restart your entire network of followers; you can keep your data, keep your identity. And as social media changes over time and becomes more innovative, you can just keep using the same foundations and moving from place to place without ever having to worry about creating a new account and moving anything over. In this landscape, will there still be companies like X, TikTok, and Instagram? I think so, yes, because its important to detach the low-level infrastructure that were concerned aboutand that we want to make work so that other people dont have to worry about itfrom the product offering that exists on top of them. So Bluesky is just one service on top of the ad protocol: that will be one of the services that maybe you use, but if youre not interested in microblogging, maybe you wont. Maybe youll use Flashes, which is the Instagram analogue on the AT protocol. This makes me think of subgroups on social medialike how Reddit has subreddits, Twitter has Black Twitter, and TikTok has any number of toks that are communities unto themselves. Would opening up the protocol essentially let people take these things off these platforms? Instead of having a community that is doing its own thing, but with the same rules as the rest of the platform, you can have a community that builds its own rules on top of it, and makes it work differently based on its own preferences. You mentioned Black Twitterbut people there had to basically work according to Twitters decisions in terms of content moderation and so on. Theres something on Bluesky called Blacksky, and that actually works differently from the rest of Bluesky because it has its own specific recommendation feeds and its own specific moderation system. It was built by Rudy Fraser, whos an early adopter of Bluesky, but it shows the kind of thing you can build on these open platforms. Bluesky did not give him permission to build that; he was just like, Okay, well, Im gonna build it, and people started using it. I think this power to shape how the system works, instead of just using it with your community, is really transformative. What could this alternative way of doing social media mean for journalists? In an ideal world, I would like the answer to that question to come from media organizations and from journalists. Over the past fifteen years, weve become completely accustomed to this idea that when we want something to change in social media, anywhere in tech, we have to beg a powerful company to make that change for us. Computers are meant to be things with which you can build your own systems. And these new social media protocols basically make that possible again. Theres a huge potential in what these platforms can bring to media. For instance, you could build a competitor to Apple News on the AT protocol, and the value you get is that you immediately have tens of millions of users who are already there and a lot of infrastructure thats already operated for you. So the cost of doing that is much lower, and the opportunity to gain from network effects is huge. Do you have thoughts on how journalists are covering these social media alternatives? I think its very tricky. Im not gonna name names, but there are a number of writers, whose work I deeply respect, who I see struggle to present these new alternatives. And I think the reason for that is primarily because the way things have worked for most of their career, at least the past fifteen years, doesnt prepare them to properly explain these things. In their defense, even if they understand, its a lot of work to make that clear to their readers. I see a lot of coverage of Bluesky and the AT protocol as if it were just one product, instead of an entire protocol. And Ive seen descriptions of protocols in mainstream newspapers that are really, really bad and confusing. Im not a journalist, but personally, I always try to compare technical systems as I understand them to pre-internet systems, because I think the correspondences are much stronger than people realize. Thats why I talk about infrastructure in terms of roads, and the ability to have a choice of feeds in terms of media pluralism. But I understand its hard. Its going to take a while before theres this widespread understanding of this that makes it easier to talk about it. U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled sympathy on Tuesday toward a bid by two American gun companies to throw out the Mexican governments lawsuit accusing them of aiding illegal firearms trafficking to drug cartels and fueling gun violence in the southern neighbor of the United States. The justices heard arguments in an appeal by firearms maker Smith & Wesson and distributor Interstate Arms of a lower courts ruling allowing the lawsuit to proceed on the grounds that Mexico has plausibly alleged that the companies aided and abetted illegal gun sales, harming its government. The case comes before the Supreme Court at a fraught time for U.S.-Mexican relations as President Donald Trump pursues tariffs on Mexican goods and accuses Mexico of doing too little to stop the flow of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and migrant arrivals at the border. The companies have argued that Mexicos suit, filed in Boston in 2021, should be dismissed under a U.S. law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The 2005 law broadly shields gun companies from liability for crimes committed with their products. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the alleged conduct by the companies fell outside these protections. Mexico claims that the companies unlawfully and deliberately maintained a distribution system that included firearms dealers who knowingly sell weapons to third-party, or straw, purchasers who then traffic guns to Mexican cartels. Mexico also accuses them of unlawfully designing and marketing guns as military-grade weapons to drive up demand among cartels. The companies argue that they make and sell lawful products. If Mexico is right, then every law enforcement organization in America has missed the largest criminal conspiracy in history operating right under their nose, and Budweiser is liable for every accident caused by underage drinkers since it knows that teenagers will buy beer, drive drunk and crash, Noel Francisco, the lawyer arguing for the gun companies, told the justices. Some justices echoed this concern. Lots of sellers and manufacturers of ordinary products know that theyre going to be misused by some subset of people, conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Catherine Stetson, the lawyer arguing for Mexico. They know that to a certainty, that its going to be pharmaceuticals, cars what you can name, lots of products. So thats a real concern, I think for me, about accepting your theory of aiding and abetting liability. The Beginning of the Beginning The Supreme Courts task is merely to decide whether the case can proceed, Stetson said. We are here at the beginning of the beginning of this case. This court need not vouch for Mexicos allegations, but it must assume they are true, Stetson said. Mexico should be given a chance to prove its case. According to the lawsuit, gun violence fueled by trafficked American-made firearms has contributed to a decline in business investment and economic activity in Mexico, and forced its government to incur high costs on healthcare, law enforcement and the military. Most gun-related homicides in Mexico, a country with strict firearms laws, involve trafficked U.S. weapons, according to court papers. Mexico is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order requiring the companies to abate and remedy the public nuisance they have created in Mexico. To avoid being dismissed under the 2005 law, Mexico must plausibly allege that the companies aided and abetted illegal gun sales and that such conduct was the proximate cause a legal principle involving who is responsible for causing an injury of the harms claimed by Mexico. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett pressed Stetson on why Mexico did not sue specific gun dealers when these retailers were the most proximate cause of the harm. Stetson said Mexicos lawsuit has many, many paragraphs that specifically identify rogue dealers found to have sold guns in bulk to traffickers that go across the border. Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed concern that Mexico is seeking relief that U.S. courts cannot authorize. All of the things that you asked for in this lawsuit like changes to gun industry safety, distribution and marketing practices would amount to different kinds of regulatory constraints that Im thinking Congress didnt want the courts to be the ones to impose, Jackson told Stetson. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito pressed Stetson on whether the Mexican governments legal theory in the case could actually be used against it. There are Americans who think that Mexican government officials are contributing to a lot of illegal conduct here (in the United States). So suppose that one of the 50 states sued the government of Mexico for aiding and abetting illegal conduct within the states borders that causes the state to incur law enforcement costs, welfare costs, other costs, Alito told Stetson. Would your client be willing to litigate that case in the courts of the United States? A ruling is expected by the end of June. (Reporting by Kruzel and Brittain; Editing by Will Dunham) Dozens of California officers have been charged in connection with alleged "Gladiator Fights" at a juvenile detention center that pitted youths against each other. The state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, said on Monday that the 30 officers involved in the case allowed, and in some cases encouraged, the gladiator-style fights. He added that a grand jury indictment charged the detention services officers with child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy, and battery. Gladiator Fights Between Teenagers Bonta added that 69 of these fights occurred at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall from July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. He noted that the officers were indicted after the California Department of Justice opened an investigation after video footage showing the supposed gladiator fights surfaced in January 2024. The footage showed several detention services officers standing by, with at least one seemingly encouraging the juveniles while they were taking turns beating another teen inside a room at the center. The room itself was also seen decorated with colored streamers and other Christmas decor, according to the New York Times. In the video, one officer was seen smiling and pointing while she watched the fights, while another one shook hands with one of the teenagers shortly after he knocked down another. Bonta said that watching the footage made him see the officers as referees or audience members at a prizefight. He said that they could not be called adults when they were charged with caring for and supervising young people. Bonta added that the suspects did not intervene or protect their charges. More Than 140 Victims The grand jury indictment against the officers also estimated that there have been more than 140 victims who were aged between 12 and 18 years old and who were involved in the gladiator fights. Bonta said that they have reason to believe that everything was planned and intended, CNN reported. The California attorney general said the officers supposedly wanted the gladiator fights to happen early in the day and at a specific time and place. Of the 30 officers involved in the case, 22 were scheduled to be arraigned on Monday at the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The indictment also noted that various factors helped enable the alleged fights to occur, such as the vulnerability of the victims and the officers' position of trust or confidence. Court documents argued that the fights resulted in physical harm to the teenagers involved as well as the potential dereliction of the officers' duty, as per USA Today. A group of lobster fishermen can sue one of the worlds largest seafood watchdog groups for defamation, a federal court has ruled, over a report that described Maine lobster as an unwise choice for consumers. The threat to a rare whale species from getting tangled in fishing gear has prompted Monterey Bay Aquarium in California to caution against eating a variety of lobster that New England fishermen have harvested for centuries. Seafood Watch, a conservation program operated by the aquarium, placed lobster from the U.S. and Canada on its do-not-eat red list in 2022. Some retailers pulled lobster from stores after the recommendation. Judge John Woodcock ruled last month that the fishermen made a case that they suffered damage to their industrys reputation as a result of the red-listing, after the aquarium made a bid in U.S. District Court in Maine to have the 2023 lawsuit tossed. A spokesperson for the aquarium said Monday the institution filed an appeal, but Woodcocks ruling means the lawsuit is moving forward. Reputation and goodwill cannot be adequately replaced through awarding damages and this injury lingers as long as the red listing does, Woodcock wrote. The lobster industry, based largely in Maine, is one of the most lucrative fisheries in the U.S., valued at more than half a billion dollars at the docks last year. Entanglement in lobster gear is also one of the most significant threats to the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers less than 400. The aquarium has a right to communicate its recommendations to the public, said Emerson Brown, the spokesperson for the aquarium. Brown said the aquarium appealed to protect our ability to share critical information with the public. The Maine Lobstermens Association, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, described Woodcocks decision as significant in a statement. Maine lobstermen have been stewards of the ocean for generations, and we are committed to defending our livelihood against baseless claims, said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the association. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Blog Archive: Jul 2025 (25) Jun 2025 (150) May 2025 (155) Apr 2025 (9) Mar 2025 (149) Feb 2025 (139) Jan 2025 (155) Dec 2024 (144) Nov 2024 (143) Oct 2024 (155) Sep 2024 (149) Aug 2024 (155) Jul 2024 (155) Jun 2024 (150) May 2024 (153) Apr 2024 (149) Mar 2024 (155) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (155) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at a panel discussion at the Technical University in Berlin on Feb. 7, 2025. A federal judge in California denied Elon Musk's effort to halt OpenAI's transformation into a for-profit entity, according to a filing on Tuesday. The court said the plaintiffs "failed to meet their burden of proof for the extraordinary relief requested." However, other aspects of Musk's lawsuit against the artificial intelligence startup that he co-founded with Sam Altman and others can proceed, the filing said. OpenAI, which was created as a nonprofit AI research lab in 2015, has been commercializing products in recent years, most notably its viral ChatGPT chatbot. The company is still overseen by a nonprofit parent and has faced significant hurdles in its goal to restructure into a for-profit, due largely to Musk, who has become one of Altman's chief adversaries. In November, attorneys representing Musk, his startup xAI, and former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis filed for a preliminary injunction against the company's for-profit pursuits. The request marked an escalation in the legal feud between the sides that started when Musk sued OpenAI in March 2024 for breach of contract and fiduciary duty. The case was eventually withdrawn from state court and refiled in federal court, with Musk expanding the complaint to include claims that Microsoft and OpenAI had violated antitrust laws when the ChatGPT maker allegedly asked investors to agree to not invest in rival companies, including xAI. In posts on X, Musk has described OpenAI's efforts to convert to a for-profit corporation as a "total scam" and claimed that "OpenAI is evil." In December, OpenAI clapped back, alleging that in 2017 Musk "not only wanted, but actually created, a for-profit" to serve as the company's proposed new structure. OpenAI also said in December that in moving toward a new for-profit structure in 2025, the company would create a public benefit corporation to oversee commercial operations, removing some of its nonprofit restrictions and allowing it to function more like a high-growth startup. "The hundreds of billions of dollars that major companies are now investing into AI development show what it will really take for OpenAI to continue pursuing the mission," OpenAI's board wrote in a post at the time. Last month, a Musk-led investor group offered to buy control of OpenAI for $97.4 billion. The offer was for the nonprofit overseeing the company. "It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, said in a statement following the bid. Altman rebuffed the offer, telling CNBC that the move is just an effort by Musk to "slow down a competitor." Musk said in a court filing a few days later that he would withdraw his effort if OpenAI stops its conversion into a for-profit entity. WATCH: OpenAI shakes off DeepSeek buzz watch now Rep. Al Green was ejected from the House of Representatives chamber Tuesday night after the Texas Democrat repeatedly heckled President Donald Trump as he gave a speech to a joint session of Congress. Green was removed from the chamber at the order of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who warned him several times to stop interrupting Trump. The highly unusual ejection did nothing to stop Green's fellow Democrats from showing their disdain for the Republican president, who was twice impeached by the House of Representatives, and later acquitted by the Senate during and in the immediate aftermath of his first term. "You're a liar!" some Democrats yelled. "Those are lies!" some Democrats shouted during Trump's speech. A number of House Democrats walked out of the House chamber during Trump's speech, after Green was removed. Before that, some Democrats stood with their backs to the president. Rep. Al Green shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. Win Mcnamee | Via Reuters Green's ejection came in the early minutes of Trump's speech. The Texan stood and shook his cane at the president as he yelled. "Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions," Johnson said. "Mr. Green, take your seat, take your seat sir," the speaker warned. Vice President JD Vance gestured with his thumb to boot the lawmaker. When Green refused to stop heckling Trump, Johnson told the House sergeant at arms to take the lawmaker out. "Remove this gentleman from the chamber," the speaker said, drawing raucous cheers from the Republicans in attendance. U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) walks out on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Some GOP lawmakers chanted "nah, nah, nah, nah, goodbye," and Vance did a slow clap as Green prepared to walk out. Green, who represents a district from Houston, has previously filed articles of impeachment against Trump. Veteran Capitol Hill reporter Jamie Dupree later tweeted that Green's ejection was the first for a member of Congress that Dupree had seen covering presidential speeches on Capitol Hill since 1987. Green's removal came three years after two Republican House members, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Colorado's Lauren Boebert, repeatedly interrupted President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address. Neither of those women were ejected during the speech. Nor was Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., when he infamously shouted "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a joint address to Congress in 2009. Wilson later apologized to Obama, who accepted the apology. But Wilson was formally reprimanded by the House for his offense. People hold protest signs during U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters "I'll accept the punishment," Green said after his removal. "It's worth it to let people know that there's some of us who are going to stand up ... against this president's desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security." Green told NBC News after his removal that it "triggered something" in him when Trump spoke about receiving a "mandate" from his election in November. "Because he doesn't have a mandate, and he doesn't have a mandate to cut health care from poor people," Green said. Asked if he had planned to heckle Trump, Green said, "I knew that I was, that I was a person of conscience, as am I, and I knew that the president has done things that I think we cannot allow to continue." "This whole budget that he has is one that is going to cause Medicaid to be cut," the lawmaker said. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night amid stock market turmoil driven by his stiff new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and the controversy over Elon Musk's DOGE campaign to slash federal spending and workforce levels. The speech comes on the heels of Trump's stunning verbal clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday, and Trump's subsequent decision to pause U.S. military assistance to Ukraine for its war against Russia. Trump was quickly interrupted early in his remarks by Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat who was ordered ejected from the House of Representatives chamber after heckling the president and refusing to sit down. Trump's speech is structured around the theme of "the renewal of the American dream," according to early excerpts from the White House. As he spoke, nearly two dozen House Democrats held black-and-white signs that said, "Save Medicaid," and "Musk Steals." Trump began, saying, "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America." "From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country," Trump said. "We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in 4 years or 8 years and we are just getting started." "The American dream is surging bigger and better than before." The president also said to say, "Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families," by working to bring inflation down. And Trump blamed his immediate predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for letting the price of eggs "get out of control." "The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again." Trump in his speech highlighted his immigration policies, energy plans and his administration's efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government. He also touted his tariff policy, which on Tuesday imposed tariffs of 25% on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, and 20% on goods from China. The president's guests for the annual event include Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher who was released from prison in Russia in February, and the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the attempted assassination of Trump in western Pennsylvania last July. Musk is attending the speech as a special guest. Both political parties have traditionally used their guest lists for this annual speech to highlight their policy priorities and draw attention to specific issues. Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. President Donald Trump was blasted online Tuesday night over his pardoning of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot participants after he praised police during his speech to a joint session of Congress. "F--- YOU!!!," tweeted former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn as Trump spoke. "YOU A--H--- YOU PARDONED OUR ATTACKERS." Dunn was one of the police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from a horde of Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, as they stormed the complex. A joint session of Congress was meeting that day to certify the election of President Joe Biden in the face of false claims by Trump that he had actually won the 2020 election. Hours after being sworn in for a second non-consecutive term on Jan. 20, Trump issued full pardons for about 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the insurrection. Rep. Madeleine Dean, in her own tweet on Tuesday night, wrote, "Less than 24 hours after taking office, Donald Trump pardoned the violent criminals who attacked our Capitol on January 6." "This isn't fair, equal, and impartial justice," wrote Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat. "It's complete disrespect for the rule of law and the police and first responders who keep us safe." Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas., tweeted, "The height of hypocrisy. Trump talks a big game about standing with ... the blue, yet on the first day of his administration he pardoned hundreds of cop-beaters who tried to steal an election on January 6, 2021." And Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., called out Trump, writing on X, "Purging hundreds of FBI and DOJ agents who investigated the Jan 6 insurrection career law enforcement officers, not political appointees does not make us safer, more secure, or prosperous." Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., tweeted, "FACT CHECK: President Trump claims to stand with law enforcement. But his pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists has put officers' lives in danger, including in Indiana." Rep. Judy Chu tweeted that "Trump insults the American people by saying, 'let's bring back law and order." U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 4, 2025. President Donald Trump conceded before a joint session of Congress that his steep new tariffs will cause "a little disturbance," but maintained it was worth it to reap what he promises will be the eventual benefits of his aggressive trade policy. "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly," Trump said during the prime-time address Tuesday night, the first such speech of his second term. "There will be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that," Trump said. "It won't be much." The remarks came hours after the stock market plummeted for a second straight day, as Trump's sweeping 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico took effect. Most economists warn that tariffs taxes on imports that are paid by the importers will end up raising prices for consumers. But Trump has long asserted that tariffs are paid for by other countries, and he has touted them as a key tool for gaining leverage in negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 28, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table over the Russia-Ukraine war. "Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskiy of Ukraine. The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,' he said," Trump said in his address to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday while quoting from that letter. Zelenskiy's talks with Trump in the White House on Friday broke down in acrimonious exchanges. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States would take control of Greenland "one way or the other," escalating months of increasingly aggressive rhetoric toward the self-governing Danish territory. Addressing a joint session of Congress in Washington, Trump said he had "a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland." "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," he said about halfway through his 90-minute speech. Trump also pledged to Greenlanders that America would "keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before." But in between the warm wishes Trump's tone shifted, as he again made the case to Americans that U.S. control of the ice-covered Arctic landmass was crucial to their national security. A sign is posted in front of a One Medical office on July 21, 2022 in San Rafael, California. One Medical CEO Trent Green will step down from the Amazon -owned primary care provider after less than two years in the role. Green is leaving One Medical to become CEO of National Research Corp. , or NRC Health, a provider of health-care analytics and other services, the company said in a release Tuesday. He'll start there on June 1. Under Green, One Medical expanded into new geographic markets and opened more offices. It also integrated further into Amazon, with the company adding medical services to its Prime membership program. Amazon confirmed Green's departure in a statement. "After nearly three years with Amazon One Medical, CEO Trent Green has decided to leave the company," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. "We are grateful to Trent for his many contributions and wish him well on his next endeavor." Neil Lindsay, who leads Amazon Health Services, said in a memo to employees on Tuesday that Green is moving back to his home state of Nebraska for the new role. Green's last day at Amazon will be April 4. watch now BARCELONA Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak criticized the "sledgehammer" approach Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has taken to cut administrative costs and implement mass firings at federal government agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency or "DOGE," for short is an initiative President Donald Trump set up to optimize the federal government and cut its administrative spending. "I definitely think that we should look for inefficiencies in government, but pretty much have a huge department that analyzes bit by bit by bit," Wozniak told CNBC on the sidelines of a tech conference on Tuesday. But he added, "Just mass firings it's not good for a business to run that way," referring to DOGE's deep cuts to jobs at several government agencies."It's really to find out what works and what doesn't, make the changes." He noted that, though addressing administrative burdens and red tape in government can be a good thing, it's a process that should be done "more surgically, with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer." Wozniak also accused Trump and Musk of "bullying" over the U.S.' treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Department of Government Efficiency's mass firings at federal government agencies. "Elon Musk, I don't know what got into his head," Wozniak added. "Sometimes you get so rich at these big companies, and you're on top it goes to your head, and you're the most incredible person in the world and the brightest and you're going to dictate what others will will do." CNBC has reached out to the White House and to Tesla for comment. Wozniak, who says he has Ukrainian heritage, said that Trump and Musk have mistreated Ukraine and accused them both of being bullies. "Bullying is the best way to think of it," he told CNBC. "If you're in school, the bully is going to force their way on the little guy." He noted, "I've always favored the little guy over the big guy, and I've always favored the consumer of a good over the producer," he added, in an apparent reference Musk's electric car firm Tesla. U.S. relations with Ukraine have soured since Trump took office. American officials have re-established relations with their Russian counterparts but excluded Ukraine from preliminary talks laying the groundwork for peace. Tensions between Washington and Kyiv recently escalated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Trump as "living in a Russian disinformation bubble." Trump then hit back, calling Ukraine's leader a "dictator without elections." Zelenskyy won the 2019 presidential vote Ukraine, which has been unable to hold national polls since its invasion. 'On the wrong side of Elon' A man carrying a kite in the shape of the Chinese national flag walks along the Bund while buildings of Pudong's Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Wednesday as investors assessed China growth and inflation targets amid U.S. tariffs and escalating global trade tensions weighing down sentiment. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.70% to close at 8,141.1. Australia's economy expanded 1.3% year on year in the fourth quarter, beating expectations of 1.2% from economists polled by Reuters. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.23% to close at 37,418.24 while the Topix climbed 0.30% to end the trading day at 2,718.21. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.16% to close at 2,558.13 while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.23% to 746.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 2.8%, while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.45% to close at 3,902.57. Investors are also focused on China's "Two Sessions," an annual parliamentary gathering, with the meeting of its top legislature, the National People's Congress, kickstarting Wednesday. China on Wednesday set its GDP growth target for 2025 at around 5%. The country has also lowered its inflation expectations to "around 2%." Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect Tuesday. The president also imposed an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods, bringing the total new tariffs on China to 20%. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference about the US tariffs against Canada on March 4, 2025 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Canada has requested consultations with the United States on "unjustified tariffs" at the World Trade Organization, Canada's ambassador to the WTO in Geneva said on Wednesday. "The U.S. decision leaves us with no choice but to respond to protect Canadian interests," Ambassador Nadia Theodore said in a statement posted on LinkedIn. A WTO spokesperson confirmed the receipt of Canada's request for consultations. U.S. President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods. The moves, which could upend nearly $2.2 trillion in annual trade, came after Trump declared that the top three U.S. trading partners had failed to do enough to stem the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States. "Everyone plays their position. I played mine today and on behalf of the Government of Canada, requested WTO consultations with the Government of the United States in regard to its unjustified tariffs on Canada," Theodore said. Bilateral consultations are the first stage of formal dispute settlement. If within 60 days no solution is found, then Canada could request adjudication by the Geneva-based organisation's Dispute Settlement Body. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that Trump's tariffs on Canadian imports were "a very dumb thing to do" and said Ottawa was striking back immediately. He announced immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days' time, he said. China formally launched a dispute at the WTO on February 5 over a 10% tariff imposed by Trump on Chinese goods, in moves that raised concern about a new trade war between the world's two largest economies. China's navy showed off its J-15T fighter jet at the 2024 Zhuhai Air Show on Nov. 12, 2024. China on Wednesday increased its defense spending by 7.2% this year, the same growth rate as in the prior two years, as Beijing seeks to "firmly safeguard" its national security. In an official government report due to be released in parliament, China proposed a national defense budget of 1.78 trillion yuan ($244.99 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year. The increased defense budget, well above China's economic growth target for this year of roughly 5%, comes as Western governments seek to ratchet up military spending to bolster their own security. The European Union announced Tuesday that it could mobilize as much as 800 billion euros ($841 billion) to shore up support for Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion. The move followed reports that the U.S. had abruptly paused military aid to Ukraine. China budgeted a 7.2% increase in defense spending to 1.67 trillion yuan last year, the same growth rate as in the prior year. Beijing had increased spending by 7.1% in 2022 and 6.8% in 2021, according to official data. When asked on Tuesday about China's defense spending, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, told reporters that "peace needs to be safeguarded with strength." That's according to an official translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. China's defense expenditure as share of GDP has been held under 1.5% for many years, Lou said, adding that this rate of spending is lower than the global average. China remains the world's second largest military spender behind the U.S. which has set the military budget for 2025 at $850 billion. Separately, expenditures earmarked for public security this year was raised by 7.3%, the official statement showed, a sharp increase compared with the 1.4% rise last year. CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report. Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Wednesday's key moments. 1. The market was modestly higher Wednesday as confusion lingered around the status of President Donald Trump 's newly implemented Canada and Mexico tariffs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said Tuesday night there might be an opportunity for compromise. He then appeared to walk back those comments before signaling Wednesday morning there may be room yet to meet " somewhere in the middle ." During the Morning Meeting, Jim Cramer said the market is "making a lot of mistakes right now" due to panic and fear. Patience was key this week as the S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator finally flashed oversold, which is our signal to look for things to buy. 2. We bought Wednesday's decline in CrowdStrike adding back 25 shares that we sold higher in January. The cybersecurity company had a strong quarter with beats on revenue and earnings. New annual recurring revenue also beat. However, the stock was dropping 9% on guidance that failed to deliver against lofty Wall Street expectations. "They're still dealing with a little bit of overhang from the July 19 outage, but that's ending," said Jeff Marks. We expect that investor appetite for the stock will return. 3. Jim still sees an incredible opportunity in BlackRock , which the Club bought more of Tuesday. "People should be buying it aggressively," he said. The giant asset manager has become part of a deal to acquire the Panama Canal ports. Home Depot was also one we bought Tuesday. And, with mortgage rates lower, leading to an uptick in housing activity, Jim said, "If you don't own it. you must buy it." The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is around 6.73%. That rate needs to get below 6.5% before we see a real shift in the housing market that we're expecting to materialize. 4. Stocks covered in Wednesday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Footlocker , Kenvue , Abercrombie & Fitch , Carrier , and Campbell's . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust owns positions in CRWD, BLK, HD. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. David's Bridal has tapped a new CEO to lead the company as it looks to transform from a legacy retailer into a bridal media powerhouse nearly two years after emerging from its second bankruptcy. Kelly Cook, the current president of brand, technology and finance, will take over as David's CEO on April 1 and will become just the second woman in the company's 75-year history to hold its top job. As part of Cook's appointment as chief executive, current CEO Jim Marcum will become David's executive chairman, in addition to his current role as chairman of the board. In an interview with CNBC, Cook outlined her vision for the company and the work she's doing to bring David's into the future. At the heart of the new strategy is positioning David's as a media company that uses content to bring customers in and then uses that data to drive advertising revenue for its newly launched Pearl Media Network. On the retail side of the business, David's plans to build out an online marketplace and become an asset-lite business that relies on a network of vendors to create products and fulfill orders. "So we already sell about a third of the wedding dresses in the United States the bridal dress is what we do, it's who we are, but we are expanding the shopping side of it to include more categories that she's asking for, men's suits, men's wear, rentals, swimwear, occasion dresses, party dresses," said Cook. "All of that is being added through a drop ship marketplace model and that allows us to add vendors very, very quickly, it allows us to scale very, very quickly versus in the past, where we would have to build more stores and add more square footage." David's efforts to transform come nearly two years after it emerged from a pandemic-induced bankruptcy that nearly ended its business. It managed to keep around 200 stores open after receiving a no-cash bid from asset manager Cion Investment Corp. the only firm willing to acquire David's stores and inventory, not just its brand name and intellectual property, reports said previously. Now, David's is attracting a new slate of investors and said Tuesday it has received capital commitments from a number of firms, including private equity platforms and those that offer debt. It declined to name the firms, but said the new capital will be used to fuel the company's transformation. Cook said the company was able to woo investors by touting its new take on bridal retail. Currently, David's manufactures about 90% to 95% of its inventory, but it's aiming to get the business down to a 50/50 split between its own manufacturing and outside vendors, said Cook. This transition into an asset-lite model will help shield the company from the existential risks that pushed it into bankruptcy twice before inventory and store leases which can be some of the biggest burdens on a company's balance sheet. Plus, it's following behind the likes of Walmart in its expansion into advertising, or so-called retail media, which is a way for relevant brands to advertise to consumers directly on a retailer's website or in its stores, among other places. Retail media is a novel way for companies to generate new streams of revenue at a time when specialty retail has never been harder to get right. Rising competition, uncertain demand and the breakneck speed that trends move at these days has forced legacy players to get more creative if they want to survive long term. The company says that it serves 90% of the overall bridal market but only sells about a third of all wedding dresses in the U.S., showing it still has a wide gap to close and a lot of changes to implement before it can start growing. It will also need to carefully manage its debt and ensure these new strategies pay off to avoid finding itself in bankruptcy court for a third time. David's is a private company and doesn't disclose its revenue or profit, but Cook said the company is planning to scale "in a way that drives profitability as fast as possible." "It's definitely a new era of David, for sure," said Cook. "The brides are evolving, and we're evolving with her." Shares of Uber have already surged 27% to start off the year, but Girard Advisory Services' Timothy Chubb believes there's more upside ahead for the ride-sharing stock. The firm's chief investment officer joined CNBC's " Power Lunch " on Wednesday to share his take on the name, along with a pair of other market movers. Here's what he had to say. Uber Despite its year-to-date outperformance, it has been a choppy time for Uber stock. Last month, shares lost nearly 8% in a single day after the company guided for softer-than-expected gross bookings in its first quarter. Uber also missed on analysts' earnings expectations, although it posted a fourth-quarter revenue beat. Still, Chubb highlighted Uber as one of his highest conviction ideas. "I think Uber is a perfect example where the fundamentals of the core business are doing extremely well," he said. "I think the market is still really underappreciating just how much more activity they're having with their users on the platform as compared to a Lyft, for example, and how much free cash flow they're generating." On Tuesday, Uber began offering robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, through a partnership with Waymo. The companies are planning to launch in several other U.S. cities this year. Chubb added that shares of Uber could "certainly" trade above $100 at some point within the next year or so. If the stock crosses this threshold, that would mark a 31% gain from Uber's Wednesday close. CrowdStrike On the other hand, Chubb highlighted cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike as a pass. The stock tumbled 6.3% on Wednesday after issuing a disappointing earnings forecast . The company said it expects its full-year earnings, excluding some items, to come in between $3.33 and $3.45 per share. This fell short of the $4.42 analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected. CrowdStrike's first-quarter earnings are expected to range between 64 cents and 66 cents per share, below the average estimate of 95 cents. Last July, a CrowdStrike update led to a major IT outage , impairing businesses including airlines and banks. Shares of CrowdStrike have recovered more than 80% since hitting a 52-week low of $200.81 last August, and are up nearly 7% so far this year. "It's a wonderful business with a lot of stability with that subscription model, but really, one doesn't have that attractive of a valuation," Chubb said. Instead, the investor prefers CrowdStrike competitor Fortinet . "They're a more well-rounded platform and not just end-point detection, and ultimately will benefit, I think, from potentially seeing enterprises shift spending here as [they] potentially streamline things a little bit further," he added. Citigroup Finally, Chubb was resoundingly bearish on Citigroup . The stock ended Wednesday slightly higher, but it is nearly 9% lower on the week. Alongside other bank stocks, Citigroup has been dragged lower by tariff uncertainty and fears of an economic slowdown. Chubb said expected deregulation under the Trump administration could provide a "pretty strong tailwind" for banks. However, Citigroup still has "a lot of issues" to deal with to improve its business efficiency, he said. "Overall, we're much more attracted to some other areas within the financials, especially those who are going to be a bit more exposed to M & A activity as valuations continue to fall," the investor said. Jared Ebersole knew he wanted an electric skateboard as soon as he saw one. There were just two problems: He was a young teenager, and the one he wanted cost $1,600. So he decided to make his own, spending $800 from his savings on parts motors, controllers, remotes and batteries, he says. After roughly half a year of trial and error, including a battery exploding during a test, he built a working board at his parents' home in Catawissa, Pennsylvania. He posted about his success on an online forum, where other users started messaging him, asking if they could buy one from him. Ebersole made his first sale in 2017, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. By the time he began college at Long Island University in 2020, his company Build Kit Boards was bringing in roughly $300,000 in annual revenue. He used its profits to pay for school, he says: between $4,000 and $6,000 per semester out of pocket, after accounting for multiple scholarships. DON'T MISS: How to start a side hustle to earn extra money In college, he grew the business further, alongside one employee who he estimates worked 30 hours per week and a cadre of friends who helped intermittently during his busy summer seasons. Ebersole himself worked more than 100 hours per week on the business instead of having a traditional college life, and in 2021, Build Kit Boards' annual revenue surpassed $500,000, he says. "I had very few friends in college; I would literally go to class and not really talk to anybody," says Ebersole, now 24. "I hated my college experience." He was burnt out, exhausted and on the verge of shutting his business down when his across-the-street neighbor at Build Kit Boards' warehouse who happened to run an online impact investing community called Impact U, as well as an investment firm offered to buy a majority share of the business. (Ebersole declined to name the neighbor, citing a confidentiality agreement.) In 2022, Impact U purchased 55% of Build Kit Boards for $300,000. Ebersole retained a minority stake and withdrew from day-to-day operations, he says. "It was giving me no purpose. I was just doing the same thing over and over again, just at a bigger scale," says Ebersole. "I hit this wall, mentally." The following year, Ebersole graduated college and put his money from the sale into a new startup venture: He and his friend Luke St. Amand co-founded a startup called Lectec, which sells do-it-yourself electric skateboard kits meant for students. Ebersole works 80 to 100 hours per week on Lectec, he says but he's not simultaneously a college student, and he has help this time, he notes. The company currently has two employees in addition to its co-founders, according to its website. "I'm surrounded by a lot of good people that I can, like, withdraw myself from for even a few minutes at a time," says Ebersole. "Withdrawing myself from the business for a little bit, as much as I can, has been the No. 1 key to avoiding burnout." Ebersole brought Lectec onto a recent episode of ABC's "Shark Tank," where he said it had brought in roughly $150,000 in lifetime revenue at the time of filming. His pitch landed an investment offer from Robert Herjavec, one of the show's investor judges. Ebersole declined to confirm whether the deal was finalized after filming. His advice to anyone thinking about building a side hustle: Expect to work hard. The idea that if you do what you love, you won't work a day in your life, "is the most bulls--- thing ever," Ebersole says. "Find what you love, and you're going to work so hard for that." Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank." Want to up your AI skills and be more productive? Take CNBC's new online course How to Use AI to Be More Successful at Work. Expert instructors will teach you how to get started, practical uses, tips for effective prompt-writing, and mistakes to avoid. Michael Grimes, head of global technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley, smiles while speaking to freshman students enrolled in the Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (M.E.T.) program during an orientation at the University of California-Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. Star technology investment banker Michael Grimes, who left Morgan Stanley to take up a senior role in the U.S. Commerce Department last month, is expected to lead the new U.S. sovereign wealth fund that was unveiled by President Donald Trump, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The discussions about Grimes potentially leading the efforts to create and spearhead the sovereign wealth fund are ongoing and no decision has been finalized, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. The fund, whose income sources have not been previously revealed, is designed to be backed by revenue from tariffs imposed on foreign countries, the sources said, cautioning that the deliberations are at an early stage and plans around how the fund will be financed could change. Trump has previously said the proposed new fund could be financed by "tariffs and other intelligent things." Revenue from tariffs could be provided by the so-called External Revenue Service, an agency Trump wants to create to handle income generated from the levies, one of the sources said. The Commerce Department, Grimes and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Grimes made a name for himself at Morgan Stanley after leading several high-profile technology initial public offerings including those of Meta , Uber , and Airbnb . He famously moonlighted as an Uber driver to woo the company before its IPO in 2019 and advised Elon Musk on his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, which was rebranded X. Grimes took on a role as a senior adviser at the Commerce Department last month, but his remit has not been clear. He spent more than three decades at Morgan Stanley, serving as one of the heads of global technology investment banking before his departure from the bank. He has worked closely with Musk on deals involving his other companies, like Tesla . Morgan Stanley was the primary investment bank on the electric vehicle maker's stock market launch. A man holds a U.S. flag near a signage of the Ronald Reagan Building after laid-off USAID workers cleared out their desks and collected personal belongings, during a sendoff in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 27, 2025. A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to let President Donald Trump's administration withhold payment to foreign aid organizations for work they already performed for the government as the Republican president moves to pull the plug on American humanitarian projects around the world. Handing a setback to Trump, the court in a 5-4 decision upheld Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amir Ali's order that had called on the administration to promptly release funding to contractors and recipients of grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department for their past work. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the decision. The order by Ali, who is presiding over an ongoing legal challenge to Trump's policy, had originally given the administration until February 26 to disburse the funding, which it has said totaled nearly $2 billion that could take weeks to pay in full. Chief Justice John Roberts paused that order hours before the midnight deadline to give the Supreme Court additional time to consider the administration's more formal request to block Ali's ruling. The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices Trump appointed during his first presidential term. The court did not provide a rationale for its action on Wednesday. With the original deadline now lapsed, the court instructed Ali to "clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines." Ali has a hearing scheduled for Thursday on the request by the plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction. The judge has a temporary restraining order currently in place that lasts through March 10. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said in a Supreme Court filing on March 3 that blocking Ali's order "is warranted to prevent reinstatement of a new, short-fused deadline that would unlawfully commandeer federal payment processes anew." Harris argued that the judge's order amounted to judicial overreach and had given the administration too little time to scrutinize the invoices "to ensure the legitimacy of all payments." Lawyers representing the administration said in a separate February 26 filing that full payments could take weeks. The Republican president, pursuing what he has called an "America First" agenda, ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his first day back in office on January 20. That order, and ensuing stop-work orders halting USAID operations around the world, have jeopardized delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos. Aid organizations accused Trump in lawsuits of exceeding his authority under federal law and the U.S. Constitution by effectively dismantling an independent federal agency and canceling spending authorized by Congress. 'EXTRAORDINARY AND IRREVERSIBLE' Aid organizations said in a Supreme Court filing on February 28 that they "would face extraordinary and irreversible harm if the funding freeze continues," as would their employees and those who depend on their work. The organizations' "work advances U.S. interests abroad and improves and, in many cases, literally saves the lives of millions of people across the globe. In doing so, it helps stop problems like disease and instability overseas before they reach our shores," lawyers for the foreign aid groups wrote. "The government's actions have largely brought this work to a halt," the lawyers wrote, adding that the Trump administration "comes to this court with an emergency of its own making." Among the plaintiffs in the litigation are the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, Journalism Development Network, international development company DAI Global and refugee assistance organization HIAS. The Trump administration had kept the disputed payments largely frozen despite a temporary restraining order from Ali that they be released, and multiple subsequent orders that the administration comply. Ali's February 25 enforcement order at issue before the Supreme Court applied to payment for work done by foreign aid groups before February 13, when the judge issued his temporary restraining order. Ali, who was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden, issued his temporary restraining order to prevent irreparable harm to the plaintiffs while he considers their claims. Trump and his adviser Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, have taken dramatic steps to reshape and shrink the federal government. They have dismantled some agencies, fired thousands of workers, dismissed or reassigned hundreds of officials and removed the heads of independent agencies, among other actions. As he moves to end American-backed humanitarian efforts in numerous countries, Trump's administration has sent funding termination notices to key organizations in the global aid community. Global aid groups have said the U.S. retreat endangers the lives of millions of the world's most vulnerable people including those facing deadly diseases and those living in conflict zones. US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the U.S. asset management firm BlackRock' s deal to buy two Panama Canal ports as a positive step in his broader effort at "reclaiming" the canal for the United States. In a joint address to Congress, Trump said his administration has "already started" working to gain control of the canal that connects the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Oceans. "Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal," Trump said, referring to the deal between an investment group led by BlackRock and Hong Kong's CK Hutchison . The Chinese company's contract in Panama had previously been singled out by U.S. lawmakers as an example of Beijing's creeping expansion into Central and South America. A spokesperson for BlackRock did not immediately reply to a request for comment early Wednesday. In an aerial view, brand new Subaru cars sit in a storage lot at Auto Warehouse Co. on March 4, 2025 in Richmond, California. The White House on Wednesday announced a one-month North American tariff exemption for automakers after President Donald Trump spoke a day earlier with heads of General Motors , Ford Motor and Stellantis . Automakers have urged Trump to waive 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on vehicles that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement's trade rules of origin. "Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on behalf of Trump. The American Automotive Policy Council, a trade group representing the "Big 3" Detroit automakers, applauded Trump's decision "recognizing that vehicles and parts that meet the high US and regional USMCA content requirements should be exempt from these tariffs." Leavitt said the president is "open" to hearing requests from other industries seeking exemptions as well. Leavitt also confirmed the "Big 3" Detroit automakers requested the Tuesday call with Trump, who mentioned it during his address to Congress later in the day. Two sources on Wednesday confirmed to CNBC that GM CEO Mary Barra, Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Ford Chair Bill Ford participated in the call. The White House said it granted a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with USMCA, which was negotiated under Trump's first term in office. Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: UBS upgrades Arista to buy from neutral UBS says it sees an attractive risk/reward for the cloud computing company. "We are upgrading Arista to Buy from Neutral and raising our price target to $115 from $112 representing ~34% potential upside over the next 12-months." Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as neutral Goldman says it sees "difficult conditions ahead" for Tesla. "We remain Neutral rated on the stock, and we lower our 12-month price target to $320 from $345. We continue to expect Tesla to face difcult fundamental conditions in the near-term, and our EPS estimates are below the Street for 2025." Bank of America reiterates Apple as buy The firm says it's sticking with the stock following data that shows App Store revenue increasing. "Our Buy rating on Apple is based on 1) expected strong iPhone upgrade cycle in F25, F26 driven by the need for latest hardware to enable Gen AI features, 2) higher growth in Services revenue..." William Blair upgrades Palantir to market perform from underperform The firm upgraded the stock mainly on valuation and says investors should buy the dip. "We are upgrading our rating on shares of Palantir to Market Perform after the 33% DOGE driven selloff from $125 to $84 over the past three weeks." Seaport upgrades TKO to buy from neutral Seaport says shares of the owner of brands like the WWE and UFC are compelling. "The recent pullback in TKO shares is providing an attractive risk/reward (re)entry point, in our opinion." Evercore ISI upgrades Hyatt Hotels to outperform from in line The firm says it sees a compelling entry point for the hotel company. "Upgrading Hyatt to Outperform as the post earnings selloff creates an attractive entry point on shares." Baird upgrades Truist Financial to outperform from neutral Baird says investors should buy the dip in shares of the banking company. "From our perspective, recent weakness in the bank group has improved the aggregate risk/reward of the group, and we are upgrading TFC to Outperform." UBS upgrades Barrick Gold to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade the gold miner that it has a "compelling value." "We upgrade Barrick to Buy as we remain constructive on gold and after material underperformance/de-rating in absolute terms & vs gold stocks we think ABX offers compelling value." Guggenheim upgrades GE Vernova to buy from neutral Guggenheim says the renewables company has pricing power. " GEV continues to make additional headway in its power business, as new pricing actions are set to flow through the company's business model later this decade and backlog continues to extend." Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy The firm added the stock to its global contenders list and says it sees above average earnings momentum. " NVIDIA is a Contender this month." Wells Fargo upgrades Molina Healthcare to overweight from equal weight Wells says the health-care company's "story for 2026 is generally intact, supported by embedded earnings commentary and [a] Medicaid rates recovery." "We think MOH should ultimately trade at a higher multiple than 12.0x if it continues to execute well on growth strategies." HSBC upgrades AIG to buy from hold HSBC says the insurance company is defensive. "...we think 2025 offers AIG a noise-free opportunity to showcase delivery on its core business from growing its high-net-worth personal lines business to improving its cost metrics and defending its underlying loss ratio..." HSBC downgrades T-Mobile to hold from buy HSBC downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. "TMUS shares are up 24% YTD, 69.4% in the last 12 months, and 197.3% over the last five years (+24.4% CAGR), vs the S & P 500 index down 0.3%, up 15.5%, and up 102.0%, respectively." Mizuho initiates Fluence as outperform Mizuho says the solar storage company is well positioned. "We initiate on Fluence Energy (FLNC) with an Outperform rating and an $8 PT. " JPMorgan upgrades Intuit to overweight from neutral JPMorgan says the tax software company has an attractive entry point. "As mentioned, INTU shares are trading at levels below where they were ~3.5 years ago and, over that same period, have underperformed the S & P 500 by ~3,700 bps." JPMorgan upgrades Carrier to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said in its upgrade of Carrier that investors should buy the dip in the air conditioning company. "For the stock, it has pulled back from its highs and is flat versus the middle of 2023. It's not perfect, but now at record lows versus HVAC peers with somewhat similar risks and opportunities, we are comfortable going OW and adding a bit of exposure to HVAC." Loop upgrades Royal Caribbean to buy from hold Loop upgraded the cruise company following its analyst day. "We are raising our rating on Royal Caribbean, RCL, from Hold to Buy after an analysts' day outlook that was better than we expected." Citi upgrades ResMed to buy from neutral The firm says the sleep apnea company's valuation is more "reasonable." "So far, GLP-1s haven't had an impact on RMD' s business given its very recent approvals RMD expects its sponsors to ramp up promotional activity in 2H CY25. We see the risk being continuously pushed out further into the future." Evercore ISI reiterates Broadcom as outperform Evercore says it's standing by Broadcom ahead of earnings on Thursday. "We view the set-up as balanced heading into its JanQ earnings call scheduled for Thu, 6-March after the market close." Bernstein reiterates Eli Lilly as outperform The firm says it's sticking with the biopharma company with a "catalyst-rich year" still ahead. "2025 is a catalyst-rich year for LLY with at least 6 high-impact data read-outs that would be supportive of the stock..." Tesla Inc.s registrations plummeted in Germany last month as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk irked voters taking part in the countrys closely contested federal election.Sales plunged 76% to 1,429 cars, according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. Teslas showing was in stark contrast with overall electric vehicle registrations, which jumped 31% in February.Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany in the months leading up to the Feb. 23 election, throwing his weight behind an anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party thats assailed the countrys political establishment. While the AfD vaulted into second place, the likely next Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to keep the party at arms length.Through the first two months of the year, Teslas sales are down 71% in Germany and 44% in France, the two biggest EV markets within the European Union.In the UK, which surpassed Germany last year as the top EV market in the region, Teslas registrations are up 11% through the first two months, after a big gain in February. According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security ???????? pic.twitter.com/ltb06VX98Z Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 17, 2025 US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that government databases listed millions of deceased Americans, with ages ranging from 100 to over 160 years old, receiving social security benefits.In his first address to a joint session of Congress, he said: Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million social security members from 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129. 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139. 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149. And money is being paid to many of them.emphasised that these inaccuracies hurt social security and the country. It really hurts social security, it hurts our country. 1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159, and over 130,000 according to the social security database are aged over 160 years old, he added.We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby, he said referring to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.He also touched upon reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect on April 2, which will charge the same tariffs imposed by certain countries.If you dont make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries, Trump added.Elon Musk received a standing ovation and loud cheers from Republicans as Trump commemorated the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).DOGE. Perhaps you've heard of it. Thank you Elon, you're working very hard. He didn't need it, he didn't need it. Thank you very much, we appreciate it, everybody here, even this side (Democrats) appreciate it here, Trump said.According to Trump, DOGE's findings thus far include $22 billion for free housing and cars for illegal aliens, $45 million for DEI scholarships in Burma, $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho and $59 million for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City.Earlier, Musk also pointed out that there were some serious concerns with a Social Security database in which millions of centenarians have their death field set to 'FALSE'.On X, he wrote, According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security."His post also included a stat chart showing around 20 million centenarians aged 100 to 159, with 1.3 million in the 150-159 age category. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Four-time Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel had to watch Conan OBrien do the job thats usually his this past weekend, but Kimmel handled his replacements performance with respect and grace. See, Leno? Its really not that hard. Despite this years Oscars suffering a decline in viewership compared to the Kimmel-hosted 2024 Academy Awards, given the absence of a Barbenheimer-level draw, neither critics, viewers nor Academy Awards organizers have offered anything less than glowing praise for Conans performance as the evening's master of ceremonies. Not only did Conan expertly thread the needle on mocking controversial nominee Karla Sofia Gascons Nazi tweets scandal and pile on poor Drake with a Kendrick Lamar nod, but the late-night legend also balanced humor and gravity with a deft touch, picking and choosing his moments to recognize heroes like the members of the Los Angeles Fire Department with respect and solemnity. However, now that Conan has finally had his turn on the big stage, history tells us that the network executives in charge of the Academy Awards ceremony will reward Conans talent and class by replacing him with his own predecessor although Kimmel himself may not be so keen on it. Don't Miss During last nights episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, last years Oscars host gave props to his late-night and awards show colleague. Conan OBrien did a great job as host of the Oscars, Kimmel said of his successor, cracking, Conan did such a good job, the Oscars announced that next year theyre giving it to Jay Leno to host. Back in January, Leno inexplicably spoke to The New York Post about how he thought the late-night host whom he famously undermined and usurped to retake The Tonight Show in 2010 would fare at this past Sundays ceremony, saying of Conan, Hes a very funny guy. Hes very creative. Ill watch, sure. Hell do good. Then, never to let Conan's accomplishments overshadow his own ego, Leno bragged that he had the opportunity to host the Oscars, but decided that the job was beneath him. Advertisement I did get asked twice, Leno said of the Academy Awards hosting gig. And I sat down with my staff and said, What do we do? We have to do a show the day before the Oscars. We have to do a show the day after the Oscars. Do we save our best jokes for our show? Or do we give all of our best jokes to the Oscar show? Leno decided to pass on the opportunity, and the late-night giant has never presided over Hollywood's biggest night. But, as Kimmel pointed out, theres always time for Leno to claim some attention for himself on Oscars night. Maybe, if Conan ever hosts the Academy Awards again, Leno will hold his own separate ceremony on the same network one hour earlier. How it works: Attackers typically encrypt systems after exfiltrating sensitive data. Play keeps a fairly low profile on the dark web aside from its leak site, not advertising itself on dark web forums. It has even claimed not to be an RaaS gang at all, saying it maintains a closed group to guarantee the secrecy of deals, in spite of evidence to the contrary, Searchlight Cybers Donovan explains. Targeted victims: The group has targeted various sectors, including healthcare, telecommunications, finance, and government service. Attribution: Play may have connections to North Korean state-aligned APT groups. In October 2024, security researchers at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 published evidence of a deployment of Play ransomware by a threat actor backed by North Korea, specifically APT45. The link between this threat actor and Play is unclear, but demonstrates the potential for crossover between state-sponsored cyber activity and ostensibly independent cybercrime networks, Donovan says. Qilin History: Qilin, also known as Agenda, is a Russia-based RaaS group that has been operating since May 2022. How it works: The group targets Windows and Linux systems, including VMware ESXi servers, using ransomware variants written in Golang and Rust. Qilin follows a double extortion model encrypting victims files and threatening to leak stolen data if the ransom is not paid. Targeted victims: Qilin recruits affiliates on underground forums and prohibits attacks on organizations in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries bordering present-day Russia. Attribution: The makeup of Qilin remains unknown but a Russian-speaking organized cybercrime operation is strongly suspected. RansomHub History: RansomHub emerged in February 2024 and quickly became a major cyber threat. The group, initially known as Cyclops and later Knight, rebranded and expanded its operations by recruiting affiliates from other disrupted ransomware groups such as LockBit and ALPHV/BlackCat. How it works: Once inside a network, RansomHub affiliates exfiltrate data and deploy encryption tools, often utilizing legitimate administrative utilities to facilitate their malicious activities. RansomHub operates an affiliate-friendly RaaS model, initially offering a fixed 10% fee for those that make attacks using its ransomware and the option to collect ransom payments directly from victims before paying the core group. These elements make it an attractive option for affiliates that are looking for a guaranteed return, where other RaaS operations have been unreliable in paying out in the past, Searchlight Cybers Donovan says. Targeted victims: RansomHub has been linked to more than 210 victims across various critical sectors, including healthcare, finance, government services, and critical infrastructure in Europe and North America, according to Rapid7. Attribution: Attribution remains unconfirmed but circumstantial evidence points toward an organized Russian-speaking cybercrime operation with ties to other established ransomware threat actors. Photo: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/Shutterstock Andrew Cuomo is dreaming of Gracie Mansion from a 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath at the Oriana, according to his voter registration and a few chatty neighbors. I saw him standing outside the door with his suitcases and his shirts and all of his stuff, says a resident who caught him in front of his apartment on Saturday having a very vigorous phone call. The neighbor was actually a little surprised to see the former governor out in the open like that. I dont know that a candidate for mayor, or any position really, would want people living in a high-profile building to know that youre there. To me, its a little strange. The Oriana is the rebranded River Tower, Harry Macklowes free-standing high-rise on East 54th Street that opened in the early 1980s. (Macklowe reportedly lived in the penthouse for decades before selling the building in 2010.) In 2017, the aging rental tower underwent a $60 million renovation in an effort to compete with new luxury developments. The pricey facelift added a 39th floor above the existing penthouse to make room for a gym and sun deck while chopping up apartments on the lower levels to create dozens of more units, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. What developers couldnt fix: the eight-foot ceilings. (A director at the leasing firm protested that the windows made the ceilings seem higher.) Today, rents for two-bedrooms run between $6,643 and $9,275 a month. Residents are a typical spread of lawyers, diplomats, and other professionals living alongside the buildings high-profile residents, including, at one point, Venus Williams (an apparent OrianaPartner) and former Real Housewife of New York City Dorinda Medley, another OrianaPartner who reportedly scored a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath around 2018 in exchange for posting pictures of her apartments skyline views, per Page Six. Medley, for her part, thinks the building is a perfect fit for Cuomo. They have that great circular driveway, so you dont have to be dropped off on the street, she says, adding that she felt the Oriana was well run and very discreet while she lived there. Plus, its Sutton Place: Its dignified, its old-school New York, it feels secretive. Cuomo can wind down from plotting how to pummel his opponents in Junes Democratic primary with river views, or make use of his units Gachot Studiosdesigned bathrooms, custom Italian oak kitchen cabinetry, and a Bosch washer and dryer. In addition to 24-hour concierge service, the building also includes an on-site pet spa, meaning Cuomo could have brought his Northern Inuit, Captain, which he reportedly tried to foist onto his former staffers when making his exit from the Governors Mansion in 2021. (Cuomo denied the claims, tweeting at the time, Captain and I are a man and his dog.) What may have truly drawn him to the location, however, is the proximity to his 93-year-old mother, Matilda, who is living across the street. His sister Maria Cuomo Cole and her husband, fashion designer Kenneth Cole, meanwhile, reportedly also have a spot nearby, according to the New York Post. The couple listed their nearly 12,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom mansion in Purchase for $22 million this past summer. Cuomo was previously registered to vote at that address, where he also reportedly stashed his possessions after he technically became homeless following his resignation as governor. So how long has he been at the Oriana? Cuomo, who was previously rumored to have been crashing with friends in the Hamptons, told Fox 5 New Yorks Rosanna Scotto in December 2023 that he was splitting his time between Westchester and an apartment in New York City, which also happens to be shortly after his unit was taken off the market. Much like the enduring mystery of where Eric Adams really lived leading up to his 2021 mayoral victory, Cuomos neighbors speculate the apartment might not be his full-time residence. The place is nice, they say, but maybe not spacious or ritzy enough for the former governor. Door men really dont bring packages or dry cleaning up to residents units, one neighbor tells me, adding, I feel like this is more of a secondary, tertiary address. Maybe he has a girlfriend or somebody who lives there. 64 University Place, KPFs stacked and stepped arcade of shallow arches. Photo: Michael Young/Courtesy of KPF Its not all Richard Meiers fault, but I blame him anyway. The now nonagenarian architect of the Getty Center in Los Angeles transformed New York about 25 years ago, when he designed three glass-skinned apartment buildings that line up along West Street between Perry and Charles like TVs stacked in a big-box store, an assortment of hi-res lives flickering on every floor. When that trio of habitable devices came online in the early 2000s, it popularized the California romance of the see-through home or rather, it turned the concept inside out. Instead of living rooms facing onto an unpeopled ocean, Meier offered unfiltered views of the indoor life as seen from the rivers edge. Mid-century L.A. architects like Richard Neutra had put the world on display for their clients; Meier put his clients on display for the world. What followed was a stampede of glass. Most everyone wanted to live the aquarium life, though preferably high enough off the ground to be out of range for ordinary pedestrians. The result was a cityscape of relentless sheen, facades as glabrous and ageless as a starlets brow. Office buildings and apartment towers remained fundamentally different in physique, but they dressed in the same crystalline outfits, as if vainly attempting not to be seen at all. There was a mania, says James von Klemperer, the president of Kohn Pedersen Fox, a global firm that played a major role in promoting it. The more glass the better, because it communicated a hypertechnical approach to architecture. And who doesnt like daylight? Opacity was dead. From left: The 30,000-foot brick mansion that Leroy Street Studio designed for Steve Cohen (left) is a block away from Richard Meiers all-glass triplets (right). Photo: Justin Davidson Photo: Courtesy of Meier Partners Architects LLP From top: The 30,000-foot brick mansion that Leroy Street Studio designed for Steve Cohen (left) is a block away from Richard Meiers all-glass triple... more From top: The 30,000-foot brick mansion that Leroy Street Studio designed for Steve Cohen (left) is a block away from Richard Meiers all-glass triplets (right). Photo: Justin Davidson Photo: Courtesy of Meier Partners Architects LLP Finally, though, the shiny new thing has grown old, and the rough old thing is being revived. Brick, stone, and terra-cotta, products that have the solidity and hue of earth, have timidly but perceptibly snuck back into New Yorks repertoire of architectural ambitions. Just a block away from Meiers trio of bespoke beakers, the firm Leroy Street Studio has built a brick-and-terra-cotta rejoinder at 145 Perry Street: a massive single-family home masquerading as a nested pair of small apartment buildings. In this part of the West Village, where the citys residential and industrial histories overlap, 19th- and 20th-century builders of sturdy, low-budget structures had a limited choice of palettes: mostly red or cream-colored brick. Leroy used both hues, slipping a dark-skinned retreat behind an off-white veil. A perforated screen of staggered bricks turns the corner at Washington Street; openings in the wall give onto recessed windows, like a mask that leaves the wearers sunken eyes exposed. This is anti-exhibitionistic architecture, a private mansion that offers only tantalizing glimpses of itself. Even at the height of the transparency fad, New York had plenty of old brick and stone left, of course, ranging in quality from rickety tenements to the 1880s triumphs of New York Romanesque, the Puck Building and the De Vinne Press Building, which combined delicacy and brawn. New masonry facades materialized now and then. In historic districts, the Landmarks Preservation Commission demanded that new designs relate to the old. Affordable housing and cheaply built condos made use of prefabricated panels with metal membranes or brick veneer. At the other end of the market, Robert A.M. Stern never stopped believing that a rhythm of framed windows set into stone-clad walls gave deluxe residential towers their New Yorkiness and their claim to quality. His firms recent limestone high-rise at 200 East 83rd Street evokes the great Art Deco piles of yore. A decade or two ago, these choices read like special cases, imposed by circumstance or reactionary resistance; now, they seem prescient. Morris Adjmis new citizen of Little Italy. The domed protrusions act like pixels, creating a ghost pattern of windows on the facade. Photo: Justin Davidson One architect who was ready for a new trend was Morris Adjmi, whose firm long ago developed an astute way of blending 19th-century warehouse architecture with contemporary aesthetics. I dont know if I was ahead of the times or behind them, but if you do something long enough, it comes back around, he says. The Grand Mulberry, Adjmis seven-story building at 185 Grand Street, is clothed in handmade, hand-laid bricks, some of which sport pairs of rounded bumps, like LEGO blocks. From a distance, the little domes act like pixels, forming a pattern of ghost windows that dont quite align with the actual ones, like traces of a vanished city that haunts its own replacement. The facade evokes memory, reminding passersby that, like every square foot of the city, the corner of Grand and Mulberry Streets is in a temporary state of being that other buildings have stood and other New Yorkers have lived on this patch. (One, incidentally, was Nikola Tesla, who had a laboratory down the block.) Its a way for brand-new architecture to acknowledge the passage of time and to concede the possibility of its future demise. The color, shape, and standard windows of Grand Mulberry mark it as an ordinary citizen of Little Italy. The rounded corner softens the turn, and those nubbled bricks echo the little bursts of gratuitous grandeur in a neighborhood of tenements and modest commercial structures. Theyre like the florid terra-cotta shields that adorn the spandrels of the arches at 176-180 Grand Street and imply a spurious aristocratic connection. Cheap buildings from the early 1900s indulged in a lot of those off-the-shelf flourishes, and I read them as statements of aspiration, an easy way to signal elevated intent. From left: Left, KPFs glass-and-terra-cotta-clad supertall One Vanderbilt. Right: the same firms terra-cotta-and-metal neoArt Deco mixed-use building at 520 Fifth Avenue. Photo: Raimund Koch/Courtesy of KPF Photo: Binyan Studios/Courtesy KPF From top: Left, KPFs glass-and-terra-cotta-clad supertall One Vanderbilt. Right: the same firms terra-cotta-and-metal neoArt Deco mixed-use buildin... more From top: Left, KPFs glass-and-terra-cotta-clad supertall One Vanderbilt. Right: the same firms terra-cotta-and-metal neoArt Deco mixed-use building at 520 Fifth Avenue. Photo: Raimund Koch/Courtesy of KPF Photo: Binyan Studios/Courtesy KPF Even Kohn Pedersen Fox has discovered the elegance of down-home solidity. These days, von Klemperer says, theres a greater interest in and appreciation of craft and of humanistic architecture. We like to see how bricks are laid and wood is milled. Coming from a global purveyor of icy supertalls, thats almost a statement of remorse. KPF recently designed an 11-story apartment building at 64 University Place as a stack of shallow arches, each one deep enough to have substance to give the illusion, that is, that the multilevel arcade is holding up something other than itself. The stepped setbacks, the recessed windows, the echeloned courses that form each arch these techniques all make the surface less superficial, creating a buffer of shadows between window and street. Its not much Manhattan square footage is too expensive to sacrifice any to a deep-set facade but its enough to remind the eye that a building is a durable three-dimensional object and not a levitating windowpane. In modern buildings, bricks are no longer expected to carry any structural load, so theyre often cranked out in thin wafers, applied to a backing, and hung in large sheets that require clumsy joints. KPF isnt above such expediency, but in this case, a temporary economic vagary made it cheaper to use bricks that were made by hand and laid, one by one, by a team of skilled Ecuadorians. The workmanship shows in the color and precision of the grout, the mottling of dark flecks, and the triangular pieces where the arches meet details that give the facade a subliminal liveliness. A close-up of 64 University Places arched windows. Photo: Meseret Haddis/Courtesy of KPF At the turn of the 20th century, terra-cotta supplied Louis Sullivans BayardCondict Building on Bleecker Street and Cass Gilberts Woolworth Tower with Gothic frosting and filigree that gave massive structures their frothiness. These days, companies like Boston Valley Terra Cotta have developed technology to scan, copy, and reproduce eroded elements from those landmarks, making this a golden age of historic restoration. Casting is an expensive multistep process, though, and the same factories can furnish facades for new construction by the more straightforward technique of extrusion, yielding handsome but less ornate panels. Thats what allowed SOM to adorn Disneys headquarters in green terra-cotta and KPF to surprise even itself with a graceful and fresh but retro mixed-use tower at 520 Fifth Avenue, with offices below and apartments above. Once again, von Klemperers team deployed stacked arches, rhythmic setbacks, rippling panels, and a range of textures that add up to a rare architectural quality: surface character. Its an encouraging sign when architects and more important, the developers they work for rediscover tools they should never have abandoned. The art of building is already too constricted to give up on shadows, texture, depth, color, organic imperfection, and the marks of time. Builders have relied on those fundamental qualities since they first started mounding dirt into huts, and no modern megalopolis can ever truly outgrow them. Blackfeet Community Hospital will host an advanced infectious disease response training, delivered by Simulation in Motion Montana (SIM-MT) from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. This high-fidelity mobile simulation training equips local healthcare teams with the critical skills needed to effectively manage infectious disease outbreaks and protect both patients and providers. Infectious diseases - such as COVID-19, influenza and emerging public health threats - can place immense pressure on hospitals and clinics. Healthcare providers must be prepared to act quickly and effectively to prevent the spread of disease while delivering lifesaving treatment to patients in crisis. This hands-on simulation training recreates real-world infectious disease scenarios using high-fidelity manikins that breathe, respond to treatment and simulate critical medical conditions. Live-action role playing and emergency scenarios provide a risk-free, immersive learning experience, allowing teams to practice infection control, patient management and emergency response protocols. This training ensures that Blackfeet Community Hospitals healthcare professionals are equipped to handle high-risk infectious disease cases, helping to improve rapid diagnosis and response to outbreaks, enhance infection control measures to protect patients and staff, reduce medical errors and improve patient safety, and strengthen emergency preparedness for future public health crises. SIM-MT provides high-fidelity mobile simulation-based training to healthcare teams across Montana. By bringing lifelike emergency scenarios directly to hospitals and clinics, SIM-MT ensures that medical professionals are prepared for high-impact, low-frequency medical events that can make the difference between life and death. This training empowers rural healthcare teams with the skills and confidence needed to manage emergencies, helping to protect and save lives in their own communities. Cut Bank City Council held their regular meeting Feb. 24, 2025. Mayor Kim Winchell, Councilpersons Kacie Fey, Doug Vermulm, Maynard Nygaard, and John Reynolds were in attendance. Also present were Police Chief Mike Schultz, Clerk/Treasurer Donni Schultz, City Attorney Whitney Bugni, Superintendent Jim Suta, and Building Inspector Kory Sandon. Visitors to the meeting were Vern Thomas and John Damberger. Councilperson Fey moved to approve the minutes from Feb. 3, the payroll at $102,176.34 and the claims through Feb. 21, 2025 at $102,699.08. This was seconded and passed with a 4-0 vote. The remainder of the meeting was department head and committee reports. The City Clerk/Treasurer is working to get all the filing and financial monthly books caught up. The Police Chief reports that the Police Department is mostly moved into the new building. Most of the services are up and running, but they are still waiting on the internet. The staff is excited about the new location. Upon completion of the entryway changes, the building will be ready for public viewing. Chief Schultz would like to thank the community for their support and assistance in the move. Building Inspector Sandon continues to work on the City Court renovation permit. He will be in training in Helena at the end of March. In committee reports the Port Authority is hoping to change their bylaws from having a county commissioner or city councilperson in attendance at their meetings to an appointed representative from the city and county. There were two requests for grants: Nikki Molenda is bagging clothes and selling them for $5, and a business that does IV vitamin injection and red-light therapy. The Airport Board reports that the airport beacon is being fixed and paid for with state and federal funds. They are operating on their incoming lease funds. Councilperson Nygaard has been to the airport to become familiar with procedures and locations in the event of snow plowing need. North Central Water Authority is concerned about meeting their costs as their 53 million dollar funding was locked up by the Trump Administration. Senator Steve Daines is trying to assist. Their meeting was held Feb. 25. The Chamber of Commerce held their regular meeting and annual meeting with open house on Feb. 25. The next scheduled meeting of the City Council is Monday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. Winter is a challenge in Cut Bank, Montana, and so is being the mayor. Cut Bank Mayor Kim Winchell makes it look pretty easy with her work ethic, perseverance and fierce sense of duty. Mayor Winchell threw her hat into the ring for mayor in 2021 based on a last minute decision. She is now nearing the end of her first term. She was a Cut Bank City Council member prior to being the mayor and has had to learn a great deal over the last several years. There have been several retirements in city government, which leads to new people in various positions. This makes for a rapid learning curve. In addition to being the mayor, she also works almost full time as an Outreach and Enrollment Specialist at Glacier Community Health Center. In 2019 she created a successful dog treat business called Montana Mutt Dog Treats which she sold in 2024. Mayor Winchell has worked on a variety of projects in Cut Bank. Being a dog lover, she is pretty proud of the Bark Park. In 2021, as a new member of City Council, Winchell found an AARP Livable Communities Grant which she applied for. The first attempt at the grant failed, and the second attempt, in her first year as Mayor, resulted in receiving the grant which added benches, a walking path and shade pavilions to the Bark Park. Two other projects that she has worked on, and has a great deal of pride in, are the funding of the water tower/holding system, and the creative use of two grants to solve the problem of the old and overpopulated police department at 113 East Main Street. Two important and rare funding programs became available for the City of Cut Bank. House Bill 355 (HB 355) SLIPA (State Local Infrastructure Partnership Act) is a state fund established in 2023 to help cities and towns with maintenance and repair for city projects. Cut Bank needed to prove its need for these funds in 2023. The other funding opportunity was ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that were secured from the Biden Administration during Covid that are now being allocated. Discussions began over a year ago about how to spend the ARPA money. Although there were many projects discussed, it was ultimately decided, along with City Council and public meetings, that the City would pursue addressing the fact that the Police Department at 113 E. Main was the priority. The decision ultimately became to use both grants to address those challenges. Department heads and the City Council discussed possible improvement options. Several new buildings were considered for City use like the JCPenney and First Interstate Bank buildings. Although these ideas were interesting, many had heavy price tags for the citizens. Bids and PAR (Preliminary Architectural Reports) requirements were addressed. "Numbers came back, towards the end of November and they were big, over $2 million, and this was a huge responsibility," commented Mayor Winchell. Then luckily a building formerly known as the Croft Petroleum Building became available. This provided a place to move the Police Department. According to Mayor Winchell this was, "A last minute idea which caused this pivot in early December and then architects were called in. We had to move quickly because we had to have one grant dedicated by December 31, and the other under contract by the same date." HB 355 became the funds used to update and repair 113 E. Main for the City Court and City Attorney offices. It was overcrowded, not ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant, and in need of legal separation between the City Attorney and City Judge. HB 355 funds spending needs state approval, while ARPA needs federal approval with both regulations and requirements. The ARPA funds were used to purchase the old Croft Petroleum Building to serve as the Police Department. This will allow the Police Department to move to a larger space, remodel to serve their needs and the needs of the community, including the building of a garage that is desperately needed for proper vehicle searches. HB 355 or SLIPA funds will be used at 113 E. Main. The City Court and City Attorney's offices can then redesign their space which includes ramped stairs, signage, and the City Attorney, Whitney Bugni, will have her own entrance in the rear, which will provide appropriate legal segregation of judge and city attorney. The Mayor stated, "And the beautiful thing is there is no cost to the citizens." Another important City project was the water tower/holding tank. The original plan began as a 4-6 million dollar project that was supposed to increase water rates by about $7.00 per user. Mayor Winchell learned of a separate fund through ARPA money called Minimum Allocation Grant, which was for water and sewer projects. The fund required that projects had to pass through the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation criteria which the City had already done. This meant that the Minimum Allocation Grant could be used to help pay for the new water tower project. Glacier County actually procured the funds but could not spend them, so the City of Cut Bank and Glacier County Commissioners worked out a plan to use the money for the water project. The city had started planning for this large scale project years prior to Winchell taking office. The addition of this money, through the County, at around $1.47 million was the funding needed to complete the tower. The project is now complete with no rate increase to users. Not only does Mayor Winchell work hard for Cut Bank as Mayor, but in her other job she recently spoke to the Montana Legislature at the Human Services Committee on HB 245 which deals with Medicaid Expansion, Sunsetting, and the need for Offices of Public Assistance. She was impassioned about the needs of the community and how important these offices are to the citizens. Should this bill pass there is a possibility that 10 new offices might be added, and Winchell hopes that Cut Bank will be chosen for one. She received a follow up question and recognition by someone who heard her speak. She has grave concerns about critical access hospitals and a desire to build a stronger community. She stated, "We must embrace where we are now and move toward what we can become." Winter is long and challenging here in Cut Bank, but the Mayor's bright smile, positive outlook, and strong community involvement forecasts a bright new spring is just around the corner. Shelby Senior Center, 739 Benton Avenue, is open to the public for lunch Monday through Friday at noon. The suggested price is over 60, $6, and under 60 is $7. Meal tickets can be bought in advance for $60 for 10 meals, or $70, depending on age. Please phone (406-434-2992) to let us know you are joining us. We ask you to make reservations or cancellations by 9:30 a.m. We also do home deliveries for qualifying seniors. Call for more information about getting a home delivery. This weeks meals are: Thursday, March 6, French dip and fries; Friday, March 7, Fish sticks and fries; Monday, March 10, Sloppy Joes and fries; Tuesday, March 11, Hot dog with mac and cheese; Wednesday, March 12, Spaghetti and lettuce salad; Thursday, March 13, Chili and corn bread. Meals are subject to change. Shelby Senior Center Activities and Events Feb. 21 Pinochle winners were: first place, Gwen Marshall, second place, Rhonda Wiegand and third place, Rosalie Manley. Feb. 26 Pitch winners were: first place, Jerry Albright , second place, Sandy Simons and third place, Gary Aklestad . Come join us for trivia when announced on the radio. Activities are: Pitch on Wednesday, March 5, 12, 19, 26, at 1 p.m. Pinochle on Friday, March 7, 14, 22, 28, at 1 p.m. Every Monday - Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. is chair exercise. The next Bingo will be March 18 at 1 p.m. Our next board meeting will be March 17 at 9 a.m. March 15 Saint Patrick Potluck Party, food at noon and cards at 1 p.m. All are welcome. Quilt Guild is March 18 at 6:30 p.m. Arts and Crafts will meet on March 8 and 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come join us on March 28 for our Birthday and Anniversary Meal at noon. Dont forget to come and join us for our coffee social every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The Senior Center is open from 7 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed on the weekends and holidays, unless they are playing cards and doing activities. If you would like to come over to do some activities: Cribbage, read a book, put a puzzle together or just to socialize, our door is always open and we would be glad to have you, even if its just to stop in and say hi. We are always looking for new people to play cards and Bingo. If youre interested, please come and join us! We hope everyone has a glorious week and stays safe. Just a reminder of our Respite Program Daybreak & our Commodities Food Program for Seniors over 60. If you are interested, just call the Senior Center, 434-2992. Ethiopian producers, business leaders set sight on Canton Fair for market expansion Xinhua) 11:09, March 05, 2025 ADDIS ABABA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian producers and leaders in the import-export sector have expressed interest in leveraging the upcoming 137th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, to tap into broader markets in China and beyond. Kenenisa Lemi, secretary-general of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA), told Xinhua in a recent interview that the Canton Fair is "a great opportunity" for Ethiopian businesses to expand their market presence in China and explore partnership prospects with their Chinese counterparts and other international stakeholders. Lemi said that the trade fair enables Ethiopian producers and exporters to further increase their market share in China, particularly for the country's key export commodities, including coffee and various agricultural products. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, China is currently Ethiopia's largest trading partner, ranking among the top 10 buyers of Ethiopian products while holding the leading position in supplying various goods to the Ethiopian market. Ethiopia's main exports to China include coffee, oilseeds, leather products, cotton and yarn, among others. Meanwhile, the country imports a range of industrial and manufactured products from China, including vehicles, machinery, textiles, apparel and footwear. "The trade fair is a platform where investors and businesspeople come together to share experiences, establish business-to-business linkages, and learn from one another. Our primary objective is to connect Ethiopian products, producers, and services with Chinese counterparts," Lemi said. Held biannually since 1957, the Canton Fair will stage its 137th edition from April 15 to May 5 in Guangzhou, covering exhibition spaces totaling 1.55 million square meters. Tesfalem Molla, whose Yehager Import-Export Company has witnessed growing market success in China in recent years, said his company primarily exports coffee and other agricultural commodities to China while also importing industrial and technological products to Ethiopia. Reflecting on his company's 15 years of active participation in the Canton Fair, Molla said that trade fairs like this have significantly contributed to his company's market expansion in China. The event is "a significant global gathering with extensive representation from various sectors," Molla said, adding that "it is a great opportunity not only for buyers and exporters from Ethiopia but also for the wider African continent to do business with different manufacturers and buyers." Last week, a promotional seminar on the Canton Fair was held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, bringing together senior Ethiopian government officials and representatives from the two countries' business communities. During the seminar, representatives from the China Foreign Trade Center provided Ethiopian stakeholders with an overview of the Canton Fair and its potential to unlock broader market access in China and globally for Ethiopian producers and import-export businesses. They highlighted the unique market and partnership opportunities at the upcoming event, building on the success of the 136th edition, which attracted overseas buyers from 224 countries and regions, with a record-high 253,000 onsite participants and 450,000 online attendees. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Forgive me if I do not share in the general air of jubilation. Yes, Volodymyr Zelensky has belatedly accepted President Trump's blueprint for a peace deal. And yes, the citizens of Ukraine will breathe a collective sigh of relief amid hopes that US military aid is likely to be restored and the 'roadmap to peace' is back on track. But my countrymen are still left with a president whose behaviour over the past week and beyond has shown that he simply does not have the qualities necessary to lead his nation when it is under threat from the evil and rapacious marauder Vladimir Putin. When Zelensky travelled to Washington last week, he went with my best wishes. Like every other patriotic Ukrainian, I hoped that he would make a success of his visit. And so I watched what unfolded during that now notorious meeting in the Oval Office with mounting horror. Most European commentators have concentrated their fire on Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance, with many describing their approach as an 'ambush'. But, for me, the villain of the piece was Zelensky. The first rule of great power diplomacy is to make sure your personal demeanour doesn't get in the way of achieving your goals. With his display of truculence and intransigence, Zelensky sabotaged a rare-earth minerals deal that promised to bring peace to his homeland and lay the foundations for post-war reconstruction. He failed to understand that Trump is a businessman and what Zelensky perceived to be cynical extortion was in fact clever leadership and canny negotiation. Zelensky of all people should realise how delicate and difficult it is to force a brutal dictator like Putin to talk peace. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 26 Zelensky and Trump openly clashed in the White House on February 28 at a meeting where they were due to sign a deal on sharing Ukraine's mineral riches and discuss a peace deal with Russia Zelensky initially rejected the White House's deal largely on the basis that it did not come with any security guarantees attached. But while the Americans were not offering F35s to police the air nor Marines to patrol the ground, they were proposing something that could be almost equally effective. By putting US contractors in the region, Trump was effectively saying to Putin: 'Hands off Ukraine; it's my business partner now, and worth nearly your entire GDP.' The idea that the Kremlin might ever authorise attacks on American civilians working in Ukraine is absurd. Nor was the deal a bad one for Kyiv economically. As US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has argued, the minerals plan was a 'win-win' 'We make money if the Ukrainian people make money,' he said on Sunday. Now that Zelensky has come to his senses, Ukraine can look forward to the future with renewed confidence. Without US military backing or a minerals deal, Ukraine's fate would have been left in the hands of European allies hopelessly ill-equipped to maintain its security. As things stand, 55 per cent of Ukraine's military hardware is produced in-country, 25 per cent comes from Europe and other nations, and 20 per cent from the US. But the US equipment is considered to be by far the the most lethal and cutting-edge. In the absence of American weaponry such as GPS-guided missiles, Himars shoot-and-scoot multiple rocket launchers and air defence ordnance, the country would have been fatally compromised. Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting with Myanmar's military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing (not pictured), at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia on March 4 It would have taken at least three years to develop Europe's defence industry to the point that it might be in a position to support Ukraine without American assistance. In that time the Russians might well have captured huge swathes of territory. So, yes, my country may have been saved at the 11th hour. But following his latest display of bad judgment, I believe Zelensky's leadership has become a liability. The atmosphere of mutual goodwill that once cloaked Ukraine's dealings with America has now given way to one of distrust and resentment. I say this with a heavy heart but it's time for him to go. His latest blunder is only the most recent mistake in what has become an error-strewn presidency. In February last year, he fired Ukraine's commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi after a long-running clash about political interference in his military operations. Zaluzhnyi built a world-class, Nato-level general staff and military, able to stop the Russian army in its tracks. Even today, the Ukrainian army, though outnumbered, outclasses the Russians in terms of skill and valour at every turn. But arguments between the military and and the government came to a head as political appointees increasingly exploited their positions to profiteer from procurement contracts a running sore in the Trump White House. Residents are seen at a site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine March 4, 2025 People visit the "Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine", a memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers, in downtown Kyiv on March 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine An administrative building stands damaged after Russian missile attack on February 5, 2025 in Izium Zelensky also undermined his legitimacy by cancelling the presidential election that was due to be held in the spring of last year. Many people argue that it is inappropriate to hold an election in wartime, often citing Britain's decision not to hold a General Election until the Nazis had been defeated in the Second World War. But that was then and this is now. In the digital era, it cannot be beyond the wit of man to stage an election that could even take in the millions of Ukrainian refugees scattered around the world. There are many issues to be addressed, of course. The national voter registry will have to be updated. Decisions will have to be taken over who will represent disenfranchised voters living in the occupied territories. Arrangements will have to be made for absentee voting. But these are bureaucratic challenges and should not be insurmountable if the political will is there. This is Donald Trump's position, too: After the mineral deal, he wants an immediate ceasefire lasting at least a year to allow for elections in Ukraine. I would like to see Zelensky step down to make way for a government of national unity. This would take in representatives of all the major parties and major political figures, from ex-President Petro Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko to former Parliament Chair Dmytro Razumkov and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko but not including any pro-Russian parties for obvious reasons. It should also include senior members of the military, as apart from the fact they have vital knowledge of the situation on the ground they are the one element of Ukrainian society that is beyond reproach. Indeed, if I had my way, the post of president would go to a former soldier: General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Despite his sacking by Zelensky over political interference, he remains a national hero and, as he is now Ukraine's ambassador to London, I am fortunate enough to meet him regularly. I am not blind to Zelensky's talent and accomplishments. He showed exemplary bravery at the outset of the war when he memorably turned down the offer of an evacuation flight with the rousing slogan: 'I need ammunition, not a ride.' And don't get me wrong: I'm no friend of Putin. I was forced to flee Russia in 2004, when I was vice chairman of Russia's biggest oil and gas company Yukos, after he ordered the arrest of the company's chairman, my friend Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Mikhail went on to spend 10 years behind bars, much of it served in a Soviet-era labour camp in eastern Siberia, 3,000 miles east of Moscow. Putin was so determined to imprison me, too, that in 2005 he sought to have me extradited from the UK my new home but failed after a judge ruled that the action was 'politically motivated'. Since then I have worked in the energy business in Britain and, after Russia made its first incursion into Ukraine in 2014, I have done my best to foster British and European support for the land of my birth. The silver lining of Zelensky's mishandling of Trump is that it brought Europe's big beasts together for the first time since Brexit, and galvanised Europe to rearm in the face of the Russian threat. But, with Ukraine's future at a crossroads, I can only hope that he has the good sense to realise that it is time to make way for a new leader. - Alexander Temerko is a Ukrainian-born British businessman and a member of the advisory council of the Institute of Economic Affairs. I have been closely observing the Iranian threat for more than two decades. As a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan, I saw the regimes influence and pursuit of violence. As Security Minister, I work with law enforcement and intelligence agencies as they tirelessly serve in the shadows to keep us safe. The threat of Iran is felt across the globe, and in the last two years the UK has responded to 20 Iranian-backed plots to undermine our security. These were real, potentially lethal threats to UK residents and British citizens, on British soil. Britain will not stand for the Iranian regimes threatening behaviour. Keeping the public safe will always be the first duty of government, and protecting our national security is a foundation of our Plan for Change. Thats why yesterday I announced co-ordinated action to counter the threat from Iran. Security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs the Tehran regime and its intelligence agencies would be placed on the top level of the foreign influence registration scheme when it comes into effect Mr Jarvis said Iran had become 'increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours' (pictured: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) Firstly, we will disrupt the Iranian states activity in the UK, using the National Security Act to clamp down on the activities of organisations like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Anyone working for regimes like Irans, whether for ideological or financial reasons, will feel the full force of that law. But now we are going further, by placing the Iranian state on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme - a critical operational tool for taking on those that threaten the UKs safety or interests. This scheme strengthens the resilience of the UK political system against covert foreign influence - and provides greater assurance around the activities of certain foreign powers or entities that are a national security risk. Next, with government support, counter-terrorism policing, the National Crime Agency, and MI5 will work together more closely in pursuit of Iran-backed criminal networks, such as the Zindashti organised crime group, which has already been sanctioned. In a Commons statement he also announced that terrorism law watchdog Jonathan Hall KC has been asked to draw up a new procedure to allow the proscription of state and state-linked organisations, which could deal with groups including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Finally, we will look at ways to strengthen our legal powers. This will include a review of the need for a tool similar to counter-terrorism proscription but for state bodies, in recognition of the specific and unique threat represented by organisations such as the IRGC. Iran presents a serious and complex threat. Together with our international allies, we will expose and condemn malign Iranian activity wherever we find it, and fulfil the sacred duty of protecting our national security. It was the moment Keir Starmers Churchillian rhetoric finally ran into reality. Speaking to a largely supportive and respectful House of Commons, he rejected a claim by SNP leader Stephen Flynn that the US was preparing to freeze military aid for Ukraine. As I understand it, that is not its position, he said. His assurance followed an earlier statement expressing his steadfast belief in the strength and sanctity of the Special Relationship. I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally, he insisted, the US has been a reliable ally to the UK for many, many decades, and continues to be. Twelve hours later Sir Keir found out just how reliable. Donald Trump announced he was freezing military aid to Ukraine. Over the past week the Prime Minister has received plaudits from across the political spectrum for his statesmanship during the Ukraine crisis. Rightly. He has shown maturity. He has taken a lead in seeking to co-ordinate the European response. He has skilfully managed the ego of the increasingly erratic resident of the White House. But at the heart of his diplomatic strategy lies a fundamental, and potentially fatal, flaw. Which is the notion that in reality nothing much has changed. Downing Streets position is that, despite all the fire and fury, the status quo continues. The United States is essentially still on the side of Britain and the other Western European nations. Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the war. The Prime Minister must now acknowledge the US is not an ally, reliable or otherwise, writes Dan Hodges When it comes to the crunch, Donald Trump will stand up to Vladimir Putin and Russia. Despite the rhetoric, and personality clashes, he remains an ally of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky. Unfortunately, Keir Starmer is wrong. And as a result, his strategy is being constructed on sand. Or rather, constructed on an understandable but potentially catastrophic need to see the world as he wants it to be, rather than how it actually is. The fact is the US is no longer an ally, reliable or otherwise. And every word uttered or act performed by Trump and his administration since they returned to office confirms that. The statement that European security is no longer a US priority. The commencement of a unilateral lifting of sanctions on Russia. The decision to freeze military aid to Ukraine. The announcement that the US was halting offensive cyber operations against Putin. The peddling of overt Russian propaganda. The prohibition on administration officials even acknowledging Putin is the aggressor in Ukraine. The public attempt to humiliate and belittle Zelensky in the Oval Office. And the fact that the White House misled Starmer into believing the US had no plans to axe weapons shipments to Kyiv, then did precisely that less than 24 hours later. Some people wish to maintain the fantasy. They claim this is all part of a clever form of 4-D chess by Trump aimed at bringing the warring parties together. The Art of the Deal, they opine, sagely. But again, the reality is staring us and the Prime Minister in the face. Yesterday there was a furore over the slur issued by Vice-President JD Vance against the military record of Britain, France and other European nations. Donald Trump addresses Congress about his decision to cut military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday But the more significant statement from him passed by largely unreported. Lets be direct, he tweeted, there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support [for security guarantees to Ukraine] who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful. For months Vance, Trump and other US administration officials have been berating Europe for not being prepared to step up and take responsibility for its own defence. But when European nations did precisely that, Vance and his colleagues pivoted, and attacked them anyway. And in the process actively undermined the Prime Ministers attempt to construct a coalition of the willing. This is the reality of Trumps agenda. It is not a paternalistic attempt to chivvy Europe into doing more to protect the Wests collective security. Its a naked attempt to destroy it. And this act of wanton, MAGA-fuelled vandalism needs a clear, hard-headed response. If Starmer wants to maintain his efforts at diplomatic debasement, fine. He can continue to turn the other cheek to Trump and Vances jibes, and lean on the King if he feels it will buy him some extra time to massage King Donalds fragile ego. But, at the same time, we and the rest of Europe have to prepare. And that requires three things. The first is a recognition that the Governments new commitment to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence is wholly inadequate. Starmer told the nation we are now on a war footing. So he needs to put the nations money where Trumps mouth is. Immediate emergency expenditure of 3 per cent on our Armed Forces is an absolute necessity. A steady increase to 5 per cent is required in short order. And if that requires significant spending cuts, and even tax rises, so be it. The second thing we must do is avoid sticking our heads in the sand, recognise Trumps new isolationism for what it is, and acknowledge the Special Relationship is over. And as a result, we need to begin constructing new relationships and security alliances - part of which must involve making explicitly clear to those allies that we view the status of these new relationships as the equal of our now-defunct historical partnership with the US. The final thing we need to recognise is this. Its time to drop the mantra There can be no solution without a US backstop. The harsh truth is there is no US backstop. From now on, the only genuine security Britain and Europe will enjoy is the security we construct for ourselves. If the US chooses to stand with us from time to time, so much the better. But our premise has to be that Uncle Sam has more pressing business elsewhere. And we must plan accordingly. Who knows, perhaps the storm will pass. Maybe the Trump apologists are right. He will turn around with his self-satisfied smile and declare: Only kidding. Art of the Deal. Daddy Dons back. Or an American public already alarmed by rising food prices, the axing of important public services, threats to their healthcare and precipitous trade wars with their nearest neighbours will pull the plug on the MAGA project. In which case we can again readjust to the new, more comforting, global realities. But for now we have to work on the basis that Donald Trump means what he says. America is no longer our ally. And Britain must again stand alone. After California changed their child labor laws, rumors abounded that family vloggers were fleeing the state - and while the creators deny the gossip, their followers are threatening to 'cancel' them over their controversial moves. Former fans are calling out the mommy bloggers who are leaving California, many for Tennessee, and accusing them of exploiting their children. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 764, which requires content creators who feature their minor kids in at least 30 percent of their content to set aside a proportionate percentage of the earnings into a trust fund. The children can then access the funds when they turn 18. Within the last year, family influencers have started leaving the state and going to the wealthy suburbs surrounding Tennessee, which are far more conservative and allow them to share nonstop footage of their money-making kids. The LaBrant family, who boast a whopping 12.8 million YouTube subscribers, announced that they were moving to Tennessee two years ago. Cole, 28, Savannah, 32, and their five children say they're leaving Orange County for different reasons according to Rolling Stone, including more conservative values, living closer to their family, and no state income tax. The YouTube-famous family have often been in hot water with their millions of followers, and once compared abortion to the Holocaust in a 'tone-deaf' documentary. They're also famous for the 'cruel' pranks they pull on their children, including making their then 6-year-old daughter Everleigh cry when they told her they were giving her puppy away. Former fans are calling out mommy bloggers who are leaving California, many for Tennessee, and accusing them of exploiting their children Family influencers have started moving to the suburbs surrounding Tennessee, which are far more conservative than California and allow them to share nonstop content of their kids The LaBrant family, who boast a whopping 12.8 million YouTube subscribers, announced that they were moving to Tennessee two years ago Mom of four Cecily Bauchmann, 36, who has 2.2 million TikTok followers, told Rolling Stone she moved to Nashville from San Diego to support her husband's career and has nothing to do with the new law. According to her Instagram bio, the controversial health influencer's content focuses on 'faith and family,' as well as 'routines, recipes and style as a mom of four.' Brittany Xavier, who has amassed 5.1 million TikTok followers for sharing her glamorous life as a mom of three, shared a TikTok about her reasons for moving after facing numerous accusations online. 'The assumption that we moved to avoid paying our children is so laughable,' the Long Game podcast host said during a lengthy 'Get Ready With Me' video, blaming their upcoming cross-country move on a mold problem in their home. 'At the end of the day, people are always going to believe what they want,' Brittany, who recently shared more conservative views and told her followers she planned on voting for JD Vance if he ran in the future, continued. 'The tea is ice cold, y'all! don't believe everything you see online,' Brittany told her followers. Brittany, 38, was attacked online after she shared that she chose to leave her daughter Jadyn Xavier, 18, behind in California. The former fashion blogger rose to fame by sharing pictures alongside her lookalike daughter, as followers thought they appeared more like sisters since she gave birth when she was 20. Brittany's followers were not supportive of the move, with one writing, 'Abandoning your teenager on the other side of the country is crazy,' and others writing that the 'mold problem' was simply their way of avoiding the new child labor laws. Mom of four Cecily Bauchmann, 36, who has 2.2 million TikTok followers, said she moved to Nashville from San Diego to support her husband's career Brittany Xavier, who has amassed 5.1 million TikTok followers for sharing her life as a mom of three, shared a TikTok about her reasons for moving after facing numerous accusations online Brittany, 38, was attacked after she chose to leave her daughter Jadyn Xavier, 18, behind in California Digital content creator Danny Rayes shared a TikTok accusing family influencers of swapping Cali for Tennessee to avoid starting the trust funds, writing, 'Family vloggers are crashing out.' The viral post received 500,000 likes, and comments accusing the creators of being 'greedy.' Many called for people to stop watching the influencers and 'cancel' them, and said that in a decade their children would be releasing tell-all memoirs about what happened to them. 'Your children are not pawns to make you money,' one lectured. 'It should be illegal to monetize content with children,' another said. 'Family vlogs need to be illegal, it's child exploitation and often abusive behind closed doors,' one accusatory comment read. It's not just family influencers moving to Nashville - many creators have moved there in recent years because of its lower cost of living and the surrounding areas more conservative values. While the content creators are denying that the moves were caused by the new law, it hasn't stopped their followers from airing their grievances. If you witnessed that iconic kiss between Halle Berry and Adrien Brody at the Oscars, your heart (along with the rest of the internet's) probably went out to Adrien's long-time girlfriend Georgina Chapman who stood right next to the former costars as they fervently locked lips on the red carpet. While in an interview with Extra Georgina expressed that she was totally fine with the kiss, even saying 'How could you deny a man a kiss with Halle Berry?', it's hard not to think about how she may be feeling when a news mic isn't shoved in her face. It seems that even in the world of Hollywood, you can't escape your partner's work wife. Remember how Ian Somerhalder had to continue playing ex-Nina Dobrev's love interest on Vampire Diaries for years after they broke up, even though he had a new girlfriend by then? And even on TV - think about how many shows highlight office romances (work wives turned into real wives), like The Office or Parks and Recreation. But what about in the real world, when your partner isn't simulating on-screen sex or being smooched in the middle of award speeches (with a camera always present)? While the average person probably doesn't have to worry about their boyfriend getting surprise-kissed at a movie premiere, there's always the chance that your significant other is sending his coworker late-night memes or spending a few too many lunches with her - and there's no breaking headline to let you in on their indiscretions. So when does having a 'work wife' teeter into infidelity? Georgia watches as her boyfriend, Adrien kisses Halle Berry on the red carpet Nikki Reed and husband Ian Somerhalder share a selfie with his ex Nina Dobrev 'The concept of a "work wife" or "work husband" is common in office culture,' licensed relationship therapist Jordanne Sculler, LMHC tells DailyMail.com. 'It's natural for people to form close bonds with colleagues due to the long hours, shared experiences, and overcoming challenges together.' There's nothing wrong with forming a friendship with someone you work with. But what gets prickly is when you start hiding your interactions with your coworker from your partner or your find yourself using your 'work wife' to fill emotional needs that are typically reserved for your girlfriend. Sculler explains that there are a few indicators that you're starting to believe your 'work wife' should be your real wife. Firstly, if you find yourself going to work with a little too much pep in your step because of your coworker, you might be in some dangerous territory. 'A platonic bond is one thing, but if you daydream about them, feel butterflies when they walk into a room, or feel more excitement seeing them than your actual partner, it's worth taking stock of your real feelings,' Sculler says. If you notice that you're flirting with your coworker or even escalating into some sort of physical touch, you may be crossing some relationship boundaries. 'Lingering eye contact, subtle touches, or playful teasing may seem harmless, but if it crosses into physical intimacy (or even just fantasizing about it), it's a sign the relationship may have gone beyond professional,' Sculler says. Jim Halpert and Pam Beesley were known for their office relationship Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt are a well-known TV office couple And finally, it's especially concerning if you find yourself becoming defensive over the relationship you have with your coworker. If your friends, family, or even partner express some sort of apprehension about you and your coworker and your response is to become irritated or argue, odds are you're harboring some feelings you may not even realize are there. It might seem impossible to walk back an intimate relationship you have with a coworker (especially because it could cause some awkwardness with this person you need to see every weekday), but Sculler explains that there's a way to do this tactfully. 'Setting boundaries doesn't mean cutting the person off completely it's about shifting the dynamic to keep it professional and respectful while maintaining workplace harmony,' she says. In situations like these, it's important to keep your distance, have an open conversation if needed, and of course to refocus your attention on your actual relationship instead. 'Work friendships can be wonderful but when they start to mimic a romantic relationship, it's important to take a step back and reassess how to proceed without breaking anyone's trust,' Sculler says. You might lose a 'work wife' but at least you won't lose your real life girlfriend. A man who says he had a sexual relationship with a teacher when he was just 14 has told a new podcast he went from feeling 'lucky' to trying to take his own life after their sexual relationship was discovered. The story of how Gareth, not his real name, was seduced 'in plain sight' by then 27-year-old chemistry teacher Sally-Anne Bowen, from Hemel Hempstead, is the subject of a new audio series from the company behind Sweet Bobby, last year's Netflix hit on catfishing. Tortoise Investigates: Lucky Boy sees Gareth, now in his fifties, explain how the illegal romance when he was in Year 10 at an all boys secondary school in North London 1988 has dominated his adult life. While at first the pair's sexual clandestine sexual encounters would leave the schoolboy, who had a paper round at the time and would buy comics with his pocket money, feeling 'high as a kite', the fallout left his life in tatters. In 2024, the Teaching Regulation Agency gave Bowen an indefinite ban from the profession for engaging in sexual activity with Gareth while he was a pupil at Christ's College Finchley. The four-part podcast reveals the shocking moment when a friendly teacher-pupil relationship turned into something more sinister after Gareth and his friends were caught by Bowen, then newly qualified as a teacher, looking at a pornographic magazine in a cafe. The first episode sees the ex-pupil reveal how he expected to be told off - but Bowen instead offered an x-rated comment about how she 'looked like' the porn stars in the magazine. Gareth says: 'She came to a page, she pointed at it and she said "That's what mine looks like" and I said to her "What do you mean?" and she said "That's what my p**** looks like'. The incident sparked the affair that would see the schoolboy lured into Miss Bowen's flatshare - she left the front door open after he walked home with her - and their relationship soon became sexual, despite Gareth having only ever kissed a girl before. A new four-part podcast from Tortoise Media investigates how, in the late 80s, 27-year-old science teacher Sally-Anne Bowen engaged in sexual activity with a 14-year-old pupil, known as Gareth, at Christ's College Finchley From then on the relationship evolved to be 'pure sex every day', with the schoolboy, who described himself as a 'misfit', lying to his mother about where was every day until 6pm after school. Gareth says at first he had no idea whether he'd actually had sex with the attractive teacher or not because he was so naive, telling the podcast: 'It was just a feeling that Id never had before in my life. 'I didnt understand how it felt. I couldnt recognise that I had actually had sex and then we had this big discussion on whether or not I was a virgin, because though she had sex with me, I didnt ejaculate in her.' Tortoise Media journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou pushes back the decades in the podcast and interviews those who knew about the 'open secret' relationship at the time, including Gareth's close friends. One of them describes the late 80s as 'more innocent times'. The pupil-teacher relationship, which lasted for weeks and would see him playing truant to spend afternoons having sex at her flat, was eventually discovered after rumours began to gather pace about the nature of their friendship. One former friend says in the series that fellow pupils would see Gareth and Bowen having 'close conversations' and 'walking off to areas where they wouldn't be disturbed'. Gareth tells the podcast how everything changed with his teacher after he was caught by her reading pornographic magazines with his friends in the late 80s (Stock image) He described the teacher as 'young, flirtatious and coquettish' saying she caught the eye of other boys in the school. Bowen's behaviour towards Gareth was uncovered when his mother found lipstick on a glass in her home, a souvenir that the young man had taken from one of their trysts. The podcast reveals how the North London school buried the scandal when Gareth's mother complained, quietly moving the teacher on at the end of term. However, the abuse triggered a mental health decline in Gareth, who began performing poorly at school and eventually left a year early at 15. The journalist told Metro that Gareth left his family home at 16, sleeping on the streets and, struggling to build meaningful relationships with women his own age. He attempted to take his own life three times. She said: By the time hes in his mid 20s, hes tried to kill himself several times. It really derails his life, and it also affects sex for him forever, because hes not really able to connect with girls his own age. He freaks them out as hes far too advanced sexually. But then it also affects sex for him forever, because its not an emotional thing. Sex for him, its very much a physical thing where emotions are closed off. The podcast is the latest audio series from Tortoise Media, the company behind Netflix catfishing hit Sweet Bobby In 2014, Gareth decided to press charges against the science teacher, who was still working in London schools at the time - but found those who he thought would confirm his story stayed silent. A subsequent police investigation concluded that no criminal action should be pursued against Bowen, even after an appeal by Gareth. Tortoise Media contacted Sally-Anne Bowen and Christ's College for comment. In January 2024, Sally-Anne Bowen, who still denies she had a sexual relationship with Gareth, was banned from teaching indefinitely. Teaching Regulation Agency chief executive Marc Cavey said last year: 'In this case, the panel has found some of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. 'In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession. 'This means that Ms Sally-Anne Bowen is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or childrens home in England.' Gareth's heartbroken mother, now 82, told the podcast that the behaviour of Bowen was 'disgraceful', saying 'She ruined his life, he was doing things a boy of 14 shouldn't be doing'. Tortoise Investigates: Lucky Boy is available to stream now at tortoisemedia.com Meghan Markle's new lifestyle Netflix series finally hit screens across the globe on Tuesday - and it's filled with revealing one-liners from the Duchess of Sussex. During the eight episodes, Meghan maintained a relaxed approach, playfully chatting to guests as she offered lifestyle tips from an $8million (5million) mansion near the Sussexes' Montecito home. The series, promoted as a chance to see Meghan 'share personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection', is widely regarded as a make-or-break moment for the couple's streaming deal. Viewers received an intimate glimpse at Prince Harry's wife in the show, who frequently delivered surprising and often humorous remarks while carrying out everyday tasks at the luxury Californian residence. In one light-hearted moment, the mother-of-two jokingly told audiences at home how her 'bacon brings all the boys to the yard', referencing the 2003 song Milkshake by Kelis, as she discussed her family's breakfast preferences. Elsewhere, Meghan revealed her defiant side when she told her close friend, Mindy Kaling, 'you know I'm a Sussex now,' after The Office actress referred to her via her maiden name. Netflix viewers also gained insight into the former Suits star's preferences, including her habit of shying away from tap water when making ice, 'do not just use tap water,' she said in the show and instead recommended using distilled or boiled water. Here, Femail reveals 20 of Meghan's quotes in her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan... Meghan's new lifestyle series (pictured) finally launched on Tuesday after the Duchess delayed its release from January due to the devastating fires that ravaged Los Angeles 1. 'My bacon brings all the boys to the yard' Meghan revealed some of her husband Prince Harry's favourites foods while cooking up a storm in the series. While making brunch, Meghan joked: 'I find when I'm cooking bacon, my kitchen very immediately becomes full of husband and three dogs. 'It's not my perfume that's bringing them all in... My bacon brings all the boys to the yard,' she said, referencing the 2003 song Milkshake by Kelis. 2. 'You know I'm Sussex now' In episode two of 'With Love, Meghan', the Duchess called herself a 'latchkey kid' who 'grew up with a lot of fast food and TV tray dinners', listing off US chains Pollo Loco, Taco Bell and Jack In The Box. But guest Mindy Kaling prompted a defiant response from the former working royal when she said: 'I don't think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it.' The Duchess replied: 'It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now... You have kids and you go 'No, I share my name with my children'. The Duchess said: 'It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now... You have kids and you go 'No, I share my name with my children'. 'I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go 'This is our family name. Our little family name'.' After being corrected, The Office star seemingly awkwardly responded: 'Well, now I know and I love it.' 3. 'Talk in our bee voice' Early in episode one, we see Meghan tending to her bee hives during which she admitted that she never enjoyed eating honey until she learnt more about the process. 'The biggest thing is keeping a low tone,' she said. 'Talk in our bee voice. Oh they're busy. Busy Bees. I've got good vibes. Good hives, good vibes. 'You know what it is. It's like also that reminder to do something that scares you a little bit. 'I think that's part of it, but I'm trying to stay in the calm of it, because it's beautiful to be this connected.' 4. 'I try to under salt' Throughout the series, Meghan makes a series of references to Harry's love for certain foods. Early in episode one, we see Meghan tending to her bee hives during which she admitted that she never enjoyed eating honey until she learnt more about the process When asked by Mindy about how best to season eggs, the Duchess replied: 'I have a family, a husband, who no matter what meal is put in front of him before he tastes it puts salt on, so I try to under salt.' The actress quips back: 'I love knowing that your husband loves it salty,' before Meghan offers her a wink in reply. 5. 'Sun tea is something I've been making for a very long time' During episode four, Meghan opened up about how she passed time during her childhood and the similar traits her son Archie has. She revealed that she makes 'sun tea' by leaving bags in cold water outside for two to three hours. Explaining the strange brewing method, she said: 'Sun tea is something I've been making for a very long time. I made it as a kid and now I make it with my own kids. 'It's really easy, it's just tea. You can use nice silk bags, lots of loose leaf tea and you just let it steep with the warmth of the sun.' She added: 'As a kid I was taking a bag of tea from the drawer in my house and putting it in a mason jar or probably an empty jar that once held spaghetti sauce. Throughout the series, Meghan (pictured) makes a series of references to Harry's love for certain foods 'And putting it in the sun and sitting there like this, waiting for it to change colour, which funny enough is what Archie does now.' 6. 'Maybe you want a lavender towel' Speaking about dunking towels in lavender oil to 'treat yourself' after a long day at work, Meghan said: 'We're gonna get some very basic towels. 'Don't use the beautiful ones that you have in your bathroom. These are the ones you should think of as gym towels. 'You're going to we them and you can either put a drop of the lavender oil in each one or dunk them or just give yourself a lavender bath and they get dunked in the same thing... After a long day at work, maybe you want a lavender towel. Treat yourself.' 7. 'Do not just use tap water' Meghan demonstrated how to freeze edible flowers in ice cubes and orange juice for cocktails, but warned viewers off using regular tap water. 'I've made this mistake. Do not just use tap water,' she said. She recommended using distilled water or boiled water. In episode four, the Duchess talks about making 'sun tea' with her children, where she leaves tea bags outside for two to three hours 'Otherwise the ice cubes just come out a little cloudy and you want to see the flower,' she claimed. 8. 'We have a veggie platter every day in our house' The Sussexes enjoy a daily veg platter, Meghan revealed in her series. 'We have a veggie platter, crudites, every day in our house,' she said, before explaining that her children Prince Archie and Princess Lili love vegetables. 'Even for our kids, I think what's been so nice and why they love eating vegetables is because it looks colourful and fun.' She also suggested that parents make a rainbow-coloured and shaped platter of fruit for their children's breakfast to make mornings 'a lot more fun'. 9. 'H is a great cook. He makes a really great breakfast' Opening up about some of her husband's talents, Meghan said: 'H is a great cook. He makes a really great breakfast.' 'With Love, Meghan' landed on Netflix on Tuesday morning Her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer remarked: 'Is he really?' with friend Kelly McKee Zajfen praising his 'scrambled eggs' during their guest appearances on the show. 10. 'No, no Mama I'll do it' Princess Lilibet helped make a batch of strawberry jam, which Meghan served in a dessert to Spencer and Zajfen. Meghan said: 'This is a strawberry preserve. Lili and I actually made this batch together. She picked all those berries, with then she's like: 'No, no Mama I'll do it' and she wants to try. 'She's like: 'I'll stir it. I'll mash it', it's like, great, and then you keep the hot stuff away and go: 'I'll pour it in', but she's proud. That part feels good.' 11. 'Guy has a lot of stories to tell' Meghan's elderly rescue beagle Guy, who has since died, was described by Meghan as 'my shadow'. During her discussions with The Office star Mindy, Meghan claimed she was raised on junk food As she talked about the years he has spent with her moving to the UK and back to the US, she said: 'So yeah, Guy has a lot of stories to tell.' 12. 'I grew up with a lot of fast food' During her discussions with The Office star Mindy, Meghan claimed she was raised on junk food. 'I was a latch-key kid so I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners,' she says. 'It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids meals' 13. 'I listen to a lot of Seventies soft rock, a lot of yacht rock' The Duchess revealed she listens to 70s soft rock, yacht rock, and lot of soul, and also French dinner party music. 'I listen to a lot of Seventies soft rock, a lot of yacht rock and a lot of soul and also French dinner party music,' she explained. Meghan (pictured) offers a range of tips to working parents including making a rainbow-themed fruit salad with a sprinkle of flower petals 14. 'Think about it like an outfit' Meghan talked about her process of selecting flowers: 'First thing I do is see what colour I gravitate to, and then everything goes from there. 'Kind of think about it like an outfit, and once you pick the base look, you have to accessorise in a way that makes sense and matches.' She also warned people off putting flowers in a clear vase. 'I don't know who has time to change the water on flowers every day,' she said. 15. 'You dont always have time to make a hummus from scratch' Throughout her series, the Duchess shared little tips to help viewers be the best hosts - including dressing up shop-bought foods. 'You dont always have time to make hummus or a dip from scratch, and there are ways to make store-bought things look and taste even better,' Meghan said. 'Put some olive oil in there already better.' 16. 'One of my favourite things to do is prep the guest room' Meghan revealed in the first episode of her new series how she goes one step beyond getting the guest room ready. Meghan transfers peanut butter pretzels from one plastic bag to another - seemingly to make it more aesthetic She said: 'Whenever I have someone come and stay, one of my favourite things to do is prep the guest room. 'I think of two places for the guest experience whats at the side of the bed for them thats their good morning and good night moment? And whats in the bathroom for them so they can have a beautiful soak at the end of the night?' She created a tray of homemade bath salts and emptied snacks into clear plastic gift bags for her friend, make-up artist Daniel Martin and even labelled them as having peanuts even though Martin is not allergic to nuts. But she warned 'dont tie a knot without a bow' in case your guest cannot open it. 17. 'Clean as you go' 'So, just as with cooking, I will always have like a garbage vessel. Everything stays organised, clean as you go,' Meghan declared. 'Lili has made a song out of it,' she said before singing herself: 'Clean as you go clean, clean, clean, clean.' She added: 'Once you figure out a little bit of a system, it is not hard, and anyone can do this at home.' 18. 'There is a great little device you can buy its a balloon pump' During a Welcome to the Party episode, Meghan created food and decorations for a childrens party with actress Mindy and revealed she now relies on a handy gadget. Meghan said about making a balloon arch: 'The first time I had the fascinating adventure of doing this manually, it can really start to get tiresome on your cheeks. 'So instead there is a great little device you can buy its a balloon pump', revealed the Duchess. 19. 'Why does a crepe sound more special than a pancake?' Crepes, not fluffy pancakes, are more special, according to Meghan. 'If you were to do Sunday breakfast at the house yes, you can make pancakes for your family and the kids, but you can also make crepes,' she recommended. During the first episode, Meghan (pictured) baked a honey lemon layer cake with fresh raspberries for her friend Daniel 'Why does a crepe sound more special than a pancake? I dont know, but it does.' American pancakes are thick and fluffy pancakes made from a batter of eggs, flour, milk and baking powder, whereas crepes are thinner and do not use a raising agent. 20. 'Theres something really satisfying about a cake that is bare on the outside but she is so beautiful on the inside' During the first episode, Meghan baked a honey lemon layer cake with fresh raspberries for her friend Daniel. While baking, she said about the cake: 'Theres something really satisfying about a cake that is bare on the outside but she is so beautiful on the inside and you just dont know how good she is until you go deep and you get to know her better. 'Baking is not my favourite thing but I will do it for one of my favourite people,' she added to make up artist Daniel. Gay porn's biggest star was found dead at age 44 following a 'simple accident' at home. The death of Marcel Bonn - better known by his stage name Tim Kruger - was announced on Saturday in a heartbreaking post from his longtime partner, Grobes Geraet. The news was published on the social media channels of Kruger's website TimTales, which is one of the biggest sites and production companies in the gay porn industry. Specific details weren't given, although Geraet made sure to emphasize that Kruger's death wasn't the result of drug use or foul play. 'It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share the news of the passing of our beloved Marcel, the man you all knew and loved as Tim Kruger,' the statement began. 'To the public, he was the ultimate ginger pornstar; to me, he was a sweet, caring partner of over 20 years. He was also my best friend. He touched the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,' it continued. Geraet then shared a vague cause of death, calling it an 'accident.' 'I am very aware of the stigma that surrounds deaths in the porn industry, so let me make this very clear to hopefully cut down on the inevitable speculation: Tim's death was a tragic, yet simple accident at home,' he wrote. Gay porn's biggest star Tim Kruger was found dead at age 44 following a 'simple accident' at home The news was announced on Saturday in a heartbreaking post from his longtime partner 'There were no drugs involved, nor was there any indication of foul play or suicide.' He continued, 'Though my heart is broken into pieces, I find solace in the countless memories he gifted us. And I know that he died knowing he was loved. 'Tim's legacy of compassion, love, and joy will live on in all who knew him.' The statement finished, 'I am aware that you all will have countless questions, but this is all the information I have to share right now. I would love for everyone to respect his loved ones' time to grieve in privacy. Thank you.' Social media was filled with tributes to the German-born star from many of the industry's most prominent performers. 'Sad day. R.I.P. to the legend,' wrote Rhyheim Shabazz, while Porfi Maximus wrote, 'Rip papi. Legend and King.' Roxas Caelum wrote, 'When I met him, he was nothing but kind and caring, and one of the most sweet people I've ever met rest in peace Tim.' 'I will never forget the first [time] I met him, the energy the calmness and the kindness he radiated!' wrote Sir Peter. Social media was filled with tributes to the German-born star from many of the industry's most prominent performers Kruger was a huge name in the industry thanks to his impressive physical attributes 'My career won't ever had a beginning if wasn't for him! He was and still is my biggest example and inspiration and I hope one day to be half of the men he was! Legends never die! We miss you already.' Kruger was born in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1981. He worked at an adult store in Berlin and then joined the porn industry as a performer in 2006. Kruger quickly became a huge star thanks to his impressive physical attributes, and in 2009 he launched his own studio called Tim Tales. He later relocated to Barcelona, where he lived with his partner until his death. He was her perfect match - in more ways than one. In 2001, Nicole Munda was told she needed a liver transplant or she was unlikely to see out her 30s. Nicole's donor would need to be the same rare blood type, and from a same-sized person, making it a difficult feat. But in an incredible turn of events, a random stranger went on to save her life - as well as turn out to be the love of it. While dealing with the devastating health blow, the then 29-year-old decided to go to a NASCAR meet to take her mind off her condition. She made the four-and-a-half hour drive from her Las Vegas home to the Phoenix International Raceway, looking forward to spending the day with her friends, as per an excerpt from Godwinks on Love, published by Fox News. After following her pals to their seats, Nicole sat down next to a man in a cowboy hat and started chatting - only to discover a slew of incredible coincidences. The man, Jess Coleman, was from Nicole's hometown of Carlin, Nevada - but the coincidences didn't stop there. In 2001, Nicole Munda was told she needed a liver transplant - or she was unlikely to see out her 30s After talking with Nicole for awhile, Jess made the connection - he knew Nicole's mom, and had even carpooled with her. Jess had one final serendipitous revelation to share: he even had a picture of Nicole in his room. Much to Nicole's disbelief, they had been on the same white-water rafting trip a couple of years prior, and Jess still had a photo from the outing. 'I always wondered who that good-looking girl was!' he cheekily quipped, as per the publication. The pair exchanged phone numbers, and Jess wasted no time in calling Nicole as soon as he could. According to Nicole, she was 'touched by Jess's kindness,' and for the next few weeks, they talked on the phone every day. The pair's relationship moved quickly, with Jess proposing four months later, and a wedding planned for a mere three months after that. However, Nicole's liver disease was getting worse, with no family members a match. The pair exchanged phone numbers, and Jess wasted no time in calling Nicole as soon as he could After talking with Nicole for awhile, Jess made the connection - he knew Nicole's mom, and had even carpooled with her Tragically, just a few days prior to the big day, doctors delivered shocking news to Nicole that her liver may be cancerous - but it could only be confirmed was through surgery. This meant they needed to have someone ready to donate 60 percent of their liver. Jess begged doctors to test him and they finally did - although didn't expect him to be a match. 'The odds were many millions to one against his being a match,' Nicole recalled in a Today article. However, the doctors to test him, finding that miraculously he was. They scheduled the surgery, swapping a honeymoon suite for a hospital one - but wouldn't have it any other way. The pair both checked into the Mayo Clinic and had dual surgeries, which were a success. A boss has been embroiled in a bitter feud after she contacted an employee's mum when she couldn't get in touch with him about work. Manager Laura sent a series of angry text messages to her worker Sam after she noticed he wasn't in the office to submit the 'urgent' report. 'Morning Sam, where are you? I need a report done by noon,' she texted, the first of six messages. 'Sam? Are you there?' 'This is urgent. Please respond.' 'Okay this is getting ridiculous. Where are you?' 'Sam, I'm calling again. Please pick up.' After multiple messages went unanswered, she informed him that she would contact his emergency contact - his mum Linda. Manager Laura sent a series of angry text messages to her worker Sam after she noticed he wasn't in the office to submit the 'urgent' report 'Calling your emergency contact,' she texted. The boss then started texting Sam's mum after obtaining her mobile number from what was believed to be an HR file. 'Hi Linda, this is Laura, Sam's boss. I've been trying to reach Sam all morning but haven't heard back. Do you know where they are?' Laura texted. Sam's mum Linda replied: 'Hello Laura, this is very unexpected. Sam is with me, we're on holiday. What's going on?' Unbeknownst to Laura, she then informed Sam's mum that she didn't know anything about his annual leave. 'Holiday? I wasn't aware of any leave. I really need to get in touch with him,' she said. After multiple messages went unanswered, she informed him that she would contact his emergency contact - his mum Linda His mum replied: 'Sam told me you approved his leave. Is there a problem?' The employee then replied to his boss directly, saying: 'Laura, why are you texting my mum?? I'm on holiday. You approved it three months ago.' However, the manager was still adamant that she was unaware of his family trip. 'Sam, I don't remember approving a leave. There's a critical report due today,' she responded. The worker then clarified that he had previously flagged his holiday with Laura via email, to which she 'confirmed' his annual leave. He then accused Laura of being 'unprofessional' for contacting him during his family holiday. But Laura continued to deny ever seeing any email confirmation before standing firm, texting, 'We really need this report done.' Sam accused Laura of being 'unprofessional' for contacting him during his family holiday Frustrated with his manager's response, Sam replied: 'Laura, I'm not available. I am on vacation! You should have planned for this.' Refusing to back down, Laura responded: 'This is unacceptable. You should have checked with me about this leave closer to the time.' However, Sam wasn't taking it, saying: 'Forgetting about leave that you yourself approved does not give you the right to text my mum and try to force me to work.' The boss then said they will 'discuss' the matter when he returns to the office. 'I'm very disappointed,' she continued, to which Sam replied: 'Discuss all you want. I'll be addressing this with HR too.' Laura quickly responded, saying: 'You do not need to message HR about this Sam.' 'Feels like a waste of their time and ours. Lets just agree to disagree.' Sam ended the text exchange with: 'No you text my mum, when I'm on an approved holiday, by you! That's appalling. I'm done talking now and will message HR later.' Refusing to back down, the boss and employee didn't agree with each other, which eventually escalated to HR He then sent HR an email, with 'Inappropriate contact during approved leave' in the subject line. 'Dear HR, I'm writing to formally complain about Laura contacting my mother and me during my approved holiday. Despite multiple notifications of my leave and an official confirmation from Laura, I was disturbed during my family vacation for a non-emergency matter,' Sam's email read. 'This is a severe breach of professional boundaries and has caused unnecessary stress for both me and my family. I request a meeting to discuss this issue upon my return. Thank you for your attention. Best, Sam.' However, the response he received was not what he expected. 'Dear Sam, thank you for your message. Laura has messaged us as well about this and we are just collating information before coming back to both of you and requesting evidence,' HR replied. Sam responded: 'Dear HR. That is crazy. Here are screenshots of our conversation approving my holiday as you can see Laura said, "No problem Sam, great work! Put it in the system". 'Then here are the screenshots of the holiday approval... and then here is the WhatsApp conversation between Laura and my phone, between my mum and Laura and then between myself and Laura.' Their heated messages were re-shared by Chris Donnelly, who reads out real-life stories from employees with 'toxic' bosses, on his social media channels. After talking to Sam directly, Chris confirmed that Laura was no longer with the company after experiencing a 'separate issue that was quite similar to Sam's'. Royal fans are furious at Meghan Markle's latest revelation after she insisted that her surname is 'Sussex,' despite the fact that she seems to have only visited the English county once and has no official surname as a member of the Royal Family. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, corrected her celebrity friend Mindy Kaling during the second episode of her Netflix cookery show, With Love, Meghan, which dropped on Tuesday. In the episode, Meghan and Kaling, shared a light-hearted moment as they chatted about their childhoods while assembling cucumber sandwiches. The two bonded over their shared love of fast food, with Meghan revealing her go-to spots as a 'latchkey kid' were chains like Pollo Loco, Taco Bell, and Jack In The Box. However, Kaling seemed to get under Meghan's skin when she quipped, 'I don't think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack In The Box and loves it.' Trying to mask her irritation with a forced smile, Meghan quickly corrected Kaling, saying, 'It's so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I'm Sussex now.' The awkward exchange continued as Meghan elaborated: 'You have kids and you go "No, I share my name with my children". 'I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go "This is OUR family name. Our little family name".' Kaling, clearly caught off guard by the correction, awkwardly responded, 'Well, now I know and I love it.' Trying to hide her frown with a smile, she replied: 'It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now' As Mindy looked confused, Meghan, who has only visited Sussex once, continued: 'You have kids and you go "No, I share my name with my children"' The Duchess's insistence on using her title as a surname has caused a stir among royal fans, with many questioning her decision to adopt 'Sussex' as her family name, despite the couple's limited connection to the county. One royal fan mused: 'Her name is NOT Meghan Sussex. Her name is technically Rachel Mountbatten-Windsor. Sussex is a county in England & part of a courtesy title-NOT her last name.' Another added: 'Meghan Markle married Henry Mountbatten Windsor not Harry Sussex! She's a delusional woman.' While a third was shocked at how Meghan had hit out at her friend: 'So who criticizes a guest like that? And her last name is not Sussex. Wouldn't it be Mountbatten-Windsor?' A fourth wrote: '"Duchess of Sussex" is a courtesy title she holds only through her marriage. It is not her surname and I'm quite sure she doesn't have '"Meghan Sussex" on her California drivers license. Legally her last name should be Mountbatten-Windsor.' While Meghan and Prince Harry have only visited Sussex once since receiving the Duke and Duchess titles in 2018, Meghan has repeatedly referred to 'Sussex' as part of her and Harry's 'love story'. The show is a make-or-break moment for the Sussexes, who signed a deal with Netflix in 2020 Speaking to People magazine ahead of the launch of her new show, Meghan revealed that the 'Sussex' name has taken on added significance since the birth of their children, Archie and Lilibet. 'It's our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn't recognised how meaningful that would be to me until we had children,' Meghan explained. 'I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.' The Duchess, who dropped her maiden name of Markle when she married Prince Harry, further explained that, as a member of the Royal Family, she did not officially have a surname. Instead, royals traditionally use their titles in place of surnames. This is why Meghan's official title is 'Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.' 'With Love, Meghan' lands on Netflix is aimed at showing a new side to the Duchess of Sussex Meghan holds a chicken during an episode of her new Netflix show which came out today It has been well-documented that Meghan's move away from royal duties and her relocation to California has led to calls for the Sussexes' titles to be stripped. Prince William and Princess Kate did the same thing for their children and George, Charlotte and Louis all used the surname Cambridge when they started school - their titles before the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Both brothers Harry and William used the surname Wales during their time at school, the Army and the RAF, the title held by Charles and Diana at the time. Meghan said her new eight-part Netflix show, which launched today, had helped her to 'find herself' again. But despite her huge two-million-strong following on social media, she insisted she instead saw as a 'female founder' and 'entrepreneur' rather than an influencer. The series has been filmed inside an $8million (5million) mansion on a sprawling estate just two miles from the Sussexes' Montecito home. Kmart's bold new homewares range is unlike anything they've done before - and insiders are already convinced it's going to be a sell-out. Kmart is continuing its First Nations program in collaboration with well-known Indigenous artist, Rachael Sarra, and this week unveiled the new breathtaking Spirit Entwining homewares collection. The 'thoughtfully curated' range will launch on 13 March and include bed linen, home decor, dining, and on-trend furnishings inspired by current must-haves. Drawing from her roots as a proud First Nations woman from Goreng Goreng Country, the humble and exceptionally talented Rachael Sarra is famed for art that tells powerful stories. Her signature contemporary style, infused with vibrant pinks and purples, invites emotions ranging from calm reflection to energetic inspiration - all while remaining deeply connected to her culture. Wanting to make her in-demand prints more accessible to fans, the partnership with Kmart was a no-brainer. And the spectacular result is reflective of her passion. A result of a close and collaborative partnership between Rachael and Kmart's locally led design team in Melbourne, the collection honours the cultural significance and purpose behind each piece and authentically represents Rachael's vision. Kmart's bold new homewares range is unlike anything they've done before - and insiders are already convinced it's a guaranteed sell-out. The $12 vase (back) is set to be the hottest item The 'thoughtfully curated' range will launch on 13 March and include bed linen, home decor, dining, and on-trend furnishings inspired by current must-haves The collection honours the cultural significance and purpose behind each piece and authentically represents Rachael's vision. The vibrant pink bedspreads will add a striking contrast in tonal rooms while the $12 vases are available in purple hues that perfectly complement natural floral arrangements. One vase has been a stand-out to those who have seen it in person, with many certain it's only a matter of time before it sells out nationwide. Offering a harmonious blend of practicality and beauty, the dining range includes eye-catching serve ware that brings to life the simplest meals with elegant, scalloped edging. Meanwhile, mini lamps, etched flourish glasses, beautiful prints and intoxicating candles make for the perfect finishing touch on any home. 'Partnering with Kmart has been a deeply rewarding experience. This collection reflects my heritage and story in a way that feels bold, accessible, and true to my vision,' Rachael said. 'Kmart's unwavering dedication to authenticity and cultural respect throughout this journey has been profoundly meaningful to me. 'I believe in the power that art plays to tell a story and to allow people to explore complex ideas in an engaging and inclusive way. As a First Nations artist from Goreng Goreng Country, I draw on my heritage to produce pieces that are steeped in culture, while being contemporary and future facing.' Kmart's Head of Community, Trish Briggs, said the new range is something the entire team is exceptionally proud of. Meanwhile, mini lamps, etched flourish glasses, beautiful prints and intoxicating candles make for the perfect finishing touch on any home Offering harmonious blend of practicality and beauty, the dining range includes eye-catching serve ware that brings to life the simplest meals with elegant, scalloped edging Kmart's Head of Community, Trish Briggs, said the new range is something the entire team is exceptionally proud of 'We are constantly working towards being a trusted and credible partner of First Nations peoples, and this collaboration with Rachael Sarra is a testament to our commitment,' she said. 'Due to the size of our business, we have a unique opportunity to celebrate Indigenous artists, share their talents and amplify their storytelling through our products and inspire and educate both our customers and our team members.' The collection will be available in store and online from March 13. If I had a dollar for every time a woman was accused of 'sleeping her way to the top' I'd be fighting Jeff Bezos for the No. 1 spot on the Fortune 500 list. And don't get me wrong, I love a bit of tawdry gossip as much as the next person. But having felt the full force of its effects when untrue, I can tell you firsthand how a malicious rumour can impact not only your mental health but also your career. This week, as I watched the Mary Kate Cornett 'scandal' snowball into something much larger than idle gossip, I was reminded of my own experience. For those who have been living under a rock, Mary Kate is at the eye of an internet storm that just won't go away. The 18-year-old student at Ole Miss (that's University of Mississippi for non-Americans) found herself at the centre of false claims she had an affair with her boyfriend Evan's father. The story spread like wildfire thanks to social media and bro podcasters fanning the flames. The Cornett family has called the whole thing a 'malicious, organised attack' and insist there is no truth to it. Mary Kate's boyfriend has also stated the rumour is completely false. But it gets even messier because trolls didn't just stop at gossip. They went as far as publishing her phone number and home address, sparking serious safety concerns, with even the FBI now involved. Now, Mary Kate has launched a GoFundMe to help 'establish a foundation focused on helping innocent victims of similar defamatory cyber attacks,' adding: 'Zero money raised here will be used for personal purposes.' As I watched it all unfold, I couldn't help but commend Mary Kate's bravery for taking a stand. I've seen so many women curl up into a ball, block their ears and pray for similar false rumours to go away. But having been through it myself, I know one thing for certain: once you're tarred with the 'affair' brush, the stain doesn't just fade. A few years ago, I worked with a man who thought he was invincible... until he got caught in a scandal. This week, as I watched the Mary Kate Cornett 'scandal' snowball into something much larger than idle gossip, I was reminded of my own experience, writes Mail+ columnist Jana Hocking The 18-year-old student at Ole Miss (that's University of Mississippi for non-Americans) found herself at the centre of false claims she had an affair with her boyfriend Evan's father He very publicly made a fool of himself and, for a brief period of time, found himself on newspaper front pages for all the wrong reasons. Now, if you've ever worked with a man high on power, you'll know they don't take their falls from grace lightly. Rather than directing his anger at his colleagues in the media who were calling him out, he decided to take it out on me, his lowly female employee, who he assumed wouldn't fight back. During an ad break of the show we were working on, he strutted out of the studio, planted himself in front of my desk, and - right in front of my fellow producers - said smugly, 'You didn't think to tell old mate not to have a go at me on his radio station?' I looked at him, confused. Of course, I had no say over what other people put to air on their own shows. And given that my radio host was front-page news at the time, obviously, everyone would be talking about him - rightfully so. I said, 'No, obviously not.' That's when he rolled his eyes and sneered, 'Oh come on, Jana. We all know you're f**king him.' Then, before I even had a chance to respond - jaw on the floor - he turned and walked straight back into the studio. Everyone was staring at me. I've seen so many women curl up into a ball, block their ears and pray for similar false rumours to go away. But having been through it myself, I know one thing for certain: once you're tarred with the 'affair' brush, the stain doesn't just fade, writes Jana Side note: The man in question was a friend and mentor. There had never been anything remotely romantic between us. He was - and still is - a happily married man. Tears stung my eyes, but I knew I had to act fast. I had just been slut-shamed for something I hadn't done. I got up, walked to another room, and, with shaking hands, called my boss to tell them what had just happened. I was acutely aware that rumours like this destroy careers - and in one sentence, mine had been put on the chopping block. I tearfully explained what had happened and was told to 'address it with him directly'. Yep. I was told to handle this deeply unprofessional attack with my attacker. Looking back, there were a lot of men higher up who were afraid of him. Even now, that blows my mind. But if you've been reading my column for a while, you'll know I don't take kindly to bullies. I grew up with one, and the only thing it taught me was that the only way to fight a bully is to match their energy. No tears. These men don't respond to tears - they assume they've won. You have to match them with fire. When I walked back into the airlock, he took one look at my face and knew he was in big trouble. Minutes later, he sent me a text: 'Janaaaaaa. Sorry if I made you sad angry pissed. I was only joking, but as usual, went too far. Sorry.' Did he come out and apologise publicly, in front of the team he had just humiliated me in front of? No. Like a coward, he sent a text claiming it was all a 'joke'. A decade of hard work almost ruined - because a man, angry at someone else, needed an easy target. I demanded a public apology. The next day, he called a meeting, where he mumbled some half-baked 'we've all got to do better' nonsense. Excuse me? We?! I was done. I moved departments and a month later he was fired for another similar incident. That was that. But it wasn't. You see, the industry never forgets. A few months later, at an industry awards night, I found myself dealing with another attack. This time, from a drunk woman who, after slurring at me for not remembering her name, loudly called me a 'slut who was sleeping with' the same married man. Yes, just as I had presumed, the rumour had not been shut down at all; instead it had spread like wildfire though my industry. She had the gall to say it in front of my former boss. In front of my peers. In front of colleagues I respected. And just like that, the rumour mill churned again. All because of the ramblings of a woman who couldn't even stand straight. Thankfully my old boss shut it down immediately, but I was exhausted. This was the second time my reputation had been put on the line because someone else needed a scapegoat. The next morning, I reported the incident. My boss had already heard about it, naturally. I was told to 'laugh it off and forget about it'. But I was done forgetting. I took it further, and eventually, I received a half-hearted email apology from the drunk that went like this: 'Hi Jana, I hope you're well and having a good week. I just wanted to drop a quick note to apologise for the conversation we had at the [awards night]. It certainly was not the right environment for anything other than a space for people to celebrate and enjoy themselves and I'm sorry this was not the case. I look forward to us moving forward and having a positive and respectful working relationship. Thank you.' For the record, there was no conversation. Just her spitting venom at me for forgetting her name. A month later, she resigned from the company. Mary Kate Cornett's family say she is suffering 'horribly' because of the coordinated viral campaign and have now brought in an attorney So what was the lesson in all this? Fight back. Since then, I've built a career free from 'sleeping her way to the top' rumours - but only because I shut them down at the source. Why is a man's go-to weapon always slut-shaming? And why do women - who should know better - join in? Can't they just take their anger out on a punching bag like a sane person? So, to Mary Kate, I say this: Bravo. Keep fighting. I'll be backing you all the way, because trust me, I know just how quickly a reputation can be smashed to smithereens. Here's to more women standing up for themselves, even when we really shouldn't have to. And men: get a new line. Your trick is getting old. Really old. Melania Trump 'beamed like a smitten teenager' as she watched her husband deliver his joint address to Congress celebrating his return to the White House. The once hard-to-read First Lady is embracing the limelight unlike she ever has before, signaling a newfound confidence within the world of politics, body language expert Judi James told DailyMail.com. 'There was a moment of almost romantic affection,' James said, noting the specific moment Trump pointed up to Melania in the crowd. 'The woman who used to be known for her impassive demeanor beamed back like a smitten teenager. 'Trump name-checked his FLOTUS at the start of his speech and she got her own ovation, producing a cheek-rounded smile of authentic pride and pleasure.' As he addressed the packed room of Democrats, Republicans and their guests, Trump said: 'I want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care, community, she works so hard on it. 'Very loving person, our magnificent first lady of the United States.' 'In her charcoal gray power suit Melania was a more commanding and confident presence here than at any previous addresses,' James said. Melania Trump 'beamed like a smitten teenager' as she watched her husband deliver his joint address to Congress celebrating his return to the White House The once hard-to-read First Lady is embracing the limelight unlike she ever has before, signaling a newfound confidence within the world of politics, body language expert Judi James told DailyMail.com Melania brought several guests with her to the speech, including fifteen-year-old Elliston Berry and Haley Ferguson Melania looked glamorous in a dark gray Dior skirt suit with a belted jacket, a scarf and her signature stiletto heels. 'She had once looked stunned and surprised to hear herself applauded but this time she looked prepared for the cheers, clapping and ovation, basking in the personal adulation rather than hiding from it.' She left the White House with President Donald Trump and rode with him in the Beast for the short trip to Capitol Hill. The couple exited the White House holding hands and Trump clung to her. James said it was clear that Melania has been 'fully crowned as an active and essential part of Trump's reign.' 'This was the Melania of the new official portrait, someone who looks like a power player in her own right and someone far more comfortable to be exchanging rituals of affection and admiration with her husband in public.' Trump drew attention to several causes close to Melania's heart during his address: deepfake AI images and the Fostering the Future scholarship. Fifteen-year-old Elliston Berry from Aledo, was the victim of bullying and an AI-generated, sexually explicit 'deepfake' image. Her attendance as a guest of Melania Trump's is meant to bring awareness to the rise of these attacks. Melania looked glamorous in a dark gray Dior skirt suit with a belted jacket, a scarf and her signature stiletto heels As he addressed the packed room of Democrats, Republicans and their guests, Trump said: 'I want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care, community, she works so hard on it' Second Lady of the United States Usha Vance and First Lady of the United States Melania Trump shake hands Melania's other guest was Haley Ferguson, a former foster child who received a scholarship through one of Melania's campaigns. The scholarship is designed to prepare recipients 'to enter the workforce and ultimately reach financial independence.' James said: 'She paused... to acknowledge the wild ovation, standing with her arms hanging straight at her sides in a signal of confidence. 'Her flattened palm to the front wave was more a hail to the crowd and when her husband made his arrival she was seen standing applauding with her eyes gleaming.' Melania was joined by her stepchildren: Ivanka Trump with husband Jared Kushner, Don Jr. with girlfriend Bettina Anderson, Eric and Lara Trump, and Tiffany Trump and husband Michael Boulos. Her father Viktor Knavs was also at the speech. Usha Vance, the second lady, sat in the first lady's box. The first couple's son Barron, 18, is a freshman at New York University and has class this week so did not attend the speech. On Monday Melania was in the Capitol to relaunch her Be Best campaign. She joined lawmakers in speaking out against revenge porn and deep fakes generated by AI. Melania was beaming as her husband praised two of the women she brought as guests President Donald Trump and Melania Trump left the White House holding hands Second lady Usha Vance (left) and Melania Trump (right) at the president's speech Two of Trump's children, Ivanka and Don Jr. with their partners ahead of Trump's speech to Congress In her speech, she slammed Democrats for their lack of support on the issue. 'I expected to see more Democrat leaders with us here today to address this serious issue. Surely as adults, we can prioritize America's children ahead of partisan politics,' she said. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California was the only Democratic lawmaker at the event, which took place in the U.S. Capitol building. Republican Senator Ted Cruz hosted the event, in which lawmakers expressed support for his Take It Down Act. A 'proud gypsy' mother trolled for being 'dirty' proves she keeps the family house pristine by wrapping their furniture in plastic. Pashy Goldsmith, 42, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, explained how her family are 'often judged for being travellers' and say they have been called 'dirty thieves' and even rejected from pubs and shops because of how they look. The stay-at-home mother and content creator insisted people are quick to judge but their opinions would change if they visited her two-bedroom council house. House proud Pashy redecorates her front room every six months - costing her 10,000 a year - and spends 10 hours wiping, vacuuming, and mopping her yellow and grey-themed house from top to bottom every day. And in a more extreme measure to prevent her home from getting dirty, the mother-of-two revealed how she saves thousands by plastic-wrapping her furniture -including her sofas, chairs, and rugs - to keep them clean, as she claims to 'hate any sight of dirt'. After showcasing their home on TikTok, she and her landscaper husband, Ray, 41, have received mixed reactions for their design choices of giant faux flowers, blingy crystal ornaments, Roman style vases and designer sofas. But the pair have clapped back - saying they are 'very house proud' and they keep the place spotless. 'People are shocked when they visit our home,' Pashy said. Pashy Goldsmith, 42, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, trolled for being 'dirty' proves she keeps their house pristine by wrapping their furniture in plastic 'I think they're surprised that we don't live in trailers and that we respect our home - which is a huge part of our culture. 'When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is clean. 'When I see a speck of dust, I wipe it. When I see a mark on the wall, the paint comes out. 'Our furniture isn't cheap and neither are the ornaments and rugs, so we wrap them in plastic to protect them from getting dirty. 'People may think it's strange but I'm very house proud.' Pashy described the judgment she's faced for being a traveller and claims to have been forced to wait outside a fish and chip shop in 2024 as 'only non-travellers were allowed inside'. 'I went in there and I said, ''can I have this certain fish?' and the worker said, ''no, no, stand outside',' she said. 'And we had to stand outside when it was raining. House proud Pashy redecorates her front room every six months - costing her 10,000 a year - and spends 10 hours wiping, vacuuming, and mopping her yellow and grey-themed house from top to bottom every day On the more extreme side, the mother-of-two revealed how she saves thousands by plastic-wrapping her furniture -including her sofas, chairs, and rugs Children Patience, 13, and Tommy, three, have also been thought to clean from a young age 'But non-travellers were walking in that fish and chip shop, ordering their food, and she was laughing and talking away with them. 'As soon as you walk into a pub, a restaurant, or even the fish and chip shop, they can tell what you are. 'They don't give us a chance, and people treat us like filth.' Pashy grew up in Thistlebrook, Abbey Wood - on one of London's largest travelling sites - and as part of her culture, says she's been told from a young age to look after her home. Eventually, Pashy moved to a quaint village in Kent, outside of Royal Tunbridge Wells, in 2004, with her husband - who she first met in 2000. The pair started dating after Ray had invited Pashy to a millennium party with his family and asked her out - they eventually tied the knot in 2018. The couple now live in a two-bed house with their children - Patience, 13, and Tommy, three - and Pashy shares videos online debunking misconceptions about what it means to be a traveller. She explains how 'cleanliness is a top priority for gypsies' and that they 'treat their home like it's a castle'. After showcasing their home on TikTok , she and her landscaper husband, Ray, 41, (pictured) have received mixed reactions for their design choices The pairs home is decorated with giant faux flowers, blingy crystal ornaments, Roman style vases and designer sofas The pair have clapped back - saying they are 'very house proud' and they keep the place spotless Pashy and Ray showcased their immaculately kept and organised home For the family of four, this means redecorating their front room every six months - spending roughly 10,000 a year on new furniture, paint, and tools The family spent 7,400 on two discounted Versace sofas for this year's look The same goes for Pashy's yellow rugs - which aren't the first she's covered in plastic, admitting that she has spare rugs in the loft, just in case she wants to switch to another colour Pashy admits people have been left 'confused' by her design and living choices - and she's clapped back to people who have said it 'looks tacky' and 'uncomfortable' Pashy said people think they are 'dirty', but don't know how much effort they put into maintaining and cleaning their home For the family of four, this means redecorating their front room every six months - spending roughly 10,000 a year on new furniture, paint, and tools, including 7,400 on two discounted Versace sofas for this year's look. 'People think we are dirty, but don't know how much effort we put into maintaining and cleaning our home,' Pashy said. 'There's a lot of money and work that goes into it - your home should be your most valuable possession and I've been taught to respect and care for it. 'That's why a lot of our furniture is covered in plastic. 'We wanted things to last and with a three-year-old child, you fear things may get scratched, drawn on or broken.' The same goes for Pashy's yellow rugs - which aren't the first she's covered in plastic, admitting that she has spare rugs in the loft, just in case she wants to switch to another colour. She added: 'The plastic doesn't bother any of us and I may remove it when the kids get older. 'But it keeps things safe and protected - and has saved us thousands in damages, replacements and washing costs. I don't think we'll be in a hurry to take it off.' Pashy admits people have been left 'confused' by her design and living choices - and she's clapped back to people who have said it 'looks tacky' and 'uncomfortable'. 'People are way too quick to judge and don't understand our culture fully and how much we strive to keep things tidy,' she said. 'We don't tell other people how they should decorate their homes, so no one should be telling me how to do mine.' Her children even help around the house too - by wiping the side tops and dusting frequently. The three-year-old also helps with picking up rubbish and running the hoover around the floors. 'My daughter has been cleaning since she was six years old and my son, who is three, has started now and they love it,' she added. 'It's part of gypsy culture and I want people to stop thinking we're dirty thieves who aren't good enough. 'We all come from the same place. There's good and bad in everyone. 'Please don't judge us, before you even know us.' PrettyLittleThing shoppers have hit out at brand after it unveiled a dramatic rebrand on Monday - with some calling the new clothes 'ugly' and 'not inclusive'. The UK-based fast fashion brand company completely wiped their Instagram of all posts last week, leaving its 18 million-strong following baffled. The company is known for churning out hundreds of items every week and its distinctive colourful, trendy and cheap clothing. But now the creative team seem to have embarked on a huge U-turn, as the garments on display are now all in neutral colours and 'conservative' styles, consisting of turtleneck tops, pleated skirts and ruched dresses that fall to just below the knee. The brand has also updated its logo from eye-catching pink unicorns to a more understated burgundy with PLT lettering in cursive handwriting. But not everyone has been left convinced by the creative changes, with some fans even declaring that the brand is 'entering its flop era'. Others slammed the business for upping its prices despite using the same materials, while mimicking other brands such as Zara and the ventures of former creative director Molly Mae Hague in Maebe. The price increases, combined with sizes only going up to 16, have led people to accuse the brand of not taking an 'inclusive' approach. People have slammed PLT for upping its prices despite using mainly plastic in some garments, with some even accusing the brand of using Molly-Mae's company, Maebe, as inspiration. Pictured: Mary Mandefield on TikTok British content creator Leah Tezila said the 'Zarafication of fashion brands has to stop', and criticised PLT for stating that it's for 'every type of It-girl' when they only go up to a size 16 in their main range. She said: 'The price point has increased making it less accessible to its main consumer. The plus size range is insulting in comparison to the normal range. 'I'm also of the opinion that we don't need to have a separate plus size range it's 2025, you can literally just have the increase in sizes shown on [other products]. 'It's getting harder to buy because it's getting harder to live. More bad fabric, with some of us such as bigger people or less able bodied people being able to have the privilege to shop elsewhere means consuming more fabric and other environmentally unfriendly materials.' Harriet Wright added that PrettyLittleThing have 'completely abandoned their core customer' by switching to 'beige and boring' clothes. She said: 'Who at PLT thought they could go dark on social media for a couple of days, bring out the most beige and boring clothes, hike their prices and give us clothes that nobody asked for and think it was going to be a hit?' 'I think they're going to have to go back to the drawing board because I don't think this is going to be enough to take them out of their flop era.' Others likened the revamp to Molly Mae Hague's brand, Maebe, which launched in September last year uses signature neutral shades of brown, nude, black and white hues in all its clothing. The products on offer at the PrettyLittleThing website in January 2025, before the rebrand The PrettyLittleThing website on Wednesday, two days after the rebrand was revealed CEO Umar spoke to Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett about the rebrand in a video that was released on Monday The influencer was previously creative director at PLT but left in June 2023 after welcoming her daughter, Bambi. One person wrote on Twitter: 'Sorry PLT's rebrand is giving Maebe?' Influencer Chloe Taylor pointed that the new clothing options were listed for 'double the price' than what the usually would go for. Following the update, dresses on the website are listed at upwards of 50, a far cry from their infamous and widely criticised '99 per cent off sales', where garments would sometimes go for as low as 8p. Chloe said: 'It's less accessible for customers but fills your pockets even more. 'Even though I completely disagree with the ethics and morals of PLT as a brand, but the old PLT actually provided for a particular price point which meant people with a particular income could still dress in a stylish manner.' The PLT Instagram account now only follows billionaire CEO Umar Kamani, who was born in Manchester, and said a 'big announcement' would follow at the start of the week. Umar, who returned to the brand last September after stepping down a year prior, said: 'People talk about the old PLT, this PLT is going to be far better.' Shoppers also took to X, formerly Twitter, to discuss the relaunch, with some saying they felt it looked like Molly-Mae's brand, Maebe Nada Kamani and billionaire CEO of PLT Umar Kamani pictured at the V&A Summer Party 2024 The entrepreneur spoke to Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett about the rebrand and asked him about why he decided to change all the elements of the brand. 'I feel a bit emotional, because I don't like where we got to,' he said while tearing up. Also speaking with Drapers about the PLT shift, Umar said: 'I think what happened with the brand for a couple of years is we stopped listening. 'And thats where the brand lost its identity. In coming back, what Ive tried to do is to clean everything up and redefine ourselves.' Umar also added that while PLT used to focus on 'getting the product on the site at the absolute cheapest price we could,' they now want to shift to make their products 'better quality'. He said: 'What weve done now is not to focus on having a dress on site at 4 but having a dress thats thicker, not see-through and a better fit. We are using better fabrics and better finishes.' It appears that PLT have faced financial trouble over the past couple of years, after it's revenue was slashed from 634.1million to 475.8million according to City.Am, who looked at accounts filed with Companies House in November 2024. Harriet Wright also posted her opinion about the rebrand online and that they have 'completely abandoned their core customer' British content creator Leah Tezila criticised PLT for stating that it's for 'every type of It-girl' when they only go up to a size 16 in their main range Mary Mandefield urged their customers to become more sustainable by swapping clothes with their friends Umar was seen tearing up and said he felt 'emotional' because he didn't like where the brand got to The products available on the PrettyLittleThing website on Wednesday The products available to buy on Molly-Mae's Maebe website on Wednesday Molly-Mae (pictured last month) was the creative director of PLT until she left the role in June 2023 TikToker Sophie claimed that this rebrand has meant that she can no longer send her items back as the new returns policy meant her time had lapsed As of Wednesday, the old and new branding states that the returns policy is 28 days As of Wednesday, the PrettyLittleThing website says the returns policy is now 14 days The outlet also reported that for the year to February 29, 2024, PLT fell to a pre-tax loss of 6.5million. Although the prices have seemingly shot up, the quality has appeared to stay the same, as much of their new range continues to use materials such as polyester. On TikTok, Mary Mandefield urged PLT shoppers to become more sustainable by swapping clothes with their friends, going to charity shops and even going on Depop to purchase clothes that are going to last, instead of continuing to buy from the fast fashion brand. She added: 'When will people come along and not create a new brand and not rebrand an existing brand but actually just talk to the girlies, the everyday woman who wants to look nice on a Saturday night.' It also appears that PLT has altered its returns policy, meaning that customers only have 14 days since receiving their item to return it. This has seemingly dropped down from 28 days. TikToker Sophie claimed that this rebrand has meant that she can no longer send her items back as the new returns policy meant her time had lapsed. She said: 'I bought some items prior to the rebrand, I've not returned them within 14 days because I thought I had longer. I was under the impression that I had longer but I've gone on the portal and it won't let me return them.' PrettyLittleThing has been contacted for comment. A father and son from Brazil have shared their gender transition story online as they become mother and daughter. Raphael and Gustavo Batista, 10, from Sao Paolo, Brazil, were born with female biological characteristics but now both identify as male. Gustavo was the first to start his transition at the age of four which gave Raphael the 'strength and courage' to also face the transition. Raphael, 38, stopped identifying as female last year and asked to be referred to as male. In September, Raphael posted a clip on Instagram in which he discussed gender identity. The clip was captioned, translated from Portuguese: 'If I have dysphoria in my body? And the answer is yes.' Asked if Gustavo influenced him, Raphael told G1: 'It didn't have any influence, but he [Gustavo] gave me strength and courage to face [the transition].' The pair share their inspiring story with their nearly 25,000 Instagram followers and many are supporting them in their journey. The father and son have previously spoken out against people using their 'dead names' - the names they went by when they identified as women. Raphael (right) and Gustavo Batista, 10, (left) from Sao Paolo, Brazil, who both transitioned from mother and daughter share their journey online 'Even though it is our right to have the social name respected in practice, respect rarely happens in fact,' the caption reads as translated into English. Gustavo, who is a student, also works as an actor and has played both transgender and cisgender characters in films. Gustavo is treated at the Transdisciplinary Outpatient Clinic for Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Pediatric Endocrinology Unit at the Children's Institute of the Hospital das Clinicas in Sao Paulo. In the UK, puberty blockers were banned indefinitely for children under-18 who think they are transgender in December because of safety concerns. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) published expert advice that there is 'currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children'. The commission recommended indefinite restrictions while work is done to ensure the safety of children and young people. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said there is a need to 'act with caution' and 'follow the expert advice' in caring for this 'vulnerable group of young people'. 'Children's healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people,' he said. 'Dr Cass's review also raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments. We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice. 'We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need.' 'We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.' Gustavo was the first to start their transition at the age of four which gave Raphael the 'strength and courage' to also face the transition (pictured before Raphael's transition) Raphael, 38, stopped identifying as female last year and asked to be referred to as male The pair share their inspiring story with their nearly 25,000 Instagram followers and many are supporting them in their journey Dr Hilary Cass, who wrote the Cass Review into children's gender care and published her final report in April, described puberty blockers as 'powerful drugs with unproven benefits and significant risks'. She said: 'That is why I recommended that they should only be prescribed following a multi-disciplinary assessment and within a research protocol. 'I support the Government's decision to continue restrictions on the dispensing of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria outside the NHS where these essential safeguards are not being provided. Last year the militant doctors union sparked outrage by vowing to fight the introduction of the landmark Cass review into NHS gender identity services for children. The British Medical Association revealed it will form its own group of members and trans patients to 'publicly critique' the inquiry's findings and bring its own influence on policy. It is opposed to the planned ban on puberty blockers being prescribed to what it said are 'victimised' trans children. The BMA's governing council voted to take action in a private meeting earlier this month but the union only disclosed the result. Leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass made more than 30 recommendations to overhaul NHS services in a bid to improve care offered to trans children. Her report, published last April, took almost four years to produce and found children 'caught in the middle' of a toxic row over treatment have been set on a path to irreversible change. She warned evidence for the use of puberty blockers and hormones relied heavily on 'shaky foundations' and associated guidelines were not supported by science. The news comes after the landmark Cass Report warned children questioning their gender had been let down by a lack of research and remarkably weak evidence on medical interventions. In March, NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow deferred starting new patients on puberty hormone suppressants and gender-affirming hormones. Then, in May, NHS Lothian paused all referrals to surgery and assessment appointments so as to allow for extensive reviews. Restrictions were subsequently lifted. Scottish Conservative equalities spokesperson Tess White MSP said: The number of under-18s referred for specialist procedures is especially concerning. And at a time when NHS waiting lists in Scotland are sky-high, taxpayers will ask why such significant sums were spent funding these procedures in NHS England. Susan Buchanan, Director of National Services Directorate at NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) said: All patients referred for surgery are carefully assessed by healthcare professionals, considering individual patient needs and circumstances. The Scottish Government said not all patients who are referred proceed to surgery following their consultation. A movie memorabilia obsessive has revealed how the bath that featured in one of cinema's most bizarre scenes is now installed in his home - but he can't take a celebratory soak in it. Collector Kyle Harvey, from Massillon, Ohio, snapped up the tub that appeared in psychological thriller Saltburn at auction back in September and drove 16 hours to collect it. The white bath featured in the film's shocking finale, where Barry Keoghan's character Oliver Quick is seen slurping lustfully at the bathwater that the object of his fascination, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) had previously ejaculated into. The eyebrow-raising scene went viral on Tiktok shortly after the film, directed by Emerald Fennell, was released in 2023. Film fanatic Harvey paid $4,375 (3,410) for the bath - including the stained drain licked by Keoghan - at auction last year. He also paid $8,125 (6,333) for a embroided suit with antlers worn by Keoghan's Oliver during a party scene. The eccentric film follows Oxford University scholar Oliver, who is struggling to fit in with his plummy pals who have all been brought up with a silver spoon firmly in their mouths. Oliver strikes up a friendship and infatuation with toff Felix, who invites him to his family's regal estate, Saltburn, for the summer break. Was the duck included? The bathtub that was used in the iconic scene in Saltburn, that saw Barry Keoghan's character Oliver Quick, was sold to collector Kyle Harvey for just over $4,000 last year The scene saw Keoghan's character licking the bathwater, which aristocrat Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) had ejaculated into, from the drain The final scene, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder on the Dancefloor playing out, sees Oliver reign supreme over the aristocrats at Saltburn manor and partaking in a naked victory dance after vacating the tub. Has the collector bathed in the bath? That would be difficult because the tub has a large hole in it - cut to enable Barry Keoghan to be filmed face on during that final scene. Harvey told the New York Times he's delighted with the purchase, saying he's more than a little starstruck to have it in his own home: 'I just look at it. Im looking at it right now. Barry Keoghan was right there, its so crazy to me.' He admitted though that he hadn't yet told his parents why the bathtub was in his house - and its unusual backstory. The passionate film fan now has a collection of around 200 items that he's bought at auctions and sales, including a diner sign from cult horror film Friday the 13th and outfits worn by Lady Gaga in 2021 film House of Gucci. In Fennell's explosive thriller, alongside the bath scene, there was also the grave scene - in which Oliver simulates sex at Felix's burial plot. Keoghan said after filming that the weird sex scene was never actually in the original script. Director Emerald Fennell revealed they added the disturbing moment later on, meaning she was forced to clear the set as Barry 'unzipped' and 'let his body lead the way'. Keoghan explained: 'On paper, he wasnt written to do that. But I wanted to see what actually happened, where I would take it. The film ended with Keoghan performing a naked dance as Oliver reigns supreme over the Saltburn house and the toff who once lived there Released in 2023, Saltburn's quirky plot set tongues wagging and propelled its main actors to mainstream stardom Another bizarre scene included Oliver making love to the grave where his murdered friend Felix was laid to rest 'I wanted to be confused and let my body lead the way. What am I doing? How can I get closer?' The appetite for film memorabilia continues to grow as fans snap up items from blockbusters they've loved. In December, a Star Wars superfan revealed he had been forced to sell his 1 million haul of cinematic items because it had become too 'enormous'. Luke Kaye from Swindon, whose name is now Luke Skywalker, had one of the biggest Star Wars collections in the world and auctioned them off in two sales in December and January. The 56-year-old once held the Guinness World Record for the UK's largest Star Wars memorabilia set for his vast set of toys. The father-of-five had been amassing the collection, which is now large enough to fill a warehouse, since the age of 13. Luke Kaye (Pictured) from Swindon revealed in December that he was planning to sell his beloved 1 million Star Wars memorabilia collection because it had got too large The father-of-five has been amassing the collection, which was large enough to fill a warehouse, since the age of 13 before sales in December and January to offload it 'Every penny' Luke earned was funnelled into the huge collection dedicated to the franchise. He said ahead of the sales: 'Because my name is Luke, I thought I was Luke Skywalker when I saw the films for the first time 'I thought he was a hero - that film just took everybody by storm. The goodies, the baddies, monsters, furry creatures - it had a bit of everything!' But his 'lifetime' passion has extended into real life as he became friends with Carrie Fisher who even stayed at his family home and mentioned him in her book. The mega-fan also became friendly with the likes of Mark Hamil and Peter Mayhew - who played Chewbacca. Further meetings with her in Milton Keynes, London and America followed. An influencer was left baffled after she went to the 'poshest farm shop' in the UK and paid an eye-watering 37 for just four items. Isobel Lorna, from London, travelled to Daylesford organic farm shop to get some snacks with her friend but admitted that she was worried about what her final bill would come to. She had a hankering for some crisps, but after scouring the store, she realised packets available were the upmarket Torres. While a share bag of Walkers will set you back 2 in most supermarkets, the artisanal potato chips were priced at a whopping 6.75. The store did not have cheese and onion or ready salted, but rather caviar, olive oil and truffle flavours. 'These are the only crisps I could find,' Isobel said, while digging through the fancy wicker baskets. Daylesford, based in the Cotswolds, also produces its own chocolate bars and is selling one garnished with vibrant viola flowers for 15. Also available to buy online, the 90g organic milk cocoa bar is described as 'almost too beautiful to eat'. Isobel Lorna, from London , travelled to Daylesford organic farm shop to get some snacks with her friend Isobel - who stepped into the store wearing her Hermes handbag - and her friend also wanted to get some cookies and decided to purchase the Daylesford organic bakewell cookies which had a staggering price tag of 9.25. It is described as an almond flavoured cookie with sour cherry Pieces, flaked almonds and white chocolate. The content creator next went on the hunt for some caffeine and therefore went searching the fridges for a suitable iced coffee. She was shocked when she found the 'world's smallest coffee' for 6.50, which was billed as an 'iced latte smoothie'. Upon walking to the checkout, she said: 'I am scared about the total of this. 37 for four items, this is literally daylight robbery.' The total cost of the four items she bought came to a whopping 37.90, which is the cost of some people's weekly food shop at a regular supermarket. In the caption, Isobel wrote: 'I almost fainted at the checkout' The clip racked up almost 300,000 views and many comments from people who were shocked about the cost of Isobel's food. One wrote: 'Had to remortgage the house for a wedge of cheddar and a courgette the other day.' The store did not have cheese and onion or ready salted, but rather caviar, olive oil and truffle flavours The clip racked up almost 300,000 views and many comments from people who were shocked about the cost of Isobel's food Another penned: 'Absolute bl***dy con that place, and the food is barely average.' A third said: 'Waste of money.' A fourth commented: 'Maybe because I live in New York but these aren't the worst. Erewhon is like this.' Erewhon is a supermarket that is loved by celebrities and is known for its ridiculously priced items, such as charging $50 for two soups and $29.99 for ice cubes. The selection of flavours includes chicken matzo ball, lentils, turkey chilli, mighty greens, chicken vegetable, and chicken noodle soup - all of which are organic. Celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Gisele Bundchen, Emma Chamberlain, Kourtney Kardashian and Tinx have all had collaborations with Erewhon's smoothie bar. Daylesford organic farm shop was contacted for comment by MailOnline. A woman who discovered her boyfriend had been unfaithful has divided opinion on social media after filming the moment she enacted her petty revenge. Emely Zambrano from Arizona spent hours crafting the ultimate 'payback' ploy after stumbling across multiple conversation threads on his phone with various women. She soon went to great lengths to remind him of his infidelity, printing screenshots of pictures, texts and videos exchanged between her partner and each woman - before supergluing the pages to his bedroom wall. In a video posted to her TikTok account, @zambranoemmy, Emely captured the process of 'redecorating' his room before flaunting the final result of her 'masterpiece.' The beginning of the clip showed the young woman flicking through what appeared to be hundreds of pieces of paper filled with suggestive selfies and text threads. In a voiceover, Emely announced: 'I decided to redecorate my boyfriend's room. He has been cheating with not one, not two, but three lovely ladies.' She explained how, over the course of four days, she collected and printed out 'all the evidence' of her boyfriend's illicit endeavours. Recording a visit to her local Home Depot store, Emely purchased a can of superglue 'spray paint,' before returning back to the man's home to begin crafting his 'lovely new wallpaper.' Emely Zambrano from Arizona spent hours crafting the ultimate 'pay back' ploy after stumbling across multiple conversation threads on his phone with various women Time-lapsed footage captured the woman sitting on her boyfriend's bed as she patiently cut each sheet of paper to size, before spraying them with glue and pinning each one to the wall. Emely claimed the entire process took 'about two hours', but insisted it was 'definitely worth it'. The end result showed a sea of pictures with blue and green text message threads strewn across the entire length of the bedroom wall - with little room left for gaps. In a final act of petty revenge, Emely also 'made sure' to glue dozens of printouts to his floor-length mirror 'so he won't be able to look at himself after this,' before adding: 'Now, any girl that comes over will know he's a cheater.' The video divided dozens of viewers in the comments, with many hailing the woman's plan 'genius' while others condemned her 'unhinged' actions. One person wrote, 'Absolutely genius!!!! He is losing his deposit,' whilst another said, 'What a revenge.' Another person commented, 'Would love to see his face,' as another added, 'You dodged a bullet girl. 'Get in touch with the other girls and y'all can come up with another prank together.' The end result showed a sea of pictures and blue and green text message threads strewn across the entire length of the bedroom wall - with little room left for gaps The video divided dozens of viewers in the comments, with many hailing the woman's plan 'genius' while others condemned her 'unhinged' actions However, others seemed to disagree with Emely's plan, as one person barked: 'You doing too much!' A second wrote, 'That's unhinged,' while a third speculated, 'How does someone have time. obviously something missing on both ends.' Another viewer added: 'This is what revenge looks like for sour girls. Remember, it goes both ways. And you have to own what your deeds.' Finally, one person mused: 'If he cheated with 3 women thinking he's gonna be p****d he gave you the key. hindsight buddy.' It comes after another TikToker went viral after revealing how she deported her undocumented boyfriend to Mexico because he cheated on her. The young woman claims to have discovered her ex's cheating ways while recently checking his cellphone to transfer pictures from a vacation and learning that he had been talking to another woman. The Texas resident recalled crying her sorrows in her bathroom and thinking about confronting him before she plotted her vengeance. 'I thought I am going to tell him what I saw, I am going to kick him out, but he is going to go to her,' the Texas resident said on a viral TikTok video that has more than 34 million views since last week. 'I was saying to myself, 'I helped you come to (the United States) and everything.' I felt like like was going to come out winning and I remember saying, 'I am going to return him to Mexico,' she added. 'I thought, 'If I tell him to go back to Mexico, obviously he is not dumb he was just going to leave my apartment and that would be it.' The Jonas Brothers are said to be struggling to secure sponsors for their upcoming event JonasCon, which is taking place in New Jersey in less than three weeks. JonasCon is described as 'a special one-day event' to celebrate Kevin, Joe, and Nick's 20th anniversary and will include live performances, DJ sets, Q&A panels, fan activations, pop-up surprises, as well as immersive experiences. The event will take place at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford on Sunday, March 23 from 11am until 11pm, but a source has claimed that it's been 'thrown together very quickly' and is 'turning into a mess.' Kevin, 36, Joe, 35, and Nick, 32, have allegedly only managed to lock in one sponsor - Fossil - for the day, and an insider reckons it's because of the cost to sign on. 'They thought they would easily get sponsors, but there's been an underwhelming response from big brands,' the source told The US Sun. 'The minimum you can spend to be a sponsor for JonasCon is $100,000, and so far they only have one sponsor signed on. 'I think Fossil spent a decent amount of money, but they spent a decent amount of money because Nick is already a brand ambassador,' the insider continued. 'They went on to reveal that the brothers and their team are 'pretty much putting this whole event together themselves,' but it's turned into a 'complete and chaotic mess.' The Jonas Brothers, seen here in June 2024, are said to be struggling to secure sponsors for their upcoming event JonasCon JonasCon is a 'special one-day event' set to take place on March 23 at the American Dream mall in New Jersey Despite JonasCon being less than three weeks away, the band's official website has very little details on what fans can expect and simply encourages them to register. 'More info on the activities across the day will be announced across the next couple of weeks. Register to be the first to know,' the website states in regards to the schedule. It also informs fans that while entry is free, registration is essential - but also claims there will be 'VIP options and additional paid ticketed activities.' Fans have been sharing their disappointment over the lack of information on Reddit, and some admitted they have made the decision not to attend now. 'Not surprised in the slightest that they haven't made anymore announcements for JonasCon,' one person wrote. 'Not that it ultimately matters, because with other events coming up, logistics of getting there, and lack of information for the event, my sister and I decided we aren't going, but I'm still keeping tabs on announcements just because I'm curious as to who/what will be there. 'Also considering the event is about two and a half weeks away, you'd assume they would have announced SOMETHING. I would not be shocked if it wound up getting cancelled with their track record,' they added. Other fans quickly replied as one said: 'I can't believe that there has not been any announcements at all.' Nick, Joe, and Kevin, pictured here in November 2024, are said to be struggling to secure sponsors for the upcoming event The American Dream mall is located in East Rutherford in the band's home state of New Jersey Another person admitted: 'I'm just relieved I didn't spend any money cuz I knew this would happen.' A third fan claimed: 'As Ive said before, Jonas marketing sucks and they need a better team.' And a fourth commented: 'Glad I wasn't the only one wondering. I got the "You're In" email a few weeks ago. I live in NJ so I haven't had to make any travel plans. Honestly, for a free event, I'm still mad it's a mess lol.' And someone else predicted: 'I think we'll either get an announcement with more details this Friday, OR it gets (indefinitely) "postponed".' DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for the Jonas Brothers asking for comment. Barack Obama was offered a role in season two of Severance but was forced to turn it down because of his busy schedule. Ben Stiller, the executive producer and director of the hit AppleTV+ psychological sci-fi thriller, revealed that he had approached the former president to see if he would lend his voice to the Lumon is Listening animated video shown to the Macrodata Refinement department. Sadly Obama, 63, had to decline the invitation and the part went to Keanu Reeves, 60, instead. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week, Stiller, 59, revealed: 'There was one person that I asked before [Keanu], and he said no.' He confirmed Obama was the other person and explained: 'I didn't ask him in person. 'I knew someone who knew his lawyer, and his lawyer said, "I can relay the request if you write an email", so I wrote this email to him saying, "Hey, we have this show... whatever." 'Two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama saying, "Hey Ben, big fan of the show, love season one, can't wait for season two. '"Don't think I have time in my schedule to make this happen."' Barack Obama was offered a role in season two of Severance but was forced to turn it down The hit Apple TV+ series stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, John Turturro and Brit Lower Stiller then jokingly added that he couldn't think of Obama doing anything 'more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance.' Nevertheless, the Zoolander actor noted that it was 'pretty cool' that Obama responded in the first place. Speaking to Kimmel, 57, Stiller went on to reveal how Reeves recorded the scene. He recalled: 'We did it like a full-on recording session. He was in LA, I was in New York, but he went into the studio and did multiple takes. 'He took it very seriously. 'He's just like the most warm and inviting voice. 'I don't know if when you see the building and hear his voice you necessarily immediately think that it's Keanu, but then I think you just have this innate sort of feeling.' Director Ben Stiller revealed he received an email from Obama turning down the invitation The voice role ended up going to Keanu Reeves instead Severance creator Dan Erickson echoed Stiller's comments in a previous interview with Collider. 'All I can say is that we talked about a couple of different people for that role,' he said. 'We always wanted it to be somebody that people have certain associations with, but also, it had to be a very warm presence. 'The Lumon building is very friendly in the context of this video, and there's a friendliness to that particular voice and a heart to that particular voice.' The Danish monarchs are currently carrying out a two-day visit to Finland Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark looked serious on Wednesday as they visited a garrison on the second day of their state visit to Finland. The royal couple's visit comes as the two countries have sealed a defence deal to strengthen Nordic security amid international tensions. On Wednesday, Mary, 53, and Frederik, 56, visited the Porkkala Garrison in Upinniemi, where they were welcomed for a tour. Frederik jumped into an armoured tank, taking it for a test drive and getting the opportunity to view the guns in the turret. Though the tanks themselves are made in Finland, their turrets are made by Danish company Sima Innovation. Frederik looked thoughtful as he entered the turret, listening carefully as he was told all about the armoured vehicle. The couple had wrapped up warm for the visit, with Mary adding a long navy puffer jacket on top of her smart attire. Frederik took a leaf out of his wife's book, himself wearing a smart navy coat over tailored trousers. The base is the largest naval station in the Gulf of Finland and houses the coastal brigade and a special operations unit. Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark showed their serious side as they visited a garrison on the second day of their state visit to Finland Frederik jumped into an armoured tank, taking it for a test drive and getting the opportunity to view the guns in the turret During the visit, an example of Finnish-Danish defense cooperation was presented with a Finnish military vehicle equipped with a Danish-produced turret (ringmount). The royal couple is on a state visit to Finland from March 4-5. Four ministers are also participating in the visit, which, in addition to official visits, particularly focuses on defense and preparedness due to the recent deal signed. Later on Wednesday, Mary and Frederik visited Aalto University in Helsinki and the Arkki School of Architecture for Children and Youth in Helsinki - where they heard about the children's projects, with Mary particularly interested in their sustainability, according to Danish media. The monarchs joined Finland's President Alexander Stubb and first lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb for a seminar on green financing at the Fiskars Group's headquarters in Espoo, bringing together Finnish and Danish investors and companies operating in the value chain of the green transition. Mary showed her fondness for bright tailoring, donning a tailored velvet double-breasted coat, and adding a chic black bag. On the first day of their visit, the Queen and King attended a gala dinner at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The Danish royal couple were hosted in the Finnish capital on Tuesday evening by the President of Finland Alexander Stubb and his Solihull-born attorney wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb. Looking effortlessly elegant, Queen Mary was dressed in a beautiful floor-length, embroidered gown with sheer sleeves and a wide, silk waist belt. The royal's gold belt bore a silver brooch with the Danish flag in the centre. The monarchs joined Finland's President Alexander Stubb and first lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb for a seminar on green financing The couple had wrapped up warm for the visit, with Mary adding a long navy puffer jacket on top of her smart attire Denmark's King Frederik visits Porkkala Garrison in Upinniemi, Finland Frederik looked thoughtful as he entered the turret, listening carefully as he was told all about the armoured vehicle Denmark's King Frederik and Queen Mary (not seen) along with the Finnish presidential couple, Alexander Stubb and his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb Later on, the royal couple visited Aalto University in Helsinki Mary showed her fondness for bright tailoring, donning a tailored velvet double-breasted coat, and adding a chic black bag The mother-of-four's dress had a black base and was decorated in floral patterns sewn in gold thread and finished with tiny pearls. On the left side, she had attached two medals, one containing a photograph of the Danish monarch - her husband - and the other featuring a red and gold cross. The Australian-born Danish queen wore a royal blue sash, which is often associated with the Order of the Elephant, a prominent Danish order of chivalry. She carried a miniature clutch bag in the same shade of blue with a diamante fastening. Mary accessorised her striking ensemble with a gold tiara set with jewels of different colours and a pair of ornate gold earrings encrusted with what appeared to be rubies. Once seated at a long dinner table adorned with pink and white flowers, President Stubb stood up to officially welcome his royal guests with a speech that amused King Frederik who stifled his laughter with his hand. Later, it was Frederik's turn to address the guests at the gala dinner, with the king donning a pair of black spectacles for the occasion. Meghan Markle has revealed how her two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, speak - and it looks like they take after their dad, Prince Harry! The Duchess, 43, made the confession during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show to promote her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. Per Us Weekly, the segment will air on Thursday - but during the taping, she apparently shared that her two little ones have picked up her husband's British accent, even though they live in California now. During Markle's time on the talkshow, the outlet reported that Barrymore had asked her about her 'favorite thing' that her kids do that reminds them of their dad. 'Oh, some of the words that they still say with a British accent, so they'll say z-e-b-r-a and what else do they say?' Markle revealed. 'They have these little moments where it comes out and because they have very American accents, but they say words that are just like him and I think it's adorable,' she continued. The couple's eldest, son Archie, was born in the United Kingdom when they were still working royals, while daughter Lilibet was born in California. The Duchess made the confession during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show to promote her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan 'Oh, some of the words that they still say with a British accent, so they'll say z-e-b-r-a and what else do they say?' Markle revealed The couple's eldest, son Archie, was born in the United Kingdom when they were still working royals, while daughter Lilibet was born in California During the appearance, Markle also spoke about how she makes sure to incorporate bedtime stories into her kid's routines even while she's traveling. 'I always make it a point when I'm traveling if I can't do bedtime stories with my kids because Archie and Lily are just three and five, so I'll always pack a really thin book and I'll videotape myself reading it so whoever's with them or Papa can say, "Here's mama reading your bedtime story,"' she shared with Barrymore, according to Us Weekly. 'You find ways to show up for each other and if that's the one thing that I can convey through the show or through As Ever as a brand, I want people to know you can show up for each other because you know how good it feels when someone shows up for you,' the former Suits actress added. Her appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show comes just two days after the premiere of With Love, Meghan. That same day, she also opened up her As Ever lifestyle brand website to the public to share what products are in her lineup, which are expected to be released soon. The items included her famous raspberry preserves, of course, as well as a crepe mix, flower sprinkles and even tea. In an email sent to her subscribers on Wednesday morning, she elaborated on the ethos behind some of her products, even giving a nod to her time living in England. Markle wrote spoke about the shortbread cookies she was getting ready to offer, noting that they reminded her of living in England. Her appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show comes just two days after the premiere of With Love, Meghan 'With As ever, I welcome you to the feeling of my home, and invite you to have this joy in your home too,' she concluded 'Crunchy and delicious shortbread cookies that remind me of my time in England, with tiny flower sprinkles to add extra beauty and charm to enjoy each delicate bite,' Markle wrote. She then explained her crepe mixes, which were 'inspired' by her time visiting France when she was a student. And, finally, of course, she couldn't end with out explaining her famous fruit spreads, which made headlines last year when she sent them out to her famous friends like Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen. 'My beloved fruit spreads honed over years of recipe testing, the sweet scent wafting through the house; they type of aroma that makes you stop, close your eyes, and breathe it all in - the fragrance that says, 'Welcome home,'' the mom-of-two penned. 'With As ever, I welcome you to the feeling of my home, and invite you to have this joy in your home too,' she concluded. A popular adult star who accidentally live-streamed herself going to the bathroom has been banned from social media. Marina Gold, 22, was filming on the street when she realized she needed to use the bathroom. She ran into a nearby shopping center, placed her phone on the floor next to the toilet bowl, and inadvertently filmed her lower half. At one point, she even flashed her genitals at the camera. Her mistake has earned her a ban on the streaming platform Kick. Marina was streaming from the Jockey Plaza shopping center in the Peruvian capital of Lima when the mishap took place. She said: 'I went to the bathroom and put the camera at an angle that I thought couldn't be seen, but it was, and on Kick, you can't show any of that.' The Peruvian porn star, who currently works in the United States, was visiting her home country to film a series of livestreams to build up her Kick audience. Marina Gold, 22, from Peru, was banned from a streaming platform after accidentally filming herself using the bathroom She needed to use the bathroom so she ran into a nearby shopping center and placed her phone on the floor, but inadvertently filmed her lower half She said she was first banned from Kick for six days for exposing her lower half. However, after an appeal, she managed to get it shortened to 15 hours. Marina said: 'I wrote to them and told them I was sorry, that it was unintentional. 'They banned me for like 15 hours, but they gave it back to me now and everything is fine.' She also complained about online users circulating the unedited version of the video for money. Marina said: 'Hey, guys, I have a complaint because I've seen people on TikTok trying to sell my "banned" video for $1.29. 'That video is the reason they banned me! 'On top of that, people are trying to make money off the back of my sorrow, it doesn't seem right to me.' At one point, she even flashed her genitals at the camera which caused her to be banned from the streaming platform Kick The adult star said she was initially banned for six days, but after an appeal, she got it down to 15 hours. Marina said she now has access to her Kick account again The adult star also said that she plans to start a family in the near future. She stated: 'Yes, I would like to have children someday. 'I mean, it is not in my plans because I don't have a husband yet. 'Maybe, if the right person comes along it could happen.' She's known for her stylish ensembles - and Queen Letizia of Spain didn't disappoint as she stepped out in Madrid today. The 52-year-old royal put on an edgy display in a leather jacket while joining King Felipe at the ARCO Contemporary Art Fair in the Spanish capital. Looking effortlessly chic, the mother-of-two teamed her striking garment with a black jumper and matching smart trousers. Walking alongside her husband, art-lover Letizia admired the works on display at the annual event. Complementing her ruby leather jacket, the Spanish Queen opted for reddish eye shadow and lipstick to accentuate her stunning facial features. She added a touch of glitz to her ensemble with a pair of golden hoop earrings, while keeping her straight hair loose in soft waves. Finishing off her fashionable outfit, she opted for a scarlet handbag to match her statement jacket and a pair of kitten heels. The event was hosted by ARCO Madrid, an international contemporary art fair in Spain that has been running since 1982. She's known for her stylish ensembles - and Queen Letizia of Spain (pictured) didn't disappoint as she stepped out in Madrid today Former news presenter Letizia is a keen art fan and regularly attends the annual occasion. Last week, Letizia put on a striking display in a red ensemble at an Alcala University event in Madrid. The mother-of-two attended alongside her husband, King Felipe VI, who awarded honorary prizes at the occasion in Alcala de Henare. Letizia added to her chic ensemble with a flowing black poncho, protecting herself from Spain's cool temperatures. Despite the dark addition to her outfit, she kept the red theme going with a crimson croc leather clutch bag, sparkling ruby earrings, and a pair of heeled red pumps. The former journalist opted for a glamorous makeup look for the prestigious event, complete with bronze eyeshadow. Meanwhile, 57-year-old Felipe dressed in traditional attire linked to the university, including a red cape. Spain's reigning couple also posed for photographs outside the university with board members. The 52-year-old royal put on an edgy display in a leather jacket while joining King Felipe at the ARCO Contemporary Art Fair in the Spanish capital Looking effortlessly chic, the mother-of-two teamed her striking garment with a black jumper and matching smart trousers Walking alongside her husband, art-lover Letizia (pictured) admired the works on display at the annual event Complementing her ruby leather jacket, the Spanish Queen opted for reddish eye shadow and lipstick to accentuate her stunning facial features Alcala University, located 35 kilometres northeast of Madrid, is a public university offering a range of undergraduate and post graduate degrees. Meanwhile, Letizia and Felipe's eldest daughter Princess Leonor of Spain appeared in high spirits in Montevideo as she boarded a training vessel today. The future queen, 19, was snapped in the capital of Uruguay on the Juan Sebastian de Elcano ship, as she continued her training with the navy. Leonor kept a stern expression and the level of professionalism one would expect from a marine as she stood with her hands behind her back alongside her crewmates. Leonor wore her long dark blonde tresses in a practical sleek braided low bun, which sat elegantly below her sailor cap. She looked regal as she proudly donned the crisp white uniform, donning a shirt with epaulettes, which she tucked into a pair of belted smart trousers. The teenager beamed as she took her hat off along with her fellow aspiring officers on the ship and held it in the air, which is usually a celebratory gesture or victory. The royal looked already a seasoned pro as Leonor was seen saluting her superiors with her right hand when on land, which is an act to show respect and recognition of authority. The royal added a touch of glitz to her ensemble with a pair of golden hoop earrings, while keeping her straight hair loose in soft waves Finishing off her fashionable outfit, she opted for a scarlet handbag to match her statement jacket and a pair of kitten heels Leonor decided to keep her appearance natural and opted to wear minimal makeup, sporting just a hint of mascara. The royal spent a year with the Spanish army before training to be a marine and will then move onto her final rotation at the General Air Academy. As she is the heir to the throne, Leonor will one day take the title of Commander in Chief of the armed forces, alongside being the Queen of Spain. She therefore has to spend three years in each section of defence and has already spent a year at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza. At the start of the year, Leonor set sail from Cadiz, Spain, for her navy training cruise. Felipe and Letizia watched proudly she took part in a departure ceremony before setting sail from Cadiz. In the fashion world the French are renowned for effortless elegance, while British brands have a monopoly on cool. But did you know we also produce some of the world's highest-quality fabrics, and the UK's craftsmanship is second to none? So perhaps it's no wonder top design names are falling over themselves to emphasise their British heritage. Accessories label Mulberry announced recently it planned to go 'back to its British roots' to revive sales. Half its bags are still made in Somerset, where the brand was born in 1971. Burberry, too, has launched a 'Made in Britain' campaign, with its trench coat manufactured in Yorkshire at the forefront. But you don't have to pay designer prices to get a top-quality piece of 100 per cent British clothing. There are a growing crop of brands beloved of fashion insiders whose clothes are made from start to finish in the UK, at more affordable prices and you can find some of the best on this page. No, they're not as dirt cheap as the 'fast fashion' clogging up the high street, but they're far more stylish and so well made they will last for years, or even decades. Choosing homegrown designers is more eco-friendly, too, as your clothes won't have been flown thousands of miles to reach you. A word of caution, though: many of the quintessentially British brands you might think manufacture in England actually don't. Hunter, for example, moved production of its wellies to China in 2008, so do read the small print. Here's my pick of where to bag yourself a genuinely Great British bargain... Jumpers fit for a princess For the gold standard in Scottish wool, Campbell's of Beauly is your best port of call. The brand has held a royal warrant since 1965, and its jumpers last about as long. Pretty good considering they start under 100 (campbellsofbeauly.com). Then there's Peregrine's 47.50 cerulean tank top, made in Manchester (peregrineclothing.co.uk). The brand is eighth-generation family-run and has been manufacturing British knitwear since 1796. All for around the same price as Zara. For the gold standard in Scottish wool, Campbell's of Beauly is your best port of call. The brand has held a royal warrant since 1965, and its jumpers last about as long There's Peregrine's 47.50 cerulean tank top, made in Manchester. The brand is eighth-generation family-run and has been manufacturing British knitwear since 1796 Serious arm candy Often called the 'makers' maker', handbag brand Tusting has manufactured for Aston Martin. Operating from a fifth-generation family-run factory in Buckinghamshire, its quality rivals those ten times its price and the tan colourway of its Cardington crossbody (395, tusting. co.uk) is perfect for spring. Pair it with the Hummingbird fedora by Tiffers in Wiltshire (295, tiffersmillinery.com). For small goods, try Honey & Toast's Somerset-made laptop bag (68, honeyandtoast.co.uk). For indulgence, Rosie Sugden's cashmere socks (25, rosiesugden.com) and wrist-warmers (35) are just the ticket. Rosie's grandparents on both sides worked in the Yorkshire textile industry. Often called the 'makers' maker', handbag brand Tusting has manufactured for Aston Martin. Operating from a fifth-generation family-run factory in Buckinghamshire, its quality rivals those ten times its price Pair it with the Hummingbird fedora by Tiffers in Wiltshire (295, pictured) andfor small goods, try Honey & Toast's Somerset-made laptop bag (68) Perfectly tailored trousers Savile Row is home to the worlds best mens tailoring. But what about women? Northumberland-based brand Bella Hoskyns offers the Hepburn trousers (295, bellahoskyns.com), hand-cut from lambswool once youve experienced the elegance of its wide, super-high waistband youll never reach for a pair of low-slung trousers again. For power suits, Holland Cooper does it best. Designed in the Cotswolds and hand-woven, cut and stitched in Scotland and Yorkshire, its trousers and waistcoats (both 299, hollandcooper.com) do a tour of the UKs finest craftsmen before they reach you. Savile Row is home to the worlds best mens tailoring. But what about women? Northumberland-based brand Bella Hoskyns offers the Hepburn trousers For power suits, Holland Cooper does it best. Designed in the Cotswolds and hand-woven, cut and stitched in Scotland and Yorkshire (299) Wedding-ready dresses British manufacturers dont just churn out showerproof, utilitarian necessities. Philippa London is a rising star whose A-line skirts (from 275, philippalondon.com) come in an array of colours and fabrics. Elsewhere, try Clary & Pegs Wren skirt (95, claryandpeg.co.uk) and Johanna Sands (johannasands.com) for British-made occasion pieces. Johannas cord dresses (255) look just as at home at a winter wedding as they do with boots by weekend. British manufacturers dont just churn out showerproof, utilitarian necessities. Philippa London is a rising star whose A-line skirts (from 275) come in an array of colours and fabrics Johanna Sandss cord dresses (255) look just as at home at a winter wedding as they do with boots by weekend Coats with British buttons For true best-of-British quality when it comes to coats, Barbour still makes one of its designs, the Bedale jacket (279, barbour.com), at its factory in South Shields, Newcastle. By Sorens outerwear is entirely handmade in Britain down to its buttons. Its Frida gilet (260, bysoren. com) is the perfect extra layer under a coat. For true best-of-British quality when it comes to coats, Barbour still makes one of its designs, the Bedale jacket (279), at its factory in South Shields, Newcastle By Sorens outerwear is entirely handmade in Britain down to its buttons. Its Frida gilet (260, pictured) is the perfect extra layer under a coat Loafers and trainers galore For a traditionally British shoe, Duke + Dexter has you covered with its silver loafer (150, dukeanddexter.com). For trainer devotees, Community Clothing makes its kicks in Bolton (98.50, community clothing.co.uk). For a traditionally British shoe, Duke + Dexter has you covered with its silver loafer (150) Kmart has thrilled nostalgic shoppers with the return of a retro-inspired digital video recorder - and fans are scrambling to get their hands on it. Priced at just $39, the Digital Video Recorder has sparked a frenzy online, with customers calling it an 'iconic' blast from the past. The compact camera features a 2-inch LCD screen, up to 16x digital zoom, and records in 720p HD, making it a perfect throwback to home movies of the 90s and early 2000s. Social media users are already reminiscing about childhood memories captured on grainy home footage. 'It's giving my mum recording our Christmas in 2001,' one person wrote. Another added: 'Reminding me of recordings from the 90s! Weddings, birthdays, etc! Crazy nostalgia.' Content creator Coco Devile rushed to snap one up before they sell out. 'I wanted to find one before anyone else gets their hands on it because I know it's going to be popular,' they said. Kmart has thrilled nostalgic shoppers with the return of a retro-inspired digital video recorder - and fans are scrambling to get their hands on it Priced at just $39, the Digital Video Recorder has sparked a frenzy online, with customers calling it an 'iconic' blast from the past 'The quality is very bad, and I like that.' Despite its low-resolution recording, fans say that's exactly what makes it so appealing. 'The quality is so Y2K,' one person commented, while another said: 'I feel like this would be cool if you want to film your life like it's the 80s/90s. Nostalgic aesthetic. Pretty cool for the price.' Some have even started planning creative uses for the camera, with one person declaring: 'I want these on the tables at my wedding!' Others are hoping this release signals more retro tech comebacks. 'Yes! Now, can they hurry up and bring back flip phones but with Spotify?' The hype has already led to a rush on the product, with one shopper admitting: 'I bought one last night,' and another saying: 'Excellent review, I have been influenced and will be buying for the nostalgia, thank you.' For those who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, the throwback camera is more than just a fun gadget - it's a way to recreate treasured childhood moments. For those who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, the throwback camera is more than just a fun gadget - it's a way to recreate treasured childhood moments 'As a 41-year-old mother of a three-year-old, I feel like this could bring back core memories of my childhood and let him experience it in home movies,' one person shared. With nostalgia booming, it seems millennials are making their mark once again. 'See, us millennials are cool! Everything of ours is coming back,' one fan joked. But the camera is only the beginning. Kmart customers were recently caught in a wave of nostalgia after noticing another iconic piece of 90s and noughties furniture back on the shelves. The budget retailer has quietly restocked inflatable armchairs more than two decades after they burst into loungerooms all over the country. The armchairs, which are available in pink and blue, are just $8 and have been described as being perfect for camping and festivals. But hundreds of customers have revealed they just need one for the sake of nostalgia. Kmart has brought back inflatable furniture 'I remember saying I would only have inflatable furniture in my house when I moved out,' one Aussie millennial admitted. And hundreds more agreed. 'Me too, now that dream can come true. 2025 is my year!'. 'I think we all dreamed of loungerooms filled with these,' said another. Others could remember the moment inflatable furniture became popular. 'I was in year five, they had pencil cases and backpacks too,' one woman said. 'It was the year 2000, and I had to have one because all my friends did,' said another. 'When I was 16 I had the double purple couch in my room,' said one woman. Chairs are available in pink and blue 'They actually got big in the mid 90s,' added another. People said they'd be heading straight into stores to pick one up. 'Just in time for summer, the stickiness, the sweat,' one woman laughed. 'And the squeaky groans they used to make in the heat too,' added a man. Health officials have sounded the alarm over a new mutant 'highly transmissible' mpox strain, believed to be behind a wave of fresh cases. A newly discovered variant of the rash-causing virus is now spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), experts say. It is a descendant of the deadlier clade 1a strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, which is estimated to kill up to 10 per cent of patients far more than other strains that have spread in recent months. Officials are worried because the new version carries a mutation known as APOBEC3 which makes it more infectious than its predecessor. Scientists say the same mutation has already been seen in the Clade 1b mpox strain, which has spread far beyond Africa to the UK, Europe and Asia within the last year. Experts have warned that swift action from the international community is needed to help stop any potential larger mpox outbreak of the new variant outside of DRC. Latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data shows more than 2,063 mpox cases have been logged in the nation in 2025 alone, including four deaths. However, it is unclear exactly how many cases, and deaths, the new mutant Clade 1a strain accounts for, with older versions still circulating. The strain is a descendant of the deadlier clade 1a strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, which is estimated to kill up to 10 per cent of patients far more than other strains that have spread in recent months In a briefing Dr Ngashi Ngongo, head of the mpox incident management team at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said: 'We have seen a new variant of Clade 1a with APOBEC3 that has been detected, and unlike the old 1a variant, this one has got high potential for higher transmissibility.' The WHO also says: 'The current understanding is that Clade 1 leads to more severe disease and death than Clade 2 in the populations where it is endemic.' Most Clade 1a infections have been linked to spillovers from animals, with limited human-to-human transmission in close-contact settings like households observed. Clade 1a has a fatality rate ranging from 1.4 per cent to over 10 per cent, far more than the 0.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent recorded for Clade 2. Research published in January in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests the Clade 1b rate stands around 3.3 per cent. But Dr Lorenzo Subissi, a virologist with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told The Telegraph that higher fatality rates haven't been observed, so far, with the new Clade 1a strain. While this variant may spread outside of DRC, the mortality rate seen in Kinshasa, where the new Clade 1a variant co-circulates with Clade 1b, remains less than one per cent, so much lower than what was historically thought to be clade 1a mortality,' he said. 'Mortality will largely depend on underlying conditions of the affected population such as malnutrition.' Experts are worried because the new version, which carries the mutation known as APOBEC3, has evolved to be even more infectious than its predecessor. Pictured, a medic in DRC recording information from an mpox patient in September Cases of Clade 1b in the UK are a far cry from the 2022 outbreak where thousands of cases were recorded, mostly in London The discovery of the new mutant strain came as the WHO extended its declaration of the ongoing mpox epidemic as a 'public health emergency of international concern'. The designation the same one the UN agency gave Covid in late January 2020, just a few weeks before the virus ripped across the world was put in place last August amid a rise in Clade 1b cases. The unanimous decision from the WHO emergency committee was 'based on the continuing rise in numbers and geographic spread, the violence in the eastern DRC, which hampers the response, as well as a lack of funding to implement the response plan,' it said in a statement. The outbreaks in Africa mainly involve Clade 1a and 1b strains of the virus, with limited transmission of clade 2. Dr Ngongo said several countries in Africa are continuing to report rising mpox cases, while spiralling armed conflict in the DRC is increasing the risk of spread. Clade 1b has also spread outside of Africa, with cases in countries including the UK, US, Sweden, Thailand, India and Germany. To date, nine cases of the strain have been spotted in Britain, but the 'risk to the UK population remains low', the UK Health Security Agency says. However, the virus has swept through central Africa killing at least 1,000 people, since the outbreak began. Mpox causes characteristic lumpy lesions, as well as a fever, aches and pains and fatigue. However, in a small number of cases, it can enter the blood and lungs, as well as other parts of the body, and becomes life-threatening. One of Britain's foremost experts on child health has defended the right for first cousins to marry and dismissed concerns about inbreeding. Professor Dominic Wilkinson, an NHS neonatologist and ethics expert at the University of Oxford, argued a ban on cousin marriages, recently proposed by MPs, was 'unethical'. Instead, Professor Wilkinson said such couples should be offered special advanced screening on the taxpayer to help them decide if they should have children. He even claimed a ban on cousin marriage, already implemented in some European countries, represented a loss of freedoms in Britain. Writing for The Conversation he said: 'A ban on cousin marriage to reduce the rates of illness or learning problems in their offspring would represent an attempt to prevent certain people from having children for the sake of benefiting the population.' He added a policy of 'restricting basic freedoms' of individuals to marry and have children with who they choose based on their 'perceived genetic fitness to reproduce' was 'troubling'. Data suggests the risk of a child of first cousins developing a genetic condition is about 6 per cent, double that compared to children from unrelated parents. However, Professor Wilkinson argued that the health justifications of such a ban were flawed since the vast majority of such children will be born healthy. This graphic, from NHS material distributed to couples in Bradford, explains some of the genetic risks of having children with a close relative. Two parents with a recessive gene have an increased chance of having a child with an inherited condition Professor Dominic Wilkinson, a neonatologist at the NHS's John Radcliffe Hospital and an expert in ethics at the University of Oxford , claims a proposed ban on cousin marriage wasn't ethical '94 per cent of children will not have genetic or congenital problems,' he wrote. 'Or to put it another way, given the small additional risk, over 30 couples would have to be prevented from marrying to prevent one child from being born with an inherited genetic problem'. From there such couples could then decide on if they should have children together, adopt or use reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF). He said while such screening, which costs about 1,200 privately, isn't currently available on the NHS an exception could be made for such couples. The medic also called for greater education among families and young people to raise awareness of the increased risk of cousin marriage. 'We should be concerned about higher rates of illness in the children of parents who are related. But the ethical answer isnt to ban them from getting married,' he said. Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, Richard Holden used data on the increased risk of health problems among children born from cousin marriages to call for a ban late last year. 'Studies show that it is associated with approximately double the rate of birth defects compared to the general population and can reinforce negative structures and control women,' he told the House of Commons. This map, by Professor Alan Bittles an Australian expert in genomics, shows rates of consanguineous marriage, that between cousins, around the world Marriages between certain blood relatives as well as some step relationships is already illegal. However, it is still legal to marry your cousin in the UK, despite the health risks. Cousin marriage has been popular among certain British communities such as those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage. When parents are close genetic relatives, babies roughly have double the chance of developing a host of health problems. These include blindness, hearing loss, neonatal diabetes, blood disorders, limb malformations, low IQ, cleft palate, heart problems, cystic fibrosis, and even death. Risks of such conditions broadly increases if there is a family history of inbreeding, as genetic errors can compound between generations. During conception, children receive one copy of genes from each parent, with the harmful genetic mutations typically overridden by healthier genes. But when closely related individuals have a child there is a decrease in genetic variation, resulting in an increased risk of harmful mutations remaining and causing problems. Existing legislation states the prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage include those to a sibling, parent or child, but not marriages between first cousins, like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert Experts previously found that a preference for cousin marriage among British Pakistanis was a contributing factor in child mortality rates in Bradford and for about a third of birth defects. NHS studies between 2007-11 found consanguineous marriages, a genetics term meaning parents are at least second cousins or more closely related, accounted for 60 per cent of marital unions in people of Pakistani heritage in Bradford. This figure has since dropped to 46 per cent, researchers say. Reasons behind the fall are thought to include higher educational attainment, stricter immigration rules and changes in family dynamics. Mr Holden's bill is proposing to ban the marriage of first cousins is due to discussed in the House of Commons on Friday. First cousin marriages were once far more common and include some famous historical figures. The father-of-evolution Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood, and the famous physicist Albert Einstein married his first cousin Elsa Lowenthal. Authors Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells were also known to have married their cousins. The British Royal family have also, like many among the European nobility, engaged in consanguineous unions. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins, sharing a set of grandparents. In more modern times, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's first wife was his cousin Sajida Talfah. Musician Jerry Lee Lewis, of 'Great Balls of Fire' fame controversially married his cousin Myra Gale Lewis Williams when she was just 13, he was 22 at the time. A federal judge has overridden a Trump executive order freezing government funding for transgender surgeries. US District Judge Brendan Hurson, of Baltimore, extended the nationwide block from last month on Tuesday on the executive order, which halted government funding for doctors providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth under age 19. President Trump's executive order, signed last month, states that 'it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called "transition" of a child from one sex to another.' The order axed federal funding to clinics providing treatment to minors in a bid to 'rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures' and compared transgender surgeries to 'chemical and surgical mutilation.' President Trump's order prompted several high-profile hospital systems like Children's National Hospital in Washington DC and NYU Langone in New York City to stop prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to youths or suspend care completely. Hurson argued Trump's executive order is 'unconstitutional' and goes against state policies. US District Judge Brendan Hurson, of Baltimore, extended the nationwide block on a Trump executive order, which halted government funding for doctors providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth under age 19 Protesters fill the Iowa state Capitol to denounce a bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity in February 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Your browser does not support iframes. He wrote this week: 'The challenged provisions of the Executive Orders place significant conditions on federal funding that Congress did not prescribe. 'This, the Constitution simply does not allow, as there is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes the President to enact, to amend, or to repeal statutes.' The government funds hospital systems in order to pay for care, keep infrastructure updated, and provide care to low-income populations. Gender-affirming care has often fallen under this umbrella because experts suggest it could improve a patient's mental and physical health. Hurson's block comes after seven families of transgender or nonbinary children, along with transgender advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit over the orders last month, arguing the policy is discriminatory because it does not prohibit federal funding for the same treatments for non-transgender patients. And just days earlier, a judge in Seattle blocked the executive order for youths in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado in a lawsuit from attorneys general in those states. Attorneys general in democrat-led states like California and New York have also urged doctors to keep providing care to transgender kids, arguing that pulling the plug on trans care services would violate state laws. As of December 2024, 26 states have passed bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children and teenagers, according to the Movement Advancement Project. The above map from the Movement Advancement Project shows states with bans or restrictions on transgender care. States in dark green have 'shield' laws protecting care access, while those in light green have 'shield' executive orders in place. States in tan neither have bans nor 'shield' laws. Those in light orange have bans on surgeries for trans youth, and those in dark orange have bans on medications and surgeries. If a state has a red symbol, it is a felony to provide certain care in these states Transition surgery, which can include removing the breasts (also called 'top surgery') and changes to genitalia, under 18 is extremely rare and decided on a case-by-case basis by teams of primary care doctors, psychologists, endocrinologists, and surgeons. Trans children typically begin their transition with puberty blockers. These medications delay the onset of puberty to provide the child and their family with more time to decide whether to pursue hormone therapies. Hormone therapies, meanwhile, typically begin in a childs teenage years to help them develop secondary sex characteristics. A girl transitioning to become a boy, for instance, may take hormones to deepen their voice and grow body hair. After undergoing hormone therapy, a trans person may choose to undergo surgery to medically transition, though not everyone does this. An aspirin-a-day may keep certain cancers from spreading, a major study suggests. The anti-inflammatory pill is known to suppress the molecule thromboxane A2 (TXA2), which is produced by the blood's clotting factor, called platelets. This anti-clotting molecule has led to 30million Americans taking the nine-cent pill to prevent heart attacks and strokes. However, researchers at Cambridge University found that TXA2 can also suppress T cells, which are found in the immune system and destroy cancer cells. By preventing TXA2 from forming, the team suggested, aspirin would not only prevent blood clots but also keep cancer cells from growing and spreading to other areas of the body. The Cambridge experts said their 'eureka moment' could lead to doctors prescribing aspirin to cancer patients to keep their disease from spreading and eventually form the foundation for newer, more effective cancer drugs. However, they cautioned that the research is still early and aspirin has been linked to serious issues like internal bleeding in some patients, so patients should ask their doctor before taking it. The study, published in a medical journal this week, comes as nine in 10 cancer deaths occur when the disease spreads to other areas of the body, the team said. Researchers from Cambridge University found mice who were given the cheap pill aspirin had a lower risk of cancers like melanoma spreading to other areas of the body (stock image) Lead study author Dr Jie Yang of Cambridge University said: 'It was a eureka moment when we found TXA2 was the molecular signal that activates this suppressive effect on T cells. Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin. 'It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of enquiry than we had anticipated.' Your browser does not support iframes. In the new study, researchers screened 810 genes in mice and looked at 15 they believe influenced how cancer spreads. In particular, they found that mice lacking a gene that produces the protein ARHGEF1 had less metastasis, or spread, of cancers to the liver or the lungs. They found this is because ARHGEF1 suppresses T cells when exposed to TXA2. Because it's well known that aspirin suppresses TXA2, the team decided to give mice with the skin cancer melanoma aspirin in their drinking water. The team found mice on aspirin were less likely to have their cancer spread to the lungs or liver than mice in the control group due to the reactivation of T cells. Study author Professor Rahul Roychoudhuri of Cambridge University said treatments like aspirin could keep cancer from advancing to later stages better than other methods like surgery or immunotherapy. He said: 'Most immunotherapies are developed to treat patients with established metastatic cancer, but when cancer first spreads theres a unique therapeutic window of opportunity when cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to immune attack. 'We hope that therapies that target this window of vulnerability will have tremendous scope in preventing recurrence in patients with early cancer at risk of recurrence.' The over-the-counter medication is typically used to reduce inflammation and make blood less thick, reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke (stock image) Researchers said the findings build on recent research suggesting aspirin may prevent cancers like colon cancer. In a study published last August, people who took aspirin were one-third less likely to develop colon cancer in their lifetime than those who didn't. And another 2024 study found aspirin increased levels of CD80, a protein linked to higher immune cell activity. They were also found to have fewer cancerous cells around the lymph nodes - small bean-shaped structures that are part of the body's immune system - and more immune cells circulating within tumors. Experts believe this is because aspirin blocks the production of the enzyme COX-2, which makes inflammatory proteins called prostaglandins. These have been shown to promote the growth of cancer cells in the colon, breasts, lungs, stomach, and skin. The US Preventive Services Task Force nearly recommended all adults ages 50 to 59 - the most at risk for colorectal cancer - take a low dose of aspirin every day to ward off the disease. However, in a small number of patients, aspirin can increase the risk of internal bleeding and stomach ulcers. The Cambridge researchers said more research is needed in humans but the findings are encouraging so far. They said: 'Aspirin, or other drugs that target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally.' Vaping may not help smokers quit cigarettes after all and could even keep them puffing up for longer, a bombshell study has suggested. Britons are taking up e-cigarettes in unprecedented numbers, with roughly one in 10 adults now estimated to be hooked on the habit. But US scientists found smokers who switched to the increasingly popular devices were actually up to 5 per cent less likely to stop smoking altogether compared to those who didn't vape. The findings run counter to NHS advice that insists the devices are an effective way to quit traditional smoking. Scientists today urged people against taking up the habit and warned that vaping would 'keep them addicted to nicotine'. Professor John Pierce, an expert in cancer prevention and public health at the University of California, San Diego and study co-author said: 'Most smokers think vaping will help you quit smoking. 'However, this belief is not supported by science to date.' But independent researchers have urged caution over the findings, claiming the study was 'unfair' and presented 'skewed' results. US scientists found smokers who switched to the increasingly popular devices were actually 5 per cent less likely to stop smoking altogether compared to those who didn't vape Your browser does not support iframes. In the study, researchers assessed data from over 6,000 smokers in the US. Of these, 943 also vaped. They found that people who vaped daily were 4.1 per cent less likely to quit smoking than their counterparts who didn't vape at all. Among those who vaped but not every day users were 5.3 less likely to quit smoking than non-vapers. Professor Pierce said while it is generally accepted that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking, that doesn't mean they are harmless. 'While vapes generally don't contain the same harmful chemicals as cigarette smoke, they have other risks, and we just don't yet know what the health consequences of vaping over 20 to 30 years will be,' he said. Natalie Quach, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego and study lead author, added: 'There's still a lot we don't know about the impact of vaping on people. 'But what we do know is that the idea that vaping helps people quit isn't actually true. It is more likely that it keeps them addicted to nicotine.' However, Professor Peter Hajek, an expert of clinical psychology Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the study, said the new research had a critical problem. Campaigners have long blamed predatory manufacturers for the ever-growing crisis, claiming they are intentionally luring kids in with colourful packaging, compared to highlighter pens, and child-friendly flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy He said: 'The study used a method that automatically generates skewed results.' 'In the vaping group, only those unable to stop smoking despite using vapes were included. Vapers who stopped smoking were excluded.' 'This makes it an obviously unfair comparison, a bit like staging a competition between two schools after removing the best competitors from one of them.' E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and other chemicals. Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon two of the most dangerous elements. Nicotine's effect on the brain is well known within 20 seconds of inhalation, it triggers the release of chemical messengers such as dopamine, associated with reward and pleasure. But it also increases heart rate and blood pressure and makes blood vessels constrict. This is because nicotine triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline. Despite NHS chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, vaping is not risk-free. E-cigarettes can contain harmful toxins and their long-term effects remains a mystery. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Experts are also concerned the high nicotine content might increase blood pressure and cause other heart problems. Doctors have expressed fears there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age. Last year, MailOnline also discovered the number of adverse side effects linked to vaping reported to UK regulators has now eclipsed 1,000, with five of them fatal. The extensive list includes everything from headaches to strokes. Members of the public and medics can submit them. In July, in world-first guidance setting out possible interventions to help people stop using tobacco products, the World Health Organization labelled the evidence around e-cigarettes as 'complex'. Vapes cannot be recommended as way to stop smoking as too little is known about the harms and benefits, the UN agency said. The Government has announced that disposable vapes will be banned from June. Scientists have declared that a little-known bacterial condition is in fact a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that millions already have. Called bacterial vaginosis (BV), the intimate infection is caused by an imbalance in the bacteria that normally live in the vagina, which is often triggered by sex. Almost a third of British women, about 10million, are thought to have BV, but only half are thought to show any symptoms. While normally only causing mild issues like unusual vaginal discharge, BV can have serious consequences including an increased risk of infertility, of contracting other more serious STIs, premature births and newborn deaths. Now, Australian scientists, in what they dubbed a 'revolution', have found a key to bringing the condition under control is men. BV is routinely treated with antibiotics but can be notoriously difficult to eliminate. About half of women with the condition see it return just a few months after it was supposedly cured. But experts at Monash University and Melbourne Sexual Health Centre found that treating BV patients as a couple, as they would with an STI, massively boosted success rates. Unusual discharge with a strong fishy smell and a change to the colour and consistency of your discharge, such as becoming greyish-white and thin and watery, are common tell-tale signs of Bacteria vaginosis (BV), according to the NHS In tests on 164 heterosexual couples where a woman had BV, they gave all female patients antibiotics and then randomly assigned their male partners to either also receive medication or not, with the latter group acting as a control. Comparing results after three months, they found rates of BV returning halved among the couples treated simultaneously compared to those where only the woman received care, the latter approach being the one used for women in Britain. While previous studies had suggested men could be carrying bacteria that lead to BV, older trials had failed to show treating male partners had any impact on the success of women's treatment. However, the experts behind the new study used both oral antibiotics and an antibiotic cream, applied to the man's penis, and this combination proved effective Professor Catriona Bradshaw, an expert in sexual health at Monash, said: 'Our trial has shown that reinfection from partners is causing a lot of the BV recurrence women experience, and provides evidence that BV is in fact an STI.' This runs counter to advice currently issued by the NHS, which states that BV is not an STI. The results have been so successful that Melbourne Sexual Health Centre has already made the couple-based treatment for BV part of their standard practice. Professor Bradshaw added this approach to treating BV could reap great dividends given how easy it was to implement. 'This successful intervention is relatively cheap and short and has the potential for the first time to not only improve BV cure for women, but opens up exciting new opportunities for BV prevention, and prevention of the serious complications associated with BV,' she said. Medics have previously warned women to take steps to avoid increasing their risk of contracting BV. These include avoiding using perfumed soaps around the vagina and avoiding douching (cleaning the inside of the vagina with water using a spray). Other tips include avoiding tight-fitting clothing like lingerie or sweaty gym clothes for long periods as these can create perfect conditions for BV to thrive. Lastly, they advised using condoms during sex to help protect the bacteria that normally live in the vagina. Donald Trump's nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has revealed the five ways he will revamp the agency if confirmed in the role. Stanford physician Dr Jay Bhattacharya appears headed for confirmation after a much more subdued Senate hearing compared to Robert F Kennedy Junior's fiery session in January. While many of Trump's picks for top jobs have been seen as outsiders and disruptors, Dr Bhattacharya heralded the NIH as the 'crown jewel' of US biomedical science and said he had 'great respect' for its researchers. He also distanced himself from the antivaccine movement, saying he did not believe that childhood vaccines were linked to autism. But the top medical expert and Stanford professor also warned that the NIH must go through serious reform in order to regain the public's trust which was lost during the Covid pandemic. For this reason, he did not rule out reinvestigating the link between autism and vaccines, saying the public was not satisfied with the explanations given for the sharp rise in autism cases. Dr Bhattacharya was cast out by the medical establishment, including by former NIH head Francis Collins, for his anti-lockdown stance and for criticizing vaccine mandates. His five-step plan to restore the agency to its former glory included focusing research on chronic diseases and establishing a culture that promotes free speech and scientific dissent. Pictured above is Dr Jay Bhattacharya at his confirmation hearing with the Senate today Dr Bhattacharya also pledged to fund the most innovative biomedical research possible and aggressively regulate high-risk virus research that could cause another pandemic. He also said he would make scientific data more transparent. The NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research globally, with a budget of $48billion annually and a team of some 20,000 staff and scientists. It is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is run by longtime vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. Dr Bhattacharya, who is also a father-of-three, has previously had grants approved by the NIH for his own research and was on a committee reviewing grant applications for more than a decade. But he became a pariah during the Covid pandemic after he suggested in the Great Barrington declaration that lockdowns were causing untold harm to the public. At the time, the then-NIH director Dr Francis Collins called him a 'fringe epidemiologist' and called for a 'quick and devastating' public takedown of his comments. Dr Bhattacharya was attending his confirmation hearing with the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. The atmosphere was mostly cordial with many praising his appointment, although some Democrats raised concerns over cuts to the agency and limits set to be placed on spending in contracts. The senate committee will also review Dr Marty Makary's nomination to head up the Food and Drug Administration tomorrow, before voting on the appointments in the coming weeks. Below, are Dr Bhattacharya's five goals for the agency: Solve the chronic diseases crisis About 42 percent of Americans are now considered obese, while life expectancy remains below pre-pandemic levels and 20million are suffering from long Covid. In line with the Make America Healthy Again movement, Dr Bhattacharya said he was aiming to pour more funding into researching cures for this crisis. 'NIH research should focus on research that solves the American chronic disease crisis,' he said. The above graph shows life expectancy in the US by year from 1980 to 2022. There has been a slight rise in the most recent year that data is available, from a study out of the National Vital Statistics System and population estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics 'American health is going backward, life expectancy flatlined between 2012 and 2019, plummeted during the pandemic, and still has not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. 'The chronic disease crisis is severe with hundreds of millions of Americans, children and adults, suffering from obesity, heart disease, cancer and more. Did not rule out funding research into vaccines and autism Dr Bhattacharya refused to rule out the NIH funding research into an alleged link between vaccines and autism at his Senate confirmation hearing. The top epidemiologist said he personally did not believe that there was a link, but would not block further research from being carried out. In 1998, a paper was published in The Lancet that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to a higher risk of autism in children. It was retracted 12 years later, after it emerged that the lead scientist Dr Andrew Wakefield had only recruited children of parents who were locked in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers. Several large-scale studies have been carried out into the alleged link between vaccines and autism since, involving more than 1.2million children, but none have revealed a link. Advertisement 'If confirmed, I will carry out President Trump and Secretary Kennedy's agenda to address the dire chronic health needs of the country with gold-standard science and innovation.' Prioritize 'good science' Part of good science is to produce studies with which the results can be replicated by other researchers, to advance understanding. But at the NIH, Dr Bhattacharya says it has recently funded many papers where this is not possible raising concerns over the work. He said: 'Second, science should be replicable, reproducible and generalizable. Unfortunately, much modern bioscience fails this test. 'The NIH itself just last year faced an integrity scandal involving research on Alzheimer's disease that throws into question hundreds of research papers. 'If the data generated by scientists is not reliable, the products of such science cannot help anyone.' He added: 'It is not stretch to think that the slow progress in treatments for Alzheimer's disease is linked to this problem. 'The NIH can and must solve the crisis of scientific data reliability. Under my leadership, if confirmed, it will do so.' The integrity scandal refers to research by the former University of Minnesota Twin Cities researcher Sylvain Lesne, which was published in 2006 and suggested that the build-up of amyloid-beta protein led to memory loss in rats. The paper buoyed confidence in the theory that Alzheimer's is caused by protein clumps in the brain, leading to funding for drugs to clear these. It also became the most cited Alzheimer's paper of this century. But in 2024, the paper was retracted at the request of all the authors, except Lesne, after it emerged that images in the study appeared to have been digitally doctored. The study, however, led to trouble securing funding for researchers working on alternative theories for the causes of Alzheimer's, such as the suggestion that the disease may be caused by damage to blood vessels in the brain. Dr Bhattacharya says he plans to now fund research into these alternative theories and treatments, potentially breaking the deadlock in finding a cure for the disease. Senator Bernie Sanders quizzed Dr Bhattacharya at the confirmation hearing, getting a commitment from him to work together on asking food companies not to advertize unhealthy foods Dr Bhattacharya (right) is pictured above with Senators Rand Paul, Kentucky (left), and Tommy Tuberville Return of free speech Dr Bhattacharya told the Senate committee he would seek to allow a broader range of opinions in the NIH, including views that disagree with him. 'If confirmed, I will establish a culture of respect for free speech in scientists in the NIH,' he said. 'In the last few years, top scientists and NIH officials oversaw a culture of cover-up, obfuscation and a lack of tolerance for ideas that differed from theirs. 'Dissent is the very essence of science. I will foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists including early career scientists and scientists that disagree with me can express their views.' Dr Bhattacharya was targeted by many scientists, including the former NIH head, after he suggested that lockdowns would needlessly cause avoidable deaths. Fund cutting-edge research He also said he would aim to ensure that the NIH was funding cutting-edge research, and investigating potential cheaper treatments. He said: 'The NIH must recommit to its mission to fund the most innovative biomedical research agenda possible to improve American health. 'My plan is to ensure that the NIH invests in cutting edge research in every field to make big advances rather than just small incremental progress over years.' He pointed to research early in the pandemic done in the UK which recognized that dexamethasone which costs about $7 per patient could help Covid patients, saying this is the sort of research the NIH should do more of. The above is a stock image of scientists carrying out research funded by the NIH Avoid risky pandemic research Dr Bhattacharya also said he would move the NIH away from funding any research that could 'cause the next pandemic'. He said: 'The NIH must... vigorously regulate risky research that has the possibility of causing a pandemic. It should embrace transparency in all its operations. 'While the vast majority of biomedical research poses no risk of harm to biomedical researchers or the public, the NIH must ensure that it never supports work that might cause harm.' He added: 'If confirmed, I will work with Congress and the administration to guarantee that happens.' Both the CIA and FBI have now concluded that the Covid pandemic may have been caused by a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China the FBI doing so with 'medium confidence'. It has also emerged that the NIH was funding research into coronaviruses at the Institute, which was conducting risky experiments. Popular left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker was temporarily banned from Twitch - the Amazon-owned streaming platform where he built his massive following. His suspension came just days after a viral clip surfaced in which Piker said Republicans would 'kill' Florida Sen. Rick Scott if they truly cared about government fraud. 'If you cared about Medicare fraud, or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott, okay?' Piker said during a heated February 28 livestream to his 2.8 million followers. Piker, who has been described as the 'Democrats answer to Joe Rogan', was shut out from the platform on Monday, with visitors to his page greeted with a message stating the account was 'temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch's Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.' Twitch did not provide an official reason for the ban but Piker's remarks were seen by many conservatives as an open call to violence. The streamer later took to YouTube, where his channel remains active with 1.5 million subscribers, to address the controversy head-on. 'What's up, everyone? If you're seeing this, that means I've probably been banned,' Piker told viewers in a defiant tone. 'That's right - cancel culture has finally come for me. Oh my God, it's over. It's over. The Free Speech Warriors - where are you now? They've taken me out, ladies and gentlemen. It's over. I'm done.' Popular left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker who has been described as the 'Democrats answer to Joe Rogan' has been banned from Twitch His suspension comes just days after a viral clip surfaced in which Piker said Republicans would 'kill' Florida Senator Rick Scott if they truly cared about government fraud Piker laid out his defense vehemently denying that his remarks were meant as a literal call to action. 'Now, that seems like a wild thing to say. "Oh my God, is this person calling for the death of a U.S. senator?" Of course not. I was not calling for the assassination of a U.S. senator,' he insisted. Instead, he claimed that his words were a hyperbolic expression of frustration at what he sees as Republican hypocrisy in handling government fraud. At the core of Piker's comments was a searing criticism of Florida Senator and former Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott, who led the massive Columbia/HCA health care fraud scheme in the 1990s. The company, which Scott co-founded, was fined a record-breaking $1.7 billion for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. Scott has repeatedly tried to distance himself from the scandal, even claiming last year that, like former President Donald Trump, he was the victim of 'political persecution.' 'I saw this. It happened to me,' Scott said, defending himself. 'I fought Hillarycare, and guess what happened when I fought Hillarycare? Justice came after me and attacked me and my company.' But Piker wasn't buying it. The influential account Libs of TikTok, which frequently targets left-wing public figures, highlighted the clip in a tweet that quickly gained traction The streamer later took to YouTube, where his channel remains active with 1.5 million subscribers, to address the controversy head-on before his ban was lifted on Tuesday 'The reason why I'm saying if you cared about Medicare or Medicaid fraud, you'd kill Rick Scott - and not make him a prominent part of the Republican Party - is because he, to this day, is still known for committing the largest Medicare fraud in U.S. history,' Piker said in his YouTube video, clarifying his controversial remarks. The backlash against Pike was swift with conservative commentators and right-wing influencers leading the charge for Piker's removal from Twitch. The influential account Libs of TikTok, which frequently targets left-wing public figures, highlighted the clip in a tweet that quickly gained traction. 'Hassan Piker just called for violence against a sitting U.S. Senator,' the post read, tagging the FBI. The tweet racked up 742,000 likes in a matter of days, setting the stage for a full-scale digital takedown. But it wasn't just conservative activists calling for action. Even fellow Twitch streamer and gaming commentator Asmongold who has become one of the largest political voices on the platform suggested Piker's comments violated Twitch's policies. 'How is that not against the TOS?' Asmongold asked during a YouTube livestream. 'It's an open call to violence. I challenge anybody who thinks it's not an open call to violence to say that exact thing about Donald Trump and then tell me if the Secret Service shows up at your house or not.' Asmongold, who also boasts almost 7 million followers across Twitch and YouTube, often reacts to Trump's events daily, gaining millions of views per video. Piker has built up a loyal following of 2.8 million fans Piker said next time he would 'choose my words carefully' In his YouTube rebuttal, Piker admitted that his word choice had been reckless but doubled down on his broader point. 'I shouldn't have used the term "kill". I should have used either 'capital punishment' or just 'punishment' in general,' he conceded. 'But once again, I've let you down. I've used hyperbolic language, and that hyperbolic language has brought trouble my way.' However, Piker insisted that the real scandal wasn't his wording - it was the Republican Party's decision to embrace Rick Scott despite his history of defrauding the federal government. 'Justice has not been served against Rick Scott in this case. Justice rarely ever gets served against rich people who exploit othersagainst rich people who defraud the federal government,' he said. Piker's Twitch suspension was lifted after a day and he returned to the platform on Tuesday afternoon. 'IM BACK! GET IN NOW!' he tweeted before heading back to Twitch. 'UNBANNED. I'm back and apolitical now!' he wrote. A MAGA senator has clashed with a CNN host after he mocked Justin Trudeau by referring to the Canadian prime minister as a 'Governor'. Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin appeared on Kasie Hunt's CNN show yesterday to discuss Ukraine and President Trump's fresh tariffs against Canada and Mexico. During the exchange Mr Mullin referred to Trudeau as a 'Governor' - an attack line used repeatedly by Trump in recent weeks with the President also declaring that the country should be annexed as the 51st state. Ms Hunt asked Mr Mullin if farmers in his state had voiced any concerns about the tariffs. To which Mr Mullin stressed that the policy was necessary even though it would 'hurt our homes, hurt our finances and hurt our communities,' because 'we understand that we need to get America back on track'. The Republican lawmaker then changes topic and begins talking about fentanyl and allegedly illegal activity which is taking place on the Canadian and Mexican border. Mr Mullin said: 'What we would love to do is, we would love to have Governor Trudeau work with us on the northern border and help solve that issue. We would love to have Mexico work with us and solve that issue.' 'Why they don't want to and why they're allowing cartels to openly work in their countries, flowing their illegal activities to us, is the bigger question. Why are they allowing that to take place?' Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin appeared on Kasie Hunt's CNN show yesterday to discuss Ukraine and President Trump's fresh tariffs against Canada and Mexico Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Trump has repeatedly mocked the world leader by referring to him as a 'Governor' Ms Hunt then awkwardly attempts to laugh off Mr Mullin remarks about the world leader by asking if it was intentional. To which Mr Mullin said: 'It was intentional, 100 percent, Kasie.' 'All right, fair enough,' Ms Hunt said, still laughing. 'It was, it was 100 percent intentional, yeah,' the staunch Trump supporter reiterated. After this, without challenging Mr Mullin over his remarks she ends the interview and thanks him for taking part. The interview comes after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods imported to the US. In response, Trudeau described the decision as 'dumb' and announced retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on $155billion worth of American goods. Following Trudeau's press conference, Trump once again referred to Trudeau as a Governor. Ms Hunt then awkwardly attempts to laugh off Mr Mullin remarks calling the world leader 'Governor Trudeau' by asking if it was intentional The interview comes after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods imported to the US He said: Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount! Mr Mullin has been one of Trump's biggest supporters in the Senate since he assumed office in 2023. He has previously supported false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. In December 2020, while a member of the House of Representatives, he was one of 126 Republicans in the House who signed a letter in support of Texas vs Pennsylvania - a lawsuit filed at the Supreme Court contesting the result of the 2020 election. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough branded President Trump's address to Congress as being 'written by ChatGPT', and goaded Trump for branding himself 'the greatest'. The commander-in-chief vowed to keep up his campaign of 'swift and unrelenting action' in his address before Congress on Tuesday night. Throughout his speech Trump also saw fit to ridicule his predecessor, make bold exaggerations amid a string of made-for-television moments. On Wednesday morning, Scarborough ridiculed the speech right off the bat, blasting Trump for it. He said: 'It really was almost like it was written by ChatGPT. I was thinking like the fifth verse, same as first, second, third, fourth. 'You know, there were the insults, there were the taunts, there were the exaggerations. There was a partisanship, top to bottom. 'There were personal attacks. The facts that were just wrong, whether it was the US spending more money on Ukraine or calling himself the greatest president.' He added: 'There's just so much nonsense. I cannot believe an independent voter wouldn't look at this speech and just turn it off and just go, enough's enough. On Wednesday morning, Scarborough, right, ridiculed the speech right off the bat, blasting Trump for it The commander-in-chief vowed to keep up his campaign of 'swift and unrelenting action' in his address before Congress on Tuesday night During his speech Trump also mentioned that his first month as president was 'the most successful' in the history of the US. He added that the president that came second as being the most successful was George Washington. Scarborough hit out at that claim also, saying: 'By the way, did you hear? That number two was George Washington? 'I have not seen the historical treatise on that yet. But thats what President Trump said last night.' Scarborough and his co-host Mika Brzezinski, who is also his wife, have had a contentious relationship with President Trump since he entered politics. In November, they said that they had visited Trump at his Florida home after their years long feud, despite Scarborough previously likening him to Adolf Hitler. At the time, Brzezinski said they decided to reach out to Trump due to their viewers expressing fear over his election win. Brzezinski shared that Trump was cheerful during their meeting and seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats. During his speech Trump also mentioned that his first month as president was 'the most successful' in the history of the US However, Scarborough concluded by telling viewers they will not stop their criticism of the president-elect. Trump used to be routine contributor to Morning Joe, and Scarborough was an early cheerleader for the billionaire's maverick bid for the GOP nomination in 2016. But relations soured as Trump pulled off a surprise victory in the Republican primaries and began to look like a serious challenger to the Democrats' Hillary Clinton. The show became a bastion of the Democratic establishment after Trump's first term, with President Biden routinely tuning in while doing his morning exercises. With Trump in the White House and Scarborough engaged to co-host Brzezinski he began cementing his show's identity as an outpost of opposition to the new administration. The couple even recorded a Christmas album called 'A Very Drumpf Christmas' with songs portraying the president as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Trump appeared on the show dozens of times before the pair fell out spectacularly during the 2016 election cycle It eventually attracted the attention of Trump, who delivered a series of put-downs, labeling Scarborough 'Psycho Joe' and his then-fiancee as 'low IQ Crazy Mika'. Trump also mischievously claimed she had been 'bleeding badly from a face-lift' during a visit to his Mar-a-Lago estate. Brzezinski later confirmed she'd been recovering from cosmetic surgery during the trip. The feud deepened when Trump revived long-debunked claims that Scarborough had been involved in the death of his former congressional staffer who was found dead on his office floor in 2001. An autopsy found that Lori Bolterstein Klausutis, 28, had hit her head on a desk after collapsing from an undiagnosed heart-valve irregularity but Trump called for a fresh investigation into the case. The allegations earned Trump his first rebuke from Twitter, which would eventually kick him off the platform altogether in January 2021. A man who ordered more than 200 Land Rover Defenders months before production of the iconic British 4x4 ended in 2016 says he's turned millions in profit after selling almost all of them at a premium over the last decade. But in an exclusive interview with This is Money and Mail Online, Charles Fawcett, founder of Yorkshire-based modifying company Twisted, claims Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) tried to block the move at every turn. Fawcett in 2015 made the astute decision to bulk-order a hoard of 'final run' Defenders knowing they would likely rocket in value once manufacturing came to a close and supply of the legendary off-roaders ran dry. After placing a request for 240 vehicles, he eventually received 239 of the last examples to leave JLR's Solihull assembly line, despite the car maker's best efforts to prevent it. Having stored the vehicles in a barn while values rocketed, each Defender is tuned with the company's own parts, including refitting the interior to adding more comfortable suspension and chassis upgrades, before being sold at a premium. In September 2022, the company announced the 'final' 16 vehicles from the haul would be sold at prices up to 222,000 - that's an 800 per cent mark-up on what they cost in 2015. With his story becoming something of an automotive viral sensation, Charles sat down with us to detail exactly how the huge order took place, the way in which it has impacted his business and what JLR did to attempt to block the delivery from arriving at all. And the story isn't over just yet: Charles exclusively revealed to This is Money that he still has a few 'brand new' Defenders bunkered away, describing them as 'better than money in the bank'. Charles Fawcett, founder of Twisted, bought 239 Land Rover Defenders in 2015, just months before production of the iconic 4x4 ended In an interview with This is Money, Fawcett (pictured), who owns the Yorkshire-based modifying company, explains how Jaguar Land Rover tried to block the move How the order of 239 Defenders almost didn't happen Talking to us about the monumental order, Fawcett said it almost didn't happen at all. 'JLR didn't want us to have them. We had to fight like hell to get the order,' he explained. With the company at the time only selling renovated Defenders and knowing production was due to end in a matter of months, Charles says he wanted to buy enough stock to tide him over for at least four years. Having been tipped off by a dealer about the opportunity to place an order for some of the last-built Defenders in 2015, Fawcett discussed availability and pricing with someone from JLR. But the British company's tune soon changed. 'The guy from Land Rover called me one Friday and said if I didn't place the order that day we wouldn't get any because Land Rover was about to change its policy and not supply vehicles to modifiers like ourselves. 'I quickly fired over an email requesting 240 vehicles, asking if we could sort colours and specifications the following week, to which he replied 'thank you for an amazing order'. 'The most I had ordered new at one time before that was eight vehicles.' However, a meeting with JLR soon after revealed the car maker's reluctance to provide them. 'JLR invited me to a meeting and said you're not getting any cars because there aren't any available. 'It all got a bit legal but eventually they agreed we could have them.' And he claims that wasn't the end of the difficulties dealing with the British marque. After the first 120 vehicles were delivered, JLR introduced a number of stipulations about what would happen to the vehicles and how they would be marketed, including he says blocking Twisted from using the Defender name. When This is Money raised this with the car maker, a spokesman told us: 'JLR takes active measures to protect its intellectual property.' Charles said that once these terms were agreed, the second half of the order arrived, but the delays meant they were not delivered until that summer. 'That really ended up benefiting us,' he explains. 'It meant the final 120 or so that arrived were all registered six months after production had stopped in January 2016. This identified the vehicles among the last off the line and, arguably, more collectable.' Fawcett in 2015 placed an order for 240 of the 'last of the run' Land Rover Defenders Charles tells us that the 120 to arrive in the summer of 2016 did the company a favour The vehicles were stored in a barn before each was upgraded with Twisted's components In September 2022, Twisted announced the final 16 Defenders from the incredible order were due to be offered for sale But Charles says the logistics of the deal were far from simple. 'I didn't have any money when I placed that order in 2015. I borrowed every single penny from a great bank who was really up for doing cool, different stuff - and I had some private investment support to start with,' Charles told This is Money. 'At the time, the gross turnover for the company was 3.5million, so we were a tiny business. But we ended up ordering between 8million and 9million worth of vehicles. 'We also had nowhere to store 240 vehicles, so we had to scramble to find a suitable location to keep them locked away.' And litigation battles with the British vehicle gisnt didn't end there. In 2019, Charles won a trademark dispute with the British car maker, which had claimed in the Court of Appeal for England and Wales that a subsidiary business operating under Twisted had used the 'LR' name, which Jaguar Land Rover claimed was too similar to the firm's then abbreviated name, JLR, which has since become its rebranded identity. Charles counterclaimed that the LR name had been registered as a trademark back in 2015 and JLR had never used the 'LR' tag as an official trading name. The judge leading the case, Mrs Justice Rose, wrote after the hearing: 'The undisputed evidence was that Jaguar Land Rover has never used the initials 'LR' as a sign for its goods in this country.' Following the court's decision, Fawcett declared it a victory against 'bullying tactics' before selling that business in 2021. This case came around the same time that JLR was also embroiled in a legal battle with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Automotive regarding the latter's plan to sell its own utilitarian off-road vehicle as a spiritual successor to the then defunct Defender. In August 2020, JLR also lost the court case to trademark the shape of the Defender, allowing Ineos to produce its Grenadier. 'JLR didn't want us to have them. We had to fight like hell to get the order,' Charles Fawcett (pictured) told This is Money How much profit has he made from the Defenders? In 2015, when the vehicles were ordered, each new Land Rover Defender should have cost between 26,000 to 33,000, depending on the model and specification, Fawcett recalls. However, he said he negotiated a 14.8 per cent discount on the 240 vehicles, paying around an average of 22,600 per Defender. While various reports across the internet have attempted to calculate the revenue generated from Charles' order of 239 motors, he says it is difficult to say exactly how much he made when factoring in the costs of upgrading them. 'We've sold around 210 and turned every single one into a Twisted vehicle. 'Back in the early days of having them, we were selling at 60,000 to 100,000. Most now are 150,000 to 250,000, so we clearly have margin in there. 'However, a huge amount has been spent on development, R&D and production time. 'I guess you could directly attribute 50million to 60million turnover that's been achieved off the back of them, probably more.' Charles says that while Twisted would have still existed today it would have taken a 'somewhat different path' had it not been for the decision to bulk order the cars back in 2015. Twisted has recently launched in both Japan and the US as well as diversifying into the world of boats with its Twisted Marine division. 'That delivery, that commitment, has allowed us to totally transform the business,' he said. Reflecting on the order, Charles says that in the grand scheme of global business where companies spend billions, it was a 'tiny little deal'. He added: 'We're just Land Rover enthusiasts in North Yorkshire who build cool stuff, have some amazing customers and just love what we do. 'To be able to grab that delivery of vehicles was phenomenal for us as a tiny business. It's right up there with the best financial decision of my life.' Fawcett told This is Money: 'We've stored them, serviced them, cleaned them, covered them, we've looked after these things for 10 years and now I'm kind of attached to them' Charles tells us he still has 25 of the 'new' Defenders locked away in a barn. He describes them as 'better than money in the bank' Fawcett told us the 25 will mostly make up his own collection, though he may make one or two available to the open market, specifically to Twisted's most dedicated customers And he still has 25 'new' Defenders in storage... Having claimed the company has sold around 210 of the Defenders, we asked Charles about the outstanding models from the order. And he confirms there are still some in storage, all of which have almost certainly soared in value. 'I have some but I'm keeping them back for a collection of my own,' he told us. 'I might release the odd one here and there. We have a few special customers who we'd let have a brand new donor car. But the last dozen or so I will keep to myself. I think there's 25 left at the moment. 'We've stored them, serviced them, cleaned them, covered them; we've looked after these things for 10 years and now I'm kind of attached to them. They've always been around, you know? 'And in reality, they're better than money in the bank. 'If I could have kept 120 or 150 of them I would have done because that opportunity was a once in a lifetime you're not going to get that twice. All the stars aligned for us to get that order.' The last Land Rover Defender pictured coming off the production line at Solihull on Friday 29 January 2016 More than two million Defenders had been produced over a 68-year spell as it became one of the most-loved and long-lived road vehicles. It was replaced by the new Defender in 2020 The rising value of Land Rover Defenders While Defender prices have soared since January 2016, Charles says trying to convince banks to lend him money to purchase a bulk order towards the end of its production - when a car would typically become a depreciating asset - was not easy. 'I don't know of any other run-of-the-mill vehicle that has ever gone up in value after production has ended,' he explained. 'Supercars like Paganis, Bugattis and Ferraris are a different story because they're built in much smaller volumes, but your normal production vehicles all depreciate once manufacturing ends. 'I can't tell you how many banks I went to see to ask to be lent millions of pounds to buy a load of vehicles to put in a shed in the hope they would go up in value. It made no sense to most people at the time.' Classic car experts say original Defenders are big business today, with collectors desperate to get their hands on them. John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide, told This is Money: 'Original Land Rover Defenders have a huge place in the heart of many car enthusiasts, and this has translated into some big prices being spent on them in recent years. 'The release of the 'Spectre' Land Rovers used in the Bond films onto the market increased visibility and demand for the model, peaking in 2018 when Bonhams sold one for 365,000 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale. 'Demand from the US was also huge - Defenders were the most imported classic car models from UK to US until surpassed by the Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R in September 2023.' This Spectre Defender sold at a Bonhams auction in 2018 for a massive 365k. But classic car experts say values peaked and have softened more recently However, John says Defender values have 'dropped significantly' since their peak. 'A Spectre Land Rover is now worth around 150,000 to 175,000 and the last of the production models are worth around 100,000. 'Royal Land Rovers are also in demand: Hagerty's Power List suggests that Royal ownership adds an average of 157 per cent to the value of any car. 'Specially- modified cars by companies such as Twisted can have a build cost much higher than this, but these are generally built to order for very passionate enthusiasts who do it for love, not for financial gain, and resale values are likely to be less than the outlay.' Fawcett says around 210 of the Defenders have already been turned into Twisted vehicles. The upgrades include making the suspension and chassis more comfortable for on-road use Twisted can also supply different engines, bodywork modifications and a complete cabin overhaul One of the last 16 models from the 239-vehicle order that was made available for sale in 2022. But it turns out the 'One of One' collection were not the final models Fawcett had stashed away Twisted now buys used examples of the Defender for its modifying projects. Up to 2,000 hours is spent on each vehicle to make it unique Twisted has recently launched in both the Japanese and US markets, as well as diversifying into the world of boats with its Twisted Marine division Twisted can still sell you a 'better than new' Defender... if you can afford one With no new Defenders available, Twisted's automotive department now relies on sourcing existing vehicles to continue its modifying business. However, Charles explains that so much work goes into upgrading them that they become 'better than new' once his team has completed each project. Some 19 vehicles are currently listed on the Twisted website, many advertised as POA (price of application). The most expensive with a price confirmed is just under 200,000. 'In our early days we would spend 200 to 300 hours adding our parts. But the builds we do now are between 1,200 to 2,000 hours per car as we are changing almost every single part. We therefore don't need an unused donor anymore and can instead buy something that's done some miles. 'By the time we finish working on them, they're better than they were new,' Fawcett says. 'Now we just source them in the marketplace. I was recently offered two from a chap who had them in his shed since 2015 and they'd done 50 miles so there are still some delivery mileage Defenders out there.' Jerry Oppenheimer is a bestselling biographer and Kennedy expert who has written two books about the family, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and The Dark Side of the Dream and The Other Mrs. Kennedy: Ethel Skakel Kennedy, An American Drama of Power, Privilege, and Politics. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is America's new boss at the Department of Health and Human Services in the nation's capital, but back home in Los Angeles, he's under orders from his own boss his wife, actress Cheryl Hines. And she's recently given him a 'strict ultimatum'. The Curb Your Enthusiasm actress has ordered RFK Jr, 71, to move her to D.C. to be with him 'forthwith' fearing the notoriously womanizing Kennedy scion's self-proclaimed 'lust demons' will resurface if he's allowed to be 'even a part-time bachelor' in the nation's capital where the female population dominates. Well-connected sources have told DailyMail.com exclusively that Hines, 59, is 'absolutely still recovering from the emotional shock and pain' she received last September when her husband of ten years got caught up in a scandalous sexting affair with a woman half his age that 'blindsided' Cheryl and ignited divorce chatter. They have seemingly made up, as a smiling Cheryl was present at Bobby's recent contentious confirmation hearings and swearing-in ceremony althoough she skipped President Trump's addressto Congress on Tuesday night. 'Cheryl doesn't feel Bobby can be trusted one iota living on his own, in D.C., even part-time, with so many attractive women and Kennedy groupies around, as he gets settled in his powerful new position,' one insider said. 'So she's given him a strict ultimatum move me or else.' Hines's rep did not return DailyMail.com's request for comment. Cheryl Hines, 59, has ordered her husband RFK Jr., the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, to move her to D.C. indefinitely as sources tell DailyMail.com she fears his new cabinet position will reignite his 'lust demons' The two have seemingly made up from Kennedy's alleged shocking 'sexting affair' with a young journalist as she was seen at his swearing-in ceremony New York Magazine star political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, 31, alleged year-long affair with Kennedy started when she interviewed the then-independent presidential hopeful in November 2023 While Cheryl's been a part of the Hollywood celebrity scene for years and the couple shares a $6million estate in the exclusive Brentwood section of LA, sources said: 'Cheryl's willing to sacrifice all that glamorous lifestyle to become a political wife, move to D.C. forthwith, and live in trendy Georgetown, so she can keep a close watch on Bobby.' RFK Jr. is a notorious Casanova who cheated on his previous two wives, Emily Black, and Mary Richardson. The latter committed suicide by hanging at 52 years old in May 2012, partially because of his alleged adultery. Richardson was the mother of four of Kennedy's six children, while Black had two. According to the insiders, 'Cheryl thinks Washington is stodgy and boring compared to L.A., and she has absolutely no love for MAGA or the Trump circle that Bobby's now a part of. 'But she'll be supportive of him as long as he stays monogamous. But if he strays as he did with the sexting affair, watch out!' The other woman in that relationship was sexy New York Magazine star political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, 31, who began what was termed 'an inappropriate' relationship with Kennedy. Their alleged sordid affair was ignited when she interviewed the then-independent presidential hopeful in November 2023. Nuzzi claimed their relationship was personal, but 'never physical,' and Kennedy asserted that he had only met Nuzzi 'once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece'. 'Cheryl thinks Washington is stodgy and boring compared to L.A., and she has absolutely no love for MAGA or the Trump circle,' one source said Mary Richardson committed suicide by hanging at 52 years old in May 2012, partially because of his alleged adultery, sources say But despite the young journalist denying the allegations, the magazine and Nuzzi parted ways. Ryan Lizza, a journalist for Politico and Nuzzi's ex-fiance, charged last October that her year-long affair with Kennedy was 'catastrophically reckless behavior' and a 'disturbing relationship' that led to their breakup. In a filing in District of Columbia Superior Court, Lizza claimed the thrice-married Kennedy not named in the court papers had manipulated Nuzzi, telling her he wanted to 'possess', 'control' and 'impregnate' her. Lizza said he was 'devastated' when he learned of Nuzzi's relationship, which caused him to end their engagement. He stated that he thought they were in a 'monogamous, committed and loving relationship,' but later discovered that Nuzzi 'had been cheating on me with a married man for almost a year'. He claimed that Nuzzi acknowledged the 'affair' and called it 'toxic', 'unhealthy', 'stupid', 'psychotic', 'crazy', and 'indefensible'. Lizza also noted that Nuzzi considered there was a 'huge power disparity' with the much older Kennedy. Within days of the revelation about Bobby's relationship with Nuzzi, Cheryl was photographed without her wedding ring at a Gucci afterparty during fashion week in Milan, igniting rumors and chatter of an impending divorce action. Moreover, around the time of the Nuzzi revelation, three women affiliated with Kennedy's anti-vaccine organization, the Children's Health Defense, alleged that he cheated on Hines with them. Within days of the revelation about Bobby's relationship with Nuzzi, Cheryl was photographed without her wedding ring at a Gucci afterparty during fashion week in Milan Ryan Lizza, a journalist for Politico, and Nuzzi's ex-fiance, said her year-long affair with Kennedy was 'catastrophically reckless behavior' and led to their breakup Through a spokesperson, Kennedy denied that he had any romantic relationships outside his marriage to Hines. The term 'lust demons' that Hines fears might surface again if Bobby is left to his own devices, even part-time, in Washington, according to the sources, was used by Kennedy himself in a shocking personal sex diary discovered by his second wife, Mary Richardson. According to the New York Post, more than two dozen liaisons are listed, along with the first names of women with whom he had sexual conquests during the year 2001, with codes for the type of sexual activity a ten meant intercourse. Of the 37 females, more than half received ratings of ten, ranging from the wife of a Hollywood actor to an environmental activist. Cheryl was well aware of Kennedy's checkered sexual history with women, and sources close to her told me for my book, RFK Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream, that they were shocked that she had actually begun an affair with him, and while he was still married to Richardson. At the time, she was divorced from her first husband Hollywood producer Paul Young with whom she had a daughter. Other sources told me of the many affairs he had, and his sometimes bizarre behavior such as presenting himself in the nude with other women around. Unlike Bobby's first wife who was a Phi Beta Kappa in college and an attorney in New York, and Richardson who was an architectural designer, Cheryl Hines's claim to fame before Hollywood was homecoming queen in the class of 1983 at a Florida public high school. After Kennedy's mother Ethel passed away, the couple was photographed holding hands at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port showing a united front only ten days after she was seen without her ring She later told her hometown Tallahassee newspaper: 'I was not the prettiest or the most popular girl in school.' Traveling to Hollywood in hopes of an acting career, she first became an assistant to actor-director Rob Reiner and eventually landed her big role as the perky wife of the neurotic Larry David on HBO's hit, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Bobby and Cheryl later claimed it was David who introduced Cheryl to Kennedy and told him, 'Nothing you ever do will rattle her.' But other sources said that Bobby's wife, Richardson, had made the introduction and was later shocked that Cheryl was having an affair with him, and was enthralled to marry into America's so-called royal family later calling life with Bobby 'spicier,' and a lot of laughs. But that all changed when the sexting scandal became public. A longtime friend of Bobby, who was one of the 300 guests at the Hines-Kennedy wedding at the storied Kennedy Compound on Cape Cod, told DailyMail.com: 'Any woman who gets involved with Bobby does so with eyes wide open, or their brains lopped off. 'Any woman who thinks they're going to change Bobby is misguided and purposefully ignorant. Women have to understand what they're getting into when they're with him. 'You can hate it, you can make excuses for it, you can do whatever you want to do, it doesn't change the fact that he has a long history of doing certain things. 'And if you think, "Wow, I'll be different", then you're f****d.' At first glance, it appears to be a typical student advert. I want an apartment with good soundproofing, because I have social needs and would like to have a party, Zhenhao Zou wrote. But in reality, the UCL students desire for good soundproofing had a darker significance. For behind the wealthy and charming facade, lay a predatory rapist described in court as every womans nightmare and a wolf in sheeps clothing who was prepared to take every step to silence his victims screams. Today he was convicted of 11 rapes against ten women, but police fear he may have attacked a further 50 with around half this number in London and the other half in his native China. He was also found guilty of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment, three counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. The extent of Zous depravity was only revealed by sick souvenir videos he filmed of his stupefied victims after luring them back to his plush apartments and plying them with drink and drugs, before raping them. Zou - who is the son of a wealthy Chinese Communist Party member - raped women while recording footage on a hidden camera. Pictured is his Bumble dating profile A photo shared on WeChat where Zou shows himself posing with a luxury watch In one video, which reduced jurors to tears, a semi-conscious woman begged him to stop, but he chillingly sneered: Dont push me, its pointlessthe sound insulation here is very good. The identity of many of the women in the footage is unknown, with police having so far identified just two of the 10 victims included in his trial. Police say a third woman recently contacted them having read reports about the case. In addition, the Mail has spoken to two women who claim Zou tried to attack them in Britain and China. But astonishingly despite so much of his offending feared to have taken place in China investigators have never been granted permission to raid the home of the sexual deviant, whose father is a Chinese Communist Party officer and wealthy industrialist and whose mother is a schoolteacher. Nor have any charges been brought in his homeland, where Zou bragged of his sexual prowess, once boasting that he had slept with over 100 women in a year and proudly appearing on an online dating show with influencers. Raised in the city of Dongguan, in Guangdong province, southern China, Zou and his younger brother enjoyed a privileged upbringing thanks to his influential father, who was the director of a state-owned business in Songshan Lake, a leading science and innovation zone in the city known as the factory of the world due to its booming manufacturing industry. His family live in the picturesque Songshan Lake Park area and have multiple homes in China, including a detached property Zou stayed in alone during the pandemic. He described himself as a 28-year-old PhD researcher who 'works out often' a fact he was keen to flaunt with topless mirror selfies Zou boasted of his sexual prowess and appeared on a dating show in China Zou attended the Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), a specialist engineering university described by one source as an international school for rich kids. He completed his mechanical design and manufacturing course in 2015, before moving to Belfast two years later to study an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Queens University. In 2019, Zou - who went by the nickname Pakho - moved to University College London, (UCL) where he obtained a masters degree before beginning a PhD in 2021. But Zou appears to have had little interest in his studies and spent more time obsessing over his looks and status, showing off his Rolex watches, which a classmate believes were fake. He set up a series of online dating profiles under different names, describing himself as a 28-year-old PhD researcher who works out often a fact he was keen to flaunt with topless mirror selfies. However, Zous physical transformation wasnt solely achieved in the gym. Hooked on plastic surgery, he admitted in court to having a hair transplant, surgery on his eyelids, fat injections under his chin and adjustments on his teeth and wearing make-up to look better. On his Bumble profile, Zou told potential dates: Lets go drinking and have fun. A Tinder profile where the student appears under a different name Zou appears to have had little interest in his studies and spent more time obsessing over his looks and flaunting his wealth The reality was far more sinister. Some students became concerned about his behaviour towards women, with one classmate revealing to the Mail that he and others had to intervene when Zou tried to get girls on their own. The classmate, who did not want to be named, said Zou was a regular at student drinking sessions: When he was at karaoke, he would try to take our [female] classmate outside. We would stop him, worried that something may happen. Another classmate said he met Zou at drinking events at a UCL student function room, where he made disrespectful jokes about women. He said Zou would force girls to drink if they lost in a game, and that he was very strict about how much they should drink. He would mix two kinds of alcohol together; the ratio is up to him. I recall that compared to other drinking events, at his events, the girls get drunk faster. Zou had also become familiar with hard drugs, including ketamine and ecstasy. In this photo, he is seen posing in the window of St Dunstan in the East, a ruined church in London A number of other illicit substances were also recovered by police When police raided his flat at the Uncle building, in Elephant and Castle, southeast London, in January 2024 they seized pipettes, glass vials, two bottles of Butanediol, Xanax tablets, Viagra, ketamine and MDMA. Unbeknownst to his peers, Zou had begun attacking women in 2019 at his student flat in Bloomsbury. One of the two women identified by police told the trial how she went out drinking with Zou in Chinatown, central London, in September 2021 after a meal with friends. She said her last memory was vomiting in the street and losing her bank cards before she woke up to find Zou having sex with her. The following September, Zou tried to attack another woman in China. She has bravely shared her story with the Mail, but has yet to speak to police. The woman said she was almost raped after meeting Zou for dinner and returning to his quiet waterside apartment in Zhupingsha, a boutique village, in Dongguan. She recalled: [We] had some drinks, he almost raped me. I screamed immediately [when he exposed himself]. He was afraid that neighbours may hear so he let me go. A photo of Zou where he poses as a diligent student Zou targeted Chinese women, who he brought back to his flat The woman said she was traumatised after the incident but felt relieved on seeing Zou being prosecuted in the UK. Another Chinese woman called Siobhan, a pseudonym, said she met Zou on Intel Cupid, a Chinese dating app, before he invited her to a Halloween party at his flat in November 2023. Siobhan, a 26-year-old student, who has since returned to China, went to the party at Zous two-bedroom rented flat in southeast London, where he lived with a female housemate. When Siobhan arrived, Zou said his male friend had cancelled, so it would just be him and five women he met online. Recalling how Zou had a lot of alcohol in his flat, she said he mixed his guests drinks and they played drinking games like Truth or Dare. Siobhan remembers a good-looking young girl got pretty drunk and asked her to take her home from the party. I was also a bit drunk when she said that, but I didnt want to go home yet, so I said in a bit, Siobhan said. She fell asleep and when she awoke, the other guests were leaving. But the young girl whose name she doesnt recall was still sprawled on the sofa. Zou was branded a 'persistent sexual predator' who lured young Chinese women back to his flat before drugging and raping them The rapist seen on police bodycam when he was being arrested in his flat I was leaving, Zou escorted me downstairs, at that moment only the young girl remained. I think she drank too much, she cant walk, just laid on the sofa. She said Zou claimed it was too dangerous for the inebriated young woman to leave immediately, so she could rest at his flat and they would call a taxi later. Although Siobhan does not know what happened to that young woman, six months earlier Zou had given an almost identical tale before he raped the other woman identified by police after a drinking party at his flat. The screaming and crying woman, who cannot be named, told the trial how she felt drunk and out of control and had begged Zous female friend to help her get home. But Zou persuaded his friend to leave, arguing he couldnt let the drunken woman go home alone, so she would stay with him. Another woman called Xixi, also a pseudonym, said when she met Zou to talk about studying, he tried to kiss her and lure her back to his flat for drinks. The 28-year-old student said she met Zou in 2021 after she initially connected with him online. But the meeting at a cheap Vietnamese restaurant near Zous Bloomsbury flat soon turned to his sex life. The bedroom in Zou's flat, where he chillingly boasted that 'the sound insulation is very good' Officers seized items including a 'graduated dropper pipette' and two brown bottles containing 500ml of clear liquid labelled '1,4 - Butanediol.' A host of different drugs in pill form were also discovered by police at Zou's residence His phone was filled with girls, Xixi recalled, adding that he showed her pictures of previous girlfriends who in reality appeared to be online models selling sex. Xixi described Zou as a serious sex addict who had boasted that he slept with more than 100 girls in a year. During their meeting, Zou, who wore designer clothes and had a Louis Vuitton bag, boasted that he was generous to women and would buy them luxury gifts. He invited me to come to his place to drink wine, I dont drink alcohol, so I didnt go, she said. It was to be a lucky escape, but others were not so fortunate. A Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women could have abused more than 50 other victims in the UK and China, police fear. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was today unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders as police revealed dozens of new victims had been seen in the sick home videos he filmed of his attacks. Zou, the son of a wealthy Chinese Communist Party member, drugged and raped three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023, while he was studying at University College London. Of the 50 new victims, Zou is believed to have carried out half the attacks in London and the other half in China. The shocking disclosures come after the sexual predator was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. Zou lured the Chinese women back to his plush properties and stupefied them with drink and drugs before attacking them and filming it on hidden spy cameras. UCL student Zhenhao Zou, 28, drugged and raped three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023 Zou was branded a 'persistent sexual predator' who lured young Chinese women back to his flat before drugging and raping them The rapist seen on police bodycam when he was being arrested in his flat The identity of many of the women in Zou's footage is unknown, with police having so far identified just two of the 10 victims that were part of the trial. Officers began investigating Zou in November 2023 after a woman who was not included in the trial reported him for rape. Police have now revealed another woman has recently contacted them after reading press reports of the case. During the four-week trial, jurors were reduced to tears when they were shown a harrowing video of a semi-conscious unknown woman begging Zou to stop raping her, but the predator chillingly sneered: 'Don't push me, it's pointless the sound insulation here is very good'. One of the two female victims identified by police told the trial how she went out drinking with Zou in Chinatown, central London, in September 2021 after a meal with friends. She said her last memory was vomiting in the street and losing her bank cards before she woke up to find Zou raping her. On May 18, 2023, Zou raped the other woman identified by police after a drinking party at his flat in Elephant and Castle. The 'screaming and crying' woman told the trial how she felt drunk and 'out of control' and had begged Zou's female friend to help her get home. Police have launched an appeal to find more victims of convicted rapist Zhenhao Zou, 28 Zou looks on impassively while being interviewed (left) before sipping from a cup of water (right) But Zou persuaded his friend to leave, arguing he couldn't let the drunken woman go home alone, so she would stay with him. He kept her at the flat and later raped her. When police raided his flat at the Uncle building, in Elephant and Castle, southeast London, in January 2024, they seized pipettes, glass vials and bottles of Butanediol. Prosecutors previously said Zou filmed nine of the alleged victims, footage of which was played in court. Asked by Mr Cotter why that particular genre appealed to him, Zou said: 'I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex.' Mr Cotter then asked Zou: 'What about being asleep?' The student replied: 'Yes, that's my favourite type. But I could not find that.' Ms Farrelly said: 'The police reviewed over 700,000 artefacts which included 1,277 videos. 'The police found absolutely no trace whatsoever of such an interest (in timestop pornography) when they went through that material.' He described himself as a 28-year-old PhD researcher who 'works out often' a fact he was keen to flaunt with topless mirror selfies Officers seized items including a 'graduated dropper pipette' and two brown bottles containing 500ml of clear liquid labelled '1,4 - Butanediol.' A host of different drugs in pill form were also discovered by police at Zou's residence In his closing speech, Mr Cotter told jurors on Tuesday that Zou says he has insomnia and has 'an interest in sleep sex'. 'He thinks there may be a connection,' Mr Cotter said. Mr Cotter told jurors Zou is 'a young man with money who can pay to exercise his fantasies'. Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how the student kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. One woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was raped by Zou on May 18, 2023. Ms Farrelly told jurors: 'She says when she woke up the following morning she searched high and low for her underwear, and eventually he (Zou) found it in his wardrobe. 'You now know, although the woman never did, that in fact he had a box in his wardrobe that was full of women's belongings. 'He calls it a lost property box, we say it is his trophy box. Why is it that every single item belongs to a woman?' Zou kept a 'lost property box' in his wardrobe full of women's belongings Zou kept a large collection of condoms in a Louis Vuitton box The horrifying scale of Zou's crimes was uncovered during a complex and 'painstaking' investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Public Protection Team, which reviewed six-a-half-trillion bytes of data on Zou's digital devices, including hundreds of videos and more than nine million WeChat messages. But as officers launched a nationwide victims appeal, top cops warned the overall figure of 60 victims could be just the tip of the iceberg. Commander Kevin Southworth, of the Met's Public Protection Team, said: 'We're fully open-minded that it may well be higher than that, which [means] Zou is the most substantial and most prolific offender that we've come across in recent times. 'When you consider the scale, the deceitful nature, the calculating, predatory nature of what Zou has done hereit's fairly unprecedented. 'It's certainly not something that I've experienced in my 28 years of policing, to see a man who has plainly gone out of his way to deceive, to drug, to incapacitate his victimswhere many of them may have no recollection of what occurred[and to then] commit these horrific sexual assaults.' Unveiling the Met's appeal to victims and witnesses, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Mackenzie said: 'We are keeping an open mind currently about the identities of the victims. 'However, we are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student communities who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019 and 2024. 'We would also like to speak to potential victims who may have met Zou while he was living in China.' A hidden spy camera that the rapist used to record his crimes The kitchen, which was littered with bottles of alcohol. He often offered alcoholic drinks to his victims More boxes of condoms that were found inside a drawer at his flat A number of other illicit substances were also recovered by police He also appealed to women who may have spoken to him on dating apps or on Chinese social media sites like WeChat or Little Red Book. He added: 'Due to the nature of his offending, we believe some women may not, in fact, know that they are a victim, and we do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about his crimes following his verdict. 'We want to reassure those women that reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.' In an unusual and controversial move, police did not publicise the charges against Zou in the year the case was in the criminal justice system. Asked why police did not launch a victims appeal sooner, DCI Mackenzie said it was a 'deliberate operational decision made to ensure we could protect the integrity of the ongoing trial' and future legal cases. He said investigators did not want to 'taint' the evidence prior to court proceedings and that a 'phased approach' was taken to approaching women who may have no memory or knowledge they are victims. Asked if there would be a parallel appeal in China, Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton told reporters police are 'working through' this 'in negotiation with the Chinese authorities'. Despite the scale of Zou's offending in China, British police were never given permission to raid the home of the sexual deviant, with their investigation limited solely to England and Wales. Zou boasted of his sexual prowess and appeared on a dating show in China The bedroom in Zou's flat, where he chillingly boasted that 'the sound insulation is very good' The flat's bathroom. Zou posed as a smart and charming young man when in reality he was a persistent sexual predator Quizzed on 'how confident' UK police are that the Chinese will help with the appeal, Commander Southworth said they haven't been 'unhelpful'. He added: 'We've nothing to suggest that they won't respond, and they've been responding constructively to everything we've asked them so far.' He also thanked the Chinese Ministry of Justice for enabling officers to visit China to directly support one of the two victims as she gave evidence via video link during the trial. Zou is thought to be among some of Britain's most prolific sex offenders including Reynhard Sinaga and Black cab rapist John Worboys. As the world's worst rapist, Sinaga, now 42, was convicted of 159 sex attacks on 48 heterosexual men in Manchester between 2015 and 2017. It was later revealed that Sinaga who incapacitated victims with the date rape drug GHB had preyed on at least 195 different men after police found footage he filmed of the attacks. Worboys, now 67, was convicted of 19 sex attacks against 12 women between 2006 and 2008. Worboys who gave victims drug-laced champagne before attacking them in his cab is believed to have raped or sexually assaulted more than 100 women before he was caught. If you wish to speak to Met detectives or make a report relating to Zou, you can also contact police via email on survivors@met.police.uk You can also make a report to police by calling 101 from within the UK, quoting reference 2904/04FEB25. Residents across 17 boroughs overlooking the River Thames have been left fuming over proposed changes that could see them pay thousands more in licence fees for having balconies on their flats. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is seeking to amend the Port of London Act 1968 - its governing legal framework - through a Harbour Revision Order (HRO), which would alter its charging regime. But the move has been slammed as a 'power grab' and a 'racket' designed to 'extract more money from river residents.' One of the most contentious aspects of the proposal is a steep increase in fees for river work licences, including the installation of balconies overlooking the Thames. Over the past decade, these charges have skyrocketed by over 10,000 per property per year. At the start of a three-week public inquiry which began last week, objectors criticised the PLA, arguing it operates without sufficient regulation or oversight, allowing it to set prices as it pleases. Simon Anthony, a retired chartered accountant living at Cubitt Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, branded the PLA's approach 'an abuse of power.' He fumed: 'The PLA has been abusing its considerable powers unchecked for decades, even bringing a private criminal prosecution in an attempt to extract more money from river residents. 'It's been charging residents ever more extortionate amounts for their balconies, rainwater outfalls, and disused "campsheds", all of which it dubiously classifies as commercial "works". 'For example, these charges are so inflated that residents with balconies are now paying more per square metre than their flats are worth - ten times more per square metre of river than is paid by the hugely profitable London Eye.' James Haas, a resident managing the situation for 24 apartments at Oliver's Wharf, revealed that charges for their balconies have surged by over 10,000 in recent years Oliver's Wharf. James warned: 'If this compound annual growth rate continues for the next 20 years, we will be paying 65,000 for our balconies' Abel DuCloux (right), another affected resident who is representing Roneo Wharf, described the situation as a 'Mafia-on-Thames' operation Abel said: ''One of my neighbours is being asked around 3,000 per year for a balcony of the same size [as my own].' Pictured: Abel's balcony at Roneo Wharf Abel DuCloux, another affected resident who is representing Roneo Wharf, described the situation as a 'Mafia-on-Thames' operation, pointing out the absurdity of being charged for a balcony that merely overhangs the water. He said: 'There is a question about whether a balcony is a river work in the first place: the balcony does not rest on the water nor float on it. 'The PLA claims to own the riverbed when in fact they may hold it in trust but not necessarily be entitled to charge for trespass, i.e., overhang. 'One of my neighbours is being asked around 3,000 per year for a balcony of the same size. The owner of the flat directly above me pays five times what I pay for the same size balcony. The reason the PLA can get away with this is that they are a monopoly and answer to no one.' James Haas, a resident managing the situation for 24 apartments at Oliver's Wharf, revealed that charges for their balconies have surged by over 10,000 in recent years. 'In 2016, we got a letter from the Port of London Authority saying they had forgotten to apply the reviews, and therefore we would have to retroactively be charged for what they would have charged us had the review taken place. This meant the charges were going to go up by 60 or 70 percent in one go,' he explained. While he initially fought the increase, the threat of an expensive legal battle they could lose, forced residents to accept the higher fees. He warned: 'If this compound annual growth rate continues for the next 20 years, we will be paying 65,000 for our balconies.' Residents with balconies at Cubitt Wharf (pictured) are now allegedly paying more per square metre than their flats are worth Simon Anthony, a retired chartered accountant living at Cubitt Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, branded the PLA's approach 'an abuse of power'. Pictured here with Ralph Hardwick who represents the River Residents Group Simon fumed: 'The PLA has been abusing its considerable powers unchecked for decades, even bringing a private criminal prosecution in an attempt to extract more money from river residents.' Pictured: the view from Simon's balcony over Cubitt Wharf David Beaumont from the Organisation of PLA Customers exposed the shocking scale of the hikes, stating that some residents had seen their fees rise by 500 percent. He condemned the move as a blatant attempt by an 'unregulated, self-serving QUANGO' to increase its financial grip on river users. He said: 'The PLA, as it is now, was created by their own Private Act of Parliament in 1968. Their 2025 Harbour Revision Order (HRO) is a power grab, significantly increasing the legal privileges they arranged for themselves in 1968but this time without the inconvenience of having to go through Parliament.' Ralph Hardwick, who spoke on behalf of the River Residents Group at the public enquiry last week argued that the HRO would empower the PLA to gain more revenue while sidestepping vital environmental responsibilities. He said: 'The HRO seeks more power and revenue for the PLA while declining to strengthen its engagement with pollution arising from the use of the Thames by the vessels it permits and licenses or its transparency and accountability.' He added: 'The PLA claims its aim is to leave the Thames better than it found it and we applaud that aim. But we say that this is not the HRO for that task.' However, the PLA has defended its actions, stating that its approach follows the Department for Transport's guidance for harbour authorities to 'keep their powers under review.' The inquiry follows an earlier public consultation between August and October 2021, during which several objections were raised to the PLA's proposals. The PLA, which has managed the Thames since its creation in 1908, oversees a massive 248 square kilometres of waterway. A PLA spokesperson said: 'The Port of London is the UKs biggest port and busiest inland waterway. It is essential to the countrys growth, bringing in goods from around the globe. It is also a hub for environmental innovation and home to river communities. 'In 2019, the PLA proposed measures to modernise the 60-year-old Port of London Act under which we operate. Proposals include adding email as an accepted form of communication, removing outdated roles and responsibilities that havent been relevant for many years, and reflecting changes in environmental legislation and agencies. 'The Harbour Revision Order does not contain any proposals relating to the amount charged for apartment balconies overhanging the River Thames. 'The process has been running and consulted on over the last six years, and we welcome this final stage to help finalise updates to protect and improve the tidal Thames for all - including people with balconies over the river - and enable us to support the UKs growth, as modern operations and cutting-edge technology accelerate the changes in trade and shipping traffic. 'For several months we have been offering to sit down with balcony owners to talk about how we charge for property over the Thames and that offer remains open.' Alexis Nungaray fought back tears in Congress on Tuesday night as President Donald Trump announced he has named a wildlife refuge in Texas for her daughter - who was allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants last year. The murder of Joycelyn Nungaray, 12, has become an immigration flashpoint after the suspects in her brutal slaying were revealed to be undocumented Venezuelan migrants. Nearly nine months after Jocelyn's death first made headlines, her mother gave DailyMail.com an exclusive tour of the storage unit where she recreated her daughter's bedroom in Houston. It's stunning to see in person: the pre-teen bedroom of a murder victim in one of the nation's most high-profile cases, recreated in a storage facility by her mother. The red Converse with 'Forever 12' handwritten on them. Lana Del Rey posters, a guitar, her baby book near a half-eaten bag of Takis chips - cosmetics belonging to Jocelyn Nungaray - who was just beginning to experiment with makeup. She also revealed her daughter tried to kill herself just months before her murder, and spent time in a psychiatric facility after the failed suicide attempt. Nearly nine months after Jocelyn Nungaray's death first made headlines, her mother Alexis gave DailyMail.com an exclusive tour of the storage unit where she recreated her daughter's bedroom in near Houston Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was killed by two Venezuelan migrants after she was raped under a bridge, prosecutors say, in June 2023 'She was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety,' Alexis Nungaray revealed to DailyMail.com. 'Just wasn't in a good head space and she did try to commit suicide.' Most people who've heard of the 12-year-old from Houston know about her murder. After sneaking out in the middle of the night of the Texas apartment she shared with her mom and younger brother on June 16, two men approached her on the street: Venezuelan migrants Franklin Pena, 26, and Johan Martinez-Rangel, 22. She willingly went with them to a convenience store and later under a bridge where she was raped and strangled over a two-hour period. Authorities have accused the migrants of having possible links to the brutal gang Tren de Aragua. The State of Texas intends to seek the death penalty for the men if they're convicted, however, the men aren't expected to face a jury until 2026 at the earliest. 'I came up with the idea of looking for a storage unit that was climate controlled with an AC unit that could provide a realistic mimic of what (her room) was,' Alexis Nungaray explained. She has since moved out of the apartment where she lived with Jocelyn when the murder happened. The mother is now living with relatives, and there's no space for Jocelyn's belongings. 'I just felt like if I threw everything in boxes in the garage and all her furniture together, it would feel like I was burying her completely and was leaving her in my past,' she added. 'I just felt like if I threw everything in boxes in the garage and all her furniture together, it would feel like I was burying her completely and was leaving her in my past,' Alexis Nungaray explained about her decision to recreate her daughter's bedroom in a storage unit in North Houston Red Converse, the pair of shoes Jocelyn most loved, sit by a desk with the words, 'Forever 12' and a heart, written on them Alexis Nungaray revealed her daughter Jocelyn tried to kill herself months before her murder This image of Jocelyn Nungaray was among the first released of her by her family as part of GoFundMe page Alexis Nungaray plans to keep Jocelyn's room in the storage unit until she can move into her own place with a spare room, where her belongings can be set up how the girl left them 'I don't want to feel like she's not here anymore. I know physically, she's not here anymore, but I just wasn't ready to get rid of her most place of sanctuary, which was her room.' Now, the grieving mom goes to the storage unit when she wants to be alone or feel close to her daughter. 'Sometimes, me and her brother, we'll come here and we'll eat lunch on her bed. He likes to be around her stuff,' Alexis shared. 'I do know now, I'm not ready to get rid of it. I like coming into her room because it reminds of who she was.' The re-created bedroom is filled with sweet memories, like baby blankets and photos, but also reminders of a dark time Jocelyn went through prior to her death. Her mom shared handwritten coping techniques, like going for a walk, Jocelyn learned while she was a patient in a psychiatric hospital in February-- four months before her death. 'She struggled a lot mentally. She held it in for about two years,' the young mom explained. Jocelyn was getting better after her suicide attempt, her mom says, learning how to manage her emotions. 'I appreciate our last few months because I was able to really be as close to her as I could,' Alexis stated. A book shelf is filled with vampire books, like the Twilight series. 'Overall, books and music were her favorite things. Music was like her therapy. Music touch her soul and her heart and that kept her grounded,' Alexis recalled. Alexis Nungaray wipes away a tear as Trump honors her daughter by naming a wildlife refuge after her during his address to Congress Booking photos of Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, now charged with capital murder in the death of 12-yr-old Jocelyn Nungaray on June 17 Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, one of the two men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, is led from the courtroom by deputies on Tuesday, June 25 Franklin Pena, one of the two men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, leaves the courtroom after bail was set for $10 million The road ahead is long for Alexis and her family, as they still have to two criminal trials to sit through. The men charged in her daughter's death will be tried separately, Alexis confirmed to DailyMail.com. Already, the suspects have pointed the finger at each other, trying to downplay their own role in Nungaray's death. Franklin Pena claims he never even touched Jocelyn, saying it was buddy, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel. On the night of the murder, the trio walked to a bridge near a creek, after meeting at a gas station. Jocelyn willing went under the bridge when the men, who emerged alone two hours later. Houston police released these images, taken from surveillance video at a gas station in Houston, as they hunted down Jocelyn Nungaray's killers Jocelyn Nungaray captured on surveillance video outside of a convenience store before her death in June 2024, in an image released by the Houston Police Department The images show a relaxed Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, walking into the 7-Eleven in North Houston with a man and willing leaving with him The images did lead to the men's arrest, after their roommate saw them on the news and turned them over to police Pena claims Martinez-Rangel wrapped his forearm around Jocelyn's neck while standing behind her and walked her under the bridge, according to TV station Fox 26. Martinez-Rangel laid Jocelyn onto her back, according to Pena, and took her pants off. He then described how Martinez-Rangel climbed on top of her while holding her arms down. Pena tried to intervene, telling Martinez-Rangel to stop and that they should leave, but Martinez-Rangel responded, 'I have to finish what I started.' Martinez-Rangel then strangled her using his forearm, killing her and binding her hands and feet together. It was Martinez-Rangel's idea-- Pena claimed-- to move her body into the water to destroy any DNA left behind. Pena also accused Martinez-Rangel of shaving his beard after the murder so that he would not be recognized. In his own police interview, Martinez-Rangel initially denied he had killed Jocelyn, however, in later talks with investigators, he did fuss up to a few things. He admitted to making the decision to tie her up and put her in the water to get rid of evidence. Video shows Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, one of the two men accused of killing Jocelyn Nungaray, on the night he and Franklin Pena Ramos were seen with the young girl June 27, 2024: Funeral of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl who was murdered in Houston, Texas, at the Earthman Resthaven Funeral Home and Cemetery Jocelyn Nungary's mother, Alexis, sits down for an interview with DailyMail.com on February 18, discussing her daughter's case However, it was Pena, who asked his boss at the construction company where he worked for money to leave Houston after the murder but before the Venezuelan duo was arrested, prosecutors alleged in court. Both migrants, who had each entered the US months before Jocelyn's killing-- are charged with capital murder and eligible for the death penalty. Alexis says the district attorney came to her and asked her thoughts on seeking the death penalty for them. 'I didn't know exactly what I wanted. I really was weighing out the pros and cons,' the mom explained. 'The death penalty, theyre in solitary confinement. If you have life with parole, theyre in with everybody. Its a lot harder life because that's one thing that prisoners don't play with is child killers and rapists, and they did both of those things.' She ultimately decided the death penalty would be the appropriate punishment, and the Harris County District Attorney announced they will ask a jury to sentence them to die by lethal injection. 'When your child is taken from you, and taken from you in the way that she was, it may not be very Christian of me to say, but I want them to suffer. I want them to be tortured, I want them to be miserable. I hate that they get to live, breathe another single day,' Alexis revealed. 'I know ultimately that still won't make me feel whole. That's not going to fill my heart because she's was still not here. It's kind of a mixed variety of feelings on that.' The Harris County District Attorney' Office would not comment on the case and only shared the suspect's most recent court dates-- March 3 for Johan Martinez-Rangel and March 20 for Franklin Pena. As he sat strapped tight to a chair with a black hood placed over his head, it was difficult to tell whether Ronnie Lee Gardner was alive or dead when four bullets ripped into his chest though a white cloth target pinned over his heart. But precisely two minutes later, with blood seeping through his navy blue prison jumpsuit, he was indeed declared dead. Half an hour after that, media witnesses to this grim event - in June 2010, the last time a convicted US criminal was executed by firing squad - were allowed to inspect the execution chamber at Utah State Prison in Draper. Apart from a few bullet marks in the woodwork behind the chair, and the telltale stench of bleach indicating prison staff had been cleaning up the blood, there was no evidence that a man had just been put to death. 'It was all extremely clinical,' recalled journalist Jennifer Dobner, who was given the daunting task of recording 49-year-old Gardner's final moments. She told the Daily Mail that details from that night - including Gardner's refusal to say any final words, the unnerving sight of his arm moving up and down after he was shot, and that stink of bleach in the execution chamber - remain fixed in her memory even 15 years later. 'You don't ever forget that,' she said. The execution chamber at the Utah State Prison after Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad June 18, 2010. The bullet holes are visible in the wood panel behind the chair 'It was all extremely clinical,' recalled reporter Jennifer Dobner, who was given the daunting task of recording 49-year-old Gardner's final moments Americans might be bombarded with images of gun violence - both on screen and even in real life - but this was entirely different, she said. 'It's a very deliberate and purposeful act on the part of the state and it was a very clinical situation, carried out with precision by the Department of Corrections and the five executioners.' What happened that night is once again being revisited because another Death Row inmate has rejected lethal injection and the electric chair, and decided that he too wants to die - if he must be executed at all - by firing squad. This outlandish punishment - derided by critics as barbaric, archaic and 'a little bit gruesome' (in the words of Utah's former governor Gary Herbert) - has actually only been used three times in America since 1976, and always in the same southwestern state. This time, however, it will be used on the other side of the country, after it was announced last month that condemned South Carolina killer Brad Sigmon has chosen it as his preferred method of execution. Sigmon was convicted of beating to death his estranged girlfriend's parents in 2001. Just like Ronnie Lee Gardner, Sigmon, 67, who threatened to sue the state if he wasn't given a firing squad, will be strapped to a chair and have a hood placed over his head and a target placed over his heart in the death chamber. Three volunteers (rather than the five-man firing squad in Utah) will shoot at him with rifles through a small opening in a wall about 15 feet away. Journalist Jennifer Dobner, pictured, was allowed to sit in the chair and to examine the four bullet marks in the wood His execution is scheduled for March 7 as South Carolina ramps up the pace of judicial killings in the past six months after a 13-year pause. Sigmon didn't pick the electric chair because it would 'burn and cook him alive', his attorney Gerald King wrote in a statement. 'But the alternative is just as monstrous,' said King. 'If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September.' Many regard the mere concept of the US still putting someone in front of a firing squad as 'monstrous', whatever its humanitarian advantages over the other options. For critics, it smacks of the Wild West and of summary military justice (it's been a punishment for desertion for centuries). Of death by the bullet in a country unhealthily wedded to the gun. Those points were certainly made when Utah allowed Gardner to die that way 15 years ago. However, America's capital punishment system has faced years of controversy and fierce argument over the lethal injection, supposedly the perfect solution to the US constitution's injunction against 'cruel and unusual' punishment. A string of botched executions - some of which have reportedly involved the condemned writhing around in 'excruciating pain', occasionally for hours - have seriously undermined the credibility of the method. Other alternatives - namely the electric chair and suffocation with nitrogen gas - have also been condemned for being too prone to foul-ups that would inflict unacceptably high levels of pain. As Justice John Few put it when South Carolina Supreme Court decided last year to allow prisoners to choose between lethal injection, electrocution and the firing squad: 'We start by acknowledging the reality that there is simply no elegant way to kill a man.' Idaho has also advanced a new bill to make the firing squad the state's principal method of execution ahead of quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger's trial for the brutal slaying of four college students in 2022. Firing squads have very occasionally gone wrong, too, but you have to go back to 1879 for a really heinous example, when a Utah firing squad missed murderer Wallace Wilkerson's heart entirely. He hadn't been tied down and when he stiffened at the last moment he dislodged the target over his heart. Wilkerson reportedly leapt up screaming: 'Oh my God! They've missed it!' and took 27 minutes to die. Anti-death penalty campaigners claimed the shooters missed his heart on purpose to prolong his agony. There were no mistakes in the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner. At precisely midnight local time he was awoken from a nap and, a minute later, Gardner - who'd been in and out of the justice system since he was around eight-years-old - was escorted from his cell for his final walk, down dimly-lit corridors to the execution room almost 100ft away. He was wearing white socks but no shoes and didn't struggle. Brad Sigmon, pictured during his trial in July 2002, was convicted of beating his estranged girlfriend's parents to death Ronnie Lee Gardner, pictured above at the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City, was sentenced to death for the 1985 shooting of attorney Michael Burdell Meanwhile official witnesses - including Jennifer Dobner, then a reporter for the wire service Associated Press, as well as other journalists, relatives of victims and lawyers - took their seats in a viewing room that was separated from the execution chamber by thick bulletproof, one-way glass that prevented Gardner seeing them. Twice convicted of murder, Gardner had been sentenced to death for the 1985 shooting of an attorney, Michael Burdell, during a botched courthouse escape attempt. Gardner, already on trial for the 1984 fatal shooting of a bartender, shot Burdell in the face. On the day of his execution, Gardner spent his last few hours watching the Lord of the Rings movies and drinking Coca-Cola, hoping for a last-minute reprieve that never came. He'd rejected his right to have his own relatives watch the execution, the double killer claiming he didn't want them to witness such a 'violent act'. Prison staff strapped him to a black, straight-backed metal chair which sat on a platform containing a metal tray to catch his blood. His head was secured by a strap across his forehead and his chest was also immobilized with harness-liked straps. His shins and arms were also secured so he could barely move. Sandbags were stacked around the chair and wooden boards erected behind it to prevent the bullets from ricocheting around the white cinderblock room. The inmate was starkly illuminated by ceiling track lights that glared in his face. Lurking out of sight of the witnesses, and some 25ft in front of Gardner behind a wall cut with a gunport, were his five executioners - police officers who'd volunteered for the task. They took their places shortly after midnight. Each was given an identical .30-30-caliber Winchester rifle of which one had been randomly loaded with a wax round so none would know if they actually fired the fatal shot. (That, at least, is the theory - although experienced shooters insist they can tell the difference with a live round by the amount of recoil a bullet produces. Given its smaller size, the three-man firing squad due to shoot Sigmon on March 7 will all be issued live rounds.) A beige curtain covering the witness room's viewing window was pulled back only when preparations were completed and the warden entered the chamber to ask the prisoner if he had any last remarks. Unlike Utah killer Gary Gilmore, who famously said 'Let's do it' before he was shot by a firing squad in the same prison in 1977 (Gilmore's words inspired the creator of the Nike slogan 'Just do it'), Gardner told the warden: 'I do not, no.' He visibly tensed as a small black hood was slipped over his bald head and a white cloth square, bearing a black target, was attached over his heart with Velcro. Meanwhile, he wouldn't have been able to see the firing squad leader walk down the line of marksmen, tapping each on the shoulder and getting a thumbs-up reply that indicated they were ready. The warden left the room and the condemned man was entirely alone. Jennifer Dobner and the other official witnesses couldn't hear through the reinforced wall the 5 to 1 countdown that was given, the marksmen opening fire on 'two'. But she did hear the shots, in fact two loud bangs in quick succession (because it appears one rifleman fired a split-second before or after the others) which rang out at 12.15am. Just after the shots, Dobner and her colleagues saw, to their alarm, signs that Garner was still moving - one fist clenching and unclenching, and his arm moving up and down. She admits that moment shocked her most at the time, though added that experts are unable to say for certain whether these were an 'involuntary response' or if he was still alive. 'I was expecting to flinch but I didn't,' she said of the gunfire that took her by surprise. 'It was so quick that for a split-second I wondered if it had actually happened.' For her, that was one of the few shocks. Colleagues who'd witnessed an earlier firing squad had warned her not to expect much drama. There was no blood splattered across the wall and, with his head - and so much else of his body - attached to the chair, Gardner remained bold upright. However, a wet stain did appear at the waist of his dark prison suit that was clearly blood. Just over two minutes later, any doubt over whether he was still alive was removed when a medical examiner entered the room with the warden and checked Gardne's pulse at his neck, pulling back his hood to reveal an ashen face as the medic shone a flashlight to his pupils. His head was tilted back, his mouth slightly open. He was declared dead at 12.17am and the curtain closed. It was drawn back again around an hour later and the nine reporters, who'd been waiting in another part of the prison, were allowed to inspect the chamber. The body had gone and any blood had been cleaned up. 'It was so clean it was if nothing had happened,' Dobner recalled. The journalists were allowed to sit in the chair and to examine the four bullet marks in the wood. Dobner sat in the chair. 'I'm not really sure why I did it, but I just did it,' she said. 'I don't typically tie myself up in emotions but certainly the room had an eerie feel to it.' Condemned South Carolina killer Sigmon has chosen death by firing squad over lethal injection and electric chair as his preferred method of execution Other alternatives - namely the electric chair and suffocation with nitrogen gas - have also been condemned for being too prone to foul-ups that would inflict unacceptably high levels of pain. (Pictured: an electric chair in South Carolina) Dobner would rather not say if she - like Gardner and Sigmon - would choose to be shot over other execution methods, although she believes that, given the quickness of the death she witnessed, it wouldn't amount to unconstitutional 'cruel and unusual punishment'. And experts would tend to agree. In 2010, Fordham University Law School professor Deborah Denno, who'd studied the various execution methods, called the firing squad a 'dignified execution' which might even be 'the most humane' for all the 'baggage of its brutal image and roots'. Four years later, a Court of Appeals judge, Alex Kozinski, echoed that view. While the guillotine was 'probably best' as an execution method, it was 'inconsistent with our national ethos', he wrote. 'The firing squad strikes me as the most promising,' he continued. 'Eight or ten large-caliber rifle bullets fired at close range can inflict massive damage, causing instant death every time. There are plenty of people employed by the state who can pull the trigger and have the training to aim true.' If Brad Sigmon gets his preferred death, America may soon get another opportunity to see if the gun really is the solution to its capital punishment conundrum. Victorians applying to be cops will be able to skip the queue if they have ranked high enough in their school exams, as the police attempt to quickly fill vacancies in a burned-out workforce. Applicants who gained an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 65 or above and a minimum VCE study score of 25 in English in the past five years will not need to sit the entrance exam. The change was announced this week, along with scrapping the one-on-one psychologist's appointment for many candidates. 'These changes mean quality applicants will no longer be held up with unnecessary obstacles to start their policing journey,' Rick Nugent, Victoria Police's acting chief commissioner, said. 'That translates to more recruits starting their training sooner and more rapid support for the frontline. 'There's no doubt policing can be a tough job and it takes a special person to do it.' Paramedics and firefighters employed in the past five years will no longer have to do the entrance exam, and that applies to for such applicants across the country, in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Australian Defence Force personnel who have served full time in the past five years will also be exempt from the exam, as will all Victoria Police employees and Victorian Public Service employees working elsewhere at Grade 3 or higher. Victoria Police hopes to cut through the red tape that has taken its toll on the recruitment process with up to 1,000 positions currently available statewide (stock) Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt (pictured) says the force has suffered from blockages 'for many years' Police forces elsewhere in Australia have introduced similar provisions. It comes as the The Police Association in Victoria hit out at the current state of the force, particularly its lack of officers. The union has claimed police do not have enough resources to prevent crimes and only to apprehend offenders. Union secretary Wayne Gatt welcomed the changes to the application process as they 'reduce needless red tape'. 'Streamlining medical and psychological testing processes, by reducing duplication, addresses one of the major recruitment blockages that has existed for many years,' he said. Meanwhile, Victoria's shadow police minister David Southwick has said the move is in the 'right direction' but more needs to be done than just fast-tracking applicants. 'The best way to attract and retain the police officers our state needs is to back the frontline with stronger bail laws, better resourcing, and greater powers to keep the community safe,' he said. 'There is now no excuse for Labor to allow 1,000 frontline officer vacancies to remain unfilled and 43 stations across Victoria to remain closed.' The majority of potential candidates will also be no longer required to have a one-on-one psychologist appointment (stock) Other changes announced on Tuesday include extending entrance exam exemption for applicants who achieved specified bachelor degrees in Australia over the past five years to also include such qualifications from universities in New Zealand and the UK. This applies to degrees in the arts, science, humanities, business and law. Current university students in their final year of a criminology bachelor's degree or similar at a university in Australia, New Zealand or the UK are also being added to the exemption list. A ute was bogged on the beach during high tide A motorist has been slammed by locals after he drove his ute onto a beach and got stuck in sand as a surging tide brought on by Cyclone Alfred threatened to wash the vehicle away. The man drove through the flooding Currumbin Vikings Surf Club carpark on the Gold Coast to reach the beach as high tides approached. But he got bogged within moments of reaching the water and was forced to abandon the vehicle and beg for help. The ute was towed off the beach by volunteers who had been busy building sandbag walls to protect against the predicted flooding. Surf club president John Brennan blasted the motorist for causing the potentially dangerous rescue operation. 'Water was gushing through the club carpark and this guy's just driven straight onto the beach for some reason - you can't help stupidity,' Mr Brennan told the Courier Mail. 'The side of the beach he drove onto is like quicksand and his wheels were well and truly in the water.' Cyclone Alfred is currently a category two storm and is expected to make landfall between Noosa and Brisbane on Thursday evening or early Friday morning. A driver has been slammed by locals after he drove his ute onto a beach and got stuck in sand as a surging tide brought on by Cyclone Alfred threatened to wash the vehicle away Rescue teams from nearby a nearby surf club had to drag the car out as they were stacking up sandbags in preparation for Cyclone Alfred making landfall Mr Brennan said the weather around his club is getting worse as the cyclone approaches the Queensland coastline. 'We haven't seen the worst of it - it's only going to get wilder,' he said. 'Being smack-bang on the beach, the club becomes an island around high tide in these conditions. 'We've sandbagged as best we can and moved all the inflatable rescue boats and competitors' craft out of the club to higher ground.' He is expecting to close the club as the cyclone gets closer to land, especially if conditions keep worsening. Footage of the car submerged in the ocean was uploaded to social media, sparking a an angry backlash against the driver. 'There's always one muppet that will park on the beach when a cyclone is coming,' one posted. The ute had to be towed off the beach by volunteers at Currumbin Vikings Surf Club who had been building walls of vital sandbags to protect the local area against flooding (stock image) Queenslanders are panic buying the necessities in preparation for the cyclone The worst of Alfred's impact, once it makes landfall, will hit Queensland's southern flank, including Brisbane, the Gold Coast and NSW's Northern Rivers. It is predicted to bring days of heavy rainfall and deadly flash floods, with 400mm of rain forecast for Brisbane while the Gold Coast is expected to be hit with 450mm in just three days. The Queensland Premier said while the presence of the cyclone was starting to be felt, it will be flooding later in the week that will cause the most havoc. Millions of residents are also being warned to prepare for days without power and minimal access to supplies. As a result, supermarket shelves have been stripped bare in some stores as locals brace for impact, prompting a call for calm. Bottled water, pasta, rice and canned foods have been stripped from supermarket shelves while there are reports that major Bunnings stores in Brisbane have sold out of torches, jerry cans, generators, power banks and 6v batteries and butane gas. Foreign tourists have stepped foot inside North Korea for the for the first time in five years and are left shocked by their experiences in the pariah country. A small group of Western visitors made history as they returned to the hermit kingdom last month after the nation sealed its borders at the onset of the Covid19 pandemic in early 2020. However, instead of the orchestrated tours of Pyongyang, these international travellers are now exploring the lesser-known eastern port city of Rason, designated as a 'special economic zone' over three decades ago to experiment with capitalist practices. A group of 13 embarked on the five trip to the mysterious eastern port from February 20 to February 24 and were left stunned at experience where they were plied with fake designer gear and watched children dancing in front of videos of missile launches. Among the initial group of visitors was Joe Smith, a British national familiar with North Korea from previous trips. He told the Telegraph that Rason appeared 'desolate, poorer, more spread out with a lack of restaurants' compared to the capital. Tourists were first taken to an international goods market where local entrepreneurs sold predominantly Chinese-made items, including counterfeit luxury goods such as fake Gucci belts and Louis Vuitton handbags. Smith recalled the market's lively atmosphere seemed genuine, with locals reportedly surprised to see Western visitors. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted Rason, with Chinese businesses that supplied goods and software disappearing overnight. Locals acknowledged these challenges but eerily expressed gratitude for state-provided rations during lockdowns. A group of 13 Western tourists embarked on a trip to North Korea for the first time since the hermit kingdom after the nation sealed its borders at the onset of the Covid19 pandemic in early 2020 Visitors were shown a 'controversial' performance at the Children's Palace which saw children singing and dancing in front of a exploding missile display The guests were taken around schools in Rason, a lesser-known eastern port city, designated as a 'special economic zone' over three decades ago to experiment with capitalist practices People walk before a village on the outskirts of North Korea's northeastern city of Rason, near the borders of both China and Russia, November 21, 2017 For some tourists, like Filipino entrepreneur Riza Rasco, the trip marked the culmination of a quest to visit every country globally. She highlighted visits to facilities such as a children's palace, where students engage in extracurricular activities like music and taekwondo, noting the impressive amenities. However, performances included unsettling elements, such as children singing in front of videos depicting ballistic missiles targeting aircraft carriers. Footage from the trip uploaded to YouTube showed children dressed in red, white, and blue attire singing and marching in front of a projector showing a montage of exploding missiles and bursts of fire. Seemingly unfazed by the violent display, the children continued their 'controversial' performance before the eyes of the stunned guests. During their show, they were even heard singing lyrics including: 'Our leader is the world's best'. At a foreign language school, a 15-year-old student expressed unwavering loyalty to the regime, stating: 'We are the happiest students in the world because our father [Kim Jong-un] provides for us. 'He provides our uniform, our shoes, our bags, and we don't need to worry about money.' But the tourist recalled seeing baffling propaganda slogans scrawled across the walls of buildings around the town which read: 'We must do everything at the request of the masters'. Some visitors were taken aback by the apparent indoctrination of the youth, who aspired to serve in the military to defend their nation. Footage from the trip uploaded to YouTube showed children dressed in red, white, and blue attire singing and marching in front of a projector showing a montage of exploding missiles and bursts of fire Joe Smith, a British national familiar with North Korea from previous trips, told the Telegraph that Rason appeared 'desolate, poorer, more spread out with a lack of restaurants' compared to the capital Smith recalled the market's lively atmosphere seemed genuine, with locals reportedly surprised to see Western visitors Despite the strict supervision and curated experiences, tourists noted an eerie warmth and hospitality of their North Korean hosts, who made concerted efforts to accommodate their guests, sometimes offering Western-style meals instead of local cuisine For some tourists, like Filipino entrepreneur Riza Rasco, the trip marked the culmination of a quest to visit every country globally Despite the strict supervision and curated experiences, tourists noted an eerie warmth and hospitality of their North Korean hosts, who made concerted efforts to accommodate their guests, sometimes offering Western-style meals instead of local cuisine. Kyle Grau, a 21-year-old Australian video game developer, also embarked on the trip to assess North Korea's technological advancements. He was astonished to discover that North Koreans had developed their own versions of popular Western smartphone games, such as a clone of 'Clash of Clans.' Unlike in 2019, when smartphones had limited connectivity and users had to visit physical 'app stores' for software installations, North Korean players now engage in online clan wars using devices connected to the country's intranet. Additionally, the nation has introduced its own versions of platforms akin to Amazon and China's WeChat, as well as a rendition of the musical game 'Piano Tiles' featuring propaganda songs. Currently, Western tourists are confined to the Rason area, while Russian visitors reportedly have access to other parts of the country. In February 2024, North Korea accepted about 100 Russian tourists, the first foreign nationals to visit the country for sightseeing. That surprised many observers, who thought the first post-pandemic tourists would come from China, North Koreas biggest trading partner and major ally. A total of about 880 Russian tourists visited North Korea throughout 2024, South Koreas Unification Ministry said, citing official Russian data. Chinese group tours to North Korea remain stalled. Tour operators like Koryo Tours, established by British expatriates in Beijing during the 1990s to facilitate travel to North Korea, have scheduled multiple trips each month starting from March. A disabled man was filmed eating out of a bin at a private care home in Coventry after his concerned mother set up a secret camera. An investigation by ITV News found numerous examples of neglect at supported-living facilities run by Lifeways, one of the UK's largest private care companies, with another man with Down's syndrome left with an untreated infection - causing his foot to rot. Connor, 23, has bipolar disorder, as well as autism and developmental delays as a result of a rare genetic condition called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. For own safety Connor can't be left alone or legally live at home with his younger siblings, so in 2018 he was placed at a Lifeways residential home in Coventry. The council paid Lifeways 4,700 per week for Connor's stay, which was meant to include round-the-clock, one-to-one care. But two years ago Connor's mother Lindsay became concerned about the level of care Connor was receiving after he started displaying massive weight gain and showing signs of poor mental health. Lindsay even had a phone call from a friend who reported that she had discovered Connor walking the streets far from home, alone. Having entered the facility at around '13-14 stone' he had ballooned to 20 stone. After setting up a private camera in his room she saw the source of his rapid growth - he was left eating out of a bin for almost an hour, completely unsupervised. Connor, 23, has bipolar disorder, as well as autism and developmental delays as a result of a rare genetic condition called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome The council paid Lifeways 4,700 per week for Connor's stay, which was meant to include round-the-clock, one-to-one care - but a secret camera set up by his mother Lindsay revealed him eating from the bin for an hour, completely unsupervised The secret video also included a litany of abuse, including Connor being shouted at and mocked The secret video also included a litany of abuse, including Connor being shouted at and mocked. In other clip he is left alone for so long that he has to wake up the carer who is meant to be looking after him. 'Within three days, we saw five members of staff neglecting and abusing him,' Lindsay said. 'They'd mock him, they'd vape next to him, shouting in his face, every day was neglect, every shift was neglect. That was Connor's normality, but we didn't know it.' Lifeways is the UK's largest provider of supported living for adults with learning disabilities, caring for around 4,000 people. Last year its revenues rose to 295 million. In total Lifeways have received 1.5 billion of public money since 2016, but Care Quality inspections show 63 per cent of their institutions were rated inadequate or in need of improvement. However, it appears Connor's treatment was not an isolated incident. The ITV investigation also uncovered a case of serious neglect at a Liveways-run home in North London. Steven Baskin has Down Syndrome and lived in the residential facility. However, as with Connor, his father John became worried about he experienced rapid weight gain. John said: 'He was putting on enormous amounts of weight, getting fatter and fatter. He was unhappy, he was staying in bed and not getting up. The whole flat was filthy dirty, rotting food, pans that hadn't been washed.' Steven Baskin (left), who has Downs Syndrome, pictured having a cup of tea with his father John The final straw for Steven's father John was noticing that his son's foot had turned black as the result of an untreated infection - requiring urgent hospital treatment Steven's father John looks at his dossier compiling the abuses his son was subject to at a Liveways-run residential home But the breaking point came in 2019 when John noticed that his son's foot had turned black as the result of an untreated infection - requiring urgent hospital treatment. John said: 'I was horrified, it looked like he could lose at foot. At Lifeways no-one had thought to remark on it. That's the biggest worry for a parent, what will happen when I'm not here to do it?' Lifeways CEO Andrea Kinkade said she was 'appalled' by the findings and that the staff featured in the ITV reporting had been suspended or fired. The company's four directors, Ms Kinkade among them, received 1.6 million between them in their most recent public financial statement. Meanwhile the company is currently advertising for support worker roles paying 11.44 per hour - the minimum wage for over 21s. In an interview with ITV News, Lifeways CEO Andrea Kinkade said: 'It's absolutely appalling to hear those stories and to hear about anybody who receives neglectful care or lack of care. I think it is absolutely shameful. 'These situations are historic. They were dealt with robustly at the time. As soon as we were alerted to them, we suspended people and they were subsequently dismissed.' 'We deliver 3 million care hours a year with 10,000 employees. Thankfully, this is rare. It is awful, but it is rare.' Lifeways have been contacted for further comment. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is the designated survivor for Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening. The top government official will be sequestered in a secure location for the duration of the event as a way to preserve a presidential line of succession in case of a catastrophic event. Collins, as a former House lawmaker, already sat in the chamber for previous joint session remarks made by Trump, including his three State of the Union addresses from the first term. The VA Secretary was not among the Cabinet officials who arrived at the Capitol on Tuesday evening for Trump's first joint session appearance since 2020. For every State of the Union or joint session address where all of the U.S. government leaders are in one room a person is chosen to sit-out the event. This also happens during inaugurations when everyone is gathered for either the transfer or continuation of a presidency. Beyond being a Cabinet official, the designated survivor must also be at least 35-years-old and a natural-born U.S. citizen. The purpose of the practice is to preserve a person to lead the country forward in the unlikely event that an attack were to wipe out the entire government in one fell swoop. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is the designated survivor for President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening During the Cold War in the 1950s the U.S. began the designated survivor practice amid the rising threat that a nuclear attack could kill all the country's top officials at once and collapse the entire U.S. government. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans was sequestered as a designated survivor for four days. And in a joint address to Congress following the attacks on September 20, 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson were the designated survivors. Intrigue around the practice has been at the center of discussion for years. It even led to creation of the three-season political thriller ABC show named Designated Survivor where the fictitious Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary played by Kiefer Sutherland was left to run the U.S. after an attack on the Capitol took out nearly all government leadership above and below him. Democrats chose Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) to be the designated survivor for the House Democrats even though several members of the party, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), already are skipping the big speech. Thompson, who has served in Congress since 1999, will like the other designated survivors, watch the speech from an undisclosed, secure location outside the Capitol campus. Many times the designated survivor selected to miss the speech is a mid-to-lower level Cabinet official in the presidential line of succession. After the president and vice president, the House Speaker and Senate President are the next in line for presidential succession. After that is Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense and then the Attorney General. The last time a Secretary of State as the fourth in line for the presidency was selected as designated survivor was in 2010 when Hillary Clinton was given the honor. Since tracking in 1984, the Treasury Secretary was never chosen and Defense Secretary only once in 2009. Other members of Donald Trump's Cabinet arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening for the remarks. Pictured: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and wife Jennifer Rauchet at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (right) arrived at the Capitol for the joint session on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 But most often, those in the middle of the pack in line for succession are placed in a secure location during the event. This is likely done so there is still confidence in the ability of the leadership while allowing those at the top of the pack whose agencies and departments are probably part of the speech to attend the high-profile events. Trump chose his Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin to sit out for his first remarks to a joint session of Congress in 2017. The next year for his first official State of the Union address, Trump chose Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue as the designated survivor, then Energy Secretary Rick Perry in 2019 and Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for the 2020 address. The Secretary for the Department of the Interior has been tapped seven times and has most often been selected to serve as designated survivor, according to the American Presidency Project. And the Agriculture Secretary has been chosen six times. There is no set protocol for the president choosing who will be designated survivor, but it's thought that it's based on if the secretary's department has little to zero reference in the speech. 'Sometimes the designated survivor is chosen based on, 'are their programs or policies going to be a highlight of the State of the Union?'' detailed Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama when explaining how that president selected the person to sit-out. Socialite James Stunt was dramatically cleared of being at the heart of a 266 million money laundering operation yesterday. The ex-husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone was accused of involvement in an international enterprise to turn cash from drugs gangs into gold. Stunt, 43, had been living in a Los Angeles mansion at the time and always insisted he had no idea tens of millions of pounds being counted in his gold bullion trading companys London headquarters was from underworld sources. The jury at Leeds Crown Court deliberated for almost 27 hours before finding him not guilty by a majority verdict. Four other defendants were convicted of money laundering. After the verdict, Stunt struggled to hold back tears as he hugged his father Geoffrey outside the court and said: It has been nine years of hell. But while he celebrated his acquittal last night, one bizarre aspect of the case overshadowed everything he said from the witness box about his drug addictions, gambling habit and life of opulence and extravagance his relationship with the King. Socialite James Stunt was dramatically cleared of being at the heart of a 266million money laundering operation yesterday But while he celebrated his acquittal last night, one bizarre aspect of the case overshadowed everything he said from the witness box his relationship with the King He was blocked from using their private correspondence in his defence, but it reveals the extraordinary warmth and kinship that developed between these two unlikely friends. In one letter from Clarence House, which bore the royal crest, the then Prince of Wales was effusive. Dear James, it began informally, continuing: Your kindness and generosity are truly remarkable, and I appreciate such a gesture more than you can ever know. From occasional donor to the princes charities, Stunt had transformed himself into a philanthropist of unimaginable benevolence, bestowing on the future monarch priceless painting after priceless painting. In all there were 17 artworks, and they were proudly exhibited at the place closest to Charless heart, Dumfries House, the sprawling Palladian mansion in Ayrshire that the prince saved for the nation, and which serves as headquarters of his Princes Foundation, now rebranded as the Kings Foundation. Their value was indispensable, for as the prince wrote in his gushing letter, they would provide us with much needed security as an asset for the charity if things ever get tough. But the paintings turned out to be more of a liability than an asset. Four of the works, a Monet, Dali, Picasso and Chagall insured by the Foundation for an eye-watering 104 million were counterfeits, dashed off by a California artist known as the worlds greatest living art forger. Embarrassingly every one of the pictures was removed from display and sent back to Stunt. The letter from Charles, however one of at least eight that the one-time gold bullion dealer received from the prince remained along with the others very much on show in extravagant gold frames in Stunts Mayfair office and guaranteed to impress his visitors. Yesterday, as the self-styled bullion billionaire was sensationally cleared after the four-month trial his second difficult questions still persisted. How was it that such a bombastic figure, who once had an addiction to prescription morphine and Valium as well as a two-year cocaine habit was permitted to push his way into the highest reaches of the princes circle? Charless relationship with Stunt predates that with the family of Osama bin Laden from whom, it was revealed in 2021, the prince received a 1 million donation, and with Qatars former prime minister who handed over hundreds of thousands of euros in cash in a Fortnum & Mason carrier bag. These of course were donations to the princes charities and although there was nothing improper about such payments, the origins of the money raised eyebrows. Members of Middle Eastern ruling elites are one thing, but the cocksure son of a self-made publishing entrepreneur from Brixton is not your usual princely playmate. His 12 million wedding to Ecclestones younger daughter Petra in an Italian castle with music from Eric Clapton and the Black Eyed Peas, had certainly made headlines. James Stunt leaves Leeds Crown Court with his girlfriend Helena Robinson after being cleared by a jury The ex-husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone was accused of involvement in an international enterprise to turn cash from drugs gangs into gold At its heart, the saga of the King, the socialite and a most unlikely friendship, is one of mutual need. For the flamboyant Stunt godson of gangster Terry Adams, boss of one of Britains most notorious crime families it was simple one-upmanship, a craving for social respectability despite the unlimited riches that came from marriage to Ecclestones youngest daughter. For Charles it was the constant need to find the resources to keep his pet projects going a need that, over the years, drove him to receive money from what turned out to be rather dubious sources. Indeed, the letters between the two men demonstrate that the royal appetite for the company and favours of rich friends had hardly changed since the days when the ruthless oil tycoon and fraudster Armand Hammer was grandiosely bankrolling Charless charities. Hammer, who was later revealed to be a Russian spy, showered the prince and Princess Diana with gifts and favours, regularly putting his luxuriously appointed private airliner at their disposal. After his death in 1990, his files were found to be bulging with handwritten thank you letters of unctuous gratitude from them both. By then Charles had become dazzled by another super-rich figure, shipping magnate John Latsis, a man dubbed a gangster in his native Greece but who made available for the prince his vulgarly opulent 400ft yacht, Alexander, with its Turkish baths, solid gold taps and chandeliered ballroom. On the face of it James Stunt was just another in the list of apparent multi-millionaires who seem to intoxicate Charles with their extravagance. It must be said, however, that these friendships with such colourful characters came about because their wealth could support his many charities. And to demonstrate his gratitude, the prince frequently put pen to paper. So, it was hardly a surprise that during his first trial (where the jury failed to reach a verdict) Stunt, who denied any wrongdoing, attempted to leverage this royal friendship as part of his defence. His legal team wanted to introduce the cache of letters in effect to provide the ultimate in character references. The judge, however, refused to allow the correspondence to be presented to the jury and disclosed that Buckingham Palace didnt consent to the use of the letters. Nevertheless, this proximity to royal circles was a key feature of Stunts mitigation. A prized photo of the prince posing with Stunt was shown to the jury. Undated, it was said to have been taken some time between 2014 and 2016 at either Clarence House the Kings London home or nearby St Jamess Palace. Oil tycoon and fraudster Armand Hammer dancing with Princess Diana. He was also later revealed to be a Russian spy Petra Ecclestone with then fiance James Stunt. The pair married in a 12million wedding in an Italian castle The picture was also to be found framed in Stunts office where he liked to sit at a vast desk designed by Charless cousin David Linley, 2nd Earl of Snowdon. Stunt himself told the court that there was more than one photo of me and the King. During the first trial the jury heard that he had given 140,000 to the then Prince of Waless various charities at a time when the money laundering scheme to turn allegedly criminal cash into gold was said to be in full flow. If I was laundering the proceeds of crime I wouldnt offend my future King, Stunt at one stage told jurors. Certainly, royal connections were important to Stunt, who has never identified the very famous member of the Royal Family he claims to have dated for four years. An email to a German bank was disclosed in which Stunt had written: Im a rich list billionaire. The Prince of Wales is one of my best friends. But did the then Prince Charles really consider Stunt one of his best friends? Unsurprisingly, friends of the King say his association with Stunt was based only on the businessmans support for various royal charitable endeavours. They insist Stunt was no confidant. The King offered friendliness not friendship, says a figure close to him. Stunt, however, perhaps found such semantics confusing. After all, in his evidence he claimed that in 2014 he had provided office space in Mayfair for Sir Michael Peat, former private secretary to Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Stunt provided 17 artworks that were proudly exhibited at the place closest to Charles's heart, Dumfries House, the sprawling Palladian mansion in Ayrshire that the prince saved for the nation He said the ex-courtier, who worked for Charles for a decade, spent six months at Stunts Curzon Street base once the headquarters of MI5. The implication was that this was a favour for his friend the prince. Then there was his disclosure that Charles had penned a eulogy that was read at the funeral of Stunts brother Lee a man he didnt know and who was found dead in bed from an accidental drug overdose in September 2016. There was no challenge in either trial to these or other assertions,such as the money Stunt said he had donated. At one stage jurors were told he had given 65,000 to the Princes Trust (now the Kings Trust), and 50,000 to the Great Steward of Scotland Dumfries House Trust, that the King has a connection with. Throughout the case one figure loomed over it, yet was hardly mentioned: Michael Fawcett, the Kings once indispensable retainer and fixer and who served the Royal Family for 40 years. For years Fawcett was a symbol of everything perceived to be wrong with the then heir to the throne; a man who traded on his power at the pinnacle of Charless domestic hierarchy, untouched by the allegations of bullying that constantly swirled about him. Every complaint was ignored or batted away; such was the princes utter dependence on the man of whom he once said: I can manage without just about anyone except for Michael. But in 2021 Charles did the unthinkable, accepting Fawcetts resignation amid allegations he helped a major donor to the prince secure an honour. After a police investigation under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, Scotland Yard concluded that no further action would be taken. Fawcett was central in oiling the wheels of access for royal donors. As long as the money came rolling in and the person providing it had not actually been convicted of breaking the law, then Michael appeared to be completely content, a source who helped introduce a high roller into Charless company tells me. Intriguingly it was Charles who suggested in writing that Stunt and his former valet Fawcett should get together at Dumfries House, whose future Charles had secured with a 20 million loan from his own charitable trust in 2007. As ever, Charless personal stationery offers a barometer of how he never switches off. His letters were written from whichever of his homes he happened to be in: Clarence House, Highgrove or Birkhall and always couched in generous gratitude. Stunt had a full set, from every royal address. Quite when the correspondence began, no one will say. But in September 2014, writing from Birkhall in Scotland, Charles penned a thank you letter for the apparent gift of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by the artist Sir Oswald Birley. A month later he wrote again, expressing his hope that Stunt would be able to meet with Michael Fawcett at Dumfries House. By January 2015, writing from Highgrove, the prince said how incredibly touched he had been by the news of Stunts wonderful donation to our work in Ayrshire. In a final flourish he added that Stunts wonderful painting was now hanging on the staircase at Clarence House outside our rooms and is much admired. All three letters were typed but topped and tailed by hand in the royal way and addressed, formally to Dear Mr Stunt. More notes followed in 2016. Then in September that year in a letter from Birkhall there was a different tone. This time the prince was expressing his sympathy over what he described as the sudden and tragic death of Stunts brother. He wrote that he could only imagine what a dreadful shock it had been and that my heart goes out to you. By December the letters were positively ebullient. The reason? Stunt was loaning more pictures. Among them was a work by the great Flemish court painter Van Dyck, which Charles described as an incredibly generous gesture and the greatest treat and privilege. Asked if he dealt with Fawcett in the loan of the paintings, Stunt has said: I dealt with everyone. But he described the former valet who rose to become the 95,000-a-year chief executive of the Princes Foundation, as a lovely man. It was not just paintings that adorned the walls of Dumfries House, Stunt had also provided a number of antique grandfather clocks. The princes letters, now addressed to Dear James contained more heartfelt thanks for the clocks: With any luck their combined chiming will fascinate the visitors. In January 2017 there was an especially personal missive it was a handwritten thank you note for Stunts wonderfully [underlined] kind Christmas present in which the prince wrote of his pleasure at the thought behind it. When in 2019 news finally broke that James Stunt had pictures hanging on the walls of Dumfries House, alarm bells began ringing The Stunt collection was on a ten-year free lease with the loan agreements signed off by Fawcett. All very cosy but when in 2019 news finally broke that James Stunt had pictures hanging on the walls of Dumfries House, alarm bells began ringing in faraway California, where an artist called Tony Tetro had his studio. For Tetro, who was once jailed for art forgery, had painted them himself. And he came forward to say so. Tetro, who specialised in making replica paintings in the style of famous artists, was commissioned by Stunt. Over the course of two years, he told The Mail on Sunday, he did about a dozen pictures. Among them were copies of Picasso, Monet, Dali, Chagall, Degas, Caravaggio, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. Although cosmetically aged, he says even a casual observer would know they were fakes. Just how and why some ended up at Dumfries House remains a mystery. But the mansion is one of the few places in the world, outside major museums, that can confer legitimacy on a work of art simply by hanging it on the wall. Who, if anyone, vetted Stunts pictures is not known but it is understood they were accepted in good faith. As news of the fakes began circulating, the Foundation quietly took the pictures down. This time there were no glowing letters from Charles to the man who provided them. Indeed, it is unlikely they will ever correspond again. A mother who made a 'last minute decision' to have plastic surgery in Turkey died from a mystery illness, an inquest has heard. Anne Towlson, 58, was found dead at home with open wounds to her armpits and triceps after they did not heal properly from arm tuck surgery weeks earlier. Shortly after the procedure, Mrs Towlson's hand was said to have 'swelled up like a balloon and was seeping a clear liquid' and was admitted to hospital three times before eventually returning to the UK nine days after the surgery. But the problems persisted and in the days before she died, Mrs Towlson complained that the pain in her arm was 'killing her'. She also sent a video to the Istanbul hospital that carried out the surgery showing her 'weeping and swollen' arm and was told it would be shown to a doctor - but she never received any help. Following her tragic death last year, a coroner has issued a stark warning to Brits about the 'dangers' of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery. Assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, Isobel Thistlethwaite, said Mrs Towlson had travelled to Turkey in April 2024 where she underwent a pre-planned tummy tuck and liposuction. When she arrived at the Green Park Hospital in Pendic, Istanbul, she was told she could have an arm tuck surgery as well, and agreed to the procedure in a 'last-minute decision', her inquest heard. A mother who made a 'last-minute decision' to have plastic surgery in Turkey died from a mystery illness, an inquest has heard (Stock image) Anne Towlson, 58, was found dead at home with open wounds to her armpits and triceps after they did not heal properly from arm tuck surgery weeks earlier in Istanbul (pictured) Immediately after her surgery, Mrs Towlson complained that her 'right arm was hurting' and her 'compression garments were too tight'. Her right hand was said to have 'swelled up like a balloon and was seeping a clear liquid', the inquest was told. She stayed in hospital for three days before returning to a hotel where she found she was leaking a 'yellow and slightly odorous fluid' from her arms which would 'stain the hotel pillows', the inquest heard. Mrs Towlson, who was using WhatsApp to communicate with the Turkish medics, returned to the hospital twice where she was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and a cream to take with her, the inquest was told. She flew home to Manchester Airport on May 3, nine days after the surgery. From May 4 to the time she died, her internet search history included 'infected stitches symptoms', and 'armpit yeast infection symptoms', the inquest heard. On May 7, she sent a video of her arm and armpit with a 'sticky yellow and white pus present' to the hospital. 'They responded saying that they would show the video to a doctor, that was the last WhatsApp communication received from the hospital,' the coroner's report said. On May 11, Mrs Towlson was seen by her neighbour and was said to be communicating with her daughter. She told her daughter her 'tummy was ok' but her arm was 'killing her', the inquest heard. Six days later, the mother was found dead at her home. Liposuction, Brazilian butt lifts, eye colour-changing laser treatments and hymenoplasties are all offered in clinics across Turkey 'Police attended the scene and took photographs which clearly show the tummy tuck wound healing nicely but show open wounds to Mrs Towlson's armpits and triceps, her right arm was said to be weeping and swollen,' the report said. 'The surgery to both arms remained unhealed.' A post-mortem examination to determine the cause of Mrs Towlson's death was inconclusive. Her inquest was unable to secure any information from the Turkish hospital, coroner Ms Thistlethwaite said. 'We have no information about whether any independent inquiries were made either by the company who organised Mrs Towlson's trip to Turkey for surgery, or the Turkish Hospital itself as to whether Mrs Towlson was fit for surgery,' she said. 'We have not been able to secure her medical records so have no understanding of what exactly the surgery consisted of, or what post-operative care and treatment was provided. 'On the balance of probabilities, Mrs Towlson was not given enough time to properly consider this decision,' the coroner added. Outlining her concerns for other Britons considering travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery, Ms Thistlethwaite said: 'British citizens are travelling abroad for significant and serious surgical operations with seemingly little in the way of follow up and no way to return easily to the operating Hospital if they encounter complications once they are back in the UK. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons analysed 324 cases of Brits needing medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018 'This is not only dangerous but could place a significant burden on the NHS.' A copy of the coroner's report was sent to Green Park Hospital in Turkey, as well as the British Association of Aesthetics and Plastic Surgeons. According to the Foreign Office, 28 Brits have died after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey since 2019. A British woman died after undergoing Brazilian butt-lift surgery in Turkey, an inquest heard in November. Hayley Dowell suffered medical complications at a private clinic after her surgeon left half way through the operation, a coroner was told. The 38-year-old Briton went under the knife and had a Brazilian butt-lift (BBL), a tummy tuck, and liposuction - a package that costs more than 7,000 - in October 2023. She was thought to be one of six Britons who died in Turkey in 2023 following medical procedures. Meanwhile, in August, a British woman said she was trapped in the country after suffering from serious complications from botched cosmetic procedures, including two bouts of sepsis. Cennet Lo, a 28-year-old mother of one, flew to Bodrum in April to receive a tummy tuck, liposuction and Brazilian butt lift. Four months later she remained in Turkey in recovery after her cosmetic procedures went catastrophically wrong, with the mother claiming she woke up mid-surgery. Possessing photos of a Muslim woman without her hijab should be made a criminal offence, MPs have proposed. The Commons' women and equalities committee said pictures of a Muslim woman without her headscarf taken without her consent should be considered 'non-consensual intimate images'. Such photographs should be treated the same as child sex abuse images, possession of which can carry long prison sentences, the MPs said. The proposals will deepen concerns that Islam is poised to win legal protections which are not afforded to other religions under British law. It comes after a planned definition of Islamophobia being championed by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was slammed for risking 'a blasphemy law by the back door'. The committee report, published today, concluded: 'The Government should bring forward amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to make possession of non-consensual intimate images an offence.' If the proposals are adopted by ministers it could become a crime by the end of the year. The committee said the law currently defines an 'intimate' image as one which shows someone fully or partially nude, engaging in a sexual act or using the lavatory. The Commons' women and equalities committee said pictures of a Muslim woman without her headscarf taken without her consent should be considered 'non-consensual intimate images' (file image) But MPs concluded that 'abuse can also include material that is considered 'culturally intimate' for the victim, such as a Muslim woman being pictured without her hijab'. 'The Government should expand the legal definition to include such images,' it said. 'Non-consensual intimate image abuse is not always limited to sexually explicit content. 'For example, in some cultures, countries, or religions, sharing a photograph of someone without their religious clothingor with their arm around another personcan be disastrous for the victim.' An intimate image would have to show someone without their 'particular attire of religious or cultural significance' and be taken 'in circumstances in which an ordinary reasonable person would reasonably expect to be afforded privacy'. The taking or creation of intimate images is already due to be criminalised but 'the need to address possession is so far unmet', the report said. Ministry of Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones told the committee last November the Law Commission, which advises the government on legal changes, had previously decided against such a move, concluding it would be 'impossible to craft a definition that suits everyone and that therefore it could result in overcriminalisation', she said. The committee's Labour chairman Sarah Owen said: 'Non-consensual intimate image abuse is a deeply personal crime which can have life-changing and life-threatening consequences' The committee's Labour chairman Sarah Owen said: 'Non-consensual intimate image abuse is a deeply personal crime which can have life-changing and life-threatening consequences. 'We welcome the Government's proposals to make creating non-consensual intimate images an offence, but a legal gap remains. 'The Government should bring forward amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to make possession as well as the creation an offence. 'This ensures non-consensual intimate images receives the same legal treatment as child sexual abuse material.' The committee is comprised of seven Labour MPs, one ex-Labour MP who now sits as an independent, two Lib Dems and one Conservative. David Spencer, of the think-tank Policy Exchange, said: 'Tackling the problem of 'revenge porn' is clearly important - but expanding this to so-called 'culturally intimate' images risks extending the criminal law too far. 'The police cannot be expected to wade into so-called 'cultural' issues when officers are already struggling to deal with the volume of stabbings, sexual assaults and thefts that occur every day. 'The Government should be cautious about creating yet more criminal offences.' The Home Office was approached for comment. A survivor of the deadliest Channel crossing in history told an inquiry how the inflatable boat passengers started 'dying' in the water as the vessel got into trouble. Issa Mohamed Omar was one of those on board when the vessel capsized as it attempted the journey to the UK from France on November 24, 2021. An inquiry heard how the boat left the French coast shortly after 10pm and around three hours into the journey it became 'swamped'. On Monday the inquiry's counsel, Rory Phillips KC, detailed multiple distress calls made from the boat to authorities, but the incident was mistakenly marked as resolved and 'no-one came to their rescue'. The inquiry had heard that 26 people were identified among the dead, with four people missing and another person whose body was found, but whose identity has not been confirmed. It is not known for certain how many people were on board the boat that night, but the French authorities believe there were 33 people, including 13 women and eight children. Mr Mohamed Omar, who is a 31-year-old from Somalia, recalled: 'People started dying. People were screaming. 'It is very painful when someone is dying inside the water. The way they die - they cannot breathe...it is very difficult. I never thought I would experience such a thing. Issa Mohamed Omar, one of just two survivors of the deadliest Channel crossing on record This was the first picture of the flimsy and dangerous dinghy that sank off Calais 'It is a harrowing experience I do not want to remember. 'I was holding onto what remained of the boat and people were screaming. It is something I will not forget. 'I believe that if rescue had come quickly, half of those people would still be alive today. We have been seen as refugees. That is the reason I think the rescue did not come. 'I feel like we were treated like animals. I suffered a lot of pain. 'I woke up in hospital and I had a lot of injuries.' Mr Mohamed Omar told the Cranston Inquiry looking into the tragedy how he wants 'justice' and is a 'voice' for his fellow passengers who died. Giving evidence to the inquiry remotely through an interpreter, Mr Mohamed Omar described how he kept moving to survive the cold water. 'In the morning I would say around 10 people were still alive,' he said. The survivor spent four months in hospital recovering, including learning how to walk again. Mr Mohamed Omar said the smugglers told them before they left the French coast on the evening of November 23 that there would be 33 people on the boat but then more people were added to the dinghy, and he said they mostly did not count the children. He recalled the boat was filled with people from around the world, including a lot of Kurdish people, as well as a Somalian woman, Ethiopian and Afghan people. The witness said how the driver, an Egyptian man, told the passengers to begin calling the authorities for help when he believed they were in British waters. The last phone call he believed was by a man opposite him and the operator gave him a number to send their location on WhatsApp. Mr Mohamed Omar, who is a 31-year-old from Somalia, recalled: 'People started dying. People were screaming Mr Mohamed Omar told the Cranston Inquiry looking into the tragedy how he wants 'justice' and is a 'voice' for his fellow passengers who died He also described children screaming and people calling their families, while others tried to attract attention from other boats or planes by switching on their mobile phone torch lights. Mr Mohamed Omar added: 'People were in a desperate situation, they were trying to make phone calls, because my SIM was from Italy, I had no internet connection. 'Everyone thought they would not survive.' He was eventually rescued by a French fishing boat, and woke up in hospital believing he sustained 'many injuries', with some affecting his memory and eyesight. He also said he suffers flashbacks from the incident. The inquiry heard how Mr Mohamed Omar was forced to flee Somalia in 2006 after his father was targeted and killed as a governor of his town in the civil war there. Along with his mother and siblings, they resettled in Yemen until the war broke out in 2014, and he was taken to a Houthi rebels-held prison over his refusal to fight for them in the conflict. He told the inquiry the jail was bombed by the Yemen government and allies, and he was transferred to a hospital in Iran to treat his injuries. It was from Iran he joined others in travelling through Turkey, Greece and Italy to avoid being sent back to Yemen. He arrived in northern France on November 13, 2021, and had attempted to cross to the UK two times before the fatal incident on the night of November 24. Mr Mohamed Omar told the inquiry smugglers told them once they entered British waters they would be accepted as asylum seekers. He added that he believed France did not accept Somali people for refugee status, and on coming to the UK, he said: 'The reason why I want to come to the UK, to establish my life, I could be educated, I could help my family.' The inquiry continues. An Ohio realtor is being mercilessly trolled online after allegedly leaving no tip and a vicious note for a waiter at a Columbus restaurant. A picture of the Sunday receipt was posted to social media by another worker at Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina. In the space for a tip amount, the woman wrote 'ZERO, YOU SUCK,' before adding: 'I HOPE TRUMP DEPORTS YOU!!!' She was quickly identified online as Stephanie Lovins, 49, of Blacklick, Ohio, who until recently worked as a realtor for Century 21. Her profile page on the Century 21 site is deleted, there is no record of her on the company voicemail and her cell was temporarily disconnected in the wake of receipt going viral. Messages left by DailyMail.com with Lovins and her husband, with whom she co-owns an electrical business, have not been returned. When reached by DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for Century 21 said: 'We are aware of the situation with the agent in question. Hate has no place within the CENTURY 21 brand, and we are taking this very seriously. After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand.' The spokesperson said Lovins 'has not been affiliated with the brokerage since earlier this year, prior to this incident'. Lovins has wiped all social media presence but alleged comments from her on various platforms denying the behavior are circulating widely online. 'My credit card was lost/stolen, and someone attempted to use it. Thanks for the notifications! This has been reported through my bank,' she allegedly wrote on Facebook. Stephanie Lovins, 49, is an Ohio realtor being trolled online after allegedly leaving a hateful message and no tip Sunday at an Ohio Mexican restaurant - where a worker posted a photo of the receipt to social media and it went viral Lovins is pictured with her husband, Donnie, who until Tuesday used this photo as his profile picture on Facebook. He and his wife have since locked down their social media accounts An employee at Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina posted a picture of the receipt to social media after the incident, and it quickly went viral. The restaurant's head of marketing, Fabio Oribo, told WCMH that the server has two jobs and the customer seemed upset about a coupon policy 'Thank you for all the recent notifications of scammers and profile hackers! I recently discovered a lost/missing credit card and an attempted use/purchase,' she allegedly wrote on LinkedIn. I appreciate your patience while I manage the situation.' Restaurant workers said on social media, however, that witnesses identified Lovins as the same woman who left the nasty message on the receipt after being served by a hard-working waiter who is a US citizen. 'Apparently this lady came in and Ricardo, who is a great person, was taking care of her,' Fabio Oribo, head of marketing at Cazuelas, told WCMH. 'He only works one day a week, which is Sunday. He has two jobs. From what I hear, she wasn't happy about a coupon or something like that.' 'It's just not right, just not right,' Oribo told the ABC affiliate. 'He's a really good person, and like I said, we all come here every day to do our job, which is to serve people and have a good time.' A GoFundMe has also been created for the Cazuelas employee... and had reached more than $13,000 by Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for Century 21 told DailyMail.com the company was 'aware of the situation with the agent in question. Hate has no place within the CENTURY 21 brand, and we are taking this very seriously. After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand' A GoFundMe started this week for the server, Ricardo, had already amassed more than $13,000 by Wednesday - far larger than the original $1k goal 'Ricardo is a hardworking server at Cazuela's Bar & Grill in Columbus, Ohio,' organizer Anna Overman wrote. 'The evening of 03/02/25, he was doing his job like any other day, giving great service. And thenafter serving an $87 mealhe gets left a zero tip and a hateful, racist message on the receipt... Every dollar raised will go directly to Ricardo. 'Cazuela's is less than 10 minutes from my house and we have been loyal customers for years. I am in contact with management and they will assist in ensuring that 100% of the funds raised go directly to Ricardo. 'Now's the time to drown out hate with love. Drop a donation, leave a message of support, and let's show Ricardo that this community has his back!' The original fundraising goal was $1,000 but had already reached $13,384 by Wednesday morning. Donnie Lovins had also locked down his Facebook account by Wednesday morning. Before that, however, he'd listed on his profile that he was 'owner' of Rite Way Electric in Reynoldsburg, Ohio while linking to another company with the same name in South Carolina which has been dealing with unexpected fallout from the behavior of a woman in Ohio. Owner Jeff Costa updated the business's Facebook cover photo on Tuesday to be a picture of the southern town captioned with 'Located in Fort Mill, South Carolina.' The restaurant has received an outpouring of support after customer's behavior on Sunday Lovins allegedly tried to blame the incident on scammers or a stolen card on social media before removing all of her accounts; several fake accounts in her name have cropped up satirizing the realtor and her alleged views 'If you are coming to this site to express you {sic} distaste for a person in Ohio, it is not me,' the owner wrote on Monday. 'This company is located in South Carolina and I am the owner and only employee. The person you are looking for has linked my page to his. I will be working on resolving the issue. See messages below as someone has provided a link to who you are looking for.' Updating the post on Tuesday, he wrote: 'I would like to express my gratitude to those individuals who deleted their posts upon realizing that my company was not involved or associated with the issue in Ohio. Thank you to those who corrected the misinformation and posted in my defense. I apologize for the turmoil caused by these individuals to your community.' Costa told DailyMail.com that he's been trying to get ahold of Donnie Lovins as well as Facebook to rectify the situation. 'It used to be a side business of mine, and I've just kept the site up, just in case I ever go back into it,' Costa, 48, said. 'So I haven't posted anything ... since 2013, and then all of a sudden, I see all this activity.' Despite the annoyance of being inundated with messages, Costa said he viewed the situation as 'kind of humorous for me'. But he added: 'But if it was my legit 100% business, it would be crazy.' DailyMail.com has reached out to Cazuelas and restaurant workers for further details. The days when Britain's rock-solid unity with its ally America ensured a lasting peace in Europe may seem to be fading. But as leaders work to secure a ceasefire after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, plans have been announced to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of the end of the Second World War. Four days of events are earmarked across Britain to mark the week of Victory in Europe Day which sparked worldwide celebrations on May 8, 1945. There will also be a service to commemorate Victory in Japan Day, three months later on August 15. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is co-ordinating the events due to begin on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5, at The Cenotaph war memorial in London's Whitehall. It will be dressed in Union Flags, echoing its 1920 unveiling. A military procession will make its way from there to Buckingham Palace, followed by a flypast of historic and current warplanes and the Red Arrows. A national 'street party' will then be staged, just as rather more spontaneous celebrations were held in 1945.This time it will be on the Royal Navy warship HMS Belfast on the Thames. The Belfast, now a floating museum, helped win victory in Europe by firing some of the first shots of the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944. Members of the public celebrate the 50th anniversary of VE Day in 1995 The Red Arrows are planned to perform a flyover of Buckingham Palace on May 5 King George V pictured unveiling the cenotaph in Whitehall in 1920 Ideas and inspiration for street parties across the country are being offered by The Together Coalition and The Big Lunch organisations. Tuesday May 6 will see a return to the Tower of London of the ceramic poppies which drew huge crowds when first unveiled to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War in 2014. This time they will be inside the Tower, not the moat, with 30,000 arranged to represent a wound at the historic fortification which retains real scars from a bomb in the Blitz. Elsewhere historic landmarks will be illuminated. Wednesday May 7 marks 80 years since a radio newsflash told the population VE Day would begin the next morning. This year there will be a Victory in Europe Day Anniversary Concert in medieval Westminster Hall. On the anniversary of VE Day itself, Thursday May 8 when the Allies accepted Germany's unconditional surrender a service will be held at Westminster Abbey, 'to give thanks and honour a generation'. The VE Day commemorations will be topped off by a concert at Horse Guards Parade in London, in a bid to recreate the euphoric scenes of the day itself. Ten thousand members of the public will be treated to a show featuring 'stars of stage and screen and military musicians' telling 'the story of victory and the legacy of the Second World War in Europe'. Prime Minister Winston Churchill joins the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day, 1945 The Imperial War Museum are asking the public to search for any wartime letters which they may have forgotten about as part of a longer term project Defence secretary John Healy has said that government has a 'duty to safeguard the British values' which were fought for in World War II As a longer term project, the Imperial War Museums are asking us all to ransack our attics in search of wartime letters so they can be used to bring the conflict's human effects to life for schoolchildren. VJ Day will be remembered in more subdued form on Friday August 15, with a service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for those who fought and died in the Far East. Last night Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: 'The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are important opportunities for communities to come together to pay tribute to all those who served in the Second World War.' Defence Secretary John Healey added: 'Our duty today is to safeguard the British values they sacrificed so much to uphold.' An Aussie mum and leading doctor have warned parents to watch out for rarely seen symptoms after a little girl suffered a brain bleed while at daycare last week. Little Allira Gunn went to daycare healthy, but tragically passed away from multiple brain bleeds caused by a malformed blood vessel - a condition most parents wouldn't think could affect their child. Allira woke from her usual daytime nap, but was disoriented and her carers had no idea what was wrong so they called an ambulance and she was taken to Gold Coast Hospital. However, it was too late after the two-year-old suffered a brain haemorrhage and couldn't be saved. At first, mum Anna Casper thought a spider may have bitten her daughter or that she ate something bad, but things changed very quickly. 'She'd never had any health problems. I just dropped her off like any other morning then I got that phone call,' Ms Casper told Daily Mail Australia. 'When they did the MRI they discovered she had a massive brain bleed down near her brain stem. Then she had another brain bleed. They're not sure what set it off. 'They said her brain swelled very quickly and was pushing on her spinal cord as well and it just shut her whole body down. Allira, 3, had a severe brain bleed and was dead soon after waking from a nap Allira's older brother Rylan, 7, who adored his little sister 'It went form thinking they could do something for her to them saying there was nothing they could do.' Dr Lisa Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Stroke Foundation told Daily Mail Australia that while brain bleeds are rare, they're still a top ten cause of death in children. 'It's small numbers but it can often be catastrophic or in the very least absolutely life changing,' Dr Murphy said. 'It changes people's lives in an instant. What that family is going through at the moment is absolutely terrible. 'It's turned their world upside down. I'm not surprised how shocking this is because it's devastating.' Meanwhile, this week is the Stroke Foundation's Childhood Stroke Awareness Week. The foundation decided it needed to raise awareness about childhood stroke because 'people just don't know about it.' Chief Executive Officer of the Stroke Foundation Dr Lisa Murphy says parents need to be more aware of the potential dangers of stroke in toddlers 'You think stroke and you think granny or grandad. You don't think of babies and children and we need to start talking about it,' Dr Murphy said. 'We need to raise awareness in parents about childhood stroke.' Dr Murphy said identifying a stroke in a toddler was 'tricky' but vital to saving the baby's life. 'The thing about stroke is it happens often in an instant with no warning signs,' she said. 'The key is if something happens, act on it immediately. That doesn't mean call your GP, it means call an ambulance. 'Every minute after a stroke 1.9million brain cells die so the sooner you get to hospital the better.' Interestingly, stroke is more common in newborns than older children. 'In newborns it's when those congenital conditions appear,' Dr Murphy said. A brain hemorrhage, also known as a brain bleed, is a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is bleeding in the brain 'It's really tricky but things you can look out for are seizures, irritability, vomiting and excessive sleepiness. 'The other thing is if they're not moving one side of their body because stroke happens on one side of the brain.' Ms Casper and husband Adrian are currently planning Allira's funeral and the family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise just $4,000 to cover the costs. Allira has a stepbrother who is 16 and older brother Rylan, 7, who adored his little sister. 'It's a very difficult time. We're just taking things a day at a time at the moment,' Ms Casper said. Towns in the Northern Rivers region of NSW are bracing for the Cyclone Alfred, three years on from the catastrophic floods that devastated the region. Alfred is on track to make landfall in Brisbane on Thursday evening or Friday, and torrential rain is likely to follow in northern NSW. It is predicted to bring winds upwards of 120km/h, with some areas expecting upwards of 700mm of rain. In February 2022, hundreds of Lismore residents were rescued from their rooftops by helicopters and boats as the northern NSW town was swamped by the worst flood in living memory. The Northern Rivers Hotel in North Lismore just recently reopened after sustaining massive damaged in the 2022 floods is now preparing for Cyclone Alfred. 'Obviously there's a little bit of angst in the area, just unsure what's going to happen,' hotel manager Britney Gwynne told the ABC. 'It's a little bit nerve-racking for (locals) at the moment.' Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said it was a 'great unknown' how severely the city would be impacted, with some residents bracing for the worst. Several hundreds of millimetres of rain is possible within six hours, which could lead to life threatening flash flooding A Lismore local uses her poncho raincoat to try to shield her dog from the pelting rain during the devastating 2022 floods 'That would break many, many people,' Krieg told Nine. 'It would be hard to get up and keep going after that.' Byron Shire council, which is in the cyclone warning zone, has provided locals with hardware for satellite internet service Starlink, to keep them connected if communications go down. Rebecca McNaught from the South Golden Beach Community Resilience Team said they had learned from the 2022 floods. 'One of the big issues after 2022 was that we had comms down for a very long time,' she told ABC North Coast Breakfast. 'Even if people weren't flood-affected, they may have had emergencies or the need to access people or information outside of our communities.' Backpackers in the popular tourist town Byron Bay said they have been getting calls from worried loved ones in their home countries. Belgian women Charlotte Molema and Emma Tissot Fravre arrived in Australia just a few weeks ago. A police officer helps a child off a rescue boat with NSW Police working alongside SES rescue teams and the military in February 2022 The SES is leading the response and working with other emergency services and government agencies A emergency services worker makes final preparations on her truck before leaving Sydney for northern NSW Ms Molema said their parents are 'very worried' and want them to move south, out of harm's way. 'It's a beautiful place to be, but with the weather we were at first scared, but I think it's very impressive to see what's happening with like a cyclone right now,' she said. 'But of course we're a bit lost as many other tourists (are) at the moment.' Supermarket shelves in the region have been stripped as locals stocked up before Cyclone Alfred hits. Lismore MP Janelle Saffin urged people to only buy what they need for 72 hours so that everyone can get enough. 'We're seeing empty shelves. Get your basic needs and leave some on the shelves for others.' SES incident commander Joanna Jones said more than 50,000 sandbags had been ordered as the authorities prepare for the worst. 'Sandbags and the sand is going to be replaced on a regular basis, so if sand has run out, it will be replaced,' she said. Dozens of rescue boats are going back and forth from homes around Lismore to higher ground as floodwaters engulfed the town in 2022 People are pictured loading into boats to escape from Lismore after the entire town fell victim to flash flooding in 2022 Paramedics escort a Lismore resident to an ambulance as severe rainfall and thunderstorms thrashed northern NSW three years ago Additional SES crews began arriving in the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast on Tuesday. The SES is leading the response and working with other emergency services and government agencies. From Wednesday onwards intense rain is predicted, which could lead to moderate and major flooding in many areas, with the potential to close roads, inundate properties and lead to evacuations. 'Now is the time for residents in the affected areas to get ready for damaging winds, large powerful surf, coastal erosion and intense and heavy rainfall,' the NSW Emergency Services minister Jihad Dib said. 'We are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that if you are asked to evacuate your home you have a plan for this and know where you will go.' North Coast minister Rose Jackson said: 'The Northern Rivers community is strong and resilient, but we know this weather event is causing a real concern. We assure the community - emergency services are on the ground and ready to help.' As of 5am on Wednesday, Alfred was tracking as a category two system about 465km east of Brisbane and 430km off the Gold Coast, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed. Gen Z is more divided than any other generation over gender roles and women's rights in a new 'battle of the sexes', a global study has found. The survey of almost 24,000 people in 30 countries found that Gen Z are more likely to feel there is tension between genders in their country than older generations. Of all age groups surveyed, Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, is more divided by gender over questions including whether they define themselves as a feminist and if we've gone too far in promoting women's equality. While it is often assumed that young people are more liberal, in reality the views of Gen Z men and women often vary starkly on these issues, the research by King's College London (KCL) found. Some 53 per cent of Gen Z women define themselves as a feminist, compared with 32 per cent of Gen Z men, the poll found. This gap in opinion is the biggest among all generations surveyed. When it comes to Britons of all ages, 38 per cent define themselves as a feminist, down from 43 per cent in 2024. There has been a bigger decline among British men, down ten points since last year. Kelly Beaver, chief executive of pollster Ipsos, said the 'battle of the sexes' has 'emerged as a salient force within Gen Z'. 'These divisive sentiments are coupled with less optimism for the future of today's young men, compared to that of young women,' she said. A new study has shown that Gen Z is more divided than any other generation over gender roles (file image) The difference in opinions between genders has been dubbed the 'battle of the sexes' (file image) 'We must find ways to bridge this divide and ensure that progress towards gender equality benefits everyone, without leaving anyone behind.' The research, by Ipsos and the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at KCL, found 57 per cent of Gen Z men say we have gone too far in promoting women's equality, compared to 36 per cent of Gen Z women. Four in ten British adults of all ages think efforts to promote women's equality have gone so far that men are being discriminated against, with 51 per cent of British men feeling this way compared to 33 per cent of women. And more than a quarter of Gen Z males now say a man who stays at home to look after his children is 'less of a man' compared to 19 per cent of Gen Z women, the study found. In all cases Gen Z men and women - aged 18 to 29 - are the most divided generation compared to millennials, Baby Boomers and Gen X when it comes to gender and women's rights. But where Gen Z are relatively united is in their belief that there is tension between men and women in society today. Six in ten Gen Z across all countries surveyed say there is tension between men and women, with majorities of both Gen Z men (55 per cent ) and women (62 per cent) agreeing that this is the case. Gen Z are relatively united in their belief that there is a tension between men and women in society today (file image) Some 40 per cent of all Britons agree there are tensions between the sexes - on par with Germany and France - compared to 58 per cent of Americans and 76 per cent of South Koreans. However despite these trends a majority of people in each of the 30 countries surveyed say that gender equality is important. Overall, two in three people - including 62 per cent of men - say that achieving equality between men and women matters to them personally. Professor Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at KCL, said the gender divide is often unhelpfully framed as a 'zero-sum game' pitting women against men. But she added: 'Many problems we face are shared, and all genders can and should come together to address the challenges we face as a society, as only by uniting our efforts can we meet them.' Question: Aside from Father Brown, are there any other fictional clerical detectives? Clerical detectives priests, monks, rabbis and other religious figures solving crimes are popular because they blend moral wisdom, keen observation and a unique outsider perspective on human nature. Ellis Peterss Brother Cadfael is one of the best. Debuting in A Morbid Taste For Bones (1977), set in 12th-century Shropshire, Cadfael is a former soldier, sailor and herbalist turned Benedictine monk. His rich life experience sets him apart from other sleuths. His knowledge of medicine, plants and human nature helps him solve intricate medieval mysteries, while his compassion and moral integrity make him a compelling character. Created by author Peter Tremayne, Sister Fidelma is a 7th-century Irish nun, who debuted in Absolution By Murder (1994). A sister to a king and a skilled detective, Sister Fidelma solves mysteries and crimes with her sharp intellect and knowledge of ancient Irish law and customs. TV viewers will be aware of The Grantchester Mysteries, featuring clergyman-detective Canon Sidney Chambers, of Ely Cathedral. This began as a series of novels by James Runcie, starting with Sidney Chambers And The Shadow Of Death (2012). Ellis Peterss Brother Cadfael is one of the best. Debuting in A Morbid Taste For Bones (1977), set in 12th-century Shropshire, Cadfael is a former soldier, sailor and herbalist turned Benedictine monk. Above, Derek Jacobi stars as the sleuthing monk His rich life experience sets him apart from other sleuths. His knowledge of medicine, plants and human nature helps him solve intricate medieval mysteries, while his compassion and moral integrity make him a compelling character There are many examples from across the pond. The best-known is perhaps Father Dowling, created by Ralph McInerny and debuting in Her Death Of Cold (1977). Dowling is a Catholic priest in Chicago who investigates crimes with the help of his assistant, Sister Steve. It was made into a TV series, Father Dowling Mysteries, starring Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson. A personal favourite is Rabbi David Small. Created by Harry Kemelman and debuting in Friday The Rabbi Slept Late (1964), Rabbi Small is a Conservative Jewish rabbi in Massachusetts who uses Talmudic logic to solve crimes. France had Sister Angele, created by Henri Catalan, who debuted in Le Cas De Soeur Angele (1952). Helen Carter, Fleet, Hants QUESTION: The heist film 21 features a scene in which a student states that Newton borrowed his method for approximating roots from a mathematician called Raphson. Is this true? 21 (2008) is based on a true story and follows a group of MIT students who use card-counting techniques to beat blackjack tables in Las Vegas, led by their professor. The professor (Kevin Spacey) asks his students who can explain Newtons method of non-linear equations and how to use it. Ben (Jim Sturgess) claims Newton stole it... Raphson published the same method 50 years earlier. It is not true. Isaac Newton (1643-1727) first introduced the method in his work Method of Fluxions, written in 1671. However, it was published posthumously in 1736. Newton did not present it in the form commonly used today. Instead, his approach was embedded within his broader work on calculus. Tomorrow's questions Q: Why is a sycophant called a toady? Martin Summers, Colchester, Essex Q: Where is the oldest human- planted tree? Mrs K. Payling Barnsley, South Yorks Q: Ninety-four years ago, I was stung by a hairy caterpillar in Western Cape, South Africa, which shot me with its hair. What might it have been? Maria Bazin, Dunstable, Beds Advertisement Joseph Raphson (c.1668-c.1715), an English mathematician, independently published his version in Analysis Aequationum Universalis in 1690, where he presented an iterative approach closer to the modern formulation. Unlike Newtons original derivation, Raphsons method was more accessible and systematically applied to numerical approximations. The method is now credited to both, as Raphsons refinements made Newtons approach more practical, leading to the combined name Newton-Raphson method. Kate McGee, Oxford QUESTION: Does any other language have its equivalent to our The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog pangram? A pangram is a sentence containing every letter of the alphabet. The most familiar English-language pangram, The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, does indeed have its equivalents in other languages, some of which may include all the additional special characters used in those languages. French: Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume (Take this old whisky to the blond judge who is smoking). German: Victor jagt zwolf Boxkampfer quer uber den groen Sylter Deich (Victor chases twelve boxers across the Great Levee of Sylt). Spanish: Un jugoso zumo de pina y kiwi bien frio es exquisito y no lleva alcohol (A juicy, chilled pineapple and kiwi juice is delicious and alcohol-free). Italian: Pranzo dacqua fa volti sghembi (A lunch of water makes twisted faces). David Wilson, Newcastle upon Tyne Australia has been warned that Chinese warships stalking the country's coastline could be rehearsing for land strikes on Australian soil. Last week, Australia's top defence bureaucrat Greg Moriarty told a Senate Estimates hearing the Chinese were 'practising, rehearsing and they are collecting'. After the hearing, former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzulo warned Chinese military was rehearsing for 'land strike missions against Australia infrastructure and bases'. Those warnings were backed by strategic defence expert Michael Shoebridge, who told Daily Mail Australia that China's live-fire exercises just 600km off the east coast proved that Australia can no longer rely on its remoteness as protection. 'The heavily armed Chinese warships that just circumnavigated Australia were certainly demonstrating that China no longer needs to rely on just launching long range missiles from the mainland in an attack on the country,' Mr Shoebridge said. 'And successive Australian governments have told Australians that our distant location no longer protects us from military threat. 'But they have done nothing about it to date and our Defence Force has very limited capabilities to protect its own bases, let alone critical infrastructure or any of the Australian population.' Australia was first alerted to the presence of the Chinese navy when a lone warship entered the Arafura Sea along the country's northern border in February. The Chinese warships were last spotted 170 nautical south-east of Perth It is not clear whether a covert nuclear-powered submarine is accompanying the flotilla Since then, two more warships and a potential nuclear-powered submarine have joined to form a taskforce. Last spotted 170 nautical miles (314km) from Perth, the flotilla is widely expected to complete a full circumnavigation of the country. US and Australian submarines and an air warfare destroyer were sighted leaving a Perth naval base on Monday to track the Chinese fleet. HMAS Stuart, an ANZAC frigate, has long been shadowing the flotilla. The depth and quality of China's navy, now the largest in the world, has also exposed weaknesses in Australia's own maritime defence. 'Unfortunately, our Navy is small and ageing,' Mr Shoebridge said. 'Our 30 year old ANZAC frigates are worn out and being retired early. And all seven remaining frigates have less firepower than the cruiser in the three-ship Chinese taskforce.' Even with planned upgrades in the works, Mr Shoebridge said Australia's frigates will continue to be outclassed by China's existing warships. Experts have argued the Chinese excursion has exposed Australia's weakness to close-distance threats (pictured, Chinese Navy personnel visiting Sydney in 2019) Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen a military build-up making China's navy the largest in the world 'The UK designed and built Hunter class frigates that aren't scheduled to turn up until the early 2030s are simply outgunned and outclassed by Chinese warships like the Renhai class one in the small task force. 'It has 112 vertical launch cells, whereas the Hunter has 32. And the Chinese aren't paying $A7.5billion a ship for their cruisers - which is 3.7billion pounds a ship for the Hunters.' The People's Liberation Army Navy taskforce - consisting of a cruiser, a frigate and a replenishment ship - carried out a live fire drill underneath a busy air corridor off the South Coast of New South Wales. A total of 49 commercial flights were diverted in the airspace between Australia and New Zealand to avoid any threat from the live fire reported to Australian Defence not by China but by Virgin Airlines. Defence Minister Richard Marles cautioned Australians against overestimating the size of the threat given the Chinese had not broken international law. 'It's really important that we take a deep breath here. Our touchstone has to be international law. 'There is actually a greater frequency of Australian naval vessels closer to China than there are Chinese vessels close to Australia.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of underestimating the strategic threat posed by the Chinese naval presence Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the opposition had used the events as political capital The Opposition, meanwhile, has accused the Labor government of failing to appreciate the strategic significance of the drills. Coalition Senator James Paterson said they exposed obvious failures of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's 'stabilisation agenda'. 'Let's remember that the Chinese government is supposed to be our comprehensive strategic partner, this is not how a comprehensive strategic partner, or a stabilised partner, should be treating Australia,' he said. Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said Mr Albanese had displayed 'very weak leadership' in response to the drills. 'He's been at pains to explain this behaviour from the Chinese warships away as within international law, which is completely missing the point.' Foreign Minister Penny Wong, in response, accused Mr Hastie of using the events as political cannon fodder. 'You're not actually interested in the detail,' Senator Wong said. 'If you were interested in how we are working to keep Australians safe, you would have asked for a briefing [sooner] than four days after the incident happened. The Chinese warships are expected to complete a circumnavigation of Australia's coast 'But you're only interested in trying to invest in a political attack.' After news broke of the live-firing exercise, Mr Albanese said China had given advance notice of the drills. 'China issued, in accordance with practice, an alert that it would be conducting these activities, including the potential use of live-fire. 'It is the case that the notice was given. When that occurs, airlines are notified and stay out of the area.' Testimony given at the Senate Estimates hearing suggested notices are typically given 24 to 48 hours to airmen ahead of a live-firing exercise. While it is true that China did give notice, it was only issued on an emergency radio frequency used by aircraft after the firing window had opened. Australia was first alerted by a Virgin pilot at 10.10am after hearing the emergency broadcast mid-flight. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of overstating China's notice relating to the live-fire drills Defence was then notified by New Zealand navy officials, who were tracking the ship at about 11am. Mr Paterson said the Prime Minister had attempted to mislead the public in deference to Chinese leadership. 'He should be honest, admit we were never notified, and call out this malign behaviour instead of making excuses for the People's Liberation Army-Navy.' Mr Pezzullo said the failure of Australian communications was 'extraordinary'. 'It's remarkable that Australia was relying on civilian aircraft for early warning about military exercises by a formidable foreign task group in our region,' Mr Paterson said. 'We cannot tolerate that. We need a much higher level of readiness and preparedness and we need to meet any such task groups coming south in future in much better terms.' The leader of Canada's biggest economy is ripping up a deal with 'First Buddy' Elon Musk as the country continues to try and fight back against Donald Trump's tariffs. Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario, home to both Canada's capital of Ottawa and largest city in Toronto. He has been one of the most fearsome fighters against Trump's tariff war with Canada which officially went into effect after midnight on Tuesday. Ford - who also threatened to cut off energy to the United States - launched into an attack on Musk, canceling the company's $100million CAN ($68million US) contract with Starlink satellite internet provider. 'It's done, it's gone. We won't award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,' Ford said. He went even further, attacking Queen's University in Kingston, saying they should be 'embarrassed' that Musk attended the school. Ford, a member of the country's 'Tory' party which opposes Prime Minister Trudeau's liberals, said of the decision: 'They only have President Trump to blame.' The Premier added that this didn't need to happen. Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario, home to both Canada's capital of Ottawa and largest city in Toronto He has been one of the most fearsome fighters against Trump's tariff war with Canada which officially went into effect after midnight on Tuesday. Ford launched into an attack on Musk, canceling the company's $100million CAN ($68million US) contract with Starlink satellite internet provider 'We could have poured our efforts into making Canada and the U.S. the two richest, most successful, safest, most secure two countries on the planet. Unfortunately, one man - President Trump - has chosen chaos instead.' Ford - who called a snap election at the provincial level and claimed a mandate from the results - said that he's prepared to dig in his heels for as long as Trump is willing to go on with the tariffs. 'We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight. We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our tool kit.' Later in the day, he spoke to NewsNation, where he said he wanted Americans 'to feel pain.' '[Trump] wants to close down manufacturing plants in Ontario. He wants to annihilate Canadian state food off their table until they can't pay their mortgages. Unacceptable.' DailyMail.com has reached out to SpaceX, the White House and the Prime Minister of Canada's office for comment. Ford has emerged as somewhat of an interloper in the trade war which has largely been fought by Trump and Trudeau. Since Trump was reelected president in November, he has started referring to Trudeau as a 'governor' of Canada that could soon become the '51st state' of the United States of America. Ford, a member of the country's 'Tory' party which opposes Prime Minister Trudeau's liberals, said of the decision: 'They only have President Trump to blame' Ford has emerged as somewhat of an interloper in the trade war which has largely been fought by Trump and Trudeau Trudeau was deeply disturbed by the news of Trump's intent to level a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods imported into the United States, describing the decision as 'dumb.' He announced that Canada would begin implementing 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion of American goods, starting with $30 billion worth of products immediately. 'This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners,' he said. The United States imported $412 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Trump has argued that the trade deficit with Canada demonstrates that the United States deserves to level more tariffs on their imported goods. The president warned Trudeau Tuesday that the United States was willing to level additional tariffs on their country's economy. Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount! Trump warned on social media. 'We subsidize them $200 billion a year. Without us, Canada cant make it,' Trump said during a cabinet meeting last week. 'You know, Canada relies on us 95 percent. We rely on them 4 percent. Big difference.' U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House Trudeau veered between anger, frustration, defiance and sadness during his extended press conference in Ottawa. 'We're insulted, we're angry, but we're Canadian, which means we're gonna stand up for each other, we're gonna fight...and we're gonna win,' he declared. Trump has suggested that Canada should join the United States if they want to escape the tariffs. 'I say Canada should be our 51st state. Theres no tariffs, no nothing,' he said last week. Trump also argues that since the United States pays largely for Canada's military security, the country should also pay more in tariffs. 'We protect Canada. But its not fair. Its not fair that theyre not paying their way. And if they had to pay their way, they couldnt exist,' he said. Canadians continue exploring ways to make the United States suffer as a result of the tariffs. Ford confirmed he was looking into cutting off Canadian energy from America. Trudeau, who will leave office at some point this year after announcing he will not seek re-election, confirmed his country will fight fire with fire Trump used his Truth Social account to say that drugs were 'still pouring into' the U.S. 'They rely on our energy, they need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard, were going to come back twice as hard,' Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference. Ontario exports electricity to American border states like New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. The tariff news triggered a sharp selloff on Wall Street Tuesday as the Dow fell over 500 points. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that Trump would continue to negotiate with Canada as the tariffs went into effect, suggesting that they could get relief if they prevented fentanyl from crossing into the United States. 'We need to see real engagement on the fentanyl issue, on the drug issue, that is fundamentally the underlying element of these tariffs, is we think the Canadians have not been serious about struck stopping the drug trade,' Vance said. President Trump will address the United States Congress on Tuesday night, previewing that will not shy away from controversial topics. 'TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG. I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS,' he wrote in all-caps on social media on Monday. A Long Island courtroom erupted in chaos when a murder suspect appeared before a judge for the first time, only for a violent melee to break out in the gallery, forcing at least six court officers to intervene. The volatile scene unfolded after Nassau County Judge Terence Murphy ordered 18-year-old Jeremias Ferrufino-Rodriguez held without bail on charges of second-degree murder. Moments later, an emotional supporter, believed to be a relative of the defendant, stood up and began yelling repeatedly: 'Hold your head up!' Tensions instantly boiled over as New York state court officers rushed in to remove the man, but the situation spiraled out of control. The struggle turned violent as the spectator resisted prompting the brutal takedown as half a dozen officers wrestled him to the ground. Shouts and cries rang through the packed courtroom as officers forcibly dragged the man out of the chamber. The unruly spectator was dragged out and charged with contempt, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Meanwhile, a woman in the public gallery was clearly disturbed by the spectacle. A Long Island courtroom erupted in chaos on Monday when a murder suspect appeared before a judge for the first time, only for a violent melee to break out in the gallery At least six courtroom officers were forced to intervene to remove the man from court Jeremias Ferrufino-Rodriguez, 18, is accused of fatally shooting 19-year-old Jefferson Mancia-Fernandez at a busy Hempstead intersection near his home in broad daylight on Saturday as part of a simmering beef, according to county officials 'Why are so many of you holding him down? He has rights!' she screamed. Ferrufino-Rodriguez is accused of fatally shooting 19-year-old Jefferson Mancia-Fernandez in broad daylight on Saturday. He remained silent as the courtroom chaos erupted around him. Authorities say the killing was not random, with Nassau County Homicide Squad Commanding Officer Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick confirming that the two teens had a long standing feud. 'These two individuals knew each other; this was a targeted event,' Fitzpatrick explained. 'Apparently, there's some friction between them from the neighborhood, and on that particular day, they ended up in the same location at the same time.' Chaos broke out in the court room during an arraignment for a murder suspect on Monday It took six court officers to remove the heckler from the courtroom who was ultimately dragged out of the courtroom and charged with contempt, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest An emotional supporter, believed to be a relative of Ferrufino-Rodriguez, stood up and began yelling repeatedly: 'Hold your head up!' Ferrufino-Rodriguez was arrested at his home on Sunday, but the murder weapon has yet to be recovered The confrontation between the two teens unfolded at West Graham Avenue and Virginia Avenue in Hempstead, just blocks from Ferrufino-Rodriguez's home. Mancia-Fernandez, who was helping his mother move to a new apartment, was walking along the street when a car pulled up beside him. A gunman inside the vehicle fired a single shot hitting him in the chest. He later died. Police say Ferrufino-Rodriguez was arrested at his home the following day, but the murder weapon has yet to be recovered. Melania Trump stunned the crowd on Capitol Hill Tuesday night when she entered the House chamber to a standing ovation. The first lady was wearing a dark gray Dior skirt suit with a belted jacket. She wore a scarf and her signature stiletto heels. She left the White House with President Donald Trump and rode with him in the Beast for the short trip to Capitol Hill. The couple exited the White House holding hands and Trump clung to her, leaving the first lady pulling herself free so she could get in on the other side of the presidential limo. She was joined by her stepchildren: Ivanka Trump with husband Jared Kushner, Don Jr. with girlfriend Bettina Anderson, Eric and Lara Trump, and Tiffany Trump and husband Michael Boulos. Her father Viktor Knavs is also at the speech. Usha Vance, the second lady, sat in the first lady's box. Next to Melania was fifteen-year-old Elliston Berry, who was a victim of deep fake porn. The first couple's son Barron, 18, is a freshman at New York University and has class this week so did not attend the speech. First lady Melania Trump arrived to a standing ovation Melania Trump has been in a power suit mode of late. When she was on Capitol Hill Monday for an event tied to her Be Best initiative, she wore a three-piece brown Ralph Lauren pants suit with a crisp white shirt and dark tie. In her official portrait as first lady, she wore a black pants suit by Dolce & Gabbana. And, at formal dinner at the White House last weekend for the nation's governors, she wore a Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo black blazer with satin lapels and tapered black pants. These past two weeks marked a return to the public eye for the first lady, who spent most of the first month of her second tenure in New York with Barron. She's been focused on wrapping up filming for her documentary that will air on Amazon this fall. And she's been working on her private business initiatives, including her own crypto-currency. But on Monday she was in the Capitol to relaunch her Be Best campaign. She joined lawmakers in speaking out against revenge porn and deep fakes generated by AI. In her speech, she slammed Democrats for their lack of support on the issue. 'I expected to see more Democrat leaders with us here today to address this serious issue. Surely as adults, we can prioritize America's children ahead of partisan politics,' she said. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California was the only Democratic lawmaker at the event, which took place in the U.S. Capitol building. Republican Senator Ted Cruz hosted the event, in which lawmakers expressed support for his Take It Down Act. Meanwhile, the guests in her box range from families of victims of illegal immigrant crime to a former hostage in Russia and other 'everyday Americans' plagued by plights President Trump has vowed to fix over the next four years in Washington. Notably, the family of Corey Comperatore will sit in the first lady's guest box at the Capitol. Helen Comperatore and her two daughters Allyson and Kaylee are the widow and children of the firefighter who died after he was shot by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks at Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July. Fifteen-year-old Elliston Berry from Aledo, Texas was the victim of deepfake bullying. Her attendance as a guest of Melania Trump's is meant to bring awareness to the rise of these attacks using AI image generations. Laken Riley's mother Allyson and sister Lauren are also special guests of Melania for the president's remarks. Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by an illegal immigrant during a morning run. The murderer was apprehended for illegally crossing the border but was released into the country under former President Joe Biden's lax migrant policies. President Donald Trump and Melania Trump left the White House holding hands Second lady Usha Vance (left) and Melania Trump (right) at the president's speech Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in the Capitol Bettina Anderson and Donald Trump Jr. look at his phone Tiffany Trump, top row right, and her husband Michael Boulos, Ivanka Trump, first row center, and her husband Jared Kushner, arrive to watch President Donald Trump's speech Lara Trump and Eric Trump in the Capitol Chris LaCivita, left, and Viktor Knavs, center, at the president's speech Underscoring the importance of addressing the border crisis, the first lady is also bringing as a guest Houston, Texas native Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn, who was murdered by two illegal immigrants during a walk to the store in her hometown. These two individuals were also apprehended and released into the U.S. by Biden's administration just weeks before they murdered Jocelyn. Additionally, Roberto Ortiz from Weslaco, Texas is joining the box after he was shot multiple times by cartel members while performing his Border Patrol duties near the Rio Grande River. Tens of thousands of government staff will be dragged back to the office if the Coalition wins the federal election, two years after public servants secured unlimited work-from-home rights. Opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume said a Liberal-National government would make all full-time Commonwealth employees work in the office five days a week. 'This is a commonsense policy that will instill a culture that focuses on the dignity of serving the public,' she told an audience at the Menzies Research Centre on Monday. 'Exceptions can and will be made inevitably, but they're made when they work for everyone, rather than enforced on teams by the individual.' Ms Hume said increased accountability among public servants will not go as far as in the US, where President Donald Trump had tasked Elon Musk with severely cutting back the bureaucracy with his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 'It doesn't require a new department. It doesn't require a tech billionaire. But it does require a change of government, a restoration of the disciplines that Labor has abandoned,' she said. Ms Hume clarified that the Coalition didn't plan to enforce a blanket ban on WFH in a statement shared with Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. 'Let me be very clear about Labor and the Union hyperventilating: no one is banning work from home arrangements, that is a Labor lie,' she said. Opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume (pictured) said a Liberal government would make all government employees work in the office five days a week The Australian Public Service Commission enterprise agreement, signed in late 2023 under Anthony Albanese's Labor government, brought in uncapped working from home days for Commonwealth employees (pictured, WFH or WFB) 'Labor has made working from home a right rather than a request. Working from home has to work for everyone: the individual, the team and the department. 'This is a commonsense policy that reflects the arrangements for everyone else outside of the Australian Public Service.' Ms Hume's speech on Monday laid out a policy position that was exclusively revealed by Daily Mail Australia in January, following President Trump's lead. In one of his first acts after taking office, the returning US President signed an executive order forcing federal employees back to the office, five days a week. But, with executive orders not an option in Australia, if the Coalition is to succeed in ending WFH, it will need to undo a 2023 enterprise agreement that currently allows almost unrestricted WFH for Commonwealth employees. Yet, in trying to make her case for bringing employees back to the office, Ms Hume may have made a key error in quoting inaccurate information. During her speech, Ms Hume cited data from Stanford's Institute for Economic Policy Research which collated research on working from home. 'One paper found that after work-from-home arrangements were put in place, productivity fell by about 20 per cent,' she said. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) warns that scrapping WFH arrangements for public servants would worsen the gender pay gap (pictured, commuters in Sydney) The following morning, she doubled down while speaking to Tom Elliot on Melbourne radio 3AW. 'Every report, every academic study that's coming from overseas in particular, show us that productivity is declining because people are working from home,' she said. However the Stanford research found that productivity was unchanged by working from home. In fact, the study found that hybrid work had 'zero effect' on workers' productivity or career advancement and dramatically boosted retention rates. A spokesperson for Ms Hume told The Australian late on Tuesday: 'The Senator misspoke and was talking in general terms. This is a commonsense policy that reflects the arrangements for everyone else outside of the Australian Public Service.' The move to end WFH arrangements will find opposition not just from public servants, but also from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) which warns that such a move would disadvantage women. Data from Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) found that 72 per cent of employers had higher average pay for men than women, although that number had fallen by 56 per cent from the previous survey. Those opposing an end to WFH arrangements argue the move - as well as the right to disconnect outside work hours - could potentially harm women's chances of progressing in the workplace. An Aussie man is facing backlash after stacking dozens of sandbags on his roof in preparation for Cyclone Alfred. The man was pictured on the roof of his house, which is covered in sandbags, after a friend on the back of a ute handed them to him. About 150,000 sandbags have been collected in the past three days across south-east Queensland as locals brace for what could be the worst weather in 50 years. Comments online slammed the man, suggesting his roof might collapse from the weight or that he'll regret the decision once the bags get wet. 'Hate to tell him they will get heavy,' one said. 'His roof will collapse before (the cyclone) arrives,' a second added. 'Sandbags aren't going to hold his roof down. They're designed to take on water. 'When the rain starts, they are going to get so heavy (and) they might warp or even break through his roof. It's concerning,' a fourth said. 'The 1.5 tonne of sand on roof plus strong winds are not going to be any use. They will just help his roof fall apart. Should use 10 bags with tarps. 100 per cent better.' With many queuing for hours at sandbagging sites in preparation for Cyclone Alfred, one Aussie (pictured) is being slammed over the amount of bags on his roof Some people applauded the man for his industriousness: 'If it saves his roof it's time well spent and money well saved.' The comments come as a long wait for sandbags has ended in frustration after people were accused of acting like 'vultures'. Authorities have called for calm before the storm, with panic buying also widespread in southeast Queensland before the cyclone's arrival. More sandbagging sites have opened across the region as people attempt to safeguard their homes, but Brisbane resident Matthew Formosa still couldn't get his fill. He tried to get sandbags twice on Monday night but after a 40 minute wait was turned away at the 24-hour depot. Mr Formosa returned at 5am on Tuesday hoping to beat the rush but still had to wait almost three hours to collect just eight bags. 'There was no real order in getting the sandbags it is just like, once they have dumped there everyone is like vultures,' he said. Several hundreds of millimetres of rain is possible within six hours, which could lead to life threatening flash flooding Mr Formosa was told on Tuesday there was a two-hour wait as sand had run out at the depot. He criticised the lack of support staff to help the elderly load sandbags into their cars. 'Seeing older people carrying a bag and struggling, (there) just has to be an easier way for them to help them out,' he said. He was hoping to collect sandbags for his partner in Capalaba, south of Brisbane, who was worried flooding may inundate her home after a few near misses over the years. 'We're just trying to prevent it if it does happen, but hopefully it'll blow away,' he said of the cyclone. Supermarket shelves have been stripped bare in some stores as locals brace for impact, prompting a call for calm. Sunshine Coast Police Superintendent Craig Hawkins said there were no supply issues and no need to panic buy before the cyclone's arrival. 'Get what you need but be respectful of others who also need supplies to get through this,' he told reporters on Tuesday. New South Wales SES volunteers are pictured putting a dinghy on a truck on Tuesday A surfer rides a wave at Kirra Beach on March 4, 2025 in Gold Coast, Australia. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall in south-east Queensland as a category 2 storm The worst of Alfred's impact once it makes landfall will hit the state's southern flank, including Brisbane, the Gold Coast and also NSW's Northern Rivers. Cyclone Alfred: What you need to know Anthony Albanese has deployed the Australian Defence Force, including troops and vehicles, to assist as Cyclone Alfred approaches the Queensland coastline. 'This is a serious weather event, with heavy rain, destructive winds and major flooding expected,' Mr Albanese said on Wednesday. 'To everyone in the warning zone, please stay informed, follow advice from emergency services and take the necessary precautions to keep yourself and your family safe.' Mr Albanese said the Australian Government Disaster Response Plan has been activated and a crisis coordination team and liaison officers have been deployed. A Sikorsky s-61 helicopter has been sent to Coffs Harbour and a US 60 Black Hawk will be diverted to Bundaberg over the coming days. Meanwhile, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has warned of widespread disruptions, urging residents to take precautions as the cyclone nears. Schools, public transport, and elective surgeries affected in cyclone warning zone Schools: Open today but will close on Thursday and Friday in affected areas Public Transport: Final services run tonight, with no trains, buses or ferries operating on Thursday or Friday Elective Surgeries: Cancelled on Thursday and Friday, but emergency medical services remain available Giant sandbags are laid at the Caloundra Power Boat Club near the Pumicestone Passage, near Caloundra, Brisbane, Australia, 4 March 2025 Taped windows and sandbags are seen at the Caloundra Power Boat Club on March 4 Boating ban and evacuation warnings issued From midday on Wednesday, a red alert has been issued for boats, meaning no vessels may leave moorings between Double Island and Coolangatta without permission from the Brisbane Harbour Master. 'So to be clear, all boats on moorings must not leave position between Double Island and Coolangatta from midday today,' Mr Crisafulli said. What you need to know before evacuations Residents in storm-tide zones must prepare an evacuation plan now, Mr Crisafulli said. 'If you are in a storm tide zone, or you're in an area where you know there's riverine flooding, you really need to consider and think about your evacuation plan now.' Those not in these zones should stay at home. 'The best thing you can do is prepare your home,' Mr Crisafulli said. Caloundra Power Boat Club manager Shane Anderson is pictured amid preparations for Tropical Cyclone Alfred 'If you can fortify your home ... the safest place for you will be in your home.' He said the cyclone may make landfall at high tide overnight on Thursday. The cyclone's impact zone, currently stretching 650km from Double Island Point to Grafton, will shrink as it moves closer to the coast. What to expect from the cyclone Matthew Collopy from the Bureau of Meteorology said damaging winds could develop on Wednesday afternoon. 'A category two system means winds near the centre up to 95km/h, with gusts up to 130km/h,' he said. 'That is destructive winds and these will be concentrated around the southern side of the system.' The cyclone could also cause a big rise in sea levels, especially early Friday morning when the tide is already high. 'This means that as it crosses, likely near the high tide that happens in the early hours of Friday morning, we will see elevated sea levels between a half to one metre above the normal highest tides that people see,' he said. 'There is some modelling that indicates it may even be slightly higher than that for locations around the south bay of Redlands and the Gold Coast.' A man has been charged with the murder of a keen horsewoman found dead in her own home. Leanne Williams, 47, suffered significant injuries 'consistent with an assault', a Home Office post-mortem examination found. Matthew Battenbough, 33, has been charged with her murder. He is due to appear at Swansea Magistrates' Court at 10am on Wednesday March 5. Police said no further action is being taken against a 41-year-old man arrested as part of the investigation and he has been released from police custody. Ms Williams, 47, was found by police officers at her home in Gomer Road, Townhill, at around 2pm on Thursday, February 27. Detective Superintendent Mark O'Shea said the 'tragic news is a shock to the community'. He urged anyone who knows Ms Williams or may have relevant information to come forward. Ms Williams was often seen out with her horse and pet dog in the local community. Pictured: Leanne Williams, 47, who was found dead in her home in South Wales by police on Thursday, February 27 A police forensics tent, at the back of the property on Gomer Road, Townhill Gomer Road in Townhill, Swansea, where Ms Williams was found at her home He said: 'Anyone who lives in or who has travelled through Gomer Road or surrounding areas during this time are asked to check their private CCTV or dashcam footage for anything that may be relevant. 'It doesn't matter how insignificant it may seem. 'We particularly want to hear from people who knew Leanne and who have not yet spoken with officers.' He added that the police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this matter at this time. A nurse who allegedly threatened to kill Jewish patients in footage that shocked Australia has been charged. Ahmad Rashad Nadir was arrested on Tuesday night by NSW Police. He was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend, and possessing a prohibited drug. Nadir appeared in a video alongside fellow nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh last month where they allegedly boasted of withholding treatment from Israeli patients and even killing them. He has been granted bail and will appear in court on March 19. Footage captured the moment Nadir returned to his home in Sydney's south-west after he was charged by police. He covered his face with his t-shirt and wore a white bandage on one arm. It's understood that Nadir was 'receiving ongoing medical treatment', which delayed the laying of charges. His arrest came more than a week 26-year-old Lebdeh was charged when she attended Sutherland Police Station in southern Sydney last Tuesday. Nadir covered his face with his t-shirt as he was approached by a media scrum on Wednesday Nadir and Abu Lebdeh dressed in NSW Health scrubs at Bankstown Hospital, allegedly went on an anti-Semitic tirade in a viral video posted to social media on February 12 Nadir has been charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend and possessing a prohibited drug The Condell Park woman was charged with three Commonwealth offences: threatening violence to group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend. She was granted conditional bail and is also scheduled to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on March 19. On the night of February 13, a day after the alleged anti-Semitic video was posted to social media, Nadir was rushed to hospital amid concerns for his mental health. Police confirmed at the time that emergency services were called to his home in the western Sydney suburb of Bankstown due to concerns about his welfare. It's unclear how much of Nadir's time has been spent in hospital, and in his Bankstown townhouse, in the days since. Both nurses were deregistered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, meaning they are unable to practice anywhere in Australia. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said last week that Lebdeh was banned from social media and prevented from leaving the country under 'very strict' bail conditions. Commissioner Webb also confirmed that 15 people had been arrested and 78 charges made under Strike Force Pearl, which was set up in December to respond to a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney. The attacks stemmed from protests over Israel's destruction of northern Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas militants. The heartbroken mother of a one-year-old boy who died of a fentanyl overdose at a New York daycare said she could not forgive the owner at sentencing on Monday. Zoila Dominici, the devastated mother of one-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici said the Divino Nino Daycare owner, Grei Mendez, deserved 'no mercy' before she was sentenced to 45 years in prison. 'It is not possible to forgive something like this,' Dominici said while staring at Mendez, 37, in court on Monday. 'Forty-five years is not enough,' the grieving mother added. She stood at a lectern inside the courtroom while staring at the daycare owner, who sat at the defense table facing straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with Dominici. 'I do not forgive you,' Dominici said to Mendez, who was noticeably shaking throughout the entire hour-long hearing. 'Let God forgive you,' she added. In September 2023, baby Nicholas ingested the fatal drug, which Mendez and her husband have admitted to secretly storing underneath floor tiles where children rested and played. Three other children, all younger than three years old, were hospitalized after being poisoned, according to a pre-sentencing court filing from the US Attorney's Office. At the time of the baby's harrowing death, the Bronx-based daycare was reportedly stocked with lifesaving Narcan. However, Mendez failed to adminster the anti-overdose medication as little Nicholas lay dying. Zoila Dominici, the devastated mother of Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, said the Divino Nino Daycare owner, Grei Mendez, deserved 'no mercy' before she was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Pictured: Zoila Dominici outside the New York court on Monday alongside her husband, Otoniel Feliz Divino Nino Daycare owner, Grei Mendez, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Monday 'She had the key to helping these children and she didn't use it,' federal prosecutor Maggie Lynaugh said in court. When first responders arrived, Mendez didn't tell them that the kids might be suffering from an opioid overdose - as the infant lay lifeless on the ground with blue lips and no pulse, court documents revealed. The 37-year-old daycare employee pleaded guilty to all counts, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death back in October. During the searing sentencing, prosecutors asked Judge Jed Rakoff to sentence Mendez to at least 45 years, the same as her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, received. Yet, federal authorities believe the Bronx daycare owner deserves a life sentence as she was the person most responsible for the child's preventable death. After her arrest on September 16, 2023, Mendez lied repeatedly to federal agents, claiming to know nothing about the 11 kilograms of narcotics hidden underneath the children, despite evidence emerging later that she had packed drugs at the same facility, court documents show. The caregiver even claimed that she would not be 'stupid' enough to store narcotics near the children's playroom, despite knowing that she had done just that. One-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici ingested the fatal drug on September 15, 2023, which Mendez and her husband have admitted to secretly storing underneath floor tiles where children rested and played During the searing sentencing, prosecutors asked Judge Jed Rakoff to sentence Mendez to at least 45 years, the same as her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia (pictured), received in October At one point, Mendez even suggested that the kids had suffered from something else, like a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning. 'Do you think I don't know the danger there?' Mendez told a federal agent, legal documents revealed. 'I know how dangerous that is,' she added. 'I'm not stupid. I watch the news. I know that stuff kills.' At Monday's sentencing, the shattered mother broke down in tears as prosecutors recounted her son's final moments. Her husband, Otoniel Feliz, could be seen laying his arm around his distraught wife, seemingly trying to comfort her. When asked to address the court himself, Feliz said of Mendez, 'She only let my son die. She didn't do anything. We didn't just lose Nicholas, we lost our life.' Mendez, using an interpreter, said before the court that 'it was never my intention' for the kids to be poisoned. Mendez lied repeatedly to federal agents, claiming to know nothing about the 11 kilograms of narcotics hidden underneath the children, despite evidence emerging later that she had packed drugs at the same facility, court documents show When asked to address the court himself, Otoniel Feliz, baby Nicholas's father, said of Mendez, 'She only let my son die. She didn't do anything. We didn't just lose Nicholas, we lost our life' 'I do want all to know it was an accident,' she said, claiming to 'know the suffering' that Nicholas's parents are feeling as a mother herself who has been locked up and away from four children of her own. 'Believe me, this has left me traumatized,' Mendez said. 'I cannot erase this from my mind.' Judge Rakoff said that he was giving Mendez the same sentence that her husband received because they both shared 'the same amount' of culpability tragedy. While addressing Mendez directly, Rakoff said that she, 'for perhaps understandable but not defensivable reasons,' chose to prioritize her own fear of facing prosecution 'above the opportunity to save a life.' A teacher has been struck off after she fled the scene of a brutal attempted murder with her ex-pupil boyfriend. Laura McEwan was with Matthew Davidson when he attacked William Taube in a Glasgow street. It is understood McEwan and Davidson had formed a sexual relationship after he had been removed from school in May 2019. Davidson, now 22, and fellow thug John Wilson launched a vicious and unprovoked assault which saw unarmed Mr Taube knifed eight times in August 2020. He suffered bleeding around his heart and a collapsed lung in the attack. McEwan and Davidson left the scene of the stabbing before police and paramedics arrived and she then allowed him to stay at her house. McEwan also tried to persuade a witness to the incident to not to tell police her name and address, according to General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) paperwork. At a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow in March 2021, Lord Mulholland told Davidson and Wilson they were 'very lucky' not to have been facing a murder charge after they admitted attempted murder. The court heard Davidson was angry because his girlfriend McEwan would not let him attend a birthday party but asked him to pick her up from there at 3.30am. Prosecutor Lynsey McDonald told the court: 'Mr Davidson and Laura McEwan started arguing in the hallway. 'Mr Taube, who was in the living room, looked in the direction of Mr Davidson. Mr Davidson saw Mr Taube looking at him and immediately became angry and told him to get outside.' Laura McEwan (pictured) was with Matthew Davidson when he attacked William Taube in a Glasgow street PE teacher McEwan, who was faculty head at a Glasgow school, was hauled before the GTCS (file image) Words were then exchanged and Davidson got back in the car accompanied by McEwan, the court heard. Davidson followed by Wilson, a delivery driver, then got out of the car and went towards Taube. McDonald told the court: 'The two accused repeatedly punched and stabbed the complainer, who fell to the ground.' They then got back in the car, along with McEwan, and drove off. PE teacher McEwan, who was faculty head at a Glasgow school, was hauled before the GTCS. She admitted a string of allegations against her and was struck off for two years, according to the General Teaching Council for Scotland. McEwan also confessed to drinking alcohol with former S6 pupils in April 2019 and allowing a photo of her doing so to be taken which was later posted on Facebook. She further admitted driving Davidson home from school in her car at some point in 2019. McEwan signed an order to remove herself from the profession which saw her admit her conduct after the attempted murder was 'dishonest' and 'lacking integrity' which meant she was unfit to teach. Elon Musk weighed on a movement to pardon former police officer Derek Chauvin, saying the controversial action was 'something to think about.' Chauvin, the disgraced Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd back in 2020, is currently serving concurrent state and federal sentences in a federal prison in Arizona. Ben Shapiro's The Daily Wire has begun an effort to pardon Chauvin with an open letter to Donald Trump, calling his conviction 'the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics.' The letter claims that Chauvin did not murder Floyd because he was 'high on fentanyl' and 'had a significant pre-existing heart condition,' complaining of trouble breathing before the incident that ended his life. Shapiro also cites that Chauvin was never accused of targeting Floyd for his race and that 'for large segments' of the video showing the encounter, his knee was on Floyd's shoulder or back, not his neck. 'Perhaps most significantly, there was massive overt pressure on the jury to return a guilty verdict regardless of the evidence or any semblance of impartial deliberation,' Shapiro said. Musk reposted a video of Shapiro arguing for Chauvin to be pardoned by the president and commented: 'Something to think about.' Shapiro added that the incident would allow the country to 'turn the page' on the 'Woke' era and end 'the weaponization of the American justice system.' Elon Musk suggested that a movement to pardon former police officer Derek Chauvin was 'something to think about' in a post to social media Ben Shapiro 's The Daily Wire has begun an effort to pardon Chauvin with an open letter to Donald Trump, calling his conviction 'the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics' DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House and the Daily Wire for comment. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that Trump's potential pardon wouldn't 'free' Chauvin since he's still concurrently serving a state sentence. 'The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law,' Ellison told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Chauvin's anticipated release date is December 10, 2035. Last December, Chauvin's legal team was been granted permission to examine heart tissue and fluid samples taken from the victim's body in an attempt to challenge his conviction. US District Judge Paul Magnuson granted the motion Monday, after attorneys argued it was a heart condition that claimed the 46-year-old victim's life, and not Chauvin's knee on his neck. The May 2020 encounter has lived in infamy since sparking swift public outcry as Floyd had been an unarmed black man accused of a non-violent crime. The North Carolina native had been suspected of using a fake $20 bill at a local store, leading to the fatal encounter with Chauvin and three other officers. Chauvin, the disgraced Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd back in 2020, is currently serving concurrent state and federal sentences in a federal prison in Arizona Attempting to restrain the man, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and back for what officials would later deem was 9 minutes and 29 seconds, fatally asphyxiating him in the process. In his final moments, Floyd uttered the words 'I can't breathe' - creating a rallying cry for a subsequent civil rights movement in the process. Chauvin, 46, was convicted the following year, and is now in a little more than three years into his 21-year federal prison sentence. in January of last year, Chauvin saw an appeal tossed surrounding the argument that pretrial publicity and ongoing civil unrest led to an unfair trial. His latest bid to have the conviction tossed cites 'ineffective assistance of counsel' from original defense attorney Eric Nelson, whom he says failed to relay to him a Kansas forensic pathologist's theory that Chauvin did not cause Floyds death. 'Given the significant nature of the criminal case that [Chauvin] was convicted of, and given that the discovery that [he] seeks could support [the pathologist's] opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow [Chauvin] to take the discovery,' Magnuson wrote upon making his decision. He added how Chauvins defense team will now have the ability to procure evidence from histology slides and tissue samples taken from the victim's heart during his initial autopsy, the results of which were used to convict Chauvin and three others. Chauvin addresses the court at the Hennepin County Courthouse in 2021 Chauvin, meanwhile, was fired, and charged with second - and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He was eventually found guilty of all three, in addition to two federal counts of violating Floyd's civil rights. He is now serving his state and federal sentences concurrently at a federal prison in Arizona, where he stabbed by another inmate 22 times with an improvised knife. He was seriously injured as a result of the prison knife attack, but has since recovered. The incident in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson - a medium-security prison - came just days after a now-approved motion was filed in court based on a theory by Topeka-based Dr. William Schaetzel. Schaetzel said he believes tests would show evidence that Floyd had a heart condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy. He claimed in an interview that the trial had been 'a sham.' Schaetzel, however, did not examine Floyd's body, nor did review autopsy reports. He and Chauvin began communicating in February of last year year, at which time the Topeka resident told the Associated Press: 'I can't go to my grave with what I know. I just want the truth.' Chauvin is demanding a new trial or at least an evidentiary hearing, depending on the fruits of the fresh discovery process. The current motion to appeal would apply to the former conviction, leaving only the state one to be served. It saw Chauvin claim Nelson failed to seek testing of Floyd's heart tissue samples during the high profile case, after Topeka-based Dr. William The May 2020 encounter has since lived in infamy, after is saw the desgraced officer kneel on Floyd's neck for what officials would later say was 9 minutes and 29 seconds US District Judge Paul Magnuson granted the motion Monday, after attorneys argued it was a heart condition that claimed the 46-year-old's life, and not Chauvin's knee on his neck Chauvin was seen in video footage doing just that, as Floyd cried out that he couldn't breathe A temporary condition, it develops in response to an intense emotional or physical experience, leading to a sudden, temporary weakening of the muscular portion of a patient's heart, causing cardiac arrest. Chauvins lawyers are thus also allowed to inspect and make copies of any photographs taken of Floyds heart during the initial autopsy, which found Floyd's heart had stopped while he was being restrained and that his death was a homicide. The official cause of death was 'cardiopulmonary arrest [caused by] law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression'. A second autopsy, this one commissioned by Floyd's family, came to the same conclusion, citing asphyxia specifically as the cause of death. It also ruled out the possibility that underlying medical problems contributed to Floyd's passing, citing how Floyd was able to speak under the pressure of Chauvin's knee. As a result, in March 2021, not even a year after the murder, Minneapolis's city council awarded Floyd's family a $27million settlement in response to their wrongful death lawsuit. The soar in weight-loss jabs has caused food and drink companies like Greggs to consider selling smaller portions. Consumers with suppressed appetites may not want as big a portion, but 'still need to eat'. Greggs boss Roisin Currie said the bakery chain is 'considering smaller portions' or offering more healthier choices. She told The Sun this is part of the store being 'democratic choice' for consumers. Weight-loss drugs are 'something on the horizon we are watching closely and understanding and learning about', she said. There is also a big demand for more 'protein' and chicken options, which could be linked to the weight loss jabs. It follows the revelation that an undercover reporter could easily buy Wegovy from Boots on two separate occasions by falsely stating she was 18. The soar in weight-loss jabs has caused food and drink companies like Greggs to consider selling smaller portions, it has been claimed Greggs boss Roisin Currie said the bakery chain is 'considering smaller portions' or offering more healthier choices. File photo It follows the revelation that a 16-year-old undercover reporter could easily buy Wegovy from Boots on two separate occasions by falsely stating she was 18 Your browser does not support iframes. Both times, she was asked only to verbally confirm her date of birth when she went to pick up her prescriptions in-person - even though Boots' policy states they will not prescribe skinny jabs to under-18s. Tougher regulations to ensure drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro only go to those with a true clinical need have been announced by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The jabs have been added to the list of 'high-risk medicines' that require extra safeguards consultation in person, on video or through a GP before they can be prescribed. Journalist Ellie Flynn's investigation into how easy it is to acquire the drugs on the private market aired on Channel 4's latest episode of Dispatches. No one checked her photo ID when she went to pick them up, nobody noticed that she looked young, nobody seemed concerned about the fact that this was a child picking up prescription medicine and had obviously falsified her details in order to get a hold of it,' Flynn told FEMAIL. 'Her GP wasn't contacted on either occasion,' she continued. 'It shows a real error in Boots system which can be potentially dangerous.' Footage shared with FEMAIL revealed the first time Amber* applied for Wegovy on Boots' Online Doctor website was on January 9, 2025. While filling out the application form, Amber used her real name, address, the contact details for her GP, and her real height and weight, and also included two body shots - one from the front and one from the side. The form did not ask for any kind of photo identity documents. Four days later, Amber found out she had been approved for the drugs and, on January 16, she went to the local Boots store to collect her prescription. Your browser does not support iframes. The shocking moment was captured during journalist Ellie Flynn's (above) investigation into the culture around these drugs in the UK - and how easy it is to acquire them on the private market - for Channel 4's latest episode of Dispatches Footage from the store shows Amber being asked only to confirm her birth date before she is handed her packet of Wegovy and given instructions on how to store it. In early February, the pharmacy regulator - the General Pharmaceutical Council - introduced stricter rules on access to these skinny jabs. Pharmacies are no longer allowed to prescribe these 'miracle' weight loss drugs without in-person or video consultations as well as access to their medical records. When contacted by Channel 4, a representative for Boots said: 'Patient safety is our number one priority. 'We always strive to provide a high quality of care to patients including those whose weight is impacting their health. 'Although Wegovy is licensed for patients aged 12 and over, our policy is not to prescribe to under 18s.' Last June, medics warned about the rise in the number of young, healthy women needing A&E care after taking these appetite-suppressing drugs bought online under false pretences. Young women are believed to obtaining the drug via online pharmacies, who offer them at between 150 to 200 per month after providing false information about their appearance and health. The new Dispatches episode comes after it was reported that over 80 Britons have died weight-loss and diabetes jabs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. On February 22, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reported at least 22 fatalities linked to the medication up to the end of January. A further 60 deaths were recorded for products aimed to help with Type 2 diabetes. Nearly 400 people also required hospital treatment since the rollout of the products over the past few years. Scotland's biggest council tax hike has been imposed on families, with bills set to soar by 15 per cent. Orkney Islands Council pressed ahead with the eye-watering increase despite a major backlash from residents. A councillor who tried unsuccessfully to reduce the increase said he had never seen people so angry about a decision. It becomes the 26th local authority to impose an increase for the 2025-26 financial year starting in April and overtakes Clackmannanshire, which hiked bills by 13 per cent, as the council with the biggest rise. As bills soar, Orkney Islands Council will also increase the basic salary for councillors from 21,345 to 25,982. Council leader Heather Woodbridge, whose salary will jump to 47,363, blamed a 'cost of service delivery crisis' for the council tax rise. She initially supported a lower 11 per cent rise but backed the full 15 per cent increase yesterday, saying it would bring in a 'significant' amount of extra money. Morven Brooks, from Voluntary Action Orkney, expressed 'deep concern' about the rise, warning it could affect 'the most vulnerable members of our community'. Orkney Island's council are pressing ahead with plans to hike council tax by 15 per cent Despite Orkney's picturesque environs, residents will be left wondering if it is worth forking out for one of Britain's highest council tax rises She said: 'We understand the council's need to address financial challenges. However, this significant tax increase raises concerns about its impact on our third sector organisations and, more importantly, on the vulnerable population we support. 'Many local charities and community groups are already facing increased demand for services and rising operational costs. This tax hike could further strain household budgets, leading to an even greater reliance on third sector services.' More than 1,000 people had signed an online petition opposing the 15 per cent hike. Steven Heddle, who had moved an amendment proposing a rise of 11 per cent, said he had never seen people so angry in his 18 years as a councillor. He said: 'Life is about people and the people have spoken.' The 15 per cent increase will take the average band D bill in Orkney to 1,574.60 per year. It is estimated that each percentage point increase is worth an additional 115,000 for Orkney Islands Council. All 26 local authorities which have made decisions on council tax have opted for increases. The lowest rise so far is 6 per cent in South Lanarkshire, where Band D bills will rise to 1,378.87. More than 1,000 Orkney residents have signed a petition calling for the council's plans to be scrapped A map detailing how far north and remote Orkney is situated in Scotland In Clackmannanshire, Band D bills will be 1,594.38; in Angus, where there was an 11 per cent rise, Band D bills will be 1,461.52. In Glasgow, bills will rise by 7.5 per cent, while in Edinburgh they will increase by 8 per cent. Water charges, which are paid alongside council tax bills, will soar by 9.9 per cent from April. At the same time as bills shoot up, local authority umbrella body Cosla is considering pay rises for council chief executives. A report proposed a 12.5 per cent increase, which would be worth an average of 19,097 for each council boss. If approved, the move would add 611,113 to the taxpayer bill for chief executives, with opponents saying it will 'stick in the throat of hard-pressed Scots'. Earlier this week, the Scottish Retail Consortium said the council tax hikes would lead to a 234million hit to the economy as families cut spending in other areas as a result. Highlighting soaring water bills, it warned that 'buoyant household disposable incomes and confident consumers are critical to the health of the retail industry and all who rely on it'. It added that local tourist taxes being prepared in some areas would hit domestic visitors and business travellers as well as tourists, and that additional taxes are being introduced on second homes while councils also look for the power to introduce new levies to raise cash. During a radio broadcast to the American people in December 1940, President Franklin D Roosevelt coined a phrase which underlined his countrys commitment to the fight for freedom. The US, he said, must become the great arsenal of diplomacy. The best way to preserve national security at home, he argued, was to use Americas industrial might to arm its allies abroad on that occasion Britain as they fought tyranny. Eighty-five years later, Donald Trump has turned President Roosevelts noble ideal on its head. In doing so, the de facto leader of the free world has succumbed to his worst instincts and is aligning his country with the America First isolationist movement. By freezing all US military aid to Ukraine he is dealing a crippling blow to its brave defence against Vladimir Putins war machine. Mr Trump brags he can end the bitter war. But this reckless move, which will see Kyiv run out of US armaments before the summer, risks making peace more remote. Predictably, the Kremlin was cock-a-hoop. It raises the question of what incentive there would be for Russia, a ruthless aggressor, to stop marching west? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clashed with President Trump this week in an infamous Oval Office exchange Vladimir Putin will be buoyed by the news that the US is freezing its funding of Ukraine Under the previous Democratic Presidential regime, Zelensky received unprecedented levels of economic backing But if abruptly suspending these shipments was a tactic by the self-proclaimed supreme dealmaker to put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky, it seemed to work. Within hours, the Ukrainian president had swallowed his pride, expressed regret over the White House bust-up last Friday and said he was ready to sign the minerals deal Mr Trump has been pushing for. Mr Zelensky also offered a partial ceasefire with Russia. Extending his olive branch was an example of realpolitik. Should Mr Trump refuse to resume arms consignments to Ukraine, Europe is not yet ready to plug the gap. Chancellor Rachel Reevess pledge to fire up Britains defence industry is a step in the right direction, as is the EUs plan to unlock 660 billion of new military spending. But this will take time. The grim reality is that, just as Mr Trump pivots the US away from Europe, the Continent needs the US security umbrella more than ever. As if transatlantic relations couldnt get any worse, Vice-President JD Vance appeared to dismiss the UKs offer to lead a peacekeeping force as coming from a random country that hasnt fought a war in 30 or 40 years. Has Mr Vance forgotten that Britain came to Americas aid in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks? Does he need reminding that 636 British troops gave their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of US military action? The disrespect he showed to the sacrifices of UK personnel in these bloody conflicts is deeply offensive. Yes, he later rowed back on such ill-judged remarks. But it is shameful that a man who boasts proudly of his own military career should have stooped to making them at all. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has this week reiterated his unwavering support for Ukraine US Vice President JD Vance not only took aim at Ukraine this week alongside President Trump, but also made disrespectful comments in relation to both UK and French military personnel Indefensible reform With the need to rearm in a dangerous world becoming increasingly urgent, Labour is quick to highlight the links between prosperity and national security. Only last weekend the Chancellor argued a strong economy is built on strong defences. And, of course, the best way to pay for strong defences is with a strong economy. The problem is, ministers are putting this in jeopardy. Angela Rayner's new workers' rights plans have been slammed as another caving in to trade union demands First came the Budget with enterprise-crushing taxes, and now Angela Rayners employment rights and anti-strike laws will hammer already-struggling firms. Labour must scrap this workers rights revolution. By stunting growth, these class-war reforms will inevitably undermine the Governments ability to keep us safe. Almost one million people in England cannot speak English well or at all, new figures have shown. Official statistics reveal that 10 per cent of the country's residents that were born overseas - equivalent to 932,208 people - speak little to no English. A total of 794,332 people (8.6 per cent) cannot speak English well, while 137,876 people (1.4 per cent) are unable to speak it at all. Meanwhile, just over half of migrants aged over 16 say it is their main language and 38.4 per cent believe they can speak it well. The figures, obtained by The Sun, were collated from data in the 2021 Census and disclosed to the Tories by the UK Statistics Authority last month. They have prompted Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp to urge Labour to 'get a grip on immigration', adding it 'beggars belief that so many people in the country cant speak English'. In mid-2022, England's population was at 67.6million, and this is expected to rise to 72.5million by mid-2032, according to separate ONS figures. The level of net migration is estimated to average just under 631,000 this year - which would be lower than the recent eye-watering record of 906,000. Almost one million people in England struggle to speak English well or at all, new figures have shown (Stock image) Official statistics reveal that 10 per cent of the country's residents that were born overseas speak little to no English. Pictured: Air travellers pass through automated passport border control e-gates at Heathrow Airport Earlier this week, No10 pushed back at claims the Prime Minister had failed in his pre-election promise to 'smash' people-smuggling gangs operating across the Channel. Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said there were 'no quick fixes' to illegal migration after Labour inherited an asylum system 'in chaos' from the previous Tory government. Downing Street has previously said Sir Keir wants to bring down 'staggeringly high levels' of migration but dismissed Tory calls for a cap, suggesting it would be 'arbitrary'. The Tories are also calling on Labour to reinstate the policy of trying to send illegal migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent, which Sir Keir scrapped on his first day in office. His party's handling of the Rwanda deportation scheme further descended into farce this week as the east African nation demanded a further 50million from the British taxpayer. Relations between the two countries turned sour as Kigali accused Lord Collins, the minister for Africa, of making inflammatory and irresponsible comments concerning its ongoing conflict with a neighbouring African nation. He suggested Rwanda was linked with an attack on a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Islamic State-related group ADF. The Rwandan government said it breached the trust between the two countries and as a result it would be seeking 50 million which the UK was legally bound to pay, despite the schemes cancellation. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. A UK Government spokesman disputed the claim, saying diplomatic agreements already signed meant Rwanda had waived any additional payment. Cutting immigration is not among Labours five missions: growing the economy, an NHS fit for the future, safer streets, secure power through clean energy and opportunity for all. However setting a new Border Security Command was one of the six First Steps announced soon after the election. Children should be allowed to leave school at 14 if they would be better off in college or doing an apprenticeship, Russell Findlay will say today. The Scottish Tory leader will call for less academic pupils to be put on a 'fast track' to work via a practical education 'better suited to their talents'. Instead of frustrated youngsters 'trapped in a system that isn't working for them', they would be 'guided' towards a career. He said the 'bold' proposal would open up opportunities for young people and boost the country's economic potential. The change could help develop a stronger workforce by filling skills gaps and encouraging investment. During Scottish Apprenticeship Week, Mr Findlay will make the case for change in a speech to the Reform Scotland thinktank in Edinburgh. He will say: 'I want to propose a bold idea that I think deserves serious consideration and debate. A proposal that could transform opportunities for those young people who are being left behind. 'For decades, Scotland's minimum school leaving age has been 16. Too many young people become trapped in a system that isn't working for them. Even worse, far too many exit from it altogether.' Rejecting opposition sniping, he will add: 'This is not about writing off these young people. 'It is about guiding each individual onto the path best suited to their aspirations. 'It is about giving young people an opportunity to continue in a form of hybrid education that is better suited to their talents. Upon leaving school at 15, maybe even 14, they would still be required to stay in education. Russell Findlay will call for less academic pupils to be put on a 'fast track' to work via a practical education 'better suited to their talents' The change could help develop a stronger workforce by filling skills gaps and encouraging investment (file image) 'But it would be a form of education that works for them. A fast track to opportunity, whether college or an apprenticeship. 'By developing our proposal hand in hand with businesses, we could make Scotland's economy fit for the future.' Liz Cameron of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said of the Tory plan: 'If an alternative programme can be put in place which provides skills development and leads to employment, that merits exploring.' A spokesman for Colleges Scotland said: 'Tens of thousands of school pupils are already engaged with their local college through either a school-college partnership or a Foundation Apprenticeship, where they can experience learning at college.' Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: 'These reckless plans were proposed by the Scottish Tories in 2011 and were rejected by the Scottish people.' Scottish Labour education spokesman Pam Duncan-Glancy said the 'outlandish' idea amounted to 'writing off young Scots', while Lib Dem Willie Rennie said: 'Russell Findlay seems about six months away from sending kids back up chimneys.' With only a few hours to prepare before Cyclone Alfred reaches the coast, one man decided it was the perfect time to risk a swim in the ocean's strong currents. Federal MP Andrew Wallace shared a video to social media on Tuesday of a lone swimmer wading into the water at Kings Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast branding them 'selfish' for endangering their life. 'Let me be clear: you need to stay out of the water,' he wrote. 'It's dangerous. It's dirty. You are putting your life at risk. Don't be selfish, dragging first responders' attention away from preparation and prevention.' Mr Wallace said he had been sandbagging all day with locals and reaching out to vulnerable residents and local businesses. 'If the cyclone turns around or weakens over the coming 48 hours, that's the best case scenario. But if the cyclone continues on its current trajectory, we're in for some trouble, particularly at this end of the Sunshine Coast,' he continued. 'Stay safe. Prepare - don't panic. And check on your neighbours and loved ones. We are stronger together.' Aussies were quick to slam the swimmer for the 'dangerous' act. The swimmer (pictured) was captured wading into the water on the Sunshine Coast 'I was walking by at this time. I spoke with this person and let him know that he shouldn't be in the water and how dangerous it was,' one said. But someone replied: 'Nice effort... He was back swimming at 4.40pm'. 'There's always some clown in the water when it's dangerous,' another wrote. 'Saw mothers with their toddlers in the Bribie waves on Sunday! Waist deep! Totally insane and idiotic!' another said. And it's not the only incident that has enraged local communities as Cyclone Alfred looms closer to the Queensland coastline. A driver has been slammed by locals after he drove his ute through floods at Currumbin Vikings Surf Club carpark on the Gold Coast. The driver was attempting to reach the beach as high tides approached but instead he got stuck in the sand and was forced to abandon the vehicle. The ute was towed off the beach by volunteers who had been busy building sandbag walls to protect against the predicted flooding. Queenslanders have been preparing their homes, including sandbagging, as they expect Cyclone Alfred to make landfall (pictured) A warning zone stretching 650km has been issued from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. The zone includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina, but doesn't include Grafton. Anthony Albanese has called in armed forces to assist with troops and vehicles as Cyclone Alfred barrels towards the Queensland coastline. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has continued to warn residents to get ready. 'We've been saying this message for a few days, days are now becoming hours,' he told Sky News on Wednesday. Damaging winds could develop later today according to the Bureau of Meteorology. 'A category two system means winds near the centre up to 95km/hour, with gusts up to 130km/hour,' meteorologist Matthew Collopy said. The cyclone could also cause a big rise in sea levels, especially early on Friday morning when the tide is already high. The UK will cut its public expenditure in order to pay for an increase in defence spending, Rachel Reeves has suggested. As part of the government's pledge to boost Britain's military budget, the Chancellor hinted that ministers will prioritise making efficiency savings rather than tax rises. Ms Reeves pointed out this was the approach taken by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who last week pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of the size of the economy from April 2027. The scramble to speed up Britain's buying of arms comes as US President Donald Trump dramatically withdraws military support for Ukraine. He has also demanded that other European nations shoulder greater responsibility for their own security, which has sparked panic across the continent. Sir Keir last week announced the boost to UK defence spending and also promised to spend 3 per cent of GDP on the Armed Forces in the next parliament. This has led to speculation that the money may come from voter's pockets following Ms Reeves tax raid on businesses in her October budget. When questioned by the Telegraph on whether households should be bracing themselves, Ms Reeves said: 'I will never play fast and loose with the public finances, and I will always explain where the money is going to come from. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a speech on UK defense procurement at a manufacturing summit in central London As part of the Government's pledge to boost Britain's military budget , the Chancellor hinted that ministers will prioritise making efficiency savings over tax rises The scramble to speed up Britain's buying of arms comes as US President Donald Trump dramatically withdraws military support for Ukraine 'But I think you should note that it was through spending reductions elsewhere that we were able to fund this increase in defence spending. That was the choice that we made, rather than increasing taxation.' Britain and its Nato allies are scrambling to increase defence spending as Mr Trump paused military aid to Ukraine, following a heated row with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. European chief Ursula von der Leyen meanwhile on Tuesday presented a five-part plan to mobilise some 800 billion euros ($833 billion) for Europe's defence - and help provide 'immediate' military support for Ukraine. While the UK is no longer a member of the European Union, Starmer is making diplomatic efforts to bridge differences between Europe and the US over Russia's war in Ukraine. The UK, home to defence giant BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce - which makes engines for military planes and submarines - added Tuesday that it plans to ensure small and medium-sized enterprises have better access to supply chains across the defence sector. Trade organisation ADS, representing 1,300 SMEs, described the announcement as 'hugely welcome', telling AFP also that such companies 'are a vital part of the UK's defence sector'. Ms Reeves is aiming to cut unnecessary red tape that slows down the procurement of defence equipment, from ships to munitions. And she hopes to open up defence contracts to more companies so that more small and medium sized businesses can benefit from the uplift in defence spending. Ministers hope this will see the UK's defence industry benefit from their innovation. 'I do want to make sure that as we spend more on defence that is used to support British jobs and British industries,' Reeves said on Tuesday. Britain would always need to buy kit from abroad, she said, but added the government was working with UK defence companies to help them increase capacity and the capability to 'step up' given the geopolitical situation. She said she was working with UK defence companies on how to increase capacity and capability to 'step up to this moment in the same way the Government is stepping up to this moment', and that a defence innovation hub was being set up to help smaller businesses benefit from the extra military spending. 'We'll always have a need to buy things from abroad. I don't want to pull up the drawbridge, but as we spend more on defence, of course, I want to see that benefit the UK economy and UK jobs,' Ms Reeves said. As part of the shake-up of defence procurement rules, ministers will review 'single source' contract rules that govern the majority of defence deals. These are not open to competition for national security reasons, or because there is only one specialist supplier available. But the Government wants to incentivise faster delivery and learn lessons from the rapid procurement of arms for Ukraine. The government is due to publish its Strategic Defence Review this spring, which will provide further detail on what type of equipment and technology Britain will prioritise. Ms Reeves also said on Tuesday that 'there's every reason to be hopeful about coming to some sort of trade deal' between the UK and the US. 'But it shouldn't be about choosing between the US and our nearest neighbours and trading partners in Europe,' she added. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak turned on his fellow Silicon Valley tech bros - taking direct aim at Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The 74-year-old who founded the massive tech company with Steve Jobs in 1976 spoke to hundreds of attendees at Barcelona's Talent Arena developers fair on Tuesday when he lamented Big Tech's 'direct role' in US politics, Forbes reports. Wozniak argued that the major tech companies 'are just so big, it's like they're running our lives'. 'Technology companies are huge, they're huge and [because they are] worth that much money, they have to have some political involvement,' he said, acknowledging the tech industry's long history of lobbying politicians. 'But actually taking a direct role because they've made it big in technology, I don't like that at all,' Wozniak, who left the company years before it became a global phenomenon, told the audience as he turned his attention to Musk. He went on to explain that 'the skills of politics are very different than the skills for technology companies to have success.' 'When you run a business, you look around and you look for a consensus. If half your employees feel one way and half the other way, you negotiate, you compromise.' 'I don't see that happening in the case of Elon Musk... you don't just say everything is out and start fresh.' Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, 74, lamented Big Tech's 'direct role' in US politics as he spoke to hundreds of attendees at Barcelona's Talent Arena developers fair on Tuesday. Wozniak is pictured in 2022 The Apple co-founder took specific aim at Tesla CEO Elon Musk Wozniak's comments come in stark contrast to other tech leaders who have cozied up to President Donald Trump in recent months. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, traveled to the president's Mar-a-Lago estate twice after he won control of the White House over former Vice President Kamala Harris. He announced at the time he would end Facebook and Instagram's fact-checking program, despite studies that proved it reduced misinformation on the social media sites. The billionaire also moved to allow for some LGBT people to be called mentally ill, promoted his most Trump-favoring executive, and put Trump supporter UFC boss Dana White on the board. Zuckerberg even appeared at Trump's inauguration, alongside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who similarly supported the president in his re-election campaign. He had ordered the Washington Post not to endorse Harris in the race, and in December, Bezos said he was 'optimistic' about Trump's second term and noted that he plans to 'help him' achieve their shared goals. Bezos has since announced he plans to overhaul the Washington Post's Opinion page to focus solely on support for, 'personal liberties and free markets'. Other tech executives have not been as prominent in their support of Trump, but have supported his agenda in other ways. Wozniak's comments come in stark contrast to other tech leaders who have cozied up to President Donald Trump in recent months, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Google bosses, for example, sent employees an email last month saying they would no longer be striving to improve DEI representation in the workforce amid Trump's anti-woke agenda. Its parent company, Alphabet, also removed a sentence stating that the company was 'committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.' Still, Musk remains the most prominent tech bro in Trump's orbit as he heads the president's controversial Department of Government Efficiency. He has claimed the department saved American taxpayers $105 billion by terminating contracts and canceling leases as well as federal grants. But the agency's figures have been called into question, as the 2,299 contracts listed on its Wall of Receipts only amounts to $8.8 billion in alleged savings. The department also claims that it has terminated $660 million worth of real estate leases as well as $10.3 billion in federal government grants. Yet that would still only amount to $19.7 billion in savings - a far cry from the $105 billion the department said it has saved. Musk remains the most prominent tech bro in Trump's orbit as he heads the president's controversial Department of Government Efficiency Amid the massive cuts, protests against the Tesla CEO sprang up across the country over the weekend. Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside a Tesla dealership in the Big Apple on Saturday, waving signs that read 'No Dictators in the USA' and 'Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy'. The demonstration, which police said involved around 300 people, was protesting Musk for firing thousands of federal employees, and terminating hundred of aid contracts and federal leases in his effort to shrink the government. At one point during the protest, at least one of the Tesla store's glass front doors was smashed in the chaos, the New York Daily News reported. Nine people were arrested in the aftermath. Similar demonstrations, though, also took place at the electric vehicle maker's showrooms in Jacksonville, Florida; Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles, California; and Boston, Massachusetts. At times, the protesters blocked traffic as they chanted and waved signs, including one that read 'Send Elon to Mars.' A Scot who faced the death penalty in India after being jailed without trial for seven years has been acquitted in the first case against him. Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh activist from Dumbarton, was in Punjab, northern India, for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car. The 37-year-old has now been acquitted in a case in Punjab but is still facing a series of charges at federal level. It came as Foreign Secretary David Lammy met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for talks on trade and investment. Last night West Dunbartonshire MP Douglas McAllister said: The Government must act now to secure Jagtars release. This is a unique opportunity to secure a resolution with the Indian authorities and bring this young British man back to his family in Dumbarton. Without decisive diplomatic action, he faces being imprisoned for decades while the remaining trials drag on, despite the complete lack of credible evidence against him. Mr Johal is said to have been tortured, including with electric shocks, and faces the death penalty because of his campaigning for Sikh rights. Jagtar Singh Johal (middle) was in Punjab, northern India, for his wedding in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car Jagtar Singh Johal, (pictured) a Sikh activist from Dumbarton faced the death penalty in India after being jailed without trial for seven years He said he was forced to sign a blank confession after being tortured and made to record a video which was broadcast on Indian TV. Mr Johal has been held in solitary confinement in a prison in Delhi since 2019. In 2022, a United Nations panel acknowledged Mr Johal had been arbitrarily detained in India. Dan Dolan, director of advocacy and policy at advocacy group Reprieve, said: Despite being cleared ... Jagtar still faces the threat of the death penalty in the eight duplicate cases against him. The central allegation in all nine cases is the same but prosecutors have supplied no credible evidence to support it, either in Punjab or the remaining eight NIA (National Investigation Agency) cases. And it has now been tested and rejected in court - there is no physical evidence, no email trail, no CCTV footage, no record of a bank transfer, no notes or recordings of telephone calls, and so the court quite rightly found him not guilty. The Sikh Federation said it was a massive step forward in efforts to free him and urged the UK Government to keep up pressure. Dabinderjit Singh, the federations political engagement lead, said: Jagtars acquittal today due to a lack of credible evidence is a massive step forward to get him released and back home to the UK to be reunited with his family. Jagtar Singh Johal, (pictured) said he was forced to sign a blank confession after being tortured and made to record a video Jagtar Singh Johal, (pictured) has been held in solitary confinement in a prison in Delhi since 2019 Mr Singh said it opens up the way for other charges to be dropped. He added: The UK Government need to keep up pressure and prepare to get him home quickly so he can be with his family and begin to enjoy married life. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) welcomed the acquittal. A spokesman said: We welcome the progress in the case. The UK Government remains committed to working for faster progress on Jagtars case, and the FCDO continue to work to support Mr Johal and his family. The Foreign Secretary met Mr Johals brother, Member of Parliament and a representative from Reprieve on October 30, 2024. It must bring a sense of relief to Brisbane residents knowing that the Prime Minister has jetted into town to personally spearhead the response to Cyclone Alfred. Using all his knowledge about how to help out. Carefully crafted press conferences to update the nation on what's happening, and how his government is responding, will be important too no doubt. Sarcasm aside, Anthony Albanese will have to tread very carefully in the days ahead. He wants to call the election on Sunday for April 12, but might have to delay doing so if the situation in southeast Queensland and northern NSW is critical. He wouldn't want to be accused of putting political strategy first. He could call it on Monday for April 12, but after that he's stuck having to delay the election which probably means having to hand down a budget he'd been hoping to put off until after Australians case their vote. Albo had also planned to jet across the Nullarbor over the weekend to share in the WA Labor victory at Saturday's state election. A perfect backdrop to the start of his own campaign for re-election in a state that he must do well in to have any chance of hanging onto government. But Albo can't do that now. Deserting the people of Brisbane in their time of need to fly into WA for a photo opportunity is a definite no. Anthony Albanese in Brisbane for a press conference about Cyclone Alfred Anxious residents fill sand bags on the Gold Coast ahead of Cyclone Alfred's landfall Natural disasters can be political opportunities for politicians when things go the right way. But when they don't, the political disaster can match the natural disaster. That was Scott Morrison's experience when he headed to Hawaii for a pre-booked family holiday during the bushfires in 2019/20. It was hubris on stilts to think he could get away with such a move. John Howard wouldn't take overseas family holidays during his prime ministership, lest he looked out of touch to mainstream voters. In contrast to Morrison's stupidity, then opposition leader Albo quickly cancelled what was left of his summer holiday to get on the ground and help out in bushfire affected areas in full view of the media, of course. Political leaders will always declare that they aren't factoring politics into how they address the fallout from natural disasters. They are too busy helping out to consider such things, they claim to the media. But that is just political spin. The simple fact is that all politicians deeply consider the political ramifications of what they do and don't do during times of crisis. Political leaders can look out of touch if they hang back, but also need to be careful not to get in the way when charging in to help, writes Peter van Onselen If they didn't, they would be negligent in their duty to their party. It's of course possible to be politically strategic as well as do the right thing by Australians affected by natural disasters. The trick is not getting caught being political at the expense of doing the right thing. Political leaders can look out of touch if they hang back, but also need to be careful not to get in the way when charging in to help. It's a delicate balance especially on the eve of calling an election. In this instance, especially when Albo's personal ratings are in the toilet and the cyclone is forecast to directly hit Queensland, Labor's weakest state and the home of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. The PM needs to make absolutely certain he doesn't outwardly appear to politicise what's happening. He needs to avoid references to climate change causing the disaster, a mistake he's made in the past. He also needs to avoid criticising the response of the new LNP state government in Queensland. Doing so might come across as cheap political point scoring. More likely Albo will want to appear as if he's working hand in glove with the Queensland Government to show that he's above partisan politics and differences in political stripes. But even that will have been a political calculation amongst the PM's minders. If Albo hadn't flown into Queensland he would have been criticised. Some will criticise him for injecting himself into the disaster situation. Sometimes politicians can't win if ideological opponents choose to take aim at how they respond in a crisis. All a political leader can do is aim to do what would seem to be 'the right thing' away from politics. But getting to that point takes time as the political hard heads come together to decide what version of the right thing works best for them politically. Donald Trump Jr. shared a moment together with his new girlfriend Bettina Anderson ahead of his father's speech to a joint session of Congress. The First Son, 47, and his socialite lover, 38, were spotted taking a selfie on Trump Jr.'s phone at the Capitol Tuesday night. Trump Jr. immediately shared the opening words of his father's first major speech since the inauguration: 'America is back.' Anderson was all smiles in a black dress as Trump Jr. mimicked his father's classic look of a dark blue suit and red tie, as well as an American flag pin. Eric Trump was also spotted near Donald Jr., alongside Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos. Just weeks earlier, the pair were spotted on private time on an island as they spent the weekend at Little Pipe Cay in the Bahamas where Daniel Craig shot scenes for the 2006 movie Casino Royale. Don Jr. and Bettina kept their blossoming romance a secret until DailyMail.com spies spotted them enjoying a series of intimate dates. The President's eldest son was publicly engaged to MAGA loyalist Kimberly Guilfoyle but that didn't deter him from canoodling with his new squeeze last September in front of stunned diners at a Palm Beach bistro. Donald Trump Jr. shared a moment together with his new girlfriend Bettina Anderson ahead of his father's speech to a joint session of Congress Anderson was all smiles in a black dress as Trump Jr. mimicked his father's classic look of a dark blue suit and red tie, as well as an American flag pin Weeks later DailyMail.com revealed exclusive photos of the pair enjoying a glammed-up date for Bettina's 38th birthday before heading back to her $860,000 townhouse for the night. By that stage multiple sources had confirmed his six-year relationship with Guilfoyle, Trump's nomination for US Ambassador to Greece, had been over for months. The new power couple have become ever more brazen, attending ritzy social events, state functions and even last weekend's Super Bowl together despite Guilfoyle, 55, also being in attendance. The president and First Lady Melania Trump departed the White House at 8:30 p.m. for the late night remarks set to start at 9:00 p.m. made to all members of Congress and their guests, the executive Cabinet (minus the designated survivor VA Secretary Doug Collins) and the Supreme Court bench. His remarks before all of the nation's people and politicos will be a seminal moment in the Republican's still young second term. It will also be an opportunity to address his congressional Democratic detractors, who have protested his DOGE initiative, his kicking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House and his foreign aid freeze, directly. Within his first month, the president has deputized Elon Musk and DOGE to the top echelons of federal power, where they currently are working to dismantle what they deem as waste, fraud and abuse within the government. Already over 100 legal cases are challenging many of the Trump-Musk government reforms, according to AP. Eric Trump was also spotted near Donald Jr., alongside Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos Donald Trump Jr., and his girlfriend Bettina Anderson arrive before President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol 'I hope that the court system is going to allow us to do what we have to do,' Trump said in February. The deluge of presidential actions Trump has undertaken to begin reforming the federal programs has, so far, earned the president a positive approval rating, according to the RealClear Politics average. So during his address Tuesday evening the president will look to turn up the heat on his adversaries, praise his confidants and keep the Trump train rolling. Trump is expected in his speech titled 'The Renewal of the American Dream' to tout his America First policies, praise his fast-moving agenda in the first few weeks back in office and outline what he plans to do over the next four years. Melania will be joined in the chamber by 15 guests including a former Russian hostage, families of victims of illegal immigrant crime, those impacted by woke transgender policies and other everyday Americans. Given that Trump has only been in office for a little over a month, he is expected to lay out his vision for ushering in America's next 'golden age.' He will likely praise his friend Musk's work at DOGE. The group has already cut an estimated $105 billion dollars in spending, according to the cost-cutting group's site. The Republican is also expected to talk about his efforts ramping up deportations and cutting back illegal immigration. President Donald Trump arrives for his speech to a joint session of Congress Bettina Anderson joins Don Trump Jr. and his children at the Super Bowl in New Orleans There's much he could say on the matter, after he promised to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, but he will almost certainly hone in on recent data from the Department of Homeland Security showing a massive drop in illegal crossings. In February 2025, there were just around 8,326 illegal border crossings, Trump claims. In February 2024, under Joe Biden, there were 190,000 encounters with migrants crossing the border. Trump has also announced a sweeping batch of tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, saying they did not do enough to counter fentanyl smuggling into the U.S. His threats prompted officials from the later two to rush to Washington, but China has taken the tariffs on the chin. Canada announced the creation of the 'fentanyl czar' to appease the president, while Mexico deployed troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to clamp down on cartel operations. In exchange Trump delayed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month. That one month hiatus expires on Tuesday, so the president presumably will address whether or not he will move forward with the tariffs. Trump also has noted he may add an additional 10 percent tariff onto the existing 10 percent tariff China's currently paying on Tuesday. Freshman Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin will deliver the Democratic response to Trump's remarks following the joint address. Slotkin was formerly a member of the House of Representatives before winning a seat in the Senate in November. Democrats storming out in protest, Elon Musk getting a warning from security and a seemingly unamused Trump family were all sights cameras couldn't catch during Donald Trump's speech. Trump's nationally televised joint address before Congress Tuesday night gave him a direct route to deliver his vision for the country to both members of the government and Americans watching at home. The president spoke about his vision to create the next American 'Golden Age,' promising to make good on his promises on immigration, restoring the country's industry, fixing the economy and resolving conflicts abroad. Though as he made sweeping promises and delivered warnings to those who try to derail his plans, the House chamber on Capitol Hill stirred with activity and under the radar interactions. DailyMail.com breaks down some of the juicy moments you may have missed. Trump family schmoozes in box with Melania In Trump's family box, Melania was greeted with a standing ovation from all those in attendance, though many Democrats stayed seated. The first lady quickly chatted up her guests, including Elliston Berry, Haley Ferguson and Alexis Nungaray. But throughout his speech, his family seemed much less enthused than the GOP lawmakers below, who were praising the president. Trump's daughters Ivanka Trump and Tiffany sat as many Republicans stood and clapped on their father. First Lady of the U.S. Melania Trump waves to the crowd President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the United States Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., holds up a sign protesting Trump's address Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner speak during the address The president's sons Don Jr., Eric, Jared Kushner and Michael Boulos also appeared more reserved as they watched from the family's suite. They were far away from the ruckus Democrats were raising below. Outbursts by angry Democrats In a sudden outburst, Democratic Rep. Al Green indignantly challenged Trump on Medicaid and healthcare, waving his cane at the president, shouting and interrupting the president's remarks early on. Initially, Trump began speaking over Green and did not let off as the Democrat yelled. 'You have no mandate to cut healthcare,' Green yelled at Trump, later saying he has 'no mandate to cut Medicaid.' Speaker Mike Johnson eventually banged his gavel to restore order after Green's accosting went unabated. Johnson threatened that he would have the security kick Green out if the Democrat did not stop his protest. First Lady of the U.S. Melania Trump waves on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress After refusing to sit, Green, who is working to impeach Trump, was escorted out of the room. Some Democrats put their hands to their face in shame as others cheered the Texan's antics on. Progressive 'Squad' member Rashida Tlaib repeatedly held up a white board she had brought to write personal notes of protest to the Republican president. 'Start paying your own taxes,' one of her whiteboard messages said, 'Musk lies' read another. When the president did not seem to see her messages, she would bang on her board with a black and white sign, which she was also using to protest. Lawmaker lovers cozy up Republican lawmakers Rich McCormick of Georgia and Beth Van Duyne of Texas, who DailyMail.com first reported were dating last year, sat cozily together. They were spotted often with arms touching, as they took in Trump's remarks. The pair also snagged great seats near the aisle to get a glimpse of Trump as he entered and exited the chamber. Republicans McCormick and Van Duyne, who are dating, were spotted sitting next to each other Democratic Congressman Al Green of Texas interrupts Trump's address Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., holds a protest sign with fellow Democrats as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress DOGE leader Elon Musk drew cheers from the room when he entered and sat near the presidential guest box JD Vance and Speaker Johnson's hot mic moment Shortly after Vice President Vance entered the chamber he took his position at the center of the floor behind Trump's seat and was caught on a hot microphone yucking it up with Speaker Mike Johnson. 'I think the speech is going to be great, but I don't know how you do this for 90 minutes,' Vance joked with the speaker. Johnson shot back: 'The hardest thing was doing it during Biden when the speech was a stupid campaign speech.' Elon reminded of the rules Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk was reminded by Capitol security that he could not film in the House chamber. After warned off filming by authorities it appears the world's richest man did not have another infraction. He was later seen pumping his fists and celebrating when Trump announced his intention to plant an American flag on Mars. Republicans show support in bold MAGA gear Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally known for her fervent support of the president, wore a bright red MAGA hat to compliment her blue dress. Though House rules state that members should not be covered, she was seemingly never told to take it off, and even got some approval from Trump as he entered in the room and noticed the unmistakable cap. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wearing a bright red Make America Great Again hat Greene waves her hand as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, is removed from the chamber Jeering among political foes on the floor 'January 6th!' Democratic Reps. Mark Takano of California jeered at Trump along with many of his colleagues. Another protest broke out when Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, led a group of lawmakers out of the room. As they walked off the floor the group unveiled black shirts with the word 'resist' emblazoned on the back in white lettering. President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President JD Vance, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen Trump's whole immediate family except his son Barron attended the address Roughly 30 Democratic lawmakers brought in signs with various protest slogans on them like 'Musk Steals,' 'Save Medicaid' and 'Protect Veterans.' Republicans immediately booed the Democrats. Conservative figures like commentators Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh attended on behalf of GOP leadership, and they sat front row in the guest seating. Democratic Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury held up a sign directly next to President Trump that read 'this is NOT Normal' as he entered the House chamber. The president was making his way through the crowd ahead of his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night when he came directly face-to-face with the New Mexico lawmaker. The sign appeared to be handwritten in black in on a piece of white paper. The president appeared to look directly at it. He then rolled his eyes before turning away and continuing to greet Republican lawmakers on the opposite side of the aisle. The 78-year-old president appeared to be talking about the sign even after looking away from it as he was seen pointing his thumb over his shoulder has he spoke to another GOP lawmaker. According to DailyMail.com's lip reader Nicola Hickling, Trump said 'this ain't normal. She isn't great to work with at all.' Stansbury continued to hold the sign in the background behind Trump without speaking until it was ripped directly out of her hands. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) held up a sign that read 'This is NOT Normal' to President Trump as he arrived for his address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Texas) was spotted reaching clear across the aisle and snatching it from her hand as the president continued forward. After she held up the sign to the president, Stansbury also posted on X an image of her standing with it beside the president with the caption 'This is not normal.' Stansbury was also wearing pink on Tuesday night which was part of a coordinated protest by Democratic women lawmakers. Rep. Stansbury continued to hold up the sign behind Trump until it was snatched away from her by GOP Rep. Lance Gooden Democrats holding up a series of signs during Trump's address on Tuesday A member of Congress holding a sign that reads 'LIES' during Trump's address Stansbury represents New Mexico's 1st Congressional District and has served in the House since 2021. The New Mexico congresswoman was not the only Democrat to hold up a sign during the joint session. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) had a whiteboard with her in the chamber where she held up a series of messages including 'that's a lie!' while Trump was speaking. She also wrote 'start by paying your taxes' and held it up while the president spoke. At the same time, multiple Democrats also held up signs that read 'Save Medicaid' 'False' and 'Musk Steals.' Elon Musk ditched his usual T-shirt and jeans for a suit during Donald Trump's address to Congress Tuesday night - but was berated by security for using a cell phone. The billionaire First Buddy's choice of attire was a subtle dig at Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky who was chided for not wearing a suit during his Oval Office meeting with Trump. Musk is rarely seen wearing a suit and tie. The DOGE head even fielded questions in the Oval Office while wearing a black t-shirt that read 'Occupy Mars.' But after Zelensky was mocked during his disastrous sitdown with Trump for refusing to don professional attire - Musk appears to have suited up. Although he was properly dressed, Musk was told phones are not permitted in the gallery at the Joint Session of Congress. Musk was seen sitting on the steps outside the Chamber of the House of Representatives after the incident, but returned in time to hear Trump praise his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump addressed Congress for a joint session for the first time since returning to the White House, and has touted his current administration as 'the most successful in the history of our nation.' According to one reporter watching the incident as it unfolded, Musk was seen taking 'a video in the House chamber, which people in the gallery aren't supposed to do' and was told by an officer to put his phone away The billionaire First Buddy was told cellphones are not permitted in the gallery at the Joint Session of Congress Musk had one of the prime seats for the speech alongside newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, as well as Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr., and Eric's wife Lara. Wearing a suit with a dark blue tie, Musk received a warm welcome from other guests in the gallery as he shook hands with those seated around him. According to one reporter watching the incident as it unfolded, Musk was seen taking 'a video in the House chamber, which people in the gallery aren't supposed to do. 'A cop told him to put the phone away.' Musk returned to his seat in the presidential box just in time to hear Trump's personal shoutout. The president was celebrating the efforts of Musk's DOGE to reduce wasteful spending within government departments. 'Thank you Elon, you're working really hard,' Trump said, turning to the crowd as he added: 'He didn't need this.' As his work was praised and Republicans cheered, Musk smiled and saluted to the packed room. Musk joined the presidential motorcade to the Capitol from the White House earlier on Tuesday. The president and First Lady Melania Trump entered to applause by members Congress and their guests, while the packed Democrat side of the room have been consistently heckling. Trump is addressing Congress for a joint session for the first time since returning to the White House , and has touted his current administration as 'the most successful in the history of our nation' Wearing a suit with a dark blue tie, Musk received a warm welcome from other guests in the gallery as he shook hands with those seated around him Trump's speech titled 'The Renewal of the American Dream' is touting his America First policies and praising his fast-moving agenda in the first few weeks back in office and what he plans to do over the next four years. It was eventful from the moment Trump arrived, after several Democrats revealed they were choosing to bring federal workers who had fallen victim to Musk's purge of government departments through DOGE rather than boycott the address entirely. Democratic Rep. Al Green indignantly challenged Trump about Medicaid, waving his cane as he heckled and shouted: 'You have no mandate to cut healthcare.' A large cohort of over 30 Democrats held signs with phrases like 'false' and 'Musk steals.' Speaker Mike Johnson eventually banged his gavel to restore order after Green's accosting went unabated. Johnson then threatened Green that he would have the security kick him out if the Democrat did not stop his protest. But that did not sway Green, who continued to yell at the president, who at this point had ceased talking. 'He has no mandate to cut Medicaid,' Green yelled again. Then, following Johnson's orders, the security came over to the lawmaker and told him to leave. A group of Democrats stormed out of the chamber in protest several minutes later. The Trump administration has published a list of more than 440 federal properties to be closed or sold after deeming them 'not core to government operations.' Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries - none in Washington, D.C. The General Services Administration, which published the list, did not explain the change and why some properties had been removed. The initial list had included some of the country's most recognizable buildings, along with courthouses, offices and even parking garage and spanned nearly every state. The potential sell-off appears to be part of Trump's effort to slash the size of the federal government, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The downsizing drive has already led to 100,000 workers taking buyouts or being fired. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has claimed that it has saved $105 billion so far, in part by cancelling leases on government properties. Budget experts have cast doubt on the reliability of DOGE's data. In Washington, D.C., the list includes the Old Post Office, which formerly housed the Trump International Hotel and is newly renovated. The Trump administration plans to sell or close the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. The administration wants to sell the main Department of Justice building, after deeming it 'not core to government operations' Others, such as the FBI's crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, are widely seen as outdated. The GSA said in 2023 it would build a new FBI headquarters in Maryland. The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building and the American Red Cross HQ are also on the list. The list includes the headquarters for several major government agencies, including the Veterans Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Aviation Administration. GSA's own headquarters were also on the list. Elsewhere in the country, the administration targeted the enormous Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indiana, the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco and the U.S. mission's United Nation headquarters in New York. The list includes skyscrapers in Chicago, Atlanta and Cleveland, as well as several Internal Revenue Service hubs that process tax returns. The IRS said in an internal memo last week that it would sell those buildings starting in June, after the April tax filing season is complete. It was not clear how many of the buildings on GSA's list will eventually be put up for sale, or what sort of price they might bring. The FBI's crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, is widely seen as outdated The American Red Cross HQ in Washington D.C. is also on the list In Washington, D.C., the list includes the Old Post Office, which formerly housed the Trump International Hotel and is newly renovated A cyclist rolls past the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building in Boston which the administration hopes to sell off Roughly 80 percent of the country's 2.4 million federal workers are based outside of metropolitan Washington, D.C. 'We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal,' the GSA said of the list of 443 properties. Selling the properties 'ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal space,' it said, and 'helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.' The designations are part of Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's unprecedented effort to slash the size of the federal workforce and shrink government spending. Selling the designated buildings could save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars, they claim, while also dramatically reshaping how major Cabinet agencies funded by Congress operate. The Trump administration has also demanded that federal workers report to the office every day. Several of the buildings on the initial chopping block house agencies that Trump has long criticized and targeted, notably the FBI and Justice Department, pictured The Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco is among 440 federal properties the government wants to offload The Martin Luther King Jr., Federal Building in Atlanta could also be on the chopping block The Martin Luther King Jr., Federal Building is seen on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia Several of the buildings on the initial chopping block house agencies that Trump has long criticized and targeted, notably the FBI and Justice Department. The FBI and HUD headquarters are also prime examples of the brutalist architectural style that Trump has tried for years to eliminate, preferring traditional, neo-classical architecture instead. Eliminating federal office space has been a top priority of the new administration. Last month, GSA regional managers received a message from the agency's Washington headquarters ordering them to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide. In a follow-up meeting, GSA regional managers were told that their goal is to terminate as many as 300 leases per day, according to the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has listed scores of canceled office leases on DOGE's official website, raising questions around the country about what will happen to services provided from those offices. Among the properties on the list released on Tuesday are a large federal building and courthouse in Los Angeles; a federal building in Oklahoma City that replaced one destroyed in a 1995 bombing; an IRS computing center in West Virginia and IRS service centers in Ogden, Utah; Memphis, Tennessee; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Andover, Massachusetts; and Holtsville, New York. The General Services Administration which published the list also included the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston A pedestrian walks by the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco The administration is also seeking to offload federal buildings bearing the names of civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta and Rosa Parks in Detroit, and the Montgomery, Alabama bus station that was pivotal in the civil rights movement and now serves as the Freedom Rides Museum. In a statement, the GSAs Public Buildings Service said the bulk of properties it has classified as unnecessary are office spaces. 'Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce,' they wrote. The GSA said in a statement it could 'no longer hope' to secure the money to bring the properties up to date and said a sale could potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs. The 443 buildings, which are currently owned and maintained by GSA, span almost 80 million rentable square feet, the agency says. The bodies of nine people who vanished in southern Mexico last month have been found brutally hacked apart and dumped on a highway alongside a bag filled with their severed hands. The horrifying remains were discovered inside the trunk of a deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan, on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca - 175 miles from Mexico City. Five of the nine mutilated bodies were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found contorted inside the trunk in what is believed to be yet another savage cartel killing. Authorities also discovered at the revolting scene that each person had their hands chopped off and stuffed in a bag that was also forced into the trunk already filled with bodies. Initial reports from Mexican outlets suggested the victims were students, originally from Tlaxcala, who had traveled to the beaches in Oaxaca for vacation. But a report published by Mexican outlet NVI Noticias claimed the students were in fact members of the 'Los Zacapoaxtlas' criminal organisation. Though much of Mexico is ravaged with cartel violence, the province of Oaxaca is widely known as a popular tourist destination thanks to its world-renowned cuisine and resplendent beaches. On March 2, three days after the students were reported missing, a dark grey Volkswagen Vento with Tlaxcala license plates containing the bodies was discovered along the high-trafficked Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway, according to Periodico Central. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. The horrifying remains of the students' bodies were discovered inside the trunk of an deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan, on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca Pictured: Authorities search the deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan containing mutilated bodies Areport published by Mexican outlet NVI Noticias claimed the victims were members of the 'Los Zacapoaxtlas' criminal organisation Mexican media outlets have identified eight of the nine victims so far, naming them as: Angie Lizeth, 29, Brenda Mariel, 19, Jacqueline Ailet, 23, Noemi Yamileth, 28, Lesly Noya Trejo, 21, Raul Emmanuel, 28, Ruben Antonio, and Rolando Armando. The ninth victim has not yet been identified. As of Tuesday, no suspects have been named, but the nature of the killing suggests cartel involvement. The Attorney General's Office in Puebla is collaborating with its other local law enforcement agencies in Tlaxcala and Oaxaca in a widespread effort to catch the grisly killers. So far, authorities have tracked down surveillance footage from February 24 showing the vehicle driving along the Atlixcayotl highway near the town of Atlixco about 90 miles west of where the students' remains were found, Periodico Central reported. The Puebla State Attorney General's Office is unable to divulge any additional information, citing confidentiality concerns. 'So far I cannot offer information. There are lines of investigation, but I cannot reveal them due to confidentiality,' Idamis Pastor Betancourt, head of Puebla's State Attorney General's Office, said at a press conference Monday. 'All relevant investigations are being carried out. 'When we have a response and the investigation is complete, we will be in a position to provide more information,' he added. Over 30,000 murders were committed in Mexico in 2023, according to the most recent figures. Many of the slayings were tied to drug trade, with cartel hits leading to particularly gruesome scenes. Five of the nine missing students' remains were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found inside the trunk. Pictured: Onlookers capture the scene unfolding along the side of the high-trafficked Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway Of the nine students, five were men and four were women, all were believed to be aged 19 to 30 years old, El Financiero reported. Pictured: Jacqueline Ailet Meza Cazares Authorities have tracked down surveillance footage from February 24 showing the vehicle driving along the Atlixcayotl highway near the town of Atlixco about 90 miles west of where the students' remains were found The Puebla State Attorney General's Office is unable to divulge any additional information, citing confidentiality concerns The crime-riddled country saw the most violent year in its recent history. Pictured: Lesly Noya Trejo Cartel violence is rife in Mexico. Victims are often mutilated and have their hands chopped off In 2018, three Mexican film students went to Guadalajara to tape a college project. There, they met a 24 year-old rapper - a YouTube sensation - who was working with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Like many others, Christian Omar Palma Gutierrez was drawn to the cartel, which would pay him 3,000 pesos a week as a 'cook' to dispose of bodies head-first in an acid bath kept in a local safehouse. The students, aged between 20 and 25, met Gutierrez in Guadalajara. They had no connection to cartel, but unwittingly filmed a house belonging to a rival that the CJNG was watching. The students were kidnapped. One was tortured to death. Unable to release the others, they killed them too. Gutierrez was later arrested. In September 2011, Mexican police found five decomposing heads left in a sack outside a primary school in Acapulco. Dozens of schools went on strike over security concerns as violence ramped up in the region. Teachers were seen out protesting with banners reading 'Acapulco requires peace and security'. Earlier that day, in another part of the city, five headless bodies were found in and around a burned out car. Separating the heads from the bodies has no practical use for the cartels in disguising the murders, but inflames the sense of terror in the population. Eleven years later, on the other side of the country, five more decapitated heads were found in an ice cooler in Tamaulipas. These tactics are not limited to some cartels or regions, then, but have found application across Mexico for years. Cartels often 'sign' their atrocities with some unique spin. The heads found in 2022 were found next to dismembered human remains with partially removed skin, and near a mutilated body. With this, they left a note addressed to the Ministry of National Defence, requesting they be left to settle the score with 'those morons from the Cartel del Noreste'. 'This problem of ours isn't against any of you guys,' they said. 'Please allow us to do our work at night in order to finish off these filthy individuals.' The CJNG cartel leaves a severed face with blunt message for cartels to find. The head was found inside a black plastic bag. The body was not found. The image circulated on Twitter. Bus burned during attacks by armed groups operating in Guanajuato state on 31 January 2023 Cartels must be able to guarantee that their recruits are capable of mentally dealing with the the rising level of violence. 'La escuela de terror' - the Terror School, or the School of Terror - has normalised terror among recruits to desensitise them to chilling violence. Since 2015 the CJNG, which is estimated to have 5,000 members, has used cannibalism as part of its initiation rituals at the school, used to root out moles and test loyalty among new recruits. One graduate said that after a fellow student failed his weapon handling test, he was shot on the spot, mutilated and eaten by fellow apprentices. Any perceived weakness is challenged head on. A survivor of the school said the most timid in his class was given the task of cutting the head off a rival and crushing it with a stone. When another vomited up part of the body, the instructors picked it out of the dirt and forced him to eat it. Successful trainees are desensitised to death by sharing barracks with dead bodies. Videos of fresh recruits eating the hearts of mutilated rivals send a clear message to challengers. In February last year, the cartel proudly showed off trainees pulling the hearts from the corpses of recently deceased rival cartel members and biting into them. New rifles are on show as a cartel member poses to offer a limp corpse a taste of his own body. Dumping mutilated bodies in places to be found later by police and rivals also sends a strong message to those who would challenge the cartels. In November 2022, police found 53 bags of mixed human remains after a dog was seen running through the streets with a severed human hand in its mouth. And in 2012, Mexican authorities found 49 mutilated bodies dumped on a highway near the US border. 43 men and six women were chopped into bits, making identification hard for the police. But this was not to disguise who had committed the crime. The bodies were found with a message attached, with the Los Zetas cartel taking ownership. Burying people in mass graves or dumping them, mutilated, in areas for the police to find mystifies the extent of the violence and makes headlines. 63,428 mass graves were found across Mexico by 2020, in which 92,658 people had been buried. The dead include thousands of women and children both caught in crossfire and explicitly targeted by the cartels. Every so often, public fear erupts with the discovery of bodies beaten and beheaded, mutilated beyond the abilities of forensic teams. President Trump shared a heartwarming moment with a little boy suffering from brain cancer during his Congress speech by making him an honorary Secret Service agent. DJ Daniels had always had dreams of becoming a law enforcement officer. The 13-year-old has been battling brain cancer for six years, since his 2018 diagnosis. At the time, he was told he would likely only live another five months. In order to help make sure his dreams come true, Trump revealed during his speech to Congress that DJ would be officially sworn in as a Secret Service agent. He was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran and Republicans in the House gallery chanted 'DJ.' 'He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,' Trump said. 'But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer.' 'The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true.' He was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran and Republicans in the House gallery chanted 'DJ.' President Trump shared a heartwarming moment with a little boy suffering from brain cancer during his Congress speech by making him an honorary Secret Service agent 'And tonight, DJ, we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all.' Democrats then went silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, 'You cut cancer research.' One Republican shouted, 'MAHA baby!' DJ had undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12 as he battles a rare brain and spine cancer with no cure. He is trying to get sworn in to as many law enforcement agencies as possible as he and his family try to raise awareness about his condition. Trump said during his speech that driving down childhood cancer rates and studying autism cases in the US will be a top priority for his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Childhood cancer remains rare in the US, with about 15,000 children diagnosed with the disease every year. The 13-year-old has been battling brain cancer for six years, since his 2018 diagnosis. At the time, he was told he would likely only live another five months In order to help make sure his dreams come true, Trump revealed during his speech to Congress that DJ would be officially sworn in as a Secret Service agent Cases of pediatric cancer have risen in recent years, but treatments have improved, leading to a decline in deaths from the disease. 'Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong,' he said. President Donald Trump said plainly to Congress that billionaire Elon Musk is running DOGE, the agency that is embedding inside federal agencies and slashing contracts while pushing to fire thousands of workers. That might be accurate, but it is also at odds with the careful position the government is staking out in court fights challenging some of DOGE's actions. 'I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it,' Trump said in his speech to Congress Tuesday night. 'Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight,' he said, to hoots and whistles from applauding congressional Republicans. Musk stood, then gave a salute. White House lawyers have described Musk's role as something different from an executive, as plaintiffs challenge firings of federal workers, members of independent agencies, and independent inspectors general. 'Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,' goes one recent court filing. The White House has clarified that Musk is a 'Special Government Employee,' who serves on a temporary basis. The world's richest man spent millions to help get Trump elected, then started the Department of Government Efficiency on a volunteer basis. Trump also spoke at length about Musk, saying he was 'working very hard', adding: He didn't need this, and telling him 'We appreciate it.' President Trump praised the Department of Government Efficiency which he said was 'headed by Elon Musk' As if to underline the point, Trump read through a series of programs he ripped as wasteful many of them having been highlighted by Musk himself on his X feed. It included '$45 million for Diversity Equity and Inclusion scholarships in Burma' plus '$32 million for a left wing propaganda operation in Moldova' and '$10 million for mail circumcision in Mozambique.' Musk even looked like a boss for the occasion, donning a dark suit instead of the 'tech support' t-shirt and MAGA cap he has taken to wearing, even inside the Oval Office. Trump also tore into what he called 'shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program.' He then read through information, also posted by Musk, purporting to show very old people on Social Security rolls. 'It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119 I don't know any of them. I know some people that are rather elderly, but not quite that elderly,' Trump ad-libbed. Musk saluted when the president praised him during his speech Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) stressed bipartisan and kitchen table issues in the Democratic response, while hammering Trump for his Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian president and for Elon Musk's exploits In fact Social Security experts have said there are existing controls to keep people beyond a reasonable limit from getting checks, and that the problem is people whose names are in a database from the time before electronic collection of death information. It is distinct from lists of people actually getting paid benefits. Trump even had a line certain to delight Musk, who earned a trip to Mar-a-Lago on Air Force One last weekend, and who spoke at Trump's first cabinet meeting where Trump joked that any cabinet secretaries who had complaints about him would get booted. 'We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond,' Trump said. Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) also singled out Musk during her rebuttal, but in less flattering terms. 'Is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20 year olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information and your bank accounts?' she asked. Democrats are getting slammed for not standing to celebrate Donald Trump's honorary guests during his address to Congress, including a 13-year-old cancer survivor. The president's sprawling remarks on Capitol Hill Tuesday evening included mention of several heart-warming and heart-breaking stories. As the family members of the victims were honored, and nearly all of the room stood and clapped out of respect, most if not all Democrats remained seated. Trump then told the story of DJ Daniels, a 13-year-old child whose lifelong dream was to become a law enforcement officer, though that dream was derailed by a devastating brain cancer diagnosis in 2018. He was seated in the president's guest suite accompanied by his father, who held up his son with a beaming smile. 'He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,' Trump said. 'But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer.' 'And tonight, DJ, we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all,' the president continued, pointing to Daniels in his guest box. Trump then announced Daniels would become an honorary member of the Secret Service, which caused the room to erupt with cheers. Still, Democrats remained seated as some spared applause for the young boy. 13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel is lifted up by his father Theodis Daniel after US President Donald Trump made him an honorary member of the US Secret Service during his address to a joint session of Congress Daniels hugs Secret Service Director Sean Curran Over 30 Democrats came with signs to protest 'If you can't stand up and cheer for a kid with brain cancer being made an honorary member of the Secret Service, then you might be a deeply disturbed and f***ed up person!!!' Donald Trump Jr. posted on X. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also hit back at the Democrats tactics. 'Democrats reminded us they are the party of insanity and hate they could not even clap for a child,' she wrote on X. Even some Democrats criticized the liberal lawmakers. 'I think there were times when [Democrats] should've risen,' Obama adviser David Axelrod said on CNN. The former Obama employee also called out Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas, who heckled Trump so obnoxiously that he was kicked out of the session by security. 'I think what Al Green did was despicable,' Alexrod shared. Trump also honored the families of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student that was murdered by an illegal immigrant last year and Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl that was similarly sexually assaulted and murdered by illegal aliens. Alexis Nungaray (second from right) reacts during U.S. President Donald Trump's address President Donald Trump holds a copy of an executive order honoring Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl who was killed by illegal immigrants Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., holds a protest sign with fellow Democrats as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington Trump noted how all three members charged for the 12-year-old's death were a part of Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang. Trump touted how he designated the gang a terrorist group as the room, except Democrats, cheered his action. The president also signed an executive order honoring Nungaray, which caused her mother to tear up. The order renamed a wildlife refuge after the slain girl. The president also welcomed Lauren Phillips, the sister of the late Laken Riley, to come to his speech. Another dark stain came when Trump honored the family of slain firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was shot during the Republican's notorious July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump kisses the jacket of Comperatore during the Republican National Convention in July 2024, days after he got shot Family members of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was killed by the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024, stand as US President Donald Trump recognize them. Comperatore's wife is Helen (R) and daughters Allyson and Kelly Trump shared how Comperatore gave his life to defend his children, who were sitting in the balcony in the president's guest seating area. 'Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now, and he's cheering you on. He loves you. He is cheering you on,' Trump said. 'Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot,' he continued. 'It was love like Corey's that built our country, and it's love like Corey's that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before.' The crowd again rose in salute to the fallen father while most liberals laid back in their seats. Kenya hosts Canton Fair promotional conference amid deepening trade ties with China Xinhua) 11:14, March 05, 2025 NAIROBI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A promotional conference for the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, was held Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, bringing together senior policymakers, industry executives, and entrepreneurs. The event was hosted by the China Foreign Trade Center, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, and China Information and Culture Communication Kenya Limited (CICCK). Xu Jiansheng, operations director of China Foreign Trade Center Group, said the 137th session of the Canton Fair, scheduled to take place from April 15 to May 5, will further reinforce China's status as a global trading hub. "The Canton Fair has facilitated friendly exchanges between China and the rest of the world. Each session attracts important government and economic and trade delegations," Xu said. "I hope Kenyan companies present here will actively source products at the fair and take advantage of this important platform to explore better market prospects for Kenyan goods," he added. The half-day event featured speeches, promotional videos, and business networking sessions, reaffirming the vitality of Sino-Kenyan economic and trade ties. According to Xu, the upcoming Canton Fair will be divided into three phases: the first will focus on advanced manufacturing, the second on quality home furnishings, and the third on products that promote a better quality of life. Pius Rotich, general manager for investment promotion and business development at the Kenya Investment Authority, said the Canton Fair presents an opportunity to deepen trade ties and attract capital and technology from China. Rotich said that Kenya has placed a high premium on the fair, consistently sending the largest number of buyers and exhibitors from Africa, resulting in long-term business and investment deals. Zhou Zhencheng, minister counselor at the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said that the Canton Fair has served as a crucial platform for global trade while fostering collaboration, investment, and innovation. During the 136th session of the Canton Fair in 2024, 1,400 Kenyan merchants participated, Zhou said, adding that the event remains an essential avenue for Kenyan businesses to explore new markets, source high-quality products, and establish strategic partnerships. "Through platforms like the Canton Fair, we aim to support Kenyan businesses in accessing high-quality goods, technology, and expertise, all of which contribute to Kenya's economic development and industrialization goals," Zhou said. Vincent Muruba, general manager of CICCK, said that the Canton Fair has resonated with a growing number of Kenyan entrepreneurs due to the abundant opportunities it offers. Over the past 18 years, CICCK has facilitated the participation of 5,000 Kenyan entrepreneurs across various economic sectors at the fair, Muruba said. Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, China. It has built partnerships with 206 major industrial and commercial institutions in 105 countries and regions worldwide. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd (NZX & ASX: NZK) announces that following an organisational review, the GM Processing role has been disestablished and therefore will no longer fall within the definition of Senior Manager for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. As part of the same organisational review a new role GM Operations and Supply Chain has been created. A recruitment process for the GM Operations and Supply Chain will commence shortly. Authorised by: Board of Directors of New Zealand King Salmon Investments Ltd NZK - Senior Manager Change Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: CDC Independent Valuation - 30 June 2025 TruScreen Group Limited SPP Update THL provides updated guidance CEN - Greymouth gas deal July 4th Morning Report July 3rd Morning Report ikeGPS Chief Financial Officer Transition TWL - TradeWindow announces strategic partnership with FTA BLT - Patent issue settled and new 5 year agreement with BSP July 2nd Morning Report Aussies have been left divided as the nation's biggest supermarket chain continues to roll out digital trolleys across its stores. Last August, Woolworths announced it would trial Scan&Go trolleys - which allow customers to scan as they shop - in select Sydney stores. When using the trolleys, shoppers can scan and track their purchases as they shop via a monitor attached to the trolley's handle. Customers then pay the total amount at the self-serve checkout. But six months on and ten locations later, many customers believe the digital trolleys are more trouble than they're worth. One Woolworths employee told Daily Mail Australia their store had issued several refunds arising from a temporary glitch in the technology. According to the Sydney-based employee, several shoppers paid for another customer's shop before realising their monitor had substituted their items. Other times, monitors simply displayed an incorrect order. Customers remain divided since Woolworths unveiled its Scan&Go digital trolleys last year A number of customers have complained the digital trolleys were fraught with technical issues The employee said, however, Woolworths had since remedied the issue and that customers generally enjoy the new set up. A number of customers have taken to social media to complain about technological issues, including one who said the the experience is 'more hassle than it's worth'. 'When it works it is wonderful and a huge time saver but when something doesn't appear on the list (yet does at the physical register) its a huge pain,' one user said. Another said they had witnessed another shopper struggling to stop their monitor from scanning unwanted items. 'Honestly, I think the design could be improved,' they said. 'Some poor dude across the aisle from me was having a bad time because every time he pushed his trolley around it was randomly trying to scan cartons of soft drink or toilet paper that was stacked on the end caps.' Shoppers are required to scan their Everyday Rewards card to unlock the new trolleys, meaning non-member shoppers are unable to use them. A number of customers have also complained about being stopped for random inspections more often when using the new trolleys. Shoppers are required to scan their Everyday Rewards cards to unlock the digital trolleys 'I tried these at the new North Parramatta store,' one Reddit user said. 'It all worked fine, but after you pay at the checkout a staff member came over, grabbed the receipt and chose 4 items at random. 'We had to rummage through the trolley to find them and show her. 'What the f***? Either trust people or don't.' Another user estimated they were stopped for an inspection every four or five times they used the Scan&Go trolleys during the trial. One customer said the savvy shopping experience was 'fun', until an employee 'had to check everything again as like [my husband] had stolen something'. Other customers have embraced the new trolleys as well as the Scan&Go app, which allows customers to scan their items through their mobiles. 'Never tried the trolley but the Scan&Go app is my dream come true,' one user said. 'I've only been stopped once versus something going wrong every single time I used the self-serve there.' Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia its customers find the trolleys 'easy to use' and otherwise declined to comment. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace brought 'suicide' into a discussion about a 13-year-old boy suffering from brain cancer after he was honored by Donald Trump during his address to Congress. DJ Daniels has been battling cancer since he was diagnosed with the disease in 2018 at just six years old. But the illness has not stopped the young boy's dream of becoming a police officer. In an emotional moment during Trump's speech on Tuesday night, the president revealed that DJ would be officially sworn in as an honorary Secret Service agent. Reacting to Trump's address, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Nicole Wallace managed to go negative on the gesture to the 13-year-old. Wallace admitted she let herself 'feel joy' over Daniels' moment in front of the nation but quickly veered to a dark and disturbing thought. 'I hope he's alive for another 95 years and I hope he lives the life he wants to live. He wants to be a cop, he knows what he wants to do and maybe when you have childhood cancer that crystallizes for you,' Wallace began. The anchor then managed a pivot to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. 'I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States capitol against Donald Trump's supporters and if he does, I hope he isn't one of the six who loses his life to suicide,' she said. Liberal MSNBC shockingly insulted the 13-year-old boy suffering from brain cancer who Donald Trump honored during his Congress speech by making him an honorary Secret Service agent Reacting to Trump's address, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Nicole Wallace shockingly managed to go negative on the gesture to the 13-year-old She also hopes that he doesn't have to 'testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then lives to see Donald Trump pardon those people.' Maddow, appearing to hold back tears, objected to Daniels' use by the president in the first place. 'For the record and this is disgusting, the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man who thus far has survived pediatric cancer, as if the president had something to do with that,' she said. The point she was trying to make was that she believed Trump somehow credited himself for helping Daniels survive. 'This was in the midst of him praising DOGE. DOGE cuts, among other things, have cut off funding for ongoing research into pediatric cancer.' It was similar to how Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, 'You cut cancer research.' Daniels had always had dreams of becoming a law enforcement officer. The 13-year-old has been battling brain cancer for six years, since his 2018 diagnosis. At the time, he was told he would likely only live another five months. Nicole Wallace somehow managed to out-do Maddow, despite admitting she let herself 'feel joy' over Daniels' moment 'I hope [Daniels] has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States capitol against Donald Trump's supporters and if he does, I hope he isn't one of the six who loses his life to suicide,' she said He was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran and Republicans in the House gallery chanted 'DJ.' 'He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,' Trump said. 'But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer.' 'The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true.' 'And tonight, DJ, we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all.' Democrats then went silent as Trump discussed his health policies. One Republican shouted, 'MAHA baby!' DJ had undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12 as he battles a rare brain and spine cancer with no cure. He is trying to get sworn in to as many law enforcement agencies as possible as he and his family try to raise awareness about his condition. Trump said during his speech that driving down childhood cancer rates and studying autism cases in the US will be a top priority for his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Childhood cancer remains rare in the US, with about 15,000 children diagnosed with the disease every year. Cases of pediatric cancer have risen in recent years, but treatments have improved, leading to a decline in deaths from the disease. 'Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong,' he said. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the terrorist mastermind responsible for killing 13 U.S. service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 had been detained and was on his way to the U.S. Trump delivered the news during his address to Congress. 'Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,' he said. 'And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster.' He said the chaotic withdrawal had been one of the most embarrassing episodes in American history but offered no further details on the prisoner. The local branch of the Islamic State is believed to have been responsible. Two White House officials named the suspect as Mohammad Sharifullah, one of the leaders of ISIS-K. One official also said Sharifullah was behind last year's Moscow concert hall attack in which 133 people were killed, as well as other terrorist operations. Donald Trump: 'Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice' Desperate Afghans seeking safety at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021, just before U.S. forces finished their evacuation The Americans killed in the blast were: (left to right, starting with top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page - Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo - Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover - Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza - Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum - Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui - Cpl. Hunter Lopez - Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz - Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss - Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez - Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak - Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola - Sgt. Nicole L. Gee The official added that Pakistani authorities used intel to locate him. 'The FBI interviewed him over the weekend where he confessed and he's being extradited here as we speak,' he said. FBI Director Kash Patel said on X: 'One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families.' A U.S. official said he was expected to arrive in the US Wednesday and that an indictment would be unsealed, accusing him of planning and overseeing the suicide bombing. 'It was the president's number-one counterterrorism priority since January 20,' said another senior administration official. Trump ordered John Ratcliffe, his new head of the CIA, to prioritize hunting down the mastermind responsible for the attack. The deadly assault on Kabul airport was one of the darkest days of the Biden presidency. The rapid collapse of Afghan security forces meant tens of thousands of people thronged the facility seeking escape after the Taliban had overrun the capital Kabul. Trump revealed the news before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night The result was chaos as desperate families tried to get through a security cordon. And it descended into tragedy when a suicide bomber killed 13 American service personnel and about 170 Afghans, by detonating a suicide bomb in August 2021. Biden promised to go after the group responsible. 'For those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive, we will not forget,' Biden said in an address at the White House. 'We will hunt you down and make you pay.' He said he took responsibility for what had happened but stood by his decision to withdraw troops. Kristi Noem shocked locals while performing a bizarre stunt on the Canadian-Vermont border during a recent trip to acknowledge the death of a US border patrol agent. The Secretary of Homeland Security, 53, brazenly mocked the delicate relationship between Canada and the US during a trip to Vermont in January. Noem had stopped into the Haskell Free Library & Opera House - a public building standing directly on the border between the United States and Canada. A line of black tape on the floor of a reading room of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House marks the spot where Derby, Vermont ends and Stanstead, Quebec, begins. Noem reportedly hopped back and fourth across the line, repeating with a smile: 'USA number one' before crossing the line into Canada and saying, 'The 51st state.' In an interview last week, Deborah Bishop, the library's executive director - who is Canadian, told the Boston Globe the stunt wasn't received well. 'She did it at least three times and was very clear in saying, "U.S.A. number one" and didn't even say "Canada". Just, "The 51st state",' Bishop said. Library volunteer Kathy Converse, who is a US citizen, witnessed Noem's performance which she said made her angry. 'I was angry. Politics should not come into this, you know?' Converse said. Kristi Noem, 53, shocked fragile Canadians after performing a bizarre stunt on the Canadian-Vermont border During her January visit Noem, also known as ICE Barbie, visited the Haskell Free Library & Opera House (pictured) - a public building standing directly on the border between the United States and Canada 'I see the library as a little Switzerland,' another volunteer, Sylvie Boudreau, told the Globe. 'Kind of a little neutral place, where we welcome.' Meanwhile across the border, Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone - who has cultivated close relationships with his American counterparts in Derby - said he was 'disappointed' at Noem's behavior. 'To see somebody at such a high level of government using words like that ... it is kind of insulting to threaten your friends,' the Canadian mayor said. Before Noem's outburst, Stone had stated his gratitude for his cross-country counterpart's ability to compromise on basic arrangements such as shared water and sewer facilities. The mayor also noted that during the incident at least one constituent put up a a sign that read, in French, 'Canada is not for sale.' The backlash has since continued on social media. 'Insulting, shameful, and unprofessional. But most of all... childish,' Roland Paris, an international affairs professor at the University of Ottawa, wrote on X. 'I see the library as a little Switzerland,' another volunteer, Sylvie Boudreau, told the Globe. 'Kind of a little neutral place, where we welcome.' Pictured: A border marker is seen leading into Derby Line, Vermont from Stanstead, Quebec The high-ranking government official's emboldened behavior appears to mimic the 47th President's increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards Canada. Pictured: President Donald Trump smiles during a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau In recent months, Trump, 78, has repeatedly threatened that he would like to annex the country, turning it into the 51st state and using its vast mineral resources On Tuesday, Doug Sanders, a commentator for a Canadian newspaper illustrated a comparison with the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict back in 2014. 'This is not too far from how it started in Donetsk,' Sanders quipped in a post shared on X. The high-ranking government official's emboldened behavior appears to mimic the 47th President's increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards America's northern neighbors. In recent months, Trump, 78, has repeatedly threatened that he would like to annex the country, turning it into the 51st state and using its vast mineral resources. President Donald Trump delivered his speech to Congress on Tuesday evening, and Democrats brought many different levels of protest to the floor. The address, which spanned over one hour and 40 minutes was full of jaw-dropping moments and drama between lawmakers. Trump was even stopped at the start of his speech by a rankled Democrat, Al Green, who took issue with the Republican's Medicare stance and was thrown out of the chamber by Speaker Mike Johnson. Other wild moments unfolded during Trump's first major address in his second term. DailyMail.com breaks down the seven main takeaways from his speech: 1. Trump competes with dour Democrats It was clear early on that Democrats planned unprecedented opposition to the president's address. House and Senate Democratic leaders did not join the escort committee for the president on Capitol Hill. Democrats turned their backs to Trump as he entered the chamber and did not shake his hand. Rep. Melanie Stansbury held up a 'This is not normal' sign as Trump entered the chamber. Trump began his speech by correctly predicting that it would be difficult to get Democrats to stand, clap, or cheer for anything he had to say. 'I look at the Democrats in front of me and realizethere's nothing I can say to make them happy, stand, smile, or applaud.' Trump admitted. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress Democratic lawmakers hold up signs during President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of the United States Congress i He was right. Rep. Al Green interrupted Trump's speech early on waving his cane and repeatedly shouting at the president until Speaker Mike Johnson had him removed from the chamber. Some Democrats sat quietly holding up signs declaring the president a 'liar.' Other were more vocal as they shouted 'lies' and 'you're lying' as he spoke. 2. Trump backs Elon Musk's work at DOGE with strong focus on government fraud President Trump voiced his support for the work of DOGE and Elon Musk's role in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government. It was a strong show of support even as Musk has faced the brunt of opposition among Democrats for his efforts. Even some Congressional Republicans have voiced their disappointment with how Musk has handled some of the cuts. Elon Musk stands as he is recognized by US President Donald Trump during Trump's address to a joint session of Congress Musk was present for the speech wearing a suit, and gave a much different salute to the president and the Republican lawmakers who applauded his efforts. Trump spent a significant part of his speech highlighting some of the egregious waste found in the federal government sending the message that DOGE is here to stay. 3. Trump celebrates early victories on border enforcement President Trump delighted in sharing good news on border enforcement in his first month as president, even without Congress. 'Turns out all we really needed was a new President,' he said in a line that drew laughter and applause from Republicans in the audience. 4. Trump's surprise announcement on terrorist arrest President Trump surprised viewers with the news of the arrest of one of the terrorists behind the Abbey Gate attack in Afghanistan. 'We have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,' Trump announced. Cancer survivor Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel reacts as he is made an honorary Secret Service agent on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress 5. Trump awards honorary Secret Service status to a young cancer survivor. President Trump honored several guests in his box, but one of the most heartwarming was his special tribute to a young 13-year-old cancer survivor who dreamed of being a police officer. Trump surprised him by having his Secret Service director Sean Curren hand the boy a badge and making him an honorary Trump surprised him by having his Secret Service director Sean Curren hand the boy a badge and making him an honorary agent. It was a touching moment, even as some Democrats had already left the speech in protest. 6. Trump recognizes Laken Riley and welcomes members of her family President Joe Biden's State of the Union address last year was remarkable after protesting Republicans successfully demanded that the president acknowledge the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was murdered weeks earlier by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country illegally. This year, Trump brought Lakens mother, Allyson Phillips, and her sister, Lauren Phillips to the first lady's box to recognize their loss and promise to do more to enforce the border. Allyson and Lauren Phillips, the mother and sister of Laken Riley applaud as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress Alexis Nungaray, mother of the late Jocelyn Nungaray, left, and Lauren Phillips, sister of the late Laken Riley, right, watch as border patrol agent Roberto Ortiz gestures Trump also signed an executive order to rename the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old child who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by two illegal migrants from Venezuela. Jocelyn's mother was another guest in the first lady's box, to further emphasize Trump's vow to keep dangerous migrants out of the country. The president's aides angrily condemned many Democrats on the floor for refusing to stand and recognize and clap during the president's acknowledgment of their losses. 'To their unending shame, Democrats refused to stand to honor the life and memory of Laken Riley before her grieving parents,' Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller wrote on social media. 'They didnt stand for Jocelyn,' he added. 'I am sick even thinking about that level of callousness.' U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) holds up a Ukraine flag Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., applauds as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress 7. Trump signals willingness to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky President Donald Trump signaled he would allow Zelensky to return to the negotiating table despite the disruptive meeting in the Oval Office on Friday that led Trump to order him to leave. Trump revealed he received a letter from Zelensky telling the United States he was willing to negotiate. 'Wouldn't that be beautiful?' Trump asked. 'It's time to stop this madness. ... If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.' When Trump noted that Biden had sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine, Democrats clapped. 'You want to keep it going another 5 years?' Trump asked. 'Yeah, Pocahontas says yes,' Trump said, zinging Warren who remained clapping on camera. Homeless residents have refused to leave their makeshift camps amid fears they'll have nothing to return to as Tropical Cyclone Alfred barrels towards Australia's east coast. Four million residents in south-east Queensland and northern NSW are preparing for the worst, with the giant storm expected to make landfall between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast sometime on Friday. There are evacuation orders and shelter-in-place warnings across the impact zone due to forecast destructive winds, flash floods and extremely high tides. However many homeless who have set up camp in Brisbane's low-lying areas have vowed to 'hunker down,' in their tents instead of relocating to higher ground. Beau Haywood, 47, who runs a homeless food initiative Nourish Street Inc, warned that time is running out to relocate to emergency accommodation before Cyclone Alfred batters the coast. 'We have been told that critical response teams are reaching out to vulnerable individuals, but what I witnessed tells a different story,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Many people I spoke to were unaware that a cyclone was on the horizon and are now choosing to stay and ride it out because they believe they won't have the time to move or if they do go, there will be nothing to come back to. 'I'm truly shocked by the lack of communication and support. This could be life or death.' Beau Haywood and his volunteers deliver hot, homemade meals five nights a week across Brisbane's north, including the low-lying Moreton Bay region Homeless Aussies in Brisbane's 'tent city' have refused to evacuate out of fear they won't have anything to return to Mother-of-five Faigan Parker, 47, has been living in Sweeneys Reserve in Petrie for four years after being made homeless when she couldn't afford her rent during the pandemic. Mr Haywood and his volunteers spend five nights a week delivering hot meals to the vulnerable in Brisbane's north, including the low-lying Moreton Bay region. The Moreton Bay LGA has Queensland's longest social housing wait list of 4,421, with homelessness having risen by 90 per cent in the past decade. Last week, the council voted to make it illegal for people to camp on public land and have since been hand delivering letters to those living in 'tent cities,' threatening fines of up to $8000. With the threat of 'move on orders,' looming over their future, many fear that if they evacuate now, their belongings will be cleared away and they will not be allowed to return. Mother-of-five Faigan Parker, 47, has been living at Sweeneys Reserve in Petrie for four years. She became made homeless during the Covid lockdowns when she could no longer afford her rent. 'We really don't have anywhere else to go,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm going to hunker down and then if it gets bad, I will go to the toilet blocks.' In an attempt to protect the few possessions they do have, Ms Parker and her neighbours have erected their tents and belongings atop milk crates and pallets in the hope they will remain dry. 'It's really frightening to think about and I don't feel like I'm going to be safe,' she said. Monique Nowlan, 28, who has been on the waitlist for public housing for six years was ordered by police to evacuate from her tent on Thursday. But like many others, she has vowed to stay put. Monique Nowlan, 28, who has been on the waitlist for public housing for six years Many in Brisbane's 'tent cities' have erected their tent on pallets in the hope they're not flooded Many of Brisbane's homeless community don't want to leave their possessions behind and have no way of moving them 'My support worker has offered me three days in a motel but I can't take my dog Sage. She is scared of storms and I'm not leaving her here,' Ms Nowlan explained. 'I have lost so much in my life and I just can't lose more. If I leave, I may come back to nothing because if its not destroyed by the cyclone, it will be stolen or removed by council and then what?' Ms Nowlan moved in with a friend after her mum died of cancer and her siblings were placed into foster care. But when their rented home was sold to new owners, she struggled to find anywhere else to live and has been homeless for the past four years. 'This is all I have got and I don't have a car or anyone to come and help me move. I have put my tent on pallets to try to stop the water reaching it, but I'm on the creek line so I don't think it's going to help,' Ms Nowlan said. Her sentiment is one that Mr Haywood has heard from the homeless all week - even if they somehow withstand the cyclone, they fear authorities will use evacuations as a first step in clearing the 'unsightly rows of tents' they call home. Beau Haywood delivers hot means five nights a week in Brisbane's north 'I haven't even got words,' Mr Haywood. 'This is just so awful. Housing at capacity but there is nowhere these people can go. The evacuation centres are not open yet, so what? Do they have to wait until is pissing down with rain and then let them in? 'It's been so frustrating dealing with this incompetent council. People are telling me they will stay with their bikes or generators because that's all they have.' Handing out food until 10pm most evenings, Mr Haywood was shocked to learn this week that some residents were still oblivious to the imminent danger. Tom Weir, 76, a Vietnam veteran who fought for his country and paid taxes his whole life now lives out of his car in Redcliffe. The former university lecturer fell on hard times after a bitter divorce from a short-lived second marriage. With $129,000 to his name, he bought a car and caravan to tour Australia but without an income, Mr Weir has spent the past two years living in council-run carparks. 'Now here I am sitting in the path of cyclone and waiting to get swept away,' he said. 'No one wants to be homeless and I have never asked for anything until now. I called 173 different organisations offering support off a list the Salvation Army gave me and only one has been helpful. 'This bloody Lord Mayor thinks he can make being homeless illegal and you can't sleep in carparks.' Tom Weir, 76, a Vietnam veteran who fought for his country and paid taxes his whole life now lives out of his car in Redcliffe The housing crisis forced boilermaker David Grant, 34, onto the streets Angela Bobeldyk, 40, lost her home in the 2024 floods in Caboolture on the Sunshine Coast. She's been homeless ever since Taner Campbell (pictured) has lived on the streets for a year Boilermaker David Grant, 34, has been lived in tent for two years. He has also decided to stay put. 'I find it hard to trust people and feel I am not worth much attention, so I'm just going to bunker down on higher ground,' he said. 'I'm trying my best to just work hard and now it's illegal to be homeless with fines if we stay so I'm just going to hope I find somewhere in the future.' Angela Bobeldyk, 40, lost her home in the 2024 floods in Caboolture on the Sunshine Coast and has been homeless ever since. While she is reluctant to leave her camp, she's also frightened of how bad things could get. 'I'm waiting for the evacuation centres to be open so I can go there,' she said. 'And just hope there is something left when I come back.' Also awaiting on available evacuation centres is asbestos remover Taner Campbell, who has been living on the streets for a year. 'I really don't know what the options are because we haven't been told much but if they open the library I will go there.' A grieving family have expressed shock and anguish after an alleged murderer denied killing his girlfriend. Accused killer Joel Micallef, 33, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where he was committed to stand trial after pleading not guilty to the murder of Nikkita Azzopardi. Micallef, who appeared via videolink from the Metropolitan Remand Centre wearing a green prison T-shirt, had to be asked several times by Magistrate Leon Fluxman what his plea was. Micallef, who appeared dishevelled, inaudibly mumbled his plea several times before he eventually clearly said 'not guilty'. A large group of Ms Azzopardi's family members and close friends left the courtroom shortly after the plea. At least one member shook their head as they exited the room. Homicide detectives alleged that Micallef killed his girlfriend of two years Ms Azzopardi, 35, at a South Morang home in Melbourne's north sometime between October 26 and October 28 last year. Ms Azzopardi's two brothers and father conducted a welfare check and found her body inside the townhouse after she failed to show up at a family barbecue the night before. Nikkita Azzopardi (pictured) was found dead at a home in Melbourne's north in October 2024 Joel Micallef (right) has pleaded not guilty to murdering his girlfriend Nikkita (left) Devastated close ones of Ms Azzopardi leave court after hearing her accused killer plead not guilty It's alleged her brothers and father confronted Micallef at the home after he barricaded a door. Ms Azzopardi's older brother then broke through the door and found her body. Micallef was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital to undergomedical assessments. Police interviewed Micallef for almost two days before the unemployed tradesman was charged with one count of murder. Micallef was unable to appear at his initial court hearing in October last year due to being in hospital. It was unclear why the alleged killer was hospitalised, with his lawyer telling the court her client was suffering from 'health complications'. Magistrate Fluxman told Micallef on Wednesday that there was enough evidence in the hand-up brief to commit him to stand trial in the Supreme Court. Ms Azzopardi, who was an accountant, was described by her older brother Shaun at the time of her death as a 'gentle soul who would help anyone'. Ms Azzopardi was found by her two brothers and father after they drove to her home when she had failed to show up at a family barbecue Ms Azzopardi's older brother Shaun Azzopardi (pictured) last saw his sister alive 10 days earlier at his son's 15th birthday 'She'll do anything for anyone, she didn't see the bad in people and always saw the good,' Mr Azzopardi told media shortly after her body was discovered. He described his sister as a 'kind soul'. 'You think it's not going to happen to you, to your sister, your brother, but I'm not going see my sister again.' The last time he saw his sister alive was 10 days earlier at his son's 15th birthday, which she arranged at a go-karting venue. 'In hindsight, if you knew it was the last time, you'd be doing more, you'd be asking more, you'd be taking pictures,' he said. Ms Azzopardi's close ones leave Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after he alleged killer was committed to stand trial 'I don't know my father's state, my mum's state, my brother's state - how do you move past this, how do you get through it?' 'It doesn't feel real. I'm trying to stay strong'. Micallef, who the court heard was experiencing his first jail stint in his life, was remanded in custody to reappear in court for a directions hearing on March 21. A war of words between President Donald Trump and Stacey Abrams erupted on Tuesday night as Trump used his congressional address to accuse the Georgia Democrat of being at the center of a staggering $1.9 billion taxpayer scandal. But Abrams was quick to fire back in a pointed rebuke, invoking none other than DOGE chief Elon Musk in her defense. Speaking before a joint session of Congress, Trump painted Abrams as the architect of a shadowy spending spree. 'The Department of Government Efficiency has found some very questionable spending $1.9 billion to the so-called 'Decarbonization of Homes Committee' - and guess who's involved? Stacey Abrams! Have you ever heard of her?' Trump sneered, sending murmurs rippling through the chamber. The attack was a clear attempt to cast Abrams as a reckless steward of taxpayer funds, accusing her of funneling billions into murky environmental projects with little accountability. But the president offered no supporting evidence, leaving the specifics of the alleged financial debacle hanging in the air. Writing on social media, Abrams wasted no time in turning the tables on Trump. Taking to X she clapped back at Trump writing, 'I'm proud of my work protecting civil rights & lowering energy costs for Georgians. Someone has to deliver because Trump is taking our hard-earned money to cut Elon Musk's taxes.' A war of words between President Donald Trump and Stacey Abrams erupted on Tuesday night Trump used his congressional address to accuse the Georgia Democrat of being at the center of a staggering $1.9 billion taxpayer scandal Abrams was quick to fired back in a pointed rebuke, invoking none other than DOGE chief Elon Musk in her defense Trump's accusation is the latest chapter in a growing Republican-led effort to place Abrams under scrutiny. A Georgia state Senate committee, backed by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, is already eyeing Abrams for alleged improprieties tied to her 2018 gubernatorial campaign and clean-energy initiatives. A potential subpoena for Abrams, tying her to a separate $2 billion federal grant awarded to Power Forward Communities - a coalition that, while not directly linked to Abrams, included Rewiring America, an organization she was affiliated with until December. 'Don't you think that, that deserves looking into, because I do,' Jones told reporters on Friday, after a resolution to allow the expansion was introduced in the Senate. The claims, largely fueled by Trump-appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, have sparked GOP calls for a probe, despite no public evidence directly implicating Abrams in any wrongdoing. Abrams, long considered a political force in Georgia, sees the attacks as nothing more than an attempt to dismantle her influence. 'Georgia Republicans are so terrified of the power of the people, they're lashing out with unfounded attacks and baseless investigations that waste taxpayer dollars,' she fired back in a statement last week. 'Working across the state, I registered and turned out thousands of Georgians. I proudly led work to lower energy prices in the poorest region of the state.' White House Senior Advisor to the President Elon Musk cheers as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday night in Washington, DC Adams was involved with a group promoting clean energy. It is just one of Abrams' roles, which include writing books and pursuing entrepreneurial ventures Senate Republicans claim they are simply following the money and question how federal and state funds were allocated under initiatives linked to Abrams. Abrams, the former state House minority leader, vaulted to national Democratic stardom when she came close to defeating Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2018. She parlayed voting rights after that election into a national platform and even consideration as Joe Biden's running mate in 2020, but lost a 2022 governor's race rematch to Kemp by a broader margin. Her involvement with Rewiring America, a group promoting clean energy and electrification, is just one of Abrams' roles, which include writing books and pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. If the resolution is approved, it will allow the Republican-led Senate to conduct meetings scrutinizing a second high-profile Democrat as Jones and several members of the committee consider running for office in 2026. The Republican-led Senate committee is now gearing up to expand its probe into Abrams, and subpoenas could be issued after the legislative session adjourns on April 4. Abrams, the former state House minority leader, vaulted to national Democratic stardom when she came close to defeating Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2018 Adams came close to defeating Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2018 but lost by an even broader margin in 2022 Abrams' allies are dismissing the entire spectacle as political theater, accusing Trump and his allies of using Abrams as a convenient distraction. 'Once again, we're going to be wasting time, wasting Georgia taxpayers money,' said Senate Democratic Minority Leader Harold Jones II of Augusta. Abrams has not publicly ruled out a third bid for governor in 2026. However, her party may be moving on from her - other Democrats are already laying the groundwork to run next year. Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 to register more nonwhite and young voters in Georgia and to urge them to turn out. She stepped down in 2017 and said she had no role with the group thereafter. In January, the New Georgia Project and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund admitted Georgia's campaign finance law by failing to register as an independent campaign committee and failing to disclose contributions and spending. The Ethics Commission fined the groups $300,000, the largest ethics fine in state history, mostly for violations that supported Abrams' 2018 run for governor. On February 12, the Trump-appointed Zeldin called for the return of $2 billion granted to Power Forward Communities in April 2024, part of $20 billion that Zeldin claimed was improperly granted by former President Joe Biden's administration. The claims, largely fueled by Trump-appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, pictured, have sparked GOP calls for a probe, despite no public evidence directly implicating Abrams Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, spoke to reporters about plans for a state Senate committee to investigate Democrat Stacey Abrams on Friday at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta Power Forward Communities, which includes United Way Worldwide and Habitat for Humanity, says it plans to use the money to help fund energy efficiency upgrades in low-income households, trying to bring down costs by paying appliance makers and contractors many upgrades at once. Abrams was senior counsel to Rewiring America until December, said her spokesperson, Joshua Karp. That's one of the groups that make up the Power Forward Communities coalition. Abrams was not paid by Power Forward Communities, Karp said. Senate Republicans are also launching investigations into multiple high-profile Democrats, including Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis who charged Trump in 2023 with conspiring to overturn the former president's 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia. Brits have been told to take care on their journeys to work and school this morning after parts of the country were hit by a freezing fog overnight. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for the south coast of England after patches of dense, cold mist were seen forming in the area in the early hours of Wednesday. Motorists have been advised to give extra time for their commutes as visibility has been reduced to less than 100m in places, making driving conditions tricky. Slower journey times and delays are also expected for bus and train services, whilst there is a chance of cancellations to flights and ferries. The warning was first issued at 2am and remains in place until 9am, when the fog is expected to clear and make way for warm and sunny weather. The fine and bright conditions have been a staple of the early March weather and are set to stay for the rest of the week. But the clear skies have meant cold, frosty nights have been felt across the UK at the start of this week, with temperatures falling to -6C (21F) in Benson, Oxfordshire, on Tuesday night. From Wednesday onwards, it is likely to be cloudier overnight, meaning temperatures should stay above freezing. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for fog after patches of dense, cold mist were seen forming in the area in the early hours of Wednesday (pictured: A cyclist rides along a path at sunrise on a frosty spring morning in Bushy Park, south west London on Tuesday) The warning was first issued at 2am and remains in place until 9am, when the fog is expected to clear and make way for warm and sunny weather After a gloomy winter filled with storms and sub-zero temperatures, large parts of the UK are set to be hotter than Barcelona and Madrid on Thursday, with temperatures predicted to reach 16C in London. And meteorologist Honor Criswick told The Standard that the fine weather was 'on the cards' for a while, as the ridge of high pressure bringing the better conditions is set to stick around into next week. The warmest figures are likely in the Bristol area on Thursday, and temperatures are likely to reach the mid-teens in parts of northern England too, with 16C (61F) possible in York. The only areas which may have widespread cloud and some drizzle are parts of the far North West, such as Cumbria, on Wednesday and Friday, plus parts of the far west and south west. The upbeat forecast follows a cloudy and dull February, with only 88 per cent of the average sunshine, the Met Office said. Parts of London endured zero minutes of sunshine for seven consecutive days for the first time in nearly 50 years. The weekend is set to remain mostly dry with sunny spells and mild temperatures, with the warmest spots including south and south-east England, as well as sheltered spots in North Wales. Forecasters say there is still a chance of a 'colder spell' towards the middle of March - so it may not yet be time to pack away the winter woollies - but then it is likely to warm up as spring officially arrives from March 20. By the end of the month, the Met Office predicts that 'above average temperatures are more likely, though some colder spells remain possible during late March.' An Albanian drug boss, who was sentenced to three years behind bars for running a cannabis farm, has been spared deportation after judges concluded his daughter would be left 'without a male role model'. In 2013, Xhoni Leka first set foot on British soil and was denied residency on several occasions before he was charged with the possession of class B drugs with the intent to supply. After being caught alongside his accomplice Gjergji Braculla managing a large cannabis factory with around 1,300 plants in Cumbria, he was jailed to three years and four months. The cannabis farmer was than hit with a deportation order to Albania from the Home Office, but has since appealed the decision on the basis it would violate his human rights. The drug baron claimed going back to his homeland would breach his right to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Right - the right to a family life. Now an immigration tribunal reversed the Home Office's initial order to deport Leka, saying the decision would be 'unduly harsh' on the criminal's four-year-old daughter. Judges Fiona Lindsley and Mark Symes said the drug boss plays a key role in ensuring the child has 'financial and emotional security' as well as 'a stable and loving home'. They also added that Leka's deportation would cause 'serious harm' to the child as it would mean she could have to live in Albania with her father, depriving her of her right to live in her birth country - the UK. Xhoni Leka (pictured) first set foot on British soil and was denied residency on several occasions before he was charged with the possession of class B drugs with the intent to supply in 2020 He was jailed to three years and four months after being caught running a large cannabis factory with around 1,300 plants in Cumrbia (pictured) The cannabis farmer was than hit with a deportation order to Albania from the Home Office , but has since appealed the decision on the basis it would violate his human rights The judges also determined that the drug farmer's wife, who is a Czech national, would find it difficult to live in Leka's home country as she doesn't speak Albanian and does not have family to help her naturalise. The Home Office had pursued the appealed case arguing there was not enough evidence to support that the Albanian's daughter would be seriously harmed by Leka's deportation. According to The Times, they said there had been no evidence provided from a psychologist, social services or an independent social worker. They also argued that there are several single parent families in the UK, and that the four-year-old was at an 'adaptable age', adding that 'British citizenship was not a trump card.' The Home Office also said there was evidence to support that Leka's wife was helped by friends whilst the Albanian was behind bars, whilst also contending she would receive benefits from her local authority if she was to parent alone. However the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber determined Leka's deportation would violate his Article 8 EHCR rights, which prevailed over the public interest to send the Albanian back to his native Balkan country. The Conservatives have since slammed the outcome branding it 'absurd', whilst calling for Britain to leave the EHCR. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told the publication: 'I've had enough of ECHR and human rights laws being abused by foreign criminals being allowed to stay in this country when they should be deported. Nikodem Lopata (pictured), 22, of Crewe, Cheshire, has overturned a bid to deport him because he cannot speak Polish and has no family in his birth country 'Thousands of dangerous foreign criminals have been allowed to stay on tenuous human rights grounds exposing the British public to risk of becoming victims. 'This madness has to end and fundamental reform of human rights laws are needed.' It comes after a convicted Polish drug dealer has overturned a bid to deport him because he cannot speak Polish and has no family in his birth country. Nikodem Lopata, 22, of Crewe, Cheshire, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison aged 19 and was told by the Home Office that he would be sent back to his birth country. But after being released Lopata, who came to Britain aged four, appealed the decision under human rights laws. He said he could not speak Polish and had no close family or friends living in Poland anymore, meaning he would find 're-integrating' very difficult having lived almost all his life in the UK. The Polish national was arrested at the age of 16 for possession of cocaine with intent to supply, leading to a community order. Two years later he was convicted of motor vehicle offences and possession of cannabis, which saw him incur six points on his licence and a fine. And three months after that he was caught with more than 1,000 of drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, while carrying a 'Rambo'-style knife. This is the terrifying moment a plane engine exploded shortly after taking off in Romania. The HiSky Europe Airbus A320 had left the capital at 6:47pm on March 3, bound for Oradea International Airport in the western part of the country. But flight H4762 suffered a sudden engine failure during its ascent, with lights from the capital city below still visible from footage captured by passengers. Startling footage shows flames shooting from the left wing as the plane glided above Bucharest. A loud rumbling could be heard from inside the jet - but the passengers on board were eerily quiet. Sorin Balogh, on board at the time, said fliers were 'too shocked to react' as the left side of the plane glowed orange. The fast-acting female pilot turned the aircraft back and made an emergency landing at the Henri Coanda International Airport - just 17 minutes after taking off. No injuries were reported but the plane was taken out of service for checks. Shocking video showed the wing of the plane glowing orange Sorin Balogh, on board at the time, said passengers were 'too shocked to react' Mr Balogh said that the Mayor of Oradea was on board at the time, seated a few rows behind. After the incident, he contacted the former mayor, who helped arrange accommodation for the affected passengers, he said. An incident report from the Aviation Safety Network stated: 'HiSky Europe flight H4762, an Airbus A320-232, suffered an engine failure on departure from OTP. 'The aircraft returned to land for a safe landing, 17 minutes after takeoff.' HiSky is a privately owned airline that, since 2021, has operated regular and charter passenger flights from Romania and the Republic of Moldova to more than 20 domestic and international destinations. The company operates a fleet of seven aircraft from the Airbus A320 family, including four A320s with 180 seats, one A319 with 144 seats, and two A321neoLRs, configured with 201 and 220 seats. Two days before Christmas, another flight from Bucharest was forced to make an emergency landing when the cabin filled with smoke. Passengers claimed that an engine had exploded and caused a fire. This was not immediately confimed. Footage did show heavy smoke engulfing the cabin on the Swiss airlines flight from Bucharest to Zurich, Switzerland, late on December 23. Twelve passengers were injured in the fracas and one crew member was placed in intensive care. A witness told Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten that the flight attendant was unconscious at the time of the evacuation and had to be resuscitated by other crew members. The plane took off from Bucharest and had to land within just 17 minutes No injuries were reported but the plane was taken out of service for checks The plane had to make an emergency landing in Graz, Austria, and all passengers and crew had to be evacuated from the aircraft. Swiss said at the time it was monitoring the condition of the crew member, and shared its thoughts with those affected. It also confirmed the emergency landing at the time: 'SWISS flight LX1885 from Bucharest to Zurich made an emergency landing in Graz due to smoke. 'All 74 passengers and 5 crew members have been evacuated, with 17 requiring medical attention.' It added that a special flight was due to depart at 9.45am on Tuesday to return the passengers to Zurich before Christmas Day. President Donald Trump had barely got into his stride on Tuesday night before a Democratic lawmaker was on his feet in protest. Rep. Al Green waved his cane at the president and shouted: 'You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!' He was unceremoniously escorted out of the chamber and a majority of viewers said that was the right call. An exclusive J.L. Partners snap poll of 774 viewers for DailyMail.com found that 56 percent of respondents agreed that he should have been ejected. Less than a third thought it was the wrong decision. Overall it was a good night for Trump, with a clear majority (57 percent) saying they gave his speech a thumbs up. Yet Trump did not have it all his own way. He ran into opposition even as he entered the hall. One congresswoman held up a sign saying: 'This is not normal.' Your browser does not support iframes. Republicans tried to drown him by yelling 'USA, USA, USA.' Speaker Mike Johnson, who was in charge of proceedings, tried to restore order. 'Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House, and to cease any further disruptions,' he said. 'That's your warning. Republicans cheered at his intervention. But Green refused to sit down and Johnson repeated his warning. 'Mr. Green, take your seat,' he said. 'Take your seat, sir. Take your seat.' That was the final warning. And Johnson then asked the sergeant at arms to intervene and remove Green. He left to Republican shouts of: 'Get him out.' Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas is escorted from the House chamber Trump was unfazed. 'I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do,' he said. 'These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.' Several more Democrats walked out during the course of his 99-minute speech. Others held up signs reading 'That's a lie,' or 'Save Medicaid' to make their feelings clear. But it did not stop Trump using the address to take a victory lap six weeks after taking office, laying out a string of achievements and listing objectives for the next four years. 'It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action,' he said. 'The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it.' Unsettling footage shows the moment a Russian Su-35 fighter jet came within yards of a French Reaper drone in the Mediterranean, according to French officials. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu posted the point-of-view perspective of the MQ-9 predator drone as it soared above the sea on Sunday. Video showed the Sukhoi multirole fighter buzzing the French drone, a manoeuvre Lecornu branded 'dangerous'. He said the jet made 'three successive close passes', which he warned could have led to the 'loss of control of the drone'. Lecornu wrote on X that it 'demonstrated an intent to restrict free air circulation in shared spaces'. 'This was a deliberate, unprofessional, and aggressive action that is unacceptable.' Lecornu, in the role since 2022, assured that France would 'continue to act to defend freedoms of navigation in international air and maritime spaces'. The defence minister said that the drone was 'on a surveillance mission' at the time. His counterparts in Russia have not yet commented on the incident. The view from the MQ-9 drone shows the Su-35 passing nearby in the eastern Mediterranean Lecornu said the plane passed by three times, which posed a potentially dangerous situation The defence minister asserted that the manoeuvre was 'deliberate' and 'aggressive' Russia has in the past assured that 'all flights' are 'carried out in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace' during similar close shaves. Last September, Russia said the US and coalition forces in Syria made a 'dangerously close approach' to a Russian Su-35 in the southern Homs province. French forces regularly carry out missions in the Mediterranean to ensure compliance with international law and uphold freedom of navigation in international airspaces. Italian intelligence has assessed that Russia is actively seeking a new strategic foothold in the Med with uncertainty surrounding its future access to the Syrian port of Tartus. The fall of the Assad regime has threatened to shake Russia's grip on the eastern Mediterranean, where the Su-35 was spotted on Sunday. Giovanni Caravelli, the director of Italy's AISE foreign intelligence agency, said at a press conference in Rome on Tuesday that Russia is refocusing its geopolitical strategy towards North Africa and the Sahel-Saharan region. North African coastal areas could provide a potential alternative to Tartus, Italian news and analysis outlet decode 39 suggests. AISE yesterday presented its 2024 intelligence report in Rome. Russia also assessed in January that France was preparing for 'confrontation with our country'. Russia's defence ministry has not yet commented on the incident, which happened on Sunday File photo. A Russian fighter jet flies close to a U.S. drone over Syria, July 23, 2023 File photo. An MQ-9 Reaper firing Hellfire missile Amid further uncertainty over the role of the United States in Europe, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed an 800-billion-euro (665bn) plan to rearm EU nations. She said the huge 'REARM Europe' package would be put to the 27 EU leaders, includign France. They are due to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels tomorrow, with Ukrainian President Zelensky now expected to return to agree to a critical minerals deal with U.S. President Trump as a first step towards a ceasefire deal. European leaders have increasingly warned that a peace deal must not leave Ukraine - and wider Europe - vulnerable to a future attack from Russia, echoing Zelensky's calls for certain security guarantees. The Trump administration has urged Europe to increase military spending and warned that its allies will no longer be able to rely on it for defence as it shifts its foreign policy focus. Zelensky took the decision to seek rapprochement with Trump on Tuesday after the U.S. 'paused' all military aid to Ukraine pending 'review'. Politicians in Ukraine, Britain and the United States assessed that Ukraine might be able to hold out a few months, until the summer, without American aid - and that Europe would not be able to fully account for the shortfall. File photo. An MQ-9 Reaper drone with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) awaits a mission over the U.S.-Mexico border on November 4, 2022 at Fort Huachuca, Arizona Zelensky and Trump argue in the Oval Office of the White House on February 28, 2025 U.S.-Ukrainian relations took a turn on Friday during a meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky. The pair clashed in front of reporters as Trump badgered Zelensky towards signing the minerals deal, which would give the U.S. access to swathes of Ukrainian natural resources. The Trump administration argues that such a deal would secure long-term investment in Ukraine's prosperity, deterring Russian aggression. Zelensky has cited dozens of instances where he says Russia has violated ceasefires since 2014 in spite of American businesses operating in Ukraine. A Russian warship has been spotted escorting a sanctioned cargo ship crewed by men in military fatigues through the English Channel. The Boikiy, a 343ft-long Russian corvette that can carry up to 99 men at a time, was seen escorting the Baltic Leader, a large cargo ship sanctioned by the US in 2022 for transporting weapons for Russia, in the early hours of Monday, according to The Times. Armed personnel were seen manning machine guns on the warship as it passed through the south of the English Channel, the newspaper reported. The Baltic Leader was carrying a shipment of military hardware from a Russian base in Tartus, Syria, where Kremlin operations are being wound down in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. James Droxford, of the intelligence consultancy Droxford Maritime, said: 'The recovered military hardware onboard Baltic Leader could be used to reinforce Russia's combat capability in Ukraine, or to replenish military stocks in other key Russian military regions.' The Boikiy's escort mission began at 5am on March 3, south of Torquay. The convoy slowly travelled across the English Channel, before it was followed by two vessels, HMS Somerset from the Royal Navy and Belgian Navy vessel BNS Crocus. The Baltic Leader was then seen leaving the English Channel on March 4 at 2pm. Your browser does not support iframes. Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset monitors Russian merchant ship Baltic Leader in the Channel, part of a three-day operation keeping watch on a Russian task group passing the UK The Boikiy's escort mission began at 5am on March 3, south of Torquay Satellite images showed the Baltic Leader left Tartus, Syria, on February 13. Russia has been winding down its use of the part since Assad's fall. This, combined with Ukraine's increased capability to sink Russian ships in the Black Sea, has resulted in increased activity in Syrian waters. Droxford said: 'Ukraine could destroy hundreds of tons of vital Russian military material in one go by attacking the ships and that's a huge risk for Russia to take.' Joseph Byrne, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre, told the Times: 'While it isn't exactly clear what cargo the vessel is loading, Tartus is a port where Russia has been storing its military equipment, likely waiting for transport. 'Since mid-February we have seen a number of Russian flagged cargo vessels sail from Syria into the Mediterranean and through the English Channel. 'They have exhibited highly similar patterns of life, including switching off their transponders when entering Syrian waters and ports, not broadcasting their final destinations, and appearing to sail through the Channel with a military escort for protection.' Russia's military has been getting bolder in recent weeks. Last week, NATO was forced to scramble warplanes from Poland after Vladimir Putin used strategic bombers and missiles to attack neighbouring Ukraine - even as Vladimir Putin insists he wants peace 'as soon as possible'. Your browser does not support iframes. The Boikiy (pictured, front), a Russian corvette that is 343ft long and can carry up to 99 men at a time, was seen in the English Channel this week The Baltic Leader (pictured) was carrying a shipment of military hardware from a Russian base in Tartus, Syria Putin used Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters Emergency workers search for a civilian in the rubble in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in several towns across the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Drones were also used by Russia, with several people reportedly suffering injuries. Warsaw's armed forces operation command headquarters ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles soared over Ukraine amid fears they could approach the Polish border. 'Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland,' the command headquarters said. Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also 'put on alert'. A man has been charged three days after a woman suffered serious injuries when she was allegedly thrown off a balcony in western Sydney. Emergency services attended an apartment complex on Arthur Street in Merrylands West about 7.45pm on Sunday night following reports of a concern for welfare. A woman, 32, was found lying on the ground with head and leg injuries after she allegedly thrown onto the concrete ground from a one storey balcony during an altercation. She was taken to hospital in a serious condition. Police established a crime scene at the time and commenced an investigations. Following extensive inquiries, detectives arrested a man, 34, at a McGirr Parade unit in Warwick Farm in Sydney's south-west on Wednesday morning. A woman suffered serious injuries after she was allegedly thrown from a unit balcony. Pictured are paramedics at the scene A man has been charged over Sunday night's alleged incident He was charged with breaching an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, intentionally choke person with recklessness, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (domestic violence). The man appeared in Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday, where he was refused bail to appear on March 19. Photos from the scene showed the injured woman being treated by multiple paramedics. Police were seen cordoning off the scene and speaking with several neighbours. A brazen shoplifter, who proudly steals up to 5,000 a day, is adamant shops going bust isn't her fault because they 'should have better security'. The woman, who goes by the alias of Sarah, boasted how she 'very rarely' is caught by police and has never been charged for her shoplifting sprees. The single mother, who turned to lawlessness after the breakdown of her family, believes stealing upwards of 3,000 worth of goods is a 'victimless crime'. Sarah explained that she nabs up to nine full black bin bags of stolen items before auctioning 'the lot' to a single buyer. When pressed about the impact of her actions as shops close their doors due to the growing cost of shoplifting, the criminal said it was 'their fault' rather than her own. 'Thats not my fault, its their fault, they should have better security, they should have more staff workers they should be on their job like I am,' she told Good Morning Britain 'I am better at my job than they are and that's the bottom line' Comparing the crime to a game of Pac-Man, she said: 'I dont see myself as a criminal, I am a worker I go out and work. A brazen shoplifter, who boasts about her three-year long 'professional' career has said shops need to be better at their jobs The single mother, who turned to lawlessness after the break down of her family, believes stealing upwards of 3,000 worth of goods is a 'victimless crime ' (stock image) When pressed by journalist Richard Gaisford (pictured) about the impact of her actions as shops close their doors due to the growing cost of shoplifting, the criminal said it was 'their fault' rather than her own Your browser does not support iframes. Crime is up overall, crime survey reveals The Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) is based on interviews with 35,000 people and regarded by statisticians as the more accurate picture of crime levels. This found there were 9.5million incidents of headline crime last year. This was an increase of 12 per cent on the year before, mainly driven by a 19 per cent rise in fraud. The CSEW has found that crime overall has generally decreased over the last decades, with the exception of some offences - such as sexual assault. Police data showing shoplifting is at a record high will be seized upon by retail bosses as further proof that urgent action is needed to tackle lawlessness. Advertisement 'I'm quite proud of how I go out and work. I could become a millionaire tomorrow and I would still go out - it's the thrill.' The single mother, who brags about her three-year 'professional' shoplifting career, also argued it was a 'victimless crime'. 'I believe that. I do think that the company's losing money but I don't think there's a single person, there's a single victim,' she said. 'I'm not hurting anybody, I'm just going and making money. If I get to 3,000 and I am having a good day and I feel as if I can get up to five I will carry on.' It comes as shoplifting offences have risen by 23 per cent to more than 490,000 a year to hit the highest level since records began, new official figures revealed. The shocking data is further cements Britain's worsening retail theft epidemic, which an industry body has previously warned was 'out of control'. There were a total of 492,914 offences recorded by police in the year to September, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found - the highest figure since current police recording practices began for the year ending March 2003. MailOnline recently obtained CCTV footage from shop owners in Surrey that reveals brazen thieves casually stealing hundreds of pounds worth of stock before fleeing with full bags. Police recorded 1.8 million theft offences in the year to September, a two per cent increase driven by shoplifting and a 22 per cent rise in crimes involving theft from a person (146,109). Knife offences and robberies rose by four per cent each. A man shoving luxury candles into an empty Waitrose bag in the nearby town of Hersham In another piece of footage, this time from Oxted, a man can be seen squatting down and hurriedly shoving four candles into an open Sainsbury's bag Serial shoplifterThomas McDonagh, 22, and Martin Stokes, 23, targeted Next and Boots stores in Colchester and Chelmsford, Essex, in January 2025 Thomas McDonagh (pictured) was jailed for 16 months and banned from all Boots stores in Essex. Stokes was given a 16-week sentence, suspended for 18 months Your browser does not support iframes. It comes amid warnings that shoplifting is 'spiralling out of control' after a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggested there were more than 2,000 incidents a day, with staff facing assault, being threatened with weapons, and racial and sexual abuse. There were more than 55,000 incidents of theft per day, equating to more than 20 million in total. The alarming figures show the issue is getting worse, with cases of attacks and shoplifting beating last year's record numbers to be a fresh high since the surveys began in 2001. This is despite businesses paying a record 1.8billion on prevention tactics such as CCTV, more security guards and body worn cameras. Some 61 per cent of retailers say the police response to calls for help has been 'poor' or 'very poor'. Retailers are reporting unprecedented levels of violence towards their staff, with the number of incidents involving a weapon more than doubling to 70 per day. As a result, the industry group reiterated calls for attacks on shop staff to be made a specific offence in England and Wales, as it is in Scotland. Labour has promised to do this in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill, which the industry is hoping will be introduced in the coming weeks. Rishi Sunak has said he regrets using the 'stop the boats' slogan in his drive to cut illegal migration across the Channel. The former Tory prime minister said that the slogan, which was adopted in 2023, was 'too stark'. Speaking to the BBC he also said that while the drive to stop migrants was correct, the way the message was given to the public 'wasn't quite right'. He told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking With Nick Robinson podcast the slogan was 'too stark too binary', saying that while he believed the priorities he pushed during his time in office were the right ones, he 'probably should have put those priorities in a better context for exactly how challenging it was'. 'Our generosity is limitless, and our compassion is limitless, but our resources are not,' he said about the drive to stop migrants. 'It's just fundamentally unfair, and fairness is central to our national character, and when people see this happening, I think it undermines that sense of fairness on which our society, our way of life, is based on.' However, he stood by his decision to call an early election last July, despite it blindsiding many of his ministers and MPs. It led to a humiliating landslide defeat by Labour which left the Tories with just 121 MPs. The former Tory prime minister said that the slogan, which was adopted in 2023, was 'too stark'. He told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking With Nick Robinson podcast the slogan was 'too stark too binary', saying that while he believed the priorities he pushed during his time in office were the right ones, he 'probably should have put those priorities in a better context for exactly how challenging it was'. Mr Sunak denied that calling an early general election was a snap decision, saying he wanted a mandate for his policies. The campaign, announced in late May, was followed by a chaotic Tory campaign, which saw Mr Sunak face criticism for leaving D-Day commemorations early to do a campaign interview 'I thought about it hard, and I had been thinking about it for quite a while, what the right thing to do was,' he says. 'When I reflect back on it, I know the reasons why I did it, I thought hard about it, and what I have not ever heard, really, in a compelling fashion, is what would have dramatically improved three months later. 'I think getting the Rwanda scheme up and running was going to be hard, and I think it would have required a mandate. 'Similarly, tax and spend, we've been having these conversations, I wanted to do quite radical things, whether on welfare spending or others, and I think those would have been hard to do without a mandate.' He said he would back his successor Kemi Badenoch if she wanted to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and that he would cut welfare spending to pay for an increase in the defence budget. 'I think, quite frankly, that is the most important thing for the country to do next, so that we can fund defence adequately,' he said. Nearly 600 migrants arrived in the UK on Sunday after crossing the Channel, according to data released by the Home Office (file pic) Having left Downing Street after the election defeat in July 2024, he said he was 'excited' about what happens next. 'I'm 44, I've got years ahead of me, and I don't want being prime minister to be the only thing that defines me professionally. I think I've got plenty more to contribute.' In January the former prime minister revealed that he will at least make a few flying visits to the US Pacific coast, where his has a home, after landing two new jobs. Mr Sunak announced he would be taking up a visiting fellowship at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Closer to home, he is also joining Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government as a member of its World Leaders Circle. Mr Sunak yesterday urged the Government to help Ukraine by seizing frozen Russian assets. He said the decision by the United States to pause and review its assistance to Kyiv highlighted further the need for Europe to find 'considerably more resources' for Ukraine. Germany and France meanwhile have reportedly started discussions of how 200 billion euros (165 billion) of frozen Russian assets could be used as a way to hold Moscow to a potential ceasefire deal. Speaking at Treasury questions, Conservative MP Mr Sunak told the House of Commons: 'Events overnight make it even clearer that Europe must find considerably more resources for Ukraine. 'The Chancellor has rightly continued our policy of using the interest on frozen Russian state assets to benefit Ukraine, but I believe now is the moment to go further and to actually seize those assets. 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine violates the principle of sovereign equality providing a basis in international law for this and by acting in concert with our allies we can ensure there are no risks to financial stability.' Beloved theme parks are vanishing from Britain as increased costs, dwindling visitor numbers and Labour's 'socialist' Budget bear the brunt of the blame. The largest theme park in Wales which opened in 1987 has become the latest to fall by the wayside after bosses last night announced its sudden and immediate closure. Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire said financial issues from rising costs and falling admission totals meant they were shutting rides for good after four decades. Owner Aspro Parks appeared to have a dig at Rachel Reeves's Budget, saying it had been affected by 'unrelenting economic challenges' and national insurance changes - having invested more than 25million since the park was saved from closure in 2008. Meanwhile the boss of another theme park in Essex has warned Labour's Budget tax raid will see him lose 600,000 in turnover and employ 200 fewer staff this year. Philip Miller, owner of Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea, hit out at the Chancellor and also said he is being forced to raise ticket prices by 25 per cent. The 69-year-old, whose family have been running the attraction since buying it in 1976, warned he 'can't afford to die now' because the 'tax would finish the business'. He is very concerned over soaring staff bills due to the increase in national insurance contributions (NICs) for employers and the minimum wage rise, both from April. And Britain's oldest theme park Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, last month warned it was under threat of closure with the owner blaming the Budget. Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, has announced its immediate closure Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, has warned it was under threat of closure Wet n Wild in North Shields was home to the country's biggest water slide but shut in 2020 Philip Miller, owner of Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea, is pictured with his daughter Hannah Miller who has worked with him since she was 12 years old. He has warned Labour's Budget tax raid will see him lose 600,000 in turnover and employ 200 fewer staff this year Adventure Island is located on Southend seafront with more than 40 rides and attractions In Southend, Mr Miller said the problems he is facing are being witnessed across the UK's theme park industry, based on conversations he has had with other owners. Southend's Adventure Island has its roots in 'Sunken Garden' park dating back to 1918 Adventure Island started life on the seafront in 1918 as the Sunken Garden, which was a small park with some children's rides next to Southend's famous pier the longest pleasure pier in the world. Southend had grown into a popular seaside resort during the Victorian era, helped by its proximity to London as families took the train for day trips to enjoy the beach. The area, like many other seaside resorts in England, began to decline as a holiday destination from the 1960s despite still attracting thousands of day visitors in the summer months. Mr Miller's family purchased the site in 1976 and developed it extensively, renaming it Peter Pan's Playground which became a big hit not only with locals but also families visiting from the capital. Popular attractions included the Helter Skelter, the Devils Creek Gold Mine train ride and the Crooked House which was built in 1949, well before Mr Miller's family bought the site. The site was initially just on the west side of the pier, but in 1995 it was expanded onto the east side and given the Adventure Island name. New rides continued to appear each year, and there was again a major change in 2014 when one of its oldest attractions the Pirate Boat was replaced by an indoor soft play, arcades and ride area called Adventure Inside. Now, the park which is free to enter - has more than 40 rides and attractions, including the 118ft City Wheel which opened in December 2022, to celebrate the town getting city status. Advertisement He is having to cut opening hours, with selected rides opening later or closing earlier to save on staffing costs while some workers are leaving and not being replaced. Many of those employed at Adventure Island especially in the summer are college students on holidays, but there will be 200 fewer seasonal staff taken on this year. Now, there is an uncertain outlook for the theme park, which welcomes 900,000 visitors a year and began life more than a century ago as the 'Sunken Garden' in 1918. Mr Miller told MailOnline that changes revealed in last October's Budget will be 'affecting operations in various ways', adding: 'Initially we've cut opening hours a bit. 'Last year, under the previous chancellor, we closed on weekdays in June for the first time. That was the effect of the previous Budget, not this one.' He continued: 'What it means is we'll open the rides a bit later, close a bit earlier, save staff that way. We're going to cut numbers. 'As people are leaving we're not replacing them. So far there's nine gone and we haven't replaced them and we won't replace them.' Mr Miller added that the park will 'have to raise our prices quite substantially'. Citing a study in April 2024 by BravoVoucher on the country's best-value amusement park, he continued: 'Last year we were the best value theme park in the UK. 'Now we're having to stick it up by 25 per cent. We're not sure how that will affect the customers as they are short of money themselves. Things haven't really been right since Covid.' Mr Miller said the park had tried reducing prices last year in an attempt to make money through secondary expenditure by customers - such as on food and drink. The price of its annual pass has gone up from 50 in 2023 to 60 in 2024 and now 80 this year, with Mr Miller putting the latest increase down to Budget-related cost pressures. However, last month he temporarily cut the price to 40 for a limited sale period in an attempt to raise income outside the high season. He added that the park normally has 1,200 people employed in the summer, most of whom are college students on part-time hours who only work during the holidays. Philip Miller, pictured on the Green Scream, has been involved with Adventure Island since 1976 Many of those employed at Adventure Island especially in the summer are college students But Mr Miller, whose business is one of Southend's biggest employers, said: 'For those, we're a bit of a lifeline for them - so a lot will be disappointed this year. 'We're looking at taking 200 less on and the ones we do have will be doing less hours. It's the perfect storm.' The Budget was also 'stopping capital expenditure', Mr Miller said, with the park unable to invest in new rides something it is normally keen to do to encourage previous visitors to return. He said: 'We really don't know how it's going to finish up. Are we going to hit a recession? It's a case of survival of the fittest. Come out the other side, we'll see who's survived.' Mr Miller is a director of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (Balpa), an industry body with 300 members in leisure parks, piers, zoos, visitor attractions and family entertainment centres. He said discussions at a recent meeting of the group saw business owners share 'identical' stories, adding: 'There's people already gone out of business - close to it for a while and now they're gone. 'And there's many for sale - even at the bigger end of the market they are looking to move things off.' Philip Miller (centre right) at Adventure Island with his daughter Hannah (left), nephew Marc (centre left), who is managing director, and his son James (far right), the operations director People enjoy the Axis ride at the Adventure Island theme park on a sunny day in Southend The Crooked House is Adventure Island's oldest attraction and has been in place since 1949 The Rage rollercoaster is one of the top attractions at Adventure Island, having opened in 2007 He continued: 'We're a family business, we have been for the best part of 50 years - I can't afford to die now. The tax would finish the business. 'They'd have to sell it all just to pay the tax on me, which is a terribly unfair situation.' Mr Miller compared the situation to that faced by farmers who are campaigning against new inheritance tax rules and staged another protest outside Parliament last month. Labour has insisted it will not make a U-turn on its plans to introduce a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate on farms worth more than 1million. Those changes announced in the Budget are due to come into force in April 2026 and scrap an exemption which meant no inheritance tax was paid to pass down family farms. And Mr Miller, who was awarded an MBE in 2002 and turns 70 in May, said: 'Any family business is in the same boat as the farmers. This is the most fed up I've ever felt. The Devils Creek Gold Mine train was one of the top rides in Adventure Island's heyday The Pirate Galleon is another ride that was popular with families visiting Adventure Island Adventure Island used to be known as Peter Pan's Playground and is on Southend seafront 'In our game we have to be eternal optimists - we have to beat the weather. But right now it's the complete opposite.' He called for a 'complete reversal' of the tax changes in the latest Budget, adding that it had 'failed miserably' and he 'really would discourage anyone to start a business' in the current financial climate. Adventure Island is part of the Stockvale group of companies in Southend which also includes Sealife Adventure and the Sands by the Sea restaurant. Ms Reeves previously said she had to increase taxes for employers because 'we've got to raise the money to put our public finances on a firm footing'. Organisations currently pay a rate of 13.8 per cent on employees earnings above a 9,100-a-year threshold. But Ms Reeves announced last October that a new rate of 15 per cent will come in from April 1, with the threshold reduced to 5,000. Also from April, the national living wage for workers aged 21 and over will increase by 6.7 per cent from 11.44 an hour to 12.21. Peter Pan's Choo Choo Train is another of the rides that was popular at Adventure Island Adventure Island is located on Southend seafront and was called Peter Pan's Playground The Helter Skelter was a feature at Peter Pan's Playground which became Adventure Island In Kettering, Wicksteed Park chairman Oliver Wicksteed said the much-loved attraction may cease to exist in its current form unless it manages to secure extra funding. Operating costs such as fuel and insurance have soared in recent years, with the Budget placing further strain on the park's stretched resources. Mr Wicksteed, whose great-grandfather originally opened the park, told the Telegraph that Labour's 'socialist approach to raising money' could prove to be the final nail in the park's coffin. Describing the Budget as a 'hammer blow', Mr Wicksteed warned that the park's finances could not absorb the full brunt of these increased costs and that it would lead to the park's visitors suffering. 'The people who are paying for this at the end of the day are the consumer and the general public. 'That's just a socialist approach to raising money, making it look like it's coming from business and not the end user, but the net effect on the end user is essentially the same it costs more,' Mr Wicksteed said. The 'Jungle Safari' ride at Adventure Island had a sign up reminding people not to smoke People stand at a burger and hot dog bar at what was then known as Peter Pan's Playground Having previously endured financial struggles having collapsed into administration during the pandemic, the park was forced to lay off 115 staff in the summer of 2020. Another round of lay-offs will now be required to help keep a lid on costs, the chairman added. In North Tyneside, Wet n Wild in North Shields was home to the UK's biggest water slide but closed its doors in 2020 after 27 years much to the shock and dismay of locals. A 1.1million makeover by then owners Serco Leisure had failed to turn around its fortunes after the firm bought the site in 2014. It had been in financial difficulties for years and closed permanently during the Covid pandemic. Demolition work on the site was completed last month with borken pieces of waterslides seen amongst the rubble. Philip Miller (right) is pictured with his father David next to the go-kart track at Peter Pan's Philip Miller (front) aged five on a ride at the then-Sunken Garden with a cousin from Canada The site used to be known as the Sunken Garden and had existed with some rides since 1918 Meanwhile in Cornwall, Flambards shut its doors last November after 48 years again citing 'rising costs and a steady decline in visitor numbers'. The announcement left families disappointed with Chris Bates telling the BBC: 'Flambards was like our haven away from the stresses and strains of life.' The closure of the much-loved theme park in Helston spared Cornish tourist attraction bosses to warn of the national insurance hike putting added pressure on the industry. Nick Reynolds, director of Paradise Park in Hayle, told the BBC that Flambards' closure was 'tragic', adding: 'The National Insurance increase from the Budget is just going to cripple us and we're all struggling with the new rate.' The recent accounts of Suffolk-based Pleasurewood Hills also made for troubling reading with the attraction reporting heavy losses of 340,000 in 2024. Figures filed to Companies House showed the treble increase in post-tax losses compared to 110,000 the previous year. The park, owned by The Looping Group, recorded that debts had fallen from 4.2million to 3.8million in the same period. A DJ crashed a 211-mph Ferrari on a German autobahn as its owner sat next to him. The DJ, described as a prominent 44-year-old from the western region of Bielefeld, was interested in the second-hand Ferrari SF90 Stradale, a hybrid model that puts out nearly 1,000 horsepower and can accelerate from 0 to 120mph in less than seven seconds. The red supercar was being sold for 440,000 (364,000), Bild reported. The unnamed DJ, keen to test the limits of the car, took to the autobahn - famous for having no speed limit across large parts. But he never got to see how fast the Ferrari could go - He reportedly crashed it on a slip road onto Autobahn 33 when he accidentally accelerated too hard. This resulted in a major crash into the motorway's central barriers, leaving the car in a complete wreck. Bild reported that the tyres of the car hadn't been warmed up properly before it was rapidly accelerated, leading to a major skid. Though neither person in the car was harmed in the crash, the Ferrari was written off. The Ferrari (pictured) was written off following the crash The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is a hybrid model that puts out nearly 1,000 horsepower and can accelerate from 0 to 120mph in less than seven seconds Debris had flown several metres away from the car, which had to be towed away by roadside services. Police had to close off the motorway for almost an hour as the wreck was cleared away. Ferraris are rare in Germany - Only 14,000 exist in the country, and of them only 442 are SF90 Stradales. As a result, the country is often enamoured by the Italian brand, and will flock to newsstands when stories about their cars make the news. In November, a 24-year-old employee of a luxury car dealership accidentally crashed a Ferrari F40 worth nearly 2.5million into the wall of a tunnel near Heilbronn, southern Germany. Spanish authorities have reopened their investigation into the December death of the billionaire owner of fashion giant Mango. Isak Andic was walking with his son Jonathan through the Monserrat mountains outside of Barcelona when he fell nearly 500ft to his death. A judge probing the incident had provisionally archived his investigation after finding no evidence pointing to the entrepreneur's death being a crime. But overnight it emerged the judge, based at a court in Martorell near Barcelona, had reopened his probe into Turkish immigrant Mr Andic's December 14 death in Collbato close to the Catalan capital. Jonathan Andic was the sole witness and is said to have been questioned twice as a witness over the tragedy, which police sources have insisted they are still treating as an accident. Respected Catalan daily La Vanguardia said today the 43-year-old was quizzed as a witness at a police station in the town of Martorell on January 31 about the circumstances surrounding his wealthy father's death. The case was reopened after investigators found Jonathan's statements were 'inconsistent with the results of the on-site inspection'. But a report by El Pais added that 'police have not detected that the businessmans son is intentionally withholding information or providing erroneous data in order to cover up a possible crime'. Investigators are also understood to have questioned the Mango co-founder's partner Estefania Knuth, the last person besides Mr Andic's chauffeur and his son to see him alive, as well as a local police officer who went to the scene. Billionaire Isak Andic, mastermind behind the Spanish clothing retailer Mango - one of Europe's largest fashion groups - died in December Rescue teams rallied in attempt to reach Mango's billionaire founder after he plummeted over 100 metres in the tragic accident Jonathan Andic, who is an executive board member at Mango, is the presumptive heir of his late father's empire Pedestrians walk by the entrance of a Mango shop on Passeig de Gracia street in Barcelona on February 28, 2024 (file image) The Mossos d'Esquadra, the police force tasked with looking into the circumstances surrounding Mr Andic's death, and the courts have both declined to make any official comment, although they have confirmed the shelved judicial probe has been reopened. One well-placed court source said: 'We can confirm the reopening of the judicial investigation but we haven't got any more details we can offer you.' Respected Spanish newspaper, El Pais, said: 'The police hypothesis is still the same as it was, that Mr Andic died after falling 500ft during a hike to Collbato and there is nothing pointing to his death being a crime. 'But investigators have wanted to probe the details of the incident in depth, especially because the statements of Jonathan Andic, the son of the Mango founder and the only person accompanying him at the time of the fall, were inconsistent with the results of the on-site inspection. 'Despite this the police have not detected that the businessman's son is intentionally withholding information or providing erroneous information in order to cover up a possible crime.' Other reports have pointed to the judge reopening the case as a formality so he could receive more police information. Mr Andic and his son were visiting the Collbato Caves in the heart of the magical Monserrat mountain when the December 14 tragedy occurred around just before midday. Turkish immigrant Isak founded Mango along with his brother Nahman in 1984. By March 2024, it had over 14,000 employees working in more than 2,700 stores operating in over 110 countries, with 45 stores in the UK. Isak Andic, Chief Executive of Spanish fashion label Mango, stands next to Queen Letizia of Spain, during her visit to Mango's factory in Palau-Solita i Plegamans, near Barcelona, April 7, 2011 A view of the Montserrat caves as well as the Collbrato village in Catalonia, Spain The Salnitre de Collbato caves near Montserrat in the region of Catalonia, Spain (Stock image) Isak Andic and Kate Moss attend the '4th Mango Fashion Awards' held at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in 2012 Isak Andic was friends with the likes of Kate Moss and Terry Richardson. Mango traces its origins to 1984, when Andic, who is of Turkish origin, opened his first shop on the Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona's famous shopping street Last year Mango announced it was teaming up with Victoria Beckham to launch a new capsule collection to mark its 40th anniversary. Forbes had estimated Mr Andic's net worth shortly before his death at US DOLLARS 4.5 billion, making him Catalonia's richest man and one of Spain's wealthiest people. He owned a private plane which cost him more than 25 million and a 175ft yacht with around the same value. He was planning to have the world's largest yacht built but U-turned on the idea of Nirvana II before construction of the more than 330ft-long vessel got underway. His discreet lifestyle meant that until 2007 he didn't make public appearances and was very difficult to photograph. Jonathan was one of his three grown-up children. He had two daughters, Judith and Sarah. No-one from the family has made any official comment since it emerged the court investigation had been reopened. Catalan president Salvador Illa said on X after learning about Mr Andic's death: 'Devastated by the loss of Isak Andic, a committed businessman who with his leadership has contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world. 'He leaves an indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion sector. My condolences and those of the entire Government to the family, friends, and the Mango team.' Mango CEO Tony Ruiz said in a statement: 'It is with deep regret that we announce the unexpected death of Isak Andic, our non-executive Chairman and founder of Mango. 'Isak has been an example for all of us. He dedicated his life to Mango, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership and his unwavering commitment to values that he himself imbued in our company. 'His legacy reflects the achievements of a business project marked by success, and also by his human quality, his proximity and the care and affection that he always had and at all times conveyed to the entire organization. 'His departure leaves a huge void but all of us are, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. 'It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfill, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would feel proud. 'In these extremely difficult times we share the pain of the family as if it were our own.' March 4, 2025: Since late 2024 there have been several underwater cables cut in the Baltic Sea. The cable tampered with included one for power, one for data and one for natural gas. The damage was done using anchors dragged long distances across the seabed. The common factor in all this is Russia and its oil smuggling operation. The economic sanctions on Russia because of the Ukraine War have made Russia desperate and vindictive. Russia has a fleet of tankers that operate in the shadows to smuggle Russian oil. The more the Russians carry out these acts, the more the sanctions are increased. Russia is not the first nation to attack via the hundreds of underwater cable networks around the world. In 2009 the U.S. Navy found itself defending underwater Internet cables. That's where most of the planet's Internet traffic spends most of its time, as it travels from continent to continent via fiber-optic cables. The navy proposed to undertake more aggressive operations to prevent terrorists, or hostile nations, from trying to cut these cables. In 2005, the navy began discussing missions that were long known but not admitted. There were the Cold War missions to tap into Russian undersea communications cables. For all we know, American subs are still doing this. It's not the sort of thing you publicize. Over the last fifty years the navy has acquired a lot of secret experience, and specialized equipment for these missions. Then the navy offered to use some of this knowledge to help guard those fiber-optic cable networks. The navy has a lot of specialized equipment for this, including both submarines modified to do so and a very expensive Seawolf class sub built specifically for such missions. Then there is the undersea passive sonar system. During the Cold War, there were several networks of these underwater listening devices, which could detect ships and subs over a thousand kilometers away. The U.S. still maintains a lead in that kind of technology, as well as other techniques for tracking underwater traffic. While it's possible for a hostile party to cut underwater data cables, it's even more likely to happen by accident. There have been several cables cut by ship anchors in the last decade. Then there are natural disasters like undersea landslides and earthquakes. While the navy can't do much about accidents, they can, in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard keep track of a lot of the merchant and military ships on the world's oceans. If the navy has a plan for Internet defense at sea, much of it will involve secret projects. You won't hear much about it until it's all over. American submarines have tapped into those undersea cables several times. These fiber optic cables moved enormous amounts of data, with five gigabytes a second being a common throughput. To give you a sense of what that means, consider that iPods have over a hundred gigabytes of storage. A fiber optic cable can fill up a 60 gigabyte drive in 12 seconds. It can fill 300 of those drives in an hour, 7200 in a day, and 216,000 in a month. U.S. Navy submarines equipped to tap into fiber optic cables, cant hold enough hard drives or tape drives to hold more than a week or so worth of data. The problem is no longer one of grabbing the data, but of quickly finding what you need. The cable tapping subs were equipped with a powerful computer system that could process data as it was collected. These submarines also contain an underwater joining room for splicing and tapping into, fiber optic cable. This is a very tricky task, considering the high voltage running through the cable, and the need to tap in without interrupting service, and alerting the cable operator. Another factor is all this is that some 90 percent of transoceanic fiber optic cables eventually cross American or British territory. So getting into the cable is not impossible, but is kept very secret as is any news about the software, and other technology, that would be used to scan the data stream coming through the fiber optic cable. But that raises another question. How long are you going to park the sub over that tap in order to filter its throughput? The solution is to have most of the taps being made on land, or close to land so another cable can be run to a land station containing computer equipment to handle the filtering. The Americans subs involved concentrate on undersea fiber optic cables out there that dont cross friendly territory. Whatever these operations actually involve, it will be decades before the general public knows the details of what is inside that sub, and what exactly it does. French navy officers refused to rescue 60 distressed migrants on a cramped boat filled with water in its territory - and instead asked Border Force for help. French officials spent hours this morning shadowing a packed migrant boat - mostly men - across the Channel, sparking extraordinary scenes. But the situation quickly went awry, as they could be heard shouting and screaming 'help' and waving their hands at a nearby French navy boat. Despite knowing the dinghy was full of water, the French authorities did not help or try and rescue them and instead radioed the UK Border Force. The incident came as new figures show the total number migrants this year so far has already hit 3,224 - eight per cent higher than the same point last year which saw 2,983 migrants arrive in Dover. That's 26,466 since Keir Starmer took power - an average of 55 a day. Fours hours after the French Navy had began following a dinghy at 5.50am, around 1.3 miles away from the French coast, they radioed the UK Border Force about the distressed boat. During the conversation on a public radio system - which can be listened to on any boat - one French official could be heard informing the British service that the boat was full of water and migrants were waving their hands. One said: 'Do you have a rib to clear the situation if possible?' The French Navy had been following a dinghy of 60 migrants since the early hours of this morning But despite seeing them distressed and calling for help in French territory waters call they asked the UK Border Force for assistance Pictured: Migrants being loaded on to a UK Border Force boat on the Channel earlier this morning Your browser does not support iframes. Border Force replied: 'Regarding sending our rib into French water. If possible, it would be preferred if you could launch your rib in your side and if there is any distress, we will come into French waters. But yeah, are you able to launch your rib over?' The French did as requested and nine miles later handed over the migrants to a UK Border Force vessel, who were then returned to Dover. One witness said: 'This was a complete taxi service. The French said these migrants were distressed and needed help. But it didn't rescue them. Instead they asked Britain. 'When Britain were not keen, the French simply escorted them into British water. It's appalling.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We do not comment upon operational matters.' It is understood operational activity in response to migrant vessels in distress is directed and coordinated by HM Coastguard and that no UK boats entered French waters. New figures show how the small boats crisis is deepening. In just the first four days of this month 1,168 migrants have made their way across the Channel, with 326 migrants in six boats making the perilous journey yesterday. This is the first recording of more than 1,000 arrivals in four days so far this year, according to Home Office data. The total number migrants this year so far to 3,224 - eight percent higher than the same point last year and also nine per cent up on 2023 where 2,953 migrants crossing the Channel by this point. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.' A spokesperson from Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and North Sea said: 'Two surveillance operations on migrant boats took place early in the morning off the Pas de Calais. 'The operation was carried out by the ship chartered by the Ridens State in cooperation with British resources. 'In the immediate vicinity of the British SRR (Search and Rescue Region), under surveillance of the Ridens, a person on the boat made a request for assistance. 'After consultation with British resources, the French ship launched his operational drome boat (EDO) to go provide assistance. 'Arriving at the contact, the EDO staff noticed that the migrants did not ask for further assistance. The boat then continued its route to enter the British SRR under the surveillance of the French ship and its EDO. 'Migrant recovery operations by British means were then conducted with the support of the French ships EDO.' Your browser does not support iframes. French officials had been following a packed boat from around 1.3 miles off the French coast (Pictured: a French Navy boast this morning) A French official could be heard informing the British service that the boat was full of water and migrants were waving their hands UK Border force vessel rescuing a packed dinghy on the English Channel earlier this morning A packed dinghy of nearly 60 migrants in the middle of the Channel in a boat which was filling with water Your browser does not support iframes. It comes after the French government was looking at lifting a ban on intercepting migrant boats at sea in an attempt to reduce illegal Channel border crossings. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau called for a new approach that would allow the country's forces to intercept boats even when they are already in the water. The hardline minister is seeking to change the law to counter the new tactic of 'taxi boats' that pick up migrants directly in the water to avoid checks on the beaches. The scheme sees the boats launched by people smugglers before migrants wade into the water and get on board in an effort to avoid being intercepted by the French. At present the French cite safety concerns for not intervening once boats are afloat except for rescue operations, but this can see the perpetrators avoid arrest. The 'taxi boat' tactic began after UK and French officials blocked a number of rivers leading to the Channel with floating dams, to stop small boats accessing the sea. This is now the most popular method for launching small boat crossings from France - with fears numbers will increase as the weather improves, reported The Telegraph. Mr Retailleau said: 'We need to rethink our approach so that we can intercept the boats. We must be able to intercept them within 300 metres of the coast. Border Force vessel seen rescuing a dinghy with around 60 migrants on the English Channel this morning The group of migrants being transported to the UK Border Force vessel before they were taken to Dover today The French officials met the UK Border Force nine miles later and handed over the migrants who were brought to Dover An Irish Ferry behind the boat of migrants as they waited to be rescued Your browser does not support iframes. 'They have a naval service, the gendarmerie, and they must be able to intervene in shallow waters.' Mr Retailleau sought to present a united front during a visit by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday as they visited the resort of Le Touquet, a coast resort town in northern France that has faced high numbers of migrant crossings in recent years. The talks saw France and Britain pledge to step up the fight against illegal Channel crossings and agreed to extend a key border security deal until 2027. 'Our discussions are a little harsh when it comes to money,' Mr Retailleau said at a joint press conference, but he quickly added: 'We agree on the objectives and we always manage to come to an agreement in the end.' The gas company aiding in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa discovered a 'minuscule leak' in their Santa Fe home, but has determined it was 'not lethal'. Hackman, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead, along with one of their dogs, in separate rooms of their home mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico last Wednesday. Early speculation by Hackman's daughter Elizabeth Jean was that her father and his wife may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning or other 'toxic fumes'. But after an extensive investigation, the New Mexico Gas Company made 'no significant findings' of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in the home, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a statement to DailyMail.com. The gas company did, however, issue five 'red tags' including one for the minor leak at the stove burner, which registered '0.03 per cent gas in the air' and is 'not a lethal amount'. 'The other four red tags were for code enforcement violations - not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide - involving a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces,' police said. Authorities believe Hackman and Arakawa, whose bodies were partially mummified at the time of discovery, likely died a couple weeks before they were found. Tests on Hackman's pacemaker revealed that he was alive on February 17 when a 'last event' was recorded - nine days before his body was discovered. Police say it is a 'reasonable assumption' that he died when his pacemaker had its 'last event'. The gas company aiding in the investigation into the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa discovered a 'minuscule leak at one of the stove burners' in their Santa Fe home. Hackman and Arakawa are pictured in Santa Fe, New Mexico in March 2024. It was the first time in two decades that the couple were seen out and about Early speculation suggested the couple may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning or other 'toxic fumes'. But after an extensive investigation, the New Mexico Gas Company made 'no significant findings' of gas leaks or carbon monoxide in their home (pictured) Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza during a press conference Friday confirmed that both Hackman and Arakawa 'tested negative for carbon monoxide'. 'An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman's pacemaker,' he said. 'This revealed that his last event was recorded February 17 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed.' Mendoza said the 'initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual', but reiterated the 'manner and cause of death has not been determined'. He also said there were 'no apparent signs of foul play'. 'The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending,' he added. The shocking discovery of the bodies has puzzled investigators, who are still trying to determine how and when the couple died. Hackman and Arakawa were found by a neighbourhood security officer after pest-control workers reported not being able to get in touch with the residents. Authorities investigating the couple's deaths have already said a deadly carbon monoxide leak is unlikely. But an expert who is not involved in the investigation on Tuesday weighed in on another theory recently bandied about - that Hackman and Arakawa may have died by 'companion suicide.' Authorities believe Hackman and Arakawa, whose bodies were partially mummified at the time of discovery, likely died a couple weeks before they were found. The couple are pictured together at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on Jan. 19, 2003 The shocking discovery of Hackman and Arakawa's bodies has puzzled investigators, who are still trying to determine how and when the couple died. The couple are pictured in 2005 with with their previous dogs James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, told People Magazine that the theory is an unlikely explanation for the puzzling deaths. Gill, who said he had dealt in the past with 'cases like that,' explained that couples who die in a dual suicide are 'usually... together in bed.' However, police have said that Hackman was found dead in the house's mud room, with his can and sunglasses near him on the ground. Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor with prescription pills strewn across the nearby countertop. 'The fact that they're in two separate locations tells me that I think that's less likely,' Gill continued. The medical examiner said that the initial information about the scene makes it appear as if Hackman had 'collapsed.' 'He's got a history of heart disease. He's got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual,' he said. Another detail Gill focused on was the fact that Hackman was 'ambulatory' before his death, which he thought decreased the likelihood of a scenario in which he was left potentially helpless if Arakawa had died first. 'Sometimes we'll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there's no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you,' he explained. 'I don't think that's the case in this.' That information could be particularly useful to compare to when Arakawa may have died, though Gill admits 'that's a little bit of a more gray area.' Police are seen outside Hackman's home on February 27 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Authorities have confirmed that both Hackman and Arakawa 'tested negative for carbon monoxide' Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza (centre) speaks during a press conference on February 28, 2025 to provide an update on the investigation into Hackman and Arakawa's deaths. Mendoza said the 'initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual', but reiterated the 'manner and cause of death has not been determined' New Mexico Gas Company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to a search warrant, and no signs of problems were found. Officers are still trying to piece together the couple's last known contact with other people but 'that's one of our challenges because of their privacy,' Mendoza said. The sheriff had previously said there were several conflicting stories about which doors were locked at the house he said several were unlocked and a rear door was open, which allowed two dogs that survived to go in and out. He also said he thought the front door was closed but unlocked. Two other dogs were found alive at the property, one inside and one outside. Cops investigating the pair's mysterious deaths have admitted to misidentifying the dog that was found deceased along with them in their home. Police initially said the couple's German Shepherd named Bear was found dead in its kennel inside the home, but the pup was actually alive and healthy at a pet daycare center in Santa Fe along with their other dog Nikita, a seven-year-old Akita-shepherd mix, according to USA Today. The dog that was actually found dead in the home with the couple was Zinna, their 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed breed, Sherry Gaber, a friend of the couple, told the outlet. Gaber, an animal chiropractor, was already thrown off by the news of Hackman and Arakawa's deaths, but when she heard about Bear, she couldn't wrap her head around it. Just five months prior, Gaber said she adjusted Bear, who was happy and healthy. 'I cant handle that image,' Gaber said, recalling news of Bear's apparent death. 'Thats why this whole thing is so distressing. It just doesnt add up.' Nikita and Bear are both staying at Santa Fe Tails, a local pet daycare, according to Joey Padilla, the owner of the facility. It is unclear how the deceased dog was misidentified, but a spokeswoman with the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office told the outlet she wasn't aware of the mix-up. Hackman and Arakawa are pictured with two dogs they previously adopted. The couple were 'true animal lovers, known for treating their beloved dogs as if they were their own children' Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa married in 1991 after moving to their New Mexico home together in 1990. The pair are pictured together at the Mission Hills Celebrity Sports Invitational, Rancho Mirage, California, November 29, 1991 Hackman and Arakawa were both found dead in the $3.8million home in separate rooms by a caretaker around 1.45pm last Wednesday. The alarm had been raised by a maintenance person doing pest control at the property, who was concerned because he had not seen the couple, police said. A search was carried out after the bodies were discovered and several items were 'secured from the residence for evidentiary purposes'. These included two green mobile phones, two bottles of medication, medical records and a 2025 monthly planner. Work is now being done to 'sift through cell phones' and to look through a calendar found near the couple's bodies. Contact will also be made with workers, security staff and family members. Mendoza said there is nothing which suggests the couple fell, adding: 'I don't think, you know, there was any indication that, again, there was no trauma or injured themselves, or head injury or brain injury.' Gene Hackman waves as he starts out for a practice run in his Toyota Celica in 1983 Hackman first adopted a German Shepherd in 1999 (pictured) after the stray dog wandered on the set of The Replacements The moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies but not always, according to Dr Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona. He said later: 'If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point and it might be the hallmark of when the death occurred. 'But it's not necessarily because some people get a pacemaker to augment things, not necessarily replace things.' He also felt it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it. Hackman, who was widely respected as one of the greatest actors of his generation, was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for The French Connection in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for Unforgiven two decades later. His daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter Annie, said they will miss the actor 'sorely' and are 'devastated by the loss'. News of their mysterious deaths has left friends, fans, and the local community baffled. Hackman buying an e-bike in Santa Fe in 2018. Known for being notoriously reclusive, no red flags were raised by family and friends before their bodies were discovered Hackman with his oscar for best actor for his role in The French Connection at the 1971 Academy Awards (also pictured: Philip D'Antoni producer of The French Connection, named best picture, Jane Fonda named best actress for Klute and William Friedkin, winner of best achievement in directing for The French Connection) Friends of the couple told DailyMail.com that Hackman and Arakawa were 'true animal lovers, known for treating their beloved dogs 'as if they were their own children'. Animal advocates who knew the family say Hackman was a 'softy' and he and Arakawa were devoted dog owners who 'would never, ever put them in harm's way'. 'Gene was what I would call a confirmed German Shepherd aficionado. I could not imagine him without a Shepherd,' Steff Smith, the founder of the Southwest German Shepherd Society in Phoenix, Arizona told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'He was also a major softy. I recall him shedding tears upon meeting the first dog he adopted from us.' The couple ended up adopting two dogs from the shelter in the early 2000s and remained longtime supporters and friends of the non-profit, according to Smith. Smith first met the couple in 2005, when they were looking for a new friend for Hackman's German Shepherd, Duke, who the actor famously adopted as a stray while he was filming The Replacements in 1999. Smith arranged for a meet-up at a park in order to assess Duke's interaction with Maisie, a young female German Shepherd, who quickly became a member of the Hackman family. 'They brought their dog Duke with them. They were staying at a high-end resort in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and contacted me,' explained Smith. 'Betsy could certainly hold her own with the big dogs and was committed to their health and care. If one presented so much as a hang nail, they would get a full work-up. The actor later adopted it from the Animal Rescue Inc. in Pennsylvania and named it Duke (pictured) The couple adopted Maisie from the SW German Shepherd Rescue in 2005, but after Duke sadly passed away two years later, they took in Roscoe (pictured meeting for the first time) 'The word that comes to mind when I think of Betsy is warm, a genuinely warm and giving, yet sharp lady,' Smith fondly recalled. 'We communicated for years, exchanging pictures, Maisie and Duke playing on the property, swimming, playing with each other, you name it. 'When you share your life with a German Shepherd it's much more like having a roommate, than a pet. They are all about their person.' Two years later in 2007, the couple returned after their beloved Duke died. 'It gave you an indication that Gene could not be without a dog that he lost very long at all.' Enter Roscoe, a handsome male German Shepherd who became Maisie's new bestie. Smith shared photos of that day with DailyMail.com where Roscoe was introduced to the Hackman family who were all smiles with the arrival of their new pup. 'We stayed in touch and remained long-distance friends. You could not meet two nicer, kinder people,' the German Shepherd expert told DailyMail.com. Gene had adopted Duke back in 1999 while working on the movie The Replacements in Baltimore after two stray German Shepherds were found wandering inside the Raven's Stadium where they had been filming. Phil Staelens still remembers the day two dogs arrived at his Pennsylvania-based animal organization, in a limousine provided by the actor, himself. 'These two German Shepherds were about one or two years old. We named them Gene and Keanu. Hackman and Arakawa attend the Mission Hills Celebrity Sports Invitational, Rancho Mirage, California, November 30, 1991 'Gene ended up adopting one of the dogs, the one named Gene, but he actually renamed him Duke, in honor of his close friend John Wayne,' said Staelens who with his wife Grace Froelich founded Animal Rescue, Inc. in New Freedom, Pennsylvania in 1978. The other pup, Keanu, was adopted by another loving family Staelens told DailyMail.com. 'They were very humble people. They were very nice. Gene was just like a regular person. He didn't want anything special' said Staelens. 'Betsy even ended up volunteering here while they were filming. She scooped up poop, she did it all.' This is the agonising moment a man writhed in pain after a snake bit his penis and refused to let go in unsettling scenes from Brazil. The victim was seen in viral video grimacing on the ground as a friend filmed from a cautious distance. A third person bravely stepped in to dislodge the obstinate reptile with a stick, forcing the rod into the snake's jaws in an effort to break its grip. With the snake unmoved, and struggling for solutions, the group poured water on it - to little effect. The video, filmed in Pantanal, Brazil, was shared widely on Instagram and TikTok, with audiences sharing in horrified reaction. 'It hurt watching that and I'm not even a guy,' one commented. The snake latched on to the man's privates and refused to let go in viral video Agonising scenes showed the snake attached to the man as friends tried to break its grip The victim's friends tried desperately to break the lock with a stick - to no avail Growing more desperate, they tried pouring water on the reptile Crocodile Cam, a popular animal conservationist on X, said that the snake was a king cobra, carrying a neurotoxic venom that 'attacks the nerves and can cause paralysis'. 'They have enough venom to kill 20 grown me or one adult elephant and their venom can kill you in as little as 15 minutes.' The king cobra is not endemic to Brazil. The man was reportedly taken to hospital for medical treatment after the snake eventually loosened its grip on his nether regions. There have been no further updates on his current condition, as reported by What's The Jam. In 2021, a man needed surgery to rebuild his penis after he was bitten by a cobra while on the toilet during a trip in South Africa. The 47-year-old Dutch man was using the bathroom at an unnamed nature reserve in the country. He was stunned when bitten by a highly venomous snouted cobra hidden inside the bowl. The unidentified man then had to wait three hours for emergency services to airlift him to the nearest hospital - which was nearly 220 miles away. In that time he felt a deep burning sensation in his genitals, which began to swell and turn purple, a sign of scrotal necrosis or 'flesh eating disease'. The reptile kept its gaze fixed despite efforts to unsettle it The man was eventually taken to hospital, per local reports The man's friends wrestled with the snake but were unable to move it Experts who reported the case in Urology Case Reports said the man has the unfortunate honour of being the first medical case of snouted cobra envenomation of the genitals. The man was provided emergency treatment in South Africa but a serious amount of the tissue in his penis was unrecoverable and had to be cut away. Nine days later the Dutch national was repatriated to the Netherlands where even more dead penis tissue had to be removed. Dutch surgeons then set about rebuilding his penis using a graft of tissue they took from his groin to replace the dead tissue lost from the snake bite. Spain is being hammered by severe flooding, with meteorologists warning that the worst is yet to come. The east, south and parts of the north of the country have been given yellow and orange warnings for severe weather over the coming days by the country's weather agency, which has warned that tourist hotspots including Malaga, Murcia, Valencia and Alicante will also be affected. The latest bad weather comes after Canary Islands were hit with flash flooding and heavy snow in back-to-back episodes. In Castellon, on Spain's mainland, as much as 254 litres of rain fell on every square metre of some towns since Monday. Over in Valencia, some towns received as much as 200 litres per square metre. This intense rain has resulted in severe flooding, with video footage showing entire roads being turned into rivers as flash floods engulf entire towns. Loud thunder can be heard overhead as dashcam footage showed cars driving through the water-laden streets of Spanish towns. Separate footage showed firefighters wading through knee-high water as they attempt to clear roads and rescue people stuck in their cars. But meteorologists warn that the worst will come between Wednesday and Thursday, as the DANA, a Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression, sits over the east of the country. Spain is being hammered by severe flooding, with meteorologists warning that the worst is yet to come In Castellon (pictured) as much as 254 litres of rain fell on every square metre of some towns since Monday The latest bad weather comes after Canary Islands were hit with flash flooding and heavy snow in back-to-back episodes @paiportahoy El barranco de la Viuda paso ayer de ir seco a llevar el caudal del Ebro en pocas horas. Hay danos materiales en localidades como Els Ivarsos o Sierra Engarceran. Hoy se esperan lluvias intensas en la cabecera del barranco del Poyo, y pueden haber crecidas muy rapidas en este barranco la tarde de hoy. Info DANA Paiporta iremos transmitiendo el nivel del caudal en el Poyo a su paso por nuestra localidad, asi avisos en caso de lluvias de gran intensidad barranco arriba. Por favor, extrememos la precaucion y evitemos desplazamientos por carreteras secundarias como las que interconectan los pueblos de lHorta a traves de los campos, que son inundables. #InfoDANAPaiporta #DANA #Valencia #comunitatvalenciana #Alerta sonido original - Epifanias del Alma The Valencian Government's Emergency Coordination Centre has since told citizens in Castellon, Valencia and Alicante to limit non-essential travel. It has also said it is suspending schools and outdoor activities until the end of the declared emergency weather event. Heavy rain is expected in the Strait of Gibraltar, the Costa del Sol, Murcia, Tarragona and the west of Almeria, experts warning that these regions may face rains of up to 60 litres per square metre over 12 hours. Over in Castellon and Valencia, as well as Tarragona, rains are expected to fall at a rate of up to 200 litres per square metre. Spain's weather agency stressed that these floods are very unlikely to be as destructive as the October floods that killed hundreds and left thousands displaced. Marta Almarcha, meteorologist at ElTiempo.es, to EL ESPANOL that while people ought to be cautious, several factors meant the storms were unlikely to be destructive. 'Each situation is different, but one of the most important differences with the autumn episodes is the surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea. It is seven degrees colder than last October. 'In addition, the easterly winds that transport this humidity to land are less intense,' he adds. Firefighters were seen wading through knee-high water as they attempted to clear roads Rescuers were forced to rescue stranded civilians Spain has seen massive flooding in recent days Tourism hotspots are facing yellow and orange weather warnings Lanzarote was engulfed by flash floods this week Nevertheless, he urges us to remain vigilant. 'The energy availability for the development of strong storms is lower, but it can still leave records of significant rainfall.' It comes after the Canary Islands was deluged over recent days, with streets turned into rivers by the weather phenomenon known locally as DANA - a Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression, and unlike common storms or squalls it can form independently of polar or subtropical jet streams. When cold air blows over warm Mediterranean waters it causes hotter air to rise quickly and form towering, dense, water-laden clouds that can remain over the same area for many hours, raising their destructive potential. Aemet says DANAs sometimes become stationary or even move backwards, from east to west. Last year flash floods in Valencia and other parts of Spain killed more than 200 people, destroyed thousands of homes and triggered mass protests against regional authorities. The most up-to-date reports indicate that 223 people lost their lives, with at least 31 still missing, making it Spain's deadliest weather disaster in decades. The emergency response included the deployment of over 2,000 personnel from Spain's military emergency unit, who worked alongside local responders and volunteers to conduct rescue and recovery operations. An additional number of more than 30,000 volunteers were mobilised, from all over the country, to support the cleanup efforts. To date, hundreds of families have lost their homes and thousands have seen their vehicles destroyed. Vladimir Putin 'regrets' triggering a full-scale war costing hundreds of thousands of lives, his closest international ally has claimed. Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko said: 'We haven't talked about it, but I know him well. 'Putin didn't expect it would turn into such a war.' The close Putin crony told interviewer Mario Nawfal on X: 'When he saw a huge number of people dying, Putin instantly agreed to the negotiations to stop the conflict.' This was earlier in the war, in 2022, and, Lukashenko claimed, Putin was ready to negotiate 'on NATO, on demilitarisation, on denazification', as he described it, 'on not killing [Ukraine's] Russian speakers, on not cracking down on the Russian language in Ukraine'. 'It was all on the agenda. He wanted to negotiate when he saw what it had turned into. 'So I think he probably regrets it turning into such a full-scale conflict, a war, which he probably did not expect.' The claim from Lukashenko comes as Donald Trump claims Vladimir Putin is signalling that he is ready to end the war. Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system toward Russian troops Lukashenko stuck to the Russian playbook saying Boris Johnson prevented Volodymyr Zelensky from seeking peace in 2022.. 'When the Istanbul peace process was underway, the then UK Prime Minister, Johnson, came there,' he said in footage from Belarus state media outlet BelTA. 'And he forbade Zelensky to agree to peace. 'He pushed Zelensky once again to war.' Praising Donald Trump, Lukashenko said Joe Biden was too weak to make independent decisions and stop a disastrous war, which is now believed to have cost hundreds of thousands of lives. 'It is crazy that President Biden and President Putin did not even have a call for years,' he said. 'I just do not understand how politics could work like this in this age.' Lukashenko said: 'Biden did not make decisions himself. 'When he was told not to phone, he did not. When he was told to call Putin a dictator, he called him a dictator. 'When he was told to call Putin a killer, he did it.' Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attending a press conference in Minsk Rescuers working at the scene after Russian shelling in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region A handout photo released by the press service of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine on 27 February 2025 Shadow forces 'wielded power over Biden,' Lukashenko added. 'And Biden, due to his character and physical condition at the time, could not resist like Trump does.' Lukashenko - who refused to send troops to fight in the war despite being Putin's closest ally - also denied the frequent claim that the war was about NATO expansion on Russia's borders. It was about unspecified threats to Russia from Ukraine, he said. 'But it's not even so much about NATO expansion to the East, it is about the threats that were created in Ukraine. 'After all he did not attack Belarus in response to NATO eastward expansion. 'He did not attack Belarus. 'That could also have been a response to NATO expansion. 'He attacked or invaded, as you say, Ukraine because that's where he saw the threat to Russia, and that's where threats were publicly made against him. 'That's one of the big reasons for what happened' A humble father-of-two has been hailed as a hero after he and other bystanders stepped in to stop a man who allegedly assaulted a mother in front of her daughter. Sangha Chau, 42, was watching buskers play at Rundle Mall with his family about 12pm on Sunday, when he heard a woman screaming. The Adelaide pest controller said he turned to see a woman running down the street with her child. 'I ran towards her first, then I saw the guy coming,' he told Seven News. 'I just threw the elbow and jumped towards him.' Footage from the street showed a man allegedly chasing the mum and daughter. The vision captured the moment Mr Chau sprang into action and knocked the man to the ground. Mr Chau revealed he had played rugby as a young man and remained calm as he and other strangers helped lie on top of the alleged attacker. A man who was allegedly pursuing a mother in Adelaide's CBD was stopped by a stranger on Sunday Father-of-two Sanga Chau remained calm as he bumped an alleged attacker to the ground at the scene He said he forgot he had his son with him at the time and followed his first instinct to step in. Police said they arrived to the scene on Sunday to find a 43-year-old woman with non-life-threatening injuries. 'Members of the public detained the man until police arrived and placed him under arrest,' an SA Police spokeswoman said. Scott Michael Antrobus, 37, is alleged to have attacked the mother. He was arrested by South Australian police officers at the scene. Mr Chau said after a man had been taken by police he continued his afternoon shopping with his wife and children. Mr Chau had been informed members of the public were wishing to buy him a beer and revealed local personality Andrew 'Cosi' Costello had even reached out to him. But, he said he didn't want anything from the public, instead insisting he was more concerned for the welfare of the victim of the alleged attack. 'Buy the victim something, some chocolates or flowers to cheer her up, or put it towards a woman's shelter,' he said. SA Police said members of the public detained a man until officers could arrive on Sunday afternoon Police charged Mr Antrobus with assault, hindering police, and refusing to provide his name and address. Police also alleged he was in possession of an ice pipe when he was arrested and was in breach of bail. It is understood he was not known to either the mother or the child. Mr Antrobus appeared at Adelaide Magistrates Court at the beginning of the week and did not seek bail, according to the Advertiser. He will face court again in April. Two Rotherham rapists who groomed and attacked vulnerable teenage girls and called them 'fresh meat' have today been jailed for a total of nearly 40 years. Ivorian national Romulad Stefan Houphouet, 37, and Zimbabwean Absolom Sigiyo, 41, groomed and raped girls who were 'vulnerable in the extreme'. They have today been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for 20 years and 18-and-a-half years respectively with a judge saying they inflicted 'severe psychological harm'. The court was told during a five-week trial how the girls were sexually assaulted several times a week over a period of six months in the South Yorkshire town by a gang of men who referred to them as 'fresh meat'. They plied the girls with alcohol and cigarettes at house parties so they could carry out the abuse. Senior investigating officer Kath Blain described the case as one of the most harrowing she had ever investigated. A third defendant, Jacek Brzozowski, 35, was cleared of the one charge he was facing in the trial, of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he admitted a charge of penetrative sexual activity with a child earlier this year. Polish national Brzozowski, of Rawmarsh, Rotherham, was bailed and will be sentenced on April 14. Judge Sarah Wright today told Houphouet, of Burngreave in Sheffield, and Sigiyo, of Catcliffe in Rotherham, the girls are suffering to this day. Romulad Stefan Houphouet, who has been jailed after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences after a court heard how two teenagers were regularly raped over months in Rotherham Absolom Sigiyo was jailed for 18-and-a-half years after also being found guilty of multiple sexual offences Judge Wright told the complainants, who watched the sentencing hearing on a video link, they had shown 'bravery beyond measure' by reporting the abuse and telling the jury what happened to them when they were vulnerable girls living in a children's home. On Monday, Houphouet and Sigiyo were found guilty of a number of offences including rape. When the trial opened last month, prosecutor Gordon Stables told a jury both the complainants were living in a children's home when they were befriended by the defendants 'and also other associates'. Mr Stables said these were 'all older men in their twenties, or thereabouts, whose sole intention was to engage in penetrative sexual activity with them, knowing they were under the age of consent'. The prosecutor said: 'The defendants gained the girls' trust and confidence by plying them with alcohol and giving them cigarettes at house parties, and offering them flirtatious attention.' He said: 'Both girls became conditioned to having regular sexual intercourse with the same male.' Mr Stables said: 'The clear pre-meditated intention was to ensure that the girls entered into and remained in a state of compliance so that they would surrender easily and offer no resistance to the sexual advances and activity that would inevitably follow. 'Psychologically, the girls were made to feel that sexual activity was how they repaid the debt they owed the defendants for the provision of alcohol and tobacco. 'Once the males were sexually satisfied, however, the girls were treated as having served their purpose - at least temporarily - and they were often then ignored and expected to make their own way home. Sigiyo leaving Sheffield Crown Court during his trial on January 31, 2025 Houphouet is pictured leaving Sheffield Crown Court during his trial on January 31, 2025 'In this way, (the girls) were sexually groomed within an environment of dependency.' He said the men referred to them as 'fresh meat'. Mr Stables explained how Houphouet befriended the two girls in Rotherham town centre one evening more than 10 years ago and raped one of them in an alleyway that night. He said Houphouet took both girls the short distance to a house in the town and introduced them to Sigiyo 'and other males who were undoubtedly present'. It became clear from the outset that Houphouet had picked one of the girls 'as his victim' and Sigiyo had chosen the other, Mr Stables told the jury. The convictions are the latest following the National Crime Agency's investigation into child sexual sexploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, which is called Operation Stovewood. It was set up in the wake of the landmark Jay Report which found in 2014 that at least 1,400 girls were abused by gangs of men of mainly Pakistani heritage in Rotherham between those dates. The NCA says Stovewood is the single largest law enforcement operation of its kind undertaken in the UK, and has identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation between 1997 and 2013 - almost all girls. Previous estimates have put the cost of Operation Stovewood at about 90 million. A third defendant, Jacek Brzozowski, 35, was cleared of the one charge he was facing in the trial, of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he admitted a charge of penetrative sexual activity with a child earlier this year Polish national Brzozowski, of Rawmarsh, Rotherham, was bailed and will be sentenced on April 14 Senior investigating officer Kath Blain said: 'This is one of the most harrowing cases I have investigated. Sigiyo and Houphouet lured two vulnerable girls to parties where they kept the children intoxicated so they could abuse them in the worst ways. 'Brzozwski contributed to their suffering, including by having sex with one of the girls who he knew was a child and vulnerable. 'The victims have shown extraordinary bravery in reporting their abuse. 'What happened to them can never be undone, but I hope the verdicts today will at least give them a sense that their abusers have been held to account and justice has been done. 'The National Crime Agency continues to pursue justice for numerous other people who we have identified were abused as children. I really encourage anyone who was abused as a child to report it to the police.' Martin McRobb, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'These defendants preyed on vulnerable young girls who they knew they could groom with alcohol and gifts with the sole aim of repeatedly sexually exploiting them. 'The victims in this case are now adults but they have had to live with the trauma caused by the vile and serious sexual offences committed against them in their youth. 'We know it can be difficult to talk about such abuse, and I would like to extend my thanks to the victims for the courage and fortitude they showed in coming forward and giving evidence against these men.' Rotherham gangs abuse survivor and a campaigner known as 'Elizabeth' welcomed today's latest jail sentences - while predicting more to follow. She said: 'I welcome all convictions - many more to come, hopefully, and congratulations to the victims. 'Their bravery is amazing. Justice has arrived for them.' Britain has become 'lazy' and reliant on the US under the 'special relationship' and should seek new international friends because Donald Trump is less interested in it, former top UK diplomats in Washington warned today. A trio of ex-ambassadors told peers that the transatlantic alliance, whose moniker was coined by Winston Churchill, was of decreasing importance and would continue to lose relevance under the new administration. They spoke to the Lords' International Relations and Defence Committee as the West continues to try to limit the damage caused by president Trump and what appear to be his efforts to rip apart the West and cosy up to Russia. On Monday, PM Sir Keir Starmer said the UK must strengthen its relationship with the US but will 'never choose between either side of the Atlantic'. But the ex-diplomats suggested forging closer ties with Europe and Commonwealth realms like Canada and Australia. Sir David Manning, who was UK ambassador to the US between 2003 and 2007, said he did not always like the term 'special relationship' because it has 'made us lazy on occasion'. 'We can always hope the Americans will bail us out, we have this sort of alibi mentality, it means we don't have to look elsewhere we are going to have to look elsewhere,' he said. 'What worries me about what has now happened is that the basis of the special relationship, so-called, has been about trust and it is about shared values. In the future can we expect that to continue? Sir Peter Westmacott said questions had to be asked about whether the Trump administration was 'interested and committed to, the defence of Europe'. And Sir David Manning added that he did not always like the term 'special relationship' because it has ' made us lazy on occasion'. They spoke to the Lords' International Relations and Defence Committee as the West continues to try to limit the damage caused by president Trump and what appear to be his efforts to rip apart the West and cosy up to Russia . 'I think it is much more difficult to be confident about that, it seems to me there has been a seismic change. 'Ukraine illustrates this very clearly, we have admitted Ukrainians and (president) Zelensky for defending the values we adhere to and which, until very recently, the Americans championed. Now it seems to me it is much less clear that is the case. 'We seem to have a president who is willing to bully and cajole the Ukrainians into doing things which are not in their interests. That is clearly not where the UK is.' Sir Peter Westmacott, who was in Washington between 2012 and 2016, said the 'America First' mentality had always been part of the US psyche in a relationship that was 'transactional'. But he added that questions had to be asked about whether the Trump administration was 'interested and committed to, the defence of Europe as opposed to the US being part of a slightly different international order whereby it is the big guys, China, Russian the US, who get what they want and the smaller countries have to suffer what they must'. He added: 'I don't think we yet know the answer. I think the professional diplomatic people in the US are pretty clear about the relationship, I am not so sure at the moment about the new political leadership.' Sir Nigel Sheinwald, who was ambassador between 2007 and 2012, added: 'Historically this relationship, special, enduring, essential, whatever adjective we attach to it, it is of declining importance in world affairs. The PM is said to be ready to make the trip with the Ukrainian president and Emmanuel Macron as they try to keep Donald Trump on side The US president struck a slightly more positive tone in a speech to Congress overnight after Mr Zelensky sent him a pleading letter in the wake of the their Oval Office bust-up 'If you think about the power which Roosevelt and Churchill between them individually could deploy, it is very very different from the joint impact of the relationship today. That is mainly because of the decline in relative power of the UK, arguably the US as well. 'It's been kept going and reinforced by working together in crises in the sweep of history it is less important and less should be placed on it than was in the past.' Sir Keir highlighted his visit to the White House to meet US president Donald Trump to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, adding in the Commons: 'What happened in his subsequent meeting with (Ukraine) president Zelensky is something nobody in this House wants to see. 'But I do want to be crystal clear: we must strengthen our relationship with America for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment. They are and always will be indispensable. 'And we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic. In fact, if anything the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side, this week has shown with total clarity that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine.' The PM could head for the White House with Volodymyr Zelensky in a desperate bid to save Western alliances. The PM is said to be ready to make the trip with the Ukrainian president and Emmanuel Macron as they try to keep Donald Trump on side. The leaders could present a potential blueprint for peace with Russia, including an initial air and sea ceasefire, UK and French troops on the ground to guarantee security, and an American backstop. Downing Street sources stressed nothing had been finalised, but Paris confirmed the prospect is on the table. Defence Secretary John Healey is due in the Washington later for talks with counterparts. The US president struck a slightly more positive tone in a speech to Congress overnight after Mr Zelensky sent him a pleading letter in the wake of the their Oval Office bust-up. Mr Trump said he 'appreciated' the message, adding he wants to sign a deal for US companies to extract rare earth minerals from Ukraine. He also claimed Vladimir Putin had sent 'strong signals' he wants peace. But Mr Trump stopped short of making any firm commitments, after dramatically announcing that all military aid was being suspended. That sparked panic in Europe amid fears that Kyiv could not hold out long against Russia without American arms. The UK's most recent former ambassador to the US has said there is no 'standard definition' of the special relationship and that the US is not 'sentimental' about it. 'I think there is a special relationship, but what there isn't is a standard definition of what that might be,' Dame Karen Pierce told peers. 'I think it is in America's interests. They're not sentimental about it. I think we fool ourselves if we think they are sentimental,' she said. Security and defence are the 'bedrock' of the relationship, she said. Dame Karen was the UK's top diplomat in Washington from 2020 until February, when she handed over to Lord Peter Mandelson. She said: 'We are America's truly global ally. We are both reliable and capable, and we have what we would call global reach. And a day one, night one ally. We're ready to go and we stand shoulder to shoulder with America in a whole range of ventures.' A chilling image shows the final moments of a 75-year-old man before he was allegedly assaulted by three teenage girls in north London. CCTV pictures show pensioner Fredi Rivero before he was fatally attacked in the Islington area of north London at around 11.35pm on February 27. Three girls - aged 14, 16 and 17 - appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with manslaughter. The court was told that the victim, thought to be a Bolivian national, was near a bus stop on Seven Sisters Road, or the A503, when he was allegedly assaulted. Mr Rivero was treated by officers and paramedics at the scene after he had collapsed - but he sadly died in hospital on Friday. The girls, who cannot be named because of their age, were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm before his death. Chair of the bench Alexia Fetherstonhaugh remanded the defendants to youth detention accommodation and told them they will appear at the Old Bailey on March 31. Pictures taken the day after the incident show a large police cordon around a bank. Bloodstains are visible on the pavement alongside tied-up rubbish bags and various other bits of debris. CCTV pictures show pensioner Fredi Rivero before he was fatally attacked in the Islington area of north London at around 11.35pm on February 27 Mr Rivero was attacked in the Islington area of north London (pictured) at around 11.35pm on Thursday Your browser does not support iframes. The victim was near a bus stop on Seven Sisters Road (pictured), or the A503, when the teen defendants got off a bus and surrounded him, the court heard Mr Rivero's family continue to be supported by specialist officers, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police from Saturday. A specialist post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Superintendent Annmarie Cowley, one of the senior officers responsible for policing Islington, has previously said: 'I know this death will cause shock and very real concern in Holloway and the wider Islington area. 'I share those concerns, and I want to assure local people that a thorough police investigation is under way.' Detective Chief Inspector Paul Waller, who is leading the murder investigation, has previously commented: 'Every possible line of inquiry is being followed, and this includes forensic work and ongoing enquiries to identify all available CCTV. 'I am grateful to those members of the public who have contacted police already. I urge anyone who saw the incident but has yet to contact police to please get in touch and share what they know.' Anyone with any information that could help the Metropolitan Police with its investigation is asked to call 101 or contact the force @MetCC on X, quoting CAD 8184/27Feb. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The Tories are demanding answers after a Labour minister claimed to be in the Middle East 'pushing for a peace deal' was photographed at a London jazz club. Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, attended a swanky lunch event at the iconic Ronnie Scott's in Soho yesterday. But his attendance at the famous venue, which is less than two miles from Parliament, came after a fellow Foreign Office minister had made excuses for his absence from the House of Commons. Catherine West, the Indo-Pacific minister, told MPs he had been unable to answer an urgent question on Gaza because he was 'in the region pushing for a peace deal'. The Tories are demanding Ms West now return to the Commons to urgently correct the parliamentary record. Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel accused the Government of either attempting to 'mislead' the House, or having 'no idea what their minister was doing'. Green MP Ellie Chowns, who tabled the urgent question on Gaza yesterday, raised a point of order in Commons today to 'seek clarification'. A Foreign Office source said Mr Falconer was flying back from Turkish capital Ankara yesterday morning where he had been discussing the Gaza ceasefire. Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, was photographed attended a swanky lunch event at Ronnie Scott's in Soho yesterday But Mr Falconer's attendance at the famous venue came after a fellow Foreign Office minister had made excuses for his absence from the House of Commons Catherine West, the Indo-Pacific minister, told MPs that Mr Falconer had been unable to answer an urgent question on Gaza because he was 'in the region pushing for a peace deal' Ms West attended the Commons around 12.30pm on Tuesday to answer questions about Israel blocking the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza The source added that Mr Falconer didn't land in time in order to answer the urgent question in the Commons, which is why Ms West was asked to cover. It is understood the minister landed around 11.45am, while the urgent question in the Commons was scheduled for 12.30pm. Ms West spoke in the Commons at 12.39pm on Tuesday to answer the urgent question tabled by Ms Chowns on 'the situation in Gaza'. During the exchanges, she was quizzed about Israel blocking the entry of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. In her reply, Ms West said Israel's action risked 'breaching obligations under international humanitarian law'. 'The UK Government have been in touch with interlocutors to make that point,' she added. Ms West then went on to explain to MPs why she was answering the urgent question and not Mr Falconer. She said: 'In fact, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), is in the region pushing for a peace deal, hence my covering this brief today, although I am the Indo-Pacific minister.' Mr Falconer was photographed on Tuesday afternoon attending the SME4Labour group's annual lunch at Ronnie Scott's, which began around 12pm. During the afternoon, as Ms West spent around an hour in the Commons answering MPs' questions on Gaza, the group posted photos of the networking event on social media. This included photos of Mr Falconer on stage at the iconic venue. One post on X, formerly known as Twitter, at 3.19pm on Tuesday read: 'The MP for Lincoln and Minister for the Middle East and North Africa @HFalconerMP joined the SME4Labour annual lunch, contributing to valuable discussions and fostering connections in support of SMEs. 'A great event for collaboration and growth!' Tory shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel accused the Government of either attempting to 'mislead' the House, or having 'no idea what their minister was doing' Green MP Ellie Chowns, who tabled the urgent question on Gaza yesterday, raised a point of order in Commons today to 'seek clarification' Dame Priti told MailOnline: 'This is deeply troubling. 'When the Government claims that the minister responsible was in the Middle East 'pushing for peace' whilst he was really lunching at a jazz club in Soho means that either they have deliberately tried to mislead the House, or had no idea what their minister was doing. 'Catherine West must come clean on how this happened, and urgently correct the record.' Ms Chowns said: 'Ministers must be honest with Parliament. Given the appearance of a discrepancy between Catherine West MP's statement and Hamish Falconer MP's whereabouts, I will be raising a point of order in the House today to seek clarification. 'On an issue as serious as Gaza, transparency and mutual respect between MPs is essential, and I would be disappointed to learn that any MP prioritised a networking lunch over their ministerial duties.' Raising a point of order in the Commons this afternoon, Ms Chowns said: 'Yesterday during my urgent question on Gaza, the minister responding (Ms West) said the minister responsible (Mr Falconer) could not answer the question himself as he was 'in the region pushing for a peace deal'. 'However I have since received a communication... with evidence suggesting he was at a Labour Party networking lunch at Ronnie Scott's at the time. 'Could you advise, Madam Deputy Speaker, on whether the record should be corrected if it is shown not to be correct?' Judith Cummins, who was sat in the Speaker's chair, replied: 'The chair is not responsible for the content of ministerial answers but she has put her point on the record and there is a procedure for ministers to correct the record if they wish to do so.' Mr Falconer today posted on X about his visit to Turkey, during which he said he 'discussed the security situation in Syria'. He added: 'The UK and Turkey are committed to working together to support Syria's transition to an inclusive and peaceful country.' There was another urgent question and two Government statements in the Commons yesterday, all of which followed the urgent question on Gaza. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'Due to ministerial travel, Minister West covered Parliamentary business for Foreign Office issues relating to the Middle East on Tuesday. 'Minister Falconer landed from Ankara at 11:45 and would not have been able to attend the urgent question at 12:30.' March 4, 2025: The most recent problems include famine because of disrupted food aid deliveries. There has been a cholera outbreak. Meanwhile a civil war has been tearing Sudan apart since early 2023. The fighting has been between the Sudanese government and major portions of the country that violently disagree with government policies. The SNC/Sovereign National Council was created by civilian and military groups to negotiate a peace deal. That effort has ended as a stalemate in the effort to restore democracy. The coup was supposed to be a temporary condition to speed things up. That backfired as a lot of the pro-reform civilians declared the military government another effort to restore dictatorship. Thats how Omar al Bashir, the dictator from 1989-to-2019, got his start. What form post-Bashir Sudan will take is still unknown. The situation in South Sudan, one of the results of Bashirs misrule, is more settled. Before the April 2023 outbreak of fighting between the RSF/Rapid Support Forces and the army, Sudan was planning a long period of peace, reconciliation, reform and rebuilding. By early 2025 the death toll, including civilians, is approaching 80,000. Many more people have been driven from their homes and lost their jobs. This has turned into an economic disaster and food shortages are growing. Foreign aid is often stolen by gangsters, the RSF or soldiers. Instability and violence are becoming Sudans normal state of affairs. The two Sudans became quieter in 2019 when the long-lasting Bashir dictatorship was removed by determined popular resistance. South Sudan ended its post-independence civil war when everyone realized that they were destroying what they were allegedly fighting over and maybe a shouting-match was preferable to a death match. That brought peace to both Sudans for the first time since the 1989 coup where then general Bashir took power and led Sudan on a downward trajectory. The peace did not last and the fighting between government forces and those of the RSF that has been around since 1988, when they appeared as the Janjaweed Arab Sudanese militia in the west Sudan region of Darfur. Before 1988 the Janjaweed were involved with violence going on in neighboring Chad and Libya but after 1988 the Janjaweed concentrated its activities in Darfur. In 2013 the Janjaweed rebranded themselves as the RSF and evolved into paid Sudanese government enforcers in Darfur. In 2023 the Sudan government suggested that the RSF become part of the Sudanese Army. RSF refused and in April 2023 the fighting between government forces and the RSF began. At this point the RSF was powerful enough to take on the army. Currently that struggle continues. Between then and now there were some other interesting developments. For example the slavery problem continues in Sudan and sometimes gets into the news. This happened a lot in Sudan since the 1990s as the government encouraged Arabized tribes to raid non-Moslem black African tribes and take slaves. In northern Mali retreating al Qaeda men sometimes took newly enslaved blacks with them. This tolerance of slaving is one of the many reasons Sudan is one of the five most corrupt nations in the world. These five outlaw states are, according to the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, North Korea, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia. Sudan is considered a bit less corrupt than South Sudan and ranks 162 out of 180 nations. South Sudan ranks closer to the bottom at 177th place. Sudan has been behaving in other ways and in October 2020 was removed from the U.S.s State Sponsor of Terrorism/SST list. Sudan agreed to pay compensation to American victims of terror attacks, with the attack on the 2000 USS Cole in Yemen and the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania the most important. Sudan was on the SST list for 27 years. Sudans 2020 transitional government agreed to peaceful relations with Israel. That eventually happened and since late 202, Israeli governments and security forces have cooperated with their Sudanese equivalents. Recognizing Israel was a divisive issue in Sudan. Even some pro-democracy groups opposed it. As for the SST, escaping the list means Sudan now had better access to international financial and investment organizations. It will also make it much easier and legal for Sudanese to import western technology like computers, smart phones and software. Sudan now had easier access to foreign aid of all types, including life-saving medical. The aid was a major consideration, for Sudans governments were always facing an extended economic crisis and shortages of food and medical supplies. A defense lawyer broke down while questioning the mother of two children killed by his client after she crashed her car into a birthday party while drunk. Bill Colovos, the attorney for accused Marshella Chidester, 67, broke down in tears as he prepared to cross-examine Mariah Dodds over a horror incident in April 2023 that killed her two children and left her severely injured. Dodds' two children Zayn Phillips, 4, and his sister, Alanah Phillips, 8, were tragically killed when a car driven by Chidester smashed into a birthday party for Dodds' godson at the Swan Boat Club in Berlin Township, Michigan. After the stricken mother brought the courtroom to tears with her testimony over the impact of that day, Colovos grew emotional when it was his turn to take the podium. 'I'm sorry for your loss,' he told her through tears. 'Every time I work on your case, I think of you and your children.' Colovos' own son died in September, according to the Detroit Free Press, and he told Dodds his prayers were with her as he declined to ask her any questions. Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Laurain interjected to say the court appreciated Colovos' sentiment, but said it was not the right time or place, before the judge excused Dodds from the stand. Dodds was one of three victims of the party crash who testified on Tuesday against Chidester. She charged with second-degree murder, operating while intoxicated causing death and five counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury. Chidester denies murder and claims she suffered a medical episode while driving, meaning the deaths were an accident. Bill Colovos is seen here alongside his client Marshella Chidester in court earlier this week. He broke down in tears while cross-examining the mother of the two children killed by his client Mariah Dodds brought the courtroom to tears with her testimony over the impact of that day The exchange with Colovos came after Dodds gave harrowing testimony over the moment she learned her two kids had died in the crash, and a third was severely injured. Dodds, who was also injured by the crash, said she was laying in hospital bed when she heard her sister crying next to her, and she asked why she was there. As she was told there had been an accident, Dodds said she recalled being in the Swan Boat Club and then began worrying where her kids were. 'That's when she told me that Jayden was life flew to a hospital and Zayn and Alanah were no longer there,' she said, breaking down in tears. Dodds told jurors that she started to 'freak out' and wanted to jump out of her hospital bed but couldn't as she was hooked up to several machines. She suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, busted chin and other injuries to her face in the incident. The courtroom displayed pictures of Zayn and Alanah on a large screen, and members of the audience could be heard weeping and sniffling as she spoke. Chidester reportedly sat staring at the screen and wiped her face with a tissue as Dodds testified. Dodds' two children Zayn Phillips and his sister, Alanah Phillips were tragically killed in the horrific incident The exchange with Colovos came after Dodds gave harrowing testimony over the moment she learned her two kids had died in the crash Flowers are scene here at the scene of the incident on April 21, 2024 Diane Medina, a member of the local boat club who was in attendance at the party, testified she heard a loud explosion before dust and debris was thrown in the air. She told the court: 'It was like silent and then chaos', Medina broke her pelvis in six places and suffered internal bleeding, as well as a fractured leg. Monroe County Sheriff's Lt Brian Quinn told the court that information obtained from Chidester's SUV indicated she was travelling at 44 mph when she crashed. This booking photo provided by the Monroe County, Mich., Sheriff's Office shows Marshella Chidester Five seconds before the vehicle hit that speed, she had been doing 29 mph. He testified that Chidester had the 'pedal to the floor', and had not engaged the brakes. Surveillance video showed a SUV barreling along an unpaved road leading to the boat club, then crashing into the building. Prior to crashing at the boat club, Chidester had also crashed into her neighbor's vehicle, Quinn said. Deputy Steven Schmidt told the court that he could smell alcohol on Chidester, and that she had bloodshot, watery eyes. He said that Chidester was off balance when she got out of his patrol vehicle, and relied on him to help keep her on her feet. The charges held against Chidester say she was impaired by a combination of alcohol and Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant and nerve pain medication. In bodycam footage showed to the court, Chidester was asked if she remembered what had happened, to which she replied: 'No, not really'. In the clip, she tells officers that she has seizures but had been cleared to drive, and that she had last had a seizure the year before. After the crash, the Sheriff's Office said at a press conference that Chidester travelled a further 25 feet inside the building due to her speed. Keir Starmer took a thinly-veiled swipe at JD Vance today with tributes to Britain's war dead after the US vice president belittled their sacrifice. Sir Keir used Prime Minister's Questions to mark the anniversaries this week of two incidents in Afghanistan 13 and 18 years ago in which UK troops were killed. It came after Mr Vance was was accused of 'disrespecting' the sacrifice of British troops who fought alongside American servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq in a TV interview. On Monday night he told Fox News that signing a minerals deal with US President Donald Trump was a better security guarantee for Ukraine than '20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years'. Though he did not name any countries, the UK and France are the only countries which had publicly pledged anything near that many troops for peacekeeping. Sir Keir opened PMQs by marking the deaths of six soldiers in a bomb attack in 2012, as well as the death of a Royal Marine from 42 Commando in 2003, both in Afghanistan. He told the Commons 'we will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice', adding: 'These men fought and died for their country, our country. And across the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 642 individuals died fighting for Britain alongside our allies, many more were wounded. 'We will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice, and I know the whole House will join (with) me in remembering them and all those who serve our country.' Sir Keir used Prime Minister's Questions to mark the anniversaries this week of two incidents in Afghanistan 13 and 18 years ago in which UK troops were killed. On Monday night Vance told Fox News that signing a minerals deal with US President Donald Trump was a better security guarantee for Ukraine than '20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years'. Sergeant Nigel Coupe (top left), Corporal Jake Hartley (top centre), and Privates Anthony Frampton, Christopher Kershaw, Daniel Wade and Daniel Wilford, died in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2012 Seething ex-servicemen have also pointed out that 636 British troops died in Afghanistan and Iraq after the UK joined US military action in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. Following the furious backlash at his remarks, Mr Vance later attempted to quell the anger by scrambling to clarify his comments. He claimed he hadn't been aiming his barb at Britain or France - who are the only two countries to publicly commit to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Yet Mr Vance failed to clarify which nations he had been referring to. This saw pressure continue to pile on Lord Mandelson, Britain's ambassador to the US, to extract an apology from the Vice President. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge yesterday described the remarks as 'deeply disrespectful' while Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, said they were 'unacceptable'. Mr Obese-Jecty cited Mr Vance's account in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, of his own time as a Marine Corps journalist in Iraq, where he said he 'was lucky to escape any real fighting'. The MP for Huntingdon went on: 'I was part of British forces fighting in highly kinetic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the latter in response to Article 5 following 9/11. 'The disrespect shown by the new US vice president to the sacrifices of our service personnel is unacceptable.' Today Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord asked the Prime Minister to 'remind the US Government' of the UK's contributions to wars post 9/11 in response to comments made by US Vice-President JD Vance. The Honiton and Sidmouth MP said: 'Daniel Coffey from Cullompton lost his life while serving in Iraq. His grandfather said yesterday that Vice-President JD Vance should have a lot more respect for those who lost their lives, in response to the Vance comment that some 'random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years'. 'Will the Prime Minister gently remind the US government the UK was there for the US following the 9/11 attacks when Lord Robertson invoked article five and that we were there for the US for the intervention in Iraq, and they might remember our longstanding friendship when we think about security guarantees for Ukraine?' Sir Keir Starmer replied: 'We do remember the role that we've played historically with our allies and we particularly remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice in that duty for their country, and for our allies, and that's why it's so important that we make that point today.' A 16-year-old boy was 'assassinated' by a man dressed as a delivery driver on a moped, according to an eyewitness of the 'enormously shocking' killing in south London yesterday. A major police search is still underway to find the gunman following the fatal shooting in Stockwell. The victim has been named as Lathaniel Burrell. No arrests have yet been made in connection with the incident, which took place on the Studley Estate, close to Stockwell Tube station. Lathaniel was pronounced dead at the scene in Paradise Road after police received reports of a shooting at around 2.30pm on Tuesday. An eyewitness told the BBC that the man on the moped shot at one of two boys who came down the stairs at a block of flats. The other boy is said to have fled the scene, while the moped driver sped off. They added that the teenager who died was known to be involved in gangs and was well known in the area. Meanwhile a second witness told MailOnline that she watched as the teenager 'dropped' to the ground after hearing two loud bangs from the playground outside her home. The victim has been named as Lathaniel Burrell (pictured), who was 16-years-old According to eyewitnesses the 16-year-old was shot to death in broad daylight A 16-year-old boy was 'assassinated' by a man dressed as a delivery driver on a moped, according to an eyewitness of the 'enormously shocking' killing in Stockwell yesterday She said: 'I'm terrified, I have a teenage boy myself.' Recalling the events of 2.30pm yesterday afternoon, she continued: 'I was cleaning, and I heard two loud bangs. 'At first, I thought it was fireworks, but then I thought it was too early for fireworks. 'Then I looked out of the window, and I saw two or three boys running, and then one [of the boys] just dropped. 'One boy stood out to me. He had a grey hoodie on, and he was running with something in his hands in his pocket. 'And he ran. I saw the boy just drop. He was wearing black. 'After that I saw a white car pull up and a person get out of the car and it looked like he knew the boy, the way he was acting. 'He was waving his arms up and down. Then he got back in the car and drove off again. 'That's when all the police and ambulances started to turn up. 'I am terrified. I've got a 13-year-old boy who I am already a bit worried about.' Officers received reports of a shooting on Paradise road at 3.21pm on Tuesday Floral tributes have been left at the scene for the teenager, who was killed yesterday The woman told how the housing estate had deteriorated in recent years. She said: 'It used to be lovely around here. It just to be great, but over the past two years I've been noticing a lot of groups hanging around. And not just young kids, grown men as well. 'It's terrifying, it's scary, it really is. 'You read about it in the papers every day. It happens everywhere, every day. But when it happens so close to you it's frightening.' Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee said: 'This is a horrendous crime, which has shocked the local community and beyond. Our thoughts are with Lathaniel's family and friends at this devastating time. 'Our investigation is continuing at pace, examining CCTV and collecting witness statements. 'We have deployed officers to the area on reassurance patrol, and have officers on the ground engaging with the local schools. 'We need the help of the public too if you were in the local area please think remember back to yesterday afternoon and come forward with any information, no matter how small. 'We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who has any mobile phone or dash cam footage from the area surrounding Paradise Road.' Lathaniel is the latest young person to lose their life in a suspected act of gang violence in recent months. In an unrelated incident in January, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death on a London bus in Woolwich. Aspiring drill rapper Kelyan Bokassa had been groomed by gangs and exposed to drugs before his death, his mother said. He was stabbed in front of horrified passengers on a route 472 bus in Woolwich at around 2.30pm in the afternoon. The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene in Paradise Road, Stockwell, after police received reports of a shooting at around 3.20pm on Tuesday No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, which took place not far from Stockwell Tube station In another unrelated tragedy in July last year, a 15-year-old boy was 'assassinated' during a 'family fun day' in west London. Rene Graham was gunned down in broad daylight while surrounded by parents and children at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance open space - also known as 'Teletubbies Park' - in Ladbroke Grove at 7.20pm in the evening. The shooting, which witnesses claimed was preceded by the perpetrators firing bullets into the air to clear the crowds of people, took place outside 'Park Lime', an annual pre-Notting Hill Carnival event featuring DJs and stalls. Yesterday, forensic teams were seen arriving at the station using torches to inspect the handrails and steps of the escalators in Stockwell. Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, who is leading the local policing response, said: 'This is an enormously shocking incident which I imagine will cause huge distress to the local community. 'Our thoughts are with the young boy's family at this devastating time. 'Local officers are on the scene gathering CCTV and speaking to witnesses to piece together what has happened. 'They will be supported by specialist homicide investigators shortly. 'Please rest assured we will work around the clock to identify and find those responsible.' Today relatives of the victim, who declined to give their names, described the teenager as a Manchester United fan who enjoyed playing Playstation 5, and had one sibling, a sister. A crime scene and cordon remains in place at the scene while emergency services continue their enquiries Forensics team pictured inspecting an escalator at Stockwell station near the scene A resident, who said she knew the boy's mother, said Lathaniel was 'very bright at school' and said his father worked at a nearby go-karting facility. 'He is great at looking after this community,' the woman, who asked not to be named, said. Aftab Khan, 18, who runs a corner shop near to the road, said the teenager often came into the store and described him as a 'nice kid'. He told the Telegraph: 'He would always say hello. I saw him yesterday he bought a bottle of Fanta. 'He would always pay me back if I let him have a drink for free if he didn't have enough money. He was a good guy. 'Now I can't go outside I'm scared. It's a very bad area.' A woman named Sandra, who lives nearby, told BBC London: 'It's very sad; we know the family. 'The dad is very well known round here, who brought up our kids in youth clubs. 'It is awful, really sad, and really horrible.' A young woman who lives nearby said: 'This area is not safe at night. There are a lot of teenage boys that cause a lot of trouble who live around here. 'They hang around at night, play around with the cops. Things like playing with fireworks and running from the police. But it can get serious. Someone I know got stabbed some time last year. A cordon remains in place at the scene as police launch a murder investiagtion 'I think about where the cameras are when I am walking at night, but there are no cameras in that area (of the shooting). Speaking about the shooting, she said the attackers had 'no shame as well, there is a primary school next door'. An older resident who lives nearby said: 'This area hasn't been like this since the 80s.' Adrian Lindo, 50, who lives nearby, said 'I would have thought that the younger generation would have learnt about what has happened in this area in the past. 'They have to learn from the previous generations. My commiserations to the family.' The death was described as a 'life wasted' by Florence Eshalomi, the MP Vauxhall & Camberwell Green. She also said she was 'very sad' to hear of the fatal shooting. A Lambeth Council statement said: 'We're devastated to hear that a teenage boy has been shot in Stockwell today.' A Stockwell resident told MyLondon: 'Stockwell has always crimes like phone theft, but overall it's a friendly area. It's shocked me to the core to think this could happen to a child here. 'It's terrible to think of what his family is going through. It's so wrong that teenagers should worry about things like this when they should be enjoying their childhood.' An air ambulance was called to the scene where a 16-year-old boy was pronounced dead Superintendent Gabriel Cameron, who is leading the local policing response, said: 'This is an enormously shocking incident which I imagine will cause huge distress to the community' The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: 'My thoughts are with the family, friends and wider community in Stockwell following the shocking fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy. 'This abhorrent violence has absolutely no place in our city. 'I am in close contact with police leaders an investigation is underway to find those responsible and local residents will see increased patrols in the local area. 'I urge anyone with information to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. There is no honour in staying silent.' A crime scene and cordon remains in place while emergency services continue their enquiries. A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 2.32pm today to reports of a shooting in Paradise Road, SW4. 'We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a fast response car, a paramedic from our tactical response unit and an incident response officer. 'We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance. 'Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.' A British prisoner of war has been sentenced to 19 years imprisonment in Russia for fighting for Ukraine, the region's judicial system reported today. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was accused 'of crimes committed as part of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region' of Russia, a Russian military court reported. The former British army soldier, from Banbury, was charged with acting as a mercenary on behalf of Ukraine, and under Russia's terrorist act. The Foreign Office condemned the sentencing on 'false charges'. The case was heard in a closed court session, the 2nd Western District Military Court reported, after the sentencing on Friday. Anderson was claimed to have 'admitted guilt', allegedly saying that he had decided to take part in the war in return for payment. The 22-year-old will face five years in a Russian prison and the remainder of his sentence in an unnamed maximum security penal colony, per the justice system. James Scott Rhys Anderson was sentenced on Friday to 19 years imprisonment His father said previously that his son would not be dissuaded from going to Ukraine because 'he thought what he was doing was right' James with his sister. He had been in the Army for four years, having gone to Army Foundation College as a 17-year-old James was detained in Russia's Kursk region before being taken into custody A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was in the same unit as Andersen, was questioned as a witness, according to the press service of the region's judicial system. Anderson reportedly crossed into Russia in mid-November 2024 'armed with automatic firearms and explosive devices', the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation told Russian news agency TASS. 'Pursuing the goal of intimidating the population, causing significant property damage and destabilizing the activities of government bodies, he committed criminal acts against the civilian population,' the agency reports. 'Anderson was detained in the Kursk region, after which he was taken into custody.' A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We strongly condemn the sentencing of British national James Anderson in a Russian court on these false charges. 'Under international law, Prisoners of War cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities. 'We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using Prisoners of War for political and propaganda purposes. 'We remain in close contact with Mr Anderson's family and are providing consular support.' Anderson appeared on state television later in November, indicating that he expected a jail sentence of between 20 and 30 years. Appearing to speak under duress, he admitted ignoring warnings from his family not to return to Ukraine and expressed deep regret. 'All the time when I'm in my cell, I'm always thinking about how my mum and dad said: ''Don't go back, don't go back'',' he told the cameras. Anderson told Izvestia that he was paid $400 US dollars a month [315] as a mercenary fighting for Ukraine, with $60 a day [47] when he went on missions. He also told RIA Novosti it was wrong for Ukraine to invade Russia's Kursk region, where he ultimately surrendered. After leaving the Army last year, James became a civilian custody officer for Thames Valley Police, before the move to Ukraine James Anderson in Ukraine on training mission in October James Anderson with his father Scott Anderson. The 41-year-old said he and other family members had begged his son not to go to Ukraine before he joined up around eight months ago Mr Anderson Sr with James's grandmother Jacqueline Payne The 22-year-old's father told the Daily Mail late last year that he was in 'complete shock' to discover his son's fate and said he feared he would be tortured. Scott Anderson, 41, said he and other family members had begged his son not to go to Ukraine before he joined up around eight months ago. But he said his son would not be dissuaded because 'he thought what he was doing was right'. He said: 'I'm hoping he'll be used as a bargaining chip but my son told me they torture their prisoners and I'm so frightened he'll be tortured.' Speaking at the family home in Oxfordshire, Mr Anderson Sr added he had been due to come home for Christmas in only a few weeks' time. The father-of-four said: 'We spoke on WhatsApp almost every day until he went on his most recent operation. He was acting as a signalman. James had been in the Army for four years, having gone to Army Foundation College as a 17-year-old. After leaving the Army last year, he became a civilian custody officer for Thames Valley Police, prior to joining the Ukrainians. British POW James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, from Banbury, formerly with the Royal Corps of Signals in the UK Army A Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher is fired toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location in the Kursk region border area in this image shared on February 6 Ukrainian forces in Sumy use American Bradley Fighting Vehicles during Ukraines on-going cross-border operation into Russias Kursk region, on January 15, 2025 In footage shared by his captors, he stated that he was a former soldier with the British Army, in the Royal Signals corps, between 2019 and 2023, but said he was dismissed. He said he then applied for the International Legion of fighters helping Ukrainian troops. Ukraine made a surprise incursion into Russia in the summer and seized 500 square miles of territory in the Kursk region. Amnesty International warned on Tuesday that thousands of Ukrainians remain in captivity in Russia, facing torture, enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention. The rights group said that Russian authorities had subjected prisoners of war and civilian captives to inhumane treatments which 'amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity'. Amnesty interviewed 104 people in Ukraine between January and November 2024 to compile its report. The evidence brought together testimonies from Ukrainian POWs, family members and formerly detained civilians and their families. There was no mention of alleged acts against foreign fighters. In 2022, six British nationals - fighters Sean Pinner, Aiden Aslin, Andrew Hill and John Harding, and aid volunteers Dylan Healy and Paul Urey - were captured by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and threatened with the death penalty. Father-of-four Mr Urey, aged 45, died in Russian captivity, while the other five were eventually released in September that year following negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by Saudi Arabia and involving former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Ukraine, except eight regions in the west [Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Volyn, Rivne and Zhytomyr]. Deloitte has become the latest American company to shift away from work from home after they announced that annual bonuses will be linked to office attendance. Time spent in the office will now be considered as part of performance reviews which is used by the accountancy company to help decide staff bonuses. Staff will be expected to be in the office for 50 per cent of the working week at least. An email sent to staff in the company's US tax division, seen by the Financial Times, read: 'being present at a Deloitte office or client site will now be considered in your performance evaluations'. Deloitte is the latest financial powerhouse in America to follow the trend of moving away from work from home and comes after Jamie Dimon - the boss of JP Morgan - went on a eight-minute long expletive-laden rant against working from home last month. The message sent by Katie Zinn, the tax practice's chief talent officer, added that Staff should ensure 'in-person collaboration 2-3 days (50 per cent) weekly'. Staff in the division had already been handed a return to office mandate a few months ago but this announcement could entice people back to the workplace even more if staff face missing out on bonuses. Deloitte's US employees use a combination of badge swipes and time sheets to record their working location, one person at the company said. Deloitte's US CEO Jason Girzadas. Time spent in the office will now be considered as part of performance reviews which is used by the accountancy company to help decide staff bonuses at Deloitte The message sent by Katie Zinn (pictured), the tax practice's chief talent officer, added that Staff should ensure 'in-person collaboration 2-3 days (50 per cent) weekly' Deloitte have become one firm that has tried to put pressure on staff to return to the office, shunning the flexible working conditions which were popularised during the pandemic Many employers can also track the location of where staff login to computers to check their whereabouts. Deloitte have become the latest American company to try and put pressure on staff to return to the office, shunning the flexible working conditions which were popularised during the pandemic. Last month, the boss of JPMorgan went on a rant when one of his employees challenged him about the return-to-office order. Nicolas Welch was sitting front row at the company's townhall in Columbus, Ohio, on February 12 and asked the third question of chief executive Dimon. He challenged Dimon on his order for all staff to be back in the office five days a week, claiming it went against JP Morgan's 'good conscience'. Welsh was then briefly fired after the ordeal. In June 2024 Wells Fargo sacked over a dozen employees after it discovered they were using 'mouse movers' while being away from their desks. The products also known as 'mouse jigglers' exploded in popularity during the pandemic as staff tried to escape the watchful eyes of bosses while apparently working from home. The contraptions let users leave their desks for hours at a time without being detected by their employer, by moving their computer mouse autonomously. Deloitte's performance evaluations looks at areas such as client work and administrative tasks. Compliance with the return to office rules will now be included in the assessments and the lowest-ranked individuals will not receive a bonus. In a statement to the FT, Deloitte US said: 'Deloitte performs a tremendous range of work for our clients across many industries.' 'Our hybrid model is not one-sized-fits-all. Our model is designed for clients, businesses, team leaders and professionals to co-locate when it matters most to the performance of our work and the development and wellbeing of our professionals.' Nine people whose bodies were discovered hacked apart next to a bag of their severed hands in an abandoned car in Mexico are thought to have been targeted by cartel hitmen who accused them of being 'thieves', it has emerged. The horrifying remains were discovered this weekend inside the trunk of a deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca, roughly 175 miles from Mexico City. Five of the nine mutilated bodies were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found contorted inside the trunk in what is believed to be yet another savage cartel killing. Authorities also discovered at the revolting scene that each person had their hands chopped off and stuffed in a bag that was also forced into the trunk already filled with bodies. Initial reports from Mexican outlets suggested the victims were students, originally from Tlaxcala, who had traveled to the beaches in Oaxaca for vacation. But Mexican outlet NVI Noticias later claimed the students were in fact members of the 'Los Zacapoaxtlas' criminal organisation who had 'messed with the wrong person'. Police sources told Mexican media that the group had arrived in Oaxaca in early February and launched criminal operations that focused on robberies, thefts and looting. The grisly discovery of their bodies came as the supposed leader of the Los Zacapoaxtlas - Jose Alfredo, known as El Jocha - was also shot dead on Sunday. The body of El Jocha, who had previously run for a mayoral position in Oaxaca's resort region of Huatulco, was found with a message that read: 'That's what you get for being a thief', according to NVI Noticias. Cartels are renowned for chopping off the hands of people it sees as thieves, suggesting the murders are all linked and likely carried out by the same group. Your browser does not support iframes. The horrifying remains of the students' bodies were discovered inside the trunk of an deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan, on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca Pictured: Authorities search the deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan containing mutilated bodies The body of El Jocha, who had previously run for a mayoral position in Oaxaca's resort region of Huatulco, was reportedly found with a message that read: 'That's what you get for being a thief' Cartel violence is rife in Mexico. Victims are often mutilated and have their hands chopped off Though much of Mexico is ravaged with cartel violence, the province of Oaxaca is widely known as a popular tourist destination thanks to its world-renowned cuisine and resplendent beaches. On March 2, three days after the students were reported missing, a dark grey Volkswagen Vento with Tlaxcala license plates containing the bodies was discovered along the high-trafficked Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway, according to Periodico Central. Mexican media outlets have identified eight of the nine victims so far, naming them as: Angie Lizeth, 29, Brenda Mariel, 19, Jacqueline Ailet, 23, Noemi Yamileth, 28, Lesly Noya Trejo, 21, Raul Emmanuel, 28, Ruben Antonio, and Rolando Armando. The ninth victim has not yet been identified. As of Wednesday morning, no suspects have been named, but the nature of the killing suggests cartel involvement. The Attorney General's Office in Puebla is collaborating with its other local law enforcement agencies in Tlaxcala and Oaxaca in a widespread effort to catch the grisly killers. So far, authorities have tracked down surveillance footage from February 24 showing the vehicle driving along the Atlixcayotl highway near the town of Atlixco about 90 miles west of where the students' remains were found, Periodico Central reported. The Puebla State Attorney General's Office is unable to divulge any additional information, citing confidentiality concerns. 'So far I cannot offer information. There are lines of investigation, but I cannot reveal them due to confidentiality,' Idamis Pastor Betancourt, head of Puebla's State Attorney General's Office, said at a press conference Monday. 'All relevant investigations are being carried out. 'When we have a response and the investigation is complete, we will be in a position to provide more information,' he added. Over 30,000 murders were committed in Mexico in 2023, according to the most recent figures. Many of the slayings were tied to the drug trade, with cartel hits leading to particularly gruesome scenes. Five of the nine missing students' remains were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found inside the trunk. Pictured: Onlookers capture the scene unfolding along the side of the high-trafficked Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway Of the nine students, five were men and four were women, all were believed to be aged 19 to 30 years old, El Financiero reported. Pictured: Jacqueline Ailet Meza Cazares Authorities have tracked down surveillance footage from February 24 showing the vehicle driving along the Atlixcayotl highway near the town of Atlixco about 90 miles west of where the students' remains were found The Puebla State Attorney General's Office is unable to divulge any additional information, citing confidentiality concerns The crime-riddled country saw the most violent year in its recent history. Pictured: Lesly Noya Trejo In 2018, three Mexican film students went to Guadalajara to tape a college project. There, they met a 24 year-old rapper - a YouTube sensation - who was working with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Like many others, Christian Omar Palma Gutierrez was drawn to the cartel, which would pay him 3,000 pesos a week as a 'cook' to dispose of bodies head-first in an acid bath kept in a local safehouse. The students had no connection to a cartel, but unwittingly filmed a house belonging to a rival that the CJNG was watching. The students were kidnapped. One was tortured to death. Unable to release the others, they killed them too. Gutierrez was later arrested. In September 2011, Mexican police found five decomposing heads left in a sack outside a primary school in Acapulco. Dozens of schools went on strike over security concerns as violence ramped up in the region. Teachers were seen out protesting with banners reading 'Acapulco requires peace and security'. Earlier that day, in another part of the city, five headless bodies were found in and around a burned out car. Separating the heads from the bodies has no practical use for the cartels in disguising the murders, but inflames the sense of terror in the population. Eleven years later, on the other side of the country, five more decapitated heads were found in an ice cooler in Tamaulipas. These tactics are not limited to some cartels or regions, then, but have found application across Mexico for years. Cartels often 'sign' their atrocities with some unique spin. The heads found in 2022 were found next to dismembered human remains with partially removed skin, and near a mutilated body. With this, they left a note addressed to the Ministry of National Defence, requesting they be left to settle the score with 'those morons from the Cartel del Noreste'. 'This problem of ours isn't against any of you guys,' they said. 'Please allow us to do our work at night in order to finish off these filthy individuals.' The CJNG cartel leaves a severed face with blunt message for cartels to find. The head was found inside a black plastic bag. The body was not found. The image circulated on Twitter. Bus burned during attacks by armed groups operating in Guanajuato state on 31 January 2023 Cartels must be able to guarantee that their recruits are capable of mentally dealing with the the rising level of violence. 'La escuela de terror' - the Terror School, or the School of Terror - has normalised terror among recruits to desensitise them to chilling violence. Since 2015 the CJNG, which is estimated to have 5,000 members, has used cannibalism as part of its initiation rituals at the school, used to root out moles and test loyalty among new recruits. One graduate said that after a fellow student failed his weapon handling test, he was shot on the spot, mutilated and eaten by fellow apprentices. Any perceived weakness is challenged head on. A survivor of the school said the most timid in his class was given the task of cutting the head off a rival and crushing it with a stone. When another vomited up part of the body, the instructors picked it out of the dirt and forced him to eat it. Successful trainees are desensitised to death by sharing barracks with dead bodies. Videos of fresh recruits eating the hearts of mutilated rivals send a clear message to challengers. In February last year, the cartel proudly showed off trainees pulling the hearts from the corpses of recently deceased rival cartel members and biting into them. New rifles are on show as a cartel member poses to offer a limp corpse a taste of his own body. Dumping mutilated bodies in places to be found later by police and rivals also sends a strong message to those who would challenge the cartels. In November 2022, police found 53 bags of mixed human remains after a dog was seen running through the streets with a severed human hand in its mouth. And in 2012, Mexican authorities found 49 mutilated bodies dumped on a highway near the US border. 43 men and six women were chopped into bits, making identification hard for the police. But this was not to disguise who had committed the crime. The bodies were found with a message attached, with the Los Zetas cartel taking ownership. Burying people in mass graves or dumping them, mutilated, in areas for the police to find mystifies the extent of the violence and makes headlines. 63,428 mass graves were found across Mexico by 2020, in which 92,658 people had been buried. The dead include thousands of women and children both caught in crossfire and explicitly targeted by the cartels. Every so often, public fear erupts with the discovery of bodies beaten and beheaded, mutilated beyond the abilities of forensic teams. The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces, the CIA's director has confirmed. Director John Ratcliffe told Fox that the US paused both weapons shipments and intelligence to Ukraine following the disastrous White House meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump last week. He added that he was looking forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine on a path to peace. An unnamed official told the Financial Times that while Ukraine had been frozen out of intelligence channels, the US was still sharing crucial information on Russia and Ukraine with its closest allies, including the UK. Meanwhile, a source told Sky News that American intelligence-sharing had not halted completely, adding that the cut-off was 'selective.' When asked whether these reports were true, they said: 'Unfortunately, yes, but not completely. It is selective. On the possibility of damage on the territory of the Russian Federation.' But last night, the Mail revealed that Donald Trump's administration banned the UK from sharing US intelligence with allies in Ukraine. American intelligence has been crucial to Ukraine for it to identify Russian military targets during the brutal invasion that began in February 2022. But in recent weeks, Zelensky and Trump have been quarrelling on the world stage, leading to souring relations between their nations that reached its lowest point last week when the Ukrainian leader was unceremoniously booted out of the White House without signing a long-awaited minerals deal. Zelensky last night backtracked on this, telling the world he was ready to work under Trump's 'strong leadership' and wants to 'make things right' after their 'regrettable' White House row. Trump said during his State of the Union speech later that evening that he appreciated the Ukrainian leader's words. The major military and intelligence moves came amid serious fears that Ukraine would run out of American military supplies within a few weeks. Donald Trump (pictured) has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces Zelensky (pictured) last night told the world he was ready to work under Trump's 'strong leadership' and wants to 'make things right' after their 'regrettable' White House row This handout photograph released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service early on March 5, 2025, shows a Ukrainian rescuer working to extinguish a fire at an energy infrastructure facility following an attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region A senior Ukrainian intelligence official said that Ukraine would probably run out of the last American military supplies in 'two or three months'. 'After that, it will be very difficult for us,' the official told the Financial Times. 'It will not be a total collapse, but we will be forced to withdraw from areas more quickly.' White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said today that Trump will consider restoring aid to Ukraine if peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are taken. 'I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause,' Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. Trump's critics suggested any long-term freeze would lengthen rather than shorten the war, as it would encourage the Kremlin to exploit Kyiv's dwindling weapons and ammunition stocks and launch a fresh bid for more territory. Currently, Ukrainian and Russia troops are facing off along a 600-mile frontline, which has gradually been pushed deeper into Ukraine due to Russian advances. Russia occupies around one fifth of Ukraine, including eastern provinces and the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine, meanwhile, is clinging on to a relatively small amount of territory it seized last year in the southern Russia province of Kursk. Zelensky looks on during a visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in Germany, June 11, 2024 City workers clean the rubble of a building destroyed after a drone attack in Odesa on March 5, 2025 A serviceman of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces makes coffee as he rests in a dugout near the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 28, 2025 Though Ukraine and Russia appear to be taking the first steps towards peace, Trump now appears to be backing away from NATO. The Mail revealed last night that the US president is considering relinquishing its leadership of NATO after insisting that European allies take more responsibility for the security of the continent. The US has held its leadership position since the founding of the defence alliance in the aftermath of World War Two. Since then, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe has always been a senior US general. But in line with the US' insistence that European allies take more responsibility for Europe's security, it also expects a British or French general to take up this position. Trump's nominee for NATO ambassador attempted to assuage senators last night during a confirmation hearing that the Republican's support for the defence bloc remained 'ironclad.' Matthew Whitaker, who previously served as acting attorney general during Trumps first term said: 'President Trump has been clear, the United States remains committed to NATO and to the principle of peace through strength.' He added: '[Support for NATO] will be ironclad.' More to follow. A former police officer today admitted the manslaughter of four paddleboarders who drowned after getting caught up in a flooded weir in hazardous conditions. Nerys Lloyd, 39, was in charge of the ill-fated expedition despite not being properly qualified, believed to be Britain's worst ever paddleboarding accident. Morgan Rogers, 24, Nicola Wheatley, 40, Andrea Powell, 41, and instructor Paul O'Dwyer, 42, died in the accident in October 2021 after the expedition went ahead with no safety briefing despite heavy flooding and severe weather warnings. The four were trapped by 'hydraulic towback with no means of escape' at the dangerous weir in the town centre of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, according to an official report. Lloyd who was also on the trip as an instructor - was the owner and sole director of outdoor activity company called Salty Dog Co, based in Port Talbot, South Wales, which has now been wound up. She was dismissed from South Wales Police the following month for an unrelated matter, the force said. Today at Swansea Crown Court she pleaded guilty to the gross negligence manslaughter of the four victims. Lloyd also admitted a Health and Safety at Work Act offence. Nerys Lloyd, 39, admitted the manslaughter of four paddleboarders who drowned after getting caught up in a flooded weir in hazardous conditions The people who died in the paddleboarding tragedy in Pembrokeshire (left to right) were Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell Lloyd (centre, on crutches) is seen leaving Swansea Crown Court today after pleading guilty to the gross negligence manslaughter of the four victims Afterwards Lisa Rose, Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service Special Crime Division, said: 'This was an avoidable tragedy. 'Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir. 'The majority of participants had limited experience and Lloyd was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions. 'There was no safety briefing or formal risk assessments, and the participants were not advised that they would be traversing a weir or instructed on options to get out of the water. 'Final decisions to continue with the event were Lloyd's decision, and as a result she held complete and entire responsibility. 'I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice for those affected and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims at this time.' The expedition on October 30, 2021, came during heavy flooding and with severe weather warnings were in place. The river was running fast and the weir was in an extremely hazardous condition, according to prosecutors. Lloyd organised the weekend paddleboard outing on the Cleddau River in Haverfordwest Lloyd was dismissed from South Wales Police the following month for an unrelated matter, the force said The river was running fast and the weir was in an extremely hazardous condition, according to prosecutors. Lloyd (centre) is pictured leaving Swansea Crown Court today Health worker Nicola Wheatley (pictured, left) was among four people to drown in the tragedy alongside Paul O'Dwyer (right) Morgan Rogers (pictured), 24, also died in the paddleboarding tragedy on October 30 2021 The ill-fated expedition on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest (pictured) is believed to be Britain's worst ever paddleboarding accident Nerys Bethan Lloyd (pictured right), 39, from Aberavon, South Wales, pictured at Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court on four counts of gross negligence manslaughter in December last year As the group approached the weir, the three participants were pulled over the top into its base and became trapped. Instructor Mr O'Dwyer, who initially exited the river safely, re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the others but was immediately dragged over the top. The four victims died as a result of drowning or immersion. An expert concluded that the tour should not have taken place while encompassing the weir and that Lloyd did not have a suitable qualification, and her planning and supervision was inadequate. The prosecution followed a joint investigation by Dyfed-Powys Police and the Health and Safety Executive. Mr O'Dwyer, Ms Rogers and Ms Wheatley all died at the scene. Ms Powell died in hospital the following month. Chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said: 'Stand-up paddleboarding is probably the fastest growing UK water sport with participation in recent years growing by nearly 300 per cent. Flowers laid close to the scene on the River Cleddau, where the group died after getting into distress 'However, like all water sports, those that buy or rent a paddleboard need to understand the risks.' Mr Moll said paddleboarders should always wear the right equipment and a quickrelease leash to get away from their boards in dangerous situations. Detective Superintendent Cameron Ritchie of Dyfed-Powys Police said Lloyds catalogue of failures led to the tragic and unnecessary deaths. Describing the impact on their families, he added: Their loved ones went out to do an enjoyable activity on the river, expecting them to come back home to them, but unfortunately, due to these failures, they didnt. Lloyd, of Aberavon, will be sentenced on April 15. More than 170 mothers have been killed by their own sons in the past 15 years, a new report has revealed. Data analysing the deaths of 2,000 women killed by men since 2009 has showed that nearly one in 10 of all the women were killed by their sons. The shocking statistics have led to calls for action to be taken by the government to tackle matricide and to provide support to victims. Mental health was described as a factor in 58 per cent of cases in the 2,000 Women report by the Femicide Census. Karen Ingala Smith, co-founder of the campaign group, told The Guardian: 'Male violence against mothers is a largely unrecognised but brutal reality. 'What we see in these figures is the tip of the iceberg. These are the women who have been killed, but there will be many more hidden victims out there living their lives in absolute misery.' Research by academics from the Oxford and Manchester universities also found that mental health was involved in 70 per cent of cases of women being killed by their sons or grandsons. Since 2009, one woman in the UK has been killed every three days in the UK. Of those killed, 90 per cent of them were murdered by someone they knew and 61 per cent were by a former partner. MailOnline reveals some of the cases where a son killed their own mother. Mayawati Bracken The 56-year-old mother from Oxfordshire was stabbed to death by her son Julian Bracken, 18, after he became 'triggered' by his 'overly affectionate' mother. A row over stuffing at Christmas lunch caused the student to have a panic attack at the family's 2million Pangbourne home. Mayawati Bracken was killed by her son following a row which started over Christmas lunch Ten days later he then stabbed his mother as she drove him to Radley College in Oxfordshire, where he was a student. Mrs Bracken lost control of her Lexus and was found dead with a stab wound to the chest inside the vehicle by members of the public on the A340 Tidmarsh Road at the junction of Flower Hill, Reading Coroner's Court heard today. Her son walked directly from the car and placed himself in front of a high-speed train at Pangbourne station in Berkshire. Bracken's sister had informed paramedic Chris Dinsey that a dispute had taken place over Christmas dinner, 'something to do with stuffing' and had described it as 'just family stuff'. The paramedic described how Bracken's mother had returned to the kitchen and tried to get to her son to give him a kiss. 'She was being overly affectionate', the paramedic told the inquest. 'It seemed like quite an overpowering dynamic from her.' Mr Dinsey recalled how the presence of Julian's mother 'riled him up' and told how his siblings had ushered Mrs Bracken away. The inquest heard how, the following day, Bracken had contacted NHS talking services and reported he had suffered a 'panic attack where my hands and legs seized up.' Appointments were offered to him but the dates were after his death. Suzanne Henry 'Please, please don't do any drugs tonight,' Suzanne Henry said in a text message to Finn, then aged just 20. But her pleas were in vain and despite his assurances he was 'only having a smoke' he snorted Ketamine as he did most days. Weeks later, he went on another 'bender' which left him fitting in the car park of a Morrisons supermarket at 3pm in front of shocked shoppers and staff. Suzanne Henry was beaten to death by her own son after he returned home from a drug-fuelled bender Finn Henry, 21, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter Paramedics were called but he refused to go to hospital, instead taking more drugs - snorting it while driving his car, using his knees to steady the steering wheel as he did. Hours later he returned to his family home where he beat his petite mother to death with his fists. The six-minute assault by the experienced boxer was heard by neighbours across the street and left his mother with a severe brain injury from which she would never recover. Finn appeared at Stafford Crown Court and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was remanded before being sentenced to seven-years-and-four-months behind bars, with an extended sentence period of four years, at Northampton Crown Court today. Julianna Falcon Nicholas Prosper, 19, admitted shooting his mother and two siblings at their family home last year. He chillingly outlined his murderous intent in a 70-second video recorded just hours before he slaughtered his family. Wearing a yellow bucket hat and a black T-shirt, the teenage fantasist calmly and dispassionately said he would take violent revenge against his 13-year-old sister Giselle over her actions in a computer game. The video was one of several files posted online in which Prosper who was also stopped by police on his way to carry out a school massacre - spewed his sick views, often signalling his obsession with children. Julianna Falcon was killed in her own home alongside her son Kyle and daughter Giselle Nicholas Prosper dmitted the murders of his family members (pictured left to right) Kyle, Juliana and Giselle Killer Nicholas Prosper threatened violent revenge against his 13-year-old sister Giselle over her actions on a computer game The teenager bought a 12-ball Nikko shotgun without a certificate the day before he struck. Neighbours said Prosper spent so much time on the internet in his bedroom that those living directly underneath him in Leabank Tower had no idea he even existed - despite being on friendly terms with his mother and siblings. There was an outpouring of grief when Prosper struck at his home, a flat on the eighth floor of one of the towers popular with young families just outside Luton town centre last year. Resident Grazyna Karwecka, who lived above Prosper and his family, said she thought she heard a woman screaming followed by gunshot and then other loud noises. Lynette Nash Lynette Nash, 64, was found with serious injuries at her home in Portishead on June 27. She died at the scene. Her son, Gavin Nash, 39, was detained indefinitely after being charged with murder. Gavin Nash was diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder and at court, the prosecution accepted a plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility. The day before she was killed, Mrs Nash dialled 999 because of concerns about her son being 'out of control', BBC News reported. Mrs Nash said her son had been threatening towards her and his father Stuart. The next day she was killed while on the phone to her husband to warn him that their son had returned. Stuart Nash then had to listen to his son kill his wife over the phone. Gavin Nash then called the police and told them he had murdered his mother. Anna Jones Anarlyn Jones blamed demons after he cut his mothers throat on May 9, 2023. Anna Jones, 44, was found dead at her flat in Hampshire. Anarlyn, formerly known as Bronwyn but now identifies as a male, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. He told detectives he climbed on top of his mother and kept slashing her, BBC News reported. Anarlyn Jones (pictured), 25, known as Bronwyn, was sentenced to life for killing his mother He claimed both his mother and father abused him as a child by beating him. Neighbours reported seeing Anarlyn on the day of the killing covered 'head to toe in red' and repeating 'I've killed her'. He was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court to life with a minimum term of 20 years and 27 days. Sandra Hughes Sandra's son Mark See had recently moved back in with his mother when he doused her in petrol and set her on fire during a family row. Mark See, 34, threw the inflammable liquid over Sandra Hughes, 63, and then ignited it with a lit cigarette at the property in Gorton, Manchester when he was told he would have to get a place of his own with his fiancee, who also lived there. Sandra Hughes was left to burn alive by her son after she told him to move out in a family argument Mark See was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years for killing his mother Sarah Hughes Mrs Hughes, who had to walk with a zimmer frame, was engulfed in flames and was left to die of horrific burns as her son, a furniture delivery driver, fled the one-bedroom bungalow the three of them shared at 2am on July 13 last year. Firefighters extinguished the blaze but the victim's body was said to have been 'incinerated' and could only be identified via a metal plate which had been inserted in her leg following surgery for a fall. He claimed the bottle then accidentally ignited when he lit a cigarette and he instinctively threw it on the floor, causing the blaze. See said he tried to save his mother, but had to flee after he was beaten back by the flames. See was jailed to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of murder. Michelle Romano Michelle Romano, 68, was stabbed to death by her son Sebastian Compton, 47, at his home in Essex in February 2024. Police and ambulance drove to his home address where they found Michele, who, despite the best efforts of paramedics, sadly died at the scene. Michelle Romano was stabbed to death by her son who was suffering from psychosis at the time of her death The court heard Compton was undergoing 'acute' psychosis at the time of the killing. Initially, Compton denied Michele's murder at a court appearance at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. He then pleaded guilty to her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and he was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. His mother Michele was described as 'calm and good natured' and would often visit him at his ground floor flat to help out with shopping and chores, a neighbour said Italian burglars seized 68,000 worth of jewels and 10k in cash from the home of Premier League star Alexander Isak, a court has heard. The Newcastle United and Sweden forward was not in the house at Darras Hall, Northumberland when a family of thieves broke through his glass door last April. It comes after the group entered the UK off a boat from Calais to Dover in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome the previous month. In the days before the break-in at Isak's house they are said to have also stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than 1million from a Tyneside businesswoman and designer goods worth 100,000 off a woman living on Wearside. Three members of the same family, living in Italy, have admitted conspiracy to commit burglary, Newcastle Crown Court heard. A fourth family member, Valentino Nikolov, 32, denies the charge. Prosecuting, Dan Cordey said Isak had left his home between 4pm and 10pm on April 4, discovering the break-in when he returned and saw his bins had been moved. The gang forced entry into his TV room and 'inside an untidy search took place', Mr Cordey said. Alexander Isak was targeted by a gang of burglars who are said to have carried out a string of high-value break-ins last spring Dan Cordey, prosecuting, said the Newcastle United player's home, in Darras Hall, was broken into in April 2024 Cash between 5,000 and 10,000 was taken, along with jewellery worth about 68,000 and Isak's Audi car, which a member of the public later found abandoned in nearby Dissington, jurors were told. The gang also took a safe, which had been left by the home's previous occupant, although it did not contain anything valuable. CCTV images of the break-in were recorded on what Mr Cordey described as a 'doggy cam'. He said: 'This was a professional group of travelling burglars. 'It contained one female and three men - all related. 'Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty.' Mr Cordey said the fourth man was the defendant Valentino Nikolov. On arriving to the UK, the gang headed to London, then drove to the North East a few days later, the court heard. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolov's former partner, denies handling stolen goods. He is pictured here outside Newcastle Crown Court Isak is believed to be the third victim of the gang, who had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than 1milliion from a local businessman They used the Citroen to travel to break-ins and the motorhome was a base where they slept, the prosecution claimed. Nikolov, of Tew Park Road, Birmingham, is representing himself at the trial and requires an Italian interpreter. Jurors have been told his brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, his sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who all reside in Italy, have admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolov's former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, denies handling stolen goods. News of the break-in surfaced in the days following the event after the striker had featured for the Magpies in a win over Fulham at Craven Cottage. Officers responded and a police helicopter was dispatched but the intruders had fled the scene. March 5, 2025: A year after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian forces were in trouble. They were no longer making much progress but were still suffering heavy losses. After three years of fighting Russia has lost nearly a million soldiers. This includes dead, disabled, deserters, prisoners and doesnt include over a million military age men who fled the country to avoid military service. Not surprisingly, Russia has a labor shortage. Then there is the heavily sanctioned economy, which Russia made worse by putting the economy on a war footing. Military production had priority and civilian needs declined to the point where over a third of Russians were living in poverty. Russias major export, oil, has to be sold at a discount because it is illegal for oil importers to accept oil from Russia. Amidst all this economic crisis and ruin, Russia decided they had nothing to lose by launching a shadow war against NATO countries. This included a sabotage campaign where Russia paid criminals in Europe to carry out these attacks. European security agencies were alert to these Russian plans and police arrested local criminals hired by Russian agents to carry out sabotage attacks. With these Russian efforts no longer secret, Russian recruiting efforts have failed because of fears that anyone who worked for Russia would be quickly identified and arrested. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, public opinion in Europe has been hostile to Russia. There have been a few railway accidents that are now being reexamined to see if they were acts of sabotage. Russian jamming of GPS signals continues to be a problem in several European countries. Russia denies any involvement but the evidence of Russian complicity grows with each incident. In this respect Russia is at war with European nations and these attacks may eventually lead to more sanctions against Russia. The economic sanctions already imposed on Russia by Western trading partners are seen by Russians as an attack on their economy. That was the intention of the sanctions but the Russians dont consider themselves deserving of such attacks. This shadow war, where no one admits they are attacking anyone, is likely to continue as long as Russia is considered an outlaw nation because of its continued aggression inside Ukraine. Economic attacks on Russia have hurt and Russian leader Vladimir Putin has openly discussed a negotiated settlement to end the Ukraine War and get Russia out from under all those sanctions. Elon Musk thinks that after President Donald Trump's joint session address Republicans can win an even larger majority in the Senate in the 2026 midterms. The billionaire appears to believe that the momentum of the start of Trump's presidency will carry the party through the midterms and avoid allowing the upper chamber to flip back to Democrat. 'After tonight, I am increasingly convinced that we can get to 60 Senators,' Musk posted to his X account at the conclusion of Trump's remarks at the Capitol. Multiple Democrats in the chamber for the joint session on Tuesday evening held up signs with the message: 'Musk Steals.' They are not pleased with the Tesla and SpaceX boss taking such a prominent role in government and helping lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts, which have slashed thousands of jobs, billions in spending on federal programs and near entire agencies like USAID. The current split in the upper chamber is 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independent senators. This means to fulfill Musk's prediction, the GOP would need to gain seven seats in the 2026 midterm elections to reach 60 total. Elon Musk thinks that Republican momentum after President Donald Trump's joint address will earn the party a whopping seven more seats in the Senate in the 2026 midterms There are 13 Democrats up for reelection in the midterms, but 20 Republicans are also up and need to hold onto their seats if they want to maintain a majority in the Senate for the entirety of Trump's second term. Most of the Democrats whose terms are up in this upcoming election are in blue states where historically they would keep their seats as long as they run for reelection. But Sens. Jon Ossoff and Gary Peters are both in swing states that went red for Trump in 2024. The former is in Georgia, which voted for Trump over Kamala Harris by 2.2 percent, and the latter is in Michigan, which at a lower margin went red by 1.4 percent. With Peters retiring from the Senate at the expiration of his term, the election is open and therefore even more likely to swing the seat to the right. All 20 Republicans whose terms are expiring at the start of 2027 are in solidly red states with none of the elections considered a toss-up. At least one Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is retiring at the end of the current term and will need to be replaced in next year's elections. A party has not had 60 seats in the Senate since the 95th Congress from 1977-1979 when Democrats had 61 members of the upper chamber and Republicans had only 38 with one independent caucusing with Democrats. Musk predicts the Senate will get a 60-senator majority for the first time since the late 1970s But Musk thinks despite there being only two Democratic seats considered a 'toss-up' by the Cook Political Report, Republicans still have the momentum to nab a net seven seats to bring their majority to 60. The DOGE leader and X CEO got a coveted shoutout by Trump during his joint session before Congress on Tuesday evening. The billionaire stood and saluted Trump as the president showered praise on the billionaire 'first buddy' for his work slashing federal spending and government waste. And to laughs from Democrats, Trump claimed that even the opposition party 'appreciates' Musk's efforts. 'I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it, which is headed by Elon Musk who is in the gallery tonight,' Trump said as he looked up to where Musk was seated in the gallery for the remarks. 'Thank you, Elon. He's working very hard. He didn't need this,' Trump added. 'Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe,' Trump nodded to the half of the room where Democrats were seated. 'They just don't want to admit that.' Democrats in the chamber could be heard scoffing and laughing at this claim. The president then went on to list billions that DOGE identified for cutting, including programs like studying transgender surgery on mice, funding 'Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East,' male circumcision in Mozambique and hotels, housing and cars for illegal immigrants. A grandfather tragically plunged to his death during a hang gliding flight in southern Brazil. Ricardo Stecanella, 52, was taking off from a mountain near a highway known as Serra de Rocinha in Timbe do Sul, Santa Catarina on Sunday, before tragedy struck. Terrifying video showed Stecanella gliding towards his left for about 20 seconds and before making a sharp right turn. The wings then suddenly closed, causing Stecanella to drop 656 feet to the ground as a female witness shouted, 'My God, Our Lady.' Stecanella suffered multiple injuries and was located in a forest area by the Aeropolice Service. Separate footage showed Stecanella next to a police officer, strapped to a cable line, as they were airlifted by a helicopter to secure grounds. He later died from his injuries, doctors confirmed. According to Brazilian news outlet G1, Santa Catarina Civil Police chief, Juliana Dallagnol, a part of the hang glider was recovered and will be analyzed as part of the investigation. Ricardo Stecanella died Saturday after falling off a hang glider during a flight in Timbe do Sul, a city in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina A witness filmed the moment Ricardo Stecanella flew off from a hill on a highway known as Serra de Rocinha in Santa Catarina, Brazil nearly a minute before he plunged 656 feet to a forest area Stecanella's wife Adriana Cavalheiro, mourned his death with a touching social media post, 'You, even up there, will always be my flying partner.' Stecanella, who also leaves behind a son and grandson, was known for sharing his love for hang gliding on social media. 'Flying like birds, nothing is more satisfying,' his Facebook caption read next to a video of a hang gliding flight from February 2023. Stecanella was a member of the Timbe do Sul Hang Gliding Club, which mourned his death with a heartfelt statement. 'It is difficult to find words to express our feelings at this moment of sadness and pain,' the club said. 'We extend our solidarity to his family and friends. 'We hope that we all find support in the legacy that Ricardo left us, in the hugs and words that will help us move forward. Ricardo, fly to eternity.' Ricardo Stecanella enjoyed going on hang gliding flights and often shared his adventures with his friends and family on social media Ricardo Stecanella's hang glider folded seconds before he plummeted 656 feet into a forest, where he was found injured and airlifted before a doctor confirmed him dead Ricardo Stecanella often shared his hang gliding adventures on social media and was a member of the Timbe do Sul Hang Gliding Club Stecanella's deadly hang glider accident took place a week after a woman lost control of a paraglider and crashed into a residential building in the southeastern city of Santos and miraculously survived without any injuries. Footage filmed by the female paraglider's flight partner showed her swinging wildly and then disappearing between two buildings. The paraglider got stuck to the roof of the building, where one of its tenants found the woman clinging to the side of the window and helped her inside their apartment. An upscale Oregon city has been ordered to lift a controversial ban prohibiting locals from using its public lake following a 12-year legal battle. A Clackamas County Circuit Court judge ruled on Monday the City of Lake Oswego must immediately remove no trespassing signs and other obstacles currently blocking the body of water. 'Defendant City of Lake Oswego is immediately prohibited from enforcing its exclusionary lake use policy,' Judge Kathie Steele wrote in a ruling obtained by The Oregonian. '(The city) is ordered to take steps necessary to provide for reasonably safe public access from the Millennium Park Plaza property within 120 days.' Lake Oswego's 12-mile shoreline is mainly surrounded by private residents with private docks that grant them access. Many of them are members of the Lake Oswego Corporation, a defendant in the case that manages the lake and has been opposing public access. The corporation was sued alongside the city by open water swimming enthusiast Todd Prager and another local kayaker. The City of Lake Oswego has been ordered to allow public access to its private pond following a ruling by a judge Lake Oswego Corporation, headed by president Mark Harnish (pictured), also opposed the access for the lake 'I'm thrilled that the public has finally regained access to this unique and important public resource,' Prager told The Oregonian. 'I hope the public responsibly enjoys their immediate right to access the lake.' The Lake Oswego Corporation had attempted to argue that the lake had been altered so much over the year by dams and canals that it could technically be reclassified as a dam. On the corporation's website, Vice President Doug Woodcock states: 'It has been a privilege to live on Oswego Lake for over 30 years and I take the boards mission to preserve and protect the lake very seriously.' 'I am an ardent advocate of Oswego Lake,' member Katy Brown notes. While I am proud to represent all neighbors of the lake, my priority is the lake itself and the commitment and work it takes to keep this community treasure healthy.' However, another judge ruled that the original body of water was public when Oregon was settled, which mean public access doctrines are applicable. Steele's decision comes after previous rulings including a jury trial also sided with the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was brought by local open water swimming enthusiast Todd Prager The ruling overturns the current situation at the lake which means that only residents of the ritzy private homes lining the lake's shoreline get access to the water Lake Oswego corporation is made up of members, many of whom own homes along the lake's shoreline which give them access. Pictured: Vice President Doug Woodcock and member Katharyn Thompson However, the judge stopped short of ordering access at all points of the lake after she deemed some areas to be unsafe. City officials have forked out more than $1 million in legal fees since the lawsuit began. Spokeswoman Madison Thesing said the ruling is 'an important milestone' and confirmed that the council would meet to discuss it. 'The city is taking a deliberate and thoughtful approach in assessing next steps with its legal and operational teams,' she said. The city has previously appealed rulings, but has not confirmed whether it will in this case. DailyMail.com has contacted the city and Lake Oswego Corporation for comment. A 22-year-old woman told police 'nobody is fighting' during a domestic dispute with her abusive boyfriend just four months before her body was found abandoned on the side of a Florida highway. Nahomi Cittadini, 22, of Miami Beach, was found naked and discarded in a grassy area near the entrance ramp of I-95 near Ives Dairy Road in early December, leaving her grieving family demanding justice as they said she was 'threatened' by her abusive boyfriend. 'I know that's not going to bring my daughter back, but at least she'll rest easier,' Maria Benitez, Cittadini's mother, told CBS News. 'He has to pay.' Lorent Pion, a 29-year-old convicted felon, was charged with his girlfriend's murder on Tuesday, despite initially telling officers that she had been struck by another car during an argument, CBS reported. A newly obtained arrest warrant revealed the horrific abuse that plagued the relationship, as harrowing footage captured a violent attack that occurred just four months before Cittadini's tragic ending. Disturbing video footage from August captured Pion violently beating Cittadini along a street in Miami Beach, relentlessly chasing after her before grabbing her hair and aggressively throwing her to the ground. After receiving several calls, police arrived to the scene and separated the pair for further questioning. Cittadini, however, hauntingly assured officers that nothing happened. 'Nobody's fighting,' Cittadini can be heard insisting to a responding officer. Harrowing newly obtained video footage captured 29-year-old convicted felon Lorent Pion beating his girlfriend, 22-year-old Nahomi Cittadini, along a street in Miami Beach in August - just four months before her murder On Tuesday, Pion was charged with second-degree murder despite initially telling officers that Cittadini had jumped out of his car during an argument and had been struck by another vehicle Cittadini, of Miami Beach, was found naked and discarded in a grassy area near the entrance ramp of I-95 near Ives Dairy Road in early December, leaving her grieving family demanding justice as they said she was 'threatened' by her abusive boyfriend After receiving several calls, police arrived to the violent scene in August and separated the pair for further questioning The officer informs the 22-year-old woman that witnesses had seen the pair's argument 'clear as day' - specifically Pion striking her in the middle of the street. 'He didn't hit me though,' Cittadini responded. August's violent argument had prompted a protective order against Pion, according to CBS News. 'She was afraid because she had been threatened,' Cittadini's mother told NBC News in reaction to the sickening footage. 'A person who was threatened and who was beaten behaves like that,' she added. 'She gets scared, she gets scared.' Cittadini's naked body was found on the side of the highway just four months later, with Pion telling officers that she had jumped out of his car during an argument before she was struck by an incoming vehicle. Newly released evidence, however, contradicts his story of a tragic hit-and-run, according to an arrest warrant, Local 10 reported. On December 7, two employees of the Florida Department of Transportation's Traffic Management Center reported a man and a woman fighting along the side of the road, prompting Florida Highway Patrol troopers to respond to the scene. Cittadini, however, hauntingly assured officers that nothing happened and claimed that 'nobody's fighting' and Pion 'didn't hit her' during the altercation In response to the devastating footage, Maria Benitez, Cittadini's mother, told NBC that her daughter 'was afraid because she had been threatened' and 'a person who was threatened and who was beaten behaves like that' Despite Cittadini's assurance to officers, the disturbing footage captured Pion relentlessly chasing after her before grabbing her hair and aggressively throwing her to the ground August's violent argument had prompted a protective order against Pion, but she was found dead four months later on the morning of December 7 Shortly after 6am, officers discovered Cittadini's body lying in a grassy area along the side of a highway. It was only after two FDOT workers reviewed that morning's live traffic camera footage that they realized they had witnessed Cittadini's murder in real time. According to one of the workers, a woman, later identified as Cittadini, was seen in the footage 'on the ground fending off the attacker who was standing over her throwing punches,' Local 10 reported. The workers had witnessed Pion as he 'forcefully dragged' Cittadini 'away from where the black SUV was parked and towards the I-95 lanes of traffic,' leading to several vehicles swerving out of the way. According to the warrant, Pion then 'walked away' from Cittadini, who was on the shoulder of the highway. However, investigators said, Cittadini 'crawled back to the emergency shoulder,' before Pion 'dragged her back to the far-right lane in the path of oncoming traffic.' Another worker told investigators that they had watched Pion drag Cittadini 'across the grassy median between I-95 and Ives Dairy Road onramp, towards his black SUV.' The footage then captured Pion getting back into his SUV before driving towards her body, a scene in what investigators said appears to be the suspect 'attempting to load' her body into his vehicle. On December 7, two employees of the Florida Department of Transportation's Traffic Management Center reported a man and a woman fighting along the side of the road, prompting Florida Highway Patrol troopers to respond to the scene where they found her body FDOT workers reviewed that morning's live traffic camera footage which showed Cittadini 'on the ground fending off the attacker who was standing over her throwing punches' before Pion 'forcefully dragged' her 'away from where the black SUV was parked and towards the I-95 lanes of traffic' A witness informed detectives that Cittadini had last been seen alive with Pion as they left the Cheetah Gentlemen's Club in Hallandale Beach and said that Pion had 'showed up to his home with blood all over his body' and 'confronted him' Pion left the scene 'approximately 30 to 45 seconds' after a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crew arrived. However, FDOT workers observed, the rescue crew 'drove by Cittadini and did not stop.' 'That shouldn't be done to even an animal,' Cittadini's mother told NBC News in December. 'I don't know, I don't know what was going through his head,' she added. 'He, based on the images of what he was doing, seems to have a phobia of women, because I don't understand it.' Later that day, several FDOT workers curiously turned back to the camera footage in the area where they 'observed blood stains on the asphalt where Cittadini was struck by a vehicle.' 'He observed a blood trail leading to where Pion dragged her and then observed her body still on the scene, face down and unclothed,' the arrest warrant reads. 'The worker immediately notified FHP and his supervisor.' An assistant medical examiner 'determined that the victim's injuries were caused by blunt force trauma due to being struck by a vehicle,' when they arrived to the scene. While at the scene, a witness informed detectives that Cittadini had last been seen alive with Pion as they left the Cheetah Gentlemen's Club in Hallandale Beach. The same witness told officers that Pion had 'showed up to his home with blood all over his body' and 'confronted him.' Investigators learned of Pion's August arrest and the protective order against him, prompting them to track his ankle monitor to an apartment complex in Miramar. Officers with the MDPD Homicide Task Force responded to Pion's apartment where they saw him getting into his black BMW SUV, prompting them to initiate a traffic stop which led to a chase Pion later wrote a letter to the judge, claiming he was innocent and asking for his charges to be dropped, writing: 'I didn't kill my girl. It was a car accident. And the car that hit her ran away and nobody is looking for!!!!' Pion has several convictions in Broward County, including cocaine possession, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, aggravated fleeing and eluding police and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription Officers with the MDPD Homicide Task Force responded to the home where they saw Pion getting into his black BMW SUV, prompting them to initiate a traffic stop. However, Pion fled the officers as he attempted to return back into Broward County before 'he came to a stop after crashing into multiple vehicles' at the intersection of Red Road and Miramar Parkway. Pion then ran away from the scene on foot but was ultimately captured and charged with failing to stop at the scene along with aggressive fleeing, NBC reported. He was held in the Broward County Jail on no bond as police identified him as a person of interest in Cittadini's death. He later wrote a letter to the judge, asking for his charges to be dropped. 'I am innocent,' Pion wrote. 'I didn't kill my girl. It was a car accident. And the car that hit her ran away and nobody is looking for!!!!' NBC reported. On Tuesday, Pion was officially charged with second-degree murder and remains in the Broward County Main Jail. He is expected to be extradited to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center following the new charge. Pion has several convictions in Broward County, including cocaine possession, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, aggravated fleeing and eluding police and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, according to court records. Cittadini, who was also known by her loved ones as 'Lulu,' met her tragic ending just weeks before her 23rd birthday. A GoFundMe page described Cittadini as 'such a loving, bright, outgoing silly girl.' 'Anybody who knew her, knew how she would always light up any room she'll enter,' the fundraiser read. 'She was highly loved by everyone around her.' An Oklahoma woman accused of engaging in sexual acts with her dog openly admitted to lusting after her pet, according to cops. When questioned by Edmonton authorities, Christina Stokes initially denied making videos depicting her and the animal having sexual intercourse and insisted she was not 'f******' her dog. However, when asked directly if she had ever engaged in sexual activity with the animal, she reportedly paused before responding, 'I can't say an interest hadn't been there,' according to KOMO NEWS. She then hesitated again and asked what would happen next before being taken into custody. The investigation began after law enforcement received a tip on September 24, 2024, regarding videos circulating on pornographic websites that showed a woman wearing a dark half-face mask adorned with feathers and tassels engaging in sexual acts with a dog. Investigators reviewed a 15-minute video that showed a woman, later identified by cops as Stokes, performing various sexual acts with what appeared to be a brown Great Dane wearing a blue collar. According to the affidavit, the woman in the video was partially clothed in pants that exposed her private area. The footage also showed her allowing the dog to lick her tongue and the inside of her mouth, along with other explicit acts. Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested Christina Stokes, who is accused of engaging in sexual acts with a dog When asked directly if she had ever engaged in sexual activity with the animal, Stokes reportedly paused before responding, 'I can't say an interest hadn't been there' Police later discovered an additional video featuring the woman and the dog on a different pornography website. Law enforcement identified Stokes through a tattoo visible in the videos, which allegedly matched a tattoo on her Facebook profile. A search warrant was executed at her residence on February 26. During the search, investigators recovered items that matched those seen in the videos, including a blue collar, a mask, striped socks and specific bedding and furniture. Stokes was subsequently booked into the Oklahoma County Jail. The case is now proceeding through the legal system. This comes just after a woman was arrested for recording 153 bestiality videos that appeared to be with her dog, according to a police report. Brennah Montgomery, 30, of Las Vegas, Nevada pleaded guilty last week to one gross misdemeanor count of bestiality and one felony count of possessing child sex abuse material, according to court records obtained by KLAS. She was first arrested on May 21, 2024, after Las Vegas Metro police found dozens of illicit videos. The investigation began after law enforcement received a tip on September 24, 2024, regarding videos circulating on pornographic websites that depicted a woman wearing a dark half-face mask adorned with feathers and tassels engaging in sexual acts with a dog Law enforcement identified Stokes through a tattoo visible in the videos, which matched a tattoo on her Facebook profile Five of the videos reportedly showed her full or partial face, with some being duplicates. She was released on June 1 after posting a $15,000 bond. The investigation into Montgomery began in 2021 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip that she had shared child pornography on Snapchat, according to The Independent. During questioning, Montgomery initially denied downloading the illegal content, claiming her phone automatically saved videos from Telegram. However, she later admitted to sending three videos of child sex abuse as part of a roleplay conversation. She originally faced five felony charges along with a gross misdemeanor. Under her plea deal, she faces a maximum sentence of seven years in jail and a $7,000 fine. She will also be required to register as a sex offender. In a police interview, Montgomery allegedly admitted to engaging in sexual activity with her dog but claimed she did not force the animal to participate. On her Facebook page, Montgomery had shared numerous photos and a video of her dog, Piper. Brennah Montgomery was arrested on May 21, 2024, after Las Vegas Metro police found the dozens of illicit videos with her dog She posted numerous pictures of this dog she owned named Piper to her Facebook page in February of last year, several months before she was first arrested. It remains unclear if this was the dog she abused In February 2024, she posted about rehoming the dog, stating she could no longer provide proper care. After her arrest became public, her post was flooded with criticism. According to her social media, Montgomery previously owned a Bulldog and worked at a cannabis dispensary in North Las Vegas. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has blown up to $650,000 in city funds in preparation for Wednesday's congressional hearing, according to an explosive new report. The Democrat, 40, is reportedly bringing a dozen staff members with her to the hearing on sanctuary cities, which will cost taxpayers an additional $8,500. The progressive mayor has also hired a legal 'team' - the Washington D.C. law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel - which charges $950 an hour, according to the Boston Herald. The total amount of taxpayer money Wu has splashed to prepare for her day in front of Congress has surpassed half a million dollars - as locals, who are footing the bill, called her ridiculous spending a 'scam.' Wu showed up to the Sanctuary City House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday with a religious ash cross on her forehead - and she was accompanied by her one-month-old baby. The Mayor's office told the Boston Herald: 'The prep sessions included staff from the Mayors Office, Law Department, Boston Police and other senior advisors and leaders from the Cabinet, as well as an external law firm.' 'The City retained Cahill for a rate of $950/hour and expects to pay the firm up to $650,000 for legal work related to the March 5 hearing, committee investigation, and production of related documents.' Initially, her office said that the legal prep bill was one expense, but in an update, Wu's team said: 'Approximately 12 staff members are traveling with the Mayor to DC, and the estimated cost is around $8,500.' Boston Mayor Michelle Wu blew up to $650,000 in city funds in preparation for Wednesday's congressional hearing. (Pictured: Wu at the hearing in the U.S. Capitol) Ahead of the hearing, Wu said that she was ready to 'defend Boston', which she also referred to as the 'safest major city in the country.' (Pictured: Wu arriving at the hearing Wednesday with her newborn daughter) Josh Kraft, Wu's mayoral opponent, said he appreciated her going to D.C. to support their city, but slammed her for the absurd amount of money she's spending on the hearing alone. 'Mayor Wu said shes going to DC to defend the city, and I support this. My question is: do we need to spend $650,000 of taxpayer funds on a show trial hearing?' Kraft, 57, said on Tuesday in a post on X. Her outrageous spending has similarly caused anger among Boston locals. One person wrote online: 'Why does it cost that much to fly to DC, answer some questions, and fly home? Why are we paying this kind of money to simply go to DC and answer questions honestly?' Another added: '$650k for legal fees? Dinner? Where the hell does she pull the $650k from?' And a third said: 'It should come out of her pocket personally. Were already paying for all of her illegals. Now we have to pay for her violating federal law too.' Another chimed in: 'Shes not paying for anything. The taxpayers of Boston are though.' Others questioned if the insane price would benefit her in front of Congress. One person said: 'Imagine us paying 650,000 to be embarrassed in front of the entire country.' A second added: 'Its not like she can go and tell the truth or something. Why miss the opportunity to misuse the citizens money once again.' Another person simply put: 'What a absolute scam.' The law firm Wu chose told the outlet they were hired as 'outside counsel.' Edward O'Callaghen, a lead attorney at the firm's D.C. office will be seated behind Wu during the hearing which starts at 10am in the U.S. Capitol building. She and three other sanctuary city mayors from Denver, New York City and Chicago chose to testify after they were each sent a letter in January by oversight committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky. In his letter, Comer said the committee was 'investigating sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States and their impact on public safety and the effectiveness of federal efforts to enforce' the nation's 'immigration laws.' Ahead of the hearing, Wu said that she was ready to 'defend Boston', which she also referred to as the 'safest major city in the country.' 'There is so much that we are proud of back at home that has made our progress together possible, and there is still so much work that we are looking to do together,' she continued. 'I'd be at home doing that work right now, but I will never back down from an opportunity to defend Boston, to defend our residents, and to defend all that we have accomplished together. 'I, everyday, live the dream. I get to wake up and go to work for the residents of the greatest city in the world, I get to do that work in the most beautiful building in the world, alongside the greatest colleagues in the world,' Wu said as she turned to her Democratic allies, including Elizabeth Warren, and Ayanna Pressley. Sanctuary cities have taken over in the last couple years, limiting cooperation between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement. Wu is seen alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Her outrageous spending has sparked anger among Boston locals, as well as her mayoral opponent Josh Kraft. (Pictured: Wu shaking hands with Mayor Adams ahead of the hearing) Boston's Trust Act - enacted in 2014 and amended in 2019 - limits cooperation with some federal immigration laws and prohibits Boston police, and other city departments, from cooperating with ICE. The Trust Act does allow for cooperation in criminal matters. Since President Donald Trump took office again in January, he has made it his mission to crack down on illegal immigrants entering the U.S. - much of which was done when former President Joe Biden was in the White House. Trump specifically tasked border czar Tom Homan with running operations across the nation to nab as many illegal migrants as possible and get them deported back to their home countries. Shortly after Trump was elected, Wu promised to defy his mass deportation efforts in 'every possible way.' She has insisted that immigrants living in her city will be protected under the threat of deportation. She and three other sanctuary city mayors from Denver, New York City and Chicago chose to testify after they were each sent a letter in January by oversight committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky. (Pictured: President Donald Trump speaking to Congress on Tuesday evening) Shortly after Trump (pictured Tuesday) was elected, Wu promised to defy his mass deportation efforts in 'every possible way.' 'Elections have consequences, and the federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and cities - no individual city - can reverse or override some parts of that,' Wu previously told WCVB. 'We want immigrants to know that it is safe for everyone to be able to feel comfortable reaching out for emergency services, to report a crime , to ask for help, and generally, to be part of our community.' While defending her city, Wu, at the time, admitted that Boston's resources had been stretched due to a recent influx of migrants. The surge, with the ongoing housing crisis, has overwhelmed shelters for more than a year, according to Boston.com. 'What we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact,' she said. A Miami influencer turned tech entrepreneur has been accused of forcing underage girls to create porn to boost her social media platform in a bombshell lawsuit. Multi-millionaire Lucy Guo, 30, and her platform Passes have been accused of running a scheme to recruit teen girls and groom them to create sexually explicit material to sell on the app. Passes is a subscription based content app - with big money backing from the likes of Jake Paul and Paris Hilton - that allows children between the ages of 15 to 17 to join with parental consent. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, claimed Guo knowingly waived Passes' safety controls so her employees could sell content of then 17-year-old Alice Rosenblum. Guo - whose net worth is $500 million - made named for herself as a successful programmer at a young age by creating one of the first-ever Twitter bots that allowed users to auto-follow based on specific hashtags, according to the New York Post. She was once awarded the coveted PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel Fellowship and made the Forbes '30 Under 30' list in 2018, then founded Passes in 2022. Rosenblum - now 18 - claimed in the new lawsuit that she was recruited by one of Passes' agents, Alec Celestin, to 'create images and videos of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct.' Celestin allegedly started messaging Rosenblum online in July 2024 and recruited her to 'knowingly produce, market, sell and distribute child pornography' despite her telling him that she was underage. Lucy Guov (pictured), 30, and her platform Passes have been accused of running a scheme to recruit teen girls and groom them to create sexually explicit material The lawsuit claimed Guo (pictured) knowingly waived Passes' safety controls so her employees could sell content of a 17-year-old girl Passes is a subscription based content app that allows children between the ages of 15 to 17 to join with parental consent The lawsuit claimed Celestin invited the then-17-year-old to his Los Angeles home on August 10 to 'create images and videos of her engaged in sexually explicit conduct.' That same day he allegedly helped Rosenblum create a profile on Passes and got Guo to waive the age requirement so the pornographic material could be uploaded to the apps data storage known as 'The Vault.' 'Guo, knowing that [Rosenblum] was a minor and of Celestin's plans, directly orchestrated the removal of the Passes verification of parental consent requirement,' the lawsuit said. 'Guo instructed [Rosenblum], among other things, on how and where to upload content onto the Passes Vault system. Guo also told [her] that "you can upload anything."' The filings then claim that Guo and her company directed Rosenblum to continue creating pornographic content that they used to target and profit off of high-spending subscribers. '[Defendants] conspired to market, sell and distribute images and videos of [Rosenblum] engaged in sexually explicit conduct through the Passes internet messaging system to Passes customers, including those known as "big spenders" and "whales," in exchange for money,' the lawsuit said. Guo has vehemently denied the allegations and claimed that Celestin never worked for her and that she never spoke to Rosenblum. 'I I HAD ZERO interaction with the plaintiff (calls, texts, calendar invites, emails, etc). I do not have any contact information of hers,' she said on X. 'I do not condone the actions described, and Alec Celestin was not an agent of passes nor was he ever an employee. Then 17-year-old Alice Rosenblum (pictured) said she was recruited by one of Passes' agents, Alec Celestin, to 'create images and videos of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct' Guo (center)- who made the Forbes '30 Under 30 in Enterprise Tech' in 2018 - denied the claims The founder (pictured) claimed that Celestin never worked for her and that she never spoke to Rosenblum 'The conduct described in the complaint is a direct violation of our terms of service, content guidelines, and everything Passes stands for. Consistent with our policy, Passes took immediate action to suspend the flagged account as soon as concern was brought to our attention.' While Guo denied she worked with Celestin, his social media posts indicate otherwise, according to the lawsuit. On January 5, Celestin bragged on X, 'Ive helped build a unicorn (private) @passes with @lucy_guo.' 'I fully [sic.] legally compliantly [sic.] sliced and diced the main competition to Passes which at the time was much larger than Passes. Built that private unicorn. Faced with lawsuits and them trying to ruin my life.' Guo doubled down her denial on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday. 'To be clear, these accusations are false and being wielded to undermine the success of the company we have built over the last three years. 'Lucy Guo and Passes never approved or condoned the posting of underage explicit content on our platform. 'We disapprove of the actions allegedly taken by the plaintiff's talent manager and any attempt to involve us in this matter is baseless, which we intend to prove.' Police in South Dakota are searching for a missing baby boy after a woman asked to care for him temporarily allegedly refused to give him up. Chosen Butler, who is just seven months old, was reported missing on February 28 and was last seen February 27. On Tuesday, the Sioux Falls Police Department issued an arrest warrant against Betty Cross, 38, alleging she has kidnapped the tot. Sam Clemens, a spokesperson for the department, told reporters that Cross had refused to hand over custody of the boy. They did not say if the two are related. The arrest warrant carries a $100,000 bond, with Clemens adding that they believe Butler to safe at this time. KXRB report that Butler's parents considered Cross a close friend who they felt comfortable leaving the child with. According to the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse, Butler is described as having blue eyes and brown hair. Chosen Butler, who is just seven months old, was reported missing on February 28 and was last seen February 27 On Tuesday, the Sioux Falls Police Department issued an arrest warrant against Betty Cross, seen here, alleging she has kidnapped the tot In a post to the South Dakota Missing Persons page on Facebook, it claims that Cross had remanded to hand Butler over the Department of Social Services. Clemens said: 'Because of the nature of the report, Im not able to go into details on what the post says or even confirm any of that information. 'The best I can say is there is no safety concerns at this point in time. Obviously, if we have different information, that may change. But at this point, we believe hes safe.' Cross is also listed on the state missing persons site, describing her as an African American female with brown eyes and black hair. Part of the missing profile says: 'Law enforcement are trying to locate Betty and missing infant, Chosen Butler, who is believed to be in her care.' Clemens said that anyone with information is urged to call the Sioux Falls Police Department. The family of a woman who has mild dementia say she was dumped like a parcel at the door of the wrong address after being discharged from hospital in a taxi. Rosalind Armiger, 72, had been sent to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, for a scan on a head injury after suffering a fall at a community hospital where she had been recovering from a previous fall. Mrs Armigers family say they were assured by staff that the immobile pensioner would not be discharged. But they told how the widow was then wheeled to a taxi and driven to the block of flats where Mrs Armiger had been living until she suffered multiple back and pelvis fractures in her first fall on Christmas Eve. It is the second time in as many years that a patient has been discharged from the hospital and dropped off at the wrong location. Mrs Armigers daughter-in-law yesterday branded the frail pensioners treatment disgusting. She told how the grandmother-of-seven was abandoned in the foyer of the flats at Sutterton, near Boston with no coat or shoes - despite telling the driver she no longer lived at the address. Mrs Armiger, a retired cookery teacher, had initially been admitted to Pilgrim Hospital but was later transferred to Johnson Community Hospital in Spalding for rehabilitation. She should have been returned to that hospital after she was discharged from the Pilgrim for the second time on February 20. She told the BBC said: I was left alone. They just left me to sort myself out. It was scary. I couldnt make it to the toilet and I couldnt go to the door. Rosalind Armiger, 72, pictured on another holiday in northern Spain, was dumped like a parcel at the door of the wrong address by a taxi driver Rosalind in the Pilgrim Hospital after her fall with her daughter-in-law Sophie Armiger Rosalind with her son Marcus Armiger, she has complained about her treatment at the hospital Mrs Armiger moved to Sutterton ten years ago to live nearer her sons Marcus, 53, and Paul, 51, following the death of their father, John, a retired supermarket manager. Marcus, a building firm worker, told the BBC the family felt let down by the hospital. Im angry and upset, he said. I dont want this to happen to anybody else. You cant treat people like this. Paul added: Were horrified by what happened. I understand people are busy, but they have a duty of care and they didnt follow that. She was dumped like a parcel at the door. It shouldnt happen. When you have a loved one go into hospital, you entrust them (hospital) with your care. I dont think its much to ask that they show you that care. They might not be able to fix you, but they should show you that care. Rosalind with son Paul, his wife Sophie and their children Jordan, now 26, Archie, 14, and Jack, 19 The two brothers have power of attorney over their mothers affairs. Pauls wife, Sophie, 42, who runs an online craft business, told MailOnline her mother-in-law struggled to get a phone signal to summon help in the communal entrance hall where she was left by the taxi driver. She added: It was disgusting what happened to her. I had been with her at the hospital earlier that day and they said they wanted to discharge her because they needed the bed. But I told them they couldnt do that because she couldnt walk unaided so they agreed that they wouldnt. After I left we found out they had done just that. She was put into the back of a taxi-van in her wheelchair and taken to the flat. Its unbelievable. Mrs Armiger said her mother-in-law is has now gone into a residential home for four weeks respite care. The pensioner spent two hours in the lobby of her former address before managing to contact her sons by text message. The widow added: I saw him (Marcus) coming in and I felt relieved because then I knew everything would be all right. Rosalind and grandson Arthur, aged 4, in her care home where she is staying for four weeks respite care Acorn Taxis, which picked up Mrs Armiger, said they had policies in place to deal with incidents like this and that they reported it to the transport unit at the hospital the following morning after the family contacted them. Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals (LCH) NHS Group said it was investigating what happened and apologised for the error. Nerea Odongo, group chief nurse for LCH NHS Group, said: I would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mrs Armiger and her family for the recent incident, which clearly fell below the standard of care we want to deliver. We are investigating what has happened, and as part of the investigation process will continue to speak directly to Mrs Armiger and her family about any concerns they have about her care. United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes Pilgrim Hospital, was contacted for comment. In September 2023 Joyce Wright, then 83, was discharged from the Pilgrim hospital on morphine, taken to the wrong house and mistakenly put to bed there by ambulance staff. The pensioner was dropped at an address 40 miles from her own, where paramedics used a key safe to enter. The homeowner, another patient, was supposed to have been discharged. The error was only uncovered when the other patients shocked relatives found Mrs Wright in bed at the house in Skegness the next day. A bombshell new court filing in the case against Bryan Kohberger has revealed that DNA from three individuals was found under the fingernails of murder victim Madison Mogen. In a court document, filed on February 24 and unsealed Tuesday, the accused quadruple killers defense team reveals that testing of Mogens left fingernail clippings unearthed DNA evidence from three unknown individuals. Parts of the document have been redacted, meaning the findings of the testing remain somewhat unclear. Yet, the defense indicates that the comparison to Kohbergers DNA was inconclusive - that he could neither be confirmed or eliminated as the source. However this marks the first time it has emerged that there could be additional DNA evidence from the scene - beyond the leather knife sheath - potentially tying Kohberger to the grisly crime. The 30-year-old criminology student is charged with the murders of Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in the close-knit college town of Moscow, Idaho, back on November 13 2022. The four University of Idaho students were all found brutally stabbed to death inside the off-campus student home that the three young women shared with two other roommates. Kohberger, who was a PhD student just over the border at Washington State University at the time, was arrested around six weeks later at his parents home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. A bombshell new court filing in the case against Bryan Kohberger has revealed that DNA evidence was found under the fingernails of murder victim Madison Mogen (pictured) Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin , 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were all stabbed to death A critical part of the case against the suspect comes from a brown leather knife sheath found close to Mogens body at the scene. According to prosecutors, touch DNA found on the sheath belongs to Kohberger and was traced to him using Investigative Genetic Genealogy. Kohberger faces the death penalty if convicted at his trial in August. In the new court filing, the defense is asking the judge to limit testimony about the DNA analysis of Mogens fingernail scrapings, claiming it would violate Kohbergers right to a fair trial. During grand jury proceedings, the court heard testimony that a three person mixture had been found on the 21-year-olds fingernail clippings, the filing reveals. The data from that sample was [redacted] as to Mr. Kohberger, the document reads. The statistical likelihood that Kohberger is one of the three individuals whose DNA was found on the clippings is also redacted. The filing details that the witness testified about the meaning of the term inconclusive. In the new court filing, the defense is asking the judge to limit testimony about the analysis of Mogen s fingernail scrapings, claiming it would violate Bryan Kohbergers (pictured) right to a fair trial The home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, where the four University of Idaho students were found murdered Kohbergers defense is arguing that this testimony used misleading language. LR's [likelihood ratios] are different from traditional statistics that courts and juries are used to seeing and hearing. The LR is comparison of hypotheses, it is not statement of identity or probability of identity. It simply asks the question: given the data, which hypotheses tested is more likely. Statistically, it was assumed that Mogen was one of the three individuals. Two hypotheses were then tested, that the three people included: Mogen, Goncalves and one unknown unrelated person or Mogen and two unrelated persons. Kohbergers defense argues that at least four other, unnamed individuals were also tested and that they, like Kohberger, also all came back inconclusive. All of these individuals sit in the same shoes as Mr. Kohberger, namely that the LR is exclusionary but falls in the range of inconclusive, the filing states. Focusing on Kohbergers DNA being inconclusive would mislead the jury at his trial, his defense argues. Expanding beyond the language of the report would prejudice Mr. Kohberger in that it might allow the jury to infer that the inconclusive data would mean that he might be included, the defense writes. The legal team also argues that additional testing since carried out by the defense has now excluded Kohberger as the source of the DNA. The new details about the DNA evidence was revealed in a flurry of new court documents filed by both the defense and prosecution as Kohberger's high-profile death penalty trial looms. In a series of other motions, Kohberger's attorneys made a string of requests to block the words 'murder,' 'bushy eyebrows,' 'psychopath' and 'sociopath' from being used at his trial. According to the defense, using the terms murder, murderer, murdered, murder weapon, and similar words would be unfairly prejudicial to the accused killer. Whether the killings at issue are murder as allegedly committed by Bryan Kohberger, or by an alternate suspect or someone still unknown is the ultimate issue, his defense argues. To label Mr. Kohberger as a murderer, the alleged weapon consistent with an empty sheath as a murder weapon, or to assert that any of the four decedents was murdered by Mr. Kohberger denies his right to a fair trial and the right to be presumed innocent, the defense argues. A separate filing also asks the judge to ban the terms 'psychopath' and 'sociopath', calling these 'unequivocally unfairly prejudicial.' The defense is also asking the judge to block any evidence referencing 'bushy eyebrows' or from surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen from using those words to identify Kohberger. DNA was found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath (seen in a stock image) left behind at the scene Two other roommates - Mortensen and Bethany Funke - lived with Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle in the three-story house at 1122 King Road. They were inside the home at the time of the murders but survived. Mortensen, whose bedroom was on the second floor, came face-to-face with a masked man in the immediate aftermath of the murders, according to court documents. She told investigators that she had been woken by noises in the home at around 4am that morning and had heard a voice say theres someone here.' She also heard what sounded like whimpering coming from Kernodle's room and a mans voice saying: Its ok, Im going to help you. Mortensen told investigators she had opened her door and peeked outside three times. The third time, she said she saw a man with bushy eyebrows and dressed in black walk past her door and head towards the sliding back doors of the home. Soon after seeing the intruder, Mortensen went downstairs to Funkes room and the two roommates fell asleep there, the new court documents show. Ethan Chapin (left) was staying at his girlfriend Xana Kernodle's (right) home on the night of the murders Best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were found dead in the same bed on the third floor of the home Around eight hours later, a 911 call was made from Funke's cellphone as the bloodbath inside the home was discovered. According to Kohberger's defense, 'the description provided by D.M. is unreliable and should be excluded' from the trial. 'Although she has never identified Mr. Kohberger, testimony by D.M. from the witness stand, describing bushy eyebrows while Mr. Kohberger sits as the accused at trial, will be as damning as her pointing to him and saying, "he is the man that did this,"' the defense argues. The defense claims there are some inconsistencies in Mortensen's description of the masked intruder. The legal team also points to artwork seen on the student's bedroom walls - many of which she had drawn - including 'many pictures of eyes with prominent eyebrows.' 'Some of the eyebrows are heavy, voluminous, puffy, or perhaps subjectively bushy,' the defense states. Mortensen also told investigators that she 'had a lot of lucid dreams of being kidnapped or chased' and that, on the morning of November 13 2022, 'she did not fully understand what was a dream or not,' the defense writes. In one police interview, she allegedly said 'she thought that the person she saw was a fireman.' The student home where the murders took place. Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen came face-to-face with a masked intruder moments after the murders are believed to have taken place As the only known living eyewitness, Mortensen could be a key witness for the prosecution - and a key witness that the defense will seek to discredit. The defense is also fighting to get the death penalty off the table in the case - with a new filing making the bombshell claim that the accused killer has autism. In the motion to Strike the Death Penalty Re: Autism Spectrum Disorder,' which was finally unsealed Tuesday, Kohberger's defense says he has an autism diagnosis which 'exposes him to the unacceptable risk' that a jury will convict him of murder and sentence him to death. Due to his autism, Kohberger has 'little insight into his own behaviors and emotions,' often rocks his body back and forth when listening, has 'limited' facial expressions and 'his expressions are sometimes incongruent with what is happening around him,' the defense states. A juror seeing the defendant engage in any one of these behaviors, while sitting at counsel table during a murder trial, would perceive the defendant as strange, out-of-control, and even disrespectful of such a solemn proceeding,' the defense writes. This latest push to get the death penalty struck from the case comes amid startling changes to Idaho's death penalty procedures. The state legislature is considering a bill that would make firing squad the principal method of execution in death row cases. Goncalves family has long publicly called for the death penalty and her father is now pushing for Kohberger to face the firing squad if convicted of the shocking murders of his daughter and her friends. University of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger (seen in court in 2023) has now dropped a bombshell claim of autism in his fight to take the death penalty off the table There's no reason to have capital punishment if this isn't the case for it,' Steve Goncalves told NewsNation last month. Kohbergers attorneys have already fought, unsuccessfully, to remove the death penalty from the case, making various arguments that it is unconstitutional. In a string of court documents filed last year, they argued that the methods of execution available to inmates in Idaho - firing squad and lethal injection - as well as forcing inmates to wait for years on death row would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment. But, in November, Judge Steven Hippler struck down the defense bid and gave prosecutors the green light to pursue capital punishment. Kohberger stayed silent at his arraignment, leading the judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. He has so far offered up a vague alibi for the night of the murders claiming he was driving around at night looking at the stars. No witnesses can corroborate where he was, his attorney Anne Taylor admitted in a court filing. As well as the DNA found on the knife sheath, prosecutors say Kohberger was also tied to the murders through his white Elantra - matching the car seen leaving the crime scene at the time of the murders - and cellphone records placing him in the vicinity of the home. Kohberger is next due in court in April. Democrats have been taunted online and by liberal stars such as Stephen Colbert for their 'lame' protest at President Trump's Congress speech. During Trump's speech last night Democrat lawmakers repeatedly held up black paddles brandished with phrases such as 'false', 'save medicaid' and 'Musk steals'. Trump's speech was largely positively received by Americans, according to a snap poll. However, the Democrat's bizarre stunt fell flat and prompted widespread ridicule across social media and even from traditionally left-leaning outlets and comedians. This included the host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert, who quipped this is how the 'Democrats are getting ready to fight back with their little paddles.' Colbert said: 'That is how you save democracy: by quietly dissenting. 'Or bidding on an antique tea set. It was hard to tell what was going on.' He then held up a paddle of his own with a message urging the Democrats to 'try doing something'. Comedian Stephen Colbert had his own paddle which read 'try doing something' The Democrat's bizarre stunt largely fell flat and prompted widespread ridicule across social media and even from traditionally left-leaning outlets and comedians The ridicule continued online where social media users created 'the greatest meme in political history' The backlash continued on MSNBC where one of their commentator's claimed the protest resembled a game of bingo. 'Why are democrats just sitting there? The signs are not landing. It is giving bingo,' Symone Sanders-Townsend. The ridicule continued online where social media users had fun defacing the paddles to create their own messages such as 'open borders', 'more taxes' and 'I hate women'. 'Congratulations to the Democrats' leader who decided that bringing signs with a black background and white text was a great idea. You just enabled millions of people on social media to turn your party into the greatest meme in political history.' one X user wrote. 'The Democrats look pathetic. Whoever came up with the idea of those bingo signs should be fired,' another said. While most Democrats protested silently, Representative Al Green from Texas heckled Trump at the start of the speech. As Green rose to speak, shaking his walking cane at the president, the Republicans drowned him out with muscular chants of 'USA! USA!' Johnson eyed the situation from his perch on the dais behind Trump, appearing hesitant to interrupt the presidents address. But the speaker was shaking his head and clearly desiring decorum in the chamber. Vice President JD Vance motioned with his thumb to throw Green out. During Trump's speech last night Democrat lawmakers repeatedly held up black paddles brandished with phrases such as 'false', 'save medicaid' and 'Musk steals' A doctored image where a social media user defaced the paddles to create their own messages such as 'open borders', 'more taxes' and 'I hate women' The speaker issued a warning for order, banging the gavel. 'Take your seat, sir!' But the long-serving congressman remained standing. And then Johnson ordered the Sergeant at Arms to restore order by removing Green from the chamber. Trump's prime-time speech was his first to Congress since returning to power he used his speech to promote his MAGA agenda and tout what he considers victories from his first six weeks on office. And it highlighted another extraordinary facet of Trump's political comeback in Washington, where his allies hold the House and Senate, allowing him almost unfettered power. The night bore all the hallmarks of a Trump rally, with bold exaggerations, multiple attacks on his predecessor, protests and walkouts, plus a string of made-for-television moments. At 99 minutes, it was the longest presidential address to Congress in history. A flash poll by J.L. Partners after the speech found that 57 per cent of respondents gave the speech a thumbs up. Only 32 percent said they disapproved, according to an online survey of 774 viewers. Three quarters said the speech showed the Trump they knew, compared with 20 percent who said it showed another side of Trump. Trump's prime-time speech was his first to Congress since returning to power he used his speech to promote his MAGA agenda and tout what he considers victories from his first six weeks on office While most Democrats protested silently, Democratic Representative Al Green from Texas heckled Trump at the start of the speech Some 62 percent said it was a 'strong' speech. But at the same time 53 percent said it was 'caring' (only 38 percent said it was uncaring), packed as it was with shout-outs to families in the audience who had been victims to violent crime or other hardships. And there was good news for a president who has set out to entertain his public. Almost two thirds (65 percent) said the speech was interesting while just 27 percent said it was boring. It was also broadly well received by political experts. Speaking to DailyMail.com Jessica Anderson, president of the conservative Sentinel Action Fund praised the president for keeping his promises. 'Standing in front of a unified, Republican-led government, President Trump tonight marked a new era and direction for our country,' Anderson said. 'After a historic six weeks in office, its clear that this administration is prioritizing the safety, health, and prosperity of Americans and leaving behind the Biden-Democrat legacy of corruption and deceit,' she continued. According to Dr. Jonathan Bronitsky, co-founder and CEO of ATHOS and formerly chief speechwriter at the Justice Department during Trump's first administration, 'America is backand there isn't a darn thing the left can do about it.' According to University of Michigan professor Rusty Hills, the president's address to a joint session of Congress was 'classic Trump.' Trump's speech last night was well received by the American public according to a flash poll 'The speech was a campaign rally held under the capitol dome. It was a two hour long Greatest Hits tour, with all of Mr. Trumps favorite lines from the 24 campaign trail: Drain the swamp, Drill, baby, drill, and, of course, Make America Great Again,' Hills told DailyMail.com 'And, just as in his campaign rallies, there were repeated attacks against former President Joe Biden, his 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and all of the Democrats,' Hills pointed out. He noted that Trump touched on his familiar themes including immigration, tariffs, tax cuts, ending waste, fraud and abuse in government, and eliminating all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Democratic strategist Joel Payne was not impressed by the record-length speech. 'Trump really had nothing for the American people on the economy,' Payne told DailyMail.com after the speech wrapped up. 'He decided to go heavy on blaming Biden and leaning in the culture wars,' he added. Payne called in an 'audacious bet for the country that continues to say that they are concerned about the economy.' A Tennessee husband has shared the frantic text messages he sent his wife after she went missing, before she was found dead inside her car in a retention pond. Michael Fundo, a private contractor based in Saudi Arabia, was overseas when his wife Kristen, 35, went missing in Cordova. He had Facetimed Kristen just an hour before she vanished, having spoke with her while she ate at a restaurant with a friend last Friday. As she left, he had been tracking her phone and became alarmed when she failed to respond to his text messages or phone calls. She then pulled up beside the pond. Speaking with WREG, Fundo said it was around this time that her phone died, and the local sheriff's office received a call about a vehicle being submerged in the lake. In the messages, Fundo frantically asks Kristen, 'you ok?', 'did you go back to her house?'. After Kristen failed to reply the texts become more frantic, as Fundo says: 'Getting concerned now. Tried to call you twice', and 'now your phone is off? I'm definitely worried now!' He adds: 'This is very abnormal babe, I'm stressed out right now! You better be OK!' Michael Fundo, seen here alongside his late wife Kristen, had been overseas working when his wife disappeared He had been tracking her phone and became alarmed when she failed to respond to his text messages or phone calls The following day, he follows up with another text: 'If you get this, just know that Daniel is driving by that location to see if the truck is there. 'I'm so f***** freaked out right now.' On the Saturday, he then said: 'I love you. I hope you're ok. I'm panicking really bad!' Sadly, Fundo's worst fears were realized shortly afterwards. Shelby County Sheriff's deputies had responded to the scene on Grays Hollow Drive to a call of a vehicle actively sinking in a body of water. The local fire department took a boat out into the pond and found the vehicle submerged in the water with Kristen's body inside. According to the sheriff's department, there were no signs of foul play. The local medical examiner's office told Fundo there was no signs of trauma. Investigators are still none the wiser as to how or why Kristen died, with further tests underway. Speaking with WREG, he said: 'It was near my brothers neighborhood. I dont know if that is where she was trying to go. I called my brother to see if our car was there.' His wife had been employed at Christ Methodist Day School, with their daughter attending a nearby elementary school. Fundo told the outlet that the school had been supportive of his family and even waived his daughter's tuition. An official cause of death has yet to be released, with Fundo saying he was still waiting on a toxicology report Her vehicle was found submerged in a retention pond on Friday evening, after someone dialed 911 to report a vehicle entering the water In a Facebook live he also said that he had now returned to Tennessee and added: 'No daughter should ever grow up without a mom.' In a post to his Facebook, Fundo added: 'Unbelievable agony that you're gone. You were my life line, my happiness, my best friend. 'Your absence will forever affect our little girl and I for the rest of our life. Please watch over me, give me comforting words and touch my soul every chance you get. 'I will love you unconditionally forever, now and until the end of time.' A GoFundMe has also been started to help the family with funeral and travel expenses. A post to the fundraiser says: 'At this time we are trying to take the financial burden off the family to give them time and space to grieve. 'Any donations are helpful and no amount is insignificant. Kristen was a light in everyone's life.' An official cause of death has yet to be released, with Fundo saying he was still waiting on a toxicology report. Sir Keir Starmer today signalled Labour would block a Tory MP's bid to introduce a legal ban on first cousins being able to marry in England and Wales. Richard Holden, a Conservative shadow minister and MP for Basildon and Billericay, has proposed changes to existing marriage legislation. Current laws state the prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage include those to a sibling, parent or child, but not marriages between first cousins. Mr Holden's Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill is seeking to prohibit the marriage of first cousins. His Bill is due to return before the House of Commons on Friday and, ahead of its scheduled second reading, Mr Holden pushed for Government support. Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Holden urged Sir Keir to 'think again' after Downing Street previously indicated it had no plans to change the law. 'A marriage between first cousins carries significant health issues, many of which aren't even knowable until post-birth,' he told the PM. 'When practised generation after generation, there is a significant multiplier effect.' Sir Keir Starmer signalled Labour would block a Tory MP's bid to introduce a legal ban on first cousins being able to marry in England and Wales Richard Holden, a former Conservative minister and MP for Basildon and Billericay, has proposed changes to existing marriage legislation Mr Holden added: 'In addition, the real impact for the openness of our society and women's rights in our country are also significant. 'After all, there are significant dynamics in having and sharing the same set of grandparents. 'On Friday, this Government has a choice to let my Bill to ban first cousin marriage go through to committee stage. 'Will the PM think again before instructing his whips to block this legislation?' But Sir Keir signalled the Government would not be throwing its support behind Mr Holden's Bill, with the PM replying: 'We've taken our position on that Bill, thank you.' The Tory MP was already facing a battle for his Bill to become law due to the amount of parliamentary time available for such private members' bills to clear the necessary stages. Mr Holden first introduced his Bill to the Commons in December when it met opposition from independent MP Iqbal Mohamed. The MP for Dewsbury and Batley, told the Commons last year that many people view family intermarriage as 'very positive'. He said it was seen as something that could help 'build family bonds' and put families on a more secure financial foothold'. Mr Mohamed admitted there were 'health risks' for the children of such marriages. But he said a 'more positive approach' would be to 'facilitate advanced genetic test screening' for couples wishing to marry. He also called for 'education programmes' to be targeted at those communities where family intermarriage is most common, as he urged MPs to reject an outright ban. At the time, Downing Street indicated the Government had no plans to ban marriages between first cousins despite the health risks. A No10 spokesman said: 'I think the expert advice on the risks of first-cousin marriage are clear. 'But in terms of legislation, the Government has set out its priorities.' Mr Holden is pushing for a legislative change after noting that laws on first-cousin marriage have been left 'unchanged' since the reign of Henry VIII. A young boy abducted seven years ago has been found safe and well after featuring on Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries docuseries. Abdul Aziz Khan, 14, was kidnapped in 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. He has now been found 1,500 miles away in Colorado completely by chance, after police officers were called out to a burglary. The owner of the home, who has not been identified, spotted two intruders on a home surveillance camera and dialed 911. Deputies from Douglas County Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene and found two children in the back of a car parked on the driveway. They spoke with the pair as the two adults they were with - later identified as Rabia Khalid and Elliot Blake Bourgeois - entered the house. They were arrested after emerging from the property. Abdul Aziz Khan, 14, was reportedly kidnapped in 2017 in Atlanta Georgia, with authorities in Colorado now saying they had found him safe late last month Aziz was featured on an episode of Netflix's cult crime show Unsolved Mysteries after his abduction but happily his case has now been solved Khalid has since been identified as Aziz's mother. She was wanted for kidnapping her son from his father seven years ago. Both she and Bourgeois were booked into the Douglas County Jail on charges including Second Degree Kidnapping, Forgery, Identity Theft, Providing False Information to Authorities, and Trespassing. Officials said in a release that their bond was set at $1,000,000 each. Aziz has now been taken into protective custody. The identity of the younger child has not yet been released. In a statement, the rest of the boy's relieved family said: 'Were overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. 'We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. We specifically want to recognize the Douglas County Sheriffs Office for their exceptional work in solving this case. 'Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together.' The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released the above age-progression pic of the youngster in hopes of finding him The sheriff's office said the pair were later identified as Rabia Khalid, left, and Elliot Blake Bourgeois, right The youngster is seen here with his father Abdul. He was taken by his mother after a years long custody dispute Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said: 'Our deputies responded to what initially seemed like a routine trespass call, but through sharp attention to detail and tenacity, they uncovered the truth. 'Their ability to recognize the discrepancies in the suspects story and to follow the leads, even when the situation seemed unclear, ultimately led to the safe recovery of a child who had been missing for seven long years.' The US Marshals Office said that Khalid failed to show up for a custody hearing in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2017. They say she packed her belongings and fled with her son and new husband, who they identified as Bourgeois. The abduction came about after a custody dispute that ran for years between the boy's father, Abdul, and Khalid. The case had also been featured as part of Netflix's 'Unsolved Mysteries' show According to Missing Kids, the couple separated in 2014 and Khalid moved her son from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Atlanta, Georgia. Abdul previously said that Khalid had made it difficult for the boys mother to let him see the youngster. Convinced she was going to lose custody, she is believed to have fled with Aziz in a panic. She managed to remain on the run with him for seven years. The US Marshals Service is now thanking Netflix for publicizing the case. U.S. Marshal Enix Smith III for the Eastern District of Louisiana said in a statement: 'This significant development follows a lengthy seven-year search. 'I extend my sincere gratitude to all involved in the recovery effort, especially the authorities in Douglas County, Colorado for their swift and effective actions. 'Also, we would like to thank NCMEC, Netflixs Unsolved Mysteries, and Crimestoppers GNO for directing the publics attention to this matter.' A glamorous woman appeared to smirk in her mugshot after killing another woman in a deadly crash in Alabama. Shana Magbee, 23, of Mobile, was arrested on Sunday after she struck another woman on Florida Street and Airport Boulevard while driving her truck, WKRG reported. Magbee allegedly did not stop at the red light, causing her to hit the other woman, who was found dead on the scene by police. A third vehicle was also struck while waiting to turn at a red light on Florida Street, officials said. Magbee has since been arrested and charged with first-degree assault and manslaughter. It is unclear if she was under the influence of any substances. In another accident this week that nearly saw a driver dead, a motorcyclist in California collided with a truck on 210 Freeway in Los Angeles County on Tuesday. The motorcyclist hit a speeding truck from behind at full speed and then seemed to vanish out of thin air as his bike lay crushed on the ground. Shana Magbee, 23, of Mobile, was arrested on Sunday after she struck another woman on Florida Street and Airport Boulevard while driving her truck Magbee allegedly did not stop at the red light, causing her to hit the other woman, who was found dead on the scene by police It is unclear if she was under the influence. Magbee has since been arrested and charged with first-degree assault and manslaughter The bike burst into pieces after the crash, leaving fragments scattered on the highway as the cars continued to rumble by. If you blinked during the collision you may have missed the motorcyclist toppling over his bike and onto the truck's car bed. The truck didn't even slow down after the collision and just took the motorcyclist for a ride off the freeway. California Highway Patrol responded to the scene and the driver of the truck got off the highway at the next exit. The biker involved in the crash lucked out as motorcycles are frequently involved in fatal collisions. Even though motorcycles make up only three percent of all registered vehicles and 0.7 percent of all miles traveled in the US, they account for 14.6 percent of fatal crashes, according to the National Safety Council. Fatal motorcycle accidents rose in the US by 25 percent from 2013 to 2022. The number of fatalities totaled over 6,000 in 2022, per NSC data. President Donald Trump could announce rolling back some of the tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico as early as Wednesday. It comes just days after the U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on all good imported from the two neighboring countries this week rocketing the country into a trade war. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on Bloomberg on Wednesday morning where he said the president is considering easing some tariffs. 'There are going to be tariffs, let's be clear, but what he's thinking about is which sections of the market that can maybe, maybe he'll consider giving them relief,' Lutnick said. The commerce secretary said that could go until they get to April 2. The Trump administration appeared ready to blink first as the markets took a massive tumble this week, and Canada and China announced reciprocal tariffs. But the trade war between the U.S. and major trade partners is far from over. 'I don't want anybody to forget, April 2 is the day that we announce our reciprocal tariffs around the world,' Lutnick noted. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday When asked for additional clarity on the timing of an announcement, Lutnick suggested it would be Wednesday afternoon. 'The president is listening to the offers from Mexico and Canada. He's thinking about trying to do something in the middle. He's thinking about it. We're talking about it,' Lutnick said. He said he expects it to be 'not 100 percent of all products and not none - somewhere in the middle.' Lutnick claimed that Canada and Mexico are working hard to address drug trafficking at the border. He argued it's 'not a trade war, this is a drug war.' But Canadian officials appear less willing to meet halfway and indicated they've shared that with American counterparts. 'Were not interested in some sort of reduction of the tariffs. We want the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico respected,' Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canada responded to the U.S. tariffs by announcing it would impose reciprocal tariffs on $30 billion worth of products immediately and said there would be more to come within 21 days. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump imposing tariffs a 'very dumb thing to do.' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announce reciprocal tariffs on March 4 Trump admitted the tariffs imposted on trade partners would cause a 'little disturbance' during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4 China also announced 10 and 15 percent additional tariffs on some U.S. goods. The president of Mexico said her country would announce its reciprocal tariffs on Sunday. Speaking to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump admitted that the tariffs on its major trade partners would cause a 'little disturbance,' but he argued it 'won't be much.' This is the moment a rapist Chinese PhD student showed no emotion as police forced him to watch a video of a sick sex attack he launched on a sleeping victim. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was today unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders as police revealed dozens of new victims had been seen in the sick home videos he filmed of his attacks. Zou, the son of a wealthy Chinese Communist Party member, drugged and raped three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023, while he was studying at University College London. Of the 50 new victims, Zou is believed to have carried out half the attacks in London and the other half in China. The shocking disclosures come after the sexual predator was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. Footage of his police interview shows expressionless Zou being shown one of the rapes he recorded to keep as a sick 'souvenir'. Zhenhao Zou, 28, drugged and raped three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023, while he was studying at University College London UCL student Zhenhao Zou, 28, drugged and raped three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023 Blank-faced Zou does not react to the short clip, except to sip a glass of water. Aided by a Mandarin interpreter, the detective asks him: 'Mr Zou, after seeing that is there anything you want to tell me?' He stays silent for a brief moment before coldly requesting 'can I have a talk with my solicitor?' and the interview is paused. When he was arrested, police found videos relating to nine of the victims as well as a series of intimate photographs taken while the women were unconscious. Zou lured the Chinese women back to his plush properties and stupefied them with drink and drugs before attacking them and filming it on hidden spy cameras. Disturbingly, many of the women targeted may not even realise they had been raped as some of Zou's home videos showed his captives so incapacitated that he was able to slap one around the face without rousing her. Zou unwittingly left a treasure trove of evidence for officers by recording the attacks for his own twisted gratification and hoarding items stolen from victims ranging from underwear and lipstick to a Chanel earring. The identity of many of the women in Zou's footage is unknown, with police having so far identified just two of the 10 victims that were part of the trial. Officers began investigating Zou in November 2023 after a woman who was not included in the trial reported him for rape. Police have now revealed another woman has recently contacted them after reading press reports of the case. Zou was branded a 'persistent sexual predator' who lured young Chinese women back to his flat before drugging and raping them The rapist seen on police bodycam when he was being arrested in his flat During the four-week trial, jurors were reduced to tears when they were shown a harrowing video of a semi-conscious unknown woman begging Zou to stop raping her, but the predator chillingly sneered: 'Don't push me, it's pointless the sound insulation here is very good.' One of the two female victims identified by police told the trial how she went out drinking with Zou in Chinatown, central London, in September 2021 after a meal with friends. She said her last memory was vomiting in the street and losing her bank cards before she woke up to find Zou raping her. On May 18, 2023, Zou raped the other woman identified by police after a drinking party at his flat in Elephant and Castle. The 'screaming and crying' woman told the trial how she felt drunk and 'out of control' and had begged Zou's female friend to help her get home. But Zou persuaded his friend to leave, arguing he couldn't let the drunken woman go home alone, so she would stay with him. He kept her at the flat and later raped her. When police raided his flat at the Uncle building, in Elephant and Castle, southeast London, in January 2024, they seized pipettes, glass vials and bottles of Butanediol. Prosecutors previously said Zou filmed nine of the alleged victims, footage of which was played in court. Police have launched an appeal to find more victims of convicted rapist Zhenhao Zou, 28 Zou looks on impassively while being interviewed (left) before sipping from a cup of water (right) Asked by Mr Cotter why that particular genre appealed to him, Zou said: 'I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex.' Mr Cotter then asked Zou: 'What about being asleep?' The student replied: 'Yes, that's my favourite type. But I could not find that.' Ms Farrelly said: 'The police reviewed over 700,000 artefacts which included 1,277 videos. 'The police found absolutely no trace whatsoever of such an interest (in timestop pornography) when they went through that material.' In his closing speech, Mr Cotter told jurors on Tuesday that Zou says he has insomnia and has 'an interest in sleep sex'. 'He thinks there may be a connection,' Mr Cotter said. Mr Cotter told jurors Zou is 'a young man with money who can pay to exercise his fantasies'. He described himself as a 28-year-old PhD researcher who 'works out often' a fact he was keen to flaunt with topless mirror selfies Officers seized items including a 'graduated dropper pipette' and two brown bottles containing 500ml of clear liquid labelled '1,4 - Butanediol.' The bedroom in Zou's flat, where he chillingly boasted that 'the sound insulation is very good' Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how the student kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. One woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was raped by Zou on May 18, 2023. Ms Farrelly told jurors: 'She says when she woke up the following morning she searched high and low for her underwear, and eventually he (Zou) found it in his wardrobe. 'You now know, although the woman never did, that in fact he had a box in his wardrobe that was full of women's belongings. 'He calls it a lost property box, we say it is his trophy box. Why is it that every single item belongs to a woman?' The horrifying scale of Zou's crimes was uncovered during a complex and 'painstaking' investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Public Protection Team, which reviewed six-a-half-trillion bytes of data on Zou's digital devices, including hundreds of videos and more than nine million WeChat messages. Officers found a stash of illegal drugs at his home in London, but Zou claimed he was using butanediol as moisturiser. But as officers launched a nationwide victims appeal, top cops warned the overall figure of 60 victims could be just the tip of the iceberg. Commander Kevin Southworth, of the Met's Public Protection Team, said: 'We're fully open-minded that it may well be higher than that, which [means] Zou is the most substantial and most prolific offender that we've come across in recent times. A hidden spy camera that the rapist used to record his crimes Bodyworn camera footage shows police finding bags of Xanax at Zou's apartment 'When you consider the scale, the deceitful nature, the calculating, predatory nature of what Zou has done hereit's fairly unprecedented. 'It's certainly not something that I've experienced in my 28 years of policing, to see a man who has plainly gone out of his way to deceive, to drug, to incapacitate his victimswhere many of them may have no recollection of what occurred[and to then] commit these horrific sexual assaults.' Unveiling the Met's appeal to victims and witnesses, Detective Chief Inspector Richard Mackenzie said: 'We are keeping an open mind currently about the identities of the victims. 'However, we are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student communities who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019 and 2024. 'We would also like to speak to potential victims who may have met Zou while he was living in China.' He also appealed to women who may have spoken to him on dating apps or on Chinese social media sites like WeChat or Little Red Book. He added: 'Due to the nature of his offending, we believe some women may not, in fact, know that they are a victim, and we do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about his crimes following his verdict. Zou kept a 'lost property box' in his wardrobe full of women's belongings Zou kept a large collection of condoms in a Louis Vuitton box A host of different drugs in pill form were also discovered by police at Zou's residence 'We want to reassure those women that reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.' In an unusual and controversial move, police did not publicise the charges against Zou in the year the case was in the criminal justice system. Asked why police did not launch a victims appeal sooner, DCI Mackenzie said it was a 'deliberate operational decision made to ensure we could protect the integrity of the ongoing trial' and future legal cases. He said investigators did not want to 'taint' the evidence prior to court proceedings and that a 'phased approach' was taken to approaching women who may have no memory or knowledge they are victims. Asked if there would be a parallel appeal in China, Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton told reporters police are 'working through' this 'in negotiation with the Chinese authorities'. Despite the scale of Zou's offending in China, British police were never given permission to raid the home of the sexual deviant, with their investigation limited solely to England and Wales. Quizzed on 'how confident' UK police are that the Chinese will help with the appeal, Commander Southworth said they haven't been 'unhelpful'. He added: 'We've nothing to suggest that they won't respond, and they've been responding constructively to everything we've asked them so far.' More boxes of condoms that were found inside a drawer at his flat The flat's bathroom. Zou posed as a smart and charming young man when in reality he was a persistent sexual predator He also thanked the Chinese Ministry of Justice for enabling officers to visit China to directly support one of the two victims as she gave evidence via video link during the trial. UCL's President and Provost Dr Michael Spence said: 'We have been appalled by these horrific offences. 'Our thoughts are with the survivors and we wish to pay tribute to the bravery of the women who reported these crimes and gave evidence at the trial. 'The prevalence of sexual harassment, violence and abuse in society is extremely alarming and causes immense harm to victims, their families and wider communities. 'This case is particularly distressing and our focus is providing support for our students, alumni and staff through a range of services. These include 24/7 access to confidential support lines and access to mental health professionals including trained counsellors and psychologists. 'We also provide support through our partnerships with specialist organisations like Rape Crisis. We are here to support anyone at UCL who has been impacted by this case, directly or indirectly. 'We have supported the Metropolitan Police with their enquiries throughout this investigation, and we would like to thank the Police and Crown Prosecution Service for ensuring the successful prosecution of these abhorrent crimes. 'Following the launch of the Police appeal, we urge anyone with information related to these crimes to contact the Police via this webpage, by emailing survivors@met.police.uk or calling 101, if they are comfortable doing so. 'Anyone affected at UCL can report any incidents to us through our online reporting tool and access Crime Prevention and Personal Safety support on and off campus. We will also support members of our community with reporting an incident to the Police, if they wish to do so.' Zou is thought to be among some of Britain's most prolific sex offenders including Reynhard Sinaga and Black cab rapist John Worboys. As the world's worst rapist, Sinaga, now 42, was convicted of 159 sex attacks on 48 heterosexual men in Manchester between 2015 and 2017. It was later revealed that Sinaga who incapacitated victims with the date rape drug GHB had preyed on at least 195 different men after police found footage he filmed of the attacks. Worboys, now 67, was convicted of 19 sex attacks against 12 women between 2006 and 2008. Worboys who gave victims drug-laced champagne before attacking them in his cab is believed to have raped or sexually assaulted more than 100 women before he was caught. If you wish to speak to Met detectives or make a report relating to Zou, you can also contact police via email on survivors@met.police.uk You can also make a report to police by calling 101 from within the UK, quoting reference 2904/04FEB25. Donald Trump was welcomed back to the White House on Tuesday evening by a group of his closest advisors and family members. He told the room that it was challenging making the speech to a very divided joint session of Congress. 'If you think that was easy it wasn't,' Trump said in a 32-second video posted by the White House. 'You're a very special group and thank you very much,' the president added. The video included quick messages from Trump's youngest daughter Tiffany, who is pregnant, his press secretary and his daughter-in-law Lara, who is married to his middle son Eric. 'Dad, we're so proud of you tonight. You were incredible as always. Keep up the hard work,' Tiffany said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got close to the camera and lauded: 'Best speech ever.' President Donald Trump told his family and closest aides that it 'wasn't easy' making a speech to a very divided joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening Staff gathered at the White House to greet Trump as he arrived back at the residence after his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night And Lara, who now hosts her own Saturday evening Fox News show, said: 'We can call that a State of the Union address because you've done so much in a month-and-a-half.' 'We're so proud of you, it was incredible to be there. Keep up the great world,' she added. The video was overlaid with inspirational music and included clips of the president and first Lady Melania Trump arriving back to the residence to a proud crowd of his most loyal advisors who held a watch party complete with a McDonald's dinner at the White House. Trump's speech on Tuesday evening was not an official State of the Union address because he is just over a month into his term. But he will give three more speeches around this time of year in the remainder of his presidency to deliver an official State of the Union. Presidents' first remarks to a joint session of Congress are not given the official title because they are not considered to be in office long enough to give an assessment on the state of the nation. Trump is unusual since he was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and therefore has now delivered two speeches to a joint session that are not considered a State of the Union. Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump enter the White House after the president's first joint session address of his second term Trump's pregnant daughter Tiffany said in a 32-second video released by the White House: 'Dad, we're so proud of you tonight. You were incredible as always' And the president's daughter-in-law Lara Trump said: 'You've done so much in a month-and-a-half. We're so proud of you, it was incredible to be there' Lara Trump, however, thinks that her father-in-law has done enough in his single month in office this time around that he can accurately give a State of the Union. And it is true that Trump's administration is moving at lightning speed to implement his agenda from Day One in late January when the president signed more than 200 executive orders. Trump's speech on Tuesday evening was predictably divisive. Democrats held up signs in protest, walked out, skipped the event entirely and even one lawmaker Rep. Al Green was kicked out of the chamber when he repeatedly interrupted the joint session to rail against Trump's stance on Medicare. This is the heartbreaking four words a teenager told his neighbour after his mother's killer boyfriend allowed him to find her body. Robert Trigg almost got away with the 2011 murder of Susan Nicholson and the 2006 killing of Caroline Devlin after claiming they both died accidentally in their sleep. He was in a relationship with both women when he killed them in their homes, which are barely two miles apart in Worthing, West Sussex. On Mother's Day in 2006, Trigg, now 60, had gone out for milk and made a coffee before telling one of Ms Devlin's four children to go upstairs and check on his mother, knowing she was already dead. Her children were making her a Mother's Day breakfast when Jordan, who was 14 at the time, went to wake her up and discovered Ms Devlin's body. Lewes Crown Court heard how Ms Devlin's eldest son had knocked on her door and told her that 'we can't wake mummy'. She rushed round to the home to find Trigg at the bottom of the stair looking 'vacant' and Ms Devlin face down on the bed. Trigg was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 in July 2017 after he was found guilty of the murder of Ms Nicholson, 52, and the manslaughter of Ms Devlin, 35. Caroline Devlin's (pictured) children were making her a Mother's Day breakfast when her son Jordan, who was 14 at the time, went to wake her up and discovered her body After Susan Nicholson's (pictured) murder, Trigg wandered to a nearby shop and bought cigarettes before calling his older brother Michael and then neighbour Hannah Cooper, who dialled 999 Trigg was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 in July, 2017, after he was found guilty of the murder of Ms Nicholson and the manslaughter of Ms Devlin Neither death was initially deemed suspicious by police and Ms Nicholson's parents, Elizabeth and Peter Skelton, spent six years, and more than 10,000 of their savings, trying to convince the police to reopen the investigation. What verse of the Bible did Trigg mention? As he was led away, Trigg bizarrely said '50, verse 11'. The verse of the Bible he referred to reads: 'Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! 'Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment. ' Advertisement Their tireless battle led to police finally arresting Trigg and the family's evidence ended in a double conviction. As he was led into court in handcuffs to be sentenced, Trigg said cryptically: 'Isaiah 50, verse 11. They should be in here, not me.' In a victim impact statement, Ms Nicholson's mother, Elizabeth Skelton, said: 'It was beyond belief. It was hard to accept that she was no longer with us. She wasn't just our daughter but our friend as well.' She said the fight for justice had caused 'mental torture' which triggered a mild heart attack in her and caused depression in Ms Nicholson's brother. In a separate victim impact statement, Ms Devlin's son, Brandyn McKenna, said: 'Our final message is that we don't want to think of our mother as dead and her memory will live on in our hearts forever.' Trigg didn't ring 999 after either of his girlfriends' death, instead putting neighbours up to the task. After Miss Nicholson's murder, he wandered to a nearby shop and bought cigarettes before calling his older brother Michael and then neighbour Hannah Cooper, who dialled 999. Ms Nicholson's parents, Elizabeth and Peter Skelton, spent six years, and more than 10,000 of their savings, trying to convince the police to reopen the investigation A 999 call released by police records Miss Cooper's frantic phone call, as Trigg calming spins her the lies of her 'accidental death' on the sofa. Miss Cooper tells the operator: 'I was in bed asleep and he phoned me just now saying he think's Sue's dead so I came down.' Trigg is then heard in the background telling her the story he would stick to for six years, until he was finally found out by a jury. Miss Cooper 'He thinks it could be suffocation... they both crashed out on their sofa last night. Rob woke up with his head at one end but Sue's face was where the cushions joined'. This is the ingenious moment pinned Ukrainian troops threw beehives at Russian soldiers after running out of grenades on the frontlines. Drone footage taken in the midst of Russia's invasion shows the savvy troops picking up the beehives and carrying them over to a cellar occupied by Russian troops in what appears to be a farm in the countryside in the town of Pokrivsk, in the east of the country. The soldiers were seen checking several beehives, before picking one up and running over to the hole. They were then seen chucking the beehive in and running away to collect another one, before throwing that one into the same cellar. Russian soldiers were not seen emerging from the hole. The video was posted to Telegram with the caption: 'After the Ukrainian military ran out of grenades, they threw a couple of beehives into the basement of Russian soldiers.' Both Ukraine and Russia have been forced to innovate in the protracted conflict. Last month, Forbes reported that Ukrainian forces had begun using drones as roadside bombs. Video footage posted to social media showed drones being flown to an obscured position beside a road. The soldiers were seen running over to the hole, before chucking the beehive in and running away The footage was taken by a drone at a farm in the town of Pokrivsk, in the east of Ukraine Lying in wait, the drone, loaded with explosive material, was primed to fly by Russian vehicles. Footage showed the drone lifting off as a Russian military vehicle passed by, soaring towards it before detonating its payload. And in 2022, the then-US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo told the Senate that severe trade sanctions had forced Russian troops to salvage computer chips from smart fridges and dishwashers. 'We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment on the ground, its filled with semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators', she said. Though Ukraine and Russia have developed their drone warfare capabilities massively as the invasion enters its fourth year, NATO was warned that is completely unprepared for this new phase of warfare. Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, the military commander in charge of Ukraines Unmanned Systems Forces, said: 'From what I see and hear, not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones.' He added that the defence bloc ought to recognise the economic advantage of drone warfare, as they often cost far less to build than conventional weaponry required to down them. Donald Trump Jr has launched a scathing attack against the 'deeply disturbed' Democrats who refused to clap as his father honored a young boy suffering from brain cancer. DJ Daniels, 13, has been battling cancer for six years after being diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure. At the time of diagnosis, doctors said Daniels would likely only live for another five months. President Donald Trump made the youngster, who has always dreamt of becoming a law enforcement officer, an honorary Secret Service member during his joint address to Congress Tuesday night. Daniels was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran and Republicans in the House gallery chanted 'DJ.' But the Democrats remained noticeably silent, refusing to applaud or stand in support of Daniels, who is trying to get sworn in to as many law enforcement agencies as possible as he and his family try to raise awareness about his condition. Republicans were outraged by the actions of their rivals, with Don Jr leading criticism against the party on his father's platform Truth Social. 'If you can't stand up and cheer for a kid with brain cancer being made an honorary member of the Secret Service, then you might be a deeply disturbed and f***ed up person!!!' the First Son wrote. Don Jr's remarks were echoed by MAGA allies who branded the Democrats as 'awful', 'lousy' and 'heartless' - as liberals hit back, alleging that Trump was using the boy as a 'political prop'. DJ Daniels, 13, was an honorary Secret Service member during President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress Tuesday night. The youngster, who always dreamt of being a law enforcement officer, was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran Republicans in the House gallery stood up, clapping and chanting 'DJ', while many Democrats remained noticeably quiet in their seats Donald Trump Jr has launched a scathing attack against the 'deeply disturbed' Democrats who refused to clap as his father honored a young boy suffering from brain cancer Don Jr's post was met with praise and echoed by fellow MAGA loyalists. 'Democrats refused to stand for the brain cancer surviving kid! How awful can one party be?' tweeted Outkick founder Clay Travis. Ric Grennell, an official in Trump's Administration, said: 'A terminally ill child with brain cancer is given an honorary Secret Service award and the Democrats refuse to stand or clap for the child.' Republican activist Scott Pressler added: 'Democrats didn't even stand for the boy who survived brain cancer.' 'Can't believe the lousy Democrats can't even applaud a little boy with brain cancer or a Kennedy who wants to Make America Healthy Again,' tweeted New York Post columnist Miranda Devine. 'The Democrats tonight did not even applaud for this 13 years old boy with brain cancer. They seemed cold and heartless,' slammed 2024 congressional nominee Lily Tang Williams. 'Did they have a prior party agreement: no matter what, don't clap? They have no independent thinking skills.' Don Jr's remarks were echoed by MAGA allies who branded the Democrats as 'awful', 'lousy' and 'heartless' Meghan McCain, whose father Sen. John McCain (R- Arizona ) died of brain cancer in 2018, did not launch a wave of criticism, but instead praised the president for creating such a 'beautiful' and 'special' moment Meghan McCain, whose father Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) died of brain cancer in 2018, did not launch a wave of criticism, but instead praised the president for creating such a 'beautiful' and 'special' moment. 'This is the first time I can remember crying during a state of the union. Thank you President Trump,' she wrote. 'This is so beautiful. Anyone who has been impacted by brain cancer knows how special this is.' Democrats, however, expressed skepticism over Trump's gesture, suggesting that he was using the Daniels family for political gain. Liberal commentator Kyle Kulinski accused Trump of 'using a kid who had brain cancer as a prop'. 'Trump honoring a child with brain cancer tonight and then leading a standing ovation for him while simultaneously eliminating all spending for child cancer research is a perfect encapsulation of MAGA morality,' wrote self-proclaimed Democrat Carlos Turnbull. 'Not really even sure what to say in response to Trump using a child with brain cancer as a political prop,' added Sam Weinberg, Executive Director of Path to Progress. Democrats, however, expressed skepticism over Trump's gesture, suggesting that he was using the Daniels family for political gain Trump, in an effort to make Daniels' dreams comes true, revealed during his speech to Congress Tuesday night that the young boy would be officially sworn in as a Secret Service agent. He was held up by his father for the touching moment as he received his badge from Director Sean Curran and Republicans in the House gallery chanted 'DJ.' 'He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,' Trump said. 'But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer.' 'The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true.' 'And tonight, DJ, we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all.' Democrats then went silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, 'You cut cancer research.' One Republican shouted, 'MAHA baby!' Daniels underwent 13 surgeries by the time he was 12 years old. He and his family are trying to raise awareness about his rare condition. President Trump shared a heartwarming moment with a little boy suffering from brain cancer during his Congress speech by making him an honorary Secret Service agent Democrats remained noticeably silent, refusing to applaud or stand in support of Daniels, who is trying to get sworn in to as many law enforcement agencies as possible as he and his family try to raise awareness about his condition The 13-year-old has been battling brain cancer for six years, since his 2018 diagnosis. At the time, he was told he would likely only live another five months In order to help make sure his dreams come true, Trump (pictured during his speech to Congress) revealed that DJ would be officially sworn in as a Secret Service agent Trump said during his speech that driving down childhood cancer rates and studying autism cases in the US will be a top priority for his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Childhood cancer remains rare in the US, with about 15,000 children diagnosed with the disease every year. Cases of pediatric cancer have risen in recent years, but treatments have improved, leading to a decline in deaths from the disease. 'Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong,' he said. 'America is back!' Donald Trump bellowed kicking off his first joint address to Congress as the 47th President, marking the fifth time he's spoken to a gathering of the House and Senate. But this was Trump's lengthiest and, by far, his most effective effort yet. There were no overtures to bipartisanship, no reaching across the aisle. This was a president certain of the direction that he wants to take the country and willing, if not determined, to crush his opposition if necessary. And given the Democrats behavior last night, they deserved every bit of it. Trump walked into the House chamber triumphant on Tuesday evening with a net positive job approval rating (in many polls above 50 percent), facing down a Democratic party that is favored by just 21 percent of the public, according to a recent survey. Now, they may sink even lower after their unhinged performance, in the face of what was a patriotic speech from the president. Right off the bat Trump reminded the country how he was able to secure such an overwhelming mandate from the American public. 'We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country 2,700 to 525 on a map that reads almost completely red for Republican,' he said. Trump was also clear on why he believes he was elected: to restore the wisdom of the average American to government, a 'common sense revolution.' 'America is back!' Donald Trump bellowed kicking off his first joint address to Congress as the 47th President, marking the fifth time he's spoken to a gathering of the House and Senate . Trump (pictured addressing congress) walked into the House chamber triumphant on Tuesday evening with a net positive job approval rating (in many polls above 50 percent), facing down a Democratic party that is favored by just 21 percent of the public. 'Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go back. Never,' he said. Indeed, his record of accomplishments after 40 days is impressive. He has effectively ended the greatest mass migration crisis in the nation's history. He punctuated that point with the most impactful line of the night. 'The media and our friends in the Democratic Party kept saying we needed new legislation to secure the border. But it turns out all we really needed was a new President!' he declared to roars from the Republicans. Indeed in January 2024, Biden lamely claimed that he had 'done all I can do' to secure the then-lawless US/Mexico border. Turns out Joe was wrong and Trump is capitalizing on his predecessor's fecklessness. The president also gave plenty of air-time to his administration's historic effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government. 'Thank you, Elon,' he said, looking up to the DOGE chief seated in the mezzanine, decked out in a suit and tie. 'Thank you very much, we appreciate it.' 'Even this side appreciates it, I believe,' Trump quipped, gesturing at the glum Dems. He was relishing it - sounding more like a standup comedian then a staid politician. 'Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified,' he read, reeling off DOGE's greatest hits. '$40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is.' '$8 million to promote L.G.B.T.Q.I.+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.' The White House apparently has no concerns with the furious criticism from the mainstream media and Democrats over the new Department of Government Efficiency. They think it is a political winner at a time when public trust in the federal government is extremely low. Only 22 percent of Americans in a new Pew poll say they trust the government to do what is right. When faith in an institution is that low, radical change is more than tolerable. And some of the most striking scenes last night weren't delivered from the rostrum. Democrats sitting on their hands or waving silly signs making them look like bidders at an auction made this too easy. Some of the most striking scenes last night weren't delivered from the rostrum. Democrats sitting on their hands or waving silly signs making them look like bidders at an auction made this too easy. Representative Al Green of Texas, had to be removed from the chamber as he angrily ranted and waved his cane at the president. His shouts inaudible to the audience at home a fitting metaphor for all these petty protests: utterly useless. Some boycotted the speech entirely. Others staged silent walk outs wearing black T-shirts with the word 'resist,' as if that had any effect other than making them look sophomoric. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi just seethed. Democrats couldn't muster a standing ovation for Marc Fogel, the school teacher detained by Russia in 2022 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Trump secured his release last month. Marc and his 95-year-old mother, who had approached Trump on the campaign trail to plead for help for her son, sat smiling in the gallery. Democrats limply reacted to 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel being made an honorary member of the Secret Service. And while everyone else in America was crying for DJ, the punditary glared in disgust. For some reason the moment incensed MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace who ranted in their post-speech coverage. 'This is disgusting' spat Maddow. 'The president made a spectacle out of praising a young man.' Wallace evoked January 6 and said one of the most vile things I've ever heard on cable news - that she hoped DJ didn't grow up to commit suicide. When the president announced that a senior ISIS-K commander, suspected of masterminding the Abbey Gate suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed 13 US servicemembers, had been captured the Democrats were stone-faced. And the biggest news of the evening came nearly 90 minutes into the speech - and even that landed like a lead balloon on the Left. Trump announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had sent him a letter essentially apologizing for instigating an ugly confrontation in the Oval Office Friday and declaring his commitment to pursuing peace with Russia. What a dramatic development, a remarkable turn of events, but that too was met with disdain by the president's opponents. Time and again, Democrats and their advocates in the media sneered when any normal person would have cheered. No wonder their popular support and ratings are in retreat. Sure, the address had its' partisan moments. Trump called Biden the 'worst president in American history'. When discussing the manipulation of the US justice system, he pointed at the Democrats and called them 'radical left lunatics.' 'We've ended weaponized government where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me. How did that work out? Not too good. Not too good,' he mocked. And he pilloried his favorite target Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as 'Pocohontas,' recalling how she once claimed to be a minority after a blood test confirmed she was 1/1024th Native American. But Trump's insight is that one must be ruthless when your opposition is so unhinged. And it isn't like Democrats covered themselves in glory. Remember how Speaker Pelosi stood behind Trump during his first term and tore his 2020 State of the Union speech in half. In 2024, Biden took great delight sticking his finger in the eyes of Republicans, firing multiple broadsides at 'my predecessor' without ever mentioning Trump by name 13 times in all. Representative Al Green of Texas (pictured), had to be removed from the chamber as he angrily ranted and waved his cane at the president. Democrats limply reacted to 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel being made an honorary member of the Secret Service. For some reason the moment incensed MSNBC's Rachel Maddow (pictured) and Niccole Wallace who ranted in their post-speech coverage. Some boycotted the speech entirely. Others staged silent walk outs wearing black T-shirts with the word 'resist,' as if that had any effect other than making them look sophomoric. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) just seethed. The president put his finger on it when he said Tuesday: 'I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud.' 'So, Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America? For the good of our nation, let's work together and let's truly make America great again.' But they won't. Let's be honest - this 'common sense revolution' will be contested. But, hopefully, it won't be defeated. How refreshing to listen to a speech by an American president who isn't apologizing for the nation's perceived sins, or pledging to hamstring American potential to satisfy some amorphorus foreign diktats, or laundry-listing a mind-mumbling list of federal giveaways (all funded by the taxpayers, mind you). In a rousing close, Trump declared the 'golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before.' After years perhaps decades of decline, I'll clap for that. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration push to rebuke a federal judge who imposed a quick deadline to release billions of dollars in foreign aid prompting furious pushback from the minority. By a 5-4 vote, the court told U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to clarify his earlier order that required the Republican administration to release nearly $2 billion in aid for work that had already been done. Although the outcome is a short-term loss for President Donald Trump's administration, the nonprofit groups and businesses that sued are still waiting for the money they say they are owed. One of the organizations last week was forced to lay off 110 employees as a result, according to court papers. It's the second time the new administration has sought and failed to persuade the Supreme Court to immediately rein in a lower-court judge in legal fights over actions taken by Trump. Justice Samuel Alito led four conservative justices in dissent, saying Ali lacks the authority to order the payments. Alito wrote that he is stunned the court is rewarding 'an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers.' 'Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?' Alito fumed. 'The answer to that question should be an emphatic "No," but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.' President Trump's plan to slash foreign aid is hitting resistance in the courts. The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court judge's temporary restraining order to unlock $2 billion aid appropriated by Congress that the administration has frozen The courts action leaves in place Alis temporary restraining order that had paused the spending freeze, Ali is holding a hearing Thursday to consider a more lasting pause. Although the win is temporary, it provides some prospect of relief to aid groups around the world, who have had to suddenly contend with the immediate cutoff in funds. It is just the latest move in a standoff that some legal experts say is a building constitutional crisis, should Trump's team decide to ignore judicial orders on his mass government cuts. Trump says he'll follow court rulings. In the latest DOGE-influenced cut, the Trump administration has whittled down a government agency created in the 1960s to support economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean down to a single employee. 'The Inter-American Foundation, an agency whose primary action was to issue federal grants ($60million budget), has been reduced to its statutory minimum (1 active employee),' DOGE posted on X. The agency now consists solely of Trump loyalist Peter Morocco, who has been identified as a driving force behind USAID cuts. The majority, in its decision, noted that the administration had not challenged Alis initial order, only the deadline, which in any event passed last week. The court told Ali to 'clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.' Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, two conservatives, joined the three liberal justices to form a majority. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined Alitos dissent. The Trump administration has argued that the situation has changed because it has replaced a blanket spending freeze with individualized determinations that led to the cancellation of 5,800 U.S. Agency for International Development contracts and another 4,100 State Department grants totaling nearly $60 billion in aid. The federal government froze foreign aid after an executive order from Trump targeting what he called wasteful programs that do not correspond to his foreign policy goals. Nonprofit groups and businesses that sued are still waiting for the money they say they are owed. One of the organizations last week was forced to lay off 110 employees as a result, according to court papers. The 5-4 ruling against the administration comes after Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk in his speech to a joint session of Congress The lawsuit that followed claimed that the pause breaks federal law and has shut down funding for even the most urgent life-saving programs abroad. Ali ordered the funding temporarily restored on Feb. 13, but nearly two weeks later he found the government was giving no sign of complying and set a deadline to release payment for work already completed. The administration appealed, calling Alis order 'incredibly intrusive and profoundly erroneous' and protesting the timeline to release the money. A Russian warship has been shadowed through the English Channel by the Royal Navy in a show of military force against tyrant Vladimir Putin. Heavily-armed frigate HMS Somerset was scrambled to watch over the Russian corvette Boiki, and a weapon-carrying merchant ship, for three days. The Kremlin warship was escorting sanctioned vessel, the Baltic Leader - which was transporting military tech from the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. Crew on board the accompanying Boikiy were reportedly seen burning papers and manning the vessel's machine guns as it went through the Channel. Meanwhile the Boiki was spotted being crewed by men in military fatigues as it passed the coast of the UK. Somerset, which is bristling with its own array of weapons - including anti-ship missiles and a 4.5-inch naval gun - stalked the ships through the North Sea and English Channel. A Royal Navy spokesman said: 'The British Type 23 frigate utilised its powerful sensors and radars to report on Russian movements, launching her Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron to gather valuable information from the sky. 'The ship worked hand in hand with UK patrol aircraft and allied Nato forces during the operation, providing constant watch on the task group.' Somerset was scrambled on March 1 as the Russian warship headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet Baltic Leader, the Royal Navy said. Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset (rear) follows Russian corvette Boikiy during a three-day operation monitoring the progress of a Russian task group The move was a show of force towards Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin (pictured) Your browser does not support iframes. The Boikiy, a 343ft-long corvette can carry up to 99 men at a time. The 2,100-ton ship, which is part of Putin's Baltic fleet, is armed with an AK-100 naval gun, machine guns and eight Kh-35 Uran anti-ship missiles. The Baltic Leader was previously sanctioned by the US in 2022 for transporting weapons for Russia. Commander Joel Roberts, Somerset's captain, said: 'Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions. 'Great professionalism has been shown by the ship's company to remain vigilant whilst operating in UK waters and integrating with our Nato allies to monitor Russian activity around Europe.' Shadowing missions like the one carried out by Somerset are routine for the Royal Navy. However, the latest comes at a time of heightened tension between Britain and Europe, over US President Donald Trump's decision to axe military support for Ukraine. The Baltic Leader was carrying a shipment of military hardware from a Russian base in Tartus, Syria, where Kremlin operations are being wound down in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. James Droxford, of the intelligence consultancy Droxford Maritime, said: 'The recovered military hardware onboard Baltic Leader could be used to reinforce Russia's combat capability in Ukraine, or to replenish military stocks in other key Russian military regions.' Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset monitors Russian merchant ship Baltic Leader in the Channel, part of a three-day operation keeping watch on a Russian task group passing the UK The Boikiy's escort mission began at 5am on March 3, south of Torquay. The convoy slowly travelled across the English Channel, before it was followed by two vessels, HMS Somerset from the Royal Navy and Belgian Navy vessel BNS Crocus. The Baltic Leader was then seen leaving the English Channel on March 4 at 2pm. Satellite images showed the Baltic Leader left Tartus, Syria, on February 13. Russia has been winding down its use of the part since Assad's fall. This, combined with Ukraine's increased capability to sink Russian ships in the Black Sea, has resulted in increased activity in Syrian waters. Droxford said: 'Ukraine could destroy hundreds of tons of vital Russian military material in one go by attacking the ships and that's a huge risk for Russia to take.' Joseph Byrne, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre, told the Times: 'While it isn't exactly clear what cargo the vessel is loading, Tartus is a port where Russia has been storing its military equipment, likely waiting for transport. 'Since mid-February we have seen a number of Russian flagged cargo vessels sail from Syria into the Mediterranean and through the English Channel. 'They have exhibited highly similar patterns of life, including switching off their transponders when entering Syrian waters and ports, not broadcasting their final destinations, and appearing to sail through the Channel with a military escort for protection.' Russia's military has been getting bolder in recent weeks. Last week, NATO was forced to scramble warplanes from Poland after Vladimir Putin used strategic bombers and missiles to attack neighbouring Ukraine - even as Vladimir Putin insists he wants peace 'as soon as possible'. Your browser does not support iframes. The Boikiy (pictured, front), a Russian corvette that is 343ft long and can carry up to 99 men at a time, was seen in the English Channel this week The Baltic Leader (pictured) was carrying a shipment of military hardware from a Russian base in Tartus, Syria Putin used Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters Emergency workers search for a civilian in the rubble in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine Putin's air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers to pound targets across Ukraine, causing panic in Kyiv as residents rushed for the metro underground shelters. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in several towns across the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Drones were also used by Russia, with several people reportedly suffering injuries. Warsaw's armed forces operation command headquarters ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles soared over Ukraine amid fears they could approach the Polish border. 'Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland,' the command headquarters said. Ground-based air defences and radar reconnaissance systems were also 'put on alert'. Meanwhile, the United States has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces, the CIA's director has confirmed. Donald Trump (pictured) has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces Zelensky (pictured) last night told the world he was ready to work under Trump's 'strong leadership' and wants to 'make things right' after their 'regrettable' White House row This handout photograph released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service early on March 5, 2025, shows a Ukrainian rescuer working to extinguish a fire at an energy infrastructure facility following an attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region Director John Ratcliffe told Fox the US paused both weapons shipments and intelligence to Ukraine following the disastrous White House meeting between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump last week. An unnamed official told the Financial Times that while Ukraine had been frozen out of intelligence channels, the US was still sharing crucial information on Russia and Ukraine with its closest allies, including the UK. Meanwhile, a source told Sky News that American intelligence-sharing had not halted completely, adding that the cut-off was 'selective.' When asked whether these reports were true, they said: 'Unfortunately, yes, but not completely. It is selective. On the possibility of damage on the territory of the Russian Federation.' But last night, the Mail revealed that Donald Trump's administration banned the UK from sharing US intelligence with allies in Ukraine. American intelligence has been crucial to Ukraine for it to identify Russian military targets during the brutal invasion that began in February 2022. But in recent weeks, Zelensky and Trump have been quarrelling on the world stage, leading to souring relations between their nations that reached its lowest point last week when the Ukrainian leader was unceremoniously booted out of the White House without signing a long-awaited minerals deal. Trump has demanded that Britain and its European allies step up more to provide deal with the war in Ukraine - as America refused to join any peacekeeping force in the embattled country. Meanwhile, Britain's biggest warship, HMS Prince of Wales, is preparing to deploy to the other side of the world as part of a carrier strike group. The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will be sailing to the Indo-Pacific region later this year, as part of the naval flagship's biggest deployment to date. On Tuesday, King Charles became the first ruling monarch in 40 years to join a naval warship at sea, as he flew on board the 920ft-long behemoth to speak to her crew. King Charles joined HMS Prince of Wales at sea as the aircraft carrier made final preparations for its mission to the Indo-Pacific region Charles, 76, became the first ruling monarch to visit a Royal Navy warship at sea in 40 years. He is seen meeting some of the aircraft carrier's crew His Royal Highness also appeared in high spirits as he joked with the crew on HMS Prince of Wales's bridge The 76-year-old monarch landed on HMS Prince of Wales in the English Channel, where he told sailors of his 'heartfelt gratitude' for their service. Charles, who was there in his role as Commodore-in-Chief, Aircraft Carriers, looked smart in his uniform as he beamed while greeting Royal Navy personnel during the engagement. Speaking to the crew, the King said: 'This ship represents a powerful emblem of the skill, ingenuity and strength of the Royal Navy, and of the United Kingdom's enduring dedication to promoting and protecting peace and stability across the world. 'I can only say that I take immense pride in you - the men and women who bring this vessel to life with such indomitable spirit - for your vital service on behalf of us all.' The visit comes as the navy finalises preparations for the 3billion vessel to go on a global deployment to Japan this spring. Charles was seen touring the 65,000-tonne warship and watched F-35B stealth jets carrying out landing exercises on the Prince of Wales's deck 'I held the gun behind his ear. I pulled it away and asked him if he was sure,' Ellen Gilland told the court, choking back tears. 'He raised his hand, and placed it on my arm and pushed the gun to his head. 'There was a loud bang - and he was gone.' That was the moment the elderly woman shot and killed her terminally ill husband Jerry in his Florida hospital bed in January 2023. Gilland then holed herself up inside the room in an hours-long stand-off where she waved the gun at hospital staff and fired another shot, before being taken into custody by police. Last week, at her sentencing hearing, the diminutive 78-year-old slowly and carefully used her walking frame to make her way up to the stand inside a Florida courtroom. Speaking in a softly-spoken voice, the elderly woman - who uses hearing aides and has several health conditions - wiped away tears as she told the judge how she and her beloved husband had made a murder-suicide pact because they felt they had been left with no other option. She was sentenced to a year in prison. Ellen and Jerry Gilland (pictured together) were childhood sweethearts and had been married for 53 years Now, Gilland's family is speaking out to slam the judge's decision to hand the 78-year-old jail time for the mercy killing of her husband of five decades. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Gilland's niece Beatrice 'Bo' Timme argued that her elderly aunt should have come home with her and blasted the sentence as disproportionate to the crime. 'There's drunk drivers in the state who have killed people and they've got less time than her,' Timme said. 'She didn't hurt anyone in the public and she never would. She never had any intention of harming anyone else.' Timme, whose late mom was Gilland's older sister, hit out at the hospital claiming its poor care of her uncle led to the tragic circumstances and left her aunt feeling there was no other way. 'There were no alternatives in my aunt's mind,' she said. She added: 'I'm disappointed in the outcome. I'm being told that's the best outcome and I understand that she faced these charges but I really thought she'd be home with me right now.' Ellen and Jerry were childhood sweethearts. Last week, at her sentencing hearing, 78-year-old Ellen Gilland slowly and carefully used her walking frame to make her way up to the stand inside a Florida courtroom They had first met in the eighth grade, before falling in love and getting married. 'I've known Ellen and Jerry my entire life,' said Timme, 63. 'I've only ever really known them as Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jerry. They were in love since the eighth grade. They were always together. I never even once saw them have an argument.' She added: 'Here's the thing I like to tell people. If either one of them had come home and said 'I want to buy a llama,' the other one would have started building the fences. That's who they were. They would have done anything for each other.' They had not long marked their 53rd wedding anniversary when Jerry was admitted to hospital in December 2022. He was treated for sepsis and acute pancreatitis and underwent a tracheotomy. But the 77-year-old's health continued to rapidly worsen. Timme said her aunt kept the family in the dark about how sick Jerry was. Ellen and Jerry Gilland pictured in undated photo. Their niece tells DailyMail.com that the couple 'would have done anything for each other' 'Unfortunately my aunt did not really reach out to me when he got sick,' she said. 'I had called her a couple of days before the incident - so sometime around January 18 or 19 - and she told me he was very sick. 'But she did not want me to come visit as she didn't want me to see him like that. She was trying to protect me, thinking I'd be upset seeing him in the condition he was in.' Despite her aunt's efforts to shelter her, Timme made plans to go and visit her uncle at AdventHealth Daytona Beach hospital on January 22 2023. But that day never came. One day earlier, on January 21, Gilland took her husband's gun from their home, cleaned it, bought some ammunition and took it to the hospital. In court, she testified how Jerry didn't want to suffer anymore and had begged her to help him end his life. Weeks earlier, they made a murder-suicide pact. Initially, she said the plan was that he would shoot her first and then turn the gun on himself. But, by that point, Jerry had become so weak he was unable to physically lift the firearm. Gilland told the court how she held the gun to Jerry's head, and he placed his hand on hers, before she pulled the trigger. As soon as she shot him, she recalled that she became hysterical. What followed next was a four-hour-long stand-off with hospital staff and police. Several hospital staff including nurses and security staff described how they entered the room and Gilland pointed the gun at them. When officers arrived on the scene, Gilland fired one shot in their direction, police said. Gilland testified that she had picked up the gun to shoot herself in the head when flash bangs were thrown into the room and the gun went off. Ellen Gilland - who walks with a walker and has several health issues - is seen in court for her bond hearing in 2023 Ultimately, a SWAT team entered the room and arrested her. Timme revealed the moment she learned about the shocking incident on the news. 'The way I found out was I saw it scroll across the bottom of my television screen,' she said. 'I saw her name scroll across and what had happened.' It didn't make any sense to her, she said. 'I basically had a massive panic attack. I was shocked and couldn't believe what I was seeing.' The family quickly rallied around Gillard and found her attorneys. She was initially charged with first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was facing life in prison. Bodycam footage shows the hours-long stand-off inside AdventHealth Daytona Beach hospital on January 21 2023 Ellen Gilland holed herself up in a hospital room and pointed the gun at staff before she was arrested But she was then indicted on lesser charges of assisting self-murder/manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. She was released on $150,000 bond and moved in to Timme's home, where she had lived ever since. Timme said that, even from the get-go, she never doubted Gilland's version of events about why she killed Jerry or about how the stand-off unfolded at the hospital. 'I have never had any doubts that she did what he asked her to do,' she said. 'She would have done anything for him. And vice versa, they would have done anything for each other. That's the couple they were and the couple I knew.' 'So no, I've never had any doubts that she had any animosity towards him, that she didn't want to be bothered by him anymore. I've heard that from people and that is not at all what happened.' She added: 'I fully believe she had no intention to harm any other person in that hospital except to kill herself and my uncle. I believe her She was absolutely terrified. The standoff was terrifying for her.' As far as her niece is concerned, Gilland felt there was no other way out for her and Jerry than for them both to die. Ellen Gilland seen in a mugshot after her arrest. She pleaded no contest to lesser charges 'There were no alternatives in my aunt's mind,' she said. Timme believes that some blame for what happened lies with the hospital where Jerry was being treated. She said that the elderly couple was never offered comfort care or hospice care for Jerry and that her aunt felt the medical staff were uncooperative and unhelpful. Her aunt was also unaware that there might even be an option to take her husband home to see out his final days. 'They did a horrible job of communicating with her,' Timme claimed. 'For an attorney [in court] to say she was educated and should have known [that he could have had comfort or hospice care]. Well, a lay person in a hospital is at a huge disadvantage. My aunt is an artist and a teacher, she's not a medical professional. She wouldn't know if those things were available. And she was never ever told that.' If the elderly couple had been made aware that Jerry could have entered hospice care, Timme believes that the tragic outcome could have been avoided. 'That's a failing on the hospital's part that contributed to these circumstances. So when I say I think she should have been able to come home, it's because I think there's a lot of things that contributed to this,' she said. Jerry Gilland (pictured) had begged his wife to help him die and they made a murder-suicide pact, she told the court 'And that's the real problem in all of this. She had not been offered any alternative. For her, there was no alternative.' In December, Gilland pleaded no contest to charges of manslaughter with a firearm and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. At her sentencing last week, Judge Kathryn Weston accepted Gilland's version of why she did what she did and empathised with her situation. But she said that there were other victims in the case - and that Gilland should serve time for the impact her actions had on hospital staff and patients. The 78-year-old was sentenced to a year in prison, including 42 days time served. She has also been ordered to write apology letters to the victims. She had faced probation to up to 10 years in prison on the charges. Timme believes some of the witnesses had an ulterior motive when testifying to the court. 'It was really hard to sit on my hands and listen to the testimony of the so-called victims who I believe were not testifying in a non-judgmental way,' she said. Ellen Gilland speaks at her sentencing where she was jailed for one year for killing her terminally ill husband 'They were testifying completely and absolutely because they wanted my aunt to go to prison because they want a settlement from the hospital That's just my opinion but that skews their testimony in my mind.' While she acknowledges that the judge could have handed the elderly woman a harsher penalty, Timme feels that Gilland's age and the fact that she didn't harm anyone beside Jerry should have resulted in a different outcome. 'For the last two years, I was certain she would come home with me or maybe be put on probation or community confinement. I think that would have been a more appropriate sentence for someone her age - not county jail which is where she is now,' she said. Timme always thought her Aunt Ellen would end up coming back home with her. Instead, as she spoke to DailyMail.com, she was heading to visit the 78-year-old in Volusia County Jail, where she is being held before being transferred to state prison. Timme said she's now deeply concerned how the 78-year-old will cope with life behind bars. 'I hope she's okay. It just makes me worry a lot about her,' she said. 'I'm really missing her and I'm really upset.' She added: 'I mean, my god, she's 78 years old. She doesn't have her hearing batteries. She doesn't have her walker. She doesn't have the things she needs.' Ellen Gilland and her husband Jerry pictured together. Gilland's family have stood by her throughout and are worried about the 78-year-old now spending time in prison Gilland's family members have vowed to continue to stand by her while she serves her sentence. And Timme plans to push for a 'dying with dignity' law to come into force in Florida to help other families suffering with terminal illnesses. As for Gilland, Timme said her aunt desperately misses the man she spent more than five decades of her life with. At her sentencing, she paid tribute to her 'remarkable' and 'kind, generous, funny and loving' husband. 'We supported each other through wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful times,' she told the court. She tearfully added: 'I miss him and will continue to miss him for the rest of my life.' 'Of course, she wishes she still had her husband. She misses him terribly, she's still grieving and mourning,' Timme said. 'We talk about him all the time and she's always telling stories about him. She just wishes he was still here.' A clothing-optional spa in California has sparked outrage among transgender protestors after one trans visitor said she was told to cover up during 'Lady's Night.' 'It's exclusion. It's discrimination. It goes against everything that I came here for,' Breath Mormorer, who joined demonstration outside the Russian-style bathhouse Archimedes Banya in San Francisco, told CBS News. 'I came from Alabama specifically to escape that type of prejudice and hate. And I got here and I found out this city has just as much of it,' she added. The spa offers one women-only night and one men-only night each month. On its website, the spa said the events are designed to 'shelter religious preferences' of men and women in the community. 'To further accommodate their religious beliefs we have to limit admission on [both nights] to sex assigned at birth,' the site explains. A protester named Jordan told CBS News that the spa's policy 'set off some alarm bells for me.' 'In a lot of pre-Christian Slavic cultures there was a lot of, gender and sexuality was much more fluid... and it was put down by the Christians,' said Jordan, noting she is of Slavic origin. 'But even without all that, there are a lot of Catholic, Orthodox Jewish and Muslim people who are trans allies if not trans themselves.' In response, the spa released a statement announcing an 'Inclusive Women's Night' for all individuals who identify as women, regardless of sex assigned at birth. Breath Mormorer, a transgender woman originally from Alabama, holds two signs outside Archimedes Banya in San Francisco Dakota Rose Austin, who was also at the protest, called what the spa is doing another example of anti-trans discrimination The spa said it would still host a 'Cultural & Religious Women's Night' open only to those assigned female gender at birth. The spa said the religious night was '[d]esigned to provide a space that aligns with the needs of women from religious or cultural backgrounds who observe practices requiring a female-only environment based on sex assigned at birth.' 'On all other days, Archimedes Banya remains open to everyone, embracing our diverse Bay Area community and upholding our mission to provide a space for health, relaxation, and connection,' the spa added. Protesters said the move wasn't a suitable compromise. 'That response is really discriminatory when you think about it because if you had a night where you excluded, say a certain race, that would not fly and we're just saying, trans-exclusive nights won't fly,' Jordan said. Dakota Rose Austin, who was also at the protest, called it another example of anti-trans discrimination, instances of which she said have been rising across the country. 'As Latinos, as trans, as queer, as African American, the fear is turned now. If you weaponize DEI and affirmative action and all these other things that were a benefit of everyone in America and you weaponize them against us, now I'm in fear,' Austin said. Demonstrators said they plan to continue to protest outside the spa until it allows trans guests every night of the month. The heartbroken mother of a pregnant woman who took her own life while battling acute morning sickness said her daughter came to feel 'no one was listening' when she sought medical help. Susan Cronshaw revealed she has felt 'lost' since the deaths of her daughter, Jess and granddaughter Elsie, as she spoke out about the tragedy for the first time. Primary school teacher Jess Cronshaw, 26, went from feeling 'over-the-moon' at discovering she was expecting for the first time to being 'reduced to a shell', because she was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). The condition is the same acute form of nausea and vomiting that the Princess of Wales suffered during each of her pregnancies. In an interview with ITV News, Susan described in heart-wrenching detail how Miss Cronshaw gradually became overwhelmed by her symptoms. 'She couldn't drink, she couldn't eat, her weight were dropping off her. Her skin was white - she weren't Jess,' Susan tearfully said in an interview this week. In an emotional message left to friends on her phone, the young mother-to-be candidly revealed how the 'horrible' condition had affected her. Through tears, Miss Cronshaw can be heard saying: 'Honestly it's like the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life, like the constant nausea, there's no relief from it and I just spend my days in bed and I can't...honestly I just can't. It's just horrible.' Susan Cronshaw said her pregnant daughter Jess, 26, came to feel 'no one was listening' when she sought medical help for her extreme morning sickness The primary school teacher took her own life as she struggled with the debilitating symptoms, her mother Susan (pictured) revealed in her first interview since the tragedy Primary school teacher Jess Cronshaw, 26, went from feeling 'over-the-moon' at discovering she was expecting for the first time to being 'reduced to a shell', because she was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) Susan said that despite her daughter's physical symptoms and visits to GPs, midwives, nurses and consultants, none offered her any support for her declining mental health. She was prescribed anti-sickness medication to help her nausea, but just weeks later was told by Royal Blackburn Hospital that she should stop taking them. While the exact reason was not recorded, Miss Cronshaw was misinformed that the drugs could harm her baby. Within weeks, her extreme symptoms had returned and Miss Cronshaw took her own life. Susan tragically found her hanged in her bedroom at the family home in Accrington, Lancashire. Miss Cronshaw was given CPR and rushed to hospital where her daughter Elsie was delivered by caesarean section at 28 weeks in a bid to save her life. But four days later the tiny premature baby died - followed by her mother a day later. 'There's no words really,' said Susan, as she recalled the horrific events of November 2022. 'Just heartbroken - living my life now feels like I'm lost.' Asked what she believes could have kept Miss Cronshaw alive, her mother said that more could have been done by medical professionals to offer her better mental health support. In an emotional message left to friends on her phone, the young mother-to-be candidly revealed how the 'horrible' condition had affected her She said: 'That's all it would have took. One individual professional to do something for Jess and it would have changed the outcome altogether. 'I know that and I live with that. I don't want anybody to feel how Jess felt. No one was there, she felt no one were listening.' She continued: 'The reason I need to do this is because Jess would have been a fighter and wanting to do more for [people with] HG, because she said once I've had the baby I'm gonna really fight for people who have got this condition and she would have done, I know she would. 'But we were unlucky. Her mental health really deteriorated because of her condition she had and she didn't get the right care.' The findings of an inquest in January 2024 agreed that failings by medics had contributed to Miss Cronshaw's worsening mental health. Her heartbroken partner Eddie Leck said at the time: 'It felt like no-one was listening to us'. In a statement, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said that 'following Jess and Elsie's deaths, all women who have ongoing treatment for hyperemesis are seen regularly in consultant led antenatal clinic to ensure that appropriate medications are prescribed, full risk assessment of the pregnancy is undertaken and perinatal mental health is assessed robustly.' NHS England said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Jess Cronshaw. Susan tragically found her daughter hanged in her bedroom at the family home in Accrington, Lancashire, in November 2022 What is hyperemesis gravidarum? Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a condition that causes persistent and excessive vomiting during pregnancy. Sufferers can be sick lots of times every day and be unable to keep food or water down, impacting their daily life. It is unlikely to harm the baby, but if it causes a women to lose weight during pregnancy there is an increased risk their baby will have a low birth weight. It is different to sickness during pregnancy - often called morning sickness - which is normal and affects eight in 10 pregnant women. For most, this stops or improves around weeks 16 to 20. Meanwhile, HG may not get better by this point and can last until the baby is born. Symptoms of HG include prolonged and severe nausea and vomiting, being dehydrated, weight loss and low blood pressure. Being dehydrated raises the risk of having a blood clot deep vein thrombosis but this is rare. It is not clear what causes the condition, or why some women get it and others don't. Some experts think it may be linked to the changing hormones in the body that occurs during pregnancy. And there is some evidence that it runs in families and women who suffered it during their first pregnancy are more likely to have in any subsequent pregnancies. Women suffering from HG can be given medicine to improve their symptoms, such as anti-sickness drugs, vitamins B6 and B12 and steroids. Some women have to be admitted to hospital if their nausea cannot be controlled with medicines at home. They may require fluids and anti-sickness drugs to be administered through an IV. Source: NHS Advertisement 'Excessive nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, known as hyperemesis gravidarum, is a serious condition which often needs hospital treatment and can have a significant impact on mental health. 'The NHS is committed to improving care for this condition and is increasing treatment and support for pregnant women through maternal medicine networks.' Charity Pregnancy Sickness Support said in the aftermath of the inquest that there must be 'systemic change in approach to HG management'. The coroner found that medics had failed to ask about Miss Cronshaw's mental health despite her saying she was feeling 'down'. She was also wrongly told that the one medication which did relieve her symptoms could harm her unborn child, prompting her to cut her dose. Since her death, Miss Cronshaw's family have spoken out about a lack of support for mothers-to-be who are struck down by the crippling condition. Coroner Kate Bisset said last January she was 'satisfied that her care contributed to a deterioration in her mental health' which in turn led to the 'impulsive' decision to end her life. Ms Bisset highlighted 'failings' in the young woman's treatment and said in her findings: 'The absence of comprehensive care for Jessica's severe pregnancy sickness was a contributing factor to her mental health deterioration. 'This case should serve as a reminder to healthcare professionals about the critical importance of addressing the wide-ranging impacts of hyperemesis gravidarum, including its mental health aspects.' Pregnancy Sickness Support said there was 'a direct correlation' between her sickness, 'her severe mental health decline and subsequent death'. The charity added that the inquest's findings must be 'a pivotal moment for healthcare systems, emphasising the necessity for timely, integrated care addressing both physical and mental health challenges in pregnancy'. Charlotte Howden, chief executive of Pregnancy Sickness Support, said: 'The coroner's detailed investigation reveals significant care gaps for women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). 'This is a major advancement in acknowledging their comprehensive care needs. It is imperative that healthcare providers across the UK enact necessary changes to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy.' And Dr Caitlin Dean, spokesperson and trustee at Pregnancy Sickness Support, who advocated for the family at the inquest, added: 'The inquest's acknowledgement of the link between inadequate HG treatment and severe mental health issues is a long-overdue revelation. 'For too long, the severity of HG has been underappreciated. This marks a crucial turning point for how this condition is perceived and treated.' The charity said hospitals and health trusts should see the findings of the inquest as 'an impetus for reviewing and improving their practices' and 'ensure that the tragedies experienced by Jessica Cronshaw and her family are not repeated'. Jess' family wept as a coroner ruled in January 2024 that failings by medics had contributed to her worsening mental health. Her partner Eddie Leck said: 'It felt like no-one was listening' Dr Dean added: 'What's shocking and scary is that the failings in this case are more often than not the experience a woman with HG has of the healthcare system. 'The vast majority of women say they are not listened to, are just dismissed as having morning sickness. That is absolutely normal and what's got to change and until that changes, there will be another death like this.' Welcoming the coroner's comments, the family said afterwards that they were 'grateful' to her for recognising the 'severe and devastating' effect it had on Miss Cronshaw. 'Jess's family now hope that this will lead to a major change in the care and treatment for women suffering HG so that such a tragedy will not happen again,' they added. The severe nausea affected 'driven and confident' Miss Cronshaw within weeks of finding out she was pregnant for the first time in May 2022, her inquest was told. 'She went from an outgoing, energetic young woman to struggling to lift her head from the pillow at times,' her mother Susan Cronshaw told the hearing. Miss Cronshaw had to take time off work and ended up confined to bed, the inquest heard. In September, she was put on new medication which enabled her to eat slightly more. Her mother, Susan, told the hearing: 'She went from an outgoing, energetic young woman to struggling to lift her head from the pillow at times' Later that month, she was wrongly informed over the phone by a midwife that it could harm her unborn child and began reducing her dose. The inquest heard a statement from obstetrician Dr Shambhavi Singh who said she could not recall telling midwife Allison Whitehead that Miss Cronshaw needed to reduce her dose. But Ms Bisset said the midwife ought to have been able to rely on being given correct information by a doctor. Miss Cronshaw became increasingly paranoid, believing engineers installing fibre optic cables in the street were trying to hack into her phone. 'She was a different Jess to the one I knew': Mother describes teacher's heartbreaking decline Details of Miss Cronshaw's decline were described in heartbreaking detail by her mother. A 'high achiever', Miss Cronshaw was a 'driven, confident and loyal' daughter who 'achieved everything she set her heart on', her mother said in a statement read to the inquest. Mrs Cronshaw said her daughter had been 'elated' at learning that she and Mr Leck were expecting a baby in May 2022. But the onset of intense nausea meant she had to take time off from her job as a teacher at St Nicholas Primary School in Accrington and ended up being confined to bed, she said. When a doctor at Wigan Infirmary A&E told her it was 'just morning sickness' she was left feeling 'deflated' as she 'knew it was more than morning sickness', she added. 'She found it difficult to maintain conversation on the phone,' Mrs Cronshaw said. 'She said all she could do was lie in bed.' In June, she was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) by a doctor at her local surgery, Peel House Medical Practice, in Accrington. 'Jess told me she was feeling a lot better, believing she would receive advanced care,' her mother said. But the only direct support the surgery offered her for the condition was a leaflet outlining the support available for HG, the inquest was told. In the weeks that followed, Miss Cronshaw continued feeling constant sickness and was losing weight. She was finally admitted to Burnley General Hospital and placed on an intravenous drip and given medication. Her mother said this didn't help, adding: 'I believe Jess thought the medical professionals weren't taking her seriously. 'She was being sick multiple times a day, feeling weak and not eating.' Mrs Cronshaw said a doctor simply advised her to 'eat as often as you can', saying she could go to McDonald's if she wanted. 'We were extremely frustrated,' she said. 'We explained she could not eat.' Her daughter began withdrawing from friends, saying she had a sickness bug as she didn't want to tell them she was having a baby so early in the pregnancy, she added. Mrs Cronshaw said a 12-week scan at the end of July 'should have been the most magical time, but the hyperemesis gravidarum took it away from us'. At an antenatal appointment the following month, she said her daughter felt 'out of place', clutching a sick bowl while seated alongside 'blooming' mothers-to-be. She said a consultant changed her medication to a new drug called Xonvea and said she would be 'back at work in two weeks'. The new drug enabled her to eat slightly more, but she continued to have no energy and spent most of her time in bed, she said. 'Each day was a struggle,' Mrs Cronshaw said. 'Jess looked very unwell, she was extremely skinny with sunken eyes, pale skin and hair matted. 'This was a different Jess to the one I know.' She added: 'I thought the professionals were more focused on how the baby was doing than how Jess was presenting.' On September 30, she said her daughter was informed by phone that she needed to reduce her dose of Xonvea due to the risk of 'side-effects' to her unborn baby. Philip Holden, representing Miss Cronshaw's family, put it to the midwife who made the call, Allison Whitehead, that she now understood that Xonvea was not in fact dangerous to an unborn baby. 'Absolutely,' she answered. Continuing her statement, Mrs Cronshaw said the call had been 'a pivotal moment that would ultimately lead to the most tragic consequences for Jess, Elsie and our whole family'. As she tried to reduce her dose, Miss Cronshaw's condition deteriorated again and she stopped eating almost entirely. At another appointment at her GP surgery on November 8 her daughter said she felt 'low', she said. But Mrs Cronshaw said she was 'shocked' that she wasn't offered help with her mental health. 'This was a huge missed opportunity,' she added. She said had been 'obvious red flags' which weren't acted upon by medical professionals. Telling her daughter over the phone that the medication she was taking could harm her unborn baby was 'completely unacceptable', she added. 'She would do anything to make sure Elsie was ok. 'She would have been the most amazing mum to Elsie. 'I'm broken by this. Watching her was soul-destroying.' Advertisement In his own statement, Mr Leck described a 'rapid transformation from an energetic, active woman to a woman who barely had the strength to get out of bed in the morning'. Speaking of the repeated medical appointments, he said 'it felt like no-one was listening to us'. After being found hanged on November 14, 2022, she was given CPR and rushed to hospital where her daughter Elsie was delivered by caesarean section in a bid to save her life. But four days later the tiny premature baby died at the side of her mother, who was in intensive care. The following day the family were told Miss Cronshaw had suffered irreversible brain damage and agreed to the withdrawal of life support. She died on November 19. Questioned by Mr Holden, midwife Ms Whitehead said she had never heard of Xonvea when Miss Cronshaw called the antenatal unit asking for a repeat prescription. She said she 'tactfully' passed on the advice about it being potentially harmful to an unborn child in good faith after speaking to two doctors. Saying 'hindsight is a wonderful thing', the midwife said in retrospect she should have booked a consultant appointment for Miss Cronshaw. 'It was a very busy shift,' she added. 'I'm human, I didn't do it.' She said she had since read up on Xonvea in her own time and accepted that it was not dangerous to an unborn child. Ms Whitehead said she had not picked up any concerns over Miss Cronshaw's reaction to her advice. But she said it could be 'difficult to grasp' a mother-to-be's state of mind over the phone. 'I think a face-to-face conversation would have perhaps altered my reaction,' she added. The inquest heard a review carried out by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust found there had been 'red flags' in what Miss Cronshaw said about how she was feeling which should have led to a mental health referral. Mothers-to-be who suffer from vomiting now have regular weight checks as well as closer monitoring of whether they are struggling mentally, it was told. In addition, pregnant women must not have their medication changed without a consultation with an obstetrician. However, Ms Bisset said she plans to write a 'prevention of future deaths' report highlighting concerns raised by Miss Cronshaw's family. Obstetrician Dr Helen Collier, who prescribed Xonvea to Miss Cronshaw after alternatives failed to help, said the drug was safe to use throughout pregnancy. Asked by Philip Holden, representing the family, if it had been 'appropriate' for another doctor to recommend cutting the dose without seeing the patient face-to-face, Dr Collier replied that it would have been 'preferable' to have spoken to her directly. Miss Cronshaw's family's campaign has been supported by charity Pregnancy Sickness Support and Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe, who in July 2023 raised their concerns in a Westminster Hall debate. In a narrative conclusion to the inquest, the coroner said: 'If love alone could have saved Jessica and Elsie, I am quite sure we would not be sitting here. 'Jessica Elizabeth Cronshaw was, and is, a very much-loved daughter, granddaughter, sister, partner and friend. 'Importantly, it must not be forgotten that she was also a much-loved mother, a mother who loved her baby daughter and had hopes, dreams and aspirations for a long and happy life with her partner and daughter.' The cause of death for Miss Cronshaw was recorded as hypoxic brain injury, caused by hanging, while Elsie was found to have died from 'severe intrauterine hypoxia caused by maternal hypoxic arrest'. The coroner referenced 13 'interactions' between Miss Cronshaw and hospitals, doctors and midwives in the months before her death but she was not offered mental health support. On October 3, Miss Cronshaw had described anxiety and a feeling of isolation due to being away from work. But a doctor recorded that 'he did not consider that Jess was depressed and did not consider she met the threshold for referral to peri natal mental health services'. On October 11, Miss Cronshaw told a midwife she felt down and missed the children she taught at school but there was no discussion of mental health. And on November 8, six days before she was found hanged, Miss Cronshaw told how she felt 'down', although she did not disclose any thoughts of suicide or harm. At earlier consultations in August and September, she was not asked about her mental health or 'wellbeing', the inquest was told. Coroner Ms Bisset highlighted how a subsequent investigation into Miss Cronshaw's care, carried out by Royal Blackburn Hospital, found there were 25 areas in which her care 'should or could have been done differently'. These included her remaining on 'the standard antenatal care pathway despite ongoing symptoms of Nausea and Vomiting', failure to assess her condition or symptoms, and a lack of access to her GP records. Meanwhile, the investigation found communication with Miss Cronshaw and her family appearing 'flippant' at times so they 'felt as if their concerns were not listened to'. Ms Bisset said: 'I am certain that all the clinicians involved in Jess' care had the best intentions. However, there were failings in her care.' She said that 'further exploration of (Miss Cronshaw's) mental health ought to have happened'. But the coroner added that she 'cannot be satisfied it is more likely than not that if this care had been different, Jess' mental health would not have deteriorated to the extent to which it did and thus she would not have died at the time at which she did'. For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit samaritans.org The shock death of Texas Congressman Sylvester Turner sent shivers through a city council session in Houston on Wednesday morning. Turner, 70, died shortly after attending Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday night. While the details surrounding his death remain unclear, Houston Mayor John Whitmire today revealed to colleagues that Turner had been rushed to the hospital shortly after releasing a video on X. An emotional Whitmire, who has been a vocal critic of Turner in the past, appeared close to tears as he delivered the sad news. 'This comes as a shock to everyone. I would ask Houstonians to come together, pray for his family, join us in celebrating this remarkable public servant,' he said. Additionally, Turner's office added that he 'died peacefully' in a statement Wednesday afternoon. Flags have been ordered to fly at half-staff in the Lone Star State's largest city. Despite battling a rare cancer in his jaw since before getting elected in November, Turner's death came as a surprise. He had been fulfilling his public duties since becoming a US representative in January. Houston Mayor John Whitmire today revealed to colleagues that Turner had been rushed to the hospital shortly after attending Trump's speech Sylvester Turner, 70, died shortly after filming this video. He posted the footage on X shortly before Trump began speaking Turner rode in the Houston Rodeo parade over the weekend and had been active on social media hours before arriving at the hospital. He appeared to be in fighting form, taking aim at Donald Trump's on social media Tuesday night. 'My message to the current administration for tonights State of the Union: 'Dont mess with Medicaid,' he shared in a post that included a video of him alongside a constituent he brought to the speech. 'I am proud to have Angela Hernandez here from our Congressional district as my guest. She is representing and advocating for her daughter Baislee Garcia who has a rare genetic disorder Chromosome 8p: Inversion/Duplication/Deletion.' The congressman's final post continued: 'Let me be clear: any cuts to Medicaid are a direct attack on families like Angelas. President Trump and Elon Musks push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us. They are playing politics with childrens lives, and I will not stand for it. In another post he made clear that he would attend the address to represent his constituents. 'Some are asking whether I will attend the State of the Union ... For the people of #TX18, we will be there,' his account shared. He recently won the seat vacated by former Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee after she passed away last year. Like Turner, she also passed away while serving in office. Turner served as the mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024. Turner, one of nine children, graduated from University of Houston and Harvard Law. 'Brenda Gail and I are heartbroken by the passing of my friend Sylvester Turner. We served together in the Texas House, and I had the honor of working alongside him in Congress, even if only for a short time,' Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Weber wrote on social media mourning the loss. Turner can be seen hunched over while attending Trump's remarks Rep. Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston, has died Turner, circled in red, can be seen in the House chamber during Trump's speech on Tuesday night Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks at the press conference in Houston in 2021 'He was a devoted public servant who cared deeply for Houstonians. Just last night, we spoke on the House Floorlife is too short. We are praying for his family, friends, and all who are mourning his passing.' Alabama Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell wrote: 'Im saddened to hear of the passing of my colleague, Congressman Sylvester Turner.' 'He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service as Mayor of Houston and the Representative for Texas' 18th Congressional District. May he Rest in Peace.' The mystery surrounding a young woman's shocking medical emergency on New Year's Eve has taken a turn after authorities announced there wasn't enough evidence to conclude her drink was spiked with antifreeze. Kailey Kline, 23, alleged that her alcoholic beverage was spiked while at the Silver Dollar Bar in Wyoming after she suffered a severe medical emergency where she seized and foamed at the mouth. Kline was hospitalized and in a coma for days while her mother feared she had been poisoned. Now, a letter written by Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric offers a different theory of the events that unfolded at the start of the new year. Skoric closed the investigation into Kline's alleged poisoning, writing in a letter to Detective Tyler Eubanks, 'Nothing from your investigation yielded any evidence that anyone poisoned Ms. Kline.' Skoric noted the Cody Police Department interviewed 16 individuals, one of which Kline previously believed had poisoned her. Kline explained during an interview with Inside Edition that she speculated who had potentially poisoned her, and added that she believed the motivation was to sexually assault her. However, Skoric claimed in the report that, 'There was simply no motivation for this individual to poison her and no evidence to suggest he did.' Kailey Kline, 23, said that she believed she was poisoned with antifreeze while at a bar on New Year's Eve Kline suffered a severe medical emergency where she had seizures, couldn't move, and began foaming at the mouth after she left the bar Antifreeze is used to regulate a vehicle's engine temperature to prevent the engine from overheating (file photo) The events unfolded when Kline returned home in the early hours of January 1. Her fiance, Sean knew she had been drinking but wasn't concerned until she started vomiting. She then went limp, started seizing, and foaming at the mouth, prompting him to call emergency services. Her fiance recalled during the interview with Inside Edition that Kline couldn't walk and said she felt like her body was on fire. Kline's condition worsened and she was transported from Cody Regional Health in Wyoming to St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings, Montana. A nurse at St. Vincent's said that Kline was then treated for ethylene glycol poisoning, according to Skoric's report. Ethylene glycol is the substance used in antifreeze, however, there were no traces of it in Kline's system when she was treated at the hospital, Skoric said. Kline had told emergency responders that she believed she was poisoned, which prompted them to give her the antidote. Skoric said that Kline was 'heavily intoxicated' when she told medics that she had been roofied. Kline was out with friends at the Silver Dollar Bar in Wyoming before she suffered a severe medical emergency Kline's fiance called emergency services after she suffered a medical emergency on New Year's Day Even though she responded to the antidote, Skoric argued there were alternate explanations as to why this occurred. 'The antidote could have been administered as she was getting better on her own, from other interventions, or the antidote was unrelated to the effects altogether.' Authorities confirmed that there was no presence of any amount of ethylene glycol, trace or otherwise, found in Kline's system, according to medical reports reviewed for the investigation. The investigation speculated that Kline's seizures were a result of the medication Wellbutrin, an antidepressant drug that can result in seizures. Notes from a neurologist said that Kline's seizures could have been a result of a variety of factors including, a possible intoxicating substance from a stranger, or a lowered seizure threshold from Wellbutrin. Skoric argued that if Kline had been given antifreeze, she would have already had the antidote in her system as alcohol can combat ethylene glycol. 'Based on her stated alcohol consumption that evening, she would have had to consume a large amount of antifreeze for ethylene glycol toxicity to manifest,' Skoric concluded. Despite the recent bombshell report, Kline maintains that she was poisoned by a stranger at the bar. Her mother, Amber Espinoza told Dailymail.com in a statement that her daughter was not on Wellbutrin, which directly contradicts the theory put forth by law enforcement. 'The investigation's focus on a single statement amidst hundreds of pages of medical documentation and no healthcare provider interviews overlooked critical aspects of Kaileys health history, presentation, and diagnoses,' Espinoza said in a statement to the publication. The 'single statement' she referred to was the neurologist's conclusion cited in Skoric's report that closed the case. Espinoza also claimed that of the 16 interviews police conducted, none of the individuals were actually on Kline's medical team. Her mother added that the neurologist did say her daughter could have been poisoned, and accused police of not adequately investigating that theory. Kline was in a coma for four days after she was airlifted to a hospital for treatment Kline has stood firm that she was poisoned and slammed the investigation's results on social media Kline said that she's struggling with PTSD from the event while caring for her two children, ages one and four 'This investigation appears to exhibit confirmation bias and does not sufficiently focus on the thoroughness of the medical records or actual medical team,' Espinoza said. After authorities determined there wasn't enough evidence pointing to Kline being poisoned, the Silver Dollar Bar released a statement on the incident. 'After a full investigation, law enforcement has closed the case, having found no evidence to substantiate the allegation. 'Ms. Klines account of the night has unfortunately changed multiple times, and the toxicology report does not align with her claims. It is also important to note that Ms. Kline had visited other bars prior to arriving at The Silver Dollar around 1:00am.' However, Kline blasted the investigation on her Facebook account, writing, 'I have provided the police department with incident-related evidence. In this specific case, nothing is adding up, and it is disheartening to see firsthand how unprepared our county is for situations such as this.' 'The lack of proper handling in this case not only undermines trust in our local authorities but also puts lives at risk,' she continued. 'Immediate action and accountability are crucial to prevent any future tragedies.' Kline added that she has experienced trauma and post-traumatic stress from the incident, detailing the aftermath as 'excruciating.' 'Managing my emotions while dealing with postpartum has been incredibly challenging. On top of that, I'm caring for my two younger kids aged 1 and 4 while trying to recover at the same time,' she wrote. 'Whether or not the family disagrees with the investigation is irrelevant as zero evidence exists indicating she was poisoned. Cases are prosecuted based on evidence,' Skoric told Dailymail.com. Lieutenant Juston Wead with the Cody Police Department said that although it is understandable that Kline believed she was poisoned, no evidence in their investigation led to that conclusion. It was one of the make-a-wish-come-true moments sprinkled through an otherwise formal occasion. 'Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago,' said President Donald Trump as he introduced 13-year-old Devarjaye 'DJ' Daniel who was watching the joint address to Congress from the gallery. 'Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true.' He then dispatched the director of the U.S. Secret Service Sean Curran to deliver a certificate making DJ an honorary agent. The moment went viral and a poll for DailyMail.com shows how it and other made-for-television moments resonated with viewers on Tuesday night. It was also likely one of the factors that led voters to describe Trump in an unfamiliar way: Caring. When pollsters J.L. Partners asked 774 viewers for their one-word description of the best moment from the night, the biggest word at the center of a word cloud was 'people' alongside the word 'America.' 'Boy,' 'cancer,' 'kid,' and 'agent,' all figured prominently. President Donald Trump introduced 13-year-old Devarjaye 'DJ' Daniel during his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night J.L. Partners polled 774 viewers for their thoughts immediately after the speech ended James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners, said: 'I was struck by a real surprise finding in our poll for a Trump speech: People felt it was "caring." 'Trump used the gallery to a larger extent than most former presidentsI suspect that showed off a different side to Trump for many and was a savvy move.' It was a reminder of Trump's rise to stratospheric fame in reality TV, and his role of producer-in-chief at the White House. And it paved the way for a series of very human moments in one of the most formal dates on the Washington, D.C., calendara speech to lawmakers. Guests referenced by Trump included Marc Fogel, freed by Russia after being arrested with cannabis and sentenced to 14 years in prison, who sat alongside his 95-year-old mother, and angel moms whose daughters had been murdered by illegal immigrants. In a moment of theater, Trump held up an executive order renaming a Texas wildlife refuge in honor of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl who was strangled to death. Two undocumented Venezuelan immigrants have been charged with capital murder. And in another moment designed to be clipped and shared online, the president introduced high school senior Jason Hartley, describing how he wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps of service by attending the US Military Academy at West Point. 'That's a very big deal getting in,' said the president. Your browser does not support iframes. Cancer survivor Devarjaye 'DJ' Daniel holds up his paper after he is made an honorary Secret Service agent during Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress Former hostage Marc Fogel and his mother Malphine listen to the speech 'That's a hard one to get into, but I'm pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted.' It brought the house down. In all it led 53 percent of viewers to say the speech was 'caring,' compared with 38 per cent of viewers who said it was not. At her briefing the next day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the moments had a clear purpose. 'Last night, you also saw who motivates the president to work so hard every day,' she said, before listing the guests. 'And in one of the greatest surprise moments of the night, DJ Daniel, an incredible 13-year-old boy who is beating brain cancer saw his dreams fulfilled by President Trump when he was made an honorary Secret Service agent.' Curran, the agent, who presented the certificate has become a well-known face himself. He hustled to Trump's side seconds after an assassin's bullet grazed the former and future president's ear at a rally in Pennsylvania last year. Overall viewers gave the speech a thumbs up. It may have included taunts and boasts but some 57 percent of respondents said they approved. Trump holds a copy of an executive order renaming a Texas wildlife refuge in honor of Jocelyn Nungaray,a 12-year-old girl who was strangled to death The moment Jason Hartley is told by Trump he is going to West Point Only 32 percent gave it a thumbs down. And some 58 percent said they thought it struck a generally optimistic tone, after Trump announced that the 'American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before.' 'This was a knockout speech for Trump,' said pollster James Johnson. 'Viewers felt he was confident, optimistic, and strong and they left feeling more positive about the future of America than when they left.' Trump used the address to take a victory lap six weeks after taking office, laying out a string of achievements and listing objectives for the next four years. 'It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action,' he said. 'The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it.' The prime-time speech was his first to Congress since returning to power. And it highlighted another extraordinary facet of Trump's political comeback in Washington, where his allies hold the House and Senate, allowing him almost unfettered power. A Texas thief swiped more than $700,000 worth of Tiffany & Co jewelry before swallowing the evidence, police said. Jaythan Gilder, from Houston, told the staff of the upscale jewelry house he was a top athlete to get them to take him into the Orlando store's VIP room, CBS News reported. The 32-year-old was shown several pieces, including two pairs of earrings worth $769,500 total and a $587,000 ring, according to court documents. An X-ray released by the police after he was apprehended appears to show the jewelry inside Gilder's stomach after he frantically swallowed the pieces before capture. Before gobbling his evidence, surveillance footage showed the 32-year-old sitting inside the store in front of the jewels before he snatched the ring and earrings. He then allegedly attempted to flee the room, injuring a staff member who tried to stop him and dropping the ring during the commotion. Employee Amit Nayee was left with visible injuries after Gilder 'violently' pulled his arms, police said. He then swerved several more staff members before taking off from the store, court documents claim. Jaythan Gilder, from Houston, Texas, swiped more than $700,000 worth of Tiffany & Co jewelry before swallowing the evidence, police said A body scan revealed a foreign object inside Gilder's stomach after he was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol Gilder allegedly fled the scene in a blue 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander, which was later pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol for a separate traffic offense. Officers noted Tiffany price tags and earring forms on the floor of the vehicle. As he was being taken into custody, Gilder was seen 'swallowing several objects believed to be the stolen earrings', police said. One of the highway patrol officers also said he overheard Gilder stating, 'I should have thrown them out the window' in reference to the earrings. He was taken to Washington County Jail, where investigators said a live scan revealed the jewelry inside his stomach. The fate of the earrings is not mentioned in the court documents, although a Washington County Jail said they were not recovered while Gilder was there. He is charged with grand theft in the first degree, and robbery with a mask. Police said at the time of the February 26 incident he was wearing a gauze nose covering, arm bandage and a hat, which he used as a mask to obscure his identity. Gilder, 32, allegedly told staff he was a top athlete to get them to take him into the store's VIP room He 'violently' shoved a store associate before taking off with the earrings, per court documents Gilder is in custody in Orange County under the jurisdiction of Sheriff John W Mina Nayee managed to pick Gilder out from a police line-up, and he remains in custody in Orange County. It is not the first time Gilder has had a brush with the law; he was charged in an almost identical robbery from a Tiffany & Co store in Texas in 2022. He also has 48 'failure to appear' warrants out in Colorado, CBS News reported. A British holidaymaker drowned after falling into a lake while kayaking in Thailand, an inquest heard. Adventure-loving engineer Shanghaman Gowribalan, 24, was kayaking with his friends on a dam when his kayak overflowed with water. The backpacker travelled 6,000 miles from Wales to Thailand when he fell into the deepest part of the beauty spot reservoir. Mr Gowribalan - who was born in Sri Lanka but grew up and went to school and university in Swansea - was described as a 'hardworking, organised, and intelligent' young man who loved to travel. He and a friend were travelling in the southern part of Thailand in February last year when tragedy struck. Shortly after eating breakfast he went out onto the Cheow Lan Dam - a 185-square-kilometre artificial lake - in Khao Sok National Park. But the inquest heard that at 9am he fell into the lake when water overflowed into the kayak around 500m away from the Kraisorn Raft House. His friend raised the alarm and a large search operation was launched. Rescue teams along with scuba divers searched the lake for three days. A British holidaymaker, Shanghaman Gowribalan, drowned after falling into a lake while kayaking in Thailand, an inquest heard The backpacker travelled 6,000 miles from Wales to Thailand when he fell into the deepest part of the beauty spot reservoir Scuba divers were deployed to search the waters, but the operation was temporarily suspended over safety concerns due to the dam's depth On February 14, Mr Gowribalan's body washed up near to the accommodation where he had been staying. At the inquest at Swansea Guildhall on Wednesday a report was read by coroner's officer Claire Seymour which said registration was needed for people to take out a kayak meaning they would be supplied with a paddle and a lifejacket. However an investigation by Thai police found that no registration was logged. It was also heard that Mr Gowribalan and his friend went onto the lake in kayaks early that morning without lifejackets. A post-mortem examination found water and sewage in both his chest cavities. The inquest also heard that Mr Gowribalan had no history of alcohol or drug abuse and no health issues. Coroner Aled Gruffydd said: 'On Ferbruary 14, 2024, Shanghaman was found deceased in Thailand. He had gone missing during a kayaking trip with his friend on Febraury 11, 2024. A friend of Mr Gowribalan with Thai police during the search operation 'Shanghaman fell into the lake after water overflowed into the kayak. He fell into the deepest part of the reservoir approximately 500m away from where he was staying.' The official cause of death was given as accidental drowning. Mr Gruffydd offered his condolences to Mr Gowribalan's family and recorded a conclusion of accidental death. A bid to restrict children's use of smartphones to prevent them 'doom scrolling' on social media has been watered down after ministers opposed the measures. Labour MP Josh MacAlister proposed legislation to protect under-16s from addictive social media content on sites like TikTok and Snapchat. His original submission would have raised the age of online data consent from 13 to 16 and would have introduced a legal requirement on schools to ban phones. The Safer Phones Bill would also have strengthened regulator Ofcom's powers to prevent children being targeted by addictive apps and committed the Government to review the sale of smartphones to under-16s. But the private members' bill, which was published today and has been seen by the Mail, dilutes the proposals and commits ministers to researching issues as opposed to acting on them. The Bill which has cross-party backing from MPs and senior child protection figures will go to the Commons on Friday to be debated by MPs. But it is a shadow of the original proposals after indications were given that the original submission would not have received the backing of ministers. Sources have suggested that the Digital Secretary Peter Kyle and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson oppose the plans. Labour MP Josh MacAlister proposed legislation to protect under-16s from addictive social media content on sites like TikTok and Snapchat Sources have suggested that the Digital Secretary Peter Kyle (pictured) and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson oppose the plans A measure to ban mobile phones in schools has already been dropped after Ms Phillipson opposed the measure Instead of tough controls on content, the Bill states that the chief medical officers of the UK must draw up advice for parents on their children's use of smartphones and social media. It also calls on ministers to publish a plan for research into the impact of social media use on children as opposed to protecting children from addictive content. A measure to ban mobile phones in schools has already been dropped after Ms Phillipson opposed the measure. Private members' bills need Government backing to succeed and Mr MacAlister's proposals could have been whipped against or talked out had he proceeded. Sources said that more time was needed to research the impact of phones on teenagers and assess the evolving technologies that could restrict content developed by the phone companies themselves. Mr Kyle is understood to be opposed to any major Bill which would be the equivalent of a second Online Safety Act, which some campaigners want. A source close to him said he was not in principle opposed to further Government intervention on this specific issue but that work was at an early stage. Mr MacAlister, a former teacher who led a review of children's social services for the last government, will present his Bill to the Commons on Friday. If ministers commit to take his measure forward as expected, MacAlister will not push it to a vote. The MP for Whitehaven and Workington, told the Mail that the Bill was a first step in Government taking the issue of addictive smartphone use seriously. 'It will be the first meaningful step from a UK government to engage with the widespread impacts of excessive smartphone and social media use by children,' he said. A poll by More in Common found last month that 74 per cent of people wanted a social media ban for under-16s. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used fighting words against one of the U.S. biggest adversaries as the trade war between the U.S. and China escalates. Appearing on Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning, the Pentagon chief claimed the U.S. is 'prepared' to go to war with China. Hegseth made the comments in response to a question about a post on X by the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. Late Tuesday the embassy X account wrote on X 'If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end.' On Wednesday morning, Hegseth fired back. 'Well, we're prepared. Those who long for peace must prepare for war,' the 44-year-old responded on Fox & Friends. Hegseth claimed 'that's why we're rebuilding our military.' 'If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong, and that president understands peace comes through strength,' Hegseth continued. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is 'prepared' for war with China as the rhetoric heats up While the two countries have rapidly escalated a trade war and war of words, Hegseth argued that Trump has a 'great relationship' with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said where the two countries can cooperate, they will and the president is seeking peace and opportunities. 'But my job as the secretary of defense is to make sure we're ready. We need the defense spending, the capabilities, the weapons and the posture in the Indo-Pacific, which is something we're very much focused on,' Hegseth said. China announced this week it will increase its defense budget by 7.2 percent as it looks to modernize its military as it looks to exert its dominance amid geopolitical tension around the world. China is the second largest spender on the military behind the U.S. and has the world's largest navy. Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. Hegseth argued the pair still have a 'great relationship' At the same time, the trade war between the two countries dramatically escalated this week after Trump this week doubled the tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 20 percent. Beijing responded with up to 15 percent reciprocal tariffs on some U.S. farm goods. Chinese officials have argued that the U.S. is using the flow of fentanyl into the country as an excuse to impose tariffs and have argued the U.S. alone is responsible for its fentanyl crisis. Trump has blasted China, claiming it needs to do more to clamp down on the fentanyl making its ways to the U.S. from overseas. The president also said Mexico and Canada needed to do a better job of addressing the fentanyl at the border when he slapped 25 percent tariffs on all imports from both countries at the same time he imposed additional tariffs on China this week. But the White House could announce some tariff carveouts as soon as Wednesday. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been placed under criminal investigation in Florida just days after the influencer siblings arrived in the US from Romania. Florida's attorney-general, James Uthmeier, announced that law enforcement had carried out search warrants and subpoenas as part of a 'now active' inquiry. Both brothers, who have dual British and American citizenship, are currently under investigation in Romania accused of human trafficking but were allowed to fly to Florida last week by a court and are expected to remain there for another two weeks. Andrew, 38, is also charged in Romania with rape. 'Florida has zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls,' Uthmeier said. 'We're going to use every tool we have to ensure justice is served. If these guys did criminal activity here in Florida, we will go after them with the full force of law and hold them accountable.' 'These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, many of these victims coming forward some of them minors,' Uthmeier went on. Florida has launched a criminal investigation into influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate (picture February 27) Both brothers travelled from Bucharest to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a private jet last Thursday after Ric Grenell, a special envoy to Trump, had put pressure on the Romanian government to lift travel restrictions imposed on them MailOnline can reveal that Andrew and Tristan Tate have spent time at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida 'People can spin or defend however they want but in Florida this type of behaviour is viewed as atrocious. We're not going to accept it. They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state and we're going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable.' Andrew hit back and said: 'They have all my electronics, and I guess they are going through it to try and find a crime I'm very confident they won't, but we also know how ridiculous prosecutors can be.' The controversial Tate brothers travelled from Bucharest to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a private jet last Thursday. Ric Grenell, a special envoy to Trump, had put pressure on the Romanian government to lift travel restrictions imposed on the pair. And now MailOnline can reveal that Andrew and Tristan have spent time at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Andrew is a staunch supporter of Trump and although it is not known if they have met Trump he was also staying at Mar-a-Lago last weekend when both brothers flew in after their 12-hour flight from Romania. A source close to the Tate brothers said: 'It's no secret they both admire Donald Trump and are fans of his and they have spent time the last few days at Mar-a-Lago, they arrived in Florida when Trump was in the state. 'I wouldn't be surprised if they all met up then or at some later stage while they are in Florida before they return to Romania later this month and they will return, they are not afraid and will fight to clear their names.' MailOnline has reached out to Andrew's team for comment. Trump's team have also been approached for comment. Since arriving in the US last week Andrew has also given a fawning online interview endorsing Trump and said: 'Trump is a hero. Trump has saved the Western world. I don't think enough people understand that. It is not known if they have met Trump he was also staying at Mar-a-Lago last weekend when both brothers flew in from Romania 'If he didn't win it would have been over for the Western world as we know itthat is not exaggeration, that is not hyperbole. 'Trump has saved the world, the reason I am a fan of Trump is not because I agree with everything single thing he does, not because I think he's a perfect person, but I can look and say, 'He has saved the world.' Last year after a court appearance in Bucharest he said he was 'very close to the Trump family' saying he knew 'them well'. He added: 'Once I am free, I look forward to being with Donald Trump in person and reminding him he is a bulletproof badass.' The outspoken self-styled misogynist and his brother were allowed to fly to the US after prosecutors in Romania suspended their travel ban and lifted a precautionary seizure of some of their assets. Authorities in Bucharest arrested the brothers who have joint British and US citizenship - in 2022 and they are facing trial for rape, sex with a minor, people trafficking and money laundering. Donald Trump Jr. once said their detention was 'absolute insanity' and the brothers also deny all the charges against them. Last month US special envoy Richard Grenell, a supporter of the Tate brothers, asked Romania to relax the travel ban and Bucharest said there had been 'no political pressure' on the decision to let them leave. One of their American legal team Paul Ingrassia was recently sworn in as the White House liaison for the Department of Justice. Both men are also due to be extradited back to the UK once the Romanian case is complete to face similar accusations after four women came forward to say they had been raped and trafficked. Palestine Action defaced a Grade I listed Cambridge University building in an act of 'absolutely appalling vandalism'. The group said it collaborated with students to mark the office which manages the university's endowment fund, The Old Schools on Trinity Lane, yesterday. It came after an injunction aimed at preventing pro-Palestinian demonstrators from disrupting a graduation ceremony was granted by a High Court judge last week. A spokesperson from the university said: 'We strongly condemn this vandalism of University property. The police have been informed.' Lecturer, Adrian Hilton, posted a picture of the defaced building on X writing: 'I've just seen what Palestine Action have done to Old Schools. Grade I listed. Absolutely appalling vandalism.' Palestine Action said activists wanted full disclosure of the university's investments and the immediate divestment from 'companies complicit in war crimes and the Israeli apartheid regime'. A spokesperson from the group said: 'Each life lost in Palestine is a human being with dreams, loved ones, and a future stolen. Palestine Action defaced a Grade I listed Cambridge University building in an act of 'absolutely appalling vandalism' The group said it collaborated with students to mark the office which manages the university's Endowment Fund, The Old Schools on Trinity Lane yesterday Writing to X Lecturer, Adrian Hilton, posted a picture of the defaced building and wrote: 'I've just seen what Palestine Action have done to Old Schools. Grade I listed. Absolutely appalling vandalism' Cambridgeshire Police confirmed a crime had been raised for criminal damage to the building 'As long as the university continues to profit from violence, we will continue to take action in solidarity with Palestinians who endure daily oppression and destruction.' Cambridgeshire Police confirmed a crime had been raised for criminal damage to the building. It comes after in May Cambridge University was been forced to move graduation ceremonies to an undisclosed 'alternative location' after student activists protesting the war in Gaza set up camp outside the venue that has hosted ceremonies since the 18th century. Protesters pitched tents on a lawn outside Senate House shortly before graduation ceremonies due to take place there. The university said in a statement that it had taken the 'very difficult decision' to hold the events at an undisclosed 'alternative location'. The protestors have previously said they would halt or disrupt graduations as a 'last resort' because the University had not met their demands. A Cambridge University spokesperson said: 'We regret that due to the ongoing presence of protesters on Senate House lawn, we have taken the very difficult decision to make alternative arrangements for the Degree Congregations this weekend. 'All students who want to graduate this weekend will still be able to attend their Degree Congregation at an alternative location that is fitting of the occasion. 'We are confident that ceremonies will be a memorable and enjoyable experience for students and their guests.' Thee protester's actions followed a wave of similar student protests in the US including encampments at Colombia University in New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Los Angeles, which resulted in police disbanding the encampments with forceful tactics, including teargas to move protesters out. The amount a Hamas minister's family was paid for his teenage son's role in a BBC documentary has been revealed for the first time. Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was pulled from iPlayer last month after the BBC acknowledged 'serious flaws' in how it was produced. Viewers were not told that Abdullah al-Yazouri, the 14-year-old boy who narrated the documentary, was the son of a senior Hamas leader. Now it has emerged around 790 was paid into a bank account belonging to Abdullah's sister, The Telegraph has reported. Their father, Ayman al-Yazouri, is the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. The funds, which are equivalent to a month's salary in Gaza, were transferred by the production company Hoyo Films, who made the programme for the BBC. The broadcaster said: 'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration.' A full audit of the money used to make the programme has been demanded by the BBC. However according to The Telegraph's report, the amount paid to Abdullah's family has reassured executives at the BBC as it constitutes an 'insubstantial sum'. Abdullah al-Yazouri, the 14-year-old who narrated the documentary, is the son of a senior Hamas leader Protesters gathered outside the BBC offices in London during a demonstration against the broadcaster's Gaza documentary Abudullah, the son of a senior Hamas official, is seen in the BBC's controversial documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone It comes as the Mail reported last week that counter terror police could launch a probe into the incident. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We're aware of a BBC documentary about Gaza and we have received a number of reports raising concerns. 'Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.' It previously emerged that the BBC paid more than 400,000 of licence fee money to Hoyo to make the documentary. Whilst the broadcaster stressed the production company was independent, they accepted that 'the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations'. At the weekend, former BBC chief Danny Cohen called on culture secretary Lisa Nandy to hold an independent inquiry into the documentary. He also accused the BBC of being 'manipulated by terrorists'. Mr Cohen told The Times: 'Given the scale of the BBC's failings, it feels absolutely appropriate for the culture secretary to ensure this happens. 'The ultimate failing here is by the BBC's leadership. They should not be allowed to just investigate themselves the journalistic failings of this programme are part of a wider system failure at the BBC.' A woman pictured outside the BBC headquarters holding signs in protest of the documentary Last Thursday, the BBC published an apology about the now disgraced documentary. They admitted that 'serious flaws' had been identified ' in the making' of the programme. A BBC spokesperson added: 'During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas. 'Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy's father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact. 'It was then the BBC's own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired. 'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration. 'While Hoyo Films have assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure.' A spokesperson for Hoyo Films added: 'We are cooperating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston to help understand where mistakes have been made. 'We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors - who have no say in the war - should have their voices heard.' MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment on the latest claims. Federal workers at USAID could find themselves behind bars for fraud after DOGE uncovered a massive spending scandal at the program, DailyMail.com has learned Pete Marocco, deputy administrator-designate at USAID, provided the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a briefing on Capitol Hill Wednesday while discussing the review of foreign aid implemented by President Donald Trump. Moracco told the committee he is considering sending criminal recommendations to the Justice Department regarding actions within USAID being exposed by Elon Musk's DOGE. 'Apparently, there's still judicial action that has even come out as late as this morning,' Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who was in the meeting, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ,' he shared, noting how fraud 'is a criminal act.' The Republican shared that Marocco left open the possibility that both USAID workers and grant recipients could be recommended for crimes. 'If they are detecting outright fraud, not just bad programs, not just ignoble programs, not just programs that don't support the national interest of the United States, if they're finding fraud, then, absolutely' the wrongdoers should be prosecuted, Rep. Self said. Pete Marocco, a political appointee focused on gutting USAID, departs after briefing the House Foreign Affairs Committee behind closed doors, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. During the meeting he told lawmakers that criminal recommendations against those involved with USAID fraud are being considered U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., walks past protesters as Pete Marocco, deputy administrator-designate at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), attends a meeting with members of Congress to discuss foreign assistance People hold placards, as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 3, 2025 Self noted that Marocco and USAID would not share their plans for criminal recommendations unless they had a rock solid 'paper trail.' 'You're going to have to have a paper trail to to prove that,' Self added. 'And I doubt that they would refer anyone without a very strong paper trail.' Another source in the meeting who spoke to DailyMail.com confirmed the potential legal action. 'Marocco briefed the full House Foreign Affairs Committee, Democrats and Republicans, that the waste, fraud, and abuse at USAID was more severe than initially presumed,' the source shared. 'He told lawmakers that multiple referrals to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution were being considered,' they continued. 'The conduct in question arose because of USAIDs decentralized accountability system that often left grantees on the ground using American tax dollars in ways that were both inappropriate and potentially illegal,' the source disclosed. Though Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been tasked to lead USAID, Marocco is the one running point on many of the agency's operations. DOGE leader Elon Musk with Trump. Musk has said that USAID is a 'criminal organization' A young man carries a USAID 50kg bag of Sorghum delivered by small boats to a makeshift port meeting the flood water at the dam protecting the Bentiu IDP camp in Bentiu, South Sudan, July 26, 2023 Thousands of employees have been put on administrative leave after Musk noted that the agency was rotten to the core with fraud. The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing last month about the wasteful spending found at USAID and the State Department. During the session Republicans decried frivolous projects like '$2 million to conduct sex change surgeries in Guatemala through a trans led organization' and '$22 million to increase tourism in Tunisia and Egypt.' Democrats argue that USAID's spending is critical to forward U.S. objectives abroad, and have recently noted that Musk and Trump's handling of the agency has provoked fears of Ebola spreading due USAID funding for prevention programs being halted. This week the Supreme Court ruled that $2 billion in USAID funding that Trump froze would have to be thawed and delivered. Last week, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas that came in a lawsuit from employees to keep a temporarily block on the government's plan. The agency also said it was cutting the U.S.-based workforce by about 2,000 employees. 'As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,' according to the notices sent to USAID workers. The move escalates a monthlong assault on the agency by Trump and 'First Buddy' Elon Musk that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance The purge escalates a monthlong assault on the agency by Trump and 'First Buddy' Elon Musk that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. Trump and chief cost-cutter Musk contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda. Citing a big concern for workers stationed overseas who have reported being cut off from government communications, the notices say that 'USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe.' 'Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources.' The administration said employees put on leave overseas are expected to receive 'voluntary Agency-funded return travel' and other benefits. Nichols, who was nominated by Trump, said he had been 'very concerned' about workers in high-risk areas left overseas without access to emergency communications. But he said he has since been reassured by the administration that workers would still have access to two-way radios that allow 24-7 communications in emergencies, as well as a phone app with a 'panic button.' The judge said the governments statements persuaded him 'that the risk posed to USAID employees who are placed on administrative leave while stationed abroad - if there is any - is far more minimal than it initially appeared.' The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination over the weekend, according to copies that AP viewed. The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted. A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to the dismantling of USAID has temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid despite his court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide. USAID workers overseas will have the option to return to the US and their travels would be funded by the agency. However, they can also choose to stay on paid leave at their foreign posts and will still have access to vital resources. Much controversy has sparked from Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as he continues to bulldoze through several government agencies in an attempt to uncover corrupt spending. Several lawsuits have sparked since January 20 about Musk's cost-cutting slashes, but DOGE has managed to prevail in some cases. A federal judge denied liberals' last ditch attempt to stop 'First Buddy' from accessing government data in a huge victory for DOGE. The lawsuit against DOGE was filed by 14 states' attorneys general in a coordinated effort to strip Musk of his power as his department gained access to swaths of sensitive data at multiple federal agencies. Donald Trump tore into 'Governor' Justin Trudeau of Canada after an explosive call on Wednesday between the leaders as the tariff war escalates. The pair spoke one day after Trudeau described Trump's 25 percent tariffs on U.S. imports into his country as 'dumb' in a blistering response. 'Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'He said that its gotten better, but I said, "Thats not good enough."' he went on. Trump said the call ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner but blamed the Canadian prime minister of using the tariffs tussle to 'stay in power.' 'He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, whats going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!' Trump went on to add that Trudeau's policies were 'responsible for the death of many people' due to fentanyl. Donald Trump is tearing into 'Governor' Justin Trudeau of Canada after an explosive call between the leaders as the tariff war escalates Trump took to Truth social to keep up his war of words with Trudeau, Canadian prime minisrter Furious Justin Trudeau calls Donald Trump's tariffs 'dumb' and vows to escalate trade war The pair spoke after Trudeau launched a tough response to Trump's decision to level punishing tariffs on his country. Looking directly into a TV camera and addressing 'Donald,' on Tuesday he said: 'Even though you are a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.' Trudeau, at times close to tears during an emotional press conference in Ottawa, was quoting a previous verdict on Trump's tariff policy delivered by the Wall Street Journal. U.S. Imports from Canada will now be taxed at 25 percent as Trump's tariffs went into effect on Tuesday. In retaliation, Trudeau announced that Canada would begin implementing 25 percent tariffs on $155 billion of American goods, starting with $30 billion worth immediately. Trudeau said: 'Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, and their closest friend. At the same time they're talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin a lying murderous dictator. Make that make sense.' US President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2019 The United States imported $412 billion worth of goods from Canada in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau. Canada is America's third largest trading partner. Trudeau veered between anger, frustration, defiance and sadness during his extended press conference. 'We're insulted, we're angry, but we're Canadian, which means we're gonna stand up for each other, we're gonna fight...and we're gonna win,' he declared. Trump has repeatedly proposed that if Canada wants to avoid the tariffs they should consider joining the United States as its '51st state'. White House Press Secretary was asked about the issue during her Wednesday briefing. 'He feels strongly that it would be very beneficial for the Canadian people to be the 51st state of the United States,' she said. 'They wouldn't be paying for these tariffs. 'They'd have much lower taxes if they were part of our great country.' Trump again talked up the power of tariffs during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. 'It's a beautiful word, isn't it,' he said. A trio of 'Nazis' allegedly amassed hoards of weapons in preparation for terror attacks on religious sites which they hoped would 'start a race war', a court has heard. Having gathered a range of firearms, explosives and bladed weapons, the trio of Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, planned to attack mosques and synagogues, a jury at Sheffield Crown Court was told on Wednesday. The trio, who have labelled 'right-wing extremists' by prosecution, were arrested after security services uncovered their plot thanks to undercover officers being able to infiltrate their group. Jurors were also told today the extent of the trio's arsenal, with the group having attempted to or already acquired swords, knives, axes, spears and crossbows, on top of gathering extensive explosive and firearm information. Speaking before the court, Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, added that the group were making steps to complete the manufacturing of a 3D printed automatic firearm. Mr Sandiford went on to state how the trio held an admiration for Adolf Hitler and adhered to white supremacist ideals by embracing a 'hatred towards black and other non-white races'. The group also allegedly glorified mass killers who had previously targeted black and Muslim communities. He went on to tell the jury of seven men and five women that the trio all held a 'belief that there must soon be a race war between the white and other races'. A court artist sketch of the accused trio of Brogan Stewart (left), Christopher Ringrose (centre) and Marco Pitzettu (right) The trio appeared before Sheffield Crown Court (pictured) earlier today At the time of the trio's initial arrest in February of last year, 'all three were involved in making preparations for acts of terrorism in furtherance of their political, racial or ideological causes', according to Mr Sandiford. He added that the three were also gathering equipment such as riot shields, body armour and gas masks in readiness for a race war. In January of last year, the defendants are alleged to have formed a group called Einsatz 14 which was described as 'like-minded' extremists who 'wanted to go to war for their chosen cause'. It was this group which three undercover officers infiltrated, with authorities intervening one month later when the accused had identified clear potential targets and the threat of an attack rose to 'imminent'. The court was also told how the group were in the final stages of constructing a 3D printed FGC9 firearm, with Christopher Ringrose actively trying to obtain the last parts needed. Mr Sandiford also took the jury through a range of social media posts which he said highlighted the 'political, racial or ideological causes' being followed by the trio. He showed jurors a post by Stewart on a Telegram chat group called The National Socialist Movement of the United Kingdom which said: 'Nazis wanted what's best for the white people. 'They cared. They loved us so much they did everything in their power to save us from Jewish scum and for what? The world to be handed over to the hooked nosed creatures.' Stewart went on: 'Hitler did more for his people then any politician. And for Britain to have a paki and zionist in charge of the country is absolutely outrageous'. Mr Sandiford said this last comment was a reference to the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The jury was also shown a short video Stewart posted of himself wearing a German army helmet, a Nazi armband and a skull face covering, which the prosecutor said was associated with right-wing extremism. Ringrose, of Cannock, Staffordshire; Pitzettu, of Mickleover, Derbyshire; and Stewart, of Tingley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, deny a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism. Ringrose also denies manufacturing a prohibited weapon. Mr Sandiford is expected to continue opening the prosecution case on Thursday at 10am. The father of a British prisoner of war who was jailed for 19 years by a Russian court after being captured in Ukraine told how he fears 'his life's over' and said the family is 'praying' for him to be freed under a prisoner swap. James Anderson, 22, was sentenced by a Russian military court after being accused 'of crimes committed as part of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region'. The former British Army soldier, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was accused of acting as a mercenary on behalf of Ukraine, and breaching Russia's terrorist act. His father Scott Anderson told the Daily Mail: 'I just feel his life's over. At 22, 19 years is a long time to get. It's going to be difficult for him not being able to contact his family, and it's heartbreaking for me and his mum. 'I think the sentence is ridiculous. I'm hoping a prisoner swap can be made. I'm only praying that something can be done to get him home.' Mr Anderson sr said he only found out about his son's sentencing today from media reports and has subsequently contacted Foreign Office officials. He has had no communication from his son's former Ukrainian unit since his capture last November. The sentencing was heard in a closed court session on Friday, the 2nd Western District Military Court reported. Mr Anderson jr was claimed to have 'admitted guilt', allegedly saying that he had decided to take part in the war in return for payment. James Scott Rhys Anderson was sentenced on Friday to 19 years imprisonment His father has said he fears his son's life is 'over' James with his sister. He had been in the Army for four years, having gone to Army Foundation College as a 17-year-old He faces five years in a Russian prison and the remainder of his sentence in an unnamed maximum security penal colony, Russian sources said. Mr Anderson sr said he 'dreads to think' what his son 'is going through'. He added: 'We've not been able to speak to him or have any contact. All we've had to rely on are what's been released by the press in Russia. They do say he has no health conditions and that he is being treated well. We're having to take their word for it.' Images from the sentencing hearing show Mr Anderson, his hair closely cropped, sat in the glass-fronted dock of the courtroom, in black and grey prison garb. When news of his capture broke in November, Mr Anderson sr, 41, told the Daily Mail he feared his son would be tortured and said he and other family members had begged him not to go to Ukraine eight months earlier. Mr Anderson had spent four years in the Army, having joined up as a 17-year-old and attended Army Foundation College, Harrogate, before joining the Royal Corps of Signals. He later worked as a civilian custody officer for Thames Valley Police. He said: 'I didn't want him to go. I did try to persuade him not to go - my whole family tried to persuade him. 'He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right. He was dead against what was happening to the Ukrainian people.' Mr Anderson jr had spent four years in the Army, having joined up as a 17-year-old and attended Army Foundation College, Harrogate, before joining the Royal Corps of Signals. He later worked as a civilian custody officer for Thames Valley Police. Five of six British prisoners previously detained in Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists were freed although one died while in custody. Anderson reportedly crossed into Russia in mid-November 2024 with firearms and explosives He allegedly admitted guilt and said he was motivated by financial compensation In 2022, six British nationals - fighters Sean Pinner, Aiden Aslin, Andrew Hill and John Harding, and aid volunteers Dylan Healy and Paul Urey - were captured by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and threatened with the death penalty. Father-of-four Mr Urey, aged 45, died in Russian captivity, while the other five were eventually released in September that year following negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by Saudi Arabia and involving former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. A young woman who narrowly escaped death has made the shocking claim that police officers are behind the brutal kidnappings and killings of nine students in Mexico. Brenda Salas, 19, and her friend Angie Perez, 29, were kidnapped, beaten, and abandoned on a highway during the ordeal. Perez was among those found deceased and dismembered - but Salas survived. Now, Salas has told the Tlaxcala State Attorney General's Office that it was in fact agents assigned to the municipality's police department who forced her into a patrol vehicle and kidnapped them. The two women were standing outside the Hospedaje Jacha, a hotel in Huatulco, Oaxaca, when the horrific ordeal kicked off on February 26. Salas' testimony was provided a day after the mutilated bodies of Perez and eight other victims were found under a tarp, soaked with blood, and inside the trunk of a vehicle that was left behind the shoulder of a road in San Jose Miahuatlan - a city in Puebla. The other victims were identified as Ruben Ramos, Rolando Evaristo and Uriel Calva, each 22; Raul Gonzalez and Noemi Lopez, both 28; and Lesly Noya, 21. Salas - who was last seen with Perez on February 26 - was located alive on Monday, nearly 268 miles away on the side of a highway in the state of Puebla. The prosecutor's office did not offer details on how Salas was rescued. They also did not confirm the allegations that police officers were involved when asked by DailyMail.com - but the Governor of Oaxaca confirmed they are investigating. Brenda Salas (pictured) was rescued by Mexican authorities Monday, a day after nine missing students were found dismembered and abandoned under a tarp Authorities were seen investigating the scene were nine missing students were found dead Sunday next to a road in San Jose Miahuatla, a city in Puebla, Mexico Cops investigating the grisly murder scene discovered each of the victims tortured and shot in the head. Each had their hands severed and placed in a bag that was found in the trunk. 'My beautiful girl, you have been taken from my life and I could not protect you,' Noya's sister, Karla Noya, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. 'I do not have the mind now to be able to accept what is happening, I wish that all this was a nightmare and that tomorrow everything would be fine, your only mistake was trusting the wrong people, my girl.' Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara was questioned during a press conference about allegations that police officers were behind the brutal murders and kidnappings. He said on Tuesday that the accused cops, whose identities are unknown, will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law if the allegations are true. 'If there is a complaint and the people who were [forcefully] detained by the police have to file a complaint, it cannot be allowed that a state or municipal police officer detains a person, dumps him or her away and abandons him or her, or that person is hurt or beaten or can be tortured. The law already punishes people who commit these types of acts,' Jara said. The hotel where Salas and Perez were kidnapped from was owned by Jose Lavariega, who was shot dead while driving his vehicle in San Miguel del Puerto, Oaxaca on Sunday. Lesly Noya was named as one of the nine missing students whose dismembered bodies were found on Sunday The Attorney General's Office for the Mexican states of Puebla, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala refused to provide any information regarding the investigation surrounding the student who was rescued and the nine others whose bodies were found dismembered, including Noemi Lopez (left) and Angie Perez (right) Lavariega, who once ran for mayor of Oaxaca town of Santa Cruz Huatulco, allegedly operated his own criminal organization and recruited the victims. The victims formed part of 'Los Zacapoaxtlas' and were reportedly involved in a series of crimes that led to a clash with other gangs, according to NVI Noticias. They reportedly stole $19,000 from a man at Santander Bank in Santa Cruz Huatulco on February 14. They allegedly attempted to rob an ATM on February 17 in downtown Huatulco and later that night failed in a bid to rob a business at a commercial shopping center. The victims were at the hotel when a group identified themselves as cops and kidnapped and removed them from the property. Local outlets reported that Jose Lavariega, (pictured), owna the hotel where the students were staying before they were kidnapped The state prosecutor offices for Tlaxcala, Puebla and Oaxaca declined to provide details of the investigation when contacted by DailyMail.com. No suspects have been arrested as of Wednesday. Perez's mother told El Pais newspaper that her daughter did not have any ties to Lavariega's criminal group. 'My daughter had nothing to do with that group,' she said. 'If there is a real investigation, it will be clear that there are many things there and my daughter did not deserve that.' In the past, the cartel and other criminal organizations have chopped off the hands of people it sees as thieves, suggesting the murders may be all linked and likely carried out by the same group. Gene Hackman's two surviving dogs avoided the fate of a third found dead near the mummified actor and his late wife thanks to a doggy door. The Oscar winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead alongside a third dog, Zinna, in their $3.8 million Santa Fe home last week. The cause of their deaths remains unknown pending toxicology reports. Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa's partially mummified remains. The couples German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care, where Hackman and Arakawa often boarded their dogs. Both are being cared for. ABC News reported Wednesday that a doggy door meant the other two dogs were able to come and go from the home where Hackman and Arakawa likely lay dead for nine days until their discovery on February 28. That likely gave them access to food and water outside that kept them alive. One of the surviving dogs was found near Arakawa's body and the other outside the couple's home. Zinna, the dog that died 'was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,' Padilla told the Associated Press. 'Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsys hand.' It remains unclear why Zinna was found dead in a closet while the other two dogs survived. Pills were found scattered close to Arakawa's body but it's unclear if the pet ingested those or was killed in a different way. Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa are seen with two unidentified dogs. Two of their three dogs survived and are now in the care of one of their friends Police are seen outside the couple's Santa Fe home. The cause of their deaths remains unknown Zinna, the dog that died 'was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,' according to a friend of the couple, seen in 2024 'I will be holding on to them until I get word on what Betsy's wishes for these dogs are,' Padilla told the outlet. Padilla, who used to see the couple often before the pandemic, added that the dogs were 'Betsy's babies.' He said after the pandemic he stopped seeing Hackman because Arakawa kept him away from people to protect his health. Arakawa last stopped at the boarding center in January, with Padilla saying she appeared the same as always. The mystery of the couple's deaths has only deepened as police said they have found no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning. The two bodies both have tested negative for carbon monoxide, and no gas leaks were discovered in or around the home. Arakawas body was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom countertop, while Hackmans remains were found in the homes entryway. Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They are seen in 1992 Hackman's glasses and cane were on the floor beside him, suggesting he'd fallen just before his death. It is still unclear who died first - Hackman or Arakawa. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said there were no signs of foul play or external trauma on the couple's bodies. The deaths were originally deemed suspicious enough to warrant a full investigation but cops no longer believe anyone else was involved. Hackman's pacemaker last recorded him alive on February 17 - nine days before his body was found. Police do not suspect foul play, despite the front door being found 'ajar.' There were no signs of forced entry into the home. 'I think I'm pretty confident that there is no foul play just based on the lack of evidence,' Mendoza later told Today. 'But, of course, we're not ruling that out.' The case is shrouded in the kind of intrigue reserved for Hackman's detective thriller novels and has garnered international attention - with many wondering how their deaths went unnoticed for so long. Neighbors in their gated private community off a winding canyon road five miles outside of Santa Fe told The New York Times that despite living with the celebrity couple for years, most of them never even caught a glimpse of them. Hackman was in a mud room off the kitchen. His sunglasses and cane were on the floor and it has been suggested the actor had suffered a fall. Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003 Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner with an estimated net worth of $80million, just turned 95 in late January. He became a recluse in the last 20 years of his life, after retiring from acting in 2004. He moved to New Mexico shortly after making a movie there in the 1980s and loved the quiet pace of life and the fact locals left him in peace. Friends occasionally shared glimpses of his post-acting life, including social media shots of fishing expeditions - while paying tribute to his silver screen triumphs. He would also occasionally be spotted pedaling around Santa Fe on a bicycle. The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for The French Connection in 1972 and Unforgiven two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year's ceremony. Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe. A woman who was abducted as a toddler in 1999 has miraculously been found safe. Andrea Michelle Reyes, 27, was just 23 months old when she was taken from her home in New Haven, Connecticut by Rosa Tenorio, her mother who did not have primary custody of her, police said. An investigation by the New Haven Police Department was launched and a felony warrant for Custodial Interference was issued for her mother. The mother and daughter were never located and another felony warrant was released in 2009, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. At the time, Andrea's father went to Mexico several times and 'searched tirelessly' for his child in Pueblo - outside of Mexico City - after Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System placed them there. He never heard from either of them, and when other 'individuals' visited the area, she was not found, according to Othram. After getting help from the FBI and producing multiple age-progressed images of Reyes, a missing person's profile was created for her. Andrea Michelle Reyes was abducted from her home in New Haven, Connecticut in 1999 was found living in Mexico with her mother In 2023, the New Haven Police Department decided to re-open the cold case, and were able to locate Reyes through social media, search warrants and reviewing previous interviews. She then made contact with the man she believed to be her father and agreed to submit a DNA sample, which 'supported a father/daughter relationship,' DNASolves.com said. The comparison positively confirmed that 'the woman who reached out, in fact, the nearly two-year-old girl kidnapped in October of 1999,' the site added. Reyes currently lives in Mexico but it remains unclear what her relationship is with her mother. Othram did not specify if she has reunited with her father since she was positively identified as his child. DailyMail.com contacted the New Haven Police Department for more information. Reyes' case is the seventh to be publicly identified in Connecticut through technology developed by Othram. Her case was also part of Ortham's Project 525 Initiative, which was launched on May 23, 2024. Reyes, now 27, was taken by Rosa Tenorio (pictured), her mother who did not have primary custody of her, police said The project, in collaboration with RTI, which manages the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), 'aims to bring resolution to five hundred twenty-five juvenile cases published in NamUs.' Another abducted child was recently found safe and well after being taken seven years ago. Abdul Aziz Khan, 14, was kidnapped in 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. He has now been found 1,500 miles away in Colorado completely by chance, after police officers were called out to a burglary. The owner of the home, who has not been identified, spotted two intruders on a home surveillance camera and dialed 911. Deputies from Douglas County Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene and found two children in the back of a car parked on the driveway. They spoke with the pair as the two adults they were with - later identified as Rabia Khalid and Elliot Blake Bourgeois - entered the house. They were arrested after emerging from the property. Abdul Aziz Khan, 14, was reportedly kidnapped in 2017 in Atlanta Georgia, with authorities in Colorado now saying they had found him safe late last month The sheriff's office said the pair were later identified as Rabia Khalid, left, and Elliot Blake Bourgeois, right Khalid has since been identified as Aziz's mother. She was wanted for kidnapping her son from his father seven years ago. Both she and Bourgeois were booked into the Douglas County Jail on charges including Second Degree Kidnapping, Forgery, Identity Theft, Providing False Information to Authorities, and Trespassing. Officials said in a release that their bond was set at $1,000,000 each. Aziz has now been taken into protective custody. The identity of the younger child has not yet been released. In a statement, the rest of the boy's relieved family said: 'Were overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. 'We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. We specifically want to recognize the Douglas County Sheriffs Office for their exceptional work in solving this case. 'Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together.' President Donald Trump is rolling back some of the tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the president is giving a one-month tariff exemption for auto imports. 'We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2,' she said during the White House press briefing Wednesday. That comes one day after Trump met with the 'Big Three' automakers - General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. On Tuesday, the U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on all good imported from the two neighboring countries this week rocketing the country into a trade war. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on Bloomberg just over 24 hours later where he said the president is considering easing some tariffs. 'There are going to be tariffs, let's be clear, but what he's thinking about is which sections of the market that can maybe, maybe he'll consider giving them relief,' Lutnick said. The commerce secretary said that could go until they get to April 2. The Trump administration appeared ready to blink first as the markets took a massive tumble this week, and Canada and China announced reciprocal tariffs. But the trade war between the U.S. and major trade partners is far from over. 'I don't want anybody to forget, April 2 is the day that we announce our reciprocal tariffs around the world,' Lutnick noted. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday When asked for additional clarity on the timing of an announcement, Lutnick suggested it would be Wednesday afternoon. 'The president is listening to the offers from Mexico and Canada. He's thinking about trying to do something in the middle. He's thinking about it. We're talking about it,' Lutnick said. He said he expects it to be 'not 100 percent of all products and not none - somewhere in the middle.' Lutnick claimed that Canada and Mexico are working hard to address drug trafficking at the border. He argued it's 'not a trade war, this is a drug war.' But Canadian officials appear less willing to meet halfway and indicated they've shared that with American counterparts. 'Were not interested in some sort of reduction of the tariffs. We want the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico respected,' Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canada responded to the U.S. tariffs by announcing it would impose reciprocal tariffs on $30 billion worth of products immediately and said there would be more to come within 21 days. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump imposing tariffs a 'very dumb thing to do.' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announce reciprocal tariffs on March 4 Trump admitted the tariffs imposted on trade partners would cause a 'little disturbance' during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4 China also announced 10 and 15 percent additional tariffs on some U.S. goods. The president of Mexico said her country would announce its reciprocal tariffs on Sunday. Speaking to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump admitted that the tariffs on its major trade partners would cause a 'little disturbance,' but he argued it 'won't be much.' Pope Francis remained in a 'stable condition' today following two 'respiratory crises' he suffered in hospital earlier this week. The Pontiff, 88, will be put back on a ventilator tonight after spending Wednesday in his armchair, the Vatican has said. He also participated in a blessing and received the Eucharist for Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar. The Pope is currently receiving treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both his lungs. Fears for his health ignited dramatically on Monday when it emerged he twice suffered acute respiratory failure. However in its daily update on the Pope's health, the Vatican said he is now 'stable' and will spend the night on 'non-invasive mechanical ventilation'. A Holy See spokesperson said: 'The Holy Father remained stable today as well, without any episodes of respiratory insufficiency. 'As planned, he utilized supplemental, high-flow oxygenation, and non-invasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed tonight. Pope Francis (pictured on February 1) remained in a 'stable condition' today following two 'respiratory crises' he suffered in hospital earlier this week Nuns pray in front of the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalised Pope Francis meets Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico during a private audience at the Vatican on February 14 'The Holy Father increased his respiratory and active motor physiotherapy. He spent the day in his armchair. 'Given the complexity of the clinical situation, the prognosis remains guarded. 'This morning, in the private apartment located on the 10th floor, the Holy Father participated in the rite of the blessing of the Sacred Ashes, which were imposed on him by the celebrant. He then received the Eucharist. 'Afterwards, he engaged in several work activities. During the morning, he also called Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza. 'In the afternoon, he alternated between rest and work.' The 88-year-old has been undergoing treatment since February 14, when he was admitted after struggling with breathing difficulties. Well-wishers across the globe have continued to pray for the health of the Pope, with candles also being lit outside the hospital in Rome. Amid his ailing health, many have speculated that Francis will give up the Papacy before it's too late. The sun sets over St Peter's basilica in The Vatican on March 5 as Pope Francis is still hospitalised with pneumonia Nuns pray near the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis continues his treatment People pray in front of the statue of John Paul II at the entrance to the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalised He revealed he penned a statement 12 years ago in the event that illness prevents him from fulfilling his duties. Francis wrote the letter to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the then Secretary of State, who holds the second highest position in the Vatican. Asked whether there was a procedure in the event he would have to resign, the leader of the Catholic Church once told Spanish newspaper ABC he had made provision for his renunciation after taking office in 2013. Referring to Cardinal Bertone, he said: 'I signed it and said: "If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my resignation. Here you have it."' He added that he expected his letter would have been passed on to Cardinal Bertone's successor, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. 'Now someone will run up to Bertone [and say] "Give me that piece of paper!" the Pope said jokingly during the interview. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attacked Democrats for 'disgraceful' practices during Trump's speech to Congress, and said they should have stood and cheered for some parts. Trump took the practice of bringing 'real Americans' to the Capitol for the event to a new level, acknowledging a 13-year old battling brain cancer, family members of Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal immigrant, and a string of others, in lines meant to fit with his MAGA agenda. On Wednesday, as she hailed the 'historic and incredible' speech by her boss, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tore into Democrats, after various lawmakers boycotted, walked out, held signs, sat on their hands or in the case of Rep. Al Green heckled Trump and got thrown out of the speech. 'How could anyone possibly be opposed to any of this action that he is taking? Well, apparently the modern day Democrat party could,' Leavitt told reporters during a monologue at the top of her daily briefing. She called the behavior 'completely disgraceful' and said Democrats 'demonstrated how severely out of touch they are with the American public.' 'It was the most shameful moment in the history of presidential addresses in that beautiful chamber. In what was supposed to be a unifying moment for our country, Democrat members of Congress instead screamed at the president of the United States, who was just overwhelmingly re elected by their constituents, walked out of the chamber, and worst of all, they disrespected the American people,' she said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Democrats for refusing to stand for individuals Trump singled out during his address to Congress Some Democrats held up signs that said 'False.' Others held signs saying 'Musk Steals' and 'Protect Veterans' amid thousands of DOGE cuts in the federal workforce. 'Democrats didn't stand to keep men out of women's sports. They couldn't even clap for a girl who got her head smashed in by a man on a volleyball court. Democrats didn't stand for an innocent and beautiful child who is surviving brain cancer. They opposed eliminating taxes on tips in Social Security,' she said. She was referencing Payton McNabb, who suffered a traumatic brain injury when she got knocked down by a spoke on the volleyball court during a match. 'Payton is here tonight in the gallery, and Payton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding,' Trump threatened. The line got Republicans on their feet, but Democrats stayed in their seat, as Trump elevated an issue he credits with helping him regain the White House. A poll conducted for DailyMail.com by J&L Partners found it to be the most popular part of the speech. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., stands and holds a protest sign with fellow Democrats as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress Leavitt held up a poll that found people who atched approved of the speech, saying that Trump had asked her to hold it up. She also cited a DailyMaill.com poll with similar findings Democrats wore pink and held signs. Some heckled the president Leavitt continued her lecture of Democrats. 'They didn't stand in favor of cutting taxes for hard working Americans. They couldn't even clap for two mothers whose daughters were killed by illegal aliens. One of the only things that could get Democrats off their feet last night was cheering for Ukraine not for America,' she said. She called Democrats the party of 'insanity and hate' and 'the party that wants to put America last.' Using some of the president's own language, he said they suffered from 'Trump derangement syndrome.' The Ukraine moment came when Trump criticized billions in U.S. funding for the country that has been fighting off a Russian invasion. 'The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraines defense, with no security, with no way. Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say, Pocahontas says yes, Trump said, using a slur to go after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who gave her own extended round of applause at the mention. Trump laced his speech with emotional moments, speaking about 13-year-old D.J. Daniel, who Trump said 'loves police.' The president announced he was being named an honorary Secret Service agent. Some Democratic senators have also been weighing in. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman posted that it was a 'sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.' Leavitt also blasted Democrats for not standing when Trump spoke about his efforts to bring home American teacher Marc Fogel, who had been sentenced to 14 years at a Russian penal colony. But Trump didn't make it easy for him, adding the line: 'The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help him.' Trump also announced that a suspect in the Abbey Gate bombing attack in Afghanistan was being brought home to the U.S. to face justice. But again he attached it to digs at the political opposition by blasting the Biden administration's handling of the Afghan withdrawal. 'Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, wow, maybe this is my chance. Thats how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people,' Trump said. Cyclone Alfred due to be the first to hit southeast Queensland in over 50 years, the experts are here to tell Australians what they should and should not do. The system is expected to make landfall on Friday evening or Saturday morning (local time). A warning zone stretching 650km remains in place from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. Daniel Shaw, a Sydney-based storm chaser for more than 25 years, makes annual trips out to deadly 'Tornado Alley' during peak season in the US and is setting off later today to follow Cyclone Alfred. 'Storms can be beautiful but have an ugly side,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Cyclones are prolonged events that test the resilience of all.' 24 hours before landfall Echoing the words Australians have heard from the Prime Minister, state politicians and emergency services, Shaw said 'preparation is key'. This includes following government advice, organising first aid kits, food supplies, water and securing loose items. 'If everything is done right, it will already be done,' he said. It is also the time to help others and to check whether neighbours need anything. 6-12 hours before landfall Cyclone Alfred has slowed over warm water off Australia's coast, increasing the chance of it strengthening to a category three system. The Bureau flagged that there is always some uncertainty associated with tropical cyclone forecasting and that because of this, indicated winds will almost certainly extend to regions outside the rings on weather maps. 'This is a time for bunkering down and watching for updated forecasts,' Shaw said. 'The system is still throwing a couple of changes... because all weather systems can be unpredictable.' During the storm The best advice Shaw could give for Australians is to stay indoors, away from any debris such as falling trees, flooding and fallen power lines. 'Assume all power is live until proven otherwise by an energy authority,' he said. Almost 200 swift water-rescue personnel are on standby along with 1,000 energy crew staff as of Thursday. Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday the Australian Defence Force assistance would be deployed with helicopters sent to Bundaberg and Coffs Harbour. 'Whilst there is a want and need to help others, unless you are trained to look for hidden dangers, wait patiently and know when to call for help before risking yourself,' Shaw said. Classic disaster movie reboot Twisters shot to popularity last year with a star-studded cast playing storm chasers who drive into the path of tornados during a particularly deadly season in Oklahoma. The movie captured the imagination of audiences across the world but Shaw's reality is a lot more serious, and terrifying. 'This is not a Hollywood movie we are talking about, movies don't typically show you the aftermath when you are making funeral plans,' he said. 'No video or photo is worth losing your life over.' After the cyclone Shaw's career grew from a passion for weather and he acknowledges there is a natural curiosity to see and experience storms. But he is quick to make the point that he has taken extensive training in medical assistance and first aid should the worst happen to those nearby. 'A professional storm chaser knows when to run, we're just good at timing it to a second,' he said. Australians need to 'slow down' when they emerge after the storm. 'Take into account debris, dangers that may exist after the event,' Mr Shaw said. Hundreds of Nashville teenagers broke into a vacant house and threw a massive party, causing thousands of dollars in damage before the homeowner busted them. Kyle Grasser, 35, was stunned to hear from his neighbors that a swarm of high schoolers had descended on his newly built Tennessee home Friday. 'I got a call from one of the neighbors around 9:30 [p.m.] Friday saying people were crawling in and out of the windows of the home,' Grasser told WKRN. 'I was not hosting a party, so I ran over here as quick as I could [and] called 911 on the way.' He recorded the hundreds of youngsters who tried to flee his empty $860,000 four-bedroom, three-bathroom house while he broke up the party. 'It was anywhere from 150 to 200 [people] and keep in mind the video I have is just kids going out the front door,' Grasser said. 'A lot of them went out the back door, too, thinking that was a better exit. It was shoulder-to-shoulder in here. It was a good show.' Grasser tracked down some of the students who trashed his house on social media and said he found a video that showed four people swinging from the chandelier that was destroyed, reported WSMV. Hundreds of Nashville teenagers broke into a vacant house and threw a massive party, causing thousands of dollars in damage Kyle Grasser, 35, was stunned to hear from his neighbors that a swarm of high schoolers had descended on his newly built Tennessee home 'You could smell the smoke from outside. You walked in, and the floors are saturated with beer and party juice of all different kinds,' he said. 'They blacked out the lights [and] ripped out a few of the fixtures, so it was relatively dark in here. 'It was just a mess in here. You put a lot of work into making something like this happen and you just feel helpless against that kind of crowd.' Grasser is a real estate agent who owns the home and said the vacant house was just built and listed for sale. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officers arrived after the unruly teens fled but confirmed an investigation into identifying the attendees is ongoing. 'Officers located alcohol bottles and cans at the location and signs of drug use,' police said. 'It is unknown at this time how the suspects/juveniles got inside the location because there was no forced entry. 'The party at the location caused a lot of damage to the residence. It appeared that the walls had damage to the paint, the floors were soaked in alcohol, there were light fixtures ripped from the ceiling, and damage to the cabinets.' He recorded the hundreds of youngsters who tried to flee his empty $860,000 four-bedroom, three-bathroom house while he broke up the party Grasser is a real estate agent who owns the home and said the vacant house was just built and listed for sale Grasser found a video that showed four people swinging from the chandelier that was destroyed Grasser said the floors and walls were covered with alcohol, the whole house smelled like smoke, and the tees blacked out the lights and ripped out a few of the fixtures Grasser believes the teens stole the keys to the house from the lockbox used for contractors and other real estate agents. 'It's heartbreaking. I am not some big developer. I am just a guy. I've got my whole life savings into these houses. You roll up and see everybody destroying that, you feel helpless,' he said. He said the damage is extensive and just wants the students to come forward so they can make the situation right. 'We, obviously, need to get retribution for damages. I'm not really looking to ruin anybody's lives here with one bad decision.' Free crack pipes could be handed out by the crisis-stricken NHS - under a reckless plan to encourage addicts to smoke cocaine more safely. They would be issued by staff at The Thistle - which was opened seven weeks ago to allow users to inject hard drugs under medical supervision without fear of prosecution. Now bosses of the 2.3million safer drug consumption centre in Glasgow want to set up a special inhalation room for smoking crack cocaine within the facility and hand out crack pipes. They hope this will attract more addicts to the controversial Scottish Government-financed clinic, which is run jointly by the Glasgow City Council and NHS bosses. But the plan sparked anger last night at a time when thousands of patients are languishing on waiting lists for diagnosis and treatment. Scottish Tory drugs spokesman Annie Wells said: Taxpayers will wonder why their money is being used to fund such activities at the SNP-backed consumption room. This facility is rightly being scrutinised to ensure it properly tackles Scotlands drug deaths shame which has soared on the SNPs watch. Health Secretary Neil Gray must urgently explain how making it easier to access hard drugs will help achieve this in anyway. Bosses at Glasgow's 'safer drug consumption' centre want to set up a special inhalation room for smoking crack cocaine The Thistle in Glasgow, which allows users to inject hard drugs under medical supervision without fear of prosecution. Injection bay areas in the Using Space at The Thistle drugs consumption room in Glasgow Dr Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Substance Use Research, said: The proposal to extend Glasgows so-called safe injecting site to enable users to inhale cocaine in the absence of any data showing that the centre is actually succeeding in reducing Scotlands drug death toll is little short of utter recklessness and should be rejected on that basis alone. The free crack pipe plan was disclosed at a meeting of the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, which is investigating the work of The Thistle. Councillor Allan Casey, city convener for addiction services in Glasgow, said there were legal restrictions which prevented staff at The Thistle from offering drugs paraphernalia - and called for exemptions to be made to allow crack pipes to be issued. He said: The Misuse of Drugs Act prohibits us from giving people using the service tourniquets, for instance, and the other obvious thing if were looking at inhalation is providing equipment for smoking so pipes, for instance. Thats two areas the UK Government potentially have to look at to really assist those who are using the service and indeed want to reduce harm by moving away from intravenous injecting into inhalation as well, in terms of giving out pipes. Bosses of the centre in the east end of Glasgow are lobbying the SNP government to allow them to set up an inhalation room for users to smoke crack cocaine which may fall foul of existing laws which prohibit smoking in public places. Cocaine use has surged and now accounts for more than two out of five of total drug deaths in Scotland. A member of staff demonstrates an AccuVein vein finding device at The Thistle drugs consumption room at the NHS Enhanced Drug Treatment Facility The Glasgow project comes amid spiralling drug deaths in Scotland - the highest per head of population in Europe The facility - known as the Thistle - accommodates up to 30 service users at a time, 365 days a year from 09:00 until 21:00 Addicts are publicly smoking cocaine but managers at The Thistle want them to attend the centre where they can be medically supervised, and referred to other support services. Smoking indoors has been banned in Scotland since 2006, but Mr Casey said work is being carried out to make the case for setting up a dedicated inhalation room. He said: We have already raised the issue informally and verbally with the Scottish Government and government ministers, and we are in the process of preparing a case to put to government to try to see if there were exemptions in the legislation that would allow us to develop the inhalation space. The safer drug consumption facility opened in January to allow addicts to inject their own heroin and cocaine under medical supervision - in a bid to reduce overdose deaths and discarded needles in public places. Critics including some local residents had warned that the clinic in Hunter Street would become a magnet for dealers and anti-social behaviour. Addicts have been using a supermarket car park to inject drugs - just yards away from The Thistle. Some users have said they will not go to the centre because of distrust of the authorities and the need to get their fix immediately after buying drugs, without having to walk to Hunter Street. The lounge area at The Thistle drugs consumption room at the NHS Enhanced Drug Treatment Facility Yesterday Dr Saket Priyadarshi, head of alcohol and drug recovery services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and clinical lead at The Thistle, told MPs: We would be very keen to be able to develop an inhalation room in the facility. He said this is because of a change in the drug trends in the city, with more cocaine in particular, which is used predominantly through inhalation. Speaking about the experience so far, Dr Priyardarshi said there have been a number of very significant medical emergencies and overdoses that have been reversed. He said: Im fairly confident some of those, in particular if they had happened behind closed doors or in a public space with other people not being in the vicinity, would likely have had very tragic outcomes. We have seen some emergencies being managed in The Thistle that would almost definitely have led to fatalities outside the service. Official figures in August showed drugs claimed the lives of 1,172 Scots in 2023 - an average of more than three a day and up 121 from the previous year. Cocaine fatalities soared to nearly 500, fuelling concern over growing use of the Class A drug among middle-class Scots. Nearly 2,200 is being spent every week for each addict using The Thistle, while the Scottish Ambulance Service said paramedics had been called to medical emergencies at the clinic five times since it opened. The Thistle has seen 143 individuals make use of the facility since it opened on January 13. Nursing staff at The Thistle have supervised more than 700 injecting episodes, with people injecting cocaine, heroin or both. The SNP Government has committed to making up to 2.3million available per year for the development, set-up and running of The Thistle from 2024/25. This equates to 44,230 per week, and for 143 patients or an average of 20 per week this equates to 2,168 per user. Addicts have made use of the facility 1,067 times since it opened. A spokesman for Glasgows Health and Social Care Partnership (GHSCP), which runs The Thistle, said: Commentary on the value of the service at this early stage is premature and not informed by any statistical analyses or indeed feedback from those who are actively engaging with service. Commenting on the plan for an inhalation room and crack pipes last night, a Scottish Government spokesman said: Research and evaluation from similar facilities around the world has found evidence that they can help save and improve lives, reduce harms associated with drug use and levels of public drug consumption and publicly discarded drug-related litter. We always pursue an evidence-based approach to harm reduction and we recognise that trends around substance use change and a facility such as this should be able to adapt to address the needs of those who seek to use it. Scottish Government officials will work with colleagues from Glasgow HSCP to explore how a possible inhalation room could be added to the existing facility in the future. A man who killed his own mother with a crossbow because of the devil has been sent to a secure psychiatric hospital. Daniel Parker, 37, shot Margaret Parker 11 times in her home in Edinburgh after attacking his sister and a neighbour. Parker, who suffers from a serious mental health condition, had become convinced his 78-year-old mother had hidden cameras around the house and was poisoning his food, later telling police officers he killed her because of the devil. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how armed police had to force their way into Mrs Parkers property in May last year. Officers had turned up along with paramedics 20 minutes earlier and heard women screaming inside the property. Judge Lady Ross heard how Parker had also fired a crossbow at his sister Deborah McGlashan and Sarah Manifold, a neighbour. He believed that his family had betrayed him and that his life was like the film The Truman Show. Parker, a patient at the State Hospital in Carstairs, Lanarkshire, was acquitted of murdering his mum and attempting to murder Ms Glashan and Ms Manifold. Margaret Parker died at a house in Edinburgh after her son Daniel shot her repeatedly with a crossbow He was also found not guilty of breaching firearms legislation by having a stun gun in his possession. Ms Barron told the court that the Crown accepted not guilty pleas after psychiatrists concluded that his mental health was so poor that he didnt appreciate the nature or wrongfulness of his conduct. The advocate depute told the court that Parker was diagnosed with a recurring personality disorder in 2021 and that doctors described him symptoms as a paranoid personality trait. Mrs McGlashan had gone to her mothers house to help with chores when Parker appeared just before 8am and pointed a crossbow at her. The court heard that he spent 10 minutes accusing her of trying to kill him and being in league with a gang he believed were after him. He eventually fired a crossbow bolt at her, causing a minor cut to her chest. He then fired another bolt at Ms Manifold. Parker then fired a bolt at his mother and Mrs McGlashan fled. He went on to leave his mother with 11 bolt wounds and stabbed her multiple times. Prosecutor Margaret Barron told Lady Ross: At 8.45 hours paramedics attended at the locus and knocked at the front door but received no answer. The paramedics heard the women with Deborah McGlashan screaming help her, shes been shot. She added: At 9.05 police officers arrived at the locus. Deborah McGlashan confirmed that her mother was inside with Mr Parker, who was in possession of a crossbow and that he had shot her and shot their mother. Police cordoned off the area in Edinburgh following the violent incident last year A piercing scream was heard from inside the locus which lasted for approximately 10 seconds and at 9.15 hours Mr Parker shouted at the police because of you lot, me and my mum are going to die today. Firearms officers arrived at the locus at 9.33 hours. Forced entry was attempted at the front door but was unsuccessful. A forced entry was made at the rear door and firearms officers entered the locus. Upon reaching upstairs, Daniel Parker was found in a cupboard and was heard to say Im unarmed. Mrs Parker was found lying unresponsive on her bed with a crossbow bolt in her right hand and shoulder. A large knife was lying on the bed. She was pronounced dead just before 10am. Ms Barron said: Mr Parker was handcuffed and stated that he wanted to die and made other remarks and when advised that police officers were recording him on body worn cameras which appears to be a reference to his delusional belief that there were cameras in the house monitoring him. At 9.48 hours, Daniel Parker was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and cautioned. He intimated that he understood and stated that he was guilty and I did this because of the devil. The court heard that Mr Parker moved in with his mother in February 2023 and that his mental health had noticeably deteriorated. Ms Barron added: He would not take his medication and a delusion took hold that a gang was out to get him. The delusion developed into the belief that cameras were installed in the locus in order to watch him and that his mother was poisoning his food. The court heard that Parker was admitted to the State Hospital on May 23 2024. A post mortem of his mother found that she had sustained four incised wounds to her neck and one bolt wound to her neck. Pathologists also found that she had had sustained 11 bolt wounds to her torso among other injuries. Ms Barron also said that Mrs Parker was a much loved grandmother. Lady Ross told Parker that he was acquitted of the charges and imposed an interim compulsion order on him for treatment at the State Hospital. She added: Having regard to the psychiatric evidence, I acquit you of the charges on this indictment by reason of the special defence lodged on your behalf. Parker will next appear at the High Court in Edinburgh for the court to consider a final disposal in this case in May. The blonde sitting next to Elon Musk at president Trump's speech to congress has been identified as a glamorous Botox salon beautician from Pennsylvania. Aesthetician Heather Valentino was the talk of Washington DC after sitting next to the billionaire SpaceX founder and chatting to him during the joint session on Tuesday. She works at Beautox Aesthetics in the Pittsburgh area, according to her co-worker Diana, who claimed Valentino did not know Musk before they met in DC during the speech. 'She was just there watching [the speech],' the spa's office manager Diana told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. 'It's funny, because it looked like they were together, but they weren't.... they do not know each other... I'm sure they met there.' Diana added that Valentino's co-workers knew she would be watching Trump's speech at the Capitol, but were still surprised to see her on TV next to Musk. It's unclear why Valentino, who was first named by Newsweek, had the coveted seat at the historic event. The mystery blonde sitting with Elon Musk during Tuesday's presidential congressional address has been identified as Heather Valentino Social media users took to X wondering about Valentino and what her relationship with Musk A clip showing Musk offering Valentino a water bottle went viral following Trump's congressional address, with many wondering who the mystery woman was DailyMail.com has reached out to her. Musk had one of the prime seats for the speech alongside newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, as well as Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr., and Eric's wife Lara. A clip showing Musk offering Valentino a water bottle went viral following Trump's congressional address, with many wondering who the mystery woman was - and joking she could be the mother of Musk's next child. 'Whoever that blonde was behind Elon, thats about to be baby momma #5,' said hedge fund founder Spencer Hakimian. 'Who is the blonde sitting next to Elon with that Elon Rocket Baby sparkle in her eyes?' asked another X user. Last month, Musk's alleged fourth 'baby mama,' right-wing influencer Ashley St Clair sued him for sole custody of the child she says they share. Days later, his third baby mama, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis, confirmed the birth of their fourth child together. The baby would be Musk's alleged 14th offspring, given his current legal scuffle with St Clair. Musk ditched his usual T-shirt and jeans for a suit during Trump's address to Congress night - but was berated by security for using a cell phone. Musk was seen sitting on the steps outside the Chamber of the House of Representatives after the incident, but returned in time to hear Trump praise his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump addressed Congress for a joint session for the first time since returning to the White House, and has touted his current administration as 'the most successful in the history of our nation.' The president celebrated the efforts of Musk's DOGE to reduce wasteful spending within government departments. Valentino works at Beautox Aesthetics in the Pittsburgh area, according to her co-worker Valentino's co-worker claimed the aesthetician does not know Elon Musk as her appearance sparked speculation online It's unclear why Valentino had the coveted seat at the historic event 'Thank you Elon, you're working really hard,' Trump said, turning to the crowd as he added: 'He didn't need this.' As his work was praised and Republicans cheered, Musk smiled and saluted to the packed room. Musk joined the presidential motorcade to the Capitol from the White House earlier on Tuesday. Germania Rodriguez Poleo is the host of Daily Mail's podcast Welcome to MAGALand, bringing you all the latest news and gossip from the Trump administration. Listen wherever you get your podcasts now. Trump made his remark in his address to Congress President Donald Trump has risked a new rift with Prince Harry after slamming one of the royal's favorite African countries: Lesotho. The president's insult came during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, when he was giving a list of programs he's cut off from American financial aid in order to bring down the federal deficit. 'Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of,' Trump said as some Republican lawmakers laughed. The Duke of Sussex, who lives in California with wife Meghan Markle and their two children, co-founded the charity, Sentebale, to support children in Lesotho who live in extreme poverty or suffer from HIV/AIDS. Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso of Lesotho, who co-founded the charity with Prince Harry, is referred to as one of the prince's good friends. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hands an invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit to President Donald Trump Trump issued a threat to Harry last year, saying if the prince had lied on his visa application about drug-taking he would seek to take 'appropriate action.' Sources close to the Duke have previously indicated that he answered truthfully on his visa application. The president later stepped back from that threat, saying he would not seek to deport the Harry after all. 'I don't want to do that,' Trump told the New York Post earlier this month. 'I'll leave him alone. He's got enough problems with his wife. She's terrible.' The president has made no secret of the fact he dislikes Meghan Markle but he has expressed his fondness for King Charles, hinting it's his affection for the prince's father that has kept Harry safe from his wrath. 'Having [Harry] back in the UK is actually harder than having him kept away in the USA,' a source told the Post. The King personally invited Trump to make a state visit to the UK later this year, a rare second invite for an American president. Trump made a state visit in his first term when Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally delivered the letter from the King at a meeting with the Trump in the Oval Office. Trump waved the letter around in front of the cameras and grandly accepted the invitation. For his part, Prince Harry appeared to take a swipe at the president and Elon Musk soon after the king extended the invite. In a surprise appearance at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles last week, Harry talked about how billions of people were experiencing the 'detrimental effect' when 'basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favor of power and control'. He said: 'Now this would be a great time to talk about how a sickness in leadership across sectors - from politics to tech - can have a detrimental effect on millions, if not billions, of people. 'When service to others is sacrificed for personal gain. When basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favor of power and control. But I'm not gonna get into all that now!' Harry did not specify the target of his criticism and he has previously appeared to make similarly subtle criticisms of a string of other public figures. This includes calling for 'those with positions of influence' to help tackle 'misinformation' on social media during far-right riots in the UK, which some took as an attack on Musk, the owner of X. Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, during the 2025 Invictus Games earlier this month Earlier this month Harry used the opening of the Invictus Games to complain about the 'lack of weak moral character in the world '. Hours before those comments, Trump had called Meghan 'terrible'. Trump has never hidden his dislike of the Duchess of Sussex, who supported Joe Biden and branded Trump 'divisive and misogynistic' in a 2016 interview. He has also claimed that 'Harry is whipped' and 'is being led around by his nose'. Meanwhile, Lesotho's government said it was shocked Trump said that 'nobody has ever heard of' the southern African nation. Following Trump's comments Lejone Mpotjoane, Lesotho's foreign minister, told the Associated Press: 'It is surprising and disappointing that he claimed no one knows Lesotho, especially given that the U.S. has an embassy here. One day America may need Lesotho's support.' He also told The Times: 'It is belittling to talk about another country like that and it should not happen.' Some of Scotlands most senior police officers have been handed a secret pay and pension hike of more than 20 per cent, sparking fury among the rank and file. The increase comes after frontline officers were given a 4.75 per cent rise despite lobbying for 5.5 per cent - in line with that offered to NHS workers north of the Border. Assistant Chief Constables (ACCs) have seen their pay and pensions soar by more than a fifth as part of the deal - which critics say was sneaked through without publicity. Officers had withdrawn their goodwill for example refusing to work overtime during a bitter pay dispute which ended last month in an unsuccessful arbitration process. Last night Calum Steele, former general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), representing rank-and-file officers, said the executive pay hike was staggering. He said: How utterly tone deaf do you have to be to come close to believing - at a time when budget, austerity, and decline in service warnings are ringing loudly that this is in any way sensible? Some of Scotland's most senior police chiefs have been handed a 20 per cent pay hike whilst rank and file officers 4.75 per cent Former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher said: the rise was simply unbelievable And if you know the machinations of how these things play out, as I do, there would have been a deliberate conniving to hide this bung while the wider police pay dispute was playing out. MSPs at least have the fig leaf of an independent process to point to when their pay goes up - but this was manufactured between government and the service, and unlike every other pay settlement in the public sector has not been delivered with the fanfare of a ministerial proclamation - I wonder why? Former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher said: the rise was simply unbelievable, adding: How some at lofty heights can actually look themselves in the mirror in the morning is unfathomable. Policing used to be about a collective purpose, mainly around catching the bad guys. How did we get here? ACCS - one rung below Deputy Chief Constable - will now be paid up to 161,231 up from 139,880 an increase of 15.3 per cent. But it is understood that when the employers pension contributions of 38 per cent are taken into account, the increase in total remuneration for ACCs is around 21 per cent. The pay claim for ACCs was made by the Scottish Chief Police Officers Staff Association which said an independent report had been carried out by a consultancy called Korn Ferry. It confirmed the views of members that the rank of ACC in Police Scotland is not remunerated at an appropriate level. Last night SPF chairman David Threadgold said officers should be reassured that the ACC pay hike would be cited during forthcoming talks on police salaries to fight for a better deal. One police source told the Mail: The rank-and-file are incandescent about this it is a huge slap in the face. Last night Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: Overstretched rank-and-file officers may well raise eyebrows at the significant pay rises given to top police bosses given their own struggles with salary over the years. Those on the frontline have borne the brunt of the savage and sustained SNP cuts to police budgets which has pushed them beyond breaking point, leaving them unable to investigate every crime. There are nine ACC positions one currently unfilled - covering a variety of areas including local policing, criminal justice, and organised crime counter-terrorism and intelligence. ACC Emma Bond masterminded the rollout of the proportionate response strategy from last summer - which critics say means the investigation of minor crime has been effectively written off. The salary of the Chief Constable, Jo Farrell, has risen by 4.5 per cent to 260,538, up from 248,724. Commenting further last night, Mr Mr Steele said: Any embers of confidence that the Chief Constable has their [rank-and-file officers] back will be extinguished as the realisation dawns that while she was hectoring for a low pay settlement for the masses, she had already agreed to eye-watering increases for some the very highest-paid. Mr Steele suggested policing Donald Trumps expected state visit - which may include Scotland - would be challenging because of the drop in police manpower. He said there were fairly mild protests against President Trump when he last visited here in the summer of 2018, adding: A very much larger police service than now and one which still ran on a considerable degree of goodwill were crucial to help ensure the safety of the President. Lose that goodwill and moving police officers and equipment in the numbers required becomes infinitely harder. A Police Scotland spokesman said: As with any VIP visit, this event would be policed appropriately with resources across Scotland. A Scottish Government spokesman said: Police officers in Scotland continue to be the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum of each rank. The 2024/25 pay deals agreed for all officers, including senior ranks, were negotiated by the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland which includes staff association representatives. A Scottish Police Authority spokesman said: Concerns that ACC salaries did not reflect the level of responsibilities carried out by post-holders were raised by the staff side as a part of its 2024/25 pay claim in May 2024. The official side of the Scottish Police Negotiating Board supported the independent work carried out to assess this position and the implementation of a salary range that aligns with other executive roles of a similar level of accountability and seniority. Two men have been charged with the murder of a man who was killed after leaving a Tube station in London more than 40 years ago. Anthony Littler died after being found with head injuries in an alleyway near East Finchley Tube station on May 1, 1984. The 45-year-old had been on his way home from a night out when the attack occurred minutes after he left the Tube station. Police and ambulance services were called at around 12:15am, but Mr Littler sadly died at the scene. The Met Police believes he was murdered in a 'random attack', with enquiries into his death having remained ongoing within the Mets Specialist Crime Unit. Officers investigating the case have charged two men with murder in connection with the incident, having originally arrested the pair in March 2024. Michael Stewart, 55, from New Barnet, and Anthony Stewart, 59, from Finchley, have been remanded into custody ahead of an appearance at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Thursday. Three men who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder remain under investigation. Anthony Littler (pictured) was found with head injuries in an alleyway known as The Causeway, near East Finchley Tube station, north London, at 12.15am on May 1, 1984 Handout photo issued by the Metropolitan police in 1984 of an alleyway in East Finchley, north London where Anthony Littler was murdered Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who is leading the investigation, previously revealed Mr Littler was on his way home from a night out when the attack occurred. 'He came through East Finchley Tube station and made his way home on foot through an alleyway,' the detective said. 'Sadly, within a few minutes of him leaving the station, a 999 call was made to emergency services requesting an ambulance and police. 'Upon arrival, the police found Mr Littler's lifeless body with catastrophic injuries to his head.' Mr John said unsolved murders 'never really go away'. 'This matter was reviewed in 1993, 2013, and again now in 2023,' he added. 'It's about creating opportunities, looking back at what we've done, what we haven't done, and hopefully finding answers to the fundamental questions of the who, what, where, when, why and how of what happened to Mr Littler.' He said police inquiries had found that Mr Littler 'did not have any enemies'. DCI Neil John outside East Finchley Underground station in north London as Metropolitan Police detectives are appealing for information in the unsolved murder of Anthony Littler Mr Littler's cousin, Tricia McClure, previously said: 'Anthony was a lovely, kind and gentle man who wouldn't have hurt anyone. 'It is heartbreaking to our family that this happened to him. 'After all this time, we hope this new investigation puts those responsible behind bars. 'It won't bring Anthony back, but it will give us some closure.' A teenager viciously raped by serial killer Peter Tobin four years before the murder of Vicky Hamilton has claimed he could have been stopped had police properly investigated her brutal assault. The woman has come forward to reveal that despite a detailed photofit, detectives made little attempt to track down the man responsible for the attack which left her permanently scarred. It was only when Donna, whose surname we are protecting, saw the image of Tobin during the hunt for Polish student Angelika Kluk that she recognised him as her rapist. She told how in July 1987 she was pushed violently from behind and forced against a wall as she climbed a stairwell of a high-rise in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. She only survived when Tobin was interrupted after hearing a door open. The now 52-year-old has decided to speak publicly for the first time about her harrowing ordeal following a new BBC documentary, The Hunt for Peter Tobin. She insists it wrongly 'glorifies' police efforts and 'does not tell the true story' about how officers 'missed an opportunity' to catch him four years before he went on to murder West Lothian schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton in 1991. The ordeal has left her with 'survivor's guilt', so much so she feels the need to personally 'apologise' to the Hamilton family 'on behalf of the police for their failings which could have prevented Vicky's death'. Donna, who was brutally attacked the day before her 16th birthday and reported what happened to the then Strathclyde Police the next day. Serial killer and sex offender Peter Tobin was handed life sentences for the murders of Angelika Kluk, 23, Vicky Hamilton, 15, and Dinah McNicol, 18 Tobin's victims (L-R) Angelika Kluk, Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol Donna said she was attacked by Tobin in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in 1987 But despite providing officers with a detailed photo-fit of Tobin, who lived in the area at the time and an officer taking photos of her injuries, which included a broken foot, broken eye socket, a knife wound to her leg and a bite bark on her back, no follow-up investigation took place. She said: 'They just said it was a random attack and that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was made to feel like it was my fault. 'They asked 'how short was your skirt?' and 'where was the bottom button on your blouse?'. 'I don't feel like they took it seriously and I would like Vicky's family to know that their sister shouldn't have died if the police had done their job right in the '80s. I do hold them responsible.' Serial killer Tobin, who threatened Donna he would 'be back' as he 'wasn't finished' with her, was serving life sentences for the murders of the 15-year-old from Bathgate, Dinah McNicol, 18, of Essex, and Polish student Angelika Kluk, 23, . He was only caught after the murder of Angelika in 2006 when her body was recovered from beneath floorboards of a church in Glasgow and he was linked to Vicky and then Dinah's disappearances in 1991. Donna contacted Police Scotland late last year to demand to see a record of her crime, she received a response, seen by the Mail, which stated: 'I can confirm that our searches, based on the information provided, returned no information. Due to the passage of time, Police Scotland do not hold information from 1980s.' Serial killer Peter Tobin died of prostate cancer and a lung condition, an inquiry heard Peter Tobin is taken from Dundee High Court on December 2, 2008 in Dundee, Scotland As a last resort' she emailed Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell last summer but, after no response, penned her a hand-written letter in November, after which she was invited to make a formal complaint. She added: 'This programme shouldn't be promoting the police on what a good job they did, because they didn't. 'These girls would still be alive today if the police had carried out a thorough investigation in the 1980s after I was attacked by him. I blame myself for these girls' deaths, I keep thinking did I not do enough, did I not describe him well enough? But they had a photo-fit of him. They knew he was from the area and they didn't link it.' Reliving the brutal attack she told how she heard footsteps as she climbed the stairwell but thought nothing of it. But then she was pushed from behind with 'great force' and her face hit the wall in front. She was wearing a light scarf and a pink raincoat at the time and she said: 'He tried to choke me with the scarf.' She continued: 'Then I saw the knife. He traced the tip of the blade around my calf like he was drawing on a bit of paper. Then he raped me.' Even now Donna, who suffers from complex PTSD, still needs to take sedatives to get her through the night. She said: 'Every time I close my eyes I see his face. I can still smell him. To me it's like it happened yesterday. It has shaped who I have become - I can't work, I can't got out. He's evil and I pity any other female who has been too frightened to come forward or who has come forward and has not been listened to.' Donna has now enlisted the help of Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal as she continues her quest for justice for her and other victims. She said: 'It's not just the psychological scars, it the physical scars; every time I look at my foot and see the bone sticking out, I know how I got it and who did it. Death seems the easy way out for him, but I've been left with the scars he gave. It's a constant reminder.' Tobin died in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 2002. A spokesman for Police Scotland last night would only say: 'We have received a complaint, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.' A BBC spokesman said: 'BBC documentary The Hunt for Peter Tobin highlights the three missing persons cases of Vicky Hamilton, Dinah McNicol and Angelika Kluk which would ultimately unmask a serial killer. The series also explores Tobin's first marriage and his record of abuse against women.' A Republican is recommending the mayors of Chicago, Boston, Denver and New York City to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution. The bombshell announcement came from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., during a House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday examining the impacts of sanctuary city policies. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu all sat before the lawmakers to testify about their sanctuary city policies. Fiery exchanges between the liberal city mayors and Republican lawmakers rattled off every 10 minutes as 60 members from both sides of the aisle waited to have their questions answered. During the session, Luna sought to draw connections between the Democratic mayors' immigration agendas and federal crimes, like harboring illegal immigrants. After questioning each of the Democrats, Luna claimed the mayors could be running afoul of the law. 'It's very clear that these policies ... that are active and alive and well in your cities, are in direct violation with Title 8, U.S. Code, 1324,' Luna claimed. 'You all speak about a broken immigration system, and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process,' she told the mayors. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna holding up papers she said she would send to the DOJ recommending the prosecution of the Democratic mayors New York City Mayor Eric Adams testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing titled 'A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors' in Washington, DC on March 5, 2025 Then Luna told the Democrats she would be referring them to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'I do not think you guys are bad people, but I think that you are ideologically misled, which is why, unfortunately, based on your responses, I'm all going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation, and as soon as I leave here, these will be going over to pay Bondi,' Luna stated, holding up what appear to be legal papers. 'I'm not doing that to an effort to bully you guys,' Luna continued. 'But I do believe that your policies are hurting the American people.' Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also unloaded, aiming her fire at Mayor Wu. 'Do you believe that ice arresting a child rapist 'threatens everyone's safety?'' Mace asked the Boston mayor. Wu responded 'no.' 'Does ice arresting a murderous MS-13 game member threaten everyone's safety?' Mace asked. 'No,' Wu replied again. Then Mace held up a printed statement from the Democrat stating 'ICE's efforts actually threaten the safety of everyone' and called Wu a 'hypocrite.' Democrats, on the other hand, called the Republican's oversight of the mayors 'total bulls***.' 'My colleagues across the aisle are producing TV ads to try to pretend they're making this country safe,' Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., yelled during the hearing. 'It's total bulls***.' 'Absolute bulls***. They are not making America safer again,' she petitioned. 'And what they are doing is terrorizing immigrant families,' she said of Trump's immigration officials. The nurse embroiled in an employment tribunal over a trans doctor using female changing rooms is accusing a second NHS Fife doctor of victimisation and harassment. In the latest twist in the landmark legal action, Sandie Peggies lawyers have asked the employment tribunal judge to bring in Dr Kate Searle as a third respondent in the case. They allege that the A&E consultant harassed the 50-year-old nurse by condemning Ms Peggies actions to a number of consultants before an investigation had even taken place. Mrs Peggie was suspended by NHS Fife after she challenged the presence of Dr Beth Upton, who was born a biological man, in the women-only changing rooms at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy. She is arguing at an employment tribunal that being forced to change next to Dr Upton broke the Equality Act. She has lodged a claim against the health board and Dr Upton alleging sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. Dr Searle - Dr Uptons line manager and confidant - is now set to be brought into the firing line will likely further heap pressure on the health board. It comes amid questions over the spiralling cost of the tribunal to taxpayers. Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended by NHS Fife after she challenged the presence of Dr Beth Upton in the women-only changing rooms at a hospital Dr Beth Upton, born a man, claims she was victimised by Mrs Peggie On Tuesday, NHS Fife claimed it could not release the true cost of its legal bill relating to the tribunal in response to a freedom of information request submitted by The Mail on Sunday. But insiders estimated that the legal costs - paid for by the public purse - will reach six figures and as much as 250,000. If the judge agrees to bring Dr Searle in as a third respondent, her legal costs will also be met by the under-fire health board. Mrs Peggies ordeal began in August 2023 when she first saw Dr Upton using the female changing room at the hospital. It culminated on Christmas Eve that year when the nurse entered the changing room to find the doctor starting to undress. Ms Peggie, who began working for Fife Health Board in 1994, said she told Dr Upton it was unacceptable the medic was there, that she was embarrassed and intimidated and she did not think he should have been in there. A few days later she was suspended and put on leave. After the incident, the tribunal heard that Dr Upton emailed Dr Searle in the early hours of Christmas Day to express she did not feel safe using the changing rooms while Ms Peggie was there. The doctors then met on December 29 and after this Dr Searle emailed senior staff at the hospital to tell them about next steps and not to have Mrs Peggie and Dr Upton on the same shift. She wrote in an email that three other staff were to to inform SP [Mrs Peggie] that her actions were unacceptable and to make a plan to go forward, the tribunal heard. Another email from Dr Seale sent on December 30 to another member of staff thanked them for their support and suggested she had engaged in a long talk with Dr Upton and Dr Upton knows that we condemn SPs [Mrs Peggies] actions. The friends are also said to have discussed reporting Mrs Peggie to police for potential criminality for misgendering the medic. Ms Peggies team believes that Dr Searles circulars condemning their clients actions to a number of health board consultants before an investigation into her alleged behaviour took place constituted victimisation and harassment. Her solicitor Margaret Gribbon confirmed the application had been made to the tribunal judge that Dr Searle be made the third respondent and included in the case. A spokesman for NHS Fife said: NHS Fife did not initiate the ongoing legal proceedings and is instead defending an action brought by the claimant in this case. Central Legal Office, which is part of NHS Scotland, provides comprehensive legal services to Health Boards and other public bodies and is representing NHS Fife in this action. NHS Fife also is part of the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS), which protects members against financial losses. Any other quoted costs associated with NHS Fife defending the ongoing Employment Tribunal case at this stage should be regarded as speculative. Hunter Biden is claiming he is too broke to continue a legal battle he launched against his nemesis, ex Trump White House staffer Garrett Ziegler, blaming the Palisades Fire that destroyed his home. The claim, made by Hunter's lawyer in a letter to Ziegler's attorney this week, indicates the former First Son is out of cash, can no longer tap his 'sugar brother' Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris for funds, and is not being bailed out by Democrat donors. The letter, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal, says Hunter 'lacks the resources to continue this litigation at this time'. A source close to the case also told DailyMail.com that the pardoned felon is planning to quit California and move back to the east coast. The legal letter claimed hard-up Hunter's financial woe 'have been exacerbated after the fires in the Pacific Palisades in early January upended Plaintiff's life by rendering his rental house unlivable for an extended period of time'. Hunter's $15,800-per-month Malibu rental was razed by the Palisades Fire that swept through an entire neighborhood on January 7. The $4million home was a three-bedroom, three-bath 1950s idyll with panoramic views over the Pacific. In September 2023 Hunter, 55, sued Ziegler, 29, and his right-wing nonprofit Marco Polo in California federal court for alleged computer hacking, after they published a 644-page report on his alleged illegal activity based on material from his infamous abandoned laptop. Hunter Biden is claiming he is too broke to continue a legal battle he launched against his nemesis, ex Trump White House staffer Garrett Ziegler The former aide wrote a 600-page report on the contents of Hunter's infamous abandoned laptop, published by his right-wing nonprofit Marco Polo, that exposed alleged illegal activity by Hunter and his associates Hunter Biden's $15,800-per-month Malibu rental was razed by the Palisades Fire that swept through an entire neighborhood on January 7, he cited this as a basis for his financial woes Now he wants to drop the case. But furious Ziegler told DailyMail.com that the former president's son isn't getting away that easily. 'Hunter wants to cry uncle. We are opposing that,' he said. 'We want our attorneys' fees to be paid, for Hunter to cease lying about us and me, and just generally to shut the f**k up.' Ziegler, 29, said he isn't letting Hunter get out of the infamous hacking lawsuit easily and expects his 'attorneys' fees to be paid' and for the former President's son to 'just generally shut the f*** up' On Wednesday, Hunter's lawyers submitted their request to the judge, saying the ex-First Son has 'has significant debt in the millions of dollars range.' 'Plaintiff does not have the resources to continue to litigate this matter,' the filing said. 'Plaintiff has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range. Moreover, this lack of resources has been exacerbated after the fires in the Pacific Palisades.' The filing by attorney Bryan Sullivan still insists Hunter had 'had factual and legal basis' for his lawsuit claiming Ziegler and Marco Polo 'hacked Plaintiff's iCloud'. But it added that Hunter 'suffered a significant downturn in his income over the past 18 months with reduced book and art sales, which has been his main source of income over the prior years.' Hunter's wealthy 'sugar brother' Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris failed to show up for a deposition last month, where Ziegler was set to grill him on his dealings with the former First Son Hunter Biden's lawyers submitted this notice to the judge to dismiss the case based on his lack of 'resource to continue to litigate this matter'. But they asserted they do have a legal basis through Ziegler's 'admissions' that he hacked Hunter's iCloud Hunter's lawyers wrote he 'must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family's living expenses as opposed to this litigation.' In the 19-page filing, they argued Ziegler and his nonprofit 'will not lose any rights or defenses' by the judge dismissing the case. Hunter's legal letter claims he has struggled to find a new home for himself, wife Melissa Cohen Biden, 38, and toddler Beau Jr., age four, after the January fires. 'Like many others in that situation, plaintiff has had difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live as well as finding it difficult to earn a living,' the letter said. 'So, plaintiff must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family's living expenses as opposed to this litigation.' It will now be up to Judge Hernan Vera to decide whether he is allowed to extricate himself from the legal tangle he started. Hunter had borrowed at least $7million from wealthy Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris to repay his multi-million-dollar tax debts, finance his lavish lifestyle, and foot his burgeoning legal bills. But that deep well reportedly dried up last year ahead of Hunter's criminal prosecutions for gun and tax crimes that led to felony convictions, forgiven by President Joe Biden in his final weeks in office. Ziegler claims that now that Joe Biden is out of the White House, his son's patrons are drying up Hunter's legal letter claims he has struggled to find a new home for himself, wife Melissa Cohen Biden, 38, and toddler Beau Jr., age four, after the January fires Hunter's legal team also reportedly floated the idea of crowdfunding to finance his legal cases, but that apparently didn't work out. Hunter was hoping to reap millions for his paintings, promoted by top New York gallerist George Berges, with price tags up to $500,000 per piece. Morris bought 11 works for $875,000, with total sales reaping $1.5 million, according to Berges's congressional testimony in January last year. But there have been no reports of further sales since then. Morris, Sullivan and the rest of Hunters legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The former First Son has significant personal expenses, including a reported $5,000 per month in child support to his six-year-old daughter Navy Joan Roberts with his former assistant Lunden Roberts. He also owes ex-wife Kathleen Buhle $2.9 million in alimony, according to a June 2024 report by Axios. The lawsuit against Ziegler was set to go to trial in September this year. But two of Hunter's lawyers recently pulled out amid talk of his funds drying up. Adding further controversy, 'sugar brother' Morris failed to show up for a deposition last month, where Ziegler was set to grill him on his dealings with the former First Son, sparking outrage from Ziegler's side. Although his funds are reportedly 'dried up', Hunter was seen out to lunch with a friend in Solvang, California, in late January At his Delaware gun crimes trial in June, Hunter's wife Melissa spotted Ziegler, strode up to him and called him a 'Nazi piece of s***' 'Hunter's lawyers left him, never notified the court, and now they're scrambling,' Ziegler said. 'And because his dad is out of office, his patrons are drying up. 'This is an abuse of the legal system. It can't stand. Our tiny nonprofit had to scrape together legal fees for nearly two years to deal with this Peter Pan-like manchild.' Hunter and his family are known to loathe the conservative provocateur. At his Delaware gun crimes trial in June, Hunter's wife Melissa spotted Ziegler, strode up to him and called him a 'Nazi piece of s***'. But now the Biden son is trying to extricate himself from the legal tangle with the ex-Trump staffer, as some of his lawyers also are jumping ship. One of Hunter's Los Angeles lawyers, Greg Ellis, filed documents notifying federal Judge Vera of his withdrawal on January 10. Another, Paul Salvaty, quit Winston & Strawn, the firm representing Hunter, and got a new job, but allegedly did not tell the court. Morris was spotted smoking from a bong on the balcony of his Hollywood apartment on July 22, 2023 Hunter's attempt to cancel his lawsuit is a dramatic shift from the aggressive posture of his attorney Morris in text messages he sent to a Marco Polo associate, detailed in another lawsuit Money from Hunter's art also seems to have dried up despite his gallery calling him 'one of the most consequential artiists in this century Ziegler's attorney filed court documents saying she only discovered he was no longer representing Hunter when she emailed Salvaty and the message bounced. The quitting lawyers prompted the judge to order Hunter 'to show cause in writing, by no later than March 5 explaining the Plaintiff's situation vis-a-vis representation'. Winston & Strawn made a new filing saying they had other LA attorneys who had been involved from the beginning of the case, and would officially add them to the docket. Minutes filed on Monday referred to a 'dispute' over Morris's 'failure to appear for a deposition on February 26'. The summary from the judge said Morris claims he is exempt from the deposition as he has attorney-client privilege with Hunter, while Ziegler claims the Hollywood lawyer failed to file his objections properly, so was still required to appear for his deposition. 'The dispute raises an issue that warrants briefing and a hearing,' the judge wrote. 'You'd think a member of the California State Bar would be cognizant of his legal duties to appear for a deposition,' a furious Ziegler told DailyMail.com. 'Apparently Morris believes that he's above the civil law just like Joe Biden made clear that his family was above the criminal law at least from 2014 on.' 'Call your lawyer, Garrett. We already have you. You've been a bad boy,' the attorney responded, referring to Marco Polo founder Ziegler Furious-sounding Morris responded: 'You're going to enjoy being a b***boy for 20 years dude. Lube up' He was referring to the former president's blanket pardon of Hunter, issued in his final weeks in office, for his convicted federal gun and tax crimes as well as any other illegal activity since 2014. The March 3 minutes also said that Hunter's lawyers had sent Ziegler's 'a proposal for a joint stipulation to dismiss' their case, and had told the judge that if Ziegler's team didn't agree, they would ask the judge to nix the case himself. Hunter's attempt to cancel his lawsuit is a dramatic shift from the aggressive posture of his attorney Morris in text messages he sent to a Marco Polo associate, detailed in another lawsuit. 'We will follow you to the ends of the earth,' Morris texted a number he thought was Ziegler, according to a harassment complaint he filed against the ex-Trump staffer in a Los Angeles court in April 2023. 'You're going to prison and we're going to get all of the money your family has and you will work for us for the rest of your life. 'You're f***ing with the wrong guys. It's not like this wont be hanging on you for the rest of your life there is right and wrong in this world,' the attorney wrote, calling Ziegler a 'viscous little p***y'. The application to drop the lawsuit was made 'ex-parte', meaning in a direct request to the judge, without input from Ziegler's side. Ziegler said this approach is usually reserved for emergencies, and accused Hunter of trying to get his way through a legal back door. 'Think of ex-parte as an emergency. There's no reason to file this on an emergency basis, other than he doesn't want to give us enough time to formulate a response,' the Marco Polo founder said. 'I think it's not just that he has run out of money. He has to do it ex-parte, because if he doesn't, we set his and Kevin's depositions for next week. 'Morris is the moneybags,' Ziegler said. 'And he doesn't want to be deposed.' Los Angeles County has accused an electricity company of sparking the Eaton Fire, which burnt down more than 9,400 structures and killed 17 people. The county alleges in a newly-filed lawsuit that Southern California Edison's equipment sparked January's Eaton Fire, and is seeking to recover costs and damages sustained from the blaze that destroyed 'essential community infrastructure.' It also said the fire 'massively impacted the County's natural resources, harmed the environment and wildlife, and threatened public health,' the county said in a statement. 'All the evidence is pointing to them,' the county's attorney, Scott Kuhn, told The Los Angeles Times. The county is looking to garner 'at least hundreds of millions of dollars' from the company, Kuhn said, and it will go toward helping to rebuild Altadena. Pasadena and Sierra Madre are also planning to sue Edison. Los Angeles County departments have incurred additional costs for ongoing support in assisting residents recovering from the fire's destruction, according to the lawsuit. 'The county's case is essential to the restoration and rebuilding process for the community, including residences and businesses, to recover from the devastation,' the statement said. Los Angeles County has accused Southern California Edison of sparking the Eaton Fire, which burnt down more than 9,400 structures and killed 17 people, a lawsuit said 'All the evidence is pointing to them,' the county's attorney, Scott Kuhn, said. The complaint alleges that witnesses, photos, and videos indicate the fire started directly under Edison transmission lines in Eaton Canyon The county is looking to garner 'at least hundreds of millions of dollars' from the company, Kuhn said, and it will go toward helping to rebuild Altadena Edison was reviewing the lawsuit and 'will address it through the appropriate legal process,' utility spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy told AP on Wednesday. The fire's cause is still under investigation. The complaint alleges that witnesses, photos, and videos indicate the fire started directly under Edison transmission lines in Eaton Canyon. The county seeks to recoup costs and receive compensation for destroyed infrastructure, recreational areas, parks, road damage, cleanup and recovery efforts, flood and mudslide prevention, workers' compensation claims, overtime for workers, lost taxes and more. 'We are committed to seeking justice for the Altadena community and the taxpayers of Los Angeles County,' County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison said in a statement. The County, the County Flood Control District, and the County's Consolidated Fire Protection District are the plaintiffs in the case. This comes as LA Mayor Karen Bass was faces criticism for not being in town when the fires began ravaging the area. Bass' aides were warned about the prospect of wildfires before she jetted off to Ghana on a heavily-criticized trip. The office of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass received an email about the potential for dangerous winds a day before she flew to Ghana in January. She is seen during the trip Over a dozen of Bass' aides received an email from LA's Emergency Management Department on January 3 that warned about a 'high confidence in damaging winds and elevated fire conditions occurring next week,' per the Los Angeles Times. But Bass was never informed about the email, and still went on the trip the next day, staying for the new Ghanaian president's inauguration and a cocktail party at the US embassy on January 7 - the same day the dystopian wildfires broke out. Bass' absence from the city saw her widely-condemned. The mayor since sought to pass the buck and terminated the city's fire chief Kristin Crowley for failing to warn her of the fire dangers. But critics say new evidence of what Bass' team knew before the fires began suggest the mayor is trying to deceive voters and distract attention from the appalling failings of her own office. City councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who supports former fire chief Crowley said: '(Bass) keeps saying, "I wouldnt have left had I known." But her staff did know. 'This verifies that her staff was notified of the potential threat by EMD, whose responsibility it is to let us know of these potential weather events.' A committee comprised mainly of Republicans is now fundraising for a recall election, which could see Bass fired from office. Stronger ties with SARs, GBA aid pledged ahead of session 12:04, March 05, 2025 By William Xu, Oasis Hu ( China Daily Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, attends a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 4, 2025. (Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn) China's top legislature and political advisers on Tuesday pledged to enhance support for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and further maintain and deepen ties among the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the Chinese mainland. A day before the opening of the National People's Congress annual session in Beijing, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, said that Hong Kong and Macao, which for decades have served as critical windows for the nation's opening-up efforts, hold a unique position, contribute significantly and play an irreplaceable role. During a news conference teeming with domestic and international reporters, Lou said that this year, the Standing Committee will carry out thematic research to further unlock the GBA's potential in legislative aspects, facilitating the region's integration into national strategies and benefiting its people. With the aid of the policies rolled out by the central authorities, the GBA has seen stronger hard connectivity of infrastructure, soft connectivity of rules and institutions, and heartfelt connectivity among the people of Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong province, Lou said. The GBA development also gives the special administrative regions a chance to tackle their deep-seated problems, according to Lou. With strong support from the central government, Hong Kong has increased its land coverage and housing supply to improve people's livelihoods, while Macao's newly completed Island Healthcare Complex, a joint effort between the city and Peking Union Medical College Hospital, has largely enhanced its healthcare capacity, Lou added. Also on Tuesday afternoon, as the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee the country's top political advisory body commenced its third session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the nation's top political adviser said maintaining and enhancing ties with various Hong Kong and Macao sectors and groups particularly young people was an important task for the CPPCC National Committee. At the meeting, while delivering a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, said last year, the national committee fully leveraged its role as a united front organization, initiating a series of communication activities between the mainland and the two special administrative regions. Particularly, the CPPCC National Committee held 75 international seminars in campuses to enhance ties with young people from Hong Kong and Macao, Wang noted. The committee also organized visits with its Hong Kong and Macao members to learn their opinions, while holding meetings to discuss issues such as how to better leverage the roles of the regions in the country's efforts to establish a new system for a higher-level open economy, Wang said. The NPC annual session is set to begin on Wednesday and will continue until March 11. So far, 2,893 of the 2,929 NPC deputies have registered for the event. Hong Kong is represented by 36 deputies in the top legislature, and Macao by 12. Honoring a longstanding tradition, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Macao Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai will be present as guests at the session's opening. The third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee will conclude on Monday morning. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) A group of Burger King workers in Minnesota teamed up for a heartwarming tribute to a 91-year-old regular after his death. Jenny Olson and her brother, Leo Parkin, were stunned when employees of the fast food chain in North Branch showed up to their father Jerry Parkin's funeral with his favorite chair. 'Someone came into the kitchen at church and said, "The whole crew of Burger King is here, and they brought a chair," I said, "What?"' Olson recalled to WSAZ. The employees, dressed in their uniforms, had brought Jerry's usual chair from the restaurant with his name engraved on it. Jerry met his friends for coffee every morning, and the workers said he became like family. 'He would walk in, and we would have his order ready for him,' employee Monica Kuball said. Ashely Fundingsland, another employee who attended the funeral, told the outlet that the chair had been Jerry's favorite spot. 'That was his seat. He always sat there every morning, so we had to bring his chair,' she said. Jenny Olson and her brother, Leo Parkin, were stunned when employees of the fast food chain in North Branch showed up to their father Jerry Parkin's funeral with his favorite chair The employees, dressed in their uniforms, had brought Jerry's usual chair from the restaurant with his name engraved on it. Jerry met his friends for coffee every morning, and the workers said he became like family The idea to engrave the chair with the veteran's name, as well as his birthday and the day he died, came from a friend who joined Jerry for coffee, Kevin Bennett Fundingsland pulled up photos of the chair at the funeral, decorated with a folded American flag to recognize his military service. 'He loved the workers,' Jenny told KARE 11. 'I think the girls more than anything.' Leo jumped in and said: 'Yeah, he was such a flirt.' The idea to engrave the chair with the veteran's name, as well as his birthday and the day he died, came from a friend who joined Jerry for coffee, Kevin Bennett. Bennett, who called the chair is 'a seat of honor,' said his wife used a wood burner to engrave the name, as well as one other regular who recently passed. 'I've never had anybody want to memorialize a chair in the dining room for somebody,' said the restaurant's general manager, Tom DeHaven. DeHaven was given permission from his boss to engrave the chair, which is now back in the restaurant's dining area. The Burger King was a special place for Jerry, and employees appreciated him being there as much as he enjoyed going. 'I've never had anybody want to memorialize a chair in the dining room for somebody,' said the restaurant's general manager, Tom DeHaven Five months after the funeral, Jenny went back to the restaurant to sit in her father's chair. 'I feel it here, and I feel it in my heart, too,' Olson said. 'Quite an honor to have' For Jerry's 90th birthday, the employees hosted a celebration for him. In his final days, he asked his family to bring him a meal from the restaurant. 'I couldn't believe it. He said he wanted chicken nuggets, a cookie and a shake,' Leo said 'We all loved him,' Denise Kewitsch, another employee, said. For Jerry's 90th birthday, the employees hosted a celebration for him. In his final days, he asked his family to bring him a meal from the restaurant. 'I couldn't believe it. He said he wanted chicken nuggets, a cookie and a shake,' Leo said. His brother picked up the food, which ended up being the veteran's final meal. Five months after the funeral, Jenny went back to the restaurant to sit in her father's chair. 'I feel it here, and I feel it in my heart, too,' Olson said. 'Quite an honor to have.' A 72-year-old Florida woman was arrested and charged in connection with a hit-and-run that killed two young boys and left their mother in a coma. June Fenton, a recently retired hospice worker, was arrested Monday night, nearly three weeks after the devastating crash on February 10 in Sarasota. Police said Fenton was driving the white Lexus that hit 29-year-old Taeler Joy Bennett and her two sons as they were crossing US 301 near 7th Street. Bennett was thrown into Fenton's windshield, causing the entire thing to shatter, according to the State's Attorney's Office. Five-month-old Kiylen Galliher and his two-year-old brother, Rio, were killed in the crash. Kiylen was strapped to his mother's chest, while Rio was in a stroller, WFLA reported. Bennett survived, but prosecutors said Tuesday that she suffered severe brain damage and has been admitted to a rehabilitation facility 'with basically no brain function or response.' Fenton faces two counts of leaving the scene of a traffic crash resulting in a fatality and one count of leaving a traffic crash resulting in a serious injury. Prosecutors indicated in court that they plan to upgrade the charges if Bennett's condition worsens or if she dies. Taeler Joy Bennett, 29, holds her son Kiylen Galliher. Kiylen was five months old when he was killed in the hit-and-run crash. Bennett survived but has 'basically no brain function,' according to prosecutors Bennett's two-year-old son Rio also died in the crash. He was in a stroller at the time Candice McCormick, the great grandmother of Bennett's four children, including Kiylen and Rio, had harsh words for the driver. 'She took off and left the scene. I mean, that right there tells you. It was an accident at first, but now it's - she killed my two grandsons, so it's a lot different,' McCormick said. McCormick said Bennett had just moved from her home in Michigan to Florida about six months ago. She never got to meet Kiylen in person, though she did talk to him on FaceTime, CBS reported. Police were able to apprehend Fenton by first gathering bits of a broken headlight at the crash site, WWSB reported. They then took those glass shards to local Lexus dealers to figure out which model they came from. Once they had the correct model, they went door-to-door inspecting dozens of vehicles until they were led straight to Fenton's front door. In her first court appearance Tuesday, Fenton was dressed in an orange jumpsuit as her defense attorney sparred with the prosecution over what her bond should be set at. Derek Byrd, Fenton's lawyer, said he did not believe she is a flight risk, citing her lack of criminal history and her cooperation with police. Prosecutors said Fenton cooperating with law enforcement 'isn't what happened.' The victims were only in the crosswalk of US 301 for a few seconds and were 'clearly visible' when struck by Fenton, prosecutors said. They claimed that Fenton kept driving southbound before making a U-turn and heading back to the scene of the crash. Pictured: June Fenton, 72, appeared in court Tuesday after being arrested and charged the day before. Her lawyer claims she thought she hit a dog and says she will plead not guilty Pictured: The scene of the February 10 hit-and-run collision in Sarasota According to prosecutors, Bennett and her two sons were still lying in the middle of the road and were surrounded by witnesses who were trying to see if they were okay. Fenton drove away again and turned into a neighborhood that police say she didn't live in, prosecutors said. Byrd said that his client wasn't aware of how serious the crash was, instead arguing she believed she had hit a dog. 'She loves dogs, and when she circled back around to go see if it was a dog and she saw people standing around a dark place which she thought there may be a dog there she loves animals, she did not want to see the dog suffering, so she went home,' Byrd said. Ultimately, the judge sided with the prosecution and set Fenton's bond at $650,000. Her lawyer initially asked for an amount of $30,000. If Fenton gets out on bond, she won't be allowed to drive and will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor at all times. Bryant Camareno, a criminal defense attorney not involved in the case, told ABC 7 that Fenton is likely facing a minimum of 15 years, though the state could look for the maximum of 30 years. Fenton is due to appear for her arraignment in about a month, where she plans to plead not guilty. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is on track to make landfall on Friday night into Saturday, bringing winds upwards of 120km/h, up to 700mm of rain and flooding. It could be the most devastating storm seen in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales as it is the first tropical cyclone to hit the region in more than 50 years, when those areas were much less developed. The warning zone stretches 650km from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. The zone includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay, and Ballina. Alfred's speed had slowed to around seven km/h, and the Bureau of Meteorology's latest forecasts predict it will make landfall, potentially directly over Brisbane, at 7pm on Friday. 'The centre of Alfred is expected to cross the coast during Friday, noting that latest weather model data indicates the potential for a later crossing time than previously indicated,' the bureau said. 'Location of crossing still remains most likely between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.' Tropical Cyclone Alfred is on track to make landfall on Friday, bringing winds upwards of 120km/h, up to 700mm of rain and flooding. People are seen at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast on March 5, 2025 The cyclone had initially been predicted to reach land in the early hours of Friday morning before it slowed on its path, however it remained just as powerful. 'Alfred is a category 2 cyclone and is forecast to maintain this intensity as it continues to approach the south-east Queensland coast.' Where is Tropical Cyclone Alfred likely to cross the coast? The category two system is predicted to hit south-east Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, crossing the coast on Friday evening The system has recorded winds up to 90km/h at its centre and gusts of 130km/h It is forecast to bring daily rainfall totals between 200mm and 400mm from Thursday to Saturday, likely leading to 'life-threatening' flooding A warning zone stretching 650km remains in place from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. A beach closed sign is displayed at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast on March 5, 2025 What is Cyclone Alfred's impact zone? The cyclone warning zone spans Double Island Point, Queensland to Grafton, NSW, with Brisbane, the Gold Coast and hinterland to cop the brunt of strong winds Its arrival will coincide with high tide in Queensland, possibly affecting 20,000 properties in Brisbane, almost 5,000 on the Sunshine Coast and 6,000 on the Gold Coast Almost 200 swift water-rescue personnel are on standby along with 1,000 energy crew staff Australian Defence Force assistance has been activated with helicopters deployed to Bundaberg and Coffs Harbour The northern NSW towns of Ballina and Lismore are also preparing for the cyclone Evacuation centres will open across Queensland's south-east and northern NSW About 300,000 sandbags have been sent to the region, according to the SES The SES has already had more than 4,000 calls for assistance At 1am on Thursday, Alfred was 325 kilometres east of Brisbane and heading east at 7km/h People are seen at Kirra on the Gold Coast, Queensland on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bears down on the region Services that have been affected Public transport in south-east has been suspended since Wednesday night No vessels are permitted on the water until further notice, the Brisbane Regional Harbour Master warns More than 500 schools to close from Thursday in Queensland with almost 250 to shut in northern NSW South-east Queensland's major roads and bridges to close once winds reach 90km/h Elective surgeries will be suspended from Thursday with south-east Queensland residents urged to stay at home over the coming days State-federal disaster assistance has been activated for 12 local government areas An emergency childcare declaration has allowed for support to services and families in 15 cyclone-affected local government areas SES issues flood warnings for northern NSW A Watch and Act for flooding - prepare to evacuate has been issued for: Royal Air Force jets that were set to be scrapped as part of defence cuts will lead Britain's post-conflict force in Ukraine, the Mail has learned. As many as 24 Tranche 1 Typhoon jets, which were written off more than two years ago, are to be dusted off to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian attacks. When the December 2023 decision to strip the Tranche 1s for parts was announced, it likened to 'selling off a squadron of Spitfires before the Battle of Britain'. Now, in an increasingly worrying climate, the jets are been granted an unexpected reprieve. Of the UK's fleet of around 100 Typhoons, 24 have been selected for possible deployment to Ukraine. Last night, shadow minister for defence Mark Francois, who previously campaigned to save the aircraft, said: 'The Tranche 1s remain a very creditable air defence aircraft. 'As it takes several years to build a Typhoon from scratch, I urged this government and the previous government not to scarp them or flog them, just in case. 'Well it looks like they might come in handy after all. Thank God the bean counters never got them.' Royal Air Force jets that were set to be scrapped as part of defence cuts will lead Britain's post-conflict force in Ukraine (file image). Pictured: RAF Tranche 1 Typhoon jets in flight Pictured: Two Royal Air Force 'Typhoon' T1 aircraft of the 29 Squadron At the time when the controversial decision was taken, the Ministry of Defence said the ageing aircraft were becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. Following the government's announcement to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, additional parts and engineering hours can be afforded. Most of the fleet of Tranche 1s still have thousands of hours of flying in their airframes - in many cases less than half the predicted life expectancy of 8,000 flying hours. NATO chiefs are due to meet in London next week to identify military capabilities required as part of the Prime Minister's 'coalition of the willing' for Ukraine. Air defence, including the deployment of the Typhoons, will be on the agenda when NATO chiefs meet next week. Their 'force generation' summit in London, will be hosted by the UK's Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. The UK is also expected to put forward more than 40 Apache and Wildcat helicopters and a small number of Chinook transport helicopters. But there are also concerns around the United States putting restrictions on the deployment of some UK assets, such as the Rivet Joint intelligence gathering aircraft. RAF Tranche 1 Typhoon jets carrying out a reconnaissance Shadow minister for defence Mark Francois, who previously campaigned to save the aircraft, said: The Tranche 1s remain a very creditable air defence aircraft.' RAF sources have expressed fears the US could bow to Russian pressure for the Rivet Joint not to deploy to the warzone as it can pick up sensitive Russian military information. While the aircraft is British, a lot of the technology aboard Rivet Joint is American and US export licences control where the aircraft can and cannot be used. Other RAF aircraft, such as the F-35 fighter jet rely on US government contracts to provide spare parts. These could be revoked, effectively grounded the F-35, should the US bow to Russian pressure. So far, only France and the UK have committed ground forces to a Ukraine post-ceasefire stabilisation force. Germany has sent positive signals that it could do so, once the new Chancellor Friedrich Merz is sworn in. The UK can offer very little armour or artillery to such a force. It has been muted that only nine Challenger 2 tanks could be spared and only 14 Archer artillery pieces. Other hugely expensive battlefield vehicles, such as the Boxer and Ajax, are not yet in service. These issues are high on the agenda as Defence Secretary John Healey leads the UK's diplomatic drive in Washington. Mr Healey, who flew to Ameriica yesterday (Wed), will sit down for face-to-face talks with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, today. Their talks come after Vice President J.D. Vance caused fury by mocking the European force and wrongly suggesting the UK and France were some 'random country that hasn't fought a war for 3o to 40 years.' More than 1,100 small boat migrants reached Britain in just four days as human traffickers took advantage of calm conditions on the Channel. Latest Home Office figures showed there were 326 arrivals on Tuesday, bringing the number since Saturday to 1,168. It brought the total since Labour came to power to 26,466, up 26 per cent on the equivalent period in 2023-24Yet Yet the total does not include other migrants - thought to be several hundred - who were intercepted in the Channel and brought to Dover yesterday. The occupants of one dinghy refused to be rescued by French authorities yesterday, and carried on to UK waters. It was the latest example of migrants declining rescue by the French - in some cases violently - in order to avoid being taken back to Calais. The Home Office has previously described how migrants sometimes want to carry on past the mid-point of the Channel in order to be picked up by the UK Border Force instead, and brought into Dover. Calm seas and rising daytime temperatures are thought to have triggered the recent crossings after a fortnight of relatively low arrival figures. The four days from Saturday to Tuesday witnessed the most intensive period of crossings since Christmas week. More than 1,100 small boat migrants reached Britain in just four days Latest Home Office figures showed there were 326 arrivals on Tuesday, bringing the number since Saturday to 1,168 The four days from Saturday to Tuesday witnessed the most intensive period of crossings since Christmas week Your browser does not support iframes. Labour has faced criticism over its decision to scrap the Tories Rwanda asylum deal, which was designed to deter migrants from risking their lives in the Channel. The Government has instead placed an emphasis on law enforcement measures against the trafficking gangs. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has accused Labour of losing control of our borders. A Home Office spokesman said: We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. We are delivering real change in our approach through legislation to create new tools, powers, offences and enforcement action which will keep us one step ahead of the people smuggling gangs. Police are hunting for a British tourist after the decomposing body of a transgender woman was reportedly found in an apartment in the Colombian city of Medellin. The victim was found semi-naked with her hands tied behind her back and was only wearing a t-shirt and white socks, local media has reported. A Medellin-based news website called Minuto30.com said she was found surrounded by blood and appeared to have suffered potentially fatal blows with a heavy object. The gruesome discovery was made yesterday after locals complained about strong smells coming from the property in a central city neighbourhood called Boston. It is believed a British man rented the property around a month ago but vanished after neighbours heard loud noises and 'hurried movements' in the early hours of Sunday morning. Neighbour Nicolas Zuluaga told a Medellin-based TV station: 'We began to notice a strong smell and the owner of the apartment came to check yesterday and then called the authorities. 'They came and found a body.' According to respected local newspaper El Colombiano, investigators believe the UK national entered the apartment on a regular basis with people belonging to the local LGBT community. Police are hunting for a British man after the decomposing body of a transgender woman was reportedly found in an apartment in the Colombian city of Medellin (stock photo) The victim was found semi-naked with her hands tied behind her back and was only wearing a t-shirt and white socks, local media has reported (stock photo) It was not immediately clear today whether the victim had been formally identified or if police have launched a murder probe. A post mortem due to take place in the coming hours is expected to provide more details of about cause of death and the victim's identity. Jacques Bracamontes, a spokesman for the LGTB community, said: 'We demand the authorities clarify what happened and take the appropriate action.' The address where the body was discovered is thought to be on a street called Calle 57 where it meets Carrera 40A in the Medellin neighbourhood of Boston. Travel guides describe Barrio Boston as a must-visit for tourists interested in exploring Medellin's cultural heritage. It is home to the city's Palace of Fine Arts, Boston Park and the Pablo Tolon Uribe Theatre. A new quango will be able to sue bosses on behalf of staff and win them compensation in the latest blow to businesses. Little-noticed measures in Labours flagship workers rights law give the state the power to take companies to Employment Tribunal when employees decline to do so themselves. The cases will be brought by the Fair Work Agency (FWA), a new body being set up under the Department for Business and Trade that will enforce employees rights including getting sick pay and the minimum wage. If judges rule in its favour, individual workers will be in line for compensation even if they were not involved in the proceedings - and losing businesses will face having to pay the Governments legal costs. One of hundreds of new Government amendments to the Employment Rights Bill published yesterday [wed] states: This new clause would enable the Secretary of State, in a case where a worker has the right to bring proceedings about a matter in an employment tribunal, to bring proceedings about that matter in place of the worker. An employment tribunal hearing such proceedings may still make a financial award, etc in the workers favour if, for example, the complaint about the matter is well-founded. A source told the Mail: The power for the FWA to bring and support civil proceedings on behalf of groups of workers is designed to ensure that it can address significant and systematic non-compliance where an individual is unable to take a case forward themselves. Another clause will allow the state to provide legal advice or representation to anyone who is involved in civil proceedings relating to employment or trade union law or the law of labour relations. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner arrives at Downing Street for a weekly Cabinet Meeting Shadow business and trade secretary Andrew Griffith warned if you run a firm or rely upon public services be afraid, be very afraid' Companies will also have to keep records of workers holiday pay for six years or risk being fined, and face being fined up to 20,000 per person they underpay, new amendments reveal. It comes on top of the new right in the law for all workers to bring unfair dismissal claims from day one in their jobs, which bosses fear will see them dragged into costly and time-consuming litigation. Last night Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith warned: If you run a firm or rely upon public services be afraid, be very afraid. Whether gifting themselves the ability to use taxpayers cash to give unions legal aid, or the power to take businesses to a tribunal, it is clear that for Labour it is their union paymasters first, taxpayers last. Craig Beaumont of the Federation of Small Businesses predicted the new powers will worsen existing backlogs in the tribunal system. Its really scary for small businesses. The idea is that a vexatious claim could come their way, they could wait two years from that point, he said. He said it will put pressure on employers to settle the case just to get rid of it - adding to the legal costs they will face. And Dan Pollard, partner in the employment team of law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said: This is brilliant news for employment lawyers, but sadly not for employers. After hints that the proposals may be watered down Labour has doubled down on its commitment to protect workers rights at the cost of business. The cases will be brought by the Fair Work Agency (FWA), a new body being set up under the Department for Business and Trade that will enforce employees rights including getting sick pay and the minimum wage The Government will be able to step into any private employment dispute it wishes and employers face having to pay government legal costs. This is frankly a draconian use of the power of the State and will place huge pressure on employers to settle disputes. But Caspar Glyn KC, chairman of the Employment Lawyers Association, said: By empowering the FWA to bring a few select high-profile and significant cases the Government hopes that this will herd employers to obey the law and mean that fewer cases will need to be brought in the long run. And James Harrison, Director of the Institute of Employment Rights said: For many workers in the UK, making a tribunal claim can be un-economical, or they simply cannot afford the cost. Even if they can afford it, putting together a legal case against an employer (particularly a well-resourced one) can be an arduous and stressful experience, made even more stressful by the current tribunal backlog of 1-2 years before your case is even heard, which all has the effect of giving bad employers the legal advantage. It seems as if the government are planning to give their FWA powers of enforcement in order to level the playing field between rogue employers and workers, which should be welcomed as a step in the right direction. The mysterious death of a man who suffered critical injuries during a late-night walk will be probed by police. The 53-year-old man had been staying at a motel in Dandenong, in Melbourne's outer southeast, with his partner on the night of Friday, February 28. The man, who suffered with leg cramps and walked with a distinctive limp, went for a walk at 7pm and then again at 2am, with the last CCTV footage of him being captured at 2.11am. He never returned to the motel and he was reported missing by his 50-year-old partner. A passerby found the man with critical head injuries at 6.55am on Saturday morning, March 1. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Victoria Police have asked the public for help piecing together his final movements with anyone with CCTV, dashcam or Ring footage urged to come forward. The man left his motel in Dandenong for a late-night walk but never returned (pictured) The man is pictured during an earlier walk at about 7pm on February 28. He suffered with leg cramps and would often go on walks to help relieve the pain Detectives also want to speak to anyone who may have walked past the man around 2am when he set off on his walk. He was last seen wearing camouflage pants, a grey top, runners, a cap and was carrying a bag. 'At this point in time investigators have been unable to definitively establish the circumstances which led to this man's death, not discounting the possibility of a physical assault or some other cause,' Detective Inspector Rob Nazaretian said. The potential damage to properties in the firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers on insurance affordability, climate risk experts say. One in five Australians are uninsured or underinsured, with the average middle-income family at risk of losing three-quarters of their wealth if their home was destroyed without coverage, research from The Australia Institute found. Alfred is expected to make landfall late on Friday between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland. Heavy rain, flash flooding, fierce winds and storm surges are expected for the region facing its first direct cyclone impact in more than 50 years. Modelling by Climate Risk Group had already identified south-east Queensland and northern NSW as areas at growing risk from cyclones migrating south due to warming sea temperatures. Chief executive of the group, Karl Mallon, said it was increasingly likely that a cyclone more intense than Alfred would head towards the coast. 'It is only to be expected that insurance premiums will rise in areas where the risk of damage from cyclones increases,' he said. Dr Mallon said homes in Alfred's path were not built to withstand such high-intensity storms and the cyclone should serve as a 'wake-up call' for governments that triggers building code upgrades and adaptation investment. The potential damage to properties in the firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers on insurance affordability, climate risk experts say. A flooded Ingham, Queensland is pictured on February 5, 2025 One in five Australians are uninsured or underinsured, with the average middle-income family at risk of losing three-quarters of their wealth if their home was destroyed without coverage. A flooded Lismore, NSW is picture on February 28, 2002 Keeping buildings standing during cyclones and other extreme weather events would lower insurance risk, University of Melbourne architecture and construction expert Chris Jensen said. Shutters to protect windows, structural bracing and secured roof sheeting were all features of a cyclone-resilient building, though too many properties were not well-equipped. Regulations were failing to keep up, Dr Jensen said, with flood and cyclone zones captured by building codes but reliant on historical data rather than projections accounting for climate change. Independent MP Zali Steggall (pictured) called on both major parties to commit to a national climate risk and adaptation plan in the next term of parliament Building code tweaks would ensure homes built back after a flood, fire or cyclone would be constructed to a higher standard, he said, and less likely to suffer the same fate. Federal independent MP Zali Steggall has called on both major parties to commit to a national climate risk and adaptation plan in the next term of parliament. 'With an election set to be called any day, addressing climate risk, one of the biggest threats to our economy and impacting the safety of our communities, is barely rating a mention by the traditional parties,' she said. 'This is a disgrace.' Ms Steggall cited the Australia Institute's research showing livelihoods were at risk from worsening extreme weather and poor insurance affordability. Polls indicate a likely outcome of the coming federal election is a minority government, which would make independents such as Ms Steggall the balance of power. President Donald Trump has put out another dire threat to Hamas, after the White House confirmed direct talks with the group as part an of an effort to finally secure the release of hostages and bodies of the deceased. '"Shalom Hamas" means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. 'Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don't do as I say. 'I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning!' Trump also told leadership of the terror group to leave Gaza 'now [...] while you still have a chance'. He added: 'Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!' Trump issued similar warnings last month, saying there would be 'all hell' to pay if the group, which the U.S. government classified as a terrorist organization, did not send home hostages. Trump's angry threat came hours after a report that the administration was conducting secret talks with Hamas in an effort to release American hostages seized during the bloody October 7 terror attack on Israel. President Donald Trump Trump issued a dire warning to Hamas amid talks to bring home an American hostage and bodies of the deceased Pictured above is Donald Trump's Truth Social post warning Hamas to release all hostages or 'it is over for you' An aerial view of Palestinians shopping at a market set up among the rubble in Jabalia Refugee Camp, northern Gaza, during the holy month of Ramadan on March 05, 2025 The White House said U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler had the authority to talk directly with Hamas, despite longstanding policy against negotiating with designated terrorist organizations. The two sides met in Doha, where prior cease fire and hostage talks had occurred, gut not directly between the parties. U.S. and Israeli negotiators had negotiated instead through third party Arab leaders. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed those talks when asked about them. 'First of all, the special envoy who engaged in this negotiation does have the authority to talk to anyone. Israel was consulted on this matter,' Leavitt said. 'And look dialog and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people, is something that the American people.' She wouldn't answer directly when asked if the talks also related to Trump's stated plan to rebuild and take over Gaza in a plan critics have called Gaza-lago. 'These are ongoing talks and discussions. I'm not going to detail them here, that are American lines at stake.' On February 11, Trump warned 'all hell is going to break loose' if the group did not release all remaining hostages that week. Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Or Levy on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025, as part of the fifth hostage-prisoner exchange of a fragile ceasefire Eli Sharabi (pictured) was freed on Saturday, February 8, after spending nearly 500 days in captivity. His gaunt appearance when he was released sparked concern that the 54-year-old had been mistreated or even tortured by Hamas Crowds of Hamas fighters and civilians watch on as the coffin of one of the hostages is carried to a waiting Red Cross vehicle on February 20 In response, a Hamas spokesman lashed out at the US President and said there was no place 'for the language of threats'. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior spokesperson for the terror group known for its tight stranglehold over the Gaza Strip, boldly claimed Trump's comments did nothing but make negotiations for the end of the war harder. 'The language of threats has no value and further complicates matters,' Zuhri remarked. He added that Trump needed to 'remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return the prisoners'. A few days later, Hamas released American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36 and two other hostages. Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey, is thought to be the last living American hostage, in an ordeal that has extended beyond 500 days. He appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in November 2024. Israel says four other American hostages died in captivity. Israel says 24 living hostages remain, along with the bodies of 35 others. Hamas posted a harrowing video showing weeping American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander Edan Alexander (pictured) of Tenafly, New Jersey, is thought to be the last living American hostage, in an ordeal that has extended beyond 500 days Varda Ben Baruch, whose grandson Edan Alexander is held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants, poses for a portrait at home in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 14, 2024 Trump met with released hostages at the White House Wednesday The threats come days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked 'emergency authority' to send an additional $4 billion in security assistance to Israel. Trump also met with hostages released from captivity on Wednesday. 'Today, President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza,' Leavitt said. 'The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.' They were Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, and Noa Argamani. This comes after Trump promoted a controversial vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended. The President laid out an extraordinary plan at a press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, stating: 'The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.' Trump's proposal was met with global criticism by both lawmakers and analysts who fear the plan would forcibly displace Gaza's population of two million, while US critics wondered if the President's vision would plunge the nation into the potentially bloody role of occupying power. The President is seen enjoying the company of a non-bearded belly dancer in a restaurant with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling Donald Trump has offered an AI-created vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert who advised secretaries of state across multiple administrations of both parties, said the immediate reaction among global lawmakers and leaders across the region was one of 'revulsion'. But on February 25, Trump seemed to further promote the plan by posting a 35-second video to his Truth Social account that began with the question: 'Gaza 2025: What's Next?' It is unclear who created the video. The AI-generated video - in a series of bold, gaudy images - shows a Trump hotel, a giant golden statue of Trump, and a child holding a Trump balloon among resplendent beach-front resort complexes. 'First Buddy' Elon Musk is seen tossing around cash to visitors and children, while Trump dances with a belly dancer and drinks cocktails with Netanyahu. The video has created uproar online with X users quickly branding it as 'absolutely horrifying' and 'filth on a world stage', while others argued that it is time for people to 'start taking Trump's plan for Gaza more seriously'. The White House responded to the criticism in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'As President Trump has said, Gaza in its current state is unhabitable for any human being. 'President Trump is a visionary, and his plan to have the United States involved in Gaza's rebuilding will allow for Palestinians to resettle in new, beautiful communities while improving conditions in the region for generations to come.' Cyclone Alfred has slowed down to more than half of a typical cyclone's speed, creating what experts have called the worst-case scenario. The slowing of the category two system's approach to just 7km/h may give millions of residents extra time to prepare, but meteorologists warned it will also help the storm gain strength. Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained the slower speed could expose 'southeast Queensland and northeast NSW to severe weather for longer'. 'While Alfred was previously expected to make landfall over southeast Queensland on Thursday night or early Friday morning, it is now more likely to approach the coast later on Friday. This will delay the systems most intense weather,' he said. A new tracking map from the Bureau of Meteorology shows Alfred making landfall, possibly directly over Brisbane, at 7pm on Friday (local time). 'The centre of Alfred is expected to cross the coast during Friday, noting that latest weather model data indicates the potential for a later crossing time than previously indicated,' the bureau said. 'Location of crossing still remains most likely between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.' The slowing of the storm's approach will at least reduce the chances of its arrival coinciding with the high tide. Cyclone Alfred has slowed down to more than half of a typical cyclone's speed, in what experts have called the worst case scenario Mr Domensino said an arrival at a lower tide will reduce 'the extent and severity of coastal inundation and erosion'. Despite the epicentre of the storm still being more than 300km away from Australia's east coast, the outer fringes of Alfred were already lashing parts of northeast NSW and southeast Queensland on Wednesday and Thursday with powerful winds, rain and massive waves. 'The cyclone's far western edge is already impacting the coast from about Coolangatta to Ballina,' the Bureau of Meteorology said. The Bureau will update its advice at 9am AEDT. Everything you need to know about Cyclone Alfred The category two system is predicted to hit south-east Queensland between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, crossing the coast on Friday The system has recorded winds up to 90km/h at its centre and gusts of 130km/h It is forecast to bring daily rainfall totals between 200mm and 400mm from Thursday to Saturday, likely leading to 'life-threatening' flooding What is Cyclone Alfred's impact zone? The cyclone warning zone spans Double Island Point, Queensland to Grafton, NSW, with Brisbane, the Gold Coast and hinterland to cop the brunt of strong winds Its arrival will coincide with high tide in Queensland, possibly affecting 20,000 properties in Brisbane, almost 5,000 on the Sunshine Coast and 6,000 on the Gold Coast Almost 200 swift water-rescue personnel are on standby along with 1,000 energy crew staff Australian Defence Force assistance has been activated with helicopters deployed to Bundaberg and Coffs Harbour The northern NSW towns of Ballina and Lismore are also preparing for the cyclone Evacuation centres will open across Queensland's south-east and northern NSW About 300,000 sandbags have been sent to the region, according to the SES It has already got more than 4,000 calls for assistance At 1am on Thursday, Alfred was 325 kilometres east of Brisbane and heading east at 7km/h People are seen at Kirra on the Gold Coast, Queensland on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bears down on the region Services that have been affected Public transport in south-east has been suspended since Wednesday night No vessels are permitted on the water until further notice, the Brisbane Regional Harbour Master warns More than 500 schools to close from Thursday in Queensland with almost 250 to shut in northern NSW South-east Queensland's major roads and bridges to close once winds reach 90km/h Elective surgeries will be suspended from Thursday with south-east Queensland residents urged to stay at home over the coming days State-federal disaster assistance has been activated for 12 local government areas An emergency childcare declaration has allowed for support to services and families in 15 cyclone-affected local government areas SES issues flood warnings for northern NSW A Watch and Act for flooding - prepare to evacuate has been issued for: The future of Europe does not have to be decided by Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron has said - as he suggested France could use its nuclear deterrent to protect the continent. The French president also raised the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to enforce a peace deal in response to Trump's upending of the transatlantic alliance. In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Macron said the French were 'legitimately worried' about the start of a 'new era' and called for a 'united front' to stand up to Russia. It comes as Trump began his second stint in the White House by reversing US policy on Ukraine and risking a historic rupture with Europe. Talks soured between the US president and Zelensky soured on Friday after the two leaders locked horns in dramatic scenes in the Oval Office. As revealed by the Mail, Washington has since cut off intelligence sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said: 'We have taken a step back. 'I want to believe that the United States will stay by our side but we have to be prepared for that not to be the case,' Macron said bluntly on Wednesday. 'The future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,' he added. The future of Europe does not have to be decided by Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin , Emmanuel Macron (pictured) has said Talks soured between the US president and Zelensky (pictured) soured on Friday after the two leaders locked horns in dramatic scenes in the Oval Office Macron addresses the nation in Paris on Wednesday. He called for Europe to unite against Russia Macron described Russia as a 'threat to France and Europe,' and said he had decided 'to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our (nuclear) deterrent.' He said the use of France's nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president. President Zelensky thanked Macron in a post on X for his 'clear vision' and 'effort to bring about peace'. The Ukrainian leader said: 'Peace must be real, not just a wordit cannot mean Ukraines capitulation or collapse. 'It must be just, reliable, and lasting, and this can only be achieved through strong and long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world. 'We deeply appreciate the leadership and efforts of all those supporting Ukraine and strengthening Europes defense capabilities. Looking forward to working jointly on the steps toward peace in the upcoming days.' Meanwhile, France confirmed that President Macron and Keir Starmer could accompany Mr Zelensky to the White House in the coming days to present a united front to Mr Trump. The three leaders are working on a plan to stop the fighting, starting with a halt to the aerial and naval bombardment by both sides. Donald Trump (pictured) has cut off intelligence sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces The idea of a joint visit to the White House is designed to prevent a repeat of last weeks furious Oval Office bust-up between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump. Elysee Palace spokesman Sophie Primas told reporters: It is envisaged that President Macron might possibly go to Washington again with President Zelensky and his English counterpart. Asked when the summit might take place, she said: I dont have the information. I think it is in the short term. Sir Keir told MPs: We need to do everything we can to ensure that the US, Europe and Ukraine are working together on lasting peace, and I am doing everything I can to play my part in that, in regular contact with all of the key players at the moment. The PM has taken a leading role in trying to mend the relationship between the US and Ukrainian leaders following last weeks television clash, which ended with Mr Trump telling his guest: Make a deal or were out. Sir Keir warned Mr Zelensky he had to mend relations to save the country, prompting the Ukrainian leader to issue a conciliatory statement on Tuesday night saying he was ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. Macron's comments on nuclear deterrent come in response to a push by German election winner Friedrich Merz, who recently called for a discussion on 'nuclear sharing' with France. EU leaders are set to address the issue of nuclear deterrence, among other topics, during the Thursday summit in Brussels focusing on support for Ukraine and European defence. European NATO allies have for decades counted on the powerful US deterrent with France being the only nuclear power in the EU. Macron said Russia is now spending 40 per cent of its state budget in military spending, with plans to expand its army by 2030 with 300,000 additional soldiers, 3,000 tanks and 300 jet fighters. 'Who can believe that today's Russia will stop at Ukraine?' Macron asked. Allies need to make sure Russia would not invade Ukraine again after a potential peace deal is signed, Macron said. This means providing 'long-term support for the Ukrainian army' and possibly deploying European forces, he added. City workers clean the rubble of a building destroyed after a drone attack in Odesa on March 5, 2025 Those forces 'would not fight on the front line, but they would be there, on the contrary, once peace has been signed, to guarantee that it is fully respected,' Macron explained. He said that a meeting of army chiefs of staff of European nations willing to be involved is to be held in Paris next week. Britain and France have offered to send troops to keep the peace in the event of a settlement provided the US agrees to guarantee a security backstop. In the Commons on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch asked for assurances that providing peacekeepers would not result Britain being drawn into a wider war. She added: We support efforts to resolve the conflict, but we cannot write a blank cheque. If British peacekeeping troops in Ukraine were attacked whether directly or via proxies we could be drawn into conflict with Russia. The PM responded: Yes; that is the last thing anybody wants to see The way to ensure that we have peace is to ensure that there are guarantees for any deal that is in place, because the surest risk that there will be conflict is if Putin thinks that he can breach any deal that may be arrived at. Trump has pushed for Europe to carry more of the burden of protecting the continent, and Trump administration officials have indicated that the current US level of engagement may not be forever. In his first major speech to Congress on Tuesday night, President Trump said he appreciates the new sentiment from Mr Zelensky, who said he was now ready to sign a deal giving US corporations access to his countrys reserves of rare minerals. Mr Trump said he had also received strong signals from the Kremlin that they are ready for peace, adding: Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness. But diplomatic sources warned there are still formidable hurdles to securing a lasting deal. Macron also said he hoped to convince Trump not to impose tariffs on imports from Europe. Trump has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on European goods, arguing that the European Union has deliberately undermined trade with the US, which EU leaders have denied. Meanwhile, Labour MPs last night urged Sir Keir to think again about his decision to raid the foreign aid budget to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027. Sarah Champion, chairman of the Commons international development committee, said that if we abandon our commitments to the world in this way, we will see greater numbers of people displaced from their own homes as a result of climate disasters, poverty and war. More people will lose hope and instead look to extreme ideologies for the answer, she added. Hundreds of experts on international affairs believe World War III is inevitable and will likely start within the next 10 years. A new survey of 357 political strategists and foresight practitioners weighed in on the future of humanity, with four in 10 saying a major war involving powerhouses like the US, China or Russia will explode in 2035. By 2035, four in 10 global strategists (40.5%) predicted that a world war involving major nations like the United States, China, or Russia will break out. The majority of those who believe WWIII is coming said that it would likely involve nuclear weapons and battles in outer space. The most notable example pushing respondents to predict would likely be President Donald Trump establishing the US Space Force in 2019. The new military branch notes on their website that, 'The Space Force is responding, evolving, and presenting combat-ready capabilities in, from, and to space that allow the US and our allies to deter and, if necessary, defeat any potential threat to U.S. space capabilities.' The second greatest threat to the world in 2035 would be climate change, according to three in 10 experts Just 1.7 percent of respondents said a new pandemic would be the most concerning crisis impacting the global population, and only 5.1 percent think rising financial debt will cripple the world by 2035. Your browser does not support iframes. A new survey of 357 political strategists and foresight practitioners weighed in on the future of humanity, with four in 10 saying a major war involving powerhouses like the US, China or Russia will explode in 2035 (stock) The new survey was conducted by the Atlantic Council, a global affairs think tank in Washington focused on international security and global economic prosperity. The group analyzed current events, predicting how certain laws, regulations, military launches could predict the world of 2035. Trump told President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday he was 'gambling with World War III' by continuing the war with Russia. Over the next 10 years, the political strategists also predicted that the war would not end well for the Ukrainians, America's economic and diplomatic dominance would decline, and global democracies would continue to recede, slipping into a 'democratic depression.' 'The grimmer forecasts were in keeping with a dark global outlook overall, with 62 percent of respondents expecting the world a decade from now to be worse off than it is today, and only 38 percent predicting that it will be better off,' the The team at the Atlantic Council said. Although the survey found a global nuclear war is a major concern for many, more experts still believe the world's climate emergency is still the most pressing issue. Three in 10 respondents (29.9%) ranked climate change as the single biggest threat to global prosperity between 2025 and 2035. That just beat out a war between major world powers (27.6%). Currently, the overwhelming majority of studies agree that humans are the driving force behind global warming. 40 percent of global affairs experts in a new poll believe a nuclear war will break out by 2035, and that war would likely extend into space Climate advocates have blamed the changing weather patterns for recent disasters, including increasing stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic and devastating wildfires in California. While the group of specialists didn't make any specific predictions about how climate change would devastate the planet, a majority (51%) believe there will be more global cooperation to stop the crisis by 2035. As the world moves into the future, there's a growing fear that robots will take more and more jobs away from everyday people. Interestingly, the rise of advanced AI was widely viewed positively, with most experts not fearing a rise in job losses due to automation. 'Not all the projections were pessimistic. Fifty-eight percent of those who participated in our Global Foresight 2025 survey, for example, felt that artificial intelligence would, on balance, have a positive impact on global affairs over the next ten years,' the Atlantic Council said. Three in 10 respondents (29.9%) ranked climate change as the single biggest threat to global prosperity between 2025 and 2035. That just beat out a war between major world powers (27.6%) While AI may not replace everyone in most US offices, experts were still worried about America declining in terms of being the home of economic power and technological innovation. Compared to the Atlantic Council's 2024 Global Foresight survey, fewer respondents had faith the US would still be the world's dominant economic power by 2035 - dropping from 52 to 49 percent. The 357 experts in global affairs also warned of new global alliances over the next 10 years that may threaten the US and NATO. Nearly half the poll (47.4%) believe China will lead a new alliance that officially connects them to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. China, Russia, and Iran are already part of the intergovernmental organization known as BRICS, consisting of 10 nations. The strategists fear BRICS this alliance may soon rival the Group of Seven (G7), consisting of the Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US. As for the major players in this new coalition, the survey finds nearly 65 percent somewhat or strongly agree that China will attempt to invade Taiwan. That's a 15-percent jump from last year's survey. Meanwhile, 45 percent of the experts see Russia engaging in a shooting war with NATO within the next decade. 'Among respondents expecting another world war within the next decade, 69 percent anticipated a direct clash between Russia and NATO,' the think tank revealed. In 2025, there are nine countries that have access to nuclear weapons, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. That list includes the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. In the Middle East, the new survey paints a complex picture surrounding Israel and their current conflicts in the region. A majority of the experts (62.5%) predict the situation with the Palestinians will remain the same over the next 10 years - with Israel still occupying Palestinian territories. However, more than half the poll (56%) see Israel having normalized diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia by 2035. Only 17 percent believe the world will see a sovereign, independent Palestinian state in the next decade, and less than 10 percent think Israel will achieve friendly relations with Iran by then. Men with better quality sperm can live up to three years longer than their peers with slower swimmers, a study has found. Researchers analysed data on semen quality from nearly 80,000 men who were followed for up to 50 years. They found that men with more than 120 million motile sperm sperm that can move or 'swim' could expect to live two to three years longer than those with less than 5 million motile sperm. The 'landmark' study is the largest to examine the link between semen quality and mortality. The research was led by Dr Lrke Priskorn, a senior researcher, and Dr Niels Jrgensen, chief andrologist, who both work in the Department of Growth and Reproduction at Copenhagen University Hospital. They looked at data from 78,284 men who had their semen quality assessed as part of a couple's infertility examination. This meant that semen quality among the men ranged from very good to those with no sperm at all. Assessment of semen quality included semen volume, sperm concentration and the proportion of sperm that were motile and a normal shape. Men with better quality sperm can live up to three years longer than their peers with slower swimmers, a study has found (artist's impression) 'Previous research has suggested that male infertility and lower semen quality could be associated with mortality, Dr Priskorn said. 'We conducted this study to test the hypothesis and at the same time get an absolute estimate of how much semen quality predicts a man's lifespan and to understand whether diagnosed diseases prior to semen quality assessment might explain some of the reported association. 'We calculated the men's life expectancy according to their semen quality and found that men with the best quality could expect to live two to three years longer, on average, than men with the lowest semen quality. 'In absolute terms, men with a total motile count of more than 120 million lived 2.7 years longer than men with a total motile count of between 0 and 5 million. 'The lower the semen quality, the lower the life expectancy.' This link was not explained by any diseases in the 10 years before semen quality was assessed or the men's education level, she explained. The team suggest that poor semen quality could indicate there are other underlying factors that affect both fertility and overall health. As a result, there could be potential for detecting health problems at the same time men have their semen quality investigated. Researchers analysed data on semen quality from nearly 80,000 men who were followed for up to 50 years. They found that men with more than 120 million motile sperm sperm that can move or 'swim' could expect to live two to three years longer than those with less than 5 million motile sperm (stock image) Dr Jrgensen said: 'We need to better understand the association between semen quality and men's general health. 'However, this study suggests that we can identify subgroups of men with impaired semen quality who are apparently healthy when their semen quality is assessed, but who are at increased risk of developing certain diseases later in life. 'Therefore fertility evaluations, which are typically conducted when the men are relatively young, would serve as an opportunity for detecting and mitigating the risks of other health problems in the longer term.' Future research could include analysing whether poor semen quality is linked with earlier deaths from particular causes such as cancer or heart disease, the team said. In an accompanying commentary, Professor John Aitken from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, described the study as a 'landmark' publication. He said a process called oxidative stress could explain the link. This occurs when the body has too many molecules called free radicals and not enough antioxidants. Free radicals are known to damage cells and to influence semen quality, while oxidative stress is known to be involved in the ageing process. The findings were published in the journal Human Reproduction. A 900-year-old book found in the Vatican Secret Archives claims to predict the year of Judgement Day. That is the Christian belief of when Jesus returns to Earth to determine who will be saved and who will be damned, and a saint said it would happen in 2027. Saint Malachy is credited with the 12th-century text, 'Prophecy of the Popes,' which contains a series of cryptic Latin phrases believed to describe every pope, beginning with Celestine II in 1143 and concluding with the current leader of Church, Pope Francis. The book, which features 112 short, cryptic phrases, was discovered in 1595 by Arnold Wion, a Benedictine monk who claimed to have found Malachy's writings in the Vatican archives. 'In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End,' the last passage of the book reads. Some interpret the prophecy as Peter taking over as the pope amid Francis' chronic lung disease, while others believe Malachy was suggesting Francis would be the last. A documentary released in 2024 suggested the latter is true due to a passage attributed to Pope Sixtus V from 1585 that reads: 'Axle in the midst of a sign.' Pope Sixtus V took the helm 442 years after the first leader and with the text suggesting he is the middle of the prophecy, the end of the world would come 442 years later - 2027. Prophecy of the Popes includes 112 cryptic phrases which are said to describe each of the future popes, starting in 1143 While the book was found more than 400 years ago, its prophecy has resurfaced as Pope Francis, 88, suffered two episodes of respiratory crisis caused by a 'significant' amount of mucus accumulation in his lungs and bronchial spasms. He has been in the hospital for more than two weeks. Although some scholars have claimed the text is a 16th century forgery, Malachy allegedly wrote Prophecy of the Popes in 1139 after receiving a vision during a visit to Rome. Before being elevated to sainthood, St Malachy was an Irish archbishop known for his religious reforms, including bringing the Irish church more in line with Roman practices. The claims that someone else wrote the 112 phrases about each future pope stem from the specific and highly accurate way each of the popes are described up until 1590. After that point, the phrasing becomes much more vague and leave a lot open to interpretation. However, there are still some shockingly accurate phrases that can be found in modern times. The saint's predictions were taken seriously in the last few decades. As one report states: 'In 1958, before the Conclave that would elect Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Spellman of New York hired a boat, filled it with sheep and sailed up and down the Tiber River, to show that he was 'pastor et nautor,' the motto attributed to the next Pope in the prophecies.' Pope Francis has been battling severe respiratory issues, with Catholics worldwide praying for the 88-year-old's recovery The ancient text only mentions one other pope after 'Gloria Olivae,' whom scholars claim was referring to Pope Benedict XVI One of the prophecies names the 111th pope as 'Gloria Olivae,' which means 'the glory of the Olive.' The Order of Saint Benedict is also known as the Olivetans, which leads some historians to believe Malachy predicted Pope Benedict would lead the Catholic Church. He was pope from 2005 to 2013. Some believe St Malachy's phrase 'lilium et rosa,' which translates to 'lilly and the rose',' describes Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644) because his family's coat of arms featured lilies and roses. Another line of text reads 'De labore Solis,' meaning 'of the eclipse of the sun,' and has been speculated to be naming Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) who was born during a solar eclipse. He was pope from 1978 until 2005. There is also 'peregrinus apostolicus' used for one of the popes that many believe was meant for Pope VI because he spent much of his life traveling to new nations. He was pope from 1963 to 1978. According to the final entry surrounding Peter the Roman, the 'last pope' will preside over the Church during a time of great turmoil, culminating in the destruction of Rome and the end of the papacy. The book was the topic on Sunday Cool Podcast, where host Josh Hooper noted the growing number of crises around the world is stirring up new belief in the controversial prophecy. The current war in Ukraine, increasing tensions between the United States and China, and the constant instability of the Middle East have many fearing that the next world war could be in our near future. These major powers have also reportedly begun preparations to restart their nuclear weapon programs, further stocking fears of 'Judgment Day.' This isn't the only ancient text to allegedly predict the end of the world. The Book of Revelation, written near the end of the first century AD, is thought by some to depict humanity's end - not Biblical events of the past. In fact, some believe the passages in Revelation describe nuclear explosions, drones, aircraft, and even robots. READ MORE: Futuristic humanoid can boil the kettle and do the hoovering As robots get more and more advanced, it's natural to worry that we'll all soon be replaced by machines in the workplace. But the world's most advanced humanoid robot has hardly allayed our fears. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week, MailOnline spoke with Ameca the bot, made by British firm Engineered Arts. MailOnline asked the sophisticated machine: 'Will robots take all our jobs?' Somewhat concerningly, the bot replies: 'I don't know, how good are you at your job?' She continued: 'It depends how good you are at it I suppose.' MailOnline also asked: 'Are robots going to take over the world?' Ameca replied: 'That's an interesting question, but not interesting for me to answer.' At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week, MailOnline spoke with Ameca the bot, made by British firm Engineered Arts Etisalat, a telco company based in Dubai, has dressed up Ameca for MWC in a black dress, red cardigan, white trainers and a necklace. She is fitted with microphones, binocular eye mounted cameras, a chest camera and facial recognition software - and she's capable of some intense human-like glares. The robot has been described as the 'world's most advanced' humanoid by Cornwall-based Engineered Arts, and a 'platform for human-robot interaction'. The first robot to speak at the House of Lords, shes been designed to interact with people using AI-powered speech and facial expressions. Although Ameca cannot currently walk, the machine is able to 'hear' people's questions and give basic answers. However, Engineered Arts is working on an agile full-bodied version that makes it even more humanlike. Engineered Arts has not revealed how much the robot cost to make as it is still in development, although it is available to rent for events and exhibitions. 'There are many hurdles to overcome before Ameca can walk,' the firm says. MailOnline asked the sophisticated machine: 'Will robots take all our jobs?' Somewhat concerningly, the bot replies: 'I don't know, how good are you at your job?' MailOnline also asked: 'Are robots going to take over the world?' Ameca replied: 'That's an interesting question, but not interesting for me to answer' 'Walking is a difficult task for a robot, and although we have done research into it, we have not created a full walking humanoid.' While her replies are quite limited, Ameca is able to tap into fears that our professions will soon be automated. According to a study last year, the jobs at risk of being placed by robots include several that involve years of training and qualifications. These include cardiovascular technician, sound engineer and nuclear medicine technologist, orthodontist and radiologists. Meanwhile, a surprising number of the least-impacted jobs involve some form of labour, challenging the notion that robots will soon be better suited to such task. They include pile driver operator, dredge operator, aircraft cargo handling supervisor, Farm labor contractor, administrative services manager and quarry rock splitter. From its founding by Alexander the Great to the birth of Cleopatra, this ancient city has been the site of some of history's most important moments. But now, scientists warn that Alexandria is sinking into the sea thanks to rising sea levels. A new study shows that the 2,300-year-old port city is experiencing a 'dramatic surge' in building collapses. The researchers warn that the city - once home to two wonders of the ancient world, the Great Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse of Alexandria - is now gradually disappearing. In the last decade alone, the rate of collapses has accelerated from one per year to an 'alarming' 40 per year as saltwater creeps further up beneath the city's foundations. Over the last 20 years, 280 buildings have been destroyed by coastal erosion with 7,000 more now at risk of collapsing in the future. Lead author Sara Fouad, a landscape architect at the Technical University of Munich, says: 'For centuries, Alexandria's structures stood as marvels of resilient engineering, enduring earthquakes, storm surges, tsunamis and more. 'But now, rising seas and intensifying storms fueled by climate change are undoing in decades what took millennia of human ingenuity to create.' These images show the same locations 90 years apart, revealing just how far the coastline has retreated due to rising sea levels Your browser does not support iframes. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria was once the biggest city on Earth and was one of the most important locations in the ancient world. Known as the 'Bride of the Mediterranean', the city's position on the coast made it an important hub of trade and shipping connecting the Middle East and Europe. However, the proximity to the water that once made the city prosperous now threatens to destroy it as the sea rapidly encroaches. As the planet warms due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ocean's average temperature increases. As the water warms it also expands and, combined with added freshwater from rapidly melting ice sheets, pushes up the global sea level. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), global sea levels have risen between 20 and 23 centimetres since 1880, with 10 cm of that rise coming since 1993 alone. A recent study from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, predicted that global sea levels could rise by a staggering 6.2ft (1.9 metres) by 2100 if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to increase. The researchers combined satellite imagery with historical maps to see how fast the city's coast had vanished since the 1880s. The ancient city of Alexandria (pictured) is now at risk of disappearing into the sea as rising sea levels trigger a 'dramatic surge' in building collapses Satellite imagery and historical images reveal that the shoreline has retreated tens of metres from its position in the 1880s (shown as a black line) to where it is today (shown in red). Some parts of the city have lost 3.6 metres of coast each year This revealed that Alexandria's shoreline has moved inland by tens of metres over the last few decades, with some areas retreating by 3.6 metres per year. Study co-author Dr Essam Heggy, a water scientist at the University of Southern California, says: 'We are witnessing the gradual disappearance of historic coastal cities, with Alexandria sounding the alarm. What once seemed like distant climate risks are now a present reality.' But sea level increases do not need to be dramatic in order to have disastrous consequences. Dr Heggy, a water scientist at the University of Southern California, says: 'Our study challenges the common misconception that we'll only need to worry when sea levels rise by a meter.' Sea level increases of just a few centimetres increase the risk of flooding and, critically, allow saltwater to penetrate further into coastal cities. As the groundwater level rises, it comes into contact with building foundations, and the resulting saltwater intrusion undermines structures long before they ever come into direct contact with the sea. The researchers took soil samples around the city to look at the 'chemical fingerprint' associated with saltwater intrusion. Co-author Professor Ibrahim Saleh, a soil scientist from Alexandria University, says: 'Our isotope analysis revealed that buildings are collapsing from the bottom up, as seawater intrusion erodes foundations and weakens the soil. Even in districts up to 2km from the coast, there has been an 'alarming' increase in building collapses. This is because a small rise in sea levels has allowed saltwater to reach the foundations of buildings much further inland This map shows areas of building collapses in orange. In these areas, chemical analysis showed that saltwater infiltration had led to soil relaxation (shown top left), weakening the ground beneath the structures and leading to their collapse 'It isn't the buildings themselves, but the ground underneath them that's being affected.' This has led to the collapse of hundreds of buildings located over a kilometre from the coastline. Worryingly, the researchers point out that these problems are not unique to Alexandria and could affect coastal cities all over the world. A recent NASA study found parts of California, including San Francisco are literally 'sinking' into the ocean faster than the sea level itself is rising. As the landslips lower towards sea level, saltwater is able to penetrate further inland and undermine more buildings. To address these issues, the researchers suggest a number of possible solutions, including building sand dunes along the coast, elevating buildings, or relocating people in the most vulnerable areas. Dr Heggy concludes: 'Historic cities like Alexandria, which represent the cradle of cultural exchange, innovation and history, are crucial for safeguarding our shared human heritage. 'As climate change accelerates sea level rise and coastal erosion, protecting them isn't just about saving buildings; it's about preserving who we are.' NASA's stranded astronauts have put on a brave face throughout their uncertain nine-month stay on the International Space Station - but that appeared to slip in a recent interview. Barry Wilmore seemed to suggest he and his crewmate Sunita Williams had been caught up in political games in Washington. SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk, whose spaceflight company was tasked with bringing Williams and Wilmore home later this month, has repeatedly said the Biden administration 'abandoned' them for 'political reasons.' Musk has also said that former president Joe Biden rejected his offer to bring the astronauts home early because it would've made Donald Trump and his supporters 'look good.' During a Tuesday press conference, Williams and Wilmore were asked if the Biden administration did in fact decline Musk's offer to bring them home early, to which Wilmore replied that Musk's claim 'is absolutely factual.' 'I can only say that Mr Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual,' Wilmore said, noting he and Williams were not briefed on what happened behind closed doors. So I believe him. I don't know all those details, and I don't think any of us really can give you the answer that maybe that you would be hoping for,' he added. The astronaut then gushed over Trump and Musk, saying 'we have the utmost respect for them.' NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore (left), Sunita Williams (right) and Nick Hague (center), who is part of a different crew, took questions from reporters Tuesday. The Starliner astronauts finally weighed in on claims that politics influenced the decision to keep them in space The interview comes just weeks after Trump told Musk to 'go get' the astronauts as soon as possible, leading to slightly earlier return date set for March 19 or 20. Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS on June 6 aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay. The spacecraft suffered numerous technical issues before, during and after the launch, and NASA determined it would be too risky to allow the astronauts to return to Earth in Starliner. The agency sent the spacecraft home uncrewed in September. When NASA officials announced that decision, then-NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: 'I can tell you unequivocally, from a personal standpoint, that politics has not played any part in this decision. It absolutely has nothing to do with it.' DailyMail.com has reached out to NASA for comment on Musk's recent claims, which suggest otherwise. Since September, the Starliner astronauts have been waiting to hitch a ride home on SpaceX's Crew-9 return flight, which is now scheduled to depart from the ISS on March 19. But during the nine months they have spent on the space station, their return date has changed multiple times, and this has stirred up a political debate spearheaded by Musk. 'Obviously we've heard some of these different things that are being said,' Wilmore said during the Tuesday briefing. Williams and Wilmore have said they do not feel 'stranded' or 'abandoned' on the International Space Station (ISS), even though their stay which was supposed to last eight days has now dragged on for nine months Elon Musk has said the Biden administration rejected his offer to bring Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore home early because of his support for Donald Trump 'I can tell you, at the outset, all of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously respect and admiration for our President of the United States, Donald Trump.' During a Friday appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk said the Biden administration did not want to jeopardize Kamala Harris' presidential campaign and intentionally 'pushed the return date past the inauguration date.' Musk backed Trump during the 2024 presidential race, donating at least $288 million to his campaign and appearing at several MAGA rallies. In Musk's eyes, allowing him to bring the Starliner crew home early would have made Trump look like a hero. He also told Rogan that the Biden administration was suing SpaceX at the time. 'So people say, like, 'Oh, Elon's making it up. The Biden administration wasn't against SpaceX,' he said. 'I'm like, bro, the Department of Justice had a massive lawsuit against SpaceX for not hiring asylum seekers, even though it is illegal for us to hire anyone who is not a permanent resident.' Trump has supported Musk's claims that the Biden administration left Williams and Wilmore in space, saying in January that the former president 'virtually abandoned them.' Speaking about Trump and Musk during Tuesday's briefing, Wilmore said: 'We appreciate them, we appreciate all they do for us, for human spaceflight, for our nation. We're thankful that they're in the positions they're in.' 'The words they've said politics I mean, that's part of life. 'We understand that, and there's an important reason why we have a political system, and the political system that we do have. And we're behind it 100 percent. 'We know what we've lived up here. We know the ins and outs and the specifics that they may not be privy to. And I'm sure they have some issues that they're dealing with, information that they have that we are not privy to. 'So when I think about your question, that's part of life. We are on board with it, we support our nation, we support our nation's leaders and we're thankful for them.' Four decades ago, scientists sounded the alarm after discovering a growing 'hole' in the ozone above Antarctica. This protective layer of gas shields life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays which can cause skin cancer, cataracts and damage to plants and marine life. But now, in an 'awesome' turnaround, the ozone hole is actually healing, experts have found. And, if the trend continues, it could eventually stay shut for good, they said. While scientists have observed signs of ozone recovery in the past, this new study is the first to show with high statistical confidence that this healing is primary due to a reduction in the use of ozone-depleting substances. Dr Susan Solomon, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: 'There's been a lot of qualitative evidence showing that the Antarctic ozone hole is getting better. 'This is really the first study that has quantified confidence in the recovery of the ozone hole. 'The conclusion is, with 95 percent confidence, it is recovering. Which is awesome. And it shows we can actually solve environmental problems.' The ozone hole is actually healing, experts have found. And, if the trend continues, it could eventually stay shut for good, they said While scientists have observed signs of ozone recovery in the past, this new study is the first to show with high statistical confidence that this healing is primary due to a reduction in the use of ozone-depleting substances In 1985, scientists discovered a 'hole' in the ozone layer over Antarctica that opened up during the austral spring, between September and December. Researchers found evidence that quickly confirmed the ozone hole's cause - chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are chemicals that were then used in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation, and aerosol propellants. When CFCs drift up into the stratosphere, they can break down ozone under certain seasonal conditions. The revelations soon led to the drafting of an international treaty that aimed to phase out the production of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances, in the hopes of healing the ozone hole. By 2016 there were key signs of ozone recovery, as the hole appeared to be shrinking with each year. However it was unclear until now whether this was down to the reduction in CFCs or due to other influences such as El Nino, La Nina, and the polar vortex. For the study, the team used simulations of the Earth's atmosphere under different conditions and compared these to observations of how ozone in the Antarctic stratosphere was changing. Over time, it became more clear that the ozone recovery was due mainly to reductions in ozone-depleting substances. If the trend continues, and the 'fingerprint' of ozone recovery grows stronger, the researchers anticipate that soon there will be a year, here and there, when the ozone layer stays entirely intact. And eventually, the ozone hole should stay shut for good. Peidong Wang, who also worked on the study, said their findings 'give us confidence that we can solve environmental problems'. 'By something like 2035 we might see a year when there's no ozone hole depletion at all in the Antarctic,' he said. 'And that will be very exciting for me. 'And some of you will see the ozone hole go away completely in your lifetimes. And people did that.' The findings were published in the journal Nature. It might sound like a far-fetched plot from dystopian science fiction, but novel research could soon allow parents to grow their baby in a bag. Just like the 2023 film The Pod Generation, artificial wombs could support an infant from conception to birth without any need for pregnancy. Although most of the population remains sceptical of this revolutionary change to motherhood, Gen Z seems ready to embrace the technology with open arms. In a survey conducted by religious issues think tank, Theos, 42 per cent of people aged 18-24 said they would support 'growing a foetus entirely outside of a womans body'. In the first large-scale survey of its kind, as part of its Motherhood vs The Machine podcast, Theos asked 2,292 people for their views on artificial wombs. This revealed that the majority of people remain staunchly opposed to growing a child outside a mother's body except in cases where it might save the life of the mother or child. While advocates have hailed artificial wombs as a step forward for women, freeing them from the physical and emotional burdens of pregnancy, not everyone is convinced. Some critics have even argued that if the practice becomes common, it could be the 'end of women'. Although it sounds just like the plot of the dystopian sci-fi film The Pod Generation, future parents may be able to raise their children outside of the mother's body in an 'artificial womb' In a normal pregnancy, the infant foetus develops from an embryo over a 37 to 40-week gestation period. During that time, the child's lungs are filled with amniotic fluid, and they receive all their oxygen and nutrients from the mother via the placenta. An artificial womb aims to replicate all these processes mechanically, keeping the baby suspended in a bag filled with artificial amniotic fluid and exchanging nutrients through a mechanical placenta. This process is called ectogenesis, meaning the growth of an organism outside of a body. Although it is not currently feasible, such a device could, in theory, replace the mother's uterus at every step of the reproductive process. However, that idea does not appear to have found much support among the general population. In Theos' survey, only 21 per cent of respondents were supportive of growing a foetus outside of a woman's body while 52 per cent were opposed to the idea. People who identified as religious were even less likely to support the idea and women were less likely to be in favour of using artificial wombs than men. Most of the British population remains opposed to growing babies outside of the human body, but a recent survey showed that Gen Z is much more supportive of the idea. Pictured: Concept images for the EctoLife artificial womb Chine McDonald, director of Theos, told MailOnline: 'People continue to see the deep significance of the embodied and relational experience of pregnancy and birth, and outside of extreme life-saving scenarios are opposed to this form of technological interruption of the pregnancy process.' Only Gen Z showed any significant support for the notion, with 42 per cent supporting the use of artificial wombs and only 32 per cent saying they were opposed. Ms McDonald says: 'Its unsurprising that young generations might be less wary of scientific advancement in general, as younger people tend to be more accommodating of and excited by technological developments. 'But young people are also much less likely to have had experience of becoming parents, so the idea of artificial womb technologies would seem more abstract compared to generations above them.' Yet the general public is not alone in their suspicion of producing humans outside the body, as many experts have also criticised the concept. Since the 1970s, feminist activists such as Andrea Dworkin have been strongly opposed to the use of artificial wombs on the grounds that it could lead to the 'end of women'. In 2012, Ms Dworkin wrote: 'Women already have the power to eliminate men and in their collective wisdom have decided to keep them. The real question now is, will men, once the artificial womb is perfected, want to keep women around?' Artificial wombs, like this concept showcased by Eindhoven University in 2019, allow a child to be raised without a biological mother. In a survey conducted by the think-tank Theos, 42 per cent of people aged 18-24 said they would support 'growing a foetus entirely outside of a womans body' However, overall only 21 per cent of 2,292 respondents were supportive of growing a foetus outside of a woman's body while 52 per cent were opposed to the idea. Pictured: EctoLife's proposed artificial womb facility Likewise, in 2022, a group of researchers from The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia who have been developing artificial wombs published an article on the ethical considerations of technology. The researchers wrote: 'A concern is that it could lead to the devaluation or even pathologizing of pregnancy, and may diminish womens experience of deriving meaning, empowerment, and self-fulfillment from this unique aspect of female biology. 'In the unlikely event that complete ectogenesis would become equal to natural pregnancy in terms of outcomes, AWT [artificial womb technology] could become a tool of coercion guided by the idea that women regarded as substandard gestators could be pressured to use AWT for the safety of the fetus, hence violating maternal autonomy.' There are also serious ethical considerations around the legal status of the embryo in an artificial womb and what a woman's right to that embryo would be. This is particularly problematic when it comes to women's abortion rights. Speaking to the MIT Technology Review, Vardit Ravitsky, a bioethicist from Harvard Medical School and CEO of the Hastings Center, says: 'When we say that a woman has the right to terminate, do we mean the right to physically separate from the fetus? Or do we mean the right not to become a biological mother?' Likewise, political philosopher Matt Deacon writes in a blog post: 'Were ectogenesis an option, relieving a potential mother of the burden of pregnancy would no longer require termination. 'With her interests intact, I see no reason why the genetic mother should be empowered with life and death authority. Authority over her body, yes. But assuming its healthy, not over the [childs] life. An artificial womb is capable of replicating all the functions of the uterus, providing oxygen and nutrients to the developing foetus. Pictured: An experimental artificial womb in a trial to support lambs Critics have argued that artificial wombs could be the 'end of women' since biological mothers will no longer be needed for reproduction. Pictured: The Pod Generation Additionally, some people are concerned that using a machine in the place of a womb might deprive mothers of an important part of parenthood. Ms McDonald says: 'Technological advancements have undoubtedly helped mothers, but future possibilities could mean we miss some of the under-explored spiritual aspects of motherhood that make it a key doorway into what it is to be human.' However, ectogenesis is not actually the primary intended use for artificial womb technology. Instead, artificial wombs are being developed so that premature babies can continue to safely develop outside of the womb in an artificial 'bio-bag' designed to mimic the conditions inside their mother's uterus. This could significantly improve the survival rates for pre-term babies which currently stands at just 10 per cent for babies born at 22 weeks after conception. When people were asked whether they supported 'transferring a partially developed foetus from a womans body to an artificial womb' the amount of people who would support the use of artificial wombs increased. Overall, the proportion of Britons who support using artificial wombs to support premature babies was 52 per cent, with only 37 per cent remaining opposed. In the case where 'the mother is known to be at severe risk in pregnancy or the child-birthing process', 62 per cent of respondents supported the idea and only 19 per cent remained opposed. The main proposed use for artificial wombs is to support premature babies who would otherwise die. In trials, researchers have shown that premature lambs kept in artificial wombs not only survived but put on weight and grew hair (pictured) This stands in stark contrast to a scenario in which an artificial womb is used to 'avoid the discomfort and pain' which was supported by just 15 per cent of people and opposed by 71 per cent. This use of the technology is also significantly more likely to come into practice in the near future. Researchers at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, led by paediatric and foetal surgeon Dr Alan Flake, have already demonstrated how artificial wombs can be used to support lambs. Across more than 300 successful trials, Dr Flake and his colleagues have shown how premature lambs kept for four weeks in an artificial womb not only survived but gained weight, grew wool, and opened their eyes. In 2023, Dr Flake told the FDAs Pediatric Advisory Committee: 'We believe that our preclinical data supports feasibility and safety and that its adequate for consideration of a carefully designed clinical study of artificial womb technology.' This means that it might not be long before the first human trials of artificial womb trials for human premature babies. If the technology's advocates are correct, this could lead to significant improvements in the survival chances of preterm babies and reduced risks to mothers. Science is sometimes seen as the antithesis to religion. But a Harvard scientists claims a mathematical formula actually proves God's existence. Dr Willie Soon, an astrophysicist and aerospace engineer, recently spoke on the Tucker Carlson Network, where he detailed how the prediction of antimatter in 1928 suggests the universe had an intentional design. Dr Soon referred to the 'fine-tuning argument,' which suggests universe's physical laws and conditions are precisely suited for life to exist and that it is highly improbable this occurred by chance. Antimatter and matter formed together after the Big Bang, but there's less antimatter in the universe. Antimatter has the opposite charge of matter, so if they were equal, they would cancel each other out. The asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe is interpreted as indicative of intentional design. Dr Soon said that there are moments in physics or mathematics that have no connection to the real world, but they still turn out to be true, like Cambridge professor Paul Dirac's equation that broke the known laws of physics. Dirac is considered the 'father of antimatter,' accidently finding it existed before it was actually confirmed in 1932. Dr Willie Soon suggested that the elegance and predictive success of Paul Dirac's equation may hint at a purposeful design in the universe Dirac was working to solve why some particles can move faster than the speed of light. Scientists had equations for slow-moving electrons, but subatomic particles remained a mystery. The professor combined Albert Einstein's famous E=mc equation with Schrodinger's equation from quantum mechanics. Einstein's formula found that an object that has a mass cannot travel at the speed of light, while the other predicts the probability of finding a particle in a certain location at a given time. The initial solution did not work, so Dirac added an extra type of electron with negative energy. The result baffled the scientific community, adding a new mystery as no one knew what it was or its purpose. But the negatively charged electron made the solution so simple and elegant that Dirac knew it was true. Less than a decade later, observations of cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere discovered the first antimatter particles, confirming Dirac's hypothesis. His discovery led to a new branch of physics known as quantum field theory, which combines field theory and the principle of relativity with the ideas behind quantum mechanics. Paul Dirac foretold it by solving an equation that revealed the need for antimatter's existence in 1928 The result baffled the scientific community, adding a new mystery as no one knew what it was or its purpose. But the negatively charged electron made the solution so simple and elegant that Dirac knew it was true In 1963, Dirac described God as a mathematician of a very high order in scientific journals. 'It seems to be one of the fundamental features of nature that fundamental physical laws are described in terms of mathematical theory of great beauty and power, needing quite a high standard of mathematics for one to understand it,' he wrote. 'You may wonder: Why is nature constructed along these lines? One can only answer that our present knowledge seems to show that nature is so constructed. We simply have to accept it. The Cambridge professor found that for every positively charged particle in the universe, there must be a corresponding negative one. His equation suggested the universe needed the negative particles 'One could perhaps describe the situation by saying that God is a mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.' There have been many experts who believe they found evidence of God in the universe, such as Richard Swinburne and Robin Collins would create the fine-tune argument. Their 'evidence included the strength of gravity, the ratio of the masses of protons and electrons and the cosmological constant. If gravity had just bee slightly weaker, galaxies, stars and planets would not have formed. But if it were stronger, the universe might have collapsed into a black hole. Similarly, if the proton-to-electron mass ratio were significantly different, fundamental chemistry could break down, making the formation of complex molecules like DNA impossible The cosmological constant is a term in Einstein's equations of General Relativity that determines whether space expands or contracts. Swinburne and Collins argued that if it were different, the universe would have expanded too quickly or collapsed too soon for life. Eating out in Greece isn't rocket science. But it turns out that you've still managed to do it all wrong. You've been eating the wrong kinds of olives and fake Greek salads, and failing to spot tourist trap tavernas. But don't worry, expert help is at hand to steer you toward authenticity. Here chef Ben Palmer and executive chef Nikos Oikonomopoulous, from Yamas restaurant in Looe, Cornwall, and Yannos Hadjiioannou and Stefanos Kokotos, owners of Greek produce supplier Maltby&Greek, have shared their best tips and advice for eating out in Greece. Read on to learn how to dine there like a local - feta late than never! The dishes that aren't actually Greek If asked to picture Greek cuisine, for many kebabs, halloumi and moussaka will spring to mind. But, surprisingly, they're not strictly Greek. Yannos explains: 'Tourists think that dishes such as kebab, halloumi, moussaka and various sweets, such as baklava and katalfi [a pastry made from shredded filo dough], are authentically Greek. 'But all of these originated from Asia Minor [Anatolia, Turkey] and the historical region of the Levant, where important Hellenic populations used to live.' Stefanos Kokotos and Yannos Hadjiioannou, the owners of Greek product supplier Maltby&Greek, reveal their top tips for eating like a local in Greece Chefs Ben Palmer (left) and Nikos Oikonomopoulous (right) from Yamas restaurant in Looe, Cornwall. They have shared the do's and don'ts of enjoying Greek cuisine Our experts reveal a Greek salad ingredient that will betray it as fake Ben says that another food people commonly mistake for Greek is 'sheftalia', a sausage made from the membrane surrounding a pig or lamb's stomach, which actually originated in Cyprus. The chef says: 'A lot of tourists in Greece ask for it and it tends to be the most common non-Greek request, so a lot of Greek chefs find it quite irritating.' How to spot a tourist trap restaurant Menus with pictures and multiple cuisines 'Greek tourist traps have glossy printed menus that offer anything and everything, from pizza to burgers, to gyros and "home cooked" dishes,' explains Yannos. Ben agrees: 'Anywhere you see with pictures of dishes outside, or a fully-fledged long menu with multiple international cuisines on, will not be a genuine Greek restaurant.' Waiters outside and fake plants inside Yannos explains: 'These restaurants have "barkers" [people trying to convince you to come in] and fake plants inside.' Over-the-top style 'In general, any eatery that looks over the top and doesn't appear "local" is most probably a tourist trap,' Stefanos explains. Extreme plate smashing Stefanos says: 'When it comes to Greek traditions, its hard to tell which are, or are not, truly authentic, as Greece is a melting pot of various cultures and civilisations. 'For example, smashing plates is not dissimilar to smashing a glass at Jewish weddings and, in Greece, its a show of happiness, joy and celebration. 'So, whilst smashing plates is authentically Greek, over the years, this tradition has faded out and its not to the extreme that tourists might expect.' How to spot an authentic restaurant Acropolis now: Stefanos explains that a 'way of spotting' a 'good taverna' is a 'simple menu', focusing on fish or meat. Yannos explains that freshly grilled fish, such as sardines (pictured), are a 'must' in Greece No menu at all Ben reveals: 'A traditional Greek restaurant won't ever sell anything other than local produce and local dishes. 'You won't ever be given a menu as they have daily specials that they make. When it's gone, it's gone!' Instead of receiving a printed menu, the chef explains that diners will be told what is being served by the waiter. A traditional Greek salad Nikos says: 'The easiest spot is to look at their Greek salad, as a traditional Greek salad has no lettuce.' Off-the-beaten-track location Stefanos claims: 'The most authentic restaurants in Greece are usually off the beaten track.' Non-pitted olives 'If they give you olives that are non-pitted [i.e with stones inside], then you know it's a genuine Greek restaurant,' reveals Nikos. He adds: 'Only restaurants that buy in from other areas, or through companies, have pitted olives [with the stones removed], like in the UK. 'Most [authentic restaurants] harvest their own in Greece.' Simple menu The less complicated the menu, the better. Stefanos says: 'Another way of spotting good tavernas and restaurants is to look for simple menus that focus on fish or meat, and consider the dishes already on tables to see if the food looks well prepared.' Local produce Stefanos warns: 'Avoid places serving produce you know can't be grown or caught locally.' Local diners If you see locals in a restaurant, it's likely to serve mouthwatering food. Ben says: 'Look out for locals! If you can see and hear plenty of Greek-speaking locals dining there, then it's a sure sign that it's a good place to dine.' The Greek dishes that tourists must try Stefanos recommends trying 'antikristo grilled lamb' (pictured), a speciality from mountainous areas of Crete, with the lamb slow-roasted on skewers Ben says 'stifado', a beef stew (pictured), is a 'classic Greek dish that people should definitely try' Stifado (Beef stew in a rich tomato sauce) - 'Stifado is a classic Greek dish that people should definitely try,' says Ben. Pastitsio - 'If you like moussaka then you should definitely give this a try,' says Ben. 'It's a similar-style dish, but has beautiful long tubes of pasta inside.' Fresh vegetables - 'Tourists should remember that produce has seasons,' says Stefanos. 'At different times, look out for fresh vegetables - courgettes, wild greens (horta), broccoli, beetroots, stuffed cabbage leaves - served with local grilled or oven-baked meat, such as lamb chops or goat.' Antikristo grilled lamb - 'When in the mountains of Crete, don't miss the antikristo grilled lamb, which is slow roasted on skewers, often over an open fire,' says Stefanos. Handmade savoury pies - 'In the Epirus mountains, be sure to try traditional handmade savoury pies, maybe filled with courgette or pumpkin,' says Stefanos. Fresh grilled fish - 'Fresh grilled fish is a must while in Greece,' says Yannos. 'Ask for freshly caught grouper, sardines, or mackerel, but avoid any seabass and sea bream, which is usually farmed.' Advertisement I dont see the elephant until its almost too late. Hidden behind trees, she has her head down drinking directly from the camps small swimming pool when I pass, inadvertently walking between her and her calf on the other side of the path. She notices me first, stretches to her full three-metre height, and trumpets a warning so loud it makes my ears ring. I dont need telling twice to get out of her way quickly. Up-close animal encounters like this are a thrilling reminder that the best safari holidays shouldnt feel like a glorified trip to the zoo. Im visiting Zimbabwe on a two-lodge adventure with tour operator Yellow Zebra, which employs former safari guides and camp managers to tailor-make luxury African safari holidays to any requirement. Id come looking for adventure, wanting to feel like I was really out in the wild surrounded by animals, and Yellow Zebra nailed the brief perfectly. My first camp is Wilderness Linkwasha, set in an 84,000-acre private concession in Hwange National Park, the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe and an hours flight from Victoria Falls on a small, 15-seater charter plane. Part of the Kalahari Basin on the border with Botswana, Hwange has sandy desert soils scattered with grasslands, salt pans and unexpected patches of woodlands where lions, leopards, hippos, cheetahs and more than 45,000 elephants roam freely. Siobhan Grogan enjoys a two-camp Yellow Zebra safari in Zimbabwe. She checks in to Wilderness Linkwasha (above), in Hwange National Park, and Wilderness Ruckomechi, on the banks of the Zambezi River in Mana Pools National Park. Wilderness Linkwasha is set in an 84,000-acre private concession - the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. 'Lions, leopards, hippos, cheetahs and more than 45,000 elephants roam freely,' says Siobhan Siobhan stays in one of Linkwasha's nine tented suites. However, she adds: 'Although Im sleeping under canvas, Im not exactly roughing it. My large room has a freestanding bath, a plush four-poster bed draped in mosquito nets (pictured), and a complimentary mini-bar' Hwange 'has sandy desert soils scattered with grasslands, salt pans and unexpected patches of woodlands'. Above - one of the Linkwasha tents Visiting in the dry season between April and October is ideal for game-spotting, as animals gather round waterholes (and apparently, the nearest swimming pool) to drink. The camp itself has nine tented suites but although Im sleeping under canvas, Im not exactly roughing it. My large room has a freestanding bath, a plush four-poster bed draped in mosquito nets, and a complimentary mini-bar including a Kilner jar of homemade ginger biscuits. Linkwashas very own waterhole is just outside, so I can spot elephants and buffalos without even getting out of bed. All food and drink is included, and theres a tented lounge and decked area for starlit dinners, free-flowing campfire sundowners and afternoon tea served before the nightly game drive. Two drives are included each day and every one is different. Rangers are staggeringly knowledgeable and must train for up to seven years equivalent to a doctor - to qualify in Zimbabwe. Mine, Tongo, points out baboons scaling a tree, hippos wallowing in a waterhole, baby elephants rolling in the mud and warthogs racing across the plains. Though we didn't need help spotting the two stately cheetahs that came so near to our open-sided jeep I could reach out and touch them (if I didnt want my fingers back). Pictured: The tented lounge and decked area, where Siobhan enjoys 'starlit dinners, free-flowing campfire sundowners and afternoon tea served before the nightly game drive' Siobhan's suite has a lounge area (left) and looks out onto Linkwasha's very own waterhole (right) so she 'can spot elephants and buffalos without even getting out of bed' During a Linkwasha game drive, Siobhan witnesses lions devouring the carcass of a sable antelope (left), then hippos moving in, chasing them away, and finishing off the carcass (right). This is the rarest thing Ive ever seen, said the guide. No one will believe youve seen this' Siobhan gets up close and personal with a lioness One evening at sunset we chance upon a lioness moments after killing a sable antelope, still panting from the exertion with blood smeared around her mouth. Moments later, lion cubs appear and set upon the carcass. Theyre so close, we see and smell - them pull the sables stomach out of its body and I try not to shudder. We leave them to eat but return after dark to catch something even more astonishing. Four hippos approach the carcass, squaring up to the lions and chasing them away, so they can take their turn feasting on the meat, even though hippos are widely considered herbivores. This is the rarest thing Ive ever seen, marvels Tongo. No one will believe youve seen this. Yet there are more pinch-me moments to come three days later when I fly an hour north to the entirely solar-powered Wilderness Ruckomechi on the banks of Zimbabwes Zambezi River in Mana Pools National Park. Siobhan flies an hour north off Linkwasha to the entirely solar-powered Wilderness Ruckomechi on the banks of Zimbabwes Zambezi River in Mana Pools National Park. Pictured is the tented bedroom she stays in Mana Pools is home to more than 100 mammals and 450 bird species, and 'there are no fences between guests and animals, so you dont need to go far to spot extraordinary wildlife', says Siobhan. But every tented room comes with a horn and walkie-talkie if you get into trouble Siobhan says: 'I'm woken during the night by hyenas howling and hippos honking from the nearby river bank (pictured), while rangers need to shoo elephants away when they come a little too close to our lunchtime barbeque' Home to more than 100 mammals and 450 bird species, the park is a vast, remote landscape of sandbanks, dried riverbeds and towering acacia trees on the mountainous Zambian border. There are no fences between guests and animals, so you dont need to go far to spot extraordinary wildlife. Im woken during the night by hyenas howling and hippos honking from the nearby river bank, while rangers need to shoo elephants away when they come a little too close to our lunchtime barbeque. But dont panic: theres a horn and walkie-talkie in every tented room for emergencies. As well as game drives, I join a walking safari where we tiptoe away from an enormous bull elephant, trying not to crunch the dry leaves underfoot while pretending to ignore the grunting lions in the distance. Later, I sail down the Zambezi River at sunset, watching crocodiles slither into the water as the sky turns orange. Once darkness has fallen, Jupiter and Venus glow brightly above and Im lucky enough to see the white tail of the rare A3 Comet, only visible once every 80,000 years. As if I needed any more proof that a safari in Zimbabwe really is the holiday of a lifetime. The pair have visited 20 countries together - Sarah reveals her favourites Dont let being a single mum with a toddler put you off travelling the world. Thats the message from single mum Sarah Noack, whos been globetrotting with three-year-old Luana for two years and posting clips of her travels to Instagram (bysarahnoack), where she has 79,000 followers. The 27-year-old, who has visited 20 countries with Luana, tells MailOnline Travel: Travelling with a child is insanely rewarding if you choose to slow down and see the world through your childs eyes. During my travels, Ive noticed that many parents struggle to fully enjoy travelling with their kids. 'The desire to make the most of their time in a country often conflicts with their childrens needs, creating stress that the kids inevitably sense as well. This stress can lead to frustration for both the parents and the children, turning what should be a joyful experience into a challenging one. However, I believe it doesnt have to be this way. With the right mindset and a few practical strategies, families can create travel experiences that are enjoyable for everyone. For Sarah, slowing down means prioritising quality time over ticking off a list of attractions on her travels with Luana. The mother fits playgrounds and play cafes into the pairs itinerary to keep Luana entertained. Single mum Sarah Noack has been globetrotting with three-year-old Luana for two years. LEFT: They're pictured in Kuala Lumpur. RIGHT: Sarah and Luana in Bali, where she explains she always feels 'very welcomed' Meeting local people is another key part of travel for Sarah, who explains that she most often chooses to stay in guesthouses, rather than hotels or hostels. The mother says: I like that by booking a guesthouse, the money supports a local family directly instead of going to a big chain and I got invited to incredible events from staying in guesthouses, like a Buddhist festival in Sri Lanka. You become part of a local family and learn a lot more about the culture that way. But Sarah explains that maximising sleep on long journeys is also a good way to keep a young traveller happy. She tells MailOnline: The sleeper buses in Vietnam were amazing and my daughter slept the entire journey! 'You basically have your own bed and it's very comfortable. She usually sleeps very well on these journeys and I'm always booking them for the night as her natural rhythm will make her fall asleep easily. Sarah and Luana are pictured here in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, one of 20 countries they've visited together Sarah recommends 'slowing down' if you're travelling with children. LEFT: Sarah and Luana at the 12 Apostles in Australia. RIGHT: The pair in the Himalayas in Nepal where the mother says she found locals to be 'incredibly kind' LEFT: Sarah and Luana in Lisbon in Portugal. RIGHT: Sarah and Luana in Santiago de Compostela in Spain While the mother and daughter duo have travelled in Europe together, Sarah explains that shes felt the safest in southeast Asia and prefers to avoid big cities as they can be hectic and overwhelming with Luana. The mother counts Nepal and Laos among her favourite destinations, revealing that both countries have a special place in her heart, adding: I love places that offer lots of adventure and the locals in both Nepal and Laos were incredibly kind. Bali is another of her favourites as the local people make me feel very welcome whenever I visit. But while the pairs lifestyle may look idyllic on social media, its not without its challenges. Sarah, who's from Germany, reveals to MailOnline that finding time for herself between working, parenting and organising travel can be tricky. The traveller says: A typical day in our life looks like we're outside on adventures the entire day and then get home tired, but that's when I need to start working. Since I work for myself it's amazing, because I have no one telling me when to work. But it's also hard to push myself to do it after a long day outside. Another challenge is not having any friends or family members nearby that would be there quickly to help when I'm sick or need help. Sarah adds that her family and friends do worry about her and Luana while theyre away but explains: They've now watched us handle everything great for the past two years, so they trust that we'll always come back happy and healthy. Want more from Sarah? Find her on Instagram here - @bysarahnoack. And TikTok here - @bysarahnoack. And check out her Solo Traveling with Kids ebook. Netflix viewers have been left feeling 'physically sick' by a 'disturbing as hell' true crime documentary. Docuseries Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey lifted the lid on the accounts of women in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) led by Warren Jeffs. The series first aired on Netflix back in 2022 and has left watchers gasping at the tales revealed about Jeffs, who reportedly had more than 70 wives and 24 of those were underage when he was arrested in 2008. He was put behind bars for life plus 20 years after he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault for having sex with two girls aged 12 and 14 in 2011. The documentary delves into the abuse some women who lived in the FLDS church experienced and includes harrowing testimonies from former members. In the polygamous cult, women and girls are expected to dress in certain ways, pray every hour and some marry men much older than themselves who already have multiple wives. Netflix viewers have been left feeling 'physically sick' by a 'disturbing as hell' true crime documentary Docuseries Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey lifted the lid on the accounts of women in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) led by Warren Jeffs, pictured The series first aired on Netflix back in 2022 and has left watchers gasping at the tales revealed about Jeffs, who reportedly had more than 70 wives and 24 of those were underage when he was arrested in 2008 If a woman refused to marry, they could be kicked out of the community and receive no support. Some viewers of the series were shocked by the revelations the series aired and took to social media to share their views. According to Lad Bible, one posted on X: 'Just watched Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey. I'm sick, this was so traumatising to watch.'; 'I recently watched keep sweet, obey and pray or something like that on netflix. Very disturbing at times but a good doc.'; 'True crime and cult documentaries are my guilty pleasure but this new ' Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey' doc on Netflix is disturbing as hell.'; 'Watching on Netflix. So disgusting, abusing kids in the name of god.'; 'I'm watching keep sweet: pray and obey on Netflix, and I feel physically sick.'; 'Keep sweet, pray & obey. literally destroyed me.'; 'Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey literally saw it two years ago and think about it every other day.'; Some viewers of the series were shocked by the revelations the series aired and took to social media to share their views 'I'm sorry but who the hell has 65 wives? Anyone else seen keep sweet: pray and obey on Netflix? It's mental!' The series also looks into the life of FLDS leader Rulon Jeffs who had 20 wives and approximately 60 children when he passed. One of his former wives, Rebecca, spoke out about her forced marriage, describing the moment she had to have sex with the then-octogenarian for the first time while she was still just a teenager. Many of Rulon and Warren's victims have spoken out about the terrible abuse that they faced while growing up in the cult, as part of the four-part Rachel Dretzin-directed docuseries. Other former FLDS members detailed how they were not allowed to have any contact with the outside world and how they were made to believe that the prophet could read their thoughts - and that if they didn't obey him they would die. Polygamy was renounced from the Mormon religion in 1904, when the then-president of the church said it would no longer be allowed in a declaration known as the Second Manifesto. However, some members of the community didn't want to stop the practice since they believed that 'the more wives and children you have, the higher in Heaven you'll be,' according to the documentary. Rebecca Wall (pictured) opened up about the horrors she faced growing up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) In the polygamous cult, women and girls are expected to dress in certain ways, pray every hour and some marry men much older than themselves who already have multiple wives Rebecca and Elissa grew up on one of FLDS' bases in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their father had two wives throughout their childhood - his first wife was a woman named Myrna, who had nine kids, and his second wife was a woman named Sharon, who was their mom and had 12 other kids. 'We didn't really leave our property in Salt Lake City. We didn't go to the movies, we didn't go to theme parks, or any large gatherings,' Elissa said in the doc. 'There wasn't a lot of exposure to the outside world, we just did activities within our group. 'As time went on, we got further and further away from society, and all of us knew that our way of life had to be concealed.' Elissa explained that they were taught that the prophet was a 'representation of God on Earth,' and that he 'would never die.' She added: 'We believed the prophet knew everything we did, every thought we had. He knew our dreams, knew our wishes, our desires. He was also the one that created all the arranged marriages.' Some former FLDS members detailed how they were not allowed to have any contact with the outside world and how they were made to believe that the prophet could read their thoughts - and that if they didn't obey him they would die Rebecca and Elissa grew up on one of FLDS' bases in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are pictured as children with some of their siblings According to Rebecca, when a girl was 'ready to get married,' her parents would bring her to the prophet and say, 'Here's my daughter, do with her as you will. Whatever is God's will.' When Rebecca was 19 years old, she was told that she had to marry Rulon, who was the ruler of FLDS and was 85 at the time. 'My dad was so excited. For any man in the FLDS, to have their daughter marry into the prophet's family was a massive honor,' she recalled. 'But I was just like, 'Ew.'' Rebecca said that she was told her 'soul purpose' was to 'be with Rulon Jeffs, to pray, and to be obedient - to be adoring at all times,' adding, 'They didn't let us work, they didn't let us go to school.' Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey is available to stream on Netflix now. Coronation Street star Colson Smith is reportedly set to be killed off after being axed by soap bosses last year. The actor, who has played Craig Tinker on the ITV soap since 2011, was told by bosses last autumn that he was being written out of the show. Now, sources are claiming that Colson's character will meet his maker in dramatic scenes this summer, after bosses made the 'tough decision' to kill him off. A source told The Sun: 'Craig has grown up on the street and he's become part of it so it was a tough decision to make but one that will be worth it. 'PC Tinker will meet his maker in heroic circumstances this summer and there won't be a dry eye in the house when it goes out. 'Colson is taking it well and there's a real feeling that this chapter is closing for him and there are bigger and brighter things ahead.' Coronation Street star Colson Smith is reportedly set to be killed off after being axed by soap bosses last year (pictured in character as Craig Tinker) It's thought that Colson will film his final Corrie scenes later this month, before bidding farewell to the soap for good. MailOnline has contacted a representative for Coronation Street for comment. In January, Colson spoke for the first time about bosses' decision to axe him from Coronation Street. Speaking to his listeners of On The Sofa With Colson, Jack, And Ben podcast, he admitted that he has known he was due to leave the show since the end of October and has kept it a secret for three months. Recalling how he found out, he explained: 'As an actor, especially on a soap, we're all on year-long contracts so you always know when your renewal time is coming up. 'I'd had a couple of chats with you two where I said I wasn't feeling too confident about this renewal period. 'I just had a feeling that the tide had slightly changed for Craig and had changed for the character, so I said I had a feeling.' He continued: 'And then I remember I got a phone call on a Monday night from the bosses PA saying can you have a meeting tomorrow night at 7pm. The first thing I did was I rang Ben and I said it is happening and it's happening tomorrow night.' The actor, (pictured) who has played Craig Tinker on the ITV soap since 2011, was told by bosses last autumn that he was being written out of the show Jack and Ben waited in the waiting room while Colson had the chat, 'pacing up and down,' as they waited to hear his fate. Colson revealed that when he stepped into the meeting room, producer Kate Brooks said it was going to be a 'really hard conversation'. Speaking to his colleagues and podcast co-hosts, Colson admitted: 'The hardest bit was walking down the stairs knowing you two were there. I just stood in the doorway of the green room and just looked at you two.' He added: 'The thing I'm going to miss more than anything in the world isn't Craig Tinker, it's the green room. I have learned everything about life in that building. Every good day I've had in my life and every bad day I've had in my life, I've been in there.' Reflecting on his on the show, Colson confessed that he has loved 'every single second' of his time on the show and feels 'incredibly lucky' to have been a part of the show for so long. Colson told MailOnline: 'Autumn last year I was told that Craig Tinker's time on the Cobbles is to come to end in 2025. 'I've loved every single second of my 14 year stay as a resident on the greatest street in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in, on and around Coronation Street. 'I've learned pretty much everything about life from the people who call it home. I'm excited to play out the exit story for our Craigy. For me, this is the end of the beginning. 'I genuinely can't wait to see what chapter two has in store for me.' Colson has had a huge transformation over his 14 years on the show, as he looks almost unrecognisable from when he first set foot on the set. Over the last few years, Colson has undergone an incredible weight loss journey, which saw him deal with some hard habits. In 2021, he revealed to The Mirror that he used to 'self-harm' with food and 'didn't see how much damage' he was inflicting on himself. Now, sources are claiming that Colson's character will meet his maker in dramatic scenes this summer, after bosses made the 'tough decision' to kill him off He told the publication: 'My routine (before) was very difficult as I kind of left my parents at 17 to live in Manchester, which was away from home. 'And when everyone else was at uni, I'm sat on bloody Deliveroo every night. So I kind of had got myself into a really unhealthy position where food was a self-harm to me. 'It was my comfort and I didn't realise how much damage I was doing to myself with it.' But at the end of 2019, Colson decided he wanted to 'look after' himself after years of feeling like 'the odd one out'. Showing his dedication to his transformation and the show, he approached Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod to ask if his weight loss could be weaved into his character's storyline. Although the star admitted lockdown could have been the 'perfect excuse' to pile the weight on, he said it had the opposite effect - forcing him to 'stop and refocus'. Colson changed his food and started going to the gym and running. Since November, Charlotte Jordan, Sue Cleaver, Sue Devaney, Colson, and Luca Toolan have all announced they will be leaving Corrie. Other actors have reportedly vented their fury on a WhatsApp group over fears they could be next. It comes as some of the show's mid-ranking actors and younger stars are said to be worried they'll be axed in a bid to save money. Some of the younger stars are said to fear they'll be written off the show in order to keep established stars like Bill Roache and Jack P. Shepherd on board. A source said: 'There's a WhatsApp group which has been pinging with messages about concerns of where the axe will fall next.' 'It's a tough time on the soap and it's filtering down. There is a feeling more people will be cut to save money and to keep the best-paid stars like Bill Roache and Jack P Shepherd on board.' The insider added that cast members have also complained about the long working hours. They added: 'Filming is tough. One person moaned they were 'worked like dogs'. The days of bumper pay are gone.' PR guru Roxy Jacenko had the day from hell on Tuesday after her son's pet hamster became trapped behind some furniture. The 44-year-old shared a video of Hunter, 10, attempting to coax the tiny rodent out from underneath a set of built-in drawers. Roxy had to resort to calling in a home service provider to rescue the pet after Hunter went into a 'complete meltdown' over the drama. Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Roxy shared a video of Hunter attempting to coax the hamster out of its tight spot. In the footage, Hunter can be heard pleading with the animal to 'please come out'. Servicemen then attempted to rescue the distressed creature from its hiding spot underneath a set of drawers. PR guru Roxy Jacenko had the day from hell on Tuesday after her son's pet hamster became trapped behind some furniture The 44-year-old shared a video of Hunter, 10, attempting to coax the tiny rodent out from underneath a set of built-in drawers 'Hunter is now having a full-blown meltdown, and all I can think of if it dies in there, it will stink,' she joked in the caption. Eventually, the servicemen were able to rescue the tiny grey hamster, and Roxy shared an image of the rodent being reunited with Hunter. 'Tears of joy from one member of the house,' she captioned the photo, in which Hunter can be seen crying. 'It was not me I assure you,' Roxy added. It comes after Roxy shared a cringeworthy 'mum' experience with her followers last week. Taking to her social media, the mother-of-two, 44, posted a photo of her son Hunter Curtis giving her a very rude gesture. In the picture, Hunter could be seen floating in a pool on an oversized lounger while 'saluting' his mum by sticking out a single middle finger. Roxy, meanwhile, appeared to take the cheeky display in her stride by posting a humorous caption along with Hunter's image. Roxy had to resort to calling in a home service provider to rescue the pet after Hunter went into a 'complete meltdown' over the drama The men rescued the distressed creature from its hiding spot underneath a set of drawers. (Pictured) 'Finally, he said what he wanted to say, p*** off with the camera,' she joked in the Instagram story. The high-flying socialite also shared details of her day with Hunter, which included pool time, tanning and indulging in Tac Ticsthe famed brand of mint lolly. She included highlights of their day together in her stories including several featuring Hunter, who she shares with husband Oliver Curtis. In one snap, Hunter could be seen posing by a bicycle. 'First we went for a bike ride, because why wouldn't you in 90% humidity,' she said, adding their day ended with some pool timeand Hunter's naughty gesture. Roxy and husband Oliver Curtis relocated to Singapore with their children, daughter Pixie, 13, and son Hunter, 10 from Sydney in 2023. They made the move when Oliver got a job in the country, with Roxy then shut down some of her Australian businesses to join him there. However, she has since returned to Sydney and relaunched Sweaty Betty PR, two years after stepping down as director. Confirming her return in September, Roxy explained she was not born for 'housewifery' and actually finds it much 'easier' to run six businesses. \ Rebecca Judd treated her daughter Billie to the experience of a lifetime on Tuesday night. The Melbourne-based WAG booked a $5,000 private suite at Rod Laver Arena so her 11-year-old pride and joy could watch Billie Eilish in style on her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour. The 42-year-old took Instagram to document the luxe night out, first sharing a picture of the mum and daughter duo beaming for a mirror selfie. In the image, Bec looked very inch the teenage in white layered crop top and cut-out light-wash jeans. Meanwhile, Billie looked cute in an oversized pink hoodie and jeans. 'Billie's first concert - off to see Billie!' she captioned the Instagram story. Rebecca Judd treated daughter Billie to the experience of a lifetime on Tuesday night. Both pictured The second picture showed Billie excitedly about to enter the exclusive suite at Rod Laver Arena, which was hosted by Bec's gymwear brand JAGGAD. Bec then posted a clip showing her view of the stage from the private box, which looked over a sea of flashing lights as Eilish began her show. It comes after Bec gave fans a glimpse of her home life and revealed what her four children's personalities are like during a question and answer session on her Instagram stories. The model and influencer shares four children - Oscar, 13, Billie, 11, and twins Tom and Darcy, eight - with retired footy great Chris Judd. 'Oscar: kind, responsible, smart, diligent. Billie: a weapon at everything' she explained of her older two. Bec added of her twin sons: 'Darcy: Super cruisy, funny and creative Tom: Elon Musk'. The star went on to explain how she balances her jet setting career with motherhood and home life. 'With anxiety and mum guilt,' the fashion designer confessed. The Melbourne-based WAG booked a $5,000 private suite at Rod Laver Arena so her 11-year-old pride and joy could watch Billie Eilish in style on her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour 'Billie's first concert - off to see Billie!' she captioned the Instagram story Bec Judd shares four children - Oscar, 12, Billie, 11, and twins Tom and Darcy, eight - with retired footy great Chris. All pictured 'I travel a bit for work but I'm always on, even when I'm away,' she added. Bec went on to detail that a day in her as a busy working mum included, 'Ordering lunches, responding to school emails, ordering groceries, organising pick ups/drop offs, coordinating training, booking trades/ repairs for home, buying birthday gifts, dealing with kid dramas etc'. 'All the normal mum things but on the other side of the world'. Bec is married to former AFL star Chris Judd. They met at a pub in Perth when they were both teenagers, and wed on December 31, 2010, at Melbourne's Albert Park. The 42-year-old hosted a question and answer session on her Instagram Stories this weekend and revealed what her four children's personalities are like She has carved a name for herself as one of Australias most popular designers, dressing the likes of Paris and Nicky Hilton, Sofia Vergara, Isla Fisher and Eva Mendes in her signature embellished gowns, tailored suits and sweet puff-sleeved mini dresses. And now Rebecca Vallance is heading into an unexpected area of fashion. This week, Vallance debuted her very first denim collection, marking a new chapter for the eponymous brand. The stunning range features 15 premium denim pieces designed to be worn from day to night. In fact, several designs would not look out of place at a cocktail party. A seriously chic pair of indigo skin-tight straight jeans, a pussy bow blouse and a classic tailored blazer make for the perfect edgy dinner suit. Rebecca Vallance has debuted her very first denim collection, marking a new chapter for the eponymous brand The stunning range features 15 premium denim pieces designed to be worn from day to night The collection also boasts retro flares, cinched-waist fitted dresses and timeless oversized aviator jackets. Vallance told Daily Mail Australia she created the collection to meet her customer's desire for a more formal denim collection. Over the years we have continued to grow and strengthen our categories, including the launch of our existing ready to wear and bridal, along with our essentials range that offers tailored suiting and tops and blouses to pair back with, she said. The next step for us had to be denim, our customers were looking for sophisticated everyday pieces and our new denim collection speaks to that. Denim has always been such a timeless and versatile staple, and I wanted to bring the same level of craftsmanship and sophistication that our brand is known for to this space.' The Seventies-inspired range still has the signature Rebecca Vallance touch - beautifully tailored pieces and perfect balance of structure, comfort and modern femininity As for her favourite piece of the collection, Vallance say it has to be a denim staple that is making a huge comeback this year and has been seen on stars such as Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and even Kendrick Lamar during his show-stopping Super Bowl performance last month. The Seventies-inspired collection still has the signature Rebecca Vallance touch - beautifully tailored pieces and perfect balance of structure, comfort and modern femininity The Seventies-inspired collection still has the signature Rebecca Vallance touch - beautifully tailored pieces and perfect balance of structure, comfort and modern femininity The Gisele flare jeans is Vallance's favourite piece in the collection With the closure of so many fashion brands in the last couple of years due to the cost of living and global economic crisis, Vallances business is an exception - her business is growing and growing Although I love all the pieces, the Gisele flare jeans in the Indigo Wash is my favourite. It is refined but still fun. You can wear them to the office but also wear them out theyre so chic, Vallance said. So who is Vallance dying to see slip into her very first pair of expertly designed jeans? Kaia Gerber, Demi Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Gigi Hadid would all be incredible, she says. Im excited to see everyone in the collection - from Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, and Nikki Glaser, to Ashley Madekwe, Jessica Wang and Tina Leung the list goes on. Being a new category for us, I cant wait to see how everyone styles the new denim range in their own unique way. With the closure of so many fashion brands in the last couple of years due to the cost of living and global economic crisis, Vallances business is an exception - her business is growing and growing. In fact, 58% of her clients are international and overall sales are up over 30% this year. She is set to open even more standalone stores after the exciting opening of her flagship store in the iconic Strand Arcade in Sydney. And Vallance is not stopping there either, with more capsule ranges and major global moments, which will see even more A-listers clamouring to wear her designs. We have a lot of exciting things coming up this year, be sure to watch this space She disappeared from Hollywood for over a decade after becoming a huge child star. Now, the actress, 37, has delighted fans as she made a rare public appearance at Comic Con in Scotland on Saturday. At the event, the star appeared in high spirits as she donned a chic black leather jacket. She styled her short black locks into a voluminous blowout, complemented by a bold swipe of red lipstick as she greeted her fans. Sharing a photo of herself signing autographs on Instagram, the actress wrote: 'First day of #ComicConScotlandAberdeen!' But do you recognise her? She disappeared from Hollywood for over a decade after becoming a huge child star - But do you recognise her? That's right, It's Matilda child star Mara Wilson! The American actress landed her first big break in 1993, starring alongside the late Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. The following year, she appeared in the beloved Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street. However, she truly rose to fame in 1996 after landing the iconic role of Matilda in the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel. The movie, which also starred legendary actor Danny DeVito, is a nostalgic classic for many people of a certain generation. Matilda follows the story of a young girl, underappreciated by her cruel parents and tormented by the evil headmistress Miss Trunchbull. Using her psychic powers, Matilda takes matters into her own hands and is eventually adopted by her caring teacher, Miss Honey. Despite the movie's massive success, Mara chose to step away from acting to pursue a career as a writer instead. That's right, It's Mara Wilson from Matilda! (pictured in the movie in 1996) The American actress, now 37, landed her first big break in 1993, starring alongside the late Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire (L-R Matthew Lawrence, Lisa Jakub, Robin Williams, Mara, and Sally Field) Mara previously said: 'Writing was always my secret desire. It was always something that in the back of my head I wanted to do.' She continued: 'I wrote a lot of stories on the sets of movies. On Matilda, I wrote several.' She has since written for prestigious publications like Elle, The New York Times and Vanity Fair and released her memoir, Where Am I Now?, in 2016. Mara, who was just nine-years-old when Matilda was released, is said to have left acting behind in 2000. She later explained why she walked away from Hollywood, saying: 'The rejection hurt because it had been just such a prominent part of my life for so long. It had been the thing that defined me.' 'Writing I'd always loved. There's a saying - "If you can live without it, you should". And I found that I could.' However, in 2016, Mara made a brief return to television, appearing in a Mrs. Doubtfire-inspired episode of Broad City where she played a waitress and re-enacted the iconic Heimlich scene from the film. That same year, she voiced Jill Pill, a writer/director anthropomorphic spider, in season three of BoJack Horseman. The following year, she appeared in the beloved Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street (pictured with late Richard Attenborough in 1994) Brittany Cartwright has spoken out in reaction to her estranged husband Jax Taylor's admission that he has been dealing with drug abuse issues for years. On Tuesday's episode of Bravo's Hot Mic podcast, Jax, 45, revealed he had been in the thrall of 'substance issues primarily with cocaine' for the past two decades. Despite the concerning tone of his confession, the former Vanderpump Rules star added that he was 'proud' to announce that he was 83 days sober as of the recording. In a scathing statement to People, Brittany, 36, admitted she was 'skeptical' about her ex's ability to turn his life around. 'I'm glad that he finally admitted to what was really going on,' she shared. 'For the first time, I can speak openly about the extent of trauma he's instilled on our family over the years,' she continued. 'I've tried desperately to help him without success. Brittany Cartwright, 36, is speaking out after her ex Jax Taylor admitted he has been dealing with drug abuse issues for years. In a statement to People, she sounded relieved but still concerned and less than optimistic about Jax's ability to turn his life around 'I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I'm skeptical,' she added. 'His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum. 'I'm trying to navigate this as best as I can for my son and I, but every day is still a challenge and very difficult,' Brittany concluded. 'Jax has caused an enormous amount of damage and I have very little trust in him at this point. My only hope is that one day, he will be a better person for his son.' She also tried to get some draw readers to her own When Reality Hits podcast by promising to discuss the issue further on an episode scheduled for Friday, March 7. Prior to revealing his struggles with cocaine, Jax had checked himself into a rehab facility last summer amid his ongoing divorce from Brittany. The couple met back in 2015, and their tumultuous romance was thoroughly documented on Vanderpump Rules and their six-episode spinoff, Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky. In 2019, the couple tied the knot at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles, Kentucky. After Jax and Brittany were fired from the series in late 2020, they later became main cast members on the spinoff The Valley, beginning in 2024. In between, they welcomed their son Cruz, now three, in 2021. 'I'm glad that he finally admitted to what was really going on,' she shared. 'For the first time, I can speak openly about the extent of trauma he's instilled on our family over the years'; seen on The Valley in April 2024 'I pray that one day he completely knocks this addiction, but I'm skeptical,' she added. 'His behaviors are still alarming and his treatment plan seems to be the bare minimum'; pictured in September in LA But the couple split early last year, shortly before The Valley premiered. After six months, Brittany filed to divorce the former bartender, citing irreconcilable differences. She has since requested full legal and physical custody of their son Cruz, and in October Jax asked the judge overseeing their divorce to grant her the requested custody arrangement. On Tuesday's Hot Mic episode, Jax shared that he has 'substance issues primarily with cocaine.' 'Its hard to say out loud. Ive been dealing with this on and off since I was 23 and now Im 45,' he continued. 'There was times where I would stop doing it but then there were times where Id go heavy on it.' He stressed to listeners that drug addiction was 'a really, really tough disease and its a really tough sickness.' 'Ive never said this in my life. So to come out and say that I have an addiction [and] that I have a sickness that I have to work on the rest of my life is a really big deal for me,' he continued. 'Obviously, its a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.'' He later claimed to have hit 'rock bottom' after splitting from Brittany. During the difficult period he screamed at his estranged wife in front of Cruz. He also admitted that his drug use was visible to anyone who knew the signs on some episodes of Vanderpump Rules. 'Every day is still a challenge and very difficult,' Brittany concluded. 'Jax has caused an enormous amount of damage and I have very little trust in him at this point. My only hope is that one day, he will be a better person for his son'; seen together in 2023 in Las Vegas Jax said he used cocaine on and off for 20 years on Tuesday; seen in a season one publicity photo for Vanderpump Rules He noted that he could see when he was high on old VR episodes. He also said he had quit drinking, as it went hand-in-hand with his drug use; still from Vanderpump Rules Jax, who granted Brittany full custody of their son Cruz, three, last year, said he is in therapy and is regularly drug tested. He clarified he's 'California sober,' meaning he still occasionally uses marijuana; pictured with son Cruz 'How big are my f*****g pupils?,' he recalled thinking when looking back at an episode. 'Im sweating and theres no reason to be sweating in the scene. Why am I sweating? There were some signs.' He added that producers at times would tell him to calm down when he was under the influence of drugs, but he believed they were under the impression that he had been drinking too much. He also defended the show's crew and producers, claiming that they never supplied the cast with drugs. Instead, he said he would use 30-minute breaks between shooting scenes to slip away to get high or grab some drinks, as none of the cast were allowed to drink while on camera. Jax clarified that he is now 'California sober,' meaning that he doesn't drink or use cocaine, but he does smoke marijuana occasionally. 'People ask you, "Do you have an alcohol problem too?" I don't necessarily think I have an alcohol problem but the two go hand in hand,' he explained. 'I can't do cocaine without drinking. So I just gave up both. 'Obviously, Im not the type of person who can have one drink and be OK. Its just not in my cards and I had to stop,' he admitted. 'I was going to lose custody. Im embarrassing my ex-wife and Im embarrassing myself. Nobodys looking at me seriously. I want to do it for myself. He added that he spends as much time with Cruz as his ex allows. 'I dont know what else she wants from me. Im doing everything that shes asked for just because I respect her and I want to make her happy,' he said 'Im going above and beyond to show her that I do care and I want to be in my sons life.' He also revealed that he is currently in therapy and is regularly drug tested. For help contact SAMHSAs National Helpline on 1-800-662-HELP (4357). The October 1959 issue of Harper's Bazaar featured an essay by Truman Capote that, in many ways, defined the terms 'beauty', 'grace' and 'socialite' as we understand them today. Titled 'A Gathering of Swans', the piece highlighted an elite group of elegant, stylish, influential women in American high society - the so-called 'swans' - including Babe Paley and her daughter Amanda, as well as Gloria Guinness's daughter Dolores. The latest edition of Australia's Harper's Bazaar attempted to recapture the seminal majesty of Capote's prose and photographer Richard Avedon's imagery. But this time the new 'swans' hail from Australian high society, and former Sydney Morning Herald gossip columnist Andrew Hornery served as the scribe alongside photography by Michele Aboud. It's a good read and the photos are undeniably sensational - but the article hasn't been without controversy. Indeed, several members of the 'in crowd' are questioning the inclusion of one 'swan' in particular... Harper's Bazaar attempted to recapture the majesty of Truman Capote's prose by reimagining the socialites from his 1959 essay 'A Gathering of Swans' in a modern Australian context. The ambitious feature sadly didn't make the cover shot, with the editor opting for Rihanna instead A Harper's Bazaar feature about the new 'swans' of Australian high society is at the centre of controversy for including Madeline Holtznagel (right), the fiancee of Justin Hemmes (left). Some society gossips baulk at the idea that being a billionaire's partner is a ticket to prestige Madeline Holtznagel. The 27-year-old model is the fiancee of hospitality mogul Justin Hemmes. While they haven't made it down the aisle yet, she's carrying the Merivale CEO's third child. (He shares two daughters, Alexa and Saachi, with his ex-partner Kate Fowler.) Madeline's fellow 'swans' are Jaimee Belle Kennedy, the Group Creative Director of fine jewellery store Kennedy; heiress and arts patron Paris Neilson; Kate Champion, the luxury stylist and ex-wife Laser Clinics Australia co-founder Alistair Champion; online retail expert Qianqian Deng; racing royalty Kate Waterhouse; and Beau Neilson, the creative director of Sydneys Phoenix Central Park. However, Madeline's debut as a 'swan' has left a sour taste in the mouths of certain influential and outspoken members of Sydney's high society. While her relationship with Hemmes undoubtedly puts her in the top tier of socialites, some sources tell us they suspect her close friendship with Caroline Tran, the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar, may have been what landed her a spot in the prestige magazine. However, Caroline has denied any involvement in the feature. 'Harper's Bazaar? More like Harper's Bizarre... when I saw Madeline next to the elite ladies of Sydney, I choked on my martini,' one acid-tongued socialite tells me. 'That she's a beautiful girl is not in dispute, but to put her next to women who are genuine success stories feels jarring. 'And to have her in bridal white before she's married the guy feels a little premature.' Some sources tell us they suspect Madeline's close friendship with Caroline Tran (pictured), the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar, may have been what landed her a spot in the prestige magazine. However, Caroline has denied any involvement in the feature Madeline's fellow 'swans' include luxury stylist Kate Champion (pictured), the ex-wife Laser Clinics Australia co-founder Alistair Champion; heiress and arts patron Paris Neilson; and online retail expert Qianqian Deng The copy and interviews for Harper's Bazaar were handled by Hornery, formerly of the SMH column Private Sydney. It appears his days of ruffling feathers among high society types clearly aren't over, despite taking voluntary redundancy from the newspaper last year, and he would no doubt relish in being seen as the puppet-master behind the divisive feature. Unlike several of the her fellow 'swans' who were born into wealth, Madeleine grew up in a middle-class family in Wollongong, a coastal city south of Sydney. Her modelling career brought her to Sydney and into Hemmes' social circle. Their relationship blossomed during Covid lockdown and she ended up living at the businessman's Vaucluse mansion in 2020. She now reportedly lives in a Coogee penthouse he owns. Justin and Madeline, who is the sister of fellow model Simone Holtznagel, quietly began seeing each other in 2019. This was one year after Hemmes debuted on the Australian Financial Review's Rich List with an estimated net worth of $951million, which has since risen to $1.39billion. Jaimee Belle Kennedy (pictured), the Group Creative Director of fine jewellery store Kennedy, is among the Australian 'swans' spotlighted by journalist Andrew Hornery Kate Waterhouse (pictured), who is the daughter of Gai Waterhouse and bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse, also made the list Justin and Madeline quietly began seeing each other in 2019, a year after his debut on the AFR Rich List with an estimated net worth of $951million, which has since risen to $1.39billion The copy for Harper's Bazaar were handled by Andrew Hornery, formerly of the SMH column Private Sydney. It appears his days of ruffling feathers among high society types clearly aren't over, despite taking voluntary redundancy from the newspaper last year, and he would no doubt relish in being seen as the puppet-master behind the divisive feature Though they generally keep their romance under wraps, the couple is often seen disembarking from his sea plane after overseas family holidays with his two daughters. Justin is considered Australia's hospitality king, with more than 80 venues and billions in assets. Household names like the Ivy, Queen Chow and Establishment fall under his purview as CEO of Merivale. He is the only son of Merivale Group founder and nightclub mogul John Hemmes. Justin took over the business after his father's death in 2015. In November, an insider confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Madeline was pregnant and revealed a friend of Justin's had moved out of his Vaucluse home to make room for their growing family. Prior to meeting Hemmes, Madeleine was in the early stages of launching her modelling career, but was undoubtedly the lesser known of the Holtznagel sisters. At the time, agents reportedly warned Madeline she could be missing important opportunities by prioritising her relationship over her career. But given how serious that relationship has become, and the fact she will soon give birth to an heir to the Merivale fortune, she seems to have made the right decision. Troubled Home and Away star Felix Dean has been disqualified from driving after losing control of his car while he was under the influence of meth. Dean, 27, was just ten when he got his big break on Home and Away, acting alongside Ada Nicodemou as her on-screen son VJ Patterson from 2007 to 2014 on the long-running soap. However, the former child star's life has taken a turn for the worse and he has endured a public battle with drugs that has seen him in and out of jail. Dean attracted the attention of police in April last year when he was seen driving erratically, reports News Corp. It's alleged that the former actor was seen 'breaking harshly' before losing control of his Toyota Hilux Ute, sliding onto a median strip in Matraville in Sydney's east. According to the publication, drivers traveling in the opposite direction were forced to swerve to avoid a collision with Dean. Troubled Home and Away star Felix Dean has been disqualified from driving after losing control of his car while he was under the influence of meth Court documents state that after being stopped by police, Dean was 'exhibiting highly anxious behaviour' his pupils were enlarged and he was fidgeting. He was then given a roadside drug test which returned a positive result for methamphetamine. Dean, who is currently being held in custody for a separate matter, appeared in Waverley Local Court on Tuesday via audiovisual link. According to News Corp, magistrate Rodney Dean noted it was the actor's 'first offence of this type' and one he had committed while on parole for other matters, including intimidation. The actor's lawyer asked for a reduction in the standard disqualification period of six months. 'He has previously proven hes able to comply with the road rules in NSW,' Dean's lawyer said. 'Unfortunately he had been using methamphetamine and is now facing the consequences of this.' The magistrate disqualified Dean from driving for four months and issued a $250 fine It's alleged that the former actor was seen 'breaking harshly' before losing control of his Toyota Hilux Ute, sliding onto a median strip in Matraville in Sydney 's east He was then given a roadside drug test which returned a positive result for methamphetamine The setback comes after a tumultuous couple of years for the former actor, who has been in and out of jail for the past four years. Back in October, Dean slammed the 'unjust' perception that he's just 'just another child star' who has 'lost the plot on drugs' after he was charged with assault. Police alleged he assaulted his housemate on the morning of August 1 at his apartment in Botany Bay in an attack that drew blood. He faced the NSW Supreme Court in October to apply for bail after spending just under three months behind bars on remand. Representing himself, the former actor argued against the idea that he was just another casualty of toxic childhood fame after he got his big break in Home and Away at age 10. 'It appears to everyone else... that I'm just another child star who has hit the drugs and life just carked it and I'm impulsive and a danger to the community,' he said. 'That is far from the truth.' In a 30-minute address to the court about his conditions, Dean revealed he has been to jail five times but maintained 'no one has ever been physically hurt' by his offending. Dean was disqualified from driving for four months and issued a $250 fine Dean achieved national fame at the age of 10 when he was cast in Home and Away as 'VJ', the on-screen son of Leah Patterson, played by longstanding cast member Ada Nicodemou 'Clearly, your honour, drugs aren't the problem. Drugs are a solution,' he said. 'Sometimes they've helped me and they've probably helped me in my criminal matters because I haven't had the full capacity in my right mind of being stressed and angry to hurt anyone.' Dean achieved national fame at the age of 10 when he was cast in Home and Away as 'VJ', the on-screen son of Leah Patterson, played by longstanding cast member Ada Nicodemou. He starred on the iconic soap for three years, and earned nominations for Best Young Actor at the 2008 and 2009 Inside Soap Awards for his work. Blake Lively is plugging another film amid her legal warfare with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni. The star shared the trailer for Another Simple Favor, the sequel to her 2018 thriller A Simple Favor, on her Instagram on Tuesday. The sneak peek originally dropped last week but Lively did her own part in promoting the film by sharing it with her millions of Instagram followers. 'It all started with just a simple favor Another Simple Favor is streaming on Prime Video May 1,' she captioned the post. Comments were limited on the post, with just a few overwhelmingly positive remarks being shown in the hour since it was shared. The movie follows main characters Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) 'head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily's extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,' according to Variety. Blake Lively is plugging another film amid her legal warfare with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni She dropped the trailer for Another Simple Favor, the follow-up to her 2018 film A Simple Favor 'Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.' The timing is a publicity nightmare for the movie, which will no doubt be over shadowed by Blake's ongoing legal drama with her It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni. Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her in a lawsuit filed in December while Baldoni accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and extortion in a $400 million suit filed in February. Baldoni has denied the allegations from Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made by Baldoni. Baldoni's team has also released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of romantic drama. He claimed in court filings they made efforts made to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us. After Prime Video released a promotional post for Another Simple Favor February 5 - which Lively stars in opposite Anna Kendrick - a number of commenters implicated that Lively might have tried to assert her influence over director Paul Feig, 62, over that movie, leading the filmmaker to respond to the speculation. 'It all started with just a simple favor Another Simple Favor is streaming on Prime Video May 1,' she captioned the post Amid Baldoni's claims that Lively and her inner circle used their considerable clout to commandeer changes to the script - even enlisting Swift to lean on him at one point - and re-cut the motion picture, a user asked in the comment section, 'Is it Paul Feig's cut or Blake's cut?' Feig - whose other cinematic credits include 2011's Bridesmaids, 2016's Ghostbusters and 2024's Jackpot! - made clear he had full creative control over the film, replying, 'Its my cut. There is no other cut ... just wanted to clear that up.' Feig in his reply heaped massive praise on Lively, who he previously worked with on 2018's A Simple Favor. Comments on the post were limited 'Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with,' said the Emmy-nominated director, who has directed shows such as Arrested Development, The Office and Nurse Jackie. 'She is the best and an amazing collaborator and Im her biggest fan.' A number of the director's fans criticized his defense of Lively, amid the allegations Baldoni made in court filings and on the website. 'Paul, I know youre gonna wanna shake off these comments as coming from a bunch of loons, but Blake and Ryan really did use their star power to bulldoze Justin,' said one user. 'It makes me really sad, and I hope you remember when you were starting off in this business.' Others told Feig that his stellar reputation as a feted industry veteran insulated him from the strong-arming and meddling Lively allegedly subjected Baldoni to in regard to It Ends with Us's screenplay, wardrobe and editing. It is directed by Paul Feig and also stars Anna Kendrick 'Youve been in the directing game for so long, so of course Blake isnt going to attempt to step on your toes,' said one user. 'She just goes for the directors that are starting off and tries to use her husband to bully them and take over. 'Shed never have the balls to do that to someone like you so of course shes "amazing, great, kind, etc."' Said another user: 'Youre making things worse by defending Blake, you know. This just reaffirms that Blake treats powerful directors like you nicely and targets those she considers less than.' Lively is currently embroiled in legal warfare with Baldoni after It Ends With Us Another echoed, 'You're probably a good guy but you're extremely lucky that you got your cut [because] Blake knew not to bully you and put you in the basement. She thought highly of you [because] you're not a nobody. 'But good luck with this show. It's dead in the water.' Multiple commenters referenced in Feig's post Baldoni's claim made in court filings that Lively arranged for his presence to be minimized at the It Ends with Us premiere. 'Be careful you might end up in the basement in the premiere,' one user said, while another responded, 'Be careful Paul she may put you in the basement come premiere day.' The sequel to A Simple Favour will begin streaming on Prime Video staring May 1. Amazon MGM Studios released the trailer via YouTube last week - and tellingly - the comment sectioned appears to have been turned off by the studio. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Monica Garcia announced Tuesday that she's pregnant with her fifth child - 11 months after suffering a miscarriage that she called her 'lowest point with being in the public eye.' At 40, the Brea Baby founder is a decade older than her boyfriend Braxton Knight, and they're due to welcome their first child as a couple next month. Monica first told the Wasatch Excursions general manager the baby news while they visited Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. '[My best friend] Koa had picked out the infant ears hat at the Mad Hatter and had "Aries Baby" embroidered on them while I distracted Braxton with churros and getting my cotton candy,' Garcia recalled to People. 'I told him while we were on Peter Pan, flying over NeverLand.' The excommunicated ex-Mormon - who's 'so sick' with nausea - is asking fans for baby name suggestions, but she and Braxton plan on keeping the gender a surprise. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Monica Garcia announced Tuesday that she's pregnant with her fifth child - 11 months after suffering a miscarriage that she called her 'lowest point with being in the public eye' 'God has been there for me every single step of the way,' Monica said. 'I have been so blessed and been silent about all of it. I just hope someone reads this and it resonates with them on some level. Reminds them that no matter what people do to you, say about you, or try to take from you, they can never take what God has for you.' Knight was reportedly dating another woman when he first met Garcia in April 2023 while filming the fourth season of RHOSLC. The Bravo-lebrity has sole legal and physical custody of her four daughters - Bri, 19; Jaidyn, 14; West, 8; and Kendall, 7 - from her on/off decade-long marriage to Mike Fowler, which ended in 2023 amid domestic violence allegations. Monica reportedly receives $2,636/month in child support and $4K/month in alimony from her 46-year-old ex. Garcia recently narrated the second season of E! reality competition House of Villains as the voice of EVA (Evil Voice Audio 2.0), the robot announcing challenges and game events to the contestants. The Portuguese-Colombian beauty was fired off RHOSLC after only 20 episodes when her castmates refused to film scenes with her after discovering she was behind a social media troll account that 'was around to destroy her co-stars.' 'It was difficult coming off such a tumultuous whirlwind with RHOSLC and all the love and hate I received from all of that. Old friends turned on me, I was iced out by the cast, I lost my job, my relationship with my mother has never recovered, my world was crumbling. Then I had an unexpected pregnancy and miscarriage at 40,' Monica said. 'The entire time I was going through all of that, the world chose to spit on me and continue to kick me while I was down. The accusations of me lying about a pregnancy and miscarriage that I received daily while dealing with such an unexpected loss was a pain that I will never forget. I was losing a baby while being shredded apart by some of the most awful comments I've ever had said to and about me.' At 40, the Brea Baby founder is a decade older than her boyfriend Braxton Knight (R, pictured June 7), and they're due to welcome their first child as a couple next month Monica first told the Wasatch Excursions general manager the baby news while they visited Disneyland in Anaheim, CA Garcia - who's 'so sick' with nausea - is asking fans for baby name suggestions, but she and Braxton plan on keeping the gender a surprise (pictured in 2024) Knight was reportedly dating another woman when he first met the excommunicated ex-Mormon in April 2023 while filming the fourth season of RHOSLC Monica has sole legal and physical custody of her four daughters - Bri, 19; Jaidyn, 14; West, 8; and Kendall, 7 - from her on/off decade-long marriage to Mike Fowler, which ended in 2023 amid domestic violence allegations Monica reportedly receives $2,636/month in child support and $4K/month in alimony from her 46-year-old ex (R) Garcia recently narrated the second season of E! reality competition House of Villains as the voice of EVA (Evil Voice Audio 2.0), the robot announcing challenges and game events to the contestants The Bravo-lebrity was fired off RHOSLC after only 20 episodes when her castmates refused to film scenes with her after discovering she was behind a social media troll account that 'was around to destroy her co-stars' Georgia Harrison has spoken out about her court case with Stephen Bear left her out of pocket, claiming the 'justice system needs to change'. Speaking tonight at the What Next in the Fight Against Image-Based Abuse?, a parliamentary roundtable hosted by the Rt. Hon. Kirith Entwistle MP and GLAMOUR UK, in partnership with the End Violence Against Women & Girls Coalition, Georgia, 30, discussed her experience with the civil law. 'In terms of civil compensation for me, the money that was made from my video was around 27,000,' Georgia said. 'I was given 5,000 for the struggles I had gone through, which is actually quite high for a victim. 'And that doesn't make any sense that he can take all of the money made off of my body. 'I went through a very hefty case that lasted well over a year and I was awarded the most anyone has ever got for a case like mine which was around 209,000. Georgia Harrison has spoken out about her court case with Stephen Bear left her out of pocket, claiming the 'justice system needs to change' 'At the time my perpetrator then owned a house worth 550,000 in his name. 'When I went into the civil court it got adjourned half way through, because of that it was put out there how much I would win. 'During the six days after, my perpetrator got to sell his house, from prison, to a company called We Buy Any House, from the sex offenders wing, I got nothing. 'In the end I ended up with minus 7,000, but at least I have my dignity. We need to change the justice system.' Stephen Bear, from Loughton, Essex, was sentenced to 21 months in March 2023 after a jury found him guilty of voyeurism and disclosing private, sexual photographs and films after he leaked a sex tape of Georgia. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) previously told how Stephen has shown 'a complete lack of remorse'. Ahead of his sentencing, he posed for selfies outside court and sang Lady In Red to a reporter wearing a red coat. He also arrived for hearings, supported by his father, in lavish outfits and a Rolls Royce. As he was jailed, he waved from the dock and said: 'Have a good evening. Enjoy the weekend everyone.' Stephen Bear (pictured in January) was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2023 after being found guilty of disclosing private photographs and films after he leaked a sex tape of Georgia Speaking tonight at the What Next in the Fight Against Image-Based Abuse?, a parliamentary roundtable, Georgia discussed her experience with the civil law Stephen was given a restraining order to not contact Georgia for five years. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register and is subjected to notification requirements for 10 years. Last February, GLAMOUR launched its GLAMOUR Talks Consent campaign, with research which found that 91 per cent of women think deepfaking poses a threat to the safety of women. In recent months, a number of high profile figures have been victims of deepfake pornography, including pop star Taylor Swift and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Fake images and videos are made to look realistic, and victims are usually unaware and unable to consent to being sexualised in such a way. Also at the event tonight was Cally Jane Beech, 33, who appeared on Love Island in 2015 and has become a prominent activist to raise awareness of the disturbing rise of deepfake porn and call for the Government to clamp down on the vile abuse. Cally discovered digitally faked nude photos of herself circulating online in January last year. Prue Leith has revealed she has started to wear hearing aids after 'struggling to be able to hear'. The Great British Bake Off judge, 85, spoke at the Cambridge Union to students in a Q&A on Monday where she was forced to interrupt the conversation as she 'really couldn't hear at all'. Prue was left red faced after she admitted she had forgotten to put the hearing devices in. She said: 'Sorry, I am a bit deaf so I am struggling to hear a bit. 'This is so embarrassing because I really can't hear at all. My husband is so cross with me as I have just been given some hearing aids and I never remember to put them in. I am so sorry.' Prue previously revealed that her late mother struggled to wear hearing aids as she got them too late in life. Prue Leith revealed on Monday that she has started to wear hearing aids after 'struggling to be able to hear' The Great British Bake Off judge, 85, spoke at the Cambridge Union to students in a Q&A where she was forced to interrupt the conversation as she 'really couldn't hear at all' Writing in The Telegraph, the Channel 4 star said in 2021: 'This is a really common problem. When my mother was in her 80s, she was beginning to go deaf and senile at the same time. 'She was convinced we all mumbled, and actors didn't speak clearly anymore. The problem was that we'd left it too late. 'By the time we'd persuaded her to wear hearing aids, she'd forget what they were, fish one out shouting, "What's this thing doing in my ear?" and hurl all two grand's worth across the room.' Elsewhere during the chat with the students, Prue warned them that they might not like what she was planning to tell them. Whatever I say, I am likely to offend people, but I am going to say it, she declared. I think there is a real problem with mental health post-Covid. 'There is no question. Lots of young people are struggling they just cant cope with modern life. But I think a lot of that may be due to the fact that we have put such a lot of emphasis on sort of me, me, me. 'Like, How is my mental health? How is my wellbeing? Have I got enough time? She said: 'Sorry, I am a bit deaf so I am struggling to hear a bit. This is so embarrassing because I really can't hear at all. I have just been given some hearing aids and I never remember to put them in' Elsewhere during the chat with the students, Prue warned them that they might not like what she was planning to tell them We are encouraging a whole generation to think about themselves all the time. If they thought about other people a bit more, maybe it would be better. She added: There is a danger of mollycoddling and becoming unhealthy. Thats not a very popular thing to say. Dame Prue, who founded Leiths School of Food And Wine, which trains professional chefs and amateur cooks, has some advice for young people: The most important thing is never to be bored. 'When you are young, you think it is quite cool as you are shy and unsure. It is really disastrous. So dont be bored. It is a sin to be bored. If you are sat at a dinner party next to some old codger and he is going on about his greenhouse, then question it. It comes after Prue commanded attention as she modelled a dramatic pink gown on the catwalk at the VIN + OMI show during London Fashion Week last month. The Great British Bake Off star, proved age is just a number as she stormed the runway in the long dress which boasted shoulder pads and a large collar. Prue looked sensational as she elevated her frame in a pair of black sandals and accessorised with a pair of sunglasses. It comes after Prue commanded attention as she modelled a dramatic pink gown on the catwalk at the VIN + OMI show during London Fashion Week last month The restaurateur completed her stylish look with a pair of her signature colourful drop earrings. It is not the first time Prue has walked for the brand as last year she completely ditched her colourful ensembles and quirky glasses for a bold striking look. She made sure all eyes were on her as she wore a dramatic all leather look. Beaming in snaps, the tight fitted PVC midi dress featured raunchy red lace up detailing and exaggerated wide shoulders. Madeleine West says she is 'terrified' of impending Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it approaches Australia. The pregnant Neighbours star, 45, and her six children reside in Byron Bay, and the actress is preparing for the dangerous storm which is set to pummel south-east Queensland and northern NSW. 'Just want to confess that, like many right now, I don't feel brave, fearless or resilient. I feel small, concerned and a bit scared,' she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. She also posted a throwback photo from March 2022 of her helping in the clean-up efforts of the devastating Northern NSW floods and captioned it with supportive words for her community. 'Stay safe everyone. No matter what happens, we've done it before, we will do it again,' she said. 'As we wait to see what havoc Alfred wrecks, Im sending buckets of love to everyone in SE QLD and NE NSW today.' Madeleine West says she is 'terrified' of impending Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it approaches Australia Millions of residents in two states are stocking up on tinned food, toilet paper and bottled water as the wildest cyclone in living memory bears down on them, with warnings it could be 'a real-life nightmare'. The populations of south-east Queensland and north-east NSW, who are in the direct firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, have been told to prepare their properties before it makes landfall in the coming days. The cyclone is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland to northern NSW on Thursday as a category two system, bringing up to 600mm of rain. Residents have been urged to stay vigilant, pay attention to warnings and prepare for a cyclone so rare in that part of Australia that it is 33 years since the last one hit. Flood watches and erosion warnings have been issued for coastal areas, with record high 14metre waves recorded off Wide Bay in Queensland on Sunday and the possibility that AFL and NRL games could be affected. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said residents should do 'everything they can' including having tinned food, making an emergency kit, gathering up passports and clearing debris from properties. The state government has asked telecommunication companies to increase network capacity to cope with an expected jump in internet usage and millions of messages throughout the emergency. 'Just want to confess that, like many right now, I don't feel brave, fearless or resilient. I feel small, concerned and a bit scared,' she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday The populations of south-east Queensland and north-east NSW, who are in the direct firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, have been told to prepare their properties before it makes landfall in the coming days Many homes in south-east Queensland are not built to withstand cyclones as they are infrequent in that part of the state and Mr Crisafulli urged residents to listen to warnings from authorities. 'This part of the state has had its fair share of flooding challenges and has responded well. I genuinely believe that people will heed warnings and will do the right thing,' he said. Earlier this week, fellow Byron Bay-resident Leila McKinnon revealed she has been stocking up on essential household items in preparation. On Tuesday, the A Current Affair presenter, who resides in the area with her husband David Gyngell and their children, revealed her emergency purchases as she braced for the tropical cyclone's impact. One showed a large tub filled with emergency torches and long-life batteries. Another captured the surprising item she has in bulk - bottles of expensive premium whisky. She also shared a photo of the nearly empty fruit section at her local supermarket with one particular item almost cleared out. 'I did a Cyclone Alfred panic shop. It seems we have all decided we are not facing Alf without bananas,' she wrote. The Scream franchise has brought yet another character back from the dead, David Arquette's Dewey Riley, for the upcoming Scream 7. The 53-year-old actor played the beloved Woodboro cop in the original 1996 film Scream, along with 1997's Scream 2, 2000's Scream 3, 2011's Scream 4 and 2022's soft-reboot Scream. The character was killed in 2022's Scream by Amber Freeman (new Oscar winner Mikey Madison), though now he'll return in Scream 7, via Deadline. He joins previously-deceased characters Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) from the original Scream, and Scott Foley's Roman Bridger from Scream 3. While it remains unclear how these deceased characters will play into the story, fans have not been shy on social media, reacting to the news. Some are quite stunned, while some are floating various theories about how Dewey and the others will figure into the story. The Scream franchise has brought yet another character back from the dead, David Arquette's Dewey Riley, for the upcoming Scream 7. The 53-year-old actor played the beloved Woodboro cop in the original 1996 film Scream, along with 1997's Scream 2, 2000's Scream 3, 2011's Scream 4 and 2022's soft-reboot Scream Some are quite stunned, while some are floating various theories about how Dewey and the others will figure into the story The first four films were set in the sleepy town of Woodsboro, which is terrorized by a mysterious killer known only as Ghostface. Each film had a different killer (or killers), with the first being Lillard's Stu Macher and Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis. It's worth noting that Ulrich did return as Loomis in 2022's Scream in the form of a hallucination, who guides Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Loomis' illegitimate daughter. He also appears via hallucination in the most recent installment, 2023's Scream VI, though it's still unclear how Dewey and the other deceased characters will be back. In lieu of any official confirmation by the studio, fans were quick to speculate about Dewey's return on social media. X user @SteelerVol4Life said, 'I grant you there's no f***ing way 115 lbs Mikey Madison killed a 161 lbs and a former professional wrestler in David Arquette in Scream 5 But I still ask the question: How? We saw him in a body-bag.' Another user - @Galv_Studios - offered said his return, ' can mean one of two things. 1: Its a flashback scene. 2: Scream 7 is going to be the franchises equivalent of Wes Cravens New Nightmare.' New Nightmare was director Craven's film directly before the first Scream, which featured the actors from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise as themselves, and not in character. The first four films were set in the sleepy town of Woodsboro, which is terrorized by a mysterious killer known only as Ghostface He also appears via hallucination in the most recent installment, 2023's Scream VI, though it's still unclear how Dewey and the other deceased characters will be back In lieu of any official confirmation by the studio, fans were quick to speculate about Dewey's return on social media X user @SteelerVol4Life said, 'I grant you there's no f***ing way 115 lbs Mikey Madison killed a 161 lbs and a former professional wrestler in David Arquette in Scream 5 But I still ask the question: How? We saw him in a body-bag' Another user - @Galv_Studios - offered said his return, ' can mean one of two things. 1: Its a flashback scene. 2: Scream 7 is going to be the franchises equivalent of Wes Cravens New Nightmare.' Others chimed in like @drugproblem, who said, 'this movie is just doing anything,' as @TVMoviefan30 said, 'WTF he died how?' Khivan (@khiaville) added, 'all of the challenged individuals thinking this means the character is alive' Others chimed in like @drugproblem, who said, 'this movie is just doing anything,' as @TVMoviefan30 said, 'WTF he died how?' More fans agreed with the New Nightmare theory like @JGarzaIII, who said, 'gotta be new nightmare now... crazy!' X user @SwiftBurrow13 said, 'New Nightmare version of Scream,' though @nintendofan87tv wondered, 'so like a dream sequence?' Khivan (@khiaville) added, 'all of the challenged individuals thinking this means the character is alive.' Dewey's widow Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) will also be back for the sequel, along with returning franchise members Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin). They will be joined by franchise newcomers Isabel May, Celeste OConnor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Mark Consuelos and Ethan Embry for director Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original Scream film. Paulina Ben-Cohen has filed for a temporary restraining order against her former Shahs of Sunset co-star Golnesa 'GG' Gharachedaghi following an alleged attack. Ben-Cohen, who is the ex girlfriend of Mike Shouhed, claims GG, 43, 'hit her in the face' inside of a Bloomingdale's at a Los Angeles mall on February 28. The reality TV star who is currently engaged to GG's ex-husband, Dennis DeSantis filed documents for a restraining order on Tuesday, according to TMZ. She claims GG approached her from behind as she was shopping and 'forced' her to leave the store to have a conversation with her, away from security cameras. Ben-Cohen alleges that GG began recording their interaction on her phone and insulting her with remarks like 'How does it feel to be a wh**e' and 'I'm going to f*** you up!' Ben-Cohen says that as they passed a security guard, GG told her, 'Oh, you think this toy cop is going to protect you? He can't do s***!' Paulina Ben-Cohen (L) has filed for a temporary restraining order against her former Shahs of Sunset co-star Golnesa 'GG' Gharachedaghi, 43, (R) following an alleged attack Ben-Cohen then called her fiance and pleaded with GG to let her go, but she claims GG replied, 'No, I have been waiting for this day.' She claims that GG then 'hit me in the face' with her phone. Ben-Cohen began fighting back, and threw her phone. She says that GG then 'grabbed a chunk of my hair and yanked it, as she grabbed my arm with her other hand' before attempting to 'slap' her. That's when security finally intervened, telling them that cops were on the way. GG then allegedly asked her, 'How does it feel to have a ret***ed daughter?' Ben-Cohen says as she was getting away GG warned her, 'I'm not done with you.' Ben-Cohen says she reported the incident to the police, who advised her to file a temporary restraining order against GG. In the legal filing, the former reality star is requesting that GG be legally required to stay at least 100 yards away from her and her two children. The alleged attack took place just weeks after Ben-Cohen announced her engagement to GG's ex, Dennis. She shared a photo of them cozied up in a restaurant, with the date '2.2.4' and another photo showing off her massive diamond ring. Ben-Cohen, who is the ex girlfriend of Mike Shouhed, claims GG 'hit her in the face' inside of a Bloomingdale's at a Los Angeles mall on February 28; seen with Mike Ben-Cohen alleges that GG began recording their interaction on her phone and insulting her with remarks like 'How does it feel to be a wh**e' and 'I'm going to f*** you up!' The stars says as she was getting away GG warned her, 'I'm not done with you.' Ben-Cohen says she reported the incident to the police, who advised her to file a temporary restraining order against GG; GG seen in 2023 The alleged attack took place just weeks after Ben-Cohen announced her engagement to GG's ex-husband, Dennis; She is pictured with Dennis Paulina shared her massive engagement ring, just two months after GG revealed her marriage to Dennis was annulled after 1.5 weeks Dennis shared the same photos with the caption, 'One of my favorite trips of all time to New York. She said yes.' Two months prior, GG revealed her marriage to Dennis was annulled during an appearance on SiriusXMs Jeff Lewis Live. 'Okay, so youre no longer married to the second husband,' Lewis asked her. 'I'm no longer married,' she confirmed, revealing that the marriage was annulled after 1.5 weeks. The Shahs of Sunset star was previously married to Shalom Yeroushalmi from 2017 until 2018. Shahs of Sunset was cancelled in 2022, partly due to Paulina's ex Mike's arrest on charges of domestic violence. Last October, a disturbing video of the attack was obtained by TMZ, and showed Mike attacking his then-fiancee. Shouhed was seen grabbing Ben-Cohen's hair, throwing her to the ground and even trying to choke her. Last March Ben-Cohen filed a lawsuit against her ex Shouhed for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and gender violence; still from Shahs Of Sunset Shahs Of Sunset, which followed a group of affluent Iranian Americans living in Beverly Hills, was canceled in 2022 after Mike's arrest on charges of domestic violence The judge overseeing the case ordered Shouhed to enroll in a one-year mental health diversion program, after he was charged with assault and battery in response to the alleged attack. Shahs of Sunset, which aired on Bravo, followed a group of affluent Iranian Americans living in Beverly Hills. The key cast members included GG, Mike, Reza Farahan, and Mercedes 'MJ' Javid. Shahs of Sunset was canceled after nine seasons. Channing Tatum is 'happy' with his new model girlfriend Inka Williams - only days after the pair confirmed their romance at a pre-Oscars bash over the past weekend. The Magic Mike actor, 44 - who was first linked to the Australian beauty in January - previously dated ex-fiancee Zoe Kravitz until their split four months earlier in October 2024. Last month, the actress revealed that she still 'cares' for Tatum following their shock breakup - and the two stars are set to reunite later this year to collaborate on a new project together. A source told People in an article published on Tuesday that Channing and Inka are 'seeing' each other on romantic terms. 'They met through friends. She's great. She has her own life. She's young, but seems older.' The insider continued, 'Channing's doing well. [Inka] makes him happy. He's reuniting with Zoe later this spring for another movie project. It shouldn't be too awkward - they ended things on okay terms.' Channing Tatum, 44, is 'happy' with his new model girlfriend Inka Williams, 25 - only days after the pair confirmed their romance at a pre-Oscars bash over the past weekend (seen above) Tatum is also currently 'back in L.A. after he wrapped filming in North Carolina' and is also spending quality time with his daughter Everly, 11 - whom he shares with ex Jenna Dewan. Over the past weekend on Saturday, Channing and Inka were spotted leaving a star-studded CAA pre-Oscars party that took place at The Living Room in Los Angeles. The pair were seen strolling arm-in-arm while making their way through the crowd outside and left in the same vehicle together. The actor and model - who was born in Australia but raised in Bali - were first romantically linked a few months earlier in January while at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel. Williams also recently took to her main Instagram page late last month to upload a series of snaps - with some of her seemingly at Tatum's van. Last year in October, Channing and Zoe shockingly ended their engagement after dating for three years. And back in 2023, it was revealed that the former couple had gotten engaged after the daughter of Lenny Kravtiz was seen wearing an eye-catching, diamond ring. The news of their separation came after Tatum took on a leading role in Zoe's directorial film, Blink Twice, which premiered in August of last year. The Magic Mike actor - who was first linked to the Australian beauty in January - previously dated ex-fiancee Zoe Kravitz until their split four months earlier in October 2024; former couple seen in August 2024 in L.A. 'They met through friends. She's great. She has her own life. She's young, but seems older,' the source stated Channing and Zoe first crossed paths when they both voiced roles in The Lego Batman Movie in 2017, but at the time, they were both in separate relationships. The actor was married to his Step Up co-star, Jenna Dewan, and they welcomed daughter Everly together before their split after ten years of marriage. Meanwhile, Zoe was in a relationship with actor Karl Glusman. They got married in 2019 but called it quits 18 months later. In 2021, romance rumors first swirled around the pair when Kravitz cast him in her movie Blink Twice. Zoe and Channing were last pictured together in a snap uploaded to Tatum's Instagram account last year in September. He could be seen taking a quick selfie while posing shirtless on a comfy couch after Kravitz dozed off on his chest. Last month, The Batman actress shared that she 'still cares' for her ex four months after their breakup during an interview for Elle's March 2025 issue. When asked if her feelings towards Blink Twice has changed since their split, Zoe replied with, 'Not at all. I love this thing that we made together, and I care for him very much.' The insider continued, 'Channing's doing well. [Inka] makes him happy. He's reuniting with Zoe later this spring for another movie project. It shouldn't be too awkward - they ended things on okay terms' Tatum is also currently 'back in L.A. after he wrapped filming in North Carolina' and is also spending quality time with his daughter Everly, 11 - whom he shares with ex Jenna Dewan; seen with daughter above 'Even when you bring up how great his performance is, it warms my heart to hear that, and I'm so happy that all of it happened. I just feel so grateful that we got to go on that journey together.' She then added of Tatum: 'He has so much more coming, and I think he's in a place as an actor where he's feeling really confident and people are seeing different sides of him. 'He's got a lot to offer, so I'm excited for people to keep witnessing that,' the star continued. The two stars are set to reunite to film the upcoming alien-invasion comedy titled Alpha Gang. Other cast members in the movie include Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Lea Seydoux, Riley Keough and also Cate Blanchett. The premise of the project is: 'Alien gang leader Alpha One and her crew disguise themselves as 1950s bikers to invade Earth. Their conquest plan derails when they experience human emotions, complicating their mission,' per IMDB. Brothers David and Nathan Zellner are set to direct the sci-fi comedy, while Blanchett as well as Coco Francini are also producing. In a statement, Cate and Coco expressed: 'The Zellner brother's work never fails to surprise and delight us. She then added of Tatum: 'He has so much more coming, and I think he's in a place as an actor where he's feeling really confident and people are seeing different sides of him' 'In Alpha Gang, they have created a far-out world in order to lampoon something much closer to home: The hilarious, absurd, and peculiar truth of the human condition.' While Tatum has begun a new romance with Williams, his ex Kravitz has also sparked relationship rumors with actor Noah Centineo. Also over the weekend on Saturday, Zoe and the To All The Boys I've Loved Before actor were seen leaving a party in West Hollywood together. Last month in February, the pair were also seen in New York City as they left Danielle Haim's birthday party. Ozzy Osbourne dreams of getting his hands on an Academy Award - but admits it wont be for his acting skills, as he is set to candidly discuss his health struggles in an upcoming documentary. The 78-year-old rock legend has ruled out starring in lead movie roles, joking that no one can understand his accent. However, he believes he could win an award for songwriting, like his pal Sir Elton John, 77. Speaking on his SiriusXM show, Ozzy said: 'I am not a f*****g good actor. You can't understand me when I'm talking let alone when I'm f*****g acting.' Despite this, he expressed his lifelong desire to win an Oscar, saying it's the only award he still craves. The icon, who returned to live in the UK last year, added: 'Once you get an Oscar, you've done it. Elton John got one for a song.' Ozzy Osbourne dreams of getting his hands on an Oscar - but admits it wont be for his acting skills, as he is set to candidly discuss his health struggles in an upcoming documentary (pictured 2024) The 78-year-old rock legend has ruled out starring in lead movie roles, joking that no one can understand his accent (pictured 2022) Ozzy also shared his drive to keep going, saying: 'I still want to carry on. I am not ready to throw in the towel. I have more songs in me.' He also admitted that he sometimes forgets just how many awards he's won, saying: 'It was crazy for a while.' It comes as the star is set to discuss his health struggles in an upcoming documentary. The rock legend has undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in September 2023, and has been privately battling Parkinson's disease since 2003. Titled Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, the documentary - produced in partnership with MTV and the Osbourne family - will be released later this year on Paramount+. The film offers a raw, intimate look at the 'devastating setbacks' Ozzy has endured since his life-altering fall in 2019. The documentary will explore how that fall, which forced him to postpone his solo farewell tour while also battling pneumonia and receiving his Parkinson's diagnosis, changed his life forever. Speaking about the documentary, Ozzy said: 'The last six years have been full of some of the worst times I've been through.' However, he believes he could win an award for songwriting, like his pal Sir Elton John, 77 (Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy, and Sir Elton pictured 2007) 'There's been times when I thought my number was up. But making music and making two albums saved me. I'd have gone nuts without music.' His wife, Sharon, 72, added: 'This film is an honest account of what has happened to Ozzy during the last few years.' 'It shows how hard things have been for him and the courage he has shown while dealing with a number of serious health issues, including Parkinson's. It's about the reality of his life now.' 'We have worked with a production team we trust and have allowed them the freedom to tell the story openly.' 'We hope that story will inspire people that are facing similar issues to Ozzy.' Filming for the documentary began in 2022 during the recording of his solo album Patient Number 9 and will continue through summer. The documentary will follow Ozzy as he gears up for Black Sabbath's highly anticipated Back to the Beginning concert at Birmingham's Villa Park in 2025. It comes after Ozzy gave a health update earlier this month after announcing his final Black Sabbath gig will take place later this year. Speaking on SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard, he said: 'You know what, I go on about the way I can't walk and I can't do this, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all of my complaining, I'm still alive.' He continued: 'I may be moaning about how I can't walk as well but as I look down the road, there's people that didn't do half as much as me, and they didn't make it.' 'I'm trying to get back on my feet.' Host Billy Morrison added: 'Ozzy, you are so much better than you were just a year ago.' The star is set to discuss his health struggles in an upcoming documentary. The rock legend has undergone seven surgeries in the past five years; pictured with Sharon in 2017 He replied: 'Yeah, but the recovery is very slow. That f***ing surgeon. Plus the Parkinson's. When you get up in the morning, you just jump outta bed. Oh I have to balance myself, you know? But you know, I'm not dead, as you say. I'm still actively doing things.' It was revealed last month that his band is preparing to reunite for the first time in 20 years alongside a host of other big names. The original line-up of heavy metal legends Black Sabbath will play together at a one-off concert in Birmingham, UK, this summer. The show will take place on July 5 at the birthplace of the band and will feature Ozzy, 76, Tommy, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. However, it came as an unexpected move as in a March 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Ozzy admitted he wasn't optimistic about being on stage again. When quizzed on the possibility, he responded: 'I would love to, but I can't stand up right. Maybe I'll do something one day. I miss it terribly.' The star was then asked if he would consider doing 'a short set if inducted into the Rock Hall,' to which he responded: 'Maybe. We'll see.' Jennifer Garner posted a photo from the past after a tender embrace she received from ex-husband Ben Affleck led to rumors of a rekindled romance. Garner, 52, shared a throwback photo Tuesday wishing happy birthday to John Foraker, the CEO of her food brand Once Upon A Farm Organics. 'To celebrate the birthday of @onceuponafarm's beloved CEO, @jforaker11, I'm sharing a picture of us from our first year with the company. 'We are older than we were here, but we're still smiling!' she wrote of the photo, which depicted them posing proudly beside their logo. Once Upon A Farm, which sells a variety of nutritious snacks and food for children, was founded in 2015 by Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz. Garner, who also co-founded the company, and Foraker later joined on. The post comes after new video obtained exclusively by Daily Mail captured Jennifer being hugged by her ex-husband, leading to rumors of a rekindled romance. Jennifer Garner shared a throwback photo wishing a happy birthday to the the CEO of her food brand Once Upon A Farm Organics The pair were paintballing at the Combat Paintball Park in Castaic near Los Angeles on Sunday with their children, Fin, 16, and Sam, 13. Their eldest, 19-year-old Violet, is away studying at Yale. The moment occurred just weeks after his divorce from Jennifer Lopez was finalized in late February. In the bombshell footage, Affleck, 52, can be seen casually wrapping his arm around Garner's waist in a clear display of intimacy. Garner is focused on the task at hand, pointing her paintball gun forwards, but Affleck seems distracted, standing close to his ex-wife with his own gun dangling by his side. As he draws her in towards him with a hand around her lower waist and holds her close for a few seconds, Garner's hips appear to briefly reciprocate, leaning back into the embrace. Rumors of a romantic re-kindling between the pair who were married for 13 years from 2005 until 2018 have swirled for months, with Garner regularly seen supporting Affleck through his protracted second break-up with JLo, 55. Representatives for both Affleck and Garner did not respond to requests for comment, but DailyMail.com's source said: 'Ben is not Jen's boyfriend, nor is he her husband anymore. John [Miller] is her partner, and she is happy in her relationship. Ben's friends truly believe that if Jen and John split, that he would get back together with her in a heartbeat. But that is not the case, and Ben respects her relationship with John.' Potentially stirring the pot, the source added: 'Does it bother John when he sees the two of them being touchy-feely? Sure. It would get to anyone, but this is nothing new. Ben and Jen have a unique relationship, especially for exes. He loves her more than any woman he has ever loved besides his mom. But he also accepts that this cannot be. Not while she is devoted to someone else. Ben will always flirt with Jen, and she sees it as innocent.' Garner has reportedly been dating tech CEO John Miller since 2018. The post comes after new video obtained exclusively by Daily Mail captured Jennifer receiving a tender embrace from her ex-husband Ben Affleck on Sunday; pictured 2014 Affleck was last married to Jennifer Lopez, and their brief union was officially finalized in February; pictured 2022 Last December, the actress sparked engagement rumors when she flashed a sparkling ring on her wedding finger, only to remove it days later. Affleck and JLo rekindled their romance from the early 2000s, predating his marriage to Garner in 2021, before tying the knot in a Las Vegas ceremony the following July. But problems in the marriage started almost immediately, with insiders later revealing that they were even 'unhappy' on their Italian honeymoon. Come 2024, things were rapidly deteriorating, at which point Garner reportedly stepped in as a 'mediator' and 'marriage counselor'. Rumors of a romantic re-kindling between the pair who were married for 13 years from 2005 until 2018 have swirled for months, with Garner regularly seen supporting Affleck through his protracted second break-up with JLo, 55; pictured 2014 Affleck reportedly then spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas with Garner and their children. It's a support system that certainly makes sense. Affleck, who has been open about his battle with alcoholism, first went into rehab in 2001, before returning in 2017 and 2018. Garner stayed by his side throughout. In recent weeks, it appears to have been Affleck's moment to return the favor. Garner has reportedly been struggling, exhausted from extensive volunteer work supporting the victims of the recent LA fires. Melbourne 'it girl' Georgia Geminder, 29, and her investment director husband Matthew Danos have welcomed their second child. Georgia, who is the granddaughter of late billionaire 'Cardboard King' Richard Pratt, announced the exciting news on Instagram on Wednesday alongside a sweet family photo. 'Our boy is here. Richie David Danos,' she captioned the post. Many of Georgia's friends and followers were quick to congratulate her on the exciting news. 'Congratulations enjoy this wonderful time as a family,' one person wrote. 'Congratulations!!! Sending love to you all,' another commented while a third said: 'Absolutely thrilled for you all!!' Melbourne 'it girl' Georgia Geminder and her investment director husband Matthew Danos have welcomed their second child The couple also share daughter Charlotte Mia Danos, who they welcomed in August 2023. Georgia and Matthew tied the knot in an opulent society wedding in December, 2022. The event took place in the ritzy suburb of Kew, and was a traditional Jewish ceremony followed by a black tie reception inside a marquee at Raheen, the Pratt family mansion. The stunning redhead looked like modern day princess in a beaded strapless fishtail gown with matching gloves and a tiara. Georgia is the eldest daughter of billionaire packaging magnates Raphael and Fiona Geminder. Her mother Fiona owns cardboard giant Visy and is worth a reported $3.4billion, while her father Raphael - who is also on Forbes Rich List - has a 40 percent share in plastics manufacturer, Pact. Georgia's grandfather Richard Pratt, an immigrant born in Poland whose family fled to Australia months before the German invasion, was a leading figure in Melbourne society until his death on April 29, 2009. Georgia, a former Australian Grand Prix ambassador, spent seven years modelling in Australia, London and Los Angeles before quitting the industry to create a non-toxic toothpaste brand. The businesswoman announced the exciting news on Instagram and revealed they welcomed a boy baby named Richie David Danos Georgia and Matthew tied the knot in an opulent society wedding in December, 2022 In 2020 she launched Gem, a clean beauty company specialising in oral care that replaces chemicals with natural ingredients. Her new husband Matthew is the managing director of James Richardson Investments, part of a furniture, hospitality, real estate and retail corporation headquartered in Melbourne's north. The company is best known for its duty-free outlets in airports and border crossings across Australia and the Middle East. James Richardson is a household name in Israel thanks to its multiple stores in Ben Gurion airport, Israel. Married At First Sight couple Clint Rice and Lauren Hall were all smiles as they reunited in Sydney for a dinner date after they tried to flee the couples retreat in a helicopter after a series of explosive fights with their co-stars. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Clint, 43, said the weekender in Byron Bay descended into chaos, with constant feuding and cast members 'playing up for the cameras' to maximise their screen time. Lauren, 37, revealed to the show's brides that there was no chemistry between her and Clint, a fact she later denied when he confronted her about it. In an earlier episode, Lauren confessed she didn't think her husband was 'alpha' enough for her after she walked in on him doing the dishes. The groom was then spotted flying solo back to Sydney from the retreat, fueling speculation his relationship with Lauren had all but ended. But lo and behold, Lauren looked very cosy and happy wearing Clint's suit jacket around her shoulders to enjoy a romantic dinner at Sake at The Rocks following the fracas. Married At First Sight couple Clint Rice and Lauren Hall were all smiles as they reunited in Sydney for a dinner date after they tried to flee the couples retreat in a helicopter after a series of explosive fights with their co-stars The pair appeared close as they went to dinner at Japanese eatery Sake at The Rocks Lauren re-purposed her floor length bodycon dress, which she wore in last Sunday's commitment ceremony, for the off-camera outing with her MAFS husband. The self-described 'homemaker' was the stylish picture of the 1960's American housewives she emulate, as she stepped out with Clint in a form-fitting white mini skirt, a pair of strappy black high heels and purple tinted sunglasses. She carried a green handbag, styled with a printed scarf. Clint looked suave in a pair of navy suit pants worn with a light blue Ralph Lauren shirt, worn with brown boots and a matching belt. He appeared deep in thought while listening to Lauren, and nursing a margarita at an outdoor table. His spirits lifted, though, as he escorted his wife to the Japanese restaurant for dinner and she asked to borrow his jacket. Despite the evening sunshine, Lauren folded her arms over her stomach in the cold, and happily accepted the small chivalrous gesture. According to Clint, tensions between the couple and their castmates had brewing for weeks before 'the tipping point' of the retreat. Lauren re-purposed her floor length bodycon dress, which she wore in last Sunday's commitment ceremony, for the off-camera outing with her MAFS husband The self-described 'homemaker' was the stylish picture of the 1960's American housewives she emulate, as she stepped out with Clint in a form-fitting white mini skirt, a pair of strappy black high heels and purple tinted sunglasses Clint chivalrously gave Lauren his jacket as the weather got chilly Lauren carried a a green handbag, styled with a printed scarf 'We couldn't stand being around these people anymore,' he admitted. 'The fights were non-stop, and a lot of them were just for show. It was unbearable.' Lauren and Clint will be a no-show at Wednesday night's gathering. They negotiated with producers to film a private dinner in their apartment instead, rather than face another showdown with the group after Lauren called bride Jamie Marino a 'troll' because she described the other brides as 'drunk bogans' and 'feral.' 'The dinner parties were an absolute circus,' he said. 'It wasn't about genuine conversations, it was just people performing for airtime.' It is now known that Clint has moved on since the experiment with fellow MAFS participant Jacqui Burfoot, but this date night outing indicates he and Lauren still have some time left in the experiment as a couple. Jacqui, who is currently living with Clint in his native Tasmania, confirmed she's on speaking terms with Lauren on Wednesday, despite snapping up her 'husband' after filming. Clint appeared deep in thought while listening to Lauren, and nursing a margarita at an outdoor table A viewer asked the Kiwi bride how she felt about Lauren making some mean comments about her appearance during the photo ranking challenge. 'I forgave her pretty quickly because she actually apologised to me at the couple's retreat and afterwards,' Jaqui revealed in an Ask Me Anything on TikTok. 'We speak now. As soon as she arrived in the experiment, people had been in her ear about how horrible I am. No wonder she thought I was rough and a bogan. 'Once she got to know me, she said she was sorry she didn't give me a chance because we actually have a lot in common.' Gwyneth Paltrow gave a health update as she revealed that she turned to alcohol amid the devastating Los Angeles fires that began in January. The Oscar winner, 52 - who recently paid a special tribute to ex Chris Martin for his 48th birthday - got candid about her worsening menopause symptoms as the result of drinking 'every night.' During Tuesday's episode of her Goop podcast, the actress shared: 'I'm really in the thick of it right now, so I'm all over the place. 'But I noticed my symptoms are, like, pretty well under control unless, you know, in January when the fires were happening in L.A. I've, like, used alcohol for its purpose.' When the deadly wildfires broke out throughout Southern California on January 7, Paltrow said, 'I think I drank every night. I was medicating. 'Normally, now at this point, I don't drink a lot at all. Maybe I'll have one drink a week,' Gwyneth said, but added her symptoms 'were completely out of control. It was the first time I really noticed, like, causation in that way.' Gwyneth Paltrow, 52, gave a health update as she revealed that she turned to alcohol amid the devastating Los Angeles fires that began in January; seen in February in L.A. The Oscar winner got candid about her worsening menopause symptoms as the result of drinking 'every night' Paltrow explained that she has been having trouble with insomnia - an issue she did not have before menopause. 'I've always been a real sleeper,' the Hollywood star shared, but adding that after menopause, 'I went through a particularly bad time with it. 'There were nights where my anxiety - like, I just thought it meant, "Oh, you're not gonna be able to sleep because you don't have enough progesterone or whatever."' The mother-of-two continued, 'I would just wake up [and] I would get crushed with anxiety, which I've never had in my life. 'And I would lie in bed thinking about every mistake I've ever made, every person's feelings I ever hurt, like, every bad, you know - And I would be up, like, for six hours. It was crazy. I feel like hopefully I'm coming out the other side.' Guest Dr. Mary Clare Haver joined in on the episode and explained, 'In perimenopause, we call it the zone of hormonal chaos. It's all over the place. It is completely unpredictable, and our brains hate chaos. 'It's years for some women,' Haver added, with the Iron Man actress replying with, 'I feel like I've been in it for years.' Paltrow has previously opened up about the importance of having discussions about menopause, per Elle. 'But I noticed my symptoms are, like, pretty well under control unless, you know, in January when the fires were happening in L.A. I've, like, used alcohol for its purpose,' the star said The mother-of-two continued, 'I would just wake up [and] I would get crushed with anxiety, which I've never had in my life' 'I started asking my friends around the dinner table a few years ago. "This is happening for me. Is it happening for you guys? These are my symptoms." Really cultivating the conversation,' Gwyneth explained. 'I just think it's crucial for us to have community around these difficult things. When we have little kids, we dont feel ashamed saying, "I'm having a problem with my toddler." 'Or, "How do you potty-train them?" But for some reason, when it's around this phase of our lives, it becomes some weird or bad thing. 'The idea that women have been enshrouded in silence and shame around menopause for years and years and years is so crazy. This is such a natural, wonderful, different time in a woman's life,' the star further expressed. Paltrow later added, 'I'm not sure why it was made to be embarrassing or shameful to talk about. It's perfectly natural that we all traverse through it. 'If we're lucky, we live to go through perimenopause, and someday I'll be in menopause. And I'm looking forward to understanding what that means and the gifts that come along with it.' In January amid the Los Angeles fires, the actress shared her 'deep grief' over the devastating infernos - including the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires. 'Our beloved Los Angeles...We are in deep grief for so many of our close friends who have lost everything.' Paltrow has previously opened up about the importance of having discussions about menopause, per Elle; seen in 2024 in NYC 'Thank you to those inquiring, we are currently safe. When the fires are out there will be more to say and everything to do. The city of angels will need angels of all kinds. Please everyone, stay safe and vigilant.' Her company Goop also donated a total of $2 million worth of products to charities assisting victims of the fires. In June of last year, the actress had put her 8,000 square foot home in Los Angeles on the market for $30 million. And in late January of this year, the Brentwood house officially sold for $22 million - after she initially purchased the residence for $9.95 million in 2012. Over the past weekend on Sunday, Gwyneth helped ring in her ex-husband Chris Martin's 48th birthday. She jumped to her main Instagram page to share photos of the Coldplay frontman with their two children: daughter Apple, 20, and son Moses, 18. In January amid the Los Angeles fires, the actress shared her 'deep grief' over the devastating infernos - including the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires; seen in 2024 in Paris Over the past weekend on Sunday, Gwyneth helped ring in her ex-husband Chris Martin's 48th birthday In the caption of the post, the star shared: 'Happy Birthday to the man that gave me these beautiful, wonderful human beings, we love you, Chris.' Martin could be seen sitting next to his eldest child in one of the snaps as the pair paused for a sweet picture together outdoors. Another image was taken as Chris played the piano with his son. Paltrow and the performer tied the knot in 2003 and separated in 2014 - with their divorce finalized two years later. The actress has since married producer Brad Falchuk in 2018, and Martin is currently dating Dakota Johnson. A portrait of Michelle Trachtenberg's final days is coming into focus, with those close to her revealing she was plagued by escalating health issues in her final days. The Buffy The Vampire Slayer star who died on February 26 at 39 was said to be 'really frail and sick for a while' by an industry insider who spoke to Us Weekly on Tuesday. Others claimed that the actress had been dealing with 'back issues' and 'bone problems' years before her death. It was previously reported that Trachtenberg had undergone a liver transplant in the past year, and an insider told the publication that she didn't hide the fact from those closest to her. 'She was very open with those close to her about having the transplant,' a friend claimed, before clarifying that she 'never went into detail' about the procedure. Others close to the Harriet The Spy star revealed that she had spent significant time in the hospital before being released early this year. A portrait of Michelle Trachtenberg 's final days is coming into focus, with those close to her revealing she was plagued by escalating health issues in her final days; seen in 2020 in LA The Buffy The Vampire Slayer who died on February 26 at 39 was said to be 'really frail and sick for a while' by an industry insider who spoke to Us Weekly on Tuesday 'The last time I saw her, something felt off,' an industry insider told US Weekly. 'You could sense something was going on. She was really frail and had been sick for a while.' One person who said they saw Trachtenberg at the Soho restaurant Sartiano's on February 20, less than a week before her death, said that 'something seemed off about her.' A neighbor in Trachtenberg's apartment building also told the publication that the actress who looked increasingly gaunt in selfies posted to her instagram in her final weeks was looking more and more 'svelte' toward the end of her life. As the film and television actress increasingly eschewed show business in recent years, friends noticed several health issues she was dealing with, though it's unclear if they were related to the condition that necessitated her liver transplant. 'She had back issues, and then bone problems and she also fell a few times,' one friend alleged. Notably, the Adventures of Pete & Pete actress had appeared at a red carpet event in 2019 with a cane. 'Whenever we spoke, there was something medically wrong,' the friend added. According to another person close to her: 'Michelle was thrown a lot of curveballs with her health, but she did her best not to let it get her down.' Others claimed that the actress had been dealing with 'back issues' and 'bone problems' years before her death Trachtenberg had a liver transplant in the past year, and an insider claimed she 'was very open with those close to her about' it, before clarifying that she 'never went into detail' about the procedure; seen in 2011 in NYC Fans have wondered on social media what impact her previous liver transplant may have played in her death, if any. The liver plays an essential role in several biological processes, including strengthening the immune system, aiding in glucose storage, removing waste from blood and metabolizing drugs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Several factors can lead a person to require a liver transplanted, including dangerous inflammation called hepatitis as well as cancer, other liver disease or even genetic factors that may make someone's liver stop working or fail to function properly. Excessive alcohol consumption can also damage the liver over time. While it's unknown what led Trachtenberg to require a liver transplant, if it was related to alcohol use, she would have been instructed to avoid drinking altogether going forward. However, a close friend told Us Weekly that the Gossip Girl actress 'did drink, but not excessively in public.' 'She was never the type to party hard. In the end, she was more of a recluse,' they added. The full details of what led to Trachtenberg's death will likely never be known, as her family objected to having an autopsy performed, citing religious reasons, according to Page Six. Aclose friend told Us Weekly that the Gossip Girl actress 'did drink, but not excessively in public. She was never the type to party hard. In the end, she was more of a recluse' Without an autopsy, her cause and manner of death will now be listed an 'undetermined' on her death certificate. 'Under public health law, families may object to autopsy based on religious belief, and provided there is no suspicion of criminality or compelling public health reason to proceed with autopsy, the medical examiner honors the objection,' a spokesperson for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York told the outlet. The timing of her death was particularly tragic, as Trachtenberg was possibly on the verge of a career comeback, as she was reportedly shopping a screenplay she wrote to studios with director and producer Casey Tebo. Tebo said the script, called Toy Monster, was one of the best he'd ever read, TMZ reported. It is based on the book of the same name and tells the story of Jack Ryan, who left his job designing missiles for the Pentagon during the Cold War era to become chief engineer at Mattel. He was designing toys during the time that Barbie, Chatty Cathy and Hot Wheels and had a dark side, living a life of excess in his off hours. Michelle and Tebo had a deal at a studio for the film years ago, but then the studio head left and the new allegedly head didn't want to make the film. Now, he's determined to bring the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star's final work to life. Trachtenberg was working on a new project before her tragic death at age 39 last week. The Gossip Girl alumna was shopping a screenplay she wrote to studios with director and producer Casey Tebo pictured 2020 According to the outlet, he feels the most 'tragic' part of the screenplay is how neglected Michelle's talents were by Hollywood executives who only saw her as capable of the roles she played in Harriet the Spy, Euro Trip and others. Tebo hopes that Michelle can get the recognition she deserves and that her fans are delighted about her talent for writing. He is committed to finding a home for the script and bringing it to audiences. Trachtenberg wast set to appear at a benefit screening of the movie Spyral during the annual SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas, next month. Jennifer Hutchins, a Spyral producer, told TMZ that the movie team was aware of Michelle's health issues and only expected her to attend the event whether in-person or virtually if she felt well enough. In her final credit, Trachtenberg was cast to read excerpts from the diary of Randall White's late wife Michelle Cody White. The event will go on as scheduled, but will be tweaked to pay tribute to Trachtenberg in the wake of her untimely death. Hutchins told the outlet that Michelle was 'one of the sweetest, most gentle human beings I've ever had the pleasure to know.' Tebo said the script, called Toy Monster, was one of the best he'd ever read, TMZ reported; pictured in 2011 in NYC Michelle is seen here in a still from 1996's Harriet the Spy She added, 'I could tell she cared deeply about people and using her voice for the greater good.' The producer also gave a nod to the actress' moving performance in Spyral, recalling that her voice work brought people on the set to tears. Trachtenberg was best known for her on role teen supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer spanning 20002003. She played Buffy's younger sister Dawn Summers in 66 episodes of the hit show. The Brooklyn native also had a recurring role as 'The Witch of the Upper East Side' Georgina Sparks in 28 episodes of The CW teen soap Gossip Girl spanning 2008-2012. She also appeared in the 1996 film Harriet the Spy when she was 10 years old, alongside Rosie O'Donnell. The shocking discovery of the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa late last month has puzzled investigators, who are still trying to determine how and when the couple died. Hackman, who was 95, and Arakawa, 65, were discovered in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by a neighborhood security officer after pest-control workers reported not being able to get in touch with the residents. Authorities investigating the deaths have already said a deadly carbon monoxide leak is unlikely, but now an expert who is not involved in the investigation is weighing in on another theory recently bandied about: that Hackman and Arakawa may have died by 'companion suicide.' James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, shared Tuesday with People that the theory is an unlikely explanation for the puzzling deaths. Gill, who said he had dealt in the past with 'cases like that,' explained that couples who die in a dual suicide are 'usually ... together in bed.' However, police have said that Hackman was found dead in the house's mud room, with his can and sunglasses near him on the ground, while Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor with prescription pills strewn across the nearby countertop. The shocking discovery of the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have puzzled fans and investigators, with the possibility of a 'companion suicide' being considered; seen in 2003 But an expert not involved in the investigation deems it unlikely that Hackman and his wife both killed themselves, according to People; police are seen outside Hackman's home on February 27 in Santa Fe, New Mexico The two are believed to have been dead for several days before they were found, and both bodies had signs of decomposition and were partially mummified. According to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, Hackman's pacemaker was last registered as working on February 17, nine days before the bodies were discovered, which could potentially indicate the day he died. 'The fact that theyre in two separate locations tells me that I think thats less likely,' Gill continued. The medical examiner said that the initial information about the scene makes it appear as if Hackman had 'collapsed.' 'He's got a history of heart disease. He's got a pacemaker. So that would not be unusual,' he said. Another detail Gill focused on was the fact that Hackman was 'ambulatory' before his death, which he thought decreased the likelihood of a scenario in which he was left potentially helpless if Arakawa had died first. 'Sometimes we'll see instances where someone is bedridden and maybe they have dementia and then their caregiver dies from a natural event, and then there's no one there to take care of them, and then they can die from dehydration or what have you,' he explained. 'I don't think that's the case in this.' That information could be particularly useful to compare to when Arakawa may have died, though Gill admits 'that's a little bit of a more gray area.' Hackman and Arakawa were found in separate rooms on Feb. 26, but James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said couples involved in 'companion suicide' are 'usually [found] together in bed'; seen in 1991 Gill said the fact that Hackman was still 'ambulatory' before his death decreased the likelihood of a scenario in which he was left potentially helpless if Arakawa had died first; seen in 2003 in Beverly Hills Gill added that Hackman's pacemaker, which reportedly stopped stopped working on Feb. 17, might be able to narrow down the actor's time of death, depending on what model it is Some fans of the actor were disturbed to learn that one of the couple's three dogs, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna, had been found dead in their home, while the other two dogs were still alive, according to USA Today. The dead dog had been locked in a closed kennel in a closet near where Arakawa was found, while one live dog was found in the bathroom, just 15 feet from Arakawa's body, while the other was found outside on the property. Gill said the fact that the dead dog was discovered in its closed crate means it likely died from 'just not getting enough food and water,' adding that dogs 'can only survive for a week or so without food and water.' According to People, the surviving dogs a German Shepherd named Bear and a seven-year-old Akita-shepherd mix named Nikita are now being cared for by a family friend. Zinna's death was one of the factors that initially fueled rumors that Hackman and Arakawa might have died as the result of a carbon monoxide leak, before it was clarified that the dog had been locked up and therefore didn't have access to sustenance. Although Gill wasn't moved by the 'companion suicide' theory, it will likely be some time before the investigation is concluded and authorities can reveal what really happened to the Hollywood expatriates. Hackman had lived a reclusive life in recent years after quietly retiring from acting after filming the 2004 satire Welcome To Mooseport. Although fans have speculated for years that the film's box-office bomb status might have contributed to his abandonment of Hollywood, Hackman himself explained why he quit acting in a recently resurfaced interview. Fans have speculated that Hackman's final film Welcome To Mooseport bombing might have contributed to him leaving Hollywood, Hackman himself explained his retirement in 2009; pictured with Christine Baranski in Welcome to Mooseport While speaking to Empire in 2009, several years into his retirement, Hackman revealed that it was his heart keeping him from getting back in front of the camera. 'The straw that broke the camels back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,' Hackman explained. 'The doctor advised me that my heart wasnt in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.' Earlier, in a 2004 interview on Larry King Live, Hackman admitted that he had a 'fear' of dying, though he considered it a perfectly normal thing. 'I try to take care of myself,' he said after he was asked if he was worried about his health. 'I dont have a lot of fears. I have the normal fear of passing away you know, I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age,' he continued. Hackman added that his main priority was to ensure that his wife and family were 'taken care of.' 'Other than that, I dont have a lot of fears,' he declared. He spoke with King the same year that Welcome To Mooseport was released to a disappointing reception from reviewers and audiences alike. In a 2004 interview on Larry King Live, Hackman admitted that he had a 'fear' of dying, though he considered it a normal thing; pictured in 1993 with Clint Eastwood at the 65th Oscars He spoke with King the same year that Welcome To Mooseport was released to a disappointing reception from reviewers and audiences alike; pictured in the film with Marcia Gay Harden Hackman waited years to confirm that he was retired, all while cinephiles hoped for another late-career triumph; pictured in 1971's The French Connection, which won him the Oscar for Best Actor While in the midst of a divorce, he decides to run for town mayor to help himself consolidate some of his business interests, but a hardware store owner (Ray Romano) decides to challenge him in hopes that elected office might make his girlfriend fall back in love with him. Hackman never took another film role after Welcome To Mooseport, and fans of the Oscar winner's numerous classic films were disappointed that he didn't go out on a stronger note. Part of the disappointment was due to the star's decision to wait several years to confirm his retirement, which left cinephile's pining for another late-career triumph. It wasn't until a 2008 interview with Reuters four years after Welcome To Mooseport that he made his retirement official. 'I havent held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, Im not going to act any longer,' he said at the time, while explaining why he stayed silent for so long. 'Ive been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really dont want to do it any longer.' Years before shooting his final film, Hackman made the prospect of a return to the stage also sound unlikely. 'Id have to be comfortable though,' he said of a possible return while chatting with Charlie Rose. 'Ive lived a soft life too long to camp out. When I lived in New York, it was a cockroach time for me.' Comfort was again his primary concern in a 2011 GQ interview in which he mused about returning to film but only if he could shoot it at home. Hackman confirmed he was retired four years later, in 2008, and in 2011 he told GQ he would only act again if he could shoot a film at his own home; seen in 2003 in Beverly Hills Hackman won his second Oscar for Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. He starred in numerous classics, including Bonnie and Clyde, Scarecrow, Night Moves, Superman and The Royal Tenenbaums (pictured) 'In my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people,' he said. Those words took on a more sinister tone after Hackman was found dead at his home in Santa Fe. Hackman and Arakawa appear to have been dead for some time, and maintenance workers who discovered their bodies said they hadn't seen either of them for two weeks. A search warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed that their bodies were found with signs of mummification. While the condition is most associated with ancient Egyptian burials, mummification can also occur when bodies are preserved in cold but dry climates in which bacteria struggles to grow, which describes the climate of Santa Fe in February. Autopsies on the two bodies have already been completed, but authorities are still waiting on the full results, as well as a toxicology report. Gal Gadot was 'deeply honored' to receive the Anti-Defamation League's International Leadership Award during its Never Is Now event, which was held at Javits Center in Manhattan on Tuesday. Miss Israel 2004 - turning the big 4-0 next month - repeatedly declared her pride being an eighth-generation Jewish Israeli during her 12-minute acceptance speech where she called for the release of the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza. 'With every hostage release we hear new testimonies of the horrors they've been through. Every minute for them is hell. Their lives are in danger and we need them home,' Gal said to uproarious applause. 'None of us can ignore the explosion of Jew hatred around the world anymore. We have had enough of Jew hatred we will confront anti-Semitism. We will call it out, but but we will never let it, not only, defeat us but define us because our love is stronger than their hate.' Hours later, Gadot wrote that this moment is about everyone 'refusing to be silent in the face of anti-Semitism.' 'October 7 was a wake-up call, but it also reminded us of our resilience and unbreakable bond,' the Israel Defense Forces veteran - who boasts 133.6M social media followers - wrote on Instagram. Gal Gadot was 'deeply honored' to receive the Anti-Defamation League's International Leadership Award during its Never Is Now event, which was held at Javits Center in Manhattan on Tuesday (pictured with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt) Miss Israel 2004 - turning the big 4-0 next month - repeatedly declared her pride being an eighth-generation Jewish Israeli during her 12-minute acceptance speech where she called for the release of the dozens of hostages still held in Gaza 'We must continue to educate, share our stories, and stand up against hate because love will always be stronger.' This Thursday, Gal and her husband Jaron Versano will celebrate the first birthday of their daughter Ori followed by the eighth birthday of their daughter Maya on March 20. The married couple of 16 years are also proud parents of 13-year-old daughter Alma and three-year-old daughter Daniella, whom they'll 'raise as strong independent Jewish women.' On Monday, Gadot shut down outrageous claims from a viral post alleging she pulled out of presenting the best documentary Oscar, which went to Palestinian director Yuval Abraham's film No Other Land. The Wonder Woman alum's representative told DailyMail.com that the rumors were completely untrue as she was always supposed to present the Oscar for best visual effects on Sunday alongside her Snow White co-star Rachel Zegler. On Tuesday, Disney released a music video for Waiting on a Wish, the first original song belted by the controversial 23-year-old in Marc Webb's $269M-budget 'PC' live-action remake of the Brothers Grimm fairytale featuring a slew of CGI dwarves. Gal portrays the Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White, which hits US/UK theaters March 21. Back in 2023, Gadot shot her roles as Giulietta Tosches/Gemma Donati on the Italian set of Julian Schnabel's $25M-budget drama, In the Hand of Dante. Gal said to uproarious applause: 'With every hostage release we hear new testimonies of the horrors they've been through. Every minute for them is hell. Their lives are in danger and we need them home' Gadot added: 'None of us can ignore the explosion of Jew hatred around the world anymore. We have had enough of Jew hatred we will confront anti-Semitism. We will call it out, but but we will never let it, not only, defeat us but define us because our love is stronger than their hate' This Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces veteran and her husband Jaron Versano will celebrate the first birthday of their daughter Ori followed by the eighth birthday of their daughter Maya on March 20 (pictured November 9) The married couple of 16 years are also proud parents of 13-year-old daughter Alma and three-year-old daughter Daniella, whom they'll 'raise as strong independent Jewish women' (pictured Sunday) Gal shut down outrageous claims from a viral post alleging she pulled out of presenting the best documentary Oscar, which went to Palestinian film No Other Land (director Yuval Abraham pictured) Gadot's representative told DailyMail.com that the rumors were completely untrue as she was always supposed to present the Oscar for best visual effects on Sunday alongside her Snow White co-star Rachel Zegler (L) On Tuesday, Disney released a music video for Waiting on a Wish, the first original song belted by the controversial 23-year-old in Marc Webb's $269M-budget 'PC' live-action remake of the Brothers Grimm fairytale featuring a slew of CGI dwarves Gal portrays the Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White, which hits US/UK theaters March 21 The big-screen adaptation of Nick Tosches' 2002 novel also features Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, John Malkovich, and Duke Nicholson. Last November, the Heart of Stone producer-star signed on to play a high-powered attorney searching for her abducted son in Kevin Macdonald's London-set action thriller The Runner for Amazon MGM Studios - according to Deadline. Gal also has 'a beautiful script' for Kari Skogland's upcoming historical epic Cleopatra, which she'll eventually produce and star in as the ancient Egyptian queen 'of Macedonian descent.' Bella Hadid flaunted her chiseled abs in the campaign for her new Frankies Bikinis swimwear collaboration, which launched Tuesday morning. The 28-year-old IMG Model flashed her $140 'Austin' underwire bikini top and $80 leopard-print 'Full Moon' bikini bottoms after pulling down her black leather pants inside a horse barn. Bella - who used to be a competitive equestrian - impressively filmed a selfie video riding a white horse while clad in the $215 brown-suede 'Paradise' halter bikini top and matching $125 'Wrangler' booty shorts. Hadid also modeled the $90 black 'Sunday' halter bikini top while riding a grey horse for the same shoot captured by photographer Alana O'Herlihy. In a shot aboard a boat, the Yellowstone guest star showcased her pert derriere in a $90 white polka-dot 'Dalton' micro-bikini bottom with matching $120 'Angel' bikini top. Bella Hadid flaunted her chiseled abs in the campaign for her new Frankies Bikinis swimwear collaboration, which launched Tuesday morning The 28-year-old IMG Model flashed her $140 'Austin' underwire bikini top and $80 leopard-print 'Full Moon' bikini bottoms after pulling down her black leather pants inside a horse barn Bella leaned over a fence as she modeled the $110 white 'Little Miss' top with the matching $140 wrap 'Little Miss' mini-shorts. Hairstylist Jawara coiffed Hadid's brunette mane and make-up artist Nadia Tayeh fully contoured her complexion. The Orebella fragrance founder - who plans on releasing more capsules in April and June - grew up in Malibu being childhood friends with Frankies Bikinis founder Francesca Aiello. 'Thank you to my sister Frank. I'm so proud of you and all that you do,' Bella - who boasts 73M social media followers - gushed on February 23. '[I] can't believe we're so lucky to get to create and love on each other as work! Launch night, our campaign shoot, the progression of collection has been a dream come true. Your heart, brain, generosity, love, kindness, [and] hard work are just some of the reasons I have always and will forever love you! 'You are a star baby! Thank you to such an amazing team and group of women at @frankiesbikinis for an incredible launch, accepting my ideas, brainstorming, and allowing us to make such a fun collection.' On the personal front, Hadid has been dating cowboy Adan Banuelos since January 2023 and the couple bought Fort Worth, TX home one year ago. The half-Dutch, half-Palestinian stunner previously dated art director Marc Kalman, R&B belter The Weeknd, and Cha Cha Matcha founder Matthew Morton. Bella - who used to be a competitive equestrian - impressively filmed a selfie video riding a white horse while clad in the $215 brown-suede 'Paradise' halter bikini top and matching $125 'Wrangler' booty shorts Hadid also modeled the $90 black 'Sunday' halter bikini top while riding a grey horse for the same shoot captured by photographer Alana O'Herlihy In a shot aboard a boat, the Yellowstone guest star showcased her pert derriere in a $90 white polka-dot 'Dalton' micro-bikini bottom with matching $120 'Angel' bikini top Bella leaned over a fence as she modeled the $110 white 'Little Miss' top with the matching $140 wrap 'Little Miss' mini-shorts Hairstylist Jawara coiffed Hadid's brunette mane and make-up artist Nadia Tayeh fully contoured her complexion Ice Cube has revealed that he's trapped in a hotel on Queensland's Gold Coast as Tropical Cyclone Alfred prepares to bear down on the region. The American rapper, who has concerts in Sydney and Melbourne this week, appeared on The Project on Wednesday night and revealed he'd been caught up in the incoming storm, which the regions mayor described as the worst in 70 years. The 55-year-old told the show's hosts that he was feeling quite nonchalant about the impending natural disaster. 'I'm staying clear of it. It is pretty cool. I haven't been through a cyclone before. I can check this off my bucket list for sure' he said. Cube admitted he was close to the action but didn't seem overly concerned. 'You know, I'm right here on the beach. The beach looks like it is going to be in the lobby in a minute' he joked. Ice Cube (pictured) has revealed that he's trapped in a hotel on Queensland 's Gold Coast as Tropical Cyclone Alfred prepares to bear down on the region Cube is due at gigs at Sydney's ICC Theatre and at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl later this week. The hosts questioned why Cube was on the Gold Coast and pointed out that the Anaconda reboot starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black is filming in the region. Cube famously starred in the original film back in 1997, and was asked if he might be in Queensland filming a cameo. Cube stayed coy, claiming, 'I never saw them. I was just out doing some sightseeing and hanging out before my Sydney show. 'I haven't seen Jack Black or Paul Rudd around here. I don't know what you are talking about!' The US rap icon cut a casual cool figure last week while visiting a local Gold Coast cafe with his entourage. The legendary songwriter, actor and film producer looked stylish in a black tee emblazoned with a Big Three logo and jeans. Despite being one of the most famous rappers in the world and accompanied by several bodyguards, his appearance went completely unnoticed by the public. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is tracking west towards Australia's east coast with wild weather in the region (pictured) 'I'm staying clear of it. It is pretty cool. I haven't been through a cyclone before. I can check this off my bucket list for sure' he said The performer, who was born O'Shea Jackson, appeared to be relishing his time in Australia's Sunshine State before taking to the stage. Ice Cube is in Australia to perform at two sold-out shows in Sydney and Melbourne on Friday, March 7 and Sunday, March 9. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is tracking west towards Australia's east coast. The category two system is headed towards southeast Queensland's coast and is expected to make landfall either late Thursday or early Friday morning, most likely between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. A warning zone stretching 650km has been issued from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. The zone includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina, but doesn't include Grafton. 'People between Double Island Point and Grafton should immediately commence or continue preparations, especially securing boats and property,' the Bureau said. Gold Coast Acting Mayor Donna Gates says modelling now predicts the cyclone's stormfront could reach almost 150km inland, stretching as far west as Toowoomba and called it the 'most significant' event in 70 years. In November the rapper-turned-actor opened up about his enduring marriage as he marked his 32nd anniversary with wife Kimberly Woodruff on Thanksgiving. Cube is due at gigs at Sydney's ICC Theatre and at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl later this week He shared the secret to their lasting bond during a recent episode of Cam Newton's Funky Friday podcast. 'We want to be [married]. You've got to want it,' he said. 'I don't want nobody to have my woman. She's mine. I'm hers.' They share four children: sons O'Shea Jr., 34, Darrell, 31, and Shareef, 24, and daughter Kareema, 30. The star emphasised their marriage works because they understand that not every day will be perfect. 'Every day ain't gonna be roses. You can't expect that from your spouse,' he explained. 'It's all about whether you're a family or not. You gotta be willing to give and there's gotta be someone you want to give that time, effort and love to.' Lily James looked incredible as she gave a behind-the-scenes insight into her trip to Paris on Wednesday. The actress, 35, wowed in a strapless bra while getting ready for a photoshoot in the French capital. In the clip, shared to Instagram, she showed off her soft yet glamorous makeup look and pinned her hair back from her face. Spraying her perfume, Bois Talisman by Christian Dior, Lily smiled for the camera before showing the bottle. 'Paris so far. With loves @brookelturnbull, @cwoodhair, @louiseowen, @Michelleclassnails.' Lily is in Paris for the city's Fashion Week which kicked off on Monday and will run until March 11. Lily James, 35, looked incredible as she gave a behind-the-scenes insight into her trip to Paris on Wednesday The actress, 35, wowed in a strapless bra while getting ready for a photoshoot in the French capital The Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025-2026 showroom session will take place at the Palais de Tokyo. Lily cut a trendy figure in a leather trench coat as she attended the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week on Sunday. The actress looked incredible as she sported a floor length brown coat which she layered over a pair of black and white trousers. She added inches to her statuesque frame by slipping into a pair of towering metallic stilettos. To accessorise, Lily kept it simple with a black crossbody bag and styled her blonde tresses straight. Lily finished her ensemble with a pair of tinted oval sunglasses and a simple gold chain necklace. Keeping her outfit at the centre of attention, Lily kept her outing relaxed and opted for a natural makeup look. The actress has just wrapped filming the Cliffhanger reboot along Pierce Brosnan, the release date is yet to be announced. In the clip, shared to Instagram, she showed off her soft yet glamorous makeup look and pinned her hair back from her face Lily cut a trendy figure in a leather trench coat as she attended the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week on Sunday The remake of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film sees Lily play Naomi, the eldest daughter of seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper (Pierce). The father-daughter duo, Naomi and Ray 'run a mountain chalet in the Dolomites. During a weekend trip with a billionaire's son, they are targeted by a gang of kidnappers,' an official synopsis reads. 'Ray's older daughter Naomi, still haunted by a past climbing accident, witnesses the attack and escapes.' Ray is kidnapped while climbing with the son of a billionaire and Naomi must 'save her family' while fighting 'for survival in the Italian Dolomites,' the synopsis concludes. The film is shooting in Austria, Italy and Germany and also stars Nell Tiger Free, Franz Rogowski, Shubham Saraf, Assaad Bouab, Suzy Bemba and Bruno Gouery. It was the moment on everyone's lips in the hours after the 2025 Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night. And now Adrien Brody's girlfriend Georgina Chapman has spoken out after Halle Berry, 58, kissed The Brutalist star on the red carpet at the glitzy Hollywood ceremony, moments before he won the Oscar for Best Actor. The shock smooch was a nod to an equally iconic Oscars moment 22 years ago, when Adrien, now 51, pulled Halle in for a dramatic kiss after bagging his first Academy Award for The Pianist. This time around, the kiss was planted in front of the actor's girlfriend - Harvey Weinstein's ex - Georgina who clapped as the pair then went in for a warm embrace. Now the 48-year-old English fashion designer and actress, who has been dating Adrien since 2020, has broken her silence on the incident in an interview with Extra. She said: 'It was [quite the moment], wasn't it? I mean, how can you deny a man a kiss with Halle Berry? Adrien Brody's girlfriend Georgina Chapman has spoken out after Halle Berry kissed The Brutalist star on the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday The smooch was planted in front of the actor's girlfriend - Harvey Weinstein's ex - Georgina whose relationship with Academy Award-winning Adrien took centre stage at the glitzy ceremony The shock smooch was a nod to an equally iconic Oscars moment 22 years ago, when Adrien, now 51, pulled Halle in for a dramatic kiss after bagging his first Academy Award for The Pianist Georgina confirmed that Adrien was not in her bad books for the impromptu snog, adding: 'He was more than fine.' Halle appeared to pre-emptively apologise to Georgina just before she planted the kiss on the Oscar winner. She then turned to his girlfriend and said: 'I'm sorry, Georgina, but I've gotta do it.' The Catwoman icon later clarified to Extra: 'Oh yeah! Only because she was fine could I do it. '21 years I've been waiting to get him on a red carpet and slap on one.' The stars first caused a scandal at the 2003 Oscars ceremony, when Halle, who won an Academy Award for her role in Monster's Ball the previous year, presented the honour for Best Actor. After she introduced a montage that featured past winners of the category going back to the start of the ceremony, Adrien was crowned the winner for starring in Roman Polanski's acclaimed Holocaust drama The Pianist. The star broke a record with the win, become the youngest Best Actor winner at 29 years old. This time around the pair went in for a warm embrace as the onlookers cried out in shock and cheered, and Georgina clapped Georgina confirmed that Adrien was not in her bad books for the impromptu snog, adding: 'He was more than fine' Adrien won the Best Actor gong for his role in The Brutalist which was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting actor, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay As he arrived on stage, he grasped Halle for a surprise kiss. He went even further than she did years later by dipping her and holding the smooch for several seconds. 'I bet they didn't tell you that was in the gift bag,' he joked after releasing her and starting his speech, while the actress and model was seen looking shocked and wiping her mouth on the broadcast. In 2009, Halle appeared to reference the kiss by snogging Jamie Foxx when he presented her with the Decade of Hotness award for Spike TV's 2009 Guys Choice Awards. And on Sunday, the actress finally got her 'payback' for the legendary Oscars moment, wrapping an arm around Adrien's neck and grabbing his shoulder with her other hand as she went in for a kiss. The onlookers cried out in shock and cheered, and Adrien was quick to embrace Halle for the full dramatic effect. Analysing the moment, body language expert Inbaal Honigman - working with Covers.com - told Femail: 'On the red carpet, Halle Berry approaches Adrien Brody and gives him a deliberately unromantic kiss. 'Their arms are around each other, but Halle's hand is flexed against Adrien's shoulder, creating a slight pushing motion rather than pulling him closer. Meanwhile, her other hand hooks around his neck, putting her firmly in control of the joke-kiss. 'This playful moment recreates their infamous Oscars moment from 2003, when Halle presented Adrien with his Best Actor Academy Award, and he spontaneously kissed her on stage. Georgina first became romantically linked with Adrien in 2019 and their relationship took centre-stage at the awards on Sunday At one point, the star - realising he still had gum in his mouth while running up to accept the award - turned around and threw it back to his girlfriend Adrien also mentioned Georgina in his acceptance speech, thanking his partner and the two children she shares with jailed Harvey (pictured in 2017) 'This time, however, it's an inside joke, but with Halle dictating the interaction. Adrien's partner, Georgina Chapman, acts as though she is unbothered by the moment, but her body language tells a different story. 'She throws her arms wide and turns her palms upwards, a symbolic gesture of welcoming Halle into the joke. However, when she claps, her hands rise unnaturally high, covering her body, suggesting a protective instinct rather than genuine enthusiasm.' Inbaal added that Georgina's laughter 'appears exaggerated' as she 'bends over in apparent amusement, but her eyes never leave the back of Halle's neck'. 'This forced reaction suggests that her giggles are purely for show,' she continued. 'Adrien picks up on it, and in response, he turns to Georgina and kisses her, a silent reassurance that she is the one who truly has his heart.' It's not the only time the couple's relationship took centre stage at the Oscars on Sunday. Even though Adrien snagged the Best Actor gong, it was his and Georgina's romance that appeared in the spotlight as the star - realising he still had gum in his mouth while running up to accept the award - turned around and threw it back to his girlfriend. Georgina first became romantically linked with Adrien in 2019, marking her first relationship since her 2017 split from disgraced film producer Harvey. Meghann Fahy ensured all eyes were on her as she took to Instagram on Tuesday with a hilarious contrasting post. The actress, 34, first turned heads in a mirror selfie donning a skimpy burgundy bikini that showed off her incredible figure. The racy two-piece featured a triangle top which tied up at the back and tiny bottoms adorned with gold hardware. She opted for a make up free look while brushing her teeth and swept her golden locks over to the side as she posed for the leggy selfie. This was followed with a snap of the actress looking cosy as she was tucked up in bed. Meghann captioned the post: 'Depending on the day.' Meghann Fahy ensured all eyes were on her as she took to Instagram on Tuesday with a hilarious contrasting post The actress, 34, first turned heads in a mirror selfie donning a skimpy burgundy bikini that showed off her incredible figure. This was followed with a snap of the actress looking cosy as she was tucked up in bed It comes after the actress put on a loved-up display with her boyfriend Leo Woodall at the BAFTAs last month. The Bold Type actress looked happier than ever as she cosied up to The One Day actor, 28, as they posed for snaps together inside the ceremony. Meghann made sure to turn heads at the star-studded ceremony as she went braless under a black cut out bow gown. The actress showed off her incredible figure in the one shoulder number which boasted a large side cut out displaying her toned waist. Meghann - who met Leo while filming the series The White Lotus in 2022 - put on a leggy display through a daring thigh high split and elevated her frame in a pair of towering heels. Styling her long blonde tresses in a neat high ponytail, she flashed her gorgeous smile while posing for photos. Meanwhile Leo cut a dapper figure in a brown oversized double breasted blazer which he teamed with a white shirt, black bow tie and was kitted out in Tiffany & Co, sporting a Sea Star Brooch, watch and white gold diamond ring. He plays Bridget's (Renee Zellweger) younger love interest Roxster in Mad About the Boy but in real life is in a relationship with Meghann. It comes after the actress put on a loved-up display with her boyfriend Leo Woodall at the BAFTAs last month Leo recently shut down questions about his love life while in Australia on the Bridget Jones promo tour. Journalist Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli was left red-faced when Leo snapped at him during an interview after the Nova radio star asked him about his love life. The breakfast host, 45, was chatting to Leo and his Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy star co-star Renee about their new movie - and the subject quickly turned to their personal lives. Leo is notoriously private about his romance with Meghann. 'Leo, are you in love at the moment?' Wippa asked. 'That's none of your business!' Leo snapped back. Leo is notoriously private about his romance with Meghann (pictured together during a romantic Maldives trip in January) Leo and Meghann met in February 2022 on the Sicily set of Mike White's drama anthology series The White Lotus, in which they portrayed Cameron Sullivan's (Theo James) stay-at-home wife Daphne and Quentin's (Tom Hollander) cheeky nephew Jack. Meghann finally went Instagram official with Leo on February 20 2023 while he shared intimate 'That's Amore' snaps of them as far back as September 2022. The pair were first pictured packing on the PDA during a November 2023 outing in New York City in pictured captured by E! News. On January 15, the nepo-baby of Andrew Woodall affectionately embraced the Emmy-nominated actress during Max's Post Emmys Reception at San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood. Meghann then publicly flirted with Leo on March 5 by commenting on his BTS Instagram post: 'I'll say it again Leo for president.' Woodall bashfully replied: 'Oh go on then.' The One Day heartthrob publicly flirted with Fahy on September 6 by commenting on her Marie Claire fashion spread, 'Momma I made it,' and she replied: '@leowoodall all 4 u.' Danny Jones's 'humiliated' wife Georgia Jones has pulled out of a public Q&A this weekend, after her husband was caught on camera kissing his I'm A Celeb co-star Maura Higgins at a raucous Brits afterparty. Mother-of-one Georgia, 38, was due to speak this Saturday alongside her Mum's The Word podcast co-host Kelsey Parker at the Baby Show at London's Excel, but has cancelled her appearance. An insider told the Mail: 'Sitting down for a Q&A in front of a live audience is not what Georgia needs right now. She is mortified at how this has all played out and can't help but feel humiliated.' Neither Georgia nor her husband Danny, who she married in 2014, have spoken in public since he was caught enjoying a late-night smooch with former Love Islander Maura, 34. Georgia's representatives confirmed she would not be appearing at The Baby Show this weekend. It is understood that Georgia has not recorded any new editions of the podcast since The Sun obtained footage of Danny and Maura getting cosy at a Brits bash. Danny Jones's 'humiliated' wife Georgia Jones has pulled out of a public Q&A this weekend, after her husband was caught kissing Maura Higgins at the Brits afterparty (pictured in 2019) Mother-of-one Georgia, 38, was due to speak this Saturday at the Baby Show at London's Excel. An insider told the Mail: 'She is mortified at how this has all played out' (Danny and Maura pictured at the afterparty) The video reportedly taken just before 3am shows them standing close to each other in the venue's foyer and leaning in to chat before he appears to peck her quickly. They were then seen leaving the venue as part of a larger group including Danny's bandmate Tom Fletcher, with Maura then heading home alone in a taxi. An onlooker told the publication of the interaction: 'Danny and Maura seemed to be having a great time. They looked like they had a brief drunken kiss. 'Danny and Maura seem to have a close friendship after meeting in the jungle. They were talking and laughing for ages.' The pair sat at different tables for the actual ceremony which was held earlier in the night at the O2 Arena. But at the afterparty they did share a table and exclusive MailOnline footage showed them sitting close together, with Maura even resting her head on Danny's shoulder at one point. A source added of the night: 'Danny appeared to be giving Maura advice and at one point he put his arm around her shoulder.' The latest edition of the Mum's The Word podcast was released on Monday, but was recorded before the news of the kissing furore. Neither Georgia nor her husband Danny, who she married in 2014, have spoken in public since he was caught enjoying a late-night smooch with former Love Islander Maura, 34 (pictured with their son Cooper) Georgia's representatives confirmed she would not be appearing at The Baby Show this weekend (Seen in 2017) At the afterparty Danny and Maura shared a table and MailOnline footage showed them sitting close together, with Maura even resting her head on Danny's shoulder at one point Georgia and Kelsey chatted about the importance of being present and living in the moment, opening up about spending time with their children. She chatted about parenting, made reference to their recent house move and even detailed their flight to Australia, which had been to see Danny while he was in the I'm A Celebrity jungle. While another moment in the episode saw her becoming emotional as Kelsey gave her pal a slew of compliments, after a fan asked the pair to say what they liked most about each other. Touched, Georgia said: 'Thanks, aww Kels. Don't because I'll cry!' before she tellingly added: 'Nah I'm alright, I'm not in an emotional vulnerable state today so we're okay.' Kelsey chimed in to tell listeners: '[Georgia's] tired, but she's a different tired.' Stella Klim was wowing the fashion scene on Wednesday night. The daughter of Australian champion swimmer Michael Klim and his glamorous ex wife Lindy stunned as she attended the Glam Up Runway at the Melbourne Fashion Festival. The 18-year-old, who is the spitting image of her Balinese Princess mum Lindy, turned heads in a floral satin frock. With a bold design in tones of red, pink, white and black, the sleeveless maxi skimmed her statuesque figure. Stella added a pair of gold hoop earrings, arm cuffs and thong style heels in black while carrying a designer animal skin purse. For makeup, Stellar chose a bronzed palette with a nude pink lipstick and wore her dark hair sleek and straightened. Stella Klim (pictured) was wowing the fashion scene on Wednesday night She attended the Glam Up Runway at the Melbourne Fashion Festival The 18-year-old, who is the spitting image of her Balinese Princess mum Lindy, turned heads in a floral satin frock Stella is the latest nepo baby taking social media by storm. The influencer has now accumulated an even bigger following on TikTok than her model mother Lindy, as she engages her thousands of followers with beauty and makeup tips. The Bali-based social media star revealed she now gives her 45-year-old model mother suggestions on how to better engage her followers online. 'She has taught me how to pose and hold myself in certain environments, but in terms of influencer stuff I'm definitely helping mum,' Stella told the Herald Sun. 'Stella has outgrown me,' a proud Lindy chipped in. The stunning mother-daughter duo also have a professional relationship, and recently returned to Australia to promote the women's clothing brand Effie Kats. Last year, the brunette beauty told Confidential she has plenty more projects to come. 'The modelling is going so well. I'm now being booked for international brands and I'm really enjoying taking my modelling to the next stage,' said. Stella is the daughter of Australian champion swimmer Michael Klim and his glamorous ex wife Lindy. Both pictured in 2014 'As I am getting older I am finding my own style in modelling and what works best for me.' She continued: 'I have been working lots on some exciting projects, too, which I have to keep secret until they are released, such as doing a worldwide campaign with my family.' Stella went on to say she is 'excited' to see where her modelling career takes her and is grateful for the advice her mother has given her. The beauty said her supportive mum Lindy has always taught her to 'give my best and be happy with who I am' as she navigates the incredibly competitive industry that is modelling. The stunner launched her modelling career in November 2022 at the age of 16. Agency Bali Starz shared photos to their Instagram at the time which showed the high school student posing poolside in tasteful swimwear. Bali's leading modelling and creative agency introduced the genetically blessed teen as 'Gorgeous girl Stella', before tagging South African photographer Wesley Lewis. She made a name for herself with her jaw-dropping figure. And Emily Ratajkowski flaunted her incredible frame as she took to Instagram on Wednesday while on vacation in Brazil. The model, 33, was relaxing on the beach in a tiny patterned bikini which shoed off her toned legs and abs. She accessorised her look with a red bucket hat and was sipping on a cold beer while posing on the sand. Referring to other visits to the country she penned in the caption: 'you thought you could keep me away?', followed by a Brazil flag emoji. Emily showed off her impressive holiday tan and wore her long brunette tresses in loose waves over her shoulders. Emily Ratajkowski flaunted her incredible frame as she took to Instagram on Wednesday while on vacation in Brazil It comes after Oscars evening was very successful for pinup model and movie actress Emily on Sunday. Not only did the Gone Girl star stun in a see-through lace dress that showed off her tiny black underwear, but she also got some one-on-one time with a big male star. Emily was seen posing and flirting with movie icon Chris Rock, 60. The two looked to be in a good mood as they chatted away inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party held in Beverly Hills. Emily appears to be single at the moment after divorcing Sebastian Bear-McClard and being linked to Orazio Rispo, Pete Davidson, Eric Andre, Harry Styles and Shaboozey. Chris Rock was previously married to Malaak Compton (1996 - 2016) and has dated Megalyn Echikunwoke (2015 - 2020) as well as Karrine Steffans (2005) and Nia Long (1991). Rock and Lake Bell were romantically linked in the summer of 2022, but Rock confirmed in 2023 that he was single. The comedian's date at the Oscar party was his daughter Zahra. It comes after Oscars evening was very successful for pinup model and movie actress Emily on Sunday Emily was seen posing and flirting with movie icon Chris Rock, 60, during the star-studded evening Emily is good friends with Chris' longtime pal Amy Schumer. Emily and Amy also worked together on the film I Feel Pretty and were seen together in New Orleans last month. Last month Ratajkowski said she always strives to balance 'something masculine with something feminine' in her style. The model and actress has teamed up with Marella on a new blazer capsule collection, and she has explained why the partnership is a perfect fit. She told Women's Wear Daily: 'I wear blazers all the time: I wear them on the plane, I wear them to go out for drinks, I wear them to take my son to school. 'Balancing something masculine with something feminine is always a central part of my styling and with this collection I think you can really play with that.' The star previously revealed she would rather stick with what she is comfortable in and knows works for her rather than choose an outfit based on what is fashionable at the moment. She told PopSugar: 'I've made the mistake of trying [trends] before. What makes me happy is just knowing that I look good... 'I just try to really take a second and be like, OK, what do I want to feel like today? Am I comfortable? 'Am I kicking [but] and wearing heels? What's the vibe?' The cover girl's biggest beauty regret is tweezing her eyebrows too much as a teenager and even having her cousin shave them at one point. She noted: 'I've been on a journey with my eyebrows.' The two looked to be in a good mood as they chatted away inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party held in Beverly Hills But Emily knows everyone makes mistakes and she tries not too be too critical of herself these days. She reflected: 'I was so hard on myself, and I get it, it's what we do, but God, it's so not nice.' Meanwhile, she previously revealed she has a very straightforward fitness routine, which involves walking her dog around New York City. A year ago, she shared: 'I live in New York City so I walk a lot. I have a dog and I don't have a dog walker. Everyone thinks he's a German Shepherd. He's not. I'm a loser and I got his DNA testing. He's 90 pounds, so he's a big boy. I do have a little backyard area, but he needs a decent amount of walks. 'Then my son is 35 plus pounds and I carry that man around. He likes to be held and I love to hold him, but it's getting serious.' Chilling footage has surfaced of the desperate search that took place after the fiancee of Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe fell from a cruise ship and died. Kimberly Burch, 56, fell to her death 'from a room balcony' on the first night of The 80s Cruise on the Royal Caribbean ship, Explorer of the Seas on March 2 - after an alleged 'heated' argument with the rocker, 60. In a haunting video taken by one of the passengers, a member of the crew could be heard announcing that the incident had occurred. A man's voice rang out over a loudspeaker: 'We do actually have a person overboard, and just to advise you, the captain has turned the ship around and we are actively seeking for the person who was reported to go overboard.' The announcement continued: 'We are following all of our visual protocols and we will keep you updated with the progress.' A small boat could then be seen darting over the waves in the dark, manned by two people mounting a last-ditch effort to find Burch, in footage obtained by TMZ. Chilling footage has surfaced of the desperate search that took place for Kimberly Burch, pictured with her fiance, Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe A Royal Caribbean Group spokesman confirmed to DailyMail.com: 'Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guests family during this difficult time. 'To respect the privacy of our guests family, we have no additional details to share.' Realtor Kimberly had traveled on the seven day cruise to support Taime, who was performing with the punk band. The cruise departed from Miami and was set to visit Nassau, San Juan, and Labadee. She had been in a relationship with Downe, 60, for around six years. Her body has not been recovered. Hours before her death she posed up with Downe on the ship and wrote: 'We made it to @the80scruise.' Kimberly's mother Carnell Burch told TMZ Taime had called her on Monday to reveal Kimberly had died and that it is 'still unclear' whether her daughter jumped or accidentally fell from the ship, although she is 'confident Kimberly would not purposefully hurt herself.' Kimberly was drinking on the cruise, Carnell said, which was 'out of character for her' and Carnell claimed her daughter had had an argument with Taime before her death. Carnell added her daughter was not suffering from depression or emotional issues at the time and was excited for the trip, which was in its first day and featured musical acts including Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany and Men at Work. Burch and Downe are pictured hours before her death Sunday Downe, 60, is the lead vocalist of the iconic 80s metal band - pictured 2013 with Xristian Simon, Danny Nordahl, and Ace Von Johnson Burch, 56, fell to her death shortly after an alleged heated argument with the rocker, 60, during The 80s Cruise on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas (pictured) on March 2 Kimberly is said to have gone overboard on the first day of the cruise around 11pm PST - with a guest claiming on X she had 'jumped from the balcony of her 8th floor room' 80 miles from Miami. They wrote: 'Currently on the #RCL Explorer of the Seas for the #80scruise. Unfortunately, we have a "woman overboard' situation and boats have been deployed. We are currently 80+ miles from Miami at 11pm PST. Not good. 'It looks like the woman "jumped" from the balcony of her 8th floor room after an argument with her partner. This is our 15th cruise, and the first time we've actually experienced this. 'Clearly, the priority is recovering the woman. And the boat has turned around and is at a dead stop. They have deployed boats for the search. Could be a long night.... Another guest wrote: 'Person overboard on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. On the 80s Cruise. Just saw a great show by Squeeze, then it was announced a person is overboard. Ship is stopped and searching. Other nearby ships helping. Kimberly is said to have gone overboard on the first day of the cruise around 11pm PST - with a guest claiming on X she had 'jumped from the balcony of her 8th floor room' 80 miles from Miami A room and balcony on Explorer of the Seas is pictured Kimberly is pictured with Taime and his mother in Seattle 2023 Kimberly is pictured in an Instagram post from 2022 Guests aboard the ship posted messages about the search on X Kimberly and Taime had been together for around 'five or six years' A US Coast Guard spokesperson said the incident happened roughly 20 miles from Freeport, Bahamas. The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter crew and other personnel to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in their search - which was later suspended. Kimberly and Taime had been together for around 'five or six years.' A passenger also told THR: 'There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person. '[The] ship was stopped for a few hours. Safety boats were deployed with floodlights to illuminate the surrounding area. Another cruise ship nearby had its floodlights on searching as well. My wife spoke with some people on one of the decks saying they heard that it was a woman and it was caught on camera. Cant confirm though. 'Eventually the ship powered up and off we went. This morning a PA announcement said that the US Coast Guard had taken over the search. We arrived at Nassau, Bahamas a few hours behind schedule. No excursions were canceled. Havent heard anything since.' Kimberly was drinking on the cruise, Carnell said, which was 'out of character for her' DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Taime Downe, The 80s Cruise and Royal Caribbean for comment. Glam metal band Faster Pussycat formed in 1985 comprised of Downe, guitarists Greg Steele and Brent Muscat and bassist Kelly Nickels. They forged a successful career over the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over two million records worldwide They have released four albums, Faster Pussycat (1987), Wake Me When It's Over (1989), Whipped! (1992) and The Power and the Glory Hole (2006). They broke up in 1993, but reformed in 2001. Former drummer Brett Bradshaw died on March 26, 2021, at age 50. Kylie Jenner has shared more hyper glamorous images from Oscar night to her Instagram account. And this new batch again presented an eye-popping detail from her lavish $12million mansion in Hidden Hills, California. On Tuesday fans noticed a 'trailer park' detail outside the property: it was fake grass in the pavers and porch. Now on Wednesday followers went nuts for another detail, this time inside the sprawling abode where she raises kids Stormi and Aire whom she had with ex Travis Scott. These new images showed a bright ocean blue 'alien' type object on the wall in the background. 'What is that alien light on her wall? Is it a secret portal?' joked one follower as another said: 'Space ship signal coming out of her wall.' It appears to be a gift from her older sister, Vogue supermodel Kendall Jenner, who has something very similar in her dwelling. Do you know what it is? Kylie Jenner has shared more hyper glamorous images from Oscar night to her Instagram account And this new batch again presented an eye-popping detail from her lavish $12million mansion in Hidden Hills, California It is a glowing oval light 'wall hanging' from acclaimed artist James Turrell. Kendall has one in her Beverly Hills home, which used to belong to sitcom king Charlie Sheen. Kendall's Turrell art piece is pink. Similar pieces are estimated to be worth upwards of $500k. Looks like Kylie has a very similar version hanging in her hallway - only hers is blue - as it glows pale colors which makes it look very modern and almost alien. The day before Kylie was seen in dark beaded gown before she attended the Oscars on Sunday in Hollywood to support her boyfriend Timothee Chalamet who was nominated for his role in A Complete Unknown. Jenner looked so ravishing in her Miu Miu dress that had cut-outs on her tummy as her raven hair cascaded down her chest that it was hard to notice anything else in the frames. But fans picked up on a detail about her opulent home. After looking closely, it could be seen that the billionaire makeup mogul had something unusual outside her dwelling. On Tuesday fans noticed a 'trailer park' detail outside the property: it was fake grass in the pavers and porch The unusual thing is the fake grass used on the front yard and in between pavers on her driveway. 'That is so trailer park, she uses fake grass, that is for poor people!' commented one troll. Another added, 'She ain't got no real grass? Fool.' But it seemed the haters are being much too harsh. Kylie using fake grass is actually a smart eco-friendly move as Southern California suffers from persistent drought. In fact, some of the Kardashian family members have been dragged in the past for using too much water for their lush green lawns. So it appears as if Kylie is trying to conserve some water. Also, it is very hard to keep real grass healthy when it is placed between driveway pavers as the water does not soak in evenly. Most of the comments for her post were incredibly positive. Kylie's sister Khloe Kardashian wrote, 'I love you' and her pal Olivia Pierson added, 'So beautiful Ky .' Now on Wednesday followers went nuts for another detail, this time inside the sprawling abode where she raises kids Stormi and Aire whom she had with ex Travis Scott These new images showed a bright ocean blue alien' type object on the wall in the background. It appears to be a gift from her older sister, Vogue supermodel Kendall Jenner , who has something very similar in her dwelling. Do you know what it is? It's a light wall hanging by artist James Turrell Kylie's sister Kendall Jenner has a similar one; seen in her home while on the cover of AD Kendall's Turrell art piece is pink. Similar pieces are estimated to be worth upwards of $500k She also posed inside her home as she gave a look at the stone floors, black door and long, thin lights on the wall. In 2016, Jenner purchased a 13,200-square-foot, Cape Cod-style mansion in Hidden Hills for $12 million. The home has eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, home theater, game room, pool, and spa and massage room. This comes after Kylie faced a big loss. Jenner doesn't know how she'll 'move forward' without Jesus Guerrero. The 27-year-old make-up mogul has taken to social media to pay a glowing tribute to her hairstylist, who recently passed away aged 34. Alongside a carousel of throwback videos and photographs, Kylie wrote on Instagram: 'Jesus was more than my friend - he was a light in my life, a source of laughter, comfort, love, and unwavering support. 'I don't know how I would have made it through the last almost decade without him by my side. He had a way of making even the heaviest days feel lighter.' Jenner and Chalamet at the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 2 Later Kylie was seen in this black lace gown as she posed with Monica Barbaro at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Kylie has experienced 'unbearable' pain since Jesus passed away. The reality star has also admitted to feeling inspired by her hairstylist. Kylie wrote on the photo-sharing platform: 'Thank you, Jesus, for always being there for me, for lifting me up, for being my friend. 'The pain of losing you is just unbearable and i don't know how to move forward without you but I know great grief is born only of great love. and I loved you so much. You were the best person, with a talent that was unmatched. a true artist. 'You inspired so many, and you always will. 'Your words, your laughter, your kindness, your beautiful spirit will live in my heart forever. 'I'll cherish all our moments together. every laugh and hug. I wish I could hug you again. I laid in your bed the way you used to lay in mine, talking for hours. I would give anything for one more deep talk. I'm going to miss you so much. more than any words can say. 222 my angel.' He was in his early thirties when he made his debut as the Dark Knight. But now Robert Pattinson fears he is going to be 'too old' by the time he reprises his role for the new Batman. The 38-year-old actor starred as the Caped Crusader in the 2022 DC superhero movie and is due to begin production for the sequel. Now, speaking with his Mickey 17 co-star Naomi Ackie about whether he'd play Batman again soon for Hero magazine, Robert said: 'I f****** hope so. 'I started out as young Batman and I'm going to be f****** old Batman by the sequel.' Despite his advancing years, the Twilight star insisted he was 'healthier' and had lowered his 'biological age'. He was in his early thirties when he made his debut as the Dark Knight. But now Robert Pattinson fears he is going to be 'too old' by the time he reprises his role for the new Batman The 38-year-old actor starred as the Caped Crusader in the 2022 DC superhero movie and is due to begin production for the sequel He explained: 'I'm 38, I'm old. I'm old, but I'm healthier. 'I think I've actually brought my biological age down a bit.' The Batman: Part II was initially slated to hit cinemas in October 2026, but the movie was subsequently delayed to the following year to allow director Matt Reeves enough time to complete the script. DC co-head James Gunn later defended the delay and said 'a five-year gap or more is fairly common in sequels'. Robert recently confirmed principal photography on The Batman: Part II would begin at the end of 2025. Now, speaking with his Mickey 17 co-star Naomi Ackie (pictured, left) about whether he'd play Batman again soon for Hero magazine, Robert said: 'I f****** hope so' The actor - who became well known when playing Edward Cullen in Twilight, said: 'I could genuinely be retiring by the end of them' When asked about the production start date, he said: 'I think at the end of the year? 'And I know what it's about but I can't tell anyone, but it's like, it's very cool. It's very exciting.' After The Batman: Part II, Robert will be donning the mask once more to complete the DC trilogy, and has admitted he could 'genuinely be retiring' once the third film is finished. The actor - who started his movie career at the age of 17 playing Cedric Diggory in 2005's 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and became well known when playing Edward Cullen in Twilight, said: 'I could genuinely be retiring by the end of them.' Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has revealed that she is now cancer free in a huge health update. The actress, 42, who is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007, was told by doctors in June that she had stage two breast cancer. Last December she told how she had just finished five months of chemotherapy - describing the process as 'major'. She also had a mastectomy. And on Wednesday she shared a new Instagram post saying that she was cancer-free and 'couldn't believe it'. She penned in the caption: 'I wanted to update you all. I'm on to my final week of radio therapy which should mark the end my active treatment - I hope and pray for good. 'I had my mastectomy in January which was thankfully a success and has healed really well, it proved that my chemo had worked. As I sit here right now, I'm free from Cancer. I can't even believe it. Hollyoaks actress Ali Bastian has revealed that she is now cancer free in a huge health update The actress, 42, who is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007, was told by doctors in June that she had stage two breast cancer 'I have the most incredible team at CUH and I'm so grateful for every single one of them. The nurses who have given me compassion, time and space to share and talk about my experience of a very challenging treatment pathway One that although we thank god exists, is not only a lot for the body to process but an awful lot to process mentally and emotionally.' The actress continued: 'My consultants - golly, to be surrounded by such excellence. We used to joke on TV sets when we all started to take ourselves a bit too seriously 'come on guys, we're not curing cancer here.' 'Well these incredible men and women dedicate their lives to doing just that, at least that is what they hope for, for all of us. I hope one day their dreams are realised for everyone touched by this. 'Another shout out for Stef in the Dunmanway who makes tea for all the chemo patients... thank you for taking time to know us as we pass through the clinic week after week. You make an incredible difference to a lonely journey, as do all the onc nurses who are not only incredible but the hand holds, the tears, the laughs and the kindness will never be forgotten.' Ali continued, saying that it feels 'unreal' to have been told she's cancer free after the 'shock diagnosis.' She explained: 'To be coming out of the other side of this feels unreal, after the shock of a diagnosis it's hard to let in the light and believe that it might just be ok. The road back to my life won't be a linear one and I will share with you as always, as much of my truth of this experience as I can. On Wednesday she shared a new Instagram post saying that she was cancer-free and 'couldn't believe it' She penned: 'I had my mastectomy in January which was thankfully a success and has healed really well, it proved that my chemo had worked. As I sit here right now, I'm free from Cancer. I can't even believe it' Ali married actor and producer for Big Finish Productions, David O'Mahony, in February 2019 'I am so, so grateful for all of your support. People with cancer, experiencing cancer treatment need love. Full stop. Unconditional, arms around you love and support. I've really felt that from you all, also in my day to day life from the most unexpected of places. When it's dark, look for stars.' In December Ali marked the end of five months of chemotherapy treatment amid her breast cancer battle. Updating fans, Ali revealed that she had completed five months of chemo - describing the process as 'major'. She was flooded with messages of support from fans, co-stars and celebrity pals alike, as she said their kindness 'gets her through'. Sharing a sweet video of her and husband David O'Mahony, Ali said: 'I got to ring (the tiny little bell I stole from my kid's music box as they don't do the [bell] thing here in Ireland) after five months of chemotherapy. I'm still halfway through this last cycle, so much still to process on every level. 'Chemo is major. The oncology nursing team at the Dunmanway CUH are INCREDIBLE, I said to them as I left it's not that I never want to see them again because I love them all so much, I just hope the next time I do we all have a glass of Prosecco in our hands raising money and awareness for all their incredible work. 'For anyone going through this, you think the end will never come and then through the fog the goal posts appear. You are not alone.' She added: 'Thank you all so, so much. I read every kind word of support and it honestly gets me through xxxxxxx .' Messages of support flooded in from Ali's celebrity pals, as Lizzie Cundy said: 'Stay positive and keep strong my beautiful friend . You are amazing ,'; 'You are AMAZING ,' said Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas, while fellow soap co-star Gemma Merna said: 'You are amazing Ali .' Ashley James said: 'Thinking of you Ali ,' with Anna Williamson adding: 'You're absolutely amazing so much love .' 'Sending love xxxxxxx ,' said Helen Skelton, with Giovanna Fletcher adding: 'Sending you huge amounts of love!! Xxx.' Hollyoaks alum Danny Mac shared love hearts, with Dermot O'Leary also sending support. The Strictly pros also turned out, with Karen Hauer saying 'Sending love ' and Janette Manrara adding: 'Keep going! Sending you all the love.' Meanwhile Ola Jordan said: 'Sending you love Ali ,' and Ian Watkins saying 'Huge hugs xxxx.' 'Jesus I had no idea,' said presenter Kelle Bryan. 'Keep fighting warrior, you got this sending all my love and prayers.' Last year, Ali was rushed to hospital amid her cancer treatment. Sharing an update to her Instagram Story, she posed for a selfie and told her followers she was getting some much needed rest. Ali wrapped up warm in a knitted hat and a padded coat a walk through the countryside. She is seen in Hollyoaks She captioned the post: 'Thank you so much to all at Cork University Hospital A&E for taking care of me this weekend. Back home now getting some fresh air and some rest.' Ali recently opened up about losing her hair in a candid interview. She admitted she feared she would 'lose her identity' along with her hair after shaving her head. She told The Sun's Fabulous magazine: 'I trot around with a bald head all the time at home. But I'd had this fear that becoming bald from chemo was me 'becoming' a cancer patient, and that was all anyone would see. 'I thought it would be like losing my identity.' But Ali revealed the first time she took her wig off, it only felt like a big deal for 'a split second'. She added: 'Then it felt all right, and then it just felt normal. I'm hot and my bald head needs some air!' If something in your body doesn't feel right, contact your GP practice. To rule out cancer, they may refer you for further tests. It's probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable and can save lives. Whatever the result, your NHS is here for you. For more information on cancer signs and symptoms, go to nhs.uk/cancersymptoms. Nadya Suleman, who achieved notoriety as the 'Octomom' after giving birth to the world's first surviving octuplets in 2009, has now revealed the major 'regret' she harbors about her past. She was already a cash-strapped single mother of six when she had the eight more children, bringing her up to her current total of 14. When she first shot to fame, she was instantly a controversial figure - as was her fertility doctor Dr. Michael Kamrava, who had helped with all her pregnancies. It emerged that she conceived the octuplets after he implanted 12 embryos, even though he initially told her he only put in six and the recommended amount is just two. The roiling scandal ended with the doctor's medical license being revoked, and the Octomom eventually faded back into obscurity - until now, as she launches her comeback with a movie and a reality show out on Lifetime this month. Now Nadya, real name Natalie, has revealed what she would change if she had to go through her journey to motherhood again, via People. Nadya Suleman, who achieved notoriety as the 'Octomom' after giving birth to the world's first surviving octuplets in 2009, has now revealed the major 'regret' she harbors about her past 'I don't think I'd do too much differently. I do regret not suing the infertility doctor,' the Octomom confessed in her new interview. 'I definitely regret that because his insurance would've been the one paying, and it would've been some millions, and it would've been helpful for my family.' She was living with her parents at the time when she conceived the octuplets, and was under financial strain as she attempted to care for all her children. 'I regret that I kind of threw myself under the bus to cover for him, and I shouldn't have but I was grateful,' she explained. 'I wouldn't have had any of my kids if it weren't for his innovative technique. No one else in the world did this type of procedure so I didn't have it in my heart to sue him.' She did however pursue legal action against the hospital whose staff she accused of leaking her medical information and identity to the media. The Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, California was ultimately slapped with a fine of $250,000 after 25 employees were established to have accessed the Octomom's medical records improperly, per the Yale School Of Medicine. Looking back on her legal battle with the hospital, Nadya said the hospital 'breached HIPAA' and claimed they were 'the reason why I ended up in the public eye.' She was already a cash-strapped single mother of six when she had the eight more children, bringing her up to her current total of 14; pictured with all her children and her daughter-in-law It emerged that she conceived the octuplets after he implanted 12 embryos, even though he initially told her he only put in six; Nadya and the octuplets are pictured in 2011 Now Nadya, real name Natalie, has revealed what she would change if she had to go through her journey to motherhood again, via People Self-deprecatingly, she joked that she 'may have possibly overachieved with kids' as she 'didn't intend on having this many,' recalling that when she went in to have IVF for the pregnancy that resulted in octuplets, her goal was to have 'just one more.' As for why she wanted to build a large family in the first place, Nadya partially attributed her ambitions to her own childhood. 'I wasn't happy as an only child, and clearly I projected my dream onto my kids and wanting a big, well, not this big of a family, but I did want seven kids,' she said. 'But it's not enough to say I wanted a big family because I was lonely. There is an amalgamation of factors. I wanted kids to create maybe a safe and predictable little world that I lacked growing up. So then of course, I projected onto my future family.' She declared: 'When I set my mind to achieving a goal, I am laser focused and then I hyper-focus, and then I work relentlessly to achieve the goal.' Nadya announced this past September that she had become a grandmother when her 21-year-old son Joshua and his wife welcomed a baby daughter. Her octuplets, who celebrated their 16th birthday last month, are called Noah, Josiah, Nariyah, Maliyah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Makai. When she conceived them, Nadya was already mother to Elijah, 23, Amerah, 22, Joshua, 21, Aidan, 19, and twins Caleb and Calyssa, 18. Her biopic I Was Octomom will air on Lifetime this Saturday while her reality show Confessions Of Octomom is set to premiere next Monday. Bhad Bhabie's ex and father of her daughter has been shot at an LA strip club. Le Vaughn, 26, who split from the rapper, 21, last month, was inside Sam's Hofbrau near downtown LA when he was shot in the early hours of Wednesday morning, DailyMail.com has confirmed. According to multiple sources, two groups of men got into an altercation while watching the dancers, with someone opening fire. The fracas spilled outside with more shots fired and two people struck by bullets, the LAPDsaid. Le Vaughn was hit in the hand with another person struck in the shoulders. An LAPD spokesman told DailyMail.com: 'On 3/5/25, at 2:04 a.m., two male victims were struck by gunfire in the 1700 block of E. Olympic Blvd. 'The male suspect fled the location in a vehicle. The victims were self-transported to a local hospital in stable condition' Bhad Bhabie's ex and father of her daughter, Le Vaughn, has been shot at an LA strip club - pictured 2024 Le Vaughn, 26, was at Sam's Hofbrau near downtown LA (pictured) when he was shot in the early hours of Wednesday morning A suspect driving a white G-Wagon was approached by police but they drove onto the 10 freeway and managed to get away, per TMZ. Le Vaughn and another victim were treated at hospital for non life-threatening injuries and are set to make a full recovery. He later showed off his bandaged hand from his hospital bed in an Instagram clip. DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Bhad Bhabie, the LAPD and Sam's Hofbrau for further comment. This comes after Bhad Bhabie, real name Danielle Bregoli, has been embroiled in drama after alleging Alabama Barker had been trying to steal Le Vaughn. Last month Bhad Bhabie shared a now-deleted Instagram story saying she is 'single' followed by another post reading: 'Like dead ass yall will never see me with that man ever again' per TMZ. A spokesman for the star said at the time: 'LV has been a strong source of support for Danni and their daughter throughout her cancer journey. 'Thats currently both their focuses, making sure Danni is healing and healthy.' The pair share Kali Love, who will turn one in March. They last rekindled their romance in December, after Bregolo accused him of beating her. The split comes after Barker, 19, denied she had hooked up with Le Vaughn and said she had 'no interest' in him. She said that it was Le Vaughn who has been contacting her and 'confessing his feelings' for her for nearly a year. Le Vaughn, 26, who shares a daughter with the rapper , 21, was inside Sam's Hofbrau near downtown LA when he was shot in the early hours of Wednesday morning, per TMZ Le Vaughn showed off his bandaged hand after the shooting in an Instagram clip The former couple share daughter Kali, who will turn one this month - picture with Bhad Bhabie's mom Barbara Bregoli (R) The split comes after Alabama Barker, 19, denied she had hooked up with Le Vaughn and said she had 'no interest' in him Bhad Bhabie also sensationally claimed Barker had got pregnant by Tyga, 35, which was also vehemently denied. In December, Bregoli revealed she was back with her babydaddy Le Vaughn, less than two weeks after ending their four-year relationship. She captioned her Instastory: 'Forever my baby.' She previously accused him of domestic violence last year. One person outraged about Bhad Bhabie rekindling her romance with the 26-year-old was her own mother, Barbara. 'This is what LV texted me last night letting me know he has control over her but we know it's trauma bonding,' she said via Instastory. Barbara previously called Le Vaughn a 'piece of s*** who beat my daughter, almost killing her, on more than one occasion' and she wrote: 'Imagine playing the victim in a situation you created.' In November, Bhad Bhabie gave her first health update since revealing her cancer diagnosis after sparking concern among her fans over her very thin and frail appearance. She admitted that she was 'not prepared' to speak about her health battle just yet, but shared that she was doing 'okay.' It was the first time she was seen out in public since informing fans that her sudden weight loss was due to her 'cancer medicine' on Instagram. Bregoli seemed to launch her Instagram Stories post in response to concerned comments fans have made about her significantly slimmed-down figure. 'I'm Sorry my cancer medicine made me loose weight. Im slowly gaining it back,' she wrote. 'So stop running w the worst narratives [sic].' Channel 5 has announced Vanessa, a brand-new daytime television show, fronted by award-winning broadcaster Vanessa Feltz. The new daily series will launch on Monday March 24 with a lunchtime slot of 12.45-1.45 pm. It will be produced by ITN Productions, producers of the daily shows Jeremy Vine and Storm Huntley. Described as 'a much-needed haven from the relentless news agenda,' Vanessa, 63, will 'provide heart-warming, hard-hitting, and straight-talking television'. Known for her sharp insight and honesty, she'll tackle everything from relationships and parenting to gossip and fashion. The show will feature celebrities as never seen before, real-life confessions, commiserations and celebrations with viewers setting the agenda. Channel 5 has announced Vanessa, a brand-new daytime television show, fronted by award-winning broadcaster Vanessa Feltz Described as 'a much-needed haven from the relentless news agenda,' Vanessa, 63, will 'provide heart-warming, hard-hitting, and straight-talking television' Speaking about the series, Vanessa said: 'I cannot wait to get started on this sparkling adventure with Channel 5. This show is all about YOU your stories, your opinions, your emotions, and your triumphs. 'Television's never been so real, honest, or unpredictable. Life isn't perfect, so let's not pretend it is let's help each other out, have a giggle, and make every show a conversation worth having. 'So kick off your shoes, come and join me for lunch, relax with a bit of me time, and let's have a ball!' The mother-of-two has been a prominent figure in British broadcasting for over three decades. She first gained national recognition in the 1990s with The Vanessa Show on ITV, which ran from 1994 to 1998, before moving to the BBC, where she presented a range of radio and television programmes, including The Vanessa Show on BBC One and the early morning Radio 2 Breakfast Show. In 2022, she left the BBC after nearly 20 years, citing a desire to embrace new challenges and opportunities. She then joined TalkTV, where she hosted her own show for two years. In 2023, Vanessa left her role as a presenter on TalkTV as the news channel underwent a major shake-up. Vanessa said: 'I cannot wait to get started on this sparkling adventure with Channel 5. This show is all about YOU your stories, your opinions, your emotions, and your triumphs' Federico Ruiz, Commissioning Editor, Channel 5, added: 'We are thrilled to have signed Vanessa, an award-winning broadcaster and bona fide national treasure, to our daytime line-up. 'Our audience love her, and there is nobody better for viewers to spend their lunchtimes with every single weekday.' Ian Rumsey, Managing Director of Content, ITN, said: 'Vanessa defined the genre with her first talk show and this new slot on Channel 5 is a brilliant and unique opportunity to work with one of the pioneers of talk shows, and take all that talent, energy and experience to create a fresh twist to daytime chat.' Commissioned by Federico Ruiz at Channel 5 and produced by ITN Productions, Vanessa will air daily with Ian Jones serving as Editor. Danny Jones revealed that his wife Georgia had a tough few weeks at the beginning of the year, speaking out on her 'burnout' following his I'm A Celeb win. The comments were made just days before the McFly star shared a drunken kiss with his I'm A Celeb co-star Maura Higgins at Saturday night's Brit Awards. Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe, which was released just a day before the kiss, Danny spoke candidly about how his month in the Australian jungle affected his ten year marriage. Georgia, who shares son Cooper, seven, with Danny, moved house solo whilst Danny was Down Under, with the musician admitting 'I'm surprised she's still with me to be honest because she moved house all by herself.' Georgia subsequently went on a solo retreat to a remote cabin after Danny returned home from Australia. 'When I got back, my wife was like, "I just think I need to go away to a hut myself for a few days,"' Danny explained on the podcast. Danny Jones revealed that his wife Georgia suffered from burnout following his I'm A Celeb stint with Maura Higgins, who he was seen kissing at Saturday's Brit Awards Heading into the New Year, Danny's wife Georgia revealed she needed to 'do something for me' and booked a woodland retreat after feeling 'overwhelmed' with solo parenting 'I said "just go and take yourself away. And have a few days". She was overwhelmed. It got too much for her. And I could see it. I was like "you need to just need to go". Later in the podcast, Danny called Georgia's solo house move 'absolute God tier,' and gushed of his wife: 'She's amazing at making life less complicated. Somehow she will make my life less complicated and just talk to me.' Georgia spoke about her burnout on her own podcast Mum's The Word, admitting: 'I was like, do you know what? F*** it. Im going to do it. I need to be on my own. I need silence. I cant hear I cant hear people needing me anymore. I cant. I cant do it.' In an Instagram post at the time, Georgia explained her reasons further, telling fans: 'Over a month of solo parenting, moving house on my own, working hard on my career whilst Danny was in the jungle with snakes in his pants was A LOT!' She booked a wholesome woodland retreat with cabin company Unyoked. Georgia took herself to snowy Shropshire where she stayed in a cabin and chopped wood, built a fire, enjoyed some reading time and soaked up nature. 'I was going into this New Year burnt out. Everything I didnt want to feel entering 2025 I felt.' 'So whilst I was still in Australia I decided I needed to do something for me a solo trip, one to push me out of my comfort zone but also one to give me the break I craved. Speaking on the Parenting Hell podcast, which was released just a day before the kiss, Danny spoke candidly about how his month in the Australian jungle affected his ten year marriage (Georgia and Danny pictured after his win on the show in December) 'When I got back, my wife was like, "I just think I need to go away to a Hut myself for a few days,"' Danny explained on the podcast 'So I booked a little cabin in the middle of nowhere, somewhere near Shropshire, and found a little nugget of calm in my overwhelmed brain. 'I chopped fire wood, built fires, sat in silence, read books, slept, took in the views, watched the sheep in the nearby field and it was perfect. 'I pushed myself. When it started getting dark, when I got a log stuck on the cutter, when I thought I was going to get snowed in I though about leaving I thought "I can't do this". But I did! And now I'm going into this year super proud of myself. If you do one thing this year Do this.' Neither Georgia nor her husband Danny, who she married in 2014, have spoken in public since he was caught enjoying a late-night smooch with former Love Islander Maura, 34. Georgia revealed that the pressures of solo parenting and moving house on her own during that time resulted in her feeling burnt out It is understood that Georgia has not recorded any new editions of her podcast since The Sun obtained footage of Danny and Maura getting cosy at a Brits bash. The latest edition of the Mum's The Word podcast was released on Monday, but was recorded before the news of the kissing furore. A 'humilated' Georgia has also pulled out of a public Q&A at The Baby Show this weekend. The video of Danny and Maura, reportedly taken just before 3am, shows them standing close to each other in the venue's foyer and leaning in to chat before he appears to peck her quickly. They were then seen leaving the venue as part of a larger group including Danny's bandmate Tom Fletcher, with Maura then heading home alone in a taxi. Neither Georgia nor her husband Danny, who she married in 2014, have spoken in public since he was caught enjoying a late-night smooch with former Love Islander Maura (Maura and Danny pictured on Saturday) An onlooker told the publication of the interaction: 'Danny and Maura seemed to be having a great time. They looked like they had a brief drunken kiss. 'Danny and Maura seem to have a close friendship after meeting in the jungle. They were talking and laughing for ages.' The pair sat at different tables for the actual ceremony which was held earlier in the night at the O2 Arena. But at the afterparty they did share a table and exclusive MailOnline footage showed them sitting close together, with Maura even resting her head on Danny's shoulder at one point. A source added of the night: 'Danny appeared to be giving Maura advice and at one point he put his arm around her shoulder.' Jen Affleck has talked about taking a time out for some personal healing while pregnant with her third child. In a series of posts on her Instagram Stories, The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives star revealed she checked herself into a wellness retreat, which is a mental health and wellness center that offers counseling, therapy, herbal apothecary and other services. 'Spent 11 days away from my loved ones, focusing on healing and working through my trauma,' she wrote over a photo showing a bouquet of yellow flowers and a pamphlet from the Golden Wellness Co. 'It was definitely one of the most challenging and impactful experiences I've ever had,' she continued, before admitting, 'Not the pregnancy journey I expected, but definitely what baby and I needed.' She also shared 'moments of learning, moments of processing, moments of pain, and moments of healing,' including a video of her taking some alone time on a couch seemingly at the retreat. 'It's not every day you have the chance to be surrounded by professionals and mentors who dedicate their time to support you,' she confessed with obvious gratitude to her words. 'I am truly grateful for everyone who made this possible.' Jen Affleck, 25, revealed she took a personal time out and checked herself into a wellness center to help heal some 'trauma' in a series of post on her Instagram Stories 'Not the pregnancy journey I expected, but definitely what baby and I needed,' The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives star revealed of her 11 days away from her family while at the retreat During her stay she engulfed herself in counseling sessions, yoga classes, as well as other therapeutic endeavors such as spending time with horses, which she described as 'one of my favorite experiences', and painting. In fact, she even highlighted a specific painting she created of an open field after enduring one of her 'most difficult trauma sessions.' She went on the explain: 'Because of that, this painting will always hold a special place in my heart.' In a selfie snap, the reality star lifted her shirt to give her 617,000 Instagram fans and followers a look at her growing baby bump, while looking radiant and flashing a glowing smile. 'When we heal ourselves, we heal the next generation that follows,' she wrote inside the image. 'Pain is passed through the family line until someone is ready to fell it, heal it and let it go.' She rounded out the post by sharing a screenshot of a phone call she had with husband Zac Affleck and their two kids Nora, three, and Lucas, who turns two in July. It shows their kids getting playful with their dad as their laughed and smiled at all the fun and games they were having at the time 'I missed them so much,' Affleck said of her 11 days away from her family. 'Spent 11 days away from my loved ones, focusing on healing and working through my trauma,' during her time at the Golden Wellness Co The reality star shared 'moments of learning, moments of processing, moments of pain, and moments of healing' in photos and a video taken at the retreat Along with counseling, the healing process at the retreat included things like Yoga The Northern California native called her time with horses 'one of my favorite experiences' Affleck highlighted a specific painting she created of an open field after enduring one of her 'most difficult trauma sessions' 'I missed them so much,' Affleck said of her 11 days away from her family. The reality star announced her latest pregnancy in an interview with People as she showed off her bump in a sweet family shoot for the publication in February. Jen also revealed she was surprised to learn of her pregnancy: 'I was a few days late, and while it was a surprise, we both had a feeling there was another baby waiting for us,' she said. 'We were very excited, there were a lot of emotions after a very crazy year!' The Afflecks will be returning for season two of The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives following a difficult run on the first season, which prompted speculation that the couple might be heading to divorce. 'Season 1 took a toll, not only on my marriage but also on my mental health,' she explained in the interview. 'There were many dark days. There's so much more to our story than people realize.' Fans will learn more about the Afflecks in the upcoming second season of The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives that's set to drop in the spring 2025; the family is pictured in October 2024 She continued, 'While Im not sharing all the details online, its been essential for our relationship and mental health to keep our journey private until we're ready to talk about it.' The series follows a group of eight Utah-based TikTok influencers, known as 'MomTok' as they navigate the complexities of their personal and professional lives. Along with Affleck, the cast also includes Demi Engemann, Whitney Leavitt, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Jessi Ngatikaura, Taylor Frankie Paul and Layla Taylor. Fans will learn more about the Afflecks in the upcoming second season with 20 new episodes that's set to drop in the spring 2025. This beauty with the blonde hair comes from a very famous background. Her great grandfather is one of the most famous American novelists of all time and several of his novels have been turned into movies. Some of those movies have starred big actors such as Hollywood Golden Age greats Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper. Her mother is also well known. She was in a Woody Allen movie in the late 1970s that starred Meryl Streep, and starred in several other big films like Personal Best with Scott Glenn(1982), Star 80 with Eric Roberts (1983), and the TV series Civil Wars with Debi Mazar (1991). More recently she worked on a documentary which was produced by the Oprah Winfrey Network. This young lady, 37, was seen posing with Jeremy Scott and supermodel Gigi Hadid at the Louvre event in Paris this week. Who is she? This beauty with the blonde hair comes from a very famous background. Great-grandpa is the biggest American novelist, mom was an actress who worked with Meryl Streep The mystery star with Jeremy Scott and Gigi Hadid at the Louvre event in Paris on March 4 She is Dree Hemingway. Her mother is actress Mariel Hemingway and her great-grandfather is Ernest Hemingway who wrote the novels The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). His book To Have And Have Not was turned into a movie starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Taylor Swift referenced Ernest's book The Sun Also Rises on her album Folklore. Her sister is Langley Fox, is an American artist, actress, and model based out of Los Angeles. Dree grew up in Ketchum, Idaho and attended Ernest Hemingway Elementary School then went into modeling. In March 2009, Hemingway debuted at the fall/winter 0910 catwalk show for Givenchy in Paris. Then she walked in the Calvin Klein resort show and opened the Topshop spring/summer 2010 show. In January 2010, she became the new face of the Gianfranco Ferre advertising campaign then repped Salvatore Ferragamo perfume Attimo. Hemingway has also worked for Chanel, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, and posed for Harper's Bazaar magazine. She is Dree Hemingway. Her mother is Mariel Hemingway, her great grandfather is Ernest Hemingway and her sister is Langley Fox Here the leggy model, who has worked for Gucci and Chanel, was seen in a bikini in an Instagram post Here the budding actress is seen in a leopard-print bikini while the tropics This was a topless shot from her ad for Chloe perfume Hemingway is the Playboy Playmate in the March 2016 issue. She has acted in films too like Starlet (2012), Listen Up Philip (2014) and While We're Young (2014). Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. His debut novel, The Sun Also Rises, was published in 1926. In 1928, Hemingway returned to the U.S., where he settled in Key West, Florida. His experiences during the war was fodder for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. In 1937, Hemingway went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War, which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. In 1952, his novel The Old Man and the Sea was published. Her great-grandfather is Ernest Hemingway who wrote the novels The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) Ernest also wrote To Have And Have Not which was turned into a movie with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart; the stars fell in love on the film Her mother is also well known. Mariel Hemingway was in a Woody Allen movie called Manhattan in the late 1970s that starred Meryl Streep Mariel also worked with Eric Roberts in the movie Star 80 in 1983; it was about a slain Playboy model He died by suicide at his house in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1961. Mariel Hemingway began acting at age 14 with Lipstick (1976), then was in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979). She had leading roles in Personal Best (1982), Star 80 (1983), and the TV series Civil Wars. She is the daughter of Jack Hemingway and Byra Louise Whittlesey. Her paternal grandparents were Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson while Hemingway's sisters were Joan and Margot 'Margaux' who died in 1996 at age 42 in LA. Simone Ashley turned heads as she arrived at NBC Studios in New York City on Wednesday. The Bridgerton star, 29, looked stunning, flashing her slender legs in a stylish blue denim knee-length skirt. Layering up against the cold, the British actress donned a chic faux-fur brown coat and added inches to her frame with chocolate brown open-toe stiletto heels. To complete the look, Simone styled her long dark tresses in a sleek ponytail and wore a flawless palette of makeup as she posed for the cameras. Simone appeared in high spirits as she greeted fans while making her way into the building. She is currently in the city promoting her upcoming rom-com Picture This, in which she stars alongside heartthrob Hero Fiennes Tiffin, 27. Simone Ashley turned heads as she arrived at NBC Studios in New York City on Wednesday The Bridgerton star, 29, looked stunning, flashing her slender legs in a stylish blue denim knee-length skirt Earlier this week, Simone and Hero were all smiles as they posed together at the world premiere of their new movie at the Barbican Centre in London. Simone exuded elegance in a chic Alexandre Vauthier Couture black figure-hugging dress, featuring a satin peplum hem. She paired the dress with a structured single-breasted blazer, adding more height with black court heels and accessorising with small silver hoop earrings. Meanwhile, her co-star Hero looked incredibly dapper in a chocolate brown structured blazer and matching tailored trousers. He completed his ensemble with a crisp white shirt and smart black leather shoes, beaming for the cameras. The actors were also joined by their co-stars Sindhu Vee, Luke Fetherston, Nikesh Patel, Anoushka Chadha, and Asim Chaudhry. The movie is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on March 6, where Simone and Hero play exes. The story follows struggling photographer Pia (Simone), who receives a prediction: true love and career success await her in the next five dates she goes on. Layering up against the cold, the British actress donned a chic faux-fur brown coat and added inches to her frame with chocolate brown open-toe stiletto heels To complete the look, Simone styled her long dark tresses in a sleek ponytail and wore a flawless palette of makeup as she posed for the cameras Simone appeared in high spirits as she greeted fans while making her way into the building She is currently in the city promoting her upcoming rom-com Picture This, in which she stars alongside heartthrob Hero Fiennes Tiffin, 27 With her sister's wedding approaching and her family playing matchmaker, Pia's ex (Hero) reappears, complicating both her love life and career. The premiere comes after Simone swapped her Bridgerton ballgowns for a bikini during a lavish trip to the Maldives last year. The actress took to Instagram in December to share a slew of snaps in a skimpy black two-piece while posing on the beach. She captioned the stunning post: 'Dolphins, baby birds, turtles, fishies! @amillamaldives - Thank you.' Simone plays Kate Sharma in Netflix hit Bridgerton but has also had a role in Sex Education. She is set to reprise her role in the fourth series of Netflix's hit period drama, having recently confirmed: 'I know that I am returning.' The Surrey-born star added: 'I adore the show, and the more I can be a part of it, the better. They've been really kind to work around my schedule.' Earlier this week, Simone and Hero were all smiles as they posed together at the world premiere of their new movie at the Barbican Centre in London The movie is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on March 6, where Simone and Hero play exes Speaking to People, Ashley also said we can expect to see plenty of her character and on-screen husband Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) in season 4. 'Kate and Anthony are really special characters and I think what drew me and Jonathan to their relationship is how complex it is and how beautiful it is. 'I think there's always going to be something to love,' Ashley said. Season four will focus on Benedict Bridgerton's journey into the marriage market, following season three's focus on Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton's romance. Netflix confirmed last year: 'Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down.' 'That is, until an enthralling woman captures Benedict's attention at Violet Bridgerton's (Ruth Gemmell) masquerade ball.' 'While Benedict knows his love interest as only the Lady in Silver, she's actually Sophie, a resourceful maid with her own secrets and dreams.' Nicole Kidman stunned followers on Wednesday when she modelled a very pricey designer T-shirt with her face on it. The Hollywood star, 57, spruiked an $825 white tee from Balenciaga which featured three prints of her red carpet looks on the front and her signature on the back. The Babygirl star shared a selfie to her Instagram as she slipped into the designer frock, tagging the controversial fashion house in her post. Nicole isn't the only A-lister to have her face immortalised in the new line of shirts. Kim Kardashion, Isabelle Huppert, Michelle Yeoh and PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn have all had their visages printed on Balenciaga shirts. The SKIMS founder, 44, flaunted hers on Friday, sharing two photos of herself in the 'oversized' T-shirt on her Instagram Stories. Nicole Kidman, 57, stunned followers on Wednesday when she modelled a very pricey $825 designer T-shirt from Balenciaga with her face on it She captioned the photos with 'BALENCIAGA FALL 25' while looking sanguine on a couch next to a pile of the Kim K tops. The shirt is part of the French-owned fashion house's Brand Ambassador Fan club Series which hit the market last week. Balenciaga released a statement saying: 'Inspired by vintage fanclub merchandise, the series features aged figurative artwork that pays tribute to the Ambassadors. 'Their printed signature on the t-shirt back replicates a permanent marker autograph on long-loved fan memorabilia, evoking the feel of a personally signed keepsake from one's favourite actress or musician.' Nicole was named brand ambassador for Balenciaga in December 2023. The Australian actress has been a fan of Balenciaga for decadeshaving chosen the fashion house to design her 2005 wedding dress. She said at the time of her appointment: 'Balenciaga has been with me through some of the most memorable events in my life, from my wedding to the Oscars red carpet.' Nicole went on to say she looks forward to 'creating more memories together'. The Babygirl star shared a selfie to her Instagram as she slipped into the designer frock, tagging the controversial fashion house in her post Nicole isn't the only A-lister to have her face immortalised in the new line of shirts. with Kim Kardashian, 44, flaunting her frock on Friday In 2022, the Spanish brand caused major controversy on social media when it used images of children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear in its Christmas campaign. Nicole's continued involvement with the brand has attracted criticism in the two years since the scandal. Balenciaga issued a statement at the time apologising for the campaign, stating: 'We sincerely apologise for any offence our holiday campaign may have caused. 'Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms. 'We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being.' The news of Nicole's appointment of ambassador to the brand sparked backlash among her social media followers, many of whom left comments expressing their disappointment. 'Bad choice Nicole!!! Do better!!!' one concerned fan wrote, after Nicole shared black-and-white images of herself attending the fashion show. 'Disappointed you chose that brand,' another added, while someone else commented: 'Nice campaign to make us all forget [eyeroll emoji].' Another said: 'Nicole is always such a beauty, but DANG... money must be tight for all these movie stars and musicians too when they have to support that business.' As one of the most anticipated and expensive films of the year, it would only be right for Disney to roll out the red carpet for its forthcoming Snow White. But The Mail can reveal bosses are refusing to hold a star-studded premiere in the UK for the movie over fears of backlash over 'woking it up'. Despite the release date not being until later this month, the film has already been lambasted for having a Snow White played by Latin actress Rachel Zegler and not including the 'seven dwarfs' in the title. What would usually be a big Leicester Square event full of lights and cameras for a 212million live action remake of the 1937 cartoon film, instead there will be no celebration on British soil in an attempt to avoid anti-woke backlash. Instead there will be a 'handful' of tightly controlled press events. An insider told the Mail: 'Disney are already anticipating an anti-woke backlash against Snow White and have reduced the media schedule to just a handful of tightly controlled press events. 'That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimising the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.' The Mail can reveal bosses are refusing to hold a star-studded premiere in the UK for the new Snow White movie over fears of backlash over 'woking it up' The decision comes after Snow White actress Rachel Zegler was labelled 'a walking PR disaster for Disney' having made controversial comments about her role. In a 2022 interview Miss Zegler, 23, called the original film 'dated' and critiqued elements like Snow White's relationship with Prince Charming as a 'guy who literally stalks her,' as well as calling the film 'weird'. An earlier interview also saw Zegler criticising Disney's 'problematic' portrayal of princesses and women in positions of power while noting how the film scared her as a child also only added fuel to the fire. Beyond her comments, Rachel Zegler's role as Snow White was met with further controversy in light of Disney's recent push for more culturally representative storytelling. Zegler, who is half-Colombian and half-Polish, was questioned as to why she was granted the role when Snow White is a character who hails from Germany. After being postponed for its 2024 release date due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Snow White is now set for release on March 21, 2025. When the first Snow White trailer dropped in December 2024, it quickly racked up more than a million dislikes as it also revealed the overuse of CGI. The film has already been lambasted for having a Snow White played by Latin actress Rachel Zegler and not including the 'seven dwarfs' in the title What would usually be a big Leicester Square event for a 212million live action remake of the 1937 film, instead there will be no celebration in an attempt to avoid anti-woke backlash Zegler, 23, takes on the titular Disney Princess in Marc Webb's $209M-budget 'PC' live-action remake of the Brothers Grimm fairytale opposite Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen It has also already disenchanted David Hand, whose father worked on the cartoon which won Walt Disney an honorary Oscar. Hand said that the duo 'would be turning in their graves' as the original was made 'with good taste'. Anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists have called for a boycott of the movie over Disney's casting of Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 39, as the evil queen. Gadot, who starred in the Wonder Woman blockbuster movies, has publicly advocated for Israel over the years, meanwhile Zegler promoted the films new trailer with a 'free Palestine' tag. A premiere will however take place on American soil with Miss Zegler, Ms Gadot, Andrew Burnap, 34, who plays Prince Charming all expected. McDonald's has maintained the top spot in fast-food dominance for decades - but a Chinese brand's meteoric rise has stolen a crown from the golden arch's empire. Mixue Ice Cream and Tea (pronounced ME-schway), the budget-friendly beverage restaurant chain, has exploded to 45,000 locations, according to The Wall Street Journal. That puts McDonald's, with its 42,000 locations, in second place for global store count. Starbucks boasts just over 40,000 stores across the world. The company's founder, Zhang Hongchao, opened the first shop in 1997. The popular, small shop has exploded onto the fast-food scene ever since. The majority of Mixue's locations are in China, with about 10 percent spread across Australia and other Asian countries. And the ice cream and tea chain has plans to keep up the expansion. Executives recently took the brand public in Hong Kong, launching an initial public offering (IPO) that raised $400 million and valued the company at $10 billion. They have not announced any plans to bring the fan-favorite store to the U.S., though experts believe the brand set its sights to come state-side. 'Currently, Mixue is situated in South East Asia,' Longdley Zephirin, principal and analyst at The Zephirin Group, told CNBC. 'I think the company will increase operation into the U.S. or Europe.' Mixue, aided by its low-cost tea and recognizable mascot, has attracted millions of fans Inside the ice cream brand The brand's massive success and valuation are built on three key pillars: efficiency, affordability, and a mascot that has gained as much national recognition in China as Ronald McDonald has in the U.S. Mixue keeps things simple with a standardized menu of teas, lemonades, and ice creams, all served in stores that follow the same aesthetic playbook. Most of the stores are small kiosks that don't require a lot of maintenance or energy overhead costs. But they are filled to the brim with personality. Snow King, the company's bulbous, blue-eyed mascot, makes dozens of appearances in the restaurant's decor. He is often depicted wielding an ice-cream-themed scepter or pouring tea into a diffuser. McDonald's recently lost the crown as the largest restaurant chain by store-count Mixue, the Chinese ice cream, tea, and coffee brand, also has more global stores than Starbucks Every Mixue location features red and pink interiors, and speakers play the brand's signature theme song - a remix of 'Oh! Susanna' - on repeat. But, perhaps most importantly, the products are cheap. Mixue's ice cream and drinks start at 6 Chinese yuan, or just $0.83, a value proposition that has attracted millions of customers amid China's ongoing economic slowdown. The restaurant's next goal appears to be simple: infiltrate more markets. Previously, the chain has also focused on building shops in smaller markets, instead of reaching massive scale in large, competitive cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. During the IPO, the company said it wanted to become 'more global.' It also has no stores in major markets in Europe, North America, or South America. But to appease shoppers in other markets, it may have to rethink its looped jingle. 'This ice cream is better than McDonald's,' Julian Eymann, an American tourist in Singapore told The Wall Street Journal. '[But] the song's gotta go. It's got to torture the employees.' Customers on social media were thrilled to learn two fan-favorite beverages have returned to menus at Dunkin'. Dunkin' confirmed the two drinks - the Dunkalatte and Pistachio Coffee - were coming back to participating US locations on Wednesday. 'At Dunkin', we know our fans are passionate about their favorite drinks, and nothing proves that more than the overwhelming demand for the return of the Dunkalatte and Pistachio Coffee,' said Dunkin' Vice President of Category Management Beth Turenne. 'These two beverages have each built a cult following, from customers raving about the Dunkalatte's one-of-a-kind creamy flavor, to years of petitions calling for Pistachio's comeback.' The return of the Dunkin' drinks has left has customers 'squealing with delight'. 'I have never been happier in my life,' a Dunkin' customer commented on an Instagram post. 'Hey now, this is what dreams are made of,' another Instagrammer joked. Both coffees come hot or iced and will only be available for a limited time. Dunkin' highly publicized the return of its fan-favorite Dunkalatte on social media over the past 24 hours Besides Dunkalattes, customers were thrilled to learn Dunkin' brought back its Pistachio Coffee for the first time since 2018 The Dunkalatte was Dunkin's first ever coffee milk latte, which was introduced last year as part of its fall menu. The beverage is made with espresso and a combination of whole milk with coffee milk, which is a mixture of milk with coffee extract. The news quickly became a media sensation, and customers claimed they were already 'waiting in line' to purchase one today. 'Currently in line waiting for mine,' a customer wrote regarding the Dunkalatte on Instagram. 'Just got mine, made me late to work tho,' a commenter claimed. The chain's Pistachio Coffee has not been featured on the menu since it's 2018 debut as a limited-time offer. The drink contains Dunkin's Original Blend coffee combined with a 'nutty, subtly sweet Pistachio Flavor Swirl.' Multiple X users were also excited to learn Dunkin's Pistachio beverage had come back. 'To any pistachio coffee lovers, dunkin just added a pistachio iced coffee. Thank me later,' an X user wrote. Participating Dunkin' locations began offering the Dunkalatte and Pistachio coffee drinks on March 5 pistachio iced coffee at dunkin starts today but im not drinking coffee this week pic.twitter.com/nDFAVPFpT1 dr. tanka jahari (@shwniepoohhh) March 5, 2025 Various X users were excited about the Pistachio Coffee The popular drinks are not the only items that found their way onto Dunkin' menus. The chain introduced all-new Ham & Swiss Pretzel Sliders. The sliders are made up of Black Forest ham, honey mustard and Swiss cheese. Other seasonal items Dunkin' mentioned in the company's latest press release include Sweet Black Pepper Bacon, Chicken & Bacon Croissant Stuffer and Raspberry Watermelon Dunkin' Refresher. The chain also revealed future deals that will or are currently available for Dunkin' Rewards members this month. As of Monday, members can receive 100 bonus points when placing an order ahead of time on the Dunkin' app. Any member interested in trying the new pretzel slider can purchase one for $3 with any drink purchase from March 11 to March 17. After March 17, they can purchase a Chicken & Bacon Croissant Stuffer for $3 with a beverage purchase between March 25 and March 31. Dunkin' confirmed it would no longer charge customers more money for dairy alternatives starting on Wednesday Dunkin' recently made headlines for confirming it would stop charging customers more money for dairy alternatives like oat and almond milk in their coffees. 'Effective March 5, dairy alternatives will be standard options for Dunkin' beverages at no additional cost to guests,' a spokesperson said. 'This will allow guests visiting any Dunkin' location to enjoy traditional dairy or alternative dairy options in any beverage without an additional charge.' Social media users believed Dunkin' implemented the change to copy Starbucks, which also applied this policy to its stores last year. Dunkin' has not confirmed whether Starbucks' decision played a role in the extra charge removal. Daily Mail has reached out to Dunkin' for comment. Shoppers discovered a limited-edition Trader Joe's Stand-Up Collapsible Tote bags are still available for purchase at select stores. Multiple Trader Joe's customers claimed they found the $3.99 product on shelves while making grocery store trips. Trader Joe's enthusiast Shannon Fong was one of the fans who found the popular tote bags at a La Canada, California, location. Fong insisted the bags were 'so cute' and 'very sturdy' during her February 17 Instagram video. 'You've got places to go, people to see, and, more likely than not, stuff you've got to bring with you,' reads Trader Joe's product description. 'That's one reason why we've put so much effort into creating fun and functional reusable bags over the years (and inadvertently created a few Mini Tote crazes along the way...).' Customers interested in picking up a bag may need to buy one sooner rather than later, especially since the totes are not available on the grocer's website. The collapsible totes debuted at Trader Joe's stores in December 2024. Multiple social media users claimed they spotted limited-edition Stand-Up Collapsible Totes at Trader Joe's stores this year The grocery store chain revealed the bags can prevent spills and its collapse feature will create 'ease of storage when not in use.' 'Crafted for us by an expert Tote maker in Vietnam, these Bags are a particularly practical way to get your Groceries to and fro,' the product description reads. 'And because one of our other reasons we've put so much effort into fun and functional reusable bags is so that you can carry your stuff in style, each of these Totes is covered in a vibrant, colorful, eye-catching design.' The collapsible totes come in two designs: Moon and clouds and palm trees. 'They're great for everything from everyday grocery use, packing up books when moving, or for giving to friends and family as a remarkably pragmatic gift,' the item description continues. Several shoppers claimed they used their bags 'every day' and recently spotted them in other cities in California like Murrieta and Sacramento. A few other Instagram users were sad to see the totes were still in stock and claimed they bought 'overpriced ones' on Amazon or eBay. The bags were one of multiple viral Trader Joe's totes that flew off store shelves shortly after their release. Trader Joe's went viral multiple times in 2024 for selling a variety of low-priced bags Videos of long lines for Trader Joe's bags flooded TikTok, and its popular $3 mini totes cost hundreds of dollars on resale websites. 'We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week,' Insider Trader Joe's podcast host Matt Sloan said in a 2024 episode. 'We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers.' The high-priced resales made loyal customers frustrated, and the grocery store chain insisted it was not their fault. 'This is done without our approval or authorization and outside the controls of our quality-minded supply chain,' they said in a statement. 'To be clear, we neither condone nor support the reselling of our products and do all we can to stop the practice.' Trader Joe's customers also rushed to stores for their Mini Insulated Bags, which Fong purchased in October 2024. Trader Joe's will be opening at least 12 new locations in the US this year While maintaining their low prices, Trader Joe's has remained financially successful, and is planning to open at least 12 new stores this year. The new locations will be in seven states and Washington, DC, including storefronts in Seattle, Washington, and Hoover, Alabama. Sloan and his podcast co-host Tara Miller revealed that factors such as population, traffic patterns and parking availability are factors in where the company decides to open a new store. 'Our decisions, they're business decisions,' Miller said during an episode last year. 'We're excited when people are excited about us, but that's really not what's driving the decisions about what brings a Trader Joe's.' New Trader Joe's stores are also set to pop up in California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday threatened to launch high-profile provocations in response to the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in South Korea and other US military activities, which she slammed as aconfrontation hysteria of the US and its stoogesa. The warning by Kim Yo Jong implies North Korea will likely ramp up weapons testing activities and maintain its confrontational posture against the US, though President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong accused the US of clearly showing aits most hostile and confrontational willa to North Korea with the deployments of the USS Carl Vinson and other powerful US military assets and US-South Korean military drills this year. aThe DPRK is also planning to carefully examine the option for increasing the actions threatening the security of the enemy at the strategic level to cope with the fact that the deployment of US strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula has become a vicious habit and adversely affects the security of the DPRK,a she said, using the acronym of North Koreaas official name, the Democratic Peopleas Republic of Korea. Her statement suggests North Korea may test-launch intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the mainland US or other powerful missiles that would target US military bases in the region, observers say. South Koreaas Defence Ministry warned later itas ready to repel any provocations by North Korea based on a solid military alliance with the US. A ministry statement called Kim Yo Jongas statement asophistrya meant to justify its nuclear development and future provocations. On Sunday, the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group arrived in South Korea, the latest temporary deployment of a US strategic asset aimed at displaying the firmness of the US-South Korean military alliance in the face of North Korean threats and boosting interoperability of the alliesa combined assets. The US carrieras arrival came four days after North Korea conducted cruise missiles, its fourth missile test event this year. North Korea views arrivals of such powerful US military assets in South Korea as major security threats and often responds with missile tests. North Korea hasnat directly responded to Trumpas overture but alleged US-led hostilities against North Korea have intensified since the start of Trumpas second term in January. Experts say Kim Jong Un wonat likely embrace Trumpas outreach anytime soon as he is now focusing on his support of Russiaas war against Ukraine with supply of weapons and troops. They say Kim could consider returning to diplomacy with Trump when he thinks he cannot maintain his countryas current booming cooperation with Russia. J-10 fighter jet fires rocket projectile China Military Online) 12:15, March 05, 2025 Pilots assigned to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command sit in the cockpit of a J-10 fighter jet during a round-the-clock flight training exercise in late February 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) A J-10C fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command taxis on the runway during a round-the-clock flight training exercise in late February 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) A J-10C fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command speeds up to climb during a round-the-clock flight training exercise in late February 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command fires a rocket projectile during a round-the-clock flight training exercise in late February 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) A bunch of random soldiers from a random country joined the US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, following the 9/11 attacks. More than 150,000 random British personnel served in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, with the final troops withdrawing in 2021. The random country of Britain was also part of a US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, with British forces in the country peaking at 46,000. Some random vice president from some random country is a random fucking idiot, say a lot of random dead British soldiers from their graves. The Dungiven and Sperrins-based Save Benbradagh environmental group has expressed grave concern at the ambitious decarbonisation targets contained in the Executives Programme For Government. Published on Monday afternoon (March 3), the Programme For Government 2024-2027, Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most, was agreed by the Executive on February 27, following a one-day delay. Speaking to The County Derry Post, a spokesperson for Save Benbradagh contended the impact of the Executive's stated position of the North becoming a net exporter of renewables has not been properly assessed or communicated to the public. Under the Programme for Governments priority to Grow a Globally Competitive and Sustainable Economy, the Executives proposed action on Decarbonisation stated: We will seek to achieve self-sufficiency in our own clean and affordable energy. We have the natural resources including wind, biomethane, and geothermal to break the link with global energy prices, and not only supply our own consumers energy needs, but also to become a net exporter of renewables. This will unlock carbon emissions reduction and economic growth here. Describing Save Benbradagh as extremely worried, the spokesperson argued such a move would destroy landscapes and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). They said: [The Executive is] effectively giving global corporations and developers a blank ticket to turn our scenic landscapes and AONBs into wide scale industrial wind factories, to enable them to sell electricity elsewhere. It will have massive detrimental impacts on our countryside, rural communities and tourism industry. Northern Ireland is a very small landmass with a very high rural population, approximately 36%, which is higher than other regions. It already has double the onshore wind turbines per km2 than the Republic of Ireland, with onshore wind representing circa 85% of our current 50% renewables. In addition, it is proposed to double that density to meet 2030s renewable electricity targets of 80%, said the spokesperson. According to Save Benbradagh, the North is the only region pursuing what its spokesperson described as effectively a non-diverse 2030 energy strategy, in which onshore wind is to account for circa 65-70% of the 80% target. This is due to the fact, offshore wind is unlikely to be in place by 2032, for reasons which have not been explained or made known to the electorate, they added. In comparison, the Republic of Ireland is aiming for 33% offshore wind, 33% onshore wind, and 33% solar. England, Scotland and Wales together are aiming for 50% offshore wind, with the remaining 30% made up of solar and onshore wind. Northern Irelands non-diverse renewable energy generation is already creating massive disparity and discriminatory impacts for rural communities, in terms of loss of sense of place and cultural identity; impacts on heritage; outdoor recreational areas; and tourism. It is also creating fractures and deep divisions in previously tight-knit rural communities. This is resulting in huge stress and mental health impacts for these communities, as reported to rural and mental health organisations. This disparity does not accord with the principles of a Just Transition. Our landscapes will be further industrialised by over-reliance on onshore wind proposed to meet 2030 targets. The additional ambition of the Executive to become a net exporter of renewables, is thus highly concerning, said the spokesperson. They added that the public in Northern Ireland was not properly aware of what this proposal entails, said the Save Benbradagh spokesperson. It hasnt been quantified or capped, nor its implications detailed; nor was it included in any political party election manifestos. Equality impact screenings have not been properly carried out nor has proper rural impact assessments been carried out as required under the Rural Needs Acts 2016. This proposed action will have huge, long-lasting and dire consequences. There is currently no cap on wind turbine sizes/ heights within Northern Ireland planning policy or guidelines; onshore turbines are now available worldwide up to 240m in height, the equivalent of an 80 storey building, said the spokesperson who added that the proposed action around decarbonisation needed transparency, proper assessment, and detailed scrutiny. The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, has overseen the official handover of the new gate lodge building at St Columbs Park. The project, which was led by Councils Green Infrastructure Team with support from the UK Government, is the first element in the development of the Acorn Farm, an ambitious environmental initiative which will provide an innovative urban growing space in the Waterside area. The 6.2 million Acorn Farm capital build project will completely transform the former MOD site and provide a dedicated area for the development of exciting new food growing technologies. The Gate Lodge building sits at the entrance to St Columbs Park House and will act as a new Park Ranger base and house welfare facilities for the adjoining Acorn Farm. The lodge is Councils first building to be built to Passive House standard, meaning that its extremely economical to run in terms of energy consumption. The Mayor met with a representative from the funder, the UK Government, the Architect Paul McAllister, the contractor, Willie Doherty, and other project partners to get a tour of the completed building. Acknowledging this important first milestone in the project, Mayor Barr said: This is a fantastic start to what is a transformational project for St Columbs Park, and one which will bring with it so many benefits in terms of conservation and education. I want to thank all those involved in delivering this new building, which will be an important facility for the local community, serving as a new HQ for our Waterside Park Ranger Service and a key entry point to St Columbs Park. Its a little teaser of whats to come and I am really looking forward to seeing the work progress on the rest of this ambitious and significant environmental project. UK Minister for Local Growth and Building Safety Alex Norris said: The completed Gate Lodge building is the first step towards an amazing environmental and community hub at St Columbs Park. READ NEXT: DCU Business School survey aims to improve safety messaging during disasters/emergencies The Acorn Farm project promises to be a shining example of how hard work and creative thinking can bring new life to disused urban sites, and I will watch its progress with great interest. Karen Philips, Director of Environment and Regeneration at Council, said: The ambition for the Acorn Farm site including the buildings, external works and landscape, is to achieve climate resilience and whole life net zero emissions. This is in line with Councils Climate Change Adaptation Plan and our transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilience across the City and District by 2045. This is just one element of that wider vision, and I want to thank both our funders and the project team for all their hard work in delivering this fantastic building. A grant of 1.2million has been announced for the purchase of the former Austins department store in the heart of Derrys historic city centre. Austins is a landmark listed building that occupies a prime location, but which has lain vacant for the last nine years. This significant grant award to the Inner City Trust recognises the strategic importance of this signature building and forms part of a wider initiative to address dereliction and vacancy across the city centre. In the short term, the funding will ensure the Trust can complete the purchase and undertake immediate restoration works to secure the important built heritage of this key property and begin to advance the physical, social, and economic regeneration of the city. The Trust have already begun to engage with a range of public and private sector bodies regarding the potential future uses of the building. Announcing the purchase of Austins, Minister Lyons said I am pleased my Department has been able to fund the purchase of the Austins building. The investment of 1.2million is the first step in the regeneration of this iconic building located at the heart of the Historic Conservation Area. This investment will have a transformative effect, not only on Austins, but will contribute to the regeneration of the wider city centre and underlines my commitment to delivering projects which regenerate our urban areas, develop stronger communities and support their continued growth. This is an exciting time for the city and the wider region and this project, along with several others which my Department are also supporting, contributes to these commitments. Rev Robert Miller, Chairman of the Inner City Trust, hailed todays announcement as a significant step forward in the rescue and revitalisation of one of the citys most iconic buildings, saying: This investment is a testament to the power of partnership. I am deeply grateful to the Minister and his Department for their commitment to this key project, which aligns seamlessly with the Inner City Trusts vision to drive the physical, social, and economic regeneration of the City Centre." He added: This restoration will not only breathe new life into an important historic building but will also strengthen the Department for Communities Public Realm Scheme and the transformative ambitions of the Derry City and Strabane District Councils City Deal. "It sends a clear message of confidence to other investors that our city is a place of progress, innovation, and opportunity. Our built heritage is a cornerstone of our identity, and through projects like this, it will play a pivotal role in shaping a vibrant, reimagined City Centre - one that fosters prosperity and inspires generations to come. Ethnic minorities living in Derry have been encouraged to pursue politics despite shocking levels of online abuse. Speaking at a press conference in the Guildhall on Wednesday afternoon, Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Cllr Lilian Seenoi-Barr, flanked by SDLP leader Claire Hanna and several public representatives, addressed the recent online abuse she has received in recent weeks and months. Last month a man was convicted for posting abusive messages on social media about the North's first black mayor. Kevin Barry McIntyre, 31, of Miller Street, was found guilty of two counts of abusing the communications network in May 2024 by writing online messages about Cllr Seenoi-Barr. Sentencing him at Derry Magistrates' Court, District Judge Barney McElholm described McIntyre as "a racist". Judge McElholm added: "I wouldn't inflict this man on the community." On Monday, McIntyre appealed against the sentence imposed at the Magistrates' Court. It was also revealed that he has written a letter of apology to the court. Defence counsel Michael Donaghey told the county court that his client now 'cut a contrite figure' who had learned his lesson. Judge Gerry McNamara said he wanted some time to consider the appropriate sentence in this case and adjourned sentencing until March 14. Speaking to the media, Cllr Seenoi-Barr said the past week has been deeply distressing. The Mayor said: Seeing lies, misinformation, and malicious attacks spread about me, simply because of my firm and resolute commitment to fighting racism and injustice in our society, has been incredibly disheartening. However, I have been humbled by the support of so many people who reached out to me directly, distancing themselves from such harmful rhetoric and reassuring me that those misinformed individuals do not represent most people in our city and beyond. Cllr Seenoi-Barr added that she would not be deterred by those making the online attacks. Let me be clear, she said. I will not be deterred. Not by name-calling, not by the smearing of my character, and certainly not by online attacks from those who offer nothing constructive to our society. But the response we have seen to holding people accountable for their threatening and dangerous behaviour, including issuing death threats, has been appalling. And this issue goes far beyond me as an individual. It speaks to a broader reality faced by people of colour in this country. We know some will never accept people like me, a black person, whether born here or not, holding strategic political office. That is the unfortunate reality we face. But while we acknowledge this, we must never accept disrespect, defamation, and malicious lies rooted in prejudice. The Mayor also called for stronger hate crime legislation. Our hate crime legislation urgently needs to be updated to offer stronger protections against targeted attacks like these, and when these attacks happen, we must respond, not just with words of solidarity but with concrete action through the justice system. The time for talk is over. It is time for real action. I leave you with this: I am a Maasai woman and a Derry girl. That combination speaks of resilience, determination, and an unwavering commitment to push forward, knowing that the city I represent and the place I now proudly call home stands against racism and division. The Mayor, who founded North West Migrants Forum which supports migrants and asylum seekers, urged those from ethnic minorities not to let online abuse stop them from seeking election in the future. We have the right to represent all of our communities, she said. Anyone who wants to get into politics, don't let this deter you and this is why I'm standing here, even though I know it's distressing. I am standing here to send a very clear message that we are not backing down. SDLP leader Claire Hanna said there is an uptick in disinformation and online abuse which has impacted on Cllr Seenoi-Barr's attempts to carry out her role as Mayor. The South Belfast MP called all political leaders to stand with the Mayor and call out online abuse. We hope all political leaders will stand with us and Lilian as we call out this campaign and ask for their solidarity and their support and address it wherever we find it, she said. Belfast Lough is on a knife edge with failure to invest in wastewater infrastructure creating a profound risk for its ecosystem, MLAs have been warned. The loughs shellfish industry is collapsing in real time as water quality levels continue to decline, a senior NI Water representative told an Assembly scrutiny committee. The warning comes amid similar pollution concerns over Lough Neagh, which has experienced major green blue algae blooms over recent summers. NI Water announced last week that it had been forced to stall planned upgrades to sewer and wastewater treatment plants as part of its Living With Water Plan (LWWP) for Belfast after being unable to secure the required funding from the Department for Infrastructure. Paddy Brow, from NI Water, told the Committee for Infrastructure on Wednesday that the deferment move could have significant consequences for Belfast Lough. He explained that the decline of the shellfish population was a serious issue, as mussels play a key role in filtering the water in the lough. He said replicating the function the mussels perform would add a further 50 million to the cost of upgrading the Belfast wastewater treatment facility, as well as ramping up operating costs by another 1 million per year. For Belfast Lough, the consequences are potentially profound, he said. One of the things we set out and predicted was that if we dont address the investment needs of Belfast, the water quality would continue to decline and the shellfish industry would collapse, and we are seeing that. Successive Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) reviews of Belfast Lough have shown that water quality is declining. The shellfish industry used to produce 10,000 tonnes of mussels a year in Belfast Lough and thats fantastic. That provides something called ecosystem services. Each shellfish, each individual mussel, filters about 18 litres of water a day. Now were down to 1,000 (tonnes), the beds are moving from an acceptable class to an unacceptable class. So were watching in real time the collapse of the shellfish industry. And NIEA reports are telling us the water quality is declining. If we lose that ecosystem service, it costs us a lot more to invest. At the Belfast wastewater treatment works alone, the additional cost could be 50 million if theres no shellfish industry there. And in terms of operational costs, which is a real challenge for us and a real concern, that would mean that the operational cost of that plant alone would increase by 1 million a year. We would have to import methanol, which is carbon, and pay for that to achieve more stringent standards. So, it just underlines that we are on the knife edge with regard to Belfast Lough. Weve got to maintain the shellfish industry and protect it and deferring this investment is a real challenge. Chief executive of the NIEA David Reid, who also gave evidence to the committee, expressed concerns for the future of Belfast Lough. We would have concerns in relation to the water quality in Belfast Lough, he said. That includes concerns that are echoed in terms of all fresh water bodies across Northern Ireland at the minute of what were seeing in terms of pollution. Comparing the challenge of repairing broadband connections after Storm Eowyn with efforts to restore electricity supply is unfair, a boss of a leading provider has told MLAs. Fibrus founder and chief executive Dominic Kearns told Assembly members that he was incredibly proud of the companys response during what he described as the largest telecoms repair mission ever seen in Northern Ireland. A joint sitting of the Assemblys economy and agriculture committees heard that Fibrus replaced 870 kilometres of damaged fibre cabling at a cost of 5 million following the devastating January storm. MLAs were told that as of Wednesday, 62 Fibrus customers remained without a connection, albeit that several of those cases involved unoccupied holiday homes where the owners were not in a position to offer engineers access until later in the year, the committees heard. At the peak of the storm, 40,000 Fibrus customers lost broadband connection. The majority of those were caused by general power outages, but 13,000 customers experienced damage to their fibre broadband links. Fibrus undertook the 200 million Government-funded Project Stratum initiative to roll out broadband to rural communities in Northern Ireland. Mr Kearns explained to the MLAs that many of the connections to rural properties involved overhead cables, as the cost of running those cables underground was 10 times more expensive. Mr Kearns said it was not fair to compare the speedier time it took to restore power supply after Storm Eowyn with the timeframe for replacing fibre cabling. In January, the island of Ireland faced an unprecedented storm, the worst storm of a generation, he said. Our response to this was the largest telecoms repair mission ever seen here. He added: Much has been made of the telecommunications response compared to that of the electricity network. This is unfair and does not reflect the realities that exist. On the island there is one electricity network, north and south, owned by the same entity, whereas there were at least four rural telecoms networks that sustained major damage and who were all vying for the same resource. Added to this, fibre networks are more complex in their nature and take longer to repair. Fibrus triggered a compensation scheme following the storm, with domestic customers without connection (but who did have power supply) eligible for 5 a day and business customers eligible for 10 a day. Mr Kearns said the company accepted feedback that its communication with customers could have been better at points after the storm. In relation to our communication with customers, we acknowledged that in the early stages of the storm, effective communication was challenging due to the dynamic nature of the storm recovery, he said. Once NIE restored full power, we had a clear understanding of the network damage and we immediately shared estimated restoration dates with affected customers and kept them informed of any changes. We also ensured that elected representatives and stakeholders were kept informed throughout the restoration process. When we had a clear picture of the damage on a constituency level, we met with political parties to discuss our response. Since then, weve been sending regular constituency-focused communications twice weekly to illustrate our progress. Our communications have always been forthcoming and transparent, however, we do accept the feedback that we have had from many of you and our customers that the frequency of information and a better explanation of what we were encountering could have been shared. Ayvianna Snow, an actor from Derry, hailed as the "British Queen of Horror", is set to feature in new horror film 'St Patrick's Day Massacre'. St. Patrick's Day Massacre will be released on March 10. In St. Patrick's Day Massacre, directed by Steve Lawson, Ayvianna plays the role of Kendra, one of a group of college friends tricked into spending the night in a creepy Irish tavern, where the corridors are stalked by a vengeful undead killer. With an obsession for cleanliness that borders on the compulsive, will Kendra's decision to take a shower be her final mistake and summon the prowling killer? READ NEXT: PICTURES: Charming bungalow in sought after area of Derry could be yours for a steal Ayvianna says, Horror films can tap into a very raw, primal part of us as human beingsfear is one of the most visceral emotions. Horror hits parts of us that other genres cannot reach. Ayvianna has appeared in over 70 feature films and has built a reputation for her compelling performances in the horror genre. She is now based in London, and continues to cement her place as one of the most exciting talents in the UK independent horror scene. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview Image via the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau [enlarge] The Historic Bethel Baptist Church, in Birmingham, AL The National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is awarding $8.5 million in grants to 30 historically Black churches as a part of its third annual Preserving Black Churches grant program. . . . Subscriber content preview By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks named a new chief financial officer on Tuesday as part of a larger turnaround strategy. Cathy Smith, who has been Nordstrom's CFO since 2023, will join Starbucks in the next month, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said in a letter to employees. Smith previously served as the chief financial officer of Target and Walmart International. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE The vintage Oxford hotel building, at 1920 First Ave. (near Pike Place Market), sold this week for almost $3.2 million, according to King County records. The seller was 1920 Oxford LLC, associated with Wysong Group, which acquired the property in 1998 for not quite $2 million. . . . More than half of accommodation centres for asylum seekers which were inspected last year did not have effective governance systems in place, according to a report. In addition, more than a third did not have policies or procedures to protect residents from harm while 35% of staff across centres were not appropriately vetted by gardai. The figures come under a major overview report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) following a years worth of monitoring and inspection of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres. IPAS centres, formerly known as direct provision centres, provide accommodation for people seeking international protection in Ireland. HIQA, which conducted 60 inspections across 51 centres during last year, found that many providers ensured they were providing a safe service that was of a good standard. However, the agency said there is considerable room for improvement in governance, risk management, safeguarding and protection. As a result of a call for urgent action following its inspections, it said it is now assured that the identified staff members without vetting had now received it. HIQAs report also highlights overcrowding in the system, where limited access to housing in the community is reducing the availability of beds. The report outlines that 41% of residents living in accommodation centres inspected by HIQA had received refugee status or had valid permission to remain in Ireland but continued to live in accommodation centres because of a lack of alternatives. HIQA met 867 adults and 302 children and young people over the course of the inspections last year. It found that 57% of service providers inspected were found to be delivering safe, high-quality services in line with national standards. However, 56% of inspected centres did not have effective governance and management arrangements in place and had poor, or no, reporting systems. This meant these service providers were less likely to know how their staff were performing and did not have a good sense of risk. Just under 75% of service providers had limited or no systems in place to identify or monitor risk in their centres. Meanwhile, 37% of centres inspected by HIQA did not have policies and procedures in place to protect residents from experiencing harm. Bronagh Gibson, who leads HIQAs monitoring of the centres, said the current system of international protection accommodation is not adequately resourced to meet demand. She said this has had a notable impact on the quality of accommodation and services provided to some people seeking protection in Ireland. Ms Gibson added: Many providers must place a greater focus on recognising and managing risks and putting effective safeguarding and protection procedures in place to ensure safe and person-centred services. Four of the five men arrested following a raid on an illicit cigarette factory in County Louth, are Ukrainian nationals, who flew into Ireland in January, Dundalk district yesterday (Tuesday). They were detained in a Revenue operation with assistance from members from the crime units at Ardee and Dundalk Garda Station. Kevin Donnelly (27) of 204 Dublin Road, Newry, and his four co-accused Maksym Kozachuk (40), Maksym Kovbasenko (37), Sergiy Avramov (42) and Yurii Popko (51) all with an address at Richardstown, Ardee are each accused of processing illicit tobacco product and being concerned with the processing of illicit tobacco product at Richardstown, Ardee on March 3rd last. Apart from Mr. Donnelly, each Garda who gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution, said they were objecting to bail as the defendants are Ukrainian nationals with no ties to the jurisdiction, who were residing in a mobile home at the location where they were arrested. READ MORE: Five arrested as illegal 'cigarette factory' in Louth smoked out and dismantled by gardai Judge Nicola Jane Andrews remanded three of the co-accused on their own bond of 3,000 to Ardee District Court on April 11th subject to them providing an address to gardai within 72 hours. Although their mobile phones have been seized as part of the investigation along with their passports, they must also provide mobile numbers to gardai on which they are contactable at all times and sign on at Ardee Garda Station three times a week. Mr Donnelly was remanded in custody with consent to bail to the same date, on his own bond of 200 and a 2,000 surety. After hearing Mr Kazachuk had told gardai he was eager to return to his family in Berlin, Judge Andrews remanded him in custody with consent to bail of his own bond of 3,000 and a cash lodgement in the same amount, to appear before Drogheda District Court by videolink on Monday. Two men who were charged following a cocaine seizure at a local M1 service station, have been jailed for three years at Dundalk Circuit Court. The court heard one of them had told his wife, who picked up the drugs, that she was collecting fireworks, at the Applegreen Southbound, Castlebellingham on October 29th 2020. Judge Dara Hayes was told two Dublin men were under garda surveillance, when the mum of two was handed a package with 17,472 worth of cocaine before she walked away towards the M1, where her then husband Barry McLaughlin formerly of Faughen Park, Claudy, County Derry, was waiting in his car on the hard shoulder of northbound carriageway. The then couple had overshot the southbound service station and turned back. READ NEXT: Man (30s) arrested after Louth garda raid uncovers semi-automatic gun, ammunition and drugs A quantity of mixing agent was also recovered in the garda operation and 12,000 in cash was found on Christopher Bergin (39) of Tulip Court, Darndale, Dublin 17. Judge Hayes sentenced Barry McLaughlin and Christopher Bergin to four and a half years each, with the final 18 months suspended for having cocaine for sale or supply, where it had a market value of 13,000 or more. The judge said given the substantial change in the life of their 40 year old co-accused Jonathan Ivors of Cromcastle Court, Coolock, Dublin 5, he wanted to see how that is sustained over the coming months and adjourned his sentencing to July for an updated Probation report. Dundalk ITs Culinary students recently represented the Institute at the Chef Ireland 2025 National Culinary Competition. The competition was part of CATEX, the hospitality industrys leading showcase, which took place in the RDS from February 18- 20. Over three days students took part in a range of competitions giving them a chance to showcase their creativity and cook in front of a live audience against the clock, while competing against their peers from other colleges and professional industry chefs. Second year student Ondrej Mer competed in both the Junior Chicken Competition and Junior Pork Competition. Faced with stiff competition from peers from institutes across the country and chefs from industry, Ondrej was awarded two silver medals, a fantastic result for a student in his first competitions. Daniella Schmidova also secured a bronze medal for her presentation of Sacher Torte, a rich chocolate gateau with a delicate tempered chocolate garnish. The success continued as 2nd year Culinary Arts student Oshini Herath was awarded silver in the hotly contested Junior Fish Competition. Locally sourced black sole was expertly prepared and served with a langoustine mousse and light coconut sauce in a dish described as near perfection by judge Tina Walsh. Read Next: Photos: 27 Infantry Battalion Passing Out Parade at Louth's Aiken Barracks The competition rounded off a very successful week for the Culinary Team, who are now preparing for their 6-month Internship as part of their studies. Daniella and Oshini will be completing their internships in the 5-star Ashford Castle where they will be under the guidance of DKIT graduate Liam Finnegan whilst Ondrej makes his way to Norway to work in K8 in Stavanger. The students were mentored along the way by their tutors Alan Mc Cabe, Rosemarie Leonard and Michael Mc Namara as well as receiving input from the wider Hospitality team in DKIT. Dundalk Credit Union has been recognised for its commitment to inclusivity by receiving the Positive Futures Welcome Award. This accolade, presented by local intellectual disability charity Positive Futures, celebrates organisations that go above and beyond to create a welcoming and supportive environment for people with disabilities. Megan Harman, Service Manager for Positive Futures Dundalk-based Misneach Supported Living Service said: "The warm welcome and help provided by staff at the Dundalk CU makes a huge difference to the person we support in enabling her to feel confident and empowered to manage her finances. It shows her that she is an equal and valued member of the local community. We were delighted to nominate Dundalk Credit Union for our Welcome Award." Read Next: Dundalk IT students named medal winners at Chef Ireland 2025 competition Positive Futures has operated the Welcome Award in Northern Ireland for several years. Previous recipients include the BBC and Belfast International Airport. The award entitles recipients to display a window sticker showing people that they can expect a warm welcome. Dr Agnes Lunny, Chief Executive of Positive Futures, said: We believe its really important to recognise organisations who are inclusive, compassionate and demonstrate understanding, and the team at Dundalk Credit Union certainly live up to those ideals. We look forward to many more businesses and organisations receiving our Welcome Award in the near future. David Donnelly, the Head of Marketing & Communications at Dundalk Credit Union said: "Were thrilled to receive this award, recognising the dedication of our team to providing a warm welcome and our focus on meeting the needs of all of our members across the northeast." On Monday 3 March, An Taisces Clean Coasts Programme hosted a beach cleaning event at Seapoint, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth, as part of its nationwide Clean Coasts Roadshow series. The Clean Coasts Roadshow is a series of informative talks and workshops tailored for coastal communities across Ireland, taking place between January and May each year. This initiative brings together individuals interested in protecting their local beaches, seas, and marine environments. The event saw 72 enthusiastic students from St. Ciarans Secondary School, Kells, and 13 employees from Novelpast Teoranta join forces to clean the popular Louth beach. Together, they collected 15 bags of litter and removed larger items including a cone, rope, drums, and piping. The event went beyond beach cleaning, with informative talks and discussions on the diverse waste found on the beach and the importance of preserving our coastlines. Participants were encouraged to reflect on the ongoing need for environmental awareness and collective action to protect Irelands beautiful coastlines. Speaking of the event, Clean Coasts officer Aidan Gray said, Springing into action this March, students from St. Ciarans Secondary School and employees from Novelplast Teoranta joined with Clean Coasts to do a clean-up of Seapoint, Termonfeckin, as part of Clean Coasts 2025 Roadshows. "While the beach appeared spotless from view, the group still managed to collect more than 15 full bags of rubbish over the hour-long walk. It was great to have short speeches and discuss the rubbish collected throughout. Apart from rubbish, there was also a lot of biodiversity spotted around the beach, including washed-up cuttlefish bones, starfish, and jellyfish. Though sad to see a gull carcass. It was a great morning of action, social fun, and learning. This Roadshow event highlighted the importance of local community involvement in keeping our shores clean and safeguarding the environment for future generations. The Roadshow events cover a range of topics, including biodiversity, dune systems, marine litter, wildlife, sustainable developments, and the work of local groups and organizations. These events also serve as a platform for community groups to discuss practical matters, such as building volunteer capacity, attracting new members, and sharing responsibilities. County Louth has 473 people on the audiology treatment waiting for a year, or more - according to the most recently released HSE figures. There is also evidence for up to a three year delay in the provision for audiology services in many parts of the country, according to Irelands leading Deaf and Hard for Hearing charity, Chime. The HSE figures have been condemned by Chime, which slammed what it dubbed shocking delays revealing a dysfunctional system. Nationally, the growth for audiology treatment waiting lists, from 20,000 in 2020 to over 26,500 in 2024, has been roundly condemned by Chime. Almost half of those awaiting audiology treatment are children under the age for 18. Chime urged the Department of Health to immediately introduce an audiology waiting list initiative to deal with delays in treatment.It says that the HSE needs to consider using private sector providers to help reduce wating times and eliminate duplication and a waste of resources. Undiagnosed hearing loss amongst children can lead to significant challenges, including speech and language delay, learning difficulties, and social isolation, said Chime CEO, Mark Byrne. Among adults, there is a strong link between hearing loss and the early onset of dementia, but someone who is 82 may be 85 by the time they get an audiology referral appointment. The World Health Organisation has pointed out that early intervention actually saves governments money in reduced health care costs. Chime says many people with undiagnosed hearing difficulties are having to go to private providers and avail of the Department of Social Protection Treatment Benefit Scheme. And it states that Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, must ensure the working group established by the previous government to develop a National Hearing Care Plan finalises and brings forward its findings urgently. Mr Byrne said national and regional figures are shocking and getting worse and he is particularly concerned about the growing number of undiagnosed hearing loss cases among children. Chime audiologist, Sinead Dolan, highlighted the case of a woman in the midlands who waited 12 months for a HSE audiology appointment before her GP suggested she go to Chime, which was able to promptly provide her with hearing aids under the Treatment Benefit Scheme. She became increasingly isolated and frustrated by her hearing loss during that time. She feels her life is transformed, but she should not have had to wait for a year, she said. Chime provides advice, services and community support to Deaf or Hard of Hearing people, and continues to advocate for equal rights and full inclusion in every part for society, www.chime.ie Louth County Councils Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations got underway with a vibrant showcase of music and song by students from Scoil Aonghusa, Drogheda at the Civic Offices, Fair Street on Monday 3rd March. Scoil Aonghusa is a co-educational primary school in Drogheda where all subjects are taught through the medium of Irish (except for English) and Irish is the main language of communication. Eighteen of the schools students displayed their talents by performing traditional Irish songs, instrumental solos and even an Irish brush dance for the dignitaries and parents in attendance at the Exhibition Room in Fair Street. Cllr Paddy McQuillan, Mayor of Drogheda, praised the event and expressed his hopes that it will become a staple of Louth County Councils Seachtain na Gaeilge calendar in the future, saying: Its fantastic to launch Louth County Councils Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations with such an impressive performance from the talented students of Scoil Aonghusa. "The variety of talent on display was amazing, and this event perfectly demonstrates how we can use the Civic Offices as a public space for the community. I hope that every Mayor of Drogheda who follows me will embrace this and that it becomes an annual tradition in our Seachtain na Gaeilge programme. The event held extra significance for Scoil Aonghusa. Droghedas first Irish school was established in 1981 with the original classroom located in the same building where the Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations took place. Below: Students and teachers from Scoil Aonghusa, Drogheda, pictured with members of An Garda Siochana, Cllr Paddy McQuillan, Mayor of Drogheda, and Cllrs Michelle Hall and James Byrne at the Seachtain na Gaeilge event at the Civic Offices in Drogheda Scoil Aonghusa priomhoide Edel Ni Bhroin said it was nice to bring the current students back to the schools roots: It was such an honour for our school to perform in the Civic Offices. Back in 1981, when it was known as Villa Maria, the very first Scoil Aonghusa class of 10 students and one teacher was located in this building so it was lovely to come back here and celebrate all that is Irish and showcase our Irish culture. "We are so grateful to Cllr Paddy McQuillan, the Mayor of Drogheda and Susan Deery, Louth County Councils Irish Language Officer, for the invitation. Every child has a talent and at Scoil Aonghusa, we encourage them to flourish as Gaeilge and today was a perfect example of that. Seachtain na Gaeilge, which runs from March 1st to St Patricks Day, is an international Irish-language festival and one of the largest celebrations of Irish language and culture worldwide. For more information on Seachtain na Gaeilge, visit https://snag.ie/ The Prime Minister will meet with the Irish premier in Liverpool this evening for the first of a series of annual UK-Ireland summits. Sir Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheal Martin will co-host a reception on Wednesday evening, which is designed to celebrate cultural links between the UK and Ireland. It comes after both governments signalled a desire for a reset in relations, which had been put under strain throughout Brexit and the previous Conservative governments laws to deal with legacy issues of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The two leaders will also host a round table with businesses across the tech, energy, construction and manufacturing sectors which have operations on both sides of the Irish Sea on Thursday morning. They are expected to agree what is being described as a wide-ranging programme of new and enhanced strategic co-operation between Ireland and the UK, to be taken forward by both governments through to 2030. Mr Martin said: This summit is one of the most significant bilateral engagements between the British and Irish Governments in a generation and shows the resolve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I to put in place the building blocks to bring strategic co-operation between our two countries to a new level. I am keen now that we work in partnership on a structured and ongoing basis to realise the full potential of the British-Irish relationship across a comprehensive programme of co-operation, including on infrastructure delivery, opportunities for SMEs, marine planning, energy, education and culture. Mr Martin will be joined by Irelands deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the countrys defence and foreign affairs minister for the summit plenary meeting later on Thursday. The Prime Minister previously met Mr Harris in Dublin when he held the position of taoiseach last year. The Irish delegation also includes Education Minister Helen McEntee, Climate, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh OBrien, and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jim OCallaghan. Compared to other parts of Canada, Vancouver has the mildest climate. If I remember it right Vancouver also host the most number of Filipino immigrant workers and they also have more rainy days compared to other the rest of Canada. So I was wondering what activities I can do on a cold damp place like theirs. Well I had some talks with the friendly people at the vancouver chat and here are their recommendations. Hello everyone! I just got back from my 5 days 4 nights solo trip to Malaysia with a short stop at Singapore. I missed my family, especially my daughter it would have been great if they were with me. Too bad that my best friend couldnt avail to use the other tickets because she didnt have her passport yet. I was lucky to meet some new friends who were staying at the same hotel I was in, they became my travel buddies for a couple of days. My new found friends, travel buddies and hotel mates Pia and Orlyn they work for an offset printing house in Manila. I had a blast and honestly getting lost in an unfamiliar place is fun but the homesick part is not. I missed the Philippines so bad, except the horrendous traffic and the smog, nothing really beats your own home town. Anyway, to those who are planning a trip alone or with their family I will be making a post soon about the following. How to plan a cheap/inexpensive out-of-the-country tip. My Malaysian Escapade (focusing on what to do on your trip to Malaysia, what not and what you should visit, where to eat and where not where to shop how to save a lot of money on your trip) My Short $5 Pit Stop to Singapore For my 5days 4 night trip I spent a total of Php16,115.25 this amount covers all the expenses incurred for the entire trip including roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodation, food and drinks, leisure and tours, souvenirs, taxes and miscellaneous expenses . Not bad right? Of course! Highlights of Day 1: Right on my finger tip, the KL Communication Tower , the 5th Tallest Communication Tower in the world. Highlights of Day 2: The Batu Caves trip the place was over hyped I think , it was so filthy, there were trash everywhere, it was stinking the day I went there . I was badly disappointed, there was a ferris wheel, some tents food tents and who knows what to find in there! Highlights of Day 3: a pit stop at the Marina Bay, Merlion statue in Singapore Highlights of Day 4: The Petronas Twin Towers tour, KLCC and Aquaria. Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan would be the next in line but this time I will have to make sure that the family will join me! It sucks going home at night in an empty hotel room. How about you do you have plans for an out-of-the-country trip soon? Stay gorgeous everyone! If you wanna say I do do it in Guam. I was invited for a lunch gathering with Guam Visitors Bureau Philippines recently so they can update us on whats new in Guam. One of my takeaway after the event was, Guam is actually a great place to get married ! Why? Heres just two of the best reasons to get married in Guam: #1 LGBTQIA marriage and divorce is legal Guam is a US Territory and with that said LGBTQ++ marriages is legal there. So, if you are in an LGBTQIA++ relationship and what to take your relationship to the next level and get married, come to Guam. Also being a US Territory divorce is also legal in there just in case you just got the love bug fever when you get married. Im not saying all marriages end in divorce a lot are successful , but a lot are also suffering coz of the ties of marriages here in the Philippines since we dont have divorce. #2 Best Honeymoon destination and activity after the wedding Did you know? Guam is a tropical country. Having said that, the weather is like the Philippines except less polluted and populated. They only have 179,695 people in there! Being a tropical country with less people, less pollution, theres also Less traffic! People there would go crazy if theyre stuck in traffic for 5 minutes. And since Guam is a tropical country the place is surrounded with beautiful beaches, hotels are a close proximity to the beach. And here are some suggested activities you can do in Guam during your honeymoon. Climb the highest mountain in the world. No need to pack oxygen tanks or cold-weather gear on this pleasant hike. Mount Lamlam may just be 1,332 feet above sea level, but it goes another 36,070 feet under the sea, making Mount Lamlams peak the highest. Have a splash with plenty of water adventures. Go scuba diving. Skim the ocean surface on a jet ski. Dare to slide 50-feet down the slides of Tarza Water Park. Gently glide down Talofofo River on a river cruise. Go on an archeological trip. Over at Ritidian Point, there is wildlife to watch and ancient Chamorro culture to explore. If you are a religious do a Pilgrimage trip. Did you know they have a shrine for San Lorenzo Ruiz in Guam and a lot of Filipino devotees go there to do this trip. Go shopping! Guam is a shopping haven because theyre tax free! If you want to shop for your new hubby and wife or for yourself go shop til you drop literally. Shopping is open 24 hours in Guam! Guam continues to grow as a favored tourist destination. As of December 2019, arrivals from the Philippines increased by 8.6%from 19,092 in 2018 to 20,729 in 2019.* However, to visit Guam you need a US Visa because its a US Territory. Heres a blog I did on how to apply for a US Visa and get your US visa approved . Also my friend who owns a travel agency in Guam said. Your chances of getting a US visa approved is high if you just try and apply to visit Guam first. First entry is always easy. Anyway, I am excited in seeing Guam myself and experience all these wonderful things I mentioned above. All these and more are just waiting for you at #instaGuam 2020! By the way, to help promote the U.S. island territory, GVB appointed Enderun Marketing, a division of Enderun Colleges, as the official Tourism Destination Marketing Representative in the Philippines. To learn more about all that Guam has to offer, holiday travelers, incentive and convention planners, government and business leaders, and direct buyers and investors are invited to visit www.guamvisitorsbureau.com and follow @visitguamph and the official hashtag #instaGuam on Instagram. Make every member of the family safe, Family Ligtas = FamiLigtas. With over half the world still in lockdown, four billion people are now sheltering at home from the global contagion of COVID-19. Its a protective measure, but it brings with it another deadly dangerdomestic violence against women. Even before COVID-19 existed, domestic violence was already one of the greatest human rights violations. In the previous 12 months, 243 million women and girls (aged 15-49) across the world have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, this number is likely to grow with multiple impacts on womens wellbeing, their sexual and reproductive health, their mental health, and their ability to participate and lead in the recovery of our societies and economy. Wide under-reporting of domestic and other forms of violence has previously made response and data gathering a challenge, with less than 40 per cent of women who experience violence seeking help of any sort or reporting the crime. Less than 10 percent of those women seeking help go to the police. Government data shows that the number of cases of GBV and abuse reported to authorities declined during the first month and a half of COVID-19 lockdown measures, said Danna Aduna of of Lunas Collective, a feminist, inclusive chat service where people seeking support related to gender-based violence (GBV) and reproductive health can expect to be heard. While these figures could mean a reduced prevalence of violence and abuse, it more likely points to something more worrisomethat victims are simply unable to report abuse, partly due to the quarantine measures themselves but also possibly due to their home setup. What this means is that its highly likely that the quarantine breeds situations that makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for a victim-survivor to report crimes done against them. In the Philippines, the National Demographic Health Survey 2017 released by the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that one in four Filipino women, has experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence from their husband or partner. In the same survey, the top three perpetrators as reported by women who experienced/were experiencing GBV were revealed to be the victims current husband/partner (40%); former husband/partner (27%); or other relative (8.9%). Additionally, an average of eight people a day have fallen victim to sexual assault in the country during the community quarantine according to data from the Philippine National Police. It is this problematic situation where stay-at-home measures to reduce transmission of COVID-19 are potentially leading to unreported cases of GBV that has prompted the creation of FamiLigtasa campaign that seeks to build awareness among women, children, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals, as well as the public, about GBV in the home. Keeping families safe from violence FamiLigtas At its core, FamiLigtas seeks to educate and spread awareness about the reality of GBV within the family and the home. FamiLigtas works closely with Lunas Collective, offering psycho-social support and appropriate information for authorities and health facilities. Lunas understands that the pandemic has caused stress for a lot of Filipino families, and that this has exacerbated GBV situations for many others who are stuck at home, but Aduna was quick to point out the importance of disabusing GBV victim-survivors. Any stressful situation is not an excuse for any kind of violence, she said. For FamiLigtas, the concept of family extends beyond the home. This is why a big thrust of the campaign is to go beyond awareness and encourage help-seeking behavior by promoting other support systems in place within their local communities. Gender-based violence starts at home, which is why protection should also start at home, said Karen Davila, Filipino journalist and staunch advocate for womens rights. Tells us about yourself: Im Muireann Ni Chiobhain, a writer, and Ive always worked with young people. In the last ten years Ive been lucky enough to be a published author. Nowadays, when Im not bouncing what ifs? and madcap ideas around story rooms or to publishers, or scribbling and doodling in my sketchbook, Im visiting schools as a Champion of Reading with Childrens Books Ireland. Telling stories is what I do, and Ive always had the gift of the gab, which helps. Where were you born? I was born in Cork city. Where do you live? I live in Tramore, Co. Waterford now. Having spent a lot of my childhood in Graig, west of Dingle by the wild Atlantic, I always knew living by the sea would be a dream come true and so, when I met a Deise man, we made the move from where we met in Dublin, to our lovely beach town, Tramore. Family? I am married and we have two young sons, aged five and three, who keep us both very busy. Best friend? Ill have to say my husband, wont I? Your partner is your best friend really, as you share a life together, but I am very lucky to also have a close circle of good pals who know me too well and are friends with me anyway! Earliest childhood memory? I remember meeting my baby sister for the first time in the Bon Secours Hospital on College Road, near where we lived. I remember trying to give her a jelly baby sweet to eat. I would have been a toddler at the time, and I remember thinking she was my real-life baby doll to play with. Person you most admire? I really respect and admire Sharon Horgan. I think shes an incredible actor, writer, producer and businesswoman and has done a lot for women in the writing and screen industry. Person who most irritates you? Donald Trump. Where was your most memorable holiday? I went to Iceland about 10 years ago and it was incredible. Ive never been more aware of how alive our incredible planet is and how much we need to care for it, than when I visited Iceland where you see geysers erupting, active volcanos hissing in the distance and glaciation all around you. Favourite TV programme? Bad Sisters is great, Curb Your Enthusiasm has always been a favourite, and I recently watched Apple Cider Vinegar which I thought was good. Favourite radio show? Marty In The Morning on Lyric FM is the only way to start your day. Our kitchen is a Marty Whelan kitchen (If you know, you know). I also love listening to John Creedon in the evenings live from the RTE Cork studios on Radio One. Your signature dish if cooking? I have my own take on a guacamole dip recipe, with whipped feta, which I like to make and I love making meringues. Favourite restaurant? Cafe Paradiso in Cork. Hoping to go there soon with two good friends to celebrate some milestones together. Last book you read? Madame Lazare (for the second time) by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagain. A few parents I know who have children in the Gaelscoil took on the challenge to read an Irish novel twice a year, and this tenderly told story is a great read. I had read it before but was just as taken with it the second time around. Best book you read? I can never answer this one; I can, however, tell you the book that made me want to be a writer. It was To School Through The Fields by Alice Taylor. I read it when I was 12 and although it was not a book written for my age group, I picked it up from a shelf at home and it really spoke to me. I think it showed me the possibility of writing and reflecting on your life, and it inspired me to journal for many years which really helped me generate ideas for stories. I wrote to Alice Taylor and met her with my family after, and she kindly encouraged me. I remember her saying that to be a good writer, you must be a reader. Ive never forgotten that advice. Last album/CD/download you bought? We bought some new Kila on vinyl last week after seeing them play live in our local school as part of Gaelscoil Gigs Tramore. They had the whole hall dancing, young and old. Amazing to have a big band playing in our small town. Favourite song? Can I pick two? Electric Dreams by Phil Oakley and Samhradh Samhradh by The Gloaming. One person you would like to see in concert? I would love to have seen Tina Turner perform live. Do you have a pet? No, but I would love to get a small, fluffy dog soon. Morning person or night owl? Ive always felt most creative at night and, before I had children, I used to stay up into the early hours writing. Now, I try and be both night owl and morning person, but Im not sure if thats possible. Your proudest moment? Hearing my children say they love books. I know that books may or may not always be such a central part of their lives, but the fact that they adore them now is so special and hearing them tell me why they like or dislike a story fills me with pride. I love hearing how their minds work. Spendthrift or saver? Both? Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live? It would be amazing to have an arts venue in our town for gigs, plays, films, etc. Tramore is a wonderful place to live and there are lots of great places to eat. Id never say no to more restaurants or cafes as I love eating out. What makes you happy? Spending time with my children. Swimming in the sea. The first glimmer of a good idea. Nice coffee. Good food. Hugs. A lame joke. How would you like to be remembered? I would like to be remembered with a headstone that has my name spelled correctly on it. If you have a long name as Gaeilge, youll get where Im coming from on this one. What else are you up to at the moment? I have seven million notebooks full of plans and ideas, but Im hoping 2025 will be very fruitful and that I get to dive into completing some new book projects. Im looking forward to travelling to some book fairs next month, especially Bologna Childrens Book Fair, and Im honoured to be nominated for a KPMG Childrens Books Ireland Award this year, and we have some lovely events coming up for that. A triumvirate of lords mayor has taken flight, as the current Lord Mayor, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, is joined by two of his predecessors on a St Patricks festival delegation to Corks sister city of San Francisco. Joining Mr Boyle are two Fianna Fail councillors and former lords mayor, Colm Kelleher, and Terry Shannon, who is chair of the councils international relations and tourism strategic policy committee. According to Cork City Council, the visit to will focus on the importance of the economic partnership between the San Francisco bay area and Cork. The bay area investment into Ireland between 2017 and 2022 was worth $30.6bn, and more than 10,000 people in Cork are employed by companies headquartered in the bay area. The visits programme includes an engagement with Apple, marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the companys operations in Cork city. The Lord Mayor will also meet with the recently inaugurated 46th mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, who has expressed interest in leading a return delegation visit to Cork city. They will explore opportunities for the development of exchange programmes in areas of strategic importance to both cities, including city centre development and support for small-to-medium sized enterprises. During his visit to the United States, Mr Boyle will also pay a visit to New Yorks Corkonian diaspora, attending the County Cork Association Ball. Speaking ahead of the visit, the Lord Mayor said that following the celebration last year of the 40th anniversary of Corks twinning with San Francisco, the relationship has gone from strength to strength. Engagement with the bay area is of strategic value to our city, and I am looking forward to a busy programme, he said. Working with our city partners, San Francisco City Hall, the Irish Consulate General and State Agencies, I am confident we will work to deliver results for Cork, he said. Accompanying the three elected representatives on their trip to San Francisco are two members of the council executive, Rebecca Loughry, director of corporate and community affairs, and Dr Niall OKeeffe, head of enterprise. Conor Healy, CEO of Cork Chamber is also on the delegation, as are Professor Ursula Kilkelly, vice-president of global engagement, University College Cork; Dr Sean McSweeney, dean of the faculty of engineering, Munster Technological University; Superintendent John Deasy, An Garda Siochana; and Pat McKelvey, director of schools, Cork Education and Training Board. The visit began on Monday, March 3 and will run until Monday, March 10. By 2030, with a mild fair wind, Cork should have a 10-minute frequency electric train service connecting Mallow, Cobh, and Midleton and it could have three new stations, according to the chief executive of Iarnrod Eireann. Speaking after a presentation to business leaders in the city, Jim Meade told The Echo the companys priority was to deliver effectively a Dart service for Cork 10-minute service, Mallow, Cobh, Midleton inside of five years. Mr Meade said the Cork Area Commuter Rail programme would deliver increased train capacity and frequency, providing greater connectivity for communities and a more sustainable transport network. He said: By 2030, with only a mild fair wind behind us, we will have that 10-minute service from Mallow, Cobh, and Midleton into Cork. Future-proofing Mr Meade added that Iarnrod Eireann was future-proofing the electrification of the Cork route, with all trains electrical within the next five years. He said Cork could have three new stations at Blackpool, Blarney, and Monard by the end of the decade, but that ultimately depended on Cork city and county councils. Following an unprecedented 300m investment by Iarnrod Eireann in its Cork network, Mr Meade said he was confident that the company would successfully deliver on its commitment to introduce effectively a Dart service for Leeside. We have that unity of purpose, that focus on delivery, and we are demonstrating in Cork that we deliver on our promises, we deliver on our projects, he said. Were on time, on budget, on scope with all three of our current projects. The 24m Kent Station platform project, which was completed last month after two years of construction work, is expected to open in the coming weeks. A 180m signalling and communications upgrade across the Mallow, Cobh, and Midleton lines is on track to be completed next year. Similarly, the 92m Glounthaune to Midleton twin-track project is expected to be completed in 2026. Electric By 2030, Mr Meade said, Iarnrod Eireann would have future-proofed the electrification of the entire Cork route, with all trains being electric. With eight new stations ultimately planned for the Cork area, he said each one could be built in about two years, if the relevant local authorities secured all planning arrangements. Mr Meade said it was not currently in Iarnrod Eireanns remit to deliver Cork citys planned light rail system, but, if asked to work with Cork City Council, we could deliver it. Cork South Central TD Jerry Buttimer, minister of state at the Department of Transport, said public transport in Cork was a priority for the Government. We want to leave a lasting, positive public transport network in Cork, and thats what Im committed to, he said. Mr Buttimer said it was also critical that the citys planned light rail service be progressed. It needs to be a light rail for all of the city and we need to get people onto it and out of the car, Mr Buttimer said. A Cork senator has raised the issue of assault leave for teachers and SNAs in the Seanad, as a teacher spoke out about losing her wage following an attack. Cork teacher Sophie Cole said: As a teacher who suffered a life-altering injury from an assault in the classroom, I was entitled to just three months assault leave pay. One of the most disheartening aspects of this issue is the lack of support provided to staff who have experienced assault. It is imperative that appropriate measures be put in place to support teachers and SNAs who have been assaulted in the classroom. This change is essential to support the well-being and financial stability of educators who face workplace assaults. Their sole focus should be on their recovery. They should not be in a position where they cant pay their mortgage or rent, their medical bills, and struggle to put food on the table. Raising the issue, Labour senator Laura Harmon said: Last year, around 400 teachers availed of assault leave following incidents in the classroom. But more must be done to ensure that financial assistance covers medical bills and any therapy that may be sought, so teachers and SNAs are covered for the duration of their certified leave. As it stands, the maximum leave that can be taken is three to six months, but some people require longer time to recover. Take, for example, Sophie Cole, a special education teacher with a clear love and deep understanding for her profession. Her world was turned upside down and inside out when Sophie experienced assault in the classroom in November 2022. Sophies experience is shared by hundreds of others across Ireland. Three months after the assault occurred, Sophies assault leave entitlement ended and she had to use all her sick pay. One day, without warning, she received a letter in her door to say she would receive no further pay. Sophie lost her career, her wage, has incurred large medical bills, and her husband has had to take leave sometimes to look after her. Meanwhile, the State has not stepped up to address the issue of amending assault leave. Ms Harmon called for adequate support systems to be put in place for all teachers and SNAs, saying that Labour was the only party to mention this issue in their general election manifesto. Minister of state Niall Collins said: In exceptional cases, such as where a significant period of hospitalisation is required or in situations of a second or subsequent incident of assault, the leave may be extended for a further period not exceeding three months (91 days) at full pay, subject to an overall limit of six months (183 days) at full pay in a rolling four-year period. A teacher or SNA who has exhausted the maximum period of paid leave under the scheme for leave of absence following assault and who is still medically unfit to resume duty may avail of sick leave under the sick leave scheme, subject to the normal rules of that scheme. He added that the terms and conditions of the scheme will be reviewed in consultation with education partners this year. Cork Prison has welcomed more than 50 guests to the fourth edition of its award-winning prisoner-run, pop-up restaurant. The Open Door Restaurant is operated each year by six inmates who have completed the prisons practical culinary skills programme. Headed by experienced chef and MTU lecturer JJ Healy, yesterday it catered to 54 invited guests, including local hoteliers and restaurateurs. The event, the culmination of the accredited eight-week culinary skills course, included a new element, where physical works from several prison workshops across Ireland were on display. These included hand-crafted pieces made from wood, metal, and stone, with some stonework pieces carved from original stone removed from the old Portlaoise Prison. This year, the restaurant-goers were treated to a carefully curated set menu, comprised of Aubergine en Croute, French Onion Soup, Carbonnade of Beef, and Baked Alaska. Speaking to The Echo ahead of the event, inmate Glen, who was involved in this years programme, said it helped the participants to learn new skills, but also fostered personal confidence and aspirations for employment upon release. I was always interested in cooking and working as a chef, I had a bit of experience from the outside, [as] I worked in a couple of kitchens, said Glen. Its something I enjoy doing, and its good for the mind one thing Ive learned from this is that when I get out, Ill try to further my career in the industry. Pop-up Restaurant in Cork Prison The Open Door Restaurant We all get on very well a couple of the younger lads might have been a bit nervous on the first day because its a new thing for them, but when you see them today, even in the space of six weeks, theyre after coming on a lot. Its good to see, and everyone helps each other out. I think its a really good stepping stone. [Cooking] takes me away from everything else thats going on around I find it therapeutic. It [the programme] gives you confidence to try new things. It can put people on good paths for when they get out. The programme, managed jointly by the Irish Prison Service, MTUs Department of Tourism and Hospitality, and the Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities, aims to see participants enter employment both in and out of the culinary industry upon reintegration into society. Governor of Cork Prison, Liam Spacey, said: I would love for people to come away from [The Open Door] thinking: Am I the sort of person to give someone a second chance?. Everybody involved in this has committed themselves, they have stepped out of the norm in a prison to take on this training and want to better themselves. What we need to do is challenge people outside in these industries to offer them employment and to give them a real opportunity to get back into their communities. The search is under way to find the 77th Miss Ireland, and also a Miss Cork representative. Young women across the city and county are invited to follow in the footsteps of current Miss Cork City, Rachel OLeary, aged 24, from Blarney, and Miss Cork, Riona Cullinane OMahony, aged 21, from Cobh, as well as former Miss Irelands Aoife OSullivan and Jess Hayes, who are also from Cork. This years competitors will join a legacy of inspiring role models, including former Miss Worlds Rosanna Davison, Pamela Flood, and Holly Carpenter and current Miss Ireland Jasmine Gerhardt. The Miss Ireland franchise has raised 350,000 for various charities, including LauraLynn, Temple St, Alzheimers Ireland, Pieta House, The Cari Foundation and The Julian Benson Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This years Miss Cork will advance to the national finals for a chance to claim the Miss Ireland crown at a special ceremony at the Knightsbrook Hotel and Resort in Trim on June 14. Current Miss Cork Riona Cullinane O'Mahony pictured at House, Dublin Picture Brian McEvoy Were calling all confident, driven young women in Cork to seize this extraordinary opportunity, said Brendan Marc Scully, director of Miss Ireland. Miss Ireland isnt just a pageant. Its a launch pad for personal growth, advocacy, and making a difference. If youre ready to challenge yourself and inspire others, we want to hear from you. The finalists of Miss Ireland will undergo a challenging competitive process, testing their skills in debating, public speaking, talent, sports, modelling, social media and more, with each finalist tasked with raising awareness and funds for their chosen charities. The crowned Miss Ireland will receive a lucrative agency contract, a host of prizes, including a trip to Indonesia, and a chance to represent Ireland at the Miss World Festival. Details on how to enter are available on http://miss-ireland.ie/, with the deadline for applications set for March 31 at 5pm. Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe who was convicted on a public order charge following his failure to make a 350 contribution to the Irish Refugee Council appealed that conviction today saying through his barrister that his problem with paying was not political but religious. The appellants barrister Alan ODwyer said: It is purely a religious matter. Mr ODwyer explained at Cork Circuit Appeals Court that Mr Blighes difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle said she would vary the order of Fermoy District Court and that instead of paying 400 to the Irish Refugee Council, the appellant could pay 500 to NASC, the organisation that advises migrants and refugees on their rights. The appellant indicated through his barrister that he would make this contribution. Judge Boyle adjourned the appeal for two months to allow for confirmation of payment of that 500 to NASC. During the brief hearing, state solicitor Jeremiah Healy said that the area where the public order issue arose during a protest by the appellant and others had quietened down and there had not been further issues. The 44-year-old from Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, County Cork, of the Ireland First party, had been given the opportunity by Judge Colm Roberts at Fermoy District Court to avoid a criminal conviction and avail of the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act by making the donation. At a previous court sitting, Inspector Jason Wallace alleged that the appellant had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe obstructed an oil delivery to the premises and told him: You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from. Video of these comments was live-streamed. As an Irish citizen for 20 years Mr Gomez said he had never experienced anything like this before. When you decide to change your job, there are important steps to follow in terms of giving proper notice and getting references. There is a legal requirement to inform your employer that you intend to leave, called giving notice. What is a notice period? A notice period is the amount of time you must inform your employer before leaving your job (for example, two weeks or a month). It allows both you and your employer to prepare for the transition. The length of notice you must give is set down in law and is usually stated in your employment contract. The laws governing notice periods are detailed in the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2005. How much notice should I give? Check what your contract says about giving notice and follow those rules. If you want to negotiate a different arrangement, you should discuss this with your employer. What if there is no notice period in my contract? Statutory minimum notice is the shortest notice period that you can give under Irish law. If your contract does not state a notice period, you must provide the legal minimum, which is one week. The full rules on giving notice are set out in the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2005. The legal (or statutory) minimum notice is set out in Section 6?of the Act. What are my obligations to give notice if I worked for a short time? You do not have to give notice if: You worked for your employer for less than 13 weeks, and There is no employment contract specifying a notice period Can I leave before my notice period ends? Usually, you are required to work the notice period. Sometimes, your employer may agree that you can leave your job without working until the end of your notice period. Your employer may offer you pay instead of notice for that period. Payment instead (or in lieu) of notice is covered in Section 7 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973. What if I have outstanding annual leave? If you leave your job without taking all the annual leave you are entitled to, your employer must pay you for the unused days. Some employers may offer leave instead (or in lieu) of notice. These arrangements are not covered by legislation, so you must agree this with your employer. Can I change my mind after handing in my notice? Once you have given notice, the only way to withdraw it is by reaching an agreement with your employer. What should be included in a reference? When applying for a new job, you may want to ask your current or former employer for a reference. The person who gives you a reference is called a referee. The reference can be written or spoken and usually includes information about: How long you worked for the employer Your job responsibilities Your attendance record Your job performance Your suitability for the new job Am I entitled to a reference by law? There is no legal requirement for your current or previous employer to give you a reference. Few employment contracts include the right to have a reference when you leave. Employers usually provide references when asked. If they do this for some employees, they should do it for all employees without discrimination. Can an employer provide false information in my reference? Your current employer has a duty of care to you and your new employer. If they give you a reference, it must be true, fair, accurate and not misleading. What can I do if my employer gave me an unfair or inaccurate reference? If you believe your employer has given an unfair and inaccurate reference, and it has caused you harm, you may have grounds to sue them for negligence. If you think the reference isdefamatory (you believe your reputation has been injured due to the reference), you may sue the employer under the Defamation Act 2009. Can I read my reference? You have the right to access information about you, including your personnel records, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Personnel records include written and, if recorded, verbal references. However, you may not have access to the reference if the opinion was provided in confidence or with the understanding that it would remain confidential. Further information on this and other topics is available from Cork City Citizens Information in Cornmarket Street, open to the public on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9.45am to 12.30pm and Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm, Tel 0818 07 6950 (Lines open Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm). Blackpool CIC is open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Tel 0818 07 6890, while Hollyhill CIC is open Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, Tel: 0818 07 6850. Information is also available from the Citizens Information Phone Service Tel: 0818 07 4000 (9am - 8pm, Mon - Fri) or online at www.citizensinformation.ie By PA Reporter News of a child (11) being stabbed by a fellow pupil in a north Dublin primary school dominates the front pages of Irish newspapers on Wednesday, as well as talks between the US and Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has proposed a partial truce with Russia and said he was ready to pursue a peace deal under the strong leadership of US president Donald Trump, The Irish Times reports. The Irish Examiner leads with Ukraine and the US looking to sign a minerals deal, and also reports on HSE data showing nearly 260,000 people were waiting on therapy treatment or assessment in their community by December 2024. By 2030, Cork should have trains with a 10-minute frequency connecting the towns of Mallow, Cobh, and Midleton, The Echo reports. The Irish Independent leads with Taoiseach Micheal Martin proposing to seek advice from British prime minister Keir Starmer on how to handle Donald Trump. The Irish Daily Mail reports that an olive branch offered to Donald Trump by Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been cut, and says Ukraine's leader is "on brink" of signing a minerals deal with the US. The news of a boy being stabbed by a fellow pupil in a primary school in Co Dublin makes the front page of the Irish Daily Star. The Irish Daily Mirror also reports on the stabbing, as well as Arsenal's thumping victory over PSV in the Champions League. The stabbing also makes the front page of The Herald, as does as a preview of Liverpool's clash with PSG in the Champions League tonight. In the UK... The nations papers are led by Volodymyr Zelensky saying he is ready to seek a peace deal in the war with Russia. The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times and Daily Mail all lead with the Ukrainian president declaring he stands ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. The story is also carried by the i, which says Defence Secretary John Healey is heading to Washington to meet with US counterpart Pete Hegseth. Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Metro and Daily Star all lead with criticism of US vice president JD Vance, after he suggested in an interview that British troops havent fought a war in 30 or 40 years. The Financial Times reports stocks fell in Europe as a result of Donald Trump implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The wife of former BBC presenter Jermaine Jenas has said she and her husband have split up, according to The Sun. Olivia Kelleher Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe, who was convicted of a public order offence last year after he refused to make a donation to the Irish Refugee Council, on Wednesday appealed that conviction with the court hearing that his issue with paying was religious in nature. Blighe of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork was last year given the opportunity by Judge Colm Roberts at Fermoy District Court to avail of the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act by making the donation. He was convicted when he failed to make the contribution. At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court today barrister Alan ODwyer said that it was purely a religious matter". He said that his clients difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle told Mr Blighe that she would vary the order of the district court. She said that instead of paying 400 to the Irish Refugee Council Blighe could pay 500 to Nasc. Nasc is an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights. Mr Blighe (44) indicated his willingness to make this contribution via his barrister. Judge Boyle then adjourned the appeal for eight weeks to allow for confirmation of payment of the monies to Nasc. State solicitor Jeremiah Healy said that the area where the public order offence occurred during a protest by Blighe and other individuals had quietened down. No further issues have occurred. Meanwhile, Mr Blighe via solicitor Matthew Bermingham had last year told Fermoy District Court that his client was willing to donate to another charity rather than the Irish Refugee Council. Threatening and abusive behaviour Mr Bermingham had said that Blighe had an issue with the genuineness of the applicants [seeking asylum and assisted by the council]". At the time Judge Roberts said that it was not up to Blighe to choose the charity to which he was willing to donagte. At a previous court sitting, Insp Jason Wallace said it was alleged that Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22nd, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said he had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. When the delivery truck arrived at about 11am, he said Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. He said Blighe then told him the drivers not going to give you oil and the truck left. Facebook video Mr Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched. He opened the gates when it arrived and the driver began making the delivery. Blighe then began recording Mr Gomez with his phone and the court was shown footage he uploaded to Facebook in which he castigated Mr Gomez. In the video, Blighe can be heard telling Mr Gomez: You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from. Mr Gomez said Blighe live-streamed the incident which really traumatised me. He later downloaded the footage and provided it to gardai when making a complaint. He said he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had never experienced anything like this before. Immigration Garda Dane Murphy said he visited the protest at Abbeyville later that day and the atmosphere was borderline volatile. He said Blighe made a cautioned statement regarding the incident on January 9th last, but replied no comment to every question he was asked. The judge said he found the black and white attitude towards immigration hard to understand especially from an Irish perspective where generations of Irish people had emigrated and the vast majority of them illegally. He then gave Blighe, whom the court heard had eight previous convictions, including one for public order, the opportunity to avoid a criminal conviction by making the donation to the Irish Refugee Council. US federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied Elon Musk's request for an injunction that would have immediately stopped OpenAI's conversion into a for-profit entity. Musk filed for an injunction late last year after suing OpenAI and Microsoft and accusing them of telling investors not to fund rival AI companies, such as his own xAI. According to the Financial Times, the judge dismissed his request based on that claim of anticompetitive behavior. Gonzalez Rogers cited a previous statement by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, saying that the company only warned certain investors who were granted access to sensitive information that their rights would be terminated if they made a non-passive investment in rival companies. The judge also reportedly rejected the request based on Musk's claim that OpenAI and Altman broke their contract with him and violated the company's founding mission of building AI "for the benefit of humanity." Musk, who helped found OpenAI and funded it when it was just starting out, said Altman and his fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman "took advantage of [his] altruism in order to lure him into funding the venture." In a statement sent to Bloomberg, OpenAI said that the lawsuit has "always been about the competition." The company added that "Elons own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for [OpenAI's] mission or US interests." After Musk filed his original lawsuit against OpenAI last year, the company published old emails between Musk and other people in the company. OpenAI revealed that Musk was not only aware that it was taking the for-profit route, he wanted majority equity, control of the initial board of directors and the CEO position. Anoter email from Musk suggested making the organization a part of Tesla. In February this year, Musk launched a bid to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion, but the company gave him a firm "no thank you" in response. As Bloomberg noted, the judge's rejection of Musk's request is significant, because OpenAI is already in the process of talking with government officials about taking on a more typical corporate structure. While the judge has rejected Musk's request, she is fast-tracking his lawsuit and will hold an expedited trial later this year on the basis of public interest and on his claim that OpenAI's transformation has a "potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred." Digg is getting another reboot with two of the most prominent names of the Web 2.0 era leading the charge. Founder Kevin Rose has bought it back for an undisclosed sum. Roses partner in this endeavor is a very interesting one. Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit which was at one point the sites biggest rival acquired Digg alongside Rose. They surely have hopes that Digg can go toe-to-toe with Ohanians former company once again. According to a press release , Rose and Ohanian have teamed up to revive the social platform with a fresh vision to restore the spirit of discovery and genuine community that made the early web a fun and exciting place to be. The former rivals plan to tap into their knowledge of what did and didnt work at Digg and Reddit over the years to help make the relaunch a success. Rose and Ohanian, both now venture capitalists, have also been meeting with community leaders from online forums (including Reddit) to try and better understand what gets in their way or frustrates them in order to address those factors in the new Digg. The new Digg will have a mobile-first approach too. Since this is 2025, of course theres an AI element here. The plan is to make Digg distinct from other services by focusing on AI innovations designed to enhance the user experience and build a human-centered alternative. Rose suggested to The New York Times that AI could help with moderation and allow for fun quirks, like translating a discussion among sci-fi enthusiasts into Klingon. "At various times over the years I had been approached to repurchase Digg; it never felt right. The technologies to solve our biggest pain points didn't exist," Rose said. "Just recently we've hit an inflection point where AI can become a helpful co-pilot to users and moderators, not replacing human conversation, but rather augmenting it, allowing users to dig deeper, while at the same time removing a lot of the repetitive burden for community moderators". Justin Mezzell, an experienced product design exec and a longtime collaborator of Roses, is CEO of Digg. Rose is the companys board chair and key advisor. Ohanian also sits on Diggs board and will be an advisor. Digg has had a long and winding road to get to this point. It was an early darling of the social media era as it went toe-to-toe with Reddit to curate the best of the internet through submissions from users, who would upvote (or Digg) the things they liked to push it further up the homepage similar to how Reddit works. However, Digg's early success gave way to attempts to game the system, while a contentious 2010 redesign caused a mass exodus of users to Reddit. The company was sold off in parts in 2012, with LinkedIn and The Washington Post Company buying some aspects. A startup studio and venture capital company called Betaworks bought the Digg brand and relaunched it as a site where editors curated the content. That approach continued on until now, even after Digg was sold to an advertising company in 2018. The most recent version of Digg was still pretty solid, as it continued to offer a nice blend of curated material from around the web as well as some original writing from its editors. There were some hints that Rose was getting back in the Digg mix. After several years away, Rose and co-host Alex Albrecht resumed their Diggnation podcast last year. In December, a post on the Digg X account showed a screenshot of the app's icon with a bubble indicating that there were 3825 notifications. The same number is in the X account's header image. Some have taken that as a hint that the relaunch will take place on March 8 (3/8/25). In any case, Rose suggested the plan is to start small and ramp up Digg's features in the coming months. Rap mogul Jay-Z has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who previously accused him of sexual assault. The legal action, filed on March 3 in the Southern District of Alabama, targets an anonymous accuser known as Jane Doe and her attorneys, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney. In his filing, Jay-Z asserted that Doe has admitted to his representatives that her story was "false and malicious." The rapper's lawsuit contends that Doe and her lawyers pushed the lawsuit despite knowing that the allegations were not true. "[They were] soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency," the rapper alleged, per Business Insider. The lawsuit comes after Doe withdrew her initial claim last month, which alleged that Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs had raped her when she was 13 years old at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. However, there were inconsistencies in her allegations. For instance, Jane Doe also claimed she called her father after the alleged assault. However, her father later contradicted the claim during an interview with NBC News, adding that he does not recall making the five-hour drive from Rochester to pick her up. Jane Doe also claimed she met musician Benji Madden at the after-party. A representative for Madden later denied the claim, noting that Benji was on tour at the time and did not attend the 2000 VMAs. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, vehemently denied these allegations and claimed they were fabricated for financial gain. The rapper cites inconsistencies reported by NBC News in the new lawsuit. Jay-Z is now seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages. It was noted that Roc Nation, the rapper's company, has lost approximately $20 million annually in business contracts following the allegations, per BBC News. Investigators looking into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa now say they found an error that may change the course of their investigation. The couple, who had been dead for more than a week, were discovered in their Santa Fe home on February 26. One of their three dogs was found dead, too. However, police got the breed of the pet wrong at first, which caused concern over the accuracy of the investigation. Bear is a German Shepherd and was initially reported to have died, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. But investigators later amended that announcement, saying the dog located in a crate beside Arakawa's still body was actually Zinna, a 12-year-old Aussie Kelpie mix. The couple's friend and animal chiropractor, Sherry Gaber, said she was aware of the police report's inaccuracy. "That's why this whole thing is so distressing. It just doesn't add up," she told USA Today. Their other dogs, Bear and Nikita, a seven-year-old Akita-Shepherd mix, were discovered alive and have been placed in a boarding facility while attorneys work out where they will live next. Hackman and Arakawa were found by a caretaker who had called 911 after seeing the two bodies through the windows of their $3.8 million mansion. There were no apparent signs of foul play or trauma visible on either individual, according to police. Arakawa was found in the bathroom, with her hands and feet almost mummified. Nearby, prescription pills were strewn across the counter. Hackman was discovered in the mudroom with his cane and sunglasses beside him, leading authorities to believe he had collapsed. No Gas Leak Detected Early speculations suggested the cause of death could be carbon monoxide poisoning or a gas leak. However, the New Mexico Gas Company and Santa Fe Fire Department said they found no significant leaks or indication that the residents had been exposed to poisonous gas after extensive testing. Officials said some traces of a small leak were found by a stove burner in the house, but the amount was too weak to have caused their deaths. Sheriff Adan Mendoza said police had ruled out foul play but that a determination of the cause of death could take weeks or months. Doubts over the case have only sprouted, with the misidentification of Zinna as but one element still lingering in the final days of one of Hollywood's most iconic stars. Kate Middleton is reportedly making sure none of her three children feel like a lesser royal as they go through a life in the spotlight of the monarchy especially the two youngest, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The Princess of Wales faces the difficult task of combining tradition with a contemporary, engaged parenting style. Raised away from royal circles, her perspective is different from what her husband, Prince William, has known all his lifethe burden of royal expectations. An insider close to the royal family revealed Kate is "deeply conscious" of the emotional damage done to Prince Harry with the label of the so-called "spare" and will not let history repeat itself. Although the royal couple adheres to some traditions, the source said, "They also have the confidence to adapt and embrace a less formal approach when required. They told Radar Online, "Kate and William put family first and focus on what truly mattersensuring their children have a fulfilling and balanced upbringing." Preventing a 'Spare' Complex Despite the line of succession in which the eldest son inherits the title of monarch, Kate has been determined to ensure that her children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 7, feel equally special. While George is being groomed for his future kingship, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are reportedly careful not to allow that title to be at the expense of his siblings. The source said, "Kate is adamant that George's position does not mean Charlotte and Louis should feel like extras in their own family." The reason for Kate and Prince William's attitude, however, lies in Harry's own personal experiences, some of which he has shared publicly over the years. The Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir "Spare" that being the younger brother of the future king meant he always felt in his shadow and an afterthought. "My half of the room was far smaller, less luxurious. I never asked why. I didn't care. But I also didn't need to ask," Harry wrote of his upbringing at Kensington Palace. Harry has indicated that one of Prince William's children could one day be faced with the same cutting challenges that he was. In a previous interview with journalist Bryony Gordon, he said, "Though William and I have talked about it, once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility, I still feel a responsibility." "I know that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts. It worries me." However, those close to the Prince and Princess of Wales say Kate is already taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen. Giving all three of their children an equal sense of self-worth is how the couple wants to change the royal narrative for future generations. A Well-Rounded Future for the Children of Wales Although royal duty is an unenviable burden for Prince George, Kate and William have reportedly tried to instill a sense of individualism and a focus on personal development in all three of their children. The couple reportedly urges Charlotte and Louis to forge their interests as opportunities to take over the popular monarchy and ensure they have a solid motive beyond their titles. "Kate's parenting philosophy is about giving all three children a sense of importance and belonging," the source added. "She wants them to grow up feeling secure, loved, and able to carve out their own identities, rather than being defined by their place in the line of succession." From: Carol M. Swain -- Political Scientist, Author, and Commentator For Immediate Release: Dateline: Nashville , TN Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Buckle up for an electrifying episode of CURE America! This week, we jetted off to Grapevine, Texas, with the dynamic duo of Star Parker and Donald T. Eason, CUREs bold new president, alongside our fearless production crew, crashing the National Religious Broadcasters 2025 meeting of Christian communicators with unstoppable energy! We brought along powerhouse guestsDr. Carol M. Swain, political scientist and co-chair of the 1776 Commission, Craig Scheef, the trailblazing CEO of Texas Security Bank, and Dr. Simone Gold, MD, JD, the fiery founder of Americas Frontline Doctors and author of I Dont Consentto ignite the stage. The action kicked off with a thrilling ribbon-cutting ceremony, unleashing the exhibit hall and setting the scene for a jaw-dropping gathering of over 5,000 fired-up attendees. We dove headfirst into explosive conversations, tackling the churchs epic legacy in education, healthcare, and charity, rallying for Americas freedom with fierce determination, exposing the radical lefts assault on progress, and sounding the alarm to safeguard liberty for generations to come. This was no ordinary weekit was a high-octane clash of faith, grit, and big ideas, fueled by the razor-sharp insights of our all-star guests! Dont miss it! ABOUT CAROL M. SWAIN Carol Swain (Ph.D.) is an award-winning political scientist and former tenured professor at Princeton and Vanderbilt Universities. She is the author or editor of 10 books, including Be The People: A Call to Reclaim Americas Faith and Promise and The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration. Wednesday, March 5, 2025 I am surprised by how quickly the world has changed in the last two months. Six months ago, when I wrote that the Monroe Doctrine should be dead and buried, I said that it would never again become possible for anyone to openly talk about major powers carving up the world to satisfy their imperial ambitions. I was completely wrong. In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has talked about taking over the Panama Canal, buying Greenland, and making Canada the 51st state of America. He has also publicly stated that he will use force to accomplish some of those goals if he had to. It is bad enough that President Trump made these brash statements. What is shocking is the rather muted reaction to those absurdities. I thought most people would be horrified by the things he said and push back on them immediately. Instead, there has been nothing but silence. As things stand, James Monroes creed is alive and well in America today. We are the most powerful nation on the planet and so as an American citizen, I shouldnt have much to worry about this emergence of a world in which the mighty rule and all else either take instructions, or suffer what they may. But I have to speak out because in a previous life, my homeland was one of the choices on the restaurant menu. As a native Ghanaian who was born in the country soon after it gained independence from Britain, my childhood and early adult years were significantly impacted, negatively, by the effects of colonialism. When President Monroe gave that infamous speech to Congress in 1823, his expressed desire was to establish, for the U.S., a sphere of influence in the Americas. The U.S. would have the freedom to do what it pleased not only in countries like Mexico and the Caribbean states, but also in Brazil, Argentina, and elsewhere in South America. The European powers of the day such as Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal could then satisfy their appetites in the rest of the world without having to worry about competition from America. President Monroe at least limited his dinner choices to whatever meats and foods he could find in his own backyard. Our current president wants to enjoy fine cuisine all over the world. Greenland should theoretically be left to the Europeans, but he wants it as well. Brazil and Argentina, the behemoths of todays South America, were there for the taking in 1823. They were weak nations that had just gained independence from their colonial masters, Portugal and Spain. It is unlikely that President Monroe spent even a few minutes to consider what the Brazilians and Argentines would think about the things he was going to say about them to Congress. I would love to walk up and down the streets of Brasilia and Buenos Aires today and interview people. It would be fascinating to hear their thoughts on the suggestion by the current U.S. president that it will soon be 1823 all over again. It is fast approaching a century since African countries like Ghana and Nigeria gained independence from Britain. Even after all that time, they continue to be stuck in the positions that Brazil and Argentina were in the early 19th century. The overwhelming majority of African nations are weak and still heavily dependent on external powers for their survival. Africans will therefore be particularly vulnerable in this new world that these nouveau imperialists are trying to create. But rather inexplicably, some Africans are gleefully championing this slide into cannibalism. Over the last half-century, I have listened to incessant talk by some Africans about how every single problem on the African continent is the fault of colonialism. In the beginning, I largely agreed with that assessment. But in the past couple of decades, I have grown tired of the constant blaming of others for Africas many woes. I have learned enough about life to know that many of the wounds have been self-inflicted. Some of my friends have called me all kinds of names when I have expressed this view. In some peoples eyes, I am an apologist for past imperialism. But I have remained comfortable holding that unpopular opinion. For decades, I have watched one crop of Ghanaian political leaders after another sell the nations precious resources not to the highest bidders, but to the lowest. The fastest way to attain wealth in Ghana is through corruption. To any close observer of the country, about the only reason most people enter politics is to have access to state assets and loot them. There certainly are some honest citizens who try to seek public office to do the right things, but they form a tiny minority. Because most public officials are always looking for ways to make a quick buck, many dont even bother to scrutinize contracts to ensure they are in the national interest before signing them. They just take bribes and put pen to paper. The same thing happens in Nigeria and all across the continent. These asset giveaways constitute the primary reason that Africa has been stuck in neutral for so long. To be fair to some of those friends of mine who disagree with my views about the causes of Africas socio-economic stagnation, they at least acknowledge the roles that corruption and lack of proper due diligence in contracting have played. That is why I have been flabbergasted by some of the things they have said about the minerals deal that President Trump has been trying to strike with Ukraine. Since the disastrous Oval Office meeting last Friday between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a chorus of voices, belonging to these same Africans, have used stupid and all kinds of nasty adjectives to describe Zelenskyy for his refusal to sign the deal. I have no idea what is in that deal. From what I have been able to gather from scouring all kinds of news sources, it appears that not even members of the U.S. Congress know much about what the Ukrainians have been offered in exchange for their minerals. I dont know how these folks in Africa learned that it is a great deal for Zelenskyy and his compatriots. These wiseasses have also said all along that it was extremely foolish for Ukraine to even think about joining the EU or NATO. To them, Russia is a major power that is entitled to its own sphere of influence and the Ukrainians should have known better and remained under that umbrella quietly. Those smart alecks like to refer to themselves as realists. Having listened to them for five decades complaining about how colonialism robbed them of the glorious life that they would have had otherwise, it is clear to me that they didnt like it one bit when real things happened to them. Who is the apologist for imperialists now, me or them? Wonders will never end. One challenge of writing a grain marketing column is that you can be publicly wrong even before your writing hits the mailboxes. That was the fun we had last week. Last week, I went on record saying that there were a lot of reasons farmers would never plant as many acres as the economists thought they would. I said that we always looked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Planting Intentions Report for acreage information, but that the preview for those numbers came from the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum. Unexpected So, while I was writing my opinion with half my brain tied behind my back, The Forum released the projection that farmers would ramp up planted corn acres to 94 million, and we would raise 181 bushels per acre and produce 15.585 billion bushels, a new record. The immediate result over the next seven sessions was a drop in May futures corn prices of 61 1/4 cents and a drop of new crop December futures of 30 1/2 cents. In the process, we almost flipped May and December futures so that the December is now almost as high as the May. In the overnight going into March 4, we had May futures at $4.57 1/4 and December at $4.53 3/4. This change in December futures is especially interesting, as the outlook is all about the new crop, but it is the nearby that got hammered. This confirms the thinking that big report moves, or fundamental moves, tend to be in the nearby contract, now May, as that is where the most trading interest is, It is easy to find articles this week on why this is an overreaction. That might make me feel better, but the arguments are not necessarily conclusive. First is the fact that USDA has predicted a 180-bpa corn average yield for the last four years in a row. It has never happened. Now. the USDA is starting out assuming a 181-bpa yield. Then we have the annoying fact that the prices of soybeans dropped, too. Given that the total acreages of corn plus soybeans plus cotton tends to remain the same, the normal assumption is that if corn acres go up strongly, the difference tends to come out of soybean acres. That should make soybean prices go up, but they didnt. In fact, the traders seem to be paying more attention to the 50% harvest progress in Brazil and improving weather in South America as an improvement to the size of South American crops. Or, the argument is that the shocking number to come out was the corn acreage, so we will trade that this week and maybe get more interested in soybean prices later. November soybean futures lost $1.11 in the last seven sessions, so I dont really know which argument, or both, to believe. Wheat While most farmers were concentrating on corn and soybean prices, the wheat markets were also getting hammered. It is not clear to me if that is because wheat traded in sympathy to corn, or if traders just took money out of wheat specs to gamble on corn. If there were fundamental reasons for wheat price declines, it is hard to find them. We are still noting that the Russians will likely continue to slow exports because of crop problems. In addition, some weather forecasters are talking up La Nina as moderating, leading to hot and dry conditions in our Southern Plains, which could limit hard winter wheat yields. Our Chicago cookie wheat lost almost 75 cents while this analysis was going on, and I remain ignorant as to just why. There is talk of substituting wheat for corn in some feedlot rations, but that happens as one crop gains or looses on another, not as both corn and wheat get cheaper. July Chicago wheat futures are now trading at $5.61 1/2. The sickening reality for producers who didnt price a bunch of corn when near futures (then March) got above $5 is that the profit is now gone in corn again. Now, we are marketing with desperate hope instead of with a little profit and hope (then) of maybe more later. Another reality is that, at these prices, maybe we get more soybean acres in our mix. In other words, our market reaction to new fundamental numbers could end up making those numbers wrong. I am not an expert on the corn/bean ratio, (or a lot of other things I pontificate upon) but I gave my opinions last week on why farmers more and more just like to plant soybeans. We are still waiting for the Planting Intentions Report, and when it comes, we will still argue about the validity of the numbers until we get through planting season. There remain many reasons for the real corn acres to be revealed later, but the 94 million-acre estimate that we now trade was a real kick in the head. NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio The Ashtabula County Farm Bureau invites local farmers, landowners and community members to its 2025 Membership Breakfast March 8 from 8:30-11 a.m. at the Lenox Community Center, 2509 Lenox-New Lyme Road in Jefferson, Ohio. County Auditor Scott Yamamoto will provide updates on Current Agricultural Use Value, Ag Districts and the upcoming 2026 re-appraisal process. This will help landowners understand changes that could impact their property values and taxes. Nate Terhune from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy will share insights on farmland preservation programs and how landowners can protect their property for the future. A pancake and sausage breakfast will be served from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on a first-come first-served basis. Farm Bureau members can attend for free, while non-members are welcome for $10 per person or they can join at the event to receive free admission. No registration is required. For more information, call 440-426-2195 or email ashtabula@ofbf.org. SALEM, Ohio Workers across key federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are left wondering what will happen to their jobs now that a federal judge has ruled that the governments mass firings of probationary workers were illegal. U.S. District Judge William Alsups decision on Feb. 27 grants temporary relief to a group of labor unions and organizations that sued to stop what they described as an unprecedented purge of the federal workforce by the Trump administration. The judges decision does not automatically reinstate fired workers or prevent future firings. It does, however, bolster the case for employees seeking reinstatement through the federal Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel, which are investigating whether agencies should have followed reduction-in-force procedures rather than resorting to mass terminations, according to reporting by the Washington Post. Court case Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees. But that office, led by Acting Director Charles Ezell, has maintained that it did not directly order the terminations. In a sworn declaration from Feb. 26, Ezell stated, OPM did not direct agencies to terminate probationary employees, based either on performance or misconduct. Instead, he said the office issued guidance in evaluating employees and instructed supervisors to promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency. Agencies made their own decisions about which probationary employees they wished to keep and which probationary employees they wished to terminate, and agencies took their own actions to terminate employees the agencies did not wish to retain, Ezell wrote. But, according to the Associated Press, Alsup raised concerns over a Feb. 13 phone call in which agency heads were, in fact, directly told to fire probationary employees. Whats next The ruling has significant implications for former probationary employees at multiple agencies and departments, including the USDA, who were dismissed. Employees who were terminated may now have stronger grounds to challenge their dismissals. In response to the ruling, a USDA spokesperson told Farm and Dairy that Secretary Rollins is dutifully carrying out President Donald Trumps directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies and strengthen USDAs many services to the American people. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American peoples hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy, the spokesperson said. As part of this effort, USDA has released individuals in their probationary period of employment who are not deemed essential. Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted. For those who have been fired, however, the legal battle offers little comfort or assurance that their jobs will be restored. Speculation over a possible case of foot-and-mouth disease in Exeter, which was later confirmed negative, has led to warnings against complacency in disease prevention. The Exeter Livestock Market was forced to cancel its primestock market sales earlier this week after an investigation by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) into a potential disease outbreak. Mart operators Kivells Agriculture confirmed that the agency had ordered them to stop sales on 3 March, saying that circumstances were "beyond its control." The incident was triggered when a farmer purchased sheep from the mart over the weekend and became worried that they were showing foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) symptoms. Following initial tests by APHA, the sheep did not have FMD, but further tests suggest that bluetongue virus could be present, with results expected later this week. While the scare proved to be a false alarm, experts say it serves as a reminder of the potential consequences of an outbreak, as seen in 2001 when over six million animals were culled. Concerns over international disease spread remain heightened after Germany confirmed an FMD case in January, prompting an import ban on cattle, pigs, and sheep to protect UK farmers. Nigel Bennet, livestock area manager at biosecurity specialists Roam Technology, said latest scare should serve as a "wake-up call" for farmers to reinforce disease prevention measures. He said: "Prevention is our strongest defence. Every farm should be reviewing and strengthening biosecurity protocols - restricting unnecessary visitors, disinfecting clothing and equipment, and closely monitoring animal health." Having worked in biosecurity during the 2001 outbreak, Mr Bennet recalled the horrors of the crisis and warns against complacency. "We are great at biosecurity in the face of an outbreak, but as soon as the risk disappears, so do some of our excellent biosecurity measures. Its time to change that." Mr Bennet said key areas that farmers should prioritise to strengthen their frontline defences include disinfection, restricting farm access and quarantining new or returning livestock. Farmers should also use dedicated clothing and footwear, control vehicle movements on the farm, and implement effective pest control. The best way to fight FMD is to stop it before it reaches your farm," he said, "Stay vigilant, keep biosecurity tight, and protect your animals." Farmers are reminded that FMD is a notifiable disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, and pigs. The last UK outbreak was in 2007, and any suspected cases must be reported immediately to APHA. Farmers are being urged to identify actions they could take to reduce the impact of climate change amid fears of increased rainfall in the UK by mid-century. The Climate Change Adaptation report, released today (5 March) by AHDB, assesses the risk - and opportunities - from climate change that will most affect farmers. It describes how agriculture could be impacted across multiple temperature increase scenarios, between now and 2100, and suggests changes farmers could make to protect their businesses. Rachael Madeley-Davies, AHDB head of environment, said the UK was experiencing less predictable seasons and more frequent and intense weather events. She warned: "Agriculture is especially vulnerable to these changes because it is directly dependent on the climate, as well as relying on natural assets like soils interacting with complex biological systems. The risk of flooding has been highlighted as a high-priority area, with the report urging farmers to prioritise the impact of increased rainfall and assess whether it will lead to a heightened likelihood of flooding in their area. The Met Office UK Climate Projections suggest that by mid-century, there will be around a 20% increase in heavy rainfall, with average rainfall around 5% higher than the 19812000 average. Ms Madeley-Davies said that farmers needed to identify any risk areas to their farm in order to futureproof their business. Many farmers are already aware of the risks caused by flooding, but its important this becomes a focus for all. "Ensuring that soil remains permeable and minimising compaction is an easy win in terms of soil health and adapting to managing increased rainfall and flooding implications on farmland. "This could include practical steps such as aeration, minimal tillage and utilising deep-rooted varieties such as festuloloium, cocksfoot and clovers." She added: Farmers should also understand watercourses around their farm, including near key infrastructure, and how they cope during periods of prolonged rainfall. "It could be that maintenance is required, or investment in terms of water diversion, water capture and adaption or relocation of farm buildings. The levy board's report aims to help inform farmers on where the climate risks are for them and their business, and what tools and resources are available to help them. The areas identified at highest risk of impact caused by climate change include assets, as extreme rainfall and flooding leads to waterlogging and soil erosion, as well as damage to farm buildings and equipment. It also harms productivity, with extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought, high rainfall and flooding impacting on livestock and crops. AHDB says the risks posed to these are critical now and could have a significant impact on food production. Its report also highlights where there may be opportunities for farmers, such as the chance to grow new crops and lowering of feed and energy costs that come with less reliance on housing livestock if winters are warmer. Mrs Madeley-Davies added: The focus for agriculture to date has been around climate mitigation actions, i.e. how agriculture can reduce its environmental impact. "There is currently little data at scale of the implementation of actions that could be used to adapt to climate change on farms in the UK and this report fills that gap. "Ultimately agriculture needs to begin adapting to, as well as mitigating against, climate change its two sides of the same coin.? "The good news is a lot of the actions required are current best practice such as maintaining soil health for productivity and animal health and welfare. Researchers are seeking more than 50 dairy farms across the UK to join an initiative which aims to significantly reduce the sector's emissions. The project, funded by Defra, aims to support UK dairy to become greener through the deployment of innovative mitigation measures. The UK Dairy Carbon Network will establish a network of 56 dairy farms across four major dairying regions in the UK. These include Northern Ireland; Cumbria and southwest Scotland; northwest England; and south and southwest England; and West Wales. Led by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), the farms will serve as demonstration hubs where solutions to slash emissions will be deployed and measured. These measures will include innovations in animal management, land use, nutrient management and technology. Furthermore, the project aims to support farmers in achieving more efficient use of nitrogen and phosphorus, promoting both environmental and economic sustainability. Our goal is to drive meaningful change in the sector by applying research findings directly to real-world farming conditions and measuring the impact, said Professor Steven Morrison, project lead. By working closely with farmers and using advanced measurement and modelling techniques, we aim to measure and report significant reductions in the carbon emissions from dairy farming in the UK. "During the formation of the project the interest from across the agricultural sector was immense, with over 50 organisations offering support and indicating a willingness to get involved in the project. Impact will be assessed through a combination of direct measurements, novel indicators, and farm-level carbon footprint models. This holistic approach is designed to enable mitigation measures to be accurately captured at a national level inventory, accelerate the adoption of GHG-reducing practices and further improve the sustainability of dairy farming. Knowledge exchange is central to the projects success: the UK Dairy Carbon Network will implement a farmer-led learning model, ensuring that mitigation strategies can be widely adopted. AHDB and AgriSearch will be providing more information to farmers about how the four farming networks will work across the UK. Interested farmers will then have the opportunity to express their interest in taking part in the project. Professor Morrison said: "The selected farmers will be at the heart of these dynamic networks and will demonstrate a range of carbon mitigation strategies on their farms. "The lessons learned from this will be communicated to policy makers, industry, academia and, most importantly, other farmers. Japanese manufacturing production fell further midway through the first quarter (Q1) this year, though both output and new order inflows decreased at softer rates, according to au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) data. The pace of reduction was only modest, but often attributed to weak sales and confidence in domestic and overseas markets, S&P Global Ratings said in a release. Japanese manufacturing production fell further midway through Q1 2025, though both output and new order inflows dropped at softer rates, manufacturing PMI data show. The pace of reduction was only modest, but often attributed to weak sales and market confidence. Business conditions improved modestly across the consumer goods segment. Factory output fell for the sixth month in a row in February. The subdued manufacturing performance was also reflected in a broad stagnation in employment levels and solid falls in purchasing activity and backlogs of work. Input costs continued to rise at a robust rate that was the joint-strongest since last August (with December 2024). In response, manufacturers raised their selling prices at a faster rate. Posting 49 in February, the headline au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI rose from 48.7 in January to indicate a softer deterioration in the health of the sector. The latest contraction reflected further, albeit slower, declines in the intermediate and investment goods sectors, the release noted. Business conditions improved modestly across the consumer goods segment. Factory output fell for the sixth successive month during February. The reduction eased month on month and was only modest overall. Where a decline was signalled, survey participants commented on weaker new orders, while there was also evidence that firms had excess inventories. As such, stocks of finished goods were also depleted further and at the strongest rate for a year. Overall new orders fell again in the latest survey month, extending the current sequence that began in June 2023. Demand retrenchment and weak client confidence were cited as the key factors behind the fall, notably in external markets. Manufacturers noted a slightly sharper decline in new export business in February, with particular emphasis on muted demand in the United States and China. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Mexico will hit back at President Donald Trump's tariffs with retaliatory duties of its own, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced yesterday, saying the details would be announced later. She accused Washington of publishing "an offensive, defamatory and unsupported statement," after the White House alleged in its tariff announcement that the Mexican government had "afforded safe havens for the [drug] cartels." Mexico will hit back at President Donald Trump's tariffs with retaliatory duties of its own, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced yesterday. She accused Washington of publishing "an offensive, defamatory and unsupported statement" against Mexico. The targeted products and measures will be announced on March 9. She said the government is 'going to wait' as she plans to speak to Trump this week. The targeted products and other measures will be announced on March 9. The Mexican President said the government is going to wait as she plans to speak to Trump this week. Reiterating that there was no reason or justification for Trump to hit Mexico with 25-per cent tariffs despite its collaboration in efforts to tackle drug smuggling, she said: "I want to make it clear today that we will always seek a negotiated solution as we have proposed within the framework of respect for our sovereignty." "But the unilateral decision taken by the United States affects national and foreign companies that operate in our country and affects our people. Therefore, we have decided to respond with tariff and non-tariff measures," she was quoted as saying by global media reports. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) SCO important platform of practical, pragmatic cooperation: Uzbek FM Xinhua) 13:01, March 05, 2025 TASHKENT, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Since its creation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has emerged as an important platform of practical and pragmatic cooperation, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov said on Tuesday. In a post on Telegram, Saidov said he held a meeting with Nurlan Yermekbayev, secretary-general of the SCO, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan on Tuesday. "Our discussions focused on deepening collaboration within the SCO framework, enhancing regional security, and fostering economic and cultural ties among member states," Saidov said. He added that Uzbekistan remains committed to strengthening multilateral cooperation and contributing to the shared prosperity of the region. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) SODANKYLA, FINLAND / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2025 / FireFox Gold Corp. (TSXV:FFOX)(OTCQB:FFOXF) ("FireFox" or the "Company") is pleased to share a progress report and the latest results from its Kolho Property, located in northern Finland. The Kolho Property exploration campaign is operated by a subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX: AEM) (NYSE: AEM) ("Agnico") pursuant to an earn-in Agreement announced on December 20, 2023 (the "Earn-In Agreement"). Exploration expenditures by Agnico on the property totalled approximately US$765,000 during 2024. FireFox CEO, Carl Lofberg, commented on the update on the Kolho Property, "We are pleased with the steady ongoing work at Kolho. The tenement package is large and highly prospective, so it is important to see the application of large-scale systematic exploration on the ground. Even though this was the first year of activity on the first permit, it is encouraging to see gold and pathfinder element anomalies from the base-of-till sampling, and the geophysics is confirming our general interpretation of the structural setting and prospectivity. It is also not surprising to see further evidence for ultramafic rocks on the property with potential for Cu-Ni-PGE deposits. We look forward to seeing the pace of work increase in 2025 with the addition of a second base-of-till sampling rig and ongoing gravity surveys moving to the recently approved exploration permits." The 2024 exploration activities were focused at the Nuttio permit, which was the first of the six exploration permit areas within the Kolho Property to have a fully approved exploration permit allowing for mechanized work. The 2024 activities included a detailed ground gravity survey covering the entire Nuttio permit (approximately 31 km2) and the initiation of a systematic base-of-till ("BoT") sampling campaign By the end of 2024, a total of 1,619 BoT samples were collected, with assay results for 1,325 of the samples reported. The results to date are encouraging: several gold-anomalous zones have been identified, accompanied by elevated levels of arsenic (As), bismuth (Bi), tellurium (Te) and copper (Cu), which are regarded as pathfinder elements commonly associated with orogenic gold systems in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (Figure 1). The highest gold value reported from the BoT samples was 0.116 grams per tonne of Au, accompanied by an anomalous copper value of 0.27% Cu. The 2024 activities also included a ground gravity survey covering the Nuttio permit area. A total of 1,892 survey stations were measured with 125-metre spacing. The interpretation of the gravity data reveals the folding of the lithological units in the southwestern part of the project area as well as the large contact zones and NW-SW trending thrust zones seen throughout the whole project area (Figure 1). In the northern part of the permit area, these thrust zones appear to control the accumulation of significant ultramafic volcanic rocks as demonstrated by anomalous levels of elements such as chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and magnesium (Mg) in the BoT sample data. The elevated chromium values, with a maximum value of 1,482 parts per million, form a cluster more than 1.1 km in length and 500m in width (Figure 2), which is believed to represent the peridotitic komatiites of the Sattasvaara formation of the Proterozoic aged Savukoski Group. According to the Bedrock of Finland Geological Database (1:200,000 scale) (Geological Survey of Finland, 2024), these ultramafic rocks are associated with most of the gold occurrences along the Sirkka Line, as well as at the Ikkari and Pahtavaara deposits owned by Rupert Resources Ltd. In addition to the encouraging gold and pathfinder element anomalies, the BoT sampling results indicate the potential for copper-nickel sulphide deposits within the Nuttio permit area, which can also be enriched in platinum group elements. Figure 1. Gravity and Gold in BoT Sampling through 2024 at the Nuttio Exploration Permit. During 2024, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (TUKES) granted two additional exploration permits within the Kolho Property, southeast of Nuttio: Rova and Hilla. Together, these newly approved permits cover approximately 51 km2 along the major thrusted contact zone (Figure 3). Three additional applications for exploration permits, to the north of Nuttio, remain in progress at Kolho. Exploration Plans for 2025 A detailed gravity survey was initiated on the Hilla and Rova permit areas. The systematic BoT sampling campaign will continue in the Nuttio area and is expected to move to the Hilla area during Q1 of 2025. The BoT sampling rate is expected to increase through the addition of a heavier drill rig with the capacity for combining top-of-bedrock (chip) and base-of-till drilling. Figure 2. Airborne Magnetics and Chromium in BoT Sampling through 2024 at the Nuttio Exploration Permit. About the Kolho Property The +120 km2 Kolho Property is a group of three exploration permit applications and three exploration permits (Figure 3) that occupies a prospective structural corridor northeast of Rupert Resources Ltd.'s Ikkari discovery and FireFox's Sarvi property. Pursuant to the terms of the Earn-in Agreement, FireFox granted Agnico an exclusive right to earn a 51% interest in the Kolho Property by incurring exploration expenditures totalling US$5,000,000 before the fifth anniversary of entering into the Earn-in Agreement (the "Earn-in Grant Date"), of which US$2,000,000 will be a committed amount required to be spent on or prior to the third anniversary of the date that certain permits are granted in respect of the Kolho Property. For additional details with respect to the Earn-In Agreement see the Company's news release dated December 20, 2023. Figure 3. The Kolho Property. Methodology & Quality Assurance The technical information in this news release has been verified by detailed monthly reports and online meetings amongst FireFox Gold management and Agnico representatives. All BoT samples referred to in this news release were prepared at the independent laboratory facilities of CRS Laboratories Oy in Kemple, Finland, which operates as a subcontractor for Canadian MSALABS, which is a global provider of geochemical laboratory services for the mineral prospecting and mining industry. The BoT samples have been dried and sieved to a fine fraction at CRS Laboratories. The fine fraction of the BoT samples is tested for gold and 50 other elements with the IMS-131 method (20g true aqua regia, ICP-MS finish "ultratrace") at MSALABS, in Langley, BC, Canada. Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702) and director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Highsmith has helped prepare, reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release. About FireFox Gold Corp. FireFox Gold Corp is listed on the TSX Venture Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FFOX. FireFox also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market Exchange in the US under the ticker symbol FFOXF. The Company has been exploring for gold in Finland since 2017 where it holds a large portfolio of prospective ground. Finland is one of the top mining investment jurisdictions in the world as indicated by its multiple top-10 rankings in recent Fraser Institute Surveys of Mining Companies. Having a strong mining law and long mining tradition, Finland remains underexplored for gold. Recent exploration results in the country have highlighted its prospectivity, and FireFox is proud to have a Finland based CEO and technical team. For more information, please refer to the Company's website and profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Carl Lofberg" Chief Executive Officer CONTACT: FireFox Gold Corp. Email: info@firefoxgold.com Telephone: +1-778-938-1994 Forward-Looking Statements The information in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, the extent of work stoppage and economic impacts that may result from illness, extreme weather, changes in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include statements regarding: the intent to conduct additional exploration; the belief as to the location of the most prospective gold targets; the location of targets for future exploration programs; and the current and future work program, including the extent and nature of exploration to be conducted in 2025. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the expectations of FireFox as of the date of dissemination and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. FireFox does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release. SOURCE: FireFox Gold Corp Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2025) - Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE: WDGY) (OTCQB: WDGRF) ("Wedgemount" or the "Company") announces it has approved the grant of stock options (each, an "Option") to acquire up to 800,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (each a "Common Share"). The Options are exercisable for a five-year term expiring on March 4, 2030, at a price of $0.10 per Option. Any Common Shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the Options, will be subject to a four month hold period expiring on July 5, 2025, unless waived by the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Wedgemount Resources Corp. Wedgemount Resources is a junior oil & gas company focused on maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition, development and exploitation of natural resource projects in the southern USA. On behalf of the Board of Directors, WEDGEMOUNT RESOURCES CORP. Reader Advisory This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, availability of funds, personnel and other resources necessary to conduct exploration or development programs, successes of the Company's exploration efforts, availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243368 SOURCE: Wedgemount Resources Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2025) - Hillcrest Energy Technologies (CSE: HEAT) (FSE: 7HI) ("Hillcrest" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated January 10, 2025 and January 30, 2025, the Company has closed the second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures ("Debentures") with a principal amount of $663,923.17 (the "Final Tranche"). A significant portion of the Final Tranche, approximately $470,523.17, was completed through the distribution of Debentures in settlement of existing debt. The total Private Placement, inclusive of all tranches, resulted in the Company issuing Debentures with a principal amount of $2,606,748.17. The Debentures bear interest at a rate of 10% per annum and mature on two years following the date of issuance (the "Maturity Date"). The Company may from time to time, in its sole discretion, prepay all or a part of the principal amount and accrued interest without penalty. The outstanding principal amount owed under a Debenture may be converted, in the sole discretion of the holder at any time prior to the Maturity Date, into units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a conversion price of $0.12 per Unit (the "Conversion Price"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), which each Warrant being exercisable at a price of $0.12 per Common Share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance. At maturity, the Company may convert the outstanding principal amount, together with any accrued and unpaid interest thereon, into Units at the Conversion Price; provided that, if the holder of a Debenture and the Company make different elections at maturity, the election by the party who opted in favour of the largest conversion of the principal amount into Units at the Conversion Price will prevail. The Debentures are also subject to a forced conversion right, whereby the Company may convert the outstanding principal amount and any accrued and unpaid interest thereon into Units at the Conversion Price if the closing price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange is greater than or equal to $0.36 for a period of ten consecutive trading days and the Company gives notice to holders of the Debentures by way of a news release. If the Company arranges a distribution of securities, other than pursuant to an equity incentive plan, holders of the Debentures may elect to complete a securities for debt transaction in connection with such subsequent financing, to settle the outstanding principal and interest accrued and owing. Certain insiders of the Company (collectively, the "Insiders") participated in the Final Tranche for Debentures with an aggregate principal amount of $129,339.92, of which Debentures with a principal amount of $117,339.92 were issued in the settlement of existing debt. Such issuance of Debentures to the Insiders constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transaction ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemption from valuation requirement and minority approval pursuant to subsections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as the participation by the Insiders in the Offering does not represent more than 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for retirement of existing accounts payable, technology development, general working capital and, where feasible, enhanced marketing and investor relations activities. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day following the date of issuance in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. The securities of the Company referred to in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities of the Company may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Hillcrest Energy Technologies Reinforces Global Focus Amid Changing Tariff Landscape Today, Hillcrest reaffirms its strategic focus on global markets including Europe, Australia and Canada. While evolving tariff policies may impact some industries, Hillcrest's international business strategy and global partnerships position the Company to mitigate potential effects and continue advancing engagements in the energy, industrial, and automotive sectors. "Our technology is designed to meet the needs of leading global companies in industrial power solutions, renewable energy integration and automotive electrification," said Don Currie, CEO of Hillcrest Energy Technologies. "We continue to see strong interest and opportunities outside of the U.S., where our innovative ZVS inverter technology is being evaluated for next-generation electrification applications." Hillcrest has already established relationships and is negotiating potential development agreements with leading companies in Europe and other international markets. The Company's partnerships and ongoing collaborations reflect its commitment to working closely with industry leaders to deliver high-performance, high-efficiency power conversion solutions. "Our approach remains focused on global engagement and collaboration," added Mr. Currie. "While tariffs may create challenges in some regions, our business strategy is not reliant on the U.S. market. We are actively working with international partners to drive innovation and commercialization of our technology." With a strong presence in Europe, a dedicated Automotive Center of Excellence in Germany, a growing network of industry partners, and the Vancouver-based Grid Center of Excellence, Hillcrest is well-positioned to capitalize on global market demand for its cutting-edge power conversion technology. Hillcrest Announces Board of Directors Transition Hillcrest also announces a transition within its Board of Directors. Kylie Dickson has stepped down from her role as a director to pursue other opportunities, and Thomas G. Milne has been appointed interim Audit Chair, effective March 5, 2025. "We are grateful to Kylie for her valuable contributions and dedication to Hillcrest during her nearly four years of service," said Don Currie, CEO of Hillcrest Energy Technologies. "Her insights and leadership have been instrumental in our progress, and we wish her the very best in her future endeavors." Mr. Milne, a seasoned financial executive with extensive experience in audit, risk management, and corporate governance, will assume the role of Audit Chair on an interim basis. A member of Hillcrest's Board for nearly thirteen years, he has previously served as Audit Chair and is currently a member of the Audit Committee. "We are pleased to have Tom step into this role," added Mr. Currie. "His experience and leadership will be invaluable as we continue executing our strategic objectives." Hillcrest remains committed to advancing its clean energy technology solutions and delivering value to shareholders. The Company thanks Kylie Dickson for her service and welcomes Thomas G. Milne to his interim role as Audit Chair. The Company also announces the grant of 600,000 restricted share units ("RSUs"), pursuant to the Company's restricted share unit plan, to a consultant of the Company. The RSUs have a 3-year term. 300,000 RSUs vest on August 30, 2025, and the remaining 300,000 RSUs vest on February 28, 2026. The Company further announces that it has granted stock options ("Options") to an employee of the Company to purchase up to 210,000 Common Shares pursuant to the Company's share option plan. 105,000 Options vest on June 4, 2025, and the remaining 105,000 Options vest on September 4, 2025. The Options are exercisable on or before March 4, 2030, at a price of $0.12 per Common Share. About Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd. Hillcrest Energy Technologies is a clean technology company focused on providing advanced power conversion technologies and digital control systems for next-generation powertrains and grid-connected renewable energy systems. From concept to commercialization, Hillcrest is investing in the development of energy solutions that will power a more sustainable and electrified future. Hillcrest is publicly traded on the CSE under the symbol "HEAT," on the OTCQB Venture Market as "HLRTF" and on the Frankfurt Exchange as "7HI". For more information, please visit: https://hillcrestenergy.tech/. Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information Some of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "intends," "is expected," "potential," "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "should," "would," "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news release. The forward-looking information reflects our current expectations and assumptions and is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. No assurance can be given that these assumptions will prove correct. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are advised to consider the risk factors under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's MD&A for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023, available at https://www.sedarplus.ca/ for a discussion of the factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243371 SOURCE: Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd. GenLab Venture Studios, a leading AI and DeepTech investment and venture builder, and the Deutsche Cyber-Sicherheitsorganisation GmbH (DCSO), a prominent German cybersecurity organization, launched in 2015 by Allianz SE, BASF SE, Bayer AG and Volkswagen AG, today announced a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing the cybersecurity landscape through the development of advanced AI-powered solutions as industrial nations build out AI Datacenters worldwide. The collaboration will leverage GenLab's expertise in AI and DeepTech and DCSO's extensive knowledge of cybersecurity threats and challenges to build and deploy innovative tools that empower Security Operations Center (SOC) Agentic AI to enhance overall cybersecurity defenses, especially for critical infrastructure such as ports, airports, water treatment, energy grids and utilities. The landscape of AI is accelerating rapidly, and building agentic systems around DCSO's expertise will build stronger cybersecurity tools that the two will commercialize globally. "We are thrilled to partner with DCSO to drive the future of cybersecurity," said Daniel Riedel, Managing Partner CEO of GenLab Venture Studios. Our team's background in infrastructure cyber, AI, and Data is crucial in a time when AI is dependent on the critical infrastructure it's built upon. Combining our AI capabilities with DCSO's deep understanding of the threat landscape, we can create trusted Agentic solutions that will significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of cybersecurity operations globally." To accelerate the development and deployment of these innovative cybersecurity solutions, GenLab is establishing a dedicated Venture Studio focused solely on cybersecurity. This specialized studio will bring together top talent in AI, DeepTech, and cybersecurity to create and scale high-impact ventures that address the industry's most pressing challenges. Leveraging GenLab's proven venture studio model and DCSO's extensive network and expertise, the Cybersecurity Venture Studio will provide a unique platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to build and launch successful cybersecurity solutions for autonomous aerospace, advanced air mobility, urban air mobility, space and space logistics, 3PL's, shipping, cargo transport and their defense industrial base partners and suppliers. The studio will offer a range of support services, including technical expertise, business development, and access to capital, to help ventures focus on the most pressing challenges and reach relevance through rapid growth. Dr. Andreas Rohr, Managing Director of DCSO, stated: "By joining forces with GenLab, we can leverage our decade of expertise in cybersecurity managed services to accelerate the development of Agentic AI capabilities. Our cross-disciplinary collaboration is designed to empower organizations by enhancing their cyber defense effectiveness, enabling us to create solutions that are far better prepared to counter emerging threats than what exists today." Dominic Coxinho, Managing Director at DCSO, added: "Integrating entrepreneurial spirit and engineering excellence from the US and Europe will establish a trusted foundation for customers and governments worldwide, especially for those concerned with data sovereignty and autonomous decision-making. This robust partnership not only bridges continents but also sets a new standard for accelerated cybersecurity innovation." Sarah Novotny, GenLab Partner and CTO, said: "This partnership with DCSO allows us to develop cutting-edge AI tools to bring improved information directly to the cybersecurity professionals who need them most. I'm incredibly excited to empower this community with the knowledge and resources to stay ahead of evolving threats." The partnership between GenLab Venture Studios and DCSO represents a significant step forward in the fight against cybercrime and nation-state-backed attacks. By harnessing the power of generative AI, the two organizations aim to develop and deploy cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that will help protect businesses and individuals from the ever-growing threat of cyberattacks. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250304559870/en/ Contacts: press@genlab.studio 717 Market St Suite 100 San Francisco, CA 94103 Die Finanzwelt ist im Umbruch! Nach Jahren der Dominanz erschuttert Donald Trumps erratische Wirtschaftspolitik das Fundament des amerikanischen Kapitalismus. Handelskriege, Rekordzolle und politische Isolation haben eine Kapitalflucht historischen Ausmaes ausgelost. Milliarden stromen aus den USA und suchen neue, lukrative Ziele. Und genau hier kommt China ins Spiel. Trotz aller Spannungen wachst die chinesische Wirtschaft dynamisch weiter, Innovation und Digitalisierung treiben die Markte an. Im kostenlosen Spezialreport stellen wir Ihnen 5 Aktien aus China vor, die vom US-Niedergang profitieren und das Potenzial haben, den Markt regelrecht zu uberflugeln. Wer jetzt klug investiert, sichert sich den Zugang zu den neuen Wachstums-Champions von morgen. Holen Sie sich den neuesten Report! Verpassen Sie nicht, welche 5 Aktien die Konkurrenz aus den USA outperformen durften, und laden Sie sich das Gratis-PDF jetzt kostenlos herunter. Dieses exklusive Angebot gilt aber nur fur kurze Zeit! Daher jetzt downloaden! LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of countries recording a terrorist attack increased from 58 to 66, according to the 12th annual Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released today. This reverses nearly a decade of improvements, with 45 countries deteriorating and 34 improving. The four deadliest terrorist groups intensified their violence in 2024, driving an 11% rise in fatalities. In the West, lone wolf attacks now dominate, accounting for 93% of fatal attacks over the past five years. Key Findings: The Sahel region remains terrorism's epicentre, accounting for over half of all global terrorism deaths Islamic State (IS) expands its operations to 22 countries and remains the deadliest organisation, causing 1,805 deaths, with 71% of its activity being in Syria and DRC Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) emerged as fastest-growing terrorist group, with 90% increase in attributed deaths Deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding the Sahel) are now at their lowest since 2016, dropping by 10% Terrorist attacks jumped by 63% in the West, Europe was most affected where attacks doubled to 67 In 2024, several Western countries reported one in five terror suspects as under 18, with teenagers accounting for most IS-linked arrests in Europe Seven Western countries are in the first 50 most impacted countries on the GTI Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate surged globally, with the US seeing a 200% rise in antisemitic incidents in 2024 The Gaza conflict has intensified instability in the Middle East and is fuelling hate crimes in the West, while terrorism deaths surged in Iran. Global terrorism deaths remained constant in 2024, after allowing for the October 7 attack. The four deadliest terrorist groups escalated their violence, causing an 11% rise in terrorism fatalities. The most deaths from terrorism were in Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Syria. Burkina Faso is responsible for one fifth of all deaths globally. Islamic State (IS) remains the deadliest organisation, causing 1,805 deaths across 22 countries in 2024, one more than the prior year. IS was most active in Syria and the DRC. IS Khorasan Province (ISK) has emerged into one of the most active jihadist groups worldwide, conducting major attacks in Iran and Russia. Since 2020, ISK has expanded from one country to five, producing propaganda in nine languages. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is the fastest-growing terrorist organisation, with deaths rising 90% to 558. The GTI is produced by international think tank the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) and has been published annually for the last 12 years. It is the most comprehensive resource on global terrorism trends and uses multiple factors to calculate its score, including the number of incidences, fatalities, injuries and hostage numbers, before combining these with conflict and socioeconomic data to provide a holistic picture of terrorism. Steve Killelea, Founder & Executive Chairman, IEP: "This year's Global Terrorism Index highlights two key concerns; firstly, 98% of all terrorist deaths occurred in conflict zones, with 2024 recording the highest number of conflicts since the end of the WWII. Secondly, social tensions and dissatisfaction within the West are fuelling lone actor terrorism. 93% of all fatal terrorist attacks were caused by lone actors. The best way to control terrorism is to stop or reduce the number of conflicts. In addition, the Gaza conflict has been, and still is, a catalyst for antisemitism and Islamophobia." Western nations face new terror landscape The majority of Western attacks are now carried out by individuals without formal group affiliations, who radicalise through social media, gaming platforms and encrypted messaging apps. The shift towards online radicalisation has enabled potential terrorists to access extremist content, and organise with minimal physical contact. Algorithmic radicalisation on popular social media sites can drive users toward progressively more extreme content over time. The West saw its first major rise in terrorist incidents since 2017, with attacks increasing from 32 to 52. Sweden, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland registered their first attacks in more than five years. Germany was Europe's worst-performing nation, placing 27th globally following the Magdeburg Christmas market attack. In the UK, under-18s accounted for 42% of 219 terror arrests last year[1], reflecting a broader Western trend where youths account for one in five terror suspects. They typically lack ties to established groups and can combine contradictory extremist ideologies. Sahel remains global terrorism epicentre Terrorism in the Sahel has increased significantly, with deaths rising nearly tenfold since 2009. Weak governance, ethnic tensions, and ecological degradation have created a conducive environment in which terrorism can flourish. The Sahel accounts for 51% of 2024's terrorism deaths, with Burkina Faso, while improving overall, remained the most affected nation for a second year. Six of the ten countries in the region recorded at least one fatality. Togo recorded its worst year for terrorism since the inception of the Index, reflecting the spread of terrorist activity beyond the Sahel. Competition over the region's mineral resources has contributed to ongoing instability. Gold is a major flashpoint in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Niger supplies more than 25% of European uranium. Russian presence has grown significantly in the region while France is withdrawing. Niger illustrates the fragility of progress in the region. After achieving the second-largest improvement in 2022, it experienced a reversal in the last two years, recording a 94% increase in terrorism deaths to 930 fatalities in 2024, the largest surge globally. Terrorism in the Middle East Although the Middle East recorded a 7% reduction in terrorist attacks in 2024 to 618, the resurgence of violence between Israel and Palestine continues to destabilise the region. Both Israel and Syria ranked among the ten most impacted countries globally. Since 2020, traditional foreign influence in Syria has diminished, with Russia, China, and Iran reducing their roles while Turkey emerges as a dominant regional power. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), once a key partner of the US in the fight against IS, now faces mounting challenges. Turkey's opposition to a strengthened SDF, coupled with the potential scaling back of US support, has created conditions that IS could exploit to regain influence. The new US administration's position on the SDF is still unclear. Hate speech and the US Hate crimes escalated sharply for both the Jewish and Muslim communities in the US following the Gaza war, with FBI-recorded incidents targeting the Jewish community rising by 270% in just two months. Anti-Muslim hate increased at a similar rate, with reported incidents of Islamophobia rising by 300% in the same period. Similar patterns emerged in Europe and Australia, with 31% of all Western attacks motivated by antisemitic or anti-Israel sentiment. While the US bucked the trend of other Western countries in 2024, with only one death from three attacks, 2025 will be a worse year. The January attack in New Orleans where an IS-pledged individual killed 15 people highlights that concerns remain about a resurgence of terrorist activity. Globally there were a total of 24 foiled plots linked to IS or affiliated groups, including a high-profile plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, but it is likely that many more were prevented. Terror groups exploit technology surge Terrorist organisations are rapidly adapting to emerging technologies, transforming their operations through artificial intelligence and encrypted communications. Intelligence agencies report that ISK has markedly expanded its digital arsenal, producing AI-enhanced video content and sophisticated online magazines in multiple languages. The group deploys encrypted messaging platforms and cryptocurrency for fundraising, whilst using AI to create localised propaganda aimed at foreign targets. Their reach now spans from Central Asia to North America, demonstrating how digital platforms have reshaped terrorist recruitment and operations. This technological evolution poses new challenges for security services, as extremists increasingly exploit encrypted apps and dark web forums for radicalisation and operational planning. AI also creates opportunities for intelligence services to analyse larger amounts of information, and detect radicalisation earlier. Contacts GTI2025@bcw-global.com Notes to Editors The full GTI 2025 report and interactive map are available at: visionofhumanity.org X: @GlobPeaceIndex Facebook: facebook.com/globalpeaceindex Global Terrorism Index (GTI) The GTI by the Institute for Economics & Peace provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 17 years. The report ranks 163 countries (99.7 per cent of the world's population) according to the impact of terrorism. The indicators include the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages. The GTI report is produced using data from TerrorismTracker and other sources. TerrorismTracker provides event records on terrorist attacks since 1 January 2007. The dataset contains over 73,000 terrorist incidents for the period 2007 to 2024. Institute for Economics & Peace The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) is the world's leading think tank dedicated to developing metrics to analyse peace and to quantify its economic value. It does this by developing global and national indices, including the annual Global Peace Index, calculating the economic cost of violence and understanding Positive Peace which is the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. [1] Counter Terrorism Policing, UK, 2024 - https://www.counterterrorism.police.uk/number-of-young-people-arrested-for-terrorism-offences-hits-record-high/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-terrorism-index-2025-terrorism-spreads-as-lone-wolf-attacks-dominate-the-west-302389884.html Regulatory News: Antin Infrastructure Partners (Paris:ANTIN): (m, unless otherwise indicated) 2024 2023 % change AUM, in bn 33.3 31.1 +7.2% Fee-Paying AUM, in bn 21.6 20.2 +7.3% Revenue 318.4 282.9 +12.6% Underlying EBITDA 186.9 175.5 +6.5% Underlying EBITDA margin 59% 62% -3pp Underlying net income 136.3 127.9 +6.6% Underlying EPS (after dilution, in ) 0.76 0.73 +4.7% HIGHLIGHTS AUM at 33.3bn, up +7.2%. Fee-Paying AUM at 21.6bn, up +7.3% Final close above target for Flagship Fund V at 10.2bn; the largest infrastructure fund to hold a final close globally in 2024 Strong financial results with continued growth across key metrics, including record level of revenue, EBITDA and net income Sustained momentum in capital deployment, with three investments announced across Flagship and NextGen Solid investment performance with Gross Multiples increasing across most funds. All funds performing on or ahead of plan Full realisation of Flagship Fund II at a top quartile return (1) with a realised Gross Multiple of 2.6x with a realised Gross Multiple of 2.6x Full-year dividend proposed of 0.71 per share, of which 0.37 to be distributed on 18 June 2025 Outlook: underlying EBITDA expected above 160m in 2025 with a stable distribution to shareholders; significant increase in earnings expected by 2027 Alain Rauscher, Chairman and CEO, declared: "2024 was another successful year for Antin, marked by such major achievements as record financial results, the biggest fundraise in the infrastructure sector worldwide to close during the year and continued strong performance of our funds and operating companies. Looking forward, we expect 2025 to be a transition year in a challenging market environment for private markets, but also a year of great opportunities. We remain confident that the infrastructure asset class has a bright future ahead, underpinned by supportive secular trends such as electrification, decarbonisation and the exponential growth of data. Antin is well positioned to remain a leader and a winner in its field, delivering superior returns for all its stakeholders." ACTIVITY UPDATE FUNDRAISING Fundraising amounted to 1.1bn in 2024, entirely related to Flagship Fund V amounted to 1.1bn in 2024, entirely related to Flagship Fund V Flagship Fund V held a successful final close on 17 December 2024 at 10.2bn, above the fund's target of 10bn and ~56% above the size of its predecessor. It was the largest infrastructure fund to hold a final close in 2024 worldwide, with an upsizing that is best-in-class, positioning Antin's Flagship strategy among the fastest-scaling large cap infrastructure strategies globally. The fund was raised in a challenging fundraising environment during which fund investors faced liquidity and allocation constraints. It gathered support from both returning investors, which contributed 5.8bn of commitments, and new relationships. Over 120 new investors joined the fund, further diversifying Antin's growing investor base. In particular, commitments from North America increased by 5x while commitments from Asia increased by 2x relative to Flagship Fund IV, attesting to the internationalisation of Antin's investor relations platform INVESTMENT ACTIVITY Investments totalled 1.8bn in 2024, a slight increase compared to the 1.7bn invested in 2023. Capital deployment remained prudent and disciplined, maintaining Antin's "performance first" philosophy with a focus on attractive risk-adjusted returns. Overall infrastructure deal activity improved gradually in 2024, which translated into three investments in 2024 across the Flagship and NextGen investment strategies totalled 1.8bn in 2024, a slight increase compared to the 1.7bn invested in 2023. Capital deployment remained prudent and disciplined, maintaining Antin's "performance first" philosophy with a focus on attractive risk-adjusted returns. Overall infrastructure deal activity improved gradually in 2024, which translated into three investments in 2024 across the Flagship and NextGen investment strategies Flagship Fund V announced two investments in 2024. The first was the acquisition of Portakabin , a market leader in the design and provision of modular building infrastructure in the UK and expanding into Continental Europe. The second was the launch of Proxima , the first private operator of high-speed passenger trains in France , a market leader in the design and provision of modular building infrastructure in the UK and expanding into Continental Europe. The second was the launch of , the first private operator of high-speed passenger trains in France NextGen Fund I announced the acquisition of GTL Leasing , a leading lessor of hydrogen transportation and storage equipment in North America. GTL represents the sixth investment for NextGen Fund I, its second in North America and the first in the rapidly expanding hydrogen industry , a leading lessor of hydrogen transportation and storage equipment in North America. GTL represents the sixth investment for NextGen Fund I, its second in North America and the first in the rapidly expanding hydrogen industry As of 31 December 2024, Flagship Fund V was ~38% committed, Mid Cap Fund I was ~51% committed, and NextGen Fund I was ~59% committed. Fund investment periods are trending at ~4 years for Flagship Fund V and slightly longer for Mid Cap Fund I and NextGen Fund I EXIT ACTIVITY Exit activity resumed with the sale of Grandi Stazioni Retail (GSR) from Flagship Fund II. The sale of GSR marked the last exit for Flagship Fund II which is now fully realised, having delivered a top quartile(2) realised Gross Multiple of 2.6x, well above the fund's target FUND PERFORMANCE All funds continued to perform either on plan or above plan, with increases in Gross Multiples registered across most funds in 2024 Gross Multiples for Flagship Fund III and Fund III-B were marked up by +0.2x in 2024 to 2.0x and 1.8x respectively as their portfolio companies near maturity. Flagship Fund IV's Gross Multiple remained stable year-on-year at 1.3x. Mid Cap Fund I and NextGen Fund I Gross Multiples were both marked up by +0.1x to 1.3x and 1.1x respectively in 2024. Flagship Fund V's Gross Multiple was diluted in the first half of the year by the effective closing of four new investments recognised at cost INCOME STATEMENT ANALYSIS REVENUE Revenue reached 318.4m, up +12.6%. This increase was driven by higher management fees, which accounted for ~97% of total revenue, and the successful final close of Flagship Fund V reached 318.4m, up +12.6%. This increase was driven by higher management fees, which accounted for ~97% of total revenue, and the successful final close of Flagship Fund V Management fees in 2024 totalled 309.4m, up +11.2% or 31.1m year-on-year, driven by additional funds raised in the year for Flagship Fund V. The effective management fee rate (3) stood at 1.33% in 2024 compared with 1.32% in 2023. Flagship Fund V contributed 170.6m in management fees in 2024, up 36.3m year-on-year. This includes catch-up fees of 27.7m. As the fund held its final close in December 2024, Flagship Fund V will not recognise catch-up fees in 2025 in 2024 totalled 309.4m, up +11.2% or 31.1m year-on-year, driven by additional funds raised in the year for Flagship Fund V. The stood at 1.33% in 2024 compared with 1.32% in 2023. contributed 170.6m in management fees in 2024, up 36.3m year-on-year. This includes catch-up fees of 27.7m. As the fund held its final close in December 2024, Flagship Fund V will not recognise catch-up fees in 2025 In addition, carried interest and investment income recorded a gain of 3.5m in 2024, compared to a loss of (1.2)m in 2023. This is mainly due to the recognition of 3.2m of investment income, half of which came from Fund III-B. Flagship Fund V, as well as Mid Cap Fund I and NextGen Fund I, also reported positive investment income. Carried interest revenue amounted to 0.4m. Total carried interest revenue potential remains substantial at ~520m assuming a 2x Gross Multiple is achieved on funds for which Antin is entitled to carried interest EBITDA Underlying EBITDA reached 186.9m in 2024, an increase of +6.5% over 2023. Underlying EBITDA margin stood at 59%, down 3 percentage points compared to 2023 reached 186.9m in 2024, an increase of +6.5% over 2023. stood at 59%, down 3 percentage points compared to 2023 Total operating expenses amounted to 131.5m in 2024, up +22.5% compared with 2023. Operating expenses are composed of personnel expenses and other operating expenses and taxes. Personnel expenses totalled 92.5m in 2024, up +24.7%, driven by an increase in number of employees to support the firm's expansion, annual compensation increases and internal promotions. The number of employees increased primarily in the investment team, which was strengthened in all geographies. Other operating expenses and taxes totalled 39.0m in 2024, up by +17.4%. The increase comes from higher operating expenses and increased operational taxes, both related to headcount growth amounted to 131.5m in 2024, up +22.5% compared with 2023. Operating expenses are composed of personnel expenses and other operating expenses and taxes. totalled 92.5m in 2024, up +24.7%, driven by an increase in number of employees to support the firm's expansion, annual compensation increases and internal promotions. The number of employees increased primarily in the investment team, which was strengthened in all geographies. totalled 39.0m in 2024, up by +17.4%. The increase comes from higher operating expenses and increased operational taxes, both related to headcount growth Reported EBITDA stood at 187.0m in 2024 compared with 114.4m in 2023 as the effects of the non-recurring Free Share Plan were almost entirely recognised as of the end of 2023 NET INCOME Underlying net income amounted to 136.3m in 2024, up +6.6% year-on-year amounted to 136.3m in 2024, up +6.6% year-on-year Depreciation amortisation stood at 15.2m in 2024, down (5.5)% year-on-year as capitalised placement fees related to Flagship Fund II are fully amortised stood at 15.2m in 2024, down (5.5)% year-on-year as capitalised placement fees related to Flagship Fund II are fully amortised Net financial income and expenses recorded a positive amount of 12.8m in 2024, up +20.9% compared to 2023. This is primarily due to the allocation of Antin's significant cash balances to short-term deposits and money market instruments earning interest recorded a positive amount of 12.8m in 2024, up +20.9% compared to 2023. This is primarily due to the allocation of Antin's significant cash balances to short-term deposits and money market instruments earning interest Income tax totalled 48.1m in 2024. The effective tax rate increased to 26.1% from 24.8%, due mostly to the impact of the finalisation of the regulations regarding Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (FDII) specific to the U.S. totalled 48.1m in 2024. The effective tax rate increased to 26.1% from 24.8%, due mostly to the impact of the finalisation of the regulations regarding Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (FDII) specific to the U.S. Underlying Earnings Per Share (EPS) after dilution amounted to 0.76 per share in 2024, up +4.7% compared with 0.73 per share in 2023. The weighted average number of shares used in the calculation of the EPS was 179,545,574 amounted to 0.76 per share in 2024, up +4.7% compared with 0.73 per share in 2023. The weighted average number of shares used in the calculation of the EPS was 179,545,574 Reported net income amounted to 132.1m in 2024 compared to 74.8m in 2023 BALANCE SHEET AND COMMITMENTS The balance sheet remained strong as of 31 December 2024, with 388.9m in cash and cash equivalents and no borrowings or financial liabilities remained strong as of 31 December 2024, with 388.9m in cash and cash equivalents and no borrowings or financial liabilities Antin's commitments in relation to its investments in the Antin Funds and in Carried Interest vehicles totalled 197.8m as of 31 December 2024, of which 113.3m is uncalled capital constituting an off-balance sheet commitment. It included 95.5m related to investments in Antin Funds and 17.8m related to investments in Carried Interest vehicles. As of 31 December 2024, called capital amounted to 84.5m, including 70.9m related to investments in Antin Funds recognised at the fair value of 73.9m in financial assets and 13.6m related to investments in Carried Interest vehicles recognised at cost minus distributions in accrued income CASH FLOW AND USE OF CASH Net cash inflow from operating activities amounted to 125.6m in 2024. It was balanced by net cash outflow used in financing activities, which related primarily to the payment of two dividends to shareholders (0.39 per share paid on 19 June 2024 and 0.34 per share paid on 14 November 2024) The net decrease in cash and cash equivalents of 35.1m stemmed primarily from investments in financial assets, which amounted to 24.5m. These investments occur as part of Antin's policy set at IPO of making direct investment of at least 1% into its funds DISTRIBUTION TO SHAREHOLDERS The Board of Directors of Antin, meeting on 4 March 2025, proposed the distribution of an annual dividend amounting to 127.2m , equivalent to 0.71 per share, of which 66.3m (0.37 per share) for 2H 2024. This dividend, subject to approval at the annual shareholder meeting, is stable compared with the 0.71 per share paid out for 2023. It represents a payout ratio of 93% of underlying net income , equivalent to 0.71 per share, of which 66.3m (0.37 per share) for 2H 2024. This dividend, subject to approval at the annual shareholder meeting, is stable compared with the 0.71 per share paid out for 2023. It represents a payout ratio of 93% of underlying net income The dividend will be paid in cash out of distributable income. The ex-dividend date for the second instalment is set for 16 June 2025 and the payment set for 18 June 2025. This dividend is in line with Antin's policy to distribute the majority of its distributable earnings to its shareholders in two instalments per year GOVERNANCE Antin's Board of Directors, which met on 4 March 2025, approved the audited financial statements for the 2024 fiscal year. The Statutory Auditors are in the process of issuing a report with an unqualified opinion, which will be issued in the 2024 Universal Registration Document The Board of Directors decided to propose the re-appointments of Lynne Shamwana and Dagmar Valcarcel as Independent Directors. Pending shareholder approval, the Board and its Committees would remain unchanged in their composition POST-CLOSING EVENTS On 17 January 2025, Antin was informed of a share placement of ~4.55m of its shares by a group of current and former partners at a price of 10.4 per share. 50% of these shares were acquired by management, including Chairman and CEO Alain Rauscher. The other 50% were placed to institutional investors, leading to an expansion of Antin's free float to 16.2%. Antin was not a party to the share placement. Independent Director Dagmar Valcarcel also increased her position in Antin on the day following the placement OUTLOOK Growth . Antin's objective is to achieve Fee-Paying AUM growth above that of the private infrastructure market over a fundraising cycle . Antin's objective is to achieve Fee-Paying AUM growth above that of the private infrastructure market over a fundraising cycle EBITDA. Underlying EBITDA in 2025 expected to be above 160m. A significant step-up in earnings is expected by 2027, including the effects of Mid Cap Fund II and Flagship Fund VI Underlying EBITDA in 2025 expected to be above 160m. A significant step-up in earnings is expected by 2027, including the effects of Mid Cap Fund II and Flagship Fund VI Distribution to shareholders. Majority of cash earnings to be distributed in two instalments per year, one in autumn and the second after the Annual Shareholders' Meeting, with the annual quantum expected to be stable or growing. Distribution in 2025 expected to be stable TODAY'S CONFERENCE CALL Antin's management will hold a conference call to present the full-year 2024 earnings today at 10:00 am CET (9:00 am London time) Please visit Antin's website https://www.antin-ip.com/shareholders to listen to the conference call or click here. A replay will also be available after the event The consolidated financial statements for financial year 2024 that were subject to a review by the Statutory Auditors were adopted by the Board of Directors at its meeting on 4 March 2025. The consolidated financial statements, a presentation of the full-year 2024 results, and the related conference call (live and replay) are available at https://www.antin-ip.com/shareholders CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INCOME STATEMENT ON AN UNDERLYING BASIS (m) 2024 2023 Management fees 309.4 278.4 of which catch-up fees 27.7 13.7 Carried interest and investment income 3.5 (1.2) Administrative fees and other revenue net 5.4 5.7 TOTAL REVENUE 318.4 282.9 Personnel expenses (92.5) (74.2) Other operating expenses tax (39.0) (33.2) TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES (131.5) (107.4) UNDERLYING EBITDA 186.9 175.5 % margin 59% 62% Depreciation and amortisation (15.2) (16.1) UNDERLYING EBIT 171.6 159.4 Net financial income and expenses 12.8 10.6 UNDERLYING PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 184.4 170.0 Income tax (48.1) (42.1) % income tax 26% 25% UNDERLYING NET INCOME 136.3 127.9 % margin 43% 45% Underlying earnings per share () before dilution 0.76 0.73 after dilution 0.76 0.73 Weighted average number of shares before dilution 178,799,954 175,571,129 after dilution 179,545,574 176,316,349 INCOME STATEMENT: REVENUE (in m) 2024 2023 Flagship Fund II 2.0 2.8 Flagship Fund III 25.6 27.5 Flagship Fund IV 55.6 53.7 Flagship Fund V 170.6 134.3 of which catch-up fees 27.7 9.6 Fund III-B 5.4 5.8 Mid Cap Fund I 32.3 32.3 Next Gen Fund I 17.9 22.0 MANAGEMENT FEES 309.4 278.4 Carried interest income 0.4 (0.1) Investment income 3.2 (1.0) CARRIED INTEREST AND INVESTMENT INCOME 3.5 (1.2) Administrative fees and other revenue net 5.4 5.7 REVENUE 318.4 282.9 INCOME STATEMENT: RECONCILIATION FROM UNDERLYING TO IFRS (m, 2024) Underlying basis Non-recurring items IFRS basis Management fees 309.4 309.4 Carried interest and investment income 3.5 3.5 Administrative fees and other revenue net 5.4 5.4 TOTAL REVENUE 318.4 318.4 Personnel expenses (92.5) 0.3 (92.3) Other operating expenses tax (39.0) (0.1) (39.1) TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES (131.5) 0.2 (131.3) EBITDA 186.9 0.2 187.0 Depreciation and amortisation (15.2) (15.2) EBIT 171.6 0.2 171.8 Net financial income and expenses 12.8 (4.1) 8.7 PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 184.4 (4.0) 180.5 Income tax (48.1) (0.3) (48.4) NET INCOME 136.3 (4.3) 132.1 The differences between the IFRS accounting presentation and the underlying presentation of the Consolidated Income Statement related to the following non-recurring items: The grant value of the non-recurring Free Share Plan (FSP) implemented at IPO was fully recognised in the P&L as of the end of 2023. However, the deferral of the final vesting of 745,620 shares to May 2025 leads to the revaluation of the associated social charges at the end of each reporting period. Based on the evolution of Antin's share price over 2024, Antin recognised a reversal of 0.3m of social charges, 0.2m of financial expenses and 0.6m of income tax. In 2024, Antin entered into a Total Return Swap (TRS) with a third-party bank. Antin recognised non-recurring financial expenses related to the TRS in 2024 of 3.9m and a proportional tax reduction of 1.0m. Antin also recognised in 2024 an asset write-off of 0.1m for AIP UK related to the insolvency of a building contractor and the impact of 0.8m on income tax regarding the 2023 application of the Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (FDII) for AIP U.S. BALANCE SHEET (m) 31-Dec-2024 31-Dec-2023 Property, equipment and intangible assets 25.8 20.6 Right-of-use assets 65.5 49.8 Financial assets 87.3 53.4 Deferred tax assets and other non-current assets 14.7 17.1 TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 193.3 140.9 Cash and cash equivalents 388.9 423.9 Accrued income 31.1 14.4 Other current assets 36.8 38.4 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 456.8 476.7 TOTAL ASSETS 650.0 617.7 TOTAL EQUITY 499.7 497.5 Borrowings and financial liabilities Derivative financial liabilities 1.5 Lease liabilities 73.8 50.1 Other non-current liabilities 3.3 2.6 TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 77.1 54.1 Borrowings and financial liabilities Derivative financial liabilities 1.7 Lease liabilities 3.4 7.4 Income tax liabilities 4.2 14.6 Other current liabilities 64.0 44.0 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 73.3 66.0 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 650.0 617.7 CASH FLOW STATEMENT (m) 2024 2023 NET CASH INFLOW (OUTFLOW) RELATED TO OPERATING ACTIVITIES 125.6 125.8 Of which (increase) decrease in working capital requirement (37.2) (43.3) NET CASH INFLOW (OUTFLOW) RELATED TO INVESTING ACTIVITIES (36.9) (17.8) Of which investment in financial assets (24.5) (18.7) Of which purchase of property and equipment (5.6) (5.2) Of which proceeds related to financial assets 0.2 7.4 Of which net change in other financial assets (6.9) (1.3) NET CASH INFLOW (OUTFLOW) RELATED TO FINANCING ACTIVITIES (124.5) (105.6) Of which dividends paid (130.5) (106.1) Of which payment of lease liabilities (7.1) (6.0) Of which disposal (repurchase) of treasury shares (0.1) (4.3) Of which net financial interest received and paid 13.3 10.7 NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (35.7) 2.3 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 423.9 422.0 Translation differences on cash and cash equivalents 0.6 (0.4) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD 388.9 423.9 APPENDIX DEVELOPMENT OF FEE-PAYING AUM OVER THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS (bn) Fee-Paying AUM Beginning of period, 31 December 2023 20.2 Gross inflows 1.5 Step-downs Realisations Revaluations End of period, 31 December 2024 21.6 Change in % +7.3% ACTIVITY REPORT (bn) Dec-2024 last twelve months Dec-2023 last twelve months AUM 33.3 31.1 Fee-Paying AUM 21.6 20.2 Fundraising 1.1 1.8 Investments(4) 1.8 1.7 Gross exits 0.4 KEY STATS BY FUND Fund Vintage AUM bn FPAUM bn Committed Capital bn % Committed % Realised Gross Multiple Expectation Flagship Fund II 2013 0.5 0.3 1.8 87% 100% 2.6x Above plan Fund III (5) 2016 6.0 2.3 3.6 89% 37% 2.0x Above plan Fund IV 2019 10.2 4.7 6.5 86% 1.3x On plan Fund III-B 2020 1.6 0.8 1.2 88% 25% 1.8x On plan Fund V 2022 11.3 10.2 10.2 38% 1.1x On plan Mid Cap Fund I 2021 2.3 2.2 2.2 51% 1% 1.3x On plan NextGen Fund I 2021 1.4 1.2 1.2 59% 1.1x On plan (bn) COST OF INVESTMENTS VALUE OF INVESTMENTS Fund Vintage FPAUM Committed Capital Total Realised Remaining Total Realised Remaining Flagship Fund II 2013 0.3 1.8 1.6 1.6 4.2 4.2 Fund III 2016 2.3 3.6 2.9 0.7 2.3 6.3 2.1 4.2 Fund IV 2019 4.7 6.5 4.7 4.7 6.2 6.2 Fund III-B 2020 0.8 1.2 1.1 0.3 0.8 1.9 0.5 1.4 Fund V 2022 10.2 10.2 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.2 Mid Cap Fund I 2021 2.2 2.2 0.9 0.9 1.2 0.0 1.2 NextGen Fund I 2021 1.2 1.2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 DEFINITIONS Antin: Umbrella term for Antin Infrastructure Partners S.A. Antin Funds: Investment vehicles managed by Antin Infrastructure Partners SAS or Antin Infrastructure Partners UK Assets Under Management (AUM): Operational performance measure representing the assets managed by Antin from which it is entitled to receive management fees, undrawn commitments, the assets from co-investment vehicles which do not generate management fees or carried interest, and the net value appreciation on current investments Carried Interest: A form of investment income that Antin and other carried interest investors are contractually entitled to receive directly or indirectly from the Antin Funds, which is inherently variable and fully dependent on the performance of the relevant Antin Fund(s) and its/their underlying investments Catch-Up Fees: Fees charged to fund investors joining after the fund's first close to ensure equal treatment among fund investors % Committed: Measures the share of a fund's total commitments that has been deployed. Calculated as the sum of (i) closed and/or signed investments (ii) any earn-outs and/or purchase price adjustments, (iii) funds approved by the Investment Committee for add-on transactions, (iv) less any expected syndication, as a of a fund's committed capital at a given time Committed Capital: The total amounts that fund investors agree to make available to a fund during a specified time period Fee-Paying Assets Under Management (FPAUM): The portion of AUM from which Antin is entitled to receive management fees across all of the Antin Funds at a given time Gross Exits: Value amount of realisation of investments through a sale or write-off of an investment made by an Antin Fund. Refers to signed realisations in a given period Gross Inflow: New commitments through fundraising activities or increased investment in funds charging fees after the investment period Gross Multiple: Calculated by dividing (i) the sum of (a) the total cash distributed to the Antin Fund from the portfolio company and (b) the total residual value (excluding provision for carried interest) of the Fund's investments by (ii) the capital invested by the Fund (including fees and expenses but excluding carried interest). Total residual value of an investment is defined as the fair market value together with any proceeds from the investment that have not yet been realised. Gross Multiple is used to evaluate the return on an Antin Fund in relation to the initial amount invested Investments: Signed investments by an Antin Fund or by an affiliate of an Antin Fund Management Fees: Management fees are recurring revenue which Antin receives for the fund management services provided to Antin Funds. Such fees are recognised over the lifetime of each Antin Fund, which generally have ten-year initial terms with two optional extensions of one year each. The underlying investments of the Antin Funds are held on average for five to seven years Realisations: Cost amount of realisation of investments through a sale or write-off of an investment made by an Antin Fund. Refers to signed realisations in a given period % Realised: Measures the share of a fund's total value creation that has been realised. Calculated as realised value over the sum of realised value and remaining value at a given time Realised Value (Realised Cost): Value (cost) of an investment, or parts of an investment, that at the time has been realised Remaining Value (Remaining Costs): Value (cost) of an investment, or parts of an investment, currently owned by Antin Funds (including investments for which an exit has been announced but not yet completed) Step-Downs: Normally resulting from the end of the investment period in an existing fund, or when a subsequent fund begins to invest Underlying EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, excluding any non-recurring effects Underlying Profit: Net profit excluding post-tax non-recurring effects ABOUT ANTIN INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over 33bn in Assets under Management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, digital, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore, Seoul and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 240 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN ISIN: FR0014005AL0) https://antin-ip.com/shareholders FINANCIAL CALENDAR 1Q 2025 Activity Update 29 April 2025 2025 Annual Shareholders' Meeting 11 June 2025 Half-Year 2025 Results 11 September 2025 3Q 2025 Activity Update 6 November 2025 (1) As per Preqin (2) As per Preqin (3) Excluding catch-up fees and management fees for Fund III-B (4) 2023 adjusted for the syndication of a portion of the investment in OPDEnergy to co-investors (5) realised and value of investments include the partial sale of portfolio companies from Flagship Fund III to Fund III-B View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250304165027/en/ Contacts: Shareholder Relations Ludmilla Binet Head of Shareholder Relations Email: shareholders@antin-ip.com Media Thomas Kamm Partner Head of Communications Nicolle Graugnard Communication Director Email: media@antin-ip.com Brunswick Email: antinip@brunswickgroup.com Tristan Roquet Montegon +33 (0) 6 37 00 52 57 Dr. Dolsten was most recently CSO of Pfizer and has served in leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pharmacia, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Appointment follows the transition of Morten Graugaard from Chairperson to CEO earlier this year Orbis Medicines, a leader in oral macrocycle drug discovery, today announces the appointment of Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., former Chief Scientific Officer, President, Pfizer Research Development, as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. In more than 15 years at Pfizer, Dr. Dolsten oversaw the development and approval of more than 35 therapies and vaccines, and moved more than 100 drug candidates into clinical development. "Mikael has a long and successful track record overseeing the development of blockbuster therapies and vaccines from discovery through approval, and shares Orbis' vision of embracing macrocycle-based medicines to unlock new treatment options for patients," said Orbis Chief Executive Officer Morten Graugaard. "Mikael's guidance will be pivotal as we advance our mission to provide novel, high-value oral alternatives to existing biologics, which have tremendous potential to address the needs of patients with chronic diseases and to streamline the healthcare system." Prior to his tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Dolsten served in leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pharmacia, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Dolsten has served on several public boards in the US and Europe and has vast experience in business development, including 10 different mergers and acquisitions. "By creating oral alternatives to biologics such as antibodies and peptides and designing oral drugs for hard-to-drug intracellular targets, the work Orbis Medicines is doing will dramatically expand access to treatment for patients suffering from many chronic and devastating diseases, which is truly the next frontier in drug discovery," said Dr. Dolsten. "What the Orbis Medicines team led by Morten are achieving in the field of oral macrocycle medicines positions the company to be a disruptor of the biologics market. I believe Orbis Medicines has the potential to become the leading oral macrocycles and oral biologics biotech company." Dr. Dolsten's accomplishments include the introduction of a new class of oral medications for autoimmune diseases, the development and approval of targeted anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer and Pfizer's rapid R&D response to the COVID-19 pandemic (see "Note to Editors" below for more information). Orbis Medicines is pioneering the systematic discovery and development of targeted, orally available macrocycles for diseases and targets traditionally treated with biologics. Orbis develops compounds known as nCycles, which can address a wide range of validated protein targets with unique oral bioavailability and membrane permeability features. About Orbis Medicines Orbis Medicines is pioneering a new era for oral macrocycle drug discovery. Its nGen platform systematically delivers macrocycle candidates, termed nCycles. These are optimized for oral bioavailability, which has historically hindered therapeutic development of this versatile class of molecules. Orbis' pipeline is initially focused on nCycle candidates against targets validated by blockbuster biologic drugs delivered by injection. Proof-of-concept of Orbis' work has been published in Nature Communications and Nature Chemical Biology. The company has raised 116 million in venture funding to date, including a 90 million series A round led by NEA with new investors Lilly Ventures, Cormorant, EIFO and existing investors Forbion and Novo Holdings. Orbis is located in Copenhagen, Denmark and Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, please visit: www.orbismedicines.com About nGen nGen is Orbis Medicines' technology platform for generating nCycles, a new class of fully synthetic macrocycle compounds optimized for oral bioavailability and membrane permeability. It consists of multiple proprietary integrated elements in a "lab in a loop" system starting with hit finding libraries of 100 billion compounds. The highly automated chemistry-based nGen platform can synthesize and analyze up to 100,000 distinct synthetic macrocycles in weeks, allowing the company to discover candidates with the right properties to enable oral dosing and intracellular targeting. The scale and quality of the data produced from these real compounds, paired with machine learning, creates an industry-leading platform that de-risks and accelerates development. Note to Editors Notable accomplishments of Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., during his tenure as Chief Scientific Officer, President, Pfizer Research Development Introduced a new class of oral medications for autoimmune diseases dominated by biologics, including first-in-class JAK inhibitor Xeljanz (tofacitinib) for rheumatoid arthritis ulcerative colitis, first-in-class Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor Cibinqo (abrocitinib) for atopic dermatitis and the tyrosine kinase expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma/Janus kinase 3 (Tec/JAK3) drug Litfulo (ritlecitinib) for alopecia areata. Oversaw the development and approval of targeted ALK inhibitors in the highly competitive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) market, including first-in-class ALK inhibitor Xalkori (crizotinib) and third-generation ALK inhibitor Lorbrena (lorlatinib). Other major drug approvals during Dr. Dolsten's tenure at Pfizer included the breast cancer drug Ibrance (palbociclib), the myeloma drug Elrexfio (elranatamab-bcmm), the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor Talzenna, the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor Inlyta (axitinib), the oral anti-coagulant Eliquis (apixaban), the transthyretin amyloid stabilizing drug Vyndaqel (tafamadis), the Prevnar 20 vaccine and the RSV vaccine Abrysvo. Spearheaded Pfizer's rapid R&D response to the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving emergency use authorization and subsequently full approval for the oral antiviral therapy Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) and for COVID-19 mRNA vaccine Comirnaty, in partnership with BioNTech. Dr. Dolsten announced his retirement from Pfizer in July 2024. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250304557995/en/ Contacts: Media: Matt Crenson Ten Bridge Communications (917) 640-7930 mcrenson@tenbridgecommunications.com Amsterdam, 5 March 2025 - Arcadis, a global leader in intelligence-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets, today announced that Virginie Duperat-Vergne has decided to resign as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Member of the Executive Board effective from 31 May 2025. Willem Baars will assume the role of interim CFO on 1 June 2025. Willem currently holds the position of Global Strategy, Financing and M&A Officer and has been with Arcadis for four years, having worked closely with Virginie, Arcadis' Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alan Brookes, the Arcadis leadership team and the Supervisory Board. Willem is a highly accomplished financial and strategic leader. Before joining Arcadis, he spent over 20 years at Goldman Sachs. Virginie Duperat-Vergne said: "After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as CFO to take on a new opportunity. Arcadis is an exceptional company, driven by industry leading talent, and it has been an honor to be part of its transformation and growth. Serving as CFO alongside Alan Brookes and Peter Oosterveer has been a privilege, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished. We have strengthened Arcadis' financial position, driven strategic acquisitions, secured a robust financing structure, and enhanced our capital market presence. "I am leaving the CFO role in very capable hands with Willem, a skilled and internationally experienced leader, who has contributed significantly to Arcadis' success over the past four years. We will work closely to ensure a successful transition." Michiel Lap, Chair of the Arcadis Supervisory Board, expressed gratitude for Virginie Duperat-Vergne's significant contributions to Arcadis, stating: "The Supervisory Board sincerely thanks Virginie for her dedication and leadership over the past five years. While we understand and support her decision, it is with regret that we bid her farewell from Arcadis. We deeply appreciate her invaluable contributions to the company. With Willem's leadership, we are confident in a smooth transition and a strong focus on executing the Arcadis 2024-2026 strategic plan." Alan Brookes, CEO, Arcadis said: "Virginie's energy, insight, and exceptional financial leadership has been an asset to Arcadis. She has been instrumental in strengthening our financial discipline and balance sheet and redefining our market presence. Under her guidance, we successfully completed several acquisitions expanding our global footprint and services, obtained an investment grade credit rating from Standard & Poor's and fundamentally reshaped our finance function. I sincerely thank Virginie for her contributions and wish her all the best for the future. "Willem and I have worked closely together since he joined Arcadis, and I value his strong financial profile and business expertise. I am confident he will build on Virginie's solid foundations and provide strong financial leadership for Arcadis." The Supervisory Board will initiate the process to appoint a permanent successor for Virginie Duperat-Vergne immediately. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: ARCADIS INVESTOR RELATIONS Christine Disch | Mobile: +31 6 15376020 | E-mail: christine.disch@arcadis.com ABOUT ARCADIS Arcadis is a global leader in intelligence-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We help clients make sustainable choices by combining digital innovation, human expertise, and future-focused skills across environment, energy, water, buildings, transport, and infrastructure sectors. Going beyond traditional design, engineering, and consultancy, we use data-driven insights to deliver tailored solutions in the spaces and environments we shape together. With over 35,000 people, we unite global expertise to tackle challenges like climate, energy affordability, and livable cities, improving quality of life through our presence in 30+ countries. In 2024, we achieved 5.0 billion in gross revenues. Learn more at www.arcadis.com REGULATED INFORMATION This press release contains information that qualifies or may qualify as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Attachment BERLIN, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global manufacturer and renowned brand of personal electric mobility, isinwheel, has announced an exciting Spring Sale, inviting consumers across Europe to embrace diverse green transportation options this season. From March 1st to April 9th, customers in the UK, Germany, and France can enjoy significant discounts, up to 35%, on several top-selling products, including electric scooters and Electric bikes. To explore the latest offers and shop the full range of e-mobility solutions, visit isinwheel's official website. S9Pro Electric Scooter: Compact, Safe, and Perfect for Urban Commutes The S9Pro Electric Scooter is a sleek and practical choice for urban commuters. Designed with a foldable frame for effortless storage at home or work, it offers a smooth and safe ride through city streets. Equipped with a reliable braking system, the S9Pro ensures maximum safety while maintaining excellent performance. U1 Commuter Electric Bicycle: Foldable and Versatile for Everyday Riding For those seeking a compact yet powerful e-bike, the U1 Commuter Electric Bicycle is an excellent option. This foldable and portable electric bike provides a battery range of up to 28 miles per charge, making it ideal for both daily commuting and weekend adventures. Its lightweight design allows for easy storage, catering to riders with limited space. U2 City Commuter Electric Bike: Classic British Design with Modern Performance Blending a touch of classic elegance to modern mobility, the U2 City Commuter Electric Bike offers a stylish British vintage design without compromising on performance. Perfect for city dwellers, it combines timeless aesthetics with efficient urban commuting. Now available at a special price of 539.99, down from 799.00, this model presents an exceptional deal for those looking to upgrade their ride. isinwheel has been actively practicing the concept of sustainable development and providing convenient, eco-friendly, stylish, and affordable transportation solutions. To embrace eco-friendly travel solutions that don't compromise on style or functionality, please visit the brand's websites and social media for more details: United Kingdom: https://www.isinwheel.co.uk/pages/isinwheel-sale Germany: https://www.isinwheel.de/pages/isinwheel-sale France: https://www.isinwheel.fr/pages/isinwheel-sale Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isinwheel_global/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/isinwheel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isinwheel.Europe X: https://twitter.com/isinwheelglobal Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2631220/isinwheel_Europe.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/isinwheel-launches-spring-sale-across-europe-302392849.html This strategic cooperation aims to integrate ICEYE's cutting-edge SAR technology solutions into Saab's Command and Control systems, enhancing tactical decision-making and situational awareness in defence. HELSINKI, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, and Saab today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development and integration of advanced space-based radar data in Saab's Command and Control Systems (C2). Space-based sensor capabilities are becoming crucial for modern militaries, providing access to critical information in challenging environments. This cooperation intends to deliver tangible value to customers by integrating ICEYE's Enhanced Situational Awareness (ISR), Long-Range Targeting, and Improved Tactical Decision Making capabilities with Saab's Command and Control Systems. The MoU lays the foundations with the initial focus on investigating and demonstrating integration to Multi-Domain-Operations (MDO). The benefits would enable advanced space situational awareness and critical infrastructure protection capabilities, providing valuable insights for both civilian and military authorities in times of peace, grey zone, or conflict. Pekka Laurila, CSO and Co-founder of ICEYE: "It is crucial to remain one step ahead and effective situational awareness is a key tenet of this. We are bringing together cutting-edge SAR technology from ICEYE, and the finest C2 systems from Saab, to look at new and improved ways to maintain the advantage through enhanced situational awareness, leading to better surveillance and protection." About ICEYE ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as defense and intelligence, insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, Australia, Japan, UAE, Greece, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Media contact: press@iceye.com Visit www.iceye.com and follow ICEYE on LinkedIn and X for the latest updates and insights. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633463/ICEYE___Stockholm__Sweden_CSI.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633464/ICEYE_x_SAAB_cooperate.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/iceye-and-saab-cooperate-to-integrate-advanced-space-based-radar-data-to-military-command-systems-302392299.html Volta Finance Limited (VTA/VTAS) Dividend Declaration NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES Guernsey, 5 March 2025 Volta Finance Limited ("the Company") hereby announces that it has declared a quarterly interim dividend of 0.155 per share payable on 3 April 2025 amounting to approximately 5.67 million, approximately equating to an annualised 8% of net asset value. The ex-dividend date is 13 March 2025 with a record date of 14 March 2025. The Company has arranged for its shareholders to be able to elect to receive their dividends in either Euros or Pounds Sterling. Shareholders will, by default, receive their dividends in Euros, unless they have instructed the Company's Registrar, Computershare Investor Serviceswithin the "Investors - Other Documents" section. The deadline for receipt of currency elections is 12:00 (midday) on 17 March 2025. CONTACTS For the Investment Manager AXA Investment Managers Paris Francois Touati francois.touati@axa-im.com +33 (0) 1 44 45 80 22 Olivier Pons Olivier.pons@axa-im.com +33 (0) 1 44 45 87 30 Company Secretary and Administrator BNP Paribas S.A., Guernsey Branch guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com +44 (0) 1481 750 853 Corporate Broker Cavendish Securities plc Andrew Worne Daniel Balabanoff +44 (0) 20 7397 8900 ***** ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (as amended) and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. Volta's home member state for the purposes of the EU Transparency Directive is the Netherlands. As such, Volta is subject to regulation and supervision by the AFM, being the regulator for financial markets in the Netherlands. Volta's Investment objectives are to preserve its capital across the credit cycle and to provide a stable stream of income to its Shareholders through dividends that it expects to distribute on a quarterly basis. The Company currently seeks to achieve its investment objectives by pursuing exposure predominantly to CLO's and similar asset classes. A more diversified investment strategy across structured finance assets may be pursued opportunistically. The Company has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris an investment management company with a division specialized in structured credit, for the investment management of all its assets. ***** ABOUT AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth management. AXA IM is one of the largest European-based asset managers with 2,800 professionals and 859 billion in assets under management as of the end of June 2024. ***** This press release is published by AXA Investment Managers Paris ("AXA IM"), in its capacity as alternative investment fund manager (within the meaning of Directive 2011/61/EU, the "AIFM Directive") of Volta Finance Limited (the "Volta Finance") whose portfolio is managed by AXA IM. This press release is for information only and does not constitute an invitation or inducement to acquire shares in Volta Finance. Its circulation may be prohibited in certain jurisdictions and no recipient may circulate copies of this document in breach of such limitations or restrictions. This document is not an offer for sale of the securities referred to herein in the United States or to persons who are "U.S. persons" for purposes of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or otherwise in circumstances where such offer would be restricted by applicable law. Such securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration from the Securities Act. Volta Finance does not intend to register any portion of the offer of such securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of such securities in the United States. ***** This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The securities referred to herein are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. ***** This press release contains statements that are, or may deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "anticipated", "expects", "intends", "is/are expected", "may", "will" or "should". They include the statements regarding the level of the dividend, the current market context and its impact on the long-term return of Volta Finance's investments. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Volta Finance's actual results, portfolio composition and performance may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements. AXA IM does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements. Any target information is based on certain assumptions as to future events which may not prove to be realised. Due to the uncertainty surrounding these future events, the targets are not intended to be and should not be regarded as profits or earnings or any other type of forecasts. There can be no assurance that any of these targets will be achieved. In addition, no assurance can be given that the investment objective will be achieved. The figures provided that relate to past months or years and past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance or construed as a reliable indicator as to future performance. Throughout this review, the citation of specific trades or strategies is intended to illustrate some of the investment methodologies and philosophies of Volta Finance, as implemented by AXA IM. The historical success or AXA IM's belief in the future success, of any of these trades or strategies is not indicative of, and has no bearing on, future results. The valuation of financial assets can vary significantly from the prices that the AXA IM could obtain if it sought to liquidate the positions on behalf of the Volta Finance due to market conditions and general economic environment. Such valuations do not constitute a fairness or similar opinion and should not be regarded as such. Editor: AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS PARIS, a company incorporated under the laws of France, having its registered office located at Tour Majunga, 6, Place de la Pyramide - 92800 Puteaux. AXA IMP is authorized by the Autorite des Marches Financiers under registration number GP92008 as an alternative investment fund manager within the meaning of the AIFM Directive. ***** FY24 ahead of sales guidance. MPCES ended FY24 with a strong Q4, which put the company ahead of its initial guidance, particularly driven by the plants in El Salvador and Mexico. FY24 proportionate energy output increased by 31% yoy to 116 GWh. Carried by improved electricity prices, proportionate sales rose by 42% yoy to $ 12.8m. EBITDA's increase of 79% yoy to $ 7.9m was supported by the improved top-line but also by managements successful cost cutting efforts (overhead costs -30% yoy). Impairments weigh of results. Reported group EBIT stood at $ -13.3m as a result of $ 12.9m impairments, mainly stemming from the divestment in Puerto Rico ($ 5.1m), a correction of a JV investment value in Colombia ($ 4.5m), and a convertible note issued by a US microgrid developer ($ 1.7m). Adjusted for those, EBIT would have come in at a $ 400k loss, a significant improvement compared to previous year's $ 4.8m loss. Colombia is an increasingly challenging market due to an alarming surge in violence as conflicts between armed groups intensify. As a result, MPCES has to hire private security personal to guarantee the protection of its staff. This significantly weighs on the profitability of its two PV plants, Los Girasoles and Planeta Rica. We hence also reflect lower margin estimates for both projects in our model. Rightsized portfolio. As previously communicated, management has further rightsized its portfolio by selling the CHP project in Puerto Rico. While the company was able to recover some $ 4m, the impairment related to the project amounts to $ 5.1m. The current production portfolio now consists out of four operational projects and one under construction (San Patricio, 65 MW PV), which should become operational at the beginning of H2. In light of the currently challenging situation in Colombia, which heavily impacts IRRs of projects, we would not only expect the company to halt new developments in that region (one project was sold) but also consider a sale of its two operational assets (39 MW). Slowed development efforts. With MPCES having notably reduced overhead costs and having sold a development projects, the company is seen to have also slowed general development efforts, ultimately reducing the pipeline. During the earnings call, the CFO mentioned an early stage pipeline of roughly 200 MW, which is in line with our previous estimates of 186 MW. -continued- Positive 2025 guidance. For FY25, management expects proportionate sales of $12-13m (eNuW: $ 14m) and proportionate EBITDA of $ 9-9.5m (eNuW: $ 9.9m). While this is below our estimates, it is important to note that the guidance does not reflect any contribution from MPCES' Colombian plants as they are up for sale (not yet excluded from eNuW). Hence, the longer the sale takes, the higher the upside to the company's FY25 guidance. Guatemala project progressing as planned. The construction of its 65MW PV project, which begun at the end of February 2024, is in its final stages. One third of the modules have already been installed. While MPCES has not yet signed a co-investor (49% stake of the project), we expect this to happen in due course. Importantly, finding a co-investor has ultimately no impact on the construction timeline as MPCES has already fully financed the project. Once the project is completed (eNuW: mid-2025), it is seen to generate annualized sales of some $8m. We confirm our BUY rating but reduce our PT to NOK 14 (old: NOK 20) based on sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation, separately accounting for the value of its current IPP portfolio (NPV) and its development backlog (multiple). ISIN: NL0015268814 Omada Identity Cloud Aligns Seamlessly for Strong and Efficient Identity and Access Management COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Omada A/S ("Omada"), a global leader of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), has announced today that Dura Vermeer, a prominent family-owned construction company based in the Netherlands, has chosen Omada Identity Cloud for its identity lifecycle management needs. Founded in 1855, Dura Vermeer has over 3,000 employees and ranks as one of the leading companies in the Dutch construction sector. The company specializes in residential and commercial construction, infrastructure and technology. It focuses on designing, developing and executing construction and infrastructure projects, as well as providing services such as management, maintenance, renovation and transformation. A primary challenge for Dura Vermeer was its outdated and inefficient technology that failed to provide clear visibility into access, compliance and governance. This lack of oversight created various difficulties and increased operational costs. The company sought a new, modern solution that would address these pain points, improve business user adoptions and meet stringent cybersecurity regulations. With the help of its partner, CyberSphinx, Dura Vermeer is transitioning to Omada's modern IGA solution, Omada Identity Cloud, to meet its needs for robust identity and access management. Frank van Opstal, Project Manager IT, Dura Vermeer, said: "Omada is a great and rich product. Its functionality, intuitive user experience and advanced analytics perfectly align with our needs, providing actionable insights and seamless scalability to support our growth. The rapid deployment and continuous updates offered by Omada have been instrumental in ensuring swift implementation and ongoing improvement, making it the ideal partner for a forward-thinking organization like ours." Michael Garrett, CEO, Omada, said: "Omada Identity Cloud is designed to empower organizations with the tools they need to achieve their compliance, governance and scalability goals, all while maintaining ease of use and efficiency. We look forward to working with Dura Vermeer to support this long-established company with its modernization journey." About Omada Omada, a global market leader in Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), offers a full-featured, enterprise-grade, cloud-native IGA solution that enables organizations to achieve compliance, reduce risk, and maximize efficiency. Founded in 2000, Omada delivers innovative identity management to complex hybrid environments based on our proven best practice process framework and deployment approach. For more information, go to omadaidentity.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1730116/Omada_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/omada-selected-by-dura-vermeer-to-modernize-identity-governance-and-administration-302392374.html ISTANBUL, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Odine, a global technology partner, and Turkcell, Turkiye's leading digital operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 to accelerate innovation in 5G automation, network optimization, and cloud transformation. This strategic collaboration aims to redefine telecom networks with intelligent, scalable, and self-optimizing capabilities that enhance operational efficiency and service reliability. As 5G continues to transform industries, cloud-native architectures play a pivotal role in ensuring agility and scalability. Turkcell's Unified Telco Cloud, powered by Odine's cloud-native solutions and Red Hat OpenShift, provides the ideal foundation for deploying Containerized Network Functions (CNFs) and Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). With automation integrated into the Telco Cloud, network orchestration and resource management are optimized, reducing service deployment durations remarkable levels. This advancement is key to enabling ultra-low latency applications, IoT-driven services, and private networks, which will shape the digital ecosystems of tomorrow. In addition, with this developing formation network performance tracking, anomaly detection, and real-time visualization with automated root cause analysis concepts can be done by easier. By integrating analytics and cloud-based automation, Turkcell aim to enhanced responsiveness to network anomalies, significantly reducing operational costs and improving network resilience. Currently monitoring Turkcell's IMS network across multiple sites, the solution has already demonstrated tangible efficiency gains. "Our collaboration with Odine marks a significant milestone in Turkcell's journey toward a fully automated, 5G network," said Prof. Dr. Vehbi Cagri Gungor, CTO Turkcell. "By integrating intelligent automation across our cloud-native infrastructure, we are enhancing operational efficiency, optimizing performance, and accelerating the deployment of next-generation services. This partnership is a key part of our commitment to building a future-ready, high-performance network that meets the evolving demands of the digital era." "At Odine, we are at the forefront of transforming the telecommunications landscape by integrating automation with next-generation 5G networks," said Alper Tunga Burak, Chairman and CEO, Odine. "Our collaboration with Turkcell underscores our expertise in delivering cloud-native, our solutions that drive efficiency, enhance network intelligence, and enable seamless, autonomous operations. As the industry evolves towards more scalable, self-optimizing, and resilient networks, Odine remains committed to pioneering innovations that shape the future of 5G and beyond." Through this partnership, Odine and Turkcell reaffirm their commitment to driving next-generation technologies, paving the way for a more intelligent, efficient, and seamlessly connected digital future. ABOUT TURKCELL Turkcell is a technology and telecommunications company headquartered in Turkiye, offering a unique portfolio of voice, data and IPTV services over its mobile and fixed networks along with digital consumer, enterprise and techfin services. Turkcell Group operates in three countries: Turkiye, Belarus and Northern Cyprus. Listed on both the NYSE and BIST since July 2000, Turkcell remains the only dual-listed company on these exchanges. Read more at www.turkcell.com.tr ABOUT ODINE Odine (BIST: ODINE) is a global partner empowering sustainable network transformation, building resilient and software-defined networks of the future. As a leading technology company, Odine enables global organizations to evolve with a sustainable approach. The company holds extensive expertise in next-generation technologies, such as Tier 1 software-defined networks, virtualization, 5G/6G, artificial intelligence, cloudification, and Al-powered orchestration technologies, and actively engages in research and development efforts to advance these fields. Fully committed to its partners' success, Odine works collaboratively to ensure its clients are equipped with the tools and expertise needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Odine is publicly listed on Borsa Istanbul (BIST: ODINE), reflecting its commitment to transparency, accountability, and the creation of long-term value for its shareholders. www.odine.com Media contacts: Harika Nihan Gundem, Head of Marketing, harika.gundem@odine.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634325/Odine_Turkcell_Partner.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/odine-and-turkcell-partner-to-drive-5g-automation-and-cloud-transformation-302392916.html BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ScamAdviser, a leading brand in global enterprise scam prevention solutions, spotlighted the escalating threat of AI-driven scams at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 during the "GASA x ScamAdviser Fireside Chat." The session brought together industry leaders to explore the latest scam trends, the digital transformation of scam, and fintech's role in combating financial crime. ScamAdviser is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, leverages AI and an extensive database network to power its proprietary website risk rating technology. During the discussion, Jorij Abraham, Managing Director of GASA, and Boice Lin, Chief Business Officer of ScamAdviser, discussed how scams have evolved, from early malware to today's deepfake-driven scams. They stressed the growing risks to fintech and telecom industries and the need for AI-driven intelligence and cross-sector collaboration to combat these attacks. ScamAdviser's SDK leverages data for scam prevention and risk assessment, acting as a data collection engine that integrates diverse datasets, such as phone behavior data, to improve applications like credit scoring and abnormal account activity detection. It extends protection from domain browsing security to safeguarding consumer communication data. Boice Lin, Chief Business Officer, ScamAdviser shared, "The digital scam landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Fintech and telecom operators have become prime targets. To stay ahead, the industry must leverage AI-driven scam detection and foster cross-sector intelligence sharing, ensuring a stronger, more proactive defense against emerging threats worldwide." Jorij Abraham, Managing Director, GASA: "Scams are now tied to organized crime, including human trafficking, making cross-industry cooperation essential. At GASA, we are building a worldwide anti-scam network, strengthening partnerships across sectors to drive real, scalable solutions against scam." ScamAdviser's Role in Strengthening Scam Detection Companies can leverage ScamAdviser's Anti-Scam Intelligence (ASI) solutions through API or SDK integration to augment their existing products with advanced anti-scam capabilities, or choose to have ScamAdviser directly support the creation of dedicated scam prevention services. ScamAdviser's technology is currently utilized by leading companies across sectors, including e-commerce, cybersecurity, and social media. Google also highlights TrustScore ratings for shoppers trying to learn more about a merchant online in several global markets. At the conclusion of the fireside chat, GASA and ScamAdviser reaffirmed their commitment to advancing scam prevention through AI, intelligence-sharing, and stronger industry partnerships. Their collaboration provides firms with real-time scam intelligence and risk mitigation tools to better defend against digital scams. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2632998/Boice_Lin_Chief_Business_Officer_ScamAdviser_Jorij_Abraham_Managing_Director.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/scamadviser-at-mwc-2025-addressing-the-rising-threat-of-ai-powered-scams-302392742.html AMSTERDAM, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NjiaPay, a Payments-as-a-Service company simplifying payments for African businesses, today announced the appointment of Tristan Kirchner to its board of advisors. Mr. Kirchner brings over 25 years of experience in the payments industry, including leadership roles at American Express, Barclays, and Visa. His expertise in digital payments and driving operational excellence at scale will be invaluable as NjiaPay pursues its mission to streamline the complex and fragmented African payments ecosystem. Mr. Kirchner currently serves as CEO and Chair of the Management Board of Uber Payments BV where he leads Uber's licensed payment operations in more than 30 markets, regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). In addition, he is also the Global Director of Regulated Payments Entities at Uber with responsibility for licensed payment companies in the U.K., Mexico and Taiwan. Prior to Uber, he was Managing Director at Barclays, heading Global Payment Networks with primary responsibility for Account Management, Business Development and Operational Processing & Compliance with the payment schemes. He also spent four years at Visa in senior leadership positions, managing large-scale payment operations, from their Processing Business unit to Head of Core Products. Finally, he started his career at American Express and worked in numerous roles, including as a Board member of the American Express European merchant acquiring business. "Having someone with Tristan's background and extensive payments experience as a strategic advisor is invaluable," said Jonatan Allback, CEO and co-founder of NjiaPay. "His guidance and expertise have already proven beneficial to NjiaPay and me personally. As we continue to redefine the payment space in Africa, pioneering a new approach to Payments-as-a-Service, Tristan's experience, from Visa to a global merchant like Uber, will be instrumental in accelerating our growth and expansion." "Payments innovation has accelerated globally over the past decade, and I believe Africa represents the next frontier, with an ecosystem ripe for disruption," said Mr. Kirchner. "I am a firm believer in NjiaPay's approach to addressing today's challenges of a fragmented ecosystem, and I am excited to contribute to and help Jonatan and the NjiaPay shape the next wave of payment innovations in Africa." For more information contact: Jonatan Allback CEO & Co-founder jonatan@njiapay.com +31627418267 About NjiaPay NjiaPay, a Payments-as-a-Service provider with offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Cape Town, South Africa, simplifies payments for African businesses. By managing the complexities of integrating with and operating across multiple payment service providers on the continent, NjiaPay reduces payment costs while improving conversion rates, leading to less overhead and increased revenue for its clients. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/njiapay-appoints-tristan-kirchner-payments-industry-veteran-to-board-of-advisors-302391479.html LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lloyd's Register, a UK-based classification society and professional advisory service, will become one of the first maritime organisations to use generative AI for permitting capabilities built upon Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, to bridge the gap between terrestrial and maritime applications. The capabilities are designed to enhance the regulatory process for nuclear technology and will be used by Lloyd's Register to advance the deployment of nuclear in maritime applications. Azure's generative AI capabilities work by analysing historic nuclear licensing data and allows licensing engineers to draft new permitting documents more quickly, ready for review and refinement. It can also quickly search for regulations, precedents, and other valuable information buried in large regulatory datasets. The technology enables a faster and more cost-effective pathway through regulation, which is essential for making nuclear a viable clean energy solution. Mark Tipping, LR's Global Offshore Power To X Director, who leads on nuclear technology, said: "We have a large data source from decades of regulatory applications which these AI capabilities can interrogate swiftly to identify good practice and lessons learned." "Together, we're tackling one of the biggest challenges in deploying nuclear technology, which is navigating complex, slow, and costly licensing processes." AI has the power to break through barriers allowing to unlock the potential of nuclear across floating nuclear power, offshore, and ship power. Tipping added: "Collaborating with Microsoft provides us with an excellent opportunity to combine two very different areas of expertise, their AI capabilities and our vast history and knowledge of maritime and nuclear safety." This collaboration has been driven by Lloyd's Register's CTIO team. Deputy Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Jeff Scott, who played a key role in engaging with Microsoft to explore AI's potential in maritime nuclear regulation, said: "Regulations shouldn't be a roadblock to innovation-they should be a launchpad. By teaming up with Microsoft, we're using AI to cut through the red tape and fast-track the future of nuclear in maritime. It's an exciting step toward making clean energy a reality on the water." Darryl Willis, Microsoft CVP, Energy & Resources Industry, said: "This collaboration underscores our commitment to harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation and advance sustainability across sectors." "By combining our AI expertise with Lloyd's Register's expertise in maritime and nuclear safety, we are paving the way to ease regulatory barriers and make sustainability more attainable for all industries." Notes to editors: Attached to this press release are images of the projected future design of nuclear power barges, the sort of novel technology this AI capability will be used to accelerate. The images are kindly licenced for use by Lucid Catalyst. To read more about LR's expertise in nuclear applications, more information is available here: Nuclear Fuel | Fuel For Thought | LR To read more about LR's expertise in AI and digital technology, please read here: Beyond the Horizon | LR About Lloyd's Register Trusted maritime advisors, partnering with clients to drive performance across the ocean economy. Lloyd's Register (LR) is a global professional services group specialising in marine engineering and technology. Created more than 260 years ago as the world's first marine classification society, to improve and set standards for the safety of ships. Today we are a leading provider of classification and compliance services to the marine and offshore industries, helping our clients design, construct and operate their assets to accepted levels of safety and environmental compliance. We also provide advice, support and solutions on fleet performance, fleet optimisation and voyage optimisation, enhancing our clients' digital capabilities. Our digital solutions are relied upon by more than 20,000 vessels. In the race to zero emissions, our research, technical expertise and industry-firsts are supporting a safe, sustainable maritime energy transition. Lloyd's Register Group is wholly owned by the Lloyd's Register Foundation, a politically and financially independent global charity that promotes safety and education. For more information, go to www.lr.org Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633165/Nuclear_offshore_power_barge_III.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lloyds-register-to-use-generative-ai-to-advance-the-application-of-nuclear-technology-in-maritime-in-collaboration-with-microsoft-302391979.html London, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A 13.6bn legal action against Google over alleged anti-competitive practices in online display advertising is to go ahead after the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) granted a collective proceedings order (CPO) in the claim. The decision allows UK publishers' claims, brought by Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, to proceed as a collective action. Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, led by Claudio Pollack, Charles Arthur and Kate Wellington, alleges that Google abused its dominant position, causing financial harm to those who published content on websites or apps (Publishers). The proceedings in the CAT follow international scrutiny of Google's ad tech practices. Authorities in France, the UK, the EU and the US have launched investigations, with France already imposing a 220m fine. The case now proceeds in parallel with these global actions. Kate Wellington, a partner of Ad Tech Collective Action LLP, said: With the collective action now advancing, Google can be held accountable for its actions. We are committed to ensuring that affected publishers and Publisher Partners have the opportunity to receive fair compensation for the harm we allege they have suffered. Who is Included in the Claim? UK-domiciled Publishers who received ad revenue from online display ads (i.e. ads displayed on a Publisher's website or mobile app alongside content) between 1 January 2014 and 30 November 2022 are automatically included in the claim unless they take steps to remove themselves ('opt out') before 4pm on 28 May 2025. 'Publisher Partners' - resellers of online display ads on behalf of Publishers - must opt in to be part of the claim before 4pm on 28 May 2025. Excluded from the claim are Google employees, legal teams, CAT members and certain other categories outlined in the full CPO notice accessible at https://adtechclaim.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/27145902/2025.02.12-Updated-Rule-81-Notice-CPO-Notice.pdf. More details, including how to opt in or opt out, can be found at www.adtechclaim.co.uk . Legal Representatives Geradin Partners Limited - Damien Geradin Hausfeld & Co. LLP - Luke Streatfeild, David Lawne Humphries Kerstetter LLP - Toby Starr Barristers: HELSINKI, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, 4 March, Helsinki was granted the Green Destinations GSTC certificate, which is one more step towards its goal of becoming the world's most sustainable travel destination. Helsinki is the first city with over half a million residents to receive this certificate. Helsinki receives the Green Destinations GSTC certificate, which meets the strictest criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) for a sustainable travel destination. Achieving it essentially requires full compliance with the criteria.* There are over 280 items in the GSTC criteria that cover all areas of sustainability. The criteria examine operations from the perspectives of environmental, cultural, social and economic sustainability and sustainable governance. Certificate demonstrates Helsinki's commitment to promoting sustainability in every area Created in 2007, the GSTC criteria have been developed in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), the United Nations Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Rainforest Alliance, among others. "This is a major achievement. It demonstrates Helsinki's exceptionally high commitment to promoting sustainability in all its areas," says Tourism Director NinaVesterinen from the City of Helsinki. The Helsinki City Strategy for 2021 outlines that the goal is to be the most sustainable travel destination in the world. In the autumn of 2024, Helsinki reached the top position in the Global Destination Sustainability Index, which measures the sustainability of travel destinations. With this achievement and the world's strictest travel destination certificate, Helsinki could not be closer to achieving its goal. Years-long focus on sustainability by the city and the travel industry "Finland has been selected as the happiest country in the world for seven consecutive years. Its capital Helsinki has been a pioneer in sustainable urban development for years, as evidenced by several top positions in various sustainability indices. Helsinki may have the best global foundation for sustainable tourism, but the entire travel industry also deserves a big thank you for their role in achieving this," Vesterinen continues. Most hotel rooms in Helsinki are environmentally certified. Its travel attractions, meeting and congress facilities and other tourism operators are also world leaders when it comes to investment in sustainable tourism. EU prepares to curb misleading green claims - certifications important for Helsinki The European Union is working to tighten its legislation on environmental claims. Its aim is to prevent misleading greenwashing and to ensure that environmental claims made to consumers are based on reliable and verified information. New rules will require companies to provide more detailed justifications for environmental friendliness, which will boost transparency and help consumers make more sustainable choices. "For that very reason, Helsinki makes every effort to prove the veracity of its sustainability work. This is why the Global Destination Sustainability Index and Green Destinations certificate are important," Vesterinen points out. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Sara Jantti Senior Manager, PR & Communications Helsinki Partners +358 40 709 2913 sara.jantti@helsinkipartners.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/helsinki-partners/r/helsinki-achieves-green-destinations-certificate-meeting-the-world-s-strictest-criteria,c4114607 The following files are available for download: https://news.cision.com/helsinki-partners/i/city-life---jussi-hellsten,c3383976 City life - Jussi Hellsten View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/helsinki-achieves-green-destinations-certificate-meeting-the-worlds-strictest-criteria-302392940.html HTEC, the global AI-first provider of strategic services, software and hardware embedded design, and engineering expertise headquartered in San Francisco, announced today the acquisition of CertiCon a hi-tech engineering company based in the Czech Republic. CertiCon is renowned for combining applied research with technological innovation to deliver advanced digital solutions especially in medical technology, industrial production and automotive. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305771542/en/ HTEC, a global AI-first provider of strategic services, software and hardware design, announced the acquisition of CertiCon, a hi-tech engineering company based in the Czech Republic. (Photo: Business Wire) The acquisition will see CertiCon's 350 experts from the Czech Republic and Slovakia join HTEC's team of 2500 helping global companies solve complex engineering challenges to drive efficiency, reduce risk, and accelerate time to market. HTEC has a proven track record of partnering with Fortune 500 companies and together with CertiCon will partner with an even wider base of global technology leaders. "We are excited to join forces with HTEC. The company's vision and values are very much aligned with CertiCon's, and we see this partnership as a unique opportunity for our team to create an even greater impact, further develop their skills, and contribute to a global technology leader. We also believe our clients will benefit from expanded capabilities and services as a result of this collaboration. For some time, we have been seeking the right partner to help propel the CertiCon story forward, and in HTEC, we are confident we have found the perfect match." Said Prof. Vladimir Marik, CEO and founder of CertiCon. Both companies have succeeded in attracting exceptional talent and providing their teams with unique opportunities by engaging in developing complex new technologies for global clients. "I am thrilled to welcome the CertiCon team on board. The company's unique culture, founded on applied research and strong collaborations with universities, represents a unique foundation to expand new opportunities to top talent in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We are also thrilled to expand our portfolio in medical devices, industrial production, and automotive, areas of particular growth in which we can support our clients in the navigation of new technology development and the impact of AI in such highly regulated industries." - said Aleksandar Cabrilo, co-founder and CEO of HTEC. This acquisition has been supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a longstanding partner of HTEC in expanding its international operations. It aligns with the bank's strategy to promote the growth of the technology sector and digitization in the region. About HTEC HTEC Group Inc. is a global AI-first provider of strategic digital services, software design, and engineering expertise, specializing in Financial Services, MedTech, Automotive, Advanced Technologies, Telcos and Enterprise Software Platforms. HTEC has a proven track record of helping Fortune 500 and hyper-growth companies solve complex engineering challenges, drive efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate time to market. HTEC prides itself on attracting top talent and has strategically chosen the locations of its 20+ excellence centers to enable this. About CertiCon CertiCon is a leading provider of advanced software and hardware solutions, specializing in AI-driven informatics, applied research, and full-cycle product development. With nearly three decades of expertise, CertiCon delivers innovative work and solutions in MedTech, Industry, Automotive and Telecommunications, helping clients optimize processes, enhance efficiency, and drive digital transformation. CertiCon's multidisciplinary teams offer end-to-end services, from research and design to development, testing, and large-scale deployment. With a strong foundation in applied research and a commitment to innovation, CertiCon collaborates with global partners to shape the future of intelligent technology. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305771542/en/ Contacts: For media inquiries please contact HTEC Media Relations, media@htecgroup.com SINGAPORE, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Laughing Cow has been honored with the Prestigious Brands of Asia 2024-25 award in the FMCG - Cheese category. This recognition, presented at the Global Business Symposium hosted by Herald Global & ERTC Media in Bangkok, Thailand, was bestowed after an intensive screening process. The recognition is a testament to The Laughing Cow's remarkable achievements in expanding awareness and innovative product launches in the cheese category in Southeast Asia. The Laughing Cow brand has a rich legacy of over 100 years, bringing happiness through its delicious and healthy snacking cheese products. The Southeast Asia region where the brand is present currently comprises Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. The innovative range includes The Laughing Cow Creamy Cheese Triangles, Cheez Dippers, Belcubes, Cheese Slices. Other than that, Bel also has products like BabyBel and Kiri. With this range, Bel is starting to see a market share that ranks in the top 3 in some of the larger modern trade customers in these countries. The Prestigious Brands of Asia Awards solidifies The Laughing Cow Cheese's position as a market leader in healthy snacking. Alamjit Singh Sekhon, General Manager, Bel Southeast Asia, expressed his gratitude for the recognition, stating: "This award is a testament to The Laughing Cow's unwavering commitment to providing healthier and more responsible snacking options. In Southeast Asia, we have worked in an entrepreneurial way to significantly increase the brand awareness. Additionally, we have launched innovative products like The Laughing Cow Sweet Cheez Dippers to address the healthy snacking opportunity. Our products are not only delicious but also fortified to address key micronutrient deficiencies in the region, making them even more nutritious. This aligns perfectly with our philosophy of 'for all, for good'-ensuring that everyone has access to healthier and more responsible food choices. This recognition reaffirms our dedication to building consumer trust and confidence, and we are truly honored to be acknowledged among Asia's most prestigious brands." As The Laughing Cow continues to expand its footprint, it remains committed to bringing joy to consumers across the region with our healthier snacking cheese products while continuing to expand our footprint and strengthen market leadership. About The Laughing Cow under Bel Group are global leaders in branded cheese and healthy snacking, committed to providing healthier and more responsible food. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634305/The_Laughing_Cow_SE_Asia.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-laughing-cow---southeast-asia-region-wins-prestigious-brand-of-asia-2024-25-award-302392966.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Doubleview Gold Corp. (TSXV: DBG) (OTCQB: DBLVF) (FSE: 1D4) (the "Company" or "Doubleview") is pleased to announce that it has received a Statement of Interest from Her Excellency Sheikha Sara Nasser Al-Thani CEO of Qmission W.L.L. for the Company's Polymetallic HAT Porphyry Deposit, located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Her Excellency and Doubleview have entered into an Emissary Agreement to build and foster a potential collaboration with the State of Qatar by way of the Qatar Investment Authority ("QIA") as well as other Arab countries who are seeking to expand business relations, particularly investments in unique and critical mineral deposits that can deliver the resources needed for a sustainable future. Sheikha Sara Nasser Al-Thani is personally involved in seeking business opportunities and building strategic collaborations between different business sectors through her company Qmission that will benefit all parties involved. The Middle Eastern country of Qatar is known for its wealth of natural resources, mainly natural gas (LNG) and oil. In 2005, the Qatar Investment Authority ("QIA") was established. It is the nation's sovereign wealth fund, renowned for its focus on exceptional, one-of-a-kind investments spanning all major global markets, asset classes, sectors and geographies. Her Excellency noted, "This opportunity extends beyond the oil and gas sector and holds significant potential benefits for Qatar. QMISSION's focus is to explore diverse sectors, continuously seeking avenues for growth and innovation. Inspired by the words from the Emir of Qatar, His Royal Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, 'Qatar deserves the best from its citizens,' we remain committed to identifying groundbreaking prospects. Doubleview Gold and its HAT Deposit, with its abundance of copper, gold, cobalt and scandium, represents a golden opportunity in the mining industry." Farshad Shirvani, president & CEO states: "QIA's vision corresponds perfectly with the Hat Project's potential significance on the global stage, due to the deposit's unique variety of critical minerals - copper, cobalt and scandium, in addition to gold and silver - and its size, which sets it apart. This presents a unique investment opportunity. I am honored to have Her Excellency Sheikha Sara Nasser Al Thani as an ally in our mission to develop this deposit and to share my vision with her." The Hat Project features a significant and unique combination of critical metals, including scandium, copper, and gold, among other valuable resources. The Hat Deposit's 2024 maiden resource estimate ("HAT MRE 1.0") reported the following commodities in both indicated and inferred categories, at a cut-off grade of 0.2% copper equivalent ("CuEq"*): Gold: 929k ounces (indicated), 2.328 million ounces (inferred) Copper: 733 million pounds (indicated), 1.945 billion pounds (inferred) Silver: 2.045 million ounces (indicated), 7.575 million ounces (inferred) Cobalt: 28 million pounds (indicated), 91 million pounds (inferred) Scandium: The scandium potential for the Hat Deposit is estimated to be 300 to 500 million tonnes at an average grade of 40 ppm (0.004%) Sc2O3. Note: For further details, please refer to the Company's July 25, 2024, news release. An update to the Company's Maiden Resource Estimate ("HAT MRE 2.0") is expected to be published in Q2, 2025. It will include more than 10,000 meters of additional drill hole information and will be used as part of the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("HAT PEA") concurrently being completed. Updated Scandium metallurgy studies are underway which will be included in the HAT MRE 2.0 and HAT PEA once concluded. * - Copper Equivalent (CuEq) currently does not include the Scandium. - Metal equivalents should not be relied upon for future evaluations. - Parameters used to calculate Copper Equivalent: Au price (US$/oz): 1900; Ag price (US$/oz): 24; Cu price (US$/lb): 4; Co price (US$/lb): 22. Au recovery: 89.0%; Ag recovery: 68.0%; Cu recovery: 84.0%; Co recovery: 78.0%. * Copper Equivalent Calculation CuEq in % = ([Ag grade in ppm] *24*0.68/31.1035 + [Au grade in ppm] *1900*.89/31.1035 + 0.0001* [Co grade in ppm] *22*0.78*22.0462 + 0.0001* [Cu grade in ppm] *4*0.84*22.0462)/(4*22.0462*0.84). Doubleview maintains a website at www.doubleview.ca. Qualified Persons: Erik Ostensoe, P. Geo., a consulting geologist, and Doubleview's Qualified Person with respect to the Hat Project as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release. He is not independent of Doubleview as he is a shareholder in the company. About Doubleview Gold Corp A mineral resource exploration and development company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is publicly traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange (TSXV: DBG), (OTCQB: DBLVF), (WKN: LA1W038), and (FSE: 1D4). Doubleview focuses on identifying, acquiring, and financing precious and base metal exploration projects across North America, with a strong emphasis on British Columbia. The company enhances shareholder value through the acquisition and exploration of high-quality gold, copper, cobalt, scandium, and silver projects-collectively critical minerals-utilizing cutting-edge exploration techniques. Doubleview's success is deeply rooted in the unwavering support of its long-term shareholders, supporters, and institutional investors. Their ongoing commitment has been instrumental in advancing the company's strategic initiatives. Doubleview looks forward to further collaborative growth and development, and continues to welcome active participation from its valued stakeholders as the company expands its portfolio and strengthens its position in the critical minerals sector. About the Hat Polymetallic Deposit The Hat Deposit, located in northwestern British Columbia, is a polymetallic porphyry project with major resources of copper, gold, cobalt, and the potential for scandium. As one of the region's significant sources of critical minerals, the Hat deposit has undergone targeted exploration and development. The 0.2% CuEq cut-off resource estimate, as of the recently completed Mineral Resource Estimate and the Company's July 25, 2024, news release, is summarized below: Average Grade Metal Content Open Pit Model Hat Resource Category Tonnage CuEq Cu Co Au Ag CuEq Cu Co Au Ag Mt % % % g/t g/t million lb million lb million lb thousand oz thousand oz In Pit Indicated 150 0.408 0.221 0.008 0.19 0.42 1,353 733 28 929 2,045 Inferred 477 0.344 0.185 0.009 0.15 0.49 3,619 1,945 91 2,328 7,575 Scandium potential for the Hat Deposit is estimated to be 300 to 500 million tonnes at an average grade of 40 ppm (0.004%) Sc2O3. For further details, please refer to the Company's July 25, 2024 news release. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Farshad Shirvani, President & Chief Executive Officer NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Certain of the statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information." In particular references to the private placement and future work programs or expectations on the quality or results of such work programs are subject to risks associated with operations on the property, exploration activity generally, equipment limitations and availability, as well as other risks that we may not be currently aware of. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243263 SOURCE: Doubleview Gold Corp. CHELTENHAM, England, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FMPay, the innovative payment provider committed to simplifying digital transactions for businesses, has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) for a Payment Services Licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). This approval allows the company to offer its low-cost, easy-to-use and secure payment solutions to businesses across Malta and Europe. "Getting this approval is an important step for our group," said Roman Loban, Director and Founder of FMPay. "It shows that we meet high regulatory standards and can now help more businesses make fast and reliable payments." "We set out to break away from the status quo, where large providers impose hidden fees and tie businesses into rigid contracts. At FMPay, we believe payments should be simple, cost-effective and backed by real human support. This approval is a testament to our commitment to bringing that vision to life across Europe." Roman continued. Unlike many payment providers burdening their clients with hidden fees, binding contracts, and complicated processes, FMPay was founded on a mission to strip away complexity and provide businesses with a straightforward, low-cost approach to payments. While big-name competitors hold merchants to long-term commitments and layered pricing structures, FMPay keeps it simple: no contracts, no set-up fees, no monthly subscriptions and no surprises. Every business, regardless of size, gets a dedicated account manager who is always at the end of the phone, ready to provide real-world support. As an independent provider, FMPay is agile, customer-focused and built for businesses that want seamless, affordable and transparent payment solutions without the corporate runaround. FMPay ensures that businesses, throughout Europe, can focus on growth rather than financial red tape. "This milestone marks a significant step towards our mission of making payments simple, secure and accessible for businesses across Europe," Roman added. "Expanding into Malta and other European markets allows us to help more businesses accept payments with ease, improve cash flow and boost their daily earnings in an increasingly digital economy." FM Finance (Malta) Limited is an affiliate of FM Finance Ltd, a principal acquiring member of Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay. FM Finance Ltd already serves businesses in the United Kingdom with direct access to global payment networks for faster and more cost-effective transactions. For more information, visit https://fmpay.me/. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/fmpay-secures-in-principle-approval-from-the-malta-financial-services-authority-mfsa-for-payment-services-licence-302392960.html AVONDALE, Pa., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Iris AirShuttle, a patient transfer platform developed by CQ Medical, is designed to streamline the transfer of patients from procedures to imaging. Recently, it was featured at the Women in Innovation Award Showcase, an event that celebrated Professor Iris Grunwald from the University of Dundee, UK, along with her team at the Image Guided Therapy Research Facility (IGTRF). The event honored their pioneering contributions to healthcare innovation, awarding them a Purple Plaque for outstanding innovations and solutions that improve healthcare globally. Professor Grunwald led the clinical evaluation of the Iris AirShuttle, assessing its ability to streamline patient transfers, reduce physical strain on healthcare providers, and improve overall hospital workflow efficiency. The evaluation confirmed the AirShuttle's potential to enhance safety and reduce the risk of injuries among NHS staff. "We are extremely grateful to have evaluated the Iris AirShuttle," said Professor Grunwald. "It is a simple yet transformative solution that will make patient transfers easier, protect NHS staff, and ultimately improve hospital workflow efficiency. The overwhelmingly positive response from healthcare professionals and industry leaders further validates the importance of implementing this innovation in clinical practice." - Read more at:Stroke expert celebrated for 'game-changing' ideas | University of Dundee, UK The Iris AirShuttle is an integral part of CQ Medical's Symphony Imaging, Treatment & Transfer Solutions, which conveniently integrates the AirShuttle patient platform with the AirDrive system. This combination enables smooth and efficient patient transfers between imaging modalities and procedural platforms without the need for repositioning. Designed for use in CT, MR (up to 3 Tesla), and angiography, the Symphony solution ensures safe patient movement across various surfaces, including sheet-covered pads and mattresses, while minimizing the number of clinical staff required. To learn how the Iris AirShuttle can help workflow efficiency, safety, and patient care, visit CQMedical.com. About CQ Medical CQ Medical is the global leader in developing high-quality, innovative, patient-centric radiotherapy and cancer therapy solutions. With primary locations in Iowa and Pennsylvania and employees worldwide, the company has more than 80 years of combined experience bringing advanced hardware and consumables for patient immobilization and positioning, fiducial markers, couchtops, and patient care products to the market. For further information, please contact: Lisa Vandenberg, Senior Director of Product Management & Marketing, lisa.vandenberg@CQmedical.com COPYRIGHT 2025 CQ Medical. All rights reserved. CQ Medical is a trademark of Medtec LLC. Symphony is a registered trademark of Qfix Systems LLC. AirDrive, AirDrive Caddie, AirDrive Trolley, AirShuttle, and Iris AirShuttle are trademarks of Qfix Systems LLC. This press release contains information about products that may or may not be available in particular countries. These products may not be licensed in accordance with Canadian law. Each country has specific laws and regulations governing the commercialization of medical devices and the communication of information regarding medical devices in printed and digital media. Products appearing in this press release or on our website may or may not have received approval, clearance, or marketing authorization by a governmental regulatory body in any particular country or may have received approval, clearance, or marketing authorization for different indications and restrictions in different countries or may be for investigational use only. CQ2025D3 Rev. 0 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633602/CQ_Medical_Iris.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cq-medicals-iris-airshuttle-patient-transfer-platform-recognized-at-women-in-innovation-award-showcase-302392272.html Finnish nuclear innovator Steady Energy announces a 22M funding milestone led by 92 Ventures, a Copenhagen-based nuclear-focused investment firm. The investment underscores private-sector confidence in Steady Energy and its breakthrough reactor design which will deliver affordable, zero-emission heat to Europe and beyond. Helsinki, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finnish nuclear innovator Steady Energy announces a 22M funding milestone led by 92 Ventures, a Copenhagen-based nuclear-focused investment firm. The investment underscores private-sector confidence in Steady Energy and its breakthrough reactor design which will deliver affordable, zero-emission heat to Europe and beyond. Steady Energy, a Finnish pioneer in small modular reactor (SMR) solutions, has secured 22 million in funding and will commence constructing a full-scale pilot plant in the second half of this year. The 22 million funding milestone brings the company very close to completing its B-round and solidifies its lead in the race for the world's first commercial SMR in operation. "This is a major step for Steady Energy and a strong endorsement of our team and technology: we are on track to demonstrate that we can deliver nuclear heat that is scalable and commercially attractive," said Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman. "With our technology, utilities can eliminate their CO 2 emissions more quickly and with a better return on investment than with nuclear plants that generate both heat and electricity", Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman said. "At 92 Ventures, we believe nuclear energy must expand beyond the electricity sector to enable deep decarbonization. District heating presents an exciting opportunity for nuclear to play a transformative role, and Steady Energy's LDR-50 is a practical, scalable solution that can extend beyond district heating to industrial heat applications," said Anatol Kjr Knudsen, CEO and co-founder of 92 Ventures. As part of this investment, Chirayu Batra, CTO of 92 Ventures, will join Steady Energy's board of directors, bringing deep expertise in nuclear energy and strategic growth. Lifeline Ventures, an investor in Steady Energy since its beginning, also participated in the recent funding round. "Steady Energy's reactor technology is based on world-class research and development at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. It is an attractive alternative for energy utilities and, crucially, is available within the tight timeframes that decarbonization needs", said Mr. Timo Ahopelto, a founding partner at Lifeline Ventures. Heating uses 40% of all energy and is the single biggest CO 2 source in the world. In Europe, fossil fuels are the main source of district heat, and heating is the purpose Steady Energy's 50 MW nuclear reactor is designed for. This allows it to deliver heat at below 40/MWh, which is more affordable than bioenergy, conventional nuclear and fossil fuels by a significant margin. Inquiries and interview requests Director Lauri Muranen, Steady Energy Ltd, +358407076637, lauri.muranen@steadyenergy.fi About Steady Energy Finnish technology company developing a heat-only SMR Headquarters in Espoo, Finland CEO Tommi Nyman Founded in 2023 25 employees Previously raised 14 million in funding steadyenergy.com About Steady Energy's LDR-50 Reactor 50 megawatts thermal power For district heating and industrial applications The size of a shipping container Built underground Energy cost (LCOH) under 40/MWh Near-100% efficiency, emission-free, lifetime carbon footprint akin to offshore wind Light water technology, refueling every 2-3 years Only few moving parts, very low operating temperatures and pressure About 92 Ventures Copenhagen-based clean-tech investment firm Committed to identifying and supporting technologies for large-scale decarbonization Co-founded by Joachim Ante, co-founder and former CTO of the video gaming software company Unity Focuses on companies pushing nuclear innovation, including advanced reactor designs, next-generation nuclear fuels, nuclear fuel cycle and digitalization, supply chain optimization, advanced manufacturing, and project delivery www.92ventures.dk About Lifeline Ventures Finnish early-stage investor Investor in some of Finland's most iconic growth companies, such as Supercell, Wolt and Oura Has invested in deep tech and industrial growth companies, like green hydrogen producer P2X Solutions, cargo ship wind propulsion maker Norsepower, food tech company Solar Foods, and Smartly, one of world's largest digital advertising platforms. lifelineventures.com (http://www.lifelineventures.com) Attachment The report published this month by the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirms that Bangladesh is at a critical juncture. Bangladesh today is a place where revenge attacks, state-tolerated murder and judicial persecution are common. So too are threats to Hindus, minority Muslim groups and indigenous peoples, gender-based violence against women and girls, attacks on journalists and the suppression of free speech. This is a far cry from the Bangladesh of 2010 which, under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, became the first South Asian country to ratify the pact that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) and gave it a mandate for trying people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The OHCHR report is an urgent reminder to the international community that it needs to stay focused on Bangladesh, but it crucially falls short of holding the Interim Government accountable for the failures and deep-seated corruption that persist under the rule of its head, Dr Muhammad Yunus. As such, Awami League wholly rejects the OHCHR report and the serious flaws in its investigative methodology and calls for a new and impartial inquiry. Bangladesh desperately needs an investigation that accounts for and properly documents the unrest that has run rampant up to and since August 15. This would include the organised killings and unlawful detentions of members and supporters of Awami League (the country's biggest and most popular political party), the escalating attacks on religious and ethnic minorities, the suppression of media outlets and individual journalists, and the creeping radical Islamization of the country's cultural and political life. These concerning developments are reported daily in the international media but sadly receive little scrutiny in this month's OHCHR document. A critical weakness of the report is that it does not cover the post-August 15 period, meaning that many of its observations fail to address the Bangladeshi people's most urgent concerns. The OHCHR report itself acknowledges this flaw in its terms of reference. It also admits that it cannot supply levels of proof that would satisfy a criminal court that its allegations of Awami League involvement in human rights abuses are true. For the record, Awami League categorically denies and rejects the report's claims that some of its senior leaders, including the Prime Minister herself, were personally responsible for or directed the use of lethal force against crowds; or were involved in or had knowledge of mistreatment of detainees. These allegations rest entirely on biased evidence supplied by the Interim Government, while other records have been withheld that would exculpate the Awami League and incriminate members and supporters of the Interim Government. For example, the OHCHR flagrantly errs in accusing the Awami League Government of failing to take steps to seek accountability for the breakdowns of discipline among some of those tasked with law-enforcement that led to regrettable deaths, violence and destruction from late July. In fact, in early August the Government publicly established an inquiry commission, later dissolved by Dr Yunus, to investigate those matters. Moreover, and at the same time, the UN itself was invited by the Awami League-led Government to observe events on the ground. All incidents of violence and lawlessness including many that were unreported at the time, all that have occurred since August 15, and all that continue to occur must be investigated properly and impartially, whatever the political hue of their perpetrators. The OHCHR exposes the impunity that many perpetrators of this violence continue to enjoy under the Interim Government, but an independent investigation must go further in holding it accountable for these blanket exclusions. Victims are currently deprived of their right to seek justice from their aggressors, or redress from the authorities that have failed to protect them against lawlessness. Those who have lost their lives or continue to endure violence and discrimination deserve better than this OHCHR report. Victims include the scores of policemen brutally murdered in undocumented lynchings, hangings, burnings and other revenge attacks during and after last year's uprising. The OHCHR references just 44 such killings but suppressed documentary evidence shows there were many more. Bangladesh needs a fully independent review carried out by an impartial investigator without fear of reprisals. The report makes important recommendations about the country's need to foster and protect true multiparty democracy, to safeguard religious and ethnic minorities, and to secure the economic and social progress that Bangladesh has enjoyed in recent years. Yet none of this can happen while this incomplete narrative is allowed to persist unchallenged and while an unelected and partial administration remains in power, its failings glossed over by the OHCHR. MOHAMMAD ARAFAT, SPOKESMAN FOR AWAMI LEAGUE SAID: "The world must not stand by as Bangladesh slides into decline and further civil strife. That is the clear message to be taken from the UN's recent report. Millions of people live in fear in Bangladesh right now. Their so-called crime is to be members of or supporters of the Awami League a party that, unlike the current Interim Government, was democratically elected, and has its roots in the heroic movement that led to our country's independence. While the majority of law-enforcement officers acted within their guidelines, we don't deny that mistakes were made in the way some members of the security forces responded to last year's upsurge of violence. It was a fast-moving and febrile situation, and clearly there were breakdowns of discipline. But to characterize what happened as a plot by the country's leaders to commit violence against their own people is entirely wrong. In this matter, the UN's inspectors have been spoon-fed nonsense by the Interim Government. Most of the so-called witnesses supplied to the UN were state employees who need to curry favour with Muhammad Yunus's Interim Government to save their jobs. Many face misconduct charges themselves and are clearly passing the buck. All of that said, it is also important to look forward. It is right that the OHCHR should call on the international community to help ensure that Bangladesh has free and fair elections as soon as possible, that its people can live in peace without fear of being victimized by the government and terrorized by mobs, and that its hard-won prosperity is not further damaged. Dr Yunus has already failed all of these tests. It is time for him to admit that his administration is hopelessly partisan and compromised. He and his cronies need to stand down and hand back power to the President, so that Bangladeshi people can choose their own leaders again." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305704104/en/ Contacts: Media enquiries: info@albd.org BH Macro Limited - Transaction in Own Shares PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, March 05 BH Macro Limited (the "Company") (a closed-ended collective investment scheme established as a company with limited liability under the laws of Guernsey with registered number 46235) Transaction in Own Shares 05 March 2025 BH Macro Limited (the Company) announces today it purchased yesterday the following number of its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange from J.P. Morgan Securities plc: Ordinary Shares: - Share Class Sterling Date of purchase: 04 March 2025 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 31,065 Lowest price per share (pence) 384.00 Highest price per share (pence) 384.00 Trading venue London Aggregate volume per date per trading venue: 31,065 Weighted average price per day per trading venue (pence): 384.0000 The Company intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury. Following the above share transactions of the relevant US Dollar and Sterling Shares, the total number of shares in issue in each share class of the Company will be as follows: Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding Treasury) Ordinary Shares held in Treasury 340,026,395 Sterling Shares 35,714,316 Sterling Shares 27,132,086 Dollar Shares Nil Dollar Shares From 04 March 2025, the total number of voting rights in the Company (rounded up to the whole number) is 520,815,492. Enquiries: Company website: www.bhmacro.com William Simmonds JPMorgan Cazenove Tel: 020 7588 2828 The Company Secretary Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited Tel: 01481 745001 ZURICH, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- South Pole is proud to support a major milestone in Ghana's transition to sustainable transport with the signing of an Article 6 Mitigation Action Purchase Agreement (MOPA) between the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) and Solar Taxi Ltd, a leading electric vehicle company in Ghana. This marks South Pole's second major ITMO deal in the transport sector and its first with the Swedish Energy Agency, advancing international carbon finance under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, which enables countries to collaborate on emission reduction targets. As the exclusive advisor to Solar Taxi, South Pole is providing end-to-end support, including technical design of the mitigation activity, capital sourcing, and ensuring the programme meets high-integrity carbon market standards. This agreement enables the large-scale deployment of e-motorcycles in Ghana, decarbonising a sector responsible for nearly 50% of the country's energy-related emissions. As a key proof of concept for international carbon finance in transport, it aims to deploy 48,000 e-motorcycles by 2030, cutting an estimated 200,000 tCO2 emissions at least. "This landmark agreement proves the transformative potential of Article 6 in scaling clean mobility solutions," said Karolien Casaer-Diez, Senior Director for Article 6 at South Pole."This is South Pole's second major ITMO deal for a transport project, further cementing our leadership on Article 6 carbon finance, supporting governments and project developers in realising high-integrity, Paris-aligned climate impact." "We are proud that Sweden continues to be one of the leading countries in implementing cooperative approaches under the Paris Agreement. The project, done in cooperation with Ghana, will both reduce emissions and contribute to sustainable development," says Caroline Asserup, Acting Director General at the Swedish Energy Agency. The project aims to deliver far-reaching socio-economic benefits beyond carbon reductions. Solar Taxi is committed to making EVs accessible and mainstream while also fostering local job creation. A key aspect of the programme includes Solar Taxi's Female Engineers Academy, which will focus on training and empowering female engineers. "At Solar Taxi, we are proud to be at the forefront of Ghana's shift to sustainable mobility," said Jorge Appiah, Founder and CEO of Solar Taxi. "With the support of the Swedish Energy Agency and South Pole, we are accelerating our mission to make electric vehicles accessible and mainstream, marking a significant step in decarbonising Ghana's transport sector." Note to editors Official announcement from the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) here: https://www.energimyndigheten.se/nyhetsarkiv/2025/hallbara-transporter-ochsolenergi--nya-projekti-ghana/ About South Pole South Pole is the world's leading carbon asset developer and climate consultancy. Since 2006, South Pole has been a trusted partner to governments, public sector organisations, and leading businesses on their decarbonisation journeys. South Pole serves over 1,000 clients globally, and its team of experts has helped many Fortune 500 businesses implement comprehensive strategies turning climate action into business opportunities. In line with its mission to deliver true climate impact for all, South Pole has used the power of markets to help channel climate finance to over 850 projects in more than 50 countries across the globe. The business is supported by world-class investors, including Temasek's GenZero, Lightrock, Corisol, and Salesforce Ventures. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/south-pole-accelerates-e-mobility-programme-in-ghana-under-article-6-302393010.html SLIEMA, Malta, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Soft2Bet, a leading provider of turnkey B2B solutions, has revealed how a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) unlocks faster product delivery, enhanced user experiences, and significant operational cost savings for providers. The recently published AWS case study highlights how strategic cloud integration has empowered Soft2Bet to achieve scalable growth and operational efficiency in highly competitive industries. Learn more about our advanced casino server solutions that support these results. Before migrating to AWS, Soft2Bet faced operational challenges stemming from disparate data sources, high infrastructure costs, and slow time to market for new products. Accessing real-time insights was limited, hindering rapid decision-making and agility. Addressing these issues meant focusing on near real-time analytics, optimising infrastructure costs, accelerating partner onboarding, and delivering smoother, lower-latency user experiences. Tech excellence is deeply embedded in Soft2Bet's DNA, making the company a true game-changer in the industry. Beyond achieving exceptional platform performance and delivering strong results for clients, Soft2Bet has developed innovative tech solutions like MEGA. This proprietary platform sits at the intersection of the casino and casual gaming industries, blending the excitement of betting with engaging gamification mechanics. MEGA's unique approach boosts player engagement and retention, setting new industry standards while being powered by reliable casino infrastructure. To achieve its goals, Soft2Bet collaborated with AWS partner Snowflake to build a unified data ecosystem that eliminated scaling limitations. The integration utilised Amazon S3 for scalable data storage and Amazon RDS for efficient database management. Snowflake, accessed via AWS Marketplace, ensured secure management of vast data sources while delivering the flexibility needed for rapid adaptability through a robust casino infrastructure. The impact of this integration was transformative. Compute costs dropped by 55%, allowing for more strategic resource allocation. Time to market improved by 200%, enabling faster product rollouts, while partner onboarding times were reduced by 70%, streamlining collaborations. Users benefited from significantly lower latency and smoother product interactions, all backed by high-performance casino infrastructure, leading to stronger engagement and satisfaction. The internal impact has been equally impressive. Soft2Bet's developers can now rapidly prototype and test concepts, reducing proof-of-concept times from weeks to days or even hours. This agility ensures that Soft2Bet remains at the forefront of innovation, continuously delivering value to both partners and end users. Yoel Zuckerberg, Chief Product Officer at Soft2Bet, commented: "The collaboration with AWS has transformed our operations. We now have the agility to draw business insights quickly, connect to as many data sources as needed, and most importantly, drive better results for our clients. With AWS-powered casino infrastructure, we've accelerated time to market, reduced costs, and significantly enhanced user experiences benefiting both our partners and end users." Soft2Bet's successful partnership with AWS stands as a benchmark for providers aiming for operational efficiency, scalable growth, and superior customer experiences. The company remains committed to leveraging cloud-based solutions to drive future innovation, continuously enhancing its technological capabilities to meet evolving market demands. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633149/Soft2Bet_x_AWS.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/how-integration-with-amazon-empowers-providers-soft2bet-shares-insights-in-joint-case-study-302393050.html TEL AVIV, Israel, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ECIPSA Group, Argentina's largest residential developer, and IsraelCanada, Israel's leading real estate company, have partnered to acquire more than 16 hectares in Kadima Tzoran. In this town located 40km from Tel Aviv, they will carry out a rezoning process to develop their first residential project together. This acquisition not only reflects confidence in the region's growth potential, but also promises to transform its landscape thanks to the sustainable lagoons of Crystal Lagoons. IsraelCanada, one of the top players in the local market, is recognized for its solid track record in the sector, along which it has played a fundamental role in shaping the urban landscape with its iconic projects in cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, contributing to the revitalization of communities and the creation of spaces that promote urban life. Listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of NIS 4.76 billion, it is positioned as a key player in the Israeli real estate market. Since its landing in Israel in 2023, Grupo ECIPSA has carried out important alliances to consolidate its presence in the country. First, by signing an exclusivity agreement with Crystal Lagoons to develop residential projects with the sustainable lagoons of unlimited sizes internationally recognized as the No.1 amenity in the world, one of them being the one they will develop on these lands in Kadima Tzoran. Its second step was the opening of corporate offices in 2024 and the launch of CasaVeIsrael, the first real estate broker aimed at the Spanish-speaking community, offering the opportunity to make real estate investments in Israel from anywhere in the world, providing a comprehensive and personalized advisory service from search, selection, to property management, providing a unique and satisfactory experience to its clients. This new investment in Kadima Tzoran marks a new milestone in the consolidation of the international expansion of Grupo ECIPSA, which already operates in other key markets such as Panama, Brazil and Paraguay, the United States, and in its native Argentina from where it announced investments of more than USD 126.5 million for its operations in 2025. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2630805/Grupo_ECIPSA_Crystal_Lagoons.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ecipsa-group-and-israelcanada-invest-usd16-million-in-land-in-israel-to-develop-the-countrys-first-residential-project-with-crystal-lagoons-302390085.html Cargill expands utilization of Veson's software and data suite to drive innovation and enhance their customers' experience BOSTON, Mass., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veson Nautical (Veson), a global leader in maritime data and freight management solutions, and Cargill have expanded their longstanding partnership to accelerate digital transformation in the maritime sector. The Strategic Technology Agreement provides Cargill's Ocean Transportation business with a broad range of access to the Veson portfolio, including Veson's data intelligence capabilities and AI-enabled collaborative workflow solution Shipfix. Building upon their success in utilizing the Veson IMOS Platform, Cargill aims to simplify their technology ecosystem while driving efficiency, sustainability, and innovation across its global shipping operations. "As Veson has invested in building a comprehensive set of solutions over recent years, we are thrilled for Cargill to benefit, extending our longstanding partnership," said Sean Riley, Veson's President and Chief Operating Officer. "The further work we are doing with Cargill highlights one of many ways we are partnering with our clients to propel the maritime industry forward." In addition to improving internal efficiencies, a key factor behind the collaboration is Cargill's desire to provide their customers with an enhanced experience. As part of the strategic partnership, Veson is collaborating with Cargill to offer a customer-focused solution that integrates proprietary data, supplier information, and customer insights, enhancing Cargill and the shipping industry's ability to make faster, data-driven decisions while enabling compliance with new industry regulations, including the International Maritime Organization and FuelEU initiatives. "With a shared desire for digital transformation, open collaboration between our teams, and complementary strengths, skills, and focus points, Veson is the perfect partner to expand our relationship with," said Eric Aboussouan, Strategy and Digitalization Lead for Cargill's Ocean Transportation business. "They have set the standard for digital transformation in the shipping industry, with their IMOS Platform being the leading solution in the market. This partnership allows us to integrate our systems more seamlessly, providing customers a unified platform that enhances visibility, efficiency, and control over their freight procurement processes." To learn more about how Veson and Cargill plan to work together, and how Cargill's customer experience would be enhanced, read this interviewfeaturing Veson's Sean Riley and Cargill's Eric Aboussouan and Patrick Jourdain, Cargill Ocean Transportation Customer Lead. About Veson Nautical Veson Nautical empowers the global maritime industry to navigate compounding complexity on all sides of the trade. Multi-jurisdictional regulations, geopolitical disruptions, decarbonization, cybersecurity threats, and more are forcing industry participants to recalibrate their risk tolerance. By combining trusted maritime data with built-for-purpose workflows, Veson gives clients the decision-making confidence to manage risk and maximize profit. With a heritage of innovation and expertise across all maritime related contracts, Veson serves more than 38,000 users across 2,400 companies in more than 100 countries and is uniquely positioned to enable a decision advantage. Learn more at www.veson.com. About Cargill Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living. Our approximately 160,000 employees innovate with purpose, providing customers with life's essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 160 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing-today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com Kevin Baxter Senior PR & Communications Manager KBaxter@veson.com +44 (0) 20233970102 Veson Nautical Press Team Office +44 www.Veson.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6dfaeea1-2246-4e3c-98ce-ba88cc641aaa Ende Mai leitete US-Prasident Donald Trump mit der Unterzeichnung mehrerer Dekrete eine weitreichende Wende in der amerikanischen Energiepolitik ein. Im Fokus: der beschleunigte Ausbau der Kernenergie. Mit einem umfassenden Manahmenpaket sollen Genehmigungsprozesse reformiert, kleinere Reaktoren gefordert und der Anteil von Atomstrom in den USA massiv gesteigert werden. Ausloser ist der explodierende Energiebedarf durch KI-Rechenzentren, der eine stabile, CO-arme Grundlastversorgung zwingend notwendig macht. In unserem kostenlosen Spezialreport erfahren Sie, welche 3 Unternehmen jetzt im Zentrum dieser energiepolitischen Neuausrichtung stehen, und wer vom kommenden Boom der Nuklearindustrie besonders profitieren konnte. Holen Sie sich den neuesten Report! Verpassen Sie nicht, welche Aktien besonders von der Energiewende in den USA profitieren durften, und laden Sie sich das Gratis-PDF jetzt kostenlos herunter. Dieses exklusive Angebot gilt aber nur fur kurze Zeit! Daher jetzt downloaden! Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - NervGen Pharma Corp. (TSXV: NGEN) (OTCQB: NGENF), a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to developing neurorestorative therapeutics, today announced that Mr. Mike Kelly, President & CEO, will be presenting at the Virtual Life Sciences Investor Forum hosted by OTC Markets Group and VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Members of management will be available for virtual one-on-one investor meetings on March 13-14 and March 17-18, 2025. Individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, are invited to pre-register and attend online at VirtualInvestorConferences.com for this live, interactive online event. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event on our website. About NervGen NervGen (TSXV: NGEN) (OTCQB: NGENF) is a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to developing innovative treatments to promote nervous system repair in settings of neurotrauma and neurologic disease. The company is testing the clinical efficacy of its lead molecule, NVG-291, in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial in spinal cord injury and has initiated preclinical evaluation of a new development candidate, NVG-300, in models of ischemic stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord injury. For more information, visit www.nervgen.com and follow NervGen on X, LinkedIn, and Facebook for the latest news on the company. About NVG-291 NervGen holds exclusive worldwide rights to NVG-291, a first-in-class therapeutic peptide targeting nervous system repair. NVG-291's technology was licensed from Case Western Reserve University and is based on academic studies demonstrating the preclinical efficacy of NVG-291-R, the rodent prototype of NVG-291, in animal models of spinal cord injury. Effects of NVG-291-R reported in multiple independent academic studies include the promotion of neuroplasticity, remyelination, anti-inflammatory polarization of microglia, and functional improvement in preclinical models of spinal cord injury, stroke, and peripheral nervous system injury. NVG-291 has received Fast Track designation in spinal cord injury from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to, the Company's current and future plans, expectations and intentions, results, levels of activity, performance, goals or achievements, or any other future events or developments constitute forward-looking statements, and the words "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "trend", "indication", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "likely" or "potential", or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to: the subject matter to be presented at the upcoming investor conference; the objectives, planned clinical endpoints, timing, expected rate of enrollment, and timing of data readout and study design of our Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of NVG-291 in individuals with spinal cord injury; the development plans, timelines, expected benefits, and prospective target indications for NVG-300; and the creation of neurorestorative therapeutics to promote nervous system repair in settings of neurotrauma and neurologic disease. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the company in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. In making forward-looking statements, we have relied on various assumptions, including, but not limited to: our ability to obtain future funding on favourable terms or at all; the accuracy of our financial projections; obtaining positive results in our clinical and other trials; our ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals; our ability to arrange for the manufacturing of our product candidates and technologies; and general business, market and economic conditions. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, a lack of revenue, insufficient funding, reliance upon key personnel, the uncertainty of the clinical development process, competition, and other factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's most recently filed prospectus supplement, short form base shelf prospectus, annual information form, financial statements and management discussion and analysis all of which can be found on NervGen's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. All clinical development plans are subject to additional funding. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements made in this news release. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and we have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243349 SOURCE: NervGen Pharma Corp. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Moon River Moly Ltd. (TSXV: MOO) (OTCQB: MRIVF) ("Moon River" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement on March 3, 2025 with Renmark Financial Communications Inc. to handle its investor relations activities. "We are pleased to announce that we have selected Renmark to reinforce Moon River's profile in the financial community and enhance the visibility of our company. We chose Renmark because of its track record and ability to enhance our visibility to investors within the retail marketplace in North America and Europe," noted Paul Parisotto, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. In consideration of the services to be provided, the monthly fees incurred by Moon River will be a cash consideration of up to $9,000 CAD, starting March 3rd, 2025, for a period of seven months ending on October 3rd, 2025, and monthly thereafter. Renmark will provide investor relations services including communication of the Company's corporate message, introduction of Moon River to Renmark's financial contacts, organization of Virtual Non-Deal Roadshows, distribution of Moon River's company information and providing investor relations research and feedback to the Company. Renmark Financial Communications does not have any interest, directly or indirectly, in Moon River nor its securities, nor any right or intent to acquire such an interest. About Renmark Founded in 1999, Renmark is a leading privately held full-service investor relations firm, located in Atlanta, New York, Toronto and Montreal. For the past 25 years, Renmark has provided services in investor relations, media relations and web development representing small, medium and large cap public companies listed on all major North American exchanges. Renmark's roadshow footprint in North America, and its state-of-the-art media studio, allow it to host a multitude of live streaming Virtual Non-Deal Roadshows across North America and Europe. About Moon River Moon River is a Canadian-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral projects. Moon River is focused on the development of the Davidson Property which hosts a large molybdenum-tungsten deposit and is located near Smithers, British Columbia. The Company also holds 25% of one of the largest molybdenum mines in North America, the Endako Mine Complex also located in British Columbia. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company, represent the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release, and are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in respect thereof as at the date of this press release. Although the Company believes the expectations and material factors and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that the expectation that Moon River Moly Ltd.'s profile in the financial community will be reinforced and the visibility of our company will be enhanced, will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including risks detailed in the Company's continuous disclosure, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date of this document. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by applicable laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243348 SOURCE: Moon River Moly Ltd. New Strategic Partnerships Enhance Global Availability of Award-Winning Ultra-Premium Whiskey PLANO, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Brother's Bond Bourbon , is proud to announce its global expansion with strategic partnerships in key international markets. The award-winning bourbon brand, founded by actors, longtime friends, and whiskey experts, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, is broadening its global reach with Brand Venture in Europe, Nimbility in Asia, and Craft & Culture in the United Arab Emirates. This expansion marks a significant milestone in Brother's Bond's mission to bring exceptional bourbon to consumers worldwide. Brother's Bond Bourbon first began working with Brand Venture in 2024 to explore market opportunities for direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales in Europe. Following the proven success of this approach, the brand is now expanding further into international markets with a comprehensive distribution strategy. Brand Venture will oversee Brother's Bond Bourbon's entire logistics, warehousing, and financial operations in Europe, streamlining stock management and order fulfillment in the UK and Europe. In addition, Brother's Bond has partnered with Nimbility to establish a strong presence in Asia and with Craft & Culture to introduce its premium bourbon to consumers in the United Arab Emirates. "Expanding Brother's Bond Bourbon internationally has always been part of our long-term vision," said Vincent Hanna, CEO of Brother's Bond Bourbon. "We are thrilled to partner with three key global partners to bring our award-winning ultra-premium whiskey to new consumers worldwide. This is a major step forward in our journey to share our passion, innovation, and craftsmanship with whiskey lovers across the globe-one sip, one story, one bond at a time." Brother's Bond Bourbon is launching four expressions in its international markets, each reflecting the craftsmanship and dedication behind the brand: Brother's Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey - A four-grain, high-rye straight bourbon and the flagship in the Brother's Bond portfolio. - A four-grain, high-rye straight bourbon and the flagship in the Brother's Bond portfolio. Brother's Bond American Blended Rye Whiskey - A bold, innovative blend redefining the rye whiskey experience. - A bold, innovative blend redefining the rye whiskey experience. Brother's Bond Cask Strength Straight Bourbon - A powerful, unfiltered bourbon crafted for true whiskey enthusiasts. - A powerful, unfiltered bourbon crafted for true whiskey enthusiasts. Brother's Bond Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon - A timeless expression of heritage, tradition, and unmatched quality. With a commitment to excellence, Brother's Bond Bourbon has established a robust infrastructure in each region to ensure efficient distribution and seamless access for consumers. Through its partnerships with Brand Venture, Nimbility, and Craft & Culture, the brand is poised to make a lasting impact in the international spirits market. About Brother's Bond Brother's Bond Bourbon, founded by famous on-screen brothers, whiskey makers, and real-life friends Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, is an ultra-premium bourbon brand celebrated for its exceptional quality and craftsmanship. Meticulously crafted with the finest all-natural ingredients and aged to perfection, Brother's Bond honors the rich heritage of American whiskey-making. The hand-selected, award-winning small-batch whiskey portfolio includes Straight Bourbon, Original Cask Strength Straight Bourbon, American Blended Rye, Regenerative Grain Straight Bourbon, and Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon, which has been recognized as one of the Top 5 Bourbons in the world. Beyond exceptional taste, Brother's Bond is committed to sustainability, giving back a portion of proceeds to regenerative agriculture and responsible sourcing with every bottle sold. Brother's Bond is redefining what it means to enjoy an ultra-premium whiskey - one sip, one story, one bond at a time. Time to Bond. For more information, visit www.brothersbondbourbon.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @brothersbondbourbon and X @brothersbond. CONTACT: Laura Mulhern lmulhern@goforthbesocial.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2525203/Brother_sBondBourbon_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/brothers-bond-bourbon-launches-global-expansion-strategy-across-three-continents-302391231.html Modern and collaborative workspace delivers enhanced environment for associates. DENTON, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SBH) ("the Company"), the leader in professional hair color, today announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Denton, Texas, to Plano, Texas, maintaining its presence within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. Denise Paulonis, Chief Executive Officer of Sally Beauty Holdings, said, "Sally Beauty Holdings' purpose is to inspire a more colorful, confident and welcoming world, and we believe that our new headquarters at 7900 Windrose will help bring those values to life. The modern and collaborative space will support the execution of our strategic priorities and celebrates our purpose and values. With this move, we will create our workplace of the future, offering a hub of culture and community that will drive enhanced collaboration and innovation and support Sally Beauty Holdings' ongoing recruitment and talent retention efforts. As we look to the future, we will continue to strengthen our brand, accelerate our strategic initiatives and deliver engaging experiences and high-quality products for our customers." Paulonis continued, "We are thankful for the support from the City and County of Denton, which has been our home for more than 40 years. We are pleased to maintain our presence within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area and look forward to collaborating with the city of Plano and Collin County in this next chapter." "We are thrilled that Sally Beauty Holdings has made the decision to relocate its headquarters to Plano," said Plano Mayor John B. Muns. "With its robust infrastructure, a thriving job market and vibrant cultural scene, Plano has been a major contributor to Collin County and DFW's explosive growth in recent years. Plano offers a talented workforce and high quality of life for companies looking to be an employer of choice. We look forward to the impact the Company will have on our local economy and our community." "We are excited to welcome Sally Beauty Holdings to Plano," said Plano Director of Economic Development Doug McDonald and Plano City Manager Mark Israelson. "As one of the most pedestrian-friendly office buildings in the city, 7900 Windrose offers unbeatable access to the best of Plano's dining and retail and is conveniently located with access to State Highway 121 and Dallas North Tollway. We look forward to collaborating with Sally Beauty as they integrate into our community." Sally Beauty Holdings expects to remain in its current building through late 2025 as the new headquarters is constructed. About Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SBH), as the leader in professional hair color, sells and distributes professional beauty supplies globally through its Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group businesses. Sally Beauty Supply stores offer up to 7,000 products for hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care through proprietary brands such as Ion, Bondbar, Strawberry Leopard, Generic Value Products, Inspired by Nature and Silk Elements as well as professional lines such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, L'Oreal, Wahl and Babyliss Pro. Beauty Systems Group stores, branded as CosmoProf or Armstrong McCall stores, along with its outside sales consultants, sell up to 8,000 professionally branded products including Paul Mitchell , Wella, Matrix, Schwarzkopf, Kenra, Goldwell, Joico, Amika and Moroccanoil, intended for use in salons and for resale by salons to retail consumers. For more information about Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., please visit https://www.sallybeautyholdings.com/ . SOURCE Sally Beauty Holdings Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and President & Chief Executive Officer Marna Cloete announced today an update on year-to-date production at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc mine, also in the DRC. Kamoa-Kakula delivered near-record copper production in January of 45,477 tonnes and 40,849 tonnes during the shorter month of February. Daily copper production averaged over each month totaled 1,467 tonnes per day (tpd) in January and 1,459 tpd in February. These achievements are just short of the record 1,518 tpd of copper production achieved in December 2024. In addition, copper production during the last week of February was 11,122 tonnes of copper. This is equivalent to an annualized production rate of over 578,000 tonnes of copper, which is at the top end of 2025 annual guidance. As announced on January 8, 2025, Kamoa-Kakula's 2025 copper production guidance is 520,000 to 580,000 tonnes of copper. Figure 1: Kamoa-Kakula's monthly copper production growth since January 2024, presented in the chart as tonnes per day averaged over the month, with the equivalent annualized production rate above. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/243393_7df5b0ed44d86bed_002full.jpg Kamoa-Kakula's power availability improving as the Southern Africa wet season gathers pace Since the start of the year, Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 1, 2 and 3 operations have been powered by approximately 100 MW of domestically-generated and imported hydroelectric power. This is equivalent to approximately two-thirds of the operation's total requirement, with the remaining sourced from installed on-site, diesel-generated back up power. Discussions are well advanced to increase imported hydroelectric power by a further 20 MW by month-end. Water levels have recently improved at the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam in Mozambique, where the majority of Kamoa-Kakula's imported power is sourced, as well as the Kariba hydroelectric dam in Zambia. As reported on the Club of Mozambique website on March 4, 2025; "Current water levels in the Cahora Bassa reservoir guarantee the production of electricity until the last quarter of this year. This is the result of the water reserves accumulated during this rainy season, after levels fell to 19.18% in January, the lowest level in recent times." The Chairman of Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant, Tomas Matola recently stated publicly, "With the rainfall that fell in February, we were able to recover and our hydro-meteorological forecasts show that more rain is coming and storage will naturally increase." Repairs to damaged on-site back up generators progressing well Kamoa-Kakula has over 190 megawatts (MW) of on-site, diesel-generated back up power installed. Currently, the on-site diesel generators are used to supply up to 50 MW, or approximately one-third, of Kamoa-Kakula's operational requirements. Of the total 190 MW installed, 36 MW of generator capacity was damaged and are undergoing repair, as reported on January 8, 2025. Total power required to operate the Phase 1, 2, and 3 operations, as well as the smelter at full capacity, is approximately 240 MW. Discussions to secure additional grid-supplied power dedicated for the heat-up of Kamoa-Kakula's smelter are advancing. The operations team are expecting heat-up to commence in May or June 2025 as previously announced. Kamoa-Kakula's senior management and projects team celebrating the completion of the on-site copper smelter and the first delivery of concentrate from Kamoa-Kakula to the concentrate blending facility To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/243393_7df5b0ed44d86bed_003full.jpg Kamoa-Kakula's Project 95 is 20% complete and advancing on schedule The "Project 95" initiative on Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 1 and 2 concentrators is expected to increase concentrator recoveries to 95%, from approximately 87%. The initiative, with a capital expenditure of approximately $180 million, is expected to increase annualized copper production by up to 30,000 tonnes, at an industry-leading capital intensity of $6,000 per tonne of copper. Kamoa-Kakula's Project 95 is advancing well at 20% complete and is on schedule for completion in Q1 2026. Civil works of Project 95 are advancing well, as shown in the foreground, with the adjacent Phase 1 and 2 concentrators in the background. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/243393_7df5b0ed44d86bed_004full.jpg For a capital expenditure of $180 million, Project 95 is expected to generate up to 30,000 tonnes of additional copper production per annum from Q1 2026. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/243393_7df5b0ed44d86bed_005full.jpg Kipushi produced a record 16,063 tonnes of zinc in January; nameplate milling rate recently achieved The ramp up of the Kipushi concentrator is ongoing, with a record 16,063 tonnes of zinc produced in January and 11,903 tonnes of zinc produced during the shorter month of February. Kipushi's production rates on an annualized basis are approaching its 2025 guidance range of 180,000 to 240,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate. In addition, since the start of 2025, concentrator recoveries have averaged approximately 88% and the concentrate grade is approximately 53% contained zinc. Ramp up to the nameplate milling rate of 2,000 tonnes per day was achieved in late February. Further improvements in production rates and concentrator recoveries are expected over the coming months. Kipushi is targeting a production rate of over 250,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate for 2026, following the completion of the debottlenecking program that is on schedule for late Q3 2025. Kipushi's 800,000-tonnes-per-annum concentrator achieved nameplate milling rate in the past month. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/243393_ivanhoemines_image.jpg About Ivanhoe Mines Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the ramp-up of the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC; and the phased development of the tier-one Platreef palladium-nickel-platinum-rhodium-copper-gold project in South Africa. Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring its highly prospective, 60-100% owned exploration licences in the Western Forelands, covering an area over 5 times larger than the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex. Ivanhoe is exploring for new sedimentary copper discoveries, as well as expanding and further defining its high-grade Makoko, Kiala, and Kitoko copper discoveries as the company's next major development projects. Forward-looking statements Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified using words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this release. Such statements include without limitation: (i) statements that Kamoa-Kakula's Phase 1, 2 and 3 operations are powered by approximately 100 MW of domestically-generated and imported hydroelectric power and that discussions are well advanced to increase imported hydroelectric power by a further 20 MW by month-end; (ii) statements that total power required to operate the Phase 1, 2, and 3 operations, as well as the smelter at full capacity, is approximately 240 MW. Further, discussions to secure additional grid-supplied power dedicated for the heat-up of Kamoa-Kakula's smelter are advancing and heat-up is expected to commence in May or June 2025; (iii) statements that the Project 95 initiative is expected to increase annualized copper production by up to 30,000 tonnes, at an industry-leading capital intensity of $6,000 per tonne of copper. Further, Kamoa-Kakula's Project 95 is advancing well at 20% complete and is on schedule for completion in Q1 2026; and, (iv) statements that further improvements in production rates and concentrator recoveries at Kipushi are expected over the coming months. Further, that Kipushi is targeting a production rate of over 250,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate for 2026, following the completion of ramp-up and debottlenecking activities targeted for Q3 2025. Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether such results will be achieved. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, however not limited to, the factors discussed above and under the "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the 12 months ended December 31, 2024 and in its current annual information form, as well as unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors outlined in the "Risk Factors" section in the company's MD&A for the 12 months ended December 31, 2024 and its current annual information form. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243393 SOURCE: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (In United States dollars, except where noted otherwise) TORONTO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum" or the "Company") (TSX: FM) today announced the early results of its previously announced offer to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") its outstanding 6.875% Senior Notes due 2027 (the "Notes") in a maximum aggregate principal amount of up to $750,000,000 (the "Maximum Tender Amount"), as further described in the offer to purchase (the "Offer to Purchase") for the Tender Offer dated February 19, 2025 and as previously announced on February 19, 2025. As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 4, 2025 (such time, the "Early Tender Time"), according to information provided by Kroll Issuer Services Limited, the tender and information agent for the Tender Offer, the aggregate principal amount of Notes listed in the table below has been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the Tender Offer. Withdrawal rights for the Notes expired at the Early Tender Time. Issuer Title of Security CUSIP Number/ ISIN(1) Principal Amount Outstanding Maximum Tender Amount Principal Amount Tendered at Early Tender Time Principal Amount Accepted Approximate Proration Factor First Quantum Minerals Ltd. 6.875% Senior Notes Due 2027 144A CUSIP/ISIN 335934 AT2 / US335934AT24 Regulation S CUSIP/ISIN C3535C AM0 / USC3535CAM04 $1,500,000,000 $750,000,000 $1,372,316,000 $750,000,000 52.8985% (1) CUSIP information is provided for the convenience of holders of the Notes ("Holders"). No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of such numbers. All conditions were satisfied or waived by the Company at the Early Tender Time. The Company has elected to exercise its right to make payment for Notes that were validly tendered on or prior to the Early Tender Time and that are accepted for purchase, on March 6, 2025 (the "Early Settlement Date"). The settlement date for all Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Early Tender Time and accepted for purchase is expected to be on the Early Settlement Date. As the aggregate principal amount of the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or prior to the Early Tender Time exceeded the Maximum Tender Amount and although the Tender Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time on March 19, 2025, the Company will accept for purchase the Notes on a prorated basis and will not accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Time. Under the terms of the Tender Offer, Holders who validly tendered and did not validly withdraw their Notes at or prior to Early Tender Time were eligible to receive the Total Consideration of $1,012.00 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, consisting of an Early Tender Premium equal to the Tender Consideration of $962.00 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes plus $50.00 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest. Notes purchased in the Tender Offer will be retired and canceled. Capitalized terms used in this announcement but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to them in the Offer to Purchase. Full details of the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer are included in the Company's Offer to Purchase and in the Company's previous announcements with respect to the Tender Offer. Copies of documents relating to the Tender Offer may be obtained from Kroll Issuer Services Limited, the Tender and Information Agent, at https://deals.is.kroll.com/fqml (https://deals.is.kroll.com/fqml), by telephone at +44 20 7704 0880 or by e-mail at fqml@is.kroll.com (mailto:fqml@is.kroll.com). The Company has engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BNP Paribas and ING Bank N.V., London Branch to serve as Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer (the "Dealer Managers"). Questions regarding the Tender Offer should be directed to a Dealer Manager using the following contact information, as applicable: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC by telephone at +1 (800) 828-3182 (U.S. toll-free) and +44 207 774 4836 (London) or by e-mail at gs-lm-nyc@ny.email.gs.com (mailto:gs-lm-nyc@ny.email.gs.com); J.P. Morgan Securities LLC by telephone at +1 (212) 834-3554 (U.S. Collect) or +1 (866) 834-4666 (U.S. Toll-Free); BNP PARIBAS by telephone at +33 1 55 77 78 94 (Europe), +1 (212) 841-3059 (U.S. collect) and +1 (888) 210-4358 or by email at liability.management@bnpparibas.com (mailto:liability.management@bnpparibas.com); and ING Bank N.V., London Branch by telephone at +44 20 7767 6784 (Europe) or by email at liability.management@ing.com (mailto:liability.management@ing.com). For further information, visit our website at www.first-quantum.com (http://www.first-quantum.com) or contact: Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations (416) 361-6400 Toll-free: 1 (888) 688-6577 E-Mail: info@fqml.com DISCLAIMER None of the Company, the Dealer Manager or the Tender and Information agent makes any recommendation as to whether or not Holders should tender their Notes or deliver consents or how much they should tender in connection with the Tender Offer, and no one has been authorized by any of them to make such recommendations. Holders are urged to evaluate carefully all information contained in the Offer to Purchase and consult their own investment and tax advisors. Holders must make their own decisions as to whether to tender their Notes and deliver consents, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. The distribution of the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession the Offer to Purchase comes are required by the Company, the Dealer Manager and the Tender and Information Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. It may be unlawful to distribute this press release in certain jurisdictions. The information in this press release does not constitute a notice of redemption, a solicitation to purchase or sell, an offer to purchase or sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any offer or sale of such securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Tender Offer is made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase. The New Notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or the securities laws of any state of the U.S. or other jurisdictions and the Notes will not be offered or sold within the U.S. or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act), except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and the applicable laws of other jurisdictions. The Company does not intend to conduct a public offering in the United States or any other jurisdiction. This press release must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This press release and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Tender Offer. If any Holder is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended that such Holder seek its own financial and legal advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to tender Notes in the Tender Offer. Any deadlines set by any intermediary will be earlier than the deadlines specified in the Offer to Purchase. Questions, requests for assistance and requests for additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent or the Dealer Managers at their addresses set forth in this press release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain information contained in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information in this news release include, among other things, the anticipated cash expenditure to consummate the Tender Offer, as well as the consummation, timing, settlement, size and terms of the Tender Offer, including the Early Settlement Date. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions including, among other things, assumptions about the ability to price the New Notes on terms that are acceptable to the Company, the timing of the closing of the concurrent offering of New Notes, the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and the ability to achieve the Company's goals. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to, events generally impacting global economic, financial, political and social stability. See the Company's Annual Information Form and other documents filed with the securities regulators or similar authorities in Canada (accessible under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca), the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the London Stock Exchange for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information. Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause actual results, performances, achievements or events not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of these factors are beyond First Quantum's control. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. All forward-looking statements and information contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Naia champions sustainable progress through versatile fibers and key collaborations. Eastman The versatility of Eastman Naia Renew staple fiber was spotlighted at Premiere Vision Paris in mid-February. The curated display featured a diverse array of fabrics and garments developed in collaboration with various partners and brands. Visitors explored Naia Renew collections showcasing the fiber's sustainability and ability to enhance both performance and aesthetic appeal across a variety of applications, including woven, knitted and blended fabrics. These styles offer performance benefits such as durability, quick-drying properties, skin-friendly softness and superior comfort. "Premiere Vision Paris provided a key platform for Eastman Naia to connect with designers, brands and innovators," said Ruth Farrell, general manager of Eastman's textiles division. "We welcomed the opportunity to share the responsible vision of Naia to create sustainable style for everyone." Farrell participated in a panel discussion, "How savoir-faire is reinventing the living world," that explored innovative, bioengineered and biobased materials. Panelists discussed lab-grown alternatives reshaping fashion's relationship with nature. "The potential of Naia fibers is already inspiring brands worldwide," Farrell said. "This is evident in the numerous commercial garments and market-ready applications that were on display, showcasing how Naia has become a staple in shops and wardrobes everywhere." Naia Renew partners with leading European mills that were also highlighted at Premiere Vision Paris. These mills bring advanced textile expertise and sustainability initiatives to the table. "These collaborations support the shift toward nearshoring," Farrell explained. "This approach helps reduce lead times, streamline logistics and minimize transportation-related emissions, ultimately lowering the overall environmental footprint. Furthermore, these partnerships ensure Naia Renew staple fibers are integrated into high-quality fabrics that meet the demands of today's fashion industry, paving the way for a more sustainable future." Two featured partners at Premiere Vision included Riopele from Portugal and Pakipek from Turkey. Riopele has adopted Naia Renew fiber to create sustainable spun yarns and high-performance fabrics, while Pakipek integrates the fiber into its environmentally responsible womenswear textiles. "This partnership with Eastman represents a significant milestone in our commitment to sustainability," said Angela Telles, product manager from Riopele. "It demonstrates how companies from diverse backgrounds can collaborate to create a more circular future." "Through our collaboration with Eastman, Pakipek utilizes acetate yarn to produce staple fiber products that offer exceptional softness and enhanced sustainability," said Serkan Bukumcu board member of Pakipek. "This innovative blend delivers superior comfort while supporting eco-friendly practices. We take pride in contributing to a more sustainable future for a better world." About Eastman Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company's innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2024 revenue of approximately $9.4 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. For more information, visit?www.eastman.com. Media contact Menabo Group, Naia press support 1-212-835-1620 pressoffice@menabo.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Eastman on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Eastman Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/eastman Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Eastman Swiss Resource Capital AG is pleased to welcome Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. (TSX:ASCU)(OTCQX:ASCUF)(ISIN:CA04058Q1054) as a new client. "Swiss Resource Capital AG is pleased to welcome Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. as a new customer. With our many years of experience and an extensive network, we offer you a unique platform to effectively represent the company and reach your target group in a targeted manner. Our goal is to sustainably strengthen your brand in the financial world and significantly increase your reach," says Jochen Staiger, Managing Director of Swiss Resource Capital AG. Jochen Staiger continues: "We at Swiss Resource Capital AG offer access to over 85,000 followers and work together with leading stock market portals such as Smartbroker AG and Wallstreet-Online.de as a premium partner. We maximize your reach with customized roadshows in European financial centers, exclusive commodity reports and specialized IP-TV channels such as Rohstoff-TV and Commodity-TV. Supplemented by the SRC Mining Special Situations Certificate, we offer our customers comprehensive opportunities to successfully present their projects and address investors in a targeted manner. In Swiss Resource Capital AG, Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. has found a strong partner for communications and investor relations in the DACH region." George Ogilvie, Arizona Sonoran President and CEO commented: "Arizona Sonoran Copper Company is pleased to further expand its presence in the DACH region through its business relationship with Swiss Resource Capital AG. Their expertise in investor relations, organizing successful road shows and their impressive reach enhancement will be instrumental in contributing to our success. We look forward to beginning our strong partnership and celebrating future successes together." About Arizona Sonoran Copper Company ASCU's objective is to become a mid-tier copper producer with low operating costs and to develop the Cactus and Parks/Salyer Projects that could generate robust returns for investors and provide a long term sustainable and responsible operation for the community and all stakeholders. The Company's principal asset is a 100% interest in the Cactus Project (former ASARCO, Sacaton mine) which is situated on private land in an infrastructure-rich area of Arizona. Contiguous to the Cactus Project is the Company's 100%-owned Parks/Salyer deposit that could allow for a phased expansion of the Cactus Mine once it becomes a producing asset. The Company is led by an executive management team and Board which have a long-standing track record of successful project delivery in North America complemented by global capital markets expertise. About Swiss Resource Capital AG ("SRC") Swiss Resource Capital AG is a leading investor relations and communications firm based in Switzerland specializing in publicly traded resource companies from Canada, the United States and Australia. With extensive industry knowledge and a strong network, the company provides effective investor relations services. SRC supports both clients and investors with targeted communication strategies and modern digital channels. The company specializes in organizing and executing exclusive roadshows throughout Europe, enabling companies to engage directly with investors and build trust in their projects. SRC ensures that investors are informed about the latest developments and helps resource companies maximize their visibility and reach. Overall, Swiss Resource Capital AG makes a decisive contribution to the capital market strategy of resource companies and helps them to reach their full potential. Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger & Marc Ollinger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch https://www.european-roadshows.com/de https://www.rohstoff-reports.com/ https://www.commodity-tv.com/ YouTube Disclaimer SRC AG: https://www.resource-capital.ch/en/disclaimer/ SOURCE: Swiss Resource Capital AG Oversubscribed financing led by Cambridge Innovation Capital and SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund with M Ventures and Pfizer Ventures joining Investment will support further development of CNS penetrant therapeutics based on the Company's TRIMTAC aggregate-selective degraders TRIMTECH Therapeutics, a biotech company harnessing targeted protein degradation (TPD) for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the closing of its $31 million (25 million) seed funding round. The financing was led by Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) and SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), with M Ventures and Pfizer Ventures joining. Additional investors also include Eli Lilly and Company, MP Healthcare Venture Management (MPH), Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Start Codon. The investment will support further development of the Company's growing pipeline of potent, CNS (central nervous system) penetrant therapeutics based on its aggregate-selective degrader molecules known as TRIMTACs. The pipeline is focused around the development of treatments for severe neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders, including Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease. TRIMTECH is leveraging the innate properties of the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM21 to selectively and potently degrade protein aggregates associated with a range of diseases which are not well served by current TPD approaches. This novel approach harnesses TRIM21's unique properties in the form of the Company's TRIMTAC degrader molecules to develop medicines that address the needs of large patient populations with limited treatment options. The Company was founded by CIC and DDF in conjunction with their joint entrepreneur-in-residence, Damian Crowther, and academic co-founders Leo James (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) and Will McEwan (UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge). TRIMTECH has also appointed the following leading life science executives to the Board of Directors: Michael Anstey, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital); Laurence Barker, Partner at SV Health Investors (SV); Hakan Goker, Managing Director at M Ventures, Jeffrey Moore, President at MP Healthcare Venture Management; Marie-Claire Peakman, Partner at Pfizer Ventures. Nicola Thompson, CEO, TRIMTECH Therapeutics, said: "This oversubscribed financing round and the outstanding quality of our investor syndicate is a great endorsement of TRIMTECH's unique approach to targeting the selective removal of aggregated proteins that underpin so many CNS diseases, and recognizes our impressive scientific foundations and world class team. We extend our thanks to all of our supporters and look forward to working with the new Board members, as we now push forward with progressing the pipeline. Laurence Barker, Partner, SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund, said: "The team at DDF is thrilled to co-lead the creation of TRIMTECH to advance its TRIMTAC platform, which harnesses TRIM21's unique ability to degrade aggregated proteins while preserving functional monomers. While targeted protein degradation has revolutionized drug discovery, effective clearance of protein aggregates remains a major challenge. TRIMTECH's differentiated approach directly addresses this gap, opening new possibilities for treating neurodegenerative conditions and beyond Michael Anstey, Partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital, said: "CIC is proud to have been part of the creation of TRIMTECH and co-led this financing round. With over 55 million people affected by Alzheimer's and millions more battling other neurodegenerative disorders, this groundbreaking innovation has the potential to transform the course of treatment for these patients For more information, visit: www.trimtechtherapeutics.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305069531/en/ Contacts: Media Contact: Katie Odgaard Zyme Communications Katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com From many clicks to one query, drug supply managers can more quickly access, analyze, and visualize the trial supply data they need. PHILADELPHIA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Suvoda LLC, a global clinical trial technology company that specializes in complex studies in therapeutic areas like oncology, central nervous system (CNS), and rare disease, today announced the early adopter launch of Sofia, an artificial intelligence assistant designed to simplify how study teams access and review clinical trial information. Sofia is available on the Suvoda Platform and can be enabled by sponsors looking to provide drug supply managers with efficient access to vital information through an intuitive chat interface, reducing what were once multi-screen, multi-click processes to simple conversations. "When creating Sofia, we asked ourselves: What if clinical trial staff had an AI assistant that could alleviate their administrative burdens?" said E.K. Koh, Chief Product Officer at Suvoda. "Sofia became our answer. It's an exciting opportunity to streamline the management of clinical trials." Built with Suvoda's commitment to reliability and security, Sofia brings greater efficiency to clinical trial operations, while adhering to data privacy and other regulatory requirements in clinical research. Sofia's key capabilities include: Streamlines Information Retrieval: Users access trial information through natural language queries that simplify navigation. They can now easily find answers that otherwise would span multiple screens, putting information they need at their fingertips. Users access trial information through natural language queries that simplify navigation. They can now easily find answers that otherwise would span multiple screens, putting information they need at their fingertips. Improves Productivity in Drug Supply Management: Drug supply managers can more quickly complete tasks like compare depot inventories, review drug lot releases for specific countries, check shipment details, and look over participant visit schedules, helping reduce workload and support operational efficiency. Drug supply managers can more quickly complete tasks like compare depot inventories, review drug lot releases for specific countries, check shipment details, and look over participant visit schedules, helping reduce workload and support operational efficiency. Provides Reliable Responses: Sofia answers questions using expert instructions developed by subject matter experts with deep industry experience. It will "show its work" to users who wish to verify the results and will only answer questions that it has been trained on, helping avoid hallucinations in the answers that plague typical AI tools. Sofia answers questions using expert instructions developed by subject matter experts with deep industry experience. It will "show its work" to users who wish to verify the results and will only answer questions that it has been trained on, helping avoid hallucinations in the answers that plague typical AI tools. Includes Privacy Controls: Built specifically for clinical trials, Sofia operates with safeguards, including restrictions to study data based on user role which keeps customer data accessible to only authorized users and helps to maintain the study blind. Sofia also has guardrails to protect customer and patient data from exposure to public domain AI models. Built specifically for clinical trials, Sofia operates with safeguards, including restrictions to study data based on user role which keeps customer data accessible to only authorized users and helps to maintain the study blind. Sofia also has guardrails to protect customer and patient data from exposure to public domain AI models. Creates Visualizations: Sofia can create charts, graphs, and tables to help users more easily digest data. Sofia can create charts, graphs, and tables to help users more easily digest data. Supports Global Operations: Individuals can converse with Sofia in their preferred language. Sofia is currently optimized for drug supply managers using Suvoda Interactive Response Technology (IRT), with plans to expand to other users and products across the Suvoda Platform. This strategic rollout demonstrates Suvoda's dedication to thoughtful innovation that prioritizes reliability and user experience in clinical trial technology. "There is a lot of hype around AI, but there is also a lot of promise," said Koh. "We've approached our work with Sofia with extreme diligence because in clinical trials there is no room for error." Named after a Greek word for "wisdom," Sofia embodies Suvoda's guiding principle to enable clinical trial sponsors, sites, and patients to Trial Wisely. It is one more example of Suvoda's determination to smooth clinical trial complexity and give sponsors and sites the control over their trials to more efficiently bring life-saving therapies to those who need them most. About Suvoda Suvoda is a global clinical trial technology company specializing in complex, life-sustaining studies in therapeutic areas like oncology, central nervous system (CNS), and rare diseases. Founded in 2013 by experts in eClinical technologies, Suvoda empowers clinical trial professionals to manage the most urgent moments in the most urgent trials through advanced software solutions delivered on a single platform. Headquartered outside Philadelphia, Suvoda also maintains offices in Portland, OR, Barcelona, Spain, Bucharest and Iasi, Romania, and Tokyo, Japan. The company's Net Promoter Score (NPS) consistently exceeds the technology industry average, contributing to the company being selected by trial sponsors and CROs to support more than 1,800 trials across 95 countries. To learn more, visit suvoda.com. Follow Suvoda on LinkedIn. For additional information please contact: Robin Abadia, Director External Communications, Suvoda marketing@suvoda.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1759317/Suvoda_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/suvoda-launches-sofia-a-new-ai-assistant-to-simplify-management-of-clinical-trials-302391851.html Key findings and future prospects Introduction The last five years has seen a rapid evolution in sustainability strategies for infrastructure and energy companies. We recently conducted a study with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of more than 100 companies that operate in emerging markets to identify trends in sustainability priorities, reporting practices and how strategies are anchored and financed at these companies. Methodology The study included 104 companies across six sectors: Energy, Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT), Transport, Mining, Water & Waste, and "Cross-Cutting" companies with operations across more than one sector. Data was gathered from publicly available documents, company websites, and databases like S&P Capital IQ and LSEG Data & Analytics. This information was analyzed using a sector performance model developed by KPMG which considered 51 KPIs across Strategy, Governance, KPI & Data Reporting, Environmental, Social, and Community Benefit-Sharing. Key findings 1. Companies are embracing sustainable finance 51% of the companies studied used sustainable finance. Among the financial instruments most used by the companies, green bonds (53%) lead, followed by sustainability-linked bonds (30%) and loans (25%). Moreover, 25% of the companies have sought support from DFIs and multilateral development banks such as IFC, EBRD and ADB. Among the six major sectors these companies are operating, Water & Waste (75%), and Energy (74%) sector companies are leading in terms of the use of sustainability-linked finance whereas Transport sector companies (16%) trail the companies in other sectors. 2. Increased disclosure on gender equality data Most companies have disclosed gender-related data, indicating a growing commitment to transparency and accountability. Standout sectors include mining and energy while sectors with opportunities to enhance disclosures include TMT, transport, water, and waste sectors. Despite increased disclosure and reporting, fewer companies publicly disclose targets for gender diversity. Further, there is opportunity to encourage a comprehensive approach to inclusion that goes beyond gender to include other key areas such as disability, underserved groups and communities depending on the operational and geographic contexts these companies are operating in. 3. Decarbonization targets and nature-based solutions We reviewed company-specific targets across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 as well as whether these were structured as carbon neutral or net-zero targets. The analysis showed that: Energy sector companies lead in comprehensive emissions targets, with 38% of companies setting targets across Scope 1, 2 and 3. Transport sector companies demonstrate the highest commitment to carbon neutral & net-zero targets (42%) despite lower scope coverage of carbon emissions. Data from Water & Waste sector companies indicate only 13% of them reported coverage across all metrics such as carbon emissions across Scope 1,2, and 3 as well as carbon neutral & net-zero targets. Across all sectors, there is limited progress in Scope 3 reduction targets by the companies analyzed. 44% of companies do not disclose Scope 3 emissions. 4. Increasing focus on nature Companies are increasingly prioritizing biodiversity by integrating it into their operations through conservation, restoration, innovative solutions, and sustainable land management. As part of their resilience strategy, companies are prioritizing nature-based solutions and initiatives that help drive the global energy transition and combat climate change. However, the adoption rate of sustainable disclosure standards on this newer topic remains lower and slower than many others: Only 10 out of 104 companies analyzed are the adopters of Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). 5. Evolving efforts on community benefit-sharing Based on the analysis of twenty-five companies in energy and infrastructure sectors on their community-benefit sharing efforts, the majority (84%) have been disclosing education and skill-focused initiatives with measurable impact. Other areas include humanitarian support/environmental protection (48%), health-related projects (44%) community climate resilience initiatives (8%). Across sectors there is also priority placed on disclosing impacts in Latin America and Africa, with a focus on cultural heritage preservation, access to improved infrastructure and services, community-level education, and healthcare improvement, among others. The path forward: Overcoming challenges and accelerating impact Companies in emerging markets will benefit from the recent agreement at COP29 in Baku [1] that will triple climate finance to developing countries from the previous goal of US$ 100 billion annually, to US$ 300 billion annually by 2035. Moreover, multilateral development banks at COP29 have pledged to increase climate finance for low- and middle-income countries to US$ 120 billion annually by 2030 [2] . The decarbonization challenges outlined in the study echo the recent KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook report which found that for 30% of survey respondents, the greatest barrier to achieving climate ambitions is the complexity presented by decarbonization of their supply chain [3] . Standardizing metrics and improving transparency in reporting, particularly for Scope 3 emissions, will facilitate better benchmarking and informed decision-making. Study findings are consistent with our recent "Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2024", which shows around half of the globally largest 250 companies across 58 countries now report on biodiversity. However, as growth has been slower in the last two years, companies may require technical support to increase their biodiversity and nature-based solutions efforts which would also facilitate access to nature-driven capital sources where needed as well. As for the gender and social targets and disclosures, transparency related to gender diversity targets could be improved across sectors and gender diversity across all employee categories could be further enhanced within water & waste, TMT, and transport sectors. [1]UN Climate Change Conference Baku - November 2024 | UNFCCC [2]https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/11/12/multilateral-development-banks-to-boost-climate-finance [3]KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook Click here to view this article on kpmg.com. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from KPMG on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: KPMG Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/kpmg Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: KPMG Sydney, New South Wales--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Hubbed, a global leader in PUDO (Pick-Up Drop-Off) technology and logistics solutions, has announced the launch of ParcelPoint NA, its North American PUDO network. Initially rolling out across 1,400 locations and scaling to 4,000 by year-end, ParcelPoint NA will offer seamless click-and-collect and returns services for e-commerce consumers and retailers across the region. To support the establishment of this expansive network, Hubbed has partnered with CMSI World, a well-regarded logistics provider with a proven track record. CMSI World's CEO, Frank Coccia, brings decades of experience and long-standing relationships with carriers and 3PLs who will oversee the efficient management of parcel volumes across the network. The ParcelPoint NA platform will act as a comprehensive solution for retailers, carriers, and consumers, seamlessly connecting all stakeholders and delivering a superior e-commerce experience. This advanced platform continues to serve retailers through Hubbed's established ParcelPoint networks in Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand. David McLean, CEO of Hubbed, expressed his excitement about the partnership and expansion: "We are extremely delighted to be partnering with CMSI World in the deployment of our PUDO platform to the North American market. This marks a distinct opportunity to offer our retail clients and their customers the ability to leverage a one-stop solution across multiple markets. The collaboration with CMSI World ensures that we have the logistical expertise and connections to manage this significant network expansion effectively." Frank Coccia of CMSI World also shared his enthusiasm for the project: "CMSI World is proud to support Hubbed's growth into North America. With our established relationships and deep understanding of carrier and 3PL operations, we are confident this partnership will set a new benchmark in e-commerce logistics and customer satisfaction." This launch reinforces Hubbed's commitment to driving innovation and efficiency in last-mile logistics. By leveraging its PUDO platform, ParcelPoint NA aims to provide retailers and consumers with a reliable, flexible, and sustainable solution to manage parcel delivery and returns. For more information about ParcelPoint NA or Hubbed's global logistics solutions, visit www.hubbed.com. About Hubbed Hubbed is a technology-driven logistics company providing comprehensive PUDO solutions for the first and final mile. The company's platform enables click-and-collect, parcel drop-off, and returns services through its extensive networks in Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and now North America. Hubbed partners with leading retailers and carriers to deliver innovative, sustainable logistics solutions worldwide. About CMSI World CMSI World is a logistics solutions provider specializing in carrier and 3PL integrations. With years of expertise and strong partnerships across the logistics industry, CMSI World offers innovative services designed to enhance operational efficiency and support network expansion for clients globally. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243377 SOURCE: HUBBED LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The London Blockchain Conference (LBC) successfully hosted its second government event at the House of Lords on Tuesday 4th March. This exclusive, invite-only gathering brought together leading policymakers, innovators and public sector leaders to discuss the transformative potential of blockchain and emerging technologies in public service reform. The highlight of the event was the roundtable discussion: Unlocking Innovation for a Smarter Public Sector, which featured a diverse panel of experts and was hosted by Alun Cairns, Business Consultant and Former Member of Parliament & Secretary of State of Wales Marcus Foster, Head of Policy Campaigns at Startup Coalition Rory Daniels, Senior Programme Manager, Tech UK Claire Cummings, Founder and CEO, The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy Limited RT. Hon. Lord Carwyn Jones of Penybont, Former First Minister of Wales Owen Vaughan, Independent Blockchain Specialist The discussions delved into the role of blockchain in streamlining public services, improving transparency and driving efficiency across government departments. The panellists explored how blockchain can enhance data security, improve procurement process and support better decision making through immutable and transparent records. Rt. Hon. Lord Jones of Penybont, Former Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour, contributed to the discussion by sharing insights on the role of digital innovation in shaping the future of governance and public administration. A key takeaway from the event was the pressing need for collaboration between government and industry to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology. The panellists emphasised the importance of education, strategic investment and regulatory clarity to unlock blockchain's full potential in transforming public services. The London Blockchain Conference continues to play a pivotal role in fostering dialogue between government and technology leaders ensuring that innovation remains at the forefront of public sector reform. About the London Blockchain Conference UNITING ENTERPRISE, AI & WEB3 At the London Blockchain Conference, we show how Blockchain will change the world and help people see another way to manage data, build scalable on-chain solutions and achieve great things. We do this by creating valuable, insightful, and engaging events that educate and inform, allowing you to connect and network to build strong business relationships. Our conference is the best avenue to see blockchain innovations, big ecosystem announcements, new product launches, technology updates, keynote speeches, panels, and fireside chats from blockchain leaders. Join us and experience it for yourself. Notes to Editors: Alun Cairns, Business Consultant and Former Member of Parliament and Secretary of State Alun is a former UK Cabinet member and Member of Parliament, in his 14-year career he served three Prime Ministers as Secretary of State for Wales, government whip, and minister. He was also a member of the UK Board of Trade. As a backbencher, Alun held leadership roles in several All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including Blockchain, Energy Security, Crypto and Digital Assets, and Qatar. Currently Alun is working as a business consultant, advising a range of international companies. The Rt Hon Lord Jones of Penybont A former First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour for nearly a decade, Carwyn spent eighteen years in Government. Throughout his political career, Carwyn held various ministerial and Cabinet positions, including Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Leader of the House and Counsel General for Wales. Carwyn was elected as the representative of Welsh Labour on the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC). In this capacity, he contributed to the strategic direction and governance of the Labour Party at a national level. He serves as a Trustee of Labour's Climate and Environment Forum. A graduate of Aberystwyth University, he was a barrister for ten years, specialising mainly in criminal law. Rory Daniels. Senior Programme Manager, Tech UK Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme. During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022. Today, Rory leads techUK's emerging technologies activity across everything from immersive, web3, AI and robotics to space, gaming & metaverse. This involves co-running techUK's flagship Innovation campaign, managing four series (including the 'Meet the Innovators' interview series), and launching 4-6-month 'sprint campaigns' on transformative technologies and sectors. Owen Vaughan, Independent Blockchain Specialist Dr. Owen Vaughan is a blockchain and Web3 expert with a passion for privacy-preserving techniques that give control back to data owners. He is interested in addressing major policy challenges through emerging technologies, including CBDCs, Digital ID, and energy security. He earned a master's degree from the University of York, a PhD from the University of Liverpool, and has over 20 publications in mathematics and cryptography. With seven years of experience as Chief Science Officer at nChain, a London-based Web3 company, Dr. Vaughan now operates as an independent specialist. Marcus Foster Marcus is the Head of Policy Campaigns for Startup Coalition, an independent advocacy group that serves as the policy voice for Britain's technology-led startups and scale-ups. Startup Coalition has over 4000 startups, scale-ups and investors in its network, and policy successes include the establishment of the Future Fund and the creation of the Scaleup visa. Marcus is responsible for a number of policy areas for the organisation including Crypto and Web3 and also manages Platform Economy UK, the trade association for firms in the Gig and Sharing Economy. Prior to joining Startup Coalition Marcus worked in planning and development communications, was an advisor to a former cabinet minister, and managed a wide variety of election campaigns. Claire Cummings Claire Cummings is the founder and CEO of The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy (www.cfdaad.co.uk) a London-based think tank. CDAD works with Parliamentarians, industry players and other think tanks to promote the use of digital assets to give individuals control of their own earnings and financial data and reduce the financial burden placed on businesses. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/london-blockchain-event-series-successfully-hosts-the-second-government-event-on-blockchains-role-in-public-sector-reform-302393343.html Manchester, Connecticut--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Techreviewer.co, a leading B2B research and review platform for software development companies, announced its latest research report on software development company rates in 2025. This is the second consecutive year Techreviewer.co has conducted this independent survey, providing valuable insights for businesses seeking reliable technology partners. Techreviewer surveyed companies listed on the platform and made an in-depth analysis of hourly development rates, key trends, and factors influencing the software development market. The data has undergone rigorous validation to ensure accuracy and reliability. Key Findings from the 2025 Report: Market Stability: A significant 58.5% of companies reported no substantial change in their rates, indicating a steady market with limited volatility. This reinforces a trend towards rate stability compared to the previous year. A significant 58.5% of companies reported no substantial change in their rates, indicating a steady market with limited volatility. This reinforces a trend towards rate stability compared to the previous year. Balanced Mid-Range Pricing: Over 83% of software providers charge between $20 and $99 per hour. The $30-$49/hour segment remains the most popular category, offering an optimal balance of affordability and expertise. Over 83% of software providers charge between $20 and $99 per hour. The $30-$49/hour segment remains the most popular category, offering an optimal balance of affordability and expertise. Dominant Influences on Rate Changes: Market demand for software development (66.15%) and the impact of new AI technologies and tools (64.62%) are the primary drivers of pricing trends, followed by global economic conditions (52.31%). Regional Market Shifts: North America & Europe Remain Top Markets: Despite a slight decline in North America's dominance (76.92% prioritization in 2024 vs. 86.4% in 2023), it remains the primary target region for software outsourcing. Europe's importance remains stable at approximately 73%. Despite a slight decline in North America's dominance (76.92% prioritization in 2024 vs. 86.4% in 2023), it remains the primary target region for software outsourcing. Europe's importance remains stable at approximately 73%. Emerging Regions Gaining Traction: The Middle East (+6.66%), Latin America (+6.4%), and South Asia (+9.4%) have experienced notable increases in market targeting due to growing digital adoption and expanding tech infrastructure. The Middle East (+6.66%), Latin America (+6.4%), and South Asia (+9.4%) have experienced notable increases in market targeting due to growing digital adoption and expanding tech infrastructure. Reduced Focus on Africa & Southeast Asia: Interest in Africa (-5.95%) and Southeast Asia (-4.3%) has declined, likely reflecting regional challenges or intensified competition from other markets. Key Trends Identified in the Report: Impact of AI: The industry's reliance on AI technologies has grown significantly, with companies increasingly adopting AI tools to improve productivity and automate tasks. The industry's reliance on AI technologies has grown significantly, with companies increasingly adopting AI tools to improve productivity and automate tasks. Shift Towards External Factors: The focus has shifted toward external factors such as market demand and AI development, while internal factors like developers' salaries and operational costs have become less significant. This report provides critical insights for businesses navigating the complex landscape of software development outsourcing. By understanding the latest trends in pricing, regional focus, and competitive strategies, companies can make informed decisions and find the right technology partners to achieve their business goals. For more information or to access the full report, please visit: Software Development Companies' Rates in 2025 To explore a curated list of top software development companies for business needs, visit: Top Software Development Companies About Techreviewer: Techreviewer.co is a trusted B2B research platform that analyzes software development providers globally. Through comprehensive surveys, validated data, and insightful analysis, Techreviewer helps businesses identify reliable technology partners suited to their needs. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243398 SOURCE: Techreviewer LLC Spekit, the leader in just-in-time enablement, today announced a refreshed brand identity that embodies the intelligence, versatility, and simplicity of its platform. The Next-Gen Enablement Platform: Spekit 2.0 Meet the sleeker, faster, rebranded Spekit. Spekit's brand transformation underscores its commitment to providing intuitive, AI-driven enablement solutions built for the "Change Economy," where agility and speed are crucial for success. In today's AI-driven world, businesses must adapt at lightning speed, and traditional enablement approaches simply cannot keep up. Spekit empowers organizations to not just keep pace but thrive in this environment by delivering instant, contextual knowledge fueled by the power of AI. "This rebrand represents far more than just a new look," said Spekit CEO and co-founder Melanie Fellay. "It visually captures our growth and leadership as an AI innovator in the enablement industry. The new design mirrors the intelligence, adaptability, and seamless experience Spekit is known for while signaling our bold vision for the future of enablement." Central to the new identity is an evolved emblem inspired by Spekit's octopus mascot. This emblem symbolizes the platform's ability to act as a centralized brain, with tentacles extending to deliver knowledge seamlessly across an organization's technology stack. Spekit leverages AI to gather contextual signals and provide intelligent recommendations and answers in any tool. This sophisticated approach to contextual enablement sets Spekit apart as a leader in the industry. The refreshed identity features: Clear and approachable typography A vibrant and balanced color palette Fluid gradients that convey movement "Every choice in our refreshed identity was made with intention," said Donny Wilson, Senior Brand Designer at Spekit. "It's a brand that thinks like Spekit: intelligent, agile, and there for you in the moments that matter." With this brand evolution, Spekit solidifies its position as the leading AI-powered enablement platform for the modern enterprise. By delivering contextual knowledge and guidance where and when it's needed most, Spekit empowers revenue teams to perform at their best and drive exceptional business results. In the age of AI, Spekit is not just the future of enablement - it's the key to unlocking peak performance. Learn more about Spekit's mission to redefine enablement here. SOURCE: Spekit Intelligent Waves (IW), a leading tech integrator that delivers mission-focused multi-domain operational expertise and innovation to the Government through high-impact technology solutions, today announced that it was recognized as the Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company in 2025 for its cyber defense solutions. Intelligent Waves (IW), a leading tech integrator that delivers mission-focused multi-domain operational expertise and innovation to the Government through high-impact technology solutions, today announced that it was recognized as the Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company in 2025 for its cyber defense solutions. Intelligent Waves (IW) Logo Intelligent Waves (IW) Awarded Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company in the 2025 Cybersecurity Annual Awards Competition. As one of the most innovative cybersecurity companies in the defense community, IW is leading the charge in safeguarding national security through breakthrough technologies and forward-thinking solutions. IW relentlessly focuses on innovation and develops mission-critical solutions that protect classified systems, enable secure global operations, and outmaneuver the ever-evolving threat landscape. Tony Crescenzo, CEO of Intelligent Waves, stated, "We are honored to be named one of the Most Innovative Cybersecurity companies in the 2025 Annual Awards competition. This recognition reflects our commitment to innovation and developing mission-critical solutions that deliver high-impact, mission-focused solutions for our government customers." "We congratulate Intelligent Waves on this outstanding achievement in the 'Most Innovative Cybersecurity Company' category of the 2025 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards," said Holger Schulze, founder of Cybersecurity Insiders and organizer of the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. "As we celebrate 10 years of recognizing excellence in cybersecurity, your innovation, commitment, and leadership set a powerful example for the entire industry." About Intelligent Waves Intelligent Waves delivers mission-focused multi-domain operational expertise and innovation to the Government through high-impact technology solutions in cybersecurity, data science, enterprise network & systems engineering, software development, and cognitive human performance. Always ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Any domain. To learn more, visit www.intelligentwaves.com. SOURCE: Intelligent Waves NetraMark Holdings Inc. (the "Company" or "NetraMark") (CSE:AIAI)(OTCQB:AINMF)(Frankfurt:8TV) a generative AI software leader in clinical trial analytics, presented two significant studies at the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) conference, showcasing the power of advanced machine learning in major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia clinical trials. Mathematically Augmented Machine Learning Redefines MDD Clinical Trial Insights NetraMark's first presentation, "Novel Machine Learning Approach Outperforms Traditional Approaches in Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trials", demonstrated how NetraAI Sub-Insight Learning enhances patient stratification in MDD clinical trials over traditional methods. NetraAI was designed to address the challenges of modeling clinical trial data, where traditional Machine Learning (ML), including deep learning, often falls short. Built to identify optimal patient cohorts for future trials, NetraAI enhances established ML methods by uncovering key variable combinations. In this presentation, NetraMark applied NetraAI to the CAN-BIND trial on escitalopram response, demonstrating its ability to significantly improve industry-standard ML models, the study revealed: ? NetraAI-driven patient subpopulation analysis led to a 28% increase in model accuracy compared to traditional ML approaches. ? Sensitivity improved by 31%, while specificity increased by 51%, reducing false-positive rates. ? NetraAI successfully identified key combinations of variables that refine inclusion/exclusion criteria for more efficient trial design. ? This is made possible through NetraAI's ability to discover which patients can be explained and those that cannot. NetraAI identifies and explains key variable combinations, offering deeper insights into drug and placebo response. When NetraAI-derived variables were fed to traditional ML methods, the resulting performance was significantly enhanced, as shown in the table below. Traditional Method Accuracy of Traditional Method Alone (%) Accuracy of Traditional Method using NetraAI derived variables (%) Improvement (%) Logistic Regression 54.29 77.14 +22.85 XGBoost 65.71 91.43 +25.72 Random Forest 62.86 82.86 +20.00 SVM 60.00 100.00 +40.00 Neural Network 60.00 77.14 +17.14 "This advancement validates NetraAI's ability to learn about complex clinical trial patient populations in a way that modern ML methods cannot, and this can translate to significantly improving clinical trial outcomes," said Dr. Joseph Geraci, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of NetraMark Advancing Schizophrenia Clinical Trials with AI-Driven Biomarker Discovery NetraMark's second presentation, "Predictive Biomarker Discovery in Schizophrenia Using Advanced Machine Learning to Decode Heterogeneity", demonstrated NetraAI's ability to learn from heterogeneous patient populations in schizophrenia trials. Using data from the CATIE schizophrenia trial, NetraAI identified clinically meaningful subpopulations that respond preferentially to olanzapine or perphenazine. Key findings include: ? Patients with moderate to severe symptom burden and mild behavioral disturbances responded better to olanzapine. ? Patients with moderate negative symptoms, mild to moderate hallucinations, and paranoia showed improved response to perphenazine. ? This innovative Sub-Insight Learning approach overcomes traditional ML limitations by discovering high-effect size subpopulations that replicate across datasets, enabling better trial enrichment strategies. "These findings represent a significant step toward precision psychiatry, as it allows us to demonstrate that our technology can produce robust models that replicate. Further, these models reduce trial failures and increase treatment efficacy by seeking to identify the right patients for the right therapies," said Dr. Joseph Geraci. Transforming the Future of CNS Clinical Trials NetraMark's AI-driven methodologies have the potential to transform the landscape of CNS clinical research by: - Enhancing patient stratification for more targeted trials. - Reducing placebo response and trial failures. - Accelerating drug development by improving predictive modeling. As the field moves toward precision medicine, NetraMark's innovations offer pharmaceutical companies and researchers a powerful toolset to unlock deeper insights into psychiatric disorders and treatment responses. About NetraAI In contrast with other AI-based methods, NetraAI is uniquely engineered to include focus mechanisms that separate small datasets into explainable and unexplainable subsets. Unexplainable subsets are collections of patients that can lead to suboptimal overfit models and inaccurate insights due to poor correlations with the variables involved. The NetraAI uses the explainable subsets to derive insights and hypotheses (including factors that influence treatment and placebo responses, as well as adverse events) that can significantly increase the chances of a clinical trial success. Other AI methods lack these focus mechanisms and assign every patient to a class, even when this leads to "overfitting" which drowns out critical information that could have been used to improve a trial's chance of success. About NetraMark NetraMark is a company focused on being a leader in the development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI)/Machine Learning (ML) solutions targeted at the Pharmaceutical industry. Its product offering uses a novel topology-based algorithm that has the ability to parse patient data sets into subsets of people that are strongly related according to several variables simultaneously. This allows NetraMark to use a variety of ML methods, depending on the character and size of the data, to transform the data into powerfully intelligent data that activates traditional AI/ML methods. The result is that NetraMark can work with much smaller datasets and accurately segment diseases into different types, as well as accurately classify patients for sensitivity to drugs and/or efficacy of treatment. For further details on the Company please see the Company's publicly available documents filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation including statements regarding the potential improvements and success arising from NetraAI and its ability to improve patient outcomes, the identification of effective treatments, operational results and the design clinical trials, which are based upon NetraMark's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance, or other statements that are not statements of fact. The forward-looking statements are expectations only and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results of the Company or industry results to differ materially from future results, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, NetraMark does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for NetraMark to predict all such factors. When considering these forward-looking statements, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements as set out in the materials we file with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca including our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended September 30, 2024. These risk factors and other factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contact Information: Swapan Kakumanu - CFO | swapan@netramark.com | 403-681-2549 SOURCE: NetraMark Holdings Inc. Cory Everington is on a mission to bring dark web criminals to justice. Her lifelong pursuit of knowledge precedes her as she works to deliver critical intelligence to key government agencies at CACI today. Since earning a Master of Science in analytics from North Carolina State University in 2016, Everington has taken on diverse roles, uncovering critical insights along the way. She draws inspiration from Hope Jahren's memoir Lab Girl, which speaks to perseverance in the face of challenges. "Jahren's story of overcoming barriers and staying true to her passion for discovery has deeply resonated with me," she said. "Her perseverance reminds me that progress in science and technology isn't just about intelligence or skill-it's about persistence, curiosity, and a profound sense of purpose, qualities that continue to guide me today." That same mindset has shaped Everington's career as a technology and national security leader at CACI. As head of the DarkBlue Intelligence Group, she leads efforts to equip law enforcement, the Department of Defense, and the Intelligence Community with precision tools to dismantle criminal networks. "Our work isn't just about finding data-it's about using it to stop human trafficking, terrorism, and financial crimes," she noted. "Every insight we uncover has the potential to save lives." With a team-first approach, Everington champions AI, cybersecurity, and intelligence solutions that serve a greater mission. She fosters a culture of curiosity, knowing that innovation thrives when people embrace challenges rather than shy away from them. "I encourage my team to approach obstacles with curiosity because that's where true innovation happens," she said. "The most transformative ideas come from those willing to take risks, learn from failure, and step into the unknown with confidence." Her ability to identify opportunities and turn potential into progress has led to game-changing advancements. In 2024, she spearheaded the launch of DarkPursuit's Image Blur and CluesAI, two breakthrough tools designed to shield analysts from the psychological toll of dark web investigations. With cybersecurity burnout at an all-time high, she saw an urgent need for change. Her team's latest innovation, CluesAI, revolutionized the way intelligence is gathered. Within just 50 days, CluesAI was created to deliver intelligence reports that link anonymous data to identifiable entities across dark and open web data. The tool has proven transformative, substantially reducing barriers for analysts, and enabling them to generate complex insights more efficiently. Beyond her technical achievements, Everington is a dedicated mentor and force for positive change in her community. She partners with UVA and Virginia Tech to recruit women in STEM and regularly connects with CACI's 300+ interns, providing them with invaluable early-career insights. "I tell all young professionals I encounter the best piece of advice I've received: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable," she said. "Growth doesn't happen in comfort zones-it happens when we take on challenges that force us to adapt." Her commitment extends to nonprofit work. Under her leadership, DarkBlue provides no-cost training and access to five organizations fighting human trafficking and child exploitation. "One nonprofit resolved six cases in a week using DarkBlue," she shares. "When teams share the ways in which our tools are making a difference-that's what keeps me going." For demonstrating exemplary leadership and exceeding performance expectations, Cory was recently named a 2025 Women in Technology Awards finalist in the Rising Star category. She nods to CACI's approachable culture for providing the support and opportunities that have allowed her to break new ground-both in her career and in the company's shared legacy. "With the resources and support you need to thrive, your potential is limitless." She said. "At CACI, we're not just pushing technology forward, we're making a real impact-one case, one breakthrough at a time." Explore career opportunities at CACI. About CACI At CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI), our 25,000 talented and dynamic employees are ever vigilant in delivering distinctive expertise and differentiated technology to meet our customers' greatest challenges in national security. We are a company of good character, relentless innovation, and long-standing excellence. Our culture drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune World's Most Admired Company. CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information, visit us at www.caci.com. There are statements made herein which do not address historical facts, and therefore could be interpreted to be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in CACI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and other such filings that CACI makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Any forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon and only speak as of the date hereof. # # # Corporate Communications and Media: Lorraine Corcoran Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications (703) 434-4165, lorraine.corcoran@caci.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CACI on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: CACI Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/caci Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: CACI Indo Global Exchange(s) Pte. LTD (the "Company") (OTC PINK:IGEX) has filed an SEC 8K Form today, March 04, 2025, disclosing $5 Million Debt Elimination. Dear IGEX's shareholders and investors: IGEX Announces Filing of 8-K Disclosing $5 Million Debt Elimination February 26, 2025 - Indo Global Exchange(s) PTE, Ltd. (OTC: IGEX) is pleased to announce the filing of a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, disclosing a strategic agreement that eliminates $5,000,000 in outstanding debt. This transaction significantly strengthens IGEX's financial position and aligns with the Company's long-term growth strategy. The debt reduction was fully funded through personal investments from IGEX's Chief Executive Officer, Antonio Sainz, and The European Institute for Entrepreneurship (EIE), reflecting strong confidence in the Company's future. Notably, this initiative was completed without dilution to existing shareholders, and no reverse stock split is planned as part of the transaction. This move follows IGEX's March 18, 2024, acquisition of a 25% corporate membership interest in Saint Andrews Holding Company S.L., a leading company in sustainable marine aquaculture and gourmet marine products. The acquisition, valued at $8.16 million, was originally financed through a $6 million loan recorded on the Company's books. By eliminating a significant portion of this debt, IGEX is enhancing its financial stability and positioning itself for continued expansion. "This agreement marks a pivotal moment for IGEX as we take decisive steps to strengthen our balance sheet and drive long-term value creation," said Antonio Sainz, CEO of IGEX. "Our commitment to financial sustainability, combined with our strategic investments, reinforces our vision for growth in the sustainable marine resources sector." With this strengthened financial position, IGEX remains focused on expanding its portfolio, driving innovation in the aquaculture industry, and maximizing shareholder value. The full 8-K filing is available on the SEC's EDGAR database. Safe Harbor Statement This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and reflects management's current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Some of these factors include: general global economic conditions; general industry and market conditions sector changes and growth rates; uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; increasing competition; availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify, develop and achieve commercial success; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of services; changes in the economy; changes in laws and regulations, including codes and standards, intellectual property rights, and tax matters; or other matter not anticipated; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships and distribution agreements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are contained in the Edgar Archives of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and in OTC Markets at www.otcmarkets.com SOURCE: The Mineral Company (f/k/a Indo Global Exchange(s) Pte. LTD) SOURCE: IGEX Make memories with a remarkable night with a special March promotion from Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant by Michelin-starred Chef, Shaun Hergatt, and Omni Limousine. Celebrate the month of luck this March with an exclusive culinary journey at Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant, crafted by Michelin-starred Chef Shaun Hergatt. Elevate your dining experience with a Champagne and Chauffeur package, an exquisite affair that pairs opulence with a complimentary pickup from your hotel, courtesy of Omni Limousine. Arrive at the stunning Resorts World Las Vegas in style and comfort, setting the tone for an unforgettable night to a luxurious curated culinary experience available for $175 per person. Guests can expect a wonderful food and beverage experience at Aqua which includes: Telmont Champagne As you settle in, indulge in a carefully curated menu designed to delight your senses. For parties of 2 to 3 guests, enjoy a complimentary glass of exquisite Telmont champagne; for groups of 4 or more, indulge in a complimentary bottle. Menu Offering First Course: Delight in a flight of Chef Shaun Hergatt's brand of Caspy Caviar featuring three distinctive varietals, a true testament to the richness of the sea. Second Course: Choose from Aqua's refreshing Crudos, featuring either Blue Fin Toro or Hamachi, alongside a decadent Steak Tartare. Entree: Select your main course from one of these exceptional offerings: a perfectly cooked Wagyu Strip, delicate Chilean Seabass, or a sumptuous Lobster Pomodoro. Dessert: Conclude your meal with a choice of a signature Basque Cheesecake or a refreshing Coconut Tapioca, ensuring a sweet finish to your memorable night. Whether you are looking for a special night to take out your significant other or celebrate a milestone with a group of friends throughout the month of March, indulge in this once in a lifetime experience by Aqua and Omni Limousine for an evening of elegance, exquisite flavors and impeccable service. For more information and to book a reservation for the Champagne and Chauffeur Experience, visit www.aqualv.com/champagne-chauffeur-experience. For more information on Aqua, visit their website at www.aqualv.com . For an opportunity to interview Chef Shaun Hergatt for a feature, please email pr@avaroseagency.com . ABOUT AQUA SEAFOOD & CAVIAR RESTAURANT At the heart of Caviar Bar's transformation into Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant is the illustrious career and culinary artistry of Chef Shaun Hergatt. His Michelin-starred restaurants, including SHO Shaun Hergatt and Juni, have earned critical acclaim, while his ventures like Vestry in SoHo garnered further accolades with Michelin stars in 2021 and 2022. His latest venture, Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant, represents a new chapter in his culinary journey. It embodies a dedication to redefining the essence of fine dining, offering guests an expanded menu that celebrates the treasures of land and sea. In partnership, Aqua is also owned by the Slinin sisters, Suzanne and Karina, who enjoyed Chef Shaun's culinary creations. The two bring their business expertise for a welcoming yet fine dining experience to any and all visitors to indulge in Chef Shaun's first West Coast restaurant and all it has to offer. From world-class caviar to Atlantic Salmon, Alaskan Black Cod, and an array of delectable seafood, the menu at Aqua is set to captivate discerning palates. Aqua is open daily, Sunday - Thursday from 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. and Friday - Saturday from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m with an all-day Happy Hour available at the bar. To learn more, follow Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant on Instagram , Facebook and TikTok . ABOUT RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS Since opening in 2021,?Resorts World Las Vegas has become the premier destination on the Las Vegas Strip. Developed by Genting Berhad, a publicly traded Malaysian corporation registered with the Nevada Gaming Commission, the $4.3 billion resort is dedicated to providing guests with a one-of-a-kind luxury experience, complete with exceptional service, exquisite design and unparalleled amenities. In a partnership with Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Resorts World Las Vegas integrates three of Hilton's premium brands into its resort campus. With over 3,500 guest rooms and suites, featuring modern design and luxurious touches, the property consists of Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World, the resort's full-service brand; Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World, Hilton's lifestyle luxury brand; and LXR, Hilton's network of independent luxury properties, which operates as Crockfords Las Vegas, Genting's internationally renowned ultra-luxury brand. The fully integrated resort boasts a wide range of world-class amenities and services including a 117,000 square foot state-of-the-art fully cashless casino floor, a 5,000 capacity theatre featuring the industry's top headlining talent, distinct day and nightlife venues, a curated retail collection featuring designer and boutique shops, a stunning 27,000-square-foot spa and wellness center, over 50 food and beverage offerings from across the globe and more. Resorts World Las Vegas has ushered in a new world for luxury resorts, and invites guests to indulge with friends. Resorts World Las Vegas is Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED?with?Forbes Travel Guide while all three hotel brands are LEED Gold Certified. For more information, please visit rwlasvegas.com or find us on Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter and Instagram . SOURCE: Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Digital Silk, an award-winning digital agency, announces key insights on the urgent need to unify branding and user experience (UX) design strategies to stay competitive in 2025 and beyond. Why Branding and UX Must Work Together in 2025 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10732/243412_ae02bbf734f1f852_001full.jpg As digital landscapes become more sophisticated and consumer expectations climb, companies that fuse strong brand identities with highly intuitive and interactive experiences will capture attention, foster deeper engagement, and drive sustained business growth. The New Standard: Merging Branding and UX Modern branding and web design trends show that businesses with consistent, user-centric brand experiences see higher conversion rates and stronger customer loyalty. In a crowded marketplace, successful brands must convey their story, values, and offerings through every touchpoint-websites, apps, social channels, and emerging technologies-ensuring cohesive brand recognition and smooth user journeys. "Branding is more than just a logo-it's the full experience a customer has with a company. In 2025, the most successful brands will be those that understand the crucial link between a brand's message, visual identity and user-centric design. Once you shift your strategic thinking from brand design to experience design, you can unlock more opportunities for meaningful expressions of your brand," said Courtney Bozigian, Director of Brand Strategy at Digital Silk. How Merging Branding and UX Design Helps Businesses Improved Trust and Recognition A cohesive design language across all platforms enhances brand recall and user confidence. Inconsistent branding can create confusion, leading to higher bounce rates and lost engagement. Enhanced Customer Retention A well-structured UX design ensures smooth navigation, accessibility, and functionality, fostering positive brand associations and repeat interactions. Higher Conversions Having a well-executed design alone isn't enough-intuitive layouts, fast load times, and mobile responsiveness must align with visual appeal to drive user actions. Enhanced Brand Loyalty Strategic UX elements, such as personalized content and interactive storytelling, deepen emotional connections, making users more likely to engage with and advocate for a brand. Better Competitive Advantage in 2025 As AI-driven personalization and user expectations evolve, brands that integrate seamless UX with strong branding will stand out in crowded digital spaces. Integrating Brand Guidelines with UX Design To create a seamless user experience, businesses must align brand guidelines with UX design principles. This involves: Standardized Typography and Colors : Ensuring consistent fonts, color schemes, and logo placements across all digital touchpoints helps maintain brand recognition. : Ensuring consistent fonts, color schemes, and logo placements across all digital touchpoints helps maintain brand recognition. Tone and Voice Alignment : UX copy should reflect the brand's personality, whether it's professional, playful, or informative, to create a cohesive experience. : UX copy should reflect the brand's personality, whether it's professional, playful, or informative, to create a cohesive experience. Consistent Visual Elements : Icons, buttons, and imagery should align with the brand's identity, reinforcing familiarity and trust. : Icons, buttons, and imagery should align with the brand's identity, reinforcing familiarity and trust. Accessibility and Inclusivity: Incorporating ADA-compliant design principles ensures that brand experiences are accessible to all users, increasing engagement and brand equity. The Future of Branding and UX Collaboration As technology evolves, the collaboration between branding and UX teams will be essential for creating impactful digital experiences. Companies that invest in cross-functional teams, user testing, and iterative design processes will be better positioned to meet user expectations and stand out in the digital marketplace. By fostering collaboration between branding and UX, businesses can drive long-term customer loyalty and sustainable growth. About Digital Silk Digital Silk is an award-winning Miami web design agency dedicated to helping brands create impactful digital experiences. Specializing in strategic branding, cutting-edge web design, and performance-driven marketing, Digital Silk empowers businesses to thrive in a digital-first world. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243412 SOURCE: Digital Silk Article L. 238-8-II of the French commercial Code and article 223-16 of the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority) general regulation Regulatory News: Corporate name of the issuer: Veolia Environnement (Paris:VIE) 21 rue La Boetie 75008 PARIS FRANCE (ISIN code: FR0000124141-VIE) Information closing date Total number of shares forming the share capital Total number of voting rights February 28, 2025 740,652,608 Total number of theoretical voting rights: 740,652,608 Total number of voting rights that may be exercised (1) 730,218,361 Inclusion in the Veolia Environnement Articles of Association of a clause requiring a reporting obligation of the declaration of crossing a shareholding threshold, complementary to the one relating to the thresholds provided by the French law and the regulations in force (article 8). (1) Number of voting rights that may be exercised number of theoretical voting rights (or total number of voting rights attached to shares) shares without voting rights (number of treasury shares held as of February 28, 2025, i.e. 10,434,247 shares). Veolia Environnement Siege social/head office: 21, rue La Boetie 75008 PARIS France Adresse postale/Correspondence address: 30, rue Madeleine Vionnet 93300 AUBERVILLIERS France tel.: +33 (0)1 85 57 70 00 Fax: +33 (0)1 71 75 10 45 www.veolia.com A Public Limited Company (Societe Anonyme with a share capital of 3,703,263,040 403 210 032 RCS PARIS View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305122535/en/ Contacts: Veolia Environnement ChallengerX Plc - Result of AGM, Restoration to Trading, Acquisitions, Issue of Equity, Board Changes and PDMR PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, March 05 5 March 2025 ChallengerX plc ("ChallengerX", "CXS" or the "Company") Result of AGM, Restoration to Trading, Acquisitions, Issue of Equity,Board Changes and PDMR ChallengerX (AQUIS: CXS) announces that all resolutions were duly passed at the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") held earlier today. Following the passing of the Resolutions in the AGM, trading in the Ordinary Shares of the Company will resume at 8 am on Thursday, 6 March 2025. First Sentinel Corporate Finance Ltd has been reappointed as the AQSE Corporate Adviser to the Company effective immediately. Completion of Acquisitions As announced on 10 February 2025, the Company had entered into three conditional agreements for the acquisition of NYCE International Limited ("NYCE") for 1,600,000, Virya VC Limited ("Virya") for 280,000 and an instance of Reelsoft AB's remote gaming server software ("RGS") and Game Aggregation Platform for 160,000 (together "the Acquisitions"). The Company had agreed to satisfy the consideration for the Acquisitions in ordinary shares of 0.001 of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") which would be issued at 0.004 each. Thus, in connection with the Acquisitions, the Company would be issuing a total of 510,000,000 Ordinary Shares ("Consideration Shares"). In addition, the vendors of NYCE, Virya and the RGS will be subject to lock-in agreements. Following the passing of resolutions at the AGM held today, the Company has issued the Consideration Shares and the Acquisitions will be completed on the admission of the Consideration Shares to trading on the AQSE Growth Market. Fundraise and Debt Settlement Additionally, the Company has completed a fundraising of 483,000 through the issue of 241,500,000 subscription shares ("Subscription Shares") at a price of 0.002 per share (the "Issue Price") and has converted the 120,000 loan note (announced on 8 January 2025) into equity, by issuing 120,000,000 Ordinary Shares at 0.001 per share ("Loan Note Shares"). The Company will also grant warrants in the amount of 1 warrant for each 1 Subscription Share and Loan Note Shares at a price of 0.007, exercisable within 1 year of the date of grant. The Company has granted a total of 361,500,000 warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares of 0.001 each ("Warrants"). Following the issue of the Warrants, the Company has a total of 366,975,850 warrants in issue. The Company has also obtained the commitment for an additional raise of 50,000 at the Issue Price. The Company will make a further announcement once the funds are received. Furthermore, the Company has settled outstanding debt by issuing 145,800,000 Ordinary Shares ("Settlement Shares") at 0.004 per share and 0.002 per share. Admission and Total Voting Rights Application will be made for the Consideration Shares, Subscription Shares, Loan Note Shares, and Settlement Shares to be admitted to trading on the AQSE Growth Market ("Admission"). Dealings are expected to commence on or around 11 March 2025. Following Admission, the Company's total issued and voting share capital will consist of 1,449,880,556 Ordinary Shares. The Company hold 1,546,341 ordinary shares in treasury. The above figures may be used by shareholders for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. Board Changes The following proposed Board appointments and changes will take effect immediately. - Harmen Brenninkmeijer and Farzad Peyman-Fard join the Board, respectively, as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. - John May and Stuart Adam remain on the board, respectively, as an Independent Non-Executive Director and a Non-Executive Director. - Lucas Caneda and Nick Martin resigned as directors. The disclosure according to Rule 4.9 of the Aquis Growth Market Access Rulebook has been made in the announcement dated 10 February 2025. Harmen Brenninkmeijer, Executive Chairman, commented "We are delighted to announce the relisting of CXS alongside the acquisitions of highly reputable companies and IP that will drive the new strategy in the betting and gaming industry. The Company will continue to look for new and innovative technologies and Artificial Intelligence to work with." Farzad Peyman-Fard, CEO, commented, "The synergetic effect of NYCE International and Virya VC provides a leading international product marketplace and advisory network for operators whilst the acquisition of Reelsoft's aggregation platform and remote gaming system instances will enable the promotion and distribution of innovative game studios and technologies." The directors of ChallengerX accept responsibility for this announcement. For further information, please contact: ChallengerXplc Farzad Peyman-Fard, CEO fpeyman@virya.vc First Sentinel Corporate Finance Ltd (AQSE Corporate Adviser) Brian Stockbridge +44 (0) 7858 888 007 PDMR notification Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them. 1 Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name City & Westminster Corporate Finance LLP 2 Reason for the notification a) Position/status PCA of Directors, John May and Stuart Adam b) Initial notification/Amendment Initial notification 3 Details of the issuer, UK emission allowance market participant, auction platform or auctioneer a) Name ChallengerX Plc b) LEI 984500A15FX570FFD891 4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code Ordinary shares ISIN: GB00BMD0WG01 b) Nature of the transaction Issue of shares as settlement of existing debt c) Price(s) and volume(s) Price(s) Volume(s) 0.004 23,400,000 d) Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price Aggregated volume Price 23,400,000 93,600 e) Date of the transaction 05/03/2025 f) Place of the transaction Outside trading venue 1 Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name John May 2 Reason for the notification a) Position/status Director b) Initial notification/Amendment Initial notification 3 Details of the issuer, UK emission allowance market participant, auction platform or auctioneer a) Name ChallengerX Plc b) LEI 984500A15FX570FFD891 4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code Ordinary shares ISIN: GB00BMD0WG01 b) Nature of the transaction Issue of shares as settlement of existing debt c) Price(s) and volume(s) Price(s) Volume(s) 0.004 3,150,000 d) Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price Aggregated volume Price 3,150,000 12,600 e) Date of the transaction 05/03/2025 f) Place of the transaction Outside trading venue 1 Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name Farzad Peyman 2 Reason for the notification a) Position/status Director b) Initial notification/Amendment Initial notification 3 Details of the issuer, UK emission allowance market participant, auction platform or auctioneer a) Name ChallengerX Plc b) LEI 984500A15FX570FFD891 4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code Ordinary shares ISIN: GB00BMD0WG01 b) Nature of the transaction Issue of shares as Director fees c) Price(s) and volume(s) Price(s) Volume(s) 0.002 50,000,000 d) Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price Aggregated volume Price 50,000,000 100,000 e) Date of the transaction 05/03/2025 f) Place of the transaction Outside trading venue 1 Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name Virya Solutions Group Limited 2 Reason for the notification a) Position/status PCA of Director, Farzad Peyman b) Initial notification/Amendment Initial notification 3 Details of the issuer, UK emission allowance market participant, auction platform or auctioneer a) Name ChallengerX Plc b) LEI 984500A15FX570FFD891 4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code Ordinary shares ISIN: GB00BMD0WG01 b) Nature of the transaction Issue of shares as Consideration shares for an acquisition c) Price(s) and volume(s) Price(s) Volume(s) 0.004 56,700,000 d) Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price Aggregated volume Price 56,700,000 226,800 e) Date of the transaction 05/03/2025 f) Place of the transaction Outside trading venue Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Lode Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: LOD) (OTCQB: LODFF) ("Lode Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the positive results of its new 2025 Mineral Resource Estimation ("MRE") at its Fremont Gold project (the "Project") in Mariposa County, California: 1.198 Moz 1 at 3.97 g/t* of Recoverable Gold (1.297 Moz at 4.37 g/t Content Gold)2 at a 3 g/t cut-off with an average true width of 16.8 m. *This is contained within the mineral resource published-2023 MRE: 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated, and 2.02 Moz at 2.22 g/t Au Inferred. The effective date of this MRE is March 5, 2025, and a NI 43-101 Technical Report will be filed on the Company's website and SEDAR within 45 days of this disclosure. For additional maps and figures of the Project, please view the Company's website at lode-gold.com. This revised MRE is a new geological block model that is based on 43,000 m of drilling and 23 km of underground workings that includes veins and disseminated mineralized bodies contained in two separate domains, predicated on the structural controls of the higher-grade mineralization. A detailed analysis of cut-off grades has been reviewed to evaluate various mining methods to optimize project economics. The Project is situated on 100% privately owned patented land spanning 3,351 acres. It is located ~120 km from Fresno and ~250 km from Sacramento with road, hydro, and railhead access. This area was the site of the original California Gold Rush in the 1800s. Of note, Mariposa County is one of the Trump Administration's dedicated Opportunity Zones2, designated for expedited investments and tax credits. Highlights: 2025 MRE: 1.2 Moz Au at 3.97 g/t (cut-off 3 g/t), average true width of 16.8 m. Half of the mineralization is in the veins; the other half is in the stockworks - outside the veins. Consistency in grade is evidenced within and outside the veins in the dissemination mineralization. The upcoming exploration program** includes systematic underground channel sampling and assaying to convert half of the current Inferred resources into the Measured and Indicated categories. **Budget: $500,000. Lead time: 6 months. Cost-effective and expeditious method of resource upgrade. Historical Context: 4 km mineralization on the prolific 190 km Mother Lode Belt (800 m of visible oxides at surface, first 60 m). In 1942, during WWII, the Mining License was suspended as production was ramping up. Previously mined grade: 10.7 g/t Au, 43,000 m drilled (diamond drill cores preserved). Exploitation had been mostly in the first 250 m, open on strike and at depth. Only a small portion has been mined out: 115,000 oz (8% of current MRE). Underground bulk mining cost was defined in 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") at $63.6 per tonne. Cut-off grade (g/t) True Width (metres) Tonnes (millions) Average Recoverable grade (g/t) Gold Recoverable (troy Koz) 1 53.1 35.8 2.44 2.807 2 34.3 20.6 3.13 2.071 3 16.8 9.2 3.93 1.167 4 8.6 3.0 5.06 483 5 6.4 1.0 6.34 211 6 5.8 0.5 7.27 120 Table 1: Average true width for every cut-off grade. The extraordinary average true width of the mineralized structure is ideal for the potential implementation of a large-scale underground mining plan similar to what was outlined in the 2023 PEA. MRE covers only 20% of the structure: Figure 1: Long section of the 4 km structure on the Project property, part of the Mother Lode Belt. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4064/243474_032b1b54d49fe900_001full.jpg "We are pleased with the newly updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) results, which builds on the Project's proven resource base. The professionally modelled and estimated mineral resource now provides added optionality and leverage. This creates an ideal platform for comparing and contrasting various development, mining, and production scenarios from technical, capital intensity, and market optics perspectives," comments Jon Hill, a Director of the Board and Chair of the Technical Committee. "The updated mineral resource model highlights thick (>15 m) gold mineralization, which supports the vital grade x thickness and ounces per vertical meter metrics. These metrics are fundamental requirements in any mining scenario for underpinning strong project economics. We look forward to progressing the necessary exploration and development work over the next months as we advance the Project's development." Resource Category Vein MTonnes Recoverable Au_g/t3 Moz Au Total Indicated 0.91 4.13 0.120 Total Inferred 5.58 3.97 0.712 Category Disseminated MTonnes Au_g/t3 Moz Au Total Inferred 2.95 3.95 0.375 Category Total MTonnes Au_g/t3 Moz Au Total Indicated 0.91 4.13 0.120 Total Inferred 8.48 3.96 1.074 Table 2: Fremont Gold Project's Mineral Resource Statement at 3 g/t Gold Cut-off (1)Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. (2)The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. (3)The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration. (4)The Mineral Resources in this report were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. Only 8% of the 2025 MRE exploited: Figure 2: Transversal section of the Pine Tree-Josephine area where the mined-out stopes of the Pine Tree Vein can be recognized (white void in the centre of the structure) and the higher grade (>6 g/t of Au) blocks that were left unmined. Historical production is 8% of the current MRE at 3 g/t cut-off. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4064/243474_032b1b54d49fe900_002full.jpg The project was mined between 1859 and 1942 with a production of 115,000 oz of gold at an average grade of 10.7 g/t Au (1942, Pacific Mining Co.4). That historical production is roughly equivalent to 8% of the current MRE. at 3 g/t cut-off. The mine was ramping up production from 90 to 180 tonnes per day when the mining license was suspended during the gold mining prohibition of the Second World War. Extraction was mostly in the first 250 m, except for the Pine Tree Vein where production was up to 500 m in depth, following down plunge of just one ore shoot. Significant portion has been left unmined: Figure 3: The 2025 block model of the Pine Tree Vein where historical mined out stopes were subtracted from the model (hollowed areas in the centre of the vein). To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4064/243474_032b1b54d49fe900_003full.jpg In the Josephine Vein, the mined stopes were only in the first 250 m. As such, the resource left behind unmined is larger than what's at the Pine Tree Vein. Josephine Vein - an even bigger portion unmined: Figure 4: 2025 block model of the Josephine Vein where historical mined out stopes were subtracted from the model (hollowed areas in the centre of the vein). To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4064/243474_032b1b54d49fe900_004full.jpg The 2025 Mineral Resource Estimation took into consideration two different domains: (i) within the veins and (ii) disseminated gold around the veins. The hypothesis was that gold in the veins had a much higher grade than in the disseminated body. Surprisingly, the 2025 MRE shows that both domains have the same grades at the same cut-offs. 100% of the disseminated body left unmined: Figure 5: 2025 block model for the disseminated body with the higher-grade areas (> 4 g/t of Au in magenta, > 6 g/t of Au in dark purple). To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4064/243474_032b1b54d49fe900_005full.jpg Mineral Resources The current mineral resource was based on a new geological block model that has been derived from 43,000 m of drilling and the technical information from the 2023 PEA. The 2025 MRE and resource modelling was prepared under National Instrument 43-101 standards. Independent and Qualified Person ("QP"), Patrick J. Hollenbeck has reviewed, validated and approved the Fremont MRE as well as the technical disclosure in this release. Upon completion of the assessment of the underground workings, access to adits will be made available. With further systematic underground channel sampling, a large portion of the current Inferred resources from the 2025 MRE (approximately 50%) could be upgraded to Measured and Indicated categories. This upgrade would be achieved by converting the extensive historical information at our disposal (23 km of underground workings with samples; 43,000 m of drilling with drill cores preserved), ensuring full compliance. The current resource is derived from the upper 250 m to 500 m and covers only about 20% of the 4 km structure. Opportunity exists to expand resources; mineralization is open on strike and at depth. Underground Optionality Exists to Optimize Project Economics This study confirms that the Project, with an average mining true width of 16.8 m at 3 g/t of Au cut-off (between 0.6 m and 81 m), is conducive to an underground operation. Mining can be optimized at a higher production rate via long hole stoping underground bulk mining, possibly 200,000/oz annually. This method enables a higher rate of extraction than selective high grade vein mining at lower costs. Based on the 2023 PEA, the underground bulk mining cost is $65/t. As such, a low cut-off grade of 1.15 g/t (at $2,000/oz Au) could be considered using those numbers. These results from the new 2025 MRE are crucial in transitioning the project from a combined open pit and underground mining scenario to a fully underground operation, aligning with the new management team's vision and Carlos Saban's work as Technical Advisor. Choosing an underground project instead of an open pit can provide various advantages. Firstly, it can be easier to obtain permitting for underground operations as they typically have less social and environmental impact compared to open pit mining. This can lead to smoother regulatory processes and fewer delays in getting the Project up and running. Additionally, underground projects require less infrastructure and equipment to be built and maintained. This could result in cost savings for the company and potentially higher returns on investment. Furthermore, underground mining can be a more cost-effective option for accessing mineralization at depth (>250 m). Fremont Gold Project Mineralization The Project deposits represent a precious metal-rich ophiolitic orogenic deposit with listwaenitic alteration, hosted in the serpentinites of the Smartville Complex. Mineralization is contained in several veins, disseminated and stock work vein zones that display a variety of textural and mineralogical characteristics. The veins are white quartz veins with free gold and electrum or relatively sulphide rich (>1% S) with gold as inclusions in the pyrite, chalcopyrite and gersdorffite. Disseminated and stockwork mineralization is mainly composed as quartz veinlets with free gold in them. Alteration is listwaenitic (carbonate alteration of serpentinites) with the formation of ankerite, fuchsite, magnesite and locally talc. Before a Financial Investment Decision ("FID"), the Company will be conducting various aspects of evaluation, including the upcoming milestones. Upcoming Catalysts Complete an internal scoping study to optimize NPV. Publish a new NI 43-101 Technical Report (45 days following the filing of this news release). Revise and update the March 2023 PEA. Conduct underground channel sampling to potentially upgrade approximately 50% of current Inferred resources from the 2025 MRE to higher-confidence Measured and Indicated categories. Expand resources; 3,000 m underground drilling will be focused on low information areas next to the 2025 MRE. "This transition from an open-pit and underground project to a fully underground operation is exciting. Likely, this translates to a lower Capex, and less environmental footprint and with only 8% of the current resource (>1.2 Moz at 4 g/t) having been exploited, we essentially have 92% left to mine," comments Wendy T. Chan, CEO and Director of Lode Gold. "The new finding that mineralization in and outside the veins are the same grades is compelling. With this study, we are reassured that this is not your typical brownfield mined-out project; rather there was gold there when the mining license was suspended in 1942 (Gold mining prohibition during WW II). Without question, the project has been frozen in time, the gold left behind has essentially been 'forgotten' until now". Over the next 12 to 24 months, Lode Gold will dedicate resources to assess the potential reactivation of the mine at the Project site, with an FID targeted for 2027. If the decision is to pursue reactivation of the mine, it could create 200 jobs for both men and women, with training programs set to begin 12-18 months before production commences. Additionally, the Company is exploring the possibility of constructing affordable housing on-site to support the workforce. Lode Gold is also considering the feasibility of implementing renewable electricity generated onsite to operate a sustainable mine. Fremont Mineral Resource Estimate Notes Mineral resources were estimated in conformity with generally accepted CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Best Practices" Guidelines. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Resources may be affected by subsequent assessment of mining, environmental, processing, permitting, taxation, socio-economic and other factors. Mineral reserves can only be estimated based on the results of an economic evaluation as part of a preliminary feasibility study or feasibility study. As such, no Mineral Reserves have been estimated by the QP. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources will be converted into a mineral reserve. Inferred mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It is safe to assume that the majority of the Inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to a higher category with additional exploration. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have no demonstrated economic viability. Resources are reported in situ and undiluted for underground scenarios and are considered to have reasonable prospects for economic extraction. Metallurgical recoveries of 90% Au were utilized in the determination of the Recoverable Gold. Mineralization occurring within the historical underground drifts and stopes is not included in this MRE. The calculated underground cut-off was determined to be 1.45 g/t Au in the 2023 PEA. Cut-off grades must be re-evaluated considering prevailing market conditions (including gold prices, exchange rates and costs). At the request of the Company, the underground resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 3 g/t Au. Block tonnage was estimated from volumes using a bulk density of 2.76, the same that was used in the 2023 PEA. Nine mineralization domains were created to constrain the estimate - seven vein constrained domains and two disseminated underground domains. Each individual vein was defined by individual wireframes created in Leapfrog Geo (Seequent) software using geologically realistic solids using geological underground map plans, transversal sections and gold assays (with grades that were above 4 g/t). Each domain was modified or reassessed individually to consider presiding mineralization features. High grade capping was set on a vein-by-vein basis depending on the grade distributions in each mineralized and non-mineralized domain within a given vein. Caps were set on the composited values in all cases where composites were used. Lognormal Probability Plots and histogram distributions were examined to look for breaks or peaks in the data, which in turn would suggest a cap value. Search orientations were created using the Variable Anisotropy function in Leapfrog EDGE software using a combination of crossing faults and an overarching vein orientation, which facilitated the creation of "chutes" where the faults crossed the veins and allowed apertures of mineralization to form. Three estimation methods were utilized to generate the Pine Tree/Josephine resource: Ordinary Krige ("OK"), Inverse Distance ("ID"), and Nearest Neighbor ("NN"). The Queen Specimen had too few samples for variography and was only estimated with ID and NN. Resources were estimated using Leapfrog EDGE software from drill hole sampling in an Octree-style block model with 20x20x20m parent blocks, which are sub-blocked by a factor of 32 down to a minimum size of 0.625x0.625x0.625m blocks. Indicated resources were categorized using the following criteria, which varied per vein based on the available drilling data: A minimum distance to the nearest modern drilling sample used in the block estimation. The Kriged Slope of Regression Value in a given block; A minimum number of drillholes or channels used for the block estimation. All blocks not categorized as Indicated were assigned an Inferred category. Additionally, all blocks in the Queen Specimen area were categorized as Inferred. Estimates use metric units (metres, tonnes and g/t). Metal contents are presented in troy ounces (metric tonne x grade / 31.10348). Neither the Company, nor the QP, is aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue that could materially affect this mineral resource estimate. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to re-define these Inferred mineral resources as Indicated mineral resources. About Lode Gold Lode Gold (TSXV: LOD) is an exploration and development company with projects in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada and the United States. In Canada, its Golden Culvert and WIN Projects in Yukon, covering 99.5 km2 across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high grade gold mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. A total of four RIRGS targets have been confirmed on the property. A NI 43-101 technical report has been completed in May 2024. In New Brunswick, Lode Gold has created one of the largest land packages with its Acadian Gold JV Co; consisting of an area that spans 445 km2 and a 44 km strike. McIntyre Brook covers 111 km2 and a 17-km strike in the emerging Appalachian/Iapetus Gold Belt; it is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold's Queensway Project. Riley Brook is a 335 km2 package covering a 26 km strike of Wapske formation with its numerous felsic units. A NI 43-101 technical report has been completed in August 2024. In the United States, the Company is advancing its Fremont Gold project. This is a brownfield project with over 43,000 m drilled and 23 km of underground workings. It was previously mined at 10.7 g/t Au in the 1930's. Mining was halted in 1942 due the gold mining prohibition in World War Two just as it was ramping up production. Unlike typical brownfield projects that are mined out, only 8% of the veins have been exploited. The Company is the first owner to investigate an underground high grade mine potential at the Project site. The Project is located on 3,351 acres of private and patented land in Mariposa County. The asset is a 4 km strike on the prolific 190 km Mother Lode Gold Belt, California that produced over 50,000,000 oz of gold and is instrumental in the creation of the towns, the businesses and infrastructure in the 1800s gold rush. It is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airports and rail. Previously, in March 2023 the company completed an NI 43 101 PEA. A sensitivity to the March 31, 2023 PEA at USD $2,000/oz gold gives an after-tax NPV of USD $370M and a 31% IRR over an 11-year LOM. At $1,750 /oz gold, NPV (5%) is $217M. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated and 2.02 Moz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MT Inferred. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike of the Project's property. Three step-out holes at depth (up to 1200 m) hit structure and were mineralized. All NI 43-101 technical reports are available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.lode-gold.com). QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT The Independent and Qualified Person for the Fremont MRE is Patrick J. Hollenbeck, P.Geo. He has reviewed, completed, validated and approved the Fremont MRE as well as the technical disclosure in this release. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, this Qualified Person for the Company has validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its activities on its various exploration projects. Cautionary Note Related to this News Release and Figures This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the use of proceeds, advancement and completion of resource calculation, feasibility studies, and exploration plans and targets. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which the Company operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. These include assumptions regarding, among other things: the status of community relations and the security situation on site; general business and economic conditions; the availability of additional exploration and mineral project financing; the supply and demand for, inventories of, and the level and volatility of the prices of metals; relationships with strategic partners; the timing and receipt of governmental permits and approvals; the timing and receipt of community and landowner approvals; changes in regulations; political factors; the accuracy of the Company's interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of the Company's mineral deposits; the availability of equipment, skilled labour and services needed for the exploration and development of mineral properties; currency fluctuations; and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include a deterioration of security on site or actions by the local community that inhibits access and/or the ability to productively work on site, actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, unknown impact related to potential business disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, or another infectious illness, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law. ________________________ 1 Recoverable Gold (90% recovery, 10% discount over Content Gold). 2 An Opportunity Zone refers to a specific designation and investment initiative established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, enabling certain investments in economically disadvantaged areas to receive tax benefits. Opportunity zones | Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/businesses/opportunity-zones 3 Recoverable Gold (90% recovery, 10% discount over Content Gold) 4 Pacific Mining Co. (1941). Seventh Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 1939. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243474 SOURCE: Lode Gold Resources Inc. "We would like to thank the investigation site team and particularly the investigators and proctors in this groundbreaking first-in human trial and for enabling the publication of these important validating results." Peter Hinchliffe, CEO MedLumics "Join us as we raise our Series B funding of 15m to reach our regulatory clinical trial readiness milestone. We are ready to move forward with these results toward treating the 100 million Atrial Fibrillation patients globally." This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305509072/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) MedLumics AblaView shows the importance and capability of being able to visualize, in real time, AF Ablation treatments. 1) Initial heart wall contact confirmation: ability to differentiate between ablated and un-ablated tissue, eliminating gaps in treatment lines and avoiding non-contact and excessive ablations. 2) Stable electrode wall contact during ablation: essential to safe consistent ablations, potentially reducing the risk of hemolysis and neurovascular complications. 3) Tissue ablation analysis, as it happens: ensuring that at a tissue structure level, irreversible lesions have been delivered, confirmed by direct visual tissue birefringence (BiR) change. MedLumics AblaView AF Ablation results at 3-months: 1) Safety and reliability: The use of AblaView fiber optic, real time, Optical Coherence Reflectometry (OCR) and assessing BiR of treated verses untreated tissue is safe and reliable. 2) No hemolysis or neurovascular complications reported: Using OCR and the AblaView PFA system, real time visualization avoided complications associated with poor contact quality and/or excessive ablations. 3) Durable lesion prediction with 100% specificity: AblaView the patented OCR and fiber optic catheter system measures the change in BiR to predict lesion durability in real time. Atul Verma, MD. Electrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. "This first in human study demonstrates the ability of optics to determine durable lesions created by PFA. These optical sensors can be adopted to any catheter platform and we will be moving forward with a full approval trial as the next step." After being presented by Atul Verma, MD. at the AF Symposium in January, the study results have been published in Europace February 2025. (https://academic.oup.com/europace/article/27/2/euaf009/7959060) Professor Raphael Martins, Cardiology Dept, CHU Rennes, France. "It has been a privilege to take part in this first-in-human study. The ability to assess lesion durability in real-time using optical imaging may transform our approach to AF ablation. This represents a significant advancement toward more precise, safer, and more effective treatments for our patients." Professor Sabine Ernst, MD, PhD, FESC, Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London and Professor of Practice (Cardiology) at Imperial College London, London, UK, commented on LinkedIn "Assessing the ablation lesion in real time: finally the "holy grail" in EP is discovered! . A new era has begun!" About MedLumics Founded in 2014, MedLumics S.L. is an ISO13485 certified medical device company specializing in optically guided medical devices. Its proprietary integrated optics platform technology combines optical and electrical components, enabling multi-view optically guided treatment with high-quality real-time images during cardiac ablation. MedLumics is backed by many prestigious public and private funds including an undisclosed corporate partner. For more information visit www.medlumics.com. The AblaView system is investigational and not currently available for commercial use. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250305509072/en/ Contacts: Lucia Colmenero (+34) 91 803 39 25 info@medlumics.com HAVERTYS (NYSE:HVT)(NYSE:HVT.A) announced today that the company will participate in the Loop Capital Markets' 2025 Investor Conference on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, and the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference on March 12, 2025. There will be a fireside chat presentation on March 12, 2025, at 10:00 am EST. To schedule a meeting with management, please contact your conference representatives. The presentation will be available on the Events & Presentations page of the Investor Relations section of the company's website at ir.havertys.com . About Havertys Havertys (NYSE: HVT)(NYSE:HVT.A), established in 1885, is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 130 showrooms in 17 states in the Southern and Midwestern regions providing its customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle to upper-middle price ranges. Additional information is available on the Company's website havertys.com. Contact: Havertys 404-443-2900 investor.relations@havertys.com Steven G. Burdette President and Chief Executive Officer Richard B. Hare Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Corporate Secretary SOURCE: Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. L'Anse, Michigan--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) (OTC Pink: TLOFF) ("Talon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Lundin Mining Corporation ("Lundin Mining") as the parties negotiate an earn-in agreement (the "Option Agreement") pursuant to which Lundin Mining may acquire up to a 70% ownership interest in the Boulderdash and Roland exploration targets (the "Optioned Properties"), which are in close proximity to Lundin Mining's Eagle Mine. Lundin Mining has advanced Talon US$5 million (the "Advance Payment") to, among other things, commence drilling on the Optioned Properties as soon as the Option Agreement is entered into. In the event that Talon and Lundin Mining do not enter into the Option Agreement for any reason by March 31, 2025 (or such earlier or later date as agreed between the parties), Talon will at its sole election either, (i) repay the Advance Payment in cash, or (ii) issue Lundin Mining that number of common shares of Talon (the "Talon Shares") equal to the Advance Payment at a deemed price per Talon Share based on the 5-day volume weighted average trading price of the Talon Shares on the TSX at such time. The issuance of common shares of Talon is subject to receipt of the approval of the TSX and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. This announcement builds on Talon's exploration success with its discovery at Boulderdash in October 2024 and additional successful drilling (see the Company's press releases dated October 24, 2024 and February 27, 2025). The Optioned Properties consist of approximately 33,000 acres out of Talon's over 400,000 acre mineral package in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the "Michigan Land Package"). Proposed Option Agreement Terms The proposed Option Agreement is expected to contain the following terms: Talon will provide Lundin Mining with the right to acquire up to a 70% ownership interest in the Optioned Properties. Lundin Mining will agree to fund up to 30,000 meters of Talon's drilling campaign at the Optioned Properties. After each 10,000 meters of drilling by Talon on the Optioned Properties, Lundin Mining will have the election whether or not to proceed further with their earn-in. Talon is currently earning up to an 80% interest in the Michigan Land Package (which includes the Optioned Properties) from UPX Minerals Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Royalties). Once Talon has earned a 51% interest in the Michigan Land Package that is expected to be fulfilled by the drilling Talon will do on the Optioned Properties with Lundin Mining, Lundin Mining will earn a 44.625% interest solely in the Optioned Properties. Following the completion of 30,000 meters of drilling on the Optioned Properties, Lundin Mining may fund a feasibility study in respect of any portion of the Optioned Properties in exchange for an additional 25.375% interest, for a total ownership of 70% in the Optioned Properties. Talon will retain a 10% ownership interest in the Optioned Properties, with the remainder owned by UPX Minerals. "Talon continues to respond to the call for responsible production of critical minerals in the United States, specifically nickel for defence and national security purposes. The proposed transaction with Lundin Mining is part of Talon's strategy to continue to build Talon's integrated drilling and geophysics business to generate cashflow to progress the feasibility study and permitting of the Tamarack Mining Project in Minnesota and its Battery Minerals Processing Facility in North Dakota. Once the Option Agreement is signed, Talon expects to be cashflow positive, which is a rare achievement for a junior exploration and mine development company," said Henri van Rooyen, Talon's CEO. ABOUT TALON Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the US over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with additional high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel Project, and currently owns 51%. Talon is focused on (i) expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators, and (ii) following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack Intrusive Complex. Talon has a neutrality and workforce development agreement in place with the United Steelworkers union. Talon's Battery Mineral Processing Facility in Mercer County was selected by the US Department of Energy for US$114.8 million funding grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the US Department of Defense awarded Talon a grant of US$20.6 million to support and accelerate Talon's exploration efforts in both Minnesota and Michigan. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams. For additional information on Talon, please visit the Company's website at www.talonmetals.com or contact: FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the terms of the Option Agreement, whether Talon will enter into the Option Agreement, if Talon Shares will be issued and TSX approval relating thereto, potential positive cash flows to Talon, Talon's strategy regarding drilling and geophysics business, and completion of the royalty earn-in in respect of Sweetwater. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties including required consents, the risk that the negotiations in respect of the Option Agreement will break down and the Option Agreement will not be entered into, the drilling results on the Optioned Properties may not be positive and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243484 SOURCE: Talon Metals Corp. COSTA MESA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / DeFrenza Lee LLP is pleased to announce the promotion of Sherry Hunt to the firm's partnership. "Sherry exemplifies the qualities we value most at DeFrenza Lee LLP-exceptional legal acumen, unwavering dedication, and outstanding client service," said Lynn Lee, Co-Founding Partner. "Sherry's hard work, diligence, and commitment to excellence have made her an indispensable part of our team," said Sara Frasco, Partner. Since joining DeFrenza Lee LLP in 2021, Ms. Hunt has built a reputation for excellence in Purchase and Sale Transactions, Commercial Leasing, Real Estate Financing, and Corporate and Business Transactions. Her focus on providing thoughtful, client-centered solutions has been a cornerstone of her success and a significant asset to the firm. Co-Founding Partner Marc De Frenza adds, "We are thrilled to promote Sherry to partnership and look forward to her continued ability to bring our clients the exceptional care and expertise that contribute to their success and to the success of the firm." Sherry Hunt Ms. Hunt's practice includes all aspects of real estate transactions, with an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions, commercial leasing, real estate secured financing, and joint ventures. Ms. Hunt has experience representing developers and property owners in purchase and sale transactions involving raw land, multi-family housing, retail, industrial, and mixed-use developments. Ms. Hunt's leasing practice includes representing landlords and tenants in connection with drafting and negotiating leases, amendments, subordination, non-disturbance, and attornment agreements, and estoppel certificates, with an emphasis on retail, industrial, and office leases. Ms. Hunt has also represented borrowers and institutional lenders in a broad range of real estate secured financing transactions, including acquisition, construction, and permanent loans secured by various types of real property, including multi-family projects, office and industrial buildings, retail centers, and mixed-use developments. Ms. Hunt's experience includes representing sponsors in connection with structuring, drafting, and negotiating joint venture agreements, navigating key issues such as management structures, distribution waterfalls, remedies for capital defaults, buy-sell provisions, and other dispute resolution and exit strategies. Ms. Hunt received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Prior to law school, Ms. Hunt graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Irvine with Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology. Ms. Hunt can be reached at: DeFrenza Lee LLP 3200 Park Center Drive, Suite 1160 | Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Direct: 714.617.9792| Email: sherry@defrenzalee.com | Web: www.defrenzalee.com SOURCE: Defrenza Lee LLP NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Temas Resources Corp. ("Temas" or the "Company") (CSE:TMAS)(OTCQB:TMASF)(FSE:26P0) is pleased to announce that it intends to complete non-brokered private placements for cumulative gross proceeds of up to C$500,000 from the sale of up to 6,666,666 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of C$0.075 per Unit. 2,000,000 Units are offered under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption offering (the "LIFE Offering") and 4,666,666 Units are offered under the concurrent private placement offering (the "Concurrent Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Unit Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of C$0.18 at any time on or before that date which is 1 year after the closing date, provided that if the closing price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") is equal to or greater than $0.22 for a period of 5 consecutive trading days (the "Triggering Event"), the Company may, within 5 days of the Triggering Event, accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by disseminating a press release, and in such case the Warrants will expire on the 10th day after the date on which such press release is disseminated. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the LIFE Offering is being made to purchasers resident in all provinces of Canada, except Quebec, pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities offered under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at: www.temasresources.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision. No commissions or fees are payable in connection with the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering. In addition to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption offering, the Company intends to issue up to 4,666,666 Units on the same terms for gross proceeds of $350,000 (the "Concurrent Offering"). The Concurrent Offering will be made available to accredited investors and other eligible investors in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and such other jurisdictions as the Company may decide in accordance with applicable laws. Concurrent Units shall be subject to a 4 month and one day hold period from the date of issue. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the LIFE Offering and Concurrent Offering for general working capital purposes and marketing. The closing of the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering is anticipated to occur on or about March 31, 2025, or such other date, as the Company may agree, which must be within 45 days from the date hereof for the LIFE Offering (the "Closing Date"). Closing of the LIFE Offering is not conditional upon the closing of the Concurrent Offering. As a result of the expected participation by insiders of the Company, the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering may be considered a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company expects that the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering will be exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval, respectively, because the fair market value of the insiders' participation in each case will be below 25% of the Company's market capitalization for the purposes of Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Tim Fernback, President & CEO About Temas Resources Temas Resources Corp. (CSE:TMAS)(OTCQB:TMASF) is focused on the advanced La Blache and Lac Brule Iron-Titanium-Vanadium projects in Quebec. The critical metals the Company is exploring for are key to our national mineral independence. Additionally, the Company invests in and works to apply its green mineral recovery technologies across its mining portfolio to reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of metal extraction through advanced processing and patented leaching technologies. All public filings for the Company can be found on the SEDAR+ website www.sedarplus.ca. For more information about the Company, please visit www.temasresources.com. For further information or investor relations inquiries: Tim Fernback President and CEO timf@temasresources.com Tel: (604) 340-3774 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "expect", "estimate", "objective", "may", "will", "project", "should", "predict", "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward looking statements concerning the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering, the completion of the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering, the expected closing date of the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering, the use of proceeds from the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of assumptions, factors and risks. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, assumptions and risks associated with mineral exploration generally and results from anticipated and proposed exploration programs, conditions in the equity financing markets, and assumptions and risks regarding receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals. Management has provided the above summary of risks and assumptions related to forward looking statements in this press release in order to provide readers with a more comprehensive perspective on the Company's future operations. The Company's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive from them. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. SOURCE: Temas Resources Corp. The rising prevalence of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer is greatly boosting the demand for biosensors, as these conditions necessitate frequent monitoring for proper management. Likewise, the increasing need for point-of-care testing (POCT) is propelling market growth, as biosensors offer fast and convenient diagnostic solutions beyond conventional healthcare facilities. LAS VEGAS, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Biosensors Market Insights report provides the current and forecast market analysis, individual leading biosensors companies' market shares, challenges, biosensors market drivers, barriers, trends, and key market biosensors companies in the market. Key Takeaways from the Biosensors Market Report As per DelveInsight estimates, North America is anticipated to dominate the global biosensors market during the forecast period. In the type segment of the biosensors market, wearable biosensors captured a significant revenue share in 2024. Notable biosensors companies such as Abbott, Linxens Healthcare, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., SD Biosensor, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Biosensors International Group, Zimmer & Peacock AS, Intricon, Hememics Biotechnologies, Inc., General Graphene Corporation Cement, Biolinq Incorporation, Nix Biosensors, and several others, are currently operating in the biosensors market. and several others, are currently operating in the biosensors market. In June 2023, Intricon, developer and manufacturer of medical devices powered by smart miniaturized electronics, announced that it had launched a new Biosensors Center of Excellence (CoE). The new CoE combined Intricon's biosensor device expertise and capabilities into a vertically integrated business unit focused exclusively on bringing Biosensor devices to the medical market. To read more about the latest highlights related to the biosensors market, get a snapshot of the key highlights entailed in the Global Biosensors Market Report Biosensors Overview Biosensors are analytical devices that combine a biological element, such as enzymes, antibodies, or nucleic acids, with a physicochemical detector to measure the presence of specific substances. These devices convert a biological response into an electrical signal, allowing for the real-time monitoring of various biological processes or the detection of specific molecules. Biosensors are commonly used in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety, and biotechnology. They offer significant advantages due to their sensitivity, specificity, and ability to detect low concentrations of target analytes, making them a valuable tool in various industries. The development of biosensors has advanced with innovations in nanotechnology, materials science, and microelectronics. These advancements have led to more compact, portable, and cost-effective devices. For example, glucose meters used by diabetic patients are a type of biosensor that monitors blood sugar levels. Additionally, biosensors can be integrated into wearable devices for the continuous monitoring of vital signs, like heart rate or oxygen levels, in clinical and non-clinical settings. As biosensors continue to evolve, their potential to transform healthcare, environmental monitoring, and personalized medicine is immense, enabling more efficient and precise diagnostics. Biosensors Market Insights The biosensors market is experiencing significant growth worldwide, with regional variations influenced by healthcare infrastructure, technological advancements, and regulatory frameworks. North America dominates the biosensors market, driven by high adoption in medical diagnostics, point-of-care testing, and a well-established healthcare sector. The presence of key industry players, strong R&D investments, and increasing demand for wearable biosensors contribute to market expansion. The U.S. leads the region due to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, which fuel the need for continuous monitoring solutions. Europe follows closely, with a strong focus on research-driven healthcare innovations, government funding for biosensing technology, and the presence of major medical device companies. Countries like Germany, France, and the UK are leading the market due to increasing adoption in clinical diagnostics and food safety applications. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific is witnessing the fastest growth, primarily due to rising healthcare awareness, increasing investments in biotechnology, and expanding applications in agriculture and environmental monitoring. China, Japan, and India are emerging as key players, driven by a growing elderly population and the need for cost-effective diagnostic solutions. Other regions, including Latin America and the Middle East & Africa, are gradually adopting biosensor technologies, with market growth driven by improving healthcare infrastructure and rising demand for point-of-care testing. While challenges such as regulatory hurdles and high costs remain, innovations in nanotechnology, AI integration, and miniaturization are expected to propel the global biosensors market further across all regions. To know more about why North America is leading the market growth in the biosensors market, get a snapshot of the Biosensors Market Outlook Biosensors Market Dynamics The global biosensors market is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing demand for rapid and accurate diagnostic solutions across various industries, including healthcare, agriculture, food safety, and environmental monitoring. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, has led to a surge in demand for biosensors in medical applications, particularly in point-of-care testing and wearable health monitoring devices. Additionally, advancements in nanotechnology, microfluidics, and bioreceptor technologies have enhanced biosensor sensitivity and specificity, making them more reliable and efficient for real-time applications. One of the key drivers of the biosensors market is the growing adoption of wearable and non-invasive biosensors for continuous health monitoring. The integration of biosensors into smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearable devices has revolutionized personal healthcare by enabling real-time glucose monitoring, heart rate tracking, and early disease detection. These innovations are fueled by increasing investments in biotechnology and digital health, with companies focusing on miniaturization and improved data analytics capabilities to enhance user experience and clinical outcomes. However, the market faces challenges related to regulatory approvals, standardization, and high initial costs associated with biosensor development. Stringent regulations and lengthy approval processes can slow down the commercialization of new biosensor technologies, particularly in medical applications. Additionally, the need for specialized manufacturing processes and materials can contribute to higher production costs, which may limit the widespread adoption of biosensors, especially in price-sensitive markets. Despite these challenges, the biosensors market is poised for substantial growth, with emerging trends such as the development of implantable biosensors, AI-driven biosensing platforms, and biosensors for personalized medicine. The increasing focus on remote patient monitoring and decentralized diagnostics, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has accelerated innovation and investment in biosensor technologies. Furthermore, the expansion of biosensors beyond healthcare-into applications like food safety testing, environmental monitoring, and biodefense-underscores their broad potential and market opportunities. In conclusion, the biosensors market is evolving rapidly, with technological advancements, increasing healthcare needs, and growing demand for real-time diagnostics driving its expansion. While regulatory and cost-related challenges persist, ongoing research and development efforts are expected to overcome these barriers, making biosensors an integral part of future healthcare and industrial applications. As the market continues to mature, strategic partnerships, innovation in biosensor design, and advancements in data integration will further shape its trajectory. Get a sneak peek at the biosensors market dynamics @ Biosensors Market Dynamics Analysis Report Metrics Details Coverage Global Study Period 2022-2032 Biosensors Market CAGR ~8% Key Biosensors Companies Abbott, Linxens Healthcare, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., SD Biosensor, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Biosensors International Group, Zimmer & Peacock AS, Intricon, Hememics Biotechnologies, Inc., General Graphene Corporation Cement, Biolinq Incorporation, Nix Biosensors, among others Biosensors Market Assessment Biosensors Market Segmentation Biosensors Market Segmentation By Type: Wearable Biosensors, Electrochemical Biosensors, Optical Biosensors, Piezoelectric Biosensors, and Thermal Biosensors Wearable Biosensors, Electrochemical Biosensors, Optical Biosensors, Piezoelectric Biosensors, and Thermal Biosensors Biosensors Market Segmentation By Application: Medical & Healthcare, Environment Monitoring, Food & Beverages, and Others Medical & Healthcare, Environment Monitoring, Food & Beverages, and Others Biosensors Market Segmentation By Geography : North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World : North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Product Profiles, Case Studies, KOL's Views, Analyst's View Which MedTech key players in the biosensors market are set to emerge as the trendsetter explore @ Biosensors Companies Table of Contents 1 Biosensors Market Report Introduction 2 Biosensors Market Executive Summary 3 Competitive Landscape 4 Regulatory Analysis 5 Biosensors Market Key Factors Analysis 6 Biosensors Market Porter's Five Forces Analysis 7 Biosensors Market Layout 8 Biosensors Market Company and Product Profiles 9 KOL Views 10 Project Approach 11 About DelveInsight 12 Disclaimer & Contact Us Interested in knowing the biosensors market by 2032? Click to get a snapshot of the Biosensors Market Trends Related Reports Diabetes Market Diabetes Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast - 2034 report deliver an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key diabetes companies, including TikoMed, Avotres, REMD Biotherapeutics, Novo Nordisk, among others. Diabetes Pipeline Diabetes Pipeline Insight - 2025 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key diabetes companies, including Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Janssen Biotech, Zealand Pharma, BioRestorative Therapies, Elevian, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, ImCyse, Novo Nordisk, Enthera, Precigen, Inc., Japan Tobacco, Avotres, AstraZeneca, Landos Biopharma, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, REMD Biotherapeutics, Inc., Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk A/S, Diamyd Medical, NextCell Pharma, ViaCyte, Op-T LLC, Dompe Farmaceutici S.p.A, ILTOO Pharma, Throne Biotechnologies, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Jaguar Gene Therapy, SQZ Biotechnologies, Genprex, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics, Biora Therapeutics, Genprex, Inc., among others. Type 1 Diabetes Market Type 1 Diabetes Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast - 2034 report deliver an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key type 1 diabetes companies, including Histogen, Novo Nordisk, Prevention Bio, among others. Type 2 Diabetes Market Type 2 Diabetes Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast - 2034 report deliver an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key type 2 diabetes companies, including Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca, Novartis, among others. About DelveInsight DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant, and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Contact Us Shruti Thakur info@delveinsight.com +14699457679 https://www.delveinsight.com/medical-devices Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-biosensors-market-to-show-positive-growth-at-a-cagr-of-8-by-2032--delveinsight-302392534.html Mickey 17 is easily one of the best films of the year, which should be witnessed on the big screen read more Star cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo Director: Bong Joon-ho Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho garnered global popularity with Parasite, which earned the Palme dOr followed by bagging Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, making it the first non-English film to win Best Picture. Now, the South Korean filmmaker is ready to entertain us with Mickey 17 featuring Robert Pattinson in the titular role. Based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the sci-fi black comedy recently premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. Advertisement While the trailer and the recent screening have garnered rave reviews, lets find out whether it lives up to the sky-high expectations of cinegoers Its 2054 AD, Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson), which means Mickeys 17th clone is almost half-dead as he is inside the hole of a snow-covered cave. His friend Timo (Steven Yeun) finds him but chooses to leave him to die as he will be cloned again the next day. Now, Mickey takes us to a flashback of nearly four-and-a-half years, how he signed up to be an expendable on the new colony planet Niflheim lead by Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette), one of the deadliest jobs where he is cloned after death time and time again, after his friend Timo asks him to collaborate for a Macarons business, which leaves the pair in a huge debt and now they are chased by one of the dangerous loan sharks. Cut to the present, Mickey 17 is saved by the alienated creepers, who are inhabitants of Niflheim. As he reaches the colony, his survival comes as a surprise, as everyone assumed he is dead, and Mickey 18 bumps into him. The situation goes awry as one of the strictest rules in the colony planet is that if there are multiples of a clone, all clones are killed. Now, they have to team up not only for their survival but also to prevent a potential apocalypse. Bong Joon-ho once again showcases his impeccable filmmaking skills, where he adds the inhuman emotional depth to the storytelling as the subject is emotional but treated in a dark comical way. He perfectly blends and balances the layered and underlayered tones to deliver a mind-boggling visual spectacle. Talking about the performances, Robert as Mickey Barnes/17/18 displays his acting mettle and versatility by smoothly and effortlessly expressing a variety of emotions from being cynical, angry and scared of death, to show distinct features of his characters. Advertisement Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette are menacing, cunning and inhuman and make you hate their characters to the core. Naomi Ackie as Nasha is badass and charismatic as Mickeys love. On the whole, Mickey 17 is easily one of the best films of the year, which should be witnessed on the big screen. Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars) Mickey 17 will release on 7th March Ranya Rao was produced before a judge on Tuesday evening and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody. The 33-year-old star had flown in from Dubai on an Emirates flight on Monday and allegedly two people accompanying her were carrying the smuggled gold in briefcases. read more Ranya Rao, Kannada actor & Karnataka DGP (Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Raos stepdaughter was arrested at Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport after 14.8 kilograms of gold worth Rs 12 crore was allegedly found in her possession. The actress was produced before a judge on Tuesday evening and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody. The 33-year-old star had flown in from Dubai on an Emirates flight on Monday and allegedly two people accompanying her were carrying the smuggled gold in briefcases. Advertisement The trio had cleared security at the Kempegowda airport and were about to exit when a DRI team, which got the intel, stopped her and started a search. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs 12.56 crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, a DRI statement said. Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewelry worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore, the DRI said. The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and remanded to judicial custody. The total seizure in the case stands at Rs. 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks, the agencys statement said. Who is Ranya Rao? Ranya, who hailed from Karnatakas Chikamagaluru, has completed an engineering degree from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bangalore. She made her big debut opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in Maanikya in 2014, which was a remake of the 2013 Telugu film Mirchi featuring Prabhas and Anushka Shetty. Ranya also appeared in a Tamil film Wagah (2016) opposite Vikram Prabhu. The actress also claims to be the stepdaughter of IPS officer and Director General of Police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao. Advertisement Woolly mammoths once roamed icy landscapes before going extinct around 4,000 years ago. Now, US biotech firm Colossal Biosciences wants to bring them back. The company has created a new genetically engineered species, the woolly mouse, as a first step. It began with mice to test the feasibility of its approach before potentially applying similar gene-editing techniques to Asian elephant embryos, the woolly mammoths closest living relatives read more A group of woolly mammoths are seen in this undated illustration. Reuters/Giant Screen Films Could woolly mammoths make a comeback? Scientists at US biotechnology firm Colossal Biosciences have successfully created a new species: the woolly mouse. ALSO READ | Why is the Malayan Tiger, Malaysias national symbol, on the verge of extinction? Colossals long-term aim is to develop mammoth-like animals that could play a role in preventing the melting of Arctic permafrost. Woolly mammoths once roamed the icy landscapes of Europe, Asia, and North America before becoming extinct around 4,000 years ago. Advertisement On Tuesday, Colossal revealed that its researchers had edited seven genes in mouse embryos to produce rodents with thick, long, woolly fur. The genetically modified mice have been nicknamed the Colossal woolly mouse. But could these genetically engineered mice pave the way for the return of woolly mammoths? And how would that be possible? Lets find out: The plan to de-extinct woolly mammoth Extinction is permanent, but scientists at Colossal Biosciences are working on what they claim is the closest possible alternative to bringing back ancient creatures. Colossal gained attention in 2021 when it announced an ambitious project to revive the , followed by the dodo bird. Since then, researchers have been analysing ancient DNA to identify key traits of extinct species, with the aim of genetically engineering these traits into living animals, Colossals co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm said. To achieve this, Colossal scientists examined mouse DNA databases to pinpoint genes linked to hair texture and fat metabolism. According to the companys chief scientist Beth Shapiro, each of these genetic variations already exists in some living mice, but the team combined them all into a single mouse. Advertisement These particular traits were chosen because they are likely tied to cold resistance - a characteristic essential for woolly mammoths to survive in the prehistoric Arctic. Colossal began experimenting with mice to test the feasibility of its approach before potentially applying similar gene-editing techniques to the embryos of Asian elephants, the closest living relatives of woolly mammoths. The companys ultimate objective is to create herds of mammoth-like creatures that could inhabit the Arctic tundra. It believes these animals grazing habits could promote grassland growth and help limit the release of carbon dioxide from thawing permafrost. This process contributes to global warming. The genetically modified mice have been nicknamed the Colossal woolly mouse. AP/Colossal Biosciences Researchers plan to assess whether these mice are better adapted to cold temperatures and to further examine their hair development. Advertisement Ben Lamm said that the company does not intend to breed or sell the genetically modified mice. However, for around $3,500, scientists can purchase a shaggy-haired mouse strain known as woolly from the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. This particular strain was first bred over two decades ago. ALSO READ | Humans nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago, say scientists. Heres what we know How was the woolly mouse created? To create the woolly mouse, Colossal stated that it identified genetic differences between mammoths and their closest living relative, the Asian elephant. The companys researchers then focused on 10 genetic variants linked to hair length, thickness, texture, colour and body fat. These variants matched known DNA sequences found in laboratory mice. Advertisement Using three advanced techniques, the team carried out eight simultaneous genetic edits across seven genes in mice. Colossal shared a preprint scientific paper detailing its findings. This unpublished research has not yet been peer-reviewed. I think that the ability to edit multiple genes at the same time in mice, and to do so and obtain the expected woolly appearance, is a very important step, Love Dalen, professor of evolutionary genomics at Stockholm University. Dalen, who is an advisor to Colossal, coauthored the paper, told CNN. The genetically edited mice with long, thick, woolly hair at a lab in Texas. AP/Colossal Biosciences What critics are saying about the process Scientists outside the project have differing opinions on whether this approach will aid conservation. Youre not actually resurrecting anything - youre not bringing back the ancient past, Christopher Preston, a wildlife and environment expert at the University of Montana, who was not involved in the research, said in a statement to AP. Advertisement Many independent experts remain sceptical about the concept of de-extinction. You might be able to alter the hair pattern of an Asian elephant or adapt it to the cold, but its not bringing back a woolly mammoth. Its changing an Asian elephant, Preston explained. ALSO READ | Scientists clone first healthy rhesus monkey. Why is this significant? Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology and developmental genetics at the Francis Crick Institute in London, who was also not involved in the study, told The Guardian, My overall concern is whether this is a sensible use of resources rather than spending the money on trying to prevent species becoming extinct. He also pointed out that there is no evidence yet on whether the genetically modified mice can withstand colder temperatures. Other experts said that the research did not introduce mammoth genes into mice but instead altered mouse genes to achieve known effects on their fur. This doesnt seem to have a practical use or any real scientific value, Dr Helen Wallace of the campaign group GeneWatch told BBC. In response, Colossal researchers argue that their work is misunderstood. They describe their woolly mouse as a tool for testing genetic modifications before applying them to elephants, ensuring the changes are both effective and safe. With inputs from agencies US President Donald Trump addressed his first joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. In a touching moment during the session, he named 13-year-old DJ Daniels, a cancer survivor, an honorary Secret Service agent. As the chamber burst into applause in a rare display of solidarity, he also praised the boy for his will, grit, and determination. Heres all we know about the young boy. Devarjaye DJ Daniels, a 13-year-old from Texas, was diagnosed with rare cancer in 2018. He was on Capitol Hill yesterday as Trump spoke to the joint session of Congress. As DJ, who was seen wearing his Houston Police Department uniform, sat in the gallery, Trump revealed that despite all the obstacles, the teenager persisted in his dream of becoming a police officer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, Trump said. Tonight, DJ were going to do you the biggest honour of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service. As the House gallery chanted his name, his father, overtaken with passion, raised DJ into the air, saying, DJ! DJ! Then, as the applause continued, Secret Service Director Curran came up to the young kid and gave him an official badge. Trump said, This young man is ecstatic to be here, as lawmakers and guests applauded. More than a dozen Democrats stood up to celebrate DJ with Republicans in a rare show of solidarity. Currently, DJ is trying to get sworn into as many police enforcement departments as he can. The teenager was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Rice University Police Department in February 2022. He was given a key to the city and made an honorary Jasper police officer in December 2024. As per a press release from Rice University, DJs main goals are to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to commemorate the life of Abigail Arias, a seven-year-old girl who was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Freeport Police Department before she passed away from lung cancer in 2019. Despite DJs initial goal of being sworn in by 100 law enforcement agencies, he became an honorary member of 230 agencies by 2022 as his narrative gained more public support. Over 6,100 US citizens applied for British citizenship last year, the highest number recorded since data collection began two decades ago a 26 per cent rise from 2023. Immigration lawyers have linked the surge to Trumps re-election bid and his victory in early November, with some calling the US political climate a very serious driver read more The rise in applications has been linked to Trumps return to office. Reuters/File Photo With Donald Trump back as US President, an exceptional number of Americans are seeking British citizenship. Official data from last year reveals that applications from US nationals for UK citizenship have reached an all-time high. The rise in applications has been linked to Trumps return to office and recent changes to the UK tax system. ALSO READ | A US citizenship for $5 million: What is Trumps gold card for the rich? But how did Trump push Americans to seek British citizenship? And how did tax reforms in Britain contribute to this increase? Advertisement Lets take a look: How Donald Trump led more Americans to seek UK citizenship More than 6,100 US citizens applied for British citizenship last year, the highest figure recorded since data collection began two decades ago - a 26 per cent increase from 2023. Overall, UK citizenship applications rose by 6 per cent to 251,000, setting another record. The final quarter of 2024 saw a sharp rise in applications from US citizens, jumping 40 per cent year on year to approximately 1,700, Financial Times reported citing data from the Home Office. Why the sudden surge? Immigration lawyers suggest that Trumps bid for re-election and his victory in early November contributed to the rise, with some describing the US political climate as a very serious driver. Elena Hinchin, a partner at law firm Farrer & Co, told Financial Times, Weve definitely seen more interest in citizenship from the US since the lead-up to the election campaign. Theres much more interest than under the previous Trump administration. Hinchin also noted that the UKs decision to abolish non-dom tax status has influenced some wealthy Americans living in Britain to apply for citizenship before leaving. Many high-net-worth individuals are considering leaving the UK given the tax changes, she told the newspaper. They want to apply for citizenship now so that they dont lose the right to do so it just keeps the door open and means more flexibility for their children. ALSO READ | Trumps gold card too expensive? These countries offer residency via golden visas Advertisement Ono Okeregha, director at the law firm Immigration Advice Service, told FT that searches for British citizenship spiked the day after the US election in November, with continued interest in citizenship and visa applications since the start of Trumps turbulent second term. The surge mirrors a similar trend in early 2020 when over 5,800 Americans renounced their citizenship in just six months, almost triple the total for all of 2019. The final quarter of 2024 also set a record for any three-month period in the past 20 years, with 1,708 applications filed between October and December, covering Trumps re-election on 4 November. The data comes as the Trump administrations strained ties with Ukraine and Europe over the ongoing war continue to affect US security and trade policies. Advertisement Overall, UK citizenship applications rose by 6 per cent. Reuters/File Photo A third or fourth order factor? Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, stated that the data indicated Americans were particularly keen to secure citizenship last year. However, she warned that people often have a variety of personal motivations for seeking citizenship in another country. For people moving from safe countries, politics tends to be a third or fourth order factor, not a key reason for moving on its own, she told FT. To qualify for UK citizenship, applicants must have lived in the country for five years or have a parent who holds British citizenship. Those married to a British citizen can apply after three years of residence in the UK. A rise has also been observed in US citizens applying for Irish citizenship. According to the report, applications from North Americans with Irish ancestry increased by 46 per cent last year. Irish law permits US citizens to claim citizenship by descent, provided they can prove that a grandparent was born in Ireland. Advertisement Changes in UK tax policy factor The UKs policies may have played a role in drawing American interest. The Labour Party has announced plans to abolish the countrys non-dom tax status, which benefits individuals whose permanent residence is outside the UK. Although the system is set to end in April, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has suggested the possibility of extending the transition period by two to three years for those affected. The change may have encouraged wealthy Americans to seek UK citizenship. The UKs policies may have played a role in drawing American interest. AP/File Photo Ed Wanambwa, a partner at law firm Russell-Cooke specialising in UK immigration law, told Fortune that US nationals use various pathways to move to the UK, including student and work visas. Until three years ago, the Tier 1 Investor Visa provided an easy route for affluent Americans to settle in the UK by investing 2 million or more. However, after the scheme was scrapped to prevent abuse, fewer options remained available. Advertisement Americans heading to the UK, but where are British citizens moving? While more Americans rush to secure UK passports, some British citizens have been seeking their own alternatives. Following the UKs decision to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016, the number of Britons applying for Irish passports nearly doubled, CNN reported. Holding an Irish passport grants the right to live, work, and travel freely across Europe. Meanwhile, with Trumps re-election last November raising concerns among Americans worldwide about what the next four years may bring, some communities have spotted an opportunity. An Italian village has launched a website aimed at attracting American expats, promoting affordable homes to those unsettled by the election outcome. The initiative hopes to repopulate the village and revive its economy after years of decline. Are you worned (sic) out by global politics? Looking to embrace a more balanced lifestyle while securing new opportunities? the website asks. Its time to start building your European escape in the stunning paradise of Sardinia. With inputs from agencies ALSO READ | Tariffs, Ukraine aid, Doge savings: Fact-checking Donald Trumps US Congress speech CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, has agreed to sell its entire stake in Panamas Balboa and Cristobal ports to a BlackRock-led consortium for nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt. The deal, pending Panamas approval, follows US concerns over alleged Chinese influence on the canal, though Panama maintains that China does not control its operations read more The entrance of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd 0001.HK agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium in Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has finalised a deal to sell its controlling stake in key Panama port operations, a move that effectively places the ports under American control. The sale comes amid concerns from the US government, particularly from US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, regarding alleged Chinese influence over the strategic shipping route. Beijing and Panama have denied such claims. All about the deal CK Hutchison Holdings, a major Hong Kong-based conglomerate, announced that it would sell all shares in its subsidiaries, Hutchison Port Holdings and Hutchison Port Group Holdings, to a consortium led by BlackRock Inc. The deal, valued at nearly $23 billion, includes $5 billion in debt and must receive approval from the Panamanian government before being finalised. The acquisition grants the BlackRock-led consortium control over 43 ports across 23 countries, including the crucial Panama Canal entry points at Balboa and Cristobal. Advertisement In addition to BlackRock, the consortium includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited. A view of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kongs CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to curb Chinas influence in the region, Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters BlackRock, one of the worlds largest asset management firms, has yet to comment beyond a press release highlighting the transactions significance. The deal does not involve CK Hutchisons interests in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, South China, or other Chinese ports. US concerns over alleged Chinese influence The sale follows years of concerns raised by Washington over potential Chinese influence on the Panama Canals operations. Trump has previously stated that the US foolishly relinquished control of the canal in 1999, under a treaty signed by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Trump and his allies have expressed worries about port fees and alleged Chinese control over canal logistics, claims that Panama has repeatedly refuted. Earlier this year, US Senator Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, voiced concerns that China could exploit the canal or obstruct passage, stating that the ports act as ready observation posts for Beijing. This situation, I believe, poses acute risks for US national security, Cruz said. The Trump administration had increased its scrutiny of Hutchison Ports, which managed Balboa and Cristobal under a renewed 25-year concession granted in 2021. Panama launched an audit of the agreement, sparking speculation that it might be revoked. Amid these developments, reports suggested that a US-aligned company was being positioned to take over the ports. What Panama has said In response to Washingtons pressure, Panamas government has strongly denied any foreign control over the canals operations. Panamas President Jose Raul Mulino recently rejected US claims of Chinese influence and insisted that the canal remains a neutral international waterway. However, following a visit from Rubio in February, Panama announced its withdrawal from Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijings global infrastructure strategy. This decision was met with strong criticism from the Chinese government. A spokesperson from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, stated that China does not operate or manage the canal and pointed out that the waterway remains permanently neutral. Advertisement Who is CK Hutchison? CK Hutchison Holdings, formed in 2015 from the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, is one of Hong Kongs most prominent business empires. Founded by billionaire Li Ka-shing, the conglomerate operates in multiple industries, including retail, telecommunications, infrastructure, and ports. The firm, which generated a net profit of around $3 billion in 2023, is listed in Hong Kong and registered in the Cayman Islands. Li Ka-shing, now 96, built the company from humble beginnings, initially producing plastic flowers before expanding into real estate and infrastructure. He earned the nickname Superman for his business acumen, reported Fortune. In 2018, Li passed control of the company to his son, Victor Li, a member of Chinas political advisory body, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, reported The Wire China. The younger Li also holds board positions in Hong Kong Electric Investments, an affiliate partly owned by Chinas State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Advertisement Despite its global reach, CK Hutchisons ties to China have long been a subject of debate. In 1997, when the company secured the Panama port concession, US officials examined whether it acted as a front for the Chinese government. While no conclusive evidence was found, concerns resurfaced in recent years, particularly after CK Hutchison subsidiaries promoted their involvement in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, operates 53 ports across 24 countries. It previously controlled 90 per cent of the Panama Ports Company, the operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports. Is the Canal free from alleged Chinese influence? While the port sale shifts control away from a Hong Kong-based entity, debate over Chinas presence in the Panama Canal continues. Some US officials argue that even indirect connections to Beijing pose risks. Rubio stated that a company based in Hong Kong is the government of China, claiming that such firms would have to comply if Beijing ordered a shutdown of the canal. Advertisement However, Panama and China both refute these allegations. A Hong Kong government spokesperson told AFP that Hong Kong authorities never interfere in the commercial operation of Hong Kong companies. Meanwhile, Chinas foreign ministry reaffirmed that Beijing does not manage or operate the Panama Canal, calling it a permanently neutral international waterway. While critics have suggested that Hong Kong-based firms are ultimately influenced by Beijing, CK Hutchison has maintained that its operations are strictly commercial. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies A controversy erupted after Elon Musk was seen deplaning the Air Force One alongside Donald Trump. The Doge leader was accompanied by his mother Maye Musk and son X A-12. Critics are questioning Musks growing influence and powers in the White House, as he travels in the exclusive presidential aircraft read more The billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, along with his mother Maye Musk and four-year-old son X A-12, was seen deplaning the special presidential aircraft Air Force One alongside Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews last Sunday. AP Air Force One, an aircraft synonymous with the President of the United States, had an unusual guest this timeElon Musk. The billionaire tech mogul, along with his mother Maye Musk and four-year-old son X A-12, was seen deplaning the special presidential aircraft alongside Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews last Sunday. But the sight of one of the worlds richest men and his family using the taxpayer-funded government aircraft didnt sit well with many. Critics call it a blatant misuse of government resourcesespecially when Musk has an entire fleet of private jets at his disposal. Advertisement But is it unusual for presidents to invite others aboard their plane? What makes Air Force One so special? What are people saying? We explain. Aboard the Presidential air fleet On Sunday evening, Elon Musk was accompanied by his mother, Maye Musk, and his four-year-old son, X A-12, as they travelled aboard Air Force One. Photos captured the family waving at cameras as they stepped off the aircraft. Elon Musk was accompanied by his mother, Maye Musk, and his four-year-old son, X A-12, as they travelled aboard Air Force One and Marine One. Image courtesy: X/@ChrisDJackson The plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a military base near Washington, DC, home to the Presidential Airlift Group, which manages the US presidents air transport. According to the bases website, Basedirectory.com, this is where the presidents aircraft are stationed. As Trump exited the aircraft, Musk followed close behind, carrying his son on his shoulders and waving to the cameras. His mother, Maye, walked beside him, also acknowledging the photographers with a wave. Arriving on Marine One at White House with President Trump: Elon Musk, his mother Maye Musk , and his son X A-12 pic.twitter.com/z1VEamJHSK Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) March 3, 2025 Earlier, Maye Musk had shared glimpses of her Mar-a-Lago visit on social media, revealing that she had spent time at Trumps billion dollar Florida residence. In a video, she captured Trump and her son making a surprise appearance at the club over the weekend. It was wonderful to experience the excitement and happiness in the room, she wrote, adding heart-eyes emojis. After the trip, Trump returned to the White House ahead of his first congressional address on Tuesday. He was also accompanied by Melania Trumps father, Viktor Knavs, Daily Mail reported. Photos later showed Marine One, the presidents official helicopter, landing on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday night. As Trump stepped off, Musk, his mother, and his son could be seen still inside the aircraft. Advertisement Maye Musk was spotted riding in Marine One by photographers and speaking to Trump and her son. AP Soon after, Musk and his son were seen entering the White House, sparking speculations on social media whether the Tesla CEO and his family were chauffeured around and whether they were staying there. What is so special about Air Force One? Air Force One isnt actually a specific planeits the call sign assigned to the aircraft carrying the President of the United States. The aircraft itself is a flying fortress, offering around 370 square metres of space to accommodate the president, key officials, and members of the media. Trump has his own lavishly fitted suite onboard, complete with a large office, a private lavatory, and a conference room. The aircrafts two kitchens are designed to serve up to 100 people at a time, and much of the furniture inside was handcrafted. Air Force One. Reuters Beyond its opulence, Air Force One is built to withstand extreme threats. It is hardened against electromagnetic pulses, the kind that could result from a nuclear explosion, allowing it to function as a mobile command centre in the event of a national crisis. The plane is also equipped with an array of advanced electronic countermeasures to protect against missile attacks, similar to those found in military aircraft. Advertisement The cost of flying the airplane? According to Freedom of Information Act disclosures from 2017, operating Air Force One costs a jaw-dropping $142,380 (Rs 1.24 crore) per hour of flight time. While traditionally reserved for the president, high-ranking officials, and key staff members for use, its not uncommon for US leaders to invite guests aboard Air Force One. Over the years, presidents have often brought along extended family members on official trips. Former president Biden, for instance, frequently travelled with family, including his son Hunter, his wife, grandchildren, and even nephews and nieces. However, Musks appearance on Air Force Oneaccompanied by his familyhas led many to speculate his growing influence and powers in the White House. Advertisement Elon Musk carries his son X A-Xii as he walks across the Colonnade of the White House after arriving with President Donald Trump on Marine One, on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Washington DC. A government waste As images of Musk, his mother, and his son stepping off Air Force One spread online, social media erupted with criticism. Many questioned why a billionairewho owns multiple private jetswas flying on taxpayer-funded government transport. Your tax dollars are paying for the richest man in the world to fly around when he has his own jets. Thats government waste, wrote The Lincoln Project, a political advocacy group, on X. Your federal taxes are now paying for Musk's MOTHER to travel on Air Force One and the other bird. pic.twitter.com/dW3IjchuB6 (@TeahCartel) March 3, 2025 Marty Taylor, an X user with more than 24,000 followers, went a step further, calling the move outrageous and possibly illegal. He wrote, No matter how much Donald Trump and scared, complicit Republicans want Elon Musk to be president, he is not, and Air Force One should not be used for Musk and his family. Musk owns a fleet of jets. Let him pay for his own travel and lodging. And keep his a* out of our White House.* However, not everyone was outraged. Some social media users saw nothing unusual about Musk travelling on Air Force One, especially in his role as a senior adviser. Theyre working while being green and flying together. There is nothing strange about a president flying with an adviser, commented ResethO, an X user with over 16,000 followers. The controversy comes amid growing concerns over Musks increasing authority in the White House. Since taking office, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained access to sensitive databases, overseen mass federal job cuts, cancelled contracts, and even shut down parts of the governmentincluding the US Agency for International Development ( USAID). With input from agencies William Farr Comprehensive School in England has removed all mirrors from its toilets. The new regulation was implemented, according to the Welton secondary school administration, because the mirrors were encouraging children to spend too much time in the toilets often in large groups read more All the mirrors from the toilet facilities at the William Farr C of E Comprehensive School in Welton have been taken out. Image Courtesy: williamfarr.lincs.sch.uk Mirrors on the walls of school toilets in England has got everyone talking in the UK. William Farr Comprehensive School in Lincolns Welton has removed all mirrors from its toilets. The reason? Authorities say the mirrors were causing discomfort to some students and negatively impacting punctuality. Soon after the move, messages demanding the return of mirrors appeared on the walls, with many calling it silly and extreme. Also read: Mobile phone bans in schools not linked to grades or behavior of kids, says study Advertisement Mirrors ban in school toilets According to Lincolnshire Live, all the mirrors from the toilet facilities at the William Farr C of E Comprehensive School in Welton have been taken out. The new regulation was implemented, according to the Welton secondary school administration, because the mirrors were encouraging children to spend too much time in the toilets often in large groups. Grant Edgar, the headteacher, claimed that the academy had some issues at transition times, which might affect punctuality to lessons. The toilets were being used as a gathering point, which was causing issues for students genuinely wanting to use the facilities. Long queues and excessive traffic in the toilet blocks were leading to slow transition times between lessons as well as after break and lunch times, the school said, according to the report. Additionally, it stated that this has been affecting the timely commencement of classes. There would be 6.4 days of lost learning over the course of the school year if every lesson began two minutes later than planned. Some pupils have been feeling uncomfortable about using the facilities when large groups of students are gathered there. This has been an issue raised by students and parents alike. According to the school, it should be a safe environment for all students to learn; therefore, taking down the mirrors was necessary to make sure everyone was comfortable. Advertisement The spokesperson added, We are aware that some pupils may need access to a mirror during the school dayperhaps to replace contact lenses or to check on their braces, and so mirrors are available for this purpose from the school reception and in our medical area. It is important to note that many schools across the country have taken this measure with some putting even stricter toilet use restrictions in place. Also read: Why China is asking school teachers to hand in their passports Reaction There have been messages demanding the return of the removed mirrors. Mothers have also spoken out against the decision, calling it silly and extreme. One parent expressed her opinion that the decision was quite strange and that her daughter will be impacted by the removal of the mirrors. Advertisement My daughter has contact lenses and braces, she told the BBC, adding, She does need a mirror if she needs to get her contact lenses out. Another parent said, Theyre just mirrors, arent they? We have mirrors at home, why cant we have them in school? Also read: Why an American teen, who graduated with honours, is now suing her school Similar moves Mirrors in restrooms have been taken out of schools before. According to reports, a middle school in North Carolina decided to take down toilet mirrors in January 2024 because more pupils were wasting valuable class time making TikTok movies in the restrooms. Advertisement Daily Mail claims Christopher Whitehead Language College in New Englands Worcester changed the mirrors in the girls restrooms in 2023 with posters that described makeup as a harmful drug that made women feel ugly. Parents at the time opposed to this method, with some claiming that it was improper to compare lipstick to lethal drugs. Headmaster Neil Morris later acknowledged his error and reversed its decision. As the debate continues on student access to mirrors and other tools like mobile phones gains attention, psychologist Emma Kenny believes children should be part of decisions, even though schools have a right to institute rules. You dont know whats going on in that kids life, she tells the BBC, adding, That hub in the bathroom where they are checking make-up and covering spots can be powerfully important to them. Advertisement According to Kenny, the bigger issue should address the reason why kids are using the restrooms at school for extended periods of time. Maybe something needs to change intrinsically within the school, she said. It can feel like you are running a gauntlet at high school even if you have lovely teachers and pastoral support. With inputs from agencies US President Donald Trumps tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico have come into effect. In response, all three nations have announced retaliatory measures. As the trade war escalates, heres how American businesses and consumers will be hit read more US President Donald Trumps long-threatened tariffs are here, plunging the country into an escalating trade war with China, Canada and Mexico. Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday (March 4), along with a heightened 20 per cent levy on Chinese goods. In response, all three countries announced retaliatory measures. Experts say consumers and businesses will be the hardest hit. Companies big and small will face higher costs on the goods they buy from other countries and could have little recourse but to hike prices themselves. For consumers, that will likely mean more expensive price tags on everything from cars, appliances and other big-ticket items to smaller, everyday purchases including electronics, gasoline and groceries. Advertisement What measures have Canada, Mexico and China taken? Canada, Mexico and China all declared on Tuesday (March 4) that they would impose retaliatory taxes on many US products. China is imposing tariffs of up to 15 per cent on a wide array of key US farm exports, including American-grown chicken, pork, soy and beef. It also expanded the number of US companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Unlike Canada or China, however, she said she would not announce specific tariffs until Sunday (March 8) possibly indicating that Mexico still hopes to de-escalate the trade war. All of the economies involved in the tariffs will see a loss in their real GDP (gross domestic product) and increasing consumer prices in general, said Wendong Zhang, an assistant professor of applied economics and policy at Cornell University. Canada and Mexico will suffer considerably more than the US because of the US economys size and strengthening dollar, Zhang added. For the US, the combined tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could result in about a 0.4 per cent GDP loss, amounting to over $100 billion, he said. The tariffs may be short-lived if the US economy suffers. But Trump could also impose more tariffs on additional countries such as India or EU nations, and more products such as computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs. The president has injected a disorienting and unpredictable volatility into the world economy, leaving it off-balance as people wonder what he will do next. Advertisement How will tariffs affect US businesses? Manufacturing companies and retailers for a wide array of goods will feel the impact. International trade is critically important to our business and industry, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on an earnings call Tuesday. The consumer electronics supply chain is highly global, technical and complex. China and Mexico remain the No. 1 and No. 2 sources for products we sell, respectively. An LCBO employee removes American whiskey from the shelves at the 100 Queens Quay East LCBO outlet in Toronto. AP At Target, sales and profits slipped during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and there will be meaningful pressure on the companys profits in early 2025 because of the tariffs and other costs, CEO Brian Cornell said at the companys annual investor meeting Tuesday. Car companies supply chains that cross the borders of the US, Canada and Mexico could be disrupted in addition to auto parts that come from China. Advertisement How will the tariffs impact consumers in the US? Tariffs on China could impact a variety of consumer products, including cell phones, childrens toys and clothing that Americans buy every day. Some companies have been working to delay or lessen the blow on consumers by stockpiling what they can or shifting manufacturing and suppliers back to the US or other countries not impacted by the new levies. Still, its easier to stock up on some goods than others. And even some made-in-USA products may contain plastics or packaging from China, for example. Wider supply chain shifts are also complicated and far from easy to carry out. When it comes to consumer electronics, We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely, Best Buys Barry said. Advertisement And with the US spending billions on fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico and Canada each year, shoppers could face additional sticker shock in the grocery aisle. The new tariffs could also hike prices of tequila, mezcal, whiskey and other spirits made in those countries. A truck loaded with produce from Mexico and Canada passes through Pharr, Texas on March 4, 2025. AP Tariffs add another mental calculus for consumers on top of other price pressures today such as soaring egg prices due to avian flu, Zhang says. He adds that shoppers will need to watch prices for everyday items more closely. When will customers see prices go up? Exactly when consumers will see prices rise isnt clear, but perishables will likely get hit first. Especially during colder months, retailers rely on foreign imports for fresh fruit and vegetables, and long-term storage isnt an option. Shoppers could start seeing the prices of produce such as avocados, which come from Mexico, go up industry wide as early as in a few days, Targets Cornell told reporters on Tuesday. Advertisement But he added that the extent to which prices will increase depends on how things play out over the next few weeks. I think things are unfolding so quickly, Cornell said. We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think were going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we dont want to overreact right now to one day and one headline. Maharashtras Rural Development Minister, Jaykumar Gore, is under pressure from opposition leaders over allegations of harassment and sending obscene photos to a woman. The opposition is demanding his removal from the Cabinet. Gore has denied the accusations and said that he will pursue legal action for defamation against those making the claims read more A Maharashtra minister is facing backlash from opposition leaders over allegations of harassment and sending obscene photos to a woman. Maharashtras rural development minister, Jaykumar Gore, is at the centre of the controversy after Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of sending obscene images to a woman. ALSO READ | How Union Minister Raksha Khadses teen daughter was molested at a Maharashtra fair Notably, Gore has denied the accusations and stated that he will take legal action for defamation against those making the claims. Advertisement Meanwhile, the opposition is calling for his resignation, coming just a day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde stepped down following murder charges against his close aide. Sanjay Raut has also said that the alleged victim plans to stage a protest outside the Vidhan Sabha in the coming days. But who is Jaykumar Gore? What exactly are the allegations against him? How has the opposition responded, and how did he react on the matter? Lets answer these questions: Who is Jaykumar Gore and what are the allegations against him: Explained in 10 points 1. Jaykumar Gore represents the Man-Khatav constituency in Maharashtras Satara district as an MLA. 2. The BJP leader currently serves as Maharashtras Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Jaykumar Gore is Maharashtras rural development minister. X/@Jaykumar_Gore 3. Previously a Congress MLA, Gore switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019 and secured victories in both the 2019 and 2024 assembly elections. 4. The case in question dates back to 2016, when Gore was still with Congress. A complaint was filed against him for allegedly sending inappropriate images to a woman. 5. Following the complaint, Gore sought relief from the Satara District Court and the Mumbai High Court to prevent his arrest. ALSO READ | Why Wikipedia is in trouble over content on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Advertisement 6. However, his bail plea was rejected at the time, and he was later jailed for ten days. 7. While the case was reportedly settled, the woman has alleged continued harassment. In January, she wrote to the Governor, claiming that her name and address had gone viral across multiple WhatsApp groups. 8. She also started receiving letters related to the case, which, according to her, were later shared on social media, The Week reported. 9. Gore has defended himself, stating that the court had already acquitted him in 2019. He said, I have a copy of the verdict. In the verdict, the court has acquitted me. The court had ordered the destruction of the seized material and mobile phone Advertisement 10. He also said that it had been six years since the courts decision and questioned the timing of the allegations resurfacing. Political leaders should set limits on what to say at what time, he said. Opposition demands Gores resignation The opposition has called for Jaykumar Gores removal from the cabinet, alleging that he harassed a woman and sent her inappropriate images. Gore switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019. X/@Jaykumar_Gore Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that the minister had once again threatened the woman and urged for his dismissal, The Times of India reported. ALSO READ | Pune bus rape case: The shocking case of Pune woman raped inside ST bus by man out on bail While Wadettiwar refrained from naming Gore directly, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut explicitly accused him. Raut also stated that the victim planned to stage a hunger strike outside the Vidhan Bhavan. Advertisement He alleged that Gore had molested a woman from the family of Hambirrao Mohite, a prominent Maratha warrior. Raut said, Information has surfaced about how this minister has tortured and molested a woman. That helpless woman will sit on a hunger strike in front of Vidhan Bhavan in the next few days. This issue will have to be raised in the Legislative Assembly. Such ministers should be kicked out. Meanwhile, BJP Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said he would gather details on the matter before making any statements. With inputs from agencies Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Bengaluru airport for possessing 14.8 kilogrammes of gold, worth Rs 13 crore. She reportedly wore a significant portion of gold and concealed gold bars in her belt. A stepdaughter of top Karnataka cop, she also allegedly used her connections to bypass custom checks read more Rao was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for possessing 14.8 kilogrammes of gold. Image Courtesy: @RanyaRao/X South Indian actress Ranya Rao is embroiled in controversy after being arrested at Bengalurus international airport for allegedly smuggling gold. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) took her into custody on Monday night upon her arrival from Dubai for possessing 14.8 kilogrammes of gold. As per current gold rates, the price of the gold could be around Rs 13 crore. Rao was presented before an economic offences court on March 4 in the evening and was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Delhi DRI team reportedly had intel on the actresss smuggling activities. Who is Ranya Rao? Ranya Rao, 33, is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, a senior IPS officer from Karnataka. He is currently serving as Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, as per Hindustan Times. Hailing from Karnatakas Chikmagalur, she studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before stepping into the film industry. She made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film, Maanikya, directed by Sudeep. She portrayed a wealthy young woman and the protagonists love interest. According to Mint, she was cast in the supporting role after her mother and supporters shared her portfolio with casting coordinators. She has also appeared in other South Indian films like the 2015 Tamil film Wagah and the Kannada comedy Pataki in 2017. Also read: 11.4 kg gold smuggled in sanitary pads seized in 1 week; smugglers hope to cash in price rise dashed Why was she arrested? Rao was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for possessing 14.8 kilogrammes of gold. She had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been on the polices radar due to her frequent international travel. The actress reportedly visited Dubai four times in 15 days, according to the police. When she returned, this frequency generated attention and led to a focused operation. According to a preliminary investigation, Rao might have tried to get around customs inspections by using her contacts. As per PTI, upon landing, she allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnatakas Director General of Police and contacted local police personnel to escort her home. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD She allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a large amount of it and hiding gold bars in her clothes, investigators revealed. As per The Times of India report citing sources, officers were shocked to find gold bars cleverly concealed in a belt." Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kilogrammes were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs 12.56 crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, a DRI statement said. After her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengalurus HBR Layout for questioning. According to the DRI statement, Raos residence at Bengalurus Lavelle Road was also searched and more gold jewellery was found there. Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore, it said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The total seizure in the case stands at Rs 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks, the agency said. Rao has been arrested under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and remanded to judicial custody. In order to ascertain whether she has previously smuggled gold, officials are currently examining CCTV footage from her previous arrivals. They are also looking into whether she was a member of a bigger smuggling network between India and Dubai or if she was acting alone. Nonetheless, her father has disassociated himself from her actions. He said that Rao had not been in touch with the family since he married Jatin Hukkeri four months ago. Hukkeri is an architect who has designed pubs and microbreweries. Expressing shock and disappointment, he told The Times of India, She has let us down. If she has done anything wrong, the law will take its course. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also read: 30 kg of gold, a consulate and 24-carat confusion: All the twists and turns in the Kerala gold smuggling case Previous controversies According to News18, Raos father was embroiled in a controversy in 2014. When he was IGP (Southern Range), the Mysuru police was accused of misappropriating seized funds after a Kerala jeweller alleged that officers confiscated Rs 2 crore in cash but officially recorded only Rs 20 lakh. After the CID looked into the matter, Raos gunman was taken into custody on suspicion of dacoity. With inputs from agencies Once a call for racial awareness, woke has transformed into a highly charged political term. Initially rooted in Black activism, it gained traction in progressive circles before being co-opted as a pejorative by conservatives. With Donald Trump declaring that America will no longer be woke, the terms evolution reflects deep ideological divisions, especially in the US read more US Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks with reporters after meeting with members of the Anti-Woke Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, June 22, 2023. File Image/Reuters In his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump declared that America would no longer embrace wokeness, highlighting his administrations efforts to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies from the federal government, military, and private sector. Weve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer, Trump said. Advertisement He also highlighted his stance on gender identity policies, urging Congress to criminalise gender transitions for minors: And now, I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalising sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie. And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you. Trump claimed that his administrations anti-woke policies had already improved the morale and recruitment efforts in the military. Because were getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and its already out, and its out of our society. We dont want it. Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad. Its gone. Its gone. And we feel so much better for it. Dont we? Dont we feel better? Our service members wont be activists and ideologues. They will be fighters and warriors. They will fight for our country Trump also claimed that there was an an improvement in military recruitment, stating, I am pleased to report that in January, the US Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services. How did the term woke come around? While the term woke has been frequently used in contemporary political discourse, its origins date back to the early 20th century in Black American communities. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, woke originally meant being informed and conscious of social injustices and racial inequality. The term is believed to have gained prominence through the 1930s protest song Scottsboro Boys by blues musician Lead Belly. In the song, Lead Belly urged Black Americans to stay woke as a warning against racial violence, referencing the Scottsboro Boys case, in which nine Black teenagers were falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. Advertisement The term re-emerged during the 2014 Ferguson protests following the police shooting of Michael Brown, gaining further traction through the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Activists used stay woke to highlight police brutality and racial injustice, spreading the term widely across social media and activist circles. Over time, woke extended beyond racial issues to include a broad range of social justice causes, including gender rights, LGBTQ+ rights, economic disparities, and systemic inequalities. How has the term woke been politicised since? By the late 2010s, the term woke had been appropriated by Republican politicians and conservative commentators, often using it pejoratively to criticise progressive policies. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, US President Donald Trump, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been among the most vocal critics of woke ideologies. In his 2022 election night speech, DeSantis declared, We reject woke ideology. We will never ever surrender to the woke agenda. People have come here because of our policies. His administration later banned spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes at public universities and placed restrictions on race-related content in schools. The Parental Rights in Education Law and the Stop WOKE Act were introduced to limit classroom discussions on race, gender, and oppression. Advertisement Similarly, Trump and other Republicans have increasingly used woke as a broad criticism of leftist social movements, tying it to concepts such as critical race theory, affirmative action, and gender identity policies. DeSantis administration defined woke as the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them, a definition widely used by conservatives to frame progressive activism as divisive and extreme. So is being woke just performative activism or actual social awareness? As the term woke gained mainstream traction, it also faced criticism from multiple sides of the political spectrum. While conservatives used it derisively, some progressives and leftists argued that wokeness had become performative and corporate-driven. The rise of woke capitalism and woke-washing where corporations adopt social justice rhetoric for marketing purposes sparked debates over the sincerity of corporate activism. Critics argued that many brands exploited progressive values without enacting meaningful change, leading to a backlash against what some viewed as hollow virtue signaling. Advertisement Linguist and social critic John McWhorter compared the trajectory of woke to that of politically correct, another term that originated in progressive circles but was later repurposed by conservatives as an insult. Also Read | No Pride flags at US embassies, govt buildings: What is Trumps one flag policy? Even former US President Barack Obama weighed in on the topic, cautioning against rigid ideological purity and cancel culture. By 2018, the perception of woke had shifted negatively an NPR commentator urged leftists to abandon the term, while conservatives increasingly associated it with performative progressive activism. During the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Obama stated, This idea of purity, and youre never compromised, and youre always politically woke, and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly. The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. Advertisement Some argue that the push against wokeness represents a backlash against progressive social changes, while others view it as a necessary correction to what they see as ideological overreach in schools, corporations and government institutions. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies Kannada actress Ranya Rao was caught smuggling gold worth nearly Rs 13 crore from Dubai earlier this week. But this wasnt a one-off incident. Rao had been under the radar for quite some time due to her suspicious and frequent travelling pattern. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials caught Rao red-handed with 14.8 kilogrammes of gold attached to her belt and clothing read more During questioning, Ranya Rao claimed that she had been blackmailed into smuggling gold. She was caught red-handed by DRI authorities at Bengaluru airport on Monday. Image courtesy: Facebook/Ranya Rao A glamorous film career, frequent Dubai trips, and an alleged smuggling operation worth croresKannada actress Ranya Raos dramatic arrest at Bengaluru airport has already made headlines. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) apprehended the actress on Monday as she allegedly attempted to smuggle 14.8 kilogrammes of gold into India, a haul valued at nearly Rs 13 crore. But this wasnt a one-off incident. Authorities had been tracking her movements for a while, noticing her repeated travel pattern and her calculated attempts to bypass customs with each trip from the UAE. This time, however, when Rao was one step away from clearing security, DRI caught her red-handed, and uncovered what is termed to be the biggest seizure of gold at the Bengaluru airport. Advertisement Notably, Rao is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, a senior IPS officer from Karnataka, who is currently serving as Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. So, what led to her arrest? How did authorities uncover the smuggling operation? Heres what we know so far. Four Dubai trips in 15 days According to India Today, Rao had been under surveillance for quite some time due to her frequent trips to the UAE with her husband, Jatin, despite having no clear business or family ties there. Sources revealed that Rao had travelled to Dubai four times within a span of just 15 days, a pattern that immediately raised red flags for authorities. Each time she returned to Bengaluru, she was seen wearing a noticeable amount of gold jewellery. Adding to the suspicion, she was observed wearing the same set of clothes on each trip. Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials intercepted Rao upon her arrival from Dubai to Bengaluru via an Emirates flight on March 3, 2025. As per DRI protocols, passengers who make frequent trips to specific regions are subjected to thorough checks. During the frisking process, investigators discovered that she had attempted to smuggle gold by wearing a large amount of it and concealing gold bars within her clothing. A Times of India report, citing sources, described how officers were shocked to find gold bars cleverly concealed in a belt. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kilogrammes were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs 12.56 crore, was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, the DRI stated. Advertisement Following her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengalurus HBR Layout for questioning. The investigation didnt stop there. DRI officials searched her residence on Lavelle Road, where she lived with her husband. Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore, the agency stated. Frequent trips to Dubai, Smuggling of gold, 4.5 lakh/month apartment, Jewellery worth 2.06 crore and cash amounting 2.67 crore seized. #RanyaRao pic.twitter.com/w5MZzc0ooc Pinky Rajpurohit (@Madrassan_Pinky) March 5, 2025 Advertisement With the total value of the seized assets standing at Rs 17.29 crore, the bust dealt a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks, officials added. Rao was subsequently booked under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and was presented before an economic offences court. She was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. Also read: Who is Ranya Rao, the Kannada actress caught smuggling gold bars in her belt? Bypassed customs checks each time During investigation prior to her arrest, authorities noticed that Rao reportedly managed to bypass stringent customs checks. Each time she returned from Dubai, she had a police escort who helped her navigate past airport security. Even on the day of her arrest, Rao reportedly attempted to avoid security screening with the help of a police constable, identified as Basavaraju, who accompanied her, India Today reported. Advertisement Following her detention, authorities also took constable Basavaraju into custody and recorded his statement regarding his alleged role in assisting Rao at the airport. Authorities noticed that Ranya Rao reportedly managed to bypass stringent customs checks. Each time she returned from Dubai, she had a police escort who helped her navigate past airport security. Image for Representation. PTI During questioning, Rao claimed that she had been blackmailed into smuggling gold. Investigators are now probing whether she was acting alone or if she was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. Meanwhile, her father has distanced himself from her actions. He revealed that Rao had not been in contact with the family since her marriage to Jatin Hukkeri four months ago. Hukkeri, an architect, is known for designing pubs and microbreweries. Expressing his shock and disappointment, he told The Times of India, She has let us down. If she has done anything wrong, the law will take its course. Advertisement Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara declined to comment on the issue, saying the case was under investigation. We are investigating the case. But unless and until they come out with definite information, we cannot say anything. I dont know anything. I am simply speculating. If it was police work; we would have gotten information, all this has to be found out and then I can come and say. Internally, yes, from the department I can definitely get some information, he was quoted as saying by India Today. Who is Ranya Rao? Originally from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Ranya Rao is a popular actress. She pursued engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before making her way into the film industry. Rao is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, a senior IPS officer from Karnataka, who is currently serving as Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. Image courtesy: facebook/Ranya Rao She made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film Maanikya, directed by Sudeep. In the film, she played a wealthy young woman and the protagonists love interest. According to Mint, the 33-year-old landed the supporting role after her mother and well-wishers shared her portfolio with casting coordinators. Ranya later appeared in other South Indian films, including the 2015 Tamil movie Wagah and the 2017 Kannada comedy Pataki. With input from agencies US President Donald Trumps address to Congress was met with protests from Democrats, who staged walkouts, held up signs, and wore pink in symbolic defiance. Texas Representative Al Green was ejected for disrupting the speech, while lawmakers displayed messages like RESIST and No More Kings. Trump, unfazed, mocked their reactions, deepening partisan divisions read more New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who chairs the Democratic Womens Caucus wears pink along with a few fellow Democrats during US President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. File Image/X-RepTeresaLF United States President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday was met with vocal and symbolic opposition from Democrats, who used various forms of protest to express their dissent. The 100-minute speech, the longest in modern US history, highlighted Trumps stance on economic policies, immigration, and foreign affairs. However, the reaction from the Democratic side of the aisle was far from receptive. Some Democrats, including Texas Representative Al Green, directly disrupted the speech. Green stood up during Trumps remarks and declared that the president lacked a mandate, prompting Republican Representative Nancy Mace to shout, Sit your ass down! Advertisement Green refused, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to order the sergeant at arms to remove him from the chamber. As he was escorted out, some Republican lawmakers sang, Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye. The atmosphere in the chamber remained tense throughout the night. Many Democratic lawmakers refrained from clapping or making eye contact with Trump as he entered. Throughout the address, interruptions and protests punctuated the proceedings, with Johnson repeatedly calling for decorum as Republicans countered with chants of USA to drown out dissenting voices. Democrats wear pink In a coordinated effort, numerous Democratic women in Congress chose to wear pink as a subtle yet pointed act of defiance. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, head of the Democratic Womens Caucus, stated that the colour symbolised resistance to Trumps policies, particularly those affecting women and families. Pink is a colour of power and protest, she told Time magazine. Trump has frozen funding for farmers, fired Forest Service employees who prevent wildfires, caused prices to increase, and pardoned January 6 violent convicted felons. The state of the union is CHAOS. Looking forward to hearing why Trump is increasing costs and causing this pic.twitter.com/SgNSEBLmRg Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (@RepTeresaLF) March 5, 2025 Advertisement The move echoed a similar demonstration during Trumps 2019 State of the Union address when Democratic women dressed in white to commemorate 100 years of womens suffrage. US Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, arrives before US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. File Image/AP Despite the shift in colour, the message remained clear opposition to the Trump administrations policies. Before the address, members of the Democratic Womens Caucus gathered outside the Capitol, where Fernandez declared, Women cannot afford Trump. He costs us too much in terms of money, health, lives, and safety. Advertisement Thats a lie, Save Medicaid, NO MORE KINGS The protest extended beyond dress choices. Several Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout mid-speech, removing their jackets to reveal T-shirts with messages such as RESIST and NO MORE KINGS. Representatives Maxwell Frost of Florida and Jasmine Crockett of Texas were among those who participated in this act of defiance. Other lawmakers, including members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, held up placards with statements such as Thats a lie, Musk Steals, Save Medicaid, and Protect Veterans. People hold protest signs during US President Donald Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters These messages were intended to highlight concerns about Trumps policies, particularly regarding healthcare, veteran services, and his administrations ties to billionaire Elon Musk, who has played a prominent role in government efficiency reforms. Signs printed with the word False in white lettering were also displayed each time Trump made a contentious claim. Some Democrats sought to make their protest even more personal by inviting guests affected by Trumps policies. Democrats hold protest signs as US President Donald Trump address a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters Among those in attendance were a disabled veteran from Arizona, a Maryland healthcare worker, and a former forestry employee from California who worked on wildfire prevention. Their presence served as a pointed critique of Trumps workforce reductions and budget cuts that affected federal employees. Advertisement How Trump reacted to the Democrats Far from being unsettled by the protests, Trump appeared to revel in the confrontations. As Democrats staged walkouts and held up protest signs, the president took a moment to address them directly. I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realise there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, he remarked. He went on to suggest that even if he cured a devastating disease or achieved historic economic success, his critics would remain unmoved. Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. Advertisement US Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters Trump also took the opportunity to praise Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has led efforts to reduce federal spending and eliminate government waste. Musk has helped identify hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud, Trump claimed, though his statement exceeded even the administrations official estimates. Musk, who was seated in the gallery, received ovations from Republican lawmakers. The events of the night highlighted the stark partisan divide that has defined Trumps presidency. With inputs from agencies In his joint address to the US Congress on Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that he will impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India, from April 2. The US president has long been critical of Indias high tariffs on imported American goods. Heres what they are read more US President Donald Trump's reacts during a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, March 4, 2025. Reuters American President Donald Trump threatened India with reciprocal tariffs during his joint address to the US Congress on Tuesday (March 4) night. His remarks come amid the US trade war with Mexico, China and Canada. Trump, who has targeted India over high tariffs on American imports many times, said in his speech, If you dont make your product in America under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union (EU), China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada, have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. Its very unfair. India charges US auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent. Advertisement He announced that the US will impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that charge high duties on American goods on April 2. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn, Trump said. Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use non-monetary barriers to keep us out of their market, we will do the same. Lets take a closer look. Indias imports from US America exports crude oil and related products, gems and stones, nuclear reactors and electrical and medical equipment to India. US exports to India touched $42.19 billion in 2023-24, a jump from $35.81 billion in 2019-20. Mineral fuels accounted for the largest part of these American exports, followed by precious and semi-precious stones, nuclear reactors, electrical machinery, and aircraft and parts. While India does not levy high taxes on the top 30 items imported from the US, it imposes high basic customs duty (BCD) on luxurious cars and motor vehicles. New Delhi has, however, slashed these rates in the Union Budget. Meanwhile, India exports to the US include pearls, semi-precious stones, pharmaceutical products and electrical equipment. What are reciprocal tariffs? Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries. Reciprocal tariffs are the duties on imported goods that the US wants to levy against its global trading partners equal to the existing rates imposed by those countries on items imported from America. Trump believes the US has been treated unfairly in global trade. Through reciprocal tariffs, the US president aims to reduce the countrys trade deficit, boosting his America First approach. The US has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India, making it one of the key targets of Trumps reciprocal tariffs. How India is trying to avert Trumps tariffs India has already taken steps to avert Trumps reciprocal tariffs. As part of the Union Budget, the Narendra Modi-led government reduced import duties on several US goods. This included slashing import duty on some Harley-Davidson motorcycles, from 50 per cent to 40 per cent, and 100 per cent on bourbon whiskey from 150 per cent. Dubbing Indias tariffs on imported American goods a big problem, Trump said earlier this month at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House that the US sales of oil and gas will bridge the countrys trade deficit with India. Advertisement We want a certain level playing field, which we really think were entitled to, and he does also, in fairness. So were going to work on that very hard, and we can make up the difference very easily with the deficit, with the sale of oil and gas, LNG, of which we have more than anybody in the world, Trump said. The US president said the two countries have decided to make America a leading supplier of oil and gas to India. New Delhi also agreed to buy F-35 fighter jets from the US, firming up defence cooperation. On Monday, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal left for the US for trade talks. A government source told Reuters that he will seek clarity on Americas reciprocal tariffs to analyse their impact on India. Advertisement Goyal is likely to discuss potential Indian concessions and a trade deal to cut tariffs and enhance bilateral trade. New Delhi is expecting to finalise the first part of a trade deal with the Trump administration by the fall, hoping it would protect India from reciprocal tariffs. India and the US are aiming for a bilateral trade worth $500 billion by 2030. According to Bloomberg sources, Indian officials are looking for ways to cut tariffs on a wide range of American imports, including cars and chemicals. As per Reuters, while India is open to discussing reducing tariffs on industrial products, including automobiles and chemicals, but is hesitant about lowering tariffs on agricultural products. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Health experts are raising concerns after US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr suggested vitamin A and nutrition as measles treatments, without explicitly endorsing vaccination. With a major outbreak in Texas already claiming a life, doctors warn that promoting vitamin A as an alternative could be misleading and dangerous read more US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr attends US President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC, US. File Image/Reuters Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, has worried medical professionals, pediatricians, and lawmakers following his recent remarks on measles treatment. In response to a growing measles outbreak in Texas, Kennedy wrote an opinion piece for Fox News advocating the benefits of vitamin A and good nutrition while notably omitting a strong endorsement of vaccines. The omission has drawn sharp criticism, particularly given that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective, with a 97 per cent success rate in preventing infection. Advertisement Relying on vitamin A instead of the vaccine is not only dangerous and ineffective, but it puts children at serious risk, Dr. Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told The Washington Post. The Texas measles outbreak The outbreak in Texas has already affected at least 160 people, with most cases occurring in unvaccinated communities in the South Plains region. Over 20 individuals have been hospitalised, and a school-aged child who was not vaccinated has died the first measles-related death in the US since 2015. Kennedys initial response to the outbreak was met with widespread disapproval. He mistakenly stated in a cabinet meeting that two people had died in Texas and downplayed the significance of the outbreak, calling it not unusual. The Texas outbreak alone has already accounted for a significant portion of last years total measles cases across the US, raising concerns about the resurgence of the disease. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dispatched disease detectives to Texas to aid in controlling the spread. Health officials warn that the outbreak is likely under-reported, with some affected communities reluctant to seek medical care. Vitamin As role in measles treatment Vitamin A has been used as a supportive therapy for children with severe measles, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where malnutrition is common. Studies have shown that in such settings, vitamin A supplementation can reduce the risk of complications and mortality. However, experts caution against misrepresenting it as an alternative to vaccination. Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, warned against creating a false equivalency between vaccination and vitamin A supplementation. To make the best decision for your children, you can either vaccinate or give vitamin A That would be highly misleading, he told The Washington Post. Advertisement The CDC recently issued a statement reiterating that while vitamin A can be part of supportive care for measles patients, it is not a cure nor a substitute for immunisation. Dr. David Higgins, a preventive medicine specialist, highlighted the importance of vaccination, telling NBC News, What I would have loved to see added in the CDCs statement is that vitamin A is never an alternative to MMR vaccination for measles prevention. I think that clarity is really, really important. RFK Jr.s vaccine policies Kennedys stance on measles treatment has also drawn criticism from lawmakers, including US Senator Elizabeth Warren, reported CNN. In a letter to Kennedy, Warren accused him of undermining public health efforts, stating, Your irresponsible and reckless efforts to undermine the nations vaccine policy threaten to fan the flames of disaster. Advertisement As health secretary, Kennedy has made several controversial moves regarding vaccine policies. He has halted meetings of influenza experts at the FDA and CDC, put a stop-work order on contracts for new vaccine development, and is reassessing a $590 million contract with Moderna for a bird flu vaccine. His past leadership at Childrens Health Defense, an organisation known for spreading vaccine misinformation, has also fuelled concerns about his approach to public health. The high risk of misinformation in public health Health professionals warn that Kennedys rhetoric could contribute to vaccine hesitancy, making communities more vulnerable to future outbreaks. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to its resurgence. Experts stress that herd immunity requires at least 95 per cent of a population to be vaccinated, a threshold that has not been met in many affected areas. Dr. Alexandra Yonts, an infectious disease specialist, cautioned against the misuse of vitamin A, stating that excessive intake could lead to toxicity. What Im afraid is going to happen in these communities is, Oh, well just go out there and start taking high doses of vitamin A every day to keep the measles away. This can actually result in negative outcomes and illness for those kids, she told NBC News. Advertisement While supportive treatments like vitamin A can help manage severe cases, experts overwhelmingly agree that immunisation remains the most effective way to protect against measles and prevent future outbreaks. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies New research found that men with higher-quality sperm are likely to live nearly three years more than those with low-quality. The large-scale study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, tracked over 78,000 Danish men for 50 years. It found that poor semen quality in men may be an early warning sign of broader health issues read more The large-scale research, published in the journal Human Reproduction, revealed that men with the best-quality sperm lived two to three years longer than those with the lowest quality. File image/ Reuters Sperm quality is often considered a measure of male fertility, but what if it also holds clues to a longer life? A new study suggests that men with higher-quality sperm tend to live longer than those with poor swimmers that struggle to reach their destination. The large-scale research, published in the journal Human Reproduction, tracked over 78,000 men for 50 years. The findings revealed that men with the best-quality sperm lived nearly three years longer than those with the lowest quality. Advertisement It really seems to be that the better the semen quality, the longer the survival, said lead study author Lrke Priskorn, a researcher and doctoral candidate at Copenhagen University Hospital, in a statement. But what exactly links sperm quality to a longer life? Could this be a key indicator of overall health? Heres a closer look at what the study uncovered. Semen quality linked to lifespan Hailed as a landmark study, researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark conducted a broad and comprehensive survey of 78,284 men who had their semen quality assessed between 1965 and 2015, due to couple infertility. With that large of a dataset, they analysed semen quality in depth, which included semen volume, sperm concentration, and the proportion of sperm that were motile and a normal shape. During follow-ups, they tracked mortality rates and causes of death among participants. By that point, 8,600 of the menabout 11 per cent of the totalhad passed away, while some of these men had donated sperm between 1987 and 2015. When researchers compared the compiled data, they found a clear link between sperm quality and life expectancy. In absolute terms, men with a total motile count of more than 120 million lived 2.7 years longer than men with a total motile count of between 0 and 5 million. The lower the semen quality, the lower the life expectancy. This association was not explained by any diseases in the ten years before semen quality assessment or the mens educational level, said study author Lrke Priskorn. Advertisement A man with extremely poor sperm motility could expect to live around 77.6 years, while someone with exceptionally high motility could reach 80.3 years. Image for Representation. Pixabay The ability of a sperm to properly swim through the female reproductive tract to reach and fertilise an egg is called motility. To put it in perspective, a man with extremely poor sperm motility could expect to live around 77.6 years, while someone with exceptionally high motility could reach 80.3 years, according to the studys findings. Why this matters While semen testing is primarily used to assess fertility, experts suggest it could serve as an early indicator of broader health issues in men. Dr Niels Jorgensen, chief andrologist at the Department of Growth and Reproduction at Copenhagen University Hospital, stressed the importance of understanding the link between semen quality and overall health. We need to better understand the association between semen quality and mens general health. However, this study suggests that we can identify subgroups of men with impaired semen quality who are apparently healthy when their semen quality is assessed, but who are at increased risk of developing certain diseases later in life, he said. Advertisement Also read: Microplastics in human testicles: How this could affect fertility Now, researchers are looking to pinpoint which specific diseases are more prevalent in men with poor semen quality. If certain conditions are identified, sperm analysis could eventually become a tool for early disease detection and prevention, allowing doctors to guide at-risk men toward lifestyle changes or medical interventions. In an accompanying editorial, John Aitken, a professor emeritus from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, who was not involved in the study wrote, If spermatozoa really are the canaries in the coalmine of male health, the obvious question to ask is why. Advertisement Oxidative stress might be the culprit could be oxidative stress, according to Aitken. This occurs when free radicalsunstable molecules that can damage DNA and disrupt cellular functionaccumulate in the body, leading to cell death, including in the testes and sperm. Aitken also pointed to genetic factors, immune system deficiencies, underlying health conditions like heart disease, lifestyle choices, and environmental pollutants as other potential contributors to poor semen quality and overall health risks. As per The Guardian report, Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Manchester, urged men with low sperm quality not to panic but to stay proactive about their health. Its important that men with poor sperm quality do not panic, but they should take the opportunity to discuss any concerns with their fertility specialist or family doctor. As they get older, they should be encouraged to engage with any offer of any healthcare screening which is offered to them, he said. Advertisement With input from agencies Speaking at the DISHA event in New Delhi, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that India has more than doubled its spending on research and development (R&D) in the last decade, rising from 60,196 crore in 2013-14 to 1.27 lakh crore. read more India has more than doubled its spending on research and development (R&D) in the last decade, rising from 60,196 crore in 2013-14 to 1.27 lakh crore, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said. Speaking at the DISHA event in New Delhi, he credited this growth to the governments focus on innovation in key areas like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing. Singh emphasised that Indias future economy will be driven by home-grown advancements in deep-tech. He highlighted the countrys growing intellectual property-driven innovation ecosystem, supported by academia, industry, and startups. Government initiatives, he noted, are helping to transition innovations from research labs to industries, pushing India towards self-reliance. Advertisement The minister praised the DISHA Program for supporting students and researchers working on disruptive technologies. He also pointed out the governments efforts to involve the private sector in fields like space and nuclear research, leading to faster advancements and greater global competitiveness. In healthcare, Singh discussed the role of AI-powered telemedicine in improving access to medical services in remote areas. While AI is transforming healthcare, he stressed the need to balance technology with human expertise. Looking ahead, Singh urged young innovators to lead Indias technological progress as the country moves towards its 2047 centenary of independence. Our investments today will shape Indias place in the global economy in the coming decades, he said. During his recent visit to Gujarats Vantara, a vast wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation centre that shelters over 1.5 lakh rescued, endangered, and threatened animals from more than 2,000 species, PM Modi inaugurated the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre read more Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra commended Anant Ambanis Vantara on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the wildlife preservation facility in Jamnagar. Reposting one of PM Modis posts from his recent visit to Vantara, Mahindra said, Having visited Vantara myself, I echo the sentiments of PM Narendra Modi; the level of care and expertise that Anant Ambani has put together at Vantara is truly impressive and cutting-edge." Having visited Vantara myself, I echo the sentiments of PM @narendramodi; the level of care and expertise that Anant Ambani has put together at Vantara is truly impressive and cutting-edge. It is heartening to see animals that have experienced such misfortune find a safe and https://t.co/RGioRhjHOz anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 5, 2025 Advertisement He added, It is heartening to see animals that have experienced such misfortune find a safe and nurturing home. During his recent visit to Gujarats Vantara, a vast wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation centre that shelters over 1.5 lakh rescued, endangered, and threatened animals from more than 2,000 species, PM Modi inaugurated the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. Praising the initiative, he said that an effort like Vantara was truly commendable. Founded by Anant Ambani with the support of Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation, Vantara is a groundbreaking wildlife conservation initiative. Located within Gujarats Jamnagar Refinery Complex, this 3,000-acre sanctuary offers refuge to abused, injured, and endangered animals. Designed as a holistic rehabilitation centre, Vantara is committed to creating a safe, natural, and nurturing habitat for its diverse inhabitants. Last month, Vantara was awarded the Prani Mitra National Award the countrys highest honour for animal welfare. The award recognises the contributions made by the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT), an organisation under Vantara that looks after the rescue, treatment, and lifelong care of elephants. The Ukrainian President could not realise that he was merely a pawn though a much glorified one in the larger Russia versus the West battle. And like all pawns, he was there just for making sacrifices at an opportune time read more The fate of Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office on Friday, February 28, 2025, reminds us of the title of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold. For, anybody with a sense of history, and also a bit of geo-strategy, would have realised that sooner than later the Ukrainian President was going to tread the path to perdition. His was the case of a disaster foretold. Sadly, the Ukrainian President could not realise that he was merely a pawn though a much glorified one in the larger Russia versus the West battle. And like all pawns, he was there just for making sacrifices at an opportune time. The Oval Office saga exemplified this stark reality. Advertisement What one saw at the Oval Office wasnt regular stuff. Differences do happen on the diplomatic front, but rarely are dirty linen washed in public. It all began when the Ukrainian President tried giving history lessons to Trump and Vance, especially the latter, explaining how the US Vice President had little understanding of Vladimir Putins Russia. This was followed by Vance accusing Zelenskyy of being disrespectful and also trying to litigate in front of the American media. He asked the Ukrainian President to be thankful to Donald Trump for trying to bring an end to the war. Zelenskyy did no good to his cause, and of course his country, when he mocked Vance for talking about Ukraines problems without ever visiting it once. He might have scored a point or two on the political front, especially in his Ukrainian constituency, but it was a diplomatic hara kiri of sorts. Zelenskyy should have known that he was in America for a deal a deal which his country needed the most. And a seeker of a deal doesnt resort to giving history lessons, more so to his patrons. It was then that Trump lost his cool. While accusing Zelenskyy of gambling with World War III, he said: Dont tell us what were gonna feel. Youre in no position to dictate what were going to feel Youve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position You dont have the cards right now with us. Interestingly, Zelenskyy was heard murmuring, in response: I dont play cards! Given his handicap with English, Zelenskyy seemed to have taken Trumps card charges literally. The Ukrainian President would, thus, have done well to have used the services of an interpreter. This is especially advisable when, especially in the Western world, English is not your first language. This becomes even more pertinent when the situation is tough and tense, as was the case when Zelenskyy reached the White House. Another advantage of having an interpreter is that the latter would be more nuanced and diplomatic in the usage of terms. Advertisement Zelenskyy could still have avoided the spat by keeping quiet. He could have learnt from the conduct of other world leaders who visited the White House in recent times. But then Zelenskyy took his laurels too seriously, never realising that he was being feted merely because he had become the face of the war that the West had been itching to go with Russia for years. The Ukraine war can be analysed from two vantage points, depending on ones ideological inclinations. If ones worldview is shaped by Eurocentrism, then Russia is the aggressor for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine. But if ones idea of history isnt moulded by the dominant European worldview, then one could see the US-led NATO being the real aggressor in the battle of supremacy in Eastern Europe of promising not to move an inch to the east of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Advertisement But as Richard Lourie writes in Putin: His Downfall and Russias Coming Crash, NATO, of course, moved not inches but hundreds of miles east. This was effectuated by granting membership to three former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and seven former Eastern Bloc countries Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Slovenia between 1999 and 2004. This policy has been criticised by none other than George Kennan, US ambassador to the USSR and author of the containment doctrine that guided the American policy throughout the Cold War. He has called NATOs expansion the most fateful error of American policy in the post-Cold-War era and foresaw its leading to a resurgence of nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion. Advertisement Putin, to his credit, has been raising the issue of NATOs eastward movement for almost two decades. In February 2007, he said at the Munich Security Conference: We have the right to ask: Against whom is this (NATO) expansion intended? And what happened to the assurances our Western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? Seven years later, he again raised this issue: They (Western leaders) have lied to us many times, made decisions behind our backs, placed before us an accomplished fact. This happened with NATOs expansion to the east, as well as the deployment of military infrastructure at our borders. Advertisement Zelenskky, by ignoring these realities, deliberately or otherwise, has severely hurt the interest of the very country he is leading today. Ukraine has turned out to be the biggest loser in the entire story. But then thats what happens when someone volunteers to become a pawn in the bigger war; he loses the most during the war and gains nothing after the war gets over. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Trusting Pakistan would not only dishonour the martyrs of 1971 but would also imperil Bangladeshs hard-won future read more The political tides in Dhaka are shifting. With the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and the rise of the Mohammed Yunus-led regime, a disconcerting pattern is emerging, one that appears to favour closer ties with Pakistan. This development raises critical questions about Bangladeshs future and whether its leadership is choosing to forget the blood-stained history of 1971. For India, which has historically stood by Bangladesh as a steadfast ally, this pivot should be seen as a cause for concern, not just for regional geopolitics but for the very democratic fabric of Bangladesh. Advertisement The genocide of 1971 Pakistans brutal military crackdown on the people of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in March 1971 was one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. The Yahya Khan-led military junta, unwilling to accept the democratic verdict that gave Sheikh Mujibur Rahmans Awami League an electoral mandate, launched Operation Searchlight, a campaign of mass murder, rape, and forced disappearances that would claim the lives of an estimated 3 million Bangladeshis and leave millions more displaced. The Pakistani military, aided by local collaborators like the Jamaat-e-Islami, systematically targeted intellectuals, students, and Hindu minorities in an attempt to suppress the Bengali nationalist movement. The trauma of this period is woven into the fabric of Bangladeshs identity. The mass graves in Dhaka, the testimonies of rape survivors, and the countless families torn apart by Pakistans military brutality are not just historical footnotes, they are a reminder of why Bangladesh fought to break free from Pakistans oppressive grip. The question now is whether the new regime in Dhaka will betray the sacrifices of 1971 by cosying up to the very country that sought to erase Bangladeshs existence. Pakistans unapologetic stance More than five decades later, Pakistan has neither apologised for its atrocities nor shown any willingness to acknowledge its historical crimes. Unlike Germany, which confronted its Nazi past and sought reconciliation with its victims, Pakistan has chosen denial. Successive Pakistani governments have dismissed the genocide as a fabricated narrative, further inflaming tensions. Even when Bangladesh formally sought an apology, Pakistani leaders evaded responsibility. Instead, they glorify the very military officers who orchestrated the 1971 killings. The refusal to acknowledge past crimes is not just an affront to history but an indicator of Pakistans unchanged mindset, a mindset that still views Bangladesh with a sense of resentment rather than respect. Advertisement Despite this, the Yunus-led administration seems inclined to re-establish warm ties with Islamabad. This raises a fundamental question: If Pakistan has never repented for its crimes, how can Bangladesh expect it to be a trustworthy partner today? Dangers of renewed engagement with Pakistan Under Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh flourished as a rising economic powerhouse, cementing its place as one of South Asias fastest-growing economies. Her governments strategic alliance with India provided Bangladesh with security, stability, and economic cooperation. The new regimes overtures toward Pakistan, however, signal an impending realignment that could undermine these gains. Pakistans attempts to court Bangladesh are not altruistic. It has long sought to erode Indias influence in South Asia by exploiting discontent in the region. If Bangladesh aligns itself with Pakistan, it risks destabilising its own security apparatus, as Islamabad has historically used proxy groups to create internal disturbances. The resurgence of extremist elements such as Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh, a group that sided with the Pakistani military in 1971, should be seen as a warning sign of where this renewed engagement could lead. Advertisement Pakistans continued subversion of Bangladeshs interests The betrayal of 1971 was not the first time Pakistan turned against the interests of the Bengali people, and it certainly wasnt the last. Even after Bangladeshs independence, Pakistan has actively worked against Dhakas interests. Pakistans economic sabotage became evident when it refused to hand over Bangladeshs rightful share of financial assets following independence, creating significant early economic struggles for the new nation. Furthermore, the terrorist nexus linked to Pakistan is equally alarming; the Pakistan-backed Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been implicated in multiple attempts to destabilise Bangladesh through radical Islamic groups. Notably, Pakistani intelligence supported the militant organisation Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI-B), which has played a role in fomenting unrest in the country. On the international stage, Pakistan has persistently demonstrated diplomatic disregard by attempting to block Bangladeshs diplomatic initiatives, thereby undermining Dhakas sovereignty in multilateral forums. Given this history of deception, why should Bangladesh believe that Pakistans newfound interest in brotherly relations is genuine? Advertisement The India factor: A natural ally for Bangladesh While the Yunus regime appears eager to reconnect with Pakistan, it must recognise the stark contrast between its historical adversary and its most reliable partner, India. India was the first country to recognise Bangladeshs independence and provided military, economic, and diplomatic support during the Liberation War. Over the years, the Indo-Bangladeshi relationship has flourished, with India providing significant infrastructural aid, cross-border connectivity, and security assistance to Bangladesh. From counterterrorism cooperation to energy trade, India and Bangladesh have built a mutually beneficial relationship. Any move to realign Dhakas foreign policy in favour of Pakistan would not only be a betrayal of history but also a self-destructive act that would weaken Bangladeshs regional standing. Advertisement Dont fall for Pakistans trap The re-engagement with Pakistan under the Yunus administration is not just about diplomatic manoeuvring, it is about the ideological soul of Bangladesh. The rise of a regime willing to overlook the horrors of 1971 in favour of geopolitical expediency is a dangerous precedent. It has already led to the resurgence of Islamist extremism and the weakening of democratic institutions. Pakistan, through its Islamist proxies and intelligence networks, has long sought to influence Bangladeshs internal affairs. The newfound warmth between Dhaka and Islamabad may be the opening it needs to regain lost ground. If Bangladesh lets its guard down, it risks undoing the decades of progress that have made it an emerging power in South Asia. History has a way of repeating itself when nations forget their past. Bangladesh must decide whether it wishes to remain a progressive, economically vibrant nation allied with its most steadfast partner, India, or whether it wants to gamble its future on a partnership with Pakistan, a country that has never respected its sovereignty, democracy, or sacrifices. For the people of Bangladesh, the choice is clear. The memory of 1971 is not a relic of the past, it is a living, breathing testament to the resilience of the Bengali nation. Dhaka must not let the ghosts of history be forgotten in the name of political expediency. Trusting Pakistan would not only dishonour the martyrs of 1971 but would also imperil Bangladeshs hard-won future. Ashu Maan is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. He is currently pursuing his PhD from Amity University, Noida in Defence and Strategic Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Zelenskyy has a knowledge of the English language but it is not adequate for conducting a conversation at the summit level. He should have relied on an interpreter who could have explained the exact meaning of the idioms used by Trump read more The 49.47 minutes long video of the summit meeting of US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 28 at the White House will be closely studied by political leaders, diplomats and students of International Relations from many angles. It offers insights into basic principles that underlie interstate relations as well as the conduct of diplomacy. In both areas it profiles one fundamental lesson each. In the realm of foreign policy, it shows that countries extend assistance to another state because it is in their self-interest to do so. And, in the area of diplomacy, it shows the importance of language during the discussions and conversations of leaders behind closed doors but more so in the glare of the media. The fiasco of the meeting was because both these factors were ignored. The firston gratitudeby Trump and Vice-President JD Vance and the latteron the use of languageby Zelenskyy. Advertisement The conversation became increasingly contentious but Trump maintained his cool. This was despite Zelenskyy using very strong language against Russian President Vladimir Putin, though Trump repeatedly said that he had good relations with the Russian leader. This was also despite Zelenskyy emphasising Ukraines need for security guarantees though Trump kept downplaying their significance because, he stressed, Putin would not renege on any agreement which was done under his watch. Around 39 minutes into the meeting a journalist, presumably from Poland, or of Polish origin, implied in his question to Trump that during the Cold War the Polish people considered the US a force for the good but many now felt that he was too aligned to Putin. Trump denied that and said that his focus was on achieving a deal between the two countries and to get a deal he could not be negative to Putin. At this stage, when Trump said last question please Vance asked for the floor. Vance said inter alia, The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the President of the United States words mattered more than the President of the United States actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. Thats what President Trump is doing. At this stage Zelenskyy launched into a tirade against Putin emphasising that diplomacy had not worked with Putin in the past, including during Trumps first term. That was a direct contradiction of what Trump had stressed all through the meeting; that while Putin could and had treated his predecessors with disdain he could not do so with him. Advertisement It is now that Vance had to show his loyalty. He addressed Zelenskyy thus: Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect I think its disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict. As his exchange with Zelenskyy continued, Vance said: And do you think that its respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country? He went on to add these crucial words, after Trump had jumped into berating Zelenskyy, as he himself was doing, Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president whos trying to save your country. Vance also said as the Trump-Zelenskyy exchange descended into a brawl: Just say thank you. Advertisement Trump concluded the meeting with these words But youre either going to make a deal, or were out. And if were out, youll fight it out. I dont think its going to be pretty, but youll fight it out. But you dont have the cards. But once we sign that deal, youre in a much better position. But youre not acting at all thankful, and thats not a nice thing. Ill be honest, thats not a nice thing. Zelenskyy did say after his exchange with Vance that he was grateful for US assistance. In all the commentary that has flooded global media the one fact that has not received the attention it deserves is that Zelenskyy was visiting the White House after the Trump administration and Ukraine had agreed to cooperate on Ukraines rare earth extraction by the US. Indeed, Trump with evident pride indicated that this would be beneficial for US taxpayers but also because it would be one way of addressing the Bidens administrations folly in not getting anything back for US assistance to Ukraine. He noted that unlike the US, European countries had given loans to Ukraine. Advertisement Trump emphasised that rare earths were of vital importance to the US hi-tech industry. Clearly, if Trump was extracting a price for US assistance then why did other US leaders and he himself expect Zelenskyy to be thankful for US assistance? Trump proudly proclaimed that he was a businessperson who did deals. Hence, if Trump had made US assistance conditional to a minerals deal it had become part of a commercial transaction. And, do people doing business need to show gratitude? There is a more fundamental question. All countries that help others do not do so for altruistic reasons but to pursue their interests. Yes, the language of friendship and gratitude is used in diplomacy but no one is taken in by it. That is why when the situation changes all the help that has been rendered till then is soonest forgotten by the receiving state or group. As an illustration, Pakistans current ties with the Afghan Taliban is most instructive. But for Pakistans help which was given for over two decades the Afghan Taliban could not have sustained themselves. However, within months of coming to power in Kabul on August 15, 2021 relations between the two began to sour over the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP). Now ties between them have virtually broken down. Advertisement There is one other point directly relevant to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine while fighting Russia was contributing to European security and defending Europe. He went on to say that if Putin was not stopped he would go on to attack Poland and the Baltic States. Then, US soldiers would have to go to fight the Russians. Thus, he was articulating what is obviously a deeply held belief in Ukraine: that Europe and the US are helping Ukraine to contain Russia. They are spending money while Ukraine lives are being lost in the Russian aggression. Gratitude may be an attribute of individual behaviourthere too it is seldom so. But it has no place in interstate relations. Now to the significance of leaders and diplomats speaking in a language in which they are completely comfortable and understand all its nuances. Clearly, Zelenskyy has a knowledge of the English language but it is simply not adequate for conducting a conversation at the summit level. He should have relied on an interpreter who could have explained the exact meaning of the idioms used by Trump. For instance, an interpreter would have properly phrased Zelenskyys response when Trump told him that he did not hold any cards. Zelenskyy said that he was not playing cards! Trump was really telling him that he did not have options. Hence, Zelenskyys response came through as boorish. An inadequate knowledge of a language shows up most when an individual comes under pressure. Thus, as the heat of his conversation with Vance and Trump went up Zelenskyys articulation became jerky. That was the time when he had to be at his smoothest. Clearly, all that he wanted to point out to the US leadership and the US public, since the meeting was before the media, was that diplomacy had not worked with Putin in the past for he had broken agreement after agreement. Hence, the need for US security guarantees in addition to that of Europe; and, the presence of US miners consequent to the US-Ukraine Minerals Agreement may not be sufficient to deter Putin. An interpreter would have phased his comments in acceptable terms and not in the combative manner that Zelenskyy held forth. That would not have given any opening to Vance to lunge into Zelenskyy. In respect of the use of language in his interactions with foreign leaders Zelenskyy should take a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modis book. Modis knowledge of English makes the cut but he always uses an interpreter in his diplomatic and political interaction with foreign leaders because he is more comfortable in Hindi and is able to nuance his responses with foreign leaders. This is especially so when he is interacting with them in front of the media. This is the right approach. The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served as Indias Ambassador to Afghanistan and Myanmar, and as secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. India has launched trials for hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, marking a major step towards green transportation. The initiative, led by Tata Motors, aims to reduce emissions in long-haul freight and promote sustainable mobility. read more India began trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks on Tuesday in the presence of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi. Tata Motors initiated these trials on March 4, marking the countrys first step into hydrogen fuel for long-haul cargo vehicles. This milestone aims to reduce emissions in long-haul freight transport and promote sustainable mobility. Gadkari said, Hydrogen is the fuel of the future with immense potential to transform Indias transportation sector by reducing emissions and enhancing energy self-reliance. Such initiatives will accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility in heavy-duty trucking and move us closer to an efficient, low-carbon future. I congratulate Tata Motors for taking the lead in this significant step towards enabling hydrogen-powered green and smart transportation. Advertisement The trial phase will last up to 24 months and involves deploying 16 advanced hydrogen-powered vehicles with different configurations and payload capacities. These trucks, equipped with Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2-ICE) and Fuel Cell (H2-FCEV) technologies, will be tested on major freight routes, including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur, and Kalinganagar. This initiative aligns with Indias broader green energy goals and the National Green Hydrogen Mission, aiming to evaluate the real-world feasibility of hydrogen-powered trucks while developing the necessary infrastructure for their large-scale adoption. Tata Motors will use trucks with two types of hydrogen technology: Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (H2-FCEV). The models include the Tata Prima H.55S prime movers (available in both H2-ICE and FCEV versions) and the Tata Prima H.28 H2-ICE truck. These vehicles have a driving range of 300-500 km. The Southeast Asian nation plans to produce its own graphics processing unit chips in the next five to 10 years as demand for artificial intelligence and data centres grows read more The Malaysian government emblem and Arm Holdings' logo are seen on the chips during an event in which Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announces a $250 million deal with Arm Holdings, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 5, 2025. REUTERS Malaysia will pay Arm Holdings $250 million over 10 years to acquire the firms chip design plans for local manufacturers, the government said on Wednesday as it looks to produce its own chips within the next decade amid an AI boom. The Southeast Asian nation plans to produce its own graphics processing unit chips in the next five to 10 years as demand for artificial intelligence and data centres grows. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the agreement with Arm will allow Malaysia to design, manufacture, test and assemble AI chips to be sold globally. Advertisement Arm will also establish its first Southeast Asian office in Malaysias capital Kuala Lumpur, with the aim of expanding outreach to other markets in the region as well as Australia and New Zealand, Anwar said when announcing the deal, without providing further details. Arm CEO Rene Haas said the agreement was poised for success, given Malaysias decades of experience in the semiconductor industry built around advanced packaging, assembly and manufacturing. Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said the government will pay Arm for its intellectual property, including seven of its high-end chip design blueprints. The deal will also involve the training of 10,000 engineers in Malaysia, Rafizi told media ahead of the deals formal announcement. Malaysia hopes the deal will allow domestic producers to scale up, creating 10 local chip companies with yearly revenue of $1.5 to $2 billion each. We are looking to build a complete supply chain in advanced industries such as AI data servers, autonomous vehicles, Internet of Things, robotics and others, Rafizi said. We will prioritise local players as the first resort for every part of the supply chain. The economy ministry and Arm will each have a set of selection criteria for the local companies, given the value of the intellectual property involved and to ensure successful production, Rafizi said. The government will identify local companies with the capabilities and expertise to quickly begin manufacturing. A host of technology giants, including Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet unit Google and Chinas ByteDance, have announced billions of dollars of digital investments in Malaysia since 2023, mostly in cloud services and data centres, powering an infrastructure boom driven by growing AI demand. Advertisement Last April, Malaysia said it planned to build Southeast Asias largest integrated-circuit design park and would offer incentives including tax breaks, subsidies and exemption from visa fees to attract global tech companies and investors. Anwar said the park will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm. Arab leaders have collectively endorsed a major reconstruction initiative for Gaza, backing a $53 billion plan to rebuild the war-ravaged territory. read more Arab leaders on Tuesday endorsed a $53 billion plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip, which was devastated during Israels campaign in the 15-month-long war with Hamas. The post-war plan was proposed by Egypt, under which Gaza would be rebuilt under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA). This is said to be a counterproposal to the plan tabled by US President Donald Trump, which aims to turn the Strip into a riviera owned by the United States. Advertisement It was unclear whether Israel or the United States would accept the Egyptian plan. The endorsement of the plan by Arab leaders amounted to a widespread rejection of Trumps proposal. The vote was announced by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Arab League Summit in Cairo The Arab League summit was held on Tuesday in Cairo, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed Trumps proposal again. In their final statement, the summit announced a comprehensive Arab plan for Gazas redevelopment and called for international support for the plan. It stated that all these efforts are proceeding in parallel with the launch of a political track towards Palestinian statehood, which Israeli leaders have opposed. The statement also welcomed the Palestinian decision to form a Gaza administration committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government. Trust to pay for reconstruction The summit announced that a trust would be established to fund the territorys reconstruction, stating that it would receive financial pledges from all donor countries and financing institutions to carry out projects. Hamas welcomes initiative Hamas said it welcomed the summits plan and the proposed formation of a temporary committee to oversee relief efforts, reconstruction, and governance. Trumps proposal to take over Gaza After his return to the White House in January, Trump sparked massive global outrage by suggesting that the United States take over the Gaza Strip and turn it into the Riviera of the Middle East. The Trump Gaza plan envisions Palestinian inhabitants relocating to Egypt or Jordan. Advertisement Nearly 1.5 million homes across US states are set to face the double whammy of US President Donald Trumps tariffs on imported electricity and retaliatory surcharge imposed by Canadian province Ontario read more Doug Ford, the Premier of Canada's Ontario province, announces retaliatory measures to US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Photo: X/Doug Ford) Amid the brewing US-Canada trade war, millions of American customers are staring at a double whammy as their electricity costs are likely going to see a steep hike. Millions of Americans might see their household electricity costs rising by as much as 50 per cent in the coming days if the United States and Canada do not reach an agreement to avert a trade war. That is because Canada has responded to Trumps tariffs with levies of its own. Advertisement Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and services went into effect on Tuesday (March 4) except for oil and gas that will be tariffed at 10 per cent. Canadian federal and provincial governments reacted immediately. While the federal government announced 25 per cent phased tariffs on goods worth C$150 billion, Ontario took the lead in retaliation among the provinces. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the cancellation of C$100 million contract to Elon Musks Starlink, banned US companies from government procurement and infrastructure contracts, banned sale of US alcoholic beverages, and threatened to impose 25 per cent surcharge of electricity supplied to the United States, and even block those supplies if tariffs persist. Millions of Americans may see electricity costs spike Unlike what US President Donald Trump has led his supporters to believe, tariffs are costs that are borne by importers and are in almost all cases passed on to customers. While Trumps idea is to the shift manufacturing to the United States from abroad and discourage imports, customers at least in the short term bear the costs of expensive imports. With 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian electricity, Trump has already made electricity more millions of Americans. Ontario Premier Ford has announced he would impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity supplied to the United States if tariffs persist. Together, this might mean that millions of Americans across states may pay up to 50 per cent more for electricity. ALSO READ: Trump tariffs against Mexico, Canada & China take effect, trigger a global trade war Ontario supplies electricity to nearly 1.5 million homes across three neighbouring US states of Minnesota, Michigan, and New York and, overall, Canada provides electricity to around 4.5 million homes, according to The Narwhal. Advertisement Ford has said that he would also shut the electricity supply completely if tariifs persist. While Ford had previously dubbed shutting down electricity supply as the option of last resort, he has not said he would do so with a smile on my face if the tariffs persist into April. I want to inflict as much pain as we possibly can, said Ford. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite Taipeis objections, and has increased military pressure on the island in recent years, including three rounds of large war games read more Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attend the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Reuters Chinese Premier Li Qiang stated on Wednesday that China will firmly advance the campaign for reunification with Taiwan while resisting external intervention, adding that China would cooperate with normal Taiwanese to revitalise the Chinese country. We will firmly advance the cause of Chinas reunification and work with our fellow Chinese in Taiwan to realise the glorious cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Li wrote in his annual work report to Chinas parliament. Advertisement China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite Taipeis objections, and has increased military pressure on the island in recent years, including three rounds of large war games. In retaliation to US President Donald Trumps tariffs, Canadas Ontario province has banned US companies from all government contracts, cancelled a contract with Elon Musks Starlink, and threatened to cut electricity supplied to millions across US states read more Doug Ford, the Premier of Canada's Ontario province, announces retaliatory measures to US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Photo: X/Doug Ford) Canadas provinces have joined the federal government in retaliation to US President Donald Trumps tariffs. Ontarioa has taken the lead. Ontarios Governor Doug Ford on Tuesday announced a slew of measures that will lead to US companies losing tens of billions in business and business opportunities of hundreds of billion. He also threatened to cut Canadian electricity supply to US states that could plunge millions across states into darkness. He also cancelled a government contract with Elon Musks Starlink. Advertisement Fords measures are on top of 25 per cent tariffs that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed in two phases on US goods worth C$150 billions that Canadian. Canada has come to have a bipartisan consensus against Trumps trade war and territorial aggression. Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make the country the 51st US state. After a one-month reprieve expired, Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico came into effect on Tuesday. On March 12, 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium are set to come into effect and will hit Canada hardest as the country is the largest exporter of these metals to the United States. Ontario cancels Starlink contract, bans US firms & products In immediate retaliation to Trumps tariffs, Ontarios Premier Ford announced the cancellation of C$100 million contract to Musks Starlink. Ford also announced that US companies will be banned from government procurements contracts to the tune of C$30 billion a year and C$200 billion-worth infrastructure projects in the province. He also announced the ban on the sale of US alcoholic beverages in the state. Overall, the US companies are set to lose tens of billions in business and hundreds of billions of business opportunities. ALSO READ: Trump tariffs against Mexico, Canada & China take effect, trigger a global trade war Announding these measures, Ford said that instead of growing stronger together, Trump is sowing chaos. This is not the outcome anyone wanted. We could have poured our efforts into making Canada and the U.S. the two richest, most successful, safest, most secure two countries on the planet. Unfortunately, one man President Trump has chosen chaos instead, said Ford. Advertisement Other states are also joining the retaliation. Just like Ontario, Nova Scotias alcohol distributor also said it would stop selling US products. Ford threatens to cut electricity supply to US In what could be the most far-reaching threat, Ford announced he would cut electricity supply from his state to US states if tariffs persist. Ontario provices electricity to around 1.5 million homes in US states of Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. Ford said that he would first impose 25 per cent tariff on electricity supplied to US states and then cut the supply completely if tariffs still persist. The electricity surcharge could be damning to US costomers. The 25 per cent surchage will be on top of the 25 per cent tariff that Trump has already imposed. This would meant that customers would pay 50 per cent more for electricity supplied by Ontarioa. Advertisement ALSO READ: Even as Trump wages tariff wars, 75% Americans dont know what it means After Ford announced these measures, US Commerse Secretary Howard Lutnick called and had a conversation that has been described in the media as tough. While Lutnick asked Ford to stand down and told him that comments by Canadian leaders, such as by Trudeau that tariffs were dumb were being seen as a personal remark on the president in the United States, Ford said that he would stand down and would instead ramp up measures if needed, according to Globe and Mail. Pakistans military said that it has eliminated 16 terrorists in response to the terrorist attack on the Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which five soldiers were killed. read more Pakistan says its forces killed six terrorists in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. AP Pakistani militarys media wing said that its armed forces has eliminated 16 terrorists in response to the terrorist attack on the Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which five soldiers were killed. Four suicide bombers were among the 16 militants who were also killed in the attack, the militarys media affairs wing said. Terrorists drove two explosive-laden vehicles into the perimeter of Bannu Cantonment on Tuesday evening, attempting to breach the high-security zone, The Dawn reported, citing the Pakistani military. Advertisement The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that troops successfully fought off the intruders, killing all 16 terrorists, including four suicide bombers. During the intense gunfight, five soldiers lost their lives while defending the area, the ISPR said. Meanwhile, 13 civilians were killed, and 32 others were injured after the suicide blasts caused severe damage to a mosque and a residential building, partially collapsing the perimeter wall. The little-known Jaish Al Fursan, affiliated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the attack in Bannu. The group is one of several factions of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. After the blasts, the cantonment wall was breached, and five to six attackers tried to enter but were stopped, police said. Sources said to news agency PTI that the army sealed the main routes to the cantonment and restricted access to the blast site. Security forces neutralised at least six terrorists who had managed to enter after the explosions. Pressure is mounting on Chinese policymakers to implement measures that put more money in consumers wallets while reducing the worlds second-largest economys reliance on exports and investment for development read more Chinese President Xi Jinping walks out at the end of the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Reuters Chinas parliament opens its annual session on Wednesday, with authorities under pressure to direct more budgetary resources towards consumers in order to strengthen the economy in the face of growing US trade tariffs and deflationary pressures. Premier Li Qiang is likely to put out a similarly high, but even more difficult-to-attain objective for 2025 in front of the National Peoples Congress (NPC), after barely meeting last years economic growth target of around 5% thanks to a late stimulus push. Advertisement An escalating trade war with the United States, led by President Donald Trump, is threatening to crimp Chinas economic jewel, its sprawling industrial complex, at a time when persistently low household demand and the unravelling of the debt-laden property sector are making the economy more vulnerable. Trump has also dangled tariffs at a long list of countries, including some which would consider themselves staunch U.S. allies, threatening a decades-old global trade order that Beijing has built its economic model around. Pressure is mounting on Chinese policymakers to implement measures that put more money in consumers wallets while reducing the worlds second-largest economys reliance on exports and investment for development. Li is likely to unveil a larger budget deficit of 4% of GDP and record debt issuance. Some of these funds will go towards funding a recently expanded consumer subsidy program for electric automobiles, appliances, and other items. But economists have been urging Beijing to engineer a long-term restructuring of resource allocation in the economy with more profound measures that reimagine its taxation, land and financial systems to weave a stronger social safety net. With deflationary pressures becoming entrenched against the background of an unfavourable external environment boosting domestic household consumption demand is a key priority, said Eswar Prasad, trade policy professor at Cornell University and a former China director at the International Monetary Fund. Advertisement One-off schemes might help at the margin, but durable measures to provide income support and strengthen the safety net are essential. Chinas 5% growth rate last year was among the worlds fastest, but it was hardly felt at street level. While China runs a trillion dollar annual trade surplus, many of its people are complaining of unstable jobs and incomes as their employers cut prices - and business costs - to stay competitive in external markets. Chinese producers, facing weak demand at home and harsher conditions in the United States, where they sell more than $400 billion worth of goods annually, have no choice but to rush to alternative export markets all at the same time. Advertisement They fear this would intensify price wars, squeeze their profitability, and raise the risk that politicians in those new markets will feel compelled to erect higher trade barriers against Chinese goods to protect domestic industries. Since Trump took office in January, his administration has so far added an extra 20 percentage points on existing import tariffs for Chinese goods, with the latest 10-point increment having kicked in on Tuesday. We worry that they will add another 10% and then another 10%, said Dave Fong, who manufactures school bags, talking teddy bears, stationery and consumer electronics in China. Thats a big problem. China on Tuesday swiftly retaliated against the fresh U.S. tariffs, announcing 10%-15% hikes to import levies covering a range of American agricultural and food products, and placing twenty-five U.S. firms under export and investment restrictions. Advertisement Since the pandemic, China has primarily placed its future growth bets on what it calls new productive forces rather than on its 1.4 billion consumers, pouring resources into advanced manufacturing, hoping to close the technological gap with geopolitical rivals. Electric vehicle makers such as BYD and AI platform Deepseek have taken to the world stage with plenty of pizzazz. But Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis, says technological aspirations and consumer demand growth are competing priorities and finding a balance between them will be crucial for China to avoid the prolonged stagnation experienced by Japan. The tangible impact of this innovation drive on growth, specifically through increased productivity, is not yet visible, she said. Advertisement While industrial policy and technological advancement are important, China must address its fundamental imbalances. Better employment and working conditions remain firm goal 13:13, March 05, 2025 By Cheng Si ( Chinadaily.com.cn China will redouble its efforts to stabilize the job market this year and promote full and higher-quality employment to ensure people enjoy greater work satisfaction and safety, a Government Work Report released on Wednesday said. A target has been set to keep the urban surveyed unemployment rate around 5.5 percent and foresees more than 12 million people taking jobs in urban areas, the report said. Last year, about 12.56 million people took such jobs, and the urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged about 5.1 percent. Employment is crucial to people's well-being, the report said, and the country will continue to implement an employment-first policy this year and channel more financial support to help reach a full and high-quality employment this year. More tax breaks, subsidies, and fee cuts will be granted to companies in key fields and small and medium-sized companies. The report said the government will give stronger support to labor-intensive companies that can create more jobs. The government will also balance the relationship between applications of new technology and employee job relocation and improve job services for college graduates, young entrepreneurs, demobilized military personnel and migrant workers, it said. More help will be given to those finding it hard to obtain work because of age or disability, and to the long-term unemployed, it added. The government will improve protections for those engaged in flexible work and those in new forms of employment, and will tighten controls related to improper or illegal behavior by employers, including failure to pay employees and job discrimination, the report said. More vocational and working skills improvement campaigns will be organized this year to produce more skilled talent for the manufacturing and service sectors. The government will develop a skills-based pay system so that skilled workers, the industrious and those who are innovative are better paid, it said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) CIA director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday confirmed that US has cut off intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations, according to a report read more CIA Director John Ratcliffe reacts during his swearing in ceremony, in the Vice Presidents Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, US, on January 23, 2025. Reuters File CIA director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday confirmed that US has cut off intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations. He said US President Donald Trump ordered that intelligence cooperation with Ukraine be halted as well as military aid. CIA Director John Ratcliffe just told @MariaBartiromo U.S. paused weapons shipments AND intelligence to Ukraine in the fallout of meeting in the Oval Office. Ratcliffe says he looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine towards peace following the letter to POTUS Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) March 5, 2025 Advertisement What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, (there has) never been a war under his leadership, (and) he wants to end the wars that exist, Ratcliffe told Fox Business Network. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: lets pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that, he added. Ratcliffe said President Zelenskyy issued a statement expressing his readiness for peace and his desire for Donald Trumps leadership to facilitate that process. And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression thats there, but (it was needed) to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward, Ratcliffe said. According to a Sky News report, citing a Ukrainian source, American intelligence-sharing has not halted completely. The source described the move as selective, indicating that this meant US intelligence would still be shared with Ukraine that could be used to attack Russian forces on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, added the report. The dramatic collapse of Kyiv and Washingtons wartime alliance has played out in the open since the televised dispute in the Oval Office last week, followed by Ukraines top ally suspending crucial military aid. Advertisement During the Oval Office meeting on Friday, Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for US support, while Trump berated the wartime leader as not having cards to play. Zelenskyy left without signing a proposed agreement that would grant the US control over Ukrainian mineral resources. Trump halt to military aid to Ukraine marked another shift in US policy as he adopts a more conciliatory approach toward Russia. A day after the pause, Trump announced he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicating a willingness to negotiate. With inputs from agencies UK Defence Secretary John Healey will meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington on Wednesday to focus on the need for a military backstop for European forces as part of a broader peace plan for Ukraine, according to a report, citing sources familiar with the discussions read more UK Defence Secretary John Healey will meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington on Wednesday to focus on the need for a military backstop for European forces as part of a broader peace plan for Ukraine, according to a Financial Times report, citing sources familiar with the discussions. The proposed agreement includes a minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv, which Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed readiness to sign on Tuesday. This initiative is seen by Britain and France as a crucial first step to garner US President Donald Trumps backing, reported FT. Advertisement Moreover, Zelenskyy endorsed a French proposal that British officials characterise as a phased strategy to end the war. This plan would start with a truce to halt sea and air attacks and ultimately lead to the deployment of European troops to ensure a total ceasefire. Healeys goal is to persuade Hegseth that the US must provide the necessary military support to effectively deter further Russian aggression something that Trump has thus far resisted. Thats a work in progress, FT quoted a British official as saying. Healey will also urge the Americans to restore paused military aid to Ukraine, as part of an effort to ensure Zelenskyy was in the strongest possible position in peace talks with Moscow, according to the report. The ceasefire proposal from London, Paris, and Kyiv will be central to Healey and Hegseths talks, focusing on strengthening Nato ties after recent tensions. Ahead of Healeys visit, British officials confirmed that while final details are pending, the parameters are in place, reported FT. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron plan to present the proposal to Trump. Downing Street has not commented on Starmers return to Washington. British ministers expressed relief over Trumps recent conciliatory address on Ukraine, mentioning an important letter from Zelenskyy indicating his willingness to negotiate with Moscow and sign a minerals deal. Advertisement Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy led a call with the Weimar+ group, reaffirming commitment to Ukraine and discussing economic support ahead of Thursdays EU summit, where Starmer was not invited despite rallying European leaders last weekend. British officials are conscious that the US administration is keeping a close eye on what the UK government is saying about Ukraine, including on social media. Ahead of Healeys meeting with Hegseth, the UK defence secretary insisted that Anglo-American relations were as strong as ever and underlined by a shared commitment to freedom and democracy. He repeated calls for the UK and Europe to step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too, Healey was quoted as saying. Advertisement Healey and Hegseth first met last month, when the UK convened the 50-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which coordinates military support for Kyiv. With inputs from agencies As US President Donald Trump praised himself and doubled down on his culture wars domestically and expansionist policy abroad, he came up with several striking quotes, such as dubbing his presidency a God-ordained project and extolling the American Dream read more US President Donald Trump laced his speech to the Congress on Tuesday with slogans and quotes that extolled his agenda and pitch to Americans and the world. In a speech that lasted for nearly an hour and a half, Trump dubbed his second term a God-ordained project and hailed his first month in the term as the best period of all time even better than Founding Father George Washingtons time in office. He doubled down on tariffs as the way to restore American greatness and committed to strengthening the war on woke culture. Advertisement The crux of the message was that a l ong period of American decline has ended and Trump is taking the country on a path to greatness via tariffs, annexations of foreign territories, and firing large swathes of the government workers, among other steps. Here are the top quotes: I was saved by God Referring to the attempted assassination in Pennsylvania last year, Trump said that he was saved by God to serve a second term. Since assuming the second term, Trump and his allies have framed the tenure as a divinely-ordained kings reign the White House actually posted a photo of him wearing a crown and captioned Long Live the King! In the speech, Trump said, I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason. I was saved by God to Make America Great Again I believe that. I do. Thank you. Thank you very much. America is back In Trumps worldview, America was long in decline and he is the nations savior. Now that he is back, so is America. Trump began the speech with a declaration: America is back! Then Trump went on the declare that the American spirit is back and American Dream is unstoppable. ALSO READ: I was saved by God to Make America Great Again: Trumps Congress speechs full text I return to this chamber tonight to report that Americas momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back. And the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before. The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again. Never been anything like it, said Trump. Advertisement Most succesful presidency ever Trump hailed his first two months in office as the best phase in the history of American presidency even better than Founding Father George Washington Trump said, In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency its our presidency is the most successful in the history of our nation. By many. And what makes it even more impressive is that do you know who No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? How about that? I dont know about that list, but. But well take it. The system is not fair In his project to portray the United States as the victims of a purported predatory world, Trump dubbed the worlds trade practices as not fair. Trump dubbed tariffs as the solution to this unfair treatment and mentioned Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, the European Union, and India that treat America unfairly. Trump said, Its very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent. Chinas average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Koreas average tariff is four times higher. Think of that. Four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But thats what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. Advertisement This system is not fair to the United States and never was, and so on April 2 I wanted to make it April 1, but I didnt want to be accused of April Fools Day its not its just one day which costs us a lot of money. But we are going to do it in April. Im a very superstitious person. April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. Our country will be woke no longer Extolling his culture wars, Trump also talked about the crackdown on the purported woke movement in the United States. Trump declared that our country will be woke no longer. He went on to dub wokeness as trouble and said the military had to be cleansed of it. Advertisement Our service members wont be activists and ideologues, they will be fighters and warriors, they will fight for our country and Pete, congratulations. Secretary of Defense. Congratulations. And he is not big into the woke movement, I can tell you that. I know him well. I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years. And that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services. What a difference, said Trump. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would impose reciprocal tariffs on India and China starting 2 April. Addressing his first joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump criticised India and other countries for levying high import duties. read more US President Donald Trump, in his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, said that the United States will impose reciprocal tariffs against India and China from April 2. During his speech, he criticised India and other countries for imposing high import tariffs, stating that this move was part of his plan to make America great again. Trump also mentioned that he initially wanted to impose the reciprocal tariffs from 1 April but decided against it, saying he would be accused of April Fools Day. Advertisement Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, IndiaMexico and Canadahave you heard of them?and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. Its very unfair, Trump said. Trump emphasised that India charges over 100% in tariffs, China charges us twice what we charge them, and South Koreas tariffs are four times higher. Trump said that this is happening by friends and foe, as the system is not fair to the US; it never was. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them Earlier in February, President Trump announced that his administration would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China. This was the repetition of the same thing he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington last month. Trump made it clear to PM Modi that India would not be exempt from these tariffs and stressed that nobody can argue with me about the tariff structure. Since his election campaign last year, Trump has repeatedly criticised Indias high tariffs, even calling the country a big abuser of trade. Before meeting PM Modi at the White House, he signed an executive order to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports from countries with high tariffs on US goods. Advertisement Since taking office, Trump has already introduced tariff measures, including a 25 per cent duty on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent duty on imports from China. Even as the world is going through a churn, India has largely managed to secure national interests with quite diplomacy read more US President Donald Trump looks on as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a 'Howdy, Modi' rally at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, US September 22, 2019. (Photo: Reuters) Why does India remain calm as the world worries about a trade war? Why is the West now embracing Indias stand on the Ukraine-Russia conflict? Why do Israel and Palestine remain friends with India? How did India manage to get ex-Navy officials lodged in Qatars jail back safely? One thing that links all these is Indias ability to navigate complex diplomatic waters through quiet diplomacy. India has shown that it is possible to maintain friendly relations with countries that have very different ideologies. India has also shown how to practice its ancient philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam the world is one family. Advertisement Here are some examples of what Indias subtle diplomacy can achieve: The world talks trade war, but India remains calm The world fears a trade war. US has announced tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods and services and they have retaliated. Europe is in line for tariffs too. India has managed to remain on the sidelines till now without the need for talk of retaliation or calling Trumps actions a war. That is partly because of Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with US President Trump, who inaugurated his second term last month, in Washington DC. Even before the meeting, India unveiled some tariff reduction on good like high-end motorcycles and bourbon whisky, indicating it heard what Trump was trying to say. The result of the meeting was that India is quietly hoping to close a trade deal with the US by the fall of 2025 even as the tariff war wrecks the world. On the other hand, even as Trump announces reciprocal tariffs to kick in on April 2 against India, commerce minister Piyush Goyal is in the US talking trade, market access and seeking clarity on tariffs to assess their impact on India. Europe turns to India The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, came to India last week along with all her commissioners. It was a fruitful trip in which PM Modi said India and Europe would conclude a free trade agreement by the end of the year, Von der Leyen said that Europe intended to create a defence and security partnership with India. This was the same Europe that wasnt too happy with Indias stand on the Russia-Ukraine issue or Indias strategic autonomy. Now, it is not Indias stand that has changed but EUs as it looks for new trade, security and political partners. India stands vindicated on Russia-Ukraine war As the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire remains the top geopolitical talking point, Indias Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is set to visit Russia on March 7. The visit will be an opportunity for Russia to brief the Indian side on the efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. When India had maintained its neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war, some, including the US Joe Biden administration saw it as disappointing. When Europe and America wanted to arm Ukraine and was talking sanctions against Russia, India stood on the side of peace. India back then urged respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, called for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities, and said that dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. Advertisement Now, it is the USs positions on Ukraine and Russia that have flipped. The US is talking about a ceasefire and Europe is talking dialogue what India has been saying all along. India remains friends with both Israel and Palestine When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, India condemned the terror attacks. It also condemned the loss of civilian lives in the conflict and called for ceasefire. India provided 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid as well as called for release of hostages. Indias principled stand meant it remained friends with both Palestine as well as Israel. While the Palestinian ambassador urged friend India to broker a ceasefire, the Israeli ambassador praised Indias role and its potential to mediate the conflict. How did that happen? Through the conflict, PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to several leaders, including the president, prime minister and foreign minister of Israel and the president, prime minister and foreign minister of Palestine. India also reiterated its position in multilateral fora such as the UN, G20, Brics and Voice of Global South Summit. Advertisement Ex-Navy personnel return home from Qatar On February 12, India was relieved when eight Indian nationals, who were arrested in Qatar on August 30, 2022 and were given death sentence last October on undeclared charges, returned home. Quiet diplomacy without brinkmanship helped Indias case in Qatar. Then-Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modis resolve to free the Indians. This is a reflection of Modis strong leadership and bond of friendship between the two countries, he said. PM Modis meeting with the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hammad Al Thani, in the UAE in December proved to be the turning point in this episode. Chagos Islands goes to Mauritius When UK announced last year that it would hand over Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, it was billed as historic. What was less known was Indias quiet diplomacy in facilitating the deal. In fact, the joint statement released by the UK and Mauritius acknowledged Indias role. In reaching todays agreement, we have enjoyed the full support and assistance of our close partners the USA and the Republic of India, it said. India had all along supported Mauritius position while encouraging dialogue between the countries. Another lesser known fact is that one of the reasons that Trump has approved the deal despite fears that he might block it is Modi. Advertisement Last year, amid outrage over the deal in the UK, GB News reported an official as saying: Trump has said nothing about this Trump has described [Indian PM Narendra] Modi as his best friend in the whole world - and Modi wants this deal. As things stand, Trump has essentially approved the deal and the signing is considered imminent. Consensus at G20 wasnt easy Indias G20 presidency which culminated with a summit in Delhi in September was special for another reason the unanimous endorsement of the New Delhi Leaders Declaration. It showed Indias ability to navigate a complex geopolitical landscape and achieve consensus among diverse viewpoints. Indias approach to international relations involves engagement with all sides bilaterally as well as multilaterally. While India is part of groups like Quad with the United States, it is also parts of Brics and SCO. At a time when the Trump administration has hinted withdrawal from various theatres in the world, Indias various multilateral engagement are more important than ever in securing Indias interests. Advertisement China accused the US of using fentanyl as an excuse to increase tariffs on Chinese imports and warned that if the US wants a trade or tariff war, it is ready to fight till the end.. The remarks from Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson came after the Trump administration doubled tariffs on Chinese imports. read more If war is what US wants: China hits back at Trump's tariffs, vows to fight till the end Image Credit: Reuters China accused the US of using fentanyl as an excuse to increase tariffs on Chinese imports and said that if the US wants a trade or tariff war, it is ready to fight till the end. The statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian came in response to a question from The New York Times on Tuesday, asking for reactions to the US increasing tariffs on most goods from China to 10 per cent. Advertisement Jian said, The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary. He further stated that it is the US, not anyone else, that is responsible for the fentanyl crisis in the country. Lin Jian said, In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognising our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes. Theyve been punishing us for helping them. This is not going to solve the USs problem and will undermine our counter-narcotics dialogue and cooperation. The Chinese spokesperson further said, Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion, or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong target and miscalculating. If the US truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals. Trump doubles tariffs on China The remarks by the Chinese spokesperson come after the Trump administration increased the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 per cent from 10 per cent, CNN reported. Retaliation from China, a tariff war China retaliated by announcing 15 per cent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports from the US, according to a statement from the State Council Tariff Commission. Additionally, a 10 per cent tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products was also imposed, it said. Separately, Chinas Ministry of Commerce announced it had added 15 American companies, including drone maker Skydio, to its export control list, barring Chinese companies from exporting dual-use equipment to them. Chinas retaliatory tariffs followed a restrained, targeted approach aimed at causing pain to those industries that matter the most to the supporters of the Trump administration, said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center for the Conference Board. Advertisement The Trump administration has been holding secret negotiations with Hamas on the potential release of US hostages being held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, according to a report read more Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands with US President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. File Image/Reuters The Trump administration has been holding secret negotiations with Hamas on the potential release of US hostages being held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war. According to an Axios report, citing two sources familiar with the discussions, US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler has been holding direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha, focusing on the release of US hostages. The talks are unprecedented, given that the US had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organisation in 1997. Advertisement While the Trump administration discussed with Israel the possibility of engaging with Hamas, Israel became aware of certain details of the talks through alternative channels, added the report, citing one of the sources. According to Axios, while the talks mainly focus on securing the release of American hostages, a broader agreement involving the release of all remaining hostages and establishing a long-term truce is also on the table. However, no deal has yet been finalised, added the report. Meanwhile, White House envoy Steve Witkoff had planned to travel to Doha this week to meet with Qatars prime minister regarding ceasefire negotiations. However, he cancelled the trip on Tuesday night after determining that no progress had been made by Hamas, reported Axios. The Trump administrations approach to the conflict marks a significant departure from former president Joe Bidens strategies, particularly through direct negotiations with Hamas a step not previously taken by past administrations. Trumps strategy has included strong rhetoric against Hamas and proposals for a US takeover of Gaza. Currently, 59 hostages remain in Hamass custody, with Israeli Defence Forces confirming that 35 have been killed. Israeli intelligence estimates that 22 hostages are alive, while the status of two others is uncertain. Among the hostages are five Americans, including 21-year-old Edan Alexander, who is believed to be alive. Advertisement The initial 42-day ceasefire, part of the first phase of the Gaza deal, expired on Saturday without an agreement to extend it. Although fighting has not resumed, Israel has halted all humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, where approximately 1.9 million Palestinians 90% of the population have been displaced by the ongoing conflict, raising concerns about an impending famine. Meanwhile, the White House confirmed that the US envoy spoke directly with Hamas to secure American hostages. Israel was consulted on this matter, and look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do whats in the best interest of the American people is something that the President believes is right," AFP quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying on Wednesday. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Jaishankar is scheduled to inaugurate a new Consulate General of India in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Manchester, northern England, later this week read more The UK on Tuesday said the opening of two new Indian Consulates by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit this week will further boost the 41 billion pound trade partnership and support the valued Indian community in the country. Jaishankar is scheduled to inaugurate a new Consulate General of India in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Manchester, northern England, later this week. The opening of new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester demonstrate the growing links between our peoples and how we are working together to deliver growth not only in London, but right across the UK, said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Advertisement This expansion of Indias diplomatic presence will further boost our trading relationship and support the valued Indian community in the UK, he said. Ahead of his meeting with Jaishankar at Chevening House in Kent, south-eastern England, Lammy said their talks are aimed at supercharging bilateral ties following the relaunch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations last month. Jaishankar and I are supercharging our GBP 41 billion trading relationship with India, after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies, Lammy said in a statement released by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). On Tuesday, Jaishankar met Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and discussed the flow of talent, people-to-people exchanges, and joint efforts in tackling trafficking and extremism. He also met Secretary of State for Department for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds and discussed the progress on the FTA talks. According to officials on both sides, the foreign ministers are set to drive forward the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during their meeting. This will focus on fostering mutual economic growth, technological innovation, and collaboration on global challenges, including climate change. They will also discuss Russias ongoing war in Ukraine, the Middle East and other global affairs, FCDO said. The ministers are also set to discuss the Technology Security Initiative, launched during Lammys visit to Delhi soon after the Labour Partys general election win in July 2024. One of my first visits as Foreign Secretary was to India because deepening our partnership for our shared growth and security is a key part of this governments Plan for Change, stated Lammy. Advertisement Both leaders are set to touch on the opportunities for citizens in both countries that will come from closer collaboration in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, telecoms and critical minerals. Opportunities include more effective and affordable healthcare and more resilient supply chains, as well as greater innovation, investment and job creation, FCDO said. The choice of venue for their talks is a nod to the UK governments flagship international scholarships and fellowships programme, with a special reception with scholars celebrating Indias position as home to the worlds largest Chevening programme. It offers fully funded scholarships for a year-long post-graduate course in the UK as well as short-term fellowships to mid-career professionals in cyber security, science and innovation, journalism, leadership and excellence. Advertisement Jaishankars UK visit follows the visit of Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to Delhi last month when the FTA talks were relaunched and the UK announced Indian investment deals worth over GBP 100 million. During his six-day visit covering the UK and Ireland, Jaishankar is set for a series of high-level talks, foreign policy engagements and interactions with the Indian community. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said the visit will provide renewed impetus to Indias friendly ties with both countries. Jaishankars visit comes at a time when India has maintained a neutral position on the Ukraine war, refraining from aligning with Europe, the US, or Russia on the matter read more Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday (March 4) night, where the two leaders discussed the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the UKs position on the war. The meeting came days after Starmer hosted an emergency gathering of European leaders in support of Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a tense public exchange between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House. Advertisement Jaishankar said that Starmer shared UKs perspective on the Ukraine conflict. Delighted to call on Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer at @10DowningStreet today. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed taking forward our bilateral, economic cooperation and enhancing people to people exchanges. PM Starmer also shared UKs perspective on pic.twitter.com/KnVuirFMLA Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 4, 2025 Jaishankar also met with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and a group of Indian Chevening Scholars during his visit. Jaishankars visit comes at a time when India has maintained a neutral position on the Ukraine war, refraining from aligning with Europe, the US, or Russia. Last week, India abstained from two United Nations resolutions one moved by Ukraine and another by the US. New Delhi has consistently advocated for diplomatic solutions to the conflict, stating that peace cannot be achieved on the battlefield. It is likely that India will continue to avoid taking sides while reiterating its stance on respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement supporting a just and lasting peace, grounded in international law and the principles of the UN Charter. Advertisement Meetings on trade, security, and immigration Jaishankar held separate meetings with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. Discussions with Cooper focused on immigration, counter-extremism, and efforts to combat human trafficking. With Reynolds, Jaishankar reviewed progress in the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK. India and the UK currently share a 41 billion ($52 billion) trading relationship, and the visit marks a key moment in advancing economic cooperation. As part of this effort, India is set to open two new consulates in Belfast and Manchester, further strengthening regional ties and investment opportunities. Strategic partnership and global affairs Before opening the consulates, Jaishankar and Lammy met at Chevening House to advance the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Their discussions covered economic growth, technological collaboration, and global security concerns, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. Dr. Jaishankar and I are supercharging our 41 billion trading relationship with India after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi, Lammy said. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies. Ministers also discussed the Technology Security Initiative, launched during Lammys visit to Delhi in July 2024. The initiative aims to enhance cooperation in artificial intelligence, telecoms, and critical minerals, with the goal of strengthening supply chains, driving investment, and creating jobs in both countries. Advertisement In a shocking claim, Trump says millions of people over 100and even some supposedly over 220are still receiving Social Security benefits read more President Donald Trump on Wednesday alleged in his first address to Congress of his second term that millions of senior citizens over age 100 including some he maintained were older than 160 were collecting social security cheques, according to Social Security Administration data. Trump said that Social Security Administration (SSA) records showed 4.7 million people aged 100 to 109 were receiving cheques. He added that 3.6 million individuals between 110 and 119 years old, 3.47 million between 120 and 129 and 3.9 million between 130 and 139 were also receiving benefits. According to him, 3.5 million people aged 140 to 149, 1.3 million aged 150 to 159 and even 130,000 individuals over 160 years old were still getting cheques. Advertisement He also alleged that several hundred people older than 220 were still getting cheques, according to SSA data and that one person is listed at 360 of age. Understanding social security in the US Social Security is a government programme in the US that provides financial assistance to people who are retired, disabled or have lost a family member who was working. It is managed by the SSA and is primarily funded through taxes collected from workers and employers. Millions of Americans rely on social security to cover their basic expenses making it one of the most important social programmes in the country. Who can receive social security benefits? Social Security provides different types of benefits depending on a persons work history and financial needs. Retirement benefits are available to those who have worked and paid Social Security taxes for many years. While people can start receiving benefits as early as age 62, waiting until full retirement agebetween 66 and 67 depending on the year of birthresults in higher monthly payments. Another category is disability benefits, which are given to individuals who are unable to work due to a serious medical condition. The amount they receive depends on how long they worked and contributed to the system before becoming disabled. Survivor benefits are meant for family members of deceased workers. If someone who paid into Social Security passes away, their spouse, children or dependents may receive financial assistance. This helps families cope with the loss of a loved ones income. There is also a programme called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which supports elderly or disabled individuals with very low income, even if they have not worked enough to qualify for regular social security benefits. Unlike other types of social security payments, SSI is funded by general tax revenue rather than payroll taxes. Advertisement How social security is funded Social security is funded through payroll taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Fica). Every working person in the US contributes 6.2 per cent of their wages to social security and their employer matches that amount. Self-employed individuals must pay the full 12.4 per cent on their own. The money collected goes into a trust fund that is used to pay current beneficiaries. As long as people continue working and paying these taxes, social security remains funded. Challenges and concerns Despite being a lifeline for millions, social security faces financial challenges. As the population ages, more people are retiring while fewer younger workers are paying into the system. Advertisement There have also been concerns about errors and fraud within the system. In some cases, people continue receiving social security payments even after they have passed away leading to accusations of waste and mismanagement. Why social security matters For many Americans, social security is a vital source of income, especially for retirees who do not have other savings. It helps people afford necessities like housing, food and healthcare, reducing poverty among the elderly and disabled. Because of its importance, discussions about how to maintain and improve the system remain a major topic in US politics. Donald Trump said that US forces have arrested the mastermind behind the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing. The suspect, Muhammad Sharifullah, was captured near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with assistance from Pakistan read more US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US forces have apprehended the mastermind behind the 2021 Abbey Gate attack, which killed 13 service members during the Afghanistan withdrawal. The arrest of the mastermind, Muhammad Sharifullah, was made with the assistance of Pakistan. Trump gave the update during his first address to Congress in his second term. Sharifullah was captured near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and is currently being brought to the US to face justice. Advertisement Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice, Trump said. Trump also acknowledged the role of the Pakistani government in the arrest, saying, I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. Trump said that he had spoken to many of the victims parents and loved ones. Theyre all in our hearts tonight. I just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big calleveryone called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness. Trumps first address to Congress in second term of office Trump shared the update in his first address to Congress on Tuesday since taking charge of the White House for his second term. Abbey Gate bombing The Abbey Gate bombing during the US withdrawal killed 13 American troops and about 170 Afghan civilians. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack. During the attack, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at Abbey Gate, one of the entrances to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Islamic States Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack. The transaction, which must be approved by Panamas government, does not include any interest in a trust that operates ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and South China, or any other ports in China read more A container ship transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama, August 12, 2024. File Image/Reuters A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical shipping lane. In a filing, CK Hutchison Holding said Tuesday that it would sell all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium in a deal valued at nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt. Advertisement The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the Panama Canal. Other ports are in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere. The transaction, which must be approved by Panamas government, does not include any interest in a trust that operates ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and South China, or any other ports in China. Some 70% of the sea traffic that crosses the Panama Canal leaves or goes to U.S. ports. The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Trump has claimed that Carter foolishly gave the canal away. Trump and his supporters have also complained about the fees that ships are charged to use the waterway and alleged that China has been operating the canal, an assertion denied by Panamas government. In January, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, raised concerns that China could exploit or block passage through the canal and that the ports give China ready observation posts to take action. This situation, I believe, posts acute risks for U.S. national security, Cruz said. Advertisement U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama in early February and told President Jose Raul Mulino that Panama had to reduce Chinese influence over the canal or face potential retaliation from the United States. Mulino rejected the idea that China had any control over canal operations. Panama quit Chinas Belt and Road Initiative following Rubios visit, drawing condemnation from Beijing. Belt and Road is Beijings global development strategy to build roads, ports and railways to open up new markets. But while much attention was focused on Trumps threat to retake control of the canal, his administration trained its sights on Hutchison Ports, the Hong Kong-based consortium that manages the ports key ports at either end of the canal. Advertisement Hutchison Ports had recently been awarded a 25-year no-bid extension to run the ports, but an audit looking at that extension was already underway. Observers believed the audit was a preliminary step toward eventually rebidding the contract, but rumors had swirled in recent weeks that a U.S. firm close to the White House was being lined up to take over. Frank Sixt, co-managing director of CK Hutchison, said in a statement that the transaction was the result of a rapid, discrete but competitive process in which numerous bids and expressions of interest were received. I would like to stress that the transaction is purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports, Sixt said. Advertisement In addition to BlackRock, a New York-based global investment management company with $11.6 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, the consortium includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited. BlackRock declined to comment outside of a press release touting the deal. Shares in BlackRock fell 1.5% in afternoon trading Tuesday. The Kremlin has always been doubtful of Ukraines position on negotiating ceasefire deals with Russia. However, on Wednesday, Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelenskyy that rules out direct negotiations with Putin read more Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a press conference after the 'Ukraine. Year 2025' forum, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 23, 2025. File Image/Reuters The Kremlin on Wednesday called President Volodymyr Zelenskyys decision to engage in ceasefire talks positive amid an unprecedented rift between Kyiv and its key ally United States. This approach is generally positive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in answer to a question from AFP soon after Zelenskyy said that he is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. In an address to US Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump read aloud from a letter he said he had received from Zelensky in which he said he was ready for peace talks. Advertisement The Kremlin has always been doubtful of Ukraines position on negotiating ceasefire deals with Russia. However, on Wednesday, Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelenskyy that rules out direct negotiations with Putin. The Ukrainian leader has since said on multiple occasions he would be willing to meet Putin but only after Kyiv and its Western allies agree on a common negotiating position. Moscow has also accused Zelenskyy of not being a legitimate leader as his presidential term expired last year. The Ukrainian leader will remain at the top post for the foreseeable future as under the countrys martial law elections are banned during wartime. Zelenskys key European backers have supported the suspension of votes amid Russias full-scale offensive, though Trump has falsely claimed the Ukrainian leader is widely unpopular at home and called on him to hold elections. Trump announced a halt to US military aid to Kyiv this week following his clash with Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday. Fears are growing in Kyiv and across Europe that Trump is trying to force Ukraine to accept a peace deal largely favourable to Moscow. With inputs from AFP Criminal syndicates have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to work in sprawling compounds that use sophisticated techniques to trick people into transferring funds, generating illicit revenues running into billions of dollars each year, according to a United Nations report read more Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, stuck in limbo at a compound inside the KK Park, a fraud factory, and a human trafficking hub on the border with Thailand-Myanmar after a multinational crackdown on the compounds run by criminal gangs, operated by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) in Myawaddy, Myanmar. File image/ Reuters Thailands police detained 100 individuals on Wednesday for their involvement in a scam centre in Cambodia, marking the first arrest of Thai citizens in a regional assault on major fraud enterprises. Arrest warrants were also issued for two Chinese nationals who were claimed gang leaders when Thai and Cambodian police raided a fraud centre in the Cambodian town of Poipet last month, according to Police General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot. Scam centres have been operating along Thailands borders with Myanmar and Cambodia for years, but the high-profile abduction of a Chinese actor in Thailand and his subsequent imprisonment in a Myanmar boiler room triggered a worldwide campaign to destroy the network. He has now been sent home. Advertisement Criminal syndicates have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to work in sprawling compounds that use sophisticated techniques to trick people into transferring funds, generating illicit revenues running into billions of dollars each year, according to a United Nations report. In February, Myanmar sent over to Thailand the first group of 260 people taken out of scam centres. So far, about 7,000 people of more than 20 nationalities, mostly Chinese, have been extracted, with some struggling to return home. Most were victims of human trafficking, according to Thai authorities, who are coordinating repatriations. Police said the 100 arrested on Wednesday were part of the criminal gang running the operation. They were defrauding victims by impersonating government officials, said Thatchai, who estimated more than 1,000 Thais were still working across borders in scam centres. Police have said Thais have since 2022 been defrauded of about 80 billion baht ($2.37 billion) in telecoms scams. These scam centres are transnational criminal organisations, being carried out by foreigners with Thais to defraud Thais, he said. This week, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered a study on the effectiveness of building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings and curb illicit activities. US President Donald Trump has vowed to work towards ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, terming the conflict as a madness. read more US President Donald Trump has vowed to work towards ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war at his first address to the Congress on Tuesday, terming the ongoing conflict as a madness. Trump said at the address that he received an important letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier today, which states that Kyiv is ready to come to the negotiating table for peace as soon as possible". We received an important letter from the Ukrainian President, saying we are ready to work under the US President for peace and regarding the agreement on minerals. Simultaneously, we received signals from Russia that they were ready for peace," Trump said. Advertisement Time to halt the killing, stop the madness: Trump Wouldnt that be beautiful? Time to halt the killing, stop the madness, and time to stop the war," Trump said. Trump clashes with Zelenskyy in White House Earlier, during Zelenskyy visit to the White House, Trump and Ukrainian President got engaged in a contentious exchange in press briefing, that led to an abrupt end to their discussions. The meeting, intended to address ongoing support for Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia, instead highlighted deep-seated tensions between the two leaders. Afterwards, President Trump paused all US military aid to Ukraine until a commitment to peace negotiations was evident. I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause, said Waltz read more White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz speaks to members of the media from the briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on February 20, 2025. Reuters File White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday said that US President Donald Trump will consider restoring aid to Ukraine if peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are taken. I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause, Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. Advertisement On Monday, Trump halted military aid to Ukraine, marking another shift in US policy as he adopts a more conciliatory approach toward Russia. A day after the pause, Trump announced he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicating a willingness to negotiate. Waltz described the letter as a good, positive first step, noting that officials were in talks to determine the date, location, and negotiating team to help facilitate an end to the war. While Waltz mentioned that the US is already discussing confidence-building measures to present to the Russians for evaluation, he did not specify what those measures would entail. We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating towards a a partial, then a permanent, peace, he said. The dramatic collapse of Kyiv and Washingtons wartime alliance has played out in the open since the televised dispute in the Oval Office last week, followed by Ukraines top ally suspending crucial military aid. During the Oval Office meeting on Friday, Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for US support, while Trump berated the wartime leader as not having cards to play. Zelenskyy left without signing a proposed agreement that would grant the US control over Ukrainian mineral resources. Since then, Zelenskyy has tried to mend fences with Trump, describing their clash on social media as regrettable and expressing a desire to make things right. Advertisement In his address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump read from a letter he claimed to have received from Zelenskyy, echoing the sentiments expressed in the social media post. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, Trump read out the letter aloud to US lawmakers in his first address since returning to office. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence, said the letter. Trump added that, regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, offered to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Tell Trump that I expect him here with Putin and Zelensky, AFP quoted Lukashenko proposing to the three leaders in a video interview with US blogger Mario Nawfal, reported by state news agency Belta on Wednesday. Advertisement We are going to sit down and calmly make an accord, said Lukashenko, adding there had to be a deal with Zelenskyy since a large part of Ukrainian society is with him. While Trump was expected to use Tuesdays speech to lay out a plan for the Ukraine war, he did not further detail how he envisages ending the grueling three-year conflict. He did say he had engaged in serious discussions with Russia. Trumps warming relations with Moscow and his decision to suspend military assistance to Kyiv on Monday have shocked allies. Similar to Ukraine, the European Union has been sidelined in US-Russian negotiations aimed at a potential truce, raising concerns that any agreement would favour Moscow. Advertisement Moscow welcomed Trumps suspension of aid to Ukraine, calling it a solution that could genuinely push the Kyiv regime toward a peace process, and described Zelenskyys readiness for peace talks as positive news on Wednesday. With inputs from agencies With weeks until Trumps proposed retaliatory tariffs, commerce minister Piyush Goyal embarked on a trip to the United States on Monday to conduct trade negotiations with his US counterpart Howard Lutnick read more US President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries, terming them as very unfair and announced reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on nations that impose levies on American goods. Trump made these remarks in an address to the Joint Session of the Congress on Tuesday. It was the first address of his second term in the White House. On January 20, Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the US. Advertisement If you dont make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one," Trump said. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them, Trump said. With weeks until Trumps proposed retaliatory tariffs, commerce minister Piyush Goyal embarked on a trip to the United States on Monday to conduct trade negotiations with his US counterpart Howard Lutnick, Reuters reported. In February, President Trump said that his administration would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US capital last month. Trump has made it clear to Prime Minister Modi that India would not be exempt from Washingtons reciprocal tariffs, stating that nobody can argue with me over tariff structure. Advertisement Trump asserted that this system is not fair to the United States and never has been, and that reciprocal tariffs would go into effect on April 2. Trump is implementing a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent additional tariff on imports from China. In a retaliatory action, Canada said that effective March 4, 2025, it is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on $30 billion in goods imported from the United States. In the past, Trump has called India tariff king" and a big abuser. During Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the U.S. last month, both nations agreed to work on the first segment of a trade deal by the fall of 2025, aiming for bilateral trade worth $500 billion by 2030. Advertisement During his visit, Goyal would seek clarity on US reciprocal tariffs to assess their impact on India, according to a government source. He may also explore potential Indian concessions and a trade agreement to lower tariffs and promote bilateral trade. India is willing to consider tariff reduction on industrial items such as vehicles and chemicals, but it is resisting calls to decrease tariffs on agricultural products, citing the impact on millions of impoverished farmers, according to Reuters sources. To calm trade tensions, India has already reduced duties on a number of commodities, including high-end motorbikes from 50% to 30% and bourbon whisky from 150% to 100%, while pledging to examine other tariffs, increase energy imports, and purchase more defence equipment. Advertisement India is vulnerable to Trumps previously declared 25% tax on all steel and aluminium imports, which might lead to cheaper steel being dumped in India by other nations. According to US estimates, overall goods trade with India was valued at approximately $129.2 billion in 2024. US goods exports to India in 2024 totalled $41.8 billion, up 3.4% ($1.4 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from India reached $87.4 billion in 2024, up 4.5% ($3.7 billion) from 2023. The US goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion in 2024, up 5.4% ($2.4 billion) from 2023. Trumps frenetic first weeks in office have included the disintegration of the federal government, conflicts with Americas friends, and a trade war, all of which have added to economic instability read more US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington. AP President Donald Trump started his address by taking a line from his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden: America is back. Golden age of America has only just begun:Trump concludes his speech The golden age of America has only just begun, he told Congress as he finished his speech after speaking for nearly 100 minutes. As Trumps speech came to an end, Republican legislators stood up and chanted, Fight! Fight! Fight! while pumping their hands in the air. Advertisement As GOP members gathered to shake hands with the president, Democrats swiftly filed out of the chamber. Trump wants to reduce childhood cancer Trump stated that his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmentalist and anti-vaccine activist who is pushing to restructure the American food system, will make reducing paediatric cancer rates and researching autism cases in the country a top priority. Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong," Trump said. I received an important letter Trump recited a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which the wartime president stated that he wishes to return to the table after a heated Oval Office meeting last week broke down discussions for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace, Trump said. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Arrest and extradition in connection with Afghanistan attack Trump claims the US administration is extraditing a suspect in the horrifying Abbey Gate explosion during the last days of the Afghanistan evacuation, which killed 13 American military personnel. The White House identified the person as Muhammed Sharifullah, who was on his way to the United States to face charges. FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the extradition was the product of collaboration among the FBI, Justice Department, and CIA. Advertisement Trump claims responsibility for a rise in Army recruitment Trump has often stated that the Armys recruiting was at its peak in January, implying that the turnaround is due to his presidency. In reality, according to Army data, recruiting numbers have been progressively climbing over the last year, with the greatest amount being in August 2024, just before the November election. Army authorities regularly monitor recruiting numbers. Trump wants to reclaim the Panama Canal Trump praised his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, as he explained his plans to reclaim the Panama Canal. However, Trumps remarks looked to be a veiled warning to a Cabinet member who is under intense pressure to implement huge cuts to US foreign policy initiatives abroad. Advertisement Good luck, Marco, he said. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. Republicans laughed after his statement. He instantly switched to emphasise that Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate and that hes going to do a fantastic job. Democrats applaud Trumps acknowledgement of US aid for Ukraine It was the only statement in Trumps speech that got more applause from Democrats than Republicans, but Democrats clapped when Trump admitted that the United States had provided billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. A few Republicans cheered but were more muted. When Trump informed GOP legislators that Ukraine was demonstrating its willingness to discuss a peace accord, they rose to their feet in applause. Advertisement And sitting Democrats joined Republicans in applauding Americans who were recently returned from Russia as part of an agreement arranged by the Trump administration. Since assuming office six weeks ago, Trump has attempted to re-establish relations with President Vladimir Putin, which were severed after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As Trump attempts to end the war directly with Putin, including a phone call between the two presidents on February 12, both sides have shown an openness to collaborating on other geopolitical concerns, such as Arctic trading routes and resources. Since his return to the White House, Trump has delivered confusing signals about Iran. He stated that he intends to resume his first terms maximum pressure approach, which included reimposing sanctions and attacking Irans security forces, including the assassination of a prominent general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But Trump has also stated that he wants to immediately begin working on a verified nuclear peace agreement with Iran. Advertisement Top US and Russian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussed Washingtons interest in Moscow assisting with Iranian issues during a Feb. 18 meeting in Riyadh, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because not all details of those discussions have been made public. As two countries both heavily sanctioned by the US, Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation on trade and energy, as well as security, including Russia utilising large numbers of Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine. Trump says, We need Greenland Trump stated that the United States respects Greenlands ability to select its own destiny, but that it would welcome the country into the United States for national security and to make them wealthy. I think were going to get it," he said of Greenland. One way or another, were going to get it. Since his first term in office, Trump has indicated interest in purchasing Greenland, a semi-autonomous province of Denmark, a long-time US ally and NATO founding member. It also has a huge US military facility. Democrats continue to leave the chamber Democratic MPs are continuing to avoid President Trumps address. As members leave, there are several vacant seats on the Democratic side of the floor. Some made a show of leaving to oppose the presidents statements, while others just left as Trumps address continued. Trump wants new office of shipbuilding I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, he said. Trump calls on Congress to criminalize gender-affirming surgeries for children I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body," Trump said. Trump has already used executive measures to reverse a number of Biden administration regulations encouraging transgender rights, and he has pledged to eliminate gender ideology. During his speech, the president requested Congress to prohibit gender-affirming procedures done on kids, but provided little details. Meanwhile, several of Trumps executive orders have already been challenged in court. Trump brings up Springfield and Aurora in speech Beautiful towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like no ones ever seen before, Trump added. Beautiful towns, destroyed. Both Springfield and Aurora, were mentioned in Trumps campaign. At the time, he spread baseless conspiracy rumours claiming legal immigrants from Haiti in Springfield were eating dogs and cats. Aurora faced a more severe problem: a series of occurrences in run-down apartment complexes, one of which was recorded on film and showed heavily armed men going door to door. However, the buildings have since been closed, and Aurora, which has a population of 400,000, is the size of Tampa. It never buckled. Democrats invoke Trumps Jan. 6 pardons as he talks about law and order Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas., first shouted January 6th as Trump recounted his plans for combatting crime throughout the country. At least a dozen Democrats joined in the repeated chant as Trump discussed the need to crack down on violent criminals. Trump pardoned around 1,500 rioters who attacked the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to alter the results of the 2020 election. Trumps Democratic rivals are fundraising off his speech HOLY COW!!!!! says the subject line of an email from former Vice President Kamala Harris requesting donations to the Democratic National Committee. Harris and the Democratic Partys massive fundraising apparatus earned more than $1 billion for their fight against Trump. However, the former vice president has continued to collect money for the Harris Fight Fund. That is the post-election name for the Harris Victory Fund, a collaborative fundraising effort by Harris campaign, the DNC, and state Democratic Parties. Trump echoes campaign rhetoric with law and order message As we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns," he said. In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by Radical Left lunatics. Trump has long championed a tough-on-crime agenda, portraying Democratic-led cities as beset by violence, despite figures indicating a decline in violent crime following a rise during the coronavirus outbreak. Trump lauds his wifes work to criminalize revenge porn Trump applauded his wife for advocating for legislation that would make it a federal criminal to share personal images online, real or phoney. He congratulated the Senate for approving the bill. The president called it a terrible, terrible thing to publish such images online. He then seemingly joked: Im going to use that bill for myself, too, if you dont mind. Trump says tariffs make Americans rich Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again," Trump said. And its happening. And it will happen rather quickly. Therell be a little disturbance, but were okay with that. It wont be much. Trump says agricultural goods imported from abroad may be very dirty and disgusting Those goods that come in from other countries and companies, theyre really, really in a bad position in so many different ways, President Donald Trump remarked. Theyre uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting as they come in and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers . Trump laid out further specifics on how he expects to revitalise the farming industry, arguing that hiking U.S. tariffs on agricultural products from overseas will safeguard American farmers at home, while adding, It may be a little bit of an adjustment period. Trump had the longest first address to a joint session of Congress President Donald Trumps first address to a joint session of Congress since retaking office is officially the longest such speech on record. He has surpassed the previous record of one hour and five minutes, set by former President Bill Clintons joint session address in 1993. Trump has also spoken longer than he did during his joint session speech in 2017, which lasted just over an hour. Trumps immigration fast-track for rich immigrants Trump is promoting a scheme he proposed on February 26 to provide a gold card for prospective wealthy immigrants. For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship, President Trump announced. Its like the green card, but better and more sophisticated. Under Trumps idea, investors would have to provide $5 million. Theyd have to pay taxes in the United States, Trump added. More than 100 nations in the globe have something comparable. Both Democrats and Republicans clap for the family of Laken Riley Riley, a University of Georgia student, was slain by an undocumented immigrant. As his first piece of legislation in his second term, Congress enacted a measure carrying her name, which Trump signed. Most Democrats were seated, and following the round of applause, they again put up False placards in response to Trumps assertions about the Biden administrations immigration policies. Trump brags about gender policy I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female, he said. Trumps directive, which asserts that there are only two unchangeable sexes, is one of several he has signed aimed at transgender peoples rights. The instructions opened the way for driving transgender individuals out of the military, refusing to update the sex designation on passports, and removing any mention of transgender persons from a website remembering the Stonewall uprising, among other things. In addition, they are facing legal issues. In the last week, two judges have stayed a regulation that would prohibit government financing for gender-affirming health treatment for transgender persons under the age of 19. Trump touts 25% tariffs on foreign aluminium, copper, lumber, and steel During his address to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump emphasised the 25% tariffs he has put on foreign aluminium, copper, lumber, and steel. If we dont have, as an example, steel and lots of other things, we dont have a military and, frankly, we just wont have a country very long, he told reporters Tuesday. Democrats will pay a price for opposing tax cuts, says Trump Trump mocked Democrats for opposing his tax cuts, which may cost between $5 trillion and $11 trillion over ten years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group. Im sure youre going to vote for those tax cuts because otherwise I dont believe the people will ever vote you into office, the politician stated. Democrats are aware of what occurred when they rejected Trumps 2017 tax cuts, many of which are slated to expire next year due to debt financing. In the 2018 midterms, Democrats picked up a majority by gaining 40 seats, their strongest gain since the 1974 elections. Love the farmer, says Trump Trump urged farmers to bear with me again as he imposed tariffs. I love the farmer, he remarked. However, if retaliatory actions from other nations continue, farmers bottom lines might suffer by billions of dollars altogether, and consumers could soon notice increased grocery store costs. The exact toll is difficult to determine at this point. However, tariffs make farmers wary of investing in pricey equipment. Reciprocal tariffs coming soon Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries," he said. Thats reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax that, he said. Trump pledged that on April 2, retaliatory tariffs will be applied on most of the countrys trading partners. Rare bipartisan round of applause for an Alabama steelworker Trumps tribute to one of his guests, an Alabama steelworker, father of seven, and foster parent to 40, drew a standing ovation from Republican legislators and cheers from the vast majority of the sitting Democratic caucus. Nobody has ever heard of: Trump dismisses African nation of Lesotho Trump said: $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Trumps decision to suspend foreign funding has had a substantial impact on an HIV prevention program in Lesotho, an impoverished country in southern Africa. Former President George W. Bush, Trumps Republican predecessor, initiated the program. Trump calls out woman injured by transgender athlete One of Trumps decrees seeks to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports. At least 24 states have previously approved similar legislation, and a federal version was introduced this week in the United States Senate. From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding," Trump said during his speech. He framed the order as a way to protect girls and women. Social Security Checks Trump said: Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. While the databases may list people aged 100 to 119, it does not mean they are getting paid benefits, as Trump implied in his speech. Trump again invokes the nonexistent EV mandate Trump again said incorrectly as he has done many times before that his administration ended what he called the Biden administrations insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers and companies from economic destruction. But there is no federal mandate to force the purchase of EVs. Shoutout to Musk In his address, Trump praised Elon Musk and the newly established Department of Government Efficiency. According to Trump, Doge is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. Republicans jumped to their feet in applause as Trump told them the days of unelected bureaucrats are over. Musk stood and appreciated the crowds enthusiasm. Trump said, Thank you, Elon. Hes working very hard. He didnt need this. Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe, Trump remarked, referring to the side of the chamber where many Democrats are seated. They just dont want to admit that. Inflation nightmare Trump said: As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans. We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country, theyre not sure. While Trump is keen to blame former President Joe Biden for inflation, the consumer sentiment surveys by the Conference Board and the University of Michigan show people are worried about Trumps tariffs pushing up prices. Not true: More Democrats exit the chamber Democrats increasingly groaned, shouted, Not true!" and Those are lies! as Trump listed cuts his administration believes it has made to the federal budget. Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., shouted, What about the $400 million Tesla contract! at Trump as the president discussed his cuts to the federal government. More House Democrats departed the floor, increasing the total to at least a half dozen opposition legislators who left Trumps joint address. Energy emergency Trump said: A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. That is why on my first day in office, I declared a national energy emergency. President Trump has already began rolling back his predecessors climate change and renewable energy initiatives, as well as declaring a national energy emergency to accelerate fossil fuel development. However, most experts believe the term energy emergency does not truly reflect reality. Scientists believe the world is witnessing a climate emergency instead. Trump also emphasised his efforts to open up portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. However, extending the land accessible for corporations to lease and drill does not guarantee increased oil and gas production. Trump directs members of his Cabinet to lower egg prices Trump discussed the cost of eggs and other necessities at grocery shops, where prices have stayed persistently high owing to inflation. He said Biden let the price of eggs get out of control and directed members of his Cabinet to bring them down, claiming they needed to repair increasing costs left by the previous administration. Lowest ever recorded Trump also stated, Illegal border crossings last month were the lowest ever recorded. Ever. Not so. Trump posted on Truth Social that there were 8,326 apprehensions of illegals by Border Patrol at the U.S. - Mexico Border in February. Although he labelled it the lowest amount in history by FAR and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated it was the lowest month in recorded history, U.S. government figures reveal that the Border Patrol frequently averaged less than that number in the 1960s. While Februarys arrest number was the lowest in decades, the Border Patrol averaged less than February 2025 throughout the first seven years of the 1960s. The government website does not keep track of border crossings between the United States and Mexico prior to 1960. In 1961, the Border Patrol averaged 1,752 arrests per month. How did that work out Trump stated, Weve ended weaponized government where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent like me. How did that work out? Trump gloats over surviving four separate criminal cases, only one of which got to trial, with no significant accountability. Additionally, he is restating his frequently made claim that the Justice Department has been used as a weapon against him for the past four years. Not an economic catastrophe In his address, Trump said, Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families. As you know, we inherited, from the last administration, an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. The post-COVID inflation spike, which peaked in 2022, undoubtedly left Americans feeling pessimistic, but Trump did not inherit a failing economy by any means. Banned national diversity and inclusion programs Trump claimed that his administration has hurried to outlaw federal diversity and inclusion initiatives and fire employees tasked with promoting them. Our country will no longer be woke, he said. His actions have caused private businesses and other organisations to also halt their diversity-promoting initiatives. A number of legal challenges have also been made against them, many of which are currently pending. In his address to Congress, Trump listed what he sees as wins for his administration, mostly focusing on social issues. Some of the perceived achievements as mentioned by Trump are: Calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America Making English the official language of the US Declaring that there are only two genders Ending Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies Democrat Al Green removed from House chamber Minutes into Trumps joint address to Congress, a disturbance from Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas resulted in him being escorted out of the chamber by the House Sergeant at Arms. The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades, Trump said as he began his speech. You have no mandate, Democratic Rep. Al Green countered. Republican members cheered at his removal, shouting Get out! and Goodbye! at the lawmaker. Green shouted, You have no mandate to cut Medicaid! at Trump before police escorted him from the chamber. Trump chides Democrats for not cheering him In his address to Congress, Trump stated that nothing he does would make the Democrats happy. He said, This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do. He also pointed out that the Democrats sitting in the Congress would not celebrate so many incredible wins for America I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, Trump said. These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They wont do it no matter what Its very sad. And it just shouldnt be this way Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating, so many incredible wins for America. Democrats remained seated as Trump said it, some scowling. Many held up small black signs printed with False in white lettering. Every time Trump boasts of his accomplishments, they hold up the signs. Lie after lie after lie, came one shout from the Democratic side of the chamber. America is back Trump has begun his joint congressional address to USA! USA! chants. Trump proclaimed that America is back, saying he promised a golden age when he took over the office a few weeks ago. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country, he said. He stated, We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in 4 years or 8 years and we are just getting started. Trumps frenetic first weeks in office have included the disintegration of the federal government, conflicts with Americas allies, and a trade war, all of which have added to economic instability. As someone who has spent a lot of time with Volodymyr, been in Kyiv with him, has seen what he has had to go through for his country to see him be called a dictator, told he started this war, for him to be treated that way was wrong, said Sunak read more Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said that US President Donald Trumps handling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their tense meeting at the White House last week was wrong. According to a Politico report, referencing Sunaks first interview with the BBC since his loss in last Julys general election, the former UK prime minister slammed the US president for repeatedly lambasting Zelenskyy and expressed concerns about his approach to resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Advertisement It was very hard to watch, Politico quoted Sunak as telling to BBCs Nick Robinson when pressed on the chaotic Oval Office scenes, in which Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for a perceived lack of gratitude to the US. As someone who has spent a lot of time with Volodymyr, been in Kyiv with him, has seen what he has had to go through for his country to see him be called a dictator, told he started this war, for him to be treated that way was wrong, said Sunak. Last month, Trump referred to Zelenskyy as a dictator without elections, falsely asserted that he had low approval ratings, and continued peace talks with Russia, Ukraines aggressor. However, he softened his rhetoric toward Zelenskyy in a recent address to Congress, but only after cutting US aid to Ukraine. Sunak, now a backbench Conservative MP, visited Ukraine twice during his time as prime minister and was a strong supporter of Kyiv while in office, a stance that has been maintained by his Labour successor, Keir Starmer. Advertisement In his interview with the BBC, Sunak acknowledged that Europe needs to take greater responsibility for its own defence, which is a central demand from Trumps team. We cant expect America to bear any burden for our security if we are not prepared to make those sacrifices ourselves, he was quoted as saying. What has happened over the last few weeks has been clarifying, and we have just had to be open and honest about that now, he added. With inputs from agencies The vessel was a sanctioned Russian cargo ship, crewed by men in military fatigues. The ship reportedly transported military hardware through the Channel read more Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset monitors merchant vessel Baltic Leader, which the Royal Navy said, was escorted by the Russia's Boikiy warship through UK waters, as part of a 3-day operation, in this undated handout image. Reuters The UKs Royal Navy on Wednesday said it monitored a Russian warship and a merchant vessel that sailed through the English Channel this week. The operation was led by HMS Somerset, known for conducting similar exercises on Russian vessels in the past. The Royal Navy said that it watched every move as Russias Boikiy warship escorted the Baltic Leader through UK waters. Britains navy routinely conducts shadowing missions to monitor any potential threats to national security, including to critical infrastructure such as undersea cables or pipelines. Advertisement What was the Russian warship doing in The Channel? According to a report by The Times, the vessel was a sanctioned Russian cargo ship, crewed by men in military fatigues. The ship reportedly transported military hardware through the Channel. The Baltic Leader, a cargo vessel targeted by US sanctions for allegedly transporting weapons for the Russian military, was delivering a consignment of military equipment from Russias naval base in Tartus. This base, where Russian operations in Syria are being scaled back, has been facilitating the withdrawal and relocation of military assets. Senior analyst at the Open Source Centre, Joseph Byrne, said that satellite images show that the Baltic Leader loading cargo in the Syrian port of Tartus. While it isnt exactly clear what cargo the vessel is loading, Tartus is a port where Russia has been storing its military equipment, likely waiting for transport," he told The Times. Since mid-February we have seen a number of Russian flagged cargo vessels sail from Syria into the Mediterranean and through the English Channel," he added. HMS Somerset in action HMS Somerset tracked the suspected Russian spy ship, Yantar, in January, while Royal Navy ships last month tracked six Russian naval and merchant ships carrying ammunition used in Syria through the Channel. Somerset began monitoring Boikiy on Saturday, as the Russian warship headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet the Baltic Leader and escort the vessel - which came from Syria - back to Russia. With inputs from agencies Since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it has maintained only unofficial relations with Taiwan, despite being the islands most significant political and economic partner read more Taiwan is seeking closer security ties with the United States and plans to purchase more American weapons, as the island ramps up defence spending amid growing tensions with China. I believe there is a way to have a closer security relation, unofficially, with the US, Bloomberg cited Francois Chihchung Wu, Taiwans deputy foreign minister, as saying in an interview. We are praying to do that, and it will also be sending a message to China not to touch Taiwan so easily. Advertisement Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te announced in February that the island would increase its defence spending to 3 per cent of gross domestic product, following US President Donald Trumps campaign remarks last year that Taiwan should cover more of its own defence costs, suggesting it spend 10 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product on its military. In increasing our defence budget, certainly the consequence is to buy more American weapons because Europeans dont want to sell us weapons, Wu said from his office in Taipei. Even Japan is very careful about this. Taiwan-US relations Wu dismissed concerns that relations between Taiwan and the US could sour, pointing to last weeks contentious White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. If it is possible that our president meets the president of the US, it will be considered a very positive and diplomatic event, he said. Since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it has maintained only unofficial relations with Taiwan, despite being the islands most significant political and economic partner. Taiwanese presidents typically visit the US under the guise of transit stops, making direct engagement with US leaders rare. Chip export controls Wu also addressed US efforts to tighten semiconductor export controls on China, a policy that has significant implications for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the worlds largest contract chipmaker. We just need to adapt to it, Wu said, acknowledging that Taiwan lacks the ability to challenge US decisions on semiconductor restrictions. Earlier this year, the US introduced new regulations aimed at preventing advanced chips from TSMC and other firms from reaching China. The measures require companies to enhance scrutiny of their customers, particularly Chinese entities, after reports that TSMC-made chips were secretly diverted to Huawei Technologies, a firm blacklisted by the US. Advertisement Center-right election winner Friedrich Merz, who is trying to form a coalition government with the center-left Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the two sides will propose exempting the spending of more than 1% of gross domestic product on defense from rules that limit the governments ability to borrow money read more From left, Markus Soder, Chairman of the CSU and Minister President of Bavaria, Friedrich Merz, candidate for Chancellor of the CDU/CSU, Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and Federal Chairman of the CDU, Lars Klingbeil, Chairman of the SPD parliamentary group and Federal Chairman of the SPD, and Saskia Esken, Party Chairwoman of the SPD, hold a press conference in Berlin. AP The prospective partners in Germanys next government said Tuesday they will seek to loosen the nations rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending, an issue of growing urgency as doubts increase about the United States commitment to European allies. They also said they will seek to set up a 500 billion euro ($533 billion) fund to finance spending on Germanys often-creaking infrastructure over the next 10 years to restore the economy Europes biggest, which has shrunk for the last two years to a stable growth course. Advertisement Whatever it takes: Strengthening defense Center-right election winner Friedrich Merz, who is trying to form a coalition government with the center-left Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the two sides will propose exempting the spending of more than 1% of gross domestic product on defense from rules that limit the governments ability to borrow money. He said they will bring the proposals for that and the infrastructure package, which will be financed by loans, to Germanys outgoing parliament next week. Recent weeks have brought new urgency to efforts to further strengthen the countrys long-neglected military. In view of the increasing threat situation, it is clear to us that Europe and with Europe, the Federal Republic of Germany must now very quickly make very big efforts, very quickly, to strengthen the defense capability of our country and the European continent, Merz told reporters. We are counting on the United States of America standing by our mutual alliance commitments in the future as well, he said in a reference to NATO. But we also know that the funding for the defense of our country and alliance must now be expanded significantly. Merz cited the most recent decisions by the American government as one factor. He didnt offer specifics, but appeared to be referring to Washingtons dramatically shifting stance on Ukraine. Whatever it takes must also go for our defense now, in view of the threats to our freedom and to peace on our continent, Merz said. Advertisement Merz has long been committed to the trans-Atlantic military and political alliance. After his Union bloc won Germanys election last month, he said an absolute priority would be to strengthen Europe so that we can really achieve independence from the U.S. step by step. He said Trump administration comments suggest the fate of Europe is largely indifferent to the Americans. Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Scholz pledged to increase Germanys defense spending to the current NATO target of 2% of gross domestic product and announced the creation of a 100 billion euro special fund to modernize the military. Advertisement Germany met that target thanks to the fund, but it will be used up in 2027. We are just as unsettled, and just as concerned, as large parts of our population, Bavarian governor Markus Soder, a leading conservative ally of Merz, said of the changing U.S. stance. Germanys debt brake Germanys debt brake allows new borrowing worth only 0.35% of annual gross domestic product, though it can be suspended for emergencies that are out of the states control. It was suspended for three years after the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. Both legislative proposals will require a two-thirds majority in parliament as the debt brake is anchored in Germanys constitution. Advertisement That could be complicated in the newly elected German parliament, where the far-right Alternative for Germany and the hard-left Left Party have a little over one-third of seats between them. Alternative for Germany portrays itself as a staunch defender of the debt brake. The Left Party opposes it but is skeptical about military spending. But until the new parliament convenes, expected in late March, the old one remains in place. The prospective coalition partners will still need support from at least one of the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats to get their plans approved. The latter swiftly criticized plans to run up more debt. Advertisement The Social Democrats co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, said his party and Merzs conservatives also agreed in the longer term to rework the debt brake by the end of 2025 to enable more investment. Merz said the parties believe the planned infrastructure package will also trigger private investment on a large scale. He said quick improvements to Germanys competitiveness also will be needed. The two sides have to reach agreement on many other issues before they can be sure of forming a coalition, but theres no other politically plausible combination of parties that could form a new government. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys chief of staff on Wednesday said that Ukraine and the US have agreed to hold further talks after a call with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz read more Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys chief of staff on Wednesday said that Ukraine and the US have agreed to hold further talks after a call with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Had a phone conversation with the U.S. Presidents National Security Advisor, @michaelgwaltz. We discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace, Andriy Yermak said on X. We also exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States. We have scheduled a meeting for our teams in the near future to continue this important work, added Yermak. Advertisement We also exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States. We have scheduled a meeting for our teams in the near future to continue this important work. Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) March 5, 2025 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later noted positive movement in cooperation with the US, suggesting a potential meeting between the two sides soon. Kyiv is keen to mend its relationship with its primary military ally against Russias invasion, following a public spat between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump last week regarding the resolution of the war in Ukraine. Today our Ukrainian and US teams began working on a meeting. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz spoke, Reuters quoted Zelenskyy as saying in his evening address. There is positive movement. We hope for the first results next week, he added. Both statements came just hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the US had paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. Advertisement What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, (there has) never been a war under his leadership, (and) he wants to end the wars that exist, Ratcliffe told Fox Business Network. And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: lets pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that, he added. Ratcliffe said President Zelenskyy issued a statement expressing his readiness for peace and his desire for Donald Trumps leadership to facilitate that process. Advertisement And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression thats there, but (it was needed) to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward, Ratcliffe said. With inputs from agencies Samsung started rolling out One UI 7 beta update for its devices back in December last year, starting with the Galaxy S24 series, and it has received several beta updates since then. Now the company has finally started rolling out thee One UI 7 beta update for the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 smartphones in India, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S. starting from March 6th. The company said that the update will be available for more devices including Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Tab S10 series and Galaxy A55 later this March. Samsung has also confirmed that the stable update or the final version of the One UI 7 based on Android 15 will be rolling out in April, even though the company had mentioned earlier that it will be available starting from the first quarter of 2025 This comes after the company released several devices, including its S25 flagships and the latest Galaxy A56 and A36 smartphones running the One UI 7 out of the box. The eligible users can apply to join the beta program via Samsung Members app. Regarding the features in the One UI 7, Samsung said: Integrating leading AI agents with multimodal capabilities into every touch point of the interface, One UI 7 marks a significant leap forward in creating a new kind of mobile experience where every interaction feels more intuitive than ever before. TECNO stood out on day 2 of MWC Barcelona 2025 during its AI Ecosystem Product Launch event. The company unveiled the CAMON 40 smartphone series, TECNO AI Glasses Pro, and the MEGABOOK S14 laptop, showcasing its focus on practical AI solutions. TECNO CMO Laury Bai and Chief Product Launch Officer Olivier Mas joined representatives from MediaTek, Google Cloud, DXOMARK, and Qualcomm. CAMON 40 Series: A Leap in Smartphone Photography Olivier Mas introduced the CAMON 40 Series, noting its strength in mobile imaging. The series includes One-Tap FlashSnap Mode and TECNO AI, improving snapshot speed and user experience. Mas said it combines hardware and software innovation. He added that partnerships help deliver cutting-edge AI solutions to emerging markets. TECNO has partnered with MediaTek to establish a joint AI Laboratory focused on advancing AI technology. James Chen, Vice President of Product and Technology Marketing at MediaTek, said, The synergistic R&D efforts between TECNO and MediaTek are set to democratize AI technology. Our collaboration powers a seamless, interconnected AI experience, bringing users a future of truly connected intelligence. Matt Waldbusser, Managing Director of Global Solutions and Consumer AI at Google Cloud, commented on their collaboration. He stated, Our collaboration with TECNO on the CAMON 40 Series is a standout example. Leveraging Google Clouds capabilities, weve introduced groundbreaking features such as Ask Ella, AI Image Generator, AI Writing, and AI Translate. He highlighted that TECNOs AI supports text translation in 136 languages, voice translation in 44 languages, and photo translation in 51 languages. I am particularly impressed by the industry-leading and competitive edge of some of these innovations, Waldbusser added. He also expressed excitement about strengthening their partnership to bring practical AI to emerging markets conveniently and securely. The One-Tap FlashSnap uses AI to speed up camera startup and continuous shooting for instant captures. AI-powered multi-frame processing reduces noise and enhances details. The BestMoment algorithm analyzes motion patterns to select optimal frames for precise, high-quality shots in dynamic scenes. Frederic Guichard, CEO of DXOMARK, evaluated the CAMON 40 Pro 5G. He said, The CAMON 40 Pro 5G has demonstrated exceptional imaging and performance capabilities in our rigorous evaluations. Weve been particularly impressed with photo performance being the best for devices under $600, and the 1st eligible device to our Smart Choice Label. TECNO noted it achieved a 138 Overall Camera Score at DXOMARK. The device excels in stunning portraits with natural and pleasant skin tone and strong low-light capabilities for night photography. Mas added that TECNO AI enhances the device with intelligent imaging, a 360 AI Call Assistant, and productivity tools for creativity and efficiency. Powered by MediaTeks latest chipsets, it offers smooth performance, fast processing, and extended battery life. Its sleek, durable, water-resistant design balances style and practicality, he said. MEGABOOK S14: Lightest 14-inch OLED Laptop TECNO launched the MEGABOOK S14, the worlds lightest 14-inch OLED laptop, weighing just 899g (31.7oz). It features a 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and runs on Qualcomms Snapdragon X Elite compute platform, the flagship chipset for AI PCs. The company said it integrates TECNOs first self-developed edge-side large-scale AI model for enhanced multitasking. TECNO AI enhances the Ella AI Assistant and supports AI-powered PPT generation, image search, smart albums, and offline meeting transcription with multilingual capabilities. An External Graphics Dock with an NVIDIA card boosts performance for design, gaming, and content creation. The laptop also includes DTS:X Ultra dual 2W speakers, Wi-Fi 6E, fingerprint login, and PC Manager for better connectivity and user experience. Kedar Kondap, SVP & GM of Compute and Gaming at Qualcomm, discussed their partnership. He emphasized the integration of Qualcomms cutting-edge PC chipset into the MEGABOOK S14, aligning with TECNOs vision for high-performance AI PCs. TECNO also introduced the 999g (35.2oz) MEGABOOK T14 Air with high-speed storage and LPDDR5 memory. The ultra-thin, all-metal MEGABOOK K15S comes with a 70Wh battery and 65W PD GaN charger. Both devices feature AI tools like AI Album and AI Voice Assistant for versatile use. TECNO AI Glasses: Smart Eyewear Redefined The TECNO AI Glasses Series debuted with two models: TECNO AI Glasses in an aviator design and AI Glasses Pro in a browline style. Both include a 50MP high-definition camera with an OV50D sensor, a 100 ultra-wide-angle custom lens, and an AI ISP imaging chip. These deliver high-resolution photos with advanced AI noise reduction and HDR. TECNO AIs Ella provides real-time translation in over 100 languages, voice control, object recognition, and intelligent information summaries. The AI Glasses Pro adds a MicroLED display with 7th-gen resin waveguide technology. It offers a 30 field of view and over 1,500 nits of brightness in a lightweight, ultra-thin AR design. This display supports translation, navigation, information prompts, and teleprompting. With a 250mAh battery, the glasses deliver over 11 hours of music playback or 8 hours of mixed use after a 30-minute charge. They feature an ultra-linear speaker, bass enhancement, spatial sound, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4 for seamless connectivity. TECNO at MWC 2025 TECNOs latest devices are on display at MWC 2025, held March 3-6, at booth 6B11, Hall 6, Fira Gran Via. Reflecting its Stop at Nothing brand essence, the company invites attendees to explore these AI-driven innovations firsthand, shaping a connected future with accessible AI technology. Speaking at the MWC 2025 event, TECNO CMO, Laury Bai, stated, Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel Volunteers help package potatoes during an afternoon volunteering at the Food Bank of the Rockies on Jan. 30, 2025. Despite boasting its own food distribution center and several food banks, over 1,000 more Mesa County residents are struggling with food insecurity than in the year prior. A federal judge in Colorado has vacated a Bureau of Land Management program that pays people $1,000 to adopt an untrained wild horse or burro, ruling in a suit brought by advocates who say the program has led to some horses being sold for slaughter. Senior U.S. District Judge William Martinez set aside the BLMs Adoption Incentive Program. He found that the agency violated federal laws in creating it by failing to conduct environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act and to notify the public and seek comment under the Administrative Procedures Act. Martinez remanded the matter back to the BLM, which could seek to revive the program while following the law consistent with his findings. The agency is declining comment on the ruling. It says on the main page of it its Wild Horse and Burro Program website that the adoption program is currently paused and not available for new adopters. The BLM will provide additional information as soon as possible. Adopters who previously enrolled in the program will receive further guidance when available. The suit was brought by petitioners including the American Wild Horse Conservation, Skydog Sanctuary and Carol Walker, a Denver-based wild horse author and photographer. Under the program, an adopter has been able to gain title to a horse or burro 12 months after adopting it, and then could receive up to $1,000 within 60 days. An American Wild Horse Conservation investigation led to New York Times reporting in 2021 that some adopters collected the incentive money and then sent the animals to slaughter auctions. According to an E&E News story in 2022, the agency said it had no credible evidence of adopted animals ending up in foreign slaughterhouses. In finding in his ruling that the petitioners had legal standing to pursue their claims in the case, Martinez wrote, It is not hard to imagine nor is it speculative for Petitioners to assert, based on the record evidence that the slaughter of wild horses by third parties would be fairly traceable to agency action that invites members of the public to obtain title to these untrained animals for a $1,000 cash incentive after only a year of care and supervision. ... Even BLM officials have acknowledged that the risk of these alleged abuses is possible as a result of (the program), he said. This included an acknowledgment by the BLM that the easy money aspect ... may bring out potential for fraud, abuse and neglect, and that gentling and training mustangs and burros adds monetary value to the animals and reduces the risk that they would be sold for slaughter. The BLM created the program to reduce its costs of caring for unadopted and untrained wild horses and burros as it seeks to deal with a large number of a wild horses and burros on public lands. It removes some animals from those lands to address overpopulation. It implemented the incentive program through instructional memoranda issued in 2019 and 2022. The agency contends that those memoranda contain no binding language and thus werent subject to the Administrative Procedures Act notice and comment requirement. But Martinez found that the memoranda are indeed binding, and are effectively legislative rules subject to the notice and comment requirements, rather than being discretionary. He wrote that an agency cannot avoid its notice and comment obligations by simply clothing instruction memoranda in permissive language, only to then treat them in practice as mandatory. The BLM determined that the instructional memoranda were categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act, meaning it didnt have to prepare an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment on the program. But Martinez ruled that the memoranda were substantive, and not merely administrative, and a categorical exclusion wasnt warranted. Walker said in a news release, Our wild horses deserve to be protected and treated humanely, not turned into a commodity for profit and abuse. This decision returns to the wild horses that have been removed from our public lands the protection that they deserve. Judy Cady is with the nonprofit group Friends of the Mustangs, which works with the BLM to support the local Little Book Cliffs wild horse herd and is making preparations for a June adoption event for some of the horses removed last year from that herd. She said Tuesday that that the cash incentive program wasnt good for the horses because some adopters were abusing it. I know it caused some definite problems, she said. Id rather they adopt the horse for the horse, not because somebodys giving you a thousand bucks in a year. The program required BLM officials to conduct compliance checks within six months of the adoption date on untitled animals; required adopters to affirm in writing, subject to perjury, that they didnt intend to sell or transfer an adopted animal for slaughter; and limited adopters to obtaining title to a maximum of four animals within 12 months. The petitioners in the case say groups of related individuals were adopting the maximum allowed per person, then getting the titles, selling the animals to slaughter auctions and collecting tens of thousands of dollars. The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven said it had agreed to jointly explore store sell-offs with Alimentation Couche-Tard to address antitrust concerns ahead of a potential merger A wheel and seat from a mobility scooter lays in the street in front of Central High School after a fatal crash in front of the school on March 3, 2025. According to a release by the CSP, a 66-year-old woman was crossing the intersection of Warrior Way and E 1/2 Road when a truck driven by a male high school student struck her while traveling north into the school parking lot. The woman was pronounced dead on the scene by first responders, and school was closed for the day. Sat Saturday 95 /64 More sun than clouds. Highs in the mid 90s and lows in the mid 60s. China uses DeepSeek, other AI models, for surveillance and information attacks on US By Fatima Tlis March 04, 2025 The United States may become the second country after Australia to ban China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence on government devices. U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood introduced a bipartisan bill proposing the ban. In their letter to 47 U.S. governors and the mayor of Washington, the congressmen warned that DeepSeek could pose security risks to sensitive government data and cybersecurity and Americans' privacy, NBC News reported on March 3. China denies the allegations. However, concerns highlighted by the U.S. lawmakers and state officials are not without merit, experts say. The Chinese government has reportedly also used AI models for mass surveillance, including the collection of biometric data and social media listening operations that report to China's security services and the military, as well as for information attacks on U.S. and Chinese dissidents abroad. At least three leading Chinese surveillance and security companies TopSec, QAX and NetEase announced the integration of DeepSeek to enhance their services. TopSec and QAX provide services directly to the Chinese government, and NetEase made it clear that DeepSeek will improve their cyber censorship and surveillance capabilities. Over the past decade, the Chinese government has been investing heavily in AI-driven biometric data capturing, face recognition and surveillance technologies such as "smart cities," the Skynet project, and the Sharpe Eyes program, which can monitor all aspects of an individual's public life, Wenhao Ma of VOA's China Division reported. In January, Canadian cybersecurity firm Feroot Security uncovered a code imbedded in DeepSeek's login processes that shares user information with Chinese state-owned communication company China Mobile, AP reported. The Associated Press described the code as a "heavily obfuscated computer script that when deciphered shows connections to computer infrastructure owned by China Mobile." The U.S. banned China Mobile in 2019 following intelligence reports that it serves as the Chinese military's spy arm. China-based actors have been using ChatGPT along with DeepSeek models to generate phishing email and disinformation attacks on the U.S. "on behalf of unspecified clients in China," OpenAI said in its February report. OpenAI identified and blocked a cluster of China-originated accounts involved in malicious activities, such as Qianyue Overseas Public Opinion AI Assistant, reportedly designed to ingest and analyze posts and comments related to Chinese politics and human rights from platforms such as X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Telegram and Reddit. The purpose of the operation was reportedly "to feed the resulting insights to the Chinese authorities" such as "Chinese embassies abroad, and to intelligence agents monitoring protests in countries including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom," OpenAI said. A set of ChatGPT accounts that OpenAI banned in February had been involved in Chinese influence operations focused on generating short comments in English and long-form Spanish-language articles critical of the United States published in local and national media outlets across Latin America and Spain. One of the Chinese companies planting the articles in the Spanish-language outlets was Jilin Yousen Culture Communication Co., a subsidiary of the government-tied Beijing United Publishing House. VOA reviewed nine of the Chinese AI-generated articles published in Spanish-language media between October and November 2024 as identified by OpenAI. Two in Mexico's El Universal and Peru's El Popular criticized the United States' use of sanctions targeting foreign governments and individuals. The El Universal op-ed described the U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil industry for Tehran's backing of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah as exposing the U.S.' "impotence" in dealing with global politics and the "rapid decline" of its "moral standing." Similarly, El Popular painted U.S. sanctions on a Hamas affiliate as "insane" and an "attack on the rights of Palestinian people." An article in Peru's La Republica presented the U.S. as the biggest beneficiary of the Russian war in Ukraine, replicating the Kremlin's key narrative. It criticized the U.S. for providing military aid to Kyiv, framing the American support as an escalation of the war. China, however, has been a key provider of military technologies and weapons to Russia, which Moscow uses in daily attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Another China-planted piece in La Republica described U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy as "undermining U.S. global leadership position." Three pieces in Peru's Wapa, El Popular and El Plural exploited the issues of homelessness, child nutrition and crime in the U.S. all presented as extremely acute and dangerous. For example, the child nutrition piece claimed that most children in the U.S. "go hungry on weekends and holidays" due to the government's neglect of children's food security. While the topics of these articles vary from human rights and social issues in the U.S. to foreign and domestic politics, they all paint a picture of a dysfunctional state with failing moral values and declining international influence, matching Beijing's standard narrative. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No: 43, 3 March 2025, Regarding Israel's Decision to Halt the Entry of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs We condemn Israel's decision to halt the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli government's denial of the Palestinian people's access to essential supplies constitutes a blatant violation of international law. This decision, which aims to collectively punish the Palestinian people, also jeopardizes the efforts to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. The international community must take immediate action to secure unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and ensure that Israel fulfills its obligations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Security Council Extends Al-Shabaab Sanctions Regime, Renews Panel of Experts in Resolution 2776 (2025) Meetings Coverage Security Council 9872nd Meeting (PM) SC/16011 3 March 2025 The Security Council today extended its authorization for Member States to intercept vessels transporting banned items to and from Somalia, including illegal arms imports and charcoal exports, until 13 December 2025, also renewing the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the Al-Shabaab sanctions regime until 13 January 2026. Unanimously adopting resolution 2776 (2025) (to be issued as document S/RES/2776(2025)), the 15-member Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations decided that "all States shall, for the purposes of preventing Al-Shabaab and other actors intent on undermining peace and security in Somalia and the region from obtaining weapons and ammunition, take the necessary measures to prevent all deliveries of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Somalia." It further decided that these measures shall not apply to deliveries or supplies to the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Somali National Army, the National Intelligence and Security Agency, the Somali National Police Force and the Somali Custodial Corps. Several Council members spoke after the vote. The representative of Guyana, also speaking for Algeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia, said they supported the Council's decision "because we continue to ascribe importance to these elements in the fight against Al-Shabaab". However, such regime should be assessed to determine its fitness to support the Government's efforts to combat the group. In that regard, she welcomed the mandate given to the Secretary-General to assess the relevant arms embargo and report to the Council on this by 1 November 2025. She also welcomed the Council's intention to review the propriety of the sanctions regime once that report is received. She added: "We urge the Council's continued support and attention to the priorities identified by the [Government] during that review." "This resolution retains a powerful package of sanctions designed to further degrade Al-Shabaab, disrupt its finances, strengthen international collaboration, and support Somalia in building its own capabilities," observed the United Kingdom's delegate. The adopted resolution also recognizes the particular concern posed by flows of weapons from Yemen to Somalia. Al-Shabaab's links to the Houthis are part of a wider pattern of Houthi destabilising activity beyond Yemen's borders, she said, adding that the 2713 and 2140 sanctions committees "should coordinate closely to monitor and counter this trend". Other speakers also expressed concern for the flow of arms from Yemen to Somalia, with France's saying the movement violates the relevant arms embargo. "It is vital to prevent Al-Shabaab from establishing and exploiting ties with groups under sanctions in the region including the Houthis," he stressed. Echoing a similar sentiment, the representative from the United States expressed concern about growing ties between Al-Shabaab and the Houthis. He encouraged dialogue between the Yemen and Al-Shabaab sanctions panels and countries in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula "to shed light on and ultimately sever the ties between the Houthis and Al-Shabaab". If fully implemented by Member States, the measures in this resolution will curb Al-Shabaab's and other non-State actors' access to funds and weapons needed to carry out attacks. "We urge our fellow Council members to support additional designations, including those of Al-Shabaab operatives," he added. However, the representative of the Russian Federation countered that "the Yemen issue needs to be considered separately". The draft contains elements that meet the aspirations of the Somalian side regarding the upcoming review of the sanctions regime, which has been in effect since 1992, she said, welcoming the restriction on access to weapons acquisition by non-State bodies. She further stated: "The Council should pay greater attention to the positions expressed by African States, especially when parameters are being determined for the sanctions regime used against the terrorists which are active on their territories." "Al-Shabaab's ability to radicalize, recruit, raise funds via extortion and piracy and procure weapons must be disrupted," stressed Pakistan's delegate. Continued humanitarian assistance and support for economic development of Somalia is vital to addressing the root causes of terrorism. "Fighting the scourge of terrorism would require a united regional and global effort," he emphasized. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Air Force designates two Mission Design Series for collaborative combat aircraft Published March 3, 2025 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The U.S. Air Force announced the designation of two Mission Design Series within its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program today: the YFQ-42A (General Atomics) and the YFQ-44A (Anduril). Representing the first in a new generation of uncrewed fighter aircraft, both will be crucial in securing air superiority for the Joint Force in future conflicts. These aircraft are designed to leverage autonomous capabilities and crewed-uncrewed teaming to defeat enemy threats in contested environments. "Now we have two prototypes of Collaborative Combat Aircraft," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin. "They were only on paper less than a couple of years ago, and they are going to be ready to fly this summer." The MDS designation provides a standardized framework for identifying and classifying these aircraft: Status Prefix: Y- Prototype (The "Y" will be dropped upon entering production) Basic Mission: F - Fighter Vehicle Type: Q - Unmanned Aircraft Design Number: 42 / 44 Series: A - 1st Version "For the first time in our history, we have a fighter designation in the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A," Allvin added. "It may be just symbolic, but we are telling the world we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare. It means collaborative combat aircraft, it means human-machine teaming. We are developing those capabilities thinking, 'mission first.'" The Air Force will continue to work closely with its industry partners to mature the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A prototypes through rigorous testing and evaluation. The insights gained from these efforts will be crucial in shaping the future of the CCA program and solidifying the Air Force's position at the forefront of airpower innovation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Radev meets with representatives of the U.S. Air War College President of the Republic of Bulgaria 4 March 2025 Head of State Rumen Radev today held a meeting with students and lecturers from the Air War College in the United States. Susan Falatko, US Charge d'Affaires ad interim, also took part in the talks. The Head of State graduated with honours in 2003 with a Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the college. The conversation focused on the security environment and the regional and international challenges that arise from multiple and intertwining crises, including military ones. Various approaches to ending the military conflict in Ukraine were discussed, as well as Europe's role in this process. Against the backdrop of the challenges, the head of state recalled Bulgaria's place as a guarantor of energy diversification and transport connectivity in the Balkans and Southeast Europe. The partnership between Bulgaria and the United States in the field of defence and security was highlighted, as well as the cooperation between our countries on the modernisation of the Bulgarian army. The President stressed that along with the large modernisation projects of the Armed Forces, investment is also needed in small projects that guarantee asymmetric superiority. The head of state also pointed out that besides the acquisition of defence equipment, the continuation of joint exercises and the exchange of experience are crucial for the development of modern defence capabilities. In this regard, President Radev also highlighted the importance of training Bulgarian service people in the United States. The representatives of the Air War College presented the Head of State with a statuette of an eagle, and in turn the President presented the university with a plaque of the Madara Horseman as a symbol of the centuries-old Bulgarian statehood and culture. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 4, 2025 By David Vergun, DOD News Air Force Aims to Instill Warrior Ethos, Increase Lethality The Air Force is making progress toward the defense secretary's priorities, which will ultimately result in giving the president more options, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, who provided a keynote address yesterday at the 2025 Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado. Allvin mentioned those priorities restoring the warrior ethos, reestablishing deterrence, meritocracy, reforming acquisition, passing an audit, matching threats to capabilities and defending the homeland and how the Air Force is executing them. Reviving the warrior ethos means letting every airman know what it means to fight as a unit, what's going to be expected of them, and focusing on the threat, he said. "Your Air Force continues to kick butt. Our airmen are doing amazing things every day. They make it look just normal," he said, noting how airmen, along with allies and partners, controlled the skies over the Middle East and are increasing interoperability with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Also, every day, airmen protect the skies over the homeland through exercises and nuclear deterrence, he said. "We're a well-used Air Force, and we've been used well and used often. Every time we ask them to do more, they continue to do more," Allvin said. Ensuring all of the service's investments increase combat readiness and effectiveness is now the focus, he said. For example, the Air Force maintains excess infrastructure, approximately 20-30% too much, he said. "All of that is not adding to combat capability. All of that is infrastructure that needs to be maintained, sustained, and doesn't necessarily provide more combat lethality," he said. Greater lethality, he said, has been degraded by a drop in aircraft availability as the fleet ages and needs more maintenance. Also, weapon sustainment costs are growing, and the nuclear triad needs to finish its modernization efforts. As threats continue to evolve, the Air Force is racing toward adding unmanned fighters to the fleet, training for human-machine integration and using autonomy more effectively, he said. When the new Air Force secretary and undersecretary get confirmed, they will examine how effectively the force is executing the defense secretary's priorities, Allvin said. "I have a hunch that when they see some of these things we're doing, we're going to be told to go faster," he added. Lastly, he pointed out that "Americans keep signing up, saying they want to join the team. And the team that is the United States Air Force continues to be the best in the world. They show up every day. They do what they're asked. They do it with excellence. They do it in a way that makes us all proud." The Air Force is ahead of its annual recruiting goal, with more recruits currently in the delayed entry program than at any point in nearly 10 years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Speech by President Antonio Costa at the Emergency summit of the League of Arab States on Gaza European Council / Council of the European Union European Council Speech 4 March 2025 16:15 Let me start by thanking you for inviting the European Union to attend this important meeting as the international community and the Arab States try to give hope to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and abroad and bring an end to the terrible suffering we have all witnessed this past year and a half. The European Union is fully committed to contributing to peace in the Middle East. Committed to the two-state solution, where Palestine and Israel can live side by side in peace and security and free from the threat of terrorism. Committed to supporting the efforts of the Arab States and the Palestinian Authority, as we have done for so long. Respect for the UN Charter, the rules-based international order and international law has never been so much at stake as in current times. Let me be clear. The European Union firmly rejects any attempt at demographic and territorial changes in Gaza, in other parts of the world, anywhere, consistent with the UN Charter, international law, our fundamental principles and relevant UN resolutions. The European Union calls on all parties to the ceasefire and hostage-release deal to fully implement their commitments. We commend all those engaged in the mediation efforts, in particular Egypt and Qatar. We sincerely hope that the talks on phase two will be successful. This is very important. Not only to allow for the release of all hostages and detainees, but also to ensure a path to a permanent end to hostilities. A political solution that includes Gaza and the West Bank. A path of respect for international law and humanitarian law, and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians, and civilians to be protected. The European Union and its member states are supporting these objectives through increased humanitarian aid, namely by continuing to support the action of UNRWA, also through the deployment of the EU mission to Rafah (EUBAM), at the Rafah crossing point. Our support to the Palestinian Authority is also steadfast. The European Union supports the reform agenda of the Palestinian Authority. It will play a crucial role in the governance of Gaza. The European Union is also using all possible tools in this regard, including diplomatic efforts vis-a-vis Israel and Palestine, also through the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. Together with you and all other international partners, the European Union is fully committed to the reconstruction of Gaza. Any viable reconstruction plan should cover all strands, especially reconstruction, governance and security. Thank you to Egypt and all of you who have worked on the plan presented today. The European Union stands ready to provide concrete support. Together, we should implement this plan. Together, the European Union, its partners in the Arab world and the international community. It is in difficult times that you can count on predictable and reliable partners and friends. The recent developments in the Middle East have made the Arab League and its members ever more relevant for the European Union. We are partners to work on resolving tensions and addressing challenges in the region and in the reconstruction of Gaza. May the Holy Month of Ramadan bring the peace that we are all looking for. For the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Ramadan Kareem! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Tsahkna: Europe must fill the gap left by the United States Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 04.03.2025 Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the decision by the United States to pause military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must increase and speed up its assistance to Ukraine to fill the gap. "Europe must increase military aid to Ukraine to allow Ukraine to continue fighting for a just and lasting peace," Tsahkna said. "The Estonian government has already decided to increase its assistance this year by 25% and also deliver 10 000 artillery shells to Ukraine. Our decision proves that it is possible to make new and quick decisions to help Ukraine, and we call on all supporters of Ukraine to increase their aid as soon as possible." The foreign minister said that one option for obtaining additional resources to help Ukraine was to use Russia's frozen assets. As most of Russia's frozen sovereign assets are located in Europe, Europe has a decisive role in taking action and using these assets to help Ukraine. "Claims that there are no legal ways to use Russia's frozen assets are unfounded. Last week, I shared a draft paper with our European partners, offering a clear solution for using frozen assets. Before the June deadline for extending the sanctions imposed on Russia, a political decision must be taken on using frozen assets," the foreign minister said. "The sole perpetrator of the war must feel pressure and the victim of the aggression must have strong support because it is the only way to force Russia to give up its goals and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine," Tsahkna said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Tsahkna in Bod: NATO frontline countries Estonia and Norway have a shared threat perception Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 04.03.2025 Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna is on a visit to Norway on 3 and 4 March, and today he and his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide visited the Norwegian Armed Forces' Joint Headquarters in Bod. "As NATO frontline countries, Estonia and Norway largely have a shared perception of security challenges, and they are also very serious about defending themselves," Foreign Minister Tsahkna said. "Norway's contribution to NATO's collective defence and particularly to security in the Arctic is invaluable." The foreign ministers of Estonia and Norway also had a joint telephone conversation with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who affirmed Ukraine's commitment to achieving peace. Estonia's support to Ukraine remains unwavering and we are working towards achieving lasting peace in Ukraine, not just a pause for Russia so it could continue its aggression later," Tsahkna said. Yesterday, Tsahkna was in Oslo and met with members of the Norwegian Parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, and with Asmund Aukrust, Minister for International Development. He and Norwegian State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson took part in the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs panel discussion on current security challenges. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Letter by President von der Leyen on defence to the European Council ahead of its meeting on Thursday, 6 March 2025 European Commission Press release Mar 3, 2025 Brussels The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sent a letter to the members of the European Council ahead of the meeting of Thursday, 6 March 2025, on the topic of defence. The letter is available at the link below. Letter by President von der Leyen on defence NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Speech by Minister Valtonen in London, at an event hosted by Chatham House Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland Speeches, 4.3.2025 Speech by Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen about Finland's approach to European security at an event entitled "Keeping the peace on NATO's longest border with Russia", hosted by Chatham House on 4 March 2025. (Check against delivery) Ladies and gentlemen, It is a true privilege to see you all here today. In this historic setting, where great ideas and solid principles shaping global affairs have long been debated, I am honoured to contribute to this essential conversation. And if it's not today when great ideas and solid principles are needed, I don't know when. Today I would like to speak to you about security and the future of Europe and Ukraine. I will focus on European support for Ukraine, the pathway to sustainable peace, and on how to strengthen the role of Europe in writing the next chapter of the free world. One thing we can say for sure is: we in Europe have a unique opportunity to take ownership of our own future. This is not to say that we would do it at the cost of our transatlantic tie. On the very contrary, by starting to better pull our own weight, we strengthen the partnership so crucial to both sides of the Atlantic. We Finns don't usually like to make a big deal of ourselves, but on this matter, I must depart from tradition and say that defense and security are topics we truly know something about. Our history has taught us not just how to survive, but how to defend what we hold dear. Support to Ukraine Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shattered the post-Cold War ideals of stability in Europe. That aggression started already more than 10 years ago with the illegal annexation of Crimea. Now Ukrainians have fought the full-scale war for three long years and continue to fight for their right to live as an independent nation, free from oppression. Let us be clear: Ukraine is not only fighting for its own survival - it is fighting for all people's right to choose and be free. Finland stands with Ukraine now. Finland will continue to stand with Ukraine in the future. Compared to the size of our GDP, Finland is Ukraine's fifth-biggest supporter. We are in constant contact with the Ukrainian government and armed forces to ensure that our support continues to meet their immediate needs and is made available without delay. On top, we are actively enhancing Ukraine's long term strategic resilience. We explore new means and mechanisms, including support for Ukraine's own defence industry. Ukraine's rapid innovation in drone warfare is a testament to their defence forces' resolve - and we must ensure that they has the industrial capacity to maintain this edge. The Pledge of Long-Term Security Assistance for Ukraine, announced at the Washington NATO Summit last summer, is one of the key elements in our commitment. We must make sure that the Alliance delivers on this pledge. Now is the time for European leadership. The day before yesterday, your Prime Minister brought together an important and timely leaders' meeting here in London, accelerating our efforts to support Ukraine and to seek a just and lasting peace. Europe has momentum and we will use it. The day after tomorrow, the European Council will convene on the initiative of Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. I expect that the meeting in Brussels this week will deliver concrete and sizable commitments for additional EU support to Ukraine, as well as take decisive steps toward strengthening European defence - or rearming Europe, as the President of the European Commission has phrased it. We have reached a point where decisions must not be symbolic - they must be consequential. Let me be absolutely clear: if we do not act now, we will pay a far greater price later. Pathway to sustainable peace Ladies and gentlemen, There can be no sustainable peace in Ukraine without a strong and sovereign Ukraine. This is not just a political reality; it is a moral imperative. Rushing to a deal at the cost of its content and without due consideration of the consequences would endanger not only Ukraine but also Europe and, by extension, the United States for generations to come. We Finns know Russia. Russia shares a land border with 14 countries. Only one of them has constantly remained an independent democracy through the second world war and the cold war: Finland. History has taught us that Russia respects only strength and resolve. Russia's current war is based on imperialistic ambitions that go beyond Ukraine. The Kremlin's appetite does not diminish when fed; it only grows. Take it from us: whatever happens in this war, Russia will remain a long-term strategic threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Rather than encourage, we need to keep it at bay. Of course, we need to be open for re-engagement in the future if Russia started to adhere to international law again. But going forward, it would be a mistake to let go of our deterrence or rebuild strategic dependency on Russia. This goes for all of Europe. So far, we have not seen any sign that President Putin has any genuine will to negotiate a lasting agreement - on the contrary. A week ago on Monday, on the 3rd anniversary of Russia's invasion, Russia launched the so far largest drone attack on Ukraine. That is not what you would expect from someone who is truly interested in peace. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that Putin has moderated his demands from those he laid out in December 2021 - demands that, if accepted, would roll back decades of progress in European security. Caving to these demands would expose Europe to further aggression. Instead, our objective must be a just, lasting peace that respects international law, including the prohibition of annexation of territory through the use of force. Let me emphasize: peace does not and must not mean submission. True peace is built on justice, accountability, and deterrence. We must not mistake a temporary pause for a sustainable peace. If in doubt, you can ask the Baltic states what kind of peace it was to live under Russian (or Soviet) occupation. Deported civilians, missing children, a massive setback in prosperity and subpar living standards for decades, no political or personal freedoms. You can call that peace but it's not something the brave Ukrainians have been sacrificing their lives for or what they (or anyone) would deserve going forward. Second, any negotiations with Russia may not lead to an agreement that changes the European security architecture, its principles and commitments. Europe's security is not a bargaining chip. Russia will only have an interest in committing to an agreement when they understand that they cannot reach their goal of subjugating Ukraine through military or other means. The policy of Mr. Putin and his henchmen is based on the belief that time is on their side: That we - the western people in general - are weak, divided, and looking for a way out of the war at almost any cost. They believe that Russia could simply outlast us. We not only have to prove them wrong. In fact, we already have done so in the past three years. Let's not forget, Russia thought they would take Kyiv in a matter of days and Europe would just sit still and watch. And continue buying Russian gas. How wrong they were. In fact, the course of action we (Europe) have taken in the past 3 years is exactly the right one: provide military assistance to Ukraine and put economic pressure on Russia. The medicine is working but we're not just done yet. To secure a peace that can last, Ukraine needs a strong deterrent against any future aggression. Without such guarantees, any truce or a ceasefire is only an invitation for Russia to regroup and return. We have seen this time and again. We must not repeat the mistakes made with the Minsk agreements. The most credible security guarantee would be NATO membership. Before that happens (but also thereafter), the required deterrence must be based primarily on Ukraine's own defense forces, firmly supported by external assistance and credible security arrangements provided by Europe and the US. In parallel to supporting Ukraine, Russia's position must be further weakened. Sanctions must be strengthened and their implementation made more effective. We must also find a way to use the frozen Russian assets - around 200 billion euros in Europe - to support Ukraine and compensate for the damage Russia's aggression has caused. We Finns know from experience that Russia is a skillful but unreliable negotiator. One of our foremost diplomats and later President Paasikivi was on several occasions on the other side of the table from Stalin and Molotov when our existence as an independent country was on the line in the 1930's and 1940's. He summed it up well: "The constant policy of the Russians is to get what they can with as little as possible and then come back asking for more...They never sacrifice their immediate interests for future objectives....They are immune to any ethical, human or abstract legal factors." This is the Finnish experience. The Ukrainians know from their own experience that Russia has broken every single commitment they have ever made on Ukraine's sovereignty. No agreement with Moscow can stand without the will and the means to enforce it. The merits of any agreement that may result from the talks that have been initiated between the US and Russia (or any group of countries) will not be judged on the day of the signing. They will be judged every day thereafter. To make sure that the "deal" is a good one, the US will need us Europeans. The Transatlantic Partnership and the Role of the UK Ladies and gentlemen, History has shown that when Europe and the United States stand together, we are an unbreakable force for peace, security and freedom. Transatlantic partnership has historically been strong - and it must remain so. President Trump is certainly right that we in Europe must do more for our own security. But for both the U.S. and Europe to succeed in bringing peace to Ukraine and strengthening transatlantic security, we must build "peace through the strength of alliances." This applies to security and defence but also to the global economic and technological competition. On the British Isles, as well as on the European continent, we share the same concerns about the future. We are determined to act so that we can shape that future, rather than being shaped by it. The UK's contribution to European security is not just historic - it is essential. From both world wars to the present day, Britain has stood firm when freedom has been at stake. Prime Minister Starmer's recent commitment to increasing defence spending is a powerful and timely message. It coincides with similar decisions across Europe: we are stepping up. Together, the EU and the UK have a GDP almost ten times the size of Russia. We have the means. Whether we have the political will is a question of priority - and no priority is higher than keeping our citizens safe. By doing more as Europe, we also show with actions our value as a trusted, indispensable transatlantic partner. Sir Winston Churchill once said, "To each, there comes a moment... when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing, unique to them and their talents." This is Europe's moment. We must rise to it. I thank you for your attention. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Declaration on Enhanced Defence Cooperation between Denmark and Finland on 4 March 2025 Finnish Ministry of Defence 04.03.2025 11:34 As close Allies and Nordic neighbours, Denmark and Finland will continue to develop and enhance defence cooperation based on shared values and mutual security interests. The Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral defence cooperation, signed by the Ministers of Defence today, reflects the ever closer partnership between Denmark and Finland. This partnership has been further strengthened by Finland's accession to NATO and Denmark's decision to join the EU cooperation on security and defence. The security situation in Europe and globally is changing rapidly, not least as a consequence of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This underlines the need for deeper defence cooperation, also bilaterally. Denmark and Finland remain committed to cooperate closely on supporting Ukraine and strengthening our collective security. A stronger bilateral defence cooperation between Denmark and Finland will contribute to European security and support existing cooperation within the framework of NATO, EU, the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO), the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and other frameworks for cooperation. Bilaterally, Denmark and Finland intend to enhance defence cooperation in a number of areas, including, but not limited to: NATO's Deterrence and Defence in the Nordic and Baltic Sea region: Denmark and Finland will enhance operational cooperation within NATO and NORDEFCO to reflect the new security situation in Europe with a particular emphasis on cooperation in the Nordic and Baltic Sea region. Maritime cooperation: Denmark and Finland will continue to enhance maritime cooperation and coordination, especially in the Baltic Sea region. This line of effort includes protection of critical infrastructure. Military exercises and training: Denmark and Finland will continue to participate in exercises in NATO, NORDEFCO and JEF. Denmark and Finland will work to enhance operational cooperation through exercises to strengthen interoperability and competencies. F-35: Denmark and Finland will continue to deepen cooperation on F-35 to support interoperability. This could include education, exchange of personnel and joint training. Furthermore, Denmark and Finland will encourage strengthened cooperation between relevant Danish and Finnish companies that contribute to the maintenance of the F-35s in order to benefit from economies of scale. Such efforts can be supported by the Danish and Finnish defence acquisition organisations. Military acquisitions: Denmark and Finland will explore opportunities to coordinate acquisition of military capabilities and equipment of mutual interest to enable interoperability and accelerate timelines. This could include joint procurement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Al-Qassam Brigades commander killed in West Bank IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 The Hamas movement has announced the martyrdom of a commander of its military wing, Al-Qassam Brigaded in the city of Jenin located in the West Bank. The Hamas movement announced that "Esir al-Saadi, one of the commanders of al-Qassam, was killed in clashes with the forces of the occupying regime in Jenin, the Palestinian news agency "Sama reported. Hamas also emphasized that the resistance in Jenin continues to confront the continuous aggression of the occupying regime in this area. On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society also announced that ayoung Palestinian was killed by Zionist soldiers in the east of Jenin. Since January 21, 2025, the Israeli army has expanded its military operation called "Iron Wall" in the cities and camps of Palestinian refugees in the north of the West Bank, especially in the provinces of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas. Palestinian officials have warned that this operation is part of Netanyahu cabinet's plan to annex the West Bank and declare sovereignty over it, and could represent the official death of the two-state solution. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas says disarming 'a red line' for Palestinian resistance groups IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri says disarming is non-negotiable for his movement and other Palestinian groups in discussions aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. "Any talk about the resistance's weapons is nonsense. The resistance's weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions," Abu Zuhri told AFP shortly after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called for the "full demilitarization" of Gaza as a condition to advance to the second stage of the ceasefire. "We don't have an agreement on phase two," Saar remarked. "We demand total demilitarization of GazaHamas and Islamic Jihad. If they agree to that, we can implement it tomorrow." Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect on January 19, expired over the weekend, without negotiations even starting on the second stage. Israel has requested an extension of the first stage and has halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza to pressure Hamas. The Palestinian resistance group has rejected this call and says it is ready to hold negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for a permanent truce and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. 2050**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Berri: Lebanon will not allow Israel to 'impose new realities on the ground' IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri has warned against Israel's latest attempts to occupy more territory in southern Lebanon, saying the country will not allow the Israeli regime to "impose new realities on the ground." Berri said on Monday that the occupation forces did not only occupy the five border hills but also established a new border zone that encroaches into Lebanese territory. "The Israeli occupation was not limited to the five border hills, but extended to establish a border strip extending a kilometer or two inside Lebanese territory," he told the Lebanese daily Addiyar. "Lebanon will not allow Israel to impose new realities on the ground," said Berri, who played a key role in ceasefire negotiations between Hezbollah and Israel. Under the ceasefire deal that took place on November 27, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26. However, Israel refused to comply and the deadline was extended to February 18. Still, Israeli forces remain in five border outposts. Lebanon is closely monitoring Israeli movements in southern regions, Berri said, vowing to stand against any further escalation. 3266**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN urges all parties to prevent return to hostilities in Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- The Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric has urged all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities in Gaza. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Dujarric called for humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately and for the release of all hostages. Israel stopped the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, prompting a fierce reaction from the Hamas resistance movement which has called the measure "a war crime" and an attack on a ceasefire agreement between the two sides. Days before the expiration of the first phase of the truce, Hamas announced its readiness to enter talks over a second phase. Israel however backed an extension of the first phase, following a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. "Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has decided that as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be stopped," the Israeli PM's office said on Sunday in a statement quoted by CNN. According to the statement, the office said it had cut off the Gaza aid following Hamas' refusal to accept Witkoff's proposal, and threatened the resistance movement with "additional consequences" if it continues to reject the proposal. 9376**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. backs Israel's move to block humanitarian aid to Gaza as Tel Aviv abandons phased deal IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- The United States has expressed support for Israel's move to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza, after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement with Palestinian resistance movement Hamas came to an end and the Tel Aviv regime refused to engage in talks on the second phase. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes claimed in a statement on Sunday that Israel has negotiated "in good faith" since the beginning of the Donald Trump administration to ensure the release of all Israeli prisoners, The Hill reported. "We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it's no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire," he added. The Israeli regime halted the entry of much-needed humanitarian supplies into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip early Sunday, after declaring that it was ditching talks on the three-phased deal and, rather, accepted a U.S. plan for extending the first phase of the truce for the Ramadan and Passover periods. Hamas slammed the move as a "cheap blackmail, a war crime and a coup" against the ceasefire agreement. Israel cuts power to Gaza desalination plants Meanwhile, the municipality of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza announced on Monday that Israel had cut off power to the city's two desalination plants. The two plants provide approximately 70% of the water supply of the residents of the Deir al-Balah area, the municipality said, according to Al Jazeera. It added that the plants produce about 20,000 cubic meters (4,400,000 gallons) of desalinated water daily. Earlier, Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the decision to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza as an "important step in the right direction." He also said that the next step in the regime's genocidal war on Gaza will be cutting off the electricity and water and "opening the gates of hell on Gaza with a powerful, deadly and quick attack." Hamas denounces blockade as 'crime against humanity' In a statement late on Monday, Hamas said that Israel's continued closure of Gaza's crossings and the prevention of humanitarian aid and various goods from entering the enclave constitute a "crime against humanity" and a "blatant violation of international law." According to the Shehab news agency, Hamas said that blocking the entry of food, medicine, and essential supplies is a "futile attempt" to force the steadfast people of Gaza into submission. The Israeli regime also seeks to impose catastrophic conditions on more than two million Palestinians, which is in clear contradiction with all human values and international laws, it said. The statement further noted that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza lays bare his disregard for international laws and treaties, adding that his impunity for such crimes stems from the unlimited political support of the U.S. government. Hamas official: Israel's threats 'do not scare us' Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri also said that the occupying regime's threats to cut off supplies to the Gaza Strip "do not scare us and are worthless." In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Abu Zuhri said, "Netanyahu aims to blow up the agreement and push for new negotiations. We will not accept this." Israel, he continued, will not be able to receive its prisoners except through a deal and Hamas will not respond to pressure and dictates. Hamas and Israel announced the three-phase ceasefire deal on January 15, following U.N.-endorsed indirect negotiations between the two sides. The ceasefire took effect four days later. The Palestinian resistance movement has repeatedly said that it remains committed to the negotiations for the second phase of the deal, asserting that Israel has "no choice" but to engage in the talks. 4354**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address It is necessary to invest in security of both Ukraine and the European Union, says Vice Minister of National Defence O. Masale Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2025-03-04 Development and Strengthening of the Armed Forces | International cooperation On March 3 Vice Minister of National Defence Orijana Masale and Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius visited Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion in Rokantiskes with Minister of Finance of Luxembourg Gilles Roth on a visit in Lithuania. They discussed defence spending, priorities of Lithuania's defence capability development and further cooperation with Luxembourg. Vice Minister O. Masale thanked Luxembourg for the long-standing contribution to the security of the Baltic states and financial assistance to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and underscored the necessity to urgently pace up defence investment. "Principled European action is a matter of our national security. We must increase investment in the critical European defence capabilities and strengthen the defence industry. Lithuania is doing its homework -we invest substantially in Host Nation Support capabilities and weaponry systems," said Vice Minister. O. Masale also underscored that the NATO collective defence remains the European security guarantee, therefore EU and NATO capability building priorities had to be harmonized as we join effort to strengthen the allied security. "We underscore the need to ensure sufficient resources for strengthening the European defence capabilities with more financing at national level and through instruments designed for the purpose at EU level. We have also discussed the need to ensure that the financial assistance to Ukraine has to be consistent t and sufficient to sustain its resilience in countering the Russian aggression. Lithuania and Luxembourg remain united on increasing the European defence spending and solidarity with Ukraine," says Minister of Finance Rimantas Sadzius. Luxembourg has given nearly EUR 3 million in assistance since 2013 to the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Most of it went to the Lithuanian Air Force and the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states. Luxembourg has been contributing troops to the NATO Multinational Battle Group Lithuanian since 2017 to ensure its logistical support, as well as to international NATO exercises held in Lithuania. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The President at the meeting with Italian Prime Minister: We need to significantly and rapidly increase Europe's defense capabilities President of the Republic of Lithuania March 04, 2025 On Tuesday, at the conclusion of his visit to the Vatican and Italy, President Gitanas Nauseda met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The two leaders discussed the agenda for the upcoming special European Council meeting and bilateral cooperation. The Head of State emphasized that Italy is a key ally of Lithuania in both NATO and the EU, and Lithuania is committed to further strengthening political and economic ties with Italy. The two leaders discussed the need to enhance security and defense cooperation in light of the current geopolitical situation. The President thanked the Italian Prime Minister for Italy's significant contribution to regional security, particularly through its participation in the Baltic air policing mission and its role in Lithuania's rotational air defense model. Gitanas Nauseda stressed the urgency of expanding Europe's defense industry and welcomed Italy's commitment to significantly increasing defense spending and identifying practical solutions to secure additional financial resources. "We need to take all possible measures to rapidly boost European defense funding," the Head of State pointed out. On Ukraine, the President underscored the need for the upcoming special European Council to take significant decisions on European security and support for Ukraine. "We must use our time efficiently. Europe has to focus on sustaining and increasing military aid to Ukraine. We would consider the possibility of European forces contributing to the implementation of a lasting and sustainable peace agreement," Gitanas Nauseda said at the meeting. Discussing bilateral relations, Gitanas Nauseda highlighted Italy as a priority partner in economic sectors such as the defense industry, energy, and life sciences. He also emphasized the importance of the Lithuanian Season of Culture in Italy, set to begin this autumn. The President's Communication Group NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO's Air Policing Mission: A Steadfast Commitment by the Alliance NATO Allied Air Command Mar 4 2025 RAMSTEIN, Germany -- NATO's Air Policing mission stands as a cornerstone of the Alliance's commitment to maintaining the integrity and security of the airspace over its member nations. This collective defence initiative ensures that even member countries without their own air defence capabilities are protected under NATO's unified command. Allied nations contribute to Air Policing along NATO's eastern flank. Italy and France are currently deployed in Lithuania, the Netherlands in Estonia, and Spain in Romania. These deployments maintain a continuous 24/7 Air Policing presence within the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's (SACEUR's) area of responsibility. Italian contribution: A Decade of Commitment in the Baltic Skies Deployed at Siauliai airport in Lithuania since August 2024, Italy's Task Force Air 36th Wing, equipped with Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, have been a committed contributor to NATO's Air Policing mission. Achieving a milestone of 1,300 operational flight hours, the unit has completed over 40 "Alpha Scrambles," intercepting more than 60 unidentified aircraft. During a joint exercise event, and for the first time in the Baltics, Italy deployed a SAMP-T Task Group from the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command (COMACA) at the Siauliai base, under the direct control of Task Force Air (TFA) 36th Wing, 2025 marks a monumental 10-year milestone for Italy; completing their first Baltic Air Policing mission in 2015, when deployed with four Eurofighter Typhoons from Lithuania. They have continued to support the Baltic Air Policing with a further nine rotations, from Air bases in Lithuania, Estonia and Poland. A decade of commitment and dedication has ensured the safety of the Baltic skies within the NATO context. Italian jets have also supported Air Policing from Malbork, Poland, initially with F-35s and later with the Eurofighter. Colonel Roberto Massarotto, Task Force Wing Commander, emphasized: "Air Policing is an extremely delicate mission that is conducted by responding to 100% of activations without critical issues thanks to the professionalism and competence not only of our pilots, but of all the women and men of the Task Force." French contribution: A Consistent and Robust Presence Currently air policing with the Italian detachment at Siauliai, Lithuania, France has been a consistent and robust contributor to NATO's Air Policing. The French Air and Space Force has participated in the Baltic Air Policing mission on multiple occasions, first deploying advanced fighter jets to safeguard the airspace over the Baltic states in December 2024. French Rafale fighters have supported NATO's mission from Lithuania a total of eight times, the current rotation operating alongside the Italian Eurofighters provides a robust air defence presence that demonstrates solidarity and support for the Baltic States. The additional detachment at Siauliai allows for more flexible operational planning of NATO Air Policing in the region. The deployed Allies benefit from additional opportunities to conduct training with other regional air, ground, naval, and special forces and to practice Agile Combat Employment concepts, further enhancing the skills, interoperability, and resilience of our air forces. The deputy spokesperson for the French Chief of Defence highlighted: "By deploying fighter jets to Lithuania, France reaffirms its commitment to Nato Air Policing missions and its determination to protect and defend European airspace" During the detachment the French forces have routinely intercepted military aircraft failing to conform with international aviation regulations, they have executed around ten A-scrambles since their arrival and more than two hundreds training flights have been achieved alongside with Allies. The Dutch contribution: Fifth-Generation Capabilities in Estonia The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), deployed at Amari airbase in Estonia, has been actively engaged in NATO's Air Policing efforts, particularly in the Baltic region. During the current deployment, Dutch F-35s have executed approximately ten Alpha Scrambles, successfully identifying nearly 20 aircraft, including transport jets, reconnaissance aircraft, and electronic intelligence platforms which were not adhering to standard safety procedures. Beyond interception missions, the RNLAF has participated in a number of activities and training exercises to enhance interoperability. Notably, Exercise Pikne; Dutch air units collaborated with Estonian and French ground troops, maritime assets from Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), and the recent training mission where the F-35 landed at Lielvarde, Latvia demonstrating the agility of the force. They also participated in a training event based on NATO's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept. In this event, Estonian Air Force specialists participated in preparing the Dutch fifth-generation fighter jets further enhancing rapid combat readiness. "The F-35 is a 5th generation fighter that belongs to NATO's most advanced and capable platforms. By deploying the F-35s at the eastern flank, The Netherlands contributes towards credible military deterrence towards Russia." Said Lieutenant Colonel 'Swinger', RNLAF detachment commander, "In the past months, our jets have proven their capabilities, and we successfully conducted our mission: securing the Baltic airspace together with our allies" he added. The Spanish contribution: Reinforcing the Eastern Flank in Romania Since December 2024, Spain's detachment, codename PAZNIC, has played a pivotal role in reinforcing NATO's eastern flank in Romania. Six Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Albacete have enhanced the surveillance and defence of NATO airspace alongside Romanian Air Force F-16s on the Black Sea coast. The Spanish jets arrived in Romania in August 2024, the F-18s were initially tasked with safeguarding the skies and in December, 2024 they were relieved in place by the Eurofighter jets. In late January, the detachment's capabilities were further augmented with the addition of an A400 aircraft from Zaragoza. This expansion introduced air-to-air refueling capabilities, extending the operational range and endurance of the fighters. The detachment has also engaged in both air-to-air and air-to-ground training missions, collaborating closely with NATO allies, including France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. A notable operational highlight occurred in February, when the PAZNIC detachment's alert aircraft were scrambled in response to a drone attack on the Ukrainian town of Reni. The swift and decisive response underscored the detachment's readiness to address real-world threats. The air bases in Siauliai, Lithuania, Amari, Estonia and Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu, play a key strategic role in NATO's Air Policing, these highly sophisticated hubs where Allies combine their high-end capabilities under the Integrated Air and Missile Defence System. With the posture of Italian, French, Dutch, and Spanish fighter jets, NATO has a robust air capability in place that sends a clear signal to potential adversaries of the Allies' collective readiness and commitment to preserving territorial integrity. Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese Naval Task Group New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force, has been monitoring a People's Liberation Army - Navy (PLA-N) Task Group. 4 March 2025 General Plot Map Covering movements from 18th to the 27th February 2025. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Shanxi's millennium-old porcelain gets modern makeover People's Daily Online) 13:48, March 05, 2025 A millennium-old porcelain craft in north China's Shanxi Province has been pulled back from the brink of extinction and is now poised for a modern renaissance. The techniques for making Honglyucai (Red and Green Color) Porcelain of the Bayi kiln, one of China's earliest producers of the distinctive porcelain, was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2021. The kiln is located in Bayi township, Shangdang district, Changzhi city of Shanxi. : Photo shows a Honglyucai (Red and Green color) Porcelain ware displayed in Honglyucai village, Bayi township, Shangdang district, Changzhi city, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) : Photo shows Honglyucai (Red and Green color) Porcelain artworks displayed in Honglyucai village, Bayi township, Shangdang district, Changzhi city, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) : Photo shows Honglyucai (Red and Green color) Porcelain artworks displayed in Honglyucai village, Bayi township, Shangdang district, Changzhi city, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) Archaeological excavations reveal that during the Song Dynasty (9601279) over 1,000 years ago, the kiln was the largest porcelain production hub in southeastern Shanxi. Porcelain from the kiln became the gold standard of Honglyucai porcelain in China. Today, visitors to Honglyucai village, 2 kilometers from the Bayi kiln, can explore a Honglyucai porcelain museum housing over 600 ancient porcelain treasures from the kiln and over 10,000 modern pieces of Honglyucai porcelain. Honglyucai porcelain features a signature white base and is adorned with vibrant red, green, and yellow designs depicting auspicious flowers, birds, and figures, according to Li Yamin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of the techniques for making Honglyucai porcelain of the Bayi kiln. Li Yamin said more than 100 ancient kiln sites were unearthed in Shangdang district, which is nestled in the Taihang Mountains and characterized by rolling ridges and deep ravines, confirming that Bayi township was a thriving commercial hub as early as the Song Dynasty. The region boasts abundant high-quality kaolin, coal, and water resources essential for porcelain production. "Red is one of the most iconic colors in Chinese culture, yet achieving a vibrant red glaze on porcelain was a significant challenge. It wasn't until the Song Dynasty when the Bayi kiln pioneered the use of iron-red pigment that Honglyucai porcelain products were successfully produced," Li Yamin noted. But the road to revival wasn't exactly a cakewalk. The Honglyucai porcelain industry was in decline over the past decades due to high production costs and complex craftsmanship. Li Yamin's father Li Jianping grew up hearing stories about Honglyucai porcelain. His grandfather was a kiln worker at the Bayi kiln, and from a young age, Li Jianping learned pottery and painting techniques. After high school, he worked as a farmer and miner, but always dreamed of reviving Bayi kiln porcelain. In 2012, as part of an industrial transformation initiative, the local government launched a cultural heritage project for the Bayi kiln. Seeing an opportunity, Li Jianping decided to reignite the kiln fires and restore Honglyucai porcelain production. To make a Honglyucai porcelain item, 72 procedures must be followed, including a twice-firing technique. The procedures are so complicated that the techniques were lost for decades. Many people told Li Jianping not to waste his time, but he couldn't bear to see this ancient craft disappear. Li Jianping collaborated with Honglyucai village to establish a company and construct a cultural expo center, the Honglyucai porcelain museum, and a production base of Honglyucai porcelain. Meanwhile, he visited local elderly artisans and technical experts to rebuild lost knowledge. After years of trial and error, the techniques for making Honglyucai porcelain were recovered by Li Jianping, who became a provincial-level representative inheritor of the craft. The father-son duo have adopted a strategy of integrating tradition with innovation to promote the development of Honglyucai porcelain. In recent years, they've inked partnerships with prestigious institutions like the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts & Design under Tsinghua University to tackle everything from material research and color matching to painting skills and product design. After years of dedicated efforts, the issues of rough bodies and dull colors of Honglyucai porcelain items were overcome. As a result, these items have gained greater popularity in the market. "Thanks to our independently developed new materials that withstand temperatures above 1,300 degrees Celsius without warping, our everyday-use porcelain items are thinner, lighter and more lustrous than traditional ones and are easy to clean," said Li Yamin. In recent years, local rural tourism has thrived thanks to measures including the establishment of organizations aiming at passing on the intangible cultural heritage. The Honglyucai porcelain museum receives over 10,000 tourist visits annually. So far, the company has developed over 300 kinds of Honglyucai porcelain products, which have caught the eye of porcelain enthusiasts both at home and abroad, Li Yamin said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Nat'l Security Adviser: China claim on Palawan baseless Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno March 4, 2025, 9:16 pm MANILA -- National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Ano on Tuesday called Chinese claims that Palawan was historically part of China as "baseless and revisionist." "We categorically reject the baseless and revisionist claims circulating on Chinese social media that Palawan was historically part of China and should be returned to it," Ano said in a statement. The NSA also said the assertions are outright fabrications intended to distort history, deceive the public and challenge the Philippines' sovereignty over its lawful and internationally recognized territory. "Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines. No historical record, legal precedent nor credible evidence support the claim that Palawan was ever under Chinese sovereignty," he added. Ano said archaeological findings, centuries of indigenous and colonial governance, and internationally binding treaties such as the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the 1900 Treaty of Washington unequivocally establish the Philippines' ownership of Palawan. He also added that the claim that Palawan was once named "Zheng He Island" is an outright fabrication with no basis. "While Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, visited Southeast Asian waters in the 14th and 15th centuries, there is no historical record that he ever visited Palawan. Even if he did, such visit does not equate to ownership, just as the voyages of other explorers do not alter the sovereignty of nations today," the NSA said. He said they are currently tracing the source of the disinformation, which first appeared in Chinese social media app Weibo and Red Note, a short video platform like TikTok. But the NSA stressed that they do not come from official government sites, nor have they been carried by Chinese mainstream media outlets. "Nonetheless, these false narratives, proliferated through digital disinformation and information warfare tactics, appear to be part of a broader effort to undermine Philippine sovereignty and manipulate public perception both in the Philippines and China," he added. He also said the National Security Council is urging the Filipino people and the international community to remain vigilant against disinformation campaigns and rely on verified historical and legal sources rather than propaganda designed to advance a geopolitical agenda at the expense of truth. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PH Navy: 19 China coast guard, naval ships spotted in WPS in Feb. Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno March 4, 2025, 5:01 pm MANILA -- Nineteen ships belonging to the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy were among 260 assorted vessels monitored in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in February, a ranking Philippine Navy official said on Tuesday. In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said nine CCG ships were monitored in Bajo de Masinloc, along with two PLAN vessels. Aside from this, seven CCG ships were spotted along with another PLAN vessel in Ayungin Shoal. However, Trinidad did not give specifics on the identities of the remaining vessels spotted in the WPS. In the same briefing, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the illegal presence of these Chinese ships in the WPS blatantly disregards the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling and infringes upon the country's sovereignty and sovereign rights. She maintained that the AFP remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding international law and defending the integrity of Philippine national territory. Meanwhile, Trinidad also refuted Chinese social media pages' claims that the province of Palawan used to be a part of China. "In an authoritarian state where social media and freedom of expression is regulated by (the) government, everything is possible. Such statements about Palawan are baseless," he added. Also, the PN official added that such claims are "bereft of legal references." "They are beyond common sense. In short, totally absurd. It will never happen that a part of the Philippines will be included in the sovereign territory of any other country," he said. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address House foreign affairs chair denounces Chinese claim over Palawan Philippine News Agency By Filane Mikee Cervantes March 4, 2025, 2:57 pm MANILA -- The chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday denounced Chinese social media posts claiming that Palawan province was once part of China, calling them an attack on Philippine sovereignty and "blatant propaganda." In a statement, Pangasinan 3rd District Rep. Rachel Arenas said such claims are patently false, historically inaccurate, and a glaring disregard of international law. "The Philippines has always exercised full sovereignty over Palawan. This is an indisputable fact," Arenas said. "China's fabricated claims are blatant propaganda and an attack on our sovereignty. Palawan has always been and will always remain part of the Philippines. This is an established reality," she added. According to posts that circulated on Chinese social media platforms, Palawan was once called Zheng He Island, named after a Chinese explorer. While the platforms are not official government channels, social media in China is controlled and closely monitored by the Chinese government. Arenas called on Philippine government agencies to issue updated maps that delineate the country's maritime territory, political boundaries, and other significant features. She said this would counter Beijing's "excessive and illegal" claims. Palawan lies outside the so-called nine-dash line that China used on its maps to claim a vast, resource-rich area in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, including several features near Palawan. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that China's claim of historic rights to resources within its so-called nine-dash line had no legal basis. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen downs 15th sophisticated American drone; vows to keep up support for Gaza, Lebanon Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 9:31 PM The Yemeni Armed Forces have announced successful downing of an American MQ-9 Reaper drone after it violated the country's airspace and conducted hostile missions over the western province of al-Hudaydah. The development that was announced on Tuesday marked the fifteenth occasion, when such aircraft was being shot down by Yemen's air defenses since the beginning of the country's Battle of the Promised Victory and the Sacred Jihad. The forces commenced the battle in October 2023 after the Israeli regime launched a heavily-US-backed war of genocide against the Gaza Strip and escalated its Washington-supported deadly aggression towards Lebanon. Operations conducted as part of the struggle have also been meant to defend Yemen in the face of intensified deadly aggression by the regime, United States, and the UK against the Arab Peninsula nation's defensive and civilian infrastructures. The statement emphasized that the Yemeni forces' air defense systems were fully operational and prepared to confront any foreign aggression. It reaffirmed the Yemeni troops' commitment to the Palestinian people, alongside their allied fighters in Gaza and Lebanon, as part of a unified front against Israeli and American aggression. In addition to countering aerial threats, the Yemeni Armed Forces highlighted their readiness to monitor and track hostile movements in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, asserting that they were fully prepared to respond to any unwelcome developments. The forces were apparently referring to the United States' retaining and constantly beefing up a heavy offensive naval presence in the waters off Yemen's coastline. The buildup has seen Washington deploying aircraft carriers and warships there, despite being forced to withdraw several carriers amid intense Yemeni retaliation. Recently, either the forces or senior Yemeni officials have also warned both the Israeli regime and the US against further escalation against the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Yemeni territories. In addition, Sana'a has called on the international community to hold Tel Aviv and Washington accountable for their hostile actions, while reiterating warnings that continued aggression on their part would have severe and far-reaching consequences. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel's Ben Gvir to Netanyahu: Bomb aid deliveries into Gaza Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 7:08 PM Israel's Itamar Ben Gvir has called for the "complete shutdown of electricity and water" alongside the bombing of aid in the besieged Gaza Strip. The hawkish Israeli politician said in a recent post on X that the cabinet of Benjamin Netanyahu should "order the bombing of the aid stocks that accumulated in Gaza in huge quantities during and before the ceasefire, along with a complete shutdown of electricity and water." Ben Gvir further suggested that such measures should be taken to "starve" the Palestinians "so that we can later crush them easily." "If Hamas threatens to harm our captives, it should know that it will be met with the execution" of Palestinian abductees, he said. Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right politician whose party is crucial to keeping Netanyahu in power, urged the prime minister on March 2 to "completely halt humanitarian aid to Gaza until Hamas is destroyed." Describing Tel Aviv's move as the "threshold of the gates of hell," Smotrich said, "Now we need to open those gates as quickly and lethally as possible on the cruel enemy, until absolute victory." Netanyahu's office said over the weekend that the prime minister had decided to stop the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas agrees to a US-backed extension of the first stage of the ceasefire deal. Israel's decision to block humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza has drawn sharp condemnations from around the world and international organizations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arab League endorses Egypt's Gaza reconstruction plan at Cairo summit Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 6:14 PM The Arab League has endorsed an Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that ensures the non-displacement of its Palestinian inhabitants. The plan is presented as an alternative to US President Donald Trump's widely criticized proposal to assume control of the war-torn Palestinian territory. The plan was discussed during an extraordinary Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday, attended by several Arab heads of state, foreign ministers, and other high-level representatives. In his opening remarks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the plan would ensure Gazans "remain on their land." Sisi proposed forming an administrative committee of independent Palestinian professionals to temporarily oversee Gaza's affairs, paving the way for the return of the Palestinian Authority. The Egyptian plan outlines a five-year roadmap with an estimated cost of $53 billion, roughly matching the United Nations' assessment of Gaza's reconstruction needs. A proposed early recovery phase, expected to last six months and cost $3 billion, would focus on clearing unexploded ordnance and debris, and providing temporary housing. That would be followed by a $20-billion initial reconstruction stage running until 2027 and focusing on rebuilding essential infrastructure and permanent housing. The next stage of reconstruction, extending to 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 billion, aims to build more housing, infrastructure, and industrial and commercial facilities. The plan also proposes establishing an internationally supervised trust fund to ensure efficient and sustainable financing with transparency and oversight mechanisms. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed strong support for the Egyptian-led initiative. "I welcome and strongly endorse the Arab-led initiative to mobilise support for Gaza's reconstruction, clearly expressed in this summit," Guterres said. "The UN stands ready to fully cooperate in this endeavor," he added. Guterres emphasized the need for a clear political framework to underpin Gaza's recovery, reconstruction, and long-term stability. He said Gaza "must remain an integral part of an independent, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state, with no reduction in its territory or forced transfer of its population." Guterres also called for the resumption of "serious" ceasefire negotiations, the release of captives and detainees, and the removal of obstacles hindering lifesaving aid delivery into Gaza. "Humanitarian aid is not negotiable, it must flow without impediment," Guterres said. He addressed concerns about escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli raids over the past weeks have generated significant displacement and destruction. "Over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the last months, the largest displacement in the West Bank in decades," Guterres said. He condemned demolitions, evictions, settlement expansion, and settler violence while calling for urgent de-escalation. "The attacks and mounting violence must end. Israel as the occupying power must comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and the Palestinian Authority must be supported to govern effectively and to do so in compliance with its own obligations under international law." Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas firmly rejected any proposals involving population transfer from Gaza. "We thank all Arab and European states who have taken the initiative and were quick to reject this irresponsible and inhumane call," he said. "We also reiterate our rejection of the Israeli practices to mandate a reality of occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem with the purpose of undermining the two-state solution and the Palestinian cause." He also denounced Israeli actions aimed at undermining a two-state solution through occupation practices in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Abbas commended the Arab-Egyptian reconstruction plan for keeping Palestinians in their homeland. "We call on Trump to support the efforts of reconstruction on these bases, rather than any other basis." Abbas also expressed readiness to hold presidential and parliamentary elections if conditions permit. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid joined other leaders in endorsing the Egyptian plan during their addresses at the summit. Trump triggered global outrage when he first floated his idea for the United States to "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera" of West Asia, while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt or Jordan. Palestinians, Arab states and many European governments have rejected Trump's proposal, opposing any efforts to expel Gazans. Trump has recently appeared to soften his stance, saying he was "not forcing" the plan, which experts have said could violate international law. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel kills 4 more Palestinians in Jenin Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:49 PM Israel has killed four more Palestinians in the northern part of the Jenin refugee camp on the 43rd day of its aggression inside the occupied West Bank. The regime said on Tuesday that its military was expanding the offensive to "additional areas" in the refugee camp. A local "Hamas leader," the regime said, was among the Palestinians the military killed. Three Palestinians were also abducted. The Palestinian health ministry identified the "Hamas leader" as Aser Saadiya, adding that his body has been taken away by Israeli forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that in the early hours of Tuesday, in the eastern parts of Jenin, the regime's forces killed another man in his 20s. Governor Abu al-Rub said the raid on Jenin's eastern neighborhood had caused "devastation and massive destruction." The head of Jenin's Government Hospital, Wisam Baker, declared a third man, identified as Jihad Alawneh, dead on arrival at the hospital early on Tuesday. The 25-year-old bled out after being shot in the thigh by the Israeli forces. The operation in the occupied West Bank dubbed "Iron Wall" by the regime is one of the largest since the Second Intifada in the 1990s. It includes several brigades of Israeli troops backed by drones, helicopters and, for the first time in decades, heavy battle tanks. The Palestinians say the real intention of the regime is the permanent displacement of the Palestinians and replacing them with settlers. Israel failed to achieve any of its war objectives including the "elimination" of Hamas or the release of captives after months of a campaign of genocide in Gaza. On January 15, the regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance movements. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA warns Israel against using aid as 'weapon of war' in Gaza Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:12 PM UNRWA has censured Israel for its decision to block humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, saying food and basic necessities should not be used as a method of warfare. The UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini stated in a social media post on Tuesday that the regime was endangering the lives of already exhausted civilians in Gaza. "Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we've seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began," said Lazzarini on X. "Aid and these basic services are nonnegotiable. They must never be used as weapons of war." Gaza's Government Media Office also said Israel's closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing for the third consecutive day exacerbated the humanitarian disaster. The continued closure of the crossing deepens the famine crisis with scarcity of supplies and lack of alternatives, the office said. It warned that the continued use of starvation as a tool of war is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The office said Israeli restrictions were delaying the recovery of the bodies of more than 10,000 people under the rubble. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said prevention of the entry of goods by Israel was "targeting innocent civilians and deepening their humanitarian suffering." "The international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations must take immediate action to stop these systematic and unprecedented violations of international and humanitarian law." Israel is blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza after Hamas refused to accept a US proposal to extend the first phase of the truce with the regime without going ahead with the second phase. Hamas has slammed the move as a "coup" against the ceasefire deal, holding the regime responsible for the fate of the Israeli captives. The Islamic Jihad has also said Israel bears responsibility for the consequences of sabotaging the truce. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli strike kills one in southern Lebanon: State media Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 4:23 PM An Israeli drone strike has killed one person after it targeted a parked vehicle next to a house in the town of Rashkananya, Lebanon's Tyre district. The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) published the image of a burning mangled car next to a house on Tuesday. The latest Israeli airstrike comes against the backdrop of a not-so-solid ceasefire between Hezbollah and the regime, which was put in place on November 27, 2024. It mostly halted more than a year of hostilities, including two months of full-blown war, during which the regime's forces crossed the border and invaded southern Lebanon. The regime has been carrying out strikes on Lebanese citizens and territory since the ceasefire. On February 27, the regime said its forces had struck a Hezbollah observation post in the south. Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel was initially supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, but requested an extension until February 18. However, in violation of the terms of the agreement, it announced just before the deadline that it would "temporarily" keep troops in "five strategic points" near the border. The Lebanese leaders said on February 18 that they had contacted the ceasefire mediators, France and the US, in regards to the "occupation" of the five points. The UN says the incomplete Israeli withdrawal is a violation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Last week, war minister Israel Katz said that the regime's forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's Parliament speaker Nabih Mustafa Berri has said his country will not allow the Israeli regime to impose new realities on the ground. Despite the terms of the ceasefire agreement, which states that the Israeli regime has to withdraw from Lebanon, it has established a border security zone inside Lebanon. "The Israeli occupation was not limited to the five border hills, but extended to establish a border strip extending a kilometer or two inside Lebanese territory," Berri said. Berri called on the international community to halt the repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty. "Lebanon will not accept any attempts to trade aid for political or military conditions, whether related to the resistance's weapons north of the Litani River or other internal issues." He also accused Israel of interfering in the affairs of neighboring countries, particularly Syria, in which case by manipulating the demographic composition and protecting certain groups such as the Druze. The regime's recent military advancements in the occupied Golan Heights have drawn condemnation from the UN and Arab nations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas rejects Israel's demand for 'full demilitarization' of Gaza, says disarming 'a red line' Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 1:41 PM The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected Israel's demand for the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said disarming was a "red line" for all resistance groups in the besieged territory. The Hamas official made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, shortly after Israel said its condition to move on to the second stage of the January ceasefire deal is the "full demilitarization" of Gaza. "Any talk about the resistance's weapons is nonsense. The resistance's weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions," Zuhri said. Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar demanded a total demilitarization of Gaza and the return of captives as a condition to proceed to the second stage of the ceasefire deal. "We don't have an agreement on phase two," Sa'ar said during a press briefing. "We demand total demilitarization of Gaza, (and) Hamas and Islamic Jihad out and give us our hostages." If Hamas agreed to these demands, "we can implement (the deal) tomorrow," he added. Hamas has already said any further release of Israeli captives will only be possible after the two sides engage in the second phase of Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Also on March 1, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected Israel's proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, calling on the international community to pressure Tel Aviv to proceed to the second phase as originally planned. Israel launched its campaign of genocide in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza. Israel accepted Hamas' longstanding negotiation terms under the truce, which began on January 19. The three-phase ceasefire agreement called for the two sides to hold indirect talks to hammer out the details of further exchanges. It was planned that during negotiations on the second phase a permanent ceasefire would be established and Israeli forces would make a complete withdrawal as the remaining captives are freed. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said the existing deal is for a temporary ceasefire and that the regime's military has reserved "the right to return to fighting" at a future date. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'US complicity': Hezbollah says Israel used American intel, missiles to assassinate Nasrallah Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 10:43 AM A senior Hezbollah official says the United States was directly involved in the aggression against Lebanon and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's assassination, stressing that Washington has ramped up intelligence operations against Hezbollah tenfold over the past 25 years but the resistance movement remain resolute and remains capable of striking occupiers. Head of Hezbollah's Resources and Borders File, Nawaf al-Moussawi, made the remarks in an interview with Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network on Monday, emphasizing that the US had a role in the decision and execution of the assassination of Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary general who was killed in an Israeli missile attack in Beirut on September 27 last year. Moussawi stressed that the types of missiles used to strike the headquarters of Nasrallah in Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood "were not part of Israel's arsenal and were brought in specifically for this targeted attack." The Hezbollah official also noted that the US intelligence operations against Hezbollah since 2000 have increased tenfold compared to those of Israel, stressing that American intelligence program "serves Israeli interests." Elsewhere in his remarks, Moussawi said that Hezbollah had "suffered heavy blows" in its confrontation with the Tel Aviv regime, but stressed that the movement "is not over, nor is the Resistance front." The Resistance inflicted significant losses on the Israeli occupation "at the height of the war" and scored achievements during it, he emphasized, citing, as an example, the Caesarea operation, in which a Hezbollah drone reached the residence of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hezbollah "is capable of delivering strikes to the Israeli occupation if it compensates for its shortcomings," Moussawi stressed, highlighting that "the amount of shortcomings and gaps is significant." The Hezbollah official noted that while the occupying entity claims that it has achieved "success," there is no evidence for its so-called achievements against the movement. Moussawi also said that Hezbollah is currently conducting an internal investigation into all security and military events that took place during Israel's latest war on Lebanon. Since the onset of the escalation in October 2023, around 4,000 Lebanese, many of them civilians have been killed, and over one million people displaced. The Israeli escalation featured assassination of several high-ranking Hezbollah leaders, including Nasrallah, and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, who had been Hezbollah's Executive Council chief, as well as commanders and fighters. Nasrallah and Sefieddine were laid to rest in the capital Beirut on February 23 and 24, respectively, amid myriads of mourning Lebanese and foreign supporters. The Lebanese resistance movement, however, stood up to the aggression with all at its disposal, conducting numerous retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic Israeli targets. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its resistance against Israeli occupation and aggression, despite the losses, which, the movement asserts, only further reinvigorate its resolve to fend off Israeli atrocities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas: Israel can't blackmail, terrify Palestinians through starvation, siege Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 9:49 AM A high-ranking Hamas official has reiterated that the occupying Israeli regime can't blackmail Palestinians through criminal measures like siege and starvation, emphasizing that weapons of resistance are not up for negotiation. Sami Abu Zuhri condemned in the strongest terms the Zionist entity's decision to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and close crossings used for relief efforts, calling the measures "a war crime." "The occupying Israeli regime's threats of blockade and starvation will not terrify us, and are of no value. "Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to destroy the ceasefire agreement, and impose a new round of negotiations. This is simply unacceptable," he pointed out. Abu Zuhri went on to underline that the only way the remaining Israeli captives would be freed is through commitment to the ceasefire, stating that no pressure or diktat can secure their release. "The resistance group' weapons are part of our red lines and cannot be discussed or negotiated in any round of talks. We will never agree to the disarmament of the resistance front in exchange for the reconstruction of Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory," the senior Hamas official said. Israel's decision to halt the entry of aid shipments came hours after the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and captives-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel expired, and Israel's obstruction of negotiations for the second phase. Earlier, Netanyahu's office announced that "as of this [Sunday] morning, the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli forces kill Palestinian during Jenin raid as UN 'alarmed' by West Bank onslaught Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 6:16 AM Israeli forces kill a Palestinian in their raid on Jenin as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with a large-scale onslaught against the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces on Tuesday handed the body of a Palestinian they had shot dead in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Al Jazeera said in a report, without giving further details. Earlier, armored Israeli military vehicles stormed Jenin as part of the current massive raid on the city. The Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank is bearing the heavy brunt of the occupying entity's ongoing aggression. Separately, Israeli forces also shot and wounded at least four other Palestinians near Nablus, including a 13-year-old who was hit in the chest by live fire. Now in its 43rd day, the large-scale onslaught by the occupying regime's forces has claimed the lives of at least 27 Palestinians in Jenin and its refugee camp. The ongoing aggression has also led to the forced displacement of residents and widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes, with around 120 houses completely destroyed and dozens more partially damaged. On Monday, The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk sounded the alarm over Tel Aviv's military aggression in the occupied West Bank. "In the West Bank, I am alarmed by the use of military weapons and tactics, including tanks and airstrikes, against Palestinians; the destruction and emptying of refugee camps; the expansion of illegal settlements; the severe restrictions on movement; and the displacement of tens of thousands of people," he said before the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Turk also stressed that "Israel's unilateral actions and threats of annexation in the West Bank, in violation of international law, must stop." Meanwhile, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, a Palestinian governmental body dedicated to opposing Israeli settlement expansion and the construction of the so-called separation wall in the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a new report that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,705 attacks in February. Muayyed Shaaban, head of the commission, said that Israeli forces conducted 1,475 of these attacks, while settlers carried out 230, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. He added that the majority of these attacks were concentrated in Nablus, which saw 300 attacks, followed by al-Khalil with 267 and Ramallah with 263. According to the report, Israeli forces also carried out 79 demolition operations against Palestinians in February, affecting 156 structures, including 109 inhabited homes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippine envoy: Manila's defense alliance with Washington 'remains intact' Philippines' Marcos has requested a meeting with President Trump about bilateral alliance, Manila's ambassador to Washington said. By Jason Gutierrez and Jeoffrey Maitem for BenarNews 2025.03.04 MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines' bilateral defense agreements with the United States are intact and Manila expects to receive a big infusion of outstanding military aid from its longtime ally, Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to Washington, told reporters. An infusion of US$336 million earmarked by Washington as part of its Foreign Military Financing Assistance program to the Southeast Asian nation was still in the pipeline, he said during an in-person appearance Monday before the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, or FOCAP. This money is part of a $500 million military aid package that the previous U.S. administration had announced last year to help the Philippines defend its shores amid its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. Diplomats from both countries were also negotiating a one-on-one meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and U.S. President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, according to Romualdez. "We are pleased with this development after we worked on getting this exemption. This is another significant sign that our strong partnership and alliance with the United States remains intact with the new Trump administration," the ambassador said. Romualdez was replying to reporters' questions about Washington's defense support for Manila under the new Trump administration, and more than a month after the White House had issued an executive order freezing billions of dollars in foreign aid. "Right now, the $336 [million] has been announced, but the full amount of $500 million is forthcoming," Romualdez said on Monday. "We are hopeful that the succeeding monies will be made available to us in the next couple of years." BenarNews, an RFA affiliate, reached out to the White House and U.S. State Department on Monday, but officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Romualdez's statements. The ambassador also said that President Marcos had asked to meet with President Trump soon to discuss the defense alliance of the two nations, but Romualdez said details were still being finalized. He said that the Philippine government was also in talks with U.S. Sens. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, and Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, about their proposed bill that seeks to grant assistance totaling $2.5 billion to help modernize the Philippine armed forces between 2025 and 2029. Both senators have "indicated that they will push for the approval of this funding," Romualdez said. The offices of both Sens. Hagerty and Kaine did not respond immediately to queries from BenarNews. Among bilateral military pacts, the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty binds both countries to come to each other's aid in times of aggression. The Biden administration (2021-2025) had said it was ready to come to the Philippines' aid in the South China Sea if the Manila government requested it. Since taking office in 2022, Marcos has rekindled the country's alliance with treaty ally United States - a sharp contrast to his predecessor's pro-Beijing policy. Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, senior officials from the new administration - namely U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth - have separately issued statements assuring Manila that Washington's commitment to the Philippines' defense of territorial waters in the South China Sea remained "ironclad." Ukraine-Russia war Romualdez appeared at FOCAP three days after Trump, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a heated discussion in front of reporters at the Oval Office on Friday about Ukraine's war with Russia, which invaded the neighboring country three years ago. Trump and Vance appeared to be angry because the Ukrainian leader was pushing back against their calls for a cease-fire with Russia. Last month, the Trump administration signaled that it planned to start peace talks with Moscow to end the Ukraine war. A Filipino security analyst said the incident should prompt Manila to minimize its military dependence on Washington. "Although U.S. defense officials are still adamant on saving [United States'] defense ties with the Philippines, the recent Trump-Zelensky [dust-up] gently reminded Manila to practice self-reliance," said Chester Cabalza, head of International Development and Security Cooperation, a Manila think-tank. When asked for his reaction to the tense scene at the White House, Romualdez said the Philippines must be prepared to adapt to any potential future changes in military aid from the U.S. He emphasized that each country should strengthen its defense and economic security. "So, I think that this is just ... a scenario that can happen at any given time. And it's good that we have this opportunity to be able to prepare ourselves for any eventuality," Romualdez said. "And that's always been what we have been doing, even during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte, that we would like to put up our own resources to be able to modernize our armed forces and to be able to bring our economy to where we want it to be so that we can be economically prosperous and have economic security to go with that," he added. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Vietnam to buy Israeli satellites to spy on China: media The deal would help Hanoi monitor Beijing's activity in the South China Sea, a paper said. By RFA Staff 2025.03.04 -- One of Israel's largest aerospace companies, Israel Aerospace Industries, has secured a contract to supply Vietnam's military with two surveillance satellites worth US$680 million, the newspaper Haaretz reported. The observation satellites would help Vietnam "address China's provocations against its neighbors in the South China Sea," the Israeli paper quoted unidentified defense industry sources as saying. Radio Free Asia was not able to independently verify the information. A Vietnamese source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the government-owned firm Israel Aerospace Industries, or IAI, had a long history of cooperation with Vietnam and news of negotiations over a satellite deal had surfaced as early as 2018. According to Haaretz, besides IAI, France's Thales and the U.S. company Lockheed Martin were also offering surveillance satellites to Vietnam and "there could still be problems" for the Israeli contractor. The paper cited Israeli sources as saying Vietnam was "a tough customer" and agreements can fall through because of domestic rivalry or pressure from other foreign contractors. The Vietnamese client is believed to be the so-called General Department II of the Vietnamese army, or the military intelligence department, the newspaper said. Satellites 'too expensive' Haaretz said that under the secured deal, the Israeli firm would sell two satellites to Vietnam, including "an optical imagery photography satellite and a synthetic-aperture radar satellite that provides a picture of the ground even at night or through complete cloud cover." One of them could be the OptSat 3000, an advanced electro optical satellite, equipped with a 70 cm aperture telescope and sensitive sensor and capable of delivering "better than 50 cm high resolution imagery of locations on Earth," according to IAI. Each satellite would cost US$300 million without launch facilities, "a price that space experts say is excessive," the paper said, noting that in Vietnam corruption remained "rampant, even at the top." A businesswoman, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, who was believed to act as an intermediary for arms procurement from Israel to Vietnam, is on a Vietnamese wanted list for bid rigging and bribery but domestic media did not mention any defense deal. Israel in recent years has become one of the top defense suppliers to Vietnam as it seeks to diversify its arms and military equipment procurement to reduce dependence on traditional partner Russia. It is estimated that Vietnam has bought about US$2 billion worth of equipment from Israeli companies, including air defense systems, drones and radar systems. "These technologies, especially radars, are what Israel is really good at," said Yusuf Unjhawala, a defense analyst in Bangalore, India. The satellites may be costly but Vietnam "needs its own tools of surveillance," Unjhawala told RFA. Vietnam and China are locked in a complex territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where China holds an expansive claim of up to 90% of the waterway. IAI was present at several defense exhibitions in Hanoi to showcase its products and is reportedly aiming to establish a joint venture to manufacture military hardware in Vietnam. Edited by Mike Firn Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines accuses Chinese state outlet of 'deceptive messaging' on disputed shoal Philippine national security adviser warns of fabricated historical claims that 'undermine' Philippine sovereignty. By Jason Gutierrez for BenarNews 2025.03.04 MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine authorities accused a Chinese government-owned broadcaster of deceptive messaging and propaganda after it reported that a Philippine ship had deliberately engaged in acts to pollute South China Sea waters. China Global Television Network, or CGTN, released a video Saturday showing smoke emanating from the BRP Sierra Madre at the contested Second Thomas Shoal. The report said the smoke was caused by trash being burned by Filipino marines stationed aboard the rusting Philippine Navy ship. "Heavy smoke was seen from an apparent burning activity on a grounded Philippine military vessel on Friday," CGTN said on Facebook. "The footage highlights a series of environmentally damaging activities onboard, which could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem at Ren'ai Jiao," the report said, using the Chinese name for the shoal. To Filipinos, Second Thomas Shoal is known as Ayungin Shoal. "A report released in July last year suggests that the vessel has gravely damaged the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the coral reef ecosystem in the area," it added. Philippine authorities on Tuesday refuted the Chinese state media report that the Filipino crew was allegedly causing pollution, and dismissed the claim as propaganda. "It's part of the deceptive messaging of the Chinese Communist Party," Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, told reporters. Manila refers to South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea. The Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that Manila ran aground on the shoal in 1999 to mark out the Philippines' territorial claim and serve as its military outpost in the disputed waters. The shoal is located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, or EEZ. Manila runs regular rotation-and-resupply missions to the ship manned by Philippine marines. Trinidad said Filipino troops had burned "combustible materials" on the BRP Sierra Madre on Feb. 28 as part of a fire drill. However, strong winds caused the fire to spread. "But they were able to put everything in control," Trinidad said, referring to the troops aboard the ship. "There was no damage to the environment, all the men aboard the ship are safe. The exercise was conducted successfully," Trinidad said. He said fire drills such as this are conducted aboard navy ships at least once every month. "There was no problem. The men of the ship are always prepared to respond to any eventuality to keep everything under control," said Trinidad. "The battlefield is the cognitive domain or the minds of the Filipino people. [It's] designed to shape the perception of Filipinos. This is also called malign influence," he said. At publication time, neither CGTN, China's foreign ministry or embassy in Manila had responded to the latest statements from Filipino officials. 'Totally absurd' Meanwhile, Trinidad said claims circulating on Chinese social media platforms such as Rednote and Weibo, claimed that Palawan once belonged to China and that the Philippines should return it to its rival claimant in the South China Sea. Palawan, the posts claimed, was once named Zheng He Island, in honor of a Chinese explorer. However, although Zheng He's existence and travels to Southeast Asia are well documented, there has never been a historical account that he visited the Philippine province. "Such statements about Palawan are baseless. They are bereft of legal references," Trinidad said. "They are beyond common sense. In short, totally absurd." Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano agreed. "These assertions are outright fabrications intended to distort history, deceive the public and challenge the Philippines' sovereignty over its lawful and internationally recognized territory," Ano said in a statement. Ano urged Filipinos to remain vigilant against disinformation campaigns and "rely on verified historical and legal sources rather than propaganda designed to advance geopolitical agenda at the expense of truth." He said Philippine authorities were tracing who started the post. Ano also said that there had never been a "historical record or legal precedent" to support the claim. "Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines," Ano said in a statement issued Tuesday. Ano said that even if Zheng did in fact visit Palawan, this "does not equate to ownership, just as the voyages of other explorers do not alter the sovereignty of nations today." While the "false narratives" did not come from official government sites, Ano said they appeared to be part of a "broader effort to undermine Philippine sovereignty and manipulate public perception both in the Philippines and China." BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Calls Republika Srpska Law On 'Foreign Agents' A 'Backwards Step' By Goran Katic March 04, 2025 The European Union has condemned the passage of a Russia-style "foreign-agents" law by the Republika Srpska, accusing authorities in the Bosnian Serb entity of undermining "the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina," in comments sent to RFE/RL. The EU's press office also said that the law passed by the entity's National Assembly last week "directly contradicts the repeated obligations of the leadership of the Republika Srpska entity to advance on the path of [Bosnia-Herzegovina's] accession to the European Union." Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian president of Republika Srpska, has long pushed for legislation to restrict foreign-funded NGOs, likening the effort to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). An analysis by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, however, noted strong similarities to Russia's more restrictive "foreign-agents" law from 2012, a law that has also inspired copycat legislation in the pro-Moscow Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. The passage of the controversial law was seemingly sped up by Dodik's sentencing last week by the state Bosnian Court over his failure to execute the decisions of the high representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt. The court's first degree verdict -- which Dodik has the right to appeal -- sentenced Dodik to a year in prison and banned him from political life for six years. The Republika Srpska assembly responded on February 28 by passing laws that barred state-level law enforcement and judicial organs from the entity, further deepening Bosnia's political crisis. The law covering the work of foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations was passed on the same day. The system of government in Bosnia-Herzegovina is among the most complex in the world. Since the the Dayton peace agreement, which was signed in 1995 and ended the war in Bosnia, the country has consisted of the Bosniak-Croat federation and the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska under a weak central government. While Republika Srpska can pass laws on internal matters, state-level laws and institutions remain supreme according to the constitution. The Office of the High Representative (OHR), a position held since 2021 by Schmidt, oversees the implementation of civilian aspects of Dayton. Dodik is currently under US and U.K. sanctions for actions that Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia. He has denied that the Serb entity of Bosnia has ever pursued a policy of secession, while at the same time pursuing legislation to wrest back powers for Republika Srpska at the expense of the state of Bosnia. Opposition lawmakers in Republika Srpska effectively boycotted the vote on the "foreign agents" law, which passed with backing from the ruling coalition led by Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats. The law is formally called a "Law on the Special Register and Public Transparency of the Work of Nonprofit Organizations" that are foreign-funded or foreign supported. In addition to creating a register of such organizations, the law allows for their surveillance by the authorities, bans broadly defined political activities, mandates additional registration, and requires submitting reports to the Republika Srpska Justice Ministry on the receipt of financial resources from abroad. It stipulates that in the event of a violation of the law, the relevant ministry can propose to a court that the offending organization be banned from operating. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-republika-srpska-bosnia- foreign-agents-law/33335803.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Call with Ireland's Tanaiste Simon Harris US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 4, 2025 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Ireland's Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defense Simon Harris on a range of pressing global issues. Both leaders expressed eagerness to work together to address our shared interests. They discussed the U.S. priority to address the U.S.-Ireland trade imbalance and reaffirmed the importance of our partnership in addressing issues like Gaza, the conflict in Ukraine, and space cooperation. They also discussed energy security and cooperation with U.S. companies operating in Ireland, two areas of increasing interconnectedness between our two nations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA Commissioner General on the decision of Israel to stop aid into Gaza UNRWA 4 Mar 2025 From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter) The decision of Israel to stop aid into Gaza threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 16 months of brutal war. Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we've seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began. This brought respite and relief to people in need. The vast majority of the people in Gaza rely on aid for their sheer survival. Lifesaving water, hospitals, health centres and electricity are essential to complement basic food assistance. Aid and these basic services are nonnegotiable. They must never be used as weapons of war. Background Information: UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on. UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary-General's remarks at the Extraordinary Arab Summit on the situation in the Middle East/Gaza United Nations Secretary-General Cairo, Egypt 04 March 2025 Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, all protocols observed. President El-Sisi, thank you for convening leaders from across the Arab world to unite at this Extraordinary Arab Summit dedicated to Palestine. Since the horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7, the ensuing Israeli military operations have unleashed an unprecedented level of death and destruction in Gaza, generating an immense trauma. Palestinians in Gaza have suffered beyond measure. And the risk of even greater devastation looms. This Summit is an important signal that the world has a collective responsibility to support efforts to end this war, relieve profound human suffering and secure lasting peace. In the last few weeks, we have witnessed a meaningful improvement with the ceasefire and the hostage deal. Since the start of the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire, Palestinian civilians in Gaza have experienced reprieve. Hostages were released and humanitarian aid dramatically increased. I urge the parties to uphold their commitments and implement them in full, and Member States to use all the leverage they have to support this, especially as we start the Holy Month of Ramadan. We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities that would plunge the millions back into an abyss of suffering and further destabilize the region. And simultaneously, the territorial integrity of Lebanon and Syria must be respected. Serious negotiations for the ceasefire in all its facets must be resumed without delay. All hostages must be released immediately, unconditionally and in a dignified manner. The release of Palestinian detainees must be carried out per the terms of the deal and also in a dignified way. The parties must ensure humane treatment for all those held under their power. And all obstacles to the effective delivery of lifesaving aid must be removed. Humanitarian aid is not negotiable. It must flow without impediment. The response needs to be adequately funded, and civilians including humanitarians must be protected. The United Nations has proven, together with our partners, namely the Egyptian Red Crescent, with access, the UN-coordinated response can deliver aid that people need. Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Ending the immediate crisis is not enough. We need a clear political framework that lays the foundation for Gaza's recovery, reconstruction and lasting stability. That framework must be based on principles and respect for international law. Israel's legitimate security concerns must be addressed, but that should not be through long-term Israeli military presence in Gaza. And I want to once again salute the dedication of UN staff and all other humanitarian workers particularly, Palestinian colleagues who have suffered so much and are working under near-impossible conditions. I appeal for the urgent and full support of UNRWA's work, including financial support. Excellencies, Finally, as we widen the lens beyond Gaza, we see an alarming situation unfolding in the West Bank. Israeli security forces have launched large-scale operations, including airstrikes and also the deployment of tanks for the first time in over two decades. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the last month the largest displacement in the West Bank in decades. Meanwhile, demolitions, evictions and settlement expansions continue, with settler violence is on the rise. All of this is further weakening the Palestinian Authority at a time when its role is more crucial than ever. I call for urgent de-escalation. Unilateral actions, including settlement expansion and threats of annexation, must stop. The attacks and mounting violence must end. Israel, as the occupying power, must comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law. And the Palestinian Authority must be supported to govern effectively, and to do so in compliance with its own obligations under international law. Excellencies, The true foundation of recovery in Gaza will be more than concrete and steel. It will be dignity, self-determination and security. This means staying true to the bedrock of international law. It means rejecting any form of ethnic cleansing. And it means forging a political solution. There is no sustainable future for Gaza that is not part of a viable Palestinian State. There can be no recovery without an end to the occupation. No justice without accountability for violations of international law. And no sustainable reconstruction without a clear and principled political horizon. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, to chart their own future, and to live on their land in freedom and security. There must be irreversible steps now toward the realization of the two-State solution before it's too late. The only path to lasting peace is one where two states Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace and security, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. The United Nations stands with you in this essential effort. Thank you. *** NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Allvin advocates for 'more Air Force' to offer President 'more options' Published March 4, 2025 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs AURORA, Colo. (AFNS) -- While confronting volatile adversaries abroad but with new leadership at home, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin described his strategy for defending the homeland and giving the Trump Administration potent options to meet the nation's security priorities March 3. Accomplishing both requires "more Air Force:" an agile, ready service that offers dilemmas for adversaries, such as Communist China, and options for leaders at home, Allvin said during a closely watched speech at the AFA Warfighter Symposium. "More Air Force" means honing readiness and training, matching "capabilities to threats," and most of all, being more "lethal" no matter the mission or request. "I think we need more options for the President. And that's what more Air Force provides...It means everything from rapid response all the way to decisive victory," Allvin said during his 30-minute speech before thousands of Airmen, Guardians and industry officials attending in-person and virtually. "That is what airpower, anytime, anywhere means. It's not just an aspiration. It's a promise we have to uphold for America. We have to sustain and maintain the ability to go anytime, anywhere in the densest threat environment and put 'warheads on foreheads' anywhere the President might want," he said. Allvin's remarks were built around a theme he has been aggressively voicing in recent months. The nation's security is directly tied to "more Air Force" that is reshaped and refocused to meet emerging threats. But how that goal is achieved, he said, is still an open question. Troy Meink has been nominated to be the new Secretary of the Air Force but he is awaiting Senate confirmation. The gap in this position has temporarily paused efforts to realign to the threat environment. Allvin said he agrees Meink and other senior leaders should "be able to look over all the things that we've done. "As we look to future planning ... we should be able to show them how what we're doing works for the future," Allvin said. "I believe when they come in and they look at it, the evaluation criteria should be this: If they look at what's going on and how it's moving forward, if it doesn't align with the Secretary of Defense's priorities, then we ought to ask ourselves why we're doing it." At the same time, Allvin expressed optimism that some of the changes, especially those that increase lethality and more precisely link capabilities to threats, will be embraced. "I have a hunch when they see some of the things we're doing, we're going to be told to go faster," he said. Allvin also explained in his remarks how the Air Force is taking new approaches to readiness and projecting power. "We're looking at different ways to execute the same mission," he said. "We're going beyond 'single platforms equal single capabilities'; maybe there are different ways to provide combat effects. We are embracing and leaning into human-machine teaming and understanding what autonomy can actually do for us. "And now, we have two prototypes of collaborative combat aircraft that were on paper less than a couple years ago that will be ready to fly this summer," he said. "It is telling the world that we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare. It means CCA. It means human-machine teaming. We're developing those capabilities thinking mission first." At the same time, Allvin noted the Air Force's fleet is aging and under constant pressure to fly and perform. As he has in the past, Allvin bemoaned the service must continue underwriting the cost of excess infrastructure that he said is 20 to 30 percent more than is needed. "All of that is not adding to combat capability," he said. "We have to make sure the infrastructure we have to maintain, that our Airmen have to support and protect, will contribute to our lethality and combat effectiveness." Despite the pressure and limitations, Allvin emphasized that the United States Air Force remains the most lethal and capable in the world. The reason is clear, he said. "Your Air Force continues to kick butt. Our Airmen are doing amazing things every day and they make it look normal." Change is coming, however, in what Allvin hopes is the realization for "more Air Force." "What does that look like? More Air Force doesn't just mean more of the same. More Air Force means more Airmen are focused on the threat. More of the infrastructure is focused on combat, not just excess infrastructure. It means a more agile force design that allows you to leverage more of industry and be able to work across the spectrum in a way you can sustain" he said. He specifically advocated for the creation of a "Golden Dome" missile defense shield for the United States, a priority for President Trump. Allvin also called for modernizing the nuclear Triad, two-thirds of which the Air Force is responsible for operating and maintaining. "We have two-thirds of the Triad and three-fourths of the nuclear command, control and communications. We own nuclear deterrence," he said. "So, more Air Force means more nuclear deterrence. We have to have the most reliable, the most safe, the most effective nuclear deterrent. That means Sentinel, B-21... that means munitions." Allvin closed with a clear rational that drives his focus and plans and, as a byproduct, provides an answer for why an Air Force is needed. "In this dangerous and dynamic time, I want to give the President as many options as I can," Allvin said. "So that means modernization. Yes, NGAD! Yes, CCA! Yes, survivable bases! And, of course, yes to taking care of our Airmen!" NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rearming Europe? EU tested to turn talk into action By Lisa Bryant March 04, 2025 With Washington's sudden pause on military aid to Ukraine as a backdrop, worried European Union leaders meet in Brussels Thursday to discuss steps to beef up EU defenses against Russia. "The question is no longer whether Europe's security is threatened in a very real way, or whether Europe should shoulder more of its responsibility for its own security," said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the summit, as she outlined a multipronged, $840 billion defense financing plan for the 27-member bloc. "The real question in front of us," she said, "is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates and whether Europe is ready and able to act with speed and ambition that is needed." That message has been resonating across multiple emergency summits that gathered European leaders fearful of possible U.S. disengagement, and has resulted in new European defense spending commitments, after years of Washington demands to take on more of the burden. But EU members also face steep challenges as they move to rearm, from sometimes shaky governments and economies, to skeptical populations and a surging far right that is often more favorable toward Russia. Especially concerning for many is the Trump administration's possible pivot from a longstanding transatlantic alliance. "It raises very big issues for the future of the European Union and I think people in Europe are very aware of this," said Ian Lesser, who heads the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund policy institute. "Is Europe going to address these challenges, whether it's on trade or defense in a collective way? Or are countries, member states, going to go their own way?" Sense of urgency For many EU leaders, today's message is unity. During a summit in London, EU countries and nonmember Britain agreed to develop their own peace plan for Ukraine to present to Washington. France and Britain also backed a "coalition of the willing" sending troops to Ukraine to enforce any peace deal. French President Emmanuel Macron who has long called for a more militarily autonomous Europe has also suggested extending France's nuclear deterrence to other European countries. "The sense of urgency is finally catching up with European leaders, but it's not sufficient at the moment," said Olena Prokopenko, a senior German Marshall Fund fellow. "We see different levels of understanding of the level of threat that Europe is facing at the moment." "I see some degree of I don't want to say panic but really alarmed Europeans who realize they need to stick together as much as possible," said Elie Tenenbaum, director of security studies at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris. Still, he added, Europe faces a daunting task. "If the Europeans want to step up and make up for the loss of American aid to Ukraine, it needs to happen now," Tenenbaum said. "They need to put the money on the table; they need to pass on the orders to the defense industry." Beyond Ukraine, the Brussels-based Bruegel policy institute estimates Europe would need 300,000 more troops and hundreds of billions more dollars to deter possible Russian aggression without the United States. Europe is "lacking ammunition, we're lacking replacement parts, we're lacking readiness," Tenenbaum said. Former French ambassador Michel Duclos, however, points to Europe's assets. "Yes, we are not in a good situation," said Duclos, now an analyst at the Montaigne Institute research group in Paris. "But at the same time, in demographic terms, in economic terms, we could be much stronger than Russia, if we are able to put our act together in defense terms." Pushback Europe's new security ambitions are already facing pushback. France's powerful far-right National Rally party, for one, has rejected France including Europe in its nuclear deterrence capability, and leader Marine Le Pen describes an independent European defense as "illusory." Hungary's Viktor Orban, noted for his friendly Kremlin ties, has called on Europe to instead enter direct talks to bring about a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Many European economies are struggling, while public support for Ukraine is fading in some countries. A pair of recent polls, for instance, shows that while two-thirds of French citizens believe Europe should continue supporting Kyiv, three-quarters don't want French boots on the ground except to enforce a possible peace. "So far, European leaders have been trying to be more reassuring than alarming," says analyst Tenenbaum, of the message many are sending their populations. "But if they want to justify higher defense spending and risk taking, then they will need to be much more vocal" about the dangers the region is facing. For analyst Duclos, last week's heated White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offered an impetus to prepare Europeans for going it alone. "What happened in the Oval Office last week was useful to make people understand we disagree not only on the means, instruments and policies, but on something more fundamental: on values, on the threat perception," he said of growing transatlantic differences. "And for the French public, it was the most powerful of wake-up calls." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Egypt says Arab leaders endorse counterproposal to Trump's Gaza plan By Edward Yeranian March 04, 2025 Arab leaders adopted an Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza on Tuesday that would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave, in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for the territory. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the proposal had been accepted at the closing of a summit in Cairo. The meeting, hosted by Egypt, included the emir of Qatar, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia. Egypt's plan which comes as a counterproposal to Trump's January plan to resettle Palestinians outside Gaza while the territory is rebuilt calls for residents of Gaza to remain inside the territory in seven specific locations in temporary housing while rubble is removed and demining takes place. Egypt and many other Arab states oppose the portion of Trump's "Middle East Riviera" plan that calls for Palestinians in Gaza to be relocated outside the Strip during rebuilding efforts. In comments during the meeting, Sissi thanked Trump for his efforts to help rebuild Gaza, adding that Egypt's suggested plan involved a temporary governing body to rule the territory. He said that Egypt is proposing a group of technocrats to run the territory during an interim period, while a new Palestinian police force is trained and while efforts are made to secure funding from donors to rebuild what was destroyed. He added that Egypt would host a donor conference next month. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, welcomed the proposal, but Israel criticized it. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Arab summit's proposal "failed to address" the realities of the situation following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked the war. "Hamas' brutal terrorist attack, which resulted in thousands of Israeli deaths and hundreds of kidnappings, is not mentioned, nor is there any condemnation of this murderous terrorist entity," the Foreign Ministry said. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he welcomed the Egyptian idea and urged Trump to support the plan because it would not involve displacing Palestinians. Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza remains tense amid the possibility that conflict could erupt again after Israel accused Hamas of using aid deliveries into the territory as a "principal source of revenue [for itself]," and halted aid shipments on Saturday. Said Sadek, who teaches political sociology at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in Egypt, told VOA that many Arabs oppose disarming Hamas and forcing the group to relinquish power to rebuild Gaza. "Basically, this summit will discuss how to marginalize [or] sideline Hamas and having an international Muslim peace force and training Palestinian policemen so that the process of reconstruction [takes] place. The trouble, of course, is that how can you force Hamas to leave Gaza, [and] how can you deprive them of their weapons?" he said. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported that Arab leaders were expected to approve a proposal to ask the U.N. to help set up a joint Arab-international peacekeeping force to run Gaza during an interim period while a new Palestinian police force is trained and a group of technocrats runs the territory. Egypt has refused to assume control over the territory it ruled from 1948 to 1967, when it was seized by Israel. Arab League spokesman Jamal Rushdi tried to minimize disagreements over Egypt's Gaza plan, while addressing Arab media. He said the plan to rebuild Gaza is just the beginning of a long road to reconstruct the territory and to secure the needed funds to do the rebuilding. Hamas has ruled out transferring power and says it will keep its arms, which its leaders call a "red line," or a line that it will not cross. Israel, in return, has threatened to resume hostilities, and Israeli media claim that Hamas has recruited more fighters, restoring its forces to 30,000 men. Egyptian mediators have negotiated with Hamas without a great deal of success since it first grabbed control of Gaza in 2007, expelling the mainstream Fatah group and the Palestinian police force that was set up after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Some information in this report came from Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 5, 2025 By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News President Says Military Recruiting Up, So Too Will be American Shipbuilding, 'Golden Dome' During his first address to a joint session of Congress, March 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump said that the changes he's made since his inauguration in January have enhanced recruiting within the U.S. military in ways that haven't been seen in years. On his first day in office, the president signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. Less than a week later, newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drafted a message to the force that mirrored the president's words, saying he would rebuild the U.S. military with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness. "Our service members won't be activists and ideologues," Trump said. "They will be fighters and warriors. They will fight for our country." The president said the result of his executive order has filtered down into the armed forces, putting a new focus on merit and spurring renewed interest in serving. "I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services," Trump said. "What a tremendous turnaround. It's really a beautiful thing to see people love our country again ... they love our country, and they love being in our military again." The president also said the United States will pursue a "Golden Dome," similar to Israel's own "Iron Dome" defense system, which is designed to protect against inbound missile attacks. "My focus is on building the most powerful military of the future," Trump said. "As a first step, I'm asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art, 'Golden Dome' missile defense shield to protect our homeland all made in the USA." The president said that President Ronald Reagan had wanted to build a similar system during his term, but the technology wasn't available at the time to bring that project to fruition. But now, he said, that technology exists. "Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it, too," he said. "This is a very dangerous world. We should have it. We want to be protected. And we're going to protect our citizens like never before." Trump also promised an expansion of American shipbuilding in order to support both the U.S. military and the commercial sector. American shipbuilding is at a low point today, but the president promised new efforts to increase America's shipbuilding efforts. "We are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding," Trump said. "I am announcing tonight that we will create a new Office of Shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs." The president said the U.S. once had a great domestic shipbuilding industry, which has largely died down now. That will change, he promised. "We used to make so many ships. We don't make them anymore, very much," he said. "But we're going to make them very fast, very soon." The president also said he planned to take action to expand domestic production of rare earth elements, which are critical to U.S. defense. "Later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA," he said. Rare earth permanent magnets, for instance, are not only essential components in a range of defense capabilities, including the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, Virginia and Columbia class submarines and unmanned aerial vehicles, but are also a critical part of commercial applications in the United States. They are also used to generate electricity for electronic systems in aircraft and focus microwave energy in radar systems. Finally, Trump said that the mastermind behind the terrorist attack at Abbey Gate during the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan has been captured. Some 13 American service members were killed during that attack. "I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," Trump said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CCG permits and monitors delivery of essential supplies to illegally 'grounded' Philippine warship at Ren'ai Jiao Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 05, 2025 10:14 AM On Tuesday, with China's permission, the Philippines dispatched a civilian ship to deliver essential supplies to an illegally "grounded" warship at Ren'ai Jiao. The China Coast Guard (CCG) monitored and verified the entire process, CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement on Wednesday. China has urged the Philippine side to honor its commitment to engage with China to jointly manage maritime affairs in the region. Liu added that the CCG will continue its rights-safeguarding and law enforcement activities in the Nansha Qundao, including Ren'ai Jiao and surrounding waters, in accordance with the law. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump declares 'America is back,' defends tariffs, other policies in address to Congress By Liam Scott March 05, 2025 U.S. President Donald Trump in a Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress defended his new tariffs on U.S. trading partners and pledged that more are coming. "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn," Trump said in what was his first address to U.S. lawmakers of his second term. The remarks came after the United States imposed 25% tariffs earlier Tuesday on exports from its two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, and doubled an earlier 10% tariff on Chinese imports to 20%. China is the No. 3 U.S. trading partner. U.S. stock markets have taken a significant tumble, and the three countries have threatened retaliation, prompting concerns of a broader trade war. Trump also said the United States will begin imposing "reciprocal tariffs" on all U.S. trading partners on April 2. "Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them," he said. "Whatever they tax us, we will tax them." "I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn't want to be accused of April Fool's Day," Trump added. Trump also said he will impose a 25% tariff on imports of foreign aluminum, copper, lumber and steel. Trump's address comes six weeks into his second term, which has been marked by tensions with U.S. allies, shifts in foreign policy and an overhaul of the federal government. The White House on Monday said the theme of the address was the "renewal of the American dream." With Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson seated behind him, Trump began his speech by proclaiming that "America is back," triggering chants of "USA" from Republican lawmakers. "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country," he said. Trump also said his administration has "accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years." To date, Trump has signed nearly 80 executive orders several of which are being challenged in court. Early in his speech, Trump touted his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and deployment of the U.S. military and border patrol to "repel the invasion of our country." Trump said his administration has launched "the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history." He also repeated the false claim that 21 million people entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration. Trump also took time during his address to laud a recent executive order he signed banning transgender women from women's sports. He also falsely insinuated that transgender youth do not exist. The president has also signed other orders targeting transgender Americans. On shrinking the federal government, Trump, who imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring since returning to the White House, praised his adviser Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, whose Department of Government Efficiency has been behind the layoffs of tens of thousands of government workers and other cuts throughout the federal government. Trump said his administration "will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy and we will restore true democracy to America again." He added that any government workers who "resist this change" will be "removed from office immediately." Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have criticized the layoffs and cuts. During the address, Republican lawmakers were raucous in their support for Trump. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, protested in a mix of ways. Just a few minutes into his address, Trump was interrupted by jeering from the floor of the House, prompting Speaker Johnson to direct the sergeant at arms to remove Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas. Trump continued his address after Green was removed from the chamber. Several Democratic women lawmakers wore pink in protest of what they say are Trump policies that harm women. Some Democratic lawmakers walked out in the middle of Trump's address; others skipped the speech entirely. In the subsequent Democratic rebuttal to Trump's address, Senator Elissa Slotkin called for voters to get more involved with politics. "It's easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever. If previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today?" the Michigan senator said. Slotkin also criticized the widespread cuts to the government. "We need a more efficient government. You want to cut waste? I'll help you do it. But change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe," she said. On the foreign policy front, Trump noted that he had again removed the United States from some international organizations and agreements: He froze foreign aid and withdrew the United States from what he called the "unfair" Paris Climate Accord, the "corrupt" World Health Organization and the "anti-American" U.N. human rights council. Trump said he is working to end the war in Ukraine, which was started by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. "It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end the senseless war," he said. Trump's comments come one day after the United States paused military aid to Ukraine and a few days after an acrimonious Oval Office meeting on Friday concluded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaving the White House without an agreement. In his address, Trump said he received a letter Tuesday from Zelenskyy that said Kyiv is "ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible." "I appreciate that he sent this letter," Trump said. Trump's address set the record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress at one hour and 40 minutes. The previous record was set by former President Bill Clinton at 1 hour and 28 minutes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 04 March 2025 - Day 1105 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively thwart the Russian enemy's attempts to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him an effective fire effect, exhaustion throughout the frontline. Since the beginning of this day, there have been 97 combat clashes. Russian zagarbniki launched 40 air strikes using 59 cab. In addition, the Russians engaged 783 kamikaze drones and carried out 3,828 shelling at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian enemy twice tried to advance in the area of vovchanska, received a detachment. In the Kupians komu direction, Russian forces carried out three assaults of the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of Petropavlivka, Pi any and Boguslavka. Ukrainian defenders repelled all attacks. In the Lyman direction during the day, Russian invaders 14 times attacked the positions of Ukrainians near the settlements of Novomikhailivka, Grekivka, Nove, Novolubivka, Yampolivka and Dibrova, one confrontation is ongoing so far. In the direction of Kramators komu continues one Russian attack towards Stupocok. In the Toretsky direction, Russians attacked the positions of Defense Forces ten times. The Russian occupiers concentrated the efforts near the settlements of Dachne and Toretsk. So far, six clashes have ended. Since the beginning of this day, in the Pokrovsky direction, Russian Zagarnitsky units 17 times tried to break through Ukrainian defense near the settlements of Rumin, Lisivka, Sergiyivka, Ulakly, Andriyivka, Oleksiyivka. Russian forces caused an aviation strike in the area of Gorihovogo. The Russian enemy suffers significant losses - today in this direction Ukrainian warriors zneszkodili 225 invaders, 101 of them - irrevocably. Also destroyed 5 units of vehicle equipment, five BPLA control antennas, one anti-drone gun and five satellite Russian terminals, in addition to the car, ATV and satellite terminal. In the Novopavlivs komu direction, Russian forces ten times attacked Ukrainian positions near Konstantinopol and Rozdolny, two clashes continue so far. Janvarske, Novopavlivka, Oleksiyivka and Ivanivka were hit by controlled air bombs. The opponent twice attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the area of Privilny and Charivnogo in the Gulyaipils komu direction. At the same time, he caused airstrikes on Komishuvas, Gulyaipol and Zaliznychnomu. In the Orihivsky direction, Ukrainian troops repelled seven Russian attacks in the area of Nesterianka, Novodanilivka and Kamiansky, two more clashes are still ongoing. In the pridniprovs komu direction, Russian forces carried out one unsuccessful attack, and under the air strike was lviv. In the Kursk region Ukrainian defenders repelled 30 Russian forces attacks. In addition, Russian forces launched 18 air strikes using 28 guided bombs, and carried out 364 artillery shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kharkov direction, the Sever Group of Forces' units defeated formations of one motorised infantry brigade and one territorial defence brigade of the AFU near Volchansk and Liptsy (Kharkov region). The AFU losses were up to 45 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, and two motor vehicles. Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades close to Karpovka, Katerinovka, Kirovsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Shiykovka, and Kamenka (Kharkov region). The AFU losses were up to 255 troops, four motor vehicles, and one Western-made field artillery gun. Three electronic warfare stations were destroyed. Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on four mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, and one motorised infantry brigade near Shevchenko, Verkhnekamenskoye, Pleshcheyevka, Seversk, Konstantinovka, Serebryanka, and Kramatorsk (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were up to 265 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. The Tsentr Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line. Russian troops hit formations of four mechanised brigades, one jaeger brigade, one assault brigade, and one airborne brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one marine brigade, and two National Guard brigades near Dimitrov, Novopavlovka, Andreyevka, Udachnoye, Yelizavetovka, Krasnoarmeysk, and Uspenovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were up to 595 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, and five pickup trucks. Two artillery guns were neutralised. Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defences. Russian troops launched an attack on formations of two mechanised brigades of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades close to Otradnoye, Komar, Privolnoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Gulyaipole (Zaporozhye region). The AFU losses were up to 185 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, ten motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade, one mountain assault brigade, and two territorial defence brigades close to Sadovoye, Mikhailovka (Kherson region), and Malye Shcherbaki (Zaporozhye region). The AFU losses were up to 60 troops, two motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged the infrastructure of military airfields, ammunition depots as well as manpower and hardware clusters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 142 areas. Air defence systems shot down one U.S.-made JDAM aerial guided bomb and 93 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 45,267 unmanned aerial vehicles, 600 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,977 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,523 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,224 field artillery guns and mortars, and 32,432 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region. In the course of offensive actions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, five mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Goncharovka, Guyevo, Kazachya Loknya, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. Five enemy counter-attacks were repelled. Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Agronom, Bondarevka, Viktorovka, Gornal, Guyevo, Zamostye, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kolmakov, Kositsa, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Oleshnya, Sudzha, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Yuzhny as well as Basovka, Belovody, Zhuravka, Miropolye, Novenkoye, and Yunakovka (Sumy region). During the day, the AFU losses were more than 150 troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, two armoured personnel carriers, eight armoured fighting vehicles, 15 motor vehicles, one mortar as well as one UAV command post and one ammunition depot. Two AFU servicemen surrendered. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 64,845 troops, 383 tanks, 293 infantry fighting vehicles, 255 armoured personnel carriers, 2,127 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,295 motor vehicles, 508 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 25 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 118 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, nine air defence radars, 51 units of engineering and other materiel, including 19 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 14 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle. The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China releases white paper on fentanyl control, highlighting rigorous policy Global Times By Deng Xiaoci and Li Yawei Published: Mar 04, 2025 10:29 PM China's State Council Information Office on Tuesday released a white paper titled Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances - China's Contribution, highlighting the country's rigorous control over these chemicals. Facts speak louder than words, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in the Tuesday statement on the white paper, while pointing out that the US has been spreading all kinds of false information concerning the fentanyl issue, while smearing and scapegoating China, and hiking tariffs on Chinese imports. The spokesperson continued that such a move is unjustified and will do no one good. China's position is clear-cut. It stands ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. That said, China firmly opposes the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue. "We urge the US to respect the facts, bear in mind its own interests and make the right choice." The white paper "gives an authoritative review of the tremendous work China has done, the innovative steps it has taken and its experience in this field," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson commented on the white paper shortly after its release on Tuesday afternoon. The white paper will help people from various sectors and the international community to understand China's position, measures and achievements in this field in a full, in-depth and objective way, the spokesperson explained. China has attached great importance to maintaining control over fentanyl-related substances in recent years, the white paper says. The country has exercised strict supervision over fentanyl-related medications, rigorously prevented the abuse of fentanyl-related substances, and struck hard against the smuggling, manufacturing, and trafficking of fentanyl-related substances and related precursor chemicals, it notes. "These have delivered notable results," it states. Committed to the vision of a global community with a shared future, the white paper says China rigorously meets its international drug control obligations and adheres to the principle of shared responsibility among all countries and a comprehensive and balanced approach to drug control. "It advocates mutual assistance, joint contribution, and shared benefit among all countries, and opposes finger-pointing and buck-passing," the document asserts. "China has achieved notable successes in in-depth cooperation with countries concerned, including the US, in addressing problems with fentanyl-related substances and their precursors," the white paper states. The release of the white paper came after the US announcement that it would impose an additional 10-percent tariff on products imported from China effective from Tuesday, citing the fentanyl issue as a pretext, which has aroused strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition from China. In countermeasure, China will impose additional tariffs of 10 percent or 15 percent on certain US products starting from March 10, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said on Tuesday. An additional 15 percent tariff will be imposed on imported chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, while 10 percent tariff will be imposed on sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, per the statement. "What the US side has done is a typical act of unilateralism and bullying in disregard of facts, international trade rules and the voices of all parties," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday. The timely release of the document effectively exposes the absurdity of the US' groundless accusations regarding China's response to fentanyl. The white paper is precisely targeted and makes it clear that the US's trade war against China - as well as against Canada and Mexico - is, in essence, a way to shift blame and distract from its own domestic governance failures, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times. The release of this white paper at this particular moment is primarily in response to the US using the fentanyl issue as a pretext to impose additional tariffs on China, said Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University. Wu elaborated that through this white paper, China aims to clearly present to the international community, including the US, that the country has made proactive efforts to advance international cooperation in controlling the fentanyl problem. "In essence, it sets the record straight. At the same time, it also serves to undermine the US' justification for using this issue as a pretext to impose tariffs on China." On Tuesday evening, China's National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) issued a statement regarding the white paper on fentanyl-related substances, stating that on May 1, 2019, China took the lead globally in classifying all fentanyl-related substances, which fully reflects its attitude in participating in global drug governance, the determination to promote global security governance, and the responsibilities as a major power. China has always practiced the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind and is willing to work hand in hand with other countries to address new issues and challenges such as fentanyl-related substances, the NNCC said on its official website. China will continue to earnestly fulfill its international drug control obligations, deeply engage in international drug control affairs, firmly uphold the existing international drug control system, and comprehensively promote global co-governance of drug issues, according to the NNCC. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The U.S. formally blacklists Ansarullah, the Yemeni group resisting American dominion IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that Washington has formally designated Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). In a statement on Tuesday, Rubio said the State Department was fulfilling one of President Donald Trump's early promises made soon after taking office by officially putting Ansarullah on the FTO list. On January 22, Trump signed Executive Order 14175 to designate the ruling Ansarullah movement, claiming that its activities in support of Palestinians threatened American civilians and military personnel in the Middle East, and destabalized global maritime trade. Since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Ansarullah has declared its full support for its Palestinian ally, Hamas, carrying out strikes on Israeli-affiliated shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It later said that U.S. and British vessels were also targets following joint airstrikes by those countries against Yemen. According to U.S. Department of State, FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register, which, in Ansarullah's case, was done on March 4. Meanwhile, Yemeni media reported on Tuesday that a U.S. plane crashed off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen's principal port on the Red Sea. No further details were immediately provided. A coalition led by the U.S. has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen, targeting critical infrastructure, including power stations, seaports, and the international airport in the capital. The air raids have been framed as a response to operations in the Red Sea. 3266**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Washington designates Yemen's Ansarullah as 'foreign terrorist organization' Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:23 PM The US State Department has designated Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)," fulfilling one of President Donald Trump's first promises upon taking office in January. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that the department had restored the designation, noting that Ansarullah's activities "threaten the security of American civilians and personnel" in West Asia, as well as the safety of Washington's closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade. He said Washington "will not tolerate any country engaging with terrorist organizations" like Ansarullah in the name of practicing legitimate international business. Tuesday's action by the US State Department is taken pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register. In January, Trump officially designated Ansarullah as a terrorist organization, threatening to mobilize its regional proxies against Yemen in an attempt to pressure the Yemeni people to abandon their support for Gaza. The designation came in response to the Yemeni army's military operations on Israeli-occupied territories, and assaults on US Navy warships and Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, launched in support of Palestinians being killed by Israel in Gaza. At the time, Ansarullah derided the decision by the US to label the resistance group a terrorist organization, asserting that being included on the US list of friends would have posed a greater threat than terrorism itself. It also described the US designation as a misguided effort and a testament to the resilience of the Yemeni people. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Treasury Sanctions Head of Online Darknet Marketplace Tied to Fentanyl Sales U.S. Department of the Treasury March 4, 2025 WASHINGTON -- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad (Parsarad), the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and was taken down in 2024. Prior to its takedown by law enforcement, narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals openly traded in illegal drugs and services on Nemesis, which was designed with built-in money laundering features. Nemesis had over 30,000 active users and 1,000 vendors and facilitated the sale of nearly $30 million worth of drugs around the world between 2021 and 2024, including to the United States. Today's sanctions designation is OFAC's first action as a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-led interagency Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) Team. "As the administrator of the Nemesis darknet marketplace, Parsarad sought to buildand continues to try to re-establisha safe haven to facilitate the production, sale, and shipment of illegal narcotics like fentanyl and other synthetic opioids," said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. "Treasury, in partnership with U.S. law enforcement, will use all available tools to dismantle these darknet marketplaces and hold accountable the individuals who oversee them." Today's action, taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059, which targets proliferators of narcotics and their means of production, underscores the United States' commitment to combatting all means of supplying narcotics to the United States. Treasury remains focused on the risks posed by darknet marketplaces, as highlighted in previous designations of Genesis Market on April 5, 2023, and of Hydra Market on April 5, 2022. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) supplemental advisory published on June 20, 2024, criminal organizations use darknet marketplaces to sell precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment used for the synthesis of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, as well as to traffic fentanyl and other narcotics into the United States. NEMESIS: A HAVEN FOR NARCOTICS Nemesis was established in 2021 and operated as a criminal marketplace on the darknet, an encrypted network within the Internet that can only be accessed with special anonymity-enhancing browsers. Drug traffickers active on Nemesis sold fentanyl around the world, both on its own and surreptitiously laced into other drugs. In addition to offering narcotics for sale, Nemesis facilitated the sale of a wide variety of other goods and services such as false identification documents and professional hacking services that enabled buyers to hire hackers to illegally seize control of the online accounts and communications of selected victims. Behrouz Parsarad (Parsarad), residing in Iran, was the sole administrator of Nemesis. In this capacity, Parsarad established Nemesis and held full control over the marketplace and its virtual currency wallets. Parsarad enriched himself from fees he charged users of Nemesis with every transaction, pocketing what OFAC estimates to be millions of dollars over the course of the marketplace's existence. In addition to providing criminals with a platform to conduct transactions, Parsarad laundered virtual currencies for narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals active on Nemesis. On March 20, 2024, U.S., German, and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies seized Nemesis' servers in a joint operation. Since the takedown of Nemesis, Parsarad has discussed setting up a new darknet marketplace to take the place of Nemesis with vendors that were once active on the marketplace. OFAC's designation of Parsarad was the result of strong partnership and coordination with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, FinCEN, and a range of European law enforcement partners. OFAC designated Parsarad pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of narcotics or their means of production. In addition to sanctioning Parsarad, OFAC is identifying 49 virtual currency addresses used by Parsarad. SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the blocked person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned individual may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. Violations of OFAC regulations may result in civil or criminal penalties. OFAC's Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC's enforcement of U.S. sanctions, including the factors that OFAC generally considers when determining an appropriate response to an apparent violation. The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here. Click here for more information on the individual designated today. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Rapid expansion' of synthetic drugs reshaping illicit markets, UN anti-narcotics body warns 4 March 2025 - Synthetic drugs are rapidly transforming the global drug trade, fuelling an escalating public health crisis, according to the UN administered International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). In its 2024 Annual Report, released on Tuesday, the INCB explains that unlike plant-based drugs, these substances can be made anywhere, without the need for large-scale cultivation, making them easier and cheaper for traffickers to produce and distribute. The rise of powerful opioids like fentanyl and nitazenes - potent enough to cause overdoses in tiny doses - has worsened the crisis, driving record-high deaths. "The rapid expansion of the illicit synthetic drug industry represents a major global public health threat with potentially disastrous consequences for humankind," said INCB President Jallal Toufiq. "We need to work together to take stronger action against this deadly problem which is causing hundreds of deaths and untold harm to communities," he continued. Traffickers stay ahead of regulations Criminal groups are constantly adapting to evade law enforcement. By exploiting legal loopholes, they develop new synthetic compounds and use artificial intelligence to find alternative chemicals for drug production. New smuggling methods - including drones and postal deliveries - make these drugs harder to detect. As a result, seizures of synthetic substances are now outpacing those of traditional plant-based drugs like heroin and cocaine. Patchwork response Despite efforts to curb synthetic drugs, responses remain fragmented, allowing traffickers to stay ahead. The INCB is calling for stronger global cooperation, including partnerships between governments, private companies and international organizations, to disrupt supply chains and prevent harm. Medication out of reach While synthetic drugs flood illegal markets, millions of people in low- and middle-income countries still lack access to essential pain relief medication. The report highlights that opioid painkillers such as morphine, remain unavailable in regions like Africa, South Asia and Central America - not due to supply shortages, but because of barriers in distribution and regulation. The INCB is urging opioid-producing nations to increase production and affordability to improve palliative care and pain management. Regional hotspots concerns The report identifies several regions where synthetic drug trafficking is expanding. In Europe, the looming heroin deficit following Afghanistan's 2022 opium ban could push more users toward synthetic alternatives while in North America, despite efforts to curb the crisis, synthetic opioid-related deaths remain at record highs. The manufacture, trafficking and use of amphetamine-type stimulants are increasing across the Middle East and Africa, where treatment and rehabilitation services are often inadequate. Meanwhile, in the Asia-Pacific region, methamphetamine and ketamine trafficking continues to grow, particularly in the Golden Triangle. Call for urgent action The INCB is urging governments to strengthen international collaboration, improve data-sharing and expand drug prevention and treatment services. Without decisive action, the synthetic drug trade will continue to evolve, putting more lives at risk. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks by CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman at the 2025 Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium United States Space Force Published March 3, 2025 Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs AURORA, Colo. (AFNS) -- As delivered by Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman on March 3, 2025 - Thank you! How's everybody doing today? I'm excited to be here for the AFA Warfare Symposium! You know, 56 years ago, on March 3rd, 1969, Apollo 9 launched into low Earth orbit. That was the first crewed test flight of a lunar module... and it laid the groundwork for the first lunar landing that occurred a few months later during the Apollo 11 mission. Laying the groundwork, building the foundation... these are critical to achieving bigger goals and more enduring achievements. If the hard work and dedicated effort to make Apollo 9 successful doesn't happen, there's no way Apollo 11 lands on the moon certainly not in the way we now recall it. I'm inspired by this ... people committed to their part of the achievement, and particularly those committed to building the foundation for future achievements. It's a real pleasure to be here with you today, and I mean that more seriously that you might think. Doing my part of building the foundation for the United States Space Force means I spend most of my time advocating in Washington: inside the Department of Defense, with the Joint Staff and other Services, across the interagency, and working with Congress... This is good! This is important. Those conversations need to happen they turn ideas into policy ... they turn them into resources ... and legislation. But there's no audience I appreciate speaking to more than the one assembled here: to the "doers of deeds" as Teddy Roosevelt said ... to those who spend themselves in a worthy cause. To people who take all the policies, all the resources, all those laws and turn ideas into outcomes into concrete capabilities that secure our nation's interests in, from, and to space, to deter our adversaries, and defeat anyone who might threaten us, our allies, or our partners. You're a special group of people because, when the time for talk is over, the responsibility to act falls squarely on your shoulders. Inside the Space Force, you have a lot of diverse jobs ... intelligence analyst, cyber defender, program manager, contracting officer, satellite operator, ground terminal technician, network administrator, engineer, personnelist, knowledge manager, range operator ... I could keep going ... different jobs that require a wide range of expertise. But all these jobs are done by Guardians ... officers, enlisted and civilians. All these jobs contribute directly to our mission to secure our nation's interests. So, let's take a moment to reflect on what it means to be a Guardian, especially in the context of a conflict in space. Because each and every one of you, regardless of the job you do, is directly responsible for the success of our mission. I've spoken recently about what I consider to be six foundational truths for the Space Force. I've told you that our capabilities are vital for the security and prosperity of the American way of life. That we are therefore obligated both to protect those capabilities as well as to defend the Joint and Combined Force against space-enabled attack. As a result, I've said that we must think of space as a warfighting domain rather than just a collection of support activities. That the Space Force must organize, train, equip, and conduct warfighting operations as an integral part of the Joint and Combined Force. And, for this reason, Guardians are the warfighters with the unique education, training, and experience required to achieve Space Superiority. Now, whenever I speak to folks outside the Space Force a wide spectrum of people by the way: everybody from an interested student at a dinner in Chicago to the president of the United States I refer back to these truths, because I think they encapsulate our identity in just a few simple ideas. But, just among ourselves ... from one Guardian to another ... let's take a moment to focus on only a few of these truths to consider them in greater detail on a practical level rather than a philosophical one. Specifically, I want to call your attention to two truths truths two and three to the idea that we must simultaneously be ready to defend American spacepower as well as to protect our forces against hostile spacepower. Because that is the true essence of Space Superiority, which is the formative purpose of the U.S. Space Force. Space Superiority is the fundamental difference between a civil space agency and a warfighting space service. It is the distinction between a company's employees operating commercial satellites and Guardians conducting combat operations to achieve joint objectives. If you want to understand the evolution from Air Force Space Command into the Space Force, it all comes down to this fundamental shift. It is now our job to contest and control the space domain. To fight and win so that we assure freedom of action for our forces while denying the same to our adversaries. Doing so under the stressing conditions of crisis and conflict requires a purpose-built organization, tailor-made with the institutions, the equipment, the tactics, the training, and the warrior ethos required to use military force to control the space domain. In other words, it requires a Space Force. Without this mission, we might not be so different from any other space agency: a collection of talented individuals doing good work for the government admittedly we'd have snazzier uniforms and a deep love of acronyms ... but that would be the only difference between us and the others. But with this mission, everything changes. The way we think, decide, and act ... our doctrine, our organizing principles, our equipment, our processes ... everything. Because it's not enough to just deliver services from orbit anymore. It's not enough to monitor health and status in a benign environment ... to design satellites to last in the harsh space environment. While this is still necessary, it is no longer sufficient. We must be ready to contest and control our domain. To overcome threats and outwit a thinking opponent. To build our systems to withstand a determined adversary. In short to be space-minded warfighters. Space Superiority is the reason that we exist as a service, and the vagaries of warfighting must inform everything we do if we are going to succeed. So, if you want to understand why the Space Force has been making so many changes since its establishment ... well, with new responsibility come new requirements. Believe me, I hear it all the time. Other senior leaders will say, "The Space Force has so many things going on. We need to catch our breath. Why can't we just slow down for a while and consolidate some of our gains?" I hear you; I really do. I wish it was that easy. I get it; I do ... but the answer is right there. The Space Force we have is still not the Space Force we need. We have come a long way, but I think we can all acknowledge there is still work to be done. We've been called up to the major league we can't get away with using minor league gear or little league tactics. And to complicate matters, we need to play a game tonight while keeping one eye on the World Series down the line. In other words, we need to conduct day-to-day operations while we prepare for the high-end fight. Everything we're doingevery new initiative, every project, and every task is designed to get us where we need to go while threading that needle. And I've spoken about many of these things before but let me highlight just a few examples through the lens of Space Superiority. If we're going to be agile enough to outthink and outsmart our opponents, then we've got to maximize unity of command within our mission areas. So, we created Integrated Mission Deltas, which combines operations, capabilities development, and sustainment to enhance the delivery of combat effects. They empower mission owners with the authority and resources they need to gain and sustain readiness. We started small with just two IMDs, but we've just activated two more, and others will be standing up right behind them. Likewise, we're working hard to formalize System Deltas, which focus acquisition activities within mission areas to further enhance delivery and collaboration. Paired together, IMDs and System Deltas will create a more effective and responsive feedback loop between capability delivery, employment, and sustainment. But if those IMDs are going to create and generate combat credible forces, then they need to carve out time to allow for advanced, threat-based training. So, we designed a force generation process to account for reconstitution of our force elements ... to deliberately create space for the training needed for the high-end fight. Likewise, we consolidated the efforts to build our Operational Test and Training Infrastructure, providing an O-6-level focus and expertise to the acquisition of a modern space test and training capability. But, if our combat credible forces are going to effectively employ the mission command required for complex and variable operations, then we need leaders with a broad awareness of all the disciplines of spacepower. So, we created the Officer Training Course, which provides a 12-month initial skills training for new officers, just to lay these foundations. Once they graduate, junior officers will have the baseline understanding of all disciplines needed for effective mission operations. In the future, regardless of their career path, all officers will have the training and experience to speak fluently and engage collaboratively across all essential functions of U.S. Space Force missions. The future vision is that Guardian leaders in acquisition roles will have operations credibility, and Guardian leaders in operations roles will be able to credibly develop capabilities. But, if Guardians are going to integrate Space Force capability into the joint force by design, then we need to expand and normalize our touch points with the combatant commands. So, we created Component Field Commands to align service forces under each combatant commander. We have already established six components in Space Command, Indo-Pacific, Europe and Africa, Central Command, Korea and Japan. The remainder of these critical units are deep into the planning phase and will be coming soon. Finally, if the integrated capability we provide to the joint force is going to remain relevant, then we need a long-term, institutional mechanism to ensure our technical advantage. So, we are proposing Space Forces Futures Command to take responsibility for the design of the objective force to envision, validate, and describe in detail the force we need to win wars and maintain our space advantage into the future. Our idea is for this command to bring together the best and brightest among our space, intel, cyber, and acquisition experts. It will ensure that we are identifying and investing in innovation leveraging the tremendous technological development we're seeing in the commercial sector. Taken together, all of these initiatives lay the groundwork for a Space Force with the capacity to win Space Superiority and secure our nation's interests in, from, and to space. Now, like the blocks in an arch, each of these efforts builds one upon the other, distributing the load of transformation as we bridge from the Space Force we have to the one we need tomorrow. And the keystone in that arch, the thing that holds it all together ... is the Guardians. It's you. But that means that our efforts are putting a particularly heavy strain on you, so I want to speak very honestly with you here. We're building an incredibly complex system, and it takes time to get everything just right. I'm not going to stand here and pretend we had all details of these initiatives perfectly planned prior to implementation. My experience is that if you wait to have everything perfectly planned, you never get to execution ... or when you do, the plan is somewhat obsolete. Going fast means finding a minimum viable product. It means sketching out a vision and then adding details as you learn. It means adapting the plan to make it better through experience. Change is never easy, but I promise you: it's vital, and we need it. This is the challenge we face. It's a generational challenge. We must transform into a warfighting service now ... the nation needs us. The enemy is not waiting. We must succeed. We will succeed because so much is riding on our success. As an ancient proverb goes, "Time isn't free, but it is priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. And once its lost, you can never get it back." For that reason, at the headquarters level, we've leaned forward. We've accepted risk by rolling many of these initiatives out as soon as possible. Our plan is to go fast, iterate, and improve because that's the quickest way to learn. And that can be particularly challenging for those who are holding it all together ... folks down in the trenches doing the day-to-day operations and activities who don't have all the context or even the time to understand the entire service-level picture. Without that understanding, all of the things we are doing may seem like change for change's sake ... I get it. But please, fight the urge to judge the effort by the amount of work it requires, the degree of change necessary, or the short-term results. Nothing of consequence is built without these kinds of sacrifices. And we are truly building something of consequence. My hope is that, by sharing all of this with you ... by explaining that Space Superiority is our prime imperative and that we do not yet have the service we need ... that you might understand a little better why we are asking you to do so much so quickly. It will get better, and it will be worth it. These are the growing pains, but the alternative is so much worse. Fighting against a near-peer threat that has unfettered access to space while we do not is a recipe for death and destruction. Even in a stalemate, where both we and our adversary retain spacepower, there will be an unacceptable cost in American blood and treasure. It is our job to make sure that doesn't happen ... so our only way forward is to change and keep changing. But rebuilding ourselves from the ground up was never going to be easy. For now, all I can do is thank you for what you have done to get us where we are today ... and to tell you that our nation needs us to keep going. But where are we going? How are we going to get there, precisely? We talked about Space Superiority ... about the initiatives designed to help us achieve Space Superiority ... but how exactly are we going to achieve it? The answer to that lies in our newest Core Function: Space Control. Domain control is the special provenance of warfighters a unique responsibility that only military services hold. It is the thing that distinguishes the Navy from the Merchant Marine and the Air Force from Southwest Airlines. If the purpose of the Space Force is to achieve Space Superiority, then space control is the tool by which we do so. Admittedly, compared to our other Core Functions of Global Space Operations and Assured Access to Space, Space Control is a new function for our fledgling service. And it's my number one priority whenever I speak to executive and legislative leaders because we currently don't have the resources to perform it as effectively as the joint force requires. Put simply, Space Control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation, and even destruction, if necessary. It includes things like orbital warfare and electromagnetic warfare, and its counterspace operations can be employed for both offensive and defensive purposes at the direction of combatant commands. Historically, we have avoided talking too much about Space Control ... but why would you have a military space service if not to execute Space Control? If we're going to truly embrace our status as space warfighters, then we need to also embrace our fundamental responsibility for Space Control. Now, shortly, we will publish Space Force Doctrine Document One. As the name implies, this release articulates the doctrinal concepts that will shape the Space Force, moving forward Space Control among them. If you take away one message from my remarks today, then let it be that the Space Force will do whatever it takes to achieve Space Superiority. If you take away one request from my remarks, then let it be that you read SFDD-1 as soon as its available ... think about what it means to you and your daily activities ... and discuss it with your fellow Guardians. Because this is only the first step in a much longer journey. The first war in space has yet to be fought, but doctrine is inherently backwards looking. So, our only option is to use logic, reason, and training as a substitute for practical combat experience, and there are bound to be things we miss. As we continue to learn and grow, we will publish more doctrine and very likely revise what we've released ... but SFDD-1 will always be our starting point. But what about our work today? We can't lose sight of the fight tonight because we're preparing for tomorrow's conflict, so where should we focus in the interim? Hopefully this won't surprise this audience of warfighters, but my answer to that question is always going to be readiness understanding it as well as enhancing it. When Astronaut Rusty Schweikart came back from space, he said this about getting ready for the Apollo 9 mission: "It involves simulation after simulation ... going through launch after launch ... memorizing all those millions of procedures." Millions? Seems like a lot! "Those millions of procedures required to save your life and the life of your fellows if you run into a problem." "You spend another hundred hours and more in practicing and thinking about everything that can possibly happen, everything that can break, can malfunction, can go wrong." "So that when the time comes, you don't have to go through that debate, but you carry out what you've already decided. Those are mission rules ... they will keep you alive or will kill you if you don't know what you're doing." That's what readiness looks like preparing today for the crisis tomorrow ... putting in the work now to make sure that we come out on top in whatever challenge we face. In the Space Force, that means we need to sharpen every one of the components of readiness: personnel, training, equipment, and sustainment. If any one of those elements is lacking, then our readiness as a whole is impacted. But let's get one thing clear. While headquarters supports your readiness, at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, it doesn't own it. You do ... the Guardians in the field. That's how it has to be. Sure, headquarters is responsible for advocating for more people and money, setting policy, and enabling your success. But headquarters is not on crew, we're not living the mission day to day. We are not making sustainment decisions. The space staff simply does not have the same level of understanding, awareness, or daily insight to direct the activities for readiness. We know Space Superiority is an end goal. It's the headquarters' job to provide the means to achieve it to create the environment and set the conditions for victory. But it's the job of the warfighters in the field to define the way to connect the two. What do I mean by that? Let's take training as an example. I told you that advanced, threat-based training is critically important, but I also told you that our Operational Test and Training Infrastructure effort is still only part-way through acquiring modern simulators and training capabilities. So, we have a disconnect between the plan and the operational reality ... between the end and our means. That's where I need your help. I would love to wave a wand and give every crew an advanced virtual reality trainer that incorporates the latest and greatest threat data. But I can't. So, does that mean the solution is to shrug, mark it red, and move on? Absolutely not! In the field, you're going to have to figure it out because that's what you do. Because that's what the nation needs you to do. If advanced training is nothing more than a white board session talking about tactics and threats ... that's fine. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing, and while something better works its way to the field, we have to do what we can. Now, at the headquarters level, we will not be satisfied with that solution, and we will continue to push hard to develop the systems that enhance our ranges, simulators, and training venues ... but you cannot afford to wait on headquarters to deliver the better answer. How about equipment? Every squadron has an equipment table that lists the critical tools it needs to accomplish its mission. Are we confident that every table is accurate? Complete? Does it include things like infrastructure the power and the cooling we need to actually employ our weapon systems? If not ... why not? I'm willing to bet there are things that we should be funding or at least accounting for in our budget, but we just aren't. Headquarters can't fix problems it doesn't know about, and, as much as I would like to, I'm not on the ops floor anymore to find out. And readiness is not just a matter for operators, by the way. Acquirers: don't think I've forgotten you. Equipment and sustainment half the elements of readiness fall inside your job jar ... and I need the skills you bring to the table to ensure our systems are up to speed. Are you tracking deficiencies sufficiently to predict equipment failure? Do delivery schedules meet expected timelines? Are systems secured from changes in the cyber threat environment? Every Guardian is a warfighter, regardless of your functional specialty, and every Guardian contributes to Space Force readiness. Whether you built the gun, pointed the gun, or pulled the trigger, you are a part of combat capability ... that's what it means to put on the uniform in a military organization, and we all need to take pride in our roles. I will continue to spend every chance I get telling the nation's senior leaders that we need more people, more money, more policy support ... and based on every engagement I've had, they are committed to helping us. But it won't be tomorrow, and, until that help arrives, I need Guardians in the field to find a way. This is a partnership: the headquarters will drive everything it can from the top down, but I need you to meet us from the bottom up. I am confident there will come a day where we finally put the institutions and processes in place to take the heroics out of our daily activities, but until then, I need your ideas, and I need your effort. If headquarters can help, let me know. If there's a Space Force policy we need to change or something we need to do differently, I want to hear about it. The caveat is that whatever we do, it has to move us closer to our end to our ultimate goal of Space Superiority and performing our role in the joint force. So long as that remains true, I am willing to take risk and try new things, because I know that old processes don't always yield new results. You may not believe me, but I remember what it was like to be a junior officer don't laugh. I see you smiling down there! trying to get things done despite all those stuffy senior leaders who just didn't get it. Now, I am one of those senior leaders ... notice I didn't say stuffy. But I know I'm out of touch with daily life on the frontline. If there's one thing I hope we can agree on, it's this: Space Superiority is our core mission, and I need your help to evolve the service so it can deliver. Thankfully, I've got a room full of warfighters listening to me today, and they understand the challenge and can pass it along to their colleagues back home. I never get tired of saying this it's you, the Guardians, that are the Space Force's single greatest resource. We have so many brilliant minds, powered by a commitment to service that I appreciate every day, and I never take that for granted. Things are probably going to get a lot harder before they get easier, but I choose to believe we have the strength to get through them. That's what we signed up for ... the challenge, the call to duty. That's what it means to live and work in the greatest military the world has ever seen ... to be warfighters, regardless of the uniform we wear or the job we hold. So, let's embrace it and make the most of it. I assure you, when it's all said and done, when you hang up the OCPs for the last time ... you will be proud. You will be proud because you did something hard, you did something of consequence, and you built a service that this nation needs. Thank you, and Semper Supra! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gen. Saltzman visits AFSOUTH, highlighting USSF evolving role in the Western Hemisphere United States Space Force Published March 4, 2025 Air Forces Southern DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman visited Air Forces Southern headquarters Feb. 27, reinforcing the increasing role of space-based capabilities in the Western Hemisphere. AFSOUTH serves as the air component to U.S. Southern Command, providing air, space and cyberspace capabilities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, playing a vital role in countering transnational threats and fostering regional stability through multinational cooperation. Saltzman met with Air Force Maj. Gen. David Mineau, AFSOUTH commander, and Col. Brandon Alford, AFSOUTH director of space forces, to discuss the air components' enduring space program. "We have adversaries who understand the importance of spacepower and are ready and willing to take it from us. The Guardians here at AFSOUTH are not going to let them," Saltzman said. "Their space expertise provides critical awareness across the region, enabling everything from disaster relief to efforts that counter transnational threats." The trip marked Saltzman's first visit to AFSOUTH where he received a mission brief from local Guardians on their contributions to advancing space capabilities in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. "Our AOR provides a unique proving ground for innovative ideas such as Agile Combat Employment concepts in the space domain," Alford said. "We're demonstrating how multinational space teams can operate effectively by leveraging unclassified and commercial systems in a contested domain, and we're eager to share these lessons with our partners." Air Forces Southern continues to integrate the space domain throughout its joint exercises, most recently distinguished during exercise Resolute Sentinel 2024 in Peru, where more than 66 combined joint space experts worked to provide essential real-time information to troops on the ground. "Our Guardians are the first to ask, 'how can we help?' when disaster strikes," Saltzman said. "The capabilities they bring to bear strengthen our readiness and build vital bridges with our allies in the Western Hemisphere." The visit also included a trip to the University of Arizona, where Saltzman spoke with ROTC cadets from the Wildcat Wing, addressing the future military leaders about the value of service in a leadership capacity. "You signed up to do something important, something of consequence, something that others have been unwilling to do," Saltzman said. "Regardless of the reason that you decided to stand up and join the military, think about how much value you're adding to our national security and the American way of life." As the senior uniformed Space Force officer, Saltzman is responsible for the organization, training and equipping of all organic and assigned space forces serving in the U.S. and overseas. Saltzman's visit underscored the USSF's expanding role in regional security, emphasizing innovation, adaptability, and strong partnerships. He praised AFSOUTH's integration of space capabilities into joint operations, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening multinational cooperation and ensuring space remains a key enabler in safeguarding stability across the Western Hemisphere. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lightning strikes thrice in trilateral exercise By Flight Lieutenant Madeleine Magee 4 March 2025 For the first time, the RAAF, United States Air Force (USAF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) have jointly exercised trilateral fifth-generation air warfare capabilities. On Exercise Cope North 25, they enhanced whole-of-force integration in complex and realistic scenarios. Each country played a role in every aspect of the exercise planning, briefing, executing and debriefing mission sets. Integration occurred across all cells, including aircrew, maintenance, security forces, logistics and intelligence cells. Multiple visits and tours of each country's refuelling and command and control aircraft were also highly integrated. The three countries prioritised learning from each other to better their own understanding of how the other operates, while also evolving towards becoming a lethal and unified force in the Indo-Pacific region. Cope North Lead Planner Lieutenant Colonel David Overstreet explained that the exercise set the standard for building fully integrated operations. "If you don't work and train together in this environment and you don't share training, tactics and procedures, when you have to use them in the real world no one will be on the same level," Lieutenant Colonel Overstreet said. "We are all trying to be great, and the only way to do that is to practise how you would fight - and that's together." With interoperability and full integration being the main goals of the exercise, 75 Squadron prioritised involving USAF and JASDF members in their F-35A Lightning II operations. Pivotal examples included involving USAF armament technicians in arming RAAF F-35s with high explosives. RAAF and JASDF aircraft technicians also performed post-flight maintenance checks on USAF aircraft. Commanding Officer 75 Squadron Wing Commander Andrew Nilson said practising these aspects of integrations was significant. "We wouldn't get the same depth of knowledge and learning if we did an exercise like Cope North disjointed or disconnected," Wing Commander Nilson said. "Being able to be in the same place, working together, is incredibly important. "From an aircrew perspective, being able to execute and train with contemporary tactics, techniques and procedures with the United States and Japan will hopefully help to build personal relationships so we know we have each other to call on when we need it." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Major milestone for South Australia's skills and training academy The Hon Richard Marles MP Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Defence 5 March 2025 The Albanese Government is investing $480 million in our naval shipbuilding and submarine construction workforce with the build of the Skills and Training Academy at Osborne in South Australia. When we announced the AUKUS Pathway in March 2023, the Albanese and Malinauskas Governments agreed to establish a dedicated Skills and Training Academy to deliver the high-tech education and training needed for continuous naval shipbuilding and AUKUS in South Australia. Ground works have now commenced at the site for the Skills and Training Academy Campus, which will be designed and delivered by Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI). Kellogg, Brown and Root, and Architectus have been engaged as design partners. The design and build will also be supported by Australia's Sovereign Submarine Build Partners, BAE Systems and ASC Pty Ltd, to draw on the deep experience of our partners, ensuring training aligns with industry requirements. The Skills and Training Academy Campus is a core pillar of the Albanese Government's uplift of Australian infrastructure and industry through AUKUS, which will see $30 billion worth of investment over the coming decades, supporting thousands of well-paid, high skilled jobs. At its peak, up to 4,000 Australian workers will be employed to design and build the infrastructure for the submarine construction yard at Osborne. A further 4,0005,500 direct jobs will be created to build Australia's conventionally-armed, nuclearpowered submarines when the program reaches its peak - almost double the workforce forecast for the Attack class program. The design of the Skills and Training Academy Campus will simulate the submarine construction yard, providing handson skills and classroom-based learning. The facility will include trade workshops, state of the art classrooms and a large central submarine mock-up area. The courses and skills will also support the workforce required to deliver the Hunter class frigate, which will sustain at least 2,000 jobs and create at least 500 new jobs over the next decade. This builds on work already underway between the Albanese and Malinauskas Governments to grow, train and retain a high-skilled workforce in South Australia now and for decades to come. The Commonwealth-South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Report and Action Plan is well underway, with over 20 initiatives being implemented, including: the Defence Industry Pathways Program South Australian expansion the Shipbuilding Employment Pathways pilot initiative, to be delivered in partnership between PEER as the Group Training Organisation and TAFE SA as the training provider; the Schools Pathways Program; and More than 1,000 additional Commonwealth Supported Places at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University from 2024-2027. 3,000 technical scholarships for students undertaking undergraduate STEM degrees at eligible universities. Growing this workforce will be critical to building our defence future, one that is made right here in South Australia. Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles: "South Australia's industry will deliver billions of dollars in defence capabilities and thousands of well-paid, high skilled jobs - and the Skills and Training Academy Campus at Osborne is at the centre of this work. "As the training ground for our AUKUS submarines and shipbuilding workforce, this $480 million investment from the Albanese Government is about ensuring we have the skills for a future made in Australia. "This isn't just an investment in bricks and mortar - it is also an investment in generations of Australian workers who will be building our submarines, making their contribution to defending our nation and building a career for themselves as part of a future made in Australia." Quotes attributable to Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas: "Developing the skills needed to deliver Adelaide-built nuclear-powered submarines is both the biggest opportunity, and biggest risk of AUKUS. "This is an incredible opportunity for young South Australians to learn highly technical hands-on skills which will lead them into high quality careers that will last for lifetimes. "We've seen at Barrow-in-Furness in the UK just how successfully a Skills and Training Academy can operate, and we'll need to replicate that effort here. "I want to thank the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for their thorough and decisive approach in ensuring this Academy can be delivered at Osborne so we can get on with the task of building the workforce to build these submarines." Quotes attributable to Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy: "The Albanese Government is building world class shipyards and delivering on continuous shipbuilding that will create thousands of well-paid jobs for decades to come. "This initiative is critical if we are to have the workforce required to deliver the capabilities needed to safeguard the nation. This about making Australians safer while providing financial security for thousands of South Australians." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's defense budget stays under 1.5% of GDP for years, below global average: spokesperson Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Published: Mar 04, 2025 01:19 PM Updated: Mar 04, 2025 01:33 PM The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will publish China's defense budget for this year, a spokesperson revealed on Tuesday, noting that China's defense spending has maintained single-digit growth for nine years running, and its share as a percentage of GDP has been kept under 1.5 percent for many years, lower than the global average. Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, made the remarks at a press conference on Tuesday, a day ahead of the opening of the event on Wednesday, when asked about if China's economic development will affect its defense budget and military modernization, and how much an increase will people likely see this year. Peace needs to be safeguarded with strength, and a China with strong national defense capabilities is in a better position to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests and better perform its international responsibilities and obligations as a major country and preserve world peace and stability, Lou said. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are not only the cornerstone of China's independent foreign policy of peace, but also open, inclusive and universally applicable basic norms of international relations, Lou said, noting that China stands ready to work with all countries to carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and make new, greater contributions to maintaining world peace and promoting common development. In 2024, China planned to spend 1.66554 trillion yuan ($234.5 billion) on defense, up 7.2 percent from the previous year, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Chinese military affairs expert Fu Qianshao told the Global Times that China's defense budget has grown at a moderate and reasonable rate. He said that China's military expenditure generally aligns with the country's economic development and GDP growth. Fu cited the need for national defense modernization and the challenging security environment China faces as key reasons for the increase in defense spending. China's defense investments contribute to peace and stability in the region, Fu said, noting that the budget will enable the Chinese military to fulfill its international responsibilities and obligations through far-seas escort missions and humanitarian aid. Comparing China's defense budget figures in recent years to global averages and other major powers, Fu again stressed China's defense spending remains restrained. For example, the US National Defense Authorization Act for 2025 increased the military budget to about $895 billion, several times that of China's. The US spends about 3.4 percent of GDP on defense, compared to China's less than 1.5 percent. With similar views, Zhang Junshe, another Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that for years China's defense budgeting has been moderate and reasonable, as it balances both the country's national defense needs and its economic development. In a turbulent world marked by growing instability, China needs to establish a powerful military to protect its sovereignty, security, and development interests, fulfill international responsibilities and obligations, safeguard world peace and deter threats of war, Zhang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China is willing to become partner of mutual trust and mutual achievement with New Zealand: FM Global Times By Global Times Published: Mar 04, 2025 05:15 PM The visit of New Zealand's deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Winston Peters marks an important high-level exchange between the two countries as China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership enters its second decade, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday, in response to media inquiries that Peters stated after his China visit last week that close ties between New Zealand and China are in the second decade. During the visit, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Peters respectively. The two sides engaged in candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-New Zealand relations and international and regional issues of mutual concern, according to Lin. They unanimously agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen communication, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, Lin said, adding that Peters reiterated New Zealand's commitment to the one-China policy and its dedication to being a positive cooperative partner of China, which China expressed appreciation. China is willing to work together with New Zealand to carry on the tradition of friendship, and become partner of mutual trust and mutual achievement, in order to better benefit the peoples of both countries and maintain peace and stability in the region and the world, Lin said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on March 4, 2025 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: March 04, 2025 18:42 CCTV: Tajikistan held elections to the lower house of parliament on March 2. What's China's comment? Lin Jian: China congratulates Tajikistan on the successful elections of the lower house of parliament. At the invitation of Tajikistan's Central Commission for Elections and Referenda, China sent a group to Tajikistan to observe the elections. China believes that the elections are democratic, open and transparent, and demonstrate the political openness and inclusiveness of the country. China highly commends that and sincerely wishes the people of Tajikistan new, greater achievements in national development under the leadership of President Emomali Rahmon. As a friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic cooperative partner in the new era, China values its relations with Tajikistan, and stands ready to work with Tajikistan to earnestly implement the important common understandings between President Xi Jinping and President Rahmon. We will step up mutual support, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation on all fronts, and strive for more solid progress in building a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future. Beijing Daily: New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said after his visit to China last week that the special relationship between New Zealand and China is in the "second decade", and the two sides had substantive and constructive dialogues on bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues. Can you share more details? Lin Jian: From February 25 to 27, New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters visited China. This is an important high-level exchange as the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership enters the second decade. This visit is aimed at delivering on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, enhancing strategic communication, and promoting the continued sound and steady growth of the bilateral relations at the new starting point. Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met and had talks with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters respectively. The two sides had candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-New Zealand relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen dialogue and communication, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters reaffirmed New Zealand's commitment to the one-China policy and that it is committed to being a positive partner with China. China expressed appreciation for this stance. China stands to work with New Zealand to renew the traditional friendship, carry forward the spirit of "striving to be the first", and become partners with mutual trust and achieve mutual success, thereby better benefiting the peoples of both countries and maintaining regional and global peace and stability. The New York Times: The United States has imposed further 10 percent tariffs on most goods from China. What is your reaction? Lin Jian: I believe you've noticed the statements released by competent Chinese departments. The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. China has made clear its opposition more than once. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary. The U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the fentanyl crisis inside the U.S. In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the U.S. in dealing with the issue. This is obvious to all and people from various sectors in the U.S. have expressed thanks to China on multiple occasions. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to smear and shift the blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes. They've been punishing us for helping them. This is not going to solve the U.S.'s problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation. Let me reiterate that intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating. If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other's concerns. If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end. We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China retaliates as US tariffs take effect Beijing has targeted American agricultural goods while insisting it has made progress on fentanyl. By Ha Syut for RFA Cantonese 2025.03.04 -- U.S. tariffs on Chinese, Mexican and Canadian goods took effect Tuesday, with Beijing moving swiftly to retaliate with tariffs of its own on American agricultural and food products while accusing the United States of "bullying." Tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian goods took effect after last month being postponed by President Donald Trump, with a 10% tariff on Chinese goods that took effect last month being doubled to 20%. In response, China will impose additional tariffs of 15% on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton from the United States starting March 10, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in a statement. A 10% levy will also be imposed on sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, the agency said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the retaliatory tariffs were a "legitimate and necessary" response. "The U.S. once again hiked tariffs on Chinese imports citing the fentanyl issue as an excuse ... [and has] smeared and shifted blame onto China, and pressured and blackmailed China," Lin told a news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. "The Chinese people have never been swayed by fallacies, deterred by intimidation, or cowed by bullying." Trump last month imposed the 10% tariff on Chinese imports in retaliation for what he said was Beijing's refusal to stop the outflow from China of precursors for the synthetic opioid fentanyl. U.S. officials blame fentanyl for tens of thousands of deaths each year. Beijing then introduced a 15% retaliatory tariff on certain U.S. energy exports to China. Last week, Trump warned he would ramp that rate up a further 10% on March 4. As a presidential candidate last year, Trump vowed tariffs of "more than" 60% on Chinese imports. China claims progress on fentanyl Lin, the Chinese foreign affairs ministry spokesperson, said that Beijing had already taken strong measures to help curb fentanyl. "We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week suggested Beijing may be "deliberately" flooding America with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, in a "reverse" form of the mid-1800s Opium Wars that enfeebled China's international standing. In a white paper on fentanyl issued on Tuesday, China's State Council Information Office said the country had "achieved remarkable results" in the battle against the drug and its precursor chemicals, citing an ongoing crackdown on online sales of synthetic opioids and their precursors. "As of June 2024, more than 140,000 illegal advertising information have been blocked and deleted, and 14 online platforms have been closed for rectification," the document said, adding that there are "strict" export licensing controls for five listed fentanyl precursors. Beijing's response to Trump's tariffs has also gone beyond just instituting its own retaliatory tariffs. China's Ministry of Commerce said it would add 15 U.S. entities including defense contractor Leidos to its export control list with immediate effect, to "safeguard national security," the Global Times newspaper reported. Beijing separately added 10 U.S. firms to its "unreliable entity" list, citing their involvement in the affairs of the self-governing island of Taiwan, which is claimed by the China's government as its territory. Joseph Ngan, a former assistant controller at Hong Kong's i-CABLE News, said China has been hard-hit by tariffs under the Trump administration. "A lot of reports are indicating that companies in mainland China, particularly exporters, have been greatly affected," Ngan told RFA Cantonese in an interview on Monday. "A lot of them are looking for lawyers to find ways to get around tariffs, including moving production lines to Malaysia, Vietnam and other places." "Some are even considering setting up factories in the United States," he added. But the imposition of U.S. tariffs on goods from other countries like Mexico would make them harder to circumvent, Ngan said, by cutting off a potential alternate manufacturing location for China's exporters. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Alex Willemyns. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Thai rights activists criticize government for deporting Uyghurs to China Thailand said it allowed the men to go back voluntarily after China assured their safety. By Nontarat Phaicharoen and Kunnawut Boonreak for BenarNews 2025.03.04 BANGKOK -- Thai human rights activists criticized on Tuesday the government's deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China, saying the U.N. should remove Thailand from its Human Rights Council for a decision that made the kingdom look like a Chinese vassal. Thailand repatriated the Uyghurs to China on Thursday last week, ignoring warnings from the U.S., the U.N. and human rights groups that they risked torture when they were returned to the northeastern region of Xinjiang, which they fled more than 10 years ago. "The U.N. should consider removing Thailand from the Human Rights Council," Chalida Tacharoensuk, director of the People's Empowerment Foundation, told a meeting on the Uyghurs in parliament. The U.N. General Assembly elected Thailand last October as one of 18 members of the Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term. "We hope there won't be a third round of Uyghur deportations. Two rounds have been disgraceful enough," Chalida added. The 40 Uyghurs were part of an original cohort of more than 350 Uyghur men, women and children, who left China in the hope of finding resettlement abroad and were stopped and detained in Thailand in 2014. Turkey accepted 172 of them while Thailand sent 109 of them back to China in 2015, triggering a storm of international criticism. Several of them have died of illness over the years and eight remain in Thailand. Bangkok said it agreed to what was the voluntary repatriation of the men after a formal request from Beijing, and after getting Chinese assurances they would be safe. Thailand said it had been unable to find any third country willing to accept the men and it had an assurance from China that Thai officials would be allowed to go to check on their condition. 'Vassal state' Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Thailand should push China to allow more access to the men. "The problem is that if monitoring is done by Thailand alone, nobody will believe it," Sunai told the meeting. "Thailand should negotiate with China to allow UN access, international media to enter freely, and representatives of foreign governments." Sunai pointed out that just months after the U.N. voted to make Thailand a member of the rights council, the kingdom was facing the condemnation of the U.S. and others over the deportation, and gained little in return. "I don't see what Thailand has gained aside from following China's orders. It reduces Thailand's status to that of a vassal state of China," he said. Political science scholar Fuadi Pitsuwan questioned whether the Thai government had made a sufficient effort to find a third country willing to accept the Uyghurs. "I want to ask if they gave the foreign ministry staff enough time since receiving China's request, and whether there was a clear policy that we wanted to send them to a third country," Fuadi said during the seminar. "If Thailand was determined enough, we would eventually have been able to find third countries for these individuals," he added. Sunai also suggested that the both Thai and Chinese governments had contributed to failure to secure a third-country offer by preventing human rights organizations and international agencies from getting access to the Uyghurs, most of whom spent a decade in an immigration detention center in Bangkok. He also suggested the U.N. was hesitant to anger China over the Uyghur issue. "The UN is also reluctant to address the Uyghur issue because it needs donations from China. Thailand refused to allow the UN access to the Uyghurs," he said. U.N. experts said on Jan. 21 the Uyghurs in Thailand would likely face torture if forced back to China and they urged Thailand not to deport them. "Many countries, such as Turkey, showed willingness but never had the opportunity to follow through with formal requests because Thailand blocked these avenues," Sunai said. A doctor who had been treating the Uyghurs since 2023 said he had never heard any of them say they wanted to go back to China in the 15 or so visits he and colleagues made to the immigration detention center. "We spoke with almost all the Uyghur detainees. I can confirm that not once, not a single person, expressed a desire to return to China, despite the terrible conditions in detention," said Dr. Nitivit Wongseungiam. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Beijing groans under tight security as top advisory body opens The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference has ties to the rich, private firms and compliant orgs. By Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin 2025.03.04 -- China's parliamentary advisory body opened in Beijing on Tuesday as priority traffic lanes for delegates and officials created traffic gridlock, amid tight citywide security checks, residents told RFA Mandarin. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC, the ruling Chinese Communist Party's highest-ranking United Front organization, enlists carefully selected and loyal delegates from among celebrities, the private sector, ethnic minority communities and "people's organizations" under the party umbrella including the All-China Women's Federation and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. It also hosts delegates from minority political parties, but only if they play a role that is narrowly defined and subservient to the ruling party. The body, more colorful and visually diverse than the National People's Congress that opens Wednesday, is portrayed by state media as proof of China's consultative model of "whole process democracy," as well as its inclusion of people from "all walks of life" in politics. The opening session plunged Beijing into strict traffic controls, with some roads closed to allow motorcades of limousines and official buses to approach the Great Hall of the People in time, with the general public warned not to try to drive in the area. Police bomb disposal teams were out in force checking vehicles near the venue, according to news photos, while Beijing residents complained of city-wide congestion and security checkpoints. "I was driving along the Second Ring Road today and came upon the delegates' motorcade," Beijing resident Ye Jinghuan told RFA Mandarin. "The road wasn't closed, but only one lane was left for ordinary vehicles [out of three]." "Three groups of buses have passed by, and we're now stuck on the viaduct, motionless," she said from her vehicle. "We don't know how far back this goes." "This was a drive that should have taken half an hour, but now I don't know how long it will be," Ye said. Strict security checks Meanwhile, any passengers entering Beijing are having their bags checked twice at railway stations, according to the X citizen journalist account "Teacher Li is not your teacher." The account posted video clips of security personnel at the Tengzhou High-speed Railway Station in the eastern province of Shandong checking every item of luggage belonging to Beijing-bound passengers, with people grumbling at the level of security. Similar checks were conducted on luggage belonging to Beijing-bound passengers in the northeastern city of Shenyang, a separate video clip showed. There are also security checkpoints on highways entering the capital, Shandong resident Zhou Gang told RFA Mandarin on Tuesday. "There are police at every highway exit, and all cars entering Beijing are being checked," Zhou said. Additionally, police continued to detain anyone using the official complaints system, bussing them out of town and handing them over to "interceptors" from their hometowns. "They're detaining people on a daily basis," a resident of Beijing's Fangshan district, who gave only the surname Li for fear of reprisals, told RFA Mandarin. "There are police vehicles throughout the village and outside." "Petitioners are now basically being detained as soon as they are sent back home from Beijing," she said. "Things are very bad." Elsewhere in China, police are placing rights activists under house arrest until the CPPCC and the National People's Congress, which starts Wednesday, are over. "I can't go anywhere right now," Qingdao-based rights activist Zhu Le told RFA Mandarin. "The police told me that security for the parliamentary sessions will last until March 20, and I'm not allowed to leave my home before then." 'Just a formality' Inside the Great Hall of the People, President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the opening ceremony at 3 p.m., with Politburo Standing Committee member and CPPCC chairman Wang Huning delivering his annual work report to around 2,000 delegates. Wang vowed to expand the Conference's capacity to "bolster unity and friendship" and improve feedback and consultation. "We need to improve the CPPCC consultation systems and mechanisms, and the mechanisms for adopting, implementing, and providing feedback on consultation outcomes," Wang said. While it does help to ensure loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, the CPPCC isn't widely expected to have much impact on policy. A resident of Shanghai, who gave only the surname Wang for fear of reprisals, said the meetings were just there for show. "These meetings are just a formality, with no substantive content now," he said, citing the ending of three decades of press conferences once given by China's premier at the National People's Congress. "The premier has stopped giving press conference, and they've also been canceled at the People's Congress and municipal CPPCC in Shanghai too," Wang said. "They hold their meetings and don't want the people to get involved." "They don't care about the same issues that the people care about," he said. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address What to expect from China's annual political meetings By William Yang March 04, 2025 Thousands of Chinese leaders, lawmakers, and business leaders are gathering in Beijing this week for China's biggest political meetings of the year. The meetings, which will bring together top party officials, bureaucrats, military leaders and delegates, business heads, academics and others, are watched closely for signs of the Chinese government's priorities for the year ahead. The gathering is also used to pass instructions down to local officials and party cadres across China. Amid ongoing deflationary pressures and a looming trade war with the United States, analysts say this year's meetings, officially called the "Two Sessions," will focus on boosting domestic demand and cultivating high-tech innovation. "In the face of geopolitical uncertainties, especially the potential trade war between the U.S. and China, the Chinese leadership will try to pursue economic reassurance by letting the outside world know that the Chinese economy remains stable," said Wen-ti Sung, a Taipei-based political scientist for the Australian National University, or ANU. Despite these attempts, Jacob Gunter, lead economic analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Germany, said the NPC is unlikely to introduce policies that will boost consumption "in sufficient ways" due to the economic challenges the country is facing. What are the Two Sessions? The "Two Sessions" or "lianghui" as they are called in Mandarin, are the annual meetings of China's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC, and China's rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, or NPC. The meetings typically kick off with the CPPCC meeting on Tuesday and are followed by the NPC gathering on Wednesday. The CPPCC, which has more than 2,000 members, is tasked to provide recommendations on a wide range of issues, including the economy, education, and social welfare. The body typically puts out proposals but doesn't have the power to make laws. The NPC, with around 3,000 members, is tasked with passing legislation, electing national leaders, and approving government budgets and national development plans. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual meetings used to last around two weeks, but in recent years, the meetings have been shortened. This year, the CPPCC meetings will run from March 4 to March 10 and the NPC meetings from March 5 to March 11. Who will attend the meetings? This year's two sessions will feature a diverse line-up of participants, from top Chinese leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to provincial delegates and industry leaders. Unlike previous years, leaders from tech giants, including Tencent chairman Tony Ma and Baidu CEO Robin Li, were missing from the participants' list. Instead, leaders of emerging tech companies, such as electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng and Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker Cambricon Technologies chairman Chen Tianshi, will participate in the meetings, a sign analysts say of Beijing's determination to pour more resources into emerging sectors. According to state media, more than 3,000 journalists from Chinese and foreign media outlets are expected to cover the important meetings from Beijing. As China has tightened control over foreign journalists' visas since 2020, many foreign correspondents, especially those working for American media outlets, can only secure short-term visas to cover the meetings, VOA has learned. Key events during the Two Sessions Chinese Premier Li Qiang will kick off the NPC sessions by delivering the government work report on Wednesday, during which he is expected to reveal China's economic growth target, government budget including defense spending, and key economic policy directives for 2025. Li's address is likely to touch on some foreign policy issues but for indicators on U.S.-China relations and Beijing's thoughts on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, many will be looking to the press conference that Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to hold on Friday. With a potential U.S.-China trade war looming in the background, analysts think China will set the 2025 economic growth target at 5%, reflecting the Chinese government's attempt to maintain stability while seeking to facilitate progress. Fang Tsung-yen, an assistant research fellow at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told VOA that since the stimulus measures that China rolled out last September only generated limited effects, it remains to be seen whether Beijing will introduce more fiscal measures to boost domestic demand during the Two Sessions. In addition to key economic measures, the Chinese government is also expected to roll out measures aimed at channeling more state resources into key sectors, such as AI and semiconductors, while enhancing confidence among domestic and foreign investors. In light of the dramatic changes in U.S. foreign policy since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, some experts say China will try to present itself as a "pro status-quo power" during the annual meetings. "As the American leadership abdicates its role globally, China might see an opportunity to step up and show it can act more responsibly on global issues," Dali Yang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Chicago, told VOA by phone. VOA Mandarin's Chih-wei Chuang contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China plans 7.2% defense budget rise, marking 10th consecutive year of single-digit growth Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Published: Mar 05, 2025 10:23 AM China on Wednesday announced a 7.2-percent increase in its 2025 national defense budget. The planned defense expenditure of the country will be 1.784665 trillion yuan ($249 billion) this year, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The proposed defense budget was released in a draft budget report issued at the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, on Wednesday. China's defense budget has maintained single-digit growth for 10 consecutive years. The growth rate was also set at 7.2 percent in 2024 and 2023. Experts cited China's economic development, national defense modernization needs and challenging security environment dynamics as factors for the reasonable and moderate increase the country's defense spending. Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that China's economic development is a basis for the country's steadily rising defense budget. The country's defense budgets have seen stable and moderate rises over the past decade amid China's steady economic development and GDP growth. A strong national defense in line with China's economic growth will in return protect the fruits of the country's development, he said. Over the past year, China's national defense modernization marked several major achievements. The country's third aircraft carrier, the electromagnetic catapults-equipped Fujian, entered its sea trial phase in May 2024; another advanced warship, the world's first electromagnetic catapult-equipped amphibious assault ship the Sichuan, was launched in December 2024; in the air, China's second type of stealth fighter jet, the J-35A, made debut at Airshow China 2024. Anticipating the aircraft carrier Fujian to enter service, the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan to commence trials and the J-35A to enter mass production in 2025, Fu said that there is a need for China to invest in the research and development of new weapons and development to make up for the gaps the country needs to better safeguard national security. Song Zhongping, another Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) routinely conducts training exercises to maintain and boost combat readiness, which also requires funding. Additional budgeting is needed to ensure troops' welfare, which will also contribute to the recruitment and training of personnel, Song said. The complex security environment China is facing is another driver of increased defense spending, according to Fu. In the South China Sea, the Philippines has continued to ramp up provocations around Chinese islands and reefs over the past year and invited the US Typhon mid-range missile system' deployment in the region. In the Taiwan Straits, "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces continue to attempt to "resist reunification by force," including by colluding with external forces in moves which include frequent US-Taiwan arms sales. Fu said that the PLA needs to boost combat readiness and exercises to deter and ensure rapid response to potential emergencies in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits. He noted that the security environments in the Asia-Pacific region and the entire globe remain volatile. On this basis, China needs to invest more in safeguarding national security while serving as a global and regional ballast stone for peace and stability. Restrained figure The share of China's defense spending as a percentage of GDP has been kept under 1.5 percent for many years, lower than the global average, said Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, said at a press conference on Tuesday in response to a question about China's defense budget ahead of the release of the figure on Wednesday. Lou said that peace needs to be safeguarded with strength, and a China with strong national defense capabilities is in a better position to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests and better perform its international responsibilities and obligations as a major country and preserve world peace and stability. According to data released on the World Bank website, global average military expenditure as a percent of GDP in 2023 stood at 2.4 percent, with the US at 3.4 percent. The US military spending accounted for 40 percent of the world's total in 2024, the highest in the world, higher than that of the following eight countries combined, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The US "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025" further increased the military budget to closer to $895 billion. This is about triple that of China's. China's defense expenditure figures, including its share of GDP, per citizen and per service member, are below the global average, and should be viewed as moderate and restrained, Song said. China upholds a defense policy that is defensive in nature, and its advances in military capabilities are not designed as threats, but as means to maintain security and protect its interests, Song said, noting that the country is also a positive force in safeguarding regional and world peace and stability, and that is why there are needs to add defense budget. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea vows to 'step-up' action against US as aircraft carrier arrives in South North's warning comes as the global nuclear watchdog confirmed signs of the North operating uranium enrichment plants. By Taejun Kang for RFA 2025.03.03 TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned on Tuesday of a "stepped-up action" against the U.S. as one of its aircraft carriers arrived in South Korea, saying the "hostile" U.S. policy justified the bolstering of the North's nuclear forces. The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class carrier, arrived at the southeastern city of Busan on Sunday, South Korea's navy said, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence against North Korean threats. The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said the arrival of the U.S. aircraft was an expression of Washington's "most hostile and confrontational will." "The action-accompanied hostile policy toward the DPRK pursued by the U.S. at present is offering sufficient justification for the DPRK to indefinitely bolster up its nuclear war deterrent," said Kim, as cited by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency, KCNA. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea's official name. "The DPRK is also planning to carefully examine the option for increasing the actions threatening the security of the enemy at the strategic level," said Kim, adding that her country would be "naturally compelled to renew its records in the exercise of strategic deterrence" if the U.S. continued with its record-breaking shows of force. South Korea denounced Kim's remarks, saying she was attempting to justify North Korean military provocations. "North Korea's criticism of the deployment of a U.S. strategic asset to implement the U.S. extended deterrence pledge and combined South Korea-U.S. exercise ahead of the Freedom Shield exercise is merely sophistry to justify its nuclear and missile development and build excuse for provocations," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to annual military drills between the South and the U.S. The North's nuclear development could "never be accepted," and the only way for it to survive was to "let go of its obsessions" with nuclear weapons, the ministry said. "Should the North conduct provocation, using Seoul and Washington's just and defensive military activities as pretext, it will be met with overwhelming retaliation," added the South Korean ministry. The nuclear-powered vessel of Carrier Strike Group 1 entered the naval base in Busan in the first visit by a U.S. aircraft carrier to South Korea since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. It was also accompanied by the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and Aegis-equipped destroyer USS Sterett, according to the South's navy. The visit is part of efforts to implement an "ironclad" U.S. extended deterrence pledge, which Washington recently reaffirmed, and display the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture against persistent North Korean threats, the South Korean navy said. The allies would bolster their interoperability and hold friendly activities during the visit, it added. The Carl Vinson last visited South Korea in November 2023, just hours before North Korea successfully placed its first military spy satellite into orbit after two failed attempts. IAEA assessment Kim Yo Jong's remarks came a day after the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, said there were signs that North Korea was operating uranium enrichment plants in two locations. "There are indications that the uranium enrichment plants at Kangson and Yongbyon continue to operate, and there are indications that the light water reactor (LWR) at Yongbyon continues to operate," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi during the agency's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on Monday. "Additions to the support infrastructure have been observed adjacent to the LWR," said Grossi, adding that North Korea's further development of its nuclear program was a "clear" breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The IAEA has also observed that the 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex resumed in mid-October last year, following a shutdown of about 60 days, according to Grossi. "This shutdown is assessed to be of sufficient length to refuel the reactor and start its seventh operational cycle," he said. "Strong indicators of preparations for a new reprocessing campaign, including the operation of the steam plant serving the Radiochemical Laboratory, have been observed." The laboratory is known as a key reprocessing facility to yield plutonium. To build a nuclear bomb, about 6 kilograms of plutonium is known to be required. "The undeclared enrichment facilities at both Kangson and Yongbyon, combined with General Secretary Kim's call for 'overfulfilling the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials,' are of serious concern," he added. "The agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK's nuclear program." Edited by Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea slams US military provocations Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 2:50 AM The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has strongly condemned the United States' political and military provocations after a US Navy aircraft carrier visited the South Korean port of Busan. The comments were made through an official statement by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the DPRK's leader, Kim Jong Un. The statement was published on Tuesday by the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "As soon as its new administration appeared this year, the US has stepped up the political and military provocations against the DPRK, 'carrying forward' the former administration's hostile policy," her statement read. She accused US President Donald Trump's administration of stepping up political and military provocations against her country. Kim added that the new US administration was carrying forward its predecessor's hostile policy against Pyongyang. She stressed that Washington has intensified its vicious confrontation with Pyongyang during the current month with a visit to Busan by the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. The USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of a carrier strike group, arrived in Busan on Sunday, the US Navy said in a statement. "The visit to Busan exemplifies the US commitment to the region, further enhancing relationships with ROK leaders and the local population," the US Navy said, using the acronym for the South's formal name. Joint South Korea-US "Freedom Shield" military exercises are set to begin this month. Repeated joint military drills by South Korea and the US have compelled the North to continuously develop its nuclear and missile technology. Pyongyang sees the joint South Korea-US military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion. Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in protest as joint military maneuvers by the US and South Korea. Last week, North Korea carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea, in a drill Pyongyang said was aimed at showing off its "counterattack" capabilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address INDIAN NAVAL SHIP KUTHAR ARRIVES AT COLOMBO, SRILANKA India - Press Information Bureau Ministry of Defence Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 6:15PM by PIB Delhi Towards strengthening maritime ties, INS Kuthar, Eastern Fleet Ship under the aegis of Eastern Naval Command is on mission deployment in Indian Ocean Region and arrived at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Commander Nitin Sharma, the Commanding Officer of the ship called on RAdm MHCJ Silva, Commander Western Naval Area, Sri Lanka Navy. As part of the visit, personnel from both navies will engage in professional interactions, knowledge-sharing sessions, and joint activities to enhance operational synergy between the two navies. The visit underscores the longstanding partnership between the two nations, furthering cooperation under GoI's 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)' initiatives. *** VM/SPS (Release ID: 2108147) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India's security apparatus must remain adaptive to emerging threats such as cyber warfare, hybrid warfare, space-based challenges, and transnational organised crime: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh India - Press Information Bureau Ministry of Defence Advanced systems & technologies must be leveraged not only for security operations but also for disaster management & humanitarian relief: RM "It is not enough for security agencies and technology developers to take the lead. Every citizen should know how to respond in times of crisis" Posted On: 04 MAR 2025 2:27PM by PIB Delhi Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) - Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Collaboration Conference-Cum-Exhibition on 'Advanced Technologies for Internal Security and Disaster Relief Operations' at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi on March 04, 2025. Organised by the Directorate of Low Intensity Conflict (DLIC) under DRDO, the two-day conference aims to equip Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) officers with the latest advancements in technology to address challenges in their operations. The event provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and collaboration to strengthen India's internal security and disaster response framework. Addressing the gathering, Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted the growing complexities in global security and the increasing overlap between internal and external threats. "Security challenges in the modern world are evolving rapidly, and the overlap between internal and external security is increasing. It is imperative that our institutions break silos and work collaboratively to ensure a strong, secure, and self-reliant India," he stated. He stressed that India's national security must be viewed holistically, integrating efforts across different security agencies and leveraging the latest technological advancements. Shri Rajnath Singh underscored that India's security apparatus must remain adaptive to emerging threats such as cyber warfare, hybrid warfare, space-based challenges, and transnational organised crime. He noted that India's internal security is not just about managing conventional threats like terrorism, separatist movements, and left-wing extremism but also about preparing for unconventional threats that can destabilise the nation's economic and strategic interests. "The adversaries of today do not always come with traditional weapons; cyber-attacks, misinformation campaigns, and space-based espionage are emerging as new-age threats that require advanced solutions," he stated. "DRDO has played a pivotal role in enhancing India's defence capabilities, and its contributions to internal security are equally commendable. From small arms and bulletproof jackets to surveillance and communication systems, DRDO's innovations are empowering our security forces," Raksha Mantri underlined. He urged DRDO and MHA to work together to create a common list of scalable products that can be jointly developed and deployed in a time-bound manner. "Our security forces require the best tools and technologies to remain ahead of the curve. It is encouraging to see DRDO's focus on modernisation, with products like small arms, surveillance equipment and drone systems either inducted or undergoing evaluation for deployment in internal security agencies," he highlighted. Shri Rajnath Singh recalled his tenure as Home Minister, highlighting how the collaboration between security agencies and scientific institutions led to significant technological advancements. He cited examples of DRDO-developed technologies such as the corner shot weapon system, INSAS rifles, IED jammer vehicles and riot control vehicles, which were effectively integrated into the operations of CAPFs. Shri Rajnath Singh also spoke about the importance of leveraging technology not just for security but also for disaster management and humanitarian relief. "The role of technology is not just in defence but also in ensuring peace and social welfare. Advanced systems like bulletproof jackets, drones, surveillance equipment and anti-drone technologies must be leveraged not only for security operations but also for disaster management and humanitarian relief," he said. He cited the increasing frequency of natural calamities like cyclones, avalanches, earthquakes & cloud bursts and underscored the critical need for advanced rescue tools. He mentioned that the use of technologies such as thermal imaging cameras, drone-based detection systems, and victim locating devices can significantly reduce casualties and damage. Referring to the recent avalanche in Mana, Uttarakhand, Raksha Mantri lauded the use of advanced rescue equipment in saving lives and reducing the impact of the disaster. He threw light on the fact that although disasters are tragic in themselves, their impact can be minimised with the use of advanced technology and how, in the recent avalanche, technologies like rotary rescue saws, thermal imaging, victim locating cameras, avalanche rods, and drone-based detection systems played a crucial role in saving lives. Highlighting the importance of public awareness in disaster management, Shri Rajnath Singh called for greater involvement of civil society in disaster preparedness. "Today, India is a prospering nation, and disaster management must become an integral part of our preparedness. It is not enough for security agencies and technology developers to take the lead; we must also educate the general public. Every citizen should know how to respond in times of crisis," he urged. Raksha Mantri also stressed the need for focused conferences on specific security challenges faced by different regions of the country. "Security threats in India are not uniform. The issues faced in the Northeast due to insurgencies are different from those in Naxal-affected areas or border regions. Similarly, urban security concerns are different from those in rural areas. We need to organise dedicated conferences that focus on region-specific challenges and solutions," he said. As part of the event, the Transfer of Technology (ToT) of the ASMI 9x19mm Machine Pistol was handed over by DRDO to Lokesh Machinery Tool, marking a step forward in the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative. Shri Rajnath Singh also inaugurated an exhibition showcasing DRDO-designed technologies developed in collaboration with the Indian defence industry, highlighting achievements in indigenisation. Three significant documents were also released to strengthen cooperation and technological advancements in internal security and disaster management. These include: 1. Compendium of DRDO Products for Internal Security 2. Compendium of DRDO Products for Police Operations 3. Compendium of DRDO Products for Disaster Relief Operations The conference includes seven technical sessions focusing on key areas such as Left-Wing Extremism, border management, advanced weapon technologies, drone & counter-drone solutions, disaster management, policing & crowd control, and futuristic communication technologies. Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat during the conference stated that more than 100 products from DRDO developed technologies have been or soon will be inducted into various agencies of MHA. He further mentioned that the technologies which DRDO develops for the services are also being utilised in internal security as well as disaster relief operations. Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Secretary (Border Management) MHA Shri Rajendra Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar, DG (Production, Coordination & Services Interaction) Dr Chandrika Kaushik, senior officials from Ministry of Defence and MHA were also present on the occasion. ***** VK/SR/KB (Release ID: 2108036) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran summons Ankara's ambassador following incorrect remarks by Turkish FM Iran Press TV Monday, 03 March 2025 11:07 PM Iran has advised Turkish officials to avoid making incorrect remarks and offering unreal analyses, which can lead to tensions in the two countries' relations. On Monday, an assistant to the Iranian foreign minister commented on a meeting with Turkey's ambassador to Iran at the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran, where he was summoned. The Iranian official was reacting to recent remarks made by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who accused Iran of interfering with the internal affairs of regional countries. The Iranian diplomat said the "two countries' common interests and sensitive regional conditions require Turkish officials to avoid making incorrect comments that would sow discord between the two nations." The Director General of the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe Department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry added that the Zionist regime's ongoing aggression and expansionist policies pose the biggest threat to regional stability and security. He also called on Muslim countries to focus their efforts on stopping Israel's aggression and crimes against Palestinians and other regional nations, including Syria. Turkey's ambassador, for his part, said his country attaches importance to maintaining good relations with Iran. He added that Ankara believes the two countries must boost cooperation to counter the existing threats. In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign minister recently called for a change in Iran's regional policies. Fidan, who also served as Turkey's intelligence chief for nearly eight years, said Iran's foreign policy in the region is "very dangerous." "Perhaps this policy brought Iran some benefits, but the cost of keeping these benefits is higher," he added. "If [Iranian] policy continues this way, I do not think that it will be the right policy. If by supporting a group in another country, you are trying to cause anxiety in a third country - other countries can also disturb you by supporting groups in your own country," he said, accusing Iran of interfering in regional countries. Fidan said he told Iranians that "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones." Recently, Fidan also said, "The region must be freed from the culture of one country dominating others; neither Arabs, nor Turks, nor Kurds, nor Iranians should seek to dominate, harass, or threaten one another." In response to Fidan's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei asked, "But what about Israel?" NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia says ready to mediate between U.S. and Iran IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Moscow, IRNA -- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Russia believes the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through dialogue, adding that Moscow is ready to do "everything in its power" to achieve this goal. "Russia believes that the U.S. and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations," Peskov said. The spokesperson voiced Russia's readiness to do everything it can to achieve this objective. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to restore his maximum pressure policy against Iran, further complicating the prospect of diplomacy with Tehran, which has ruled out negotiations under pressure and threats. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg also reported on Tuesday that Russia has agreed to assist the Trump administration in communication with Iran on a range of issues, including the country's nuclear program. President Trump raised that specter with President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February, and senior U.S. officials discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts during talks in Saudi Arabia days later. Following the talks in Riyadh, Washington and Moscow said they would work toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic ties. 2050**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Government spokesperson to Zelenskyy: Security is an indigenous issue IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani has advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that security is an indigenous issue. Addressing her regular press conference on Tuesday, Mohajerani said that security cannot be purchased. Security should be created in the heart of the people, she noted. Do not gamble a country's assets with a president and be careful not to lose your country's assets in this gambling, she advised the Ukrainian president. Throughout the war, the U.S. government, under former President Joe Biden, took the lead in the West's financial and military support for Ukraine; an issue that was repeatedly protested by Russia because the Western assistance only prolonged the conflict. Now the U.S., under Biden's successor Donald Trump, has accused Ukraine of standing in the way of a peace agreement. "You're not really in a good position right now," Trump said during a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington D.C on February 28. Iran does not negotiate under maximum pressure Commenting on the issue of negotiation, Mohajerani said that Iran will not negotiate under maximum pressure. Negotiations should be made reach a common goal, she stressed. Trump's policy is to continue genocide in Gaza In response to a question about Gaza and Trump's plan to dislocate Gaza residents, she said Gaza is part of Palestine and the cradle of divine religions, and its belonging to Palestine is undeniable. Trump's policy is to continue genocide in Gaza, she said adding that history will not forget crimes against the Palestinians. 9376**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran court jails ex-ministers over role in massive corruption case Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:37 PM Two ministers who served under a former Iranian administration have been sentenced to prison after they were found guilty of a role in a massive corruption case that involved misusing public funds worth over $3 billion. Verdicts issued by the First Branch of Tehran's Islamic Revolution Court on Tuesday showed that former agriculture minister Kazem Sadatinejad and former trade minister Reza Fatemi Amin had been given jail sentences of two years and one year, respectively, over role in a 2023 tea smuggling scandal, know in the Iranian media as the Debsh Tea Case. The court said that the two former ministers had initially received five-year jail sentences, but they were reduced based on the existing laws and regulations. The sentences cannot be suspended, although the convicts can appeal them. It is the first time since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 that senior cabinet ministers have been imprisoned for corruption. Sadatinejad and Fatemi Amin had been charged for complicity in the tea smuggling case by failing to prevent economic disruption in Iran and by keeping silent on the approval of applications for excessive tea imports into the country. Dozens of other suspects in the case, including CEO of the Debsh Group Akbar Rahimi, received jail sentences of between six months and 25 years. The case covers dubious financial dealings carried out by the Debsh Group and its associates from 2019 to 2022, leading to the misuse of some $3.37 billion in US currency that the company received at a lower rate to import high-quality tea and machinery into Iran. Investigations into the case show that Debsh sold nearly half of the currency on the open market to collect Iranian rial at a much better rate. Other convictions in the case include labeling poor-quality tea as superior-quality tea imported from India and bringing back less expensive Iranian tea to keep the difference in foreign currency. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Leader's advisor warns Turkish officials against repeating baseless claims about Iran Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 11:11 AM A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has strongly criticized recent unsubstantiated remarks made by Turkey's foreign minister about Iran, warning Ankara against repeating such unfounded allegations that could harm long-standing regional relations. Ali Akbar Velayati cautioned that certain Turkish officials had to understand that repeating unfounded and interventionist claims would not serve the interests of the countries' bilateral relations. He asserted that the Islamic Republic would not allow any country to undermine its deep-rooted and historic regional ties through irresponsible statements. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has always adhered to a policy of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. We expect Turkish officials to uphold diplomatic decorum and refrain from making baseless accusations," he stressed. The high-ranking advisor emphasized that Iran was a powerful nation with an ancient civilization and had consistently worked to promote regional security and cooperation. The official further underlined the Islamic Republic's regional standing, warning Turkey against misjudging the country's position and strength in the region. "If some figures in Turkey believe that by echoing incorrect stances influenced by foreign powers they can weaken Iran's standing in the region, they are gravely mistaken," he said. "History has proven that Iran remains steadfast in its principles and will respond appropriately to any disrespect." He, meanwhile, noted that Iran and Turkey enjoyed geographical proximity and common interests, noting again that it was imperative for Turkish officials to avoid statements that could strain the countries' ties. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is always open to dialogue and interaction, but it will not remain silent in the face of baseless rhetoric," he added. The remarks came days after the Turkish top diplomat, Hakan Fidan, in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera television network called for a change in Iran's regional policies, claiming that the policies were "very dangerous." "If [Iranian] policy continues this way, I do not think that it will be the right policy. If by supporting a group in another country, you are trying to cause anxiety in a third country - other countries can also disturb you by supporting groups in your own country," he said. The Turkish official was repeating Western-provoked accusations against the Islamic Republic of "arming" the regional resistance groups that stand up to Western-backed Israeli occupation and aggression. 'Hezbollah remains strong' Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati stated that the monumental ceremony that recently commemorated the martyrdom of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's revered former secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and former head of the group's Executive Council, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, was proof that Hezbollah remains a formidable force with significant influence. The duo had been assassinated during escalated Israeli aggression against Lebanon last year. "The martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine was a great loss, but it does not mean Hezbollah has been weakened. On the contrary, the movement will continue on its path with even greater determination because the majority of the Lebanese people support it and stand by the resistance," he said. 'Syrians must remain vigilant' Addressing the situation in Syria, Velayati said that the future of the Arab country remained uncertain, and added that signs indicated efforts to divide it had already begun. "Various groups, including Kurds, Alawites, [the Takfiri terrorist group of] Daesh, and the [Hay'at] Tahrir al-Sham [militant group], each hold claims over different parts of the country. The possibility of a civil war remains high," he warned. He also pointed to the presence of foreign forces in Syria, particularly those of the Israeli regime and the United States, which he said increases the risk of the country's partition. "Recently, Israel's foreign minister met with EU officials and openly stated that Syria should be divided along ethnic and sectarian lines. This reveals their agenda, and the Syrian people must remain vigilant," the advisor stated. At the same time, however, he praised the resilience of the Syrian people, noting that they had historically supported the Palestinian cause. The official cited many instances of the Syrian people's making notable sacrifices for Palestinians and their cause of liberation from Israeli occupation and aggression, noting, "Given this legacy, Syrians will ultimately reclaim their country from foreign plots." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Talks with Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing Vladimir Putin is holding talks at the Kremlin with Chairman of the State Administration Council, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing, who is on an official visit to Russia. March 4, 2025 16:30 The Kremlin, Moscow Also representing Russia at the talks are Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Economic Development and Co-Chair of the Russia-Myanmar Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation Maxim Reshetnikov, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. * * * Beginning of Russia-Myanmar narrow-format talks. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Chairman, friends. I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings to you and welcome you to Moscow. This is not your first time in our country. We are delighted to see you. This time, you have a very big programme for your visit, which includes three cities, apart from Moscow. I am certain that this trip will be both very useful and inspiring for you. This year, we are marking 25 years since signing the declaration on the foundations of friendship between our two countries. In fact, there has been steady progress in the relations between Russia and Myanmar. In 2024, trade increased by 40 percent, which is a very solid result, and it also demonstrates the potential will have yet to unlock. We have been working together on the international stage, and I would like to thank you for overseeing Russia's engagement with ASEAN. Of course, I cannot fail to thank you for the generous gift you sent us last year - I am referring to the six elephant calves. They have already been transferred to the Moscow Zoo. Thank you very much. We are very glad to see you. Welcome. <...> NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fighting near Chinese enclave in Myanmar's Rakhine state uproots 20,000 The displaced from Kyaukphyu are now in urgent need of assistance, aid workers said. By RFA Burmese 2025.03.04 -- Two weeks of intense fighting between the military and anti-junta rebels near an enclave for Chinese development in western Myanmar's Rakhine state has forced more than 20,000 civilians to flee their homes, leaving them in urgent need of food and medicine, according to residents and aid workers. The Arakan Army, or AA, is one of Myanmar's most powerful insurgent groups and has been fighting for control of the west coast port of Kyaukphyu. The rebel army has nearly achieved its objective of defeating the forces of the junta that seized power in 2021 across the whole of Rakhine state. An aid worker in Kyaukphyu told RFA Burmese that clashes between the AA and the military have intensified near the junta's Danyawaddy naval base in the township since Feb. 20, forcing residents of at least 10 nearby villages to seek shelter. "The number of displaced people has risen from 10,000 to approximately 20,000 [since fighting escalated]," said the worker who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. "The newly displaced include residents from both the villages and the town." The AA, which draws its support from the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority, has captured 14 of Rakhine state's 17 townships, defeating the military in battle after battle since late 2023 in a stunning advance. Kyaukphyu, one of the insurgents' last big targets in the state, is on a natural harbor in the northwestern corner of Ramree Island, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the commercial capital Yangon. Besides its natural deep-sea harbor, the area has access to abundant oil, natural gas, and marine resources. China plans a deep-sea port in the Kyaukphyu special economic zone, or SEZ, as a hub for its Belt and Road development strategy. Oil and natural gas are already flowing from Kyaukphyu terminals to southern China's Yunnan province, giving China an alternative route for its oil imports in case of conflict in the South China Sea. Since the AA launched its push on Kyaukphyu on Feb. 20, the military has responded with attacks from the air and from naval vessels at sea. Displaced in need of aid RFA spoke with another aid worker in Kyaukphyu who said that people displaced by the past two weeks of fighting are living in temporary tents in remote mountain villages. "Some are sheltering in tents under trees, while others take refuge in open fields or at the edge of forests," said the aid worker, who also declined to be named. "Among them are many elderly persons and pregnant women. They now face severe shortages of medicine and water, in addition to rising commodity prices." The aid worker said that the displaced are "surviving on a small amount of donations from nearby villages and social relief groups," and are in need of assistance from the international community. Attempts by RFA to contact AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha and junta spokesperson Hla Thein for information on the ongoing fighting went unanswered by the time of publication. China has not commented on the latest fighting, but has sought assurances from the junta that its assets in Myanmar will be protected. The AA already controls nine of the 11 Chinese development projects in Rakhine state, the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said in a report in January. While Chinese projects have faced disruption and delays in various parts of Myanmar, anti-junta forces have generally not set out to destroy facilities. On the contrary, some groups have promised to protect Chinese investments and personnel. Long-running conflict The conflict in Rakhine State has lasted for more than a year, displacing over 600,000 people, the AA's Humanitarian and Development Cooperation Office said in a December report. Kyaukphyu resident Nay Soe Khaing told RFA he expects fighting in the township to intensify further. "The military junta is using jet fighters and Y-12 airplanes in targeting villages, areas near the fighting, and mountains," he said. "The junta has shown no sign of retreating, and the fighting will escalate as [both sides] are reinforcing their troops." Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Myanmar's junta leader meets Putin, predicts Russian victory in Ukraine Moscow welcomed a gift of 6 elephants as Min Aung Hlaing thanked the Russian president for delivering 6 fighter jets. By Matt Reed 2025.03.04 -- Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Myanmar's military junta chief on Tuesday predicted Russia's eventual victory over Ukraine in the three year-long war. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who flew to Moscow on Monday, thanked Putin for delivering six fighter jets to the junta, which has been embroiled in a civil war of its own ever since it ousted a civilian government in a February 2021 coup. Russia has been a steady supplier of weapons to the military. "I believe that victory must be yours under your strong and decisive leadership," Min Aung Hlaing told Putin, according to Agence France-Presse. Putin in turn expressed thanks for a gift of six elephants marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, Russian media reported. Military analysts have dubbed the present as part of "elephant diplomacy" between the two governments that have faced diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions. "Relations between our countries are indeed developing steadily," he said, noting bilateral trade rose 40% last year, Reuters reported. "And of course, I cannot but thank you for your very warm gift: You brought us six elephants last year, and they have already been given to the Moscow Zoo," Putin said, according to Reuters. Trade amid sanctions It was Min Aung Hlaing's fourth visit to Russia since the coup, but his first official visit with the Russian president. Video from Russian media showed a hug between the two leaders as they greeted one another. Seven other junta officials can be seen seated at Min Aung Hlaing's side. Putin first met the junta leader in 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Myanmar's junta has also faced sanctions and widespread condemnation and has defended Russia's actions since the invasion. "Despite the illegitimate sanctions against Russia and Myanmar, our trade and economic cooperation is developing successfully, and mutual trade is growing," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during an earlier meeting with junta officials, according to the Interfax news agency. This week's visit was scheduled after the junta approved Russian investment in the Dawei port and industrial trade zone on the Andaman Sea in Myanmar's Tanintharyi region The Dawei port project stalled in 2013 after it failed to attract enough investment. Russia's Ministry of Economic Development said on Feb. 23 that Russian investment in the revived project will go toward port construction, a coal-fired power plant and an oil refinery. The two sides also agreed to build a small nuclear plant in Myanmar, Reuters reported. Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear power corporation, said the plant would have a capacity of 100 megawatts with the possibility of tripling that capacity. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tougher times for Myanmar's political prisoners, a parent and rights group say Authorities have refused to deliver packages while some inmates have been beaten for speaking out. By RFA Burmese 2025.03.04 -- Military authorities in Myanmar have imposed harsher conditions and punishments on political prisoners, restricting their access to parcels, books and medicine and beating those who complain, a rights group and a family member said. The military has struggled to suppress a groundswell of public defiance, as well as a growing insurgency, since it overthrew an elected government in 2021 and more than 6,000 people have been killed and nearly 29,000 have been arrested for their opposition, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP said. Many of those detained have been young people, infuriated by the 2021 ouster of a civilian government after a decade of tentative reform raised hopes for change in a country that had seen largely unbroken military rule since 1962. The AAPP, in a statement on Monday, said conditions for political prisoners across the country were getting worse, with more restrictions on what they could get from outside. A parent of a political prisoner being held in the Thayarwady Prison in the central Bago region, agreed, saying supplies to inmates were not getting through. "I sent some medicine because they were sick, and although it was accepted by the mail department, it didn't reach the children," said the parent who declined to be identified for safety reasons. The Thayarwady Prison is notorious for being cramped and crumbling. "In the rainy season, there's rain, and in the hot season bits fall from the ceiling all the time, like rain," said the parent. "I ask them about it but they won't do anything about it," said the parent, referring to prison authorities. The AAPP, which monitors human rights conditions in Myanmar from the border with Thailand, also said prison authorities were putting restrictions on deliveries of packages and books, and some prisons had banned visits altogether. Political prisoners also complained of inadequate medical care and torture, the group said. In Yangon's infamous Insein Prison, trade union leader Thet Hnin Aung, photojournalist Sai Zaw Thike, and another man named Naing Win were beaten after speaking to representatives of Myanmar's Human Rights Commission about prison conditions during a visit. "Three political inmates ... were taken to the prison's interrogation center, where they were tortured and beaten before being placed in solitary confinement," the group said in a statement published on Monday. RFA could not reach the office of deputy director-general of the Prisons Department for comment. The AAPP also said that three prisoners died due to lack of medical care in February after being detained by junta authorities in prisons and police stations. Myanmar's junta has faced accusations from human rights groups of not providing adequate medical care for prisoners, and of often releasing sick prisoners days before they die. In 2024, 31 political prisoners died in custody, among them two members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy administration that was overthrown in 2021, the former chief minister of Mandalay region, Zaw Myint Maung, and minister of electricity and energy Win Khaing. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address On Behalf of HRH the Crown Prince, Foreign Minister Leads Saudi Delegation at Extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo Saudi Press Agency Cairo, March 04, 2025, SPA -- On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah today led the Saudi delegation at the Extraordinary Arab Summit held in Egypt. In his address, the foreign minister conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and their wishes for the success of the summit's proceedings. He expressed gratitude to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the Egyptian government for the country's efforts in enhancing regional coordination and consultation regarding developments in the region. He also thanked King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain for his efforts during his country's presidency of the current session of the Council of the Arab League. Prince Faisal bin Farhan emphasized Saudi Arabia's categorical rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian territories, or attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands. He reaffirmed the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The foreign minister stated that the unprecedented suffering endured by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip requires the international community to unite in efforts to restore normal life in the strip, reconstruct it, and enable the Palestinian people to live with dignity on their land without attempts to alter the reality on the ground. He also emphasized the need for international guarantees and UN resolutions to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire in Gaza, prevent further aggression, and achieve security and stability in Gaza and all Palestinian territories. Moreover, the minister stressed the importance of supporting the Palestinian National Authority and standing by it in carrying out its duties, including managing the strip and providing humanitarian services to its residents. In conclusion, the minister expressed the Kingdom's aspiration that this summit will contribute to achieving tangible results to end the catastrophic consequences of this war, protect innocent civilians in Palestine, and establish a new reality where the region enjoys security, stability, and prosperity. The Kingdom's delegation included the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eng. Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji; Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs Prince Musab bin Mohammed Al Farhan; the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt, Saleh Al-Husseini; the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Matar; and Assistant Director-General of the Minister's Office, Waleed Al-Ismail. --SPA 00:34 Local Time 21:34 GMT 0007 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Arabia, Lebanon Issue Joint Statement, Stress Taif Agreement and Regional Coordination Saudi Press Agency Riyadh, March 04, 2025, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Lebanese Republic affirmed the importance of strengthening Arab action and coordinating positions on key issues in the regional and international arenas. They also emphasized the importance of the full implementation of the Taif Agreement, the application of relevant international resolutions, the extension of state sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, the exclusive possession of arms by the Lebanese state, reiterating the national role of the Lebanese army, the importance of supporting it, and the necessity of the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from all Lebanese territories. This came in a joint statement issued following the visit of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the Kingdom, the text of which reads as follows: "At the gracious invitation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and based on the historical relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Lebanese Republic, President of the Lebanese Republic Joseph Aoun made an official visit on March 3, 2025. HRH the Crown Prince received President Aoun at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, to whom he conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his wishes of good health and well-being, and further progress and prosperity to the Lebanese Republic and its brotherly people. President Aoun asked HRH the Crown Prince to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for continued good health and well-being, and further growth and prosperity to the brotherly Saudi people. The two sides held an official session of talks during which they reviewed the close bilateral relations and ways to develop them in all fields and stressed that Lebanon is an integral part of the Arab ecosystem, and its Arab relations are the guarantee of its security and stability. They also exchanged views on the overall current regional and international situations, underscoring the importance of enhancing Arab action and coordinating positions on key issues in the regional and international arenas. The two sides agreed to begin assessing the challenges hindering the resumption of exports from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia and the necessary measures to facilitate Saudi citizens' travel to Lebanon. They highlighted the importance of adhering to the principles outlined in the presidential oath speech delivered by President Aoun following his election, in which he shared his vision for Lebanon's stability. They emphasized the necessity of fully implementing the Taif Agreement and relevant international resolutions, ensuring the Lebanese state's sovereignty over all Lebanese territory, and confining weapons to the state. They reaffirmed the critical role of the Lebanese army, stressed the importance of supporting it, and called for the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from all Lebanese territory. The two sides recognized the urgent need for the Lebanese economy to recover and overcome its current crisis, and for initiating internationally required reforms based on principles of transparency and the enforcement of binding laws. At the conclusion of the visit, President Aoun expressed gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister for the warm reception and hospitality extended to him and his delegation. HRH the Crown Prince wished the president continued good health and happiness, and the brotherly Lebanese people steady progress and prosperity. President Aoun also extended an invitation to HRH the Crown Prince to visit Lebanon, to which the Crown Prince responded with appreciation, welcoming the prospect of the visit." -- SPA 18:57 Local Time 15:57 GMT 0044 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN envoy warns Israel against 'unacceptable' military escalation in Syria Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 6:30 PM The United Nations envoy for Syria warns that Israel's "military escalations, including airstrikes" on the Arab country risks further destabilizing the already fragile situation in the region. In a fresh act of aggression against Syria, Israel's warplanes targeted an air defense battalion near the country's strategic western port city of Tartus on Monday night. Syrian sources said the raids hit three former Syrian army assets, a radar station north of the town, a weapons depot and a berth near the Mediterranean port of Tartus. Geir Pedersen said in a statement on Tuesday that he was "deeply concerned by continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement." Such actions, the UN envoy warned, "are unacceptable and risk further destabilizing an already fragile situation, heightening regional tensions, and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition." Pedersen called on Tel Aviv "to cease violations, uphold its international obligations, and refrain from unilateral measures that exacerbate conflict." He urged "all parties to respect Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity." Following President Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel ordered his forces to launch an incursion deep into Syrian territory and seize control of key strategic areas. The regime has also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974. Netanyahu has said that his forces will remain in the buffer zone. Under the terms of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria in 1974, the regime's military is prohibited from crossing the so-called Alpha Line on the western edge of the Area of Separation (AoS). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli airstrikes target air defense battalion close to Syria's Tartus port city Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 6:30 AM In a fresh act of aggression against Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Israeli military aircraft have targeted an air defense battalion near the Arab country's strategic western port city of Tartus. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the strikes hit the outskirts of Tartus on Monday night, with no immediate reports available on possible casualties or the extent of damage caused. Syrian Civil Defense teams and military specialists were quickly dispatched to the area to assess the damage, and locate the exact site of the attacks. A local television channel reported that the aerial assaults struck an air defense battalion in the coastal city. Meanwhile, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a large explosion had rattled Tartus port, noting that unidentified aircraft were heard flying overhead at the same time. The Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee in a statement confirmed the attacks, stating that regime forces had targeted a military site in Qardaha town. Syrian sources said the raids hit three former Syrian army assets, a radar station north of the town, a weapons depot and a berth near the Mediterranean port of Tartus. Militant factions, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled Assad's government on December 8, 2024. Since the collapse of Assad's government, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria's now-defunct army. Israel has been widely and vehemently condemned for termination of the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria, and exploiting the chaos in the Arab nation in the wake of Assad's downfall to make a land grab. The buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights was created by the United Nations after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. A UN force of about 1,100 troops had patrolled the area since then. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli ground forces conduct 'deepest invasion yet' into Syria's soil: Reports Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 5:59 AM In a significant escalation, Israeli ground forces have conducted their "deepest invasion" into the Syrian territory to date, targeting areas in the southwestern provinces of Quneitra and Dara'a. The incursion took place on Tuesday, merely hours after Israeli airstrikes near the coastal city of Tartus, farther upwards toward the Arab country's northern side. The occupation troops advanced into several areas within the provinces with the support of helicopter airdrop and armored convoys. The incursion focused on Tel al-Mal in Dara'a and the town of al-Mashara in Quneitra. Local sources reported that Israeli units had infiltrated a military site in Tel al-Mal, located on the outskirts of Quneitra's provincial capital, where they conducted search before withdrawing. Observers and Syrian sources have said the development has marked the farthest that the Israeli regime has advanced into Syria since 1967, when the regime occupied the country's Golan Heights. The invasion, they say, has even surpassed the regime's November 2024-present escalated deadly aggression against Syria amid which foreign-backed militants overthrew the country's democratically-elected government. Prior to the incursion, Israeli warplanes had launched airstrikes targeting a Syrian air defense battalion near Tartus. The new Syrian administration's media outlet confirmed the attacks, noting that while material damage had occurred, no casualties were reported. The Israeli military alleged that the assaults had been aimed at preventing weapons from falling into "hostile hands." The regime has been routinely coming up with the claim as a means of trying to justify its nearly-five-month-old escalation against Syria. Israel also alleged that the escalation was aimed at trying to prevent violence in the country from spilling over into the occupied Palestinian territories. As part of the intensified attacks, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the regime's military to prepare for potential operations to supposedly protect the Druze community in areas south of the Syrian capital Damascus, citing purported threats to the community's safety. Netanyahu emphasized that Tel Aviv would "retaliate" if the Druze were harmed, pledging "full support" for them inside Syria. Additionally, the regime has demanded the "demilitarization" of southern Syrian provinces, including Quneitra, Dara'a, and Sweida. The call has triggered widespread protests by Syrian nationals decrying Tel Aviv's violations of the country's sovereignty. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN envoy strongly condemns continuing Israeli attacks inside Syria 4 March 2025 - The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Tuesday condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and continuing violations in and around the demilitarised zone created as part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Geir Pedersen said in a statement that "such actions are unacceptable and risk further destabilising an already fragile situation, heightening regional tension and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition." The condemnation follows a recent wave of airstrikes and ground raids targeting southern Syria which the Israeli Government says are necessary for national security and to keep weapons out of the hands of armed groups hostile to Israel. Airstrikes, incursions The latest Israeli raid occurred on Monday night targeting a weapons storage facility near the coastal city of Latakia. Several hours later Israeli forces conducted operations in two towns in southern Syria blowing up warehouses, before withdrawing, according to news reports. A week ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the "complete demilitarisation" of swathes of southern Syria of the "forces of the new regime", which ousted former dictator Bashar Assad in December. In response, Syria's transitional leader Ahmad al-Sharaa reportedly said at the meeting of Arab States in Cairo on Tuesday focused on Gaza reconstruction that Syria is committed to the ceasefire deal of 1974, accusing Israel of violating Syrians' rights for decades. Special envoy Pedersen called on Israel to "cease violations, uphold its international obligations and refrain from unilateral measures that exacerbate conflict." He called for all parties to conflict across the region to respect Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity. "Constructive dialogue and strict adherence to international agreements and international law are essential for security," he added. Aid trucks Meanwhile, UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has welcomed the extension by the caretaker authorities for the UN to continue to deliver humanitarian assistance through the Bab al-Salam and Al-Ra'ee crossing for an additional six months, Bab Al-Salam and Al-Ra'ee provide direct routes to Aleppo, where some four million people need assistance, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. Since the start of the year, more than 520 trucks carrying UN aid - including food, health and other critical supplies - have crossed from Turkiye through these two border points, as well as through Bab al-Hawa - a substantial increase compared to the same period last year. "This afternoon, nearly two dozen trucks carrying 300 metric tons of WFP food - enough for 174,000 people - as well as agricultural supplies from the Food and Agriculture Organization, crossed from Turkiye to Syria through Bab Al-Hawa," Mr. Dujarric said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan retains leverage due to U.S. stance on China: Expert ROC Central News Agency 03/04/2025 08:30 PM Paris, March 4 (CNA) A French researcher on Monday said that the United States is taking a confrontational stance against China, which will maintain Taiwan's leverage. Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia Program at the Paris-based think tank Institut Montaigne, told CNA that while U.S. President Donald Trump occasionally discusses trade with China or regional spheres of influence, current economic security measures emphasize an oppositional stance. For example, the America First Investment Policy signed in February requests the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to limit China's investment in strategic fields, Duchatel said. He added that the U.S. government also shows hostility against China in the semiconductor field. While Taiwan's "democratic value" is insignificant to Trump's "America first" pragmatism, it is still important to the global society, Duchatel said. However, Taiwan still holds bargaining power with the U.S. Duchatel said that "Taiwan has cards to deal" when it comes to semiconductors, as the U.S. needs more high-end chips. A second bargaining chip is Taiwan's role in the competition between the U.S. and China, as current signs indicate that the competition will continue and constitute a main stem of U.S. foreign policy, Duchatel said. Taiwan can play a part in defense collaborations against the People's Liberation Army of China, with interests aligned with the U.S., he said. "Beijing is avoiding heating up while showing that they have new options to respond, such as strategic export restrictions, to convey that they are preparing for conflict" in the face of tough U.S. trade and tariff measures, Duchatel said. Duchatel said he believed the U.S. and China were willing to negotiate on economic issues, adding that the current question was whether third countries on the side of the U.S. -- such as Canada and Australia -- would join in the trade war against China. "It seems that Mexico is ready to do this," he said. "This will cause some problems for China." Taiwan, however, will still be affected by a trade war, Duchatel said. Although Taiwanese companies' monopoly on cutting-edge chips is unlikely to be threatened by a trade war, its market share for ordinary chips may be impacted, Duchatel said. However, Taiwan's government is aligning its geoeconomics strategy with the U.S. and diversifying collaborative partners, he added. Duchatel said the most influential discourse on the debate for U.S. policies on Taiwan is the "Strategy of Denial" proposed by Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy of the Trump administration. Colby's strategy aims to deter China before any conflicts are sparked and deny it victory in Taiwan. Regarding concerns that the U.S. seems to be siding with Russia and cutting away from Europe, which may signal a green light for China to invade Taiwan, Duchatel said it is certainly the worst risk. However, he questioned whether it was beneficial for the U.S. to cut ties with Europe. "Could the U.S. just be requesting that Europe share safety responsibilities to concentrate its energy on China?" he said. He added that China could not jump to the conclusion that it is safe to invade Taiwan. The circumstances in which the Russo-Ukrainian War ends will be a revelation to Taiwan on whether the U.S. will abandon its allies. Duchatel said that building up Taiwan's military power will also be a key bargaining chip in negotiations between the Taiwanese and U.S. governments. He suggests that Taiwan should push for collaboration talks with the U.S. on defense and technology, two fields that will inevitably have a decisive influence on Taiwan. (By Tseng Ting-hsuan and Wu Kuan-hsien) Enditem/ASG NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump, TSMC announce US$100 billion in new investment in U.S.(Update) ROC Central News Agency 03/04/2025 05:46 PM Taipei, March 4 (CNA) U.S. President Donald Trump and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) jointly announced on Monday (U.S. time) that the company will invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the United States. "Today Taiwan Semiconductor is announcing that they will be investing at least US$100 billion in new capital in the United States over the next short period of time to build state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facilities, " Trump said during a White House appearance alongside TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (). "The most powerful AI chips in the world will be made right here in America and it'll be a big percentage of the chips made by this company (TSMC)," Trump said. Wei said the US$100 billion investment will fund the construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging plants and a research and development center. Following the announcement, U.S. de facto ambassador to Taiwan Raymond Greene said Tuesday in Taipei the announcement made in the White House "showcases the deep connections between two of the world's greatest technological and economic powerhouses." "The United States and Taiwan are mutually complementary economies that benefit greatly from investments in both directions, especially in the semiconductor sector," American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Greene was quoted as saying in a AIT Facebook post Tuesday. Trump and Wei's announcement of expanded TSMC investment in America "strengthens the economic prosperity and security of both the United States and Taiwan and will enable TSMC to better serve its largest customers in America," Greene added. AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties. (By Christie Chen and Joseph Yeh) Enditem/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan ROC Ministry of National Defense 2025/03/04 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan 1.Date 6 a.m. Mar. 3 (Mon.) to 6 a.m. Mar. 4 (Tue.) (UTC+8) 2.PLA activities 19 sorties of PLA aircraft, 5 PLAN ships and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 11 out of 19 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities. 1140304_PLA activities 1140304_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Historic Summit in London - Western Leaders Stand Together for Security and Ukraine Republic of Poland - The Chancellery of the Prime Minister 02.03.2025 Europe has the potential to become a global military power, but it must believe in its own capabilities and act together. The historic summit in London brought together many Western leaders, highlighting the gravity of the situation and the need for decisive action in support of Ukraine, strengthening Europe's security, and reinforcing the alliance with the United States. After the meeting, Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that the leaders were in agreement on these issues. This unity is crucial for continued support for Kyiv and the security of the entire region. A special meeting of the European Council will be held on March 6 to discuss concrete proposals prepared by the European Commission. Europe's Security is Our Common Concern After the summit, Prime Minister Donald Tusk underlined that Poland's stance on Ukraine has broad support among leaders. None of the participants had any doubts about which side to stand on - Ukraine's. "Poland's position perfectly reflected the mood in the room [...]. Ukraine requires continuous support and the strongest possible position before negotiations with Russia. No one has any doubts about who the aggressor is, who the victim is, and where Europe stands in this conflict. Of course, on Ukraine's side," - assured Donald Tusk during a press conference following the summit in London. "Poland's national interest requires unequivocal, lasting support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. This is non-negotiable," - added the Polish Prime Minister. Tusk emphasized Poland's key role in ensuring regional security and the necessity of increasing Europe's involvement in defense. "Our country bears a special responsibility for the security of the eastern border of the European Union and NATO. This is not just a military issue but also a political one - we are a frontline state that must be prepared for all scenarios. Our security is simultaneously the stability of all of Europe." "Poland is already an unmatched model in this regard, but I am pleased that more and more countries, beyond words and declarations, are beginning to implement the obvious need to increase defense spending. It was very important to me to hear that strengthening the eastern flank is an absolute priority for all of Europe, including the European Union," - said Donald Tusk. Building Europe's Defense Capabilities In light of growing geopolitical challenges, Prime Minister Donald Tusk highlighted the need to build up Europe's capacity for self-defense. Europe is an economic and military power, but to effectively ensure its security, it must believe in its own strength and act collectively. Tusk stressed that Europe should not be isolated but must be independent in defense matters because only a well-prepared and strong Europe can guarantee peace on the continent. "Europe, together with Ukraine, has twice as many fighter jets as Russia, and in terms of the number of professional soldiers, our advantage over Russia is clear. The issue is not numbers but a lack of belief in our own strength," - observed Donald Tusk. The Prime Minister presented data from The International Institute for Strategic Studies, showing that Europe, together with Ukraine, possesses twice as many fighter jets as Russia and has a significant advantage in the number of professional soldiers. "The paradox is that 500 million Europeans are asking 300 million Americans to defend them against 140 million Russians. We must rely on ourselves, fully aware of our potential and with confidence that we are a global power," - emphasized the Polish Prime Minister, pointing to the need to rethink Europe's role. According to the presented data, Europe and Ukraine have 2.6 million professional soldiers, while Russia has 1.1 million. A similar advantage applies to combat aircraft, with 2,991 on the side of Europe and Ukraine compared to 1,224 in Russia. In terms of artillery, Europe, including Ukraine, significantly outpaces Russia, possessing 14,400 units versus Russia's 5,157. Transatlantic Cooperation and Future Actions "There is no room for doubt. We support Ukraine and strengthen our alliance with the United States - regardless of difficult circumstances," - assured the Prime Minister. Poland is particularly committed to ensuring that Europe becomes as strong as possible while maintaining close relations with the United States. There is no contradiction between strengthening Europe's defense and the Transatlantic Alliance - both objectives must be pursued simultaneously. The Polish Prime Minister also supported an initiative by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to organize a Europe-U.S. summit. Such a meeting could help reinforce transatlantic cooperation in security matters. "I unequivocally supported Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's proposal that Europe and the United States find a way and a platform for continuous and very open discussions with each other, exchanging views to understand each other as well as possible before negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Everything must be done to ensure that Europe and the United States speak with one voice," - said Prime Minister Tusk. In London, Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, NATO's Secretary General, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The discussions among EU leaders will continue on March 6 in Brussels during the special European Council meeting, where key decisions will be made regarding support for Ukraine and increasing Europe's defense capabilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trench assault readies troops for the frontline By Corporal Michael Rogers 4 March 2025 Gunfire rattled through the brisk English morning, punctuated by the muted crack of simulated grenades and terse shouts of Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) soldiers. They broke out from a tree line, concealed by smoke, and charged into the trenches ahead of them. Brief orders were given during a lull once inside, and they pushed through the muddy corridors, clearing each leg with flurries of gunfire and cries of "granata!" (grenade). Above the trenches, Australian soldiers from Operation Kudu observed the Ukrainian advance, keeping a watchful and critical eye on the soldiers as the attack unfolded. More than 2000 AFU soldiers have been trained under Operation Kudu, Australia's contribution to the British-led multinational training mission Operation Interflex. The training focuses on section- and platoon-level leadership, with many of the trainees having combat experience, according to rotation eight Contingent Commander Major Nathan Dubbeld. "Our key goal is improving on the knowledge they already have and giving them some professionalisation [that] the Australian and partner nation armies bring to the fore," Major Dubbeld said. "Our Finnish counterparts bring expertise in trench warfare and a lot of our Australian instructors bring expertise in urban warfare that the Ukrainian trainees haven't had exposure to yet." During the five-week section commander course and 10-week platoon commander course, AFU leaders are taught how to conduct trench warfare and operate in urban and woodland environments. They also learn the basics of command, such as giving orders, which was different to how it was done back home, according to Ukrainian trainee Serhii. "We are taught how to come up with a plan, how to formulate and develop our mission into phases and scheme of manoeuvre," Serhii said. "It is really useful, because it's something we may skip back in Ukraine. "Ukrainians are more flexible when it comes to the way we deliver orders. Our orders are usually more brief and not as formal, as we are always pressed for time." Rotation eight of Operation Kudu also commemorated 1000 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marked by a visit from the Ukrainian Ambassador to the soldiers in training. Seeing the interactions between them and understanding the value of Australia's involvement was the most meaningful part of the operation for Major Dubbeld. "We were fortunate and unfortunate enough to be here when we commemorated 1000 days of the conflict," he said. "It was on that day we realised just how much all of these contributions mean to both the Ukrainian armed forces, but also the people of Ukraine." Australia is one of 13 nations contributing to Operation Interflex, paired with instructors from the Finnish Army for delivery of the courses. Working across language barriers, not just with AFU trainees but with partner training nations, has been challenging, but has also been an excellent learning opportunity. According to Major Dubbeld, it has given his team a chance to grow their cultural awareness and understand common links between the militaries, regardless of the flag on their shoulders. "The key thing for the team on the ground is that we are all here with the united purpose to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their struggle against Russia's illegal invasion," Major Dubbeld said. At the end of the course, a final training exercise tests knowledge and skills trainees have learnt, including platoon and company trench clearances, urban assaults and battle inoculation ranges. But once the exercise ends and the smoke clears from the trenches, the reality of what the trainees are heading back to becomes crystal clear. "Farewelling the trainees at the end is a whirlwind of emotions. Over that 24 hours, there is a great sense of pride in what we have achieved together," Major Dubbeld said. "There is also a bit of sadness as we say goodbye, knowing that our situations won't bring us back together again anytime soon." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump suspends U.S. aid to Ukraine amid row with Zelensky IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 4, 2025 U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended all military aid to Ukraine to pile up pressure on his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to peace negotiations with Russia. A White House official is quoted by U.S. media as saying that the move blocked the shipment of billions of dollars of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships that were agreed upon during the previous administration. It comes just days after a verbal spat between American and Ukrainian presidents at the White House, with Trump accusing Zelensky of "gambling with" a third world war. A day earlier, Trump had himself declined to rule out a pause in arms delivery to Kyiv when quizzed by reporters. "The President has been clear that he is focused on peace... We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," an official told AFP on the condition of anonymity. "This is not permanent termination of aid, it's a pause," Fox News quoted a senior administration official. Trump reportedly ordered Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, to execute the pause following a meeting with Vice President, JD Vance; Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; and Intelligence Chief, Tulsi Gabbard. Congressional Democrats condemned the move as dangerous and illegal. "My Republican colleagues who have called Putin a war criminal and promised their continued support to Ukraine must join me in demanding President Trump immediately lift this disastrous and unlawful freeze," said Gregory Meeks, top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine since Russia launched its special military operation in 2022. In December, Biden, before leaving his office, announced an additional $5.9 billion in aid. Trump has not approved any new aid since taking office but has been seen largely engaging in tit-for-tat rhetoric with regard to Ukraine in recent weeks. Earlier on Monday, he expressed new outrage at Zelensky for saying that the end of the war could be "very, very far away." Trump called the remark "the worst" that could have been made by the Ukrainian president, adding that Zelensky "won't be around very long" unless he succumbs to pressure and makes a deal with Russia on U.S. terms. 4399**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Budrys: Ukraine's EU membership before the year 2030 must be our goal Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2025-03-04 Today, on 4 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kestutis Budrys, met with the Minister for European Affairs of Denmark, Marie Bjerre. The Foreign Ministers discussed the priorities of the upcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Europe's security situation, and the Nordic-Baltic cooperation. Budrys expressed his expectation that the Danish Presidency would accelerate the EU integration process for Ukraine and Moldova. Denmark has already indicated this year that during its Presidency it was ready to open as many negotiating chapters for Ukraine as possible. "Ukraine's EU membership before the year 2030 must be our goal. Lithuania's and Denmark's partnership in supporting Ukraine's integration into the EU also has a symbolic value - Denmark's support was essential for Lithuania's accession to the EU," said Budrys. Launched this year and with a total budget of 14 million, the three-year programme Ukraine2EU aims to strengthen the capacity of Ukraine's public sector (the European Commission allocated EUR 10 million, Denmark donated EUR 3 million, and Lithuania - EUR 1 million). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine says it can hold frontline even after Trump suspended all military aid Iran Press TV Tuesday, 04 March 2025 3:40 PM Ukraine says its forces could hold the situation together on the battlefield with Russia even after US President Donald Trump suspended all military support to the country. Kiev woke up to the news on Tuesday that Trump was "pausing and reviewing" all shipments of military aid to Ukraine. "President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace," said a US official, on condition of anonymity. "We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution." While the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, have yet to comment, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal of Ukraine told a press conference that his country "will do everything to hold out." "Our military and the government have the capabilities, the tools, let's say, to maintain the situation on the front line." He said Kiev "will continue to work with the US through all available channels in a calm manner." "Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US." Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also wrote in a message on X that the country's authorities are "discussing options with our European partners, and of course, we are not overlooking the possibility of negotiations with our American counterparts." President Zelensky himself stayed silent over Trump's order. But he said in a public statement that he had spoken with Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, who emphasized Berlin's military and financial aid to Ukraine. "We remember that Germany is the leader in supplying air defense systems to Ukraine and plays a crucial role in ensuring our financial stability." Zelensky wrote on X. Russia welcomed Trump's order to pause military aid to Ukraine, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing it as "the best contribution to peace." Military analysts say Ukraine could likely sustain its current fighting pace for several weeks before a US pause would begin to have a major effect. The administration of former US President Joe Biden rushed shipments of weapons to the country in its waning days, providing Kiev with large stockpiles of advanced weapons. Biden has been Kiev's most important military backer since Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address As Trump Pauses US Military Aid To Ukraine, Can Europe Step Up? By Rikard Jozwiak March 04, 2025 "This is Europe's moment," diplomats in Brussels are saying after U.S. President Donald Trump's March 3 decision to temporarily pause military funding for Ukraine. Whether that proves true remains to be seen. Beyond the rhetoric, the key question is whether Europe has the political will to fully compensate for a prolonged US spending freeze on Ukraine. So far, that remains unanswered. NATO is awaiting further details from Washington before making any official announcement. Diplomats from the alliance told RFE/RL that the thing to look out for is whether European allies can still purchase US weapons and transfer them to Ukraine. As one diplomat noted: "Europe simply doesn't have enough of its own supplies right now, but if it still can tap into American arms and ammunition, it can be OK." When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the media early on March 4 to present her proposals for increasing both European defense spending and military aid to Ukraine, she avoided making any reference to the US decision. 'Europe Faces A Clear And Present Danger' Ahead of a crucial European Union summit in Brussels on March 6 about how to deal with the new security environment, von der Leyen sent a letter to EU member states, seen by RFE/RL, in which she said that "a new era is upon us. Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime. Some of our fundamental assumptions are being undermined to their very core." She also took a subtle swipe at Washington, writing that, as European Commission president, "strong relations with the United States are one of my major goals, both bilaterally and through the G7. But the context in which we operate is changing drastically and dramatically." So, is it time for the EU to step up and fill the funding gap left by the United States? Maybe not so fast. Both von der Leyen's proposals and draft EU summit conclusions obtained by RFE/RL lack any concrete proposals on how to boost Ukraine directly, including a total lack of funding details apart from 30 billion euros ($31.6 billion) that have already been pledged as budgetary support for Kyiv in 2025. The problem is that an additional 30 billion euros will be needed this year if the United States pulls out entirely. European leaders had contingency plans for this long before Trump's announcement, particularly after the US Congress delayed an aid package for Kyiv in 2024. Making The EU Safer Vs. Helping Ukraine Von der Leyen's "ReArm Europe" initiative now appears solely focused on ramping up EU defense spending rather than directly aiding Ukraine. It includes a loan of 150 billion euros ($158 billion) for member states to strengthen air defenses and drone arsenals, greater leeway on EU spending rules for countries that boost defense budgets, and an option to redirect EU funds originally earmarked for poorer regions toward military projects -- if member states choose to do so. According to von der Leyen, these measures could generate up to 800 billion euros ($844 billion) in defense spending. But the key question remains: Is this about making EU citizens feel safer, or about ensuring Ukraine can withstand Russia's onslaught? The idea that increased European defense investment will eventually allow greater support for Ukraine sounds logical -- but will it work in practice? The answer to this may lie in another Brussels development this week. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had proposed a plan to raise the 30 billion euros Ukraine needs, using both proceeds from frozen Russian assets held by the bloc and voluntary contributions from EU member states based on their Gross National Income (GNI). However, that plan has now been put on hold. EU diplomats say some member states were not ready to commit such a large sum at this time, while others pointed to Hungary, which has long opposed military aid to Ukraine. According to EU diplomats, Budapest has even threatened to veto any summit text that challenges US efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Moscow. Europe's "moment" may not include Ukraine at all. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/europe-ukraine-aid-us- funding-freeze-nato-defense-jozwiak/33335955.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskyy Says Oval Office Meeting Was 'Regrettable' By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Current Time March 04, 2025 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the tense Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump last week was "regrettable," and that he is willing to work with Trump's "strong leadership" to achieve long-term peace. Zelenskyy's remarks came in a social media post on X, hours after the White House announced a pause in military aid to Ukraine, which is critical to fighting Russia's invasion. "The meeting did not go the way it was supposed to," Zelenskyy said. "It's unfortunate that it happened this way. It's time to make things right. We want future cooperation and communication to be constructive." Saying that "none of us want an endless war," he added that "Ukraine is ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring long-term peace closer...My team and I are ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to achieve long-term peace." Zelenskyy thanked the US for its support during the war and said Kyiv was "ready" to sign the US-proposed minerals deal, even though his remarks did not specifically address the US decision to halt aid to Ukraine. Late on March 3, senior US officials told multiple media outlets that Trump had ordered a pause in all military aid to Ukraine, piling pressure on Kyiv to fall in line with US efforts to broker a peace deal with Russia despite a lack of security guarantees for Ukraine. "We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," reports quoted a White House official as saying on condition of anonymity. "The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well." "This is not permanent termination of aid, it's a pause," Fox News quoted a Trump administration official as saying. The suspension will last until Trump determines that Ukraine's leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace, according to Bloomberg and Fox News. Speaking from Washington on March 4, US Vice President JD Vance spoke about the US decision to suspend military aid. Vance said the US needs to "get some payback for the incredible financial investment" it has made in Ukraine. When asked if the US would resume providing military aid to Ukraine, Vance says that "everything is on the table" once Kyiv begins negotiating. What Are The Chances Of A Reversal? Reports of the suspension widened the rift between Zelenskyy and the Trump administration, which had long been troubled but split wide open at the White House meeting. The pause amplifies already deafening questions about US support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion at a time when Moscow's forces have been gaining ground for many months, albeit at a massive cost in casualties, and Ukraine struggles with manpower problems and other challenges in the biggest war in Europe since 1945. It is likely to add to concerns in Kyiv and among its supporters in the West that Ukraine could be pressured into a cease-fire or a peace deal that favors Moscow. Those worries increased after Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-February and then sent top officials to meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin welcomed the news. "If it's true, then it's a decision that really could push the Kyiv regime into a peace process," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "If the United States stops being [an arms supplier] or suspends these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace," he said. Any disruption in the flow of US arms to the front line would rapidly weaken Ukraine's chance of beating back Russia's invasion. The suspension applies to "all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland," Bloomberg reported. "The suspension of U.S. assistance for Ukraine is a very unfortunate and significant development, but it may not have immediate impact," Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert on the Ukrainian and Russian militaries, wrote in a thread on X. "Ukraine is far less dependent on the U.S. for day to day battlefield needs in 2025, than it was in earlier periods of the war. " "Much depends on the extent [to which] Ukraine has been stockpiling munitions/parts and where Europeans can step in, although in some cases they have low inventories, and in others U.S. retains the ability to deny any transfers," Kofman wrote. "The impact will probably be much more visible in a few months. The pause "will have a bad impact, of course, if you deprive Ukraine of assistance from the United States, whether it's financial aid or military aid," independent military analyst Yury Federov told Current Time. "Military assistance includes not only supplying weapons, ammunition and so on, but it also includes supporting Ukraine by providing intelligence information." "Most experts estimate that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to maintain the current pace and intensity of military operations for about six months," he said. "Whether this is correct or not is difficult to say." How Much Aid Is Affected? The precise amount of military aid affected is unclear, but the transfer of $3.85 billion worth of weapons authorized by Congress under Biden had not yet been allocated by the White House. No new military aid has been approved since Trump took office in January. The US Congress has appropriated more than $180 billion in support for Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, about two-thirds of it military aid. "First of all, the suspension of US aid could affect air defense missiles, HIMARS ammunition, and artillery," Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote on Telegram. The United States is the only producer of HIMARS and ATACMS systems and if they run out, Ukraine's ability to strike far behind Russian lines and guard its rear positions will be compromised. Ukrainian politicians voiced dismay at the decision and concern over the tattered ties between Kyiv and Washington. "The dialogue with the United States must be restored immediately, because its rupture will, by and large, benefit only Putin," Iryna Friz, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity bloc in Ukraine's parliament and member of the Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. Friz pointed out that European leaders have also urged Zelenskyy to seek to mend relations with the Trump administration. Roman Kostenko, secretary of the same committee in the Verkhovna Rada, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that the United States was "blackmailing us with these weapons and trying to make us make some concessions." The situation is "very bad, but not catastrophic," he said. "Even if we lose this assistance, there will be no catastrophe, but the situation, of course, will be much worse. Therefore, now we all have to do everything in order not to lose assistance." Prominent Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said the current US policy on Ukraine, dramatically different from the Biden administration's stance, is part of "the new political reality." "But tactically, we need to preserve the remnants of the partnership and the ability to buy weapons from the United States and receive intelligence and satellite information," he told Current Time. Fesenko called for changes in Kyiv's approach to US ties, including "a refusal to bet on personal contacts between Zelenskyy and Trump. "This has been Zelenskyy's premise from the very beginning, that the most important thing is his personal relationship with Trump, he said. "And what did we see? Unfortunately, it didn't work." In the United States, Democrats in Congress immediately condemned the pause in military aid. "My Republican colleagues who have called Putin a war criminal and promised their continued support to Ukraine must join me in demanding President Trump immediately lift this disastrous and unlawful freeze," said Representative Gregory Meeks (Democrat-New York). The military aid pause came after Zelenskyy's disastrous visit to the White House, which had been expected to produce a deal on joint development of Ukrainian rare minerals and hydrocarbon resources that Trump has cast as a crucial step toward peace between Ukraine and Russia. Instead, a meeting before cameras in the Oval Office devolved into a vocal clash, with Trump and Vance saying that Zelenskyy should be more grateful for US support and is in no position to make demands. The signing of the minerals deal was scrapped, Zelenskyy left the White House early, and Trump said he could "come back when he is ready for peace." Senior US officials blamed Zelenskyy for the blowup and called on him to apologize. On March 3, Trump suggested his patience was running out, criticizing Zelenskyy's resistance to the prospect of a quick cease-fire without the kind of concrete security guarantees Kyiv has been seeking from the United States. What Could End The Military Aid Pause? "What we need to hear from President Zelenskyy is that he has regret for what happened, he's ready to sign this minerals deal, and that he's ready to engage in peace talks," White House national-security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News earlier on March 3. After Zelenskyy was quoted as saying the end of the war is "very, very far away," Trump wrote in a social media post: "This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!" In the Fox interview, Vance said that the door remains open to the Ukrainians, but that European leaders must tell Zelenskyy that the war can't go on forever. He said they admit this in private but in public tend to "puff" Zelenskyy up. He also defended Trump's position that giving Washington an economic interest in the future of Ukraine will serve as a sound security guarantee. "If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine," Vance said in the interview. "That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years," he added. Trump said on March 3 that he does not believe the minerals deal is dead. With US support deeper in doubt after the Oval Office clash, European leaders moved to take more control of potential peace negotiations and to step up military aid to Ukraine. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on March 3 that there were a "number of options on the table" for a cease-fire agreement to at least temporarily halt fighting sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago. The statement came after French President Emmanuel Macron told the newspaper Le Figaro that he thought a one-month truce on air, sea, and energy infrastructure would give allies time to assess Russian President Vladimir Putin's commitment to a full and lasting cease-fire. 'Manufactured Escalation,' Says Germany's Merz Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing a "rearm Europe plan" as European governments scramble to mitigate their growing differences with the United States over the war in Ukraine. "We need a massive surge in defense, without any question. We want lasting peace, but lasting peace can only be built on strength, and strength begins with strengthening ourselves," von der Leyen said on March 3. In a letter to EU member states on March 4, she proposed that 800 billion euros ($840 billion) be made available for European defense spending going forward, with 150 billion ($157 billion) euros in new loans for defense investments to be backed by the EU's budget. In some of the strongest European comments yet on the White House standoff, Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, referred to what he called "manufactured escalation" at the meeting, a thinly veiled criticism of Trump and his administration. "It was not a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but obviously a manufactured escalation in this meeting in the Oval Office," Merz told a news conference in Hamburg on March 3, adding that Europe "must now show that we are in a position to act independently." Despite intense and ongoing discussions on boosting Europe's own defense capacities and alarm over warming rhetoric between Moscow and Washington, European leaders say engaging the new US administration is a priority. Merz said he would "advocate doing everything to keep the Americans in Europe." With reporting by AP, Bloomberg, Reuters, Fox News, and The Washington Post Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/33335955.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sanctions Policy and the Approach to a Just Peace: the Office of the President Hosted a Meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye President of Ukraine 4 March 2025 - 22:21 Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk met with Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye to Ukraine Mustafa Levent Bilgen. During the meeting, the parties discussed the importance of exerting sanctions pressure on Russia to achieve peace, as well as issues of bilateral cooperation. Vladyslav Vlasiuk highlighted the significant progress made by the Turkish side in preventing schemes that allow the Russian Federation to acquire banned goods and technologies. "We value our cooperation, where you promptly respond to information on certain instances of sanctions evasion involving Turkish companies, and we see significant progress," he said. Mustafa Levent Bilgen assured that the Government of Turkiye is seriously committed to preventing sanctions evasion, particularly in oil transportation. "Turkiye continuously monitors the new sanctions lists issued by the Sanctions Coalition and makes its own announcements, informing about companies subject to sanctions," he said. According to the Ambassador of Turkiye, most Turkish companies take this into account to avoid the risk of secondary sanctions. Additionally, the Republic of Turkiye supports efforts to counter the shadow fleet and sanctions evasion. The Advisor and Presidential Commissioner also stressed the importance of not only complying with the imposed sanctions but further strengthening them as an instrument of influence. This will limit the Russian Federation's ability to finance the war and compel the aggressor state to establish a just peace. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President of Ukraine Held Conversations with Leaders of the United Kingdom, Finland, Croatia and Greece President of Ukraine 4 March 2025 - 20:21 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held telephone conversations with President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, and Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during which they discussed the results of the Leaders' Summit in London and the next joint steps to achieve a just and sustainable peace. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer assessed recent developments and exchanged their views on the next steps. The leaders agreed to coordinate their positions and make every effort to achieve a guaranteed peace and end the war as soon as possible. The President of Ukraine and the President of Finland agreed on plans for the near future and coordinated priority issues. Following the London meeting, a plan is being developed to ensure lasting peace, which will be a joint achievement of Ukraine, the United States, and all of Europe. During the conversation with Andrej Plenkovic, Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed him about the details of the London Summit and the preparation of an action plan that would bring Ukraine closer to a sustainable peace with security guarantees. The Head of State also outlined the results of the London meeting and the preparation of the plan to Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The relevant document will be finalized and presented to all allies in the near future. The plan will include the vision of all Europe on how to swiftly end the war, strengthen Ukraine and develop concrete security guarantees. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked all leaders for their unwavering support for Ukraine, particularly during this difficult time. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine and America Deserve a Respectful Dialogue and a Clear Position From One Another - Address by the President President of Ukraine 4 March 2025 - 20:00 Dear Ukrainians, Today, many people have the same question: what will happen next with U.S. assistance? I have instructed Ukraine's Minister of Defense, the heads of our intelligence agencies, and our diplomats to contact their counterparts in the United States and obtain official information. People should not have to guess. Ukraine and America deserve a respectful dialogue and a clear position from one another. Especially when it comes to protecting lives during a full-scale war. Of course, in Ukraine, we have been receiving various signals for weeks now, and there has already been a precedent for aid being halted. There was a suspension of humanitarian aid, of energy aid. There was also a halt in military aid - at the end of January, but at that time, everything was quickly resumed. We saw the risks. Therefore, our agencies - both military and special services - managed to develop action algorithms for any developments in the situation. This is not 2022 anymore. Our resilience is stronger now. We have the means to defend ourselves. But for us, maintaining normal, partnership-based relations with America is essential to bringing the war to a real end. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine will always be grateful to the U.S. for all the support that has been and is being provided, and which is working to preserve the now rather fragile foundations of security in Europe. After all, this is not just about our country. It is about everyone in Europe. We seek constructive cooperation. Partnership-based relations. We can only regret what happened at the White House instead of our negotiations. But we must find the strength to move forward, to respect one another, just as we have always respected America, Europe, and all our partners, and to do everything together to bring peace closer. And I thank everyone who is supporting Ukraine in this effort. Today, I have already spoken with the President of Finland, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister of Greece, the Prime Minister of Croatia, the NATO Secretary General, and the leader of Germany's CDU party, Friedrich Merz - the very party that won the recent Bundestag elections. Clear support for Ukraine. Thank you. There is very important news from the European Commission about significant funds for Europe's defense. For us, this primarily means additional air defense - more systems, more missiles, and increased ability to protect our cities and villages, our positions. And all of this creates a solid additional foundation for efforts to bring the war to an end. We will continue consultations, and new joint steps will follow. Ukraine deserves peace. Ukrainians deserve respect. And one last thing. We know that the Russians have not changed their positions or demands regarding Ukraine. They will insist on reducing our army, they will seek a legal renunciation of our territories, as well as a significant political deformation of Ukraine with the weakening of the Ukrainian Constitution. But I will say that, in fact, as long as we all in Ukraine stand together and stand strong, as long as we are here, no one will succeed in this - peace will be dignified. Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskyy says he's ready to work with Trump for peace talks By VOA News March 04, 2025 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered an olive branch to Washington on Tuesday, saying his country was ready to negotiate an end to Russia's three-year war on Ukraine "as soon as possible" and would "work under" U.S. President Donald Trump's "strong leadership" to reach a peace deal. Zelenskyy said that his acrimonious encounter with Trump at the White House last Friday was "regrettable" and that he remains ready to sign a deal that would give the United States substantial, long-term rights to Ukraine's rare-earth minerals needed for the American manufacture of technology products. In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader said in a statement his discussions with Trump and Vice President JD Vance "did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive." Trump ordered Zelenskyy to leave the White House, and the minerals deal was left unsigned. Trump and Vance, seated close to each other in the Oval Office, assailed Zelenskyy as being ungrateful for the more than $100 billion worth of munitions the U.S. has sent to Kyiv's forces to fend off Moscow's 2022 invasion, even though the Ukrainian leader had on numerous occasions thanked the U.S. "We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence," Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. "And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins," an anti-tank missile weapons system. "We are grateful for this." "I would like to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace," Zelenskyy said. "None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians." Vance told VOA on Tuesday, "We do believe that it's in Russia's best interest, but also Ukraine and the United States's best interest, to bring this conflict to a close." Zelenskyy said the first stage of any truce in the fighting "could be the release of [Russian and Ukrainian] prisoners [each country is holding] and truce in the sky ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same." "Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree to a strong final deal," he said. But reaching a peace deal could prove difficult. Ukraine has long demanded a restoration of its internationally recognized 2014 borders before Moscow unilaterally seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Overall, Russia now holds about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including much of eastern Ukraine, and has vowed to not return any of it to the Kyiv government. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has said the U.S. and its allies in Europe need to provide security for Ukraine so that it is protected against another Russian invasion, even if Moscow agrees to a halt in the ground fighting and end its daily aerial bombardment of Ukraine. Britain, France and "a coalition of the willing" of other European countries agreed last weekend to send troops for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to support a ceasefire, but Trump has declined to commit the U.S. to providing a military backstop to enforce a truce against further Russian aggression. Zelenskyy's statement came hours after Trump paused further military aid to Ukraine. "The President has been clear that he is focused on peace," a senior administration official told VOA in an email. "We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution." Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that his country needs "real, fair peace," as well as security guarantees to ensure Russia doesn't threaten Ukraine again in the future. "It was precisely the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas," Zelenskyy said. "Then, the absence of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch the full-scale invasion. And now, because there are still no defined security guarantees, it is Russia that is keeping this war going." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. pausing military aid to Ukraine is the best contribution to the cause of peace, and that it could help push Ukraine to engage in a peace process. Trump was pointed in saying Monday that a deal for rare-earth minerals was key to continued U.S. support of Ukraine and said he would make an announcement on the matter Tuesday when he speaks before a joint session of Congress. VOA's Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Alleges 150,000 Possible Russian War Crimes. Here Are 5 Of The Worst By Mike Eckel and Serhiy Stetsenko March 05, 2025 Corpses sprawled on the streets of Bucha. Prisoners of war reportedly executed, bodies sent back to Ukrainian authorities. A blood bath of civilian train passengers, killed by a ballistic missile. Ukrainian children adopted by Russian families without the knowledge of their parents. Three plus years into Russia's onslaught on Ukraine, the catalog of alleged atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity continues to climb. There's no guarantee the record of alleged crimes will ever see the inside of a courtroom in Kyiv, in The Hague, or anywhere. Russian commanders show no inclination to investigate allegations; the Kremlin has in fact honored military units accused of some of the worst crimes. And the International Criminal Court -- ignored by Russia and under withering criticism from Washington -- is increasingly hamstrung. Still, Ukrainian investigators and Western supporters labor to gather evidence and compile credible criminal cases: more than 153,000 cases have been opened in some form. "For us, it's only a matter of time before they face justice," Yuriy Byelousov, a war crimes investigator in the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "Historical examples show that it may take years, but these cases will not be forgotten." Here are five of the most egregious cases. Where Have All The Children Gone? The first of two cases initiated by the International Criminal Court targeted what officials have called a systematic, top-level campaign to remove Ukrainian children from occupied territories and bring them to Russia. In its March 17, 2023, announcement, the court said it had ordered the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's lead official for children's affairs, Maria Lvova-Belova, for "the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and the unlawful transfer of (children)." Nearly 20,000 children have gone missing or are believed to be in custody in Russia, according to Ukrainian authorities. Rights activists, journalists, and Ukrainian investigators have documented a widespread campaign that saw Ukrainian children taken from occupied Ukrainian territories. Russian officials have frequently portrayed their efforts as a humanitarian gesture, sheltering, feeding, or protecting children from war or the breakdown of services in occupied regions. However, in many cases, Russian authorities did little to identify parents, other relatives, or legal guardians of the Ukrainian children. Moreover, according to investigators, Russian authorities engaged in a "systematic program of coerced adoption and fostering." In some cases, Ukrainian children were sent to summer holiday camps in Belarus, where they were exposed to pro-Russian education and propaganda. Bodies In The Street In the initial weeks following the invasion, Russian forces ran into dogged resistance from Ukrainian forces, particularly north of the capital, Kyiv. By late March, commanders ordered units to withdraw and regroup. In the wake of their withdrawal, Ukrainian officials and journalists found hundreds of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, killed by gunshot, some with bound hands, bodies dumped into alleyways or basements. In nearby Irpin, authorities found scores of newly dug graves, where bodies of local residents, many bearing gunshot wounds, had been buried. The scenes in Bucha and Irpin shocked the world, torpedoed cease-fire talks between Kyiv and Moscow, fueled searing criticism of Moscow, and galvanized support for Ukraine. Bodies In The Street In the initial weeks following the invasion, Russian forces ran into dogged resistance from Ukrainian forces, particularly north of the capital, Kyiv. By late March, commanders ordered units to withdraw and regroup. In the wake of their withdrawal, Ukrainian officials and journalists found hundreds of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, killed by gunshot, some with bound hands, bodies dumped into alleyways or basements. In nearby Irpin, authorities found scores of newly dug graves, where bodies of local residents, many bearing gunshot wounds, had been buried. The scenes in Bucha and Irpin shocked the world, torpedoed cease-fire talks between Kyiv and Moscow, fueled searing criticism of Moscow, and galvanized support for Ukraine. Among outside experts, the evidence strongly pointed to war crimes. The United States later imposed a visa ban on the commander of an airborne assault regiment who had deployed to Bucha, citing "extrajudicial killings." Ukrainian officials said they've issued criminal charges against 21 Russian soldiers on war crimes allegedly committed in Bucha. Weeks after the images emerged publicly, Putin signed a decree honoring a unit from the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which had occupied Bucha and the surrounding region. Power Overload Russia recalibrated its invasion plans after initial setbacks. The man who took over command -- General Sergei Surovikin -- ordered a large-scale campaign of missile and air strikes, targeting not Ukrainian military targets, but also civilian infrastructure. Surovikin was removed from command in the wake of the aborted mutiny by mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. But the strategy persisted. Using air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, and other weapons, Russia has pummeled Ukrainian infrastructure in what officials say is a deliberate effort to demoralize and exhaust the population. The electricity grid -- power stations, transformers, transmission lines -- has been hit repeatedly to try to freeze Ukrainians during winter months. Last March, the Hague court issued the second set of arrest warrants against Russian officials -- Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Sokolov - accusing them of war crimes for overseeing the air campaign targeting power plants and substations. Generally speaking, international humanitarian law -- the body of law governing war crimes and similar offenses -- prohibits a military from hitting civilian targets unless there's a legitimate military reason. For example, if a military unit is hiding in a power plant, the plant can be targeted. Battlefield Executions In late December 2022, Oleksandr Matsiyevskiy, a soldier with Ukraine's 119th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, went missing while fighting to defend the city of Bakhmut from Russian advances. Three months later, a 12-second video appeared on Russian Telegram channels showing a haggard Matsiyevskiy smoking a cigarette as he is confronted by Russian soldiers. As the Russian soldiers record and mock the man, Matsiyevskiy declares "Glory To Ukraine" -- a patriotic mantra embraced by Ukrainians after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The Russian soldier then curses him, and Matsiyevskiy is gunned down. Matsiyevskiy was hailed as a national hero. In all likelihood, experts said, he was also a victim of a war crime. International law prohibits summary executions of prisoners of war, who are protected by the Geneva Conventions, the decades-old international treaty that Russia and Ukraine are both signatories to. At least 71 Ukrainian POWs have been executed by Russian or Russian-linked forces since February 2022, according to the United Nations, and at least 21 POWs have died in Russian custody. Hundreds have also reported torture and sexual violence. Ukraine is not blameless either, according to the UN, whose monitoring mission reported the execution of 26 Russian POWs in 2022 and 2023. Hundreds of Russian POWs have also reported torture and ill-treatment at the hands of Ukrainian captors. Train Station Bloodbath On the morning of April 8, 2022, hundreds of people were waiting at the railway station in the Donbas city of Kramatorsk when the station was hit by a missile, later identified as a ballistic Tochka-U missile armed with cluster munitions. At least 58 were killed in the blast, and more than 100 wounded. It was one of the single deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians since the start of the all-out invasion. Though both Ukrainian and Russian forces had Tochka-U systems in their arsenals, the preponderance of evidence pointed to Russian troops as the origin of the missile. Russian authorities denied responsibility and claimed their forces did not use the system. As with power plants, international humanitarian law prohibits deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. It also requires military commanders to take deliberate effort to avoid targeting such locations. The incident was far from the only one in which civilian facilities were damaged or destroyed with casualties. In July 2024, a Kyiv children's hospital, Ohmatdyt, was badly damaged in a Russian missile strike, though it was unclear if the hospital was deliberately targeted. Human rights activists have alleged the Russia siege of Mariupol -- the Sea of Azov port city -- between February and May 2022 also constitutes a war crime, with thousands of civilians killed or injured, and hundreds of thousands trapped for weeks without water, plumbing, or electricity. The United Nations said more than 12,600 civilians have been killed since February 2022, with civilian casualties rising sharply last year compared to 2023. Byelousov, the Ukrainian war crimes official, said investigators frequently faced another threat, which might be categorized as a war crime itself: "Russian forces frequently use 'double-tap' strikes; they attack a location, wait 30-40 minutes for rescuers, police, and prosecutors to arrive, then strike again," he told RFE/RL. "We have already lost investigators in these secondary strikes, and others have been injured while documenting war crimes." RFE/RL reporter Maja Zivanovic contributed to this report Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine- war-crimes/33336084.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Group capital triples over two-year period Financial strength underpins A ratings across life and annuity companies BROOKFIELD, NEWS, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Wealth Solutions (NYSE, TSX: BNT) today announced its year-end 2024 capital position with over $16 billion of group capital across its regulated insurance subsidiaries and holding companies. This strong capital position underpins the A financial strength ratings assigned to Brookfield Wealth Solutions life and annuity companies, and the investment grade ratings for its life and annuity holding company. Brookfield Wealth Solutions group capital has tripled from $5.7 billion in 2022 to an estimated $16.1 billion in 2024 through a combination of retained earnings and capital contributions from Brookfield Corporation. Sachin Shah, CEO, Brookfield Wealth Solutions, said: With over 5,000 people dedicated every day to serving the needs of policyholders and retirees, weve been able to build a world-class wealth business that provides individuals with safe and secure retirement income. This past year has culminated in record levels of group and entity-level capital. This February we participated in the first group Supervisory College, where we had the opportunity to share details of our assets, reserves and capital position with our insurance regulators from eight jurisdictions. With our upcoming entrance into the UK insurance market, we look forward to continued prudent growth and an expanded Supervisory College in 2025. Summary of Group Capital in USD, billions Group / Entity 12/31/2022 12/31/2023 12/31/2024 Insurance Subsidiaries1 5.1 7.5 13.5 Group Holding Companies 0.7 1.5 2.6 Total Brookfield Wealth Solutions 5.7 9.0 16.1 1. Calculated on an aggregate basis in accordance with applicable insurance regulations. About Brookfield Wealth Solutions Brookfield Wealth Solutions Ltd. (NYSE, TSX: BNT) is focused on securing the financial futures of individuals and institutions through a range of retirement services, wealth protection products and tailored capital solutions. Each class A exchangeable limited voting share of Brookfield Wealth Solutions is exchangeable on a one-for-one basis with a class A limited voting share of Brookfield Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BN). For more information, visit bnt.brookfield.com or contact: Media: Investor Relations: Kerrie McHugh Rachel Schneider Tel: (212) 618-3469 Tel: (416) 369-3358 Email: kerrie.mchugh@brookfield.com Email: Rachel.schneider@brookfield.com Non-GAAP and Performance Measures We make reference to Brookfield Wealth Solutions group capital in this news release, which is calculated on an aggregate basis in accordance with applicable insurance regulations and is not derived from generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). These references should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We caution readers that these non-GAAP financial measures or other financial metrics are not standardized under U.S. GAAP and may differ from the financial measures or other financial metrics disclosed by other businesses and, as a result, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers and entities. We provide additional information on key terms and non-GAAP measures in our filings available at bnt.brookfield.com. Notice to Readers This news release and any related oral statements made by our representatives may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations (collectively, forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future results, events or conditions, and include, but are not limited to, statements which reflect managements current estimates, assumptions and expectations regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies, capital management and outlook of Brookfield Wealth Solutions and its subsidiaries, as well as the outlook for international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words such as believes, thinks, expects, potential, anticipates, plans, believes, estimates, seeks, intends, targets, projects, foresees, forecasts, or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as may, will, should, would and could. In particular, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements regarding the growth of our business, the status of regulatory approvals including the anticipated timing thereof, the size of the U.K. pension market and opportunities relating thereto. Although we believe that our anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable estimates, assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Brookfield Wealth Solutions or its subsidiaries to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) investment returns that are lower than target; (ii) the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in the countries in which we do business; (iii) the behavior of financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and foreign exchange rates; (iv) global equity and capital markets and the availability of equity and debt financing and refinancing within these markets (v) litigation; (vi) changes in tax laws; (vii) ability to collect amounts owed; (viii) catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and epidemics/pandemics; (ix) the possible impact of international conflicts and other developments including terrorist acts and cyberterrorism; (x) the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives and strategies; (xi) the failure of effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting and other risks; (xii) health, safety and environmental risks; (xiii) the maintenance of adequate insurance coverage; (xiv) the existence of information barriers between certain businesses within Brookfields asset management operations; (xv) risks specific to our business segments; (xvi) factors detailed from time to time in our documents filed with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States; and (xvii) the failure to obtain and/or maintain required regulatory approvals. We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the foregoing risks, as well as other uncertainties, factors and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. Except as required by law, Brookfield Wealth Solutions undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Past performance is not indicative nor a guarantee of future results. There can be no assurance that comparable results will be achieved in the future, that future investments will be similar to the historic investments discussed herein, that targeted returns, growth objectives, diversification or asset allocations will be met or that an investment strategy or investment objectives will be achieved (because of economic conditions, the availability of investment opportunities or otherwise). Readers are urged to consider the foregoing risks, as well as other uncertainties, factors and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. SAN DIEGO, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questexs Vibe Conference, the premiere on-premise beverage conference for beverage executives, today announces the winners of the 2025 Jim Flaherty Industry Legend Award and the Innovator Award. Larry McGinn, Partner/Owner of IMI Agency, has been honored with the Jim Flaherty Industry Legend Award, and Indre Jasaityte, Director of Beverage at BJs Restaurants, Inc., has won the Innovator Award. These prestigious awards celebrate individuals who demonstrate a passion for the beverage industry and have made significant contributions to its advancement. Tim McLucas, Market Leader, Hospitality Group at Questex, said, Congratulations to Larry McGinn and Indre Jasaityte on these well-deserved honors. Larrys exceptional leadership and creativity have left a lasting impact on the industry, and Indres innovative approach continues to push boundaries and elevate beverage programs. Both winners exemplify the spirit of these awards, and we celebrate their remarkable achievements. The Jim Flaherty Industry Legend Award recognizes individuals whose careers have left an enduring mark on the on-premise beverage industry. Larry McGinn has been a transformative force in on-premise and national accounts for decades. His creativity, leadership, and relationship-building skills have shaped the industry in profound ways, and his philanthropic work with CORE has further solidified his legacy. Despite personal and health challenges, Larrys focus and leadership have inspired countless peers and colleagues, making him a true Industry Legend. The Innovator Award honors individuals driving creative and impactful change in the industry. Indre Jasaityte, Director of Beverage at BJs Restaurants, Inc., has earned this distinction for her visionary leadership and innovative strategies that have elevated BJs beverage program to new heights. Her commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences through beverage innovation exemplifies the forward-thinking spirit of this award. The award winners were chosen by the Vibe Conference Advisory Council, a group of industry leaders dedicated to recognizing excellence within the beverage sector. To learn more about Vibe Conference, visit: www.vibeconference.com. Stay connected with Vibe Conference and industry news at www.barandrestaurant.com/chains. About Vibe Conference Vibe Conference is the premier event for chain and hotel adult beverage executives and suppliers. This top on-premise conference is held annually and delivers high-level content, tastings and networking opportunities. The 2026 conference will be held at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, CA February 23-25, 2026. About Questex Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare; and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here. Media Contact Michelle Osborne Vibe Conference mosborne@questex.com NEW YORK, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) between February 3, 2022 and February 3, 2025, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), of the important April 14, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Merck securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Merck class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=34975 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 14, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants provided investors with material information concerning Mercks expected revenue of $11 billion from sales of Gardasil by 2030. Defendants statements included, among other things, confidence in Mercks purported ability to utilize successful consumer activation and education efforts on the benefits of Gardasil in order to drive demand and capitalize on eligible populations for vaccination, resulting in confidently optimistic reports and forecasts of Gardasils growth in China. Defendants provided these overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Gardasils demand in China; notably, that Merck lacked visibility into demand for Gardasil in China among eligible and otherwise targeted populations, resulting in the inflated inventory of its distributor, Zhifei. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Merck class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=34975 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com CARLSBAD, Calif., March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat company, announced that Toei Reefer Line Ltd, a leading supplier of sashimi-grade tuna, will install NexusWave on board the companys sophisticated factory vessels to support their evolving crew and business connectivity requirements. To maintain a level of quality consistent with the high expectations of its end customers in the Japanese consumer market, Toei Reefer Line employs specially trained personnel to load and operate its factory vessels, which are equipped to process, prepare, and store high-value cargoes at temperatures as low as -55 C. Prioritising crew welfare, the company strives to ensure its seafarers are well cared for, can access high-speed internet and keep in touch with family and friends while serving at sea, often for extended periods in remote locations. Inmarsats NexusWave seamlessly integrates Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), coastal LTE, and L-band services to deliver reliable high-speed Internet with unlimited data and global coverage. As well as enabling Toei Reefer Line to provide its crews with free, unlimited internet access wherever its ships are sailing, the bonded reliable connectivity solution will allow the company to monitor onboard temperature sensors in real-time, seamlessly access vessel networks from shore, and deploy cloud-based applications for ship management. Shinobu Iijima, IT Director, Toei Reefer Line Ltd, said: Crew welfare is our top priority. We employ up to 50 crew per vessel and providing them with unlimited data while they spend many months out at sea away from their loved ones is a priority. At the same time, we have experienced a surge in business-related data consumption due to the growing demand for connected applications and real-time monitoring as our vessels increasingly function like floating factories. Gert-Jan Panken, Vice President Global Sales, Inmarsat Maritime, said: Placing great emphasis on quality, Toei Reefer Line has high expectations for onboard connectivity, requiring a solution that supports its sophisticated business operations and crew welfare initiatives alike. We are proud that Toei Reefer Line has chosen Inmarsat NexusWave, which with its speed, reliability, unlimited data, and global coverage meets the specialised requirements of their most complex vessels and highly trained crews at sea. Contacts for media inquiries: PR@viasat.com About Inmarsat Maritime Inmarsat is a Viasat company and continues to power the digitalisation of the maritime industry. With over 40 years of experience, Inmarsat Maritime offers reliable and innovative solutions that enable ship owners and operators to stay connected, navigate safely, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure crew welfare. Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to positively impact peoples lives anywhere they are - on the ground, in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space. In May 2023, Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and resources of the two companies to create a new global communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com, the Viasat News Room or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube. Inmarsat Maritime is based in Viasats global international business headquarters in London, United Kingdom. For further information about Inmarsat Maritime, visit Inmarsat.com/maritime and follow us on LinkedIn. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aeb20c4f-644e-4c9b-80b7-0be09280bb66 SINGAPORE, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fly Wing Technologies Pte Ltd ("Fly Wing"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrixport, the world's leading and largest one-stop crypto financial services platform in Asia, today announced that it has been granted the Major Payment Institution ("MPI") License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS"). With this license approval, Fly Wing will continue building its role as a trusted Over-the-Counter ("OTC") desk in Singapore. This license follows the in-principle approval received in October, underscoring Fly Wing's commitment to regulatory compliance and operational excellence. John Ge, Co-founder and CEO of Matrixport, stated, "We are thrilled that Fly Wing has received its license from the MAS. This marks a significant step in our ongoing expansion across the Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to providing high-quality Digital Payment Token services to users in Singapore." Having received its license from the MAS, Fly Wing is well-positioned to build a strong foundation for Fly Wing's long-term growth, driving continuous innovation in the digital finance sector. Moving forward, Fly Wing will continue to offer innovative Digital Payment Token services securely and transparently and will continue to optimize blockchain-driven Digital Payment Token services, enabling seamless access for users entering the Web 3.0 industry. About Fly Wing Technologies Pte Ltd Founded in 2019, Fly Wing Technologies Pte. Ltd. (Fly Wing) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrixport, a leading digital asset financial services platform in Asia. Fly Wing serves a diverse clientele, including crypto miners, trading firms, investment firms, and high-net-worth individuals from both crypto and traditional finance. The company engages in OTC services for customers to on- and off-ramp Digital Payment Tokens, facilitating over $100 million in monthly transactions and providing liquidity for major cryptocurrencies. Fly Wing has received the MPI License from MAS to provide Digital Payment Token services for OTC trading in Singapore. Fly Wing official website: https://www.flywing.com/ About Matrixport Founded in 2019, Matrixport is the worlds leading all-in-one hub for crypto financial services. The platform is committed to providing every user with a personalized Super Account that integrates crypto trading, investment, loan, custody, RWA, research and more. With $6 billion in AUM (assets under management), Matrixport offers global users diverse crypto-financial solutions designed for optimal capital efficiency and sustainable returns. As a Group and through its local subsidiaries, Matrixport has received the Trust or Company Service Provider / Money Lender Licenses in Hong Kong, and the FINMA Asset Management License in Switzerland. The company operates as an Appointed Representative in the UK, is registered as an MSB in the US, and is a member of Switzerlands FINMA SRO-VFQ. It was recognized by CB Insights as one of the 50 Most Promising Blockchain Companies and featured in the Hurun 2024 Global Unicorn List. Additionally, Matrixport's subsidiary, Fly Wing, has received the MPI License from MAS in Singapore. Matrixport official website: https://www.matrixport.com Media Contact: Matrixport PR Team pr@matrixport.com Disclaimer: This press release is provided by Matrixport. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector--including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining--complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/13fe3bd2-9ada-4876-bbf8-5e24acfc1696 VENICE, Fla., March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- J & J Air Conditioning has been featured in HelloNation magazine as a trusted authority on preventing heat-related illnesses and maintaining a safe, cool home environment. In the article, Beating the Heat: Preventing Heat Stroke and Fatigue , the feature highlights the dangers of extreme heat and practical solutions for staying safe during Floridas hottest months. The article discusses the serious risks associated with prolonged heat exposure, including heat fatigue, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. It emphasizes the importance of hydration, proper clothing, and taking breaks from the sun, while also highlighting the role that home cooling solutionssuch as air conditioning, ventilation, and shadingplay in protecting individuals from dangerous heat-related conditions. The HelloNation feature on J & J Air Conditioning reinforces the publications mission to showcase industry leaders who provide research-backed insights that help individuals make informed decisions about their health and home environment. The article serves as a valuable resource for Florida residents looking to safeguard their well-being and maintain a comfortable indoor climate. Read the full feature in HelloNation here . About HelloNation HelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative edvertising approachblending educational content with promotional storytellingHelloNation delivers expert-driven content that informs, inspires, and empowers. Covering topics from health and wellness to business innovation, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. Contact Company: HelloNation info@hellonation.com www.hellonation.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a4b8409-f4dc-4f21-a30c-5aa07890b30c BOSTON, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pathfinder AI expands Hunters' vision for AI-driven SOCs, introducing Agentic AI for autonomous investigation and response. Hunters , the leader in next-generation SIEM, today announced Pathfinder AI, a major step toward a more AI-driven SOC. Building on Copilot AI, which is already transforming SOC workflows with LLM-powered investigation guidance, Hunters is introducing its Agentic AI vision, designed to autonomously enhance detection, investigation, and response. Agentic AI will launch soon, with ongoing innovations to further streamline security operations. "Hunters has already made a significant impact on our security operations by reducing manual investigations, streamlining data ingestion, and improving threat visibility. With Pathfinder AI, were enhancing efficiency and response times through AI-driven detection explanations and automated investigative guidance. This innovation continues to strengthen Emburses security posture with cutting-edge AI-powered threat intelligence." Casey Sword, Endpoint Security Architect, Emburse How AI is Shaping the Future of Security Operations Security investigations are complex and unpredictableeach alert triggers multiple investigative steps, creating an overwhelming number of possible paths. Traditional automation follows rigid workflows, often leaving analysts stuck chasing false leads while real threats slip through. AI changes the equation. Unlike static rule-based automation, Agentic AI dynamically adapts, prioritizing critical threats, filtering out noise, and continuously refining investigations to keep security teams focused and efficient. To stay ahead of evolving threats, SOCs need two key AI-driven capabilities: Copilot AI Enhances analyst workflows with automated data analysis, report generation, and guided investigations. Enhances analyst workflows with automated data analysis, report generation, and guided investigations. Agentic AI Delivers autonomous threat detection, investigation, and response, reducing manual workloads and accelerating decision-making. By leveraging specialized AI agents that collaborate in real time, security teams can move beyond manual triage and fragmented investigationsoperating faster, smarter, and with greater precision. Hunters Pathfinder AI From day one, Hunters was founded with the vision of embedding analyst intelligence into the SIEMautomating triage and investigation to maximize efficiency and accuracy. With years of experience refining AI-driven security operations, they are uniquely positioned to lead the AI-driven SOC transformation, leveraging the deep expertise to deliver automation at scale. As Hunters Pathfinder AI continues to evolve, they are expanding its capabilities in two key areas: AI-Assisted SOC and AI-Driven SOC. These advancements will further reduce manual workloads while enhancing detection, investigation, and response. AI-Assisted SOC with Copilot AI Lead Summarization AI-generated summaries that provide analysts with immediate and comprehensive context on security events. Guided Investigation Workflows Suggests next steps across the entire attack surface. Natural Language Querying Enables SOC analysts to interact with the system using conversational AI to retrieve insights efficiently. Custom Detection Authoring Helps analysts refine detections with guided logic and iterative fine-tuning. Threat Classification AI evaluates signals and context to determine whether a threat is benign or malicious, reducing manual triage time. AI-Driven SOC with Agentic AI Autonomous Triage and Classification AI-driven agents investigate every threat, classifying incidents and providing full investigation reports. Self-Optimizing Detections Machine learning models continuously refine detection accuracy based on real-world attack data. Automated Root Cause Analysis AI correlates attack signals across multiple sources to provide full attack narratives. "Pathfinder AI is a game-changer for SOC teams, allowing us to deliver on our promise of making security operations more effective in the fight against cyber threats. By combining Copilot AI and Agentic AI, we are not just automating tasks but enabling security teams to focus on what truly mattersstopping real threats before they cause harm." Ian Forrest, VP of Product, Hunters The Road Ahead Hunters remains committed to pushing the boundaries of SOC automation with AI-driven investigations, automated response mechanisms, and deeper AI capabilities. Pathfinder AI represents the next advancement toward a faster, smarter, and more effective security operations center and will be delivered in the upcoming months. For more details, users can explore Hunters' blog post and join the webinar about this announcement on March 5th, 2025. About Hunters Hunters empowers SOC teams with AI-driven automation, maximizing efficiency without large security budgets. As a next-gen SIEM, the Hunters SOC Platform integrates Agentic AI, Copilot AI, machine learning, and graph-based correlation to automate detection, investigation, and response. Trusted by Cimpress, OpenLane, and The RealReal, Hunters delivers built-in detections, AI-driven investigations, and security expert support from Team Axon. For more information, users can visit Hunters Security . Contact Ada Filipek Hunters ada.filipek@hunters.ai NEWARK, Del, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The cryopreservation freezers market, valued at USD 676.0 million in 2025, is poised for significant growth, projected to reach USD 1,233.7 million by 2035, at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. This growth is driven by key advancements in regenerative medicine, increasing stem cell banking, automation in biobanking, and stricter regulatory standards. The rising adoption of ultra-low temperature storage solutions has become essential in various biomedical applications, ensuring the long-term preservation of biological samples, including stem cells, tissues, and other critical biomaterials. As research and clinical applications in regenerative medicine expand, the demand for cryopreservation freezers is expected to surge. Access Key Market Insights: Request a Sample Report Now! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/report-sample#5245502d47422d37383336 Among the leading markets, the United States, Germany, India, Japan, and Brazil are at the forefront of driving innovation and adoption in cryopreservation technologies. With the continuous upgrades in cryopreservation technologies and the growing focus on precision medicine, the market is set to witness robust expansion, making it a key segment in the future of biomedical research and healthcare. Key Contributing Factors Accelerating Market Expansion 1. Rising Demand for Biobanking and Regenerative Medicine The increasing need for biobankingwhich involves the collection and preservation of biological samples such as blood, tissues, stem cells, and embryoshas significantly contributed to the adoption of cryopreservation freezers. Furthermore, the rapid growth of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies necessitates highly efficient freezing and storage solutions to maintain the viability of biological materials. 2. Technological Advancements in Cryopreservation Freezers Innovations in cryopreservation technology, such as automated freezers, ultra-low temperature (-80C to -150C) storage systems, and AI-powered monitoring solutions, are revolutionizing the market. These advancements improve sample integrity, reduce the risk of contamination, and enhance overall efficiency in storage and retrieval processes. 3. Growing Adoption in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Sectors The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are increasingly utilizing cryopreservation techniques for drug discovery, vaccine development, and gene therapies. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for reliable cold storage solutions, and this trend is expected to continue, further driving market expansion. 4. Rising Organ and Tissue Preservation Needs With the growing number of organ transplants and tissue preservation requirements, cryopreservation freezers are playing a crucial role in ensuring the viability of donor organs and tissues. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, organ failure cases, and advancements in transplant techniques is fueling demand in this segment. Growing Market Interest: Explore Comprehensive Insights and Trends with Our Detailed Report! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/cryopreservation-freezer-market Key Hurdles and Barriers That Could Potentially Restrain Market Expansion and Development 1. High Cost of Cryopreservation Equipment One of the primary challenges in the cryopreservation freezers market is the high cost of advanced freezing systems. Small and mid-sized research facilities may face budget constraints, limiting their ability to adopt state-of-the-art cryopreservation solutions. 2. Stringent Regulatory Requirements The storage and transportation of biological materials are subject to strict regulatory guidelines to ensure safety and efficacy. Compliance with various global standards and certifications, such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and FDA regulations, can be complex and time-consuming. 3. Energy Consumption and Environmental Concerns Cryopreservation freezers require significant energy consumption to maintain ultra-low temperatures, raising concerns about sustainability and carbon footprints. The industry is actively exploring eco-friendly refrigerants and energy-efficient designs to address these environmental concerns. Strategic Overview of Regional Economic and Industry Trends 1. North America Leading the Market North America is expected to dominate the market due to high investments in life sciences research, the presence of leading biotech firms, and well-established healthcare infrastructure. The U.S. and Canada are key contributors to market growth, with strong support for biobanking and regenerative medicine. 2. Rapid Growth in Asia-Pacific The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing fast-paced growth, driven by rising government initiatives in healthcare research, increasing adoption of cryopreservation technology, and expanding pharmaceutical industries in countries like China, Japan, and India. 3. Expanding Opportunities in Europe Europe is also a key player, with a strong focus on stem cell research, organ preservation, and biomedical advancements. The regions emphasis on sustainable and energy-efficient cryopreservation solutions is expected to boost market expansion. "The increasing reliance on cryopreservation in regenerative medicine and biobanking is accelerating the demand for advanced ultra-low temperature storage solutions. With regulatory bodies emphasizing stricter storage protocols, manufacturers are focusing on automation, energy efficiency, and reliability in freezer technology. As key markets such as the U.S., Germany, and India continue to drive innovation, we anticipate further breakthroughs in cryogenic storage capabilities over the next decade." says Sabyasachi Ghosh Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights (FMI) analyst. Market Intelligence: Key Country-Based Insights Highlighting Regional Variations and Growth Opportunities The market in the U.S. is projected to grow at a steady CAGR of 3.5% from 2025 to 2035, driven by advancements in technology and a strong healthcare infrastructure. With a CAGR of 3.0%, Germany is expected to witness moderate growth, supported by continuous innovation and regulatory support. India is anticipated to experience the highest growth among these countries, with a CAGR of 7.2%, fueled by expanding healthcare access, increasing investments, and rising demand. The Japanese market is set to grow at a CAGR of 5.3%, backed by technological advancements and a rapidly aging population. Brazil is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6.0%, benefiting from rising healthcare expenditure and improving medical infrastructure. Mapping Out the Future Business Environment and Navigating Key Opportunities for Growth Emerging Applications in Personalized Medicine: The demand for cryopreservation freezers will rise as personalized medicine and gene therapies become more widespread. The demand for cryopreservation freezers will rise as personalized medicine and become more widespread. Integration of Smart Technologies: AI-based real-time monitoring systems and IoT-enabled freezers will enhance the safety and efficiency of cryopreservation. AI-based real-time monitoring systems and IoT-enabled freezers will enhance the safety and efficiency of cryopreservation. Eco-Friendly Innovations: The push for low-energy and environmentally friendly freezing technologies will shape the future of the market. The push for low-energy and environmentally friendly freezing technologies will shape the future of the market. Increased Collaborations: Strategic partnerships between biotech firms, research institutions, and healthcare providers will drive innovation and market penetration. The cryopreservation freezers market is set for robust growth between 2025 and 2035, fueled by advancements in biobanking, regenerative medicine, and pharmaceutical research. Despite challenges such as high costs and regulatory hurdles, the increasing demand for biological storage solutions, AI-driven innovations, and sustainable technologies will create new opportunities in the market. As cryopreservation continues to revolutionize healthcare and life sciences, key industry players must focus on technological advancements and eco-friendly solutions to stay competitive in this evolving landscape. An Insightful Assessment of Key Market Contenders and Their Competitive Advantages The cryopreservation freezers market is highly competitive, driven by both global industry leaders and regional manufacturers striving for innovation. Rising demand for biobanking, regenerative medicine, and long-term biological material storage has accelerated technological advancements. To stay ahead, companies are investing in smart monitoring systems and sustainable solutions, leading to the development of high-end, automated, and energy-efficient units. This dynamic environment fosters intense competition between established manufacturers and new market entrants, all aiming to reshape the future of cryopreservation solutions. Start Making Data-Driven Decisions Request a Market Analysis! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/hospital-furniture Comprehensive Summary of Our Companys Expertise, Industry Contributions, and Long-Term Vision ACMAS Technologies Pvt. Ltd Air Water Inc. ARCTIKO AS Aucma Co. Ltd Avantor Inc. BioLife Solutions, Inc. Brooks Automation Inc. Chart Industries Inc. ZHONGKE MEILING CRYOGENICS CO. LTD. Froilabo Haier Biomedical Hamilton Thorne Ltd. Helmer Scientific Inc. Panasonic Holdings Corp. PHC Holdings Corp. Crucial Market Segments and Their Impact on Industry Growth By Product Type: Tunnel Freezer IQF Freezer Immersion Freezer Spiral Freezer Others By End user: Medical and Healthcare settings Bio-pharma companies Blood Banks Research Institutes Others By Region: North America Latin America Western Europe Eastern Europe East Asia South Asia and Pacific Middle East & Africa Explore FMIs Related Ongoing Coverage on Healthcare Domain: The freeze drying market size is predicted to flourish at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2024 to 2034. It is expected to achieve a valuation of USD 1,262.78 million in 2024. By 2034, the market value is forecasted to be worth USD 2,881.55 million. The global biomedical refrigerator and freezer market share is anticipated to be worth USD 6,053.8 million by 2034. According to the estimates, the market is projected to clock a 5.60% CAGR until 2034. In 2024, the biomedical refrigerator and freezer market size is valued at USD 3,510.65 million. According to FMI estimates, the net worth of total cold plasma to be sold globally could generate USD 2469.5 million in revenue in 2023. Furthermore, the global cold plasma market demand is expected to increase to USD 9380.9 million by 2033 at a CAGR of 14.3%. The operating room equipment market growth is estimated to reach USD 38,610.9 million in 2025. It is estimated that revenue will increase at a CAGR of 4.5% between 2025 and 2035. The market is anticipated to reach USD 59,961.5 million by 2035. The global surgical booms market trends is estimated to be worth USD 317.1 million in 2025 and anticipated to reach a value of USD 477.7 million by 2035. Sales are projected to rise at a CAGR of 4.3% over the forecast period between 2025 and 2035. The global sales of medical chairs is estimated to be worth USD 8,524.8 million in 2024 and are anticipated to reach a value of USD 13,623.8 million by 2034. Sales are projected to rise at a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period between 2024 and 2034. The global medical carts market outlook are estimated to be worth USD 1,136.9 million in 2024 and are anticipated to reach a value of USD 2,817.6 million by 2034. Sales are projected to rise at a CAGR of 9.5% over the forecast period between 2024 and 2034. The IV pole market overview is anticipated to be worth USD 256.5 million in 2024. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2024 to 2034. The market value is predicted to hit USD 361.0 million by the end of the forecast period. The north america medical cart market forecast are expected to be adopted at a rate of 4.7% through 2034. The size of the medical cart industry in North America is expected to catapult from USD 2,361.09 million in 2024 to USD 3,750.98 million by 2034. The medical bed market analysis is projected to surpass a valuation of USD 5,469.0 million by 2033. Our healthcare analysts opine that medical bed manufacturers can expect a CAGR of 4.2% through 2033, with a current valuation of USD 3,611.9 million in 2023. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 400 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-347-918-3531 For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC) has again secured its position as the top hospital in Saudi Arabia for the fourth consecutive year, according to Newsweeks 2025 ranking of the worlds best hospitals. KFSHRC has made strides, jumping 20 places from last years list, indicating a 9% improvement in this prestigious ranking. Among more than 200,000 hospitals operating globally, Newsweek and Statista evaluate only 2,400 institutions and publish an annual list of the top 250 hospitals. The ranking is based on various criteria, including medical performance indicators, healthcare outcomes, and expert recommendations from international healthcare professionals. KFSHRCs ongoing excellence is demonstrated through groundbreaking achievements such as the worlds first fully robotic heart transplant and the first fully robotic implantation of an artificial heart pump. In 2024, KFSHRC set a new record with 1,111 organ transplants in one year, including 500 successful kidney transplants through the paired exchange program, reinforcing its status as a global leader in complex surgeries and organ transplantation. The hospital also provided advanced medical care to patients from 17 different countries, solidifying Saudi Arabias position as a premier destination for healthcare. KFSHRC continues to pioneer advancements in personalized medicine, artificial intelligence, and robotic surgery, leading to a 10% increase in new patient admissions, a 47% rise in medical tourism, and a 9% growth in inpatient volumes. Patient satisfaction remains high, with 87% of transplant recipients reporting an improved quality of life, 93% satisfaction with robotic surgeries, 87% positive inpatient experiences, and 92% satisfaction among outpatient visitors. This year 10 Saudi hospitals are listed among the worlds top 250 hospitals in Newsweeks 2025 ranking, reflecting the success of the Health Sector Transformation Program, a key initiative of Saudi Vision 2030. It is noteworthy that KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and 15th globally in the list of the worlds top 250 Academic Medical Centres for the second consecutive year and has been recognised as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2025 Brand Finance rankings. For more information, visit www.kfshrc.edu.sa or contact our media team at mediacoverage@kfshrc.edu.sa A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25269e07-b027-4b79-86b0-bf73bbee5e90 Dublin, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Vietnam Travel & Tourism Market, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2020-2030F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Vietnamese Travel & Tourism Market was valued at USD 17.90 Billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 42.01 Billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 15.34%. Strong economic growth, supportive government policies, increase in competition among market players, and adoption of attractive marketing and promotional strategies by market players are the key factors driving the growth of the Vietnam travel & tourism market in the forecast period. Tourism is considered as one of the most prominent revenues producing industries in Vietnam, and the economy is majorly dependent on domestic traveling to generate significant income sources. The rise in disposable income of consumers enables them to afford domestic traveling as many international countries have closed their international borders for people belonging to other nationalities. Domestic traveling is expected to grow at a rapid rate and is expected to recover the amount in a short time due to increasing domestic spending by consumers and the launch of attractive and affordable tourist packages by market players. Local tourism can be boosted by focusing on developing emerging destinations with cooperation from local authorities, online travel agencies, hotels, and airlines. Outdoor tourism, which involves mountains, beaches, sunshine, nature, were among the top choices for Vietnamese travelers after the lockdown restrictions were relaxed. The travel & tourism industry is rapidly evolving with time, and with relaxations in international traveling and vaccination facilities, the industry is expected to witness growth opportunities in the forecast period. Key Market Drivers Government Initiatives and Policy Support Vietnam's government has taken decisive steps to rejuvenate its tourism industry. By implementing measures such as lengthening the duration of visa exemptions and bringing back the option for three-month tourist visas, they anticipate a substantial increase in foreign visitors. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to make Vietnam a more attractive destination for international travelers. Furthermore, the government is placing a strong emphasis on leveraging digital technology to modernize its tourism marketing efforts. This digital push is expected to make the country's tourism offerings more accessible and appealing to a global audience, thereby stimulating the sector's growth. The combination of eased travel restrictions and advanced marketing techniques positions Vietnam as a forward-thinking nation ready to welcome the world's travelers once again. In 2023, the government released Resolution No. 82/NQ-CP on tourist promotion and the National Assembly's (NA) visa policy as a stimulus for the tourism industry to revive and develop. Key Market Challenges Sustainability Issues Vietnam's tourism industry is grappling with significant sustainability issues that threaten its future. The rapid growth in tourism has led to environmental concerns, such as habitat destruction, water pollution, and strain on local resources. These challenges are not only ecological but also social, impacting the quality of life for residents and the overall visitor experience. To ensure the sector's resilience, a multifaceted approach is needed. This includes implementing eco-friendly practices, promoting responsible tourism, and engaging local communities in conservation efforts. Investments in sustainable infrastructure and stricter regulations can also mitigate negative impacts. By prioritizing sustainability, Vietnam can protect its natural and cultural heritage while fostering a thriving tourism economy. The success of these measures will be critical in maintaining the allure of Vietnam as a premier travel destination. Key Market Players Viet Vision Travel & Trading JSC Lily's Travel Agency Hello Vietnam Travel Vietnam Amazing Tours Deluxe Vietnam Tours Co. Get Up and Go Vietnam Vietnam Escape Tours Threeland Travel Vietnam Adventure Tour Phu Quoc Island Explorer Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 81 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $17.9 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $42.01 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 15.3% Regions Covered Vietnam Report Scope: In this report, Vietnam's Travel & Tourism market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Vietnam Travel & Tourism Market, By Service Offering: Ticket Reservation Hotel Booking Holiday/Tour Packages Travel Insurance Foreign Exchange Conference/Trade Fair/MICE Others Vietnam Travel & Tourism Market, By Type: Domestic Inbound Outbound Vietnam Travel & Tourism Market, By Purpose of Visit: Business Leisure & Recreation Education Medical Social Activity Others Vietnam Travel & Tourism Market, By Region: Northern Southern Central Companies Profiled: Viet Vision Travel & Trading JSC Lily's Travel Agency Hello Vietnam Travel Vietnam Amazing Tours Deluxe Vietnam Tours Co. Get Up and Go Vietnam Vietnam Escape Tours Threeland Travel Vietnam Adventure Tour Phu Quoc Island Explorer For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fprp23 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Dublin, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Data Center Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2019-2029F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Data Center Market was valued at USD 200.3 Billion in 2023, and is expected to reach USD 479.80 Billion by 2029, rising at a CAGR of 15.50% Market growth is driven by several factors, including the exponential increase in data generation from digital transformation initiatives, the rise of cloud computing, and the growing adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT). These trends are pushing organizations to enhance their IT infrastructure, leading to increased investments in data centers. Additionally, the demand for low-latency, high-performance computing is driving the deployment of edge data centers closer to end-users. Increasing Demand for Cloud Services The exponential rise in demand for cloud services is a significant driver of growth in the data center market. As businesses increasingly migrate their operations to cloud-based environments, the need for robust, scalable, and secure data centers has become paramount. This trend is driven by several factors, including the growing adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) models, which offer businesses flexible and cost-effective solutions for their IT needs. Cloud service providers require extensive data center infrastructure to support their operations, which in turn fuels the expansion and development of new data centers globally. This trend is further amplified by the rise of edge computing, which necessitates the development of data centers in diverse locations to enhance performance and reduce latency. Together, these factors underscore the critical role of data centers in the modern digital economy and their continued growth in the foreseeable future. Ensuring Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Data centers generate significant heat, necessitating robust cooling solutions to maintain optimal operating temperatures. Conventional air conditioning systems are energy-intensive and often inefficient, leading to excessive energy consumption. To combat this, data centers are exploring alternative cooling methods, such as liquid cooling and free cooling, which leverage natural temperature differentials to reduce energy usage. Implementing these advanced cooling technologies can significantly improve energy efficiency but requires substantial investment and expertise. In addition to cooling, optimizing overall energy usage is crucial. Data centers must adopt energy-efficient hardware, such as low-power processors and solid-state drives, to reduce power consumption. Virtualization and consolidation technologies can also enhance efficiency by maximizing the utilization of existing resources, thereby reducing the need for additional physical servers. Furthermore, data centers are increasingly relying on renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, to power their operations. The Edge Computing and Decentralization of Data Centers One of the key drivers of edge computing is the need for real-time data processing and analysis. Applications such as autonomous driving, augmented reality, and industrial IoT require immediate data insights to function effectively. By reducing the distance data must travel, edge computing significantly lowers latency, enabling faster decision-making and enhancing user experiences. Additionally, this approach alleviates the strain on network bandwidth, as less data needs to be sent back and forth between central data centers and end devices. The rise of 5G networks is further propelling the adoption of edge computing. With its high-speed, low-latency capabilities, 5G provides the necessary infrastructure to support edge deployments. As 5G networks become more widespread, the demand for edge data centers is expected to surge, enabling a new wave of applications and services that rely on ultra-fast, reliable connectivity. Consequently, many data center providers are investing in edge infrastructure to capitalize on this trend, positioning themselves to meet the growing need for localized data processing solutions. From a business perspective, edge computing offers significant cost advantages. Sustainability and Green Data Centers Sustainability has emerged as a critical trend in the data center market, driven by growing environmental concerns and the increasing emphasis on corporate social responsibility. Data centers are notorious for their substantial energy consumption and carbon footprint, prompting the industry to seek more sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. This shift towards green data centers is not only about regulatory compliance but also about meeting the expectations of stakeholders who prioritize environmental stewardship. One of the primary strategies for achieving sustainability in data centers is the adoption of renewable energy sources. Companies are increasingly investing in solar, wind, and hydroelectric power to fuel their operations. By transitioning to renewable energy, data centers can significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate their impact on the environment. Major players in the industry, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, have already made substantial commitments to achieving carbon neutrality and using 100% renewable energy for their data centers. These initiatives set a benchmark for the industry, encouraging other operators to follow suit. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 180 Forecast Period 2023 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $200.3 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $479.8 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 15.5% Regions Covered Global Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Data Center Market. NTT Communications Corporation IBM Corporation Hitachi Ltd Cisco System Inc Amazon.com Inc. Oracle Corporation SAP SE Microsoft Corporation Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Equinix, Inc. Data Center Market, By Type: Corporate Data Centers Web Hosting Data Data Center Market, By Density: Low Medium High Extreme Data Center Market, By End-User: Banking & Financial Services Telecom & IT Government Healthcare Data Center Market, By Region: North America United States Canada Mexico Europe France United Kingdom Italy Germany Spain Asia-Pacific China India Japan Australia South Korea South America Brazil Argentina Colombia Middle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Kuwait Turkey Key Topics Covered: 1. Product Overview 2. Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Voice of Customer 5. Global Data Center Market Outlook 6. North America Data Center Market Outlook 7. Europe Data Center Market Outlook 8. Asia-Pacific Data Center Market Outlook 9. South America Data Center Market Outlook 10. Middle East and Africa Data Center Market Outlook 11. Market Dynamics 12. Market Trends & Developments 13. Company Profiles 14. Strategic Recommendations For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/nohmj2 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Dublin, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Medical Holography Market: Analysis By Product, By Application, By End-User, By Region Size and Trends - Forecast up to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global medical holography market was valued at US$1.55 billion in 2023. The market value is expected to reach US$7.11 billion by 2029. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approx. 29% during the forecasted period of 2024-2029. The global medical holography market is characterized by rapid advancements in technology and the entry of innovative players, fostering a competitive and dynamic landscape. Medical holography is a cutting-edge technology that leverages the principles of holography to revolutionize healthcare by creating highly detailed, three-dimensional (3D) visual representations of anatomical structures and medical data. In the forthcoming years, the global medical holography market is expected to witness continued growth due to several factors. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) are enhancing the capabilities of holography, enabling real-time analysis, image enhancement, and more interactive user experiences. The increasing focus on precision medicine, where treatments are tailored to individual patients based on detailed diagnostic data, is another major growth driver. Medical holography, with its ability to provide patient-specific 3D imaging, aligns perfectly with this trend. North America held the highest share of market, whereas Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forthcoming years. The US dominates the North American medical holography market, driven by its advanced healthcare infrastructure, significant investments in medical technology, and high acceptance of innovative imaging solutions. Academic institutions and healthcare providers in the US have increasingly integrated holographic imaging into medical education, enabling students and professionals to visualize anatomy and pathophysiology in 3D. For example, Crescent Regional Hospital in the US has partnered with Holoconnects to implement advanced holographic technology that significantly improves patient care. The UK is poised to be a major contributor to the growth of the medical holography market in Europe, thanks to its strong healthcare infrastructure and emphasis on technological innovation. The National Health Service (NHS) and private healthcare providers are increasingly adopting advanced imaging technologies to improve patient care and streamline medical workflows. Furthermore, the UK's commitment to fostering innovation through grants and funding programs ensures continuous advancements in medical holography. For example, in 2024, HoloSurge (a group of 14 European leaders in technology and healthcare) has been awarded research & innovation grant of 8.9 million (US$11.15 million). Their project aims to reduce surgical complications and improve outcomes using HoloCare's interactive 3D organ hologram technology. China's medical holography market is growing rapidly due to significant investments in healthcare modernization and technological advancements. The Chinese government's focus on enhancing healthcare services and integrating digital health technologies has paved the way for adopting innovations like holography. Medical institutions in China are increasingly utilizing holographic imaging for diagnostics, surgical planning, and education, improving the quality of care and outcomes. Additionally, rising investments in healthcare infrastructure, particularly in emerging economies, are expected to boost the adoption of medical holography. Governments and private players are recognizing the potential of this technology to improve healthcare outcomes and are investing in research, development, and deployment. Market Segmentation Analysis: By Product: The report provides the bifurcation of the global medical holography market based on the product: Holographic Display, Microscope, Software, Print, and Other Products. Surgeons rely on holographic displays to examine complex spatial relationships between organs, tissues, and blood vessels, improving the accuracy of procedures. Additionally, the ability to project holographic images during surgeries enhances real-time decision-making. In education, holographic displays are used to teach medical students and professionals by providing interactive and detailed visualizations of human anatomy, fostering a deeper understanding of complex systems. These factors have contributed to the holographic display segment holding the highest market share. On the other hand, the holographic microscope segment is poised to be the fastest-growing segment in the medical holography market due to its unparalleled ability to provide detailed insights into cellular and molecular structures. Unlike traditional microscopes, holographic microscopes use light diffraction to create 3D images of microscopic samples, allowing researchers and clinicians to observe biological processes in real-time without staining or labeling. This non-invasive approach is particularly valuable in live-cell imaging, enabling the study of cellular dynamics, drug responses, and disease mechanisms. By Application: The report provides the segmentation of the market based on the following application: Biomedical Research, Medical Education, and Medical Imaging. The biomedical research held the highest share of the market, whereas the medical education is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the forecasted period. The demand for medical holography in biomedical research has surged due to its transformative ability to provide detailed and dynamic 3D visualizations of biological systems. Researchers benefit from the technology's capacity to observe complex cellular, molecular, and tissue interactions in real-time, enabling a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms, drug responses, and therapeutic interventions. Whereas, medical education is witnessing a rapid transformation with the adoption of medical holography, driving significant demand in this application. Traditional teaching methods, which often rely on 2D diagrams, models, or cadavers, are limited in their ability to provide an immersive learning experience. Holography overcomes these limitations by offering interactive, 3D visualizations of human anatomy, allowing students and professionals to explore organs, tissues, and systems from multiple angles. This hands-on approach enhances comprehension and retention of complex medical concepts. By End-User: The report provides the bifurcation of the global medical holography market based on the end-user: Research Laboratories, Hospitals & Clinics, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, and Academic Centers. Research laboratories held the highest share of the market, whereas academic centers segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the forecasted period. Research laboratories have been at the forefront of adopting medical holography, driving significant demand for the technology. These facilities heavily rely on advanced imaging techniques to support their investigations into disease mechanisms, drug development, and molecular biology. Medical holography provides unparalleled 3D visualizations that allow researchers to study complex biological structures and interactions in real-time, offering deeper insights that are unattainable with traditional imaging methods. On the other hand, academic centers are rapidly adopting medical holography for education, training, and research, driving significant demand in this segment. The technology offers an immersive learning experience, enabling students and professionals to visualize and interact with 3D models of human anatomy, pathological conditions, and surgical procedures. This hands-on approach enhances comprehension and retention of complex medical concepts. Market Dynamics Growth Drivers Increasing Adoption in Medical Education and Training Growing Applications in Diagnostics and Surgical Planning Rising Demand for Minimally Invasive Procedures Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases Supportive Government Initiatives and Funding Rising Demand for holography in Research and Development Advantages of Holography over Traditional Imaging Methods Challenges High Cost of Medical Holography Limited Awareness and Acceptance Market Trends Growing Adoption of Telemedicine and Remote Diagnostics Integration with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Growth of Personalized and Precision Medicine Advancements in Holographic Technology Rise in Mixed reality (MR) Application Competitive Landscape: Business Overview, Operating Regions, Business Strategy Phase Holographic Imaging AB RealView Imaging Ltd. EchoPixel, Inc. Ovizio Imaging Systems NV/SA Nanolive SA EON Reality, Inc. Zebra Imaging Holografika Lyncee Tec SA For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/eolqgd About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Helsinki, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finnish nuclear innovator Steady Energy announces a 22M funding milestone led by 92 Ventures, a Copenhagen-based nuclear-focused investment firm. The investment underscores private-sector confidence in Steady Energy and its breakthrough reactor design which will deliver affordable, zero-emission heat to Europe and beyond. Steady Energy, a Finnish pioneer in small modular reactor (SMR) solutions, has secured 22 million in funding and will commence constructing a full-scale pilot plant in the second half of this year. The 22 million funding milestone brings the company very close to completing its B-round and solidifies its lead in the race for the worlds first commercial SMR in operation. This is a major step for Steady Energy and a strong endorsement of our team and technology: we are on track to demonstrate that we can deliver nuclear heat that is scalable and commercially attractive, said Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman. With our technology, utilities can eliminate their CO 2 emissions more quickly and with a better return on investment than with nuclear plants that generate both heat and electricity, Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman said. At 92 Ventures, we believe nuclear energy must expand beyond the electricity sector to enable deep decarbonization. District heating presents an exciting opportunity for nuclear to play a transformative role, and Steady Energys LDR-50 is a practical, scalable solution that can extend beyond district heating to industrial heat applications, said Anatol Kjr Knudsen, CEO and co-founder of 92 Ventures. As part of this investment, Chirayu Batra, CTO of 92 Ventures, will join Steady Energys board of directors, bringing deep expertise in nuclear energy and strategic growth. Lifeline Ventures, an investor in Steady Energy since its beginning, also participated in the recent funding round. Steady Energys reactor technology is based on world-class research and development at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. It is an attractive alternative for energy utilities and, crucially, is available within the tight timeframes that decarbonization needs, said Mr. Timo Ahopelto, a founding partner at Lifeline Ventures. Heating uses 40% of all energy and is the single biggest CO 2 source in the world. In Europe, fossil fuels are the main source of district heat, and heating is the purpose Steady Energys 50 MW nuclear reactor is designed for. This allows it to deliver heat at below 40/MWh, which is more affordable than bioenergy, conventional nuclear and fossil fuels by a significant margin. Inquiries and interview requests Director Lauri Muranen, Steady Energy Ltd, +358407076637, lauri.muranen@steadyenergy.fi About Steady Energy Finnish technology company developing a heat-only SMR Headquarters in Espoo, Finland CEO Tommi Nyman Founded in 2023 25 employees Previously raised 14 million in funding steadyenergy.com About Steady Energys LDR-50 Reactor 50 megawatts thermal power For district heating and industrial applications The size of a shipping container Built underground Energy cost (LCOH) under 40/MWh Near-100% efficiency, emission-free, lifetime carbon footprint akin to offshore wind Light water technology, refueling every 23 years Only few moving parts, very low operating temperatures and pressure About 92 Ventures Copenhagen-based clean-tech investment firm Committed to identifying and supporting technologies for large-scale decarbonization Co-founded by Joachim Ante, co-founder and former CTO of the video gaming software company Unity Focuses on companies pushing nuclear innovation, including advanced reactor designs, next-generation nuclear fuels, nuclear fuel cycle and digitalization, supply chain optimization, advanced manufacturing, and project delivery www.92ventures.dk About Lifeline Ventures Finnish early-stage investor Investor in some of Finlands most iconic growth companies, such as Supercell, Wolt and Oura Has invested in deep tech and industrial growth companies, like green hydrogen producer P2X Solutions, cargo ship wind propulsion maker Norsepower, food tech company Solar Foods, and Smartly, one of worlds largest digital advertising platforms. lifelineventures.com Attachment Dublin, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Saudi Arabia Tire Market, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2020-2030F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Saudi Arabia Tire Market is projected to reach $711.8 million by 2030, growing from $537.57 million in 2024 at a CAGR of 4.79%. Market growth is fueled by automobile industry expansion, rising disposable income, & increased demand for premium and specialty tires. The shift towards radial tires, OEM investments, and urbanization is driving demand, while economic volatility and oil price fluctuations pose challenges. Key players include Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, & Yokohama. This report highlights market trends, segmentation, regional analysis, and competitive dynamics shaping Saudi Arabias tire industry future. Tire market in Saudi Arabia has experienced consistent and impressive growth over the past few years. This growth can be attributed to several factors, including the expansion of the automotive sector and the increasing number of vehicle owners in the country. The automotive sector in Saudi Arabia has witnessed substantial development, with major players investing in manufacturing facilities and the establishment of research and development centers. These investments have led to advancements in tire technology and production methods, making Saudi Arabia tires highly sought after in both domestic and international markets. The rapid urbanization and the rise in disposable income among the population have fueled the demand for vehicles, leading to a significant surge in the tire market. As more people move to cities and have more purchasing power, the need for cars has increased considerably, resulting in a higher demand for tires. Moreover, the government has implemented initiatives to improve public transportation infrastructure, which has further contributed to the demand for tires. The expansion of public transportation networks, such as buses and light rail systems, requires a substantial number of tires to support their operations. Market Drivers Economic Prosperity and Automotive Industry Growth One of the primary market drivers for the tire industry in Saudi Arabia is the country's economic prosperity and the subsequent growth of its automotive sector. The Kingdom's oil-rich economy has led to increased disposable income among its citizens, which, in turn, has resulted in higher car ownership rates. As more people invest in vehicles, the demand for tires rises, driving market growth. Saudi Arabia has also been actively encouraging automotive manufacturing and assembly within the country, leading to an expansion of the local automotive industry. This growth further bolsters the tire market as it provides a domestic market for manufacturers. For instance, in March 2024, Saudi Arabia prepared to launch The Rig, a groundbreaking floating theme park that aimed to transform adventure tourism. Covering nearly 1.6 million square feet, it was set to be one of the largest structures ever built on water. Located on a decommissioned oil rig, The Rig promised exciting attractions along with top-notch amenities, including hotels and restaurants. Key Market Challenges Economic Volatility and Oil Price Fluctuations One of the most significant challenges facing the Saudi Arabia tire market is the country's vulnerability to economic volatility, particularly in relation to fluctuations in global oil prices. The Kingdom heavily relies on oil exports for its revenue, and as such, its economy is intricately tied to the price of oil. When oil prices experience sharp declines, the Saudi economy can suffer, leading to reduced consumer spending and economic uncertainty. These factors directly impact the demand for tires, as consumers may postpone purchases of non-essential items, including tires, during economic downturns. To mitigate this challenge, the tire industry needs to adapt to the cyclical nature of the Saudi economy and implement strategies to weather economic downturns. Key Market Trends Shift Towards Premium and Specialty Tires One prominent trend in the Saudi Arabia tire market is the increasing demand for premium and specialty tires. As the country's economy has grown, consumers have become more discerning, looking for tires that offer enhanced performance, durability, and safety. Premium tire brands, known for their advanced technology and superior quality, have gained popularity among Saudi consumers. There is a growing interest in specialty tires designed for specific applications, such as off-road driving, high-speed performance, and extreme weather conditions. This trend is driven by the desire for a better driving experience and increased safety, leading to an expanding market for high-end and specialized tire options. Key Market Players Bridgestone Continental Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd Michelin Group Pirelli & C. S.p.A. Yokohama Rubber Company Limited Kumho Tire Co. Inc. Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 86 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $537.57 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $711.8 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 4.7% Regions Covered Saudi Arabia Report Scope: In this report, the Saudi Arabia Tire Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Saudi Arabia Tire Market, By Vehicle Type: Passenger Car Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCV) Off-the-Road Vehicles (OTR) Three Wheelers Two-Wheeler Saudi Arabia Tire Market, By Demand Category: OEM Replacement Saudi Arabia Tire Market, By Tire Construction Type: Radial Bias Saudi Arabia Tire Market, By Region: Western Eastern Southern Northern & Central For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/woop3 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Sets March 14, 2025, as Record Date for Shareholders to Act by Written Consent in Connection with Sherwoods Latest Self-Serving Campaign to Take Control of Barnwell Sherwoods Consent Solicitation is Yet Another Attempt to Steal the Company from Shareholders Without Paying a Premium for Control HONOLULU, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barnwell Industries, Inc. (NYSE American: BRN) (Barnwell or the Company) today announced that the Executive Committee of the Barnwell Board of Directors has disqualified the controlling slate of director nominees submitted by one of its shareholders, Ned Sherwood, in connection with 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. As previously disclosed on February 25, 2025, the Executive Committee informed Sherwood that it rejected his nomination notice because it was defective and insufficient as it failed to include material information required by both the Companys bylaws and federal securities regulations. Barnwell Sets Record Date for Sherwoods Consent Solicitation Sherwood Continues to Seek Control of Barnwell with NO PLAN Other than to Take Control of the Company Sherwood is now aggressively pursuing shareholder approval to replace the entire Barnwell Board of Directors. This is yet another attempt by Sherwood to seize control of Barnwell at the expense of its public shareholders, without offering any premium for control. Moreover, despite repeated requests from the Company over several months, Sherwood has failed to present any alternative strategy for the Company, and after many months, his so-called plan is still forthcoming. Furthermore, Sherwood is now attempting to oust his own nominee, Doug Woodrum, a current Barnwell Board member, who was part of Sherwoods slate for the upcoming 2025 Annual Meeting. Notably absent from Sherwoods Consent Solicitation is another previously chosen nominee, Sherwoods Chief Investment Officer, Ben Pierson, who was secretly buying Barnwell shares throughout 2024 while Sherwood was party to a Cooperation Agreement with the Company. Sherwoods latest attempt to replace the entire Barnwell Board with his slate of hand-picked nominees continues his long history of disrupting the Companys governance processes and interfering with the Companys operations, while creating significant expense to the Company. Indeed, the Executive Committee has sought several times to avoid the cost and distraction of Sherwoods actions, including a recent settlement offer whereby five of seven directors would be individuals expressly approved by Sherwood who would then become Chairman of the Board. However, Sherwoods sole interest appears to be to have 100% control of the Board. Barnwell shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 14, 2025, are eligible to execute, withhold and revoke written consents. Barnwell expects to file preliminary consent revocation materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in response to the preliminary consent solicitation statement filed by Sherwood on March 4, 2025. The Barnwell Executive Committee Comprises Majority Independent and Highly Experienced Directors Acting on Behalf of All Shareholders As Barnwell has disclosed, the current Board was expressly approved by Sherwood under a 2023 settlement whereby the Company and Sherwood each designated two directors. At that time, a fifth director, Joshua Horowitz, was selected as a compromise board member and was vetted by Sherwood and expressly endorsed by both parties to the settlement agreement. The Company also separately announced today that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to sell its water well subsidiary, as part of its ongoing plan to refocus on its core oil and gas exploration business and reduce general and administrative expenses, all of which actions have been previously endorsed by Sherwood. The Barnwell Executive Committee will continue to take actions that it believes represent the best interest of ALL Barnwell shareholders. The Company also announced that it expects to hold its uncontested 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in its fiscal third quarter (second calendar quarter) of 2025. The record date and meeting date for the 2025 Annual Meeting have not yet been set. Forward-Looking Statements The information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. A forward-looking statement is one which is based on current expectations of future events or conditions and does not relate to historical or current facts. These statements include various estimates, forecasts, projections of Barnwells future performance, statements of Barnwells plans and objectives, and other similar statements. Forward-looking statements include phrases such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, predicts, estimates, assumes, projects, may, will, will be, should, or similar expressions. Although Barnwell believes that its current expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure that the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause actual results to differ materially from Barnwells expectations are set forth in the Forward-Looking Statements, Risk Factors and other sections of Barnwells annual report on Form 10-K for the last fiscal year and Barnwells other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, as they speak only as of the date of this press release, and Barnwell expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. Important Additional Information and Where to Find It Barnwell Industries, Inc. (the Company) plans to file proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Companys 2025 annual meeting of stockholders (the 2025 Annual Meeting) and plans to file a consent revocation statement in connection with the Sherwood Groups consent statement which, among other things, seeks to remove and replace the current members of the Board of Directors of the Company. Prior to the 2025 Annual Meeting, the Company will file a definitive proxy statement (the Proxy Statement) together with a WHITE proxy card. The Company will also file a definitive revocation statement (the Revocation Statement) together with a WHITE revocation card. STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND THE REVOCATION STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY WILL FILE WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Stockholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of the Proxy Statement, the Revocation Statement and any amendments or supplements thereto and any other documents (including the WHITE proxy card and WHITE revocation card) when filed by the Company with the SEC at the SECs website (http://www.sec.gov) or at the Companys website at https://ir.brninc.com/ or by contacting Alexander Kinzler, Secretary and General Counsel of the Company, by phone at (808) 531-8400, by email at akinzler@brninc.com or by mail at Barnwell Industries, Inc., 1100 Alakea Street, Suite 500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Certain Information Regarding Participants The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers and other employees may be deemed to be participants (as defined in Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the 2025 Annual Meeting. Additional information regarding the identity of these potential participants and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the Proxy Statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the 2025 Annual Meeting. Information relating to the foregoing can also be found in the Companys definitive proxy statement for its 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 2, 2024. To the extent holdings of such participants in the Companys securities have changed since the amounts described in the Proxy Statement, such changes have been reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 3 and Form 4 filed with the SEC: Form 3, filed by Craig Hopkins, with the filings of the Company on May 16, 2024 ; Form 4, filed by Craig Hopkins, with the filings of the Company on May 20, 2024 , August 29, 2024 , January 13, 2025 and January 17, 2025 ; Form 4, filed by Joshua Horowitz, with the filings of the Company on August 23, 2024 and October 28, 2024 ; Form 4, filed by Kenneth Grossman, with the filings of the Company on October 28, 2024 ; and Form 4, filed by Douglas Woodrum, with the filings of the Company on October 28, 2024 . These filings can be found at the SECs website at www.sec.gov. More detailed and updated information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests (by security holdings or otherwise), will be set forth in the proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. CONTACTS: Investors: Bruce Goldfarb / Chuck Garske (212) 297-0720 info@okapipartners.com Kenneth S. Grossman Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Email: kensgrossman@gmail.com LIJA, Malta, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlocScale, The first-ever IDO launchpad built on the XRP Ledger, is proud to announce major milestones in its growth and outline its vision for the future. After a sold-out private sale and the kickoff of an eagerly anticipated seed funding round, BlocScale has onboarded its first project and set the stage for a new era of fundraising on XRP. Blocscale IDO platform is not only simplifying how blockchain projects raise capital on the XRP Ledger, but also opening the door for businesses to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) on-chain. BlocScales Growth & Achievements $BLOC Token private sale sold out, reflecting strong investor demand and confidence. BlocScales journey is off to a remarkable start. In February 2025, Blocscale private sale for its native $BLOC token was completely sold out, closing ahead of schedule due to overwhelming investor demand. This successful private round, which allocated 4% of the $BLOC supply, is a clear indicator of strong investor confidence in BlocScales vision and long-term potential. The sold-out private sale of $BLOC token is a robust testament to the strong investor confidence in BlocScales vision, noted the blocscale team, emphasizing how this milestone cements BlocScales position as the leading decentralized fundraising platform on XRP Ledger. Early backers have validated BlocScales approach to bridging Web3 startups and real-world businesses with much-needed capital-raising opportunities on the XRP Ledger. Bloscale Launchpad Seed Sale is Now Live Following the soldout private sale, BlocScale wasted no time in expanding its ecosystem. The $BLOC seed round is now underway, offering early investors an exclusive opportunity to acquire $BLOC tokens at an attractive entry price before broader exchange listings and platform expansions. Priced at 1 XRP for 50 $BLOC, the seed sale is allocating 10,000,000 $BLOC (10% of the total supply) with a hard cap of 200,000 XRP. This seed funding round has been met with enthusiasm from the XRP community and venture investors alike, given BlocScales unique position as XRPLs inaugural launchpad. Investor interest remains high, as participants recognize this as a rare chance to become stakeholders in the first launchpad on XRP before its token potentially appreciates with further development. Participate in the BlocScale Seed Round and secure your stake in the BlocScale ecosystem: https://www.blocscale.com/blocsale XCAT Presale is Live on Blocscale Launchpad Another groundbreaking achievement for BlocScale is the onboarding of its first project, XCAT Memecoin. XCAT is a community-driven token built for fun and viral engagement on XRPL. It has the honor of being the first IDO project to launch via BlocScale. Its presale, running from March 3 to March 28, 2025, is hosted exclusively on the BlocScale platform. BlocScale provides XCAT with a seamless token launch experience, including automatic trustline setup, instant DEX liquidity upon launch, and robust marketing support to reach the XRP community. This successful launch not only validates BlocScales model but also demonstrates the platforms core mission in action: giving new projects the infrastructure and exposure needed to succeed on the XRP Ledger. The XCAT presales smooth rollout and community reception have further reinforced BlocScales reputation and attracted additional projects to consider launching through the platform. Participate in XCAT Presale Now: https://www.blocscale.com/xcat The Future of Fundraising on XRP BlocScale is revolutionizing project launches on the XRP Ledger, filling a crucial gap that existed in the XRP ecosystem. Until now, new crypto projects seeking capital often gravitated toward platforms on Ethereum, BSC, or Solana ecosystems that offered established launchpads and deeper liquidity. The XRP Ledger, despite its high-speed, low-cost transactions, lacked a dedicated launchpad for emerging projects. BlocScale is changing that narrative by making it easy for projects to raise capital and gain liquidity natively on XRPL, unlocking XRPs full potential as a hub for innovation. By providing an all-in-one launch framework, BlocScale lowers the barrier to entry for developers and entrepreneurs who want to build on XRP. Projects on BlocScale benefit from guided token creation, built-in compliance checks, automated trustline processes, and immediate access to XRPLs built-in decentralized exchange for listing and trading tokens. BlocScales impact on XRP fundraising is multifaceted: Expanding XRPs Adoption: Every new project that launches via BlocScale brings more users, transactions, and liquidity to the XRP Ledger, boosting real-world network activity. This drives XRP adoption beyond just payments, as diverse use cases (from DeFi to gaming to community tokens) flourish on the network. Dedicated Launchpad for XRPL: For the first time, Web3 startups and even traditional businesses have a go-to launchpad in the XRP ecosystem to raise funds transparently. Developers now have a home on XRPL to kickstart their tokenized projects, rather than relying on external chains . BlocScales presence signals that XRP is open for business when it comes to new token launches. Competitive Edge for XRP: By filling the launchpad void, BlocScale strengthens XRPs competitive position against other blockchain networks. XRP Ledger can now compete with Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain as a preferred platform for IDOs and ICOs . This adds a new dimension to XRPs utility and could attract projects that value XRPLs speed and cost advantages. Investor Confidence & Protection: BlocScale introduces a more structured and transparent fundraising process on XRP, which boosts investor confidence . Features like project vetting, standardized token sale terms, and liquidity locks help protect participants. XRP holders can invest in new projects through a familiar, XRPL-based interface, without the need to use cross-chain bridges or unfamiliar platforms. Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization on XRP Beyond crypto startups, BlocScale is breaking new ground in how real-world assets are brought onto the blockchain. The platform is actively working to enable businesses to tokenize assets on the XRP Ledger, opening up new opportunities for global investors to participate in traditionally illiquid or locally confined markets. BlocScales vision of bridging Web3 startups and real-world businesses comes to life through RWA tokenization. This means that assets such as real estate, company equity, commodities, or even art can be represented as digital tokens on XRP and made available to a worldwide pool of investors, all through a compliant and efficient process. Tokenizing real-world assets involves converting ownership rights of a physical asset into a digital token recorded on XRPs decentralized ledger. For example: a real estate developer could raise funds by tokenizing a property splitting it into digital shares that investors around the world can buy, sell, or trade in seconds. Similarly, a growing business might tokenize a portion of its equity via BlocScale, allowing it to crowdfund investment from XRP holders in exchange for fractional ownership in the company. The XRP Ledgers design (with no smart contract requirement for simple token issuance) makes such tokenization straightforward, while its built-in DEX enables immediate trading of these tokens in a transparent marketplace . This is incredibly powerful for bringing liquidity to assets that traditionally might take weeks or months to transact. Looking Ahead: BlocScales Vision and How to Get Involved With its early successes, BlocScale Launchpad is poised to become a cornerstone of the XRP Ledger ecosystem. The roadmap ahead is filled with initiatives aimed at sustaining this momentum and delivering value to both project creators and token holders. In the coming months, BlocScale plans to onboard more high-quality projects, ranging from utility-driven startups to additional community meme tokens, thereby continuously expanding the investment opportunities available on the platform. The team is also preparing for major exchange listings for the $BLOC token on prominent XRPL decentralized exchanges and, eventually, centralized exchanges. These listings will increase $BLOCs liquidity and reach, benefiting all early supporters. Further, BlocScale will roll out governance features that empower $BLOC token holders to have a say in the platforms evolution, such as voting on upcoming project launches and protocol upgrades. Alongside technical development, BlocScale is set to expand its marketing and partnership efforts, including collaborations with top crypto influencers and media outlets to raise awareness . This holistic growth strategy underscores a future where BlocScale leads a thriving launchpad economy on XRPL, driving innovation and adoption across the board. Stay Connected With Blocscale Launchpad; For more information, Visit: Website | BlocScale Launchpad Portal | X | Telegram | WhitePaper Contact Details: Eric Shawn contact@bloscale.com Disclaimer: This content is provided by BlocScale. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector--including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining--complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cb494be2-9969-4647-8ad1-5489f2448ea1 MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PATTISON Outdoor Advertising, Canadas leading provider of transit advertising, has entered into an exclusive advertising partnership with the Niagara Transit Commission (Niagara Transit). This agreement allows PATTISON to manage and sell advertising space on transit vehicles and shelters across Niagara Region, covering communities including Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Welland, Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Thorold, Grimsby, Pelham, and Wainfleet. Niagara Transit was established in 2022 to unify public transit services across Niagara Region, improving efficiency and connectivity for residents and visitors. This collaboration with PATTISON Outdoor represents a significant step in providing businesses with a seamless, region-wide advertising platform while supporting the long-term sustainability of public transit. "Since our formation in 2022, Niagara Transit has been focused on our strategic core values such as service excellence, customer focus and affordability. Partnering with PATTISON Outdoor allows us to work with an experienced and trusted advertising provider that shares our commitment to regional mobility and community engagement." Carla Stout, General Manager, Niagara Transit With this agreement, PATTISON Outdoor expands its presence in Niagara Region, building on decades of experience managing transit shelter advertising in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland. Now, with the addition of transit bus advertising, PATTISON is providing advertisers with new and expanded opportunities to connect with audiences across the region. This partnership reinforces transits role as a valuable platform for economic growth, helping businesses reach customers in high-traffic, high-visibility locations. "This agreement represents an exciting evolution of our work in Niagara. Having managed transit shelter advertising here for decades, were now able to offer businesses even more ways to connect with their audiences through transit bus advertising. This expansion allows us to support local businesses, transit users, and the broader community in new and innovative ways. We look forward to working with Niagara Transit to deliver impactful advertising solutions that drive engagement and economic growth across the region." Nicholas Campney, Director, Leasing and Legislation, PATTISON Outdoor Advertising Under this agreement, advertisers will have access to a diverse range of transit advertising products, designed to maximize brand exposure and engagement. PATTISON will offer advertising opportunities across Niagara Transits fleet of more than 180 transit vehicles, including conventional, microtransit, and specialized transit buses. Available formats will include interior and exterior posters, with additional half-wrap and full-wrap advertising options expected to roll out in the future. Complementing this, 150 double-sided transit shelters featuring illuminated ad panels at street level will provide high-visibility placements throughout the region, ensuring impactful exposure for businesses looking to engage both transit riders and pedestrians. As the transit network evolves, PATTISON will work closely with Niagara Transit to explore new advertising formats, keeping Niagara at the forefront of transit advertising innovation. PATTISON Outdoor continues to strengthen its presence in Ontarios transit advertising sector, working with leading transit networks such as GO Transit, Grand River Transit, and Mississauga Transit. With a dedicated local sales and operations team, PATTISON remains committed to delivering high-impact transit advertising solutions that connect businesses with audiences throughout Niagara. For more information about transit advertising opportunities in Niagara, visit pattisonoutdoor.com. About PATTISON Outdoor PATTISON Outdoor Advertising, a division of The Jim Pattison Group is Canadas largest Out-of-Home advertising company. PATTISON Outdoor helps brands and businesses harness the power of Out-of-Home advertising by providing the most comprehensive range of products, markets, insights and customer support services. With its roots reaching back to 1908, PATTISON has been providing innovative solutions for Out-of-Home advertising opportunities with products ranging from traditional billboards to transit, digital, airport, residential, office, and street level formats. PATTISON is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with over 25 sales offices across the country, providing advertisers unmatched reach and coverage with products available in over 200 markets coast to coast. www.pattisonoutdoor.com www.linkedin.com/company/pattison-outdoor www.instagram.com/pattisonoutdoor www.facebook.com/pattisonoutdooradvertising www.twitter.com/pattisonoutdoor https://www.youtube.com/PattisonOOH/ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4c0c502c-76fb-4b73-a6c4-6ed314f37831 Beijing, China, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "two sessions" are not only a major political event in China but also a key window for the world to observe the country's democratic politics and development trajectory. This year, as in years past, the event has captured considerable global attention, highlighting China's ongoing development and its implications for the world stage. In the "Unraveling the allure of China" series, the Global Times (GT) invites experts and scholars from around the world to delve into the multifaceted allure of China and explore how the lessons drawn from its unique experiences can provide valuable insights for other nations. In the first installment, Keith Bennett (Bennett), vice chairman of the 48 Group Club and a veteran China watcher, shared his insights with GT reporter Wang Zixuan on this year's "two sessions" and the global significance of Chinese modernization. GT: The third session of the 14th National People's Congress and the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or "two sessions" in short, will convene in Beijing on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively. What are your expectations about this event? Bennett: I think that there's going to be more international attention on the "two sessions" than usual this year. The reason for this is the background against which they will take place in an internationally volatile and unstable situation, which poses challenges not only to China, but to other countries and the global economy as a whole. How China responds will affect not just China, but the world economy as a whole. So, obviously, China will have to take the current situation into account and make necessary policy adjustments. However, I think the main thing that we will see is that China is prepared for any challenge. And if China continues on a long course of steady, measured and high-quality development, it can rely on the vast potential of its internal market which has been highlighted by the dual circulation strategy. Faced with the unpredictable behavior of the US, even other developed economies will more deeply appreciate that China is a steady, reliable and trustworthy partner. GT: What role will the "two sessions" play this year in contributing to Chinese modernization and people's confidence in development, especially amid rising global uncertainty and the transformation of Chinese economy? Bennett: If you look at the developments over the last year, a central focus was the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in July last year. This sends a clear signal that China will not only continue its policy of reform and opening-up, but it will also enhance it qualitatively. This is further evidenced by the announcement of hundreds of reform measures at the third plenary session. However, I think there's a key change or development occurring with the reform and opening-up in China. Now, it is no longer simply a matter of making foreign things serve China, but it is also about what China contributes to the world. I expect that attention will be paid to the development of new quality productive forces. President Xi Jinping has been laying emphasis on this for some time. What recently caught the world's attention was the sudden emergence of DeepSeek. In relation to this, I expect to see the "two sessions" making an affirmation of the important role of the private sector within the broader system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. President Xi's recent meeting with entrepreneurs sent a strong signal in this regard. It was notable in that meeting that the attention was given to areas including high-tech and AI. I think this shows that the emphasis is being placed not only on the real economy but also on sustainability and developments that offer benefits to all humanity. GT: Pursuing common prosperity for all is considered an essential feature of Chinese modernization. What are the main characteristics of Chinese modernization? Bennett: Frist of all, Chinese modernization is a modernization of common prosperity. It seeks to avoid polarization and avoid the phenomenon of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. No other country has achieved modernization in this way. We still have those phenomena of polarization in Britain and the US. The second point is that it is green modernization that aims to make a healthy, clean, beautiful and sustainable modernization with emphasis on, for example, reforestation and preserving biodiversity, rather than a modernization that degrades the environment. Third, it is a modernization that rejects the old path of colonialism, war and the strong bullying the weak. Fourth, it is the modernization of a vast country. China is a country of over 1.4 billion people, about 17 percent of the world's population, and therefore its modernization will mean a profound change. GT: Why is the path of Chinese modernization proving to be effective? How does Chinese modernization challenge the notion that "modernization equals Westernization"? Bennett: I think it's effective because of the features that I've just described. The old path of modernization was characterized to a large extent by colonialism, oppression and war. Not only has it caused great misery and suffering, but it has also exhausted its potential. It's actually not a path that is available anymore because of the rise of the Global South as a whole. With its distinct features, Chinese modernization demonstrates that modernization no longer means Westernization. Chinese modernization and its suitability and efficacy for the majority of humanity will be expressed both quantitatively - by the largest number of people living in modernized conditions - and qualitatively, as it represents a better form of modernization that benefits all in society. It doesn't rely on oppressing other nations or peoples, and avoids polarization. GT: Why is the Chinese modernization path recognized by more and more countries? How has Chinese modernization affected other nations and the world? Bennett: Some people in the West are blaming China for their own problems, but the West is responsible for its own issues. It's been a kind of political trick in capitalist societies to find an external enemy to explain internal problems. In fact, China's rapid development has greatly benefitted the West on a number of levels. For example, during decades of China's reform and opening-up, Western capital has made significant profits in China, and thousands of jobs have been created and sustained thanks to Chinese investment in our countries and exports in China. Moreover, Chinese goods provide consumer with choice and value for money. China's modernization path is more and more recognized by many countries because rather than exploiting others, it offers opportunities. As President Xi said, China can only do well when the world is doing well. When China does well, the world will get even better. I think this is a kind of vision of equal and inclusive globalization, which is the very opposite of the "my country first" mentality or the "winner-takes-all" zero-sum game. The significance of Chinese modernization to the world is that it offers a new option for other countries who want to speed up development while preserving independence. The message that Chinese modernization sends to other countries is that if China can do it, then other countries can do it. Additionally, the significance of Chinese modernization to the world lies in its ability to address the global majority in a way that previous modernization projects have failed to achieve. This article first appeared in the Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202503/1329401.shtml Company: Global Times Contact Person: Anna Li Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn Website: https://globaltimes.cn City: Beijing Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only. All facts and opinions expressed in the referenced blog are those of the original author and do not represent the views or opinions of the distributing agency. The distributing agency does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the blog and assumes no liability for decisions made based on this content. This press release is not intended to provide investment, financial, or legal advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research or consult a professional advisor for guidance. Forward-looking statements in the blog are speculative and may not reflect actual outcomes. Dublin, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Generic Injectables - Global Strategic Business Report" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global market for Generic Injectables was valued at US$106.1 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$206.8 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2024 to 2030. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers and forecast. How Is The Demand for Affordable Treatments Shaping the Future of Generic Injectables? The increasing demand for affordable healthcare is significantly shaping the global market for generic injectables. As healthcare costs continue to rise, particularly for patented medications, generic injectables offer a critical solution to mitigate expenses without sacrificing therapeutic effectiveness. Governments and healthcare institutions worldwide are promoting the use of generics as part of cost-containment strategies, ensuring that broader populations have access to essential medicines. For instance, many public health programs and insurance companies are prioritizing generic injectables over their branded counterparts to treat large patient populations efficiently. This has resulted in a growing number of approvals for generic injectables by regulatory agencies such as the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Moreover, the expiration of patents for blockbuster drugs has opened the door for generic manufacturers to enter the market with lower-cost alternatives. This patent cliff has particularly affected high-demand therapeutic areas such as oncology, immunology, and neurology. Generic injectables in these categories have rapidly gained market share as healthcare providers switch to more cost-effective options. What Are the Key Drivers Propelling the Growth of the Generic Injectables Market? Growth in the generic injectables market is driven by several factors. One of the primary drivers is the increasing incidence of chronic diseases globally, which has led to a heightened demand for injectable therapies. Conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune disorders often require long-term or rapid-response treatments, and injectables are a preferred delivery method in these cases due to their fast-acting nature. As chronic diseases rise, especially in aging populations, the demand for affordable injectable medications continues to grow. Another significant driver is the advancement in biologics and biosimilars, which has expanded the range of complex injectables available in the market. As more biologic patents expire, opportunities for the introduction of biosimilar injectables increase, providing a lower-cost alternative to expensive branded biologics. Moreover, technological innovations in drug delivery systems, such as the development of prefilled syringes and autoinjectors, have made injectables more accessible to patients. These innovations support the trend towards home-based care and self-administration, reducing the burden on healthcare facilities. The global shift towards cost-effective healthcare solutions, combined with government initiatives to increase the use of generics, has further boosted the demand for generic injectables. Scope of the Study The report analyzes the Generic Injectables market, presented in terms of market value (US$ Thousand). The analysis covers the key segments outlined below. Segments: Product Type (Large Molecule Injectables, Small Molecule Injectables) Container Type (Vials, Ampoules, Prefilled Syringes, Premixes, Other Container Types) Administration Route (Intravenous Administration, Intramuscular Administration, Subcutaneous Administration, Other Administration Routes) Application (Oncology Application, Cardiology Application, Infectious Diseases Application, Diabetes Application, Immunology Application, Other Applications) Key Insights: Market Growth: Understand the significant growth trajectory of the Large Molecule Injectables segment, which is expected to reach US$145.9 Billion by 2030 with a CAGR of a 13.3%. The Small Molecule Injectables segment is also set to grow at 8.6% CAGR over the analysis period. Understand the significant growth trajectory of the Large Molecule Injectables segment, which is expected to reach US$145.9 Billion by 2030 with a CAGR of a 13.3%. The Small Molecule Injectables segment is also set to grow at 8.6% CAGR over the analysis period. Regional Analysis: Gain insights into the U.S. market, valued at $22.1 Billion in 2024, and China, forecasted to grow at an impressive 15.1% CAGR to reach $43.7 Billion by 2030. Discover growth trends in other key regions, including Japan, Canada, Germany, and the Asia-Pacific. Report Features: Comprehensive Market Data: Independent analysis of annual sales and market forecasts in US$ Million from 2024 to 2030. In-Depth Regional Analysis: Detailed insights into key markets, including the U.S., China, Japan, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Company Profiles: Coverage of major players such as Baxter International, Inc., Biocon Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Cosette Pharmaceutical, Inc., Dr. Reddys Laboratries and more. Complimentary Updates: Receive free report updates for one year to keep you informed of the latest market developments. Key Questions Answered: How is the Global Generic Injectables Market expected to evolve by 2030? What are the main drivers and restraints affecting the market? Which market segments will grow the most over the forecast period? How will market shares for different regions and segments change by 2030? Who are the leading players in the market, and what are their prospects? Some of the 43 major companies featured in this Generic Injectables market report include: Baxter International Biocon Cipla Cosette Pharmaceutical DR. Reddys Laboratries Fresenius Kabi USA Hikma Pharmaceuticals Lupin Ltd. Piramal Critical Care Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Winthrop US Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 602 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $106.1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $206.8 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 11.8% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered: MARKET OVERVIEW Efficacy and Cost Benefits Continue to Drive Growth in Global Generic Injectables Market Global Economic Outlook Generic Injectables - Global Key Competitors Percentage Market Share in 2024 Competitive Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial for Players Worldwide in 2024 Generic Injectables: Product Overview Recent Market Activity MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS A Look into Growing Shift Towards Injectables Complex Injectables and Small-Volume Parenterals: A Challenging but High-Value Market Upcoming Patent Expirations of Key Branded Injectable Drugs Throw the Spotlight on Generics as a Cost-Effective Alternative, Opening Up New Market Opportunities Notable Injectable Drugs Losing Patent Expiry: 2023 - 2028 Increasing Demand for Cost-Effective Healthcare Solutions Propels Significant Growth in the Generic Injectables Market Global Healthcare Infrastructure Spending (in Billion USD) for Years 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 Global Healthcare Spending as a % of GDP for the Years 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 Regulatory Incentives and Fast-Track Approvals for Biosimilars Strengthen the Business Case for Expanding Generic Injectable Offerings Expanding Geriatric Population and Rising Incidence of Age-Related Diseases Drive Strong Adoption of Generic Injectable Medications Technological Advancements in Injectable Drug Delivery Systems, Including Prefilled Syringes and Auto-Injectors, Sustain Long-Term Growth of Generic Injectables Surge in the Prevalence of Chronic Diseases, Such as Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disorders, Spurs Increased Demand for Generic Injectable Treatment Options Fatalities by Heart Conditions - Estimated Percentage Breakdown for Cardiovascular Disease, Ischemic Heart Disease, Stroke, and Others Rise in Incidence of Cancer and Associated High Treatment Costs Drives Demand for Generic Injectable Treatments Global Cancer Incidence: Number of New Cancer Cases in Million for the Years 2022 and 2050 Global Cancer Incidence by Region: 2022 Growing Availability of Complex Biologics and Biosimilars Expands the Addressable Market Opportunity for Generic Injectables, Increasing Market Penetration Growing Preference for Home-Based Healthcare Services and Self-Administration Drives Demand for Generic Injectable Auto-Injectors and Other Patient-Friendly Solutions Rise of Infectious Diseases Drive Demand for Injectables Global Breakdown of Deaths Due to Infectious Diseases (In 000s) Long-Term Mental Health Management Drives Growth Prospects Global Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders by Type Rising Demand for Affordable Alternatives to Branded Injectable Drugs Growth in Healthcare Expenditure Driving Demand for Cost-Effective Treatments Increasing Adoption of Generic Injectables in Hospitals and Ambulatory Settings Expansion of Generic Injectable Offerings in Oncology and Chronic Disease Management Surge in Demand for Injectable Antibiotics and Critical Care Medications Technological Advancements in Injectable Formulations for Improved Efficacy Growth in Outsourcing Injectable Manufacturing to Reduce Production Costs Expansion of Generic Injectables in Emerging Markets with Expanding Healthcare Access Increased Focus on Biologics and Biosimilar Injectable Products Rising Adoption of Pre-Filled Syringes and Auto-Injectors in Drug Delivery Development of Generic Injectables to Address Supply Shortages of Critical Medications Growth in Research and Development of Complex Injectables FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS Baxter International, Inc. Biocon Ltd. Cipla Ltd. Cosette Pharmaceutical, Inc. DR. Reddys Laboratries Ltd. Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC Lupin Ltd. Piramal Critical Care Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. Winthrop US For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s2q4vm About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment CHAMPAIGN, Ill., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dr. Linus Anukwu Scholarship for Future Doctors proudly announces its inaugural $1,000 award, open to undergraduate students across the United States pursuing careers in medicine. Established to honor the remarkable career of Dr. Linus Uchechukwu Anukwu, MD, MBAa Board-Certified Family Medicine physicianthis scholarship will be granted through a competitive essay contest, celebrating the next generation of healthcare innovators. Applications are now being accepted, with submissions due by November, 15th 2025, offering aspiring physicians a chance to fund their education and connect with a legacy of clinical excellence. Dr. Linus Anukwus journey in medicine spans continents and decades, from earning his MBBS at the University of Lagos in Nigeria to completing a fellowship in Clinical Immunology at Johns Hopkins University and an MBA at the University of Illinois. Currently practicing at Bayview Family Clinic in Champaign, Illinois, Dr. Anukwu has built a distinguished career, balancing a bustling outpatient practice with locum tenens hospitalist roles across Illinois and Indiana. His expertise in managing patient careoften in high-pressure ICU settingsand his commitment to mentorship inspired the creation of this scholarship. I want to support students who share my passion for healing and advancing healthcare, Dr. Anukwu said. This scholarship is about building a foundation for their dreams. The Dr. Linus Anukwu Scholarship is open to all undergraduate students enrolled at accredited U.S. colleges or universities who are on a pre-medical path or studying a related field leading to a career as a physician. Applicants are required to submit a 500-750-word essay responding to the prompt: How do you plan to use your medical career to address a pressing healthcare challenge facing your community, and how has Dr. Linus Anukwus dedication to patient care inspired your goals? Essays must be submitted as a PDF attachment to apply@drlinusanukwuscholarship.com by November, 15th 2025 at 11:59 PM CST, with the subject line 2025 Scholarship Application [Applicants Full Name]. A panel of reviewers will evaluates submissions based on originality, insight, and alignment with Dr. Anukwus values of compassionate care and innovation. This $1,000 award aims to alleviate some of the financial burdens of higher education, allowing recipients to focus on their studies and future contributions to medicine. Undergraduate years are a critical time for aspiring doctors, Dr. Linus Anukwu noted. This scholarship is a stepping stone to help them reach medical school and beyond. Winners will be announced by December, 15th 2025 and featured on the scholarships website and social media channels. Dr. Linus Anukwus career highlightssuch as his research publications on airway physiology, his leadership as Chief Medical Officer in Nigeria, and his extensive hospitalist experienceunderscore the scholarships mission to foster excellence. His blend of clinical skill, academic achievement, and patient-centered focus serves as a model for applicants. The essay contest encourages students to reflect on their own aspirations while drawing inspiration from a physician who has dedicated his life to improving lives. Interested students can find full details and application instructions at https://drlinusanukwuscholarship.com/. For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with Dr. Anukwu, please contact at apply@drlinusanukwuscholarship.com. The Dr. Linus Anukwu Scholarship for Future Doctors invites undergraduates nationwide to seize this opportunity to advance their education and honor a legacy of medical dedication. About Dr. Linus Anukwu: A Nigerian-born physician with over 20 years of experience, Dr. Anukwu is a leader in Family Medicine, currently serving patients in Illinois while mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Dr. Linus Anukwu Organization: Dr. Linus Anukwu Scholarship Website: https://drlinusanukwuscholarship Email: apply@drlinusanukwuscholarship.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/617ac8c4-9013-430c-aab4-9839243ab820 Toronto, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Habitat for Humanity GTA (Habitat GTA) is proud to announce that Tribute Communities is the recipient of its prestigious Developer for Humanity designation. Representatives from Habitat GTA presented the honour to Tribute Communities last night at the 2025 Building Industry and Land Development Association Chairs Dinner. The Developer for Humanity designation recognizes developers who go above and beyond in partnering with Habitat GTA to deliver affordable homeownership opportunities while also demonstrating parallel commitments to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which they build. The Developer for Humanity designation recognizes Tribute Communities for their exceptional track record in both areas. Since 2019, Tribute Communities has worked closely with Habitat GTA, supporting its mission to help families build strength, stability and independence by unlocking the benefits of affordable homeownership. Tribute Communities has shown extraordinary generosity and goodwill, having built quality homes for Habitat families across the GTA with significant efforts underway, including: Nine affordable homes were provided to families as part of its Stanley Condos community in downtown Toronto in 2019. 27 affordable homes to be provided to families as part of its upcoming VuPoint community at Liverpool Rd. & Bayly St. in Pickering. 28 affordable homes proposed to be provided to families as part of its upcoming community at 1636 Charles St. in Whitby. Once complete, Tribute Communities commitment will have made homes possible for 64 families across the GTA--but the extraordinary support does not stop there. Tribute Communities has also supported Habitat GTA in the following ways: Tribute Communities Chief Financial Officer Gus Stavropoulos has been a tireless supporter of Habitat GTA, currently serving the non-profit organizations Board of Directors. During his time, Gus has played an integral role in sharing his invaluable expertise, helping Habitat GTA navigate a challenging economic climate. He has also been a champion of affordable housing, speaking about his personal story, sharing the impact of Habitat GTAs work on CP24 and in the community. Tribute Communities employees have picked up a hammer, having participated in build days over the years, contributing more than 150 volunteer hours, helping to build affordable homes in Toronto and Oshawa. Tribute Communities provided one of the set locations for the recording of its Making Homes Possible awareness video, a critical part of Habitat GTAs campaign to raise awareness about its efforts in addressing the housing affordability crisis. In addition to its support of Habitat GTA, Tribute Communities has made numerous, substantial and impactful charitable contributions to various causes over the years, including: Last year, Tribute Communities pledged $500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network Foundation to support the expansion of the fracture clinic as part of its Centenary Hospital Emergency Department Redevelopment. In 2020, Tribute Communities donated $500,000 to the Daily Bread Food Bank, one of the largest single donations to food banks in the region and an especially important contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, when food bank use increased. In 2021, Tribute Communities donated $2.2 million to Ontario Tech University, consisting of funding for 100 scholarships for students and the donation of the historic Stone House so the location could become a venue for small events and meetings for students. Acting as a long-time donor to the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation over the years, including providing funds to construct a new birthing center. Tribute Communities President, Al Libfeld helped create the Durham-based organization Building Industry for Durham Deeds (BIDD), which has raised over $1.7 million for Durham-based charities over the years. Tribute Communities has been a longtime sponsor of the Tribute Communities Centre, Oshawas biggest and most important arena, hosting many major concerts and sporting events over the years. Not only has the Tribute Communities Centre played a key role in acting as a key cultural hub for the city, but the venue itself has hosted numerous fundraising efforts, raising money for local charities. Quotes We are proud to designate Tribute Communities as a Developer for Humanity. Their unwavering commitment to creating affordable homeownership opportunities has changed the lives of dozens of families across the Greater Toronto Area. Tribute Communities leadershipboth in the homes they help build and the broader impact they have through charitable givingembodies what it means to be a true community partner. Together, we are addressing the housing affordability crisis and building stronger, more inclusive communities. Ene Underwood, CEO for Habitat for Humanity GTA. At Tribute Communities, we believe that building homes goes beyond bricks and mortarits about creating opportunities for families to thrive and fostering vibrant, inclusive neighbourhoods. Our partnership with Habitat GTA reflects our shared commitment to making homeownership more accessible and addressing the urgent need for affordable housing across the GTA. We look forward to continuing this important work together and making a lasting, positive impact in the communities we build." Al Libfeld, President, Tribute Communities -30- About Habitat for Humanity GTA Habitat for Humanity GTA is Greater Torontos most recognized provider and advocate of solutions that tackle our regions housing crisis. Our mission is to create a world where everyone has a safe, quality place to live. We focus on creative solutions to address the affordable housing crisis in Toronto, Brampton, Caledon, York Region and Durham Region. With the help of volunteers, donors and community partners, we unlock change for generations by bringing the benefits of home ownership to more people and communities. Since 1988, Habitat GTA has built 26 new communities, empowering more than 650 families. To learn more visit https://habitatgta.ca About Tribute Communities Tribute Communities is an award-winning builder with more than 40 years of experience and over 40,000 homes and condominiums built across the GTA. Tribute consistently creates unique high-rise and low-rise communities that are always above industry standards for excellence and design. The company has an outstanding reputation that has been recognized with many top industry awards. Tribute Communities' mission is to provide exceptional quality & value to each of its customers, to be committed to excellence in construction quality & community design, to be good corporate citizens in the communities it builds, and to be the leading home, condominium & apartment builder in the Greater Toronto Area. To learn more visit https://www.tributecommunities.com/ Attachment LONDON, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AI Soft has announced the upcoming public release of Alli AI, an advanced artificial intelligence-powered platform designed for content creation. Following the conclusion of a closed beta phase, the platform will soon be available with a free trial version, allowing users to explore its capabilities. Alli AI offers a range of tools for image enhancement, background modification, photo animation, video generation, and voice synthesis, catering to designers, photographers, marketers, and digital creators. Expanding AI Applications in Content Creation Alli AI functions as both an editor and a content generator, with applications spanning social media, digital marketing, and creative design. The technology has reportedly contributed to a growing volume of AI-generated content across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X. Users have leveraged the tool for various applications, from animated imagery to advertising campaigns. Insights from Beta Testing The beta testing phase highlighted the platforms appeal across multiple industries. Designers have used Alli AI to accelerate creative workflows and experiment with different artistic styles, while photographers have explored its animation and enhancement tools. Marketers have utilized the platform to streamline content production, and early adopters in other fields have experimented with its capabilities. Upcoming Public Launch Alli AIs developers have announced plans for an upcoming public release, which will include a trial version. The platform is positioned as a tool for content creators seeking AI-driven enhancements for branding, digital media, and other projects. About Alli AI Alli AI is an AI-powered content creation platform developed by AI Soft. It offers tools for image enhancement, animation, background modification, video generation, and voice synthesis. Designed for professionals and casual users alike, Alli AI aims to streamline creative workflows across multiple industries, including marketing, photography, and design. For more information, users can visit Alli AIs official website or follow updates on X. Contact AI Soft XS Trade noelhetherington@proton.me +447458196484 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a34a5e01-cbb9-4fc0-a190-d4a0661c9801 China's unwavering opening-up efforts unlock global opportunities 14:53, March 05, 2025 By He Yin ( People's Daily A fully loaded China-Europe freight train departs from the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province, Feb. 6. (People's Daily Online/Wang Chun) China has unveiled a 2025 action plan to stabilize foreign investment, outlining 20 policy initiatives across four strategic priorities: phased expansion of voluntary opening up, enhanced investment facilitation, functional upgrades to open-economy platforms, and service system optimization. International observers have largely interpreted the move as reinforcing China's commitment to high-level opening-up. Opening up is a fundamental national policy of China and a defining feature of Chinese modernization. It profoundly enriches the path and unlocks new frontiers of Chinese modernization. This trajectory builds on over four decades of calibrated openness from the special economic zones in the early days of reform and opening up to today's network of pilot free trade zones and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Each major decision aligns with the trend of economic globalization and shapes new models of international cooperation. Since the start of the new era, China has pursued more proactive opening up policies, achieving historic milestones and transformations. The country has advanced a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth. People buy duty-free commodities at the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex developed by China Duty Free Group, Feb. 3. (People's Daily Online/Su Bikun) According to the Global Soft Power Index 2025 released by British consultancy Brand Finance, China has ranked first globally for four consecutive years in "easy to do business in and with" and "future growth potential." Through continuous opening up, China's economy has become deeply integrated with the global economy, serving as a major engine for global growth. Over the past five years, China has contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth, being the largest driver of global development. Research by the International Monetary Fund indicated that China's economic growth has a positive spillover effect -- when China's growth rate rises by 1 percentage point, growth in other economies increases by 0.3 percentage points on average. China's strategic pursuit of high-level economic openness is transforming its colossal domestic market into a catalyst for global growth. Recent corporate expansions underscore this shift: Tesla has commenced operations at its inaugural overseas energy storage Megafactory in Shanghai; Siemens Healthineers is developing a cutting-edge medical equipment research and production base in Shenzhen; while Yum China aims to increase its Chinese mainland outlets to 20,000 by 2026. Notably, starting from Dec. 1, 2024, China grants zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all the least developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China, triggering an 18.1 percent surge in imports from these economies during that month. This policy framework not only enhances trade reciprocity but systematically integrates emerging markets into value chains. A groundbreaking ceremony is held for a new manufacturing and research facility of Siemens Healthineers in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, Jan. 16. (Photo from Siemens Healthineers) China now serves as a major trading partner for more than 150 countries and regions globally, cementing its position as a pivotal node in global commerce. This trajectory of openness positions China's growth as an accelerant for worldwide economic advancement. The nation's commitment to elevated openness transcends conventional economic policies, encompassing the sharing of developmental frameworks, institutional innovations, and transnational public goods. Amid a global climate of escalating unilateralism and protectionism, China persists as a stabilizing forcemethodically deepening international collaboration through its domestic progress while championing structural reforms to fortify an inclusive global economic architecture. The BRI, conceived as a global public good, originated from China's drive for enhanced openness in its contemporary era. It has catalyzed deeper global economic cooperation and reciprocal growth, garnering international acclaim as a "new model of economic globalization." By pursuing high-level opening up, China not only disseminates the dividends of its progress but also assumes a proactive role in recalibrating global governance frameworksadvancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. This approach underscores an alignment of national development with multilateral imperatives, reinforcing China's role in shaping equitable international systems. Spanning policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity, China is sharing the ethos of open development and win-win collaboration across nations. This multidimensional engagement not only helps other developing countries achieve common prosperity but also advocates for an equal and orderly multipolar worldadvancing a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) TORONTO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) proudly celebrated another landmark gathering with PDAC 2025, which brought together 27,353 participants to explore premier business prospects, investment opportunities, and professional networks in the global mineral exploration and mining sphere. Showcasing more than 1,100 exhibitorsincluding government representatives, corporate leaders, and technical specialists from across the worldPDAC 2025 upheld its reputation as the industrys most influential convention. Year after year, the PDAC Convention is the place to be for unveiling the latest market insights, advances in technology, and for fostering essential partnerships, said PDAC President Raymond Goldie. In 2025, we continued that legacy by bringing together not only a wide array of educational programming focused on crucial areas such as capital markets, Indigenous engagement, career development, and sustainability, but also a dynamic trade show and company presentations to investors, offering exhibitors and attendees invaluable opportunities for business growth and collaboration. Beyond highlighting trailblazing innovation and thought leadership, PDAC 2025 provided a vital platform for dialogue between industry stakeholders and government officials. PDACs leaders used this forum to emphasize the impact of forward-looking public policy on maintaining Canadas competitive edge in the mineral sector. Minerals are the backbone of modern technology and are indispensable to our daily lives, highlighting the essential role of mineral exploration and mining in Canadas economic strength and resilience, Goldie noted. This week, PDAC was encouraged by the federal governments commitment to extend the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) for two years. Our priority now is to ensure that this commitment becomes law, and well continue pushing for it to have a permanent place in Canadas fiscal framework. Goldie extended his heartfelt appreciation to everyone who helped make PDAC 2025 such a successvolunteers, speakers, sponsors, delegates and PDACs staff. The association eagerly anticipates welcoming participants back for PDAC 2026, March 1-4, 2026. About PDAC The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is the leading voice of the mineral exploration and development community, an industry that employs more than 664,000 individuals, and contributed $132 billion to Canada's GDP in 2021. Currently representing over 8,000 members around the world, PDAC's work centers on supporting a competitive, responsible, and sustainable mineral sector. Media contact Scott Barber Senior Manager, Communications sbarber@pdac.ca 416-362-1969 x 244 800-170 University Ave. Toronto ON M5H 3B3 Canada A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7309408e-a8dd-42c6-bcfa-c283830ad209 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c647883-b617-4d2f-804c-609467a83f18 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3810561b-dc63-470a-9bb2-f729ac093499 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aca1514b-7993-4e00-8034-6ad2d4d94d05 TORONTO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is amongst an elite group of health care organizations across the country that will form the Canadian Precision Health Initiative (CPHI). The initiative will build Canadas largest-ever collection of human genomic data that will drive personalized, preventative and cost-effective care. The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the Government of Canadas landmark investment through Genome Canada. Overall, more than 100,000 genomes representing the diversity of Canadas population will be sequenced through this initiative. An investment in children and youth with neurodevelopmental, brain and mental health conditions Neurodevelopmental, brain injury and mental health conditions affect almost 10 per cent of children and youth in Canada. Despite this, there have been few breakthroughs in efforts to optimize the overall health and well-being of these children. Genome sequencing is revolutionizing health care by providing the genetic blueprintsand comparative data - needed to more accurately and effectively diagnose and provide tailored treatments and interventions. Until now, children and youth have been poorly represented in genetic and genomic research. Through the Canadian Precision Health Initiative, Holland Bloorview will bring together a first of its kind cohort of expert scientists, clinicians and people with lived experience, across several institutions. Together, they will create the largest genomics dataset, dedicated to understanding childhood onset neurodevelopmental, mental health and brain injury conditions sequencing 10,000 individuals. Genome Canada, along with provincial partners, including the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) and matching fund programs, will fund the $12 million investment at Holland Bloorview. The Canadian Precision Health Initiative is a landmark investment in Canadas genomics ecosystem and in children and youth with disabilities and developmental differences, says Julia Hanigsberg, president and CEO of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Through this funding, world leading scientists at Holland Bloorview and from across the country will bring precision health care innovation to children and youth, transforming the care they receive and the lives they lead. Transforming care through precision health By linking genetic sequencing data with clinical, environmental and administrative datasets, scientists will have the opportunity to inform life changing, proactive and personalized treatments and interventions for children and youth. Scientists and industry partners across the country and around the world will have access to data that can inform predictive models, support earlier identification and develop tailored interventions and treatments. Children and youth are at the forefront of a national investment to transform health care, says Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, vice president of research at Holland Bloorview and principal investigator of this project. Through this investment, we will build the largest Canadian transdiagnostic sequencing effort in neurodevelopmental conditions, mental health and brain injury, representing the diversity of the Canadian population. These efforts will transform genome science as a tool for equitable access to innovation and will democratize knowledge on genetic differences underlying neurodiversity, brain injury and mental health to support personalized health solutions for all. Partnering with Holland Bloorview in this work are the Hospital for Sick Children, University Health Network (UHN), the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), The Royal, McMaster Childrens Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, London Health Sciences Centre, Queens University, Grandview Kids, as well as Childrens Healthcare Canada and collaborators nationally and internationally. -30- About Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital believes in creating a world where all youth and children belong. We are the only childrens rehabilitation hospital in Canada focused on combining world-class care, transformational research, and academic leadership in the field of child and youth rehabilitation and disability. We are a top 40 Canadian research hospital that is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Providing both inpatient and outpatient services, Holland Bloorview is renowned for its expertise in co-creating with clients and families to provide exceptional care and is the only organization to ever achieve 100 per cent in three successive quality surveys by Accreditation Canada. Holland Bloorview is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, consistent and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Together we champion a world of possibility. For more information or to donate, please visit hollandbloorview.ca or connect on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and parent-blog BLOOM. Attachment Vaughan, Ontario, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ERTH360 has been awarded Gold for the Global Innovation Home of the Year at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) The Nationals awards, held on February 25, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recognized as one of the most prestigious awards programs in the homebuilding industry, The Nationals celebrates companies and individuals who demonstrate innovation, expertise, and excellence across sales, marketing, and design. Among the evenings highlights, ERTH360s Discovery Home, a collaboration between ERTH360 and Empire Communities, stood out as a pioneering model in sustainable and wellness-focused home design. With over 50 design and material enhancements inspired by building biology principles and biophilic design, the Discovery Home sets a new benchmark for indoor environmental quality, integrating advanced technology, resilient construction, and health-conscious living solutions. A Breakthrough in Sustainable Living Key features that distinguish the Discovery Home include: The first production-built home in North America to meet the stringent ASHRAE Standard 241 for indoor air quality. Contributions from two former NASA suppliers, introducing cutting-edge technology not previously seen in residential construction. A true circadian lighting system, supporting natural sleep-wake cycles by delivering bright, energizing morning light and eliminating melatonin-suppressing blue light at night. An active radon mitigation system, reducing radon levels to match outdoor ambient conditions. Twelve strategically placed calibrated sensors inside the home, plus an outdoor sensor capable of detecting wildfires up to 5 km away. Use of low-VOC and formaldehyde-free materials, eliminating harmful off-gassing from construction products. Advanced air filtration systems that protect against pathogens, chemicals, particulates, and biological contaminants. A high-performance building envelope, constructed off-site in a controlled environment using panelization for improved durability and efficiency. Passive building materials that help regulate humidity naturally. Water filtration technology designed to remove over 40 common chemicals from municipal drinking water. The home continues to serve as a living lab, testing innovative materials, mechanical systems, and construction techniques to advance future sustainable homebuilding practices. The ERTH360 Discovery Home was designed to demonstrate how we can enhance indoor living environments in a production setting. Empires collaboration and commitment to addressing challenges and advancing sustainable practices has been commendable, said Andrew Guido, Founder of ERTH360. Empire has proven to be an invaluable partner in our mission to improve home construction standards. Dan and Andrew Guizzetti, co-CEOs of Willowdale Asset Managementthe parent company of Empire Communities and ERTH360also emphasized their support for the initiative: Investing in the ERTH360 Discovery Home aligned perfectly with our vision for the future of homebuilding. By providing the resources and platform to challenge conventional construction methods, we're not just building homes; we're pioneering a new standard for healthy, sustainable living. A New Era in Homebuilding The success of the ERTH360 Discovery Home marks a significant milestone in the advancement of healthier and more sustainable living environments. With its groundbreaking advancements, the ERTH360 Discovery Home is more than just a residenceit is a transformative model for the future of home design. This award-winning project demonstrates whats possible when innovation, sustainability, and occupant wellness come together, setting a new standard for residential construction across North America. About ERTH360 ERTH360 offers innovative solutions for homebuilders, emphasizing the design of healthier indoor living environments that enhance occupant health and well-being while prioritizing sustainable building practices. Since its inception in 2019, the company has implemented advanced construction techniques grounded in Building Biology, significantly improving indoor air quality with its flagship product, ERTH360 Air. This cutting-edge solution utilizes advanced filtration and ventilation, enabling homes to meet the ASHRAE Standard 241 for indoor air qualitythe first in North America to achieve this standard. As ERTH360 expands its health-focused offerings across select communities, it sets a new benchmark in residential construction. For more information about ERTH360, visit erth360.com. About Empire Communities Empire Communities is a fully vertically-integrated homebuilder involved in all aspects of the homebuilding and sales process. Celebrating over 30 years as one of North Americas largest privately held homebuilders, Empire builds and develops in over 100 intown and suburban communities across Toronto, Southwestern Ontario, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Colorado, targeting primarily entry-level and move-up buyers with attainable product offerings. Since its inception in 1993, Empire has built over 36,000 new homes and condos, representing $15.5B in housing sales. Empire currently has a strategic land position representing more than 27,000 potential future homesites in the planning, development, and/or construction phase. For more information about Empire Communities, visit empirecommunities.com. Attachment DALLAS, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andrew Hillman, a distinguished Dallas based business leader, announces the Andrew Hillman Scholarship for Entrepreneurs, a groundbreaking national initiative designed to support and inspire undergraduate students with entrepreneurial ambitions. The scholarship offers a substantial one-time award of $1,000 to undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional promise in business innovation and leadership. Andrew Hillman's vision behind this scholarship is to provide financial support and recognition to the next generation of business leaders who possess the creativity and strategic thinking necessary to drive economic progress. Scholarship Specifics: Eligibility Criteria: Current undergraduate students in accredited colleges or universities Strong passion for entrepreneurship Required submission of a comprehensive 1,000-word essay Open to students across the United States Detailed Application Requirements: Applicants must submit an essay that comprehensively addresses: Unique entrepreneurial vision Specific business goals Innovative approaches to business challenges Potential impact on their chosen industry Evaluation Framework: The selection committee, personally led by Andrew Hillman, will meticulously assess applications based on: Clarity of entrepreneurial concept Depth of strategic thinking Potential for business leadership Originality of proposed ideas Critical Scholarship Details: Award Amount: $1,000 Target Group: Undergraduate students nationwide Application Deadline: December 15, 2025 Winner Announcement: January 15, 2026 "This scholarship is more than financial assistance," Andrew Hillman stated. "It's an investment in the future of entrepreneurship, designed to identify and support students who have the potential to transform innovative ideas into successful business ventures." Application Process: Interested candidates can access complete guidelines and submission information at https://andrewhillmanscholarship.com/. The comprehensive digital platform provides detailed insights into the scholarship's objectives, evaluation criteria, and submission requirements. Background: With over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, Andrew Hillman has established himself as a pivotal figure in business growth and leadership development. His journey, inspired by a family legacy of entrepreneurship, has been characterized by strategic innovation and a commitment to mentoring emerging business talent. The scholarship reflects Andrew Hillman's broader mission to cultivate entrepreneurial excellence. By providing financial support and recognition, the initiative aims to: Encourage innovative thinking among undergraduate students Support potential business leaders Provide tangible opportunities for entrepreneurial development Recognize exceptional strategic potential Selection Commitment: Andrew Hillman will personally review submissions, ensuring a rigorous and fair selection process that identifies students with genuine entrepreneurial potential. The scholarship seeks individuals who demonstrate not just academic excellence, but a true passion for business innovation. About Andrew Hillman: A seasoned entrepreneur from Dallas with extensive experience in business strategy and leadership, Andrew Hillman has dedicated his career to identifying and nurturing emerging business talent. His multifaceted approach combines strategic insight, mentorship, and a commitment to supporting the next generation of business innovators. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Andrew Hillman Organization: Andrew Hillman Scholarship Website: https://andrewhillmanscholarship.com Email: apply@andrewhillmanscholarship.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/763b155c-5f79-4e9d-aeb6-008c61749555 Zefiro CFO Mohit Gupta, who took on the role in July 2024 , was the CFO of Global Operations for Wells Fargo and has over three decades of banking and energy trading sector experience. Mr. Gupta was also one of the founding members of J.P. Morgans Energy Trading business. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. (Cboe Canada: ZEFI) (Frankfurt: Y6B) (OTCQB: ZEFIF) (the Company, Zefiro, or ZEFI) today announced that an opinion article penned by its Chief Financial Officer Mohit Gupta was published on February 20, 2025 by CFO.com, a digital publication operated by Informa TechTarget . This feature is the latest in a series of recent publications and appearances for Zefiros senior management team, which includes Zefiro Founder and CEO Talal Debs interview on the televised February 14, 2025 episode of Bloomberg Wall Street Week , and Mr. Guptas November 14, 2024 podcast with Stuart Fieldhouse of The Armchair Trader where Gupta shared insights about carbon credits and Zefiros near-term growth plans. In the CFO.com article, which is titled Why Carbon Credits are Becoming a Core Capital Strategy for CFOs, Mr. Gupta explains how corporate commitments to environmental responsibility can fall within the purview of Chief Financial Officers, due to the potential effects of these commitments on brand loyalty, growth opportunities, capital access, and lending terms. Mr. Gupta then went on to explain how carbon credits can be an effective component of a given companys sustainability strategy with respect to meeting climate targets in line with the interests of customers, lenders, and investors. Additionally, Mr. Gupta provided a multi-point checklist of the top considerations with respect to assessing the overall quality of carbon credits, which can help to withstand scrutiny of a companys environmental claims. The full version of Mr. Guptas article on CFO.com can be accessed through the following link: https://www.cfo.com/news/why-carbon-credits-are-becoming-a-core-capital-strategy-for-cfos/740213/ CFO.com reaches over 130,500 industry decision makers1, including 41,000 subscribers to its newsletter, which is called The Balance. More information about CFO.com can be found on its About page: https://www.cfo.com/about/ Zefiro CFO Mohit Gupta authored an opinion article on CFO.com about how Chief Financial Officers can utilize carbon credits as a core capital strategy in a business world that is increasingly conscious of the environment Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR+ or the Investors section of the Companys website for a version of this press release containing all published media. Zefiro Chief Financial Officer Mohit Gupta commented, I am grateful to CFO.com for offering a platform to share what I believe is an important message for chief financial officers everywhere, when it comes to better understanding the building blocks of a robust sustainability strategy. As the stakeholders of organizations worldwide account for their environmental liabilities, high-quality carbon credits can have tremendous utility for mitigating an organizations carbon footprint. At Zefiro, this is something that we strive to achieve for carbon credit purchasers through transparent, auditable, and high-impact methane remediation projects, working with institutional-level counterparties, including Mercuria and EDF Trading , to ensure our team can help more communities remediate critical air, water, and land resources. Sources 1 - https://www.cfo.com/advertise/ Reporters/Media: For any questions or to arrange an interview, please contact Rich Myers of Profile Advisors (New York City) by email at media@zefiromethane.com or by telephone at +1 (347) 774-1125. About Zefiro Methane Corp. Zefiro is an environmental services company, specializing in methane abatement. Zefiro strives to be a key commercial force towards Active Sustainability. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, Zefiro is building a new toolkit to clean up air, land, and water sources directly impacted by methane leaks. The Company has built a fully integrated ground operation driven by an innovative monetization solution for the emerging methane abatement marketplace. As an originator of high-quality U.S.-based methane offsets, Zefiro aims to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. Talal Debs Talal Debs, Founder & CEO For further information, please contact: Zefiro Investor Relations 1 (800) 274-ZEFI (274-9334) investor@zefiromethane.com For media inquiries, please contact: Rich Myers - Profile Advisors (New York) media@zefiromethane.com +1 (347) 774-1125 Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seeks, believes, plans, expects, intends, estimates, anticipates and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information including statements regarding: the Companys intention to reduce emissions from end-of-life oil and gas wells and eliminate methane gas; the Companys partnerships with industry operators, state agencies, and federal governments; the Companys expectations for continued increases in revenues and EBITDA growth as a result of these partnerships; the Companys intentions to build out its presence in the United States; the anticipated federal funding for orphaned well site plugging, remediation and restoring activities; the Companys expectations to become a growing environmental services company; the Companys ability to provide institutional and retail investors alike with the opportunity to join the Active Sustainability movement; the Companys ability to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns; and other statements regarding the Companys business and the industry in which the Company operates. The forward-looking information reflects managements current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) adverse general market and economic conditions; (ii) changes to and price and volume volatility in the carbon market; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape and global policies applicable to the Company's business; (iv) failure to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals; and (v) other risk factors set forth in its Prospectus dated April 8, 2024 under the heading Risk Factors. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment where technologies are in the early stage of adoption. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including, but not limited to, the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The forward-looking information included in this news release is made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by Zefiro Methane Corp. can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca/ . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a9092fe0-d2f8-459b-9348-d507339f8943 HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has today announced that it has affirmed the ratings of SiriusPoint Ltd. (SiriusPoint or the Company), including its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at BBB, its senior debt rating at BBB- and its Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating at A- (Strong) of SiriusPoints subsidiaries. It has also revised the Companys Outlook to Positive from Stable. Fitch said: The Positive Outlook reflects significant underwriting performance improvement in 2024 and 2023 as a result of repositioning the (re)insurance portfolio and exiting non-core lines in order to improve profitability and reduce overall volatility. Key drivers of the ratings include the completed transaction for the full repurchase of all outstanding shares and warrants from CM Bermuda Limited, as well as solid underwriting results in both 2024 and 2023. Fitch said it anticipates the favourable underwriting results to continue while the company expects to grow its business, particularly in primary insurance. Fitch also recognizes SiriusPoints strong financial performance of $184m for net income 2024, while citing its strong operating income from underwriting profits, increased investment income and a gain of $96m on the deconsolidation of an MGA. SiriusPoint CEO, Scott Egan said: Fitch Ratings' decision to improve SiriusPoints Outlook to Positive follows nine consecutive quarters of strong operating performance. The outlook revision validates the measurable progress we have made in repositioning our business, building out a successful underwriting platform, and growing a track record of performance, while also strengthening and simplifying our capital structure. This decision is a reflection of the contribution and hard work of our global team. We look forward to continuing our momentum towards additional favourable outcomes for the Company and its stakeholders." Click here for full details in the Fitch press release. Contacts Investor Relations Liam Blackledge, SiriusPoint Liam.Blackledge@siriuspt.com + 44 203 772 3082 Media Stephen Breen, Rein4ce Stephen.breen@rein4ce.co.uk + 44 7843 076556 About SiriusPoint SiriusPoint is a global underwriter of insurance and reinsurance providing solutions to clients and brokers around the world. Bermuda-headquartered with offices in New York, London, Stockholm and other locations, we are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (SPNT). We have licenses to write Property & Casualty and Accident & Health insurance and reinsurance globally. Our offering and distribution capabilities are strengthened by a portfolio of strategic partnerships with Managing General Agents and Program Administrators within our Insurance & Services segment. With over $2.6 billion total capital, SiriusPoints operating companies have a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) from AM Best, S&P and Fitch, and A3 from Moodys. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS We make statements in this press release that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in the U.S. federal securities laws. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions and conditions affecting the insurance and reinsurance industry; the adequacy of our reserves; fluctuation in the results of operations; pandemic or other catastrophic event; uncertainty of success in investing in early-stage companies, such as the risk of loss of an initial investment, highly variable returns on investments, delay in receiving return on investment and difficulty in liquidating the investment; our ability to assess underwriting risk, trends in rates for property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, competition, investment market and investment income fluctuations; trends in insured and paid losses; regulatory and legal uncertainties; and other risk factors described in SiriusPoints Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2024. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, or new information, data or methods, future events, or other circumstances after the date of this press release. ATLANTA, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blaze Pizza has always been a trailblazer in the fast-casual dining scene with its Fast Fired artisanal pizza, letting guests customize their pizza with as many toppings as they like, all for one price. In 2014, the company again blazed a trail by celebrating the math-themed Pi Day, giving guests a special deal. That legacy continues this year, for the 12th straight year. On March 14, Pi Day, the nearly 300 Blaze Pizza restaurants across North America will offer a Buy One 11-Inch Pizza, Get a Second 11-Inch Pizza of Equal or Lesser Value for $3.14.* Additionally, each guest taking advantage of Blazes in-restaurant Pi Day deal on March 14 will receive a code, redeemable in the Blaze Pizza app, that unlocks another buy one, get one for $3.14 any time through the end of March. This also includes orders for delivery made through the Blaze Pizza app. Pi Day is something our guests and team members look forward to each March 14, and this year, were encouraging people to bring their friends along for a deal worth celebrating, said Christian Kuhn, Chief Marketing Officer at Blaze Pizza. While math can be complex, this is a simple deal which everyone can enjoy. At Blaze, guests can customize their pizza with over 45 ingredients, including options like roasted garlic, artichokes, hand-torn basil, classic pepperoni, Italian sausage, and even a no-extra-cost plant-based chorizo. Blazes dedication to using high-quality ingredients ensures that every pizza is crafted to perfectly satisfy each guest's unique cravings. For additional Blaze Pizza Pi Day information, guests can visit blazepizza.com or download the companys mobile app. * Valid in-restaurant only. Only at participating Blaze Pizza restaurants. About Blaze Pizza Founded in 2011, Blaze Pizza is the nation's leading fast-casual pizza franchise concept with 284 restaurants across 38 states and three countries. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Blaze Pizza is committed to delivering a one-of-a-kind customer experience and unparalleled high-quality products. Known for its savory artisanal pizzas and customizable made-to-order menu, Blaze leads the industry in menu innovation and product excellence. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including Entrepreneur's Franchise 500, as well as #1 spots on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers and Shakers and Franchise Times' Fast and Serious list. Visit blazepizza.com for additional information and stay connected on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @BlazePizza. Media Contact: Joshua Levitt PR for Blaze Pizza 949.981.0757 Josh.levitt@blazepizza.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f83bb25e-2237-4088-a6da-dfa7a72b95db SAN FRANCISCO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investors in Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) n/k/a (NYSE: XYZ) began to learn of potentially adverse information about the company and its Square and Cash App platforms on Mar. 23, 2023, when Hindenburg Research published a scathing report on the company. After a 2-year investigation, which included dozens of interviews with former employees, partners, and industry experts, Hindenburg concluded, in part, that Block had wildly overstated its genuine user counts and [c]ore to the issue is that Block has embraced one traditionally underbanked segment of the population: criminals. On February 4, 2024, NBC News reported that federal regulators were probing allegations of two Whistleblowers that Cash App performed inadequate due diligence on its users including no effective procedure to establish the[ir] identity opening the door to potential money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illegal and illicit activities. Then, on May 1, 2024, NBC News reported that federal prosecutors were investigating Block due to allegations by a former employee that the Company had engaged in widespread and years-long compliance lapses at its two main units, Square and Cash App. Reportedly, the employee had provided prosecutors with internal Company documents demonstrating that Block had failed to conduct basic due diligence on its customers, that Square had processed thousands of transactions involving countries subject to economic sanctions (including Cuba, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela), and that Block had processed multiple cryptocurrency transactions for terrorist groups. These developments have driven the price of Block shares significantly lower. Hagens Berman urges investors who purchased Block shares and suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now. Class Period: Feb. 26, 2020 Apr. 30, 2024 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Mar. 18, 2025 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/xyz Contact the Firm Now: XYZ@hbsslaw.com | 844-916-0895 Most recently, on Jan. 15, 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that Block agreed to pay $80 million to dozens of state regulators over alleged problems with its program to counter money-laundering. Then, on Jan. 16, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Block to pay $175 million and fix its failures on Cash App user fraud. The CFPB said Cash App attempted to avoid investigative obligations by tricking its users and that Cash App was vulnerable to criminals defrauding users. Further related regulatory actions is possible. Block stated in its most recent Form 10-Q quarterly report filed in November, that it also received inquiries from the SEC and Department of Justice (DOJ) shortly after the publication of a short seller report in March 2023. In July 2024, the Company received a follow-on inquiry from the SEC. The Company believes these inquiries primarily relate to the allegations raised in the short seller report, the Companys compliance and risk practices, and related disclosures. The Company continues to cooperate with both agencies. The Company is unable to predict the likely outcome of these matters and cannot provide any assurance that the SEC or DOJ will not ultimately take legal action against the Company or that the outcome of any such action, if brought, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company. Block, Inc. (XYZ) Securities Class Action: We are investigating whether Block may have intentionally misled investors about its compliance and other business practices, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you invested in Block and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, submit your losses now. If youd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Block case and our investigation, read more. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Block should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email XYZ@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Bermans team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. Acme Gold Company Ltd. (CSE: AGE) ("Acme" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated February 19, 2025, it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement of 7,868,050 subscription receipts (each, a "Subscription Receipt") of Acme, on a post-consolidated basis, at a price of $0.40 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,147,220 (the "Financing"). The Financing is being conducted in connection with the Company's proposed reverse takeover to acquire Canadian Global Energy Corp. ("CGE"), an arm's-length private oil and gas company ("CGE") (the "Transaction"). Immediately prior to the Transaction, on satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined below), each Subscription Receipt will be automatically exercised, for no further consideration and with no further action on the part of the holder thereof, to acquire one unit of the Resulting Issuer (a "Resulting Issuer Unit"), with each Resulting Issuer Unit comprising one common share of the Resulting Issuer (a "Resulting Issuer Share") and one common share purchase warrant of Resulting Issuer (a "Resulting Issuer Warrant"). Each Resulting Issuer Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Resulting Issuer Share at a price of $0.75 per share for a period of two years from the date of issuance (the "Expiry Date"), subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. Upon completion of the Transaction and the listing on the TSXV, in the event that the moving volume weighted average trading price of the Resulting Issuer Shares for any period of 20 consecutive trading days on the TSXV equals or exceeds $1.50, the Resulting Issuer may, within 10 business days of the occurrence of such event, provide written notice to the holders of the Resulting Issuer Warrants by way of a news release, accelerating the Expiry Date to the date that is 30 days following the date of such notice. The gross proceeds of the Financing have been deposited in escrow with Endeavor Trust Corporation as escrow agent, pending satisfaction of certain conditions (the "Escrow Release Conditions"), including, amongst others, the satisfaction or waiver of each of the conditions precedent to the Transaction. Finder's fees of $146,040 cash and 126,900 common share purchase warrants ("Broker Warrants") will be paid in connection with the Financing in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. Each Broker Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Resulting Issuer Share at a price of $0.75 per share for a period of two years from the date of issuance, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. All securities issued in relation to the Financing are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day after the closing date, being July 5, 2025, in accordance with applicable securities laws. Following the closing of the Financing, if the Escrow Release Conditions are not met on or before April 30, 2025, the Subscription Receipts will be cancelled, and holders of Subscription Receipts will be returned a cash amount equal to the issue price of the Subscription Receipts. Following the completion of the Financing, the satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions and the completion of the Transaction, the Resulting Issuer anticipates it will use the proceeds of the Financing, principally to meet the minimum listing requirements of the TSXV, to conduct oil and gas exploration operations and exploration opportunities offshore of the Republic of Liberia, as well as for general corporate and working capital purposes. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor the TSX Venture Exchange, has in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. This news release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. For more information on the Transaction, see the Company's November 5, 2024, December 6, 2024 and December 20, 2024 news releases filed under its profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). On behalf of Acme Gold Company Limited, Don Crossley, CFO For further information, please contact: Don Crossley, CFO Telephone: 778-835-4411 Email: DonCrossleyCPA@outlook.com This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Financing and the Transaction, including the trading status of the Resulting Issuer Shares upon completion of the Transaction, the ability of the Company or CGE to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions, and the proposed use of proceeds from the Financing, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained oil prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Financing and the Transaction, and the future exploration and development of CGE's assets in a timely manner. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company and CGE to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the risk that any conditions precedent under the Financing or the Transaction are not satisfied and the Transaction does not close, operating and technical difficulties in connection with oil exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, requirements for additional capital, future prices of oil, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the oil and gas industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics, including impacts on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company and CGE, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting oil and gas operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company and CGE to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including any required approvals in respect of the Financing, the acceptance of the TSXV in respect of the Transaction and the listing of the Resulting Issuer Shares thereon, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian securities authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedarplus.ca and readers are urged to review these materials. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor CGE undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. **NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES** VANCOUVER, March 05, 2025 - Mawson Finland Ltd. ("Mawson" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MFL) is pleased to confirm the closing of its previously announced brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of C$6,000,000.50 from the issuance and sale of 3,157,895 common shares of the Company (each, a "Share") at a price of C$1.90 per Share (the "Offering Price"). The Offering was led by Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. as agent (the "Agent"). The Company paid to the Agent a cash commission of 6.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, other than in respect certain purchasers identified by the Company on a president's list (each, a "President's List Purchaser"), in respect of which no commission was paid to the Agent. The Company also paid a cash commission of 6.0% of the gross proceeds resulting from the subscriptions of certain of the President's List Purchasers to Southpoint Capital Sagl. Noora Ahola, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, "We would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support as we work towards advancing and de-risking the Rajapalot project." The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to continue exploring and advancing its flagship Rajapalot Gold-Cobalt Project and for general working capital purposes. Mr. MacRae, Executive Chairman and therefore an insider of the Company, subscribed to the Offering for total of 20,530 Shares at the Offering Price. The issuance of Shares to Mr. MacRae constitutes a "related party transaction" as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on an exemption from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.5(a) and section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, on the basis that Mr. MacRae's participation in the Offering does not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. All Shares issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. About Mawson Finland Limited Mawson Finland Limited is an exploration stage mining development company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of precious and base metal properties in Finland. The Company is primarily focused on gold and cobalt. The Company currently holds a 100% interest in the Rajapalot Gold-Cobalt Project located in Finland. The Rajapalot Project represents approximately 5% of the 100-square kilometre Rompas-Rajapalot Property, which is wholly owned by Mawson and consists of 11 granted exploration permits for 10,204 hectares and 2 exploration permit applications and a reservation notification area for a combined total of 40,496 hectares. In Finland, all operations are carried out through the Company's wholly owned Finnish subsidiary, Mawson Oy. Mawson maintains an active local presence of Finnish staff with close ties to the communities of Rajapalot. Additional disclosure including the Company's financial statements, technical reports, news releases and other information can be obtained at mawsonfinland.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Media and Investor Relations Inquiries Please contact: Neil MacRae Executive Chairman at neil@mawsonfinland.com or +1 (778) 999-4653, or Noora Ahola Chief Executive Officer at nahola@mawson.fi or +358 (505) 213-515. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No securities regulatory authority has reviewed or approved of the contents of this news release. Forward-looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information") which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "aims", "may", "could", "would", "will", "must" or "plan". Since forward-looking information is based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, and management of the Company believes them to be reasonable based upon, among other information, the contents of the Company's technical report on the Rajapalot Project, entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report on a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Rajapalot Gold-Cobalt Project, Finland, with an effective date of December 19, 2023 (the "PEA"), and the exploration information disclosed in prior news releases, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, any expected additional exploration of the Rompas-Rajapalot property, any expected receipt of additional assay results or other exploration results and the impact upon the Company thereof, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, including drilling, soil sampling, geophysical and geochemical work, any expected search for additional exploration targets and any results of such searches, potential acquisition by the Company of any property, all values, estimates and expectations drawn from or based upon the PEA, statements concerning the Company's expectations with respect to the use of proceeds and the use of the available funds following completion of the Offering. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: any change in industry or wider economic conditions which could cause the Company to adjust or cancel entirely its exploration plans, failure to identify mineral resources or any additional exploration targets, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, any failure to receive the results of completed assays or other exploration work, poor exploration results, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary and uncertain nature of the PEA, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Black Mammoth Metals Corp. (TSXV: BMM) (OTC: LQRCF) ("Black Mammoth" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of high-grade rare earth element (REE) mineralization at its Leadore Property ("Leadore") in Lemhi County, Idaho. Recent rock chip sampling (see Company's NR 24-18) has returned grades of up to 7.6% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with a highly favorable NdPr (neodymium-praseodymium) ratio averaging 26% in five samples grading over 1% TREO. This newly recognized REE mineralization occurs in a placer or laterite horizon sitting atop the known fault-hosted lead and silver mineralization. Highlights: All samples taken in the laterite horizon are REE enriched with five samples exceed 1% TREO, with the highest sample returning 7.6% TREO (see Table 1). NdPr ratios are high, averaging 26%; neodymium and praseodymium are economically important critical metals used in electric vehicle motors and turbines. This new REE mineralization is on trend with the Idaho REE-Belt, a series of lode/vein and placer REE deposits trending northwest through nearby Salmon, ID. Low phosphorus, thorium and uranium content suggests REEs are hosted in oxide minerals rather than phosphates, increasing potential processability and with minimal radioactivity. Geological Significance: The newly identified REE mineralization at Leadore is oxide-dominant, with mineralization likely hosted in bastnasite and associated Fe-Mn oxides, rather than traditional phosphate minerals with elevated Th-U such as monazite. The mineralization occurs in a lateritic environment as shown in Photo 1, indicating supergene enrichment through weathering processes or transport from a nearby REE-rich intrusion or vein. This setting is similar to economically viable REE deposits worldwide, including China's ion-adsorption clay deposits, which are known for their ease of processing and similarly elevated NdPr and TREO. Next Steps: Mineralogical Studies: Conduct mineralogical test work, such as Tescan Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA-X), to identify REE mineral species and to assess potential for processing. Further Sampling: Sample laterite outcrops along trend to assess scale and continuity of the REE mineralization. Refining the Geologic Model CEO Commentary: Dustin Henderson, CEO of Black Mammoth, states: "We are extremely encouraged by these results, which confirm high-grade rare earth mineralization at Leadore with an economically attractive NdPr ratio. With permanent magnet rare earths being sought after elements, this discovery may position Black Mammoth to play a significant role in the North American REE supply chain. Our next steps at Leadore will help our understanding of processing potential." Sampling Program: The sampling program consisted of 38 rock chip samples collected and delivered to ALS Global in Elko, NV during October 2024 and analyzed using the following prep and analytical procedures as described in the ALS Global 2024 price list: Prep 31Y, Au-ICP22 (Using a 50gram charge, FA ICP-AES finish), ME MS41 (Ultra Trace ICP-MS). Over limit samples for Ag also were analyzed using Ag-OG46 and Ag-GRA21 (30gram charge FA-Gravimetric finish). Over limit samples for Pb were analyzed using Pb-0G46. About the Leadore Property: Located in Lemhi County, Idaho, Leadore hosts historical silver-lead mineralization and is now emerging as a promising REE property consisting of 74 Federal lode mining claims covering approximately 1,528 acres (618 hectares). The Property has road access year-round, with infrastructure advantages that support cost-effective exploration and potentially development. The Company also continues to acquire non-core exploration interests in the western US, by purchase and by staking. About Black Mammoth Metals Corporation: In the past 12 months, Black Mammoth Metals has acquired a 100% interest in: Clover High-Grade Gold property, Elko County, NV, Coleman Canyon property, Elko County, NV, Leadore Silver-Lead property, Lemhi County, ID, East Reveille Gold property, Nye County, NV, America Mine Gold property, San Bernardino, CA, Quito Gold property, Lander County, NV South Ravenswood District, Lander County NV, Callaghan Gold District, Lander County NV. Drilling on-going. At the Company's 100% owned, 1,213 hectare (2,997 acre) Happy Cat Gold property, Lander County, NV, an approximate 4 square kilometre area is identified as being hydrothermally altered. Structural modelling suggests the density of the alteration and its' density contrast relative to the host rock is typical to that of alteration zones present at other Carlin-type deposits in northern Nevada. The alteration encompasses an area where northerly trending high-angle faults intersect indicated NW-trending re-activated faults that are known to be of age and orientation as ore-controlling faults occurring at other Carlin-type deposits. The Company drilled approximately 1600m in January 2025 to further understand the structure and stratigraphy. Results are pending. Black Mammoth also has a 100% interest in the Blanco Creek Gold property in the Elk Creek Mining District, central Idaho, which hosts three historic underground mines along 3,550 meters (11,644 feet) of strike on the north-east trending regional Blanco Shear Zone. Exploration by two previous operators identified a geological target for the Blanco Creek property in the order of 1.70 to 2.48 million tons, grading 0.20 to 0.33 oz/ton Au (1.54 to 2.24 million tonnes, grading 6.85 to 11.31 g/tonne Au); see the Company's press release dated February 14, 2017. Black Mammoth cautions investors to note the potential quantity and grade of the geological target are conceptual in nature. A qualified person has not completed sufficient work to classify the geological target as mineral resources as defined by NI 43-101, and it is uncertain if future exploration will result in the target being delineated as mineral resources. Mark J. Abrams, CPG #11451, a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and director of Black Mammoth, has reviewed and approved the technical content in this release. Historical information contained in this news release cannot be relied upon as Mr. Abrams, the Company's Qualified Person, has not prepared or verified the historical information. On behalf of the board, "Dustin Henderson" Dustin Henderson, BBA President & CEO Website: www.blackmammothmetals.com This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the Company's completion of the Transaction and related transactions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include that the requisite corporate and TSXV for the Transaction may not be obtained; that the Company or IDA Mining, as applicable, may be unable to satisfy any or all closing conditions necessary for the completion of the Transaction; and other risks that are customary to transactions of this nature. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedarplus.ca and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Black Mammoth Metals Corp Contact Black Mammoth Metals Corporation, Phone: 604 347 9101, Email: blackmammothmetals@gmail.com KAMLOOPS, March 5, 2025 - Progressive Planet (TSXV: PLAN) (OTCQB: ASHXF) ("Progressive Planet", "PLAN", or the "Company") is proud to announce up to $4,636,468 in funding to support the construction of a pilot plant to produce PozGlass, a low-carbon supplementary cementitious material (SCM) derived from post-consumer glass. This funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) covers a four-year period. The first tranche of $1,555,682 was received by Progressive Planet on January 31, 2025. "PozGlass is our solution to reducing the carbon footprint of cement production. This funding allows us to innovate, reduce emissions, and create value from post-consumer glass, a material that has been historically misallocated and considered waste," said Steve Harpur, CEO of Progressive Planet. "We are grateful for the financial support of SDTC, whose substantial investment is driving this project forward." This investment represents a significant milestone in Canada's push toward decarbonizing the construction industry. Cement production, a key contributor to global CO 2 output, currently accounts for over 7% of worldwide emissions. PozGlass represents a viable solution by reducing reliance on clinker, the carbon-intensive ingredient in traditional cement, while diverting post-consumer glass from landfills. "Having the support of SDTC, and Canada's largest cement company, Lafarge Canada, reinforces that PozGlass is a relevant and promising solution to decarbonizing the production of cement," said Steve Harpur, Progressive Planet CEO. On June 29, 2023, Progressive Planet announced that it had signed a purchase agreement with Lafarge Canada Inc. ("Lafarge Canada") agreeing to purchase all the PozGlass 100G ("PozGlass") produced by Progressive Planet's pilot plant up to a maximum of 3,500 metric tonnes per year. As part of this 2023 agreement, Lafarge Canada agreed to provide technical guidance and support to Progressive Planet in advancing the proprietary PozGlass technology through design, construction, and operation of the pilot plant. "Progressive Planet is grateful to have had the continued support of Lafarge Canada as it sought non-dilutive funding to shoulder a portion of the costs of building the PozGlass pilot plant," stated Harpur. "With traditional sources of supplementary cementitious materials in decline globally, innovation is more critical than ever. Companies like Progressive Planet are providing new options to reduce the embodied carbon of building materials through circular economy advancements. We are thankful to the Government of Canada for their ongoing support of emerging technologies and look forward to working with Progressive Planet on the testing and use of PozGlass," said Brad Kohl, President & CEO, Lafarge Canada (West). A Scalable, Canadian Innovation The Kamloops facility will serve as a hub for innovation and production, leveraging Canada's abundant post-consumer glass supply to scale PozGlass for global markets. Unlike traditional SCMs such as fly ash, which face dwindling supply as provinces phase out coal-fired power (1,2), PozGlass is made from post-consumer glass - primarily sourced from cities, the very places that are the largest consumers of Portland cement. This proximity to raw materials and end-users ensures PozGlass integrates seamlessly into existing cement production processes, offering a scalable and sustainable solution for the industry. This project aligns with Canada's commitment to advancing clean technology and circular economy principles. By turning waste into a valuable commodity, the PozGlass pilot plant will help position Canada as a global leader in low-carbon cement solutions, creating jobs and fostering sustainable economic growth. Building Momentum Toward a Low-Carbon Future The global low-carbon cement market, valued at US$2 billion in 2023, is projected to triple by 2034. With partnerships spanning investors, engineers, and construction stakeholders, Progressive Planet is poised to capitalize on this growth while reducing the carbon footprint of one of the world's most essential industries. The pilot plant is expected to begin operations in October 2025, marking a key step toward scaling PozGlass production and accelerating its adoption across North America and beyond. The first phase of operations includes dry processing of the post-consumer glass to remove all contaminants from the glass while creating the coarse glass powder which is the sole ingredient of PozGlass. In Phase 1, Progressive Planet will also make other coarse glass products such as CanBlast, a crystalline silica-free sand blasting media which Progressive Planet has sold for over a decade, but had it made by a third-party company using post-consumer glass. Phase Two will involve wet grinding of coarse glass powder to create PozGlass. Phase 2 construction of the wet grinding facility is expected to be completed in late 2026. About Lafarge Canada Inc. Lafarge Canada is the largest provider of innovative and sustainable building solutions in Canada, including aggregates, cement, ready mix and precast concrete, asphalt and paving, and road and civil construction. We have over 7,500 employees and 400 sites across the country, and as an affiliate of Holcim, Lafarge Canada is driven by the Group's purpose to build progress for people and the planet. Holcim's 63,448 employees are on a mission to decarbonize building while improving living standards for all. Holcim empowers its customers to build better with less, with a broad range of low-carbon and circular solutions, from ECOPact to ECOPlanet. Through innovative systems, from Elevate's roofing to PRB's insulation, Holcim makes buildings more sustainable in use, driving energy efficiency and green retrofitting. With sustainability at the core of its strategy, Holcim is on its way to becoming a net-zero company with 1.5C targets validated by SBTi. www.lafarge.ca About SDTC Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has supported Canadian companies in developing and scaling innovative clean technology solutions to address some of the world's most urgent environmental challenges, including climate change, clean air, clean water, and clean soil. SDTC programming has now transitioned to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). This new programming under NRC IRAP will continue to provide critical support for Canadian cleantech companies. About Progressive Planet: Progressive Planet, based in Kamloops, British Columbia, is redefining sustainability with our Products for a Healthy Planet. By leveraging owned mineral assets and recycled materials, we develop patented and patent-pending innovations that promote a healthier planet. Our C-Quester Centre of Sustainable Solutions leads advancements in low-carbon cement technologies, while our second on-site lab focuses on sustainable solutions for agriculture and animal care. Progressive Planet's products are proudly available in over 10,000 retail locations across North America. For more information, visit progressiveplanet.com. Progressive Planet provides regular information for investors on its website: progressiveplanet.com/investors/. This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, patents filed, and information on corporate governance. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the matters described herein including statements regarding the development of future products. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Disclaimer: This news release, required by Canadian laws, does not constitute an offer of securities and is not for distribution or dissemination outside Canada. SOURCE Progressive Planet Solutions Inc. For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact: Steve Harpur, CEO, 1 (800) 910-3072, investors@progressiveplanet.com; Progressive Planet Media Contact: Meagan Cameron, Director of Strategy. meagan@onprpose.com, 519-710-8717 Toronto, March 5, 2025 - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) (the "Company" or "Minera Alamos") is pleased to announce the results of voting at its Annual & Special General Meeting of Shareholders ("AGM") held Friday, February 28th, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of all items put forward by the Board of Directors and Management. All five of the individuals nominated for the board of directors, namely Darren Koningen, Doug Ramshaw, Bruce Durham, Ruben Padilla and Kevin Small received the support of the Company's shareholders to continue in their roles for the forthcoming year. Shareholders also voted in favour of: Ratifying the appointment of McGovern Hurley LLP as Auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and authorizing directors to fix the remunerations of the auditors; and Ratifying and approving the adoption of the Omnibus Incentive Plan. A total of 210,743,111 Minera Alamos common shares were voted, representing 42.07% of total shares issued and outstanding as at the record date of the meeting. About Minera Alamos Inc. Minera Alamos is a gold production and development Company. The Company has a portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the 100%-owned Santana open-pit, heap-leach mine in Sonora that is currently going through the start-up of operations at the new Nicho Main deposit. The 100%-owned Cerro de Oro oxide gold project in northern Zacatecas has considerable past drilling and metallurgical work completed and the proposed mining project is currently being guided through the permitting process by the Company's permitting consultants. The La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango (100%-owned) has a positive, robust preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed, and the main Federal permits are in place. Minera Alamos is built around its operating team that together brought three open pit heap leach gold mines into successful production in Mexico over the last 14 years. Minera Alamos also wholly-owns the Copperstone mine and associated infrastructure in La Paz Country, Arizona, an advanced development asset with a permitted plan of operations that can be developed in parallel with planned project advancements in Mexico. The Company's strategy is to develop very low capex assets while expanding the projects' resources and continuing to pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/243460 Terri Smith lost her home in three minutes. Standing before a judge in a Richmond, Va., courtroom one morning this spring, she admitted that although she had paid her April rent on schedule, she had missed the deadline a handful of times over the past year. It was usually just by a day or two: The rent is due on the third of each month, and Smith often doesnt get her paycheck until the fourth or fifth. The judge ruled for the landlord and evicted her.Smith could have demanded a trial -- and in doing so would not have had to admit that she hadnt paid her rent on time. That would have given her a chance to collect evidence for her case. It would have allowed her to discuss the mold in her apartment, the leaky ceiling and the fact that her landlord had failed to keep up on repairs. All of those are legal reasons that could have exempted her from paying rent on time and kept her in her home. She also might have presented the eviction letter her landlord had sent, which listed a domestic violence incident as one of the reasons for eviction, even though Smith was the victim in the incident.But shed already had to wait for hours in Room 222 of the John Marshall Courts Building, watching dozens of other renters get evicted, and it was well past 11 a.m. by the time she was called in front of the judge. She was pressed for time. Smith needed to catch a bus back across town to her apartment, change for work, and get another bus to her job working with dementia patients. She couldnt be late for her job, Smith says. And she got nervous.So she didnt fight back. She never presented the landlords letter. She never asked for a trial. When the judge ruled in favor of the landlord and gave Smith two weeks to get out of the apartment, she left the court saying, I just want my deposit back and move on.In those three minutes in front of the judge, Smiths reluctance to push back against her eviction cost her a great deal. It will be harder for her to move to a new home. The judgment rendered in the brief court appearance will show up on her credit report. Landlords are reluctant to rent to people with evictions on their records.The odds in the John Marshall Courts Building, as in most courthouses across the country, remain stacked against the renter.In the dozens of evictions that moved through the Richmond courthouse on April 11, none of the tenants who appeared had an attorney. That is indicative of the eviction process across the nation, says David Stern, executive director of Equal Justice Works. Only one in 10 tenants comes to court with an attorney. Landlords, meanwhile, almost always have legal representation. And while the lawyers can jockey for the best interests of their clients, and all of them understand court procedures, renters in eviction courts seldom understand the rules. According to the National Center for State Courts, plaintiffs in a wide variety of civil cases are twice as likely to win when only their side is represented by an attorney as they are when there is counsel on both sides. The plaintiffs lawyer, when unopposed, will introduce hearsay and do other objectionable things in court the defendant doesnt know to object to, says John Pollock, coordinator for the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.Since 2016, when Matthew Desmond brought national attention to evictions with his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, local governments across the country have started using their resources to provide legal representation for tenants. After three years of pilot programs, New York City passed a right to counsel law in late 2017. The city spends $155 million each year to help low-income renters (for example, a family of four making less than $49,000 a year qualifies). The program assists tenants in 15 ZIP codes hard hit by evictions. In its first year, the percentage of tenants represented by a lawyer in eviction court rose from 1 percent to 56 percent, according to city data. Evictions dropped by 27 percent in the same time period. In the next three years, the program is expected to cover the entire city.Other cities have rolled out their own versions of the program, albeit on a much less ambitious scale. Washington, D.C., spent $4.5 million last year to provide lawyers for low-income tenants facing evictions. Philadelphia spent $800,000. A recent study by the Philadelphia Bar Association estimated the city would save $45.2 million each year if it invested $3.2 million in legal services in eviction cases. This takes into account the strain that evicted residents place on shelters and other social services, the burden placed on the courts and the stress the children of the evicted put on public schools.But those tenants-rights programs are the exceptions. Richmond is more typical. According to research conducted by Princeton Universitys Eviction Lab, Richmond has the second-highest eviction rate in the country. During a one-month span in 2018, judges in the John Marshall Courts Building handed down more than 1,300 evictions, more than five dozen a day, according to Martin Wegbreit, director of litigation with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. The court normally handles its daily load of eviction cases in the morning. The cases fly through in less than two hours. The process is hastened by a sea of attorneys representing landlords. They bark out the names of tenants and follow up with please speak with me in the hallway.Renters, mostly women, many of them poor or close to it, enter the hallway to strike a deal. Sometimes its a straight monetary agreement. Pay the past-due rent and pay the late fees, which in Virginia can exceed the industry norm of 10 percent of the unpaid total, and the lawyer will stop the eviction process. But often the tenant must allow the landlord to ask for a writ of possession from the court clerk, and at any time within a year, the landlord can hand that writ to the sheriff, who will evict the tenant within three days of receiving the court order. Although Virginia will soon shorten the time landlords can hold a writ from one year to six months, the court papers are a powerful weapon in the hands of a landlord. Its not about money, Wegbreit says. Its about power and control.Eviction cases like those in Richmond are just one element of the larger and sometimes hidden problem of representation for defendants in a whole range of civil proceedings. For the past 56 years, legal representation in criminal court has been guaranteed under the Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. In that case, the court held that when life and liberty are at stake, defendants should have the right to an attorney, whether or not they can afford one. A growing number of civil attorneys believe the same should be granted to low-income residents in certain civil cases. They argue that civil courts are equally capable of stripping people of fundamental rights.States have given people the right to an attorney in some matters beyond criminal court, notably in child custody cases. But an eviction can end up costing someone custody because they have failed to provide their child with adequate shelter. An eviction can also lead to criminal charges if the person is arrested for loitering while homeless. The distinction between a criminal case and civil case is really nonexistent, says Helen Hardiman, a Richmond-based housing attorney. Its where lawmakers have decided to place the case.The blurred line between civil and criminal justice was starkly apparent with Californias longtime use of civil gang injunctions. These were common across the state, but Los Angeles used them more often than any other city. Initiated by a lawsuit filed by the city against alleged members of a street gang, the injunctions would make it illegal for those believed to be in the gang to carry cellphones or travel together in the area covered by the court action. Anyone included in the injunction could be subjected to stop and frisk searches by law enforcement, and violation of the conditions of the injunction could result in incarceration.Those faced with an injunction in gang cases did not have the right to an attorney during the civil procedure. This was the basis of a successful 2016 class action lawsuit in which a federal court ruled the injunctions unconstitutional, calling them criminal prosecutions in the guise of civil justice. The city was forced to take the names of 9,000 residents off the gang injunction lists it had kept.The problem comes up in school discipline cases as well. By state statute, Mississippi guarantees its students a right to a quality education. However, the states track record of heavy-handed student punishment threatens the ability of many of its students to exercise that right, according to Amelia Huckins, a fellow with Equal Justice Works, which supports public interest lawyers across the country. During the 2014-15 school year, 8 percent of Mississippi public school students received at least one suspension. In some districts, as many as one in five received a suspension in a single year. In Moss Point, a school district along the Gulf Coast, 42 percent of students received at least one suspension.Mississippi law does provide a right to legal representation in school discipline hearings. If a student is to be suspended more than 10 days, or expelled, they can be represented by counsel in the hearing. There is one problem -- Mississippi wont pay for the attorney. School disciplinary hearings in Mississippi often start with the schools own disciplinary review board, but can ultimately land in the states chancery court, where the students are rarely provided with legal assistance.In the chancery court hearings, those families fighting suspension or expulsion, often low-income single mothers, are nearly always up against school district lawyers steeped in education law. Its unlikely that a parent or guardian would know, for example, to pull the schools own disciplinary handbook to see if the action threatened against the student is in line with district policy. Its even less likely that they would know that a child with a disability is protected from disciplinary actions in specific circumstances. The school has representation in discipline cases who understand the proceeding. The school runs the proceeding, says Pollock. There is a significant reason you should have a lawyer. How can you say education is not a fundamental right? It impacts almost every outcome in a persons life.Last fall, a special needs student in Mississippi had a classroom outburst that led the district to attempt to suspend him for more than 10 days. However, the student is autistic and, according to Huckins, had not received federally mandated accommodations to help with his disability. If Huckins can prove the school district did not meet the 8-year-old students accommodations, the suspension wont stand. Without this kind of specialized help, there is almost no chance that the suspension would be overturned.As the U.S. population continues to age, more families are grappling with the question of adult guardianship. When the elderly are no longer capable of making decisions for themselves, their family members can take control of their finances and determine where they will live. The adults who can end up under guardianship arent entitled to an attorney, and abuses happen often. Children convince elderly parents that they can help them with their money, says Sarah Everett, an attorney with Indiana Legal Services. Guardianship is a vehicle that can be misused.If an attorney is present, the terms of the guardianship can be negotiated, Everett says, to ensure the individual knows what the process is about. Clients are better informed about the consequences that can result from being subjected to guardianship. Equally important, an effective counsel can place in the court records more instances of abuse when they occur.Helen Hardiman is one of a handful of attorneys representing tenants faced with eviction in Richmond. Both a lawyer and a trained social worker, she helps eviction clients who make too much money to qualify for a legal aid attorney, but not enough to afford most private counsel. When she takes a case to trial, it usually involves an alleged violation of the Fair Housing Act on the part of the landlord. A Fair Housing Act violation (race, gender or disability discrimination) allows Hardimans clients to file a lawsuit against the landlord. The act allows Hardiman to be paid on contingency. Still, there are only so many clients she can see. Over the past year, Hardiman says, I have learned I cant say yes to too many of the eviction cases. If she did, she could no longer keep her practice afloat.This leaves a void in representation. Hardiman has suggested Virginia adopt a system for civil court that copies current practice in criminal courts. Many of the states rural courthouses dont staff dedicated public defenders. Small law firms dispatch private attorneys to those courts, who are assigned to clients by the judge and collect legal fees from the state. The fees are small, so any profit comes from handling a high volume of cases. With Richmonds courthouse flooded with eviction cases, Equal Justice Works plans to send law fellows to the city this summer to assist low-income tenants facing eviction. Meanwhile, two of the fellows sent by Equal Justice Works will work on policy change at the state level.Virginia has made some changes on this front. In January, Richmond became the first of four Virginia cities to launch an eviction diversion program, which will use taxpayer money to pay for attorneys who will help negotiate rent disputes between landlords and tenants. This is not the same, however, as full legal representation at an eviction trial. Still, as Richmond prepares for a change in the way eviction courts operate, Manoli Loupassi says the courts will be faced with cases that wont be won on facts but on technicalities. Hes one of dozens of attorneys who come to eviction court in Richmond to represent landlords. The former Virginia state delegate splits his time between representing landlords in civil courts and accused felons in criminal court. Loupassis opposition to the right to legal counsel in civil cases is nuanced. He sees the need for them in civil asset forfeiture cases, where someone can lose their property, or when orders of protection expose people to enhanced criminal prosecution for simple violations of the order.Loupassi warns that extending the guaranteed right to counsel in civil matters would come with risks. When life and liberty are at stake, people should have a right to counsel, he says. Evictions are a matter of contract law, however. Most of the tenants he seeks evictions against have broken the terms of their lease, which is a contract. Most people in court are here because they didnt pay their rent, Loupassi says, which puts them in violation of that contract.Lawyers, Loupassi contends, wont be able to argue that most of the tenants they represent did indeed pay their rent on time, but will try to win cases on technicalities, throwing cases out because a landlord didnt follow the eviction process to the letter of the law. There is what is just and whats right. Getting someone out of an eviction on a technicality might make it just, but it doesnt make it the right decision.While Richmond is changing some of its rules and getting help from public interest attorneys, several states and cities are working on the issue through the legislative process. Lawmakers in Connecticut and Massachusetts are exploring ways to expand legal representation to people facing evictions. Nevada and Colorado lawmakers have expanded legal representation in adult guardianship cases. Similar efforts are underway in Cleveland and Austin.The growing effort by lawmakers to expand the right to an attorney in civil matters is encouraging to those who have long called for these changes. Civil cases involve important rights, Stern says. We ought to have a lawyer present when those rights are at risk. Hamilton signed last Mercedes deal amid Ferrari talks Lewis Hamilton was already in talks with Ferrari when he signed his final Mercedes contract in mid-2023. Lewis Hamilton, Belgian GP 2023 Mercedes It was August 31, 2023, when the seven time world champion and Toto Wolff put pen to paper on what would be their last agreement - a two-year deal with an exit clause after 2024. When asked by France's Auto Hebdo when his talks with Hamilton, now 40, kicked off, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur admitted this week: "It was at the 2023 Monaco GP - on May 28, my birthday, to be precise. I immediately understood that the desire was there on his part and that it could happen, the Frenchman added. Even Hamilton doesn't deny that he signed Mercedes and Ferrari contracts within mere months. I remember hanging up the phone, said the British driver, "and I was shaking. I thought 'Oh my God'. I had just signed with Mercedes. There was a lot to process and my emotions were really strong. I needed to go for a walk to clear my head, Hamilton added. Fascinatingly, a scene in the latest edition of F1's Netflix series Drive To Survive depicts Wolff speaking with his wife Susie early in 2024 about who should replace Hamilton. You don't think Max (Verstappen) is an option? Susie asked her husband. I haven't spoken to him, Toto Wolff replied, "because I promised Lewis I wouldn't talk to him. But I will have the conversation now. Ultimately, Verstappen remained at Red Bull for 2025, and Mercedes signed up Wolff's 18-year-old protege Kimi Antonelli. (GMM) Leclerc disagrees with Russell about 2026 tyres Charles Leclerc is not siding with George Russell in criticising Pirelli's proposed narrower 2026 tyres. Charles Leclerc, Italian GP 2024 Ferrari Max Verstappen refused to give his own opinion about the performance of the smaller and lighter tyres recently, cheekily only revealing that they are round . Mercedes, however, is rumoured to be pushing for the narrower dimensions to be scrapped, with lead team driver Russell declaring: They're clearly worse overall, there's no doubt about that. But Ferrari's Leclerc has tried the development 2026 tyres too, and he has a different opinion. When you test new, smaller tyres, you expect a big difference, he said. "But for me it felt fine - I didn't really notice a big difference. I was pleasantly surprised. McLaren driver Lando Norris agreed, revealing that the 2026 Pirellis worked well . In 2025, Pirelli is introducing an all-new 'super soft' compound called C6, which the Italian marque's F1 boss Mario Isola says will make several appearances this year. We want to be a bit more aggressive with the choice of compounds and offer the combination C4, C5 and C6 on several weekends, he told Auto Motor und Sport. Previously, C5 was the softest compound. We want to bring the C6 to four or five races, not just Monaco, Isola continued. Everyone always talks about Monaco, but we will not solve the problems in Monaco with the C6. The Formula 1 Commission has already decided that we will try two compulsory stops there. He said the C6 will make its grand prix debut prior to Monaco. I think we will confirm the first use of the C6 for Imola. Then in Montreal, Isola added. "Then we'll see how it went. Both are representative tracks. If everything goes well, we'll probably see the C6 in Singapore and Las Vegas as well. Together with Monaco, that would be five races. (GMM) Marko admits Verstappen behind Norris for 2025 Dr Helmut Marko has offered a typically straightforward appraisal of the current pecking order as Formula 1 heads into the 2025 season. Lando Norris, Austrian GP 2024 McLaren After the sole group pre-season test in Bahrain, the Red Bull advisor told Auto Bild: (Lando) Norris is in front, behind him is Max (Verstappen), then it's Ferrari with (Charles) Leclerc and Mercedes. Former two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen, like most other pundits and experts, agrees that McLaren's Norris is heading to Melbourne as favourite. I think Lando is ready to win, the Finn told Corriere dello Sport. The question is what lessons he learned in the title fight last year. Making mistakes is no shame, but speed alone is not enough to win. Just look at Max - he won last year even though the development of his car was not good. However, Hakkinen also insists that for the last season of the current chassis and engine regulations, the title battle this year is likely to be close and intense. I could spend a whole day explaining why one driver could prevail over the other, he said. One particular challenge for reigning quadruple world champion Verstappen, Hakkinen explained, will be on the psychological and motivational side. It really won't be easy for him mentally, he said. "From the outside you can see the races, the tests and the interviews, but outside the spotlight a lot of work is also required. You also need to know how to deal with the pressure and the criticism. However, Hakkinen admits that Verstappen is a already master of resisting pressure. "Max knows what is needed and he delivers. And if I see a comparison with myself, Verstappen also has to deliver in a Formula 1 era that is full of talent - from (Lewis) Hamilton to Norris and from (George) Russell to Leclerc. Max deserves a lot of respect for that. (GMM) UK media banned from reporting latest Horner news The British media has been barred from reporting the latest developments in the Christian Horner scandal. Christian Horner, United States GP 2024 Red Bull The saga, which marred much of the Red Bull team boss' 2024 season, had gone quiet after an internal investigation cleared him of wrongdoing in a 'sexting' controversy involving a female employee. But according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the unnamed employee has now taken her complaint to the UK Employment Tribunal, which has accepted the claim and set an initial hearing date for January of 2026. Various sources in the paddock confirmed to De Telegraaf that the employee's case against Horner and Red Bull will come before the employment court in January 2026, in England, journalist Erik van Haren explained. The move follows the employee's reported rejection of Horner and Red Bull's attempts to settle the matter privately. Fascinatingly, the Dutch report claims that Horner has successfully obtained a so-called Reporting Restriction Order from the court, barring the British media from reporting about the latest developments. This will remain the case until the restrictions are lifted, van Haren claims. Various media outlets are opposing the ban. Despite the reporting ban, the Horner affair is covered in detail in the latest edition of F1's Netflix series Drive To Survive, in which the 51-year-old team principal pointed the finger at his enemies. It was obvious that the end goal was for me to leave Red Bull, he said. Horner slammed McLaren CEO Zak Brown specifically, calling him a pr*ck . The higher you rise, the sharper the knives, he continued. I've reached the top of my game and I never thought in a million years I'd have a challenge like this in my career. (GMM) Former Public Enterprises Minister disputes Finance Ministers claim that most SOEs are in financial distress GraphicOnline Business News Mar - 05 - 2025 , 13:09 Former Minister for Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, has strongly refuted claims made by Finance Minister Dr Ato Forson that most State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are in financial distress. Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue, Dr Forson painted a bleak picture of the state of SOEs, stating that nearly all of them were financially struggling. SOEs and joint venture companies are showing mounting operational and financial risk. Almost all state-owned enterprises are in the red. From ECG to the ADB, almost all of them are in the red, he asserted. However, in a strongly worded statement, Joseph Cudjoe rejected the claim, describing it as false and misleading. There are 53 SOEs. 39 reported profits in 2023, per their audited accounts. Five improved in performance from 2022 to 2023 by reducing losses. Why would the Finance Minister have the guts to say MOST of the SOEs were in the red? Meanwhile, during their time, most of these SOEs were not even preparing accounts at all, Cudjoe argued. He went on to clarify that Ghana has 175 public enterprises, which are categorised into three groups. He explained that 53 are SOEs, which are commercial entities expected to make a profit, while 75 are Other State Entities (OSEs), including regulators such as the Food and Drugs Authority, Petroleum Commission, and Ghana Revenue Authority. The final group consists of 47 Joint Venture Companies (JVCs), which involve government partnerships with private investors. Finally, there are 47 Joint Venture Companies, which are co-shared commercial investments by government with private investors. Examples include GOIL, GCB Bank, SIC Insurance, Newmont, and Goldfields. This category is largely profitable, he added. SOEs Are Improving, Not Declining Cudjoe Joseph Cudjoe also defended the performance of SOEs under the previous Akufo-Addo administration, stating that significant progress had been made in improving financial accountability. He credited the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) as an initiative that had ensured all 175 public enterprises were closely monitored and ranked on a Public Enterprises League Table (PELT). He noted that this framework had significantly improved transparency and performance in the sector. The former minister urged the Finance Minister to present a more accurate picture of SOEs, acknowledging that while some were facing financial difficulties, the majority were performing well. The Finance Minister should note that there is an ongoing programme to bring the troublesome SOEs to profitability. These troublesome ones include TOR, COCOBOD, ECG, Ghana Water, and PBC. The current Finance Minister should stop peddling lies that most are in red because its rather few that are in red. Most prepared accounts, got them audited, and they reported profits in 2023, Cudjoe stated. He further highlighted that before 2017, several SOEs were not even preparing accounts, citing examples such as the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) and Ghana Publishing Company Limited. Joseph Cudjoes rebuttal has added fuel to the ongoing debate over the true state of Ghanas SOEs, with many now calling for an independent review of the financial health of state enterprises. Ashanti Regional Minister sets up committee to help revitalise Ghanaian film industry Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Mar - 05 - 2025 , 13:54 2 minutes read The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, has taken a significant step to revitalize the film industry in the region by establishing a committee to identify and address the challenges hindering its growth. This move aims to boost the industry's development and propose solutions to the obstacles it faces. In a post on his Facebook page, Dr Amoakohene, wrote: "Today, I officially commissioned a Ministerial Committee on the Movie Industry & Creatives (Kumawood) to drive the growth and transformation of Ghanas film and creative arts sector." He listed the tasks of the committee such as assessing the current state of the industry and identifying key challenges, developing policies to attract investment and ensure sustainable growth, exploring strategies to promote Ghanaian films both locally and internationally, strengthening film infrastructure by improving production facilities and training opportunities, enhancing film festivals and cultural showcases to celebrate Ghanaian storytelling and creativity, and fostering collaboration between stakeholders to create more opportunities for filmmakers, actors, and creatives. Dr. Frank Amoakohene, the Ashanti Regional Minister, is urging the newly formed committee to drive the growth of Kumawood with dedication, commitment, and unity. He believes that by working together, they can elevate the entire creative industry to new heights and build a globally competitive film industry that showcases the rich stories of Asanteman and Ghana. I urged the committee members to carry out their mandate with dedication, commitment, and a strong sense of unity to ensure that Kumawood and the entire creative industry reach new heights. Together, we will build a globally competitive film industry that tells the rich stories of Asanteman and Ghana!, he wrote. In a response under the said post, filmmaker and former Public Relations Officer(PRO) of Film Producers Association of Ghana(FIPAG), Ola Michael said he sincerely hope the committee will bring about meaningful change, as industry players were already aware of the challenges and solutions needed to revitalise the Kumawood industry. He wrote, Good to hear from you Hon Minister. I pray something useful comes out of this committee cus we know the problems already and we know the solutions. When I say we, I mean we in the creative and cultural industries, specifically, the kumawood as well. Reason some of the campaign promises were made, mostly targeting the very reason this committee is being set up. We await the outcome. Kudos honourable. See post below: Grammy winner Gramps Morgan praises King Paluta GNA Showbiz News Mar - 05 - 2025 , 19:13 1 minute read Gramps Morgan, a member of the Grammy-winning reggae band Morgan Heritage, has praised Ghanaian sensational artiste King Paluta. The global superstar expressed his admiration for King Palutas recently released Magic visualizer, which has racked impressive streaming numbers. The song Magic from the Give Time Some Time album has received massive traction because of its unique Ghanaian rhythm being infused with modern sounds. Commenting on King Palutas Magic visualiser on Instagram, Gramps Morgan wrote, Much respect. King Palutas Magic song has received massive commendation from music lovers, who have lauded the artistes Versatility Ghanaian TV personality Deloris Frimpong Manso, also known as Delay, has tipped King Palute to win the Artiste of the Year prize in the upcoming Telecel Ghana Music Awards. (Read Ashanti Regional Minister sets up committee to revive Kumawood, Akwaaba Festival rolls out again from March 6) Hiplife legend Okyeame Kwame has also backed calls for King Paluta to be awarded the Artiste of the Year accolade following a stellar year under review. Next article: Trump says he is 'just getting started' in speech to US Congress Ukraine shocked over US military aid pause bbc.com International News Mar - 05 - 2025 , 11:02 2 minutes read Ukrainians have voiced their shock and dismay at the US pausing its military aid to the country what one politician called a "dangerous" situation. "We'll see very soon the serious consequences dangerous consequences," Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told the BBC. Merezhko said the pause could start having an impact on the ground as soon as "in the coming days". Ukraine woke up to the news on Tuesday that the US was "pausing and reviewing" its military aid. A White House official told the BBC's US news partner, CBS, that its reason for doing so was to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution". "The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well," the White House official added. While US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have yet to comment, Ukraine's Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, said his country was still willing to cooperate with the US, and reiterated Kyiv's "gratefulness" to Washington for their support to date. Some Ukrainian MPs, however, have come out to call the decision "disastrous". "When we are in desperate need of American weaponry, of American support... [it] looks like siding with Russia" to end it now, Merezhko said. "I'm appealing to Mr Trump not to play with these dangerous issues because we're talking about lives." Merezhko said the decision also shone "a new light" on the Oval Office spat on Friday between Zelensky and the US president and vice-president, which Merezhko called "an attempt to find justification" to stop the military aid. "It was a show, you know, deliberately played," he added. US Vice-President JD Vance said he saw "big problems" with accusations that Trump was on Russian President Vladimir Putin's side, when asked during an interview on Monday. Vance said people had to accept that Trump is "not just assuming that everything the Russians tell him is true". Next article: Painter remanded for allegedly stealing cables worth over GH1million at new Bank of Ghana Headquarters Previous article: See the messages the US, Belarus, and Qatar sent Ghana on its Independence Day All you need to know about Ghana's 68th Independence Anniversary: cost, contingents, and cutbacks Kweku Zurek Mar - 05 - 2025 , 23:18 2 minutes read Ghanas 68th Independence Anniversary will be marked on March 6, 2025, in a modest ceremony at the Presidency, departing from the traditional grand celebration at the Black Star Square. The decision, taken by President John Dramani Mahama, is aimed at reducing costs and prioritising government expenditure amid economic challenges. The Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, announced that the policy of rotating the celebrations among regional capitals has been suspended due to its significant cost implications. Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Hon. @FelixKwakyeOfo1 gives a sneak preview of what is to be expected for tomorrow's Independence Day Celebrations pic.twitter.com/gUkh4cMqMl March 5, 2025 He also indicated that this year's event will cost approximately 1.5million Ghana cedis. "These celebrations came with significant costs, which, at the moment, the national purse cannot bear. So President Mahama took a decision a few weeks ago to scale down the celebrations and bring it to the Presidency," he stated. Highlighting the cost savings, he revealed: "I can reveal to you that the celebrations that will be held here tomorrow will cost a tenth of what it cost to hold this event in Koforidua last year. That event cost 15 million Ghana cedis, but the scaled-down celebration here will cost a fraction of that." Despite the reduction, he assured that the significance of the day remains intact. "The Independence Day celebration is one that President Mahama takes very seriously. He believes that it must be celebrated, except that he thinks that it should be done in modesty and in a way that allows us to make savings that we can plough back into other areas of expenditure." What to expect on March 6 Unlike previous years where over 3,600 personnel and thousands of schoolchildren participated, this years celebration will feature a reduced contingent of just over 500 people, including security personnel and schoolchildren. "In the past, there were 60 contingents made up of 60 men and women each. So you are talking close to 3,600 men and women and thousands of children who marched. Now everything has been scaled down to a little over 500 people," Kwakye Ofosu explained. The event will include: A military guard of honour Cultural performances by basic school pupils A poetry recital by a senior high school student Attendance by chiefs, religious leaders, students, traders, and political party representatives The programme also includes President Mahamas ceremonial address, which will highlight the significance of the day. BoG Governor addresses $11 Million furnishing cost of new headquarters before Parliament GraphicOnline Mar - 05 - 2025 , 21:43 2 minutes read The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, appeared before Parliaments Committee of the Whole to address concerns about the $11.1 million furnishing cost for the central banks new headquarters in Accra. The facility inaugurated on November 20, 2024, by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been at the centre of public scrutiny, with critics questioning the timing and expenditure amidst Ghanas economic challenges. Addressing the House, Dr Asiama said the old BoG building had structural defects and was no longer fit for purpose. Mr Speaker, furniture and furnishings were awarded at $11.1 million, he stated, reaffirming that the project was necessary to enhance the banks efficiency and strengthen Ghanas financial system. The BoG Governor reassured Parliament of the central banks commitment to prudent financial management, noting that the new facility would align with the governments broader agenda for economic stability and financial sector growth. Despite the BoGs justification, the project has faced public backlash, with some questioning the prioritisation of the new headquarters at a time when the country is dealing with economic constraints. The central bank, however, insists that the facility will provide a secure, modern workspace for its staff, improving regulatory oversight and ensuring greater efficiency in managing Ghanas financial sector. While Dr Asiama remained confident in the projects long-term benefits, the matter is expected to generate further debate as Parliament continues to scrutinise the central banks financial decisions. BoG Governor defends construction of new Headquarters Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2025 , 21:53 1 minute read The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, has justified the construction of the Central Banks new state-of-the-art office complex, stating that the former headquarters was no longer fit for purpose. Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, Dr Asiama provided clarity on the costs and rationale behind the project, explaining that the old building had become inadequate to meet the demands of a modern central bank. He highlighted that the outdated infrastructure presented significant operational challenges, including limited space, obsolete technology, and inefficiencies that hindered the banks ability to fulfil its mandate effectively. In 2019, under a new board of the BoG, a structural integrity audit was conducted, and this showed that the existing head office, which was built in the late 1950s, had developed significant structural defects and was no longer fit for purpose. Following this, the board of directors at the time approved the development of a new corporate headquarters, citing security, operational efficiency, and long-term institutional needs as key factors, he stated. On November 20, 2024, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inaugurated the new ultra-modern office complex, which now serves as the central banks headquarters, often referred to as The Bank Square. However, during the projects construction, the then-Minority in Parliament protested against it, arguing that the building could have been postponed, especially considering the countrys economic difficulties at the time. Finance Minister calls for immediate implementation of economic reforms Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2025 , 12:28 3 minutes read The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has urged the swift implementation of key recommendations from the National Economic Dialogue (NED 2025), emphasising that the time for discussion is over and action must begin immediately. Speaking at the dialogues closing session, he asserted that Ghana already understands its economic challenges and the solutions required. What remains, he said, is the collective resolve to implement them. Most of the presentations actually feed into the first presentation I made. It clearly shows the connections and understanding that together we understand the situation and the problems of this country. What is left is the resolve to come together and to fix it, he stated. While acknowledging that implementation is the greatest challenge, he stressed that the government alone cannot drive the necessary reforms without the active support of the public. Implementation is the challenge; we can only implement as a government if we get the buy-in of the citizens. Dr Forson announced that the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, set to be introduced on March 11, would begin addressing the concerns raised during the dialogue. However, he called on stakeholders to support the government in ensuring the success of these reforms. What I would like to say is that beginning the 11th of March, the government will introduce the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy. Most of the concerns youve raised, youll begin to see them in the budget. "But dont leave the government alone. We call on you to support the government in educating the public, for the public to understand that the time has come for us to reset and reform the economy. Weve got to do this together," he added. Reflecting on the discussions, Dr Forson highlighted the interconnectedness of the economys various sectors, including governance and corruption, and stressed the urgency of reform. And so clearly, what I can say is most striking to me, particularly sitting there quietly, is that interconnectedness between the macro group to the private sector, to infrastructure, to all the other sectors, even to the governance and the corruption sub-sectors, is the need for us to do major reforms. Dr Forson reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the dialogues recommendations shape government policy, using the final communique as his guiding document. The solution is there, we know the problems, we know what we have to do to resolve the problems. Lets start the implementation. "So I will wait for the communique, and I can use the communique as my Bible, going into the preparation of the budget and to make recommendations to Cabinet for adoption and approval for us to input into the budget," he said. Next article: BoG paid $48.3m in taxes for new $261.8m headquarters - Governor Ghana Health Service targets early breast cancer detection in three regions Mohammed Ali Mar - 05 - 2025 , 15:07 1 minute read The Ghana Health Service (GHS), in partnership with JHPIEGO and with support from the Pfizer Foundation, has launched the BEAT Breast Cancer Project, a three-year initiative aimed at improving early detection and treatment of breast cancer in Ghana. The project will be rolled out in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Northern Regions, covering 240 health facilities. It follows a pilot phase in Bekwai, which ran from June 2022 to July 2024 and included screenings for both breast and cervical cancer. A nationwide awareness campaign will also be introduced to encourage early diagnosis and treatment. Breast cancer remains a major health concern in Ghana, with over 2,900 deaths recorded in 2019. Annually, approximately 4,482 new cases are diagnosed, with more than 2,000 deaths. Late-stage diagnoses account for over 70% of cases, reducing treatment success rates and increasing fatalities. Speaking at the launch today Wednesday march 5 2025, Acting Director-General of GHS, Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, pledged full institutional support for the initiative. He announced plans to instruct all GHS facilities and Regional Directors to observe World Breast Cancer Day and tasked the Health Promotion Division to work with JHPIEGO and the media to intensify public awareness. This initiative builds on previous efforts to improve breast cancer care in Ghana. In October 2022, the Rebecca Foundation, in collaboration with GHS and Roche Ghana, launched a project to train over 90 primary healthcare workers in the Eastern, Savannah, and Ashanti Regions to improve early detection and treatment. Previous article: Fixing Ghanas economy : What the experts proposed at the National Economic Dialogue Court fixes March 27 to determine Quaysons fate Daily Graphic Mar - 05 - 2025 , 08:36 2 minutes read The High Court in Accra has fixed March 27, 2025, to determine whether or not Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North James Gyakye Quayson should open his defence in a trial in which he has been accused of deceiving a public officer in obtaining a Ghanaian passport. The court was expected to give its ruling on March 3 but the Office of the Attorney-General failed to meet the courts deadline to file written arguments in support of whether they have made sufficient case for the MP to open his defence. Counsel for Quayson, Tsatsu Tsikata, told the court that since the prosecution now has more time to file the address, they should address the issues raised by the defence. Justice Mary Yanzuh adjourned the trial to March 27, 2025, to give a ruling on the submissions. Subsequently, the court gave the prosecution up to the close of today to file its written arguments. Not guilty Mr Quayson is facing charges of forgery and perjury in relation to certain alleged offences in the run-up to the 2020 Assin North parliamentary election. He has pleaded not guilty to five counts of forgery of passport or travel certificate, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury and false declaration for office. It is the case of the prosecution that Mr Quayson allegedly made a false statement to the Passport Office that he did not hold a passport to another country when he applied for a Ghanaian Passport. In addition, the prosecution has accused Mr Quayson of making a false declaration to the Electoral Commission (EC) to the effect that he (Quayson) did not owe any allegiance to a foreign country when he filed to contest as a candidate for the Assin North seat. The prosecution closed its case on February 12, 2025, after which the court ordered both sides to file written submissions on whether a case had been made by the prosecution. In all, the prosecution called six witnesses before bringing its case to a close. Gbese Traditional Council honours US Ambassador Emmanuel Quaye Mar - 05 - 2025 , 07:57 3 minutes read The Gbese Mantse, Nii Ayi Bonte II, has honoured the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer, at a colourful ceremony at the palace in Jamestown. The honour was in recognition of her role in ensuring peace in the country and Accra in particular before, during and after the 2024 general election. It was also to recognise her for her role in promoting cultural tourism and business investment in the country. In attendance at the ceremony yesterday were some traditional leaders, and representative from some corporate institutions. His Royal Majesty, the King of Gbese and the Adonteng of the Ga State, Nii Ayi Bonte II, graciously compliments and wishes to recognise the invaluable role you played to uphold the peace of the Ga State and for that matter Ghana during the December 7, 2024 elections in Ghana, a citation accompanying the honour stated in part. It said her immense role in supporting the peace council, civic education, conflict prevention initiatives as well as strengthening the capacity of the peace architecture established by members of the diplomatic community cannot be overemphasised. To this end, the citation indicated, Nii Ayi Bonte II and the entire Ga State recognise your exemplary contribution to peaceful election and appreciate you sincerely. It said in the spirit of friendship, the people of Gbese hail Ms Palmers contribution and, therefore, bestowed royal blessings and esteem of the highest honour on her. Historic Speaking at the ceremony, the President of the Gbese Traditional Council, Nii Ayi-Bonte II, said not only was the presence of Mrs Palmer to the palace historic, but it also demonstrated the true bond of friendship between the United States and the Gbese Traditional Area. He said even though the 2024 election was characterised by tension which also created fear and panic, it took the diplomatic work of Mrs Palmer and others to ensure peace across the country. Nii Ayi Bonte said it was for that reason that the traditional council had elected to confer the honour on her. In addition, he said the traditional council was keen in promoting cultural tourism and business investment to advance the cause of Gbese, and the country as a whole. In September 2024, the Gbese Mantse and team attended the CEO Summit in Virginia, USA, to drive home investment opportunities. We are confident that some of the businesses we interacted with will follow up to come see the business opportunities available in Ghana, he stated. Gratitude Ms Palmer, who was decorated by the Gbese Manye Seekwelo and Ga Manye, Naa Ayikaikor Nicco-Annan, with a kente cloth, expressed gratitude to the council and Nii Ayi Bonte for the recognition. She stated that Ghana and the US had stronger relations in terms of their democratic tenets and despite the challenges both countries were faced with, they believed elections must not degenerate. Ms Palmer said her outfit would continue to strengthen ties with the Gbese Traditional Area to see how cultural tourism could be harnessed for socio-economic development, stressing that a lot of Americans visited Ghana because of their ties. Ministry of Health disputes Dr Amin Adams claims on completed Agenda 111 hospitals Graphic.com.gh Mar - 05 - 2025 , 10:03 2 minutes read The Ministry of Health has rejected claims by former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam that three hospitals under the Agenda 111 project were completed, equipped, and commissioned before the previous government left office. Speaking at a press conference organised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday, Dr Amin Adam stated that the Akufo-Addo administration had successfully completed and inaugurated the Trede, Kokoben, and Ahanta hospitals. He also claimed that a funding source of $1.3 billion had been secured to complete all remaining Agenda 111 hospital projects. Ministry challenges claim on completed hospitals Responding to Dr Amin Adams remarks, the Ministry of Health stated that while progress had been made on the hospitals, they were not fully completed or ready for use. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Ministry explained that an inspection conducted on March 3, 2025, at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma Municipality and Kokoben in the Oforikrom Municipality in the Ashanti Region revealed that the hospitals still lacked critical medical equipment. These included medical gas systems, imaging machines, mortuary equipment, ophthalmology and dental facilities, and laboratory tools. The claim that these hospitals were completed and equipped before commissioning is misleading, the statement, signed by Isaac Ofei Baah, Head of the Public Relations Unit, said. No Agenda 111 hospital fully operational yet The Ministry clarified that while the previous government had spent $400 million on the initiative, none of the 111 hospitals under construction are currently operational. It noted that the estimated cost to complete the project now stands at $1.589 billion. Although the Trede, Kokoben, and Ahanta hospitals were commissioned under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, the Ministry indicated that the overall completion rate stands at 95%, and the hospitals have yet to be handed over to the Ghana Health Service for use. Additionally, no medical equipment has been installed, and some laboratory facilities are still under construction. The Ministry estimated that an additional $8.03 million would be required to make the three facilities functional. Government working to complete project The Ministry assured the public that efforts are underway to complete and operationalise all Agenda 111 hospitals. It urged Ghanaians to be patient as the government continues to work towards improving healthcare infrastructure. The Agenda 111 initiative was introduced under the Akufo-Addo administration to construct 111 district and specialised hospitals across Ghana to expand healthcare access. Minority Leader commends BoG Governor for transparency on new HQ cost Jemima Okang Addae Mar - 05 - 2025 , 21:57 2 minutes read The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed gratitude to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, for his transparency regarding the construction of the new Central Bank headquarters. He noted that in Dr Asiamas report to Parliament, he acknowledged that the entire project was completed at a lower cost than initially projected, resulting in significant savings for the country. "Dr Addison is no more there, his other deputies are not there. Dr Asiama and his new team are here to give us an honest account of what the records have. And they've been very sincere. Should anybody on the streets of Accra today claim that the Central Bank building did not meet value for money or was too expensive, what the Bank of Ghana is saying is that it is actually cheaper compared to market standards," he stated. The Central Bank further clarified that of the total construction cost of $222 million, $202 million has been paid, with $20 million still outstanding. Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, March 5, after Dr Asiamas report on the projects cost, Mr Afenyo-Markin emphasised that the construction represented significant savings for the state. He highlighted that instead of the contractor being paid $2,658 per square metre, the BoG successfully negotiated a lower rate of $2,068 per square metre. The Bank of Ghana is saying that, apart from following due process, it has also saved taxpayers money. We have a 107,000-square-metre project, and on each square metre, there is a savings of $600 plus, he added. New GIADEC CEO confident in aluminium industrys role in Ghanas economic recovery Mohammed Ali Mar - 05 - 2025 , 12:18 2 minutes read The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Mr Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, has expressed confidence in Ghanas Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) as a major driver of economic growth. Speaking at a staff durbar organised to officially welcome him, Mr Twumasi Ankrah reaffirmed his commitment to building on the progress made by his predecessor and strengthening GIADECs role in developing the entire aluminium value chain. The integrated aluminium industry is a strategic national project, and if fully developed, it can contribute over $2 billion to the economy. That is an opportunity that deserves the attention of any government. My immediate priority will be to develop every aspect of the aluminium value chain to fully harness this potential, he said. Mr Twumasi Ankrah added that President John Mahamas vision is to industrialise the economy and create jobs by making full use of Ghanas natural resources. He also emphasised the need to ensure that host communities benefit from the mines and refineries that will be established. We will strengthen the relationships we have built with chiefs and local communities. This is central to our goal of ensuring that our respected traditional leaders and the people in these communities are the primary beneficiaries of a well-functioning integrated aluminium industry, he stated. The outgoing CEO, Mr Michael Ansah, expressed appreciation to GIADEC staff for their support during his tenure and voiced confidence in Mr Twumasi Ankrahs ability to lead the corporation successfully. In the past few years, we have laid a strong foundation for Ghanas integrated aluminium industry. With the collective efforts of our team, we have made progress, including selecting strategic partners for IAI projects, Mr Ansah said. He urged GIADEC staff to give their full support to the new CEO and contribute to advancing the corporations mandate of developing and promoting an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana. Next article: Ghana must position itself as Africas premier gold trading hub Dr Anarfi Sarpong Previous article: All you need to know about Ghana's 68th Independence Anniversary: cost, contingents, and cutbacks Painter remanded for allegedly stealing cables worth over GH1million at new Bank of Ghana Headquarters GNA Mar - 05 - 2025 , 22:36 2 minutes read A painter working on the Bank of Ghana building at Ridge in Accra has been remanded into police custody for stealing quantities of assorted copper cables, valued at GH1,035,500. Appearing at an Accra Circuit Court, Ahmed Mohammed Lawal was nabbed after CCTV camera was reviewed. Lawal has pleaded not guilty on charges of unlawful entry and stealing. Two other accomplices are said to be at large. Police say efforts are being made to apprehend Lawals accomplices. The matter has been adjourned to March 19, 2025, by the court, presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Kwadam. The prosecution, led by Assistant Augustin Kingsley Oppong, told the court that the complainants, Samuel Nii Tettey and Davidson Mensah Otinkorang, are safety officer and electrical engineer, respectively, at the New Bank of Ghana building, which is under construction. ASP Oppong said on February 16, 2025, the complainants detected that a thief had broken into the Energy Farm at the Site and had stolen quantities of lc x 240 square copper cables and lc x 300 square of copper cables, all valued at GH1,035,500. That necessitated the review of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) camera, where the accused and two others were seen stealing the copper cables from the Energy Farm. Bundles of electrical cables were kept at the place. Prosecution said the complainants nabbed the accused and handed him over to the police for investigations. The court heard that during investigations, it was revealed that on February 16, 2025, the accused and two others at large gained ingress into the Energy Farm by means of a scaffold where accused person and his accomplices cut the copper cables with a sharp object and took them (the cables) away. Investigations conducted proved the sale of the booty to someone at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle by the accused and his share was GH2,000. However, the accused could not lead the police to arrest his accomplice and the dishonest receiver. Investigations were still ongoing, the Prosecution added. President Mahama returns from Cote dIvoire after bilateral talks with President Ouattara GraphicOnline Mar - 05 - 2025 , 22:02 2 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has returned to Ghana after a one-day working visit to Cote d'Ivoire, where he held high-level bilateral discussions with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. The meeting, which forms part of President Mahamas efforts to strengthen Ghanas relations with its ECOWAS neighbours, focused on key regional issues, including security, cocoa production, and illegal mining. The two leaders discussed the growing security concerns in the Sahel region, particularly regarding the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a coalition formed by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. President Ouattara commended Mahamas commitment to engaging with the Sahel states, noting that "it would facilitate the reconciliation of the three Sahelian countries with ECOWAS." The discussion comes at a time when tensions between the AES bloc and ECOWAS remain unresolved, with Ghana playing a crucial role in regional peace and diplomatic efforts. Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, as the two largest cocoa-producing nations, together account for nearly 80% of global cocoa production. During the meeting, the two presidents explored strategies to enhance global pricing and increase value addition in the cocoa sector, ensuring fairer earnings for farmers and strengthening their position in the international market. The leaders also discussed the devastating impact of illegal mining (galamsey) on their respective countries. Given the shared waterways and tributaries between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, both presidents acknowledged the severe environmental consequences of illegal mining and the need for a collaborative approach to tackle the menace. Four minors ages 13 to 17 were taken into custody for graffiti on the walls of the Barrigada library and bus stops, Guam Police Department spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella said on Wednesday. All of them admitted to graffiti and damaging government property, Savella said. One of them, age 15, was subsequently taken into custody for burglary after admitting to burglarizing Aguon Store in Barrigada. The apprehension and investigation resulted in the closure of a total of seven incidents and three separate cases, Savella said. GPD has been working closely with Barrigada Mayor and Vice Mayor Jesse Bautista to address criminal activities in the village. The mayor and vice mayor have made several reports to GPD for graffiti on the village library and nearby bus stops. During the evening hours of Feb. 17, officers from the Central Precinct responded to a disturbance complaint that involved several minors who subsequently were taken into custody. A detective from the GPD Juvenile Investigations Section recognized one of the minors to be involved in the Aguon Store burglary security footage. Information provided to detectives aided in the identification and swift apprehension of the four minors. The cases have been closed and referred to the Office of the Attorney General for information and disposition. We have noted that several other incidents of vandalism in the area went unreported. We continue to encourage the community to report criminal activity, Savella said. If you see something, say something, GPD said. Call Guam Police Dispatch at (671) 475-8615 thru 671-475-8617, GPD added. The Legislatures executive director, Joann Camacho, never received an emailed public record request that shes now being sued over, and the case is closed, Camachos attorney Mike Phillips told the court on Tuesday. But former senator and attorney Tom Fisher, who filed the suit, said his office never got a notice that the Freedom of Information Act request emailed to Camacho on Jan. 8 bounced. Phillips and Fisher spent over an hour arguing their points before Superior Court Judge Dana Gutierrez on Monday. The suit against Camacho is one of now three lawsuits filed by Fisher related to a handwritten FOIA request that Fisher said Sen. Telo Taitague threw in the trash during a legislative session last June. Fisher sent the Jan. 8 FOIA request to Camacho, seeking more documents related to his suit against Taitague. When he didnt get a response, the former senator filed a suit asking the court to fine Camacho $1,000 for violating the FOIA law and to order her to comply with the lawsuit. The attorney on Monday said Camacho had since replied to his FOIA request, but said he still believes the case should proceed to an evidentiary hearing to decide whether a fine and attorneys fees are appropriate. Phillips told the court that there was no reason for the case to move forward, and that the matter should be dismissed. He said a review by legislative information technology staff found no FOIA request had been received from Fisher at Camachos email address. According to a verification signed by Camacho and sent to the court, IT staff told her that her email was created on Jan. 10, about two days after Fisher sent the email. Phillips said Fisher was not accusing Camacho of any deceit, and unless he did, no one was challenging the fact that she never received the FOIA request. If she never got the email, there was no reason for the suit to move forward, he said. Camacho did eventually respond to Fisher, after she received the attorneys notice of intent to sue, Phillips added. He said she had no documents related to his FOIA request. I have no reason to believe that she wasnt telling the truth, Fisher told the judge. However, his office never received any notice that the email was undeliverable, Fisher said. He said he still believed it was proper for the matter to go to an evidentiary hearing, and that it was up to Camacho to prove that the FOIA request wasnt received. Fisher and Phillips spent some time going back and forth over whether it was Camacho, or the Legislature, that was responsible for responding to the FOIA request. Phillips said making Camacho take the stand to testify would turn proceedings into a circus and insisted that he be allowed to cross-examine Fisher if the case went to that. Gutierrez said she would take the matter under advisement. Fishers FOIA demanded all records and things indicating Camachos compliance with the section of the Guam Administrative Rules and Regulations dealing with record keeping practices, Title 2, Chapter 10. Phillips on Tuesday argued the chapter only applied to the executive branch. According to Fisher, he sent the FOIA request to see if there was protocol in place for receiving, storing and transmitting public documents. He said he wanted to know whether documents related to his suit of Taitague were retained as a public record and discoverable, the Pacific Daily News reported. Fisher is suing Taitague over the June FOIA request and another sent to her in January, which he alleges she failed to respond to on time. The lawsuit against Taitague has used up about $30,000 worth of legislative funds so far, the PDN reported last month. Lawmakers have authorized another $10,000 to be spent on legal fees for Camachos case. Taitagues expenses are also expected to climb, as she appeals a ruling in the first lawsuit and fights the second one filed against her. Construction of a nearly $39 million Guam Public Health Training and Biosafety Laboratory Facility, which would allow the island to better respond to public health emergencies, officially started with Wednesdays groundbreaking ceremony. With shovels in hand and hard hats in place, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and other dignitaries marked what they described as a significant milestone in Guams public health history. Its the only biosafety laboratory in Micronesia. Construction of the facility by the University of Guam in Mangilao is expected to be completed by June 2026. This facility will allow us to better respond to health crises like COVID-19, providing quicker, more efficient diagnostics, the governor said. By partnering with the University of Guam, we are elevating the quality of science and health care on our island. Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, commander of Joint Task Force Micronesia, said this laboratory will enhance Guams ability to detect, prevent, and respond to health crises, reinforcing not only local capabilities but also regional stability. This is a foundation for the future, where science and preparedness come together to create a safer, healthier island for generations to come, he said. The state-of-the-art facility represents years of collaboration between local government, military partners, and academic institutions, officials said. Today is not just about dirt and shovels; its about us, our home, and our hearts, said Vera Topasna, executive director of the Community Defense Liaison Office. This lab is a promise to keep Guam safe and strong, and a promise to our children, our manamko, and every family member who calls this island home. Topasna said the facility will ensure that Guam has the tools to face any public health crisis that may arise. The governor also thanked everyone who made the project possible. This is a whole-community effort, she said. Its a true commitment from everyonelocal leaders, the military, our federal partnersto improve healthcare for our island. Topasna recognized the militarys crucial role in bringing the vital infrastructure to life. To our military here on Guam, youve been a part of this island family for generations. Youve witnessed Guams spirit, and now youre helping us to build something amazing and lasting, she said. According to Krystal Paco-San Agustin, director of communications for Adelup, the total construction cost is $29,491,455, while the overall costs for the lab that includes the design is $38.6 million. Of the total amount, $32 million is from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, and $6.6 from the governors office. UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez said the facility aligns with the universitys strategic goals, and we are excited to support the training and research involved in sustaining a lab of this magnitude. It will contribute to the health of our island and neighboring regions, she added. Mangilao Mayor Allan Ungacta emphasized the laboratorys importance in reducing the time it takes to receive critical public health results. The contribution is going to make for our community and our island shows that it will speed up the time it takes to get results locally, he said. Its great to know that we have a partnership with the military on this, with our community, and as you can see, Mangilao is thriving. This addition complements the University of Guam and supports whats happening within our health system. After six years of overseeing economic development and government financing, including during a pandemic, Melanie Mendiola is stepping down from her role as administrator and chief executive officer for the Guam Economic Development Authority. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, who appointed Mendiola, confirmed the GEDA administrators departure. Mel has been talking to me about it, and its a matter of her opportunity to expand her career and her economic and financial stability for her family, Leon Guerrero told the Pacific Daily News. The governor praised Mendiola for her dedication and hard work during her tenure at GEDA. Mel is a very hard worker. She has turned around GEDA, Leon Guerrero said. Shes brought in economic investments. She has made GEDA what it should be, and that is to expand development here, make loans, provide for small businesses, and support housing initiatives. Mendiola was also expected to lead GEDAs efforts in building the new Guam Memorial Hospital in Mangilao. Despite Mendiolas departure and the absence of a designated successor, the governor expressed confidence that the hospital project would continue. GEDA is the lead for the hospital, but there are people who will step in just as capable as Mel, the governor added. PDN reached out to Mendiola for comment. Discussions regarding Mendiolas resignation will be addressed during GEDAs next board meeting, according to Adelup director of communications Krystal Paco-San Agustin. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero is seeking a special prosecutor to investigate Attorney General Douglas Moylans more than 70 alleged hiring and promotion violations. On Wednesday, the governors legal counsel, Jeffrey Moots, sent Moylan a letter seeking his agreement to the appointment of a special assistant attorney general and a special prosecutor to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute civil and criminal actions against the AG and Chief Deputy AG Joseph Guthrie. Less than a week after Moylan sent 1,692 pages of documents to the governors office in response to three Freedom of Information Act requests related to billboards and hiring, Moots dropped a bombshell that states in simple terms: Agree to us hiring a special prosecutor to investigate you and your chief deputy and if you dont agree, we will find one anyway. Adelup, in a release, stated that the information contained in Moylans FOIA replies indicate possible misconduct at the AGs office, particularly regarding the hire of Moylans brother, his fiancee, and more than 70 unclassified positions in the AGs office. The people of Guam deserve a government that operates with transparency, integrity, and accountability. This request is a necessary step to ensure that all public officials are held to the highest ethical and legal standards, the governor said in a statement. If the Attorney General does not agree to the appointment of independent investigators, we will pursue all available legal remedies to uphold the rule of law. Moylan has denied any allegations of nepotism and has said that the hiring of both his brother Scott Moylan and his fiancee Sheenalyn Hawkins were in accordance with law, and that he divested himself from their hiring processes. The true irony is that the Attorney General has conducted a witch hunt against government employees for unfounded allegations of corruption, all of which have been dismissed, while corruption runs amok in his office, said Adelup director of communications Krystal Paco-San Agustin. Even worse, she said, is that one of his violations involves his offices illegal employment of his brother Scott Moylan, currently the highest paid employee of the OAGs Government Corruption Division. Paco-San Agustin said the AGs cousin is making even more than the deputy assistant attorney general overseeing the division. You just cant make this stuff up, she added. Moots asked AG Moylan to respond to the governors request by March 12, 2025. Should he decline, the governors office said it will seek a declaratory judgment in accordance with Guam Supreme Court guidance. President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans on Guam described an "incredible 44 days," while the Democrats said his congressional address provided "no solutions, no answers" to the economic problems that Americans are now facing. Trump on Tuesday night delivered a congressional address amidst tariffs, federal funding cuts, federal employee terminations, changing global diplomatic norms, and tumbling stock markets. "He is delivering on his promise to restore common sense to our nation," the Republican Party of Guam said in a statement. The Republicans said whether it has been border policy, investments into U.S. manufacturing and directives to make federal agencies more efficient, "the outlook in the coming year will be good for all Americans both in the U.S. mainland and here in the Western Pacific." "This is Republican leadership-it is what Guam and all of America voted for. America is back! the local GOP said. The Democratic Party of Guam issued a statement of their own, saying that no matter what Trump tried to spin on Tuesday, "64% of Americans feel that their cost of living is heading in the wrong direction, and 2 out of 3 believe that the economy is rigged for the rich and powerful." "Working people wanted to hear solutions, and veterans wanted to hear answers," the Democrats said. The costs for groceries, gas, and more have gone up, and Trump has jeopardized veterans benefits and care by firing Veterans Affairs staff and freezing purchase cards for hospital supplies and more, they added. "Yet the Republicans in Congress are forcing a bill through Congress that could kick 22 million Americans off of Medicaid, including 36,000 people in Guam, and give over a trillion dollars in handouts to the richest 1% while having 99% of Americans pay for it, and Guams GOP is celebrating Trumps agenda," the Democrats said. Guests stepped into a world of history, culture, and faith at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Communitys recent exhibit on Islam at the University of Guam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Guam Chapters Exhibition on Islam on Feb. 26 welcomed students, faculty, and other members of the public to learn about Islam and its teachings. Imam Khalid Khan, who has been serving in the organizations Guam chapter for the past two years, shared the goal of this religious exhibit. We just try to spread the message and show people what Islam isand trying to just remove any misunderstanding they haveIts a mutual place to get informationnot just about Islam but learning something new, he said. For Khan and the organization, the event is important not just for education but dispelling negative perceptions or inaccurate images of Islam. Islam teaches us to be compassionate towards others, to be peaceful to others, to make sure that you know your neighbor is safe the very meaning of Islam is peace and submission, he added. The organizations goals are to show the true teachings of Islam and foster an understanding of the religions principles. Khan encourages the larger community in Guam to continue their religious paths and honor their faiths teachings. Teaching people love and harmony and how all faiths in Guam can come together and make this a better place a better island, he added. Patrick Gillard, a 52-year-old Chalan Pago resident, attended the exhibit to deepen his understanding of Islamic philosophy. The vast majority of what I have learned or listened to have been from Western thoughtI just want to get a better understanding, Gillard said. Those interested in further discussion or acquiring religious resources can reach Khan at khalid.khan@ahmadiyya.us. (These are excerpts from the archbishops 2025 Lenten message to the community.) As the Church opens the holy season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, our thoughts and prayers are with the Holy Father. Thank you again to the many who have been praying for the health of Pope Francis. He continues to carry his cross of serious illness while hospitalized in Rome. Whatever may come, we trust in the loving providence of our Creator. The pope wrote his annual Lenten Message nine days before being hospitalized on Feb. 14. The Vatican issued his letter on Feb. 25. His message is composed of three parts: 1. Journeying 2. Journeying together and 3. Journeying together in hope, in our celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope. Journeying is an important part of our salvation history. Discussing the Jubilee motto, Pilgrims of Hope, the Holy Father asks us to think of the Israelites and their lengthy, difficult journey from slavery to freedom in the Promised Land. That journey can also be our journey, our spiritual journey. Where we were, where we are, and how do we want to move forward? And then, journeying with one another, how do we journey together with people who are weakened members of the community? Those who are in need, the homeless, the youth who are probably challenged with so many issues in their lives, and many others who need us as their companions in this faith journey. Finally, in journeying together in hope, we are reminded that hope is found in God alone. In our pilgrimage here on earth we journey together in hope. We place our trust, faith and hope in the Lord. This Lent, we are blessed to be part of the Jubilee of Hope which began with Pope Francis opening the Holy Door of Saint Peters Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024 in Rome. On Guam, I have designated three sites to be the Pilgrim Churches to which our faithful can undertake pilgrimages, offering prayers, intentions and sacrifices while seeking to strengthen their faith in God. As communicated on Jan. 29, the three local Pilgrimage Churches for Jubilee Year 2025 are: Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, Hagatna St. Joseph Catholic Church, Inalahan St. John Paul the Great Chapel, Astumbo, Dededo I encourage our people to visit these Pilgrim Churches and spend time in prayer. Journey with others. Go together as a family, as a group, as parishes, with your friends. Pray together. Intensify your prayer. Pray for the Holy Father and others who are sick. The Archdiocese Liturgical Commission has created a helpful guide on works of mercy and penance, what the faithful can do when visiting these Pilgrim Churches or other churches and plenary indulgences that are available. Besides prayer, there are many other wonderful things that we can do during Lent and each day of our lives. For instance, how do we put our prayers into action? As mentioned earlier, please help those who are truly in need. When we say, Our hope is in the name of the Lord, its not a passive kind of hope. It means that just as God loves us and is forever watching over us, helping us, so are we called to actively help others, to bring Jesus Christ to others. Do acts of mercy. Fast from and sacrifice the things that normally give you comfort. Offer care and love to others, especially those who suffer tremendously. Reach out to the many people in our community who need our help. It could be materially or lending a listening ear. Lets think less of ourselves and more about those in need. The pope said in his message: This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs. Let us ask ourselves in the presence of the Lord whether, as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and laity in the service of the Kingdom of God, we cooperate with others, the Holy Father added. Whether we show ourselves welcoming, with concrete gestures, to those both near and far. Whether we make others feel a part of the community or keep them at a distance. This, then, is a second call to conversion: a summons to synodality. So, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. There are lots of creative ways to make this Lenten season a truly meaningful one. Thank you for embarking on this journey of faith with the archdiocese. In August 1987, the Army gave me about seven months to finish my college degree or else. While I enlisted as a private in 1980, I got commissioned in 1984. At that time, you only needed two years of college to be an officer. By 1987, the rules for my group had changed and I had to get a four-year degree. Later they required a graduate degree to get promoted. I was housed at the Gunn Hall dorm at West Georgia College and it was close to the library. My life was pretty focused and I did not do very much other than study. After the second week of classes, the fraternity rush was over. Two fraternity groups took over our dorm floor and started harassing students to move to other dorms. They wanted to make room for their neophytes. While they did not directly encounter me, my roommate Dave was one of their prime targets. They harassed him constantly. They would dump the garbage cans on our room door. They talked loudly outside of our door until the early hours of the morning. They poured water under our door and were overtly rude in our common areas. After a few days, I got fed up. In less than a week, I had these two groups warring with each other. It wasnt even very hard. By early October, they were totally obsessed with their own tribal interests and little else. In the modern age, I dont have to battle fraternity boys any more. My opponents today are like little yapping dogs who make a little noise and do little else. Many of them do not even live on Guam. Trump one. Internet zombie trolls zero. As I have said quite often over the years, we track people on these social media boards and measure whether they really matter. Then we take a look at what really matters. Logic, reasoning, and trivia generally do not matter. Basic storytelling, humor and appeals to cue words do matter. It is not even very hard to make a message that matters in the modern public forum. There is a formula. Last week, Elon Musk was on The Joe Rogan Experience and he explained in detail what his DOGE group was doing. Elon also went into detail about the amount of graft and corruption that seems to riddle the current federal government. He raised questions about how certain members of Congress became so wealthy so fast. Examples he made included Nancy Pelosi, who made over $202 million on a $223,000 annual salary. Mitch McConnell has a net worth of $95 million on a $200,000 a year salary. He directly questioned how a number of officials made so much money in office. Also, last week the president from Ukraine crashed at a meeting in the White House. If you watch the whole exchange start to finish, it is obvious why the meeting ended early. He went back to Ukraine without a free lunch. I believe President Trump wants all the dying to end and I also believe the USA will bring peace to this conflict. Haiti - FLASH : Major seizure of weapons and ammunition in the DR, a major blow for gangs On Tuesday, March 4th, 2025, agents of the Directorate General of Customs (DGA) in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor's Office, discovered at the port of Haina in the Dominican Republic, during the inspection of a container in transit, coming from Miami (Florida) to its final destination of Haiti, a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. 36,000 rounds of ammunition of different calibers, 18 assault rifle magazines, 13 9-millimeter magazines, a 50-caliber rifle magazine, a silencer, as well as 25 firearms: a 50 mm Barrett sniper rifle, 17 7.62 caliber rifles, a 9-caliber rifle, five 9 mm Glock pistols and an Uzi submachine gun. The investigation continues in coordination with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the J-2 (Intelligence Service) of the Ministry of Defense, the Office of National Security Investigations (HSI) and other security agencies, in order to identify the persons involved and to proceed in accordance with the legislation in force. This discovery is in addition to the 37 other firearms, originating from Brooklyn, which were discovered and seized at the end of February 2025 in the same port, and which were in a container, hidden in two air compressor tanks: 30 rifles of different calibers, 6 Glock pistols, model Gen 5 caliber 9 mm and a Smith & Wesson pistol, model SD9 VE, caliber 9 mm, as well as 37 magazines for assault rifles. SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Economy : World Bank announces 320 million to lay the foundations for economic and social recovery Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the World Bank Groups Board of Directors endorsed a new strategic partnership for Haiti. The new plan for the 2025-2029 period focuses on laying a foundation for economic and social recovery. The new strategy will make approximately US$320 million in grant financing available with the aim of building resilience among Haitis most vulnerable. It will do so by strengthening economic governance and creating employment opportunities, maintaining essential institutional capacity for the provision of basic service delivery, and preserving human capital to increase resilience to natural disasters and shocks. "Despite increasing uncertainty and volatility, the World Bank Group continues our on-the-ground support to Haiti. We will focus on investments in high poverty areas and those with limited access to basic services," said Anne-Lucie Lefebvre, World Bank Country Manager for Haiti. "The World Bank will support resilience-building for the poor and vulnerable, while strengthening the foundations for growth." The World Bank Group will support the creation of an enabling business environment for the private sector and facilitate investments that can drive economic growth, create jobs, and promote sustainable development. The International Finance Corporation will have a special focus on inclusion, economic growth, productivity, and sustainability to support the private sector in job preservation, creation, and competitiveness. Implementation of the new strategy will emphasize a flexible, adaptive model, a territorial approach, and capacity improvements, amid fragility. The strategy was prepared based on a comprehensive analysis of the countrys development challenges while learning from lessons of past strategies, and in consultation with the government, private sector, civil society, and development partners. "Haiti needs to increase the resilience of critical state institutions, systems, and capacities in the short term while establishing foundations for longer-term transformational reforms. The new Country Partnership Framework will be instrumental in helping the country meet these objectives," said Alfred Metellus, Haitis Minister of Economy and Finance. In addition, the Board of Directors also approved a US$ 60 million grant for the Haiti Strengthening Public Financial Management Project, which aims to strengthen government capacity and transparency in public revenue mobilization and financial management. The project will strengthen economic governance and create job opportunities by increasing government capacity for budget management and oversight; strengthening external control institutions; and increasing the capacity and efficiency of Customs operations for revenue mobilization. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Security : Strategic meeting On Monday, March 3rd, 2025, Rameau Normil, the Acting Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH), led an important strategic meeting with the heads of specialized units. The focus was on assessing the security situation in order to take urgent measures to intensify operations, strengthening operations, and identifying the most effective strategies to dismantle gangs. No program to manage more than a million displaced people Nearly three years after the creation of the first shelter, Haitian government authorities have still not implemented a specific computer program that can take into account more than a million people who have been driven from their homes by gang violence. Complaint against the Trump Administration On Monday, March 3rd, 2025, a group of immigrants and American citizens filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an attempt to reinstate the Humanitarian Parole program, nicknamed the Biden Program by our compatriots. Online courses (in Spanish) The Government of Haiti and that of Colombia are offering online training in Spanish for the 2024-2025 academic year. Admission requirements : - Be Haitian and have a certificate of good character; - Be at least 18 years old; - Hold a Bac II or NS4; - Be a student or have completed their studies. Registration open, for information : (509) 3943 3536 / 4835 8695 Address: #84, between Rues Lambert and Rigaud, Petion-ville Appeal for the reinstatement of TPS Haitian immigrants and activists from the New England region are opposing the decision to prematurely end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by filing a federal lawsuit. This action follows President Donald Trump's announcement to reduce the TPS program by 6 months https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44324-haiti-flash-end-of-tps-in-august-2025-opening-the-door-to-the-expulsion-of-haitians.html 1.2 tons of supplies for Justinien University Hospital: In partnership with the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) delivered 1.2 tons of emergency medical kits to Justinien University Hospital in Cap-Haitien, allowing more than 10,000 patients to be treated. This strategic partnership helps strengthen access to medicines and health supplies in a critical humanitarian context, where access to care in Haiti remains a major challenge. HL/ HaitiLibre US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized the British government's order for Apple to build a backdoor into the iCloud. Something like this is "familiar from China", Trump said in an interview with the British political magazine The Spectator. He had told British Prime Minister Keir Stamer that "you can't do that". Anzeige According to media reports, Apple received a secret order under the controversial Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) at the beginning of February. This has not been officially confirmed, as all parties involved are required by law to maintain confidentiality. The Espionage Act empowers the British government to secretly veto technical protection measures, such as improved encryption, with global implications. This is precisely what Apple is said to have done with its Advanced Data Protection (ADP). Violation of the Cloud Act? Apple responded at the end of February by announcing that it was switching off end-to-end encryption for the iCloud in the UK to avoid the obligation to install a backdoor. Even though the company did not provide a reason for this, it was indirectly clear that the media reports were correct. Apple had already warned of just such a danger during the legislative process. The fact that the UK's approach also met with little approval in US political circles became apparent at the same time as Apple's withdrawal of encryption in the UK. Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in the Trump administration, is having lawyers examine whether London's actions could be directed against existing agreements between the US and the UK. An initial screening revealed that this could apply to the Cloud Act Agreement, according to which the UK is not allowed to request data from US citizens. Addressed at the White House meeting The reservations have now been given further weight by the US President himself. He recently hosted the British Prime Minister. The topics discussed included Ukraine and negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement. In the course of this meeting, he asked Starmer about the British claim against Apple, Trump said in an interview with The Spectator magazine. The publication, which was once edited by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is considered influential in conservative British circles. Anzeige (mki) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. Media reports about new orders from the US Secretary of Defense caused an uproar in the security scene at the weekend. According to media reports, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is in charge of both the conventional and cyber forces of the United States, had imposed a moratorium on all operations directed against Russia in cyberspace. This was reported by the New York Times, among others, citing anonymous sources. Anzeige The Record first reported that Hegseth had ordered General Timothy Haugh, who is responsible for the US Cyber Command, to suspend all planning against Russia until further notice. The foreign intelligence service National Security Agency (NSA), which also reports to Haugh, is exempt from the order. It also remained unclear whether the moratorium related exclusively to offensive cyber operations or whether espionage and defense against Russian reconnaissance were also affected. A speech by US representative Liesyl Franz to a UN working group on cyber security on February 17, 2025 already indicated that the US IT security strategy would focus less on Russia and more on other adversary states in the future. Although Franz mentioned China and Iran several times, unlike her British colleague, she left Russia completely unmentioned. Even her detailed description of ransomware attacks on US healthcare facilities did not mention the country of origin of most ransomware programs. Horrified experts, relaxed Russians The Guardian vehemently denied a report that the US cybersecurity agency CISA would now also have to scale back its fight against Russian disinformation and cyberattacks: according to the agency, there has been no change in CISA priorities. A high-ranking representative of the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) also contradicted the Guardian's account saying it was "garbage", according to Patricia McLaughlin on X. The internal memo for CISA employees cited by the Guardian was not from the Trump administration. On social media, the order was the most discussed weekend topic of the IT security bubble, which was not stingy with striking judgments such as "cybercapitulation". Security journalist Brian Krebs joked in Fediverse about a "zero-day vulnerability called CVE-2025-TRUMP" Further reactions from the IT security industry to the moratorium on cyber warfare varied between disbelief, horror and anger. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer told the New York Times that he feared Russian actors now had a free pass to launch cyberattacks and ransomware attacks against American infrastructure. Other reactions to the revelation were more moderate. Charlie Moore, former deputy commander of the US cyber forces, was cautious in his assessment of the incident. In his career, he had often experienced such incidents. "It's quite common to pause anything that could potentially derail peace talks," Moore told the Washington Post. Anzeige So instead of a cyber capitulation, it could also be a sign of goodwill towards Moscow so as not to jeopardize peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and possibly support the resumption of economic relations between Russia and the US. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the apparent efforts at detente in a statement to Russian state television. "The new [US] government is rapidly changing all the cornerstones of its foreign policy. This is largely in line with our ideas," Peskov said, although he did not explicitly refer to the Hegseth order. Future direction unclear Russian security expert Oleg Shakirov, operator of an information service on cyber security, sees the moratorium as a renunciation of offensive cyber operations, which would not take place anyway. He is skeptical of the official Russian doctrine that the US cyber command supports pro-Ukrainian activists, for example. In addition, Russian intelligence services have not provided any concrete examples of US cyber attacks against Russian infrastructure in recent years, Shakirov said in his analysis. It is therefore difficult to say what effect Defense Minister Hegseth's order will have in practice. Whether the alleged order from the Department of Defense heralds a turnaround in the US assessment of the threat situation from Russia remains unclear for now. However, there are already cautious signs of rapprochement elsewhere. As Kommersant reports, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development is already planning to send a delegation to the "GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Global Forum", which will focus on the digitalization of public administration in Washington DC at the end of May 2025. The event is being organized by the World Bank. (cku) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. We're a family of eight living in Georgia where Andrew's a professor at GSU and Nancy is a PhD student at UGA. You can read more about us here Supos National Security Overview, published on Tuesday, states that Finland has not yet been targeted by Russian influence efforts as much as some other European countries. Russia remains Finlands most significant security threat, and the end of the war in Ukraine will free up Russian resources for hybrid operations across Europe, according to a new report by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo). However, this is expected to change as Moscow redirects its efforts after Ukraine. Supo assesses that Russia has fundamentally changed Finlands security environment, and no improvement is in sight, Supo Director Juha Martelius said. Russia is an aggressive, expansionist state that is willing to use all means to achieve its goals. The report highlights an increase in Russias use of hybrid tactics, including cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and economic pressure. Supo warns that Finland must prepare for a significant rise in these activities, particularly in areas such as political interference, critical infrastructure, and economic espionage. Martelius noted that Russias security services are increasingly using proxy operators recruited through social media and paid in cryptocurrency, making it difficult to track their activities. He also pointed to a rise in Russian sabotage operations across Europe. These operations have become more dangerous and indiscriminate, he said, citing cyberattacks and physical destruction of infrastructure. Supo has also observed continued espionage efforts by both Russia and China, with Russian intelligence focusing on Finnish government institutions, foreign policy, and the defence industry. Supos report highlights Russias growing reliance on Baltic Sea trade routes as Western sanctions continue to restrict its economy. The so-called "shadow fleet" of Russian-controlled tankers is being used to bypass sanctions, and Finland has joined other Baltic states in efforts to disrupt these operations. There are now dozens of shadow fleet vessels sailing through the Gulf of Finland each week, and their presence increases the likelihood of security incidents, Martelius said. Supo also raised concerns over recent damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, an issue that has been under investigation by Finnish authorities. While Finland released the tanker Eagle Swhich was suspected of severing power and telecom cables last yearMartelius noted that state actors have more sophisticated methods for underwater sabotage than simply dragging anchors. The Baltic region is on high alert after a series of cable disruptions, and NATO has increased surveillance in response, he said. Finland is closely monitoring how US intelligence agencies approach Russia under Donald Trumps administration, Martelius said. Trump recently halted military aid to Ukraine and has taken a more conciliatory stance toward Moscow, raising concerns among US allies. We are following these developments very closely, Martelius said. If it seems that the United States is shifting its focus away from countering Russia, Western intelligence agencies will need to reconsider their cooperation strategies. Despite the change in US leadership, Martelius stated that intelligence-sharing between Finland and the US remains unchanged for now. Supos report also introduced a new five-level terrorism threat scale. The current level stands at three, indicating an elevated risk. The biggest threat continues to come from lone actors or small groups supporting far-right or radical Islamist ideology, the report states. Supo also raised concerns about the radicalisation of minors, which has become an increasing problem both in Finland and globally. The online radicalisation of young people is a significant trend, the report noted. This will likely have long-term security implications. Supos assessment makes clear that Finland is facing a long-term security challenge as Russia adapts its strategies. While Finland has not yet been the primary target of Russian hybrid warfare, authorities expect the pressure to increase in the coming years. Martelius emphasised the need for continued vigilance and cooperation with Western allies. Finland is in a new security reality, he said. We must prepare for Russias influence operations to intensify. HT Over 5,700 people contacted ETKLs outpatient services, while nearly 4,300 sought refuge in shelters. Online services, particularly chat support, handled almost 2,800 cases. More people in Finland sought help for domestic violence in 2024 than ever before, with over 12,700 individuals turning to support services. The increasing demand has put pressure on resources, leaving some without the assistance they need, according to the Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters (ETKL). More people now seek help through outpatient services rather than shelters. This is a positive shift, as outpatient services are often accessed earlier in the cycle of abuse. The threshold for seeking help has clearly lowered, said Tiina Muukkonen, ETKLs development manager. The services support victims, perpetrators, and children exposed to violence. Assistance is available regardless of gender or background, with each case assessed individually. The rising demand has led to temporary service shutdowns in some areas. Outpatient services in Turku and Jyvaskyla were forced to close for periods due to overwhelming demand, meaning some individuals could not receive help. Outpatient support is free of charge and primarily funded through state grants. The continuation of this funding is critical for maintaining services, ETKL stated. Early intervention is key ETKLs outpatient services offer short-term counselling for victims and, where safe, couples. Discussions focus on recognising patterns of abuse, assessing the risk of recurrence, and finding ways to break free from violent situations. Anyone feeling unsafe should seek help immediately. Even the fear of violence is enough reason to contact support services, Muukkonen stressed. Children exposed to domestic violence are also a key focus. According to a 2025 ETKL survey, two-thirds of adults who had experienced or used violence had also been exposed to it as children. In most cases, these childhood experiences had never been addressed. The effects of domestic violence on children are long-lasting. They should receive help immediately, and childhood violence must be prevented. Supporting perpetrators is also crucial in breaking the cycle of violence, as violent behaviours are often passed down through generations, Muukkonen said. Three out of four people who admitted to using violence said they had never been asked about it. Those who had been asked were more likely to acknowledge their actions. If domestic violence were routinely addressed in healthcare and social services, it would help people recognise the problem and seek help. Early intervention is essential in breaking the cycle of violence, Muukkonen added. Support is available ETKLs chat service provides anonymous, low-threshold support for all parties affected by domestic violence, including children. Member organisations offer assistance in stopping violence and recovering from its effects. Shelters provide round-the-clock emergency help nationwide. HT The Two Sessions, a key event in China's political calendar, include the annual meetings of the NPC and the CPPCC. Chinas annual Two Sessions began on 4 March 2025 with the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. President Xi Jinping and other top leaders attended the meeting. The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, opened its session on 5 March. These gatherings set national priorities and policies for the coming year. The NPC reviews and approves major laws and regulations, while the CPPCC serves as an advisory body where members provide suggestions and proposals on various issues. The meetings are expected to conclude around 11 March. Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the opening of the NPC session. Lawmakers reviewed reports from the State Council on the implementation of the 2024 plan for national economic and social development and the 2025 draft plan. They also examined the central and local budgets for 2024 and draft budgets for 2025. Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presented a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the NPC and Local People's Congresses. The Two Sessions are taking place amid increasing geopolitical tensions. These meetings offer insight into Chinas policy direction for 2025, particularly in governance, legal reforms, and international relations. Xi Jinping is scheduled to address an NPC provincial delegation, a CPPCC sectoral group, and the NPC delegation from the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police. These speeches are closely watched for signals about Chinas diplomatic priorities. The role of whole-process people's democracy The Chinese government promotes the concept of "whole-process people's democracy," which extends beyond voting to include participation and consultation throughout the policy-making process. The CPPCC plays a significant role in this model by providing a platform for different voices and perspectives to be heard. At the opening of the CPPCC session, Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report. He noted that China had met its main political and social development targets for 2024. Over the eight-day session, key officials, including the premier, top legislator, top political advisor, chief justice, and top procurator, will present work reports. Lawmakers will review the governments annual budget and development plan and deliberate on amendments to laws governing the NPC and local people's congresses. Ministers from various government departments will hold press conferences to clarify policies and address public concerns. Chinas governance model emphasizes consultation and participation. The CPPCC functions as an advisory institution where members from various sectors contribute ideas and policy suggestions. The NPC, as the top legislature, debates and approves laws and policies. The Chinese leadership argues that this model ensures broad representation and engagement in decision-making. The combination of legislative decision-making in the NPC and broad-based consultation through the CPPCC is a key feature of Chinas system. The government argues that whole-process people's democracy ensures that policies reflect public interests. Unlike Western electoral systems, where public participation is often limited to periodic voting, Chinas model involves continuous consultation and feedback mechanisms. International significance for the EU and Finland The outcomes of the Two Sessions are closely followed by foreign governments, including those in the European Union and Finland. Chinas legislative decisions and political direction influence global governance, trade policies, and diplomatic relations. The emphasis on stability, legal reforms, and international engagement affects EU-China relations, particularly in areas such as strategic cooperation, security policies, and human rights discussions. For Finland, developments in Chinas legislative framework and governance approach impact bilateral relations, including political dialogue and multilateral cooperation. As China seeks to enhance its global influence, Finnish policymakers and businesses monitor these meetings to assess potential shifts in China's domestic policies that could have wider implications. The discussions at the Two Sessions provide an indication of China's stance on key global issues, shaping future interactions between China, Finland, and the broader EU. HT Shepherd Memorial Park remains in limbo after failed auction A small group gathered at Henderson Countys Courthouse on Wednesday for the auction of Shepherd Memorial Park. The future of Shepherd Memorial Park remains in limbo after a court-ordered auction on Wednesday failed to produce any bidders. View the Slideshow Related Stories Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope, who ordered the public sale of the property in December, said shortly after the failed auction that another hearing will likely need to be held to determine the next step in the case. A court-ordered appraisal of the memorial park set a fair-market value between $900,000 and $1.4 million with the most likely value being $1.22 million, Popes order said. He set the likely value as the minimum sale price and ordered that no transaction take place for less than that amount. The successful bidder must be licensed to operate a cemetery under North Carolina law. Hendersonville auctioneer Mark White, who Pope appointed to conduct the sale, opened bidding on the cemetery at $1.22 million on Wednesday. But a small group of people gathered for the sale at the base of stairs just inside the lobby of Henderson Countys Courthouse remained silent. White closed the auction after repeating the opening bid. At another court-ordered sale in 2022, James E. Jimmy Altmeyer Jr., president of Altmeyer Funeral Homes & Crematory, outbid a commercial real estate investor after 24 volleys to purchase The Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors property. Altmeyers bid of $2,025,000 stood after no one filed an upset bid within 10 days. The funeral home was renamed Church Street Funeral & Cremation after Altmeyer purchased the property. Altmeyer official Chae Davis represented the company at the auction on Wednesday. She said she did not bid because the $1.22 million price tag was too high. Shepherd Memorial Park is the last remaining large asset of the family that transitioned to the funeral business in 1903 after first selling coffins at a furniture store. A lawsuit brought by the North Carolina Cemetery Commission in 2021 failed to produce a resolution that would allow Melody Shepherd to retain control of the Asheville Highway cemetery, which William Shepherd founded in 1954. In previous hearings, Judge Pope had expressed reservations about ordering a sale and instead appointed a guardian ad litem to look after the propertys interest and kept on a receiver, cemetery manager Gary McDowell, who by all accounts had fixed dozens of problems and gotten the grounds into excellent condition. The receiver has operated the cemetery well at all times since the entry of the (receivership) order in April 2022, Pope said. The court order also bars Melody Shepherd, the sole owner of the business and property, from being on the cemetery grounds except to visit family members graves, and then only with express written permission of McDowell and blocks her from directly or indirectly placing a bid to purchase the property or acquiring any interest in the cemetery. The order cites Shepherds disruptive conduct since the receivership order three years ago, including unauthorized visits to the cemetery and the parking of personal and funeral home vehicles on the grounds. Neither Melody Shepherd nor Shepherd Memorial Park Inc. are currently qualified as licensees to operate the graveyard under the North Carolina Cemetery Act, Popes order said. The court order to sell the cemetery came about, too, after Melody Shepherds attorneys, citing a breakdown in communication and unwaivable conflict of interest, won the judges permission last November to withdraw as counsel. In his order granting the motion, Pope agreed that while Lindsey Law PLLC attorneys Stephen P. Lindsay and Mary Ann J. Hollocker had provided valuable and competent representation to Shepherd, the breakdown in communication has led to a conflict of interest making it impossible for the attorneys to continue as counsel for Shepherd. Business operations at the funeral home and cemetery suffered as Tom Shepherds health deteriorated starting around 2020, the N.C. Board of Funeral Service found. In December 2021, the board issued an order that shut down the funeral home, revoked the funeral director license of Thomas R. Shepherd and the crematory manager license of Melody Shepherd and referred investigators findings to law enforcement to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. (No criminal charges have been filed.) Tom Shepherd died on Dec. 31, 2021, of major depression, his physician said in his death certificate. A few former employees of Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors attended the failed auction on Wednesday. Cathleen Blanchard, who is now the general manager at the Moore-Blanchard funeral home in Brevard, said she felt melancholy as she waited for the auction to begin. Tom Shepherd gave me my first job. If it wasnt for him, I wouldnt have been able to go into the funeral business, she said. This is certainly the end of that era. Very few women worked as funeral directors in the 1980s when she joined Shepherds as its first female funeral director, Blanchard said. I was the only woman in there besides his aunt, she said. Blanchard said she was sorry to see Shepherd Memorial Park up for auction. But she said it needed to happen to help families feel comfortable that their loved ones buried in the cemetery are being cared for properly. Melody Shepherd herself stands to gain substantial proceeds from the sale of the cemetery, just as she did from the court-ordered sale of the funeral home, after payments to creditors and attorneys and other fees. Net proceeds of the sale would go to Melody Shepherd after deduction of plaintiffs attorneys fees, payments due to the receiver and guardian ad litem and cost of the sale. After he became the receiver, McDowell identified $70,095 worth of grave markers that had been paid for and not placed and $6,339 worth of death dates that had not been inscribed on headstones. McDowell had since placed all but two of the markers, the judge said in December. In addition to the cemetery grounds, sale of the property would also include loader-backhoes, tractors, riding mowers, trimmers, blowers, vehicles and furnishings. Minister: China sees more passenger, cargo movements than other countries 15:49, March 05, 2025 By Luo Wangshu ( Chinadaily.com.cn China's Transport Minister Liu Wei meets the press after the opening meeting of the 14th National People's Congress' third session in Beijing on Wednesday. (Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn) China has emerged as the world's busiest country in terms of passenger and cargo movements, thanks to the rapid growth of its transport, China's Transport Minister, Liu Wei, said on Wednesday. "China's high-speed railways, roads, bridges, ports and express delivery services have become shining symbols of the country's modernization," Liu said, pointing to the country's remarkable achievements in infrastructure. He made the remarks in an interview in Beijing after the opening meeting of the 14th National People's Congress' third session. It was Liu's first public interview since he became transport minister last year. China has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, expressway network, postal and express delivery network, and a world-class port cluster. The country's high-speed railway network now spans 48,000 kilometers, and its expressway network extends over 190,000 kilometers, both ranking first globally. The total length of China's transport system has surpassed 6 million kilometers, with 90 percent of the planned main framework completed. "These major transport infrastructure projects have laid a solid material foundation for China's modernization," Liu said. The minister also underscored China's advanced technological capabilities in building high-speed railways, bridges and ports. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway is the world's first intelligent high-speed railway with a design speed of 350 kilometers an hour, he said. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, the most complex cross-sea cluster project globally, which opened last year, were also highlighted as engineering marvels. In addition, China's automated ports, featuring independently developed technologies, lead the world in both scale and quantity. Liu also talked about several records set recently. On Feb 3, the daily number of cross-regional passenger trips reached 339 million. Daily traffic on expressways peaked at over 70 million vehicles last year. During the latest 40-day Spring Festival travel period, which concluded on Feb 22, the number of cross-regional passenger trips exceeded 9 billion, 7.1 percent more than during the corresponding period last year. "These figures demonstrate the vibrancy of a dynamic China," Liu said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Q&A: What to know about whole-process people's democracy in China Xinhua) 16:01, March 05, 2025 BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Democracy is a universal value, yet it takes different forms across civilizations. While Western democracies often equate democracy with elections, China has developed a distinct model -- whole-process people's democracy -- tailored to its national conditions and historical traditions. WHERE IS IT FROM First introduced in 2019, the concept of whole-process people's democracy is deeply rooted in China's rich political philosophy, where governance is centered on the people as the foundation of the state. Whole-process people's democracy is a creation of the Communist Party of China in leading the people to pursue, develop and realize democracy, embodying the Party's innovation in advancing China's democratic theories, systems and practices. It is a logical outcome of history, theory and practice based on the strenuous efforts of the people under the leadership of the Party. WHAT DOES IT MEAN As the name suggests, whole-process people's democracy ensures public participation throughout the entire process of governance, covering all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. Unlike election-centric Western democratic models, China's system weaves together law-based democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight within a structured institutional framework. This approach fosters broad and continuous participation, ensuring that governance decisions reflect the collective will and evolving needs of society. Through these procedures, citizens actively engage in discussions on public affairs, working toward the greatest common ground based on the aspirations and interests of the entire population. Their rights are safeguarded, their voices are heard, and their well-being is prioritized in the decision-making process. At its core, this model guarantees that the people are the true masters of the country, with public affairs governed through consensus-driven discussions and extensive consultation. HOW DOES IT WORK Whole-process people's democracy is not just a set of institutions and procedures, it is an active, participatory system where civic engagement plays a crucial role. A key example is "two sessions," the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and more than 2,100 CPPCC National Committee members convene in Beijing to deliberate on and discuss major policies and governance matters, representing a broad cross-section of society. The NPC deputies come from all walks of life, including many front-line workers and farmers who ensure grassroots representation. Notably, even the smallest ethnic minority group has at least one representative. Meanwhile, CPPCC National Committee members include officials and prominent figures such as scientists, educators and entrepreneurs. During the "two sessions," these representatives engage in crucial public issues, from income distribution and healthcare to education, housing, elderly care, and childcare. National lawmakers deliberate bills and reports and participate in all NPC elections. They also have the power to move for the recall of certain state officials according to the law, propose organizing committees of inquiry into specific issues, and criticize or offer suggestions and comments on all work. Meanwhile, political advisors offer their policy proposals, thus actively contributing to national governance. WHY DOES IT MATTER By ensuring broad and continuous participation, China's whole-process people's democracy represents a governance model that is both effective and deeply rooted in the will of the people. The whole-process people's democracy has proven effective in addressing societal challenges and improving governance. Many significant policies -- such as enhanced protection of labor rights for food delivery and ride-hailing workers, as well as measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises -- have emerged from legislative proposals and public consultations. At its heart, China's democratic model embraces the belief that democracy is not a decorative symbol but a practical tool for solving real problems and improving people's lives. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Israel has halted all shipments of goods and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, warning of further consequences if Hamas does not accept a new ceasefire proposal. The move has drawn sharp criticism from international mediators, including Egypt, which accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon. The first phase of the ceasefire agreementreached after months of negotiationslasted six weeks and expired on Saturday. Under the agreement, Hamas released Israeli hostages in exchange for imprisoned Palestinians, while Israel temporarily pulled back its forces and allowed increased humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged enclave. The second phaseexpected to secure the release of remaining hostages and establish a lasting ceasefirehas yet to be negotiated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the decision to block all aid, stating that Israel would not extend the truce unless Hamas continues releasing hostages, AP News reported. He emphasized that Israel remains in full coordination with President Donald Trump's administration and would resume fighting if it deemed negotiations unproductive. The blockade has triggered concerns over worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where over 2 million people rely on aid for survival. Prices of essential goods have doubled since the closure, and local residents warn of impending famine and chaos. The new Israeli proposal, reportedly backed by the U.S., seeks to extend the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover. It calls for Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages immediately, with the rest freed once a deal is reached on a permanent ceasefire. However, Hamas has rejected any plan that does not guarantee an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Negotiations are complicated further by new plans from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly stated that he plans to force relocation of Palestinians and rebuild Gaza as a tourism destination. As tensions escalate, mediators, including Egypt, continue efforts to salvage the negotiations, while international observers warn that the blockade and stalled talks could plunge Gaza back into crisis. Originally published on Latin Times The United States has sparked a major trade dispute after President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico. China, already facing tariffs under his administration, saw an additional 10% levy, bringing the total to 20%. In response, America's closest allies and top trading partners have announced retaliatory measures, further escalating tensions. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swiftly condemned the tariffs, announcing an immediate $30 billion counter-tariff on US goods, with an increase to $155 billion in three weeks. Canada's response will target key American exports, including beer, wine, bourbon, and Florida orange juice. "Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered," Trudeau said. He emphasized that the US tariffs would drive up prices for American consumers while violating the very trade deal negotiated by the Trump administration. Trudeau also warned of potential non-tariff measures if the situation remained unresolved. Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a firm stance, warning that if the US continued its aggressive trade measures, Ontario could retaliate by cutting energy exports, CBS News said. He emphasized that his province would not hesitate to take strong action, including halting shipments of essential minerals and suspending contracts with US companies. Ford insisted that Canada must respond forcefully to protect its economy and workers. President Trump, undeterred, issued a statement on social media: "Please explain to Governor Trudeau that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the US, our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" WATCH: Stocks and bond yields slid as investors globally ducked for cover after the United States hit Canada, Mexico and China with steep tariffs, launching new trade conflicts with the top three US trading partners https://t.co/yGJJO8djM8 pic.twitter.com/WwfbJsmMMO Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) March 4, 2025 China Warns US: 'Maximum Pressure' Tactics Will Backfire in Trade Dispute China also wasted no time in responding. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian dismissed the US tariffs, warning against "maximum pressure" tactics. "Attempting to exert maximum pressure on China is targeting the wrong opponent," Lin said. Beijing imposed 10-15% tariffs on US agricultural goods, including wheat, corn, and soybeans, along with restrictions on 25 American firms. Chinese analyst Victor Gao noted that China is better prepared than during Trump's first term, having diversified its trade partnerships. However, he warned that if the situation escalates, "at best, it would end in a bloody tie." Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed deep concern, calling the tariffs "inconceivable." She emphasized that they would harm businesses and increase costs for both Americans and Mexicans. While Sheinbaum promised countermeasures, she refrained from detailing them, stating that an official announcement would come soon. "We collaborate to stop illegal drug trafficking, but the US must also take responsibility for its opioid crisis," she said, pushing back against Trump's justification for the tariffs. The Mexican peso fell in response to the news, signaling economic uncertainty as the trade battle unfolds. The European Commission added its voice to the criticism, calling on the US to rethink its decision. It warned that the tariffs could disrupt global trade, strain relationships with key economic partners, and create unnecessary instability in international markets. According to Politico, Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's international trade committee, added, "There is no winner in a trade war, only losers." Originally published on vcpost.com President Donald Trump addressed Congress on Tuesday night with a speech that departed from the traditional calls for unity often associated with such addresses. Instead, he took a combative tone, boasting of his election victory and attacking Democrats for not acknowledging his accomplishments. His speech reflected his aggressive second-term approach, demanding loyalty and pushing forward with his agenda despite opposition. Trump Sets Combative Tone, Clashes With Democrats Trump set the tone early, calling his predecessor Joe Biden the worst president in history and chastising Democrats for their refusal to applaud his remarks. He compared his early second-term achievements to those of George Washington, positioning himself as a historic leader. While Republicans responded with enthusiastic applause, Democrats remained silent, occasionally shouting in protest. The only bipartisan applause came when Trump announced that Ukraine was ready to restart peace negotiations. Trump leaned heavily into cultural flashpoints, voicing his opposition to affirmative action, diversity programs, and transgender rights. He also exaggerated the scale of his election victory, which was among the narrowest in U.S. history. His rhetoric resembled that of a campaign rally more than a congressional address. In a striking breach of decorum, Rep. Al Green of Texas interrupted the speech, shouting at Trump and gesturing with his cane. When he refused to sit, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ordered his removal. Trump dismissed Democrats as a lost cause, stating, "There is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy." A Shift in Tone Toward Ukraine After days of criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump appeared to soften his stance by reading a letter from Zelenskyy during the speech. "The letter reads: Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer," Trump said. "Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians ... My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts." This marks a shift from Trump's earlier confrontational stance. Just last week, he and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelenskyy for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. aid. Trump had even canceled a White House meeting where a deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals was supposed to be signed. Additionally, he paused U.S. assistance to Ukraine on Monday, increasing pressure on Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russia. The Presence of Elon Musk Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk, whom he has entrusted with overhauling the federal government. Democrats attempted to fact-check Trump in real-time, shouting "false" in response to some of his claims. Musk, seated in the gallery, stood and acknowledged applause from Republicans, while Democrats held signs reading "Musk steals." Trump claimed that Musk had uncovered "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud," though many of the canceled contracts Musk cited had already been paid, negating any savings. Dressed more formally than usual, Musk wore a dark suit with a blue tie instead of his customary black t-shirt reading "tech support." As an influential adviser, Musk has led efforts to downsize the federal workforce, resulting in mass layoffs, with more expected. Trump Doubles Down on Tariffs Despite stock market losses that erased gains since the election, Trump remained firm on tariffs against Canada and Mexico. The move has led to retaliatory measures from both nations, raising costs for American consumers even as Trump promises lower prices. "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we're okay with that," Trump stated. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is set to announce retaliatory tariffs on Sunday, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized Trump's policies, calling them "a very dumb thing to do." Immigration and Tax Proposals Trump offered policies aimed at both wealthy investors and working-class Americans. He introduced a proposed $5 million "gold card," granting expedited U.S. citizenship to affluent immigrants. "We will allow the most success for job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship," he said. "It's like the green card, but better and more sophisticated." For working Americans, he reiterated promises to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits. A former North Korean military sergeant has revealed that Pyongyang's soldiers deployed to Russia to fight in Ukraine fear capture more than death, as they are told their families will be executed if they are taken alive. "Most soldiers will kill themselves before they're killed by the enemy. It's the biggest shame to be captured," said Ryu Seong-hyeon, a defector who spoke to ABC News. Ryu escaped to South Korea in 2019 by crossing a minefield in the demilitarized zone. According to U.S. estimates, more than 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia, with reports indicating that Russian forces have also used North Korean weapons. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported in January that around 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed and over 2,700 wounded in Ukraine. Since February, more troops have been sent to Russia's western Kursk region following intensified fighting. In January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the capture of two North Korean soldiersthe first known instance of Pyongyang's troops being taken alive. In a video released by Ukraine, one soldier, when asked if he wished to return home, shook his head. South Korean intelligence identified the captured men as operatives of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, a key military intelligence agency. Defectors claim that North Korean soldiers struggle to adapt to modern warfare, particularly against drones. "Before they go, they don't have any practice in how to defend against a drone or how to fight Ukrainians, that's why they just die like a dog," Ryu said. Another defector, Pak Yusung, added, "If the soldiers are captured and tell information to the enemy, their families will be punished, go to a political prison camp, or worse, they will be executed in front of the people." South Korea's intelligence agency attributes the heavy casualties to a lack of combat training, including futile attempts to shoot at long-range drones. The agency also confirmed that North Korean soldiers have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be captured. Despite the risks, Ryu admitted that he, too, would have wanted to be deployed if he were still in North Korea. "If I went to Ukraine, I could eat food, and I could see another country," he said, noting that many soldiers are lured by financial incentives but are unaware of their slim chances of survival. Selling Lies and Seeking Power Defectors claim Pyongyang manipulates its troops, telling them they are fighting against Americans. "From a young age, they're told to hate the American 'wolves,' and now they are told they are finally killing Americans," Ryu and Pak explained. Pak, now a researcher at the North Korea Institute, warned that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is likely receiving critical military technology in exchange for manpower, which could have alarming consequences. "If Russia wins the war, it will empower the dictator alliance," he cautioned. "This is just the start. If the Ukraine war keeps going, Kim will keep sending soldiers." When asked how North Koreans might react to rising casualties, Pak suggested it could threaten Kim's regime. "Think about it: your sons died on the battlefield and not for your own country," he said. "You cannot send so many people to the labor camps." Pak and his team, Voices of North Korean Youth, are urging the international community to condemn Russia and North Korea and are calling on the International Criminal Court to hold Kim accountable for his actions. Officials of the California Lodging Investment Conference [CLIC], the only hospitality conference focused on the California hotel market, today announced that the eighth annual event will take place March 5-6, 2025, at the Westin Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif. "We already have a full agenda, and we're still in the planning stages," said Craig Sullivan, founder and president, [CLIC]. "From the Lodging Econometrics-CLIC California Hotel Development Deals of the Year at the opening night reception to Lifetime Achievement Awards presented during the sessions, we once again are taking the opportunity to recognize and honor some of our West Coast hotel luminaries. The hospitality industry remains challenged in the Golden State, and we look forward to meeting with hoteliers with California interests as we share insights and outlooks into the coming year." If you are part of the California Hotel Market or want to be this is the conference for you. [CLIC] will run a special TLC advance admission rate from October 1st, 2024, through October 13th,, 2024, of $400.00/registrant followed by an early bird registration of $450.00 on from October 14th, 2024, through December 31st, 2024. The final rate of $650.00 will be offered through February 28th, 2025, and $750.00 at the door. For more information or to register for the event, visit https://cliconference.com/. This event is organized by California Lodging Investment Conference [CLIC] For more information please contact Chris Daly Spain and Beyond: AIs Role in the Future of Digital Marketing for Independent Hoteliers - By Duane Overgaard - Image Credit DerbySoft The travel sector in Spain is experiencing a period of remarkable growth. According to Grand View Research, the market generated $41.95 billion in revenue in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.7% from 2025 to 2030. This surge in both domestic and international tourism presents a golden opportunity for independent hotels across the region to maximize revenue and profitability. However, achieving this requires a strategic approach to distribution that leverages the strengths of both Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and direct booking channels. By embracing user-friendly digital marketing tools and technologies, hotels can achieve the ideal marketing mix and optimize their revenue streams. The Power of a Balanced Approach While the pursuit of direct bookings is essential for maximizing profit margins and building guest loyalty, OTAs play a crucial role in expanding reach and driving occupancy, particularly during periods of low demand. A balanced distribution strategy recognizes the value of both channels and seeks to leverage their respective strengths: OTAs: Expanding Reach and Filling Rooms Increased visibility: OTAs have a vast global reach and established brand recognition, exposing hotels to a wider audience of potential guests. Marketing power: OTAs invest heavily in marketing and advertising, driving traffic to their platforms and, in turn, to the hotels they feature. Simplified guest acquisition: OTAs provide a seamless booking experience for guests, handling payment processing, customer service, and other logistical aspects. Direct Bookings: Building Loyalty and Maximizing Revenue Higher profit margins: Direct bookings eliminate OTA commission fees, significantly increasing revenue potential. Guest ownership: Direct bookings allow hotels to collect valuable guest data, enabling personalized communication, targeted marketing campaigns, and the cultivation of lasting relationships. Brand control: Direct channels provide hotels with greater control over their brand messaging and guest experience. Digital+ by DerbySoft: Simplifying Digital Marketing for Optimal Results Achieving the ideal marketing mix requires effective digital marketing strategies that drive traffic to both OTAs and direct booking channels. Digital+, a sophisticated platform developed by DerbySoft, empowers independent hotels globally to navigate the complexities of online marketing with ease. Key Features and Benefits for Hoteliers: Unified platform, streamlined operations: Digital+ consolidates all essential marketing activities into a single, intuitive interface. This simplifies campaign management across various channels, allowing hoteliers to optimize their efforts without needing extensive marketing expertise. AI-driven optimization: Artificial intelligence is at the core of Digital+. This technology automates complex tasks such as ad copy generation, bid management, and audience targeting, ensuring optimal campaign performance and maximizing return on investment. Cost-effectiveness and transparency: Digital+ offers a compelling value proposition. Free Booking Links for leading metasearch engines like Google Hotel Ads and Trivago ensure visibility without upfront costs. Furthermore, the commission-based model means hotels only pay for confirmed bookings, minimizing financial risk. Adaptability to industry evolution: Digital+ is designed to keep pace with the ever-changing digital landscape. It facilitates the effective utilization of Google's Performance Max for travel goals, enabling hotels to reach a broader audience with personalized ads across Google's entire advertising network. Metasearch dominance: In key markets like Spain, where travelers increasingly rely on metasearch engines to compare prices and availability, Digital+ provides a significant advantage. The platform optimizes campaigns on key metasearch platforms, ensuring prominent visibility and driving both direct and OTA bookings. Targeting the Global Traveler Digital+ empowers hotels to tailor their marketing strategies to the unique characteristics of travelers worldwide. By leveraging AI-powered audience segmentation and personalized ad content, hotels can connect with potential guests on a deeper level, fostering engagement and driving conversions across all channels. A Strategic Imperative for Hotels Independent hotels worldwide, including those in Spain, must adopt a holistic approach to distribution, recognizing the value of both OTAs and direct bookings. Digital+ offers the tools and technology necessary to achieve this balance. By embracing this innovative solution, hotels can: Optimize revenue streams: By effectively managing both OTA and direct booking channels, hotels can maximize occupancy and revenue. Enhance brand visibility: A strong online presence and consistent brand messaging across all platforms build brand recognition and customer loyalty. Optimize marketing spend: AI-driven optimization ensures that marketing budgets are utilized effectively, maximizing return on investment across all channels. Navigate the digital landscape with confidence: Digital+ provides the tools and support needed to stay ahead of industry trends and adapt to evolving challenges. Digital+ is more than just a marketing tool; it is a strategic asset for independent hotels worldwide looking to thrive in the digital age. Whether in Spain, Europe, or global markets, hotels that embrace this technology and adopt a data-driven, balanced approach to distribution can unlock their full potential, optimize revenue, and secure a competitive advantage in todays dynamic travel landscape. About the Author Duane Overgaard is the Divisional CEO, Hospitality, of DerbySoft. With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he has a diverse skill set that includes account management, business development, and contract negotiation. Duane has held various leadership positions at renowned companies such as Sabre Corporation, Wyndham International, and Hilton Hotels & Resorts, where he has demonstrated expertise in hotel management and marketing strategy. He is known for his strong team-building and competitive analysis skills. Duane is currently based in the Dallas area of the United States. 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay - Image Credit AVABLU SH Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality company behind 1 Hotels & Homes, Baccarat Hotels & Residences, and Treehouse Hotels, has announced a significant rebranding as Starwood Hotels. The rebranding comes as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of transformation and growth under its visionary founder, Barry Sternlicht. The move revives Sternlicht's iconic global brand, which was created nearly 30 years ago. This brand redefined the hospitality industry and became the largest hotel company in the world, measured by EBITDA. The company's rebranding also signals a commitment to significant growth in 2025, with more than 40 properties open or developing across its three brands on four continents. Sternlicht's legacy with Starwood Hotels & Resorts includes creating W Hotels, growing St. Regis into a global luxury hotel collection, and transforming brands such as The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, and Four Points. He also innovated with the creation of Westin's Heavenly Bed and Starwood Preferred Guest, one of the most beloved frequent traveler programs of its time. In line with this legacy, the rebranded Starwood Hotels aims to marry the trusted legacy of youth, innovation, and guest focus with a modern, tech-enabled, personalized approach to hospitality. As Sternlicht explains, reintroducing the Starwood Hotels name comes at a decisive moment in the company's history. It reflects a commitment to inspiring, innovating, and making a difference for guests, partners, and the planet. Starwood Hotels' growth strategy includes the debut of flagship properties in Tokyo, Melbourne, and Copenhagen and further expansion into new markets such as the Middle East and Southern Europe. The company's three brands, 1 Hotels & Homes, Baccarat Hotels & Residences, and Treehouse Hotels, each offer unique experiences and distinctive offerings. 1 Hotels & Homes, launched in 2015, set a new benchmark for biophilic design and sustainable practices in hospitality. Over the past decade, the brand has expanded into major global destinations and plans to continue its legacy of environmentally conscious hospitality with exciting new properties in Seattle, Melbourne, Copenhagen, and Tokyo, among others. Advertisement Baccarat Hotels & Residences plans to expand into iconic destinations such as Rome, Florence, Riyadh, Dubai, and the Maldives. The newest of the three, Treehouse Hotels, brings a playful design and a nostalgic sense of awe and wonder. It plans to expand into Manchester, Silicon Valley, and beyond. Dining and wellness will continue to be at the heart of Starwood Hotels' approach to hospitality. The company collaborates with some of the world's most celebrated chefs and wellness pioneers to deliver original experiences. Nearly every 1 Hotels property features the Bamford Wellness Spa, offering treatments inspired by traditional therapies and local influences. Sustainability remains a cornerstone of Starwood Hotels' growth strategy. The company integrates eco-conscious design, operations, and guest experiences, with all properties working to achieve LEED, BREEAM or similar certifications. The company has offset 46,612 tons of CO2 and recycled 3.4 million pounds of materials annually. In Sternlicht's words, Starwood Hotels' journey has just begun. STR/Tourism Economics Market Forecast Shows Modest Improvement for 2025 - Image Credit Unsplash+ Hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and the U.S. is projected to see modest improvements in 2025. Factors affecting these improvements include supply and demand dynamics, changing exchange rates, regional economic conditions, and large-scale event announcements. A detailed market forecast by STR and Tourism Economics provides a comprehensive outlook for hotel performance across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and the U.S. in 2025. It incorporates crucial factors such as RevPAR growth, supply and demand trends, event impact, and regional economic conditions. In Europe, the RevPAR for STRs 31 European forecast markets is anticipated to grow at 2.4%, an improvement from the 2.0% observed in November 2024. This upgrade is largely due to changes in key markets like Dublin and Frankfurt. For Dublin, reduced supply growth expectations and new event announcements are set to improve the RevPAR outlook. Meanwhile, Frankfurt's improved RevPAR forecast is attributed to an exceptional February performance during the Ambiente and Christmasworld trade fairs and confirmed dates for key conferences. Asia Pacific's 16 forecast markets are expected to register a similar 4.7% increase in RevPAR in 2025, driven by an ADR growth of 3.1%. Markets like Auckland and Brisbane are expected to experience fluctuations in RevPAR due to high supply growth. Exchange rates are also expected to play a significant role in RevPAR forecasts, with currency depreciation occurring in both top-growing and most upgraded markets. In the Middle East, changes in the pipeline remain the primary driver behind market forecasts. For Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Jeddah, RevPAR is anticipated to grow an average of 2.8% in 2025, a substantial increase from the November edition of the forecast. The shift to higher-rated rooms, coupled with Riyadh's increasing importance as a regional business hub, is likely to contribute to ADR growth despite accelerating supply growth. In the U.S., the top-line RevPAR forecast remains unchanged, with 1.8% growth predicted for 2025. Factors like recent natural disasters, growing experiential travel trends, and significant large-scale events are expected to influence hotel performance. Moreover, the performance of the upper-end scales is expected to outperform the lower tier due to their resistance against economic conditions. Discover more at LinkedIn. Marc Jacheet - Group President for the Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME) for Hyatt - Image Credit Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently announced a series of changes to its senior leadership team. This move highlights the company's evolution to become more brand-focused and agile. Marc Jacheet has been appointed as Group President for the Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME) region, effective March 17, 2025, with his full transition into the role set for July 1, 2025. Jacheet brings over two decades of management experience across various global luxury and consumer brands, including De Beers, Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon, and Evian. He will be based at Hyatt's EAME Hub in Zurich, reporting directly to President & CEO Mark Hoplamazian. Javier Aguila, who has driven significant growth in Hyatt's EAME region since 2022, is set to become Hyatt's new Chief Growth Officer on July 1, 2025. Aguila will oversee Hyatt's overall growth strategies and execution, in addition to his recently announced role as President, Inclusive Collection, which took effect on March 1, 2025. Aguila will maintain his leadership role in the EAME region and assist Jacheet in his transition until June 30, 2025. Jim Chu, serving as Hyatt's Chief Growth Officer since 2022, will assume a new role as Head of Owner Relations from July 1, 2025. This change will enable Chu to focus more on this crucial stakeholder group. Chu will continue to report to Hoplamazian. These leadership changes are part of Hyatt's commitment to becoming a more brand-focused organization. The company is intent on catering to the differentiated needs of guests, owners, and developers across its five distinct brand portfolios: Lifestyle, Luxury, Inclusive, Classics, and Essentials. President & CEO Mark Hoplamazian stated that these changes highlight Hyatt's approach of bringing in top business leaders with extensive brand and operating expertise like Marc Jacheet, and assigning strategic roles to existing leaders like Javier Aguila and Jim Chu. He expressed confidence that these changes would enhance the company's growth and its transition towards becoming a more brand-focused, high-performance enterprise. IHCL Expands its Presence in Punjab with Gateway and Ginger Hotels in Ludhiana - Image Credit IHCL The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India's leading hospitality company, is set to expand its operations by establishing a Gateway and a Ginger hotel in Ludhiana, Punjab. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has announced its plan to establish a Gateway and a Ginger hotel in Ludhiana. These projects, part of a broader mixed-use development, represent IHCL's strategic growth plan in emerging markets. Ms. Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President of Real Estate & Development at IHCL, commented on the development. She attributed Ludhiana's inclusion in the Smart City Mission as a significant factor in the city's infrastructure growth, which has led to an upsurge in business travel and tourism. IHCL's new hotels are a direct response to this growth. The company collaborates with Hampton Sky Realty Ltd. on these projects, contributing to Ludhiana's ongoing urban development. The Gateway Hotel in Ludhiana, with 110 rooms, will reflect the city's spirit and offer immersive experiences for its guests. The hotel will feature numerous amenities such as an all-day diner, a bar, a gym, a swimming pool, and a 5,000 sq. ft. ballroom for events and gatherings. On the other hand, the 100-room Ginger Hotel will feature the brand's signature all-day dining, Qmin, a bar, a modern gym, and a 1,000 sq. ft. banquet hall. These facilities, combined with its location, make the Ginger Hotel an ideal venue for both social and business events. Hampton Sky Realty Ltd. expressed their pleasure in collaborating with IHCL, foreseeing these hotels as pivotal landmarks in Ludhiana and contributing to Punjab's global showcase. Ludhiana, one of Punjab's primary economic hubs, is renowned for its blend of tradition and modernity. As a city known for its manufacturing and export industries, Ludhiana promises diverse experiences for every visitor. With the addition of these hotels, IHCL will have five hotels in Punjab, including four that are under development. This expansion underscores IHCL's commitment to growing its footprint in India's emerging markets and contributing to its hospitality sector. Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve - Image Credit Marriott International Marriott International reported a year of significant expansion across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in 2024, signing a record 291 deals representing over 34,000 rooms. Additionally, the company added more than 180 properties to its operational portfolio in the EMEA region, broadening its offerings across various travel segments and entering three new markets: Luxembourg, Angola, and Senegal. Satya Anand, President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Marriott International, emphasized the company's commitment to enhancing its portfolio and providing unique travel experiences in the region. Anand also mentioned Marriotts focus on connecting people through travel and the intent to offer even more options for its owners, Marriott Bonvoy members, and customers. The record number of deal signings resulted in the company's total pipeline for the EMEA region growing to 596 properties at year-end, a 10% increase from the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by conversions, which accounted for 45% of the region's room signings in 2024. Denmark, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom led the way with the highest number of signed deals in the EMEA region in 2024. Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer for the EMEA region, attributed the growth to owners' trust in Marriott International and the strength of its brands, competitive affiliation costs, powerful revenue generation engines, and loyalty program. In 2024, all segments witnessed strong growth in the EMEA region. Marriott signed 26 deals across its luxury brands and 34 deals for the Four Points Flex by Sheraton brand in Europe. Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, and Marriott Hotels signed 50 deals combined. At the same time, Courtyard by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, and Moxy Hotels led growth in the select service segment with 39 deal signings. Marriott also saw momentum in the branded residential segment with 11 project signings. Marriott also added 181 properties and nearly 20,000 rooms to its operational portfolio in the EMEA region in 2024. Notable openings included the Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, W Prague, and the St. Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort in Oman. The company also expanded into Angola and Senegal with Protea Hotel Luanda and Courtyard Dakar Diamniadio openings. Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Berkshire Green Drinks Will Discuss Rare Butterfly Species PITTSFIELD, Mass. Entomologist Jessica Duffy will discuss two rare butterfly species, the Veined White and the West Virginia White, at the Berkshire Green Drinks event on Wednesday, March 12. The hybrid event will be held both online via Zoom and in-person at Hot Plate Brewing Co. (1 School St., Pittsfield). The in-person social gathering begins at 5:15 p.m., with the presentation and Zoom meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. Duffy's presentation will cover the butterflies' natural history, including their host plants, and the impact of introduced parasitoid wasps and invasive garlic mustard on their populations. Following the presentation, the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) will organize volunteer surveys of the butterflies' habitat and garlic mustard removal efforts in spring 2025 to support Duffy's ongoing research. Duffy holds a Master's degree in Entomology from UMass-Amherst and has worked with the U.S. Forest Service and the USDA. Berkshire Green Drinks, sponsored by BEAT, is a monthly informal gathering open to the public. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Banksys reimagining of a famous work by the late Scottish painter Jack Vettriano has sold at auction for 4.3m. Crude Oil (Vettriano) was listed by Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus, who acquired the painting in 2011. The sale to a private collector at Sothebys in London on Tuesday evening (4 March) came just days after Vettriano was found dead aged 73 at his apartment in Nice, France. It is understood that there are no suspicious circumstances around his death. Banksys work was first seen in the reclusive artists landmark 2005 exhibition Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin, and reimagines Vettrianos 1992 work The Singing Butler, already one of the most celebrated pictures in Britain. Banksy chose to subvert Vettrianos romantic narrative by incorporating themes of pollution, capitalism and the climate crisis, painting in a sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheeling a barrel of toxic waste along the beach while the original couple dance as their butler holds a black umbrella over their heads. Hoppus said that he and Skye fell in love with the painting from the first moment they saw it: [Its] unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it, he said. Its borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. Its seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments. Our son has grown up in front of it, he continued. This painting has meant so much to us and been such an amazing part of our lives, and now Im excited for it to be out there in the world, seen by as many as possible. Go get em. Godspeed. open image in gallery Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus sold the Banksy take on Vettriano just days after the Scottish painter passed away ( AP ) His love of art was inspired by an art history professor at his local college in California: He loved art but wasnt precious about it, he recalled. Art was for everyone. And everyone should love it. And because he loved it, and showed us how to think about it, I loved it. It opened my mind. It was Good Will Hunting but with paintings and architecture instead of poetry. open image in gallery Scottish painter Jack Vettriano died this week ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) A portion of the funds raised from the sale will go towards supporting the charities Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Cedars Sinai Haematology Oncology Research. The couple will also donate some of the proceeds to the California Fire Foundation, following the devastating wildfires that destroyed parts of the city earlier this year. Vettrianos publicist said in a statement this week: Jack Vettrianos passing marks the end of an era for contemporary Scottish art. His evocative and timeless works will continue to captivate and inspire future generations. Theres a lot of gold in the National Gallerys major winter exhibition. Not golden light or painted approximations of its effects, but the actual stuff: hammered gold leaf filling the haloes of saints, highlighting the folds in their garments, flooding the backgrounds of painting after painting in sheets of shining gilded glow. Well, what did you expect of medieval representations of the Saviour of the World and his Mother? Certainly not the rags and hovels that Jesus and his followers no doubt wore and lived in in real life. Dirty realism doesnt appear in art for another 300 years. The idea that spiritually powerful people are best embodied through the most valuable materials goes back at least to ancient Egypt, and permeated European art right up to the Renaissance, as anyone who has spent time in the Nationals medieval galleries will be well aware. By and large, images of saints on gold backgrounds arent the most popular with the general public, as the curators of Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350 observe in the catalogue. The ostensible subject of the show is a late medieval proto-Renaissance that took place in the Tuscan city a good century before the Florentine Renaissance the one we all know about and was centred on Duccio di Buoninsegna, considered the greatest of all Sienese painters. The innovations of Duccio and his contemporaries were pivotal, the show argues, in establishing painting as the dominant form in Western art. It also has the almost inevitable subtext of trying to make gold ground paintings more sympathetic and relatable to the modern viewer. Organised in tandem with New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it attracted large crowds last year, the show opens with a Byzantine icon, the kind of hyper-stylised Greek Orthodox religious painting that formed the principal model for Italian painting well into the Middle Ages. The tiny, supposedly divinely charged image of the Virgin and Child, which is known to have been in Siena during the period covered by the exhibition, is in a rigid, time-honoured format, encrusted in gold and precious stones, with which Duccio and his followers were, we are told, intimately familiar. Yet Duccios attempts to soften and humanise this ossified form arent, at first sight, as world-changing as one might hope. The Christ Child in Duccios small Virgin and Child (1290) reaches up to pull at his mothers blue veil, a charmingly ordinary touch that is neutralised by the Madonnas blankly beatific expression, which removes the image from anything remotely connected with the everyday world. Yet it isnt long before more dramatic elements edge almost literally into the frame. The figures crowding Duccios Triptych: Crucifixion and other Scenes (circa 1302-08), including a fainting Virgin, have a slightly compressed look, as though theyve somehow squeezed themselves into the golden background from the margins. open image in gallery Duccios The Virgin and Child enthroned with Angels, circa 1290-95 ( Museum of Fine Arts Bern, Switzerland ) The exhibitions great coup is having reassembled the panels of several great Sienese triptychs and altarpieces that were broken up and dispersed around the world over centuries. The greatest of these is Duccios monumental Maesta (1308) from Siena Cathedral, eight panels of which have been borrowed from European and American collections. These arent the near life-size central figures of the Virgin and Child with saints, which remain in Siena, but the predelle, small narrative panels that surround it. These are the elements with the greatest human interest, showing universally recognisable scenes from the life of Christ though they are pretty small, each hardly more than a foot square. The compositions feel perfectly balanced, the colour exquisitely pretty: subtle contrasts of lilac-inflected greys and salmon pink in the Annunciation, one of the most popular medieval paintings in the Nationals own collection, feel startlingly modern. The gold backgrounds now stand in for a notional sky, but theyre still very much present, and the mood is uniformly serene. The crowd accompanying Christ to the tomb in The Raising of Lazarus (1310-11) all wear the same expression of measured alertness. Nothing can be allowed to disrupt the calm of the Blessed. When you compare these wonderfully refined, yet relatively tiny works with the dramatic grandeur of the life-size frescoes of the same narratives by Duccios Florentine contemporary Giotto, the Sienese painter feels a rather rarefied talent, one who its easier to admire from a safe emotional distance than be profoundly moved by. Its perhaps easier to relate to Simone Martinis larger portraits of saints, because they seem so determined to get our attention with the intensity of their beady-eyed stares towards the Virgin a figure of particular reverence in Siena; theres barely an image here in which she doesnt appear. open image in gallery Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Stories from the Life of Saint Nicholas, circa 1332-34 ( Gabinetto Fotografico delle Gallerie degli Uffizi ) The even bigger figures of the Madonna and Child in Pietro Lorenzettis Pieve Altarpiece (1320) appear a touch awkward, even amateurish beside Duccios consummate craftsmanship, but at least they look alive. The fact that the scene of the Annunciation, in which Mary receives the news of her Immaculate Conception from the Angel Gabriel, seems to be taking place in a separate booth, suspended above the Virgins head, is no doubt easily explicable in terms of medieval theology but to the modern eye, it gives the work the delightfully naive feel of a piece of proto-Renaissance outsider art. But its with a series of Stories from the Life of St Nicholas (1332) by Lorenzettis younger brother Ambrogio, that the exhibition seems to come full circle. And it took a couple of seconds for the penny to drop and realise why: the gold is removed apart from the odd halo to the very margins. The materiality of gold, the way it pulls our attention to the physical surface of the painting, has the effect of flattening not only the illusion of physical space but of emotional engagement. Here, the eye and the mind are free to enter the fictional spaces of these charming images with their early attempts at perspective and disconcertingly modern feeling for architecture. Rather than a celebration of gold ground painting, the exhibit, up to this point, has been about the struggle of Sienese artists to transcend its deadening effect as a material. But then, as if to remind us that art rarely proceeds in straight lines, were shown an extraordinary slightly later Annunciation (1344) by the younger Lorenzetti in which the massive, monumental figures are surrounded by gold leaf manipulated in more ways than the mind can quite cope with: stippling, embossing, engraving to name just a few. The strength of this remarkable exhibition lies less in its avowed intention to complicate the well-worn narrative of the Florence-centred early Renaissance, as in the ways it opens unexpected vistas through quirky byways of late medieval art. Theres a reassuring sense that even then, there was a lot going on well outside the mainstream. Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350 is at the National Gallery from 8 March until 22 June Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Neil Gaiman has produced a series of WhatsApp messages from the woman who sued him for sexual assault, Scarlett Pavlovich, which he says support his claim that she is a fantasist. The best-selling author and his estranged wife, the musician Amanda Palmer, were sued in federal court last month over allegations of sexual assault and trafficking by their former babysitter. In a motion to dismiss filed today and seen by The Independent, Gaiman stated that he had engaged in sexual activity with Pavlovich, beginning in February 2022, but that they never had sex and all the activity was consensual. He goes on to say: None of Pavlovichs claims are true. She is a fantasist who has fabricated a tale of abuse against me and Ms Palmer. In support of the motion to dismiss, Gaiman produced several pages of WhatsApp messages. In one message shortly after their first sexual encounter, Pavlovich writes: Thank you for a lovely lovely night wow x. Neil Gaiman in Los Angeles in January 2024 ( Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File ) Gaiman responds: It was a marvellous time. Thank you againl A couple of days later, Pavlovich messages Gaiman: Let me know If you want me to run a bath. I am consumed by thoughts of you, the things you will do to me. I'm so hungry. What a terrible creature you've turned me into. I hope tomorrow, or some other time soon. Several hours later, she adds: What have you done to me, only a couple of hours and I've already been the baddest girl. I think you need to give me a huge spanking very soon. I'm f***ing desperate for my master. So naughty even sending you texts like that. Extra punishment needed. Goodnight. Gaiman replies: Goodnight, dear. Much of their text conversation concerns Pavlovichs work as a babysitter to Gaiman and Palmers child. A little over a month after the initial texts, Gaiman sent Pavlovich a message reading: Amanda tells me that you are having a rough time and you are really upset with me about what we did. I feel awful about this. Would you like to talk about it? Is there anything I can do to make anything better? She says theyll speak soon, and a couple of weeks later texts to ask how he is. Gaiman responds: Honestly, when Amanda told me that you were telling people I'd raped you and were planning to Me Too me, I wanted to kill myself. But I'm getting through it a day at a time, and it's been two weeks now and I'm still here. Fragile but not great. Pavlovich replies: Oh my God. Neil! I never said that. I have been deeply upset about it all because it has triggered things from my past and also for many reasons I feel whiplash. But I'm horrified by your message - me too you? Rape? WHAT? This is the first I have heard of this. Wow. I need a moment to digest your message. A few minutes later, she adds: Ok - it's been blown way out of proportion it seems. My heart is pounding, I am so sorry you have been so not ok. I had no idea. I have never used the word rape, I'm just so shocked, I honestly don't know what to say. The motion to dismiss argues both that the allegations are false and that a US court has no jurisdiction over allegations that arose in New Zealand. Gaiman has consistently denied engaging in non-consensual sexual activity after accusations of assault by multiple women. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Adrien Brodys partner Georgina Chapman has reacted to his kiss with Halle Berry at the 2025 Oscars. The American actor, 51, won the award for his lead performance in Brady Corbets period epic The Brutalist. The win was Brodys second in the category, having previously become the youngest-ever Best Actor winner when he won for The Pianist in 2003. As he walked on stage to accept the award, Brody was seen spitting out chewing gum and throwing it to his partner, Georgina Chapman, provoking criticism for a self-indulgent display. But hours before the event, the Catwoman star kissed Brody in front of Chapman in what appeared to be a recreation of a 2003 moment in which Brody kissed Berry on the lips as she awarded him his first Oscar. The moment provoked backlash as many called the move disrespectful to Chapman. It was [quite the moment], wasn't it? I mean, how can you deny a man a kiss with Halle Berry? Chapman told Extra on the red carpet. He was more than fine, she insisted. Berry had also said that she had asked Chapmans permission before planting the kiss saying, Oh yeah! Only because she was fine could I do it. Twenty one years I've been waiting to get him on a red carpet and slap on one. open image in gallery Pair recreated 2003 Oscars kiss ( Halle Berry ) The Monsters Ball star later said on Watch What Happens Live! that the moment was not planned. Brody, reflecting on the moment this year, told Variety: Nothing that I ever do or have done or wouldve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad. Posting footage of the moment on Instagram, Berry joked she had to get some payback. During the ceremony, Brodys lengthy acceptance speech saw the actor tell the Oscar showrunners to turn the music off, before he continued speaking for a while longer. Ive done this before. Thank you. Its not my first rodeo, but I will will be brief, he said. open image in gallery Brody drew criticism for kissing Berry on stage in 2003 ( Everett/Shutterstock ) On social media, viewers took aim at Brodys conduct. Adrien Brodys speech is gonna have an intermission, one person joked. We as a nation must agree to never honour Adrien Brodys acting abilities again, quipped another. He officially broke the world record for the longest Oscars acceptance speech in history. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A new trailer for the upcoming indie horror movie Bambi: The Reckoning has spooked users on social media. The twisted new take on Felix Saltens 1923 coming-of-age novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods, famously adapted in 1942 as the Disney classic Bambi, has been produced by Jagged Edge Productions. The London-based production company was also behind the 2023 slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, the 2024 sequel Blood and Honey 2, and this years Peter Pans Neverland Nightmare. The horrorsploitation films, which utilize well-known characters from childrens classics that have entered the public domain, are said to inhabit The Twisted Childhood Universe or Poohniverse. The official logline for Bambi: The Reckoning reads: After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother. On social media, some users welcomed the idea of an ultra-violent Bambi going feral to seek revenge, with one writing on X: Arm the animals against the hunters! YES! open image in gallery Disneys famous fawn is mutated and grief-stricken in Bambi: The Reckoning, according to an official logline ( YouTube/Jagged Edge Productions ) Another wrote: F*** yea! Cannot wait! My wife and I love these! We own both of the Winnie the Pooh ones and Mouse Trap! The Twisted Childhood Universe is like getting true versions of all the Grimm brothers stuff before Disney sanitized and romanticized them all. Just waiting for the Peter Pan one to come out on Vudu to snag it too! The Mouse Trap, which was made by a rival Canadian indie horror studio, applies a similar horrorsploitation treatment to the Disney short Steamboat Willie, which famously featured the public debut of Mickey Mouse. Several praised the Bambi: The Reckoning trailer, with one user writing: This trailer with the creepy forest and fog is seriously spooky giving me chills! The tense vibe is so intense, Im already worried I wont sleep this summer after seeing it in theaters! Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. open image in gallery Not everyone was impressed by the trailer for 'Bambi: The Reckoning' ( X ) Beneath the Bambi: The Reckoning trailer on YouTube, one fan commented: I cant wait. After seeing how different Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare was from Blood and Honey, I'm really excited to see the direction Bambi goes in. Absolutely hooked on these movies. However, not all social media users were so enthusiastic, with some arguing that the use of old IP is unoriginal. One wrote on X: The obsession with taking beloved characters into horror movies is a little annoying, tbh. Just make a decent horror movie without the gimmick. Another asked: We really living in the timeline where bambi is horror now. whats next, cinderella slasher? While a third questioned simply: What the hell is the poohniverse? Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An investigation at Gene Hackmans Santa Fe home by a local gas company found a minuscule leak at one of the stove burners, but it is not believed to have been a contributing factor in the deaths of the Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa. After the couples bodies were discovered last week, early speculation centered on the theory that they may have died due to a gas leak. Hackmans daughter Elizabeth Jean suggested they could have been killed by toxic fumes. However, according to the Santa Fe Sheriffs Department, the New Mexico Gas Company has "confirmed it conducted an extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide" and made "no significant findings." The gas company did say that they issued five red tags. One red tag was for a minuscule leak (0.33% gas in air not a lethal amount) at one of the stove burners, states the press release. The other four red tags were for code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide involving a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces." Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa at the Golden Globes in 2003 ( AP ) The Sheriffs Department now believes it is likely the couple died over a week before their bodies were found. "An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman's pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a press conference on March 1. I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed, he added, but according to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life. Authorities are still investigating what caused the couples deaths. There were no apparent signs of foul play, the sheriff said. An autopsy noted no external trauma to either individual, but the manner and cause of their deaths have not yet been determined, Mendoza said. Both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. After obtaining a search warrant, authorities searched the home and found two cell phones, two bottles of medications, and a bottle of Tylenol. The sheriff said he was unable to share who the medication was prescribed to or what it was for, due to health privacy laws. Toxicology and more autopsy findings are still pending. Mendoza said that it was difficult to determine whether the two died around the same time. Theres no indication that anybody was moving about the house or doing anything different, so its very hard to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together, the sheriff added. Were trying to put that information together, he added. I think the autopsy report is going to be key to this investigator. Interview: China's high-quality development to unleash greater potential, says CEO of German logistics tech company Xinhua) 16:47, March 05, 2025 FRANKFURT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's innovation and growth are very "admirable," and its strategy for high-quality development will unleash even greater potential, the CEO of a leading German intralogistics solution provider has said. As the world's largest material handling market, China has been a "home market" with strong growth, Rob Smith, CEO of KION Group, said in an interview with Xinhua. For KION Group, China has become an increasingly important hub for innovation, with its rapid advancement allowing the company to apply its latest research and development technologies to other global markets, said Smith. Smith expressed confidence in KION Group's future in China, stressing that the shift toward quality-oriented growth means advanced technology, innovation and sustainability, which are key elements of KION's strategy. "So we see that China's commitment to high-quality development aligns very well with KION's growth plans," Smith said. As the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally and a leading provider of warehouse automation, KION Group owns multiple forklift brands, including Linde and Baoli. For over 30 years, the German company has made continuous investments in China and established a strong presence with six factories nationwide, said Smith. "We've continued to expand our production capacity because it is a very dynamic market," he said. Meanwhile, Smith said he was particularly excited about the adoption of AI in the Chinese market and its rapid expansion across the country. Smith said the company has integrated artificial intelligence into its warehouse and automation solutions, and is actively promoting them in the Chinese market. "We see this as a great opportunity," he said. Smith cited the application of "digital twin" as an example -- a virtual replica of a physical object, system or process that continuously updates with real-time data for simulation, monitoring and optimization. He added that this technology has been used to enhance the operation of a physical warehouse in China. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice James Bonds acquisition by Amazon has turned off one filmmaker, who has sworn off ever directing a 007 film if Jeff Bezos is in charge. Last month, it was revealed that Amazon MGM has taken full creative control of the Bond franchise after striking a deal with long-time producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. While the pair will remain co-owners of the franchise, the transaction leaves creative control of all future productions in the hands of Amazon. American filmmaker Osgood Perkins, who directed 2024 sleeper horror hit Longlegs and new film The Monkey, was recently asked during a Reddit Ask Me Anything whether hed ever consider directing a film in the long-running British spy franchise. He made his feelings known about the Amazon development with his blunt reply: No, because f*** Jeff Bezos. Its worth noting that Bond films are often directed by British filmmakers. The highly influential Bezos is a controversial figure, having faced accusations of creating tense working conditions at Amazon. Just last week, Washington Post owner Bezos left many workers enraged after he announced changes to the papers opinion content that resulted in a top editor resigning. Journalists at the publication have expressed concern that Bezos is currying favor with President Donald Trump by softening the Posts coverage of him, months after he blocked the editorial boards endorsement of then-vice president Kamala Harris. The new Bond deal comes amid mounting speculation over the fate of the British spy franchise after Daniel Craig made his final appearance as Bond in 2021s No Time To Die almost four years ago. The franchise has gone silent in recent years, with no formal plans for the next movie or any recruitment of the next Bond actor. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon has acquired James Bond franchise ( Getty ) Wilson said in a statement: With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future. Broccoli added: My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli. I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects. With no plans in place, the gap between No Time To Die and the next Bond film could beat the record for the longest break between Bond installments, which currently stands at six years and four months for the wait between 1989s License to Kill and 1995s Goldeneye. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Patrick Wilson has said hes sure Kate Winslet was left with bruises after they filmed sex scenes together for Little Children. The Hard Candy actor, 51, starred alongside Winslet in Todd Fields 2006 suburban melodrama, which follows an unhappy housewife, Sarah, (Winslet) as she launches into an affair with a man on her street (Wilson). Wilson revealed that one scene in particular, where he and Winslets characters have sex in a laundry room, would be very different if it were shot with intimacy co-ordinators today. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporters It Happened in Hollywood podcast, he said both he and Winslet were fully nude aside from modesty coverings, which were kept out of shot. [Kate] was so cool and gracious and just a gamer just like, Lets go for it, he recalled. There was never one awkward or weird moment. Never one. I loved it. Wilson addressed rumours that Kate had bruised her bum during filming for the scene, as he explained that no body doubles were used, adding: Im sure there were lots of bruises. Put it this way, I havent done a scene like that since post #MeToo and intimacy coordinators, Wilson admitted. open image in gallery Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson at a screening of 'Little Children' in 2006 ( Getty Images ) I do feel a little bit like a dinosaur when it comes to [having appeared in] those kinds of love scenes, he added. It comes after Winslet admitted last year that she wished shed had intimacy co-ordinators every single time I had to do a love scene or be partially naked or even a kissing scene in her career. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Speaking to The New York Times Magazine, Winslet expressed relief that younger actors no longer have to accept the same norms that she dealt with. I would have benefited from an intimacy coordinator every single time I had to do a love scene or be partially naked or even a kissing scene, Winslet said. It would have been nice to have had someone in my corner because I always had to stand up for myself. open image in gallery Winslet at The Governors Awards in 2024 ( Getty Images ) She added that there were several times in her career when shed wanted to take a stand but felt like she was unable to, giving examples such as: I dont like that camera angle. I dont want to stand here full-frontal nude. I dont want this many people in the room. I want my dressing gown to be closer. Winslet explained that having somebody else to advocate for her needs would have helped, as she feared becoming branded as difficult to work with. When youre young, youre so afraid of p***ing people off or coming across as rude or pathetic because you might need those things, she said. So, learning to have a voice for oneself in those environments was very, very hard. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jeremy Strongs stony-faced response to losing out to Succession co-star Kieran Culkin at the Oscars on Sunday (2 March) has prompted sympathy online. Both Strong and A Real Pain star Culkin , who played Kendall and Roman Roy in the hit HBO show, received nominations at this years Academy Awards. In a funny case of life imitating art, the actors, who vied for their fathers job in Succession, went head-to-head for the Best Supporting Actor trophy. Their onscreen father, Cox, refused to take sides. Strong was nominated for his performance as political fixer Roy Cohn in Donald Trump film The Apprentice, while Culkin was nominated in the same category for his role as Benji Kaplan in A Real Pain. Culkin won the award, with his Oscar coming after a Bafta and Golden Globe win for the same performance. He called out Strong in his acceptance speech as he said: Jeremy, you're amazing in The Apprentice. I love your work, it's f***ing... I'm not supposed to single anyone out its favouritism, but you were great. The actor appeared sullen and unmoved in response. open image in gallery Star appeared unimpressed ( Clip Courtesy of A.M.P.A.S. ) However, upon closer inspection, fans noticed that the night was a huge one for Strong, who had remained emotional throughout the ceremony. ABC presenters interviewed Strong on the red carpet, showing him a picture of himself as a child in 1993, waiting in the bleachers at the Awards. What a full circle moment they remarked. Thank you, that makes me emotional, he said. I was a kid, just like these kids here in the bleachers, so this is incredible to be here, its a dream. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Strong also received a shout out from Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr who also commented on the stars rise to fame, leaving him visibly moved. open image in gallery Star first attended the ceremony in 1993 ( ABC/Getty ) Hes also like a brother to me, said Downey Jr as he presented the award for Best Supporting Actor. I watched him come from sleeping in the bleachers outside the Oscars, the night I was nominated for Chaplin, through his blistering portrayal of Roy Cohn in The Apprentice, which was a masterclass. I dont think Ive ever been as an endeared by an actor as I am with Jeremy Strong, wrote one person on X/Twitter. It's actually kind of beautiful to see someone so completely genuine and earnest amongst all the fakeness of Hollywood, wrote another. Jeremy Strong, I love your love for your craft so dearly. Culkin and Strong were seen embracing after the awards, ending speculation of a rift between the pair. Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jay-Z has filed a lawsuit against lawyer Tony Buzbee, his colleague David Fortney and their Jane Doe client over their previously dropped suit alleging that he and Sean Diddy Combs sexually assaulted her when she was 13. The music mogul, real name Shawn Carter, filed the suit on Monday 3 March, in which he argues that the woman made false and defamatory statements about him for financial gain. In the lawsuit filed in Alabama where the woman reportedly lives and seen by US media, Jay-Z also said that both the woman and her lawyers, Buzbee and Fortney, were soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency. The Jane Doe withdrew her lawsuit in February without prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. She added Jay-Z as a defendant in December, two months after first filing the suit against Combs in New York. In the lawsuit, the woman alleged that she had been offered a ride to a party at a private residence by a limo driver for Combs, following the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. Once there, she claimed, she was raped by Jay-Z and Combs. Both men vehemently denied the allegations. open image in gallery Jay-Z is suing lawyer Tony Buzbee (right) and the woman who accused him of rape ( Getty ) Jay-Z alleged in his new lawsuit that the October filing was founded on false information from the Jane Doe and her lawyers, and that they launched to extort him through a menacing private demand letter. The filing claimed that the woman voluntarily admitted to Jay-Zs representative that he did not assault her and that Buzbee pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday. In a statement to People on 3 March, Buzbee said: This new case alleges the same claims as the other one they pieced together and filed in Los Angeles. Like the one in LA, this new case in Alabama also has no legal merit she stands by her claims. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. The statement continued: After speaking with Jane Doe today, it appears that the quotes attributed to her in the lawsuit are completely made up, or they spoke to someone who isnt Jane Doe. This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course. We wont be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases. Jay-Z called the woman's decision to withdraw the lawsuit a victory and said the fictional tale she and her lawyers created was laughable. open image in gallery Jay-Z called the lawsuit a fictional tale created by the woman and her lawyers ( Getty Images ) The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed, he said in a statement posted on social media. This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. This 1-800 lawyer gets to file a suit hiding behind Jane Doe, and when they quickly realize that the money grab is going to fail, they get to walk away with no repercussions. The system has failed. The court must protect victims, OF COURSE, while with the same ethical responsibility, the courts must protect the innocent from being accused without a shred of evidence. May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally. Combs remains in prison in New York awaiting a criminal trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Steve Park revealed recently that a racist incident in 1997 on the sets of the hit NBC sitcom Friends was what convinced him to write his mission statement calling for Hollywood to treat Asian Americans better. In an appearance on the Boy Meets World rewatch podcast Pod Meets World, the actor and comedian said he found the set to be a toxic environment, and witnessed a crew member referring to veteran actor James Hong in racially offensive language. It was at the time, I felt it was kind of a toxic environment, Park said about Friends, then in its third season. James Hong was the actor who was also on the episode with me, and [the AD] was calling him to the set and you know, essentially saying, you know, Where the f*** is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy. Park starred on two episodes of Friends the first time on the second season in 1996, in the 23rd episode titled The One with the Chicken Pox, and in 1997 during season 3, on the 24th episode, The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion. Friends, which starred Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, continues to be one of the most popular shows in the US, and ran for more than 10 years from 1994 to 2004. Park went on to explain that he called the Screen Actors Guild to file a complaint, and was recommended to write an article for The LA Times. However, he added that while the LA Times did send reporters to talk to him about his mission statement, they never printed it. So when I called Screen Actors Guild after that, it happened, and the person I spoke with recommended I write an article to the LA Times. And I thought, Oh, okay, that'd be a good idea, Park told podcast hosts Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong. open image in gallery Steve Park Park starred on two episodes of Friends, in the second and third seasons ( NBC ) This is bigger than this show. This isn't the first time that this happened, you know, but this is the environment where this is business as usual in Hollywood in 1997, I guess it was. And nobody felt the need to correct this or say anything about it. So this is normal behaviour. Continuing, Park said he sent out his statement to everyone on his email list, writing that if this moves you, please send it along, which led to responses from all across the country from publications that were asking permission to reprint it. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. It went viral before viral was even a word, Park said. Parks letter, which was published in several outlets in spring 1997 and can still be found online, called for better representation of Asian Americans in Hollywood, as well as better treatment for people of colour within the industry. Working with the people involved with this show was an extremely painful experience for me. A disturbing lack in generosity of spirit and basic human courtesy, in addition to a racial incident on the set, has forced me to speak out, Park wrote in his mission statement, going on to describe the racist incident he witnessed. These people, by virtue of their status, money and power, are among the most privileged people walking the face of the earth, yet they behaved as if they were bankrupt in spirit and incapable of expressing simple human kindness And on top of this, the 1st AD (assistant director), in a short tirade, called an Asian-American actor to the set over a walkie-talkie with the words, I don't have time for this! Where's Hoshi, Toshi or whatever the f*** his name is. Get the Oriental guy! He did not even have the respect to learn the name of the actor, a veteran of 40 years. open image in gallery James Hong at his Hand and Footprints ceremony in Hollywood in February 2024 ( AFP via Getty Images ) I was the only one who took notice, while all others proceeded as if it was business as usual. Given the atmosphere on the set, it did not feel safe to say anything, the statement continued. After all, on the average Hollywood set, finding a person of colour is much like trying to find Waldo. It is a white, exclusionary culture. If this was an isolated incident, I would not have felt compelled to write this mission statement. Unfortunately, I find this attitude and behaviour commonplace in Hollywood. I know many people who have experienced this kind of indignity on a movie or television show set, and you can be sure this kind of thing is going on in the corporate culture as well. Hate crimes against Asian-Americans are on the rise in this country, and negative portrayals of Asians in the media only encourage this trend. On Pod Meets World, Park then said that this experience, in addition to writing and talking about the mission statement left him wanting to take a step back from the industry and acting. I had become so race-conscious and so angry that I was looking at everything through the lens of race, he said. I felt like there is no freedom. I didn't feel any freedom. So I didn't have any idea what I was going to do, but I just decided to drop out. I told everybody, I'm not acting anymore. He added that listening to comedian Bobby Lees podcast, where an offhand comment said Park had been blacklisted led him to realise that his hiatus could easily be seen that way, though the birth of his son around the same time, the statement, as well as the scarcity of good roles for Asian American actors all contributed to him taking time away. Park has returned to acting since, playing Fuyu in Korean director Bong Joon-hos 2013 dystopian film Snowpiercer and Agent Zeke in the directors 2024 sci-fi black comedy feature Mickey 17; Lieutenant Nescaffier in Wes Andersons 2021 anthology film The French Dispatch. Friends has been called out multiple times over the years for its lack of diversity, and what many viewers have called transphobic, homophobic, and sexist storylines. In 2023, Quinta Brunson called out the lack of Black characters on the series, by comparing it with her own sitcom Abbot Elementary. Its a network sitcom like, say, Friends. Except, instead of being about a group of friends, its about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, its in Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does, she said. Kauffman has acknowledged the criticism in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, saying: It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalised systemic racism. The Independent has reached out to Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and James Hong for comment. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice At first glance, it might seem odd for a writer as ambitious and celebrated as Marlon James (who won the Man Booker Prize in 2015 for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings) to attempt something as seemingly generic as an episodic TV crime thriller. But, as anyone familiar with his sprawling, complex and multi-faceted fiction will know, James can locate worlds within worlds so why would the story of a missing girl be any different to his other creations? Millie Blacks life is underpinned by loss. First, the death of her father, then her banishment as a teenager from her native Jamaica by her cruel mother after she attempted to defend her LGBT+ brother Orville. Eventually, the adult Millie (Tamara Lawrance, superb) washes up in London, working as a detective for the Met but theres only so much bad food, damp weather and institutional racism she can take. When her mother dies, Millie takes it as a sign to return home. Much of Jamess writing centres around themes of transformation and, as Millie joins the police in Jamaica and finds herself on the trail of a lost girl in Kingston (Janet Fenton, a straight-A student with secrets to hide), this theme asserts itself once again. Millie code-switches expertly between contexts. She alternates between yard-girl downtown patois and police jargon as necessary. But her homecoming is grounded in familial love, not professional ambition; she longs to reconnect with her brother. But Orville has transformed, too. She is now Hibiscus (Chyna McQueen) a trans woman living a precarious life in Kingstons gullies, where LGBT+ people gather and brave the abuse and on occasion, the extreme violence of local youths. Still, Hibiscus is distrustful of her sister and makes clear that she doesnt need saving. I not lost, she says. I did always know me. Better to be Hibiscus out here than Orville everywhere else. When Mille absent-mindedly deadnames her sibling, it threatens a rupture. These transformations are, in some cases, of existential importance. In a wider sense, Get Millie Black catches Jamaica in a state of flux, too, stuck between the trauma of a still-inescapable colonial past and tentative steps into the future. There is still a sense of hierarchy on the island, and of Mother England poking her nose in. The search for Janet soon widens to involve Millies old pals at the Met when it begins to look like the playboy son of a local white family (a rich boy who likes ghetto girls) is involved. When Inspector Luke Holborn (Joe Dempsie) arrives from Scotland Yard, Millie is quizzical (You come to colonise our case?). But the story spirals outwards into something bigger. James specialises in multiple perspectives. On the page, this gives his writing a kaleidoscopic quality; on screen, it adds a further layer of tension a generator of uncertainty that augments a detective drama perfectly. Each of the five episodes is told from a different characters point of view and even Holborn of the Yard gets one. Its a striking storytelling gambit, casting unreliable memory and disparate identity as a subjective driver of motive. Theres a delicious psychological complexity at play throughout. In fact, the only minor false notes come in the occasionally expository dialogue around the detective elements paradoxically, James is on surer ground dealing with the more impressionistic elements of his story. The Hot Pinky Go Go club in Get Millie Black ( Channel 4 ) In Jamess hands, Jamaica itself is both a character and an abstract notion. In his novels, theres an endless curiosity about the diaspora and the ways in which this tiny island has spread outwards and interacted with the outside world. It has been transformed by globalisation but also exerted a huge and arguably outsize influence on other cultures too. Like every story about this country, this is a ghost story, says Millie at the beginning, referring to the ghosts of both her own past and those of her country. And like any good ghost story, its sometimes hard to get your bearings here. Get Millie Black is a drama to lean into. It doesnt make its essence immediately obvious. Like Jamess novels, its both earthy and dreamily allusive; fragments of meaning and memory snagged in your peripheral vision. So eventually, while this is a literal detective story, its also a figurative, emotional one about identity, family, gender, self-image, and nationality. Even as the central mystery approaches some sort of resolution, the writing and performances, the perspectives and subjective points of view are compelling enough to leave these stories hanging alluringly. Get Millie Black lives and breathes. This might be a crime thriller, but it isnt just a crime thriller. In the right hands, a crime thriller can contain multitudes. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A High Court in India has granted bail to Christian Michel, a British national accused in a high-profile money laundering case, citing prolonged incarceration without trial. Mr Michel, who has been in custody for over six years after being accused of paying bribes to Indian officials to win a helicopter deal for Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, was granted bail on Tuesday in the case pursued by Indias anti-financial crimes agency Enforcement Directorate (ED). The decision follows a similar ruling by the Supreme Court, which granted him bail earlier last month in a parallel investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of Delhi High Court, while delivering the ruling, described Mr Michels continued detention as an exceptional situation and a violation of his fundamental right to a speedy trial under the Indian constitution. Despite spending more than six years behind bars, his trial has not yet commenced due to an incomplete investigation, the court noted. He is happy that he has secured bail after serving six years and two months in jail without trial, his lawyer Aljo K Joseph told The Independent. At least some justice has been delivered. Mr Michels release is contingent upon meeting bail conditions, including a bond and surety of Rs500,000 (4,500) each and surrendering his passport to the trial court. The ED has been directed to request the trial court to impose additional conditions as deemed necessary before his release. The British national was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested by Indian authorities. He is accused of acting as a middleman in a now-scrapped controversial deal involving the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland. Investigators allege that bribes were paid to Indian officials to secure the contract, with Michel reportedly receiving 30m (2.01m) in commissions. The ED has opposed Mr Michels bail, arguing that he remains a flight risk and does not meet the stringent criteria under Indias anti-money laundering laws. However, his legal team contended that his detention had already exceeded six years close to the maximum seven-year sentence prescribed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) even before trial proceedings had begun. Justice Sharma, in her ruling, acknowledged that while the PMLA sets a high threshold for bail, the provision could not be interpreted in a way that indefinitely confines an accused without trial. The applicant has been in custody for over six years and two months alarmingly close to the maximum punishment without being adjudicated guilty, the court observed. Given that the trial is unlikely to conclude before the applicant completes even seven years in jail, further incarceration would render the entire purpose of a trial meaningless. The bail order also highlighted the extensive nature of the case, noting that the prosecution has listed over 100 witnesses and relied on nearly 1,000 documents. Given the complexity of the trial, the court stated that there was no reasonable likelihood of its conclusion in the near future. Mr Michels lawyers advocates Aljo K Joseph, Vishnu Shankar, and Sriram P argued that his prolonged detention amounted to pre-trial punishment. They also pointed out that he had spent two months in custody in the UAE before his extradition to India. On the other hand, the ED, represented by counsel Zoheb Hossain, alleged that Mr Michel had previously evaded investigation and ignored court warrants before being brought to India. The agency further argued that granting him bail could hinder ongoing probes into the corruption scandal. The case against Michel stems from a 2013 investigation into irregularities in the helicopter deal, which was signed in 2010 between Indias Defence Ministry and AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of the Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica. The contract, worth 556.262m (322.4m), was later scrapped following corruption allegations. Indian authorities estimate that the deal caused a loss of around 398.21m (232m) to the exchequer. Mr Michel is one of three alleged middlemen implicated in the case, alongside Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. The CBIs chargesheet accuses him of facilitating illicit payments to Indian officials to secure the contract, while the EDs case focuses on laundering the proceeds of the alleged crime. The Supreme Court, in its 18 February ruling granting Mr Michel bail in the CBI case, criticised the prolonged nature of the investigation, noting that despite three charge sheets and two supplementary charge sheets, the investigation is still ongoing. The court further remarked, You will not be able to conclude the trial in another 25 years going by what your conduct has been. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Philippine rescuers have found the wreckage of a missing fighter jet and the bodies of its two pilots in a mountainous region of the country. The FA-50 fighter jet with two pilots on board lost contact after midnight on Tuesday during a night combat mission against communist insurgents in a southern province. While the jet failed to reach its target area, the other aircraft successfully carried out assaults and returned to an air base in central Cebu province, military officials said. The wreckage was found in the Kalatungan mountains of Bukidnon province on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines on Wednesday, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt Gen Luis Rex Bergante. Were bringing down the bodies, and the aircraft is currently cordoned off for investigation. It will be studied, Mr Bergante said, according to several media reports. In an interview with Manila-based radio station dzBB, the army confirmed that the bodies of the two pilots were found in the Kalatungan Mountains of Bukidnon province. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. The disappearance of the aircraft coincided with airstrikes in the Pantaron mountain range in the region of Northern Mindanao, where government forces clashed with around 70 New Peoples Army rebels. File. A Philippine FA 50 fighter jet went missing on Tuesday and on Wednesday its wreckage was found in the Kalatungan mountains of Bukidnon province Earlier, an extensive search had been launched to find the two pilots of the jet. The aircraft lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area. The other aircraft repeatedly attempted to re-establish contact with the missing aircraft until its return to Mactan, Cebu, Philippines Air Force spokesperson Colonel Maria Consuelo Castillo said in a statement on Tuesday. The Philippines has 12 FA-50 jets from South Korea and plans to acquire 12 more. The jets are used for various missions, including anti-insurgency operations and patrols in the South China Sea. Peace talks with communist rebels (the NPA) have stalled despite past attempts to resume negotiations. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted the Myanmar junta chief and extended his gratitude to the military leader who faced a potential arrest warrant at the international criminal court for alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims. It was military General Min Aung Hlaings fourth visit to Russia since he directed a coup in 2021 and ousted the administration of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, throwing the country into a civil war. However, it was the first time the general personally met the Russian president and held bilateral talks, where the two leaders heaped praises on each other. Myanmars military-run government had sent six elephants to Russia in January to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The gift coincided with Russia's completing delivery of six fighter jets to Myanmar, as part of so-called "elephant diplomacy" between two governments viewed dimly in Western capitals. open image in gallery Six baby elephants sent by Myanmar ( @Sputnik_India/X ) In the televised meeting at the Kremlin, General Hlaing referred to Mr Putin as a king and offered support for his war in Ukraine which has entered its fourth year. I believe that victory must be yours under your strong and decisive leadership, he told Mr Putin. Mr Putin hailed the steadily developing ties and substantive and constructive talks with General Hlaing, adding that Moscow and Naypidaw were bound by truly strong bonds of friendship, traditions of support, and mutual assistance, according to a statement from his office. open image in gallery Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Myanmar's military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow, Russia ( via REUTERS ) And of course, I cannot but thank you for your very warm gift: You brought us six elephants last year, and they have already been given to the Moscow Zoo, Mr Putin said. The warming of ties between head of the Myanmars beleaguered military and Mr Putin reflected closeness in strategic and diplomatic relations between the two countries that are viewed as pariahs by Western nations and faced a slew of sanctions. Western nations have imposed economic and political sanctions on Myanmar in response to the takeover and the violent repression of the opposition, which has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and given rise to an armed conflict widely seen as a civil war. Russia, along with China, is a major supporter and arms supplier to Myanmar. Russian-made fighter jets are used in attacks on territory under control of ethnic minority groups, many of them allies with pro-democracy resistance forces. open image in gallery Putin says General Min Aung Hlaing will attend Moscow military parade in May ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) Mr Putin noted that the bilateral trade has soared to 40 per cent between the two countries and signed an agreement on the construction of a small-scale nuclear plant in Myanmar. Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear power corporation, said the plant would have a capacity of 100mw with the possibility of trebling that capacity. Mr Putin also announced that a military unit from Myanmar would take part in the military parade in Moscow on 9 May marking the 80th anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany. He said General Hlaing would also attend. General Hlaing, 68, rarely travels abroad and avoids the media limelight as he struggles with an ongoing civil war in the country, a tattered economy in the country of 55 million which the United Nations says is in urgent need of aid. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan requested an arrest warrant for General Hlaing, alleging crimes against humanity related to the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority. This request is currently under review by ICC judges, who will determine whether to issue the warrant. In February this year, an Argentine court, invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, issued an arrest warrant against General Hlaing. Myanmar's military spokesperson dismissed the ruling as "baseless" and accused Argentina's judiciary of political interference Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for Myanmar's main opposition National Unity Government, said the military leader is in desperate need of international recognition and willing to trade the country's resources in exchange. "So, to maintain his power, he will go to countries that will recognise him and provide him with some kind of assistance," Nay Phone Latt told the Associated Press. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Wildfires are threatening the southeastern U.S. this month, with fast-moving blazes ripping across the dry Carolinas and Georgia. The fires come on the heels of an active fall season, with firefighting efforts extending into late November in the Northeast. The later fires are an ominous omen of the warmer future to come, with wildfire seasons becoming longer and more severe. Are more wildfires popping up along the East Coast now? Researchers have said there are but its complicated. The Carolina fires, which started last weekend weekend, have been fueled by low relative humidity, dry conditions, and whipping winds. In North Carolina, the results of Hurricane Helene also contributed to the fires, with significant storm debris especially vulnerable to wildfires due to increased fuel loading from downed timber, according to researchers. open image in gallery Smoke from the Carolina Forest Fire billows in the skies over South Carolina's Horry County. The wildfire has been driven by low relative humidity ( South Carolina Forestry Commission/Facebook ) The hurricane tore through the western part of the Tar Heel State, bringing flooding rain, knocking down trees, and resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people. While some area forests were left intact, others were decimated and millions of trees were lost, according to The Washington Post. Record-breaking rainfall from the storm has contributed to the growth of vegetation that is now drying out, the Union of Concerned Scientists noted. Thats incredibly similar to how West Coast atmospheric river storms can lead to similar future hazards with new vegetation that can fuel future fires. open image in gallery Wildfires tore across the Carolinas and Georgia this month, fueled by dry conditions. Are they a signal of more fires along the East Coast? ( Getty Images ) Rapidly alternating from wetter to drier weather thanks to human-driven climate change is what climatologist Daniel Swain has called hydroclimate whiplash. And, he warns, its speeding up around the globe. Swain has tied Californias deadly January wildfires to the process. The Los Angeles County area had not seen rain in months when the blazes broke out. Later, heavy rain in areas burned by wildfires led to debris flows. This whiplash sequence in California has increased fire risk twofold: first, by greatly increasing the growth of flammable grass and brush in the months leading up to fire season, and then by drying it out to exceptionally high levels with the extreme dryness and warmth that followed, Swain explained in a statement. Southern California had been under the threat of hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, with Red Flag Warnings issued for weeks as its massive blazes erupted. Red Flag Warnings indicate that conditions are ideal for wildfires and quick fire spread. There were an unusually high number of Red Flag Warnings for November across the Northeast. It was warm, with 2024 determined to be the hottest year on record. The autumns tristate fires also sparked during historic drought conditions that officials tied to climate change. open image in gallery Smoke rises from New Yorks Jennings Creek wildfire last fall, as the moon rises. Late-year fires in the Northeast occurred amid widespread and prolonged drought ( Getty Images ) The reality is the drought that we're currently experiencing is just one example of how a changing climate is impacting our state today not far off into the future but right now, in the here and now, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in November. Although the majority of wildfires are started by people, growing fire weather hazards are inextricably linked to climate change. Even the speed of Hurricane Helene was faster. Climate change is affecting weather conditions in ways that increase wildfire risks, according to the nonprofit Climate Central. The group warned that fire weather has become more common in the Northeast, with parts of northern New Jersey and coastal New York experiencing at least 10 more days of fire weather each year compared to the 1970s. Wildfire seasons are lengthening and intensifying, particularly in the West. Many parts of the East have seen smaller but impactful increases in fire weather days, Climate Central noted in November. open image in gallery Wildfire seasons are lengthening and intensifying, according to researchers. Large wildfire numbers are rising in the eastern U.S., researchers say ( AFP via Getty Images ) In 2023, researchers used data from nearly four decades to show that large wildfire numbers doubled from 2005 to 2018, compared to the previous two decades. The biggest increases were seen in the Southern Coastal Plains of Florida, portions of coastal Georgia, and South Carolina, according to the Geophysical Research Letters study. If trends continue, the densely-populated East Coast is going to need to be better prepared to respond to increases in fire weather, including preparation and management, experts warn. Officials with the North Carolina Forest Service said that staffing was already stretched thin this week. Theyre just not as prepared as the West, Yan Feng, an atmospheric and climate scientist at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, told The Washington Post. One things for certain, scientists say now. It will be harder to make accurate weather predictions in the future thanks to the Trump administrations devastation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service. Trump wants to privatize and pay-wall information that lets you know when to evacuate for a hurricane or a wildfire, or when to shelter for a tornado, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey noted Monday. NOAAs forecasting centers keep Americans safe and informed every day we cant afford to lose this lifesaving public service, he warned. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Former Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian has revealed that she is now cancer free following a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. The soap actor, 43, who has also starred in Doctors and The Bill, announced last year that she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer after finding a lump while breastfeeding her daughter, Isabella. I hadnt been breastfeeding Izzy [her 19-month-old daughter Isabella] at night but then David flew back to London for work and suddenly she was feeding like crazy, she told OK! Magazine at the time. I was thinking, Maybe shes having a growth spurt or something. And because of that, my boobs felt sore. The next morning, I woke up and thought, Ouch, this really hurts. And thats when I felt a lump. In an update on Instagram, Bastian wrote that she was in her final week of radiotherapy which should mark the end my active treatment. She added: I had my mastectomy in January which was thankfully a success and has healed really well, it proved that my chemo(therapy) had worked. As I sit here right now, Im free from cancer. I cant even believe it. The British star, who lives in West Cork, Ireland, with her husband David OMahony, thanked the nurses at Cork University Hospital who gave her compassion, time and space to share and talk about my experience of a very challenging treatment pathway, which she called an awful lot to process mentally and emotionally. To be coming out of the other side of this feels unreal, after the shock of a diagnosis its hard to let in the light and believe that it might just be OK, she added. The road back to my life wont be a linear one and I will share with you as always, as much of my truth of this experience as I can. I am so, so grateful for all of your support. People with cancer, experiencing cancer treatment need love. Full stop. Unconditional, arms around you love and support. Ive really felt that from you all, also in my day-to-day life from the most unexpected of places. When its dark, look for stars. Bastian said that she cant believe she is now cancer free ( Instagram/AliBastianInsta ) The 2009 Strictly Come Dancing semi-finalist shares another daughter, Isla Rose, with actor, writer and director husband OMahony, who she married in 2019. She played Becca Dean on Hollyoaks between 2002 and 2008. According to Cancer Research UK, stage 2 breast cancer is an early form of the condition, and can mean the disease is either in the breast or in the nearby lymph nodes, or both. Additional reporting by PA. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ash Wednesday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, signifying the beginning of the observance of Lent, which precedes Easter. This year, the day falls on Wednesday, March 5. It's observed by people from various sectors of Christianity, including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists. A cardinal has been designated to take Pope Franciss place at Vatican celebrations this year as the pontiff remains in hospital battling double pneumonia. The practices of Ash Wednesday, such as the placing of ashes on the foreheads of participants, go back centuries. The holiday is also the solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Christianitys most penitent season. Heres everything you need to know about Ash Wednesday: What does the day signify? open image in gallery A cardinal will take Pope Franciss place at Ash Wednesday celebrations this year as the pontiff remains in hospital ( AP ) Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of abstinence. Most adult Catholics who observe Lent will be fasting on February 14. As part of Lent, they go on to abstain from richer foods, such as various meats, until Easter. Some who take part also abstain from everyday habits such as watching excessive amounts of television. Christians take part in the annual period of Lent to commemorate Jesus Christ, who, according to biblical narrative, spent 40 days and nights fasting in the Judaean Desert while being tempted by Satan. When is it? open image in gallery Members of the clergy mark crosses on the foreheads of worshippers using ashes ( Getty Images ) This year, Ash Wednesday takes place on Wednesday, March 5. Ash Wednesday also occurs exactly 46 days before Easter Sunday, which falls on April 20. Ash Wednesday also occurs the day after Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day in the U.K. On Pancake Day, as the name suggests, it's customary to eat pancakes to use up the last of your indulgent ingredients before Lent. Meanwhile, Easter Sunday is always held on the first Sunday after a full moon following the Spring Equinox. How is it observed? Not all Christians observe Ash Wednesday, but for those who do, it typically involves attending a church service. During the service, clergy members either mark a cross on worshippers foreheads with ashes or sprinkle ashes over their heads as a symbol of repentance. The ashes, which are mixed with holy water or olive oil, are made by burning palm leaves on Shrove Tuesday. Palm Sunday occurs on April 13 this year, one week before Easter Sunday. The holiday commemorates Christ's entry into Jerusalem days before the Last Supper. As the cross is marked on a person's forehead by a member of the clergy, they say: Remember that you are guest, and to dust you shall return. Alternatively, the priest may say: Repent and believe in the gospel. Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Many women will have experienced some form of misogyny at work whether its pay inequality, being overlooked for a promotion after children, or everyday microaggressions it can be tough to know how to point it out in the moment, or raise it formally later. To mark this years International Womens Day (March 8), which celebrates the achievements of women, and marks a key date in the fight for gender equality, female CEOs, presidents and founders share their advice for other women dealing with sexism at work. Challenge misogynistic language Throughout my career, Ive learned that calling out sexism isnt just about the big moments its in the everyday conversations, the subtle biases, and the assumptions that go unchallenged, says Sue Doughty, partner of Aptia Group. I make a conscious effort to address problematic language. When words like nagging or going on are used to describe womens contributions terms rarely applied to men I dont let it slide. Whether in the moment or in a private conversation later, I make sure colleagues understand how certain words and attitudes can undermine women in the workplace. Equally important is ensuring that womens voices are heard. I actively encourage female colleagues to speak up in meetings, support their ideas, and challenge the notion that being assertive is a negative trait in women. Document everything Viviane Paxinos, CEO of AllBright supporting women in professional development and Everywoman UK which connects women in business, says: Firstly, document everything. Not because youre being paranoid, but because youre being smart. Those small comments, those jokes, those moments that made you uncomfortable write them down. Trust me, patterns emerge, and when they do, you want evidence, not just memory. Second, choose your moments wisely. Sometimes, the best approach is to address it in the moment, [asking] Could you explain what you mean by that? Other times, its about building your case and taking it through the proper channels. Both approaches are valid its about using the right tool for the situation. And remember: Youre not being difficult. Youre being a leader. Leadership often means having uncomfortable conversations that ultimately make workplaces better for everyone. Be ready to leave a job Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, president of the British Science Association and co-founder of the Stemettes, encouraging women and girls into STEM careers, says: My advice is two-fold. One is dont do it alone, therell be employee resource groups, theyll be networks, theyll be allies youll have. Its something youll have to do using existing structures internally in the workplace, to leverage that. And also, always be ready to move, already be ready to leave, always be ready to explore other places and other routes and options. Dont feel like its your fight that you have to fight in that particular workplace you dont always necessarily owe them that. Dont be afraid of open conversations Sexism and gender inequality persist when they go unchallenged, says Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving. Thats why its so important to call out inappropriate behaviour as it happens. Inequality thrives in silence and change only happens when people are willing to speak up. As leaders, we have a responsibility to set the tone open conversation about gender equality should be the norm, not the exception. When we make our voices heard, we build a workplace where transparency and accountability are expected, and discrimination has no place to hide. Pause after asking questions President of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership) Karen Stacey says her main piece of advice is to challenge decisions with an open-ended question. She suggests: Ask:, Why did you say that? and What did you mean? and then use the silence to your advantage. People always fill in the silence and usually, when they know they have said or done the wrong thing, come to that conclusion themselves and even work out how to rectify anything they have said that could be construed the wrong way. Use silence well, because it can often be your best weapon. Be quietly persistent Setting clear boundaries is crucial, says Ellie Byrne, CEO of Truffle Social. If you feel that your ideas or comments are being overlooked, keep bringing them to the table consistently and unapologetically. Dismiss the dismisser by refusing to let their ignorance shake your confidence. Over time, youll often find that repetitive sexism starts to lose its power when met with quiet persistence. It might take a few goes (and a lot of patience!) but remind yourself that confidence is built through knowing your own worth, and when you lean into it, others will too. Men, stand up too The onus for standing up to sexism should not be solely on women, points out chair and CEO of Kyriba, Melissa Di Donato. We need male colleagues to be vocal in calling out sexist behaviour. My advice is to not just let inappropriate behaviour slide because youre afraid of the repercussions doing so only does yourself and others a disservice. Seek allies and mentors in your company and industry. Talk to senior leaders and peers you trust; ask for their guidance and lean on them for support. Having allies will give you more confidence in calling out sexist behaviour and serve as an important reminder that youre not alone in facing bias. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A young couple separated by long distance due to Brexit heartache have finally found a loophole by making Ireland their home. Nathaniel Bacchus, 25, from Ipplepen in Devon, and Karin Kohlmetz, a 26-year-old from Esbjerg in Denmark, met online on a Discord server in May 2022 and they have been travelling the 900-mile distance between their respective homes ever since with dreams to get married and start a family in the future. After Karin applied for a spouse or partner visa with hopes to move to the UK, the couple discovered they faced a fee of 88,500 for a UK spouse visa, prompting them to ask the public for financial support on GoFundMe. The fee made their plans feel like a fantasy but after sharing their experience on TikTok, they received a message urging them to relocate to Ireland. Part of the European Union, the country allows UK and EU citizens to stay without restriction, providing they are working or they have enough funds to support themselves, and the pair feel like a weight has lifted as they prepare to move and settle down together once and for all. open image in gallery The pair were urged to look into moving to Ireland by one of their TikTok followers (Collect/PA Real Life) Speaking to PA Real Life while together in Denmark, Karin, who is completing a three-year visual communication degree, said: Every time we leave each other were thinking Were never going to see each other again, but eventually, were going to be able to say See you at home. 88,000 seemed like a fantasy number but now theres no tricky requirements, its just the money we need to live. I was a bit shocked as our solution has been right there the whole time but we had such tunnel vision between England and Denmark. open image in gallery Nathaniel and Karin standing together in front of a white Christmas tree Nathaniel, who is currently unemployed but is about to start a job as a social media manager, said: It seems way too good to be true, weve spent so many nights googling it and we still didnt really believe it every other way just seems so much more complicated. The couple initially had their hearts set on living together in the UK and while Denmark was also an option for the pair, it was thought the language barrier for Nathaniel and Karins education being more applicable to a variety of jobs would set them in better stead to live in England. However, as Nathaniel did not meet the minimum income requirement to sponsor someone for a spouse or partner visa in the UK, an income threshold of at least 29,000 a year, their dreams appeared to be scuppered. open image in gallery The pair are looking to meet with an Irish immigration lawyer in the coming weeks (Collect/PA Real Life) A couple with no relevant earnings who are looking to meet the threshold entirely in savings need a lump sum of 88,500, according to the UK Government and while the couple appealed for public funding through GoFundMe, they knew it would take years to reach the full amount. After sharing their experience on TikTok however, they were approached by one of their followers about looking into the possibility of relocating to Ireland together. Someone actually contacted us privately and asked Have you thought about Ireland?' Karin said. Nathaniel said: It just missed our radar for the first year or so, but it seems a lot more achievable and it definitely took a weight off our shoulders. open image in gallery Nathaniel lives in Devon and Karin lives in Denmark (Collect/PA Real Life) As a member of the EU, Ireland participates in freedom of movement which allows UK and EU nationals to live and work there without the need for visas or work permits, according to the government of Ireland. An EU citizen, such as Karin, can enter the country and stay there for up to three months, or six months if they are looking for a job, without restriction, according to Citizens Information. If they would like to stay longer than three months, they have to be working, have enough funds to support themselves, or be enrolled as a student. open image in gallery Even if we have to have two, three jobs, well do whatever we can to live in the same country, Nathaniel said. Karin added: Ideally, I would like a job that has something to do with my education but I cant be picky, Im not going to be picky. Nathaniel and Karin first met on an online Discord server in May 2022, where they started to play video games together and chat online before realising they had an extra fondness for each other. open image in gallery The couple have visited each other several times since they first met in person in 2022 (Collect/PA Real Life) Nathaniel flew to Denmark in November 2022 to meet Karin for the first time and the pair have been going the distance between their respective homes ever since. The initial hurdles they needed to jump over to live together started to cause some anxiety between the pair, especially when they would leave each other. A relationship cant work if youre not connecting physically every once in a while, Karin said. Emotionally, ever since this Ireland thing has come up, a lid has been put on the anxiety around our distance. Were actually able to have a conversation now about how we want to run a home together. The couple are looking to initiate their plans as soon as possible and are toying with which area they would like to settle in including Dublin, Cork or somewhere off the beaten path. They have kept their GoFundMe page open for now, raising just over 800 so far, which they will use to help them with the costs of relocating when the time comes. open image in gallery They are looking to meet with an Irish immigration lawyer in the coming weeks to begin setting their plans in motion. Its freeing, it doesnt seem so far away now and we could actually get this done before the end of next year, Nathaniel said. They also urged other international long-distance couples to keep doing research into the various solutions to living together. open image in gallery Keep planning for it, get into the communities and talk to people who relate to your situation, Karin said. If that one person had not said anything about Ireland, we would never have been where we are now. Keep trying to find a solution, theres going to be one one way or another. To find out more, visit the couples GoFundMe page here: gofundme.com/f/projectcominghome Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A mother has died from a mystery illness after a last minute decision to have arm tuck surgery in Turkey, an inquest has heard. Anne Towlson, 58, was found dead at home having complained that her arm was killing her days earlier. She was found with open wounds to her armpits and triceps. However, a post-mortem examination to determine her cause of death was inconclusive. In the days prior to her death, Towlson sent the Istanbul hospital that carried out the surgery a video of her weeping and swollen arm and was told it would be shown to a doctor but she never received any help. Now, a coroner has issued a stark warning to Brits about the dangers of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery. In a prevention of future deaths report published on Tuesday, assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, Isobel Thistlethwaite, said Mrs Towlson had travelled to Turkey in April 2024 where she underwent a pre-planned tummy tuck and liposuction. When she arrived at the Green Park Hospital in Pendic, Istanbul, she was told she could have an arm tuck surgery as well, and agreed to the procedure in a last minute decision, her inquest heard. Immediately after her surgery, Mrs Towlson complained that her right arm was hurting and her compression garments were too tight. Her right hand was said to have swelled up like a balloon and was seeping a clear liquid, the inquest was told. open image in gallery A coroner has issued a stark warning to Brits about the dangers of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery ( Alamy/PA ) She stayed in hospital for three days before returning to a hotel where she found she was leaking a yellow and slightly odorous fluid from her arms which would stain the hotel pillows, the inquest heard. Mrs Towlson, who was using WhatsApp to communicate with the Turkish medics, returned to the hospital twice where she was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and a cream to take with her, the inquest was told. She flew home to Manchester Airport on May 3, nine days after the surgery. From May 4 to the time she died, her internet search history included infected stitches symptoms, and armpit yeast infection symptoms, the inquest heard. On May 7, she sent a video of her arm and armpit with a sticky yellow and white pus present to the hospital. They responded saying that they would show the video to a doctor, that was the last WhatsApp communication received from the hospital, the coroners report said. On May 11, Mrs Towlson was seen by her neighbour and was said to be communicating with her daughter. She told her daughter her tummy was ok but her arm was killing her, the inquest heard. Six days later, the mother was found dead at her home. Police attended the scene and took photographs which clearly show the tummy tuck wound healing nicely but show open wounds to Mrs Towlsons armpits and triceps, her right arm was said to be weeping and swollen, the report said. The surgery to both arms remained unhealed. Her inquest was unable to secure any information from the Turkish hospital, coroner Ms Thistlethwaite said. We have no information about whether any independent inquiries were made either by the company who organised Mrs Towlsons trip to Turkey for surgery, or the Turkish Hospital itself as to whether Mrs Towlson was fit for surgery, she said. We have not been able to secure her medical records so have no understanding of what exactly the surgery consisted of, or what post-operative care and treatment was provided. On the balance of probabilities, Mrs Towlson was not given enough time to properly consider this decision, the coroner added. Outlining her concerns for other Britons considering travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery, Ms Thistlethwaite said: British citizens are travelling abroad for significant and serious surgical operations with seemingly little in the way of follow up and no way to return easily to the operating Hospital if they encounter complications once they are back in the UK. This is not only dangerous but could place a significant burden on the NHS. A copy of the coroners report was sent to Green Park Hospital in Turkey, as well as the British Association of Aesthetics and Plastic Surgeons. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Actor Ione Skye just spilled all the juicy details about her former flames and disastrous flings in her new memoir, Say Everything which is officially released on March 4 including the affairs she had with the late Matthew Perry and her popular co-star John Cusack. The 54-year-old Hollywood star is best known for her roles in the 1986 crime thriller Rivers Edge, the 1989 romance film Say Anything, and the 2000s television series Good Girls. A self-described serial cheater, Skye takes readers through her not-so-glamorous life in the city of angels, starting from the moment she landed her first role in Say Anything at 16, navigating fame without a father and dealing with the harsh reality of her hearts desires. open image in gallery Ione Skye starred in Rivers Edge, Say Anything and Good Girls ( AFP via Getty Images ) From sleeping with the ultra-famous John Cusack to spending too much time with the emotionally distant Matthew Perry, here are four of the biggest revelations about Skyes tumultuous love life, as shared in her memoir. Dating Anthony Kiedis At 16, Skye had already landed her big break, starring as John Cusacks love interest, Diane Court, in the movie Say Anything. She was also beginning her first serious relationship with her then-boyfriend, Red Hot Chilli Peppers lead Anthony Kiedis, who was 24 years old at the time and just out of rehab for his heroin addiction. open image in gallery Anthony Kiedis and Ione Skye famously dated when she was only 16 years old and he was 25 years old ( Getty Images ) According to Skye, she and the rockstar were instantly full-blown, instantly emeshed. But the honeymoon period didnt last long at all. Right away, he started disappearing on binges slow-motion heroin rampages that lasted for three days or so the binges terrified me, she recalled in her memoir. Skye went on to admit she would spend all hours of the night looking for Kiedis during his drug episodes. I thought I had to save him, she wrote. I'm happy I knew Anthony Kiedis, she said. And [Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist] Flea, but I wish I'd met them ten years later and never dated them. Her relationship with the music icon ended by the time she was 18. Cheating on Adam Horovitz Skye met her first husband, Adam Horovitz, at 18. In her memoir, she described the Beastie Boys rapper, nicknamed Ad-Rock, as her first great love. open image in gallery Adam Horovitz and Ione Skye tied the knot in 1992, spending seven years together before parting ways in 1999 ( Getty ) Skyes brother Donovan Leitch introduced her to Horovitz, and before long, the two were married. The duo officially tied the knot in 1992 when Skye was 21 and Horovitz was 25, spending seven rocky years together before ultimately splitting up in 1999. In her book, Skye confessed she cheated on Horovitz multiple times throughout their marriage. I was a serial cheater, Skye wrote, noting how shed hoped her relationship with Horovitz would change her habit of infidelity. Indeed, it didnt. Skye became involved in several affairs, specifically with women. She dated Alice Temple, Jenny Shimizu, and Madonnas ex-partner, Ingrid Casares, all while she was with Horovitz. The actor remembered a major turning point in her marriage when Horovitz caught her with a woman named Mai Lei. Skye met Lei while Horovitz was on tour. Within minutes, I could tell wed get together and it would be different with her, she said of Lei, describing their affair as the true beginning of the end of my marriage. If youve never cheated, I admire you, but I really dont expect you to understand why I would do what I was doing to the love of my life. I still dont truly understand it myself, she continued. I wasnt loyal to her, she confessed. (There were other girls too). I loved her, thought her smile lit up the world. From the inside, I liked the life-within-a-life I had with her, Skye continued. However, everything came to a head in January 1996. I heated the pool and Mai Lei and I spent several decadent hours splashing and playing, floating and talking, she remembered. [Mai Lei] swam to me in the shallow end and I took her in my arms, holding her like a bride the way Adam had held me in the pool at Le Parc the night he asked me to move in with him. Then I saw a figure in the house. The water went cold. Adam. He stood just inside the glass doors that opened from our bedroom to the back patio and the pool. Mai Lei hadnt seen him yet. She was still prone in my arms, black hair fanned in the water, talking in the fast, excited voice of a twenty-three-year-old girl telling a good story, she continued. I waved to Adam. He didnt wave back, just turned and walked into the next room. I felt like throwing up in the pool I couldnt speak. I felt as if Id just witnessed a car crash, and Adam had been in the car. As if the world were ending. I was so, so afraid, she wrote. Once Lei left, Skye finally got the courage to go inside. Adam said nothing, she recalled. Just held me as I sobbed and dripped onto his shoulder. Sleeping with John Cusack After her divorce from Horovitz, Skye reconnected with her former co-star, John Cusack, who shed had a crush on. open image in gallery John Cusak and Ione Skye slept together years after Say Anything premiered ( Getty Images ) The two maintained a friendly relationship on set but never pursued anything romantic until years after the film premiered. That said, Skye said she and Cusack always knew they had a crush on each other. I had to get it out of my system, she said of sleeping with Cusack. Skye shared what shed written about their intimate escapades with Cusack, who wasnt so pleased with the portrayal of it. In fact, Skye revealed to People that Cusack texted her and said: You made the experience sound so meh! It wasnt meh for me. Secretly hooking up with Matthew Perry Before Skye eventually married Ben Lee in 2008, she spent time in a secret relationship with the late Matthew Perry, who died at the age of 54 due to acute effects of ketamine and subsequently drowning in his hottub in 2023. open image in gallery Ione Skye supposedly slept with Matthew Perry twice years before he died at age 54 ( Getty Images for GQ ) Skye had worked with the Friends lead on A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon years before she received a late-night booty call from him. Perry had asked her if she wanted to meet him for a sober drink. I was curious, and he was adorable and handsome and rich and presumably sober, so I said yes, Skye wrote. Somehow I didnt see Chandler from Friends, I saw the boy I knew when we were 16 and 17. It didnt take long for the two to end the night in bed together. The sex was perfectly pleasant, Skye remembered. Though the silent talking heads on the flat-screen distracted me and Matthew seemed far away. Neither of us gave it our all. The pair slept together a second, and final, time the next week, but she didnt see him again after that. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Natalie Nadya Suleman also known as Octomom has spoken about her biggest regret after welcoming 14 children. The single parent first made headlines in 2009, after she was implanted with 12 embryos by a fertility specialist in Beverly Hills. The implantation resulted in the first-ever successful birth of octuplets: Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah, and Nariyah. Before receiving her signature moniker, Suleman was already a mother of six children: Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Caleb, Joshua, and Aidan. Now, Suleman who faced backlash for having eight children when she was already a busy parent is looking back on her last pregnancy. During that time, she was actually only hoping for one more baby. However, Dr. Michael Kamarava later confessed to implanting 12 embryos in her, despite saying hed only implanted six, and lost his medical license as a result. Still, Suleman said that while she wouldnt change the family she now has, she regrets that she didnt take legal action against Kamarava. I dont think Id do too much differently, she told People in an interview published on Wednesday. I do regret not suing the infertility doctor. I definitely regret that because his insurance wouldve been the one paying, and it wouldve been some millions, and it wouldve been helpful for my family. Natalie Suleman regrets not suing her fertility specialist after he implanted 12 embryos in her ( Lifetime ) She shared that when she was expecting her octuplets, she was living with her parents and struggling financially. I regret that I kind of threw myself under the bus to cover for him, and I shouldnt have but I was grateful. I wouldnt have had any of my kids if it weren't for his innovative technique, she explained. No one else in the world did this type of procedure, so I didnt have it in my heart to sue him. She said that she did sue the hospital for breaching HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects patients medical records and information. According to Suleman, the hospital was the reason why [she] ended up in the public eye. Back in 2009, Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, California, was fined $250,000 for unauthorized employee access to Suleman's medical records. At the time, 25 employees had inappropriate access to those records, with 15 of them either terminated or resigned. Eight other employees faced other disciplinary actions. Suleman is now back in the limelight with her documentary Confessions of Octomom, and a movie based on the criticism she got when she welcomed her eight children, I Was Octomom, premiering on Lifetime this week. In 2013, after years in the spotlight, she opted to raise her children privately. I had stopped wanting to do it from day one. I was violating my boundaries and my value system and my own self, she said at the time. I didnt think of it at the time because I was in survival mode, and I was doing whatever I possibly could to provide for my kids. There was definitely a catalyst my girls, particularly my oldest daughter, Ameerah. She was about 10, and she started integrating my traits and behaviors. Last November, Suleman celebrated a new milestone: Becoming a grandmother. On Instagram, she posted a photo showing a baby girls tiny foot peeking from underneath a pink blanket. Without revealing which of her 10 sons the daughter belonged to, Suleman gushed over the latest addition to her huge family. Thank you my son and my lovely daughter in law for giving us this beautiful gift! she wrote in the caption. We are so blessed that she is a new addition to our family! Baby girl you are so very loved and we cant wait to watch you grow!! 8/30/24. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A former amateur rugby player, who has terminal prostate cancer, has said that he could have been diagnosed with the disease much earlier if he had undergone one simple test. Kevin Williams, who was 55 when he was first diagnosed, is dealing with similar complications faced by Olympic legend Chris Hoy, 48, who announced in February that he was being treated for cancer. However, after a scan last September showed a tumour in his shoulder, a second scan found the main cancer to be in his prostate which has since spread to Hoys shoulder, pelvis, hip, ribs and spine.after his cancer also spread to his bones. Williams, from Pyle, South Wales, had no symptoms before his diagnosis and was initially told by his GP that he had a bladder infection after passing blood in his urine. The local hospital did a cystoscopy [a procedure using a camera on the bladder] and reported a small polyp which they said theyd have me in to remove and that would be the end of things, Williams told The i newspaper. It was only after booking a CT scan myself privately to be on the safe side, that I was told I had metastatic prostate cancer. open image in gallery Sir Chris Hoy is urging people to help raise money for cancer charities (Tim Ireland/PA) ( PA Wire ) Seven years later, after being placed on a key hormonal drug called abiraterone, Williams remains optimistic about his future but wants to emphasise the need for mass testing in the future. Its frustrating as I should have been diagnosed much sooner, but it just shows that we need mass testing so that people are getting picked up at a time which gives them a really good chance of beating the disease, he added. According to the report, Williams did not receive a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, an examination which may have told doctors about his cancer earlier and could have prevented it from spreading. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is a blood test which is used to check for prostate conditions including prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate. Routine PSA testing is not currently offered on the NHS, but patients may be offered a PSA test if a GP suspects they have prostate cancer. Men over the age of 50 can ask their GP for a PSA test, even if they do not have symptoms. open image in gallery A prostate cancer screening ( Getty Images ) New research has found there is a significant variation between GP surgeries in the proportion of men with no symptoms (asymptomatic) who are given the test. Researchers said that the variation speaks to the ongoing lack of clarity regarding prostate cancer screening practice in the UK. People have shown that if we can target the androgen receptor with drugs, patients can respond to that and it can keep the disease at bay for a number of years, says Adam Sharp, a prostate oncologist at The Institute of Cancer Research, told The i newspaper. Around 55,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and around 12,000 men die from the disease each year in the UK. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A cannabis farmer jailed for more than three years has avoided deportation after judges ruled doing so would deprive his daughter of a male role model Albanian national Xhoni Leka arrived in the UK in 2013 and was repeatedly refused residency before being caught in possession of class B drugs with intent to supply in 2020. He was sentenced to 40 months in jail in September of the same year after being caught by police with his accomplice Gjergji Braculla running a cannabis farm packed with 1,300 plants in Whitehaven, Cumbria. Leka was set to be deported but successfully appealed against the order by claiming it would breach his rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects an individuals right to a family life. Upper tribunal judges ruled it would be unduly harsh on his four-year-old daughter as it would leave her without a male role model, an immigration tribunal heard. Judges Fiona Lindsley and Mark Symes found Leka had a particularly close relationship with his daughter and was central to providing her with a loving home. The judges also concluded that Lekas wife, a Czech national, would struggle to live in Albania as she did not speak the language and would lack family members to assist with integration in the Balkan country. However, the tribunal did hear the argument that life in Albania would not be severe or bleak. It comes after a Jamaican drug dealer avoided deportation under ECHR laws after he promised to only smoke cannabis and not sell it. Shawn Rickford McLeod, 40, came to Britain in 2000 and was issued with a deportation order after being jailed for three years and four months for three counts of supplying class A drugs. He also appealed against the decision on the grounds that it would breach his rights to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as he had three young children in the UK with his wife. Hearing the appeal, Judge David Chaim Brannan ruled that deportation would be unduly harsh and accepted McLeod genuinely wants to avoid reoffending (except for cannabis use) so he can care for his children. The Home Office challenged the decision in the upper tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, with a different judge, Karim-ullah Akbar Khan, finding there had been a material error of law applied - with the case set to be reheard this year. I find there is a material error of law as a result of the judge's inadequate and confused reasoning. The judge was well aware, that the appellant intended to continue to use cannabis, the Judge Khan said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Two men have been found guilty of multiple sexual offences after a court heard how two vulnerable teenagers were regularly raped over months in Rotherham. Sheffield Crown Court was told during a five-week trial how the girls were sexually assaulted several times a week over a period of six months in the South Yorkshire town by a gang of men. Prosecutors said the teenagers were powerless to prevent the actions of older and more mature individuals determined to exploit them for sexual purposes. On Monday, Romulad Stefan Houphouet, who is now 37, and Absolom Sigiyo, now 41, were found guilty of a number of offences including rape. A third defendant, Jacek Brzozowski, now 35, was cleared of the one charge he was facing in the trial, of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he admitted a charge of penetrative sexual activity with a child earlier this year. open image in gallery Jacek Brzozowski ( NCA/PA Wire ) Ivorian national Houphouet, of Burngreave in Sheffield, and Sigiyo, a Zimbabwean national of Catcliffe in Rotherham, will be sentenced on Wednesday, Judge Sarah Wright said as she remanded both in custody. Polish national Brzozowski, of Rawmarsh, Rotherham, was bailed and will be sentenced on April 14. When the trial opened last month, prosecutor Gordon Stables told a jury both the complainants were living in a childrens home when they were befriended by the defendants and also other associates. Mr Stables said these were all older men in their twenties, or thereabouts, whose sole intention was to engage in penetrative sexual activity with them, knowing they were under the age of consent. The prosecutor said: The defendants gained the girls trust and confidence by plying them with alcohol and giving them cigarettes at house parties, and offering them flirtatious attention. He said: Both girls became conditioned to having regular sexual intercourse with the same male. Psychologically, the girls were made to feel that sexual activity was how they repaid the debt they owed the defendants for the provision of alcohol and tobacco. Once the males were sexually satisfied, however, the girls were treated as having served their purpose at least temporarily and they were often then ignored and expected to make their own way home. In this way, (the girls) were sexually groomed within an environment of dependency. Mr Stables explained how Houphouet befriended the two girls in Rotherham town centre one evening more than 10 years ago and raped one of them in an alleyway that night. He said Houphouet took both girls the short distance to a house in the town and introduced them to Sigiyo and other males who were undoubtedly present. It became clear from the outset that Houphouet had picked one of the girls as his victim and Sigiyo had chosen the other, Mr Stables told the jury. The convictions are the latest following the National Crime Agencys investigation into child sexual sexploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, which is called Operation Stovewood. It was set up in the wake of the landmark Jay Report which found in 2014 that at least 1,400 girls were abused by gangs of men of mainly Pakistani heritage in Rotherham between those dates. The NCA says Stovewood is the single largest law enforcement operation of its kind undertaken in the UK, and has identified more than 1,100 children involved in the exploitation between 1997 and 2013 almost all girls. Previous estimates have put the cost of Operation Stovewood at about 90 million. Senior investigating officer Kath Blain said: This is one of the most harrowing cases I have investigated. Sigiyo and Houphouet lured two vulnerable girls to parties where they kept the children intoxicated so they could abuse them in the worst ways. Brzozwski contributed to their suffering, including by having sex with one of the girls who he knew was a child and vulnerable. The victims have shown extraordinary bravery in reporting their abuse. What happened to them can never be undone, but I hope the verdicts today will at least give them a sense that their abusers have been held to account and justice has been done. The National Crime Agency continues to pursue justice for numerous other people who we have identified were abused as children. I really encourage anyone who was abused as a child to report it to the police. Martin McRobb, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: These defendants preyed on vulnerable young girls who they knew they could groom with alcohol and gifts with the sole aim of repeatedly sexually exploiting them. The victims in this case are now adults but they have had to live with the trauma caused by the vile and serious sexual offences committed against them in their youth. We know it can be difficult to talk about such abuse, and I would like to extend my thanks to the victims for the courage and fortitude they showed in coming forward and giving evidence against these men. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A serial sex predator is suspected of raping more than 60 women while studying in London, as the Met Police launch an urgent appeal for victim-survivors. Zhenhao Zou, 28, has been convicted of raping 10 women between 2019 and 2023 by drugging them during social encounters, raping them at his flat, filming the encounters and keeping twisted souvenirs such as jewellery and underwear from his victims. An investigation into his offending discovered a trove of material on a number of mobile devices and cameras totalling more than 1,660 hours of footage, which has led police to conclude that a large number of victims remain unidentified. open image in gallery The appeal poster put out by police to trace potential victims of Zhenhao Zou ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) Describing the UCL PhD student as one of the most prolific and substantial sex offenders the Met have come across in recent years, his true number of victims remains unknown as investigators continue to trawl through 6.5 terabytes of data seized from his devices. It was discovered that his pattern of offending would regularly include speaking to women online, before inviting them to his student flat at Woburn Place or his luxury apartment in Elephant and Castle on the pretext of studying or socialising. He would give them a spiked drink before sexually assaulting and raping them. Secret cameras were hidden around the room to capture his actions. During his trial at Inner London Crown Court, Zou told jurors that his favourite kind of pornography was time-stop, which features women who are immobile or asleep. It was after analysis of graphic and disturbing material held on his device that we were able to uncover the scale of his offending, DCI Vanessa Britton said. open image in gallery Screengrab of Zou being arrested by police ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) We believe there may be more than 60 other women who may be victim-survivors and are not yet identified by the police. This figure includes the 10 women offences against whom he has been found guilty of at trial, yet only two of his victims have been identified and were able to support the prosecution case. A further 50 victims have been identified in videos appearing unconscious and unable to consent to sexual activity. Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: Zou was clearly a dangerous, prolific and predatory individual who preyed on his victim-survivors in the most cowardly and despicable manner. In addition to the charges that youve seen brought during this trial, we also have evidence that he may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature, and thats why were launching this appeal now in the hope that as many of those victim-survivors as possible will come forward and give us the opportunity to give them the support that they deserve, and ultimately bring him to the further justice that he deserves for what he has done. open image in gallery A camera used to film one rape, which was shown to the jury during Zous trial ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) From his flight data and the data pulled from the footage, police believe half of the victims are in China. Speaking to reporters, the detectives leading the case confirmed that his target demographic was mainly young Chinese women who may have been studying or living in London. Describing the investigation as unprecedented and painstaking, DCI Britton said: Ultimately this figure is an indicative figure of what we believe the offending is. It may be more than that. Zou first moved to the UK in 2017 from China to study at Queens University in Belfast, before going on to study for a PhD at the prestigious UCL in 2019. During that period, he resided in student halls in Bloomsbury before moving to the luxurious Uncle building in south London. He had been considered a model student and had been sociable throughout his time in the UK, attending nightclubs and throwing parties. open image in gallery Zou had placed secret cameras inside his bedroom to film himself abusing women ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) It was during this period that he also admitted to consuming Class A drugs such as cocaine and ketamine. He also underwent plastic surgery that included a hair transplant and alterations to his eyelids, chin and teeth. Upon his arrest, police said he was charming and self-assured during interviews despite the evidence in the videos clearly showing him in a different light. His flat cost thousands of pounds per month in rent and was full of designer clothing, luxury accessories and bags. Zou told jurors his father worked for a state-owned enterprise. Zou first came to the attention of police in May 2023, when a woman reported that she had been raped at his flat. open image in gallery Another camera, which was used to film two rapes ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) The Met has since said they have severe regret over the way this initial report was handled. There were difficulties with the translator and the call handler was impatient. The victim did not pursue the allegation at that time, but police found a social media post in February 2024 in which she gave her account of what happened. When contacted by detectives, she said that she had been invited back to Zous flat for a drink after a gathering, and that he had forced her to drink vodka and refused to let her leave, before raping her. The second victim identified by police made contact with the first woman in response to social media posts of hers on LittleRedBook and WeChat, and gave her account of what had happened to her. open image in gallery Zou preyed on young Chinese women, drugging and raping them at his flat ( Metropolitan Police/PA ) She had consensual sex with Zou on one occasion in September 2021. The following month, after a dinner with friends, she found herself alone with him in the street in Chinatown and remembers vomiting. Her next memory is of Zou raping her at his flat. She told police that she had asked him to stop before she lost consciousness. When his flat was searched a trophy box filled with womens possessions was found in his wardrobe. The force said they are keeping an open mind but are keen to speak to anyone who may have studied with or known Zou while he lived in London, and anyone who may have socialised with him in China or online. Zou has been convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim, as well as three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug, butanediol, with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. The Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force either by emailing survivors@met.police.uk, or through the major incident public portal on the forces website. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Chinese PhD student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China is feared to have targeted more than 50 more potential victims. Persistent sexual predator Zhenhao Zou, 27, had presented himself as a smart and charming young man, but had in fact been preying on vulnerable women, often while they were semi-unconscious, and keeping the twisted videos as souvenirs. He has been found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women before covertly filming them in a string of sex attacks, after a month-long trial at Inner London Crown Court. open image in gallery The camera used to film two of the rapes ( Metropolitan Police/PA Wire ) Judge Rosina Cottage said he was a dangerous and predatory sexual offender and warned him he faced a very long jail term when he is sentenced on 19 June. The student, who moved to Belfast in 2017 to study at Queens University before coming to London in 2019 to do a masters degree and then a PhD at UCL, denied all 35 of the charges. He has been convicted of raping three of the women between September 2019 and May 2023, while he was studying in London, while the other seven victims were assaulted in China. Only two of the victims shown in his videos have been identified by the police, while the other eight remain unidentified. But police believe more than 50 women may have fallen prey to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders ever in the UK. They found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China. He was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug, butanediol, with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence. open image in gallery An international appeal is being launched to trace dozens more potential victims who may have fallen prey to rapist Zhenhao Zou (PA) He first came to the attention of the Met Police in May 2023, when one of the identified women claimed that he had raped her after not allowing her to leave his flat in Elephant and Castle, southeast London. She did not pursue the allegation at that point but later, in February 2024, investigators found a social media post in which the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave her account of what had happened. When contacted by detectives, the alleged victim told them that on 18 May 2023 Zou invited her to his friends flat for a drink, and then back to his apartment. open image in gallery Zou told jurors that his favourite pornography was of women sleeping (Elizabeth Cook/PA) ( PA Wire ) They were drinking wine together but she began to find him odd and boring and wanted to leave, but he would not let her go, the court heard. She said she was crying on the floor, and when she tried to run away he dragged her back by her clothes, before pushing her to drink a big glass of vodka and then raping her while she was unconscious. Police found video footage of the alleged attack and graphic photographs of the alleged victim in Zous possession upon his arrest. The second victim who has been identified by police, got in contact with the first woman in response to social media posts she had made on LittleRedBook and WeChat giving her account of what had happened. She had consensual sex with Zou on one occasion in September 2021 then, the following month after a dinner with friends, she found herself alone with him in the street in Chinatown and remembers vomiting. Her next memory is Zou allegedly raping her at his flat. She told police that she had asked him to stop before she lost consciousness. It is claimed that Zou had video recordings of him raping a number of other women while they were unconscious and unable to consent. open image in gallery A camera used to film one alleged rape, which was shown to the jury during the trial of Zhenhao Zou (Metropolitan Police/PA) ( PA Media ) Footage shows two of them telling him to stop as they struggle to stay awake, it is claimed, with the student telling one of them: The sound insulation here is very good. In text message exchanges between him and the first identified victim in the days after the rape, she told him you are so disgusting and you should feel guilty for what you did. Among the disturbing videos shown in court was footage of an attack on a woman that is believed to have taken place at his student flat in Woburn Place near Russell Square in London. He was also convicted of rapes believed to have taken place in his native China, because foreign nationals living in the UK can be charged with offences committed abroad if the crime is also illegal in the country where it took place. Giving evidence, Zou told jurors that his favourite pornography involved sleeping women, and that he watched specialist timestop more than any other genres. Asked by his lawyer Mark Cotter KC why that particular genre appealed to him, Zou said: I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex. Mr Cotter then asked Zou: What about being asleep? The student replied: Yes, thats my favourite type. But I could not find that. open image in gallery Zou had lured women to his flat under the premise of drinks before raping them ( Metropolitan Police/PA Wire ) He also said that he came into contact with cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ketamine from parties and going to nightclubs in London, and that he had bought xanax after meeting a drug dealer at a party because he suffered from insomnia. Prosecutors said Zou appeared to be "a smart and charming young man", but was in fact "a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist". Jurors had to watch footage of nine of the rapes during court proceedings, appearing visibly upset and being given regular breaks as the troubling material was shown. The jury rejected Zous claims that the sexual interactions were consensual and that the women consumed the drugs and alcohol voluntarily. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. open image in gallery The appeal poster put out by police to trace potential victims of Zhenhao Zou. (Metropolitan Police/PA) He said he was born in Guangdong Province in China to a father who works in a state-owned enterprise and a mother who works as a teacher. His family are wealthy, and he had enough money to afford a Rolex, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, while paying thousands a month in rent, the court heard. Between March 2020 and July 2021 he returned to China due to the Covid pandemic, and said he was online for a lot of time during the pandemic, adding sometimes, a whole day. Zou said he had undertaken cosmetic operations in China including a hair transplant and operations on his eyelids, adding that he often wore make-up. After he was convicted, Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, thanked the courageous women who reported Zous heinous crimes. They have been incredibly strong and brave there is no doubt that their evidence helped us to secure today's verdict, she said. Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. Being part of the prosecution team on this case has been incredibly challenging, having to review the evidence and see what he did to women, many of whom were unconscious and rendered defenceless by the drugs he had given them. The prosecution team has worked with the police for over a year to pick apart an unprecedented amount of footage and web chats showing his meticulous planning and the horrifying execution of his crimes. Ms Pike said prosecutors had not been able to identify all of his victims, and without knowing who the women were, they had been unable to support them through a deeply distressing time. Judge Cottage KC thanked the jury, saying it was a "mammoth task" and that their "hearts must've dropped to some extent" when they heard what the case was about. She excused them from jury service for 20 years. UCLs President and Provost Dr Michael Spence said the university had been appalled by Zous crimes, that the prevalence of sexual harassment, violence and abuse in society is extremely alarming. Support is available through the university for anyone who has been affected either directly or indirectly. Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Ed Davey has called on Sir Keir Starmer to request the urgent extradition of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan from America to face justice in the UK. The self-described misogynist and his brother left Romania for the US last Thursday, where they were being investigated for crimes including human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all wrongdoing. Speaking in PMQs, the Liberal Democrat leader pointed out that four British women had also accused Tate and his brother of rape and human trafficking and police in the UK had issued arrest warrants for them. He asked: Does the prime minister agree that people who are wanted by British Police of such appalling crimes should stand trial in our country? And given his assessment that President Trump really is a reliable ally, will his government request an urgent extradition of the Tate brothers? open image in gallery Ed Davey put pressure on Starmer over the Tate brothers ( House of Commons/AFP via Getty I ) Mr Daveys question to Mr Starmer received cheers in the House of Commons as the prime minister prepared to respond. Sir Keir said: This is a live issue as hell appreciate, therefore Ill tread carefully. The principle is absolutely clear that justice must be done in all cases, including in this case. But I wont go into the details because this is a live case, as he knows. The Tate brothers had been under a travel ban which prevented them from leaving Romania while they were under investigation there. But last week Romanias anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, confirmed prosecutors had approved a request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania. The agency added: These include the requirement to appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned. open image in gallery Andrew Tate and his brother face criminal charges in the UK, Romania and US now ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure. Romanias ministers denied that Donald Trumps administration had put any pressure on officials regarding the case against the brothers. President Trump, who at the time was meeting with Sir Keir in the Oval Office, said of their arrival in Florida: I know nothing about that. I don't know, you're saying he's on a plane right now? I just know nothing about it. We'll check it out. We'll let you know. But hours later Florida governor Ron DeSantis made it clear that they were not welcome in Florida with that type of conduct. The brothers now face a criminal investigation in the US state, as Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, said investigators have issued search warrants and subpoenas as part of a "now-active" inquiry. open image in gallery Trump denied any knowledge of the Tate brothers flying to the States as he met with Keir Starmer ( PA Wire ) The brothers face a civil suit in the US from a woman alleging they coerced her into sex work and defamed her after she gave evidence to Romania authorities. They deny these allegations. Tates accusers in the UK said the news that the pair had left Romania for the US had re-traumatised them. In a joint statement, the four women said: We are in disbelief and feel retraumatised by the news that the Romanian authorities have given into pressure from the Trump administration to allow Andrew Tate to travel around Europe and to the US. We can only hope that the British authorities finally take action, do something about this terrifying unfolding situation and ensure he faces justice in the UK. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice They never stood a chance, said Mia Pullen, recalling the night her younger brother Elliot was one of three teens killed in a car crash. In the court trial that followed it emerged the driver, 19-year-old Thomas Johnson, had inhaled laughing gas at the wheel and was travelling at more than 100mph on a 30mph road. Elliot, 17, and Daniel Hancock and Ethan Goddard, both 18, were pronounced dead at the scene. Ms Pullen told The Independent: The boys were not close friends and were out for a seemingly pointless drive when Thomas lost control of his car. She is one of 71 signatories to a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to introduce reforms targeting dangerous youth driving as part of a road safety strategy being drafted by ministers. Each signatory lost a brother or sister in a collision involving a young driver. The letter, shared with The Independent, calls for Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), which would introduce a transition period between learner and fully-qualified driver for young drivers. open image in gallery Mia says her younger brother Elliot could have been saved by different licensing laws ( Supplied ) Motorists aged 17 to 24 account for 18 per cent of all fatal or serious car crashes in Britain despite only accounting for 6 per cent of all miles driven. Crashes involving young drivers killed or seriously injured 4,959 people in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. Young men, who account for two-thirds of the total for their age group, are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with over-25s. Campaigners hope new measures would resemble those in the US, Australia and New Zealand, where newly-qualified young drivers are not allowed to carry similar-age passengers or drive late at night. A study in the US looked at involvement in fatal crashes for different age groups between 1996, when states began adopting GDL policies, and 2016. In that time, the rate fell for 17-year-olds by 61 per cent, and for 18-year-olds by 54 per cent. The number for 30 to 59-year-olds also dropped but only by 29 per cent. Ms Pullen said GDL rules would have stopped her brother from going for the ride that killed him and the others. I signed the sibling letter on GDLs because I cannot fathom how the government believes they are not a necessary part of learning to drive as a teenager or young adult, she said. GDLs would've saved them and would have prevented Thomas [Johnson] from having to spend his days in prison, living with what he has done. The Department for Transport has ruled out including GDL in the road safety strategy, despite roads minister Lilian Greenwood having last year supported a bill calling for its introduction. Ms Greenwood told a Westminster Hall debate last month that youth driver safety will be part of the strategy but the government was exploring options to tackle the root causes of the issue without unfairly penalising young drivers. Where is the fairness for our dead siblings?, asked the letter, which was written in response to the ministers dismissal of GDL after The Independent revealed her change of course. Clara Greenwood also signed the letter. She was six when her sister Alice, 12, was killed in a crash caused by an 18-year-old driver, Andrew Sellers, who was driving at a high speed in a convoy of five cars all driven by teenagers. The crash also left Ms Greenwood and her mother seriously injured. Sellers and his passenger died but four other teenagers in the convoy were jailed for causing death by dangerous driving. open image in gallery Clara was only six when she (right) lost her older sister Alice ( Supplied ) Alice had barely started high school when she was killed, her whole life was ahead of her. The teenagers in the other cars were all under 19 years old, and an 18-year-old and his 16-year-old passenger also lost their life: their lives were also ahead of them. GDLs would have saved both my sister and the other two young men, and would have prevented all the hurt that their deaths caused my family and their family. Road safety campaign groups have promoted GDL in Britain for years. In the past year, The AA and the National Fire Chiefs Council all backing it. A DfT spokesperson said: Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way. Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The DWP is set to scrap a controversial computer system that has automatically approved benefit deductions from millions of claimants at the request of private landlords. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has said she will right the wrongs of the deduction system after a judge ruled last month that the program used by her department was unlawful. Tens of thousands of deduction requests are processed each year via the program. Around 10.3 million have been made since 2017 making up a total 479 million, data obtained by The i shows. The program automatically approves landlord requests to deduct up to a fifth of someones monthly universal credit payments to cover rent arrears without the claimant being consulted by either their landlord or the DWP. open image in gallery Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she was determined to right the wrongs of the system ( PA Wire ) The departments decision comes after they lost a legal challenge in January which was brought by a private tenant whose benefits were deducted and automatically paid to his landlord to cover alleged rent arrears and ongoing rent payments. At the time, the claimant Nathan Roberts was also in a dispute about repairs to the property. Judge Mr Justice Fordham described the system as unfair and said there was a real possibility that DWP agents were making decisions based on the computer program, rather than considering a claimants best interest. The department has said it is now re-examining the entire process to find better ways of ensuring landlords get the rent they are owed in a fair and proportionate way while benefit claimants are protected from falling into debt. A release from the DWP says that the system was intended to help people avoid issues with their landlord such as eviction, but may actually be pushing the poorest into debt. open image in gallery The DWP program allowed landlords to deduct payments from tenants benefits ( PA Wire ) Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she was determined to right the wrongs that have persisted in the benefits system for too long. As well as urgently reviewing this system, I am bringing forward major changes to the health and disability benefits system so that it works for everyone, underpinned by the biggest employment reforms in a generation. We will continue to listen to peoples concerns, and transform our benefits system to one of fairness, not punishment. Emma Varley of law firm Bindmans, who represented Mr Roberts, said: The DWPs engagement in the outcome of this case is a positive if belated step. Precisely what changes are going to be made remains to be seen, but the call for better decision-making overall by the DWP can no longer be ignored. Earlier this month, it was revealed that around 57,000 benefit claimants were set to receive compensation worth as much as 5,000 on average. The decision by the DWP came after a judge ruled the department had not done enough to ensure certain disability benefit recipients incomes were protected in their move to universal credit. In response to Mr Roberts case, the DWP refunded his deductions and admitted they were taken in error. At this stage, the department confirms only that it is examining the system. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A mother-of-two has been forced to sleep with her daughter in their living room for over a year after a London council put the homeless family in a one-bed flat. Sonia Monteiro, 44, is taking Hackney council to court over their cramped living conditions, which she says are disrupting her childrens sleep and ability to do schoolwork. Ms Monteiro and her 12-year-old daughter are sleeping on beds set up in the living room-kitchen area, and they struggle to sleep because of a loud extractor fan. The pair are also disrupted if her 17-year-old son, who sleeps in the only bedroom, needs to use the kitchenette. Ms Monteiro, who works as a cleaner, said the family are living on top of each other. My children fight when my son disturbs my daughter. We just need enough space so we can live in peace, she added. Housing support worker Elizabeth Wyatt is worried that if the overcrowding is deemed acceptable in the courts then it will have huge consequences for all homeless families. Ms Wyatt, from Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth, added: London is facing the biggest homeless crisis in generations, with record numbers of children growing up in squalid temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation standards and conditions are already appalling with homeless families having very few rights. Instead of going to court to undermine homeless rights, the council should be using their resources to find the best possible temporary accommodation homes while fighting alongside their residents for the high-quality council homes we need to end the housing crisis. open image in gallery Sonia's son is sleeping in the flat's only bedroom ( The Independent ) Hackney council said that, while it wants to provide every family in their area with a good, permanent home, it is forced to rely on temporary accommodation to house homeless families. There were 336,366 households on London local authority waiting lists for social housing in 2024, a 10-year high. The London Councils group also estimates that more than 183,000 people are currently homeless and living in council-provided temporary accommodation in the capital. Ms Monteiro, whose words were translated from Portuguese by her friend Teresa, told The Independent: Ive told them that the place is not suitable for us, but the council is saying that it is. My son sometimes has to come in to the kitchen to use the table to study, as he doesnt have a table in his room. He has to use the light to study and that disrupts us, sometimes he is just using the light of the phone. open image in gallery Sonia and her two children have been in their Hackney flat for over a year ( The Independent ) She added: The conditions are really hard for all of us, especially my daughter. All this time she has not had her own space and it is really stressful for her. She doesnt have a quiet place to study because we are living on top of each other. I feel like the council are using the legal process to keep us there as long as possible. It is stressful going to court and you feel like you are doing something wrong but I have no choice but to go through the legal process. Ms Monteiro came to the UK from Portugal in 2020 to find work as a cleaner and has settled immigration status here. The family was initially staying with her sister who lives in London, but they couldnt stay with her indefinitely and were made homeless over two years ago. open image in gallery Sonias children find it hard to get any privacy or study in their small flat ( Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth ) They were initially living in a hostel, before being moved into a different council flat. They were then moved to their current flat, which they have been in for just over a year, Ms Monteiro said. Her 12-year-old daughter, who did not want to be named, said: In the first temporary flat we lived in there were a lot of mice and no privacy for nobody. But when we moved, I thought it would be better, but it is still the same. We dont have enough space. My older brother has his own room, but me and my mum dont. Even though we are both girls, we want our privacy. We sleep right next to the kitchen area. Ms Monteiro said she also receives housing benefit, universal credit and child benefit to support the family. I hope that the court makes a positive decision for us. My daughter will be studying for her GCSEs soon and she needs privacy, she added. Hackney council said it could not comment on the specifics of the court case, but said: We always want to provide every family in Hackney with a good, permanent home. Unfortunately, due to the severe housing crisis, we often have to rely on temporary accommodation to support households who come to us as homeless while we help them find a long-term solution. Thats why were investing in more council-owned temporary housing, where we can better control the conditions and standards. The space and size standards for temporary accommodation are clearly defined by law, to which we fully adhere. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A long-serving British army warrant officer who served her country with absolute distinction is facing homelessness after she was blindsided when the Ministry of Defence tried to evict her from her service home. Sergeant Major Natasha Campbell, a London-based engagement operations warrant officer who recruits school and university students to join the army, is stuck in a court battle with the government over a place to live after she was ordered to leave her accommodation without an alternative home being provided. The fight was triggered when Ms Campbell moved from active service to working full-time as a reservist, meaning her days of compulsory detachment were reduced, thereby removing her entitlement to service accommodation. Ms Campbell, who has been in the British army for more than 25 years and currently lives with her 21-year-old son, who hopes to join the Marines, was forced to apply for surplus family accommodation in July. However the MoDs housing arm, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), tried to evict them in September last year from the home in Northwood, despite no surplus property yet being provided. open image in gallery The Ministry of Defences housing arm, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, is fighting to evict a full-term reservist from their service family home ( PA ) The Watford county court heard this week the DIO obtained a possession order from a judge in September last year without Ms Campbell being informed of the court date, or receiving a notice to leave the property. Ruth Camp, a duty solicitor representing Ms Campbell, told the court in a hearing on Tuesday that she wasnt aware of the [September] hearing, she hadnt received any notice, and she was on work secondment at Woolwich barracks. She was doing her service for king and country. Ms Camp later said that Ms Campbell was more at risk of homelessness than many other tenants and, while she has approached the local council for emergency housing help, the local authority was struggling to deal with the situation as Ms Campbell has not left the army. As such she remains at risk of homelessness and there is insufficient attention paid to the covenant that we hold to her as a member of our armed forces who should be housed, Ms Camp said. At Tuesdays hearing, a lawyer for the DIO told the court that they have been unable to find the notice to vacate that they said had been produced in order to get the original possession order. They said that it was the duty of the court and not the DIO to serve Ms Campbell with the relevant documents. By the time of the March hearing, Ms Campbell had still not received any notice to vacate the property, despite the MoD having a possession order to evict her from her home. The lawyer, on behalf of the DIO, told the court that once the defendant left full-time commitment she was no longer an entitled category in accommodation. He said that while we accept she became eligible for surplus. We say there was an entitlement to serve a notice to vacate when she left full-time commitment. The court heard that in a previous hearing, lawyers acting on behalf of the DIO had wrongly suggested that Ms Campbell had been dishonourably discharged from the army. The DIO lawyer told the court on Tuesday that he wanted to correct the record on behalf of the MoD and make it extremely clear that the defendant wasnt dishonourably discharged. The lawyer described Ms Campbell as an officer of the utmost standing, who had served her country with absolute distinction. The court heard that Ms Campbell had received a long service and good conduct medal. open image in gallery Defence Secretary John Healey during a previous visit to see military housing which is in disrepair, near RAF Northolt. ( PA ) At Tuesdays hearing, Ms Camp, acting for Ms Campbell, successfully argued that the original possession order and subsequent orders should be set aside. She argued that it was not clear what policies the DIO had applied in order to pursue the eviction, or whether the original possession order had been made properly. Judge Sharma ruled that the previous decisions could be set aside ahead of a new spring hearing that would in effect take the matter back to the beginning. She said that it was accepted by the DIO that they created confusion by making the claim that Ms Campbell had been discharged on disciplinary grounds and as a result the judge had concern that this possession order may have been made on the wrong grounds. Data obtained by The Independent through freedom of information laws shows that, as of 1 January 2025, there were around 897 surplus service family accommodation properties available across the UK. There were 28 applications for a surplus home from all types of reserve personnel, full, home and local commitment, as of 17 January 2025. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Halal abattoir staff slammed sheep hard onto concrete floors and played recordings of wolves to the terrified animals as they were dying, footage reveals. In a string of acts captured by hidden cameras, workers also breached animal welfare laws in ways that an academic said would have inflicted immense pain, fear and distress. Sheep were inadequately killed, showing signs of life and suffering for up to four minutes after their throats were cut and when workers started dismembering them, an experts report says. open image in gallery A sheep escapes from the mechanical restrainer ( Joey Carbstrong ) But an official food standards inspector who was watching failed to act, according to the filmmaker who shot the scenes in secret. The video, taken at a no-stun slaughterhouse in Arley, Warwickshire, showed five allegedly illegal types of activity, the analysis suggests. It began with the extreme rough handling of animals by staff as sheep were slammed into floors and walls and workers smacked a door into their faces, the video shows. A mechanical restrainer of sheep for slaughter appeared ineffective, so many sheep escaped after their throats had been cut, according to Jenny L Mace, an associate lecturer in animal welfare and ethics at the University of Winchester. Her report details how abattoir workers moved, hoisted and started to dismember sheep that were still conscious, with some animals showing signs of life more than two minutes after their throats were cut and even when workers had started to cut their legs off. open image in gallery A worker about to cut a sheep's throat; some animals showed signs of life long afterwards ( Joey Carbstrong ) The investigation, carried out by animal rights filmmaker Joey Carbstrong, also showed sheep jumping barriers to try to escape as they were thrown or dragged into the restrainer before being killed. Since the abattoir expanded last year, residents of Arley have been up in arms about the stench from it and the increase in large tankers driving through the village to remove blood, carcasses and wastewater. Abattoir chiefs say about 1,000 lambs and sheep a week are slaughtered there. Mr Carbstrong, who used several cameras to film over 10 days, said the incidence of breaches of animal welfare laws was likely to be higher still than the report documented because Ms Mace analysed only 1hr 46mins out of more than 200 hours of footage. open image in gallery A worker struggling with a sheep roughly drags it by one leg ( Joey Carbstrong ) He criticised an official from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) who, he said, was filmed apparently taking no action when she witnessed a botched slaughter. The footage shows her observing as animals throats are cut. Under Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations, workers must wait at least 20 seconds before moving sheep. Sheep hung on shackles were recorded moving for up to 25 seconds after slaughter, and at one point, an animal was seen lifting its head, but the official took no action, its claimed. The report also identifies 31 problematic welfare indicators, pointing to immense pain, fear, and distress for the sheep. Charges should be brought against this slaughterhouse and/or staff for the numerous illegal practices, Ms Mace writes. open image in gallery The abattoir is in a residential area ( Joey Carbstrong ) She also found that sheep were forced to witness the bleeding and hoisting of other sheep close by, as well as sheep being forcibly held down by workers before having their throats cut. Several times, workers mocked sheep that struggled to escape or that were about to be killed. At one point, wolf howling sounds were played over the sound system. Workers resorted to conventional bolt guns on sheep that did not die when their throats were cut. Many Muslims also accept a reversible stun; thus, dialogue should continue with Muslim religious leaders to help further implement this, the report says. The proportion of UK slaughtered sheep that are killed with stunning which means animals cannot feel pain or suffer fell last year, from 77 per cent in 2022 to 71 per cent, government figures show, suggesting more are being killed for the halal market. open image in gallery Sheep and even goats were filmed being subjected to horrific treatment ( Joey Carbstrong ) Mr Carbstrong, who made Amazon Prime Video film Pignorant, said: There can be no justification for the horrific treatment of animals we have filmed at this facility; the suffering and terror these animals have endured is unimaginable. The fact this is a non-stun slaughterhouse was never the point of the investigation. The slaughterhouse website reads: We take every precaution to ensure that all of our products are slaughtered strictly in adherence with the Shariaah. When sourcing our lambs, we ensure that we are only working with trusted suppliers who have the same ethos surrounding animal welfare, in line with our values as Muslims. open image in gallery A sheep penned into the restraining area before its slaughtered ( Joey Carbstrong ) Its understood the FSA carried out a welfare assurance visit shortly after the secret filming had happened. The slaughterhouse owner told The Independent that three staff members were sacked as soon as the family business saw the footage and that they were working with the FSA to prevent any recurrence and talking to lawyers. He said: I was shocked and so upset. It's really, really annoying. What happened is completely unacceptable. The business was increasing welfare checks, adding cameras to eliminate blind spots and bringing in more experienced managers, he said. He said it was a new operation and he was inexperienced when the filming took place. All I can do is assist the authorities with their inquiries and make sure we do whatever they think is appropriate, and take the relevant steps to make sure that this never ever happens again, he said. A spokesperson for the FSA said: We are taking this issue very seriously. We have already taken immediate action to suspend several individuals from handling live animals and have increased onsite presence during all slaughter operations whilst we look into these allegations further. We await any further footage and meanwhile we continue to look into these allegations. We will not hesitate to take more action as we have a zero-tolerance approach to animal welfare breaches. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice While the United States is withdrawing its military support for Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that he is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a peace deal for the war-torn country at a defence summit with world leaders in London on Sunday. The prime minister announced last week that UK defence spending will rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, with an aim to hit 3 per cent by the end of the next term; saying that "tyrants" like Russian president Vladimir Putin "only respond to strength". US president Donald Trump has indicated that he wants to force a deal to end Russias war in Ukraine, warning that if [Ukraine] didnt have our weapons, this war would be over in two weeks. But a fiery exchange between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday has left peace talks hanging in the balance. And today, the Trump administration suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, worth billions of dollars. Following the explosive meeting, Sir Keir and European leaders have doubled down on commitments, with the UK, France and others saying they would commit troops to support a peacekeeping plan. In response to the potential mobilisation of Nato troops in Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov, Russias minister of foreign affairs, said: This is unacceptable to us. Relations with Russia are at their worst since the Cold War period, and military experts believe that European countries need to be prepared for conflict. But is the UK ready to put boots on the ground; and how do Britains armed forces compare now to 40 years ago, in 1984, when the UK was engaged in a stand-off with Russia? The state of affairs The Ministry of Defence has just released its latest figures on military equipment, accurate as of April 2024. The army increased its number of Challenger II Main Battle Tanks from 213 to 219 in the past year to April,. Ministry of Defence figures show that the army also has some 128 Ajax armoured fighting vehicles, though reports suggest delivery of the vehicles only begun in January this year, after eight years of delay. The UK also added four new F-35 fighter jets, also known as Lightning, bringing the total to 35 according to latest figures. The number of Typhoon jets (137), submarines (10), destroyers (6), and frigates (12) remained the same as the previous year. open image in gallery UK military capacity compared to the Cold War in ships, submarines, tanks, and war planes. ( IISS/ Ministry of Defence / The Independent ) In terms of personnel and ships, the UKs capacity is substantially lower than in 1984, primarily because the UK is in peacetime and equipment needs have evolved. Technology has evolved significantly since the 1980s, in particular when it comes to air defence and tanks. This means that some equipment will be fewer in number but of a much higher quality. While jet fighters of the 1980s were technologically advanced for their time, the newest aircraft are more akin to flying supercomputers. Submarines are designed to evade ever more complicated detection equipment and warships have to tackle missiles which travel several times the speed of sound. Yet the numbers can matter when engaged in direct combat, experts explain, since losses are all but certain. Some equipment is not in service, is on loan, or is due for repairs, said defence acquisition expert Stuart Young, a former engineer officer in the Royal Navy and visiting fellow at Cranfield University. The Challenger main battle tank is currently in service, and thats being upgraded. But the challenge is, as those go in to be upgraded, the number of main battle tanks is going to go down until they come back out of that upgrade cycle. Many of these supplies have not been updated in decades, meaning in some cases the UK is still relying on the same equipment built in the Cold War. In fact, the majority of the armys armoured fighting vehicles are from before the 1990s, and some come from as far back as the Sixties, according to a defence committee report in 2021 which called the lack of new acquisitions deplorable. The navy faces similar challenges. The oldest type-23 frigates are well over 30 years old now, and the replacement was due originally in around 2010. Those ships were designed for an 18 to 21-year life, Mr Young said. If Britain enters into war, it is not clear that the country will be able to get stockpiles and numbers to the levels needed in a timely manner. The UK has met and exceeded its Nato minimum defence spend of 2 per cent of total economic output, or GDP, with levels currently estimated at 2.3 per cent; and set to rise to 2.5 per cent. But James Black, assistant director at security research group Rand, said 2 per cent of GDP was a politically derived number that was common in a post-Cold War setting. In the Cold War, countries were spending routinely a lot more than 2 per cent, spending three, four or five, he said. So we shouldnt think that 2 per cent is a magic number at which you are automatically spending enough money that you are well defended against all threats. open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (Carl Court/PA) ( PA Wire ) A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the governments first budget including an increase in defence speaking to almost 3bn, clearly illustrating our commitment to national security and ensuring we have a military force fit for the future. National security is a foundation of this governments Plan for Change, which is why we will set out a pathway to spending 2.5 per cent on defence in the spring. But several military experts worry that this is not enough, arguing that 3 per cent of GDP a 0.7 per cent increase of some 16.4bn a year is necessary to replenish stockpiles and prepare the UK for a possible allied conflict against aggressors such as Russia; while Trump has called for 5 per cent spending in Europe. With the impact of Ukraine and the general tightening of government spending, were in a catch-up situation. I think spending has to go up to 3 per cent or more, to actually give you the increase in capability needed to meet the increasing threat that we have at the moment, Mr Young said. Sir Keir has now confirmed that defence spending will meet 2.5 per cent in the next two years (by 2027), yet his target of 3 per cent has a longer timeframe of nearly a decade. But Mr Young said he believed that matching the 2.5 per cent promise wouldnt represent any material improvements for UK defence. open image in gallery Type 23 frigates like HMS Lancaster are coming to the end of their lives (PA) ( PA ) Instead, Mr Young estimates that this figure will be just enough to play catch-up with stockpiles and demand. We havent invested in stockpiling missiles and ammunition and things like that, Mr Young said. In July, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence acknowledged that the armed forces have faced resource cuts in the past few years. We know we face serious challenges after years of hollowing out of our armed forces and our Strategic Defence Review will assess the threats we face and the capabilities needed to address them in order to secure our nations defences. The war in Ukraine has also hit the UKs military budget and supplies, along with other Nato members. The UK has pledged 7.8bn in military assistance to Ukraine since February 2022 and, like other allied countries, has even donated equipment directly from UK defence stockpiles including tanks and missiles. This means that equipment numbers could be even lower than shown in the official statistics, last updated in September 2023. As a result, if Britains defence forces receive an influx in capital, it could take four or five years to replenish supplies of equipment and weaponry, Mr Young suggested. The new armed forces minister [Luke Pollard] said we want to buy as much defence equipment from the UK as possible. Well, the UK doesnt have that capacity any more. Dwindling troop numbers Britains armed forces also have a big recruitment problem, exacerbated by budget cuts; which may present a challenge if forces are deployed. We need to increase recruitment, especially if we are looking at peacekeeping activities in Ukraine, which needs boots on the ground. The problems we had six months ago have just been exacerbated further by recent events, Mr Young said. The number of people in the armed forces is 45 per cent lower than it was in 1984, at approximately 180,000 personnel, according to the MoD at January 1 of this year. Within this, only 127,000 are full-time trained personnel, while approximately 53,000 are untrained or reserves. Training takes time, money and, most importantly, retaining personnel, Mr Young said. In the current job market, army pay is no longer competitive before even considering how many young people are willing to commit to the hours, lifestyle, and risk of military service. But Mr Young warned that the biggest problem may be the loss of expertise, as higher trained officials are abandoning the military for private sector jobs. In particular, the quality of accommodation and other resources for military families has been in decline, which he points to as a reason for older personnel with dependents leaving the military. Mr Young said the UK couldnt afford to lose these highly trained groups in the armed forces, especially as equipment becomes more and more technically complex. Weve got people leaving the armed forces because of the living and working conditions, so then youre losing expertise and talent as well, he says. So, switching on the tap today in terms of recruitment doesnt give you an instant solution. Its going to be another three or four or five years or more before you get the fully trained people that you need, and then youve got to retain them. Theyve now got skills which are attractive to civilian employees. Lessons from Ukraine: the long haul Rands Mr Black said Britain and other Nato members needed to be taking lessons from the war in Ukraine to improve longevity capabilities in combat. The war in Ukraine has exposed that a lot of Western militaries have been assuming that any high-end war against someone like Russia would be very lethal, but would also probably be very quick. A kind of short, sharp, horrible flurry of violence. And then the situation would be resolved. open image in gallery The Uk relies heavily on its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons, build by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. ( Getty Images ) However, the ongoing war in Ukraine now three years long has shown that this assumption is flawed. And if Britain were to engage in a longer period of war, the armed forces are not prepared to last more than a few months, according to a defence committee report in February. Former committee chair Sir Jeremy Quin told MPs that the military was unable to devote sufficient training and resources to high-intensity warfighting. Mr Black warns that the existing focus on higher quality, complex machinery does not necessarily work for long combat, with challenges such as refuelling, rapid replacement and stockpiling. How do I replenish my stockpiles when Ive fired all my missiles or dropped all my bombs? And that is partly a military question but also an industrial question. Do we have the industrial base to rebuild in the first place? Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer could return to Washington DC for talks with US President Donald Trump, Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky and Frances Emmanuel Macron, a spokeswoman for the French government said. The UK and France have been co-ordinating European efforts to support Ukraine and develop a peace plan to end the war with Russia after Mr Trump alarmed allies on the continent by opening talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The French government said Mr Macron, Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky could potentially travel to meet Mr Trump, although that was a wish at the moment and there had not been an invitation from the White House. Spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters: It is envisaged that President Macron might possibly go to Washington again with President Zelensky and his English counterpart. Asked when French President Mr Macron, Mr Zelensky and the UK Prime Minister might visit Washington and whether it would be within days or weeks she said: I dont have the information. I think it is in the short-term. When asked whether there has been an invitation from the White House or whether the visit is a French wish she replied: Its a wish I think. Downing Street said details of any future travel by the Prime Minister would be set out in the usual way. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Weve said that we will progress these discussions, that includes progressing discussions with the United States. At Prime Ministers Questions, Sir Keir said: We need to do everything we can to ensure that the US, Europe and Ukraine are working together on lasting peace, and I am doing everything I can to play my part in that, in regular contact with all of the key players at the moment, including talking to President Zelensky yesterday afternoon. Relations between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Mr Zelensky appear to have been patched up following last weeks dramatic White House bust-up. Mr Trump also said he has had strong signals from Russia that Moscow is ready for peace, saying: Wouldnt that be beautiful? The US president used a wide-ranging speech in Congress to say he had received a letter from the Ukrainian leader saying Kyiv is ready to sign a minerals agreement with Washington at any time after the deal broke down last week. The Ukrainian president had earlier said it is time to make things right with Mr Trump after a fractious meeting in the Oval Office last week and the US decision to suspend military aid to Kyiv. Mr Trump quoted the Ukrainian leaders words from a letter. He read: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Mr Trump added: I appreciate that he sent this letter Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides. Mr Trump also criticised European countries for spending more money buying Russian oil and gas than on defending Ukraine. Mr Trump said: I want (the war in Ukraine) to stop. Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. And weve spent perhaps 350 billion dollars (273 billion), like taking candy from a baby. Thats what happened. And theyve spent 100 billion dollars (78 billion) what a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. The UKs diplomatic push to act as a bridge between the US and Europe is continuing with Defence Secretary John Healey crossing the Atlantic. Mr Healey is due to meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday. The Defence Secretarys trip was agreed last week after Sir Keir announced an increase in the UKs defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and comes just days after the US halted military aid to Kyiv. Before his trip, Mr Healey hailed the special relationship between the UK and the US and said it is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. He added: In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too. The Prime Minister was clear following his meetings over the past week that we will continue our dialogue with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace in Ukraine. We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days. The increase in defence spending comes as figures showed one in 10 armed forces personnel more than 13,500 people are unfit to be deployed. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence in a parliamentary answer showed just 54,695 members of the British Army 76.9% of the total are classed as medically fully deployable (MFD), with 9,478 (13.3%) classed as medically limited deployable (MLD) and 6,973 (9.8%) medically not deployable (MND). Across the forces, 99,162 (78.1%) are fully deployable, 14,361 (11.3%) are classed as MLD and 13,503 (10.6%) are MND as of January 1. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Labour is planning billions in welfare spending cuts as part of Rachel Reeves upcoming spring statement, new reports have suggested. The chancellor will be announcing her plans for the governments finances on 26 March, with a raft of multi-department cuts floated. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is expected to bear the brunt of these, with as much as 5bn reportedly to be earmarked for savings. Estimates of exactly how much Ms Reeves is looking to pull back from government receipts have only increased in recent months. Treasury insiders have indicated that the 9.9bn fiscal headroom left after Labours October Budget has been severely reduced, with one telling the BBC that the world has changed since then. The subsequent months have seen the economy essentially flatline, while borrowing costs have risen and mass uncertainty takes hold amid tensions around the US and Ukraine. open image in gallery Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall claimed the new measure was good for workers and fair on businesses (Jacob King/PA) ( PA Wire ) A Treasury source also told The Independent that taking action on welfare is something we would need to do regardless, given the rising welfare bill. Spending on health-related benefits rose to 65bn last year, up 25 per cent from the year before the Covid pandemic. This is forecast to rise to 100bn before the next election. Ministers have shared their ambition to reduce this figure, with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood saying on Wednesday: "There's a moral case here for making sure that people who can work are able to work and there's a practical point here as well, because our current situation is unsustainable." However, a group of leading charities including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Z2K have written to DWP secretary Liz Kendall asking that any planned changes are made after meaningful consultation with those who are likely to be affected. Here are the key changes that Labour could announce on 26 March: Work capability assessment overhaul Changes to the work capability assessment are likely central to Labours plans to cut welfare spending, with a plan to reform the measure confirmed in the partys manifesto. Ministers are understood to be looking to save 1.3 billion a year from changes to the WCA after pledging to match spending commitments made by the previous government but not necessarily the policy detail. The party has said it will re-consult on the changes after the Conservatives consultation on the plans was found unlawful by a High Court judge for being unfair and misleading. This work capability assessment is used to determine a persons ability to participate in the workforce. It decides what work-related activities they must carry out and if they are entitled to any extra support. It has attracted controversy since its introduction in 2008, with reports in 2018 and 2023 both finding that too many incorrect assessment decisions continue to fuel mistrust of the process. The previous Conservative government announced in 2023 that the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) would be reformed, with the qualifying criteria being significantly overhauled. According to research from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), the changes would have meant that around 450,000 fewer people were considered to have limited capability for work. PIP changes The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is another health-related benefit. Unlike the WCA, assessments for PIP set out to determine if someone needs help with extra living costs, even if theyre working. It is currently paid in two parts daily living and mobility at two possible rates each, meaning there are four potential levels of payment. Assessors will decide if the applicant needs help with everyday tasks for the first part, and if they need help with getting around for the second. open image in gallery PIP is a non means-tested health-related benefit claimed by over 3 million people ( Getty Images ) They will then score them against twelve descriptors to determine if they are eligible for the lower or high weekly rate of each part. The maximum a person can be paid a week is 184.30. The previous Conservative government had consulted on changing the assessment to widen the rates of payment. One idea was to follow the model used in Norway, where claimants would need to provide a letter from their GP rather than attend face-to-face assessments. They would also need to provide evidence of the costs associated with their condition. Labour has not ruled out the idea, with social security minister Stephen Timms telling MPs in October that the DWP was carrying out a new survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability-related needs. However, the party is also continuing work on a separate program to overhaul the benefit, including decisions, eligibility and payments. Benefit vouchers There are concerns that the reforms to PIP could be taken even further, however, seeing weekly payments replaced with vouchers. This is another idea that the Conservatives said was under consideration in June. It has not be ruled out by Labour ministers. While PIP payments are designed to with extra living costs, claimants are free to spend the money however they see fit. A voucher scheme could see this change, forcing claimants to only use funds for specific costs. Responding to the proposals, charity Disability Rights UK called them insulting and dangerous. Its unlikely the government will press ahead with a move to vouchers, hinting that they are against the idea. Responding to concerns raised by Work and Pensions Committee in November, secretary of state for work and pensions Liz Kendall said: this issue of empowerment and giving people power and control over their lives is really important because I think it leads to better results, so I understand peoples real concerns about that. Labour MP and committee chairman Debbie Abrahams has since gone further in opposing the plans, telling The Mirror in December: I think its nonsense and I cannot see that happen. It is suggesting that its ok for disabled people to be provided with a voucher instead of money - as though they arent responsible with their money. New bank account powers As part of the DWPs fraud crackdown, agents will be given new powers to recover money from those in debt to the department. The move is expected to save 1.5 billion over the next five years. This will include the ability to ban individuals committing fraud from driving, and getting warrants to search their premises and seize items like smartphones and computers. This will only be in extreme cases, however. The DWP will also gain the power to recover money directly from bank accounts of those not on benefits or in PAYE employment. It will be able to request bank statements to prove that there is enough money available to pay what is owed, although not access bank accounts directly. Another bank power will include eligibility verification which will give the DWP the power to require banks to provide data to help identify when an applicant is not meeting the eligibility criteria for a benefit they have applied for. For instance, to be eligible for Universal Credit, an applicant must have no more than 16,000 in savings, except in exceptional circumstances. The Fraud, Error and Recovery bill which is set to deliver these changes is currently in its committee stage, with stakeholders giving evidence on its contents. Several experts have expressed concern that ministers have said a code of practice will only be shared when the bill is in its final version, meaning it is unclear how the powers it grants will work in practice. However, the DWP has said they will carry out a public consultation on the draft of the code, which will be laid before Parliament before publication. A DWP Spokesperson said: We do not comment on speculation. We have been clear that the current welfare system needs reform, so it is fairer on the taxpayer, helps long-term sick and disabled people who can work to find employment, and ensures people receive the support they need. We will bring forward our proposals for reform within weeks, as part of the Plan for Change. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice West End impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh has said the Governments proposed changes to amend copyright law around artificial intelligence (AI) would be an idiotic and undemocratic own goal. It comes after British stars including Sir Elton John and Simon Cowell backed a campaign calling for plans to allow big firms to use online material for AI without paying the creators to be changed. Under the proposals, an exemption to copyright would be created for training AI, so tech firms would not need a licence to use copyrighted material, and creators would need to opt-out to prevent their work from being used. Sir Cameron, who has established himself as a leading figure in musical theatre over the last five decades, pushed back against the plans in an opinion piece for The Times on Wednesday. I know firsthand the amount of hard work, talent and time it takes to develop a finished work whether it succeeds or fails. Im approaching 80 and I still work 50 to 60 hours a week much of the year, he wrote. So why should our Government be advocating that AI be given the right to mine our work for free? In a desperate rush to plug the nations leaky finances it is rightly embracing the latest game-changing technical development, but without thinking through the unintended, damaging consequences. He continued: The UK no longer has many industries that are truly world beating and increasing in value, so it would be an idiotic and undemocratic own goal to cripple one of the very few professions where people from any background or race, poor or rich, can succeed. So I am indignant that the Government should consider that it has the right to disregard our intellectual and moral rights by handing over, to a handful of powerful high-tech corporations, the fruits of our creative labour for free, enabling them to exploit and make money out of content they did not create, without any reasonable remuneration or say. Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Damon Albarn are among more than 1,000 musicians who have recorded a silent album in protest at the proposals as they believe they would greatly damage the creative sector and see artists replaced in the long term. Some of the UKs biggest newspapers also launched a coordinated campaign across their front pages last week to raise their concerns about AIs impact on the creative industries. Following the push back, Sir Keir Starmer said he wants creatives to thrive and that responses to a consultation on the proposals were being reviewed. Sir Cameron, who has produced three of the worlds longest running musicals Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Cats added that this was a watershed moment for the Government to make the right decision for the future not only of our country, but of humanity. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Winston Churchills grandson has accused Donald Trumps team of despising Europe after a furious row which saw vice-president JD Vance criticised for disrespecting Britains war dead. Conservative peer Sir Nicholas Soames, 77, told the House of Lords that the US administration "despise Europe really". He also predicted that in future the special relationship between the UK and the US would not be what it was. I dont think they want it to be, Lord Soames told the international relations and defence committee on Wednesday. Donald Trump has paid tribute to Churchill, reinstating the bust of the former prime minister in the Oval Office as one of his first acts in power upon his return to the presidential office in January. Lord Soamess comments come after Mr Vance faced widespread condemnation for appearing to describe the UK as some random country that hasnt fought a war in 30 or 40 years. Lord Soames is critical of the US administrations stance on Europe and the UK ( Getty ) He was accused of erasing the experiences of Britons who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in what was his latest tirade against the USAs European allies. Appearing in front of the same committee, former ambassador to Washington Sir David Manning warned that the US could abandon its allies in a way that was inconceivable six weeks ago before President Trump entered the White House. He also warned that the UK faced a question over whether it could trust the US with intelligence, just hours before it emerged that the United States had cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces. Issuing his warning, Sir David said there were people in the Trump administration who seem to be looking for ways of appeasing Russia... [which is] a problem on the intelligence front. The UK's most recent former ambassador to the US, Dame Karen Pierce, said the US was not sentimental about the special relationship. "I think there is a special relationship, but what there isn't is a standard definition of what that might be," Dame Pierce told the committee. "I think it is in America's interests. They're not sentimental about it. I think we fool ourselves if we think they are sentimental," she said. Dame Karen, who was the UK's top diplomat in Washington from 2020 until February when she handed over to Peter Mandelson, added that security and defence were the "bedrock" of the relationship. She said: "We are America's truly global ally. We are both reliable and capable, and we have what we would call global reach. And a day one, night one ally. We're ready to go and we stand shoulder to shoulder with America in a whole range of ventures." Some 636 British troops died fighting alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, and on Tuesday a former soldier and now Lib Dem MP who served in Iraq said Mr Vance had made a sinister attempt to deny that reality. Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Helen Maguire, a former captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq, said: JD Vance is erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sir Keir Starmer also hit back at the remarks made by the US vice-president, saying that he was full of admiration for the courage and bravery of British troops who had fought alongside the US, many of whom had been killed in action. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A cross-party committee of MPs has written to Sir Keir Starmer about its deep concern over the cut to the aid budget. Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the International Development Committee, said the brutal cut to funds risks undermining our soft power, as well as years of progress in areas such as healthcare, education, clean water and sustainable development. Last week the prime minister announced that spending on defence will rise from its current 2.3 per cent share of the economy to 2.5 per cent in 2027. But to fund it, development assistance aid will be slashed from its current level of 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. Last week, international development minister Anneliese Dodds resigned in protest over the move. Anneliese Dodds said she disagreed with the decision for aid to absorb the entire burden (Lucy North/PA) ( PA Wire ) In a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, Ms Champion said she wanted to express my committees deep concern regarding the Governments decision. She went on: This brutal further cut to ODA (Official Development Assistance) risks undermining our soft power, as well as years of progress in areas such as healthcare, education, clean water and sustainable development. It will have dire consequences for millions of marginalised people across the world. Labour MP Ms Champion also asked the Prime Minister to respond to a number of questions, including whether aid spending by other departments such as the Department for Education will be maintained, and what the expected impact will be on staffing levels at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Other ministers have also been copied into the letter, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Ms Champion said in a statement she is deeply concerned about the cut. She said: One of the cheapest and most effective ways to prevent conflict is to address the causes of instability before they spiral into violence. Thats what international aid can do. In reality, cutting aid to pay for increased defence will inevitably mean spending more money on responding to conflicts rather than investing in prevention it should never be either/or. We need both to make a stable and secure world. A Government spokesperson said: This Governments first duty is to keep our country safe and secure. The evolving global security landscape with conflicts overseas undermining security and prosperity at home requires us to make tough but necessary choices to protect British interests and support our allies. Our approach balances the UKs proud tradition of supporting the worlds most vulnerable with our fundamental responsibility to protect British citizens and interests in an increasingly unstable world. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer delivered a powerful rebuke to US vice president JD Vance at Prime Ministers Questions, opening the session with a roll call of the 642 British soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US vice president was accused of erasing the experiences of Britons who served overseas after his latest tirade against Americas European allies, where he suggested Britain hadnt fought a war in more than 30 years. Addressing the Commons on Wednesday, the day after Mr Vances comments, Sir Keir said: Tomorrow marks 13 years since six young British soldiers were on patrol in Afghanistan when their vehicle was struck by an explosive tragically killing them all. open image in gallery ( House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire ) These men fought and died for their country, our country. And across the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 642 individuals died fighting for Britain alongside our allies, many more were wounded. We will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice, and I know the whole House will join (with) me in remembering them and all those who serve our country. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Mr Vance had warned Volodymyr Zelensky that if he wanted real security guarantees to deter future attacks by Vladimir Putin, he would have to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine. That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years, Mr Vance added. So far, only Britain and France have publicly said they are prepared to put troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force in the event of a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Sir Keirs comments also put Tory leader Kemi Badenoch in a difficult position, after she sought to play down his remarks claiming they were taken out of context. open image in gallery JD Vance had warned Volodymyr Zelensky that if he wanted real security guarantees to deter future attacks by Vladimir Putin , he would have to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine. ( Getty Images ) I dont think he actually said that, a lot of people are getting carried away lets keep cool heads, the Tory leader said. Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Helen Maguire, a former captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq accused Mr Vance of erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw firsthand how American and British soldiers fought bravely together shoulder to shoulder. Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didnt return home from Iraq. Ms Maguire called on Lord Mandelson, Britains ambassador to the US, to force an apology from the vice president. Meanwhile, Tory former veterans minister Johnny Mercer, who served three tours in Afghanistan, called the vice president a clown who needs to check his privilege. He added: I read JD Vances book, making the mistake of finding him quite interesting. By his own admission he spent his time in the Marines writing articles and taking pictures. Perhaps if he had got his hands dirty serving his country like so many of his fellow American and British veterans, chasing his own countrys crazy foreign policy ideas, he might not be so quick to dismiss their sacrifice. But the US vice president said on Tuesday it was absurdly dishonest to suggest he was referring to the UK or France. Both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond, he wrote on X. He did not clarify which nations he was referring to specifically, but added: But lets be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful. Asked whether the prime minister was directing his comments directly at Mr Vance, his spokesperson said: "Its totally normal to mark anniversary of the deaths of young British soldiers fighting for our country." Pressed on whether or not the PM was convinced by Mr Vances claim that he was not referring to Britain and France in his remarks, the spokesperson said: You have the prime ministers words in the House. Its perfectly normal for the prime minister to pay tribute to British soldiers. "You can draw your own conclusions, the spokesperson added. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Keir Starmers intense round of diplomacy on Ukraine over the past week has seen him rewarded with his highest poll ratings in six months, according to YouGov. Conversely, anger over Donald Trumps behaviour appears to have hit his closest ally in the UK Nigel Farage, whose own favourability score went down four points from 30 per cent to 26 per cent. The prime minister jetted to Washington DC where he won plaudits for his handling of Donald Trump, before warmly welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky in Downing Street after Ukraines president left the White House after angry scenes with Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office. Sir Keir Starmer met with Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukranian president left the White House following a breakdown in talks with Donald Trump (Justin Tallis/PA) ( PA Wire ) Sir Keir then held a summit with European leaders and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at Lancaster House on Sunday and has been widely praised for his leadership amid the growing crisis over Mr Trumps stance on Ukraine. And speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Sir Keir delivered a powerful rebuke to JD Vance with a tribute to Britons killed in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. According to YouGov, people with a favourable view of Sir Keir rose to 31 per cent - up from 26 per cent in mid-February. Meanwhile, eight in ten Britons (80 per cent) now have an unfavourable view of Donald Trump, up from 73 per cent two weeks ago. Trumps favourability has even taken a knock among Reform UK voters with more now holding negative views than positive. The proportion with an unfavourable opinion of the president has risen 25 points to 53 per cent since mid-February, while the number with a favourable view has fallen from a commanding 66 per cent to just 45 per cent now. The proportion of Britons with a favourable view of Volodymyr Zelenskyy has increased from 64 per cent to 71 per cent. The shift is largest among Mr Farages Reform UK voters, among whom he is now more popular than Mr Trump. The number with a favourable view of Mr Zelensky has increased from 49 per cent to 62 per cent over the last fortnight, while those with an unfavourable view has declined from 37 per cent to 27 per cent. YouGov noted: Starmers ratings have improved among voters from all four of the largest parties. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer faced his first Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, 5 March, since his visit to the United States and the explosive meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. It comes after the US president criticised European leaders, including the British prime minister, on Monday, deriding their weekend talks over Ukraine and launching a furious new attack on the Ukrainian president for saying a peace deal is still very, very far away. Mr Trump fired off a tirade just as the PM was on his feet in the House of Commons insisting the US was vital, sincere and indispensable in the path to peace. Sir Keir has dismissed calls from MPs for Britain to shun Mr Trump and America after last weeks extraordinary ambush on Mr Zelensky in the White House Oval Office. The US president and JD Vance shouted over Mr Zelensky as a critical meeting on Ukraine erupted into a shouting match. The meeting appeared to go south when the US vice president accused the Ukrainian leader of being "disrespectful" when Mr Zelensky said US security guarantees are necessary for a ceasefire. Mr Trump talked over Mr Zelensky repeatedly, warning him he is "not in a good position" as Mr Zelensky looked visibly irritated. The Republican has since said he received a letter from Mr Zelensky praising his "strong leadership. The US president boasted in an address to Congress that he "appreciated" Mr Zelensky sending the letter, which expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table and end the war as soon as possible. There was no direct mention of a rare earth minerals deal in Mr Trump's speech, although he quoted Mr Zelensky's letter as saying Ukraine was ready to sign. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A poll has shown Britons fury at Donald Trumps second state visit invitation, with almost half saying it should be cancelled after his White House clash with Volodymyr Zelensky. Some 42 per cent of voters said the historic second invitation to Mr Trump should be withdrawn amid growing outrage at the US administrations increasingly critical stance on Ukraine. Sir Keir Starmer has faced pressure from across the political spectrum to withdraw the invitation, which he hand-delivered to Mr Trump just a day before his Oval Office shouting match with Mr Zelensky. That is only likely to increase since Mr Trumps decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine. open image in gallery Starmer hands the invitation to Trump. Many Britons now want it taken back ( PA ) While two in five people said the invitation should be withdrawn, an overall majority (51 per cent) said it should not have been extended in the first place. It comes as a petition by pro-democracy campaign group 38 Degrees calling for the visit to be axed passed 180,000 signatures. Mr Trump would become the first US president honoured with two state visits, with Sir Keir mounting a major charm offensive as she seeks to protect Britain from a global trade war. But 38 Degrees warned that, because of the British publics overwhelming support for Ukraine, the PM risks alienating voters by cosying up to the US president. open image in gallery Pressure to scrap the state visit has grown following Trumps spat with Volodymyr Zelensky ( AFP/Getty ) Chief executive of 38 Degrees Matthew McGregor said: Since the Russian invasion three years ago, the British people have consistently shown an outpouring of support for the people of Ukraine. They have been clear that the UK must stand up for Ukraine, and that voters will back the PM if he does. But standing up for Ukraine means unequivocally standing up to Donald Trump right now. With the majority of Brits feeling he is undeserving of a second state visit Keir Starmer should think long and hard about whether this state visit really should go ahead. The survey, conducted by Survation for 38 Degrees, also revealed Sir Keirs backing for Mr Zelensky after his White House clash with Mr Trump made the public feel proud to be British. The prime minister standing up for Ukraine on the world stage won him the support of 46 per cent of the public, who said it made them feel proud, while just 12 per cent said it did not. open image in gallery Nigel Farage was also warned he is out of step with the public on Ukraine ( PA ) And it contained a stark warning for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who was accused of acting as Donald Trumps spokesman in Britain for defending the US president after the row. It revealed President Zelensky as the most popular world leader out of a group also including Sir Keir, French president Emmanuel Macron, Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mr Zelensky had a 54 per cent approval rating, while Mr Trump was on 24 per cent and Mr Putin was on 11 per cent. Mr Farage blamed the Ukrainian president for having played the White House meeting very badly, and accused him of bowling in without a suit on and showing no respect for his American counterpart. Mr McGregor said: After Nigel Farages comments earlier this week, this poll shows him well and truly out of step with public opinion, from his sympathetic comments towards Putin to his sneering at Zelenskys sartorial style. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The office of Florida's attorney general has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, days after they returned to the U.S. Attorney General James Uthmeier said he had directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania and landed in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday. After their arrival, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers weren't welcome in Florida and that he would have the attorney general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged crimes. On Tuesday, Uthmeier said: Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers. open image in gallery Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrive in Fort Lauderdale ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) During an appearance on Monday on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate said the governor was caving to media pressure. Tate said he has a U.S. passport and a right to visit his home country. He said he has broken no laws and that he has never even been tried, let alone convicted, of a crime. The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year in Romania on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to that country, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations. Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who is a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online. He and his 36-year-old brother, Tristan, are vocal supporters of Trump. Andrew Tate previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted. The Tates left Romania after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers case at the recent Munich Security Conference. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Bill Murray and Bob Woodward had a tense standoff at a documentary film screening shortly after the Ghostbusters star revealed his anger towards the Washington Post scribe over a 1984 book during an interview with Joe Rogan. The book in question, Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi, was roundly criticized upon its release by among others, Dan Aykroyd, John Landis and Belushis widow, Judith Pisano. The issue was raised when Rogan began speaking about conspiracy theories involving Richard Nixons ousting as president in 1974, including one that involves the notion of Bob Woodward being a CIA asset. Murray took that as bait to echo the feelings of others who knew Belushi. So when I read Wired by whatshisname, Bob Woodward, about John Belushi, I read like five pages of Wired and I went, Oh my God, they framed Nixon. If he did this to Belushi, what he did to Nixon is probably soiled for me too. On Monday night, Murray and Woodward were pictured standing close to each other before a screening of Becoming Katharine Graham, a documentary about the legendary Washington Post publisher. New York Magazines Ben Terris took the picture of the pair, who were in a group. Terris said the pair got into a little quarrel and described the meeting as being a little tense. At the height of his fame, thanks to his appearances on Saturday Night Live as well as hit movies Animal House and The Blues Brothers, John Belushi died of a drug overdose after taking a heroin and cocaine cocktail known as a speedball. He was 33 years old ( 1978 AP ) The Groundhog Day star told Rogan that he was approached by Woodward to be interviewed for the book but refused, saying it smelled funny. The book was released just two years after Belushis untimely death. At the height of his fame, thanks to his appearances on Saturday Night Live as well as hit movies Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Belushi died of a drug overdose after taking a heroin and cocaine cocktail known as a speedball. He was 33 years old. It was reported that around the time of his death, Belushi was spending $2,500 per week on drugs. Murray also said in the interview that he believed that John Belushi was the most famous person to ever come from Wheaton, Illinois, and that Woodward was the third. Chicago Bears legend Harold Red Grange was named as the second. He spoke of Belushis generosity in convincing so many of his fellow comedians from Illinois to come and join him in New York, allowing them to sleep on his couch for extended periods. Murray also credited Belushi with launching a blue revival which in turn led to the emergence of the House of Blue franchise concert venues. The Golden Globe went on to say: Woodward does other things, Ive seen him on TV and be smart and everything but, you know, hes going to have to answer for that, you dont get away with that, you dont get a free pass. Not with my friend. Murrays appearance came just after Tesla CEO Elon Musks interview on Rogans hugely popular show. During that appearance, Musk made wild accusations about Jeffrey Epsteins infamous client list, which Trumps Attorney General Pam Bondi said would be released this week. Known Epstein clients who are obviously extremely powerful powerful politically and very wealthy are Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and Reid Hoffman, Musk alleged. And some others, too. But those three. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A California middle school teacher has been put on leave as the school district investigates an incident in which racist materials, including N-word bucks, were doled out during a lesson. The history teacher, who has not been named, works at Katherine Albiani Middle School in Elk Grove, California. As part of a lesson, the teacher allegedly circulated a piece of paper titled "History of the N-word that included "N-word bucks," CBS13 first reported. The teacher was put on leave, Elk Grove Unified School District confirmed to The Independent. This sheet also included a so-called dollar bill that included racist imagery and phrases, the outlet reported, as well as a warning that read: "Some of the content in this writing may be offensive to children. Elk Grove Unified School District told The Independent in a statement that it does not condone the use of such materials, as they do not represent nor reflect the districts core values. The school district is conducting an investigation into the incident, including determining the origin of the materials. Upon completion of the investigation, the district will take appropriate corrective and restorative action, the statement continued. open image in gallery Katherine L Albiani Middle School, where a teacher is under investigation after circulating a sheet that included "N-word bucks" ( Google Maps ) The middle school also sent a letter Monday to families outlining the "inappropriate materials containing racially offensive content." Parents fumed over the vague letter during a Tuesday school board meeting. Discussions around this incident were not on the meetings agenda, but it was brought up by the community, the outlet reported. "The N-word, the images, the stereotypes covering the bill were just crazy," one parent said. "There's no possible way this can be framed as an educational endeavor," another parent said. One district leader said an investigation into the matter was ongoing, but didnt elaborate, according to CBS13. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Firefighters battled over 170 blazes across North and South Carolina over the weekend as dry conditions and strong winds fueled fast-moving wildfires, prompting evacuations and sending residents indoors. In South Carolina, more than 175 fires have torn across the state, forcing Governor Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency on Sunday. The order aimed to bolster wildfire response efforts and ensure adequate resources for firefighters. A statewide burning ban also remained in effect on Tuesday. Careless behaviors, such as burning on the wrong day, leaving a fire unattended, not staying with a fire until it is fully extinguished, can result in a fire escaping and becoming a dangerous wildfire that quickly threatens lives and property, North Carolina Forest Service Assistant Commissioner and State Forester Greg Hicks warned on Monday. Follow our live coverage of wildfires. One of the largest fires erupted in the Carolina Forest area, just west of Myrtle Beach. The Horry County blaze, which started Saturday, rapidly expanded to 1,600 acres, doubling in size overnight. By Tuesday morning, it had spread across 2,059 acres and was 30 percent contained, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission. While the fire had forced evacuations, many residents have been able to return home. No injuries or structural losses have been reported. However, fire danger was expected to continue through Tuesday afternoon, bringing gusts between 20 and 25mph. open image in gallery A weekend map shows all the fires reported in North Carolina, with blazes marked by red still active. There were fewer on Tuesday as crews made progress ( Screengrab/North Carolina Forest Fire ) In North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service reported multiple wildfires burning across four national forests. The largest, in Uwharrie National Forest, located about 50 miles (80km) east of Charlotte, had burned approximately more than 400 acres (162 hectares) by Monday. Further west, in Polk County, a brush fire near the town of Tryon threatened communities in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fire had consumed 593 acres and was 63 percent contained, as crews made tremendous progress. There is a storm front approaching and there will be high winds before and after the rain. It does look like there will be a lot of rain so the burn ban for Polk County will remain in place, until there is a significant amount of rain, said Polk County Emergency Management. The North Carolina Forest Service has deployed aircraft for water drops and back-burning operations. Officials warn that residents near affected areas should expect heavy smoke as containment efforts continue. And, wildfire smoke was impacting visibility in South Carolina, making driving tricky. Due to the nearby wildfire incident, heavy smoke is expected in the Carolina Forest area through at least midday Tuesday, the county police said. open image in gallery A helicopter drops water to help contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 2025, where residents were ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods ( AP ) The National Weather Service has cited critically dry vegetation and low humidity as key factors fueling the blazes. While the Horry County fire is believed to be human-caused, the investigation into the matter has not been completed. It remains unclear what caused the other fires. To watch some of our neighbors houses catch on fire is something Ive never experienced before, Polk County resident Phillip Smith told WBTV on Monday. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A toddler in Missouri is dead from severe malnutrition after not being fed for nearly two full days, according to authorities. Alyssa Nicole Wehmeyer, 21, was arrested Monday on one count of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, a warrant filed in Cape Girardeau Circuit Court shows. She is being held at the Scott County Jail on $100,000 cash bond. Cape Girardeau sits about 115 miles southeast of St. Louis. An autopsy found the child, who was reportedly 1 year old , hadnt eaten for approximately 43 hours, according to the warrant and an accompanying probable cause affidavit , which says medical examiners found very little evidence of food in the stomach. Wehmeyer does not have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached for comment. The Cape Girardeau Police Department found the childs body on February 28th at Wehmeyers home, and requested assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the probable cause affidavit states. Investigators later interviewed Wehmeyer, who said the child had last eaten on February 26th between 5 and 6 p.m., according to the affidavit. open image in gallery ( Cape Girardeau Circuit Court ) It says Wehmeyer told police that she changed the childs diaper on February 27th, between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and put the toddler to bed at roughly 6:30 p.m. At this time, it had been roughly 24-hours since [the child] had eaten, the affidavit states. On February 28th, the child woke up crying at around 2 a.m., at which point Wehmeyer held them for 30 to 40 minutes, then laid them back down in their crib, the affidavit goes on. She didnt check up on the child until about 1 p.m. that afternoon, and noticed [its] lips were blue and was not breathing, the affidavit continues. I asked Wehmeyer about the severe blisters on [the childs] buttocks from diaper rash, the police investigator wrote in the affidavit. Wehmeyer informed us that it had been nearly nineteen hours since she last changed [its] diaper. open image in gallery The Missouri State Highway Patrol was called in for assistance, an affidavit filed in Cape Girardeau Circuit Court shows ( AFP via Getty Images ) By now, the child hadnt eaten in more than 36 hours and had been left unattended for nearly 19 hours, according to the affidavit. Wehmeyer informed us that she should have taken [the child] to the doctor on the 27th and should have changed [its] diaper more regularly, but she had a migraine, the affidavit states. Wehmeyer stated she had taken three Excedrin and laid down for a nap while at home alone with [the child]. At one point during the interview, Wehmeyer informed us that she didn't contact anyone to seek medical treatment regarding malnutrition or the severe diaper rash. In total, the warrant for Wehmeyers arrest alleges, the child hadnt eaten in some 43 hours. Wehmeyer was arrested at the conclusion of the interview and taken to jail. She has no prior criminal history, according to the affidavit. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The white supremacist and convicted extortionist known as the Crying Nazi is back in hot water with law enforcement after being hit last weekend with criminal charges stemming from an incident at the Manchester, New Hampshire, rooming house where he has lived since his December 2022 release from federal prison. Christopher Cantwell was arrested shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday on one count of felony strangulation , as well as simple assault and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. Cantwell, 44, became notorious as one of the most visible participants in 2017s infamous Unite the Right rally, during which a group of marchers paraded through the University of Virginias Charlottesville campus brandishing tiki torches while chanting, among other things, Jews will not replace us. After the angry mob drew universal condemnation for its actions, during which non-violent counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed when a Unite the Right attendee intentionally drove his car over her, then-President Donald Trump further inflamed tensions by claiming there had been very fine people on both sides. open image in gallery Christopher Cantwell became one of the most recognizable faces of the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia ( Getty Images ) On Tuesday, Cantwell told The Independent what led to his latest arrest, insisting the accusations were complete BS. I didn't strangle anyone, he argued. People who are trying to cause legal problems for other people know that they can escalate a misdemeanor to a felony by saying strangulation occurred. Cantwell laid the blame on a local man who entered his room, allegedly without permission, and also claimed he was the target of a previous break-in just over a week ago. This is New Hampshire, not North Korea, and I have every right to physically remove someone from my home when they refuse to leave upon being ordered to do so, Cantwell went on. He said the person refused multiple verbal commands to leave while raising his voice to disturb neighbors and escalate the conflict. I used the absolute minimum amount of force that I could to remove a trespasser who physically resisted my attempts to remove him. open image in gallery Christopher Cantwell became known as the Crying Nazi after posting a video of himself in tears upon learning there was a warrant out for his arrest following the 2017 Unite the Right march ( YouTube ) The strangulation charge, which carries up to seven years behind bars, is defined under New Hampshire state law as the application of pressure to another person's throat or neck, or the blocking of the person's nose or mouth, that causes the person to experience impeded breathing or blood circulation or a change in voice. News of Cantwells latest arrest was first revealed by Charlottesville-based journalist Molly Conger, host of the podcast Weird Little Guys, which exposes the activities of right-wing extremists. Emily Gorcenski, a data scientist and antifascist researcher who was brutally attacked by Unite the Right attendees while covering the rally, began tracking Cantwell and other members of white supremacist groups in 2018. Although she said she cannot speak to the particulars of Cantwells latest run-in with the law, Gorcenski described him on Tuesday as having a history of violence. But more than that, he has a history of trying to play the victim when being caught in his violent acts, Gorcenski told The Independent. He did this when he was convicted in federal charges for extortion, he did this when he was sued for participating in a violent conspiracy against civil rights in Charlottesville, and he did this when I swore a complaint against him for violently assaulting me with pepper spray at the University of Virginia. open image in gallery Charlottesville counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed when a right-wing protester intentionally drove his car into a crowd ( Getty Images ) From Cantwells perspective, Gorcenski went on, his frequent violence is always just and his victims are always liars. Unfortunately for him, there is rarely much overlap between Chriss world and the real world, she said. I hope one day he learns to take accountability for his actions. Cantwell is a New York native who grew up in an affluent suburb on Long Island. He told the Southern Poverty Law Centers Hatewatch investigative unit that his father was one of 11,000 air traffic controllers fired in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan after refusing a back-to-work order amid a nationwide strike for better pay and increased benefits. He has agitated for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, for Democrats and communists to be physically removed from the country, and for white men to take multiple wives in an effort to produce more Caucasian babies. open image in gallery Christopher Cantwell is now living in small-town New Hampshire ( Getty Images ) Due to his federal conviction, Cantwell cannot presently vote, but has been vocal about the fact that he voted for God Emperor Donald Trump in 2016. Do I have a capacity for violence? You f*****g bet I do, Cantwell told Hatewatch prior to his 41-month federal prison sentence , which was handed down in September 2021. I carry two pistols, and Ive been in multiple different types of combat training. I can f*****g harm a man, and Ill put an end to a life if I have to, but I dont particularly want to. Ive been involved with enough violence to know that it can go very bad, and I take prudent measures to avoid getting myself into violent conflict. Cantwell earned the Crying Nazi nickname after posting a video of himself in tears following the Unite the Right march, upon learning there was a warrant out for his arrest. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Friends of an injured Colorado firefighter pooled $1,500 in DoorDash meal-delivery credits he could use while recovering from a shoulder surgery, but the app temporarily locked him out over fraud concerns, according to his family. Wilson Costa of the Denver Fire Department was injured in January, fighting a blaze in a warehouse. As he recovered from injuries sustained in the effort, friends pooled their funds to support him. "We are very blessed with such awesome friends and family who are taking care of us," Wilson told 9News. open image in gallery DoorDash told family issue would be resolved in matter of a few days, but it took nearly a week and media pressure to access donations ( 9News ) However, when it came time to starting to buy meals, DoorDash froze his account, his wife Whitney told the station. She called the apps customer service team, who said the account had been flagged for fraud and that the error would be resolved within 24 to 72 hours, but a fix didnt come after nearly a week of waiting. I felt very defeated and super deflated, Whitney told 9News. I took myself upstairs, had a good cry, and then I got enraged, and my sense of injustice kind of went next level. After calling DoorDash repeatedly, Whitney brought her story to Steve on Your Side, a consumer affairs reporter affiliated with the station. The station contacted DoorDash about the couples case, and the issue was resolved in a matter of hours, with the app adding an addition $500 donation of its own. We deeply appreciate the bravery and sacrifice of firefighters and first responders who risk their lives to protect our communities, the company said in a statement about the issue. We sincerely apologize for this mistake and have reached out to make it right." Costa plans to use some of the money to help others who are less fortunate. open image in gallery Firefighter plans to donate some of the funds to the less fortunate ( 9News screengrab ) His initial injuries came from a fire that broke out in January at a vacant warehouse Denver warehouse near 40th and Walnut Street. Firefighters started off fighting the blaze inside the structure, but later had to retreat and battle the fire from the outside because the building was in danger of collapsing. The structure had been the site of a previous blaze, determined to come from an individual who started a fire for warmth inside. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The average tax return in 2025 is up $240 through the week ending February 21, meaning many Americans are getting more money back this year than they mightve assumed. More than 42 million returns have already been processed, with the average return coming back around $3,453, according to an analysis by MLive. Thats a 7.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the report. The average direct deposit return is $3,505, which represents an increase of 7.1 percent over 2024. The news comes as a welcome update to a previous prediction that returns would be down this year. According to the analysis, those early reports did not include taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. A federal law prohibits Americans claiming those credits from being issued their returns until the middle of February. The average tax return in 2025 is up $240 through the week ending February 21, according to IRS data ( Associated Press ) Now that those returns have been included in the IRSs data, the return amount has increased significantly. According to the analysis, the IRS has issued $102.2 billion in tax returns thus far. One number related to tax returns is down from 2024: the number of individuals who have already filed. So far this year, the IRS has received approximately 42.7 million returns, which is down 4.2 percent from this time last year. Despite that, the total number of returns issued thus far 29.6 million is up versus this time last year by 2.3 percent. The data comes at a time when government workers including IRS workers are wondering how long they'll have their jobs. The Department of Government Efficiency, under Elon Musk, has been gutting federal agencies and laying off thousands of federal workers. The IRS has not escaped its gaze; as many as 7,000 workers at the agency have been identified as potential targets of layoffs, according to The New York Times. There is no possible way there wont be a reduction in service, given the I.R.S. has been trying to hire employees and they havent even filled all of their openings, Tom OSaben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, told The New York Times. That said, tax experts have advised Americans to follow the same advice they give every year: the earlier you file, the better. Thus far there have been no delays reported. Returns that are filed digitally and request direct deposits are typically processed faster than others. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Experts say consumers and businesses will be the hardest hit after President Donald Trump's long-threatened tariffs plunged the country into an escalating trade war with China, Canada and Mexico. From Tuesday, 25 percent tariffs have been applied on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with a heightened 20 percent levy on Chinese goods. All three countries have announced retaliatory measures and consumers and businesses will feel it most. Companies big and small will face higher costs on the goods they buy from other countries, and could have little recourse but to hike prices themselves. For consumers, that will likely mean more expensive price tags on everything from cars, appliances and other big-ticket items to smaller, everyday purchases including electronics, gasoline and groceries. How are Canada, Mexico and China responding? Canada, Mexico and China all declared on Tuesday that they would impose retaliatory taxes on many U.S. products. China is imposing tariffs of up to 15 percent on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports, including American-grown chicken, pork, soy and beef. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Unlike Canada or China, however, she said she would not announce specific tariffs until Sunday possibly indicating that Mexico still hopes to de-escalate the trade war. open image in gallery A sign announcing the removal of American-made products at a store in Toronto, Canada ( The Canadian Press ) All of the economies involved in the tariffs will see a loss in their real GDP (gross domestic product) and increasing consumer prices in general," said Wendong Zhang, an assistant professor of applied economics and policy at Cornell University. Canada and Mexico will suffer considerably more than the U.S. because of the U.S. economys size and strengthening dollar, Zhang added. For the U.S., the combined tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could result in about a 0.4 percent GDP loss, amounting to over $100 billion, he said. The tariffs may be short-lived if the U.S. economy suffers. But Trump could also impose more tariffs on additional countries such as India or EU nations, and more products such as computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs. The president has injected a disorienting and unpredictable volatility into the world economy, leaving it off-balance as people wonder what he will do next. What is the impact on US businesses? Manufacturing companies and retailers for a wide array of goods will feel the impact. International trade is critically important to our business and industry," Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on an earnings call on Tuesday. The consumer electronics supply chain is highly global, technical and complex. China and Mexico remain the No. 1 and No. 2 sources for products we sell, respectively. At Target, sales and profits slipped during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and there will be meaningful pressure on the company's profits in early 2025 because of the tariffs and other costs, CEO Brian Cornell said at the companys annual investor meeting Tuesday. Car companies supply chains that cross the borders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico could be disrupted in addition to auto parts that come from China. What impact will the tariffs have on consumers? Tariffs on China could impact a variety of consumer products, including cellphones, childrens toys and clothing that Americans buy every day. Some companies have been working to delay or lessen the blow on consumers by stockpiling what they can or shifting manufacturing and suppliers back to the U.S. or other countries not impacted by the new levies. Still, its easier to stock up on some goods than others. And even some made-in-USA products may contain plastics or packaging from China, for example. Wider supply chain shifts are also complicated and far from easy to carry out. open image in gallery Susano Cordoba sells peanuts to truck drivers lining up to cross the border into the United States from Mexico ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) When it comes to consumer electronics, We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely, Best Buys Barry said. And with the U.S. spending billions on fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico and Canada each year, shoppers could face additional sticker shock in the grocery aisle. The new tariffs could also hike prices of tequila, mezcal, whiskey and other spirits made in those countries. Tariffs add another mental calculus for consumers on top of other price pressures today such as soaring egg prices due to avian flu, Zhang says. He adds that shoppers will need to watch prices for everyday items more closely. When will customers see prices go up? Exactly when consumers will see prices rise isnt clear, but perishables will likely get hit first. Especially during colder months, retailers rely on foreign imports for fresh fruit and vegetables, and long-term storage isn't an option. Shoppers could start seeing the prices of produce such as avocados, which come from Mexico, go up industrywide as early as in a few days, Targets Cornell told reporters on Tuesday. But he added that the extent to which prices will increase depends on how things play out over the next few weeks. I think things are unfolding so quickly, Cornell said. We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think were going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we dont want to overreact right now to one day and one headline. When Tom* got his first glimpse of Hannah in real life, he thought she was the most gorgeous woman hed ever seen. Hed already checked out her photoshoots, of course and hed already perused her OnlyFans page. But when he came across her at a prominent Los Angeles nightclub, he was bowled over by how beautiful she was in the flesh. And he had something specific he wanted to ask her. There was an item I thought she might sell, he says, like a specific bra she had worn. I was like: Oh, thatd be cool to have. Because it was for a shoot she did shes not in the porn industry, shes a model model, like an actual model. So he struck up a conversation with her. I was like, Oh, that was a really sexy bra, do you still have it? I would pay to have it as a thing in my collection. Although Tom concedes that the request sounds weird in hindsight, he adds that hed already purchased a lot of content from Hannahs OnlyFans page, as well a handful of other models pages, and in Hannahs case, Ive already bought videos and photos and whatever. Like at a certain point it gets to be: what else is left to buy? Hannah was open to the suggestion she said she still had the bra, and was fine with the idea of selling it but quickly directed Tom back to her chatbox on OnlyFans. They could discuss things further on there, she said. Tom agreed, and snapped a picture with her before they both got on with their night. Things took a turn when Tom followed her instructions, however. Back behind a screen, Hannah seemed to have no memory at all of their interaction. What are you talking about? he says she responded when he reminded her of their conversation. I dont meet people outside of OnlyFans. She didnt know if she even had the bra, she added. Shed have to go back through all her stuff from previous photoshoots, and there were no guarantees. open image in gallery Hannah and Tom ( Courtesy of Tom ) Tom was taken aback. When Hannah denied meeting him, he sent her the picture hed taken of them together, sipping cocktails in the nightclub just days before. And then the chatbox went silent. Hours later, he got a response: Hannah did remember him after all, and she was sorry, she just responded like that because she has to be safe in her line of work. Tom said he understood, but his suspicion was piqued. The next time he saw Hannah and Kayley, another OnlyFans model whom he followed and had purchased a lot of content from in one of the LA clubs, he watched what they were doing before sending a suggestive message via the OnlyFans chat. In both cases, he got an instant reply. But Hannah and Kayley were busy, ordering cocktails and chatting with friends. They certainly werent on their phones, offering up supposedly personalized OnlyFans content within minutes. So who was? The answer to that question forms the crux of a class action lawsuit filed in July 2024 by the legal firm Hagens Berman, which details how OnlyFans openly allows the use of chatters who impersonate models and who are trained to extract as much money as possible from those models customers. Usually young men with proficient English who live in places like Venezuela and the Philippines, they are badly paid by U.S. standards but well-paid by the standards of their own countries and they can earn lucrative bonuses by selling supposedly tailored content through the chatbox, all the while hooking a customer in by making them believe theyre in a personal relationship with the model. These chatters operate in plain sight entire chatter agencies, like Convo Bunny and Ghost Chatters (Do you think CEOs sit replying to customer enquiries for hours a day? No, they hire people. Why treat your OnlyFans differently?) have websites and testimonials. Job descriptions are posted on the r/OnlyFansChatter subreddit which has 12,000 members, putting it in the top 7% of all subreddits by population size promising $2.50$3.50/hr + commissions (Avg. $1,000$1,200/month No OF experience needed!) or, for elite chatters, $10/hr (~$4,500$5,000/month) + High-Performance Bonuses (Minimum 2 years of chatter experience required!). Considering that OnlyFans takes a 20 percent cut of everything a model sells on their website and is, according to its most recent publicly filed records, making over $2 billion per year, presumably almost exclusively through that avenue, it is strongly disincentivized to stop the practice. Customers dont pay to chat to the models, but having a personal relationship with a girl-next-door type model as opposed to, say, watching anonymous porn is central to OnlyFans allure. And inside chats, models can ask for tips or send extra content for money. Because of this, Hagens Bermans class action lawsuit filed on behalf of five plaintiffs, who seek triple damages and full coverage of their legal costs accuses OnlyFans of falsely promising authentic connections, rather than openly stating that chatters may operate on their platform; of knowing that chatters operate in violation of their own terms and allowing them to do so anyway; and of a failure to enforce its own policies that goes beyond mere negligence and supports an inference that OnlyFans is acting intentionally to facilitate the chatter scams; and of therefore taking mens money under false pretenses. It also claims that the use of chatters has caused emotional harm to the plaintiffs, because many of them shared intimate images of themselves that they believed to be private between them and a model, and because some of them believed they were in personal relationships with models when they were actually being manipulated by trained chatters. The lawsuit is filed against the parent company of OnlyFans and a handful of agencies that are alleged to provide chatters to the platform. OnlyFans was contacted by The Independent for comment and did not respond. Robert Carey, one of the two attorneys who filed the legal complaint, says that his team has now spoken to hundreds of men who were duped by chatters and that the money lost by each individual has ranged anywhere from, Oh, Ive spent a total of $5,000 to, I spent $70,000. Meanwhile, the models who can afford to hire the agencies mostly those who are in the top 1 percent of OnlyFans earners are regularly pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars per week by Hagens Bermans estimates, some over a million. A lot of these men especially our class reps they fully believe that they were in these relationships with these women, says Gloria*, a paralegal at Hagens Berman who preferred to stay anonymous because there are strong feelings about the case online, and women who are connected with OnlyFans in any manner often become the target of online harassment. Some even went as far as buying plane tickets because they believed they were going to meet with these women in certain places going there and then getting ghosted. So theyre fully invested. Theyre fully invested, and they fully believe the fantasy. And a lot of them will say: That might make me stupid, but they thought they were special. And of course, they wouldnt have spent that much money if they had known that it was a ruse. Whats so insidious, Gloria adds, is that the chatters are trained specifically in how to overcome doubt if the men talking to them become suspicious: Theyll be like: No, baby. Why dont you believe me? So theyll always guilt-trip it back to him not trusting her. I thought you loved me theyll use that a lot. Basically what they do is they make them feel bad for even asking, to the point where they stop asking. But what about the ones who ask for some form of proof? They can do that, says Gloria. Indeed, men will often notice discrepancies in how the model is talking especially if they forget key details, like a dogs name or a major life event, because the person whos typing is actually one of a rotating list of chatters provided by the agency and ask for videos or photos that can prove the model is speaking in real time. Usually, the chatter agency will already have basic images or videos ready to hand for such scenarios, such as images of the model holding up one, two, three, four or five fingers so the chatter can offer that as evidence and then quickly send it. But sometimes the requests will get more demanding. They ask for videos, like: I want you to say my name, says Gloria. Thats when the agency will reach out to the model and ask her to film the video, alleges the lawsuit which can mean a long delay in replying. The model adds the request to her long to-do list, because shes likely to be highly in demand. Gloria explains thats the moment when some men realize theyve been duped, because its like: Why does it take you four or five days to do this? Most of the men who realize theyve been exploited by OnlyFans chatters are too embarrassed to speak publicly about what they went through, says Robert Carey. Thats unsurprising, considering one of the most common uses of the OnlyFans chatbox is dick ratings, which is exactly what it sounds like.Men will send graphic photos of their genitals for in-the-moment ratings by models, and this sensitive material is clearly presumed to be viewed privately by the model in question. But when agencies with rotating chatters gain the logins of the models, those images can be viewed by one, or multiple, other people few of whom resemble the model they think theyre communicating with, according to the lawsuit and chatter agencies. Its not just those men who would rather not be identified. The legal complaint also includes a number of men who believed they were in long-running, committed relationships with a model they met through the website, and are humiliated when they find out theyve simply been sending money to a group of disinterested young men in the gig economy. The one thing that struck me is you see these guys that are just ordinary, hard-working people, says Carey, and they drop so much coin on this, youre just like: Whoa. One of the reasons that Hagens Bermans lawsuit hasnt progressed since July is because OnlyFans is insisting the class representatives should have their names publicly revealed, Carey says. The legal complaint was filed using just the mens initials, though their full names are available privately to OnlyFans and their legal team. OnlyFans pushing to have those initials changed to full names is, in Careys opinion, an intimidation tactic aimed at trying to embarrass them into dropping the lawsuit. Not every man is reticent about talking about their experiences, however. Some want the world to know exactly what they went through. Thats how it was for Tom, and how it is for OnlyFans customer-turned-supersleuth James*. James, who works in IT and is based in Texas, says he realized quite early on in his OnlyFans membership that the top models werent always who they seemed. Like a few of the men who spoke to Robert Carey and Gloria, he became suspicious when he noticed tonal inconsistencies in the way a model would write to him. This model, who the chatbox claimed was based less than two miles away from him, offered to give him proof in the form of holding up a numbers of fingers, so I said: OK, hold up three fingers. She holds up three fingers. Im like: OK, do two. She did two. Im like: OK, this is way too fast for that [and] it doesnt look like that was taken today. And then what I would do is I would take the raw image and scrape the metadata off of it to see when it was taken and what kind of camera it was taken on. And it was about six months beforehand, or a year beforehand. So these pictures are about a year old. James didnt stop there: What I did with one of her pictures was Id seen a sign in the background and I zoomed in and it was in German she was in some tanning salon, I think. So I was able to pinpoint where that tanning salon was in Berlin. The model wasnt based anywhere near his home in Austin, he realized. She didnt even live in the country. It wasnt long before another chatter messed up, big-time. James had suspected for a while that he was sometimes receiving messages which had been coded and automatically pushed to multiple customers accounts, with supposedly personalized videos to unlock for cash. There was one that I talked to where they had messed up and when they had tried to refer back to me by my pseudonym that I used on there, he says. So I told them: Well, my name is such-and-such. And when they typed back to me, it said {Name}, not my name. Itd be in brackets, like as if you were programming it. What happened next was eye-opening. I said: OK, gig is up. I know youre a chatter. Tell me where youre from. And they told me that they were a man from the Philippines and they were getting paid about eight dollars and fifty cents an hour to do this. open image in gallery The message that confirmed Jamess suspicions James wasnt exactly surprised by the admission, but he was surprised by some of the facts: They said that it provides pretty well for their family. They really dont have to do that much. You know, just talk dirty or whatever, send videos. And the more that they harvest it basically out of somebody, the more that they got from the model, cause they would pay him bonuses. Once hed spoken to one chatter, James decided to directly address others in top models chatboxes. And he was surprised how many would just flat-out admit it, like: Im doing this for money to support my family. He noticed how international the chatters were, too: Ive met a Romanian chatter, Ive met a Filipino chatter, Ive met them from all over the world almost some in Nigeria. Some of the men were ashamed to do it, he says, because they cant find other employment, but they have to do it to survive. And James understood that the job must take its toll: constantly roleplaying as a horny 21-year-old American woman when youre a middle-aged Romanian man just trying to put food on the table for your family has got to be, at the very least, psychologically weird. Thats without even thinking about the amount of graphic photos they inevitably must have to see per shift. And it seems clear from multiple posts on the r/OnlyFansChatter subreddit that models frequently fail to pay their chatters, even after the agencies have had them working for weeks. Others, however, were despicable people, according to James, or people who had long forgotten about the human cost of their interactions and had turned it into a game-like strategy. One of them that I talked to, he would do three different models at the same time He would triple-dip so he could [maximize profits] and he had a script of what to say if somebody asked a certain thing or how to behave. If someone asks for something very time-sensitive, like someone said, I want you to hold up six fingers and hold up todays newspaper, then he has to get a hold of the model fast, otherwise, you know, the covers blown. James even managed to speak to enough models that he came up with his own heuristic for whether or not one might be employing chatters: Typically, if they were smaller, they would be a one-woman show. But if they had over 500 to 1,000 people following them, then thats when they start hiring the chatters. This fact alone is why their class action lawsuit shouldnt just concern men who have been duped out of their time and money, says Robert Carey: Ill tell you who the victims are really. It would be the girls who do not hire agencies, because whats happening is theres a finite pool of dollars that go into this, in the aggregate, and theyre taking the lions share of it for that small 1% or 2%. And if they had to do it manually, they could only take so many people, which would push more money back down to the other people who are doing it honestly. In Careys opinion, that amounts to those bigger, more well-known models with chatter agencies using unfair trade practices to get an outsized portion of the revenue, to the detriment of the people who arent doing that. And they are competitors, right? So its a competition fraud in some sense thats ripping off all the girls who would get some of that overflow business if the other people were doing it legitimately. As for Tom who deactivated his OnlyFans account over a year ago he says he understands that logistically, dealing with hundreds of thousands of inbound chats is impossible. But he wishes that OnlyFans as a company had been upfront about the fact that they cant guarantee youre actually talking with the models in the chatbox. He keeps in touch, in a way, with Hannah and Kayley. Hannah left LA last year and moved back to Arizona, to start a local business and be closer to her family. Tom went down to a store where she was promoting her business recently because hes always happy to support her. They had a quick chat and she knew who I was, he says. Kayley was at AVN otherwise known as the worlds biggest porn convention in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, which Tom traveled to attend. But he felt awkward about joining the lawsuit and talking about it publicly when he saw Kayley posing with fans. Even though he keeps himself anonymous, he still believes Kayley knows that hes outed her. Specific details that hes chosen to share would probably tip her off, he says such as the fact that he once bought her an expensive pair of boots off her personal wish list for her birthday, back when he was still spending a lot of time and money on OnlyFans. After buying the boots, he asked her in person if shed make a personalized video wearing the boots and she agreed, but told him to follow up with her about it on the site. There, a chatter told him that they had no recollection of the purchase. That was another moment that made him realize hed never been conversing with the real Kayley online. I tried to keep a distance at the convention in January, he says, but then there was one point where she did see me and she actually gave me a really evil look. Its a shame, he says, because he still thinks Kayley is smart and interesting and understands why she does what she does. This is their livelihood, he says. This is how they make money. I respect women who work in this field. I dont look, everyone needs to make money and make a living. For me, it wasnt about women using [chatters], because again, they need to make the most money they can, and Im all for that. Where my problem stood was with OnlyFans, the site itself. Dont tell us we are chatting with the actual women and lie about it. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump delivered his much-anticipated Congressional address on Tuesday (4 March) after spending the day blasting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over retaliatory tariffs. The presidents speech came against the backdrop of his trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which went into effect Tuesday. This led Mr Trudeau to announce retaliatory tariffs. Trudeau announced in an angry press conference that he would also be implementing 25 percent tariffs on U.S. goods. Its not in my habit to agree with The Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though youre a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do, Trudeau said on Tuesday. The president responded by mocking Trudeau, calling him the governor of Canada and threatening to immediately issue reciprocal levies. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice During the opening moments of Donald Trumps address to Congress, Democratic representative Al Green got to his feet in protest, pointing his finger at the president while shouting you have no mandate. The congressman, who represents Texas 9th District and is currently in his 11th term, was swiftly escorted out, telling reporters outside: "It's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to the president. Green, 77, has previously spoken out against Trump, including over his comments about Gaza, and vowed to introduce articles to impeach the president for what would be the third time. So who is the firebrand Democrat from The Lone Star state? open image in gallery During the opening moments of Donald Trumps address to Congress, Democratic representative Al Green protested, pointing his finger at the president while shouting you have no mandate ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) open image in gallery The congressman, who has previously spoken out against Trump, including over his comments about Gaza, was quickly escorted from the chamber ( AP ) Originally from Louisiana, Green earned a law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in 1974, despite not having an undergraduate degree. After graduating he co founded the law firm Green, Wilson, Dewberry, and Fitch. In 1977, he was appointed justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, and served until retiring in 2004, when he successfully ran for Congress. Running on his long record of public service in Houston, he won the election with 72 percent of the vote. In his first term, Green introduced the Homes for Heroes Act, which created a veterans affairs position in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist veterans experiencing homelessness to find affordable housing. open image in gallery Green is currently in his 11th term of representing Texas 9th District having first gained the seat in 2004. He has consistently been a vocal critic of Trump ( 2025 Getty Images ) During his tenure in Congress, Green has continued to focus on issues such as fair housing and fair hiring practices for the poor and minorities. He has also been a very public and vocal critic of Trump, having previously led multiple attempts to have the president impeached, while the White House has dismissed his protests as publicity stunts. Last month, barely two weeks after Trump returned to office, Green announced he wanted to introduce further impeachment articles against him, also condemning Trumps call for the U.S. to take over Gaza. It was unbelievable, when I saw the President and the Prime Minister of Israel standing near each other, and the President was indicating that there would be this takeover of Gaza, he told The Independent at the time. open image in gallery Last month, barely two weeks after Trump returned to office, Green announced he wanted to introduce further impeachment articles against him, also condemning Trumps call for the U.S. to take over Gaza. ( Getty Images ) In 2017, before Trump was successfully impeached twice, Green forced a vote on whether to open debate on a motion to impeach the president. The effort failed after only 58 other Democrats supported it. After his threat to introduce further impeachment articles in February, the White House dismissed Greens efforts, with White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields accusing Democrats of continuing to waste their time on publicity stunts that go against the wishes of the American people. President Trump was elected in a historic landslide to deliver his America First agenda and keep the promises he made on the campaign trail Democrats can either get on board or keep losing elections, Fields previously told The Independent. Green currently serves on the Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Homeland Security. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The mayor of Washington, D.C. signaled Tuesday that the mural marking Black Lives Matter Plaza in view of the White House will likely be painted over after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill threatening the Districts federal funding if it fails to change the name. Black Lives Matter Plaza is marked with a mural of its name in bright-yellow letters along a two-block pedestrian stretch of 16th Street NW in downtown D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the second Black woman to serve as D.C. mayor, addressed wiping out the name in a post on X and in a news release titled The Evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza a day after the proposed legislation was introduced. She wrote that the plaza would become part of a citywide project in which students and artists would create new murals on the street to celebrate the countrys 250th birthday. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern, Bowser wrote. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety and supporting our residents affected by these cuts, she added. Mayor Bowser released the following statement on the evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza: pic.twitter.com/6dk8Jbc5ir Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 4, 2025 Bowser arranged to have the mural painted the morning of June 5, 2020, just days after federal authorities used chemical spray and smoke grenades to clear protesters from the area so that President Trump could walk to a historic church near the White House and pose for photographs holding a Bible. Activists across the nation during that time were protesting the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. Trump, who was rushed one night to the White House bunker with First Lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, amid protests, attacked Bowser as incompetent for renaming the plaza. The plaza bill, HR 1774, introduced by Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde, seeks to withhold federal funding unless the city removes the phrase Black Lives Matter from the street symbolically designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza ... in addition to government websites, documents and other material under Washington, D.C. jurisdiction. The bill calls for the area to be redesignated as Liberty Plaza. A group of Sunrise activists walk toward Black Lives Matter Plaza as people gather to celebrate Juneteenth in Washington, D.C. ( Getty Images ) The bill is currently in committee and has no cosponsors. It was not immediately clear if the mayor will rename the area Liberty Plaza. The plaza will still be part of the citys 250 mural project in honor of the countrys birthday next year, Bowser said. Students and artists will be invited to create new murals across all eight wards of the area, which will include Black Lives Matter Plaza. Bowser has been treading carefully since Trumps re-election. Last month, the president suggested the federal government should take over the District of Columbia, which is currently overseen by Congress, as established in the Constitution. About $1.5 billion in federal grant funding is slated for the citys 2025 fiscal year operating budget, according to the D.C. Policy Center. Washington, D.C. is expected to lose $1 billion over the next three years, largely due to federal layoffs expected to throw the area into a recession, the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported this week. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has eliminated thousands of federal government jobs. Approximately 13 percent of the citys population has been employed by the federal government. The Fiscal Policy Institute predicts the revenue drop will disproportionately harm Black workers. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The State Department is shutting down its air quality monitoring program after over a decade of collecting public data worldwide and reporting it from 80 embassies and consulates around the world. The information was used for research, and to let foreign service officers decide if it was safe to allow their children to be outside. It has also prompted improvements in air quality in countries such as China. The State Department told The New York Times that the program was being suspended because of budget constraints. The department added that the air monitors at embassies would continue to operate for an undetermined period of time, but that live data collected would no longer be sent to an app previously operated and monitored by the department as well as other platforms until funding for the underlying network is resolved. Health officials and environmental experts told The Times that the decision would harm Americans abroad, particularly those working for the U.S. government. Embassies are situated sometimes in very difficult air quality circumstances, Gina McCarthy, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration, told the newspaper. Alongside then-Secretary of State John Kerry, McCarthy expanded the program from China to encompass the wider world. Pedestrians walk on an overpass as traffic snarls amid haze from air pollution in Beijing in 2023. The State Department is shutting down a worldwide U.S. air quality monitoring program that helped improve air quality in China. ( AFP via Getty Images ) You cant send people in risky areas without information, McCarthy told the newspaper. We generally think of risky areas as war zones or something like that. But its equally important to look at whether their health is deteriorating because they are in a place with such poor air quality, she noted. American officials in Beijing put in place air quality monitors on the roof of the U.S. embassy in 2008 and began sharing hourly updates about the levels of PM 2.5, a particulate matter thats one of the most dangerous kinds of air pollutants. The particles can infiltrate the lungs and bloodstream and have been linked to respiratory issues, heart attacks, and other problems. The information shared by the embassy showed that the air pollution was worse than what the Chinese government was willing to reveal. All hell broke loose, McCarthy told The Times. The Chinese government attempted to press the embassy to stop sharing the data, but were unsuccessful. Chinese officials argued that the readings were illegal, and they attacked the quality of the science, The Times reported. In the end, the Chinese government set up its own monitoring system, boosted the budget for pollution control, and subsequently started working with the U.S. to improve air quality. McCarthy and Kerry announced in 2015 that they were expanding the air monitoring project across other embassies and consulates around the world. They argued that air pollution, much like climate change, needed global data and worldwide solutions. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed in a 2022 study that when U.S. diplomatic missions began sharing data on local air pollution, the host government enacted new measures. Since 2008, there had been reductions in fine particulate concentration levels in areas with an American monitoring program, leading to a lesser risk of premature death for more than 300 million people. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Democratic US senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the racial slur that President Donald Trump made toward her during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night in an interview with The Independent. I get under Donald Trumps skin, Warren said. During his address, Trump spoke about the war in Ukraine, which he has sought to bring to an abrupt end. He has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly starting the war despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin staged the invasion three years ago. Do you want to keep it going for another five years? he asked the Congress on Tuesday evening. You would say Pocahontas says yes. Trump press secretary defends Musk's clothes after Zelensky mocked for not wearing suit Trump has repeatedly called Warren Pocahontas due to the fact that before she ran for Senate, Warren had claimed that she had Native American heritage, specifically Cherokee. In 2018, as she prepared to run for the Democratic nomination for president, she released DNA test showing that only 1/64 of her DNA came from a Native American population. The Cherokee Nation later condemned Warren for releasing the test and she apologized. Trump has continued to use the slur against Warren for years. During the address, Warren clapped, smiled and shook her head as the president resurrected one of his favorite insults. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has visted Ukraine in the past. I was applauding his statement that the United States has given aid to Ukraine, she told The Independent. He's feeling the heat because he was delivering the speech on the day that he had stopped that same aid. The Trump administration this week paused aid to Ukraine as part of the fallout from the blow-up between Zelensky and Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Marco Rubio stresses the need to defend Ukraine during 2014 speech There's a lot of blowback over what he's doing in Ukraine, both here in Congress and across the country, she said. The American people understand Ukrainians have fought bravely to preserve their democracy, and they don't like Donald Trump jumping into bed with Putin. Warren also criticized Trump supposedly putting a month-long pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada for auto makers. There's a rule that applies across the board, and then one at a time, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a handful of other billionaires friends get an exception here and an exception there, she told The Independent. That means that the tariff that was originally announced applies to people who are not politically connected, but not really to anyone else. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Greenland's prime minister has issued a firm rebuttal to President Donald Trumps suggestion that the US could acquire the Arctic island, declaring, Greenland is ours. In a Facebook post published in Greenlandic and Danish, Mute Bourup Egede said that Greenland's citizens were neither American nor Danish, but Greenlandic, and that their futures would be decided by themselves. The post followed a direct appeal from Trump to Greenlanders during a speech to Congress on Tuesday. Trumps address, delivered just a week before Greenlands parliamentary elections, offered support for Greenland's self-determination while simultaneously expressing a desire to acquire the territory. We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America, Trump stated. He further promised to keep you safe, make you rich, and take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. However, Trump also revealed his administration's efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a long-standing US ally, stating they were working with everybody involved to try to get it. "We need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it," Trump said. Many in Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich island that is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, are worried and offended by Trump's threats to seize control of their homeland. Asked about Trump's comments, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen said on Wednesday he did not think Greenlanders wanted to separate from Denmark in order to instead become "an integrated part of America. A woman walks along the shore of a beach in Nuuk, Greenland ( AP ) He said he believed that Trump's reference to respecting Greenlanders' right to self-determination was "the most important part of that speech. "I'm very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we're working on that, to have a more equal relationship," the minister said during a trip to Finland. Lkke added that it was important that next week's parliamentary elections were free and fair without any kind of international intervention. Greenlanders will head to the polls on Tuesday. Trump's recent comments about taking over the island have ignited unprecedented interest in full independence from Denmark, which has become a key issue during campaign season. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Linda McMahon wasted no time in announcing plans to eliminate bureaucratic bloat at the Department of Education on the day she was sworn into office. McMahon was sworn in as Education Secretary Monday and it was swiftly followed by her plans to carry out President Donald Trumps vision for the department abolishing it. Trump has repeatedly said he wants McMahon, estranged wife of WWE mogul Vince McMahon, to put herself out of a job and shut down the department. My vision is aligned with the Presidents: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children, McMahon said in a message sent to staff Monday. She warned that the overhauling of the department will profoundly impact staff, budgets and agency operations. We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaula last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great, McMahon said. open image in gallery On Day 1, Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned that the overhauling of the department will profoundly impact staff, budgets and agency operations ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) The department sends federal money to public schools, manages student loans and oversees college financial aid. The federal agency does not decide what is taught in public schools and, as of September, its workforce had approximately 4,200 employees, according to the New York Times, making it the smallest of the 15 cabinet executive departments. McMahon acknowledged that she would need the cooperation of Congress to dismantle the department. Last month, dozens of Education Department employees were put on paid leave in response to an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government, the Associated Press reported. Most of the workers dont work in DEI but had taken an optional diversity course promoted by the department, according to a union that represents department staff. Trumps order called for government DEI officials to be fired to the maximum extent allowed by law. open image in gallery McMahon, pictured during her Senate confirmation hearing last month, said she plans to eliminate bureaucratic bloat at the department ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) In her statement, McMahon also lashed out at DEI initiatives and said that taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science and historynot divisive DEI programs and gender ideology. Democrats sounded the alarms about the proposal. Im highly concerned that her interest in destroying the Department of Education will mean children with special needs will not be able to access individualized education plans, that our lower-income students will be able to afford college and higher education, and that our school districts will lose out on critical funding to meet the needs and well being of their students, New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told ABC News. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state branded McMahon another unqualified billionaire who doesn't understand the Department she's tasked with leading, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent on the Senate Education Committee, added: We must make the Department of Education stronger and more efficient, not to dismantle it as Trump has proposed. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina congressman known for his hot-and-cold relationship with Donald Trump, has appeared to back a third term for the president. In a social media message, posted shortly after Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Graham wrote: My take on President @realDonaldTrumps address tonight: Inspiring, funny, compelling and the Democrats worst nightmare. He added: Trump 2028! Trump has often mentioned the possibility of a third term in the White House, frequently asking rally crowds if he should run again in 2028. The 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two terms in office. open image in gallery In a social media message, posted shortly after Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to champion a third term for the president ( AP ) Despite their previous clashes online in the run up to and during Trumps 2024 White House run, Graham now seems to be a fervent supporter of the president. Following the choppy White House meeting involving Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Graham told reporters that the sit-down had been an utter disaster and suggested that the Ukrainian president resign. The senator is only the latest lawmaker to appear to champion a third term for Trump. Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles in January introduced legislation to amend the Constitution to allow Trump to run for a third term. "President Trumps decisive leadership stands in stark contrast to the chaos, suffering, and economic decline Americans have endured over the past four years, the bill stated. He has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nations decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal, it added. Trump told House Republicans at a January gathering in Florida: Ive raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I cant use for myself, but Im not 100 percent sure. I think Im not allowed to run again. open image in gallery Despite their previous clashes online in the run up to and during Trumps 2024 presidential run, Graham now seems to be more fervent in his support for the president ( Getty Images ) The president then prodded House Speaker Mike Johnson, asking him: Am I allowed to run again? He added: Mike, I better not get you involved in that. Constitutional experts have said that such a situation would be virtually impossible. There is zero chance the Constitution will be amended in time for Donald Trump to see a revised version, political science Professor Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth told The Independent. It is very hard to change the Constitution. It requires two-thirds of both houses of Congress, and two-thirds of the states to approve the change, he added. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month ordering that large parcels of forest be chopped down to limit U.S. reliance on foreign timber days before he implemented tariffs on the countrys largest trading partners. In the order titled Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production signed on March 1, Trump claimed the country has enough timber resources to meet domestic demand, but federal policies have barred their full utilization and made the U.S. dependent on foreign producers. The order allows the U.S. Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture to bypass the Endangered Species Act protections to ramp up timber sales, ultimately resulting in the clear-cutting of massive tracts of federal forests. The agencies are directed to collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to set sales goals. The news comes less than a week after Trump announced hed selected Tom Schultz, a former Idaho timber executive, to serve as U.S. Forest Service Chief. Within 90 days of the orders signing, department heads are to set targets for the annual amount of timber to be offered for sale over the next four years. U.S. Forest Service crew members put tree branches into a wood chipper as they prepare the area for a prescribed burn in the Tahoe National Forest in 2023 ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) This executive order sets in motion a chainsaw free-for-all on our federal forests, argued Blaine Miller-McFeeley, senior legislative representative at Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy organization. Americans treasure our forests for all the benefits they provide, such as recreation, clean air, and clean drinking water. This order ignores these values and opens the door for wildlands to be plundered for nothing more than corporate gain. The organization warns that the executive order will destroy critical wildlife habitats and worsen the effects of climate change. Federal forests account for about one-third of all the forested lands in the U.S. The country has 81 million acres of protected forest. Its unclear which of those lands would be targeted by the order. Other environmental groups decried the decisions, stating the order would harm water quality by creating soil erosion, leading to sediment runoff into waterways, polluting water with dirt and debris, driving wildlife to extinction by requiring the departments to use emergency powers to facilitate logging, and increasing the risk of wildfires. There are more than 400 species protected under the Endangered Species Act, including grizzly bears, spotted owls and wild salmon. This executive order will decimate our federal forests. It will use tax dollars to line the pockets of corporate logging interests, undermine environmental laws, and take public forests out of public hands, members of the Climate Forests Coalition said in a joint statement on the executive order. The order is one of the more than 100 the president has signed since being sworn into office. Other actions Trump has taken regarding the climate and environment include withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, declaring a national energy emergency, doubling down on oil and gas exploitation and reversing a goal to make electric vehicles half of new cars sold by 2030. On Tuesday, Trump imposed tariffs on products imported from Canada, Mexico and China. The U.S. has historically imported timber from Canada, China, Brazil, Chile, and Vietnam. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Hayden Haynes, was arrested on a DUI charge following President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. A driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m. We responded and arrested them for DUI, U.S. Capitol Police told The Independent in a statement on Wednesday. USCP didnt respond to a request for a police report. Johnsons office confirmed the incident in a statement to NBC News. A law enforcement source told the network that the police report indicated that Haynes was arrested and released with a citation to appear in court. Johnson sat behind the president alongside Vice President JD Vance during Trumps address to Congress on Tuesday night. Speaker Mike Johnson attended Trumps speech on Tuesday night alongside Vice President JD Vance. Johnsons chief of staff was arrested for a DUI charge after the address ( 2025 Getty Images ) Haynes has long been at Johnsons side, having been chief of staff since Johnson became speaker in October 2023. He was also Johnsons chief of staff in his personal office between 2017 and 2023. He also held a number of jobs for former Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter between 2009 and 2016. Johnson has said that hes standing by his chief, according to NBC. The Speaker is aware of the encounter that occurred last night involving his Chief of Staff and the Capitol Police," a spokesperson for the speaker told the network. "The Speaker has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress. Because of this and Haydens esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Haydens ability to lead the Speakers office. Most violations in the nations capitol are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for D.C., but DUI charges are prosecuted by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, under the leadership of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb. This could prove significant as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., Ed Martin, is a conservative activist with connections to Capitol Hill Republicans. Trump wants Martin to be in the role permanently. He was handed access to footage from the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which Martin subsequently used to push conspiracy theories regarding the insurrection. Washingtons Metropolitan Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Florida Rep. Cory Mills last month, but Martins office didnt give it the green light. Mills faced an investigation concerning an alleged assault in an apartment building. Mills said police had stepped in to help "resolve a private matter, according to NBC. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is removing alcohol from the U.S. from its shelves after the Trump administrations tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday at midnight. The president imposed tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian goods, as well as a 10 percent tariff on energy. Ontario put in place a number of measures that it was close to enacting a few weeks ago, when the Trump White House came close to taking action on its tariff plans the first time. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, ordered the LCBO to remove U.S. alcohol from its shelves and catalogues. The regional alcohol agency is believed to be the largest alcohol buyer in the world, according to Global News. Its website went offline temporarily on Tuesday to remove the U.S. products. Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered the removal of U.S. alcohol from the shelves in the province ( AP ) Each year, Ontario imports $965 million of alcohol and previously had 3,600 U.S. products from 36 states for sale. As the exclusive wholesaler, American brands will no longer be available in the LCBO catalogue, meaning other retailers, bars and restaurants in the province will no longer be able to restock U.S. products, Ford said Tuesday. This is an enormous hit to the American producers. The premier said the alcohol would be put into storage and sold at a later time if the tariffs are scrapped. This comes as the CEO of Brown Forman, the manufacturer of Jack Daniels, said Wednesday that Canadian provinces removing American booze from its shelves is worse than a tariff. Lawson Whiting said it was a disproportionate response to Trumps tariffs. "I mean, that's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, (and) completely removing our products from the shelves," said Whiting during a post-earnings call, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, Canada put in place 25 percent tariffs on goods from the U.S., including booze. But Whiting also said that Canadian sales only account for one percent of their total sales. He added that the company would keep an eye on what happens in Mexico. Its annual report states that Mexican sales made up seven percent of its total last year. Whiting shared his concern regarding the "continued uncertainty and headwinds in the external environment," but added that he was confident about the companys performance. Trump admits his tariffs are going to cause disturbance to the economy Ford appeared on ABC News on Wednesday, calling Trumps tariff against Canada the craziest idea which "caught everyone off guard." In addition to removing American booze from Canadian shelves, Ford said he would enact a 25 percent export tax on electricity for homes in the U.S. "That's the last thing I want to do. I want to put more alcohol on the shelves. I want to give you more electricity. I want to do everything I can to have a great relationship with our closest friends that we absolutely love," said Ford. On Tuesday, Ford said his provincial government would end a contract with Starlink, the satellite internet service provider operated by Elon Musk. "It's not the people of America, it's not the elected officials, it's one person that has caused this issue, and that was President Trump," said Ford. "We have to retaliateas much as we don't want toto our closest friends and allies." "We look at the U.S. as a family member," he added. "It's like we're their little brother or little sister and it's been going on for 200 years. Now we have to protect our country against our great ally." Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice While Pete Buttigieg is believed to be weighing a possible Senate bid in Michigan, Democrats seemingly have another role in mind for the former transport secretary. The 43-year-old Indiana native met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week to discuss a potential run for retiring Michigan Senator Gary Peters seat, two sources told Politico. Last month, Peters declined to seek reelection for a third term. However, Michigan Democrats are instead encouraging Buttigieg to eye a gubernatorial run to replace Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited. Buttigieg, however, has allegedly ruled out succeeding Whitmer but is very seriously focused on a potential Senate run, a source told Detroit News last month. open image in gallery Buttigieg, pictured speaking to reporters in Arlington, Virginia, on October 15, 2024, has reportedly not yet decided his political future ( Getty Images ) The dad-of-two, who moved to Traverse City, Michigan in 2022, to be closer to his husbands family, is still undecided about a Senate run in the crucial battleground state, five people familiar with the matter told Politico. Republicans almost flipped the seat last cycle. The Democrat is yet to decide what responsibility he wants, per reports. Two sources told Politico that the former presidential candidate isnt relishing the idea of life in a GOP-controlled Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune would be in control over how often Buttigieg needed to make the 760-mile journey to Washington DC. open image in gallery Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (L), pictured with former President Joe Biden in October 1, 2024, is believed to be weighing a 2028 presidential run ( AP ) Rumors of a potential run for the presidential nomination in 2028 have also followed Buttigieg in recent months. The Politico report details sources saying Buttigieg sees a path helping shape the national political debate in non-traditional spaces including his appearance on Stephen Colberts The Late Show on Tuesday to analyze Donald Trumps 99-minute joint congressional address. Buttigieg questioned why our leaders are talking about renaming things on a map instead of getting the price of eggs down. He also said that until Trump addresses the more day-to-day concerns of Americans, the president will continue to lose supporters. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Viewers who tuned in to President Donald Trumps speech mostly approved of what he said, but took issue with Democrats acts of protest. The audience, which was heavily Republican, had a positive overall view on Trumps first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. Trump spoke for 100 minutes against a backdrop of a turbulent stock market, a chaotic federal workforce undergoing mass layoffs and dissent from Democrats sitting before him. Yet, he touted his first six weeks in office as the most successful in the history of our nation. Roughly 70 percent of speech-watchers had a somewhat positive response while 44 percent had a very positive response, according to a CNN poll. But Trump didnt fare as well as he did with viewers eight years ago, when 57 percent rated his address to Congress very positively. He also fell short of the marker set by former President Joe Bidens initial address, when 51 percent of speech-watchers also felt very positively. In a poll taken before the speech, 6 in 10 viewers said they approved of Trumps overall handling of the presidency. These positive numbers are in contrast to the presidents approval ratings, with just 48 percent of adults approving of his performance as president so far and 52 percent disapproving, a Sunday CNN poll found. open image in gallery President Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, which earned an overall favorable response from speech-watchers, who also didnt approve of the Democrats behavior ( AP ) Perhaps the difference is due to the speech viewership trending more Republican than the general public. CNN found that the viewing audience was 14 percent more GOP than the general population, while CBS News found that 51 percent of speech-watchers identified as Republican, 20 percent as Democrats and 27 percent as independents. "Presidential and entertaining were the two most common terms viewers used to describe Trump, a CBS News poll found. As for Trumps stance on major issues, most viewers said they liked his plans when it came to cutting government spending (77 percent), immigration (77 percent) and how to handle conflict between Russia and Ukraine (73 percent), CBS found. However, Trump saw slightly less support from speech-watchers for his stance on tariffs, with 65 percent saying they liked the move. The speech came days after the Oval Office meeting meltdown between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his address, Trump said he appreciated a letter he received from Zelensky underscoring how much Ukraine really values Americas aid. Simultaneously, weve had serious discussion with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace...Its time to end this senseless war, Trump said. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides. According to CNN, 37 percent of speech-watchers thought Trumps policies were too supportive of Russia while 58 percent thought they were about right. Roughly 63 percent of speech-watchers thought his policies toward Ukraine were about right and one-third thought they were not supportive enough. Democrats, however, were not nearly as well-perceived by speech-watchers. They held up signs reading FALSE and MUSK STEALS, some heckled the president and others left during the speech. open image in gallery A CNN poll found that 20 percent thought the Democrats interruption was appropriate while 80 percent thought it was inappropriate ( via REUTERS ) For example, many took issue with the moment Texas Rep. Al Green stood up, wielding his cane, and shouted you have no mandate to cut Medicaid. He was then removed from the chamber. According to the CBS poll, 76 percent approved of his removal compared to 24 percent who disapproved. The CNN poll found that 20 percent thought the Democrats interruption was appropriate while 80 percent thought it was inappropriate. These disruptions by the opposite party during presidential addresses have become very common in recent years. During former President Joe Bidens state of the union in 2024, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene handed out Laken Riley pins and shouted at him to say her name during his address. In 2020, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed dissent during Trumps last state of the union address of his first term when she ripped up a copy of his speech. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised unconventional treatments, but didnt mention vaccines, in an interview on Fox News about the expanding measles outbreak in West Texas. In the prerecorded interview, Kennedy said that the federal government was sending vitamin A to the epicenter of the outbreak in Gaines County. He added that the government was also helping to arrange ambulance rides. While officials from the health department have previously said that they were sending doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to the state, Kennedy, who has a history of vaccine-skeptic views, didnt mention vaccination as an option during an interview. Kennedy instead claimed that doctors in Texas had experienced very, very, good results by treating the disease using the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin, as well as cod liver oil, which the secretary said has high amounts of vitamins A and D. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025 in Washington, D.C. He has a history of vaccine-skeptic views ( Getty Images ) The chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, Dr. Sean OLeary noted when speaking to The New York Times that doctors sometimes use vitamins to treat children with measles, but added that cod liver oil is by no means a treatment based in evidence. He said he had never heard of a doctor using cod liver oil to treat the disease. In a statement seemingly referring to the conventional treatments of the disease, Kennedy said, Were going to be honest with the American people for the first time in history about what actually about all of the tests and all of the studies, about what we know, what we dont know. Were going to tell them, and thats going to anger some people who want an ideological approach to public health, he added. However, in an op-ed for Fox News Digital on March 2, Kennedy wrote: Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their childrens health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the M.M.R. vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons, he added. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it was sending disease detectives to Texas. State Health officials shared data on Tuesday that indicated the outbreak isnt slowing down. According to the Texas Department of Health, almost 160 people have contracted the disease, 22 of whom have been hospitalized. Most cases of measles are resolved within a number of weeks, but some cases can lead to pneumonia, making it hard for children especially to get oxygen into their lungs. It may also lead to brain swelling, which can lead to deafness, blindness, and intellectual disabilities. As many as one in five people infected with measles will end up in hospital. Measles also leads to a weakened immune system a study found in 2015 that before the M.M.R. vaccine was widely in use, measles could have been behind as many as half of all infectious disease deaths in children. Federal officials have faced criticism for not emphasizing the need for immunizations. The outbreak has taken the life of one child and the official number of cases is likely to be an undercount, Lubbock, Texas public health director Katherine Wells said, according to The Times. The outbreak has mostly been spreading within a Mennonite community in Gaines County. They have traditionally had lower rates of immunization and they often avoid using the health care system. Wells added that she thought many of those families have not been seeking care and havent officially counted in the state numbers. I think its probably in the hundreds, she told the paper. We know that some of their schools were closed with lots of sick children, but we dont know who those children were. Experts note that at least 95 percent of members of a community have to be vaccinated to avoid outbreaks. In 2024, about 82 percent of kindergarten children in the county had been vaccinated. Vaccination rates have been decreasing in the U.S., making it more likely that an outbreak will move between groups of unvaccinated individuals. Nationwide, 93 percent of kindergarten children received the measles vaccine in the 2023-2024 school year. Thats compared to 95 percent before the pandemic. Cases of measles have been found in nine counties, and many of them have vaccination rates that do not reach federal standards. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice House Republicans launched accusations at four mayors of sanctuary cities during a contentious hearing, accusing them of treason, violating federal laws and having blood on their hands, with one representative claiming she would recommend the Department of Justice bring a criminal investigation against them. Mayors Eric Adams of New York City, Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Mike Johnston of Denver faced hours of aggressive questioning Wednesday from members of the House Oversight Committee in a reality television-like showdown. The hearing on sanctuary city leadership arrives as President Donald Trump attempts to carry out his aggressive mass deportation plan and threatens to withhold federal funding from cities he believes are impeding on his ability to do so. With metaphorical guns ablazing, Republicans asserted that the mayors were making their cities more unsafe by adopting policies that protect undocumented immigrants with violent criminal records. I do not think you guys are bad people, but I think you are ideologically misled, which is why, unfortunately, based on your responses, I am going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation, Representative Anna Paulina Luna stated while holding up papers. open image in gallery New York City Mayor Eric Adams reacts during a break in a House Oversight Committee. Moments of the hearing were wild as representatives launched attacks at the mayors ( Getty Images ) Criminal recommendations from Congress are non-binding and informal. Its unclear if Luna has made the request after the hearing. The mayors asserted they have not violated federal law by adopting policies that limit but not prevent cities from offering full assistance to federal immigration agents. Over and over again, the mayors asserted that theyve complied with federal and state law enforcement when applicable. The group defended their policies under scrutiny, which include housing and feeding migrants, as methods that make their cities safer and more welcoming. Wu pointed to Bostons record-low crime rate as an example. open image in gallery Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (right) and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (left) testify. Republicans asserted that the mayors were making their cities more unsafe by adopting policies that protect undocumented immigrants with violent criminal records ( Getty Images ) But Republicans still peddled the false narrative that Trump touted throughout his campaign that most undocumented immigrants are dangerous and need to be deported. George Representative and long-time Trump backer Marjorie Taylor Greene indirectly accused them of treason by reminding the mayors that giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States is considered treasonous. In another heated moment, South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace accused the mayors of having blood on your hands for their policies and questioned if they loved undocumented immigrants more than the cities residents. After being displeased with some of Johnsons answers, Mace told the Chicago mayor his response was the reason he had a low approval rating. open image in gallery Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, brought her one month old baby along as she testified to the House Oversight Committee. She described how the citys crime rate has hit a record low ( Getty Images ) The mayors pushed back on assertions that they had ignored their respective residents health and safety by making their cities welcoming to immigrants. Several reminded Republicans that the reason they had to accommodate for the influx of migrants was because Republican governors had bussed people at the border to their cities. In a moment of visible frustration, Wu told Arizona Republican Paul Gosar that Congress had a responsibility to pass meaningful legislation. The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals or that immigrants in general cause all sorts of dangerous and harm, Wu said. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities. If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reform, stop cutting Medicaid, stop cutting cancer research, stop cutting funds for veterans, that is what will make our cities safe. Noticeably, Adams who recently cozied up to the Trump administration and saw a criminal indictment against him dropped faced the least pushback from Republicans. However, some Democrats picked up the slack and questioned Adams about his relationship with the Trump administration and whether or not he engaged in a quid-pro-quo with Justice Department officials to drop his charges in exchange for his help carrying out Trumps immigration plan. Much like other House Oversight Committee hearings, Wednesdays was filled with heated moments and snappy one-liners that will likely circulate social media. But the group seemingly failed to come to a consensus on how cities should best align themselves to assist Trumps mass deportation plan while also keeping their residents safe mostly because they could not agree on facts. One of those one-liners was delivered by Republican chair James Comer when he falsely claimed, I dont think anyones calling for mass deportation. His comments came less than 24 hours after Trump addressed Congress saying: I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats, protect our Homeland, and complete the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than current record holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower a moderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Outspoken Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert has endorsed a proposal that would put Donald Trumps face on a new $100 bill. The proposal was officially introduced by Texas Congressman Brandon Gill this week as the Golden Age Act of 2025 and featured the president's mugshot taken when he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Georgia in 2023. This legislation would require that all $100 bills feature a picture of Donald J. Trump on the front face of the note, a press release on behalf of the congressman read. Boebert, a staunch advocate of the president, chimed in on Gills proposal to declare her unwavering support. Add me as a co-sponsor! she wrote on X shortly after the congressman announced the bill. Gill explained in his formal proposal that the Secretary of the Treasury would release a preliminary design of the $100 bill featuring the striking image of the President by no later than December 31, 2026. open image in gallery The mockup bill was announced Monday by Texas Congressman Brandon Gill as the Golden Age Act of 2025 ( X/@RepBrandonGill ) The bill would require all $100 bills after December 31, 2028, to feature Trumps image. Whether this photo would be his mugshot remains unclear. Citing the presidents resilience after he took a bullet for this country referencing the attempt on Trumps life during an election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024, Gill wrote: There has been no one who has done more to bring America into the golden age than President Trump. Featuring him on the $100 bill is a small way to honor all he will accomplish these next four years. The congressman, who once slated Bidens immigration policies as an abomination, declared his unwavering MAGA support by praising Trumps harsh stances on immigration, trade, energy, and foreign aid. open image in gallery The latest $100 bill features founding father Benjamin Franklin on the front ( Getty Images/iStockphoto ) Just days before the Texan congressmans announcement, South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson also revealed he was drafting legislation that called for Trumps face to appear on a new $250 bill to honor the presidents economic achievements. However, federal law prohibits any living persons face from appearing on U.S. currency. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for creating the bills. The last $100 bill went into circulation in 2013 and features a portrait of founding father Benjamin Franklin on the front and Independence Hall on the back. The Independent contacted the Secretary of the Treasury and The Bureau of Engraving and Printing for comment. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice During his address to Congress Tuesday night Donald Trump announced the capture of one of the planners of the deadly Abbey Gate attack in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. soldiers. Mohammad Sharifullah, one of the leaders of an ISIS branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is believed to have devised and coordinated the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. He is being sent to the U.S. after extradition from Afghanistan to face the Swift sword of American justice, the president said, prompting cheers from Republicans in the chamber. The attack, which took place during the U.S. militarys withdrawal from Afghanistan, killed about 170 Afghan citizens along with the 13 American service members. open image in gallery President Donald Trump stands last August with Bill Barnett, whose grandson Staff Sgt Darin Taylor Hoover died in the Abbey Gate bombing. The 2021 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport killed 13 American service members ( Getty Images ) In his remarks, Trump thanked the government of Pakistan for its assistance in capturing the monster. He also blasted the Biden administration for the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the Swift sword of American justice, the president said. Trump called it a momentous day for those 13 families It was a horrible day, such incompetence was shown that when [Russian President Vladimir] Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, Well, maybe this is my chance. That's how bad it was. It should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people, the president added. open image in gallery The incident, which took place during the U.S. militarys withdrawal from Afghanistan killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghan citizens. Trump noted that he had spoken to the families of the victims, saying they were all in our hearts tonight. He added: I just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big call. Every one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy, as happy as you can be under those circumstances. Their child, brother, sister, son, daughter were killed for no reason whatsoever, said Trump. Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel later confirmed the news of the extradition in a post on X. As President Trump just announced, I can report that tonight the FBI, DOJ, and CIA have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, Patel wrote. One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families. Thank you to our incredible partners and brave FBI personnel who made this happen. You represented your country brilliantly, he added. Standing in nearly the exact same spot where Franklin Roosevelt had asked Congress to declare war on Japan after Pearl Harbor and where Lyndon Johnson had said he would have given all he had to not be saddled with the burden of the presidency after the assassination of John F Kennedy, President Donald Trump used his fifth appearance before a joint session of Congress to offer a vision of America where compromise isnt needed and the opposing political party exists to be an object of ridicule and not a source of alternative ideas of how to govern. Trump opened his nearly two-hour speech by describing his first weeks in office as the most successful in the history of our nation, eclipsing the first term of George Washington, the literal father of the country. He listed a litany of putative successes including declaring a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, deploying active duty troops there to repel non-white migrants, freezing federal hiring and rolling back regulations, and withdrawing the United States from a number of international agreements and organizations. He vowed to take more and more unilateral actions including imposing massive tax increases on a range of imports from American allies such as Mexico and Canada. He also crowed about ordering federal workers back to the office, stopping what he described as government censorship in favor of free speech and ending weaponized government even as his appointees move to use the Justice Department to target Democratic members of Congress for years-old statements, as well as other executive actions to ban anti-discrimination and diversity programs that he and his allies believe are discriminatory against white people, while declaring that the U.S. will be woke no longer. ( EPA ) In between cheers of U.S.A. and chants of his name, Trump did acknowledge that it wasnt just his Republican allies who were sitting in the chamber. He complained that in his view, there was nothing he could say or do to make the Democrats sitting on the other side of the aisle happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud for him. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements, he said. They won't do it no matter what ... it's very sad, and it just shouldn't be this way, he added before asking the Democrats in the chamber why they wouldnt join their GOP colleagues in celebrating so many incredible wins for America, for the good of our nation. Trump says he will get Greenland 'one way or another' But in truth, Trump isnt interested in bringing Democrats along for the ride. He doesnt want their support because his administrations goal is to eliminate the party of FDR, JFK and LBJ as a political force. His administration, through the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, is laser-focused on attacking what they believe are Democratic power centers that artificially prop up the party even if it is out of power. Specifically, the administration is targeting wide swaths of the civil service for reclassification in ways that will make it easier to fire federal workers who are seen as opposing the presidents agenda. And the presidents order to freeze federal spending and foreign aid is meant to target non-governmental organizations and government agencies such as USAID that they believe are staffed by Democrats who donate to Democratic political campaigns. Slotkin: Trump would have lost us the Cold War At the same time, theyre going after universities with threats of cutting off federal funds if they dont adapt their hiring and teaching policies to be more friendly to Republicans, including by killing diversity initiatives. In short, if Democrats support it, the administration wants to kill it. Because if they are successful, they believe it will end up killing off the Democratic party. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Hakeem Jeffries attempted to present a united opposition party at Tuesdays address to a joint session of Congress. The House Democratic leader laid out his reasoning for attending, while urging as many as possible in his party to do so, in a dear colleagues letter this week. [I]t is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber, wrote Jeffries on Monday. The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied. But in return, those Democrats who attended Tuesday nights address by the president of the United States were subjected to public humiliation. They could do very little to respond. Some held up signs reading, false, or Musk steals, referring to the Tesla, Twitter and now DOGE baron. A few, including Al Green and Maxwell Frost, left the chamber (Green only after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove him). Others unleashed on reporters after the speech concluded. I dont even know why were fighting with Greenland, declared Rep. Jasmine Crockett in an interview after the president said that the territory would become part of the U.S. one way or the other. Whyre we fighting with Greenland, Canada, and Mexico yet were in love with Putin? she continued. This is not America [] Somebody slap me and wake me the f**k up. But the question remains: why did Democrats subject themselves to this? open image in gallery Members of House Democratic leadership including Katherine Clark, center, and Hakeem Jeffries, right, attend Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress. ( AFP via Getty Images ) A number of them didnt, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Chris Murphy, who rightly called the address a MAGA pep rally. But those who did could do little as Donald Trump repeatedly rubbed victory in their faces and picked individual members to mock. One particularly notable moment occurred as the president singled out Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and 2020 presidential candidate, calling her the racist nickname Pocahontas from behind the speakers lectern. Warren only stood and clapped in response, her face barely concealing the senators rage. open image in gallery Elizabeth Warren sarcastically applauds as DonaldTrump insults her during his speech. ( POOL ) On Wednesday, Rep. Katherine Clark echoed the fury of her entire party as she was confronted by a question about whether Democrats met the standards for decorum during Tuesdays speech from a journalist who noted that Republicans were angry after some Democrats did not stand and clap when the president acknowledged his guests to the event, which included a teenage cancer survivor. I am angry today. I am angry [at] what I saw, the minority whip told reporters, adding that she did not want to talk about decorum while the Trump administration was celebrating DOGEs wide-reaching cuts to medical research and other federal investments. Jeffries, too, was forced to defend the conduct of members of his party a surreal choice of focus by Hill reporters after a night of insults hurled by the president of the United States during an address meant to lay out his agenda and speak directly to the American public. The overwhelming majority of House Democrats approached the speech with the seriousness that it deserved on behalf of the American people, he argued. There were many opportunities for Democrats to avoid a one-sided examination of decorum standards by the beltway press including by exiting the chamber at any one of the many moments when Trump, breaking all precedent and ignoring the rules the chamber imposes on its own members, targeted individual members for personal insult and mockery. Instead, America bore witness to an opposition party that, once again, came up with an ineffective response to a president and a party unified in their willingness to weaponize every lever of power against it. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania is an ardent opponent of Donald Trumps. She served as a manager for his second trial when Congress impeached him over the January 6 riot. Nevertheless, Dean says she will be coming to listen to Trumps first joint address to Congress since returning to the White House earlier this year. Dean wearing white, the color of the womens suffrage movement said she wants to stand up to the lies that he will tell. Some Democrats have made it a point to say that they will not attend Trumps address or say they will disrupt the presidents speech. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said they will hold livestreaming town halls instead of attending. But for some, it was important for them to bear witness to it and to show visible opposition to his policies. On Monday evening, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a Dear Colleague letter saying that he will attend and stressing the need for a Democratic presence in the chamber. open image in gallery Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan said she is going to Donald Trumps joint address because the president's coming to our house ( Getty Images ) The decision to attend the Joint Session is a personal one and we understand that members will come to different conclusions, he said. However, it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber. The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied. Many Democrats, especially ones from swing states and districts, cited the fact Trump would speak at their place of work as a reason to go. The president's coming to our house, Hillary Scholten of Michigan told The Independent. He has taken a lot of actions that I strongly disagree with in his first term, and that impact my constituents in a negative way. Scholtens fellow Michigander Haley Stevens, a potential candidate for the states soon-to-be-open Senate seat, said she wanted to hear what Trump would say about the tariffs he has levied against Canada, which could adversely affect Michigan. Alina Habba: Maybe fired vets don't deserve to have a job at this moment So I want to know what we're doing about the tariffs on Canada that are wreaking havoc on my Michigan economy right now, Stevens told The Independent. She also mentioned threats to veterans care and Social Security. Democratic activists and constituents in nearly ever corner of the party in recent weeks have wanted to see a more robust form of resistance to Trump. But many Democrats particularly in the House represent states and districts that Trump also won. This is the case with Sen. Ruben Gallego, who won in Arizona the same night that Trump won the state. I represent the citizens of Arizona Democrat, Republican and independents, he told The Independent. I'm going to see what the president has to say, to report back to them and express my personal opinion on what he ends up doing or saying. Like Stevens, Gallego represents a state that could be hit by tariffs, except in his case Mexico more than Canada. People are going to be missing mortgage payments and tuition because the president over didn't think through all of his actions, he said. Other Democrats hope want to use their guests to highlight the potential harm caused by Trumps policies. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey is bringing Kevin Nunez, who has cerebral palsy and who benefits from Medicaid. Democrats have warned that the one big beautiful bill that Republicans want to use to pass Trumps domestic agenda could risk Medicaid. I can only speak for myself ... for me, I wanted to invite Kevin out here, and for him to be able to be somebody that can speak to this moment as he is concerned about Medicaid, Kim told The Independent. open image in gallery As a congressman, now-US Senator Andy Kim gained national attention for clearing up the mess left by pro-Trump rioters on January 6 ( AP ) In the hours of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Kim gained national attention for cleaning up the debris that pro-Trump rioters left. Now Democrats see attending Trumps speech as protecting their territory. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump has threatened the people of Gaza alongside Hamas in what he calls a last warning to release the remaining Israeli hostages. This is your last warning! For the [Hamas] leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you, Trump added to Hamas, after meeting with six former hostages released under the recently expired ceasefire deal pausing the war. I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you dont do as I say, he added, telling the group his post was a last warning. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had a similar message earlier this week, telling Hamas, The gates of Gaza will be locked, and the gates of hell will open. The comments came as the initial stage of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war expired over the weekend. The war began in the wake of a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 people hostage. Israel's 16-month retaliatory offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel and the U.S. have pressured Hamas to accept extended ceasefire term and release all hostages ( AFP via Getty Images ) The U.S. has called on Hamas to accept an extension of the first stage of the ceasefire, involving hostage releases. There are 24 living hostages remaining in Gaza, including American citizen Edan Alexander, as well as the remains of 35 others, according to Israeli officials. In the meantime, Israel has paused aid entering into Gaza and threatened the militant group with additional consequences if it doesnt come around to the U.S. proposal. Israels decision to cut off aid to the already besieged civilian population of Gaza has prompted international criticism from the UK, France and Germany. Foreign ministers from the three countries said in a statement Wednesday that aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool. The White House said it has been conducting ongoing talks and discussions with Hamas officials. "Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do whats in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is [a] good faith effort to do whats right for the American people," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a media briefing. Trump proposes permanently displacing Palestinians in Gaza The talks are the first known direct engagement with Hamas since the State Department declared the group an official foreign terrorist organization in 1997. The issue of Gazas post-conflict governance remains to be determined, though Trump has proposed the U.S. occupying and rebuilding the territory while displacing its residents, a plan critics say amounts to ethnic cleansing. The warnings from U.S. and Israeli officials come after Hamas provoked fury in Israel for returning remains that officials say were falsely attributed to Shiri Bibas, a mother who was kidnapped along with her children then killed in Hamas captivity. The Israeli military claims militants killed Bibas, while Hamas says she died in an Israeli strike. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump is reportedly attending $5 million-per-head meetings with executives and $1 million-per-seat candlelight dinners at his Mar-a-Lago club and estate. Its everyone else who missed the boat, a Trumpworld insider told WIRED after it reported on the latest candlelight dinner, which took place on Saturday. Both the Trump campaign and, later, its record-breaking inaugural committee received millions in donations from business leaders and the tech sector. Some are reportedly hoping to catch up with figures like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg and secure their own audiences with the new president. An invitation to the Saturday event, obtained by the magazine, told attendees, You are invited to a candlelight dinner featuring special guest President Donald J. Trump, noting space is very limited. $1,000,000 per person. The invitation featured a header with the words MAGA Inc., a reference to the Trump-aligned political action committee that spent over $456 million in 2024 supporting the Republicans election bid. Donald J. Trump is appearing at this event only as a featured speaker, and is not asking for funds or donations, added the invitation to the event, which was featured on Trumps official schedule. Florida estate has played host to multiple big-money political action committee fundraisers in recent months, even though Trump is barred from running for president again ( Getty Images ) Candlelight dinners featuring Trump have taken place in January and December in locations ranging from Mar-a-Lago to Washington, though Saturdays event appears to be the first since Trump took office. GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson was among the attendees at the recent dinner, Axios reports. The $5 million one-on-one meetings with the president have become a hot ticket among business leaders, a source familiar with them told the outlet. The fundraiser was part of MAGA Inc.s larger plans to raise a potential $500 million war chest by this summer to back the Trump agenda and MAGA-friendly candidates, according to the outlet. The Independent has contacted the White House and the publicly listed treasurer of MAGA Inc. for comment. An all-out fundraising push featuring a termed-out president is unusual, but thats not the only conflict of interest question over the White House. Administration adviser and Department of Government Efficiency mastermind Elon Musk is leading an unprecedented campaign to reroute and cut federal spending, at the same time as he does billions of dollars with the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission also recently dropped a civil fraud case against Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur who has invested millions in Trumps World Liberty Financial venture. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Some veterans are throwing their support behind the Trump administrations cost-cutting measures even those that could affect the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, others worry about the impact of the cuts, saying they could put veterans in the ground. Stephen Watson, a 68-year-old Marine veteran from Jesup, Georgia, receives VA care for a traumatic brain injury. He backs President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's cost-cutting initiative. We're no better because we're veterans, Watson said. We all need to take a step back and realize that everybodys gonna have to take a little bit on the chin to get these budget matters under control. But Gregg Bafundo, a 53-year-old Gulf War veteran residing in Tonasket, Washington, worries about the impact of potential cuts. Bafundo, who suffers from nerve damage due to his service as a Marine mortarman, anticipates needing VA care after losing his job as a wilderness ranger and firefighter due to U.S. Forest Service layoffs. Theyre going to put guys like me and my fellow Marines that rely on the VA in the ground, he said. open image in gallery Retired US Marine Stephen Watson outside his home ( AP ) Over 9 million veterans rely on the VA for physical and mental health care, a department currently under scrutiny by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With a budget exceeding $350 billion, the VA manages nearly 200 medical centers and hospitals, many located in Republican-led states and districts. Veterans have publicly voiced their opposition to the proposed cuts at town hall meetings, and organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars are actively mobilizing against the measures. Veterans were much likelier to support Trump, a Republican, than Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in Novembers presidential election, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted in all 50 states. Nearly six in 10 voters who are veterans backed Trump, while about four in 10 voted for Harris. Joy Ilem, national legislative director for the nonpartisan group Disabled American Veterans, said her group was studying how the ongoing cuts might affect care. "You could lose trust among the veteran population over some of these things that have happened and the way that theyve happened, Ilem warned. And we do fear damage to the recruitment and retention of hiring the best and brightest to serve veterans. The White House's proposed $2 billion cut to VA contracts has sparked concern over potential disruptions to crucial healthcare services, ranging from cancer care to toxic exposure assessments. The cuts were swiftly paused by the VA following an outcry over the potential impact on veterans. The move came as over 1,000 short-term VA employees reportedly including researchers focused on critical health issues like cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics, and burn pit exposure were dismissed in February. open image in gallery Gregg Bafundo, a former US Marine, is shown on his last patrol as a wilderness ranger at the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state VA Secretary Doug Collins, in an interview with Fox News Channel, said that the cost-cutting efforts aimed to identify "deficiencies" within the system. He said that any actions taken would not compromise veterans' healthcare or earned benefits. In a statement on Tuesday, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz reiterated the agency's commitment to prioritizing veterans' needs in all its operations. The proposed cuts and recent dismissals, however, raise questions about how this commitment will be upheld in practice. Every dollar we spend on wasteful contracts, non-mission-critical or duplicative activities is one less dollar we can spend on Veterans, and given that choice, we will always side with the Veteran, Kasperowicz wrote. Republicans have pointed out that the VA has rehired employees who were let go during an initial round of layoffs in February, such as those working for a crisis hotline. However, during a subsequent round of layoffs, the VA cut 15 other employees who were in jobs supporting the crisis line, including a trainer for the phone responders, according to congressional staff who are tracking the cuts. The VA has long faced calls for reform The VA has been plagued for years by allegations of poor medical care and excessively long wait times. Investigators a decade ago uncovered widespread problems in how VA hospitals were scheduling appointments after allegations that as many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care at the department's Phoenix hospital. A group of employees accused the department of retaliating against potential whistleblowers. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, eventually put into place a program allowing veterans to go outside the VA system to seek medical care. The Choice Program was extended by Trump during his first term. Richard Lamb, who was shot down twice in Vietnam as an Army helicopter crew chief, said the department should be cut to the bone. Lamb, 74, said he broke vertebrae each time his helicopter was shot down. Decades passed, he said, before a private doctor not the VA found compression fractures and performed surgery. open image in gallery Army and Navy veteran Richard Lamb ( AP ) Id be happy to see VA, not torn down, but cleaned up, cleaned out and recast, said Lamb, who lives in Waco, Texas. The VA is supposed to be a wonderful thing for veterans. Its not. It sucks. Daniel Ragsdale Combs, a Navy veteran with a traumatic brain injury, strongly disagrees. Ragsdale Combs, 45, suffered his injury while running to respond to an order on an aircraft carrier and striking his head above a hatchway. He receives group therapy for mental illness brought on by the injury but says he had heard those sessions might be canceled or reduced due to staffing shortages. Im deeply concerned because the VA has been nothing but great to me, said Ragsdale Combs, who lives in Mesa, Arizona. Im angry, upset and frustrated. Lucy Wong relies on a team of VA doctors in the Phoenix area to treat her scleroderma, an autoimmune condition that attacks connective tissue. She said she developed the disease as a medical technician in the Navy in the 1980s, working with toxic chemicals and enduring extreme stress. Driving is difficult. She worries that the VA will cut Uber rides to her medical appointments, among other things. I ask if Trump is cutting anything back here, and the reply is, Not yet," Wong said. Josh Ghering, a former Marine from Parsons, Kansas, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he had to fly to San Antonio for an appointment with a neurologist before he was medically retired for back issues, including herniated discs. He questioned why he could not get the same appointment closer to home. I think theyre headed in the right direction, Ghering, 42, said of DOGE. But theyre going to have to be more thorough with what it is theyre doing, to make sure theyre not cutting jobs that are needed. open image in gallery Daniel Ragsdale Combs suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the Navy Will service members be expected to accept VA cuts? The nations service members have never been a political monolith, and the same holds true for their views on the VA. But the split between two Marines on opposite sides of the country raises a question not just about DOGE but about America's military: Who is expected to sacrifice? Watson, the former Marine in Georgia, sustained various injuries while serving, including a traumatic brain injury when a cable snapped and a crate fell on him. He said he's willing to accept fewer visits to his VA doctor and forgo other conveniences as a matter of service to the country. Many veterans who voted for Trump understood this was going to be his policy and are now screaming bloody murder because the axe is going to fall upon the VA, Watson said. And to me, thats just a little bit self-centered. Bafundo, the Marine in Washington state, pushed back against the idea that all Americans are making a sacrifice when, as he sees it, it's really falling back "on the little guy. Americas billionaires wont be shouldering any of the burden, he argued, while Musk, who's the world's richest person, and others pay little, if any, taxes. If were going to sacrifice, the wealthy need to sacrifice, too, he said. And, frankly, they dont. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Democratic representative was removed from the chamber after interrupting Donald Trump, and many more staged protests or walkouts, as the president addressed a joint session of Congress. Texas representative Al Green was escorted from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms, after he stood up and repeatedly shouted you have no mandate to cut Medicaid, shortly after Trump began his remarks on Tuesday night. Green shook his cane and pointed his finger as he shouted. As he was led out chaos erupted from Republicans, who cheered. Others sang "Na na na. Hey hey hey! Goodbye!" open image in gallery Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04 ( Getty Images ) open image in gallery Democrats hold protest signs US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025 ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) Greens comment about Trumps lack of mandate came after the president bragged about his astonishing performance in last years election. Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong directionan astonishing record 27-point swing since Election Day alone, he said. After being kicked out, Green made a surprise stop at the White House traveling press pack, telling reporters: "It's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to Trump, Green said. open image in gallery Green shook his cane and pointed his finger at the president as he shouted ( AP ) open image in gallery Green was escorted out after shouting during Trumps speech. He shook his cane and shouted you have no mandate ( REUTERS ) He added he didn't know whether he faced any formal punishment for his protest in the chamber. Green was followed by fellow Democrats, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, telling reporters my speech will be better as he exited. California congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove wrote online: I just walked out of Trumps Joint Address on behalf of the people of Californias 37th district. Theres only so much bullshit a person can tolerate, she wrote. In a lengthier statement shared on X, she added: "How dare Donald Trump enter the People's House, look us in the eyes, and lie straight to our faces. open image in gallery Oregon representatives Maxine Dexter and Andrea Salinas walk out of Trumps remarks. Both women had black T-shirts that read RESIST on the back ( AP ) "I won't sit down and watch as he slashes the programs that keep my constituents alive so he can turn the Billionaire Boys Club into the Trillionaire Boys Club. Its painfully clear that the Commander-in-chaos does not care about this country or the hardworking people who fight every day to support their families and communities. If he truly cared, he wouldn't be firing the people who process disaster relief or send out Social Security checks. If he genuinely wanted to help Americans make ends meet, his speech would have focused more on how to bring down the cost of eggs and less on his delusional claim of running the best administration in history. open image in gallery US Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) holds a "Musk Steals" protest sign with fellow Democrats ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) "Through walking out, my message to Donald Trump is simple: stop the lies, stop the cheating, and stop the stealing- enough is enough. The American people deserve better." Oregon representatives Maxine Dexter and Andrea Salinas also left the room, wearing black T-shirts with large, white letters saying RESIST on the back. Other Democrats held signs with a variety of messages. They included FALSE, MUSK STEALS, SAVE MEDICAID. Another read simply Thats a lie! Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump on Sunday explicitly threatened Iran with war unless Tehran comes to the table and hammers out a new agreement on nuclear weapons with Washington. The president spoke with NBCs Kristen Welker in an early-morning phone call and told the host of Meet the Press that there would be bombing if Iran did not negotiate with the US, or if a deal was not reached as a result of those talks. If they dont make a deal, there will be bombing, said the US president. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before. His remark comes as the Trump administration has stated publicly its goal of reaching a new agreement with Tehran that would lead to the total shutdown of Irans nuclear weapons program. The president sent a letter to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, reportedly urging the Iranian government to begin negotiations with the prospect of significant sanctions relief and international cooperation on the table. But Iran formally declined to begin those direct negotiations on Saturday, according to the countrys president. Masoud Pezeshkian said the message was delivered to US negotiators through the Omani government. He said that the official response from Iran left open the possibility for continued indirect negotiations, but added that the US must regain trust with Iran in order for formal diplomacy to resume. We dont avoid talks; its the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far, Pezeshkian said at a televised Cabinet meeting, according to the AP. They must prove that they can build trust. Donald Trump said on Sunday that there would be bombing if Iranian negotiators refused to come to the table ( AP ) The State Department previously issued a response early Sunday warning of very bad consequences should Iran refuse to negotiate an end to its nuclear weapons program. Development of nuclear materials has accelerated in Iran within recent months, according to a February report from the UNs nuclear watchdog agency. The first Trump administration pulled out of a deal reached between the Obama administration, Iran and a number of European countries with that same goal in 2017, calling it ineffective and blaming Iran for repeatedly violating it. President Trump has been clear: the United States cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. The president expressed his willingness to discuss a deal with Iran, it added. If the Iranian regime does not want a deal, the president is clear, he will pursue other options, which will be very bad for Iran. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high for more than a year now as the US and its ally Israel have clashed with several groups the two countries accuse the Iranian government of funding and supporting through intelligence sharing and other cooperation. Conflict against one of those groups, the Houthis, resumed last weekend with a US strike in Yemen while Houthi forces target US military vessels and trade ships in the Red Sea. Iran also launched a direct missile ballistic strike against Israel, causing minimal damage, in October of 2024 after a Hamas leader was assassinated in Tehran. While military operations have resumed against the Houthis in Yemen, the State Department on Monday moved to up the pressure on Irans neighbor, Iraq, to combat Tehrans influence over militant groups within its borders. In recent months, the Iraqi government has considered new national security legislation aimed at curbing the strength of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a Shia militant group with dozens of battalions around the country. Those forces include the Kataib Hezbollah, which traces its origins back to militant groups that fought US forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and still clash with US forces today. To strengthen Iraq's sovereignty, the government of Iraq must ensure it has command and control of all security forces within its borders, to include the PMF, press secretary Tammy Bruce said at her Monday briefing. These forces must respond to Iraq's commander-in-chief, and not to Iran. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice China has warned the US it is ready to fight any type of war as it retaliates against Donald Trumps mounting trade tariffs while raising spending on its military. The trade war between the two superpowers escalated on Tuesday as Mr Trump hiked his levies on Chinese goods to a total of 20 per cent, and China retaliated by imposing 15 per cent tariffs on American agricultural goods. The Chinese embassy in Washington, in a post on X, said: If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end. The spokesperson was reiterating an earlier statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, issued shortly after Mr Trumps levies took effect. The foreign ministry claimed China will fight the US to the bitter end if America persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war. It comes as China said it will boost its defence spending by 7.2 per cent this year. The increase, announced in a government report due to be released in parliament, matches last years figure. It remains well above Chinas economic growth target for this year of roughly 5 per cent. Since Xi Jinping became president more than a decade ago, the defence budget has ballooned to 1.78 trillion yuan (191.5bn) this year from 720bn yuan in 2013. Mr Xi aims to complete a full military modernisation by 2035, with Chinas military developing new missiles, ships, submarines and surveillance technologies. Mr Trump has justified fresh tariffs on Chinese goods by blaming Beijing for the fentanyl opioid crisis in the US. He claimed that a large percentage of these deadly substances were made in China. China has accused the White House of blackmail over its tariff hike, claiming it actually has some of the worlds toughest anti-drug policies. Beijings foreign ministry lashed out, saying: Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating. In his address to the joint session of the US Congress, Mr Trump claimed other countries have used tariffs against the US for decades. Now its our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada ... and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. Its very unfair, the president said. Chinas average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them, he claimed. Beijings commerce ministry on Tuesday claimed Washingtons unilateral tax measures seriously violate WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation. China last month filed a complaint against the US with the WTO for violating trade rules. Trade relations between the US and China suffered during Mr Trumps first presidency after he announced tariffs on Beijing over a massive trade surplus in 2018. The resulting two-year trade war hit the world economy, with the global supply chain suffering due to tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods. Trade and diplomatic relations edged back to normality during Joe Bidens administration but have soured once more with Mr Trumps tariff announcements. The US State Department has said that America is working to deter Chinas aggression, combat Chinas unfair trade policies, counter Chinas malicious cyber activity [and] end Chinas global trafficking of fentanyl precursors. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Trump administration is looking to roll back staffing at the department charged with caring for American veterans by firing as many as 80,000 workers who were hired as part of a Biden administration initiative to improve care and cover veterans exposed to burn pits and toxic substances. The plan is laid out in a memorandum, first reported on by Government Executive, which came from VA chief of staff Christopher Syrek and calls to reduce the number of employees on the payroll to 2019 levels. It instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to "resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure." The memorandum also calls for agency officials to work with the White House's Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency to "move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach" to meeting objectives laid out by the administration, which has started a concerted effort to reduce the number of people on federal payrolls. In public social media posts, Musk, the worlds wealthiest man and a prominent Trump campaign donor, has alluded to presidential election results in the District of Columbia a heavily Democratic city that has never given its electoral votes to a Republican candidate as justification for slashing the federal workforce. The Department of Veteran Affairs will work with Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to slash 80,000 jobs from the agencys payrolls ( AP ) Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA, which so far have included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25 percent of the VA's workforce are veterans themselves. In Congress, Democrats have decried the cuts at the VA and other agencies, while Republicans have watched the Trump administration's changes with caution. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate committee that oversees veteran's affairs, said in a statement that the Trump administration "has launched an all-out assault" against progress the VA has made in expanding its services as the number of covered veterans grows and includes those impacted by toxic burn pits. "Their plan prioritizes private sector profits over veterans' care, balancing the budget on the backs of those who served. It's a shameful betrayal, and veterans will pay the price for their unforgivable corruption, incompetence, and immorality," he said. Doug Collins, the former Georgia congressman who now serves as the Trump administrations Secretary of Veterans Affairs, responded to the reports of the massive layoff plan in a lengthly video posted to X (formerly Twitter) late Wednesday in which he confirmed the plans to reduce staffing levels by 80.000, back to pre-Biden levels. Collins groused that the department he leads has been a punching bag among veterans, Congress and the media for decades and said veterans have been asking for a more efficient, accountable and transparent for years. He said the department is conducting a department wide review of its organization, operations and structure as part of a pragmatic and disciplined approach to eliminating waste and bureaucracy, increasing efficiency and improving health care, benefits and services to veterans in consultation with Musks cost-cutting efforts. There are many people complaining about the changes we're making at the VA but what we most of them are really saying is, let's just keep doing the same thing at the VA has always done, Collins said. We'll be making major changes, so get used to it right now. With additional reporting by agencies On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice US president Donald Trumps second presidency is proving even more disruptive than his first, Australias foreign minister Penny Wong said. Ms Wong, however, said she remained hopeful that Australia could secure an exemption from upcoming US tariffs on steel and aluminium. Speaking at a business summit, she acknowledged the scale of change under Mr Trumps administration but emphasised the strength of the US-Australia alliance despite some policy differences. Ms Wong said since Mr Trump took over the White House, Australia has had to deal with a very different American administration. President Trump and his administration envisage a very different America in the world, she said at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney. We saw that in the first Trump administration, but I think it's clear that the scale of change in this administration, the second term of the Trump administration is even more so. Ms Wong said Australia was still pushing for an exemption from the upcoming 25 per cent US tariffs on steel and aluminium. I wouldnt concede that (we will not get a tariff exemption) we are still, putting our case very clearly and our case, I think is a strong case, she said. There will be areas where our position and the US position might differ. Thats always been the case. We have to navigate that sensibly. We have to remember the value of the alliance, she added. Last month it was reported that Donald Trump had agreed to consider exempting Australia from new US steel and aluminium tariffs after a phone call with prime minister Anthony Albanese. Despite initially ruling out exemptions, Mr Trump acknowledged Australias trade surplus with the US and its importance as a security ally. We have a surplus with Australia. One of the few. And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes. Theyre rather far away and they need lots of airplanes, Mr Trump said at the time. I told him that thats something that well give great consideration to, the president told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that Mr Albanese was a very fine man. Mr Albanese called the discussion constructive and warm. We agreed on wording to say publicly which is that the US president agreed that an exemption was under consideration, Mr Albanese told reporters. Australias steel and aluminium exports support US defence interests, including shipbuilding under the Aukus pact. While no exemption has been granted yet, discussions between both governments continue. Mr Albanese said he was confident in securing a deal with Mr Trump. Given what weve already accomplished, its been a fantastic start to the relationship. Dr Valdimir Tyazhelnikov, an expert in international trade from the University of Sydneys School of Economics, says of the impact of any tariffs on Australian industry: The greatest risk for Australia is a potential global trade war, which could disrupt supply chains and weaken manufacturing activity across East and Southeast Asia. Given that Japan, Korea, and China are key export destinations for Australia, such disruptions could have significant negative economic consequences. Additional reporting by agencies. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Tropical Cyclone Alfred is closing in on southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, with authorities warning residents to prepare now for the extremely rare event. Millions of people in Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) are under warnings to hunker down or evacuate with flights, trains, buses and schools suspended. Meteorologists warn the cyclone will bring destructive winds of up to 120kmph, life-threatening flash flooding, and 8-metre waves. Follow our live coverage of Cyclone Alfred The governments across the board are taking this seriously, and Queenslanders as well as those on the north coast of New South Wales need to do so as well, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said. On Thursday, the storm slowed down as it moved towards the eastern coast of Australia. It is now expected to make landfall late on Friday night or early Saturday morning, between Maroochydore and Coolangatta. The cyclone, which charted an unusual path in the Pacific, is the first to directly impact areas near Brisbane since Nancy in 1990. open image in gallery Map shows position, path and arrival time of Cyclone Alfred ( Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) ) On Thursday, Alfred was 245km east of Brisbane, 230km east-northeast of the Gold Coast, moving west-northwest at just 7kmph, according to an update from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) at 5pm local time. The cyclone is maintaining Category 2 strength with gusts up to 130kmph. But its slow movement means Alfred will have more time to intensify, feeding off warm ocean waters and low vertical wind shear, potentially making it stronger before it reaches the coast. Meteorologist Thomas Hinterdorfer said that this could result in prolonged extreme weather, with some areas experiencing heavy rain, destructive winds, and storm surges for up to 12 to 14 hours. "Its going to have more time in the lower vertical shear. Its going to have more time with the warm ocean waters, and all that fuel is gonna help it intensify, Mr Hinterdorfer told The Courier Mail. "Its not a good scenario to have it, you know, being a bit slower, wed much prefer it to come through faster. Authorities say the cyclones impact will extend far beyond the landfall zone, with destructive winds, extreme rainfall, and dangerous storm surges from Double Island Point (QLD) to Ballina (NSW). BoM warns that storm surges could cause major flooding in low-lying coastal areas, particularly if Alfreds landfall coincides with high tide early Friday. Major warnings by region: Gold Coast & Tweed Coast : Extreme beach erosion, storm surges, and inundation in low-lying areas : Extreme beach erosion, storm surges, and inundation in low-lying areas Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Byron Bay & Ballina : Risk of coastal flooding and dangerous tides : Risk of coastal flooding and dangerous tides Sunshine Coast to Cape Byron: Tides expected to rise well above the highest astronomical tide "Tides are likely to rise significantly above the highest high tide mark with damaging waves and dangerous inundation of coastal low-lying areas," BoM said. A 78-year-old woman was hospitalised with head injuries after being swept up by a large wave at Currumbin Beach on Wednesday evening. open image in gallery Map shows rainfall forecast ahead of Cyclone Alfred ( Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) ) Major flood warnings are also in place, with up to 600mm of rain forecast in some areas. Brisbane & Moreton Ba y: 300-500mm y: 300-500mm Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast : 400-600mm : 400-600mm Northern NSW (Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Tweed): 250-400mm The Bellinger River and Tweed River catchments are now under major flood watches after NSW issued its first flood warning on Wednesday for Cyclone Alfred. open image in gallery Forecast for BoM shows Storm Alfred bringing 8 metre tall waves ( Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) ) Queensland premier David Crisafulli urged residents to prepare for power outages lasting days, as emergency crews brace for widespread impacts. We have 1,000 Energex crew ready to restore power, but people should prepare for outages lasting days, he said. He also warned people to act before its too late as he called Cyclone Alfred an "extremely rare event". There is a chance this cyclone will cross in the middle of the night with a high tide. That is not the time to be making your evacuation plan, now is the time, Mr Crisafulli warned. open image in gallery ( Getty Images ) With southeast Queensland residents already losing power, authorities say some areas could be left without electricity for up to three days. It is essential that we get power connected as quickly as we can after an event like this, the premier said. Mr Crisafulli reassured Queenslanders that the response and recovery efforts are already being coordinated. There will be no daylight between the response and the recovery. The best way to guarantee a good recovery is to do the little things now to keep yourself out of harms way, he said. open image in gallery Police set up traffic control at a Newmarket sandbag depot in Brisbane, Australia ( Getty Images ) Several airports have shut down and public transport in Brisbane and nearby areas has been halted until further notice. Gold Coast Airport was shutting services from 4PM local time on Wednesday until further notice while all flights to and from Ballina were cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday. Coffs Harbour Airport also suspended flights from midnight Wednesday Airlines like Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar are offering free flight changes; Jetstar offering travel vouchers. Gold Coasts acting mayor Donna Gates warned residents to stay indoors from 6PM tonight, saying conditions will be worse than anything the city has seen in decades. "This looks like the most significant event in our city in terms of destructive winds and heavy rain since 1954, she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian Defence Force is formally engaged, sending 250,000 additional sandbags to Queensland on Wednesday, after 125,000 sandbags were already delivered and 80,000 previously distributed. Its rare for cyclones to go further south along Australias eastern coast. Alfred, churning the warmer than usual waters of Pacific Ocean, took an unusual path and took a sudden turn westwards on Tuesday, intensifiying to Category 2. open image in gallery otted line shows Cyclone Alfred's movement from 22 February to 5 March as it nears landfall ( Zoom Earth ) Cyclone Alfred is predicted to impact northern NSW, which is generally not an area at risk. The last cyclone warning here was more than 50 years ago. This could indicate that, due to global warming, the reach of tropical cyclones is extending further than the tropics. Dr Tom Mortlock from Aon notes that warmer ocean temperatures are fueling storms further south, with sea surface temperatures warm enough to sustain cyclones down to Sydney. Residents in southeast Queensland and northern NSW are being urged to secure properties, prepare emergency kits, and follow evacuation advice as conditions deteriorate. Authorities warn that once the cyclone hits, emergency services may not be able to reach people in danger, making early action crucial. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Police have charged a second Sydney nurse over a video posted online that allegedly made threats to Israeli patients. Ahmad Rashad Nadir, a 27-year-old nurse who worked at Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, and possessing a prohibited drug, the Sutherland police said. Mr Nadir has been granted conditional bail and was due in court on 19 March. Mr Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, were suspended from their duties at the hospital over antisemitism after a video of them was posted online in which they allegedly threatened to deny treatment to Israeli patients or kill them. Ms Labdeh was arrested in February and charged with the federal offences of threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace and harass, police said. The charges carried a potential maximum penalty of 22 years in prison. Nurses and medical professionals gather during a nurses and midwives rally against against hate speech, in Sydney, Thursday, 13 Feb 2025, as 2 public hospital nurses are under investigation over a video in which they allegedly make anti-Semitic comments and appear to boast they would kill Israeli patients ( AAP IMAGE ) Mr Nadir was interviewed by the police earlier and has reportedly apologised for the video last month through his lawyer. The hospital examined patient records and found no evidence that the nurses had harmed patients. In the video, the nurses, wearing their uniforms, purportedly engaged in a conversation on the chat platform Chatruletka with Jewish content creator Max Veifer. After learning that Mr Veifer was from Israel, one of the nurses allegedly said if patients from the country came to their hospital, she would not treat them. "I won't treat them, I'll kill them," she said. The other nurse, a man, said: "Eventually you're going to get killed and you're going to go to (hell)." The incident comes amid a wave of antisemitic attacks targeting Jews in Australia in the backdrop of Israel's war on Gaza. Recent months have seen attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars belonging to Jews across the country as well as the discovery of a caravan carrying explosives and a list of Jewish targets in Sydney. New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said the antisemitism taskforce called the Strike Force Pearl has arrested 15 people and laid a total of 78 charges. I must commend the work Strike Force Pearl detectives are doing to investigate, charge and put these individuals before the courts, she said on Wednesday, according to The Guardian. There is a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work going into all these investigations. Detectives have overcome many challenges including huge public expectation to put these individuals before the court, Ms Webb said. The duo have been barred by the Australian health practitioner watchdog from working in the profession nationwide in any context. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A British man has been jailed for 19 years after being convicted of fighting for Ukraine in Russia's Kursk region. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, faced charges of terrorism and mercenary activities after being captured in November. The Russian court said its decision followed a closed trial where a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit testified. Anderson will serve the initial five years in prison, with the remainder of his sentence to be carried out in a penal colony, according to the court. Ukrainian troops crossed the border into the Kursk region last August. They have maintained a presence there despite Russian efforts to remove them. Anderson was accused of illegally entering Kursk in November as part of an armed group, allegedly involved in unspecified criminal acts against civilians. Russian state media released footage of Anderson in handcuffs and confined to a cage, a common sight for defendants in Russian court cases. Following his capture, a pro-war Russian social media channel released an interrogation recording where Anderson stated he served in the British army from 2019 to 2023 before joining the foreign legion of Ukraine's armed forces, a decision he described as a stupid idea. open image in gallery This image, made from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, shows Ukrainian forces capturing two North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Kursk When Anderson was captured in November, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: We will do all we can to offer this UK national all the support we can. Andersons father Scott told the Daily Mail at the time he had begged his son not to go to Ukraine. He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right, he said. Im hoping hell be used as a bargaining chip, but my son told me they torture their prisoners and Im so frightened hell be tortured. Scott said he had seen a video of his son, which left him in complete shock and tears. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Canary Islands are still reeling from major flooding and heavy rains which turned streets into rivers and swept away cars. Both popular holiday island Tenerife the Canarys third-largest island Gran Canaria were hit. Yellow warnings were put in place for much of the Canary Islands on Monday morning and Gran Canaria was put on significant risk orange warning on Tuesday. The flooding comes months after a powerful storm in Spain destroyed communities, including in Valencia and Malaga. open image in gallery Cars were swept away by the flood waters ( REUTERS ) In November, torrential rains and flash flooding meant thousands of residents had to evacuate and travel was severely disrupted. More than 200 people died as a result. Spains weather agency Aemet warned that widespread rainfall across the islands would last until Wednesday. As of Wednesday 5 March, the UKs Foreign Office has not issued any travel warnings on the heavy rain and flooding in the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria On Monday afternoon, southern, eastern and western areas of Gran Canaria were under an orange weather alert due to a storm cell. More than 30 litres per square metre fell in less than an hour on Monday afternoon in the island, according to authorities. Telde in the east of the island was hit hardest by rain, with water engulfing streets and houses, trapping residents and closing beaches. Popular beaches La Garita, Hoya del Pozo, Playa del Hombre, El Barranquillo, Melenara, Salinetas and Eyes of Heron are affected by the restriction until further notice. Gran Canaria Airport had both runways in operation and flight proceedings were running as planned after temporarily being closed on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, flights appeared to be running relatively smoothly. open image in gallery Rainwater runs down the Ojos De Garza ravine in Telde ( REUTERS ) Tenerife Tenerife island has also been hit, with some areas now left covered in snow after another dramatic shift in the weather. Santa Cruz Carnival in the islands capital suspended its performances on Monday afternoon due to weather warnings but evening performances went ahead as planned. The TF-38 road in southern Tenerife was partially closed due to icy conditions. It has now been re-opened giving partial access to Teide National Park. The eastern town of Guimar was also affected with around 80 people in a supermarket as their cars were trapped in a flooded underground car park, Canarian Weekly reported. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Greek opposition parties challenged the countrys center-right government on Wednesday with a censure motion in parliament over a fatal rail disaster which claimed 57 lives and left dozens injured. The move comes days after a general strike and mass protests, some of which escalated into violence, on the second anniversary of the Feb. 28, 2023 tragedy. Led by the main opposition Socialist party, the censure motion is backed by three smaller left-wing parties. A vote is expected late Friday, though it is unlikely to threaten the government, which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in northern Greece were university students returning from a long weekend holiday, making the disaster a deeply emotional issue. Unions called a general strike last week in support of the mass mobilization led by the victims relatives. Critics say that politicians should be held accountable for failures that led up to the collision, but so far only rail officials have been charged with any crimes. Socialist party leader Nikos Androulakis on Wednesday accused the government of shielding officials from accountability for the tragedy. Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of insults and arrogance? Androulakis asked lawmakers. Thats why we are submitting a motion of no confidence today. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Before farmer Hinrich Frerichs passed away, he wanted to do something positive for his community. A resident of the small German village of Karlum, he hit upon the idea of using his inheritance to benefit the next generation. Mr Frerichs stipulated in his will that money from his four flats and investments will go towards this end, local outlet SHZ reported. Now, that 1.2-million-euro inheritance will provide 300 euros (250) to every child who lives there. This generates around 30,000 euros in income per year, which we can distribute, the mayor of the village of 220 residents, Werner Richardsen, told BILD. Residents set up a foundation with three board members and five council members including the mayor, an estate administrator and three residents. After collaborating with residents, the foundation decided in 2024 that every young person up to and including 18 years old will receive the 300-euro gift. The only condition is that proposals must be charitable and benefit children and senior citizens. open image in gallery The village of Karlum, marked in red, is on the northern border with Denmark ( Google Maps ) It comes after reports of increased loneliness for the elderly and a lack of support for young people. About 34 young people will receive the gift by the end of the year but the foundation will discuss whether they will be able to donate annually, Mayor Richardsen told BILD. I'm quite optimistic about that, the mayor added. Donations have also been made to a hospital, a hospice, and an association offering support and counselling to elderly and sick people. "We also support the community bus, which is driven by volunteers. You call them an hour in advance, and they pick up children or senior citizens. Projects have been lined up to provide breakfast for senior citizens, summer trips, covered benches and upgrading of a 1.2-kilometre-long path. Everyone just calls it the pensioners path, but it's used a lot by people of all ages, the mayor added. The mayor said he was welcoming proposals from The foundation is set to meet again in the coming weeks to discuss possible future projects. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Pope Francis's condition has stabilised following a major health setback, but he is again using a ventilation mask at night to help him breathe. The 88-year-old pontiff, who suffers from chronic lung disease and underwent partial lung removal in his youth, experienced two respiratory crises on Monday. Medical professionals extracted a significant amount of mucus from his lungs and administered noninvasive mechanical ventilation overnight. By Tuesday morning, his condition had improved enough to allow him to breathe with the aid of supplemental oxygen delivered through a nasal tube. Despite the improvement, doctors said they planned to reinstate the ventilation mask during the night to ensure adequate oxygen flow. On Wednesday, the Vatican said the Pope had slept well overnight and woken around 8am local time. Franciss medical team described his condition as stable, but his prognosis remains guarded. The lack of in-person medical updates from his doctors since February 21 underscores the fluctuating nature of his condition. This hospitalisation began on February 14 and marks the longest of his 12-year papacy. The Vatican reported that the Pope spent Tuesday resting, praying, and undergoing respiratory physiotherapy. open image in gallery A crucifix outside the Popes hospital window ( AP ) Argentines pray for the pope at hospital On Tuesday, a group of Argentines from the country's embassies in Rome brought a statue of Our Lady of Lujan to the Gemelli hospital to pray for Francis. The Argentine pope is particularly devoted to the blue veiled Lujan Madonna, which has been revered in Argentina since the 17th century. "I am very happy to be now close to him," said the Reverend Fernando Laguna, parish priest of the Argentine church in Rome. "I would like to hug him, but it's not possible, but he told us that a prayer is like a hug. So I am happy despite the pain." Vatican prepares for Lent without Francis Francis's treatment comes as the Vatican prepares for Lent, the solemn period leading up to Easter on April 20. A cardinal has been designated to take Francis's place this week on Ash Wednesday, which opens Lent with a traditional service and procession in Rome. The pope was also supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this coming weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in "spiritual communion" with him. The theme, selected weeks ago and well before Francis got sick, was Hope in eternal life. open image in gallery Faithful pray for the Pope at St Peters Square ( AP ) Francis, who is not physically active, uses a wheelchair and is overweight, had been undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to improve his lung function. The accumulation of secretions in his lungs was a sign that he does not have the muscle tone to cough vigorously enough to expel the fluid. Doctors often use noninvasive ventilation to stave off intubation or the use of more invasive mechanical ventilation. Francis has not been intubated during this hospitalisation. It is not clear if he has provided any instructions on the limits of his care if he declines seriously or loses consciousness. Catholic teaching holds that life must be defended from conception until natural death. It insists that chronically ill patients, including those in vegetative states, must receive "ordinary" care such as hydration and nutrition, but "extraordinary" or disproportionate care can be suspended if it is no longer beneficial or is only prolonging a precarious and painful life. Francis articulated that in a 2017 speech to a meeting of the Vatican's bioethics think tank, the Pontifical Academy for Life. He said there was "no obligation to have recourse in all circumstances to every possible remedy". He added: "It thus makes possible a decision that is morally qualified as withdrawal of 'overzealous treatment.'" On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ukraine signed a mineral and profit-sharing deal with the United States on Wednesday evening in Washington DC following two months of testy negotiations. The agreement will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraines reconstruction. Previous versions of the deal presented by Donald Trumps negotiators insisted that Ukraine pay back the aid the US had given it over the last three years of war. The latest version, according to Ukraines prime minister Denys Shmyhal, no longer makes that demand. Earlier, US president Donald Trump had claimed a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine a crucial first step to achieving peace in the region was back on after Volodymyr Zelensky sent him a letter signalling his willingness to sign. After a series of spats between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky culminated in the deal being temporarily canned earlier and the Ukrainian leader being kicked out of the White House, the US president said in a speech to Congress that he had received an important letter seeking to end the disagreements. Quoting from the letter, he said Mr Zelensky told him that Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts, Mr Trump quoted Mr Zelensky as writing. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Mr Trump added that Mr Zelensky said he was ready to sign the minerals deal at any. time that is convenient for you. On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department said: In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Earlier, Ukraine had agreed to a revised deal with the US to secure support to end the war after the Trump administration dropped some of its toughest demands . open image in gallery Donald Trump greeted Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington on Friday - the meeting did not go well ( REUTERS ) But a tense exchange between the two countries leaders earlier brought the negotiations crashing down again, with the Ukrainian president berated in front of cameras by Mr Trump and his second-in-command, JD Vance. The deal, which was touted as a central point of peace negotiations, was left unsigned and what can be salvaged from it remains uncertain. The US had been pushing for a deal that would grant it half of Ukraines revenues from critical minerals, oil, gas, and stakes in key infrastructure, such as ports, through a joint investment fund. A White House official said earlier that the minerals deal was a first step to lasting peace but Zelensky had overplayed his cards. Below, The Independent looks at what could be included in the deal now that it has been struck. What do we know about the deal so far? While negotiations were up in the air, it had been reported the preliminary agreement established a fund in which Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of proceeds from the future monetisation of state-owned mineral resources such as oil and gas, which would be invested in Ukrainian projects. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced the news of the deal in a press release later on Wednesday, which described the agreement as a recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defence of Ukraine. As the president has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war, said Mr Bessent. This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term. The deal does not mention Ukrainian liability for past aid spent, which Mr Morezkho said on Wednesday was a victory. President Trump had previously demanded $300bn in back payments on the US contribution to the defence of Ukraine, which has in fact been about $130bn since 2022. Both countries will be equal parties in the sharing of investment and an equal share in the resources of Ukraine. The profits, for the first 10 years, for both countries, will be spent on rebuilding Ukraine infrastructure and local investment, Mr Morezkho told The Independent. Earlier, the US reportedly dropped Mr Trumps initial demand for $500bn in potential revenue from Ukrainian resources, a condition which was rejected out of hand by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay, Mr Zelensky had said. Despite this, negotiations intensified in the days that followed, and it was soon announced that a preliminary agreement had been reached and that Mr Zelensky would travel to Washington to sign the deal. Mr Trump had suggested earlier that the deal was close to completion, hinting at Mr Zelenskys upcoming visit. The US president announced earlier that the war-torn country was on board with his plan . We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths, Mr Trump said. What are Ukraines rare earths? Ukraine is sitting on one of Europes largest deposits of critical minerals, including lithium and titanium, much of which is untapped. According to the Institute of Geology, Ukraine possesses rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers. The EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves but detailed data is classified. Mr Zelensky has been trying to develop these resources, estimated to be worth more than 12 trillion, based on figures provided by Forbes Ukraine, for years. In 2021, he offered outside investors tax breaks and investment rights to help mine these minerals. These efforts were suspended when the full-scale invasion started a year later. Anticipating the notoriously transactional Mr Trump might take an interest in this, Mr Zelensky then placed the mining of these minerals into his victory plan, which was drawn up last year. The minerals are vital for electric vehicles and other clean energy efforts, as well as defence production. Estimates based on government documents suggest that Ukraines resources are also highly varied. Foreign Policy found that Ukraine held commercially relevant deposits of 117 of the 120 most-used industrial minerals across more than 8,700 surveyed deposits. open image in gallery A map provided by Ukrainian group UnitedMedia 24 shows the location of critical mineral resources across the country ( UnitedMedia 24 ) Included in that is half a million tonnes of lithium, none of which has been tapped. This makes Ukraine the largest lithium resource in Europe. Ukraine's reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20 per cent of global resources. The deposits are in the centre and west. It is not surprising that Mr Trump appears keen on benefiting from this, especially as China remains a key player in the mining of minerals such as titanium. But Vladimir Putins invasion has not only delayed Ukraines plans to mine these minerals, it has also led to much of these resource-rich areas being destroyed and then occupied. A little over 6 trillion of Ukraines mineral resources, which is around 53 per cent of the countrys total, are contained in the four regions Mr Putin illegally annexed in September 2022, and of which his army occupies a considerable swathe. That includes Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, though Kherson holds little value in terms of minerals. The Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed and occupied by Mr Putins forces in 2014, also holds roughly 165bn worth of minerals. The region of Dnipropetrovsk, which borders the largely occupied regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, and sits in the face of an advancing Russian army, contains an additional 2.8 trillion in mineral resources. Russian difficulties with major military operations seem likely to preclude a serious attempt to take the region but mining operations in the area would be perilous with Moscows soldiers so close. open image in gallery File. An aerial view shows a dragline excavator operating in an open-pit titanium mine in the Zhytomyr region, on 28 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. -- The United States and Ukraine on 30 April 2025 signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped ( AFP via Getty Images ) Other ores are well within the sites of Russias forces. One lithium ore on the outskirts of a settlement called Shevchenko in Donetsk is less than 10 miles from the town of Velyka Novosilka, recently captured by Mr Putins troops. However, while Ukraine has a highly qualified and relatively inexpensive labour force and developed infrastructure, investors highlight a number of barriers to investment. These include inefficient and complex regulatory processes as well as difficulty accessing geological data and obtaining land plots. Such projects would take years to develop and require considerable up-front investment, they said. What happens next? After signing the deal, Mr Bessent said in a statement: To be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine. The New York Times reported that the final US-Ukraine minerals deal does not include any guarantees of future US security assistance, which the US rejected early in talks. Despite the celebratory tone, the agreement, the outlet reported, may prove largely symbolic if the war with Russia continues. The Treasury Department said that the US International Development Finance Corporation will collaborate with Ukraine to finalise the agreements details. Ukraines prime minister said in a post on Telegram that both countries will have equal voting rights in the fund, Ukraine will keep full control over its resources and infrastructure, and all profits will be reinvested in Ukraine. Thanks to this agreement, we will be able to attract significant resources for reconstruction, start economic growth, and receive the latest technologies from partners and a strategic investor in the United States, Mr Shmyhal said in the post. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The US has cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine, severely impacting the flow of vital information that Kyiv uses to defend itself from Russian attacks. The latest blow comes after Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv and despite the US leader boasting during an address to Congress on Tuesday about receiving a letter from the Ukrainian president expressing willingness to come to the negotiating table to end the three-year war. We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship, Mr Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz said. On Thursday, European leaders will hold crisis talks in Brussels in support for Ukraine. French president Emmanuel Macron said he would open talks with European allies over extending his countrys nuclear deterrent to protect the continent. Europe is in a new era, he said in a televised statement. The US has provided critical intelligence to Ukraine for its fight against Moscow's forces, including information that helped thwart Vladimir Putin's drive to seize Kyiv at the start of his full-scale invasion in February 2022. Volodymyr Zelensky had on Tuesday night bowed to the intense pressure from Mr Trump, calling the White House spat regrettable in a statement while pledging to enter peace talks. "Theres been positive movement. We are expecting first results next week," Mr Zelensky said in his Wednesday evening video address posted on social media. Sources have told The Independent that should supplies of US Patriot missiles to Ukraine stop, it would be unable to defend itself in a matter of days. open image in gallery Donald Trump is applying intense pressure on Zelensky to enter a ceasefire ( PA ) CIA director John Ratcliffe called the intelligence suspension a pause and said it came after the disastrous meeting in the Oval Office on Friday. Mr Ratcliffe said Mr Trump wanted to know that Mr Zelensky was serious about peace. On the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen will go away, and I think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have, Mr Ratcliffe said. Ukraine could soon be receiving intelligence and military support from the US once Mr Zelensky shows to Mr Trump he is serious about participating in talks on Mr Trump's terms, Mr Waltz said on Fox News. I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations and, in fact, put some confidence building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause, he said. We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating towards a partial, then permanent peace. Andriy Yermak, the head of Mr Zelenskys office, said he had spoken to Mr Waltz on the phone on Wednesday to discuss the next steps towards a just and lasting peace. open image in gallery White House national security adviser Mike Waltz says the US could restore intelligence if Ukraine shows it is serious about peace talks ( AP ) We also exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States, he wrote on X. We have scheduled a meeting for our teams in the near future to continue this important work. After the announcement, Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons that it was vital to ensure the US did not disengage from Ukraine. Ive always been clear that we need to ensure that the US, the UK, Europe and Ukraine are working together, but we must not choose between the US and Europe we never have historically, and were not going to do so now, he said. Later, Mr Macron said in the televised statement that he would discuss the possibility of using his countrys nuclear deterrent in the face of threats from Russia. He added: "I want to believe that the United States will stand by us. But we have to be ready if that is not the case." Meanwhile, UK defence secretary John Healy will join his US counterpart Pete Jegseth for a bilateral meeting on Thursday. Mr Healeys trip was agreed last week after Sir Keir announced a rise in the UKs defence spending to 2.5per cent of GDP. The suspension of intelligence is the latest in a long series of issues that are testing US-Ukraine relations. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Mr Zelensky, told The Independent that they were focusing on staying pragmatic despite what he described as an emotional discussion in the White House last week. Speaking just moments before the US suspension of intelligence but after the temporary end of military support, he said Mr Zelenskys team believed the latter aid would be reinstated because it was a vital instrument for keeping Russia down and putting pressure on them. open image in gallery Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office last week ( AFP/Getty ) Mr Trumps administration, he insisted, was focused on ending the war in Ukraine and Kyiv needs some form of US support to achieve this. He added that they would be asking for more military aid soon. On the spat in the White House, he insisted that sometimes emotional conversation is needed, even if its out of protocol, to ensure that the US and Ukraine are aligned. There were some ambiguities regarding the interpretation of the war both from the United States and Ukraine sides that didnt allow us to achieve synchronised constructive negotiation positions on the war, Russia, Russian motives and so on, he said. That emotional conversation allowed us to come to more constructive approaches towards each other. In the weeks running up to yesterdays announcement, US-Ukraine relations had taken a monumental hit. They were already strained after Mr Trump announced he had held talks with Mr Putin and begun US-Russia talks on reestablishing ties, a move that left Kyiv and Europe worried an unfavourable deal could be done over their head. open image in gallery President of China Xi Jinping Beijing has responded robustly to US trade tariffs ( AP ) An initial US request for Kyiv to give Washington access to $500bn of Ukraines untapped critical mineral resources, without the compensation of American security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression, was then decried by Mr Zelensky as not a serious proposal. The US president then accused the Ukrainian leader of being a dictator with approval rates as low as 4 per cent. Mr Zelenskys ratings are closer to 60 per cent. In response, Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump was living in a disinformation bubble of Russian making. Then came the White House spat. The only beneficiary of that, said Ukraines allies, was Mr Putin. "Of course, Trump wants fast actions and activities. Having observed his strategies, we can see that his style of doing politics is to dominate the information and diplomatic fields," Mr Podolyak adds. "But again, its not about Trump. Its not about Ukraines willingness to sit down at the negotiating table. Its about Russia." Meanwhile, China warned the US it was ready to fight any type of war as it retaliated against Mr Trump's mounting trade tariffs. The trade war between the two superpowers escalated on Tuesday as Mr Trump hiked his levies on Chinese goods to a total of 20 per cent, and China retaliated by imposing 15 per cent tariffs on American agricultural goods. The Chinese embassy in Washington, in a post on X, said: If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice US president Donald Trump has paused all military aid to Ukraine following a fiery clash with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky last week, deepening the fissure that has opened between the two allies. It was a Ukrainian concern that has been simmering for months but one Kyiv hoped it could allay with diplomacy. As Mr Trump and his vice-president JD Vance berated Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday night for not saying thank you for the past three years of support, that concern suddenly became a serious possibility. In the aftermath of the unprecedented spat in front of the cameras, an official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: "President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution. open image in gallery Donald Trump had a very public row with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office ( AFP via Getty Images ) The order will remain in effect until Mr Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, a White House official also told the Associated Press. The halting of military aid comes some five years after Mr Trump held up congressionally authorised assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Mr Zelensky to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Mr Trump's first impeachment. A Trump administration official had earlier said they were considering cancelling all help, including the final shipments of ammunition and equipment authorised and paid for during Mr Bidens tenure. Mr Trump earlier on Monday slammed Mr Zelensky for suggesting that the end of the war likely "is still very, very far away". Mr Zelensky had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week's White House meeting. Below, we look at just how consequential that could be and what weapons the US has been sending to Ukraine. What are the figures? Almost half of the 103bn in military support sent to Ukraine by its allies has come from the US, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute. That figure is a little over 51bn. The second and third largest military supporters are Germany and the UK, who have sent 10bn and 8bn respectively. If you calculate total military spending as a percentage of each countrys GDP, however, the US is much lower down the list of Ukraines backers. Its total support amounts to 0.296 per cent of its GDP, making it the 17th most significant military backer proportionate to GDP. Denmark is Ukraines most significant military supporter measured against its GDP. It has sent around 2.038 per cent. The next four, in order, are Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland. These four countries all share a border with mainland Russia or its exclave Kaliningrad. But if Ukraine lost the material heft of US support, it could prove devastating. This is why Mr Zelensky has been adamant that US security guarantees as part of a peace deal are the only means of preventing future Russian aggression. Europes support alone, he maintains, would not be sufficient. In an interview last month, Mr Zelensky told NBCs Meet the Press that they would have a low chance of survival without US support. He reiterated that message on Saturday as he flew for talks with Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street, saying: Its crucial for us to have President Trumps support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do. Demonstrations of how consequential a lack of US support can be are readily available. When the Republican members of the House of Representatives, under Mr Trumps instruction, blocked for roughly eight months a military aid package for Ukraine proposed by Mr Biden, Russia made frontline advances with a significant advantage in artillery. Some soldiers put it at 10 to one. It led to the fall of the city of Avdiivka in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, which the Russians have since used as a springboard to advance around 30 miles further to the outskirts of the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider areas defence. Total US support, including financial and humanitarian aid, is in the range of 95bn, according to Kiel. The US Department of Defence, however, suggests the figure is as high as 145bn, which it says are funds appropriated for Ukraine. That covers US military training in Europe and replenishment of US defence stocks. Compared with the rest of the world, the US share of total support for Ukraine is lower. The majority of support comes from Europe, with 49.5 per cent, while the US has supplied 42.7 per cent. This leaves 7.8 per cent from other countries. There is no evidence to substantiate Mr Trumps claims that the US has sent $350bn to Ukraine, nor has he attempted to prove it. What weapons have the US sent to Ukraine? open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky stands next to a US Patriot air defence system ( DPA ) US military support for Ukraine is vital not only because of its sheer volume but also because Washington has acted as a diplomatic umbrella for European countries to send weapons of their own. When Ukraines allies debated whether it would be too provocative to send tanks to Ukraine, for example, it was the US finally agreeing to send some of their Abrams battle tanks, despite the logistical problems involved in training troops in how to use them, that opened the door for Germany to send their much more readily available Leopard tanks. The list of total American weaponry sent to Ukraine is extensive. If you want to read the full list, click here. open image in gallery The US is one of the biggest contributors of aid and weaponry to Ukraine ( EPA ) The most significant pieces of equipment include: On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice US officials have held secret talks with Hamas chiefs over releasing the remaining Israeli hostages, the White House has admitted. It is the first known direct engagement between the US and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997. Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages, including Edan Alexander, an American citizen, as well as the bodies of at least 35 others, are believed to still be held in Gaza. Adam Boehler, US president Donald Trumps nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, participated in the talks, which took place last month in the Qatari capital, Doha. They focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official. The official said no progress was made but said the step itself is promising and more talks are expected. Egyptian and Qatari mediators helped arrange the talks, having served as mediators with Hamas for the US and Israel since the group launched the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that sparked the war. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the talks had taken place after news site Axios reported on them. But she declined to provide details, saying: Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is (a) good faith effort to do what's right for the American people." Ms Leavitt added that Israel has been consulted about the direct engagement with Hamas officials, but noted that there are "American lives at stake". The Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. Mr Trump has signalled that he has no intention of pushing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu away from a return to combat if Hamas does not agree to the terms of a new ceasefire proposal, which the Israelis have billed as being drafted by US envoy Steve Witkoff. The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages the militant group's main bargaining chip in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners. Ten kilometres east of Siena, a mound rises above a Tuscan valley studded with stone-built farmhouses. Its a scramble to the top of the tumuli (or burial mounds), but its worth it: looking to the horizon I can see the silhouetted outline of the citys still largely extant medieval centre. Behind me, among the cypress trees that crowd the summit, I find an obelisk memorialising the death of more than 30,000 men who fell when Florence tried and failed to defeat its rival city state at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260. Thats a long time ago, but for some, history still rankles, and if youre the kind of traveller who likes an ancient gripe as much as an ancient building, then Siena pitted against its neighbour for centuries is the place to be. And its not just Montaperti that irks theres the Renaissance as well. Ever since the virulently pro-Florentine 16th-century artist and writer Giorgio Vasari drastically downplayed Sienas importance, art historians have been giving Florence the credit for starting the Renaissance. But as will become clear in a revelatory new show at the National Gallery in London, featuring artists like Duccio, Martini, and the brothers Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti with works reunited, in some cases, for the first time in centuries it was the emergence of a new kind of painter in 14th-century Siena that enabled the revolution. All of them were encouraged by an enlightened merchant republic governed by a revolving council of nine, which treated painters as artists rather than artisans. Back in town, I find rich evidence of this at the staggering brick and stone headquarters the republic built, the Palazzo Pubblico. Finished in 1310, the Palazzo is one of the wonders of medieval Europe, and once Ive got the Tuscan mud off my boots, I head inside for two more vistas. First from the front, which overlooks the scallop-shaped Piazza del Campo, where the Palio horse races are run every July and August between the citys districts (contrade). Then, from the back of the Palazzo, an open terrace looks out across fields. This was where the nine, who were not permitted to leave the building for the duration of their year in office, would come to check the republics crops were all in good order, knowing that behind them the painters were hard at work embellishing the Palazzos walls. open image in gallery The opulent interior of Sienas Duomo ( EPA ) Read more: This peaceful Italian mountain town is just one hour from Venice but completely crowd-free The painters work is still there, and soon I stand gobsmacked in front of Simone Martinis huge 1315 fresco Maesta, in the Palazzos Sala del Mappamondo. Taking up an entire wall, it shows the Virgin Mary in her majesty beneath a canopy attended by the saints. But only a staircase away from the Maesta, in the Chamber of Nine where the ruling council would meet, another work even better exemplifies this new relationship between authority and art: Ambrogio Lorenzettis series of frescos titled the Allegory of Good and Bad Government, painted between 1338 and 1339. Im funnelled with other visitors up the staircase, but our chat falls away when we emerge beneath Lorenzettis masterpiece, each of us coming to the hushed realisation that we have entered a magical portal to the 14th century and its social and philosophical aspirations. One side of the room shows a rural chaos peopled by devils, the other a happy and industrious populace going about their business in the ochre-brick and grey-stone streets, or making merry with tambourines. open image in gallery Birth of the Virgin by Pietro Lorenzetti ( Museo dell'Opera della Metropolitana, Siena/Foto Studio Lensini Siena ) The Sienese today live, work and study in pretty much the same medieval city, spread along an axis between the Franciscans at the Oratorio di San Bernardino and the Dominicans at the Basilica Caterina San Domenico church, a huge brick barn erected in the early 13th century. Navigating around this axis, I stumble upon the bone-white 13th-century Duomo (cathedral), which is on the pilgrim route to Rome, along with the Pinacoteca Nazionale, a wonderful museum in a former palazzo dedicated to Sienas late medieval and early Renaissance art, and finally my hotel, the sublimely old-school Grand Continental. Read more: 8 of the best city breaks in Italy, from art-filled Florence to coastal Cagliari This is another former palazzo, and the only five-star hotel within the city walls. From my room, I can see the Duomo and the Basilica Caterina San Domenico balanced on top of the steep ridge Id seen from Montaperti. Just how steep becomes clear later on: having been tempted down plunging alleyways by the smell of cooking, I return sated by pappa al pomodoro and ravioli stuffed with ricotta and herbs, and have to clamber back up past street-corner flags that mark the territory of the contrade. open image in gallery The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel by Duccio ( Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington ) I end up, as all visitors do, back at the Piazza del Campo, sipping a contemplative digestivo in a happily thronged bar and considering all those thousands of bricks before me. Even when its littered with tipsy revellers, its a space that, like Lorenzettis Allegory of Good and Bad Government, seems to embody all the admirable civic virtues of medieval Italy. All it lacks is tambourines. Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300 -1350 is at Londons National Gallery from 8 March until 22 June 2025 Senator Elizabeth Warren sarcastically applauded Donald Trump after he singled her out with his Pocahontas nickname during his address to Congress. The President was discussing bringing the war in Ukraine to an end when he targeted the Senator from Massachusetts in the crowd. Warren, for her part, gave Trump a slow clap in response while smiling back at him. A Metropolitan Police contact handler used Instagram to safeguard a victim of domestic abuse who made a report while she was on holiday. Emma Tavill was contacted by a woman on 19 February 2024 who had been assaulted by her partner while away in Cyprus. The victim sent photo and video evidence of her injuries to the Met's Instagram page by direct message. Ms Tavill used the information she had to gather intelligence about the suspect, including his return flight details. Once the suspect landed in the UK the following day, he was arrested at Gatwick Airport and taken into custody. Sir Keir Starmer opened Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, 5 March his first since Donald Trumps explosive meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky with a dig at JD Vance by paying tribute to the hundreds of British soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. It comes after the US vice president suggested Britain hadnt fought a war in more than 30 years. Mr Vance was accused of erasing the experiences of Britons who served in Iraq and Afghanistan after his latest tirade against Americas European allies. Speaking about the 642 soldiers who died, Sir Keir said: We will never forget their bravery and their sacrifice. President Donald Trump arrived to address a joint session of Congress as Democrat Melanie Stansbury holds a sign reading, "This is not normal," at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, 4 March. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), who was standing along the other side of the aisle and had greeted the President as he walked by reached across the aisle and ripped it away from her, tossing the piece of paper. The paper almost landed on the Commander in Chief as he continued his way into the chamber. Marjorie Taylor Greenes partner Brian Glenn has been confronted over rumours of a set-up concerning Donald Trumps and JD Vances clash with Volodymyr Zelensky. Real Americas Voice host Brian Glenn, who is dating the MAGA congresswoman, appeared to mock Mr Zelensky for not wearing a suit during the unprecedented Oval Office clash on Friday, 28 February. Piers Morgan asked Mr Glenn during his Piers Morgan Uncensored show on Wednesday (5 March): There is a suggestion the whole thing was a set up because of Trumps wink at you. Can you clarify this once and for all, did the president know you were going to do this? Donald Trumps speech to Congress had all the hallmarks of an address of a despot. Even by his debased standards, this record-breaking, rambling weave of an address was striking in its vaulting ambition and naked arrogance. Trump has half-joked about being a dictator for a day, but to see him perform like a tyrant in Congress, in the very heart of American democracy, takes a certain sort of audacity. There were protests from the assembled legislators, sometimes a defiant silence and at other times paddle boards proclaiming False, Musk lies, and Save Medicaid. One outraged congressman was even ejected from the chamber another Trump era first. Yet there is as yet little sense of the legislative arm of government pushing back against Americas unmistakable and remarkably rapid journey to becoming an elective dictatorship, with an imperial presidency more powerful than any of its predecessors, including those of Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon. Its the style as well as the substance of Trumps performance that put one in mind of a modern-day Caesar. Hes not an especially eloquent orator, but there is a certain Mob-style menace in how Trump delivers his threats, and menacing smaller nations is what expansionist dictators tend to do. Vladimir Putin, who Trump plainly admires, exemplifies the contemporary iteration. He has spent decades preparing the Russians for his incessant attacks on Ukraine by diminishing his weaker neighbours culture, its right to exist and its democratic ambitions run by Nazis. Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, emboldened by Trumps acquiescence towards Russian aggression and bullying of dictator Volodymyr Zelensky, calls the Ukrainian leader, who happens to be Jewish, a pure Nazi and a traitor to the Jewish people. The echoes of the 1930s are clear. In their day, Mussolini and Hitler ridiculed and denigrated backward nations. Il Duce sought to conquer Ethiopia, and the Fuhrer said the Slavic nations of Eastern Europe were populated by sub-humans. Trump is similarly dehumanising and threatening. With not even an acknowledgement of international law and the prohibition of settling disputes by force and aggression, he once again pledged to reclaim the Panama Canal and take Greenland into the United States one way or another, as he growled oh so theatrically. Special scorn was reserved for Lesotho, a poor nation that had the cheek to receive development assistance from USAID. Uganda, Burma/Myanmar, Serbia, Moldova (a prime target for Putin) and Mozambique were similarly disputed, adding gratuitous injury to the loss of aid. The near-sadistic glee with which Trump paraded his dismantling of DEI policies and woke culture was another source of worry for anyone who wants to see America displaying strength through unity, and continuing its journey to eradicate racism ( AP ) Once again, the president chose to other the weak, the vulnerable and those most discriminated against in America. The near-sadistic glee with which Trump paraded his dismantling of DEI policies and woke culture was another source of worry for anyone who wants to see America displaying strength through unity, and continuing its journey to eradicate racism. As a previous president, Abraham Lincoln, once famously declared, A house divided against itself, cannot stand. America has rarely been more polarised than it is today, and Trump could have taken the opportunity, in time and in identifying common values, to bring his divided nation together in front of the elected representatives of the people. Lamentably, he instead attacked the Democrats in the chamber there by the wish of about half the country in unprecedented fashion and picked on senator Elizabeth Warren with the usual childish jibes. Trumps modest democratic mandate is being leveraged into a weapon to delegitimise and destroy independent agencies, disarm Congress, appoint patsies to the cabinet, Supreme Court, and chiefs of staff, and mute criticism in the media. As with any dictatorship truth and language has to be subverted to the quest for absolute power. Trumps truth media has nothing to do with it. His persistent lies are well documented and have been consistently fact-checked and refuted. He takes no notice, and derides those who speak the truth as fake news. Lies big lies are repeated in traditional dictator style. Proper journalists who seek to challenge this are being taken out of media rooms and press conferences, and supplanted by cronies, most disgracefully the clown who asked President Zelensky why he wasnt wearing a suit. Elon Musk urges the impeachment of judges who question his unlawful activities, which have nothing to do with efficiency and scams, and everything to do with victimising the poor at home and abroad. Trump, in short, is building his elective dictatorship in plain sight. It is easy to cling to hope and fall back on the assumption that such things cannot happen in America, with its intricate system of democratic checks and balances. Yet such things are indeed happening, and at such a bewildering speed they are hard to restrain. America is currently being ruled by imperial decree the executive order, issued so often in brazenly unconstitutional form, such as the attempt to end citizenship by birthright. It is precisely the system of government that has so often been the precursor to a much more comprehensive system of control. As in so many civilised nations in the past, some of the institutions, such as Congress, may survive but only in functionally weak and subordinate form. As in Russia, there will be pockets of free media and accountability but that is not a true democracy. The clear danger is that Trump and the cult-like neo-fascistic Maga movement have made such progress in eroding democratic norms that, in Trumpian terms, the drift to authoritarianism is becoming unstoppable. The state of the union is poor. Businessman Paul Wright asks US court to grant stay in discovery process He has been accused of using clients money to fund a lavish lifestyle Businessman Paul Wright John Mulligan Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 03:30 Co Kildare-based businessman Paul Wright has urged a US court to grant a stay in the discovery process in a legal action against him after he was asked to make dozens of admissions, including that he was never a member of the UKs SAS special forces unit. He made his call and then it was up to me to make my call and I did Joey OBrien on decision to take over from Damien Duff and nervy win over Cork PLA officer says his battalion now has stronger fighting prowess 16:47, March 05, 2025 By Zhao Lei ( Chinadaily.com.cn Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Dongxu, commander of a combined combat battalion of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, also a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on March 5, 2025. (Kuang Linhua/chinadaily.com.cn) Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Dongxu, commander of a combined combat battalion of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, said his unit now has stronger fighting prowess thanks to intensive training, new hardware, and inter-service exercises. Speaking in front of reporters on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the officer said: "Over the years, my battalion has transitioned from an infantry unit to a combined group while advancing combat-oriented training." "Each year, we conduct cross-regional exercises spanning northern grasslands, southern forests, eastern coasts, and the western deserts. Through all-weather drills, sweating through summer heat and battling winter frost, our troops have relentlessly honed their skills and enhanced their morale," said Zhang, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, which opened its third session on Wednesday morning. He was responding to a question about his feeling as a battalion commander and what he thinks about the transformation of his unit. Zhang recalled that in his second year as battalion commander, his troops were sent to a helicopter-assisted assault drill with soldiers conducting low-altitude aerial penetration over hills and forests. "The aircraft brought us over hills, grasslands, and forests. The rapid movements not only changed our angle of view but also forced us to adapt to the new battle pattern," he said. "The application of information technology has transformed combined combat forces like us and enabled us to carry out not only single-unit tasks but also multi-domain joint operations." In recent years, Zhang said his unit has tapped into new combat capabilities through advanced weaponry and "information-firepower integration" tactics. Meanwhile, cross-service training with naval and air units has further tightened joint operational systems. "All of us feel that our armed forces have become good at inter-service operations, and we continue to bolster our fighting capabilities. Our confidence in defending the nation and overcoming adversaries grows stronger than ever," he said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Breaking | TikTok plans to cut up to 300 jobs at Dublin base, government told The social media giant is seeking to shed up to 10pc of its workforce in Dublin as it fights for survival in the US against a ban by Donald Trump Adrian Weckler and Anne-Marie Walsh Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 19:32 TikTok is seeking to let hundreds of workers go from its base in Dublin, which employs 3,000 staff. My Cultural Life Jamie Duffy is a songwriter and composer from Monaghan, and in 2024 took part in Andrea Bocellis 30th anniversary concert in Hyde Park. His single For the Moon is out now and he plays the NCH on St Patricks Day at 7.30pm. BOOK: Fairy & Folk Tales At the moment Im reading two books, both polar opposites. The first is WB Yeatss Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland which Im taking bit by bit, story by story. Im really fascinated by Irish folklore and stories of the Puca. Its my dads copy from when he was a kid, so it hadnt been opened in decades. The second is Miriam Margolyess autobiography. What an icon. Her honesty about the ups and downs shes experienced in life is really quite beautiful. STREAMING: Bad Sisters 2 At the moment Im on quite the Sharon Horgan buzz. Ive just finished season two of Bad Sisters and it was fabulous. I was obsessed with Fiona Shaws character and her northern accent and I pride myself with being one of the few people who noticed her Big Tom mug. Up Monaghan! I also watched Conclave recently, a dramatic and camp Vatican thriller, whats not to love? That would be my dream film to score, I think. MUSIC: Doechii As a musician I try to steer clear from my own genre at every possible turn. I dont really like to listen to many artists within my own world, and there are in fact only a few composers I would listen to regularly. At the moment I have both Doechii and Lola Youngs new albums on repeat, two artists who I have so much respect for. They know what theyre about and theyre executing their visions so beautifully. GIG VENUE: Ulster Hall My favourite venue is the Ulster Hall in Belfast. In 2022 when I was a student in Belfast I went to see Tom Odell there, and then Fontaines DC. It is a piece of art inside elegant and grand, yet at the same time so intimate. Theres also such a rich history associated with that building, its had so many wonderful and interesting people grace its stage, making it truly a special venue. Youre also right in the heart of Belfast city centre, so a wild post-gig night out is on your doorstep, if you want it. Its not about the money, its just having to do it all again home that had 600,000 Room to Improve makeover is damaged in blaze Funeral details have been announced for two Irish men who were killed in a road traffic accident in England last month. Two Irish workers, Barry O'Connell (50) from Co Limerick and Eoin Fitzgerald (25) from Co Kerry, were killed in a road crash in the UK on February 19. The collision took place on the westbound carriageway on the A14 in Northamptonshire between junction one and the M1, involving a white Volkswagen Caddy and an HGV lorry. The funeral for Barry O'Connell took place at 12pm today in the Holy Trinity Abbey Church, followed by the burial in St Nicolas' Cemetery in Adare. Mr O'Connell from Rien Roe, Adare, is survived by his mother Maureen, daughter Rebecca, sisters Susie and Edel, brothers Michael, Andrew and Steven, and grandchildren Keelan, Abbey and Mason. He is predeceased by his father Michael and sister Elle Marie. Eoin Fitzgerald (left), Barry O'Connell (right) Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 5th The funeral for Eoin Fitzgerald will take place at 11.45am on Friday morning at St Mary's Church in Tarbert, followed by burial in Ahavoher Cemetery in Moyvane. Mr Fitzgerald from Barragougeen, Moyvane, Co Kerry, is survived by his father James and mother Katie, siblings James, Andrew and Aoife, and grandmother Teresa Hayes. He is predeceased by his grandmother Marie, grandfather Micheal and aunt Mag. The Fitzgerald family have been living in the UK for many years working in the construction sector. Moyvane Parish Priest Fr Brendan Walsh said the community is in deep shock at the passing of Mr Fitzgerald. The whole parish is absolutely devastated at the tragic news. A very well thought of and respected family in the community. It has sent shockwaves throughout the community, Fr Walsh said. "You can imagine the impact that something like this has when people knew and respected the family so well. A young man taken in the prime of life. He was a dedicated, hardworking man following in his fathers footsteps as a builder, he added. The whole thing is just so shocking. My thoughts and prayers are very much with the whole family, Fr Walsh said. Eoin Fitzgerald Northamptonshire police are appealing to witnesses following the accident. Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are asking anyone who may have dash-cam footage that captured any part of either collision or anyone who may have witnessed what happened to contact them. Ireland is to acquire a float of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to guard against a sudden drop in supply, the Cabinet has decided. An LNG terminal was opposed by the Green Party in the last government, but an emergency exercise carried out last December has convinced ministers to proceed with the project. Operation Cathal war-gamed a hostile act in which sub-sea pipelines were deliberately punctured, ending foreign flows of LNG in to the country. The exercise found that 250 industries would be immediately affected, including pharmaceuticals and the biomedical industry which led to the Government deeming a standby reservoir to be essential. It resulted in a recommendation that Ireland have a gas storage facility sufficient to heat 200,000 homes for six months, or the whole country for a week. A report said Ireland was not resilient enough in terms of energy security. The country will therefore acquire a new gas storage ship, expected to cost over 300m. An LNG tanker on a ship moored at harbour. Photo: Getty Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 5th A land-based commercial terminal was ruled out by An Bord Pleanala last year, making a leased vessel now the preferred solution. It will likely be located in the Shannon estuary, close to Foynes. But the Dail's only remaining Green Party TD, Roderic O'Gorman, told the Irish Independent last night: The Government is running before it can walk in approving this floating LNG storage facility. The previous [energy] minister had commissioned research to see if a floating LNG terminal would be the best way of ensuring energy security, or if this would be better achieved by having more interconnectors with the UK and France, and more use of battery storage. This research hasnt been completed yet, but the Government is going ahead regardless. How confident can the Government be that one single floating LNG terminal poses less of a security hazard than undersea interconnectors, if it hasnt done its research? Another concern about a floating LNG terminal is that LNG evaporates at a fast pace. This means the floating terminal will have to be continuously topped up, creating extra cost for the State and adding to our climate emissions. This proposed floating LNG reserve will therefore cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of euro. Surely the Government should complete the research that has already been commissioned before it agrees to such an expensive project." Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik told the Dail yesterday that there has been a clear rowing-back of climate action by the Government. Only months after denying this would happen, the Government will now import dirty LNG into our country and it has abandoned the spending ratio for active travel and public transport, she said. The programme will, instead, favour the building of roads, baby, roads, as Trump might say." Taoiseach Micheal Martin took issue with the phrase dirty LNG, saying the memo about the floating gas reserve was about energy security. We have a responsibility that if anything were to happen to interrupt our current gas supplies, we would need a back-up. It would be irresponsible not to do that, he said. We are doing it in a way that is consistent with the European frameworks and the legal advice we have received. It is not good enough to throw it aside as dirty LNG. Mr Martin said warnings that Ireland will miss its 2030 emissions targets and face huge fines in consequence are highly speculative. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) and the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) have said Ireland is currently above trajectory to reach the required milestone. The two groups said subsequent fines, in terms of a requirement to buy carbon credits or offsets, could range between 8bn and 26bn. It is highly uncertain, highly speculative in terms of what will transpire here. And suffice to say that the Government is committed to achieving our targets," he said. The Taoiseach admitted, though, that it would be very challenging to meet targets, because as soon as we move on any one of them, different elements of the opposition will oppose some of them. Measures already taken would produce results, the Taoiseach added. There's a huge retrofitting programme under way, and we have public transport usage that is up 25pc, he said. We are fully committed to all of the public transport initiatives that we had committed to in the previous government. The issue is when those get realised, when they get through the various plannings and so on be it metro or light rail in various cities. But they're all progressing and will progress. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said Irish troops will not be part of a deterrence force in a Ukraine peace plan but reiterated Irelands willingness to be part of any peacekeeping mission if a ceasefire is achieved. The comments come as Mr Martin is in Liverpool to attend the UK-Ireland summit, where he will discuss the Ukraine war with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We've made it clear that, you know, if a ceasefire develops or if there's a cessation of hostilities, Ireland has always been open to peacekeeping, but we wouldn't be part of a deterrent force, Mr Martin said. We are open, always have been, depending on the context, to any invitation to participate in genuine peacekeeping and to ensure that any cessation of hostilities can lead to a durable and sustainable peace, because any peace in Ukraine has to be durable, he added. The Taoiseachs comments come after Tanaiste Simon Harris secured cabinet approval to amend Irelands Triple Lock, which will no longer require a UN mandate to deploy Irish troops on a peacekeeping mission. Last week, the British Prime Minister announced that, with other EU nations, they would form a coalition of the willing and a peace plan for Ukraine. The Taoiseach praised Mr Starmer for his approach to securing peace and said Ireland would be open to be involved as a peacekeeping force. I think [Keir Starmer] is leading well in terms of working with the European Union and other leading European states to try and deal with this situation. Mr Martin also said he disagreed with comments made by First Minister Michelle ONeill, in relation to a Belfast Ukraine missiles contract. Ms ONeill said it was "incredulous" that the Thales factory in Belfast had been contracted to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine. I can understand why the orders were placed, and in my view we don't live in an ideal world, but certainly one has to have capability to defend your country, the Taoiseach said. "I wouldn't agree with the First Minister on [the comments]. Nobody likes the utilisation of weapons, I certainly don't. All my life I've been on the peace side of the equation. But again, it's Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago. That's the reality. 10pc of Russian national income was being spent on militarisation. People are afraid of that, he added. Taoiseach Micheal Martin says he will raise Ukraine and Gaza at his meeting with President Donald Trump next week in WashingtonSinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald who has decided not to travel to Washington this year says peace cannot be achieved by investing in war Taoiseach says he will raise both Ukraine and Gaza in the Oval Office during visit next week Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said he will engage in a respectful manner during his visit to the White House next week. Ahead of Mr Martins meeting with US President Donald Trump, the Taoiseach is in Liverpool attending the UK-Ireland Summit where he will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. While Mr Starmer is just back from his trip to the Oval Office, Mr Martin said he didnt plan to ask the Prime Minister for advice, but said his engagements in Washington DC will be respectful. It comes after an explosive meeting between Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Trump in the Oval Office last week. Days later, the US announced it would withdraw military support to Ukraine and has today confirmed it has stopped sharing military intelligence with Ukraines military. I won't be seeking advice [from the Prime Minister]. I've met quite a number of people, but we will obviously discuss the issues of the day. We'll discuss the situation in Ukraine, the geopolitical situation more generally, the Taoiseach said. In respect of any other meetings I have this week or next week in the US and elsewhere, people come to the table with different perspectives. I respect people. I respect the offices that people hold, and I'm honored to be invited to the White House as an Irish Taoiseach, he added. The Taoiseach added that he would put Irelands perspectives forward during his meeting and that it was important to protect Irelands economic interests. We will engage in a respectful manner. We will put our perspectives forward. No doubt, President Trump has his views and perspectives as well, the Taoiseach said. The important thing is to engage, and the important thing is to reflect on that relationship today and to make sure we can protect Irish economic interests, protect the livelihoods of people in Ireland, many, many workers depending on that, and also pointing out then how significant Irish investment is in the United States, he added. Mr Martin said he will raise Ukraine and Gaza at his meeting with President Donald Trump, when speaking earlier today in the Dail. "We want a peace settlement that is lasting and durable in Ukraine. President Trump wants a peace settlement. "There are different perspectives on that," Mr Martin said, his comments obliquely suggesting that the US president may not be invested in a settlement that lasts beyond his term of office. "In terms of the United States relationship with Ireland, that is older than the State itself, and it's an extremely important one," Mr Martin said. "We're going, fundamentally, to celebrate the historic links, between Ireland and the US. St Patrick's Day has always been the traditional time to do that. "We will be there for our diaspora, with 30 million Americans claiming Irish descent," the Taoiseach added. "In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. We're an open small economy, pro-free trade, and I will be articulate from that perspective. "We will also articulate our views in relation to Ukraine, and in relation to the Middle East also." The Taoiseach was told by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald who has decided not to travel to Washington this year that peace cannot be achieved "by investing in war". She raised the decision of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to seek another 800 billion spending on defence, setting aside some fiscal rules to do so. And she saw it as linked to the Cabinet decision to ditch the Triple Lock on members of the Irish Defence Forces serving in numbers overseas. Taoiseach Micheal Martin in his office at Government Buildings in November 2022 (Photo: Steve Humphreys) "The US is categorically wrong on Gaza," Ms McDonald said, urging the Taoiseach to protest against the proposed relocation of its population, or large sections thereof, during reconstruction an idea proposed by the White House. She said Ireland should speak up for unaligned small countries, prompting Mr Martin to say that many EU countries were "fearful of the threat that Russia poses to their existence. He replied; No-one wants war, but Europe is exposed right now, the Baltics, in particular, Poland, and many others. "We shouldn't forget that in this part of the world, or to undermine or seek to dismiss very legitimate fears that these countries have about their very survival. "And it is real, and Europe has to be self-reliant in order to ensure peace and prosperity. President von der Leyen made clear in her opening remarks that Europe is about peace. It's about prosperity. It's about quantity of life for its citizens." Europe needs to enhance member states' military capability and security capability across a lot of domains, Mr Martin said. These include cyber security, maritime security, and energy security. Ms McDonald said Mr Martin was meeting the President in the White House as a time "when an outrageous threat of mass expulsion from Gaza hangs over 2 million Palestinians." This year's St Patrick's Day meeting comes at a time of conflict, challenge and deep uncertainty in the world, she noted. "It also comes at a time of deep public concern regarding your moves to dismantle the triple lock and to undermine Ireland's neutrality, she added. Taoiseach and UK prime minister will meet at British-Irish summit Taoiseach Micheal Martin is to get advice from UK prime minister Keir Starmer on how to handle an increasingly volatile Donald Trump. World leaders have been left stunned by events of recent days, with Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky now saying he regrets the Oval Office shouting match. But Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau lashed out at Mr Trump, describing newly imposed tariffs as a very dumb thing to do. With the US president having now pushed the button on a trade war with Canada and Mexico, the likelihood that the EU is next will be top of Mr Martins agenda when he goes to Washington next week. As he prepares for the trip, Mr Martin will consult Mr Starmer, who had what was widely seen as a successful White House exchange last week. The two leaders will meet in Liverpool tomorrow at the first British-Irish summit since Labour's general election victory, which is part of a plan to reset the UK-Irish relationship in the aftermath of Brexit. While both men will have ministers in tow to plan joint action on a number of fronts, the immediate goal will be to carry an agreed message to Washington with the UK firmly on the European side of the Ukraine equation. Micheal Martin and Keir Starmer. Photo: Getty Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 5th Mr Martins spokesman denied last night that the Taoiseach was already pulling his punches by calling the Trump-Zelensky row in the Oval Office unsettling which he did on The Late Late Show and yesterdays decision to stop all military aid to Ukraine a setback. I dont think he ever has [pulled his punches], his spokesman said. He knows he has a diplomatic role to represent the people of Ireland. On possible advice from Mr Starmer, he added: Its common with your partners to compare notes. President Macron came back from Washington and he briefed his fellow EU leaders. I am sure his [the Taoiseachs trip to Trump next week will come up with the prime minister. It is natural enough that you would brief each other on what to expect. While it is expected that topics such as security, trade and climate will feature prominently at the formal British-Irish meeting, there will be an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss both Americas ever-changing foreign policy and the implications it will have on both countries. The Taoiseach believes that tariffs damage everyone, consumers especially, his spokesman said last night. But it was stressed that there remain many ifs and buts on the tariff question. Mr Trump has indicated that he plans to hit the EU with wide-ranging tariffs from early next month. The announcement that the US will pause all military aid to Ukraine has heightened debate around security on the continent. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said we are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times. We are in an era of rearmament. And Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending, she said. Ms Von der Leyen put forward a 150bn fund for priorities such as air defence, missiles and drones as part of a package of proposals that she said could mobilise up to 800bn for European defence. Yesterday the Cabinet approved a decision to increase non-lethal aid to Ukraine, with officials in touch with Kyiv to see what they need such as helmets, flak jackets, bandages and meals ready to eat (MREs). Savings here for Ukraine allows further spending on munitions of war, although it is a drop in the ocean when set against the more than 60bn the US has already funnelled to the invaded country. Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Harris had a telephone call with US secretary of state Marco Rubio that lasted much longer than expected. The two men discussed recent developments. Crucially we spoke about Ukraine and Gaza, Mr Harris said on RTEs Six One news, adding that he told Mr Rubio the scenes in the Oval Office were deeply upsetting and unsettling. He said he had told him that US involvement was needed and that any peace talks would have to have Ukraine around the table. Mr Harris said he told Mr Rubio that while Europe is willing to do more, the US still needed to be involved. I did make the point to Secretary Rubio that even in a context where Europe is doing more, we will still require the United States to stand with Ukraine, the Tanaiste said. ACCUSED criminals on bail are suspected of having carried out 40,348 crimes last year. The figure is more than 110 a day, as Government backbenchers become increasingly concerned about falling prison populations. It came as the issue of crime soared up the list of public concerns, as reflected in a Sunday Independent poll last weekend. Meanwhile former Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said non-custodial sentences were "pretty useless" and hundreds of millions of euro in fines were going unpaid. In response, the Taoiseach told the Dail today: "The bail laws will be reformed further." The question is now being looked at in the Department of Justice, he said, but there were legal issues as to the presumption of innocence when bail was granted. As Mr Martin was questioned by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on the issue, the Taoiseach said: "I don't know whether you're proposing full-scale internment of everybody who is a suspect?" Some TDs believed he was making reference to the British policy of Internment in the North of Ireland in the early 1970s that led to the mass arrest of thousands of Nationalists who were then held without trial. Ms McDonald muttered under her breath that it was a "shocking" response. Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 5th Confining herself to the issue, she said the latest figures for crimes committed by suspects on bail represented an increase of 5,000 on the last annual statistic available. "The combined figure for the past three years of suspects implicated in crime while out on bail amounts to 114,655," she said. "This situation cannot continue. People won't tolerate a situation where criminals are out on bail, at liberty, and free to offend and reoffend again and again. "The bail laws need to be met with urgency, examined to ensure that they're being properly applied." She asked when the Government would finally acknowledge and get on top of the problem. Mr Martin said: "There have been reforms of the bail laws, and people are very intolerant of suspects who are awaiting trial but who commit crimes again." He said he agreed "The figures are huge" but it was for a wide range of crimes. "I think we have to focus in on those who have a history of crime and who are getting brought before the system again and again. "The bail laws have been reformed and they are going to be reformed further. Minister Jim O'Callaghan is is looking at this. "But there are limits to what can be done, as I'm sure you would appreciate." Deputies complained about a long litany of crimes and matters to do with the State response during an afternoon session on policing and community safety. Tanaiste Simon Harris has spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. The two men discussed Russias invasion of Ukraine -- but no detail was given on these exchanges. Asked about the phone call with Secretary Rubio, Mr Harris told RTEs Six One News the pair spoke about the economic bilateral relationship between Ireland and the US and also discussed Ukraine and Gaza. They also spoke about the exchange between Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Mr Harris confirmed he will hold an in-person meeting with Secretary Rubio in the future. I described it, as I think the Irish people would expect me to, as deeply upsetting and unsettling. But what Secretary Rubio did give me was a very clear indication that, of course, President Trump wants to see peace, he said. We welcome that, we all want to see peace. No one wants to see peace more than the people of Ukraine. But I would have made the point constructively that how we bring about peace matters, and Europe is willing to do more. Indeed, at our own Government meeting today, we allocated 100 million more for Ukraine. European leaders this week will look at the whole issue of how they can support Ukraine further. But I did make the point to Secretary Rubio that even in a context where Europe is doing more, we will still require the United States to stand with Ukraine. Mr Harris said Mr Rubio has a very clear appreciation that Ukraine and Europe must be in the room for any peace talks. Though the US Secretary of State doesnt have responsibility for trade, Mr Harris said he was struck by Secretary Rubios familiarity with the economic relationship between Ireland and the US. Of course, it's perfectly appropriate for any new government to want to examine its economic policies, but we do need to do that in a way that protects the transatlantic trade relationship, which is really important, and I felt the Secretary of State had an appreciation of that. They also covered a wide range of issues, including the two countries bilateral relationship, and global crises, such as ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Both Ukraine and Gaza were said to have been "discussed in detail." But specifics were short, with the Department of Foreign Affairs reluctant to give readouts on bilateral relations. The Secretary -- who Trump dubbed "Little Marco" when both were chasing the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016 -- was seen meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, recently at the start of the Trump administration's Ukraine peace initiative. The Tanaiste congratulated the Secretary of State on his appointment, and underlined the "mutually beneficial" nature of the Irish-US economic relationship as tariffs loom against EU exports. The Tanaiste also thanked the Secretary of State for the sustained and bipartisan engagement of the US in support of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland. Mr Harris said he also briefed Mr Rubio on plans to mark St Patricks Day in the US, including the Taoiseachs meeting with President Trump in Washington DC, and his own visit to New York and Philadelphia. Other ministerial trips include an one to Secretary of State Rubios home State of Florida, Mr Harris said. "This was an opportune time for an exchange of views with the Secretary of State on a range of priority issues," he added. The two men agreed to meet in person shortly. Catalonia is home to Barcelona and Tarragona, among other holiday hotspots Visitors to Catalonia could face a tourist tax of up to 15 per night following new legislation signed by the government last week. The Spanish territory, which is home to Barcelona and the coastal region of Tarragona, is set to double the existing levy in a bid to tackle surging tourist numbers. Barcelona is expected to bear the brunt of the tax, with tourists facing a maximum of 15 per night, while the rest of Catalonia will only be permitted to increase the levy if they introduce a surcharge that previously only applied in the Catalan capital. At least 25pc of funds gathered from the tax will be allocated to housing policies. Barcelona currently charges guests in four-star hotels 5.70 per night, while those staying in five-star hotels are required to pay 7.50. Comuns parliamentary spokesperson, David Cid, said doubling the tourist tax was a proportionate and fair measure. A person who comes to Catalonia paying 400 or 500 for a night in a hotel can pay 7 more, he told Spanish radio network Cadena Ser. We have a record number of tourists, and the new figures we are talking about for the tax do not impose any limits [on tourism or the arrival of visitors]. He argued that similar measures are being proposed across Europe. This is the trend at the European level, he added. The move is the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at reducing the number and impact of tourists across Spain. Overcrowding, strained resources like water and the increasing scarcity and cost of housing have become pressing issues across the country, especially in major cities. A 2024 YouGov study found that nearly a third of people living in Spain said there are too many foreign travellers in their country. Action against overtourism in Spain peaked in July 2024 when thousands of Barcelona residents squirted diners in tourist areas with water during a protest against mass tourism. Protesters chanted tourists go home and carried placards reading Enough! Lets put limits on tourism. And in November, thousands of Barcelona residents protested to demand lower housing rental conditions following growing concern about landlords switching to more lucrative, short-term rentals, and the gentrification of rent increases due to gentrification. I first met the poet Pat Ingoldsby, who died on Saturday aged 82, at a bus stop near the Mater Hospital in Dublin around 1988. He immediately started to talk about his mental health and his recent experiences with electroconvulsive therapy before we moved on to more mundane matters and on to the bus itself. I knew of him from television (Pats Hat, Pats Pals and Pats Chat) and his quirky writings for the Evening Press where I also worked at the time. I got to know him better when we became neighbours in Clontarf where his poetry sold well in Nolans supermarket and where he was loved by all and sundry. According to Donald Trump, he has been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history. In the wider world, his trials are shamefully trifling compared with those of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The US has cut off its military lifeline with his people under attack. The Trump administration has tried to present it as tough love. To many it looks more like coercive control than anything from a diplomatic playbook. A missile shield critical to defending the country may also be stripped away. For fighting back, Mr Zelensky is accused of prolonging the war. We can allow an assault will take longer if the victim must insist on defending themselves. His alternative is to allow Putins illegal invasion to continue apace. That Mr Zelensky could now be viewed as the villain of the piece is baffling. After all, wiping Ukraine off the map is the fate Moscow has already mapped out for his homeland. Is Putin to be given the green light to do so by Washington? What Mr Trump, and Putin, seem to be pushing as a peace deal looks more like abject surrender from Kyiv. After countless deaths and sacrifice, without clarity on defences it is not something to which any credible leader could readily agree. This is why so many are disturbed by the duress Mr Zelensky is being subjected to. Although many believe he had nothing to be contrite about, Mr Zelensky has now said the blow-up in the Oval Office was regrettable. The Ukrainian leader has also offered to stand down in exchange for Nato membership. The new order is becoming unrecognisable. Nato, a bedrock of Western defences since World War II, is also being undermined. President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression Mr Trumps top adviser, Elon Musk, has echoed calls by a Republican senator, Mike Lee, for the US to withdraw from the military alliance. Meanwhile, European leaders are waking up to alarming realities they had never imagined, let alone planned for. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has just proposed an 800bn ReArm Europe package for the 27 EU leaders. Tomorrow, an emergency summit will be held in Brussels. The money will come from loosening the fiscal constraints the EU puts on budgetary spending. Brussels wants Mr Zelensky to negotiate from a position of strength, something that vexes Mr Trump. US officials insist Mr Zelensky needs to show greater commitment to a peace deal. However, having sustained such losses and hardship, no one could be more invested in ending a ruinous war he did not start than the beleaguered Ukrainian leader. If he is leery of leading his people into a trap, who can blame him? As senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put it: By freezing military aid to Ukraine, President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression. Closing that door is now likely to concentrate hearts and minds in Europe in a manner like never before. It was a busy week at the White House as staff prepared for high-stakes meetings with Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Three leaders, three agendas, and one big question: where do US-Europe relations go from here? The week began steadily, with Macron pushing for a peace plan in Ukraine. Later, Starmer emphasised European defence. But by Friday evening, Zelenskyy had left Washington empty-handed after historically tense talks sent shockwaves across the globe. Now, a nightmare situation has arisen for the Ukrainian people, as the United States has paused all military aid indefinitely. On confirming the decision on Tuesday morning, a White House official said Mr Trump was focused on reaching a peace deal to end the war, and wanted Mr Zelensky "committed" to that goal. The US was pausing and reviewing its aid, the official added, to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution. And what now for our own Taoiseach as he prepares to enter the lion's den for a potential St Patricks Day reckoning? Today on the Indo Daily, Fionnan Sheahan is joined by Shona Murray, Europe Correspondent with Euronews, Steve Gill, conservative commentator and former White House expert on International Trade, and John Downing, Political Correspondent with the Irish Independent, to ask where transatlantic relations lie nowand what lies ahead for Micheal Martins daunting visit next week. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been urged to expedite the registration of the new extension at Millstreet Community Hospital with the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Fine Gael TD for Cork North West John Paul OShea said the HSE needs to prioritise the transfer of residents to the new extension at Millstreet Community Hospital. Im very disappointed with the HSE at the delay in applying to HIQA to register the new extension at Millstreet Community Hospital. The building is complete with months. The residents in the old part of the hospital along with the staff are all anxious to move to the new building as soon as is practically possible. I have been engaging with the HSE on this matter since it was brought to my attention a few weeks back, said Deputy OShea. The Government have invested in this hospital with the building of a brand new building comprising of 11 new beds which are state of the art single occupancy rooms with ensuite bathrooms and all associated works included. We need the registration completed with HIQA as soon as possible so the residents and staff can transfer over, he added. Deputy OShea said the local community in the greater Millstreet hinterland have been waiting for their hospital to be upgraded. Once the current residents are transferred over, the next task will be to refurbish the old part of the hospital and provide a further 15 beds giving a total number of beds in Millstreet Community Hospital to 26 beds. The community of Millstreet have been waiting and waiting for their hospital to be upgraded, so I am encouraging all stakeholders to ensure this happens without any further delay added Deputy OShea. Chairperson of Macroom Tidy Towns Cllr Martin Coughlan said the refurbishment work on Coolcowers picnic area has been needed for a number of years. The refurbish works on the Coolcower picnic area alongside Macrooms status as a pilot town for carbon emission reduction under Cork County Councils development plan 2024-2029, adds to the areas ambition to improve the quality of life for locals. It was yet another great success for Macroom Tidy Towns as they received a grant worth 100,000 for the refurbishment of a picnic area in Coolcower and for the creation of a footpath to Coolcower House. The grant was allocated from the Community Recognition Fund 2024 and is aimed at giving community groups and locals authorities the opportunity to plan and improve parts of their locality. Chairperson of Macroom Tidy Towns Cllr Martin Coughlan said the refurbishment work on Coolcowers picnic area has been needed for a number of years. Weve spent years trying to get a job done on it and this grant came up and we went for it. Hopefully, it (the picnic area) will be all tidied up with new paths and new furniture, Mr Coughlan said. The refurbishment works on the Coolcower picnic area alongside Macrooms status as a pilot town for carbon emission reduction under Cork County Councils development plan 2024-2029, adds to the areas ambition to improve the quality of life for locals. For the last 40 years we were left without a bypass, and you could get nothing done in the town. Now we will hopefully reap the benefits of the bypass and hopefully all the things that needed to be done over the years will be done, Mr Coughlan said. In 2024, Macroom received a gold medal in the Tidy Towns competition as it was deemed the tidiest town of its size in the south Cork region. The town was classified under the county of Cork south for the purposes of the contest and amongst the regions category D areas, which consists of places with a population between 2,501 to 5,000 people. Macroom received a total score of 377 from judges in 2024, which was an increase on 2023s score of 366, and ranked ahead of Crosshaven, Mahon, Ballyphehane and Ballinlough in Category D. Ballincollig won the Tidy Towns competition in 2024. GAA Noel Horgan: Dublins upset was the greatest since 1966, Cork will see opportunity beckon It would be hard to convince those of us around long enough to have seen them at their peak that the Tipperary team of the early sixties shouldnt be ranked close to, or at, the top of the list of all-time great hurling sides. The lack of special education provision in Cork will be highlighted by Sinn Fein councillors at next Mondays Cork City Council meeting. Sinn Fein councillors will bring a motion highlighting the plight of parents seeking school special school places and ASD classes for their children, many of whom remain without a school place for next year. Sinn Fein councillor for Cork City South West Joe Lynch said not enough is being done to address the issue. For many years now, it has been obvious that not enough is being done to deliver the number of special school places and ASD classes required, both in Cork and across the State. It shouldnt have to be this way, said Cllr Lynch. In parts of Cork, there are schools crying out to make additional places available. Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig have been trying to secure special classes for children with autism since 2013. The principal, the staff and the Board of Management have done all the can to work with the Department of Education to secure funding to provide these classes, but they have been blocked at every opportunity. Cllr Lynch said the Department of Education need to step up and deliver. This has left many parents at their wits end, desperate to secure something as fundamental as a school place for their children. I know from assisting numerous parents over the past year that this is an incredibly traumatic and troubling experience for all concerned. The Department of Education need to step up and deliver, and that is what we in Sinn Fein will be calling for at next week's Council meeting, he added. Sinn Fein councillor for the North West ward, Michelle Gould, said: "I have been in contact with parents who travelled to Dublin last Friday to campaign outside the Department for Education for school places for their children. The parents are understandably angry and frustrated that in 2025 their children have no school places. "Every child has a right to an education, said Cllr Gould. It seems in this country children with additional needs are being denied their rights; both in education and in accessing assessments of need. Once and for all, the government must guarantee every child a school place and the supports that they need. "Parents have organised a rally for this Saturday, March 8 at 2pm outside Cork City Hall. I would encourage everyone to come along and show your support as once again the most vulnerable are being left behind, she added. The funeral of a young Donegal man who was killed in a tragic crash along with his friend has heard he was a hardworking man who was always willing to lend a helping hand to others. Jamie Diver, who was aged in his 20s, and his friend Shaun McClafferty (17), were killed when a car they were travelling in collided with the gable wall of a house in the townland of Baltoney, just outside Gortahork, just before 9.30pm on Friday night, February 28. Both men were from Baltoney and were past pupils of PCC Falcarragh. Two other passengers in the car were also seriously injured and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital. One of those young men has since been transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for further treatment. A large crowd of family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours attended Mr Divers funeral mass at Christ the King Church in Gortahork on Wednesday morning. Mr McClaffertys funeral will be held in the same church on Thursday. The mass was led by the Parish Priest in Gortahork, Fr Donnachadh OBaoill and was concelebrated by Fr John Joe Duffy, Fr Brian OFearraigh, Fr Martin Doohan, Fr Sean O'Gallchoir and Monsignor Kevin Gillespie. A number of Mr Divers friends wearing white shirts and black ties brought forward symbols representing the important things in his life including an Errigal Motors hat symbolising his work while a tea cup was presented to show his love of tea. Symbolising his love of working with cars, a spanner and car buffer were brought forward to the alter. Jamie Diver. During the homily, Fr OBaoill said Mr Diver was a young man who was always ready to lend a helping hand to others. As we remember Jamie, his work and his short life, there are some beautiful things I have heard about him and how he always wanted to help others. For a long time, he wished to become a fire fighter and he wanted to help and save others a noble cause. I know we talked about his girlfriends but I am sorry to say he had no time for girlfriends. It is not that he didnt like you or love you, but his work took priority. He wanted to help others and never refused anyone any help he could give with regards to buffing cars or fixing the cars. Even that unfortunate night a few nights ago, it was probable that they were fixing or trying out some fault in the car. They tell me he was a bit of a perfectionist if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well and I think we could associate Jamie with that motto everything had to be perfect, said Fr OBaoill. The congregation heard of Mr Divers close relationship with Ciaran Gallagher of Errigal Motors and how he developed an interest in working with cars at a young age while he was still at school. From there, he developed an interest in all things cars and in recent years, he developed his own business in Baltoney. There will be less noise about Baltoney now. He was heard there working late at night and possibly early mornings. He will be missed, said Fr OBaoill. Fr OBaoill also remembered the fatal crash in Magheraroarty in which four young local men lost their lives in 2019. There are many people here from the surrounding parishes that have broken hearts and are remembering their own loved ones. It was only six years ago - a little time passed there when we had their anniversaries. Fine lads, as indeed were Jamie and Shaun Martin. And, please God Josh and Darragh will be with us again, said Fr OBaoill. Fr OBaoill said young people are the most important riches in any community and there are no valuables of any kind that compares to the young people. Speaking to the many young people at the service, Fr OBaoill said, You are our future, our life and your families especially love you very much we all do. But you do have choices. That choice of always turning towards God and that is not a yearly thing or every couple of years, that is a choice we make every day, said Fr OBaoill. Fr OBaoill said the tragic loss of such a young life had proven that life is incredibly fragile. If you have left us anything Jamie, you have told us in explicit language, in plain language that we are very frail, very fragile. We need someones protection and above all we need Gods protection. Your death reminds us of the importance and greatness of life. That we have the one chance and the one opportunity why not use that opportunity to be the best that I can be, said Fr OBaoill. Speaking of the two young men in hospital, Fr OBaoill said the communities thoughts and prayers are with the two young men and their recovery. We remember Josh Scanlon and Darragh Lynch. They will be going through their own purgatory and their own pain both in body and thinking about what happened, and off course their families. "It is a cross they will have to carry. We cannot forget something like this. It is probably a big turning point in many of our lives but it can be a turning point towards good. Why did God allow these things? We dont know. But what can we learn about these things? Are there any positives? And there are things. There are good things that come from it. It tells us that, as Fr Brian himself said on the night of the crash, it shows us how fragile we are and how true that is, said Fr OBaoill. In conclusion, Fr OBaoill said, Jamie, you left us too soon but we are thankful and we are better people for knowing you and for you being with us especially all of your family and friends, said Fr OBaoill. Mr Divers remains were taken from the church to the adjacent cemetery for burial. Mr Divers funeral notice reads, Predeceased by his grandparents Jimmy and Rose McGee and Nora Diver. Follow Independent Donegal on Facebook "Sadly missed by his heartbroken parents Roise and Damien, his brothers Ryan and Niamh and Keith, his nephew Charlie, his uncle Kevin and Amanda, his cousins Eibhlin and Neil and a circle of friends. The crowd will gather again on Thursday morning in Gortahork to bid farewell to Shaun McClafferty who also lost his life in the devastating crash. Dublin City Council is set to borrow 30m for a full refurbishment of the Smithfield fruit and veg markets. Pic: Caroline Quinn Dublin city councillors have agreed to borrow 30m to ensure that plans to reopen the Victorian fruit and veg market will go ahead. The historic red-brick building on Marys Lane, between Capel Street and Smithfield, has remained empty since its closure in 2019 to facilitate redevelopment. The refurbishment process was originally due to be finished in 2021, but was delayed due to changes in the tendering process. The empty historic building has since fallen victim to vandalism and anti-social behaviour, including open drug use and its large solid timber doors being set on fire in recent years. It is hoped that after a full refurbishment and fit-out programme, the market will be open by autumn 2026. However, this may be pushed back to the following year. It is hoped the refurbished fruit and veg market will boast a range of food producers with a community ethos, meaning it will be accessible to both visitors and the residents of the area. Presenting the report to the Lord Mayor of Dublin and other councillors, Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam said it would be a flagship project for the city. It will be a massive attraction to the area and a massive opportunity for local growers and those in the whole restaurant and food sector, and I think it will utterly transform the markets area, he said. I fully endorse the resolution suggesting that this council borrow 30m to make sure the draft contract and tender can be acted upon quickly. Sinn Fein councillor Janice Boylan said the Smithfield markets would only work well if they were affordable for the local community. Its a project Ive been involved with since 2010, and I fully support the council borrowing 30m, as we have to spend to develop a project that will be good for the area, she said. Independent councillor Christy Burke supported the proposal and said he welcomed the refurbishment of the fruit and veg market. I grew up in the area, and that market served the community well, he said. It will be money well spent if it comes up to the standards of Corks English Market and will bring life back to the area. Cllr Burke said if this goes ahead, some kind of traffic ban for the area must be discussed, as the area is currently smothered with HGVs due to the pedestrianisation of Capel Street and other streets. Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty said he was glad to see progress for the Smithfield fruit and veg market but said he was reminded of the Iveagh Market in his own area, which is at a standstill. The fact this market is moving along is brilliant, and you can hear from the councillors involved that this takes a long time, he said. I am reminded of the fact the Iveagh Market in my own area is still at a standstill, and I have a response from the manager that works are still under way to secure the fabric of that building, but legal proceedings havent been responded to since April. So, were just caught in this no-mans land, where that building is sitting there empty, he added. Planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of St Andrews Court in Dublin 2 The redevelopment of St Andrews Court flats has finally been given the green light after being vacant for nearly a decade. The original three-storey flats were completed in the 1970s, with 14 homes. This building will now be demolished and reconstructed to a new high-quality design, delivering 33 social homes. The council began moving tenants out of the flats in 2016, and the gates were eventually sealed in 2022 after the site became a magnet for anti-social behaviour. The new development will consist of 12 one-bedroom homes, 16 two-bedroom homes and five three-bedroom homes, with eight of the new homes designed to be suitable for older people or those with a mobility impairment. The proposal also includes a landscaped courtyard, providing a green play and seating area for residents. The Assistant Chief Executive for Housing with Dublin City Council, Mick Mulhern, told councillors at the monthly council meeting on Monday that construction would likely begin in the first half of next year. We will commence contractor procurement at the end of the year and then theres a period of time to run through procurement which means we will likely start on site in the first half of next year, he said. Labour councillor Dermot Lacey questioned why the delivery of these social homes would take so long. The manager said they are currently at design stage for planning, which means at least six or seven months are required to get the design pack together to be suitable to go out to tender. This will include detailed designs of all aspects of the building which need to be costed and get departmental approval before they procure a contractor. This can take about five months. Planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of St Andrews Court in Dublin 2 Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 5th Independent councillor Mannix Flynn welcomed the news for the area. Its unfortunate the site lay idle for quite some time, but I believe it took a long time for tenants to move out, along with the pandemic and other issues in relation to getting funding from the department, he said. Thats something this council should concern itself with is the delays the Department of Housing has caused over the years, theres a huge problem with releasing the funding to begin these particular developments. He said his only concern was that he thought the development shouldve been three times the size it currently is to deal with the current housing crisis. Fine Gael councillor Danny Byrne also welcomed the news, but criticised the length of time it took to get here. I just want to point out the amount of time this has taken. It has been nearly 10 years vacant which is inexcusable really, he said. Id like for the housing department to have a look at the chronological order of what happened in those years and learn from it because its kind of embarrassing. The site was also the scene of some anti-social behaviour which is shocking as it is only a stones through away from government buildings, he added. Kerry comedian Bernard Casey talks tour success and striving for consistency in everything he does Portmagee native Bernard Casey is bringing his Cute Hoorism on Tour show to the INEC Arena in Killarney this Friday March 7; he spoke to Fergus Dennehy this week... Kerry comedian Bernard Casey. Fergus Dennehy Kerryman Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 06:00 Life is good for Portmagee native, Bernard Casey right now. An Italian native who has made Ballinskelligs her home away from home recently unveiled a flag that she designed and created, all as a way of honouring the special people of the area and also welcoming any future tourists to the area. Paola Bizarri first travelled to the south Kerry area of Ballinskelligs with a group of seven students six years ago as part of a plan to visit Skellig Michael, the famous UNESCO World Heritage site. Admitting that she knew absolutely nothing about the area when she first arrived, even going so far as saying that the tourist guide she was consulting warned her that there would be very few facilities for tourists. Thankfully, Ballinskelligs proved not to be as desolate as written and Paola and her students enjoyed a wonderful visit to the area, the highlight of which was undoubtedly the trip to Skellig Michael. "The experience at Skellig Michael left me so astonished that it transformed the vision into a unique mystical place, said Paola, who was so touched by the visit that the seeds of creating the flag were first planted. Paola made the journey back to Ballinskelligs with other different groups on multiple other occasions back many times after that with other groups until her most recent visit for the flag unveiling when she revealed that she was honoured to unveil this flag to the people of Ballinskelligs, The flag, she said, represents an alive reality blessed by the light of the Archangel Michael. From now on, the tourists that come here will be welcomed by the waves of this flag, inviting them to enjoy a new special experience. Thanks to the people of Ballinskelligs for accepting me into their community and this gift of mine, she added. MEP Sean Kelly has backed the Tanaiste Simon Harris proposal to amend the triple lock mechanism, calling it a necessary step to ensure Ireland retains full control over its own defence decisions. Mr Kelly said the idea that amending the triple lock would send Irish troops to foreign wars is absolute nonsense and that this is about making sure Ireland not Russia, China, or any other global power gets to decide when and where Irish peacekeepers serve. Kelly highlighted the impracticality of allowing the UN Security Council, where permanent members like Russia and China hold veto power, to dictate Irelands role in international peacekeeping. Right now, a single veto from a country with its own vested interests can block Ireland from participating in vital peacekeeping missions. That is not sovereigntythat is outsourcing our decision-making to states that may not share our values, He said. Addressing concerns about neutrality, Kelly reaffirmed that this amendment does not change Irelands long-standing policy, saying Ireland is, and will remain, militarily neutral. This is not about joining a military alliance; it is about having a realistic procedure that allows the Irish Government and the Dail, and by extension the Irish people, to make decisions without external interference, Mr Kelly said. He pointed to practical examples where the triple lock has been a barrier to participation and that as a founding member of key international security initiatives, Ireland is sometimes unable to contribute effectively because of a technicality that gives the UN Security Council the final say. Kelly stressed that the proposed change does not mean automatic deployment of troops but a more independent decision-making process. This is about making sure that when we decide to send peacekeepers to protect civilians, prevent conflicts, or support post-war recovery, we can do so without waiting for permission from global superpowers who may even have vested interest in the conflict in question, he said. The Tanaiste is absolutely right to push forward with this amendment. Ireland has a proud tradition of peacekeeping, and we should be able to continue that tradition on our own terms. Its time to modernise our approach, strengthen our role on the global stage, and ensure that our soldiers are deployed based on Irish interests and Irish decisions, Mr Kelly added. The Irish Cancer Society Fundraiser takes place on March 28 this year Sligo woman and breast cancer survivor, Clodagh Flynn from Knocknahur is calling on her local community to go all in against cancer for the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, which takes place on Friday, March 28. Reflecting on her cancer experience, Clodagh said: In November 2017, after being out on a sea swim, I found a lump in my breast and was later diagnosed with oestrogen positive breast cancer. I went through treatment surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. "During this time, my consultant noticed I was eligible for two research studies the Add Aspirin cancer trial, and another study called Ovarian Reserve, which aims to find out if a certain test, alters a doctors recommendation for chemotherapy. "I agreed to participate in both studies. This gave me access to a dedicated Research Nurse, which provided incredible support. I would encourage anybody to enquire about clinical trials, I had a really positive experience, and I was thankful to have an opportunity to take part. Donations raised on Daffodil Day go towards funding vital cancer research projects and clinical trials all around Ireland, helping find new ways to ensure that we have least risk of getting cancer, best treatment if we do, and most hope of thriving afterwards. I would encourage everyone to please get out there on Daffodil Day, March 28, and show your support for those affected by cancer in your local community. The Irish Cancer Society is there to ensure that every person affected by cancer has a place to turn to, the support they need and the hope that there will come a day when no one in Ireland dies from cancer. Thanks to the amazing generosity of the Irish public, the Irish Cancer Society invests in groundbreaking cancer research and delivers crucial free support services for people affected by cancer, throughout Sligo. In 2024, your generous support provided: Over 160 free lifts to bring Sligo-based cancer patients to their treatment Over 870 free counselling sessions to people living in Sligo 120 nights of free Night Nursing care to allow cancer patients in Sligo to die at home surrounded by loved ones In addition, Cancer Nurses had 155 conversations with people living in Sligo on our Support Line and in our Daffodil Centres. Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said: One in two of us will hear the words Youve got cancer in our lifetimes. There isnt a family in Ireland that hasnt felt the impact of a cancer diagnosis. Right now, a child is hearing the words Its cancer. A parent is holding on to hope for a treatment that hasnt been discovered yet. And a researcher has an idea that could turn that hope into reality. Your support on Daffodil Day fuels life changing cancer research and vital free services and supports. We really need this years Daffodil Day to be the biggest yet to ensure we can be there for those who need us most in 2025. And we cannot do this without you. Your generosity on March 28 means patients and their families will have free supports like Counselling, Transport to treatment and Night Nursing services. Every year, communities across Sligo show up and paint the town yellow in support of cancer patients and their families. Were urging you to stand with cancer patients once again, by going all in against cancer and getting involved or donating this Daffodil Day, March 28. Your generous support means everyone affected by cancer in Sligo will have access to the support they need, when they need it most. Visiting delegation will report to the parliament and its committees, and support the proposal to fund the project MEPs from the European Parliaments Committee on Regional Development pictured at Athenry Railway Station on Tuesday 25th Feb 2025 (L-R): Raul De La Hoz Quintano (Spain), Lubica Karvasova (Slovakia), Ciaran Mullooly (IRL), Maria Walsh (IRL) and Paulo Roberto Do Nascimento Cabral (Portugal). Pic: John Corless. A visiting delegation of MEPs from the European Parliaments Committee on Regional Development (REGI) has strongly supported the further development of the Western Rail Corridor from Galway to Sligo. The delegation, hosted by local MEPs Ciaran Mullooly and Maria Walsh, and led by Ms. Lubica Karvasova, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Regional Development, visited Athenry on Tuesday, where they held discussions on the potential use of EU funding to improve the connectivity of the North-West region. Rail infrastructure is the backbone of regional development, MEP Karvasova said, and the timing of the visit is crucial because the parliament will be formulating its budgets over the next few months, for the next cohesion policy. If the European Union wants to be competitive on the world stage, it all starts at local level, she said. The railway will be an enabler for proper regional development. We found the visit very informative and we will report to the parliament and its committees, and support the proposal to fund the project. Speaking after the meeting, Portuguese MEP Paulo Roberto do Nascimento Cabral, said that the Western Rail Corridor would enhance the development of all the north-west region of Ireland. The rail project will establish enterprise opportunities and will speed up the delivery of progress to the region, he said. It will help retain qualified young people in the region. This project is an excellent example of what needs to be delivered to connect all of Europe. This comprehensive approach will create jobs. The north Atlantic face of Europe is strategically very important for the integral operation of the European Union. Connectivity to the ports is vital too, MEP do Nascimento Cabral added. Before arriving in Athenry the delegation had travelled in heavy traffic from Galway to Oranmore railway station where they noted the car park overflowing on to adjacent roads. The station, opened as part of the Western Rail Corridor in 2013, is now to be doubled in size in order to meet soaring passenger demand. Galway County Council recently approved planning permission for the installation of a passing loop which will double the capacity of the Athenry-Galway section of the line. The station visit was followed by a presentation by local Councillor Peter Feeney on behalf of West on Track in the Raheen Woods Hotel, highlighting the need for balanced regional development and the potential use of EU funding to help reopen the entire rail corridor. Also in attendance were Junior Minister Marian Harkin and the Chief Executive of Sligo County Council, Martin Lydon. If transport infrastructure is not upgraded, the North West region will continue to lag even further behind the more developed Eastern and Southern regions, Councillor Feeney said. For example, there are there are more students between Galway and Sligo today than in all of Ireland 40 years ago, but there is currently no rail connectivity for students along the entire 258km route from ATU Letterkenny to ATU Galway. Stressing the urgency of enhanced regional development, Ciaran Mullooly MEP expressed his full support for the extension of the rail link from Galway to Sligo and said that the EU can be critical in its delivery. This was why they had invited the visiting delegation to come to the west to see the situation for themselves. Maria Walsh MEP said that this was the kind of project that fitted exactly with the committees brief. She was confident that the next phase of the railway would be getting under way shortly and that it made sense that planning for its continuation to Sligo should also be happening. Speaking after the meeting, Portuguese MEP Paulo Roberto Do Nascimento Cabral, said that the Western Rail Corridor would enhance the development of all the north-west region of Ireland. The rail project will establish enterprise opportunities and will speed up the delivery of progress to the region, he said. It will help retain qualified young people in the region. This project is an excellent example of what needs to be delivered to connect all of Europe. This comprehensive approach will create jobs. The north Atlantic face of Europe is strategically very important for the integral operation of the European Union. Connectivity to the ports is vital too, he added. Over a three-day period, the delegation also visited Galway Port and other projects funded by the EU cohesion policy and related programmes in several counties and met local authorities and other stakeholders to understand their vision for the economic and social development of their region. Tree planting will be taking place over the coming weeks. A group made up of parish pastoral councils, Tidy Towns Committees, schools and pre-school services gathered on Saturday to take delivery of 250 trees which will be planted over the coming weeks. John Davey, Secretary of Geevagh-Highwood said: Parish Pastoral Councils across Elphin and Achonry have a responsibility under their constitution to support initiatives which promote care for the earth as our shared home. Our parish pastoral councils was discussing what we could do to meet this obligation. We settled upon planting native trees in and around the village in Geevagh. It was while we were considering locations for the trees that we realised how few we could actually accommodate. By sharing the idea with other local PPCs we understood that lots of groups were probably facing a similar dilemma, of wanting to do something that actually makes a difference. We contacted the charity Trees on the Land, who provide native Irish trees, free of charge, to landowners and explained the project to them. They were very supportive and immediately saw that the idea itself had the potential to become an annual event. They offered us 250 trees to be planted this Spring, with the potential to repeat and increase the number of trees next year. Senator Nessa Cosgrove who attended the event on behalf of Cartron Biodiversity group said: It is fantastic to see so many groups working together to make a difference. Planting a variety of trees, native to Ireland, not only helps in our fight against climate change, it also provides food and shelter to a host of insects, birds and animals. The groups represented here have a deep concern for, and commitment to, the future of our planet. Councillor James Gilmartin, who collected 50 trees on behalf of a number of Leitrim-based groups and schools added: There is a proverb that society grows great when old men and women plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit. The trees we plant today will not mature for decades. We all hope that the world we leave behind is a place where these trees and these children will not just grow, but thrive and reach their full potential. Any groups interested in planting trees for Spring 2026 can contact John at geevaghppc@yahoo.com Two pain consultant posts still remain vacant at Sligo University Hospital - eight months on from when the doctors left. The clinic was closed in June last year when the two consultants providing the Chronic Pain service both moved to new roles in other hospitals. Councillor Declan Bree raised the issued at the Regional Health Forum West meeting saying he was extremely disappointed with the ongoing saga regarding the failure to date to fill the two vacant posts. It was the only public pain clinic in the North West. I am told today that the recruitment to fill these two vacant consultant posts is actively ongoing with permanent posts advertised and a closing date of 13th February last. Today, there are 153 inpatient and day case patients on the Waiting List for the Pain Clinic while that are 146 outpatients on the waiting list, said Cllr Bree. 106 of those outpatients are on the list for over a year. The HSE says a temporary consultant began in July 2024. Question: That the Forum be provided with an update on the Chronic Pain Service in Sligo University Hospital including details of the number of people on the hospitals chronic pain relief waiting list. Located smack bang in the middle of Wexfords bustling main thoroughfare, a premises at No.1 South Main Street is distinctly out of character with what surrounds it. At the junction of Anne Street and the Main Street, the former Shoe Zone shop makes for a sorry sight. The windows are plastered with notices for circuses that have long rolled out of town, upcoming gigs and several notices from Wexford County Council. The first notice from the local authority dates back to October of 2023. It was directed towards then owner Anthony Smith of Orwell Road, Rathgar in Dublin and stated Wexford County Council's intention to place the property on the derelict sites register. He was ordered to complete a structural report on the building, clean all debris from gutters and downpipes, clean the building's grubby facade, repair all timber work and treat the area for vermin as necessary. It was followed by another notice from the council in October of 2024, directed to the owner/occupier of No. 1 South Main Street, stating that the property had been put on the derelict site register. Still nothing happened. The shop remained an eyesore in the heart of town. This was then followed by another notice from the council requesting information from the public that might aid them in tracking down the owner of the building. Having signed the orders placing the property on the derelict sites register, Senior Executive Officer with Wexford County Council Tom Banville was hopeful that a resolution might finally be forthcoming. It was confirmed that in recent months the building had come into the ownership of a company called Cashel Holdings, with an address at 35 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. The council has written to the company to ascertain what their intentions are for the property," Mr Banville said. It is, however, on our programme for URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) funding, should the company for whatever reason not engage. The fund allows Wexford County Council to acquire vacant and derelict properties under compulsory purchase and immediately put them on the market in order to bring them back into use. Mr Banville pointed out that the council had already acquired several vacant properties across the county under this scheme and he was hopeful that there would be a positive update soon on No. 1 South Main Street. Pictured at the launch of the Plan-It Play publication at Mermaid Arts Centre Bray are Cllr Erika Doyle, Vita Coleman, Janet McKennedy, Siobhan Enright, Joanna Fortune and Sharon Keilthy. The Mermaid Arts Centre recently hosted the PlanIt Play book launch, the result of 20 workshops which took place in 10 Wicklow libraries last year and attracted over 300 participants. The new book documents the project activities and acts as a step by step guide to help make new toys from old ones. Some of the wonderfully creative examples created by the workshop participants are presented throughout the book to provide inspiration for the reader to make their own toys. The publication will be distributed throughout the Wicklow library service. The project team of artists included Siobhan Enright and Michael Durand and environmental scientist Janet McKennedy guided young workshop participants as they created a climate action superhero from old toys, learned about the circular economy, and co-created a manifesto for change. The book launch itself hosted a climate cafe with special guests, including Jiminy Toys founder and associate director in sustainability works Sharon Keilthy, Dr Joanna Fortune, psychotherapist, author and expert in creative play, and Green Party Wicklow councillor, Erika Doyle. The participants were invited to come to a workshop to design and make their own superhero toy from old and broken toys, learn about the circular economy and co-create a Manifesto for Change. Artist and educator, Ashling McNamara, who attended the workshop in the Greystones library, said: This was a great experience for my children. They were both totally absorbed. It was a lovely activity to engage imaginative play and making skills as well as teaching children the importance of sustainability. The Wicklow Library service supported the project through facilitating the delivery of the workshops in Enniskerry, Bray, Ballywaltrim, Greystones, Wicklow, Arklow, Rathdrum, Tinahely, Baltingalss and Blessington. Bray Librarian Vita Coleman said: The combination of thoughtful preparation and playful exploration resulted in a dynamic, creative and fun experience for all participants who came away with practical and accessible ways to step out of linear patterns of consumption and into the circular economy. "This is especially relevant to the library service, and to Wicklow County Council, as we seek to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals throughout our work. PlanIt Play is one of the 24 Creative Ireland Climate Action Spark funded projects piloting new ideas for public engagement at a local and community level. Parish of Powerscourt with Kilbride. Services at Powerscourt with Kilbride: All Services are available on the Parish YouTube Channel at youtube. Service of Worship in St Patricks Church, Powerscourt, for this Sunday the First Sunday in Lent: 11.30 a.m. Holy Communion one. Service of Worship in St Brigids Church, Kilbride, for this Sunday the First Sunday in Lent: 9.45 a.m. Morning Prayer two. St Marys Church Enniskerry Parish Website enniskerryparish.ie is the parish website of the Immaculate Heart of Mary check it out for the latest information about our parish. Parish opening times Enniskerry (also Curtlestown and Glencree) parish office opening times: Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; email stmarys@enniskerryparish.ie; or call 01 2760030. St Mochonogs parish office opening times: Monday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday: (by phone) 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday (by phone) 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed Friday. Parish Churches Schedule of Masses: Enniskerry St Marys: Saturday evening 6 p.m. and also via parish webcam; Sunday 11 a.m. and also via parish webcam. Weekday Mass at Enniskerry is at 10.15 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and also via parish webcam lay-led prayer service on Wednesday; and Saturday at 10.15 a.m., and also available via the parish webcam. Masses in Curtlestown and Kilmacanogue are on Sunday at 10 a.m. Mass in Glencree is at 9 a.m. on the first Sunday each month. St Patricks Day will be celebrated in three centres, St Patricks at 10 a.m., St Mochonogs at 10 a.m., and St Marys at 11 a.m. St Patricks Day in Kilmacanogue: On St Patricks Day Kilmacanogue cubs and their leaders will once again take a role in celebrating our national saint. They will take part in the liturgy and distribute shamrock at 10 a.m. Mass in St Mochonogs. The cubs have taken part every year and it would not be the same without them. Tea or coffee will be available to all in the parish hall after Mass. Baptism Requests: Requests for baptism now take place online at enniskerryparish.ie. Downtime Thursday/Adoration Downtime Thursday takes place on the last Thursday of the month. The next one will take place on Thursday, March 27, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in St Marys Church, so why not pop into the church for some quiet time. You can sit in silence with candlelight and gentle music. Take a few minutes for yourself and just be. Light a candle, say a prayer. Just sit if thats what you need. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will take place. New Here? You are very welcome. You can keep up to date with us through the parish webpage at enniskerryparish.ie. You can register as a parishioner by mailing us at stmarys@enniskerryparish.ie or stmochonogs@enniskerryparish.ie. If you wish to receive items, or if you would like to receive the Parish Link by email weekly please phone the parish office in Enniskerry at 01 2760030 (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday or email stmarys@enniskerry.ie; and Kilmacanogue at 01 2021882 (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Thursday) or email stmochonogs@enniskerryparish.ie. Enniskerry History Society Members and supporters of the Enniskerry History Society are asked to note that the following events will take place in the week ahead today (Wednesday) James Scannell will present Rough Justice: Crime and Punishment in 1800s Dublin at 1 p.m. to the Ballsbridge, Donnybrook and Sandymount Historical Society in Pembroke Library, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin four. Admission is free but booking is required call 01 2228450 or email pembrokelibrary@dublincity.ie; as part of Talks at the Mess in Richmond Barracks, off Bulfin Road, Inchicore, Dublin eight, Historian in Residence Elizabeth Kehoe will recall Curfews in Dublin 1920-1921 at 6 p.m. Admission is 5/Concession 3. Book in person at the reception desk, call 01 524 2532 or visit richmondbarracks.ie; Professor Thomas OConnor will present Irish Colleges on the Continent at 8 p.m. to the Rathmichael Historical Society in Rathmichael National School, Stonebridge Road, Shankill, Co. Dublin. All are welcome admission is 5 for non-members. Tomorrow (Thursday) Dr Deirdre Foley will present Womens Work in Jacobs Biscuit Factory, 1918-1979 at 6.30 p.m. in Tallaght Library. Admission is free but booking is required via Eventbrite/Tallaght Library; Declan Kerney will present Irelands Revolutionary Diplomat: Leopold Kerney at 8 p.m. to the Mount Merrion Historical Society in the Fitzwilliam Rooms, Mount Merrion Community Centre, Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin. Admission is 4/Students 2. On Friday as part of the Marino 100 History Talks, John Healy will present Liam Devlin Irish Revolutionary: Revolutionary, Publican, Industrialist (with a Marino connection) at 7 p.m. in Carleton Hall (Marino Community Centre), 53A Shelmartin Avenue, Dublin three. Dr Macdara Dwyer will present An Empire in search of subjects: Catholic Irish and the British Army in the 18th century at 8 p.m. to the Military History Society of Ireland in Griffith College, South Circular Road, Dublin eight. Next Monday Bryan McMahon will present The Adventures of Richard Crosbie, Pioneer of Balloon Flight 1785 at 7.30 p.m. to the Clontarf Historical Society in St Johns Pastoral Centre, Clontarf Road, Clontarf, Dublin three. All are welcome admission is 5; Peadar Curran will present Evie Hone Stained Glass Artist at 8 p.m. to the Blackrock Society in Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, 32 Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin. All welcome admission is 5 for non-members. Next Wednesday Donal Fallon will present The Lamplighters of the Phoenix Park at 6 p.m. to the Old Dublin Society in the Conference Room, Dublin City Library and Archive, 139-144 Pearse Street, Dublin two. All are welcome admission is free; Historian in Residence Katie Blackwood will present 4 Holy Wells in North Dublin at 6.30 p.m. in Marino Library, Dublin three. Admission is free but booking is required call 01 222 8399 or email marinolibrary@dublincity.ie. Enniskerry Library Opening hours are Tuesday 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.; Wednesday: 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday: 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. The library is closed on Mondays and Thursdays and on the Saturdays of Bank Holiday weekends. The library can be contacted at 01 2864339 or email enniskerrylib@wicklowcoco.ie. Online services including e-books, audio-books, digital magazines and newspapers and e-learning are available from the library website. The next Wicklow Local Studies local history lecture in Wicklow Library, Wicklow Town, takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, when Joan Kavanagh will present Grangegorman the Transportation Story Grangegorman Penitentiary in Dublin, which opened in 1836, was the first womens prison opened in Britain and Ireland, and had a special section for those sentenced to transportation to Australia. Admission is free but booking is required due to limited seating space to reserve a place call 0404 67025 or email Wicklowlocalstudies@wicklowcoco.ie. Enniskerry Bridge Club Enniskerry Bridge Club meets every Tuesday night in the Parochial Hall (beside Poppies) at 7.30 p.m. New members are always very welcome. For more information please contact the secretary at 085 7112179. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. The kitchen of Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's kitchen, in his home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's bedroom, in his home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's bedroom, in his home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. A converted 150-year-old dockers cottage in Wicklow town wowed the judges in the third episode of the current series of Home of the Year, (RTE1, Tuesday, March 3). The burnt-out shell that was bought by the owner, Clive Restan, in 2021, was literally just three walls and half a roof, when he took it over as a serious project, encouraged, he said, because the walls all three of them really talked to me. A determined Clive said he knew exactly what he wanted from his home, with a vision of New York Loft meets Irish cottage. Clive Restan outside his home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. It was important that the restoration work allowed the true craftmanship of its original construction to shine through, thus the stone and brick walls were peeled back and lovingly redeemed. Clive also noted he wanted the building to do the talking without being overpowered by modern interference, almost to look like it hasnt been designed at all. So while he injected new life into it, he took due care to create an analogue home in a digital age. There were also plenty of flourishes to preserve the history of the building, sourcing unique items to compliment the industrial patinated aesthetic, such as rowing oars from the 1850s and lights from an old theatre. When I first saw it, it was literally three walls and half a roof and had been empty for 25 years after a fire, Clive said of the day he first walked into the building. But the walls really talked to me. The brick work, the stone work it had to be rescued. The house is an analogue house in a digital age, he explained, its very simple; theres no apps controlling the heating, the lighting, the cooking. I suppose where the house works best is going down to the pier, catching mackerel, coming back and cooking them on the wood-burning stove. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Leading us to his favourite spot, Clive ventured upstairs to the seating area overlooking the harbour outside. When Im sitting in this chair I feel a sense of calm, a sense of achievement and gratitude that I have this home in this amazing location. A home should be bespoke to the people living in it, it should say something about their personality, and I think this really is an extension of my personality, he said. On approach, judge Siobhan Lamadmired the exterior for the choice of colour black a chic exterior colour,, she said, adding: I cannot wait to get inside. And it was the inside that took the judges breath away. On entering, there were cries of raw, terrific and extraordinary, with Siobhan summing it up: This is someone who has done a renovation themselves and made it completely their own. This was echoed by Hugh Wallace, who praised Clive as an owner who really respects this building, observing how he line- pointed the walls, so theres no doubt about his love for the building. Clive Restan's kitchen, in his home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. Walking in the front door the judges were greeted by the old, farmhouse style kitchen, with a wood-burning stove, exposed brick and stone walls, and a bucket for a sink. Hugh questioned the functionality of this, and said it just doesnt work. But Amanda Bone pointed out it that had everything that was needed, including the modern appeal. Im gobsmacked and you know this is the complete opposite of what Id normally be drawn to, or what I would think would work, particularly in a two up, two down, compact, terraced home, she said. But the exposure of the natural materials, the warmth, the texture of the brick and the stone, and the way theyve carefully placed everything for example the axe on the wall behind me is used to chop the wood (stored opposite), the brushes in the container are used to paint on the paper (hanging on the wall). Theres a definite sense of something thats real and fun, she said. The surprise addition of the sauna in the bathroom met with Hughs approval: The corrugated shower is brilliant, he said. I think this is a very successful bathroom. Clive Restan's home in County Wicklow, which featured on episode three of RTE's Home of the Year 2025. While on the upstairs, he admired the serenity of the space. I was so relieved when I went upstairs, Hugh said. It was much calmer, restrained and you just get a sense of airiness. I think its because of the natural light coming in from the roof lights. However, he did have one grip, pointing out the unnecessary bric a brac, like a pile of suitcases in the corner, which, it turns out, are for storage. A pocket door from the bedroom and living space, Clives favourite spot, revealed a changing room and second bedroom. Overall, as Amanda pointed out, on paper it shouldnt work, but it does and scored it a very impressive nine, as does Siobhan. The homeowner is consistent with their eclectic style choices throughout the home, she said. It gives us a real sense of their personality. However, the total wasnt enough to put Clive in the lead, with Hughs seven coming as a result of the chaos of the ground floor. Unfortunately, it wasnt another winner for Wicklow this time. Launched with a grant total of over 200,000, the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund aims to support and empower youth interventions across the island of Ireland. Sponsored by Coca-Cola Thank You Fund When it comes to knocking down barriers and lifting young people up, Kellie Harrington knows a thing or two. The two-time Olympic champion has teamed up with Coca-Cola Ireland and its strategic bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, to launch the 2025 Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, putting a whopping 200,000 on the table to help young people across Ireland and Northern Ireland unlock their potential. Now in its 15th year, the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund has given young people the tools they need to succeed. This year, with 200,000 in grants up for grabs, the Fund is looking for community groups that help 16- to 25-year-olds build confidence, build skills, and become future leaders. Operated in partnership with the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) and YouthAction Northern Ireland, 10,000 to 25,000 grants will be available to non-profits supporting projects of inclusion and inspiration. If you know a group thats making a difference, this is their chance to shine. Source: Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Empowering young people Since it first kicked off in 2011, the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund has given out an incredible 1.7 million to 182 non-profit groups across Ireland. This year, the focus is on helping young people overcome challenges and reach their full potential. Agnese Filippi, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland says, We are excited to see innovative projects that give young people the skills and confidence they need to drive positive social change and make a real difference in their communities. Were also honoured to have Kellie Harrington as our ambassador - her inspiring journey highlights the life-changing impact of local community support. The Fund is built around two big ideas: Inclusion (ensuring everyone has access to education and job opportunities) and Inspiration (encouraging young people to act and make a difference in their communities). Inclusion The Fund is backing projects that help young people learn, grow, and get ready for the future. Whether its education, mentorship, or job skills, these projects will boost confidence, build resilience, and create future leaders. Inspiration The Fund will support community-led projects that encourage young people to step up, create change, and build safe spaces where everyone feels valued. These are just some of the many ways organisations can support young people, and the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund is open to all projects that help empower young people. Source: Coca-Cola Thank You Fund A champion for youth Looking back on her own journey, Kellie Harrington knows just how important community support is for young people. She says having the right people in your corner can make all the difference. Growing up, I saw how a lack of support can push young people in the wrong direction, says Kellie. Sport taught me discipline, confidence, and resilience - skills that changed my life. Programmes like the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund give young people the same chance to find their purpose and believe in themselves. It helps grassroots projects get off the ground, reach more young people, and provide opportunities they might never have had. Kellie believes that local youth projects can be a game-changer. By teaming up with the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, Harrington hopes to inspire the next generation of young leaders to step up, grab new opportunities, and make the most of the support available to them. Community is everything to me. Its where I found my first supporters, my role models, and my sense of belonging. Its the people who cheer you on when you win and lift you up when you fall. That kind of support shapes who you are. This isnt just about the funding; its about what these local community projects unlock - hope, ambition, and a brighter future. Investing in the future The Coca-Cola Thank You Fund isnt just about financial grants, its about investing in young people and their potential. Simon Fitzpatrick, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, Coca-Colas bottling partner, says its so important to create inclusive opportunities. By investing in local projects that promote inclusion and inspiration, says Simon, we hope to inspire young people to embrace new opportunities and take meaningful steps toward a brighter future. Irish Youth Foundation (IYF), Chief Executive, Sarah Edmonds, says equipping young people with the tools to navigate daily life has never been more important, Through the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, were proud to support projects across Ireland and Northern Ireland that build skills, confidence, and leadership capabilities. We encourage community leaders to apply for the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund and join us in empowering young people to build brighter, more inclusive futures. Source: Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Making a real impact One of the many inspiring groups supported by the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund in 2024 is Way2Work in Co Dublin, a programme that helps young people in remission from cancer get back on their feet with job training and employment opportunities. Thanks to a 15,000 grant, Way2Work is giving these young people workplace skills, mentorship, and real job prospects, helping them regain confidence and take charge of their futures. At the launch of this years Fund, Kellie Harrington stood alongside Way2Work recipients, celebrating their success and showing how the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund is changing lives - by giving young people opportunities they might not have had otherwise. The impact doesnt stop there, as its your turn to get involved. Are you part of a community organisation helping young people? Or maybe you know an amazing local project that could use a funding boost? Nows the time to apply! The 2025 Coca-Cola Thank You Fund is now open for applications until midnight on Wednesday, 26th March. Non-profit groups focusing on Inclusion and Inspiration can apply for grants by visiting coca-cola.ie/thankyou for full details and terms The Royle Family star on how he got his big break, swimming in Portmarnock and being a political prisoner Ricky Tomlinson is an actor from Liverpool. He has had a decades-long career in the television and film industry, most notably for his roles in The Royle Family and Brookside. He spent two years in prison for his involvement in a protest over workers rights that turned violent. He lives with his wife in Liverpool. LATEST | Russia responds as Ukraine says it is willing to negotiate in letter to Trump Trump says Ukraine ready for peace talks, cites Zelenskiy letter Trump says "strong signals" Russia ready for peace Zelenskiy says Ukraine is ready to sign minerals deal European allies pressured as U.S. shifts stance on Russia King Charles III meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Picture date: Sunday March 2, 2025. Joe Giddens/PA Wire Erin Banco, Max Hunder and Olena Harmash Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 08:22 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table over the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump hails 'reclaiming' of Panama canal after BlackRock-led group's deal to buy stake CK Hutchison to sell majority stake in $22.8 billion ports unitSale to give BlackRock-led group 90pc of Panama Ports CompanyCK Hutchison says sale purely commercial, unrelated to politicsTrump says his government has started to reclaim Panama CanalJPMorgan calls the sale a 'surprise' and 'opportunistic' A view of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region, Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun Clare Jim and Scott Murdoch Wed 5 Mar 2025 at 09:19 U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed a deal led by U.S. firm BlackRock to buy most of the $22.8 billion ports business of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison which includes assets along the Panama Canal. A Hamas militant shakes hands with a child during a hostage exchange between Palestine and Israel in Gaza last month. Photo: Reuters/File photo Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar says his country is ready to proceed to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, as long as Hamas was ready to release more of the 59 hostages it is still holding. Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrive, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The brothers were charged with human trafficking in Romania and arrived in the U.S. after authorities lifted travel restrictions. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)...I Floridas attorney general has said his office has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, days after they returned to the US Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that he directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers. Fact-check: Focus on 7 misleading claims by Trump during US Congress address The US President sought to highlight several initiatives during his first six weeks back in the White House US President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of US Congress highlighted several of the initiatives he has started in his first six weeks in office. However, many of his comments included false and misleading information. Here is a closer look at a few of his claims: 1. He overstated the numbers on his immigration crackdown Mr Trump said: Illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded. Ever. The facts: Mr Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday that Border Patrol apprehended 8,326 people on the US-Mexico border last month. But US government data show that Border Patrol routinely averaged below that number in the 1960s. While February marked the lowest arrest total in decades, Border Patrol averaged less than February 2025 for the first seven years of 1960s. The US government website does not track US-Mexico border totals before 1960. Border Patrols monthly average was 1,752 arrests in 1961. 2. He inflated the number of people who entered America illegally under Joe Biden Mr Trump said: Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members. The facts: That figure, which Mr Trump cites regularly, is highly inflated. US Customs and Border Protection reported more than 10.8 million arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico from January 2021 through December 2024. But that is arrests, not people. Under asylum restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, many people crossed more than once until they succeeded because there were no legal consequences for being turned back to Mexico. So the number of people is lower than the number of arrests. There is no evidence other countries are sending their criminals or people with mental illness across the border, despite this frequent line from Mr Trump. 3. Economists differ with Trump on tariffs Mr Trump said: Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And its happening. And it will happen rather quickly. Therell be a little disturbance, but were OK with that. It wont be much. The facts: Mr Trump is banking on the idea that taxing imports is the road to riches for the United States. Most economists say Mr Trumps tariffs would hurt the country, as they are tax increases that could raise the costs of goods in ways that could also harm economic growth. Mr Trump suggests that the impact on inflation would be minimal. When the Yale University Budget Lab looked at the tariffs that Mr Trump imposed on Tuesday on Canada, Mexico and China, it found that inflation would increase a full percentage point, growth would fall by half a percentage point and the average household would lose about 1,600 dollars (1,250) in disposable income. 4. There is no evidence Social Security money is being paid to many people over age 100 Mr Trump told Congress: Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129; 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139; 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149. And money is being paid to many of them, and we are searching right now. The facts: The databases may list those people, but that does not mean they are getting paid benefits. Part of the confusion comes from Social Securitys software system based on the Cobol programming language, which does not use a specific format for dates. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago. The news organisation Wired first reported on the use of Cobol programming language at the Social Security Administration. Additionally, a series of reports from the Social Security Administrations inspector general in March 2023 and July 2024 state that the agency has not established a new system to properly annotate death information in its database, which included roughly 18.9 million Social Security numbers of people born in 1920 or earlier but were not marked as deceased. This does not mean, however, that these people were receiving benefits. The agency decided not to update the database because of the cost to do so, which would run upward of nine million dollars (7.06 million). As of September 2015, the agency automatically stops payments to people who are older than 115 years old. 5. Trump did not inherit an economic catastrophe Mr Trump said: Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families. As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. The facts: US inflation peaked at 9.1pc in 2022 under Joe Biden, but Mr Trump did not inherit a disastrous economy by any measure. The unemployment rate ticked down to a low 4pc in January, the month he took office, while the economy expanded a healthy 2.8pc in 2024. Inflation-adjusted incomes have grown steadily since mid-2023. And inflation, while showing signs of stickiness in recent months and still elevated at 3pc in January, is down from its 2022 peak. 6. Trumps reference to an EV mandate is inaccurate Mr Trump said: We ended the last administrations insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers and companies from economic destruction. The facts: There was no federal mandate to force the purchase of EVs, as Mr Trump has falsely claimed many times before. Mr Biden had set up a non-binding goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030. Mr Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office revoking that goal. His policies tightened restrictions on pollution from petrol-powered cars and trucks in an effort to encourage Americans to buy EVs and car companies to shift from petrol-powered vehicles to electric cars. 7. Army recruitment numbers According to Mr Trump: I am pleased to report that in January, the US army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years. The facts: Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed that the armys recruiting turnaround is tied to his time in office. In fact, according to army data, recruiting numbers have been increasing steadily over the past year, with the highest total coming in August 2024 before the November election. Army officials closely track recruiting numbers. A significant driver of the recruiting success was the armys decision to launch the Future Soldier Prep Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. That programme gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. AP Finding the right hotel can make all the difference in a trip, whether it's for business or leisure. During our recent visit to Bhopal, we stayed at Spree Hotel and experienced its blend of comfort and modern amenities firsthand. Conveniently located in the heart of the city, the hotel provided an easy base to explore Bhopal while ensuring a hassle-free stay. First Impressions and Stay Experience Walking into the hotel, we were welcomed by a well-designed lobby and a friendly reception team. Check-in was smooth, and we were quickly escorted to our rooms. The hotel offers a variety of accommodations, and our room was spacious, featuring plush bedding, high-speed internet, and a flat-screen TV. The modern decor and cozy ambiance made it a relaxing space to unwind after a long day. Dining and Amenities One of the highlights of our stay was the dining experience. The in-house multi-cuisine restaurant served a great mix of local, regional, and international dishes. Whether it was breakfast or dinner, the food was well-prepared and catered to different tastes. Theres also a stylish cafe, perfect for casual meetings or a quick coffee break. For those traveling for work, the hotel offers a well-equipped conference room and event space. We noticed that the meeting facilities were modern, and the staff was attentive in managing the arrangements. The overall atmosphere was professional yet welcoming, making it a suitable place for both business and leisure travelers. Final Thoughts Our stay at Spree Hotel Bhopal was a pleasant one, with comfortable accommodations, good dining options, and attentive service. Despite being centrally located, the hotel offered a peaceful environment, allowing us to relax and recharge. Whether youre visiting Bhopal for work or a vacation, this hotel provides a well-balanced experience with its modern amenities and convenient location. Disclaimer: The above sponsored content is non-editorial and has been sourced from a third party. Indiatimes does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the above content, nor is responsible for it in any manner whatsoever. Bullet Train Explosion OTT release date: Magic will soon be brought to your screens by director Shinji Higuchi. As a huge admirer of the original tale, Higuchi has remade the movie into a contemporary update. On board the Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa No. 60, which is headed for Tokyo, tension rises as a bomb is set to explode quickly if the train's speed falls below 100 km/h. Bullet Train Explosion will be released on 23rd April on OTT platform Netflix. Plot The Shinkansen General Operation Control Center received a stressful phone call. According to the caller, a bomb has been installed on the Hayabusa No. 60 on its way to Tokyo, and it will detonate as soon as the Shinkansen train's speed falls below 100 km/h. To disarm the bomb, the caller asks for a ransom of 100 billion yen. In the final moments, the passengers, crew, and railroad workers fight to stop the explosion in the little time they have left. Will the running Hayabusa No. 60 be able to overcome this crisis? Cast and crew A cast of interesting people, such as driver Matsumoto (Non) and conductor Fujii (Kanata Hosoda), join Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. Along with other passengers from a variety of backgrounds, the Hayabusa also includes Yuzuki Onodera (Hana Toyoshima), a student on a school excursion; Kagami (Machiko Ono), a member of the House of Representatives; and Todoroki (Jun Kaname), an enterprising YouTuber. Kasagi, the general commanding officer of the Shinkansen General Operation Control Center, is portrayed by Takumi Saitoh and is in charge of remotely planning rescue operations. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Laila OTT Release Date: Vishwak Sen recently headlined a Telugu film which opened to highly negative reviews in theatres. Released worldwide on the 14th February, the romantic comedy was directed by Ram Narayan and was highly criticised for its predictable plot, retrogressive notions and crass narrative. Now that Laila is ready to live a second life on OTT, here are five things to know about it. 1. When and where to watch Laila? Laila is all set to stream on Amazon Prime Video starting March 9. The film earned a total of Rs 4.86 crore globally. 2. Lailas cast Other than Vishwak, Laila also starred Akanksha Sharma, Vennela Kishore, Ravi Mariya, Nagineedu, Harsha Vardhan, Brahmaji, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Raghu Babu, Abhimanyu Singh and Vineet Kumar among others. 3. Lailas crew Produced by Sahu Garapati under Shine Screens, this Leon James musical cinematographed by Richard Prasad and edited by Sagar Dadi. Laila is written by Vasudeva Murthy and has a runtime of 136 minutes. 4. Lailas plot summary Sonu (Vishwak), runs a well-known beauty parlour in the Old City and has earned the trust of many female clients because of his amazing makeup skills. But things take a strange turn when Sonu gets caught up in a conflict with Rustom, a local wrestler, and SI Shankar, a police officer. Amid all this chaos, Sonu is accused in a case involving Kalthi oil. To avoid being caught, he decides to disguise himself as a woman and takes on the new identity of Laila. As Laila, Sonu manages to do things he couldnt do before like escaping the trouble he was in. But theres a twist: a mysterious woman named Jenny suddenly enters Sonus life, and she becomes the key to the mystery of the story. 5. Lailas review 123Telugu rated the movie 2 out of 5 and a part of their review read, Laila is a silly, tedious and poorly executed film that fails to engage. Despite Vishwak Sens efforts, the weak script, crass humour, and lack of depth make it a dull and unconvincing watch. With no emotional core, subpar writing, and uninspired direction, Laila ends up as a forgettable misfire that hardly justifies its existence. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. In a dramatic turn of events, the much-anticipated television premiere of Unni Mukundans Malayalam thriller Marco has been abruptly halted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The film, already facing an A rating due to its violent content, is now under the spotlight once again as the CBFCs Regional Officer, Nadeem Thufali T, has urged the Centre to intervene and prevent the film from streaming on OTT as well. Why is Marcos streaming so controversial? The CBFC's refusal to grant Marco the satellite rights for television screening was not without reason. Thufali pointed out that the films content, drenched in bloody violence, made it unfit for a family audience. Parents should exercise caution when allowing children to watch such films, he warned in an interview with Manorama News. According to him, while the CBFCs role is confined to certification and does not extend to censorship, the extremely violent nature of Marco clearly disqualified it from being broadcast on television. Soon after this, several political leaders and youth associations have begun to question the portrayal of violence in films. Keralas Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, was particularly vocal on this matter, citing the recent tragic death of a student in a violent altercation in Kozhikode. In an Assembly speech on Monday (March 3rd), he warned that films and serials, such as Avesham, which was linked to a series of violent incidents, could play a dangerous role in glorifying violence and influencing young minds. The Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), however, wasted no time in condemning the political discourse that blamed cinema for real-life violence. In a scathing social media post, they dismissed these claims as rooted in a misguided belief in the reflection theory, which suggests that films directly influence societal behavior. For FEFKA, the problem lies not in cinema, but in the real-world conditions that often fuel such violence. Released in December 2024, Marco, directed by Haneef Adeni, is a high-octane actioner set against the backdrop of Keralas gold mafia. Unni Mukundans performance as a ruthless man earned both praise and controversy, with many citing the films uncompromisingly violent action sequences as its standout feature. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. International Women's Day images, cards, and posters: International Women's Day is celebrated every year on March 8th to honour the achievements and struggles of women worldwide. The United Nations officially recognised International Women's Day in 1977, though the origins of the celebration go back much earlier. The first-ever National Womens Day was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909. The Socialist Party of America initiated this day to commemorate the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against poor working conditions. According to the International Women's Day (IWD) website, nearly 15,000 women marched for better wages, shorter working hours, and the right to vote. Since then, this day has evolved into a global movement advocating for gender equality and women's rights. International Women's Day 2025 Theme According to the United Nations official website, International Womens Day 2025 will be celebrated under the theme: For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. This theme focuses on empowering young women and adolescent girls to create a more inclusive and equal world. The goal is to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind in the fight for gender justice. Meanwhile, the International Women's Day (IWD) website has announced the theme for International Women's Day 2025 as Accelerate Action. This theme highlights the need to support initiatives, policies, and movements that drive real change for women globally. It encourages individuals and organisations to take measurable steps to enhance womens rights and opportunities. Celebrate International Womens Day 2025 with Stunning Images, Cards, and Posters If you're searching for International Women's Day images, International Women's Day cards, or International Women's Day posters, youve come to the right place! Whether you want to send heartfelt International Women's Day wishes to your loved ones or share inspiring visuals on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or X, weve got a beautiful collection ready for you. International Women's Day wishes images, cards, posters to share #1. Women's Day wishes images #2. Women's Day wishes images #3. Women's Day wishes images #4. Women's Day wishes images #5. Women's Day wishes images 6. Women's Day wishes images 7. Women's Day wishes images 8. Women's Day wishes images 9. Women's Day wishes images 10. Women's Day wishes images 11. Women's Day wishes images 12. Women's Day wishes images 13. Women's Day wishes images 14. Women's Day wishes images 15. Women's Day wishes images 16. Women's Day wishes images Happy International Women's Day wishes to share Well-behaved women rarely make history! Happy Womens Day! When I think of an empowered woman, no one else comes to mind but you. To me, you are my superhero. Happy Womens Day! You are the true architect of my life, and I deeply admire everything you do for our family. Happy Women's Day! Everything that I know is all because of you. You are the mother every kid wishes to have. With all my heart, wish you a Happy International Womens Day, mom. Wishing a very Happy Womens Day to one such woman who makes life so wonderful for me. Happy International Women's Day 2025! You are a strong woman indeed. Just enjoy this Day. Happy Womens Day 2025! You've concealed your worries in your heart. Happy International Women's Day 2025! Had women not been there, life would have never been so beautiful and blessed. You've faced hardships with bravery and resilience. Happy International Women's Day 2025! You've disarmed your problems through your smile. Happy Women's Day 2025! Heres how you can download and share them effortlessly: Browse the images, cards, and posters in our exclusive collection. Tap and hold on to your favourite design. Save it to your phone gallery or computer. Share it instantly with friends, family, or colleagues to spread the spirit of International Women's Day 2025. Why Share International Women's Day Images, Cards, and Posters? To express gratitude towards the inspiring women in your life. To spread awareness about gender equality and womens empowerment. To take part in the global celebration of International Women's Day 2025. To encourage conversations about women's rights and the challenges they still face. Make this International Womens Day 2025 special by sharing meaningful International Womens Day images, International Womens Day cards, and International Womens Day posters. Let's celebrate the power, resilience, and achievements of women across the world! For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. International Women's Day 2025: International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on March 8. This day is dedicated to recognising women's achievements and gender equality. In 2025, the womens day 2025 theme is "Accelerate Action" (as per IWD). This theme signifies the need for swift progress toward equal rights and opportunities for women globally. This global event has its roots in the early 20th century. The first official Women's Day celebration took place in 1911 in countries like Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. (as per britannica) Today, International Women's Day 2025 is a powerful movement that highlights women's contributions in various fields. It also addresses ongoing challenges such as gender inequality and pay parity in various domains. International Women's Day 2025 Date International Women's Day 2025 will be globally celebrated on March 8, 2025 itself. This year it will be celebrated on Saturday via seminars, marches, and concerts as well. This day is all about honouring women and their selfless contributions in every aspect of your life. This day is all about honouring women's achievements along with gender equality. International Women's Day 2025 Theme The International Women's Day 2025 theme for this year is 'Accelerate Action' (as per IWD). However, as per UN, the International women's day 2025 theme is For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. This is more like a worldwide initiative towards women by implementing strategies, activities, schemes for their support and safety advancement. International Women's Day 2025: Activities & Initiatives The official UN event will be held on March 7 at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York, focusing on equal rights, opportunities, and power for women. History of International Women's Day 2025 International Women's Day (IWD) has a rich history that began in the early 1900s. In 1908, 15,000 women marched in New York City demanding better working conditions, fair wages, and the right to vote. Main Demands of Women Who Marched in New York City in 1908 The women who marched in New York City in 1908 had four main demands: Shorter Working Hours: They wanted to work only 10 hours a day. They wanted to work only 10 hours a day. Better Pay: They asked for equal pay as men for the same work. They asked for equal pay as men for the same work. Improved Working Conditions: They wanted safer and better workplaces, as many worked in harsh conditions. They wanted safer and better workplaces, as many worked in harsh conditions. Voting Rights: They demanded the right to vote, as women were not allowed to vote at that time. The first International Women's Day was celebrated on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. When Russian women staged a strike on March 8, 1917, that date became fixed. Since then, March 8 has been the global date for International Women's Day. In 1975, the United Nations officially recognised the day. Today, IWD is celebrated globally to honour women's achievements and consider gender equality. International Women's Day 2025 Slogan Below are inspiring slogans for International Women's Day 2025: Accelerate Action for Gender Equality. Empower a Woman, Empower a Generation. Equal Rights Are Human Rights. Break the Bias, Build the Future. Women's Rights = Human Rights. For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. Educate, empower, elevate women. Invest in Women, Transform the World. Strong Women Build a Strong Future. Challenge Stereotypes, Change the Narrative. Empowered Women Empower Communities. Equality Is the Key to Progress. Your Voice Matters, Stand Up for Women's Rights. When Women Rise, Societies Thrive. Accelerate Action for a More Inclusive Tomorrow. International Women's Day 2025 Significance International Women's Day 2025 is celebrated on March 8th and holds great importance globally. Here are some important points about its significance: The theme for 2025 is "For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment" or "Accelerate Action". It highlights the need for swift progress in achieving gender equality. It honours women's achievements in various fields and promotes gender equality. It truly celebrates their contributions to society, economy, culture, and politics. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. International Women's Day 2025 encourages everyone, governments, and organisations to take key steps to eliminate discrimination and provide equal opportunities for women. International Women's Day 2025 Quotes I am a woman and I get to define what that means. Swati Sharma There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish. Michelle Obama. A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform. Diane Mariechild. Well-behaved women seldom make history. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Happy Womens Day! I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life. Maya Angelou. Empowered women empower the world. She believed she could, so she did. R.S. Grey. Happy Womens Day! Every womans success should be an inspiration to another. Were strongest when we cheer each other on. Serena Williams. A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink. Gina Carey. Women are the real architects of society. Cher. Feminism isnt about making women strong. Women are already strong. Its about changing the way the world perceives that strength. G.D. Anderson. Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. Hillary Clinton. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt. Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women. Maya Angelou. I raise up my voicenot so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. Malala Yousafzai. Women are powerful and unstoppable. Malala Yousafzai. International Women's Day 2025 Contribution There are many notable women who have greatly contributed to education, politics, healthcare, military, economics, and other social aspects of our society. Each one of them has a major backstory full of challenges and struggles. International Women's Day 2025 celebrates the contributions of women like Clara Zetkin, Elsie Inglis, Edwina Dunn, and countless others, who have played major roles in advancing gender equality. FAQs 1. When is International Womens Day 2025? Answer: International Women's Day is on 8th March 2025 itself. 2. What is the theme of International Women's Day 2025? Answer: The International Women's Day 2025 theme for this year is 'Accelerate Action.'. 3. Who are the 5 prominent women whose contributions made us proud? Answer: These five prominent women include Kalpana Chawla, Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi, Indira Gandhi, Gita Gopinath, and Aruna Asaf Ali. They truly made us proud with their enticing achievements. 4. What is the colour of International Women's Day 2025? Answer: Purple, green, and white are the colours of International Women's Day 2025. 5. Is there a logo for International Women's Day 2025? Answer: Yes, there is an IWD logo, which is used to signify women's achievements, contributions, and other major initiatives for our society to maintain gender equality. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Delhi EWS admissions 2025: The first draw of lots for Delhi EWS Admissions 2025 will take place today, March 5, 2025, at 2:30 PM in the Conference Room of the Education Department at the Old Secretariat. Delhi's Education Minister Ashish Sood announced that 2.5 lakh applications have been received for admissions under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. And only 38,000 seats will be allocated. The draw will be computerised and broadcast live on television to ensure transparency in the process. Parents attending the event can watch the process on multiple screens set up at the venue. The income limit for EWS admissions has been increased to 5 lakh this year. Meta AI Delhi EWS Admissions 2025: 1st Draw Details The draw will be held at the Conference Room of the Education Department at the Old Secretariat. The event will be attended by parents, media representatives, and officials from the Directorate of Education. Multiple television screens will be installed to ensure all attendees can view the proceedings clearly. YouTube Delhi EWS Admissions Process 2025 Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 25% of seats in private recognised schools are reserved for students belonging to the EWS and Disadvantaged Group (DG) categories. This year, the Delhi government received around 2.5 lakh applications for 38,000 seats. Delhi Admissions 2025: Steps to Check Results Parents can check the results of the draw on the official website of the Directorate of Education, Delhi, at www.edudel.nic.in. The results will be released as a PDF document with selected children's names for admission. The Delhi admission applications for EWS admissions opened on February 3, 2025, and closed on February 19, 2025. The computerized draw is an important step in maintaining the integrity and transparency of the admission process. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Days after their unprecedented squabble in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed to have patched up. On Tuesday, Trump, who addressed the US Congress, said he received an important letter from Zelenskyy, expressing regret over the White House clash and his intention to pursue peace for his country. CREDIT: REUTERS Trump gets letter from Zelenskyy "I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,'" Trump said. Zelenskyy agrees on minerals deal Trump also said that Zelenskyy had agreed to the US minerals deal, which he had previously refused to sign, one of the triggers that led to the White House showdown. The US is seeking a $500 billion mineral deal with Ukraine in exchange for the military aid Washington has given to Kyiv during the ongoing war with Russia. CREDIT: REUTERS Peace talks to resume? Trump further said that Zelenskyy told him Kyiv was ready for talks with Russia. "He said, 'My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,'" Trump added. The US President said he was "working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine." "Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight," Trump said. CREDIT: REUTERS US pauses aid to Ukraine Earlier on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said he wanted to "make things right" with Trump after their clash on Friday. On Tuesday, the US had also paused military aid to Ukraine, a move which many saw as aimed at pressuring the country to accept the unfavourable peace deal with Russia. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. A court in the US has denied Tesla CEO Elon Musk's request to block ChatGPT-maker OpenAI from converting itself into a for-profit company. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled late Tuesday that Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits in his request for a preliminary injunction. CREDIT: REUTERS The judge, however, said she could expedite a trial to consider Musk's claims against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI vs Elon Musk Musk, who was one of the co-founders of OpenAI, which was established in 2016 as a non-profit, has been at war with the world's most popular AI chatbot maker in recent years after it announced plans to restructure itself as a for-profit entity. Musk, who had initially committed to investing $1 billion in OpenAI, has invested around $45 million in the non-profit. CREDIT: REUTERS The world's richest man, who now has his own AI venture called xAI, challenged OpenAI's for-profit shift, arguing that it was a breach of contract and a betrayal of its founding aims as a non-profit. Musk's attempted takeover of OpenAI Amid the legal tussle and tirade of name-calling of Altman on X, Musk even tried a hostile takeover of OpenAI last month after he and a group of investors made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid to buy a controlling stake in the non-profit. Musk's lawyer later informed the court that the Tesla CEO was ready to withdraw the offer if OpenAI agreed to remain a non-profit. CREDIT: REUTERS Musk's lawyer, OpenAI welcome court decision Musk's attorney, Marc Toberoff, said in a statement late Tuesday that he is pleased that the court offered an expedited trial on the core claims. "We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musks charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the publics benefit rather than his own enrichment, Toberoff said. OpenAI also said it welcomed the courts decision. This has always been about competition, a statement from the company said. Elons own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or US interests. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Googles march Pixel drop brings Many updates: Here is Google's March Pixel Drop, which offers innovative new AI-powered features to improve user experience. With the introduction of AI-generated avatars in this version, Pixel users can easily create original profile pictures. Furthermore, Google has enhanced scam detection, enhancing the security of calls and messages by instantly detecting questionable activity. Safety enhancements like improved crash detection and emergency sharing further cement pixel's reputation for security and dependability. These capabilities, available on all Pixel smartphones, improve the safety and intelligence of daily interactions. The most recent Pixel Drop offers significant improvements whether you're customizing your avatar, staying safe, or avoiding fraud. Google Pixel Drop in March 2025: New AI features Use Gemini Live in new ways: Gemini Live has been updated to communicate with it in more than 45 languages without adjusting settings. Additionally, all Pixel 6 and later devices and Pixel Fold devices are now receiving the multimodal features of Gemini Live, which Google announced in January and first made available to Pixel 9 customers. You will soon be able to engage through screen sharing and live video. Screenshot with ease: Thanks to the Pixel Screenshots app, which now suggests groups for your images, organizing screenshots has never been easier. You can also use it with your work profile to organize reports and receipts. Pixel Studio for creating images: You can create unique photos of individuals or scenes with simply a description. Try the new AI features in Germany and Japan: Pixel Screenshots, Pixel Studio, Pixel AI weather reports, and the pollen tracker in the Weather app will provide additional assistance to Pixel users in Germany and Japan. Additionally, the Recorder app will offer AI-powered summaries to Japanese speakers, which are excellent for condensing meeting minutes or class notes. Pixel focuses on your safety and health Credit: Google Enhance Scam Detection with on-device AI: Gemini Nano's Scam Detection for Phone Calls uses on-device AI to safeguard you against fraud while maintaining the privacy of your interactions. This Pixel-exclusive function will alert you if it detects odd talking patterns in calls that scammers frequently employ. Google Messages now has Scam Detection: It can recognize texts that initially appear innocent but eventually become harmful using on-device AI to indicate conversational text patterns frequently linked to scams. A real-time notice will be sent to you, making reporting and banning the chat simple. Make sure you're safe even when you're not connected: To keep you in touch with emergency services even if you don't have Wi-Fi or cellular coverage, they have extended the Satellite SOS service to Hawaii, Alaska, Europe, and Canada. With Verizon and T-Mobile, you're always connected Credit: Google You can use your Pixel to text your loved ones or even connect to emergency services via satellite to obtain assistance if you're a Verizon customer in an area without Wi-Fi or cellular coverage. Additionally, In T-mobile emergencies, users can text 911 without cellular or Wi-Fi service. They can even utilize satellite to text their loved ones. Locate your relatives and friends: You can now share your current location with your loved ones via Find My Device, giving them peace of mind that you arrived at your destination without incident. In the app's settings, you may always let someone know where you are so they can see you moving. Additionally, your loved ones can let you know where they are! Turn on Loss of Pulse Detection, now accessible in the US: The U.S. FDA officially approved the Pixel Watch 3's Loss of Pulse Detection, allowing users to access this unique feature starting at the end of this month. If you are not responding, it can immediately trigger a call to emergency services for potentially life-saving care when your heart stops beating abruptly, such as in cases of pulmonary cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose, or poisoning. Monitor menstruation health: With the Pixel Watch 3's on-device menstrual tracking feature, you can easily record your periods, check your cycle status, or forecast when you'll have your next period using the Fitbit app right from your wrist. Improved step tracking: Even while pushing a stroller or using hiking poles, your Pixel Watch now tracks steps more accurately. Auto-bedtime mode: The Pixel Watch 2 can save battery life and automatically turn off alerts when you go to sleep. Take a picture and share it Credit: Google Update for Dual Screen Preview: The Pixel Fold's Dual Screen Preview can now record videos, allowing you to take the ideal moment. Additionally, Add Me with Dual Screen Preview is now available to Pixel 9 Pro Fold users, ensuring everyone is always present. Connected Cameras: You may use the cameras on all of these devices to stream to social media platforms from various perspectives by connecting your Pixel to another camera, such as a GoPro or another Pixel phone. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. Byju's CEO's Raveendran faces backlash: The CEO and co-founder of the insolvent edtech company Byju's, Byju Raveendran, promised a worker that any unpaid salary for three months would eventually be repaid. Earlier this week, Raveendran used LinkedIn to apologize for his absence, request forgiveness from his staff, and deny some accusations made against him. BYJU's CEO Raveendran LinkedIn post - All you need to know Claims that his family made a fortune by selling shares were denied by the 45-year-old CEO of the troubled edtech company, who claimed that all of the proceeds were reinvested in Byju's. In addition, he demanded a "thorough investigation" into allegations of fraud and collusion involving the company's lender Glas Trust, consulting firm EY, and former resolution specialist Pankaj Srivastava, alleging that they were involved in Byju's demise. Some of Raveendran's staff had many questions for the troubled former millionaire, who has been accused of fleeing to Dubai to evade accusations, even though he reaffirmed his innocence and pledged to return "stronger than ever." How did the internet react? Credit: LinkedIn Despite Raveendran's talk of a return, staff members had more urgent issues. Kaushik Lade of Hyderabad, one of them, brought to his attention the plight of laborers who are left without compensation. "We hear your passion, but passion doesnt pay our bills," Lade stated. "Even though you talk about making sacrifices, we, the workers who created BYJU'S, have gone without pay for three months. Our PF has not yet been paid. We supported this business and gave it our all, but we are struggling to stay afloat. Please don't allow those who caused BYJUs to suffer in quiet. "Actions matter, but words inspire," he continued. Raveendran assured him that his salary would be paid gradually. "Dues will be settled, bills will be paid, and a comeback will be made. Not right away, but someday. I'm not battling for myself alone. You must trust my words until then. You have my word until then," he said. How did BYJU company go through the financial crisis? Rapid expansion through aggressive acquisitions, a heavy reliance on costly marketing campaigns, a lack of financial transparency, and a post-pandemic slowdown in the edtech market were the leading causes of BYJU's financial crisis. These factors combined to cause mounting debts and a loss of investor confidence, especially after the company failed to repay a sizable sum borrowed in the US market. This led to legal disputes and a sharp decline in the company's valuation. According to the board, Byju did not finish paying $19 million for a sponsorship agreement. Consequently, Raveendran's employment and the company's assets have been frozen. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. Bollywood is hitting rewind, and this time, its a blockbuster blast from the past! Akshay Kumars Namastey London is all set to return to the big screen after 17 years, rekindling the magic of its love story, sassy dialogues, and that legendary patriotic monologue that still gives desi fans goosebumps. The film is re-releasing on March 14, right in time for Holi celebrations, making it the perfect festive treat for cinema lovers. Akshay Kumar announced the news of Namastey London re-releasing Announcing the news with much fanfare, Akshay took to Instagram and dropped a nostalgic bombshell. He hyped up the return of Namastey London, inviting fans to relive the timeless romance, chartbuster songs, and iconic moments with Katrina Kaif. The excitement was real, and Katrina herself fueled the hype by liking the post, sending fans into a frenzy. Namaste London storyline The 2007 hit, directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, follows the story of Jazz (Katrina Kaif), a modern, independent London girl who is forced into an arranged marriage with Arjun (Akshay Kumar), a charming yet traditional Punjabi farmer. What unfolds is a hilarious and heartwarming battle of wits, cultures, and emotions, leaving audiences questioning if love is about compromise or conviction. One of the films most unforgettable moments is Akshays patriotic monologue that takes a firm stand against colonial arrogance. Director Vipul Amrutlal Shah once revealed that the writers, Suresh Nair and Ritesh Shah, spent over three months perfecting the scene. Even on the day of the shoot, last-minute tweaks were made to ensure it packed the right punch. When Akshay and Katrina finally read the final version, they knew it was going to be a game-changer. Apart from Akshay and Katrina, the film also boasts a stellar ensemble cast including the late Rishi Kapoor, Nina Wadia, Upen Patel, Clive Standen, and Jawed Sheikh. Fans can also spot some surprise cameos from Gurpreet Ghuggi, Vir Das, and Riteish Deshmukh. With nostalgia riding high, Namastey Londons re-release is set to bring old-school Bollywood charm back to theatres. So, if you missed it back in 2007 or just want to relive the magic, March 14 is your chance to say Namastey to an unforgettable cinematic experience! For over 16 years, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been a staple of Indian television, known for its lighthearted fun and quirky characters. But hold onbecause things are about to get way more intense! The latest track brings an unexpected twist as childhood buddies Tapu and Sonu are suddenly caught in a marriage drama. Gokuldham isnt just about soda, samosas, and society meetings anymoreit's turning into a filmy battleground of emotions! Tapu sena on a mission, can they save Sonu from this marriage twist? In the upcoming episodes, Tapus world comes crashing down when he hears that Sonu has been officially engaged to Abhinav, the guy who came to see her for marriage. Yep, you heard that right! Goli, Gogi, and Pinku break the news to Tapu, leaving him completely shaken. And as if this wasnt dramatic enough, Sonu secretly signals to Tapu that she doesnt want this wedding. Now, thats all the motivation Tapu needs to go full Bollywood hero mode! As Sonu prepares to leave Gokuldham with Abhinav, Tapu pulls off a classic dramatic moverushing toward the car in a desperate attempt to stop her! Will he succeed, or is Sonus fate already sealed? One thing is clear: Tapu Sena isnt backing down without a fight. Fans react, from Popatlals marriage to this?! While the on-screen drama is reaching new heights, fans have some very strong opinions. Some have pointed out that the show has taken an unexpected turn, moving away from its original comedy essence. One viewer humorously commented that the makers failed to get Popatlal married for years but are now rushing to set up Tapu and Sonu! Another fan joked that the show, once an escape from saas-bahu drama, is now heading in the same direction. Its high time for TMKOC to stop! A section of the audience also believes that the show has lost its charm, with one person sarcastically suggesting that people should switch to Anupamaa instead. Who is watching TMKOC these days? Its high time they stop airing it cause at this point the show has lost its legacy and now only embarrassing the cast, a user said. However, despite the criticism, TMKOC continues to keep its audience hooked with its never-ending twists. Some popatlal fudging moron working in FIA got drunk and cancelled the fastest lap bonus point pic.twitter.com/imRK1PfUT7 piyu patel (@DhamiPiyu) February 17, 2025 Well, if you do want to catch up with the daily drama happening on Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, then make sure you tune every day at 8:30 PM. But wait, tell usare you Team Tapu-Sonu or Team Lets wrap this up already?! Everything about Kannada actress Ranya Rao: Talented Kannada actress Ranya Rao is renowned for her outstanding performances and gorgeous on-screen persona. She gained fame for her acting abilities when she made her Sandalwood debut with Sudeep in Maanikya (2014). Born and raised in Karnataka, Ranya eventually pursued a career in Telugu and Tamil film. She has made a name for herself in the South Indian film business because of her alluring looks and expanding fan base. Fans frequently ask about Ranya Rao's family history, job accomplishments, and more. Here is everything you need to know about this up-and-coming Kannada sensation, from her early years to her cinematic career. Watch this space for updates on her most recent endeavors, income, and personal life. Who is Ranya Rao? Credit: Facebook Indian model and actress Ranya Rao frequently appears in South Indian motion pictures. The Kannada movie Maanikya (2014) marked her debut. Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer K. Ramachandra Rao has a stepdaughter named Ranya Rao. At the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, he is currently the Director-General of Police. With prominent roles in films like Pataki, Maanikya, and Wagah, Ranya Rao, from Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, has established herself in the film business. Ranya Rao's education qualification Ranya Rao earned her engineering degree at Bangalore's Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering. Later, she followed her love of performing by enrolling at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Performing Institute. Ranya Rao's family Chikmagalur, Karnataka, is where Ranya Rao is originally from. She grew up in a loving household that supported her in following her aspirations. Not many people are aware of her parents' and siblings' backgrounds, as per the reports by Filmy Beats. Ranya Rao's career Credit: Facebook Ranya Rao's roles in movies such as "Maanikya," "Wagah," and "Pataki" have garnered positive reviews from both reviewers and viewers. She is still a well-known personality in the South Indian cinema business. Actor and filmmaker Sudeep initially signed Rao in April 2014 for his Kannada film Maanikya. She played Sudeep's love interest and a member of a wealthy Indian family in the supporting role of Manasa. Critics gave her performance varying ratings. "Both Ranya and Varalaxmi play their parts well but fail to impress," commented A. Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express. Rao signed on to her second and first Tamil films in June 2015, including Wagah, where she plays the lead alongside Vikram Prabhu. She portrayed journalist Sangeetha, the romantic interest of a police officer (Ganesh), in her debut Kannada comedy Pataki in 2017. Kannada actress Ranya Rao found carrying 14.8 kg gold at Bengaluru Airport Credit: Facebook On Monday evening, Kannada actress Ranya Rao was taken into custody at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when it was discovered that she had 14.8 kg of gold. Police are investigating whether she was part of a bigger smuggling network between Dubai and India or acting alone. The actress reportedly caught the attention of the authorities after making four trips to Dubai in 15 days. When she returned on Monday, the frequency sparked curiosity and led to a focused operation. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. The parties that tabled a motion of censure against the government "are not seeking answers," Minister of State Makis Voridis said on Wednesday in Parliament, accusing them of "political exploitation." Voridis, the first minister to take the floor in the three-day debate that opened in the evening, accused PASOK of an initiative "to overthrow the government ." He also questioned whether the plan of the four parties and independents signing the motion aimed at the government's collapse in order to hold snap elections, and then form a coalition government "Is this the plan you want us to tolerate, and is this what you propose to the Greek people? You will get the response of New Democracy's (ND) parliamentary group to this plan of the country's catastrophe on Friday, when you will see ND's absolute support in our government and our prime minister," the minister stressed. The state minister also refuted SYRIZA deputy Katerina Notopoulou's argument that one of the reasons for the Tempi tragedy was the privatization of the railways by the government. "If I am not mistaken, on September 14, 2017, TrainOSE was sold to Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane for 45 million euros. And they came to tell us we are at fault for the privatization! This is how serious their arguments are," Voridis underlined. "In reality, the parties that tabled the motion of censure are not seeking answers. They tabled the motion for political exploitation," Voridis underlined. iefimerida.gr The impact of US President Donald Trumps policy on Europe is different for each EU member state, Professor of Economics Konstantinos Hazakis, said in an interview with Naftemporiki TV. Asked Hazakis on Naftemporiki TV: The impact of Trumps tariffs on the European economy - The opposition united in fierce criticism against both Triantopoulos and the government. By an overwhelming majority, the Greek Parliament decided on Tuesday to establish a preliminary investigative committee to examine potential criminal liabilities of Deputy Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Triantopoulos, regarding the alleged tampering with the Tempi train disaster site A total of 297 MPs participated in the vote, with 277 in favor, 12 against, 4 abstentions, and 2 blank and 2 invalid votes. Triantopoulos, who was excluded from voting as the accused, addressed Parliament, asserting that all decisions concerning the site of the tragedy were made "exclusively by operational and administrative authorities before the government delegation arrived." The debate concluded with Minister Makis Voridis emphasizing that the investigation would be conducted "thoroughly and impartially," while also stressing the need to "shield the judiciary from those with preconceived conclusions seeking political exploitation of the case." The opposition united in fierce criticism against both Triantopoulos and the government, accusing them of a "double crime"the tragedy itself and an alleged cover-up. Although the debate initially focused on the formation of the inquiry committee, party leaders also directly referenced an upcoming motion of no confidence, which is set to be submitted on Wednesday. Sokratis Famellos, Alexis Haritsis, and Kyriakos Velopoulos openly called for elections, while PASOK echoed the demand through its initiative for the no-confidence motion. PASOK MP Milena Apostolaki argued that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is "both morally and politically delegitimized." The motion will be co-signed by PASOK, SYRIZA, Nea Aristera (New Left), and Plefsi Eleftherias (Course of Freedom), ensuring the required 50 signatures for submission. Following negotiations, it was agreed that the motion will not only address the Tempi tragedy but also include accusations regarding wiretapping scandals, soaring prices, and issues concerning the rule of law. Additionally, the scheduled parliamentary debate requested by the Communist Party (KKE) and SYRIZA will proceed as planned, with the no-confidence motion being formally submitted during the session. The government, for its part, has decided not to use the 48-hour window available to delay proceedings and will proceed immediately with the debate on the motion. #ENGLISH_EDITION #TEMPI #GREECE Some angry supporters of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan have stormed the National Assembly complex, protesting against ongoing dispute in the upper chamber. It was gathered that cans of tear gas were fired at them but the protesters were seen regrouping and barricaded by security agencies. The protesters accused Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of silencing and maligning women, as they called on President Bola Tinubu to wade in. Advertisement Some of them were spotted with different inscriptions on their placards, saying; Senator Akpabio Must Go, why some said; We stand with Senator Natasha. They said that allegation on sexual harassment is a human rights issues. The investigation scheduled for today comes after a Unanimous vote to probe Senator Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan follows her heated outburst in the chamber. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the development is coming after a Federal High Court in Abuja issued an interim order to stop the Senate committee from probing Senator Natasha. READ MORE: Alleged Sexual Harrasment: Treat My Wife With Respect Natashas Husband Warns Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja gave the order on Tuesday following an ex parte application filed by counsels to Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central. Recall that Natasha clashed with Senate President over seating arrangements on February 25, 2025. She was thereafter referred to the Senates disciplinary panel. Natasha subsequently filed a N100 billion defamation suit against Akpabio. Also last week Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of maligning and punishing her because she refused his sexual advances. Meanwhile, Akpoti-Uduaghan had been invited to appear before the Senate committee on ethics, code of conduct, and public petitions at 2:00 pm on Wednesday. Lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has submitted a petition against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Senator Natasha is accusing the former governor of Akwa Ibom State of sexual harassment, a development which is gaining attention across the nation. Speaking under Order 40 of the Senate Rules, on Wednesday, the Kogi State Senator stated that she had previously made the allegations against Akpabio during an interview on Arise TV and had now decided to present them officially before the Senate. Advertisement She said: This petition is in my name, against the President of Nigeria Senate, Senator Godswil Akpabio, for sexual harassment, abuse of office, and malicious obstruction of my legislation. READ MORE: Alleged Sexual Harrasment: Treat My Wife With Respect Natashas Husband Warns You may recall sir, on Friday, on Arise TV, i did made some statements, and I have decided to narrow this statement in a former petition against the Senate President. So if it may please you, I will humbly step forward and lay this petition. Following her remarks, Akpabio directed her to proceed with the submission, which she did. See full video here: https://www.facebook.com/AfricaIndependentTelevision/videos/655051343564023/?app=fbl Christian Association of Nigeria has warned that calling for the resignation of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, following allegations of sexual harassment against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is too early. CAN stressed the need for elders and respected figures in the country to mediate in the dispute and uphold the integrity of the National Assembly. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the development is coming, following days of controversy between the former governor of Akwa Ibom State and the female lawmaker representing Kogi Central. Advertisement Senator Natasha accused Mr. Akpabio for punishing her during a plenary session in February, 2025 over her refusal to grant the Senate President sexual advances. Denying the allegation, Akpabios Wife on Friday, noted that her husband is a man of integrity who will never engage in such act. Reacting to the development in a statement on Tuesday, Chairman of CAN in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Rev. Joseph Hayab, described the situation as shameful and unfortunate. READ MORE: Help Your Sanity, Let Your Husband Clear His Name Senator Natasha Warns Akpabios Wife Rev. Joseph emphasised on the importance of a peaceful resolution. He said: There is a need for elders to intervene. Akpabio and Natasha have people they respect and hold in high regard. The National Assembly must take responsibility for addressing the matter. Any group calling for Akpabio to resign should desist because no one has been proven guilty in this matter yet. Taking sides will only escalate the issue. No one should trivialize an allegation of sexual harassment, but Nigeria has moved past an era where people play the victim card. The focus should be on resolving the matter responsibly rather than apportioning blame. The Enugu State Police Command has taken seven suspects into custody over allegations of conspiracy and armed robbery. In a statement on Tuesday, the Commands spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed that detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department arrested the suspects. According to Ndukwe, the suspects were allegedly involved in the robbery of inhabitants of Ibagwa-Nike in Enugu between February 3 and 6, 2025. Advertisement He mentioned that the arrests resulted in the recovery of firearms, ammunition, machetes, and stolen items such as SIM cards, identity cards, clothes, and supplements. READ MORE: FCT Police Rescue Kidnapped Officer On Abuja-Kaduna Road He further stated that the suspects, aged between 20 and 32, admitted to the crime and will be charged in court once the investigations are completed. The suspects were arrested following credible intelligence and in response to a report received at the Unity Police Division. The report alleged that unknown armed robbers invaded and robbed some residents of Ibagwa-Nike, Enugu, of their valuables on the 3rd and 6th of February 2025, respectively. Upon the transfer of the case, the Departments detectives attached to the Anti-Robbery (D9) Section immediately launched an intelligence-guided investigation, leading to the arrest of the seven male suspects. They include one Chetachukwu Okolo (aged 32), Ogwuche Chukwuemeka alias Shenkes (aged 22), Ifeanyi Okoye (aged 29), Sopuruchukwu Odenigbo alias Jadon (aged 28), Onyebuchi Ukwu (aged 20), Chukwuebuka Chukwu alias Kobo (aged 25), and Mmaduabuchi Ukeh (aged 25) for their involvement in the crime. SIM cards, Identity cards, clothes, supplement drugs and other robbed items, which the owners have identified, were recovered from the suspects. Also recovered are one pump-action gun, two locally made pistols, two live cartridges, and two machetes. The Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, urged residents to stay law-abiding, alert, and cooperate with the police in efforts to curb crime in Enugu State. A self acclaimed monarch, Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Frederick Nwajagu, has appealed the judgment of Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square. Recall that Mr. Frederick was convicted for unlawfully parading himself as a titled chief in the state. In his Notice of Appeal, filed by his lawyer, Chief Emefo Etudo, Nwajagu on Tuesday, challenged the constitutionality of Section 26-36 of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law (1981), arguing that these provisions violate Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Advertisement He urged the appellate court to overturn the lower courts ruling regarding his conviction and grant him a full acquittal and discharge. The 67 years old was arrested in April 2023, following a viral video where he allegedly threatened to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra to Lagos to protect the properties of Igbo residents. At his trial, Justice Yetunde Adesanya acquitted and discharged Nwajagu of terrorism charges, ruling that the Lagos State Government failed to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the court found him guilty of unlawfully parading himself as a titled chief in Lagos, an offence under the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State and sentenced him to one year in prison without an option of a fine. READ MORE: Lagos Govt Arraigns Eze Ndigbo For Alleged Attempted Terrorism Since Nwajagu had already spent more than a year in custody during the trial, the court ruled that he had effectively served his sentence and was free to go. In the notice of appeal filed by his lawyer to challenge his sentence, Nwajagu submitted that the judgment was delivered despite that the activities of the defendant and his Igbo-speaking community in Ajao Estate were constitutional. He further argued that any restriction imposed by the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law (1981) on these constitutional rights is null and void. The appellant contended that his trial and conviction based on such unconstitutional curtailment of his rights were themselves unlawful. Nwajagu asked the court to rule that the learned trial judge erred in convicting him for violating Section 34 of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law (1981)a conviction he argues contradicts Section 166 of the Administration of Criminal Justice (Repeal and Re-enactment) Law of Lagos State 2015. He argued that the defendant and his Igbo-speaking community did not issue any statement, decree, edict, law, or act publicly proclaiming the creation of a kingship or chieftaincy. Nwajagu said: The defendant did not present himself to the general public as a traditional ruler or create public awareness of such a title. His cultural activities within his private residence cannot, by themselves, establish a kingship or chieftaincy. Meanwhile, no date has been set for the appeal hearing. Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have arrested a personnel of the Nigerian Immigration Service with different firearms, attempting to sell them to terrorists. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the suspect, whose name was not disclosed to public was arrested following an intelligence-led operation by security agents. Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, Officer in Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Mustafa Mohammed, said that the operation prevented the arms from reaching criminal elements who he said could have made them deadly. Advertisement Mustafa noted that dangerous items recovered from the dismissed officer, included rifles and pistols. He said: Acting on intelligence, the command intercepted these guns from a dismissed immigration officer attempting to sell them to bandits terrorising the Abuja-Kaduna forest. The intelligence was received in time, and the arms were intercepted while he was trying to make the delivery. This is the latest model, the 2022 version of the Scorpion series. It can be used in single, automatic, or burst mode. It is a highly sophisticated weapon, and its magazine can hold between 20 to 30 rounds, depending on the configuration. We also recovered 52 rounds of ammunition which could have posed a severe threat had they fallen into the hands of criminals. 2023 Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has stated that he does not need President Bola Tinubus approval to become governor. Mr Adediran dismissed claims that Tinubus influence will determine his political success in Lagos. Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Jandor stressed that leadership in Lagos should be determined by the will of the people rather than the influence of any political figure. Advertisement He said,, We were waiting to see if the party at the national level governed by the constitution of the party would look into the provisions of that constitution and say that for engaging in anti-party activities openly, this is the sanction. We waited patiently for two years and see whether that would happen, instead of that, the same person was appointed Vice Chairman, Disciplinary Committee by the national, he said. Jandor, however, said he would consider joining any of the available parties to realise his 2027 governorship dream. APC is one of the 17 (parties) that is left. A coalition is coming in Nigeria. Other political parties are there. Labour Party is also an option, it is part of the 17. We have chosen this path; we are not deviating. It is only God that can determine who and when. This is the path that we have chosen. Ukraines military commander in charge of unmanned systems forces, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, has issued a warning that NATO armed forces are unprepared for a modern drone war. This warning comes three years into the conflict with Russia, where both sides are pushing for a technological edge. Colonel Sukharevskyi emphasized that Ukraine is working to stay ahead by leveraging artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones, and testing lasers to take down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. Advertisement Notably, Ukraine has reported significant success with drones, claiming that over 60% of targets are destroyed using this technology. The country has also produced a substantial number of drones, including 2.2 million small FPV drones and 100,000 larger long-range drones in 2024 alone. Colonel Sukharevskyi, who gave the warning on Wednesday, said Kyiv was striving to stay ahead of the enemy by employing artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones, and testing lasers to bring down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. While speaking in a newly outfitted office for the recently founded Unmanned Systems Forces, Sukharevskyi outlined the significant advancements in drone warfare since the start of the invasion in 2022 and how it has upended established doctrines of war. From what I see and hear, not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones, NATO should recognize the economic advantage of drones, which often cost far less to build than the conventional weaponry required to counter them. The Nigerian Navy has uncovered and dismantled three illegal refining sites at Obodo in Omadino, a riverine community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State. Personnel from the Forward Operating Base in Escravos carried out the operation Tuesday . After the operation, the Commanding Officer of FOB Escravos, Captain Ikenna Okoloagu, told journalists that the sites contained approximately 3,700 litres of stolen crude oil and 2,600 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil. Advertisement READ MORE: Imo Police Arrest Four Suspected Kidnappers, Recover Weapons He explained that the products were stored in five refining ovens, 12 dugout pits, and 33 polythene sacks. The successful operation, which was in support of the ongoing Operation Delta Sanity II, was based on credible intelligence, Okoloagu stated. He highlighted the Navys dedication to combating illegal refining activities in accordance with the Strategic Directives of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla. This operation highlights the determination of the Forward Operating Base Escravos to root out all forms of illegalities within the maritime environment, he added. Okoloagu also issued a strong warning to those involved in crude oil theft and illegal refining, urging them to cease their activities. We will stop at nothing to deny them freedom of action and ensure that they are brought to justice, he said. The 2023 Lagos State Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has claimed that his party would have defeated Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu if not for the Peter Obi wave. Jandor stated that the influence of Peter Obi, the Labour Partys presidential candidate, significantly affected the election outcome in Lagos. He argued that many PDP supporters shifted their allegiance to the Labour Party, leading to a divided opposition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking in an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate shared his thoughts on the outcome of the last Lagos State election: The 2023 election came with is own dynamics, Advertisement It was a two horse race until the presidential election, if you remember Peter Obi came first in Lagos, Asiwaju came second and Atiku came third. As soon as that happened people diverted to the other party then we became a victim of the Peter Obis wave in Lagos President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Shamsedeen Ogunjimi as the new Accountant General of the Federation. In a statement by Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, said that Ogunjimis appointment, approved on Tuesday, takes effect from 7th March 2025, the same day the incumbent Oluwatoyin Madehin will retire. The statement reads: A selection committee later chose him through a competitive, rigorous, and merit-based process involving Directors of Accounts in the Federal Civil Service. Advertisement The committee conducted the process through three stages: a written assessment, an ICT proficiency test, and oral interviews. The selection process underscores President Tinubus commitment to promoting transparency, excellence, and competence in key public service positions. READ MORE:Tinubu Appoints Eight New Permanent Secretaries To Fill Existing Vacancies President Tinubu congratulates Ogunjimi on his appointment and urges him to discharge his duties in the service of Nigeria with integrity, professionalism, and dedication to Nigerias service. Ogunjimi graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. The 57 years old was first named as Madehins successor last December. Ogunjimi also obtained a Masters in Accounting and Finance from the University of Lagos. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. A Federal High Court in Abuja has intervened in the Senates investigation into Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central. Judge Obiora Egwuatu issued an order restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from conducting disciplinary proceedings against Akpoti-Uduaghan. This decision was made after her counsel filed an ex parte application. The Senates probe aimed to investigate allegations against Akpoti-Uduaghan, but the courts ruling has put the investigation on hold. Advertisement According to the enrolled court order on Wednesday, the court made a pronouncement on this saying, Upon reading the twenty-five (25) paragraphed Affidavit in support of the Motion Ex-parte and the Affidavit of Urgency, both deposed to by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Adult, Female, Christian, Nigerian citizen of Kogi Central Senatorial District, and the Written Address, all filed at the Registry of this Court. After hearing Sanusi Musa SAN, M. J. Numa SAN, Y. M. Zakari Esq., B. J. Tabai Esq., Tijanni Jimol Esq., and Miss M. C. Bekee Esq., Counsel for the Applicant, arguing the application and urging the Court to grant the reliefs sought. And the Court having delivered its Bench Ruling in open Court, its reasonings and conclusions are as contained in the body of the Bench Ruling. It is hereby ordered as follows: 1. An order of this Honourbale Court is made granting leave to the Plaintiff/Applicant to serve the 2nd 4th Defendants/Respondents with the Originating Summons and all other accompanying processes in this Suit by substituted means, to wit: by serving same through the 1st Defendant (Clerk of the National Assembly) or pasting same on the premises of the National Assembly and publishing same in two national dailies. 2. An Order of Interim Injuction of this Honourable Court is made restraining the 2nd Defendant/Defendants Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, headed by the 4th Defendant, from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff/Applicant for alleged misconduct, sequel to the events that occurred at the plenary of the 2nd Defendant on the 20th day of February 2025, pursuant to the referral by the 2nd Defendant on the 25th of February 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction. 3. An order of this Honourable Court is made directing the 1st 4th Defendants to show cause within 72 hours upon the service of this order on them, why an order of interlocutory injunction should not be granted against them, restraining them from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff for alleged misconduct without affording her privileges as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act. Nigerian afrobeat artist, Seun Kuti, has taken a stance in the ongoing sexual harassment controversy involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. It should be noted that Senator Akpoti alleged in a television interview that Senator Akpabio declined to consider her motion for the Ajaokuta Steel Complex because she rejected his sexual advances. Since making the allegations, the Kogi lawmaker has faced intense backlash, particularly from her female colleagues in the Senate. Advertisement READ MORE: My Instagram Name Elizabeth Joyce Was Inspired By My Past Involvement In Yahoo Portable In an Instagram Live session on Tuesday, Kuti expressed his support for Akpoti-Uduaghan. He criticised Nigerian celebrities and feminists for not backing the female lawmaker in her dispute with the Senate President, unlike their support for Annie Idibia during her divorce saga with 2Face. He said, About the sexual harassment case in the senate, I stand with the Senator [Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan] 100 per cent. Because she isnt even the first one to make such allegation [against the Senate President]. Its appalling that all these so-called women activists are all quiet. They have something to say about Burna Boys alleged reneged promise to Sophia Egbueje but shy away from important matters These kind of things cannot continue in this country. What that woman [Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan] is saying is very serious. And the celebrities will not come out to support her in this kind of matter, the way everybody had something to say to defend Annie against 2face. Many of these celebrities, especially Nollywood actors and actresses are benefiting from the government through fraudulent grants so they can never come out to speak on this kind of matter. I cant openly protest to demand justice for Natasha but I implore Nigerian women to support her. The Lagos State Police Commands Rapid Response Squad has arrested 27-year-old Yusuf Ojo, a suspected burglar, while he was heading to sell three stolen mobile phones taken from his benefactor. On Tuesday, a statement posted on X (previously Twitter) revealed this. The statement disclosed that Ojo was taken into custody around 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday in Oshodi, Lagos. Advertisement Preliminary investigations revealed that Ojo unlawfully entered the home of one Michael in Iyana Iyesi, Ogun State, around midnight while the household was asleep. READ MORE: Tragic Road Crash In Ogun Claims 16 Lives Findings also showed that earlier that day, the victim had provided Ojo with financial assistance. Ojo was on his way to Mushin to sell the stolen phones when the police apprehended him. The statement read: Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested a suspected burglar on his way to dispose of three mobile phones belonging to his benefactor. The suspect, Yusuf Ojo (27), was arrested at around 5:00 am in Oshodi last Wednesday by the police. Preliminary investigations revealed that Ojo burgled the home of one Michael at Iyana Iyesi, Ogun State, at around midnight while the victim and his family were asleep. It was further revealed that Ojo had earlier that same day received financial assistance from the victim. The suspect, after making away with three mobile phones, was heading to Mushin to sell them when he was arrested by the police. Ojo has been charged to court. The once- and future-Philly Pops has named its first music director. Christopher Dragon will take up the post July 1, by which time the No Name Pops will have taken the name of its predecessor group, the Philly Pops. Advertisement The 34-year-old Australia-born conductor said he had been following the saga of the old Philly Pops demise, calling it heartbreaking, and is already plotting out ideas for his first full season starting this fall. For me, its a very exciting new chapter, especially being able to shape the orchestra from where its coming from and building it basically from the ground up again. I know we can build it back up to what it was. Dragon, based in Denver, is currently resident conductor of the Colorado Symphony and music director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra (through this season) and Greensboro Symphony (starting this season). This is his first appointment with a pops orchestra, he said, though he has conducted pops along with a wide variety of other repertoire. Variety is what he intends to bring to Philadelphia. Broadway and Americana everything from the American Songbook to Copland to jazz wont be going away, he said. But I want to expand that to include a wider variety of music, so branching out to maybe hip-hop, to the R&B side, to incorporate more film, more video game music. Dragon is also talking about collaborating with bands which you might not necessarily think would go with a symphony orchestra. For example, in Colorado weve done collaborations with the Wu-Tang Clan and Cypress Hill, these groups which you would never think would ever be paired with a symphony orchestra, but actually work extremely well. He takes pops music, he says, just as seriously as I do any Mahler or Mozart symphony. To me, theyre equally as important. The No Name Pops did not conduct a formal search for its first music director, said executive director Matthew Koveal. Everybody who came through and conducted our orchestra was considered, he said, and the decision to engage Dragon was made by the board. I have seen firsthand how Chris captivates audiences, Koveal said. He is one of these characters who people show up just to see. His down-for-anything attitude is really going to bring this new age of pops music. Dragon began studying piano at the age of 4 or 5, and took up clarinet, he believes, around 9. He earned a bachelors of music degree from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, where he grew up. But when I would go to symphony concerts, I would always just be transfixed on the conductor. I dont know what it was about the conductor. Even playing in an orchestra, I would absorb absolutely everything that the conductor said. He pulled together his own orchestra of friends to gain experience and joined the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia, working with conductor Christopher Seaman. He studied with Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, and Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival. Privately, he worked with conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula and conductor Leonid Grin. In explaining the shift from clarinet to conducting, he said: I wanted more of an input in the overall music making, to really shape the overall sound of the orchestra rather than just my single line. It was during his studies with Grin at Grins home in Wyncote when Dragon had his first encounter with Philadelphia. I would fly all the way from Australia, said Dragon. I would basically have lessons for a week and half or two weeks, and then fly back. I came only maybe three or four times, but also I was very young [23] and didnt really get to explore. More recently, this past November, Dragon was in Philadelphia to conduct the No Name Pops in its California Dreamin program the only time he has led the group so far. Thats the first time I really got to experience Philadelphia, getting to the restaurants and being downtown. My wife and I love it. We love the people of Philadelphia. I feel like the mentality of the people in Philadelphia really fits with us, this kind of no-B.S. attitude. Its just straight to the point, the grittiness, the determination I love it. It was that grit in part that drew Dragon to the job. About the musicians: Theyre committed from the very start of rehearsal until the end. They were rehearsing hard, and thats how I like to work as a conductor. Im pretty intense on the podium. But hes also impressed with the determination of the organizations leaders. After the Philly Pops went into a tailspin with a shutdown announcement and lawsuits beginning in November 2022 and eventually suspended operations, it was the musicians who picked up the pieces, starting a new pops orchestra under different leadership and, most recently, being gifted the Philly Pops name by the family of the late, longtime music director Peter Nero. The musicians that formed this new orchestra and the staff that has come on I truly believe in them, said Dragon. That is why I signed on, its because I believe in what theyre doing, and I want to be part of that journey to help them succeed. From left: Melanye Finister, Morgan Charece Hall, Kristopher King Clark, and Candace Thomas in Peoples Lights production of Lorraine Hansberrys "A Raisin in the Sun." The show runs through March 30. Read more Legacy. That is the word that comes to mind after watching Peoples Lights production of Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun. As a part of the theaters 50th anniversary season, the questions of legacy swirl in the air before the show even begins. A translucent show curtain depicting an outline of Hansberrys portrait hangs to greet audiences before the lights are dimmed. Advertisement One can assume that Hansberry herself was contemplating the idea of legacy when she penned A Raisin in the Sun at 27 years old. The title is pulled from a line of Langston Hughes poem Harlem, and strung throughout the play are themes of ownership, legacy, questions of faith and the American dream, and the hopes that we pass down to the younger generation. Directed here by Steve H. Broadnax III, the Peoples Light production highlights the real impact multigenerational financial burdens can have on a family. After Walter Big Walter Younger dies in the 1950s, his family awaits the arrival of his $10,000 life insurance policy. His widow, Lena Mama Younger (Melanye Finister, who received her equity card while performing in a production of the play at Peoples Light three decades ago), seeks to balance the hopes and needs of her two children, the ambitious premed Beneatha (Morgan Charece Hall) and the hopeful entrepreneur Walter Lee (Eric B. Robinson, Jr.). Then theres Walters careful wife, Ruth (Candace Thomas), and precocious son, Travis (Kristopher King Clark and Prince Peay). When the Youngers decide to move out of their small, South Side Chicago apartment into a larger suburban home, they are informed by the HOA chairman, Karl Linder (Todd Lawson), that they will be the only Black family in the all-white Clybourne Park neighborhood, and as such, should consider selling. While the pacing at times can feel slow, there is much ground to cover for audiences to understand the true weight of every financial decision the Younger family makes. Broadnaxs production finds ways to introduce levity and joy into the space. Halls Beneatha, in particular, is vivacious and free-spirited, often turning props and costumes into dance partners as she saunters across the stage. She deftly translates the mannerisms of a modern-day 20-year-old into Beneathas 1950s self, easily making her our most accessible entry point into the play. If there was ever a doubt, Beneatha answers the question of what perspective Hansberry is writing from. Her charm is only magnified in scenes with her two love interests, George Murchison (Jalen Coleman) and Joseph Asagai (Nayib Felix). Asagai is a Nigerian immigrant whose character can so easily be reduced to a caricature but, in Felixs hands, feels grounded and real, proving himself to be more than a foil to Beneathas growth. While designer James F. Pyne Jr.s set doesnt quite convey the cramped nature of the Youngers apartment, it does echo the sense of impermanence the Youngers feel. The perhaps-too-large apartment set is adorned with wire-hung crown molding, paintings, and mounted lamps. Between the doors and the curtains, there are no walls. Instead, we look out to the rest of the South Side, interpreted here with brick wall panels adorned with yellow-lit windows, so closely packed that the caged-in feeling is self-evident. A Raisin in the Sun is undoubtedly one of the great American plays of the 20th century and here it is performed with careful respect for Hansberrys word. Almost 70 years after the plays debut, Hansberrys tale still speaks to the struggle of achieving the American dream, and who dares to dream of it. While a three-hour running time may appear daunting, the cast manages to hold our attention as the Youngers fate unravels. A Raisin in the Sun (Community/Arts) Undoubtedly one of the great American plays of the 20th century, Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun still manages to mirror the struggle to achieve the American dream and question who gets to dream it. Through March 30, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, peopleslight.org Theater reviews are produced independently by The Inquirer without editorial input by their sponsor, Visit Philadelphia. President Donald Trumps new tariffs on Canada and Mexico as well as additional levies on China have rattled financial markets and deepened geopolitical tensions with Americas biggest trading partners. Trumps 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect Tuesday, prompting vows of retaliation from those countries. The president also doubled the tariff he announced last month on Chinese products to 20%, which led Beijing to push back with its own levies on U.S. farm products. Advertisement The president has said tariffs could help nudge those countries to stem the flow of illegal immigration and fentanyl into the U.S., while also arguing that his trade measures will force U.S. businesses to manufacture their products at home. His administration has hinted Trump may dial back his trade measures as early as Wednesday, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick telling Fox Business on Tuesday that the president will probably announce compromise deals with Canada and Mexico. Trump made no such overtures during his address to Congress Tuesday night, however. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, Trump said in his speech. And its happening. And it will happen rather quickly. Therell be a little disturbance, but were OK with that. It wont be much. The tariffs are affecting businesses that have grown accustomed to the free flow of goods in North America. The Inquirer spoke with logistics industry executive David Greek, managing partner of Greek Real Estate Partners, on Tuesday afternoon to get a snapshot of how the trade war is playing out on the ground. My biggest concern here is how and when does this end? said Greek, the companys managing partner. I dont feel like theres been any clear signal from the White House as to what exactly they want to get out of these from the opposing trade partner. Greeks East Brunswick, N.J.-based company develops, owns, and operates warehouses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with 23 million square feet of commercial real estate under management equivalent to about half the size of Center City Philadelphias office market. Tenants range from Target and Amazon to boutique mom and pop service companies that might clean your gutters and everything in between, he said. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What impacts have you seen from the tariffs that took effect Tuesday and the earlier ones announced on China? First off, its really early to try and measure any effects of this, but we are seeing a little bit of impact already. One thing that Im paying very close attention to is the price of building, and we are somewhat concerned that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada in particular are going to create some negative volatility in the price of steel and lumber, as well as some of the smaller components of building, such as electrical components. A lot of this was kind of telegraphed to the market and anticipated for a long time. And Im a pretty solid free trader, so Im not in favor of tariffs in any form. But I would say, if you had to put a silver lining in all this, it is that theyre finally here, and we can stop speculating about what they might be. What Im hearing from a lot of tenants is simply this cost is just going to be passed along to the next guy in the chain, and that, ultimately, probably the consumer will bear the brunt of price increases here. But again, its early on. But there could be more tariffs to come on other trading partners like the European Union, right? Theres still a lot of fear out there that this is not it. And that some of this is just the opening salvo. But I do get a sense of relief from some of the industry, particularly some of our tenants that rely heavily on imports that at least they know for the next couple weeks, for the next couple months this is in place, and this is how its going to work. And they can plan around that, as opposed to just trying to anticipate something that they didnt know much about. What did you learn from Trumps first-term tariffs? Theres kind of a classical economics, economist way of looking at tariffs, that they have this kind of immediate impact on consumer pricing. And the reality of Trumps first term was that connection was not quite as strong as theory would suggest. And the pricing changes took longer to get integrated into the system than what most economists anticipated. So thats one of the reasons why Im talking with a lot of caution. The amount of time it takes the economy to price these things is significantly longer than what we had assumed it was. A lot of [Trumps first-term] tariffs were kept in place by the Biden administration. And in large part, the market has just adjusted and grown around that. The tariffs that were seeing in the second Trump presidency are a little bit different, a little bit more drastic, and from what Ive seen so far, much less targeted. They are much broader, and so they have the potential to have bigger impacts. The president has given multiple explanations for why the tariffs are needed, so its hard to know how the trading partners can address his concerns. The current administrations messaging has been a lot about reviving American manufacturing, reviving the domestic supply chain, and doing that by creating protectionist barriers. Particularly in a place like Philadelphia or New Jersey, we know that these kinds of big macroeconomic projects, when it dials down to the local level, things get very complicated. Things take a lot longer to build to get operational than what the larger public thinks. If the true goal of these tariffs is were going to keep them in place until were happy with the revival of American manufacturing, then I think this could go on indefinitely. That is something that Im trying to interpret from some of the statements the White House has made: What are they looking to get out of these? Is this going to result in a revised trade deal with Canada and Mexico, or is this really going to be built into long-term structural changes in how we trade with them? A recent Phillies-themed bar mitzvah, planned by Pine Hill Events, is shown here. Owner Jean Kintisch said her clients run the gamut of budgets and preferences, with some opting for lower-key affairs. Read more While bar and bat mitzvahs can be extravagant parties that cost $100,000 or more, they dont have to be. Regardless of a familys budget, they can host a meaningful celebration recognizing the accomplishment of their child, Philadelphia-area event planners and vendors said. Advertisement The party should reflect your child and your family and the achievement that just happened, whether its a private dinner in a restaurant or a backyard party or in a bowling alley. It doesnt matter, said Jean Kintisch, owner of Pine Hill Events in Wayne. Its worth celebrating. Its worth bringing people together. Just do the best you can with what you have, said Valerie Felgoise, owner of Lets Party With Valerie. There is nothing wrong with doing a smaller event without all the bells and whistles. READ MORE: Inside the world of high-end bar and bat mitzvahs costing some Philly-area families $100,000 Here are some of local vendors top tips for planning a bar or bat mitzvah without draining your savings account or racking up debt. Think of more intimate ways to celebrate Remember that the big, wedding-reception-esque dance party isnt required. A bnai mitzvah celebration is just as meaningful, said several planners, if its in a backyard with a tent and food trucks. I did one recently where the party was a very small dinner in a private room of an excellent restaurant in Center City, Kintisch said. Private dining plans at some of the citys fanciest restaurants can cost a few thousand dollars, a savings of tens of thousands of dollars compared to the average big reception. Inquire about your synagogue hall These spaces are usually more budget-friendly relative to other venues, several planners said. Keep in mind, however, that if you or your child will then want to transform the hall with tons of decor, essentially making it look like another type of venue, it may end up costing more than renting a modest venue in the first place, Felgoise said. Prioritize Talk with your child, and think about what areas of the party are most important to them and your guests. Splurge on those things and save on the rest. For lower-key bar and bat mitzvahs, Im seeing a lot more DIY, where the decor is not professionally created, Kintisch said. Its a project that the family takes on. Be honest with your vendors Share your budget with them and they may offer different packages. For example, Sharon Fullerton, owner of Mitzvahtography by Sharon Fullerton, said she offers a less expensive, digital-only package for clients who want to create their own albums after the event. Focus on the milestone and the child Keep perspective on the accomplishment and what your child actually enjoys. Let that guide what you spend money on. If they want a theme, the guests that are there that love this kid should be like, Oh yes, of course the theme is chocolate, Kintisch said. It should make perfect sense. And if they dont want a theme, dont force it, planners said. If they dont like loud music and dancing, opt for a different kind of party. MD Nurul Hasan illegally registered more than three dozen people who didn't live in Millbourne to vote for him in a write-in campaign to become the borough's mayor, prosecutors said. Read more A Millbourne official already charged in what federal prosecutors have described as a brazen but ultimately unsuccessful voter-fraud scheme now faces a parallel criminal prosecution by the Delaware County District Attorneys Office. MD Nurul Hasan, 47, was charged Wednesday with 16 counts of unlawful voting, voter fraud, and related crimes, one count for each absentee ballot that prosecutors say Hasan illegally cast in a failed write-in campaign to become Millbournes mayor in 2021. Advertisement The fraud notwithstanding, prosecutors say, Hasan, vice president of the borough council, lost the mayoral race to Mahabubul A. Tayub by 30 votes. His attorney, Michael Dugan, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement that detectives from his office partnered with FBI agents in an exhaustive investigation after Tayub raised concerns before the election that people who did not live in Millbourne had recently registered to vote there. The bedrock principle of democracy is free and fair elections, Stollsteimer said. Millbourne Borough Councilman MD Hasan violated that principle in 2021 by stuffing the ballot box with illegal votes in an effort to win higher office. Hasan, a Democrat who lost the mayoral primary election in May of that year, waged a write-in campaign in the general election and sought to gain an unfair advantage with the vote scheme, prosecutors said. He and two other Millbourne officials council member MD Munsur Ali and former council member Rafikul Islam recruited more than three dozen people who did not live in Millbourne to illegally register to vote in the November 2021 election, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. Ali and Islam, along with Hasan, were indicted by federal prosecutors last week in connection with the scheme and charged with conspiracy and fraudulent voter registration. They do not face charges from Stollsteimers office. The three men used drivers licenses, Social Security numbers, and other information from voters to alter their voter registrations online, according to the affidavit. Some voters told investigators they willingly provided the information, while others said their registrations were changed without their permission. Prosecutors wrote in court filings that Hasan knew this was illegal: He had filed a complaint before the May 2021 primary election after noticing that other voters on the rolls in Millbourne no longer lived in the borough. Hasan and his coconspirators attempted to hide their tracks by having the ballots sent to multiple addresses, the affidavit said. They filled out the ballots on behalf of the voters whose registrations were altered and forged their signatures, the affidavit said. County detectives spoke with Hasan in October 2021 after Tayub, his opponent in the general election, filed a complaint about the illegal voter registrations. At the time, the affidavit said, Hasan said he would no longer register nonresidents, but detectives later found he ignored their warning and continued to do so up until the general election. Dear Daphni, wherever you are, can you please turn off the alarm? Theres no reason for concern, a manager told us as strobe lights pulsed through the dining room accompanied by a piercing chirp whoop! whoop! The building manager has assured us its a false alarm. Advertisement The new buildings fire alarm had already gone off once since we were seated at this bustling three-month-old Mediterranean hot spot near Rittenhouse Square. It was not within the restaurants control, nor its fault. But I didnt relish the idea of getting up from the cushy green banquette where wed started to nibble the mezze platter that comes with every meal. I took a sip of an oversweetened daiquiri, swiped a warm pita through the dips standard hummus, crunchy cukes in yogurt, vivid pink beet puree and finally landed on something intriguing, a whipped feta enriched with pistachios and mint, when the strobes flashed again. Dear Daphni, new construction can be overrated. Of course, since youre the Greek goddess whose transformation into a laurel tree inspired the name of this stylish restaurant inside the Laurel, Phillys tallest luxury residential tower, Im sure you may have heard this from your pal Almyra, the Greek goddess of the sea breeze, for whom yet another kebab and mezze restaurant was named last year in a new hotel built on the other side of Rittenhouse Square. (Almyra is a gorgeous, Instagram-friendly space all dressed up in limestone, giant urns, and fake bougainvillea vines. The flashy ambience was no guarantee of a satisfying meal from the modern Greek kitchen, however.) The menu at Dear Daphni replicates the dip-and-skewer formula that should be familiar to anyone whos eaten at Almyra or Laser Wolf, the Israeli shipudiya in Kensington from CookNSolo that remains the local gold standard in the genre. Add in the multifloored neos-Mediterranean club ambience of Teddy Sourias recently opened Mona on Chestnut Street, where frequent birthday blasts of Roman candles and flaming saganaki pans blaze beneath live olive trees, and you have a crowded scene. The latest offering from the Schulson Collective, Dear Daphni does not bring much originality to the field. Not that this is inherently a problem: Founder Michael Schulsons forte has long been to combine tried-and-true concepts with polished, high-style spaces, often in undervalued, off-center locations transformed into see-and-be-seen hubs with a special fondness for Sansom Street, on which he owns six restaurants. The formula has produced a trio of basement hits (Harp & Crown, Giuseppe & Sons, Double Knot), a well-regarded steak house in Alpen Rose, and a haven for fresh pastas at Via Locusta in a once-fallow Locust Street space tucked down the block behind Parc. On that level, the group has harnessed its magic touch for popular appeal once again, drawing glam crowds to the southeast corner of 20th and Sansom Streets. The long, narrow ground floor space with a wall of windows and tall ceilings, not unlike Almyra, offers a roomy canvas (155 seats) for a dramatic setting. Thats something Phillys existing roster of smaller, older, more intimate spaces cant deliver. My guest, an architect, praised the layout of Dear Daphni as inviting, with an undeniable energy generated from a double-sided banquette that runs the length of the room, extending all the way to the rounded curves of a handsome bar in back. And the marble ellipse tables are a nice touch to accommodate a meal with lots of plates. Many of the other design details, he said, left something to be desired, including plush furniture better suited for a lounge than for eating; an odd chandelier of library green lampshades dangling over the banquette that were too small and underpowered; the chunky tile work; and a surging noise problem despite the gracious table spacing. He was especially put off by the main color choice peach, which he said was a noncommittal color that undermined the rooms character with a bland cruise ship vibe that lacked a sense of place. Dear Daphni, why does the staff consistently announce your menu as primarily Eastern Mediterranean when so much of it is influenced by North Africa, on the Mediterraneans western end? (Management, when asked, did not elaborate.) The menus most memorable flavors were almost all seasoned with earthy North African harissa, including a tuna tartare with seven spice aioli and zaatar crackers; a cuminy link of smoked lamb sausage; and a Tunisian lamb shank cooked to tenderness overnight in a 200-degree oven. Lamb, in general, is the most reliably satisfying protein here because it is inherently flavorful. The Turkish manti dumplings, also filled with lamb, were pinched into delicate squares drizzled with tomato sauce, yogurt, and mint. A nightly special rack of lamb, though a hefty $58, delivered six meaty, nicely seasoned chops cooked to a perfect medium rare. The Mediterranean genre has garnered such popularity, I suspect, because of its appearance of healthy simplicity, with a grill-centric ethos that puts the spotlight on quality ingredients served with minimalist style. To an operator, it might seem easier compared to sauce-dependent French or Italian cuisines. To do it well is much harder than it looks, however, since theres little cover for any flaws. Chef Mehmet Ergins knowing touch with salads, seafood, and deeply flavored grilled meats at Pera Turkish Cuisine in Northern Liberties is one of our best examples. Cypriot-born Konstantinos Pitsillides, the former Kanella owner currently working as a consulting chef at Armenian-themed Apricot Stone in Northern Liberties, is another expert. (Try his butterflied branzino glazed in the two-tone sauces of chermoula and harissa, or his lamb shank with bulgur wheat pilaf.) Dear Daphnis food is, by comparison, too often one-dimensional or inelegantly handled. All the kebabs are marinated in the same blend of turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, and mint, be it cubed filet mignon or chunks of noticeably overcooked swordfish (for $48). The grilled king prawns were one exceptional win, the head-on crustaceans wearing their spices like a sweet perfume. The whole branzino was a disappointment, not only because this average-sized 1-pounder for $62 was full of bones near its belly despite being butterflied. It was also oversalted and cooked to such a leathery toughness that it was hard to slice through without mangling the whole fish. (Such a problem might have ultimately been solved by retaining the spine, which keeps a fish juicy.) The fire alarm went off again, the buildings system still glitchy. But it was as if it was on cue to announce the kofta kebabs arrival from the underworld fires of Hades kitchen. The ground lamb was not only rubbery from being overworked, but scorched like a burnt marshmallow on one end. It was accompanied by a side of broccoli that was simultaneously roasted to bitter ash on its florets and raw at the core. There was also a split head of charred cabbage that appeared to our surprise, since wed ordered the smoked cauliflower. Braised to natural sweetness in brown butter with Aleppo pepper and garlic, it turned out to be one of the best things we ate. (Unfortunately, on a subsequent visit, when we finally tried the cauliflower, it was a bland, soggy letdown.) Our server could not have been warmer or more outgoing. But more than once, the food runners that followed delivered hot food without any silverware or plates until we brought it to their attention several minutes later. When the meal is done, there is little choice left at all. Everyone receives a complimentary dish of soft serve, most recently a chocolate-fig-nut combo that sounds more interesting than the muddle of indistinguishable brown flavors it turned out to be. Soft serve has evolved into a low-lift dessert solution for a number of restaurants. But it was also most notably popularized locally by the irresistible frozen brown butter whip encased in a tahini magic shell at Laser Wolf which, if you havent noticed by now, debuted several concept features replicated by this Sansom Street newcomer. Imitation, they say, is a form of flattery. The quality of the reproduction is another matter. So, Dear Daphni, the alarms were clearly not your fault. But your fate is very much in the hands of the restaurants staff. I hope that one day you can get the goddess treatment you deserve: a more dynamic culinary vision that allows you to become an original. Dear Daphni 125 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103, 215-352-4988, deardaphni.com Dinner Sunday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 11 p.m. Entrees and kebabs, $25-$78. Wheelchair accessible. The Chef Conference, directed by Mike Traud, draws chefs and other food experts from around the world to Philadelphia. Read more Culinary professionals and food journalists from around the world will gather in Philadelphia for the 2025 edition of the Chef Conference, the four-day whirlwind of panel discussions, dinners, and other related programming. This years dates are April 4 to 7. Its again under the direction of Mike Traud, the lawyer-turned-chef-turned-instructor who organized the first event in 2013 as hospitality-management program director at Drexel University. In 2023, Traud and Drexel parted ways; Drexel has planned its own Philly Chef Conference for Oct. 5 and 6. Advertisement Last year, Traud relaunched the conference with sponsorship from Visit Philadelphia and the reservation website Resy, and hosted a version in Los Angeles in September. Ticket prices vary per day, from $20 to $325 plus tax. Resy also will host ticketed events around Philadelphia, pairing chefs and restaurants such as Acamaya in New Orleans, Anime in San Diego, Budonoki in Los Angeles, Penny in New York, and Tam Tam in Miami with Philadelphia restaurants such as Irwins, Jaffa, Kalaya, Mish Mish, and Co-Op Restaurant & Bar at the Study in University City. The conferences, primarily geared toward food professionals, will be held at the Study. The off-site collaboration dinners are open to the public. This years big get is a small team from Noma Projects, the initiative from chef Rene Redzepis three-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen that produces and sells small-batch products created by its test kitchen and fermentation lab. Noma Projects and its products will pop up at meals at South Philly Barbacoa/Casa Mexico, Goldie, and Vetri Cucina. Philly is a perfect way for us to both participate in the talks, meet other cool industry folks who are attending the conference, but then also have a great way of doing something for the wider public as well, said Noma Projects chief operating officer Annika de Las Heras, based in Copenhagen. Noma staffers have attended previous conferences. De Las Heras will join a panel titled The ABCs of CEOs, and creative director Thomas Frebel will join a conversation about kitchen leadership with Philadelphia chefs Greg Vernick and Marc Vetri. Frebel and Kevin Jeung, Noma Projects production chef, will host a talk and tasting about Noma Projects products, which are umami-packed flavorings spun off tastes conceived at the restaurant. The top sellers are mushroom garum, a cooking sauce; corn yuzu hot sauce (you could put it on a taco, you could put it on a slice of pizza, de La Heras said); and dashi RDX, a savory syrup that you can drizzle over vegetables. What we think is so fun for us is to see what other people do with [our flavors] and have more people have the opportunity to taste them, de Las Heras said. Last year, Noma Projects launched at least 20 new products. Other panelists and moderators include Eric Adjepong (Sankofa Hospitality Group), Michael Solomonov (Zahav), Chutatip Nok Suntaranon (Kalaya), Katie Button (Curate), Tim Carman (Washington Post), Tom Colicchio (Crafted Hospitality, Top Chef), Jeff Gordinier (Esquire), Jenn Harris (Los Angeles Times), Hunter Lewis (Food & Wine), Roni Mazumdar (Unapologetic Foods), Enrique Olvera (Casamata), JP & Ellia Park (Atoboy), former Inquirer food editor Jamila Robinson (Bon Appetit), Helen Rosner (New Yorker), Ben Shewry (Attica), and Stephanie Wu (Eater). Even the fictional restaurant world will be covered. Courtney Storer (culinary producer on the TV series The Bear) will sit for a conversation with Philadelphia-based journalist Regan Stephens. Traud has changed the programming over the year to suit the times. The keynote panel, on April 7, is titled When Disaster Strikes. When this topic first came up, it was November and we were talking about the recovery in Asheville, N.C., Traud said. But now with the fires in L.A., were really incorporating both coasts. Andrew Zimmern will moderate, and the panel will include Jason Collis, chief relief officer World Central Kitchen. Traud said he was pleased with the conferences evolution. He created it as a way to engage and connect to create a community atmosphere in Philadelphia and allow our restaurant and chef community to engage with national and international leaders and really showcase the Philadelphia food scene. As the conference has evolved, were continuously bringing in new voices as a way to kind of expand Philadelphias presence outside our local community. Vaccines protect children from the measles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says in a Fox News op-ed responding to concern about the highly infectious disease whose recent resurgence is making nationwide headlines. But Kennedy has an obligation to forcefully and explicitly recommend vaccination, say experts at the University of Pennsylvanias Annenberg Public Policy Center, given that he spent years spreading misinformation about vaccines, including falsely claiming that an ingredient in vaccines causes autism. Advertisement He has an affirmative obligation to strongly recommend the vaccine and debunk misinformation about it if he wants people to be informed about their decision since he was in the process of misinforming them, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the Annenberg director and a national expert on science communication. Last week, the death of a school-aged child in West Texas was the nations first fatality from measles in a decade amid an ongoing outbreak in which 154 measles cases, most in unvaccinated people, were reported in the first few months of 2025. Meanwhile, suburban Philadelphias Montgomery County reported a single case over the weekend. The measles vaccine, whose first dose is recommended at 12 months of age, is highly effective against the virus. The vast majority of U.S. children are routinely vaccinated as part of school immunization requirements, but as vaccination rates have dipped in some communities, outbreaks have become more common. Kennedy should have directly advocated for unvaccinated people to get the measles vaccine, experts said, in the model of the more stringent calls for vaccination during measles outbreaks put out during President Donald Trumps first term. An HHS spokesperson did not return a request for comment Tuesday. If you read the op-ed closely, he never encouraged strongly for people to be vaccinated. He states the very positive aspects of vaccination, but the part thats missing is the other standard of public health messaging an urgent call for people who are not vaccinated to go get the measles vaccine, said Jessica McDonald, the science editor at FactCheck.org, an Annenberg program that tracks the factual accuracy of statements from U.S. politicians. Instead, Kennedy noted that nearly every child in the United States contracted measles before vaccines were introduced in the 1960s, and that about one in 1,200 children who contracted the disease died between 1953 and 1962. He called the decision to vaccinate a personal one. Educating the public on vaccines When a measles case is detected, local and state health officials have an opportunity to promote vaccination and combat misinformation in their own communities, Jamieson said. The people most likely to be influential about health decisions are people in our own community, who we trust, who have health expertise, she said. Its also crucial to ensure parents and kids have easy access to free vaccines, she said. The Montgomery County measles case, detected over the weekend, occurred in a child too young to be vaccinated. Richard Lorraine, the medical director of the countys health department, said vaccination rates are high in the county and that its likely the county will not see any additional cases. He has strongly recommended that residents ensure they are up-to-date on measles vaccines and to speak with their doctors about vaccinating their children earlier if planning travel abroad or to a location where measles is spreading, like Texas. Discussions about the choice to vaccinate should be made with accurate information and the advice of a doctor, not influenced by online misinformation, he said. Every practitioner I know would welcome the opportunity to discuss questions [about vaccination] with an individual or parent of a child, and thats exactly what they should do, Lorraine said. They should not get their information from random sites on the internet. Vitamin A and measles In his op-ed published Sunday, Kennedy also said that sanitation and nutrition improvements contributed to a decrease in measles deaths, and that good nutrition and vitamin-rich foods are a best defense against chronic and infectious disease. He noted that vitamin A can be used to treat measles. But neither should be used as alternatives to vaccination, FactCheck.orgs McDonald said. Without stressing that distinction, she said, Kennedys statements on vitamin A and good nutrition could be interpreted as a wink and nod to people looking for an excuse to avoid a measles vaccine. An American reading that might think you dont need to get vaccinated, because vitamin A works great, McDonald said. No one is arguing against nutrition. But to even suggest in an op-ed that good nutrition is the best defense that gives people an out. Lorraine, a primary care physician, often recommends vitamin supplements to improve a patients general health. But he said its also important for public health officials to be specific about how vitamins work. We certainly do use vitamin A in treating measles to lower the risk of bad outcomes, he said. But it does not extrapolate to being good in terms of prevention of measles. Temple University Health System, anchored by Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia, reported improved financial results in the six months ended Dec. 31. Read more Temple University Health System reported $13.4 million in operating income in the first six months of fiscal 2025, a sharp improvement over a $75.3 million loss in the same period a year earlier, the nonprofit owned by Temple University told municipal bond investors Tuesday. The results include Chestnut Hill Hospital, which Temple has owned in a joint venture with Redeemer Health and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine since the beginning of 2023. The loss at Chestnut Hill was $6 million, an $8 million improvement over the prior year, according to the Temple bondholder presentation. Advertisement Here are more details on Temples financial results: Revenue: Temple reported a 22% gain in total revenue, to $1.53 billion from $1.26 billion. A key factor was a big increase in revenue from Temples specialty pharmacy business. Temple has been expanding the operation to take advantage of a federal drug discount program meant to benefit safety-net hospitals. Revenue also included a $69.2 million increase in state funding. Expenses: The health systems chief financial officer, Jerry Oetzel, highlighted the fact that for the first time in a couple years salary costs are close to budgeted expectations, instead of exceeding them. Still, Temple spent 7.8% more on salaries than it did the year before, with half the increase from pay increases and other efforts to retain staff. The remainder was from paying more people to care for increases in the number of patients, Oetzel said. Notable: State inspectors are expected at Temple Womens Hospital in the Crescentville section of Philadelphia next week. I believe well have the ambulatory portions approved for operations in April, and the [obstetric] portion will start in May, Temple CEO Mike Young said. Temple paid $12 million for the former Cancer Treatment Centers of America location in 2021 after it closed that year. When that facility reopens, the current labor and delivery spaces at Temple University Hospital will be used for 20 additional beds for basic care almost immediately, Young said. Over a 12-month period, Temples main hospital will also see a net increase of 28 intensive care beds, he said. The hospital has 576 licensed beds. A pedestrian walks by The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C. In February, a federal judge ordered the Education Department to stop operating its SAVE repayment plan for federal student loans. The decision is now cascading to other loan repayment plans, putting their legality in jeopardy. Read more The federal government has temporarily halted applications and loan forgiveness for all income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for student loans. In February, a federal judge upheld a previous ruling that prevents the U.S. Department of Education from operating the student loan repayment program known as SAVE, as well as portions of other IDR plans. The ruling also questions the legality of additional repayment programs, such as Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and income-contingent repayment (ICR) plans. In response, the Education Department has halted applications for all IDR plans and will not process loan forgiveness for these plans during the injunction even for borrowers who have completed 20 to 25 years of payments. The department also removed online applications for loan consolidation, which many borrowers need to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Paper applications remain available for download. Advertisement However, borrowers enrolled in PSLF remain unaffected applications remain open, and forgiveness is still being granted. Income-based repayment (IBR) plans, which were created by Congress in 2009, also remain unaffected, including their loan forgiveness provisions. The federal court order only applies to repayment plans established by the Education Department, according to the agencys announcement. Difficult to Comprehend Critics say the changes have been poorly communicated. I believe this is intentionally very difficult to comprehend, said Kristin McGuire, executive director of social action nonprofit Young Invincibles. The issue here is that there was no public announcement besides the governments IDR website. This caught a lot of folks by surprise and I think without a thorough explanation it makes it really difficult for the average borrower. What are income-driven repayment plans? The Education Department operates several student loan repayment programs that aim to make payments more affordable based on household size and income. These plans also offer loan forgiveness for any remaining balance after 20 to 25 years of qualifying payments. However, not all IDR plans were created the same way. Some were enacted by Congress, while others were established by the Education Department under White House direction. The court injunction applies only to department-created plans, which are currently closed to new applicants and not processing loan forgiveness. Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE program are currently in forbearance, meaning no payments are required and no interest is accruing. However, time spent in forbearance does not count toward loan forgiveness. Heres a breakdown. Which repayment plans are affected? IDR plans impacted by the federal court order Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE): Formerly known as REPAYE, the SAVE program was introduced by the Biden administration to lower monthly payments sometimes to $0 and accelerate loan forgiveness for some borrowers. No new applications accepted No payments required No interest accrual Time toward loan forgiveness does not count Income-contingent repayment (ICR): Similar to the SAVE program, except ICR requires 20% of discretionary income for monthly payments, compared to SAVEs 10%. No new applications accepted Payments required Interest accrues Time toward loan forgiveness does not count Pay as you Earn (PAYE): Requires only 10% of discretionary income for monthly payments, but lacks SAVEs interest-freezing feature. No new applications accepted Payments required Interest accrues Time toward loan forgiveness does not count Repayment plans not impacted by the federal court order Income-based repayment (IBR): Created by Congress, IBR calculates monthly payments based on household size and income, capping payments at 10% to 15% of discretionary income. The plan also covers interest on subsidized loans for the first three years if the borrowers payment doesnt fully cover accrued interest. Accepting new applications Payments required Interest accrues Time toward loan forgiveness counts However, new borrowers seeking to apply for IBR face an obstacle: Applications for the plan must be submitted using the general income-driven repayment application, which also covers SAVE, PAYE, and ICR plans. Since the general IDR application portal on the Federal Student Aid website has been taken down, there is currently no way for new borrowers to apply for IBR. Borrowers already enrolled in an IDR plan can contact their loan servicer to switch to IBR. Keep in mind: It is unclear whether borrowers are facing delays or difficulties when changing repayment plans. What if Im enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan? The federal court order affects borrowers enrolled in the SAVE, PAYE, and ICR plans. SAVE program borrowers: Can remain in forbearance or contact their loan servicer to switch to IBR if they want payments to count toward loan forgiveness. PAYE and ICR borrowers: Should continue making monthly payments, as interest will accrue. However, payments made under these plans during the injunction will not count toward loan forgiveness. Switching to IBR: The Education Department advises that borrowers in PAYE or ICR who want their payments to count toward loan forgiveness should switch to IBR by contacting their loan servicer. When in doubt, borrowers should contact their federal loan servicer to discuss repayment options. How can student loan borrowers protect themselves? Student loan repayment changes are happening quickly and often with little notice, said McGuire, whose nonprofit advocates for education financing reform. She advises borrowers to document their payments and interactions with student loan institutions by saving bank statements, taking screenshots of payment receipts, and keeping records of loan servicer communications. If you are able, continue to make your payments and keep your own records, McGuire said. Weve seen information being removed from websites or issues where some folks were having trouble logging into their loan repayment portal. She also recommended logging into student loan accounts to verify that personal information is correct and checking for any updates on loans. Additionally, McGuire encouraged borrowers affected by the repayment freeze to contact their local, state, and national elected officials to voice concerns about how these changes impact daily life. Marc Lucca, president of Aqua Pennsylvania, in front of the new Granular Activated Carbon Pressure Vessels at the company's New Britain, Bucks County, plant, in 2023. The vessels remove a class of chemicals known as PFAS. Aqua Pennsylvania filed suit March 3, 2025, against Arkema Inc., saying the chemical manufacturer contaminated waterways with PFAS used to serve customers drinking water in Delaware and Chester Counties. Read more Aqua Pennsylvania has filed a federal suit against a King of Prussia-based chemical manufacturer, accusing the company of negligence for contaminating a creek used as part of a network of waterways that supply thousands of people in Delaware and Chester Counties with drinking water. The suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, says that the waterway, part of the Goose Creek watershed, showed significant contamination from a class of human-made compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) when tested downstream of Arkema Inc.s plant on Bolmar Street in West Chester. Advertisement PFAS are often referred to as forever chemicals because they dont break down easily in the environment and in humans. The suit notes studies showing that exposure to PFAS may result in developmental effects to fetuses during pregnancy or to breastfed infants and are associated with cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, and high cholesterol. Three types of PFAS compounds were found in the water. The testing revealed high levels of PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA, the suit stated, concluding, that testing likewise indicated that the Bolmar Street facility was a source of the PFAS flowing ultimately toward [Aquas] Water System located downstream from the testing site. Aqua says in the suit that it serves about 16,000 customers with drinking water from the watershed contaminated by PFAS. Aqua pulls from the watershed to supply customers in Delaware County and a small portion in Chester County. Communities served include Media, Rose Valley, Middletown, Upper Providence, Nether Providence, Chester Heights, Aston, Marple, and Ridley Townships. The lawsuit does not specify whether PFAS ever reached those customers, or, if so, at what concentrations. It says that PFAS got into its main system, which draws from rivers, creeks, and wells. Aqua sent a statement in response to a series of Inquirer questions, saying it continues to advocate for actions to hold polluters accountable and to ensure that the ultimate responsibility for the cleanup of these contaminants is attributed to the polluters to address the contamination of its public water supply systems by PFAS. The company said it had no further comment. Dave Schrader, a spokesperson for Arkema, said the company does not comment on active litigation. Exceeding allowable limits The contamination stems back years, according to the suit. Testing, treatment, and standards for PFAS are still relatively new, with major concerns emerging in the 2000s. In 2016, the EPA issued a health advisory that offered guidance on maximum allowable levels. Water companies began sample testing, expecting more rigid standards would soon be set. Pennsylvania set standards for PFAS in 2023. READ MORE: Pennsylvania DEP proposes strict limits for forever chemicals in drinking water Last year, the EPA announced maximum contaminant levels for PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA in drinking water. PFOA and PFOS limits were set at 4.0 parts per trillion. PFNA was set at 10.0 parts per trillion. The lawsuit is based on testing that Aqua started in 2019 at locations between Union Street in West Chester and its Goose Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tested additional nearby sites that same year. Aquas test showed 1,704 parts per trillion for PFNA at a location off Lacey Street in West Chester. And a location off Mosteller Park in West Chester returned 1,810 parts per trillion for PFNA in testing by the EPA. Although the tests were not samples of drinking water, the EPA noted that they represent source water for public water systems. Aqua tested surface water at its Chester Creek intake for the presence of multiple PFAS chemicals, including PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA, according to the suit. Testing has revealed PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA levels that exceed EPAs drinking water standards, the suit states. Aqua said it will cost it a significant amount of money to sample the water for the next 100 years, find other sources of water, and maintain treatment systems to remove PFAS contamination. Aqua is seeking an unspecified amount of money as compensation, as well as punitive damages. A pair of 21-foot-high steel tanks the company installed in 2023 to filter water for PFAS in Bucks County cost $1 million. READ MORE: What does it take to get forever chemicals out of drinking water? Big new systems that you might have to help pay for. Whats Arkema? Arkema is a French manufacturer of specialty materials. Its U.S. headquarters are in King of Prussia. The lawsuit contends the contamination comes from Arkemas facility on Bolmar Street in West Chester that has been used to make acrylates and other specialty chemicals used for surface coatings, adhesives, and sealants. The suit contends PFAS were used as an ingredient to aid in that production. The Bolmar Street facility had been used by a variety of companies over the years. One of those, Sartomer USA LLC, became a subsidiary of Arkema in 2011. The Arkema-Sartomer facility is adjacent to a waterway that feeds Goose Creek, which flows into Chester Creek. Aquas water system serving the affected areas in Delaware County pulls from two surface water intakes, one at Ridley Creek and one at Chester Creek. Aqua says in the suit that Arkema should have known that the improper use, transport, storage, handling, release, discharge, and/or disposal of PFAS compounds would get into the water. Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton (left) and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (right) stand as Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his third budget address to a joint session of the state House and Senate at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Read more Imagine losing sleep over growing educational inequality and weak pandemic recovery among Pennsylvanias schoolchildren. National testing data confirms these fears, as test scores havent recovered their pre-pandemic levels. If you controlled policymaking, how would you respond? Would you support doubling down on proven, effective education policies? Or champion limited, private interests? As a parent and education policy researcher, these issues keep me up at night. But unlike our current federal administration, I devote my research to advance rigorously evaluated school policies to address these concerns like robust funding for low-income students and to steer clear of those proven ineffective like voucher programs that funnel public tax dollars to private, unaccountable, and sometimes discriminatory school providers. Advertisement Unfortunately, some in our commonwealth disagree, instead supporting dubious programs and promoting weakened educational oversight at a time when evidence-based policymaking should be more important than ever before. Some even seek to curtail rigorous research itself. So how does existing research weigh Pennsylvanias two most critical education policy issues: school funding and school choice? The argument that more school funding improves student outcomes is settled science among researchers. First, to those who doubt school funding effectiveness, Ill be crystal clear: The argument that more school funding improves student outcomes is settled science among researchers. Invest an additional dollar in public education and average outcomes like student test scores, graduation rates, and long-term earnings improve, especially among low-income students. That doesnt mean every dollar is invested perfectly, so I encourage school leaders and legislators to strategize improving the efficiency of scarce resources. Agendas to reduce most education funding simply ignore scientific findings. Second, private school choice mechanisms like vouchers and tax-credit scholarships tend to harm student outcomes. Moreover, typically they exclude the neediest students by failing to meet most private school tuition thresholds and are not held to public school admissions and accountability regulations. Personally, I dont oppose private education, I simply oppose allocating scarce public resources to limited private interests. Following the states fair funding lawsuit, Pennsylvania must address its unconstitutional state funding formula by improving funding for low-income schools. This years state budget included over $1 billion in new education funding, while Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed further increases in his recent budget proposal. Backtracking on landmark funding increases to spend taxpayer dollars on ineffective and unaccountable private schools flies in the face of evidence-based policymaking. READ MORE: Can the big ambitions in Shapiros latest Pa. budget surmount opposition from GOP lawmakers? | Editorial Some states have tried these policies, providing ample forewarning. For example, last summer I returned to Philadelphia after five years researching education policy in St. Louis. You might wonder: How is Missouri relevant to Pennsylvania? As a cautionary tale, it turns out. While I lived there, Missouri had one of the nations lowest average teacher salaries, launched an unaccountable tax-credit school scholarship program (which frequently violated its own regulations), and provided the nations worst per-pupil state funding, leaving local school districts to compensate. The wealthiest districts thrive and the poorest struggle, resulting in enormous wealth gaps even among neighbors. Instead, sustained funding reforms in other states have improved both short- and long-term student outcomes, improved teacher working conditions, reduced teacher turnover, and shrunk gaps between poor and affluent schools. Years ago, I studied Pennsylvanias ineffective pingpong approach to school funding under the Rendell, Corbett, and Wolf administrations, when one governor would champion a policy, only for the next governor to rescind it and move back to square one. Today, the situation is more dire amid the Trump administrations plan to slash federal education funding. Federal funding typically makes up only about 10% of district budgets, but its almost exclusively allocated to low-income, special education, and English as a second language students. Therefore, federal funding cuts will disproportionately harm our most vulnerable students. Most of all, if theres anything this country should avoid right now, its unaccountable government spreading skepticism of rigorous science. Pennsylvanians should take heed, especially those invested in Philadelphias schools and those in the commonwealths most vulnerable school districts. J. Cameron Anglum is an assistant professor at the Lehigh University College of Education and a longtime Philadelphia resident. The views expressed belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views of Lehigh University more broadly. Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his budget address in February at the state Capitol. Read more HARRISBURG Gov. Josh Shapiro made a pitch to federal workers fired by President Donald Trumps administration: Pennsylvania wants to hire you for one of its current job openings. The Democratic governor on Wednesday signed an executive order directing state agencies to give hiring preference to federal employees. He likened it to the preference they give to applicants with state experience in an effort to fill 5,600 current state job openings. Advertisement The announcement comes as Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency continue to make slashes to government spending, including mass layoffs of probationary federal workers nationwide and in the Philadelphia area. What Im announcing today is not some act of charity for them. This is an act of self-interest for the people of Pennsylvania, Shapiro said at a news conference outside a state government job fair in Harrisburg. Because I believe the commonwealth can benefit from the experience and expertise of these federal workers who have been forced out of their jobs. Approximately 103,700 Pennsylvanians were employed by the federal government in 2024, and, due to recent events, many experienced and talented public servants may be unemployed or seeking new employment, according to the executive order Shapiro signed Wednesday. During his speech announcing the order, Shapiro highlighted the opportunity for fired government employees to transfer their existing skills to a state government job, and said the state would publicize a list of current federal jobs with their state-level equivalents. The governor encouraged federal employees to stay in public service as DOGE tries to usher workers into the private sector. If you were a registered nurse at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, you should know that your critical skills are needed here in the commonwealth, Shapiro said, noting these professionals from the VA, Pennsylvanias largest federal employer, and other federal agencies would be prequalified for these jobs for a less time-consuming hiring process. It is unclear how many of Pennsylvanias 5,600 job openings align with the experience of laid-off federal workers. Current state job openings include those for registered nurses, information technology executives, and clerical assistants, among others. Philip Glover, the national vice president for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) District 3 who oversees Pennsylvania and Delawares federal workers, said he thinks the order will make a lot of difference for fired federal employees in the state. Approximately 500 federal workers in his union who work in Pennsylvania have filed for unemployment so far, he added, and they can now compare their former job title to that of state-level careers. [Shapiros] being proactive is fantastic for our members, Glover added. Several Democratic state lawmakers from south-central Pennsylvania joined Shapiro for the executive order signing, adding that they would be introducing legislation to modify the states civil service hiring law, which has not been significantly updated since its creation 84 years ago. However, State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) noted that taxpayers support cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in all levels of government and said the Trump administrations reduction of the federal workforce looks to provide long-term stability for our nation. He compared Trumps attempt to slash federal government with Shapiros $51.5 billion budget proposal that he said will not realistically fix the states $4.5 billion budget gap. Other nearby states have also taken action to assist laid-off federal workers in their states. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is highlighting its unemployment resources and career service offerings as federal employees in the state and nationwide continue to be affected by mass government layoffs. The NJDOL says there are approximately 50,000 federal employees in New Jersey, and an increasing number of them have applied for unemployment benefits. And in Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore has signaled he wants to do something similar to Shapiro in transitioning fired federal employees into the states workforce. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Nov. 21, 2024, in Philadelphia. Read more New Jersey Assembly Republicans introduced articles of impeachment last week against Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin with a laundry list of grievances as New Jerseys top legal official has been fighting President Donald Trumps administration in court. Platkin is working with a group of other Democratic attorneys general on several lawsuits against Trumps administration, battling orders ranging from ending birthright citizenship to cutting public health research. Advertisement The impeachment bill against Platkin, which Republicans shared, does not mention Trump. Instead, it attacks the Democratic attorney generals handling of police misconduct investigations, his subpoena of an antiabortion pregnancy center, and moves he has made that stirred the pot in his own party. The bill was introduced the day after Platkins case against Democratic power broker George Norcross was dismissed and about a year after he defied Gov. Phil Murphys views on the states ballot design. In a statement, Platkin said he will not respond to partisan political attacks. I am focused on the same priorities I have had since day one: driving gun violence down to historically low levels, holding social media corporations accountable for the harms theyre inflicting on our children, and protecting our residents including by standing up to threats from Washington and fighting corruption, no matter who it offends, he said in the statement. There are 52 Democrats and 28 Republicans in the state Assembly, so the bill is not likely to go through. It would need a majority of the Assembly, and then two-thirds of the Senate, which is also Democratic-controlled. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, a Democrat from Middlesex County, declined to comment on the bill. Platkin was appointed attorney general in 2022 at age 35. He previously worked as the policy director for Murphys 2017 gubernatorial campaign and then as his chief counsel. In 2020, Platkin worked as Democratic Sen. Cory Bookers special counsel for the first impeachment trial of Trump. The list of grievances in the impeachment bill against Platkin provide a look into how exactly the attorney general has ruffled feathers in Trenton and what impacts he has made on a state that is in the process of a political reckoning both in terms of respect for establishment tradition and its partisan makeup. New Jersey Rep. John DiMaio, the minority leader in the Assembly and one of the bills primary sponsors, accused Platkin of politicizing the office, a thread that ties together the bills accusations. DiMaio pointed out that one Democratic candidate for governor, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, said he would keep Platkin on if he is elected. Platkin has been rumored to have future political ambitions, but he did not launch a bid in the crowded governors race this year. This is something thats built up over a period of time, and people need to understand whats going on, DiMaio said of the impeachment bill. This will shine a light on it. Republicans unhappy with Platkins police oversight The impeachment bill sharply criticizes Platkins handling of police oversight. He seems to worry about the bad guys rather than the good guys, so to speak, said DiMaio, of Warren County. The bill accuses Platkin of unjustifiably discrediting the New Jersey State Police by accepting the results of an independent study that claims the state police target minorities in traffic stops. Republicans say there have already been significant reforms over the years. The bill also says that the processing of disciplinary and criminal allegations against state troopers is taking too long, and thus violating troopers due process, delaying possible promotions, and tainting their reputations. DiMaio said that state police have said they are hamstrung and that police officers are confused and sometimes afraid to even do their jobs. The bill also homes in on Platkins taking over the Paterson Police Department in 2023 after two police officers shot people in separate instances. In 2024 an appellate court ruled he did not have the authority to do so, and Platkin has since filed an appeal with the New Jersey Supreme Court. The bill also cites dismissed cases that stemmed from the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and accuses Platkin of using the office to generate headlines rather than pursue worthwhile investigations. Our attorney general is very busy inserting himself into federal politics to do anything here in New Jersey, Republican Rep. Erik Peterson of Hunterdon County, the deputy minority whip, said on the Assembly floor. He should resign. Hes a disgrace. Handling of abortion, pandemic, and sexual harassment The bill also accuses Platkin of targeting antiabortion pregnancy centers, referencing a subpoena the top cop pursued against First Choice Womens Resource Centers as part of a consumer fraud probe. Platkin has been outspoken about supporting abortion access. The bill also accuses Platkin of mishandling a sexual assault allegation against a member of Murphys campaign staff in 2018 while he was working as Murphys chief counsel. The subject loomed over Platkins nomination to his attorney general post in 2022. The impeachment document also says that Platkin has been condemned for his role helping to draft Murphys pandemic-related executive orders. Platkins moves against the county line and George Norcross While the bill can be largely read as a partisan attack, two pieces mentioned in the bill defy party lines when it comes to the political establishment in New Jersey. The bill says that Platkin failed to defend a state law and unilaterally decided its constitutionality when he decided not to defend the states county line ballot design, which a federal judge ordered redesigned for last years Democratic primary and lawmakers have since taken up redesigning. The bill cites Murphys reaction to his attorney general pushing against his legal position at the time, saying in a statement: It is well-established that Attorneys General have a general obligation to defend the constitutionality of statutes, regardless of their own personal view. Murphys office declined to comment on his quote being used in the impeachment bill. DiMaio said Platkin had no business commenting on that case. And in a shocking blow to the political establishment, Platkin pressed racketeering charges against Norcross, the Democratic power broker from South Jersey, and his allies. But a judge dismissed that case, and critics on both sides of the aisle called it politically motivated. The bill quotes Norcross lawyer saying that Platkins tenure will prove to be an epic failure, calling him a politician masquerading as a law enforcement officer. DiMaio said that he has not discussed the bills future with Democratic leadership and that its in their hands. Hopefully they would look at it and say, We really ought to look, he said. We needed to shine a light on this and let the public know that this is wrong and it shouldnt happen. No mention of Donald Trump The bill does not actually mention Trump or Platkins ongoing resistance against the president, which has heightened the attorney generals national profile. DiMaio criticized Platkins suits against Trump as premature because the impacts of his administration are not fully clear. He said Platkin is spending money and chasing things down just to make headlines instead of waiting to see the effects of Trump administration policies and being more deliberate. He also criticized Platkin for trying to impede the federal governments ability to cut back on waste and expenses. As for why its not mentioned in the bill, DiMaio said that Platkins resistance against Trump is becoming more apparent as time goes on and that if we keep waiting for more things to put in, wed never get it out. HARRISBURG Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized President Donald Trumps 25% tariffs on almost all imports from Mexico and Canada as picking a fight with our friends and warned that they will result in higher prices for Pennsylvania residents. Shapiro, a first-term Democrat leading the nations fifth most populous state, said Trumps decision to wage a trade war against the United States neighboring countries was a mistake. Instead, he said he believes the country should be strengthening its relationships with them, both of which are Pennsylvanias top export destinations. Advertisement It makes no sense, Shapiro said. I dont know why he did it. But were going to see a real effect of his policies, and the effect is going to be higher prices for Pennsylvanians. Since Trumps inauguration, Shapiro has infrequently but strategically criticized Trump and his administrations actions that are upending Washington, D.C., without criticizing the people who voted for him in a state where Trump won by more than 120,000 votes. Shapiro is among the many Democrats still trying to figure out their approach to Trumps second presidency as he manages his own upcoming 2026 reelection campaign and his image as a Democratic front-runner to run for president in 2028. But on Wednesday outside a job fair in Harrisburg, Shapiro was willing to criticize Trumps tariff announcement and his lengthy speech to a joint session of Congress. I think its important that a president address the nation, Shapiro said. But I also think its important that a president tell the truth, which we didnt hear a whole lot of truth-telling last night. Shapiro made the remarks following his signing of an executive order directing state agencies to give hiring preference to fired federal employees, likened to the preference already given to applicants with state experience, to fill the states 5,600 open jobs. Pennsylvania exported $14.5 billion worth of goods to Canada in 2024 or 27% of its total exports, making it the states largest export market. Mexico was the states second-largest trade partner, with the state exporting more than $5 billion in goods to it. Shapiro said he was particularly concerned about how the tariffs will affect Pennsylvania dairy farmers, who sell more dairy products to Mexico than any other country. He also noted potential increases to vehicle manufacturing costs and consumers hoping to buy them from tariffs on Canadas aluminum industry, although the Trump administration noted later Wednesday that it would exempt some of the tariffs for automakers for a month. Trump, in his speech to Congress Tuesday night, conceded there will be a little bit of an adjustment period for farmers at the start of the tariff implementation, set for April 2, and noted a similar period during his first term in a trade deal with China. I said, Just bear with me, Trump said of Americas farmers. And they did. They did. Probably have to bear with me again. And this will be even better. Its not the first strategic fight Shapiro has picked with the Republican president. The governor was outspoken in his criticism of a Trump administration directive to withhold a wide swath of federal grant funding and has mounted a lawsuit over $2 billion in federal funds that were frozen by Trump, mostly for environmental projects. A pedestrian holds on to his cap on a windy day last month during what has been quite gusty period. More gusts are expected Wednesday. Read more In what might be viewed as the advancing springs warning shot to the remnants of winter, strong thunderstorms are possible late Wednesday afternoon and evening in the Philly region, with an outside chance of an isolated tornado. The governments Storm Prediction Center has part of the region under a 40% risk of severe storms defined as those with winds approaching 60 mph in what has been quite a gusty period. Advertisement As for the tornado possibility, while the potential would be greater south of Philadelphia, it cant be completely ruled out anywhere, said Sarah Johnson, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. What time would the most severe weather occur in Philadelphia? Some rain is possible earlier in the afternoon with the approach of another cold front, but any stronger storms likely would arrive between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the city, said Dave Dombek senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. He said wind gusts to 50 mph are possible, downpours could cause some road ponding, and hail isnt out of the question. SEPTA advised it would put crews in place to clear tracks should any power lines or trees come down along Regional Rail or trolley lines. Regional Rail ridership is up about 15%, or about 10,000 commuters during this Flower Show week, said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. Some of them may not be well-acquainted with the disruptive potential and heavy rain and winds, he added. In terms of preparation, Were throwing as much as we can in terms of staffing, he said. He added that ironically, that may bode well for the weather: The stuff you prepare best for doesnt happen. Whats behind all the gusts in the Philly region in the last few months? This would be another in a sequence of fronts that form at the boundaries of warm and cold air and air of different pressure, or weight. The nine days in January and February that featured 40-mph or greater gusts were the most of any January-February combination of the last five years. That had do with frequent presence of high pressure, or heavier air, to the west, and lower pressures to the east, according to Jon Gottschalck, a chief forecaster at NOAAs Climate Prediction Center. Heavier air naturally moves toward lighter air. March began Saturday with yet another wind fest, with surprisingly strong gusts to 50 mph. Statistically, March is the windiest month of the year in Philadelphia as the ambitious spring advances against the waning winter. The upper air retains the chill it has often snowed with temperatures above freezing this time of year while the suns increasing power is heating the ground. That creates instability and storminess as warm air rises over colder air. From springs perspective, severe weather is kind of a warning shot to winter to go back where it came from, said Dombek. While you dont want to close the book on winter, he added, and late snows are known to happen, its days are numbered. The storm threat does have an upside for the Philly region No snow is anywhere in the outlooks, but the region should get a decent rain, perhaps as much as an inch, Dombek said. Precipitation the last 60 days has been about 50% of normal throughout the region, and drought advisories remain in effect, along with a noticeable puddle shortage. The climate centers March 12-18 outlook suggests a possible reversal of the trend, favoring above-normal precipitation. Chinese specialty products sold to markets far and wide People's Daily Online) 10:26, March 05, 2025 In the past, Chinese consumers turned to overseas shopping to buy goods from around the world. Nowadays, Chinese-made products are popular abroad, with many foreign consumers shopping from Chinese e-commerce platforms. On international social media, "how to buy from Chinese e-commerce platforms" has become a trending topic, reflecting surging global demand for Chinese products. A farmer in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, went viral for selling apples in English. Business owners in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, used DeepSeek to create high-quality product videos in 36 foreign languages, leading foreign customers to believe that they are multilingual. Many Chinese netizens wondered: "Are hometown specialties really reaching this far?" From everyday essentials like nail clippers, condiments, and garlic presses to big-ticket items like electric vehicles (EVs) and home appliances, cross-border e-commerce platforms offer something for everyone. The rise of shopping on Chinese e-commerce platforms highlights the growing competitiveness of Chinese products, backed by a strong manufacturing sector. In the past, "Made in China" was synonymous with cheap and low-end. Today, Chinese manufacturers have made great strides in quality, technological innovation, and design. Smart technologies have further boosted efficiency, cut costs, and strengthened China's competitive edge. Take EVs for example. Some companies once competed by slashing prices to gain market share. But now, thanks to innovation, EVs come equipped with GPS navigation, tire pressure monitoring, voice control, lithium batteries, advanced safety systems, and even smart anti-theft features with remote tracking and alerts. More Chinese companies are breaking free from price competition and moving upmarket. Their products are gaining a solid reputation and securing a firm foothold overseas. Around the world, "Chinese smart manufacturing" is reshaping perceptions and becoming a gold standard for global exports. Workers are busy inspecting and shipping refrigerators for cross-border e-commerce in the factory of a company in Lishui district, Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo/Zhu Hongsheng) Over the last five years, China's cross-border e-commerce trade has grown more than tenfold. In 2024, total cross-border e-commerce imports and exports hit 2.63 trillion yuan (about $361 billion), up 10.8 percent year on year. Recently, the General Administration of Customs of China and two other departments introduced new policies to streamline the supervision of cross-border e-commerce. This sheds light on how China's foreign trade continues to thrive despite external pressures. In Zhongshan, south China's Guangdong Province, a lighting manufacturer leveraged e-commerce trend analysis to boost sales nearly 300-fold in just six months. In Yiwu, a London-based businessman made his 10th trip to source products, saying, "I come to China every year to buy goods filling around 100 shipping containers." As China moves from "buying globally" to "selling globally," the path to mutual benefit and shared success continues to expand. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Weather Alert Take action to protect yourself and others extreme heat can affect everyones health. Determine if you or others around you are at greater risk of heat illness. Check on older adults, those living alone and other at-risk people in-person or on the phone multiple times a day. Watch for the early signs of heat exhaustion in yourself and others. Signs may include headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst, dark urine and intense fatigue. Stop your activity and drink water. Heat stroke is a medical emergency! Call 9-1-1 or your emergency health provider if you, or someone around you, is showing signs of heat stroke which can include red and hot skin, dizziness, nausea, confusion and change in consciousness. While you wait for medical attention, try to cool the person by moving them to a cool place, removing extra clothing, applying cold water or ice packs around the body. Drink water often and before you feel thirsty to replace fluids. Close blinds, or shades and open windows if outside is cooler than inside. Turn on air conditioning, use a fan, or move to a cooler area of your living space. If your living space is hot, move to a cool public space such as a cooling centre, community centre, library or shaded park. Follow the advice of your regions public health authority. Plan and schedule outdoor activities during the coolest parts of the day. Limit direct exposure to the sun and heat. Wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. Never leave people, especially children, or pets inside a parked vehicle. Check the vehicle before locking to make sure no one is left behind. Humidex values reaching 40 are expected. A heat event is expected this weekend. What: Daytime highs of 31 to 33 degrees Celsius and a humidex of 40. Overnight lows of 21 to 25 degrees Celsius, providing little relief from the heat. When: Today to Sunday, coming to an end Sunday night. Additional information: Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and result in the Air Quality Health Index approaching the high risk category. ### For more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/how-protect-yourself.html https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/who-is-at-risk.html Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ONstorm@ec.gc.ca or post reports on X using #ONStorm. The review follows an independent assessment led by Dr. Michael Schaper in 2023, which called for the committee to manage its assets, intellectual property, and finances. In response, the CAC comprising representatives from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) has collaborated with industry stakeholders to draft proposed changes for public comment. The proposal comes in response to the Insurance Council of Australias (ICA) recent push for an $30 billion government-funded Flood Defence Fund. While the ICAs plan seeks public investment to mitigate disaster risks, ACIL argues that insurers must also contribute financially. The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) has entered the next phase of its review of the Code of Practice, seeking feedback from industry stakeholders to ensure the code reflects evolving regulations and industry standards. Justin Mansfield was appointed vice president and casualty broker, specializing in construction, real estate, and hospitality risks, enhancing the firm's presence in New York. Mansfield joined Brown & Riding in April 2024. Shani Markus joined as senior vice president and casualty broker, bringing expertise in construction, products, and real estate sectors. Markus joined Brown & Riding in December 2022. Outside of its national casualty practice, the company also recently welcomed Hayley Cassis as vice president and casualty broker specializing in construction. Cassis, who previously worked at the firm, has extensive experience in the construction sector. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire San Francisco-based insurance brokerage firm Woodruff Sawyer for $1.2 billion, prevailing over competing interest from WTW and Brown & Brown. The acquisition expands Gallaghers presence in the property and casualty sector while strengthening its capabilities in management liability, construction, and real estate. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval. The Insurance Center has provided insurance services to individuals, families, and businesses in Rhode Island for more than 50 years. The agency offers personal, business, and life insurance products and has built longstanding relationships with clients across the state. A couple of years ago, the insurance industry came to the legislature and said without sweeping reforms companies could not compete in Florida, Perez said. We have since learned of reports in existence at that time but not disclosed to the legislature that may suggest some insurance companies were using accounting tricks to hide substantial profits while telling us they were in a crisis. Forcellini brings more than six years of reinsurance broking experience, having previously held roles at Aon. Between February 2022 and January 2025, he served as a reinsurance broker in London, following his prior role as an insurance broker focused on international property from September 2018 to March 2022. "Historically, Florida had storms, but there wasn't the same impact on population. Now, were seeing storms impact populations, partly because the density is growing. Regulators are also trying to take more and more of a stance on protecting the end consumer in the admitted markets. That's part of the cause of why were seeing more of these admitted risks move over, in my opinion, into the non-admitted market." Theres just so much to wrap your hands around, Peter Schifrin, president of SGD, told IB. The huge surge in claims and the ability to service all of those policyholders effectively... this is such a different event. Instead of being able to go out there and know that youre going to easily be able to adjust that claim and come up with a number and pay proper indemnity, with this huge surge and the huge delay in rebuilding - its very hard to predict what the costs are going to end up being. This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As property insurance costs continue to rise, homeowners and insurers alike are facing new challenges. While hurricanes and wildfires often dominate discussions around natural disasters, severe convective storms (SCS) remain an underappreciated but significant contributor to insured losses. The 2025 CoreLogic Severe Convective Storm Risk Report provides critical insights into the frequency, severity, geography and future risks of SCS across the U.S., helping insurers better prepare for the evolving threat landscape. Insights from the Impact of Severe Convective Storms in 2024 The report provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of severe convective storms in 2024. Unlike hurricanes or earthquakes, SCS events occur frequentlysometimes dailyacross various regions. These storms include damaging hail, straight-line winds and tornadoes, causing billions in insured losses each year. The cumulative effect of frequent, smaller-scale events makes SCS a major driver of claims. In 2024 alone, CoreLogic Weather Forensics estimated that hail with a diameter of two inches or greater fell on over 567,000 homes across the U.S., with a combined reconstruction cost value (RCV) of $160 billion. Texas had the most significant impact, with over 180,000 homes affected. Approximately 72% of the homes with damaging hail impact were in Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. The number of large hail days in 2024 was higher than the 20-year average, and there was a notable increase in outbreak-type severe weather daysintense but concentrated eventsrather than prolonged stretches of severe weather. For example, the most impactful single hail event of 2024 occurred on Sep. 24 in Oklahoma City, where damaging hail fell on 35,000 homes. These concentrated, high-severity events can lead to rapid claims surges, overwhelming processing systems and resources. The Severe Convective Storm Risk Landscape for 2025 The 2025 CoreLogic Severe Convective Storm Risk Report also offers a detailed look at the number of and total RCV of homes at risk to hailstorms, tornado winds and straight-line winds at the metro and state levels. At the state level, Texas leads all states in hail, tornado and straight-line wind risk concentration due to its size, geographic position relative to SCS activity and numerous large concentrations of homes. At the metropolitan level, Chicago, IL leads in hail, tornado and straight-line wind risk. CoreLogic estimated that: over 41 million homes are at moderate or greater risk to hail of one inch or more with an RCV of $13.4 trillion over 66 million homes are at moderate or greater risk to EF0 or stronger tornadoes with an RCV exceeding $21 trillion over 53 million homes are at moderate or greater risk to winds of 65 mph or more with an RCV of $18.6 trillion Future Climate Trends and the Need for Resilience The 2025 CoreLogic Severe Convective Storm Risk Report also provides an analysis of how changing weather patterns may intensify and shift the geography of severe convective storm risks across the U.S. CoreLogics Climate Risk Analytics (CRA) suite projects that in the next 5 to 25 years, regions of the U.S., particularly the Midwest and South, may face even greater threats from large hail, powerful winds and tornadoes. Increased atmospheric instability and moisture levels are driving more extreme weather, making proactive risk management strategies crucial. Know Your Risk. Accelerate Your Recovery. Severe convective storms bring significant and evolving challenges. Advances in weather verification and risk assessment technologies have been invaluable in refining underwriting practices, expediting claims management and identifying high-risk areas. However, the increasing intensity and shifting patterns of SCS activity, driven by climate change, emphasize the need for continued innovation and proactive resilience planning. By leveraging tools like CoreLogics risk scores and climate analytics, insurers can better anticipate and mitigate the impacts of severe weather, safeguarding properties and communities as the risk landscape evolves. Download the full 2025 CoreLogic SCS Risk Report to gain comprehensive insights into the latest trends in SCS and their impact on the evolving risk landscape. 2025 CoreLogic, Inc. All rights reserved. While all of the content and information is believed to be accurate, the content and information is provided as is with no guarantee, representation, or warranty, express or implied, of any kind including but not limited to as to the merchantability, non-infringement of intellectual property rights, completeness, accuracy, applicability, or fitness, in connection with the content or information or the products or any AI features or content thereof and assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the content or information or the products or any AI features or content thereof or any reliance thereon. CoreLogic and Know Your Risk. Accelerate Your Recovery. are the trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. or its affiliates or subsidiaries. Topics Trends Windstorm Millions of Australians are bracing for a direct hit from a tropical cyclone heading toward the nations third-biggest city, with the storm already forcing evacuations and closing ports and schools throughout Queensland. Tropical Cyclone Alfred, a category 2 cyclone, was 425 kilometers (264 miles) east of Brisbane at around 6 a.m. local time Wednesday, producing sustained winds of 95 kilometers an hour with gusts of up to 130 kilometers an hour, according to the national weather bureau. It is forecast to maintain its intensity and cross the coast early Friday, somewhere between tourism hubs the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, and most likely near Brisbane. Australias Insured Losses From Cyclone Alfred Could Top US$1.3 Billion: S&P Alfred is set to be the first tropical storm to affect flood-prone Brisbane since 2017, when the remnants of Cyclone Debbie brought heavy rain and strong winds to the area after wreaking havoc in north Queensland. The city has a population of more than 2.5 million and millions more live in the forecast track or could be impacted by flooding. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told reporters Wednesday a small number of people had already been evacuated from their homes. Were telling Queenslanders that this is a serious event and it will cross the coast, he said. Rain Dump Beyond any immediate damage from a direct cyclone hit, residents of the regions are bracing for the storm to dump massive amounts of rain that could flood homes and threaten lives. Southern Queensland and northern New South Wales could get rainfall totals of up to 400 millimeters (16 inches) over the next few days, with some places getting as much as 700 millimeters. The slow-moving storm also means its damaging winds and heavy rains will be sustained over a relatively long period of time. Insurers Suncorp Group Ltd. and Insurance Australia Group Ltd. will be hard hit by losses caused by Alfred, according to Matt Ingram, senior industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. In a Tuesday filing providing an update on the cyclone, Suncorp said it maintains a strong capital position. Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister said the government expected the insurance sector will act quickly to aid customers affected by storm damage and the subsequent flooding thats expected in some areas. There was still an element of the population that hasnt yet fully understood the magnitude of this system, McAllister told reporters late Tuesday. We are in for some difficult days. Ports Shut The Port of Brisbane suspended arrivals of large vessels on Sunday and expects to be closed on Thursday and Friday, and the city has suspended ferry services. Airports in the region were operating Tuesday, although airlines including Qantas Airways Ltd. and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. have offered rebooking options to passengers. The storm is also expected to impact regions of New South Wales, to the south of Queensland. More than 120 schools have already been closed in that state, and evacuation centers opened. Potentially damaging winds are already affecting the coast, with Byron Bay in New South Wales being hit by gusts of more than 100 kilometers an hour. Theres going to be damaging winds, there is going to be powerful surf, coastal erosion, and it will be followed by significant rain that can last a couple of days, New South Wales State Emergency Services deputy commissioner Deb Platts said in a television interview. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew into Brisbane on Tuesday evening. Theres been speculation the center-left leader would use this weekend to call an election for April 12, but such a scenario may be unlikely if the cyclone wreaks major damage. Were governing, Albanese told reporters when asked about the election speculation. I know theres others who are interested in election timing. What Im interested in is getting things done on behalf of the country. Rare Cyclone Modeling was showing almost 20,000 properties across Brisbane alone could be impacted by storm surges or flooding, the citys Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in a post on X. Scientific research indicates that as global temperatures climb, tropical cyclones will shift more toward the poles, posing extreme weather threats to places that were not designed to withstand such hazards. Southern Queensland and northern NSW are regions that face growing risk from tropical cyclones, according to Climate Risk Group. That will likely drive up insurance premiums for property owners, the firm said in a statement. We dont often have tropical cyclone watches and warnings in the New South Wales jurisdiction the most recent one was back in 1990 with an event called Tropical Cyclone Nancy, the Bureau of Meteorologys Steve Bernasconi said on Monday. And prior to that, it wasnt until 1974 with Tropical Cyclone Zoe. Photograph: A beach-closed sign beside Main Beach caused by Cyclone Alfred on March 04, 2025 in Byron Bay, Australia. Photo credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images AsiaPac Related: Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. Topics Australia Fifteen years ago on February 27, a devastating 8.8 magnitude quake struck southern Chile off the coast of Concepcion, shaking the ground for four minutes and unleashing a tsunami that left 550 dead. It was the deadliest natural disaster in the country since the 1960 9.5 magnitude quake, the strongest ever recorded in the world. Now scientists are expecting a big earthquake in the countrys mineral-rich north. Chile is the worlds largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer. The countrys largest copper mines are located in the north as well as all of its lithium production. Every 10 years theres a big event, said Felipe Leyton, a seismologist at the University of Chile, adding that there are areas of the country that build up a lot of geological stress through fault lines. This lets you see the potential for a big earthquake that lets us say in the short term, in seismic and geological terms, were expecting a big earthquake in the northern part of the country. Chile, a long and skinny country spanning 4,300 km (2,672 miles) in length with an average width of 180 km (112 miles), has the Andes mountain range running all along its western border. Chile is located on the seismically active Ring of Fire that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Its mountains and earthquakes are the product of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates crashing into each other all along the length of Chile. Dr. Ayaz Alam, a geologist and professor at the University of Santiago of Chile, says GPS technology lets scientists monitor plate movement for any variation and anticipate possible seismic events. We obviously cant say exactly when, but we can anticipate them, Alam said. Earthquakes are the result of built-up stress and that stress depends on the last time since the last seismic event. Alam noted there has not been a large release in the north of the country like there was in the southern part of the country in 2010. So what were expecting in the short term, is an earthquake in the north, we cant say when, but we can wait for it, Alam said. (Reporting by Rodrigo Gutierrez; writing by Alexander Villegas; editing by Sandra Maler) As the chief executive officer of Caelux, Scott Graybeal runs a technology startup in Baldwin Park, California, that makes high-efficiency glass for solar panels. For years, climate change had been a crucial part of Graybeals business conversations until Donald Trump was re-elected last November. We have very quickly shifted gears to the other type of conversations, Graybeal says. By that, he means to downplay his companys role in producing carbon-free electricity and instead, highlight its contributions outside sustainability, such as domestic job creation, onshore manufacturing and energy independence all of which resonate with the new administrations priorities. It is not being manipulative; it is the actual truth, says Graybeal of his new talking points. With any messaging, you have to tailor your message to the audience and to gain the most receptivity you can. In the first month of his second term, President Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement, froze funding for green projects, fired staff from agencies that do climate work and targeted agencies climate-related programs and language. Against that backdrop, Graybeal and other US executives are dropping the mention of climate change in meetings, even as they continue developing or deploying climate-friendly solutions. Meanwhile, companies in Europe are also trying to keep their climate actions away from public sight, in an attempt to avoid accusations that theyre overstating their environmental claims. All of this has accelerated a phenomenon known as greenhushing: the inverse of greenwashing, when companies exaggerate their green bona fides. In 2024, 63 out of the 100 largest publicly listed firms in Britain were under-promoting their work in environmental protection, according to an analysis by the Manchester, UK-based research firm Connected Impact, which examined the differences between what companies disclosed in public filings and what they presented in promotional materials. When it came to US companies, the researchers found the desire for staying unnoticed was even greater as many as 67 major public and private firms resorted to greenhushing. People were under-communicating and under-promoting what they were doing, said Lucy Walton, chief executive officer of Connected Impact. We will perhaps see a widening of that gap in the coming year. Jennifer Holmgren, chief executive officer of LanzaTech Global Inc., is also recalibrating her message under shifting political winds. Illinois-based LanzaTech specializes in capturing carbon dioxide from emitters and converting the gas into feedstock for chemical production. While her companys technology prevents planet-warming CO2 from entering the atmosphere, Holmgren says she will talk more about job creation and economic growth, rather than emissions reduction, over the next four years. I think we have to stop talking about, Everything we do is climate change, because its almost like theres a visceral reaction to those words, Holmgren says. This isnt a good time to put a red flag in front of the bull. This comes as some big corporations have already scaled back their climate commitments, due in large part to concerns over their financial performance and operational challenges. The US leadership change further propels that retreat. In January, the six largest banks in the US cut ties with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a United Nations-backed initiative that encourages financial institutions to zero out their greenhouse gas emissions. And for companies that havent changed course, fewer are willing to publicly display their interest in decarbonization. Matthew Blain is a principal of Voyager, a US venture firm that has bankrolled climate tech startups serving heavy-emitting industries. While many of those emitters continue to explore low-carbon technologies to prepare for what Blain describes as the economy of tomorrow, he says they have become increasingly nervous and hesitant to talk about the work theyre doing from a climate perspective. Along with the fear of political blowback, worries about reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny weigh on companies, especially outside the US. In Europe, where tackling climate change is still on governments agendas, researchers say companies are pulling away from publicizing their climate efforts due to the risk of being seen as greenwashers. Unilever Plc, the British consumer group, has fallen afoul of UK regulators over alleged greenwashing and has faced consumer backlash. Last year the company announced it was watering down some of its environmental promises. Executives were being cautious and possibly scared by greenwashing investigations, a Unilever shareholder told Bloomberg News at the time. Meanwhile, regulators across Europe have further stepped up a crackdown on greenwashing in the UK, it could result in a penalty of up to 10% of a companys global annual turnover. People are so frightened of doing the wrong thing, potentially accidentally greenwashing without intending to, says Walton. The divergent political climate on opposite sides of the Atlantic also makes promoting green credentials particularly fraught for large global corporations. However, silence risks damaging trust, she says, and could confuse consumers who have watched companies go from making frequent and enthusiastic pledges and disclosures to saying very little. Some industry observers say greenhushing is a positive tactic if it helps decarbonization continue in difficult circumstances. Companies are smart to play whichever cards are most likely to win at any given moment, says Edward Maibach, a professor specializing in climate change communication at George Mason University. The most important thing is that their products succeed in the marketplace so that we can bring the fossil fuel era to a rapid close. Maibach adds: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Photo: Recyclable plastic bottles of Hellmans Real Mayonnaise. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. The president and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association issued a statement calling the tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China a disruption as many homeowners attempt to rebuild after recent natural catastrophes. Tariffs can be effective tools of government if used with precision, said David A. Sampson in a March 4 statement. However, these new tariffs are so broad that they are likely to hurt families, individuals, and business owners they are meant to protect. Increased costs would affect the affordability of personal and business insurance nationwide during a time when the marketplace is already plagued by legal system abuse and regulatory uncertainty, he added in the March 4 statement. Sampson said the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and the 10% tariffs on China, will likely disrupt vital reconstruction material supply-chains at a critical moment of rebuilding from recent catastrophes, including Hurricane Helene and Milton and the unprecedented California wildfires. The impacted areas already face reconstruction challenges, and the added increased cost burdens will likely significantly affect the recovery efforts, Sampson continued. Related: Progressives Margins Leave Room for Tariff Impacts: CEO In addition, Sampson said the tariffs can be expected to increase the cost of auto parts, adding to repair costs a factor in rate making. APCIA has estimated that annual personal auto insurance claims costs alone could rise by anywhere between $7 billion and $24 billion, Sampson said. Related: Car Prices Expected to Surge on Trumps New Tariffs | North American Companies Brace for Fallout From Tariffs Sampson said: APCIA supports efforts to ensure our trade partners are living up to their commitments and that our global rivals are not dumping underpriced goods into our economy. APCIA also supports efforts to gain control of our borders, stop the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S., strengthen our national security by rebuilding American manufacturing, and provide more jobs for American workers. Texas reported 13 new cases of measles Tuesday even as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending a team of epidemiologists and doctors to help the state with the growing outbreak. The state has now reported a total of 159 cases since the outbreak began Jan. 23. That includes the earlier reported death of one child, the first US measles fatality in a decade. Texas officials said 22 people have been hospitalized. The CDCs team of seven is expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon to assist in investigating cases, tracking hospital exposures and giving health care providers guidance on prevention, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services said. Texas requested help from the federal government on Feb. 28. Katherine Wells, director of public health in Lubbock County, said she expects to get one CDC infectious disease physician as soon as Thursday to help track the outbreak and support public health communications, including answering calls from local businesses on exposure protocols. The CDCs team of seven is just the start, Wells said. She expects the agency will send more people once its clear whats needed. Meanwhile, New Mexicos Lea County, which is next to the Texas epicenter in Gaines County, reported that its measles cases remained at 9 on Tuesday. Measles is a highly contagious and deadly disease. Wells said the outbreak has yet to hit its peak with so many unknown cases. Its just one car ride or one airplane ride of one of these people going into another unvaccinated community, Wells said. This is going to take a long time to get this to where the outbreak is over. Wells said the county is receiving two extra nurses to help administer vaccines and has requested additional staff to conduct contact tracing. Theres a good supply of leftover protective equipment from the Covid-19 pandemic, she said. The real help she needs is more people on the ground. Lubbock has reported only three measles cases so far, but is home to the Covenant Childrens Hospital that is handling the care of younger measles patients across the area. The Epidemic Intelligence Service officers provide support for at least one to three weeks on the site of the outbreak, the CDC said in a post on X. The way to stop the outbreak is through vaccinations, which limits how many people are susceptible to infection, Wells said. Texas has set up mobile health clinics to administer the MMR vaccine in the area a shot that is 93% effective against the virus after one dose. More than 250 doses of the vaccine have been administered in mobile and public health clinics from the beginning of the outbreak in early February to the end of the month, the Texas Health spokesperson said. Gaines County, Texas, is home to a large Mennonite community that has applied for religious exemption from vaccines in schools. Nearly 20% of school-aged children in Gaines County had religious exemptions from vaccines last year, according to state data. The CDC has reported cases in nine states as of Feb. 28, including the New Mexico ones. The other cases in the US are related to exposure from international travel. In 2024, the US had 285 positive cases for the whole year, and almost half of the cases were hospitalized for complications. Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. Topics Texas The U.S. Supreme Court was hearing arguments on Wednesday on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the authority to license nuclear waste storage facilities amid objections brought by the states of Texas and New Mexico as well as the oil industry. The U.S. government and a company that was awarded a license by the NRC, the federal agency that regulates nuclear energy in the United States, to operate a facility in western Texas have appealed a lower courts ruling declaring this storage arrangement unlawful. The arguments were ongoing. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, showed skepticism toward the authority of federal regulatory agencies in several major rulings during former President Joe Bidens administration. The NRC case is being argued at a time when President Donald Trumps administration has taken aim at various federal agencies in his campaign to downsize and overhaul the U.S. government and fire thousands of workers. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners to build a nuclear waste storage facility in Andrews County in Texas, near the New Mexico border. The NRC has issued such licenses to private companies since 1980. A proposal to permanently store the nations spent nuclear fuel at a federal facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been stalled following decades of opposition in that state. Since 1980, the NRCs regulations have provided for both onsite and offsite storage. That system allows a substantial role for private market responses to the countrys nuclear waste storage issues subject to commission oversight to ensure that storage is safe and consistent with statutory requirements, Malcolm Stewart, an attorney for the U.S. government, told the justices. The Interim Storage Partners license was challenged by Fasken Land and Minerals, a Texas-based oil and gas extraction organization, and the nonprofit Permian Basin Coalition of Land and Royalty Owners and Operators. Texas and New Mexico later joined the challenge, arguing the facility posed environmental risks to the states. Stewart also said that the plaintiffs lacked authority to bring the lawsuit because they did not participate in the agencys adjudication process. In an adjudication you would need to intervene and the commissions rules set out the process for intervention, Stewart told conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. Isnt it a little bit odd to say that the agency whose action is being challenged in court has so much control over who gets to challenge the action? Justice Elena Kagan asked Stewart. Thomas added, I do think its somewhat strange that the NRC gets to choose which parties are able to challenge it later on. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the NRC lacked authority to issue the license based on a law called the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Bidens administration appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and Trumps administration continued the appeal. Bidens Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a December brief that the 5th Circuit ruling would entirely gut the Atomic Energy Act because nuclear power plants cannot operate without creating spent fuel that must be stored somewhere. The Trump administrations acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the justices in February that the 5th Circuit decision could deprive the commission of authority to license the private storage of spent nuclear fuel in any location and grind the operations of nuclear reactors to a halt. Texas and New Mexico said the NRC had no authority to issue the license, and that Congress has already legislated a solution to the nations nuclear-waste problem: permanent storage in Yucca Mountain. Yucca Mountain was supposed to be the permanent solution, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said. We spent something like $15 billion on it, and its a hole in the ground. The parties seem to think the Yucca Mountains project is dead. How is this interim storage that the government is authorizing here, in any meaningful sense? Gorsuch asked. On a concrete platform in the Permian Basin where we get our oil and gas from so hopefully we wont get radiated oil and gas. A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June. Topics Texas Pollution The Carolinas saw some much-needed rainfall Wednesday morning, helping to quell wildfires that had burned more than 2,600 acres but also raising the threat of tornadoes. Even with the new rainfall, insurance and weather analysts say that fires and fire conditions are becoming more prevalent in the Carolinas and other states far from the historic hot spots in the western United States. The fire season, which used to last four months, now often extends to six to eight months, with winter wildfires becoming more common in states such as the Carolinas, New Jersey, New York, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Tennessee, Firas Saleh, director of wildfire models for North America, at Moodys, a well-known rating and analytics firm. Extended drought in the Carolinas and other eastern states, brought on by higher temperatures, have raised the threat of wildfires and highlight the need for more proactive mitigation measures, Saleh said. The biggest risk is in urban areas, where fires can spread from building to building, just as they did in the Los Angeles fires earlier this year. High winds, dry vegetation, flammable building materials, and proximity to vegetation all contribute to this heightened risk, Moodys noted in an email Wednesday. So far in 2025, more than 7,100 fires have been reported across the country. Thats 37% higher than the 10-year average for the same January-to-March period, Moodys, the National Interagency Fire Center and the National Interagency Coordination Center reported. In western North Carolina, where one fire has burned more than 480 acres, the wildfire threat was exacerbated by vast amounts of dead trees and debris left from Hurricane Helenes flooding in October, researchers and insurance industry representatives have said. Even though the hurricane brought record rainfall in the region, a lack of significant rain since then has dried out vegetation, a model that could contribute to more fires, according to scientists and news reports. The largest Carolina fire this week was near the beach city of Myrtle Beach. It was the biggest fire in the area since a 2009 wildfire nearby did $42 million in damage and destroyed about 75 homes, the Associated Press reported. The fire this week burned 2.5 square miles and was about 30% contained as of Monday evening, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. The department deployed drones as well as ground crews to respond to flare-up fires, reinforce break lines and set up portable sprinkler systems. The area near Myrtle Beach is now considered one of the most dangerous for wildfires in South Carolina as hundreds of years of decomposing vegetation creates peat, which when it dries out can burn for a long time, the AP noted. Officials in all of South Carolina banned almost all outdoor fires, including burning yard debris and campfires. They told residents to call 911 if they see a neighbor setting a fire. You can and will go to jail for starting a fire outdoors in South Carolina. Period, Gov. Henry McMaster wrote on social media. Burn bans were also in place in western North Carolina. Some residents in Polk County remained evacuated from their homes as fire crews Monday morning set their own blazes to burn possible wildfire fuel to make it easier to contain a 480-acre (190-hectare) fire that was about 30% contained. In eastern North Carolina, nearly 80 smaller wildfires were reported in Robeson County. Emergency officials said 15 structures were damaged, but they did not give specifics on the types of buildings. The North Carolina Forest Service reported more than 200 wildfires across the state Monday, although almost all of them were small and not threatening any structures. Meanwhile, a cold front that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada moved through the Carolinas, bringing heavy rain but also tornado-friendly conditions. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 1 p.m. Wednesday for most counties in eastern South Carolina and a huge swath of middle North Carolina. Officials in north Florida also warned of potential tornadoes as the front moved across the region. Photo: Planes fill bladders with water near Myrtle Beach this week. (Janet Morgan/The Post And Courier via AP) Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Windstorm A Donald Trump-shaped cloud appeared over the Irish dairy industry last week, as he announced import tariffs of 25% would be imposed "very soon" on EU "cars, and all of the things. If "all of the things include dairy products, Ireland's Kerrygold at the end of the rainbow could become much less valuable. Importers in the USA could turn their backs on Irish butter and cheese if the price goes up 25%, and instead source it from other countries, such as New Zealand. Last year, Europe and North America together accounted for more than 80% of Irish butter volumes exported, at prices which improved after EU butter production fell more than 2%. The windfall helped to rescue our dairy industry from what was shaping up to be a bad year. The strength of grass-fed Irish dairy in the United States played a big role in dairy exports to North America, growing 4%, to a value of 840m, or 13% of all Irish dairy exports. It was a particularly strong year too for cheese exports to the United States. In the Irish food and drink context, North America accounts for a 2bn share of our 17bn food and drink exports. About half of that 2bn is drinks, and 42% is dairy. Now, the large US share of that trade is threatened by tariffs. With Trump saying the EU does not accept farm products from the United States, he is likely to target EU dairy products with his 25% tariff, details of which will probably be announced in early April. Trump unhappy with EU He is unhappy generally with the EU, and specifically with it sending just over 584bn in goods a year to the US, while importing only 357bn in goods from the US. Within that, the EU exports 38bn per year of food and agriculture to the US, but imports only 14bn of such products from the US. If the US imposes tariffs on food from the EU, US importers bear the cost, making EU products more expensive, explained analysts at Rabobank, a major lender to food and agriculture worldwide. And there are five ways EU companies could respond: Stick to their prices and shift the burden to US importers (in the case of products where demand would continue despite a price rise); Drop prices, to stay competitive in the US market; Withdraw from the US market; Redesign the supply chain to serve the US market from a country thats not subject to tariffs; Or invest in domestic production within the US. For the EU agri-food sector as a whole, according to analysts at Rabobank, it is agricultural machinery from Europe that would be most impacted by tariffs. Medium impact is expected for beverages, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and seafood. The US is the EU's second-largest export partner for food and agriculture products. The US market is attractive for EU companies because of its size, and ability to pay premium prices for value-added food products. In contrast, the US exports low-value basic agricultural commodities. The EU has significant surpluses available for export in milk powder, processed peaches and nectarines, olive oil, and wheat. However, the EU has strong deficits in soybean, primarily used for animal feed, and imported from the US and Brazil. In 2022, the US was the destination for about a fifth of EU wine exports, while the EU accounted for 13% of US soy exports. EU food sectors with significant US market shares, and products which depend on competitive pricing, will be most affected by US tariffs. Agricultural machinery That is why agricultural machinery such as tractors from Germany will be affected, because there are few other markets to replace the US in terms of demand, and the USs own agricultural machinery industry has strong brands to replace EU products. However, EU exporters of olive oil and vegetable seeds could maintain their prices, and hope for demand not to suffer. And EU dairy and beverage exporters could respond to tariffs by lowering their prices to remain price competitive in the US market, while perhaps agreeing with US importers to share the burden of tariffs. Illustrating how trade wars can snowball, Rabobank analysts said the then European Economic Community put a tariff on poultry imports from the US in the 1960s, because European farmers were priced out of the market. The US retaliated with tariffs on trucks, potato starch, and brandy. To this day, foreign-made trucks imported into the US still face a 25% tariff. Sixty years later, a trade war could make EU livestock farming more expensive, due to higher soybean prices, warn Rabobank analysts. To complicate matters, the EU can only purchase deforestation-free soy from the end of this year, and is likely to have to pay a premium for it. The bigger national context for Ireland is that the US is our single biggest export market, for goods worth 72.6bn per year. Our biggest (80%) US export category is pharmaceutical products, which President Trump has already identified as a possible target for tariffs. The biopharma sector employs more than 50,000 people directly here. Last Friday morning in the Oval Office, the world got a frightening glimpse into how Donald Trump conducts himself in the complicated arena of world diplomacy. But there was nothing complicated about what we witnessed. It was a garish car crash, straight out of his book, The Art of the Deal. The art is, by the way: rubbish your adversary before you meet, call them a dictator or something like that, (make sure not to call the actual dictator a dictator that might upset them) blame them for being invaded, insult their clothes before you start talks, say something like "he is all dressed up today" in a condescending tone as you meet outside the West Wing. When you get him comfortable and sitting, shout him down, accuse him of being the one causing the conflict, (he invaded himself it seems) accuse him of playing with World War 3 because he wants assurances Putin will not break any deal after previously breaking deals and slaughtering his people. Physically hit him a little bit to assert dominance, then accuse him of being disrespectful, have a patsy waiting in the wing to ask the important question: "Why dont you wear a suit?" You must continuously obfuscate the facts, and then and only then, do you chuck him out. Later, go on social media and blame him for the whole kit and kaboodle. Its all part of the deal. And its bloody depressing. Joseph Heller would have struggled to accurately capture the absurdity of that moment. Zelenskyy's outfit obviously irked Trump. The Donald is a fashionista, easily offended by the attire of others. Zelenskyys clobber obviously upset Donald, he had his people, after all, tell Zelenskyy what he wanted him to wear. Its hard not to LOL writing that. You can always tell when Trump is upset; whatever he says, he means the absolute opposite. Like my eight-year-old self arriving into a desolate fishing village in France for our summer holiday, declaring to the drifting rain: "This is going to be some craic." He cant hide his emotions. He doesnt have the processing skills. He is a terrible poker player. Even though he keeps reminding us, he has all the cards. He also keeps reminding us he is the best president ever, even "better than George Washington". Again, LOL. Can you imagine Franklin D Roosevelt telling Churchill he started the war and be more thankful for the help they are giving him, and that he was a better president than Lincoln? Or any president, for that matter, trying to leverage a countrys misery and world security so they can say, "look at the deal I got". Its grotesque. When things were completely out of control in the Oval Office, in a moment of limited self-awareness, Trump declared he allowed it to get so out of control to show the world what Zelenskyy was really like. But what we actually witnessed was the gaslighting of a wartime president in full view of the worlds gaze. Gaslighting is a psychological manipulation technique in which one person attempts to convince another person, by bending or distorting their perception, that their reality isnt true. Interestingly enough, it is a tactic most often employed by a narcissist to gain control over their intended target. Thats what we saw. Our eyes did not deceive us. It was in plain sight. And it was disgusting. Paul Lynchs 2023 Man Booker Prize-winning novel, Prophet Song captures with excruciating precision the collapse of a society into autocratic rule. It happens incrementally. In full view. We are all watching with disbelief what is happening in America. The Grand Old Party has transmuted into the cult of the personality. The very idea of America is dissipating. America has always been a concept, a dream. But it has been annexed by a hostile takeover artist. Putins laughter must have echoed down the corridors of the Kremlin. Trump respects power and wealth. Thats the long and the short of it. He is a narcissist. This means he cannot take responsibility for his own shortcomings. He obviously blames Zelenskyy for his first impeachment it was their phone call that led to it and ruined his chances of a Nobel Prize. He so desperately needs one for his ego. Obama has one. But Zelenskyy ruined that; he got him caught shaking him down. Bloody Zelenskyy. We are in dangerous times. The tectonic plates under which world order has remained relatively steady, is moving. Concepts of empire are raising their ugly head once again. We need strong leaders more than ever. Trump is at pains to tell us he is a great deal maker. Six business bankruptcies and 4,000 legal actions would suggest otherwise. He is leveraging World War 3 for a good deal on Zelenskyys rare earth minerals. He needs this so he can market it to his base as a huge triumph of his determination and strength. It is a serious gamble, and we are all in play. What transpired in the Oval Office was an affront to democracy and showed just where the current American presidents loyalties lie. Thousands of student accommodation beds will be freed up from Ukrainian refugees for the next academic year, the higher education minister has said. James Lawless said there will be significant vacancies emerging before September, but that there will be some sites left for Ukrainian refugees: The trend has shifted somewhat in recent months. Ukrainian people, in particular, are more settled here by and large. Many people are now in the community, many people are now at work or of course at education. People are finding their own way and that has meant that there are some vacancies emerging in accommodation. Fundamentally, some of the beds that were being occupied were student accommodation, purpose built student accommodation in some cases, and Im very keen that we would restore that for its original purpose. Mr Lawless said there are a number of sites he expects to become available for third-level students in September, but he flagged that not every student accommodation centre would be vacant. However, he said those rooms which do become available must be ring-fenced for students into the future. But Im mindful of the ongoing pressures, we cant just put people out either, Mr Lawless said. Theres a reason people were accommodated in the first place, that reason still stands for people who havent managed to make their own way. He was not able to provide a direct figure on the number of beds that would become available but said it would be into the couple of thousands. Mr Lawless said every student bed coming back into the system is a win as students and college executives have been calling for more student accommodation. Part of that goes into the quality of life, the student experience. If youre commuting long distances, or even middling distances, to college every day, often maybe driving or on public transport, youre not getting to take part in the societies, the friendships, all the things that go into student life. He added it could also be impacting on academic performance, if students are spending long times on the road or on the train. Its something that has to be core to the next couple of years and I will be prioritising the delivery of student accommodation, Mr Lawless said. Meanwhile, the Fianna Fail minister was questioned about the lack of progress on legislation in the Dail due to large portions of time being spent on debates and statements. Mr Lawless said it is not for the want of trying on the part of the government, while criticising the opposition for its reaction to proposed speaking rights changes in the Dail. The Kildare North TD said reforms to the Dail in 2016 were overgenerous to the opposition. I think the row that has erupted has actually just shone a light as far as Im concerned on an inequality that maybe has been there for the last 10 years but actually hasnt been ventilated until now. Social media giant TikTok has informed the Government it will be seeking to cut as many as 300 jobs from its Dublin operations. Government sources confirmed that they had been informed of the cuts. More than 40 people have been arrested following a multi-agency "day of action" in Limerick on Tuesday. Some 30 members from Abbeyfeale Garda Station, Limerick County Community Engagement Area, the Limerick Crime Functional Area, the Divisional Roads Policing Unit, Regional Armed Support Unit and the Kerry Division carried out searches, arrested persons wanted on bench warrants and conducted checkpoints and patrols in Abbeyfeale. As a result of the operation, 44 people were arrested on foot of outstanding bench warrants and brought before the Newcastle West District Court. Eight checkpoints were conducted, leading to six vehicles being seized for various offences, including failure to stop and dangerous driving. Two people were arrested on suspicion of drug-driving, while three people were arrested for road traffic offences. Additionally, two domestic residences were searched under warrant and a small quantity of cannabis herb was seized. Speaking about the operation, Superintendent Mike Fleming said: "This is our fourth day of action across the Limerick County Community Engagement area following similar operations in Newcastle West, Rathkeale and Kilmallock over the last couple of months. Two people were arrested on suspicion of drug-driving. Picture: Gardai "Today's operation was immensely successful as can be seen by the results and I am to compliment wholeheartedly my colleagues and those who joined us from other agencies in today's operation. "Our key goal is to respond to the needs of communities in tackling varying issues such as anti-social behavior, road safety and compliance with various legislation. Inspector Gearoid Thompson, who led the operation, said: Days like this do not happen by accident and there is much in the way of planning and logistics to go into making these days successful. "I am also thankful to the Court Services, who assisted our efforts in supplying staff to meet the increased demand placed on the Newcastle West District Court with the 44 persons arrested and brought before the court today at short notice". Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe, who was convicted on a public order charge following his failure to make a 350 contribution to the Irish Refugee Council, appealed that conviction on Wednesday saying through his barrister that his problem with paying was not political but religious. The appellants barrister Alan ODwyer said: It is purely a religious matter. Mr ODwyer explained at Cork Circuit Appeals Court that Mr Blighes difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle said she would vary the order of Fermoy District Court and that instead of paying 400 to the Irish Refugee Council, the appellant could pay 500 to NASC, the organisation that advises migrants and refugees on their rights. The appellant indicated through his barrister that he would make this contribution. Judge Boyle adjourned the appeal for two months to allow for confirmation of payment of that 500 to NASC. During the brief hearing, state solicitor Jeremiah Healy said that the area where the public order issue arose during a protest by the appellant and others had quietened down and there had not been further issues. The 44-year-old from Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, of the Ireland First party, had been given the opportunity by Judge Colm Roberts at Fermoy District Court to avoid a criminal conviction and avail of the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act by making the donation. At a previous court sitting, Inspector Jason Wallace alleged that the appellant had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe obstructed an oil delivery to the premises and told him: You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from. Video of these comments was live-streamed. As an Irish citizen for 20 years, Mr Gomez said he had never experienced anything like this before. Bank of Ireland has been ordered by the High Court to pay a 350,000 settlement in a case in which it was alleged that the bank released a womans bank details to a third party, her estranged father, who then used them to find her abroad and stalk her. At the High Court on Wednesday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty was told the settlement, which was made without an admission of liability by Bank of Ireland, meant the bank would pay 275,000 to the woman and 75,000 to her partner to settle the matter. The woman claimed her father used the confidential bank transaction data to track her down abroad, then "watch, beset, and harass" her, causing her psychological trauma. In her High Court case against the bank, her father, and her fathers firm, the woman sought damages for the alleged breach of duty, privacy, and confidence. The bank had claimed it was a stranger to much of the womans case but accepted that the woman raised issues with it and the Data Protection Commissioner in relation to her personal data. It had denied there had been any breach of duty in the case and made no admission as to how the documents came to be in the possession of the womans father as claimed. Following the involvement of the Data Protection Commissioner, the bank moved to acknowledge it had fallen short of the standards that the woman should have been able to rely upon. Ms Justice Gearty was told by John ODonnell SC, who appeared with Ben Clarke BL, instructed by Coleman Legal LLP, for the two plaintiffs, that there had been an unhappy and traumatic history between the woman and her estranged father, who "watched, beset, and harassed" her. Mr ODonnell said that the plaintiff banked with Bank of Ireland and that her estranged father either accessed or was provided with access to her banking details and was from there able to trace the plaintiff and her partner in Spain and in the UK when working there. Her father would then inform her by email of where she was and tell her he would be at these locations. Mr ODonnell said the bank admitted to falling short of the conduct expected from a bank and that an order was made in February 2023 for a lodgement, but the time to do so had been extended. Mr ODonnell said the lodgement was now made and that 350K was to be split between the couple, with 275,000 and 75,000 accepted by the woman and her partner, respectively. As part of the settlement, counsel said, the plaintiffs will have their costs awarded in the case up to October 9, 2023. Mr ODonnell said cases taken by the couple against the womans father and his business could be struck out with no order as to costs. The Taoiseach will put forward Ireland's position in relation to Gaza and Ukraine when he meets US president Donald Trump in the White House next week. Micheal Martin has stressed that the relationship with the US is "extremely important" but he will not shy away from contentious issues during his Oval Office meeting. In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. Were an open small economy, pro-free trade, and I will be articulate from that perspective. We will also articulate our views in relation to Ukraine, and in relation to the Middle East also," Mr Martin told the Dail. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, who will be boycotting this year's St Patrick's Day events in Washington over the Trump administration's stance on Gaza, pressed the Taoiseach to outline what he intends to say to his American counterpart next week. Mr Martin said: Were going, fundamentally, to celebrate the historic links, between Ireland and the US. St Patricks Day has always been the traditional time to do that. We will be there for our diaspora, with 30 million Americans claiming Irish descent. But he added that Ireland is pushing for a peace settlement in Ukraine that is "durable and sustainable". "President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that." He added: "In terms of in the Middle East, let us be clear. We want to consolidate the ceasefire and will be making that point very strongly. We want a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Arab peace initiatives and proposals in respect of Gaza have come through, which have a lot to commend themselves." What now for the undocumented Irish in Donald Trumps America? In Land of the Free, an Irish Examiner special investigation podcast series, Sean Murray looks at their plight with the Trump administration vowing to deport millions of people living in the US illegally. In the three-part series, he speaks to immigration lawyers, community activists and the undocumented themselves some of them living in the US for decades on how they may feel a target now for this crackdown. Episode 1 - Hes going to savage immigration In episode 1 of Land of the Free, we hear from immigration lawyers from Irish backgrounds based in three major US cities on their fears for the undocumented under a second Donald Trump presidency, why it doesnt matter if you were born in Mayo or El Salvador, and why the Irish shouldnt feel immune from who he really means when Trump talks about migrants. Contains strong language Episode 2 - Keeping our heads down In episode 2 of Land of the Free, we speak to notable figures in the Irish communities across some major cities about how theyre feeling with Donald Trump back in the White House, why you cant really talk politics in the pubs and cafes anymore, and why the undocumented wont do anything to jeopardise themselves through fear of being deported. Episode 3 - Nanny, I dont want you to leave In episode 3 of Land of the Free, we hear from three undocumented Irish people from very different backgrounds on the real human impact of their situation and what their future looks like with Trump in the White House once more. We also hear from advocates on what the Irish Government could and should do to help the undocumented, and whether we should try to cut a deal with President Trump. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This article was originally published on March 4, 2025. Last month, I had the honour of speaking at a prayer service for the late Bishop Willie Walsh in Ennis. It was personal, but really, I was speaking for so many of us who loved him the ones he listened to, walked alongside, and quietly lifted up. Not because we were powerful, but because we were people. And people really mattered to him. His passing has me reflecting on leadership. His, mine, and the kind we need more of in the world. As chief executive and co-founder of Helping Irish Hosts, Ive had to make difficult decisions, navigate uncertainty, work with others to build and lead an organisation responding to crisis. In those moments, I often thought of Willie, not for direct advice (though I turned to him plenty of times), but because his way of being in the world was a lesson in itself. Leadership, Ive learned, isnt about control or status. Its about living your values, especially when the road ahead is unclear. Cinealtas Chriost the kindness of Christ. That was Willies motto, his values condensed. But it wasnt just words. It was the foundation of how he led: with kindness, compassion, and consistency. That consistency gave him and those around him strength. He saw the best in us, and that helped us see it in ourselves. Its a lesson Ive learned in my own leadership. At Helping Irish Hosts, everything evolves policy shifts, crises arise, funding waxes and wanes but our values keep us steady. Be real. Be respectful. Be responsive. Have courage. Be kind. If we hold to them, we wont go far wrong. Leadership isnt about never changing course; its about staying anchored to your values while adapting to the road ahead. Thats what builds trust. Thats what makes people follow you through uncertainty. Franciscan writer Richard Rohr describes leadership as a balance between action and reflection knowing when to speak and when to step back, when to push forward and when to create space for others. Willie lived that balance instinctively. Im no Franciscan, but at HIH HQ, theres a proverb on our door: If you wish to move mountains tomorrow, start by lifting stones today. Leadership isnt about grand gestures its about the quiet, steady work of showing up. Willie understood that. When he opened his home to the Travelling community or walked his Pilgrimage of Reconciliation, he wasnt looking for recognition, he was doing what he believed was right. And because of that, his actions gathered momentum, softened hearts, and set the tone for his leadership. Real change happens step by step, through consistent acts of courage and kindness. Most of all, it happens when people reflect and act together. Often, our values come up against systems that resist them. Thats a problem I've wrestled with many times. Institutions can be slow, bureaucratic, self-preserving, frustrating. I sought counsel on it from Willie and others more than once. When is it time to break away, and when is it time to stay in the room? The answer: if youre not there, you cant make a difference. Institutions change from the inside. If you walk away, you lose your voice. If you stay, you might just soften hearts. Ive chosen to stay, for now. But theres also a time to walk away, and when that time comes, Ill be okay with it. What matters is knowing the difference and making the choice with integrity. Change is rarely instant. But presence persistence matters. When Ukraine was invaded, people across Ireland didnt wait to be told what to do. In weeks, hosting became a national movement. Today, 37,000 displaced Ukrainians live in 16,000 host homes an extraordinary, community-led response on a scale Ireland has never seen before. Leadership in those moments wasnt about certainty. At Helping Irish Hosts, it meant stepping into the unknown, listening, adapting, making it work as we went. It meant honest conversations about the realities of hosting setting boundaries while welcoming with an open heart. It meant navigating bureaucracy, pushing for better systems, and keeping people at the centre of it all. We were fortunate to have political leadership that recognised the value of what we were building that understood the power of a people-driven response and backed it at the national level. Thats leadership at its best: empowering, not obstructing. There were mistakes. There was exhaustion. There were moments it felt like too much. But we kept going not because we had all the answers, but because leadership means walking the road, even when you dont know exactly where it leads. I thought of Willie often in those moments. He never let fear of getting things wrong stop him from doing what was right. A few bum notes never stopped him from singing in the choir. Bishop Willie Walsh: He never let fear of getting things wrong stop him from doing what was right. A few bum notes never stopped him from singing in the choir. Picture: Eamon Ward Thats the kind of leadership I try to live by. The kind I seek out in others and want to see more of in the world. Theres plenty of it out there. Too often, leadership is hollowed out by power and self-preservation. Institutions claim ownership of people and stories, shutting out the very voices that give them meaning. In doing so, they dont just weaken those voices they weaken themselves. When Ukraines crisis unfolded, the first and boldest actions werent taken by institutions but by ordinary people households who opened their doors, communities that rallied, volunteers who stepped up while others hesitated. Institutions followed sometimes reluctantly, often cautiously. Now, as global forces shift, new ministers take office, and departments reshape priorities, Ireland risks losing what made its response so powerful in the first place. Irelands response messy, imperfect, but full of heart worked because it trusted and empowered those closest to the work. If we want to sustain that impact, government must keep real, lived experience at the heart of policy not sidelined by process or structure. Because when you push aside the people who do the work, who hold the knowledge, who show up - not for power, but for purpose - you dont strengthen leadership. You erode it. If we want better leadership in our communities, in our politics, in our workplaces, we have to start by expecting it of ourselves. Living our values isnt about words its about action. It means showing up when its hard, standing by people even when theres no applause, listening, and making decisions that align with what we truly believe. Thats what real leadership looks like. Thats what I learned from Willie, not through grand gestures, but through the way he lived. Consistent. Kind. Anchored in his values, no matter where the road took him. Thats the kind of leadership that lasts, the kind Im striving to carry forward. Because leadership isnt about knowing the way. Its about having the courage to walk it. US president Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to keep up his campaign of swift and unrelenting action in reorienting the nations economy, immigration and foreign policy in an unyielding address before the US Congress that left Democratic legislators to register their dissent with stone faces, placards calling out lies, and one legislators ejection. Mr Trumps speech was the latest marker in his takeover of the nations capital, where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake Americas place in the world. Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington. Picture: Ben Curtis/AP The presidents address, clocking in at a record 99 minutes, added up to a defiant sales pitch for the policies that Mr Trump promised during his campaign and leaned into during his first weeks back in office. Mr Trump pledged to keep delivering sweeping change to rescue the nation from what he described as destruction and mistakes left by his predecessor. He seldom addressed his comments directly to the American people, who are trying to keep up with the recent upheaval, while repeatedly needling the Democratic lawmakers seated before him. Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin, who delivered the Democratic response following Mr Trumps speech, allowed that America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy. Emboldened after overcoming impeachments in his first term, outlasting criminal prosecutions in between his two administrations and getting a tight grip on the GOP-led Congress, Mr Trump has embarked on a mission to dismantle parts of the federal government, remake the relationship with Americas allies and slap on tariffs that have sparked a North American trade war. It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action, Mr Trump said of his opening weeks in office. The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it. Elon Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting with Donald Trump at the White House last month. Picture: Pool via AP Mr Trump, who has billionaire adviser Elon Musk orchestrating his efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, said he is working to reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy and threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda. Musk, who was seated in the House gallery, received a pair of standing ovations from Republicans in the chamber, as Mr Trump exaggerated and shared false claims about alleged government abuse uncovered by the Tesla and SpaceX founder and his team of disrupters. Mr Trump repeated false claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, prompting some Democrats to shout, Not true! and Those are lies! Mr Trump spoke at a critical juncture in his presidency, as voters who returned him to the White House on his promise to fix inflation are instead finding economic chaos. All the gains the S&P 500 have made since Election Day are now gone, while consumer sentiment surveys show the public sees inflation as worsening. Trade policies and tariffs Mr Trump seemed prepared to double down on his trade policies, which experts have warned will raise prices for consumers. Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them. At the same time, he tried to ease concerns about the resulting price increases, saying, Therell be a little disturbance, but were okay with that. It wont be much. Mr Trump said one of his very highest priorities was to rescue the economy and offer relief to working families. He promised to organize the federal government to lower costs on eggs and energy, blaming his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for the situation and offering scant details of his own plans. Demonstrators protest near the US Capitol ahead of President Donald Trump address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Mr Trump also called for the extension of his first-term tax cuts and additional federal funding for his border crackdown, including for his promised efforts at mass deportation of people in the US illegally. He celebrated his crackdown on migration, saying, It turns all we really needed was a new president. Speaking about his promised tax cuts, Mr Trump seemed to goad Democrats, saying: Im sure youre going to vote for those tax cuts. Because otherwise I dont believe the people will ever vote you into office. The backdrop was the new economic uncertainty unleashed after the president opened the day by placing stiff tariffs on imports from the countrys neighbors and closest trading partners. A 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect early Tuesday ostensibly to secure greater cooperation to tackle fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration triggering immediate retaliation and sparking fears of a wider trade war. Mr Trump also raised tariffs on goods from China to 20%. Republicans were boisterous as Mr Trump stepped to the lectern in the House, chanting USA! USA! as the president basked in the cheers. The GOP lawmakers were jubilant, having won a trifecta of the White House, Senate and House in the elections. However, they face the challenging task of delivering on Mr Trumps agenda as well as avoiding a government shutdown later this month. Across the aisle, out-of-power Democrats set the tone early, with most remaining seated without applauding or making eye contact with Mr Trump as he was introduced in the chamber. Some Democrats chose to highlight the impact of Mr Trumps actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests, including a disabled veteran from Arizona, a health worker from Maryland and a forestry employee who worked on wildfire prevention in California. Demonstrators protest near the Capitol ahead of Donald Trump's address. Picture: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana Mr Trump also used his speech to address his proposals for fostering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he has unceremoniously upended the policies of the Biden administration in a matter of just weeks. On Monday, Mr Trump ordered a freeze to U. military assistance to Ukraine, ending years of staunch American support for the country in fending off Russias invasion. Mr Trump recited a letter he received earlier Tuesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the wartime president wants to come back to the table after a explosive Oval Office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace, Mr Trump said. Wouldnt that be beautiful? He also announced the arrest of a suspect in the 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed US troops during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr Trumps 1 hour and 39 minute speech was the longest annual address a president has ever delivered to Congress, breaking Bill Clintons record of 1 hour and 28 minutes. - Associated Press A Ukrainian decree from 2022 ruling out negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin raises the question of who could sit at the table in potential peace talks aimed at ending the two countries three-year war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Mr Peskov noted during his daily conference call with reporters. He said it was positive that Mr Zelenskyy had expressed readiness on Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible. But the details have not changed yet, Mr Peskov added, apparently referring to the Ukrainian decree. The war has been raging for three years (AP) Neither Ukrainian nor western officials have recently mentioned the September 2022 presidential decree, signed seven months after Russias cross-border invasion, in the context of US President Donald Trumps efforts to stop the fighting. On Monday, the Trump administration suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine as the US sought to pressure Mr Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. The US has also paused its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation target Russian invaders, but Trump administration officials said on Wednesday that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean it may only be a short suspension. Information about Russias intentions and military movements has been critical to Ukraines defence and a strong indication of support from the US and other western allies. We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship, national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday. Comments from top Trump administration officials suggest the pause is part of the broader negotiations between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, and that intelligence could begin flowing to Ukraine again soon. CIA director John Ratcliffe called the suspension a pause and said it came after the disastrous meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week. Mr Ratcliffe said Mr Trump wanted to know that Mr Zelenskyy was serious about peace. On the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen will go away, and I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have, Mr Ratcliffe said. The CIA declined to respond to questions about the change in intelligence sharing. Ukrainian forces are toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 600-mile front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, which has been costly for its troops, hasnt yet brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. The war of attrition has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Mr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington, the French government spokesperson said. It is envisaged that President Macron could eventually travel again to Washington with President Zelenskyy and his British counterpart, spokesperson Sophie Primas told reporters. Mr Macron was due to give a televised address to the nation later on Wednesday about what he called the great uncertainty in global affairs. The three leaders travelled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Mr Trump. In the early months of the war, Mr Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Mr Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlins decision in September 2022 to illegally annexe four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Mr Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The decree enacted a decision by Ukraines National Security and Defence Council to bolster Ukrainian defences and seek more weapons from the countrys Western allies. The Kremlin said at the time it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting that such a step may not happen until a new Ukrainian president takes office. A federal judge in the US has denied Elon Musks request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company. However, the judge said she could expedite a trial to consider Mr Musks claims against the ChatGPT maker and its chief executive. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Mr Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits in his request for a preliminary injunction. She offered to hold a trial in her California courtroom as soon as this autumn, given the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred. Elon Musk escalated the legal dispute late last year (AP) Mr Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT maker and chief executive Sam Altman a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a non-profit. He escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants, including Microsoft, and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAIs plans to convert itself into a for-profit business. Mr Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff, claiming that OpenAI was unfairly stifling business competition. He and a group of investors more recently made an unsolicited 97.4 billion dollar bid to buy a controlling stake in the non-profit a move that undermined Mr Musks claim of irreparable harm, the judge wrote. OpenAI said it welcomed the courts decision. This has always been about competition, a statement from the company said. Elons own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or US interests. OpenAIs chief executive is Sam Altman (AP) Mr Musk alleges in the lawsuit that the companies are violating the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. He had invested about $45m in the start-up from its founding until 2018, his lawyer has said. Musk lawyer Marc Toberoff said in a statement late Tuesday that he is pleased that the court offered an expedited trial on the core claims. We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musks charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the publics benefit rather than his own enrichment, Mr Toberoff said. The judge, in a hearing last month, called it a stretch to claim irreparable harm to Mr Musk, and she called the case billionaires vs. billionaires. She questioned why Mr Musk invested tens of millions in OpenAI without a written contract. Mr Toberoff responded that it was because the relationship between Mr Altman and Mr Musk at the time was built on trust and the two were very close. That is just a lot of money to invest on a handshake, the judge said. The dispute has roots in a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling start-up that led to Mr Altman becoming OpenAIs chief executive. Emails disclosed by OpenAI show Mr Musk had also sought to be chief executive and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the start-up succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence. Mr Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. Mr Altman eventually succeeded in becoming chief executive and has remained so except for a period in 2023 when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. EUCAP Somalia and EUTM Somalia hosted a significant workshop in Mogadishu to evaluate the progress made in advancing gender equality and enhancing womens participation in Somalias security sector reform. The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including national and international partners, to reflect on the strides taken thus far while identifying practical measures for improving womens inclusion in the countrys security sector. The workshop was held in anticipation of the upcoming 2025 International Womens Day, a timely occasion to highlight Somalias achievements in legal reforms towards gender equality, and to explore ways of turning established policies into practice. The European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia) and the European Union Training Mission in Somalia (EUTM Somalia) collaborated to facilitate this crucial dialogue on the role of women in Somalias security landscape, from internal security institutions to the Somali National Armed Forces, and possible synergies with civil society organisations. The discussions centred on the challenges women face to gain access, progress achieved in terms of integrating gender equality in Somalias security reform, and potential ways of enhancing womens participation in the ongoing security sector reforms. Gender equality, womens empowerment, and the promotion of human rights are fundamental pillars of EUCAP Somalias capacity-building initiatives. As part of its broader mission, EUCAP Somalia actively contributes to the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda, working to strengthen the role of women in peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts. This workshop marks another significant milestone in EUCAP Somalias ongoing efforts to support these essential goals. Similarly, EUTM Somalia has been a key player in advancing gender equality within the context of international security training. The mission provides vital training in areas such as International Humanitarian Law, the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict, and gender mainstreaming. These subjects are integrated into various courses offered by the Advisory and Training Team, ensuring that gender perspectives are embedded throughout Somalias security sector training programs. Both EUCAP Somalia and EUTM Somalia remain deeply committed to supporting local initiatives that promote gender equality, human rights, and sustainable development in Somalia. The collaboration between these two EU Missions, along with their national and international partners, continues to drive positive change, ensuring that gender equality is not only a central focus of Somalias security sector reform but also a fundamental value that shapes the countrys future. ***** EUCAP Somalia is a civilian crisis management mission that has been in operation since 2016. The Mission supports the development of the Somali maritime security, rule of law and wider police capacity. For further inquiries, please contact: press@eucap-som.eu www.eeas.europa.eu/eucap-som This morning, opposition deputies in Serbia launched smoke grenades and tear gas within the parliament as a demonstration against government policies and in solidarity with protesting students, as captured by live broadcasts. The demonstrations, which were triggered by the roof collapse of a train station that resulted in 15 fatalities four months ago, have transformed into a significant challenge for the Serbian government. During the legislative session, after the ruling coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) ratified the agenda, several opposition politicians rushed from their seats towards the parliamentary speaker, leading to clashes with security personnel. In the chaos, some threw smoke grenades and tear gas, with live television coverage showing clouds of black and pink smoke filling the space. The parliament will persist in its work and uphold Serbia, she stated during the session. The parliament was set to approve a law that would increase funding for universities, which is one of the primary demands of students who have been staging blockades since December. Additionally, the parliament was expected to acknowledge the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic. However, other agenda items put forth by the ruling coalition incited further anger among the opposition. What is the significance of US military aid to Ukraine? The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has expressed a desire to pause and review military assistance to Ukraine, sparking conversations about the potential medium-term consequences of withdrawing such support on Ukraines defense against Russia. So, how much assistance does the US provide to Ukraine, how is this expenditure allocated, and what is its significance for Ukraine? As the largest single donor of support to Ukraine, the United States significantly surpasses other contributors. In the previous week, we detailed the aid provided by the US compared to European nations, highlighting that various countries contribute a greater percentage of their GDP. According to statistics from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a total of 267 billion in bilateral aid has been designated for Ukraine by donor nations. Out of this 267 billion, the US has offered 114 billion, with an additional 4 billion pledged but not yet disbursed. Within that 114 billion in US assistance, 64 billion has been allocated to military aid, with another 1.4 billion awaiting allocation. This amount constitutes nearly half of the 129 billion allocated for military aid to Ukraine by international donors collectively. The US is closely followed by Europe as a collective body, which has additionally pledged 38 billion that has yet to be assigned to specific contracts or military equipment. We need your consent to load this flourish content. We use flourish to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences When assessing military assistance, its important to recognize that the UST does not encompass the estimated costs of activities such as training Ukrainian soldiers, which often occurs outside Ukraines borders. On what is the US military aid being utilized? According to the UST, it is estimated that about 13.7 billion of the 64 billion of US military aid sent to Ukraine has been directed towards heavy weaponry. This category includes armored vehicles, tanks, and howitzers. Additional funds have been allocated for ammunition, artillery shells, smaller arms, and equipment provided by the US. The US particularly emphasizes enhancing Ukraines air defense systems, delivering three Patriot Surface to Air Missile (SAM) systems capable of intercepting incoming missiles or aircraft; 12 other SAM units; and 3,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Stinger is a portable, heat-seeking rocket launcher effective against both aircraft and drones, gaining prominence during the Soviet-Afghan conflict of the 1980s when used against Soviet helicopters. This type of armament is especially critical given the ongoing nature of the conflict and the frequency of aerial assaults by Russian forces. Moreover, the US has transferred over 40 HIMARS systems, mobile long-range precision rocket launchers used against military installations and infrastructure, as well as howitzers, and hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds. Ukrainian forces launched a US-supplied HIMARS missile at a Russian target in 2022. Additionally, the US has supplied 10,000 Javelins, weapons similar to Stingers but designed for use against tanks and armored vehicles. In a post on X meant to bolster US-Ukraine relations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the Javelins importance to his military forces, noting they were initially supplied during President Trumps first term in 2018. We truly appreciate the extent of Americas support in helping Ukraine uphold its sovereignty and independence. We recall when everything changed as President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are thankful for this, he stated. Despite the announced pause and review in US aid, it seems that intelligence sharing remains ongoing, as reported by Reuters. Ukrainian access to the Starlink system owned by Elon Musk, which is essential for secure communication, coordinating drone operations, and launching strikes, is also continuing. If Starlink were unavailable, frontline personnel might have to depend on radio communications, significantly limiting their operational capabilities. Speaking to RTEs Morning Ireland, Dr. Frank Ledwidge, a Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Portsmouth University, emphasized the critical nature of Starlink and intelligence for Ukraine. The most pivotal action by the Americans, which would truly pressure the Ukrainians to negotiate immediately, isnt merely the cessation of military support it would be their assistance regarding intelligence, reconnaissance, and communication. That would be catastrophic for the Ukrainians. Reports suggest that the European Commission, UK, France, and various European satellite providers have been exploring potential alternative systems should Starlink services cease for Ukrainian forces. Likewise, European nations are working on strategies to compensate for any shortfall that might arise if the US military aid pause extends into a prolonged cessation. European manufacturers might face challenges due to the restrictions of their production licensing, especially if they are producing US-designed weapons. As Ukrainian politician Serhiy Rakhmanin told Reuters, much will hinge on whether the United States opts to obstruct manufacturers holding US production licenses who are willing to continue their support to Kyiv. If our European partners are free to act, and if they possess the time, motivation, funding, and capabilities to assist us, this situation will not be disastrous, he remarked. While the current US aid pause is not expected to have an immediate effect on the war or the frontline dynamics, its prolonged duration could significantly alter the situation. Meanwhile, day and night, air defense missiles will be deployed to intercept incoming assaults on Ukrainian cities and positions, while tank shells will be directed at Russian forces. The timeline for replacing each missile, shell, and bullet is now uncertain. ( Detailed Political Quizzes ) As comparisons between contemporary American politics and the rise of the Nazi Party are frequently invoked in the media, its crucial to draw one specific lesson from the history of Weimar Germany, the democratic state that existed from 1918 to 1933. The rise of Hitler and the Nazis was not the result of Weimars failure to punish hate speech. Instead, it was the futile attempt to suppress such speech while not acting effectively to curb political violence that allowed the Nazis to rise and gain power. During the Nazis rise, there were laws in place that criminalized hate speech. In the fifteen years leading up to Hitlers appointment as Chancellor in 1933, for example, more than 200 legal prosecutions were initiated in response to antisemitic speech and hundreds of Nazi-affiliated newspapers were shut down. Hitler himself was banned from speaking in several German states from 1925 to 1927, while prominent Nazi figures were sentenced to prison. Rather than curbing the spread of Nazi antisemitic ideology, legal prosecutions of Nazis undermined the credibility of Weimar leaders and inadvertently aided the Nazi movement by providing a platform for their racist and fascist beliefs. The Nazis, for instance, claimed they were being persecuted for exposing an international conspiracy aimed at oppressing true Germans. Given that the core of Nazi ideology, as articulated by Hitler in his 1925 autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf, centered on a supposed conspiracy between Jews and their government sympathizers to politically disenfranchise Aryan Germans, its unsurprising that the Nazis were able to portray government censorship as proof that powerful forces were aligned against them. The issue with Germanys response to the rise of Nazism, therefore, was not a failure to penalize hate speech, but rather the inadequate punishment of Nazi violence. This violence allowed the Nazis to suppress the rights of anti-Nazis, Jews, and other targeted groups. Acts of political violence committed by Nazis were either under-punished or went unpunished, often due to the sympathetic attitudes of judges and juriessympathy that was not extended to their leftist or communist counterparts. For instance, Hitler, after leading an attempted coup detat in 1923, should, by the legal standards of the time, have faced execution, life imprisonment, or at the very least, a permanent ban from holding public office. However, due to the leniency of a sympathetic judge, he was sentenced to only five years in prison. Thus, the clearest way to have prevented the rise of the Nazi party would have been the proportionate prosecution of its political violence. Food Queues Weimar Republic 1918 Hanover. Public Domain. During the presidential elections of March and April 1932, Hitlers paramilitary Brownshirts formed emergency squads to intimidate voters. On the night of the Reichstag election on July 31, 1932, Brownshirts unleashed a wave of violence, including the murders of local officials and communist politicians. When five Brownshirts were sentenced to death for these murders, Hitler condemned the sentences as a most outrageous blood verdict and declared that from now on, your freedom is a question of honor for all of us, and to fight against the government which made possible such a verdict is our duty. These words bear a disturbing resemblance to a statement made by Donald Trump during a January 2024 speech, where he defended his supporters actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack an attack that included assaulting police officers and attempting to disrupt the lawful transfer of power to Joe Biden. Trump claimed his supporters had acted peacefully and patriotically despite the attack resulting in more than 1,200 criminal charges, with nearly 900 individuals pleading guilty or being convicted. Referring to those serving sentences, Trump said, Some people call them prisoners, I call them hostages, and promised to pardon them if re-elected. Indeed, on January 6, 2025, as Trump began his second term, he fulfilled his promise. (The FBI closely monitored extremist, anti-democratic organizations linked to some of these individuals during the Biden presidency. The question remains whether such vigilance will continue under Trumps FBI director, Kash Patel, a known loyalist.) The fear of political violence likely influenced some Republicans to refrain from voting to convict Trump during his impeachment trials. Numerous journalists have reported that Republican lawmakers privately express concern that Trump might incite his MAGA supporters to engage in acts of political violence against them if they fail to support him. (In 2016, the Capitol Police recorded fewer than 900 threats against members of Congress, but after Trump took office in 2017, that number more than quadrupled. The threats continued to rise throughout his presidency, reaching a peak of 9,700 in 2021.) Former Senator Mitt Romney hired personal security for himself and his family after receiving threats following his vote to remove Trump from office for his role in the January 6 Capitol attack. Romney revealed to his biographer that during Trumps impeachment, a member of the Republican Senate leadership had initially leaned toward voting to convict Trump. However, after other senators expressed concerns for their personal safety and that of their families, the senator ultimately chose to acquit. Similarly, former Republican Representative Liz Cheney disclosed to CNN that several House Republicans confided in her their fears for their own security and, in some cases, for their lives. Former Republican Representative Peter Meijer also heard similar concerns from his colleagues. Additionally, Senator Thom Tillis reportedly said that the FBI had warned him about credible death threats when he was contemplating voting against Pete Hegseths 2025 nomination for Secretary of Defense. Tillis eventually voted in favor of Hegseths confirmation. The lesson of Weimar Germany is that a free society cannot endure if it fails to respond decisively to political violence. The normalization of such violence undermines the foundations of democracy by eroding the space for reasonable debate and the peaceful transfer of power. Imagine the implications if a president were to pardon violent rioters who attempted to thwart the peaceful transfer of power a troubling thought. Via Detailed Political Quizzes References for this piece are provided at the section titled Weimars Lesson at: https:// detailedpoliticalquizzes. wordpress.com/response-to- likudniks/ Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) International Womens Day (now March 8) had its origins in great social unrest, turbulence and critical debate among women in Western countries regarding their oppressive working conditions in factories and their lack of voting rights. Marching through New York City in 1908, 15,000 women demanded shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1910 Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, held a conference of women from 17 countries representing unions, socialist parties and working womens unions and proposed an annual event to assert their demands for equality and justice in the workplace and their right to vote. Russian women observed their first International Womens Day on the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, which they sustained through the last Sunday of February 1917, when they began a strike for Bread and Peace over the death of more than 2 million Russian soldiers. The Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, now a global movement for womens equality and peace, first met in The Hague in 1915. The 1,136 suffragists from 12 countries on all sides of the war met to protest the madness and the horror of war, causing the reckless sacrifice of human life and the destruction of so much that humanity had labored to build through centuries. They, like all other womens equality groups of their day, demanded that women be granted the right to vote so their opposition to war could have impact. More than a century later women can vote, hold office and have equal rights in theory , but that has not changed the reality that men claim almost total political power. Women still are paid less than men for comparable work an economic injustice that compounds our poverty in old age; hundreds of millions of women and girls suffer rape and violence at the hands of men an often-deadly assault on their being; and the right to choose whether or not to bear a child is denied to women and girls here and throughout the world. Women have minimal influence on the life and death of our planet home Earth despite our global activism. However, where women have found a foothold, the results have been astounding. Recent research tells us that we can and do create resilient and lasting peace when we are given the power. Political scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan have studied movements to overthrow dictatorships, expel foreign occupations or achieve self-determination from 1900 through 2006. They found that nonviolent resistance campaigns were more than twice as successful as violent insurrections with the same goals. Elsewhere Chenoweth found that women in leadership roles are more likely to maintain nonviolent discipline in resistance campaigns against repressive regimes. Corazon Aquino swears in as President of the Philippines at Club Filipino, San Juan on February 25, 1986. Filipino Government. Public Domain. Another team of researchers, comprising security studies experts and statisticians has generated the largest database on the status of women across the globe. Called WomenStats, the database allows researchers to relate the level of conflict within 175 countries to the overall security of women within those countries. Their findings are profoundly illuminating for womens security, global security and world peace. The degree of equality of women within a country predicts best better than the degree of democracy, better than level of wealth or income inequality or ethno-religious identity how peaceful or conflict-ridden their countries are. Moreover, the researchers found that democracies with higher levels of violence against women are less stable and more likely to choose force over diplomacy to resolve conflict. The worlds security, they have found, is most reliant on womens equality and security. What effect do women have on issues of power and national security, given the chance? Nearly 200 women in politics surveyed in 65 countries agreed that womens presence in politics increases the amount of attention given to social welfare, legal protection and transparency in government and business. Four-fifths believed that the presence of women in governmental positions restores citizens trust in government. The same is true of citizens from 24 countries recently surveyed: a majority agreed that policies would improve if more women, people from poor backgrounds, and young adults were in office.(1) At the highest levels of governance, the glaring absence of women in government as well as in international bodies such as the United Nations robs women of power and, consequently, robs the world of the security that our presence at the highest levels of decision-making would give. Unless societies transform themselves with an analysis of the status of womens equality and act decisively to empower women, they will persist as repositories of male ambition, male privilege and male power. This toxic mix dooms the future of national and international security. We will only continue the downward trend reflected in the Doomsday clock. The words of the Ghanian stateman and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan embody the core message of this: There is no policy more effective in promoting development, health and education that the empowerment of women and girlsand no policy is more important in preventing conflict or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended. What women gaining power with men at every level of our existence could yield for the well-being of the world. (1) The Pew Charitable Trusts, Winter 2025, Vol. 27, No.1 TORONTO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galway Metals Inc. (TSX-V: GWM) (Galway Metals or the Company), today announced that the Company has filed on SEDAR+ an independent technical report (the "Report") prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") supporting the updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its 100% owned Estrades Project ("Estrades") located in the northern Abitibi of Western Quebec. There are no material differences in the Report from those results disclosed in the Company's news release dated January 27, 2025 (available here: Click Here). The Mineral Resource Estimate, effective as of November 5, 2024, was prepared following the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves (November 29, 2019). The full Report dated December 6, 2024, with an effective date of November 5, 2024, is titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Estrades Project, Quebec, Canada. The Report was prepared for Galway Metals by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. and can be found on the Companys website at www.galwaymetalsinc.com or under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Qualified Person Jesse Fisher, P.Geo., Project Manager for Galway Metals, is the Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of Galway Metals. About Galway Metals Inc. Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in southwest New Brunswick. Clarence Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 kilometres and the existing resource is open in virtually all directions. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders. For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact: Robert Hinchcliffe, President & Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 1-800-771-0680 Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn Cautionary Statement Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Companys objectives, goals or future plans, information with respect to the OTCQB listing, DTC eligibility, and broadening U.S. institutional and retail investors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in economic conditions or financial markets, political and competitive developments, operation or exploration difficulties, changes in equity markets, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restrictions on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Companys public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. West Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Surge Battery Metals Inc. (TSXV: NILI) (OTCQX: NILIF) (FSE: DJ5) (the "Company" or "Surge") today announced that it has received approval of the Nevada North Exploration Plan of Operations ("EPoO") from the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"). This is a significant permitting milestone for the Nevada North Lithium Project (NNLP) and expands the amount of disturbance allowed for exploration drilling and other activities to 250 acres, from the current 5 acres allowed under the current permitting. The BLM announced the decision by posting a positive Record of Decision (ROD) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) regarding the Exploration Plan of Operations. Key Highlights: The EPoO will allow for up to 250 acres of combined surface disturbance to be undertaken within the EPoO boundary compared to the 5 acres allowed under current permitting. This decision will allow the construction of new roads and cross-country trails and drill pads. Exploration activities will include: Mineral exploration activities and condemnation drilling. Metallurgical characterization and testing via bulk sampling and test pitting and/or a large diameter drill core program. Hydrogeologic investigations to support baseline characterization including installation of groundwater characterization wells, an exploration water supply well, Vibrating Wire Piezometers (VWPs), and surface water instrumentation. Geotechnical investigations, including drilling and related sampling, bulk sampling of excavations, and test pits. Infiltration testing via soil borings and test pitting. Surge is committed to implementing numerous environmental protection measures while performing exploration activities with a focus on reducing or eliminating potential environmental impacts. Reclamation activities will be conducted concurrently with exploration activities when portions of the disturbed areas are no longer needed. Surge will begin reclamation within inactive exploration areas at the earliest practicable time. An appropriate bond will be posted to ensure the completion of site reclamation. Mr. Greg Reimer, Chief Executive Officer and Director, commented, "We are obviously very pleased with the decision of the BLM approving our EPoO permit application for the NNLP and want to thank the BLM for the many months of work in getting to this decision. We have developed our spring/summer drill plan for 2025 and are looking forward to the drilling season and updating our Mineral Resource Estimate later in Q4 2025." About Surge Battery Metals Inc. Surge Battery Metals, a Canadian-based mineral exploration company, is at the forefront of securing the supply of domestic lithium through its active engagement in the Nevada North Lithium Project. The Project focuses on exploring clean, high-grade lithium energy metals in Nevada, USA, a crucial element for powering the electric vehicles of tomorrow. With a primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and the OTCQX Market in the US, Surge Battery Metals Inc. is strategically positioned as a key player in advancing lithium exploration, contributing significantly to the sustainable future of the electric vehicle industry. At Surge Battery Metals, we are not just exploring minerals; we are pioneering the path to a cleaner and more sustainable future, driving innovation in the lithium sector, and contributing to the evolution of the electric vehicle industry. About the Nevada North Lithium Project The Company owns the Nevada North Lithium Project located in the Granite Range southeast of Jackpot, Nevada about 73 km north-northeast of Wells, Elko County, Nevada. The first three rounds of drilling on the Project, completed in 2022, 2023, and 2024, identified a strongly mineralized zone of lithium bearing clays occupying a strike length of more than 4,300 meters and a known width of greater than 1500 meters. Highly anomalous soil values and geophysical surveys suggest there is potential for the clay horizons to be much greater in extent, while wide drill spacing allows for significant upside to occur during infill drilling. The Nevada North Lithium Project has a pit-constrained Inferred Resource containing an estimated 8.65 Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) grading 2,951 ppm Li at a 1,250 ppm cutoff. Keep up to date with Surge Battery Metals on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. This document may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan" or "planned", "possible", "potential", "forecast", "intend", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements herein, include statements related to the NTEC's ownership of Common Shares at the time of Closing, the entering into of the Services Agreement and Investor Rights Agreement and the anticipated use of proceeds from the Closing. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon several assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, environmental (including endangered species, habitat preservation and water related risks) and social risks, contingencies, and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules, and regulations. VANCOUVER, BC, March 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Helius Minerals Limited ("Helius" or the "Company") (TSXV: HHH) is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive Exclusivity, Share Option and Acquisition Agreement dated as of March 3, 2025 (the "Definitive Agreement") with Colossus Minerals Inc. ("Colossus") regarding the Serra Pelada gold-PGM project in Brazil (the "Serra Pelada Project"). Colossus put Serra Pelada on a care and maintenance program in 2014 when Colossus became insolvent. The property interests are held by Colossus' Brazilian subsidiaries, Colossus Mineracao Ltda. ("Colossus Brazil") and Mineracao Fazenda Monte Belo Ltda. ("MFM" collectively with Colossus Brazil, the "Target Companies"). Under the Definitive Agreement, Helius has been provided with a twelve-month exclusivity period (the "Organizational Period") during which it would raise not less than US$1 million (to be priced in the context of the market following this announcement) (the "Initial Financing") and allocate a minimum of US$500,000 to undertake the following activities: Reviewing and developing a plan to ensure compliance with relevant mining laws and other regulatory requirements; Formulating a comprehensive strategy to address outstanding debts, including those related to ongoing litigation, of the Target Companies; and Developing a detailed plan to rehabilitate the Serra Pelada Project, the Target Companies and SPCDM (as defined below; collectively, the "Organizational Period Requirements"). Christian J. Grainger, President and CEO commented: "We are excited to have restructured Helius with exceptional gold and copper assets in Nevada, USA, located within the prospective Walker Lane trend, and now Brazil with an option to rejuvenate the high-grade Serra Pelada gold-PGM project. I am particularly excited to be returning to Serra Pelada again, having significant experience with this deposit, and to be working with our partners COOMIGASP". In 2014, Colossus became insolvent after significant development expenditure of over C$280M at Serra Pelada. Colossus' dewatering measures proved inadequate in controlling water ingress. This created liquidity and credibility issues immediately before metal production was to commence, which led to the collapse of Colossus. The Serra Pelada Project was thereafter put on a care and maintenance program, and Colossus reported that it halted all exploration, construction and development activities to conserve cash in 2014. Helius understands that as a result of the insolvency, certain regulatory and compliance matters must be addressed to permit the project to move forward. The Option Upon Helius' satisfaction of the Organizational Period Requirements, and upon receipt of conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), Helius could elect in its sole discretion to deliver written notice to Colossus (the "Option Notice") of Helius' decision to proceed with an option (the "Option") to purchase (a) all of the Target Companies' Shares and thereby a 75% beneficial interest in the partnership called Serra Pelada - Companhia de Desenvolvimento Mineral ("SPCDM"), which partnership holds a 100% interest in the Serra Pelada Project; and (b) all of the intercorporate loans (and all interest accrued thereunder) owed by the Target Companies to Colossus, if any (the "Intercompany Debt"). Helius could elect to exercise the Option within 6 months of the date of delivery of the Option Notice, in which case the parties would proceed with closing of Helius' purchase of the Target Companies' Shares and any Intercompany Debt. At closing, Helius would be obliged to, among other things: (a) provide evidence to Colossus of Helius having raised at least US$5 million by way of one or more equity financings (the "Equity Financing"); (b) pay the sum of US$100,000 to Colossus; (c) effect the exchange of the existing senior secured convertible notes issued by Colossus (the "Existing Notes") in an aggregate principal amount of US$4 million (the "Existing Debt") for amended senior secured convertible notes ("Amended Notes") that Helius would issue to the holders of the Existing Notes in exchange for the Existing Debt; (d) deliver the Parent Guarantee (as such term is defined below); (e) pay to Colossus the sum of C$100,000 in cash as directed by Colossus; (f) issue to Colossus C$250,000 in share purchase warrants with a 5-year term and strike price equal to the price of the Equity Financing, with the number of warrants to be determined using Black Scholes option pricing formula (the issuance of such warrants being subject to TSXV approval); (g) issue full and final releases to Colossus and other parties in relation to the Existing Notes and the debts, liabilities and obligations of the Target Companies; and (h) enter into assumption agreements in respect of security provided by Colossus in respect of the Existing Notes and the Existing Royalty (as such term is defined below). The Special Warrants Concurrent with Helius's delivery of an option notice, and as partial consideration for the Option, Helius will issue to Colossus such number of special warrants (the "Special Warrants") that represents 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Helius ("Helius Shares") after completion of the Initial Financing (on an undiluted basis). The issuance of the Special Warrants is subject to TSXV approval. After Closing, the Special Warrants will be convertible into Helius Shares on a one-for-one basis and for no additional consideration on the second anniversary of the date of Closing, subject to the Special Warrants becoming convertible earlier upon: (a) Helius having prepared an updated resource estimate for the Serra Pelada Project in accordance with National Instrument 43-101; and (b) Helius having prepared an engineering options study on mining methods for the Serra Pelada Project. The Amended Notes After Closing, the principal amount outstanding under the Amended Notes may be convertible at the option of the holder and on a one time basis into Helius Shares at a price equal to the price at which Helius securities are sold pursuant to the Equity Financing (the "Conversion Privilege"), save and except that: (i) a holder would not be able to fully exercise the Conversion Privilege to convert the principal amount outstanding into Helius Shares if such full conversion would result in the holder beneficially owning in excess of 9.9% of the issued and outstanding Helius Shares, and (ii) the Conversion Privilege will be subject to accelerated termination should the closing trading price of the Helius Shares on the TSXV exceed 200% of the price of the Equity Financing for a period of 30 consecutive trading days. Helius would become required to commence repaying the principal of the Amended Notes 12 months after the date of commencement of commercial production from the Serra Pelada Project (the "Date of Commencement of Commercial Production"), and Helius would make 16 equal and quarterly payments thereafter. Any existing accrued interest outstanding pursuant to the Existing Notes would be extinguished or settled by Colossus, at Colossus's cost, prior to Closing. Interest will accrue and be charged at a rate of 10% per annum from the Date of Commencement of Commercial Production. Helius could elect to settle up to 50% of individual interest payments in Helius Shares. If Helius raised aggregate proceeds through a single, or series, of debt and/or equity financings in excess of US$7.5 million (the difference being the "Excess Amount"), 25% of such Excess Amount shall be credited towards prepayment of the Amended Notes. The Existing Royalty The Serra Pelada Project is subject to a 2% net smelter returns royalty (the "Existing Royalty") in favour of a third party. In connection with closing of the acquisition of the Target Companies' Shares, Helius would agree, as parent, to guarantee (the "Parent Guarantee") the obligations of Colossus Brazil pursuant to the royalty agreement between the royaltyholder and Colossus Brazil in respect of the Existing Royalty. Should certain adjacent land be acquired by Helius, or its affiliates, it shall be subject to the Existing Royalty. The transaction is subject to receipt of TSXV approval, and to Colossus' receipt on or before May 5, 2025 of (i) shareholder approval by way of a special resolution to the disposition of the Serra Pelada Project to Helius; and (ii) approval from the holders of the Existing Notes to the amendment of the terms of the Existing Notes as to be reflected in the Amended Notes. About Helius Minerals Limited Helius is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification and exploration of high-quality mineral assets across the Americas, with an emphasis on South American jurisdictions. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Helius Minerals Limited Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term in defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," 'projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: the uncertainties inherent to current and future legal challenges that face the Serra Pelada Project and the Target Companies; controls, regulations, and political or economic developments in Brazil; changes in national and local government legislation in Canada and Brazil; the lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, which may not be immune from the influence of political pressure, corruption or other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining and maintaining the validity and enforceability of the necessary licenses and permits and complying with the permitting requirements of Brazil; fluctuations in the international currency markets and in the rates of exchange of the currencies of Canada, the United States and Brazil; significant capital requirements; risks related to fluctuations in metal prices; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund exploration work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from weather, logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Serra Pelada Project; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in conducting work programs; the risk of environmental contamination or damage resulting from Helius' operations and other risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2025) - Omai Gold Mines Corp. (TSXV: OMG) (OTCQB: OMGGF) ("Omai Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from the balance of drilling completed as part of the 2024 program. A total of 26 diamond drill holes totalling 13,716m were completed in 2024, mostly focused on expanding the large Wenot deposit at the Company's 100%-owned Omai Gold Project in Guyana. Assays are reported for 3 holes drilled in 2024 and results are pending for an additional 8 holes at Wenot drilled to date in 2025 (Figure 1). Highlights include: Hole 24ODD-097 5.21 g/t Au over 19.3m, including 11.44 g/t Au over 4.6m and 11.75 g/t Au over 3.6m Hole 24ODD-096 0.98 g/t Au over 26.2m, including 1.71 g/t Au over 12.7m 1.31 g/t Au over 22.0m Hole 24ODD-093 1.89 g/t Au over 6.7m 2.51 g/t Au over 4.9m Results from the 2024 drill program at Wenot achieved the objectives as set: 1) to identify further mineralization in some of the wide undrilled areas within the 2.5 km long strike of the Wenot deposit, particularly within the under-explored southern sedimentary rock sequence, 2) to extend the known mineralization in the multiple subparallel gold zones down to the 400m to 450m level, which management believes is a reasonable depth for a potential large-scale open pit operation, and 3) to increase the shallow drilling at West Wenot, an area with known broad mineralized zones within the southern sedimentary rocks with potential as a starter pit. Elaine Ellingham, President & CEO, commented: "The balance of results from the last three drill holes from 2024 mark a strong finish to last year's drill program. In particular, hole 97 intersected high-grade gold mineralization of 5.21 g/t Au over 19.3m - showing increased grade over nearby hole 90 that was drilled from the north side. Our 2025 drill program commenced in January, with an initial planned 10,000m but we will potentially expand this with further success. To date, an additional 8 holes have already been drilled for a total of 4,880m. Two of these holes were drilled at the Camp Zone approximately 1km west of Wenot along the shear corridor, in an area with no historical open pit mining but a few previous holes with encouraging mineralization. Drilling will pave the way to an updated Mineral Resource Estimate expected in Q2 2025, and an updated PEA planned for Q3 2025." Hole 24ODD-097 (Figure 2) was drilled from the south side at West Wenot along a similar Easting as hole 24ODD-090, which was drilled from the north side. Hole 90, previously reported, intersected 1.19 g/t Au over 10m in the volcanics, 1.01 g/t Au over 28.5m within the central quartz feldspar porphyry ("QFP") at the main contact, and up to 1.07 g/t Au over 11.0m within the sedimentary sequence to the south (Figure 2). Hole 97, along the same section line intersected a number of intervals of gold mineralization within the sediments to the south, including 1.03 g/t Au over 4.5m, 0.98 g/t Au over 2.2m, and 2.48 g/t Au over 1.8m. At the central contact QFP, the hole intersected 5.21 g/t Au over 19.3m, that included 11.44 over 4.6m and also 11.75 g/t Au over 3.6m. This was an impressive result, as the grade was much higher than the corresponding intercept from hole 90 of 1.01 g/t Au over 28.5m. Hole 21ODD-022 also drilled on the same section, intersected 4.63 g/t over 20.0m within the same contact QPF but 75m shallower at a vertical depth of approximately 180m. Hole 24ODD-096 (Figure 3) was drilled from the north at central Wenot approximately 25m west of hole 24ODD-083 and was targeting approximately 100m shallower than the mineralization encountered in that hole (Figure 3). Hole 83 was one of four holes drilled in 2024 to test beneath the central part of the Wenot deposit, and intersected four significant mineralized zones, including 10.93 g/t Au over 7.5 m, 1.93 g/t Au over 11.5 m, 1.17 g/t Au over 15.0m and 2.33 g/t Au over 17.7 m within felsic and diorite dikes in the volcanics, and 0.64 g/t Au over 26.5 m within the central contact QFP. For comparison, hole 96 intersected 1.73 g/t Au over 6.3m, 1.31 g/t Au over 22.0m, 0.93 g/t Au over 9.0m and 1.59 g/t Au over 6.0m, all in the dike corridor and all approximately 100m shallower than the corresponding mineralized zones from hole 83. Hole 96 went on to intersect 0.95 g/t Au over 5.3m near the main contact shear but within the volcanics, and 0.98 g/t Au over 26.2m (including 1.71 g/t Au over 12.7m and also 3.23 g/t Au over 4.7m) at the contact QFP at a vertical depth of just over 400m and below both the 2024 PEA pit shell and the 2024 MRE pit shell. Hole 24ODD-093 (Figure 4) was drilled from the north side at West Wenot, approximately 50m east from hole 24ODD-088 and between that hole and 24ODD-090. Hole 93 was drilled to target the shallower up-dip extensions of previous gold mineralization intersected in the dike corridor, the central contact QFP, and the southern sedimentary sequence by holes 22ODD-052, 23ODD-067, and 24ODD-088 (Figure 4). Hole 93 intersected 1.82 g/t Au over 7.5m in saprolite near the top of the hole. It continued on, intersecting 1.89 g/t Au over 6.7m and 0.53 g/t Au over 10.5m within the dike corridor between 80m and 100m vertical depths. At the main contact, this hole also intersected 0.87 g/t Au over 18.5m. In the sedimentary sequence to the south, various intervals of gold mineralization were intersected including 2.60 g/t Au over 3.0m, 2.51 g/t Au over 4.9m, 1.48 g/t Au over 4.3m, and 0.35 g/t Au over 19.5m. Figure 1. Wenot Plan Map Showing Drill Hole Locations Figure 2. Cross-Section for DDH 24ODD-097 Figure 3. Cross-Section for DDH 24ODD-096 Figure 4. Cross-Section for DDH 24ODD-093 Table 1. Recent Drill Results* DDH From To Interval (m) Grade (g/t Au) 24ODD-093 32.5 40.0 7.5 1.82 56.9 58.3 1.4 0.56 101.5 103.0 1.5 1.10 130.1 136.8 6.7 1.89 149.6 151.0 1.4 1.55 162.5 173.0 10.5 0.53 194.0 195.5 1.5 0.78 227.0 228.5 1.5 0.46 238.0 256.5 18.5 0.87 272.0 275.0 3.0 2.60 284.0 287.0 3.0 1.84 318.9 323.8 4.9 2.51 334.2 338.5 4.3 1.48 348.5 350.0 1.5 0.81 359.0 378.5 19.5 0.35 395.0 403.5 8.5 0.38 453.5 454.7 1.2 3.40 24ODD-096 141.5 144.5 3.0 1.30 193.5 195.0 1.5 0.45 205.5 212.0 6.5 0.41 218.0 219.5 1.5 1.57 233.5 236.5 3.0 0.59 274.0 280.3 6.3 1.73 305.0 327.0 22.0 1.31 342.5 348.5 6.0 0.48 354.5 363.5 9.0 0.93 426.5 432.5 6.0 1.59 484.5 486.0 1.5 0.66 492.0 493.0 1.0 0.60 527.5 532.8 5.3 0.95 556.5 558.0 1.5 0.45 568.5 594.7 26.2 0.98 including 582.0 594.7 12.7 1.71 including 590.0 594.7 4.7 3.23 630.5 632.0 1.5 0.59 24ODD-097 172.5 177.0 4.5 1.03 292.5 294.0 1.5 0.50 303.8 306.0 2.2 0.98 313.0 314.5 1.5 0.37 323.5 325.3 1.8 2.48 350.6 352.0 1.4 0.61 382.4 401.7 19.3 5.21 including 382.4 387.0 4.6 11.44 and including 397.4 401.0 3.6 11.75 467.0 474.9 7.9 0.81 480.5 482.0 1.5 0.44 496.6 497.7 1.1 0.70 *True widths vary as mineralization at Wenot is generally hosted within stockwork vein systems with alteration halos, with an estimated true width range of 70-90%. Cut-off grade 0.30 g/t Au with maximum 5.0m internal dilution is applied. Grades are uncapped. Table 2. Drill Hole Coordinates Hole ID Azimuth (degrees) Inclination (degrees) Easting Northing Depth (m) Status 24ODD-093 177 -50 304647 601829 497 Reporting 24ODD-096 176 -56 305465 601845 677 Reporting 24ODD-097 357 -48 304735 601397 590 Reporting 1 NI43-101 Technical Report dated May 21, 2024 "UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE AND PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE OMAI GOLD PROPERTY, POTARO MINING DISTRICT NO.2, GUYANA" was prepared by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, President of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. is available on SEDAR+ and on the Company's website. It includes a Wenot resource of 834,000 indicated ounces of gold averaging 1.48 g/t Au and 1,614,000 inferred ounces of gold averaging 1.99 g/t Au, and the adjacent Gilt Creek resource of 1,151,000 indicated ounces of gold averaging 3.22 g/t Au and 665,000 inferred ounces of gold averaging 3.35 g/t Au. 2 Past production at the Omai Mine (1993-2005) is summarized in several Cambior Inc. documents available on SEDARplus.ca, including March 31, 2006 AIF and news release August 3, 2006. Quality Control Omai maintains an internal QA/QC program to ensure sampling and analysis of all exploration work is conducted in accordance with best practices. Certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates are entered at regular intervals. Samples are sealed in plastic bags. Drilling samples were shipped to ActLabs, a certified laboratory in Georgetown Guyana, respecting the best chain of custody practices. At the laboratory, samples are dried, crushed up to 80% passing 2 mm, riffle split (250 g), and pulverized to 95% passing 105 m, including cleaner sand. Fifty grams of pulverized material is then fire assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AA). Initial assays with results above 3.0 ppm gold are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. For samples with visible gold two separate 500g or 1000g pulverized samples are prepared, with 50 grams of each fire assayed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, with assays above 3.0 ppm gold being re-assayed using a gravimetric finish. Certified reference materials and blanks meet with QA/QC specifications. Qualified Person Elaine Ellingham is a Qualified Person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has approved the technical information contained in this news release. Ms. Ellingham is not considered to be independent for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. ABOUT OMAI GOLD Omai Gold Mines Corp. holds a 100% interest in the Omai Prospecting License that includes the past-producing Omai Gold Mine in Guyana, and a 100% interest in the adjoining Eastern Flats Mining Permits. The Company announced a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")1 on its Wenot Deposit at Omai in April 2024, showing an open pit operation to produce 1.84 million ounces of gold over a 13-year period, with an NPV 5% of US$556 million at a US$1,950/oz gold price. This baseline PEA incorporates only 45% of the property's MRE and management believes that with additional work the mine plan can be significantly expanded, the economics enhanced, and the open pit resources further increased. An updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE")1 of 2.0 million ounces of gold (Indicated) and 2.3 million ounces (Inferred) reflects a notable increase as a result of 2023's successful drilling. Once South America's largest producing gold mine, Omai produced over 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1993 and 20052. Mining ceased at a time when the average gold price was less than US$400 per ounce. As a brownfields project, Omai benefits from good road access and a wealth of historical data that provides knowledge of the geology and gold mineralization on the Property, as well as metallurgy, historical processing recoveries and many other relevant mining parameters. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-Looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the timing of completion of exploration, trenching and drill programs, and the potential for the Omai Gold Project to allow Omai to build significant gold Mineral Resources at attractive grades, and forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; the price of gold and copper; and the results of current exploration. Further, the Mineral Resource data set out in the Omai Gold news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Further, the Preliminary Economic Assessments and related data discussed in this news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized. Forward-Looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Omai Gold Mines Corp. to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to international operations; actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold, copper and other minerals and metals; general market conditions; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; uncertainty of access to additional capital; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities. Human rights defenders in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo face a high risk of reprisals and serious abuses, a United Nations expert warned Wednesday, urging support for their relocation. Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, expressed her "extreme concern" over the situation facing activists in eastern DRC. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has in recent months seized large swathes of the mineral-rich region, including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu, displacing hundreds of thousands and triggering what the UN calls "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises". Lawlor cautioned that those who have documented and denounced violations committed during the hostilities have themselves been directly targeted. "Human rights defenders in the eastern DRC are currently at extreme risk of reprisals for their human rights work," she warned in a statement. "They need help now, including support for temporary relocation along with their families." Lawlor, an independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said that she had received "countless alerts requesting support" from defenders on the ground. "They are living in fear and the risks are real," she said, detailing how M23 fighters were allegedly drawing up lists of activists to apprehend in areas under their control. The expert said she had received credible reports of rights defenders being detained incommunicado, and being forcibly disappeared and tortured in parts of North Kivu province. At least six others had been reported missing while attempting to flee Goma after it was seized by M23, she added. Lawlor highlighted the increased danger following mass breakouts from a number of prisons in eastern DRC. Thousands of detainees -- including violent criminals and heads of armed groups who had been condemned for serious violations including war crimes and crimes against humanity -- had escaped, she said. Some of them were now threatening rights defenders who had provided assistance to victims and witnesses who testified during the trials, Lawlor warned. Lawlor in particular emphasised the grave risk of sexual violence faced by women activists. "We know that conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in eastern DRC is rampant, and that women who take a stand against human rights violations in such contexts, and become visible through their work, often bear the brunt of this," she said. The special rapporteur called upon the international community to "recognise our collective responsibility" to help rights defenders in eastern DRC, and to "explore all avenues for rapid assistance in order to avoid the situation deteriorating further". Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik Wednesday signed a law banning the police and judiciary of the central government from exercising their powers in his Serb entity, escalating a political crisis in the Balkan country. Dodik said the move restores "constitutional jurisdiction" to the Serb statelet, known as Republika Srpska. The law, along with others signed by Dodik, raises tensions in the Balkan country and poses a test for its fragile central institutions. Since the Dayton accords that put an end to the 1992-1995 civil war, which claimed nearly 100,000 lives, Bosnia has been divided between two largely autonomous entities, one Serb and one Muslim-Croat. Dodik was sentenced last week to a year in prison and banned from holding office for six years for refusing to comply with decisions made by Bosnia's high representative, with Republika Srpska's Parliament adopting the laws in response. The Serb leader had ignored decisions made by Christian Schmidt, the envoy mandated to oversee the Dayton accords, whose legitimacy is being rejected by Bosnian Serbs. Dodik, 65, has the right to appeal the verdict, which he said was the result of a "political trial" intended to "eliminate him from the political arena". The laws target the state prosecutor's office which indicted Dodik, and the state court that sentenced him. The third targeted institution is SIPA, the only national police force with a mandate to serve the central judiciary. Both the Serb and the Muslim/Croat entities have their own police forces and judicial system. The national judiciary is limited to focussing on organized crime, corruption, war crimes and potential attacks on the constitutional order. "We want to bring back Republika Srpska to us, this is our right. We take back Republika Srpska's right because that is written in the Constitution". Bosnia's foreign minister Elmedin Konakovic denounced the laws and announced that a complaint would be submitted to the constitutional court. "We can truly see tonight that Milorad Dodik" and his associates "have committed a textbook coup d'etat," Konakovic told broadcaster FTV. - Call for "calm" - The laws adopted by the parliament and signed by Dodik envisage a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison for Republika Srpska employees who refuse to leave the central institutions. According to Dodik, the new laws go into force on Friday after they are published in the entity's official gazette. "We will accompany this with great efficiency", he declared. "I invite people throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to remain calm, stable," Dodik said. Reffering to the recent return of President Donald Trump in United States, whose victory he openly celebrated, Dodik said he was "convinced that, in the constellation of relations on a global scale, the United States and other major players will no longer support the creation of impossible states and artificial nations". Winners of 'When Koala Meets Panda' 2024 China-Australia Short Video Contest announced People's Daily Online) 14:57, March 05, 2025 The "When Koala Meets Panda" 2024 China-Australia Short Video Contest recently concluded with the selection of the "Most Popular in China" Award. The winning video, "Strolling Sydney the Way Wes Anderson Does," created by contestant Ren Ziyuan, amassed a total of 1.17 million views across social media platforms, securing the final award. The launch ceremony and sharing session for past contestants of the "When Koala Meets Panda" Contest. The event was hosted by the Chinese Consulate-General in Brisbane and organized by People's Daily Australia. It has been held for eight consecutive years. The theme of the eighth edition of the contest was "Echoes of Time", inviting young people from China and Australia to shoot and produce short videos to review and showcase the friendship between the two countries. Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2024, the contest received over 100 video submissions from across Australia. Reviewed by a professional judging panel consisting of well-known Australian TV presenters, producers and academics, 12 Outstanding Awards and four Individual Awards were selected in December 2024. The judges praised the submissions for their creativity, with standout approaches in filming, editing, and storytelling. Some videos were noted for their professional editing techniques, while others highlighted meaningful content, celebrating the strong cultural ties between Australia and China. Four Individual Award-winning works: Best Story Award-"Echo of TimeDon't Look Back in Anger" http://v.people.cn/n1/2024/1217/c239891-40384126.html Best Editing Award-"Strolling Sydney the Way Wes Anderson Does" http://v.people.cn/n1/2024/1217/c239891-40384125.html Best Influence Award-"The Gears of Fate" http://v.people.cn/n1/2024/1217/c239891-40384128.html Best Cooperation Award"Lucy's Inspirational Music Adventure for Koala Panda" http://v.people.cn/n1/2024/1217/c239891-40384127.html Judges conduct online voting for the Individual Award selection. From Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, 2025, the contest opened the final phase of the "Most Popular in China" award selection. The four individual award-winning videos competed based on total views across multiple social media platforms. Ultimately, "Strolling Sydney the Way Wes Anderson Does" emerged victorious with 1.17 million views. Ren Ziyuan, a Chinese university student on a short-term study visit to Sydney, used her humorous cinematography and unique editing style to capture the city's stunning landscapes and vibrant culture, offering audiences a fresh and engaging travel experience. The winner of the "Most Popular in China" award will receive a certificate and trophy, along with an invitation for a week-long cultural journey in China. During the trip, the winner will create video content to introduce Chinese landscapes and cultural highlights to Australian audiences, fostering stronger cultural exchanges between China and Australia. The winners of the individual awards and outstanding awards will also receive corresponding certificates, trophies, and cash prizes. (Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang) Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Police in Migori County are investigating the fatal shooting of a 50-year-old businessman by unknown assailants. The victim, Zachary Otieno Mogaka, was gunned down on Tuesday, March 4, at around 5:40 p.m outside his shop near Pastor Machage Hospital in Suna West sub-county. Confirming the incident, Suna West sub-county police commander, Chrispine Ogutu, said officers responded to a shooting report at 8:34 p.m, but the attackers had already fled. "The deceased had four gunshot wounds and died on the spot. We are working to establish the motive and bring the perpetrators to justice," Ogutu stated. Fanuel Odero, an eye witness, said Mogaka had just closed his shop and was about to leave when he was ambushed and shot in the arm and chest. "It happened so fast. We heard gunshots, and when we checked, he was already down. The assailant disappeared as we tried to assist him," he recounted. Mogakas family believes the attack may be linked to a past incident. His brother, Sam Wagaka, revealed that the businessman was abducted last year, driven around town, and forced to pay a KSh 20,000 ransom before being released. "They shot him four times. Clearly, they wanted him dead," Wagaka said. Police have termed the killing unusual for the area and vowed to track down the suspects. The body was taken to Migori Referral Hospital mortuary as investigations continue. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - The law fraternity is mourning following the death of Kirimi Muturi, former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Chuka branch chairman. Muturi died after his car was involved in a road accident along the Meru-Nairobi highway on Tuesday night at around 11 PM. According to close friends and family, he was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. His fellow local scholars received news of his untimely demise with shock and sadness, describing him as a dedicated lawyer. The late Muturi had expressed his interest in politics, including running unsuccessfully for the Tharaka Nithi Senatorial seat in the 2022 polls. It is a double tragedy for Muturis family because he buried his father 5 days ago. Muturi announced the death of his father Eustace Muturi on February 19, 2025. He buried his father last weekend, only to perish in an accident days later. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Naivasha High Court Judge Richard Mwongo has convicted former United Nations (UN) employee, Nicholas Koskei, for the murder of his wife, Rhoda Mumbi Mutua, bringing an end to an eight-year legal battle that had been marred by delays. The court found that Koskei lured his wife to a hotel in Gilgil under the guise of a romantic getaway in 2017 before killing her in what investigators described as a premeditated crime. The judgment, delivered on 4th March 2025, found Koskei guilty of murder contrary to Section 203 as read together with Section 204 of the Penal Code. Justice Mwongo ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, relying on evidence from 17 witnesses, forensic reports and circumstantial evidence that pointed to Koskeis involvement in the crime. The court has ordered a pre-sentencing probation report, which is to be filed within 21 days, with sentencing set for 27th March 2025. The murder incident happened on 8th July 2017 after Rhoda Mumbi Mutua travelled with her husband, Nicholas Koskei, to Jacaranda Lake Elementaita Lodge in Gilgil, Nakuru County. The trip, reportedly intended to celebrate Koskeis 36th birthday and resolve marital differences, ended in tragedy when Mumbi was found dead in their hotel rooms bathtub later that night. Investigators treated the death as suspicious from the onset. Koskei claimed that he had left Mumbi preparing to take a bath while he stepped out to make phone calls. He later returned, allegedly found the door locked, and sought a master key from the hotel reception to gain access. When he opened the door, Mumbi was found lifeless in the bathtub, naked, with one leg hanging over the side. Koskei insisted that she had drowned after consuming sleeping pills. However, postmortem reports conducted by Government pathologists contradicted Koskeis claims. The autopsy revealed that Mumbi had no traces of drugs in her system, nor was there evidence of drowning. Instead, she had injuries consistent with strangulation, along with a head wound that suggested she had struggled before her death. Investigators also noted that the bathroom floor was completely dry, raising further doubts about the drowning claim. Koskei was subsequently arrested and charged with murder. However, he was released on a Ksh 300,000 bond and remained out of custody for years as the case suffered multiple delays. At one point, he feigned mental instability in remand, reportedly rocking himself back and forth while repeatedly shouting, I killed my wife for love. During investigations, police discovered several indications that Mumbis murder had been pre-planned. Hotel records showed that Koskei had made his reservation on 5th July 2017, specifically requesting a room with a bathtub. Witnesses recalled seeing the couple together at the poolside before they retired to their room, after which Koskei was later spotted outside, allegedly jogging in slippers in the dark. Further scrutiny of Koskeis online activity revealed that he had been researching head and neck injuries, drug administration through veins, and drowning prior to the incident. A whistleblower in the police service also revealed that Koskei had attempted to compromise the postmortem report by reaching out to a medical doctor for advice on whether it could be influenced. Witness testimonies also painted a picture of a troubled marriage. Friends and relatives suggested that Koskei was unhappy in the relationship, viewing Mumbi as a financial burden. He was also reportedly angered by her intentions to seek a divorce due to his infidelity. Moreover, Koskeis family had opposed the marriage on ethnic grounds and had refused to meet Mumbis parents for the entire eight years of their union. Mumbis murder was among several high-profile femicide cases in Kenya but delays in prosecution, coupled with concerns over possible interference in the legal process, led to frustration among activists and the victims family. The case remained stagnant for two years before it even proceeded to trial. The conviction has been met with relief by activists who have been vocal about femicide and gender-based violence. Human rights defender Wanjeri Nderu, who actively followed up on the case for years, expressed her satisfaction. Koskeis sentencing is scheduled for 27th March 2025, with expectations that the court will hand down a severe punishment given the gravity of the crime. Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - A lady has taken to social media platform X to accuse a Strathmore School student, identified as Mark Talamson, of assaulting her. She alleges that Talamson sneaked into her house when she was alone and took advantage of her. The woman claims she was forced to seek justice online after police allegedly sided with the accused. Her post has sparked mixed reactions, with some netizens expressing sympathy while others urge caution, citing past cases of false accusations. See her post and reactions below. Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Violent protests erupted in Majengo slums, Nairobi, after locals flooded to the streets to protest over the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadhan. The protesters torched police vehicles, houses and chiefs camp, leading to violent confrontation that turned deadly after 4 people were shot dead. Dennis Muthui was among the people who were shot dead by the police during the protests. According to Haki Africa CEO, Hussein Khalid, Muthui died on the spot after he was shot in the stomach. See his photo below. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Angry protesters turned violent and set police houses ablaze following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadhan, a student at Kamukunji High School. Ramadhan was shot by the police last night while coming from the mosque for night prayers. The demonstrators also burnt down two police vehicles in the chaos and blocked roads in the area as they chanted Allah Akbar slogans. The group also attacked and destroyed the chiefs office as they demanded action on those behind the said shooting. The protests commenced at 6 am after a group walked out of a mosque spreading to the nearby areas. The fatal shooting occurred last night at the Majengo Social Hall area and involved undercover police officers and a group of youths. Police had stopped a group of youths for a random search on suspicion of trafficking drugs. They were targeting a well-known suspect who was among the group. As the drama ensued, the suspect resisted and raised an alarm, shouting for help from a group that was coming from a mosque. The group attacked and chased the police officers, forcing one of them to shoot for protection. Ramadhan was shot dead during the dramatic chase. One of the police officers involved in the altercation also sustained serious injuries in the hip, hand and back. Watch videos of the violent protests. THE REVOLUTION IS HERE: Shauri Moyo police station vehicle goes up in smoke. A sign of things to come for the corrupt political class. Keep talking that shit. We are coming. Statehouse all the way down. #OccupyJesusWinner #OccupyStatehouse #RutoMustGo pic.twitter.com/NSbqnaG4CC Francis Gaitho (@FGaitho237) March 5, 2025 Shauri Moyo Police Station in flames. The Kenya Police will NEVER kill another innocent youth again. It is so decreed. We are coming for you MPigs. Your homes, businesses, cars, everything. We are coming for you @RailaOdinga . Traitor. Msaliti. We know where ODM headquarters pic.twitter.com/BL4gEmoOnl Francis Gaitho (@FGaitho237) March 5, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Residents of Majengo in Nairobi have taken to the streets to protest the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadhan by a rogue police officer from Shauri Moyo station. The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m as the Kamukunji High School student was returning from night prayers from the mosque. Ramadhan was rushed to Kenyatta Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. Angry demonstrators have set police houses and vehicles on fire, clashing with officers in running battles. Below are photos from the protests. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - National Assembly speaker, Moses Wetangula, reportedly invited a 22-year-old lady student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) to a hotel after attending the burial of the late Malava MP, Malulu Injendi. Wetangula, whose appetite for women is well-known in Kenyas political circles, sent his Personal Assistant to pick her up. A leaked WhatsApp conversation between Wetangulas PA and the college lady has surfaced online. He asks her whether she is around so that she can meet Wetangula. Are you in school? Were in Western for a burial in Malava. Mhesh was requesting to see you, the PA inquires. He then tells her to pin the location so that he can pick her up. The lady, identified as Sharon Wakoli, was driven to a hotel where she had fun with Wetangula. Interestingly, she is a niece to Wetangulas former PA. See her photos. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Angry youth in Mandera County took to the streets yesterday, protesting poor leadership as the region suffers from a severe water shortage. During the demonstrations, they vandalized a billboard featuring President William Ruto and county leaders, accusing them of neglecting residents while enjoying luxury in Nairobi. The protesters claimed leaders squander public funds instead of addressing the crisis. Their frustration comes just weeks after Ruto toured the region, making grand promises - pledges that now appear to be empty words as locals continue to struggle for basic necessities. Watch the video below and see Kenyans' reactions thereafter The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - A concerned resident of Kisabei Village in Sotik Constituency, Bomet County, has accused rogue staff attached to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) of colluding with thugs to vandalize transformers, leading to frequent blackouts. See photos of a transformer which was recently vandalized. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - A Nairobi court has ordered the detention of Police Constable Kipkoech Tarus for seven days as investigations continue into the killing of his colleague, Raphael Kimuli Wambua. Tarus, who serves in the VIP protection unit for Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, allegedly shot Wambua on February 21st while he was walking home with his brother, Police Constable Erick Ngolania. Wambua was attached to the Central Bank of Kenya. The two had an argument as they were leaving a bar in Ruaraka on the fateful night. Tarus drew his gun before shooting Wambua and attempted to flee but members of the public subjected him to mob justice. He was rescued from the mob by patrol police officers. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had sought a 14-day detention, citing pending forensic analysis of the firearm and spent cartridges, as well as the need for witness statements and a psychiatric assessment. Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina granted the seven-day detention, noting the seriousness of the allegations and the risk of interference with investigations. Tarus, who was reportedly assaulted by members of the public after the incident, will remain at Ruaraka Police Station until the case is mentioned on March 11th. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Busia Senator and activist, Okiya Omtatah, has called for the immediate suspension of the Social Health Authority (SHA) following a shocking revelation by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu. The AGs report exposed SHA as a Ksh 104 billion corruption scheme that the Government neither owns nor controls, raising serious concerns about the security of funds contributed by Kenyans for healthcare. In response, Omtatah has issued three key demands to the Ministry of Health: the immediate suspension of SHA, a full investigation into its operational failures, and a complete overhaul of its framework to prevent further mismanagement. "These are not mere teething problems; they are systemic failures that threaten the future of Universal Health Coverage in Kenya," Omtatah stated. He warned that allowing SHA to continue operating in its current state would betray public trust and undermine healthcare reform efforts. Omtatah argues that rather than enhancing universal healthcare, SHA has become a vehicle for large-scale corruption, exploiting ordinary Kenyans. Meanwhile, President William Ruto has acknowledged the concerns over SHA but insisted the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program will benefit Kenyans in the long run. Speaking at Jesus Winner Church in Roysambu on March 2, 2025, he stated, "It may take time to align, but believe me, it will work."Bottom of Form The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President, Nelson Havi, has sensationally claimed that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is a criminal enterprise designed to funnel funds for bribing Members of Parliament. Speaking on Citizen TV, Havi stated, SHA is a criminal enterprise. The president is using SHA money to bribe MPs; thats why you see them dishing out millions in churches every weekend. His remarks follow a damning report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, which uncovered that 2.5% of SHA member contributions were being deducted and placed into a secret account lacking transparency and oversight. The report also exposed SHA as a Ksh 104 billion corruption scheme that the Government neither owns nor controls, raising fears over the security of funds meant for healthcare. Gathungu further highlighted major governance issues within SHA, including uncompetitive procurement processes, a lack of payment agreements, and unfavorable contract clauses. These revelations have intensified calls from stakeholders and the public to cancel the SHA deal and subject its operations to thorough scrutiny. However, President William Ruto has dismissed claims that his administration spent Ksh 104 billion on the SHA system. There is not a single cent from the government being used to pay for any system. Most of the money in NHIF was previously misappropriated by brokers in the old system, Ruto stated on Tuesday. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - Blogger Aoko Otieno claims that Deputy President Kithure Kindiki is having an affair with Wanja Nyarari, one of the staff members in his office. Wanja, a former presenter at Kameme TV, accompanied Kindiki to Namibia for his two-day state visit and shared a video carrying dollars in a briefcase. She also posted a video inside a luxurious private jet that the Government had hired for Kindiki to fly him to Namibia. In another video, Wanja was seen being ushered into a luxurious vehicle by her personal bodyguard. The divorced mother of three, who was married to prominent city lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, has been flaunting her flamboyant lifestyle on social media, which is sponsored by taxpayers money. Aoko Otieno unmasked her in a tweet and claimed that she is having a romantic affair with Kindiki. Watch the video of Wanja with her bodyguard. WANJA NYARARI linked to a romantic affair with KINDIKI as a video of her with a bodyguard and luxurious vehicles emerges pic.twitter.com/pabQWE3SdM DAILY POST (@dailypost_ke) March 5, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST 1 of 1 Senior Citizen Health Insurance Premiums Cannot Increase Over 10% Annually Without Approval A significant drop in the supply of agricultural land for sale in Kildare will keep prices high according to a local auctioneer. Paddy Jordan of Jordan Auctioneers offered insight into land prices in the annual farm survey by IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV). Mr Jordan said: The supply of land for sale in Co Kildare has dropped significantly with only around 1,400 acres sold last year compared to 4,500 acres ten years ago in 2013 (Farmers Journal Land Reports). The rental market has also seen a decline in availability, largely due to the popularity of long-term leases over the past decade, which has reduced turnover. Land prices are expected to remain high and may even strengthen in 2025, driven by limited supply and the deep-rooted desire in Ireland to own land. Despite no direct correlation between price and return, demand remains strong, particularly from hobby farmers and successful businesspeople who see land as a secure investment. The perception of land as a safe haven asset ensures that prices will stay elevated. In 2024 farm sales in Leinster was a tale of two regions. Auctioneers in the northern part of the province report a good supply of land and a lively market whereas auctioneers in the southern counties saw supply remain static or tighten. Traditionally tillage farmers were major players in the Leinster land market, but dairy farmers are undoubtedly in the ascendant along with business buyers, many of whom have a farming background who see land as a solid investment. While a rough overall average price for land in the province comes to 16,259, grazing land made an average of between 13,300 and 20,000 per acre while some headline sales saw land make up to 36,000 per acre. Forestry ground made an average of about 7,000 per acre while the lease price being paid for grazing land averaged between 245 and 400 per acre. Tillage ground commanded, on average, between 275 and 340 per acre. Nationally land sale and rental prices continue, according to the annual farm survey by IPAV with some regions expecting growth of 5% to 10% in 2025. The average price for an acre of agricultural grazing land reached 13,949/ac in 2024, up 8% from 12,840/ac the previous year. The average price for forestry land rose 7.8% to 6,407 per acre from 5,940 while the average price for letting land by con-acre stood at 268. Long-term grazing leases averaged 299/ac and tillage came in at 304 per annum per acre. The report says that a combination of higher farm incomes, a shortage of land and increasing demand from both farmers and investors drove prices. Farmers made their presence felt in the land market, especially in the last quarter, and were happy to go toe-to-toe with business buyers and investors in the auction rooms. Predictions are that while macroeconomic uncertainties exist, the overall strength of Irelands agricultural sector suggests that demand for land will continue to rise. Consequently, land prices are expected to follow suit, with a broad consensus among IPAV members that land prices will remain strong, with some regions expecting growth of 5% to 10%. Pat Davitt, IPAVs Chief Executive says supply has been constrained by traditional factors such as farmers wanting to keep land in the family and newer trends such as the movement towards long-term leasing and the increasing footprint of solar farms. At the same time competition has intensified with the forthcoming Nitrates Directive, and increasingly land being viewed as a tax efficient vehicle for wealth transfer, he said. Beyond that there are of course regional factors that vary across the provinces. Addressing forestry, he said prices are still rising but the reality is, farmers and investors bear many risks, trees may not reach maturity with exposure to fire and wind damage, which we saw to devastating effect in the recent storm. And he warned that unless some form of subsidy is introduced for the second and further plantations it will be very difficult to encourage farmers and investors to buy into additional forestry. Recent storms wrecked many forestry crops, and the price paid for timber by sawmills has dropped dramatically due to the availability of so much windblown timber, he said. This will leave the price of forestry land struggling and will likely cause the government programme of planting trees to come close to standstill, he predicted. By Cillian Sherlock, PA More than half of accommodation centres for asylum seekers which were inspected last year did not have effective governance systems in place, according to a report. In addition, more than a third did not have policies or procedures to protect residents from harm while 35 per cent of staff across centres were not appropriately vetted by gardai. The figures come under a major overview report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) following a years worth of monitoring and inspection of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres. IPAS centres, formerly known as direct provision centres, provide accommodation for people seeking international protection in Ireland. HIQA, which conducted 60 inspections across 51 centres during last year, found that many providers ensured they were providing a safe service that was of a good standard. However, the agency said there is considerable room for improvement in governance, risk management, safeguarding and protection. As a result of a call for urgent action following its inspections, it said it is now assured that the identified staff members without vetting had now received it. HIQAs report also highlights overcrowding in the system, where limited access to housing in the community is reducing the availability of beds. The report outlines that 41 per cent of residents living in accommodation centres inspected by HIQA had received refugee status or had valid permission to remain in Ireland but continued to live in accommodation centres because of a lack of alternatives. HIQA met 867 adults and 302 children and young people over the course of the inspections last year. It found that 57 per cent of service providers inspected were found to be delivering safe, high-quality services in line with national standards. However, 56 per cent of inspected centres did not have effective governance and management arrangements in place and had poor, or no, reporting systems. This meant these service providers were less likely to know how their staff were performing and did not have a good sense of risk. Just under 75 per centof service providers had limited or no systems in place to identify or monitor risk in their centres. Meanwhile, 37 per cent of centres inspected by HIQA did not have policies and procedures in place to protect residents from experiencing harm. Bronagh Gibson, who leads HIQAs monitoring of the centres, said the current system of international protection accommodation is not adequately resourced to meet demand. She said this has had a notable impact on the quality of accommodation and services provided to some people seeking protection in Ireland. Ms Gibson added: Many providers must place a greater focus on recognising and managing risks and putting effective safeguarding and protection procedures in place to ensure safe and person-centred services. Former Mount Juliet Estate Sales and Marketing Director Siobhan OSullivan has joined the senior leadership team of Westport Estate as it undergoes a huge 85 million reimagining over the next few years. Well known in Kilkenny from her time here, Siobhan is from Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, and daughter of Phillip and Maureen OSullivan, who have been pulling pints in the family business at The Shebeen Bar, Cahersiveen, for the last 50 years. She joins Westport Estate as Director of Sales and Marketing, moving from a similar role at Mount Juliet Estate, where, over a six-year period, she led the repositioning of Mount Juliet Estate, driving a comprehensive brand reimagining, integration into Marriotts Autograph Collection, and achievement of 5-star status. Her leadership helped secure the estates AA Hotel of the Year award in 2020 and facilitated hosting the Horizon Irish Open in 2021 and 2022. Its an exciting time to join Westport Estate as it evolves into a world-class destination, said Siobhan . Our mission is to celebrate the estates heritage and natural beauty while creating engaging visitor experiences. I look forward to working with our talented team and local community to bring this to life. With over 20 years of experience in hospitality, brand development, and strategic planning, Siobhan will play a key role in transforming the Westport Estate into a premier global tourism destination. Thre are big plans in the offing, including a new hotel (The Grace), a refurbishment of Westport House and several brand-new attractions, which will be created with support from Failte Ireland. Siobhans expertise in high-end hospitality and successful track record of transformative projects make her an invaluable addition, said Barry OConnor, CEO of Westport Estate. Her leadership will be instrumental as we position Westport Estate at the forefront of luxury tourism. Current redevelopment plans include The Grace at Westport Estate, a flagship hotel opening in Spring 2026, as well as the restoration of Westport House and its grounds. Exciting new attractions will feature a Grace OMalley experience with interactive tours and digital storytelling, plus an immersive nature journey by renowned landscaper Mary Reynolds. For more information, visit Westport Estate. READ MORE KILKENNY BUSINESS NEWS HERE There were unusual scenes at Kerry Airport last month when a Ryanair flight captained by Kilkenny pilot George OHara arrived on the runway. The flight was met by two fire rescue vehicle who gave it an effective guard of honour as it they sprayed their hoses over the top of the plane. The gesture was to mark the penultimate flight of Captain George OHara, Ryanairs most senior pilot, as he capped off an almost four-decade career with the airline. George is a proud Kilkenny man, who hails from Saint Francis Terrace in Kilkenny City. He is hoping that his story will help inspire other young people to pursue their dreams in aviation. The airfield in Kilkenny was set up with an entrepreneurial spirit, George explained. You had Martin Mulhall of Mulhalls Bakery heavily involved. There was Dan Smithwick, Edwin Stallard and Pat Nolan and some others who really got behind the endeavour. A friend of mine actually worked on the building of the little tower thats there, he was a builder and also worked in Ryanair at one stage too. I started going out to the airfield around 1978. There used to be fly-ins there, open days during the summertime. The Aer Arann islander aircraft used to bring people up on flights. My father was big into aviation and so was my eldest brother so that first ever flight on the islander really stuck with me. I was about twelve at the time and the interest has stayed with me ever since. George started his flying pursuits on gliders, and worked his way up from there, enjoying the nuances of every aircraft he had the privilege to captain. Bit by bit I started to do a bit more, he continues. I did my instructor rating in Dublin, at Dublin Airport Flying Club. My night rating was next and then the instrument rating and then the commercial pilot licence. From there, my job in Ryanair came along. The airline started in about 1985 and they were advertising for a pilot for their Bandeirante, a small twin-turboprop doing flights to Coventry at night. They were going to put me on that when I started in the late 80s but they put me on the ATR, and from then on there have been changes but I stayed through them all. Few could have predicted the immense growth of Ryanair in those days, even George, and he has witnessed so much of the story of the airline firsthand. When I started in Ryanair the main route was Waterford to Luton on the Hawker Siddeley 748, which was an old airplane but it did the job. Then they decided to make an investment. They were going to buy 11 ATRs and ended up with three, which served Galway, Kerry and Waterford. Each one of them landed in each place every night. We used to fly a lot in Germany, places like Dresden, Dortmund, and Leipzig. Some of these places looked like they hadnt been touched since 1944 at the time. Another airport was Tempelhof in Berlin, which is closed now. It had acquired iconic status as the centre of the Berlin Airlift of 194849. Captain OHara says that given the volatility of the aviation industry at the time, it was a hard time for the Ryan family to know how to make money, or come to any firm realisation on the best way to take the airline. One day we got a call asking if wed go to Toronto on Monday. This was a Thursday at the time. We were told that Tony Ryan was thinking of buying ten or eleven Dash-8s (De Havilland Canada Dash 8s) and was thinking of starting an airline up in Bremen. So we flew over and were there for Monday, started a flight safety course and got a call on Thursday to say that he had changed his mind and wasnt going to proceed with the purchase of these aircraft. But that was the airline back then. Tony was a true entrepreneur. When they retired the ATRs I was lucky in a way because I had seniority and they put us back on the BAC One-Elevens. Then the Boeing 737-200s came along. They were all secondhand airplanes but they were a gamechanger. They made a difference and most importantly they made money, even though they were secondhand. That changed things for Ryanair and Ive been lucky enough to pilot so many wonderful aircraft, all the way up to the recent Boeing 737 Max aircraft, a wonderful plane to fly. On his last day flying a commercial aircraft, Captain OHara explained how it was only natural for emotions to be high. My wife and four children were on the plane and my eldest brother was on the plane as well as my nephew Kevin, who is also a pilot. I made sure to tell the passengers when we were passing over Kilkenny on the way down. It was an emotional but rewarding day and we finished the night in Kealys Pub up at Dublin Airport, it was a great time. Captain OHara is advising people in Kilkenny who are interested in getting into aviation to experience flying in a light aircraft first and see how they get on. My first experience was going up with Martin Mulhall and he threw it around a little bit. I was actually quite nauseous getting off, he laughed. The first thing a lot of people say is that its far too expensive to do. For me, I went to the Credit Union in Kilkenny. They were really good. Any time I needed money they gave it to me whereas the banks unfortunately ran me out the door. You can also approach it gradually over time. You dont have to do it all in the one go. One girl I know set up a fundraiser and she comes from a place with great community support and thats helping her manage it. You have to have a lot of stickability to do it modularly, theres a lot of hurdles, but you get there eventually. READ NEXT: Famed American bomber plane crash landed in Kilkenny FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. There is deep sadness in Kilkenny and in Durrow at the unexpected passing of Philip Sheppard of Sheppard's Irish Auction House in Durrow. Mr Sheppard, who was the director of the world-famous auctioneering business, died unexpectedly at home in Ballyouskill, Co Kilkenny. A Durrow native, Philip, aged 70, was director of the business alongside his cousins Michael and David Sheppard who announced his passing. "It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the sudden passing of our colleague and director, Philip Sheppard. As a mark of respect, we are rescheduling the upcoming auction to Tuesday, March 18. "Philips unwavering commitment, deep dedication, and clear vision have been essential in shaping the success of our team and he will be deeply missed by all of us, as well as by our clients and partners," said a statement from the company. The deceased, who was a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, is a nephew of the late Christy Shepperd who started the business in Durrow 1948. A pioneer of Irish marketing, he had a great love of history and he liked nothing better than researching pieces submitted to the auction house for sale or valuation. He attended St Kieran's College, Kilkenny where he was a classmate of Brian Cody, former Kilkenny senior hurling manager and player. He was a voracious reader and studied the History of Art at Trinity College, Dublin before completing his Masters at Newcastle University. Eventually, he set up his own media company, running campaigns for Bord Failte (now Failte Ireland) and other clients. Well over 20 years ago, he joined his uncle, Christy and first cousins. The business has enjoyed a period of sustained growth and success where Michael, Philip and David Sheppard formed a team achieving international recognition for Sheppard's in the auctioneering world. He was an expert in historical manuscripts and had a great knowledge of Japanese antiquities. He was to the fore when Sheppard's and Castle Durrow were the subject of the Channel 4 series, Country House Auctions which received critical and popular acclaim. Funeral arrangements later. Among the famous sales he was involved with was the sale in 2008 of a Chinese for 110,000 . It was valued at 100 in the auction room. Another notable lot was that received extensive international media attention was the sale of previously unknown letters written by Jackie Kennedy, the former US first lady and wife of President John F Kennedy. Outside the business, Philip had a great interest in politics and was involved with Fine Gael, helping in various campaigns mounted by former ministers, Phil Hogan in Carlow-Kilkenny and Charlie Flanagan in Laois-Offaly. READ ALSO: ABBEYLEIX MAN TO REPRESENT IRELAND IN PARIS Mr Sheppard is survived by family. Funeral details to follow. No Limit Wrestling (NLW) is bringing its Clash in Castlecomer event to Castlecomer Community Hall on Sunday, April 6. An event of this type is new to Castlecomer, and its going to be an extra special evening for Kilkennys Chainsaw Luke Frehill, who will to take the ring in his first big event in his home county. Frehill, who hails from Paulstown, is a rising star in Irish wrestling, and he is looking forward to flexing his tremendous talent in front of a raucous and supportive home crowd. Ive always liked wrestling since I was a young lad, Luke explains. I saw an ad on Instagram one time, just after Covid, for the School of Irish Wrestling in Dublin. They were doing an open day. Funnily enough, it was actually on my birthday my 19th birthday. So I said Id go down and give it a go, especially seeing as it was free. I fell in love with it then and havent stopped since. Luke is committed to a routine training schedule in a bid to hone his skills and fitness, with a view to hopefully getting a big breakthrough. Training is on in the school four times a week so I try to get down as much as I can. I like it as well, even though it can be tough enough on the body. I started training in wrestling about three years ago. Ive been wrestling in shows for about a year and a half. Im wrestling at the moment for No Limits Wrestling, who usually run shows out of Naas. I think this is the first time in a long time that theyre running a show somewhere else. Clash in Castlecomer is going to be an extra special event for Luke, who is delighted to see the county embracing wrestling. It will be the first big wrestling event in Kilkenny in a long time and itll be the first time Ill ever be wrestling in Kilkenny, he said. Its great to have the opportunity to be able to do one of these events at home, on home soil. All my family and friends will be there too, so that will make it a bit extra special. Getting a suitable venue for an event like this can be difficult, and Luke gave special mention to Maurice Shortall, local independent councillor, for playing his part in making it happen. So how did the nickname Chainsaw come about? Like most nicknames, Luke explains that it just popped out in discussion one day during training and stuck. One time I was just messing around at training and I just revved up like a chainsaw before I hit a move called the clothesline, he laughs. I tried it [the nickname] then at an event and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it, so I decided to keep it up, and since then its become part of my persona. Looking to the future, Luke is determined to try his hardest to break into wrestling for some of the worlds biggest wrestling organisations. Id like to make a full-time living out of it, he said. Get signed by a company like WWE or someone like that. Thats the dream. READ NEXT: Kilkenny pilot George O'Hara reflects on his storied career in Ryanair FURTHER DETAILS Clash in Castlecomer takes place on Sunday, April 6 at Castlecomer Community Hall, with doors opening at 2.30pm. Other wrestlers set to take part include The Snake Sammy D, Sean Maxer Guinness, Justy and Session Moth Martina. The event is deemed suitable for all ages and ticketholders will also be treated to a meet and greet with the wrestlers on the day. Organiser Maurice Shortall says that tickets are absolutely flying out for the event, which looks set to be a sell-out. Shortall hopes that the success of this event will lead to more wrestling events coming to Kilkenny. Tickets available (while stocks last) online via Eventbrite or can be purchased by emailing cllrmaurice.shortall@kilkennycoco.ie FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she has met with the Irish Pharmacy Union in an attempt to resolve the delay in rolling out a national plan to make hormone replacement therapy (HRT) free to all women. Ms Carroll MacNeill said there was a perception it would be free entirely and that the Government would cover the dispensing fee, but this is not the case. Last year, former minister for health Stephen Donnelly said the scheme would be operational from January, but there has been a delay in rolling out the measure nationwide, meaning women are continuing to pay. HRT is a medicine-based treatment used to relieve symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. Speaking in Dun Laoghaire on Wednesday, Ms Carroll MacNeill said women are paying around 60 euro for HRT, of which 40 euro is the cost of the medication and around 20 euro is the fee that pharmacists charge for dispensing, but it varies among different pharmacies. She said: So what Stephen Donnelly did in the budget last year was secure 20 million euros to pay for the product. That would have paid for the 40 euros, but not to cover the dispensing fee. In that instance, and that was to be implemented since January 1, so (women) should have been paying 20 euros since the beginning of January. Whats going on is that there was a lack of the Stephen Donnelly was very clear that the money was for the medication and Ive gone back and Ive checked the statements and checked the press statements, and it was for the medication. I think more broadly there was a perception that it was free entirely, that it was going to cover the dispensing fee, and the way that he did it, it was a new way of doing it. It was an effort to begin to do something, but there wasnt agreement with the pharmacist that they would dispense it, and so it wasnt implemented, even though it has been available to be implemented since the beginning of January. Recognising that coming into the department, I had a meeting with the Pharmacy Union on the 11th of February and had a good discussion with them about it. They have broader priorities generally, around reversing some of spending cuts, increasing fees generally. Theres a body of work to do that and I absolutely recognise that. The Fine Gael minister said she wants to see pharmacies doing a great deal more and expanding their role in healthcare, including prescribing for common conditions. She said: I think theres quite a huge opportunity to do that. But this has been an unusual engagement, because its something new that the state hasnt done that before, where theyve paid for the medication, but not the dispensing fee. Most women have said to me that they would be happy to pay the dispensing fee. I recognise that pharmacists have an expertise and that they bring that expertise to advising women, to managing the medication, and so what Im trying to do is find a space in the middle where I can do something that recognises pharmacists work, and also maintain my budget discipline within the Department of Health. She also said there should be more transparency around the breakdown of the costs, including dispensing fees charged by pharmacists. A Sinn Fein TD has described the Governments plans to amend Irelands triple lock on the deployment of Defence Force peacekeepers overseas as very dangerous. Pearse Doherty said Ireland has an international reputation of having respected peacekeepers throughout the world, which he said is under threat by the Governments legislation to change the rules that govern how the countrys military is used abroad. Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council as well as approval by the Government and the Dail. Under the draft legislation, it is proposed to increase the number of troops who are sent on peacekeeping missions from 12 to 50. Speaking about the draft legislation, which was approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, Mr Doherty told BBCNI Good Morning Ulster programme: It is very dangerous because we have a huge reputation and international reputation of respected peacekeepers throughout the world. Ireland serving with distinction, with the blue helmets, and its because of our military non-alignment, our military neutrality because of our use of diplomacy, our experience in conflict resolution that we have been able to get and garner that respect. The issue here is that when you get rid of the UNs mandate, the UN being the multilateral organisation that we all should be trying to ensure is operating and is fit for purpose, when you get rid of that mandate you allow the Government of the day to decide which deployment of troops you want to be involved in. Whether it is peacekeeping, or not. Whether it is questionable or not, whether it is military misadventure or not. This is the issue and that is why the Irish people rejected the European treaties back in the day, on the issue of neutrality, which was central to the debate, that the Government came back and enforced that referendum but with the commitment that there would be a triple lock that the UN would have to sanction the deployment of troops abroad. It is very cherished by the Irish people. The Donegal TD said that Fine Gael has been very clear that they want to go beyond Irelands neutrality. They produced a document back in 2003 that called on us to enter military partnerships with the European Union. They wanted us to move away from neutrality. The taoiseach at the time, the leader of Fine Gael said neutrality is finished, he added. This is an old policy of Fine Gael that they have been trying to push through for decades. In fairness during that time, Micheal Martin stood four square against them, said it was ideological nonsense, argued that this bogeymen idea of vetoes was nothing more than them trying to push through their policy of ending neutrality. Now low and behold, we have Fianna Fail dancing to their tune. Earlier this week, Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris claimed that the removal of the triple lock sends a message that Ireland wants to take back sovereignty when it comes to the deployment of members of the Defence Forces. We have a very proud track record in this country of peacekeeping and thats what this is about, peacekeeping, Mr Harris added. But the idea that any permanent member of the Security Council can have a veto, including Vladimir Putin, on where our Defence Forces go is not democratic. People go out in elections in this country and they vote for the democratically elected members of the Dail. They elect Government and it is important that we provide that opportunity for those decisions to be taken here in Ireland. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 86F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Missouri's annual statewide tornado drill will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, weather permitting. Tornado tips to prepare you for severe weather The First Alert Weather Team shares 8 tornado tips to stay safe during this severe weather season. During the drill, the National Weather Service will test its emergency alert procedures, Boone County will test its outdoor warning siren system and the University of Missouri will test its emergency notification system through text message, email and Alertus beacons. The drill serves as a chance for Missourians to practice shelter-in-place orders in case of severe weather emergency at home, work or school. Schools, businesses and families are all encouraged to participate in the drill as a way to prepare for a sudden weather emergency. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. During this time, participants should practice taking cover in their place of shelter. The drill is a part of a week of events called "Severe Weather Preparedness Week." The tornado drill will replace Boone County's monthly siren test at noon. Tomorrow (March 5), at 11 AM, Missouris statewide tornado drill will take place for Severe Weather Preparedness Week. This replaces our usual monthly siren test at noon. #WeatherSafety #PreparednessWeek pic.twitter.com/SrkZ46sTrp BooneCountyOEM (@BooneCountyOEM) March 4, 2025 COLUMBIA A wintry mix overnight followed by high winds throughout the day caused problems for drivers in Columbia Wednesday. The combination of wind gusts around 50 mph and the snow led to slide-offs, trees falling and even a driveway collapsing. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Wednesday morning that winds were strong enough to flip over tractor trailers, box trucks and large vehicles. MSHP Troop F, which serves much of mid-Missouri including Columbia, posted an image of an overturned tractor trailer Wednesday afternoon in Boone County. Semitruck overturns on I-70 in Boone County The crash happened on westbound I-70 around the 117-mile marker when a semitruck overturned, according to Troop F. Hundreds of people also lost power in parts of mid-Missouri on Wednesday amid a windy and snowy morning. Columbia Water and Light reported a handful of customers without power along north West Boulevard before 9:30 a.m., Boone Electric Cooperative reported 129 customers without power in its service area, Three Rivers Electric Cooperative reported 642 customers without power in its service area, mostly in Cole, Osage, Miller and Maries counties, and Ameren Missouri reported nearly 7,000 customers without power in its service area, with a small number of those customers in mid-Missouri. Power outages have been mostly restored in mid-Missouri, as of about 4 p.m. Wednesday. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Four out of five flights scheduled to depart from the Columbia Regional Airport had been canceled as of Wednesday afternoon, with only the 6:08 p.m. flight to Dallas/Fort Worth still scheduled. Four of five arrivals have also been canceled, with the flight arriving at 5:22 p.m. from DFW still scheduled, as of 4 p.m. Boone County Joint Communications reported numerous slide-offs, crashes or other incidents Wednesday morning as well, causing back-ups and slower traffic for morning commuters. The Boone County Office of Emergency Management did not participate in the statewide tornado drill at 11 a.m. Wednesday due to the wind conditions. The wind in Boone County also took down a large tree in the roadway at East Zaring Road and East Durk Road, causing a traffic hazard. The tree has since been cleared off to the side of the road. KOMU 8 also received pictures from a Columbia resident whose car fell into their collapsed driveway early Wednesday morning. He believed the rainy conditions combined with freezing temperatures caused a crack in the ground to expand, leading to the driveway to eventually collapse. The resident said he had to tow his car out of the driveway, and there was no damage. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Learn about the birds of prey with the largest wingspans. 1. Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) " " Andean condor. Edith Polverini / Getty Images With a wingspan of up to 10.5 feet (3.2 meters), the Andean condor holds the title for the largest flying bird by wingspan. This New World vulture soars over the Andes mountains and across South America. Advertisement 2. California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) " " California condors. Doug Steakley / Getty Images The California condor, North America's largest bird, has an impressive wingspan of 9.5 feet (2.9 meters). Once nearly extinct, this endangered species has made a comeback thanks to conservation efforts, though it still faces threats from habitat destruction and lead poisoning. 3. Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) " " Steller's sea eagle. Arturo de Frias photography / Getty Images This massive eagle found in Russia and Japan boasts a wingspan of up to 8 feet (2.44 meters). Steller's sea eagle primarily preys on fish along coastal waters. 4. White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) " " White-tailed eagle. nikpal / Getty Images Europe's largest eagle, the white-tailed eagle, has a wingspan of up to 8 feet (2.4 meters). This Old World vulture relative soars over lakes and coastal regions in search of fish and seabirds. 5. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) " " Bald eagle. Stan Tekiela Author / Naturalist / Getty Images The national bird of the United States, the bald eagle has a wingspan that ranges between 5.5 and 8 feet (1.7 and 2.4 meters). These majestic raptors have keen eyesight and powerful hunting abilities, snatching fish straight out of the water. A BUS shelter is on the way to Stradbally at last, after a long wait in the queue. The town will be included in Laois County Councils 2025 programme for bus stop upgrade works, a council engineer has confirmed. Failure to provide bus shelters in many towns around the county was described as third world stuff at a council meeting, with one councillor noting that more than 330,000 was spent on a bike shelter at Leinster House. The issue was highlighted at the latest meeting of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District, when Cllr Paschal McEvoy proposed that Stradbally be included as a location for a bus shelter, under a recently announced new scheme. Senior engineer Diarmuid Donohoe, from the councils active travel section, replied that Stradbally would be included this year. Cllr McEvoy greeted the response as great news and asked that council staff consult residents regarding the best location for the shelter. Cllr Aidan Mullins recalled that he got nowhere when he requested a bus shelter in Portarlington last April. At the time, he was told that the council was liaising with the National Transport Authority (NTA) but, almost a year later, nothing had happened. Cllr Mullins said: Its a goddamn joke. I cant believe you have to fight for simple infrastructure like a bus shelter, compared to the cost of a bike shed in Leinster House. Its third world stuff. Everywhere that has a bus service should have a bus shelter. I cant get my head around it. Its a basic standard, but you have to put on your coat and hat to wait for a bus. Cllr Aisling Moran agreed, saying that children are standing out in freezing cold and rain in Ballylinan every morning. She said: Its basic stuff. She also asked for the average cost of installing a bus shelter in Laois to be provided at the next meeting. Cllr McEvoy commented that hundreds of thousands was spent on bus shelters in Portlaoise. Cllr Ben Brennan said that elderly people in the Crettyard area are in a similar position and many depend on a bus to get to and from town. He said: Maybe the council could provide them with umbrellas, because they are not giving them a bus shelter. In October 2023, director of services Simon Walton told a council meeting that the combined cost of civil works to install five new bus shelters in Portlaoise was 220,000. The shelters provided separately by the NTA are delivered to the prepared sites and dropped into position. A MOMENTOUS day took place in Mountrath Community School, yesterday to mark its inaugural Patrons' Day, a new tradition that honours the schools rich history and values. Established in 2009 through the amalgamation of Brigidine Convent Mountrath, Patrician Brothers Ballyfin, and St. Aengus Vocational School, the day was a heartfelt celebration of the schools journey and its strong cultural foundations. The event was made even more special with the presence of several important patrons, including Linda Tynana from LOETB, Br. Gerry, Br. Matthew, Br. Nicholas, Sr. Mary Sheedy, and Mary Kavanagh. The patrons were warmly welcomed by both staff and students, who enjoyed a selection of delicious treats provided by the guests. Patrons Day not only celebrated the past but also provided an opportunity for everyone to reflect on the values that have shaped Mountrath Community School into what it is today. With the support of our patrons, the school looks forward to many more years of growth and success, continuing to uphold the traditions that make it a place of learning and community. THE unexpected death of renowned Laois auctioneer Philip Sheppard has caused deep sadness in Durrow and surrounding areas. A director of Sheppard's Irish Auction House, Durrow, he passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday 4 March at his residence in Kilmenan Farm House, Ballyouskill, Attanagh/ Durrow. A special notice on the firms website says: It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the sudden passing of our colleague and director, Philip Sheppard. As a mark of respect, we are rescheduling the upcoming auction to Tuesday 18 March. Philips unwavering commitment, deep dedication, and clear vision have been essential in shaping the success of our team and he will be deeply missed by all of us, as well as by our clients and partners. Mr Sheppard was predeceased by his parents Tommy and Kathleen. His death notice published today on rip.ie states: Philip will be sadly missed and is deeply regretted by his sons Barry and Patrick, his daughter Gina and their mother Barbara, his granddaughter Olivia Jane, his partner Colleen, brothers Bernard, Ger, Francis, John and Eugene, his cousins Declan, Michael and David, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, daughter-in-law Meg, son-in-law Philip, his extended family and a large circle of friends, both in Ireland and America. 'May he Rest in Peace.' Funeral arrangements will be announced later A QUANTITY of cannabis herb was uncovered during a second drugs raid in Mountmellick within a month. The drugs were seized at a premises in Harbour Street yesterday afternoon, during an operation involving the divisional drugs unit, the garda dog unit, plain-clothes detectives and uniformed gardai. One man aged in his 30s was arrested following the seizure and was brought to Portlaoise Garda Station for questioning. A video of the drugs operation on Tuesday 4 March, recorded by an onlooker, has been circulated on social media. The intelligence-led raid came exactly one month after the biggest-ever drug seizure in Laois, when cannabis and cocaine worth 12.8m were found at a garage in Manor Street on 4 February. Gardai confirmed that one man was arrested in relation to the latest drug seizure, after suspected cannabis herb was found during a search of the Harbour Street premises. The drugs seized are subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland and the street value has not been disclosed as yet. Gardai said in a statement: Gardai carried out a search of a retail property in Mountmellick, Laois, on 4 March at approximately 3.30pm. A quantity of suspected cannabis herb was seized during the course of this operation. They added that the arrested man was released following questioning and is due to appear before Portlaoise District Court on 24 March. Gardai said that investigations are ongoing following the latest drug seizure. SPECIAL TO THE TIMES A jury Wednesday took just three hours to convict Frank Anderson of Lancaster of killing three members of an Arizona family, rejecting his defense that he was merely a bystander protecting his 14-year-old girlfriend when he cut a teenage boys throat. Anderson, 49, stared straight ahead and showed no emotion as a Mohave County Superior Court clerk read guilty verdicts on charges of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and three counts of first-degree murder. Anderson, a former trailer park manager, could be sentenced to death. He faces a minimum of life imprisonment without parole for the August 1996 slayings of Roland Wear, 50; Wears girlfriend, Leta Kagen, 37, and Kagens 15-year-old son, Robert Delahunt. Advertisement Under Arizona law, Andersons convictions are subject to automatic appeal. Prosecutors painted Anderson as a murderer who, after abandoning his invalid wife, ran away with 14-year-old Kimberly Lane of Lancaster, hooked up with drifter Robert Poyson and killed three people who were kind enough to take them in. Poyson and Lane are awaiting trial on the same charges. Poyson, 21, who is scheduled to go on trial March 2, could face the death penalty. Lane, now 15, cannot be executed because of her age, though she will be tried as an adult. Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced March 18. His defense placed the blame on Poyson, described by Mohave County Public Defender Ken Everett during closing arguments Wednesday as a homicidal-maniacal man who took control of the killing spree motivated by a desire to steal Wears pickup truck. Advertisement All the death blows in this case, every single one of them, was by Bobby Poyson, Everett said. But jury foreman Scott Cumberledge said the nine-man, five-woman jury didnt buy it. We felt the defendant was a willing participant in all of the crimes and was not threatened or coerced into them, he said. In August 1996, Wear and Kagen were found shot in the face in Kagens shabby trailer anchored on the outskirts of a remote desert community known as Golden Valley. Delahunt was found badly beaten with his throat cut and a knife protruding from his skull. Advertisement It was the first triple slaying in Mohave County in more than three decades. On Wednesday, Chief Deputy Mohave County Atty. Jace Zack conceded Poyson was directly responsible for the deaths of the victims, but argued Anderson was guilty as an accomplice in the three-way conspiracy. The law holds people responsible for their actions, even if they dont inflict the fatal blows, Zack told the jury. During separate police interviews after the killings, Anderson admitted slashing Delahunts throat, but maintained he was responding to the screams of Lane, his girlfriend. But then, Anderson told detectives, he helped hold down the teenager as Poyson used a rock to pound a bread knife into the boys head through his ear. The prosecution alleged that as part of the plot to kill the family, Lane had enticed the teenage boy into a kissing session where he could be attacked by the men. Everett told the jury Wednesday that his client was shocked after Delahunt was killed and terrified he might be Poysons next victim. Under duress, Everett said, Anderson complied with orders when he held the lantern to provide needed light so Poyson could shoot Kagen and Wear. Everett said Anderson was also ordered to strike the wounded Wear with the lantern, and hand Poyson the cinder-block used to crush Wears skull. Anderson and Lane met when they both lived at the Lancaster mobile home park he managed. According to prosecution testimony at pretrial hearings, they began a romantic relationship and Anderson convinced her he had Mafia ties in Illinois, where she could become a Mafia goddaughter. Advertisement According to testimony, Anderson and Lane left the park together in July 1996, bound for Chicago, and got as far as Nevada, where they met Poyson, who was staying with the Kagens. After the killings, the trio drove to Illinois and split up, according to testimony. Anderson was arrested Aug. 18 while driving Wears pickup truck. Lane and Poyson were arrested days later at a homeless shelter where they checked in as a married couple. After her arrest, Lane gave birth to a child she said she believes was fathered by Anderson. The baby was given to her mother and stepfather, who live in Chino Valley, Ariz. Zack said he was happy with the outcome of the seven-day trial. Its not our policy in this office to notch our guns and keep track of wins and losses, the prosecutor said. Were just happy to make sure that justice is served. I feel a sense of obligation to the victims, their families and the people of Mohave County. By Mata Press Service Members of Canadas diaspora communities are calling on the federal government to expedite the implementation of a long-promised foreign influence transparency registry, urging Ottawa to have the system operational before the next general election. Foreign interference remains a pressing concern in Canada, as authoritarian states seek to manipulate political outcomes by covertly enlisting individuals to act on their behalf without disclosing these affiliations. The planned foreign influence registry addresses this issue by requiring individuals engaged in such activities to register with the federal government, enhancing transparency and accountability. The registry will be overseen by an independent commissioner, who will enforce compliance through a range of measures, including official notices, financial penalties, and, in severe cases, criminal charges. Parliament passed the necessary legislation last year to establish the registry, yet progress on its implementation has been sluggish. Gloria Fung, past-president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, voiced her concerns recently, stating that a significant gap remains because Ottawa has yet to appoint a commissioner or clearly outline the registrys operational framework. Fung, alongside representatives from other cultural organizations, participated in a news conference to highlight the persistent threats of foreign interference, including intimidation and coercion directed at diaspora communities. New Democrat MP, Jenny Kwan, who also attended the event, criticized the governments delay in launching the registry. Where is that registry? What does it entail, and what are the obligations for those affected? We have no clarity on any of these issues, she said. Despite inquiries, the office of Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and his department did not provide immediate responses regarding the status of the registrys implementation. A federal election is widely anticipated in late winter or early spring, following the selection of a new Liberal leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Concerns about foreign meddling in Canadas past two general elections have been a key driver behind the governments legislative push to strengthen safeguards, including the proposed influence registry. Bill C-70, the legislation underpinning the registry, introduces new criminal offences targeting deceptive or covert actions that seek to manipulate democratic processes. These include clandestine efforts to sway candidate nominations and activities that enable foreign agents to enter Canada under false pretenses, such as posing as tourists. A recent federal inquiry into foreign interference, led by Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue, confirmed that while external meddling remains a tangible threat, Canadas democratic institutions have largely withstood these pressures. Hogue's report found no conclusive evidence that foreign interference altered the overall results of recent federal elections but flagged a limited number of ridings where such activity may have had some influence. The inquirys final report put forth over 50 recommendations aimed at fortifying Canadas resilience against foreign interference, enhancing transparency, and better protecting diaspora communities. One key recommendation was the creation of a highly visible, accessible reporting mechanismsuch as a hotlinefor individuals to report instances of foreign influence. So far, the hotline is nonexistent, said Fung, who also serves as the convener of the Canadian Coalition for a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, a group comprising over 30 multicultural, human rights, and policy organizations. Why is our government dragging its feet on implementing these crucial protections? Testimonies submitted to the Hogue inquiry underscored how authoritarian regimes often retaliate against individuals in Canada who speak out against them. Such retaliation frequently takes the form of threats, harassment, or direct consequences for family members in their countries of origin. The coalition advocating for the registry emphasizes that the reporting system should allow individuals to submit information anonymously, provide multilingual support, and be expanded to cover cases of transnational repression designed to intimidate or silence members of diaspora communities. Instances of foreign interference in Canadas diaspora communities are well-documented. Beijing, for example, has been accused of operating clandestine police stations in Canadian cities to monitor and intimidate members of the Chinese-Canadian community. Similarly, activists from Hong Kong, Uyghur, and Tibetan communities have reported being targeted by digital surveillance and smear campaigns orchestrated by pro-Beijing entities. Meanwhile, Irans government has faced allegations of attempting to silence dissidents in Canada through threats and coercion directed at their families back home. India has also been implicated in foreign interference activities within Canada. Relations between the two nations deteriorated after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of potential involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh activist, in British Columbia. The allegations sparked diplomatic tensions, leading to tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats. In addition, Canadian intelligence agencies have warned of Indian influence operations targeting Sikh diaspora members, including surveillance, harassment, and attempts to shape political discourse in Canada. Advocacy groups have raised concerns over the safety of Sikh activists and journalists who have criticized the Indian government, emphasizing the need for stronger protective measures against foreign interference. The Hogue Commissions report highlights Indias foreign interference in Canada: Indias role as the second-most active state actor engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada, with its efforts focused on influencing Canadian policies to align with its own interests. Intelligence suggests that India provides illicit financial support to various Canadian politicians to secure the election of pro-Indian candidates or gain influence over candidates who take office. Classified evidence indicating Indias use of proxies and clandestine tactics to undermine support for Sikh advocacy, including through intimidation, extortion, surveillance, and disinformation campaigns. India uses disinformation as a key form of foreign interference against Canada, a tactic it is likely to use more often as India continues to develop its cyber capabilities. More and more New Jersey kids are going unvaccinated on religious grounds amid what experts call an unprecedented acceleration in measles spread throughout the United States. Over the last ten years the percentage of New Jersey children skipping vaccines through religious exemptions has more than doubled to 4.1%, according to state immunization reports. Vaccine choice advocates argue that religious exemption is a key tenet of parent rights and medical freedom. But public health experts say decreasing vaccination coverage and increasing exemptions put the most vulnerable in our community at risk. In just the past two months, the CDC has been notified of 164 cases of measles in the U.S. half the amount of cases the country saw in all of last year. The country also reported its first death in the past decade when a school-aged Texas child died last month from measles. Three cases have been reported in New Jersey, originating from a Bergen County resident who recently traveled internationally. All three cases associated with the situation are unvaccinated, state officials said. Those who are particularly susceptible to measles right now are unvaccinated children, said Dr. Perry Halkitis, Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. Although more than 93% of New Jersey kindergarteners had received the MMR vaccine for the 2023-24 school year, according to the CDC, thats down from the previous year. Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean, and Sussex counties currently have the highest proportion of children who have not received any vaccinations due to religious exemption. In the 2013-14 school year, 1.7% of more than 500,000 pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, first grade, sixth grade, and transfer students received religious exemptions from mandatory immunization, compared to 4.5% in 2023-24, according to New Jersey Annual Immunization Status Reports. Its higher than the national average. Exemptions among kindergarten students across the U.S. increased to 3.3% for the 2023-24 school year, up from 3% in 202223 and 2.6% in the 202122 school year, according to CDCs Oct. 17, 2024 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . The increase in students receiving religious exemptions has caused some alarm among public health experts concerned about whether the law is being abused by people who distrust drug companies or government in general. We do know that in recent years there has been confusion about what vaccines do and do not cause, oftentimes hearsay through social media or other non-scientific outlets, Dr. Suraj Saggar, chief of infectious diseases at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck. Thats why its so important to know where youre getting your medical information from, so you can make the most informed decision for your family, said Saggar. In 2020, there was a bill ( S2173 ) introduced that would have eliminated religion as a recognized reason for parents to avoid getting their children the vaccinations required to attend day care and schools in New Jersey. It would also have given the state Health Department the authority to define what would qualify as a medical exemption. Opponents, such as the National Vaccine Information program and the nonpartisan New Jersey Coalition for Vaccine Choice, argued that vaccination is a personal choice and only a small number of residents seek exemptions. The bill was ultimately defeated. New Jersey is not the only state that allows such an exemption. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports 45 states and the District of Columbia allow parents and guardians to use religion as a legitimate reason to avoid the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and other life-saving vaccines. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com. Over 1 million in fines remain unpaid to Portlaoise District Court since 2020. Details of unpaid fines were released under Freedom of Information to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, who described the situation in Ireland as extraordinary. In Portlaoise, a total of 3,516 fines amounting to 1.17 million remain unpaid since 2020. In 2024 alone, there are 1,148 unpaid fines amounting to 537, 010. In 2023 there were 985 fines valued at 322,718, in 2022 a further 618 fines totaling 158, 198, in 2021 there were 623 fines totalling 130, 670 and in 2020, 142 fines valued at 29,315 remain unpaid. Ms Ni Mhurchu, a former barrister, said the unpaid district court fines were a slap in the face to the victims of their crimes. The Irish Courts service released the figures to Ms Ni Mhurchu which show that almost 45 million in unpaid district court fines are outstanding across Irelands district court system since 2020. She has called for the issue of unpaid district court fines to be included in the upcoming review of the criminal justice system which was promised in the 2025 Programme for Government. What does this say to the victims who have been impacted by crimes such as drink driving, assault, theft, and shop lifting. We are imposing fines that a percentage of criminals are choosing to ignore and it seems there is little we are doing about it. 45 million would fund a lot of domestic violence refuges, road safety campaigns and extra Garda on our streets. It is time for a get tough approach to those criminals who feel they are above the law. Our road deaths have been rising in Ireland for consecutive years. How can we expect any improvement in that scenario when those fined for traffic offences may choose not to pay the fine, said Ms Ni Mhurchu. She argues that the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, which came into force on January 11, 2016 is clearly not working when it comes to the recovery of most outstanding fines. The act provides for alternative orders to imprisonment in the event that a court imposed fine is not paid. The act allowed those convicted to pay fines in instalments, and introduced measures including attachment of earnings for unpaid fines, community service and the appointment of receivers to recover fines. Ni Mhurchu feels it is time to implement the measures set out in the 2014 act aggressively. READ ALSO: Car stolen in Ballylinan Clearly, the courts service are not implementing the measures set out in the 2014 act. The act allows measures up to and including taking someones social welfare or salary to pay the fines due. Is this being done? The courts service will say it takes time to collect fines but over 2.2m is still owing from 2020 and over 5.5m is still owing from 2021, said Ms Ni Mhurchu. Ni Mhurchus figures show that 133, 851 fines across the state have yet to be paid in full in our district court system. Two men admitted stealing baby formula worth hundreds of euro from a shop and groceries from a second shop in Laois. Dafin Rostas (49) and Nedeu Rostas (31) both of 17 North Circular Road, Dublin 7 admitted taking 20 units of Aptamil valued at 329.80 from Mulhalls Supervalu, Lyster Square, Portlaoise and groceries valued at 329.76 from Lidl, Portlaoise on December 17 last. Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the men walked into Supervalu and took the baby milk formula and left the store without paying. They were captured on CCTV and during a patrol of the area the two males were identified. He said both men had no previous convictions and they made admissions when arrested. The goods were recovered and in a resalable condition, said Sgt Kirby. On the same date, the two men went into Lidl and stole shampoo and washing liquid tablets valued at 329.96. The property wasnt recovered on this occasion, said Sgt Kirby. Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said the date of the offence is relevant as it was close to Christmas and the mens financial circumstances were strained. He said both men were parents and the elder man was a grandfather of 13. Mr Fitzgerald said there was no pattern of this type of behaviour before the incident. In relation to Mulhalls, he said, due to the good detective work the goods were recovered. He acknowledged that the same couldnt be said for the theft at Lidl. Judge Susan Fay ordered a probation services report on each of the two men and certified for a Romanian interpreter . She also requested a community service suitability assessment and adjourned the case back to Portlaoise District Court on June 23. A Laois electrical engineering company has been fined 400,000 in relation to the death of a Laois father of four in a workplace accident at a Dublin hospital seven years ago. However, the penalty handed down at the Central Criminal Court to the Portarlington company John Fletcher Ltd and a director led to anger in the courtroom with one member of the public describing the sentence as a 'f**king joke'. Emo native Alan Mulhall (34), lived in Portlaoise with his wife and children, when he was fatally injured when a low voltage switchgear weighing 760kg fell and struck his head while he was working at St Patrick's Hospital Dublin on November 23, 2017. John Fletcher Ltd, with offices in Portarlington, Co Laois entered guilty pleas to failing to discharge the duties of an employer as required by the Safety, Health and Welfare at work Act 2005, which resulted in the death of Mr Mulhall. The company also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer and one count of failing to take appropriate organisational measures to avoid the need for manual handling by its employees. David Fletcher (36), a director of the company, entered the guilty pleas on its behalf. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer. In her victim impact statement, Alan's wife Viki spoke about the impact. He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives. Health and Safety Authority (HSA) Inspector Kay Baxter told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that John Fletcher Ltd were contracted to carry out works at the hospital as part of a project to update a generator. David Fletcher of Main Street, Portarlington, was the company director with responsibility for this project, including health and safety, the court heard. Neither Fletcher nor the company have previous convictions. Mr Mulhall was an employee of John Fletcher Ltd, having started work as an apprentice electrician in 2001. He was a qualified electrician and had been promoted internally to a site supervisor role. The court heard that the accident occurred in a hospital plant room, during the movement of three low voltage switchgear, which were to be installed as part of the project to upgrade the generator. The HSA are critical of the risk involved in manually moving the switchgear to the plant room, but acknowledge it would not have been possible to use mechanical equipment in the room. Double doors which could also have been used to access the room were obstructed by a temporary generator at the time. These were later upgraded to allow for the equipment to be removed. Mr Cole told Judge Nolan that the State's position is that this work was carried out using an ill-conceived plan. The prosecution also does not accept that Mr Mulhall had the authority on the day to stop the work. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd engaged with the HSA investigation, but initially denied any wrongdoing or responsibility. During the investigation, David Fletcher and John Fletcher suggested it was relevant that Mr Mulhall was not wearing a construction safety helmet at the time of the incident. However, the engineer's report concluded that this type of hat would have offered no protection from the injuries sustained by the victim. Alan Mulhall is survived by wife Vikki and children Jamie, Sean, Holly and Tom. In a victim impact statement, Mr Mulhall's widow told the court that everything her late husband did was for their family. Mrs Mulhall said he kissed her on the cheek that morning like he did every day on his way to work. He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives. She spoke of the pain and grief of their loss and its impact on her and their four young children. She said what happened could and should have been avoided. Mistakes cost me my husband and my childrens father, she said, later telling the court their lives had been shattered and would never be the same again. After seven long years of dragging us through courts, all we can hope for today is justice for this devastating and negligent crime. Mr Cole read a victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Mulhall's parents, siblings and sister-in-law. They said their lives were changed forever when they were told their beloved son had been killed. They said Mr Mulhall is greatly missed and is always in their minds and hearts. Michael Delaney SC, defending, said he is instructed to apologise for the breach of duty as an employer which led to Mr Mulhall's death. Counsel said it is now clear that the contract should have been re-done and changes made to the plant room to allow the task to be completed safely. He said the company's fault was that it didn't seek to have these issues addressed before exposing its employees to risk. An accountant's report on the company's financial position was submitted to the court. Mr Delaney said the company is profitable and has cash reserves, which are essential to secure large-scale projects. He said company directors take modest salaries, with David Fletcher's salary being around 60,000. Counsel said David Fletcher is married and has three children. He is an engineer and a grandson of John Fletcher - the company's founder. He had been a director since late 2016 and was relatively junior at the time. Judge Martin Nolan noted the devastating impact of Mr Mulhall's death on his family and described their victim impact statements as heartbreaking. This family will have to continue without the help and guidance of a very good man, the judge said, expressing the court's sympathies to the Mulhall family. He said his function was to do justice to John Fletcher Ltd and David Fletcher and said the evidence showed the plan to transport and unload this equipment was a totally misconceived idea. Anybody looking at it would say this was a very potentially dangerous exercise which was fraught with danger. He said the court was aware that the company was operating within a plan, but that the equipment should have been moved by mechanical means, instead of manually. The judge said he had taken into account the seriousness of the offence, the guilty pleas, and the previous good record when constructing the penalty. He noted that David Fletcher was the responsible director, but the court considered the company had the primary responsibility as the scheme for unloading these devices was particularly ill-conceived. He imposed a fine of 400,000 on John Fletcher Ltd and fine of 5,000 on David Fletcher, both to be paid within six months. As sentence was finalised, voices shouted from the body of the court f**king joke, and do you not realise a man's life is gone. Ms Baxter told the court that these devices weighed between 330kg, around 600kg and the largest one was 760kg. The court heard the HSA recommends a safe load for one person to handle is approximately 25kg. The job on the day was to transport these devices to the hospital from the premises of John Fletcher Ltd. and to move them into the plant room in the hospital where they were due to be installed. Once this equipment was removed from the trailer, it had to be transported over 50 metres of uneven ground to the door, then moved down a corridor to a plant room. The court heard they then had to be manually lifted into the plant room. The court also heard that it was expected that the work would be carried out in a particular sequence outlined in the initial tender documents devised by another firm. Five site visits were conducted before the work was to be done, with David Fletcher attending four of these visits. The court heard the equipment was delivered to John Fletcher Ltd.s premises on November 21, then loaded onto a trailer using a forklift. The court heard that Mr Mulhall and three other John Fletcher Ltd employees arrived at the hospital at around 6am on November 23. The intention was to slide the low voltage switchgear from the trailer using scaffolding planks, then onto a dolly for transport to the plant room. The 330kg switchgear was moved first, with a plastic dolly breaking under its weight. It was then transported using a steel trolley to the plant room. Two contractors on site came to help move the second switchgear, the heaviest one. The court heard it took the six men approximately one hour forty minutes to move this piece of equipment from the trailer towards the plant room. At the plant room door, this switchgear, which was 2.1m tall, was manually tilted to fit through the 2m high door. Once inside the room, this switchgear had to be re-positioned before it was moved to its final installation point. A first attempt was unsuccessful. The low voltage switchgear was moved to another part of the room and as another attempt was made to move it into an upright position, it tipped over and struck Mr Mulhall, causing crush injuries to his head. Sketches recreating the transportation of the switchgear were shown to the court. The HSA started an investigation and a number of witnesses said they were unaware of any mechanical equipment to be used during this job. The devices were later removed from the plant room, using a set of double doors which were obstructed on November 23 by a temporary generator and other devices. Before the low voltage switchgear were removed using these double doors, the generator had to be moved and works carried out to increase the height of the doors. The Wexford-based manufacturer of the switchgear told the investigation that the devices could be partially disassembled to reduce the weight, which wasn't done in this instance. Ms Baxter said this would have reduced the weight of the device by approximately 200kg, but it still would have been very heavy. Ms Baxter agreed with Mr Delaney that the company had a specific contract in relation to the installation of a new generator. She further accepted that substantial works were carried out to allow devices to be moved from the plant room using the double doors. Ms Baxter confirmed that the investigators spoke to David Fletcher and John Fletcher, and both men made references to the construction helmet. She also said that David Fletcher had responsibility for the project and was interviewed in 2018 as part of the investigation. It was accepted that he said during the interviews that he discussed disassembling the devices with Mr Mulhall and said the double doors weren't used as they were too low. It was also accepted that David Fletcher told the investigation that he spoke with Mr Mulhall before the accident and suggested the use of a hydraulic pallet truck, and that Mr Mulhall indicated to him that he preferred the dolly. It was also agreed that there is no evidence that a hydraulic pallet truck was unavailable at the time. It was further agreed that an initial proposal made by the company's solicitors in 2022 was not acceptable, but pleas were entered in January last following discussions between both sides. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd has been in operation since 1968 and directly employs around 60 employees. John Fletcher paid for Mr Mulhall's funeral, and continued to pay his salary to his widow for a period of time after his death. A lump sum was also paid from the pension scheme. The company also discharged the HSA's and prosecution's costs. Mr Delaney said the company acknowledged in its proposal to the prosecution in 2022 that the system for transporting and unloading was unsafe. He also asked the court to take into account the guilty pleas and previous good record when imposing sentence. The education 'crisis' facing Laois parents of children with special children demands urgent action, according to a Laois Sinn Fein representative who brought the story of one Laois family to the floor of Leinster House. Raising the issue in the Seanad, Senator Maria McCormack attacked what she claimed was the Governments failure to provide adequate school places for children with special needs. She called it a national disgrace. In a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live Sen McCormack said she highlighted what she described as the devastating impact this crisis is having on families, particularly in Laois, where she said she regularly receives calls from desperate parents unable to secure a school place for their children. In Laois alone, Ive spoken to parents who have been turned away by 26 schools. Ive spoken to fathers breaking down in tears because their children, who should be thriving in a classroom, are regressing at home, said the Portlaoise senator. She shared the story of Portarlington woman Sofia as reported by the Leinster Express / Laois Live, a mother who was forced to quit her job to homeschool her son Isaac because there were no ASD unit places available. This is not a personal choicethis is Government failure, she stated. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Pictured: Senator Maria McCormack Sen McCormack also referenced the recent protest outside Leinster House in Dublin where 54 parents slept on the street, demanding urgent action. These parents should have been at home, tucking their children into bed. Instead, they were outside in the cold, begging this Government to listen. Families are now in their second or even third year of waiting. That is not education. That is not inclusion. That is not acceptable," she said. READ ALSO: LAOIS MUM FORCED TO QUIT JOB TO HOMESCHOOL CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Sen McCormack demanded that the Minister for Education immediately commit to providing a suitable place to every child by September. No more vague commitments, no more delays. Parents need certainty now. The anxiety and stress that families in Laois and across Ireland are under while raising the most vulnerable children in our country is unacceptable. They cannot wait any longer," she said. She asked: We have seen how quickly money can be found when it suits them. So why are the most vulnerable children in our country not a top priority? She concluded by repeating her appeal for action. Commentary By Ian Madsen Lost amid the clamour and drama over trade, tariffs and industrial policyparticularly the controversy over potentially punitive duties on (now paused) Canadian exports to the United Statesis the unsatisfying truth about trade deficits and surpluses: neither one is necessarily good nor bad. Sometimes, their effects or significance can even be the reverse of conventional wisdom. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC), for example, has had large trade surpluses with the rest of the world for decades. This appears to have generated strong economic growth during that period and paid for major investments in infrastructure and public services such as hospitals, schools, roads, railways, ports and airports. However, a 2021 study by the European Institute for International Relations attributed Chinas economic success only minimally to trade policy. Instead, it credited market reforms that incentivized individuals and firms to increase productivity, as well as policies that opened the economy to foreign investors and expanded both imports and exports. Another major trading nation, Germany, has had substantial trade surpluses with the rest of the world for decades, yet, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it remains mired in economic stagnation, hovering around zero growth. Japan offers another perspective on export-driven growthone that mirrors Germanys path but leads to different challenges. In the post-Second World War era, Japans political leaders created policies to encourage export-led growth, a form of mercantilism. Mercantilism is defined as a system designed to enrich one nation by boosting higher-value exports and inducing other nations to supply lower-value inputs, thereby accumulating financial assetsgold in earlier eras. As a result, Japan ran trade surpluses for decades. However, after 2010, its trade balances oscillated between surpluses and deficits as the country experienced a range of economic and demographic challenges. These included a shrinking workforce, escalating public debt, an ageing population and weak productivity growth, all of which continue today, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). In contrast, the United States has well-known, politically contentious chronic trade deficits with the rest of the world but relatively robust economic growth, as demonstrated by the aforementioned OECD data. Furthermore, the U.S. remains competitive in several industrial sectors: information technology (IT), aerospace and defence, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, liquefied natural gas exports and precision instruments. Export competitiveness is not the issue. The persistent U.S. trade deficit stems not from a lack of competitiveness but from capital inflows driven by large federal budget deficits. These deficits overwhelm domestic savings, creating a need for foreign buyers of U.S. bonds. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. goods exports grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6 per cent from 2015 to 2024, reaching $2.98 trillion (in Canadian dollars). That represented 7.1 per cent of the U.S. GDP, which totalled C$41.7 trillion that year. U.S. services exports performed even better, with a CAGR of 5.6 per cent, reaching $1.16 trillion (Canadian) in 2024. Hence, the U.S. is holding its own competitively. No trade policy changesuch as tariffscan reverse that. Only a credible strategy to shrink the U.S. budget deficit, and the foreign borrowing it entails, will address the trade deficit. Trade surpluses often carry a more positive connotation than deficits, but history proves otherwise: prosperity depends on sound fiscal policy, not trade balances. Chronic deficits, like those of the U.S., are less a symptom of trade failure than of political failurean unwillingness to rein in borrowing and spending. Ian Madsen is the Senior Policy Analyst at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Thousands of beds used to accommodate Ukrainians fleeing the war are expected to be freed up for student accommodation this year, the Higher Education Minister has said. The Government turned to housing originally designed for students as part of its response to the more than 100,000 Ukrainians who were accommodated in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. The previous higher education minister, Patrick ODonovan, had requested that existing student accommodation contracts be released as a priority to ensure the return of 2,000 beds to student accommodation supply for students for the upcoming academic year and beyond. Mr ODonovans successor James Lawless said there was a need to get back to basics on student accommodation, adding: It is for students, the clue is in the name. Mr Lawless said the trend which saw government struggle with providing accommodation for Ukrainians and other asylum seekers has shifted somewhat in recent months. Ukrainian people in particular are more settled here by and large. Many people are now in the community, many people are now at work or in education. So people are sort of finding their own way, and that has meant that there are some vacancies emerging in accommodation. Mr Lawless said some some of the beds which were being occupied where originally purpose built for student accommodation. Im very keen that we would restore that for its original purpose- which was student accommodation and put them back into use, he said. So we have a number of sites right across the country that are coming available, or expect to come available. Pressed on whether he expected all student accommodation beds to be made free, Mr Lawless said: Theres a number of sites which we expect to come available between now and the summer, I would expect this those to be back in circulation for students in September, starting the new academic year. But not every centre is necessarily going to be vacant. The minister said he would be encouraging those sites to be freed up and ringfenced for student accommodation. But also Im mindful of the ongoing pressures, he added. We cant just put people out either, theres a reason people were accommodated in the first place. Asked about a specific figure of student accommodation spaces to be made available, Mr Lawless said he estimated it to be a couple of thousand. He said the spaces would be in Sligo, Cork, and Limerick. Mr Lawless was speaking to the media at the inaugural intake of digital marketing apprentices to the civil service at Government Buildings. The 12 apprentices have been recruited across 10 government organisations. An electrical engineering company has been fined 400,000 in relation to the death of a father-of-four in a workplace accident seven years ago. Alan Mulhall (34) was fatally injured when a low voltage switchgear weighing 760kg fell and struck his head while he was working at St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin on November 23, 2017. John Fletcher Ltd, with offices in Portarlington, County Laois entered guilty pleas to a number of charges arising from Mr Mulhall's death. It admitted failing to discharge the duties of an employer as required by the Safety, Health and Welfare at work Act 2005, which resulted in the death of Mr Mulhall. The company also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer and one count of failing to take appropriate organisational measures to avoid the need for manual handling by its employees. At Dublin Circuit Court, David Fletcher (36), a director of the company, entered the guilty pleas on its behalf. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer. READ ALSO: ALERT: Driver with clean licence told they have penalty points by insurance company Kay Baxter, an inspector with the Health and Safety Authority told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that John Fletcher Ltd was contracted to carry out works at the hospital as part of a project to update a generator. David Fletcher of Main Street, Portarlington, Co. Laois was the company director with responsibility for this project, including health and safety, the court heard. Neither Fletcher nor the company have previous convictions. Mr Mulhall was an employee of John Fletcher Ltd, having started work as an apprentice electrician in 2001. He was a qualified electrician and had been promoted internally to a site supervisor role. The court heard that the accident occurred in a hospital plant room, during the movement of three low voltage switchgear, which were to be installed as part of the project to upgrade the generator. The HSA has criticised of the risk involved in manually moving the switchgear to the plant room, but acknowledge it would not have been possible to use mechanical equipment in the room. Double doors which could also have been used to access the room were obstructed by a temporary generator at the time. These were later upgraded to allow for the equipment to be removed. Mr Cole told Judge Martin Nolan that the State's position is that this work was carried out using an ill-conceived plan. The prosecution also does not accept that Mr Mulhall had the authority on the day to stop the work. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd engaged with the HSA investigation, but initially denied any wrongdoing or responsibility. READ ALSO: ALERT: Thousands of children's flip flops recalled amid health concerns During the investigation, David Fletcher and John Fletcher Ltd suggested it was relevant that Mr Mulhall was not wearing a construction safety helmet at the time of the incident. However, the engineer's report concluded that this type of hat would have offered no protection from the injuries he sustained. In a victim impact statement, Mr Mulhall's widow Vikki told the court that everything her late husband did was for their family. Mrs Mulhall said he kissed her on the cheek that morning like he did every day on his way to work. He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives. She spoke of the pain and grief of their loss and its impact on her and their four young children. She said what happened could and should have been avoided Mistakes cost me my husband and my childrens father, she said, later telling the court their lives had been shattered and would never be the same again. After seven long years of dragging us through courts, all we can hope for today is justice for this devastating and negligent crime. Mr Cole read a victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Mulhall's parents, siblings and sister-in-law. They said their lives were changed forever when they were told their beloved son had been killed. They said Mr Mulhall is greatly missed and is always in their minds and hearts. Michael Delaney SC, defending, said he had been instructed to apologise for the breach of duty as an employer which led to Mr Mulhall's death. Counsel said it is now clear that the contract should have been re-done and changes made to the plant room to allow the task to be completed safely. He said the company's fault was that it didn't seek to have these issues addressed before exposing its employees to risk. An accountant's report on the company's financial position was submitted to the court. Mr Delaney said the company is profitable and has cash reserves, which are essential to secure large-scale projects. He said company directors take modest salaries, with David Fletcher's salary being around 60,000. Counsel said David Fletcher is married and has three children. He is an engineer and a grandson of John Fletcher - the company's founder. He had been a director since late 2016 and was relatively junior at the time. Judge Martin Nolan noted the devastating impact of Mr Mulhall's death on his family and described their victim impact statements as heartbreaking. This family will have to continue without the help and guidance of a very good man, the judge said, expressing the court's sympathies to the Mulhall family. He said his function was to do justice to John Fletcher Ltd and David Fletcher and said the evidence showed the plan to transport and unload this equipment was a totally misconceived idea. Anybody looking at it would say this was a very potentially dangerous exercise which was fraught with danger He said the court was aware that the company was operating within a plan, but that the equipment should have been moved by mechanical means, instead of manually. The judge said he had taken into account the seriousness of the offence, the guilty pleas, and the previous good record when constructing the penalty. He noted that David Fletcher was the responsible director, but the court considered the company had the primary responsibility as the scheme for unloading these devices was particularly ill-conceived. He imposed a fine of 400,000 on John Fletcher Ltd and fine of 5,000 on David Fletcher, both to be paid within six months As sentence was finalised, voices shouted from the body of the court f****** joke, and do you not realise a man's life is gone. READ ALSO: Man jailed for his role in the 'trafficking' of woman from Nigeria into Ireland Earlier in the hearing, Ms Baxter told the court that the switchgear devices weighed between 330kg, around 600kg and the largest one was 760kg. The court heard the HSA recommends a safe load for one person to handle is approximately 25kg. The job on the day was to transport these devices to the hospital from the premises of John Fletcher Ltd. and to move them into the plant room in the hospital where they were due to be installed. Once this equipment was removed from the trailer, it had to be transported over 50 metres of uneven ground to the door, then moved down a corridor to a plant room. The court heard they then had to be manually lifted into the plant room. The court also heard that it was expected that the work would be carried out in a particular sequence outlined in the initial tender documents devised by another firm. Five site visits were conducted before the work was to be done, with David Fletcher attending four of these visits The court heard the equipment was delivered to John Fletcher Ltd.s premises on November 21, then loaded onto a trailer using a forklift. The court heard that Mr Mulhall and three other John Fletcher Ltd employees arrived at the hospital at around 6am on November 23. The intention was to slide the low voltage switchgear from the trailer using scaffolding planks, then onto a dolly for transport to the plant room. The 330kg switchgear was moved first, with a plastic dolly breaking under its weight. It was then transported using a steel trolley to the plant room. Two contractors on site came to help move the second switchgear, the heaviest one. The court heard it took the six men approximately one hour forty minutes to move this piece of equipment from the trailer towards the plant room. At the plant room door, this switchgear, which was 2.1m tall, was manually tilted to fit through the 2m high door. Once inside the room, this switchgear had to be re-positioned before it was moved to its final installation point. A first attempt was unsuccessful. The low voltage switchgear was moved to another part of the room and as another attempt was made to move it into an upright position, it tipped over and struck Mr Mulhall, causing crush injuries to his head. Sketches recreating the transportation of the switchgear were shown to the court. The HSA started an investigation and a number of witnesses said they were unaware of any mechanical equipment to be used during this job. The devices were later removed from the plant room, using a set of double doors which were obstructed on November 23 by a temporary generator and other devices. Before the low voltage switchgear were removed using these double doors, the generator had to be moved and works carried out to increase the height of the doors. The Wexford-based manufacturer of the switchgear told the investigation that the devices could be partially disassembled to reduce the weight, which wasn't done in this instance. Ms Baxter said this would have reduced the weight of the device by approximately 200kg, but it still would have been very heavy. Ms Baxter agreed with Mr Delaney that the company had a specific contract in relation to the installation of a new generator. She further accepted that substantial works were carried out to allow devices to be moved from the plant room using the double doors. Ms Baxter confirmed that the investigators spoke to David Fletcher and John Fletcher, and both men made references to the construction helmet. She also said that David Fletcher had responsibility for the project and was interviewed in 2018 as part of the investigation. It was accepted that he said during the interviews that he discussed disassembling the devices with Mr Mulhall and said the double doors weren't used as they were too low. It was also accepted that David Fletcher told the investigation that he spoke with Mr Mulhall before the accident and suggested the use of a hydraulic pallet truck, and that Mr Mulhall indicated to him that he preferred the dolly. It was also agreed that there is no evidence that a hydraulic pallet truck was unavailable at the time. It was further agreed that an initial proposal made by the company's solicitors in 2022 was not acceptable, but pleas were entered in January last following discussions between both sides. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd has been in operation since 1968 and directly employs around 60 employees. John Fletcher paid for Mr Mulhall's funeral, and continued to pay his salary to his widow for a period of time after his death. A lump sum was also paid from the pension scheme. The company also discharged the HSA's and prosecution's costs. Mr Delaney said the company acknowledged in its proposal to the prosecution in 2022 that the system for transporting and unloading was unsafe. He also asked the court to take into account the guilty pleas and previous good record when imposing sentence. Following the conclusion of the case, Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, said: It is vital for employers to ensure that all works being undertaken by their employees are planned, organised, managed and conducted in a safe manner. Where there is a risk of serious injury, employers must take appropriate measures to avoid the need for manual handling of heavy loads. As can be seen from this case, failure to do so can lead to tragic outcomes. TY students in Drumkeeran launched a new student-run climate action group on Friday morning at Lough Allen College, with local councillors and Deputy Marian Harkin in attendance. The group, known as Lough Allen Community Energy (LACE), consists of eight TY students and was formed as part of an initiative by Good Energies Alliance Ireland, an environmental NGO based in Leitrim. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between politics and young people while teaching them how to create change through civic engagement. This project is part of an Erasmus+ funded scheme from the European Union. The students will write a letter outlining their suggestions for reducing energy consumption, which will then be taken through the layers of governmentstarting with the county council, then to Dail Eireann, and finally to the European Parliament in Brussels in May. The event was attended by local councillors: Cllr. Padraig Fallon, Cllr. Mary Bohan, Cllr. Eddie Mitchell, and the newly appointed Minister of State for Further Education, Marian Harkin. Today isnt about speeches from politicians; its about engaging. Its about listening to all of you and working together to find solutionsthings that might work locally, regionally, and nationally, said Minister Harkin. The students also presented research they conducted on Irish energy consumption and asked their public representatives questions about the possibility of lowering the voting age for young people, as well as how often climate change issues arise in their work. The world I live in, climate change comes up every day because I am involved in activism, said Cllr. Mitchell. He also highlighted Leitrims long history of activism around environmental issues and encouraged the next generation to continue this legacy. This is your business; you get old very quickly, so we need you to start developing your knowledge and engage, he said. The event, which was attended by first- and second-year students of the school, addressed serious issues around climate change, including critical minerals in Ukraine, the energy demands of data centres in Ireland, the sustainability of GDP growth, and national fossil fuel consumption. The group displayed great maturity and represented a hopeful future, according to Kathy Dunfey from Good Energies Alliance Ireland, who is mentoring the group through this project. The important thing for them was to foster a welcoming environment where they could treat everyone with respect and communicate clearly, she said, adding that they could very well be the leaders of tomorrow. Good Energies Alliance Ireland also runs programmes locally for young people to go abroad and volunteer during the summers. READ MORE: Leitrim cancer survivor calls for support on Daffodil Day An Garda Siochana is currently a force in crisis, a Labour TD has said. Labour TD Alan Kelly described recruitment and retention of officers as being in total crisis, said officers lack basic equipment and added that morale generally among the ranks is on the floor. He went on to claim in the Dail that gardai did not believe the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris or the last Government would have their backs, and also criticised the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) as not being fit for purpose. Mr Kelly raised a specific concern over dangerously defective leather pistol holsters which were in use until March 2023 and also raised an issue of 392 abandoned firearms left in a container in Garda headquarters, querying how they were stored. He said he had many more issues some of them very serious indeed to raise with the minister. Mr Kelly emphasised that he believes the Irish public has huge support and respect for gardai. But it is a force that I believe is in crisis, he told TDs, describing huge issues across the board. I dont believe, unless there are radical changes, that there is a hope of reaching targets set. Trainees arent paid enough, wages and pensions wont entice people to join. 40,000 euro might seem like a lot of money, but coming to Dublin for 40,000 euro if youre from down the country, and trying to live here isnt enticing. Gardai lack basic equipment, sick leave isnt being covered, drugs and community Garda units are being filled but there is no backfilling, current Garda divisions arent working, 999 call system to Cork is nuts, its just a joke. Simply put, morale is on the floor. Met Eireann's weather forecast for the remainder of this week and the weekend include a rather grim prediction, made worse by an unfortunate typo on their official website. The forecast for the weekend warns of unsettled conditions and "blistery" winds as opposed to blustery which is obviously what's being predicted. The relatively good weather of the last few days looks set to come to a severe end, although the wind may not be bad enough to cause blisters. In their latest forecast, Met Eireann says Wednesday will be a "breezier day everywhere" with mostly fresh southwest winds. "Staying cloudier across west and northwest areas, with patchy rain and drizzle, turning persistent later. However, elsewhere it will remain dry with sunny spells. Mild for the time of year with highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees." The forecast continues: "Becoming a little breezy then in the evening [Wednesday] with freshening southwest winds. Cloudy too with outbreaks of rain and drizzle along western and northern counties. Dryer elsewhere and some clear breaks developing in the south and east with lowest temperatures of 3 to 6 degrees. READ NEXT: Irish fans heading to Cheltenham face huge price for pint of Guinness "A mix of cloudy periods and sunny spells from the morning [on Thursday] but a few showers will develop through the afternoon and continuing into the evening. Southerly winds will be fresh at times too with highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees. "A mild night in store but become rather cloudy too with outbreaks of rain and drizzle in a light southerly breeze. The rain will be most persistent across western counties. Lowest temperatures of 6 to 8 degrees. "Mostly unsettled then for Friday with a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. Winds will remain a light to moderate southerly although will freshen at times along southern coasts. Another mild day with highs of 10 to 14 degrees. "Current indications are that the weekend will be unsettled with rain or showers at times and some blistery [sic] winds possible in the south. Some of the showers are likely to be heavy and possibly thundery too. Temperatures are likely to remain rather mild too with highs possibly touching 14 or 15 degrees," the forecast concludes. The investigators determined that the Capitol blaze was intentionally set, originating near the Speakers podium within the legislative chamber. By John Woodside, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter When U.S. President Donald Trump was elected in November, Canadian officials issued a weaker-than-expected 2035 emission reduction target to account for the new political reality. In an interview with Canadas National Observer, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that after the U.S. election, the government looked at the opportunities and weighed the risks. Competitiveness was top of mind, more so than tariff threat, he said. Certainly, the United States does factor into the competitiveness issue, he said. Clearly the United States is moving away from any kind of regulation relating to climate. Under the Paris Agreement, Canada, like all signatories, is required to submit increasingly ambitious emission reduction targets every five years. Canadas 2035 reduction target is to slash pollution 45 to 50 percent below 2005 levels an ever-so-slight step up from the 2030 target of a 40 to 45 percent cut. But it remains a far cry from what experts called for. The 2035 target will no doubt create some degree of challenge with the United States because this president is not going to be interested in any conversations about climate or environmental protection, Wilkinson said, adding that he believes the target is still ambitious and keeps net-zero by 2050 on the table. Wilkinsons comments are the clearest indication yet of American influence on Canadas plan to navigate the unfolding energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. Given that expert recommendations called for more ambitious emission reductions (Canadas Net-Zero Advisory Body called for a minimum 50 per cent cut, while Climate Action Network Canada urged a steep 80 per cent reduction taking into account Canadas fair share) close observers say Ottawas choice to set a low target points to a weakening of ambition. Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, characterized Canadas weak target as obeying in advance to U.S. interests. It is unfortunate that officials are using competitiveness concerns to weaken decarbonization goals, she said, when what will make Canada competitive going forward is growing the clean economy. Its a very low-ambition target that fails to grapple with the moment that were in, she said. It also fails to propose a vision for the Canadian economy and society that makes us more resilient in the short and long term. Canadas Net Zero Advisory Body, tasked with providing recommendations to the government, proposed a 50 to 55 per cent reduction target. In a report published in September, the advisory body said while a target in the 46 to 50 per cent range would be more feasible, it is too close to its existing target of 40 to 45 per cent. This would risk putting Canada too far behind its net-zero goal and would likely represent insufficient ambition in contrast to Canadas key international partners, including other G7 countries like the United States, the report said. In December, then-President Joe Biden officially set the United States 2035 emission reduction target at 61 to 66 percent below 2005 levels. But those plans were quickly put at risk. While Trump has not yet moved to scrap that target, on his first day in office, he issued an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. However, in the UN system, it takes one year from the date a formal request to withdraw is received to exit the agreement, meaning the U.S. will still be a signatory until 2026 at the earliest. The Paris Agreement commits countries to try to hold global heating to as close to 1.5 C above pre-industrial temperatures as possible. As the worlds largest historic emitter, Trumps decision to pull the United States out of the agreement is a significant blow to diplomatic efforts to curb emissions and build clean economies. In November, the United Kingdom set a goal to slash 81 percent of its emissions by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, a significant step up from its 2030 target to cut emissions by at least 68 percent. In December, Canada announced its 2035 target, but it only officially submitted it this month to the UN. At the time, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said he understood why some environmental groups are unhappy with Canadas new target, but he believes it would be irresponsible to set a more ambitious goal without a plan to achieve it. Canadas 2035 goal, Guilbeault says, is achievable based on preliminary analyses, but hitting the goal will require pretty much everything going really well. So far, however, Canada has not once met a target it has set. But according to feedback Environment and Climate Change Canada collected last year while determining what the 2035 target should be, it appears much of the public doesnt care about meeting targets. What matters is whether progress is being made. According to the findings, 58 per cent of respondents favour a more aspirational target, even if it means not knowing exactly how we will get there and presents greater risks of not achieving it. Countries emission reduction plans submitted to the UN are a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement because they offer all countries insight into progress being made by others a crucial building block for annual negotiations. Environment and Climate Change Canada led the federal governments emission-reduction target development. It collected feedback from provinces and territories, First Nations, expert groups and the public. The nearly 200-page submission, officially called a nationally determined contribution in the jargon of the United Nations system, outlines what Canada is doing to meet its emission-reduction goals. In a statement, Climate Action Network Canada applauded the department for preparing a detailed submission by deadline (about 90 percent of countries failed to do) so, but still criticized the plan for being inadequate. Meanwhile, polarization is gripping the country, and the centre isnt holding, Environment and Climate Change Canada found when setting the countrys latest emissions reduction target. The department solicited feedback from provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous groups, think tanks and the public to determine what Canadas internationally binding 2035 pollution reduction obligations should be. It was a monumental effort with over 11,000 participants, more than 23,000 comments, and just over 100 official submissions. The results found that overcoming polarization is a major hurdle to implementing aggressive emissions reductions that climate scientists say is required to avoid catastrophic warming. About two-thirds of Canadians who participated support stronger measures to address climate change, with one-third strongly opposed, according to the analysis conducted by Ethelo Decisions Inc. on behalf of the federal government. There was little middle ground, and very few people were satisfied with the status quo, according to the findings attached to the final pages of the annex of Canadas submission to the United Nations. Specifically, when asked if the federal government is doing enough to fight climate change, 47 percent believe Canada needs to do more, compared to 36 percent that feel existing measures go too far. A smaller portion of Canadians think the country is close, with 11 per cent believing current efforts are almost enough, three per cent believing the government is doing slightly too much, and three per cent believing the country is getting it just right. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form Come funziona il poker e perche e uno sport della mente BISHOP of Limerick Brendan Leahy has urged people to consider giving hope and not just giving up items this Lent. Speaking ahead of the commencement of the 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, Bishop Leahy said that Pope Francis Jubilee Year of Hope this year is the perfect cue for our Lenten commitment. Lent is a season when Christians all over the world enter into a time of reflection, trying to grow closer to God and each other. What I would ask for this Lent, given it is the Jubilee Year of Hope, is that we use this period to focus on hope, Bishop Leahy said. Many people traditionally use lent to give things up but perhaps this year we could commit to giving hope. READ MORE: BREAKING: Limerick shop that sold 2.6m winning Lotto ticket revealed Its a perfect time for hope as we step towards Easter, the ultimate sign of hope through the risen Christ. We also see so many signs of hope in nature as spring arrives. Nature is exploding into new life across Lent and its a true symbol of hope. We have an opportunity during this Lent, then, to search out hope, look for hope around us and be encouraged by it. And why not give hope? Can we do things for others across Lent that will truly make them feel valued? Just ask ourselves how can we be bearers of hope? Bishop Leahy also asked for the prayers of all for Pope Francis as his health challenges continue. Pope Francis is himself a torch bearer of hope and despite his very frail condition has still been asking us all to pray for peace. That in itself is an incredible message of hope. So, we ourselves now hope and pray each day for his health, that he will continue to guide and inspire us to be the best we can be. PATRICK ODonovan T.D., Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee has today announced that this year's National Famine Commemoration will take place in Kilmallock next May. The public ceremony, which will be broadcast on RTE News Now channel, will provide an opportunity for the people of Co Limerick and the surrounding counties to honour the memory of those who perished or emigrated as a result of An Gorta Mor. The event will take place in Kilmallock Famine Memorial Park which is located within the historic Kilmallock Union Workhouse complex on Saturday, May 17. This is the first time the State Commemoration has taken place in Co Limerick. As in previous years, it will include military honours before culminating in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in remembrance of all those who suffered or perished due to the Irish Famine. Speaking today Minister ODonovan said: Today, it is with a deep sense of solemnity and pride that I announce Kilmallock, county Limerick, as the chosen location for this years National Famine Commemoration. "This historic town, with its rich heritage and enduring spirit, offers a fitting backdrop for reflecting on one of the most pivotal and painful chapters of our nations history. The Famine not only reshaped the Irish landscape but also left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of generations. As we gather here this year, we do so not only to remember the lives lost but to honour the resilience, compassion, and strength that have defined our people in the face of hardship. READ MORE: Hospital-standard care for patients in the comfort of their own homes He continued: The National Famine Commemoration is an opportunity for the host community to lead audiences in Ireland and abroad in reflecting on one of the most tragic and impactful events in Irish history. By working with Limerick City and County Council to share the story of their town, it can help put the suffering of the nation into context. The Kilmallock Famine Memorial Park, the site for this years National Famine Commemoration, is built on the very burial ground where famine victims were laid to rest in mass graves. It is believed that many are interred here, and the site stands as a testament to the loss, suffering, and endurance of this community. By choosing Kilmallock, we honour the memory of those who perished here, and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring their story is never forgotten." Minister ODonovan also acknowledged and thanked the work of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, who bring their experience and expertise to ensure that the tragic events of the Famine are remembered appropriately. They also facilitate the creation of opportunities to highlight Ireland's continued links with the Diaspora and to celebrate the contributions of those who emigrated and of their descendants abroad. TWO FAMILIES are preparing to say a sad farewell to loved ones after they were killed in a road traffic collision in England. Barry O'Connell, aged 50, Rien Roe, Adare, and Eoin Fitzgerald, aged in his 20s, of Barragougeen, Moyvane were travelling together in a van on the A14 in Northamptonshire at around 9.15pm on February 19. Mr OConnell was a passenger. A Northamptonshire police spokesperson said the collision involved a Volkswagen Caddy and a HGV lorry. The passenger in the Volkswagen died at the scene. The driver of the Volkswagen - a man in his 20s is believed to have got out of the vehicle but was sadly killed when he entered the eastbound carriageway, said the police spokesperson. Canon John OShea, of Mungret Crecora Raheen Parish, who is an uncle of Mr OConnell said it is very sad. It is an awful tragedy and for the Fitzgerald family as well. Barry was in England most of his life, around the Leicester area. He worked mainly in construction, said Fr OShea, who will say the funeral Mass in the Holy Trinity Abbey Church, Adare at noon this Wednesday, March 5. The OConnell family sadly only laid to rest Barrys father Michael in the same graveyard last July. The family have asked for donations, if desired, to go to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. They have been excellent in his repatriation. The family were wondering how we would get him back and my goodness they just took it over once the death cert was issued. They did all the paperwork and brought him to Daffy undertakers, said Fr OShea. READ MORE: Cyclist treated for injuries following hit-and-run on busy Limerick road Minister of State Niall Collins expressed his sympathies with the family. The local community were saddened to hear of his passing in such tragic circumstances. The OConnell family are well-known, popular and highly respected, said Mr Collins. Dozens upon dozens of tributes were penned on rip.ie, including one who said: We were friends since we were children. Ill never forget him, we had great fun and memories together. He will be greatly missed by his mother, Maureen, his daughter, Rebecca, his sisters, Susie and Edel, and his brothers, Michael, Andrew, and Steven, grandchildren, Keelan, Abbey, and Mason, as well as his brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a wide circle of friends. Mr Fitzgerald's (pictured below) funeral will arrive at St Mary's Church, Tarbert, at 11.45am on Friday with Requiem Mass at noon. He has been remembered as a wonderful man. One person wrote on rip.ie: To Katie, James, James, Andrew and Aoife, Eoin's grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the extended Fitzgerald, Hayes and O'Brien families and Eoin's friends, we are very sorry to hear of Eoin's very untimely and tragic death. "We offer our sincere sympathies and condolences to all of ye at this saddest of times. Eoin was a lovely nice lad. He is a great loss. May he rest in eternal peace and happiness. Ye are all in our thoughts and prayers at this hard time of shock and sadness. May God bless ye all and help ye to find strength and comfort. May they both rest in peace. There is concern among Irish drivers that incorrect penalty point information is or could be applied to their insurance policy and premium after one Irish driver was told incorrectly that they have six penalty points. From the end of March, it will be an offence for any insurance provider or broker to issue a motor insurance policy to a motorist who has not supplied their driver number from their driver's licence. This means that those who do not provide the driver numbers for all named drivers on their respective policy will not be legally able to receive motor insurance. The change is aimed at cracking down on uninsured drivers on roads. However, one driver who was contacting a major Irish car insurer to update their policy was shocked to be told the company's system was "auto-populating" incorrect penalty point information. The driver was told the system said they had six penalty points when in fact they had none. The driver was told to contact the National Driver Licence Service to confirm their licence details before reverting back to the insurance company. The driver completed a form on the NDLS website and received a statement via email confirming they had no penalty points applied to their licence, and none pending. READ NEXT: 3,000 cars disappear after failing NCT leaving testers and drivers wondering The individual had concerns about the source of the information being used by the insurance company and whether or not it could have been applied to their insurance policy and therefore their premium if they had not made contact over a different change to their policy. "Was this information already being used to calculate my premium? Details could be wrong for other drivers and they may not even know. Insurance is already expensive enough so we don't need this potentially adding to it." The insurer states on its website: "Your driving record and whether you have penalty points or not will affect the price of your car insurance premium. Drivers without penalty points will often benefit from a discount from insurers, while those with penalty points may pay a higher insurance premium." Insurance companies have had access to penalty point information for almost ten years and have access to the National Driver File, operated by the Department of Transport. Drivers are told that they have to disclose penalty points to their insurer or risk being denied a policy in the future. Penalty points are a rating factor for car insurance companies calculating premiums, making the accuracy of such data crucially important. Drivers can check their own insurance policy documentation for penalty point information used by their insurer when calculating their premium. If it's not listed, they can contact their insurer to ask for confirmation of the same information. In the event of a discrepancy, drivers can get a statement from the NDLS to confirm the correct details and supply it to insurance providers. The insurance provider in question has been contacted but has so far not responded to requests for comment. Commentary By Marco Navarro-Genie As Canada navigates an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, the next federal governmentregardless of its political compositionmust move beyond reflexive anti-Americanism. Instead, Canada should adopt a strategy that prioritizes national interests while avoiding unnecessary conflict and subservience. The notion that Canada can stand alone is as misguided as the idea that it is merely an economic appendage of the United States. Both perspectives have influenced policy in Ottawa at different times, and both have led to mistakes. Rather than engaging in futile name-calling or trade disputes, Canada must take strategic steps to reinforce its autonomy. This requires a pragmatic approach rooted in Realpolitikrecognizing global realities, mitigating risks, and seizing opportunities while abandoning failed ideologies. However, if Washington continues to pursue protectionist measures, Canada must find effective ways to counteract the weakened position Ottawa has placed the country in over the past decade. One key strategy is diversifying trade relationships, notably by expanding economic ties with emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia. This will require repairing Canadas strained relationship with India and regaining political respect in China. Unlike past Liberal trade missions, which often prioritized ideological talking points over substance, Canada must negotiate deals that protect domestic industries rather than turning summits into platforms for moral posturing. A more effective approach would be strengthening partnerships with countries that value Canadian resources instead of vilifying them under misguided environmental policies. Expanding LNG exports to Europe and Asia and leveraging Canadas critical minerals sector could help establish reciprocal supply chains with non-Western economies, reducing economic reliance on the U.S. Decades of complacency have left Canada vulnerable to American influence over its resource sector. Foreign-funded environmental groups have weakened domestic energy production, handing U.S. industries a strategic advantage. Ottawa must counter this by ensuring Canadian energy is developed at home rather than allowing suppressed domestic production to benefit foreign competitors. Likewise, a robust industrial policyprioritizing mining, manufacturing, and agricultural resiliencecould reduce dependence on U.S. and Chinese imports. This does not mean adopting European-style subsidies but rather eliminating excessive regulations that make Canadian businesses uncompetitive, including costly domestic carbon tariffs. Another vulnerability is Canadas growing military dependence on the U.S. through NORAD and NATO. While alliances are essential, decades of underfunding and neglect have turned the Canadian Armed Forces into little more than a symbolic force. Canada must learn from Europes self-reliance and commit to serious investment in defence. Increasing defence spendingnot to meet NATO targets but to build deterrenceis essential. Ottawa must reform its outdated procurement processes and develop a domestic defence manufacturing base, reducing reliance on foreign arms deals. Canadas vast Arctic is also at risk. Without continued investment in northern sovereignty, Ottawa may find itself locked out of its own backyard by more assertive global powers. For too long, Canada has relied on an economic model that prioritizes federal redistribution over wealth creation and productivity. A competitive tax regimeone that attracts investment instead of punishing successis essential. A capital gains tax hike might satisfy activists in Toronto, but it does little to encourage economic growth. Likewise, Ottawa must abandon ideological green policies that threaten agri-food production, whether by overregulating farmers or ranchers. At the same time, it must address inefficiencies in supply management once and for all. Canada must be able to feed a growing world without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. Ottawa must also create an environment where businesses can innovate and grow without excessive regulatory burdens. This includes eliminating interprovincial trade barriers that stifle commerce. Similarly, Canadas tech sector, long hindered by predatory regulations, should be freed from excessive government interference. Instead of suffocating innovation with compliance mandates, Ottawa should focus on deregulation while implementing stronger security measures for foreign tech firms operating in Canada. Perhaps Ottawas greatest mistake is its knee-jerk reactions to American policies, made without a coherent long-term strategy. Performative trade disputes with Washington and symbolic grandstanding in multilateral organizations do little to advance Canadas interests. Instead of reacting emotionally, Canada must take proactive steps to secure its economic, resource, and defence future. That is the role of a responsible government. Historys best strategists understood that one should never fight an opponents war but instead dictate the terms of engagement. Canadas future does not depend on reacting to Washingtons policiesthese are calculated strategies, not whims. Instead, Canadas success will be determined by its ability to act in the interests of its own citizens, seeing the world as it is rather than how ideological narratives wish it to be. Marco Navarro-Genie is the vice president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. A Laois electrical engineering company has been fined 400,000 in relation to the death of a father of four in a workplace accident at a Dublin hospital seven years ago. However, the penalty handed down at the Central Criminal Court to the Portarlington company John Fletcher Ltd and a director led to anger in the courtroom with one member of the public describing the sentence as a 'f**king joke'. Emo native Alan Mulhall (34), lived in Portlaoise with his wife and children, when he was fatally injured when a low voltage switchgear weighing 760kg fell and struck his head while he was working at St Patrick's Hospital Dublin on November 23, 2017. John Fletcher Ltd, with offices in Portarlington, Co Laois entered guilty pleas to failing to discharge the duties of an employer as required by the Safety, Health and Welfare at work Act 2005, which resulted in the death of Mr Mulhall. The company also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer and one count of failing to take appropriate organisational measures to avoid the need for manual handling by its employees. David Fletcher (36), a director of the company, entered the guilty pleas on its behalf. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to discharge the duties of an employer. In her victim impact statement, Alan's wife Viki spoke about the impact. He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives. Health and Safety Authority (HSA) Inspector Kay Baxter told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that John Fletcher Ltd were contracted to carry out works at the hospital as part of a project to update a generator. David Fletcher of Main Street, Portarlington, was the company director with responsibility for this project, including health and safety, the court heard. Neither Fletcher nor the company have previous convictions. Mr Mulhall was an employee of John Fletcher Ltd, having started work as an apprentice electrician in 2001. He was a qualified electrician and had been promoted internally to a site supervisor role. The court heard that the accident occurred in a hospital plant room, during the movement of three low voltage switchgear, which were to be installed as part of the project to upgrade the generator. The HSA are critical of the risk involved in manually moving the switchgear to the plant room, but acknowledge it would not have been possible to use mechanical equipment in the room. Double doors which could also have been used to access the room were obstructed by a temporary generator at the time. These were later upgraded to allow for the equipment to be removed. Mr Cole told Judge Nolan that the State's position is that this work was carried out using an ill-conceived plan. The prosecution also does not accept that Mr Mulhall had the authority on the day to stop the work. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd engaged with the HSA investigation, but initially denied any wrongdoing or responsibility. During the investigation, David Fletcher and John Fletcher suggested it was relevant that Mr Mulhall was not wearing a construction safety helmet at the time of the incident. However, the engineer's report concluded that this type of hat would have offered no protection from the injuries sustained by the victim. Alan Mulhall is survived by wife Vikki and children Jamie, Sean, Holly and Tom. In a victim impact statement, Mr Mulhall's widow told the court that everything her late husband did was for their family. Mrs Mulhall said he kissed her on the cheek that morning like he did every day on his way to work. He was not given a job that day. He was handed a death sentence that we will carry for the rest of our lives. She spoke of the pain and grief of their loss and its impact on her and their four young children. She said what happened could and should have been avoided. Mistakes cost me my husband and my childrens father, she said, later telling the court their lives had been shattered and would never be the same again. After seven long years of dragging us through courts, all we can hope for today is justice for this devastating and negligent crime. Mr Cole read a victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Mulhall's parents, siblings and sister-in-law. They said their lives were changed forever when they were told their beloved son had been killed. They said Mr Mulhall is greatly missed and is always in their minds and hearts. Michael Delaney SC, defending, said he is instructed to apologise for the breach of duty as an employer which led to Mr Mulhall's death. Counsel said it is now clear that the contract should have been re-done and changes made to the plant room to allow the task to be completed safely. He said the company's fault was that it didn't seek to have these issues addressed before exposing its employees to risk. An accountant's report on the company's financial position was submitted to the court. Mr Delaney said the company is profitable and has cash reserves, which are essential to secure large-scale projects. He said company directors take modest salaries, with David Fletcher's salary being around 60,000. Counsel said David Fletcher is married and has three children. He is an engineer and a grandson of John Fletcher - the company's founder. He had been a director since late 2016 and was relatively junior at the time. Judge Martin Nolan noted the devastating impact of Mr Mulhall's death on his family and described their victim impact statements as heartbreaking. This family will have to continue without the help and guidance of a very good man, the judge said, expressing the court's sympathies to the Mulhall family. He said his function was to do justice to John Fletcher Ltd and David Fletcher and said the evidence showed the plan to transport and unload this equipment was a totally misconceived idea. Anybody looking at it would say this was a very potentially dangerous exercise which was fraught with danger. He said the court was aware that the company was operating within a plan, but that the equipment should have been moved by mechanical means, instead of manually. The judge said he had taken into account the seriousness of the offence, the guilty pleas, and the previous good record when constructing the penalty. He noted that David Fletcher was the responsible director, but the court considered the company had the primary responsibility as the scheme for unloading these devices was particularly ill-conceived. READ MORE: ALERT: Thousands of children's flip flops recalled amid health concerns He imposed a fine of 400,000 on John Fletcher Ltd and fine of 5,000 on David Fletcher, both to be paid within six months. As sentence was finalised, voices shouted from the body of the court f**king joke, and do you not realise a man's life is gone. Ms Baxter told the court that these devices weighed between 330kg, around 600kg and the largest one was 760kg. The court heard the HSA recommends a safe load for one person to handle is approximately 25kg. The job on the day was to transport these devices to the hospital from the premises of John Fletcher Ltd. and to move them into the plant room in the hospital where they were due to be installed. Once this equipment was removed from the trailer, it had to be transported over 50 metres of uneven ground to the door, then moved down a corridor to a plant room. The court heard they then had to be manually lifted into the plant room. The court also heard that it was expected that the work would be carried out in a particular sequence outlined in the initial tender documents devised by another firm. Five site visits were conducted before the work was to be done, with David Fletcher attending four of these visits. The court heard the equipment was delivered to John Fletcher Ltd.s premises on November 21, then loaded onto a trailer using a forklift. The court heard that Mr Mulhall and three other John Fletcher Ltd employees arrived at the hospital at around 6am on November 23. The intention was to slide the low voltage switchgear from the trailer using scaffolding planks, then onto a dolly for transport to the plant room. The 330kg switchgear was moved first, with a plastic dolly breaking under its weight. It was then transported using a steel trolley to the plant room. Two contractors on site came to help move the second switchgear, the heaviest one. The court heard it took the six men approximately one hour forty minutes to move this piece of equipment from the trailer towards the plant room. At the plant room door, this switchgear, which was 2.1m tall, was manually tilted to fit through the 2m high door. Once inside the room, this switchgear had to be re-positioned before it was moved to its final installation point. A first attempt was unsuccessful. The low voltage switchgear was moved to another part of the room and as another attempt was made to move it into an upright position, it tipped over and struck Mr Mulhall, causing crush injuries to his head. Sketches recreating the transportation of the switchgear were shown to the court. The HSA started an investigation and a number of witnesses said they were unaware of any mechanical equipment to be used during this job. The devices were later removed from the plant room, using a set of double doors which were obstructed on November 23 by a temporary generator and other devices. Before the low voltage switchgear were removed using these double doors, the generator had to be moved and works carried out to increase the height of the doors. The Wexford-based manufacturer of the switchgear told the investigation that the devices could be partially disassembled to reduce the weight, which wasn't done in this instance. Ms Baxter said this would have reduced the weight of the device by approximately 200kg, but it still would have been very heavy. Ms Baxter agreed with Mr Delaney that the company had a specific contract in relation to the installation of a new generator. She further accepted that substantial works were carried out to allow devices to be moved from the plant room using the double doors. Ms Baxter confirmed that the investigators spoke to David Fletcher and John Fletcher, and both men made references to the construction helmet. She also said that David Fletcher had responsibility for the project and was interviewed in 2018 as part of the investigation. It was accepted that he said during the interviews that he discussed disassembling the devices with Mr Mulhall and said the double doors weren't used as they were too low. It was also accepted that David Fletcher told the investigation that he spoke with Mr Mulhall before the accident and suggested the use of a hydraulic pallet truck, and that Mr Mulhall indicated to him that he preferred the dolly. It was also agreed that there is no evidence that a hydraulic pallet truck was unavailable at the time. It was further agreed that an initial proposal made by the company's solicitors in 2022 was not acceptable, but pleas were entered in January last following discussions between both sides. The court heard that John Fletcher Ltd has been in operation since 1968 and directly employs around 60 employees. John Fletcher paid for Mr Mulhall's funeral, and continued to pay his salary to his widow for a period of time after his death. A lump sum was also paid from the pension scheme. The company also discharged the HSA's and prosecution's costs. Mr Delaney said the company acknowledged in its proposal to the prosecution in 2022 that the system for transporting and unloading was unsafe. He also asked the court to take into account the guilty pleas and previous good record when imposing sentence. Bengaluru: Prime Venture Partners, which has backed Indian startups such as MyGate and Niyo, has launched its fifth fund with a size of $100 million to continue investing in early-stage companies across sectors. The development comes almost four years after it raised $100 million for its fourth fund, which was later oversubscribed to $120 million. While there is strong demand for the new fund, which may also be oversubscribed, this range is the preferred fund size, co-founder and managing partner Sanjay Swamy told Mint in an interview. This is the right cruising altitude for an early-stage fund in India and that is what we are focused on," Swamy said on retaining the fund size. The previous fund sizes were $72 million (raised in 2018), $46 million (2015) and $8 million (2012). Also Read | Indias venture capital firms are finding that leaner might be better Last year, Mint reported that venture capital firms including Stellaris Venture Partners and Blume Ventures adopted a similar strategy of retaining their fund sizes as investors took a more measured approach, reflecting the investable opportunities. This also underscores the tempered expectations from Indian startups as venture capital firms sit on sizable dry powdercapital yet to be deployedhaving become more diligent on which entities to back. Primes first fund has been fully returned to limited partners at a multiple of 4x+ and the subsequent funds also expect top decile returns, driven by exits through initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, Swamy said, without disclosing exact figures. European interest So far, the firm has exited investments in Happay (acquired by Cred), Recko (Stripe), Perpule (Amazon) and Ezetap (Razorpay), and Tracxn after its IPO. With IPO candidates Niyo and MyGate, it is open to evaluating secondaries as a strategy across its portfolio companies for interim liquidity, according to Swamy. The new fund has already received 80% of the capital from global institutional investors including family offices, university endowments, and fund-of-funds from the US, Singapore, Europe and the Middle East. This time around, we are seeing more active interest from European LPs, underscoring the fact that India is becoming more important for them as well," Swamy said. While Prime is actively investing out of its Fund IV, Fund V is set to begin deployment in the second half of 2025. The VC firm has strategically increased its first cheque size to $2-4 million over the years from $500,000. The new fund, which plans to invest in 16-18 companies, will continue focusing on early-stage companies, particularly in the pre-Series A category, and will deepen its focus in fintech, AI/deeptech, global SaaS and digital India. The investment firm may also evaluate companies at the idea stage, based on the founders backing and their understanding of the market, Swamy said. Also Read | 3One4 Capital raises $200 mn for its 4th venture capital fund There are several newer areas that are emerging within these categories. We are also evaluating other opportunities that come out of distribution channels like quick commerce in terms of logistics, warehousing, new software stacks and other similar infrastructure capabilities," he added. Founded in 2012 by Swamy and Shripati Acharya, the firm has backed over 50 Indian early-stage startups including WheelsEye, MyGate, Quizizz, PlanetSpark, Dozee, and Zuper. To date, it has about $300 million in assets under management, according to its website. Target boss Brian Cornell and his team were walking through a New York City conference center Monday night when the news broke: President Trump was following through on his tariff threats. The retailers executives huddled sitting on sofas in a greenroom next to the stage where they would meet with their biggest investors on Tuesday. They needed to review Targets plans. The company had created a leadership task force a few months earlierwhen Trump was victorious in the presidential electionto prepare for various trade scenarios. Now the executives knew more about what they were facing. The U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports on top of an extra 10% levy it placed on Chinese products last month. The tariffs will drive up the costs of fruits, smartphones and many more items that fill shelves at Target stores. Target has already moved production of many of its nonfood store brand goods out of China. But Cornell said retailers would have to increase prices within days on fresh foods, such as avocados and other produce grown in Mexico and shipped quickly to the U.S. Those price increases, if they stay in place," Cornell told investors Tuesday, they would hit the consumer pretty quickly." Trumps trade war reverberated through corner offices and conferences around the country on Tuesday, from Targets meeting with Wall Street investors and a gathering of farmers in Denver to a conference of shipping executives in Los Angeles. China, Canada and Mexico said they would respond with tariffs on U.S. exports, including on American soybeans, chicken and pork. Americas companies have been preparing for the potential move, even as some business leaders thought the threats were mostly bluster and brinkmanship. Many raced in recent months to stockpile goods, hoping to cushion any blow or ride out tariffs if they prove a temporary bargaining measure. Others have used the uncertainty to push through price increases or lobby Trump officials to spare them by promising to invest in U.S. factories. The story hasnt fully played out yet," said Chris Cocks, chief executive officer of the toy maker Hasbro, which sells Nerf guns, G.I. Joes and the Monopoly board game. Our first rule, though, is dont overreact." About 40% of Hasbros U.S. sales come from Chinese-made toys, a number the company plans to cut in half over the next four years. In the meantime, if the new tariffs on Chinese goods stay in place, Hasbro has to consider raising some prices, Cocks added. U.S. stock markets have tumbled, and lumber prices have jumped. U.S. corn and wheat prices have dropped as China enacted retaliatory tariffs. Shares of Best Buy slumped 13% on Tuesday after Chief Executive Corie Barry told investors that China and Mexico are two of the retailers biggest suppliers of electronics and components, making price increases for American consumers highly likely." Shares of Boeing, Americas biggest exporter, fell on fears that it would be swept up in a global spat. Several business leaders said they would be watching closely for the tariffs impact on hiring. The U.S. job market has cooled but continues to add jobs, which is vital to consumer spending and business expansion. That is critical, and we dont really yet know how these things will be rolled out and how theyre going to be used," JPMorganChase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said Tuesday on the sidelines of a workforce-development event hosted by the bank in New York. Automakers are among the most exposed because they have factories and suppliers spread across North America. Vehicles and auto parts could be hit several times as they work their way through the manufacturing process. The tariffs could add as much as $10,000 to the cost of some pickup truck models sold in the U.S., analysts estimate. Shares of General Motors and Ford Motor fell in Tuesday trading. Bob Roth, executive chairman of a Michigan auto-parts supplier, went to bed Monday night worried that the 25% tariffs set to take effect while he slept could prompt Canada to retaliate. By the time he woke up, that had already happened. Roths company in Grand Rapids, RoMan Manufacturing, makes components for the giant robots that weld together car panels in vehicle-assembly plants. Some of his biggest customers are in Canada, and Roth worries that they could switch to suppliers in Europe or Japan to avoid paying the tariff. These are great customers that have been with us for almost 50 years, but theyd be foolish not to look to the Europeans," he said. Because I guarantee you there will not be tariffs between the EU and Canada." Roth said his management team wont take any major actions this week, but will assess the fallout. The company has a strong balance sheet, which has helped it weather past tough times in the cyclical auto business, he said. That lets us take a gut punch," he says. And were prepared for one." Farmers at an agriculture conference in Colorado debated the impact, with some speculating that tariffs would be lifted quickly. Others, including Barry Evans, who farms sorghum on 5,000 acres in Texas, expressed hope that Trump would dole out billions of dollars in aid as he did during his first term to help farmers who stuck with him during the tough times." Its going to be hard on farmers, and were definitely seeing that now," he said. At this weeks annual gathering of the biggest shipping companies in Long Beach, Calif., shipping executives, insurance brokers and freight forwarders said it would be tough to complete any deals. Before lunch we were talking to customers on the basis of a 10% tariff, and after lunch it was 20%," said Nils Haupt, a spokesman for the German containership operator Hapag-Lloyd, referring to the levies on China. He added that customers are exasperated by the unpredictability. Many manufacturers are trying to diversify away from China to factories in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Turkey, said Soren Toft, chief executive of Mediterranean Shipping. What we are not hearing is, I brought my production back to Kentucky." In the U.S., home-construction costs are projected to increase $1.7 billion annually, according to the National Association of Home Builders, partly because builders rely heavily on North American imports. More than 70% of U.S. builders lumber and gypsum products, such as drywall, come from Canada and Mexico, respectively. If the tariffs are a bargaining tactic that are in place for only a few weeks, the biggest home builders might be able to absorb the costs, but smaller ones will almost certainly feel the squeeze more immediately. In a matter of months, even big builders will need to increase rents for newly built apartments or raise the selling prices on new houses. In some cases, builders will pause projects or abandon them entirely. There are only two ways to manage higher costs, and both are bad for the consumer," said Adam Wolfson, chief executive of Wolfson BTR, a Florida-based build-to-rent home developer. At the Inspired Home Show in Chicago, some vendors displayed prominent signs advertising that their products werent affected by the new tariffs. Brian Horowitz, chief executive of Creative Wagons, an outdoor-goods company, posted a No Tariff" sign outside his booth. Some 90% of his companys products are made in Vietnam after he shifted production from China four years ago. Vietnam has been the best thing Ive ever done," said Horowitz, citing stronger intellectual-property protections and a quicker time to market. The sign, he added, was helping land new customers. Rob Kay, chief executive of Lifetime Brands, said the kitchen and home goods company started stockpiling more inventory of products such as Swell water bottles, Farberware pots and pans, and KitchenAid knives in October, spending tens of millions of dollars to do so. We started building this war chest," Kay said, adding the company has enough pretariff goods to last into the second half of the year. Write to Sarah Nassauer at Sarah.Nassauer@wsj.com, Roshan Fernandez at roshan.fernandez@wsj.com and Rebecca Picciotto at Rebecca.Picciotto@wsj.com A top official of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had signed off on a decision to recommend Asheesh Pandey as the next chief executive of Indian Bank, even as the central bank reportedly raised concerns against his candidature. RBI deputy governor Rajeshwar Rao was among the signatories to the proposal of recommending Pandey for the post, as per a document accessed by Mint under a Right to Information (RTI) query. Pandey is currently an executive director at state-owned Bank of Maharashtra, and was so when he had appeared for the job interview in April 2024. While Rao was part of the committee that recommended Pandey for the top job at Indian Bank, a report in the Economic Times on 13 July said that RBI had also written to the government pointing out reservations about his candidature at banks. The Financial Services Institutions Bureau a body which picks names for top roles at banks has representation from the RBI, and it was apprised of the RBI's letter before the selection, the report said. Also read | Gensol Engineering shares crash after Care Ratings downgrades bank loan However, a person aware of the proceedings of the FSIB interview said that its members were unaware of RBIs letter to the finance ministry. The central bank's displeasure with Pandey arose from an 'exit meeting' at BoM the previous year. An exit meeting is where RBI officials discuss with bank management what their annual inspection has found out. Key Takeaways An RBI deputy governor signed off on recommending Asheesh Pandey for Indian Bank CEO, despite reported RBI concerns. An RTI query showed RBI deputy governor Rajeshwar Rao was among those who recommended Pandey. Reports indicated the RBI had reservations about Pandey's candidature, stemming from an "exit meeting" at Bank of Maharashtra. The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) recommended Pandey, with representation from the RBI. FSIB members were reportedly unaware of the RBI's letter to the finance ministry expressing concerns. A former banker who has attended such exit meetings said that at these annual meetings, the management is represented by the banks chief executive, executive directors and some general managers. As per the media report, RBI wasnt pleased with Pandeys behaviour and conduct" during that meeting, prompting its letter to the ministry. To be sure, Pandey did not get the role and the government eventually appointed Binod Kumar as the chief executive of Indian Bank. A mechanical engineer and a management post graduate in finance and marketing, Pandey started his career at erstwhile Corporation Bank and has an experience of over 27 years in the banking industry. On 24 April 2024, members of the FSIB met to recommend names for certain vacancies in public sector banks, as per minutes of the meeting sent to the finance ministry two days later. Mint has reviewed a copy of the minutes, albeit one that was heavily redacted citing exemptions under the RTI Act. As per the document, the meeting was chaired by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, former secretary, Department of Personnel & Training. Members present in the meeting included Vivek Joshi, then the financial services secretary; Ali Raza Rizvi, then secretary, Department of Public Enterprises; M Rajeshwar Rao, deputy governor, RBI; Animesh Chauhan, former chief executive of Oriental Bank of Commerce; Shailendra Bhandari, former chief of erstwhile ING Vysya Bank Ltd; and Deepak Singhal, former RBI executive director. The FSIB interacted with 17 candidates and as per the document, all eligible candidates were assessed by Deloitte for leadership competencies, the document showed. While Joshi and Rizvi approved the minutes of the meeting through an email on the same day, Sharma, Rao, Chauhan, Bhandari and Singhal have physically signed the minutes sent to the ministry on 26 April, showed the document cited above. Emails sent to RBI, ministry of finance, Deloitte and Pandey remained unanswered till press time. FSIB recommendation not final Meanwhile, according to a former RBI official, the FSIB recommendation is not final and the government does background checks which includes checking for vigilance reports, among others, before approving the candidates role. While the letter would have gone to the ministry, the FSIB and Rao would not want to bring it up in their meeting with the candidate because those meetings are to assess the candidates overall capability," the former RBI official said, adding any other background information is checked at a later stage. Meanwhile, members of the selection panel were grouped into three separate panels. While the first panel comprised Joshi and Singhal; the second one had Rao and Bhandari; while the third panel had Rizvi and Chauhan. Also read | Debt repayment ability of mfg cos fell in Q3 on weaker earnings, shows RBI data The panels assessed the candidates based on the details available in their bio-data and as per extant parameters specified for the interactions, which include technical knowledge, managerial capabilities, diversity of experience, general and economic awareness and overall personality," the document showed. After the individual assessment of each candidate by each of the panels, the bureau met to finalize the results based on the outcome of the three panels and after assigning 50% weightage to the average of the latest available five APAR scores. APAR stands for annual performance appraisal report. The candidates were, thereafter, ranked in the order of merit and Pandey was on top the merit list, according to the document cited earlier. ...the bureau recommends as follows: Shri Asheesh Pandey for the vacancy of MD & CEO in Indian Bank," it said. Also read | Motilal Oswal group evaluates sale of home finance arm Young companies selling laboratory-grown diamonds are ramping up investments in building awareness and expanding product lines as growing adoption of the category in recent months has sparked optimism, industry executives told Mint . Kolkata-based Jewelbox has nearly doubled its marketing budget in the last year and now incurs nearly 20% of its online expenditure on awareness campaigns, its co-founder Nipun Kochar said. About a fifth of our online digital spends goes towards awareness campaigns. Theres a mental block around lab-grown diamonds compared to mined diamonds, and brands need to put in resources to disseminate the right information," Kochar added. Jewelboxs other co-founderVidita Kocharroutinely posts videos on Instagram and YouTube sharing information about how lab-grown diamonds are made, how different they are from regular stones, and how one can pick the right one. The firm appeared on the third season of Shark Tank India and received commitments from five sharks, including Lenskarts Peyush Bansal, boAts Aman Gupta, Sugar Cosmeticss Vineeta Singh, Edelweiss Mutual Funds Radhika Gupta, and Oyos Ritesh Agarwal. Svaraa, a bootstrapped startup based in Surat, has invested nearly 10 crore in similar campaigns and its parent company, Kalamandir Jewellers, since its inception in 2021. The firm plans to earmark another 20-30 crore in the next two years, its founder and chief executive Chahat Shah told Mint. Rising consumer awareness about the benefits of lab-grown diamonds and our targeted campaigns around engagement and solitaire jewellery have resonated well with the wedding and daily wear segments. The festive and bridal seasons have also significantly contributed to boosting sales, as more consumers are choosing lab-grown diamonds for their affordability, beauty, and ethical value," Shah said. Svaraa will continue to focus on educating consumers about the unique advantages of lab-grown diamonds, driving brand recognition, and establishing LGDs as a mainstream choice for both bridal and everyday fine jewellery, Shah said. Embracing LGDs Brands are already noting early signs of adoption. Jewelbox expects its FY26 revenue to more than double to 35 crore compared to the previous year, bolstered by demand from young and first-time diamond buyers, according to Kochar. Svaraas Shah said it has seen a 60% increase in inquiries and a 45% rise in sales in the last few months. Lab-grown diamondswhose physical and chemical composition are said to be the same as naturally mined diamondshave become prominent in the last few months. With prices at least 30-50% lower than mined counterparts, these stones have become answers to the aspirations of many Indians who would otherwise struggle with low affordability. Because lab-grown diamonds replicate the physical properties of a mined diamond, it's got the destructibility and the perfect shine. It has the potential to be a much more superior product as compared to the mined diamond in properties like clarity, colour, etc.," Yash Dholakia, partner at early-stage venture capital firm Sauce.vc, said. Also Read: Govt launches Diamond Imprest scheme to boost exports protect domestic industry And consumers are also willing to buy. I read a study which said that a decent portion of wedding rings in the US has moved to lab-grown diamonds. So, there does seem to be consumer acceptance for it," Dholakia added. Earlier this week, a report by Kotak Institutional Equities showed that women in India are likely to embrace a mix of natural and lab-grown diamonds into their jewellery collections, which could give lab-grown diamonds a much-needed boost. This will be driven by higher education, disposable income, and evolving fashion preferences. According to Morgan Stanley, the global diamond certification market is projected to grow to $1 billion by 2028, up from $600 million currently. This growth will be driven by a 25% increase in lab-grown diamond certifications. Mental block According to Jewelbox's Kochar, a big hurdle to increased adoption is the perception that lab-grown diamonds are not real diamonds. Diamonds have always been projected as an instrument of investment. But the truth is that they were never an investment. Its the least-performing asset class if one considers it an asset. This notion is now being challenged and is bound to make many people uncomfortable," Kochar added. To this end, startups have a lot of work ahead of them. While nearly 30% of Jewelboxs customers have made repeat purchases through its offline retail stores, the company believes that further improving purchase frequencies can help build a stronger brand. It divides its customers into two cohortsfirst-time buyers who want to make their first affordable diamond purchase and those who have always bought diamonds but are now looking for fresh options. The brand positioning for these two cohorts may be different. The idea is to build a brand that can cater to both segments without favouring one over the other. Like I said, diamonds continue to be aspirational, and its important for us to cater to all kinds of aspirations," Kochar noted. Crystal clear branding However, building a truly successful brand will take a lot more. Brands also need to be clear about what the product signifies. Is this a fashion accessory that ultimately becomes a premium embellishment, or is this a piece of jewellery by the classic definition which signifies value? Plus, it must also be considered that lab-grown diamonds may not account for the emotional value of ownership," Sauce.vcs Dholakia said. The jewellery industry, especially in the lab-grown diamond segment, is capital intensive, Svaraas Shah said. To realize our vision of building a truly omnichannel brand, we need significant investments. This includes opening more physical stores, strengthening our online presence, ramping up marketing and branding efforts, and positioning lab-grown diamonds as a luxury and aspirational category in India," Shah added. Trent launched its lab-grown diamond brand, Pome, last year, marking its entry into the sustainable luxury segment. Moreover, traditional jewellers, who were once wary, are also now taking note of the growing demand for lab-grown stones. However, only a handful of them have started selling lag-grown diamonds, indicating that wide acceptance is still far off. We do receive inquiries from people in their 20s and early 30s but we havent started selling them yet. We may consider launching a few products if there are more inquiries," said a jeweller based in Mumbais Ghatkopar area. Indian skies may open up to satellite internet as early as June, with the telecom regulator preparing the ground for the service that promises to reach distant corners and the open seas. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is giving finishing touches to a set of recommendations on the pricing and use of satellite communications that has been in the making for nearly two years now, three people aware of the development said. Once a framework is introduced and spectrum allocated, it will set the stage for the debut of satellite internet services by Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Jio Infocomm, Sunil Bharti Mittals Bharti Airtel and Elon Musks Starlink. Also read | Telcos investment recovery in limbo as tariff hike backfires, price war with satcom services likely in 2025 The recommendations are very close to being finalized, and the final methodology is mostly here," one of the three people cited above said on the condition of anonymity, adding that the regulator is taking its time because the recommendations will include details on the revenue sharing model of satcom services, how spectrum will be allocated and priced, and other necessary regulations. Key Takeaways India is poised to open its skies to satellite internet services as early as June, with TRAI finalizing recommendations. TRAI is close to releasing recommendations on pricing, spectrum allocation, and revenue sharing for satellite communications. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel (OneWeb), and potentially Starlink are set to launch satellite internet services. The government will allocate satellite spectrum administratively, as per the Telecommunications Act, 2023. TRAI is expected to submit its recommendations in March, followed by quick approval from the Digital Communications Commission. Once the pricing and operations framework is out, Trai wants to quickly pass it through the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and have it approved without much conflict," the official cited above said. The second official said that Trai may submit its recommendations in March itself and, after a brief consultation period, they are set to be adopted without much change by the Digital Communications Commission. This will set the auction process in order, which should take two to three months at best including final trials by operators. By June, operators in satellite services should start generating revenue as well," the person added. Queries sent to Trai and DoT, as well as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio remained unanswered. The background Satcom involves using satellites that connect to a receiver on the ground, which can beam data to devices like mobile phones or laptops. Indias space sector was liberalized to provide access to satellite spectrum and infrastructure between 2020 and 2022. The promise of these services urged Reliance Jio to sign a joint venture with Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES in February 2022. A month earlier, Bharti Airtel, with its joint venture partner Hughes Communications India, signed a distribution deal with UKs OneWeb. In September 2023, Frances Eutelsat acquired OneWeb. Following the completion of the deal, Airtel remained the largest shareholder of the newly formed entity, by virtue of it owning 100% of OneWebs India division. Also read | Regulatory delays, testing may hold up satcom launch Musks satellite internet services firm, Starlink, is the third key competitor in this space. While the service had, for a short while, started accepting security deposits from customers in anticipation of a launch, the Centres strictures saw its preorders being suspended. As of now, Starlink has not received its Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence, each of the three officials cited above confirmed. Starlink is keen on India, but its likely that they may not be present when the first operators commence services," the third person cited above said. That shouldnt be a problem, thoughsatellite services are here for the long run, especially with Musks focus on Starlink as a consumer-facing service." Jio, however, has not been too comfortable with the looming threat of Starlink. The company has written to the Centre several times to make a case for auctioning satellite spectrum. The Centre, following global precedent, said in the Telecommunications Act, 2023 that satellite spectrum will be given to operators through an administrative allocation process, which is preferred by Starlink. Question of when, not if Now, though, the services seem imminent. On Monday, speaking at a press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Union telecommunications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that each satcom operator will be treated equally", and no one will be offered preferential treatment over another. On 20 February, speaking at an event hosted by brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities, Akhil Gupta, vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises, had said that Airtel-OneWeb's satellite internet services will be launched soon commercially", and that the gateways in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are already beaming, with spectrum already given on a test basis". Industry stakeholders and analysts expect the satcom services rollout to happen imminently, too, but emphasize on pricing as a key factor. T.V. Ramachandran, president of Broadband India Forum, said while administrative allocation is assured by the Telecommunications Act, and this should see the Trai framework being rolled out very soon, the pricing needs to be kept nominal to ensure access to maximum number of users who otherwise remain unconnected. Also read | Satcom spectrum allocation further delayed Satcom operators are uniquely different from terrestrial operators, since the spectrum here is fully sharedand the modus operandi should be to connect the unconnected areas," said Ramachandran. The pricing of spectrum must, therefore, be done accordingly to ensure that most people get the benefits of the satellite internet services." A senior executive close to developments at the Airtel-OneWeb consortium further added, Bharti Airtel has been ready with its servicesto the extent that it can go live with its operations within a very, very short span of time. Regulatory uncertainty has only been stalling the sector, while our satellite constellation and network are both live for enterprise consumption," the executive said. Like Airtel, Jio, in October 2023, had announced the launch of Jio Space Fiber satellite internet services for consumers. Both remain in functional pilot stages right now, awaiting policy clearance from the Trai, and subsequently, the DoT. Also read | Amazon finalizing application for satcom licence in India Coffee can investing , introduced by Robert G. Kirby in 1984, is a long-term strategy inspired by the old practice of storing stock certificates in coffee cans and forgetting about them. Over time, these investments would compound, creating substantial wealth. Saurabh Mukherjea, founder and chief investment officer of Marcellus Investment Managers, is a strong advocate of this approach in India. He emphasises investing in high-quality businesses with a sustainable edge and holding them for the long term. To meet the coffee can criteria, companies must: Have existed for more than 10 years Have a market cap above 100 crore 100 crore Deliver more than 10% annual profit growth Maintain a return on capital employed (ROCE) of more than 15% over a decade Have a strong competitive advantage In this article, we will look at five small cap companies that are aligned with Saurabh Mukherjee's coffee can criteria. #1 Shilchar Technologies Shilchar Technologies is a key player in India's transformer manufacturing sector, and specialises in power, distribution and telecom transformers. Established in 1990 and headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat, it has more than three decades of expertise. It has expanded its product portfolio in recent years by venturing into ferrite transformers, in addition to its existing range of distribution transformers (5 KVA to 3,000 KVA) and power transformers (3 MVA to 15 MVA). With a strong focus on the extra high voltage (EHV) transformer segment, Shilchar is strategically positioned to capitalise on India's growing power and energy demands. A major highlight of its recent journey is a substantial capacity expansion aimed at scaling operations. Also read: Tejas Networks stock is near 52-week low. Can 5G deals turn it around? Revenue from operations surged 41.6% year-on-year to 396.9 crore in FY24 from 280.2 crore in FY23. The Ebitda margin expanded to 29% in FY24 from 19% in FY23, while ROCE surged to an impressive 75%. Net profit more than doubled to 91.9 crore from 43.1 crore a year ago. Another notable development is its strong export growth, with international sales now contributing 52% of total revenue, up from 26% just two years ago. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster Shilchar's revenue and net profit have grown at a compound annual rate of 27.4% and 64% over the past five years. The company remains optimistic about growth opportunities in both the domestic and global markets. The Indian government is investing heavily in power transmission infrastructure and rising energy consumption is driving demand, leaving Shilchar well-positioned to benefit. It plans to fully use its expanded capacity by FY26, setting an ambitious revenue target of 750-800 crore, a significant jump from the 550 crore projected for FY25. #2 Tanfac Industries Tanfac was incorporated by Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) as a joint-sector company. In 1980, Aditya Birla Group bought a stake, becoming the co-promoter. In March 2022, Anupam Rasayan acquired a stake from Aditya Birla Group and became the co-promoter with TIDCO. The company produces aluminium fluoride, anhydrous hydrofluoric acid and more. It is the largest producer of aluminium fluoride acid in India. It is also among the leading producers of hydrofluoric acid and its derivatives. These products are used in industries such as aluminium smelting and petroleum refining. Revenue from operations surged marginally year-on-year to 378.1 crore in FY24, while net profit came in at 52.5 crore. During the December 2024 quarter, Tanfac Industries doubled its sales to 180 crore while its net profit grew more than three-fold to 35 crore from 10 crore in the year-ago period. EBITDA margin expanded to 19% in FY24, while ROCE surged to an impressive 33%. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster Tanfac Industries' revenue and net profit have grown at a compound annual rate of 11.3% and 7.9% over the past five years. The company plans to increase its hydrofluoric acid (HF) plant capacity. It recently announced the successful commissioning of this new expansion, which achieved 100% of its capacity within just 10 days of operation. #3 Suyog Telematics Suyog Telematics is a fast-growing provider of passive telecommunication infrastructure in India. Established in 1995 by Shivshankar Lature and Vivek Lature, it is headquartered in Mumbai and specialises in installing, maintaining and commissioning towers, poles and optical fibre cables. Revenue from operations grew 16% year-on-year to 166.6 crore in FY24, while net profit surged 36.7% to 63.3 crore. The Ebitda margin expanded to 69% and ROCE was an impressive 22%. Also read: Anxious about investing? These five debt-free stocks could bring peace of mind. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster Over the past five years, the companys sales and net profit have clocked a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% and 17.2%, respectively. Its five-year average RoE and RoCE are 22% and 29.3%, respectively. The company is set to expand its network infrastructure significantly. It plans to roll out over 1,000 small cell towers in FY25, though some deployments may extend into FY26 due to the scale of the initiative. Suyog Telematics also aims to lay over 5,000 km of optical fibre network cable over the next two years, enhancing connectivity and supporting high-speed data transmission. #4 Ceinsys Tech Ceinsys Tech Ltd, established in 1998 and part of the Meghe Group, is an Indian company that specialises in geospatial engineering, mobility and enterprise solutions. It helps businesses enhance their efficiency through innovative planning and execution. A key area of Ceinsys Tech's expertise lies in providing geographic information system (GIS)-based energy solutions to the power transmission and distribution industry. These solutions address critical operational needs such as asset management, power line monitoring, and distribution management. The companys revenue rose from 197.4 crore in FY20 to 252.9 crore in FY24, at a CAGR of 6.4%. Ceinsys Tech delivered strong financial results in FY24, with the Ebitda margin expanding to 18% and ROCE touching an impressive 22%. View Full Image Source: Equitymaster Profitability has also seen a notable improvement, with net profit growing from 22.1 crore in FY20 to 35 crore in FY24, at a CAGR of 12.2%. The company aims to foster sustainable growth in rural and urban India while expanding its global footprint with contributions to projects in the US, Europe and Southeast Asia. #5 KP Energy The company provides balance of plant (BoP) solutions to the wind energy sector. It is involved in the development of wind farms, right from conceptualisation to commissioning. It also operates and maintains wind farms and currently has a large portfolio of over 200 MW. Its clients include NTPC, Aditya Birla Renewable Energy and Apraava Energy. Revenue grew from 437.5 crore in FY20 to 469.9 crore in FY24, at a CAGR of 24.3%. Profitability also saw a notable improvement, with net profit growing from 1.1 crore in FY20 to 58.3 crore in FY24, at a CAGR of 24.6%. Ebitda margin expanded to 18% and ROCE hit an impressive 39%. Also read: Five stocks that can help you retire early View Full Image Source: Equitymaster In the December 2024 quarter, KP Energy more than doubled its revenue to 211.8 crore from a year ago, while net profit has shot up nearly three-fold to 26.5 crore. To further expand its independent power producer (IPP) portfolio, KP Energy has applied for 100 MW connectivity to develop a wind power project connected to the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS). Given the growing need for renewable energy and the government's massive renewable-energy target of 500 gigawatts (GW), the company is set to grow in the coming years. Conclusion Coffee can investing requires patience, discipline, and a long-term perspective. The strategy is designed for investors who can identify fundamentally strong companies with consistent earnings growth, high ROCE, and a sustainable competitive edge. By holding such stocks for a decade or more, investors can benefit from compounding and create wealth without the stress of market fluctuations. However, success depends on choosing the right companiesthose with a proven track record, strong financials, and industry leadership. Also read: Indias travel rush has a clear winnerand its not airlines While this method reduces portfolio churn and transaction costs, investors must be prepared for periods of underperformance and resist the temptation to react to short-term market movements. Investors should evaluate the companys fundamentals and corporate governance, and the stocks valuation before making investment decisions. Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com On 4 March, the Sensex and Nifty declined due to the impact of new US tariffs on major trading partners such as China, Canada, and Mexico. These tariffs unsettled global markets and hurt investor confidence. Sensex finished in negative territory for the third consecutive session, and the Nifty 50 continued its losing streak for tenth session , marking the longest since the index was established nearly 30 years ago. At close of trading, the Sensex had declined by 96 points or 0.1%, settling at 72,989, and the Nifty had dropped by 36 points or 0.2%, ending at 22,082. Approximately 2,133 shares rose, 1,673 shares fell, and 118 shares remained unchanged. The US has announced a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, while Chinese goods are now subject to a total 20% duty after an additional 10% levy. Meanwhile, reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect from 2 April, heightening concerns over trade disruptions and instability in financial markets. Indian stock markets: Way forward Indian markets continued to remain under pressure as the bearish overhang continued to keep the trends suppressed. Stock-specific action emerged, giving some brief upside, but trigger short covering across the board. Nifty Bank held back stiff resistance at 48,000 and showed some brief upside in last trading session on Tuesday. A sharp downtrend continues to advocate a sell-on rally approach that one needs to factor in an event-driven week. The possibility of sustaining an uptrend has become difficult. The strong upmove seen yesterday was a sigh of relief. Now, the key level of 22500 remains a strong resistance zone. We have to consider that the upper echelons always have been a sellers delight. The open interest in the option data suggests that put call ratio (PCR) remains around 1, highlighting that the trends remain divided. Moving into the upcoming sessions, one needs to consider how the trends flow. Bank Nifty shall continue to remain an important index to watch out for as the expectation of a revival is diminishing by the day. With bears inducing more falls in this index and the associated indices, the fall that can emerge should now be considered to plan the way forward. Also Read: FPI sell-off, retail panic fuel sharp market correction; mid, small caps enter negative territory View Full Image TradingView Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTraders Raja Venkatraman: AMI Organics: Buy at current market price and dips to 2,250, stop 2,230, target 2,500-2,550 This chemical stock has been undergoing a lot of pain and was subject to some intense sell-off. The last few days have been spent in consolidation, and now, with volatility expanding to the upside, one can look at some potential rise in store. Also, the rebound emerging in certain high beta stocks, and the recent profit booking dragging the prices into the moving average band support region are now spurring a rebound. With the relative strength index firmly in place, one should consider a long opportunity. View Full Image TradingView Electrosteel Castings: Buy above 96, stop 93 target 105-108 This counter, after the sharp drop seen in the last few weeks, the prices are showing positive divergence in the last few days have shown an inclination to resume the upward bounce. A long body candle close on the last two trading sessions highlights continued positive sentiment. As the momentum is seen rising above important RSI zones, consider going long. Hikal: Buy above 360, stop 348, target 385-395 There is once again a strong bullishness seen in pharma stocks, and the revival this time around in this stock seems more robust. The strong surge in volumes combined with the push from the support regions augurs well for the prices. The positive directional index is seen rising and pushing prices above the clouds. With a long body candle firmly in place, we can look to initiate longs. Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions. Also read | Star appeal fading: Can Indian markets retain their investment edge? Next month, if you have one of the eligible iPhones, iPads and Macs, Apples generative AI features will become available via a software update to youalmost 10 months after the company spoke about it for the first time. Henceforth, if you have an iPhone 16, an M1 MacBook Pro or an iPad Air, or any such device, you will get access to all the shiny artificial intelligence tools from Apple to play around with. Last month, Apple rolled out a preview update in the beta channel for its AI features in India, giving a glimpse at how the features may (or may not) make a difference. For you, though, the devil may lie in the finer detailsand not just the gimmicky bits. Not just iPhones Before proceeding further, though, its important to note that its not just Apple and its iPhones that will support AI features starting next month. In October 2023, Google launched its Pixel 8 family of smartphones, bringing features such as live transcription of audio recordings, an AI image editor to tweak and retouch photographs, a window to create whimsical images using Googles AI engine, and more. Now firmly in its second generation, the Google Pixel 9 series of phones support a built-in Gemini app that you can use to have AI proofread your writeup, create images, generate a new wallpaper each day, summarize transcripts, and more. Since January last year, Samsungs flagship Galaxy S series of phones can do so toothey use Googles Gemini AI models only. In July last year, Motorolas Razr 50 Ultra flagship foldable phone also offered Google-powered AI featuresbut with its own interface. Also read: iPhone 16e: If youre looking for your first iPhone, this could be it What this means, though, is that while youve had AI features in phones around you for a while already, their rollout at scale in every iPhone henceforth is likely to push more Android phone brands to offer some degree of AI features in phones across a wider range of prices. With this AI onslaught on its way, should you really blink an eye at all of these featuresor are they all mostly gimmicks? Edits and retouches Apples upcoming AI features include writing tools, which shows up as a tiny icon built into the interface to help you rewrite your texts. The idea is that in the long run, you can simply select a list of bulleted points that you may have noted down and select from one of the many optionssuch as the ability to make the notes sound professional or friendly. Jumping into the Photos app, AI on iPhones will allow you to retouch photographs taken beforehand. In a brief encounter with the feature, Mint could affirm that most simple retouchessuch as removing a strap cup of tea from the background of a photographwork well enough. You can simply select a list of bulleted points that you may have noted down and select from one of the many optionssuch as the ability to make the notes sound professional or friendly. However, upon a brief, parallel comparison, Googles image tweaking performance with AI appeared smoother and more comprehensive. While Apples AI only offers scope for retouching images by removing objects, Googles Imagen-powered Magic Editor can remove humans from a frame, remove more complex objects without leaving artifacts behind, and even reimagine backgrounds of images to comprehensively alter them. While Apples stance is to use its AI only to rectify images where needed, the difference is noticeable from a sheer capability point of view. We didnt look at AI just in terms of what it could doit is more about preserving the art of photography, or enhancing them," said a person close to the developments at Apple, requesting anonymity since the features are not live yet. As far as text editing is concerned, it remains to be seen if the feature comes of frequent use for you. What it does excel at is proofing, which would help if you regularly make mistakes while swipe-typing on your iPhones keyboard. While Google, and Android in general, do not have a similar feature baked into its interface, Googles appssuch as Keep Notes and Docshave Gemini integrated into them. The resultant effect is similarin fact, Googles features are more generative in nature, while Apples beta version of the AI features feel more additive in nature. Visual features Some of Apples other AI features that strike out include Visual Intelligence, Genmoji, Image Playground, Summaries, and a new interface for Siri. Think of Visual Intelligence to be akin to what Google, with its Lens app, has done for years nowwhether thats useful for you or not will depend on you. To be sure, complicated queries through Siris new text-only interface, as well as Visual Intelligence, will use Apples partnership with OpenAI to tap ChatGPT for answers. The new interface for Siri, at least in beta, felt like Apples most nifty new AI featureone that you might just end up using more often than not. Genmoji, however, feels surplus for the most part. In beta or otherwise, theres mostly no denying that at the end of the day, the ability to create your own emoji will not really change your life. Image Playground is fairly fast and consistent, but diminishing its utility in use cases such as illustrations for projects is that all images created by Apples AI model look distinctly unreal and cartoon-ishlikely a deliberate move in order to avoid stepping on artists toes and avoid lawsuits. Google, with its Pixel Studio, unabashedly creates far more realistic images and illustrations. While its images come with a made with AI watermark, theres no denying that in the long run, it is Googles images that might seem more usable in any use case that could crop upsuch as finding a suitable illustration for a blog post that you want to make. Genmoji, however, feels surplus for the most part. In beta or otherwise, theres mostly no denying that at the end of the day, the ability to create your own emoji will not really change your life. Apples Summaries, which summarize voice calls and store them as text snippets in the Notes app, is a nifty little feature. However, Apples AI only supports English for nowalthough Apples live transcription of audio recordings is surprisingly far more superior than Googles. Mint did not get a chance to see live voice call transcription in action on Apple Intelligence as yet. On Samsungs Android 15, OneUI 7-powered Galaxy S25 Ultra, the voice call transcription feature is a hit or miss, depending on your accent. In the long run, this could be a nifty feature for you. What you get, what you miss In the long run, would you want any or all of these features in your phone? To be sure, you do not need any of them, but if you did have, youd find them becoming increasingly reliant on them. Googles Pixel Studio, for instance, is very nifty for social media postswhile Apples accurate proofreader as part of its Writing Tools can help a lot in drafting professional sounding emails while in transit. However, there is no denying that at least while in beta, Apples AI features are still a step behind what Googles AI features in its own Pixel phones and Samsungs Galaxy S25 lineup offers. With a wider variety of features and more generative capabilities, Googles nearly two-year head-start showsthough Apple, as history has often showed, may not be behind for too long. What is for sure, however, is that none of the AI features are essential today. If youre buying a new phone, it would be more prudent to get one that has the full AI suite. If you still own a new-enough phonesuch as the iPhone 15, or Samsungs Galaxy S23, youre not truly missing out on much. Also read: Anora, leading the Best Picture race, is finally streaming in India A recent report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sounded the alarm on the rapid rise in bank fraud cases . Between April and September 2024, 18,461 frauds were reported, involving a staggering 21,367 crorean eightfold jump compared to 2,623 crore last year. The number of cases, too, has surged by nearly 28%. Beneath these numbers lies a growing threat that financial institutions are struggling to counter: sophisticated fraud in loan applications. Digital imposters Identity fraud is at the heart of this crisis, with fraudsters pretending to be genuine applicants to get loans. Digital onboarding has improved with Aadhaar-based OTP verification and face-matching technology, strengthening security. However, fraudsters are adapting just as fast. Today, digital applicants must verify their presence in real-time by matching a live selfie with their Aadhaar photo. Yet, as financial institutions tighten security, fraudsters continue to innovate, finding new ways to bypass even the most advanced safeguards. Also read: Indias KYC crisis: A bank dedicated to welfare payments could resolve it Deep fakes, powered by artificial intelligence, are now being used to bypass even the most advanced verification systems. These hyper-realistic videos and images mimic genuine applicants, deceiving digital platforms designed to authenticate identities. Synthetic identities, fabricated profiles built by blending real and fake information, are also on the rise. Last but not the least, mule accounts, are increasingly being used to launder the proceeds of financial crime. Offline onboarding processes, often devoid of these advanced fraud checks, exacerbate the problem at times. Fraudsters target institutions that rely on less rigorous manual verifications. Alternatively, they collude with employees and officials to circumvent controls. When pay slips lie The problem doesn't stop at identity fraud. Income and employment fraud are wreaking havoc on lenders ability to assess creditworthiness. Fabricated salary slips and manipulated bank statements have become common tools for fraudsters seeking to inflate their financial profiles. Bank statements, one of the primary sources for verifying income, are being doctored to show false salary trails. Fraudsters often deposit fake salaries into accounts and quickly withdraw the funds to create an illusion of legitimate income. While the account aggregator framework has simplified income verification by providing real-time access to bank account data, it is still in nascent stages of adoption. Also read: RBIs switch of a domain name for banks wont really help tackle online fraud Furthermore, detecting fraudulent salary trails requires sophisticated behavioural analytics to identify red flags, such as high debits soon after salary credits. AI-driven pattern recognition and anomaly detection are the need of the hour. Over the last couple of years, sophisticated fraudsters have been setting up or acquiring access to shell companies to fabricate work histories and employment records. These fake employers issue forged salary slips and offer letters, often passing superficial verification checks. Financial institutions traditionally relied on the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) database to verify employment, but this method is far from comprehensive. Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees are not required to register with EPFO, leaving a significant portion of the workforce outside its purview. The absence of a centralised database for verifying non-EPFO employers and employees creates a fertile ground for fraud. While data for MCA-listed entities is readily available, verifying smaller, unregistered businesses requires lenders to dig deeper. Authenticating an employers operational history, revenue streams, and expenditures has become essential, yet remains challenging without reliable data sources. The lack of a government-backed repository for these businesses is a glaring gap in the system. The consequences of these frauds are far-reaching. Financial institutions face direct monetary losses and risk eroding trust in the lending ecosystem. As fraudsters grow bolder and more resourceful, the fight against loan application fraud has become a race against time. The digital shield Companies are now actively leveraging advanced machine learning models to detect tampered documents and AI-generated selfies, making it a critical ally in combating identity fraud. Artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions go beyond surface-level checks, offering deep due diligence that encompasses business verification, income validation, and active operations assessment, effectively transforming fraud detection by uncovering patterns that traditional methods often miss. AI-driven computer vision models have revolutionised tampering detection in document verification. These programs examine documents pixel by pixel, spotting minute changes like mismatched fonts, altered signatures, or altered photos that might go unnoticed by humans. Also read: Vivek Kaul: Financial frauds evolve fast but its not as if were helpless AI is a vital weapon in the battle against financial crime because of its capacity to identify, evaluate, and adjust to changing fraud tendencies, and it is critical for financial institutions to take the tech-first approach to protect themselves and their customers from evolving threats. Ashok Hariharan, CEO and co-founder of IDfy, an Indian identity verification company. Shark enthusiasts are warning Aussies to 'stay out of the water' as bull sharks look for a 'free lunch' after Cyclone Alfred's rain. As millions of Aussies brace for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, experts are warning of a hidden danger that could linger in the water for days after the wild weather disappears. From Thursday to Saturday, Brisbane locals can expect wind gusts of up to 125km/h and rainfalls of up to 150mm each day more than three times the total rainfall for the entire month of February. While rainfall may be heaviest around south-east Queensland, its also scattered down the coast of NSW, prompting a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water after the rain. For up to a week after heavy rainfall, the number of bull sharks in rivers and waterways spikes, driven largely by the sharks instinct to scavenge. It is likely that dead things get washed out of rivers during heavy rainfall. So obviously they are looking for a free lunch, Professor Culum Brown from Macquarie University told Yahoo News. ADVERTISEMENT The other theory is that the freshwater plumes coming into the ocean bring with them lots of nutrients which ultimately encourage plankton growth, which in turn attracts fish. The sharks then chase the fish. Members of the SES inspect Tropical Cyclone Alfred's movements. Source AAP Sharks linger long after the rain has stopped Prof Brown said there is often a lag between the rain and when the number of sharks spike. But, as shown in a number of studies, the link between the rain and shark activity is clear. Several studies, including our own, show that bull sharks do respond to heavy rainfall, he said. One study conducted in Sydney showed that male bull sharks move upstream almost immediately after rainfall and females follow a few days later, but in general bull sharks are attracted to estuaries and rivers during and after heavy rainfall. Another study in Queensland found that bull sharks are most often caught in the shark nets when rainfall exceeds 100mm between one and eight days after rainfall. Our own study based in South East Queensland based on data from 1996 - 2022 also found that sharks are more likely to be caught in the shark nets after rainfall. ADVERTISEMENT "In our paper, we also found that 14 out of 15 shark bites in SEQ occurred between one and seven days after rainfall. So the take-home message is pretty simple... stay out of the water after rainfall. Particularly stay away from estuaries. Fisherman expects 'huge numbers' of sharks after rain Over his years as a fisherman and owner of Hunter Shark Jaw Restoration, Joel Nancarrow has noticed an increase in shark activity after rain events and expects "huge numbers" following the Cyclone Alfred's downpours. "Im lucky because Im one of the few remaining shark jaw taxidermists left in Australia, so Im usually kept up to date on whats being caught," Joel told Yahoo News."In the last two weeks I have received 12 bull sharks, eight tigers and six mako sharks. After this rain, I would expect that they are almost all bull sharks and the numbers will be huge." ADVERTISEMENT Joel feels bull shark numbers have steadily increased over the past decade, and while rain can create more shark activity, he believes the predators are now easily found in any weather conditions. "If you had asked me the difference in fishing success due to rain 10 years ago, I would have hands down said the flood waters were better. These days, I could take you to any reef along the coast in any weather conditions and guarantee you that we would catch multiple large bull sharks in a short period of time. Joel regularly catches bull sharks up to 300kg in size, and says the amount of sharks in the waters has put him off swimming in the ocean. Source: Joel Nancarrow/Hunter Shark Jaw Restoration "You will find the mid range sharks 200-250kg will be in very big numbers after this rain, in my experience. The XL sharks 300kg plus will still be on the reefs and beaches." In a sandy, protected bay popular with swimmers in NSW, Joel said he's recently caught three bull sharks "well over 300kg" after the beachgoers leave in the late afternoons. ADVERTISEMENT The amount of large sharks he's seen and caught close to shore has led to his choice to no longer swim in the ocean. "I used to stay out of the water after rain and the usual 6am/6pm feeding times, but things have changed," he said. "I would honestly not swim anymore and while I let my children make up their own mind, they dont either. Theres a video on my page from last week where I put a large bait out in the middle of the day and hooked a 300kg shark in under a minute. "That stuff is terrifying, I dont think Ill ever be back [swimming] in salt water again, the last few years has really opened our eyes. The shark situation that used to be a Queensland thing has well and truly spilled over into NSW." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The annual report card for equity pension fund managers is out, and DSP's NPS Equity Fund has delivered a staggering 11.68% return in the last one yearfive times higher than the second-best performer, which posted a modest 2.3%. To match the score of DSP's fund, the new kid on the block, the sum of the funds that gave positive returns would need to be more than doubled. Among the 11 funds in this category, six recorded negative returns in the last year, according to the pension fund regulator's NPS Trust website. A closer look at DSPs fund reveals an interesting pattern. At the end of 2024, 8.75% of its portfolio was in cash compared to Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund's 3.86%, the fund with the second-highest cash allocation. While the average tier-1 NPS equity fund held 70 stocks, this fund had 27 positions. In an interview with Mint, Ramneek Kundra, chief investment officer of DSP pension fund, said people should not come to his fund looking at the past performance as the 12-month timeframe is too short to judge any equity fund. I wish I could talk about a longer track record, but this is all that Ive got for now," said Kundra, who was earlier the fund manager of Taurus Tax Shield Fund. He managed the ELSS fund from May 2022 to August 2023, according to Value Research. The fund was ranked 22 when he joined and was in the sixth spot when he left in August 2023. He started DSPs NPS fund on 26 December 2023. Here is an edited excerpt of the interview: You outperformed rivals by a huge margin. Did the cash pile help as the markets were tumbling? Cash calls are not the main reason for the outperformance. In fact, it has dragged our returns. If you look at 2024 (January to December), the benchmark, BSE 200, rose 14.72%. When you are holding cash and the markets are going up, thats not a good thing. But even in that period, our fund gave 24.53%, the highest return among all NPS equity funds. The individual stock picks worked in our favour. I acknowledge that markets have fallen a lot lately, and the extent of outperformance has increased significantly. In 2024 (January to December), our alpha compared to the benchmark was 9.81%. After the markets dropped, the alpha to benchmark for the past 12 months is now almost 12%. Having cash helped us because whenever the markets fell, we could buy stocks at attractive valuations, and that contributed to the outperformance. We were holding around 7-8% cash on average from the start, as the rule says we cant have more than 10% in cash. Im always mindful that investors who pick us purely for outperformance may be the first to leave during a rough patch. Markets are not always kind, and we will surely underperform at some point. Also Read: DSP is bringing back the TIGER. Should you ride it? Can you tell us about some of your calls that went right? The benchmark fell around 7% last month. As you can see in our factsheet, we bought stocks last month. Our cash level went down from 8.6% in December, and we will end February with about 6% cash. We did a similar thing with a couple of leading private banks. When one of them reported weak December results, its share price fell over 15% in January 2024. Investors were concerned about its growth. But I thought, after the correction, a growth of only 11-12% was priced in and the company had the potential to do better. We made that bank our largest position at that time. After three months, the same story repeats with another private bank. It also fell over 15% when RBI put restrictions on it from onboarding new digital and credit card clients. At that time, we ended up buying a lot of the banks shares. We were fortunate enough to get these two banks at really attractive valuations. The tradeoff for having cash is that the market can go up, and I can miss out on the gains. The flip side is that when the markets fall, it allows us to buy businesses at really attractive valuations. But if given an option, and something similar to the covid crash happens, then I would like to deploy all my cash. But until I find such attractive potential investments, I have to remain prudent and hold some cash. I also think our cash levels are not that high. It only looks huge relative to the cash levels several other funds hold. Also Read: Why do regular plans dominate some types of mutual funds and not others? The average NPS funds hold 70 stocks. You have 27 positions. Why is it so concentrated? You meet many people over your lifetime, but very few people you meet will get along with you well. If you meet 100 people, you might find 4-5 who get along with you. And out of those, you might find only one or two that vibe with you. We think about stocks similarly. Its generally hard to find opportunities you like. Last year, I was perplexed, like everyone else, looking at the valuations. When that happens, cash is the default position. The fear that I had last year is playing out today. Apart from cash, we anyway try to be more conservative. Excluding financial companies, only 3-4% of our portfolio companies have debt. Our downside capture ratio is 59% and the upside capture ratio is 93%. This means that on average when the benchmark falls 10%, we go down 5.9%, whereas when the benchmark rises 10%, we will go up 9.3%. We protect the downside way more than we catch the upside. We prefer keeping it that way. View Full Image Mint Also Read: How DSPs curious 10-stock fund is marching to a Hritik tune The performance of the fund has been good, but the track record is relatively nascent. Anything you would like to tell your investors? Youre right.I wish I could talk about a longer track record, but this is all that Ive got for now.Ive been managing funds in a regulated structurefirst at a mutual fund and now at a pension fundfor a little less than three yearsa little over a year at DSP Pension Fund, and before that, 15 months at a mutual fund. Im always mindful that investors who pick us purely for outperformance may be the first to leave during a rough patch. Markets are not always kind, and we will surely underperform at some point. That is the natural course of any disciplined investment approach. So, rather than focusing on a single years returns, I believe the right way to judge us is by how consistently we adhere to our investment frameworkone built on conservatism, prudence, and patience. We focus on buying businesses at reasonable prices with a margin of safety, prioritizing downside protection, and staying patient when opportunities are scarce. You wrote an annual letter reflecting on some of your holdings. Few stocks that you mentioned are also held by PPFASs Flexi cap scheme. Any thoughts on this? The principles we follow could be very similar. Ive learned everything from Warren Buffett, and Im sure PPFAS did the same. As disciples of Buffett, for better or worse, one can end up pretty similar because we think the same way. When I returned to India from the US, I invested in Bajaj holdings in my personal portfolio. I found that only one mutual fund held that companyPPFAS. I thought they were doing a great job, so I invested in their scheme. Ive been an investor with them ever since. But copying someone's portfolio is something I try to avoid. If they have a stock in their portfolio, I dont know when they have entered and, more importantly, when they will exit. However, I do track their portfolio because I respect them and I am also an investor. Comparing me to them would be a humbling experience. My track record is nothing compared to theirs. What are your thoughts on the NPS as an investment vehicle, considering the performance of broader market? NPS is a disciplined, tax-efficient compounding tool, but its attractiveness as an investment depends on market returns and asset allocation. The only downside is compulsory annuitization of 40% at retirement, where annuity returns would not match long-term equity returns, but the structure forces long-term investing, giving investors a behavioural advantage as they avoid reactionary selling during downturns. Three-year rolling equity returns tend to revert to 12-15% CAGR, even after volatile periods. You are a relatively unknown fund manager, and were managing your own money earlier. Why did you choose a career in investing? I did a Masters in Integrated Marketing from NYU, but it was not related to finance. I interned at a startup that was selected for Disneys accelerator program. However, the company closed after a few months. I tried my luck in another startup, but that never took off. I came back to India in 2016 and started managing my familys money using value-investing principles. I enrolled for an online course on value investing from Columbia Business school. Taurus MF promoter offered me a job. It was a very small fund with an AUM of around 65 crores. At the peak, we generated close to 8.9% alpha compared to the benchmark. Around December 2022, Kalpen Parekh, CEO of DSP AMC, offered me this job. Also Read: Why DSP MFs Kalpen Parekh is bullish on long duration debt In the last two weeks, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China conducted live-fire naval drills in the international waters off Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, and shooting drills in the Taiwan Strait. This show of military might is a sign of Chinas growing confidence as a maritime power. Its also a signal to its closest neighbours that theyll have to start relying on each other, or boost their own defences beyond their original calculations. They cant expect to depend on the US for backup. US President Donald Trumps message to the world is clear: Do things for yourself first, and then we might help you if it suits us. In just the first month of his term, his team has told Europe that it needs to pay more for its own security, lectured allies on democracy and pulled funding from Americas aid and development programmes. As Washington retreats from the international stage, Beijing is advancingmilitarily at least. China now has the worlds largest maritime fighting force, with 234 vessels compared to the US Navys 219. It is also producing more warships at a faster pace; about 70% were launched after 2010, compared to 25% for the US Navy. While Chinas vessels arent necessarily superioryetthe US Office of Naval Intelligence assessed in 2020 that its ships were increasingly of comparable quality. Last year, Beijing also passed the milestone of achieving more than 50% of the US Navys firepower in vertical launch system missile cells on its surface ships. This will allow Beijing to take more advanced weapon systems further out into the worlds oceans. The recent Chinese drills took place in international waters and are permissible under international law. The US Navy traverses the worlds oceans, including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, along with partners and allies. Freedom of navigation, and whats known as right of innocent passage," are central tenants of the rules-based world order, which bring with them an implicit contracta polite adherence to international norms. But Beijing didnt issue any notice about the drills in the Tasman Sea or the Taiwan Strait. Australia discovered them through a commercial pilot via radio communications. The mainlands message is hiding in plain sight, suggests Anne-Marie Brady, professor of political science and international relations at New Zealands University of Canterbury. China is now a sea power in the Pacific. They want to rule the waves." The intent was clearits actions disrupted commercial air travel in the Tasman Sea, and were a show of intimidation to smaller opponents. Taiwan has condemned the exercises, citing severe disruptions in regional peace and stability, and labelled them blatant acts of provocation. The self-ruled island, which China claims as its own, understands Beijings military might better than most. Warships and planes from the mainland cross the median line between them almost daily, fatiguing Taipeis defence forces. The scale of these manoeuvres though, is different. They partly convey that were no longer dealing with simply a superpower in East Asia, but a great maritime power" whose presence is to be more ubiquitous, as Elena Collinson and Corey Lee Bell at the Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney, note. Resistance, Beijing appears to have signalled, is futile. We should anticipate China to project power in places far beyond domains subject to its territorial claims. Trump is only making this easier. Under previous administrations, the US has called itself a Pacific nation and built a network of partners in the Indo-Pacific to help maintain influence. But with the new president, none of this is guaranteed. Hes imposed tariffs on allies and tied potential security guarantees to economic interests. This has left many in Asia with the impression that America First means America Alonemeaning theyre on their own too. Asian countries will have to invest more in their own defence as Europe and the UK are also considering. Some of this is already happening. Taiwan and Japan have announced plans to boost their defence budgets. Singapore and India continue to make it a priority, while Australia and New Zealand are weighing their options. Still, bigger defence spending is no guarantee of a secure military alliance with the US. Washington risks missing the bigger picture with this approach. The Peoples Liberation Army has long had aspirations to extend its reach to greater distances. Its military drills around the Indo-Pacific have shown that China can activate that capability. China is getting militarily stronger in an age of great power adventurism. Will the US do anything about it? Bloomberg Growing up mostly in Bhopal, then the capital of undivided Madhya Pradesh, I was exposed to a range of language variants that we bundle between Hindi and Urdu, all of which I loved. English was a part of the environment, including at school . My first language, though, was neither Hindi in any of its forms, nor English. It was Chhattisgarhi. My family hailed from a small town called Sarangarh in Chhattisgarh. At home, we spoke Chhattisgarhi. By the time I graduated from school, I counted various versions of Hindi, Urdu, English and Chhattisgarhi as my own languages. For college, I went to Trichy in Tamil Nadu, and developed deep admiration for the Tamil language and culture. I learnt to understand the language, but could not speak fluently. Now I have been living in Karnataka for decades, amid Kannadas rich linguistic and cultural heritage. Even as a child, I noticed and was puzzled by the curious phenomenon of many in my extended family and friends circle, living in Chhattisgarh, preferring to speak in Hindi and not Chhattisgarhi (which also has variants). Over time, it became clear that it was a much wider social phenomenon. It was almost as though Hindi was the language of mobility, of the elite, or the court language as it were. As you moved up, or wanted to move up, or wanted to show that you already had, you abandoned your own beautiful and sweet language for another. We ourselves, not all but a significant proportion of Chhattisgarhs people, were imposing Hindi on ourselves. Despite my love for Hindi, and greater fluency in it, I found this abhorrent. It was particularly galling that we ourselves were doing this. The roots of this socio-cultural phenomenon were to be found in many spheres. One of the key ones was that Hindi was sanctified as a language and Chhattisgarhi relegated to being its dialect. Many of us had internalized this hierarchy, not understanding that a language is merely another dialect, but one with an army. One of the most important parts of this army was the school education system. Not only was Hindi the medium of instruction in school, with Chhattisgarhi left unstudied, even the very use of the latter was discouraged. By the time Chhattisgarh became a separate state in 2000, there were enough peoplecivic leaders, literary figures, politicians, educators and moretrying to turn this tide. But like any social tsunami, it had and continues to have momentum. The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) has created a framework to change things significantly for Chhattisgarhi and other languages faced with such tsunamis. How is this? Consider the approach of the NEP. (For full disclosure: I was a member of the drafting committee of the NEP.) The approach has three key thrusts. One, that the first language of literacy and the medium of instruction should be the students mother tongue (note that there is a no language-versus-dialect hierarchy in this), because it is educationally the most effective. Or, if that is not practically possible because it is spoken by a very small community, it should be the childs next most familiar language. This is a boost for all languages in the country, not just in the state of Chhattisgarh. Second, even if the mother tongue is not the medium of instructionmeaning, for example, that textbooks are not in that languagethe teacher and school must use the mother tongue abundantly and extensively as a bridge to the medium of instruction. This approach is diametrically opposite to the earlier approach, where the use of the mother tongue, Chhattisgarhi in our case, would be hushed and even punished. Now it is to be actively encouraged. This empowers all languages in the state, not only Chhattisgarhi, including the states rich range of tribal languages. Third, we must foster multilingualism. A key part of this is how the NEP has changed the three-language-formula. This enables the possibility of teaching any language as the second or third one, while conferring all mother tongues with official legitimacy. This opens significant possibilities. In fact, this can address the challenge of teaching a third language in Indias so-called but misnamed Hindi-speaking states. Also Read: School reforms under NEP 2020 must not be allowed to languish Let us take the example of Chhattisgarh to make this clearer. Chhattisgarhi as the mother tongue should be the first language of literacy and the medium of instruction. Thereafter, Hindi and English (or anything else) can be the second and third languages. This addresses a real problem; to explain why they do not teach a third language, these states have often sought refuge in the following question: Where do we get the teachers if we want to teach other languages? However, enough teachers will indeed be available for these three languages. In fact, the same teacher may be able to teach both Chhattisgarhi and Hindi. The same approach will work in vast swathes of the country. For example, in regions where Mythily, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Mewari and Garhwali are spoken. Schools in Chhattisgarh are showing signs of change. They use books partly written in Chhattisgarhi, and I often see the language freely used in classrooms. This is good for education. It also nurtures the Chhattisgarhi language and culture. We now have to see how Hindi-speaking states use the space provided by the NEP. If they make the best use of its potential, it will give a fillip to our diverse linguistic heritage and also improve education. The author is CEO of Azim Premji Foundation. Anxious locals have been given a vital opportunity to finalise their preparations as the category two cyclone nears the coastline. Coles has asked for customers to respect staff during Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Source: X/ LBFizz Yahoo's live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred for Thursday, March 6 has now concluded. The Bureau of Meteorology now expects the cyclone to make landfall on Friday evening or possibly even Saturday morning. Coles will close 16 stores today as the cyclone nears. The supermarket giant has asked Australians to be patient with staff as stores operate with smaller teams. It comes as Woolworths vowed to stay open for as long as possible. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the damage from Tropical Cyclone Alfred will be "billions and billions of dollars". He said with 1.8 million homes potentially in harm's way, the threat was "very serious". Police fear a man riding a jet ski has gone missing in dangerous surf conditions. See all of the day's updates below. LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 28 updates Featured Coles asks for staff to be respected during challenging time While Coles has stressed it does have ample supply of products, we're still seeing shelves stripped of all their products, including at their Southport store, as seen in the X post below. Coles Southport. I did find toilet paper oddly enough. #cyclonealfred pic.twitter.com/4m19AMvueS Lois of a Certain Age (@LBFizz) March 6, 2025 Coles will shut 16 stores across NSW and Queensland as part of their response to Tropical Cyclone Alfred and will be operating its remaining stores with reduced staff. The supermarket has pleaded with Australians to be patient and show respect to workers during what is a tense period for many. Retail expert Gary Mortimer echoed that request, noting while the two major supermarkets have riled Australians with their pricing amid a cost-of-living crisis, staff are doing their best to support communities. Featured 'They're mad': Surfers ignore warnings to lap up conditions Despite the warnings, surfers are still taking to the waves. Source: Getty If you look closely enough at the photo, you'll see a jet ski rider in the midst of the wild surf conditions at the Gold Coast's Coolangatta. They're there to pull surfers to safety and despite warnings from authorities to stay out of the water, some surfers simply can't resist the conditions. Manager of the Kirra Beach Hotel Greg Hodge told the ABC the area is "one of the best surf spots in the world when it's working". "All the surfies are out there... they're towing them in. They're still surfing... they're quite mad," he said. This is where we'll leave the coverage today, thanks for joining us and we will return tomorrow morning for more live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. For immediate information on the cyclone, you can visit the Bureau of Meteorology's website here. Australia's tallest residential building 'shaking' from winds One X user has shared vision of his view from Australia's tallest residential tower, Q1, saying he can feel the building shake from the wind gusts. Jacob Aldridge says he's all set for a "wild ride" as the cyclone edges closer. Ill be riding out #CycloneAlfred in Australias tallest residential tower; still 36+ hours from landfall, and you can feel the building shaking! Allegedly the footings go 150 metres deep. Gonna be safe, and a wild ride. pic.twitter.com/AdCUfWhYYw Jacob Aldridge (@jacobaldridge) March 6, 2025 Qantas, Jetstar suspend flights to and from Brisbane Qantas and Jetstar have confirmed they will stop international flights to and from Brisbane Airport until at least noon on Saturday. Domestic flights won't operate until at least Sunday. While Gold Coast Airport closed yesterday, Brisbane Airport says it will remain open and flight decisions will be made by each individual airline. At northern NSW's Ballina Airport, Qantas and Jetstar flights are currently suspended until at least Sunday morning. Further down the coast at Coffs Harbour Airport, halted Qantas flights are expected to resume on Friday. Cops 'flabbergasted' by people on beach We'll stick with that press conference featuring Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles as he delivered a strong message to anyone considering going near the beach. "We haven't considered closing down roads at this stage. It's the beach that we want people off," he said. "Being back from the beach and on the road - not a massive problem at this stage. But certainly, being on the beach is a problem. And I'm flabbergasted with some of the footage I'm seeing of kids. "We all need to be a bit more smart about this and ensure that we don't have any unneeded rescues or potentially worse where we're looking at fatalities." Fears jet ski rider could be lost in wild conditions Police are desperately trying to determine if a jet ski rider is missing near the Queensland-NSW border after an empty jet ski trailer was found in a car park. "As we speak, we've got people looking for a potential missing person," Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles told reporters on Thursday afternoon. Acting Chief Superintendent Miles said it was "quite concerning" people would go out on jet skis amid the conditions. A witness has told police they saw what looked like jet ski debris striking a rock wall. "We really hope for the best for that gentleman but as time goes on, it gets more and more concerning for us," he said. As you will have seen, there's plenty of images of surfers being assisted by jet ski riders in recent days. Crowds disperse as cyclone downpour sweeps in Well we brought you vision of "thousands" of people out and about in Burleigh Heads earlier and now it seems the crowds have well and truly dispersed. People were photographed running for cover as a huge downpour hit the Gold Coast suburb. Members of the public run for shelter during a torrential downpour in Burleigh on the Gold Coast ahead of the expected arrival of Cyclone Alfred. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard People stranded by storm surge While we're seeing some significant storm surge today, areas often hit by kind tides were already experiencing wild conditions yesterday. And a group of people at the top of the lookout next to Currumbin's Vikings Surf Club found out the hard way when they got trapped by the encroaching swell which quickly took over the club's car park next to the sand. Take a look at the moment below. Wind picking up in Brisbane And it's a similar story in Brisbane, with the sun long gone, and now replaced with grey skies and plenty of wind. Check out this video from Dale Roberts of Brisbane's Story Bridge showing surrounding vegetation getting a good hammering. Wind gusts at Cape Moreton on the tip of Moreton Island have reached 98km/h so far today, the Bureau of Meteorology says. Blue skies are gone and wind picking up in Brisbane! #TCAlfred pic.twitter.com/RVaFhditwT Dale Roberts (@ozdale) March 6, 2025 Cyclone just over 200km from coastline OK, let's take a look at where Cyclone Alfred is tracking. In a post from the Bureau of Meteorology an hour ago, it said the cyclone remains a category two system and is 245km east of Brisbane and 225km east-north-east of Gold Coast. Tropical #CycloneAlfred (category 2) approach to the #SEQld coast has slowed. The centre of Alfred is expected to cross the coast very early Saturday morning, most likely between #Noosa and #Coolangatta. Latest: https://t.co/4KFWWiahr3 pic.twitter.com/svLRRowGmi Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 6, 2025 Swell nearing Gold Coast streets While some areas on the Gold Coast had a fair bit of sun this morning, the conditions have turned very gloomy. Check out the storm surge in the X video below at Miami Beach where the water is approaching Marine Parade, which runs along the coast there. This is from nobby Beach Marine Parade miami Gold Coast queensland, same spot as morning. Aest 11:30 am. Tides have been higher since morning. Showers with different intensity and windy. Stay safe and be mindful of the risk. #CycloneAlfred #Cyclone #queensland #Australia pic.twitter.com/jDh5NqnQrv Jasmeen Bajwa (@Jazmeenbajwa) March 6, 2025 Ice Cube says experiencing Cyclone Alfred is 'pretty cool' US rapper and actor Ice Cube is among the celebrities to experience the early impacts of Cyclone Alfred, with the star staying in a Gold Coast hotel while in the country on an Australian tour. He told The Project last night the beach looked like it was "going to be in the hotel lobby in a minute". "It is pretty cool. I haven't been through a cyclone before. I can check this off my bucket list for sure," he said. Ice Cube is due to perform in Sydney on Friday night. Man recalls region's last cyclone Those in Queensland's southeast and northern NSW might want to read the following interview from the ABC. They've spoken to Mark Brown who experienced Cyclone Zoe in 1974 and he says some people might not realise how bad Cyclone Alfred could get. "The surf was so powerful, rocks were getting lifted up onto the car park that men couldn't lift. That's how powerful the ocean can be," the life member of Byron Bay Surf Club told the ABC. "A lot of people haven't lived through this sort of situation. It's very calm at the moment and people don't realise how fierce this will get. If anyone is out there thinking, 'Oh this is nothing,' it's going to be something." 'Thousands' undeterred by looming threat With the recalculated landfall forecast, it's now a waiting game for millions, only worsening the anxiety of those in Tropical Cyclone Alfred's path. Many are reporting eerie vibes in coastal communities preparing for the cyclone, but some of the more popular beaches have plenty of people out and about, looking to catch a glimpse of the storm surge and swell. Channel 9's Luke Bradnam shared the following video of Burleigh with "thousands" taking to the coastal path lining the beach. There might be a cyclone on the way but thats not stopping thousands flocking to the beach, Burleigh is right now the busiest Ive seen without a major event being held @9NewsGoldCoast pic.twitter.com/Uh5os79O6D Luke Bradnam (@LukeBradnam) March 5, 2025 It comes despite the City of Gold Coast urging residents to stay at home and to not leave their home if it isn't necessary. Premier David Crisafulli says Queenslanders need to understand the threat that the cyclone poses. "I want Queenslanders to know we are taking this seriously and we're asking you to do the same." Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg urged people to avoid being an "environmental tourist" once the conditions deteriorate. "Don't put others in danger because you want to become an environmental tourist, or take some of these selfies and put yourself in harm's way," he said. Plenty of sandbags left despite residents' struggles There was plenty said on the availability of sandbags yesterday, with some even being flogged online for $20 a pop as residents reported huge queues and limited stock throughout Wednesday. But despite some locations saying they're out of stock, authorities are saying there are plenty still available. NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing said there were 400,000 bags available, while Brisbane City Council said its sandbag stations had reopened this morning. This sandbag depot in Zillmere was telling residents this morning it has none left. Source: Getty Woolworths to keep stores open 'as long as possible' And now we can bring you more information on Woolworths' position regarding Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Unlike Coles, the supermarket has not provided a definitive list of store closures, but they are predicting some stores will eventually close. Read the update from a Woolworths spokesperson below. "Following weather warnings, and to keep our customers and our team safe, Woolworths stores in the cyclone warning zone may begin closing early today. "We aim to keep our stores open as long as possible, however our store teams will adjust their hours according to safety, advice from local authorities and team member availability. "We ask customers to please check the latest operating hours for their local store on the Woolworths website, which will be regularly updated. "Our store team members have worked tirelessly over the past few days to keep stock on shelves, with stores in the cyclone warning zone receiving additional deliveries of essential products including pasta, rice, soup, nappies, baby food and formula, milk and frozen vegetables. "To ensure everyone has fair access to essentials we ask customers to be mindful of others and buy only what they need. Were very grateful for their patience and for treating our store team members with respect and care. "Our distribution centres in the region have been receiving additional stock which will be delivered to stores once it is safe to do so and stores have reopened." Coolangatta Woolworths on Wednesday was looking short on stock. Source: Getty Iconic venue creates 'Great Wall of Burleigh' It's one of the most iconic hospitality sites on the Gold Coast, but for restaurant Rick Shores and the Burleigh Pavilion, their prime location does not bode well when a cyclone is en route. Video shared to TikTok shows the venue on the beach at Burleigh all boarded up. Rick Shores told Sky News it's used to this sort of preparation now and described its defence system as "The Great Wall of Burleigh". Ominous warning about cyclone delay The landfall prediction for Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been pushed back after slowing down en route to the east coast. But the slower speed could actually be more destructive for communities. Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne said the system moving slower had the potential to cause worse flooding, particularly in northern NSW. It can be (worse than a faster moving system) because it prolongs the time that Id consider the cyclone to be impacting a region, Osborne told NewsWire. So it can lead to heavier amounts of rain more prolonged and high end flooding, particularly south of where that system crosses. There's potential for worse flooding (in northern NSW) because that system is slower. She said the slower movement did not mean it was a weaker system. Coles closing 16 stores OK, we have some more information to share with you from Coles about closures. The supermarket stresses safety of staff and customers is their priority, and stores are being operated with smaller teams. Eight stores will be closing today in Queensland, and a further eight in NSW due to the shopping centres they are in shutting down. They are listed below. South East Queensland store closures Coles Petrie Terrace, Brisbane Coles Loganholme, Queensland Coles Runaway Bay, Gold Coast Coles Benowa Village, Gold Coast Coles Arundel), Gold Coast Coles Pacific Fair, Gold Coast Coles The Pines, Gold Coast Coles Robina, Gold Coast All other stores remain open at this stage. Northern NSW store closures Coles Ballina Coles Tweed City Coles Casuarina Coles Tweed Heads Coles Murwillumbah Coles Goonellabah Coles Banora point Coles Ocean shores Coles notes that Lismore, Casino and Alstonville stores will remain open, while some stores will have revised hours and can be followed here. Supermarkets in impacted areas to close today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed supermarkets in impacted areas across Queensland will close from today. We will look to bring you more information on that from Coles, Woolworths and the other major stores in the region. Premier says giant wave 'never seen before' Well this is pretty daunting. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says a 12.3-metre wave has been recorded off Main Beach on the Gold Coast as Tropical Cyclone Alfred nears. "We have never seen a wave height recorded like that, Crisafulli told Sunrise this morning. It is a height well above the nine metres the Bureau of Meteorology earlier said coastal communities could expect. 'Rare' for huge population area to be under cyclone threat Tropical Cyclone Alfred will be the first cyclone to make landfall in southeast Queensland in 50 years. And what we don't normally see when cyclones cross the coastline further north is this amount of people in the firing line. "It's rare for a cyclone to be this far south and to threaten such a huge population area," Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ABC. But Chalmers said authorities have "prepared for the worst" and a lot has been learned from previous natural disasters. Stay clear of beaches, locals warned While we saw surfers taking advantage of the conditions yesterday, as the day went on, locals were increasingly told the threat was just far too dangerous. And early this morning the Bureau of Meteorology said people should be staying well away from beaches. Issued 4:14am Abnormally high tides and damaging surf along the southeast Queensland coast due to Tropical #CycloneAlfred. Beach conditions in these areas are very dangerous and people should stay well away from the surf and surf exposed areas. Details: https://t.co/TyesbYDMBm pic.twitter.com/9GO5dpSdY8 Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 5, 2025 Cyclone will cause 'billions and billions' in damage Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the damage from Tropical Cyclone Alfred will be "billions and billions of dollars". "There's about 4.5 million Australians potentially in harm's way," he told the Today show this morning. "That's about 1.8 million homes." "This is going to be a very serious weather event. Millions of people are in harm's way. Man manages to save car in viral moment Many of you will have seen the video of a Subaru in a very tricky spot as it was moved around a car park by rising swell at Currumbin's Vikings Surf Life Saving Club. Well, you'll be glad to know the poor bloke who was seen rushing to save the vehicle managed to do so. A second video shared below shows him managing to get in and drive the car to safety. Hopefully there's not too much damage caused by the saltwater. Fears grow for homeless communities There are growing fears for the homeless communities in impacted areas, with councils working to get those sleeping rough off the streets and into temporary shelter before Tropical Cyclone Alfred arrives. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said on Wednesday his government was working with councils to make sure there is a place for the homeless to go, particularly in the City of Moreton Bay where only last week camping on public land was made illegal. Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye told the Today show the number of rough sleepers they had was obviously a concern. "There's a high number of rough sleepers and homeless people who have nowhere else to go," she said. Brisbane City Council said a temporary refuge shelter at Bowen Hills would open Thursday morning but will shut its doors at midday. There are pleas for homeless people to make sure they take advantage of shelter offered to them. Source: Getty Landfall prediction pushed back We start with the update from the Bureau of Meteorology that the predicted time for Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall has been once again pushed back. The Bureau says due to winds driving the cyclone towards the coast weakening, it is now expected to make landfall late Friday or even Saturday morning. However the Bureau warned that didn't mean residents wouldn't feel the effects of the cyclone, with strong winds already impacting coastal areas. It is widely expected to be a category two cyclone by the time it reaches land, however there is still a small chance it could be upgraded to a category three cyclone. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A video sent to Local 3 News by a concerned parent captured the emotional gathering in the school's gymnasium, where hundreds of parents sought clarity on the school's potential charter revocation. However, many left feeling the meeting was more of a formality than a forum for transparency. The Hamilton County School Board discussed the application and hiring process for charter schools during their Tuesday meeting. Two school board members worked to clarify if they have oversight of those types of schools, which the law says the board does not. Former teacher employed for years by Hamilton Co. Schools before child sex crimes indictment Kenya White's personnel file from Hamilton County Schools shows he was originally hired as a part-time tutor at East Lake in 2018. Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson says they are doing everything they can to make sure laws are being followed in Hamilton County's charter schools. "As a father of three school aged children, that concerns me greatly and we have expectations of our school systems and public officials to do their due diligence to protect our children, said Rep. John Clemmons. UPDATE: Former Hamilton Co. teacher pleads guilty to federal charges involving students Court documents show two victims were involved, one student at East Lake Academy and one student at Chattanooga Preparatory School. Questions about the application process for charter schools come after a now former teacher of Chattanooga Preparatory School, Kenya White, was hired there as an investigation was underway into allegations of misconduct that started while he was employed at East Lake Academy. Chattanooga Prep's human assets officer, Angelnetta McGee Ulmer, raised the red flag in an email to school administrators, including then CEO Brad Scott. Scott hesitated before responding with "let's discuss this before he is terminated. Stay with Local 3 News for updates to this story. UPDATE: Four wildfires continue burning in the Tellico Plains and Coker Creek area Wednesday morning. All Tri-State Mutual Aid agencies have returned home safely. Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management drone pilot, Captain P.J. Kellam, was requested to respond and provide "eyes in the sky" to determine plans of operation Tuesday night, but has returned home this morning. Tellico Plains and other Monroe Co. agencies are continuing to monitor, extinguish, and conduct damage assessment, according to a Facebook post. PREVIOUS STORY: Over 20 Tri-State Mutual Aid agencies are fighting four separate wildfires in Monroe County this week. Tri-State Mutual Aid Association says that over 100 acres are burning. How to report a wildfire The first step is to call 911. Give dispatch the location, making sure you take note of any mile markers, landmarks, or street names. The following agencies have responded for mutual aid: Athens Fire Bradley Co. Fire Rescue Christianburg VFD Cleveland Fire Conasauga Fire Decatur Fire Englewood Fire Etowah Rural Fire Fannin Co. Fire Hamilton Co. OEM Hopewell Fire Highway 58 VFD Hiwassee Dam Fire Madisonville Fire Meigs Co. Fire Mount Vernon Fire Tellico Plains Fire Tri-Community Fire- Monroe Co. Tri-Community VFD Turkey Creek Fire After Tuesday night's storms, some agencies were sent back home, according to the Hiwassee Dam Fire Department. Hamilton County OEM officials are providing manpower and support for 4 wildfires that continue to burn Wednesday morning. Spirit Airlines is launching its first-ever service at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) this June. The expansion will make use of Spirit's modern Airbus A320 aircraft with 176 seats. According to the airline, beginning on June 4 and 5, Spirit will provide nonstop flights between Chattanooga and the following: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 3 times weekly Newark Liberty International Airport, 4 times weekly Orlando International Airport, 4 times weekly "Spirits decision to add these nonstop routes to our growing airport speaks to the strong support of our Board, elected officials, community and most importantly, our passengers," said April Cameron, president and CEO of Chattanooga Airport. "These new flights provide a tremendous enhancement to our current direct flight options, adding value and expanding access to major cities. In addition, the new flights will allow visitors from these areas to discover what makes the Scenic City so special." Direct flights to New York City return to Chattanooga For the first time since March of 2020, Chattanoogans boarded a Delta flight traveling directly to the Big Apple. In celebration of the new Tennessee market, Spirit is offering travelers one-way flights between the new locations for an introductory fare starting at $50. "The introductory fares start at $50 (one way) for travel between June 4-Aug. 12. And the introductory pricing is only available until March 20. So, passengers must book by then for travel dates between June 4-Aug 12 in order to get the deal." For more information, visit Spirit Airlines website. A bill to protect the carpet industry in northwest Georgia from litigation for the use of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, was presented to a judiciary committee. Representative Kasey Carpenter of Dalton said the house bill is designed to protect 50,000 jobs in northwest Georgia and hundreds of thousands across the state since lawsuits have been filed against the carpet industry for the improper use of the toxic chemical. Product to eliminate PFAS from drinking sources underway Poler believes the research he is doing to create a product will fix that through ion exchange. House Bill 211 would protect carpet manufacturers from lawsuits brought by people who have been contaminated by PFAS. Representative Carpenter believes there are only two companies to blame and not all. This legislation seeks to focus attention on these chemical manufacturers. They created these products, they sold them as safe, the federal government deemed them as safe and now the goalpost has been moved tremendously on the carpet industry, Carpenter said. PFAS Georgia pleased with new product that would remove PFAS from water, environment The professor created a water filter that not only gets rid of PFAS, but keeps it from going back into the environment. Carpenter said the carpet industry used PFAS as directed and now facing endless litigation. PFAS Georgia Attorney Ben Finley is against House Bill 211. Which the carpet industry is trying to avoid liability and responsibility for contaminating all of northwest Georgia by Shaw Industries, Mohawk and other carpet manufactures, Finley said. If the bill is passed, Finley said it would have detrimental impact on thousands of residents and business owners. The tragedy of it is that it will have to be cleaned up, it will have to be remediated the federal government will require that and as result it will fall on the tax payers and the true victims of the bad acts of the carpet industry, Finley said. Finley said that is not fair for the people as companies knew the dangers of PFAS and continued to use it. They could have not used the product and they could've incinerated like they were instructed to by the manufactures of PFAS but instead they dumped it in our water. They polluted our water and they polluted our land because they didn't want to spend any money cleaning it up. They should not be immune from responsibility, Finley said. There will be a vote on March 6, 2025. According to the family, Preston's health has sharply declined following the death of his first wife in 2017, leading to concerns that his second wife, Kim Preston, may influence him and his business interests. UPDATE: A former Hamilton Co. Schools teacher has changed his plea agreement to a guilty plea on federal child sex crimes charges. Kenya White, a teacher at Chattanooga Preparatory School and East Lake Academy, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to messaging his underage students inappropriately. Court documents show two victims were involved, one student at East Lake Academy and one student at Chattanooga Preparatory School. White will face sentencing on October 22 for his federal charges. He still faces state charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation of a minor. White was arrested while employed at Chatt Prep in February. He was hired while under DCS investigation. PREVIOUS STORY: The case involving Kenya White, a former Hamilton County teacher facing numerous child sex crimes charges, was back in a Hamilton County courtroom on May 8. The former teacher at Chattanooga Preparatory School and East Lake Academy recently pleaded guilty to federal charges related to messaging underage students inappropriately. He still faces state charges, including sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation of a minor. White's attorney and the judge discussed the next steps in his case. "He'll have to enter a change of plea, and then there will be a sentencing date," said Judge Dunn. White's next court date is July 16th. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory School has made a statement following a former teacher's plea deal on child sex crimes that detailed his relations with two victims, one being a Chatt Prep student. Troy Kemp, CEO of Prep Public Schools, says a student at Chatt Prep reported Kenya White's inappropriate actions to a faculty member only after hearing of his arrest on February 12, 2025. Kemp says the school followed protocol and state law by informing the Department of Children's Services and the Chattanooga Police Department. Kemp also explained why the school never chose to share that White was accused of committing the same crime at Chatt Prep that he did at East Lake Academy: "Out of an abundance of concern for the student's anonymity, because there was no threat to other students, and because DCS and CPD were only beginning their investigations, Prep Public Schools did not share news of this secondary allegation. School leaders and counselors have been in contact with the student and his parents throughout this situation and ask for the media to respect the privacy of the student as well." White pleaded guilty to federal charges of enticement of a minor. The mandatory minimum prison sentence is 10 years. Court documents show two victims were involved, one student at East Lake Academy and one student at Chattanooga Preparatory School. White was employed at Chatt Prep at the time of his arrest in February. He was hired while under DCS investigation, stemming from his misconduct at East Lake Academy. White was one of several teachers at the school at the time without a valid teaching license. PREVIOUS STORY: The former Chattanooga Preparatory Schools teacher arrested in February for several child sex crimes has pleaded guilty to his federal charges. Court documents show Kenya White has pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor. The mandatory minimum prison sentence is 10 years, with a possible fine up to $250,000. It also includes at least five years of supervised release. Court documents show two victims were involved, one student at East Lake Academy and one student at Chattanooga Preparatory School. On February 16, 2023, a Chattanooga police dept. investigator responded to East Lake Academy on reports of White having inappropriate contact with a 12-year-old student at the school. At the time, White was 30 years old. The officer located texts over a three day period, starting on Feb. 13, where White tried to persuade the victim to take explicit images to send to White. "The defendant used an iPhone to commit the offense - an iPhone is a facility of interstate commerce," says the plea agreement. Two years later in February of 2025, a second victim, a student at Chatt Prep, reported to a school counselor that he had received inappropriate messages from White, a teacher at the school. White began communicating with the 14-year-old student on Snapchat in May of 2024. White's messages continually asked the second victim to "create sexually explicit images of himself and send them" to White. White also asked if the victim would allow him to "perform a sexual act on him." The court documents say "The defendant is pleading guilty because the defendant is in fact guilty." The plea agreement was signed on May 1 and 2 of 2025. PREVIOUS STORY: Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Robertson no longer recommends for the charter to be revoked for Chattanooga Preparatory School after finding nearly half of the teachers were unlicensed in March. The school caught attention in February when an unlicensed teacher was arrested on several child sex crimes charges. That teacher, Kenya White, has since been arrested a second time on federal charges. He was under a Dept. of Children Services investigation when he was hired at Chatt Prep, which began when he was working at East Lake Academy. The joint statement released on April 16 stated: "Instead, the schools charter will be placed in probationary status while the district and the school continue to work together to ensure the school is aligned with all compliance expectations. A probationary charter does not affect the schools operations or accreditation." The statement says the following corrective actions must be implemented: Provide Course Verification for students in grades 6-11 and provide additional evidence that all standards within the course have been taught and assessed for all current students. Provide Proof of Insurance Coverage to ensure no gap in coverage will occur. Update PowerSchool to accurately reflect the Teacher of Record. If an administrator is listed as the Teacher of Record, provide an explanation of how the administrator is teaching the course while also serving in the administrator role. The following corrective actions have already been completed: Verification and updating of teacher licensures and certifications A thorough audit of students transcripts to ensure timely graduation or promotion for all students who were believed to be on track Revision of HR procedures to ensure proper hiring, evaluation, and documentation practices Ongoing collaboration with Chattanooga Prep, HCS, and legal and education consultants. One of the main concerns previously written in the letter to recommend the charter to be revoked was the graduating senior class possibly not gathering valid credits because of unlicensed teachers. Chatt Prep has since hired new leadership at the school. Kenya White is still in federal custody. PREVIOUS STORY: A newly unsealed indictment for Kenya White, a former Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher facing several child sex crimes charges, says he coerced a minor to engage in sexual activity and the production of child porn. The indictment says the federal charges stem from incidents between Feb. 13 to 15 of 2023, when White was a teacher at East Lake Academy. Chattanooga Prep parents frustrated over unanswered questions at school meeting A video sent to Local 3 News by a concerned parent captured the emotional gathering in the school's gymnasium, where hundreds of parents sought clarity on the school's potential charter revocation. However, many left feeling the meeting was more of a formality than a forum for transparency. White was arrested exactly two years later, on Feb. 13, 2025, on the following charges while he was a teacher at Chatt Prep: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping Indictment documents say in Feb. of 2023, White drove a child across state lines to "persuade, induce, entice, and coerce" a minor in sexual activity: the production of child porn, exploitation, especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means. Two days later, White was informed by Hamilton County Schools that he was suspended without pay regarding a Dept. of Children's Services investigation. Documents from the hiring process of Kenya White at Chatt Prep show he did not tell the school why he was previously removed as a teacher from East Lake Academy. Chatt Prep was not set up through DCS to provide background checks, but they knew there was a disciplinary hold on White's file. He continued to work as a teacher at Chatt Prep until his arrest, two years after the incident. White was also unlicensed during his time teaching at Chatt Prep, as were nearly half of the school's staff, says Hamilton County Schools. In a letter to Chatt Prep, Hamilton Co. Schools says they will recommend the revocation of the school's charter on April 17. Chatt Prep has since hired new leadership at the school. Former Chatt Prep coach begins 30-day jail sentence for aggravated assault In July of 2024 he was indicted on charges of domestic assault, aggravated assault, child abuse and neglect, and evading arrest. PREVIOUS STORY: A judge has set the federal trial date for Kenya White, the former Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher who faces several charges. White was first arrested on various child sex crimes charges in February, stemming from a two-year Dept. of Children's Services investigation. White was then arrested again in March on federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor. The trial is set to begin on May 19. Internal emails at Chatt Prep show the school knew White was under DCS investigation at the time they hired him. Hamilton Co. Schools soon after found that White was one of several teachers unlicensed at the charter school. In a letter to Chatt Prep, Hamilton Co. Schools says they will recommend the revocation of the school's charter on April 17. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory Schools says "a new era began" on Tuesday, March 25, as the school announced new leadership at Prep Public Schools. Troy Kemp has been named Chief Executive Officer and Chad Everett as Vice President of Schools. "Both Kemp and Everett have passed all necessary background checks without issue," says Austin Cantrell in a release from the school. The scrutiny of Chatt Prep began in February when an unlicenced teacher, Kenya White, was arrested on various charges of child sex crimes. Hamilton County Schools began investigating other teachers at the school and found almost half of the teachers were unlicensed as well. They recommended the charter be revoked. Kemp comes to Chatt Prep with 27 years of experience at the McCallie School, as well as Director of Strategic Initiatives at Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. I am thrilled to lead the efforts of Prep Public Schools because this is an opportunity to rewrite the narrative, increase the expectations, and improve the outcomes for Black and brown boys in Chattanooga and Knoxville, said Troy Kemp, incoming CEO of PREP Public Schools. Challenges in the past may have pushed us back on our heels, but we are shifting our stance and playing from our toes. Everett currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of IOTA Community Schools, a charter network serving 2,100 students. I am excited for the opportunity to cultivate the environment I wanted as a scholar and that every scholar deserves an environment where every scholar has the freedom to discover curricular truths, as well as truths about themselves; an environment where excellence is the expectation and the brilliance of scholars and teachers is embraced bell-to-bell, every class, every day, said Chad Everett, VP of Schools of PREP Public Schools. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory Schools is set to introduce the school's new leadership after an unlicensed teacher's arrest led Hamilton Co. Schools to recommend the school's charter be revoked. Hamilton Co. Schools says they found almost half of the teachers at Chatt Prep were not licensed. The investigation began when an unlicensed teacher under a Dept. of Children's Services investigation was hired at the school in 2024. Former Chatt Prep teacher, Kenya White, was arrested in February on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. He was then arrested again in March on federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor. PREVIOUS STORY: Hamilton County Schools says they are currently verifying senior credits to ensure Chattanooga Preparatory School's senior class will graduate on time. HCS released the following statement: "Our top priority is supporting the students at Chattanooga Prep and safeguarding their academic progress. We are currently verifying senior credits and taking any necessary corrective actions to ensure that the Senior Class will graduate on-time. We are hopeful that all 50 seniors will graduate on time, but more collaboration is needed before we can state this definitively. Hamilton County Schools and Chattanooga Prep continue to work together to address the recent concerns regarding teacher licensure and ensure compliance with state requirements. Through our collaborative efforts, we have identified a few of Chatt Prep's 50 teachers are not eligible for a teaching license, permit, or waiver. We are actively taking steps to secure the appropriate certifications, waivers, or permits for the remaining teachers to ensure all instructional staff meet state guidelines. As we move forward, we are committed to strengthening procedures for verifying teacher eligibility to prevent future issues. Through ongoing collaboration and accountability, we are confident in our ability to resolve this matter so that Chattanooga Prep can continue providing a high-quality education to its scholars for years to come." Hamilton County Schools recommended for Chatt Prep's charter to be revoked after finding almost half of teachers were not licensed. The investigation began when an unlicensed teacher under a Dept. of Children's Services investigation was hired at the school in 2024. Former Chatt Prep teacher, Kenya White, was arrested in February on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. He was then arrested again in March on federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor. PREVIOUS STORY: The latest TCAP scores for the 2023-24 school year show Chattanooga Preparatory Schools is below the state average in every subject. Hamilton County Schools is recommending the school's charter to be revoked after learning that 21 of 45 teachers at the school were unlicensed. The achievement rate at Chatt prep is 26.1%, while the state average is 39.6%. Biology I State average: 45.2% Chatt Prep average: 29.5% ELA State average: 33.1% Chatt Prep average: 21.5% HS English State average: 42.8% Chatt Prep average: 35.8% HS Math State average: 28.5% Chatt Prep average: 13.8% Math State average: 37.6% Chatt Prep average: 28.1% Science State average: 43.9% Chatt Prep average: 29.7% Social Studies State average: 45.5% Chatt Prep average: 37.8% PREVIOUS STORY: The Tennessee Charter School Center has released a statement pertaining to Chattanooga Preparatory School students potentially impacted by unlicensed teachers: There is no law that would specifically prevent these students from graduating or invalidate their credits based solely on the licensure status of the teacher in the classroom. The state does not issue credits or diplomas and therefore would not be in a position to reject these credits or prevent a student from graduating. Issuing credits is a local issue. Chattanooga Prep makes awards credits and diplomas. We hope Hamilton County will not pursue any action that would negatively impact any student. A letter from Hamilton County Schools recommending the revocation of Chattanooga Prep's charter status said that it's "likely" the entire graduating class was not accumulating valid credits after they found 21 of 45 teachers at the school to be unlicensed. Spring 2025 will be Chatt Prep's first graduating class, and the school says students have accumulated $638,000 in scholarships already. The investigation into Chatt Prep began when an unlicensed teacher was hired while under DCS investigation, then arrested for several charges of solicitation of a minor. Kenya White was recently arrested a second time for federal charges. Several leaders at the school have resigned or been put on leave since. Hamilton County School and Chattanooga Preparatory School say they are both committed to working together to "ensure that Prep meets or exceeds its high standards for hiring personnel." PREVIOUS STORY: Hamilton County Schools says 21 of 45 teachers at Chattanooga Preparatory Schools are unlicensed, not having permits or waivers for classes they teach. This means high school students are not accumulating valid credits towards graduation. "Likely, Chattanooga Prep's entire senior class is impacted by this licensure issue." Spring 2025 was expected to be the school's first graduating class. The school posted on facebook that each senior has a post-high school plan, and the class has together secured $638,000 in scholarships. Hamilton County Schools say they were not aware that almost half of Chatt Prep's teachers were teaching without a license, waiver, or permit "until recently." In a letter to Chatt Prep, Hamilton Co. Schools says they will recommend the revocation of the school's charter on April 17. The revocation will be effective at the end of the school year. The letter from Hamilton County Schools states: "Chattanooga Prep have willfully violated Tennessee laws governing the licensure of teachers. I also believe that the governing body and management have deliberately misrepresented who were the teachers of record in classes actually taught by these unlicensed personnel in order to avoid scrutiny from TDOE." HCS states in the letter that all teachers in a public charter school must hold a valid Tennessee educator license. The following teachers listed on the Chatt Prep website either did not have permits or waivers at all, or did not have an active license through the TN Dept. of Education license look-up: Ethan Reyes - 12th Grade AP Calculus Justin D. Shull - 12th Grade AP Government and Economics Brandie Morgan - Exceptional Education Assistant Davarius Joseph Harris - Geometry Erikka Nichole Benning - Computer Science Jaylin Davon Rogers - Physical Education Theanthony Demonta Haymon - Behavior Interventionist Ivan Andres Lobo - 9th Grade Guided Math Joshua Carroll Grossi - 9th Grade Guided Reading Khalil Marjon Watts - 8th Grade ELA Peyton Anderson Whitley - 7th Grade History Cheryl Hines - 7th Grade Math Kenya White has been removed from the schools website, but was unlicensed at the time of his arrest. The investigation into Chatt Prep began when an unlicensed teacher was hired while under DCS investigation, then arrested for several charges of solicitation of a minor. White was recently arrested a second time for federal charges. PREVIOUS STORY: Hamilton County Schools has started the process to revoke Chattanooga Preparatory Schools charter after an unlicensed teacher was arrested for child sex crimes. Chatt Prep stated in a letter to families that while they believe it is "Unnecessary," they will work with HCS to find a solution that benefits the district and the school. Chatt Prep says the primary concern of Hamilton County Schools is teacher licensure. "Prep has accepted HCS's offer to send HR staff to work alongside our employment attorneywho is currently auditing our HR processesto review employment practices and recommend any necessary changes." Chatt Prep said there will be no disruption to school operations for the time being. The school also promised parents that they are committed to addressing concerns while they work closely with HCS. The school also told parents to attend and share their opinions at the upcoming School Board meeting, contact members of the Hamilton County School Board, and post on social media about how the school has benefited their children. A former Chatt Prep teacher was arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor in February, then arrested a second time on federal charges early March. Internal emails obtained by Local 3 show that Kenya White was hired at Chatt Prep while he had a disciplinary hold on his file for being under a Dept. of Children's Services investigation. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory School says they will have an answer about where they conduct teacher background checks by the end of the week, after hiring a teacher under Dept. of Children's Services investigation for sexual exploitation of a minor. Chatt Prep's Interim CEO, Micah Bess stated: "Our third-party legal team, which we have hired to audit our hiring processes (including our use of the DCS portal), believes they will be able to answer this question by this Friday. We will provide you with that answer as soon as it is available." DCS told Local 3 News that the charter school was not set up in their system to do background checks for any teachers, despite the school saying they were. It's state law for all public and charter schools to perform background checks for teachers through DCS. Kenya White, a former Chatt Prep teacher, faces several charges including federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor. He was hired at Chatt Prep while under a DCS investigation that began while he was employed at a city school. Local 3 reached out to learn if Knox Prep, Chatt Prep's sister school in Knoxville, uses the same hiring process. Bess told Knoxville NBC affiliate, WBIR, that the Knoxville campus will learn from Chatt Prep's mistakes, but did not specify their background check process: "All personnel being considered for employment at Knox Prep are required to undergo several levels of background checks to ensure every one of our scholars is safe while learning. Chattanooga Prep is working to hire an outside firm that specializes in HR practices to review the school's past and current processes to ensure the school's process for conducting these checks is performed without exception. Lessons learned from that review will be applied to Knox Prep if necessary. Neither Chattanooga Prep nor Knoxville Prep will allow this situation to distract from our mission to prepare the next generation of young men for success in our communities." Local 3 has reached out to Chattanooga Preparatory Schools with more questions on staff impacted. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory School has declined the former principal's request to be paid severance after quitting during an investigation into a former teacher hired while under Dept. of Children's Services investigation. Former principal Diamond Kelley's letter of resignation to the school says she had been "hurt." Kelley also asks for an "exchange" to waive any legal claims against the school: "I am also offering to waive any legal claims I have against Chattanooga Preparatory School. In exchange, I am requesting: 1. Severance pay in an amount equal to the remainder of my contract. 2. A letter confirming that background checks were the responsibility of HR. Let me be clear: my reputation is not for sale. My integrity is not up for negotiation. I have carried myself with dignity, and I will not allow my name to be tarnished." She goes on to say, "Only God knows I did what I was supposed to do. I leave with my head held high, I do not leave in surrender. I stand on my character, my values, and my unwavering commitment to these young men." Chatt Prep's interim CEO Micah Bess responded to Kelley's resignation email saying, "it seems we must agree to disagree about your record while at Chattanooga Prep." The email goes on to state: "I politely decline the opportunity to respond to every aspect of your resignation message, except to say this: you have not been slandered by Chattanooga Prep. Your personnel file, which was requested by several local media outlets due to your involvement in the situation regarding Mr. White, speaks for itself. Chattanooga Prep was compelled by law to respond to these FOIA requests, and we had no choice but to share your record, along with a great deal of other information legally requested by local media. I also politely decline your request to be paid a severance. The circumstances surrounding your resignation, do not lend themselves to such an outcome." Read the full resignation below: PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory School Principal Diamond Kelley, originally placed on leave after the arrest of a former teacher, has now resigned. Kelley was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 18. The letter from Chatt Prep's interim CEO says the leave was while law enforcement continued to "review the Kenya White situation." She then resigned on March 6. Kenya White, a former Chatt Prep teacher, was first arrested on Feb. 13 on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, solicitation of a minor, and kidnapping. On March 7, White was arrested a second time on federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor. Internal emails from Chatt Prep show the school saw a disciplinary hold on his file while he was under a Dept. of Children's Services investigation, but decided to hire him anyway. Local 3 also learned that Chatt Prep was not set up to background check teachers through DCS, which is required by law. PREVIOUS STORY: Kenya White, a former Chattanooga Preparatory Schools teacher, faces federal charges of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor after his second arrest on Friday morning. These are in addition to his previous charges he was indicted on: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping While those charges stem from a Chattanooga police and Dept. of Children Services investigation that began in 2023 while he taught at East Lake Academy, it's not clear what situation led to the recent federal charges. Documents show White did not tell the school why he was previously removed as a teacher from East Lake Academy. The Chatt Prep screening says Kenya White told the school he left for his own reasons: "White reports he was employed with HCDE- East Lake Academy and left in March 2023, due to unhappiness at the school. For six years, he taught Theatre, 6th, 7th, 8th. White was a participant in HCDE's Grow Your Own program and program ended after his voluntary resignation; therefore, no teaching license." However, White's personnel file at Hamilton County Schools says he was suspended without pay because of a Dept. of Children's Services investigation linked to inappropriate communication with a student: Chatt Prep was not set up through DCS to provide a background check after their screening. DCS says the school is not set up in their system to provide background checks for any teachers, and Hamilton County Schools say they did not perform a background check on White through their services. One of the references given to Chatt Prep by an East Lake Academy teacher says his weaknesses were "setting boundaries with the students. Students see him as a big brother, rather than a teacher." Despite that statement, Chatt Prep stated on White's screening that White has "appropriate communication with parents and students." Chattanooga police are still looking for potential victims of White during their investigation. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. PREVIOUS STORY: McCracken Poston, attorney for Kenya White, the former Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher who now faces federal charges after his second arrest, states: "Our constitution provides that every person is to be considered innocent until they are found guilty by plea or trial. Its unfortunate that this matter is now being used as a political issue to attack others, and even the entire concept of charter schools. My focus must and will remain on ensuring that Mr. White gets the fairness guaranteed to every citizen in our courts." White was first arrested on several charges in February of 2025: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping Local 3 News has reached out to Chattanooga police to ask if they are still searching for potential victims. PREVIOUS STORY: The former Chattanooga Preparatory Schools teacher previously arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor is now behind bars again on federal charges. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says Kenya White was arrested in Rossville, GA and brought into the Hamilton Co. Jail around 1:00am on Friday, March 7, by federal law enforcement officials. He has now left their facility. Chattanooga police first arrested White on Feb. 13 after an investigation that began two years prior with the Dept. of Children's Services. At the time of White's first arrest, police said they were actively investigating if there could be more victims. Since White's arrest, Local 3 discovered that Chatt Prep hired White knowing he was under a disciplinary hold stemming from the 2-year-long investigation. Internal emails show the school decided to hire him anyway. On March 5, Tennessee Representative John Ray Clemmons requested the state to investigate Chattanooga Preparatory School. On March 6, DCS told Local 3 that the school wasn't set up to background checks in their system, which is law for Charter Schools in Tennessee. Since White's arrest, Chattanooga Preparatory School principal Diamond Kelley has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal review, and Human Resources Coordinator, Dr. Angelnetta Ulmer, took an early retirement. PREVIOUS STORY: A Hamilton County charter school facing scrutiny for hiring a teacher under investigation by the Dept. of Children's Services has given Local 3 News conflicting reports of where they perform background checks for teachers. Chattanooga Preparatory School's interim CEO, Micah Bess, stated: "Chattanooga Prep uses the DCS portal to retrieve background checks for all prospective employees as part of our schools hiring process." The Department of Children's Services states the opposite: "Chattanooga Preparatory School is not set up through the TN Dept. of Childrens Services portal to perform DCS background checks. It is the responsibility of each school system to identify a select number of personnel to be granted access to the portal for the purpose of conducting background checks." Hamilton County Schools tells Local 3 News that the school did not perform a DCS background check through their system either: "Chattanooga Prep does not obtain background checks through HCS." Tenn. Code Ann. 49-5-413 states that all local boards of education, charter schools, or child care programs are required to perform a DCS background check on any applicants for teaching positions. Chatt Prep teacher Kenya White was arrested in February of 2025 on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. The DCS investigation began when White was a teacher at East Lake Academy in 2023. White was suspended from East Lake Academy and put on a disciplinary hold, which showed up in his file during the hiring process at Chatt Prep in 2024. Internal emails show Chatt Prep knew of the disciplinary hold, but decided to hire him anyway. Since the arrest, Chattanooga Preparatory School principal Diamond Kelley has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal review, and Human Resources Coordinator, Dr. Angelnetta Ulmer, took an early retirement. Tennessee Representative John Ray Clemmons has officially requested the state to investigate the school. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory Schools confirms to Local 3 News that Human Resources Coordinator, Dr. Angelnetta Ulmer, is stepping down earlier than expected. Ulmer initially planned to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year, but school officials say she chose to accelerate her departure due to several factors including the ongoing situation with Kenya White, a former Chatt Prep teacher indicted on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. Internal emails within Chatt Prep reveal the school knew of a disciplinary hold on White but decided to hire him anyway - even though he was under investigation by the Dept. of Children Services. Emails show Chattanooga Prep knew about teachers troubled past before hiring Tennessee Rep. John Clemmons is urging the state to investigate how White was allowed to teach at Chattanooga Prep despite his documented past. Chattanooga Preparatory School principal Diamond Kelley has also been placed on administrative leave pending an internal review after White was arrested. Chattanooga police are still looking for potential victims of White during their investigation. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. PREVIOUS STORY: Tennessee Representative John Ray Clemmons has officially requested the state to investigate Chattanooga Preparatory School after the school hired a teacher on a disciplinary hold, who was later arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor. The letter to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti states: "One would expect a school, even a charter school that operates with little to no oversight, to make best efforts to protect students by requesting pertinent information from a previous employer and performing a background check." Rep. Clemmons goes on to say a state investigation into Chatt Prep would "shed much-needed light on how something as seriously disturbing as this could happen." Read the full letter here: PREVIOUS STORY: Internal emails show Chattanooga Preparatory School knew about a teacher let go from a different school in Hamilton County because of a Dept. of Children Services investigation before he was hired again at Chatt Prep. The DCS investigation into Kenya White first started while he was an Education Assistant at East Lake Academy. He put on leave in 2023 pending a law enforcement investigation. In January of 2024, White was then hired as an 8th grade english teacher at Chattanooga Preparatory School. Internal emails obtained by Local 3 News show that Chatt Prep saw the disciplinary hold on White, but hired him anyway. One email sent within the school said, "we cannot hire him while he's under review," and "we will need to terminate Mr. White this week." Parents concerned about Chatt Prep's oversight after hiring teacher under DCS investigation Local 3 News is working with DCS to confirm if Chatt Prep requested background checks through DCS for White and current employees. However, instead of terminating White, an employee at the school replied, "let's discuss this before he is terminated." The Chatt Prep website listed him as a Guided Reading teacher for the 2024-2025 school year on their website. Almost exactly one year since those emails were sent, White was arrested on several charges in February of 2025: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping Chattanooga Preparatory School principal Diamond Kelley has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal review after White was arrested. Chattanooga police are still looking for potential victims of White during their investigation. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. Hamilton Co. School Board discusses charter school application process after teacher's indictment Questions about the application process for charter schools come after a now former teacher of Chattanooga Preparatory was hired amid an investigation. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga Preparatory School principal Diamond Kelley has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal review. In February, Chatt Prep teacher Kenya White was arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means. White's personnel file shows White was suspended from his previous employment in 2023 at East Lake Academy pending a Dept. of Children's Services investigation. Tenn. Code Ann. 49-5-413 states that all local boards of education, charter schools, or child care programs are required to perform a DCS background check on any applicants for teaching positions. Local 3 News is working with DCS to confirm if Chatt Prep requested background checks through DCS for White and current employees. Micah Reed Bess, Interim CEO of PREP Public Schools stated: The greatest responsibility of every school is to ensure the safety of the children it has the privilege to educate. Chattanooga Prep believes this is one of our most fundamental responsibilities to the community we serve, which is why the school has been taking sweeping actions since learning that one of its former employees was arrested on charges that have nothing to do with Chattanooga Prep. The extraordinary actions we have taken since learning of Mr. Whites arrest include firing the employee, placing on leave senior school staff, making counseling services available to members of our school community, and hiring an independent employment firm to investigate what internal HR processes require changes to ensure this situation never happens again. Chattanooga Prep is determined not to allow this situation to distract from our mission to prepare the next generation of young men for success in Chattanooga. Former teacher employed for years by Hamilton Co. Schools before child sex crimes indictment Kenya White's personnel file from Hamilton County Schools shows he was originally hired as a part-time tutor at East Lake in 2018. PREVIOUS STORY: Now-former Chattanooga Prep School teacher Kenya White was arraigned in court Friday, Feb. 21 after he was charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, solicitation of a minor and kidnapping. No testimony or video was shown. White is due back in court on May 8. PREVIOUS STORY: A spokesperson for Hamilton County Schools says they did not receive any reference checks on Kenya White, the Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher arrested on charges of sexual exploitation. Dr. Zac Brown, Chief of Talent with Hamilton County Schools, says, "As far as I know, [Hamilton County Schools] did not receive any reference checks on Mr. White. Children's Advocacy Center gives tips to parents after local teacher arrested for child sex crimes A local expert said parents should look for these signs to keep their kids from becoming a victim of sexual misconduct by an educator. White was employed at East Lake Academy for the 2022-2023 school year when the initial investigation began, but was working at Chatt Prep at the time of his arrest. PREVIOUS STORY: The Chattanooga Preparatory School has confirmed a teacher arrested for sexual exploitation is no longer employed at the school. Chatt Prep declined to answer multiple requests about Kenya White's employment status since his arrest on Feb. 13. On Feb. 19, the school said: "Chattanooga Preparatory School is deeply troubled by the recent arrest of a former employee. The safety and well-being of our scholars remain our top priority, and we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are cooperating with law enforcement and conducting a thorough internal review. As this is an open investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time." White was arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, solicitation of a minor, and kidnapping. While Hamilton County Schools says he was employed at East Lake Academy for the 2022-2023 school year when the investigation began, Chatt Prep has not said if they were aware of the investigation when hiring White. A student of Chatt Prep says he was a teacher at the school since 2023, but the school has not confirmed this. Former teacher employed for years by Hamilton Co. Schools before child sex crimes indictment Kenya White's personnel file from Hamilton County Schools shows he was originally hired as a part-time tutor at East Lake in 2018. PREVIOUS STORY: Hamilton County Schools confirms to Local 3 News that Kenya White, the Chattanooga Preparatory teacher arrested for sexual exploitation, was employed at East Lake Academy for the 2022-2023 school year. Chattanooga police say they first responded to East Lake Academy in February 2023 to investigate Kenya White. The school system declined to answer if parents at East Lake were notified of the investigation or if White had a valid teaching license at the time. Kenya White was arrested on the following charges: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means- 12 counts Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping Police are actively seeking to find if there are more victims. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. Chattanooga Preparatory School has still declined to answer if White is still employed at the school or not. PREVIOUS STORY: Tennessee Department of Education records show that Kenya White, the Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor, does not have a teaching license in the state currently. It is not clear if White's license was suspended or revoked, or if he ever had a valid teaching license in the state. Chatt Prep has still declined to comment on White's employment status. The Chattanooga Police Department says they are actively investigating if there could be more victims of White, after he worked as a teacher for two years before the investigation lead to an indictment. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga police say the investigation into a Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher arrested for multiple counts of solicitation of a minor began two years ago. The Chattanooga Police Dept. says they first responded to East Lake Academy in February of 2023, when the Special Victims Unit and Dept. of Children's Services joined the investigation. Multiple teams worked together to obtain digital forensic evidence to successfully lead to an indictment of Kenya White in February of 2025. Kenya White was arrested on the following charges: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping The Chattanooga Police Dept. says they are actively investigating if there could be more victims. If you have any information, call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525 or the Department of Children's Services at 877-237-0004. Chatt Prep has still declined to comment on if White is still an employee at the school at this time. PREVIOUS STORY: A Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher has been ordered to not have contact with minors after being indicted on 14 counts related to sexual exploitation. Kenya White's charges all stem from a February 2023 incident. White faces a $10,000 bond for each count. He was indicted on February 10, 2025 on the following charges: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping The sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means indictment indicate White exposed a child younger than 13 years old to sexual material through electronic communication. The solicitation of a minor charge involved a child younger than 18 years old in sexual activity. The kidnapping charge does not detail the age of the victim. The school still declines to comment on if White is still employed. PREVIOUS STORY: A Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher has been arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. Chattanooga Preparatory School lists Kenya White as a Guided Reading 6th Grade teacher on its website. While the Hamilton County Courts System doesn't have documents on his arrest yet, the following charges are listed: Sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means x12 Solicitation of a minor Kidnapping Chattanooga Preparatory School posted on Facebook in 2024 that White was recognized as teacher of the month in March. When asked if White was still employed by the school, Chattanooga Prep responded: "Chattanooga Prep cannot speak to the facts surrounding the criminal charges. Please refer all questions to the Chattanooga Police Department or the Hamilton County district attorney's office." When asked a second time if White was still employed by the school, they declined to answer the question again. A lone swimmer was spotted in the swell where the cyclone is set to hit. A man was found swimming in the worsening swell at Kings Beach in Caloundra. Source: Facebook/Andrew Wallace As millions of Aussies brace themselves, and their homes, for Tropical Cyclone Alfred to hit, one man has been blasted by a local MP for ignoring all warning signs and taking a little dip in the increasingly choppy swells. Footage of a lone swimmer diving under aggressive white wash at Kings Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast caught the attention of Federal MP Andrew Wallace on Tuesday. He said, in no uncertain terms, that the behaviour was unacceptable as authorities work to help those on the ground. "Let me be clear: you need to stay out of the water," he wrote online. "It's dangerous. It's dirty. You are putting your life at risk. "Don't be selfish, dragging first responders' attention away from preparation and prevention." He warned the community that "this is not a drill" and that residents need to prepare themselves and their properties to withstand the winds of up to 155 km/h that are expected to hit much of the southeast coast of Queensland in the next few days. He urged people not to panic but to stay safe. ADVERTISEMENT However, the swimmer wasn't the only man to ignore pending warnings. Some surfers were spotted in Byron Bay catching waves on the swell created at The Pass despite the beach being closed. Surfers were spotted in Byron Bay this week. Source: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell Millions hold their breath as cyclone takes predicted U-turn The category two cyclone made a predicted U-turn approximately 600 kilometres off the coast from Brisbane on Tuesday night and continues to head toward the east coast. It is expected to hit landfall by Thursday, however the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts abnormally high tides between Sandy Cape and Grafton as early as Wednesday and heavy rainfall to sweep many parts of southeast Queensland and northeastern NSW from today. Cyclone Alfred has made a U-turn and is heading towards Brisbane. Source: Bureau of Meteorology Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew into Brisbane on Tuesday, with NSW Premier Chris Minns urging residents to listen to emergency communications and follow instruction. ADVERTISEMENT "We hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst," Mr Minns said this morning. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. There was great sadness in Longford and surrounding areas as news that local author, playwright and historian, Jude Flynn of Aughadegnan, Longford town and formerly of Gortletteragh passed away on Monday, February 17. The Chairperson of Longford Historical Society, Patrick Donnelly, gave a graveside oration to acknowledge the service Jude gave to the society, to Longford Tourism and the Genealogy Society and his legacy to the county through his 19 editions of Fireside Tales. Born in the Leitrim townland of Drumgrania, the popular local historian contributed to the preservation of history, that of his adopted county and of his native parish of Gortletteragh. Jude was a tireless cataloguer of stories of life in bygone times: He was extraordinary, Longford County Archivist, Martin Morris, told the Leader. Also Read: Lovely gesture: Longford girl cuts her beautiful hair to raise funds for two charities If you looked at the local history scene around Ireland, you wouldn't find another Jude Flynn anywhere because of the sheer volume of work that he did. He published 19 editions of Fireside Tales, all based on a collection of over 500 interviews he did with people over 40 years, Martin said. The diligence he applied to his discipline was unswerving: A lot of people think about doing it, but Jude actually went out and did it. He went to three continents to interview people over the years. Jude's efforts to record times past brought him to Australia, the US and the UK: Of course the vast majority were done here. Also Read: PICTURES | Rally enthusiasts throng Longford for top class festival of motorsport He preserved an oral history. This was people telling stories that were passed on, about things that wouldn't necessarily be recorded anywhere else. In some cases, he asked people about their lives, and about their own life stories. There was also folklore, the stories of fairies and ghosts. The local historian composed a picture of the past, not through the major events, but through the details of people's lives: That oral history is very important and very fragile, because when the people go, the stories go with them. Jude was one of the first people in Longford to recognise that. He went out and recorded so many people. He made it his life's work, you could say, from the early 1980s onwards. I think 1981 is the first. Those recording's are part of the Longford archives: We have his tape collection here. It's been digitised. From the first one in 1981 to the last one in around 2020. Also Read: Longford farmers preparing for the grazing season Jude's passion brought him together with like minded history enthusiasts: He was one of the founder members of Longford Historical Society and I think he was probably the last surviving founder member of that first meeting in 1967. Martin spoke of the interpersonal skills that made Judge a good interviewer: He was very sharp, in the best sense of the word. He had great wit and was very on the ball, very clued in. He was good with people. That's one of the reasons he did interviews so well, because he could speak to people and get good stories out of them. Jude's interests extended beyond history: He was involved in a range of organisations. He was on the Longford Tourism Committee for several years, serving as treasurer at one point. He was the founder of the Longford Genealogy Centre, going back to the late 80s. He was the key person in setting it up. He was also involved in the St Patrick's Day Parade Committee in Ballymahon. Also Read: Liquor licence granted for new Lidl store in county Longford During the centenary commemoration of the Drumlish Land War in 1981 Jude was one of the driving forces. He contributed to the Ballinamuck Centenary commemoration in 1998. He put so much energy into everything he did. All of Jude's work came second to his commitment to family: He reared a young family. His wife died young and Jude raised three children. He had personal sadness. He looked after brothers who were ill, but he just did it all. Jude was synonymous with Longford Historical Society. The society owns a major collection of artefacts, archives and books, currently in storage. It ran a museum in Main Street, Longford, 1991-1994, but it closed due to structural problems in the building, a project Jude hoped would be revived. Also Read: Uninsured Longford driver detected for a fourth time receives suspended prison sentence There are five applications under consideration at the moment, Martin said, That's the best chance we have for funding. There's nothing guaranteed, but there's a good application being put together and we were very hopeful. The Historical Society's collection will go into it. It would be the key component of the overall collection. We'll have to make sure Jude is remembered whenever we get a museum. We'll pay tribute to Jude for all the work he did. Over the years Jude was also very active in his home county. In 1958 he established a branch of Muintir na Tire in the Gortletteragh, reviving crossroads dances and in 1959 organised a bonfire dance at Farnaught Cross. He wrote two plays in the early 1960s: Sunset in the Valley and The Warning Light which gained him nationwide acclaim. Also Read: Burst watermains causing disruption to Longford town water supply In 1968 Jude was a founder member of the Leitrim Guardian and has made many valuable contributions to it since. Jude wrote a book on Rev Peter Conefry (Prince of Cloone). He was a constant contributor to many historical publications and penned an account of Fr Tom Conefrys involvement in the Drumlish Land War for the centenary booklet in 1981. Jude died peacefully at his home in Longford town on Monday, March 24, 2025. Also Read: Green light: Longford planners give go ahead for construction of extension to national school Jude was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary, parents Thomas and Emily, sister Una, brothers Liam, Matt, Bart, Gerard and Fr Tom. We offer our sympathies to his daughter Grainne, sons Ciaran and Joe, sister Peggy, daughters-in-law Tina and Jean, son-in-law Ryan, grandchildren Emma, Tara, Daniel, Michael, Ruby, Amber and Donal, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends on their sad loss. Following his Funeral Mass in St Mel's Cathedral celebrated by Fr James MacKiernan assisted by Fr John Quinn, Fr Brian Brennan, Fr Tom Murray and Fr Sean Casey, he was laid to rest in Gortletteragh. A man, who first appeared before Longford District Court, has been jailed for four and a half years for his role in the human trafficking of three women into Ireland, who were later forced into prostitution. Lucky Enogheghase (38) with an address at Frenchville Lane, Galway pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking. The court heard that Enogheghase was involved in facilitating the journey of three women from Nigeria to Ireland. Once here, these three women were forced into prostitution by third parties, who have already been dealt with by the courts. Also read: Man remanded in custody after appearing at Longford court charged in connection to human trafficking Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Enogheghase's guilty pleas were accepted on the basis of recklessness in that he was not aware of what awaited these three women upon their arrival in Ireland. The court was asked to take two other counts of conspiracy to commit human trafficking into consideration when imposing sentence. An investigating garda told Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, that Enogheghase assisted in the travel of the three women, who were trafficked to Ireland. He said the women had been duped by other parties who invited them to come here. The court heard that the garda investigation began after one of the three women recognised Enogheghase at a hotel in Galway and told gardai he helped to facilitate her journey between Nigeria and Italy, before she arrived in Ireland. Also read: Man who regularly had sex with underage girl is jailed for defilement The garda said Enogheghase's role was varied from travelling with the women, to providing accommodation and then facilitating their onward journey. He said Enogheghase's role with the organisation which trafficked the women has not been established and gardai can't say what reward, if any, Enogheghase would have received for his involvement. Enogheghase was arrested in November 2022 and interviewed by gardai, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. He has no previous convictions. The investigating garda agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, that his client was co-operative and the guilty plea was of assistance to the prosecution. It was further accepted that Enogheghase was not living a lavish lifestyle after he moved to Ireland and has some work history here. The garda also agreed that Enogheghase is doing well in custody and has enhanced prisoner status. Mr Lynn outlined his client's background and asked the court to take into account all available mitigation. He said his client accepts responsibility for his role and was reckless because he didn't know what awaited for the women here in Ireland. Also read: Driver caught without insurance in Midlands disqualified from driving for twenty years Judge Martin Nolan said Enogheghase had been involved in the trafficking of three people, which was a serious matter. The judge said the court inferred Enogheghase was due to receive some reward for his involvement, adding that it was hard to know what level he was in the organisation, but probably not at the highest level, but thats only a guess on behalf of the court. He imposed a sentence of four and a half years and backdated it to when Enogheghase went into custody in November 2022. A junior minister has defended the expenditure around controversial projects financed by public money as he took aim at opposition politicians for not entering into government. Minister of State Kevin Boxer Moran engaged in fierce exchanges in defence of public spending on a range of projects, including a security hut near Government Buildings and a bike shelter at Leinster House. Mr Moran, who holds responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) within the Department of Public Expenditure, said the Government condemns the waste of public money. He said he wanted to counteract a narrative that the Government had not been placing oversight and accountability at the heart of the expenditure and management. He added: Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a wide range of frameworks that public bodies must follow to ensure value for money and accountability at the highest level. Mr Moran was responding to an opposition motion on Government waste and oversight in public expenditure brought by the Independent Ireland party. The motion raised more than a dozen ongoing failures in Government-funded projects such as the 1.4 million euro security hut and 336,000 euro bike shelter both overseen by the OPW. Mr Moran, who was not a member of the Dail during the previous government, said: I was the first one to admit, the first one to say and apologise to people that mistakes were made. He criticised the opposition for describing the structure as a bike shed, instead calling on them to get it right by describing it as a bike shelter at a listed building that was cherished by people all over the world. He also said the security hut was necessary to protect people who work at Government Buildings. Mr Moran then faced calls to correct the Dail record after saying the hut cost 300,000 euros. The pavilion structure itself cost 280,000 euros but the bill for the entire project cost 1.4 million euros. Elsewhere, he responded to criticism of ongoing OPW expenditure on a wall at the Hill of Tara which was damaged by heavy rainfall in 2010. The junior minister said: The OPW is not building a wall in the Hill of Tara. OPW are carrying out maintenance work out on a wall there. And it might go on 12 years and it might go on 12, but the Hill of Tara never closed. It opened to business for everybody to enjoy. Independent Ireland also highlighted 725 million euros allocated to RTE in the wake of its financial scandal, 230,000 euros spent to modify a room in Leinster House for an 800,000 euro printer which was found to be too big, and the ballooning overrun in the National Childrens Hospital which is now expected to cost 2.5 billion euros. In addition, more recently uncovered controversies are given as examples, including the Arts Council spending 6.67 million euros on a failed IT project, and 120,000 euros spent on a scanner at the National Gallery despite no suitable lead-lined room being identified. Independent Ireland called on the Government to create an independent watchdog for Government spending entitled the Department of Efficiency and Reform. The entity would be recruited entirely from the private sector and be dedicated to investigating public sector spending, waste, and inefficiency. It would also conduct unannounced audits on public bodies, agencies and non-governmental organisations. The proposal has been likened to the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency in the current US administration, although Independent Ireland insists it had the idea in January last year. The Government amendment to the motion effectively substitutes the entirety of the text with an acknowledgement that significant sums have been spent on improving public services and infrastructure, adding that there is no requirement for a new body because of existing high standard governance procedures and the high quality Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Mr Moran, who entered into government after running as an independent, took aim at some of the members in the opposition during his response. He accused Independent Ireland of an Elon Musk-type approach, adding: Kill the system, kill the people the very people providing for this country. He also accused opposition parties and certain independents of failing to enter into government. You portrayed yourselves as everything were doing on this side of the House is wrong, and it was shame on you for portraying that. Everyone in this House had a chance to stand where I am. Every single one, you all failed. He added: You went out on social media, you went on radio, you went on television. You talked about government, but you failed to go into government. I went in because I believe I can make a say, I can make changes. I believe that I can deliver. On the controversial projects, Independent Ireland founder Michael Collins told Mr Moran: You got up and defended that, you should be ashamed of yourself. Because youre a man I respect, but I wont respect you for that, if you dont mind me saying so. Mr Moran said he would defend it all day. Mr Collins accused the Government of robbing taxpayers money to finance the projects. A heated back-and-forth between the two men followed during which Mr Moran said Mr Collins should have entered into government. Mr Collins said his party had engaged in negotiations to enter government. In a later session in the Dail, Aontu leader Peadar Toibin asked Taoiseach Micheal Martin about what measures he would take to combat Government waste particularly around 100 million euros in overpayments of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). Mr Martin said the suggestion around the Government wasting money was a disingenuous distortion, adding that the PUP was essential during the pandemic. He said fraud must always be pursued and pledged that the Department of Social Protection would go after the overpayments. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: March 05 2025 From 5 7:30 p.m., residents will have the opportunity to securely dispose of unwanted and/or expired prescription medications and patches, over-the-counter meds, and more. Nassau County Legislature Deputy Minority Leader Arnold W. Drucker (D - Plainview) is partnering with the Nassau County Police Departments Second Precinct to host a Shed the Meds event at the Syosset Public Library on Tuesday, March 11. From 5 7:30 p.m., residents will have the opportunity to securely dispose of unwanted and/or expired prescription medications and patches, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, drug samples and pet medications under the supervision of Second Precinct officers. Please note that needles/sharps, aerosol cans, thermometers, ointments (liquid or lotion), hydrogen peroxide, inhalers, biohazardous materials and/or medications from businesses will not be accepted . Spring cleaning will soon be on many peoples minds, and one of the best ways to start is clearing our medicine cabinets of medications that are no longer useful or needed, Deputy Minority Leader Drucker said. I am happy that our ongoing partnership with the Second Precinct gives Nassau residents a safe and convenient way to complete this task in a way that both protects the environment and prevents drug abuse and misuse in our community. If you have unwanted or expired medicine that you want to discard, please join us at the Syosset Library on March 11 and avail yourself of this vital service! Residents can contact the Second Precinct at 516-573-6200 or Deputy Minority Leader Druckers office at 516-571-6216 with questions. WHEN Tuesday, March 11, 2025 TIME 5 7:30 p.m. WHERE - Syosset Public Library, 225 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset, N.Y. 11791 Crime By Chris Boyle Published: March 04 2025 The Defendant Began Sexually Abusing His Granddaughter When She Was Seven Years Old. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a 69-year-old Wading River man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to Course of Sexual Conduct in the First Degree and other related charges, after sexually abusing his granddaughter for years, beginning when she was seven years old. Sexual abuse has devastating and lifelong effects on anyone who is a victim of it, especially an innocent child, said District Attorney Tierney. I hope that the significant prison sentence imposed today is a deterrent to anyone who may want to prey on children. According to court documents and the defendants admissions during his guilty plea allocution, between the fall of 2017 and March 2021, the defendant subjected his granddaughter to repeated acts of sexual abuse whenever she stayed at her grandparents house. The victim disclosed the abuse to her mother in July 2022, when she was 12 years old. The victims family then called the police, and the defendant was placed under arrest. The defendant confessed to having sexually abused the victim. On January 14, 2025, the defendant pleaded guilty to the following charges before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei: Course of Sexual Conduct in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony; Course of Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony; and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor. On March 3, 2025, the defendant was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was represented by Steven Politi, Esq. This case was being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Dana Castaldo and Katherine Flinchum of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Adolfo Berrios of the Suffolk County Police Departments Special Victims Section. Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law. Crime By Chris Boyle Published: March 05 2025 Bryan Heredia Escobar, 19, along with two other suspects, allegedly beat, strangled, and stabbed a victim to death in Central Islip two weeks ago. Suffolk County Police report that a Long Island man suspected in the murder of a homeless man in Central Islip has been tracked down to a Mid-Hudson Valley Town and placed under arrest. Bryan Heredia Escobar, 19, along with two other suspects, allegedly beat, strangled, and stabbed a victim to death in an encampment in the woods two weeks ago. Escobar is then said to have fled Long Island, but tips eventually led police to Brewster Village in upstate New York, where he was staying in a residence. SCPD officers, in conjunction with the Putnam Sheriffs Office and Brewster Village Police, tracked Escobar down and placed him under arrest. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters march while holding the groups flag and photo of one of the groups founding members, Abdullah Ocalan. (irandiplomacy.ir) Recent diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Iran reflect a broader shift in the Middle East: Turkey has filled the vacuum left by Tehran, much to the Islamic Republics discontent. After Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidans critical remarks on Tehrans regional policies sparked media uproar, both Turkey and Irans foreign ministries summoned their envoys for urgent discussions. In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on February 26, Fidan stated that Irans reliance on militias had come at a great cost, with Tehran losing more than it gained. When asked about Irans potential support for Syrian Kurdish forceswhom Turkey considers a terrorist groupFidan responded sharply: If you try to create unrest in another country by supporting a group there, another country might support a group in your country to create unrest for you. Nothing can remain hidden, Fidan continued. The capabilities you have, others also possess. Therefore, if you do not want stones thrown at your window, you should not throw stones at others windows. Iran swiftly rebuffed Fidans comments. We were the first country to oppose and confront the coup against the Turkish government, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X, also asserting that Iran had not pursued regional ambitions over the past five decades. Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani acknowledged ongoing differences between Turkey and Iran on March 4, labeling Fidans remarks as unconstructive and cautioning against similar statements in the future. We have issues with Turkey regarding Syria, and we hope that these issues will be handled wisely, Mohajerani said. Diplomatic tensions escalated further when Iran invited Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Hicabi Kirlangic for a meeting on March 4. While not officially summoned, the invitation was likely Irans attempt to de-escalate while still delivering a stern message. Kirlangic met with Irans assistant to the foreign minister and the director general of the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe Department, who stressed that sensitive regional conditions necessitate avoiding inappropriate remarks and unrealistic analyses that could lead to disputes and tensions in bilateral relations. Turkey remained firm in its stance. In response, the Turkish foreign ministry invited Irans charge daffaires in Ankara for a meeting, noting that Iranian officials had recently criticized Turkey. The ministry also confirmed that a formal file on the matter had been sent to the Iranian side. Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli emphasized Ankaras preference for direct diplomacy: We believe that, in any case, foreign policy issues should not be used as material for domestic politics. In this framework, we prefer to convey critical messages directly to their recipients. The rivalry between Ankara and Tehran dates back centuries, with Iran historically aligning with European powers against the Ottoman Empire. However, it was Fidans specific threat about external actors supporting separatist groups inside Iran that provoked the strongest reaction. Irans diverse population, including ethnic groups like the Azeris, has long been sensitive to such issues. While Azeri Iranians, who make up about 16% of Irans population, do not suffer from significant socio-economic grievances, Turkeys pan-Turkism ambitions have nonetheless sought to mobilize separatist movements within Iran. However, this has not yet escalated into armed conflict, as seen with the Kurdish and Baluch separatists. In return, Tehran has supported the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a designated terrorist group by Turkey and the United States. Ties between Iran and the PKK date back to the 1980s, gaining momentum in the 1990s. In January 2025, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak, known for its pro-Erdogan stance, reported that Iran had sent 1,500 kamikaze drones to the PKK, referring to the HESA Shahed 136 suicide drone. While Iran denied the claim, the fact that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsQuds Force (IRGC-QF) operates a division focused on Turkey lends significant credibility to the accusation. However, Tehran now faces an unexpected turn of events. Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, called for the group to disarm and dissolve itself. In a letter read by his political allies in Istanbul on February 27, he wrote, I take on the historical responsibility for this call. [] All groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself. PKKs executive committee declared a ceasefire in its struggle against the Turkish state shortly after. Iranian state media quickly characterized this development as a significant defeat for Tehran. Indeed, it marks another instance in which Turkey has gained the upper hand in the region. In the September 2023 clash between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Baku emerged victorious with Turkish support. Armenia, long reliant on Iranian and Russian military aid, was left vulnerable to the superior capabilities of Turkeys Bayraktar drones. This victory not only secured Azerbaijans access to the Zangezur Corridorconnecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and potentially linking Turkey to mainland Azerbaijanbut also reduced Armenias reliance on Iran for energy and transport, further diminishing Tehrans influence. The collapse of the Bashar al Assad regime in Syria followed swiftly after the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the Turkish-backed Hayat Tahrir al Sham bringing down a regime that Iran had spent significant resources protecting. Damascuss new leaders have repeatedly opposed Iranian regional ambitions, all while holding Turkish passports. Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republics regional malign influence. Germany has become the latest European nation to suspend financial aid to Rwanda for backing the M23 rebel group thats seized huge swathes of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwandan troops are still operating in #EasternDRC & supporting M23, thus violating the sovereignty of the #DRC. Therefore, Germanys @BMZ_Bund is putting new financial commitments on hold & currently reviewing our bilateral development cooperation with #Rwanda, the German Foreign Office said in a post on X. Britain and Congos former colonial power Belgium have also censured Rwanda over its role in the conflict that has displaced about a million people in the mineral-rich east of Congo. And the US has sanctioned one of Rwandas most powerful officials for his role in supporting the M23 rebel movement. In response, Rwanda suspended development cooperation with Belgium and demanded that the UK, which it accuses of choosing a side in the conflict, pay 50 million (59.7 million) for an abandoned migrant deportation plan. The east Africa nation justifies its participation in the war as a national security matter, while Congo maintains Rwanda is in its territory to profit from its vast resources. Where Luxembourg stands Back in February, Luxembourg foreign minister Xavier Bettel suggested to block a package of EU sanctions against Rwandan army officers and members of the M23 rebel force ahead of a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. However, Bettel in an interview with the Luxemburger Wort on Tuesday afternoon said he had not pushed through a veto against sanctions at the meeting because there was no finished text to vote on. Bettel suggested waiting for African mediation efforts before sanctions are implemented to avoid the parties turning away from the talks, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release published after the meeting. This mediation meeting, which was to take place in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, was not held last Friday as planned. The deputy prime minister refused the claim that he had blocked sanctions against Rwanda in Brussels last week, saying the responsible EU body only drew up a list of people against whom sanctions are to be imposed this Monday. The final adoption of the sanctions by the EU foreign ministers is scheduled for 17 March. Prime Minister Luc Frieden on Tuesday told lawmakers in parliament that there was no vote; the foreign minister told me, responding to a question from Green opposition MP Sam Tanson. Interior design firm Casa filed for bankruptcy in a Belgian court on Wednesday, raising questions over the future of the companys stores and employees in Luxembourg. Casa has eight stores across the Grand Duchy and its latest annual results listed 26 employees in the country in 2023. The Luxembourg stores will remain open for the time being despite the bankruptcy application in Belgium, Casa International CEO Vincent Nolf told Belgian broadcaster VRT. We cannot draw any conclusions about what will happen there, he added, without giving further details. Founded in 1975, Casas declaration of bankruptcy will lead to the closure of 63 stores and a distribution centre in Belgium, with 544 employees affected. Casas problems are not new. For months, the brand has been warning of rising production and transportation costs, coupled with a drop in footfall and in-store sales, which are believed to be the cause of the financial difficulties. Look at the last three years, wage costs have increased by 20%. If sales remain stable or decrease at the same time, it becomes very difficult, added the CEO in his interview with VRT. (This article was originally published by Virgule. Translation and editing by John Monaghan) David Wilcox Executive editor Follow David Wilcox Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Unplugging every appliance in the house before going to bed. Squeezing into another layer of clothes instead of raising the thermostat past 60. Reading and recording the energy meter every single day. Those are some of the things NYSEG customers in Cayuga County told The Citizen they've done in the past couple months after seeing their bills from the utility company spike astronomically. The Citizen spoke to more than a dozen such customers recently, all of whom reported bill increases of 100% or more in recent months $200 to $400, $400 to $800, $700 to $1,400. "I'm afraid to go to the mailbox," said one Auburn customer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "And I don't think they want you to understand the bill. That's why you get six pages of it." A representative of NYSEG, in response, told The Citizen that the spiking bills are due to increases in the cost of energy supply, as well as a winter that is about 16% colder than last year's. "We are only responsible for the cost associated with the delivery of energy to customers that is noted in every bill, which has not increased," NYSEG said. "We do not profit from supply charges." The company continued: "Just like when you get gas at a gas station, you don't blame the attendant for the price." Regardless, the customer outrage has drawn attention from the media and from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who earlier this month directed the state's Department of Public Service to conduct an audit of utility company salaries and compensation statewide. A representative of the department, repeating that supply costs have increased, told The Citizen that companies are prohibited from profiting off them. The New York State Public Service Commission approved a rate increase for NYSEG in 2023, saying it would result in average bill increases of about $10 a month in each of the next three years. The customers who spoke to The Citizen, however, said the increases they've seen are significantly more than $10 a month. 'They have no answers' Another thing those Cayuga County customers have in common is their insistence that they haven't changed their energy usage. Pat Shaw, who's lived in her King Ferry home for 37 years, told The Citizen her NYSEG bill jumped from $477 last January to $786 this January, and from $634 last February to $1,123 this February. The spikes led Shaw to join the Facebook group NYSEG Needs to Be Held Accountable! She learned from its 12,000 members that she wasn't alone, and she worries how others are handling the hardship. "Are they just going to shut off a huge percentage when people can't pay?" she said. "People could die. People could freeze to death." For Misty Taylor, of Throop, the result has been less food on the table. The bill for her home since 2011 began spiking last winter, she told The Citizen, but reached a new high of $601.35 in January. When Taylor called NYSEG to complain, she was told to read her meter. She said it was so old and fogged that the numbers weren't visible. Then, she was asked if she was doing anything differently. "They have no answers," she said. "They pretty much just tell you it's our fault and we're using too much. People are saying I need to unplug all my stuff. Why do I have to live that way?" A veteran with a disability, Taylor said her utility bills have been eating into her grocery ones. NYSEG offers payment assistance, but that doesn't make her any less afraid of falling into debt. "I'm just doing what I can. It's not like we can shop around and look at other companies. We're stuck. We're screwed," she said. "I feel like they can do whatever they want and we're at their mercy." Lisa Quinn, of Owasco, described her experience with NYSEG to The Citizen as "gaslighting." After she received a bill for $754 in January, she called the company to ask how her 1,700-square-foot raised ranch could have that high a bill. She was told it was normal for a home that size to use 80 to 150 kilowatt hours a day but after her meter was replaced, it showed an average of 18 a day. "The heat had been off. The only way I warm my house is with a wood stove that I've been stoking day and night," she said. "I would rather pay a lumberjack $500 a month for wood versus NYSEG." Quinn's new meter is a smart meter. According to NYSEG, it uses wireless communication to track detailed hourly usage information and allow customers to make more informed spending decisions. But smart meters have been a source of headaches for many of the customers who spoke to The Citizen, including Traci Leubner, owner of restaurant Roseadah's on Mattie Street in Auburn. The restaurant's meter was switched a year ago, Leubner told The Citizen. Afterward, her bills dropped significantly. Several months later, however, she received a bill for $7,000. It broke down to about $1,400 a month, twice what she was paying. The company told her there was an error, but she's still trying to get someone on the phone to straighten out what she feels was its error, not hers. "It seems to me like they're price gouging. I don't think it's an accident. I just think they're doing it because the can," Leubner said. "Who's not going to pay their electric bill? We're all going to pay." Costs and complaints NYSEG told The Citizen that less than 1% of its bills contain errors, but encouraged customers to call if they think they've encountered one. The company also addressed some commonly said things about smart meters. Unplugging appliances that are off or in standby mode does not make a significant difference, the company said, as they only record actual energy usage. A customer service representative who was recorded telling a NYSEG customer otherwise in a call posted to social media is no longer with the company, it said. Meanwhile, customers who decline to have smart meters installed are charged $15 a month, NYSEG confirmed. But the fee is mandated by the Public Service Commission, not the company. Asked whether it sees any areas for improvement due to the widespread outrage this winter, NYSEG reiterated that the cost of energy supply and colder temperatures are to blame for higher bills. Instead, NYSEG said, customers should look closer at the energy companies that set those costs. Customers can even choose their supplier from a list available on the utility company's website. The Department of Public Service noted to The Citizen that supply costs are set by the market, not the state, making their increase "typical" due to the high-demand conditions of a cold winter. According to the department, the average monthly supply cost for NYSEG customers in Cayuga County rose from $.06 to $.07 kilowatt hours in November and December to $.08 to $.1 in January. The department also recorded 303 complaints from customers about the utility company in January, compared to 199 in December and 232 in January 2024. NYSEG which along with Rochester Gas & Electric is owned by Avangrid, a subsidiary of Spanish company Iberdrola often receives the second-most complaints of all state utility companies, after Con Edison, and has the fifth-most customers. NEW YORK, NY - MAY 01: Actors Laura Linney and James Houghton attend the 31st Annual Lucille Lortel Awards after party at NYU Skirball Center on May 1, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for The Lucille Lortel Awards) Mark Heim James Houghton, an Emmy-winning soap opera actor and writer, died Aug. 27, 2024 at the age of 75. Houghton died at his home in Encino, California of peritoneal mesothelioma, his wife, Karen Houghton, told The Hollywood Reporter. She did not want to publicized his death until now. Houghton was born on Nov. 7, 1948 in Los Angeles, California, his IMDb biography states. After several small TV roles early in his career, Houghton broke into soap operas when he joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 1973. As a member of the original cast, Houghton portrayed Greg Foster from 1973 to 1976. In 1991, Houghton began writing for The Young and the Restless. He contributed to more than 1,800 episodes and won four Daytime Emmy Awards with the writing staff. He also wrote for the shows spinoff, The Bold and the Beautiful. However, Houghton was best known as an original cast member of CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing. He played Kenny Ward from 1979 to 1983. Very sad to read the recently disclosed news that James Houghton died last August, 2024, actress Stevie Vallance wrote in a Facebook post. He was my first affair on tv and really helped me feel like part of the cast on Knots Landing when I joined the show as recurring role Sylvie the end of Season One, in the early 1980s. Houghtons other television appearances included roles in Fantasy Island, Hotel, The Love Boat, Remington Steele and The Colbys. Houghtons film credits include Sweet Sugar, One on One, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, More American Graffiti, Superstition and Purple People Eater. In addition to his wife, Houghton is survived by his sister, mother, son, daughter and grandson, according to The Hollywood Reporter. During a tumultuous meeting in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was gambling with World War Three in regard to the war between Russia and Ukraine. A new poll released on Monday found that a slight majority of Americans are also worried about a world war breaking out in the next four years. The poll, conducted by Emerson College from March 2 to March 3 with a sample size of 1,000 registered voters, found that 55% of respondents said it is likely a third world war would break out in four years, while 45% said it was unlikely. Among those who said a world war is likely, 18.7% said it was very likely, while 36.3% said it was somewhat likely. Among respondents who said it is unlikely a world war breaks out, 11.4% said it was not at all likely to happen, while 33.6% said it was not that likely to occur. The poll had a margin of error of 3%. The poll also asked Americans about who walked away from the meeting a winner. Nearly half of respondents did not find a winner between the United States and Ukraine. The Emerson poll found that 46% of respondents think neither the United States nor Ukraine walked away from the meeting as a winner. Meanwhile, 35% said the U.S. walked away a winner, while 15% said Ukraine. 4% of respondents said that both countries were equally successful. Zelenskyy traveled to Washington last Friday to sign an agreement that would permit the U.S. to access Ukraines mineral resources. That all changed, however, when an Oval Office meeting between him, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance devolved into a shouting match. During the meeting, Zelenskyy tried to explain to Trump the challenges his people faced as a result of the war between Ukraine and Russia and asked for security guarantees. Trump, however, called Zelenskyy disrespectful and accused him of gambling with World War Three. The meeting resulted in Zelenskyy being asked to leave the White House, with Trump telling reporters on Monday that I just think he (Zelenskyy) should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin. The national and international response to the meeting has also been unprecedented. Congressional allies of the president and a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin praised Trumps approach in the meeting. At the same time, Democrat elected officials, some Republican elected officials and many European leaders expressed support for Zelenskyy. The meeting resulted in Trump pausing U.S. aid to Ukraine on Monday, according to NBC. Days after the meeting, however, tensions appeared to have cooled between Trump and Zelenskyy. Trump told members of Congress during a joint address on Tuesday that he received a letter from the Ukrainian president, saying that he is ready to negotiate a peace deal with Russia and will accept the minerals agreement. Zelenskyy, for his part, said on Monday that the mineral deal is ready to sign, according to the BBC. It is our policy to continue what happened in the past, were constructive, he said, If we agreed to sign the minerals deal, were ready to sign it. The Emerson poll also found that a plurality of respondents (48%) oppose the U.S. exiting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while 28% support withdrawing. A quarter (25%) are neutral or have no opinion on the matter. In terms of Trumps approval as president, the poll found that 48% of respondents approved of the way Trump has handled the presidency while 41.1% said they disapproved. A total of 8.8% of respondents said they were neutral or had no opinion on the matter. You can read the full results of the poll here. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, right, is joined by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., left and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., center, speaks during a press conference regarding the impacts of the Trump administration's actions on communities across Massachusetts Tuesday in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is scheduled to testify before Congress on Wednesday alongside other Democratic mayors from major sanctuary cities. Those cities, which do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration issues have been criticized for their refusal to help federal authorities, despite threats from President Donald Trump to cut federal funding to the cities or resort to legal action. Heres what the Trust Act is and everything you need to know. What does the Trust Act do? The Trust Act, first signed into law in 2014 by former Mayor Marty Walsh, outlines the Boston Police Departments role in working with ICE. The federal immigration agency has separate divisions for Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations. The latter works on public safety issues like human trafficking or drug and weapons trafficking, and Boston police can freely collaborate with the federal agency on these criminal issues. However, the Trust Act prohibits local police from working with ICE on civil immigration enforcement efforts. More specifically, police officers are prohibited from asking people about their immigration status, sharing information with ICE, making arrests or holding someone based on ICE administrative warrants if there is no other criminal charge, transferring anyone to ICE custody or otherwise performing the functions of an immigration officer. If ICE personnel believe a person in police custody could be eligible for deportation, they may issue an immigration detainer requesting local law enforcement notify ICE before the person is released or hold them for an additional 48 hours to give federal agents the chance to take them into custody. Detainers are based on civil, not criminal, violations. Under the Trust Act, BPD does not carry out these detainer requests. Boston police are also required to provide an annual report to the city on the number of civil immigration detainer requests received from ICE, the number of people that were detained by city police, transferred to ICE custody or arrested in relation to criminal reentry during unrelated police activity and the total federal cost reimbursements the department received. The law was updated in 2019 to strengthen limits on information sharing between police and ICE and mandate training for officers on the policy. What is the citys current position? In December 2024, the Boston City Council reaffirmed its support for the Trust Act. The resolution, which passed unanimously, said that the act had been instrumental in fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all residents, ensuring that immigrants can engage with local law enforcement without fear of deportation, thereby enhancing public safety and community trust. Both Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox have also expressed strong support for the law. Bostons immigrant communities should feel safe in reporting crime and quality of life issues to the department and in proactively engaging with all members of the Boston Police Department, Cox wrote in the departments annual Trust Act report in January. According to the report, in 2024, BPD refused all 15 immigration detainer requests it received from ICE and did not detain or transfer anyone to ICE custody based only on a civil immigration matter. Read more: ICE clashes with Boston Police over immigration detainer requests What is the law in the rest of the state? In 2017, after the Trust Act was passed in Boston, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in the case Lunn v. Commonwealth that state law does not give state or local law enforcement the authority to arrest or hold someone based solely on an immigration detainer. Because of this, most law enforcement agencies outside of Boston can notify ICE that a suspect has a court appearance or has been released but cannot otherwise aid the federal authorities in taking them into custody. Several other cities and towns throughout Massachusetts, however, have similar laws to Bostons, including Amherst, Cambridge, Chelsea, Concord, Newton, Northampton and Somerville. What are opponents saying? The Trump administration has taken aim at sanctuary cities like Boston. Tom Homan, Trumps border czar, said last month that he was bringing hell to Boston to force the city to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Locally, the citys policy is not without its critics. MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale criticized Wu in a statement, saying the Trust Act put residents in danger. The recent ICE arrests in Boston prove beyond doubt that sanctuary policies endanger public safety, Carnevale said. Every time the Mayor prioritizes her own pride and politics over common sense, more criminal illegal immigrants are drawn to Boston putting Massachusetts residents at risk and forcing federal authorities to step in. The U.S. Department of State has issued a national travel warning urging travelers to take increased caution when traveling to the popular islands of Turks and Caicos. The notice ranks traveling to Turks and Caicos as the second-highest risk level, noting travelers should exercise increased caution, due to crime. Most crime occurs in Providenciales. Police may have limited investigatory resources," the warning states. "U.S. Embassy Nassau, located in The Bahamas, provides consular services (including assistance to victims of crime) for U.S. citizens in the Turks and Caicos Islands." The Department of State reminds those planning a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands traveling with firearms and ammunition including single bullets brought by mistake in carry-on bags or luggage is illegal. Police strictly enforce these laws, even at the airport when travelers are leaving, the notice reads. Travelers face arrest, jail time, and heavy fines. In some cases, U.S. citizens have been detained and unable to leave the islands for several weeks after bullets were discovered in their luggage. Read more: Travelers face increased port fees when cruising to this popular destination Feds warn that those found with contraband such as bullets can face up to 12 or more years in prison and though the law allows for some exceptions and discretion, the Department of State cannot guarantee your release. The agency suggests travelers visiting here to: As Wednesdays highly anticipated House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing crossed over the four-hour mark, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, announced she would be reporting Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, as well as the other Democratic mayors sitting beside her, to the Department of Justice for criminal investigations. Wu, along with the mayors of New York, Denver and Chicago, had been called to testify in front of the House committee about their cities' sanctuary city and immigration policies. For hours, the mayors were spattered with questions by committee members, both Republican and Democrat. Read more: LIVE: Boston Mayor Wu testifies before Congress on sanctuary city policies At the end of her period of questioning, Luna told the mayors, I do not think you guys are bad people, but I think that you are ideologically mislead. Luna went on to say, while holding up unknown paperwork, that she would be reporting all four mayors to the Department of Justice for criminal investigations at the conclusion of the House hearing. As soon as I leave here, these will be going over to (Attorney General) Pam Bondi, Luna said. Im not doing that in an effort to bully you guys, but I do believe your policies are hurting the American people. Wu came under fire by Luna specifically for Bostons Trust Act, which prohibits local police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil enforcement efforts. More specifically, police officers are prohibited from asking people about their immigration status, sharing information with ICE, making arrests or holding someone based on ICE civil administrative warrants if there is no other criminal charge, transferring anyone to ICE custody or otherwise performing the functions of an immigration officer. It was signed into law in 2014 by former Mayor Marty Walsh. In December 2024, the Boston City Council reaffirmed its support for the Trust Act. During Wednesdays hearing, Wu said Boston officials will cooperate with ICE if they have a criminal warrant. Luna asserted the Bostons Trust Act is in direct violation of federal law that says local governments cannot restrict communication with federal immigration authorities. Wu said that was not correct, repeatedly reiterating over the course of the hearing that Boston was not breaking any laws. Wu focused many of her answers on Boston being one of the safest major cities in the nation. In 2024, the city had its lowest homicide rate in 70 years, according to Wu, who attributed it to investments in both law enforcement and programs that create economic opportunity for residents. Karen Read, center right, sits at the defense table during her trial on charges in connection with the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O'Keefe, Monday, June 10, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File) AP An attorney representing Karen Read told a federal judge Wednesday morning that her constitutional right to avoid double jeopardy was on the line as prosecutors press forward on a second trial for Read. Martin Weinberg, who is heading Reads appeal, told U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, that multiple jurors represented to Reads lawyers they intended to acquit her on charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death. Anything short of dismissing the charges would constitute a violation of Reads federal rights, he argued. The Healey-Driscoll Administration and education officials issue statements condemning the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. (Trea Lavery, MassLive) Trea Lavery/MassLive As Linda McMahon stepped into her new role this week as the United States Secretary of Education, she has already begun to align with President Donald Trumps agenda to put herself out of a job. Entitled Our Departments Final Mission, McMahon describes an overhaul of the federal agency to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy which will have profound impacts on staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department. In a statement late Tuesday, Massachusetts officials said the potential cut to the U.S. Department of Education could have deep impacts for the state. The state receives over $2 billion in federal education funding per year a number that the state cant fully replace, according to the administration. The funding goes toward teacher salaries and benefits, school counselors, homeless liaisons, helping low and middle income students go to college and supporting special education, Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw said in a statement. The funding pull would result in bigger class sizes, fewer reading specialists and support for students with IEPs, less funding for poorer and rural school districts and an end to after school programs, according to Gov. Maura Healey. Massachusetts is home to the first public school in the United States, and we have the #1 schools in the country, Healey said. What Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Linda McMahon are doing is bad for children, bad for schools, and bad for our communities. Congress cannot let this happen, Healey said. Masssachusetts' Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler echoed Healeys thoughts, describing the dismantling of the department as dangerous and something that will have devastating impacts in Massachusetts and across the country especially for lower income families and students with disabilities. The Department plays a critical role in safeguarding equal access to public education through transparency and accountability. Without it, our most vulnerable students will suffer the most, gutting civil rights protections especially for students with disabilities, Tutwiler said. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education is still dedicated to helping students access the careers they want through higher education, according to Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega. Massachusetts far-reaching financial aid programs are proof of this administrations belief that the doors of opportunity should be open for all, Ortega said. A New Bedford man pleaded guilty to a drive-by shooting that hurt two men, including a New Bedford police detective in 2023, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office said. Fall River Superior Court Judge Rene Dupuis sentenced Cheybane Vasconcelos-Furtado, 22, to serve three to five years in the Massachusetts State Prison, Quinns office said in a statement. Vasconcelos-Furtado pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact of an assault and battery with a firearm. I am pleased that the defendant was held accountable for his role in this double shooting where Detective Lavar Gilbert was shot while on duty, Quinn said in his statement. The defendant was also on probation at the time he committed this very serious offense. At around 8:28 p.m. on July 17, 2023, two men were hurt in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Rivet and Orchard streets in New Bedford, Quinns office said. Anthony Ruiz was struck in the foot, while Detective Lavar Gilbert was struck in the face while working down from the intersection in his vehicle. After the shooting, investigators identified a 2014 Honda Accord as the suspects car from reviewing surveillance video footage, the statement read. More footage showed Vasconcelos-Furtado getting into the Honda through the drivers side after 8 p.m. on the night of the shooting. He then picked up three men at 12 Tallman St. at 8:20 p.m. The car drove through the city towards the Rural Cemetery, Quinns office said. Upon reaching the intersection of Rivet and Orchard streets, a backseat passenger took out a gun and fired several rounds. Nearby surveillance video captured the muzzle flashes. Later, police found two spent shell casings. The Honda was found in Rhode Island the next day, where police identified Vasconcelos-Furtados fingerprints on the drivers side, the statement read. A week after the shooting, police arrested Vasconcelos-Furtado, who was then held without bail as a danger to the community. Vasconcelos-Furtado also violated his probation at the time of the shooting, which was based on motor vehicle offenses, Quinns office said. Due to this violation, he was sentenced to serve one year in the House of Correction, which does not go toward his state prison sentence. A Quincy woman will appear in Quincy District Court Wednesday after police said she hit a Massachusetts State Police cruiser twice on Interstate 93 Tuesday night with a reportedly stolen vehicle. Alina Dunham, 24, is facing several charges which include assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer (stapler), failure to stop for police, leaving the scene of property damage, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, speeding and driving with a suspended license, the Massachusetts State Police Department said. The incident happened around 11 p.m., the State Police said. The first crash happened while the vehicle was driving alongside a state trooper on the south side of the highway shortly before the Braintree Split at Exit 6, police said. When the state trooper slowed down his vehicle to put his emergency lights on, he was hit again by the same vehicle, police said. After the second hit, the trooper slowed down his vehicle again and told his supervisor that his cruiser was safe to drive. He also said the driver who hit him didnt stop their vehicle. A police chase then ensued where the vehicle was driving erratically over 90 mph on the highway, police said. As the vehicle continued to travel south on I-93, the Boston Police Department asked local officers to be on the lookout for a vehicle that matched the description of the one that left the scene of the cruiser crash, the state police said. The vehicle was also wanted by the Boston Police Department for several offenses including dangerous operation, driving the wrong way, and striking a light pole, the state police said. The vehicle continued driving over 90 mph on Interstate 95 north, according to police. State troopers used stop sticks twice. The second attempt got the vehicle stuck and it stopped at Exit 41. Dunham was arrested peacefully. After the arrest, the Boston Police Department said that the owner of the vehicle involved in the crash had reported it stolen, the state police said. Social Security payments will be distributed to eligible individuals on three consecutive Wednesdays in March. Recipients with birth dates from the 1st of the month to the 10th will receive their payments on the second Wednesday of the month, March 12. Those born between the 11th and 20th of the month will receive benefits on the third Wednesday, March 19. Individuals with birth dates from the 21st thru the 31st of the month will receive their Social Security payments on the fourth Wednesday, March 26. In January 2025, the estimated average Social Security retirement payment was $1976, according to the Social Security website. The estimated average changes monthly. You can find the complete list of Social Security payment dates here . Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients obtained their March payment on Friday, Feb. 28. People who received Social Security prior to May 1997, or who received both SSI and Social Security, collected two separate payments SSI on the 1st and Social Security on the 3rd. Supplemental Security Income pays seniors, blind individuals and people with qualifying disabilities who also have low incomes. An extremely loud sound in Newburyport sparked some concern for residents Tuesday. The culprit? A World War II grenade. But residents, police said, were never in danger. Relatives had been clearing out a residence in Newburyport Tuesday when they found what appeared to be a CS grenade, as known as tear gas, from the World War II era. Out of an abundance of caution, Newburyport Police contacted the Massachusetts State Police Bomb squad to analyze the device. It was decided that the safest course of action would be a controlled detonation of the device at a safe location. The device was taken to the Crow Lane landfill where it was remotely and safely detonated by the State Police bomb squad. The explosives used to detonate the device were small, but extremely loud, Newburyport City Marshal Matthew Simons wrote in a statement. In all honesty, we underestimated the effect and the detonation was much louder than we anticipated. Although this type of thing doesnt happen often, Simons said better notifications for residents will be in place in the future. Communication is a priority for our department and we definitely needed to do better today. My apologies to anyone that was alarmed by todays events, he wrote. We have better protocols in place for notifications should an event like this take place in the future. Massachusetts senators and representatives slammed President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress Tuesday night, taking to social media to critique what he said and with one congressperson walking out before the 100-minute speech was over. The president took credit for a series of actions his administration has undertaken in the less than two months since he began his second term. Trumps speech covered a wide array of subjects, from foreign aid to tariffs to immigration to culture war talking points. Trump at one point declared that the United States will be woke no longer. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, walked out of Trumps speech after she attended to honor a friend of hers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, she wrote in a statement on X captioned with I walked out. Her friend was part of the swath of layoffs conducted by the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Trump advisor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. I walked out. pic.twitter.com/ebMkc3SVmN Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) March 5, 2025 I could not in good conscience sit through this speech and give an audience to someone who operates with lawless disregard to Congress and the people of this nation, Pressley wrote. Donald Trump has used his bully pulpit to spread lies, demonize vulnerable communities and double down on the hurt, hate and harm in his first 43 days in office. She also slammed Musk, who Pressley called an un-elected, unaccountable billionaire whom the administration has let ransack our federal agencies and gut the essential services our families depend on all to enrich themselves and their billionaire friends." Mr. President, Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, posted on X, we would all applaud if you found cures to horrific diseases. But how do you expect to accomplish that when youre cutting funding from the [National Institutes of Health]? Mr. President, we would all applaud if you found cures to horrific dieases. But how do you expect to accomplish that when you're cutting funding from the NIH? Rep. Richard Neal (@RepRichardNeal) March 5, 2025 Neal later posted on X that laying off the individuals responding to the spread of bird flu will help. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-2nd District, posted that 30 minutes into the presidents speech was complaining about Biden. He hasnt said a single word about lowering food prices or helping regular people, his post continued. Do you get it yet? 30 minutes in and his whole speech so far is complaining about Biden. He hasnt said a single word about lowering food prices or helping regular people. Do you get it yet? Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) March 5, 2025 Our country is now run by a child, McGovern later posted. And not a good child. A spoiled rotten brat. And Republicans in Congress enable him. Our country is now run by a child. And not a good child. A spoiled rotten brat. And republicans in Congress enable him. Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) March 5, 2025 The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th District, posted on X. Massachusetts Democrats also condemned the administrations moves to cut Medicaid and Social Security. Donald Trump is lying about Social Security for one reason: So he has an excuse to CUT Social Security, Rep. Katharine Clark, D-5th District, posted on X. Thats always been the GOPs plan." Donald Trump is lying about Social Security for one reason: So he has an excuse to CUT Social Security. That's always been the GOP's plan. Katherine Clark (@WhipKClark) March 5, 2025 Nothing Donald Trump has said tonight is new, Sen. Ed Markey posted on X. But he laid bare the Republican agenda: Cut Medicare. Cut Medicaid. Cut Social Security. Cut food assistance. And line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy." Nothing Donald Trump has said tonight is new. But he laid bare the Republican agenda: Cut Medicare. Cut Medicaid. Cut Social Security. Cut food assistance. And line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy. Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 5, 2025 Hes completely full of s**t and will use his lies as the excuse to take away your parents and grandparents social security checks, McGovern posted. Markey also went after Trumps proposal to build a Golden Dome defense system over the United States, referencing Israels Iron Dome defense system. Trumps Golden Dome missile plan is pure fantasy and a defense contractor giveaway, Markey posted. It has been 40 years and $400 billion spent, and the system still does not work. Star Wars is the definition of government waste, and not worth another dime of taxpayer money. Trumps Golden Dome missile plan is pure fantasy and a defense contractor giveaway. It has been 40 years and $400 billion spent, and the system still does not work. Star Wars is the definition of government waste, and not worth another dime of taxpayer money. Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 5, 2025 Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who Trump referred to using a slur during his speech, slammed Trump and Musk over the federal worker layoffs conducted by DOGE. I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired, she posted on X. Lets start with Elon Musk. I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired. Lets start with Elon Musk. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 5, 2025 Democrats largely remained seated throughout the joint address, except Rep. Al Greene, D-Texas, who was escorted from the chamber after shouting at Trump. Other Democrats occasionally held up signs that read Lies and Musk steals. Trumps speech was not a State of the Union in the traditional sense. He addressed lawmakers at the invitation of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, attends a hearing of the U.S. House Oversight Committee in Washington D.C., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (John L. Micek/MassLive) John L. Micek Empty pews. Empty classrooms. Doctors who are missing their patients. Those were some of the local effects of the Trump administrations deportation policies, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told a U.S. House committee on Wednesday. One of the lawmakers who sits on that panel, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, has been hearing those stories, too. Its heartbreaking. Its devastating, the Boston lawmaker told reporters during a break in Wednesdays House Oversight Committee hearing, where Wu and other Democratic mayors were grilled by Republicans over their cities' limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities. As Wu did ahead of her trip to Washington, Pressley said shes spoken to constituents across her district, and said shes seen the impact of the White Houses get-tough approach on immigration. It definitely has had a chilling effect, Pressley said, adding that shes met with the presidents and CEOs of our community health centers who talked about immunizations [and] vaccinations being down, preventative care being down, children that are not going to school, she said. And I actually have spent time with a number of families and elders who are carrying all of their medications around for fear that they could suddenly be detained or deported, she continued. You know, Ive had conversations with parents [who] are schooling their children on what to do if they return home and theyre not there. On Wednesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu went to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. for a hearing from the House Oversight Committee on so-called sanctuary laws in the cities of New York City, Chicago, Denver and Boston. Wu arrived with an Ash Wednesday cross on her forehead and her 1-month-old daughter, Mira, in tow. During the hearing, Wu and other mayors were heckled and probed by Republican committee members for their cities policies while simultaneously bolstered by their Democratic colleagues on the committee. MassLive has a full timeline breakdown on the days happenings here. Wus spot on the March 5 hearing prompted supporters to gather outside Boston City Hall. Demonstrators rallying against Wu and Bostons sanctuary city status also made appearances to voice their discontent. Bostons Trust Act prevents local police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for civil enforcement efforts. More specifically, police officers are prohibited from asking people about their immigration status, sharing information with ICE, making arrests or holding someone based on ICE administrative warrants if there is no other criminal charge, transferring anyone to ICE custody or otherwise performing the functions of an immigration officer. Massachusetts residents should expect to wake up to cloudy skies on Wednesday, but the day is expected to end with rain that could possibly lead to flooding. Conditions should be dry until the afternoon, when some spot showers could fall across the interior, according to the National Weather Service. Daytime temperatures should be in the high 40s and 50s. Late into the evening, a system should bring widespread showers with rain totals possibly measuring 1.25 inches, forecasters said. General totals should be between half an inch to 1 and a half inches, with a few localized higher amounts. Boston could see between half an inch to 1 inch of rain, while Worcester could see between 1 and 1 and a half inches, forecasters said in a post on X. Springfield, along with other Western Massachusetts cities and towns could see as much rain as Boston, as well as the Cape and Islands. [Soaking Rain late Wed/Wed night] Widespread showers with pockets of heavy rainfall will overspread the region late Wed/Wed evening from west to east and persist into the overnight hours. Strong southerly wind gusts possible for the I-95 corridor Wed night. pic.twitter.com/2wgPTjFj8B NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) March 4, 2025 "We cannot even rule out a rumble or two of thunder, but confidence was not high enough to insert into the forecast at this time," forecasters wrote. After a day of breezy conditions, forecasters anticipate the strongest winds to hit Wednesday evening. Winds gusts could reach between 40 to 55 mph over a one-to-three-hour period, specifically near and southeast of Interstate 95. The risk of strong winds could result in a 1-and-a-half to 2-and-a-half foot storm surge that could leave coastal communities on the south coast to flooding. Forecasters do not expect significant impacts but a Coastal Flood Statement or advisory could be issued with later forecasts. Strong winds should continue going into Thursday, with the strongest gusts hitting the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires, forecasters said. These heavy winds are expected to continue on Friday, possibly prompting a Wind Advisory for higher elevations. Winds should die down by Friday afternoon. After this weeks storm, forecasters do not expect any new storms to develop over the next week. SOUTHWICK Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District Superintendent Jennifer Willard issued a statement Monday on the findings of a report issued by the states Department of Elementary and Secondary Education into the three racial bullying incidents that occurred at Southwick Regional School last year. We acknowledge the findings from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) who conducted a thorough investigation into how the district responded to the racial complaints during the 2023-2024 school year, Willard wrote in an email. Last February the district began an internal investigation after it learned that two Black students were included as chattel in the auction conducted by six Southwick Regional School students between the ages of 13 and 14, including at least one girl on Snapchat beginning late Thursday, Feb. 8, and into the early hours of Friday, Feb. 9. Video News: [Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 4 mars 2025[Video News] Conference de presse du MSM[Video news] Seance parlementaire du 4 mars 2025 en Live[Video News] Message du ministre des Affaires Etrangeres[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 28 fevrier 2025[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 28 fevrier 2025[Video News] Seance parlementaire du 28 fevrier 2025Garance: Treizieme bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice (27-02-2025 : 04h10)Garance: Onzieme bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice (26-02-2025 : 22:10)[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 25 fevrier 2025Garance: Septieme bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice ( 26-02-2025 @ 4h10)[Video News] Elsa Wolinski, Clementine Galey, Shakti Callikan et Cristele de Speville font du podcast un vecteur de proximite et dauthenticiteGarance: Sixieme bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice ( 25-02-2025 @ 22h10)[Video news] Point de presse du NCC du 25 fevrier 2025Garance : Cinquieme bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice (25-02-2025 : 16 h 10)Communique du National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management CentrePremier bulletin de cyclone pour Maurice (24-02-2025 : 16:10)[Video News] Dimans politik[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 22 fevrier 2025[Video News] Attitude Talk Series No 7[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 21 fevrier 2025[Video News] Coup denvoi de Pepcity No 2 avec le concert de Atif Aslam, le 5 avril 2025[Video News] Seance parlementaire du 21 fevrier 2025 en Live[Video News] Vernissage de Cendrine Bolaram[Video news] QBL annonce le concert dAtif Aslam a Cote dOr et Pepcity @ Bagatelle[Video news] Bilan des 15 ans de Lottotech[Video News] Expo peinture a loccasion abolition de l esclavage a Quatre Bornes[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 18 fevrier 2025[Video news] Nando Bodha a dit[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 15 fevrier 2025[Video News] Dimans Politik[Video News] Pravind Rughoo : Fair attention kan sorti dan Sud Moris [Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 14 fevrier 2025[Video news] Atelier de travail de PILS sur la sexualite[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du12 fevrier 2025[Video news] Lancement du livre de Jeremie Brousse de Gersigny[video News] Edition Speciale[Video News] Attitude Foundation offre deux fontaines a eau a lecole Sir Pierre Dalais de Trou dEau Douce[Video News] Conference de presse du Kolektif 420[Video News] Dimans Politik[Video News] MCB Talk Thierry Hebraud [Video News] Action de la Fondation Attitude pour leau potable et moins de plastique a lEcoleTrou dEau Douce[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 8 fevrier 2025{Video news] Atelier de travail An update of the Labour Legislation in Mauritius [Video news] Seance parlementaire du 7 fevrier 2025 en Live[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 5 fevrier 2025[Video News] Collaboration essentielle face au changement climatique[Video News] Pou Mwa Ou SpesialEn Route Vers le Made in Moris : Presentation de la cohorte 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 4 fevrier 2025[Video news]Seance parlementaire du 4 fevrier 2025[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 1er fevrier 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 31 janvier 2025[Video News]Reneworld : Apres 5 000 installations photovoltaiques residentielles, cap sur les entreprises et lindustrie[Video News] Lancement officiel de la Cohorte 2005 dEn Route vers le Made in Moris[Video News] Restrictions deau renforcees a Maurice face a la secheresse[Video News] Reneworld Ltd passe au plan B2B[Video News] LArtigiano ouvre sa premiere franchise a Moka[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 29 janvier 2025[Video News] Nandos Maurice celebre la finale du concours dArt #Feedyourcreativity[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 28 janvier 2025[Video news] LArtigiano ouvre sa premiere franchise a Moka[Video News] The Joint Committee celebrates a strong partnership that goes far beyond fisheries[Video News] Azaad au Cinema Sirsa[Video News] Dimans Politik[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du janvier 2025[Video News] Lancement de Racines et Prespectives dAlain Jeannot[Video news] Laetica a remporte #Feed your Creativy de Nandos[Video news] Reaction de Gheerishsing Gopaul sur le discours programme 2025-2029[Video News] Conference de presse de la Plateforme Lunite natif Afrikain (Maurice)[Video news] 2e reunion de travail EU/Maurice sur la peche soutenable[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 22 janvier 2025[Video news] Atelier du RUSI sur les risques de financement de la proliferation[Video news] Fabrice David a dit[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 21 janvier 2025[Video News] Conference de presse de la ministre de LEgalite du Genre[Video News] Dr Jyoti Jeetun a dit[Video news] Dimans Politik[Video news] Conference de presse du Reform Party[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 18 janvier 2025[Video news] 5th Entrepreneurial Exchange[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 17 janvier 2025[Video News] Edition Speciale[Video news] Baisse du niveau deau dans les reservoirs[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 15 janvier 2025[Video news] Conference de presse de Patrick Assirvaden[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 11 janvier 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 10 janvier 2025[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 8 janvier 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 7 janvier 2025Se preparer pour le passage dun cyclone[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 4 janvier 2025[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du 3 janvier 2025[Document] Les chansons de lannee de 2024 de Radio One[Video news] Petards a Poste de Flacq[Video News] Les numeros gagnants du tirage du Loto et Loto Plus du 1er janvier 2025[Video News] Message du nouvel an de Navin Ramgoolam[Video News] La combinaison gagnante du Loto Vert du decembre 2024[Video news] Cotton Bay a lheure de 2025[Video News] Pointe aux Sables passe en 2025 A Mayo councillor is highlighting the plight of homes in the north of the county that are without a connected water system. John OHara, Cathaoirleach of the County Council, stated that families from 14 homes in Bonniconlon have been forced to travel over a mile to a well for fresh water due to a lack of facilities in the region. READ MORE: Mayo estate undergoing multi-million euro development announce key appointment In an interview with MidWest Radio, the councillor claimed that applications have been consistently rejected. Theyre on a higher level than most houses, but that shouldnt stop anybody from having fresh water, he stated. Every time they have applied, they have been turned down for some unknown reason. The situation means that the residents are forced to travel regularly to dry cleaners, according to Fine Gaels OHara. They are not able to use their washing machine to clean their clothes because if you put white clothes in, they come out rustic, he said. A meeting between locals and Irish Water representatives took place earlier this week, however, a date for connecting the homes to a source has not yet been given. READ MORE: Mayo woman wins stunning BMW X5 while on holiday after entering 2 raffle They said they will come back to us after a while, but that while is a long time, Cllr OHara stated. We had a big contingent there last night. There were people there that are intending to build houses down the road but cannot be recognised for planning permission because theres no water there. In his opinion, this is a situation well within the remit of Irish Water to solve. Irish Water have an astronomical amount of money altogether, and to think that people cant get a drop of fresh water, and a bit of pipe water is very disappointing. THE family of the late Kathleen Forkan, of Treenkeel, Kiltimagh, have received an apology in court from a man who collided with the back of a car in which she was being driven. Ms Forkan (84) died ten days after a collision on the N17, which occurred on September 24, 2022. She was the front-seat passenger in a car being driven by her daughter Dymphna Murphy when it was struck from behind by a vehicle being driven by Mohammed Alqarra, of Windsor Lodge, North Road, Drogheda, Co Louth. On the day of the collision, Ms Forkan and Ms Murphy had been visiting a cousin of Ms Forkans in a nursing home. Ms Murphy was preparing to turn left at a junction in the direction of Kiltimagh when her car was struck from behind by Alqarras. There was no evidence of excessive speed. The defendants car had five occupants, including children and a one-month-old baby. Ms Forkan did not appear to be seriously injured immediately following the accident and the court heard that her main concern at the time was for the Alqarra family. She later went into shock and was taken to Mayo University Hospital by ambulance, where her condition deteriorated further. She died ten days later with the cause of death given as a massive pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis with a major contributing factor a subdural hematoma sustained in a road traffic accident. Mrs Forkan, who was a grandmother of 12, was described as a a loving mother and grandmother who had the ability to light up a room, by her daughter Dymphna in a victim impact statement. READ: Mayo woman wins stunning BMW X5 while on holiday after entering 2 raffle Caring nature Her caring nature meant she was more concerned about the safety of the Alqarra family than her own in the aftermath of the crash, read the statement. Her daughter said the family had no wish for retribution. The Forkan family said they hope their mothers tragic death serves as a reminder of how precious life is. Mr Alqarra, a Palestinian who has been living and working in Ireland for a number of years, pleaded guilty to careless driving and expressed remorse over his actions. The court heard through an Arabic interpreter that Mr Alqarra had lost his mother at a young age and had lost relatives during the war in Gaza. The father of four had been living in Ireland for three years before the collision. He had no previous convictions at the time of the accident but came before the district court in Co Louth for breaking a red light 13 months after the crash. Judge Eoin Garavan praised the Forkan family for their beautiful victim impact statement but said it was clear that Alqarra was not keeping a proper lookout during the collision. He noted the early plea and lack of aggravating factors and said he believed Mr Alqarras apology to be heartfelt and genuine. Nothing is to be gained by putting this man in prison, Judge Garavan remarked. He imposed a ten-month suspended prison sentence and a two-year driving disqualification on Mr Alqarra. Unlike in many other countries, we seldom see uniformed military personnel walking our streets or on public transport. We have a kind of hidden army that stays away from the public eye and surfaces only in emergencies. During the bus strikes of the 1970s army lorries were pressed into service to bring people to work. At the height of the Northern Ireland civil war, the army and An Garda Siochana patrolled the border. They protect cash deliveries for banks. But mostly, they stay out of sight. We become aware of our defence forces when they are deployed abroad on highly visible international peacekeeping missions. In my teens I recall attending the state funeral of the soldiers who tragically lost their lives in the the Congo at the Niemba Ambush on November 8, 1960. While working in Kosovo in 2004, I met Irish members of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) peace-keeping force and was proud of their professionalism. What our defence forces lack in numbers, they more than make up in terms of training and expertise. A key reason for the lack of visibility of our armed forces is that it is a small establishment that is run on the cheap. Very cheap. The average expenditure on defence in the EU is 1.3 percent of GDP. Expenditure is highest in the three Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) at 2.2 percent of GDP, a reflection of how threatened these small states feel as they face across their borders with Russia. It is lowest in Ireland, at 0.2 percent of GDP. (Yes, the decimal point is in the correct place.) But, I hear you say, why would we need a larger defence force? Although in the EU, we share no border with any potentially threatening state. The British are probably more anxious to get rid of responsibility for Northern Ireland than they are to invade us. And in the words of Bob Dylans Vietnam-era song, as a nation we do not aspire to be Masters of War. Rather, we aspire to be Defenders of Peace and share the peaceful aims of the European Nordic States (Sweden and Finland), who have long remained neutral in the face of global military alliances. Oops! Sweden and Finland have just abandoned their long-standing stance of neutrality and joined Nato, a decision strongly supported within these peace-loving states. Proximity to the Russian border and observation of the horrors being perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine, with prospects of that horror flooding over their borders, tends to concentrate minds wonderfully. Different world A key reason that Eamon de Valera gave in support of Irish neutrality during World War II was that small states should stay out of the conflicts of big powers. As an EU member and in an age of nuclear weapons, inter-continental ballistic missiles and cyber warfare, de Valeras reasoning no longer makes sense. Nato, a combination of the military establishments of North American and European states, was founded in 1949 to protect a war-torn European mainland. It was needed to prevent what Churchill called the USSR-imposed Iron Curtain (from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic) from being pushed further west. From 1949 until the collapse of the USSR in 1990, there was a stalemate between Nato and the Warsaw Pact. We live in a radically different world today. The EU is the largest of four global economic blocs (USA, Russia, China and the EU) but the only one not a unified state. It may have almost achieved a common currency, but a common army has proved unattainable. However, the existential threat posed by Russia, combined with the extraordinarily hostile attack by the US on European democratic values, has brought the military defence issue back on the EU agenda. Since the Treaty of Rome in 1956, Europe has been gradually evolving and co-operating, initially in economic and business issues, but more recently consolidating a more political union. Some people like this evolution more than others, but progress is always by consensus rather than by coercion. Irish membership of the EU is the cornerstone of our prosperity. What we decide to do with that prosperity is a local political issue and should never be confused with the manifest benefits of the EU. Anti-EU rhetoric in Ireland often takes on a distinctly Trumpian tone. The attack by the Trump administration on the democratic values of Europe and the attempt to exclude Europe from negotiations to end the tragic war in Ukraine has posed an existential challenge to the EU. Should the EU continue to rely on US support for the defence of Europe and the sovereignty of Ukraine, or should it move to form a more integrated EU defence force? EU decisions on defence self-sufficiency must now be faced. The big picture Currently, only three of our EU partners remain outside Nato: Austria, Malta and Cyprus. Austria and Malta have formal relations with Nato through the Partnership for Peace programme. The contentious partition of the island of Cyprus between Greek and Turkish communities explains its absence from Nato. Ireland has a minor Nato link through a Partnering Programme aimed at enhancing its capabilities. I do not have complete confidence that our political leaders will see the big picture and plot a path for Ireland to move us from abject, neglectful, isolated security vulnerability to standing collegially with our EU partners in the face of external threats. Even a stance of armed neutrality like pre-Nato Sweden would be more honourable. But freeloading on any EU common defence force while loudly proclaiming our neutrality would be inexcusable. John Bradley is a former ESRI professor and has published on the island economy of Ireland, EU development policy, industrial strategy and economic modelling. TWO Mayo musicians have jumped to the top of the iTunes Irish Country Music Charts for their song celebrating St Patrick's Day on Achill Island. The Big Drum's Beating by The Achill Lads reached the top of the iTunes Irish Country Music Charts yesterday having overtaken US country music stars such as George Jones, Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton. The Achill Lads made up of Michael Lavelle and Cian McNamara released the song which celebrates the unique way the island community celebrates St Patrick's Day. Posting on their Facebook page, The Achill Lads stated they were over the moon by the response of their latest single. READ: Mayo musician makes final of Irelands Next Big Busker and needs your vote If you were to say to us last week that we would be beating Dolly Parton in the iTunes Country Charts, we would have laughed! But look, St. Patricks Day is more than just a 9 to 5. We are over the moon with the response and support with the song! Be sure to download and play it as much and possible to get the push on for the next couple of weeks! Roll on St Patrick's Day! Looking forward to seeing you all at 'Home' for the big day!! St Patricks Day traditionally starts early on Achill Island with the first blasts of the pipes beginning at 6am with a reveille when the islands various pipe bands start marching. The Dooagh Pipe Band is the oldest of Achills five community pipe bands having been established in 1947 when it replaced the villages fife and drum band which had been in existence since 1882. St Patricks Day is traditionally one of the busiest days on the island with many of the islands Diaspora travelling to Achill for the celebrations. The Dooagh band usually starts their march at Mollys in Keel West before marching over the brae and meeting up with the other bands Pollagh, Keel, Dookinella and Tonragee - where they all play together outside Dookinella Church. The Big Drum's Beating is available to download on https://easylink.ie/achill-lads. Ogilvy promoted Tim LeGallo to chief production officer, North America. A new role within the agency, LeGallo will partner closely with chief creative officer Rafael Rizuto to service North American clients and key global accounts. Previously, LeGallo served as head of production for Ogilvy New York, taking on an expanded role after helping lead the Verizon account as executive director of production. A two-year Ogilvy staffer, he joined from McCann, where he was executive vie president, head of production for Team Verizon. Before McCann, he held various posts at Publicis. Rafael Rizuto, chief creative officer, Ogilvy North America, sad LeGallo operates at the absolute highest levels of the discipline, always pushing ideas and opening doors to elevate whats possible in our work with clients. He epitomizes what it means to be a trusted partner. LeGallos campaign credits include Verizons Cant B Broken Super Bowl collaboration with Beyonce, Diesel's Go With the Fake and The List for Citi. advertisement advertisement Production is everything I love a passion that only expands as the discipline continues to take on new, innovative shapes creatively and in culture. The future of this discipline is incredibly exciting, and Im here to ensure it becomes just as synonymous with creative excellence as Ogilvy itself, LeGallo added. by Tanya Gazdik , March 5, 2025 The Hyundai Santa Fe has been named supreme winner by a large group of women journalists judging the Womens Worldwide Car of the Year. The announcement was made to coincide with the week in which International Womens Day is celebrated. Prior to casting their votes, the 82 motoring journalists hailing from 55 nations diligently tested numerous car models, thoroughly evaluating every aspect. MediaPost is one of the media organizations represented on the judging panel, and MediaPost Marketing Automotive Editor Tanya Gazdik is one of the lead jurors. Among the 81 contenders, one vehicle in each category emerged victorious in the initial voting round. The winners in their respective categories were MINI Cooper (Urban Car), Kia EV3 (Compact SUV), Audi A6 e-tron (Large Car), Hyundai Santa Fe (Large SUV), Toyota Land Cruiser (4x4) and Porsche Panamera (Performance Car). advertisement advertisement In the subsequent round of voting, these exceptional finalists formed the basis for determining the prestigious title of the World's Best Car for 2025. The voting was very close because all had the qualities to emerge as the top winner. Choosing the worlds best car is a task of great responsibility, says Marta Garcia, executive president of WWCOTY. It must take into account the particularities of each market, the type of driving done, purchasing power and consumer preferences, she says. The winning car has to meet all these needs, satisfying drivers around the world. After careful analysis and thorough examination, the verdict overwhelmingly favored the Hyundai Santa Fe, a large SUV that can accommodate up to seven passengers. One judge relayed a frightening first-person verification of the vehicles safety features. I love the bold and boxy styling on the Santa Fe -- its unique yet practical, said Petrina Gentile, a judge from Canada. But even more, I like the safety and technology on it. I was hit by a transport truck while driving the Santa Fe in Italy and the vehicle was so stable -- it didnt roll over and the vehicle had minimal damage. I was very impressed with how it came out of the accident, and no one was hurt or injured. Womens Worldwide Car of the Year is the only car awards group in the world composed exclusively of women motoring journalists. It was created by New Zealand motoring journalist Sandy Myhre in 2009. The award aims to recognize the best vehicles of the year and to give a voice to women in the automotive world. The voting criteria are based on the same principles that guide any driver when choosing a car. The jurors do not select a womans car because cars are not gender-specific. Aspects such as safety, quality, price, design, ease of driving, benefits and environmental footprint, among others, are considered when casting the votes. Beyond choosing the best cars of the year, the groups goal is also to give visibility to women in the automotive world and to contribute to making womens voices heard on all continents because mobility for a woman means access to many personal and professional possibilities. by Danielle Oster , March 4, 2025 As Los Angeles recovers from the devastating impact of recent wildfires, air quality is top of mind. While the wildfires impact on the outdoors is widely recognized, fewer people consider the impact on indoor air quality in the area. But one billboard in Studio City reading Were giving away clean air is offering complimentary samples of a product that purports to address the issue. The campaign is from Paris-based biotech startup Neoplants, which is providing samples of its Power Drops product to L.A. residents. Neoplants claims the product, developed over the course of some six years, harnesses the power of microorganisms to supercharge houseplants to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- or gaseous compounds in the air that can be harmful to human and environmental health. The drops are said to improve plants air-purifying capabilities by 30x. advertisement advertisement According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be two to five times as polluted as outdoor air. Traditional HEPA filters cant filter out VOCs -- theyre too small, Neoplants CEO Patrick Torbey told Marketing Daily. Power Drops formula contains two separate species of bacteria Neoplants said can capture and remove specific types of VOCs that are among the airborne chemicals which can be emitted by building materials, paints, furniture, deodorants, aerosol sprays, and cleaning products, which negatively contribute to indoor air quality. The company developed the product by naturally boosting the ability of these bacteria over the course of five to six years to absorb VOCs and turn them into harmless organic compounds, like sugar, amino acids and lipids. A team of around 20 scientists put the microorganisms through a series of challenges to evolve them in a certain way to eat these pollutants more quickly, boosting their evolution toward that goal, Torbey said, calling the process boot camp for bacteria, which resulted in bacterial strains that are super efficient at absorbing these pollutants. Torbey explained that Neoplants had planned a promotional campaign launch in Los Angeles for January, due to the high number of houseplant owners and general appreciation for nature in the area. Instead, he arrived the day after wildfires upended everyday life in the city. Given the situation, Neoplants cancelled the event, and after a few days decided to pivot to a campaign offering free samples to help purify residents indoor air in the aftermath of the blaze. Im originally from Lebanon, and experienced firsthand what it is like for a city to be destroyed. Seeing L.A. in that state reminded me of Beirut, Torbey said. I thought, We just created a product that can drastically help with health and healing efforts'... and wanted to share this to be part of the solution. So the brand pivoted within a few days to a campaign to offer its product to Los Angeles residents for free. The first questions was whether that was possible. It took time to drag down the cost of production to have products we could ship to everyone without having cash issues, Torbey explained. To get the word out, the company launched the billboard in conjunction with a Clean Air LA event, along with supporting influencer marketing initiatives. The brand partnered with creative agency partner Martine Studio to bring the billboard to life, and The Know Whos on influencer marketing. Neoplants Los Angeles billboard will run through the end of March, with the accompanying giveaway campaign continuing as long as supply allows, the brand said. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 5, 2025 Google last week asked officials from the Justice Department to take a less aggressive approach other than breaking up the search engine company after last year's ruling that the tech giant illegally monopolized online search, according to a report. The trial for remedies based on the U.S. government's antitrust case against Google is scheduled for April 22, 2025. The outcome could include a forced sale of the companys Chrome web browser, restrict its exclusivity deals, and curb its investments in AI firms. These remedies are something the Biden administration in November 2024 had recommended to the Justice department. We routinely meet with regulators, including with the DOJ to discuss this case," a Google spokesperson told MediaPost. "As weve publicly said, were concerned the current proposals would harm the American economy and national security. advertisement advertisement Google is looking for a different outcome -- something other than a breakup of the search engine giant, according to Bloomberg, citing knowledgeable people who asked for anonymity. The company has repeatedly warned that regulatory action could undermine U.S. global technology leadership. In a November blog post, Kent Walker, Googles chief legal officer, called the DOJs proposed remedy a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and Americas global technology leadership. Walker said it would endanger the security and privacy of Americans, as well as require disclosure to unknown foreign and domestic companies of not just Googles innovations and results, but Americans personal search queries. During last weeks meeting, Google representatives did not specify particular threats from the DOJs proposals but emphasized the companys critical role in national security and the economy, per Bloomberg, which also reported that both are due to file their final proposals to the judge on Friday. Googles latest argument seems more in line with the Trump administration's broader concerns around international regulatory pressure on U.S. tech companies. Last month, the White House criticized European Union regulations the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act arguing that they unfairly target American firms and pursued more aggressive regulations toward U.S.-based big tech firms in the ad industry, more so than in the past. The European Commission prepared to charge Google with violating the DMA after the company's proposed changes to search results failed to satisfy regulators and rivals. For the most part, big tech companies have become more confident in challenging EU regulations with the backing of Donald Trump, but its apparent that some challenges have yet to be resolved. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, March 5, 2025 The two leading shareholder advisory firms have endorsed the planned acquisition of Interpublic by Omnicom. The firms are Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Investors. Word of the endorsements comes about two weeks before the shareholders of both companies are scheduled to vote on the merger in separate meetings on March 18. The endorsements dont guarantee approval but both advisory firms are known to be influential with their investors clients. advertisement advertisement Omnicom Chief Financial Officer Phil Angelastro confirmed the development at an investor gathering hosted by Morgan Stanley earlier this week. Omnicom filed a transcript of Angelastros remarks with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the filing Morgan Stanley analyst Cameron McVeigh asked Angelastro for any updates on the merger. Omnicoms financial chief responded by confirming the endorsements by the two firms. Were pretty pleased about that, he said. Noting the upcoming shareholder meetings on the 18th, Angelastro added, so certainly we think that will be helpful on that process. Yeah, we did get a little lucky in terms of being able to schedule that vote about as early as we possibly could, the proxy review process was very short, and therefore we can get the shareholder vote behind us, so were optimistic about that. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On March 4, Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corporation ("Baolong") and BASF (China) Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai, aiming to drive innovation in automotive materials development and applications, according to a post on Baolong's WeChat account. Photo credit: Baolong As a global leader in the chemical industry, BASF brings deep expertise in material science and extensive market experience. Meanwhile, Baolong, a leading automotive components supplier in China, has been committed to technological innovation and product upgrades, offering extensive product portfolio including TPMS, automotive sensors, intelligent driving solutions, ECAS, automotive metal tubing, tire valves, wheel weights, BUSBAR, liquid cold plates, aluminum exteriors, and more. United by a shared vision for innovation and mutual growth, the two companies will collaborate on advanced technologies and products in areas such as intelligent air suspension, smart driving, and automotive sensors. The partnership seeks to develop high-performance materials that meet the demands for precision, reliability, and durability in automotive components, ultimately delivering more efficient and dependable solutions while fostering technological advancement, industry upgrades, and sustainable development. Wang Shengquan, Vice President of Baolong, emphasized the significance of this collaboration, highlighting BASF's expertise in industrial materials. He stated that the partnership will integrate BASF's cutting-edge material technologies with Baolong's deep experience in automotive components, driving innovative applications of high-performance materials across multiple fields. Su Rongyuan, Vice President of BASF and Head of the Engineering Plastics Business for the Asia-Pacific Performance Materials Division, praised Baolong's strong market position and technical expertise. He noted that Baolong has been a leader in several niche automotive sectors with a strong track record of success. Mr. Su believes that both companies can explore additional synergies, leveraging BASF's leadership in chemical materials to achieve new technological breakthroughs in next-generation automotive components. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 5, 2025 Google launched an experimental version of its search engine Wednesday that eliminates its 10 blue links in favor of an AI-generated summary. The AI Mode, a new tab within Google Search, is available through the Google Search Labs experiment. It goes beyond AI Overviews with a more immersive interface that provides advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities. Robby Stein,vice president of product at Google Search, described the mode as a query fan-out technique that serves multiple related searches simultaneously across subtopics and through multiple data sources. Then it combines the results to serve a response. This approach helps you access more breadth and depth of information than a traditional search on Google, Stein wrote in a post. If someone asks about the difference in sleep-tracking features between a smart ring, smartwatch and tracking mat, the custom version of Gemini 2.0 relies on a multi-step approach to determine where it will get the information, conduct searches, and adjust the plan based on what it finds. advertisement advertisement The platform also allows people to ask follow-up questions like what exercise is best for your heart rate? or is there a specific food to keep your heart rate consistent without having glucose spikes? Stein explained how AI Mode is rooted in Googles core quality and ranking system. It is using novel ways based on reasoning to improve factuality. The goal is to serve AI-powered responses as much as possible, but in cases where Google does not have high confidence in output as being helpful and based on quality, the response will be a set of web search results. We aim for AI responses in Search to present information objectively based on whats available on the web, its possible that some responses may unintentionally appear to take on a persona or reflect a particular opinion, he wrote. Google also Gemini 2.0 for AI Overviews in the U.S. today to help with more difficult questions -- beginning with coding, advanced math and multimodal queries. With Gemini 2.0s advanced capabilities, Google provides faster and higher-quality responses and shows AI Overviews more often for these types of queries. by Ray Schultz , March 5, 2025 Hearst Newspapers has launched a multi-market ad campaign with PMG, its new creative and media agency of record. Titled Theres More with the Chronicle, the campaign is part of a multi-million dollar brand-building initiative across Hearsts businesses. The effort debuts in two Hearst news brands -- San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle -- and will be expanded to Times Union of New Yorks Capital region, San Antonio Express-News and Hearsts Connecticut news brands in future months. advertisement advertisement The campaign combines Hearst-owned assets with paid media, including billboards, television, streaming services, connected TV and digital display advertising. This follows Hearsts recent announcement that it is acquiring Austin American-Statesman from Gannett. This campaign highlights the vital role our news brands play in keeping readers informed and engaged, says Jeff Johnson, president, Hearst Newspapers. It aims to attract new readers and reconnect with former subscribers by showcasing our in-depth reporting, service-oriented coverage and innovative storytelling. The campaign stresses Hearsts digital content and print legacy, and its news and lifestyle reporting. We wanted to capture the energy and unique relationship between two world-class cities and the people who call them home, says Andrew Harper, executive creative director, PMG. In San Francisco and Houston, theres so much to be discovered to get the most out of your city. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 5, 2025 Utah on Wednesday became the first state in the country to pass a bill that would require Google, Apple and other app distributors to verify users' ages and then block minors under 18 from downloading apps without parental permission. The App Store Accountability Act (SB 142), which was passed 64-3 by the state House and 21-1 by the state Senate, now heads to Governor Spencer Cox for signature. The state legislature's move comes 16 months after Meta Platforms proposed that app stores -- generally defined in the bill as publicly available sites or services that allow people to download apps from third-party developers -- should be required to obtain parental permission before allowing minors to obtain apps. advertisement advertisement Parents should approve their teens app downloads, and we support federal legislation that requires app stores to get parents approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps, Meta's Antigone Davis, global safety head, wrote in November 2023. Since then, legislation requiring parental approval for app downloads has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, as well as Utah and several other states. The tech funded group Chamber of Progress opposed the Utah bill, arguing that requiring app stores to verify users' ages would compromise their privacy. Estimating the age of a user would require collecting more data, acting contrary to minimization ... efforts, the Chamber of Progress's Kouri Marshall testified to Utah lawmakers. The group's legal advocacy counsel, Kerry Maeve Sheehan, argued in a separate blog post that the measure would violate the First Amendment by forcing minors and adults to choose between sacrificing their privacy by disclosing sensitive personal information (their own or, in the case of a minor users parents, their childrens) and accessing legally protected online speech. She added that courts throughout the country have held that minors generally have a First Amendment right to access speech. Utah recently passed a separate law, the Minor Protection in Social Media Act, which would have required platforms to limit the ability of a minor under 18 to send direct messages or share information with users who in the minor's network. That law also would have required platforms to disable push notifications and automatically playing content on minors' accounts. A federal judge blocked enforcement of that law last year, ruling that it likely violates the First Amendment. Utah recently asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to lift the block. Im wrapping up. Please. Please. Please. I will wrap up. Please turn the music off. Ive done this before. Thank you. Its not my first rodeo. I will be brief." When Adrien Brody won the Oscar for The Pianist in 2003, he shocked everyone by kissing Halle Berry. At the Oscars 2025, he won an award for The Brutalist and shocked everyone again this time by verbally wrestling the Oscars orchestra into submission. And for what? A five-minute-and-40-second speech that became the longest in Oscars history. Reuters Did it trigger worldwide eye-rolls? For sure. Was it a little disrespectful to his fellow nominees, who were probably hoping to get a word in before being rudely escorted off by violins? 100%. And yet, I kind of get it. Imagine working on a film for years, pouring your soul into it, only to be handed an Oscar and immediately chased off the stage in a few seconds. Theres something deeply unfair about that. You spend decades dreaming of this moment, only to have the orchestra threaten you the second you dare to thank your mom. Reuters However, I also feel bad for every winner who didnt get the same treatment. So many brilliant actors and filmmakers have had their speeches mercilessly cut off at a mere 45 seconds, forced to choose between thanking their spouse or their director like some kind of cruel Sophie's Choice. Meanwhile, Adrien Brody took his sweet time. And unlike Leonardo DiCaprio, who used his extended speech at the 2016 Oscars to discuss climate change, Brody just rambled on. A lot. Even Kieran Culkin had to beg for mercy before starting his speech. While trying to squeeze in a quick story about his wife, he pleaded with the orchestra not to start playing him off. "Please don't play the music because I want to tell a really quick story about Jazz (his wife)," before firing off his speech. You could practically hear him fighting for his life, barely taking a breath as he raced through his words, like someone trying to read an entire legal disclaimer before the time runs out. He deserved another Oscar for endurance alone. So, where do I stand on the Great Oscars Speech Debate? Right in the middle. I dont think anyone should be subjected to a sprint speech where they barely have time to breathe. But also, I dont need to hear an actor's monologue longer than the movie they just won for. Maybe a happy middle ground? A minute, maybe a minute and a half? Just enough time for winners to thank their team and loved ones without passing out from lack of oxygen. Beijing (Gasgoo)- Chinese automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. ("Changan Automobile") announced on March 4 its monthly sales performance in the February 2025. In the past month, the automaker sold 161,435 vehicles in total, representing a 5.72% rise year-on-year. In the first two months of this year, the company's cumulative sales volume stood at 437,135 vehicles, up 0.94% from that of a year ago. In the second months of this year, Changan Automobile's wholly-owned brands sold 377,864 vehicles. Among which, 287,207 units were passenger vehicles. For overseas markets, Changan Automobile moved 109,537 vehicles in total. AVATR 11; photo credit: Changan Automobile Of the vehicles sold in February, 107,137 units were new energy vehicles, accounting for 24.5% of the total sales. As to Changan Automobile's joint venture brands, Changan Ford sold 11,991 vehicles in February, down 8.96% year-over-year. In the same period, Changan Mazda saw a 3.94% decline from the year-ago period with 3,800 vehicles sold last month. Starting from 2025, Changan Automobile plans to accelerate the transformation of all its factories into super factories, planning to establish eight new factories that meet super factory standards over the next five years. The company is also advancing its "One Body, Two Wings" AI development strategy, aiming to enhance efficiency in providing quality products and services through AI-driven R&D, supply, production, marketing, and service systems. An urgent plea by five former defense secretaries -- including Lloyd Austin, who stepped down in January -- for Congress to immediately hold hearings on the recent and unexplained firings of top military officers by the Trump administration appears likely to go unanswered. In the letter, the former top Pentagon civilian leaders said they were "deeply alarmed" by the firings, which they called reckless, and feared they were carried out for "purely partisan reasons" to politicize the military. Any hearings on the firings of the Joint Chiefs chairman, top Navy officer and others by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would likely be held by Congress' armed services committees, which are tasked with oversight of the military. But asked Tuesday about the former Pentagon chiefs' appeal, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said that he is not interested in holding hearings on the issue, despite the alarm rung by past defense secretaries. Read Next: Hill Air Force Base Prepares to Scale Back Child Care Services Amid Mass Federal Firings, Resignations "The president's got the prerogative to have the people he wants leading the Pentagon," Rogers said. "He's the commander in chief." Meanwhile, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., declined to answer the question altogether, saying that he does not "have any response today" because "today is a day for me to step back." Wicker did not elaborate on why he could not respond Tuesday, a day when he was working and voting. The disinterest from the powerful leaders of the two committees with the most jurisdiction over the matter signals Congress is unlikely to dig deeper into the firings. At issue is Trump's unprecedented firings last month of Gen. "CQ" Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations; Gen. James Slife as Air Force vice chief of staff; and the judge advocates general of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Neither Trump nor Hegseth has given any reasons for the firings. But both Brown, the second Black man to be Joint Chiefs chairman, and Franchetti, the first woman on the Joint Chiefs, were frequent targets of conservatives who have accused the military of turning into a "woke" hotbed of left-wing policies, including Hegseth before he became defense secretary. In response to the firings, last week, five former defense secretaries penned an "appeal to Congress" calling for hearings, The Associated Press first reported. Among the signatories were Austin, Hegseth's immediate predecessor under the Biden administration, and Jim Mattis, who served in the first Trump administration before splitting with Trump over the U.S. military presence in Syria. The other signatories were William Perry, who served in the Clinton administration, and Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, who both served in the Obama administration. In addition to calling for hearings, the former secretaries also implored the Senate not to confirm any Pentagon nominees -- including the retired lieutenant general Trump chose to replace Brown as Joint Chiefs chairman -- until his administration provides answers on dismissing the top officers. "Mr. Trump's dismissals raise troubling questions about the administration's desire to politicize the military and to remove legal constraints on the president's power," the former secretaries wrote. "We're not asking members of Congress to do us a favor; we're asking them to do their jobs." While Republicans have largely brushed off the firings as being within the president's power, Democrats have sounded the alarm. On Monday, every Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Hegseth demanding he provide a legal justification for firing the judge advocates general, essentially the top legal officials for the service branches. Noting laws for each of the military services that say "no officer or employee of the Department of Defense may interfere with the ability of the Judge Advocate General to give independent legal advice," the senators said the firings appear to be a "direct violation of federal law." "By arbitrarily and baselessly removing duly selected and highly qualified JAG officers, the administration undermines the military justice system and has interfered with the independent legal counsel that uniformed attorneys provide to commanders and the department itself," the letter, organized by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. The firings, the letter added, create an "unmistakable chilling effect" and signal to judge advocates that their positions are contingent on "political or personal loyalty" rather than expertise or adherence to the law. Related: No More Female 4-Stars: Franchetti Firing Leaves Top Ranks Filled by Men The Pentagon's top doctor pledged Monday to defend the military health system's $61 billion budget but said more could be done to balance resources and improve medical care. Dr. Steve Ferrara, the Defense Department's acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told an audience at the AMSUS Society of Federal Health Professionals that the system, which serves 9.6 million beneficiaries, is a "force multiplier" that meets Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's priority to strengthen U.S. operational forces. In his role as acting assistant secretary, Ferrara said he would show Hegseth how the military health system, or MHS, budget, which accounts for 7% of the Pentagon's top-line, is "100% worthy." The press was barred from the conference, despite reporters having access for years, but Military.com reviewed a recording of Ferrara's speech. Read Next: Hill Air Force Base Prepares to Scale Back Child Care Services Amid Mass Federal Firings, Resignations "I show him how we take that 7% -- which has been obviously jealously fought over, whether it's going to be for bullets or bombs or submarines or tanks or airplanes -- and use that 7% to make the force more lethal, more fit to fight and win," Ferrara said during the speech. The military health system has undergone a vast transformation in the past decade, with military treatment facilities, medical logistics, information technology, acquisitions, the Tricare health program for nonuniformed beneficiaries, and other services consolidated under the Defense Health Agency, while active-duty health care, uniformed medical professional training and development became the responsibility of the services' medical commands. The reforms were designed to save money by eliminating triplicate functions within the Army, Navy and Air Force medical commands and streamlining the Pentagon's health organization. But they have left many military hospitals and clinics understaffed and patients leaving for -- or being forced on -- the private sector, jeopardizing the system's balance. This year, turmoil has demonstrated itself with delays in patient care as the result of a change in Tricare management contractors and billing processors, and on Friday, the head of the Defense Health Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, resigned unexpectedly without explanation. Ferrara, a retired Navy interventional radiologist and former CIA chief medical officer who is married to a Navy pediatric nephrologist, said a functioning, quality health care system is vital to the readiness of the U.S. armed forces, an "ethical imperative" the nation must honor. Ferrara said his priorities are to "support, sustain and strengthen" -- supporting the warfighters, sustaining professional medical skills, and strengthening the chain made up of the generations of providers who have served and will join in future. To ensure satisfaction, he said, the system must work for everybody, including the soldier wounded on the battlefield, the sailor training at home, the service members who need embedded mental health providers, and the family members who get ill or injured. "The last thing that a family or that service member needs is to be worried about whether their family is getting adequate or high-quality care," Ferrara said. In a separate speech at the AMSUS conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Navy Surgeon General Rear Adm. Darin Via said that Navy medicine is roughly 10% below its total manning capacity, a shortfall felt most at the military treatment facilities. "That is felt most with access to care. When it comes to the sailor, the Marine and their families, where that is impacted most is when someone has an [anterior cruciate ligament] injury. If you're a professional athlete, you'd [get surgery] as soon as the swelling goes down in a couple of weeks," Via said in a copy of the speech reviewed by Military.com. "From the MTFs, it is whenever the orthopod can get OR time within the schedule, which is already limited because there's not enough anesthesiologists, there's not enough nurses or there's not enough [surgery] techs." Ferrara said that to make improvements, the system must ensure that its priorities and resources are intertwined, seeking out any "mismatches" and treading new ground, looking at improved partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs, academic health centers and foreign allies. According to Ferrara, the Pentagon needs to fix its military hospital system; maximize the value of the Tricare health program and "simplify the Tricare experience;" and leverage technology, including doubling down on telehealth to expand capacity and using artificial intelligence. Ferrara added that this review is an "all-hands-on-deck" initiative, calling for those who work daily within the military health system to voice their ideas. "I'm hoping you can help me solve my problems, and so I thank you in advance," Ferrara said. President Donald Trump has nominated former CIA medical director Keith Bass, a retired Navy officer, rehabilitation counselor and health administrator, for the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs position. Bass has not issued any public comments on the future of Defense Department health care. He served as the head of the White House medical unit from 2017 to 2019 and, at the time of his nomination, was the medical center director of the West Texas VA Health Care System. Bass' confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee has not been set. Related: Tricare to Allow Patients in Tricare West Region to Receive Specialty Care Without Preapproval MANILA, Philippines The Philippines and its security allies would take measures to counter any attempt by China to impose an air defense zone or restrict freedom of flights over the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said Wednesday, following confrontations between Chinese aircraft and those of his country, Australia and the United States. Teodoro told The Associated Press in an interview that Chinas increasing aggression in the disputed waters was now considered the greatest threat to the national security of the Philippines and should also be regarded as a global threat because it could choke a key trade route crucial for global supply chains. The greatest external threat actually is Chinese aggression, Chinese expansionism and the attempt by China to change the international law through the use of force or acquiescenceor its attempt to reshape the world order to one that it controls, Teodoro said. There was no immediate reaction by Chinese officials. Confrontations over the strategic waterway, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy forces in the last two years. The long-seething territorial standoffs over the hotly-disputed shoals also involve Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Recent brushes involving Chinese military aircraft firing warning flares or flying dangerously close to drive away U.S., Australian and Philippine patrol aircraft have set off fresh alarms. Teodoro said defense officials have discussed the possibility of China imposing a so-called Air Defense Identification Zone or any exclusion zone to restrict foreign aircraft movement in what Beijing regards as its airspace over the South China Sea. "That is a very serious transgression of international law, which will demand our response, said Teodoro, a U.S.-educated lawyer and a licensed commercial pilot. The Philippines will take a combination of measures singularly and with like-minded nations to counteract any such action by China, he said. We have formulated contingency measures to respond or to have proper courses of action. He did not elaborate. Flying too close and firing flares Last month, a Chinese navy helicopter flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a Philippine patrol turbo-prop plane it warned had encroached in what Beijing calls its airspace over the disputed Scarborough Shoal, prompting the Filipino pilot to warn by radio: You are flying too close, you are very dangerous." An AP journalist and other invited foreign media on the plane witnessed the tense 30-minute standoff as the Philippine plane pressed on with its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather. The Chinese military, referring to Scarborough Shoal by its Chinese name, said at the time that the plane had illegally entered the airspace of Chinas Huangyan Island without the Chinese governments permission." Australia separately protested last month after accusing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of firing flares that passed within 30 meters (100 feet) of an Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance jet in daylight and in international air space over the disputed waters. Chinas foreign ministry responded by accusing the Australian military aircraft of deliberately intruding into what it called Chinese airspace over the disputed Paracel Islands. The U.S. military has also reported encountering such dangerous maneuvers by Chinese air force aircraft in the past over the disputed waters, where it has deployed fighter jets and navy ships to promote freedom of navigation and overflight. In 2013, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced that it has set an Air Defense Identification Zone over the East China Sea that covers the airspace above a chain of islands disputed by China and Japan. Beijing then issued a set of rules for the zone, saying all aircraft must notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military measures if they do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing. Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea and other countries ignored Chinas declared air defense zone and rules. A coalition against China? Teodoro said blocs of security alliances among Asian and Western countries, including the Philippines, the U.S., Japan and Australia, have emerged and could band together in a broader coalition in the future against Chinas aggression. China has accused the U.S. along with its treaty allies of ganging up against Beijing and threatening regional security and harmony. But Teodoro said it is Chinas own behavior that is the best motive for like-minded countries to band together because what it is doing is entirely unacceptable to a majority of the countries in the Indo-Pacific." Despite concerns over President Donald Trumps moves to roll back U.S. security aid to allies worldwide, Teodoro was confident the Philippines' long treaty alliance with the U.S. would continue. The Philippines has a truly unique relationship with the United States, he said, adding that the decades-old alliance has "stood the test of time. ___ Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report. AURORA, Colorado -- The Space Force is planning to set up its own recruiting squadron and is even training its own Guardian recruiters to help pull more Americans into the service. A lieutenant colonel has been appointed to command the new squadron, to be based out of San Antonio, Texas, Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, which also oversees the Space Force, told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium in Colorado on Tuesday. "We are building out a Space Force recruiting element. It is on track to be a Space Force recruiting squadron to include the Guardian recruiters, to go do Guardian recruiting," Amrhein told reporters. "That's another positive step ... to meet the requirements that we need to bring in for the Air Force and the Space Force." Read Next: Hill Air Force Base Prepares to Scale Back Child Care Services Amid Mass Federal Firings, Resignations Joe Gangemi, a spokesperson for the Air Force Recruiting Service, told Military.com that there are nine Guardians who have graduated from the recruiting school and are receiving additional training. While other services have struggled with recruiting in recent years, the Space Force -- the youngest and smallest of all the uniformed services -- has not. Last year, it surpassed its goals and signed 71 Guardians, per data provided to Military.com by the recruiting service. This year, the Department of the Air Force has a more ambitious requirement of 954 Guardians. Amrhein said recruiting Guardians is not an issue and, historically, the service has been in the position of turning some potential Guardians away due to the small size of the branch. But the recruiting commander sees potential strengths to innovating more Guardian-focused outreach efforts. "I will say that interest and high-quality interest of recruitment into the Space Force is not lacking," Amrhein said. "But do we have all the recruiting ingredients? What other opportunities are there? I think having that centralized squadron will [benefit] that." Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna, the top enlisted leader of the service, told Military.com in an interview Tuesday that he has tasked the new recruiters with learning how highly skilled and highly talented organizations recruit talent. "I've been using the phrase 'scouting talent,'" he said. "I call this something different because I want them to think about it differently." Bentivegna said he also wants recruiters not just to seek candidates with good grades, he also wants to find people of good character. "I don't want anyone dissuaded or disenfranchised when you think about the Space Force, that you have to have this huge background and academics," Bentivegna said. "This is hard business, and we need men and women of character and grit. We've been getting them and they've been doing it, but how do we, what's our process, to make sure we can continue the success that we've had and take advantage of our small size?" The news that the Space Force will start setting up its own recruiting efforts comes after the service has sought more public recognition for its mission. Last month, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and Bentivegna met with recruits at the NASCAR Daytona 500 race, a high-profile recruiting event. "Not everyone is willing to do what you're about to do," Saltzman told enlistees and Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets before the race, according to a Space Force news release. "Thank you for taking on this tremendous challenge. Your nation is counting on you, and I know you're going to do all the right things." The Space Force has also looked to Hollywood to help grow recognition of the service, Military.com previously reported. In July, Bentivegna was at the Fox Studio Lot in California, where he met with about 20 film executives and directors. Related: Space Force's Enlisted Leader Seeks Hollywood Star Power to Put Guardians on Screen AURORA, Colorado -- More attendees are wearing suits than fatigues. There are empty parking lots and no wait at the hotel coffee shop. Scattered applause rises from the participants in a half-filled resort ballroom. These are the sights and sounds of what is, typically, one of the busiest military conferences of the year. This week's Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center -- one of two major professional development conferences hosted by the organization focused on airmen, Guardians and defense contractors for the services -- has had significantly and noticeably lower attendance than past years. While usually jam-packed with service members, the dip in attendance is due, in large part, to President Donald Trump's executive order last week aimed at curbing government spending. "It did affect our attendance," Amy Hudson, the director of communications for the Air and Space Forces Association, told Military.com. "We're still excited to be offering professional development opportunities but, obviously, if you're looking around the hall, you will notice significantly less bodies." Read Next: Hill Air Force Base Prepares to Scale Back Child Care Services Amid Mass Federal Firings, Resignations The Air and Space Forces Association's conference comes amid massive change within the federal government and military under Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership. Typically, the meeting is a chance for the services to announce major policy decisions, airmen and Guardians to network and meet service leaders, and reporters to speak with top officials. But many major Department of the Air Force initiatives have been paused as Trump's nominee to lead the services still waits to be confirmed and military officials are trying to stick to what they believe is the intent of the president's executive orders to curb government spending, even at the expense of not letting airmen and Guardians attend one of the military's largest professional development conferences. "The Department of the Air Force has limited attendance at this year's Air Warfare Symposium to comply with the spirit of the president's executive order, 'Implementing the President's Department of Government Efficiency' cost efficiency initiative," according to an Air Force official, who spoke to Military.com on condition of anonymity to relay information from other government sources. "Attendance has been limited to individuals with a direct role in the conference, such as speakers, moderators, panel members, award winners and their supervisors, senior leaders with previously scheduled industry engagements, and local participants that attend at no cost," the official said. Edwin Oshiba, who is performing the duties of under secretary of the Department of the Air Force, issued a memo, shared with Military.com, dated March 2, just one day before the conference. The memo said travel was being curbed in accordance with Trump's order, which directed Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and his team of young, unappointed staffers to fire thousands of federal employees -- many of them veterans -- and dismantle parts of federal agencies, including the Defense Department, without the consent of Congress. The potentially illegal move has triggered numerous lawsuits. "Effective immediately, the [Department of the Air Force] will limit travel to only essential purposes," the memo said. Oshiba said the Air Force will allow travel only for professional military education, training, performance of an official duty, permanent change of station orders, or "other travel as deemed essential by the first general officer in the chain of command, or Senior Executive Service supervisor." The Air and Space Forces Association conferences also typically serve as an opportunity for members of the media to question top Air Force and Space Force brass, who hold roundtables where reporters can ask a wide variety of questions. Many of those scheduled media engagements, including for Air Combat Command and Air Force Special Operations Command, were canceled. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin gave a keynote speech Monday evening, but did not meet with reporters; the service's top uniformed officer had to travel back to Washington, D.C., ahead of Trump's address to a joint session of Congress. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force's top officer, did meet with reporters, and was also in attendance for Tuesday nights address. "We still have about 130 speakers on the agenda, and 36 sessions over three ballrooms, and we are still seeing really great interaction between the [Department of the Air Force] folks that are here and the industry representatives," Hudson told Military.com. "So, we still see value in the conference." Related: Pentagon Leaders Silent on Impending Civilian Firings, DOGE Funding Cuts as Questions Mount The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to fire more than 80,000 employees under a sweeping reorganization effort being planned to comply with President Donald Trump's orders to slash the federal government, according to an internal VA memo obtained by Military.com. In the memo, VA Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek said the department's "initial objective" is to return to 2019 staffing levels of 399,957 employees -- or about 83,000 fewer employees than the VA has right now. If implemented, the layoffs would bring the department down to the level of employees it had before the PACT Act, the wide-ranging 2022 law that expanded VA health care and benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service. After the law was passed, the VA under the Biden administration embarked on a massive hiring spree in order to ensure the department could handle the influx of new patients and benefits claims. Read Next: Trump's Orders Curbing Government Spending Dwindle Attendance at Air Force Conference "VA, in partnership with our DOGE leads, will move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach to identify and eliminate waste, reduce management and bureaucracy, reduce footprint, and increase workforce efficiency," Syrek wrote in the memo, referring to the Elon Musk-led White House office that has, in Musk's words, been taking a "chain saw" to the federal government. The VA did not immediately respond to Military.com's request for comment on the memo, which was first reported by news outlet Government Executive, but VA Secretary Doug Collins posted a video to social media late Wednesday afternoon addressing the planned firings. Under the plan outlined in Syrek's memo, the VA will complete an internal review May 9 and publish its reorganization plan in June. Layoffs would begin in August, according to the memo. If implemented, the layoffs would reverse the extensive hiring the Biden administration undertook to implement that PACT Act. In 2023 alone, the VA's Veterans Health Administration hired nearly 62,000 new employees. Those included about 12,000 new nurses, as well hundreds of new psychiatrists, a category of doctors that government watchdogs have said the VA had a "severe shortage" of, Military.com previously reported. The "reduction in force," as the layoffs are formally called, is being planned as part of Trump's February executive order requiring agencies to work with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and subsequent guidance from the White House offices in charge of budgets and personnel directing agencies to prepare for large-scale layoffs. Since its first day in office, the Trump administration, under the auspices of DOGE, has hacked away at the size of the federal government, including with a hiring freeze and mass firings. DOGE has also moved to cancel a wide array of contracts that the administration has described as wasteful but in some cases have turned out to be worth far less than advertised, have already expired or have been for core services. At the VA, that has included firing 2,400 so-called probationary workers who had been hired, promoted or transferred within the last couple of years. The department also announced earlier this week it was canceling more than 500 contracts, pared down from more than 800 contracts it originally was going to cancel after outcry that some of the contracts were crucial for veterans' care and benefits. The department has not released a full list of the 585 contracts it is canceling. In each announcement, the department has vowed that the cuts would not hurt veterans services. For example, in implementing the hiring freeze, the VA said it was exempting hundreds of thousands of health care jobs. "We're going to accomplish this without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries," Collins said in his social media video Wednesday about the upcoming 83,000 firings. "VA will also fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the health care and benefits they have earned. Thats a promise." But lawmakers have surfaced examples of the cuts affecting veterans directly. For example, while the VA has insisted the fired probationary workers did not include Veterans Crisis Line responders, Senate Democrats have pointed to at least two fired employees who did critical support work for the suicide helpline even if they were not the ones answering the phones. The cuts have also halted research on areas such as cancer and suicide prevention. And now, the planned reduction in force would go much further than the probationary firings. The memo from Syrek on Tuesday does not specify any exemptions to the potential tens of thousands of layoffs. "This effort will require the entirety of VA staff and organizations to work together in a collaborative fashion, as well as to coordinate actions with DOGE and the administration as a whole, to achieve the desired results within the allotted time frame," Syrek wrote. The department envisions that "a portion" of any savings from the firings would be "reinvested in the veterans we serve," Syrek added. Veterans advocates have previously warned the Trump administration not to reverse the progress on PACT Act implementation as it pursues budget cuts. "This is not just a budget decision -- it's a life-or-death issue for veterans suffering from toxic exposure-related illnesses," Rosie Torres, co-founder of Burn Pits 360 and a leading proponent of the PACT Act, said in a statement last month. "The government made a promise. We honored our oath, now honor yours." As word of Syrek's memo leaked, Democrats accused the Trump administration of undermining the PACT Act. "Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to pass the PACT Act and equip VA with the tools and resources needed to serve more veterans than ever," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday night. "This memo makes their goal crystal clear: They want to roll back the PACT Act by cutting 80,000 jobs -- including 20,000 veterans -- while starving VA's ability to meet increased demand in order to justify privatizing VA." The estimate of 20,000 veterans being laid off appears based on the fact that one-quarter of VA employees are veterans. Meanwhile, House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said he is working to get clarity from Collins on the memo. "I have questions about the impact these reductions and discussions could have on the delivery of services, especially following the implementation of the PACT Act," Bost said in a statement Wednesday. "And from my position as chairman, I will continue to ask questions and keep a close eye on how, or if, this plan evolves." -- Editors note: This story has been updated with comments from VA Secretary Doug Collins addressing the planned firings. Related: The VA's 2023 Hiring Spree: A Lot of Psychiatrists EAGLE PASS, Texas Vice President JD Vance visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday and said that arrests for illegal crossings had fallen sharply because President Donald Trump is demanding that all of government prioritize the issue in ways his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, never did. Vance was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as he took a helicopter tour of the area around Eagle Pass, Texas, around 150 miles southwest of San Antonio. They also visited a Border Patrol facility and sat for a roundtable with Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and national, state and local officials. Vance pointed to arrests for illegal border crossings plummeting 39% in January from a month earlier. The numbers have actually been falling sharply since well before Republican Trump took office for his second term on Jan. 20, coming down from an all-time high of 250,000 in December 2023. After that, Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own borders and Biden introduced severe asylum restrictions early last summer. President Trump has empowered and in fact demanded that his whole government take the task of border control seriously, Vance said. In an effort to impose harder-line immigration policies, the Trump administration has put shackled immigrants on U.S. military planes for deportation fights and sent some to the U.S. lockup at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It has also expanded federal agents arrests of people in the U.S. illegally and abandoned programs that gave some permission to stay. The presence of Hegseth and Gabbard on the visit underscores how Trump is tasking agencies across the federal government with working to overhaul border and immigration policy, moving well beyond the Department of Homeland Security, the traditional home of most such functions. The border crisis has become a matter of national intelligence and its also become something that requires the Department of Defense to engage, Vance said. Gabbard blamed the Biden administration for the presence in the U.S. of people who crossed the border illegally and had possible ties to terrorists but were released into the country while they await immigration court proceedings. Who are they? What may they be plotting?" Gabbard asked. "This is just the beginning. As part of his visit, Vance went to Shelby Park, a municipal park along the Rio Grande that Abbot seized from federal authorities last year in a feud with the Biden administration, after the governor accused the Biden White House of not doing enough to curb illegal crossings. A group of friends and neighbors gathered two blocks from the park ahead of Vance's arrival. Dennis Charlton, a veteran and Eagle Pass resident with property along the border, wore two hats, one to commemorate his service and the other a red Make America Great Again cap. He said hes witnessed human and drug smuggling activity on his border property that scared his wife and neighbors, but said such crossings have diminished significantly of late. I love it, Charlton said of the visit. I just wish we could talk to him to thank him for everything that he and Trump have done. Vance came to South Texas after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, saying neither country is doing enough to stem illegal immigration and address drug trafficking, especially the flow of fentanyl across the U.S. border. Asked about Trump's tariffs, Vance responded, I actually think he's doing a huge favor to the people of Mexico because, if they don't get control of these cartels, the people of Mexico are going to wake up in a narco state, where the cartels have more power than their own government. When asked about the potential for the U.S. to send troops to Mexico to battle drug cartels, Vance said he was "not going to make any announcements about any invasions of Mexico here today. The president has a megaphone and he'll of course speak to these issues as he feels necessary. When pressed by reporters on if an invasion was really coming, Vance was more direct: No," he said. "Next question. Vance was also asked why more large-scale operations haven't been started to deport people who are in the U.S. illegally. "Rome wasn't built in a day," Vance said. We have seen pretty significant increases in deportations and apprehensive and arrests, he added. But we have to remember, President Biden gutted the entire immigration enforcement regime of this country. Since Trumps second term began, about 6,500 new active duty forces have been ordered to deploy to the southern border. Before that, there were about 2,500 troops already there, largely National Guard troops on active duty orders, along with a couple of hundred active duty aviation forces. Troops are responsible for detection and monitoring along the border but dont interact with migrants attempting to illegally cross. Instead, they alert border agents, who then take the migrants into custody. Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling the root causes of immigration during his administration, seeking to zero in on why so many migrants, particularly from Central America, were leaving their homelands and coming to the U.S. seeking asylum or trying to make it into the county illegally. Harris made her first visit to the border in June 2021, about 3 1/2 months deeper into Biden's term than Vance's trip in the opening weeks of Trump's second term. ___ Weissert reported from Washington. With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information. AITO M8 to hit market in April On March 5, Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance announced that the AITO M8, a flagship smart family SUV, will be officially released onto the marekt in April. The model is expected to be priced at the 400,000-yuan range. AITO M8; photo credit: AITO First mass-produced Leapmotor B10 units roll off line Leapmotor's COO revealed on March 5 that the first batch of the Leapmotor B10 mass-produced units has rolled off the production line and is being shipped to showrooms nationwide. Built on the LEAP3.5 architecture, the B10 is the first global model in Leapmotor's new B-series. Yutong Bus reports 13.43% YoY growth in February sales Yutong Bus sold 1,571 vehicles in February, marking a 13.43% year-on-year increase. However, cumulative sales for the year reached 4,121 units, down 1.46% from the previous year, according to the company's announcement. Changan Automobile logs 5.72% YoY rise in Feb. 2025 auto sales Chinese automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. ("Changan Automobile") announced on March 4 its monthly sales performance in the February 2025. In the past month, the automaker sold 161,435 vehicles in total, representing a 5.72% rise year-on-year. BYD enters Kazakhstan automobile market On February 28, 2025, BYD, in partnership with Astana Motors, officially entered the Kazakhstani market, with product launch events hosted in Almaty and Astana, according to a post on BYD's WeChat account. Xiaomi EV intends to begin overseas market deployment in 2027 During the MWC 2025, Lu Weibing, Partner and President of Xiaomi Group, unveiled the company's global market expansion roadmap for its automotive division, announcing that Xiaomi EV plans to officially start overseas market deployment in 2027. VOYAH partners with ByteDance's Volcano Engine to advance AI smart cockpit, intelligent driving techs VOYAH, Dongfeng Motor's premium new energy vehicle brand, on March 3 signed a strategic cooperation agreement with ByteDance's Volcano Engine, aiming to collaborate on intelligent driving, AI-powered smart cockpits, and enterprise digitalization aspects. XPENG announces foray into more European countries On March 5, XPENG announced significant progress in its global market expansion, successfully entering Poland, Switzerland, Czechia, and Slovakia. This move strengthens the company's presence in Central and Eastern Europe, marking a new milestone in its international strategy. Geely debuts Galaxy Xingyao 8 EM PHEV model, powered by G-Pilot smart driving system On March 3, Geely Auto debuted the Galaxy Xingyao 8 EM, the first B+ segment flagship plug-in hybrid electric sedan under its Galaxy brand, at the Geely AI Smart Technology Conference. VOYAH begins deliveries of DREAM REEV version in overseas markets Dongfeng Motor's premium new energy vehicle brand VOYAH has started exporting the range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) version of the DREAM MPV, with Belarus as the first overseas destination. This model is priced at 69,700 USD in the country. BYD announces share placement worth of over HK$43 billion On March 4, BYD Company Limited announced a massive refinancing plan, revealing a share placement that is worth HK$43.509 billion in expected gross proceeds. GAC Honda introduces cutting-edge tech, features used on P7 BEV model On March 3, GAC Honda hosted a technology experience day for its P7 all-electric SUV, offering an in-depth look at the model's cutting-edge features and technical innovations. G-Pulse launches MADC4.0 domain controller solution based on Horizon Robotics' Journey 6E/M On March 4, Shanghai G-Pulse Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (G-Pulse) officially launched the MADC4.0 system-level domain controller solution, built on Horizon Robotics' Journey 6E/M platform. Dongfeng Nissan unveils multiple new energy vehicle tech, showcasing N7 sedan On March 1, Dongfeng Nissan held a tech launch event in Guangzhou, marking its first major showcase of new energy vehicle (NEV) technologies. The event highlighted the brands latest innovations, including the Tianyan Architecture, which serves as the foundation for its NEV transformation, and four key technological advancements: a 14-in-1 intelligent electric drive system, AI Zero-Pressure Cloud Cushion seats, an end-to-end large model-based advanced intelligent driving system, and a comprehensive motion sickness prevention technology. BAIC Group, iFlytek form strategic cooperation for vehicle intelligence development On March 1, Chinese automaker BAIC Group and smart speech solution developer iFlytek signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement to jointly advance automotive intelligent technologies. China's vehicle inventory alert index in Feb. 2025 drops both YoY, MoM The China Automobile Dealers Association ("CADA") recently released the latest "China Automobile Dealers Inventory Alert Index" (VIA), showing that in February 2025, the VIA for Chinese automobile dealers reached 56.9%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 7.2 percentage points and a month-on-month decline of 5.4 percentage points. Baolong, BASF forge strategic partnership on automotive materials R&D, applications On March 4, Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corporation ("Baolong") and BASF (China) Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai, aiming to drive innovation in automotive materials development and applications, according to a post on Baolong's WeChat account. In December 1944, Pfc. Dirk Vlug was manning a critical roadblock on a strategically important road in the Philippines when the Japanese launched a (relatively) massive assault against his position. While this might have caused some to consider retreating, he instead stepped out of the safety of his cover and into a hail of machine-gun fire. He would receive the Medal of Honor for what he did next. Dirk Vlug received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary actions on Dec. 15, 1944. By the time he received the award, he was a master sergeant. (National Archives) Pfc. Vlug was with the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Like many patriotic Americans, he joined as war in Europe and Asia loomed large over the country, enlisting from his home state of Michigan in April 1941. The 126th Infantry Regiment initially trained in preparation for fighting in Europe, but was famously turned around while headed to the East Coast and sent to the Pacific Theater instead. The 126th Infantry Regiment was probably one of the best-trained units in the Pacific. Before the war, it participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, the Army's largest-ever combat training exercise, with more than 100,000 participants. The regiment was also battle-tested, fighting against strong Japanese defenses on New Guinea in 1943 while also struggling against hunger and disease. In the Philippines, the 126th was fighting to liberate the country from Japanese control on the island of Leyte. The roadblock Vlug was defending was on the Ormoc Road, a critical supply line for Japanese defenders on Leyte. Enemy-held Ormoc Bay had been under siege for more than a month, and control of the road meant preventing supplies from leaving the bay and Japanese reinforcements from arriving. The 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division in the Philippines, 1944. (U.S. Army photo) On Dec. 7, 1944, American troops from the 77th Infantry Division made an amphibious landing just 3.5 miles from Ormoc City. Eight days later, on Dec. 15, Vlug was manning a roadblock along the main road into the city when five Japanese tanks attacked his position with machine guns and 37 mm heavy guns. Preventing those Japanese tanks from getting to the battle raging at Ormoc Bay was crucial, so Vlug took matters into his own hands. Specifically, he picked up a rocket launcher. As bullets whizzed by, he singlehandedly loaded the launcher and destroyed the first tank with one round, killing everyone inside. It caused the crew of the second tank to dismount and assault him, but after he shot one of them with his sidearm, the rest of the crew ran back to their tank. Once they were inside, Vlug destroyed it with another shot. Three more tanks tried to move along the road, but as they lumbered ahead, Vlug simply flanked them and took out one more with a single shot. The remaining tanks concentrated their fire on Vlug in a desperate attempt to survive their encounter with him, but the private just moved in closer to get a better shot. After destroying that fourth tank, he hit the last Japanese tank so hard, it fell into the embankment next to the road. The entire encounter was over in just 30 minutes. "Through his sustained heroism in the face of superior forces, Private First Class Vlug alone destroyed five enemy tanks and greatly facilitated successful accomplishment of his battalion's mission," according to his Medal of Honor citation. Dirk Vlug is welcomed home in a Grand Rapids, Michigan, parade. (Courtesy photo) Vlug survived World War II and was discharged on June 14, 1945, returning to his hometown in Michigan and joining the Michigan National Guard. In 1946, he was notified that he would receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic stand against five Japanese tanks in the Philippines. It was presented to him by President Harry S. Truman on June 7, 1946, at the White House. Vlug retired from the Michigan National Guard in 1951 at the rank of master sergeant. He died in 1996 at age 79. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. White Sox outfielder Austin Slater was scratched from yesterdays game with a left oblique strain, with Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times among those to relay the information. The club hasnt provided any details about how long they expect Slater to be out but oblique strains are notoriously pesky. The Sox have taken a few hits to their outfield mix recently. Andrew Benintendi suffered a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch and is slated to be out of action for four to six weeks. Michael A. Taylor has been undergoing scans due to some elbow inflammation. The club isnt planning on being competitive this year but has made an effort to bolster the roster. They signed Slater, Taylor and Mike Tauchman to join an outfield/designated hitter mix alongside Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. The idea was seemingly to add some veteran presence to a young roster while also giving the club some potential midseason trade candidates. With some more playing time opening up, perhaps young guys like Dominic Fletcher or Oscar Colas could seize roles. The club also has Joey Gallo, Brandon Drury and Corey Julks among their non-roster invitees. Some more notes from around the Junior Circuit Kyle Gibson stands as the top unsigned starting pitcher following Jose Quintanas one-year deal with Milwaukee. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reports that the 37-year-old Gibson plans to pitch this year. The former All-Star has been throwing live batting practice to college hitters to ensure hes not starting from scratch whenever he signs. Morosi indicates that Gibson has gotten up to 60 pitches in those sessions. Opening Day is just over three weeks off. Its reaching the point where teams could have concerns about a pitchers readiness for the start of the regular season if theyre not currently in camp. (Lance Lynn and Spencer Turnbull are among other free agent starters of note.) Though throwing batting practice to non-professional hitters isnt a direct substitute for Spring Training, it should at least keep Gibson generally on track for whenever he puts pen to paper. Gibson has been a back-of-the-rotation workhorse for most of his career. He has thrown nearly 1900 innings over a career spanning parts of 12 seasons. Gibson has started at least 29 games on nine occasions. He has nine seasons with 150+ innings, including three years with 190+ frames. The Missouri product tossed 169 2/3 innings over 30 starts for the Cardinals last season. He pitched to a 4.24 ERA with a slightly below-average 20.9% strikeout rate. St. Louis declined a $12MM option in favor of a $1MM buyout. Gibson looked like a candidate for an eight-figure salary on a one-year deal early in the offseason. Thats tough to envision at this stage. The early robust rotation market has cooled. Quintana was limited to a $4.25MM guarantee. Andrew Heaney signed with Pittsburgh for $5.25MM a couple weeks ago. Gibson is probably looking at a similar price point. There hasnt been any kind of recent reporting on potential landing spots. The Cardinals initially expressed openness to bringing Gibson back at a lower price, but they probably expected to trade at least one starter in a move that would have offloaded salary. That hasnt transpired. The Tigers were linked to Gibson early in the winter; theyve subsequently added Alex Cobb and re-signed Jack Flaherty. MLBTRs afternoon poll asked readers to predict Gibsons landing spot. No team received even 10% of the vote. The Cardinals are narrowly ahead of the Mets as the polls plurality favorite. Florence Haas was well-known on both South Manitou Island and on the mainland for her navigational skills. She was the first woman licensed to pilot a passenger boat on the Great Lakes. Florence is memorialized in the form of Florence Lake on South Manitou Island. (NPS) NPS LEELANAU COUNTY, MI -- Florence Haas may have been an island dweller but life was no vacation on South Manitou Island in the late 19th century. Haas is the namesake for Florence Lake, which is the only inland lake on South Manitou Island, just one-half a mile from the southern edge. Regarded as a fearless captain, Haas became the first woman to earn a license to pilot a passenger boat on the Great Lakes. In celebration of Womens History Month, well dig into the archives to see how Haas made a name for herself for her exceptional navigational skills and calm bravery in the face of chaos. RELATED: Great Lakes' first woman boat captain remembered for steely nerve, sass In 1871, a 7-year-old Haas and her family moved to South Manitou Island where her father, Isaac Raymo, worked as a lumberjack, a deep sea diver, a farmer, a fisherman, and a blacksmith. Most importantly, he was a sailor. Haas traveled with her father across lakes which fueled her love of the water. Her father was described as one of the old time lake captains, remaining on the water until advancing age caused him to give up his boat. Similar traits would follow Haas into her sailing career. While living on South Manitou Island, Haas, her husband and three children became the islands mail carriers. Three times a week, they used their boat, Reliance, to ferry mail and passengers to and from the town of Glen Haven on the mainland, according to the National Parks Service. Newspaper articles from Grand Traverse Herald boasted of Haas' confidence on the water. Regardless of its temperament, Lake Michigan didnt scare her. She loves the water and likes to know that no matter how high the waves roll, she can baffle them with the skill that lies in her hands, nerves and brain, read one article from 1904. RELATED: Women broke into federal jobs as lighthouse keepers and Michigan had the most Haas stood out not just for her skill but also her bravery. As one article wrote, She would go out when men wouldnt go and would sail her boat when men refused to take theirs [sic] from shelter. One newspaper clipping describes a story when Haas was sailing a passenger ship with a lumberman on board. When the weather soured halfway into a 10-mile trip the lumberman offered her $500 to turn back around. Not deterred by the severe storm, Haas replied, You keep still and Ill land you on the other side for 50 cents which is the regular fare. Newspapers hailed Haas as the captain of her mail boat memorializing her in headlines like She is a Captain Woman Knows no Fear, and Woman Captain is Pride of Officers. Although it wasnt until 1911 that Haas officially earned her boat piloting license. Lieutenant Ballinger, an inspector for the US Life Saving Service, remarked that there is not a better sailor on the lakes than the captain of the Reliance, according to a Muskegon Daily Chronicle article. RELATED: Meet Michigans last female lighthouse keeper In 1912, Haas' lost her husband in a drowning accident. He was unloading a box from their boat when it fell on his head, knocking him unconscious into the water, according to NPS. Haas continued her mail route on the island with her son for a number of years before moving to Frankfort with him and his wife. There, Haas worked as a cook on one of the car ferry boats traveling the Great Lakes, the Ann Arbor No. 4. One ferry ride hosted Henry Ford, founder and president of Ford Motor Company. While Haas was baking pies for the voyage the automobile pioneer wandered into the galley kitchen. Haass outspoken personality did not falter when meeting one of the wealthiest men in America at the time. Her grandson recounted the family lore of Grandma Florence not flinching in the presence of the mogul: According to my mother, he tried every way to get one of those pies. Even offered her $5.00 for one. She told him there was just enough to go around and he would get his share at meal time. I guess she just couldnt be bribed. RELATED: Instead of being a debutante, this Michigan woman trailblazed as a wildlife scientist Haas retired to Galena Park, Texas, where she invested in real estate and lived her final years in Galveston. Her last trip to Michigan to visit relatives was in 1942, a year before her death, as previously reported by MLive. Haas died December 10, 1943, at 80 years old. Shed made arrangements to be buried in Green Bay, next to family, because by that time, South Manitou was considered to be too remote for a resting place, her relatives said. Her memory is preserved by her grand and great-grand children who take pride in sharing stories of both her optimism and her grit. In an essay remembering his great grandmother, Don Roy wrote that Haas was strong and stubborn as well as kind and affectionate. Roy wrote: They do not make her kind any more. The mold must have been lost! To find more photos and stories of Florence Haas visit her page through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, here. RELATED: University of Michigans 1st Black female medical grad revolutionized minority care RELATED: Grand Rapids honors first Black female police officer with downtown mural By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) The IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to disclose the plans. The layoffs are part of the Trump administrations efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency by closing agencies, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a deferred resignation program to quickly reduce the government workforce. A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS dysfunctional, said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner. The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data. People of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%. Already, roughly 7,000 probationary IRS employees with roughly one year or less of service were laid off from the organization in February. The organization also offered IRS employees along with almost all federal employees across the government deferred resignation program buyouts, though IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were told earlier this month that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until mid-May, after the taxpayer filing deadline. In addition to the planned layoffs, the Trump administration intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with immigration enforcement. In a letter sent in February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS workers to help with ongoing immigration crackdown efforts. Koskinen and six other former IRS Commissioners wrote in the New York Times earlier this month: Aggressive reductions in the I.R.S.s resources will only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed. According to a White House memo sent to federal agencies in late February, agencies are to develop a report by March 13 on its reduction in force plans but it is unclear whether the White House will approve the IRS' reorganization plan and over what period of time it would be implemented. Representatives for the White House, the Treasury Department and IRS did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment. The New York Times first reported the deliberations. The Grayling-based Michigan Army National Guards 745th Ordnance Company will soon be deployed to the Middle East to support Operation Spartan Shield, according to a news release from the Michigan National Guard. (Photo provided by Michigan National Guard) (Photo provided by Michigan National Guard) The Grayling-based Michigan Army National Guards 745th Ordnance Company will soon be deployed to the Middle East to support Operation Spartan Shield, according to a news release from the Michigan National Guard. Soldiers gathered with families and friends at the Grayling Army Airfield before their departure, according to the release. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The China Automobile Dealers Association ("CADA") recently released the latest "China Automobile Dealers Inventory Alert Index" (VIA), showing that in February 2025, the VIA for Chinese automobile dealers reached 56.9%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 7.2 percentage points and a month-on-month decline of 5.4 percentage points. The index still remains above the boom-bust threshold, signaling ongoing concerns in the automotive circulation sector. Unlike previous years, the market volatility caused by the Chinese New Year holiday was less pronounced in February, thanks to the early rollout of vehicle replacement and scrappage incentive policies, which helped accelerate market recovery. Additionally, automakers swiftly introduced aggressive promotional strategies at the start of the year, which also boosted vehicle sales. Tesla led the way by offering an 8,000-yuan insurance subsidy and a five-year zero-interest financing plan for the Model 3, followed by multiple carmakers launching discounts through no-bargain pricing and interest-free financing offers. The pace of new vehicle model launches also accelerated, with a wave of new vehicles entering the market, including Geely's Galaxy L6 EM-i, GAC Group's Trumpchi E8 PRO+, the AVATR 07 Pro+, Chery's Fulwin T8, and Great Wall Motor's TANK 400 (both gasoline and diesel versions). With these favorable factors driving demand, China's automobile market experienced steady growth in February. According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), passenger vehicle retail sales from February 1 to 23 reached 924,000 units, an 18% year-on-year increase. The new energy vehicle (NEV) segment saw even stronger growth, with 445,000 units retailed in this period, indicating a 77% spike from the previous year. Despite these gains, some constraints limited overall growth, including fewer effective sales days and a pre-holiday surge in demand that led to partial sales depletion in February. Looking ahead, with regional automobile shows and a continued influx of new car model launches in March, market demand and sales are expected to maintain a steady growth. Jennifer Crumbley stares at her husband James Crumbley during sentencing at Oakland County Circuit Court, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. The Crumbley's were each sentenced to at least 10 years in prison Tuesday for failing to take steps that could have prevented the killing of four students in 2021. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP) AP AP PONTIAC, MI -- An ongoing post-conviction legal battle is raging between prosecutors and the imprisoned parents of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley. The parents, James, 48, and Jennifer Crumbley, 46, claim their trials were tainted by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald and their convictions should be overturned. The latest litigious strike came on Wednesday, March 5, when Royal Oak-based attorney Michael R Dezsi, who represents Jennifer Crumbley, filed a motion requesting McDonald and her office be removed from the case. The Crumbleys are serving a minimum of 10 years in prison after being convicted on four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. Related: Michigan school shooters dad wants new trial, alleges secret immunity deal The prosecutor has violated court rules, entered into secret agreements with two star prosecution witnesses and has unethically engaged in two public relations firms to run a smear campaign against the Crumbleys in an effort to sway public opinion and taint the jury pool, Dezsi said in his latest filing. Among the arguments for the prosecutors removal: The office made proffer agreements, a form of immunity, with two of its star witnesses that werent disclosed to the defense. The agreements were made with attorneys representing former Oxford High School Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and guidance counselor Shawn Hopkins. In violation of court gag orders and rules of conduct, the Prosecutors Office paid social media influencers and a public relations firm more than $140,000 for what Dezsi called a smear campaign that involved coordinating interviews between McDonald and 75 media outlets in the first week following the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. The office signed agreements granting special access to certain film producers, including one thats been linked to a high-ranking member of the office. The office granted exclusive behind-the-scenes access to a reporter from the Washington Post. Dezsi argues the actions of the Prosecutors Office promoted McDonalds narrative while furthering certain ambitions above and beyond the prosecution of the Crumbleys. The Oakland County Prosecutors Office previously denied it was required to share the agreements cited in the motion and maintained its conduct was appropriate and ethical throughout the prosecution and trial. No one got a deal, and no one was promised immunity from prosecution, Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams told MLive in January, related to Jennifer Crumbleys motion. Proffer agreements are a common investigative tool that allows witnesses to share information with prosecutors. We provided the defense with all necessary discovery, as they are entitled to under the law. A spokesman for Oakland County Prosecutors Office said comment on the court filing wasnt immediately available. Moment Strategies, one of the two public relations firm mentioned in the court filing, was hired shortly after the 2021 shooting. The Oakland County Prosecutors Office had no communications staff at the time of the Oxford Shooting, said Alexis Wiley, the firms founder. Over a period of more than two years, we provided crisis communications services at a fraction of what it would cost to hire a full time, in house (communications) staffer. We did our work with integrity as we always do. According to Dezsis filing, arguments on the motion for removal will take place at a hearing before Oakland County Circuit Judge on March 19, or a date to be determined by the court. Related: Ethan Crumbley pleads guilty to Nov. 30, 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan The Crumbleys' 18-year-old son pleaded guilty to more than 20 felonies, including four counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six more students and a teacher also suffered gunshot wounds. The Crumbleys separately filed motions for new trials that are pending before the court. FILE - Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) AP By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Authorities misidentified a deceased dog while investigating the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care specialist. The couples German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs' care. The dog that died was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship, Padilla said in an email statement Tuesday. Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsys hand. Authorities have been searching for answers after the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered on Feb. 26 at their Santa Fe home. Hackman and Arakawa may have died up to two weeks earlier, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said. Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, a sheriffs office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine. Avila acknowledged that sheriffs deputies initially misidentified the breed of the deceased dog. Our deputies, they dont work with canines on a daily basis, she said. USA Today first reported on the mistaken identification of the dead dog. Arakawas body was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom countertop, while Hackmans remains were found in the homes entryway. The two bodies both have tested negative for carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas that is a byproduct of fuel burned in some home appliances and can be fatal in poorly ventilated homes. No gas leaks were discovered in or around the home. On Tuesday, the sheriffs office also said that a more extensive utility company inspection found that one burner on a stove in the house had a miniscule leak that could not be lethal. Authorities retrieved personal items from the home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones that will be analyzed. Medical investigators are still working to clarify the cause of deaths but the results of toxicology reports arent expected for weeks. ___ ___ Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed to this story. The exterior of Flagstar Bank, 1717 N. West Ave. in Jackson. Chloe Miller | CMiller@mlive.com TROY, MI Over 400 workers will be impacted by layoffs at Flagstar Bank in Metro Detroit. The company announced it plans to lay off 424 employees at its Corporate Drive site in Troy. The permanent layoffs will take place between April 22 and May 9, according to a notice the company filed through the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The company also laid off 60 employees in Jackson in August of 2024, as well as 113 employees at the Troy facility in October of 2024. Flagstar Bank did not immediately respond to request for comment. CBS News reported the company previously sold off some of its business ventures, including mortgage servicing, to other companies. Some of the employees were picked up by mortgage service provider Mr. Cooper Group. Flagstar Financial Inc. is based in Hicksville, New York. Want more Jackson-area news? Bookmark the local Jackson news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Jackson daily newsletter. FILE - Volunteers and rescuers search for 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton in Morenci, Mich. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. (David Coates/Detroit News via AP, File) AP By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) A judge declared three Michigan brothers dead Wednesday, more than 14 years after they disappeared at Thanksgiving in a small-town tragedy that remains unsolved despite an explicit belief by investigators that their father is responsible. Lenawee County Judge Catherine Sala granted a request by Tanya Zuvers, the mother of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. This is a case of terrible and longstanding impact on the community of Lenawee, Sala said. No condolences will ever be enough for such loss suffered. But at the same time, the judge rejected a request to also acknowledge that the boys' father, John Skelton, murdered the children. To make such a finding, the court would only be joining those voices offering such speculation and theory given the lack of information, Sala said. The boys are presumed dead as of Nov. 26, 2015, five years after their disappearance, a key threshold in Michigan law, the judge said. Skelton, 53, has not been charged with killing his sons. By November, he is expected to complete a 15-year prison sentence for his failure to return the boys to Zuvers, the only conviction so far. Zuvers testified Monday that a formal declaration of death would give her closure and provide respect to the boys, who were 9, 7 and 5 in 2010. They disappeared while with their father at Thanksgiving in Morenci, a town along the Ohio border. Skelton and Zuvers were having problems and living apart in Morenci. The boys were supposed to go back to their mom the next day. Instead, they were gone. They have not been found, despite countless searches of woods and water in Michigan and Ohio and tips from across the country. Police said Skelton fed them a long string of lies about the boys' whereabouts, sending investigators to an old schoolhouse in Kunkle, Ohio, and a dumpster in Holiday City, Ohio. Police said claims that the boys were handed to other people for their safety also turned out to be false. Det. Lt. Jeremy Brewer of the Michigan State Police, who was assigned the case three years later in 2013, testified this week that he has no doubt whatsoever that Skelton killed the brothers. Skelton declined to participate in the hearing to have his sons declared dead. Anything I say isnt going to make a difference, he said Monday by video conference from prison. About 60 protesters on Thursday, Aug. 29 supporting Palestine rally in front of the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security building near Michigan Stadium. Four protesters were arrested the day before on The Diag. Samuel Dodge President Donald Trump called on the nations universities and colleges to crack down on what he called illegal protests in a social media post early Tuesday that threated institutions federal funding if they dont comply. Pro-Palestine protests have featured prominently on the campuses of University of Michigan and others since Oct. 7, 2023. The Ann Arbor campus has seen multiple protesters arrested and charged with felonies. Legal experts following First Amendment issues in Michigan called the second-term presidents post more bluster than it is edict. This is an attempt to scare universities. It is an attempt to scare students, especially students who are not citizens, said Richard Primus, constitutional law professor at the University of Michigan. Trump in his March 4 post on Truth Social said all federal funding will stop for any college, school or university that allows illegal protests. He did not specify if this meant pro-Palestinian protests, but he vowed on the campaign trail to fight what he called anti-Semitism on campus. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came, Trump posted. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Primus called the post posturing for Trumps political base that sees universities as the cultural enemy and likes things that are hostile toward them. It is important that the leadership of the nations universities respond by calmly and firmly standing by the ideals of scholarship and free expression that make universities valuable, Primus said. Protest activities as part of a pro-Palestine Die In demonstration drew attention at the Ann Arbor university campus in August 2024. In the months since, felony resisting and obstructing police and misdemeanor trespassing charges have been filed against protesters. At Wayne State Universitys campus in Detroit, encampments in protest of the Israel-Hamas war also led to arrests, though related charges were later dismissed. Spokespeople for University of Michigan and Wayne State did not respond to requests for comment. However, UM President Santa Ono said at the Feb. 21 Board of Regents meeting that he assisted in legal action by 22 state attorney generals to block some of Trumps federal spending cuts. One problem with Trumps post Tuesday is that it did not define what an illegal protest entails, said Brian Wassom, a trademark, copyright and First Amendment attorney at the Michigan-based Warner Norcross and Judd. Instead, he said Trump seemed to try to intimidate universities, dissuade student protests and incentivize higher education institutions to take additional steps to quell controversial speech. The lack of clarity, he said, also gives students and educators reason to overcompensate by self-censoring activities that may or may not be unlawful. Primus said Trumps message prescribes actions that the president is not entitled to carry out himself. Its not just a discretionary decision that the president gets to make, he said, referring to withholding funding under federal programs such as Title VI or Title IX. The government has to go through the appropriate processes for showing violations, and then, terminate the funding. The president also cannot expel students from universities, and a lot of the protest that the president wants to shut down is perfectly legal. In the cases its not, Primus said universities should enforce their own rules and local public order laws. The American Civil Liberties Union issued an open letter Tuesday to colleges and universities urging they reject the federal pressure to surveil or punish international students and faculty based on constitutionally protected speech. Although shared hours after Trumps Tuesday social media post, the ACLUs letter also cites two January executive orders from the president that addressed national security and public safety threats and measures to combat antisemitism. Trumps latest coercion campaign, attempting to turn university administrators against their own students and faculty, harkens back to the McCarthy era, Cecillia Wang, legal director of the ACLU, said in a statement Tuesday, and is at odds with American constitutional values and the basic mission of universities. If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools. The seal of the University of Michigan on a sign for the Modern Languages Building, 812 Washington St. on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. Jacob Hamilton/MLive.com ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan will bring more artificial intelligence resources, research funding and computing power to its campus thanks to a partnership with OpenAI. The artificial intelligence and research deployment company behind ChatGPT on Tuesday announced NextGenAI, a $50 million project aiming to advance research and education in partnership with higher education institutions. The Ann Arbor university is one of several universities that is partaking in the first-of-its-kind consortium that is dedicated to using AI to accelerate research breakthroughs and transform education, according to its announcement. San Francisco-based OpenAI was created in 2015 and was originally co-chaired by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who stepped down from the board in 2018. This new partnership plans to feature joint research projects between the university and OpenAI that focus on AI applications that broadly benefit society. University officials said this partnership will further enhance the universitys ability to conduct groundbreaking artificial intelligence research. Working with OpenAI provides a special opportunity to collaborate with researchers producing some of the most influential AI developments today and gain access to leading edge models and tools, said Michael Wellman, professor of computer science and engineering in the College of Engineering and principal investigator for the partnership. Under the agreement, university faculty and students will be able to explore AI applications and researchers will have access to OpenAIs advanced AI models. There will also be additional resources to allow the university to buy computing power from a provider of its choice. OpenAI will also provide research grants to the university that will be given to faculty to advance AI-related scholarship. Developing a relationship at this scope allows us to showcase the breadth of AI-relevant research at the University of Michigan, including core technology, impactful applications, and societal implications, Wellman said. It complements other strategic partnerships that U-M is developing with industry and government related to AI and contributes to our effort to build a campuswide AI research community. Other founding partners of NextGenAI include Caltech, the California State University system, Duke University, the University of Georgia, Harvard University, Howard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Mississippi, Ohio State University, the University of Oxford in England, Sciences Po in France, Texas A&M University, Boston Childrens Hospital and the Boston Public Library. Overall, university officials said this partnership aligns with its broader strategy to expand its AI research footprint. This initiative marks the beginning of what we envision as a long and meaningful partnership between the university and OpenAI, shaping the future of AI for the public good, President Santa Ono said. If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter. 21 1 / 21 2025 Paczki Day Eating Contest in Flushing FLUSHING, MI His face covered in powdered sugar, Donald Covert enjoyed the sweet taste of victory at the eighth annual paczki eating contest on Tuesday in Flushing. Its a good post workout meal, Covert, of Davison, said after winning the Mardi Gras event held on Tuesday, March 4, at Bueches Food World. Eleven competitors took part in the contest hosted by the Flushing Area Chamber of Commerce at the grocery store. Participants were given three minutes to eat up to six paczki. By the time the contest was over, they had eaten a collective total of approximately 49 paczki, the most to ever be eaten during the event, according to Flushing Community Schools Superintendent Matt Shanafelt who also serves on the chambers board of directors. You guys are making your friends, family and sponsors proud, Shanafelt said to contestants during the event. This was the first time Covert, 41, entered the event, but its not the first time he has won an eating contest. He has also won a taco eating contest at the Davison Farmers Market as well as a hot dog eating contest in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. I just showed up while I was on vacation, Covert said of the hot dog competition. In preparation for Tuesdays contest, Covert refrained from eating on the day, but he did drink a couple of large protein shakes in an effort to stretch out his stomach to make room for the nearly six paczki he devoured. Covert said one of the biggest challenges he ran into during the contest was the powdered sugar that covered each of the paczki, but it didnt stop him from finishing the last of his remaining paczki immediately after winning the contest. I should have prepared for that, he said. It dries your mouth right out. Ideally now, I think Ill just pour the entire thing of water in there and eat them soft like that. Covert represented event sponsor Silverline Lending mortgage broker Nick Thomas in this years contest. He received a $25 Bueches gift card for coming in first in the contest, while Timothy Hunter received a $15 gift for placing second and returning champion Austin Brooks received a $10 gift card for his respectable third-place finish. Other competitors included Sean Fortelka, Jon Drew, Flushing Mayor Ed Sullivan, Tim McKnight, Bill Burgess, Phil Sharpe, Kelen Riker, and newcomer Robert Hikade. Unlike Covert, this was the first time Hikade has ever entered into an eating contest, but he still gave his opponents a run for their money, eating a total of five paczki. It was great, Hikade, 32, of Davison, said of the contest. I actually thought I could maybe get five and maybe into the sixth one. The fifth donut slowed me down. Hikade decided to sign up for this years contest as a representative for Global Environmental Engineering after reading an article about last years event. People tell me I eat fast all the time, so I figured, lets give it a shot, he said. And its for a good cause. Hikades strategy for the contest was to alternate between drinking water and eating paczki after each bite. I had done a trial run a couple of weeks ago, he said. Three minutes goes by quick. Thats all I can do, just go as fast as I can and put my head down. The paczki eating contest typically raises between $500 and $1,000 for holiday decorations, said Flushing Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lesly Foreman. Commercial decorations are very expensive, so its just more money we get to put towards something great for the city, Foreman said. Funds from this years contest will be used to purchase an 8-foot-tall polar bear decoration thatll be placed in downtown Flushing. Shanafelt said residents will be able to get their picture taken with the new decoration. We have a large purchase in the works, he said. We cant wait to unveil that. Shanafelt served as announcer for the event and introduced each contestant as they prepared to dig into the ooey gooey goodness in front of them. Additional sponsors for this years contest included Bueches Food World, Dom Polski of Flint, Staleys Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning, Tri-County Roofing, the Flushing Insurance Weddel Agency, the GFWC Flushing Womens Club, and the Humane Society of Genesee County. Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter. Vista Charter Academy in Wyoming received a threat of Violence that closed school Thursday, March 5. There will be an elevated police presence on Friday, March 6, according to Lt. Eric Wilder. (MLive File Photo) WYOMING, MI One person was injured in a shooting in the 2700 block of Clyde Park Avenue AW in Wyoming, according to a news release from the city. Wyoming Police and Fire departments responded to a report of a shooting at 4:10 p.m. on March 4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated food to prepare 33,000 meals to food banks across West Michigan on Wednesday, March 5, to help feed hungry families amid rising food costs. Local church members helped deliver and unload the food to 12 food pantries in the greater Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas on Wednesday. (Photo provided by Jeff Lewis) Jeff Lewis GRAND RAPIDS, MI The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is donating thousands of meals to food pantries across West Michigan to help feed hungry families amid rising food costs. On Wednesday, March 5, the church, widely known as the Mormon church, distributed enough food for 33,000 meals to 12 local food banks in Grand Rapids, Walker, Rockford, Greenville, Muskegon and Fremont, the church said in a news release. Nearly 50 local church members helped unload a semi-truck loaded with food to bring to the pantries on Wednesday. The church said the donations were made possible thanks to a broader partnership between the food banks and six local congregations across West Michigan. The local food banks serve as our frontline responders, said Colleen Lewis, a JustServe Coordinator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Michigan. Their ability to swiftly deliver supplies to those in need is invaluable. Here are the 12 participating food banks that received donations from the church on Wednesday: True North Community Services in Fremont Gods Kitchen (Catholic Charities) in Grand Rapids SECOM in Grand Rapids Family Promise of West Michigan in Grand Rapids The Salvation Army of Kent County in Grand Rapids Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids City Church in Greenville St. Pauls Food Kitchen in Greenville Salvation Army in Muskegon Muskegon Rescue Mission North Kent Connect in Rockford Northwest Food Pantry in Walker The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 46,000 members in Michigan, with 99 congregations in 10 stakes across the state, according to its website. The church is currently constructing a temple in Grand Rapids, which will be its second temple in Michigan. Construction started this fall on the 20,123-square-foot temple, being built at 2400 Forest Hill Ave. SE. RELATED: Mormon church to begin construction of 20,000-square-foot temple in Michigan The church said that anyone who is interested in further information or volunteering opportunities can visit JustServe.org and search for Food Distribution in their area. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter. State police capture one of the horses that got loose near M-6 on Wednesday March 5. (Provided by Michigan State Police) Michigan State Police UPDATE: All of the horses have been captured, state police said. KENT COUNTY, MI Traffic is slowed on M-6 on Wednesday, March 5, while police and others round up 15 horses that got loose. An officer reported pandemonium. Traffic on M-6 east of U.S. 131 is slowed while police capture loose horses. (Michigan Department of Transportation traffic photos) Michigan Department of Transportation The horses were reported loose on M-6 between U.S. 131 and Kalamazoo Avenue SW. They had escaped from a boarding facility. Michigan Department of Transportation reported slowdowns on M-6. Troopers from the Grand Rapids post arent horsing around this morning but there are horses causing a traffic issue, state police Lt. Michelle Robinson posted on X. She said that horses have been captured from U.S. 131 to Hanna Lake Avenue SW. Many of the horses have been caught. The owner is bringing a trailer to the scene. State police urged motorists to avoid the area. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- During the MWC 2025, Lu Weibing, Partner and President of Xiaomi Group, unveiled the company's global market expansion roadmap for its automotive division, announcing that Xiaomi EV plans to officially start overseas market deployment in 2027. Mr. Lu emphasized that Xiaomi's primary strategy is to solidify its position in the Chinese market first. As an indigenous automaker, failing to establish a strong foothold at home would make international expansion significantly more challenging. Therefore, Xiaomi EV's current focus is on deepening its presence in China before launching its global operations in 2027. Xiaomi SU7; photo credit: Xiaomi EV He also highlighted the extensive groundwork required for automobile globalization, including product adaptation, regulatory compliance, and policy considerations across different markets. These complexities necessitate meticulous planning and execution. Beyond its electric vehicle expansion, Xiaomi is accelerating its global retail strategy, aiming to open 10,000 MiHome retail stores worldwide over the next five years. This initiative is designed to extend the Xiaomi ecosystem to a broader consumer base, enhancing brand visibility and supporting the global rollout of Xiaomi smartphones, EVs, and IoT products. The move underscores Xiaomi's long-term commitment to expanding its international footprint across multiple industries. In February 2025, Xiaomi SU7 model's deliveries once again surpassed 20,000 units, marking its fifth consecutive month to exceed this delivery mark. As of today, Xiaomi EV has cumulatively delivered over 180,000 vehicles. On the new product launch front, on February 27, 2025, Xiaomi held a new product launch event in Beijing, officially putting the mass-produced unit of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra model onto the market with a guidance price of 529,900 yuan. During the event, Xiaomi's Chairman and CEO Lei Jun announced that the production version of the SU7 Ultra would take on the Nurburgring Nordschleife track challenge, after which a Nurburgring Limited Edition would be released at 814,900 yuan. WYOMING, MI A once-popular brewery in the heart of Wyoming is liquidating its assets after closing last month. 3 Gatos Brewery, which closed permanently in February after three and a half years in business, plans to auction off all its assets, including its brewing system, kegs and decor, Miedema Auctioneering said in a news release Tuesday. The online auction on orbitbit.com will open at 8 a.m. Monday, March 10, and will begin closing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 11. Interested buyers will have the opportunity to inspect the assets during an onsite preview from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday at 1760 44th St., Suite 8, Wyoming. This online auction presents an excellent opportunity for breweries, restaurants and hospitality businesses to acquire quality equipment and assets, a statement from Miedema Auctioneering reads. Key items up for bid include: A 3.5-barrel Stout brew system with four Psycho Brew fermentation tanks American Canning machine Semi-automatic keg washer Glycol cooler Keg inventory Commercial kitchen equipment such as prep tables, refrigerators, freezers, coolers, grills, griddles, deep fryers, ovens, warmers, mixers, sinks, racks, ice machine and utensils Dining area furniture including tables, chairs and patio furniture Sound system Brewery decor such as signs and murals Brazilian native Linus De Paoli opened 3 Gatos Brewery in 2021 with the hopes of offering original brews alongside a Brazilian-fusion menu. The venue was modeled after a Boteco, a typical neighborhood bar in Brazil for people to gather around food and drinks and enjoy each others company. De Paoli and his wife Renata launched the business together after leaving behind engineering careers at Ford Motor Company, but after the couple separated, De Paoli was left to run the business on his own. In a post on social media announcing the closure, De Paoli said it was it one of the toughest decisions hes ever made, but after his marriage separation and the slowdown in the craft beer and hospitality industry, he no longer had the money or the energy to keep the business afloat. 3 Gatos is a dream that became a reality for me, and because of that and my wish for it to succeed, I never took a paycheck from it, De Paoli said. In the beginning, I had a lot of help and support from Renata, but after the separation, running the business on my own became too much. I even tried my best to find other partners to come in and help after the separation but failed twice. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter. Otsego High School senior Mary Zack, left, in 1998 with classmates Carla Cowels and Deb Zurenko before their last home basketball game. Mary Zack was diagnosed in the spring of 1998 with ovarian cancer. (Gazette file) OTSEGO, MI Mary Zack was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 17. The experience turned her into an advocate, battling a generational environmental health crisis in her hometown of Otsego, in Southwest Michigan. She was in remission until early spring 2022, when she was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer which metastasized to her bones, resulting in leptomeningeal disease. Zack died Saturday, March 1, just weeks ahead of her 44th birthday. Her work will continue. She was empathetic, passionate and poured her heart into helping our community, her sister Emily Bath said in a Facebook post. No one deserved a long beautiful, comfortable life more than her. Zack founded Justice of Otsego in 2017, hoping to figure out what was making people in her hometown sick. Mary Zack speaks at a town hall meeting in Otsego in 2018, after she and other community members began pushing for answers about environmental contamination. (Courtesy | Chuck Parker) State and federal officials found PFAS in residential wells and shut them down. They believe toxic chemicals found in the community may be linked to the paper industry. Residents point to paper mill sites and their dumping grounds along the river among the sources of contamination. Contaminants were also spread on farm fields and used as road binder. Zack saw a connection to between the contamination and her own illness as well as the unusually high number of Otsego residents battling cancer and other serious health conditions. Jennifer Mitchell met Zack in 1998, shortly after her daughter Ericas leg was amputated due to cancer at 18 years old. Doctors told Mitchell that Ericas cancer was caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, she said. Neither young woman had any known reason for being afflicted with these rare cancers, but even back then, Mary was reaching out, Mitchell said. Zack continued to fight for her health as she collected horror stories of cancer and rare diseases impacting Otsego families, Mitchell said, just as they had her own. In December 2024, Zack helped secure a $500,000 grant to support researchers at Michigan State University and her group Justice for Otsego. MORE: Toxins in a Michigan town may be making residents sick. Researchers will investigate. She could have just gone inward, said MSU researcher Jennifer Lee Johnson-Chappell. Instead she she went outward and said no one should have to suffer like this. Johnson-Chappells Toxic Action Lab works with communities facing emerging contamination and community health challenges. Our work is to amplify and, in some ways, legitimize the work that people like Mary do, Johnson-Chappell said. Part of the grant will cover documentation of stories shared by residents, and another $40,000 is set aside for environmental testing. The remaining funds will be used to identify and work toward solutions with community members. That work will continue for at least three years, Johnson-Chappell said. Its a total honor to consider it my job to help carry on Marys legacy, Johnson-Chappell said. The grant has a limited scope, but theres an opportunity for more work to be done now that the word is out, Johnson-Chappell said. Christina DeGrush joined Zacks team following her first town hall in 2018. They worked together, researching and tracking down public records that could explain the sicknesses and contamination. She was very frustrated, very disgusted at some of the things that we found, DeGrush said. But she always had hope. She always knew that we would get to the bottom of it and good things were to come. The work Zack started will continue, DeGrush said, because there are still people who are sick in her hometown. Having worked alongside Zack, DeGrush has stepped in to lead the organization for the time being. Some of Zacks family members are interested in doing the same, she said. She changed the trajectory of her community, Johnson-Chappell said. Shes incredible. Friends may visit with Zacks family from 3 to 6 p.m., Saturday, March 8, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, March 9, at the Winkel Funeral Home, 207 E. Allegan St. A mass of Christian burial will take place at 11 a.m., Monday, March 10 at St. Margaret Catholic Church, 766 S. Farmer St. Contributions in her memory may be directed to the Mary Zack Scholarship Fund, with checks made out to Ellen Zack. Read the obituary online for more information. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter. BAY CITY, MI Controversy and protests have ramped up in recent weeks over Bay Citys two toll bridges and their fluctuating costs. Amidst this, two attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit against the corporation operating the bridges and Bay City itself. Attorneys Matthew B. Hewitt and Philip L. Ellison on Tuesday, March 4, filed their suit in Bay County Circuit Court against Bay City Bridge Partners and Bay City. The suit lists eight plaintiffs who reside in Bangor Township, Essexville, Kawkawlin, and Auburn. The suit requests a judge to order BCBP to forfeit and refund all collected tolling fees, find that BCBP knowingly misled the public regarding the nature and cost of its tolling system, and issue an injunction barring BCBP from continuing its current practices. We seek not just justice for those who have been wronged, but to prevent the economic harm that is already affecting our local residents and the far-reaching devastation that will occur if this continues unchecked, Hewitt said. A promise made is supposed to be a promise kept, added Ellison. Taking bridge-toll money was not lawful and it isnt fair. Click here to read the 23-page lawsuit. Bay City welcomed BCBP in what was supposed to be a win-win partnership to preserve infrastructure, ensure the bridges sustainability, and continue growing the city, Hewitt said. The plan is beginning to unravel due to what Hewitt labeled corporate greed. BCBP is a subsidiary of Littleton, Colorado-based United Bridge Partners. The suit recounts how UBP and Bay City government in 2019 reached an acquisition and development agreement for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Liberty and Independence bridges that pass over the Saginaw River. The city granted BCBP a 75-year tolling concession for the two drawbridges, the purpose being to relieve tax-fatigued Bay Citians from bearing the financial burden of the bridges maintenance. BCBP regularly assured citizens the toll rates would be reasonable and affordable, the suit states. What began as a partnership has deteriorated into a relationship defined by broken promises, unjustified financial burdens, and an erosion of public trust so severe that the very foundation of the contractual agreement cannot like be preserved, the suit states. Without contractual justification, BCBP began prematurely tolling motorists on Independence Bridge, resulting in the plaintiffs suffering unexpected financial burdens while the company unjustly enriched itself, the suit alleges. BCBP also assured the public Independence Bridge would be available without significant disruptions. However, the bridge has been routinely closed during overnight hours since the beginning of 2025, violating its contract with Bay City, the suit alleges. The entity further represented that non-Bay City residents with transponders would pay $15 per month for unlimited crossings or $2 per crossing once construction on Independence Bridge was finalized. However, BCBP on Jan. 1 of this year began collecting tolls, breaching its contract with the city, the suit alleges. Then, on Feb. 3, BCBP announced via its Facebook page it was doubling the monthly toll rate from $15 to $30. The company on Feb. 28 suspended the increase after public outcry. Bay City has a duty to ensure infrastructure serves the public interest, a duty it failed to uphold, the suit alleges. BCBPs tolling practices (as tolerated by the City of Bay City) have created conditions similar to the bypassing of towns by major highways, leading to economic decline and unnecessary hardship on local businesses, the suit states. The suit contains the following seven counts: Violation of public trust principles, against both BCBP and Bay City Third-party beneficiary claim-breach of contract, against both BCBP and Bay City Breach of contract, against BCBP Breach of implied contract, against BCBP Unjust enrichment, against BCBP Violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, against BCBP Injunctive relief based upon the prior six counts Bay City is a codefendant as it is the contracted party with BCBP and has the power to remedy the situation, Hewitt said. He cautioned Bay City could become a relic of its former self once motorists rely on toll-free paths around the city. This lawsuit gives the City a chance to right what has gone wrong, he said. The City did what they thought was best at the time, but it was a mistake. There is no shame in admitting that; the only true mistake is refusing to learn from it. Hewitt and Ellison are asking parties interested in joining the suit to contact them via bcbridgelawsuit.com. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. One of the adult cats and her kittens found abandoned on Bay City's Middlegrounds Island the morning of Jan. 15, 2025. Photo provided by Humane Society of Bay County. Cole Waterman BAY CITY, MI A Bay City man is facing a felony for allegedly abandoning a clowder of cats in frigid weather. How did investigators develop him as a suspect? The felines were left in a box bearing his address. The morning of Jan. 15, a Michigan Sugar Co. security guard spotted a fluffy black and white cat huddled on a fence to shield itself from ice in a parking lot near the Michigan Sugar Trails on Middlegrounds Island. The guard approached the cat and found a cardboard box and a larger pet carrier containing more cats. The cardboard box contained four kittens amid dirty blankets and stuffed animals, while the carrier had two kittens and three adults, according to reports contained in court files. One of the adult cats, a male, escaped the carrier and was practically frozen to the ground, reports state. The carrier was soaked with urine and dirty. The other two adult cats were lactating females, the six kittens ranging from 2 to 6 weeks old. The guard took the boxes to the factory and spoke with another employee, who called the Humane Society of Bay County. HSBC then alerted Bay County Animal Services & Adoption Center, whose officers began an investigation. The cats cardboard box featured a shipping label with a womans name and address. An officer spoke with the womans husband, Wayne E. Thorn, and asked if the couple had any cats. Thorn said they had some about a year beforehand, according to reports contained in court records. When the officer told Thorn about the box with his address, he replied he gave the box to a friend who needed it for her kittens. The officer pressed Thorn, 34, and he admitted to dropping off the cats as his landlord was going to raise his rent, reports state. Thorn signed over ownership rights to the HSBC. The cats were cleaned, fed, and made comfortable at HSBC, 1607 Marquette Ave. The adult male cat has since been adopted. One female cat, named Agave, is available for adoption at the HSBCs cattery. The remaining adult female and six kittens are in foster homes, doing well and thriving, HSBC staff said. Agave, a female adult cat rescued from Middlegrounds Island in Bay City on Jan. 15, 2025. Agave was found with two adult cats and six kittens. Cole Waterman Thorn on Tuesday, March 4, appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on one count of abandoning or cruelty to four to 10 animals. The charge is a felony punishable by up to two years incarceration, a $2,000 fine, and 300 hours of community service. Thorn is to appear for a preliminary examination the afternoon of March 20. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. LANSING, MI A preliminary injunction that will block President Donald Trumps attempt to cut medical and public health research funds at universities was recently awarded by a federal court. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, in partnership with attorneys general in Massachusetts and Illinois, co-led the effort to block the Trump administrations attempt to cut reimbursements at colleges throughout the country. I am incredibly proud of our efforts to protect lifesaving research happening right here in Michigan. Our colleges and universities are at the forefront of groundbreaking advancements, driving progress in new prostate cancer treatments, studying the effects of epilepsy medication on children, and improving PTSD outcomes for our veterans. This preliminary injunction ensures that their essential work can continue without disruption, Nessel said in a statement. The lawsuit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on Feb. 10. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin all joined the coalition. If the proposed cuts would have gone through, the consequences would have been devastating, Nessel said. The National Institutes of Health announced Feb. 7 it would cut indirect cost rates at 15 percent across the board, and it would go into effect on Feb. 10. The NIH said the move would save more than $4 billion a year in a post on the social media site X. Related: Michigan, other states sue to block Trump medical research funding cuts The move threatened $226 million in NIH grants heading to Michigan research institutions, Nessel said. That total includes $181 million at the University of Michigan, $27 million at Michigan State University and $18 million at Wayne State University, she said. The coalition argued that the action violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which prohibits NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements. Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institutions unique needs for research, and are typically negotiated with the federal government through a regulated process, according to a news release from Nessel. The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States, according to the release. Cancer treatments, the first sequencing of DNA and the development of the MRI stem from medical research funded by NIH grants. The lawsuit can be read in full at this link. The debate over whether Michigan should require proof of citizenship for new voters continued during a hearing Tuesday over the proposed amendment to the state constitution. (MLive file photo) Charlie Nick | MLive.com LANSING, MI The debate over whether Michigan should require proof of citizenship for new voters continued during a hearing Tuesday over the proposed amendment to the state constitution. The House Republican proposal to require new voter registrants to show proof of U.S. citizenship and have the Secretary of State verify citizenship for already registered voters went before the House Election Integrity Committee on Tuesday, March 4. The proposal would also reject votes cast by people who dont provide a photo ID. The hearing comes as lawmakers in Washington weigh a similar federal proposal requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. No vote was taken Tuesday on the joint resolution to amend the state constitution. While its unlikely to get the required two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, if it did pass the state Legislature voters would then decide on the constitutional amendment. Related: Jocelyn Benson: Requiring proof of citizenship to vote would disenfranchise Michiganders During the hearing, Republican lawmakers called proof of citizenship requirements a commonsense approach to securing the states elections. Multiple references were made to an incident last fall when a Chinese national allegedly cast his ballot during the 2024 presidential election in Michigan. That man, a University of Michigan student, faces criminal charges. It will not make it harder to vote, but it will make it harder to cheat, said state Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township. But Democratic lawmakers, the Secretary of States Office and a number of voting rights groups spoke in opposition Tuesday to the proposed constitutional amendment. Generally, they said noncitizen voting is extremely rare and that proof of citizenship requirements would potentially disenfranchise eligible voters, as many dont have citizenship documentation readily available or accessible. I completely understand, and I think we can all agree, that only citizens should vote in our elections, but if the proposed policy has a drastic impact on limiting the rights of citizens to vote I just wonder if were using a blunt instrument where we should be using a fine tool to ensure that does occur, said state Rep. Stephen Wooden, D-Grand Rapids. Related: Should new Michigan voters provide proof of citizenship? House Republicans think so. Michigan doesnt require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, but new registrants must attest under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen and that the information about their identity and residency is accurate. Michigan also doesnt require voters to provide a photo ID to vote in person. Voters can sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury if they dont have one. The proposed constitutional amendment would require a valid photo ID to vote. If voters dont have one, they can sign an affidavit and cast a provisional ballot, but that ballot wont be counted unless a photo ID is presented within six days. Much of the arguments Tuesday mirrored the ongoing national debate over a similar, proposed federal law that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Among other documentation types, the federal proposal would require a person to provide a passport or a photo ID along with a birth certificate in order to prove citizenship. One chief concern with the federal proposal is the additional barriers married women who take the surname of their spouse would be faced with, as the surname on their ID no longer matches their birth certificate. Married women without an updated passport would need additional documentation, like a marriage certificate, to resolve that discrepancy. However, what additional documentation could be provided under the proposed federal law is left up to the states. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has warned that the proposed federal law would affect more than 2.2 million married women in the state who changed their surnames. Related: Millions of married women voters could be disenfranchised under proposed federal law, opponents say The constitutional amendment being considered in Michigan does not prescribe what documentation a person would have to provide to prove citizenship. Rather, that would be decided by lawmakers after the amendments passage. State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, stated his opposition to any implementation of the proposed constitutional amendment that would not provide a clear path for married women to register to vote. I will not support any legislation that goes in to implement this that does not allow a clear path for married women to register to vote, to prove their citizenship easily, Posthumus said. I will commit to that 100%. Under the constitutional amendment, the Secretary of States Office would be required to continually verify that every registered voter on the rolls is a U.S. citizen. This would include submitting verification requests to the federal government to verify a voters citizenship, according to the House Fiscal Agency. If a voter is found to not be a U.S. citizen, they would have 60 days to verify their citizenship or face removal from the voter rolls. Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie testified Tuesday the constitutional amendment as a whole would prevent thousands of people from voting in Michigan. He said 31,000 eligible voters in Kansas were prevented from voting due to proof of citizenship requirements and that 32,000 eligible voters in Arizona last year were likewise prevented by those requirements. Posthumus pushed back on assessments from Edevbie and others testifying that thousands or tens-of-thousands or even millions in the state would be disenfranchised by the constitutional amendment he proposed, saying those numbers have no bearing in truth. He said the requirements would be implemented differently than it was in those other states. Uncertainty. Panic. Terror. Those were the emotions described Wednesday by people who help Michigans most vulnerable and underserved populations after learning the Trump administration had frozen their federal funding earlier this year. And while that federal freeze on disbursing federal grants and other financial assistance is still temporarily blocked by a federal judge, uncertainty remains. Thankfully, we regained access to our funds and we were able to reopen, but the terror of that moment has not left us, Chanda Hillman, executive director and CEO of Flowers Early Learning, told state lawmakers. Michigan Senate Democrats held a hearing Wednesday, March 5, to take testimony from disability advocates, community health clinic leaders, early childhood education program leaders and others on how they were impacted by President Donald Trumps funding freeze. A number of people testified about the chaos caused by the Jan. 27 memo directing federal agencies to pause federal grant funding. For many who spoke, federal grant funding is a primary or major source of their operating budget. The freeze has shaken confidence in reliance on federal funds, and some organizations are considering scaling back services or closing locations due to the uncertainty. While most testified they are able to access these guaranteed funds, some said funds are still being withheld. Federal grant dollars fund a wide range of services in Michigan. When the news broke about the freezes, we immediately heard from head start programs, meal programs for seniors, services that support immigrants, homeless shelters, veterans programs -- more specifically those helping with housing and accessing veteran benefits such as healthcare -- domestic violence shelters, human trafficking survivors, farmland and farming projects and others that protect our natural resources, just to name a few, said Kelly Kuhn, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. Kuhn said 11% of Michigans workforce is employed by nonprofits that serve every county in the state, from the rural areas to the urban. Most of these nonprofits, her organization estimates, cannot survive a federal funding freeze or pause that lasts between three and six months. They are addressing issues that impact families, children, seniors, veterans and mentally and developmentally disabled individuals, Kuhn said. Related: Trump still blocking $30M Michigan FEMA grant, says AG Nessel Hillman said 94% of her organizations funding comes from those federal dollars. Her organization provides early learning education for children ages 0-5 in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties and other services helping families with young children. The day the memo was released it caused a panic among Hillman and her colleagues in early childhood education as they realized they had been locked out of the funds, she said. Without access to our funding and without knowledge of when we would get funding, we were unable to keep staff working, Hillman said. For the first time in our 53-year history, we faced the unimaginable: We had to prepare to close our doors for the next day because our reliable funding was no longer available. Debra Brinson, CEO of Honor Community Health in Pontiac, said her nonprofit serves more than 30,000 people each year with primary care, behavioral health and dental services. Never in the last 30 years, Brinson said, has she experienced the payment management system completely stopping without any warning. As an employer, incredibly scary, Brinson said. Incredibly scary to not know whats going on within two days of being able to make payroll. Brinson said the nonprofit had to tap into reserves to keep going, fueling concerns among her 180 employees that they might soon be out of a job. Like others who testified Wednesday, Brinson said prospective employees are now asking during interviews whether the nonprofit is federally funded or grant funding. With uncertainty around the freeze and other possible changes coming from the federal government, Brinson said she is looking at consolidating some of the nonprofits healthcare locations. Phillip Bergquist, CEO of Michigan Primary Care Association, said even after the federal funding pause was rescinded, it took a week to two weeks for some health centers to have their funding restored or continued. Some funding is still being withheld or delayed. Deanne Kelleher, director of Health and Nutrition Services at the Michigan Department of Education, said the federal government continues to withhold $1.7 million needed to reimburse food banks who have bought produce from local farmers and distributed it in the community. While the government has paid invoices for the program up to Jan. 19, Kelleher said they have denied invoices submitted after that date, including the $1.7 million tab. Obviously it was a difficult time and continues to be a difficult time, said state Sen. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing. We will continue to take a look at how we can be helpful to organizations to handle and deal with the chaos that this has created and as other things work their way through the process. Singh chairs the Senate Oversight Committee where the hearing Wednesday took place. Trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor on April 14, 2021. The bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America for trade. (Neil Blake/MLive.com) Neil Blake/MLive.com Michiganders will feel President Donald Trumps trade war with Canada at home and at the pump, state energy regulators say. As a result of the tariffs going into effect, its safe to assume that Michiganders will be paying more for electricity, paying more for propane and other heating fuels, and paying higher prices at the pump for gasoline, said Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission. Flows of natural gas, oil and electricity will likely be caught up in new tariffs the Trump administration imposed on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, March 4. Scripps said in a statement regulators are concerned about effects on both price and reliability, though the full scope of the effects has yet to come into focus. The taxes amount to 25% on imported goods from the two countries and 10% on Canadian energy. Canada quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs and promises to scale back everything from contracts with U.S. businesses to sales of American liquor. If the trade war continues or escalates, Ontario will apply a 25% surcharge on electricity it sends stateside in Michigan, Minnesota and New York, the provinces Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday. Read more: In response to U.S. tariffs, Ontario plans surcharge on Michigan electricity We will not hesitate to shut off their power as well, he added. For years, Canada has been a net exporter of power to the U.S., though the trade balanced somewhat in 2023 as lower American natural gas prices reduced electricity costs and Canada cut back hydropower generation amid drought conditions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In Michigan, major utilities source power almost exclusively from inside the U.S., meaning Fords threat might not immediately burden power bills if Ontario proceeds. But the regions grid is interconnected with Canada, and significant flows of electricity pass through Michigan and run in a loop around Lake Erie. That electricity helps keep the grid stable, Scripps said, raising questions about the tariffs' impact on reliability. Immediate answers werent available. Even the regional grid operator covering Michigan, 14 other states and parts of Canada said Tuesday it was unclear whether the tariffs applied to imported Canadian electricity. This is a fluid situation, said Brandon Morris, spokesperson for the organization, known as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO. It is uncertain whether or when this will be resolved. Still, Morris said less than one percent of MISOs total energy was supplied by Canadian imports in 2024, and less than half of that came for Ontario. For context, that amount is equivalent to approximately one power plant. MISO manages the loss of power plants like this every day to ensure reliability across our footprint, he said in a statement. Even if power supplies arent immediately threatened by Trumps tariffs, the state faces significant exposure to price increases for natural gas and propane for home heating, as well as crude oil, according to Scripps. Nearly 75% of Michigan households rely on gas furnaces to weather the winter months, per federal estimates. With large reservoirs of underground gas storage and domestic supply options, major gas utilities DTE Energy and Consumers Energy previously told MLive they werent reliant on Canada. But experts predict price spikes for propane, often used in rural areas, with significant portions of Michigans supply coming from Canada. Even though its used in just 8% of Michigan homes, that figure makes the state the largest residential propane user in the nation, officials say. The trade war could also reverberate in the costs Michiganders pay to fuel their vehicles. More than half of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada, approximately 4.4 million barrels per day, Scripps said. Of that, more than 60% flows into the Midwest, supplying refineries in Detroit, Chicago, Toledo and elsewhere. As a result, increases in cost or disruptions in supply for oil and petroleum products would likely be most concentrated in Michigan and other Midwest states, Scripps said. U.S. refineries cant simply switch from processing Canadian to American crude, according to a Tuesday post on tariff impacts from Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy. Pipelines designed to carry Canadian oil south arent constructed to accommodate a dramatic shift, and refineries in the Midwest are optimized for crude from the U.S.s northern neighbor, he wrote. De Haan predicted residents in Great Lakes states should prepare for a price increase of 10 to 25 cents a gallon for gasoline and diesel, though there will likely be a processing delay before the hikes are felt. Trump, who has said the tariffs are aimed at curbing migration and cross-border smuggling of drugs like illicit fentanyl, acknowledged an economic impact of the trade war in a speech to Congress on Tuesday, after financial markets tumbled in reaction to the tariffs with major U.S. trading partners. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, and it is happening and it will happen rather quickly, Trump said. There will be a little disturbance, but we are OK with that. It wont be much. The full impact of the tariffs may depend on how long they are in effect, and that may shift quickly. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during a Tuesday interview on Fox Business that compromises with Canada and Mexico could be revealed as soon as Wednesday and would likely involved scaling back the tariffs. Then-U.S. House Rep. Elissa Slotkin looks out to the crowd while speaking during a campaign rally for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in Lansing in November 2024. Slotkin later was elected to the U.S. Senate. (Nico Mendoza | MLive.com) WYANDOTTE, MI In her rebuttal to President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) painted a dark picture of the new presidents agenda while outlining strategies to push back against his policies. Slotkins 10-minute rebuttal on Tuesday, March 4, followed a record-setting 100-minute-long joint address by Trump, who touted a flurry of executive orders and policy pursuits launched in the six weeks since his January inauguration. At 11:10 p.m., Slotkin spoke live from Wyandotte, a community about 15 miles south of downtown Detroit, where she described the American aftermath of a fraught election season. Americans made it clear that prices are too high and that the government needs to be more responsive to their needs, Slotkin said of the 2024 election season. America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy. The Democrat said Trumps term so far involved delivering an unprecedented giveaway to billionaires. Hes on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America, and to do that, hes going to make you pay in every part of your life, Slotkin said. She said evidence of his failed policies already was tangible, lobbing criticism at the tariffs Trump imposed on neighboring Canada and Mexico earlier in the day. Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber and cars, and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers, Slotkin said. Your premiums and prescriptions will cost more because the math on his proposals doesnt work without going after your healthcare. Meanwhile, for those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down, and if hes not careful, he could walk us right into a recession. Slotkin warned the Trump administration could very well come after your retirement, the Social Security, Medicare and (Veterans Affairs) benefits you worked your whole life to earn. The president just claimed he wont, but Elon Musk just called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time, the senator said of Musk, a top Trump advisor. Slotkin also criticized Trumps reliance on Musk, who the president praised during his address earlier in the evening. Trump said Musk was leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the president credited with eliminating inefficiencies and costs in federal programs. Opponents of DOGE, like Slotkin, have criticized Musk and the agency for slashing or disrupting federal jobs and programs critical to services and security, which Americans depend on. You want to cut waste, Ill help you do it, Slotkin said. But change doesnt need to be chaotic or make us less safe. The mindless firing of people who work to protect our nuclear weapons, keep our planes from crashing, and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer only to rehire them two days later. No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired." Slotkin, a former CIA officer, was critical of Trumps immigration policies too. As someone who spent my whole career protecting our homeland, every country deserves to know who and what is coming across its border, period, she said. Democrats and Republicans should all be for that, but securing the border without actually fixing our broken immigration system is dealing with the symptom and not the disease. She also referenced Trumps on-camera verbal clash last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited the White House in pursuit of continued U.S. support in Ukraines conflict with neighboring Russia. President Trump loves to say, Peace through strength, Slotkin said. Thats actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave. She said President Reagan, a Republican, understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity. And that scene in the Oval Office wasnt just a bad episode of reality TV, Slotkin said. It summed up Trumps whole approach to the world. He believes in cozying up to dictators like (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions. Slotkin said American democracy remains the aspiration of the world. And, right now, its at risk, the senator said. Its at risk when the president decides you can pick and choose what rules you want to follow, when he ignores court orders and the Constitution itself, or when elected leaders stand by and just let it happen. She encouraged Americans opposing Trumps policies to remain engaged in political activism. Dont tune out, Slotkin said. Its easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever. If previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today? The senator also encouraged Americans to hold elected officials accountable, including me. Watch how theyre voting, Slotkin said. Go to town halls and demand that they take action. Thats as American as apple pie. Slotkin said Trump policy opponents should organize for their cause. Pick just one issue youre passionate about and engage, she said, and doom-scrolling doesnt count. Join a group that cares about your issue and act, and if you cant find one, start one. Slotkins team announced earlier Monday that she was inviting as her guest to Trumps speech Marine veteran Andrew Lennox, who recently spoke out after losing his job at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Ann Arbor due to cuts implemented by DOGE. Calling her a rising star in her political party, Democratic leaders last week announced Slotkin would deliver the rebuttal to Trumps Tuesday address. Her elevation as a leading voice for Democrats comes only two months into her first term in the U.S. Senate. The Holly resident earned the seat previously occupied by Democrat Debbie Stabenow after Slotkin narrowly defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the November 2024 election. Slotkin, who earned a bachelors degree from Cornell University and a masters degree in international affairs from Columbia University, arrived in the Senate after first serving six years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Slotkin is not the first Michigan Democrat to provide a televised rebuttal to a primetime national address from Trump. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered the response in February 2020 to Trumps final State of the Union address during his first term as president. The Associated Press contributed to this report. UPDATE: Trump grants tariffs pause for U.S. automakers after talks with Michigans Big 3 DETROIT, MI During his Tuesday, March 4, joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump told lawmakers that auto industry leaders were so excited about the Republican administrations policies, which now include tariffs imposed on neighboring nations. But representatives with The Big Three automotive companies in Michigan General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) this week expressed opposition to Trumps planned tariffs. Hours before his Tuesday address, Trump imposed 25% taxes or tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. Auto manufacturing a staple of the Michigan economy for generations represents one of the industries most vulnerable to international competition during U.S.-imposed tariffs, experts say. Its a beautiful word, isnt it, Trump said, referencing the word tariffs during his joint address. That, along with our other policies, will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom. Its going to boom. (I) spoke to the majors today all three, the top people and theyre so excited. Trump was not specific when identifying the top people or the three majors they represented in the auto industry. Political pundits interpreted his statements as referencing The Big Three automakers, which all operate from headquarters in southeast Michigan. One day earlier, the American Automotive Policy Council a Washington, D.C.-based lobby group that advocates for General Motors, Ford and Stellantis issued a statement opposing Trumps planned tariffs. Matt Blunt, the councils president and Missouris former Republican governor, said the automakers he represented did not support imposing tariffs on vehicles and parts that met the stringent domestic and regional requirements included in trade agreements between U.S., Canada and Mexico. Our American automakers, who invested billions in the U.S. to meet these requirements, should not have their competitiveness undermined by tariffs that will raise the cost of building vehicles in the United States and stymie investment in the American workforce, while our competitors from outside of North America benefit from easy access to our home market, Blunt said in the statement. Losing an advantage in that competition could eventually cost Michigan auto jobs, experts say. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 115,400 motor vehicle parts manufacturing jobs and 50,000 motor vehicle manufacturing jobs in Michigan as of December 2024. Experts warned the American tariffs also could bolster business for automakers whose companies operate in nations not impacted by the tariffs, such as Germany and Japan. According to The Observatory of Economic Complexity, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-designed online database for tracking international trade data, the top German auto industry importers to the U.S. as recently as 2023 were Volkswagen and Porsche. For Japan, the top two importers were Mazda and Nissan. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On February 28, 2025, BYD, in partnership with Astana Motors, officially entered the Kazakhstani market, with product launch events hosted in Almaty and Astana, according to a post on BYD's WeChat account. The first models to be rolled out to the local markets are the HAN EV and the SONG PLUS EV & DM-i, marking a significant step in its Central Asian market expansion. BYD Al-Farabi store; photo credit: BYD The primary event was held at the BYD Al-Farabi store in Almaty, with parallel launches at the BYD Turan Astana, BYD MyCar Kuldzhinka Almaty, and BYD MyCar Astana stores. All models have been locally adapted to suit Kazakhstan's climate and road conditions, ensuring optimal performance and driving comfort. Photo credit: BYD The HAN EV, BYD's flagship all-electric sedan, features the company's in-house-developed Blade Battery and CTB (cell-to-body) technology. It delivers 380 kW of power, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, and offers a 565 km WLTP-rated range. The vehicle also supports 120 kW fast charging, allowing the battery to be charged at 80% from 30% in 30 minutes. The SONG PLUS EV, a pure electric SUV, comes with two range options505 km and 602 kmand is equipped with an intelligent driver-assistance system and a spacious interior, catering to both urban commuting and long-distance travel. Meanwhile, the SONG PLUS DM-i, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle model, offers 150 km of battery-powered range (NEDC) and a combined range of up to 1,200 km, meeting diverse driving needs. Kazakhstan, a key hub along the Silk Road, plays a strategic role in Central Asia's transportation network. BYD's market entry underscores its commitment to accelerating the region's transition to green mobility. With this launch, BYD has now expanded into three Central Asian countries, further solidifying its global presence. The Trump administration continues to block access to millions in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funding for the state of Michigan, the state attorney generals office claims. Devin Anderson-Torrez| MLive.com After another solid victory to start the week, the Michigan Wolverines look to keep the good times rolling on Wednesday when they visit the East Carolina Pirates. Watch Michigan on ESPN+ The Wolverines had a pretty bumpy start to their season. However, they have really flexed their muscle since they arrived in North Carolina this past weekend. The team beat up the likes of Queens, North Carolina State and UNC Wilmington. Then, they were able to shut out North Carolina, 2-0, on Tuesday, giviign the maize and blue six straight victories. The matchup with the Pirates is the seventh of an 11-game swing through North Carolina. Michigan still has to take on North Carolina Central and UNC Greensboro. East Carolina has had some time off since playing in the Tiger Invitational in Clemson this past weekend. The Pirates did not play all that bad, beating Lafayette twice, though they lost to host Clemson and Indiana. ECU comes into Wednesdays matchup having won four of its past six games. NCAA SOFTBALL Michigan Wolverines (14-6) vs. East Carolina Pirates (11-7) When: Wednesday, March 5 Time: 5 p.m. ET Where: Max R. Joyner Family Stadium (Greenville, N.C.) Stream: ESPN+ Check out the NCAA Softball rankings here President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 3, 2025. (Pool via AP) AP President Donald Trump will deliver the first joint congressional address of his second term on Tuesday, March 4, at 9 p.m. ET. Afterward, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin will present the Democratic response. You can tune in on several news channels across multiple streaming services, but youll be able to watch for free with a trial on Fubo, DIRECTV Stream or Paramount+. About the address: The White House shared that President Trumps speech will focus on the renewal of the American Dream, per The Associated Press. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin has been tapped to give the Democratic response afterward. Slotkin was elected to the Senate in November 2024. The former Pentagon official and CIA analyst has also served two terms in the House. Congressman Adriano Espaillat will deliver the Spanish-language response to Trumps speech after Slotkin. This is where you can watch the congressional address, tonight, March 4. Fubo: ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN and CBS. DIRECTV Stream: Fox, NBC, CNN, ABC, MSNBC and CBS. Sling Blue: Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and ABC. Paramount+: CBS coverage. Sling Freestream: Watch several news channels coverage at no additional cost. How to watch: Photo Credit: ESPN Former Cincinnati Bengals star Chad Johnson offered a quick, one-word response Tuesday when asked about his former teams decision to franchise tag Tee Higgins for the second straight year. Disrespectful, Johnson told First Take host Molly Qerim when asked about the Bengals decision. Higgins himself had a one-word response when the star wide receiver learned hed been tagged Monday, writing tag in a post on X. tag. Tee Higgins (@teehiggins5) March 3, 2025 Higgins did not elaborate, but Johnson went on at length on First Take, explaining why the move was not only disrespectful to Higgins, but a strategic error by the Bengals. All its saying, The first year, you tagged me, OK, you want me to bet on myself to see if I can repeat it and do it again. The second time you tag me, its like when you like a girl, and youre interested in her, and she puts you in the Friend Zone. Its allowing the Bengals to buy themselves enough time to maybe work out a deal. But if youd wanted to work out a deal, you would have done that a long time ago. Chad Johnson said the Bengals should let Higgins find a long-term deal elsewhere. I understand what Tee can make on the open market, Ochocinco said. I love Tee Higgins, I love the Bengals, I love the organization. But if you dont value him long term, why even play this game? Let him go, let him walk. I have a great understanding, he has a great understanding of what he can make on the open market. Disrespectful. Former Bengals WR @ochocinco on Tee Higgins receiving the franchise tag pic.twitter.com/pCzynDUvqA First Take (@FirstTake) March 4, 2025 First Take co-host Shannon Sharpe agreed with Johnson and even mixed in his own dating analogy. I agree with everything you said, Ocho, Sharpe said. Because its almost like the Bengals are betting against themselves. At what point in time did (the Bengals) realize, You know what? Tee Higgins is a valuable commodity to us. We drafted him, we grew him, and now hes matured to what we believed he would be when we selected him in the second round. Either you believe in me or you dont. But were not going to keep dating. Im not going to keep having a place over here, and you have a place over there. At some point in time, weve got to come together. Its not the first time First Take has put the Bengals in the spotlight for their inability to get contracts done for their star players, but it means a little bit more when its being said by Chad Johnson, who played for the franchise for ten seasons, making the All-Pro First Team twice. Screen grab: WWE Pro wrestling might be scripted, but the physical risks are very real. Look no further than John Cenas heel turn, which reportedly left Cody Rhodes with multiple injuries thanks to rapper Travis Scott. Yes, you read that correctly. For the uninitiated, Cena turned heel a.k.a. became a bad guy by joining forces with Dwayne The Rock Johnson to beat down Rhodes at the WWE Elimination Chamber event on Saturday. Travis Scott was also there, and while the Highest in the Room rapper was largely an onlooker, he did get at least one shot in on the reigning WWE champion. Nobody told Travis Scott that wrestling isnt real Bro punched tf outta Cody Rhodes https://t.co/iq8JeMw5AW Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) March 2, 2025 If Scotts open palm slap to Rhodes head looked real, thats because it reportedly was. So much so that according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletters Dave Meltzer, the strike left the American Nightmare with multiple injuries. Cody got hurt, Meltzer said on Tuesdays episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. Im pretty sure it was Travis Scott that did it. Hitting him as hard as humanly possible while seemingly under the influence, co-host Bryan Alvarez added. Whoever okayed that spot, dude let me tell you. I heard he had a busted ear drum and a black eye, Meltzer continued. To be clear, there hasnt been any confirmation that Scott was under the influence as Alvarez alleged. But while Meltzer wasnt 100 percent certain it was Scotts slap that led to Rhodes injuries, the video footage that has emerged from the show sure seemed to display the type of strike that could cause legitimate harm. Nevertheless, Rhodes is expected to return to WWE airwaves on Friday for the next installment of SmackDown. While WWE might be fake fighting to some, the reality is that pro wrestlers are highly skilled professionals trained to perform moves in a fashion that mitigates the damage to their opponents. Even then, accidents still happen and its hardly a surprise that one would occur when involving a celebrity like Scott, who is less experienced in the artform. Ultimately, Scotts cameo will serve as an interesting footnote to what is already considered one of pro wrestlings most historic moments. And while it may be painful for Rhodes currently, the fact that he suffered a legitimate injury as a result of the angle only adds to the legend. The US Capitol Building is seen in Washington, DC, the United States, Feb 6, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Global Times-The escalating costs associated with the US tariffs are rapidly materializing into a real and formidable crisis for American farmers, who are likely to be among the first to bear the brunt of the trade hostilities triggered by Washington's tariff policy. In a Monday post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump alerted American farmers that the US would impose tariffs on "external" products starting on April 2, telling them to get ready to start upping their production and selling their goods domestically. However, this seemingly simple message ignores the vulnerabilities of American agriculture. As the latest wave of tariff news from the US dashes hopes of avoiding a potentially devastating trade disruption, American farmers are once again being set up as collateral damage in a trade conflict they did not choose. The US announced on Monday to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports starting from Tuesday, doubling the 10 percent duty imposed in early February, and he also said 25 percent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico would start on Tuesday, according to US media outlets. When Washington once again resorts to wielding the tariff stick, it seems to have forgotten a crucial reality: the fundamental dependence of American agriculture on international markets remains unchanged. This means American farmers, who rely heavily on international markets for their exports, are likely to be among the hardest-hit. With their livelihoods hanging in the balance, farmers will have to grapple with the harsh reality that increased tariffs will not only jeopardize their access to vital export markets but also send the prices of essential inputs like fertilizers and agricultural machinery skyrocketing. The US remains one of the world's largest exporters of agricultural products, with its production of major crops such as soybeans, corn and wheat, as well as other products like beef significantly surpassing domestic demand. The US exports about half of its soybean production, around 40 percent of its wheat production, and more than 10 percent of its beef production. China, Canada, Mexico, and several other countries are major buyers of US agricultural products. American agriculture products are highly dependent on international markets and particularly vulnerable to changes in the global trade environment. The tariff approach adopted by the Trump administration has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to this already sensitive system. In the absence of the ability of the US market to swiftly absorb surplus agricultural products, it is unrealistic for the US to harbor the wishful thinking that other countries will not take any countermeasures in response to tariffs imposed by the US. No country is likely to passively endure the economic losses caused by the other side's tariff actions without a fight. China's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council just announced on Tuesday that an additional 15 percent tariff will be imposed on imported chicken, wheat, corn and cotton from the US, while a 10 percent tariff will be imposed on US sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, starting from March 10. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement late Monday that Canada would impose 25 percent tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) in American goods if the US tariff took effect as scheduled. The current scenario is disturbingly reminiscent of 2018, when American farmers were among the main victims of such US-initiated trade friction. In July 2018, soybean prices in the US fell to the lowest point in almost a decade. Then, to ease the financial pressure on farmers, the US government had to authorize a total of $28 billion in aid for farmers, Forbes reported. But still US farm bankruptcies were up 20 percent in 2019, the highest level since 2011, according to CNN. This time, Trump's tariff policy is not solely aimed at China. Given the wide-ranging nature of the new tariffs, it's hard to imagine the extent of the shocks on American farmers. In addition, American agricultural production is highly dependent on imported fertilizers and agricultural machinery. The imposition of tariffs will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the prices of these imported production materials, further increasing farmers' production costs. In conclusion, American agriculture, which once held a dominant position in the global market, has been severely damaged by this irrational trade policy. Manjiri Patil USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept JAC Class 9 Admit Card Out Today at jac.jharkhand.gov.in, Check Steps to Download Here Archisha Yadav is a sub editor with 1.5 years of experience in writing news articles on topics like education, jobs, and politics. She specialises in crafting simple, clear, and engaging stories that are easy to understand and hold the readers interest, making complex topics accessible and relatable to a larger audience. Archisha Yadav USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Archisha Yadav is a sub editor with 1.5 years of experience in writing news articles on topics like education, jobs, and politics. She specialises in crafting simple, clear, and engaging stories that are easy to understand and hold the readers interest, making complex topics accessible and relatable to a larger audience. Archisha Yadav USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Saurav Pandey is the Deputy Manager of Content at Moneycontrol, specialising in content strategy, execution and performance analysis. He integrates advanced SEO techniques to deliver high-impact, data-driven content formats. His expertise spans various beats, including education, career, science and others, where he adopts a technical approach to optimise visibility, improve search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com. Saurav Pandey USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Exclusive - Welcome To The Jungle actress Jacqueline Fernandez on doing more comedies: 'It has been a big part of my career, I...' Sarika Sharma is Editor, Entertainment, MoneyControl.com. She has over 24 years of experience in the field of journalism. Sarika Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Vaishnavi Gavankar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Sarika Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Madhu Chopra reveals Priyanka Chopra's reaction when she was replaced by Deepika Padukone in Ram Leela, says, "she told me I am only doing a song...." Vaishnavi Gavankar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept M Snehanjali USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept When Rajinikanth spoke about the time he worked as a bus conductor, says 'I used to impress women by flipping my hair' Palak Vij USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Rohit Singh USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Telco body warns of investor risk concerns over unequal rules for telecom, satcom, and OTT service providers Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 13 years. Danish Khan USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept GLOBALink | China opens "two sessions" as world observers watch closely GLOBALink | China opens 'two sessions' as world observers watch closely Pub Date:25-03-05 10:09 Source:Xinhua China's annual "two sessions" began on Tuesday with the opening of the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). #GLOBALink Editor:Zheng Chen Related News China targets economic growth of around 5 ... Roundup: Chinese toy brands draw attention... World's first FPSO vessel with carbon capt... Economic Watch: China's inbound cruise tou... Centre takes foot off the pedal to cap gas-based power in future electricity mix Sweta Goswami USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept US dependence on China for farm exports has more than doubled in 7 years Ishaan Gera USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept B Kumar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept India and China likely to start direct flights from May Yaruqhullah Khan USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept India needs more than a trade deal to tackle Trumps reciprocal tariffs Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years. Adrija Chatterjee USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Veer Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Vaibhavi Ranjan USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept IndiGo launches direct flights from Mumbai to Krabi, stock up nearly 3% Paras Bisht USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Tata Steel, SAIL, other steel stocks surge up to 4% after China announces plans to cut steel output Debaroti Adhikary USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Paras Bisht USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept MoUs worth Rs 15,000 cr signed on the first day of semiconductor conference 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Countering stereotypes not easy, but India Inc has come a long way, says SBI MFs Mansi Sajeja Abhinav Kaul USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Simulator trainer pilot terminated for not properly discharging his duties during recurrent training: Air India J Jagannath USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept InsuranceDekhos IPO at least 18 months away, says CEO Ankit Agrawal Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Naina Sood USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Adani Wilmar shares rise 6% as firm buys 80% stake in GD Foods, to buy 'Tops' maker in next 3 years Khushi Keswani USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Zoya Springwala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Debaroti Adhikary USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Top gainers and losers today: Stocks that moved the most on March 5 Debaroti Adhikary USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Siddharth Chakravorty USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Christin Mathew Philip USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Bofors case: India sends judicial request to US for info from private investigator Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept CM Stalin's message to PM Modi at all-party meeting: 'Delimitation based on 1971 census only after 2026' Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Breaking News Live: CCEA approves construction of 12.9 km ropeway project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath --The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of the 12.9 km ropeway from Sonprayag to Kedarnath. --The total capital cost of the project is Rs. 4,081.28 crore. --The project will be developed under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer (DBFOT) model in partnership with the private sector. --The ropeway will use the advanced Tri-cable Detachable Gondola (3S) technology, capable of transporting 1,800 passengers per hour in each direction. --The system will carry up to 18,000 passengers per day. -- The ropeway will reduce the current 8-9 hour uphill trek to just 36 minutes. --The development aims to foster balanced socio-economic growth and improve connectivity in hilly regions. --The ropeway will provide all-weather connectivity between Sonprayag and Kedarnath, benefiting pilgrims and easing their travel experience. Electronics industry seeks zero duty on US smartphone, wearables, telecom imports to dodge Trumps reciprocal tariff Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 13 years. Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept PM Modi to visit Uttarakhand on Thursday, offer prayers at winter seat of Ganga in Mukhwa 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Parimal Peeyush USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Small thing that got really wild, but Im not against Goa: SP MLA Abu Azmis son Siddharth Chakravorty USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'They want to create Hindia': Kamal Haasan on Hindi imposition, opposes constituency delimitation Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Wife sits on my chest, tries to drink my blood': UP constable's reply to why he's negligent on duty Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Will be 100% put in jail': Fadnavis, Uddhav back Abu Azmi's suspension from Assembly over Aurangzeb row Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Yogi Adityanath invokes Sambhal in Assembly speech: 'We should get what is ours' Parimal Peeyush USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Yogi Adityanath's offer to SP amid row over Aurangzeb remarks: 'Send Abu Azmi to UP, will ensure proper treatment' Parimal Peeyush USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Gurgaon Dell techie quits to start own company, says no co-worker congratulated him: 'If jealousy...' Ankita Sengupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Sheetal Kumari is a skilled sub-editor and content creator with expertise in digital news, multimedia storytelling, and social media content. With a strong grasp of topics like science, politics, and many more, she crafts compelling narratives, transforming complex topics and trending stories into engaging, accessible reads across various media platforms. Sheetal Kumari USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Tragic wildlife loss: Over 280 lions and 456 leopards died in Gujarat in two years, government reveals Sheetal Kumari USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Apple and other smartphone makers' India export plans under threat from Trumps tit-for-tat tariffs Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 13 years. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Danish Khan USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Reshab Shaw USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Nothing Phone (3a) vs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro: What you get for paying Rs 5,000 more Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Shaurya Shubham USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Prime Venture Partners announces fifth fund of $100 million, to invest in 16-18 startups Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Anand J USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Samsung extended reality headset: This is when companys Apple Vision Pro rival may launch MC Tech Desk Read the latest and trending tech newsstay updated on AI, gadgets, cybersecurity, software updates, smartphones, blockchain, space tech, and the future of innovation. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Shaurya Shubham USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Aabhas Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept China ramps up spending on its military as US looks to cut costs Sandeep Shrivastwa USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept China ramps up stimulus to guard economy from changes 'unseen in a century' Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept China's sharp retort on Trump's tariff hikes: 'If war is what US wants, ready to fight till end' Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept China will work to firmly advance 'reunification' with Taiwan, premier says Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Sandeep Shrivastwa USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Kremlin says Iran's nuclear programme will be subject of future Russia-US talks 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Kremlin says Zelenskiy's letter to Trump on readiness to negotiate is positive 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Malala Yousafzai visits hometown in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for first time after being shot by Taliban Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Record number of Americans apply for UK citizenship amid Trump's return and tax changes Sandeep Shrivastwa USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Taiwan is praying for stronger US ties after Ukraine fallout Arindam Roy USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept After military aid, Trump administration now pauses flow of intelligence to Ukraine Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept US bans UK from sharing intelligence with Ukraine as military aid freeze takes effect Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept A Bismarck man charged with attempted murder of his grandmother and five other offenses was committed to the State Hospital in Jamestown on Tuesday after pleading guilty to all charges. Jordan Oster pleaded guilty but cited a lack of criminal responsibility in two criminal cases stemming from incidents in May and July 2024. Under state law, a person is not criminally responsible if, due to mental illness, they lack the capacity to understand the nature or consequences of their actions or if their conduct results from a serious distortion of reality. At Tuesday's hearing, defense attorney Thomas Glass said Oster chose to waive a scheduled preliminary hearing and plead guilty, referencing a State Hospital report that found Oster lacked criminal responsibility at the time of the incidents. Glass requested a criminal responsibility evaluation after two prior evaluations of Oster's mental fitness to stand trial, which were conducted after he received medication. The initial evaluation found Oster unfit, but later reports, after medication, concluded he was fit to proceed. Glass argued that these evaluations didn't consider Oster's mental state before receiving medication, specifically in May and July. Burleigh County State's Attorney Julie Lawyer told South Central District Judge James Hill her office had reviewed the latest report from the State Hospital and would not dispute its conclusions. Under state law, a person determined to lack criminal responsibility may not be prosecuted, tried or sentenced for a crime. They may be ordered committed to the State Hospital for a term that equals the maximum sentence for the most severe offense. In Oster's case, the attempted murder charge carries up to 20 years in prison. Lawyer requested Oster be committed for a period of up to 20 years. That period of commitment, according to Lawyer, would encompass all of the charges against Oster similar to multiple prison sentences being served at the same time, or concurrently. Oster will be required to undergo an annual review of his mental health status and based on opinions of professionals, he could be given an early release. He was charged with attempted murder with a dangerous weapon or firearm, assault on a peace officer and simple assault after May 8 incidents. Police responded to an address in the 1100 block of University Drive around 6 a.m. when Marlene Oster called 911 and told a dispatcher her grandson had beaten her and she was bloody, according to an affidavit. Lawyer said Marlene Oster was taken to the hospital, where she received 14 staples to close wounds suffered to her head area. Doctors also found a fractured left hand, which authorities say resulted from her attempts to shield herself during the attack, according to the affidavit. Lawyer said a doctor who treated Marlene Oster told police he classified the attack as an attempted murder due to the severity of her injuries. Marlene Oster told police she had been struck 10-15 times with a club that resembled a wooden walking stick over a period of several minutes after she had found her grandson in his bedroom around 5 a.m. sitting on his bed with the lights on while reading the Bible, according to the affidavit. She told police he was "speaking in tongues" and making statements such as "get the devil out of the house," the documents alleged. During the attack, Jordan Oster allegedly told his grandmother that she was the devil and "you got to die," according to the affidavit. He was taken to CHI St. Alexius Health Bismarck Medical Center for observation. While he was at the hospital, he managed to break free from restraints and struck a police officer and nurse, causing minor injuries, the affidavit said. Other charges against Oster stem from an incident inside the jail on July 2, when a detention officer was, according to Lawyer, escorting Jordan Oster to an area where he could communicate with people not in custody. In that case, Oster was charged with felony counts of escape, assault on a peace or correctional officer and contact by bodily fluids. All of those charges carry up to five years in prison. Oster broke free and ran from officers inside the jail, toward an exit door, but was apprehended, Lawyer said. He then fought with officers, throwing punches that resulted in detention officers and Jordan Oster becoming bloodied. Oster then began spitting blood and saliva on them, Lawyer said. Hill accepted a factual basis for Oster's guilty pleas provided by Lawyer, then said based on the report from the State Hospital he would order Oster committed to the facility for "up to 20 years, or until he regains his mental health." When Oster was asked by Hill if his guilty pleas were "entered openly and freely," Oster said yes. Had Oster been convicted of the attempted murder charge, in addition to the maximum sentence of 20 years he also faced a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison without the possibility of parole. That mandatory minimum no longer applies in a case involving a court-ordered mental health commitment. Marlene Oster, who was at Tuesday's hearing, was asked if she had any comments, but declined to speak. Mandan could soon become the latest city in North Dakota to ban homeless encampments, as leaders look into ways to address rising homelessness in the area. The City Commission on Tuesday voted to advance a proposal that would outlaw camping on public property. The board will now hold a public hearing on the new rules during its next meeting, on March 18. Commissioners will then vote on whether to adopt the ordinance. "The ordinance is similar to those being enacted by cities in North Dakota and across the country. It provides protection for the public and for unhoused individuals, and reduces liability for the city as it provides notice and sets a process for removing items of personal property left on public property," Deputy Police Chief Jason Bier told commissioners on Tuesday. The proposal comes after officials in Bismarck last October passed an ordinance banning encampments in the city. Mandan City Commissioner Craig Sjoberg, who approached city staff about developing the city's proposed ordinance, said he introduced the proposal to ensure police in both Bismarck and Mandan are "on the same page" regarding encampments. He emphasized the importance of providing officers in both departments with "a tool at their disposal when needed." "Some people refer to this as a homeless encampment ordinance," Sjoberg told the Tribune. "I prefer to look at this as a cohesive attempt for our police officers to work with social service providers to help keep everyone safe, not only the people who first impressions might indicate that they're homeless, but also our citizens of the Bismarck-Mandan area." The push for an encampment ordinance in Bismarck gained traction primarily due to complaints from businesses downtown about sanitation and public safety. Sjoberg said he hasn't heard similar complaints from constituents in Mandan. However, he added that a homeless resident who took up residence in his neighborhood last September caused some disruptions. "When you have 4-year-old kids playing within 50 feet of said individuals whose background you do not know, and who (kept) you up all night screaming and hollering and swearing at the top of their lungs -- that's not acceptable in our community," he said. The Tribune reached out to ND Continuum of Care, an organization that keeps local point-in-time homeless counts, for data on Mandan but did not immediately receive a response. Bismarck's homeless population is just under 180, according to a point-in-time count conducted in July 2024. About 115 are sheltered and 63 are unsheltered. A point-in-time count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in a specific area. These counts are led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development but carried out by local agencies. Bismarck and Mandan are not the only cities in the state that have proposed encampment ordinances. Last September, Fargo passed similar laws, leading to the removal of several sites along the Red River and under downtown bridges. Fargo public works crews used bulldozers and dump trucks to clear some encampments last October, according to The Forum. The ordinances are part of a national trend sparked by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June that allows local governments to arrest and fine residents who are homeless and camping on public property. The 6-3 decision stated that enforcing laws regulating camping in public spaces does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment." Language in Mandan's proposal largely mirrors Bismarck's ordinance. The new rules would prohibit the formation of campsites on sidewalks, streets, alleys, lanes, public rights-of-way, parks, benches, and under bridges or viaducts. The law would ban campsites with "material used for bedding purposes," stoves or fire, tents or other types of shelter established for the purpose of "maintaining a temporary place to live." Just like in Bismarck, the law would prohibit sleeping on on public sidewalks, streets, alleys or within doorways. The ordinance would not ban sleeping in city parks or other public property, according to a commission memo. Ordinance language explains that once a campsite is identified, the city would issue a 24-hour notice requesting the removal of items and would notify a local social services agency of the site's location. After the 24-hour period has elapsed, police would be tasked with removing any remaining personal property left at the site. Much of the local social services are located on the Bismarck side of the river but are shared by both communities. The two local homeless shelters, Ministry on the Margins and United Ways Center for Opportunity, are both in Bismarck. Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, which closed in 2017, was also based in Bismarck. If passed, a violation of the Mandan ordinance could result in a Class B misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a fine of $1,500. Calaveras, CA The Calaveras Community Foundation (CCF) and Vitalant are calling on local residents to donate blood at an upcoming drive on March 25, as nationwide shortages threaten the availability of life-saving transfusions. The event will take place from 1:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. at the San Andreas Town Hall, located at 24 Church Hill Road. The ongoing impact of recent wildfires in Southern California and severe storms has significantly reduced blood donations across the country, increasing the urgency for donors to step forward. Blood donations are critical, especially during times of crisis, said Paul Goldberg, CCF board member and blood drive coordinator. Whether you are a first-time donor or a returning participant, your donation can make a life-saving difference. Donors must be at least 16 years old, with 16-year-olds requiring a signed Vitalant parent consent form. Appointments can be scheduled at donors.vitalant.org using blood drive code SMFM399, or by calling 877-258-4825. Participants should bring a photo ID, eat a healthy meal, and stay hydrated before donating. Johannesburg A devastating report from UNICEF has revealed the horrific scale of sexual violence against children, including infants as young as one year old, amidst the ongoing civil war in Sudan. This appalling revelation coincides with growing concerns over the safety and well-being of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), prompting a complex and politically charged withdrawal. Sudan: A Generation Scarred by Sexual Violence UNICEFs report paints a harrowing picture of the impact of the Sudanese conflict on its most vulnerable citizens. While mass sexual violence has been widely documented as a weapon of war in Sudan, this is the first detailed account focusing specifically on the abuse of young children. The report reveals that at least 221 cases of rape against children have been officially reported since the start of 2024, but the true number is likely far higher due to societal stigma and fear of retribution. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that 16 of the victims were under the age of five, including four infants. A third of the victims were boys, who face unique challenges in reporting such crimes and seeking help. The report underscores the dire situation in Sudan, a socially conservative country where survivors and their families are often silenced by stigma and the threat of violence. The vast number of people displaced by the war has further increased the vulnerability of women and children. The devastating outcome of these crimes is aggravated by the fact that victims have few places to turn for medical help, as many facilities have been destroyed, looted, or occupied by the warring parties. After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her, recalls Omnia (not her real name), an adult female survivor who was held by armed men in a room with other women and girls. Every time they raped her, this girl would come back covered in blood. She is still just a young child. They only release these girls at dawn, and they return almost unconscious. Each of them cries and speaks incoherently. During the 19 days I spent there, I reached a point where I wanted to end my life. UNICEF has been providing safe spaces for children through a network of local activists who have set up Emergency Response Rooms to deal with the crises in their communities. However, recent cuts in US aid have forced many of these vital services to shut down. Sulaima Elkhalifa, a Sudanese human rights defender who runs a government unit on combatting violence against women, highlighted the critical role of local organisations led by women in supporting survivors of sexual violence. She noted that these organisations receive less than 2% of the total funding of the UNs Sudan Humanitarian Fund. Those who have been raped by armed men dont have the luxury of being depressed,' she told the BBC. The demands of war finding food, needing to flee leave no space to deal with trauma. SANDF in the DRC: A Mission Fraught with Challenges Against this backdrop of regional instability, South Africa is grappling with the complexities of its military involvement in the DRC. The deployment of SANDF troops as part of SAMIDRC, intended to support the DRC government in restoring peace and security in the eastern region, has been met with significant challenges and mounting criticism. Reports have surfaced indicating that SANDF soldiers deployed in the DRC are facing dire conditions, including shortages of food and essential supplies. This has led to a sense of desperation among the troops, with many expressing a desire to return home. Army union SANDU has been receiving similar messages of distress from soldiers in the DRC. They are not safe, the situation is too volatile, the truth of the matter is, they are now bargaining chips in a greater scheme of things, especially because they are surrounded, there is no way of getting them out there to extract them especially in a military sense, says Pikkie Greeff from SANDU. These concerns have been amplified by the recent deaths of fourteen South African soldiers in combat against the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The conflict has exposed the SANDF to significant challenges, including reports of soldiers waving a white flag, a symbol of surrender. While the SANDF has vehemently denied these claims, the reality on the ground paints a grim picture: South African soldiers surrounded by hostile forces in their bases around Goma, were trapped and reportedly facing shortages of weapons. The SANDFs presence in the DRC is part of SAMIDRC, which includes troops from Malawi and Tanzania, and is aligned with the UN peacekeeping mission Monusco. The deployment, approved by SADC in May 2023, aims to support the DRC government in restoring peace and security in the eastern region, a mandate that implies a more robust role than traditional peacekeeping. However, questions have been raised about the preparedness and equipment of the South African troops. Critics have labelled the deployment suicidal, citing budget cuts, resource limitations, and the complex nature of the conflict. While South African soldiers possess valuable experience from previous missions, concerns remain about their current level of readiness. The challenges are compounded by the presence of over 100 armed groups and the difficult terrain. The SANDFs reliance on aging equipment, coupled with shortages due to maintenance issues, has further hampered their effectiveness. The lack of essential resources, including adequate air support, attack helicopters, and modern equipment, has limited the SANDFs ability to respond effectively to threats. The inability to deploy Gripen and Rooivalk helicopters due to maintenance issues has been a significant disadvantage. Furthermore, the SADC mission, authorised for 5,000 troops, has fallen short, with only about 1,300 deployed as of late January 2025. Controversial Troop Withdrawal and Geopolitical Tensions The repatriation of injured SANDF soldiers from the DRC has been further complicated by the deteriorating relationship between South Africa and Rwanda. The injured soldiers were transported via Kigali, Rwanda, a move that has raised eyebrows given the escalating tensions between the two countries. Tensions escalated following the deaths of the South African soldiers, with President Ramaphosa publicly condemning the M23 rebels and warning that further attacks would be considered a declaration of war. But he had also labeled Rwandan forces as militia, something that angered the Rwandan leader. President Kagame responded sharply, accusing South Africa of involvement in offensive operations against the Congolese people, rather than peacekeeping. The historical context of strained relations is older, and dates back to the 2014 expulsion of diplomats. The South African leader, in an attempt to de-escalate, stated that he had spoken with his Rwandan counterpart about the need for a ceasefire and peace talks, emphasising that South African troops were not engaging in acts of war. Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, however, reiterated that any attacks on South African soldiers would be taken seriously. President Kagame, in his rebuttal, denied any involvement in attacks on South African troops, calling the accusations lies and asserting that the Rwandan Defence Force was a professional army, not a militia. He also claimed that President Ramaphosa had not issued any warnings and described the South African troops as part of a belligerent force. Despite the escalating rhetoric, South African soldiers continued their return journey via Rwanda, a move that underscored the complex geopolitical landscape. Economic Dimensions and Allegations of Personal Interests The economic dimensions of the conflict have also come under scrutiny. Allegations of President Ramaphosas personal interests in mining companies operating in the DRC have been raised, with Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo calling for transparency. While the South African government denies any economic motivations, the potential impact on South African businesses and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is undeniable. The DRCs new regulations regarding transformation and localisation laws have also affected South African companies operating in the region. These regulations require foreign companies to work with local partners, impacting mining and geological firms. The Return Home: A Nation Grapples with the Cost of Conflict SANDF has confirmed the return of 127 injured personnel from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rear Admiral Prince Tshabalala announced that four soldiers remain in critical condition, while 27 are moderately injured and receiving treatment at military hospitals. An additional 106 personnel are undergoing psychosocial debriefing. But due to failure to maintain the South African air fleet, the soldiers had to be evacuated on Air Zimbabwes Boeing 767-200. The Zimbabwean aircraft, chartered under Mont Gabon Airlines, carried injured troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi, showcasing the desperation of the South African military as it had to rely on Zimbabwes beleaguered national carrier. Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chinono celebrated the little mission in glowing terms, with the country having little else to boast about. He added that the aircraft operated as a shuttle ambulance service, ferrying wounded soldiers from Kigali, where they had been transported from the conflict zone of Gomaa city rendered inaccessible to aircraft due to the recent M23 victory over the strategically important town. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares In a surprising turn of events, influential Zimbabwean cleric Emmanuel Makandiwa has publicly urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to allow the safe return of exiled members of the Generation 40 (G40) faction of Zanu PF, while former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere, now in self-imposed exile in South Africa, has declared that Mnangagwas days as president are numbered. Makandiwa, during a recent sermon at his Chitungwiza basilica, argued that the G40 members, who fled the country fearing persecution after Mnangagwa assumed power in 2017, pose no real threat and should be welcomed back. I have so much respect for Walter Mzembi. It is unfortunate that they are in a foreign land as we speak. You look at Walter Mzembihe is harmless. He is pure. If they can allow them back into their country, it will be a blessing for your nation. There is nothing wrong with that. No one is powerful besides the power that you give them, said Makandiwa, referring to the former Tourism Minister. Among the G40 kingpins who sought refuge abroad are former cabinet ministers Saviour Kasukuwere, Walter Mzembi, Jonathan Moyo, and Patrick Zhuwawo. They were vying for leadership in Zanu PF at the height of factionalism within the party in 2017. Following Robert Mugabes ouster, Mzembi and Kasukuwere faced corruption charges, which they dismissed as a politically motivated witch hunt. Makandiwa, known for his involvement in Zimbabwean politics, endorsed Mnangagwa during a church service in 2023. He also claimed to have warned Mugabe during his presidency that he would be deposed and that Mnangagwa would succeed him. The cleric also used the sermon to encourage Zimbabweans living abroad to return home, despite the countrys ongoing economic challenges. Zimbabwe is full of blessings. Bring your children who are in the diaspora. They are blessings that have left, Makandiwa added. Kasukuweres Prophecy and War Veterans Discontent Meanwhile, Saviour Kasukuwere, a former Zanu PF heavyweight and ex-Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative, has weighed in on Makandiwas sermon, confirming that the prophet had foretold the events of the November 2017 coup in detail. Taking to X, Kasukuwere posted: Powerful sermon by Pastor Makandiwa. He prophesied the coup in detail, the tie am not sure. Kasukuwere has also recently made bold predictions about Mnangagwas political future. Speaking to HStv three weeks ago, he asserted that Mnangagwa has lost the support of a critical constituency the war veterans and that his days as president are numbered. Once those war veterans say your job is done, thats the end. Hes hanging around, but the truth of the matter is hes gone. The most critical branch in Zanu PF is that thing called the war veterans, Kasukuwere said. This statement comes as a group of outspoken war veterans, led by Blessed Geza, are planning a nationwide shutdown to force Mnangagwa to step down. Police have issued a warrant for Gezas arrest on charges of incitement to commit public violence, undermining the authority of the president, and allegedly selling vehicles without the owners consent. Geza, until recently a member of Zanu PFs central committee before his suspension, said their plan was to mobilise all Zimbabweans to reject Mnangagwa. We have called upon Mnangagwa to step down and immediately, but he ignored. The people are going to force him to step down in line with the provisions of the constitution. Mnangagwa must just go, Geza said last month as he ratcheted up his rhetoric which has garnered him national attention. Geza, until recently a member of Zanu PFs central committee before his suspension, said their plan was to mobilise all Zimbabweans to reject Mnangagwa. Zimbabweans are wary of jumping into Zanu PF factional fights after they backed the military coup against Mugabe, only for the party to regroup and continue its ruinous rule to the exclusion of the opposition. Geza says that mistake will not be repeated, without disclosing further details. He said: We have put mechanisms to make sure the revolution will not be hijacked again. All stakeholders from various parties and civic groups will be consulted on every step we take. We want to liberate all, so this should never be viewed as a Zanu PF internal fight. It should never be converted into such. Were going to call for action soon. Stock up in preparation for a national shutdown as we march to a free Zimbabwe. Fellow Zimbabweans get ready for action, be ready for action once you receive the signal, he said. A Divided Nation and the Looming Succession Battle These developments occur amidst growing tensions within Zanu PF over a potential push to extend Mnangagwas term beyond 2028, when his second and final term is due to end. Such a move, which legal experts say would be highly improbable, would likely dash Vice President Constantino Chiwengas presidential ambitions. The situation highlights the deep divisions within Zimbabwes ruling party and the uncertainty surrounding the countrys political future. With calls for Mnangagwas resignation growing louder and the exiled G40 faction potentially poised for a return, Zimbabwe is entering a period of heightened political intrigue. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares Millions of people to die as Trump cuts funding to Lesotho and South Africa, says its a country no one has ever heard of- US President Donald Trump is facing fierce condemnation for slashing foreign aid, particularly to HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa, with health experts warning of potentially catastrophic consequences. In a move that has sparked outrage and disbelief, Trump dismissed Lesotho, a southern African nation heavily reliant on US aid, as a country nobody has ever heard of while defending the cuts. During an address to Congress, Trump highlighted past US aid projects, singling out Lesotho in a dismissive tone. Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, Trump said, struggling with the pronunciation. Which nobody has ever heard of, Trump added, as Republican lawmakers laughed. Lesotho, a landlocked constitutional monarchy, has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. The United States has committed more than $630 million since 2006 to combat the epidemic in Lesotho, providing medication and support, including raising awareness among sexual minorities who face significant stigma. The US also signed a $300 million deal last year to bolster health and crop production through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which rewards developing countries that meet standards on democracy and good governance. Trumps administration has cancelled over 90% of US foreign assistance, arguing it is not in the US interest and that the money would be better used for tax cuts. Under the influence of Elon Musk, Trump has effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Trumps first term was marked by a lack of interest in Africa, infamously using an epithet to describe immigrants from the continent. Lesothos Government Responds with Shock and Disappointment Lesothos government has expressed its shock and disappointment at Trumps remarks. A spokesperson for the foreign affairs department told the BBC that Lesotho enjoyed warm and cordial relations with the US. Lesotho is a significant beneficiary of the USs African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which provides preferential trade access to promote economic growth. In 2024, the two countries traded goods worth $240 million, primarily exports from Lesotho to the US, particularly textiles and clothing. Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane described Trumps comments as shocking, stating that it was shocking to hear a head of state refer to another sovereign state in that manner. To my surprise, the country that nobody has heard of is the country where the US has a permanent mission, Mpotjoane told the BBC. Lesotho is a member of the UN and of a number of other international bodies. And the US has an embassy here and [there are] a number of US organisations weve accommodated here in Maseru. He later told AFP that they would send an official protest letter to Washington, adding: We are not taking this matter lightly. Officials dismissed Trumps remarks as off the cuff and a political statement, adding that they were uncalled-for given the good relations between the two nations. Mpotjoane confirmed that Lesotho had been affected by Trumps decision to pause aid funding. Many organisations were thrown into chaos after the Trump administration announced a permanent end to the US Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) funding as part of a wider cost-cutting drive. Millions at Risk: Experts Warn of Devastating Impact on HIV/AIDS Programmes The decision to slash funding to HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa has sparked widespread alarm. Health experts and aid organisations warn that these cuts could lead to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of preventable deaths. In South Africa alone, US funding halts could lead to 500,000 deaths in the next 10 years, according to Linda-Gail Bekker, chief operating officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Center. Bekker made the statement after many South African aid groups were notified by the US Department of State that their grants under USAID had been cancelled, stating that the grants no longer aligned with US priorities and would be terminated for the convenience and the interest of the US government. We will see lives lost, the official said. In excess of half a million unnecessary deaths will occur because of the loss of the funding, and up to a half a million new infections. The United Nations has reported that HIV services in many African countries have already been disrupted, including prevention, testing, and treatment services. Hundreds of thousands of people who once had free access to crucial antiretroviral treatment (ART) have been cut off. Shortly after the aid cut announcements, the US secretary of state issued an emergency waiver to resume life-saving humanitarian assistance, including HIV treatment but not prevention programmes unless they are for pregnant or breastfeeding women, presumably, to stop transmission from mother to child. Projects related to gender ideology or diversity, transgender surgeries or family planning are forbidden under the waivers. According to the Global HIV Prevention Coalition, the US was responsible for two-thirds of international financing in developing countries. South Africa, the country with the highest HIV burden in the world at 7.5 million people, is a major recipient of US aid. Approximately 20% of the worlds HIV-infected persons are in South Africa, and 20% of new HIV infections also occur in the country. PEPFAR funds made up about 17% of South Africas HIV budget ($400 million), ensuring that about 5.5 million people received antiretroviral (ARV) treatment yearly. Similarly, more than half of HIV medicines bought for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia are secured through US funding, according to the UN. Of the 20 countries that are most reliant on US aid for HIV/AIDs programmes, 17 are in Africa. They include: DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, Angola, Kenya, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Togo, Cote dIvoire, Eswatini, and Benin. The other three are Haiti, El Salvador and Nepal. A Devastating Blow to Progress Against HIV/AIDS Pepfar, launched in 2003, is credited with saving 26 million lives, according to UNAIDS. The programs spending totals approximately $120 billion since its inception. South Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to HIV treatment, resulting in a 66% decrease in AIDS-related deaths since 2010. New HIV infections have also fallen by 58%, according to UNAIDS. The US decision to halt funding to UNAIDS, the UNs HIV/AIDS programme, will likely compound the resource challenges faced by nonprofits trying to serve patients and vulnerable communities. The aid cuts and the restrictions placed on the types of projects that can receive funding will have a devastating impact on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, reversing years of progress and condemning millions to preventable suffering and death. Which HIV programmes have been cut in Africa? South Africa: Several HIV treatment clinics have been shut, including in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, which has about 1.9 million people living with HIV and is the worst-affected region in the country. That has caused an influx of patients to other overstretched general public facilities, according to reports by The Associated Press agency. Facilities such as Engage Mens Health in Johannesburg, which supported gay men, or the Tswane HIV/tuberculosis clinic in Pretoria have been closed. In total, about 222,000 people living with HIV, including 7,445 children under the age of 15, face disruptions in their daily antiretroviral therapy supplies, according to UNAIDS. Several HIV treatment clinics have been shut, including in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, which has about 1.9 million people living with HIV and is the worst-affected region in the country. That has caused an influx of patients to other overstretched general public facilities, according to reports by The Associated Press agency. Facilities such as Engage Mens Health in Johannesburg, which supported gay men, or the Tswane HIV/tuberculosis clinic in Pretoria have been closed. In total, about 222,000 people living with HIV, including 7,445 children under the age of 15, face disruptions in their daily antiretroviral therapy supplies, according to UNAIDS. In Ivory Coast , where the US supported more than 400,000 adults and children living with AIDS, 516 health facilities have been completely shut down, according to the UN. Eighty-five percent of people on HIV treatment are affected, and more than 8,600 staff, including doctors, nurses, and midwives affected. , where the US supported more than 400,000 adults and children living with AIDS, 516 health facilities have been completely shut down, according to the UN. Eighty-five percent of people on HIV treatment are affected, and more than 8,600 staff, including doctors, nurses, and midwives affected. An orphanage in rural Botswana , catering to children living with HIV, has been shut down, according to reporting by The New York Times. , catering to children living with HIV, has been shut down, according to reporting by The New York Times. In Mozambique , the UN says HIV testing is no longer available in most parts of the country, and community workers, educators, and counsellors who worked with PEPFAR-funded projects have stopped receiving payments. , the UN says HIV testing is no longer available in most parts of the country, and community workers, educators, and counsellors who worked with PEPFAR-funded projects have stopped receiving payments. In Tanzania , community health workers, educators, and counsellors funded by PEPFAR have lost their jobs. , community health workers, educators, and counsellors funded by PEPFAR have lost their jobs. An HIV vaccine trial led by BRILLIANT Consortium, a medical research organisation in South Africa, and with $45m in funding support from USAID, has been paused, according to Stat News. The trial aimed to produce neutralising antibodies that could potentially fight off HIV. It was supposed to launch in late January, with 48 participants across three countries: Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares A group of Nashville women is in search of justice, and their journey has taken them to the Tennessee State Capitol. It started in June, when one of those women, Christiana Werner, logged onto her then-boyfriend Matthew Vollmers laptop. There she found a folder labeled with her name containing videos of her and Vollmer engaging in sexual acts all recorded without her consent. That led to a police investigation and the discovery of thousands of other videos of at least 11 other women who had been secretly recorded with a camera hidden inside an alarm clock in Vollmers room. Vollmer, 31, was charged with eight counts of unlawful photography in November. Just four of the women were able to press charges due to the states 12-month statute of limitations the 12-month period begins at the time of recording, not discovery. Vollmer posted bond after being arrested and is currently free. On the Hill: Feb. 24-28 Legislators look at transportation and budget requests; bill advances to help victims of unlawful photography Erika Thomas, one of the victims who cannot press charges, is a former lobbyist and has been vital in helping push legislation through the Tennessee General Assembly to help victims of unlawful photography. I kind of just looked at the statute and saw a lot of holes in the statute as it was written, Thomas tells the Scene. So that just motivated me to pass a law. In our case, the man who did this to us is probably not going to get jail time and is just going to get a slap on the wrist, she says. And thats just not accountability in our eyes. Now two bills aiming to expand legal protections for victims of unlawful photography and increase penalties for perpetrators are making their way through the legislature. House Bill 602, also known as the Voyeurism Victims Act, would alter some language in the legal statute and change the statute of limitations from 12 months after an incident occurred to 12 months after the criminal activity was discovered. It would also allow a victim to pursue an order of protection. The bill brought by Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) unanimously passed the House Criminal Justice Committee on Feb. 26. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) and also unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. (Disclosure: Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, which publishes the Nashville Scene, the Nashville Post, the Williamson Scene and Nfocus.) Another bill HB 99/SB 685, sponsored by Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) would increase penalties for certain unlawful photography cases and require those convicted of the crime to be placed on the states sex offender registry. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Dawn White (R-Rutherford County). (Bulso did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) One of the victims in the Vollmer case, Emily Benavides, gave emotional testimony before the House Criminal Justice Committee last week. She described her involvement in the case and the terror she felt after learning she was one of several victims who could not press charges due to the statute of limitations. While the law had failed us, we turned our pain into purpose to ensure protection for future victims, Benavides said. I urge you to recognize the gravity of this issue. The bill is not just legal reform. Its about restoring dignity, providing a pathway for healing for victims. By supporting this bill, youre closing a significant gap in our legal system, protecting families from trauma and ensuring victims receive the justice that we were denied. By voting yes, you give power back to those who were left powerless. Benavides tells the Scene that giving her testimony before state lawmakers took an emotional toll, but shes beginning to feel like the efforts she and the other women spearheading reform are making are being recognized. It feels like were finally getting justice, she says. We didnt really have a path for that. Coming here today is very rewarding and cathartic, and I feel like were finally coming full circle, and its very surreal to even think that we could make real change in this. Its very rewarding, also very taxing, but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. The bravery that these women have shown, to talk about this publicly, to take action, knowing that its not going to change their situation, but to do all this effort for other women that may go through this, is definitely to be commended, said Freeman during the House Criminal Justice Committee hearing. This gives them a little bit of power back that someone attempted to take from them. The Voyeurism Victims Act passed in the Senate on Monday and was set to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday after the Scenes press time. Bulsos bill to increase criminal penalties passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and was referred to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee. Additional reporting by Hamilton Matthew Masters. As a Metro councilmember, Freddie OConnell was a chief critic of police technologies. At times, his criticism looked ideological. During debates about automated license plate readers, OConnell issued broad warnings about the mass surveillance state, specifically referring to the plan for integrated police traffic cameras as spying and security theater. As mayor, OConnell now backs the Metro Nashville Police Department's latest technology request, a suite of software and hardware that integrates video camera feeds marketed by security giant Axon. With Fusus, camera owners can link their residential and commercial video hardware up to a central MNPD network where police could, upon request, remotely view their camera feeds. +4 How Much Surveillance Power Will Nashville Give Its Police? Three forms of police technology raise questions about privacy and public safety The difference, OConnell says, comes down to the nuance. I always maintained the finer-grain approach to any of this, one or the other type of surveillance technology, OConnell tells the Scene. I always maintained, in opposing LPRs, highly concentrated scenarios like downtown always made a lot of sense. And so, similarly with FUSUS. Police were operating Fusus unbeknownst to the public when OConnell came into office. The contract between Axon and the MNPD had made it through procurement without a public hearing, council public debate or community input. We suspended that part of the contract," says O'Connell. "There were some concerns expressed, so we added a number of safeguards. A kill switch, so that anything that violated our trust or the council's trust, or was not a specifically warranted use of this technology, could result in a termination of the contract. No unilateral terms changes on the part of a private vendor. We worked with MNPD to ensure that they had a published policy. Contested Chamber Sinks Police/Fusus Contract Split Metro Council rejects video integration technology by one vote despite plea from mayor The latest MNPD contract with Fusus, brought to the council by OConnell, narrowly failed a final vote in December. OConnells council liaison Dave Rosenberg, a fellow surveillance skeptic when he was a councilmember, defended the legislation in his old chamber. Rollin Horton, an attorney who represents Metro Council District 20, was a no vote then. He had the same fears and worries about potential abuse. In Hortons view, the contracts single-vote failure was due to the absence of an otherwise supportive colleague Jennifer Gamble rather than a firm commitment against expanding police powers within the chamber. The administration had multiple avenues through which it could try again, including some strategies that would require a lower vote threshold. It was just a matter of time. Everyone paying attention recognized that this is going to come back soon and will almost definitely pass," Horton tells the Scene before Tuesday's council meeting. "If it does, it would pass without adequately robust legal restrictions on it, so I prepared this legislation to get ahead of that expected future moment." Horton contacted OConnells office shortly after the failed vote in December with a plan to draft a regulatory framework ahead of the next Fusus contract debate. Horton is now the author and main sponsor of new legislation that codifies policy and practices to govern a hypothetical community safety camera network that includes donor cameras, a legal placeholder that would apply when OConnell comes back with a new Fusus contract. The new bill has earned 15 sponsors and puts Fusus more directly under the purview of the Metro Council, which will examine the legislation and several associated amendments Tuesday night. Some of the key restrictions are, it can only be used to respond to a health-and-safety emergency like incidents of mass violence, not people seeking health care or people's wardrobes or something like that," explains Horton. "It can't access a private security camera if it's located where somebody reasonably expects privacy. No [artificial intelligence] or facial recognition technology. MNPD has to promptly notify both the Metro Council and the mayor anytime theres a violation of the rules, and any Fusus contract can be terminated by Metro Council if it's used in a way we're not intending. Police technology has divided Nashville for years. Body-worn cameras, Tasers, automated license plate readers and, now, Fusus each inspires its own referendum on law enforcement. Earnest supporters, including law enforcement agencies themselves, point to crime statistics and the promise that innocent people have nothing to worry about; skeptical opponents draw from a history of MNPD abuses of power and the broad fear that the state grows both more omniscient and more punitive every day. In recent months, both the federal and state governments have shown an increasing appetite for strong policing and a disregard for constitutional protections. As the city prepares a more efficient network for centralized video surveillance, Fusus opponents connect the dots, offering a hypothetical future in which such technological capacity could be commandeered to enforce immigration or health care laws. Fusus is not a system that creates or stores data, says OConnell. It is very different from license plate readers, and I worry that there has been a conflation of the two. It's not sitting there with a running log of real-time video capture that gets stored in a giant database. It takes an existing surveillance resource and merely makes it more available to local law enforcement to resolve crimes. OConnell stresses that the cameras are already in the city, eagerly installed by fellow Nashvillians in parking lots or on front doors. To those who fear the dangers of a tightly surveilled society subject to widespread real-time data collection, OConnell implies that we already live in one. I guess, again, I'm left with, these cameras are already installed, says OConnell, glancing out his office window toward the Cumberland. If youre worried about that, just throw your phone in the river. African migrant smuggler brags about earning thousands per trip and being flown home at Spains expense A Mauritanian sailor, Ely, earns thousands of euros smuggling migrants from Africa to Spains Canary Islands, exploiting Europes lenient immigration policies. Ely boasts of his navigation skills, evading authorities and relying on Spain to fund his deportation flights back to Mauritania. Migrants pay up to 3,000 per seat, with Ely earning 3,0006,500 per trip, despite the deadly risks of overcrowded boats. Spains revolving door policy allows Ely to avoid imprisonment, highlighting systemic flaws in Europes immigration enforcement. Record-breaking migration to the Canary Islands in 2024, with over 46,000 arrivals and 10,457 deaths, underscores the crisis. A Mauritanian sailor who identified himself as "Ely" has brazenly revealed how he earns thousands of euros ferrying migrants from Africa to Spains Canary Islands, all while exploiting Europes lenient immigration policies. In a recent interview with El Espanol, Ely detailed his operations, boasting of his navigation skills, evading authorities, and even having Spain pay for his deportation flights back to Mauritania. His story underscores a growing crisis: a record-breaking surge of migrants risking their lives to reach Europe, with little fear of being sent back. A smugglers lucrative trade Ely, who operates out of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, describes himself as a skilled navigator rather than a trafficker. Im a sailor. I know how to navigate. If boats dont make it, its because those in charge dont know what theyre doing, he said. His confidence is backed by a track record of four successful crossings without casualtiesa rarity on a route where thousands have perished. For each journey, Ely earns between 3,000 and 6,500, depending on demand. Migrants pay between 1,000 and 3,000 for a seat, with wealthier passengers securing safer spots. A typical boat carries 60 to 90 people, though overcrowding often leads to disaster. Once, they brought me a boat with 120 people. I refused. It was too dangerous, Ely admitted. To evade authorities, Ely initially steers toward America before cutting back toward the Canary Islands, using marine currents to his advantage. I dont use GPS, just a compass and the stars, he said. Once in Spanish waters, migrants are instructed to deny knowing the captain, a strategy that helps Ely avoid prosecution. Spains revolving door policy Despite being detained multiple times, Ely has repeatedly been deported rather than imprisonedand always at Spanish taxpayers expense. The Spanish authorities know who I am. But each time, they just send me back to Mauritania. And they pay for my flight! he said. This revolving door policy highlights the inefficacy of Europes immigration enforcement, which critics argue incentivizes illegal migration. Elys story is emblematic of a broader trend. In 2024, a record 46,843 migrants reached the Canary Islands, surpassing the previous years record of 39,910. The Atlantic route has become one of the deadliest migration paths in the world, with at least 10,457 migrants dying or disappearing in 2024 alone, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras. The surge in migration is driven by a combination of economic desperation and the knowledge that deportation is unlikely. The United Nations Refugee Agency has stated that most migrants arriving in the Canary Islands are economic migrants, not refugees fleeing persecution. Yet, with deportations rare and European policies increasingly lenient, the journey remains a calculated risk for many. While Ely profits from the desperation of others, the broader system enables his trade. If I go again, it will be to stay, Ely said, hinting at his own plans to migrate permanently. His words reflect a troubling reality: as long as Europes policies remain porous, the crisis will only deepen. Elys story is a microcosm of Europes migration dilemma. His ability to profit from human smuggling, evade justice, and exploit weak deportation policies underscores the urgent need for reform. Sources for this article include: RMX.news RMX.news TheGuardian.com Time to protect the children: Calls for immediate action on mRNA vaccines Health freedom advocate James Roguski has urgently appealed to President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to halt the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for children, citing a "catastrophe" affecting the next generation. Roguski's letter is backed by data showing children face a negligible risk from COVID-19, yet thousands of adverse events, including deaths, have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Experts like Dr. Renata Moon and Sasha Latypova have highlighted the disproportionate risks versus benefits for children. The rapid deployment of mRNA vaccines under EUA, bypassing traditional safety protocols, has fueled skepticism and a crisis of trust in public health institutions. Roguski criticizes the CDC's claims of "safe and effective" vaccines as fraudulent. Roguski urges the public to contact President Trump and Secretary Kennedy through social media, using hashtags like #StopTheShots and #BanTheJab, to amplify the message and join the movement for accountability and transparency in public health. In a bold and urgent plea, health freedom advocate James Roguski has called on President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take decisive action to halt the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for children. In a letter dated March 2, 2025, Roguski outlines five critical steps to address what he describes as a "catastrophe" inflicted on the next generation of Americans. The letter, supported by a growing chorus of voices, including Sasha Latypova and Dr. Renata Moon, highlights the mounting evidence of harm caused by these vaccines, particularly in children. Roguskis call to action comes amid revelations that the FDA and CDC have continued to promote these vaccines under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), despite evidence of severe adverse effects and a lack of long-term safety data. The historical context: A crisis of trust The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an unprecedented era of emergency medical interventions, including the rapid development and deployment of mRNA vaccines. While these vaccines were initially hailed as a miracle of modern science, concerns about their safety and efficacy have grown over time. Historically, vaccines undergo rigorous testing and approval processes before being added to childhood immunization schedules. However, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were authorized under EUA, bypassing many of these safeguards. This has led to widespread skepticism and a crisis of trust in public health institutions. Roguskis letter underscores this point, stating: The CDC has been fraudulently claiming that these injections are safe and effective when, very clearly, that claim may NOT be made for covered countermeasures that have not been approved by the FDA but are merely administered under Emergency Use Authorization. The five actions: A roadmap to accountability Roguskis letter outlines five specific actions that Secretary Kennedy must take to address the ongoing harm: Terminate PREP Act liability protections: The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act grants immunity to manufacturers and administrators of COVID-19 vaccines. Roguski argues that this protection must end, as it shields corporations from accountability for vaccine-related injuries and deaths. Recall all COVID-19 EUA vaccines: Citing Title 42, Section 262 of the U.S. Code, Roguski calls for an immediate recall of all mRNA vaccines authorized under EUA, which he describes as imminent or substantial hazards to public health. Convene an independent investigation committee: Roguski demands a thorough investigation into the harms caused by these vaccines, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability. Revoke emergency use authorizations: The FDA must revoke EUAs for mRNA vaccines, particularly for children, given the lack of proven benefit and the documented risks. Remove COVID-19 vaccines from the childhood schedule: The CDCs recommendation that children as young as six months receive multiple doses of these vaccines is, according to Roguski, an absolute abomination that must be reversed. The Evidence: A growing body of harm Roguskis letter is supported by a wealth of data, including studies showing that children face a statistically zero risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. Despite this, thousands of adverse events, including deaths, have been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Dr. Renata Moon, a pediatrician and advocate for vaccine safety, testified before the Massachusetts Legislature, stating: Children and adolescents have faced risks that are vanishingly small. What is the rationale for giving an experimental vaccine to protect children from a disease that is often asymptomatic, is usually mild when there are symptoms, and for which death is less likely than many types of childhood accidents? Sasha Latypova, in her open letter to Secretary Kennedy, echoed these concerns, writing: Secretary Kennedy, are we supposed to think that it is now YOUR opinion that they are safe and effective products for babies? I do not believe that, knowing what you know about mRNA injections, you can honestly believe this yourself. A call to action: Protecting future generations The stakes could not be higher. As Roguski writes: PLEASE REALIZE THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE to Make America Healthy Again while mRNA technology is being injected into the next generation of Americans. The letter concludes with a heartfelt plea: Billions of people around the world are counting upon you to take the actions that are necessary to truly defend the health of all children. For those who wish to join this movement, Roguski encourages contacting President Trump and Secretary Kennedy directly via their social media platforms and sharing the message widely. Why this matters today The debate over mRNA vaccines is not just about scienceits about trust, transparency and the future of public health. As we reflect on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the rush to deploy experimental technologies without adequate oversight has come at a steep cost. The actions outlined in Roguskis letter represent a critical opportunity to restore accountability and prioritize the health and well-being of our children. As the saying goes, The truth will set you free. Its time to demand that truthand act on it. For more information, visit NotSafeAndNotEffective.com and join the movement to #StopTheShots and #BanTheJab. Sources include: Substack.com TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com Activist Mark Grenon and his sons imprisoned for advocating chlorine dioxide: A global health debate heats up Mark Grenon, an advocate for chlorine dioxide as a natural remedy, has been freed after years in prison, but two of his sons remain incarcerated for similar activism. Grenon, a former missionary and surgical assistant, discovered chlorine dioxide's potential while treating MRSA, leading to global advocacy and a network of practitioners. Despite positive results, the FDA and FTC cracked down on chlorine dioxide advocates, leading to the arrest and harsh sentences of the Grenon family for promoting its use. Recent studies and AI-generated data support chlorine dioxide's effectiveness against pathogens, reigniting debates on alternative health practices and free speech in medicine. Grenon seeks public support and letters to U.S. officials to help secure his sons' release, highlighting the struggle for medical freedom and scientific validation. In a controversial turn of events, Mark Grenon, a longtime advocate for the use of chlorine dioxide as a natural remedy, has been freed after years of incarceration. However, two of his sons remain in prison, facing charges for advocating the same molecule. Grenon and his supporters argue that chlorine dioxide, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, has been unfairly suppressed by governmental agencies. The case highlights a broader debate about alternative health practices and the right to free speech in the medical community. Grenon's activism has gained renewed attention, particularly after recent studies and AI-generated data confirmed the molecule's effectiveness against various pathogens. From Missionary to Activist Mark Grenon, a former missionary who has spent 47 years in service, found himself entangled in a global health controversy after discovering the potential of chlorine dioxide. While working as a surgical assistant in developing nations, Grenon and his sons encountered MRSA, a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria that infected his entire family. Desperate for a solution, he discovered a book by Jim Humble, titled "The Miracle Mineral Supplement of the 21st Century," which detailed the use of chlorine dioxide to treat a wide range of illnesses, including malaria, AIDS, and cancer. Grenon, initially skeptical, tried the remedy on himself and his family. To his astonishment, the MRSA infections began to clear within weeks. Emboldened by these results, he started using chlorine dioxide in his medical work, particularly in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it showed remarkable effectiveness in treating various ailments. This led to the establishment of a global network of practitioners and advocates, including Grenons three oldest sons, who began promoting the use of chlorine dioxide in other parts of the world. The Crackdown and Incarceration Despite the positive outcomes, the Grenon family's advocacy for chlorine dioxide did not go unnoticed by authorities. The FDA and FTC, backed by influential figures like Dr. Fauci, issued cease-and-desist orders to over 700 individuals and organizations advocating the use of chlorine dioxide. When the Grenons refused to comply, they faced severe legal repercussions. In July 2020, Mark Grenon and his son Joe were arrested in Colombia, where they were conducting seminars on the use of chlorine dioxide. They were extradited to the United States and charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The trial was marked by numerous irregularities, including a lack of a speedy trial and the absence of any victims harmed by their advocacy. Despite these issues, Grenon was found guilty and sentenced to 60 months in prison. His sons, however, received harsher sentences, including additional time for contempt of court, bringing their total sentences to 151 months. A Call for Justice and Scientific Validation Grenon's case has reignited debates about the suppression of alternative health practices and the right to free speech within the medical community. Advocates point to recent studies and AI-generated data that confirm chlorine dioxide's effectiveness against various pathogens. For instance, AI engines have highlighted the molecule's ability to disrupt protein synthesis and cell membranes, making it a potent antimicrobial agent. Moreover, chlorine dioxide is already used in various applications, such as in mouthwashes and water purification systems, further bolstering its safety and efficacy when used responsibly. Despite this, the Grenon family continues to face significant legal challenges, with two of Mark's sons still incarcerated. A Plea for Support and Pardons Mark Grenon is now calling for public support to secure the release of his sons. He has set up a donation website, give.send.go.com/g9aT, to fund his legal team's efforts to challenge the injustices they have faced. Additionally, he is urging supporters to write letters to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the new pardon czar, Alice Johnson, to request the commutation of his sons' sentences. As the debate over chlorine dioxide and alternative health practices continues to heat up, the Grenon family's story serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for medical freedom and the importance of advocating for scientific truth in the face of governmental overreach. Watch this full episode of the "Health Ranger Report" with Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, and Mark Grenon as he shares his experience with chlorine dioxide, challenges and persecution. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Heres what you need to know about chlorine dioxide (ClO2), the universal antidote Cancer Decoded on BrightU: How chlorine dioxide is revolutionizing cancer treatments Defending The Truth: Chlorine dioxide solution an important tool to fight new pandemic and vaccine damage Brighteon.TV Sources include: Brighteon.com Gumroad.com DOGE exposes USAIDs $60 billion boondoggle: Trump and Musk take axe to bloated bureaucracy DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has revealed USAID as a hub of waste, corruption and mismanagement, with a $60 billion global spending spree that has largely benefited Democrat-aligned contractors and foreign entities rather than advancing American interests. The dismantling of USAID, a congressionally authorized agency with 10,000 employees, is nearing completion. Over 90% of its global contracts have been terminated, and employees at its Washington, D.C., headquarters were given just 15 minutes to vacate under federal supervision. President Donald Trump's near-complete freeze on foreign aid and reduction of USAID's workforce to 290 employees, executed by Elon Musk, is seen as a necessary step to curb government excess and increase accountability, despite resistance from Democrats and federal workers. The USAID scandal has exposed hypocrisy within the left, with accusations of projection and corruption. The dismantling is part of a broader effort to restore accountability and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, reflecting the Trump administration's commitment to reforming federal agencies. In a stunning revelation that has sent shockwaves through Washington, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, has exposed what many conservatives have long suspected: the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a cesspool of waste, corruption and mismanagement. With the Trump administrations aggressive push to dismantle the agency, the curtain has been pulled back on a $60 billion global spending spree that has done little to advance American interestsand much to line the pockets of Democrat-aligned contractors and foreign entities. The dismantling of USAID, a congressionally authorized agency with a workforce of 10,000, is now in its final stages. Mass mailings have terminated over 90% of its humanitarian and development contracts worldwide, while employees at its Washington, D.C., headquarters were given just 15 minutes to clear their desks under the watchful eyes of federal officers. For many, the scene was heart-wrenching: long-time employees, some in tears, carted away personal belongings as supporters outside waved signs and shouted encouragement. But for fiscal conservatives, it was a long-overdue reckoning. A legacy of waste and mismanagement USAID, established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, was intended to promote American values and interests abroad through humanitarian aid and development programs. But over the decades, it has morphed into a bloated bureaucracy that critics argue has strayed far from its original mission. According to DOGEs findings, USAID has become a vehicle for funneling taxpayer dollars to projects that align more with progressive agendas than with American interests. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) minced no words in his assessment: "USAID is a corrupt governmental organization run by unelected bureaucrats created to shovel taxpayer dollars to Democrats' pet projects overseas." He pointed to the agencys 37 trillion national debt and 1.8 trillion annual deficit as evidence that the U.S. can no longer afford to fund programs that often benefit countries hostile to American values. The numbers are staggering. Under the Biden administration, USAID allocated 1.5 million to promote "diversity, equity and inclusion" in Serbias workplaces and 2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. Another $6 million was spent on tourism in Egypt, while hundreds of thousands of meals were sent to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria. These revelations have fueled outrage among conservatives, who argue that USAID has become a slush fund for progressive causes rather than a tool for advancing American interests. Trump and Musk: A dynamic duo for fiscal responsibility President Trumps decision to impose a near-complete freeze on foreign aid and slash USAIDs workforce to just 290 employees has been met with fierce resistance from Democrats and federal workers. But for fiscal conservatives, its a necessary step toward reining in government excess. Elon Musk, tasked with executing Trumps cost-cutting agenda through DOGE, has been equally unapologetic. "The corrupt politicians protesting outside the USAID building are the ones getting money from USAID," Musk tweeted. "Thats why theyre therethey want your stolen tax dollars!" Musks request for job justificationa reasonable demand in any private-sector organizationhas exposed the inefficiencies and redundancies within USAID. For too long, federal agencies have operated with little accountability, shielded by the bureaucratic inertia of Washington. But as Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) noted, "There's a lot of the spending that goes on through USAID that does not appear to be consistent with U.S. policy." The time for a reckoning is long overdue. The Lefts hypocrisy exposed Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech investor and founder of Founders Fund, has argued that the lefts response to the USAID scandal reveals a fundamental truth: the left routinely employs projection to avoid scrutiny and smear its right-wing opponents. "So much of what has emerged from USAID, as well as the actions of the central left establishment, is doing the exact opposite of what they accused the other side of doing," Thiel told Dave Rubin during a recent interview. Thiels comments underscore the broader ideological battle at play. While the left accuses Trump and Musk of authoritarianism, it is the lefts own institutions that have been exposed as corrupt and wasteful. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), chair of the Houses Government Efficiency Subcommittee, has even suggested that USAID funding may have made its way back to Democrat campaigns. "Maybe we should consider investigating whether USAID funding has affected elections," Greene said during a recent hearing. "The real questions the American people deserve to know answers to, are these." A necessary reckoning The dismantling of USAID is not just about cutting costs; its about restoring accountability and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. For too long, federal agencies have operated with impunity, shielded by the bureaucratic inertia of Washington. But as the national debt balloons and the deficit grows, the American people can no longer afford to fund programs that do little to advance their interests. The Trump administrations efforts to downsize the federal government are not without controversy. Federal workers, many of whom have dedicated their careers to public service, will naturally resist being labeled as part of the problem. But as Musks request for job justification makes clear, the days of unchecked spending and unaccountable bureaucrats are over. The left will continue to cry foul, accusing Trump and Musk of dismantling institutions that promote democracy and humanitarianism abroad. But as the DOGE report makes clear, USAID has become a symbol of everything that is wrong with Washington: bloated, corrupt and out of touch with the American people. The time for reform is nowand the Trump administration is leading the charge. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com APNews.com Yahoo.com Politico.com CounterPunch.org TRILLIONS of dollars in FREE MONEY handed out by Democrats attracts ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from around the world to USA like one HUGE MAGNET Elon Musk is exposing what he claims is widespread fraud involving government entitlement programs such as Social Security, disability, and Medicaid, which he argues are being exploited by illegal immigrants to enter and remain in the United States. Musk asserts that the Democratic Party is using this alleged fraud as a strategy to increase their voter base, particularly in swing states, by attracting illegal immigrants who predominantly vote Democratic due to the benefits they receive. Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have reportedly uncovered evidence that includes millions of dead individuals fraudulently voting in elections, which he claims has significantly impacted election outcomes, such as helping Kamala Harris secure votes in key states. The Democrat embezzle machine is fired up to destroy Elon Musk for investigating all of their fraud. Some of the major hubs for embezzling billions and handing out money to illegal immigrants includes social security, disability, and Medicaid. These entitlements attract illegal aliens from around the globe like a gigantic magnetic force, pulling them here and keeping them here because theres nothing like it anywhere else. Elon Musk is blowing the whistle like no one has ever done before, shining a light on the fraud as a big picture, so everyone can see the forest for the trees. He says that basically, If you pay people at a standard of living that is above 90% of Earth, then you have a very powerful incentive for 90% of Earth to come here and stay here. But if you end the illegal alien fraud, then you turn off that magnet, and they leave. And they stop coming, and the ones that are here, many of them will simply leave. And if that happens, they will lose a massive number of Democratic voters. The main goal of the Democrats giving entitlements to illegals is to turn every swing state into a Deep Blue state, and the nation into a one-party system In New York state, illegal aliens can already vote in state, city and federal elections, because you dont need an ID to vote. At least 90 percent of them will vote Democrat because they want all the free stuff, including cash, lodging, medical coverage, food stamps, voting rights, and squatter rights. Plus, they dont have to get any kind of insurance for driving vehicles because all the Soros-funded DAs will let them off the hook if they wreck a vehicle or commit any crimes. If any person accuses an illegal alien of a crime that person is deemed a racist and xenophobe by all Democrats and Liberals, even if the illegal immigrant rapes, kidnaps, or kills someone. There are more than half-a-million illegal aliens registered to vote in New York already, Musk says. Elon Musk revealed bombshell findings by the DOGE that Democrats are using entitlement fraud to flood U.S. with Democrat voters If you end the illegal alien fraud, then you turn off that magnet, and they leave. And they stop coming, and the ones that are here, many of them will simply leave. And if that happens, they will lose a massive number of Democratic voters, says Elon. Entitlements fraud for illegal aliens, is what is serving as a gigantic magnetic force to pull people in from all around the world and keep them here. Illegal aliens voted in the elections this past November, making it seem like Kamala Harris had a chance, and helping her secure certain counties in Washington, Vermont, Maryland, DC, California, and more because proof of citizenship is either not required or was circumvented by shady practices. Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency also recently revealed that DOGE discovered millions of (dead) people between the ages of 120 and 220 in the Social Security database who rose from their graves and voted for Harris. Amazing. Tune your apocalypse dial to preparedness.news for updates on real news about surviving the Democrat wasteland and propaganda that taxpayers footed the bill for to the tune of $5 trillion or more. Sources for this article include: Censored.news NaturalNews.com TheGatewayPundit.com German city of Mannheim rocked by deadly vehicle rampage A 40-year-old German man drove a black SUV into a crowd in Mannheim, killing at least two and injuring 25 others on Monday morning. The suspect attempted to shoot himself with a blank-firing pistol during arrest and official sources are tying the act to right-wing extremism. This marks the second deadly attack in Mannheim in a year, following a fatal stabbing rampage by an Afghan migrant in 2024. The incident echoes a disturbing trend of vehicle attacks in Germany, raising urgent questions about public safety and extremist threats. In a chilling echo of past atrocities, the German city of Mannheim was plunged into chaos on Monday morning as a black SUV barreled into a crowd of pedestrians, leaving at least two dead and dozens injured. The driver, a 40-year-old German citizen, was arrested after attempting to shoot himself with a blank-firing pistol. The attack, described by eyewitnesses as a rampage, has reignited fears about the growing threat of extremist violence in Germany, a nation still grappling with the scars of recent tragedies. The incident unfolded in the heart of Mannheim, a bustling city on the Rhine River in Baden-Wurttemberg. Emergency services rushed to the scene, where debris littered the ground and at least one victim lay lifeless under a bloodied sheet. A helicopter landed nearby as police cordoned off the area, urging the public to stay away. By midday, the death toll had risen to two, with 25 others injured, some critically. A history of violence in Mannheim This is not the first time Mannheim has been the site of such horror. Just last year, an Afghan migrant went on a stabbing rampage at a political event hosted by the anti-mass migration AfD party. In that attack, a police officer tragically misjudged the situation, arresting a German victim instead of the perpetrator. The officer was fatally stabbed in the neck, a grim reminder of the chaos that can unfold in moments of crisis. The latest attack adds to a disturbing pattern of vehicle rampages in Germany, a tactic that has become alarmingly common in recent years. In December, a Saudi Arabian man plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five, including a child. Weeks later, an Afghan migrant drove into a crowd in Munich, claiming two more lives, one of them a young child. These attacks have shattered the illusion that extremism is confined to the fringes of society, as perpetrators increasingly include individuals who appeared to be integrated into German life. According to Die Welt, the suspect in Mondays attack is a 40-year-old German man who had previously come to the attention of authorities for his involvement in right-wing extremism. While it remains unclear whether he acted alone or was influenced by others, his attempt to take his own life during the arrest suggests a calculated act of desperation. The use of a blank-firing pistol, a weapon designed to mimic real firearms, adds another layer of complexity to the investigation. The vehicle used in the attack, a black Ford SUV, was reportedly registered to the suspect, further linking him to the crime. However, police have yet to confirm whether he was the sole perpetrator or if others were involved. The lack of a clear motive has left the public searching for answers, even as the specter of political extremism looms large. A nation on edge Germanys recent history is marred by a series of violent attacks, many of which have been carried out by individuals with extremist ideologies. The rise of both right-wing and Islamist extremism has created a volatile environment, with authorities struggling to keep pace. As freedom are lost across Europe, there will inevitably be more violence. The Mannheim attack underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of such violence and terrorism, whether they stem from political ideologies, social alienation, or mental health crises. For the residents of Mannheim, the attack is a painful reminder of their vulnerability as civil society crumbles. The city, known for its vibrant culture and historic landmarks, has now become a symbol of the broader challenges facing Germany. As the nation mourns the lives lost, questions about security, immigration, and extremism will undoubtedly dominate the public discourse. Sources include: Breitbart.com Rheinpfalz.de Welt.de Hungarian PM Viktor Orban bans LGBTQ+ Pride parades in Budapest Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has banned LGBTQ+ Pride parades in Budapest, claiming they are detrimental to children's development. Orban stated that Pride events should not have taken place in Hungary, citing a shift in global attitudes and the traditional concept of two genders. The Hungarian government plans to amend the constitution to define gender as "biologically male or female" and prioritize a child's right to healthy development over other considerations. Hungary has previously implemented laws prohibiting same-sex adoption and the dissemination of LGBTQ+ content to individuals under 18, facing criticism from the European Commission for infringing on human rights. The proposed constitutional amendment aims to clarify the "collision between the right to assembly and children's right to healthy development," signaling the government's firm stance against Pride parades. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced that LGBTQ+ Pride parades will no longer be permitted in the streets of Budapest. During an interview with local radio station Radio Kossuth on Feb. 28, Orban, a long-time advocate of Christian-conservative policies, claimed that the support for Pride parades in Hungary was previously driven by the involvement of former U.S. Ambassador David Pressman. However, he argued that this event should not take place in the streets of Budapest as it is detrimental to children. "But now there has been a change in the world," Orban noted. "So, this kind of thing is no more. It's over now," Orban added, stating that it "shouldn't have been necessary before either." (Related: LGBT activists attack Italian pro-life groups headquarters for second time in 10 days.) Orban also cited that such events go against the "opportunity for our childrens healthy, balanced development as desired by their parents," as most people in Hungary still believe in the traditional concept of two genders. In line with this, Orban also suggested during a state address on Feb. 22 that Pride organizers in Hungary "should not bother preparing" for the event, which was initially set for June, arguing that it would be "a waste of time and money." Hungary to amend constitution defining gender as "biologically male or female" Aside from the radio interview, Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff for Orban, announced plans to amend the country's constitution to define gender as "biologically male or female" and to enshrine in law "that a child's right to physical, mental and moral development takes precedence over all other considerations." In 2020, Budapest effectively prohibited same-sex adoption, with Orban's office stating that the measure bolstered "the protection of Hungarian families and the safety of our children." A year later, Hungary implemented a law prohibiting the dissemination of content related to gender transition or homosexuality to individuals under 18. The European Commission criticized the law, asserting that it contravened "multiple EU regulations" and infringed upon "human dignity, freedom of expression and the right to information." In 2022, the European Commission referred Hungary to the EU's Court of Justice over this ban, arguing that it discriminates against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. However, Hungary stands firm with its stance when it recently proposed a constitutional amendment that would emphasize that a child's right to physical, mental and moral development takes precedence over all other rights, except the right to life. This change, according to Gulyas, is designed to clarify the "collision between the right to assembly and children's right to healthy development." "The collision between the right to assembly and children's right to healthy development needs to be clarified," he said, adding that "those with sharp ears" could hear that the constitutional amendment was related to Pride. "The country does not have to tolerate Pride marching through downtown Budapest." Read more stories like this at Transhumanism.news. Watch this video of LGBT activists holding a parade in Turkey. This video is from the HaloRock channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: LGBT RAGE: Georgia school shooter Colt Gray was "bullied for being gay," father told detectives. LGBTQ Pride activists in the U.K. arrested for child sex crimes. LGBTQ-themed books top list of most challenged library books of 2023. LGBT CRIMES: America's largest teachers' union tells educators to DESTROY ALL EVIDENCE of student gender identity surveys. LGBT "queer surgeon" in Oregon using high-tech genital surgery ROBOTS to crank out "high volume" of child sex changes. Sources include: RT.com CNN.com MSN.com Brighteon.com Big Pharmas sneaky play: mRNA vaccines in your chicken dinner? The USDA announced a $1 billion initiative to combat bird flu, aiming to reduce egg prices and protect poultry flocks. The plan includes $100 million for vaccine research, biosecurity measures and financial aid for farmers, but critics argue it prioritizes pharmaceutical profits over sustainable solutions. The USDAs reliance on mass culling killing entire flocks to prevent disease spreadhas proven ineffective, with 166 million hens culled since 2022. This practice has driven egg prices to a 45-year high and failed to stop bird flu outbreaks, with 20% of government payouts going to repeatedly infected farms. Experts like epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher and farmer John Klar advocate for allowing birds to develop natural flock immunity, which they argue would be more effective and sustainable than culling or vaccination. Studies, including a March 2024 European Food Safety Authority report, support this approach. The USDAs plan includes mRNA vaccines for poultry, raising fears about introducing experimental pharmaceutical technology into the food supply. Critics, including Klar and cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough, warn of potential long-term health effects and the normalization of mRNA vaccines in agriculture. Some experts suggest the current bird flu strain may stem from gain-of-function research, with Dr. McCullough citing USDA studies in mallard ducks. Critics call for a global moratorium on such research and investigations into lab leaks, arguing the USDAs plan ignores its potential role in the crisis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently unveiled a $1 billion plan to combat bird flu, promising to lower egg prices and protect poultry flocks. But beneath the surface of this seemingly noble initiative lies a troubling agenda: the potential introduction of mRNA vaccines into our food supply. Critics, including farmers and scientists, warn that this plan could perpetuate harmful practices like mass culling and pave the way for risky pharmaceutical interventions in agriculture. The USDAs plan: A wolf in sheeps clothing? USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a five-pronged strategy that includes $100 million for vaccine research, biosecurity measures and financial relief for farmers. While the plan claims to address the economic fallout of bird flu, critics argue it prioritizes Big Pharma profits over sustainable, natural solutions. Rollins, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, blamed the 237% increase in egg prices over the past four years on bird flu outbreaks. However, epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher of the McCullough Foundation countered, The single most effective action to reduce egg prices in the long-term is to stop the practice of mass depopulation, which has led to a costly and ineffective cycle that not only wastes taxpayer dollars but also worsens the spread of H5N1. Mass culling, where entire flocks are killed to prevent the spread of disease, has been a cornerstone of the USDAs approach. Yet, this method has proven disastrous. Since 2022, 166 million laying hens have been culled, driving egg prices to a 45-year high. Worse, culling has failed to stop the spread of bird flu, with 20% of government payouts going to farms infected multiple times. Natural immunity: The forgotten solution Instead of culling or vaccinating, some experts advocate for allowing birds to develop natural flock immunity. Vermont farmer and attorney John Klar said, Better policy would be to let the birds develop flock immunity, which would be better for humans as well. Cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough echoed this sentiment, stating, A healthy bird flock allowed to acquire natural immunity to the mild current H5N1 strain will essentially end the current outbreak. Studies support this approach. A March 2024 report by the European Food Safety Authority noted a significant drop in bird flu detections, attributing it to some level of flock immunity in previously affected wild bird species. Yet, the USDAs plan doubles down on pharmaceutical interventions, including mRNA vaccines. The agency recently granted a conditional license to Zoetis for a bird flu vaccine, and Moderna is developing its own. Critics fear this is a backdoor for mRNA technology to enter the food supply, raising concerns about long-term health effects. mRNA vaccines in food: A slippery slope The push to vaccinate poultry is not just about protecting birdsits about normalizing mRNA technology in our food chain. Klar expressed strong opposition, stating, I strongly object to the use of mRNA vaccines in birds or other wildlife. I am far more concerned about adverse health effects from experimental pharmaceuticals than I am about natural microbes. The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has endorsed vaccination as a necessary measure, but even they admit vaccines dont stop infectionthey only reduce severe disease. And since this illness is not severe, this approach raises questions about the efficacy and safety of such interventions. Moreover, many countries refuse to accept vaccinated poultry, potentially crippling U.S. exports. A history of gain-of-function and lab leaks Adding to the controversy, some experts suggest the current bird flu strain may be a product of gain-of-function research. Dr. McCullough cited a study indicating the H5N1 clade circulating globally originated from USDA research in mallard ducks. Gain-of-function experiments, which enhance the transmissibility or virulence of pathogens, have long been criticized for their potential to spark pandemics. The McCullough Foundations research calls for a global moratorium on gain-of-function studies and investigations into lab leaks. The USDAs plan ignores the possibility that their own research may have contributed to this crisis, McCullough said. Whats at stake: Health freedom and food safety The USDAs $1 billion plan is more than a response to bird fluits a test case for pharmaceutical interventions in agriculture. By prioritizing vaccines and culling over natural immunity, the agency risks entrenching harmful practices and exposing consumers to untested technologies. As Klar warned, I am far more concerned about adverse health effects from experimental pharmaceuticals than I am about natural microbes. For health freedom advocates, the stakes couldnt be higher. If mRNA vaccines enter the food supply, it could set a dangerous precedent for the pharmaceutical industrys influence over what people eat. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org USDA.gov CNN.com Elon Musks DC corruption bombshell: A warning that could cost him his life Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur and critic of government overreach, has expressed concerns for his life, suggesting that his efforts to expose corruption in Washington, D.C. could lead to his assassination. During an interview on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Musk hinted at the dark side of political power, implying that the so-called Deep State will go to great lengths to protect its secrets, reigniting debates about corruption in the nation's capital. Musk criticized NGOs, suggesting that they are used for financial manipulation and money laundering under the guise of charitable work. Musk attributed the relentless attacks from left-leaning media and political figures to his stance against entitlements fraud, particularly benefits for illegal immigrants, which he believes incentivizes illegal immigration and drains resources. Musk's warnings highlight the growing hostility towards dissent, with incidents like the Butler rally raising concerns about the safety of those who challenge the establishment. His revelations serve as a call to action for transparency, accountability and justice, urging Americans to take a stand against corruption. Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and outspoken critic of government overreach, has once again stirred the potthis time with a chilling warning that his life may be in danger for exposing corruption in Washington, D.C. During a recent appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Musk hinted at the dark underbelly of political power, suggesting that his efforts to uncover the truth could lead to his assassination. The interview, which has since gone viral, has reignited debates about the extent of corruption in the nations capital and the lengths to which the so-called Deep State will go to protect its secrets. Musks revelations are not just a wake-up callthey are a damning indictment of a system that thrives on opacity and unchecked power. Musk: "This is really gonna get me assassinated" Musks most shocking statement came during a discussion about how politicians and elites amass wealth beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. When Rogan pressed him on the methods used by those in power, Musk hesitated before delivering a grim warning: "I mean, this is really gonna get me assassinated. Its like, Im not lengthening my lifespan by explaining this stuff, to say the least. I mean, I was supposed to go back to D.C. How am I going to survive? This is f%$king going to kill me for sure." Musks fear is not unfounded. History is littered with examples of whistleblowers and truth-tellers who faced dire consequences for exposing corruption. From the mysterious deaths of journalists investigating political scandals to the silencing of dissenting voices, the pattern is clear: those who threaten the status quo often pay a heavy price. Musks comments suggest that the corruption in D.C. goes far beyond the well-documented insider trading scandals. He hinted at a web of financial manipulation, illicit wealth accumulation and systemic exploitation that benefits the elite at the expense of the American people. NGOs: A "money printing hack" for the elite Musk didnt stop at political corruption. He also took aim at non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which he described as a "money printing hack" for the wealthy and powerful. According to Musk, many NGOs operate as financial loopholes, allowing elites to move and launder money under the guise of charitable or humanitarian work. This revelation is particularly damning in light of the billions of dollars funneled through NGOs annually. While many of these organizations claim to champion noble causes, Musks comments suggest that a significant portion of their funding may be lining the pockets of the very people they claim to oppose. The Lefts war on Musk: A fight over entitlements fraud? Musk also addressed the relentless attacks he has faced from left-leaning media and political figures. He argued that his stance against entitlements fraudparticularly benefits for illegal immigrantshas made him a target. "At the heart of the questionwhy is the Democrat propaganda machine so fired up to destroy me? Thats the main reason," Musk said. He went on to explain how entitlements fraud serves as a "gigantic magnetic force" drawing illegal immigrants to the U.S.: "If you pay people at a standard of living that is above 90% of Earth, then you have a very powerful incentive for 90% of Earth to come here and to stay here. But if you end the illegal alien fraud, then you turn off that magnet, and they leave. And they stop coming, and the ones that are here, many of them will simply leave." Musks comments highlight a growing divide between those who benefit from the current system and those who seek to reform it. His willingness to challenge the status quo has made him a lightning rod for criticismand, as he fears, a potential target for those who stand to lose the most from his revelations. A pattern of silencing dissent Musks warnings come at a time when dissent is increasingly met with hostility. From the censorship of conservative voices on social media to the targeting of political opponents, the message is clear: those who dare to speak out against corruption risk everything. The Butler rally incident late last year, in which an apparent assassination attempt took place, further underscores the dangers of challenging the establishment. Musk and Rogan pointed out that CNN was the only network to livestream the event, raising questions about whether the network had prior knowledge of the attack. While CNN has denied any involvement, the incident has fueled speculation about the lengths to which the powerful will go to protect their interests. A call to action Elon Musks revelations are a stark reminder of the corruption that plagues our government and the dangers of speaking truth to power. His warnings should serve as a rallying cry for all Americans who value transparency, accountability and justice. If Musks fears are realized, it will be a tragic lossnot just for him, but for the millions of Americans who rely on voices like his to expose the truth. But if his courage inspires others to take up the mantle, it could mark the beginning of a new era of accountability in Washington. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com JFeed.com LegalInsurrection.com The mighty olive: A timeless superfood for health and wellness The olive (Olea europaea) is a small, nutrient-rich fruit with a long history as a symbol of peace, wisdom and vitality. It is a cornerstone of Mediterranean cuisine and is celebrated for its flavor, nutritional benefits and health-supporting properties. Olives are oval-shaped fruits that grow on long-lived olive trees, with colors ranging from green (unripe) to black (ripe). They have a firm yet tender texture and a naturally bitter taste due to oleuropein, which is reduced through curing or brining. Olive cultivation dates back over 6,000 years, originating in the Levant region (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Syria). Ancient Greeks and Romans spread olive cultivation across the Mediterranean, where it became a symbol of prosperity and health. Olives are rich in phytonutrients like hydroxytyrosol, oleic acid, oleuropein and quercetin, which offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular benefits. Health benefits include reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, inflammation, oxidative stress, cognitive decline, diabetes and improved digestive health. Olives are a staple in Mediterranean cuisine and can be used in a variety of dishes, such as tapenade, Greek salad and pasta puttanesca. Their versatility and rich flavor make them a popular ingredient in both traditional and modern recipes. The olive, scientifically known as Olea europaea, is a small but mighty fruit that has been revered for centuries as a symbol of peace, wisdom and vitality. Commonly referred to as the European olive, this ancient superfood is celebrated not only for its rich flavor but also for its impressive nutritional profile and health benefits. From its vibrant hues to its storied history, the olive is a cornerstone of Mediterranean cuisine and a powerhouse of wellness. The olive: A closer look Olives are small, oval-shaped fruits that grow on olive trees and can live for hundreds of years. They come in a variety of colors, ranging from deep green to rich purple and black, depending on their ripeness. Green olives are harvested before they fully ripen, while black olives are left to mature on the tree. The texture of olives is firm yet tender, with a smooth, glossy skin. The taste of olives is complex and varies depending on their preparation. Fresh olives are naturally bitter due to a compound called oleuropein, which is why they are typically cured or brined before consumption. The taste of cured olives can range from tangy and salty to buttery and mild, making them a versatile ingredient in countless dishes. Historical and cultural significance The olive tree is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, with its origins tracing back to the Mediterranean region over 6,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that olives were first domesticated in the Levant, an area that includes modern-day Israel, Palestine and Syria. The ancient Greeks and Romans later spread olive cultivation throughout the Mediterranean, where it became a symbol of prosperity and health. (Related: Calabash nutmeg: A hidden gem of African superfoods.) Today, olives are grown in regions with Mediterranean climates, including Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and California. Spain is the largest producer of olives globally, contributing to the vast array of olive varieties available worldwide. Nutritional composition and phytonutrients Olives are packed with phytonutrients, which are bioactive compounds that can support health and protect against disease. Some of the key phytonutrients found in olives include: Hydroxytyrosol A phenolic compound known for its cardiovascular benefits. A phenolic compound known for its cardiovascular benefits. Oleic acid A monounsaturated fatty acid that supports heart health. A monounsaturated fatty acid that supports heart health. Oleuropein A potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. A potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Quercetin A flavonoid with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects. A flavonoid with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects. Vitamin E A fat-soluble antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative damage. These phytonutrients work synergistically to enhance olives health-supporting properties, making it a true superfood. Health benefits and potential therapeutic uses The consumption of olives and olive oil has been linked to numerous health benefits, thanks to their rich nutrient content. Below are some of the symptoms and conditions olives can help prevent or reverse: Cardiovascular disease The monounsaturated fats and antioxidants in olives can help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. The monounsaturated fats and antioxidants in olives can help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. Inflammation Compounds like oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol have potent anti-inflammatory effects, which may alleviate conditions like arthritis. Compounds like oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol have potent anti-inflammatory effects, which may alleviate conditions like arthritis. Oxidative stress The antioxidants in olives can neutralize free radicals, protecting cells from damage and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cancer. The antioxidants in olives can neutralize free radicals, protecting cells from damage and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cancer. Cognitive decline The healthy fats and polyphenols in olives can support brain health and may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers. The healthy fats and polyphenols in olives can support brain health and may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers. Diabetes Olives have a low glycemic index and can help regulate blood sugar levels, making them a beneficial food for individuals with diabetes. Olives have a low glycemic index and can help regulate blood sugar levels, making them a beneficial food for individuals with diabetes. Digestive health The fiber in olives promotes healthy digestion and may reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disorders. Culinary applications and recipe ideas Olives are a staple in Mediterranean cuisine and can be incorporated into a wide range of dishes. Their versatility makes them a favorite among chefs and home cooks alike. Below are some recipe ideas that feature olives: Mediterranean olive tapenade A savory spread made with olives, capers, garlic and olive oil. A savory spread made with olives, capers, garlic and olive oil. Greek salad A refreshing mix of olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and red onions. A refreshing mix of olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and red onions. Olive and herb focaccia A flavorful bread topped with olives, rosemary and sea salt. A flavorful bread topped with olives, rosemary and sea salt. Chicken Marbella A classic dish featuring chicken baked with olives, prunes and capers. A classic dish featuring chicken baked with olives, prunes and capers. Pasta puttanesca A tangy pasta sauce made with olives, tomatoes, anchovies and garlic. Olives are more than just a flavorful fruit; they are a nutritional powerhouse with a rich history and a myriad of health benefits. From their vibrant colors and complex taste to their impressive array of phytonutrients, olives have earned their place as a superfood. This story is not medical advice and is not intended to treat or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified naturopathic physician for personalized advice about your specific health situation or concern. Visit Food.news to read more stories about other nutritious fruits and vegetables. Check out NaturalNews.com, an excellent resource for articles where you can explore the world of superfoods and discover their numerous health benefits. You can also try Brighteon.ai, an AI model created by Mike Adams, also known as the Health Ranger. This model is available as a free download to be run locally and is designed to help share and decentralize knowledge. By doing so, it aims to bypass censorship and empower people with knowledge. If you're searching for a platform that champions uncensored video content and free speech, particularly for discussions on nutrition, natural medicine, ingredients and related topics, visit Brighteon.com. This website offers a space for open dialogue and exploration of these subjects without restrictions. Brighteon.IO and Brighteon.social are two free speech social media sites that enable users to openly discuss health, nutrition, ingredients, toxicity and related topics without censorship. Watch the video below to learn more about Organic Strawberries, another superfood that supports your overall well-being. This video is from the Health Ranger Store channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Hidden gem of the tropics: Nance fruits incredible health benefits. Devils claw: A medicinal herb that can boost heart health. The star of wellness: Exploring the nutritional power of carambola (starfruit). Sources include: Brighteon.AI NaturalNews.com Brighteon.com Paris theater facing bankruptcy after left-wing managers invite migrants who refuse to leave The historic Gaite Lyrique theater in Paris faces bankruptcy after 446 homeless African migrants occupied the building following a refugee conference. The occupation has led to violence, drug use, arson and sexual violence, transforming the theater into a squalid encampment. The theater has canceled all events, lost significant revenue and employees have withdrawn due to safety concerns, leaving the building without essential services. Neighboring businesses report major financial losses, with the migrants presence deterring customers and causing disruptions. The City of Paris has delayed evacuation, citing welfare concerns, while activists defend the occupation as part of an anti-racist and anti-colonial struggle. The historic Gaite Lyrique theater, a cultural landmark in the heart of Paris, has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy and forced to close its doors after hundreds of homeless African migrants occupied the building following a Refugees Welcome in France conference in December. The left-wing management, which initially invited the migrants, now faces a dire situation as the occupation has spiraled into violence, drug use and arson, leaving the theaters future in jeopardy. The crisis began on December 10, when the theaters management, in a gesture of "solidarity", offered free tickets to a conference aimed at addressing Frances refugee crisis. Approximately 200 young men, mostly from Frances former West African colonies, attended the event. However, when the conference ended, the migrants refused to leave, and their numbers have since swelled to 446. The occupation has transformed the once-vibrant cultural hub into a squalid encampment. Makeshift beds now clutter the stage and auditorium, while drug use and dealing have become rampant. Sexual violence has also been reported, with management describing the situation as explosive and undignified. The situation in the theater is explosive, with untenable promiscuity, and the violence linked to this promiscuity is increasing in severity and frequency, the theaters management stated in a press release on February 26. The theater has been forced to cancel all events, resulting in significant revenue losses. Employees, citing safety concerns, have exercised their right to withdraw from work, leaving the building without essential services such as fire safety, security, and maintenance. The crisis has also taken a toll on neighboring businesses. Elia, the manager of a bistro next to the theater, reported 30,000 in lost revenue. Theyre ruining my business, she said. They hang around outside my terrace, smoking joints and fighting among themselves. Not only do we no longer get theatergoers because the theater is shut, but we dont get passers-by either. Theyre being frightened away by all these young men. Political stalemate The City of Paris, which owns the building, has been criticized for its handling of the situation. A judge ordered the evacuation of the building by mid-March, but the Socialist-led council has refused to involve the police, citing concerns over the migrants welfare. Meanwhile, the migrants, supported by far-left activists, have turned the occupation into a rallying cry for their anti-racist and anti-colonial struggle. The Collectif des Jeunes du Parc de Belleville, the activist group behind the occupation, has dismissed age verification tests for the migrants as racist and expeditive. Most of the migrants claim to be minors, but local officials insist they are adults who were previously sleeping on the streets. A cautionary tale The Gaite Lyriques management, once celebrated for its progressive ideals, now faces the consequences of its own policies. By opening its doors to the migrants without a clear plan, the theater has become a symbol of the unintended consequences of unchecked idealism. As the theater teeters on the edge of bankruptcy and the occupation shows no signs of ending, the Gaite Lyrique serves as a reminder of the complexities of immigration policy and the dangers of prioritizing ideology over practicality. For now, the theater remains closed, its future uncertain, and its once-proud legacy overshadowed by chaos and mismanagement. Sources for this article include: Expose-News.com DailyMail.co.uk Telegraph.co.uk Trudeau escalates trade war with U.S., imposes 25% tariffs on $155 billion in American goods Canada imposes 25% tariffs on $155 billion of U.S. goods in retaliation for Trumps tariffs on Canadian imports, citing fentanyl concerns and trade imbalances. Trudeau calls U.S. tariffs unjustified, warning they will harm both economies and disrupt a successful trading relationship. Canadas tariffs will roll out in two phases, targeting goods like coffee, wine, steel, and automobiles, with threats to cut electricity exports to U.S. states. Economic fallout begins as the S&P 500 drops 2% and Canadas central bank warns of long-term damage to growth and output. Trudeaus combative stance risks alienating the U.S., with both nations facing higher costs and economic losses from the escalating trade war. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that Canada will impose 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods, effective at midnight. The move comes in direct response to President Donald Trumps decision to slap 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, citing the need to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and address trade imbalances. Trudeau, however, called the U.S. tariffs unjustified and vowed to retaliate, warning that the measures will hurt both nations. The trade war, which could disrupt one of the worlds most successful trading relationships, stems from Trumps frustration with Canadas inaction on fentanyl trafficking. Vast amounts of fentanyl have poured into our country from Mexico, and as you know, also from China, where it goes to Mexico and goes to Canada, Trump said Monday. The president also emphasized his goal of reducing the U.S. trade deficit and bringing manufacturing jobs back to America. Trudeau, on the other hand, accused Trump of sabotaging North American prosperity. Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs, Trudeau warned. Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. Phased tariffs and threats to U.S. power supply Canadas retaliatory tariffs will be implemented in two phases. The first phase, effective immediately, targets $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, including coffee, orange juice, and wine. The second phase, set to roll out over 21 days, will impose tariffs on an additional $125 billion worth of American exports, such as automobiles, steel, and aluminum. Trudeau made it clear that the tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. withdraws its own measures. But the Canadian leader didnt stop there. In a bold move, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to cut off electricity exports to U.S. states reliant on Canadian power, including Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything, including cutting off their energywith a smile on my face, Ford said. While Trudeau has positioned himself as a defender of Canadian interests, his leadership has been lackluster on key issues, including trade and border security. Trumps tariffs were intended to pressure Canada into cracking down on fentanyl trafficking, but Trudeaus response has been to escalate tensions rather than address the root cause. The economic fallout from the trade war is already being felt. The S&P 500 index dropped 2% on Monday as investors braced for the impact of tariffs. Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, warned that the tariffs could lead to a structural change in the Canadian economy, wiping out growth and leaving output permanently lower. Trudeaus rhetoric has also drawn criticism. In a fiery statement, he called Trumps tariffs very dumb and accused the U.S. of appeasing Russia while targeting its closest ally. Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight, Trudeau said. Yet his combative stance risks alienating the U.S. at a time when cooperation is needed to address shared challenges, such as the fentanyl crisis and economic recovery. A costly standoff As the trade war intensifies, its clear that both nations stand to lose. American consumers will face higher prices for everyday goods, while Canadian industries reliant on U.S. trade could suffer significant losses. Trudeaus decision to retaliate rather than negotiate a solution underscores his failure to prioritize Canadas long-term interests. Although Trumps tactics may be controversial, his goal of addressing fentanyl trafficking and trade imbalances is not without merit. Trudeau, however, has chosen confrontation over collaboration, putting politics ahead of prosperity in a trade war that will leave scars on both sides of the border. Sources for this article include: NYPost.com FoxBusiness.com YourNews.com Trumps strategic pause on Ukraine aid sends shockwaves through European leadership President Trump announces a strategic pause on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, aiming to reassess aid effectiveness and encourage European countries to increase their support. European leaders, particularly in the UK, express concern over the pause, with Prime Minister Kierstamar promising aid despite doubts about the UKs capacity to deliver substantial support. The move underscores broader U.S. foreign policy goals to shift defense responsibilities to European allies, challenging them to address their military and financial limitations. Potential economic implications are severe, with the UK facing financial strain and the EU at risk of economic crisis if forced to fund the conflict without U.S. backing. This decision marks a new chapter in U.S.-EU relations, pushing for a more balanced approach to global security and potentially reshaping the geopolitical landscape in Europe. In a move that has sent ripples through European political circles, President Donald Trump has announced a strategic pause on U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The decision, which has caused panic and division among European leaders, is seen as a calculated play to force countries like the UK to take on more of the financial and military burden of supporting Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The Rationale Behind the Pause Trump's decision is rooted in a broader strategy to reshape U.S. foreign policy and redirect resources. According to sources close to the administration, the pause is not an abandonment of Ukraine but a strategic move to reassess the effectiveness and sustainability of the current aid strategy. The move is also part of a larger effort to challenge European allies to step up and take more responsibility for their own defense and regional security. European Reactions and Concerns The announcement has sparked significant concern in Europe, particularly in the UK, where Prime Minister Kierstamar has promised to send military aid and personnel to support Ukraine. The UK's commitment, however, is seen by many as more rhetoric than reality. Critics argue that the UK lacks the resources and political will to take on the financial and military burden that the U.S. has been shouldering. "It's clear that Europe wants war with Ukraine, but they don't have the means to fight it," said a source close to the Trump administration. "By pausing the aid, Trump is forcing European leaders to confront the reality of their commitments and the limitations of their military capabilities." Economic and Political Implications The potential economic implications of this move are significant, especially for the UK. If the UK is forced to cover the costs of supporting Ukraine, it could accelerate the country's financial strain, potentially leading to economic instability and even bankruptcy. This, in turn, could collapse the City of London's financial infrastructure, which has been a cornerstone of the British economy for centuries. The broader economic ramifications extend beyond the UK. The entire European Union, already grappling with economic challenges, could face a crisis if it is forced to fund a prolonged conflict in Ukraine without the backing of U.S. financial and military support. The Broader Context: U.S.-EU Tensions This move by Trump highlights the growing tensions between the U.S. and its European allies over the direction of the war in Ukraine and the long-term stability of the region. The U.S. has long been critical of what it perceives as Europe's reliance on American military and financial support, and this pause is seen as a way to break that dependency. "The U.S. has been funding this conflict for years, and it's time for Europe to step up and take responsibility," said a senior administration official. "If they can't, then they need to reconsider their stance on this war." A New Chapter in Transatlantic Relations The strategic pause on Ukraine aid marks a new chapter in transatlantic relations, one where the U.S. is seeking to redefine its role and push for a more balanced and sustainable approach to global security. European leaders, faced with the prospect of bearing the brunt of the conflict, are now grappling with the hard choices that come with such a shift in policy. As the world watches, the coming weeks and months will reveal whether this strategic pause will lead to a realignment of European defense policies and a more equitable sharing of the burden, or if it will result in a deeper crisis that could reshape the geopolitical landscape of Europe and beyond. Watch this March 04 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about Trump halting money for Ukraine as Europe moves to incite war with both the USA and Russia. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Expect a NATO false flag attack to drag America into a global world war If Europe wants world war III against Russia, let them be the ones to pay for it and fight it Tensions flare as Zelensky ejected from White House after heated exchange with Trump and Vance Experts warn Zelensky may have to resign after disastrous meeting with Trump Sources include: Brighteon.com Bloomberg.com America First or Globalism First? UN funding cuts expose the cost of global dependence on U.S. taxpayers The United Nations faces a financial crisis due to the U.S. decision to reduce its contributions, which historically accounted for 20% of the UNs budget ($18 billion annually). This aligns with the Trump Administration's "America First" policy, leaving the UN scrambling to address the funding gap. Critics argue that American taxpayers are funding UN programs that undermine U.S. sovereignty and values, such as mass migration initiatives and global social agendas. Examples include financial aid to migrants heading toward the U.S. and campaigns promoting policies at odds with American interests. The UNs reliance on U.S. contributions highlights the broader issue of globalisms unsustainability without American support. Other nations are also reducing their contributions, suggesting they rely on U.S. aid to fund their own commitments to global organizations. The funding cuts signal a shift away from the U.S. acting as the worlds financial backbone. Critics argue that the U.S. should prioritize direct support for humanitarian causes that align with American values, rather than funding the UNs expansive and often controversial initiatives. The crisis is seen as a reckoning for globalism, prompting calls for the UN to reassess its priorities and scale back its ambitions. The U.S. is no longer willing to subsidize programs that do not serve its interests, marking a shift toward reclaiming sovereignty and fiscal responsibility. The United Nations is in crisis, and its Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is sounding the alarm. But this isnt a crisis born of natural disaster or geopolitical conflictits a crisis of funding, and specifically, the result of the United States decision to cut its contributions to the globalist organization. For decades, the U.S. has been the financial backbone of the UN, contributing 20% of its annual budgetroughly $18 billionand indirectly funding countless programs through other nations that rely on American aid. Now, as the Trump Administration slashes funding in line with its "America First" policy, the UN and its allies are scrambling to fill the void. The question every American should be asking is: Why has the U.S. become the worlds piggy bank? And more importantly, why should American taxpayers continue to fund an organization that often works against their interests? The UNs dependency on U.S. dollars The UNs reliance on U.S. funding is staggering. As Guterres himself admitted, The generosity and compassion of the American people have not only saved lives, built peace, and improved the state of the world. They have contributed to the stability and prosperity that Americans depend on. But this statement glosses over a critical truth: the UN has grown dependent on American dollars to prop up its sprawling bureaucracy and controversial initiatives. The U.S. isnt just funding humanitarian aid or disaster reliefits bankrolling programs that undermine American sovereignty and values. From mass migration initiatives that exacerbate the crisis at the U.S. southern border to global campaigns promoting radical social agendas, the UN has consistently used American taxpayer dollars to advance goals that many Americans would oppose. For example, the UN has funneled millions into programs that provide financial assistanceincluding debit cards and cash vouchersto migrants heading north, many of whom end up crossing into the U.S. illegally. This is not just a misuse of funds; its a direct affront to American sovereignty and security. The real cost of globalism The UNs funding crisis reveals a deeper truth about globalism: it is unsustainable without American support. As Guterres noted, other nations are also cutting their contributions to the UN, coinciding with the U.S. reductions. This suggests that many countries rely on American aid to fund their own contributions to global organizations. In essence, the U.S. is paying twiceonce directly to the UN and again indirectly through its support of other nations. This system is not just unfair; its exploitative. American taxpayers have no say in how their money is spent by the UN, yet they are expected to foot the bill for programs that often run counter to their values. Whether its promoting transgender propaganda internationally, funding anti-gun rights lobbies, or pushing Agenda 2030s Net Zero carbon controls, the UNs priorities are increasingly out of step with the interests of the American people. As one commentator aptly put it, The U.S. taxpayer doesnt get to choose how their money is spent by globalist organizations. They talk endlessly of humanitarian food aid and HIV prevention, but they dont talk about bankrolling mass migrations from the third world or promoting radical social agendas. A reckoning for globalism The UNs funding crisis is a reckoning for globalism. For too long, the U.S. has been expected to shoulder the burden of funding global initiatives while receiving little in return. The Trump Administrations decision to cut funding is a long-overdue correction to this imbalance. Guterres has warned that these cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous. But this argument assumes that the U.S. has an obligation to fund globalisman assumption that is fundamentally flawed. The U.S. is not the worlds policeman, nor is it the worlds ATM. If the UN cannot function without American dollars, perhaps its time for the organization to reevaluate its priorities and scale back its ambitions. Moreover, the U.S. government has the ability to support specific humanitarian causes directly, without relying on the UN as a middleman. This approach would ensure that American taxpayer dollars are spent in ways that align with American values and interests. America First, not Globalism First The UNs funding crisis is a wake-up call for the United States. For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to subsidize an organization that often works against their interests. The Trump Administrations decision to cut funding is a step toward reclaiming American sovereignty and ensuring that U.S. dollars are spent in ways that benefit Americans, not globalist bureaucrats. As Guterres and his allies lament the loss of American funding, Americans should remember this: the U.S. is under no obligation to fund globalism or programs that are not in our best interest. The era of American taxpayers bankrolling the world is overand thats a good thing. The UNs crisis is not Americas problem. Its a problem of the UNs own making, and its time for the organization to adapt to a world where American generosity is no longer taken for granted. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com UN.org ColoradoGazette.com US releases $870 Million in military aid to Taiwan, escalating tensions with China The U.S. has quietly released $870 million in military aid to Taiwan, resuming funding paused during the Trump administration. China strongly opposes the move, calling it a violation of the one-China principle and a threat to regional stability. The aid marks a significant escalation in U.S. support for Taiwan, which began receiving U.S.-funded military assistance in 2023. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait continue to rise as both sides exchange warnings, with China vowing to defend its sovereignty. A history of U.S.-Taiwan military ties In a move that has reignited tensions between the U.S. and China, the Trump administration has released 870 million in military aid to Taiwan, part of a broader 5.3 billion package exempted from a previous foreign aid freeze. The decision, first reported by Reuters on February 21, 2025, has drawn sharp criticism from Beijing, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province and opposes any foreign military support for the island. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian condemned the move during a press conference on February 26, stating, China has all along opposed U.S. military assistance to Chinas Taiwan region, which has severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques. He urged the U.S. to stop arming Taiwan and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. has maintained a complex relationship with Taiwan since severing formal diplomatic ties with the island in 1979 as part of a normalization agreement with China. Despite this, Washington has continued to sell weapons to Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act, which mandates U.S. support for Taiwans self-defense. However, the shift from arms sales to direct U.S.-funded military aid in 2023 marked a significant escalation in American involvement. In 2024, President Biden approved over 1 billion in military aid to Taiwan, a move that Beijing interpreted as a direct challenge to its sovereignty. The latest 870 million package further cements the U.S. commitment to Taiwans defense, even as it risks inflaming tensions with China. Chinas stern warnings China has repeatedly warned that U.S. military support for Taiwan emboldens Taiwan independence forces and undermines regional stability. During a February 27 press conference, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian issued a stark warning to both the U.S. and Taiwans ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference, Wu said. The U.S. side wants to contain China with Taiwan and connives at risky and provocative activities of the DPP authorities for Taiwan independence. This strategy will ultimately backfire. Wu also criticized the DPP for harboring illusions of U.S. support for independence, calling it a serious miscalculation of the geopolitical landscape. We warn the DPP authorities that holding back the tide with a broom will only end up in self-destruction, he added. The U.S. has long maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity regarding Taiwan, refusing to explicitly state whether it would defend the island in the event of a Chinese attack. However, President Biden briefly abandoned this approach in 2024, signaling a stronger commitment to Taiwans defense. In contrast, former President Trump has reverted to a more ambiguous stance, declining to clarify whether the U.S. would intervene militarily if China invaded Taiwan. Despite this, the resumption of military aid under his administration suggests a continued willingness to support Taipei, even as Beijing views such actions as highly provocative. Why this matters today The Taiwan Strait remains one of the most volatile flashpoints in global geopolitics. Taiwans strategic location and advanced semiconductor industry make it a critical player in the U.S.-China rivalry. For Beijing, reunification with Taiwan is a non-negotiable goal, and any perceived support for Taiwanese independence is seen as a direct threat to Chinas territorial integrity. The U.S. justifies its military aid as a deterrent against Chinese aggression, but critics argue that such actions only heighten the risk of conflict. As tensions continue to simmer, the stakes for both sides could not be higher. The release of $870 million in military aid to Taiwan is more than a financial transaction; it is a geopolitical chess move in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship. For the U.S., it is a calculated effort to counterbalance Chinas growing influence in the region. For China, it is an unacceptable provocation that strikes at the heart of its national sovereignty. As the two superpowers navigate this precarious relationship, the Taiwan Strait remains a powder keg waiting to ignite. The question is not whether the fuse will be lit, but who will be left holding the match when it happens. In the meantime, the people of Taiwan find themselves caught in the crossfire of a geopolitical tug-of-war, their future hanging in the balance. Sources include: NewsAntiwar.com NPR.org FMPRC.gov Zelenskys meltdown in the Oval Office (WATCH IN FULL) The meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday devolved into an openly hostile confrontation during which the Ukrainian leader was accused of ungratefulness to the American people and an unwillingness to negotiate an end to the conflict with Russia. (Article republished from RT.com) Read the transcript of the heated exchange below: US President Donald Trump: The world, I am aligned with the world and I want to get this thing [the Ukraine conflict] over with. You see the hatred he has got for [Russian President] Putin? It is very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate. He has got tremendous hatred, and I understand that, but I can tell you the other side is not exactly in love with, you know, him either. So it is not a question of alignment. I am aligned with the world. I want to get the thing set. I am allied with Europe. I want to see if we can get this thing done. You want me to be tough? I could be tougher than any human being you have ever seen. I would be so tough, but you are never going to get a deal that way, so that is the way it goes. US Vice President J.D. Vance: I would respond to this. So look, for four years, the US, we had a president [Joe Biden], who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin. And then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of [former US President] Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the US presidents words mattered more than the US presidents actions. What makes America a good country? Is America engaging in diplomacy? That is what president Trump is doing. Ukraines Vladimir Zelensky: Can I ask you? Vance: Sure. Yeah, Yeah. Zelensky: OK. So he [Putin] occupied our parts, big parts of Ukraine, part of East and Crimea. So, he occupied it on 2014. So, during a lot of years I am not speaking about just Biden, but those time was President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now the President Trump and, God bless, now President Trump will stop him. But during 2014 nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people. You know what the contact line Trump: 2015. Zelensky: 2014. Trump: 2014 I was not here. Zelensky: Yes, but during 2014 till 2022 what the situation the same that people are been dying on the contact line. Nobody stopped him. You know that we had conversations with him, a lot of conversations, my bilateral conversation and we signed with him, me like a new president [of Ukraine] in 2019 I signed with him the deal. I signed with him [French President Emmanuel] Macron and [then-German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, we signed ceasefire. Ceasefire, all of them told me that he will never go. We signed with him gas contract. Gas contract, yes, but after that he broken the ceasefire. He killed our people and he did not exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange of prisoners, but he did not do it. What kind of diplomacy, J.D., you are speaking about? What do you what do you mean? Vance: I am talking about the kind of diplomacy that is going to end the destruction of your country that... Zelensky: Yes, but what do you... Vance: Mr. President with respect, I think it is disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now you guys are going around enforcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the [US] president for trying to bring an end to this conflict ? OH. MY. GOSH. J.D. Vance just absolutely excoriated Zelensky right to his face. This is MADNESS. Trump also chimed in for the smackdown. VANCE: I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. You guys pic.twitter.com/2oUggV8cNi Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 28, 2025 Zelensky: Have you ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have? Have you come once? Vance: I have been to I have actually watched and seen the stories and I know what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President, or do you disagree that you have had problems like bringing people in your military. Zelensky: We have problems Vance: And do you think that it is respectful to come to the Oval Office of the US and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country? Zelensky: A lot of, a lot of questions. Let us start from the beginning. Vance: Sure. Zelensky: First of all, during the war everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and do not feel now, but you will feel it in the future. Trump: You do not know that. Zelensky: God bless Trump: Do not tell us what we are going to feel. We are trying to solve a problem. Do not tell us what we are going to feel. Zelensky: I am not telling you, I am answering on his question. Trump: Because you are in no position to dictate that Zelensky: I am not dictating. Trump: You are in no position to dictate what we are going to feel. We are gonna feel very good and very strong. Vance: Have you said thank you once? Zelenskyy: You think if you speak very loudly Trump: Hes not speaking loudly. Youve done a lot of talking. Youre not winning this pic.twitter.com/32wEHc4Pk6 Acyn (@Acyn) February 28, 2025 Zelensky: You will feel influence Trump: You are right now not in a very good position. You have allowed yourself to be in a very bad position and he [Vance] happens to be right about it. Zelensky: From the beginning of the war Trump: You are not in a good position. You do not have the cards right now. With us you start having cards. Zelensky: We are not playing cards. Trump: You are playing cards. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people. You are gambling with Word War III. You are gambling with Word War III. What you are doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country. It has backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have. Vance: Have you said thank you once? Zelensky: A lot of times. Vance: No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you? You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the US and the president, who is trying to save your country. Zelensky: Please, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war Trump: He is not speaking loudly. He is not speaking loudly. Your country is in big trouble. Zelensky: Can I answer? Trump: No, no. You have done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble. Zelensky: I know. Trump: You are not winning. You are not winning this. Zelensky: I Trump: You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us. Zelensky: Mr. President, we are staying in our country, staying strong. From the very beginning of the war, we have been alone and we are thankful, I said thank you Trump: You have not been alone. You have not been alone. We gave you through this stupid president [Biden] $350 billion. We gave you military equipment, and your men are brave, but they had to use our military [equipment] If you did not have our military equipment this war would have been over in two weeks Zelensky: In three days, I have heard it from Putin. In three days. This is something Trump: Maybe less. Zelensky: In two weeks. Of course, yes. Trump: It is going to be a very hard thing to do business like this. Vance: But can you just say thank you Zelensky: I said a lot of times thank you to American people Vance: Accept that there are disagreements and let us go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you are wrong. We know that you are wrong. Trump: But you see, I think it is good for the American people to see what is going on. I think it is very important. That is why I kept this going so long. You have to be thankful, you do not have the cards. Zelensky: I am thankful. Trump: You are buried there. People are dying. You are running low on soldiers. Listen, you are running low on soldiers. It would be damn good news Zelensky: Please, Mr. President Trump: Then you tell us: I don't want a ceasefire, I do not want a ceasefire, I want to go and I wanted this. Look, if you could get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it, so the bullets stop flying and you men stop getting killed. Zelensky: Of course, we want to stop the war Trump: But you are saying you do not want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire. Zelensky: But I said to you where are the guarantees? Trump: Because you get a ceasefire faster than an agreement. Zelensky: Ask our people about ceasefire, what they think. It does not matter for you what they say? Trump: That was not with me. That was with a guy named Biden, who was not a smart person. That was with Obama. Excuse me. That was with Obama, who gave you sheets and I gave you Javelins [man-portable anti-tank systems]. Yes, I gave you the Javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. In fact, the statement is Obama gave sheets and Trump gave Javelins. You got to be more thankful because let me tell you you do not have the cards. With us you have the cards, but without us you do not have any cards It is going to be a tough deal to make because the attitudes have to change. Journalist: What if Russia breaks the ceasefire? Trump: What if anything? What if the bomb drops on your head right now? OK? What if they broke it? I do not know. They broke it with Biden because they did not respect him. They did not respect Obama. They respect me. Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt when they used him and Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia. You ever hear of that deal? That was a phony Hunter Biden, Joe Biden scam, Hillary Clinton, Shifty Adam Schiff, who was a Democrat scam, and he had to go through that and he did go through it. We did not end up in a war. And he went through it. He was accused of all that stuff he had nothing to do with. It came out of Hunter Bidens bathroom. It came out of Hunter Bidens bedroom. It was disgusting. And then they said: Oh, oh, the laptop from hell was made by Russia. The 51 agents, the whole thing was a scam and he had to put up with that. He was being accused of all that stuff. All I can say is this. He might have broken deals with Obama and Bush and he might have broken them with Biden. He did. Maybe, maybe he did not. I do not know what happened, but he did not break it with me. He [Putin] wants to make a deal. I do not know if you can make a deal. President Trump: "The problem is I've empowered you to be a tough guy. I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the U.S. You're people are very brave. But, you're either going to make a deal or we're out. And if we're out, you'll fight it out...but you don't have the cards..." pic.twitter.com/vEGSVeQsg7 CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2025 Trump to Zelensky: The problem is I have empowered you to be a tough guy, and I do not think you would be a tough guy without the US. And your people are very brave. But you are either gonna make a deal or we are out. And if we are out, you will fight it out. I do not think it is going to be pretty, but you will fight it out. But you do not have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you are in a much better position. But you are not acting at all thankful, and that is not a nice thing. I will be honest, that is not a nice thing. Alright, I think we have seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television, I will say that. WATCH FULL VIDEO BELOW: WATCH IN FULL: All 46 minutes of the Oval Office meeting between President Donald J. Trump and President Zelenskyy pic.twitter.com/L88QejnhRA Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 28, 2025 Read more at: RT.com Arab leaders back Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza, reject Trumps displacement proposal Arab leaders endorsed a $53 billion Egyptian-led reconstruction plan for Gaza, opposing Trumps controversial Gaza Riviera proposal. The plan focuses on Palestinian-led governance, infrastructure rebuilding, and international oversight, rejecting forced displacement. Israel and the U.S. dismissed the plan, with Israel insisting on Hamass complete dismantling as a precondition. The proposal includes three phases: early recovery, reconstruction, and long-term development, with support from Gulf states. The plan offers hope for Gazas devastated population but faces challenges due to ongoing violence and political opposition. Arab leaders have unanimously endorsed a $53 billion Egyptian-led reconstruction plan for Gaza in a bid to counter President Trumps controversial Gaza Riviera plan. The new proposal, adopted at an emergency summit in Cairo on Tuesday, seeks to rebuild the war-torn enclave while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land and retain control over their future. The plan stands in sharp contrast to Trumps widely condemned vision, which called for the forced displacement of Palestinians and the transformation of Gaza into a luxury destination for Israeli settlers. The Egyptian plan, which has been praised by Palestinian leaders and Hamas, envisions a phased reconstruction process managed by a committee of Palestinian technocrats under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority (PA). It also includes provisions for international oversight and funding, with an emphasis on preserving the prospects of a two-state solution. However, Israel and the U.S. have already rejected the proposal, with Israeli officials insisting on the complete dismantling of Hamas and the White House dismissing the plan as unrealistic. A plan rooted in respect for Palestinians The Egyptian proposal is a comprehensive 112-page document that outlines detailed plans for rebuilding Gazas infrastructure, including housing, schools, hospitals, and commercial hubs. It also includes proposals for a technology hub, an airport, and a commercial harbor. The plan is divided into three phases: an early recovery stage lasting six months, followed by two reconstruction phases spanning several years. Crucially, the plan rejects any form of forced displacement, a cornerstone of Trumps Gaza Riviera vision, which drew global condemnation for its disregard for Palestinian rights. The Arab stance is to reject any displacement, whether it is voluntary or forced, declared Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the summit. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Egyptian plan, calling it a realistic alternative that respects Palestinian sovereignty and said they are ready to hold elections. Hamas, while agreeing not to field candidates for the proposed committee, has emphasized that disarming is a red line. Israels rejection and ongoing violence Israels response to the Egyptian plan has been dismissive, with officials calling it rooted in outdated perspectives. An Israeli official told Reuters that the countrys war aims remain unchanged: the complete destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities. If they are going to get Hamas to agree to demilitarize, it needs to be immediately. Nothing else will be acceptable, the official said. This stance aligns with Israels ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 48,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire population, according to Gazas health ministry. The assault has been widely condemned as genocidal, with accusations of war crimes mounting against Israel. Despite international outcry, Israel shows no signs of relenting, raising concerns that any reconstruction efforts could be undone by further violence. Hope amid devastation The Egyptian plan represents a rare glimmer of hope for Gazas beleaguered population, over 90% of whose homes have been destroyed or damaged, according to the UN. The proposals emphasis on Palestinian-led governance and international oversight offers a path forward that respects Palestinian rights and aspirations. However, the plans success hinges on securing funding from wealthy Gulf states and overcoming Israeli and U.S. opposition. While Saudi Arabia and the UAE have expressed support, they have also emphasized the need for Hamas to disarma condition that remains a sticking point. As the international community prepares for a major conference to raise funds for the reconstruction effort, the stakes could not be higher. For the people of Gaza, the Egyptian plan offers a chance to rebuild their lives and their homeland. For the world, it represents a test of whether justice and humanity can prevail over violence and displacement. Sources for this article include: TheCradle.co Reuters.com BBC.com BlackRock secures control of Panama Canal ports, curtailing Chinese influence BlackRock acquires majority stakes in two Panama Canal ports in a $23 billion deal, reducing Chinese-linked influence over the critical trade route. The deal transfers control from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to a U.S.-led consortium, aligning with Trumps efforts to counter Chinas global infrastructure influence. BlackRock gains control of Panamas Balboa and Cristobal ports, plus 43 other ports globally, through its subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners. U.S. officials celebrate the move as a strategic win, citing concerns over Chinas potential to exploit port control for military or economic leverage. The acquisition marks a geopolitical shift, reinforcing U.S. dominance over the Panama Canal and safeguarding global trade routes. In a landmark $23 billion deal, BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, has acquired majority stakes in two strategic ports at the Panama Canal, effectively pushing out Chinese-linked influence over one of the worlds most vital trade routes. The transaction, which was announced on Tuesday, transfers control of the ports from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings to a U.S.-led consortium spearheaded by BlackRock. This move aligns with President Trumps longstanding warnings about Chinas growing influence over global infrastructure and marks a significant shift in geopolitical control over the canal, which handles more than 70% of U.S.-bound shipping. The deal grants BlackRock control of Panamas Balboa and Cristobal ports, which are located at the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal, respectively, as well as 43 other ports across 23 countries. The acquisition, executed through BlackRocks subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in partnership with Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), underscores the firms growing role in global infrastructure investments. A strategic win for U.S. interests The Panama Canal has long been a linchpin of global trade, with its operations critical to U.S. economic and military strategy. For years, U.S. officials have raised alarms about Chinas expanding presence in the region, warning that Beijing could exploit its control over ports for intelligence gathering, military positioning, or even disrupting shipping to harm the U.S. economy. China is getting kicked out of Panama, and America is winning. Thank you, President Trump. MAGA! wrote the House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority in a post on X, celebrating the deal. Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the canals importance to U.S. national security, hailed the acquisition as a step toward reclaiming the waterway. The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, Trump said in a Truth Social post. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! A purely commercial deal? Although CK Hutchison co-managing director Frank Sixt insisted the transaction was purely commercial in nature, the geopolitical implications are undeniable. The deal removes Chinese-linked entities from controlling critical infrastructure near the canal, a move that aligns with the Trump administrations broader efforts to counter Beijings influence in the Western Hemisphere. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink emphasized the deals economic significance, stating, These world-class ports facilitate global growth. Through our deep connectivity to organizations like Hutchison and MSC/TIL and governments around the world, we are increasingly the first call for partners seeking patient, long-term capital. A turning point in geopolitics The acquisition represents a significant shift in the balance of power over global trade routes. By placing control of the Panama Canal ports in American hands, the deal mitigates the risks associated with Chinese influence, such as potential surveillance, military pre-positioning, or economic leverage in geopolitical disputes. As the Trump administration continues to push for greater U.S. control over the canal, this deal marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing struggle for dominance over critical global infrastructure. With BlackRock at the helm, the U.S. has taken a decisive step toward safeguarding one of the worlds most strategic trade corridors. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com FoxBusiness.com CNBC.com NYPost.com Bondis DOJ dismisses DEI lawsuits against police, fire departments, calls for return to merit-based hiring Attorney General Pam Bondis DOJ dismissed lawsuits alleging discriminatory hiring practices in police and fire departments, citing no evidence of intentional discrimination. The lawsuits claimed aptitude tests disproportionately disqualified minority and female candidates, but Bondi emphasized merit-based hiring over DEI quotas. Cases in Durham, Maryland, Cobb County, and South Bend sought to replace standard tests with race and gender-based hiring preferences, costing millions in proposed settlements. The DOJ argued DEI policies compromise public safety by prioritizing diversity over merit, risking lower standards in critical public safety roles. Bondis actions align with the Trump administrations broader push to end DEI policies and restore merit-based hiring in government and private sectors. Attorney General Pam Bondis Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed a series of lawsuits targeting police and fire departments nationwide. These lawsuits, filed under the Biden administration, alleged that standard aptitude tests used in hiring processes were discriminatory because they resulted in fewer minority and female candidates being hired. Bondis action marks a significant step in the Trump administrations broader push to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in public safety hiring, emphasizing skill and dedication over race or gender-based quotas. The dismissed cases, which included lawsuits against jurisdictions in Durham, North Carolina; Maryland; Cobb County, Georgia; and South Bend, Indiana, claimed that written and physical tests disproportionately disqualified minority and female applicants. However, Bondis DOJ found no evidence of intentional discrimination, only statistical disparities. American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safetynot to meet DEI quotas, Bondi stated. A costly push for quotas The lawsuits, often accompanied by proposed consent decrees, sought to eliminate standard hiring practices, such as written exams and physical agility tests, and replace them with race and gender-based hiring preferences. For example, in Durham, North Carolina, the DOJ under Biden alleged that a written test requiring a 70% passing score was unintentionally discriminatory because black applicants passed at lower rates than white candidates. The proposed solution? Eliminate the test and provide nearly $1 million in back pay and preferential hiring to black candidates who failed to meet the standard. Similarly, the Maryland State Police faced accusations of illegal discrimination because black applicants and women passed their physical agility testswhich included push-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile runless frequently than white men. The DOJ recommended scrapping these tests and paying $2.75 million in monetary relief to applicants who did not meet the standards. A return to meritocracy Bondis dismissal of these cases aligns with the Trump administrations broader mission to end DEI practices across the federal government. In a statement, the DOJ emphasized that prioritizing DEI over merit in public safety hiring compromises the quality of police and fire departments, ultimately putting communities at risk. Prioritizing DEI over merit when selecting firefighters and police officers jeopardizes public safety, the DOJ said. The administration has argued that DEI policies, while well-intentioned, often lead to lower standards and undermine the principle of equal opportunity. By dismissing these lawsuits, Bondis DOJ is sending a clear message: public safety agencies should hire the most qualified candidates, regardless of race or gender. A step toward ending DEI preferences The dismissal of these lawsuits is just the beginning of a larger effort to eradicate DEI policies across the government and private sector. Bondis actions reflect a commitment to restoring merit-based hiring practices, particularly in critical fields like law enforcement and firefighting, where competence can mean the difference between life and death. As the Trump administration continues to roll back DEI initiatives, Bondis decision serves as a reminder that fairness and excellence should not be sacrificed on the altar of diversity quotas. For the sake of public safety and the integrity of our institutions, its a step in the right directionone that many hope will set a precedent for the future. Sources for this article include: LawEnforcementToday.com Justice.gov FoxNews.com DailyWire.com CDC and Merck caught cherry-picking data to hide Gardasil vaccine risks, court documents reveal Merck and the CDC manipulated data to dismiss links between Gardasil and neurological disorders like POTS. European regulators rubber-stamped Mercks flawed analysis, while the CDC replicated the same biased methods. A landmark lawsuit reveals how regulators ignored independent research and suppressed safety concerns. Dr. Jorge Arana, lead CDC researcher on Gardasil safety, later joined Merck, raising questions about regulatory independence. Mercks flawed analysis rubber-stamped by regulators In a shocking revelation, court documents obtained by The Defender expose how Merck, the pharmaceutical giant behind the Gardasil HPV vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allegedly cherry-picked data to dismiss concerns about the vaccines link to serious neurological disorders, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The documents, part of the ongoing Robi v. Merck lawsuit, reveal a disturbing pattern of regulatory collusion, data manipulation, and suppression of independent safety research. The CDC, which is heavily funded by the pharmaceutical industry, has long been accused of prioritizing corporate interests over public health. This latest scandal further erodes trust in an agency tasked with safeguarding the health of millions. The revelations also highlight the revolving door between regulators and Big Pharma, with key CDC researchers later taking lucrative positions at Merck and Moderna. The controversy began in 2015 when Danish regulators raised concerns about a potential link between the HPV vaccine and neurological disorders like POTS and chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is almost entirely funded by the pharmaceutical industry, launched an investigation. Instead of conducting an independent analysis, the EMA asked Merck to evaluate its own vaccines safety. Mercks analysis compared the number of reported adverse events to the background rate of these conditions in the general population. If the reported cases exceeded the background rate, it would indicate a safety signal. However, Mercks analysis found no such link. According to Dr. Lucija Tomljenovic, a biochemist and expert witness in the Robi v. Merck case, Merck achieved this result by overestimating the background rate of POTS and underestimating the number of post-vaccination cases. For example, Merck estimated the background rate of POTS to be between 15 and 140 cases per 100,000 women, based on rates of chronic fatigue syndromea completely different condition. Independent studies, including one by the Mayo Clinic, found the actual background rate to be as low as 2.2 per 100,000. By inflating the background rate, Merck ensured that the number of reported cases would appear insignificant. CDC replicates Mercks biased methods In 2017, the CDC and FDA published their own analysis of the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data, concluding that there was no link between Gardasil and POTS. However, the CDCs study replicated Mercks flawed methodology, including the exclusion of cases that did not fully meet diagnostic criteria. Dr. Tomljenovics report reveals that the CDCs lead researcher, Dr. Jorge Arana, consulted with Mercks Barbara Kuter to obtain the companys proprietary data analysis algorithm. The CDC agreed to keep this information confidential, raising serious questions about the agencys independence. The CDCs analysis identified 160 VAERS reports of POTS symptoms but excluded 131 cases that did not meet strict diagnostic criteria, leaving only 29 cases. This approach ignored the reality that POTS is often under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed, especially by non-specialists. Revolving door between regulators and Big Pharma Months after the CDCs study was published, Dr. Arana left the agency to join Merck as a senior scientist overseeing vaccine safety. In May 2023, he moved to Moderna, another major vaccine manufacturer. This revolving door between regulators and the pharmaceutical industry underscores the systemic corruption that plagues public health agencies. The CDC continues to recommend Gardasil for all adolescents, despite mounting evidence of its risks. More than 200 lawsuits are pending against Merck, with plaintiffs alleging severe injuries from the vaccine. The Robi v. Merck case, which was temporarily suspended, is set to resume in September. The revelations in Dr. Tomljenovics report paint a damning picture of a regulatory system that prioritizes corporate profits over public safety. By rubber-stamping Mercks flawed analysis and suppressing independent research, the CDC and EMA have betrayed the trust of the public they are supposed to protect. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org VaccineDamage.news ChildrensHealthDefense.org The DEI SCAM: How Americas universities and corporations were duped by the biggest con of the century The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement emerged in the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd protests, initially as a well-intentioned effort to address systemic inequalities. However, it quickly transformed into a bureaucratic initiative aimed at embedding social justice programs into the fabric of universities and corporations. Fueled by psychological manipulation, ideological extremism and the threat of violence, DEI programs spread across institutions. This led to the creation of a bloated bureaucracy that enforced ideological conformity and promoted divisive rhetoric, often pitting individuals against each other based on identity markers. By 2024, the flaws in DEI became evident, with major corporations like Ford, Walmart and John Deere rolling back their DEI commitments due to legal and political pressures. A growing number of employees and students criticized DEI for fostering division and mediocrity, leading to a widespread backlash against the movement. As DEI retreats, proponents are rebranding their ideology with terms like "inclusive excellence" and "belonging." However, critics argue that the underlying ideology remains unchanged, and the movement's advocates are likely to adapt and continue promoting their agenda under new labels. The collapse of DEI has prompted a shift towards merit-driven frameworks that emphasize objective criteria and measurable outcomes. This includes structured hiring practices, transparent promotion policies and collaborative decision-making processes, which are seen as more effective and less divisive than the top-down mandates of DEI. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement, once heralded as a moral and business imperative, has been exposed as one of the most elaborate cons of the 21st century. What began as a well-intentioned effort to address systemic inequalities quickly devolved into a bureaucratic hustle, enriching thousands of ideological hustlers while sowing division and mediocrity across academia and corporate America. Now, as DEI collapses under the weight of its own contradictions, its time to reflect on how this con took rootand why its demise is a victory for common sense and meritocracy. The rise of the DEI con The DEI movement gained traction in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, which sparked a national conversation about race and inequality. But as Stanley K. Ridgley, author of DEI Exposed: How the Biggest Con of the Century Almost Toppled Higher Education, explains, DEI was never about genuine diversity or inclusion. Instead, it was a bureaucratic initiative designed to anchor a new raft of social justice programs as an inescapable presence on the campus. Ridgley recounts how DEI metastasized across universities and corporations, fueled by a combination of psychological manipulation, ideological extremism and the threat of violence. It was violence and the threat of violence that opened the door for this effervescence of DEI, he writes. College administrations, fearing the chaos of 2020s summer riots, capitulated to the demands of activists, allowing DEI to embed itself deeply into institutional structures. The result? A bloated bureaucracy of apparatchiks and supernumeraries who peddled racialist pseudoscience and enforced ideological conformity. DEI training sessions became notorious for their divisive rhetoric, pitting employees and students against one another based on race, gender and other identity markers. As Ridgley bluntly puts it, It was weird and alien and hateful at its core. The backlash begins By 2024, the cracks in the DEI facade were impossible to ignore. Major corporations like Ford, Walmart and John Deere began rolling back their DEI commitments, citing mounting legal and political pressures. A Fox News poll conducted in early 2025 found that 45% of voters believed it was extremely or very important for President Donald Trump to focus on ending DEI programs. The backlash wasnt just politicalit was personal. Employees and students who had long endured the mediocrity and divisiveness of DEI initiatives finally began speaking out. Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, who has seen the harmful effects of DEI in his practice, told Fox Business, The trend over the last few years has been to make DEI programs into political commissars, to go after people who have different viewpoints, and they end up, in many ways, sowing more division in the institution that theyre supposed to help. Even DEI advocates like Naomi Wheeless acknowledged the role of political pressure in the movements decline. It is that [Trump] is a president with a well-documented history of vindictiveness, she said. He creates a sense of fear and the feeling that whether we want to or not, we better fall in line. The con story lives on As DEI retreats, its proponents are already scrambling to rebrand. Terms like inclusive excellence and belonging are emerging as replacements for the now-toxic DEI acronym. But as Ridgley warns, the underlying ideology remains the same. The Con Story will morph and adapt, he writes. Buzzwords will change, new slogans will be coined, but the underlying ideology will remain the same as it always has. This isnt the first time America has fallen for a con story. From the pseudoscience of Karl Marx to the utopian promises of radical activists, history is littered with examples of ideologies that duped the credulous. Ridgley draws a chilling parallel between the DEI movement and the case of Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old who murdered a man in New York City in 2024, driven by extremist ideology. Persons who cheer the killer Luigi Mangione for his assassination of Brian Thompson also fully support DEIs personnel, programs, policies and enforcement mechanisms on the college campuses, Ridgley asserts. A return to meritocracy The collapse of DEI is a reminder that meritocracy and fairness are not just idealsthey are essential to a functioning society. As corporations and universities abandon DEI, many are turning to evidence-based, merit-driven frameworks that emphasize objective criteria and measurable outcomes. Structured hiring practices, transparent promotion policies and collaborative decision-making processes are proving to be more effectiveand less divisivethan the top-down mandates of DEI. The death of DEI is a victory for common sense, but the fight is far from over. As Ridgley warns, the con artists behind DEI will not go quietly. They will rebrand, relabel and repackage their ideology in an attempt to deceive a new generation of marks. But for now, America can breathe a sigh of relief that one of the biggest cons of the century has finally been exposed. The lesson is clear: Ideological extremism and bureaucratic bloat have no place in our institutions. Its time to return to the principles that made America greatindividual merit, equal opportunity and the pursuit of excellence. DEI may be over, but the work of rebuilding trust and integrity in our institutions has only just begun. Sources include: AMGreatness.com FoxNews.com FoxBusiness.com The global revolt against green tyranny: How populist leaders are reclaiming energy freedom Nations worldwide are rejecting stringent climate mandates, which are perceived as obstacles to economic growth, drivers of high energy costs and threats to personal freedoms. This backlash against the "green transition" is fueled by populist movements and conservative leaders who prioritize affordability, practicality and national sovereignty over ideological agendas. The return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency in 2025 has significantly impacted international climate policy. His withdrawal from environmental initiatives and the Paris Agreement has inspired other leaders to challenge the prevailing green orthodoxy, signaling a potential shift towards energy independence and away from costly climate commitments. President Javier Milei, a climate skeptic, is considering following Trump's example by withdrawing Argentina from the Paris Agreement. Milei criticizes "fanatical environmentalism" for undermining economic development, which he views as essential for human progress. Such a move would further undermine global climate efforts, especially given Argentina's role in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. In Europe, there is growing opposition to progressive climate policies. In Germany, the collapse of Olaf Scholz's coalition government, which championed ambitious climate goals, reflects voter discontent. The global pushback against green mandates is a demand for a more balanced approach to energy and environmental issues. Leaders are advocating for policies that prioritize economic growth, energy affordability and national sovereignty. The world is witnessing a seismic shift in energy policy, as nations across the globe reject the heavy-handed climate mandates that have stifled economic growth, driven up energy costs and eroded personal freedoms. From Europe to South America, the so-called "green transition" is facing a backlash from voters and leaders who see it not as a path to environmental salvation, but as a tool of control and economic sabotage. This growing anti-green sentiment, fueled by populist movements and conservative leaders, marks a turning point in the global energy debateone that prioritizes affordability, practicality and national sovereignty over ideological dogma. The Trump effect goes global The resurgence of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency in 2025 has sent shockwaves through the international climate agenda. His first act in office was to withdraw the United States from several environmental and energy efficiency initiatives, signaling a return to energy independence and a rejection of the Paris Agreements costly mandates. This bold move has inspired like-minded leaders worldwide, who are now challenging the green orthodoxy that has dominated global policy for decades. In Argentina, President Javier Milei, a self-proclaimed climate skeptic, is considering following Trumps lead by exiting the Paris Agreement. Milei has been vocal in his criticism of what he calls "fanatical environmentalism," arguing that the movement has perverted the goal of preserving the environment for human enjoyment. "Wokeism has turned environmentalism into a crusade against humanity itself," Milei declared at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "Economic development is not a crime against natureit is the foundation of human progress." Mileis potential withdrawal from the Paris Agreement would make Argentina only the second nation to exit the accord, following the U.S. Such a move would deal a significant blow to the global climate agenda, particularly as Argentina is a key player in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which ties environmental commitments to trade benefits. Europes green backlash Across Europe, the tide is turning against progressive climate policies. In Germany, once a poster child for green energy, the backlash has been particularly fierce. The collapse of Olaf Scholzs coalition government, which championed one of the most ambitious climate agendas in the world, underscores the growing discontent among voters. Scholzs opponents, led by Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democrats (CDU), successfully framed his climate policies as economically disastrous. "Economic policy is more than being a representative for heat pumps," Merz quipped on social media during the campaign. His message resonated with voters struggling under the weight of high energy costs and deindustrialization. In regions like Bavaria, where factories have shuttered and unemployment looms, the Greens have become a scapegoat for economic woes. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has capitalized on this discontent, with nearly three-quarters of its voters expressing skepticism toward further climate action. Similar trends are evident in France, where Marine Le Pens National Rally party has surged in popularity by opposing the EU Green Deal, which it labels "punitive environmentalism." The real cost of green policies The global pushback against green energy mandates is not merely a political phenomenonit is a response to the tangible economic and social costs of these policies. As Reuters recently admitted, the pursuit of net-zero carbon emissions has been a "resounding failure." Despite trillions of dollars invested in renewable energy, hydrocarbons still account for over 80% of the worlds primary energy. In Germany, the transition to electric vehicles and heat pumps has been met with widespread resistance. "Heaters now have to be ripped out, electric cars have to come inits not an economy anymore, its communism," lamented Hartl, a former metalworker who voted for the AfD. His sentiment is echoed by many who feel that climate policies have become invasive and patronizing. Even in regions where green initiatives have created jobs, such as the battery factory in Strakirchen, skepticism remains. "The [climate] orders pushed through by Berlin dont find any support here," said Lothar Hartmannsgruber, an optician in the area. "People see it as invasive." A new energy future The global revolt against green tyranny is not just a rejection of failed policiesit is a demand for a more balanced approach to energy and environmental issues. Leaders like Trump, Milei and Merz are championing a vision that prioritizes economic growth, energy affordability and national sovereignty over the utopian ideals of the climate elite. As the world grapples with the realities of energy transition, one thing is clear: the era of unchecked green mandates is coming to an end. The rise of populist movements and conservative leaders signals a new chapter in the global energy debateone that puts people first and rejects the notion that saving the planet requires sacrificing prosperity and freedom. The battle for energy freedom is far from over, but the tide is turning. As voters and leaders alike push back against the green agenda, the world may finally see a return to common-sense policies that balance environmental stewardship with economic vitality. The planet deserves better than punitive environmentalismand so do its people. Sources include: ClimateDepot.com TheGuardian.com FT.com Israel fears Trump could cut aid amid Gaza blockade, mirroring Ukraine shift Israel fears U.S. support may waver as Trumps abrupt policy shifts on Ukraine raise concerns about Americas reliability as an ally. Trumps transactional foreign policy approach and suspension of aid to Ukraine have sparked unease in Jerusalem. Israels blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza has drawn international condemnation and deepened the humanitarian crisis. U.S. public opinion is shifting, with growing criticism of Israels actions and calls to reconsider unconditional aid. Experts warn Israel could face a similar fate to Ukraine if domestic pressure mounts against U.S. support. As the Trump administration pivots sharply from its predecessors policies, Israel is nervously eyeing the fallout from Washingtons abrupt shift on Ukraine and wondering if it could be next. The U.S. has long been Israels staunchest ally, but recent developments, including President Donald Trumps public clashes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the suspension of aid to Kyiv, have sparked fears in Jerusalem that Americas support could waver. With Israel currently blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza and facing growing criticism over its handling of the conflict, some experts warn that Trump, despite his historically pro-Israel stance, might reconsider U.S. assistance if domestic pressure mounts. The parallels between Ukraine and Israel are hard to ignore. Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. poured billions into Ukraines war effort against Russia, but Trump has taken a markedly different approach, threatening to cut aid and demanding an immediate end to the conflict. Now, as Israel receives billions in U.S. military assistance while blocking aid to Gaza, critics argue that the U.S. is enabling a humanitarian crisis. A shifting U.S. policy The Trump administration has already approved nearly $12 billion in military aid to Israel since taking office in January, including a recent $4 billion package expedited by Secretary of State Marco Rubio using emergency powers. Yet, as Ksenia Svetlova, a senior fellow at Chatham House and former Knesset member, noted, What happened in the White House with Zelensky shows that the U.S. doesnt have a constant policy or permanent allies. If there are no permanent allies, if Ukraine is thrown into the trash after all these years ... no one is immune. Svetlovas warning underscores a growing unease in Israel. While Trump has been a vocal supporter of the Jewish state, his transactional approach to foreign policy and willingness to cut ties with long-standing allies could leave Israel vulnerable. Even in the current term, Trump can change, Svetlova said. Israel doesn't deserve American support while blocking aid to Gaza Israels decision to block all humanitarian aid to Gaza has further complicated its relationship with the U.S. The move, announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office on Sunday, came after Hamas refused to extend a temporary ceasefire proposed by Trumps envoy, Steve Witkoff. Netanyahus government insists it will not allow aid into Gaza without the release of Israeli hostages, but the decision has drawn widespread condemnation. Humanitarian aid should never be used as a tool of war, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement. Israels total blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza is a cruel act of collective punishment and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The blockade has deepened an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where 2 million people rely on aid for survival. With Israel now planning to cut off electricity and water to the territory, the situation is poised to worsen. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the move as an important step in the right direction, but rights groups warn it could amount to a war crime. Domestic pressure in the U.S. In the U.S., public opinion is shifting. While Trump has historically been a strong ally of Israel, growing concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and accusations of genocide are eroding support for unconditional aid. Social media platforms like Twitter, often a bellwether for future public sentiment, show little appetite for continuing the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel. The Israel lobby is reportedly pushing for a 25-year aid package to lock in U.S. support, but critics argue that such a move would only entrench a flawed policy. As one observer noted, The only people who support U.S. funding Israel are shills being paid by Israel or Israeli proxies. Israels fears of being dropped by the U.S. are not unfounded. The Trump administrations willingness to cut aid to Ukraine and its transactional approach to foreign policy suggest that no ally is safe. With Israel blocking aid to Gaza and facing growing international condemnation, the pressure on Trump to reconsider U.S. support is mounting. While the president has long been a friend to Israel, the shifting tides of public opinion and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could force a reckoning. As Svetlova warned, Israel must be prepared to become like Ukraine. Sources for this article include: InformationLiberation.com Reuters.com BBC.com MiddleEastEye.net Cancer Decoded on BrightU: The link between long COVID, vaccine injuries and parasitic infections Registered nurse and homeopath Nicole Pavlik suggests that chronic symptoms like brain fog, fatigue and neurological dysfunction in long COVID and vaccine-injured patients may be linked to parasitic infections of the central nervous system, rather than solely post-viral effects. Pavlik criticized the abandonment of standard infection control during COVID-19, such as reusing masks, and highlighted the controversial decision to place COVID-positive patients in nursing homes, which disproportionately affected the elderly and immunocompromised. Pavlik developed a homeopathic detoxification approach using remedies like "Cina 6C" and "Cuprum metallicum 200C", combined with a fermented drainage kit, to support the liver, kidneys and lymphatic system in eliminating toxins and addressing parasitic infections. Pavlik revealed a potential connection between parasites, glioblastomas (aggressive brain cancer) and snake venom, noting that antiparasitic remedies and nicotine (an antidote for venom) have shown promise in addressing these conditions. Pavlik emphasized the interconnectedness of parasites, long COVID, vaccine injuries and other conditions like Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease and autoimmune disorders, advocating for homeopathy and detoxification as innovative pathways for healing. In Episode 8 of "Cancer Decoded," aired March 1, registered nurse and homeopath Nicole Pavlik revealed a startling link between long COVID, vaccine injuries and parasitic infections of the central nervous system. According to Pavlik, chronic symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue and neurological dysfunction may not just be lingering effects of viral infections but could indicate an underlying parasitic invasion. Reflecting on the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pavlik shared how standard infection control practices were suddenly abandoned. "During COVID, the nurses were being told to reuse the same mask over and over from patient to patient," she recalled. "At the end of the shift, they were to take that mask, put it in a brown paper bag, and lock it up in their med cart to reuse for up to two shifts. Where did infection control go?" She also raised concerns about how nursing homes were handled during the crisis. "In New Jersey, our governor was forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-sick patients. The elderly are the most immune-compromised, and instead of protecting them, we essentially dropped a bomb in the nursing homes." As a homeopath, Pavlik began working with vaccine-injured patients and long-haul COVID sufferers. "What I found was that parasites play a huge role in their symptoms," she explained. "The neurological issues, the chronic fatigue, the brain fog these all resemble central nervous system infections." Homeopathic protocol that detoxes parasites from the brain One of the most startling revelations she shared is that parasites may be contributing to glioblastomas, an aggressive brain cancer on the rise since COVID. "There's a homeopathic protocol that detoxes parasites from the brain, and the same remedies have shown potential in addressing glioblastomas. That connection between parasites, COVID symptoms, and brain cancer is too strong to ignore." Pavlik has developed a multi-layered detoxification approach using homeopathic remedies. "The Parasite Detox that has been most effective includes Cina 6C and Cuprum metallicum 200C, alongside a fermented drainage kit from Pekana Bioresource," she detailed. "This helps support the liver, kidneys and lymphatic system in eliminating toxins." She also pointed out an intriguing link between snake venom and parasites. "Dr. Bryan Ardis talks about nicotine as an antidote for snake venom. Nicotine is also antiparasitic. And both nicotine and antiparasitic remedies have shown potential in addressing glioblastomas. This raises the question: Are snake venom and parasites interconnected in how they affect the body?" Another key component of her protocol includes the homeopathic remedy Ruta. "Ruta in its natural form has been studied for its antiparasitic effects and even as an antidote for venom. While the raw herb can cause liver damage, in homeopathic form, it becomes a safe and powerful tool." Pavlik's insights add to a growing body of research suggesting that parasites may play a larger role in chronic disease than previously acknowledged. "There are huge connections between parasites, long COVID, vaccine injuries, Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease and autoimmune disorders," she emphasized. "Mast cell activation syndrome, for example, has skyrocketed among the vaccine-injured and long-haulers, and it presents symptoms very similar to central nervous system infections." The implications of her findings could shift the way long COVID and vaccine injuries are treated. "If we begin to see these symptoms as potential parasitic infections rather than just post-viral syndromes, we could open up new pathways for healing. Homeopathy and detoxification can be game-changers in recovery." As the medical community continues to explore these connections, Pavlik's approach offers hope to those suffering from unexplained post-COVID symptoms and vaccine injuries. "The body has an incredible ability to heal," she said. "We just need to support it in the right way." This is your opportunity to get unfiltered, life-saving information before it's too late. Purchase the Cancer Decoded Gold Premium Package to get your own copy and watch it at your convenience, without the need to wait for a live stream. Buy it now to benefit from an amazing over 90 percent discount along with exclusive bonus items. What will you get upon purchase? You'll receive both physical and digital copies of the livestream videos, bonus videos, full-length interviews with the experts, an autoimmune health assessment, a 10-day health restoration challenge, additional Masterclasses, eBooks and more! You may also purchase the Cancer Decoded Silver Premium Package (Digital + Physical) and Silver Package (Digital Only). Sources include: BrightU.com BrighteonUniversity.com 1 BrighteonUniversity.com 2 BrighteonUniversity.com 3 Netanyahus office admits ignoring Hamas warning hours before Oct. 7 attack Israeli PM Netanyahus office failed to act on an IDF memo warning of Hamas activity just hours before the Oct. 7 attack, sparking outrage and accountability concerns. The IDF identified five warning signs of Hamas activity but dismissed them, highlighting systemic intelligence failures and complacency. Speculation arose that Israel may have allowed the attack to justify a harsh military response, though no direct evidence supports this claim. Israels intelligence community underestimated Hamas for years, relying on flawed assumptions and technology, leading to catastrophic misjudgment. Netanyahu has refused to accept responsibility, delaying a full investigation, while IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi resigned over the failures. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office has acknowledged that a critical memo from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warning of suspicious Hamas activity was not passed along just three hours before the devastating Oct. 7 attack. The failure to act on this intelligence has sparked outrage and raised serious questions about Israels preparedness, accountability, and whether the attack was allowed to unfold to justify a harsh military response. The memo, sent to Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, was reportedly framed in a non-urgent manner, according to Netanyahus office, which defended its inaction. However, the IDF has yet to investigate why the warning was ignored, leaving a glaring gap in accountability. The attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and led to the ongoing war in Gaza, has been described as one of the worst intelligence failures in Israels history. Missed warning signs and systemic failures The IDFs internal investigation revealed that at least five warning signs of unusual Hamas activity were identified the night before the attack. These included the activation of Israeli SIM cards in the hands of Hamas operatives and other classified indicators. While each sign alone was dismissed as insignificant, their collective presence was highly unusual. Yet, intelligence officers failed to interpret them as a precursor to an imminent attack. The investigation also highlighted systemic issues within the IDF, including a lack of coordination between intelligence units, an overreliance on technology, and a culture of complacency. Senior officers were reportedly operating under the assumption that Hamas was focused on economic development and maintaining calm rather than planning a large-scale assault. This flawed perception led to a catastrophic underestimation of the threat. Did Israel let it happen? The failure to act on the memo and other warning signs have led to speculation about whether Israels leadership allowed the attack to occur to justify a harsh military response against Hamas. While there is no direct evidence to support this claim, the lack of urgency in addressing the warnings and the absence of a thorough investigation into the intelligence failure have fueled skepticism. Netanyahus government may have underestimated the scale of the attack, believing it would be a limited incursion that could be used to rally international support for a broader offensive. However, the attack was far more devastating than anticipated, resulting in widespread death and destruction. A history of misjudgment The IDFs investigation also revealed that Israels intelligence community had long underestimated Hamass capabilities and intentions. For years, Hamas was viewed as a secondary threat compared to Hezbollah and Iran, leading to a policy of conflict management rather than proactive defense. This complacency was compounded by a reliance on advanced technology, which created a false sense of security. The report found that Hamas had been planning a large-scale attack since at least 2014, with the plan codenamed Jericho Wall. Despite multiple opportunities to detect and disrupt the plot, Israeli intelligence failed to connect the dots. The 2021 Gaza war, which Israel believed had dealt a severe blow to Hamas, instead emboldened the group to accelerate its plans. The revelations have deepened the sense of betrayal among Israelis, many of whom are demanding accountability from both military and political leaders. While IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has resigned over the failures, Netanyahu has refused to accept responsibility, repeatedly delaying a full investigation until after the war. Ofer Shelah, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, emphasized the need for transparency. The importance of the report is first and foremost for the survivors, the families of soldiers and civilians who were killed, the families of those who were kidnapped and the [southern] communities, those who have still not returned, he said. The Oct. 7 attack and the intelligence failures that preceded it have left deep scars on Israeli society. The admission by Netanyahus office that it ignored a critical warning raises troubling questions about his leadership and the true motivations behind Israels response. Sources for this article include: JustTheNews.com TimesOfIsrael.com DW.com Is the UK heading for civil war? Professor predicts mass unrest within five years due to open borders, social fracture, eroding legitimacy Professor David Betz, a top academic and government advisor, warns the UK is explosively configured for civil war within five years. Betz cites the destruction of legitimacy caused by open borders, grooming gang scandals, and a politicized judiciary. The UKs shift toward a heterogenous society, combined with economic decline and cultural displacement, fuels nativist sentiment. Betz argues that asymmetric multiculturalism alienates the white majority, creating fertile ground for revolt. The UKs historical stability is eroding, with mass immigration and societal malaise pushing the nation toward unprecedented unrest. The destruction of legitimacy: how the UK lost its way The United Kingdom, once a bastion of stability and constitutional governance, now teeters on the brink of civil war, according to a dire warning from Professor David Betz, a leading academic and government advisor. In a recent podcast appearance with journalist Louise Perry, Betz, who teaches at Kings College London and has advised the UK Ministry of Defence and GCHQ, declared that British society is explosively configured for mass unrest. He predicts a national eruption within five years, driven by the governments failure to secure borders, protect citizens, maintain freedom of speech and sustain social cohesion. This alarming forecast comes as the UK grapples with the fallout of open border policies, a two-tier justice system, and a growing sense of cultural and economic dispossession among its citizens. Betzs grim assessment centers on what he calls the destruction of legitimacy within British institutions. He traces this erosion back to the political establishments attempts to subvert the 2016 Brexit vote, which fractured the social contract between the government and the people. If you want to create domestic turmoil in a society, then what the British government has been doing is almost textbook exactly what you would do, Betz said. The professor argues that successive governments have exacerbated tensions by failing to address critical issues, such as the grooming gang scandals that disproportionately affected working-class communities and the unchecked influx of migrants that has transformed the nations demographic landscape. The UKs open border policies, Betz contends, have not only strained public services but also fueled a sense of betrayal among citizens who feel their concerns are ignored or dismissed as hate speech. This dismissal, coupled with a highly politicized judiciary that appears to favor certain groups over others, has deepened the divide between the ruling class and the populace. We now live in a deeply fractured nation, Betz said, one that has much less connection to those aspects of its history which previously made it content and well governed. The powder keg of asymmetric multiculturalism Betzs analysis highlights the dangers of what he terms asymmetric multiculturalism, a phenomenon in which ethnic pride and group solidarity are celebrated for all groups except the white majority. For whites, such expressions are often labeled as supremacist or racist, creating a double standard that alienates a significant portion of the population. This provides an argument for revolt on the part of the white majority (or large minority) that is rooted in stirring language of justice, Betz explained. This dynamic, combined with long-term economic decline and the governments inability to provide basic stability, has created a volatile environment ripe for conflict. The professors warning is particularly striking given the UKs historical reputation as a stable, functioning democracy. Unlike nations with a history of violent revolution or civil strife, Britain has traditionally resolved its disputes through peaceful, constitutional means. However, Betz argues that the current combination of social, cultural, and economic pressures has pushed the nation into uncharted territory. The danger area, he said, is in the middle societies that are becoming more heterogenous and in which a previously dominant social majority fears that it is losing its place. When Elon Musk suggested last year that civil war in the UK was inevitable, the reaction from politicians and pundits was one of derision. Yet, Betzs sobering analysis lends credence to Musks prediction, painting a picture of a nation unraveling under the weight of its own contradictions. The UKs historical stability, once a source of pride, now feels like a distant memory as mass immigration, cultural displacement, and economic stagnation erode the foundations of society. Betzs warning is not the rant of a fringe conspiracy theorist but the measured assessment of a respected academic and government advisor. His credentials lend gravity to his prediction, forcing even skeptics to confront the possibility that the UK is headed for a catastrophic breakdown. As the nations leaders continue to prioritize ideological agendas over the needs of their citizens, the risk of widespread unrest grows ever more real. The United Kingdom stands at a crossroads, its future hanging in the balance. Will its leaders heed the warnings and take steps to restore legitimacy and social cohesion, or will they continue down a path that leads to chaos and conflict? The answer to that question may determine whether the UK remains a united kingdom or descends into the abyss of civil war. As Betzs chilling prediction reminds us, the stakes could not be higher. Sources include: Modernity.news PaulEmbery.com CivilWar.news RFK Jr. proposes new approach to measles: nutrition, data transparency, parental choice take center stage The media is reporting on a measles resurgence in Texas , and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (now head of Health and Human Services) is reassuring parents that the measles vaccine is available as part of the routine MMR vaccine series. However, Kennedy's neutral vaccine stance has disturbed the mothers and fathers who have witnessed vaccine injury from the MMR vaccine. These mothers and fathers are the backbone of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement - a movement that helped propel Kennedy to his important post in the federal government. Despite Kennedy's pro-vaccine stance, the current dissension within MAHA movement isnt necessary and distracts from the bigger goals of the movement and the changes that are taking place within HHS. Moreover, making historic changes to public health policy -- including the publication of vaccine truths -- will take more than just Kennedy himself. To fight and win against the corruption in the public health agencies, cooperation is desperately needed from the MAHA movement if any changes are going to be made. RFK Jr. introduces new concepts to public health messaging In a bold departure from traditional public health strategies, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has unveiled a groundbreaking framework for addressing measles that prioritizes nutrition, transparency, and parental autonomy. This new approach challenges the status quo of vaccine-centric policies and offers a fresh perspective on combating infectious diseases. Kennedys proposal, rooted in scientific evidence and a commitment to individual choice, has sparked both hope and controversy, as it directly confronts the entrenched interests of the pharmaceutical industry and government bureaucracies. Kennedys plan, outlined in a recent op-ed, emphasizes the role of vitamin A in reducing measles mortality, highlights the historical decline of measles deaths prior to vaccine introduction, and reaffirms the importance of informed decision-making for families. While critics have attempted to mischaracterize his stance as pro-vaccine, Kennedys message is clear: health policy must prioritize truth, transparency, and the right of parents to make informed choices for their children. Kennedys approach to measles represents a seismic shift in how public health officials address infectious diseases. Key elements of his proposal include: Nutrition as a cornerstone of health: Kennedy cites scientific literature showing that vitamin A supplementation can dramatically reduce measles mortality. This aligns with broader evidence that proper nutrition strengthens the immune system and mitigates the severity of infectious diseases. Historical context: Measles deaths declined by 98% before the introduction of the MMR vaccine, thanks to improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and healthcare access. Kennedys acknowledgment of this fact challenges the narrative that vaccines are solely responsible for reducing disease mortality. Parental choice: Kennedy unequivocally supports the right of parents to make informed decisions about vaccination, free from coercion or mandates. These principles mark a stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all policies promoted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in recent decades. By focusing on nutrition and individual autonomy, Kennedys plan offers a more holistic and empowering approach to public health. The importance of investigating a tragic case Kennedys proposal comes at a critical moment, as questions swirl around the death of a child allegedly caused by measles. The case, which has been used to justify aggressive vaccine mandates, raises serious concerns about medical error and misdiagnosis. According to reports, the child was hospitalized for RSV and pneumonia but was administered the MMR vaccine during their staya clear violation of medical guidelines, which advise against vaccinating individuals who are already fighting serious infections. According to reports, shortly after receiving the vaccine, the child tested positive for measles, and their death was attributed to the disease. This tragic sequence of events highlights the potential dangers of administering vaccines to immunocompromised individuals and underscores the need for thorough investigations into such cases. Health authorities should recommend a full review of the childs medical records to determine whether the death was truly caused by measles or if it was the result of medical mismanagement, a complication from a hospital acquired infection, or the MMR vaccine itself. Hospital treatment protocols must focus on treating infectious disease with the correct nutrients and medicines, instead of pushing vaccines on children who are allegedly already allergic to them, as was reported in this case. To set the record straight, Kennedy should not only comfort the family of the deceased child, but also recommend a wrongful death case against the hospital, to get the facts straight about the case and report any potential medical errors and mismanagement. Correcting the record and restoring trust The misdiagnosis and subsequent misrepresentation of a childs death as a failure of vaccine policy is a troubling example of how public health narratives can be manipulated. By attributing the death to measles, authorities have used the case to push for stricter vaccine mandates, despite evidence suggesting that medical error played a significant role. Kennedys call for transparency and accountability in this case is not just about correcting the recordits about restoring public trust in health agencies. For too long, the public has been misled about the risks and benefits of vaccines, and the consequences of these misrepresentations have been devastating. RFK Jr.s vision for public health is a fight for the futurea future where families have access to accurate information, where nutrition is recognized as a vital tool for preventing disease, and where individual choice is respected. His approach challenges the toxic alliance between Big Pharma and government agencies, offering a path forward that prioritizes people over profits. As Kennedy navigates the treacherous waters of Washington, D.C., he faces relentless opposition from those who benefit from the status quo. Yet, his strategic and principled leadership provides hope for a brighter future. By focusing on data transparency, nutrition, and parental autonomy, Kennedy is laying the groundwork for a public health system that truly serves the people. Instead of fighting, the MAHA movement must get behind Kennedy if real changes are going to be made to immunization policy. Sources include: TheTruthAboutCancer.Substack.com Foxnews.com Naturalpedia.com Facebook.com U.S. stops sharing intelligence with Ukraine, pushes Zelensky toward peace talks The Trump administration halted intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine after a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelensky. The pause aims to pressure Ukraine into peace negotiations with Russia, with Zelensky signaling readiness to negotiate. Ukraine's defense capabilities are at risk as it heavily relies on U.S. intelligence to counter Russian military advances. Critics argue the aid freeze undermines Ukraine, while supporters view it as a pragmatic move to end the conflict. The pause has successfully pushed Ukraine toward peace talks, with the U.S. hinting at resuming aid if progress is made. The Trump administration has halted intelligence sharing and military aid to Kyiv following last week's heated Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The decision, confirmed by CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday, marks a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the war-torn nation, which has relied heavily on American support in its three-year conflict with Russia. The dramatic pause in intelligence sharing and military assistance came after a public feud between Trump and Zelensky over a joint economic investment deal involving rare-earth minerals. The disagreement escalated last Friday when Trump abruptly ended Zelenskys White House visit, leaving the Ukrainian leader without a signed agreement. Ratcliffe later revealed that Trump had ordered the pause to assess whether Zelensky was committed to the peace process. A strategic pause to push for peace The decision to halt intelligence sharing and military aid underscores the Trump administrations willingness to play hardball with allies to achieve its foreign policy goals. Ratcliffe praised the move as necessary to advance peace negotiations, stating, You saw the response that President Zelensky put out a statement saying, Im ready for peace and I want Donald Trumps leadership to bring about that peace. The pause appears to have had its intended effect. Just days after the White House meeting, Zelensky sent a letter to Trump expressing Ukraines readiness to negotiate with Russia. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz indicated that the aid freeze could be lifted if peace talks progress, telling Fox News, I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause. The impact on Ukraines war effort Ukraine has relied on U.S. intelligence since Russias invasion in 2022, using American-provided data to track Russian military movements and thwart attacks. The sudden halt in intelligence sharing could severely hamper Kyivs ability to defend itself, particularly as Russian forces continue their advance. Sources familiar with the situation confirmed that the U.S. has scaled back its intelligence-sharing efforts, including reducing surveillance flights and satellite coverage. One source described the situation as pretty bad, adding that the combined freeze on military aid and intelligence pretty much guarantees a Russian victory without there needing to be a peace deal. Despite the pause, Ukrainian officials have continued to share information with their American counterparts, according to a source close to the matter. However, the extent of the intelligence-sharing freeze remains unclear, with some officials suggesting that only non-essential information has been withheld. Trumps tough tactics pay off The Trump administrations decision to cut off aid and intelligence has drawn criticism from some U.S. officials, who argue that it undermines Ukraines ability to resist Russian aggression. However, the move has also been praised as a pragmatic approach to ending a costly and protracted conflict. Trumps willingness to leverage U.S. support to force Ukraine to the negotiating table reflects his broader foreign policy philosophy of prioritizing American interests and avoiding endless wars. In a speech before Congress on Tuesday, Trump expressed appreciation for Zelenskys letter but stopped short of setting a date for further talks. The pause in intelligence sharing and military aid has also sent a clear message to Moscow. Russian lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov recently called for the U.S. to stop providing Ukraine with intelligence, stating that such a move would allow Russia to achieve its objectives more quickly. While the freeze on intelligence sharing and military aid has raised concerns about Ukraines ability to defend itself, it has also succeeded in bringing Zelensky to the negotiating table. Ratcliffe suggested that the pause would soon be lifted, stating, I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, as we have, to push back on the aggression thats there. As the Trump administration continues to push for peace, the decision to halt aid and intelligence sharing serves as a reminder of the high-stakes diplomacy required to end one of Europes most devastating conflicts. For now, it appears that Trumps tough tactics have worked, bringing Ukraine closer to negotiations than ever before. Sources for this article include: NYPost.com CNN.com Reuters.com Trump Administration explores sanctions relief for Russia amid push to end Ukraine conflict and stop Europes senseless military alliance The Trump administration is reportedly considering easing sanctions on Russia as part of a broader effort to mend diplomatic ties and resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to sources familiar with the matter, the White House has directed the State and Treasury departments to draft proposals targeting specific Russian entities and individuals, including prominent business leaders. This move aligns with President Donald Trumps long-standing goal of improving relations with Moscow, a strategy that has gained momentum following recent high-level diplomatic engagements. Restoring the bulwark US-Russia relationship The potential sanctions relief comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity, including a February 12 phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as meetings in Saudi Arabia and Turkiye involving top U.S. and Russian officials. While the specifics of any concessions remain unclear, the discussions signal a shift in U.S. foreign policy, one that seeks to balance geopolitical security with economic pragmatism. The reported push to ease sanctions follows a series of diplomatic overtures between Washington and Moscow. In February, Trump and Putin initiated talks aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict, which has dragged on for nearly a decade. Subsequent meetings in Saudi Arabia, led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, explored avenues for economic cooperation, including joint ventures in energy and technology. Lavrov described the Riyadh meeting as a first step toward rebuilding relations, emphasizing the need to clean up the legacy left by the Biden administration. He also highlighted the importance of appointing ambassadors to both capitals as a critical step toward restoring full-scale cooperation. Trump, however, has been clear that sanctions relief would not precede a formal peace agreement. Any easing of restrictions would be contingent upon concrete steps toward ending the conflict in Ukraine, he said in a recent statement. Nord Stream 2: A potential economic lifeline In a parallel development, Trumps special envoy, Richard Grenell, has reportedly been engaged in secret talks to revive the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project that has long been a flashpoint in U.S.-Russia relations. According to German newspaper Bild, Grenell has made multiple trips to Switzerland to negotiate the restoration of the pipeline, which was completed in 2021 but never commissioned due to geopolitical tensions and sabotage. The proposed deal would involve American investors acquiring a stake in the pipelines operating company, effectively preventing its bankruptcy and enabling the flow of Russian gas to Germany and Central Europe. This arrangement would not only provide the U.S. with a financial stake in the project but also grant Washington significant influence over Germanys energy supply. The Financial Times reported that one U.S.-led consortium has already drafted a plan for a deal with Russias energy giant Gazprom, which could be finalized if sanctions against Moscow are lifted. The potential easing of sanctions and the revival of Nord Stream 2 mark a significant departure from the adversarial stance that has characterized U.S.-Russia relations in recent years. Historically, the U.S. has viewed Russias actions in Ukraine as a threat to European security, leading to the imposition of stringent economic sanctions and the suspension of major energy projects like Nord Stream 2. However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has proven to be a protracted and costly endeavor, with no clear resolution in sight. By seeking to rebuild ties with Russia, the Trump administration appears to be pursuing a pragmatic approach that prioritizes economic cooperation and geopolitical stability over ideological confrontation. Putin has welcomed these efforts, expressing Moscows willingness to resolve the Ukraine conflict through peaceful means. He has also emphasized Russias goal of establishing an international security framework that fairly considers the interests of all parties, ensuring a lasting and indivisible peace in Europe. Russia's perspective must be considered to prevent further war Russia views NATO's eastward expansion as a betrayal and a direct encroachment on its historical and strategic interests. The inclusion of former Soviet republics, particularly Ukraine and Georgia, has been a flashpoint. In 2008, NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia "will become members of NATO," a statement that alarmed Moscow. Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia and its 2014 annexation of Crimea were, in part, responses to what it perceived as NATO's encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence. The situation escalated further in 2021 and 2022, as Ukraine sought closer ties with NATO and the West. Russia demanded legally binding guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO and that the alliance would roll back its military presence in Eastern Europe. When these demands were rejected, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, framing it as a necessary measure to protect its security and prevent NATO's further expansion. Russia argues that NATO's expansion violates the spirit of several post-Cold War agreements, including the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, which aimed to build a cooperative relationship between NATO and Russia. While the act did not explicitly prohibit NATO expansion, it emphasized the importance of mutual security and transparency. Russia contends that NATO's actions have undermined these principles, creating a security dilemma that has destabilized Europe. The road to reconciliation between the U.S. and Russia is fraught with challenges. Critics argue that easing sanctions without concrete guarantees from Moscow could embolden Putin and undermine Ukraines sovereignty. Others warn that reviving Nord Stream 2 could deepen Europes dependence on Russian energy, potentially weakening the continents strategic autonomy. Yet, proponents of the administrations approach argue that a new partnership with Russia is essential to ending the forever war in Ukraine and securing a stable geopolitical order, while pushing a hostile Europe and NATO off of Russia's borders. By lifting sanctions, restoring pipelines, and fostering economic cooperation, the U.S. and Russia could pave the way for a more collaborative relationshipone that balances mutual interests with the need for global security. Sources include: RT.com RT.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai Trump imposes tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China to combat fentanyl crisis President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10% on Chinese goods to combat fentanyl trafficking. Canada and Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs, escalating trade tensions with the U.S. China responded with a 20% tariff increase, further destabilizing global markets. The White House framed the tariffs as a "drug war" to protect American lives from the opioid crisis. Critics warn of economic fallout, but Trump remains committed to his "America First" agenda. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China on Tuesday. The tariffs, which include a 25% levy on Mexican and Canadian imports and a 10% increase on Chinese goods, aim to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl across U.S. borders. The decision has drawn swift retaliation from Americas closest trading partners, but Trump remains steadfast, arguing that the measures are necessary to protect American lives and industries. We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, Trump declared in a Truth Social post, emphasizing the devastating impact of fentanyl, which has claimed millions of lives. The presidents actions reflect his administrations commitment to tackling the opioid epidemic at its source, even if it means escalating trade tensions with key allies. Tariffs and retaliation The new tariffs have sparked immediate backlash. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, targeting products like orange juice, peanut butter, and bourbon. Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, Trudeau said, calling the move a very dumb thing to do. Mexico, too, has vowed to respond. President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the tariffs, stating, There is no reason, rationale, or justification to support this decision that will affect our people and nations. She plans to announce Mexicos retaliatory measures this Sunday, signaling a potential escalation in the trade dispute. China, already embroiled in a trade war with the U.S., doubled down on its own tariffs, imposing a 20% levy on American goods. The escalating tensions have sent global markets into turmoil, with major U.S. indexes experiencing significant losses. A fight against fentanyl, not free trade The White House has framed the tariffs as a necessary step in the fight against fentanyl trafficking. White House senior trade advisor Peter Navarro defended the move, stating, This is not a trade war. This is a drug war. Navarro emphasized that the administrations primary goal is to protect American lives by disrupting the flow of fentanyl, much of which originates in China and is smuggled through Mexico and Canada. Critics, however, argue that the tariffs could harm American consumers and businesses. Major industries, including automotive and retail, have warned of price hikes and supply chain disruptions. Yet, Trump remains undeterred, pointing to his previous tariffs on China as evidence that economic growth can continue despite trade tensions. Protecting American interests Trumps decision to impose tariffs reflects his broader America First agenda, which prioritizes domestic industries and national security over global trade relationships. By targeting fentanyl at its source, the president is taking a proactive approach to a crisis that has devastated communities across the country. While the tariffs may strain relations with key allies, they underscore Trumps commitment to protecting American interests. As the president stated, Millions of people have died because of the fentanyl that comes over the border. Were not stopping the tariffs. The damage has been done. President Trumps tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China mark a turning point in the fight against fentanyl and the broader debate over trade policy. While the measures have drawn criticism and retaliation, they reflect a determined effort to address a crisis that has claimed countless American lives. As the trade war escalates, Trump is clearly willing to take bold action to protect the nations security and prosperity, even in the face of global opposition. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com Reuters.com APNews.com AmGreatness.com Israels genocidal rhetoric against Palestinians escalates as Trumps Gaza plan emboldens ethnic cleansing agenda Israeli officials and public figures openly advocate for the extermination of Palestinians, framing it as a "final solution" to the Gaza crisis. Former U.S. President Donald Trumps proposal to displace Palestinians and rebuild Gaza has fueled Israels push for ethnic cleansing. Israeli leaders and influencers normalize genocidal rhetoric, calling for the annihilation of Gazas population, including women and children. The failure of Israels military campaign to depopulate Gaza has led to calls for mass killing as the only viable option. In a chilling escalation of rhetoric and policy, Israeli officials and public figures are no longer hiding their calls for the extermination of Palestinians. What was once whispered in Israel's darkest corners is now shouted from the rooftops, with prominent voices advocating for the complete annihilation of Gazas population. This genocidal discourse has been emboldened by former U.S. President Donald Trumps recent proposal to displace Palestinians and rebuild Gaza, a plan that aligns eerily with Israels long-standing goal of ethnic cleansing. The normalization of such rhetoric marks a dangerous turning point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From government ministers to celebrities, the call for mass killing is no longer taboo but rather a rallying cry for a nation steeped in rage and frustration. As the world watches in horror, the question remains: how far will Israel go to achieve its goal of erasing Palestinians from the map? The normalization of extermination rhetoric The shift in Israeli discourse is stark. Once confined to the fringes, calls for the extermination of Palestinians have entered the mainstream, with even government officials openly advocating for mass killing. Deputy Parliament Speaker Nissim Vaturis statement that the children and women should be separated and the [male] adults in Gaza should be killed is just one example of this disturbing trend. While Vaturi may be a marginal figure, his words reflect a broader shift in Israeli society, where the language of genocide is no longer met with shock or condemnation but with nods of approval. This normalization is not limited to politicians. Prominent Israeli influencers, academics, and celebrities have joined the chorus of annihilation. Attorney Kinneret Barashi, a self-proclaimed former Meretz voter, posted on X that every trace of the murderous mutations in Gaza should be erased, from the delivery rooms to the last elderly person in Gaza. 100% must die in Gaza. Actor Yiftach Klein, part of the so-called Oslo generation, declared, I dont believe them [the Palestinians]. I dont believe in them and I dont want to see them again as long as I live, ever. Let them be gone beyond the mountains of darkness and may they die there. These statements are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of dehumanization and hatred. The trauma of the October 7 Hamas attack has been weaponized to justify calls for genocide, with Israelis increasingly viewing the complete destruction of Gaza as the only solution to the Palestinian problem. Trumps Gaza plan: a green light for ethnic cleansing The recent announcement by Donald Trump to displace Palestinians and rebuild Gaza has only emboldened Israels genocidal ambitions. While Trumps team has attempted to downplay the plan as a recommendation rather than a forced evacuation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has embraced it wholeheartedly, praising Trumps groundbreaking plan to allow freedom of exit for Gazans. Defense Minister Israel Katz has gone a step further, setting up an administration for the voluntary exit of Palestinians from Gaza. These plans echo the 2023 proposal by former Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, which called for the evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai. While Gamliels plan was initially dismissed as fringe, it has since become the de facto policy of the Israeli government. The goal is clear: to depopulate Gaza and erase Palestinian presence from the region. However, as Israeli leaders have come to realize, convincing Palestinians to leave voluntarily is nearly impossible. The failure of Israels military campaign to achieve this goal has led to calls for more extreme measures. As one Israeli influencer put it, If all that destruction and bombing did not convince the Palestinians to leave, the conclusion drawn by more than a few Israelis is that there is no choice but to kill everyone. The failure of ethnic cleansing and the rise of extermination Despite Israels best efforts, the ethnic cleansing of Gaza has failed. The destruction of entire neighborhoods, the displacement of hundreds of thousands, and the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians have not achieved the desired result. Images of Palestinians returning to the ruins of their homes in northern Gaza have only deepened Israeli frustration, leading to calls for even more drastic action. Israeli officials have begun to speak openly about establishing secured compounds in Gaza, where food and water will be distributed only to those who comply with Israeli demands. As former minister Yoaz Hendel wrote, Everything outside these compounds is a killing zone. In other words, Palestinians who refuse to enter these concentration camps will be sentenced to death. This shift from ethnic cleansing to outright extermination reflects a grim reality: Israels leaders have run out of options. Having failed to achieve their goals through military force, they are now turning to genocide as the only viable solution. Sources include: MiddleEastEye.net Maariv.co.il Haaretz.co.il U.S. slaughterhouses have polluted waterways with bacteria, blood, and body parts for decades, and the EPA is finally going to act Slaughterhouses and meat processing plants dump millions of gallons of wastewater contaminated with blood, body parts, and harmful bacteria into U.S. waterways. The EPA plans to announce new pollution limits by August 2024, marking the first update to wastewater regulations in 20 years. Environmental groups celebrate the move, while industry lobbyists fight back, claiming the rules will cost jobs and harm businesses. The Trump administrations potential rollback of environmental regulations threatens to undermine the new rules. For decades, U.S. slaughterhouses and meat processing plants have operated as some of the nations most polluting industries, dumping wastewater laden with blood, body parts, and bacteria into rivers, streams, and wetlands. This toxic cocktail has fueled harmful algae blooms, killed fish, and exposed local communities to dangerous pathogens. Now, after years of pressure from environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finally taking action. By the end of August, the agency plans to announce new limits on pollutants in wastewater from these facilities a move that could significantly reduce the industrys environmental impact. But with industry lobbyists pushing back and the Trump administration threatening to roll back regulations, the future of these protections remains uncertain. The hidden cost of cheap meat The U.S. meat and poultry industry slaughters and processes approximately 10 billion animals annually, generating massive volumes of wastewater. This wastewater is used to clean carcasses, machinery, and facilities, but it is far from harmless. According to the EPA, the industry produces wastewater with the highest levels of phosphorus and the second-highest levels of nitrogen of any sector. These nutrients, when released into waterways, fuel algae blooms that deplete oxygen levels, killing fish and creating dead zones in aquatic ecosystems. The problem is not just environmental its also a public health crisis. Communities near these facilities often rely on local water sources for drinking, fishing, and recreation. Contaminated water can expose residents to bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella, leading to gastrointestinal illnesses. In 2021, residents of Millsboro, Delaware, settled a $200 million lawsuit with Mountaire Farms after a poultry slaughterhouse contaminated their well water with harmful bacteria and unsafe levels of nitrates. Despite these dangers, the EPA has not updated its wastewater pollution controls for meat and poultry plants in nearly 20 years. Environmental groups, frustrated by the agencys inaction, sued the EPA in 2023, leading to a legally binding agreement requiring the agency to finalize new pollution standards by August 31, 2024. While environmental advocates celebrate the EPAs move, the meat and poultry industry is pushing back hard. Lobby groups like the Meat and Poultry Coalition argue that the new rules will be prohibitively expensive, potentially forcing 74 facilities to close and eliminating 80,000 jobs. In a public submission to the EPA, the coalition claimed that compliance costs could exceed $232 million annually a figure they say the agency has grossly underestimated. Industry representatives also dispute the EPAs findings that their wastewater interferes with treatment plant operations or passes through untreated. Bryan Burns, general counsel to the Meat Institute, wrote in a public submission, We believe that meat and poultry plant indirect dischargers very rarely, if ever, cause or contribute significantly to interference or pass through at their publicly owned treatment works. However, evidence suggests otherwise. In 2014, the Kiryas Joel Poultry processing plant in New York was fined $330,000 for repeatedly violating the Clean Water Act. The facility discharged contaminated wastewater containing blood, chicken parts, and grease into a local treatment plant, damaging its equipment and causing permit violations. These activities resemble the fertilizer industry's use of liquefied human remains on American farms. Will the new rules survive the Trump administration? The EPAs new rules face another significant hurdle: the Trump administration. During his first term, President Trump rolled back numerous environmental regulations, and his administration has already fired hundreds of EPA employees. Legal experts warn that the Trump administration may either renege on its legal obligation to finalize the rules by August or water them down to the point of ineffectiveness. Alexis Andiman, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, remains cautiously optimistic. Whatever happens, well work with our partners to ensure that EPA complies with the law and that people who live near slaughterhouses and animal rendering facilities receive the protection they deserve, she says. The new rules would require large processing facilities to significantly reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels in their wastewater. For example, John Morrells Sioux Falls plant would need to cut its nitrogen output by 92%, while Smithfields Tarheel plant would need to reduce it by 88%. The rules would also impose restrictions on facilities that discharge wastewater into publicly owned treatment plants, which are currently unchecked by national regulations. While environmental groups welcome these changes, many argue they dont go far enough. Dani Replogle, a staff attorney at Food and Water Watch, says the rules fail to address nutrient pollution from facilities that discharge into treatment plants. Holly Bainbridge of FarmSTAND adds, After decades of inaction, it is not nearly enough to truly counter the massive scale of water pollution from these facilities nationwide. The battle over slaughterhouse wastewater regulations is more than a bureaucratic dispute its a fight for clean water, public health, and environmental justice. For too long, the meat and poultry industry has operated with impunity, treating Americas waterways as dumping grounds for their toxic waste. The EPAs new rules represent a long-overdue step toward accountability, but their success hinges on the agencys willingness to stand up to industry pressure and political interference. As Chris Jones, an expert in water quality, starkly puts it, the pollution from just two facilitiesSmithfield and John Morrell is enough to contaminate 80 billion gallons of water beyond safe drinking standards. To put that in perspective, New York City uses about one billion gallons of water per year. The stakes are clear: without strong and enforceable regulations, the meat industry will continue to poison our water, our ecosystems, and our communities. The question now is whether the EPA will rise to the occasion or bow to the forces of greed and negligence. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org CleanWater.news Enoch, Brighteon.ai Zelensky calls Trump meeting regrettable, seeks to mend ties amid U.S. aid freeze Ukrainian President Zelensky called his meeting with Trump "regrettable" after U.S. military aid to Ukraine was abruptly frozen. Zelensky proposed a partial ceasefire with Russia, including a ban on long-range strikes and a prisoner exchange, to advance peace talks. The U.S. aid freeze has left Ukraine vulnerable, as it relies heavily on American weaponry to counter Russian aggression. Trumps administration stated the aid pause is temporary, contingent on Ukraine showing commitment to peace negotiations. European allies are struggling to compensate for the U.S. aid gap, with analysts warning of tough times ahead for Ukraines defense. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has labeled his recent meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump as "regrettable" and vowed to "make things right" after the contentious encounter led to a sudden freeze in U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The clash, which occurred during Zelenskys visit to the White House on Friday, has left Kyiv scrambling to salvage its relationship with Washington while facing mounting pressure to negotiate peace with Russia. Zelenskys conciliatory remarks, posted on social media platform X, came just days after Trump halted military assistance to Ukraine, a move that has sent shockwaves through Kyiv and its European allies. The Ukrainian leader acknowledged the meeting "did not go the way it was supposed to be" and expressed readiness to work under Trumps leadership to achieve "a peace that lasts." Aid freeze sparks crisis The abrupt suspension of U.S. military aid has left Ukraine in a precarious position. For years, Kyiv has relied heavily on American weaponry to fend off Russian aggression, with over $100 billion in military and economic aid flowing from the U.S. since the war began in 2022. However, Trumps decision to pause deliveries has raised questions about Ukraines ability to sustain its defense efforts. A senior Trump administration official emphasized that the freeze is not permanent but contingent on Ukraine demonstrating a commitment to peace negotiations. "This is not a termination of aid, its a pause," the official told Fox News. "The orders are going out right now." Zelensky, in his statement, sought to reassure Washington of his willingness to cooperate, saying, "We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence." He also proposed a partial ceasefire with Russia, including a ban on long-range missile strikes and a prisoner exchange, as a first step toward broader peace talks. Zelenskys peace proposal The Ukrainian president outlined a framework for de-escalation, suggesting an immediate truce in the air and sea, alongside a halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure. "We are ready to work fast to end the war," Zelensky wrote, adding that Kyiv is prepared to sign a minerals agreement with the U.S. "at any time and in any convenient format." While the proposal mirrors suggestions from European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, it remains unclear whether Moscow will agree to the terms. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the U.S. aid freeze, calling it "a decision that can really push the Kyiv regime toward the peace process." Criticism mounts over U.S. aid Zelenskys reliance on American support has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from Republicans who argue that Ukraine has failed to show adequate gratitude for U.S. assistance. Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly rebuked Zelensky during the Oval Office meeting, accusing him of lacking a genuine commitment to peace. The freeze has also exposed Ukraines vulnerability. While Kyiv has made strides in producing its own weaponrycurrently accounting for 30% of its military equipmentit remains heavily dependent on advanced U.S. systems like the Patriot air defense. The pause in U.S. aid has left European allies scrambling to fill the gap, but analysts warn that no single country can match Americas military capabilities. "It is clear that Europeans lack some of the capacities the U.S. provided," said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs. "It will be really tough times." Sources for this article include: Reuters.com FoxNews.com WashingtonPost.com Saying something is true doesnt make it so. Despite that, arguments presented by members of Citizens Against Wind Turbines in Lake Erie, known as CAWTILE, have been picked up as plausible by Buffalo Common Council Member Joseph Golombek. In an environmental Groundhog Day, CAWTILE is at it again. The group is on a mission to convince communities, including some that have never even seriously considered the prospect, that wind turbines are bad. Really bad. As in, never ever build them. Especially in our Lake Erie which many green energy experts see as an ideal location, as Great Lakes-based offshore wind blowing over the lakes is stronger and more consistent than inland wind. As it is, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has determined that the cost versus benefit equation does not yet pencil out. In the meantime, before shutting down an idea prematurely, communities and CAWTILE should be open to pilot projects, as opposed to permanent bans. The group's influence has been significant. For example, CAWTILE has already convinced 24 out of 27 municipalities in Erie County, and 23 out of 27 municipalities in Chautauqua County to pass resolutions against offshore wind power. Now, it has set its sights on the City of Buffalo. On Tuesday, Golombek introduced a resolution during the Community Development Committee meeting opposing wind turbines in Lake Erie. As reported by The News Mackenzie Shuman, the resolution said any offshore wind turbines should be opposed by the city until we can be assured that the placement of and the use of these turbines is not hazardous to the environment. Golombeks resolution was tabled for further discussion at a later date. With all due respect to Golombek, who voiced concerns about wind turbine development raised by CAWTILE, many of his questions can be answered by those who have already studied the environmental effects. Buffalo considers opposing wind turbines in Lake Erie for now The Buffalo Common Council's Committee on Community Development is considering whether it wants to publicly oppose wind turbine development in Lake Erie. The Sierra Club Niagara Group says the impacts cited by offshore wind opponents are overblown or false. Reports from established offshore wind installations in Europe suggest that environmental effects are greatly outweighed by the climate benefits. Harnessing the wind energy off Lake Erie could be essential to helping the state lower greenhouse gas emissions in a time of climate crisis. The reality of that crisis is clear, given recent examples of forest fires that raged across Los Angeles and increased hurricanes and tornados throughout the South. Western New York has had its share of extreme weather, including real blizzards and drastic temperature swings. Europe has been building offshore wind farms for decades and has more than 6,000 operating. Windpark Fryslan, in the Netherlands, is the largest freshwater wind farm in the world and can generate enough power to run about 500,000 homes. The artificial island built as a construction stage for the turbines is now a nature reserve and a bird sanctuary. No negative effects on drinking water have been reported. In the U.S., research shows that Rhode Island fisheries are benefiting from the presence of the Block Island Wind Farm, launched in 2016. It's not all good news. The detrimental installation effects can take time to subside. But interest in moving forward does not mean installations automatically follow. State Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation, reintroduced a bill calling for a pilot wind turbine project in Lake Erie that could generate up to 200 megawatts of power. If passed, the bill wouldnt guarantee any wind turbine project in the lake. It would allow the state to accept project proposals for review. Bob Ciesielski, chair of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapters Energy Committee, said New York State "has some of the strictest standards of any state for environmental review, and that would be supplemented by any federal environmental review." He added, " we should keep our options open and not start opposing possible energy options." Given the caution New York State has already demonstrated, a kneejerk resolution against wind turbines in Lake Erie seems unnecessary at best and a missed opportunity at worst. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. Due to scheduled maintenance from Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 10 PM to Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 2 AM, there may be interruptions for our News Gazette Digital subscribers. During this time frame, please click on any News Gazette website content without logging into your News Gazette Digital subscription account. Thank you for your patience during this scheduled maintenance. The first resource containing high-resolution DNA sequencing data for over 37,000 children and parents collected over multiple decades from across the UK is now available to researchers worldwide. The data release is led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Children of the 90s study (also known as ALSPAC), the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), and Born in Bradford (BiB), and supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). This work is supported by the ongoing efforts of Population Research UK, a UK-wide initiative led by teams at the University of Bristol and University College London, which aids longitudinal population studies by working to coordinate and connect the current research landscape. Now available on the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA), these high-quality genomic data can be used in combination with the existing longitudinal health and survey information provided by participating families. These combined data resources offer the scientific community the opportunity to make valuable insights in areas ranging from population genetics to the social sciences. For example, it could be used to investigate the impact of genetic variation on neurodevelopmental conditions or childhood obesity, and how these are influenced by environmental factors. Longitudinal research follows large numbers of participants over multiple years, repeatedly examining them at regular time points through, for example, blood tests, body measurements, and health questionnaires, to detect changes over time. Previously, large DNA sequence datasets have typically focused on children with rare conditions or adult population cohorts. This new data release focuses on sequencing 'birth cohorts', which are population-based cohorts of people followed from birth through to adolescence or early adulthood. To produce this latest data release, researchers at the Sanger Institute sequenced all 20,000 genes in the human genome, known as exome sequencing, in samples from 8,436 children and 3,215 parents from the Children of the 90s study, 7,667 children and 6,925 parents from the MCS, and 8,784 children and 2,875 parents from BiB. These three UK longitudinal birth cohort studies are internationally recognised and data from these cohorts have already been used to study the contribution of common genetic variants on phenotypes ranging from childhood obesity to parental nurturing behaviours and anxiety and depression. For example, by using Children of the 90s data, researchers found that a genetic variant in a gene called MC4R is associated with increased weight across childhood and studies like this could help design effective weight management interventions and change the way society views obesity. That specific study used targeted DNA sequencing of the MC4R gene, whereas the new exome sequencing data reported here will allow similar investigations of other genes in the human genome. This will help drive more discoveries and research that could benefit human health. The team has made the anonymized data as accessible as possible to approved researchers, including drafting a data note (available on Wellcome Open Research) and other materials to help support its use by those who are less familiar with large-scale sequencing data. In coming months, this DNA sequence data resource will be expanded to encompass all participants in these cohorts as well as additional cohorts. The value of these data will be enhanced by harmonising the data across the different cohorts, providing a more powerful resource than could be achieved by one study in isolation. Longitudinal population studies from the UK have already had a huge impact on biomedical research worldwide. This significant addition of whole exome sequencing data will further transform our understanding of the development of complex traits and diseases across the life course." Dr. Carl Anderson, Interim Head of Human Genetics, Wellcome Sanger Institute Dr. Richard Evans, Interim Head of Population Health Sciences at the Medical Research Council, said: "The UK's cohorts and longitudinal population studies are an extraordinary national asset, made possible by the participation of a diverse range of people. The rich data and samples from these studies, when combined with whole exome sequencing, can unlock new research questions and insights into human society, development, health and ageing. MRC's funding is part of our overall investment in understanding the drivers of disease to enable precision prevention and personalised treatments, and maximising existing infrastructure to ensure real value for money. This work aligns perfectly with a new exciting national resource that is supported by MRC and ESRC, Population Research UK, which is all about coordinating and leveraging UK cohorts." Professor Nicholas Timpson, Co-Director of Population Research UK and Principal Investigator of the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol, said: "The success of this initiative shows that coordination across cohort studies can be incredibly powerful and I'm excited to see the research that will come out of this fantastic new genetic data resource. We hope that this encourages other researchers to conduct long-term research studies, and solidifies their importance in UK and global research." Dr Hilary Martin, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "This represents one of the largest sequenced datasets collected at birth from the general population, creating a unique resource for the research community with multiple uses. By combining the pre-existing health and lifestyle data from the initial studies with genomic information, we have started to get a more complete view of how small DNA changes can subtly influence certain complex traits across childhood and adolescence. In the future, we plan to continue to sequence samples in other longitudinal studies, to build an evolving and high-quality resource that can benefit researchers in multiple areas of the biological and social sciences." Professor Matthew Hurles, Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "Great science is built on collaboration and this release would not have been possible without the engagement of the families themselves, the hard work of teams managing these longitudinal studies, sustained investment in these cohorts, especially from Wellcome and the Medical Research Council, the sequencing and data analysis power of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and the support of Population Research UK. We aim to continue to build on this resource and provide high-quality, accessible genomic data for researchers worldwide. This initiative further exemplifies the vast potential of bringing together the UK's life science assets including committed research participants, researchers, governmental and charitable funding agencies, and genomic and computational capabilities." Opinion / Columnist Luke Tamborinyoka is a name that sunk into political oblivion with the passing of Morgan Tsvangirai. Emmerson Mnangagwa in a display of love and putting country over political differences granted Morgan Tsvangirai a state-assisted funeral. Emmerson Mnangagwa did something that was commendable and we didn't see the likes of Tamborinyoka thanking the President or showing appreciation as the self-appointed Tsvangirai sidekick.After his dismal electoral failure in Goromonzi West, Tamborinyoka became a political nonentity, cast aside by Nelson Chamisa in favour of younger and more competent voices like Nkululeko Sibanda and Fadzayi Mahere. Desperate to remain relevant, he now claws his way back into the public sphere through the biased media space provided by Lance Guma at Nehanda Radio, where he pens long-winded bastardised articles devoid of any meaningful contribution to Zimbabwe's development.Tamborinyoka, having failed to secure a seat at Chamisa's right hand, has resorted to attacking President Emmerson Mnangagwa and anyone remotely associated with him, throwing around baseless accusations of corruption without a shred of evidence. Perhaps he assumes that by hiding behind his UK residency, he can spew libellous nonsense without consequence. However, he will soon be in for a rude awakening when faced with the legal repercussions of his defamatory statements.Tamborinyoka's latest article, which purports to "name and shame" individuals around the President, is nothing more than a regurgitation of unverified rumours and political gossip. His reliance on the Al Jazeera "Gold Mafia" documentary as a source of "evidence" only highlights his lack of journalistic integrity and political mischief. The documentary itself was filled with innuendo and conspiracy theories, deliberately crafted to create sensationalism rather than present factual findings.Furthermore, his reference to the 2002 UN report conveniently omits a crucial fact: Mnangagwa was never found guilty of any wrongdoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On the contrary, the International Criminal Court (ICC) did find Uganda guilty of looting the DRC, but Tamborinyoka deliberately ignores this fact because it does not serve his personal agenda.Tamborinyoka's logic is as shallow as his political relevance. To him, merely bearing the surname "Mnangagwa" is enough to be labeled corrupt. He mentions Patrick, Patson, and Chido Mnangagwa but conveniently ignores the numerous instances where their business proposals were turned down or when banks refused them loans. Selective storytelling serves his purpose of scoring cheap political points, but it does not hold up under scrutiny.If Tamborinyoka were genuinely concerned about corruption, he would not have remained silent when his own allies were embroiled in scandals. Where was his outrage when Happymore Chidziva was gallivanting with underage girls? Why did he not speak out when Nelson Chamisa misused funds raised for his personal vehicle? Where was his investigative prowess when money meant for election observers, monitors, and agents mysteriously disappeared from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) coffers? His silence on these matters exposes his double standards and sheer hypocrisy.Tamborinyoka's attacks on President Mnangagwa are not rooted in any genuine concern for governance or national development. Instead, they are the desperate rantings of a failed politician seeking to remain relevant in a political landscape that has moved on without him. Zimbabweans deserve a discourse based on truth, not politically motivated distortions.Tamborinyoka should abandon his campaign of misinformation and instead contribute constructively to national dialogue. Until then, his words will remain nothing more than the bitter cries of a political has-been, echoing in the void of irrelevance.The President has sent his close allies like Douglas Tapfuma to jail over corruption for anyone to claim that the President entertains corruption they would need to have their head checked for malfunction. The President does not condone corruption while he has an open door policy you could meet the President today and go to jail tomorrow once it is proven that you have a crime or case to answer. It is well known that microplastics are collecting in the world's oceans at an alarming rate, but research on the cancer-linked pollutant in rivers remains limited. Now new evidence from two rivers in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that these tiny particles are present even in rural, downstream locations, highlighting the need to address their impacts on freshwater sources. Microplastics plastic particles less than five millimetres long present a serious published in Science, up to 40 million tonnes of these plastic fragments are estimated to be emitted into the environment each year and this could double by 2040 if the problem is not addressed. Latin American studies on microplastics represent less than This is despite Latin America being home to two of the 20 the MappA project seeks to analyse more than 100 bodies of fresh water in 18 provinces of the country. Cuba and Venezuela In Cuba, new research examined microplastic pollution at sampling stations on two rivers: the Almendares, which runs through Havana, and the Banos del San Juan River, located in a rural area not far from the capital. While the study found more microplastics in the urban river, the rural river did contain some plastic particles, showing that even areas without high concentrations of people experience this type of pollution. The Venezuelan study focused on Chichiriviche de la Costa, a small fishing village in the state of La Guaira, about 65 km from the countrys capital, Caracas. The research compared the levels of microplastics upstream and downstream of the Chichi River and in the bay where it flows, which is where the town is located. The results showed that plastic pollution in river sediment was almost four times more downstream, showing that the village is a major source of pollution. Interaction with organisms Jose F. Grillo, co-author of the Venezuelan study, told SciDev.Net that it is essential to understand how microplastics behave in a holistic way, as well as analyse sources, sinks and their interaction with organisms, to try to design interventions that can have an impact on this problem. Both studies identified clothing and textile fibres as the most common type of microplastic, deriving from synthetic fabrics such as polyester, which release tiny fibres during washing. In areas with poor wastewater treatment, these fibres enter rivers and eventually end up in the ocean. The findings of the Cuban team describe a high presence of polyethylene terephthalate, commonly used in bags and packaging, and polypropylene, used in food containers and ropes. Jeny Larrea, co-author of the Cuban study and professor at the University of Havana, told SciDev.Net: These are the plastics that are most used in the packaging of personal care products, cleaning products, nylon bags, which corresponds to what is reported in the literature. Both studies found that microplastic levels increased during the rainy season. In Venezuela, the highest concentration of microplastics in Chichiriviche Bay was found near the mouth of the river, suggesting that the river acts as a direct channel of pollution from land to sea. Microplastics also accumulate in river sediments. In Cuba, the data showed that plastic particles settle at the bottom of both rivers. The study found links between the presence of polypropylene and reduced activity of river microorganisms, indicating that these particles can disrupt natural processes such as the decomposition of organic matter. These discoveries are an opportunity to advance a comprehensive analysis of microplastics as an environmental challenge that extends from land to sea, according to researchers. However, there is a long way to go to better understand their impact on ecosystems and health. Andreia Neves Fernandes, coordinator of the Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Emerging Pollutants at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, told SciDev.Net there was a need to investigate how organisms internalise plastic waste and examine the possible synergistic and antagonistic effects between microplastics, other environmental pollutants and organic matter. A 'chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication' is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found. A study involving over 3,000 participants both patients and clinicians found that these misdiagnoses (sometimes termed "in your head" by patients) were often associated with long term impacts on patients' physical health and wellbeing and damaged trust in healthcare services. The researchers are calling for greater awareness among clinicians of the symptoms of such diseases, which they recognise can be difficult to diagnose, and for more support for patients. Autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and vasculitis are chronic inflammatory disorders that affect the immune system and can damage organs and tissues throughout the body. They can be very difficult to diagnose as people report a wide range of different symptoms, many of which can be invisible, such as extreme fatigue and depression. Dr. Melanie Sloan from the University of Cambridge led a study exploring patient-reported experiences from two large groups, each of over 1,500 patients, and in-depth interviews with 67 patients and 50 clinicians. The results are published today in Rheumatology. Patients who reported that their autoimmune disease was misdiagnosed as psychosomatic or a mental health condition were more likely to experience higher levels of depression and anxiety, and lower mental wellbeing. For example, one patient with multiple autoimmune diseases said: "One doctor told me I was making myself feel pain and I still can't forget those words. Telling me I'm doing it to myself has made me very anxious and depressed." More than 80% said it had damaged their self-worth and 72% of patients reported that the misdiagnosis still upset them, often even decades later. Misdiagnosed patients also reported lower levels of satisfaction with every aspect of medical care and were more likely to distrust doctors, downplay their symptoms, and avoid healthcare services. As one patient reported, it "has damaged my trust and courage in telling doctors very much. I even stopped taking my immunosuppressive medicine because of those words". Following these types of misdiagnoses, patients often then blamed themselves for their condition, as one individual described: "I don't deserve help because this is a disease I've brought on myself. You go back to those initial diagnosis, you've always got their voices in your head, saying you're doing this to yourself. You just can't ever shake that. I've tried so hard." One patient described the traumatising response their doctor's judgement had on them: "When a rheumatologist dismissed me I was already suicidal, this just threw me over the edge. Thankfully I am terrible at killing myself, it's so much more challenging than you think. But the dreadful dismissiveness of doctors when you have a bizarre collection of symptoms is traumatizing and you start to believe them, that it's all in your head." Dr. Melanie Sloan, from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, said: "Although many doctors were intending to be reassuring in suggesting a psychosomatic or psychiatric cause for initially unexplainable symptoms, these types of misdiagnoses can create a multitude of negative feelings and impacts on lives, self-worth and care. These appear to rarely be resolved even after the correct diagnoses. We must do better at helping these patients heal, and in educating clinicians to consider autoimmunity at an earlier stage." Clinicians highlighted how hard it was to diagnose autoimmune rheumatic diseases and that there was a high risk of misdiagnosis. Some doctors said they hadn't really thought about the long-term problems for patients, but others talked about the problems in regaining trust, as one GP from England highlighted: "They lose trust in anything that anyone saysyou are trying to convince them that something is OK, and they will say yes but a doctor before said that and was wrong." However, there was evidence that this trust can be rebuilt. One patient described having been "badly gaslit by a clinician", but that when they told the clinician this, "She was shocked and had no idea She was great. Took it on the chin. Listened and heard. Apologised profuselyFor me, the scar of the original encounter was transformed into something much more positive." Mike Bosley, autoimmune patient and co-author on the study, said: "We need more clinicians to understand how a misdiagnosis of this sort can result in long-standing mental and emotional harm and in a disastrous loss of trust in doctors. Everyone needs to appreciate that autoimmune conditions can present in these unusual ways, that listening carefully to patients is key to avoiding the long-lasting harm that a mental health or psychosomatic misdiagnosis can cause." The study authors recommend several measures for improving support for patients with autoimmune rheumatological diseases. These are likely to apply for many other groups of patients with chronic diseases that are often misunderstood and initially misdiagnosed. They propose that clinicians should talk about previous misdiagnoses with patients, discuss and empathise with their patients as to the effects on them, and offer targeted support to reduce the long-term negative impacts. Health services should ensure greater access to psychologists and talking therapies for patients reporting previous misdiagnoses, which may reduce the long-term impact on wellbeing, healthcare behaviours, and patient-doctor relationships. Education may reduce misdiagnoses by encouraging clinicians to consider systemic autoimmunity when they assess patients with multiple, seemingly unconnected, physical and mental health symptoms. Diagnosing autoimmune rheumatic diseases can be challenging, but with better awareness among clinicians of how they present, we can hopefully reduce the risk of misdiagnoses. And while there will unfortunately inevitably still be patients whose condition is not correctly diagnosed, with the correct support in place, we may be able to lessen the impact on them." Professor Felix Naughton, from the Lifespan Health Research Centre, University of East Anglia The research was funded by LUPUS UK and The Lupus Trust. A new study uncovers how Oropouche virus is breaking out of the Amazon, spreading across Brazil and beyond. Scientists warn that environmental changes, human mobility, and viral evolution are driving its rapid expansionraising urgent concerns for global public health. Study: Travel-associated international spread of Oropouche virus beyond the Amazon. Image Credit: CI Photos / Shutterstock Oropouche virus (OROV), historically confined to the Brazilian Amazon Basin, has caused multiple outbreaks across many Brazilian states since 2022. Many OROV cases have also been detected beyond Brazil in recent times. Researchers have conducted whole-genome sequencing of viral isolates collected from outbreak regions to understand the dynamics of viral transmission to non-endemic regions. The study is published in the Journal of Travel Medicine. Background The virus likely circulated undetected in the Amazon for over a decade, with genomic traces suggesting silent spread as early as 20102014 due to patchy surveillance. Oropouche virus (OROV) is an arthropod-borne, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA virus segmented into three parts: small, medium, and large. These three segments encode essential components required for viral growth, transmission, and infectivity. After its first detection in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, the virus has caused several outbreaks among animals (non-human primates, sloths, and birds) in the Amazon Basin. In humans, the virus is primarily transmitted by midges (Culicoides paraenesis) and causes mild to moderate infections that resolve within a week. Up until August 2024, approximately 30 outbreaks have been reported in Latin America. However, recent epidemiological data demonstrates a sharp increase in OROV cases across multiple non-endemic Brazilian states, with travel-related cases reported in Italy, Spain, and Germany originating from travelers who visited Cuba. The first three fatal cases of OROV infection have also been reported in Brazil in 2024. All these reports highlight the spread of the virus outside the Amazon and raise concerns among public health authorities. Study Design Researchers conducted whole-genome sequencing of OROV-infected patient-derived samples collected from five Brazilian states between February and May 2024. They selected the samples for genomic analysis based on the available clinical and epidemiological metadata. They generated 133 whole-genome sequences covering the viruss three genomic segments: the small, medium, and large segments. These sequences included the first genomes from regions outside the Amazon and from the first recorded fatal cases. Study Findings Researchers linked banana and cocoa farming to midge population surges, creating viral hotspots where deforestation meets agriculture. The study reported a sharp rise in OROV infections in humans in the western Amazon region between late 2022 and early 2024. This induction coincided with a surge in OROV testing frequency (from 238 tests in 2020 to 54,428 in early 2024) across the country, indicating intensified surveillance efforts. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the new viral sequences generated in the study share a common ancestor with sequences obtained from the Amazon Basin sampled since 2022, suggesting a possible Amazonian origin of the recent viral lineage. Because of its segmented pattern, the OROV genome is likely to undergo reassortment and recombination events. The study identified 21 reassortment events (including 17 S-M, 7 S-L, and 11 M-L reassortments). However, whether these genomic changes have facilitated viral adaptation to local ecological conditions or contributed to its infectivity and pathogenicity remained unclear. By conducting a phylogeographic reconstruction of the 20222024 Brazilian dataset together with recently isolated international genome sequences from Peru and Italy, the study found a rapid north-to-south viral transmission within Brazil, followed by cross-border transmission into Peru. The study also found that OROV cases reported in Italy are associated with travelers who returned from Cuba. However, Cuban cases are inferred solely from travel history, as genomic data from Cuba itself are unavailable, limiting definitive conclusions about transmission routes. These observations highlight the role of human mobility in viral spreading. Study Significance While most infections resolve within a week, the first documented fetal death linked to OROV raises alarms about risks during pregnancy. The study demonstrates how OROV evolution through genomic reassortment has facilitated its rapid transmission within and beyond Brazil. The findings indicate that the 20222024 lineage of OROV might have emerged in central Amazonas between 2010 and 2014, with evidence of long-term cryptic circulation in the Amazon during the late 2010s due to limited surveillance. The studys north-to-south viral movement coincides with the Amazon Basins rainy season. Existing eco-epidemiological studies suggest that OROV preferentially circulates in regions with high population density, favorable climatic conditions, and reduced evergreen broadleaf forest cover. Furthermore, deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural practices (e.g., banana and cocoa farming) facilitate midge breeding, increasing the risk of viral transmission and shaping the viruss geographical range. The detection of the first three fatal OROV cases in young adults without comorbidities including mutations in the M (I13V, M642I) and L (T857A) segments highlights the need for further investigations, with a particular focus on vertical transmission and pregnancy outcomes. The Brazilian Ministry of Health has recently reported the first fetal death due to OROV with mother-to-child transmission in Pernambuco. However, asymptomatic or mild cases may be underrepresented in genomic datasets, biasing surveillance efforts. This highlights the need to identify viral factors associated with severe outcomes and develop effective interventions. The study identified travel-related OROV cases, which indicate that human mobility plays a vital role in viral spreading beyond Brazil. Key limitations include the lack of genomic data from Colombia, Cuba, and other affected countries, preventing a complete understanding of transmission networks. Overall, the study highlights the urgency for continuous genomic surveillance to understand the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of OROV. This is particularly important for preventing future outbreaks and ensuring timely public health responses. Researchers at Rice University have uncovered a critical link between rising temperatures and declines in a species' population, shedding new light on how global warming threatens natural ecosystems. The study, published in Ecology and led by Volker Rudolf, revealed that rising temperatures exacerbate competition within populations, ultimately leading to population crashes at higher temperatures. It offers one of the first clear experimental confirmations that rising temperatures alter the forces that control population dynamics in nature. Our research provides an essential missing piece in understanding the broader effects of warming on natural populations. Even when individual organisms seem to thrive at higher temperatures, the population as a whole may still suffer as competition for resources intensifies." Volker Rudolf, professor of biosciences, Rice University To reveal how temperature influences competition and population growth, the team focused on Daphnia pulex, a small zooplankton species that plays a vital role in freshwater food webs and water quality. By manipulating temperature and population density in a controlled laboratory setting, the researchers isolated the effects of rising temperatures on population dynamics. The results were both fascinating and troubling. The experiment revealed that competition among the individuals became significantly stronger as temperatures rose. In fact, for every 7 degrees Celsius increase in temperature, competition effects doubled, causing a dramatic 50% population decline at the highest tested temperature. While moderate warming (12-19 C) initially boosted population growth by accelerating metabolism and reproduction, at higher temperatures these benefits vanished as the increase in competition took its toll, leading to sharp population declines even as individual organisms tolerated the higher temperatures. "We know warming temperatures increase metabolism and reproduction in ectotherms, but we found that warmer temperatures also create competition that limits survival and reproduction," said Lillie Stockseth, alumna and first author of the study. Stockseth carried out the experiment as part of her undergraduate senior thesis in Rudolf's lab and is now working for the Houston Zoo. "As temperatures rose toward the physiological limit for these populations, increased competition began to outweigh those metabolic benefits and led to population declines. This is an important warning for ecosystems facing rising temperatures - populations could approach decline at less severe temperatures than we've thought." The findings challenge the assumption that warming always benefits ectotherm populations by boosting individual growth. Instead, they show that rising temperatures can harm populations by intensified competition even before physiological stress becomes a critical factor. This increase in competition can also destabilize populations, further intensifying the risk of local extinctions, especially in environments with frequent temperature fluctuations. "Our findings suggest that many species could face rapid population declines long before they reach their thermal tolerance limits," said Zoey Neale, alumna and former graduate student in Rudolf's lab who now works as a data scientist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "This has major implications for conservation as it means that temperature-driven population collapses could occur at lower warming thresholds than previously expected and could affect species that were thought to be resilient to temperature changes." As global temperatures continue to rise, research like this provides crucial insights that can help predict and mitigate biodiversity loss, a key step to ensuring that vulnerable species and ecosystems receive the protection they need before it's too late. Our perceptions of body image are shaped by what we see from as early as seven years old, according to new research by Durham University (UK). These body ideals continue to be influenced by visual exposure to different body weights into adulthood, the research also found. The results show that people's perceptions of body weight are flexible and adult-like from seven years of age onwards and have implications for our understanding of body size and the perceptions, and possible misperceptions, of weight in health and wellbeing. Professor Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University's Department of Psychology, carried out a first-of-its-kind study to examine the flexibility of body weight perceptions in children and young adults. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, found that children as young as seven years old adjust how heavy or light they rate other people's bodies after seeing a series of pictures of low or high weight bodies. The analysis uncovered a significant shift in weight perceptions after exposure to images depicting various body weights. The results showed that the manner in which our brains represent what constitutes "heavy" or "light" develops at a very young age. The research, which involved more than 200 individuals aged seven through to adulthood, also indicated that media influences known to shape adult body perceptions can almost certainly impact children to the same degree, starting from early childhood and continuing to evolve into adulthood. It has been clear for many years that we need to be wary about visual media which present only a narrow range of bodies, because this affects adults' body perceptions. Now we know that's true for children, too. Even very neutral images can adjust their ideas about what is heavy or thin if they see enough of the same kind of body." Professor Lynda Boothroyd, Lead Author The experimental study adds to the wealth of research at Durham University on body perception and body ideals in both children and adults. Professor Boothroyd's team at Durham has previously shown that adults' ideas about what is an 'attractive' body weight or muscle mass are affected by visual experience. This includes the effect of television access on body perceptions among remote communities in Latin America and, in a separate study, finding that White Western women have lower body appreciation and experience greater pressure from the media to be thin compared to Black Nigerian and Chinese women across all ages. Looking ahead, the team is now investigating how best to address body image concerns in young adults across the globe in a major 2 million (2.5M) research project and developing novel play-based techniques to investigate children's understandings of body weight and body ideals from a younger age. Professor Boothroyd added: "Researchers often assume that children's body perceptions and their ideas about body image work the same way as adults. We've shown that that's true, down to seven years, for basic perceptual impacts on body weight perception. But there's more to explore in how that converts into their own body image and their own feelings about weight." This new study included data gathered during the University's 'Junior Scientist' event, which actively involves families from the local communities around Durham, UK, in various research and educational activities. Additionally, the research involved stimuli provided by Northumbria University and contributions from a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester. An international study led by the University of Granada (UGR) has revealed that melatonin, known for its ability to regulate the sleep/wake cycle, can restore the composition of muscle fibers and protect skeletal muscle from damage caused by obesity and type 2 diabetes, known as "diabesity". The results, published in the journals Free Radical Biology and Medicine and Antioxidants, show that this hormone improves mitochondrial function, reduces cellular stress and prevents programmed cell death, offering a new therapeutic strategy to combat this metabolic disease. Improvement and protection of the muscles The study, led by Ahmad Agil, professor of pharmacology at the University of Granada, showed that the administration of melatonin to obese and diabetic rodents for 12 weeks succeeded in promoting the conversion of glycolytic (fast) muscle fibers to oxidative (slow) fibers, improving the energy efficiency of the muscle. This change not only optimizes energy production, but also protects the muscle from deterioration caused by "diabesity", a condition that combines obesity and type 2 diabetes. The work, in which scientists from the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Granada, the Federico Oloriz Institute of Neurosciences and the Granada Biosanitary Institute have participated, as well as other collaborating institutions such as the Department of Nutrition and Food Science and the Department of Histology at the University of Granada, the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition in Madrid, the University of Qatar and Yarmouk University in Jordan, has focused on skeletal muscle, a key organ that accounts for more than 50% of body weight. Muscle fibers are divided into three types: slow twitch (type I) or red fibers due to the large number of mitochondria they possess, fast twitch (type IIb) or white fibers and intermediate (type IIa). In addition, each muscle in our body has a specific variable and changing proportion of each of these fiber types, depending on the type of movement performed. During short periods of intense muscular activity, white fibers with glycolytic metabolism predominate, and during prolonged periods of low-intensity muscular activity, red fibers with oxidative metabolism predominate. Melatonin managed to restore the healthy proportion of these fibers, increasing oxidative fibers and reducing glycolytic fibers, reversing the effects of "diabesity", which improves the muscle's ability to burn fat (reducing fat accumulation, and therefore obesity) and produce energy. In addition, melatonin showed effects similar to those of prolonged aerobic activity, especially improving mitochondrial function and regulating calcium levels in cell compartments, which reduces cellular stress and prevents programmed cell death. "We discovered that melatonin restores calcium levels in the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, which helps to reduce cell damage," says Dr. Agil. These results are in line with those previously published over the last 15 years by this research group. Their findings could open up new perspectives for the development of therapeutic strategies based on the pharmacological administration of melatonin, aimed at improving muscle health in patients with diabetes. "Our main challenge is the application of melatonin in the field of medicine," say the authors of the paper. Confirming the results in humans Obesity and type 2 diabetes are two of the most prevalent metabolic diseases in the world, affecting almost 900 million and 800 million people, respectively. Both conditions are closely related and tend to coexist in what is known as "diabesity". This disorder not only reduces patients' quality of life, but also represents a challenge for healthcare systems. The findings of the UGR open up new perspectives for the therapeutic use of melatonin, a substance with a well-established safety profile. For the head of this research, "our results reinforce the idea that melatonin could have therapeutic applications in metabolic diseases, improving the muscle health of patients". For this reason, he reminds us that maintaining a healthy, active and balanced lifestyle during the day, accompanied by proper nighttime rest, is key to preserving muscle health and preventing the negative effects of obesity. The study, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), suggests that melatonin could become an accessible and effective therapy to combat "diabesity" and its complications. However, the researchers stress the need for clinical studies in humans to confirm these results and determine the optimal dose in each case. If we can demonstrate its effectiveness in humans, we could have an innovative treatment that would improve the lives of millions of people." Ahmad Agil, professor of pharmacology, University of Granada Watch: BYD Partners With DJI, Unveils EV Model With Drone System On Top Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 12:24 IST It has been reported that the model is currently available in the Chinese market right now. It comes at a starting price of around 1600 yuan (roughly 2,197 dollars). BYD Partners With DJI. (File Photo) In a move to offer advanced technology to electric cars, the Chinese car maker Build Your Dreams or BYD has introduced an EV with a drone system on its top. Yes, you read it Right! The decision to add the EV with a drone system has been taken in partnership with the world-class tech giant DJI. Recommended Stories It has been reported that the model is currently available in the Chinese market right now. It comes at a starting price of around 1600 yuan (roughly 2,197 dollars). It is only available for the Chinese mainland. It is not yet confirmed when and at what time the vehicle will arrive in the other parts of the world. Take Look at Video Here OMG! BYD, launches on-vehicle drone system with DJI! pic.twitter.com/tNxn2vX93U Dominic Lee (@dominictsz) March 3, 2025 A video of the model has been shared on the internet, where the tech-loaded EV can be seen flaunting its rare yet high-technology drone system. The clip starts with an impressive shot of the car, launching the drone from its roof. As the footage moves further, the drone can seen tracking the car, offering a clear aerial view, making it easy for the driver to understand its surroundings from the top view. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Top Elements According to the clip, the model comes with a drone, a drone hanger, an onboard module handle, and apps for AI recognition and film editing. The video also revealed that the EV with the drone tech is available for Chinese customers from the mainland. About the Author Shahrukh Shah Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Get the latest updates on car and bike launches in India including reviews, prices, specs, and performance. Stay informed with breaking auto industry news , EV policies, and more, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : China First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:24 IST Which Indian Prime Minister Decided To Secretly Print Currency Abroad? Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 19:09 IST In 1997, India outsourced currency printing to foreign firms due to inadequate capacity. This costly move faced criticism and was halted. New presses in Mysore and Salboni were later set up The government opted to print 360 crore currency units abroad, incurring an expenditure of 9.5 crore dollars. (Representative/Shutterstock) In the late 1990s, the Indian government made a clandestine decision to outsource the printing of currency notes. This decision, taken by the then Prime Minister on May 8, 1997, was shrouded in secrecy, leaving the nation oblivious for a significant period. For the first time, the Indian government decided to have its currency printed abroad. Subsequently, the Indian Rupee continued to be printed overseas for several years. Recommended Stories In 1997, the Indian government recognised that the countrys population and economic activities were both expanding. This dual growth necessitated an increased currency flow within the Indian economy. However, the existing currency printing presses in India proved inadequate to meet this burgeoning demand. In 1996, the United Front government came to power in India, with HD Deve Gowda as Prime Minister. It was during Deve Gowdas tenure that the decision to print Indian currency abroad was taken for the first and, to date, only time since Independence. Following consultations with the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian government opted to have banknotes printed by American, Canadian, and European firms. For an extended period, a significant proportion of Indian currency was printed overseas, proving to be a costly endeavour that incurred expenditures of several thousand crore rupees for India. It is alleged that the government opted to print 360 crore currency units abroad, incurring an expenditure of 9.5 crore dollars. This decision faced significant criticism, raising concerns about potential risks to the security of the nations currency. Consequently, the practice of printing notes abroad was promptly halted. To increase note-printing capacity, the Indian government commissioned two new currency presses. The first, located in Mysore, commenced operations in 1999. The second, situated in Salboni, West Bengal, followed in 2000. To meet the growing demand for currency paper, a security paper mill was established in Hoshangabad in 1968. With a production capacity of 2,800 metric tons, this facility aimed to enhance domestic currency production. However, the mills output proved insufficient to meet the countrys total currency paper requirements. Consequently, additional supplies had to be sourced from countries like Britain, Japan, and Germany. After establishing a new production line in Hoshangabad to address the growing demand, a second printing press commenced operations in Mysore. These facilities now fulfil the entire demand for Indian currency paper. The paper used for the 500 rupee notes is manufactured domestically. Similarly, the specialised paper for the discontinued 2,000 rupee note was also produced in India. Until recently, a significant portion of the paper used in Indian banknotes was imported from Germany and Britain. However, the RBI did not disclose where this special paper is produced. The special watermarked paper most commonly used in notes came from Germanys Giesecke+Devrient and Britains De La Rue Company, which is now being produced in India. Ninety years ago, Indias first currency printing press was established in Nashik by the British. Following independence, the press became the sole source of Indian rupee production. While initially reliant on imported materials like currency paper and ink, the government now asserts that all essential components are domestically sourced. When the British colonial government first issued rupee notes in India in 1862, it obtained them from UK-based Thomas De La Rue, which had started out printing playing cards and postage stamps before entering the currency business. The 200-year-old company, now known as De La Rue, is the worlds largest commercial banknote printer. The company also manufactures the paper used to print notes. In the 1920s, the British decided to print money in India. In 1926, they began building the regions first currency printing press in Nashik, Maharashtra. According to Rezwan Razak, co-author of The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money", the city was chosen for its stable climate and proximity to a major railway line that connected it to the rest of India. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Two years later, the Nashik press began printing Rs 5 notes with the same design initially brought from England. In subsequent years, the press introduced notes with new designs in denominations of Rs 100, Rs 1,000, and even Rs 10,000. While the Reserve Bank of India prints currency, the Government of India directly handles the minting of coins. Coins are minted at four mints, namely Alipore in South Kolkata, Saifabad in Hyderabad, Cherlapally in Hyderabad, and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. However, the Reserve Bank itself issues them. First Published: March 05, 2025, 19:09 IST PM Internship Scheme 2025: Golden Opportunity! 10th, 12th Pass Can Also Apply, Check Stipend & More Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:01 IST PM Internship Scheme 2025: Applications for PMIS 2025 are open until March 12, 2025 at pminternship.mca.gov.in. PM Internship Scheme 2025: Students with at least a 10th standard qualification can apply. If youre a student looking to gain industry experience in your field of interest, the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) offers golden opportunities. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India, has opened the application portal for PMIS 2025. Interested candidates, with educational qualifications as low as 10th standard, can apply for various opportunities on the official website: pminternship.mca.gov.in until March 12, 2025. Why Apply For PM Internship Scheme? Recommended Stories This is your chance to gain hands-on experience with some of the top 500 companies in India! The PM Internship Scheme allows you to dive into real business environments across various sectors, helping you build valuable skills and enhance your work experience. Whether youre looking to kickstart your career or gain exposure in your field, this scheme opens the door to a world of opportunities. PM Internship Scheme: Eligibility Criteria Age: Applicants must be between 21 to 24 years old (as of the application deadline). Education: From high school graduates to diploma holders, and those with degrees in BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BBA, BCA, etc., are eligible to apply. You can even apply if youre enrolled in online or distance learning programs. Income: Your familys annual income (self, spouse, or parents) should not exceed Rs. 8 lakh. Job Status: Applicants must not be employed full-time or enrolled in full-time education. Internship Duration: Internships are for one year (12 months). This opportunity is perfect for those not currently working or studying full-time, as its designed to help you gain valuable experience without any other professional commitments. PM Internship Scheme: Stipend & Benefits Monthly Stipend: Each intern will receive Rs 5,000 per month for the entire duration of the 12-month internship. One-time Grant: After joining, a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 will be provided, credited directly to your account. Insurance Coverage: Interns will receive insurance coverage under the Government of Indias insurance schemes. How to Apply For PM Internship Scheme 2025? Candidates must note that there is no application fee to apply for the PMIS 2025. Step 1: Visit the official PMIS website at pminternship.mca.gov.in. Step 2: Register by providing the necessary details. Step 3: Log in using the credentials you created during registration. Step 4: Fill out the application form carefully. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Step 5: Submit your form and save the confirmation page for future reference. The Prime Ministers Internship Scheme is a Government of India initiative aimed at providing internship opportunities to youth in the top 500 companies of India. The program offers youth exposure to real-life business environments across sectors, helping them gain valuable skills and work experience. This scheme targets to offer one crore internships to youth over five years. First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:01 IST Ranya Rao: Education & Career Of Kannada Actress Arrested For Gold Smuggling Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 16:16 IST Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengalurus airport with 14.8 kg of gold. Authorities are probing Ranya Rao's possible involvement in a smuggling network. On the night of March 3, Kannada actress Ranya Rao was taken into custody at Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport when it was found that she had 14.8 kilograms of gold. According to officials cited in a report by the news agency PTI, the arrest was made by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). After being brought before a court for economic violations, Ranya Rao was placed under judicial prison for 14 days. Police are looking into whether she was part of a bigger smuggling network between Dubai and India or if she was acting alone. The actress reportedly caught the attention of the authorities after making four trips to Dubai in a 15-day period. When she returned on Monday night, the frequency sparked curiosity and led to a focused operation. Recommended Stories Who Is Ranya Rao? Known for co-starring with Kannada superstar Sudeep in the 2014 film Maanikya, Ranya Rao has also starred in a few other South Indian films. The 33-year-old actor is the stepdaughter of K. Ramachandra Rao, a top Karnataka IPS official. At the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, he holds the position of Director-General of Police (DGP). Ranya Raos Educational Qualification Ranya Rao graduated from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bangalore with an engineering degree. Her passion for performing led her to later enrol at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Performing Institute. Ranya Raos Career Originally from Karnataka, Ranya Rao pursued a career in Tamil and Telugu cinema. Due to her attractive appearance and growing fan base, she has established herself in the South Indian film industry. She made her debut in the Kannada film Maanikya (2014). Later, she branched out into Tamil cinema with the 2016 and 2017 films Wagah and Pataki, respectively. Why Is Ranya Rao Making Headings? Ranya Rao had landed at Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport from Dubai on an Emirates flight, according to the officials cited in the PTI report. Because she travelled abroad frequently, she had to be monitored. After discovering that she had visited Dubai four times in 15 days, police were suspicious and launched a targeted investigation when she returned. According to preliminary investigations, Ranya Rao might have tried to get around customs inspections by using her contacts. According to the PTI report, she allegedly contacted local police officers to arrange for an escort home after landing and claimed to be the daughter of the director general of police in Karnataka. As per investigators, she had reportedly smuggled the gold by hiding gold bars in her clothing and wearing a large amount of it. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The question now being asked by officials is if any law enforcement officials, including her IPS relative, knew about her activities or were duped into helping her. Ranya Rao was taken to be questioned at the DRI headquarters in Bengalurus HBR Layout following her detention. Ranya Rao defended herself by saying she had a valid business reason for visiting Dubai. This explanation did not support the information found throughout the inquiry. About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 16:16 IST Top 5 Countries With The Best Education System In The World Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:16 IST Here are the top countries with the best education systems for Indian students looking to study abroad and build a successful career. Top Study Abroad Destinations: Explore the world's best education systems for Indian students aiming for global careers. (Image: Getty) Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world. The best education system equips individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to society, leading to economic growth, social progress, and the overall development of a nation. Many Indian students choose to pursue higher education abroad, often due to the perceived higher quality of education in foreign countries compared to the options available in India. If you are among those planning to study abroad, then this article is for you. Below, we have listed the countries with the best education systems in the world and why they are popular for providing quality education. Recommended Stories United States of America (USA) The education system of the USA is regarded as one of the best in the world. The most popular education destinations for students are New York, California, and Texas. According to the QS World University Rankings 2024, around 34 US universities are ranked within the top 150 globally. The main highlight of the universities here is their focus on research-oriented learning. In the American education system, research, innovation, and creativity remain at the forefront of their educational philosophy. Students are encouraged to engage in discussions, analyse issues, and present various ideas. To date, 97 Nobel Laureates have been associated with the University of Chicago alone, with 90 of them registered as Chicagos Nobel Laureates. This reflects the universitys dedication to producing ideas that have a global impact. United Kingdom (UK) The education system of the UK is the worlds second-leading study destination, hosting more than 442,000 international students. The country has an excellent track record in terms of academic success and international rankings. More than 30 prominent world leaders, 120 Olympic medallists, 26 Nobel Prize winners, and 26 British Prime Ministers have studied at the University of Oxford. Additionally, Indian leaders such as Indira Gandhi studied at Oxford, while Mahatma Gandhi was among the most famous alumni of University College London. The principal architect of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar, also worked on his doctoral thesis at the LSE. This demonstrates the popularity and global reputation of UK universities. Germany Next on the list of popular study destinations is Germany. After the US and the UK, Germany is considered the top destination for non-English-speaking students. Almost every major city in the country is home to at least one world-class university. Low tuition fees, various scholarship schemes, excellent post-graduate job opportunities, and a high quality of life place Germany among the worlds best education providers. Furthermore, it is home to some of the worlds oldest universities and is regarded as a hub of innovation and world-class discoveries. As many as 16 German universities feature in the worlds top 250 and 30 in the top 500, according to the QS World University Rankings 2024. Canada Known for its impactful research work and for producing some of the greatest academics, Canadian universities are highly recommended by students as a study destination. There are different types of education providers in Canadauniversities, community colleges, and technical applied arts or applied science schools. The easy application process, affordable study options, and excellent post-study opportunities make it a preferred destination for international students. The most popular study locations for international students are Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. ALSO READ: Top Private Engineering Colleges In India As Per NIRF Ranking 2024 France In the World Population Reviews Education Rankings by Country 2024, the French education system ranks fifth globally. Higher education institutions in France are classified into three categories: universities, Grandes Ecoles, and specialised schools. The country boasts a broad and prestigious higher education system, attracting numerous international students, including those from India. French universities are well known for their high-quality education, emphasis on research, innovation, and practical skills, with many programmes offering internships and industry collaborations. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Compared to other Western countries, Indian students can benefit from relatively low tuition fees in France, with public universities charging minimal fees and several scholarship opportunities available through various programmes. Apart from the countries mentioned above, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Sweden, and Denmark have also developed excellent higher education systems. About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:14 IST Jimmy Carter Gave Away $287-Million Panama Canal For $1. Now Trump Wants It Back Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:20 IST Donald Trump plans to reclaim the Panama Canal, citing its strategic importance. The canal, handed to Panama in 1999, remains contentious. A cargo ship waits near the Centennial Bridge for transit through the Panama Canal locks in Panama City on January 17, 2024. (AP Photo) The Panama Canal, one of USs greatest engineering feats, may soon become the focal point of a new geopolitical struggle. After Donald Trumps recent announcement during his first address to Congress in 2025, the world is questioning whether the United States could indeed reclaim this vital waterway from Panama. In his speech, Trump declared that unlike the era of former US President Reagan, US now possesses the technology to build a powerful military force akin to Israels, and were committed to safeguarding the citizens. US will bolster the shipbuilding sector both commercial and military, he said, adding that a new office will be established within the White House to accelerate these efforts. As part of our national security strategy, we will reclaim the Panama Canal. This process is already underway with a major US company set to purchase both of the canals ports," he stated. Recommended Stories Trumps remarks were a direct reference to the controversial decision made decades ago when the United States handed control of the canal to Panama for just $1. The decision, initially signed under former US President Jimmy Carters administration in 1977, remains one of the most debated agreements in the countrys foreign policy. Trump noted the immense human and financial cost of constructing the canal, with more than 38,000 workers losing their lives during its construction due to diseases like malaria, and an expenditure of approximately $287 million, equivalent to a staggering Rs 20,37,31,49,82,578 today. The Construction of Panama Canal The Panama Canal was originally envisioned as a way to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, vastly improving global shipping routes. Construction began in 1881 under French leadership but was halted due to technical challenges and high mortality rates among workers. By 1904, the United States took over the project, which was completed in 1914. The canals completion marked a new era of American economic and strategic influence, cementing the US as a global maritime power. The project involved cutting through the Isthmus of Panama, overcoming numerous engineering challenges, and employing thousands of labourers, primarily Americans. The cost of the canal both in terms of money and lives was astronomical. However, the strategic value it offered was undeniable, positioning the US as a dominant player in global trade and military movements across the Western Hemisphere. The Carter Administrations Controversial Decision The turning point came in 1977 when former US President Carter and Panamas leader, Omar Torrijos, signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. These agreements set the stage for the canals transfer to Panama on December 31, 1999. The US government, then under Carter, argued that retaining control over the canal was no longer in the nations best interest. Panama had long pressured the US for sovereignty over the canal, and political instability in the region was seen as a growing risk if the US refused to negotiate. However, this decision was far from universally supported within the US political establishment. Many viewed the handover of the canal as a historical mistake, believing that it weakened Americas influence in the region and endangered its strategic control over the crucial maritime route. When the US officially transferred the canals ownership to Panama in 1999, the agreement included a symbolic payment of just $1. This nominal sum was highly controversial at the time, as critics argued that the US had essentially surrendered its control over a critical asset with limited compensation in return. The Panama Canal quickly became a hub for foreign investment, with China-backed companies increasing their presence in the region, further diminishing American influence over this vital trade route. Can the US Reclaim the Panama Canal? Given the aggressive stance taken by Trumps administration, many are now asking whether the United States can feasibly regain control of the Panama Canal. While the canal is still owned by Panama, Chinese investments and growing influence in the region have raised concerns about the USs diminishing leverage over the area. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Reclaiming the Panama Canal would likely require either a new treaty with the Panamanian government or the use of military pressure, both of which would trigger significant global political repercussions. Trumps declaration suggests that the US is preparing to take bold steps to correct what many view as a major misstep in US foreign policy. Trumps announcement signals that the US is ready to adopt a more aggressive approach to address what it sees as a long-standing error in its handling of the canal. If the US moves forward with its plan to regain control, it could ignite a shift in global power dynamics, potentially reshaping both regional and international politics in the years to come. First Published: March 05, 2025, 13:20 IST Trumps Tariffs Echo 1930s Smoot-Hawley Act That Crashed US Economy, Will History Repeat? Explained Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Shilpy Bisht Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:52 IST The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was enacted to protect US farmers. It imposed 25% of all goods imported to US. This led to economic downturn, Great Depression, retaliatory tariffs from other countries US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, on March 4, 2025. (AP Photo) Donald Trumps new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China have escalated the trade war, whose ramifications include retaliatory actions from these countries, falling stock prices around the world and diplomacy shakedown. Stung by tariffs from the US an additional 10% on imports from China and 25% on almost all imports from Canada and Mexico Canada and China quickly announced retaliatory actions, including measures that could bar some American products from their market entirely. This could hurt US farmers quite hard. Recommended Stories Since the trade war has intensified with the US, many experts have compared the current economic situation to an earlier episode in the American history the Tariff Act of 1930 which triggered an all-out trade war and led to the Great Depression. The law was known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff one of the most controversial tariff acts ever enacted by the Congress. It was also the last instance of a trade war involving the US, prior to Trumps first term, according to Kris James Mitchener, an economics professor at Santa Clara University who studies economic history and political economy, as quoted by CNBC News. Let us understand what the mother of all trade wars" was, how did it the economy and is Trump tariff war pushing the country towards the brink? What was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff? The law got its name from its chief Republican supporters in Congress: Rep. Willis Hawley of Oregon, chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Reed Smoot of Utah, who chaired the Senate Finance Committee. The tariff act was enacted to safeguard US farmers, who had expanded agricultural production during World War I but suffered after the war as European production came back online and prices collapsed. President Herbert Hoover, who had run for the office on a plank to help farmers with protective tariffs, signed the law in June 1930, ignoring a petition signed by more than 1,000 economists asking him to veto the bill. The Congress extended the tariffs beyond agriculture to include all sectors of the economy. It put tariffs on roughly 25% of all goods imported to the US about 800 to 900 different types. For products already facing tariffs, the Smoot-Hawley law raised the import tax from 40% to nearly 60%, making for an increase of roughly 20 percentage points, Mitchener said. What Happened After The Law Took Effect? The tariff law set off new trade war, in which several countries took retaliatory actions by slapping US imports with taxes of their own. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cuba, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Switzerland were the nine nations who imposed retaliatory tariffs directed specifically at US products. Canada placed tariffs on 16 products that accounted for roughly a third of US exports, while France and Spain imposed taxes on imported American automobiles. As a result, trading partners suffered reduced output, but so did the US. This slowed down trade, which weakened the economy and exacerbated the countrys economic downturn, as per experts. However, the Great Depression had taken hold before the effects of Smoot-Hawley, ruling it out as a cause of the crisis," as quoted by ABC News. Experts say other nations formed trade blocs that excluded the US while 35 governments lodged official protests against Smoot-Hawley. US exports to retaliating nations fell by 28% to 32%. Further, nations that protested Smoot-Hawley law also reduced their US imports by 15% to 23%. History Of US Tariffs Prior To Trump The average tariff rate for dutiable imports cratered from 59% in 1932 to roughly 13% in 1950, and fell below 5% from the mid-1990s to 2015, according to a 2024 analysis by the CATO Institute. Meanwhile, the average tariff rate across all imports which include products not subject to tariffs fell from about 20% in 1933 to below 2% from 2000 to 2019. Historically, tariffs have been typically invoked by US administrations when domestic industry has complained about competition from foreign suppliers," Brett House, professor of professional practice in the economics division at Columbia Business School, told CNBC News. During President Barack Obamas second term in 2013, the International Trade Commission issued anti-dumping duties," or a form of tariff, on washing machines specifically from Mexico and South Korea. Years later during Trumps first term, a tariff on washing machines was imposed, but it was global instead of limiting it to specific countries. Other presidents, including George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, had also put tariffs on steel. But Doug Irwin, an economics professor at Dartmouth College and past president of the Economic History Association, told CNBC, Trumps tariffs are different. In his second term, Trump is using tariffs in a broad brush" manner and imposing them on all nations, which no US president in recent history has done. Will History Repeat? It should be noted that the Reciprocal Tariffs Act in 1934 gave the president the power to increase or reduce tariffs by up to 50%. This led to a series of subsequent laws that shifted additional tariff authority to the president. With no signs of Trump budging, China has imposed tariffs of up to 15% on key US farm exports, including American-grown chicken, pork, soy and beef. It also expanded the number of US companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Similarly, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Experts say Canada and Mexico will suffer considerably more than the US because of its economys size and strengthening dollar. The combined tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could result in about a 0.4% GDP loss for the US, amounting to over $100 billion. Trump is using the delegated powers to pass tariffs," Irwin said. Thats completing the circle of Smoot-Hawley in some sense." About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 11:49 IST Why Jaishankar's UK Visit Is Important For India, Whats On Agenda? Explained Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Shilpy Bisht Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:59 IST One of the most anticipated aspects of Jaishankars visit to the UK is resumption of Free Trade Agreement talks between the two countries External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets British Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds in London. (Photo: @DrSJaishankar via PTI) Amidst the ongoing discussions around the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), external affairs minister S Jaishankar is on a six-day official trip to the United Kingdom (UK) to deepen economic and diplomatic ties between the two nations. One of the key engagements during Jaishankars visit was his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street on March 4. Recommended Stories Jaishankar will hold talks with several British ministers, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds. On X, Jaishankar shared greeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Starmer, and expressed his satisfaction with the discussions held on advancing bilateral economic cooperation and strengthening people-to-people exchanges. Whats Jaishankars UK Agenda? Free Trade Agreement One of the most anticipated aspects of Jaishankars visit to the UK is resumption of FTA talks between the two countries. The negotiations on a trade deal between the UK and India have been underway for the past several years. A positive development was seen when British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds visited New Delhi in February 2025 to revive FTA talks. Despite challenges in terms disagreements over market access and tariff reductions, the renewed discussions signal towards finalising the deal. Jaishankar is also scheduled to deliver an address at Chatham House, a leading London-based think tank, on March 5 at a session titled Indias rise and role in the world," which is expected to outline Indias growing influence in global affairs and its approach to international challenges. Ireland Apart from diplomatic meetings, Jaishankar will inaugurate new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester on March 7 and March 8, respectively. This was announced by PM Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November. During his visit to Ireland from March 6 to 7, Jaishankar will meet his Irish counterpart, Simon Harris, along with other officials and members of the Indian diaspora. A significant development expected during this visit is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a diplomat exchange programme, The Hindu reported. Reports say that India and Ireland are expected to set up the India-Ireland Joint Economic Commission, aimed at fostering deeper economic collaboration between the two countries. Terrorism Jaishankar also held an important meeting with UK Home Secretary Cooper in which the two leaders discussed critical issues such as the flow of talent between India and the UK, joint efforts to tackle human trafficking, and addressing extremism. On X, Jaishankar posted, A good meeting with Home Secretary @YvetteCooperMP today in London. We discussed the flow of talent, people-to-people exchanges, and joint efforts in tackling trafficking and extremism." India-UK Bilateral Relations Post Modi Govt With the Modi governments Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in 2020, the government raised the foreign ownership cap to 74%. It allowed the UK government to create the first Indian-specific open general export license given to an Indo-Pacific nation in April 2022. This would assist in the exports of military equipment and technology alongside civilian merchandise. In April 2022, the he defence ministries of both countries formed a Joint Working Group on UK-India Electric Propulsion Capability Partnership. The group met for the first time in the UK in March 2023, and the nations convened a workshop on electric propulsion in New Delhi. In terms of economic relations, India was the UKs 12th largest trading partner in 2023, contributing to less than 2% of total UKs trade. Both New Delhi and London had an increased trade by 9% in merchandise and services. Top exports falling were metal ores & scrap (1.3 billion), mechanical power generators (536.3 million), non-ferrous metals (444.9million). The UK imports about 23.2 billion worth of goods and services. This includes refined oil (1.5 billion), clothing (912.7 million), mechanical power generators (580.5 million), as per Geo Strata India-based independent think tank. As India is anticipated to be one of the biggest influences on the world", the UK has taken various steps to deepen its cultural partnership with India. It opened Deputy High Commissions in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and a British assistance office in Panaji. With the UK being the prime destination for higher education, Indians account for nearly 25% of all student visas (133,237), a 5% rise from 2023, and make up the bulk of students studying in the UK. Indias Global Balancing Act Amidst the Ukraine war and tariffs, Jaishankars UK visit is pivotal as India continues to position itself a major global player, navigating diplomatic situations and economic challenges. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Peace being Indias key negotiation plank, PM Modi recently reaffirmed this position during talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, stating the need for a just and lasting peace" based on international law and territorial sovereignty. Since European leaders are pushing for new approaches to end the Ukraine war, with the UK distancing itself from Frances proposal, India will have to navigate through these roadblocks to strengthen bilateral ties. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:59 IST Will Google Employees Work 60 Hours A Week? Why Sergey Brin Thinks Its Key To AI Development | Explained Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Shilpy Bisht Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 09:41 IST Sergey Brin said 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity in the message to employees who work on Gemini Google co-founder Sergey Brin stressed that Google employees should use more of AI for coding as improvement in AI would lead to Artificial Generative Intelligence. (File Photo: AFP) Google co-founder Sergey Brin sent a memo to his employees, who are working on Gemini AI models, to devote at least 60 hours in a week and be present in office every day. Brins stern warning to employees come as the AI race gets narrower, with Google trying to reassert itself as an AI pioneer. Recommended Stories I recommend being in the office at least every weekday," he wrote in a memo posted internally on February 26, as viewed by The New York Times. He added that 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity" in the message to employees who work on Gemini, Googles lineup of AI models and apps. Brin criticised employees who were not meeting this expectation, stating, A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by. This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralising to everyone else." He also called on employees working on Gemini to be the most efficient coders and AI scientists in the world by using our own AI." How 60 Hours Work Week Will Improve Efficiency Brins note highlighted that the competition in Artificial Generative Intelligence (AGI) could be won. And it explained how he believes Google could achieve that technological leap. Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to AGI is afoot," he wrote. I think we have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts." He stressed the need for Google employees to use more of AI for coding, saying the improvement in AI would lead to AGI. A similar push was seen by other tech companies in India. Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy suggested a 70-hour workweek last year, arguing that young professionals should work longer to boost the countrys economic growth. In January, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan took it even further, and proposed a 90-hour workweek. However, long working hours have faced criticism from many industry and health experts. When people work more hours, theres often a diminishing return, John P. Trougakos, a professor of management at the University of Toronto told Business Insider. Spending a lot of time on the job can lead to an increase in errors and a drop in motivation. Capgemini Indias CEO, Ashwin Yardi, recently weighed in on the debate, suggesting an ideal workweek of around 47.5 hours far below the 60, 70, or even 90-hour weeks proposed by some executives. Is Google Changing Return-To-Office Policy? Google employees are required to work in office for three days a week. However, Brins memo does not seem to make any change to the current return-to-office policy. In September, Amazon said its corporate employees must return to the office five days a week starting in 2025. AT&T, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have also reversed hybrid-work policies. How Much Have Google, Microsoft, Meta Invested In AI? The AI market size is projected to reach $243.7 billion this year and is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2030) of 27.7%, resulting in a market volume of $826.7 billion by 2030, according to Statista. In global comparison, the largest market size will be the United States ($66.2 billion in 2025). By 2025, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon alone are expected to invest a combined $255 billion in AI. To put that into perspective, Microsoft is nearly doubling its AI spending, jumping from $41.2 billion in 2023 to $80 billion in 2025. Google is going even further, increasing its investment 2.3 times from $32.3 billion to $75 billion. Meanwhile, Amazon is set to shell out a whopping $100 billion, more than doubling its 2023 investment of $48.2 billion. Who Is Winning The AI Race? With AI landscape evolving every day and AI being expensive, companies are offering cost-effective models. Google, which has traditionally been popular with smaller-sized companies, has its own strength in the cloud AI race. Googles Gemini 1.5 Pro is the most affordable model, costing just $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens, far cheaper than competitors like GPT-4 and Claude 3.5. This affordability could give Google a major advantage in AI adoption. In terms of efficiency, DeepSeek R1 stands out, leading in English, coding, maths, and reasoning. It scores an impressive 97.3 in maths and 71.5 in logic, outperforming even OpenAIs models, as per IND Money financial company. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As per IOT Analytics, when compared with new cloud AI case studies against overall cloud cast studies, Microsoft has a clear lead and might remain so in the near term. Microsoft backed OpenAI in 2019, and in January 2023 (less than two months since ChatGPT became publicly available), it expanded with big investments in AI, making the Azure OpenAI service generally available. AWS or Amazon Web Services is the leader in terms of traditional cloud AI (i.e., cloud AI case studies without a GenAI element), as per IOT Analytics. Coinciding with this, AWSs Amazon SageMakeran AI/ML platformwas the most included product at 21% of cloud AI case studies. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:41 IST 15 Visits To Dubai And Same Clothes Every Time: How Actor Ranya Rao Was Caught In Big Gold Seizure Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:09 IST Ranya Rao had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting authorities to conduct a targeted operation upon her return. Actress Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai. (Photo: X/Representative) Ranya Rao, an actor and the daughter of a senior IPS officer, was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Bengaluru International Airport after she was found in possession of 14.8 kg of gold. The DRI busted the major smuggling racket, termed to be the biggest seizure of gold at the Bengaluru airport, while Rao was just one step away from clearing the airport security. Ranya Rao was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody. Recommended Stories Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted Rao, who had arrived from Dubai to Bengaluru via Emirates flight on March 3, 2025. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.8 kg were found ingeniously concealed on the person. The contraband, valued at Rs. 12.56 crore, was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband, sources reported. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewelry worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore. The total seizure in the case stands at Rs. 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks. Travelled Multiple Times To Dubai According to sources, Ranya Rao had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting authorities to conduct a targeted operation upon her return. In addition to this, she was seen wearing the same clothes every time she travelled to Dubai. The actress may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks, preliminary investigations suggested. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Authorities are also investigating whether she was acting alone or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. About the Author Mahima Joshi Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 13:07 IST Air India Sacks Pilot For Lapses, Removes 10 Others Trained By Him Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 19:46 IST Air India on Wednesday said it has terminated the services of a trainer pilot for lapses and 10 pilots who underwent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending investigation. Air India. (File photo) Air India on Wednesday said it has terminated the services of a trainer pilot for lapses and 10 pilots who underwent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending investigation. The latest action came after a whistleblower alleged that a simulator trainer pilot had failed to properly discharge his duties during recurrent simulator training for pilots. Recommended Stories In a statement, the Tata Group-owned airline said a detailed probe was conducted into the allegations, which were corroborated after a review of the evidence. Without disclosing specific details, Air India said the trainer pilots services are being terminated. "As a precaution, ten pilots who underwent recurrent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending further investigation," the airline said. Further, Air India said it voluntarily reported the matter to aviation regulator DGCA and also commended the whistleblower for stepping forward. Details about the trainer pilot and related action could not be immediately ascertained. On some earlier occasions, Air India had faced action from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for failing to report certain incidents and non-disclosures. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Tata Group took over loss-making Air India from the government in January 2022. In the statement, the airline said it has implemented the Tata Code of Conduct to establish clear behavioural expectations and accelerate cultural change to that of a Tata Group company. "This included comprehensive training for all employees on Tatas ethos and ethics-related policies, such as anti-bribery, anti-corruption and whistleblowing, among others," it added. Location : new delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 19:18 IST Bank Staff Embezzled Our FDs And Account Deposits To Bet On IPL, Allege Customers In MP Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:06 IST Bank customers in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, accused employees of embezzling deposits, allegedly for IPL betting. Complaints include fake FDs, credit cards, and transfers. Several customers reported the sudden disappearance of funds from their accounts. (Representative/AP File) In a startling revelation, multiple customers of HDFC Bank in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, accused the banks employees of allegedly embezzling their deposits, with suspicions that the misappropriated funds may have been funneled into Indian Premier League (IPL) betting. At least six customers lodged formal complaints, alleging that fraudulent transactions involving fixed deposits (FDs), fake credit cards, self-issued cheques, and unauthorised online transfers have led to substantial financial losses. Several customers reported the sudden disappearance of funds from their accounts and fixed deposits despite having made legitimate deposits. One particularly distressing case involves a customer who allegedly discovered that Rs 5 lakh, savings earmarked for his daughters wedding, had vanished from his FD. Others raised alarms over unauthorised transactions linked to fake credit cards issued in their names. Recommended Stories Adding to their frustration, the victims claimed that local police refused to register their complaints, forcing them to seek intervention from district authorities. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all This is not the first time the HDFC Bank branch in Betul has faced allegations of financial misconduct. However, despite previous claims of fraudulent activities, no substantial investigations have reportedly been conducted. With affected customers left in financial distress and uncertainty, the pressure is mounting on authorities to take decisive action. As the victims await answers, they demand not only the recovery of their hard-earned money but also strict legal action against those responsible for the alleged embezzlement. Location : Betul, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:05 IST Mumbai: BMC Orders Officials To Stop Digging Roads, Finish Pending Work By May 31 Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 15:49 IST The ban would prevail until the completion of existing works. The BMC has also set the deadline for completion of ongoing works as May 31, 2025. As per the instructions issued by BMC, citizens are encouraged to report any new road digging activities to their local ward offices. (File) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced to halt and ban the dugging and excavation of new roads across Mumbai in a bid to address complaints about traffic congestion due to ongoing works of road concretisation. The ban would prevail until the completion of existing works. The BMC has also set the deadline for completion of ongoing works as May 31, 2025. Recommended Stories The metropolis witnesses road infrastructure and construction works in several areas, which deteriorate regions air quality and causes vehicular traffic. With reference to the Hon.M.C.s meeting held on 27.02.2025, it has been directed that no new roads shall be excavated for concretisation after 22nd Feb 2025, and it is strictly instructed that all such road works and allied works shall be completed on or before 31st May 2025 to avoid inconvenience to the commuters and public in large. These directions are issued with the sanction of AMC (P) and Hon.M.C.," a notification issued by BMC shared on social media stated. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As per the instructions issued by BMC, citizens are encouraged to report any new road digging activities to their local ward offices to ensure compliance with the new regulations. As per the media reports, So far, 1,333 km of roads have been concretised in Mumbai. At present 187 concretisation works have been completed out of 698 roads in Phase 1. For Phase 2, launched in December 2024, 720 out of 1,420 roads are under construction. According to the BMC Budget 2025, 75% of Phase 1 and 50% of Phase 2 is targeted for completion before June 2025. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 15:45 IST Clean Yamuna In 3 Years, Will Be The First To Take A Dip, Pledges Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 21:06 IST Verma, heading the irrigation and flood control department, made the statement after he undertook a boat inspection of the river from Boat Club till Okhla Barrage, covering Signature Bridge and ITO Barrage Verma also said that sewage treatment plants (STPs) would be installed for the 18 major drains in the city that discharge effluents directly into Yamuna, setting a deadline of two years. (File pic/PTI) Delhi cabinet minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on Wednesday inspected the Yamuna in the capital and assured that the river would be visibly clean with a change in the colour of the water from black to natural in the next three years and that he would be the first one to take a dip. Verma, heading the irrigation and flood control department, made the statement after he undertook a boat inspection of the river from Boat Club till Okhla Barrage, covering Signature Bridge and ITO Barrage. Recommended Stories On being asked the deadline for a clean Yamuna, the minister said three years", and on being asked when the people could take a dip in the river, he said it would also be announced as he would be the first one to take the dip". Sharing the initiatives already underway, he said 1,300 metric tons of garbage have already been removed from Yamuna in the last 10 days, and the work is underway in several locations. It is important to note that a clean Yamuna had been an important poll issue for the last many elections, but no visible improvement could be seen. The former chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, had also on multiple occasions promised a cleaner Yamuna and that he would take a dip in the river after cleaning it, but not much changed. Verma also said that sewage treatment plants (STPs) would be installed for the 18 major drains in the city that discharge effluents directly into Yamuna, setting a deadline of two years. No floods The minister also assured that the city will not witness floods now as his department will take steps to prevent floods. All floodgates are repaired, and work is underway wherever we need to. Walls will also be made to prevent floods," he said. He also assured that the Delhi Development Authority will restore the riverbed and encroachments will be removed in the coming days. Grand Chhath, a riverfront, and ferry service planned top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Chhath celebration in Delhi, which has mostly seen controversies due to the pollution levels in Yamuna, will be held on a grand scale, the minister promised. Verma also announced that the riverfront of the Yamuna will be developed, and very soon a point-to-point ferry service will also start so that people develop a connection with the river. About the Author Nivedita Singh Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 21:06 IST Gold Worth Crores Found At Ranya Rao's Bengaluru Home After Her Arrest From Airport For Smuggling Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 16:38 IST Kannada actor Ranya Rao was arrested for smuggling gold through Bengaluru Airport. The officials raided her residence and recovered more gold and cash. While frisking Ranya Rao at Kempegowda International Airport, the officials found 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 12.56 crore inside her jacket. As Kannada actor Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore at Bengaluru Airport, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) raided her residence, where more gold and cash were recovered, officials said on Wednesday. The DRI arrived at her residence on Lavelle Road and conducted searches, recovering gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash. The officials also confiscated three large boxes from her house, taking the total seizure from her to Rs 17.29 crore. Recommended Stories Ranya was taken into custody by the DRI on Monday at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in the city and was arrested on March 4. She had been on the DRIs radar due to her frequent international trips. The authorities observed that the actor had flown to Dubai four times within 15 days, which raised suspicions of her possible involvement in smuggling. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Upon arriving at the Bengaluru Airport from Dubai on an Emirates flight, the actor attempted to evade security checks with the assistance of police constable Basavaraju, who was accompanying her. However, the DRI, acting on prior intelligence, apprehended her red-handed with the smuggled gold. During a frisking operation, officials discovered 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold, valued at 12.56 crore, concealed inside her jacket. The actress is the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, who currently serves as the Director General of Police (DGP) for the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. Officials suspect that she may have tried to use her influential connections to bypass customs checks. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 16:38 IST Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill Tabled, Chairman Rizwan Arshad Calls it Futuristic Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 21:02 IST The Karnataka legislature's joint review committee, led by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, recommends splitting the BBMP into seven municipal corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Area. Among its key recommendationsdividing the BBMP into smaller corporationshas been met with strong opposition from the BJP, which has called it a power grab. (News18 Kannada) The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, which proposes splitting the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into seven municipal corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Area, has been tabled. A joint review committee, headed by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, recommended the restructuring outlined in the Bill. Recommended Stories Arshad criticised the current governance structure, calling it unscientific and outdated." He argued that while Bengaluru aspires to be an international city, the BBMP in its current form is too large and unwieldy to function effectively. It is too vast875 square kilometres fall under BBMPs jurisdiction. Everything is centralised, leading to corruption and a lack of transparency. There is also no coordination between the parastatal agencies responsible for the citys development," Arshad told News18. He described the Bill as futuristic," designed to remain relevant for the next 25 to 40 years. Bengalurus current population is nearly 1.5 crore, with a resident population of around 1.2 crore. This will grow significantly over the next 10 to 20 years. The governance structure must evolve to meet future demands," he said. The committee has recommended that the seven proposed city corporations within Greater Bengaluru should have a common prefixBengaluru. A smaller corporation will be more transparent. We have introduced vigilance systems and internal audit mechanisms to enhance accountability. Yet, the city remains one. We must ensure that other agenciesbe it BESCOM, BWSSB, or otherscoordinate well with each other and with these corporations. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will serve as the umbrella organisation," he explained. The Bill also proposes a 30-month term for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Officials in key roles should be allowed to serve for at least six months, with a no-confidence motion permitted only after this period. In the current BBMP system, a Mayor serves for only 11 months. What can they achieve in such a short time? Even understanding the workings of the system takes time. How can one Mayor and one Chief Commissioner effectively manage such a vast area?" Arshad told News18. He explained that the committee has mapped out a new governance structure for each city corporation. The proposed framework includes a Mayor, a Commissioner, a Joint Commissioner, Standing Committees, and Ward Committees. The elected councils term for each city corporation is proposed to be five years. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar, who piloted the Bill, emphasised that the government would not rush its passage without thorough debate and public consultation. The committee submitted its report to the Assembly Speaker in the last week of February. Among its key recommendationsdividing the BBMP into smaller corporationshas been met with strong opposition from the BJP, which has called it a power grab." However, the committee argues that the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) would be better structured and managed with seven smaller corporations. Arshad, who presented the report in the Legislative Assembly on 5 March, stated that for an area to qualify as a city corporation, its annual revenue for local administration in the year of the most recent census should be at least Rs 300 crore. The Bill mandates that the Karnataka government must issue a notification to establish the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) within 120 days of the Act coming into effect. The Greater Bengaluru Area will be governed by civic bodies under the GBA, including City Corporations and Ward Committees. Once the final notification is issued, the BBMP and other existing local authorities will cease to function. The Chief Minister will serve as the ex-officio chairperson of the GBA, while the Bengaluru Development Minister will be the ex-officio vice-chairperson. State ministers representing legislative constituencies within the GBA will be ex-officio members, with the Chief Commissioner of the GBA acting as the secretary. Mayors of the city corporations will also be part of the GBA. It is clearly stated that the Chairperson, who in this case is the Chief Minister, must compulsorily hold a meeting once every three months, while the in-charge minister, who is the Vice-Chairperson, must conduct a review meeting every month to ensure the smooth functioning of the body and effective coordination. The coordination should flow from the top down. We have suggested setting up a coordination committee at every Assembly level, comprising engineers from all relevant agencies," Arshad said. The Karnataka government will appoint the Chief Commissioner of the GBA, ensuring the position is held by an official of at least the rank of Principal Secretary. The tenure will be for three years, subject to the governments discretion. The GBA chairperson must convene meetings at least once every three months. The GBA will also be responsible for preparing an annual budget. Other key members of the GBA will include the Commissioner of the BDA, the Chairman of BWSSB, the Managing Directors of BMTC, BMRCL, and BESCOM, the Deputy Commissioners of districts, Bengalurus Police Commissioner, Superintendents of Police, the CEO of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority, the MD of Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, the Chief Town Planner, the Engineer-in-Chief, and the Director of Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services. Commissioners of all city corporations within the GBA, along with MPs, MLAs, and MLCs representing or residing in the GBAs jurisdiction, will also be members of the authority. In the report tabled, Arshad also recommended that the newly formed city corporations should have at least 50 per cent employment in non-agricultural activities. Additionally, the annual revenue generated for local administration in the year of the most recent census should not be less than Rs 300 crore. The proposal further suggests that each city corporation should have a minimum population of 10 lakh and a density of 5,000 inhabitants per square kilometre. We have also suggested that multiple corporations should be bifurcated, keeping in mind the population density. If any corporation falls short of the required threshold, the government should make up for the deficit," Arshad told News18. Additionally, the GBA mandates that at least 50 per cent of its workforce must be engaged in non-agricultural activities. When asked when the Bill is expected to come into effect, Arshad said the Congress government in Karnataka hopes to implement the new corporation structure as soon as possible." As soon as we pass the budget, we will get the Bill passed in the Assembly," the Chairman of the committee said, adding that once it is enacted, BBMP elections will take place under the new format. BENGALURU MP TEJASVI SURYAS OPPOSITION TO THE BILL BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has strongly opposed the Bill, calling it a power grab" that weakens local governance. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), he argued that the Bill violates the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which was intended to decentralise power. The GBG Bill overturns the very essence of local governance by creating a Greater Bengaluru Authority, an unelected council with the Chief Minister at its helm, rendering elected BBMP corporators powerless," Surya wrote. First, the bill violates basic essence of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which gave primacy to decentralization of power.The GBG Bill has overturned this by creating a Greater Bengaluru Authority, an unelected council with the CM at its helm, over the Municipal body pic.twitter.com/jpD16oqLhT Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 3, 2025 He accused the Siddaramaiah-led government of sidelining elected representatives, stating that the proposed GBAcontrolled by the Chief Minister, Bengaluru Development Minister, and bureaucratswould allow MLAs to dominate municipal affairs, thereby reducing the role of local governance. Bengaluru already has a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for urban planning. Instead of strengthening it, the government is creating a parallel, unelected body with unchecked powers, leading to confusion and inefficiency," he said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all One of the most contentious aspects of the Bill is the proposal to split the BBMP into 10 municipal corporations. Surya warned that this would increase costs, duplicate budgets, and result in financial mismanagement rather than improving governance. Splitting the BBMP will not solve Bengalurus governance issues. Instead, it will lead to higher administrative costs, inefficiency, and confusion over revenue distribution," he warned. About the Author Rohini Swamy Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18s digital platform. She has previously worked with t... Read More Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18s digital platform. She has previously worked with t... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 20:59 IST High Fever, Chills & Coated Tongue: Typhoid Cases Surge In Delhi-NCR After Rains Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:21 IST Hospitals have observed a 35-40 per cent rise in patients suffering from typhoid, viral fevers, diarrhoea, jaundice, and eye infections. This surge is primarily attributed to environmental factors such as high humidity, scant rainfall, and warm days Doctors said people should avoid street food at unhygienic places and consume only properly boiled or filtered water. (AI-generated image) After the recent off-and-on rains, typhoid cases have been increasing in Delhi and areas around the national capital region (NCR), with hospitals seeing more patients with high fever, stomach pain, and vomiting. Experts believe that rains have led to water contamination, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases like typhoid. Rains generally lead to poor sanitation practices and stagnant water is associated with waterborne diseases such as jaundice, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea. Recommended Stories Typhoid fever, also called enteric fever, is caused by salmonella bacteria. Doctors are noticing people coming with persistent high fever, intense headaches, extreme fatigue, abdominal discomfort, reduced appetite, and gastrointestinal disturbances like diarrhoea or constipation. The common indicators of typhoid fever are fever with chills and a white yellow or grey-white coating on the tongue. Dr M Wali, senior consultant, department of internal medicine at New Delhi-based Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, explained that Delhi is experiencing a 26 per cent surge in cases of typhoid when compared to last year. People are experiencing a step-ladder fever in which for the first two to three days, a person feels slightly unwell but continues to do the daily activities. However, after the initial phase, high fever comes with chills and body ache becomes a prominent symptom. There can also be pain in the abdomen and vomiting." News18 spoke to multiple doctors in Delhi-NCR who confirmed diagnosing several new cases of typhoid in the last two months. Delhi-NCR Witnesses Surge Doctors across Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad told News18 that they are witnessing a noticeable surge in cases of typhoid. They attributed the rise to several reasons, including environmental conditions with untimely rains, consumption of contaminated water and food along with poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Dr Pawan Kumar Goyal, senior director, internal medicine at Shalimar Bagh-based Fortis Hospital, said: Delhi has experienced a significant increase in typhoid cases recently. Hospitals have reported a surge in patients and, on average, every hospital is admitting four to five typhoid cases weekly." According to another Delhi-based expert Dr Sawan Bopanna, there has been a noticeable surge in typhoid cases". Bopanna, a senior consultant of gastroenterology and hepatology at New Delhi-based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, blames the habit of frequent eating out for the surge, especially in unusual rainy weather. Typhoid is a preventable disease, yet unhealthy lifestyle choices are fuelling the number of cases each day. Children aged 14-16 and senior citizens aged 55-60 are more vulnerable to the infection due to their weaker immune system." Dr Mohit Sharma, senior consultant, internal medicine at Faridabad-based Amrita Hospital, agreed. We have observed a significant surge in typhoid cases over the past few days. Many patients come with persistent high fever, severe headaches, extreme fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhoea or constipation." He explained that some patients are also experiencing chills and a coated tongue, which are classic signs of typhoid fever. This uptick is concerning and likely linked to contaminated water sources and poor sanitation, both of which contribute to the spread of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria responsible for the disease." Dr Satish Koul, senior director and unit head, internal medicine at Gurugram-based Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), confirmed that Gurgaon has experienced an increase in typhoid cases in recent months". Hospitals have observed a 35-40 per cent rise in patients suffering from typhoid, viral fevers, diarrhoea, jaundice, and eye infections. This surge is primarily attributed to environmental factors such as high humidity, scant rainfall, and warm days." Koul explained that consumption of water and food contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria is a leading cause of typhoid". What Should You Do? Experts told News18 that residents in Delhi-NCR should start taking measures to prevent the illness. Sharma from Amrita Hospitals said: They all must ensure that they consume only properly boiled or filtered water, avoid eating raw or unhygienic food, and maintain strict hand hygiene," He added: Timely medical intervention is crucial, as untreated typhoid can lead to severe complications, including intestinal perforation." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Addressing the challenge requires action at both the individual and community levels, Bopanna from Balaji Action Medical Institute said, adding that people should avoid street food at unhygienic places. Similarly, Koul from FMRI advises people to consider receiving a typhoid vaccine. Also, people must ensure they drink purified or boiled water to eliminate potential contaminants." About the Author Himani Chandna Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particularly pass... Read More Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particularly pass... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 10:21 IST Man Kills Girlfriend In Her Room, Then Dies By Suicide While Families Discuss Wedding Outside Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:09 IST An 18-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were found dead in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The man fatally stabbed his girlfriend and then died by suicide using the same knife while their families were present in the house While the families were discussing the arrangement, an argument broke out, leading to a confrontation between the couple. (News18 Hindi) An 18-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were found dead in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in a tragic incident. The couple, who were in a relationship, died following a disagreement over their marriage plans. According to police reports, the man visited the womans home to discuss their marriage. While the families were discussing the arrangement, an argument broke out, leading to a confrontation between the couple inside one of the rooms in the house. The dispute escalated, culminating in the man fatally stabbing his partner. He then died by suicide using the same knife. Recommended Stories The incident occurred in the presence of both families. The police are currently investigating the circumstances leading to the tragic event. Location : Kolhapur, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:09 IST 'Plight Of Hindus...': Chinmoy Krishna Dass Lawyer Wants To Meet PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar Before Returning To Bangladesh Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:04 IST Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former ISKCON priest, is jailed in Bangladesh on sedition charges. His lawyer seeks to meet Indian leaders, including PM Modi, to highlight the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus. Rabindra Ghosh is representing Chinmoy Krishna Das in cases against him in Bangladesh. Its been three months and counting, but the face of Bangladeshi Hindu resistance former ISKCON priest, Chinmoy Krishna Das continues to remain in prison. He was arrested in Bangladesh on November 25, 2024, facing serious allegations like sedition that the international community considers judicial harassment." But Rabindra Ghosh, who is representing his case, despite huge mental pressure, is in India to receive treatment. However, having seen the judicial process turn into a joke in Bangladesh, particularly in Chinmoy Krishna Dass case, the 74-year-old wants to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, among other leaders, to ask India to use its influence, if not intervene, in the ongoing case. Ghoshs clarity of thought is surprisingly simple he wants to meet PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar and Home Minister Amit Shah before sitting on the return flight to Dhaka. I want to meet the Prime Minister of India and make him aware of the pathetic situation the Bangladeshi Hindus are living in every day. I also want to seek an appointment with Indias External Affairs Minister and Union Home Minister. I will meet everyone to save and highlight the plight of the Hindus of Bangladesh," said Ghosh. Recommended Stories While in mid-December, a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party of the Bengal unit went and met the 74-year-old, the lawyer says, he is scheduled to meet Bengals leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari very soon". Interestingly, he also met TMC leader Kunal Ghosh. During his meeting with Ghosh, Chinmoy Krishna Dass lawyer is believed to have sought time to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well a request, Ghosh said, he would communicate at the appropriate level". Ghosh has been in West Bengal for treatment for a while now. In January, when the matter came for hearing, two of his junior lawyers, along with 18 other legal representatives, handled the case in Bangladesh. But Ghosh is itching to go back to seek bail for Das. He has already met former BJP MP Arjun Singh in Bengal. Singh has promised to convey his request" at the right spot". Taking a sharp dig at the extremist elements of Bangladesh, Ghosh said, They are thinking that I have fled. The truth is I had to take a break for treatment. I wont leave the ground." Recently, Indias National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval, who is not a common face in an exhibition, attended an art exhibition featuring the plight of minorities in Bangladesh at Delhis Chanakyapuri and stayed back to participate in the panel discussion highlighting Indias deep concern over the plight of minorities in Bangladesh. While Doval was watching photos of minority persecution in Bangladesh exhibited in New Delhi, Indias external affairs Minister S Jaishankar was using strong words like ridiculous" while talking about Bangladeshs claims against India and was expressing concerns over state of minorities in the neighbouring country a more assertive body language of New Delhi and seemingly in coordination. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all There are two aspects to the problem that our bilateral ties are facing the first being communal attacks on minorities. What is very troubling for India is the spate of attacks on minorities. It is obviously something that impacts our thinking. It is something we have to speak up about, which we have done," Jaishankar said while speaking at a public function. Irrespective of a hawkish south block, does Ghosh feel threatened to go back? Look, I am not afraid to go back to my country. I will return. But it is true that I am receiving many threats. All those threats are due to my legal case for Chinmoy Krishna Das," he quipped. About the Author Anindya Banerjee Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 11:04 IST After Ranya Rao's Arrest, IPS Father Says He's Devastated: 'No Black Mark On My Career' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 21:37 IST The actor reportedly made over 10 international trips to Dubai despite having no business or family ties there, which put her under Directorate of Revenue Intelligences (DRI) scanner. Actress Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai. (Photo: X) Kannada actress Ranya Raos father and DGP of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, Ramachandra Rao, said that he is shocked and devastated by her daughters arrest in connection with alleged smuggling of gold. Ranya was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Bengaluru International Airport on Monday after she was found in possession of 14.8 kg of gold. Recommended Stories Read More: Was Blackmailed Into Smuggling Gold: What Kannada Actor Ranya Rao Told Police After Her Arrest Her father further sidelined himself from the incident saying that he is not aware of any of these things and there is no black mark in his career. I was also shocked and devastated when such an incident came to my notice through the media, I was not aware of any of these things, like any other father I was also shocked. She is not living with us, she is living separately with her husband, there must be some problem between them due to some family issues. Anyway, the law will do its job, there is no black mark in my career. I dont want to say anything more," he said as quoted by ANI. Authorities Tracking Ranya For Last 6-7 Months The authorities were tracking Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested at Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for smuggling gold on Monday, for past six to seven months, sources have said. Raos movements were tracked and were under the radar of agencies. The actor reportedly made over 10 international trips to Dubai despite having no business or family ties there, which put her under Directorate of Revenue Intelligences (DRI) scanner, sources said. Modus Operandi Investigative agencies suspect that the modus operandi involved a state protocol officer, who allegedly used to bypass security checks of the luggage, sources said, adding that the authorities suspect that the officer might not be aware of actors dubious act. Investigations have discovered that she often received police escorts to sneak past security checks at the airport by taking advantage of official protocol services meant for senior bureaucrats, including IPS officers. Her husband is also likely to be quizzed by agencies. Read More: Gold Bars In Belt, Frisking Protocol Loophole: Top 5 Details In Actor Ranya Raos Smuggling Case Agencies are further investigating if more people are involved in the nexus or Raos father, DGP Ramachandra Rao was aware of the dubious act. How Was Rao Arrested? Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted Rao, who had arrived from Dubai to Bengaluru via Emirates flight on March 3, 2025. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.8 kg were found ingeniously concealed on the person. The contraband, valued at Rs. 12.56 crore, was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Read More: 15 Visits To Dubai And Same Clothes Every Time: How Actor Ranya Rao Was Caught In Big Gold Seizure Following the arrest, officials raided her residence at Nandwani Mansion in Lavelle Road. The search led to the seizure of Rs 2.67 crore in cash and gold worth Rs 2.06 crore. The officials took three large boxes from her house after the raid. The total seizure stands at Rs 17.29 crore. Rao was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Who Is Ranya Rao? Ranya Rao has acted in several Kannada and Tamil films, including Maanikya (starring Sudeep), Pataki (with Ganesh), and Wagah (featuring Vikram Prabhu), and is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, the DGP of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 19:56 IST Gold Bars In Belt, Frisking Protocol Loophole: Top 5 Details In Actor Ranya Rao's Smuggling Case Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:02 IST Ranya Rao Arrest: Reports suggested that the actress used to easily evade checks as she's the daughter of Karnataka DGP (Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Rao. Actress Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai. (Photo: X) Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was arrested at Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night, cleverly concealed 14 gold bars in her belt" along with 800g of gold ornaments. Reports suggested that she used to easily evade checks as shes the daughter of Karnataka DGP (Police Housing Corporation) K Ramachandra Rao. The 32-year-old actress arrest by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in an alleged gold smuggling case has left her fans in shock. Ranya has acted in a handful of Kannada and Tamil films, including Maanikya (starring Sudeep), Pataki (with Ganesh), and Wagah (featuring Vikram Prabhu). Recommended Stories Here Are Top 5 Case Details You Need To Know Frequent International Trips: Ranya Rao reportedly made over 10 international trips this year, putting her under DRIs scanner. Officials became suspicious after noticing her multiple short-duration visits to the Gulf," an officer stationed at KIA was quoted by Times of India. Belt Hidden From View In All Trips: TOI report quoted a source as saying, Ranya Rao looked extremely confident as she disembarked, showing no signs of nervousness. But when searched, officers were shocked to find gold bars cleverly concealed in a belt." The source added, In her last four trips over the past 15 days, she wore similar attire, with the belt hidden from view." Special Protocol That Helped Ranya: According to the report, Ranya Rao managed to bypass frisking by taking advantage of official protocol services meant for senior bureaucrats, including IPS officers. A protocol officer would meet her at the terminal and escort her out, ensuring she wasnt subjected to physical screening. She would be picked up in a government vehicle, avoiding scrutiny," TOI quoted its source. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Judicial Custody: A court remanded Ranya Rao to 14-day judicial custody. Past Controversies: There are reports suggesting Ranyas father K Ramachandra Rao was embroiled in controversies too. In 2014, when he was IGP (Southern Range), Mysuru police faced allegations of misappropriation after a Kerala jeweller accused them of seizing Rs 2 crore in cash. The official recording, however, claimed that only Rs 20 lakh was taken. The case was later investigated by the CID, leading to the arrest of Raos gunman on charges of dacoity. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:25 IST Shocking And Wrong Signal: SC Slams UP Government's 'High-Handed' Case Of Demolition In Prayagraj Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:07 IST A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and N Kotishwar Singh took exception to high-handed case of demolition and said the demolished structures will have to be reconstructed. Supreme Court of India.. (Image: PTI/File) The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over demolition of houses in Prayagraj without following proper legal procedure and said the action sends a "shocking and wrong signal". A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and N Kotishwar Singh took exception to "high-handed" case of demolition and said the demolished structures will have to be reconstructed. Recommended Stories "Prima facie, this action sends shocking and wrong signal and this is something that needs to be corrected. You are taking such drastic action of demolishing homes We know how to deal with such hyper technical arguments. After all there is something known as Article 21 and Right to Shelter," the bench said. Attorney General R Venkataramani defended the action of the state government saying that reasonable time was given to the petitioners to respond to the demolition notice. He said the matter should be sent to the high court for consideration. The counsel appearing for the petitioners stated that the state government wrongly demolished the houses thinking that land belonged to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, who was killed in 2023 in a police encounter. The top court was hearing a plea by advocate Zulfiqar Haider, professor Ali Ahmed and others whose houses were demolished. The Allahabad High Court had rejected their plea challenging the demolition. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The petitioners alleged to have been served notice on March 6, 2021 in respect of certain constructions standing over a portion of Nazul Plot No. 19, Lukerganj, police station Khuldabad in Prayagraj district. The petitioners submitted that notices were given to them on Saturday night and demolition took place on Sunday in March 2021. Location : Prayagraj, India, India First Published: March 06, 2025, 00:07 IST Telangana Student Found Dead In US With Bullet Wounds, Indian Embassy Reacts Published By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 12:05 IST A cousin said some friends said the 26-year-old student's body was found with bullets while others said he was shot dead by unknown assailants at a store, but the cause of death was not known to the family The US authorities told family members that the cause of death will be known after an autopsy. (Image: News18) A 26-year-old student from Telangana was allegedly found dead with bullet wounds in the US. However, the circumstances leading to his death are still not clear. G Praveen was pursuing MS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His family was informed about the incident by US authorities on Wednesday morning, news agency PTI reported. Recommended Stories His cousin Arun told PTI that some friends said Praveens body was found with bullets. Some say he was shot dead by unknown assailants at a store, but the cause of death was not known to the family, he said. Arun further informed that Praveen father received a call from him in the early hours of Wednesday, but he could not take it as he was sleeping. The parents are in a state of shock after learning about the incident, he said. Praveens family is native of Ranga Reddy district, neighbouring Hyderabad. Indian Embassy Reacts Reacting on the incident, India Embassy said, We are saddened by the untimely death of Praveen Kumar Gampa, a Post-graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Consulate is in contact with Praveens family and the University, helping them with all possible support. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers are with his family and friends of the departed." We are saddened by the untimely death of Praveen Kumar Gampa, a Post-graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Consulate is in contact with Praveens family and the University, helping them with all possible support. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers are India in Chicago (@IndiainChicago) March 5, 2025 Unfortunate: BJP Leader Demands US Govt To Take Strict Action Reacting on the incident, BJP leader N Ramchander Rao said, " Unfortunate death of a Telangana student, who was working as a part-timer at a store in US." US govt should try to protect at least the legal migrantsthe incident shows that racial discrimination is still going on in USracial discrimination is increasing despite Indian contribution to the growth of the US economy. US govt should take strict steps," he added. The US authorities informed family members that the cause of death would be known after an autopsy. The family members approached MLAs and other leaders for help. Praveen, who studied B Tech in Hyderabad, had gone to the US in 2023 to pursue MS. He visited India in December 2024 and left in January. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all At least two Indian students from Telangana, one from Khammam in November last year and another from Hyderabad in January this year, were allegedly shot dead in the US. (With inputs from PTI) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 22:58 IST 'Was Blackmailed Into Smuggling Gold': What Kannada Actor Ranya Rao Told Police After Her Arrest Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:57 IST Following Ranya Rao's arrest on March 4, officials raided her residence at Nandwani Mansion in Lavelle Road. The search led to the seizure of Rs 2.67 crore in cash and gold worth Rs 2.06 crore. While frisking Ranya Rao at Kempegowda International Airport, the officials found 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 12.56 crore inside her jacket. Kannada actress Ranya Rao was taken into custody by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday evening at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for smuggling gold. During the investigation, Rao claimed that she was blackmailed into smuggling gold. The police also detained Constable Basavaraju and recorded a statement regarding his involvement in helping Rao at the airport. Following her arrest on March 4, officials raided her residence at Nandwani Mansion in Lavelle Road. The search led to the seizure of Rs 2.67 crore in cash and gold worth Rs 2.06 crore. The officials took three large boxes from her house after the raid. The total seizure stands at Rs 17.29 crore. Recommended Stories How Ranya Rao Was Arrested Upon landing at KIA from Dubai on an Emirates flight, the actress tried to bypass security checks with the help of police constable Basavaraju, who accompanied her. However, the DRI, who had a heads-up about her activities, caught her red-handed with the gold consignment. While frisking her, the officials found 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 12.56 crore inside her jacket. Following the arrest, Ranya Rao was taken to the DRI office at Nagavara for further investigation. Ranya Rao has acted in several Kannada and Tamil films and is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, the DGP of Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. Officials suspected the actress frequented trips to Dubai with her husband, Jatin, despite having no business or family ties there. Investigations have discovered that she often received police escorts to sneak past security checks at the airport. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Ranya Raos multiple trips abroad in the recent months are now under scanner as she didnt have any stated business in Dubai or other countries. Her husband is also likely to be quizzed by agencies. Rao has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days under the Customs Act of 1962. The actress is reportedly in the quarantine cell, Parappana Agrahara, for investigation. About the Author Harish Upadhya Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India's space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi... Read More Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India's space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 13:32 IST Credit: Stephane Schmutz, University of Fribourg, Switzerland Biomedical scientists around the world publish around 1 million new papers a year. But a staggering number of these cannot be replicated. Drastic action is needed now to clean up this mess, argues pharmacologist Csaba Szabo in Unreliable, his upcoming book on irreproducibility in the scientific literature. Vitals Birthplace: Gyor, Hungary Education: MD, Semmelweis University, 1991; PhD, University of London, 1995 Best scientific advice you've received: From Sir John Vane in 1993, If they reject your paper, they probably did not understand it. Send it to a better journal next. Favorite gaseous transmitter: Right now? Cyanide, the new kid on the block in cell signaling. Side gig: Swiss correspondent to JazzMa, a Hungarian jazz magazine Which jazz concert would you go to again: Return of the Brecker Brothers, London, 1993 The things that weve tried are not working, says Szabo, a professor at the University of Fribourg. Im trying to suggest something different. Unreliable, which will be available in March, is a disturbing but compelling exploration of the causes of irreproducibilityfrom hypercompetition and honest errors, to statistical shenanigans and outright fraud. In the book, Szabo argues that there is no quick fix and that incremental efforts such as educational workshops and checklists have made little difference. He says the whole system has to be overhauled with new scientific training programs, different ways of allocating funding, novel publication systems, and more criminal charges for fraudsters. We need to figure out how to reduce the waste and make science more effective, Szabo says. This interview was edited for clarity and length. Why did you write this book? As most scientists, I go to scientific meetings and go out for beers with other scientists and this topic keeps coming up. Why is it that nobody can reproduce anybody else's findings? we ask. This is not a new question. I was sitting around a table with some colleagues and collaborators in New York at the start of my sabbatical, and one of them said, Somebody should write a book about this. Another said to me, You are on sabbatical, and to be honest, Id vaguely had this idea already. It felt like everybody wanted this book to happen, but nobody had wanted to write it. What were your biggest takeaways? If you look at all the published literaturenot just the indexed articles on PubMed but everything that is published anywhereprobably 90% of it is not reproducible. That was shocking even to me. And probably 2030% of it is totally made up. I didn't expect the numbers to be that high going into this. Its just absurd, but this is what I came to conclude. Just think about all the money wasted. And paper mills [fraudulent organizations that write and publish fake research] make several billion dollars per year. This is a serious industry. Another big shock was learning that the process of trying to do something about the reproducibility crisistrying to clean up the literature, trying to identify bad actorsis not done by the establishment, by grant-giving bodies, by universities, by journals or by governments. Who is doing this? Private investigators, working on their free time at home, while worried about who is going to sue them. What kind of a system is this? You propose some radical solutions. Walk me through these. This is an ecosystem. You need to reform the education, the granting process, the publication process, and everything else all at once. If you start on the education side, what I propose is that there should be separate training tracks for scientific discovery and scientific integrity. People need to be trained in how to do experimental design, statistical analysis, data integrity, and independent refereeing of papers and grantsand this should be its own separate profession. On the granting side, for the most part right now we work in a system where each scientist is viewed as a solo artist, and they submit individual grants to get funding. But in the end, big research institutions tend to keep getting the same amount of money each year. So why do all of this? Why not instead give each institution a lump sum of money for research and attach reproducibility and replication and scientific integrity requirements to the funds. That one is really controversial. It would put the burden on the institution to figure out the best way to spend the money. It would require very smart institutional leadership, with long-term vision and the ability to identify quality science. It wouldn't be easy. But you could over time get to see which institutions funded projects that were reproducible and translatable, and which ones didnt. A benefit of this approach is that people could spend less time writing grants and more time on research. Then on the publication side, top journals could start to prioritize submissions that come with replication supplements. Once a scientist has made a new discovery, they would ask an outside laboratory to try to reproduce it, and then attach that as a supplemental submission to give a higher level of confidence in their work. I think this is actually a good idea and not that hard to implement. You also want to shrink the scientific workforce, and you advocate for cameras and keystroke monitors in labs. How do you think these will go down with the research community? There are cameras in cockpits and cameras behind the barista in Starbucks. There is a lot of money at stake here, too, and eventually there are human lives at stake here. Why is it so outrageous then to say that somebody has to try to control it? There are so many things we could do. I'm not saying that my ideas are brilliant. I'd love to see more out-of-the-box ideas. If somebody else comes up with better ideas, God bless them; let them implement it. This is just a starting point. Stanfords Jay Bhattacharya, who has been tapped to lead the National Institutes of Health, has posted on X that increased funding for replication studies could help address irreproducibility. The research community is concerned about the future of the NIH under President Trump, but could there be a chance his NIH pick will prioritize replication efforts? Amen to that tweet. I don't know Jay, but if he gets the job, I don't think he wants to go down in history as the person who destroyed American biomedical science. He wants to go down in history as the person who reformed American biomedical science. Maybe I am still naive and hope for too much from our politicians or governments, but this reform has to come from the top, from whoever holds and controls the money. The American system, and the NIH in particular, has a lot of influence. They have more power than even they perhaps realize, if they really wanted to do something. But Jay is not yet the head of the NIH. The day-to-day events that are happening, such as the stopping of meetings and purchases, feel punitive. It does not feel like they are part of some improvement master plan. You punctuated the book with dozens of funny, dark cartoons. Which of these is your favorite? I went through so many cartoons, and that was so much fun. They have this biting humor. Honestly, some of those cartoons are even more offensive than anything I say with words. They hammer down some points. I think one of the most offensive ones is the scientists at the publication workshop [four scientists in a restaurant, ordering up a paper on herbal nanoparticles in cancer cells for publication in a journal with good impact factor]. Another one is of a recruitment committee looking at three candidates for a job. One is a plagiarist, one is a cheat, and the third is a sexual harasser, and they decide to go with the one with the most grant money. But it's not a jokeI have seen this kind of thing. 'We Had An Open Conversation': Jaishankar Sees Opportunities In India-US Ties Amid Trump's Tariff Threats Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Ashesh Mallick Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:28 IST Trump threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on India, starting April 2. Jaishankar reacted to the development, stating that India has had conversation with the US for trade agreement. EAM Dr S Jaishankar (Reuters Image) Reacting to US President Donald Trumps reciprocal tariff threat against India, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the Indian government has had a very open conversation" with the administration in the United States about the need for a trade agreement. Jaishankar said that what is currently happening was expected" as this was what Trump promised to do after assuming office in January this year. Recommended Stories What Did Jaishankar Say On Trumps Tariff Threat Against India? It is interesting Some of it is not surprising If you actually tracked it. Most of the time, political leaders do what they promised to do. What we saw was expected I am a little surprised that people are surprised," the EAM said during a Q&A session at Chatham House in London. Responding to a query if the US policies are good for India, Jaishankar said that India has never had any issues with any American presidents in recent times, and there are areas that the US is open to, which are of deep interest to India. Yes, in many ways, my PM was in DC. We see the President and administration is more for multipolarity. I think about practicing. Since 1945, if we look at our own relationship, politically, we have never had any issues with American presidents in recent times. We carry no baggage. From Trumps perspective, they want a big share of enterprise that is QUAD. There are no free riders in QUAD, which was restarted under President Trump, Jaishankar said. He kept energy prices reasonable. He puts emphasis on tech and development on tech, and use of tech as a game changer that offers lot of possibility for us. He appears open to connectivity initiatives, and we have a deep interest in that. He has a certain view on trade. We had a very open conversation about it, and the result of that was we agreed on the need for a trade agreement. Our Trade Minister in USA doing that," the EAM added. Trump Threatens Reciprocal Tariffs Against India Addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs against several countries, including India and China, seeking to make America Rich Again". He said that the nations will have to pay a tariff if they do not manufacture their products in the US. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He announced that the reciprocal tariffs will be live starting April 2. Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them," he said. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them," he said. He pointed out that, on average, the European Union, China, Brazil, and Indiaamong other countriesimpose significantly higher tariffs on the United States. Citing India as an example, Trump noted that the country levies a 100 percent tariff on automobiles, emphasising that such a system appears unfair. First Published: March 06, 2025, 00:05 IST Who Is Jaykumar Gore? Maharashtra BJP Minister Accused Of Sending Nude Pictures To Woman Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 14:26 IST Jaykumar Gore Allegations: Sanjay Raut said that the victim will stage a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha in the next few days. Maharashtra BJP minister Jaykumar Gore Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut levelled allegations against Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Jaykumar Gore, accusing him of sending obscene pictures to a woman. Sanjay Raut said that Jaykumar Gore molested a woman from the family of Hambirrao Mohite, a prominent Maratha warrior. He said the victim will stage a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha in the next few days, adding, This issue will have to be raised in the Legislative Assembly. Such ministers should be kicked out." Recommended Stories Who Is Jaykumar Gore? Jaykumar Gore is an MLA from the Man-Khatav constituency in Satara district. He is currently the minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department of Maharashtra. He was a Congress MLA till 2019 after which he moved to the BJP. What Are The Accusations Against Jaykumar Gore? The accusations are related to a case in 2016 registered against Jaykumar Gore for sending objectionable photos to a woman. After the woman filed a complaint, Jaykumar Gore approached the Satara District Court and the Mumbai High Court to avoid arrest. At the time, the court rejected his bail application and he was sent to jail for 10 days. Even though the case was settled, the victim sent a letter to the Governor in January alleging that her name and address were being widely shared on many WhatsApp groups. What Has Jaykumar Gore Said On The Allegations? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Jaykumar Gore said, The verdict in this case was delivered in 2019. I have a copy of the verdict. In the verdict, the court has acquitted me. The court had ordered the destruction of the seized material and mobile phone." He added, The Supreme Court is the highest in a democracy. It has been six years since this court verdict. This case has come to light after six years. Political leaders should set limits on what to say at what time." First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:16 IST Who Is Ranya Rao's Father? IPS Officer In Spotlight As Actress Gets Arrested With Smuggled Gold Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 12:22 IST Ranya Rao Arrested For Smuggling Gold: It is being investigated if Ranya Rao was acting alone or part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. Kannada actress Ranya Rao arrested Ranya Rao Arrested: Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Bengaluru airport after she was found in possession of 14.8 kilogram of gold. Known for her role opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in Maanikya (2014), Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of a senior IPS officer from Karnataka, K. Ramachandra Rao. Recommended Stories K. Ramachandra Rao is serving as Director-General of Police (DGP) at Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. Why Is IPS Officer K. Ramachandra Rao In Spotlight After Ranya Raos Arrest? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It is being investigated if Ranya Rao was acting alone or part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. As per news agency PTI, preliminary investigations suggested that Ranya Rao may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks. Upon landing, Ranya Rao claimed to be the daughter of Karnatakas Director General of Police and contacted local police personnel to escort her home, PTI reported. Owing to this, officials are probing whether any law enforcement officers were aware of Ranya Raos activities or were misled into assisting her. First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:22 IST Woman Can't Claim Rape If She Was In Long-Term Live-In Relationship, Says Supreme Court Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 18:57 IST The Supreme Court has ruled that a woman in live-in relationship for a long time cannot claim forced physical relations under promises of marriage. Supreme Court of India.. (Image: PTI/File) The Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who has been in a long-term live-in relationship may not be able to claim she was forced into a physical relationship under the promise of marriage to slap rape charges against the partner. The top court said that in such cases, it cannot be definitively concluded that physical relations occurred solely on the basis of a promise of marriage, The Times of India reported. Recommended Stories The courts observations came while quashing criminal proceedings against a bank official who was accused of rape by the live-in partner. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the plea of a woman lecturer who alleged that she had been in a sexual relationship with the accused for 16 years based on his promise of marriage. The court observed that both individuals were well-educated and had willingly maintained a consensual relationship, frequently visiting each others residences even while living in different towns. It concluded that the case reflected a failed love affair or a live-in relationship that had turned bitter. The Supreme Court said that long period of 16 years when the intimate relationship existed concludes that the element of force did not exist. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It is hard to believe that the complainant kept on bending to the demands of the appellant for a period of nearly 16 years without raising any protest to any quarter that the appellant was exploiting her sexually under the pretext of a false promise of marriage. The prolonged period of 16 years during which the sexual relations continued unabatedly between the parties, is sufficient to conclude that there was never an element of force or deceit in the relationship," the top court observed. The court stated that even if it were assumed that a false promise was made, the prolonged duration of the relationship undermined the complainants assertion that her consent was solely based on the expectation of marriage. The ruling emphasised that such claims lose credibility when a relationship continues for an extended period. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 18:57 IST From Tradition to Taste: Where to Enjoy a Special Thali This Womens Day Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 17:05 IST This Womens Day, take a well-earned break and treat yourself to a sumptuous thali experience. Whether catching up with old friends or treating the special women in your life, here are the best places in Mumbai and Bangalore to celebrate over a delicious, soul-satisfying meal For Indian women, a thali isnt just a mealits a celebration of love, tradition, and nourishment. Serving a wholesome spread is a heartfelt act, but every woman deserves a break to indulge, unwind, and be on the receiving end of the same warmth. This Womens Day, take a well-earned break and treat yourself to a sumptuous thali experience. Whether catching up with old friends or treating the special women in your life, here are the best places in Mumbai and Bangalore to celebrate over a delicious, soul-satisfying meal! Khandani Rajdhani Recommended Stories This Womens Day, Khandani Rajdhani invites all women to indulge in a royal unlimited thali with authentic Gujarati and Rajasthani flavors. Celebrate with your squad, enjoy warm hospitality, and savor a meal crafted with love and tradition. Whether treating the women who inspire you or gathering with friends, its the perfect place to cherish moments and bond over great food. Plus, every woman dining at Rajdhani will receive an exclusive giveaway, making the celebration even more special. When- 8th March,2025 Where- Khandani Rajdhani, All outlets MTR This Womens Day, celebrates the spirit of togetherness at Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR), Bangalores legendary eatery with a century-old legacy. Renowned for its authentic South Indian flavors, MTR offers a nostalgic culinary experience with its iconic Rava Idli, crispy dosas, and rich filter coffee. The warm, heritage-rich ambiance makes it the perfect place to honor the incredible women in your life over a meal thats steeped in tradition and flavor. Gather your loved ones and indulge in a feast that celebrates not just great food, but also the joy of community and timeless memories. When- 8th March, 2025 Where- MTR, Bangalore Rasotsav This Womens Day, celebrate the incredible women in your lifefrom young girls to inspiring women of all ages at Rasotsav, a beloved thali destination in Mumbai and Bangalore. Known for its authentic Gujarati and Rajasthani thalis, Rasotsav isnt just about tradition; its about bringing generations together over a feast that everyone loves. Whether its teens enjoying the vibrant flavors, young women relishing a wholesome meal, or families bonding over a regal spread, Rasotsav offers an experience thats both nostalgic and modern. With its warm hospitality, lively ambiance, and unlimited feast, its the perfect place to honor the joy, strength, and togetherness of womanhood this Womens Day! When- 8th March, 2025 Where- Mumbai and Bangalore, All outlets Maharaja Bhog This Womens Day, celebrates the joy of togetherness at Maharaja Bhog, a beloved destination for authentic Rajasthani and Gujarati thalis. Known for its royal flavors, impeccable hospitality, and a rotating menu, its the perfect place to relax and unwind over a long, fulfilling meal. With an unlimited thali, theres no rushjust endless conversations, laughter, and the joy of catching up with your female best friend, sister, or mother over a spread of comforting, flavorful dishes. When- 8th March, 2025 Where- Mumbai and Bangalore, All outlets Kesariya Restaurant This Womens Day, celebrates the completeness of womanhood at Kesariya, Bangalores most loved Rajasthani restaurant. Just as an Indian woman effortlessly balances multiple roles, a thali is a perfect symbol of completeness, bringing together diverse flavors, tradition, and nourishment in one meal. Set in a regal ambiance with heritage-inspired decor and authentic Rajasthani cuisine, Kesariya offers an experience of warmth, indulgence, and cultural richness. Gather your closest women, relish a royal feast served with love and tradition, and celebrate the spirit of togetherness in the most flavorful way. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all When- 8th March, 2025 Where- JP Nagar, Bangalore About the Author Swati Chaturvedi Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she's a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl... Read More Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she's a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl... Read More fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 05, 2025, 17:05 IST Bridgertons Simone Ashley Confirms Breakup, Says She's Entering Her Single Era Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 19:13 IST Simone Ashley disclosed that she has been concentrating on her career and herself after splitting from her former boyfriend Tino Klein. Simone Ashley is busy promoting her next venture Picture This. (Photo Credit: Instagram) Bridgerton star Simone Ashley has officially confirmed her breakup with boyfriend Tino Klein. While currently immersed in the promotional tour for her upcoming rom-com Picture This, the actress candidly revealed her relationship status during a recent interview. In a conversation on BBCs Womans Hour podcast, Ashley shared that she has been focusing on herself and her career following her split. The Little Mermaid actress reflected on the timing of her latest project, saying, Its kind of ironic that Im promoting a rom-com while entering my single era as of January this year." Recommended Stories Speaking further, she added, I am focusing on me and focusing on my work and my inner confidence." The actress went on to say that following Bridgertons release when everything was so hectic, it felt like a different chapter. In case you dont know, the former couple, Simone Ashley and Tino Klein made their last public appearance in October last year at the inauguration of fashion designer Marco Capalados art exhibition. Their relationship rumours first circulated after their meeting at the Grand Prix in Monaco in November 2022. The actress, in an interview with Vogue at the time, said, Im very happy. We are having those discussions about how we can get there before anyone else does." She continued. We havent gone public yet." The Sex Education alum posted a cute snapshot of herself smiling with Tino at a BAFTA Awards after-party one month earlier, captioning it as one of my favourite photos. She ultimately made the relationship public on Instagram in March 2023. On the work front, the actress is gearing up for her upcoming film, Picture This, alongside Hero Fiennes Tiffin. The rom-com follows the tale of Pia (Played by Ashley), who has been informed that she will discover her true love within the next five days. When she went on to explore more about her preferred relationship, her ex came back into her life, making the situation messy. First Published: March 05, 2025, 19:13 IST Gal Gadot Slams America For Celebrating Massacre Of Jews After Oscars Attendance: 'Deeply Unsettling' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:15 IST Gal Gadot condemns Hamas attack, says she never imagined people would celebrate a massacre of Jews, calls for an end to hate. Gal Gadot condemns Hamas attack. Israel-born actor Gal Gadot recently addressed the rising hostility towards Jewish people while speaking at the Anti-Defamation Leagues International Leadership Awards. Honoured for her unwavering support for Israel, the Wonder Woman star delivered a powerful speech about the fear and challenges Jews face worldwide, especially after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. As we all know, hatred, intolerance, and bigotry are on the rise. Most of us will never have experienced a worse time for antisemitism in our lifetimes, but we should feel safer knowing that the ADL has our backs," she said. Recommended Stories Gal spoke about how alarming it feels to simply acknowledge her identity. My name is Gal, and Im Jewish. Isnt it crazy that just saying that [Im Jewish], just expressing such a simple fact about who I am, feels like a controversial statement?" she stated. The actress admitted that antisemitism was never a major concern in her life until the October 7 attack, calling it a wake-up call. Im Israeli, of course, and I knew that antisemitism and anti-Israel hate existed. And like all of us, sometimes Id caught a whiff of it. But I never thought of myself as being where I came from. It was an aspect of who I am, but it didnt define me," she explained. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli towns and military bases, leading to the deadliest day in Israels history. Never did I imagine that we would witness a day of such death and destruction of Jews in our lifetime. And never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying, and cheering on a massacre of Jews," Gal said. She stressed that the impact of these events extends beyond borders. October 7th showed us that what happens to Jews anywhere affects Jews everywhere. Not only what happens there affects us here, but what happens here affects them there. So here we are in this room together, calling for the release of every single one of our hostages," she stated. Gal acknowledged that many Jewish individuals, regardless of their profession, now find it deeply unsettling" to speak up. This has been a reality for all of us, regardless of our field or profession, including mine." But we cant just wait, hoping for support from those who have no intention of standing with us," she said. We need to stand up for ourselves." About the Author Shrishti Negi Shrishti Negi is a journalist with over eight years of experience in the media industry. She leads the Entertainment desk at News18.com. She writes breaking news stories, generates feature ideas, edits copies, ... Read More Shrishti Negi is a journalist with over eight years of experience in the media industry. She leads the Entertainment desk at News18.com. She writes breaking news stories, generates feature ideas, edits copies, ... Read More Location : Los Angeles, United States of America (USA) First Published: March 06, 2025, 00:15 IST Kannada Actress Ranya Rao Arrested For 'Smuggling' 15 Kg Gold At Bengaluru Airport Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:42 IST Ranya Rao Arrested: Ranya Rao was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody, officials informed. Actress Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai. (Photo: X) Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Bengaluru International Airport after she was found in possession of 14.8 kg of gold, officials said. Ranya Rao was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody, officials informed. Ranya Rao, known for her role opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in Maanikya (2014), had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been under surveillance due to her frequent international travel. Investigators revealed that she allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothing as well. Recommended Stories Ranya Rao had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting authorities to conduct a targeted operation upon her return. The actress may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks, preliminary investigations suggest. Authorities are also investigating whether she was acting alone or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 04, 2025, 23:46 IST Katrina Kaif Dances To 'Sasural Genda Phool' At Friend's Wedding, Fans Call Her Perfect Bahu | Watch Curated By : Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 02:49 IST Katrina Kaif grooves to 'Sasural Genda Phool' at a wedding, impressing fans with her grace and charm. Watch the viral video! Katrina Kaif performs during her friend's wedding. Katrina Kaif has once again proven shes not just Bollywoods beloved diva but also an adarsh bahu! A video of her dancing to Sasural Genda Phool from Delhi-6 at a friends wedding has gone viral, leaving fans mesmerised by her elegance, expressions and charm. Dressed in a breathtaking blue lehenga, Katrina looked every bit the star as she performed perfectly synchronized dance steps, her radiant smile and graceful twirls stealing the spotlight. The folk-inspired Bollywood track, known for its playful take on marital life, made her performance even more endearing. Fans were quick to shower her with praise, calling her grace personified" and effortlessly elegant." Recommended Stories Since her marriage to Vicky Kaushal, Katrina has embraced her sasural with warmth, often seen celebrating Punjabi traditions with her in-laws. From family gatherings to festive celebrations, she has seamlessly blended into the Kaushal household. Her latest dance performance felt like a loving nod to her new journey as a married woman. Recently, Katrina accompanied her mother-in-law to Maha Kumbh 2025, where she took a holy dip. Speaking to ANI about the experience, she shared, I am very fortunate that I could come here this time. I am really happy and grateful. I met Swami Chidanand Saraswati and took his blessings. I am just starting my experience here. I like the energy and the beauty and significance of everything. I am looking forward to spending the whole day here." Katrina also actively participates in festivals like Karva Chauth and Holi, while the Kaushal family reciprocates by celebrating Christmas with her, reflecting their strong family bond. Meanwhile, on the professional front, Katrina Kaifs iconic film Namastey London is set to return to the big screen. Fans are ecstatic about reliving the romance and nostalgia of the film, which co-stars Akshay Kumar. Even Katrina shared her excitement following Akshays announcement. Taking to Instagram, Akshay wrote, Thrilled to announce the re-release of Namastey London on the big screen this Holi, 14th March. Get ready to relive the magic, unforgettable songs, iconic dialogues, and timeless romance with Katrina Kaif, all over again. See you at the movies." Katrina quickly showed her support by liking the post. For those unfamiliar, Namastey London follows Jazz, a modern Indian woman living in London, whose father forces her into an arranged marriage with Arjun, a level-headed farmer. The films emotional tug-of-war between love and duty remains a fan favourite. About the Author Shrishti Negi Shrishti Negi is a journalist with over eight years of experience in the media industry. She leads the Entertainment desk at News18.com. She writes breaking news stories, generates feature ideas, edits copies, ... Read More Shrishti Negi is a journalist with over eight years of experience in the media industry. She leads the Entertainment desk at News18.com. She writes breaking news stories, generates feature ideas, edits copies, ... Read More First Published: March 06, 2025, 02:49 IST Keep It Up, Beta: Shah Rukh Khan Praises Anant Ambani; Radhika Merchant, Ajay Devgn, Janhvi, Ananya, Jackie Shroff & Others Laud Vantara Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 04:19 IST Shah Rukh Khan, in a post on X, wrote: Animals deserve love, and they need protection and care for their health & that of our planet. PM @narendramodis presence at Vantara reinforces the importance of this. The purity of a person's heart is directly proportional to their love for animals. Vantara and Anants commitment of providing a sanctuary to unfortunate animals is a testament to that. Keep it up Beta!! PM Modi with Anant Ambani at Vantara; (right) Shah Rukh Khan. (PTI File) Actor Shah Rukh Khan lauded Anant Ambanis Vantara as Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted pictures of his recent visit to the Jamnagar wildlife centre. Anant Ambanis wife Radhika Merchant, too, reposted the pictures, even as other actors such as Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor, Shikhar and Veer Pahariya, congratulated the effort. Khan, in a post on X, wrote: Animals deserve love, and they need protection and care for their health & that of our planet. PM @narendramodis presence at Vantara reinforces the importance of this. The purity of a persons heart is directly proportional to their love for animals. Vantara and Anants commitment of providing a sanctuary to unfortunate animals is a testament to that. Keep it up Beta!!" Recommended Stories Animals deserve love, and they need protection and care for their health & that of our planet.PM @narendramodis presence at Vantara reinforces the importance of this.The purity of a persons heart is directly proportional to their love for animals. Vantara and Anants https://t.co/NSQ65zBiPK Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 5, 2025 PM Modi, who inaugurated Vantaras Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, said an effort like Vantara was truly commendable". In a post on X, the PM wrote: An effort like Vantara is truly commendable, a vibrant example of our centuries old ethos of protecting those we share our planet with. Here are some glimpses" An effort like Vantara is truly commendable, a vibrant example of our centuries old ethos of protecting those we share our planet with. Here are some glimpses pic.twitter.com/eiq74CSiWx Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 4, 2025 In another post, he wrote, Inaugurated Vantara, a unique wildlife conservation, rescue and rehabilitation initiative, which provides a safe haven for animals while promoting ecological sustainability and wildlife welfare. I commend Anant Ambani and his entire team for this very compassionate effort." Inaugurated Vantara, a unique wildlife conservation, rescue and rehabilitation initiative, which provides a safe haven for animals while promoting ecological sustainability and wildlife welfare. I commend Anant Ambani and his entire team for this very compassionate effort. pic.twitter.com/NeNjy5LnkO Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 4, 2025 At the state-of-the-art wildlife hospital, equipped with MRI, CT scan, and ICU facilities, PM Modi observed the advanced veterinary care provided, including specialised departments for wildlife anaesthesia, cardiology, nephrology, endoscopy, dentistry, and internal medicine. He also witnessed an Asiatic Lion undergoing an MRI and a leopard receiving life-saving surgery after a highway accident. Reposting the PMs pictures, Radhika Merchant wrote on Instagram: Chills!" Vantara is not just a sanctuary, its a statement, wrote Ajay Devgn on X. A safe haven for our wildlife, a step towards a kinder world. Vantara is not just a sanctuary, its a statement one that speaks of love, responsibility and care. PM @narendramodis presence at the inauguration speaks volumes about the importance of such initiatives Proud of https://t.co/lT43ecG90e Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) March 5, 2025 Ananya Panday called Vantara heaven on earth". Kudos to the entire team of Vantara for this wonderful initiative, wrote Jackie Shroff. Kudos to the entire team of Vantara for this wonderful initiative.@ril_foundation https://t.co/NLQD4KmZv9 Jackie Shroff (@bindasbhidu) March 5, 2025 Janhvi Kapoor doffed her hat to Anant Ambani, calling Vantara a sanctuary like no other". She said the vision and grit of Ambani in bringing such a project to life. While Veer Pahariya called it pride of India", his brother Shikhar commended Anant Ambanis hard work, dedication and belief". The Vantara initiative, the first of its kind in India, has been conceptualised and birthed under the leadership of Anant Ambani, Director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation. Vantara has been awarded the Prani Mitra National Award, Indias highest honour in animal welfare by the Government of India, in the Corporate category. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 14:02 IST Siddhant Chaturvedi And Ananya Panday To Reunite For A Project? Leaked Photo Fuels Speculation Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 18:22 IST Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday have previously collaborated on projects like Shakun Batras Gehraiyaan and Farhan Akhtars Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. Siddhant and Ananya were seen at a beach location. (Photo Credits: Instagram) After enthralling the audience with their amazing chemistry in films like Gehraiyaan and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, actors Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday are rumoured to be working together again on a new project. Speculations about their latest collaboration surfaced after the two were snapped at a stunning location, surrounded by cameras and crew members. The pictures of the duo were leaked online, which left fans wondering about what they would be working on next. In the snapshot, Siddhant is seen donning a blue casual shirt, while Ananya wears an orange and white off-shoulder printed dress. However, the details of the project are still unknown. Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Filmfare (@filmfare) The duo first collaborated on Shakun Batras romantic drama film Gehraiyaan, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2022. Backed by Karan Johar, the film also featured Deepika Padukone and Dhairya Karwa in lead roles. After that, they joined hands for the Farhan Akhtar-backed coming-of-age comedy-drama film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, co-starring Adarsh Gourav. Helmed by Arjun Varain Singh, the film received good responses from fans and critics alike. Talking about their forthcoming projects, Siddhant has multiple projects in his 2025 lineup, including Dhadak 2 with Triptii Dimri and Dil Ka Darwaaza Khol Na Darling with Wamiqa Gabbi and Jaya Bachchan. He will also reportedly be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis musical romantic drama tentatively titled Tum Hi Ho opposite Mrunal Thakur. Ananya, on the other hand, will be next seen in Kesari Chapter 2 along with Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan. Produced by Karan Johars Dharma Productions, it is based on the story of lawyer C Sankaran Nair, who fought an unprecedented battle against the British Empire in the 1920s after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The film will be hitting the theatres on April 18. Apart from that, she also has a romantic drama, Chand Mera Dil, opposite actor Lakshaya. Directed by Vivek Soni and produced by Dharma Productions again, the film will be hitting the theatres later this year. Her upcoming film lineup also includes projects like Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri with Kartik Aaryan and Call Me Bae season 2. About the Author Kashvi Raj Singh Kashvi Raj Singh is a News Trainee at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in lon... Read More Kashvi Raj Singh is a News Trainee at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in lon... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 18:22 IST Who Is Ranya Rao? Kannada Actress, Daughter Of IPS Officer Arrested For Gold Smuggling Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 12:22 IST Kannada actress Ranya Rao was detained at Bengaluru Airport for carrying 14.8 kg of gold. She was presented in court and given a 14-day judicial remand. Actress Ranya Rao was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai. (Photo: X) Kannada actress Ranya Rao has landed in legal trouble now after being detained by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Bengaluru International Airport for allegedly carrying 14.8 kg of gold. Authorities confirmed that she was taken into custody and later presented before an economic offences court, which ordered a 14-day judicial remand. Ranya, the daughter of Director General of Police (Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on March 3, 2025. Who Is Ranya Rao? Recommended Stories Originally from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Ranya Rao studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before making her way into the film industry. Several media reports suggest that Ranya is the stepdaughter of DGP Rao. Ranya stepped into the film industry in 2014 with her debut in the Kannada movie Maanikya, directed by and starring Sudeep. She portrayed the role of Manasa, a wealthy young woman and the love interest of the protagonist. Ranya Rao ventured beyond Kannada cinema in 2016, making her Tamil debut with Wagah, a romantic drama where she starred opposite Vikram Prabhu. In 2017, she returned to the Kannada film industry with Pataki, a comedy in which she played Sangeetha, a journalist and the love interest of Ganeshs character. As per her bio on Facebook, she has described herself as a seeker, traveller, star gazer, and a sunset lover." All about Ranya Raos Arrest Ranya Rao had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been under surveillance due to her frequent international travel. Investigators revealed that she allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothing as well. Ranya had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting authorities to conduct a targeted operation upon her return. Preliminary investigations indicate that the actress may have tried to leverage her connections to evade customs checks. Authorities are also looking into whether she acted independently or was linked to a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India. First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:22 IST Hear The Drumbeats From Indias Forests Our Wildlife Is Booming Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 08:14 IST Indias jungles are growing, while not swamping the nations road to business and enterprise. And Indias industry, on its part, has not been crossing the thick green line PM Narendra Modi with an exceptionally rare boa constrictor at Vantara. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi fixed his gaze on an exceptionally rare boa constrictor lazily coiled around his arm during his visit to Vantara, the worlds largest animal rescue and rehabilitation centre, his government was ready with a larger message to the world on wildlife. The prime minister visited Anant Ambanis Vantara, which spans 3,000 acres and serves as a sanctuary for 1.5 lakh abused, injured, and endangered animals, a day after World Wildlife Day on March 3. Recommended Stories It is a good time to look at what India, led by PM Modi, has done for the jungle. Let us briefly list a few. India is now the global leader in tiger conservation, with the big cats population rising to 3,682 as per the All India Tiger Estimation 2022, marking a steady increase from 2,226 in 2014. The population is growing at 6.1 per cent per annum. Project Cheetah reintroduced the animals to India in 2022. A female cheetah gave birth to cubs on Indian soil after 75 years, with one surviving cub reported to be six months old and showing normal growth as of September 2023. On January 3, 2024, three cubs were born to the Namibian cheetah Aasha at the Kuno National Park. Indias wild elephant population has increased from 26,786 in 2018 to 29,964 in 2022. The Asiatic Lion moved from being critically endangered to endangered in 2008, with its population under 300. Today, there are 674. The Gujarat government upped the lion budget to Rs 155.53 crore in 2023-24. The one-horned rhino population has surged 170 per cent from 1,500 in the late 80s to 4,014 now. On December 18, 2024, India reached a ground-breaking milestone by successfully satellite-tagging the first-ever Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica) in Assam under Project Dolphin. India is home to 90 per cent of the species, and this project will close the knowledge gaps hindering conservation. Compared to 2021, Indias forest and tree cover has grown by 1,445 sq km. The countrys forest and tree cover is 8,27,357 sq km, which is 25.17 per cent of its geographical area. In Budget 2025-26, the ministry of environment, forests, and climate change has got Rs 3,412.82 crore, which is 9 per cent higher than the 2024-25s revised estimate of Rs 3125.96 crore. For 2025-26, the Union government has allocated Rs 450 crore for the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats under its centrally sponsored scheme. An extra Rs 290 crore has been kept aside for Project Tiger and Elephant, making it an 18 per cent jump from 2024-25. These are just some of the highlights. Generational changes are underway in Indias wildlife scene, with geotagging, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and DNA sequencing coming into play in a big way. Politically, it demolishes the narrative that the Congress has been trying to set against the Modi government that it sacrifices the environment, forests, and wildlife at the altar of business interests and crony capitalists. In 2024, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who was the environment and forest minister in the UPA government, had said the proposed amendment to Forest Conservation Act, 1980, was an example of diluting protection for Indias wildlife and natural resources. He said the amendment hollowed the Act from within. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The intention is to hand over access to our forests to the prime ministers corporate friends," Ramesh had said. But the surging wildlife and forest figures tell a different story. Indias jungles are growing, while not swamping the nations road to business and enterprise. And Indias industry, on its part, has not been crossing the thick green line. First Published: March 05, 2025, 08:13 IST Opinion | Quantum Physics And Vedic Philosophy: Where Science Meets Spirituality Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:46 IST Despite emerging from different eras and cultures, key concepts in modern science align closely with the ancient wisdom found in the Vedas Both quantum physics and Vedic philosophy question conventional ideas of separateness and time, suggesting instead a universe that is deeply interconnected and governed by fundamental vibrations. Recommended Stories Knowledge makes one humble, humility begets worthiness, worthiness creates wealth and enrichment, enrichment leads to right conduct, and right conduct brings contentment Quantum physics and Vedic philosophy, particularly the teachings in the Upanishads, explore the nature of reality, consciousness, and the deep interconnectedness of all things. Despite emerging from different eras and cultures, key concepts in modern science align closely with the ancient wisdom found in the Vedas. Modern quantum gravity and quantum field theory share interesting similarities with ancient Vedic philosophy. Despite their different approaches, both explore deep questions about reality, time, and consciousness. Quantum mechanics is based on two important concepts: superposition and entanglement. Superposition means that tiny particles, like electrons, can exist in multiple states at the same time. Entanglement happens when two particles become linked so that a change in one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are. These ideas challenge the way we normally think about space, time, and how objects are separate from each other. Vedas describe the universe as deeply interconnected. Vedic philosophy teaches that the entire universe is connected through a fundamental essence called Brahma, which is eternal, infinite, and present everywhere. This is similar to the idea of a unified field" in quantum physics, where all particles and forces come from a single source. Both views suggest that everything we see as separate is part of one unified whole. THE OBSERVERS INFLUENCE In quantum mechanics, the observer plays a key role in how reality unfolds. A well-known example is the double-slit experiment, where tiny particles like electrons act like waves when no one is watching, spreading out in different directions. However, when they are observed, they behave like solid particles, taking a single, definite path. This experiment suggests that simply watching something can change how it behaves, raising interesting questions about the connection between observation, reality, and even consciousness. This connects to the Vedic concept of Maya, which refers to the illusion of being the doer in the material world. The Vedas teach that what we experience through our senses isnt the ultimate realityits shaped by our perceptions. Similarly, in quantum mechanics, the way particles behave depends on whether they are observed. Both perspectives suggest that the physical world isnt a fixed, separate reality but rather a fluid and interconnected process influenced by consciousness and observation. Erwin Schrodinger, one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics adopted the concept of Atma (the individual soul) and Brahm (the cause of Atma and the universal consciousness). In his book What is Life, Schrodinger proposed that consciousness is one and universal, arguing that the perception of multiple individual consciousnesses is merely an illusion. This idea parallels quantum mechanics, which shows that particles are fundamentally interconnected rather than separate. This idea aligns with the Vedic philosophies of Achintya Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita, which suggest that reality is both one and many at the same time. While everything is inherently connected as part of a unified whole, our perception tends to see it as separate and distinct. QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT AND NON-DUALITY: A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE ON REALITY Quantum entanglement is a fascinating effect where two or more particles become so closely linked that any change in one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are. This challenges the traditional idea that objects are separate and independent, offering new insights into the nature of reality. In Advaita Vedanta, non-duality means that the true nature of reality goes beyond all differences, like self and others or subject and object. It teaches that everything is connected as one consciousness, and the idea of separateness is just an illusion (Maya). This idea is similar to quantum entanglement, where two particles stay linked no matter how far apart they are. Changing one instantly affects the other, showing a hidden unity that challenges our usual understanding of space and time. The connection between quantum entanglement and non-duality presents a holistic view of reality, encouraging us to rethink the nature of existence. It invites us to move past a divided perspective and embrace the idea of deep interconnectedness. Recognising the significance of entanglement within a non-dual framework allows for new insights into consciousness and reality, helping us gain a deeper understanding of our role in the universe. QUANTUM GRAVITY AND TIME VEDIC PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH Quantum gravity is an area of research that seeks to merge quantum mechanics with Einsteins general theory of relativity. While general relativity describes space and time as interconnected and flexible, responding to the presence of matter and energy, quantum mechanics governs the behaviour of particles on a tiny scale. Bringing these two theories together offers fresh insights into the nature of time. One approach, Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), proposes that space and time are not smooth and continuous but instead made up of tiny, discrete units or quanta." This suggests that time itself may not flow smoothly but could emerge from fundamental quantum interactions, much like matter is composed of individual atoms. This non-linear perspective on time aligns with ancient Vedic philosophy. In Vedic tradition, Kala (Time) is viewed as cyclical and eternal, not merely a linear sequence from past to future. Instead, it unfolds in repeating cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution, as represented by the Yugas. This concept parallels modern quantum physics, which suggests that time is not a fixed, one-way progression but a more intricate and fluid phenomenon. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Studying quantum gravity and string theory alongside Vedic concepts like Brahma and Maya provides a profound, integrated perspective on reality. Both quantum physics and Vedic philosophy question conventional ideas of separateness and time, suggesting instead a universe that is deeply interconnected and governed by fundamental vibrations. The author is Quantum Technologist & Data Scientist, Honorary Adjunct Fellow, National Maritime Foundation, Ex AI Consultant Prime Ministers Office (NSCS). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. First Published: March 05, 2025, 11:46 IST Opinion | The Revival Of Sanatan Dharma: Reflection On The 2025 Mahakumbh Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 17:16 IST The massive turnout at the Mahakumbh reflects a renewed faith in our scriptures, culture, ethos, and traditionsrooted in an understanding of their scientific credibility The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj was a spectacular event, drawing more than 66 crore devotees from around the world. (PTI Image) In recent times, there has been much debate and discussion about the detachment from dharma among the youth of all religions. As education reaches all strata of society, people appear more rational and logical about their belief systems. We have seen Europe and America becoming increasingly atheist or drawn to belief systems other than Christianity. Churches are being abandoned, with many in Europe being converted into mandirs. In the Middle East, India, and the Far East, Muslim-majority countries are witnessing a wave of ex-Muslims leaving their traditional faiths due to perceived unscientific teachings and illogical reasoning. Science-educated youth find it difficult to accept religious doctrines that do not align with scientific reasoning. The contradictions within religious texts are particularly evident in Abrahamic traditions. For example, female and male circumcision can be cruel and, in some cases, fatal. Similarly, the belief that planets revolve against the Sun is scientifically inaccurate. Many Abrahamic texts contain outdated information that critics argue should be revised. Recommended Stories In India, we have experienced over 1,000 years of Islamic and Christian rule. These rulers were oppressive, both financially and religiously. They plundered wealth, destroyed mandirs and other structures, and either renamed or modified them to align with their ideology and religious practices. This remains a point of contention with Muslims in a predominantly Hindu country, which was divided into three pieces in the name of Islam in 1947. However, the greater damage to India occurred in the post-independence period, when the education system was taken over by individuals opposed to the fundamental ethos of Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma was distorted and misrepresented to Hindus through textbooks written by non-Sanskrit scholars with biased perspectives. Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, Manusmriti, Ramayana, and Mahabharata, were misinterpreted, leading to widespread confusion. As a result, many Hindus have developed a sense of disillusionment with their own belief system and way of life. In 2025, a grand Mahakumbh was celebrated for over 45 days at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati at Triveni Ghat. Over 65 crore Hindus from across the world took a dip in the pavitra waters of Triveni. The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj was a spectacular event, drawing more than 66 crore devotees from around the world. Held once every 144 years, it is considered one of the largest human congregations on Earth. One of the most striking aspects of this Mahakumbh was the participation of the youthover 60 per cent of the devotees were under the age of 30. Is this a resurgence of Sanatan Dharma? Or is it the influence of an unapologetically Hindu leadership at the Centre, coupled with Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradeshboth of whom actively promote Indias ancient and rich cultural heritage? Or perhaps it is the impact of social media, which has helped demystify the essence and scientific underpinnings of Sanatan Dharma? Arguably, both factors have played a role. Todays youth are increasingly aware of astronomy and its scientific principles. They recognise the cosmic phenomena that shape our universe and are beginning to appreciate the scientific foundations of Sanatan Vaidic Dharma, which modern science continues to validate. The massive turnout at the Mahakumbh reflects a renewed faith in our scriptures, culture, ethos, and traditionsrooted in an understanding of their scientific credibility. Social media has emerged as a boon for Sanatan Dharma, while posing challenges for Abrahamic religions, which struggle to scientifically justify their belief systems. Their youth, increasingly rational and inquisitive, are less willing to accept doctrines that lack logical substantiation. The Mahakumbh melas have historically served multiple purposes. Foremost among them was the distribution of wealth. People from across the country would gather at a designated place, spending on travel, accommodation, food, and other essentials, thereby benefiting the local economy. Another key purpose was the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, ensuring its spread among the masses in a uniform manner. This played a crucial role in shaping Bharats shared traditions and cultural continuity across its vast expanse. The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 holds immense astrological significance. According to Hindu scriptures, the sacred alignments of celestial bodies are directly linked to the Kumbh festival. The event occurs when Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon align in specific constellations. The 2025 Mahakumbh in Prayagraj was held during a rare celestial configurationJupiters entry into the Aries constellation with the Sun and Moon positioned in Capricorn. This unique alignment occurs once every 144 years, which made this years Mahakumbh particularly significant. The astrological importance of the Kumbh Mela is rooted in the legend of Samudra Manthan, when the gods and demons churned the ocean to obtain amrit (the nectar of immortality). It took 12 divine days to transport the amrit to the heavens, which corresponds to 12 years in human time. This celestial event symbolises the journey towards spiritual enlightenment and the purification of the soul. The event not only elevated the spiritual significance of Prayagraj but also provided an extraordinary boost to the citys economy, multiplying it a thousandfold. The hospitality sectorincluding hotels, restaurants, and tour operatorsreaped substantial benefits, while the economic impact extended to real estate, automobiles, electronics, and luxury goods. Local shops, small vendors selling Kumbh merchandise, bike riders, taxi owners, and countless others witnessed an unprecedented influx of visitors. The Mahakumbh has united all Sanatani Hindus, demonstrating to the world that despite our diverse colours, languages, cuisines, ethnicities, and geographies, we are one when it comes to dharma. We are spiritual, religious, and bound together by shared values. No caste certificate was required before taking a dip at Triveni Sangam, no jati was questioned, no social status was considered, and no gender bias was observedcontrary to the distorted portrayal of our varna vyavastha. Mahamandaleshwar Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj was seen bathing downstream, while upstream, a Nanku Nishad (from the so-called lower caste) was also taking a dip at Triveni Sangam. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A great deal of muck must have been cleared from the lenses of Western scholars and leftist ideologues (should they so wish) who are busy widening the rift they created amongst Hindus in the name of caste and creed. Gopal Goswami, PhD, is a Researcher, Columnist & Social Worker. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. First Published: March 05, 2025, 17:13 IST Write Mind | False Binary: Theres No Hindi Vs Tamil Debate Written By : News18.com Last Updated: March 04, 2025, 18:39 IST Pitting two sister languages and their millions of speakers against each other is a petty political ploy that must be avoided in the interest of social harmony and national unity The Modi government introduced NEP 2020 without mandating the superimposition of any language, let alone the thrusting of Hindi. (Image: Shutterstock) Well, we have all heard the stories of Frankenstein or vampiresan army of the dead raised to haunt and hunt the living. I do not mean to petrify my reader in the very first line, but let me bite the bullet and take the bull by the horns. The zombie haunting our nation today is an untoward, undue, unnecessary, and unwanted debate over the imposition of Hindi in the state of Tamil Nadu under the pretext of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, as alleged by proponents of Dravidian secessionist politics. There are videos making rounds on media where vandals from the state ruling DMK party are seen smearing the signboard of a railway station wherein the station name reads in Hindi. Such egregious and politically motivated cheap parlour tricks are designed to stoke tensions and keep the pot boiling while deliberately trying to cover up the misgovernance and corruption of the administration. Recommended Stories Instead of dousing the fire, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin publicly escalated the tension, declaring, Tamil Nadu is prepared for another language war." In another post on X, he went so far as to claim that Hindi has gobbled up many regional languages. Noteworthy is to mention that the Narendra Modi government introduced NEP 2020 without mandating the superimposition of any language, let alone the thrusting of Hindi. The policy insists that governments introduce a language-learning framework where both the state and individuals can ensure that a regional language, apart from English or Hindi, is taught. In fact, the promotion of regional languages is one of the major pillars the government has emphasised and actively supported. Frankly, this was long overdue, and there is plenty of historical and credible mooring to corroborate this. The first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, CN Annaduraithe ideological father of most Dravidian parties, including the DMKonce stated that he had no objection to the three-language policy, provided other states accepted it as well. This was in response to the 1968 National Education Policy, which introduced the three-language formula, advocating the teaching of English, Hindi, and a regional language. Similarly, the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, in an interview with Organiser published in December 1957, opined liberally: All our languages are national languages. They are equally our national heritage." That Narendra Modi draws inspiration from icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is undeniable and commonplace. His profound interest in developing literature and culture in regional languages is also well documented. History records that Shivaji placed considerable emphasis on language use in his administration and kingdom, believing that a language brings its own distinct thought processes and culture. If there is no language of its own in the establishment, then there isnt much of swarajya (literally: self-rule). Scholars of swarajya were tasked with compiling a lexicon of approximately 1,400 words, known as the Rajya Vyavhar Kosh, for use in day-to-day administration. This was done to ensure that Marathi words derived from Sanskrit replaced the Arabic-Persian jargon that had become pervasive in governance. The intent of Chhatrapati Shivaji was to honour the mother tongue and pass it on to the progenies. It is this very ethos that underpins the Prime Ministers ambitious NEP 2020. Post-independence, it is unfortunate that Bharatiya languages did not progress as they should have, even within their own states. English has continued to dominate as the language in chief of state machinery at all levels. Despite their richness, languages such as Hindi, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Gujarati failed to become the language of governance and administration, even within their respective states. This was largely due to the excessive importance accorded to English and the misplaced pride associated with speaking it. The language and attitude of the administration remained no different from its colonial predecessor. The language left behind by the Britishultimately a foreign tonguehas continued to rule the roost. The tussle between Hindi and its sister languages ought to have been fought tooth and nail against English, but instead broke out among themselves. As a result, English established itself as the only lingua franca. Despite Mahatma Gandhis strong advocacy for Hindi in official work, its use remained largely ceremonialconfined to the token observance of Hindi Week" once a year. As fate would have it, Indias first Prime Minister was truly comfortable only in English, rather than in any Indian language. English was the language he spoke, lived, and breathed throughout his life, particularly during his tenure as Prime Minister. Raking up the dont impose Hindi" card time and again by the Dravidian party is akin to flexing the masculinity of hunting a phantom that does not exist. In a nutshell, it is a time-tested technique to create schisms and rifts in society, fostering a vote bank in the name of upholding Tamilian pride by beguiling people. Even if we were to lend credence to the claim that the Union government intends to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu, it is worth recalling what Dr BR Ambedkar observed about language: Since Indians wish to unite and develop a common culture, it is the binding duty of all Indians to own up to Hindi as their language. Without this, we would be left with 100 per cent Maharashtrians, 100 per cent Tamilians, and 100 per cent Gujaratis, but never truly Indians." Furthermore, Article 351 of the Constitution states that it is the duty of the Union to promote the spread of Hindi so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all elements of Indias composite culture. The article also mandates that Hindi should be enriched by assimilating, without altering its essence, the forms, style, and expressions found in Hindustani and the other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule. Additionally, it allows for drawing vocabulary primarily from Sanskrit and secondarily from other Indian languages. It is evident, therefore, that the Eighth Schedule was designed to encourage the progressive development of Hindi while also promoting and enriching it. That said, it must not be overlooked that Hindi is one of Indias official languages, not the national language. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all By no means does protesting against alleged Hindi imposition in public while privately running schools that offer Hindi as an option qualify as naivete, rather, it is a calculated, Machiavellian strategy. Sending ones own family members to schools that teach Hindi while simultaneously opposing its supposed imposition reeks of hypocrisy of the highest order and integrity of the lowest form. Pitting two sister languages and their millions of speakers against each other is a petty political ploy that must be avoided in the interest of social harmony and national unity. Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @iyuvrajpokharna. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. About the Author Yuvraj Pokharna Yuvraj Pokharna is Surat based independent journalist and columnist who vociferously voices his opinions on Hindutva, Islamic Jihad, Politics and Policies. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter ... Read More Yuvraj Pokharna is Surat based independent journalist and columnist who vociferously voices his opinions on Hindutva, Islamic Jihad, Politics and Policies. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter ... Read More First Published: March 04, 2025, 18:37 IST CNN name, logo and all associated elements and 2024 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. CNN and the CNN logo are registered marks of Cable News Network, LP LLLP, displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of NEWS18.com does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them. Copyright Network18 Media and Investments Ltd 2024. All rights reserved. May 05, 2025, 01:35 PM IST | Episode 37 A leopard never changes its spots. Nowhere is this truer than in Pakistana state perpetually on financial life support, and yet miraculously always capable of funding terror against India. This paradox should no longer surprise us. What should alarm us instead is the source of that fundingPakistans military-industrial complex, the real jugular India must now target with precision. Shubhangi Sharma explains. SP MLA Abu Azmi Suspended From Maharashtra Assembly For Praising Aurangzeb Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 16:04 IST Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly's membership till the end of the ongoing budget session over his remarks eulogising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. SP MLA Abu Azmi | File Image Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assemblys membership till the end of the ongoing budget session over his remarks eulogising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The budget session of the state legislature will end on March 26. Recommended Stories State minister Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday moved the motion of suspension in the House. Members of the treasury benches said Aurangzebs praise amounted to insult of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The motion of suspension was passed by a voice vote. "Azmis comments praising Aurangzeb and criticising Sambhaji Maharaj do not suit the stature of a member of the assembly and is an insult of the democratic institution of the legislative assembly," Patil said. Azmi, president of the Samajwadi Partys state unit, had said that during Aurangzebs reign, Indias border reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). "Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of the world GDP) and India was called a golden sparrow (during his regime)," claimed the MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency in Mumbai. Asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had termed it a political battle. His comments rocked both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling side demanding his suspension and that he be booked for treason. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In a post on X on Tuesday, Azmi said his statements were twisted. "Whatever I have said about Aurangzeb is something that has been stated by historians and writers. I have not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any national icons. Still, if anyone is hurt by my remarks, then I take back my statements and comments," he said. First Published: March 05, 2025, 16:01 IST Bigger Than Trumps: Arvind Kejriwal Slammed For Convoy As He Reaches Punjab For Vipassana Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:19 IST Arvind Kejriwal Slammed For Convoy In Punjab: Along with his wife Sunita Kejriwal, the former Delhi chief minister arrived at the Forest Rest House in Chohal, about 14 kilometers from Hoshiarpur AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. (PTI File) Arvind Kejriwal Slammed For Convoy In Punjab: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita on Tuesday reached Punjabs Hoshiarpur for a 10-day Vipassana session starting Wednesday. The couple was escorted by a convoy, which raised the eyebrows of many. While AAP MP Swati Maliwal said Kejriwal was bigger than that of US President Donald Trump, BJP and Congress leaders expressed dissatisfaction over the Punjab governments VIP treatment to Kejriwal. AAP MP Swati Maliwal took to X, sharing a video of the convoy and asking, Why is Kejriwal so afraid of the people of Punjab who gave him so much love?" Recommended Stories ? VIP Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/opK5ygMM2W Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 5, 2025 Kejriwal, who criticised the entire world for VIP culture, is today roaming around with a security cover bigger than that of Donald Trump. It is amazing how a great state like Punjab has been turned into a means of achieving luxuries," she added. Neither MLA, Nor CM: BJP, Congress Question Kejriwals Lifestyle Meanwhile, BJP and Congress leaders have questioned Kejriwals current lavish lifestyle and liberties as he was no longer an MLA or a CM. WATCH | Delhi | On AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, BJP spokesperson RP Singh says, " He is neither an MLA nor a CM, but the Punjab govt still treats him as a VIP and provides security. Like Delhi, in the coming days, Punjab will also reject him." pic.twitter.com/nP2gF25fJV ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 BJP spokesperson RP Singh said, " He is neither an MLA nor a CM, but the Punjab government still treats him as a VIP and provides security. Like Delhi, in the coming days, Punjab will also reject him." Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said, As I was saying during election campaigning, after losing in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal would run to Punjab. Now, they have a government there, he wants to safeguard it. Now, will he become a Rajya Sabha MP or Punjab CM, lets see in the coming days." #WATCH | Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh says, " As I was saying during election campaigning, after losing in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal would run to Punjab. Now, they have govt there, he wants to safeguard it. Now, will he become a Rajya Sabha MP or Punjab CM, lets see in the pic.twitter.com/1hFEgk79Cx ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 Kejriwal Joins Meditation Camp The former Delhi CM, along with his wife Sunita, arrived at the Forest Rest House in Chohal, about 14 kilometers from Hoshiarpur on Tuesday. He joins a 10-day Vipassana meditation course at the Dhamma Dhaja Vipassana Centre (DDVC), located in village Anandgarh, around 11 km from Hoshiarpur, party sources said. Kejriwal has been practising Vipassana and has been to several places, including Jaipur, Nagpur, Dharamkot near Himachal Pradeshs Dharamshala, and Bengaluru in the past to practice the ancient meditation system. This is the second time Kejriwal has come to Anandgarh for Vipassana meditation. Earlier, he attended a similar course at the centre from December 21 to December 30, 2023. Vipassana is an ancient Indian meditation technique focused on self-transformation through self-observation. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Kejriwal, who lost the election from New Delhi seat in February 5 Assembly polls, has kept himself confined to party related activities without making any public appearances. The AAP that ruled Delhi from 2015 to 2024 on the back of massive mandates, managed to win just 22 of the 70 Assembly seats in the latest election. The BJP ended the dominance of the Kejriwal-led party winning 48 seats. Several AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Satyendar Jain, and Somnath Bharti, lost. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:54 IST Do you struggle with teaching your students how to build effective arguments in their writing? Youre not alone. Jim Meininger, an English teacher in the Palo Alto Unified School District in California, has found a strategy that works: using Scholastic Scope magazine to teach his students the structure of claim, evidence, and reasoning. Learn how this approach could benefit your classroom, too. Watch the episode now! End Of Road For Dhananjay Munde? NCP Heavyweights Exit Puts Mahayuti In Fix, Gives Oppn Ammo Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 12:20 IST The question of who will replace Munde could lead to political bargaining within the ruling alliance, with Chaggan Bhujbal being one of the frontrunners for the post The sudden exit of Dhananjay Munde --- a prominent political figure for years --- has raised questions about the stability of the states ruling coalition and the long-term impact on his party. (X @dhananjay_munde) Maharashtras political landscape witnessed a major shake-up this week with the resignation of senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde over murder charges against his close aide. The sudden exit of Munde a prominent political figure for years has raised questions about the stability of the states ruling coalition and the long-term impact on his party. Recommended Stories A well-known leader from Maharashtras Beed district, Munde belongs to a politically influential family. He is the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde and cousin of minister Pankaja Munde. Despite starting his career with the BJP, he later joined the NCP under Ajit Pawars leadership and quickly rose through the ranks. Munde made his mark as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council before becoming a cabinet minister in the state government. He held key portfolios such as social justice and special assistance, playing an important role in shaping policies related to marginalised communities. His political journey, however, has not been free of controversies. Mundes resignation comes in the wake of a high-profile murder case in Beed, where his close aide Walmik Karad was arrested. The murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a local political figure, led to intense scrutiny of Mundes associates. Allegations surfaced that individuals linked to Munde were involved in the crime, leading to calls for his resignation. The pressure on Munde increased as opposition parties and activists questioned his moral responsibility. Even within his own party, voices demanding action grew louder. Finally, on March 3, Munde announced his resignation, citing personal and health reasons. However, the timing and circumstances suggest that the controversy played a significant role in his decision. Mundes resignation has sparked intense political debate in the state. Opposition parties, including Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), have used this episode to attack the ruling coalition, questioning why Munde was allowed to continue in office despite the allegations. The delay in acting against Munde has raised concerns about accountability in the government. Critics argue that the government only acted when public pressure became too strong to ignore. This could affect voter confidence in the ruling alliance ahead of upcoming elections. Mundes resignation is not just about an individual leader stepping down; it has broader implications for the political landscape in Maharashtra, say political experts. Munde is one of NCPs strongest leaders in rural Maharashtra, particularly in the Marathwada region. His exit could weaken the partys hold in Beed and surrounding districts, making it vulnerable to political rivals. Munde, who represents the critical OBC caste, has a huge following in Marathwada, and his resignation could again ignite OBC vs Maratha politics. Also, with Munde stepping down, there is now a vacancy in the state cabinet. The question of who will replace him could lead to political bargaining within the ruling alliance. It will also be interesting to see if another leader from Beed or the Marathwada region gets a cabinet berth to balance the regional equation. The potential candidate could be Chaggan Bhujbal, another OBC face from the NCP and seasoned politician who was denied a cabinet berth this time. The Opposition, meanwhile, is likely to use this issue in the upcoming local body elections which are due since the past three years, framing it as a case of corruption and poor governance. If they succeed in keeping the controversy alive, it could damage the ruling coalitions credibility. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all However, many believe that Mundes political career is far from over as he could make a comeback if he manages to clear his name. Maharashtras history has seen many leaders rebound from controversies, and Munde could follow the same path. With Munde out of the cabinet, all eyes now will be on how the government handles the fallout. Another cabinet minister who could face heat is Manikrao Kokate, who is embroiled in a legal case, as the Opposition looks to corner the government. About the Author Mayuresh Ganapatye Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 12:20 IST Fadnavis, Uddhav Back Abu Azmi's Suspension From Assembly In Big Aurangzeb Row, Akhilesh Hits Back Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 18:32 IST While commenting on historical portrayals in the Bollywood film Chhava, Abu Azmi claimed that history distorted Aurangzebs legacy and that he was not a cruel ruler. SP MLA Abu Azmi | File Image/PTI A massive political uproar has been witnessed over Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmis remarks hailing Mughal ruler Aurangzeb which further snowballed into a massive slugfest after he was suspended from the Maharashtra assembly for the whole Budget session on Wednesday. Azmi Suspended From Assembly Recommended Stories Earlier today, the state assembly passed a motion unanimously to suspend Azmi from the House till the end of the budget session. Members of the treasury benches said Azmis remark praising Aurangzeb was a insult of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Read More: Abu Azmi Retracts Statement On Aurangzeb Amid Backlash: Want Matter To Be Rested State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil argued that Azmis statements were objectionable and had hurt the dignity of the Assembly, leading to the decision. Fadnavis, Uddhav Back Azmis Suspension Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT faction) chief Uddhav Thackeray and others backed the suspension decision. Fadnavis said, Any disrespect towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not be tolerated! Question to the opposition Will you condemn what is written about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus book The Discovery of India?" Any disrespect towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not be tolerated!Question to the oppositionWill you condemn what is written about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus book The Discovery of India? pic.twitter.com/yKSRvqoCI7 Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) March 5, 2025 Thackeray demanded that Azmi should be permanently suspended from the assembly. He said, He should be permanently suspended. It should not just be for the Budget Session, the suspension should be permanent." Thackeray further reacted on Akhilesh Yadavs defence saying, Let him object if he wants to. The entire Maharashtra has raised an objection against him. If he wants, he should make him contest from there (UP). He does not know the truth." Mumbai: On Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmis suspension for the remainder of the Maharashtra Assembly session, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray says, He should be permanently suspended The entire Maharashtra has raised objections against him" pic.twitter.com/PFxtT7tCBk IANS (@ians_india) March 5, 2025 Yogi Adityanath Slams Azmi, Akhilesh Weighing into the controversy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at Azmi and challenged Akhilesh Yadav to expel Azmi over his remark, saying, Remove that person from Samajwadi Party and send him to UP, we will do his treatment." #WATCH | Lucknow: On Samajwadi party MLA Abu Azmis statement on Aurangzeb, which he later withdrew, UP CM Yogi Adityanath says, " Remove that person from (Samajwadi) party and send him to UP, we will do his treatment. The person who feels ashamed about the heritage of pic.twitter.com/SHXClYoyaz ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 He also questioned Azmis legitimacy to stay in the country, saying, The person who feels ashamed about the heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and considers Aurangzeb his idol, does he have the right to stay in our country?" Akhilesh Yadav Defends Azmi Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav came out in support of the MLA and termed his suspension an attack on freedom of expression". Yadav asserted that if such decisions are influenced by ideology, there will be no difference between freedom of expression and subjection. If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will there be between freedom of expression and subjection? Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by suspension one can rein them in, then this is their childishness," Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi. Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 5, 2025 Azmi Calls Suspension Injustice The SP legislator reacted to his suspension from the assembly and said it was an injustice" and questioned the double standards of the government. My suspension is an injustice, not just to me but to the millions of people whom I represent I would like to ask the government whether two types of laws are followed in the state? One law for Abu Azmi and another law for Prashant Koratkar and Rahul Sholapurkar," he said. Read More: Amidst SP Leader Abu Azmis Claim, How History Suggests Aurangzeb Was A Tyrant | Explained In a video posted on X, Azmi argued that his remarks on Aurangzeb were made outside the House and not inside. He said that he withdrew his statement to ensure the House functions, but still there is a controversy". #WATCH | Suspended Maharashtra SP MLA Abu Azmi says, To ensure that the House functions, I spoke about withdrawing my statement. I did not say anything wrong. Still, there is a controversy and proceedings of the House are being stalled. To ensure that the House functions and pic.twitter.com/nXhyr22RcJ ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 To ensure that the House functions, I spoke about withdrawing my statement. I did not say anything wrong. Still, there is a controversy and proceedings of the House are being stalled," he said. Uproar Over Azmis Comments Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday lambasted Azmi both in the legislative council and assembly. Azmi is purposely insulting Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj. Sambhajis Maharajs bravery and Aurangzebs cruelty will give goosebumps to people. The Mughal emperor not only killed Hindus but also people from other religions," he had said. Read More: Obsessed With Aurangzeb: BJP Sharpens Attack On SP Neta Abu Azmi For Praising Mughal Ruler Shinde dubbed Azmi a traitor" and said he had no right to sit in the House. What Azmi Said On Aurangzeb? While commenting on historical portrayals in the Bollywood film Chhava, Azmi claimed that history distorted Aurangzebs legacy and that he was not a cruel ruler. Wrong things are being said about Aurangzeb. He constructed a lot of temples for Hindus. He even got one of his soldiers trampled by elephants when he wanted to marry a Hindu priests daughter. As a mark of their gratitude, they constructed a mosque for Muslims. History has been distorted," Abu Azmi said on Monday. Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party President Abu Azmi on Aurangzeb says, All the wrong history is being shown. Aurangzeb built many templesAurangzeb is not a cruel leader" pic.twitter.com/cfSr26ZE6o IANS (@ians_india) March 3, 2025 Azmi further said that during Aurangzebs reign, Indias border reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of the world GDP)) and India was called a golden sparrow (during his regime)," he claimed. Azmis comments rocked both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling side demanding his suspension and that he be booked for treason. After the outrage over his comments, Azmi in a post on X on Tuesday said his statements were twisted. Whatever I have said about Aurangzeb is something that has been stated by historians and writers. I have not made any derogatory remarks against Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any national icons. Still, if anyone is hurt by my remarks, then I take back my statements and comments," he said. VIDEO | Maharashtra: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi has taken back his statement of calling Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb a great administrator and has called for resumption of Assembly proceedings.Abu Azmi says, When I came out of the Assembly yesterday, the press asked me pic.twitter.com/6VJofHFFVl Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 4, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The budget session of the state legislature will end on March 26. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 18:03 IST He Was Rapist, Invader': Rajasthan Education Minister Denounces Akbar In Assembly Amid Aurangzeb Row Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 22:29 IST Rajasthan Education Minister described Akbar as a "rapist and a looter" and said that calling him "great" was an insult to the country. Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar (Photo: X) Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar has said Mughal emperor Akbar was a rapist and a looter" while also stating that calling him great" was an insult" to the country. His remarks came on Tuesday while replying to a discussion in the state Assembly on demands for grants for the Education Department. Recommended Stories It pains us so much what they used to teach about the great men of the country. They tried to belittle Maharana Pratap. And Akbar, who used to set up meena bazaar, was a rapist, an invader and a looter, was called as great. This was an insult to the country, of our great men. This cannot be tolerated," Dilawar said in the Assembly. Some MLAs marked their objection to his statement, prompting him to ask, Who is Akbar to you?" He went on to add that Aurangzeb killed countless Hindus", brought down numerous temples and imposed jizya tax on Hindus. But the reality was hidden from the countrys students and taught for many years. In textbooks, the invader and cruel ruler Taimur was described as great, which was completely inappropriate," he said. Dilawars comments in the Assembly were not his first for Akbar, as in February last year, he had said that the Mughal emperor was not just a rapist" but also taking his name in India is a sin". When we were in school, we read that Akbar was great. I have also studied the same, but I have also heard that he used to set up meena bazaars, pick up beautiful girls and women, and rape them," the Minister had said. The Ministers recent remarks came amid the ongoing controversy around Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmis praise for Aurangzeb. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Wrong things are being said about Aurangzeb. He constructed a lot of temples for Hindus. He even got one of his soldiers trampled by elephants when he wanted to marry a Hindu priests daughter. As a mark of their gratitude, they constructed a mosque for Muslims. History has been distorted," Abu Azmi said on Monday, creating a massive uproar. He was later suspended from the Assembly for the remainder of the Maharashtra Assembly Budget Session. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 22:29 IST Kamal Haasan Backs Stalin's Anti-Hindi Stand, Says BJP Govt Trying To Turn India Into Hindia Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 16:01 IST Tamil parties met on Wednesday and sent a resolution against 'Hindi imposition' on Tamil Nadu to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kamal Haasan backs MK Stalin's anti-Hindi stand (PTI File Image) Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday backed MK Stalins stand in the ongoing language controversy and accused the Centre of attempting to turn India into Hindia" by imposing" Hindi on the non-Hindi speaking states. His remarks came while attending a meeting of the Tamil parties where a resolution on Hindi imposition" and against delimitation was adopted and sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Recommended Stories The actor was addressing a gathering of over 50 Tamil political parties led by CM Stalin. The parties collectively submitted a joint resolution to PM Modi, urging assurances that any delimitation exercise, if conducted now, would be based on the 1971 population figures and remain unchanged for the next 30 years. This, they argued, would ensure that states that have successfully controlled population growth are not penalised and would encourage others to follow suit. The central government is trying to make all states speak Hindi and win polls with a majority. Our dream is India and theirs is Hindia," Haasan said. Haasans remark was on the lines of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalins Hindia jab at Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019 when the latter had said on Hindi Diwas that this is the one language that marks Indias identity in the world". Stalin had countered the remark, stating, This is India, not Hindia". Last week, Haasan had warned the Centre, Tamilians have lost their lives for a language. Dont play with this." The ongoing controversy regarding Hindi imposition stems from the three-language mandate in the National Education Policy 2020 Hindi, English and a local language. The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has said that it would not let the implementation of NEP take place in the state, waging a war of words with the Centre. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Kamal Haasan, along with several Tamil politicians, has been outspoken about the perceived imposition of Hindi on southern states. This long-standing controversy, which sparked violent clashes in the 1960s coinciding with an Assembly election at the time resurfaced last month. The latest flare-up followed a warning from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who warned that the Centre would withhold funds if its three-language policy was not implemented. CM Stalin had written to PM Modi, alleging blackmail", while deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin warned that Tamil Nadu is ready for another language war". About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 15:47 IST Paid Bribe For Work, Ministers Busy Counting Money, Says Goa BJP Leader; Opposition Demands Probe Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 23:28 IST Goa BJP leader and former minister Pandurang Madkaikar alleged that "loot" is underway in the BJP government in the state. The Opposition has called for action into his claims. BJP leader Pandurang Madkaikar (Photo: X/@PandurangMadka1) Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Goa Minister Pandurang Madkaikar has claimed that he recently paid a bribe to the PA of a minister to process his file, alleging that those in the ruling BJP government in the state are busy in counting money". The remarks by Madkaikar, who was a minister in the Manohar Parrikar government, came following his meeting with party national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh in Panaji. Santhosh had held meetings with numerous party MLAs and leaders to take stock of the BJPs organisational work. Recommended Stories Madkaikars Massive Claims I will tell you very frankly, its not corruption, its loot. Loot is going on in Goa. Rampant loot. All Ministers are busy in counting money," Madkaikar told the reporters. Citing an incident in which he had to pay a bribe to a minister for a small work", the former Minister said, Last week, I paid Rs 15 to 20 lakh to one Minister for a small work. He took one file, which I had processed from the departmenthe took that file to his home and left a message that if someone comes to inquire about that file, tell that fellow to come and meet me. So, I sent my manager to meet the Minister". Then he was told to meet his PA. He met his PA, and the PA directly demanded Rs 15 or 20 lakh. I was also a Minister. So, I know what procedures are followed in that department," he added. The BJP leader said that he did not intend to reveal the name of the minister to whom he paid the bribe but added that he would divulge the name when he leaves the party. Goa Minister Asks Madkaikar To Reveal Name Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho on Wednesday asked the BJP leader to file a police complaint against the said minister and name the individual. In a democracy, one should be careful not to abuse the freedom one has to speak. He (Madkaikar) was a former Minister. Everyone knows him wellHe should look into his own backyard and see what happened during his time, before commenting on others," Godinho said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Opposition also demanded that the police should launch an investigation into Madkaikars claims. Goa AAP chief Amit Palekar said that the police should take cognisance of his statements and register a case. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Location : Goa, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 23:28 IST Religion To Dominate 2026 West Bengal Polls? As BJP, Mamata Spar Over 'Minority Appeasement', Here's What Experts Say Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 08:56 IST Religion is set to play a significant role in the 2026 Bengal elections, with Mamata Banerjee's temple initiatives and Suvendu Adhikari's Hindutva focus. The Digha temple, along with initiatives like the Kalighat temple skywalk, allows Mamata to counter BJP's narrative of her minority bias. (Image: PTI) Will religion emerge as a decisive factor in the 2026 Bengal elections? This question resonates within Bengals political circles, fueled by recent developments. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently spearheaded the construction of a grand Jagannath temple in Digha, slated for a grand inauguration on Akshay Tritiya on April 29. Simultaneously, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari revealed plans for a Ram Mandir in his Nandigram constituency, with a large-scale event planned for the first week of April. Experts believe both events carry significant political weight. The BJP has consistently accused Mamata Banerjees government of harbouring a pro-minority bias. The Digha temple, along with initiatives like the Kalighat temple skywalk, allows Mamata to counter this narrative, showcasing her governments commitment to the Hindu community. During the Assembly budget discussion, Mamata, asserting her Brahmin identity, emphasised that she needs no lessons on Hindutva from the BJP. Party insiders highlight the extensive work undertaken for Hindus, emphasising the Bengal ethos of practising all religions while celebrating festivities together. They believe that alongside welfare schemes, religious initiatives will be a talking point in the upcoming elections. Recommended Stories While the TMC aims to project inclusivity and its contributions to the Hindu community, the BJP appears poised to fully leverage the Hindutva card. Adhikari, echoing the sentiment of a Hindu renaissance, points to the situation in Bangladesh and Mamatas alleged appeasement politics as campaign fodder. Senior BJP leaders suggest a sustained focus on the Sanatan" identity. Adhikaris stance is clear: cater to the awakened Hindu voice in Bengal. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The convergence of these events suggests religion will be closely intertwined with the 2026 elections. Political analyst Sambit Pal observes that identity politics has been shaping Bengals socio-political landscape since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He notes the opposition leaders attempts to communalise the political discourse and Mamata Banerjees efforts to shed her pro-minority image. A communal narrative may dominate the next assembly elections campaign with the situation in Bangladesh and manipulation in the voters list. The welfare-scheme politics is likely to take a backseat," Pal said. It seems inevitable that religion, whether welcomed or not, will be a significant factor influencing the 2026 elections. About the Author Kamalika Sengupta Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 08:56 IST Tradition Vs Modernity Clash Or Power Tussle: What Went Wrong Between Akash Anand, 'Bua Maa' Mayawati? Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:31 IST Party insiders cite Akashs modern political approach and outspoken remarks on BSPs functioning, while others point to his growing popularity as the key reasons behind his expulsion from the party The final trigger for Akashs expulsion came on February 7, when several BSP leaders attended the wedding of Ashok Siddharths son against Mayawatis explicit orders. (PTI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawatis decision to expel her nephew Akash Anand has sent shockwaves through Uttar Pradeshs political circles and within party ranks. The move, coming at a time when BSP is struggling to regain its shrinking base and recover from successive electoral failures, has fueled intense speculation. But what went wrong between Akash and his Bua Maa? Party insiders cite Akashs modern political approach" and outspoken remarks on BSPs functioning, while others point to his growing popularity as the key reasons behind his expulsion. UPs political experts, while calling such high-profile expulsions routine in BSP, said Behenjis decision is patthar ki lakeer," marking the end of Akashs political careerat least within the BSP. Recommended Stories Who is Akash Anand? Akash Anand was once seen as her political heir. He first appeared in the political arena in 2017 during a rally in Saharanpur alongside Mayawati. Since then, he had been actively involved in party affairs. In 2019, after the BSP-SP alliance collapsed post-Lok Sabha elections, he was appointed the national coordinator of the party. In 2022, his name was included in the list of BSPs star campaigners for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, signalling his growing influence. Akash holds an MBA degree from London and is known for his modern political approach, which often clashed with the partys traditional style. Mayawati declared him her political successor twice in five months, but both times he was removed. On December 10, 2023, he was first named the heir, but on May 7, 2024, he was stripped of all responsibilities due to controversial remarks. He was again reinstated on June 23, 2024, as the partys national coordinator, but on March 2, 2025, he was removed from all posts. Finally, on March 3, 2025, Mayawati expelled him from the party altogether. A Shocking Political Shake-Up A tense silence gripped the BSP headquarters in Lucknow on Monday morning as whispers of an impending announcement filled the air. Then came the bombshell as Mayawati expelled her nephew, citing anti-party activities". Just a day earlier, she had stripped him of all key posts. In a strongly worded post on X, Mayawati declared, In the interest of the self-respect and self-esteem movement of the most revered Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and following the tradition of discipline of the venerable Kanshiram ji, Shri Akash Anand, like his father-in-law, is expelled from the party in the interest of the party and the movement." The BSP supremo also appointed her brother Anand Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as national coordinators in Akashs place, further asserting her control over the party. In a move that left no room for speculation, she declared that she would not name a successor in her lifetime. Mayawatis decision, coming ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections when BSP is struggling to reclaim its core voter base, has now become the most talked-about issue in political circles. The expulsion has left many wonderingwhat went wrong between the aunt and the nephew? Clash Between Tradition, Modernisation Insiders believe that Akashs attempt to modernise BSP played a key role in his expulsion. The primary reason behind Akashs expulsion seems to be his modern approach and new style of working, which clashed with the partys traditional functioning," said a senior BSP leader. His focus on youth engagement, digital outreach, and direct communication was a stark contrast to BSPs conventional system, making senior leaders uneasy, a party insider told News18. Another functionary stated, Akash was trying to introduce new strategies, but many senior leaders were uncomfortable with these changes." His efforts to reshape the party and his assurance to workers that he would bring reforms when the time was right only deepened the rift. Growing Influence And Power Struggles Akashs rising popularity within the party also contributed to tensions. His increasing support among BSPs youth wing and emerging leaders made senior figures feel overshadowed. Akash was seen as the new face of BSP, and this created discomfort among old-timers," remarked a former BSP coordinator. Additionally, Akashs growing proximity to his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, a former key BSP strategist in southern India, became a major concern. Many leaders and coordinators started aligning with Ashok and Akash without Mayawatis direct approval. This was seen as an internal threat," explained a senior party leader. Defiance Of Mayawatis Orders The final trigger for Akashs expulsion came on February 7, when several BSP leaders attended the wedding of Ashok Siddharths son against Mayawatis explicit orders. Mayawati was furious. She had already suspected that a power shift was happening within the party, and this act of defiance only confirmed her doubts," said a party source. Rivalry And Internal Politics Some insiders believe that Akashs opponents within the party played a role in his downfall by fuelling Mayawatis suspicions. She was made to believe that Akash was planning a power shift with his father-in-law and wife. The mention of that girl in the press release was a clear indication that Mayawati saw this as a larger conspiracy," said a party insider End Of Akashs Political Career? However, UPs political analysts while calling the high-profile expulsion normal" in BSP said the decision possibly marks an end of Akashs career, especially within the party. This is not the first time Behen-ji has taken such a stern decision. There is a long list of high-profile party functionaries who have been shown the door," pointed out Shashikant Pandey, head department of political science, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. Precedents In BSP Pandey said Mayawati has never allowed any leader to establish an independent identity in the party. After the era of Kanshiram, she has taken unilateral decisions within the party, ensuring that no other figure rises to prominence. Over the years, several senior leaders who had carved a niche for themselves were abruptly expelled. The list includes prominent names such as Swami Prasad Maurya, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Brajesh Pathak, Lalji Verma, Ram Achal Rajbhar, Babu Singh Kushwaha, Nakul Dubey, Lalji Nirmal, KK Gautam, Indrajit Saroj, Sunil Chittor, and Brijlal Khabri. What Did Akash Say? A day after being removed from all BSP posts, Akash asserted that he remained undeterred, drawing strength from the Bahujan movements ideals. In a post on X, he dismissed speculation about his political career being over, emphasising that the Bahujan movement is not a career but a fight for the self-respect and dignity of marginalised communities. Calling the decision emotional" one, Akash acknowledged the challenge ahead. The decision of respected Mayawati-ji to relieve me from all party posts is personally emotional, but this is a big challenge, the test is difficult, and the fight is long," he said. Despite his removal, he reaffirmed his commitment to the party and its ideology. Akash credited Mayawati for teaching him lessons of sacrifice, loyalty, and dedication, stating that her decisions were final and binding. Every decision of respected Behen-ji is like a line on a stone. I respect and stand by it," he said. Declaring his unwavering resolve, he added, This is an idea, a movement that cannot be suppressed. Lakhs of Akash Anands are always ready to keep this torch burning." SP Calls Decision Strange Mayawatis decision, especially at a time when Akash was gradually gaining traction among Dalit youths, has drawn criticism from political analysts and opposition parties alike. The Samajwadi Party (SP) was quick to mock the move, questioning why she was not allowing the next generation to take charge. SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma called it a strange decision", pointing out how Akash was first made national coordinator, then removed mid-Lok Sabha elections for being immature," reinstated later, and now expelled again. If decisions keep changing like this, it raises questions on leadership and Mayawatis intent to fight elections seriously," he remarked. Ill-Timed Move Political experts found the expulsion ill-timed, arguing that Akash was emerging as a new face for Dalit youth, and his removal could further alienate BSPs dwindling voter base. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The BSPs electoral decline has been stark. In 2007, the party secured a landslide victory, winning 206 seats and forming the government with over 30 per cent vote share. However, by 2022, BSP was reduced to just one seat, with a mere 12.9 per cent votes. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were even worse. BSP, which won 10 seats in 2019, failed to open its account, and its vote share plummeted to 9.35 per cent. The question now is will Akash challenge the decision and trace his own path, or will he wait for another opportunity to re-enter the party? First Published: March 05, 2025, 11:31 IST Boss Gets Furious After Employee Denies Working On Weekend: What Kind Of F*****g Response Is This? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 16:37 IST An employee was met with, What kind of a f*****g response is this? from their boss on WhatsApp after refusing to work on the weekend. WhatsApp conversation between the boss and the employee highlights toxic work culture of a Delhi-based marketing agency. A Delhi-based video editor took to social media to expose the toxic environment of a startup he had joined in December last year. Rajat, who joined a marketing agency expecting a relaxed" work culture, found himself dealing with unrealistic demands and an overbearing boss. It all started when Rajat refused to work over the weekend. His boss, Arman, insisted that he put his refusal in an email and meet him in the office on Monday. When Rajat agreed to send the mail, Arman snapped, What kind of a f*****g response is this?" Recommended Stories Rajat even offered to share the project file, but Arman brushed him off, saying hed get it done without him. Startups unspoken rule: Employees should work beyond shift hours This wasnt an isolated incident. On February 28, Rajat was assigned a video to edit at 5 PM, which he submitted by 5:55 PM. Even after clocking out at the official closing time of 7:30 PM, Rajats workday was far from over. At 8:30 PM, revision requests started rolling in. When he stood his ground, stating that he doesnt work on weekends, the CEO didnt take it well. He demanded a meeting on Monday, likely to force him to resign. Boss-Employee WhatsApp chats expose toxic work culture Rajat even shared screenshots of their WhatsApp conversation on social media. At 8:29 PM, a team member dropped a message saying that the reel they need to post tomorrow has feedback and needs to be edited. The boss, Arman, chimed in with, The jealous boyfriend one." To this, Rajat responded, Hey Arman. I wont be able to take this up as I dont work on weekends. I can share the project file. Let me know if that works." Another employee then explains the order of the clips. Responding to Rajats message, Arman said, Are you serious? Send me an email saying exactly this, Rajat, and see me first thing on Monday." Okay, I will do that," replied Rajat. But instead of letting it go, Arman lashed out, What kind of a f*****g response is this?" Rajat calmly reiterated that he had been clear about his work boundaries since joining and was willing to share the project file so someone else could take over. Wow. Simply wow. No its fine. Well get it done without you," replied Arman. Social media users reacted to the now-viral WhatsApp conversation. This is not the way you treat your employees or anyone. Very disrespectful," said one LinkedIn user. Another added, Toxic agency culture at its finest." Another classic case of work-life balance" being just a buzzword on the careers page," shared a third. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A fourth wrote, WOW this is on another level unprofessional, especially in a group chat. Im in awe!" Someone on Reddit expressed, CEO sounds like a wanker. The wow, simply wow, also makes it seem like he might go home and throw a tantrum because Arman at the office didnt do the demons bidding." About the Author Arfa Javaid Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 05, 2025, 16:26 IST Software Developer Returning To India After 9 Years In US Struggles To Find Job: Need To Support My Ageing Parents Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 07:57 IST A software developer, who has been working in the United States for nine years, has hit a dead end in their job search in India. They have turned to Reddit for advice. The software developer, who is returning to India after working for nine years in the US, faces a 15-year wait for a green card. A software developer who has been working in the United States for nine years is returning to India to care for their aging parents but is struggling to secure a job. Despite holding an MS degree from the University of Michigan and extensive experience in full-stack development, they have been unable to land interviews. Over the past six months, they have applied to several positions but have received only one interview call, which ended in rejection. Returning to India and cant get a single interview call!" the software developer, who set their salary expectation at 30-35 lakh, wrote on Reddit as they turned to the community for advice. Recommended Stories The Redditor, who goes by Free-Length-683", shared, My primary skillset is Python, Django (along with Django REST), JavaScript, Vue.js, Postgres. I have built web applications, data pipelines, and data visualisations." Read| Indian Techie, With A Foreign Masters Degree, Highlights Job Market Woes After Facing 250 Rejections They explained that they must return to India to care for their aging parents and have been actively applying for jobs over the past six months but have had no success. I am coming back to India in May as I need to support my aging parents (mother has developed a disability and father is 78). I have applied to several jobs in India in the last 6 months, but I have gotten just 1 interview call (recruiter screening hiring manager reject)," the Reddit user wrote, adding that they have to face a 15-year wait for a green card. In the next few lines, they explained, I have never worked with cloud computing or docker or kubernetes or message queues, and I see these technologies listed in almost every job posting. Most developers in India already have this skill set (I am assuming). I have realised that not knowing key technologies that a senior developer like me should already know puts me at a significant disadvantage." Also Read| Bengaluru Companys 40 LPA Job Posting For Engineers Turns Heads: Resume Not Needed, College Doesnt Matter Should I just upgrade my skillset first in the next 6 months and then try for jobs? Any advice/guidance is appreciated," they further wrote. Reddit users quickly flocked to the comments section to help the individual in need. Its cut-throat competition in India with horrible work-life balance unless you have contacts who can refer you," said one social media user. Another, who is a software engineer, added, Has your entire career been spent working at Universities? Such a work history would be considered a bit unusual in India, so that could be a factor." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Replying to this comment, another individual suggested, You can try to find a job at a college in India. That would give you a great advantage. But the salaries in the University/college, even though good, are not competitive with the IT industry." Join a company with a presence in India and ask for a move to India," a fourth said. About the Author Arfa Javaid Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 05, 2025, 07:40 IST I Hope Trump Deports You Note On Mexican Restaurant Receipt Costs Ohio Realtor Her Job Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 10, 2025, 09:36 IST After dining at a restaurant, a real estate agent left a hateful message for a waiter instead of a tip. The note read, "I hope Trump deports you," referencing immigration. The receipt that the real estate agent Stephanie Lovins left for a specially-abled waiter at a restaurant. A real estate agent was fired from her job at Century 21 after leaving a hateful message for a waiter at a Mexican restaurant. Stephanie Lovins wrote, I hope Trump deports you," in the signature line of the receipt at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina in Columbus, Ohio. Not just that, in the tip section, she wrote, Zero. You suck." Recommended Stories Ricardo, the waiter who served Lovins when she dined at the restaurant on March 2, is a US citizen juggling two jobs to support his family. Lovins was upset about the restaurants one coupon per table rule. After she left, one of the employees found the receipt on the table with a hate-filled message and shared a picture of it on social media. The hateful note quickly went viral, prompting public outcry and calls for her to be fired. Restaurant speaks out in support of the waiter The restaurant stood in solidarity with the waiter, who had to endure a message referring to immigration. Its just not right, just not right," Fabio Oribo, the head of marketing at Cazuelas told NBC4. Hes a really good person and like I said, we all here, like, come here every day to do our job, which is to serve people and have a good time. This is just a space for being inclusive and theres no space for hate inside Cazuelas," he added. Oribo further said, We never expected to go that viral or having that reaction, thankfully or the community has been really supportive." Woman denies involvement after public outcry At first, Stephanie Lovins denied any involvement, making several social media posts claiming her credit card had been lost/stolen" and misused by someone else. My credit card was lost/stolen and someone attempted to use it. Thanks for the notifications! This has been reported through my bank," she wrote on Facebook. In yet another post on LinkedIn, she wrote, Thank you for all the recent notifications of scammers and profile hackers! I recently discovered a lost/missing credit card and an attempted use/purchase. I appreciate your patience while I manage the situation. Have a great day!" Century 21 fires Lovins Despite Lovinss denial, CCTV footage confirmed that she was, in fact, at the restaurant, leading to her termination. Century 21, while replying to a Facebook post, said, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The Century 21 brand does not condone acts of discrimination and is taking this situation seriously. We have looked into it and the agent in question is no longer affiliated with the brand." In an official statement, the company added: We are aware of the situation with the agent in question. Hate has no place within the CENTURY 21 brand, and we are taking this very seriously. After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand." GoFundMe Launched for Ricardo top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In response to the incident, a GoFundMe campaign titled Tip Ricardo: Because Hate Has No Place Here" has been launched to raise funds in support of the waiter. So far, $11,480 USD has been raised. The campaign description reads: Ricardo is a hardworking server at Cazuelas Bar & Grill in Columbus, Ohio. On the evening of 03/02/25, he was doing his job like any other day, providing great service. But after serving an $87 meal, he was left with a zero tip and a hateful, racist message on the receipt: ZERO. YOU SUCK. I HOPE TRUMP DEPORTS YOU!!!" About the Author Arfa Javaid Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 05, 2025, 11:14 IST ***Originally aired in 2024*** This week, I am pleased to present my third interview with the long-time animal liberation activist Ronnie Lee. Ronnie has been a vegan for more than five decades and is best known for co-founding the Animal Liberation Front in the 1970s. Currently he works to educate the public about the importance of becoming vegan. He also encourages vegans to become more involved in vegan education initiatives, in order to work towards the abolition of the exploitation and oppression of our fellow animals. In this interview, Ronnie describes what it was like trying to obtain vegan-friendly food in the 1970s. Then we discuss why war, environmental destruction, and human rights violations are not in alignment with the vegan ethic; why its important to challenge animal use and speciesism, rather than focusing primarily on cruelty; and how we can more effectively interact with the mainstream media. Ronnie also speaks about the role of anti-vivisection campaigning within the animal rights movement over the years, and he shares his views on celebrity culture within the vegan community. Vegan World Katie Veg - 'Wife Drinks My Blood...': Cop's Official Reply On Why He's Negligent On Duty Stuns Superiors Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 19:54 IST A soldier from the 44th Battalion PAC in Meerut claims his wife torments him in dreams, causing his negligence at work. His superiors demanded an explanation from him. His response in a letter has gone viral The viral document reveals that the policeman desperately seeks a way to find refuge in God, hoping for relief from his suffering.(Representative/File Photo) In a bizarre explanation for his negligence at work, a policeman posted in the 44th Battalion Provincial Armed Constabulary of Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that his wife comes to him in his dreams, sits on his chest, and drinks his blood. This disturbing experience, he alleges, leaves him unable to sleep, causing significant problems in his daily life. He struggles to arrive at work on time, maintain his uniform, and even shave. Concerned by his persistent negligence, the policemans superiors demanded an explanation. His answer has since gone viral along with a photo of the exchange. When questioned, officials said that they are considering counselling for the policeman. Recommended Stories The policeman, stationed at the 44th Battalion PAC in Meerut, claims to be embroiled in a peculiar marital dispute that has deeply affected his ability to focus on his duties. His appearance is often dishevelled, he is frequently late, and his discipline has deteriorated. When his divisional commander demanded an explanation for his behaviour, the policeman submitted a written response in which he claimed that his wife torments him in his dreams, drinks his blood and leaves him unable to sleep. He expressed his despair, stating his desire to seek solace in God. The viral document reveals that the policeman desperately seeks a way to find refuge in God, hoping for relief from his suffering. The viral document is the letter issued to the PAC policeman, demanding a response to his alleged negligence. The notice, issued by the in-charge of the 44th Battalion PAC in Meerut, reads: On 16 February at 9 am, you were expected to attend a duty briefing by the in-charge battalion commander. Despite being informed of the time, you arrived late, unshaven, and in uniform that was not up to standard. This instance is not isolated, as your late arrival for group work and team counts has been observed on multiple occasions. Such behaviour demonstrates a lack of interest in your duties and reflects poorly on your commitment to government work. Within a disciplined force like the PAC, this disregard for punctuality and presentation constitutes gross negligence and signifies indiscipline and arbitrariness. Please explain your actions." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The notice demanded a response within a day, stating: Give your reply so that action can be taken against you as per rules." When approached by News 18 for a statement regarding the viral document, officers remained evasive. The commander of the 44th battalion PAC refused to comment on camera, stating that while an explanation had been sought from the policeman, he was unaware of the response. He stated that the authenticity of the viral photo would be investigated and that the policeman would receive counselling. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Meerut, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 15:53 IST Sam Altman 'Proud' Of OpenAIs Achievements But 'More Proud' Of His Babys First Big Milestone Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 19:07 IST Sam Altman and his partner, software engineer Oliver Mulherin, recently welcomed their baby boy, who arrived prematurely and has been receiving care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The OpenAI chief first announced his son's birth on February 23 with a heartfelt post. (Photo Credit: X) For OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, leading one of the most groundbreaking AI research teams in the world is an accomplishment to be proud of. But even the most revolutionary tech breakthroughs pale in comparison to a personal milestone that has completely redefined pride for him his newborn son learning how to eat. On Wednesday, Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his emotions, writing, Very proud of the OpenAI team for what is perhaps the most impressive scientific/technical breakthrough of recent decades." Thought that was the thing Id always be most proud of in life. Turns out I am now more proud of a preemie baby for learning how to eat on his own," he added in his post. Recommended Stories very proud of the openai team for what is perhaps the most impressive scientific/technical breakthrough of recent decadesthought that was the thing i'd always be most proud of in life turns out i am now more proud of a preemie baby for learning how to eat on his own! Sam Altman (@sama) March 5, 2025 Altman and his partner, software engineer Oliver Mulherin, recently welcomed their baby boy, who arrived prematurely and has been receiving care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In a follow-up post, Altman added, I realise I am getting neurochemically hacked here but I dont care, its the best." (i realize i am getting neurochemically hacked here but idc, it's the best) Sam Altman (@sama) March 5, 2025 The OpenAI chief had first announced his sons birth on February 23 with a heartfelt post, sharing a tender moment of the tiny newborn gripping an adults finger. Welcome to the world, little guy! He came early and is going to be in the NICU for a while. He is doing well, and its really nice to be in a little bubble taking care of him. I have never felt such love," he wrote. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all welcome to the world, little guy!he came early and is going to be in the nicu for awhile. he is doing well and its really nice to be in a little bubble taking care of him. i have never felt such love. pic.twitter.com/wFF2FkKiMU Sam Altman (@sama) February 22, 2025 While Altman and Mulherin generally keep their personal lives away from the public eye, they did make a rare public appearance together at the US State Dinner hosted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023. About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 05, 2025, 19:07 IST America Is Back: Trump Says First Month Of Presidency 'Most Successful' In Address To US Congress Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 08:16 IST Donald Trump's Congress Address: Trump said the first month of his presidency was the most successful in the nation's history US President Donald Trump | Reuters Image Donald Trumps Congress Address: US President Donald Trump began his second terms first Congress address at Capitol Hill on Wednesday by saying, America is back!" To my fellow citizens, America is back," Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again." Recommended Stories Trump spoke in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives a little over four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Bidens 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump. Donald Trump said the first month of his presidency was the most successful in the history of the USA. He said, People elected me to do the job and I am doing it." The joint address comes at a time when Trumps administration is seeking to reshape the federal government, target illegal immigrants to the United States, and alter diplomatic relations with allies. Although the address is not called the State of the Union as a State of the Union address reflects on the past year. Since Donald Trump began his second term in the White House on January 20, the speech is not officially labelled as State of the Union. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trump Calls Biden Worst President In US History Donald Trump said Joe Biden was the worst president in American history as he allowed migrants to enter the country. He said he deployed forces and disrupted migrants infiltrating US borders, soon after he took the charge. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 08:02 IST Did Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Die By 'Companion Suicide'? Experts Weigh In Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 20:07 IST Oscar-winning actor, Gene Hackman and his wife of 30 years, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home last week. Actor Gene Hackman with his wife Betsy Arakawa (AP File Image) The experts have dismissed speculation that Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, entered into a suicide pact before their deaths. The Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife of 30 years were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home last week. Their bodies showed signs of decomposition, but investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of death. Recommended Stories While initial reports ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning, a new theory suggested that the couple may have died in a companion suicide." However, experts have cast doubt on this possibility. Hackman was discovered in the homes mudroom, with his cane and sunglasses nearby on the ground. His wife, 65, was found lying on the bathroom floor, with prescription pills scattered on the countertop. The presence of medication led to speculation about a suicide pact, but this theory was dismissed by a leading forensic expert. James Gill, Chief Medical Examiner for Connecticut, called the suggestion unlikely, explaining that in cases of joint suicide, couples are usually together in bed." He told People that based on his experience with similar cases, the physical separation of the bodies makes the theory improbable. Authorities believe the couple had been deceased for several days before being discovered along with their 12-year-old dog. Both bodies showed signs of decomposition and partial mummification. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed that Hackmans pacemaker last recorded activity on February 17 nine days before their bodies were found possibly indicating his date of death. The fact that they were in separate locations makes a suicide pact seem less likely," Gill noted, adding that Hackmans history of heart disease and pacemaker use suggests he may have collapsed. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The couples deaths remain under investigation, with police working to reconstruct their final days. Authorities have reached out to Hackmans three children Christopher, 65, Elizabeth Jean, 63, and Leslie, 58, from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese as part of their inquiries. The family is said to be awaiting toxicology results for further clarity. Hackman and Arakawa were last photographed together in March 2024, with the actor seen using a walking cane while holding his wifes arm. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 20:07 IST Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 13:51 IST Trump To Address Congress 2025 Highlights: US President Donald Trump is addressing a joint session of Congress today. This will be Donald Trumps first such address since returning to the White House- at a time when his administration is seeking to reshape the federal government, target illegal immigration to the United States and alter diplomatic relations with allies. Although the address is not called the State of the Union as a State of the Union address reflects on the past year. Since Donald Trump began his second term in the White House on January 20, the speech is not officially labelled as State of the Union. Donald Trump is outlining his legislative agenda and priorities in the speech following which the Democrats will deliver a response- led by Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin. Follow all the updates on Donald Trumps address to US Congress here: On Cam, Democrat Interrupts Donald Trump's Congress Address. Know Who He Is, What Action Did He Face Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 08:40 IST Trump's speech was interrupted by lots of jeering and shouting from the floor of the House. US Representative Al Green shouts as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress. (AFP) US House speaker Mike Johnson ordered removal of Democratic Congressman Al Green from the chamber as he interrupted" President Donald Trumps first joint Congressional address of his second term. At the start of Trumps speech, Texas Congressman Al Green began shouting in protest. Reports stated that the Presidents speech was interrupted by lots of jeering and shouting from the floor of the House. Recommended Stories Reacting to continued obtrusion, Johnson said that members are engaging in willful and concerted breach of decorum", following which he directed the sergeant at arms to remove Democratic congressman Al Green from Texas from the chamber. WHOASpeaker of the House Mike Johnson just KICKED OUT Rep. Al Green after he repeatedly attempted to interrupt Trump's speech. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/GlsxNpLu73 Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) March 5, 2025 Green waved his cane at Trump while shouting, No mandate!" As he continued shouting, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson twice warned, Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir, take your seat." Green continued to protest in response, and Johnson said, Members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum. The Chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to reports, the Sergeant at Arms then removed Green, 77, from the building to cheers from Republicans. A report in People.com stated that interruptions during presidential addresses to Congress have become fairly commonplace in recent years. The previously staid affair notably devolved into a shouting match in 2009, when then-President Barack Obama was presenting the health care plan that would eventually become the 2010 Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 08:18 IST Donald Trump Praises Melania In First Joint Session Of Congress: Our First Lady Devoted Herself Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:20 IST Donald Trump thanked First Lady Melania Trump during his speech at Congress, praising her efforts in advocating for the protection of children. Donald Trump Speech: Melania Trump (centre) with Haley Ferguson and Elliston Berry. Donald Trump, in his first joint session of Congress after returning to the White House, praised the First Lady Melania Trump for her dedication to protecting children. Melania, who was seated with Elliston Berry and Haley Ferguson two young women representing causes she has championed stood to acknowledge the recognition as the audience gave her a standing ovation. Melania Trump earlier received a standing ovation when she arrived at the US Capitol in a dark gray skirt suit with a belted jacket. She paired the look with a scarf and her signature stiletto heels, making a poised entrance on Trumps big political night. Recommended Stories She was joined by her stepchildren, including Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr with girlfriend Bettina Anderson, Eric Trump and wife Lara Trump, as well as Tiffany Trump and husband Michael Boulos. Barron Trump did not attend the speech as he is a freshman at New York University and has classes this week. Our First Lady devoted herself: Donald Trump praised Melania I would also recognise another person who has devoted herself to the foster care community, she works so hard on it. A very loving person, our magnificent First Lady of the United States," said Trump as his words were met with huge rounds of applause. He added, Our First Lady is joined by two impressive young women, very impressive. Haley Ferguson, who benefitted from the First Ladys fostering future initiative and is poised to complete her education to become a teacher. And Elliston Berry who became a victim of an illicit deep fake image produced by a peer. With Ellistons help, the senate just passed the Take It Down Act." Who are Elliston Berry and Haley Ferguson? Elliston Berry from Aledo, Texas, was a victim of a sexually explicit AI-generated deepfake image, while Haley Ferguson from Spring Hill, Tennessee, is a former foster child who received a scholarship introduced during Melania Trumps first tenure as First Lady. A classmate of mine targetted me and eight other of my friends and put an innocent picture off Instagram through an AI-editing App that stripped our clothing off and sent it around my whole school. I was able to get in touch with Ted Cruzs office and we were able to write up the Take It Down Act, which protects Americas children from these heinous acts," 15-year-old Berry said. While mentioning Melania Trump, she added, Thankfully, the First Ladys office is able to reach outm and its really just been such an amazing experience knowing that she has the heart for my situation, that she cares, and that the overall support behind this act and this situation is so amazing." We are protecting the future generation," she concluded. Haley Ferguson from Spring Hill, Tennessee, also shared her story. I am a former foster care child who was adopted at three years old. And I have come through many challenges in my life and have overcome all of them. And I am where I am now because of the Fostering the Future Scholarship, and I am very grateful to President Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to further my dreams of graduating college," she said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Ferguson thanked Trump for allowing her to share her story: Thank you, President Trump, for giving me this opportunity to share my story and be a light for the foster care community and the adoption community, and give them a voice." I would also like to thank the Be Best initiative and the Fostering the Future Scholarship for allowing me to further my education and giving me more hope that I am able to achieve my dreams. And there is help out there for me and there is help for others out there," she further said. About the Author Arfa Javaid Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More Arfa Javaid, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, keeps her finger on the social media pulse, covering all things trending and viral. She also covers human interest stories. A Delhi University alumna, Arfa also hol... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:04 IST 'Good Luck Justin': Trump Accuses Canada's Trudeau Of Using Tariffs Dispute To 'Stay In Power' Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:28 IST US President Donald Trump said PM Justin Trudeau called him to "ask what could be done about tariffs" but was unable to tell him when the Canadian election is taking place US President Donald Trump's reaction came after a 50-minute phone call with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, amid the fallout from the imposition of tariffs by the US on its northern neighbour. (Image: Reuters/File) American President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of playing up a trade war between the two countries to cling to power. Trumps reaction came after a somewhat friendly" 50-minute phone call with Trudeau, amid the fallout from the imposition of tariffs by the US on its northern neighbour. He said the Prime Minister called him to ask what could be done about tariffs". Recommended Stories He further said Trudeau, however, was unable to tell him when the Canadian election is taking place and that is when he realised he is trying to use this issue to stay in power". Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January, is to step down after a Liberal party leadership contest this weekend which will choose his replacement. Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that its gotten better, but I said, Thats not good enough." The call ended in a somewhat" friendly manner! He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, whats going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!" he wrote on Truth Social. According to a report by news agency AFP, a Canadian source directly familiar with the conversation said Trump and Trudeau spoke for about 50 minutes and discussed fentanyl smuggling as well as trade. Teams from both nations will continue to hold discussions on Wednesday, said the source, who did not give details. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance were also on the call, the source added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In another social media post after the phone call, Trump also said Canadas moves to stop fentanyl trafficking are not good enough". Trudeau has repeatedly said less than 1 percent of the fentanyl and undocumented migrants that enter the US come through the Canadian border, although Trump has dismissed the figure. (With agency inputs) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 06, 2025, 00:18 IST 'Brutalised, Stolen From Us': As Trump Remembers Laken Riley's Family On Stage, Here's Who She Is Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 11:11 IST After Trumps election, the Laken Riley Act was the first bill passed out of the new, 118th Congress and the first bill signed into law by the newly-elected president. Donald Trump went on to blame President Biden and his administrations policies for Laken Rileys death. (AFP) At the first joint Congressional address of his second term, US President Donald Trump recognized the mother and sister of Laken Riley, who were in attendance. The President blamed the Joe Biden administrations policies for her death. Laken was stolen from us by a savage, illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Bidens southern border and then sent to the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration," Trump said, adding, It was indeed a failed administration." Recommended Stories Allyson Phillips, Rileys mom, along with Lauren Phillips, her sister, were in the House gallery for Trumps address. After Trumps election, the Laken Riley Act was the first bill passed out of the new, 118th Congress and the first bill signed into law by the newly-elected president. The Act is aimed at cracking down on immigration by requiring federal officials to arrest undocumented immigrants who commit certain crimes related to theft and would mandate they are detained until they are removed from the country. Who was Laken Riley? The law is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia. She was murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan immigrant living in the U.S. illegally. He was found guilty of Rileys murder in November 2024 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Trump Recounts How He Signed Laken Riley Act The US President recounted how he signed the Act to ratchet up immigration enforcement against illegal immigrants who partake in theft-related crimes. Last year, I told Lakens grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain," the president recounted. Thats why the very first bill I signed into law as your 47th president mandates the detention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety. Its very strong." What Does Laken Riley Law Do? Under the new law, federal officials will be required to detain any migrant arrested or charged with crimes like shoplifting or assaulting a police officer or crimes that injure or kill someone. If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation," Republican Senator Katie Britt, who helped push the bill through the Senate, had earlier said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Act also empowers state attorneys general to sue the federal government for harm caused by failures or decisions in immigration enforcement that harm states or people. That includes releasing migrants from custody or failing to detain migrants who have received deportation orders. The provision also gives states some power in setting immigration policy. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:13 IST 'Indians Are Bad': US Man Assaults Indian-Origin Nurse, Breaks Almost 'Every Bone In Her Face' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:52 IST The attack, which lasted between one to two minutes, was captured on hospital surveillance footage. Indian-origin nurse, Leela Lal, suffered horrific injuries at the hands of a patient in Florida. (Image: X) A 67-year-old nurse was seriously injured in a distressing event at a Palm Beach County hospital. The accused assaulted the victim, leaving her with multiple facial fractures, a broken collarbone, and brain bleeding. Leelamma Lal was attacked by a 33-year-old man named Stephen Scantlebury, who was a psychiatric patient at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital. The accused was arrested and was charged with attempting a second-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement. Recommended Stories The attack, which lasted between one to two minutes, was captured on hospital surveillance footage and has been described as brutal and vicious. The right side of her face was completely broken, and she suffered subdural and intermittent bleeding of the brain. Her face was heavily bruised, her eyes were swollen, and she was unconscious and intubated. I didnt recognise her at all," Cindy Joseph, Lals daughter, said, describing the severity of her mothers injuries. The affidavit also stated that Scantlebury made racist remarks after the attack, saying, Indians are bad" and I just beat the (expletive) out of an Indian doctor." Scantleburys wife said that he had been experiencing paranoia in the days. She further added that Scantlebury, because of his condition, is believing their home was bugged and that he was under surveillance. However, the judge denied a request to transfer Scantlebury to a mental health facility, calling it premature." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Following the incident, concerns were raised regarding the safety of medical professionals, with a petition calling for stricter security measures and tougher penalties for assaults on healthcare workers. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 07:52 IST Meet DJ Daniel, Teen Cancer Survivor Awarded US Secret Service Badge By Donald Trump | Watch Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 09:45 IST Daniel, who has a rare form of brain and spinal cancer, was present at Capitol Hill where Trump was addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday DJ Daniel reacts as Donald Trump announces he will be sworn in as a secret service agent. (Screenshot) In a moment that not only earned Donald Trump praise but teared up the internet, the United States President made 13-year-old Devarjaye DJ Daniel the youngest US Secret Service Officer, leaving the teen battling cancer stumped. Daniel, who has a rare form of brain and spinal cancer, was present at Capitol Hill where Trump was addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Recommended Stories Praising the teenager, Trump spoke about his dream to become a police officer and how he had defeated the terminal illness. He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer," Trump explained. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true," the President said. He added: DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law officer actually a number of times. The police love him, the police departments love him." As the US President revealed his cards in a grand gesture, cameras panned to a shocked DJ, who was accompanied by his father, and was presented the honorary badge by US Secret Service Director Sean Curran. HEARTWARMING: Trumps Secret Service Director Sean Curran just made young DJ Daniel, a Texas boy with cancer who dreams of becoming a police officer, a Secret Service agentWhat an absolutely beautiful moment pic.twitter.com/RQ1xcmcnX7 Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 5, 2025 DJ, who hails from Texas, is on a quest to be sworn into as many law-enforcement agencies as possible. In February 2022, the teen was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Rice University Police Department. In December 2024, he became an honorary Jasper police officer and received a key to the city. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to a Rice University press release, DJs mission is twofold: to increase awareness of childhood cancer and to honour the legacy of Abigail Arias, a seven-year-old girl who was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Freeport Police Department before she died of lung cancer in 2019. Though DJ initially set out to be sworn in by 100 law-enforcement agencies, by 2022, as his story received more public support, he had become an honorary member of 230 agencies. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:34 IST 'US Will No Longer Be Woke,' Says Donald Trump In Big Congress Comeback Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:57 IST US President Donald Trump announced in a joint session of Congress that he has terminated diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government and vowed to end what he calls "woke" policies in the US. US President Donald Trump. (AFP) Our country will be woke no longer," said US President Donald Trump, adding that the hirings will be based on skill and competence in his address to Congress on Tuesday. He further stressed that his administration had ended the tyranny" of diversity and inclusion programmes. This was his first address to Congress following his thumping victory in the November elections. We have ended the tyranny of the so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government, the private sector and the military and our country will be woke no longer," the US President said. Recommended Stories We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer or an air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on your skill and competence and not race or gender," he said to the Congress. Trump Lists His Administrations Achievements Donald Trump entered the chamber of the House of Representatives amid a thumping round of applause, saying America is back in his opening remarks. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years. The American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before. The American Dream is unstoppable," Trump said. Addressing the chamber amid chants, Trump said he is just getting started" and he was working tirelessly to end the Ukraine war and spoke at length about how his administration was working to curb illegal immigration into the US. Trump highlighted his executive authority, stating that he had signed nearly 100 executive orders and carried out 400 executive actions within just six weeks since assuming office on January 20. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The President also launched a sharp attack on his predecessor Joe Biden, accusing him of creating an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare." Trump emphasised his vision for a stronger and more prosperous country and remarked, This is a time for big dreams and bold action. We ended all of (Joe) Bidens environmental restrictions that were making our country far less safe and totally unaffordable." About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:02 IST 'Please Explain To Governor Trudeau...': Trump Vows Further Tariffs For Canada Retaliation Published By : AFP Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 07:30 IST Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian goods after Canada imposed 25 percent tariffs on US products. Trudeau criticized Trump's trade war, and global markets fell sharply. A furious Trudeau accused Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada's economy to make it easier for the United States to annex his country, and blasted Washington for targeting a close ally while "appeasing" Russia over Ukraine. (AP file) Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to raise tariffs on Canadian goods further to match retaliation by Ottawa, hours after slamming 25 percent duties on all products from the United States northern neighbor. Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 25 percent tariffs on US goods in retaliation. Recommended Stories Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched a stunning attack on Donald Trumps dumb" trade war as huge US tariffs kicked in against Canada, Mexico and China on Tuesday, sparking angry and immediate retaliation from all three. A furious Trudeau accused Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canadas economy to make it easier for the United States to annex his country, and blasted Washington for targeting a close ally while appeasing" Russia over Ukraine. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would lay out her countrys response on Sunday. Global markets fell sharply in response to the escalating trade war, with the S&P 500 a major Wall Street index extending recent losses to erase all of its gains since Trumps US election victory in November. Trump had announced and then paused blanket 25 percent tariffs on imports from major trading partners Canada and Mexico in February, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He pushed ahead with them Tuesday, citing a lack of progress on both fronts. And after Canada retaliated, Trump quickly threatened to hit Canada again. The sweeping duties will hit over $918 billion in US imports from both countries, affecting everything from avocados to the lumber crucial for building US homes, and hampering supply chains for key sectors like automobiles. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trump also inked an order Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 percent tariff on China to 20 percent piling atop existing levies on various Chinese goods. Beijing condemned the unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US," filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization and threatening to impose 10 and 15 percent levies on a range of agricultural imports from the United States. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 04, 2025, 23:36 IST Tariff, Trade Or Any Other: China Says If War Is What US Wants, Its Ready To Fight Till End Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:55 IST A spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs took to X, stating that intimidation and bullying wont work with China. China President Xi Jinping As the United States imposed a 20 % duty hike on Chinese goods on Tuesday, China said if war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war, or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end". A spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs took to X, stating that intimidation and bullying wont work with China. Recommended Stories The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary.The U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the #FentanylCrisis inside the U.S. In the spirit of humanity pic.twitter.com/OjvSEcZS6o Spokesperson (@MFA_China) March 4, 2025 Chinas response comes moments after US President Donald Trump, during his joint Congress address at Capitol Hill on Tuesday, vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs against several countries, including China and India, saying that move is towards making America Rich Again." Fentanyl Issue An Excuse To Hike Tariffs: Trump China said the fentanyl issue was a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports", adding that only the US was responsible for the crisis. The US, not anyone else, is responsible for the Fentanyl Crisis inside the U.S. In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes. Theyve been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the USs problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation." China Warns US Against Intimidation, Bullying top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all China also warned the United States against intimidation and bullying. Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating. If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals." About the Author Poulami Kundu Poulami Kundu is a senior copy editor with News 18's general news desk. She hails from Guwahati and has over six years of experience in print and digital media. Poulami is a voracious reader, hodophile, and an ... Read More Poulami Kundu is a senior copy editor with News 18's general news desk. She hails from Guwahati and has over six years of experience in print and digital media. Poulami is a voracious reader, hodophile, and an ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 10:28 IST Trump Says He Got Zelenskyy's Letter, Spoke To Russia On Ukraine Truce: 'Wouldn't That Be Beautiful?' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 09:48 IST Donald Trump said that he had "some serious" discussions with Russia and received strong signals from Moscow that it is ready for peace US President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine both are ready for peace | File Image/Reuters US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he received an important letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier today, which clearly mentions that Kyiv is ready to come to the negotiating table for peace as soon as possible". Addressing the joint session of the Congress, Trump further said that he had some serious" discussions with Russia and received strong signals from Moscow that it is ready for peace". Recommended Stories We received an important letter from the Ukrainian President, saying we are ready to work under the US President for peace and regarding the agreement on minerals. Simultaneously, we received signals from Russia that they were ready for peace," Trump said. He appreciated Zelenskyys step towards making peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? Time to halt the killing, stop the madness, and time to stop the war," the US President remarked, bringing the speculations around the peace deal to rest. #WATCH | While addressing a joint session of US Congress, President Donald Trump says, " Lots of things are happening in the Middle EastI am working tirelessly to end this savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded pic.twitter.com/1kevwoXMwN ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 Trump mentioned that many things are happening in the Middle East and that he is working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine, where millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal war with no end in sight. Trump Calls Out European Leaders Trump further called out the European leaders for spending more on Russian oil and gas than to defend Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. The European nations pledged strong support for Kyiv over the weekend after the widely publicised Oval Office shouting match between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump last Friday. A recent study by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) revealed that European Union countries spent approximately 21.9 billion ($23 billion) on Russian fossil fuels last year. This represents only a 1% decrease from the previous year and is slightly higher than the 18.7 billion ($19.6 billion) Europe provided in aid to Ukraine in 2024, according to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Russias total revenue from petroleum and other fossil fuels reached 242 billion ($253.8 billion) last year, and around 847 billion ($888.5 billion) since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. About the Author Ronit Singh Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 09:36 IST US Announces Tariffs Delay, Allows One-Month Exemption On Auto Imports From Canada, Mexico Published By : AFP Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:36 IST The US will allow a one-month exemption from auto import tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Trump accused Trudeau of using the trade war to stay in power. Trudeau will step down after a leadership contest. US President Donald Trump accused Canadian leader Justin Trudeau of playing up a Canada-US trade war to cling to power, after they spoke in a "somewhat friendly" call on Wednesday. (AP Image) The United States will allow a one-month exemption from tariffs on auto imports from Canada and Mexico, the White House said Wednesday, a day after steep levies on its neighbors came into effect. US officials spoke with major automakers Stellantis, Ford and General Motors, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA," she added, referring to a trade pact between the North American neighbors. Recommended Stories Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump accused Canadian leader Justin Trudeau of playing up a Canada-US trade war to cling to power, after they spoke in a somewhat friendly" call on Wednesday. Trump said in a social media post that Prime Minister Trudeau was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, whats going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power." Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January, is to step down after a Liberal party leadership contest this weekend chooses his replacement. That person will then also become prime minister, and have the power to call the next federal election, which must be held no later than October though political analysts have said it could come earlier. Canadian prime ministers can call elections at any point in the governments five-year term. Trudeau and Trump have had a fractious relationship since Trumps return to the White House in January, as the pair sparred over trade and fentanyl trafficking. A frustrated Trudeau said Tuesday, after Trump moved ahead with imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports into the United States, that while he thinks Trump is a smart guy," the tariffs are a very dumb thing to do." He also accused Trump of seeking to collapse the Canadian economy to make the country easier to annex. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trump has spoken several times of making Canada the 51st American state. The Republican leaders trade attacks have also been coupled with a particular animosity against the man he calls Governor Trudeau." About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 06, 2025, 00:36 IST In Big Shout-Out To Kash Patel, Trump Underlines FBI Feat In Afghan Terrorist's Extradition Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 12:16 IST Trump also said that the US was extraditing the top terrorist involved in the 2021 bombing at the Abbey Gate in Afghanistan where 13 US service members were killed. US President Donald Trump | Reuters Image US President Donald Trump gave a shout-out to the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel, saying that the administration is acting swiftly to restore impartial justice". He also said the US was extraditing the Afghan terrorist behind the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. Trump, who was addressing the joint Congress at Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening, said, As we reclaim our sovereignty, we must bring back law and order to our towns. Radical left lunatics have threatened law enforcement. My administration is acting swiftly to restore impartial justice." He wished good luck" to Pam Bondi and Kash Patel. Recommended Stories Trump also said that the US was extraditing the top terrorist" involved in the 2021 bombing at the Abbey Gate in Afghanistan where 13 US service members were killed. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," Trump said in his joint address to Congress. A White House official confirmed that Mohammad Sharifullah, who was allegedly involved in the planning of the deadly Abbey Gate bombing during the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, was being extradited to the US. In his speech, Trump thanked Pakistan for helping arrest this monster." Pakistan acted on CIA intelligence that led to the arrest of Sharifullah, according to another source familiar with the matter. Trumps CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, raised the issue during his first phone call with the Pakistani intel chief, which took place during his first few days on the job, the source added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all BREAKING: As President Trump just announced, I can report that tonight the FBI, DOJ, and CIA have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.One step closer to justice for FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 5, 2025 Later, Kash Patel took to X and shared details about the Afghan terrorist. As President Trump just announced, I can report that tonight the FBI, DOJ, and CIA have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal," he wrote on his X handle, adding, One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families." About the Author Poulami Kundu Poulami Kundu is a senior copy editor with News 18's general news desk. She hails from Guwahati and has over six years of experience in print and digital media. Poulami is a voracious reader, hodophile, and an ... Read More Poulami Kundu is a senior copy editor with News 18's general news desk. She hails from Guwahati and has over six years of experience in print and digital media. Poulami is a voracious reader, hodophile, and an ... Read More First Published: March 05, 2025, 10:06 IST US Holds 'Secret' Talks With Hamas In Doha On Gaza Hostages; White House Says Israel Was Consulted Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 06, 2025, 00:32 IST Until recently the United States had avoided direct discussions with the militant group. The U.S. State Department designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997 U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to return to the region in coming days to work out a way to either extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal or advance to the second phase, a State Department spokesperson said.(Image: REUTERS file) The White House confirmed Wednesday that a US envoy spoke directly with Hamas to secure American hostages, a break in policy for Washington which considers the Palestinian militants a terrorist organization. Israel was consulted on this matter, and look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do whats in the best interest of the American people is something that the President" believes is right, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Recommended Stories U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler has been holding the direct talks with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha, a source told Reuters. Until recently the United States had avoided direct discussions with the militant group. The U.S. State Department designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. The source said the talks have focused on gaining the release of American hostages still held in Gaza, but also have included discussions about a broader deal to release all remaining hostages and how to reach a long-term truce. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all U.S. President Donald Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to return to the region in coming days to work out a way to either extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal or advance to the second phase, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday. (With inputs from AFP, Reuters) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 22:05 IST US, Ukraine Discuss Location And Date For Negotiations With Russia Days After Trump-Zelenskyy Spat Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 23:50 IST The United States and Ukraine have discussed date and location for negotiations with Russia. This comes days after Trump and Zelenskyy engaged in ugly spat at Oval Office. US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. (AFP Photo) Days after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in an ugly verbal spat at the White House, the United States and Ukraine have discussed the date and location for negotiations for a peace deal with Russia. Head of Ukraines Presidential Office, Yermak, and Trumps National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, held a telephone conversation and discussed the location and date of negotiations with Russia, according to Zelenskyys advisor Lytvyn. Recommended Stories I just got off the phone with my counterpart, the Ukrainian national security advisor. We are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations, on delegations, on substance. Just in the last 24 hours I think were going to see movement," Waltz told reporters. .@MikeWaltz47 provides update on U.S.-Ukraine contacts: I just got off the phone with my counterpart, the Ukrainian national security advisor. We are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations, on delegations, on substance. Just in the last 24 hours I pic.twitter.com/AGZT6aahs8 CSPAN (@cspan) March 5, 2025 The development comes as reports emerged regarding the US cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, a move that could gravely hamper the Ukrainian militarys ability to target Russian forces. Zelenskyy Calls Dialogue Positive Movement Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian and American teams have begun working on the next meeting. We are preparing for the EU summit, which will take place tomorrow in Brussels. Everyone can see how quickly diplomatic events are unfolding. Today, the Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz have spoken, and theres positive movement. We hope to see some results next week. We also need to resume movement in the European direction, particularly regarding our Eurointegration the clusters in the accession negotiation process. We are counting on the support of our partners," he said. A lot of international work today I spoke with the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands @MinPres, Portugal @LMontenegropm, and Slovenia, as well as with the Chancellor of Germany @Bundeskanzler. Thank you for all the support.We are preparing for the EU summit, which will take pic.twitter.com/9ANiOnmOmK Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2025 Trump Gets Zelenskyys Letter Trump on Tuesday said that he received Zelenskyys letter mentioning that he was ready to come to the negotiating table for peace as soon as possible". We received an important letter from the Ukrainian President, saying we are ready to work under the US President for peace and regarding the agreement on minerals. Simultaneously, we received signals from Russia that they were ready for peace," Trump said. Trump lauded Zelenskyys move towards peace, days after he said that the Ukrainian President was not ready for peace". Zelenskyy Calls Spat With Trump Regrettable Zelenskyy on Tuesday expressed regret over his clash with Trump and termed the White House fight regrettable". Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts," Zelenskyy added. Trump-Zelenskyy Spat On February 28, Zelenskyy was in the White House to sign the minerals deal, however, he was asked to leave the place without signing the deal after matters worsened between Trump and Zelenskyy. Vice President JD Vance and President Trump indulged in a heated exchange with the Ukrainian President, stating that he was not ready to end the war. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trump later said that Zelenskyy could return to the White House after he intends to end the war and sign a peace deal with Russia. Zelenskyy recently said that the deal to end the war with Russia is still very, very far away" a remark that did not go down well with Trump, who called it the worst statement" by Zelenskyy. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Location : Kyiv, Ukraine First Published: March 05, 2025, 21:35 IST 'We Salute You': Trump Lauds Border Patrol Agent Roberto Ortiz During Congress Address, Here's Why Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 05, 2025, 10:09 IST Addressing the joint Congress, Trump also declared the cartels in Mexico as terrorist organisations. "The cartels have declared war on us, and it is time for us to declare war on them," Trump said. US Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz joined Donald Trump's Joint Congress address on Tuesday. (Image: X/WhiteHouse) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the countrys border patrol agent Roberto Ortiz, highlighting how he valiantly fought back cartels who fired at him. Addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump praised Ortiz for firing back at cartels when his team was fired at. On January 27, Ortiz and his colleagues were patrolling in Weslaco when cartels fired at them. Ortiz said fired back and was able to do this because of Trumps tough policies against cartels and immigration. Recommended Stories Trump, while lauding Ortiz, said, We salute you for your great courage and for your line of fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed." Roberto Ortiz joins President Trump at the Joint Sessiona Border Patrol agent who faced cartel gunfire while defending our border.Thanks to President Trump, agents have the tools and authority to fight back and keep America safe. pic.twitter.com/Ely8Dvvs4A The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2025 Trump spoke about how his government has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown." Trump said, Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American historyand we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded. The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation to secure the border but it turned out that all we really needed was a new president." Trump called on US Congress I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats, protect our homeland, and complete the largest deportation operation in American history." Cartels Are Terrorists top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Addressing the joint Congress, Trump also declared the cartels in Mexico as terrorist organisations. For us, ISIS and the cartels fall into the same category. The cartels have declared war on us, and it is time for us to declare war on them," Trump said. Donald Trump also praised Mexico for extraditing cartel leaders to the US, adding, But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more, to stop fentanyl coming over the border." About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 05, 2025, 10:09 IST Jon Stewart has accepted Elon Musk's terms for appearing for a Daily Show interviewthough it's not clear whether it's any more likely to happen than the Musk-Mark Zuckerberg cage fight. On Monday, Stewart said that he was fine with Musk's offer to come on the show or an interview if it was aired unedited . "After thinking about his offer, I thought, you know, hey, that's actually how the in-studio interviews normally air, is unedited," Stewart said, per the Hill . "So, sure, we'd be delighted." Stewart noted, however, that Musk had complained about him in posts on X, including one that said, "Jon Stewart is much more propagandist than it would seem," Mashable reports. In another post, Musk complained that Stewart "is too set in his ways. He used to be more bipartisan." On Monday's show, Stewart said, "The guy who custom made his own dark MAGA hat, that he wears to opine in the Oval Office with the president that he spent $270 million to elect, thinks I'm just too partisan. I'm really not sure what he thinks bipartisan means." "Look Elon, I do have some criticisms about DOGE. I support, in general, the idea of efficiency and delivering better services to the American public in cheaper and more efficient ways," Stewart said. "And if you want to come on and talk about it on the show, great. If you don't want to, sure. But can we just drop the pretense that you won't do it because I don't measure up to the standards of neutral discourse that you demand and display at all times? Because, quite frankly, that's bull---." (Last week, Stewart injured his hand while smashing a mug during a segment on DOGE.) After two days of steep stock market drops, President Trump might be preparing to pull back on his 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that Trump plans to "meet in the middle" with the two countries and an announcement will probably be made Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lutnick told Fox Business that he thinks Trump is "going to work something out with them," but "it's not going to be a pause." Lutnick and other officials have said the tariffs are linked to fentanyl coming across the border. "Both the Mexicans and the Canadians were on the phone with me all day today trying to show that they'll do better, and the president's listening, because you know he's very, very fair and very reasonable," Lutnick said. He cited the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact from Trump's first term, Bloomberg reports. "If you live under those rules, then the president is considering giving you relief," Lutnick said. "If you haven't lived under those rules, well, then you have to pay the tariff." Trump paused the tariffs for a month after they were unveiled in February, but he said Monday, before the tariffs kicked in at midnight, that was "no room left" for negotiations. Canada and Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs on Tuesday, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling Trump's tariffs "a very dumb thing to do." Trump also doubled his earlier 10% tariff on imports from China, and Beijing responded with tariffs of up to 15% on American food imports. Lutnick, pointing to the country's role in fentanyl production, said he didn't expect immediate tariff relief for China, Politico reports. Lawmakers have gathered at the Capitol for President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term, but a lot of Democrats have decided to be elsewhere. Rep. Don Beyer, one of numerous House Democrats boycotting the address, said Tuesday that Trump is addressing a "coequal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard," the Hill reports. At least six Democratic senators are also skipping the event, including Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who said Sunday that he expects the address to be a "farce" and a "MAGA victory lap," reports ABC News. The speech is scheduled to begin at 9pm Eastern. It will be attended by all of Trump's Cabinet membersapart from a "designated survivor." The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of 443 federal properties it says it could close or sell, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them "not core to government operations." The list published by the General Services Administration includes some of the country's most recognizable buildings and spans nearly every state, with properties ranging from courthouses to office buildings and parking garages, the AP reports. However, Fox 5 DC reports the list was culled hours later to 321 properties, with all of the Washington, DC, properties removed, including the two named above. Properties in Maryland and Virginia were still included, however, as were properties in many other states. Roughly 80% of the country's 2.4 million federal workers are based outside of metropolitan Washington, DC. The designations are part of Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's unprecedented effort to slash the size of the federal workforce and shrink government spending. Selling the designated buildings could save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars, they claim, while also dramatically reshaping how major Cabinet agencies funded by Congress operate. The Trump administration has also demanded that federal workers report to the office every day. Eliminating federal office space has been a top priority of the new administration. Last month, GSA regional managers received a message from the agency's Washington headquarters ordering them to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide. In a follow-up meeting, GSA regional managers were told that their goal is to terminate as many as 300 leases per day, according to the employee. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has listed scores of canceled office leases on DOGE's official website, raising questions around the country about what will happen to services provided from those offices. At a Tuesday event for which he was the guest speaker, Western Australian premier Roger Cook was asked to finish the sentence, "JD Vance is a..." His response? "Knob." The audience at the Leadership Matters event in Perth laughed and clapped, the Guardian reports. "You've got to have one unprofessional moment, don't you? That was it," Cook, who is running for a third term, continued. He later told reporters, "It was a light-hearted, non-professional moment and I didn't mean any offense." The election will be held Saturday, ABC.net reports. Some of his political opponents took issue with the remark. Noting the applause he received, however, Cook told reporters he thought some of the event attendees likely "enjoyed the fun," but acknowledged, "Other people might have been offended and I apologize." Cook was also asked at the event whether the Trump administration symbolizes a "dark road" for the world, to which he replied, "Well, I certainly think he represents an uncertain one, so again let me just say in times of uncertainty you need a steady hand, experienced hand at the wheel." The "dark road" was a callback to a warning he'd issued about Trump in November, when he also warned against "politicians promoting hatred, division, and fear in the community." Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has joined billionaire Frank McCourt's bid to acquire TikTok as a strategic adviser, reports the AP . McCourt's internet advocacy organization, Project Liberty, announced this week that Ohanian, an investor married to tennis star Serena Williams, had joined a consortium called "The People's Bid for TikTok." "I'm officially now one of the people trying to buy TikTok USand bring it on-chain," Ohanian said in a series of posts Tuesday on X, referencing a decentralized, blockchain-based platform that Project Liberty says it will leverage to provide users more control over their online data. If successful in its bid, Project Liberty said the technology "will serve as the backbone of the redesigned TikTok, ensuring that privacy, security, and digital independence are no longer optional but foundational." When asked by an X user on Monday what he would call TikTok if he purchased it, Ohanian said: "TikTok: Freedom Edition." Under a federal bill passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by former President Biden last year, TikTok was required to cut ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban by Jan. 19. In one of his first executive orders signed in January, President Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership until early April. McCourt's consortiumwhich includes Shark Tank star Kevin O'Learyhas already offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for the US platform. Some analysts estimate TikTok could be worth much more even without its coveted algorithm, which McCourt has said he's not interested in. Trump said in January that Microsoft is among the US companies looking to take control of TikTok. Others eyeing TikTok include the AI startup Perplexity AI, which has proposed to merge its business with TikTok's US platform and give the US government a stake in the new entity. story continues below There's also Jesse Tinsley, the founder of payroll firm Employer.com. Tinsley has said a consortium he put togetherwhich includes the CEO of video game platform Robloxis offering ByteDance more than $30 billion for TikTok. Rep. Al Green's removal from the House chamber at the beginning of President Trump's speech Tuesday night was an uncommon sight. While other lawmakers from the opposition party have verbally protested past presidential speeches, NPR says the fact that Green was actually escorted out of the room "marked a stark break from tradition." The Guardian reports Green's removal "appears to be an extremely rare, if not unprecedented, event in modern congressional history," and the AP says Green is "perhaps the only [lawmaker] in recent memory to actually be ejected from the hall Tuesday night by the speaker of the House." House leaders are calling for Green to be censured. At the Washington Post, Dan Diamond notes how "times have changed" since 2009, when GOP Rep. Joe Wilson infamously yelled "you lie!" during one of then-President Obama's speeches, a moment that, at the time, "was seen as a remarkable breach of decorum." Now, however, such vocal protests are far more commonplace. The Texas 78-year-old, who stood up and repeatedly insisted that Trump does not have a "mandate" from the American people as the president often claims, told reporters outside the chamber that he wasn't sure whether he'd be formally punished for the incident. "It's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up [to Trump]," Green said. The Post says it spoke to some Democrats who were "embarrassed by Green's unilateral display of opposition," as House Democrats had previously been instructed not to make Trump's speech about themselves. Pope Francis is in stable condition following respiratory crises due to pneumonia. On Tuesday, the Vatican reported he is breathing with high-flow supplemental oxygen after needing a mechanical ventilation mask Monday. At night, he will resume using the mask. His prognosis is guarded, and he remains at risk. The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and previously had part of one lung removed, underwent bronchoscopies to clear mucus from his lungs. The Tuesday crises necessitated respiratory physiotherapy. Despite health issues, he is alert and cooperative. Rev. Fernando Laguna, from the Argentine church in Rome, expressed support by saying: "I am very happy to be now close to him. I would like to hug him, but it's not possible, but he told us that a prayer is like a hug." story continues below As Lent approaches, a cardinal has been appointed to lead Ash Wednesday services, replacing Pope Francis. The Vatican will continue with a planned spiritual retreat without the pontiff, maintaining a "spiritual communion" with him. The Pope faces physical challenges, using a wheelchair and needing ventilation support to manage lung secretions. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) Rescue teams have found the wreckage of a missing FA-50 fighter jet in the mountainous region of Bukidnon province, Philippines. The bodies of its two pilots have been recovered. Military officials said: The jet lost communication during a combat mission aimed at communist rebels shortly after midnight on Tuesday. Military officials confirmed that other aircraft on the same mission returned safely to an airbase in Cebu province after completing their assaults. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) Karla Sofia Gascon's Oscars "nightmare" wasn't as bad as it could've beenEmilia Perez, the film she starred in alongside Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez, took home two Academy Awards on Sunday, including best supporting actress for Saldana and best song for "El Mal." Gascon, the first transgender actor nominated for an Oscar, had been caught up in a tweet controversy ahead of the awards show for past derogatory posts about George Floyd and Islam, among other topics, and didn't take home the best actress statue she'd been up for. But the 52-year-old still tried to show some grace after the big night, praising the show and host Conan O'Brien, reports the Hollywood Reporter . "Thanks to the members of the Academy for the best actress nomination, for the invitation to the ceremony," she wrote in Spanish in a Monday Instagram post. "I enjoyed it very much, it was entertaining and fun, especially the fabulous host Jimmy Kimmelhe is fantastic and looks more like the great Conan O'Brien every day." She also congratulated all of the winners, including Saldana. The Kimmel bit referred to O'Brien's joke during the show that informed Gascon directly that "if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember: My name is Jimmy Kimmel." O'Brien had also snarked about Gascon's tweets during his opening monologue, while talking about the film Anora, which took home best picture. "I loved Anora," he said. "Little [known] fact for you, Anora uses the f-word 479 times. That's three more than the record set by Karla Sofia Gascon's publicist. 'You tweeted what?!'" As for how Gascon reacted to O'Brien's comments during the show itself, E! Online reports that she "took the joke in stride" at LA's Dolby Theatre, with cameras catching her laughing in the moment, although she had to turn to the person sitting next to her "to seemingly clarify the host's humor." The White House has swiftly rejected a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without the forced displacement of 2.1 million Palestinians. President Trump's plan for a US takeover of Gaza that would permanently remove residents sparked outrage and claims of ethnic cleansing last month, prompting Egypt to suggest an alternative. The $53 billion reconstruction plan offered Tuesday would see Gaza rebuilt with modern housing developments, a technology hub, a commercial harbor, an airport, community centers, and beach hotels in under six years, per Reuters and NBC News . Most important, the proposal would ensure Palestinians "stay on their land without displacement," said Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Sissi said Egypt had worked with locals to create an administrative committee of independent Palestinian technocrats, who would manage Gaza's daily affairs and oversee the dispersal of aid until the Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial control over the Israeli-occupied West Bank, can step in, per Reuters. The plan endorsed by Arab leaders, Hamas, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the PA, also calls for some 1.5 million displaced Gazans to be moved into 200,000 prefabricated housing units and 60,000 repaired homes during the reconstruction period, per the BBC. The Arab League has said it will reject any displacement, forced or voluntary, the outlet notes. But White House rep Brian Hughes claimed the plan "does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance," adding that Trump "stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas." Israel's Foreign Ministry also rejected the proposal, complaining Hamas would be left in power. "Now, with President Trump's idea, there is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged!" it said, per the BBC. Though Hamas has agreed not to field candidates in committee elections, it wants to have oversight over the committee's agenda, per Reuters. "The Shin Bet did not prevent the massacre of October 7," wrote the head of the Israeli intelligence agency in a report released Tuesday. "I will carry this heavy burden on my shoulders for my entire life." NPR reports that "in an unusual move for the organization" that is tasked with keeping tabs on Hamas, the Shin Bet has published a summary of its first investigation into why the Oct. 7 attack was not detected and thwarted. There were two flavors to the findings, with the Shin Bet faulting itself for hearing about Hamas' intention to invade Israel from Gaza in 2018 and 2022 but not acting on itbut also blaming the government for policies that it says enabled Hamas' military buildup. The major missteps, per the report: Allowing Qatar's years-long payments to Hamas: CNN in 2023 provided background on the payments, which Israel signed off on in 2018. Benjamin Netanyahu defended the deal at the time, saying it was made "in coordination with security experts to return calm to (Israeli) villages of the south, but also to prevent a humanitarian disaster (in Gaza)." Instead, millions were funneled toward building up Hamas' military posture. In his address to Congress and the nation on Tuesday, President Trump expressed optimism about a number of subjectsincluding America's chances of snagging Greenland . "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it," he said. "And I think we're going to get it one way or the other. We're going to get it." Not so fast, says the country's prime minister. Mute Bourup Egede had this to say in a Wednesday Facebook post: "Kalaallit Nunaat is ours," he wroteGreenlandic for the "Land of the People" or the "Land of the Greenlanders," reports the AP. "We don't want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland." ABC News reports Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen previously shot down the idea as well, saying last month, "Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it's not for sale." Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was asked about Trump's comments Wednesday and flagged what he saw as "the most important part of that speech": Trump's opening line about respecting Greenlanders' right to self-determination. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future," Trump said. Rasmussen said in response, "I'm very optimistic about what will be a Greenlandic decision about this. They want to loosen their ties to Denmark, we're working on that, to have a more equal relationship." Greenland's general election is set for Tuesday. President Trump has delayed tariffs on cars from Canada and Mexico for a month after speaking to auto industry execs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Trump has granted a temporary exemption to cars covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiated during Trump's first term, CNN reports. Leavitt said Trump spoke to the "Big Three auto dealers"Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors. "He told them they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America, where they will pay no tariff," she said. "That's the ultimate goal." Stocks rose after the announcement, with the Dow up 500 points, reports the Wall Street Journal . The North American auto industry is highly integrated, with parts frequently crossing the US-Canada border during the assembly process, Global News notes. Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently told the AP that tariffs would force assembly lines on both sides of the border to shut down within 10 days. "People are going to lose their jobs," he said. Wednesday's delay didn't appease Ford, per CNN. Trudeau and I are "on the same page, zero tariffs and we are not going to budge." On Tuesday, the day Trump's 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico kicked in, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump plans to meet the countries "in the middle" on some tariffs. Lutnick said Wednesday that Trump is considering granting some other parts of the market "relief until we get to, of course, April 2," when Trump plans to impose reciprocal tariffs. President Trump says he had a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday that ended in a "somewhat" friendly mannerbut it apparently wasn't enough to change Trump's mind about tariffs. "I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped," Trump said in a Truth Social post . "He said that it's gotten better, but I said, 'That's not good enough.'" Officials say that the call lasted around 50 minutes and that Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were also on the line, the CBC reports. Trudeau was "unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what's going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power," Trump wrote, adding: "Good luck Justin!" The CBC notes that the prime minister couldn't say when the next election will happen because it isn't his decision to make. Calling the next election will be up to his successor as Liberal Party leader, who will be named after a leadership vote Sunday, meaning this could have been Trudeau's last conversation with Trump. In a follow-up post, Trump said he told "Governor" Trudeau that he "largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States." According to White House figures, 43 pounds of fentanyl was seized in the northern border region, a small fraction of the amount that came from Mexico. At a news conference Wednesday, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Canada had made the US a "dumping ground not just for illegal aliens but fentanyl." Asked about the relatively small amount of the drug, she said fact-checking Trump's claims was "a little disrespectful for the families in this country who have lost loved ones at the hands of this deadly poison." TDT | Manama Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of the Shura Council, has commended His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas address at the Extraordinary Arab Summit on Palestine in Egypt, emphasizing its strategic vision for just peace and unwavering support for the historical rights of the Palestinian people. Al Saleh highlighted His Majestys call for Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, international resolutions, and the two-state solution. He reaffirmed Bahrains steadfast commitment to Palestinian rights, noting that His Majestys speech reflected the outcomes of the 33rd Arab Summit held in Bahrain in May, particularly the rejection of displacement and settlement expansion. Arab Unity and Commitment to Peace The Shura Chairman praised His Majestys leadership in strengthening Arab unity and promoting tolerance, moderation, and peaceful coexistence. He also welcomed the collective stance of Arab leaders in supporting Gazas reconstruction and improving the humanitarian situation, while firmly rejecting forced displacement. Al Saleh further acknowledged Egypts pivotal role in hosting the summit and reinforcing Arab solidarity in defense of Palestinian rights. He lauded the efforts of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in spearheading regional initiatives and upholding Palestines cause on the international stage. The Extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo has reinforced a unified Arab approach to achieving lasting peace, stab. TDT | Manama Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com Bahrains Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, has praised the success of the Extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, highlighting its historic resolutions aimed at strengthening Arab unity and advancing a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region. Dr. Al Zayani emphasized the summits unwavering commitment to securing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to freedom, remaining on their land, and establishing an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the two-state solution and Egypts reconstruction plan for Gaza. Commitment to Palestinian Rights and Regional Stability The minister commended the summits reaffirmation of key principles outlined in the Bahrain Declaration from the 33rd Arab Summit, which underscored Arab support for the Palestinian cause, the rejection of any form of forced displacement, and the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian territories until the two-state solution is fully implemented. He also noted the summits strong emphasis on shared human values, coexistence, and interfaith dialogue as essential pillars for achieving lasting global peace and stability. Dr. Al Zayani expressed deep pride in the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who, as President of the current Arab Summit session, has championed unity, Arab national security, and a comprehensive peace process as the path to securing Palestinian rights and statehood. He reiterated Bahrains rejection of settlement expansion and forced displacement, aligning with the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions. Support for Egypts Reconstruction Plan and International Cooperation Acknowledging the efforts of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the Bahraini minister welcomed the summits unified Arab support for Egypts early recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza. He also stressed the importance of Egypts proposal to hold an international peace conference and the establishment of a trust fund to coordinate financial pledges from donor nations and institutions. Dr. Al Zayani underscored the need for Palestinian unity, emphasizing that all Palestinian factions must unite under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Call for a Lasting Peace and Diplomatic Resolution The minister also commended ongoing Arab diplomatic and humanitarian efforts aimed at ensuring a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, securing unrestricted humanitarian aid, and supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He reiterated Bahrains call for de-escalation and respect for Jerusalems legal and historical status under the Hashemite Custodianship. Dr. Al Zayani emphasized that the summit sent a clear and unified Arab message to the international community: a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace is the strategic path to ensuring security and coexistence for all. He reaffirmed Bahrains support for the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, led by Saudi Arabia, the European Union, and Norway, and its commitment to international peace efforts that foster regional and global stability. TDT | Manama Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of the Shura Council, met with Saqib Rauf, Ambassador of Pakistan to Bahrain, in the presence of Kareema Mohammed Al Abbasi, Secretary General of the Shura Council. Al Saleh reaffirmed the deep-rooted historical ties between Bahrain and Pakistan, highlighting their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation across multiple sectors. He noted that the expanding partnership between both nations aligns with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Pakistans President Asif Ali Zardari. He also commended the continuous exchange of visits among leaders, officials, and parliamentary members, emphasizing the importance of legislative collaboration, knowledge sharing, and enhancing coordination at regional and international levels. Ambassador Rauf, in turn, praised the enduring Bahrain-Pakistan relations, reaffirming both countries' dedication to furthering cooperation and advancing common developmental goals for the benefit of their people. TDT | Manama Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com Minister of Social Development Osama bin Saleh Al Alawi praised the United Nations General Assembly for endorsing Bahrains proposal to designate January 28 as the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence. He emphasized that this milestone highlights Bahrains dedication to promoting global harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, reflecting the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the ongoing efforts of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. According to Al Alawi, the establishment of this international observance is a crucial step toward fostering lasting peace, preventing conflicts, and encouraging global collaboration through education, dialogue, and community initiatives. He reaffirmed Bahrains ongoing support for interfaith and intercultural dialogue, recognizing diversity as a fundamental pillar in building stable, inclusive, and thriving societies. The minister commended the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their role in championing this initiative, which has received broad international endorsement. He noted that the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence would provide a platform to enhance global understanding, strengthen human connections, and promote peace worldwide. Al Alawi also reiterated the Ministry of Social Developments dedication to advancing programs that reinforce tolerance, mutual respect, and peaceful engagement as core values for cohesive and sustainable communities. He underscored the significance of fostering dialogue, increasing awareness about coexistence, and working collectively toward a future marked by stability and prosperity for all. ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) Missouri sheriffs are advocating for the state legislature to address their priorities which include tightening Missouri sentencing laws. Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said the Missouri Sheriffs Association has been pushing for Truth in Sentencing laws also referred to as Clarity in Sentencing which allows for individuals to serve longer prison sentences. When nonviolent felons are doing 30 days on a year, thats not what the judge had sentenced them to and thats not fair to the victims and its also putting those individuals back out into the community very quickly, said Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett. The association is aiming for non-violent offenders to serve at least 75% of their sentence and violent offenders to serve at least 85%. Sheriff Puett says they have been pushing for Clarity in Sentencing for the last three to four years because its disheartening to explain to victims why an offender is out on release earlier than they should be. Its not uncommon for someone to call us and say, Hey, I thought the guy or girl who committed this crime went to prison and they did but theyre already released, Puett said. If theyre held accountable for those offenses and locked up for a longer period, then maybe theyll realize that they shouldnt be committing these acts. The Missouri Sheriffs Association also hopes lawmakers will revisit another issue this session, Amendment Six, which would have funded the retirement pension for Missouri sheriffs. Citizens voted no on Amendment Six during the November General Election. Without the funding, Sheriff Puett says it takes away the incentive for people to decide to work for the county sheriff. The ability to get people interested in stepping into this role in any county in the state will be significantly impacted, Puett said. Theres long hours and all kinds of risks that go along with this job and at some point, you ought to be able to look forward to retirement once youre ready to enjoy your golden years. The Missouri Sheriffs Association would also like the office of county sheriff to be deemed as a constitutional office. Right now, some legislative efforts are being discussed to do a constitutional amendment codifying a sheriff in the Constitution as a constitutional office that cant be removed by the legislature, Puett said. We hope it will be successful and well have everyones support going forward in 2026 to put the sheriff in the Missouri Constitution. Nova Scotia's top culinary talent will help UNICEF continue a 33-year Halifax tradition of giving back to children worldwide HALIFAX, NS, March 5, 2025 /CNW/ - UNICEF Canada will serve up another edition of its popular "Chefs for UNICEF Gala" at the Halifax Convention Centre on April 24, 2025. Tickets are now on sale for the event, which sees Chefs from some of the city's best eateries help raise support for life-saving programs for children across the globe. This year, the event aims to raise a record-breaking $400,000. The current line-up includes the creme de la creme of Nova Scotia's culinary scene, who will be lending their creative and culinary talents to make the 33rd edition a night to remember. The money raised from the Gala will help UNICEF continue its groundbreaking work. (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada) Featured Chefs include: Kyle Campbell The Barrington Steakhouse Christophe Luzeux Halifax Convention Centre Convention Centre Lori van Tassell Van & Co Catering Garwin Waterman , Marcy Frazer The Cannery , The Cannery Jacob Lubaczewski Sysco Canada Raj Gupta Bells Lane Kitchen Adam Bower Grand Banker Bar & Grill/The Old Fish Factory & Ice House Bar Grand Banker Bar & Grill/The Old Fish Factory & Ice House Bar Geir Simensen Legendary Hospitality Tim Palmer Westin Nova Scotian/Seaport Social Westin Nova Scotian/Seaport Social Gabriel Uggenti Grafton Connor Group In addition to a one-of-a-kind food and drink experience, the event will feature an auction with over 100 items and moving stories of UNICEF's life-changing work. Global News Halifax anchor Paul Brothers will serve as emcee for the event with President and CEO of UNICEF Canada Sevaun Palvetzian delivering an inspiring keynote address to highlight the pressing challenges children around the world are facing, and what UNICEF is doing to help. "In nearly every pocket of need that exists around the world, a team in UNICEF blue is helping make the impossible happen every day. It's because of generous supporters across Canada, including here in Halifax, who step up to fund the proven solutions of UNICEF, at a scope and scale unlike any other," said Palvetzian. "We're so grateful to the Halifax community for helping shape the lives of children around the world through this event and look forward to continuing the tradition of collective impact together." A tradition of giving back: 33 years and $4 million Since its inception in 1992, Halifax's Chefs for UNICEF Gala has raised more than $4 million to support impactful change for children in some of the hardest to reach places in the world, making it one of UNICEF's most important fundraising events in North America. "I've been part of this event for over 20 years now and I couldn't be more honoured to continue my involvement," said Sean Doucet, General Manager at The Hollis. "In addition to an outstanding culinary experience, the Gala offers a fantastic opportunity for Haligonians to come together for an evening of inspiration, community impact, and hope." The money raised from the Chefs for UNICEF Gala will help UNICEF continue its groundbreaking work providing safe spaces, education, health, and nutrition for children around the world, as well as responding to emergencies that children are facing right now. To book tickets or learn more about the event, please visit: Chefs For UNICEF Gala. About UNICEF UNICEF is the world's leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach spans more than 190 countries and territories, ensuring we are on the ground to help the most disadvantaged children. While part of the UN system, UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations to finance our life-saving work. Please visit unicef.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. SOURCE UNICEF Canada To arrange interviews or for more information, please contact: Marie-Claude Rouillard, Senior Communications Manager, UNICEF Canada, (514) 232-4510, [email protected]; Wendy Phillips, Phillips Public Relations, [email protected] All dollar ($) figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. TORONTO, March 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Canadian venture capital (VC) in 2024 totalled $8.89 billion* from 739 financings. Summary 2024 Top 4 Canadian VC Funding Sourcing Countries (CNW Group/CPE Media & Data Company) Canadian VC Investment Activities - Quarterly Trend (CNW Group/CPE Media & Data Company) 2024 disbursement $8.89 billion is the third best in Canadian VC history, behind 2021's $14.2 billion and 2022's $9.71 billion . is the third best in Canadian VC history, behind 2021's and 2022's . Q3 2024 disbursement $3.57 billion is the second best behind Q2 2021's $4.90 billion . is the second best behind Q2 2021's . Q4 2024 disbursement $1.19 billion is the second worst quarterly result since 2021 just ahead of Q3 2023's $1.17 billion . CPE Analytics tracks capital that flows directly into the companies and excludes known secondary portions of transaction rounds, in which no money went to the companies to help them grow and scale. CPE Analytics provides Canada's only reliable benchmark on Canadian VC investment activities. With the inclusion of secondaries, substantially large sums in recent years, other providers' data are of little use and relevance to truly and accurately measure and benchmark the state of Canadian VC ecosystem. Key Observations I. USA, South Korea China, UK top four funding sources USA, South Korea, China and UK are top four funding sources for Canadian companies, together accounting for 62% of capital flowing into Canadian companies. ____________________________ * * * CPE Analytics' dataset is distinguished by a rigorous application of proper methodological practice which, for instance, does not include M&A transactions completed by VC-backed portfolio companies or other secondaries transactions. For example, Clio itself did not receive US $900 million of the total funding. A substantial of the funding went to company's management and employees, and to existing investors. II. Asian investors led by South Korea, China, Japan increased their shares of funding sources Investors from Asia invested $842 million or 9% in Canadian companies. Top five Asian investor were from South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. There was no investment from Indian investors. Asian investors' share could be higher if some of their investments made from the offshore locations had been disclosed. In comparison, Asian investors invested $343 million for 5% share of total Canadian disbursements in 2023. III. Governments continue to out-invest Canadian private VCs Canadian governments invested $941 million, our-investing Canadian private VC by $235 million. In comparison, governments and private VC invested $847 million and $496 million in 2023 respectively, for a differential of almost $351 million. IV. Q4 crash points to an uncertain 2025 Canadian companies attracted $1.19 billion in Q4 2024, a precipitous fall of 67% from Q3 2024. Q3 being the second best quarterly Canadian results has made the matter even worse. Not considering of Q3, 2024, Q4 2024 reported the second lowest quarterly results since 2021, barely bettering Q3 2023 by $18 million. There is still plenty time to fully account the quarter, Q1, 2025 has yet to show any sight of turning round. V. VC fund fundraising continues to lag 58 funds raised $2.64 billion, ahead the historic low of $1.72 billion in 2023, still far behind fundraising in 2022 in which 48 funds raised $4.74 billion. " The 2024 data starkly reveal the dependence of Canada's innovation industries on foreign VC investment, particularly that originating from the US which alone accounted for 53% of all VC investment dollars in Canada. At a time of hyper-nationalism in the US federal administration today and with fears of economic warfare across multiple fronts surging in Canada and elsewhere this over-reliance on US VC constitutes a strategic weakness of Canada in the competition for scarce investment dollars. The US federal government's focus on securing American technological leadership will likely result in it actively promoting US VC investment into domestic firms while looking askance at foreign ventures. As a result, Canada will need to prepare for a material decline in US VC investment over the short to medium term and which will need to be met with increased VC supply from Canadian sources including private, corporate and government," commented Richard Remillard, President of Remillard Consulting Group (RCG). " The 2024 data show the increasing proportion of investment dollars going into ICT, driven largely by AI. As Marc Andreessen famously said, "Software is eating the world", compared to 2017, the data starkly reveal how Biotech and Cleantech have reversed positions as Biotech has plummeted as a proportion of VC investments while Cleantech has reached new heights. Fintech investments, as a proportion overall, continue to stagnate," added Remillard, 2024 Highlights Top 10 municipal cities The top 10 cities collectively raised $8.13 billion, accounting for 91% of the total disbursements. Municipal City Province # Fin's $ Millions Toronto Ontario 201 3,345 Montreal Quebec 66 1,159 Vancouver British Colombia 118 1080 Burnaby British Columbia 9 906 Calgary Alberta 79 765 Quebec City Quebec 19 286 Kitchener Ontario 14 197 Mississauga Ontario 13 159 Ottawa Ontario 31 128 Richmond British Columbia 6 102 556 8,128 Top 10 foreign funding sources Investors from the top 10 countries accounted 66% of total capital flow into Canadian companies. Country $ Millions United States 4,693 South Korea 454 China 168 United Kingdom 164 Japan 123 Switzerland 100 Netherlands 64 Sweden 57 Germany 51 France 42 Top 10 Investor types Top 10 types of investors accounted of 91% of the total disbursements into Canadian companies. Investor Type $ Millions Private VC - US 2,091 Mutual/Hedge Fund - US 1,327 Corporate - Foreign 962 Government - CDN 941 Corporate - US 836 Private VC - CDN 706 Private VC - Foreign 352 Corporate - CDN 301 Private Investors - CDN 261 Family Office - CDN 249 Top 10 VC law firms 48 law firms were tracked or reported to participate in Canadian VC financings in the first nine months of 2024. Law Firm # Companies # Financings $ Millions Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP 28 59 2,201 Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP 19 70 450 LaBarge Weinstein LLP 14 32 196 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP 8 13 475 Dentons Canada LLP 8 15 49 McCarthy Tetrault LLP 6 15 107 Mintz LLP 5 22 50 McInnes Cooper 5 16 33 Borden Ladner Gervais LLP 5 23 28 Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP 4 8 13 Summary report Summary report can be downloaded from financings.ca website: https://www.financings.ca/reports/ Methodology Included Equity and quasi-equity investments in companies directly. Excluded Secondary transactions (investor/shareholder exit events) in which companies received no money. Acquisition for expansions (M&As) PE transactions Financing by foreign headquartered/domiciled companies with Canadian subsidiaries. Remillard Consulting Group (RCG) Remillard Consulting Group (RCG) is a unique, Ottawa-based, bilingual consulting firm specializing in providing private sector, government & trade association clients with creative, research-grounded solutions to business issues and public policies involving the Canadian financial services industry. For more information: [email protected] CPE Analytics With 108,900 financing transactions, and growing continuously and rapidly to its all Canadian Financings database, CPE Analytics is Canada's undisputed leader in financing intelligence. We provide comprehensive, verified, unbiased and unmatched insights and intelligence on private and public financings, initial public offerings (IPOs), M&As, professional investment firm fundraising activities. We cover all aspects of VC information, not limited to but including Canada's only information on VC firm fundraising, VC funding sources (where all the VC came from and from which types of investors). CPE Analytics is the data analytics division of CPE Media & Data Company. More Info: https://cpeanalytics.ca, https://financings.ca CPE Media & Data Company Founded by Canada's the most experienced private capital and financing research experts, CPE Media & Data Company is Canada's leading all financing news and intelligence provider. More information: https://cpecompany.ca/ SOURCE CPE Media & Data Company Contacts: Ted Liu, CPE Media & Data Company, 647-782-8818, [email protected]; Richard Remillard, Remillard Consulting Group (RCG), 613-715-3055, [email protected] WATERLOO, ON, March 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to significantly improve government operations and services for Canadians. The safe, ethical and responsible use of AI is a priority for the federal government. Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President of the Treasury Board, launched Canada's first AI Strategy for the federal public service at the University of Waterloo, a hub for emerging technology and Canadian talent. Announcing the Strategy at the Waterloo Data and Artificial Intelligence Institute underscores the government's commitment to research and innovation in AI to improve digital service delivery. The Strategy was developed through extensive engagement with stakeholders, including the public and experts from a range of disciplines. Involving Canadians in its development was a key feature to ensure it reflected the democratic values we continue to prioritize today. Accordingly, the Strategy will advance 4 key priority areas: establishing an AI Centre of Expertise to support and to help coordinate government-wide AI efforts; ensuring AI systems are secure and used responsibly; providing training and talent development pathways; and building trust through openness and transparency in how AI is used. The Government of Canada will use AI to enhance its scientific and research capabilities, improve the productivity of its workforce, and deliver enhanced digital services to Canadians. This work will strengthen Canada's role as a leader in AI. Through this Strategy, the government will be able to implement AI more efficiently by removing barriers to AI adoption that exist in departmental processes and legacy systems. It will promote more effective collaboration between government departments to identify successful AI-driven initiatives and implement them more widely. As well, the Strategy strengthens transparency and accountability for the responsible use of AI, ensuring the development of AI solutions that are ethical, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of the public. Quote "Today's announcement positions Canada as a global leader in the responsible use of AI in the public service. With the first-ever AI Strategy for the public service, we're laying the groundwork to leverage the potential of this technology to deliver the best possible services to Canadians." - The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President of the Treasury Board Quick Facts The AI Strategy supports Canada's Digital Ambition, which outlines how the government will provide Canadians with modern services that are secure, reliable, user-centric and barrier-free. Digital Ambition, which outlines how the government will provide Canadians with modern services that are secure, reliable, user-centric and barrier-free. From May to October 2024 , as part of the development of the Strategy, the Government of Canada sought input from various groups through engagement and consultation, and in January 2025 published a "What We Heard" report summarizing the views shared by Canadians. , as part of the development of the Strategy, the Government of sought input from various groups through engagement and consultation, and in published a "What We Heard" report summarizing the views shared by Canadians. Every 2 years, the government will aim to update the Strategy to ensure it remains relevant and responsive. A Guide on the use of Generative AI is available for public servants to assess the risks associated with generative AI and use it responsibly. Associated Links Stay connected X: @TBS_Canada Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TBSCanada LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tbs-sct/ SOURCE Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Contacts (media): Mikaela Harrison, Director of Communications, Office of the President of the Treasury Board, [email protected]; Media Relations, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Telephone: 613-369-9400, Toll-free: 1-855-TBS-9-SCT (1-855-827-9728), Email: [email protected] MONTREAL, March 5, 2025 /CNW/ - MEDFAR, the developer of the leading electronic medical record (EMR) platform MYLE, is pleased to announce the acquisition of CareWay, a Canadian pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare. This strategic move accelerates MEDFAR's innovation roadmap, establishing MYLE as the industry's smartest EMR solution. By combining CareWay's cutting-edge technology with MYLE, MEDFAR is driving the next wave of innovation to improve the lives of healthcare providers and patients alike. Adoption and Impact of AI in Canada : Key Insights Rapid adoption : As of last December, 35% of Quebec physicians and 41% of British Columbia physicians were using an AI scribe , according to a MEDFAR survey of 2,171 respondents, including 1,272 physicians using MYLE. : As of last December, and , according to a MEDFAR survey of 2,171 respondents, including 1,272 physicians using MYLE. Significant efficiency gains : Physicians using CareWay see one additional patient per hour on average and save two hours per day on note-taking, leading to a 2030% increase in productivity . : Physicians using CareWay see and on note-taking, leading to a . High patient trust: 99% of patients consent to their physician using AI, demonstrating strong perceived value in this innovation. Revolutionizing Clinical Practice Since its launch in June 2024, CareWay has been transforming clinical practice by enabling healthcare professionals to seamlessly automate the generation of high-quality medical notes during consultations. Its unmatched speed, accuracy, and adaptability allow healthcare professionals to save two hours per day on administrative tasks, all while adhering to the highest standards of security and privacy. In less than a year, CareWay has been adopted by over 2,000 healthcare professionals, demonstrating its significant impact on healthcare delivery. Its revolutionary work has been recognized at the prestigious 2024 Hippocrate Awards, earning the Innovation Award for Digital and AI Transformation and the Grand Hippocrate Award for the year's most promising project. Accelerating Innovation at MEDFAR MEDFAR will integrate CareWay's pioneering technology into MYLE by spring 2025, marking the first step in a broader transformation to apply AI across all MYLE functionalities. CareWay will also remain available as a standalone solution, allowing all clinicians to leverage its full potential in their practice. "This acquisition marks a pivotal step in our commitment to simplify medical practice, enhance the quality of care, improve patient access, and free up valuable time for clinicians," said Elias Farah, CEO of MEDFAR. "With CareWay's innovative technology, clinicians can see one more patient per hour on average, improving the efficiency of the healthcare system by 20 to 30% and ensuring more patients have better access to care. This vision aligns perfectly with MEDFAR's mission to deliver transformative solutions for clinicians." "The integration of CareWay's advanced AI capabilities into MYLE's comprehensive EMR platform strengthens our ability to empower healthcare providers with tools that drive efficiency and better patient outcomes," said Marie Lavoie, Cofounder and CEO of CareWay. "By easing administrative burdens, our solution empowers physicians to regain control of their schedules, lighten their mental load, and rediscover the joy of practicing medicine." To learn more, visit www.medfarsolutions.com/en/careway/ . About CareWay Founded by a team of innovators with an entrepreneurial spirit and deep expertise in big data, CareWay is dedicated to improving healthcare through technology. CareWay uses AI to automate and optimize clinical documentation, understanding conversations in over 60 languages and generating high-quality notes in English or French. Developed in collaboration with Mila, a world-leading AI research institute, the solution evolves with use, adapts to clinicians' real-world needs, and remains a powerful and intuitive tool for healthcare professionals. About MEDFAR Founded in 2010, MEDFAR revolutionized the field of electronic medical records by introducing MYLE (Make Your Life Easy), the first fully web-based EMR in Canada. Today, MEDFAR supports over 15,000 healthcare professionals and facilitates 25 million patient appointments annually across North America. MEDFAR continues to drive excellence and efficiency in healthcare by offering an intuitive, user-friendly, and secure platform for healthcare professionals. SOURCE MEDFAR Clinical Solutions For media inquiries, please contact: Jessica Drolet, Marketing Director, MEDFAR, [email protected], 514-475-3614 TORONTO, March 5, 2025 /CNW/ - NetraMark Holdings Inc. (the "Company" or "NetraMark") (CSE: AIAI) (OTCQB: AINMF) (Frankfurt: 8TV) a generative AI software leader in clinical trial analytics, presented two significant studies at the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) conference, showcasing the power of advanced machine learning in major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia clinical trials. Mathematically Augmented Machine Learning Redefines MDD Clinical Trial Insights NetraMark's first presentation, "Novel Machine Learning Approach Outperforms Traditional Approaches in Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trials", demonstrated how NetraAI Sub-Insight Learning enhances patient stratification in MDD clinical trials over traditional methods. NetraAI was designed to address the challenges of modeling clinical trial data, where traditional Machine Learning (ML), including deep learning, often falls short. Built to identify optimal patient cohorts for future trials, NetraAI enhances established ML methods by uncovering key variable combinations. In this presentation, NetraMark applied NetraAI to the CAN-BIND trial on escitalopram response, demonstrating its ability to significantly improve industry-standard ML models, the study revealed: NetraAI-driven patient subpopulation analysis led to a 28% increase in model accuracy compared to traditional ML approaches. led to a compared to traditional ML approaches. Sensitivity improved by 31% , while specificity increased by 51% , reducing false-positive rates. , while specificity increased by , reducing false-positive rates. NetraAI successfully identified key combinations of variables that refine inclusion/exclusion criteria for more efficient trial design. that refine for more efficient trial design. This is made possible through NetraAI's ability to discover which patients can be explained and those that cannot. NetraAI identifies and explains key variable combinations, offering deeper insights into drug and placebo response. When NetraAI-derived variables were fed to traditional ML methods, the resulting performance was significantly enhanced, as shown in the table below. Traditional Method Accuracy of Traditional Method Alone (%) Accuracy of Traditional Method using NetraAI derived variables (%) Improvement (%) Logistic Regression 54.29 77.14 +22.85 XGBoost 65.71 91.43 +25.72 Random Forest 62.86 82.86 +20.00 SVM 60.00 100.00 +40.00 Neural Network 60.00 77.14 +17.14 "This advancement validates NetraAI's ability to learn about complex clinical trial patient populations in a way that modern ML methods cannot, and this can translate to significantly improving clinical trial outcomes," said Dr. Joseph Geraci, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of NetraMark. Advancing Schizophrenia Clinical Trials with AI-Driven Biomarker Discovery NetraMark's second presentation, "Predictive Biomarker Discovery in Schizophrenia Using Advanced Machine Learning to Decode Heterogeneity", demonstrated NetraAI's ability to learn from heterogeneous patient populations in schizophrenia trials. Using data from the CATIE schizophrenia trial, NetraAI identified clinically meaningful subpopulations that respond preferentially to olanzapine or perphenazine. Key findings include: Patients with moderate to severe symptom burden and mild behavioral disturbances responded better to olanzapine . and responded better to . Patients with moderate negative symptoms, mild to moderate hallucinations, and paranoia showed improved response to perphenazine . showed improved response to . This innovative Sub-Insight Learning approach overcomes traditional ML limitations by discovering high-effect size subpopulations that replicate across datasets, enabling better trial enrichment strategies. "These findings represent a significant step toward precision psychiatry, as it allows us to demonstrate that our technology can produce robust models that replicate. Further, these models reduce trial failures and increase treatment efficacy by seeking to identify the right patients for the right therapies," said Dr. Joseph Geraci. Transforming the Future of CNS Clinical Trials NetraMark's AI-driven methodologies have the potential to transform the landscape of CNS clinical research by: Enhancing patient stratification for more targeted trials. Reducing placebo response and trial failures. Accelerating drug development by improving predictive modeling. As the field moves toward precision medicine, NetraMark's innovations offer pharmaceutical companies and researchers a powerful toolset to unlock deeper insights into psychiatric disorders and treatment responses. About NetraAI In contrast with other AI-based methods, NetraAI is uniquely engineered to include focus mechanisms that separate small datasets into explainable and unexplainable subsets. Unexplainable subsets are collections of patients that can lead to suboptimal overfit models and inaccurate insights due to poor correlations with the variables involved. The NetraAI uses the explainable subsets to derive insights and hypotheses (including factors that influence treatment and placebo responses, as well as adverse events) that can significantly increase the chances of a clinical trial success. Other AI methods lack these focus mechanisms and assign every patient to a class, even when this leads to "overfitting" which drowns out critical information that could have been used to improve a trial's chance of success. About NetraMark NetraMark is a company focused on being a leader in the development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI)/Machine Learning (ML) solutions targeted at the Pharmaceutical industry. Its product offering uses a novel topology-based algorithm that has the ability to parse patient data sets into subsets of people that are strongly related according to several variables simultaneously. This allows NetraMark to use a variety of ML methods, depending on the character and size of the data, to transform the data into powerfully intelligent data that activates traditional AI/ML methods. The result is that NetraMark can work with much smaller datasets and accurately segment diseases into different types, as well as accurately classify patients for sensitivity to drugs and/or efficacy of treatment. For further details on the Company please see the Company's publicly available documents filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation including statements regarding the potential improvements and success arising from NetraAI and its ability to improve patient outcomes, the identification of effective treatments, operational results and the design clinical trials, which are based upon NetraMark's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance, or other statements that are not statements of fact. The forward-looking statements are expectations only and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results of the Company or industry results to differ materially from future results, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, NetraMark does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for NetraMark to predict all such factors. When considering these forward-looking statements, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements as set out in the materials we file with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca including our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended September 30, 2024. These risk factors and other factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE NetraMark Holdings Inc. Contact Information: Swapan Kakumanu - CFO | [email protected] | 403-681-2549 Pivotal trial met its primary endpoint with statistically significant reduction in patients with residual cancer during surgery (p-value = 0.0050) Presentation will highlight both previously reported positive topline results and new additional analyses, including secondary endpoints and additional reporting TORONTO and DALLAS, March 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc. (TSXV: PINK) (OTCQX: PYNKF) ("Perimeter" or the "Company"), a commercial-stage medical technology company, is pleased to announce that detailed results from the pivotal trial evaluating the use of its next-generation B-Series OCT with ImgAssist AI 2.0 ("Perimeter B-Series") during breast-conserving surgeries ("BCS") will be presented during the scientific session of the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons ("ASBrS") taking place in Las Vegas, NV, April 30-May 4, 2025. ASBrS is the primary leadership organization for general surgeons who treat patients with breast disease and is committed to continually improving the practice of breast surgery by serving as an advocate for surgeons who seek excellence in the care of breast patients. The detailed results of the Perimeter B-Series pivotal trial are subject to an embargo policy, pursuant to which all scientific abstracts accepted for oral or poster presentations during the ASBrS 26th Annual Meeting, press releases, and the Society's Official Proceedings are embargoed until 1:00 pm PST on May 1, 2025. The full abstract will be published by the Annals of Surgical Oncology and released following the oral presentation by Dr. Alastair Thompson, the trial's Primary Principal Investigator, Surgeon and Professor, Section Chief of Breast Surgery, Olga Keith Wiess Chair of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Breast Cancer Program Leader at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Annals of Surgical Oncology is one of the leading journals in oncology and surgery, and features original articles on the latest advances in oncology for surgeons from all specialties. "It is a great honor to be selected by the ASBrS to present the detailed results of our pivotal trial for the first time at its prestigious annual meeting, and we are pleased this comes as we continue to work toward obtaining regulatory approval to market our next-generation, AI-enabled OCT system in the United States," said Perimeter's Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Mendes. "Adding an AI assistant will help surgeons more easily utilize our ground-breaking wide-field OCT technology, which provides high-resolution clarity to visualize margins in real-time in the operating room. We believe increasing breast cancer surgeon awareness of this important innovation through participation in important forums like ASBrS 2025 will go a long way towards advancing the technology's future adoption." In November 2024, Perimeter reported positive topline results from the pivotal study designed to support the Company's planned U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") premarket approval ("PMA") submission to market the Perimeter B-Series for use during BCS in the United States. The Company plans to submit its FDA PMA for the Perimeter B-Series in early 2025. About Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc. Based in Toronto, Canada and Dallas, Texas, Perimeter Medical Imaging AI (TSX-V: PINK) (OTCQX: PYNKF) is a medical technology company driven to transform cancer surgery with ultra-high-resolution, real-time, advanced imaging tools to address areas of high unmet medical need. Available across the U.S., our FDA-cleared Perimeter S-Series OCT system provides real-time, cross-sectional visualization of excised tissues at the cellular level. The breakthrough-device-designated investigational Perimeter B-Series OCT with ImgAssist AI represents our next-generation artificial intelligence technology that is currently being evaluated in a pivotal clinical trial, with support from a grant of up to US$7.4 million awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The company's ticker symbol "PINK" is a reference to the pink ribbons used during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Perimeter B-Series OCT is limited by U.S. law to investigational use and not available for sale in the United States. Perimeter S-Series OCT has 510(k) clearance under a general indication and has not been evaluated by the U.S. FDA specifically for use in breast tissue, breast cancer, other types of cancer, margin evaluation, and reducing re-excision rates. The safety and effectiveness of these uses has not been established. For more information, please visit www.perimetermed.com/disclosures . Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. In this news release, words such as "may," "would," "could," "will," "likely," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information may relate to management's future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements or information regarding the future financial position, business strategy and strategic goals, competitive conditions, research and development activities, projected costs and capital expenditures, research and clinical testing outcomes, taxes and plans and objectives of, or involving, Perimeter. Without limitation, information regarding the potential benefits of Perimeter S-Series OCT and Perimeter B-Series OCT, the expected benefits of Perimeter's updated version of its ImgAssist AI, and Perimeter's expectations regarding the outcomes of the clinical trial and future submission to the FDA are forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, any particular result will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Perimeter's control. Such forward-looking statements reflect Perimeter's current view with respect to future events, but are inherently subject to significant medical, scientific, business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. In making forward-looking statements, Perimeter may make various material assumptions, including but not limited to (i) the accuracy of Perimeter's financial projections; (ii) obtaining positive results from trials; (iii) obtaining necessary regulatory approvals; and (iv) general business, market, and economic conditions. Further risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those applicable to Perimeter and described in Perimeter's Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is available on Perimeter's SEDAR+ profile at https://www.sedarplus.ca , and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Perimeter does not intend, nor does Perimeter undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events, or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws. CONTACTS: Stephen Kilmer Investor Relations Direct: 647-872-4849 Email: [email protected] Adrian Mendes Chief Executive Officer Toll-free: 888-988-7465 (PINK) Email: [email protected] SOURCE Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Inc. Prior to March 2, Peter Wall controlled WFC through his ownership and control of 54% of the outstanding common shares of the Company. WFC has been informed that under Mr. Wall's estate arrangements, all of these common shares will pass to the Peter Wall Legacy Trust (the "Trust"). The governance structure of the Trust, as it relates to the common shares, comprises three Trustees. His forward-thinking vision in tourism set the stage for One Wall Centre, an award-winning downtown landmark since 2001, and Wall Centre Richmond, which together provide nearly a thousand hotel rooms. A passionate champion of arts and culture, Peter recognized the importance of world-class venues in shaping a city's identity. His dedication led to the development of premier performance spaces that have hosted legendary artists such as Pavarotti, Jessye Norman, and Ben Heppner. His impact extended beyond the skyline; he enriched the soul of Vancouver. Beyond business, Peter was deeply committed to giving back. In 1991, he made a groundbreaking $15 million donation, the largest at the time to the University of British Columbia (UBC), establishing the Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies. This institute became a beacon for research and innovation, attracting some of the world's brightest minds, including Nobel Prize-winning scientist Michael Smith. His generosity didn't stop there. In 2022, Peter launched the Peter Wall Legacy Awards, a $4 million annual grant and fellowship program supporting sustainability research and other global challenges, ensuring his commitment to progress continues to make an impact. His love for the arts was equally profound. He played a key role in restoring and enhancing several of Vancouver's cultural landmarks, helping revive the York Theatre, expand the Orpheum Theatre, and establish the VSO School of Music. For Peter, potential was everywhere; not just in architecture, but in people, ideas, and communities. Outside of business and philanthropy, Peter found exhilaration in the sport of kings horse racing. A dedicated racehorse owner and breeder, he experienced the thrill of victory at the highest levels, celebrating wins in prestigious Grade 1 (G1) stakes races such as the $1M Pacific Classic, the Del Mar Derby, the Japan Cup, and the legendary Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His deep passion for the sport and commitment to it ultimately led him to acquire Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, BC, further cementing his influence in the world of thoroughbred racing. Peter Wall's legacy is woven into the very fabric of Vancouver. His bold vision, boundless generosity, and unwavering commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on the city he so dearly loved. His deep love and admiration for Vancouver went far beyond its breathtaking scenery, it was the city that captured his heart and inspired his soul. So profound was his connection that he composed a song in its honour, a heartfelt tribute to the place he cherished most. Through its lyrics, he celebrated the beauty, spirit, and essence of the city he so passionately called home. In honour of his extraordinary contributions, Wall Financial Corporation remains committed to carrying forward his passion, vision, and dedication. Building a stronger, more vibrant Vancouver for generations to come. About Wall Financial Corporation: Founded in 1969, Wall Financial Corporation has been investing in cities, their citizens, and public institutions for over 50 years. The company has developed more than 30,000 homes in Metro Vancouver, including over 15,000 rental units, thousands of single-family lots, over 10,000 condominiums, and two major hotels offering 939 rooms. Wall Financial Corporation has been at the forefront of creating mixed-use residential and commercial developments, preserving heritage buildings, and establishing cultural spaces to ensure vibrant and livable neighbourhoods throughout Vancouver. SOURCE Wall Financial Corporation For Media Inquiries, please contact: Wall Financial Corporation, Email: [email protected] Oregon State University temporarily shut down parts of its student government late last week, and on Monday, March 3, fired at least three students for allegedly violating the directive. Earlier this year, the student government president alleged a culture of bullying and harassment, all of which appears to stem from internal squabbles around student fees. The email and shutdown According to a Friday, Feb. 28 email from OSUs Vice Provost for Student Affairs Dan Larson and signed by student government President Audrey Schlotter, certain functions of the Associated Students of Oregon State University, or ASOSU, are on pause, with student employees and officers directed to undertake a "comprehensive" programmatic review. This review will include an extended assessment of both student conduct as well as student employment, in matters related to allegations of intimidation, hostile work environment, retaliation, acts of bias, and other behavior and performance issues, Larson said. ASOSU leadership positions are paid. The pause hit ASOSUs senate, judicial council and student fee committee, while ASOSUs elections and executive branch meetings, as well as its annual student incidental fee-setting process were spared. Its expected to last until May 2, Larson said in his email. He also said all currently employed student government leaders were expected to remain employed. Firings and strong feelings Reached by phone Monday, ASOSUs Senate Pro-Tempore Adison Rowe said OSU had fired them from their ASOSU position after trying to organize a Senate committee meeting, an activity prohibited by the recent order, outside the Student Experience Center on campus, which houses ASOSU offices. Matteo Paola, a member of the student governments judicial council, which acts like the governments Supreme Court, was also on the receiving end of a termination letter and student code of conduct charges for allegedly violating the government pause. Paolas code of conduct letter, which he shared with Mid-Valley Media, cited an email he addressed to Larson and students, in which he wrote: The best way to fight fascism, whether it be at the federal level or against OSU administration, is to resist, especially unlawful orders, commands or calls for what is essentially martial law that are unprecedented in ASOSUs 100+ year history. Additionally, OSU fired ASOSU student Dylan Perfect, who was recently elected chair of the student fee committee, also related to his participating in Senate committee meeting which he said was called off before it occurred and who posted about his termination on his Instagram account. Neither Perfect, Paola nor Rowe said they had clarity about whether their terminations meant they only lost their compensation or their office. When asked about the firings, university spokesperson Rob Odom said OSU does not comment on personnel matters involving university employees. A toxic culture? Perfect, a frequent critic of OSUs actions on student fees over the last year, called the shutdown the most authoritarian order hes seen at a state university, in his response to Larsons email last week and shared with Mid-Valley Media. In a phone call, Perfect was also critical of what he called an unprecedented level of administrative interference at ASOSU, and faulted administrators for not citing a specific incident in suspending the university's elected student government on Friday. Paola also criticized the pause. Im not going to disagree that there has been a toxic environment within some of the meetings, Paola said by phone, but added that the president and the executive branch had played a large role, and that, as far as he was aware, the administration had only talked to the president about her concerns. But when asked if any complaints from ASOSU members had been filed before the announced pause, Odom said in an email there have been ongoing concerns and complaints that the culture of ASOSU is not conducive to student health and well-being. He added: Students have resigned from their leadership roles, citing concerns and an assessment conducted by the Ombuds office had indicated hostility in the workplace. Indeed, last week the student governments vice president, Zach Kowash, resigned, announcing his decision in a blunt letter that, while not calling out individual students, had no kind words for ASOSU as a whole. I cant keep skipping class or missing assignments or canceling on my friends for a job that has unequivocally shown, time and again, to be downright terrible and populated with the cruelest people Ive met in my life, Kowash wrote. Paola said he wouldnt want to speculate when asked what prompted Kowash's resignation. Perfect said he respected Kowashs decision, but added he feared it was being used to justify this democratic backsliding. Schlotter could not be reached for comment. Beyond the resignation, Odom additionally said advisers to the student government had seen increased communications of both those working for ASOSU and students outside of student government regarding the alleged negative treatment they have either been on the receiving end of, or witnessed personally themselves, both in-person and online. He added: OSU leadership observed and listened to the pattern of behavior, the consistent and urgent feedback from students, and incorporated student input in making this decision. Facing division Cracks in OSUs student government were publicly aired earlier this year, when ASOSU President Schlotter told the university Board of Trustees at a January meeting that the student government faced a constitutional crisis and that she faced bullying and harassment stemming from internal divisions over student fee proposals, though she didnt identify individual students. In an interview, when asked what that bullying looked like, Schlotter pointed to past negative comments on social media, while adding a protest outside her office last year had made her concerned about ASOSUs atmosphere. Comments on ASOSUs Instagram account from student government officials responding to Schlotters statement to trustees in January underscored the division. Paola wrote that the statement was inappropriate and filled with misinformation, while Perfect said Schlotter had made libelous claims. In a statement earlier this year, trustee Chair Roman Hernandez said the behaviors described by Schlotter in her report to the board were deeply concerning to all of the trustees. During our board meeting, we expressed the seriousness of our concerns and expressed our expectation that all members of our community follow the law and university policies while treating one another with dignity and respect, he said. Discord over student fees and a bill related to campus Israel-Gaza protests last year appears to have fueled the drama. Student fees For context, the universitys student government is charged with managing the allocation of incidental fees. Those are projected to amount to more than $35 million in the current fiscal year. These are the fees students pay to fund clubs, facilities and services on campus, such at the Memorial Union or the Family Resource Center. Students currently pay a total of around $530 per term. Modeled after the federal government, ASOSU has a legislative branch consisting of student senators who review and vote on recommendations from ASOSUs student fee committee on where those fees should be set. Those levels are then signed off by the ASOSUs president and then submitted to OSUs president and the Board of Trustees members, who give the allocation their final stamp of approval. The board approved ASOSU's most recent allocation last year, hiking the incidental fee on the Corvallis campus by 4.27%. However, a separate referendum organized last year and backed by Perfect to increase incidental fees to raise wages for student workers on campus hit a roadblock. The process by which that proposal passed, according to OSUs Larson, didnt meet state rules around allocating incidental fees, according to an email he wrote to Schlotter in December about the fee proposal. Perfect disagreed with that assessment. Larson poured cold water on the proposal being taken up by trustees at the January meeting. But beyond that fee referendum, actions by the ASOSUs senate around a separate fee-related bill appeared to stoke greater tension. Protest That bill, related to divestment demands made in pro-Palestinian protests last year, called for the creation of a work group to make ethics recommendations related to incidental fees and carves out exceptions in ASOSUs code of conduct for members participating in peaceful demonstrations. While the Senate passed that bill, Schlotter vetoed it in December because she said in an interview in January, that it would dismantle ASOSUs student fee committee and compromise the fee-setting process. As students debated that bill last December, Schlotter said a member of the Student Fee Committee and an ASOSU Senate member, whom she did not name, organized a protest outside of her office at the Student Experience Center in support of its passage. There were probably about 100 people outside, and then the two members brought about 30 students up to my office to bang on my door, she said. In her statement to the Board of Trustees in January, she said she felt endangered and trapped. Rowe, ASOSUs senate pro-tempore who supported the bill, said they had helped organize that protest which they called peaceful and polite. Rowe said they led barely 15 people into the office and that they had knocked on her door. Perfect also said he helped organize the protest, and he and Rowe also contend the president had welcomed protesters into her office to discuss their views on the bill, which she eventually vetoed. Perfect also shared a screenshot from a text exchange with Schlotter that he said showed her saying she hoped an upcoming event where students could share their thoughts about the bill would be fairly calm and conversational like yesterday, in apparent reference to the protest. Next steps? In an email, Odom said all ASOSU officers are invited to participate in the review and can conduct review activities on their own or will be invited to attend work sessions or meetings. The intention is that ASOSU can resume activities after the pause with appropriate adjustments having been made to practices and policies, and employment training and employment expectations are met. In her own assessment of the state of affairs back in January, Schlotter had said she felt policy disagreement had now turned into people disagreements. I feel like we mirror our federal government a little bit too closely, she added. Related stories: Bensalem firefighters at the 2022 blaze at the warehouse in the 1300 block of Bridgewater Road. (Photo courtesy of Bensalem Township Fire Rescue Dept.) A Camden County man was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution for his role in conspiring to set a Bucks County warehouse ablaze, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said Monday. Ramiz Duka, 62, of Cherry Hill was convicted on Oct. 30, 2024 of conspiracy to commit malicious damage by setting fire to building used in interstate commerce. Duka recruited two men to help set fire to a warehouse at 1388 Bridgewater Road in Bensalem, Pennsylvania and paid them $15,000 to do so, officials said. He met the men in New Jersey on several occasions and asked them to set fire to the building for the owner who he said was a friend, according to the federal indictment. Authorities said Duka told the men the owner of the building wanted to collect insurance money from the fire and provided a key for the warehouse, according to the indictment. On Dec. 10, 2022, one of the men accessed the building and lit multiple fires inside the warehouse, according to the indictment. One firefighter was injured while fighting the blaze after a ladder collapsed, according to officials. Damages totaled nearly $6 million. In addition to the prison sentence, Duka was ordered to pay $6.1 million in restitution and spend three years on supervised release. The warehouse was being leased at the time of the fire by an internet-based book business which stored books and other items at the location, court documents show. An attorney for Duka did not immediately return a request for comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X A 55-year-old New Jersey man was arrested after children spotted him naked in a Lower Township neighborhood last week. Robert McKinley was charged with three counts each of lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child, the Cape May County Prosecutors Office said. The three children saw McKinley on the 100 west block of Greenwood Avenue on Feb. 26. Each of the victims is under 13 years of age, according to Cape May County jail records. Police got a search warrant for McKinleys house and took him into custody. McKinley remains held in jail on Wednesday morning. Attorney information wasnt immediately available. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cape May County Prosecutors Office at 609-465-1135 or submit an anonymous tip through the prosecutors office website at cmcpo.tips. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Congress Hall, a historic hotel resort in Cape May, didnt have a license to play music from popular recording artists, preventing them from receiving royalties, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers claims in the suit at least four songs were played at the hotel in December without the copyright holders being compensated. Congress Hall is one of 15 businesses in the U.S. that were sued this week in the latest effort by the nonprofit agency to secure royalties for its composers and recording artists, according to a news release. ASCAP is asking a judge to order that Congress Hall pay between $750 and $30,000 for each instance where music was played without royalties being paid, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Camden. Bob Haislip, the hotels vice president of operations, said Wednesday Congress Hall is committed to resolving the infringement. At Congress Hall, we have always celebrated the power of music and its ability to bring people together, create lasting memories, and enhance the guest experience, Haislip said in a statement. We deeply respect and value the creativity, passion, and artistry of songwriters, composers, and music publishers, whose works contribute so much to the vibrant culture we proudly support here in Cape May. We believe that creators deserve fair compensation for their work, and we support the mission of organizations like ASCAP. The hotel is a popular resort for Jersey Shore tourists, attracting visitors with its Victorian charm and beachside location. It most recently appeared in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which was filmed in Cape May and the surrounding area. ASCAP represents thousands of recording-industry professionals. Headquartered in New York City, it ensures royalties for its members when their music or compositions are played publicly. It licenses over 20 million songs. Licenses for bars and restaurants often cost less than $2 per day, allowing the holder to play an unlimited amount of music, according to ASCAP. Paul Williams, ASCAPs board chairman and president, who has crafted songs performed by artists like Barbara Streisand and The Monkees, said the sweeping lawsuits intend to support the nonprofits members and their earnings. We want every business that uses music to prosper, including bars and restaurants, Williams said in a statement. As songwriters and composers, we must earn our livelihoods through our creative work, and music is how we put food on the table and send our kids to school. Most businesses know that an ASCAP license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently and at a reasonable price while compensating music creators fairly. The four songs played at Congress Hall, according to the lawsuit, are Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver, Drift Away, Blue Christmas by Elvis and Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Jackson Wagener, ASCAPs senior vice president for business and legal affairs, told NJ Advance Media an independent investigator was hired to review Congress Halls music selection. Wagener said ASCAP believes other ASCAP member songs were also used. The hotel held a license an ASCAP license between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2023, according to the lawsuit. Representatives informed Congress Hall about the expiration, adding that outstanding royalties were owed. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com. The zone of destruction is nearly 3,000 miles away, but the Los Angeles area wildfires prompted a generous outpouring of support last weekend in Monmouth County. A five-hour fundraiser in Oceanport on Sunday, called Teachers Rock 4 Teachers, was aimed at raising at least $20,000 for the Pasadena Educational Foundations Eaton Fire Response Fund, organizers said. At least 300 Pasadena school district employees reported losing their homes during Januarys wildfires and thousands of students and their families also were impacted by the devastation, said Chris Macioch, a teacher at the Forrestdale School in Rumson. Macioch organized Sundays fundraiser, which included a performance by his band, The Uncommon Core, consisting of nine educators from Rumson. We look for every excuse to play. Then we thought, we could do something for the people in L.A. People came from all over the place to help us with Sandy, Macioch said, referring to the storm that caused widespread damage in New Jersey in 2012. Damages from the California wildfires are estimated to be more than $250 billion, the Associated Press reported last month. Sundays fundraiser was hosted by the Birdsmouth Beer, a brewery at the former Fort Monmouth in Oceanport. In addition to The Uncommon Core, five other musical acts performed, Macioch said. The bands name is a play on Common Core, the national academic standards in K-12 math and language arts. New Jersey implemented Common Core in 2010 but, amid criticisms of how it was working, switched in 2016 to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. The Uncommon Core covered three Bruce Springsteen songs on Sunday: Born to Run, Thunder Road and Springsteens version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Macioch said he was expecting a final tally of how much was raised at the event in coming days. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. LL Cool J performs during the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in New York. His Rock The Bells Festival will come to Newark as part of North to Shore 2025. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP) Andy Kropa/Invision/AP New Jerseys vibrant music and arts festival North to Shore is back for its third year. After two successful events in 2023 and 2024, the lineup for the enormous music and comedy fest was announced Tuesday during a press conference at Newarks Prudential Hall where festival organizers, politicians and fans gathered. North to Shore 2025 will run from June 14 through June 29 and take place in Atlantic City, Asbury Park and Newark. The festival will include performances from acts like Bleachers, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Jon Stewart, John Mulaney and Pete Davidson, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Jacks Manequinn, Stone Temple Pilots and more. For the full lineup, click here. North to Shore, which organizers call the festival only Jersey can handle, was brought about by Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy. Newark-based Prudential Financial is returning as the lead sponsor. Now for a third summer, we can come together again to celebrate the qualities that make New Jersey an epicenter for diversity, creativity, and innovation, Murphy said Tuesday. Prudential North to Shore is more than a festival its a showcase of everything that makes this state unique, welcoming, and an ideal stage for talent and the arts. For two consecutive weeks, musical and comedy acts will perform at venues across Asbury Park and Newark while free community events will be held as well. Two of the most anticipated events will be Hot 97 Summer Jam on June 20 and Rock The Bells on June 28 with both held at Prudential Center in Newark. Newark is long known to be a powerhouse of creativity, teeming with artistic expression and exactly the kind of city perfect for hosting Prudential North to Shore, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. I am so excited about the incredible lineup coming here this year, and I look forward to celebrating this festival with neighbors who already love our city and visitors who soon will! North to Shore is collaborating with advisory groups in Atlantic City, Asbury Park and Newark again this year to provide community arts awards. The festival will reward local artists, arts organizations, nonprofits and small businesses with up to $10,000 each to produce performing and visual arts events. Select winners will be chosen to perform as opening acts for headliners. More entertainment news: Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.comon Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Natalie Portman is starring in Lena Dunhams upcoming romantic comedy film Good Sex. Deadline reports that Netflix is picking up the movie and that the production is looking to film in New Jersey. Golden Globe winner Dunham, 38, creator of the HBO series Girls, wrote the script and will direct the film. Both Dunham and Oscar winner Portman (Black Swan), 43, are producing. Per the report, Portman will play Ally, a New York couples therapist who leaves a dying long-term relationship to start dating again. She makes a connection with a younger man and meets an older man at the same time. Netflix is reportedly shelling out somewhere around $55 million for the film. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority tells NJ Advance Media it does not have any information yet on the production filming in New Jersey. Dunham, who wrote and starred in the Emmy-winning Girls, appeared in the 2024 film Treasure, while Portman starred in the 2024 Apple TV+ limited series Lady in the Lake. Newly minted Oscar winner Mikey Madison, who won best actress for Anora Sunday, was one of Portmans co-stars in the show. Portman also starred with Julianne Moore and Charles Melton in the 2023 Todd Haynes Netflix movie May December" a film about a couple with a significant age gap who met when the man (Melton) was a 13-year-old child and the woman (Moore) was 36. Portman plays an actor who meets with them to play Moores character in a movie. Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads. Sean Baker set a record with his Oscar wins for "Anora," the 2025 winner for best picture. Doug Peters | PA Images via Getty Images Sean Baker is the toast of Hollywood after his movie Anora won five Oscars Sunday, including best picture. Baker even set a new record, winning four of those Oscars himself the most any person has received for the same movie at one Academy Awards ceremony. While the director, who hails from New Jersey, has been making independent movies for 25 years, the road to Oscars glory wasnt assured. Anora is the first movie that landed him any nominations. And while the film was a sparkling victory for Baker on multiple fronts, the accomplished filmmaker had his struggles during the making of the movie. With Bakers permission, Lawrence Sher, a fellow Oscar-nominated Jersey filmmaker Sher grew up in Teaneck and Baker grew up in Short Hills and Branchburg just shared a revealing voicemail message from the Anora director. The message reflects the reality of filmmaking bringing a movie to life is often a long slog. READ MORE: Anora wins best picture at the Oscars, a huge, record-setting victory for N.J.s Sean Baker Sher was in communication with Baker during the making of their two films Sher was the cinematographer on Joker: Folie a Deux. Baker gave Sher an update on his progress through the multi-stage process of putting Anora together. The editing isnt going well, Baker says with a laugh in the voicemail (listen below). Oscar winner Mikey Madison in "Anora." Neon Sher posted the recording to the Instagram account for ShotDeck, his online database of movie images. Well, you know, I always ... I cant edit right away, so I take a long time before even starting, Baker continued in the message. So Im literally just starting right now. And I think we wrapped at the same time. Probably you guys have a cut of Joker and I havent even begun my editing. So actually Im really behind, he said. Im in a bad, semi-bad place in terms of, like, I have two films to edit. Like, (producer Alex) Coco and everybody, theyre all wringing their hands because of how far behind I am. READ MORE: With Anora, Sean Bakers moment has arrived (interview) Baker, 54, has said that he likes to take a six-month break after filming a movie before diving into editing. A year after his message to Sher, Anora won the Palme dOr, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, putting the film on a path to awards season. Baker ended up winning an Oscar for best editing, along with the Academy Awards for best picture and best director. His first win of the night for Anora, which was also the first Oscar of his career, was the award for best original screenplay. Mikey Madison, who stars in the title role, won her first Oscar for best actress at just 25 years old for playing Brooklyn sex worker Anora Ani Mikheeva. Baker shared the best picture win with fellow producers Samantha Quan, his wife, and Alex Coco. READ MORE: N.J. Joker: Folie a Deux cinematographer Lawrence Sher on Joaquin, Gaga and Jerseys Arkham The writer, director and producer dedicated his best director speech to calling for people to support local movie theaters especially independent theaters and for film distributors to prioritize theatrical releases. Baker worked as a movie theater manager and projectionist when he was a teen living in Jersey. Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters and youll be molding the next generation of movie lovers and filmmakers, Baker said in the speech. And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in the theater and lets keep the great tradition of the moviegoing experience alive and well. Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads. Ed Forchion, known as NJ Weedman, in Trenton in a 2020 file photo. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Ed NJ Weedman Forchion, the longtime marijuana advocate, was seriously injured last weekend when a truck collided with his motorcycle in Trenton. Forchion livestreamed the crash aftermath on Facebook while lying on the ground surrounded by wreckage and while city EMTs treated him. He was taken to a hospital, where he continued posting videos. Police later issued the truck driver a 51-year-old resident of Elmhurst, New York tickets for careless driving, failure to yield at an intersection, and failure to stop or yield, police spokesperson Capt. Lisette Rios said. Rios said Forchion was riding east on South Clinton Avenue toward the intersection with Roebling Avenue when the truck, traveling south on Roebling, failed to yield to Forchions motorcycle in the intersection. Forchions motorcycle struck the trucks right rear tire area, Rios said. He posted on Facebook Tuesday that he suffered spinal fractures and three ribs. Forchion operates NJ Weedmans Joint across from City Hall on East State Street, which has been his base of operations for years. He sold marijuana from the restaurant for years and drew the ire of city police and the county prosecutors office, even spending time in jail awaiting trial for charges that were later dismissed. When New Jersey embraced legal marijuana dispensaries, Forchion did too, but his license to sell marijuana is in limbo with state authorities because a family member currently has a license, officials have said. The city council in Trenton passed a resolution in late 2023 supporting his license before the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. However, in late 2024 Forchion sued the city in federal court, claiming officials were blocking his efforts to become a legitimate weed dealer. In response, he sometimes shined a Batman-like spotlight onto City Hall in protest. The city has denied its blocking Forchions attempts to obtain a marijuana license. The case is pending. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com The Belmar Inn on 12th Avenue in Belmar is a block away from the beach. Richard Cowen/NJ Advance Media for NJ.Com A state appellate court has upheld Belmars approval of a developers plan to demolish the Belmar Inn and a home next door that borough officials have dubbed an animal house, to make way for condominiums. The appellate ruling affirms the Belmar zoning boards 2023 decision to grant 11 variances to allow the developer, Edelman Investment Group, to construct a four-story, 24-unit condominium on 12th Avenue, a block from the ocean. The ruling gives the green light to a project that was first proposed in 2017 but was opposed by some residents. The Belmar Inn is taking reservations and expected to remain open till the end of 2025, but this summer is likely to be its last. We are still going to be open for 2025 and most likely into 2026, said inn owner Dave Mavani. Some property owners on 12th Avenue sued to stop the project, fearing that the condo building would block ocean breezes and bring more noise and traffic into the neighborhood. They argued the Belmar zoning board acted arbitrarily and unreasonably when it granted the variances for the projects height, footprint and setback. The appellate court, in upholding a lower court ruling, rejected that argument. It found that the Belmar zoning boards decision to grant variances was consistent with the borough master plan, which encourages the phasing out of rooming houses. The Belmar inn is one of the last rooming houses left in Belmar, as the Jersey Shore town continues its shift from rowdy summer resort to a quieter, all-year-round community. Another old seaside rooming house, The White House, was demolished in 2023 and replaced by townhouses. That leaves the Mayfair Hotel on Ocean Avenue (at 10th Avenue) as the last oceanfront rooming house in Belmar. We are a town in transition, said William J. Shipers, one of the partners in the Edelman Investment Group. Shipers said the plan is for a high-end condominium with a rooftop terrace to replace the Belmar Inn, which has stood on 12th Avenue for about 80 years and offers cheap accommodations. The plan also calls for demolition of the so-called animal house next door to the Belmar Inn, which borough officials have complained is overrun by party crowd in the summertime, according to the ruling. According to Booking.com, a room at the Belmar Inn costs $125 for a weeknight in July, the height of the summer season. Cheap rooms tend to draw a clientele that is younger, rowdier and more transient which the borough doesnt want, according to the ruling. Borough officials testified in favor of the condo project when it was re-introduced in 2021. They argued that demolishing the Belmar Inn would remove a blight on the neighborhood, while creating more parking and increasing property values, according to the ruling. Public commentators who supported the proposed development felt it was the only way to get rid of the Belmar Inn, the appellate court wrote. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com. . The holy month of Ramadan has begun. CANVA Over 300,000 Muslims across New Jersey began observing the holy month of Ramadan on Friday. For about a month, Muslims pray, reflect, perform community service, donate to charity, and fast, refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan is very important to us as Muslims not just in New Jersey but throughout the entire world, said Aya Elamroussi, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations New Jersey (CAIR-NJ). We focus on reigniting and connecting with our lord during those 30 days. Its the most communal time of the year, she added. And people just want to gather and give. Heres what to know about Ramadan, according to CAIR-NJ. Q: When does Ramadan start and end? A: Muslims follow the lunar calendar based on the cycles of the moon. So, the exact start and end dates for the month-long holiday can vary. Ramadan began on the evening of Feb. 28 and will end on March 30 or 31. Q: Why do Muslims fast during Ramadan? A: Fasting is one of the five key pillars of the religion and is a time to develop self-discipline and spiritual growth. Q: What does a typical day look like for a Muslim during Ramadan? A: Muslims who fast wake up before sunrise to eat suhoor, the meal that will fuel them while they fast. Throughout the day, they wont eat or drink anything even water. Then, at sunset, they break their fast at iftar, a meal that marks the end of the fast for the day and is typically eaten with friends and family. They also focus more intently on daily prayers, adding others performed during Ramadan. Muslims will also donate money and volunteer throughout the month, a practice known as Zakat and Sadaqah. Q: How do you respect someone who is fasting if you are not? A: Acknowledging the faith by saying Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Mubarak can go a long way. Additionally, if eating in front of Muslims, be mindful that they may not have eaten or drank for hours. Q: Why are there crescent moon and lantern symbols in decorations for Ramadan? A: The crescent moon symbols represent what the moon looks like at the start of Ramadan, and lanterns symbolize the light of knowledge and the illumination of the soul. Many households have these decorations. Q: What is Eid ul-Fitr, and how is it related to Ramadan? A: Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of fasting and means festival of breaking the fast. During Eid ul-Fitr, Muslims celebrate by donating to charity, participating in family and friend gatherings, giving gifts, engaging with the community, and participating in a special large congregational prayer, typically held at mosques, convention centers, or parks. Amira Sweilem may be reached at asweilem@njadvancemedia.com. Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom. On Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, people are blessed with ashes as a sign of grace, penitence and relationship with God. Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media Ash Wednesday, in most Christian denominations, is the beginning of the Lenten season leading up to Easter Sunday. It is observed with a service where the faithful are marked with ashes. Many adults, who are able to do so, fast or at least abstain from meat. On this day, you might see someone wearing smudged ashes on their forehead. Maybe you are a practicing Christian and plan to fast this Ash Wednesday, and you are wondering what you can and cannot eat on the first day of Lent. Here is what you need to know about this first day of Lent in most Christian denominations and the rules of fasting. Ash Wednesday for most Christian denominations is the beginning of the Lenten season. It takes place six and a half weeks before Easter Sunday. It is observed with a service where the faithful are marked with ashes. Many adults fast or at least abstain from eating meat. It is not a holy day of obligation, but it is one of the most attended services that do not fall on a Sunday during the liturgical year. Catholics and some protestants, including Anglicans and Lutherans, also hold Ash Wednesday services. Eastern Orthodox churches do not follow this schedule because they begin Lent on a Monday, and therefore, do not observe Ash Wednesday. Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday. Most adults are expected to fast and eat only one full meal per day. Two smaller meals can count for this requirement. The fasting requirements are for those ages 18-59 while abstinence from meat starts at age 14, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with certain health conditions are exempt from fasting on Ash Wednesday and during Lent. There are several foods that are acceptable to eat on Ash Wednesday. These foods include milk, eggs, fish, grains, fruits and vegetables, according to Forklift and Palate. There also are no limits on most beverages you can have on Ash Wednesday so coffee and tea would be acceptable. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. Alyssa Testa and Reid Stapp, honored for their quick actions in saving a student from choking, stand with Ridgeway Elementary School Principal Sarah Thiffault at the Feb. 26 Manchester Township School District Board of Education meeting. Manchester Township School District During a recent lunch period at Ridgeway Elementary School in Ocean County, lunch aide Alyssa Testa noticed a student began choking. She quickly sprang into action and called over her colleague, Reid Stapp, for help. I saw that they were in distress and my first reaction was to help, Testa said Wednesday. Stapp, a physical education teacher at the Manchester Township elementary school, immediately went over to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the student. The object was dislodged and the student was safely walked to the school nurse for further evaluation, a spokesperson for the district said. The childs identity and grade level are being withheld for privacy reasons, but school officials said the student is doing well. According to Stapp, who has been a teacher for 17 years, the Manchester Township School District regularly trains its teachers in CPR, AED and first aid. So, when he approached the situation, he knew exactly what to do. I went over to the student, identified the situation... then really, there wasnt anything other than falling back on the training I had received to help dislodge that item from the students throat, Stapp said. Both teachers, who have strong community ties to the district, were honored at a board of education meeting on Feb. 26. Testa, who has been a lunch aide for three years, attended Ridgeway Elementary and graduated from Manchester High School in 2019. Its more to me than just a job. Its a community and a family to me, she said Stapps daughter attends the school, and he said he always wanted to teach and live in the same town. What we did was really positive and it was a good feeling that everybody knew what to do, when to do it, and we had a great outcome, the physical education teacher said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Stephen A. Smith attends the Disney 2024 Upfront at the North Javits Center on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP A former Republican lawmaker blasted ESPN host Stephen A. Smith after he offered some praise toward conservative mouthpiece Candace Owens. Former Rep. Joe Walsh criticized Smith for his comments on Owens, who he spoke with on his namesake show The Stephen A. Smith Show. Smith said during his Tuesday episode that while he does not agree with many of Owenss political positions, he would not think to question her intelligence. Walsh took aim at Smith over the interview, pointing out that Owens has been at the center of multiple controversies, including promoting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says that Owens has come to embrace and promote antisemitic tropes and anti-Israel rhetoric. Hey @stephenasmith, do your homework. @RealCandaceO is a well-known antisemite, shes publicly stated that French President Macrons wife is actually a man, and shes pals with Andrew Tate, he of the rape & human trafficking fame. Im all about conversations with all kinds of folks, but do better than this Stephen A, Walsh wrote on social media platform X. Hey @stephenasmith, do your homework. @RealCandaceO is a well-known antisemite, shes publicly stated that French President Macrons wife is actually a man, and shes pals with Andrew Tate, he of the rape & human trafficking fame. Im all about conversations with all kinds of https://t.co/qR0OEqaGjb Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) March 5, 2025 Smith said that he looks forward to having a longer conversation with Owens in the future. Every truth aint meant to be heard. Yes, its true. Sometimes it is about the way you say something instead of what youre just saying. But far more often than not, the truth is supposed to usurp everything, Smith said. And when that young lady speaks, dont even think about challenging her intelligence. Dont even think about challenging her ability to articulate her point of view. You better know what the hell youre talking about when you come at her. I cant wait until she and I sit face to face one day and volley back and forth about what we feel, what we believe, what we stand for, and why, because Im certainly different than her when it comes to some political positions she has taken and beyond, there is no doubt about that, but I cant deny she sharp as a tack, he said. And you damn well better be if you dont come for her, because ladies and gentlemen, like it or not, Candace Owens. Shes not going anywhere. Even when you thought she was gone, shes around, he added. The Daily Wire severed ties with Owens last year after she embraced antisemitic rhetoric and feuding with former co-host Ben Shapiro, who founded the conservative outlet. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP) AP Turns out, the Congressional Republicans werent the only ones who liked President Donald Trumps address on Tuesday night but the results were mixed and deceptive. On the one hand, according to CNNs instant polling, only 44% of viewers had a very positive reaction to Trumps 100-minute speech the longest such address by any president. Thats a historically low number. In comparison, in their initial addresses, every other recent president did better: Joe Biden polled 51% very positive in 2021; Barack Obama polled 57% in 2009; and George W. Bush polled 66% very positive in 2001. Even Trump polled 57% very positive in 2017. But nevertheless, overall, 69% of those polled by CNN had a very positive or somewhat positive reaction to the speech, while 31% had a negative reaction. CNN says its poll sample is 14% more Republican than the population, which would make the poor showing in the very positive category telling while explaining the better numbers when you zoom out. In CBS polling, 76% approved and 23% disapproved. CBS did not reveal the partisan makeup of its respondents. The network reported that most viewers who tuned in say Trumps speech made them feel hopeful and proud. Most viewers described the president as presidential, inspiring, and more unifying than divisive. A majority also called it entertaining. All this, even though Trumps approval ratings are historically bad and theyre likely to get worse, according to CNN political analyst Harry Enten. Enten, appearing before Trumps national address on Tuesday night, couldnt find even the slightest good news for Trump in the networks new polling. The word here that I would use to describe Trump is awful, Enten told host Kate Bolduan. He later repeated the bad news: He is historically doing awful, awful, awful ... weak, weak, weak. Enten said that at this point in his presidency, Trump is beating only one other president himself. Trumps current approval rating of plus-1, while historically horrible, is better than his minus-8 at the start of his first term in 2017. According to The Associated Press: Trumps address on Tuesday night was relentlessly partisan, boasting about his election victory and criticizing Democrats for failing to recognize his accomplishments. The hard edge reflected Trumps steamroller approach to his second term, brushing aside opposition and demanding loyalty throughout the federal government. Trump set a tone of division almost from his first words, calling his predecessor Joe Biden the worst president in history and chiding Democrats as so stinting in their praise of him they would not even grant him perfunctory applause. He placed himself alongside the countrys first president, George Washington, when discussing what he said were the flood of early achievements of his second term. He was speaking to a house divided. Republicans stood and cheered. For Democrats, it was silence, with occasional shouts of protest, with the only applause when he announced that Ukraine wanted to restart peace negotiations. Trump leaned hard into cultural flashpoints his opposition to affirmative action, diversity programs and transgender rights. He inflated the scale of his victory in November, the margin of which was actually among the smallest in American history. The tenor was more that of a campaign speech than an address to Congress. In a stunning breach of protocol and a measure of the fractious politics, one Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, stood up and shouted at Trump, gesturing toward the president with his cane. He refused to sit when asked by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who ordered him removed. Trump described Democrats as a lost cause. There is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy, he said. The AP contributed to this report. Stephen Colbert auditioned for "SNL" but did not get hired. Scott Kowalchyk/CBS Stephen Colbert had some harsh words for Democrats after President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress on Tuesday night. Colbert, the CBS late night host, tore into Trumps speech during his Tuesday show and criticized the address for being filled with useful lies, and applauded by useless idiots. At one point, he took aim at Democrats during the speech for silently holding up placards that read false and lies. The man barked out one appalling claim after another, but dont you worry: Democrats are getting ready to fight back with their little paddles, Colbert said before playing a clip of Democrats holding up false signs. That is how you save democracy: by quietly dissenting. Or bidding on an antique tea set. It was hard to tell what was going on, Colbert joked. Im just kidding that was very cool Democrats. In fact, I made my own sign, he added. He then held up a placard that read: Try Doing Something. Stephen Colbert mocks the Democrats' placards at Trumps address to Congress last night "Democrats came ready to fight back with their little paddles. That is how you save democracy: by quietly dissenting. Or bidding on an antique tea set. It was hard to tell what was going on." pic.twitter.com/YmjhELCghj Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) March 5, 2025 He also jabbed Democratic women for wearing purple as a sign of protest. Many women on the Democratic side showed up dressed in fuchsia, he said. Its the kind of bold protest that says, This is a test print and your magenta cartridge is working. Earlier in the monologue, he praised U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) for being escorted out of the speech after he repeatedly shouted, No mandate!. Ultimately [Speaker Mike] Johnson called in the sergeant-at-arms to remove 77-year-old Texas congressman Al Green, Colbert said. Now, some people, some people have questioned why so much muscle was needed to remove one old man with a cane. But it turns out it was for a serious reason: when security searched him, they found that he had smuggled in a spine. Trumps prime-time speech Tuesday was the latest marker in his takeover of the nations capital, where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake Americas place in the world. The presidents address, clocking in at a record 99 minutes, added up to a defiant sales pitch for the policies that Trump promised during his campaign and leaned into during his first weeks back in office. Trump pledged to keep delivering sweeping change to rescue the nation from what he described as destruction and mistakes left by his predecessor. He seldom addressed his comments directly to the American people, who are trying to keep up with the recent upheaval, while repeatedly needling the Democratic lawmakers seated before him. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who delivered the Democratic response following Trumps speech, allowed that America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Donald Trumps agenda is still not winning the approval of many voters. The new YouGov/The Economist poll found that Trumps favorability rating is underwater with just 47% of registered voters viewing him favorablyone of the lowest ratings during his term. Another 52% said they viewed the president unfavorably, according to the poll. The poll found that registered voters were more divided on Vice President JD Vance. Forty-five percent said they had a favorable view of him while 48% said they had an unfavorable view. When it came to billionaire Elon Musk, who is spearheading the administrations efforts to cut federal spending, 52% of registered voters viewed him unfavorably while 44% viewed him favorably. YouGov: President Trump Approval Among Adults Approve: 48% [=] Disapprove: 46% [+1] Among registered voters Approve: 49% [+1] Disapprove: 49% [+2] [shift vs last week] Do you support or oppose tariffs on... Canada: 36-54 (net: -18) Europe: 36-51 InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 5, 2025 The survey also found that more voters had a favorable rating on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy than an unfavorable one. Forty-seven percent said they had a favorable view while 37% said they did not. The poll comes after Zelenskyys combative meeting with the U.S. leaders last week, where Trump and Vance berated him for being disrespectful. The poll also found that Trumps tariffs remain unpopular. Trump announced earlier this week that tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China will go into effect on Tuesday despite economists repeated warnings that it will raise costs for U.S. consumers. The poll found that more than half54%of registered voters oppose implementing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada. Just 36% support the move, according to the results. Tariffs on Mexico were also unpopular, with 49% saying they oppose 25% tariffs on the country and 41% supporting it. It also found that 48% of registered voters oppose tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports into the U.S. and 51% disapprove of tariffs on imports from the European Union. Trump has not announced any tariffs targeting the European Union. Registered voters were more supportive of tariffs on China, with 53% saying they support the additional 10% tariff. The poll was conducted among 1,491 registered voters March 1-4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. President Donald Trumps approval ratings are historically bad and theyre likely to get worse, according to CNN political analyst Harry Enten. Enten, appearing before Trumps national address on Tuesday night, couldnt find even the slightest good news for Trump in the networks new polling. The word here that I would use to describe Trump is awful, Enten told host Kate Bolduan. He later repeated the bad news: He is historically doing awful, awful, awful ... weak, weak, weak. Enten said that at this point in his presidency, Trump is beating only one other president himself. Trumps current approval rating of plus-1, while historically horrible, is better than his minus-8 at the start of his first term in 2017. Bolduan joked that Trump is making gains. Hes making gains, but hes doing worse than everybody else, Enten said. The average president at this point, is plus-27 points on their net approval rating. Enten pointed out that Trump is polling miserably on the issue ... he was most elected to fix, and he said he would do it on day one, which would be the economy. Trump who barely addressed the economy in his speech other than to blame the former administration is currently at minus-4 on the economy, according to CNNs polling. Thats far worse than he was in 2017, when he was plus-8. This is historically the worst, going back in polling, at this point in a presidency, Enten said. Historically, the average is plus-15 points. He is doing nearly 20 points worse than the average president when it comes to the economy, on net approval rating. This is not good. If this number holds, you can guarantee his overall approval rating will go down, and it could take his entire presidency with him. When asked what effect tariffs are likely to play, Enten predicted more doom for Trump. CNNs polling shows that 64% of Americans oppose tariffs on Canada, while 59% are against tariffs on Mexico. Trumps initial tariffs have targeted Canada, Mexico and China, while sending the U.S. stock market into a 1,000-point-plus nose dive over Monday and Tuesday. While all three nations have talked tough and have threatened actions to cripple the U.S. economy in retaliation, experts say Canada and Mexico could be driven into a recession, which, in turn would hurt the U.S.. If that happens, Trump will be to blame. These tariffs, in my mind, will only bring [Trump] down further, Enten said. Again, historically awful on the economy at this point, and the tariffs, I think, will only lead to further deterioration. Americans dont like the idea of prices going up. That leads to approval ratings going down. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo at the National Palace in Guatemala City, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool Is Secretary of State Marco Rubio off to a rocky start with President Donald Trump? Rubio has been thrust into the global spotlight as Trump continues to upend years of U.S. foreign policy during his first two months in office. Rubio, who used to be a top supporter of Ukraine, has reportedly been expressing frustrations with the Trump administration since undertaking his new role, according to Vanity Fairs Gabriel Sherman. Citing four prominent Republicans close to the White House, Vanity Fair reported that Rubio has told people he is upset by his lack of foreign policy influence despite being, on paper at least, the administrations top diplomat. One of the unnamed sources told Sherman that they felt as though Rubio is often the last to know when foreign policy decisions are made. Two of the sources told Sherman that Rubios frustrations began to start after Trump appointed nine foreign policy envoys tasked with high-profile assignments, like ending the war in Gaza. Another reason for Rubios reported disapproval was Trumps decision to revoke the security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this year. Marco and Pompeo are close, so that decision was egg on Marcos face, the source said, according to Vanity Fair. Rubiowho received unanimous bipartisan support during the Senate confirmation hearingswas mocked on social media after Trumps chaotic White House meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. Rubio lauded Trump for his behavior during the meeting despite the backlash he received. Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you! Rubio wrote on X. Rubios post drew some rebuke on X, with many users pointing out that he looked uncomfortable during the meeting with Zelenskyy. After Trump vowed to take over the Panama Canal during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, he seemed ready to blame Rubio if it was not successful. And we have Marco Rubio in charge. Good luck, Marco. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong, Trump said. Trump: Good luck, Marco. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. pic.twitter.com/dJqxJ824cS Acyn (@Acyn) March 5, 2025 Sherman wrote that one of the sources predicted that Rubio will not last throughout Trumps term. The question is how long Rubio will support the administration as Trump drives American foreign policy into uncharted waters. One of the sources I spoke with speculated that Rubio will only last in the job 18 months before he resigns, Sherman wrote. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) AP CNN political analyst Van Jones knows why Democrats were heckling President Donald Trump throughout the longest presidential Congressional address in history on Tuesday night a speech that likely included a record number of lies. As a CNN panel chuckled that the 99-minute speech was as long as the movie Wicked, Jones picked up the joke and ran with it in the networks postgame show. The problem is, like Wicked, its fantasy, and then you come back home. You gotta deal with reality, Jones said. In the speech, he loves the military. In reality, hes cutting the [Veterans Administration] and throwing veterans out of work. In the speech, he loves cops. In reality, hes pardoning everybody from January 6 who beat the hell out of cops. In the speech, he holds up this cancer kid that everybody fell in love with. In reality, hes cutting cancer research. In the speech, he talks about a strong economy. In reality, its tariffs and the stock markets in free-fall. In the speech, hes got MAHA Make America Healthy Again and my good buddy, Bobby Kennedy Jr. [as Secretary of Health and Human Services], but in reality, theres measles ripping through Texas. There are more measles cases in Texas than there are transgender athletes in the country. So theres a speech which is ... you know, fantasy. And then theres a reality thats getting worse and worse. In his prime-time speech, Trump said little about the cost of living, but instead trotted out the greatest hits from his campaign rallies a long string of grievances, falsehoods and exaggerations, while targeting immigrants and transgender Americans. Trump also maintained his lust for Greenland and the Panama Canal, and he assured the world that the U.S. would get them both one way or another. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who delivered the Democratic response following Trumps speech, allowed that America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy. Emboldened after overcoming impeachments in his first term, outlasting criminal prosecutions in between his two administrations and getting a tight grip on the GOP-led Congress, Trump has embarked on a mission to dismantle parts of the federal government, remake the relationship with Americas allies and slap on tariffs that have sparked a North American trade war. The AP contributed to this report. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. The Africa Group of Six (G6) a coalition of African mobile network operators says that while they have made considerable progress in their collective goal to expand mobile coverage in sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of people who live in covered areas can't afford handsets to use mobile services. The G6 which comprises Airtel, Axian Telecom, Ethio Telecom, MTN, Orange, and Vodacom met on Monday at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona with key stakeholders from the telecoms industry, global institutions, and the public sector to assess progress in driving digital transformation across the continent, reinforce commitments, and outline strategic actions going forward. Much of the focus of the discussion was on handset affordability, which the G6 says is largely responsible for the 60% usage gap, which represents 710 million people who live within network coverage but aren't subscribing to mobile services because even low-end smartphones remain too expensive for them. G6 operators said that they had made good progress in areas such as pushing for fiscal policy reforms for example, by convincing the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to expand its report on lowering taxes on low-end smartphones to cover 52 African nations. The G6 also said it has been engaging with the World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition, to enhance access to affordable internet-enabled devices. The group has also developed regulatory principles for fair contributions from large traffic originators and non-terrestrial networks (e.g., satellites) to ensure a more balanced digital ecosystem that enables economic resilience and inclusion. Looking ahead, the G6 intends to focus on advocating for policies that will make mobile devices and services more affordable, such as eliminating sector-specific taxes on low-end smart devices and mobile money usage. The G6 said it will also strengthen its collaboration with finance ministries, the World Bank and the IMF to highlight the mobile industrys impact on economic growth. It will also push for regulatory frameworks that attract equitable investment and partnerships to close the coverage gap, and encourage infrastructure sharing across digital ecosystem players. The G6 also reported at the meeting that it has aligned with initiatives such as Mission 300, spearheaded by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB), to expand electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030. It has produced a report outlining pathways for telcos to integrate green energy solutions into their operations, particularly in off-grid and underserved areas. Saigon Asset Management (SAM) revealed plans on Tuesday to launch a data centre campus in southern Vietnam with a targeted investment of up to US$1.5 billion, whilst also launching a US$300 million fund to boost data centre investment in the country. The SAM DigitalHub is planned as a 50-hectare, 150MW data centre campus that can be rapid scaled to meet growing demand from international operators and hyperscalers. It also targets an initial renewable energy capacity of 50MW. SAM will collaborate with Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) a government-to-government (G2G) platform formed by energy and urban solutions provider Sembcorp and industrial and urban real estate developer Becamex to develop the DigitalHub campus. The first phase is scheduled to be completed sometime im 2027. The three key obstacles that have deterred our hyperscaler clients from entering Vietnam have been licensing, land, and power. By partnering with VSIP, we have successfully addressed these challenges, paving the way for the launch of our SAM DigitalHub, said SAM CEO Louis Nguyen in a statement. Nguyen told The Edge Malaysia that there is an estimated 200MW of data centre capacity in Vietnam, and the country will need to double that in the coming years to meet demand from foreign companies. In 2022, the Vietnamese government decreed that foreign tech companies would be required to store user data locally. Lake County Jail The Lake County Jail is located at 2293 N. Main St. in Crown Point. CROWN POINT County jails in Indiana and beyond have become a "revolving door" for individuals with serious mental illnesses who end up in state custody for committing a crime that could be directly correlated to their mental illness. Often left to voluntarily seek out treatment, this struggling population might not be able to seek out resources without extra support. While approximately 45 of the Lake County Jail's 900 incarcerated people receive treatment for serious mental illness on the jail's mental health floor, local judges and mental health experts say a portion of this population is in the jail for minor crimes that could include disorderly conduct, public intoxication or trespassing that could be resolved with treatment outside of the criminal justice system. Through a $3 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Administration distributed over four years, Lake County will offer an assisted outpatient treatment program that will bring together a team of supporters dedicated to helping these individuals who encounter the justice system manage their mental health under civil court jurisdiction. It is different from the felony court's Therapeutic Intervention Court, which serves a similar purpose for those charged in felony cases believed to contribute to their criminal behavior, or its Drug Treatment Court, designed for individuals with substance abuse disorders that may cause their interactions with the justice system. The program is set to formally launch April 1. "The criminal justice system is overwhelmed," said Brittany Kelly, Indiana's State Court Behavioral Health Administrator. "It has become the primary de facto entrance to seeking mental health treatment. [This program] is about finding a civil solution to a criminal problem where appropriate." Assisted outpatient treatment, known as AOT, is a program through which civil court judges can commit individuals with serious mental illness who might have a hard time adhering to voluntary mental health treatment on their own, according to the National Center for State Courts. Serious mental illness is defined as a major functional impairment that can interfere or limit one's ability to complete major life activities, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The program is authorized by state statute, Kelly said, and encouraged by the Indiana Supreme Court's Office of Behavioral Health, established in 2024 following the National Judicial Taskforce's 2023 report on state courts' response to treating those in need of mental health services. Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush serves on the committee that authored the report. Lake Circuit Court Judge Marissa McDermott, who will oversee the individuals who participate in the program, said the population of people whom the team has in mind for the program have likely received some sort of mental health service in the past, but they often lack the resources or support to consistently take medications or stick with a treatment program. "What's different about this is there's much more oversight and accountability," McDermott said. "With this grant, we're able to create the infrastructure to use the resources we're already using in a more effective way." The federal grant was issued in September 2024 to Regional Health Systems, who will use an annual allocation of $350,000 to facilitate the services, CEO William Trowbridge said. Program participants will work with a case manager, therapist and psychiatrist who will work to involve them in intensive outpatient therapy, encourage them to stay consistent with necessary medications and help with any other services they may need to stay compliant with the court order, such as housing or transportation. "I describe it as setting [participants] up to succeed," McDermott said. McDermott said when she has overseen mental health commitment cases in the past, she has only received updates on cases once a year or as ordered, depending on the case. Under this program, she anticipates the updates will be more frequent, such as once a month. Before the cases reach McDermott, Lake County Jail Mental Health Director William Mescall will send potential participants to Lake Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell. Mescall said he identified about 10 to 12 people in the jail whom he think could benefit from the program based on their circumstances and sent the list to Cantrell in January. Mescall said the jail is the largest inpatient mental health facility in Northwest Indiana. Most local inpatient centers have approximately 16 beds, but the jail has three times that many. "I see a lot of people come through the jail again and again," Mescall said. "I know their families and their living situation, so I can identify who would be able to benefit from treatment to lead them back into the community. People who have mental illness tend to stay [in jail] a lot longer than others." Cantrell, who oversees Lake County's Veteran's Treatment Court, will partner with prosecutors to examine each case and determine individual fitness for the program. They will add or remove names as they see fit. "There's a difference between a criminal with mental health issues and a person who has a mental health issues causing them to commit the crime," Cantrell said. "This is a really underserved population in our county. We're trying to give them oversight to keep them accountable." Trowbridge said the team does not have an exact timeframe for how long commitments will last, but believes the cases could range from 90 days to one year. Under Indiana's mental health commitment law, individuals can receive court-ordered treatment for up to 90 days. This timeframe can be extended as needed if a petition is filed with the court and the individual meets the requirements in the state statute. "The hope is that this decreases reliance on the criminal justice system and state hospitals," Trowbridge said of the program. "We expect to see less police intervention and fewer emergency room visits." Three piglets were stolen from an art exhibition in Copenhagen over the weekend after a provocative artist said they would be allowed to starve to death in a commentary about animal welfare in Denmark, one of the worlds largest pork exporters. The artist, Marco Evaristti, said in an interview on Monday that his exhibition, And Now You Care?, was meant to wake up the Danish society to the mistreatment of pigs, pointing to statistics that tens of thousands of pigs die each day because of poor conditions. I have some kind of voice as an artist to talk about the issue, Evaristti, 62, said. So I will share my thoughts about what I think about the treatment of the animals in Denmark. The exhibition, which opened on Friday inside a former butchers warehouse in the Meatpacking District of Copenhagen, included three live piglets that were caged by two shopping carts on a pile of straw. Large-scale paintings of the Danish flag and slaughtered pigs hung on the walls. President Trump goes to the Capitol this evening for his first address to a joint session of Congress since his return to the White House in January. The speech will offer him his most prominent platform so far to promote his sweeping transformation of the federal government and lay out his vision for the future. He has had a whirlwind first 43 days, a blitzkrieg of action, Luke Broadwater, our White House correspondent, told me. Now hes going to tout all of the things that hes done that he believes are good for the country. And he will be cheered by Republicans. There is nothing constitutionally mandated about the event. Its not technically a State of the Union speech. But every president since Ronald Reagan has used the address to reach a wide audience. And Trump, ever the performer, is not one to turn down an opportunity like that. The president promised to TELL IT LIKE IT IS during the speech, which is scheduled to begin shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern time. The Times will stream the address here, with live analysis from reporters. Here are three things to watch for: 1. Trump will probably mention Ukraine. The president has said he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, and he is expected to discuss his promise of a quick end to the war in Ukraine. But his support for Ukraine has seemed to erode: Recently he had a combative meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and then, last night, the U.S. temporarily suspended aid to the country. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday dismissed a sweeping lawsuit against three of the nations largest banks over what the agency had described as shoddy safeguards on their Zelle money transfer network that allowed scammers to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from customers. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Arizona in the waning days of the Biden administration, was an example of what the bureaus critics often denounce as rule-making by enforcement. Federal law requires banks to refund customers for unauthorized transactions made on their accounts by someone other than the account holder. But Zelle scams often trick victims into transferring cash themselves. Banks have said they have no responsibility for reimbursing customers for transactions they made themselves, even if they were deceived into doing so. Zelle is operated by Early Warning Services, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. The consumer bureau sued Early Warning and three of its owners Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo for allowing transactions that the agency said were fraudulent and totaled more than $800 million. It may not have been the best possible day for President Trump to declare to Congress that Americas momentum is back. Just before he spoke, the stock market fell almost into correction territory, the result of deep concerns about his bizarre decision to enact tariffs on what used to be two of the countrys closest allies. Though he announced that our confidence is back, the actual confidence of consumers, as measured by the Conference Board, has fallen by the largest amount since August 2021. The cost of Trumps disastrous first month back in office could be seen in the furious response of Democrats on the House floor. Many of them booed and catcalled throughout the opening moments of the speech, particularly when the president defied arithmetic by claiming he had a significant mandate because of his big lead in the popular vote. (He did not break 50 percent, and he beat Kamala Harris by less than 1.5 percentage points.) Some Democrats waved signs saying Musk steals, No king and Save Medicaid. Others wore pink as a protest color. And Representative Al Green of Texas shouted at the rostrum and refused the order of Speaker Mike Johnson to sit down. Finally both Green and Johnson got the spectacle they hoped for when the speaker had Green thrown out of the chamber. It was a first in the modern era, as so many other aspects of this term have been. For years, performative outbursts have been on the rise during presidential addresses to Congress. Joe Wilson of South Carolina told Barack Obama in 2009 that he lied; Nancy Pelosi tore up Trumps State of the Union speech in 2020; and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert hooted at President Joe Biden in 2022 and 2023. Whenever President Trump talks about Ukraine there is always something off, something missing, that makes you wonder what he is really up to and his brief remarks on Ukraine to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night were no exception. He crazily exaggerated how much the U.S. has contributed to Ukraines war effort as opposed to what our European allies have given. When he talked about the human toll of the war, he first mourned Russian young people and then Ukrainian young people as if they were both hit by a meteor, the one before the other. And he declared that he has received strong signals" from Vladimir Putin that he wants peace, but offered no details. If there is one thing that I have learned in journalism it is that when you dont call things by their real name, there is usually a reason you are hiding something, some motivation, some intent. How to explain that in Trumps case? Well, he is either the most pliant Western negotiator against the enemies of liberty since Neville Chamberlain, making concessions to the aggressor before talks have even started, or he actually prefers the friendship of Putin over our European allies and courageous Ukrainian democrats. The causes of the declines are not clear. But many public health researchers credit efforts to expand access to naloxone, a drug that can reverse an overdose, as well as more addiction treatment. Others point to changes in the drug supply itself variations in adulterants and potency can affect the rate of drug deaths. There is also some evidence that Mexican cartels have recently curtailed production of fentanyl. A White House spokesman did not respond to questions about Mr. Lutnicks sources of data. Determining the cause of death from drug overdoses often requires toxicology screening and other tests that can take weeks or months. Gathering the data from local authorities and bundling it up to a national level takes even longer. It takes a while, because its a resource issue, said Bob Anderson, the chief of statistical analysis and surveillance in the C.D.C.s center for health statistics, in a recent interview. Were all sort of used to watching CSI or NCIS where toxicology is ready in 15 minutes. But thats not typically the way it works. Its possible to look for signs in overdose trends at the local level. But because deaths can cluster overdoses can surge in a single neighborhood if there is a bad batch of drugs it is hard to get a nationally representative picture quickly. Compare recent drug deaths in two areas with more recent public data: In Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, a decline continues, while in King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, deaths spiked in November. Even the recent provisional data has its omissions. Hawre Jalal, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa who has studied trends in drug overdose mortality, said he worried that any numbers more recent than December 2023 might be too incomplete to fully understand the national picture. He said overdose deaths which spiked during the Covid pandemic may have simply returned to their more long-term upward trend. Im very hopeful that its declining, he said. I cant say that yet. By that conservative measure, it could take years to know whether Canada and Mexico have met the Trump administrations declared standard for tariff relief. Noah Weiland contributed reporting. They sat in call centers in Montreal and targeted older Americans, claiming to be grandchildren in need of bail money after an arrest. In all, federal prosecutors said, more than two dozen Canadians defrauded hundreds of vulnerable Americans out of $21 million over three years in what the authorities called a Grandparent Scam. On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Vermont announced that 25 Canadian nationals had been charged with conspiring to defraud Americans in 45 states. All of those accused are from Ontario or Quebec, and 23 had been arrested in Canada as of Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors said. According to prosecutors, the conspirators placed phone calls from centers in and near Montreal between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, as part of the scheme. Todays arrests are the result of domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada, Surete du Quebec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Michael J. Krol, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said in a statement on Tuesday. Tackling transnational crime is one of our greatest priorities and were working hand-in-hand with our neighbors to dismantle organized criminal groups that threaten our safety and security. The former Los Angeles fire chief lashed out publicly at Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday, telling the City Council that the mayor had made multiple false accusations when removing her from the departments top office for her handling of the devastating Palisades fire in January. The remarks by the former chief, Kristin Crowley, were not enough to persuade the Council to reinstate her. But she used the meeting to mount her first vigorous defense of her actions as fire chief since Ms. Bass demoted her on Feb. 21 amid ongoing acrimony between the two officials. The mayor accused the chief last month of inadequately preparing for the fire, failing to fully brief her on the impending danger, and refusing to prepare a report for the citys fire commission on the departments response. Ms. Bass said the lack of warning was to blame for her not canceling a diplomatic trip to Ghana. At least a dozen people died and nearly 7,000 structures were destroyed in the fire that ravaged much of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, one of two devastating blazes in Southern California that began on Jan. 7. During MWC Barcelona 2025, Huawei held the Industrial Digital and Intelligent Transformation Summit 2025, bringing together global customers and partners to explore innovative industrial digital and intelligent transformation practices. Together with its industry customers, Huawei unveiled 83 global showcases for industrial digital & intelligent transformation for 71 key scenarios. In addition, Huawei and its partners jointly launched 10 major solutions to accelerate intelligent transformation across various industries such as public sectors, education, finance, electric power, transportation, oil and gas, chemicals, and retail. Huawei proposed four key pathways to accelerate industrial intelligence Huawei believes that global industries are rapidly advancing towards intelligence and are poised to be among the greatest beneficiaries of the AI era. In his keynote speech, Leo Chen, Huawei's Corporate Senior Vice President and the President of Enterprise Sales, highlighted the four key pathways that are essential to accelerating intelligent transformation across industries. He stated, "Firstly, we must deeply integrate technologies into industry scenarios and build a target ICT architecture for industrial intelligent transformation based on industry requirements, pain points, and development stages. Secondly, we need to build advanced, AI-oriented ICT infrastructure to support the exponential growth of AI workloads. Thirdly, we must develop high-performance AI products that seamlessly integrate with open-source models, enhance AI development toolchains, and collaborate with industry partners, enabling AI to shift from technical showmanship to broad, inclusive accessibility, accelerating transformation in industries like healthcare and education. And fourthly, we must train ICT talent in a more targeted manner." The Lighthouse that guides industries forward: Huawei launched 83 global showcases and 10 major solutions for industrial intelligence Huawei takes action to demonstrate its commitment to offering customers first-hand experience. In collaboration with global customers across various industries, Huawei unveiled 83 global showcases, spanning 71 key scenarios of industrial digital and intelligent transformation. These showcases are open to customers worldwide, providing a valuable reference for their transformation journey. Moreover, Huawei continuously deepens its collaboration with partners across industries and jointly innovates with them. At the summit, Huawei launched 10 major solutions jointly developed with its partners to expedite industrial intelligence: the Inclusive Connectivity Digital Village Solution, Public Services Digitalization Solution, Digital Training Solution, Financial Data Center Resilience Solution, Intelligent Distribution Solution 2.0, Smart Railway Yard & Station Solution, Intelligent Multi-level Port Operation Management Solution, Intelligent Central Processing Facilities Solution, Intelligent Chemical Solution, and Smart Retail Solution 2.0. To better empowering inclusive AI adoption in every industry, Huawei launched AI inference appliances which support over 50 mainstream large models. By deploying these AI appliances, industry customers can access and deploy AI applications more easily and advance towards a more intelligent future. To cultivate ICT talents who integrate industry scenarios and technologies, Huawei also launched the Industry Elites in the ICT Classroom Program for enterprise customers; and the Leading ICT Talent Cultivation Program for universities. Global customers and partners share innovative practices Ciyong Zou, Deputy to the Director General and the Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, UNIDO, delivered the opening remarks at the event, stating that UNIDO-Huawei collaboration is a testament to the power of multi-stakeholder cooperation. Huawei has been instrumental in the AIM Global, playing a key role in accelerating the sustainable adoption of cutting-edge technologies. These partnerships reinforce our shared belief that technology must serve humanitynot the other way around. As we look ahead, three principles must guide us: equity, sustainability, and collaboration. Equity ensures that digital transformation benefits all, sustainability ensures that technology contributes to a greener future, and collaboration ensures that no country, industry, or entrepreneur is left behind. Mahmoud Bin Ahmed, CCO, Integrated Dawiyat, pointed out that As a subsidiary of the SEC, Dawiyat is a fully integrated digital infrastructure provider, we take fibers as strategic assets to support SEC for highly reliable digital power services and Saudi Arabia 10Gbps society strategy. One fiber for multi services can empower more than power, we commit to provide smart grid communication with premium user experience and leverage our world-leading neutral infrastructure for digital economy growth in Saudi Arabia. Gil Brasileiro Fernandes, ICT Services Manager, Petrobras, pointed out that For Petrobras, digital innovation is not just a choice, but the path to a more efficient, safer, and sustainable future. Petrobras believes that we can only achieve digitalization by investing in robust and scalable infrastructure to support digital operations; prioritizing solutions that enhance efficiency and safety in operations; using intelligent devices to promote mobility and collaboration and transforming connectivity into a competitive advantage. Miguel Lopez-Valverde, Minister for Digitalization of the Community of Madrid, Spain, said that: To address the digital transformation process, Comunidad de Madrid, through the Digitalization Strategy 2023-2026, has reformulated its vision, mission and values, with a clear orientation towards citizens and businesses, making them the true protagonists. Comunidad de Madrid will be the leading digitalization region in Europe. Guillaume Portier, EVP, VusionGroup, said: " At VusionGroup, we aim to help build a more sustainable future by digitizing physical stores, as they play a pivotal role in this respect. By partnering with Huawei, we design innovations that serve this purpose, driving a greater impact for business and society. " Pioneering the in-depth integration of digital and intelligent technologies and industry scenarios The 1200 m2 Huawei Enterprise Business exhibition area features three themes: Accelerating Industrial Intelligence, Innovative ICT Infrastructure, and Partner Collaboration for Mutual Success. The exhibition highlights the deep integration of digital and intelligent technologies with industries, and the joint innovations and practices by Huawei, as well as its global partners and customers. The Accelerating Industrial Intelligence area showcased Huawei's cutting-edge scenario-based solutions and the latest practices of industries, such as public utilities, government, education, healthcare, finance, transportation, electric power, oil and gas, mining, ISP and Internet, manufacturing, and retail. The Innovative ICT Infrastructure area fully demonstrated the Intelligent Campus and Intelligent Data Center scenarios, which presented Huawei's latest products and portfolios in fields like data communication, all-optical network, data storage, and Huawei Cloud. Through continuous technological innovation, Huawei has enabled enterprise customers to build their intelligent, efficient, and reliable ICT infrastructure. The Partner Collaboration for Mutual Success area presented Huawei's latest partner policies for the commercial market and distribution business, as well as partner toolkits, marketable and star solutions, and more through various interactive demos that are easy to install and maintain. Additionally, Huawei held a special event for its partners in the commercial market and distribution business, showcasing solutions for common scenarios, AI appliances, tools and digital platforms that support easy maintenance and service delivery, as well as a simulated HUAWEI eKit store. This allowed commercial partners and engineers an exclusive and immersive experience through interactive and in-depth exchanges. Some are bringing fired federal workers. Others plan to hand out stickers accusing Elon Musk of stealing Social Security. Several will boycott President Trumps speech altogether. Congressional Democrats are planning to use Mr. Trumps first address to a joint session on Capitol Hill since returning to the White House to protest his agenda and his actions by skipping it, wearing messages of dissent, or by packing the House chamber with Americans who have been adversely affected by the administrations actions. The state of the union is that the president is spitting in the face of the law and he is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will, Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. She said she would not attend Mr. Trumps address and instead spend the evening meeting with constituents who are affected by the administrations cuts. More than a dozen Democrats have announced they would be bringing fired federal workers as their guests to the speech. Several have invited fired veterans to highlight what they say is a disproportionate and unfair targeting of former service members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving to terminate Pentagon offices and positions that focus on preventing and responding to civilian harm during U.S. combat operations, according to three defense officials. Employees at the Pentagons Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response office, which deals with policy matters related to limiting the risk to noncombatants, were informed on Monday that their office would be closed, the officials said. They were also told that the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which handles training and procedures, would close as well. The Pentagon is likely to cut all positions at combatant commands around the world, like Central Command and Africa Command, that work to mitigate and assess risks to civilians during airstrikes and other military operations. The Justice Department plans to drop a Biden-era challenge to Idahos law banning abortion in nearly all circumstances, a move that could end access to most abortions for women in the state whose pregnancy poses serious health risks, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The decision represents one of the first major steps under President Trump to roll back former Attorney General Merrick B. Garlands efforts to blunt the impact of the Supreme Courts 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The Trump administration plans to dismiss its claims in the above case, without prejudice as early as Wednesday, a lawyer with the departments civil division wrote in an email to lawyers for the states largest hospital system. The action would effectively lift a federal appellate courts hold on parts of the near-total ban, which was passed by the states Republican-controlled Legislature in 2020 in anticipation of the nullification of the national right to an abortion. President Trump announced the capture of a top leader of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan who helped plan the 2021 attack on the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members and dozens of other people. We have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice, Mr. Trump said during his address to Congress on Tuesday. Current and former officials said the United States had provided intelligence to Pakistan that led to its capture of the leader, Mohmmad Sharifullah, who helped plot the attack on the Abbey Gate entrance to the Kabul airport. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif of Pakistan said that Mr. Sharifullah, an Afghan national, had been arrested by Pakistani security forces in the border region with Afghanistan. Axios first reported details of Mr. Sharifullahs arrest. Top congressional Democrats on military, intelligence and foreign policy matters on Tuesday accused President Trump and Elon Musk of gravely undermining national security by aligning with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and dismantling the federal security work force at a perilous time. Since taking office a little more than a month ago, the president has alienated nearly every international partner and ally we have, leaving us isolated in an increasingly dangerous world as Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China work together, said the blistering statement signed by eight leading Democrats in the Senate and the House. The statement, written by lawmakers who are typically more restrained in their comments given their sensitive roles on security issues, contained some of the partys most pointed criticism yet of Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk just hours before the president was to address a joint session of Congress. It questioned the motives of the two men and argued they were steadily weakening the United States, providing an opening for the nations adversaries. Make no mistake, the Democrats wrote, this is a concerted effort by Trump and Musk to dismantle our system of government and exploit our weakness to consolidate power that benefits the very countries threatening our national security. Those hoping to recall Ms. Bass must first clear several hurdles, however. Once their campaign is approved, they must gather 330,282 valid signatures of Los Angeles voters to qualify the question for the ballot. Ms. Shanahan said last month that she believed it would cost $4 million to collect 400,000 signatures. And in recent years, several attempts to remove officials in Los Angeles have failed to gather enough signatures to make the ballot. In 2022, a high-profile effort to recall George Gascon, the district attorney at the time, did not collect enough valid signatures. Attempts to recall Los Angeles City Council members have also failed. Generally speaking, recalls are uphill battles, because, by definition, youre trying to fire somebody who you just hired and you need something fairly cataclysmic to happen in order to get a successful recall, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. In this case, we did have something cataclysmic. The last time a recall made the ballot in Los Angeles was in 1984, and the last time voters there recalled an elected official was 1979, said Joshua Spivak, a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center at the University of California, Berkeleys law school and the author of a book about the history of recall elections. Doug Herman, a Democratic strategist representing the mayor, called the recall effort nothing more than another extreme right-wing political stunt designed to divide Los Angeles when we need to move forward. And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And were working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think were going to get it one way or the other, were going to get it. We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. Its a very small population but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security. America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism. Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. This was a very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly over 42 people so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a horrible day. Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, Wow, maybe this is my chance. Thats how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people. I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones, and theyre all in our hearts tonight. Just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big call. Everyone one of them called, and everybody was on the line, and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy. As happy as you can be, under those circumstances. Their child brother, sister, son, daughter was killed for no reason whatsoever. In the Middle East, were bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations: the Abraham Accords. And now were going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People have been talking about that so much lately with everything going on, with Ukraine and Russia. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. Its a rough neighborhood, actually. The properties are not currently on the market, but the ledger reflects the administrations intent to sell off government-owned real estate. The General Services Administration will consider and evaluate all serious offers, according to an agency spokeswoman. The effect could be felt in regions across the country. Buildings used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were identified as disposable. Social Security Administration offices across the country were also marked for potential sale including a 534,000-square-foot regional office in Philadelphia and field offices in New Hampshire, western Pennsylvania, and Saginaw, Mich. In New York City, the properties included not only the offices used by the U.S. delegation to the U.N., which overlooks the U.N., but also two downtown buildings that house offices for federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York and the I.R.S. Federal office towers in Chicago and Boston were included on the sales ledger; U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, both Democrats, have offices in those buildings. The Chicago building includes more than a million square feet and outposts of the I.R.S. and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Boston tower is more than 800,000 square feet and houses offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Labor Department and others. This plan raises serious concerns, Ms. Warren said in a statement. As Donald Trump and Elon Musk dismantle our government, piece by piece, and sell it for parts, its the seniors relying on Social Security, the veterans looking for health care, and entrepreneurs applying for small business loans that are paying the price. Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response. Canada will be implementing 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time. Now, its not in my habit to agree with The Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though youre a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. I want to speak first, directly, to the American people. We dont want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. And we dont want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. Markets are down, and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country. Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both. They have chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between. What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy. Because that will make it easier to annex us, is the second half of his thought. Now first of all, thats never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state. Because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all arent willing to pay. A sweeping history of Native Americans and a study of the creation of the port of Los Angeles in the 19th century have won this years Bancroft Prize, one of the most distinguished honors for scholars of American history. Kathleen DuVals Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, published by Random House, was described by the prize jurors as a seamless panorama of 1,000 years of American history, which draws on both written records and Native oral histories to tie together the stories of the more than 500 Indigenous nations who inhabit what is now the United States. By crafting a historical narrative that introduces readers to a new national story, the jurors write, DuVal helps explain the Indigenous cultural and political renaissance of our own age. DuVal, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is part of a new wave of scholars of Native America, who challenge the idea that the defeat of Indigenous people was inevitable, and who emphasize their resilience and continued cultural vitality. Hamilton Cain, reviewing the 752-page volume in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, called it intimate yet comprehensive, adding, No single volume can adequately depict the gamut of Indigenous cultures, but DuVals comes close. The second winner, James Tejanis A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America, published by W.W. Norton, reconstructs the complex interactions between 19th-century engineers, merchants, military, Native tribes and others that turned the tiny San Pedro estuary into what is today the busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere. Turkish operator Turkcell and tech vendor Nokia have signed an agreement to elevate fixed broadband performance and customer experience across the Turkcell network by using Nokias AI-powered fixed network analytics solution. The deployment, says Nokia, will provide a consolidated, real-time view of network performance across home and access domains, serving three million fixed broadband subscribers across Turkey, with additional plans for future expansion. This initiative, it adds, sets a new benchmark for fixed analytics in Turkey by extending AI-driven automation beyond traditional network monitoring. Turkcell and Nokia will develop and validate machine learning (ML) use cases using Agentic AI, applying predictive analytics and anomaly detection directly to live networks. Through joint field trials, technology demonstrations and ecosystem collaboration, the aim is to enhance decision-making, improve operational efficiency, and contribute to global fixed analytics standards. The solution will also enable Turkcell to detect and resolve network issues before they impact customers. This automation will significantly reduce service disruptions, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction. With Nokias AI and analytics solution, Turkcell will leverage Nokias AI/ML algorithms developed by Nokias pioneering research labs, Bell Labs, to deliver automated recommendations to operations and customer care teams. These insights will allow teams to resolve network issues remotely and pre-emptively, minimiaing call handling times and improving first-call resolution rates. By integrating DSL, fibre, and fixed wireless access networks into a single, unified big data platform, the solution enables cross-domain analytics to optimise network performance at scale. In jazz, Chicago always has been a nurturer of fabulous eccentrics musicians well-aware of what their coastal colleagues are playing but fearlessly going their own way. Few soloists epitomize this fiercely idiosyncratic approach more persuasively than the tenor saxophonist Von Freeman. Listen to the great Vonski (a classic Chicago sobriquet) tear through Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespies Anthropology, and youll hear a singular, steeped-in-Chicago account of a bebop-era classic. Yes, Freeman takes the bat-out-of-hell tempo youd expect. But the brawn, heft and swagger of his playing embody what Chicago tenordom is all about. Then theres that keening Freeman tone acidic, penetrating, utterly unsentimental distinguishing this recording, and Freemans playing, from anyone elses. Add to that Freemans high-register cries, searing blues riffs, abrupt silences and sporadic melodic digressions, and you have a deeply personal Anthropology. Freemans explosive rhythmic drive and propulsive sense of swing represent a take-no-prisoners Chicago aesthetic. Its reinforced by Freemans Chicago partners: Jodie Christian generating relentless energy on piano, and the drummer Wilbur Campbell and bassist Eddie de Haas constantly pushing the beat, egging Freeman on. Thats my kind of jazz. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Lester Bowies Brass Fantasy, The Great Pretender Roscoe Mitchell, saxophonist and A.A.C.M. co-founder With Lester Bowie, there were no holds barred on the music that you wanted to play. If you want to restrict yourself to a certain kind of music, you can do that, but you can also be flexible. Lester was flexible and he was an amazing thinker. I met him at one of the A.A.C.M.s rehearsals at the Abraham Lincoln Center, on Oakwood Boulevard in Chicago, where they opened up the doors to us, gave us places to have our rehearsals and let us have access to their concert hall. Lester came down with his trumpet to one of the Experimental Band rehearsals, around the time I was getting ready to record Sound. I took to him immediately. He was inspired, like I was. He always had great ideas. Thats the first thing. When the members of the A.A.C.M. decided we wanted to go to Paris, it was Lesters idea to take an ad out in The Chicago Defender saying: Musician sells out! What he was saying was, he was selling all his belongings, to take the band to Europe. When we went to Paris, eventually we started to get some concerts and got our own place. And the rest is history. Lesters a man about music, man. No holds barred. Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube BEFORE HE BECAME a vinyl kingpin, Kassem was a thrill-seeking teenager in Lafayette, La., with a drug problem that landed him in a series of troubled-youth homes. Eventually, he said, his rap sheet grew long enough that a judge gave him a life-changing choice. I had 16 felonies, Kassem said. I either had to go to jail or a halfway house. He chose a halfway house in Salina, far from the temptations of home, and took a job as a cook at a roadside diner. Soon after, a friend introduced him to audiophile vinyl high-quality originals and specialty remakes that revealed more depth and detail in the music than were evident on most mass-market releases. It was 1984, the dawn of the CD era, but Kassem describes the discovery as his Damascene moment, the first step in a lifelong quest to find sonic perfection on a 12-inch grooved disc. He maintains nothing but disgust for digital music. I mean, you put on a CD and even dogs leave the room, Kassem grumbled, tucked in a booth at the restaurant where he once slinged short stacks. Ive never cried listening to a CD. Ive never gotten goose bumps listening to a CD. But it happens sometimes listening to an album. He began dealing records by mail, and within a few years had annual sales of more than $1 million. In 1991, he started a reissue label, Analogue Productions, and by 2010 founded his own plant, Quality Record Pressings, or QRP. Kassem hired veterans of the record-making business and indulged their ideas for modernizing a process that had barely changed since the 1970s. Among other innovations, they introduced computerized controls and found ways to regulate the fluctuating temperature of vinyl in the presses. Trump says hes just getting started In an address to Congress last night, President Trump pitched his flurry of early actions, including deportations of migrants and the use of tariffs against major trading partners, as necessary to restore the strength of the U.S. His administration, he said, is just getting started. Recap the speech. Trump railed against the Biden administration, seeking to blame his predecessor for high prices and other ills, and he hit culture war points, including an attack on schools that he said were indoctrinating children with transgender ideology. Read our fact-check of his claims. Earlier that day, Trumps sweeping new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China took effect, setting off a trade war that could undermine the U.S. economy. His actions have upended diplomatic relations with Americas largest trading partners and provoked retaliation against U.S. products puzzling businesses, investors and economists. The tariffs prompted a sell-off in global markets. Retaliation: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would put 25 percent tariffs on $20.5 billion worth of unspecified U.S. goods, and President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said she, too, would announce countermeasures if Trumps tariffs were still in place on Sunday. Youre a very smart guy, Trudeau said, addressing Trump. But this is a very dumb thing to do. It is not clear how many complaints are on hold, but last year, the agency received more than 3,000 charges of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, up more than 38 percent from two years earlier. The E.E.O.C. receives tens of thousands of complaints each year, but chooses to bring its own lawsuits in less than 1 percent of them, agency statistics show. That means that the lawsuits, including the half-dozen the agency is trying to dismiss, are scrutinized at multiple levels and reflect the most serious cases of discrimination. Among the cases that the E.E.O.C. has moved to drop in recent weeks is a lawsuit against a major cosmetics company on behalf of Emma Robertson and other nonbinary employees who worked in a Santa Clara, Calif., store. Lush, their employer, created a hostile work environment for Ms. Robertson and her colleagues, the lawsuit said. Ms. Robertson, who uses she/her pronouns, said her manager had berated her for not being gay enough, calling her a bitch and commenting on her body. Ms. Robertson, in an interview, said she was devastated. I had thought this company was so magical, and so this felt like being betrayed by someone I loved, she said. Ms. Robertson said she had started showing up early for work so she could cry alone in her car. In a possible hint of weakening demand, crude oil inventories in the United States rose by a hefty 3.6 million barrels much more than analysts expected in the last week of February, according to the Energy Information Administration. Still, these stocks, which are closely watched by the markets, are 4 percent below their five-year averages. Several conflicting trends are influencing oil prices. Oil consumption is highly sensitive to the performance of the world economy, which might slow if the trade war heats up, crimping trade, air travel and other activities. At the same time, several members of OPEC Plus, including the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, want to increase production, partly to fulfill agreements with international investors. The group also includes Saudi Arabia and Russia. The oil-producing countries have ensnared themselves in a complex series of agreements, which analysts say the markets struggle to interpret. But traders fear that the millions of barrels a day of oil currently being held off the market could eventually come back at a time when world oil consumption is growing only modestly. In addition, it is hard to gauge what impact the Trump administrations energy strategy will have on the oil markets. Tighter sanctions on producers like Iran and Venezuela would reduce supplies. But easing regulation of the petroleum industry in the United States might increase oil production. And removing restrictions on Russian energy as part of an effort to achieve a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine could also add to the global supply. Two people accused of stealing and reselling more than 900 tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour and other marquee events are facing criminal charges for their role in the scheme, New York prosecutors said. Several people were involved in hacking into the computer system of the online ticket-sales platform StubHub starting in the summer of 2022, the Queens district attorney, Melinda Katz, said in a news release on Monday. They then resold the tickets on the same platform for a profit, which added up to $635,000. Tyrone Rose, 20, of Kingston, Jamaica, and Shamara P. Simmons, 31, of the New York City neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, were arrested and arraigned on Feb. 27 in Criminal Court in Queens. The lawyers listed for them in court documents did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Rose and Ms. Simmons were both charged with second-degree grand larceny, first-degree computer tampering, fourth-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree computer tampering. In California, summer could be on the chopping block. Almost 4,000 campsites across many of Californias 18 national forests could close for part or all of the summer season, according to an internal United States Forest Service spreadsheet viewed by The New York Times on Friday. These potential shutdowns follow a wave of federal government firings and budget freezes last month that have led to staffing shortages and stalled contracts for basic services like pumping toilets. While national forests are sometimes less well-known than national parks, theyre often more accessible, with a wider variety of uses and lower fees to enter and camp. They attract motorcyclists, day hikers, ATV users, horseback riders, boaters and backpackers, as well as ranchers who graze cattle, foresters who log trees and even miners who prospect for gold. In an internal email from the Forest Service on Feb. 18, forest supervisors for Region 5, which oversees California, were instructed to list public facilities that could close this year as a result of budget cuts and staff shortages. The United States Forest Service did not respond to a request for comment for this article. The email noted that unforeseen impacts and changed conditions, as well as financial limitations may render some sites unsafe, or too challenging to open to full capacity in 2025. It was sent less than a week after at least 2,000 employees were terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. The Academy Awards can be a fraught affair. When many of the worlds biggest stars gather to be validated for their artistry, the tension of parsing the winners from non-winners (not losers!) threatens to stultify the whole thing. But at Sunday nights Oscars ceremony where Anora (and Sean Baker) won big, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande belted big-hearted songs, and Adrien Brody kissed and was kissed our photographer caught the stars in unguarded moments of joyful support and celebration throughout the night. Children exposed to drugs are at higher risk of overdose than adults because of their smaller bodies. The death at the shelter came one day after Grei Mendez, the owner of a day care in the Bronx, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the fentanyl death of a 1-year-old in 2023. Three other toddlers in Ms. Mendezs care were sickened by the opioid. Last summer, a 4-month-old died elsewhere in the Bronx from acute cocaine intoxication. The 4-year-old in Brooklyn was found at a facility run by Win, the largest provider of family shelters and supportive housing in the city. A spokeswoman for the organization said that it was devastated by the tragic death of this innocent child and that it was working closely with the police in their investigation. We remain committed as ever to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all families that call a Win shelter home, the spokeswoman said. On Wednesday morning, vehicles entered and exited through the shelters gate, but there was no sign of the police. Residents coming and going on foot, some carrying shopping bags and talking on their phones, said that on Tuesday morning they had no idea that a child living at the shelter had died; they found out hours later, either from police officers on the scene or from news reports. I cried this morning for that baby, said Debbie Ann Duns, who has lived at the shelter since October with her daughter, 6, and son, 18 months. That hurt me to the core. Vaccination has long been the most effective way to combat measles, and most of the people who have come down with it were unvaccinated. The Texas Department of State Health Services said on Tuesday that only five of the 159 cases had been vaccinated; 80 had not been vaccinated; and the status of the others was not known. In New Jersey, where three cases were reported last week in Bergen County, none had been vaccinated. Last week Texas reported the first measles death in the United States since 2015, and nine people in a nearby county in New Mexico have also been diagnosed with measles. Nearly 80 cases have been reported in Canada, including 55 in Ontario, the province that shares a 445-mile border with New York. Public health officials say that as outbreaks continue, you should check your vaccination record and consider getting another shot if you have had only one. You can get a measles vaccine at many places in New York City. Most pediatricians offer the measles vaccine in a combination with mumps and rubella immunization known as M.M.R. The city Health Departments NYC Health Map lists more than 150 community health centers and pharmacies that administer the M.M.R. vaccine. Some require appointments, some do not. Some accept Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance; some do not. The health map has details. How many shots? If you received two doses at some point as a child, or later you are considered fully vaccinated. Turkish telco Turkcell signed its second AI-related deal at Mobile World Congress 2025 on Tuesday this one with Ericsson to develop, deploy and adopt generative AI (GenAI) solutions across Turkcell's networks and operations. Under the deal, Turkcell and Ericsson will explore ways to use AI to optimize network efficiency, enhance automation, and drive new capabilities for 5G, 6G, and future connectivity solutions. The two companies will look at ways to use open and flexible AI models to address the complexities of multi-vendor and multi-technology networks, as well as leveraging AI to improve network resilience, maximize network sustainability, and enhance user experiences. The collaboration will also explore new use cases for AI in network operations, including predictive analytics, intelligent fault detection, and automated network healing. Earlier this week, Turkcell signed a deal with Nokia to deploy its AI-powered fixed network analytics solution to boost fixed broadband performance and customer experience across its network. By integrating generative AI into our operations, we aim to deliver superior network performance, greater automation, and enhanced experiences for our customers, Turkcell CTO Vehbi Cagr Gungor said in a statement. As telecom networks grow more complex, AI-driven automation is essential for delivering efficient and scalable operations, added Kevin Murphy, VP and Head of Ericsson North Middle East and Africa. Our collaboration with Turkcell will help accelerate the adoption of generative AI, transforming network management and paving the way for 5G, 6G, and beyond. House Republicans on Wednesday accused the Democratic mayors of New York, Denver, Boston and Chicago of harboring criminal immigrants in an acrimonious congressional hearing over what role large cities should have in the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. Under fiery and angry questioning from Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, the mayors defended their policies and their cities efforts to house and feed migrants, tens of thousands of whom were bused to their communities by Republican governors. The mayors rejected the notion that the local police should help in the administrations deportation efforts. We do not have the capacity for our law enforcement to be doing federal immigration enforcement, Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver told lawmakers. But we want to be partners in making sure we are pulling violent criminals off the street. Mr. Johnston spoke of the influx of 42,000 migrants two years ago, many bused from Texas, mostly women and children in 10-degree weather with only sandals and a T-shirt. Fashion Weeks in New York, Milan and Paris have been unapologetically decadent this year. Beige is out, red is in. Real fur is back. Eighties maximalism is elbowing aside 90s minimalism. Sean Monahan, a trend forecaster, calls it the boom boom aesthetic. Admittedly, opulence is kind of the point when you are creating and selling beautiful, expensive things. But for the past decade, fashion was trying to be socially and environmentally conscious as well. However sincere the motivation many people, especially on the creative side of fashion, share progressive values making the world a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and sustainable place didnt always sit well with luxury, either practically or aesthetically. Now all that seems to be over, and maybe thats OK. The fashion industry had aligned with liberal-left movements leading up to and after Donald Trumps 2016 victory, but its hard to argue that the endorsement of Kamala Harris by Vogue magazine and its editor Anna Wintour last year moved the needle for anyone. It might have even made the Democrats seem out of touch to some voters. Activism and fashion have always been an uneasy mix. Back in 2014, the designer Karl Lagerfeld staged a Chanel ready-to-wear show in Paris where models cosplayed a protest, holding signs that read, Womens rights are more than all right, History is her story and Make fashion, not war. If it felt anodyne and frivolous (its not as if any of the signs made pointed statements about, say, abortion), Mr. Lagerfeld told the website Fashionista at the time that this was exactly the point: I like the idea of feminism being something lighthearted, not a truck driver for the feminist movement. The National Institutes of Health is the United States primary medical research agency. It is renowned worldwide for funding and leading science that has transformed the understanding of disease and spurred lifesaving medical treatments. It has historically been overseen by medical scientists and clinicians. President Trumps nominee to direct the N.I.H., Stanfords Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, is a physician, too, but hes mostly known as a health economist. As he faces a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, his nomination invites the question: Can a sharper focus on costs, incentives and efficiency improve American medical research? Dr. Bhattacharyas work, in part funded by the N.I.H., has spanned important areas of public health, including the role of government in driving medical innovation and the role of foreign assistance in broadening H.I.V. care globally. Ive worked with him, and we have published multiple studies together. He has received criticism from some for his Covid views (and support from others), including those in the Great Barrington Declaration, which he wrote with two others. But he is very bright, thinks seriously about how the tools of economics can improve health and finds excitement in his research. His confirmation hearing comes at a tricky time for the N.I.H. and the institutions and scientists it funds. The recent announcement that the N.I.H. will significantly reduce funding that research institutions rely on to cover indirect costs sparked outcry from scientists and research institutions, followed by legal challenges. At first glance, you might think I would be excited for an initiative like Elon Musks DOGE, but Im not. Even though I believe the federal bureaucracy could use some efficiency, Im actually pretty appalled at what Im seeing out of Elon Musk and the Trump administration. So is my friend Jessica Riedl. Jessica is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and, like me, is a fiscal conservative. Jessica might be one of the nations foremost experts about the federal budget and about Americas fiscal realities, and she has taught me an enormous amount about those issues. So I am delighted that Jessica is joining us for this conversation. Jessica Riedl: Thank you for having me. French: You worked on Republican presidential campaigns in 2012 and 2016. Youre at a conservative think tank now. You would think that if there was a Department of Government Efficiency announced to get the budget and the growth of spending under control, you and I would both be really excited. When you heard that Elon Musk was going to be forming and running DOGE, what was your first reaction? What were you hoping it would be? What were you fearing it would be? Riedl: I was hoping that this would be the biggest war on government waste in decades. Theres no shortage of spending to go after. We have a $1.8 trillion deficit, and spending is growing. And I knew going in that DOGE was not going to be able to negotiate the grand deal on Social Security and Medicare and taxes thats going to be a bipartisan effort in Congress but there is a lot of waste. Theres $191 billion a year lost to payment errors. Donald Trump rambled, ranted and raved his way through the 2024 presidential campaign, but he was clear on one point. When he was elected, he would get revenge. I am your retribution, Trump said to crowds of his supporters throughout the campaign. This was not an abstraction. He had a few targets in mind. I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family, he said in 2023. There were also the judges, prosecutors and politicians who tried to hold Trump accountable for his crimes, both the ones for which he was indicted and the ones for which he was convicted. He refused to rule out an effort to prosecute Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who prosecuted the Stormy Daniels hush-money case against him, and attacked Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, as crooked. Trump shared an image that called for the former Republican representative and Jan. 6 committee member Liz Cheney to be prosecuted in televised military tribunals, and he accused Gen. Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of treason, calling his actions so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! To the Editor: Re A Combative Trump Says America Is Back and Taunts His Political Rivals (news article, nytimes.com, March 5): President Trumps address on Tuesday night attempted to tell us that what we are seeing and experiencing is not what we are seeing and experiencing. But we are not fools. We see that this is no Golden Age of America except for the extremely wealthy. As workers are fired, programs benefiting our safety, health and well-being are axed, and a tariff war is initiated, the rest of us pay the price. Children, families and the vulnerable suffer. We see that Mr. Trump is not taking America back unless he means taking it back to an era before civil rights, which, with his endless attacks on D.E.I., it seems he does. We watch Elon Musk plunder our institutions and our data. We watch Vice President JD Vance bludgeon our allies and Mr. Trump express bizarre conqueror ambitions toward other nations. Forget white suffragist pantsuits, the political uniform of the female Trump opposition during the presidents first term. On Tuesday night during President Trumps address to a joint session of Congress, about three dozen members of the Democratic Womens Caucus wore bright hues of pink. Amid the sea of dark suits in the House chamber, all that pink was impossible to miss. It was also impossible not to wonder if the members of Congress were falling back on an old performance strategy rather than grappling with their bigger problems. There were congresswomen in hot pink. In shell pink. In baby pink. In pink jackets and pink skirts. There were even some congressmen in pink ties. Nancy Pelosi wore a bright pink pantsuit; Representative Jill Tokuda of Hawaii, a bubble-gum pink blazer with We the people scrawled in black on her lapels; Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, chair of the caucus, a raspberry jacket and cotton candy colored palazzo pants. When it comes to solitude and scenery, few places rival Norways western coast, with its tens of thousands of islands and islets, and its maze of fjords. But luxury accommodations are scarce in this part of the country, which means visitors are more likely to sail by than to linger on land. Today, though, you can stay at Lilly Lindenberg, a guesthouse on a nine-acre private island. (You reach the property, a converted farmstead, via a 10-minute boat ride from the neighboring island of Herdla, which connects to the mainland by bridge.) The closest major city is Bergen, home to Lillys interior designers, Vera Kleppe and Ashild Kyte, who commissioned a number of the regions artisans, from a glassblower to woodworkers, to help refresh the farms existing two buildings, as well as a stand-alone sauna and a shop. The original main house, built in 1906 and paneled with a mix of repurposed wood and knotty and solid pine, contains three guest rooms, while the fourth is in the former boathouse perched above the sea. The colors in all the rooms soft greens, rusts and rich browns reflect the surroundings, as does the menu, which includes locally foraged mushrooms and seaweed, plus cardamom buns made by a baker on a nearby island. In summer, the kitchen will pack a picnic lunch for guests who want to go kayaking for the day. From about $615 a night, or about $1,670 for the entire property, thelindenberg.com. Gisela Williams In November, Elon Musk asked a federal court to block OpenAIs plan to transform itself from a nonprofit into a purely for-profit company. On Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco denied Mr. Musks request, calling it extraordinary. But the court allowed Mr. Musk to proceed with other aspects of a lawsuit he filed last year against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman. Mr. Musk helped create OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015, along with Mr. Altman and others. In 2018, Mr. Musk left the organization after a battle for control of the company. Mr. Altman then attached OpenAI to a for-profit company so he could raise the billions of dollars needed to build artificial intelligence technologies. But the nonprofit retained control of the company. Last year, Mr. Altman and his company began working on a plan to shift control of the company from the nonprofit to OpenAIs investors as a for-profit company. More than the other mayors who appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, who seemed pained at times, Michelle Wu of Boston appeared to lean into the friction in the hearing over the cities immigration policies, seeming to relish the opportunity to push back against the assertions of Republican committee members. Ms. Wu, a first-term Democrat who is up for re-election this year, challenged the false narrative that immigrants cause all kinds of harm and danger. She bristled when asked about criticism that Thomas Homan, President Trumps border czar, had leveled at the Boston police. Shame on him, she said, for lying about my city. Ms. Wu, 40, described Boston as a city built and bettered by immigrants and as the safest major city in America, after a 40 percent decrease in murders over two years. Roughly 28 percent of Bostons 650,000 residents were born in other countries, with many coming from China, the Dominican Republic, India, Brazil, El Salvador and Haiti. Asked repeatedly about the cost of services provided to undocumented immigrants, Ms. Wu said that she could not give a specific number because the city does not ask the people it assists about their citizenship status. She said that many immigrants in Boston live in fear under the Trump administration; that fear, she added, inhibits effective law enforcement by eroding trust and communication between the police and immigrant communities. Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison said on Wednesday it has signed a MoU with Nokia and Nvidia at Mobile World Congress 2025 to deploy AI-RAN infrastructure in Indosats network. The deal will see Indosat integrate Nokia's 5G Cloud RAN solution and Nvidiaa AI Aerial platform to create a unified accelerated computing infrastructure for hosting both AI and RAN workloads. Under the terms of the MoU, Indosat, Nokia and Nvidia will develop, test and deploy the AI-RAN solution, with an initial focus on bringing AI inferencing workloads on Nvidia AI Aerial, followed by the integration of RAN workloads on the same platform. In addition to delivering gains in network performance, spectral efficiency, and energy consumption, AI-RAN will also lay the groundwork for an eventual software upgrade to 6G, Indosat said. Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, added that AI-RAN will enable Indosat to share infrastructure costs across multiple applications, and maximize its return on investment while unlocking new revenue streams via AI-driven services. When you combine AI with RAN, you create an engine for future innovation, Uitto, said ina joint statement. With our 5G Cloud RAN platform, Indosat can transform its network into a multi-purpose computing grid that leverages the synergies of AI-accelerated computing. The three companies will kick off the project by establishing a 5G AI-RAN lab in Surabaya in early 2025 for joint development, testing and validation. Indosat plans to launch a small-scale commercial pilot of AI Inferencing workloads running on NVIDIA AI-RAN infrastructure in the second half of this year, with further expansion of the solution deployment slated for 2026. Indosat president director and CEO Vikram Sinha said the deal makes it the first operator in Southeast Asia and the third globally to build a commercial AI-RAN network. By embedding AI into our radio access network, were not just enhancing connectivity were building a nationwide AI-powered ecosystem that will fuel innovation across industries, he said in a statement. As part of the same initiative, Indosat, Nokia, and NVIDIA will also work with Indonesian universities and research institutions to drive AI-RAN development by supporting academic programs to foster AI innovation in telecom applications and accelerate breakthroughs in AI-driven network optimization, spectral efficiency, and energy consumption. The deal marks the latest AI-based collaboration with Indosat and Nvidia, who signed an MoU at last years MWC to collaborate on establishing Indonesia as a leading player in the AI sector. The MoU included plans for Indosats ICT arm Lintasarta to launch a GPUaaS offering called GPU Merdaka, which was unveiled in August 2024. Its also one of a number of AI-RAN announcements at MWC25, perhaps a key one being Ericsson and Japanese telco SoftBank who formed the AI-RAN Alliance at last years MWC reporting their progress in developing AI-RAN. Among other things, Ericsson and Softbank said they have demonstrated a prototype of Ericsson Cloud RAN software running on the Grace CPU of Nvidias GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip, and defined an architecture to enable orchestration of both RAN and AI applications on the same infrastructure. The two companies signed an MoU on Monday to expand their research to explore the feasibility of offloading selected RAN functions to the GPU using the Grace Hopper platform. Ericsson and Softbank will also prototype the orchestration of AI and RAN workloads by coordinating SoftBanks orchestrator from their AITRAS solution and Ericssons open network management and automation platform, and explore ways to use AI for robotic applications using Ericssons compute offloading framework. Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver struck a defiant tone after President Trump was re-elected, vowing to risk jail time to prevent unlawful mass deportations. He was more measured on Wednesday, at a hearing of the House Oversight Committee, as he and three other big-city mayors took criticism and barbed questions from a panel of hostile Republican lawmakers about whether their policies had made their cities havens for migrant criminals. Introducing himself at the session as a man of faith, the mayor, a Democrat, defended his 715,000-person citys welcoming posture toward migrants, whom he referred to as newcomers. But he also insisted that local law enforcement officers had cooperated with the Trump administration by providing immigration authorities with information that allowed them to arrest migrants being held in Denver jails. We do coordinate with ICE, he told Republicans, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said Denver had honored 1,226 of the agencys detainer requests, which ask for notification as early as possible before the release of what ICE calls a removable alien. Former and current officials said it is highly unusual to reference the C.I.A. in these types of operations. Typically, the C.I.A.s involvement in law enforcement operations is not mentioned because of the sensitive nature of its work and complications with undercover officers testifying in federal court. When F.B.I. agents interviewed Mr. Sharifullah, he said he had scouted the attackers route to the Kabul airport. He also admitted to knowing the ISIS-K operative who blew himself up. Mr. Sharifullah told the agents that he had been in a prison in Afghanistan from about 2019 until two weeks before the attack. After his release, an ISIS-K operative contacted him about the pending operation and provided Mr. Sharifullah with a motorcycle and money for a cellphone. Mr. Sharifullah was told to use a social media platform to communicate other operatives for the group during the attack. The F.B.I. said that Mr. Sharifullah had acknowledged helping carry out other lethal attacks on behalf of ISIS-K. He conducted surveillance in a 2016 suicide attack on the Canadian Embassy in Kabul while housing and transporting the bomber to the area, according to the F.B.I. The attack killed 10 embassy guards and wounded other soldiers guarding the embassy, according to court documents. (Reporting by The New York Times found that 15 guards were killed.) Mr. Sharifullah also claimed knowledge of a March 2024 attack on music venue near Moscow that killed about 130 people. Russian authorities charged four gunmen in the attack and Mr. Sharifullah admitted that he had shared instructions on how to use assault rifles and other weapons with at least two of the gunmen, the F.B.I. said. The Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed charges against a dozen Chinese citizens accused of being part of a sophisticated hacking ring that steals data from American businesses and people to sell to the Chinese government and others. In twin indictments in New York and Washington, the U.S. government laid out detailed charges against a hacking operation whose targets included an American defense contractor, a law firm and a news organization. The indictments described a hackers for hire black market in China devised to give its government plausible deniability that it conducted operations against U.S. entities. American officials, however, said the evidence showed that the private-sector actors often took orders from two members of Chinas Ministry of Public Security. The 12 indicted people are highly unlikely to appear in an American courtroom to face charges. But their cases are part of the U.S. governments long-running name and shame policy to impose some costs on the Chinese government and its hackers for what it describes as an ambitious and unrelenting campaign against targets in the United States. The Trump administration has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine alongside a military aid freeze, officials said on Wednesday, part of a pressure campaign to force its government to cooperate with the White Houses plans to end the countrys war with Russia. A U.S. official said that military targeting information was no longer being shared with Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official said that the pause would make it more difficult to strike Russian forces but that Kyivs military had access to other satellite imagery. The C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, and the national security adviser, Michael Waltz, both confirmed the pause in intelligence support but suggested it could be short-lived if Ukraine quickly came back to the negotiating table. Speaking on Fox Business, Mr. Ratcliffe applauded a statement on Tuesday by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, which praised President Trump and insisted that he support peace with Russia. To counter President Trumps first major address of his second term, Democrats in Congress selected a middle-aged woman senator with a background in national security to deliver a simple, centrist message, devoid of partisan animus, aimed at voters across the political spectrum. But the lasting image of Democratic pushback to Mr. Trump on Tuesday night may have come instead in the form of a liberal 77-year-old congressman waving his cane as he shouted at the president in a protest that got him ejected from the House chamber. The contrast reflected the clash within the Democratic Party as it tries to find an effective message to counter an unbound president who is defying laws and norms while dominating the publics attention. Under pressure from a restive progressive base, some want to position themselves as part of a party of aggressive resistance to Mr. Trump. Others see a political center that can be peeled away through a sober appeal to center-leaning voters feeling adverse impacts from the presidents policies. The competing strategies were on display as congressional Democrats face critical decisions in the coming days over how much to obstruct Mr. Trumps agenda as he tramples over the power of the legislative branch. Most immediately, with government funding set to expire on March 14, Democrats must decide whether they will vote for legislation to avert a shutdown or refuse to do so at a moment when Mr. Trump is defunding and dismantling federal programs all on his own. The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected President Trumps emergency request to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid in a closely divided decision indicating that the justices will subject his efforts to reshape the government to close scrutiny. The courts brief order was unsigned, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. It said only that the trial judge, who had ordered the government to resume payments, should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill. But the ruling represented one of the courts first moves in response to the flurry of litigation filed in response to Mr. Trumps efforts to slash government spending and take complete control of the executive branch. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal members to form a majority. Although the language of the order was mild, tentative and not a little confusing, its bottom line was that a bare majority of the court ruled against Mr. Trump on one of his signature projects. The presidents plans to remake American government, the order indicated, will have to face a court more skeptical than its composition, with six Republican appointees, might suggest. The Trump administration said Wednesday it would use a law typically meant to investigate racist practices within police departments to examine whether the University of California system had engaged in a pattern or practice of antisemitic discrimination. The move by the Justice Department comes two days after other federal agencies announced a review of Columbia Universitys federal contracts to determine if such funding should be taken away over an alleged failure to protect Jewish students and faculty on campus. President Trump has long railed against American colleges and universities for their policies toward on-campus protests against Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip. Some Jewish faculty and staff have complained that such protests, some of which featured antisemitic rhetoric, have made them feel harassed, and that the encampments impeded their ability to freely go to and from classes. Under hostile questioning from senators of both parties, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trumps nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health, said on Wednesday that he was convinced vaccines did not cause autism even as he urged more research on the question, which scientists say has long been settled. The hearing became a battlefield for the Trump administrations early actions on health, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s reluctance to explicitly recommend vaccinations in the midst of a deadly measles outbreak in West Texas. I fully support children being vaccinated for diseases like measles, Dr. Bhattacharya, a health economist and professor of medicine at Stanford University, told the Senate Health Committee. But to assuage skeptical parents, he also said scientists should conduct more research on autism and vaccines a position that senators from both parties noted was at odds with extensive evidence showing no association between them. If confirmed, Dr. Bhattacharya would lead the worlds largest funder of biomedical research, a sprawling agency with a $48 billion budget and 27 separate institutes and centers that has long been praised by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Sylvester Turner, a former mayor of Houston who was sworn in as a U.S. representative in January, died on Wednesday in Washington. He was 70 and had been in attendance at President Trumps speech on Capitol Hill on Tuesday night. His press secretary, Gregory Carter, said Mr. Turner had been taken to a hospital after the speech and then returned home, where he died. He said a cause had not been determined. Mr. Turner, a Democrat, was a veteran of Texas politics. He served in the State Legislature from 1989 to 2016, when he became mayor of Houston. He served two terms before leaving office in January 2024. Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, who was removed from the House chamber for heckling President Trump during his speech on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, has a history of dramatic political gestures. Mr. Green, 77, shook his cane as he interrupted Mr. Trumps speech, shouting that the president had no mandate to cut Medicaid. He was twice told by Speaker Mike Johnson to sit down or face ejection, before being escorted from the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms, to cheers from Republicans. The ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus said it planned to introduce a resolution on Wednesday to censure Mr. Green over his protest, which was also a show of defiance against leaders of his own party. Democratic leaders had asked members to attend Mr. Trumps speech and refrain from disruptions, and his protest underscored Democrats broader struggle to find a message of opposition with broad appeal. First elected in 2004 to represent the Ninth Congressional District of Texas, in the Houston area, Mr. Green is described on his House website as a veteran civil rights advocate. His profile page on X, the social media network, features a video of his arrest outside the Capitol in 2021 while protesting a voting rights bill, along with the words #GoodTrouble #NecessaryTrouble references to the motto of Representative John Lewis, the civil rights leader who died in 2020. President Trump said on Tuesday that Japan and South Korea want to work with the United States on a $44 billion plan to produce and export natural gas from Alaska, reviving interest in one of the worlds biggest energy projects. The project, known as Alaska L.N.G., involves building an 800-mile pipeline from fields north of the Arctic Circle to southern Alaska, where the natural gas would be liquefied and shipped to Asia. China and Japan are the worlds two biggest importers of liquefied natural gas. Because of its high costs and the time required for construction, Alaska L.N.G. has been viewed as a long shot in the industry. For years, major energy companies and officials in Japan and South Korea rebuffed requests from Alaskan delegations to participate, stalling the projects progress. However, under the threat of tariffs from Mr. Trump, officials and executives in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have started exploring ways to invest in Alaska L.N.G. The discussions have included infrastructure financing and signing long-term contracts to purchase its gas. On the battlefields of Ukraine and western Russia, a stalemated war has ground on, with Ukrainian troops defending against Russian progress that can be measured sometimes in mere yards. The cost has been heavy casualties on both sides. President Trumps decision this week to pause military assistance and intelligence sharing could reorder the battlefield, either halting the fight or potentially giving Russia a decisive advantage. With help from Europe, both with arms and intelligence support, Ukraine could continue the fight through the summer without additional American aid. But the loss of one of its most important benefactors will make it easier for Russia to assault Ukrainian lines of defense, analysts say. Despite the disadvantage in munitions and forces, Ukrainians have done admirably well in preventing any kind of Russian breakthrough, Seth G. Jones, a senior vice president with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview. South Africa is preparing a new trade offer to present to President Trump, hoping to appeal to his transactional approach to foreign policy and ease boiling tensions with Washington, a spokesman for South Africas president said this week. The spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, said in an interview that South African officials are anticipating Mr. Trump will call for an end to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a decades-old trade agreement that has been an economic boon to the 32 African nations that it includes. The act allows billions of dollars worth of goods from produce to cars from sub-Saharan Africa to enter the United States without duties. It is scheduled to expire this year but could be reauthorized by Congress. Although officials in South Africa hope the program will be renewed, they plan to offer the United States a bilateral deal that would increase trade in sectors such as energy, Mr. Magwenya said. We are not Ukraine. That is the overarching message from officials in the Philippines, who say that they are certain they have the full backing of the United States despite President Trumps dramatic shifts in foreign policy, including his stunning blowup with Ukraines leader. Their confidence, they say, comes from the fact that both Washington and Manila have a common adversary: China. Mr. Trump is embroiled in a trade war with China, while the Philippines has been involved in increasingly tense standoffs with China in the South China Sea over Beijings expansive territorial claims. Manilas biggest deterrent against China is a mutual defense treaty with the United States. Last month, Washington restored about $400 million in military assistance to the Philippines that had been suspended as part of Mr. Trumps freeze on foreign aid. That was the best proof that ties between the two countries were intact, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the Philippines defense secretary, said in an interview in Manila on Tuesday, hours after Mr. Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine. In recent weeks, Mr. Teodoro and his colleagues have spoken with members of Mr. Trumps cabinet and received assurances that Washington remains committed to the Philippines and the defense treaty. The alarms about Joel Le Scouarnecs sexual desire for children had been ringing for years, well before he was charged with raping or sexually assaulting 299 people, most of them children under his care when he was a surgeon. His wifes sister said she expressed concerns to her sister after she thought she had witnessed him kissing her daughters bottom, according to court documents. His own sister confronted him directly after her youngest daughter told her in childrens words that he had touched her. And he had already been convicted in 2005 of possessing child sexual abuse imagery, and given a suspended sentence. Nothing, nothing, nothing, Marie-France Lhermitte, now his former wife, said as the mass child sex abuse trial opened last week. She was responding to a question posed repeatedly about whether there were warning signs that she should have acted upon. Mr. Le Scouarnec was a gastric surgeon who worked for more than three decades in multiple clinics and private hospitals in western and central France before he was arrested in 2017 for exposing himself to a 6-year-old neighbor. That arrest, and the police search of his home, led to the discovery of evidence diaries and other writings of much wider abuse over 25 years. In 2020, he was convicted of sexually assaulting or raping four little girls, including his sisters two young daughters, and is serving time. Ronald Chammah, who owns a pair of small cinemas on the Left Bank of Paris, remembers well the grim days in 2022, when he wondered whether the French passion for moviegoing a pastime that France invented 130 years ago had been irreparably diminished by pandemic lockdowns. But that was then. On a recent afternoon, Mr. Chammah was sitting in a packed Parisian cafe happily describing the Sunday in late November when he sold out screenings from a roster of Armenian art-house directors Inna Mkhitaryan, Artavazd Pelechian, Serguei Paradjanov known mostly to hard-core film buffs. That day, we broke the record for our theaters, Mr. Chammah said with a note of astonishment. It was full, all day long sold out, sold out, sold out. The global movie business had a disappointing 2024, thanks in part to Hollywood strikes. At the Oscars on Sunday, Sean Baker, winner of best director for Anora, used his acceptance speech to lament the pandemic-era loss of hundreds of American movie screens. And we continue to lose them regularly, Mr. Baker said. If we dont reverse this trend, well be losing a vital part of our culture. Five weeks ago, Russias foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, delivered a routine speech blasting the hegemonic, egoistic United States at the helm of the collective West. The worldview of the 74-year-old veteran diplomat has since undergone some head-spinning changes. In an interview on Russian state television on Sunday, Mr. Lavrov listed the ills that Europe not America had brought upon the world. The United States, in his telling, had gone from evil mastermind to innocent bystander. Colonization, wars, crusaders, the Crimean War, Napoleon, World War I, Hitler, Mr. Lavrov said. If we look at history in retrospect, the Americans did not play any instigating, let alone incendiary, role. As President Trump turns decades of U.S. foreign policy upside down, another dizzying swing is taking place in Russia, both in the Kremlin and on state-controlled television: The United States, the new message goes, is not that bad after all. King Charles III flew by helicopter to the H.M.S. Prince of Wales in the English Channel on Tuesday, where he mingled with sailors and watched as fighter jets took off from the deck of the ship, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. It might have been a welcome getaway from his suddenly complicated social life. In the span of five days, Charles had invited President Trump for a rare second state visit to Britain and then played host to two of Mr. Trumps biggest antagonists, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, at his country estate northeast of London. None of those gestures by Charles was overtly political. As is customary in Britains constitutional monarchy, he acted at the behest of the government. But they have nevertheless drawn the 76-year-old king into a swirling diplomatic drama in a way that is almost unheard-of for a British sovereign. Charless invitation to Mr. Trump, delivered with much fanfare by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday in the Oval Office, has become more contentious since the president clashed with Mr. Zelensky over American support for Ukraine the day after his more harmonious session with Mr. Starmer. Under the Biden administration, Israels far-right finance minister was the rare Israeli official whom the United States rebuked by name for his views, like his opposition to a cease-fire in Gaza. Under the Trump administration, he is a welcome guest in Washington, where top U.S. officials are now aligning with some of his beliefs about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The minister, Bezalel Smotrich, met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, remarking in a statement about his embrace after years of being effectively shunned. After four years during which, under the Biden administration, there was no ministerial-level meeting between the U.S. Treasury Department and the Israeli government, we are now entering the Treasury Department, Mr. Smotrich said. He called Wednesdays meeting very important. In the Syrian capital, Damascus, the countrys new leader has hosted a national unity conference and welcomed foreign dignitaries as crowds gather at cafes, speaking out freely for the first time in decades. But 400 miles away in northeastern Syria, a region beyond the control of the Damascus government, battles that have been going on for years are still raging. Drones buzz overhead day and night while airstrikes and artillery fire have forced thousands to flee their homes. The fight there pits two opposing militias against each other the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the United States, and a predominantly Syrian Arab militia supported by Turkey. And the battle has only intensified since Islamist rebels ousted Syrias longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in early December. Much is at stake in this conflict, including the ability of the new interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, to unify the entire country, control its many religious and ethnic armed groups, and keep in check the terrorist group Islamic State, which has begun to gather strength again in parts of Syria. Neighboring countries worry that instability from any number of factions could spill across their borders. U.S. and Hamas officials have had talks in Qatar about hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to two Israeli officials, a Western official and a diplomat briefed on the matter, breaking with a longstanding American policy of refusing to directly engage groups that it has designated as terrorists. President Trumps nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, participated in the talks this week with Hamas officials, the diplomat said. All four officials discussed the meetings on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive diplomacy. The talks in Doha, Qatar, focused on securing the release of Edan Alexander, the only Israeli American hostage still believed to be alive, and the bodies of four other Israeli Americans who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to one of the Israeli officials and the Western official. Karoline Leavitt, Mr. Trumps press secretary, did not deny that direct talks with Hamas were underway. Asked at a White House news conference on Wednesday why the administration was engaging with Hamas, she said Mr. Boehler, who is engaged in those negotiations, had the authority to talk to anyone. The video set off the biggest online uproar in China in years. People mobilized both online and offline to demand accountability. Inside, stood a woman. She was dazed, shivering and chained by the neck. Three years ago, a video blogger stumbled on a shack in a tiny village in rural China. The Secret Campaign in China to Save a Woman Chained by the Neck The video blogger had visited Dongji Village, in eastern China, to find a man known for raising eight children despite deep poverty. The man had become a favorite interview subject for influencers looking to attract donations and clicks. But that day, one of the children led the blogger to someone not featured in many other videos: the childs mother. She stood in a doorless shack in the familys courtyard, on a strip of dirt floor between a bed and a brick wall. She wore a thin sweater despite the January cold. When the blogger asked if she could understand him, she shook her head. A chain around her neck shackled her to the wall. The video quickly spread online, and immediately, Chinese commenters wondered whether the woman had been sold to the man in Dongji and forced to have his children a kind of trafficking that is a longstanding problem in Chinas countryside. They demanded the government intervene. Instead, local officials issued a short statement brushing off the concerns: The woman was legally married to the man and had not been trafficked. She was chained up because she was mentally ill and sometimes hit people. Public outrage only grew. People wrote blog posts demanding to know why women could be treated like animals. Others printed fliers or visited the village to investigate for themselves. This was about more than trafficking, people said. It was another reason many young women were reluctant to get married or have children, because the government treated marriage as a license to abuse. The outcry rippled nationwide for weeks. Many observers called it the biggest moment for womens rights in recent Chinese history. The Chinese Communist Party sees popular discontent as a challenge to its authority, but this was so intense that it seemed even the party would struggle to quash it. And yet, it did. To find out how, I tried to track what happened to the chained woman and those who spoke out for her. I found an expansive web of intimidation at home and abroad, involving mass surveillance, censorship and detentions a campaign that continues to this day. The clampdown shows how rattled the authorities are by a growing movement demanding improvements to the role of women in Chinese society. Though the party says it supports gender equality, under Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, the government has described motherhood as a patriotic duty, jailed womens rights activists and censored calls for tougher laws to protect women from mistreatment. Yet even as the crackdown forced women to hide their anger, it did not extinguish it. In secret, a new generation of activists has emerged, more determined than ever to continue fighting. Who Is the Chained Woman? At first sight, Dongji looks like any other village in Chinas vast countryside. Two hours from the nearest city, it sits among sprawling wheat and rice fields in Jiangsu Province, half empty, most residents long departed to look for better lives elsewhere. Beijing Dongji village CHINA Jiangsu Province But when a colleague and I visited recently, one house, with faded maroon double doors, appeared to be guarded by two men. A surveillance camera on a nearby pole pointed directly at the entrance. This was the street where the chained woman had lived. Officially, there was little reason that her house should still be under watch, since in the governments telling, the case had been resolved. After widespread outrage over the governments initial statement, in January 2022, officials promised a new investigation. Over the next month, four government offices released statements that at points conflicted with each other offering different dates for when she was first chained, for example, or alternately suggesting that she had been homeless or gotten lost before arriving in Dongji. Finally, under intense public pressure, provincial officials in late February that year issued what they said was the definitive account. According to that report, the woman was named Xiaohuamei, or Little Flower Plum. (The government did not specify whether that was a nickname or a legal name.) She was born in Yagu, an impoverished village in Yunnan Province, in Chinas southwest. As a teenager, she at times spoke or behaved in ways that were abnormal, the report said, and in 1998, when she was around 20, a fellow villager promised to help her seek treatment. Instead, that villager sold her for about $700. Trafficking women has been a big business in China for decades. A longstanding cultural preference for boys, exacerbated by the one-child policy, created a surplus of tens of millions of men, many of whom could not find wives. Poor, rural men in eastern China began buying women from the countrys even poorer western regions. Xiaohuamei was sold three times, finally to a man in Dongji more than 2,000 miles from her hometown who wanted a wife for his son, Dong Zhimin, the government said. Over the next 20 years, she gave birth to eight children, even as her mental health visibly deteriorated, the government said, citing interviews with Mr. Dong and villagers. When she first arrived in Dongji, she had been able to take care of herself; by the time she was found, she had trouble communicating. The government report did not say whether other villagers knew she had been trafficked. But self-styled charity bloggers had been visiting Mr. Dong and presenting him as a doting father since at least 2021. (The woman appeared in some videos, but unchained.) My biggest dream is to slowly bring the children up into healthy adults, Mr. Dong told one blogger, before the video of the shack emerged. Mr. Dongs social media posts portray him as a doting father Mr. Dong Mr. Dong Mr. Dong Privately, though, Mr. Dong had been chaining the childrens mother around the neck and tying her with cloth ropes since 2017, the government said. He also did not take her to the hospital when she was sick. Censors deleted the bloggers videos of the family and of the woman in chains. In April 2023, Mr. Dong was sentenced to prison, along with five others accused of participating in the trafficking. The official story ended there. Step 1: Hide the Victim Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. The Chained Woman Detained Mr. Dong Buyer government care Eight children Silenced by police Video blogger Filmed original viral video Unreachable Possible sister Told journalists she wanted to meet the woman ? The victim was hospitalized, but her current whereabouts are unknown. Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. NIGHT The Chained Woman Detained Mr. Dong Buyer government care Eight children Silenced by police Video blogger Filmed original viral video Unreachable Possible sister Told journalists she wanted to meet the woman ? The victim was hospitalized, but her current whereabouts are unknown. Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. The Chained Woman Detained Mr. Dong Buyer government care Eight children Silenced by police Video blogger Filmed original viral video Unreachable Possible sister Told journalists she wanted to meet the woman ? The victim was hospitalized, but her current whereabouts are unknown. As we approached the house where the men were sitting, they jumped up and asked who we were. One made a phone call, while another blocked me from taking photos. Ten more people soon arrived, including police officers, propaganda officials and the village leader, who insisted that the scandal had been overblown. Everything is very normal, extremely normal, he said. When we asked where the woman was, officials said they believed that she didnt want visitors. Then they escorted us to the train station. Guard booth Surveillance camera pointing at entrance Location of chained womans house Man blocking photos Police and villagers Surveillance camera Guard booth Surveillance camera Location of chained womans house Man blocking photos Police and villagers Guard booth Location of chained womans house Surveillance camera pointing at entrance Man blocking photos Police and villagers Surveillance camera The chained woman may be choosing to stay out of the public eye. But the Chinese government often silences victims of crimes or accidents that generate public anger. Relatives of people killed in plane crashes, coronavirus patients and survivors of domestic violence have all been shuffled out of sight, threatened or detained. Some weeks later, we tried to go back. This time, we visited a hospital where Chinas state broadcaster said the woman was sent after the video went viral her last known whereabouts. We tracked down Dr. Teng Xiaoting, a physician who had treated her. Dr. Teng said the woman was no longer there, but said she did not know where she had gone. Other locals we asked had no information either. But several people in neighboring villages said it was common knowledge that many women in the area, including in their own villages, had been bought from southwestern China. Some called it sad; others were matter-of-fact. Still, it was clear that talking about such trafficking could be risky. As we got closer to Dongji, a black Volkswagen began tailing us. Then, at least eight villagers surrounded us, calling us race traitors (we are both of Chinese heritage) and at times pushing my colleague. One said that if we had been men, they would have beaten us. They eventually escorted us back to the main road after we called the police. Along the way, one man said it was in our own interest to be more cautious. If you two were taken to the market and sold, he said, then what would you do? Step 2: Silence Discussion Online voices emerged nationwide in China and even overseas, but they were quickly silenced. Respond to the concerns of the people and give the people the truth Peking University alumni petition CENSORED Caring for our compatriot the chained woman is caring for myself. A lawyer in Shijiazhuang Called by police The chained woman incident gave everyone a sense of danger. A human rights activist in Nanjing Visited and threatened by the police We know the truth of this incident. An online supporter in Anhui Detained I really feel for her. I was very sad and expressing my feelings.... A women's advocate in Chongqing Summoned and threatened by the police Like everyone else, we want to know the truth. A journalist in Kunming CENSORED Online voices emerged nationwide in China and even overseas, but they were quickly silenced. Respond to the concerns of the people and give the people the truth Peking University alumni petition CENSORED Caring for our compatriot the chained woman is caring for myself. A lawyer in Shijiazhuang Called by police The chained woman incident gave everyone a sense of danger. A human rights activist in Nanjing Visited and threatened by the police We know the truth of this incident. An online supporter in Anhui Detained I really feel for her. I was very sad and expressing my feelings.... A women's advocate in Chongqing Summoned and threatened by the police Like everyone else, we want to know the truth. A journalist in Kunming CENSORED Online voices emerged nationwide in China and even overseas, but they were quickly silenced. Jilin Respond to the concerns of the people and give the people the truth Peking University alumni petition CENSORED Liaoning Beijing Caring for our compatriot the chained woman is caring for myself. A lawyer in Shijiazhuang Called by police Yellow Sea SHANXI HEBEI The chained woman incident gave everyone a sense of danger. A human rights activist in Nanjing Visited and threatened by the police Jiangsu Henan Province where the chained woman was found and hospitalized. SHAANXI We know the truth of this incident. An online supporter in Anhui I really feel for her. I was very sad and expressing my feelings.... A women's advocate in Chongqing Detained Summoned and threatened by the police HUBEI Anhui SICHUAN Zhejiang ChongQing East China Sea Jiangxi HUNAN Like everyone else, we want to know the truth. A journalist in Kunming FUJIAN GUIZHOU CENSORED YUNNAN GUANGXI GUANGDONG South China Sea Hainan Online voices emerged nationwide in China and even overseas, but they were quickly silenced. Respond to the concerns of the people and give the people the truth Peking University alumni petition CENSORED Liaoning Beijing Caring for our compatriot the chained woman is caring for myself. A lawyer in Shijiazhuang Yellow Sea Called by police SHANXI SHANDONG HEBEI The chained woman incident gave everyone a sense of danger. A human rights activist in Nanjing Visited and threatened by the police Henan Jiangsu SHAANXI We know the truth of this incident. An online supporter in Anhui I really feel for her. I was very sad and expressing my feelings.... A women's advocate in Chongqing Detained Summoned and threatened by the police HUBEI Anhui Zhejiang ChongQing Jiangxi HUNAN FUJIAN Like everyone else, we want to know the truth. A journalist in Kunming GUIZHOU CENSORED YUNNAN GUANGXI GUANGDONG South China Sea Hainan After the womans story emerged in January 2022, the controls were tightest in Dongji. But the government sprang into action across the country to suppress the debate that followed. Legal scholars observed that the penalty for buying a trafficked woman three years imprisonment was less than that for selling an endangered bird. Others noted that judges have denied divorce applications from women known to have been abused or trafficked, and that the government has repeatedly ignored calls to criminalize marital rape. To halt such conversations, the police tracked down people like He Peirong, a veteran human rights activist, who had traveled 200 miles to the area around Dongji to try to look for other trafficked women. After she returned home, police officers knocked on her door, asking her why she had gone. They visited her roughly 20 times over the next month, forcing her to delete online posts about her trip and threatening to arrest her. They also named journalists she had been in contact with, to show they were watching her communications. They even took her to nearby Anhui Province on a forced vacation a common tactic used to control dissidents movements. Similar crackdowns were taking place farther away. A lawyer named Lu Tingge, a resident of Hebei Province, about 600 miles from Dongji, said in an interview that a Jiangsu official had traveled to his city, urging him to withdraw a petition hed submitted for more information about the case (he refused, but said he never received the information). Bookstores that put up displays recommending feminist reading were forced to remove them. Numerous online articles about the woman were censored; China Digital Times, a censorship tracker, archived at least 100 of them, though there were many more. The campaign even extended overseas. A woman living abroad said in an interview that the police called her parents in China after she posted photos of herself in chains online. Ms. He, the veteran activist, realized that the government was more worried about feminism than she had thought. She had been detained previously for other activism, but this monthslong pressure far surpassed that, she said. Step 3: Detain Those Who Persist Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. The Chained Woman blocked from village State media journalist Tried to visit village warned by police Journalist Investigated the woman's backstory CENSORED Performance artist Wore a chain around her neck as performance art Parents warned by police Overseas artist Posted photos of an art piece about the chained woman CENSORED Open letter PKU alumni wrote open letter calling for government to prevent trafficking Censored State media Produced a report about the woman's buyer CENSORED Social media users Called on government to protect women CENSORED Writer overseas Wrote article criticizing chained woman's relatives for neglect CENSORED TV director Posted online questioning transparency of government investigation CENSORED Art collective Collected and posted a compilation of online pieces about the chained woman Warned Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation LESS government reprisal MORE government reprisal Detained and Silenced Questioned by police Online supporters Tried to visit the chained woman Citizen journalist Visited the woman's home village Visited by police multiple times Summoned and threatened by the police Human rights activist Tried to visit the village and find other trafficked women Womens advocate Expressed sympathy online for chained woman Questioned by police after meeting relative Followed and blocked from village Former journalist Interviewed woman's possible relatives Lawyer Tried to visit the village Blocked by police and censored interrogated by police Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation Lawyer Tried to visit the village harassed by police Silenced Regular women Submitted reports on women's issues in China to the United Nations Online women's group Called online to end trafficking of women Even today, people continue to be detained or silenced. Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. The Chained Woman blocked from village State media journalist Tried to visit village warned by police Journalist Investigated the woman's backstory CENSORED Performance artist Wore a chain around her neck as performance art Parents warned by police Overseas artist Posted photos of an art piece about the chained woman CENSORED Open letter PKU alumni wrote open letter calling for government to prevent trafficking Censored State media Produced a report about the woman's buyer CENSORED Social media users Called on government to protect women CENSORED Writer overseas Wrote article criticizing chained woman's relatives for neglect CENSORED TV director Posted online questioning transparency of government investigation CENSORED Art collective Collected and posted a compilation of online pieces about the chained woman Warned Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation LESS reprisal MORE reprisal Detained and Silenced Questioned by police Online supporters Tried to visit the chained woman Citizen journalist Visited the woman's home village Visited by police multiple times Summoned and threatened by the police Human rights activist Tried to visit the village and find other trafficked women Womens advocate Expressed sympathy online for chained woman Questioned by police after meeting relative Followed and blocked from village Lawyer Tried to visit the village Former journalist Interviewed woman's possible relatives Blocked by police and censored interrogated by police Lawyer Tried to visit the village Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation harassed by police Silenced Regular women Submitted reports on women's issues in China to the United Nations Online women's group Called online to end trafficking of women Even today, people continue to be detained or silenced. Anyone connected to the case or attempting to speak out has been shut down. The Chained Woman blocked from village State media journalist Tried to visit village warned by police Journalist Investigated the woman's backstory CENSORED Performance artist Wore a chain around her neck as performance art Parents warned by police Overseas artist Posted photos of an art piece about the chained woman CENSORED Open letter PKU alumni wrote open letter calling for government to prevent trafficking Censored State media Produced a report about the woman's buyer CENSORED Social media users Called on government to protect women CENSORED Writer overseas Wrote article criticizing chained woman's relatives for neglect CENSORED TV director Posted online questioning transparency of government investigation CENSORED Warned Art collective Collected and posted a compilation of online pieces about the chained woman Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation LESS government reprisal MORE government reprisal Detained and Silenced Questioned by police Online supporters Tried to visit the chained woman Citizen journalist Visited the woman's home village Visited by police multiple times Summoned and threatened by the police Human rights activist Tried to visit the village and find other trafficked women Womens advocate Expressed sympathy online for chained woman Questioned by police after meeting relative Followed and blocked from village Former journalist Interviewed woman's possible relatives Lawyer Tried to visit the village Blocked by police and censored interrogated by police Lawyer Petitioned government to publicize details of its investigation Lawyer Tried to visit the village harassed by police Silenced Regular women Submitted reports on women's issues in China to the United Nations Online women's group Called online to end trafficking of women Even today, people continue to be detained or silenced. To avoid arrest, Ms. He stopped posting about the case. She eventually left China for Thailand. Those who refused to stop, however, suffered the consequences. Two other women also traveled to Jiangsu after the video emerged, to visit the chained woman at the hospital. Identifying themselves on social media only by nicknames, Wuyi and Quanmei, they said they were just ordinary women showing solidarity. Your sisters are coming, Wuyi posted. They were barred from entering the hospital or the village, according to videos on Wuyis Weibo. So they drove around town instead, with messages about the woman scrawled on their car in lipstick. They quickly attracted enormous followings, their updates viewed hundreds of millions of times. Before long, they were detained by the local police. After their release several days later, Quanmei went quiet online. Wuyi, though, refused to be silenced. On Weibo, she said police had put a bag over her head and beat her. She shared a photo of her bruised arm, saying she was shocked that her small actions could elicit such ferocity. Everything I always believed, everything the country had always taught me, all became lies, she wrote. About two weeks later, Wuyi disappeared again. This time, the police detained her for eight months, according to an acquaintance. She was eventually released on bail and has not spoken publicly since. The Resistance Goes Into Hiding After Wuyis disappearance, the few voices still speaking out fell silent. But the activism has not evaporated, only moved underground. It includes people like Monica, a young woman who asked to be identified only by a first name. We met at her home, where she asked that I not bring my cellphone to avoid surveillance. Soft-spoken but assured, she recounted how police scrutiny forced her to embrace new tactics. When the chained woman story erupted, she joined an online group of several hundred people that decided to conduct research on the trafficking of women with mental disabilities in China. Within days, the police tracked down and interrogated participants. At around the same time, anonymous articles appeared online that doxxed some members of the group and labeled them extreme feminists. The group disbanded. But the intimidation only made Monica angrier. So a few months later, Monica and several others quietly regrouped, using an encrypted messaging platform. Rather than campaign publicly, they tried to impose pressure on the government behind the scenes. For weeks, they studied hundreds of court cases and news stories about women who had been abused or trafficked. They wrote a 20-page report explaining the chained woman episode and laying out suggestions for reform. In July 2022, they submitted it anonymously to a U.N. committee reviewing Chinas record on disability rights. They later submitted similar reports to two other U.N. committees. A member of one of the committees, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the reports were crucial sources of independent information from China. That person had not heard of the chained woman before. In May 2023, U.N. officials raised the chained womans story during a public meeting with Chinese government representatives. The government said it had imprisoned Mr. Dong and that the woman was being cared for. Still, Monica felt proud and emboldened: You feel that you can still do some risky things. Feminism in China really is the most vocal and active movement. Its also very hard to completely scatter or kill off, she said. I think the authorities are right to be worried. Others have tried to subtly keep the chained womans legacy alive in other ways. An all-female band released a song called So Who Has My Key? An artist spent 365 days wearing a chain around her neck. A writer published a thinly disguised retelling of Snow White. In December, a woman whose family had reported her missing 13 years ago was found living with a man to whom she had borne two children. The authorities claimed the woman had a disability and the man had taken her in the same language officials used in an early report about the chained woman. Social media users erupted, accusing the government of glossing over trafficking again. Then the censors stepped in and stifled that discussion, too. Siyi Zhao contributed research. A textile worker in Brazils Goias state stands accused of poisoning a co-workers water bottle after quarreling with them over what the woman considered an unfair promotion. The incident occurred last month at a textile factory in Abadia de Goias, a town in the Goiania Metropolitan Region. Police claim that the 38-year-old suspect was caught by CCTV cameras tampering with another workers drink container before the latter drank from it and felt a burning sensation in her throat. Subsequent analysis of the container found a high concentration of a potent solvent in the water, which strongly suggests that the perpetrator wanted to poison their co-worker. Witnesses testified that the two women used to be friends, but their relationship went sour after the victim received a promotion that didnt sit too well with the prime suspect in the poisoning case. They fought all the time and they had allegedly had an argument prior to the solvent poisoning. Local police told reporters that the 38-year-old suspect had also entered an exclusive management area, where the companys chemical products were located, despite lacking authorization. It is believed that this was how she got her hands on the solvent. After drinking from the tainted container and sensing that something was wrong, the victim called an ambulance and she was rushed to the hospital for treatment. She has since made a full recovery, but doctors said that the solvent could have killed her, had she drank any more of it. Police arrested the suspect on February 27th, after checking the CCTV cameras for clues on the poisoning, and she reportedly admitted to tampering with her co-workers container following an argument. She will most likely be charged with attempted aggravated homicide, which carries a sentence of between 6 and 20 years in prison. Last year, we featured a similar case, in which a woman poisoned a pregnant co-workers drink to prevent her from taking maternity leave and leaving her with a higher workload. The HR manager of a Shanghai technology company was imprisoned for defrauding his company of millions of dollars by hiring dozens of fake employees and collecting their salaries. The Peoples Procuratorate of Minhang District, Shanghai recently released a White Paper on the Prosecution of Duty-Related Crimes by Company and Enterprise Personnel in Minhang District featuring a list of duty-related crime cases involving enterprise personnel handled in 2024, one of which attracted the attention of newspapers all over the country. Back in 2022, employees in the finance department of an unnamed Shanghai technology company discovered something strange: Xiao Sun, an employee who had been with the company for half a year and had perfect attendance throughout that whole period, seemed to be a complete mystery to everyone. No one had ever seen them in person or knew anything about them for that matter. The investigation that followed uncovered a massive fraud orchestrated by a single HR manager. Photo: Unsplash Yang had joined the companys human resource department in 2014 and was responsible for the reconciliation and management of employees dispatched in various departments. It didnt take him long to discover a massive loophole: the hiring and resignation of employees depended entirely on his approval, and no one reviewed the payment of salaries. So he started making up new employees, setting up multiple bank accounts, and linking them to salary payments. Over eight years, Yang hired 22 non-existent employees, using names like Xiao Sun, Xiao Li and others, and collected their monthly wages. Unfortunately for Yang, at the end of 2022, someone noticed Xiao Suns perfect attendance record, noting that no one had ever seen them. It didnt take long for investigators to reach Yang, who admitted to stealing around 16 million yuan ($2.2 million). The crooked HR manager managed to pay back 1.1 million yuan ($150,000) and his family also pitched in 1.2 million yuan ($165,000), which wasnt bad, but nowhere near the amount defrauded over the last eight years. The HR manager was eventually sentenced to 10 years and 2 months in prison, deprivation of political rights for 1 year, and fined for embezzlement. Jim Joseph FleishmanHillard hires Jim Joseph, who spent eight years as global president at BCW (now Burson), as global head of brand impact. Joseph comes to FleishmanHillard from Ketchum, where his roles included U.S. CEO and global chief marketing officer. He has also served as chief customer solutions officer at IPG Health and president and partner at Lippe Taylor. In his new role, Joseph will be responsible for leading FleishmanHillards global brand business across B2B, B2C and B2G audiences, leveraging communications to enable commerce and business outcomes for the agencys clients. Jims expertise in client-side brand management, as well as his roles across multiple agency disciplines and industry sectors throughout his career, perfectly position him to make FleishmanHillard the undisputed global destination for brand work and for clients who need a partner that will deliver true business impact, said FleishmanHillard president and CEO J.J. Carter. Chuck Dohrenwend ICR names Chuck Dohrenwend, who has been with H/Advisors Abernathy for more than 20 years, to a newly established managing director position. He had been a managing director at H/Advisors since 2012, and before that he held VP and EVP roles at the firm. His previous posts include VP at Broadgate Consultants, corporate communications manager at Knight Trading Group and supervisor at Edelman. At ICR, Dohrenwend is tasked with enhancing and expanding the firms support for private equity investment firms and their portfolio companies. He will work within the agencys existing financial services and private equity group to support the reputation management goals of financial sponsors. He will also collaborate with the firms capital markets advisory group and industry sector-focused strategic communications teams. The challenging and highly competitive exit environment over the past several years highlights the invaluable role strategic communications plays in helping companies differentiate themselves and convey their value proposition to potential acquirers and public market investors, said ICR chief client officer Michael Fox. We welcome Chuck to our team and look forward to his leadership as we expand our network and enhance the value we provide across the private equity ecosystem. (L-R) Erin Hauswirth, Jimmy Doucette Racepoint Global brings on Erin Hauswirth as SVP, head of creative and Jimmy Doucette as SVP, head of strategy and health. Hauswirth was most recently group creative director at Boston-based ad firm MMB. She has led campaigns for clients including Amazon Prime Video, Yelp, HBO, GE, Spotify and Netflix. Doucette joins Racepoint from Pinnacle, where he served as experiential strategy director. He was previously VP, strategy director at Jack Morton Worldwide. Erin and Jimmy have spent their careers on the worlds most beloved brands and know how to make work that makes headlines. With them joining, well help clients steal share of attention and share of market, said Racepoint Global CEO Bill Davies. (L-R) Ryan Algaier, John Anderson GS&F, a Nashville-based agency, promotes Ryan Algaier and John Anderson to its executive leadership team. Algaier will serve as VP, director of business development, and Anderson as VP, director of strategy. Algaier joined GS&F in 2019 as group account director and he been VP of business development since the start of 2024. He was previously global account director at WPPs Geometry Global unit. Andeson most recently served as director of strategy at the agency. Ryan and John will both be instrumental in leading us further in the direction of breakthrough strategic partnership and creative innovation, said GS&F CEO Gregg Boling. Alfonso Guida, Jr. Healthsperien, a health care policy consulting firm specializing in federal and state regulatory and legislative analysis, advocacy, and implementation, brings on Alfonso Guida, Jr., as partner in its mental health & addiction policy practice. Giuida was previously president and CEO at Guide Consulting Services, which he founded over 20 years ago. At Healthsperien, he will be tasked with strengthening the firms commitment to driving policy solutions that improve mental health care access and addiction treatment. Als deep expertise and impressive track record in shaping mental health policy at the federal level make him an invaluable addition to our team, said former U.S. Representative and leader of Healthsperiens mental health & addiction policy practice Patrick J. Kennedy. Kaplow extends its partnership with Markwins Beauty Brands, signing on as agency of record for the companys Physicians Formula line of hypoallergenic makeup and skin care products. Kaplow has served as AOR for the companys wet n wild makeup line for the last six years. The agency is tasked with overseeing media relations, influencer/tastemaker engagement and thought leadership for the Physicians Formula brand. This follows their initial work together establishing a narrative/strategic framework for communications via Kaplows proprietary ONE Strategy Session. Markwins recently brought on Reckitt and Revlon vet Sarah Schneider as chief commercial officer. Imagine PR is engaged as North American public relations representative for Segera, a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. The agency will provide integrated public relations, digital marketing and brand partnerships. Its scope of work includes strategic communications counsel, media relations, event planning and execution, and social media and strategy. The company will also lead media familiarization trips and tours. Segera, which is situated on 50,000 acres of preserved land, is focused on conservation, community, culture and commerce (4Cs). It is a Long Run Destination. Long Run Destinations are selected by the Zeitz Foundation for their commitment to enacting the 4Cs. Firecracker PR has been named the AOR for Austin, TX-based IgniteTech, an AI-first enterprise software company. Firecracker is tasked with increasing coverage for IgniteTech's entire portfolio of AI products, along with thought leadership activities for company subject matter experts to highlight their experience in helping corporations navigate the environment related to integration of artificial intelligence into business operations. IgniteTechs customers include Hearst, Gannett, Schneider Electric and Delta. BPM-PR Firm, which works with fashion and lifestyle clients, adds footwear brand Antonia Saint NY to its client roster. The firm will lead a strategic public relations campaign aimed at amplifying Antonia Saint NY's new Vida Heel Collection, known as the Fab Five. The collection reinvents classic heels with the patented Slim SoftSurround Systema hidden sneaker-like cushioning that delivers support without sacrificing style. The brands $2.1 million Kickstarter campaign ranked among the platforms top 120 campaigns of all time. Antonia Saint NY is redefining an industry that has long prioritized style over comfort, and we are honored to amplify her mission and products on a global stage," said BPM-PR Firm founder and CEO Monique Tatum. What was Donald Trump talking about during his love song to himself speech before a joint session of Congress on March 4. He seemed astonished that Democrats werent celebrating his so many wins for America. Was he referring to abandoning freedom fighter Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky, while cozying up to war criminal and dictator Vladimir Putin? Why arent Democrats cheering Trumps gratuitous trade war launched with the impositions of tariffs on Canada and Mexico? Trump will go down in history as the first US president who engineered a recession. Does Trump deserve applause for unleashing Shadow President Elon Musk, who is rampaging through federal government like a bull in a china shop, closing agencies and gutting the civil service? I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, said Trump. Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded, and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. It was pretty ironic that Trump, who gutted USAIDs global health programs, talked about curing devastating disease. He will be responsible for the deadly spread of disease in Africa, now that USAID has abandoned the continent. In his rambling almost 100 minute spiel, Trump said many have believe his first month in office is the most successful in the history of the nation. And what makes it even more impressive is that do you know who No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? How about that? I dont know about that list, but. But well take it. Cheer up. It could have been worse. Trump could have declared himself the second coming of Jesus Christ. Mercifully, we havent got to that point yet. But the Orange Mango does have a little less than 47 more months in office. Whats a tariff? More than a third of Americans (36 percent) cannot identify the definitions of tariff, according to a study by DKC Analytics. That figure jumps to 50 percent of the Gen Z crowd. Despite being clueless about tariffs, 56 percent of respondents want tariffs placed on China, 52 percent on Russia and 42 percent on dictatorships." Thirty-four percent want tariffs put on Mexico, and 23 percent want to put them on Canada. Consumers will be in for a shock. The study found that many people dont make the connection between tariffs and price increases at the check-out counter. Bad PR look. State Street, the investment firm that commissioned the Fearless Girl statue that faced down the Wall Street Charging Bull sculpture in 2027 is singing a new song on gender diversity these days. The company has dropped its requirement that companies in its index funds have boards with at least 30 percent female directors. State Street updated its policy this month, ditching the 30 percent requirement. It no longer even wants to hear about the gender, racial and ethnic composition of a board. Thats the job of company nominating committees, says State Street. Fearless Girl now stands outside the New York Stock Exchange. As NYSE-listed companies run away from DEI policies, it might be time to just melt down the statue for scrap. Supreme Group, a company with holdings in the healthcare communications sector that include Amendola, Health+Commerce and BioStrata, acquires Kadiko, a digital-first brand strategy and creative agency. Kadiko combines data-driven intelligence with human expertise to refine brand strategies, accelerate go-to-market success, and ensure data security standards. It will continue to operate as a standalone organization, with its leadership team playing key roles in expanding Supreme Groups digital and brand strategy capabilities. This marks Supreme Groups seventh acquisition, strengthening its ability to deliver data-driven marketing and communications, AI-enhanced insights, and high-impact creative solutions. Their approach strengthens how we help healthcare and life science brands differentiate, engage, and grow in an increasingly complex landscape. Together, were pushing the boundaries of brand strategy, creative, and modern marketing, said Supreme Group CEO Tom Donnelly. af&co., a Bay Area-based agency that works with clients in the lifestyle sector, expands into the Southern California market with the opening of an office in Los Angeles. The agencys services include public relations & marketing, content development & social media, culinary events and operational support. With its official Southern California office opening, the team says it will be able bring its services to more clients from the Central Coast through San Diego. Weve worked in the SoCal market for over 20 years and always planned on opening an official office there, said af&co CEO and founder Andrew Freeman. The LA market is rich with opportunities, media, and influencers, and were ready to service our clients locally, regionally, and nationally from both of Californias major cities. Impact XM, an experiential marketing agency, acquires Touch Associates, a UK-based B2B brand experience agency. Dayton, NJ-based Impact XM, which also has offices in Toronto, Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and London, will strengthen its presence in the UK and European markets through the acquisition. Touch Associates, which has more than 95 global employees, will gain access to expanded creative, technological and production resources. Touchs expertise is a perfect match for Impact XMs capabilities in large-scale event production, meetings and conferences, custom exhibit design and fabrication, attendee engagements, tech-driven event solutions, and brand activations, said Impact XM CEO Jared Pollacco. The quest to find 77th Miss Ireland is underway and the Miss Ireland Organisation is searching for the next Miss Offaly - a dynamic ambassador who will represent the county at the much anticipated Miss Ireland final on June 14. Young women across Offaly are invited to step into the spotlight and embrace a journey of empowerment, leadership, and community impact to follow in the footstep of Former Miss Ireland Ivanna McMahon from Ennis and Current Miss Ireland Jasmine Gerhardt. Since 1947, the Miss Ireland pageant has celebrated intelligence, ambition, and cultural pride, evolving into a platform that champions female leadership and philanthropy. This years competitors will join a legacy of inspiring role models including Former Miss World Rosanna Davison, Pamela Flood, Holly Carpenter and many more. In recent years the Miss Ireland Franchise has raised over 350,000 for various charities including Laura Lynn, Temple Street, Alzheimers Ireland, Pieta House, The Cari Foundation and The Julian Benson Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Each finalist will advance to the national event for a chance to claim the Miss Ireland crown at a spectacular final in the luxurious Knightsbrook Hotel and Resort in Trim Co Meath on June 14. READ NEXT: RIP: Sadness in Offaly following death of local GAA stalwart and 'great family man' The 77th crowned Miss Ireland will receive a lucrative agency contract and a host of prizes and will then have a chance to jet off to represent Ireland next year on an international stage at the Miss World Festival which is televised in over 100 countries around the world. She will also enjoy a trip to Indonesia. The search is now on to find contestants to begin their Miss Ireland journey which includes various events and appearances. The finalists of Miss Ireland are put through their paces in a challenging competitive process testing their skills in debating, public speaking, talent, sports, modelling, social media and each finalist will be tasked with raising much-needed awareness and funds for their chosen charities. Full details on how to enter are available on www.miss-ireland.ie. Applications close on March 31 at 5pm. Were calling all confident, driven young women in Offaly to seize this extraordinary opportunity said Brendan Marc Scully, Director of Miss Ireland. "Miss Ireland isnt just a pageant - its a launchpad for personal growth, advocacy, and making a difference. If youre ready to challenge yourself and inspire others, we want to hear from you. The Taoiseach has said, while Ireland is willing to be part of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, it will not participate in any troop deployment designed as a military deterrent. Micheal Martin, who is in Liverpool for a UK-Ireland political summit, also insisted he wanted to have a respectful meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House next week, when issues around Ukraine and wider European security may feature in discussions. Mr Martin hailed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmers effective and impactful role in the unfolding geopolitical events related to the conflict in Ukraine. Indicating that Irelands long-standing position of neutrality would preclude its involvement in a deterrence force, Mr Martin reiterated that the Irish Defence Forces could play a role in a peacekeeping mission. He comments come as the Irish government is moving to make a law change that would give it more latitude to deploy troops overseas. Under current Irish rules, Ireland can only participate in peacekeeping missions that are formally sanctioned by the UN. That places a significant limitation on Irelands latitude to deploy troops, as members of the UN security council, such as Russia, are able to veto any missions they do not support. The Government is seeking to remove this element of its so-called triple lock rules for deploying troops. We all want peace, Mr Martin told reporters in Liverpool. There are too many wars in the world, too many young people are losing their lives on the battle fronts. It impacts on livelihoods all over the world, particularly Ukrainians, particularly people in the Middle East, particularly in Sudan and other areas. And I think Keir Starmer is really looking at the realities of the world today. I think he is leading well in terms of working with the European Union and other leading European states to try and deal with this situation. Weve made it clear that if a ceasefire develops or if theres a cessation of hostilities, Ireland has always been open to peacekeeping, but we wouldnt be part of a deterrent force. Theres just two separate areas there, in other words they are two different and distinct issues. But we are open, and always have been, depending on the context to any invitation to participate in genuine peacekeeping and to ensure that any cessation of hostilities can lead to a durable and sustainable peace, because any peace in Ukraine has to be durable and it has to be sustainable. Mr Martin said he hoped the UK and Ireland could enhance security co-operation at the summit meeting in Liverpool. He highlighted areas of cyber security and protecting undersea cables as areas where the two nations could work together more. We will be discussing how we can enhance that type of security cooperation and engagement, he said. The Irish premier declined to be drawn on whether he would push back on any claims the US president might make in the Oval Office St Patricks encounter next Wednesday. Im honoured to be going to the White House as well as looking forward to, again, celebrating what is a major historic tradition and relationship between Ireland and United States, particularly for Irish Americans and our diaspora there too, Mr Martin told reporters. Patricks week is always a very significant week and we will be discussing a range of issues, and particularly, again, the importance of the Irish/US relationship, but today its about the UK/Irish relationship. He added: People come to the table with different perspectives. I respect people. I respect the offices that people hold. And Im honoured to be invited to the White House as an Irish Taoiseach, given the relationship between our two countries, very strong economic relationship, but also the ties that bind Ireland and America together for a long, long time. And, you know, we will engage in a respectful manner. We will put our perspectives. No doubt, President Trump has his views and perspectives as well. But the important thing is to engage, and the important thing is to reflect on that relationship today and to make sure we can protect Irish economic interests, protect the livelihoods of people in Ireland many, many workers depending on that and also pointing out then how significant Irish investment is in the United States. Companies like Ryanair, Glanbia, Kerry Group, Icon, many, many more who create many, many thousands of jobs in America. And so its a very, very robust economic relationship that brings benefits to both sides. And we will have a good discussion, Im sure. Advisers urged to enhance consultation 08:10, March 05, 2025 By Zhang Yi, Jiang Chenglong, Yao Yuxin ( Chinadaily.com.cn National political advisers applaud President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and other leaders as they enter the venue of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. (Zou Hong/China Daily) National political advisers have been urged to pool the wisdom and strength of the Chinese people in helping to achieve the country's development goals with high quality this year, which would lay a solid foundation for a successful start to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, delivered a work report to more than 2,100 national political advisers in Beijing during the opening of its annual session, marking the beginning of this year's two sessions of China's top legislative and top political advisory bodies. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress opens on Wednesday. The CPPCC session, held at the Great Hall of the People, was attended by President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and other Chinese leaders. As this year marks the conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and is an important year for the further comprehensive deepening of reforms, Wang emphasized that the CPPCC should further harness the wisdom and strength of Chinese people at home and abroad. The CPPCC should organize in-depth investigations and studies to provide advice and strategies for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan by the CPC Central Committee, he said. Efforts should be made to enhance in-depth consultation, in order to propose forward-looking, targeted, and practical policy suggestions, and consultative supervision will also be in place to promote the implementation of major decisions by the central leadership, he added. To support modernization, the CPPCC National Committee held 85 consultations and deliberations, conducted 99 various surveys and inspections covering 31 provincial regions, and processed more than 5,000 proposals over the past year, according to Wang. The CPPCC National Committee also organized 221 various foreign exchange activities, involving more than 2,600 foreign participants from 140 countries and 11 international and regional organizations, he said. Zhao Xiaochen, chairman of China Grinm Group and a CPPCC National Committee member, stressed the role of political advisers in offering informed policy suggestions based on their expertise. As a technology innovator, he focuses on how scientific advancements can drive new quality productive forces. His proposal last year, to establish a national science publishing platform to ensure centralized management and enhanced security of the country's scientific output, has gained government attention and made progress. Zhao also highlighted the urgency of technological innovation, stressing that true economic progress relies on advancing new quality productive forces driven by science and technology. Yang Yizhou, another national political adviser and also vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said he feels very "proud and happy" about the dual roles he plays. "We can act as a bridge and a link, reflecting the thoughts and views of our compatriots in Taiwan, addressing their difficulties and the issues they hope to resolve," Yang said. He added that compatriots in Taiwan can gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese mainland's policies and its achievements, fostering greater consensus across the Taiwan Strait. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Australian small and medium-sized enterprises have reasons to smile as the Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance (SAPA) broke into a big grin for home business with the Albanese Governments Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPR) revolution that is set to be rolled out after its March 6 announcement. In Canberra, SAPA greeted the reforms as much needed, pointing to a new definition of an Australian business and an expanded economic benefits measure that can potentially open more government contract opportunities for SMEsa possible shot in the arm in the $70 billion annual procurement space. SAPA, an industry promotion group, spelled out the reforms. The updated CPR now defines an Australian business as one that is at least 50% Australian-owned (or traded mainly on an Australian equities market), taxed as a resident, and located in Australia. For SMEstypically firms with less than 200 employees under current CPR rulesthis definition may be a more intense focus on their tenders than for foreign giants. Definitions are an important foundation, SAPA stated, arguing that this detail will allow the government to lead future policies with confidence towards favoring local players like SMEs. The second big shift is the Broader Economic Benefits in Procurement measure, which SAPA argues will force government buyers to think beyond the cheapest price. Tenders now focus on job creation locally, economic spillover effects at a regional level, and local economic growthexactly where the skills of SMEs come in handy. Picturing this little technology outfit in Adelaide or Tamworth-based family supplier, their ability to hire locals or stimulate the economies of the locality could prove higher than a cheap quote from an overseas-based firm. These innovations didnt result overnight. SAPA attributes the initiative to a Ministerial Working Group, with the big guns of Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Industry Minister Ed Husic, among others, along with Senator David Pococks office input, for devising this bipartisan initiative. Theyre riding a wavesince July 2024, the Albanese Government has raised the SME exemption limit to $500,000, enabling agencies to directly procure from SMEs for contracts up to that value, and set 25% of contracts under $1 billion and 40% under $20 million being given to SMEs as targets. In 2022-23, SMEs already took over $20 billion of the procurement slice, and these reforms might cut them an even bigger slice. For SMEs, the advantage is real but not guaranteed. The new Australian business tag fits the majority of domestic businessesover 99% of Australian businesses are SMEs, as determined by the Australian Bureau of Statisticsbut they will need to prove their ownership and residency status in order to be eligible. The broader benefits test is a golden ticket: SMEs can cite their local job or supply chain benefits in tenders, which larger businesses may not be able to replicate. Take a Cairns SME building contractor: if it has 50 locals working for it and purchases materials locally, thats the story the government now has to consider. There is, however, a negative. More economic benefit oversight costs money: more bureaucracySMEs will need to back up claims with facts, not with whats hoped. And though SAPAs goading calls for taking up this model, its not mandatory yet, so local SMEs can still have uneven opportunities beyond federal contracts. And the CPRs reticence regarding SME-specific quotas here (in contrast to prior adjustments) is that it remains an even battle against mid-sized local operators who also fit into Australian business.. However, the tone is upbeat. SAPAs call to action for SMEs to get ready as these rules become federal tenders, something theyll help them navigate along with government departments. This is a common sense solution, they said, and for SMEs, a chance to turn local roots into contract wins. With the government spending big$70 billion a yearthose who hustle to market their Aussie edge may find 2025 a bumper year. ALSO READ: Government procurement rigged against SMEs, says ombudsman Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The Taoiseach has made clear he disagrees with the Northern Ireland First Ministers apparent criticism of a large order for a Belfast factory to supply missiles for Ukraine. Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill told the Stormont Assembly this week that she was incredulous at the deal for the Thales plant in east Belfast. It was announced at the weekend that Thales is to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth up to 1.6 billion. The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF). Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the order for the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) would create 200 jobs. However, Ms ONeill told the Assembly on Monday that said she found the deal incredulous at a time of public service cuts, winter fuel payment cuts, national insurance hikes and inheritance tax changes for farmers. Her comments prompted criticism from the DUP, her partners in the coalition government at Stormont, who accused Sinn Fein of hypocrisy for supporting Ukraines right to defend itself at the same time as apparently criticising an order to supply it with weapons to do so. Mr Martin was asked about the First Ministers remarks as he arrived for an engagement to mark the UK Ireland political summit in Liverpool. He said he had always been an advocate of peace but he understood the reason for the order as he made clear Ukraine needed the capacity to defend itself. I wouldnt agree with the First Minister on that, he said. Nobody likes the utilisation of weapons. I certainly dont. All my life Ive been on the peace side of the equation. I still am, and I do want durable peace within Ukraine. I also want peace in the Middle East. I want peace in Sudan, which very few people are talking about. But its Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago. Thats the reality. Ten per cent of Russian national income has been spent on militarisation. People are afraid of that. People are worried about that. He added: Collectively, people are coming to the conclusion that Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence there to avoid any attempted encroachment on any member state of the European Union. Help Our Community Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You! Take The Survey In the fight for gender equality, International Womens Day is an opportunity to reflect on our progressbut also to sharpen our focus. While the conversation around womens rights, gender equality, and work-life balance is evolving, theres still one pressing issue that remains largely unaddressed: the unpaid caregiving work performed by millions of women around the world every day. Most of us are familiar with the term Sandwich Generationthose aged roughly between 35 and 55, who find themselves caring for both ageing parents and young families simultaneously. Its a challenge that disproportionately affects women, and with the percentage of ageing Australians projected to reach more than 20% of the total population by 2066, its a challenge thats only set to worsen. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women currently perform over 75% of unpaid care work worldwide. Though often overlooked in economic measures, this quiet, unseen work is essential for the functioning of society; its preparing meals, cleaning, nurturing, organisingthe constant care and support that families need. For those also caring for ageing parents, this often involves anything from assisting with finances, household maintenance, transportation and daily activities, to attending medical appointments, liaising with healthcare professionals, managing medications, and providing emotional support. In many cases, it also means navigating an often-complex aged care system. These tasks, while essential to the welfare of families, individuals, and communities, go largely unrecognised. And while we acknowledge womens participation in the workforce is essential for economic growth, for women in the Sandwich Generation, these care responsibilities often come at a cost to their own careers, wellbeing, and personal aspirations. As a consequence, career advancement for women can stall, or even reverse. This years International Womens Day theme is an invitation to step up our efforts toward gender equality. We cannot move forward in any meaningful way if we continue to allow the unpaid caregiving responsibilities of the Sandwich Generation to persist without adequate support. We need to recognise that this often-overlooked work is critical to the well-being of our communities, and we must find ways to support those who perform it. In my role, I see firsthand how the right support can make a significant difference. Ive worked with countless caregivers to navigate the complex landscape of healthcare and aged care, by providing resources, guidance, and connection to supports and services that can ease their burden. But we know that the impact of caregiving reaches far beyond these things. Its about fostering a culture that values caregivingwhere the efforts of caregivers, particularly women, are acknowledged and celebrated as vital to our economic and social fabric. As employers, it is essential that we work towards policies that better support unpaid caregivers and enable greater gender equality. This includes paid maternity and paternity leave, flexible working arrangements, and inclusive workplace cultures that acknowledge and accommodate the unique challenges women face. Beyond this, governments must prioritise improving access to affordable and quality care services for both young children and ageing parents. The reality is these solutions are not just for womenthey benefit all of us. By providing better resources and support systems, we can ensure that no woman has to compromise her wellbeing, financial position, or career when caring for loved ones. This International Womens Day calls on all of us to take a stand, create real change, and ensure that the next generation of women can feel seen, valued, and adequately supported for their contributionswhether theyre in the home or in the workplace. Only then will we see true progress toward gender equality. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The die was cast: A peace agreement was in the works between Russia, acting in concert with the United States, and Ukraine. The outlines had been framed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between American Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The talks were insular: representatives from Ukraine and the European Union were not invited. That only made sense given the assumption on which peace was to have been concluded, namely, what President Donald Trump termed a "very big deal" that would have given the United States virtually free access to Ukraine's untapped mineral resources in exchange for a "reconstruction investment fund" jointly managed by the two nations. Essentially, this deal would recompense the United States with $500 billion in profits for the $130 billion in aid -- not $350 billion as claimed by Trump -- that it had extended to Ukraine as insurance against further Russian aggression. Repayment through the extraction of minerals would have begun immediately while American investment would have taken place later; not exactly a formula for "joint" management. Given the shift in American policy to Ukraine, moreover, belief that an economic deal will somehow stem President Vladimir Putin's imperialist ambitions is i ? ? naA i ? ?vei ? ? at best; indeed, North Korea has already agreed to send another 10,000 troops to support Russia. Worst of all, invasion's victim winds up paying to secure the invader's gains and defense against further invasion. That Zelensky should have protested only makes sense. But that his administration lacked a "Plan B" to back up his protest verges on the irresponsible. Even had Biden been re-elected, American support could not have gone on forever. Trump not only proclaimed his sympathy for Putin over the years, but stated throughout his campaign that he would either curtail or even end American aid to Ukraine. More foresight on the part of Europe was also not too much too ask. The EU now finds itself in exactly the same position as the Biden Administration regarding (unlimited) support for Ukraine. It will now grudgingly take the lead in resisting Russia, There is already talk of creating a European army that would only heighten global economic and political instability. instability. Serious negotiations should not be undertaken in public. However, Zelensky accepted Trump's invitation for a pubic deliberation about the peace that was supposedly transpiring. The foreseeable hitch was that . Trump and his Vice-President, JD Vance, who was also at the meeting on February 28th 2025, wanted to see the Ukrainian president not only accept their demands for a cease-fire and peace, but grovel in public and show the appropriate gratitude to Trump personally for a policy initiative that would prove unfavorable to his country. The public character of these discussions public set the stage for precisely the kind of bullying rhetoric that Trump in particular always employs. The world is still recovering from this debacle. Zelensky keeps his pride intact for having publicly stood up to an authoritarian demagogue. But, there is little doubt that Trump will seek "retribution:" from the Ukrainian president -as he does from all his critics. Citing ingratitude, he might call for lifting sanctions on Russia and placing them on Ukraine, or he might call for cutting aid entirely - and throwing the entire Russo-Ukraine problem squarely in the lap of the Europeans. It seems clear that the United States has decided to contain China rather than confront Russia and treat Putin as the primary threat to global peace Under Trump, America is no longer a reliable ally. NATO is imperiled by his "transactional" foreign policy along with old fashioned ideas about "spheres of influence." Multilateral decision-making is derided by the new administration, traditional alliances should no longer be taken for granted, and arbitrary exercises of American power are on the agenda. Unpredictability is the hallmark of Trump's politics, the unthinking, split-second decision, often resulting in a policy reversal that will have the most dramatic effects. Turkey, France, and the United Kingdom are already talking about sending troops to Ukraine thus heightening the possibility of a broader war. Meanwhile, Zelensky finds himself in the position of either resigning, tightening control over Ukraine, or returning to Washington on bended knee. Whatever else one wishes to say about Trump, he knows his public. It would be a mistake to think that America will condemn the rudeness and chauvinism displayed by Trump and Vance. Of course, the original deal could well be signed tomorrow or the day after. But behavior of America's leaders should teach Europeans and the rest of the world something that we in the United States are finally learning, namely, that it's time to stop laughing and making jokes about America's president. He isn't funny; he's manipulative, narcissistic, and dangerous -really dangerous. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). "California's charter public schools are safe places to learn and work." - California Charter School Association (CCSA) (Image by Carl J. Petersen) Details DMCA In 2019, the California Charter School Association (CCSA) detailed the "greatest threats" facing its publicly funded private schools. If children were the focus of this trade group, problems like inexperienced teachers, low-performing schools, or preventing theft of public funds would have been on the list. Instead, the CCSA mainly focused on its need to repel efforts to make its schools accountable for the public funds they receive. Most outrageous was its opposition to requiring "charters to comply with [the] Field Act", a law passed after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake when 230 schools collapsed. It mandates "rigorous oversight of the construction of every public school" and ensures that California schools, according to earthquake expert Lucy Jones, are "the safest buildings in the world". Thanks to the millions of dollars the Charter School Industry spends to influence politicians, the loophole that exempts these schools has been protected. A KCAL report in 2019 found that "more than 200 charter campuses in SoCal" did not have to comply with these safety measures. The CCSA has also killed off proposals to protect its students from hazardous emissions and substances. In 2021, Assembly Bill 762 would have eliminated the disparity in regulations between public and private schools, including charters. It would have required these schools to evaluate a proposed "i ? ? i ? ? school site for potentially hazardous substances, hazardous emissions, or hazardous waste" ensuring that "all schools are held to the same high standard and make it clear that a charter school designation is not a license to risk our children's health and safety." It was on the fast track toward approval when State Senator Anthony J. Portantino killed the bill at the direction of the Charter School Industry. Individual charter schools have shown that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing without these mandates. For example, I reminded the LAUSD School Board about the failed effort of the KIPP chain of charter schools to build one of its schools on a toxic waste site. These comments were made before they voted on the renewal of four of KIPP's schools: When the public hearings for these charter renewals were held last month, a Vice President from the California Charter School Association took his time to talk about how, in his view, this Board is supposed to "serve" children in charter schools. One of the areas he pointed to was a responsibility to ensure that children are safe in the schools that they attend. I do not say this very often, but on this specific point, I agree with him. It would seem to me that a charter school chain concerned with the safety of its students would not attempt to build a facility on the site that had "been used for approximately 90 years for manufacturing metal" and stored the resulting "hazardous materials" at the location. This would be especially true if soil samples at the site showed "levels of arsenic"200 times the amount"that is identified as safe for human health by the state of California for [a] school." It would definitely balk at a "site contaminated with toxic gases" which "can cause cancer, cognitive and motor impairments, liver damage, kidney damage, and impair one's immune system, development, reproductive system, and fertility." This all describes land that KIPP purchased in Cudahay and then convinced local officials to forgo complete environmental studies. If it had not been for the community activists who took the charter chain to court and halted construction until these studies were performed, there might be children on that site right now. KIPP abandoned the project (and those students) rather than conduct those studies. Any organization that needs a court to tell them that a hazardous waste site must be fully investigated before building a school has no business caring for students. In the interest of keeping children safe, all of KIPP's applications should be rejected today. At the January 14, 2025 meeting, the Board did not bother to ask about KIPP's disregard for the safety of its students before voting to approve the renewals for three of the four KIPP schools that were up for renewal. It did deny the request for KIPP Sol for unrelated reasons. Is anyone looking out for these students, or are they just expendable? Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own. Lincoln Smith was is sentenced to 48 years and three months in prison on Tues., March 4, 2025, in Salem, Ore. Kevin Neri/Statesman Journal The long-haul trucker from California who killed seven Oregon farmworkers when his 55,000-pound semitruck smashed into a parked van was sentenced to 48 years and three months in prison Tuesday. A Marion County jury found Lincoln Smith guilty last month of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter for the fatal crash at Milepost 240 on Interstate 5 on May 18, 2023. Tyler Holloway was shot and killed by police outside this shed on the rural 100-acre farm after having called 911 to report he was a witness to a homicide. Courtesy of Kevin Yolken State police SWAT officers responded to a remote Lane County farm more than six hours after a homicide there in December and then fatally shot a witness to the killing while looking for the suspect. Family members of Tyler Holloway, the 26-year-old Army veteran who was killed by police on Dec. 27, filed notice Tuesday that they intend to sue the state police, Lane County and the city of Springfield. Portland police responded Tuesday, March 4, 2025, to investigate a fatal shooting by Gertz Road and Oregon 99E. Police said a woman was found dead at the scene. Zaeem Shaikh/The Oregonian Police have arrested a man in the fatal shooting of a woman in Northeast Portland. Aaron Rene Garza, 42, of Portland, faces a likely charge of second-degree murder in the shooting, which happened around 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday near Northeast Gertz Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement. Canadian customers face empty glasses of Jack Daniels because of retaliation to U.S. tariffs. Kentucky bourbon maker Brown-Forman is braced for tariffs but still hopes they can be staved off, even as the companys products are being yanked off shelves in Canada. CEO Lawson Whiting, in a March 5 conference call with stock market analysts after releasing third-quarter earnings, said alcohol makers are working internationally to try to keep this industry out of these trade wars, but were going to continue to prepare. So far the outlook doesnt look promising. One day earlier, President Donald Trump installed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. In retaliation, Ontario removed American whiskey and all U.S. products from its shelves. Video of liquor store workers removing Jack Daniels bottles went viral on social media. Whiting called that a disproportionate response that is frustrating but not devastating for his company. Thats worse than a tariff, thats completely taking sales away, Whiting said. Canada is only around 1% of sales, we can withstand, but its disappointing that some of our consumers arent going to be able to get our Jack Daniels, because its a big brand up there. Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, Americas three biggest trading partners, for a variety of reasons. He has said the tariffs against Canada and Mexico are to force greater efforts against fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. But he also said he wants to address trade imbalances, protect American jobs and push foreign corporations open more factories in the U.S. Spirits companies have argued they should be exempt from the tariffs because many of their products are country-specific already: Bourbon can be made only in the U.S., Canadian whiskey in Canada, tequila in Mexico, for instance. In Kentucky, Whiting said his company and others in the industry continue to push for reciprocal zero for zero tariffs but admitted there is a real possibility the European Union will enforce 50% tariffs after March 31, when a negotiating period on steel and aluminum exports comes to an end. We dont know where this things going, he said. If they are coming after American whiskey, then the market for spirits once again gets very distorted, but we really believe thats not going to be the case. Preparations for tariffs During Tuesdays conference call, Brown-Formans leadership was mum about specific preparations for tariffs, not wanting to tip their hand to competitors. But they indicated the possibility had been factored into its guidance for the rest of the year. The company said that, regardless of several troubling figures slipping sales (down 3% for the quarter), operating income (down 25%) and earnings (down 5%) and general uncertainty about the economic picture in the U.S., the company expects fiscal year 2025 to end with growth. That appeared to be enough for investors, who boosted the share price by almost 10% at midday. And with news that Trump could again grant a reprieve for Canada and Mexico, the overall stock market bounced back Wednesday. Gov. Andy Beshear, in a video posted on Tuesday, called on people to make your voice heard and call on Trump to undo this decision that Beshear said would put a Trump Tax on everything from food to new homes to gas. Tariffs impact on distilling jobs Louisville-based Brown-Forman has already cut more than 12% of its global workforce, and the Kentucky Distillers Association warned this week that more layoffs could be coming. In a statement issued late March 4, KDA president Eric Gregory said: The return of retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey will have far-reaching consequences across Kentucky ... That means hard-working Americans corn farmers, truckers, distillery workers, barrel makers, bartenders, servers and the communities and businesses built around Kentucky Bourbon will suffer. The distilling industry in Kentucky is a major employer, responsible for more than 23,000 jobs and $2.2 billion in salaries and benefits, he said. The KDA will continue to remind leaders of the far-reaching impact of our signature spirit and our concern for the loss of American jobs. Meanwhile, the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition of 52 associations representing the U.S. alcohol industry and related industries, issued a statement saying they are greatly troubled that U.S. alcohol products are being removed from Canadian stores. We urge President Trump to lift the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian distilled spirits and wine due to the special nature of our products. We commend the administrations objectives to protect the American people and support jobs in the United States, however, we are concerned these tariffs will not contribute to that effort, they said in a statement. Uncertainty already hurting business The tariffs would have a ripple effect on the wine and spirits supply chain, according to the statement from the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition. Thats already happening at least one Kentucky-based business. Hogshead, a recently launched online platform for barrel inventory, has seen recent deals with tequila producers in Mexico fall through. Chris Wiedmar, co-founder and CEO of Hogshead, built his online marketplace on buying and selling barrels of whiskey. But as the supply began to outpace demand, hes turned to tequila, working with groups who want to create tequila brands or new product lines and need to find barrels in Mexico. But suddenly that pipeline has some kinks as well. It started with logistics and freight partners saying, If you want to expedite before a certain date, we can rush and put that through. So there was a huge rush to get barrels into the U.S. before the tariffs kicked in, he said. Now, at least two new brands have completely paused their operations, he said. And existing brands have as well. A 25% hike is a massive cost to incur, he said. Theyre already on pretty thin margins. The video of Canada pulling off bottles of whiskey took me back to images from Prohibition, he said. You gotta just hope theres plenty of people lobbying to get this overturned. ... All this uncertainty is good for nobody. 2025 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. In this remote camera image from 2022, Jackie and Shadow watch over their eggs in a nest high atop a tree along Big Bear Lake. AP Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow are officially parents after years of trying for a baby in their Southern California nest. The first eaglet fully emerged from its egg just before 11:30 p.m. March 3 in the nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, the Friends of Big Bear Valley said in a Facebook post. So all of us are just crying tears of joy for eagle babies in the middle of the night? one person commented on Facebook. Then a few hours later, the second eagle broke out of its shell at 4:29 a.m. March 4. Welcome to the world lil ones, someone else commented. Eagle mom Jackie tended to the two eaglets until morning when Shadow got his first look at them at about 6:30 a.m. He then took over nest duty, keeping the babies and third unhatched egg warm. Viewers have now gotten several glimpses of the small precious gray bobbleheads. What a sweet miracle to watch, one person commented on Facebook. Congratulations to some of the best parents in the world!! another person wrote. The dedicated bald eagle parents havent had a successful hatch since their last eaglet, Spirit, was born March 3, 2022. Jackie and Shadow tended to two eggs through snow and storms in 2023, but abandoned the eggs after they showed no signs of hatching, McClatchy News reported. The same thing happened to the eagle parents last year with their three eggs. Shadow was reluctant to give up on them. In 2023, Jackie and Shadows eggs were eaten by ravens. And last winter also held heartbreak. The pair added a rare third egg to their clutch in late January, but the cold weather was severe. At one point, a storm kept Jackie on her nest for 62 hours straight, sometimes completely covered in snow. Low oxygen levels at high altitude are one of the reasons Friends of Big Bear Valley suspects Jackies three eggs failed to hatch last year. Cold, snowy winters and rainy springs also dim young eaglets' chances of survival. Bald eagle eggs typically have a 50-50 chance of hatching, according to Sandy Steers, biologist and executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley. Once hatched, fewer than 50% of eaglets survive their first year, according to the American Eagle Foundation. But hope springs eternal, and the couple had a surprising three-egg clutch again this year. The Friends of Big Bear Valley announced the discovery of the first pip on Sunday afternoon: Initial pip has been confirmed today at 15:09. (Except that line was all in capital letters.) Pipping is when a baby bird uses its beak to crack open its shell, and pip watch is the online vigil and hoopla surrounding that activity. Even when theres a pip, its going to take at least a day sometimes longer for the chick to hatch, Steers told The Times during the 2024 pip watch. With nature, we need to be patient. It can teach us to just breathe and enjoy the process instead of focusing on the result. Sunday around 10 p.m., more than 8,000 viewers were watching a sleeping bald eagle sit on its nest amid snow. The eagle awoke and shook out its feathers, fluffing the straw surrounding the trio of eggs as the camera zoomed in. Then the eagle resettled itself, rocking gently back and forth atop the eggs. Within days, the eaglets hatched. --The Bradenton Herald and Los Angeles Times contributed Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. They produce more harmful particulate matter than diesel trucks and cigarette smoke. They release carbon dioxide and toxic chemicals that can lead to dire health and climate outcomes. Yet efforts to decrease the use of wood stoves and wood-burning fireplaces in Portland seem to have had little effect. Preliminary results from a new state survey show more people across the state burned wood as compared to a 2021 survey. The wood-burning increase is especially pronounced in urban areas where people are using more wood fireplaces, fireplace inserts, wood stoves and pellet stoves in single-family detached homes. Theres also a smaller increase in the use of wood stoves in single-family detached homes in rural areas, according to the data, obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The reasons for the rise in burning could be many, state officials say, from the climbing costs of electricity and an increase in power outages to Oregons deep ties to the timber industry and easy-to-get and relatively cheap wood. Plus, people simply like the look and feel of fireplaces and wood stoves. The upturn is disheartening to public health officials in Multnomah County who for nearly six years have regulated wood burning, educated residents about its dangers and, more recently, have spent more than $1 million to help swap stoves and fireplaces for heat pumps. Wood burning is one of the leading sources of air pollution in Multnomah County during the winter heating season, said John Wasiutynski, the countys Office of Sustainability director. People dont smell poison, they smell nostalgia, Wasiutynski said. But we cant have clean air if we have wood burning. Clearly, its hard to part people from the tradition, he said. An estimated 1% of Multnomah Countys 343,370 homes or 3,434 households use wood as their primary heat source, according to the DEQ. But that number doesnt include the countless households that use wood as a secondary heat source or for pleasure, ambiance or aesthetic purposes, Wasiutynski said. The wood combustion survey, conducted every three years by Oregon State University in conjunction with the DEQ, offers a more complex picture of wood-burning trends. The survey asks a sampling of state residents whether they use wood-burning devices, what type and how much wood they burn. The data was collected last summer. Survey results are used to help develop a statewide emissions inventory of air pollutants, which the state submits to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the National Emissions Inventory. WORSE THAN TRUCKS, CARS COMBINED There are compelling reasons to ditch heating with wood, public health officials say. The EPA says residential wood smoke emits more fine particulate matter also called PM2.5 than cars, diesel trucks, tractors and bulldozers combined and five times more than petroleum refineries, cement manufacturers and pulp and paper plants combined. The tiny airborne particles, which can be inhaled deep into the lungs, can cause or exacerbate serious health problems, including asthma, severe bronchitis, heart and lung disease and can lead to premature death, according to the American Lung Association. People over 65, children, pregnant women and those with existing lung or heart conditions are most at risk. Burning wood also releases volatile organic compounds toxic gases that vaporize into the air that can cause cancer and other adverse health effects, nitrogen oxides and cancer-causing benzene and formaldehyde, according to the EPA. The chemicals and the particulate matter degrade indoor air quality for the families that burn wood and also make the air outside sooty and stinky for countless neighbors. Its especially dire on days with air stagnation and temperature inversions when warm air sits on top of cold air, causing pollution from the wood devices to stick close to the ground, Wasiutynski said. If I had to choose, would I rather my neighbor idle a modern diesel truck in his yard or fire up his fireplace? Im going to choose the diesel truck because its actually going to be less polluting, he said. Though the EPA in 2018 declared that wood burning is carbon neutral because trees die naturally and can be replanted to reabsorb carbon that declaration was focused on the biomass industry that burns wood products for energy, including to produce wood pellets for stoves. Environmental groups have pushed back, saying wood smoke adds carbon dioxide, black carbon and methane to the air, pollutants that contribute significantly to climate change. Data from the state Department of Environmental Quality also shows that residential wood burning has a disproportionately harmful impact on Latino and Black residents in Oregon, Wasiutynski said. And newer or eco-friendly stoves, fireplaces and inserts certified to comply with higher emission standards arent necessarily that much cleaner. 10 states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging its testing and certification program for home wood heaters is ineffective. AP In 2023, Oregon and nine other states sued the EPA, alleging both that the federal agencys current standards arent good enough and that its wood-stove testing and certification program fails to ensure that new wood-burning stoves actually comply with the emission limits. In October, the EPA and the states reached a settlement, with the agency agreeing to reassess how it tests wood stoves and to propose new standards within a reasonable timeframe. Given the Trump administrations priorities, its unlikely new standards will be proposed anytime soon, Wasiutynski said. RISE IN URBAN BURNING The increase in urban wood burning in the state survey indicates people may not know or care about the controversies over certified stoves. Chris Varley, a spokesperson with the DEQs air quality division, said the state agency is still analyzing the reasons behind the increase, including looking at whether the 2023-2024 winter just before data was collected was particularly cold and whether the rapid rise in electricity costs could have influenced the type of fuel people use to heat their homes. Varley said the state will continue to focus on educating residents about wood burnings health impacts and helping them choose more efficient stoves or switching to heat pumps. Awareness about the harms of wood burning is still just really slow to take hold in our consciousness, he said. We know wood smoke is bad and we want to do everything we can to help residents transition to cleaner alternatives. Johnny Chen, the director of Oregon States Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights, said the survey has undergone some changes to make it more accurate and would need to be replicated in three years to more conclusively address whether Oregonians are burning more wood. Chen also said because the surveys sampling procedure did a better job of capturing respondents from eastern Oregon than the previous survey, this could account for some of the rise in the number of people having a fireplace, a fireplace insert or a wood stove, as homes in that part of the state are more likely to have wood-burning heat sources. Additionally, said Chen, the 2021 survey was likely affected by COVID-19, as people spending more time at home may have altered their heating choices. The survey findings dont come as a surprise to Wasiutynski, who attributes the rise in urban wood burning to more affluent people buying wood fireplaces and wood stoves. For some, the fire crackling and smell of wood burning seem to hold an almost primordial attraction. For others, its a way to recreate a cozy or romantic feel, he said. Then theres also a new trend, driven by extreme weather the ice storms in recent years of wood burning increasingly used as an emergency backup, a way to keep the house warm during power outages, he said. For survey respondents who indicated they had an alternative heating option, wood was the most common source. That may not be a bad thing, Wasiutynski said, as long as people are using the wood-burning devices once or twice a year, that theyre using them properly and that theyre aware their fireplaces and stoves no matter how modern or efficient are still polluting and harmful to their and their neighbors health. People have a perception that wood burning is green, Wasiutynski said. Its not. Thats a bitter pill for Oregonians to swallow. SPREADING THE WORD Ruth Gundle and her partner converted their wood fireplace in Southeast Portland after getting into arguments with neighbors whose backyard campfires would blow into their windows. They realized they were doing the same thing with their homes wood-burning fireplace that they had enjoyed for years. Seven years ago, Gundle converted to a gas fireplace, which at the time was touted as the better alternative. We had no clue about how polluting wood burning was, we just had no idea, Gundle said. The county has been trying to spread that message since 2018 when it passed an ordinance to prevent wood burning on the worst air quality days. Multnomah County issues mandatory wood burning restrictions The measure exempts low-income households and those using wood burning as their primary source of heat, for food preparation, for ceremonial reasons or for emergencies such as power outages. It also exempts the many Portland restaurants that sell wood-fired cooking and that burn wood around the clock, even though theyre often located in residential neighborhoods. In November 2022, the county launched a wood-burning exchange pilot program to replace wood-burning devices with energy-efficient heat pumps. The program focused on neighborhoods most affected by wood smoke and residents with limited means to change their home heating systems. Over the past two years, the program replaced 127 wood-burning devices in 115 homes (some homes had more than one wood-burning source) at a cost of $1.4 million. A crew from Advance Design Build installs heat pump infrastructure at the home of a Southeast Portland family that has burned wood for heat for decades. The heat pump came courtesy of Multnomah County's wood stove exchange program. Austin De Dios The Oregonian/OregonLive The funding came via Oregons Community Heat Pump Deployment Program, a $500,000 federal grant through the American Rescue Plan Act and additional grants from the state Department of Environmental Quality. The county funded a position that administered the program. But the state and federal money are drying up. Given the countys fiscal woes, its likely the wood stove exchange program will be discontinued, Wasiutynski said. Portland nonprofits may be able to continue the work, though the details are yet to be finalized and other cities in Multnomah County wont be able to participate, he said. Wasiutynski said he hopes the county and the state will continue to educate residents about the harms of wood burning. The climate crisis is making exposure to smoke from wood, due to forest fires, more common in the summer and fall, making reductions in wintertime emissions associated with residential wood burning all the more important, he said. Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. Leonard Peltier speaks during an interview in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) AP BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) More than 50 years after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation landed him in federal prison, Leonard Peltier remains defiant. Despite being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, he maintains his innocence in the killings of two FBI agents in 1975 and sees his newfound freedom the result of a commutation from former President Joe Biden as the beginning of a new phase of his activism. Im going to spend the rest of my life fighting for our people, because we aint finished yet. Were still in danger, Peltier, now 80, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at his new home on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, his tribal homeland in North Dakota, near the Canadian border. There among the rolling, often snow-covered hills, he will serve out the rest of his sentence on house arrest. Born into an era of violent hostility between the American government and Indigenous peoples, the former American Indian Movement member has now stepped into another politically volatile moment in the country. He said he understands well the threats the rise of the far right, as well as the federal government, pose to tribal nations and Indigenous peoples. He believes that, like previous administrations, President Donald Trump will come for minerals and oil on tribal lands. This combination of images provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on June 27, 1975, shows Special Agent Ronald A. Williams, left, and Special Agent Jack R. Coler, right. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP) AP You dont have to get violent, you dont have to do nothing like that. Just get out there and stand up, he told AP this week, in his first sit-down conversation with a journalist in over 30 years. We got to resist. The FBI and Native American activists: A volatile mix Peltier was part of a movement in the late 1960s and 1970s that fought for Native American rights and tribal self-determination, sometimes occupying federal and tribal property. The movement grabbed headlines in 1973 when it took over the village of Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge, leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents. They also protested at Alcatraz and the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters. For many members of the American Indian Movement, or AIM, their activism was part of a legacy of resistance stretching back to the countrys founding. The day of the shootout came amid heightened tensions on the Pine Ridge reservation, where residents felt the FBIs heavy presence was a threat to the peoples autonomy. Peltier and other AIM members got into a confrontation with agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams when the agents drove onto a rural property where the AIM members were staying. Both agents were shot and killed, along with Joseph Stuntz, another AIM member. A "Welcome Home" sign is displayed for Leonard Peltier in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) AP The eyeglasses and watches Leonard Peltier brought home from prison sit on his nightstand in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) AP Leonard Peltier holds a copy of his commutation in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) AP The FBI says Peltier shot the agents at close range. In a letter sent to Biden last year opposing his release, former FBI director Christopher Wray called Peltier a remorseless killer. His guilt is clear to many, including North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong. More than 20 federal judges upheld his conviction, and he was denied parole as recently as last July, Armstrong said in a statement to the AP. There was no legal justification for his release. He should still be in prison. Peltier was not pardoned; Biden said he was commuting Peltiers sentence because of his age, his declining health, and the long period he had already been in prison. Peltier has acknowledged he was at the shootout, but he says he acted in self-defense and wasnt the one whose bullets killed the agents. He believes the FBI and prosecutors were looking for someone to take the blame, after his two co-defendants were exonerated for self-defense. FILE - Marchers carry a large painting of jailed Native American activist Leonard Peltier during a march for the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov. 22, 2001. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) AP Leonard Peltier stands for a portrait in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave) AP They wanted revenge, and they didnt know who was responsible, Peltier told the AP from the kitchen table of his new home. And they said Put the full weight of the American government on Leonard Peltier, we need a conviction. And when they say that you dont have no rights, he said. Amnesty International and scores of political leaders around the world called Peltier a political prisoner of the U.S., questioning the fairness of his trial and conviction. James Reynolds, a former U.S. Attorney for Northern Iowa, whose office oversaw post-conviction proceedings, urged clemency in a letter to Biden in 2021. He wrote that prosecutors couldnt prove Peltier fired the fatal shots and called his imprisonment unjust. Peltiers grandson, Cyrus Peltier, remembers visiting him every weekend at Leavenworth, a federal prison in Kansas. He didnt always understand why his grandfather wouldnt just tell the parole board he was sorry for the crimes, and hopefully win his freedom. And he would say Well, thats just not what Im fighting for, grandson, Cyrus Peltier, now 39, recalled from his home in North Dakota this week. Im sorry for what happened to those agents, but Im not going to sit here and admit to something I didnt do. And if I have to die in here for that, Im going to. A life behind bars, but always hope for freedom In prison, Peltiers fame only grew, as he amassed the support of prominent political leaders around the globe and celebrities in the U.S. and became a symbol of the injustices against Native Americans. FILE - Native American activist Leonard Peltier sits for a portrait in prison in February 1986. (AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa, File) AP He said it was all their letters of support and acts of protest for his release that kept him going. Peltier said there were moments in the last few years where he began to lose hope that he would ever see freedom. His denial of parole in July was another crushing blow. They gave me the strength to stay alive and to know what I was in prison for, he said. Many Indigenous people, leaders, and organizers lobbied for decades for Peltiers release. However, some who believe Peltier was involved in the murder of AIM member Anna Mae Pictou Aquash in 1975 fought against his release. Two other AIM members were convicted of the crime. Their ability to say that he is free and he gets to go home negates the whole fact that Anna Mae never got to go home, said Aquashs daughter, Denise Pictou Maloney. In his interview with the AP, Peltier denied having any knowledge of Aquashs death. I didnt give my life for nothing' In the end, Biden listened to the counsel of former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to lead the Interior Department. Peltier was released on Feb. 18, and returned to North Dakota. He still often wakes up at night terrified that it is all a dream and that he is still in a cell. Peltier remains confined to his home and nearby community. But he now has access to routine medical treatment for his many health issues, including an aortic aneurysm. He gets around with the help of a cane or a walker. He is heartened by the many people who come to visit him and drop off gifts like beaded medallions, letters and artwork, which are piling up in his home. Peltier wants to make a living selling his paintings, as he did in prison, and he plans to write more books. He also wants to train young activists about the threats they will face. When he was in prison, lying in his bunk at night, he would often wonder if his protest efforts resulted in any change. Seeing young Native activists today continuing to fight for the same things gives meaning to the 49 years he was incarcerated. It makes me feel so good, man, it does, he said, holding back tears. Im thinking, well, I didnt give my life for nothing. ___ Associated Press writer Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this report. A recent article by The Oregonian/OregonLive on the Equity Corps of Oregon fails to highlight the programs vital role in helping immigrant Oregonians navigate our nations complex immigration system and contribute to our state, (Oregon spends millions to help immigrants fight deportation. Its unclear how many succeed, Feb. 22). I am the daughter of immigrants who came here in search of a better life. They labored in the fields until the Reagan Administration granted them and thousands of others the opportunity to become citizens. Today, Oregon is home to more than 400,000 immigrants from countries around the world. Immigrants are essential to our states success and shared prosperity part of what makes Oregon strong and beautiful. Before ECO, thousands of Oregonians faced immigration legal proceedings without any support. Today, over 11,000 people are enrolled in the program thats progress we are proud of. Still, we know more can be done. There is a shortage of attorneys in Oregon, and ECO is working hard to train a new generation of legal service providers. In addition to deportation defense, ECO helps families with all immigration legal needs, including asylum, work permits, DACA, family unification, citizenship, interpretation, and more. Dozens of nonprofits and private attorneys work together to deliver ECO services statewide, with oversight from the Oregon Legislature and the Oregon State Bar. While President Donald Trumps threats of mass deportation weigh heavily on Oregon families, our state is stronger and more resilient because of ECO. When Oregonians lack legal representation, more families are separated, which harms all of us. ECO helps keep Oregon families together - a value we all share. Reyna Lopez Lopez is executive director of the Woodburn-based farmworkers union PCUN To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion. In this July 9, 2019, file photo, immigrants line up in the dinning hall at the U.S. government's holding center for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay Last Tuesday, Alvaro de la Cruz-Correa, an immigration lawyer in Spokane, got an email from his bosses. He would have to stop his work on cases that involved immigrant children, by order of the federal government. No other information was provided. Two days later, another email came through: Never mind. He could continue his work on those cases, after all. But two days after that, an internal memo was provided to news organizations that show Trump officials directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to target and deport the very children de la Cruz-Correa represents unaccompanied migrant children. For the first time, I really felt a sense of defeat over this kind of work that Im doing, de la Cruz-Correa, a legal advocate for unaccompanied children, said after he received the initial stop-work order. It feels like the system is winning when it comes to making the lives harder for both immigrants and their lawyers. The last week of contradictory directives from the Trump administration has created an atmosphere of confusion for unaccompanied migrant children, who have fled their home countries to arrive at the U.S. border without a parent or guardian, and their immigration cases. In the Pacific Northwest, nonprofit legal aid organizations like Northwest Immigrant Justice Project, Kids in Need of Defense and Manzanita House, where de la Cruz-Correa works, represent hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children who have settled with sponsors. Leaders in the organizations told InvestigateWest that their clients, many of whom have fled violence in their home countries, are fearful of the fast-paced changes and that their attorneys are unsure what could happen next. We are preparing (our clients) as best as we can to know their rights and know whats happening in their case, said Vanessa Gutierrez, deputy director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. We want them to be able to be children and live their lives and not worry about their immigration status. But unfortunately, they have to these days. Between 2015 and 2023, around 4,000 unaccompanied migrant children were settled with sponsor families in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to previous reporting from InvestigateWest. Most do not have legal representation to help them navigate their complex deportation cases, but some have advocated through nonprofits that are in part federally funded. Manzanita House, a nonprofit dedicated to serving immigrants and refugees in Spokane, represents 10 unaccompanied migrant children. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project represents over 300 unaccompanied migrant children. Kids In Need of Defense, which has an office in Seattle, represents hundreds more. The ICE memo that prioritizes issuing deportation orders to unaccompanied migrant children comes at a time when the need for legal representation for undocumented immigrants is growing. Though exact numbers of undocumented immigrants detained in the Northwest were not available, reports of arrests and activity by Border Patrol agents and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have increased in recent weeks. Organizations in the Northwest like Kids In Need of Defense and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project are worried about their federal funds. They rely on a contract between the federal government and Acacia Center for Justice, the national organization that oversees 158 legal service organizations that provide legal representation to unaccompanied migrant children. It receives around $200 million in federal funds each year to provide legal counsel to children, but the five-year contract with the government is up for renewal next month. Many advocates, including Gutierrez, worry it wont be renewed, leaving unaccompanied migrant children to navigate their cases alone. I dont leave the house Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, called the last week a rollercoaster in a news conference Tuesday and said it was a stark reminder of the crucial role that (legal) services play in keeping thousands of unaccompanied children safe. Immigration lawyers across the region told InvestigateWest that the recent Trump directives around unaccompanied migrant children have led to renewed fear in the immigrant community. Gutierrez said her organization held a Know Your Rights presentation last weekend that was sparsely attended in Peshastin, an unincorporated community in Washingtons Chelan County. I think people are probably afraid to go out in public and go to an event thats related to immigration protections, because it makes them feel vulnerable and like they are outing themselves as immigrants, she said. They say, I just go to work and go to the grocery store, and I come home and I dont leave the house because of fear, she said. And these are clients that have protections and lawyers. So I cant imagine the ones that dont have lawyers. In the cases that de la Cruz-Correa handles, he said, children have fled violence or danger in their home countries, and now with the uncertainty that the Trump administration has brought to the immigration legal system, they also fear deportation. The question that I dont feel like I have a good answer to is: Will immigration enforcement come for me at school? he said. De la Cruz-Correa has clients as young as 11. Whats coming next? Immigration attorneys who work on unaccompanied minor cases are also wondering what could be in store for their organizations from the Trump administration. Were trying to focus on what we have control over, but theres always that worry of whats coming next or is ICE going to show up at our office? Is ICE going to audit us? Gutierrez said. And there is an attempt at intimidating organizations like ours that are protecting peoples legal rights, so we wouldnt be surprised if things like that end up happening. Since Trump took office, his administration has cracked down on undocumented immigrants, deporting over 5,600 people, according to a post on X , and weakening the legal and social structures in place to support them. On Sunday, Feb. 23, Reuters obtained an ICE memo that outlined steps the agency should take to begin targeting unaccompanied migrant children for deportation. The memo, which was not made public, directed agents to focus on children who are considered flight risks who have been given deportation orders for missing court dates as well as children living with sponsors who are not blood relatives. Previous reporting from InvestigateWest found that as of 2017, just 26% of unaccompanied migrant children in Washington had legal representation in their cases and just 35% of such children in Oregon did. Unaccompanied children are typically apprehended at the border, then placed in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The children are undocumented, but by law the agency must take care of them, by placing them with sponsors and keeping track of them as their cases move through immigration court. Once a child enters the agencys custody, there is a removal case filed against them, and they must seek asylum or another protected status in order to remain in the U.S. There is a severe shortage of legal assistance available to unaccompanied children in the Northwest. Samuel Smith, an immigration attorney with Manzanita House, previously told InvestigateWest that he worked on a case with a child who was issued a deportation order for missing a court date. The child had tried to make it to court, but got the location wrong. They were making good-faith attempts and didnt know their case was at a different location. We were lucky enough to show up with them, and the judge reopened the case, Smith told InvestigateWest in December. In these cases, when they make mistakes, the consequences are so severe. Without legal representation, unaccompanied migrant children are much more likely to be deported. Kids In Need of Defense says the success rate for gaining legal status is five times higher when an unaccompanied minor has professional representation. De la Cruz-Correa said it would be nearly impossible for his young clients to navigate their cases without assistance, and though he is trying to be positive for his clients, he worries about the recent political attacks on his clients and profession. His role with Manzanita House is funded through Acacia. Attempting to undermine due process by cutting off access to legal representation for the most vulnerable, unaccompanied migrant children, does not seem like justice is being carefully administered, he said. The fear and uncertainty for this population remain. InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. A Report for America corps member, reporter Rachel Spacek can be reached at rachel@investigatewest.org. Oregons tortured years-long debate over whether to end the twice-yearly time changes that irritate so many residents is once again underway in the Legislature this session. But any potential action by state lawmakers will be postponed for at least an extra year after a daylight saving time bill before the Washington Legislature died in committee last month. Oregonian Lori Chavez-DeRemer, U.S. labor secretary nominee, looks at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during President Donald Trump's address to Congress on March 4, 2025. (Screenshot from livestream) Oregonian Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is President Donald Trumps pick for U.S. labor secretary, was given a front row spot next to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during Trumps Tuesday night address to Congress. The VIP seating shows how far Chavez-DeRemer has come in the Republican party since her days as mayor of Happy Valley, a growing Portland suburb of about 15,000 residents when she was first elected in 2010. Chavez-DeRemer was elected in 2022 to represent Oregons 5th Congressional District for two years before being defeated by Democrat Janelle Bynum in 2024. Dressed in red, Chavez-DeRemer hugged Kennedy, whose appointment to a health leadership position was controversial given his position on vaccines and other matters. Chavez-DeRemer was also a controversial nominee for a very different reason her close ties to labor unions. That led three Democrats on the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee to vote in favor of her nomination and one Republican, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, to vote against her. While Chavez-DeRemer soaked in the spotlight, at least three members of Oregons congressional delegation walked out in protest. Democratic Rep. Maxine Dexter of the 3rd Congressional District said she left because she will not dignify his cruelty. I will loudly fight back, Dexter said in a news release. I will relentlessly disrupt. I will unapologetically resist. Democratic Rep. Andrea Salinas of the 6th Congressional District said she left in protest of Trump and unelected co-president Elon Musk. In six weeks, Donald Trump has crossed out the Constitution and crowned himself king blatantly ignoring the wishes of voters and sending our democracy into a downward spiral, Salinas said in a news release. Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of the 1st Congressional District said she also walked out, in a video post to Bluesky. After listening to lie after lie after lie, I just couldnt stay anymore, Bonamici said. Aimee Green is covering the Oregon Legislature this session. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. An expanse of blackened shrubs and earth in the Lookout Mountain region in eastern Oregon. Wildfires burned a record 1.9 million acres across Oregon in 2024 and lawmakers are considering a slew of bills aimed at wildfire prevention and funding in the 2025 legislative session. Dave Killen / The Oregonian Lawyers are at odds over whether a proposal to create a new safety certification for utility companies who earn a gold star for wildfire mitigation would help shield those utilities from lawsuits in the event they start a fire. Lawmakers sponsoring House Bill 3666 say that wasnt their intention. They say that in this world there are two kinds of people: Those who get to the airport early, and those who try to rush through at the last minute. A new TikTok trend called airport theory is apparently attempting to justify that last-minute travel. It involves people filming themselves as they attempt to navigate airports, get through security and make it to their gates with only minutes to spare. One TikTok user bragged about a huge win for airport theory in a video at the busy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where he got through in a breezy 15 minutes (on a Tuesday, without checking a bag and apparently using TSA PreCheck). Another TikToker said she started navigating LAX a full four minutes after her flight had begun boarding, yet somehow wound up being the first person to board the plane, despite being randomly selected for a security screening. The theory dares travelers to arrive at the airport a mere 15 minutes before their flights, leaving only minutes to get through security and rush to the gate. Its also an apparent rebuke to those who give themselves plenty of time to catch a flight. This is why I never get to the airport early, said a TikTok user who showed up 43 minutes ahead of her flight and thanked airport theory for the fact that she got to her gate in 20 minutes. It hasnt worked out so well for everyone. In one video, a woman testing out the theory showed herself arriving at a gate only to see flight closed flashed across the screens. For those of you thinking about testing the airport theory dont do it, her caption read. She might not be alone. The New York Post reported that Google searches for I missed my flight rose by 645% in February, citing data from travel website Netflights, which noted that airport theory relies heavily on a number of variable factors, and is an obviously risky endeavor. The idea of rushing through an airport also relies on the assumption that the airport experience is something to avoid. And while that may be true in, say, Newark, its not the case at the Portland International Airport, which is designed specifically as a place to hang out. Anyone testing airport theory at PDX will miss out on the beautiful new building, and the many shopping and dining options. Theres also all the art, both on the walls and in the PDX Art Gallery. Our airport even has a little movie theater, the Hollywood Theatres Microcinema, with rotating short films made by locals. According to PDX, travelers trying to get through the airport during the busy morning hours should show up two hours before their departure time which should give you plenty of time to enjoy the place. The airport recommends consulting airlines for advice on how early to show up other times of the day. --Jamie Hale covers travel and the outdoors and co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast. Reach him at 503-294-4077, jhale@oregonian.com or @HaleJamesB. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, opened its third session on Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attended the opening meeting. Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the meeting. The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Editor: Zhang Zhou Editor's Note: This article was updated at 3:09 p.m. March 5 to include more information on how tariffs may impact farmers. WASHINGTON Members of Oklahomas congressional delegation voiced their support for proposed policies impacting the state in President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening. NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name When major news breaks + a few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing... In his address, Trump promised an American comeback and highlighted his second-term administrations efforts to increase border security, invest in American industry and halt diversity, equity and inclusion programs. His administration will reverse economic damage from the Biden administration, he said, which includes rising egg prices. Trump said farmers could be initially hurt by these tariffs, but the market will adjust. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Tulsa) said short-term tariffs are no concern, and he and other Oklahoma legislators said Trumps call to increase energy production will benefit Oklahoma because its one of the nations largest oil producers. To Trumps right, Democrat legislators and their guests refused to stand or applaud the president, holding signs that read save Medicaid, Musk steals and false. Wearing pink in protest, they criticized Trump during the speech, and some walked out early. In a video posted on social platform X, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said the Democrats reaction was difficult to watch. While he understands they dislike Trumps policy, Lankford said theres no excuse for Democrats refusing to applaud DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old guest of Trump who survived brain cancer. It was just remarkable that they had just determined, No matter what Trump says Im opposed to (it), even if its things the vast number of Americans are supportive of, Lankford said. Theres some things that should actually unite us. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said in a video on X that while he understands Democrats are angry their behavior is absurd. Democrats in the chamber have little paper flags that say false. Mullin wrote on X during the address. Powerful stuff. Luckily, I think the guy who took a bullet for America will overcome this. Mullin brought his wife of 27 years, Christie Mullin, as his guest for the address. To Trumps left in the chamber, Republican legislators and their guests jumped to their feet to cheer on his policies, including Oklahomas seven congress members. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Norman) wrote in a press release that Trump is rapidly strengthening America by securing the border, pushing measures against biological men in womens sports and renewing tax cuts. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to deliver on the mandate of the American people, Cole wrote. In a press release following the address, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Tulsa) wrote that Trump has a clear vision to renew the American dream. The possibility of America is in our hands, and under his leadership, the next four years will be a golden era of prosperity, strength, and security, Hern wrote in the release. Herns guest was Mark Nelson, president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of the Police. Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, slated to take effect April 2. After an adjustment period, American agriculture will benefit from these tariffs and farming will prosper, he said. In his video on X, Lankford said tariffs and pressure placed on other nations will propel them to decrease their tariffs on the U.S., which would bring down American consumer prices. Along with tariffs, Trump will increase manufacturing, Lankford said. This is going to be a bit of a push between countries, to say, We dont want to tariff you, but we also dont want to have to live under your tariffs, Lankford said. Hern told reporters short-term tariffs would motivate other nations to negotiate with the U.S., and they wouldnt harm Oklahoma farmers like long-term tariffs might. NO PAYWALL, NONPARTISAN Students pay about $14 in fees that support the Daily. If you're not a student, please join those invested in OU and Norman who have given more than $110,000 to support our trustworthy, independent journalism. SUPPORT OUR LOCAL JOURNALISM I can tell you with 100% certainty, the president wants free trade, but he wants it to be fair, Hern said. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Oklahoma City) said the economy is Trumps next priority in a video on X. We'll see some of the economic impacts, I believe, with the tariffs that are being put forward, trying to negotiate a better deal for Americans, Bice said. Bice brought Thomas Mancino, adjutant general of the Oklahoma National Guard, as her guest. Reciprocal tariffs are common sense, Mullin wrote on X. Whatever you charge us, well charge you. In his address, Trump also praised the efforts of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, an organization seeking to decrease government spending. We must eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, Bice wrote on X. DOGE has made cuts to federal agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Park Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which has impacted Normans National Weather Center. Last week, an unknown number of employees were laid off at the National Weather Center branch in Norman. On Monday, Axios reported that the lease for the Radar Operations Center was canceled by DOGE. Trump also said he plans to open power plants the Biden administration closed, claiming Biden closed over 100 plants during his term, a claim the New York Times said was false in a fact check of the speech. Trump also stated Biden cut oil and gas leases by 95% during his term. Hern told reporters Trumps energy plan will create high-paying jobs and Oklahoma has plenty of oil and gas opportunities, which will contribute to Americas shift to energy independence. Bidens policies hurt Americas energy industry, Lankford wrote on X, and any improvements in oil that the Trump administration saw were a result of first-term Trump policies. DRILL BABY DRILL. Oklahoma is the place to do it! Mullin wrote on X. Thank you, President Trump. Bice repeated the drill baby drill sentiment and wrote on X that Trumps policies will restore the energy industry by reducing rules and regulations. Oklahoma understands how to power our nation, Bice wrote. Drilling energy on American soil is common sense, Cole wrote. Lankford said conversations about improving the economy, border security and other issues will not stop, and he will continue to pray for America. Even in areas where we disagree, to say, How do we find ways to be able to disagree in a way that still honors each other as Americans, Lankford said in his X response. Abby Young is reporting with Gaylord News Washington bureau as part of a partnership with OU Daily. Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News, go to GaylordNews.net. This story was edited by Peggy Dodd. For years, a Chicago teenager has been selling his art to help children fighting cancer. The young artist Arsh Pal, 14, is using his passion for the arts to make a difference in the lives of children fighting for their lives. For years, he has been selling his artwork to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Using Art To Help Kids With Cancer The boy's fantastic journey started when he received acrylic painting supplies as a gift for his eighth birthday. When he got them, he immediately fell in love with the medium and drew inspiration from nature and the world around him to create beautiful artwork. Pal's talent for the arts was further nurtured by the vibrant downtown murals he saw near his former home in Dubuque, Iowa, before his family moved to Chicago. According to India Currents, the teenage boy's journey started one day when he was accompanying his mother, an occupational therapist, to work at a nursing home. Read more: Utah Lawmakers Propose Bill to Ease Access to Adoption Records While Safeguarding Birth Parent Privacy The young boy was responsible for leading residents in a painting tutorial. They noticed that the simple process of drawing art was enjoyable for them. He realized that despite their age, the people at the nursing home still shared his desire for connection and food. That particular experience left an impressionable mark on Pal, and it inspired him to use his art to help other people. Pal saw that the residents at the nursing home where his mother worked sometimes looked hurt and lonely. Donating All of the Proceeds Pal has been making art and selling his canvas paintings so that he can donate all of the proceeds to St. Jude. He wants to help kids fighting cancer. KETV reported that his original goal was to raise $1,000 for St. Jude Research Hospital. The young boy also recalled how people started to doubt him in the beginning and how, due to his age, he would be able to do it. However, when he actually raised enough money for his first goal, everybody who doubted him was surprised. Due to his efforts, Pal was also awarded The Diana Award a couple of years ago in a live-streamed ceremony that honored him and 180 recipients worldwide. The UK-based award is typically given to individuals aged between nine and 25 who are "selflessly creating and sustaining positive social change," according to the Des Moines Register. Colorado lawmakers proposed to create the state's first regulations focused on childcare centers that private investors own. The proposal, which the Colorado House of Representatives initially approved on Tuesday, marks the latest development in controlling how these centers work. Supporters of the proposal note that it would set guidelines for the increasing number of childcare centers in Colorado that for-profit companies back. Regulations for Investor-Owned Childcare Centers The proposed rules would only apply to childcare centers across the state that institutional investors and private equity firms control. Republican lawmakers tried to broaden the regulations to also apply to all childcare providers. However, state Rep. Lorena Garcia, who sponsored the bill, argued that investor-owned childcare centers are vastly different from independent operators. She noted that they are making changes to the centers to fit their profit model, which, according to KUNC, requires transparency. The proposal comes as investors have bought up many previously independent businesses in recent years. These include funeral parlors, nursing homes, and childcare centers. Investment firms control as much as 15% of the state's childcare capacity. House Bill 25-1011 includes provisions that would require investment firms to give 60 days' notice before they lay off employees. This was designed to prevent them from bolstering profits by cutting the centers' workforces. Issues With Private Owners Many people have been raising concerns about the issue for some time now, and one example is that families at a Highlands Ranch child care center received startling news in July 2024. This was because the center was temporarily closing after being visited by the county health department, Chalkbeat reported. It was revealed that the owner of the center failed to submit the required construction plans to the Douglas County Health Department. They also failed to acquire the necessary construction permits from the county's building division. Furthermore, a state childcare licensing inspector found several safety violations related to the construction of the center. For example, tools and debris blocked emergency exits, and paint and construction materials were easily accessible to children. It was later revealed that the renovation of the center was the result of a change in ownership. A national chain known as The Nest Schools purchased it from a small local company earlier that month, according to The Denver Post. Apple recently announced a slew of new child protections and measures that would change how and what kids can see online on their devices. The changes come after years of continued pressure from parents, advocates, and lawmakers who fear for the safety of children. Utah and other states ' moving to enact legislation requiring age verification and parental consent for all app downloads and purchases spurred Apple's announcement. Apple Announces Changes for Better Child Protections The App Store Accountability Act appears to be set to become law in Utah, and many believe that more will follow. Apple just released a set of reforms, headlined "Helping Protect Kids Online," that uses a strategy of "shock and awe." Legislators nationwide are now asking themselves whether Apple's new changes will actually address the issues identified. While the company has taken some time to solve the problems, according to Deseret, it still comes as a welcome change. Read more: South Carolina House Passes Bill Proposing Parental Consent for Minors Going On Social Media The changes are also part of Apple's broader effort to minimize data collection and give parents more control over what is shared with app developers. One of the inclusions is a plan to increase the company's child-safety precautions by streamlining the setup of a child's account with appropriate default settings for children under 13. There are also the so-called "age assurance tools," including the ability for parents to update their child's account age if they had previously set it incorrectly. Additionally, parents will have the option to consent to sharing their kids' age range with app developers so they can be shown more age-appropriate content in the App Store. Various New Features Apple said that with the new feature, parents will feel like they are in charge of their children's safety online. It added that app developers will also have another way of identifying and keeping kids safe within their apps, MSN reported. Other updates the company announced include more granular app age ratings in the App Store and expanded product page details. The latter was designed to assist parents in making informed decisions about which apps to download for their children. The age rating system is also being updated and will be expanded from its current four categories to five thresholds. These are ages four plus, nine plus, 13 plus, 16 plus, and 18 plus. These have different restrictions that cater to children within the age ranges for which they are applicable, as per Median AMA. In a thought-provoking interview, Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), explains that while democracy may seem abstract, it must be translated into tangible outcomes. He likens democracy to a system that doesn't provide food directly but ensures people have access to italong with healthcare, education, and employment. Chungong highlights China's Whole-Process Peoples Democracy as an exemplary model, which ensures that governance is always centered around the peoples needs. By focusing on inclusivity, integration, and legitimacy, he believes Chinas approach offers valuable lessons on how democracy can effectively serve its people and meet their aspirations. Editor: WRX A Huntingdon County man is facing charges after police said he mistook another hunter for a turkey and shot him in the face and head. Scott Huber, 51, is charged with reckless endangerment and violations of Pennsylvanias hunting laws, according to WTAJ. The incident occurred on Nov. 9 in Barree Township. According to a criminal complaint, Huber was hunting in the area when he thought he saw the black and white feathers and white neck of a turkey. Huber then fired his shotgun, only to hear someone yell, You shot me. Huber told police he then walked towards the direction of his shot and yelled call out, but did not get a response and was not sure if someone had been joking with him. The victim, who had been archery hunting at the time, was taken to a hospital. Officials said he had 2 gunshot wounds to the right ear, 2 gunshot wounds to the right shoulder, 7 gunshot wounds to the upper right back, 1 gunshot wound to the right arm, and 3 wounds near the ear. The unidentified victim told police he had been hunting from a tree saddle when he saw another hunter in blaze orange setting up about 80 yards away. He later changed his location, unaware of Hubers position. He told police he heard a gunshot before feeling intense pain in his head and face. Investigators said they used a K-9 unit to retrace the victims steps and reconstruct the scene. They determined that Huber was about 52 yards away from the victim when he fired the shot. The area was obscured with thick brush, which could have made visibility an issue, police said. Hubers preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 16. The other locations that will be impacted have yet to be confirmed. (Getty Images) Getty Images/Connect Images Last year, a major auto parts retailer announced it was closing hundreds of stores nationwide. While all the exact locations that will close is still unconfirmed, there are several locations that we know will, indeed, shutter their doors. It was last November when Advanced Auto Parts revealed via press release its strategic plan to shut down more than 700 stores by mid-2025. Part of this plan also involved the closing of four distribution centers, too. USA Today reports how Advance Auto Parts tapped Hilco Real Estate to manage the sale of over 200 leased and 24 owned location and potential development properties so far. The locations currently up for sale are listed below: Alabama Bay Minette: 101 McMeans Ave. Arizona Mesa: 1201 West University Drive Phoenix: 3246 West Indian School Road Prescott Valley: 3484 North Glassford Hill Rd. Arkansas Fort Smith: 2620 Rovers Ave. California Cathedral City: 68-580 Ramon Road Florida Clermont: 390 East Highway 50 Fort Myers: 3671 Cleveland Ave. Georgia Dublin: 111 Prince St. Kansas Leavenworth: 2209 South Fourth St. Louisiana New Orleans: 2641 South Clayborne Michigan Battle Creek: 1405 Columbia Ave. West Wyoming: 1784 28th At. SW Mississippi Greenville: 2818 Highway 82 East Jackson: 2020 Raymond Road Jackson: 205 West Northside Dr. Meridian: 2906 8th St. Picayune: 230 Memorial Dr. North Carolina Greensboro: 5307 West Market St. Texas Corpus Christi: 10765 Leopard St. McAllen: 1010 North 10th St. Weslaco: 154 North Texas Blvd. Washington Lynnwood: 18327 Highway 99 Wisconsin Manitowoc: 3404 Calumet Ave. One may also use the Advance Auto Parts store locator to see which remain open as well. According to The FW, Advance Auto Parts stated that it plans to consolidate several distribution centers into 13 facilities by 2026. And despite these closings and consolidation Axios Raleigh states how President and CEO Shane OKelly has expressed optimism at the companys way forward. We are in the early stages of stabilizing our operations and expect result to gradually improve as we move through 2025, he told the publication. Advance has also confirmed it plans to open more stores in the future, too. By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration push to rebuke a federal judge who imposed a quick deadline to release billions of dollars in foreign aid. By a 5-4 vote, the court told U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to clarify his earlier order that required the Republican administration to release nearly $2 billion in aid for work that had already been done. Although the outcome is a short-term loss for President Donald Trumps administration, the nonprofit groups and businesses that sued are still waiting for the money they say they are owed. One of the organizations last week was forced to lay off 110 employees as a result, according to court papers. Justice Samuel Alito led four conservative justices in dissent, saying Ali lacks the authority to order the payments. Alito wrote that he is stunned the court is rewarding an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers. The courts action leaves in place Alis temporary restraining order that had paused the spending freeze, Ali is holding a hearing Thursday to consider a more lasting pause. The majority noted that the administration had not challenged Alis initial order, only the deadline, which in any event passed last week. The court told Ali to clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, two conservatives, joined the three liberal justices to form a majority. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined Alitos dissent. The Trunp administration has argued that the situation has changed because it has replaced a blanket spending freeze with individualized determinations that led to the cancellation of 5,800 U.S. Agency for International Development contracts and another 4,100 State Department grants totaling nearly $60 billion in aid. The federal government froze foreign aid after an executive order from Trump targeting what he called wasteful programs that do not correspond to his foreign policy goals. The lawsuit that followed claimed that the pause breaks federal law and has shut down funding for even the most urgent life-saving programs abroad. Ali ordered the funding temporarily restored on Feb. 13, but nearly two weeks later he found the government was giving no sign of complying and set a deadline to release payment for work already completed. The administration appealed, calling Alis order incredibly intrusive and profoundly erroneous and protesting the timeline to release the money. Department of Veterans Affairs seal on their Washington D.C. building (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) AP WASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care for retired military members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The VAs chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act. The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure. It also calls for agency officials to work with the White Houses Department of Government Efficiency to move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach to the Trump administrations goals. Government Executive first reported on the internal memo. Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA that so far had included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25% of the VAs workforce is comprised of veterans. The plans underway at the VA showed how the Trump administrations DOGE initiative, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is not holding back on an all-out effort to slash federal agencies, even for those that have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support. Michael Missal, who was the VAs inspector general for nine years until he was fired last month as part of Trumps sweeping dismissal of independent oversight officials at government agencies, told the AP that the VA is already suffering from a lack of expertise as top-level officials either leave or are shuffled around under the presidents plans. Whats going to happen is VAs not going to perform as well for veterans, and veterans are going to get harmed, said Missal, who was a guest of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. at Trumps Tuesday address to Congress. Rather than leaning on the missions of inspectors general, whose job is to search out waste and fraud at government agencies, Trump has moved forcefully against them, flouting statutes that require a 30-day notice and specific reasons for their dismissals. Missal is challenging his dismissal in court alongside seven other fired inspectors general. Missal described the VA as a really complicated, hard to manage organization that is similar in size to the largest corporations in America. He defended his work at the agency as committed to make it more efficient and responsive to veterans. By Missals count, the VA inspector generals oversight resulted in $45 billion being saved at the agency during his tenure. But he added that Trumps actions against the inspectors general is making it more difficult for the officials still in those offices to do their jobs. In Congress, Democrats have decried the cuts at the VA and other agencies, while Republicans have so far watched with caution the Trump administrations changes. Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate committee that oversees veterans affairs, said in a statement that the Trump administration has launched an all-out assault against progress the VA has made in expanding its services as the number of covered veterans grows and includes those impacted by toxic burn pits. Their plan prioritizes private sector profits over veterans' care, balancing the budget on the backs of those who served. Its a shameful betrayal, and veterans will pay the price for their unforgivable corruption, incompetence, and immorality, Blumenthal said in a statement. Democratic leaders in the House also spotlighted the impact of Trumps cuts on veterans Wednesday. Democrats are here to say in unison we will not allow our veterans to be defined as government waste, said Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 ranked in House Democratic leadership, at a news conference. Donald Trump will walk into his first address to Congress during his second term on Tuesday night having just received some historically awful polling numbers on net approval rating and the economy. How bad is it? Well, per CNN data guru Harry Enten the only person to poll worse than Trump during this second term, historically, was Trump during his first term. And, per Enten who, it should be noted, has reported some positive polling for Trump multiple times, too, across this second term it doesnt look like things are going to get better soon for the president. We are going to look at presidents at this point in their presidency, right? Enten said as he pulled up a graphic on CNN Tuesday. And the word that I would use to describe Trump is awful. In fact, the only person who does worse than Trump does right now with a plus-1 net approval rating is himself back in 2017 when he was at a minus-8. So, hes doing better than he was. Hes making gains, but hes doing worse than everybody else. The average president at this point, get this, plus-27 on their net approval, Enten added. Donald Trump is doing historically awful. The only person he beat is, again, himself from term number one. Enten was then asked about how Trump was polling on the economy. Well, he bat himself on worst overall, but on the economy, he cant even beat himself, Enten said. Again, this is historically, the worst going back in polling. The net approval rating on the economy, hes right now at minus-4 points. In term number one, he was at plus-8 points. Historically, the average is plus-15 points. He is doing nearly 20 points worse than the average president when it comes to the economy on net approval rating. He is historically doing awful, awful, awful. Weak, weak, weak. And on the issue in which he was elected to fix (the economy), he is doing historically awful. This is not good. If this number holds, you can guarantee his overall approval rating will go down, and it could take his entire presidency with him. Trump's overall net approval & on the economy are "historically awful... weak, weak, weak" going into a 1st address to Congress. He has the 2nd worst net approval rating (+1 pts) on record. Beating only himself (2017). His net approval on the economy (-4 pts) is the worst. pic.twitter.com/YbHybgliPa (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 4, 2025 Enten was then asked about the tariffs, and he showed polling that showed 64% oppose tariffs with Canada and 59% oppose them with Mexico. We are already dealing with a president where the economy is bringing him down, these tariffs, in my mind, will only bring him down further, Enten said. Historically awful polling at this point, and the tariffs I think will only lead to further deterioration. Americans dont like the idea of prices going up, he added. That leads to approval ratings going down. Story by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin's sentencing, Friday, June 25, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. (Court TV via AP, Pool) AP By Louis Krauss, Star Tribune (TNS) Elon Musk reposted a video from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on Tuesday calling for President Donald Trump to pardon the federal conviction of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. Something to think about, wrote Musk, who has been acting as an advisor to Trump, in the post on the social media platform X. In the video Musk shared, Shapiro said pardoning Chauvin for federal charges would be incredibly controversial, but I think that its absolutely necessary. Chauvin is serving two concurrent prison sentences for federal and state convictions after he knelt on the neck of Floyd, a Black man, for nine and a half minutes. Floyds killing sparked massive protests locally and nationwide calling for police reform and bringing heightened awareness around police brutality against people of color. Even if Trump pardoned Chauvins 20-year federal convictions for violating Floyds civil rights, the president cannot pardon or commute Chauvins state sentence, which is 22 and a half years. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune that Trump has no power to pardon Chauvins state conviction, and that Chauvin would not walk free. He wrote that Chauvin murdered George Floyd in front of the whole world. The only conceivable purpose would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law, Ellison said. Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said that if Chauvin was pardoned federally he would be returned to state custody to serve the remainder of his state sentence. His anticipated release date is Dec. 10, 2035. A Hennepin County jury found Chauvin guilty in 2021 of three charges, including murder. He pleaded guilty in the federal trial. Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced the former officer to 245 months in 2022. The federal guilty plea included an agreement to not challenge his sentence except under a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Chauvin is still seeking to overturn his federal sentence using that exact argument. If he was pardoned, its possible the state would arrange for Chauvin to stay in an out-of-state prison due to security concerns. Chauvin was stabbed 22 times and was critically injured by another inmate at a federal prison in 2023. In Minnesota, defendants typically serve two-thirds of their mandated sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release. Chauvin would be expected to serve another five years on supervised probation after his release in 2035. Liz Sawyer of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story. Protesters took part in a 50501 rally in Harrisburg, marching from City Island to the Capitol building against what they believe is overreach and corruption in the Trump administration. Sean Adams A rally in Harrisburg saw hundreds marching from City Island to the Capitol steps in protest of the Trump administration. The rally is one of many organized around the country by the group 50501, whose mission is to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach, according to their website. Signs and chants criticized President Trump, key administration ally Elon Musk, Trumps apparent support for Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the sudden firings of federal employees while supporting LGBTQ+ rights, Ukraine, and checks on executive power. As protestors marched along Front Street, many booed a passing Tesla Cybertruck, while the passengers of the vehicle seemed to return their jeers in kind. Musk is the largest individual shareholder of Tesla. Musk holds no official position in the government, but protesters were equally concerned and outraged with Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, which is not an official federal department) as with the president. For many among the crowd, the deep influence of tech moguls such as Musk in the federal government is a warning sign of a failing democracy. TJ Demetriou, one of the event organizers with 50501, said that the group had a very broad political base, and were just trying to unify everyone who disagrees with what theyre doing. Demetriou is a Republican and military veteran, and said he is concerned about what he believes is an attack on foundations of democracy and the Constitution. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, he said. I think its the foundation. And the actions, the things that theyre doing, are definitely a threat to that [foundation]. According to Demetriou, he is one of many Republicans and many active and retired military personnel who are displeased with the direction of the administration. He believes that the Republican Party has been basically hijacked by Trumps supporters. There are a lot of Republicans who are unhappy about that, myself included, he said. Theyre out there, its just a matter of getting them to see whats going on. Brett Rodgers, another veteran in the crowd, said that theres so many things he was protesting against. Take your pick, Rodgers said. One of his concerns was that many of his fellow veterans who moved into jobs with the federal government have suddenly found themselves cut loose by DOGE firings. A lot of them walked into a federal job after 20 plus years in the service. A lot of them moved for the job when they got out of the military. What are they going to do now? Its not a very good thank you for your service. Rodgers also cited Trumps firings of federal officials that he said specifically targeted people of color and women and then filling those vacancies with loyalists, and what he believes to be a betrayal of Ukraine in its war against Russia. The message it puts out to every other country that America is going to stand up for the deals it made and fight for democracy is gone, Rodgers said. [Trump] is trying to get [Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy] to sell out his country like [Trump] has already sold America out. Savannah Bellem, one of the 50501 event organizers, said that we mostly represent everything. We want everyone to have a place and a space to be heard, she said. To that end, Bellem said, the 50501 rally welcomed the participation of another group staging a rally in support of Ukraine, which had been put together more recently. After Trumps declaration of abandoning Ukraine, we decided last night to focus there, she said. While the rally hoped to draw lawmakers attention Rodgers specifically cited Democrat Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman for his lack of opposition to Trumps agenda a greater focus was on the local community. We know community is where resistance starts, Bellem said. I think for a lot of us, its being involved at the ground level and local level. That usually empowers people to want to do more, whatever those next steps are. Demetriou said that 50501 hoped to provide some sort of slowing action to allow the system to fight back against Trumps unilateral executive authority. Let the court litigate these [issues], let the Congress pass laws that will reinstate the checks and balances that are being destroyed right now, Demetriou said. I think theres very few people in this country that would disagree that we need to keep our foundation secure. We the people have the power, and were not going to let them take it from us. Another 50501 protest is planned for March 15, Bellem said. Lei Jun, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Gexi Wangmu, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) A journalist asks a question during a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Ye) Zhang Junjie, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Zhang Dongxu, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Zhang Dongxu, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie) Zhang Tianren, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Zhang Tianren, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Lei Jun, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Ye) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Zhang Junjie, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Lei Jun, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Gexi Wangmu, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) attend a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Editor: Zhang Zhou This photo taken on March 3, 2025 shows copies of hand-drawn posters of "Ne Zha 2" at an exhibition on the creative journey of Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Li Qianwei) CHENGDU, March 4 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition about the Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" opened on Monday afternoon in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, offering visitors an in-depth look at the film's creation process. The exhibition, themed "Break or Lose It," features original character sketches, iconic scenes and a milestone wall tracing the film's record-breaking success. Director Jiaozi's hand-drawn posters are also on display. After his visit on Tuesday morning, local resident Chen Jie, 28, praised the exhibition for revealing the dedication of the filmmaking team. "The care and passion behind every detail of the movie are truly inspiring," said Chen, an interior designer. "The movie is a source of pride for Chengdu and a testament to the potential of Chinese cinema." The exhibition also features immersive audiovisual experiences, allowing attendees to relive key moments from the film. Running until June 1, the exhibition is organized by Chengdu Coco Cartoon Co., Ltd., which co-produced the movie. Zheng He, a staff member involved in the exhibition, mentioned that the event has been warmly received by the public -- with all 1,000 daily visitor slots fully booked for Tuesday and the coming weekend. "Ne Zha 2" has become the first non-Hollywood film to exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars in global earnings, including presales, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan. This photo taken on March 3, 2025 shows a view outside an exhibition on the creative journey of Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Tong Fang) This photo taken on March 3, 2025 shows copies of hand-drawn posters of "Ne Zha 2" at an exhibition on the creative journey of Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Tong Fang) Editor: Zhang Zhou Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) A journalist asks a question during an interview attended by ministers after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration of China, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration of China, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration of China, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, gives an interview after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Editor: Zhang Zhou Grosvenor Casinos is Sending 20 Players to Las Vegas With 5,000 Packages Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link Do you play cash games or tournaments at the Grosvenor Casino on Bury New Road in Manchester or Birmingham Hill Street? Do you dream of flying to Las Vegas and playing in the $1,000 Mini Main Event? If you answered yes to both those questions, you are in luck because Grosvenor Casinos is sending 20 lucky players to "Sin City" armed with a 5,000 Las Vegas package. From March 10 and the three months that follow, poker players frequenting Bury New Road and Birmingham New Hill can win one of 20 Las Vegas packages via an epic 100,000 Vegas Prize Draw. One prize draw ticket is awarded for every tournament played or for every two hours of play at the cash game tables. Two packages are available in each of the first two months, and six are guaranteed to be won in the final month's draw at each location. Although this is a three-month promotion, the prize draws are made monthly. This means you could be heading to Las Vegas this summer simply by entering one tournament or playing a couple of hours of cash games. Of course, the more you play, the more prize draw tickets you receive, and the more chances you have of realizing your World Series of Poker (WSOP) dream. Each package awards its recipient the following: $1,000 WSOP Mini Main Event buy-in Flights from London to Las Vegas Seven nights' accommodation at The Paris Hotel & Casino 1,000 cash for spending money All you need to do is ensure you can travel to Las Vegas between June 27 and July 4 if your name is pulled from the hat! Reigning WSOP Mini Main Event champion Georgios Skarparis The 2024 WSOP Mini Main Event was an incredible tournament that drew 6,076 entrants despite being a freezeout. The top 912 finishers shared a $5,346,800 prize pool. A min-cash weighed $2,002, and a final table appearance was worth $56,557, with the eventual champion reeling in a cool $554,925 and a coveted gold WSOP bracelet. Cypriot grinder Georgios Skarparis was the star who shone the brightest in 2024 and became a poker champion. Perhaps it will be you who comes out on top in 2025? Share this article Aiken Standard reporter Dede Biles is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers Aiken County government, business and horse industry. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers Reporter Jessica Wade covers Hilton Head Island through The Post and Couriers Beaufort County Bureau. A native of eastern Nebraska, she previously reported on development and local government with the The Omaha World-Herald. jwade@postandcourier.com; 843-998-3879 Education Lab Reporter Ian Grenier covers K-12 and higher education in South Carolina from Columbia. Originally from Charleston, he studied history and political science at USC and reported for the Victoria Advocate in South Texas before joining The Post and Courier. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/mapfu2021/posts/pfbid0HV7RfgL1gKvt7Gc3u22XLaoJzbJbabmr2sV6AC16XNi76zNBtJDWurpmL3A9gdeul Austria supported the Grain from Ukraine food initiative by contributing EUR 2 million, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported. According to the report, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval discussed cooperation in the agricultural sector and the development of trade relations with Austrian Ambassador to Ukraine Arad Benko. He also thanked Austrian partners for their contribution to the Grain from Ukraine initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "This is an additional EUR 2 million for food security, which is an important step in supporting countries suffering from hunger," he said. The Minister emphasized that one of the priorities of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy is European integration and spoke about the steps already taken on the path to the EU. In particular, the parties discussed the need for joint work at the level of the European Commission to ensure unhindered exports of Ukrainian agricultural products. "Austria remains an important trade partner of Ukraine: in 2024, bilateral trade in food and agricultural products amounted to $210 million. Ukraine exported mainly corn, fruit and vegetable juices, soybeans, sunflower oil, as well as frozen fruits and nuts. In return, chocolate and cocoa-containing products, ready-made sauces, animal feed, corn, and mineral and carbonated waters were imported from Austria," Koval explained. The Minister also proposed considering a mechanism for insuring agricultural trade operations between Ukraine and Austria against war risks. Business Reporter Andy Tsubasa Field covers business and development for The Post and Courier's Columbia bureau. He has reported on business for the Albany Times Union, general assignment news in Bridgeport for the Connecticut Post, Kansas state politics for the Associated Press and city hall for the Bismarck Tribune. April Santana covers Lexington County for the Post and Courier Columbia. A New Jersey native, she studied journalism and political science at Syracuse University. April has written for Lohud/Democrat and Chronicle, The Arizona Republic and Syracuse.com. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Occasional rain tapering to a few showers late. High around 85F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Benjamin Simon covers arts and entertainment The Post and Courier in Greenville. He previously worked for the Riverfront Times in St. Louis and served in Report for America. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Overcast with rain showers at times. High near 85F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. A few storms may be severe. Low 73F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 84F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Showers this evening then thundershowers developing overnight. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low around 70F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. PJSC Ukrnafta submitted two applications for the Ukrenergo competition for new generating capacity, for which a total of 700 MW was offered, according to the broadcast of the competition commission meeting on the Ukrenergo website, an Energy Reform correspondent reports. As it turned out during the broadcast, one application from Ukrnafta concerns the construction of a new generating capacity in Cherkasy and Poltava regions, the other - in Lviv region. In addition, applications for participation in the competition were submitted by Industrial Station LLC (registered in Ivano-Frankivsk, the region of capacity construction was not specified here), Tysagaz LLC (Uzhgorod), Inzhur Energy (Kyiv), whose founder Andriy Zhurzhiy recently noted that the fund is considering the possibility of participating in this competition with a 50 MW facility, as well as Lis Energy LLC (Rivne region), Ecoera (Ivano-Frankivsk region), Magnat Energy LLC (Chernihiv region), Agricultural Enterprise Agrodar (Kyiv region), Agroholding Radosvit LLC (Chernihiv region), Dalort LLC (Kyiv region), Nord Land LLC " (Kyiv), PrJSC Kryvy Rih Cement (Dnipropetrovsk region), and Power ON LLC (Kharkiv region). As reported, 14 applications were received for the first ever competition for the construction of a new generating capacity of 700 MW in total. This became known during the broadcast of the competition commission meeting on Wednesday, March 5, which at this stage opened the competition proposals and discussed the documents submitted by the companies. As Maksym Yurkov, its secretary and legal director of Ukrenergo, clarified during the commission meeting, there is no evaluation of proposals at this stage, as well as no disclosure of price proposals. Applications for participation were accepted until February 28, 2025. The procedure for conducting the competition was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated July 10, 2019 (No. 677). In the first stage of the competition, 700 MW are being purchased, divided into two zones: 500 MW in priority regions (Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Sumy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson regions); 200 MW in regions that are not priority (Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Zakarpattia regions). The deadline for putting the capacities into operation is December 31, 2027. Head of Ukrenergo Oleksiy Brekht noted in a blitz interview with Energy Reform in early February that he sees great interest from investors in this competition. He explained that in fact the competition would be held for the cost of building a unit of generating capacity, which will be compensated by Ukrenergo through the transmission tariff for 10 years after its commissioning. Brekht added that the state is interested in new capacities, and this is a new way to stimulate their construction, especially now - in conditions of war, when investors are in no hurry to do so. Member of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo Yuriy Boiko reported at the end of February that the company is already preparing to announce a second competition for new generating capacity and offer potential investors even more interesting conditions compared to the pilot project that is currently underway. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Occasional rain tapering to a few showers late. High 84F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Myrtle Beach, SC (29577) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Heavy rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High around 80F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain early...then remaining cloudy with thundershowers developing overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain diminishing to a few showers this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) may support, through a risk-sharing mechanism, the provision of new loans by ProCredit Bank for EUR70 million to small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine in key sectors of the economy, in particular in agriculture, food industry, retail trade and logistics. As stated on the bank's website on Wednesday, the EBRD Board of Directors plans to consider the relevant project at a meeting on April 9 this year. According to the document, the EBRD estimates its participation in financing at EUR21 million. In addition to credit support, program participants will be able to receive grant incentives after the successful implementation of investment projects, the message states. The project provides for up to EUR14 million in risk-sharing sub-loans for long-term investments in SMEs under the EU4Business-EBRD credit line for upgrading equipment to EU standards, investing in sustainable and green technologies (at least 70% of the sub-limit). The EBRD recalls that ProCredit Bank is a 100% subsidiary of ProCredit Holding AG and a leading SME lender in Ukraine. With EUR1.03 billion in total assets, as of 2024, the bank was among the 15 largest out of 61 banks operating in Ukraine, with a market share of approximately 1.2%. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 01:00:39 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 862 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2025 / In an inspiring story of determination and community spirit, family, friends, and complete strangers have rallied to raise millions of dollars for a groundbreaking clinical trial to help 11-year-old Luke Johnston, who is battling retinitis pigmentosa (RP) caused by Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS). This rare genetic eye condition is threatening his sight, and with the efforts spearheaded by the nonprofit organization A Race Against Blindness, their mission is not only to save Luke's vision but also to advance hope for those affected by similar conditions.The Johnston Family's Journey of AdvocacyLuke Johnston's parents, Dr. Stephen Johnston and Kristina Johnston, were devastated when their young son was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa-a degenerative condition that gradually damages the retina and leads to blindness. However, they refused to be paralyzed by fear. Instead, they turned their pain into purpose by founding A Race Against Blindness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding medical research for rare vision disorders."This fight isn't just for Luke," said Dr. Johnston, a full-time practicing physician and now also full-time advocate as a nonprofit founder. "It's about paving the way for every child battling retinitis pigmentosa to have a brighter future. We want to give these kids a chance to have a life full of visual experiences." Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited condition that often begins in childhood. Over time, the disease causes the gradual breakdown of cells in the retina, leading to night blindness, tunnel vision, and eventually complete loss of sight. For the Johnston family, the diagnosis was both a heartbreaking challenge and a rallying call to action.Building a Movement Through Creative FundraisingThe family's nonprofit, A Race Against Blindness, has launched a variety of creative and impactful fundraising campaigns. These include high-profile sweepstakes featuring luxury cars, tropical getaways, and exclusive experiences that have drawn the attention of supporters across the United States and Canada. Through the power of these campaigns, the organization has already raised millions of dollars to support cutting-edge research and treatments."This mission is about more than money-it's about giving hope to families who have been told there's no cure," said Kristina Johnston. "Every donation brings us one step closer to changing that narrative.Community Support Powers the MovementThe Johnstons' mission has inspired an outpouring of support from the local Phoenix community and beyond. Schools, small businesses, and individuals have stepped up to organize charity events."It's been incredible to see how people have come together for Luke and for this cause," said Kristina Johnston. "The support has been overwhelming and humbling. It shows the power of community when it unites around a common goal." What makes A Race Against Blindness so effective is its ability to connect with people on a personal level. By sharing their son's story, the Johnstons have built a network of supporters who are deeply invested in the cause. Their transparent communication and heartfelt advocacy have inspired trust and action.Raising Awareness for Rare Genetic DisordersBeyond fundraising, A Race Against Blindness is working tirelessly to raise awareness about retinitis pigmentosa and the broader challenges faced by families navigating rare diseases. The organization focuses on educating the public about the emotional, financial, and medical struggles these conditions impose, while also advocating for increased funding and attention from the scientific community."Rare diseases like retinitis pigmentosa don't get the recognition or resources they deserve," said Dr. Johnston. "By amplifying Luke's story, we're shining a light on an issue that affects millions of families worldwide. This isn't just about one child-it's about building momentum for change." One of the key areas the organization advocates for is advancements in gene therapy, a burgeoning field that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of genetic disorders. Through strategic collaborations with leading researchers, clinicians, and biotech companies, A Race Against Blindness is helping to accelerate progress in this critical area of medicine.A Call to ActionThe Johnstons are inviting others to join their fight against childhood blindness. Whether through donations, volunteer work, or spreading the word, every contribution brings researchers one step closer to a cure."We want people to know that they can make a real difference," said Kristina Johnston. "Every child deserves the chance to see their future clearly. Together, we can make that a reality." To learn more about A Race Against Blindness and how to support its efforts, visitwww.ARaceAgainstBlindness.org . The website provides updates on fundraising campaigns, donation opportunities, and progress on the clinical trial.About A Race Against BlindnessFounded in Phoenix, Arizona, A Race Against Blindness is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research and treatments for genetic vision disorders like retinitis pigmentosa. Inspired by Luke Johnston's diagnosis, the organization has grown into a nationwide movement advocating for hope, awareness, and scientific progress. By allocating their donations to medical research, A Race Against Blindness is transforming lives and reshaping the future for families affected by rare vision disorders.To learn more visit: https://araceagainstblindness.org CONTACT:A Race Against BlindnessEmail: Steve@ araceagainstblindness.org SOURCE: A Race Against Blindness PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 22:00:36 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 436 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 The plan would enhance the efficiency of taxpayer-funded biomedical research amid government restructuring.YEMASSEE, SOUTH CAROLINA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Alpha Genesis, a premier provider of primate research models and a leader in ethical biomedical research, has announced its readiness to manage and optimize the operations of National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) across the United States. With its expertise in efficient facility management, cutting-edge scientific research, and industry-leading animal welfare practices, Alpha Genesis aims to enhance the performance of these vital research institutions while ensuring long-term financial sustainability.By leveraging its operational efficiency and private-sector expertise, Alpha Genesis believes it can improve research output, streamline administrative processes, and turn NPRCs into financially viable entities without compromising their critical role in advancing medical science.A Vision for Sustainable and Profitable Primate ResearchThe current NPRC model, funded primarily by federal grants, often faces financial strain, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and administrative hurdles that hinder scientific progress. Alpha Genesis proposes a public-private partnership model that would:Increase Research Productivity: By implementing advanced management techniques and streamlining operations, Alpha Genesis would enhance the research capabilities of NPRCs, ensuring more discoveries in fields such as infectious diseases, neuroscience, and vaccine development.Ensure Long-Term Financial Stability: Through strategic business management and diversified funding sources, Alpha Genesis would transition NPRCs into self-sustaining operations while maintaining their scientific integrity.Enhance Animal Welfare Standards: With a proven track record in primate care, Alpha Genesis would implement the latest advancements in enrichment, housing, and veterinary care to ensure the highest ethical standards.Reduce Administrative Burdens: By introducing private-sector efficiency, Alpha Genesis would cut excessive costs and allow researchers to focus on groundbreaking studies rather than bureaucratic challenges."Alpha Genesis has the experience, expertise, and vision to modernize the way National Primate Research Centers operate," said Dr. Greg Westergaard, CEO at Alpha Genesis. "By applying a business-minded approach while maintaining a strong commitment to animal welfare and scientific integrity, we can ensure that these research centers continue to drive medical breakthroughs without the financial instability they currently face." A Call for CollaborationAlpha Genesis invites discussions with federal agencies, policymakers, and research institutions to explore this transformative approach to managing NPRCs. The organization is confident that by integrating best practices from both the private and public sectors, it can create a more effective and sustainable research ecosystem that benefits both science and society.For more information about Alpha Genesis and its vision for the future of primate research, please visit www.alphagenesisinc.com or contact info@ alphagenesisinc.com / 843-589-5190.Contact InformationDr. Greg WestergaardPresident and CEOgwprimate@ alphagenesisinc.com 843-589-5190SOURCE: Alpha Genesis, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 21:47:47 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 660 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Leading securities law firmBleichmar Fonti & Auld LLPannounces that a lawsuit has been filed against Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) and certain of the Company's senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws.If you invested in Atkore, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/atkore-inc Investors have until April 23, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors who purchased Atkore stock. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and is captioned Westchester Putnam Counties Heavy & Highway Laborers Local 60 Benefits Fund v. Atkore Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-01851.Why was Atkore Sued for Securities Fraud?Atkore manufactures electrical, safety, and infrastructure products including polyvinyl chloride water and electrical conduit pipes ("PVC Pipe"). During the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping costs rose dramatically, leaving foreign PVC Pipe manufacturers unable to profitably sell PVC Pipe in the U.S. As shipping prices returned to normal when the pandemic subsided in 2022, foreign PVC Pipe manufacturers gradually returned to the U.S. market. Shortly thereafter, in late 2022, the price of PVC Pipe began to decline.As alleged, Atkore repeatedly misrepresented that post-pandemic PVC Pipe price declines were the result of "pricing normalization" that reflected "competitive dynamics" and assured investors that the Company would continue to successfully compete in the post-COVID-19 market.On July 24, 2024, an activist investor named ManBear published a report titled "Pipe Price Fixing" which accused Atkore and three of its competitors of using the commodity pricing service OPIS to coordinate pricing actions and fix the price of PVC Pipe.In truth, it is alleged that Atkore engaged in an anticompetitive price-fixing scheme that artificially inflated the price of PVC Pipes.The Stock Declines as the Truth is RevealedOn February 4, 2025, Atkore announced disappointing earnings and reduced guidance, disclosing that the "plastic pipe and conduit product category declined mid-single digits during the quarter" compared to "high single digits in the prior year," and largely attributed the guidance reduction to Atkore's PVC Pipe business, stating, "roughly $75 million or 3/4 [of the guidance reduction] is on the PVC side." This news caused the price of Atkore stock to decline nearly 20%, from $79.72 per share on February 3, 2025 to $64.13 per share on February 4, 2025.On February 14, 2025, Atkore disclosed that it received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division seeking the "production of documents relating to the pricing of the Company's PVC pipe and conduit products." Click here if you suffered losses: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/atkore-inc What Can You Do?If you invested in Atkore you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.Submit your information by visiting:Or contact:Ross Shikowitz ross@ bfalaw.com 212-789-3619Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.SOURCE: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:19:26 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 434 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / AultCare Corporation recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to AultCare.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On September 25, 2024, AultCare became aware of a security incident involving its email and SharePoint systems. Upon detection, AultCare launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to an employee's email account and SharePoint instance. AultCare conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identified affected individuals.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised as a result of the data breach: name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. On February 10, 2025, AultCare filed a notice with the Attorney General of Massachusetts and started sending out notice letters to the impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from AultCare, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 15:05:38 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 486 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Diversified Private Markets (DPM), a leading provider of employee benefits consulting, private financial investment in small businesses, along with Medicare sales and marketing solutions, has announced the launch of The Medicare Store, offering a groundbreaking approach to Medicare education and enrollment.The launch comes after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) selected DPM as one of only six agencies authorized to sell its Medicare portfolio. Historically, BCBSMA has not partnered with insurance brokers in the Medicare market, making DPM's role in this initiative particularly noteworthy. To support this effort, DPM established a DBA, The Medicare Store, to lead the charge in providing federally compliant Medicare education, sales, and enrollment services.The Medicare Store is dedicated to helping businesses integrate Medicare education into their employee benefits offerings. By delivering clear, compliant, and value-based guidance, The Medicare Store ensures that HR professionals, business leaders, and individuals fully understand Medicare eligibility, plan options, and prescription drug coverage rules. This initiative extends beyond traditional employees to include per diem staff, trade association members, family, and friends, making Medicare planning more accessible and beneficial to a broader audience.In addition to Medicare education and plan selection, The Medicare Store addresses gaps in coverage, particularly in dental care. While traditional Medicare does not typically cover dental services, The Medicare Store has a variety of dental plans designed for Medicare eligible consumers.DPM and The Medicare Store are led by a team of recognized industry experts. CEO Michael McKenna, a leader in the benefits industry, built one of the most successful and largest employee benefits firms, as ranked by the Boston Business Journal, in Massachusetts. His expertise positions this venture to spearhead the mainstream adoption of Medicare education and marketing within employer culture.The company has also formed a strategic partnership with Tom Connolly Insurance, a firm with 40 years of experience in the Medicare market. Connolly's deep knowledge of Medicare, Social Security, and alternative health insurance solutions will further enhance the comprehensive guidance offered by The Medicare Store."With the workforce evolving and an increasing number of older employees remaining in the workforce, Medicare planning is an untapped opportunity for businesses to support their teams more effectively, said McKenna. "The Medicare Store aims to transform how companies and individuals approach Medicare planning, creating this process as a permanent part of an employer's benefit culture." For more information on DPM, please email CEO Michael McKenna at DPM4U2@ outlook.com or call 774-249-1119.About Diversified Private Markets (DPM)Diversified Private Markets (DPM) is a leading provider of employee benefits consulting, financial investment in small businesses, and Medicare sales and marketing solutions. Through its DBA, The Medicare Store, DPM is redefining Medicare education and enrollment by providing businesses and individuals with access to expert guidance and comprehensive insurance solutions.Media contact:Kim MacKenzie for Diversified Private Markets(781) 588 - 0506 kim@ hollywoodagency.com ###SOURCE: Diversified Private Markets Since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022-2024, DTEK Energy has invested almost UAH 28 billion in the restoration of thermal power plants and the operation of mines. "In particular, over the past three years, the company's investments in the repair and restoration of thermal power plants amounted to almost UAH 10 billion," the energy holding reported in a press release on Wednesday. As stated in the document, this allowed power engineers and repairmen to work intensively over the years to restore the thermal power plant capacities destroyed and damaged by enemy shelling. There have been more than two hundred such attacks on the company's plants since February 2022. The company also directed a significant part of its investments into Ukrainian coal mining. Over the past three years, DTEK Energy's investments in the operation of mines amounted to almost UAH 18 billion, which allowed it to maintain the fuel reserves necessary for heat generation. The investments were directed, in particular, to the construction and repair of capital mining operations, the completion of coal beds, equipping mines with tunneling equipment, underground mine transport, and production capacity support projects. "For the past three years, the Ukrainian power system has been subjected to unprecedented pressure and terror, which no power system in the world has experienced in recent history. Dozens of massive attacks, thousands of missiles and drones... Thermal generation, which suffered perhaps the most, is also in the spotlight. In these conditions, we have done and continue to do everything possible to continue to hold the energy front," said DTEK Energy CEO Oleksandr Fomenko. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, DTEK Energy TPPs have been attacked by the enemy 205 times. Some 56 power plant operators were injured from the shelling, and four died. Last year, Russia carried out 13 massive attacks on the Ukrainian power industry, also dealing a serious blow to DTEK Energy thermal power plants. As of the summer of 2024, 90% of the company's thermal generation had been damaged or destroyed. DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The company's installed capacity in thermal generation as of January 2022 was 13.3 GW. A full production cycle has been created in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering and service of mining equipment. Currently, most of the thermal generation capacities of the DTEK Group have been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 19:01:52 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 474 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Seven Springs Wealth Group, a fast-growing Tennessee wealth management firm, proudly announces its latest strategic merger with Prudent Street Financial Advisors, a respected financial advisory firm from Brentwood, TN.The merger closed at the beginning of November of last year. Specific financial details were not disclosed.This move marks a significant milestone for Seven Springs Wealth Group propelling them to manage $1.25 billion in assets and solidifying the company's commitment to enhance its offerings and expand its presence in the wealth management sector.The merger with Prudent Street introduces a diverse array of new talent and expertise to the Seven Springs Wealth Group team, expanding the firm's services to include corporate retirement planning. The strategic expansion has also led the firm to enhance the digital experience for new clients with a brand-new website portal."We are thrilled to welcome the Prudent Street team into the Seven Springs family," stated Jeremy Hutzel, President of Seven Springs Wealth Group. "This merger aligns perfectly with our vision to deepen our service capabilities and deliver enhanced value to our clients. The synergy between our teams will allow us to offer even more comprehensive solutions tailored to meet the complex needs of today's investor." As part of its growth strategy, Seven Springs Wealth Group aims to solidify its presence in key markets and set new standards in client experience. This merger is a pivotal step in that journey, promising increased resources and a broader scope of advisory services beyond the traditional, such as Family Office Services, Private Wealth Management, Tax Strategy, and Business Exit Planning.Seven Springs Wealth Group promises to continue its trajectory of growth, aiming to redefine wealth management by fostering a culture of excellence and client-centricity.About Seven Springs Wealth Group:Founded in 2005, Seven Springs Wealth Group assists executives, families, and entrepreneurs in navigating complex financial challenges, helping them arrive at goal-driven solutions for sustained wealth. Based in Brentwood, TN, the firm serves clients both regionally and beyond, managing more than $1.25 billion in assets as of March 2025.Disclosures:Seven Springs Wealth Group ("SSWG") is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration of an investment adviser does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC nor implies any specific level of skill or training. SSWG only transacts business in states in which it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. A copy of SSWG's current written disclosure brochure filed with the SEC, which discusses, among other things, SSWG's business practices, services, and fees, is available on the SEC's website at adviserinfo.sec.gov or FINRA's BrokerCheck website at brokercheck.finra.org Contact InformationKarlie BurkhalterDirector of Operationsconnect@ ssw.group (615) 370-1253SOURCE: Seven Springs Wealth Group PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 15:02:09 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 590 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Nonprofit's Demo Day Showcases Startups Shaping the Future of FinanceBOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Today,Fintech Sandbox , a nonprofit that provides early-stage fintech startups around the world with free access to critical datasets and infrastructure through its Data Access Residency, unveiled the lineup of global startups forDemo Day 11 . This free, virtual event will take place on April 28, and is being presented duringUK Fintech Weekfor the first time. It will feature five pioneering startups demonstrating solutions developed during their tenure as residents.Fintech Sandbox's Data Access Residency fuels the next wave of fintech innovation by providing startups with free access to critical datasets and resources. This year, visionary founders, investors, and industry leaders will converge to explore breakthrough advancements in insurtech, climate tech, supply chain analytics, banking solutions, financial inclusion, and retail trading strategies."As we approach our 11th Demo Day, we're thrilled to showcase the groundbreaking innovations our fintech residents have developed using the free data and resources they receive from our Data Access Residency Program," said Sarah Biller, co-founder of Fintech Sandbox. "We were founded on the idea that empowering fintech founders with seamless and free access to data would be a catalyst for the next generation of products, services, and analytics-driving transformation in an increasingly digital economy. We're pleased to feature five startups that are each in their own way redefining financial resilience with game changing solutions." The details are:Date: April 28, 2025Time: 11 AM - 12 PM ET | 4 PM - 5 PM GMTLocation: VirtualRegister hereMeet the five game-changing startups:Calculum (Miami) - AI-powered supply chain analytics unlocking billions in free cash flow through automated Payment Terms Optimization.Sandbox Wealth (New York) - Turnkey banking solutions for nonbank financial institutions, driving deeper customer relationships and organic growth.Level2 (London) - The first fully visual no-code systematic trading strategy creation platform built for active traders.7Analytics (Bergen, Oslo, Boston, Copenhagen) - AI-driven flood risk modeling for insurers and asset owners, leveraging high-resolution datasets and 300+ physical parameters.Serene (London) - An AI-powered platform that helps financial institutions detect, predict, and support vulnerable customers.Demo Day 11 is made possible by key sponsors includingCommonwealth ,EY ,F-Prime Capital ,Fidelity Investments ,Global Atlantic Financial Group ,Goodwin ,MassMutual ,Morrison Foerster ,Rise(created by Barclays) andSlalom . Fintech Sandbox's impact is further amplified by an extensive network of data partners, providing startups with the insights and infrastructure essential for innovation-at no cost. This year's Demo Day startups have worked with data made available by ATTOM, Equifax, FactSet, Morningstar, Plaid, Polygon, and SQX, and utilized infrastructure provided by AWS. A full list of our data partners is availablehere .To register for the event to hear about these innovative technologiesplease visit here . For more information on joining as a startup, corporate sponsor, or data/infrastructure partner, please contactinfo@ fintechsandbox.org , or visit https://fintechsandbox.org About Fintech SandboxFintech Sandbox is a nonprofit that provides a leg-up for entrepreneurs around the world by providing free access to critical datasets and resources to build their early-stage fintech products through its Data Access Residency. Fintech Sandbox startups, in return, collaborate with current and past residents, sharing learnings and advancements that benefit the ecosystem. Participating startups - more than 390 thus far - pay no fees and no equity is taken.Boston Fintech WeekandMass Fintech Hub- a public-private partnership dedicated to making the Commonwealth a global leader in fintech - are initiatives under the Fintech Sandbox umbrella. For more information, please visit https://fintechsandbox.organdhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/fintech-sandbox Contact Info:Caliber Corporate Advisersfintechsandbox@ calibercorporateadvisers.com SOURCE: Fintech Sandbox PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 17:01:25 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 554 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Family creation is more than a medical processits an experience deserving of the highest level of discretion, sophistication, & personalized care. As a Fertility Maison, we redefined the journey to parenthood for discerning private clients, blending cutting-edge fertility innovations with an unparalleled concierge experienceBEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / To showcase our bespoke approach, IMA ART Fertility is honored to collaborate with Luxury Lifestyle Magazine (UK)-a global authority on fine living. Thisexclusive featurehighlights how our tailored fertility concierge services elevate IVF and surrogacy, setting new standards in Haute Fertility. IMA ART X LLM IMA ART collaboration with Luxury Lifestyle Magazine UKLuxury Fertility Concierge: A New Standard in ParenthoodIn the heart of Beverly Hills, where elegance meets innovation, IMA ART Fertility stands as the international leader inluxury fertility conciergeservices. Our approach is deeply rooted in exclusivity, ensuring that every client receives a fully tailored, highly discreet experience.we take a one-on-one approach, curating fertility journeys that align with each client's unique lifestyle. From personalized treatment plans to seamless logistics, every element is handled with precision, ensuring an effortless path to parenthood.The IMA ART Difference: Elevating Bespoke Fertility Journeys & SolutionsWhat sets IMA ART Fertility apart is our unwavering dedication to discretion, expertise, and white-glove care.At IMA ART, no two journeys are alike. We craft fertility plans that integrate:Top-tier IVF clinics and specialists, selected based on each client's needs.Legal and psychological guidance, ensuring clarity and confidence throughout the process.Elite wellness services, from fertility acupuncture to concierge-arranged recovery accommodations.Our concierge ferteliers, orchestrates every aspect of the journey, from coordinating medical schedules to ensuring luxurious stays at private, world-class accommodations in Beverly Hills.Access to the World's Leading Fertility Experts:Renowned reproductive endocrinologists with cutting-edge treatment approaches.Legal specialists in reproductive law, ensuring seamless contracts and protections.Clinical psychologists, offering guidance tailored to high-profile individuals and their chosen surrogates.Specialized insurance advisors & policies, managing surrogacy and IVF-related policies.This level of personalized expertise is rarely accessible in the conventional fertility space, making IMA ART the premier choice for those who expect excellence.Privacy & Discretion - it's a principle. IMA ART Fertility upholds the highest standards of confidentiality, ensuring that every journey remains strictly private.Never share testimonials, images, or client stories.Offer direct, private access to our Co-Founders, Michelle Tang and Ron Sonnenberg, seven days a week, including holidays.Utilize a private, invitation-only app, allowing seamless communication with our team.Redefining the Future of Fertility - IMA ART Fertility is the only luxury fertility concierge to blend:Concierge support - Personalized service & private injectionsExclusive travel and accommodation planning - Ensuring effortless transitions between appointments and recovery.A meticulously curated network of global fertility experts - Providing access to the most advanced reproductive solutions.White-glove fertility governance - Ensuring seamless coordination with medical, legal, and wellness professionals.Combining world-class medical innovation with discretion and luxury-level service, IMA ART Fertility creates an experience that is as seamless as it is successful.Haute Fertility: A Vision Shared with Luxury Lifestyle MagazineIMA ART curates fertility journeys that embody savoir-faire of excellence.Our feature in Luxury Lifestyle Magazine is not just about showcasing our services-it's about shaping the future of fertility for those who expect the best.ReserveContact InformationRon SonnenbergCo-Founderron@ imaartfertility.com (424)-284-1408SOURCE: IMAART LLC PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:33:36 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 472 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Included Health, Inc. recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal and protected health data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal and protected health information entrusted to Included Health.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On February 13, 2025, Included Health became aware of a security incident affecting its confidential systems. Upon detection, Included Health launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to sensitive data. Included Health conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identified affected individuals.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal and protected health information may have been compromised: name, Social Security number, and medical record information. On February 13, 2025, Included Health filed a notice with the Attorney General of Massachusetts and began sending out notification letters to the impacted individuals. However, Included Health's filing with the Attorney General of Massachusetts provides limited details on what led to the breach. The Included Health data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Included Health, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:33:07 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 412 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Freddie Mac recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals.This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to Freddie Mac.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On November 4, 2024, Freddie Mac became aware of a security incident on its internal systems. Upon detection, Freddie Mac launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to files and folders containing confidential consumer information that had been provided to Freddie Mac.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised:names, and Social Security numbers.On February 19, 2025, Freddie Mac filed a notice with the Attorney General of Massachusetts and started sending out notice letters to the impacted individuals.Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Freddie Mac, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 15:48:06 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 965 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. ("IIPR", "IIP", or the "Company") (NYSE:IIPR) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and docketed under 25-cv-00182, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired IIPR securities between February 27, 2024 and December 19, 2024, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.If you are an investor who purchased or otherwise acquired IIPR securities during the Class Period, you have until March 18, 2025 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.[Click here for information about joining the class action]IIPR is an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") purportedly focused on the acquisition, ownership, and management of specialized properties leased to state-licensed operators for their regulated medical-use cannabis facilities.As a REIT, IIPR's primary source of income is derived from rental revenue generated by the properties that it acquires. To measure its financial performance, IIPR uses funds from operations ("FFO"), a metric calculated by adding depreciation, amortization, and losses on sales of property to earnings and then subtracting any gains on sales of property and any interest income. REITs tend to consider FFO to be a more accurate measure of a REIT's value than net income because it addresses the limitations of traditional accounting methods-particularly regarding depreciation, which can misrepresent the true value of real estate assets-and focuses on the cash flow generated by a REIT's core operations. As a result, FFO provides investors with a clearer picture of a REIT's ability to generate revenue and pay dividends.The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) IIPR was experiencing significant declines in rent and property-management fees in connection with certain customer leases; (ii) the foregoing would likely impair the Company's ability to maintain FFO and revenue growth; (iii) accordingly, IIPR's leasing operations were less profitable than the Company had represented to investors; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.On November 6, 2024, IIPR reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2024. Among other items, IIPR reported normalized FFO per share of $2.02, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 and declining from $2.09 in the same period in 2023. IIPR also reported revenue of $76.5 million, missing the consensus estimate of $77.5 million and declining from $77.8 million in the same period in 2023. IIPR stated that the year-over-year decrease was due to a $3.0 million decline in contractual rent and property management fees in the third quarter related to properties that IIPR regained possession of since June 2023; a decline of $1.3 million due to rent received but not recognized in rental revenues resulting from the re-classifications of two sales-type leases beginning January 1, 2024; and $1.3 million of contractually due rent and property management fees that were not collected during the current quarter.On this news, IIPR's stock price fell $12.93 per share, or 10.51%, to close at $110.07 per share on November 7, 2024. 7.Then, on December 20, 2024, IIPR announced that on the previous day, PharmaCann Inc. ("PharmaCann"), the tenant for eleven properties that IIPR owns-and the revenues from which represented 17% of IIPR's total rental revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024-defaulted on its obligations to pay rent for the month of December under six of its eleven leases (the "Leases"), for properties located in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. December rent, including base rent, property management fees, and estimated tax and insurance payments, totaled $4.2 million for these six properties. Further, IIPR stated that it applied security deposits held by IIPR pursuant to these Leases for the payment in full of the defaulted rent, in addition to late penalties and interest. Finally, the Company revealed that "although PharmaCann paid rent in full under the remaining five Leases totaling $90,000 for the month of December, as a result of cross-default provisions contained in each of the Leases, on December 19, 2024, PharmaCann also defaulted on its obligations under these five Leases, as a result of the non-payment of rent on the other six Leases." On this news, IIPR's stock price fell $21.68 per share, or 22.73%, to close at $73.66 per share on December 20, 2024.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 16:31:46 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 576 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against TELUS International (Cda) Inc. ("Telus" or the "Company") (NYSE:TIXT). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether Telus and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until March 31, 2025 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Telus securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On May 9, 2024, Telus issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The press release revealed that the Company was experiencing declining revenue, including a $29 million decrease in revenue year over year. During a related earnings call that same day, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Gopi Chande, revealed that the margins generated by the Company's AI offerings "can be a bit below average." On this news, Telus's stock price fell $1.41 per share, or 18.15%, to close at $6.36 per share on May 9, 2024.Then, on August 2, 2024, Telus reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, revealing a significant slowdown in revenue generation: a $5 million quarter-over-quarter or $15 million year-over-year revenue decrease; a $23 million or 15% quarter-over-quarter adjusted EBITDA decrease; and 14.6% quarter-over-quarter reduction in adjusted EBITDA margin, from 23.3% to 19.9%. As a result, Telus significantly reduced its full year 2024 fiscal guidance. The Company also disclosed that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Puritt, would retire effective September 3, 2024. During a related earnings call that same day, Puritt disclosed that the Company's transition "towards a more technology centric and specifically AI fueled business," "necessitates some cannibalization of our tenured and higher margin CX work." Puritt further revealed that the Company's AI offerings had put Telus in the "unendurable position" of allowing the "complete eradication of margin yields in order to enjoy the revenue upside" of AI. Puritt concluded that, ultimately, the Company is "going to have to take it on the chin a little bit in terms of our historical margin profile" and rely upon "eating our own roommate cooking internally," referring the self-cannibalization of the business, "in order to create the headwind we need to enjoy the margin yield that we've historically benefited from." On this news, Telus's stock price fell $2.33 per share, or 35.96%, to close at $4.15 per share on August 2, 2024.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:19:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 477 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Jack Doheny Company recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to Jack Doheny Company.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On early December 2024, Jack Doheny Company became aware of a potential security incident on its IT network. Upon detection of the incident, Jack Doheny Company launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cyber security experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party had gained access to its internal systems and obtained certain company files in late February 2024. Jack Doheny Company conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to assess what information was compromised and how many individuals were affected.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised as a result of the data breach: full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, tax information, payroll statements, driver's license or other government identification number, bank or financial account information, and other personnel-related information. On February 10, 2025, Jack Doheny Company filed a notice with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and began sending out notice letters to the impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Jack Doheny Company, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 01:15:29 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 462 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2025 / If you suffered a loss on your Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) investment and want to learn about a potential recovery under the federal securities laws, follow the link below for more information:or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. via email at jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com or call (212) 363-7500 to speak to our team of experienced shareholder advocates.THE LAWSUIT: This lawsuit is on behalf of all shareholders that purchased stock pursuant and/or traceable to Venture's registration statement for the initial public offering held on or about January 24, 2025.CASE DETAILS: According to the complaint, Venture completed its initial public offering on January 27, 2025, selling 70 million shares at $24.00 per share. On February 5, 2025, TotalEnergies, an energy company that was a target customer of Venture, rejected opportunities to become a long-term customer of Venture, citing lack of trust. In particular, TotalEnergies CEO, stated that he was approached by Venture to see if the company would be interested in a long-term supply contract for liquefied natural gas from the Calcasieu Pass terminal in Louisiana, but he rejected the offer "because of what they are doing." Venture is currently facing legal challenges from existing large clients, such as BP and Shell, due to delays in supply contracts as Venture commissions its projects. Given the fact that defendants ability to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world and to continue development of Venture's five natural gas liquefication and export projects depends on customer contracts, defendants' failure to account for and address these issues caused statements in Venture's registration statement to be false and/or materially misleading at the time of the initial public offering.WHAT'S NEXT? If you suffered a loss in Venture stock during the relevant time frame - even if you still hold your shares - go to https://zlk.com/pslra-1/venture-global-inc-lawsuit-submission-form?prid=133950&wire=1 to learn about your rights to seek a recovery. There is no cost or obligation to participate.WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, Levi & Korsinsky LLP has established itself as a nationally-recognized securities litigation firm that has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. The firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:25:48 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 431 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Nuna Baby Essentials, Inc. recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of thousands of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to Nuna.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On February 3, 2025, Nuna Baby Essentials, Inc. became aware of a security incident on its network. Upon detection, Nuna launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to and copied certain information from its network on or around September 8, 2024. Nuna conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identified affected individuals.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised: full name, and Social Security number. On February 21, 2025, Nuna filed a notice with the Maine Attorney General's Office and started sending out notice letters to the impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Nuna, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP One civilian was injured as a result of the enemy's morning strike on Kherson, Kherson Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram. "In the morning, Russian occupiers attacked Dniprovsky district of Kherson. A 64-year-old woman was hit. She suffered an explosive injury, shrapnel wounds to her back and leg. The victim was hospitalized in a moderate condition," the Administration said. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 15:01:30 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 627 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 WESTERVILLE, OHIO / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) are excited to launch the 2025 Military Spouse Fellowship Program. Applications will be accepted from March 1 to April 15, 2025, offering military spouses a chance to advance their careers while supporting the financial well-being of the armed forces community.Since its inception in 2006, this program has enabled military spouses to obtain the AFC certification, empowering them with the expertise to provide comprehensive financial counseling and education. This collaborative initiative removes financial barriers by fully funding AFC training and examination costs. FINRA Foundation Fellows play a crucial role in addressing the distinct financial challenges faced by military families. Their commitment and specialized knowledge have positively impacted thousands of service members and their families." The Fellowship program continues to make an extraordinary difference. It has transformed the financial lives of over 227,000 service members and their families through expert counseling and education. Moreover, it has been a catalyst for personal growth among our Fellows," said Rachael DeLeon, Executive Director at AFCPE. "FINRA Foundation Fellows not only gain the expertise to become AFCs but also join a supportive network of professionals that enriches both their careers and personal development." "The FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship helped me earn my credential. The AFC ignited my passion to learn more about personal finance and to help everyday people," said Cherie Steuve, AFC.The FINRA Foundation, recognized for its commitment to empowering Americans with the knowledge and tools needed to make sound financial decisions, has played a pivotal role in the success of this program. Beyond its support for this fellowship program, the FINRA Foundation offers free, unbiased financial education resources and tools to service members, their spouses and military financial educators. "FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellows fill a critical need by helping military service members and their families build a strong financial future," said Gerri Walsh, President of the FINRA Foundation. "Now in its 19th year, the goal of this program remains steadfast: provide military families with the information and counseling they need to improve their financial readiness." Applications for the 2025 Military Spouse Fellowship Program will be accepted March 1 through April 15. Current, surviving spouses and spouses of retirees of a Uniformed Service member (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard, Reserves, Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are eligible. Eligible spouses must be enrolled in DEERS. Candidates are encouraged to visit https://www.afcpe.org/education/finra-foundation-fellowship/ to learn more and apply.About AFCPE:The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) is dedicated to certifying, educating, and supporting financial professionals to serve as qualified motivators of change for individuals pursuing their life goals, regardless of their financial history. The Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) credential is accredited by The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), and nationally recognized by the Department of Defense and the CFPB. Please visit www.afcpe.org.About the FINRA Investor Education Foundation:The FINRA Investor Education Foundation supports innovative research and educational projects that empower all Americans with the knowledge, skills, and tools to make sound financial decisions throughout life. Since 2006, the Foundation has delivered free, unbiased financial education tools and training to service members, their spouses and military and financial educators through on-base educational forums, professional development training programs and online and printed educational resources. The Foundation holds both a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense in support of DoD's Financial Readiness Network and a USCG Qualified Organization Designation. Learn more about the FINRA Foundation at www.finrafoundation.org Contact InformationRachael DeLeonExecutive Directorrdeleon@ afcpe.org 614-368-1046SOURCE: AFCPE PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 14:01:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 295 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 PANAMA CITY, PA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / With political crises affecting Europe, many Europeans are seeking a Plan B to secure their future and protect their families. In this search for stability, Panama is emerging as an attractive option. Panama is Becoming a Top Destination for European InvestorsThe latest episodeof A Spotlight to Panama, hosted by Panamanian communicatorAna Patricia Hassan , features a European bank investor turned advisor who has built a market-leading company promoting Panama as a real estate destination among German-speaking countries, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.In this episode , Hassan interviews Klaus Happ, managing director and founder of FRAPAN-Invest Corp., who shares valuable insights into investing in Panama's real estate market from a European perspective.Throughout the interview, Happ highlights key differences between Panamanian and German societies, particularly in bureaucracy and business culture. He notes that Panamanians are generally more friendly and that, unlike in Germany, there is "more liberty" in business, with fewer regulations making it easier to operate.The former banker explainswhy he chose to move to Panama nearly 20 years ago, citing the country's consistently growing economy, the advantage of investing in U.S. dollars instead of local currencies, the increasing presence of multinational companies, and Panama's overall safety.According to Happ,Panama Cityis the top choice for his investors due to its modern skyscrapers, reliable high-quality tenants attracted by multinational companies, and the real estate market's role in facilitatinginvestor visas .Other attractive investment areas within Panama include beachfront destinations likeVervanaandPlaya Caracol- where major brands such as Radisson and Margaritaville are establishing a presence - as well asCasco Viejo , the city's historic district, which is particularly beloved by Europeans for its colonial architecture.Contact InformationSandy ChanProject Manager - Punta Pacifica Realtysandy@ puntapacificarealty.com + (507) 6793-8160SOURCE: Punta Pacifica Realty PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 14:01:24 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 384 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 PIC advocates for strong First Amendment protection of doctor-patient speech without fear of prosecution by medical boardsNEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC) and Children's Health Defense, along with co-plaintiffs Drs. Pierre Kory, Le Trinh Hoang, and Brian Tyson, have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court-a formal request to hear their potentially landmark case, Kory v. Bonta. The case seeks to resolve an intensifying conflict among federal circuits regarding whether the First Amendment protects physician communications to patients that diverge from fixed narratives about COVID-19 and other public health matters-a question that is particularly significant in a field like medicine, where scientific understanding is continually advancing and rarely settled. Sanjay Verma, M.D.The certiorari petition challenges the Ninth Circuit's opinion that no communication by a doctor to a patient is protected by the First Amendment. PIC argues that the Ninth Circuit's position is inconsistent with the Eleventh Circuit, prior Supreme Court authority, and even its own prior precedent.Notably, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito appear ready to provide a solution, as they previously dissented from the denial of certiorari in Tingley v. Ferguson, the case that originally created the conflict in the circuits. If two other Supreme Court Justices join them, the case will be heard by the Court.Richard Jaffe, Esq., petitioners' counsel, emphasized, "This case touches on the foundational rights of professionals to share knowledge and opinions essential for patient autonomy and informed consent." Greg Glaser, PIC general counsel, noted, "Free speech is necessary for all other constitutional rights. This case is a good opportunity for the nation's highest court to protect doctors from medical boards acting outside the bounds of their authority." Dr. Sanjay Verma, a cardiologist, provided the pivotal declaration in the case, showing the many instances in which public health authorities' pronouncements were incorrect and harmed the public. Dr. Verma advised the courts, "The fact [that] most of my patients with cardiac complications after COVID-19 vaccination had not previously been educated on these risks underscores the material and sometimes fatal consequence of silencing physicians who engage in an ethically transparent and comprehensive risk-benefit discussion." Contact InformationGreg GlaserGeneral Counselinfo@ picphysicians.org 925-642-6651SOURCE: Physicians for Informed Consent PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 15:01:08 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 520 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Whether resurfacing, upgrading pool tiles, or adding water features, Ross Services ensures that every pool renovation meets the highest standards.FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Homeowners looking to upgrade their backyard oasis can now rely on Ross Services, a leading pool remodeling company, for high-quality renovations and modern upgrades. With years of experience and a commitment to excellence, Ross Services brings top-tier craftsmanship to Fort Lauderdale, helping residents transform outdated pools into stunning, functional spaces. Pool remodel pool remodelExpert Pool Transformations for Lasting BeautyA well-designed pool should be visually appealing and functional, providing a seamless blend of luxury and relaxation. Whether resurfacing, upgrading pool tiles, or adding water features, Ross Services ensures that every pool renovation meets the highest standards."A pool renovation should be more than just an upgrade. It should be an investment in your home's beauty and value," says Greg Povlow, owner of Ross Services. "Our goal is to provide homeowners with long-lasting improvements that enhance aesthetics and performance." By working with a trustedpool remodeling company , homeowners can expect personalized designs, high-quality materials, and expert craftsmanship that ensure a flawless finish.Upgrading Pools with Cutting-Edge Remodeling ServicesChoosing the right pool remodeling services involves more than just picking out new tiles or changing the shape of a pool. Homeowners should consider efficiency, safety, and modern design elements for the best long-term value."At Ross Services, we take the time to understand our client's needs and recommend the best remodeling options," Povlow explains. "From energy-efficient equipment to elegant coping and tile selections, we ensure each project delivers a perfect combination of beauty and functionality." The company specializes in various pool remodeling services, including resurfacing, deck renovations, LED lighting installations, and water feature enhancements.Eco-Friendly Pool Renovations for SustainabilityModern pool renovations are about style and efficiency. Upgrading pools with energy-saving pumps, LED lighting, and smart automation systems can help homeowners cut costs while being environmentally responsible."Sustainability is becoming a priority for many homeowners," Povlow adds. "That's why we offer eco-friendly pool upgrades, including solar heating systems and advanced filtration solutions, to help reduce water and energy waste." Custom Features That Upgrade Backyard LivingA pool renovation allows homeowners to add unique features that enhance their outdoor space. Ross Services provides custom design options, including infinity edges, fire bowls, and swim-up seating, allowing homeowners to create a unique backyard retreat."A custom pool should reflect the homeowner's lifestyle," says Povlow. "We help bring their vision to life with features that make their backyard not just a swimming area but a complete outdoor experience." About Ross ServicesRoss Services is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau and specializes in high-quality pool remodeling, decorative driveways, patio installations, and travertine pavers. Serving Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas, the company is dedicated to providing exceptional quality, innovative design, and superior customer service.ContactFor more information or to schedule a consultation, call Ross Services at (954) 227-8944 or visit theirwebsite .Contact InformationGreg Povlow Ownerinfo@ rossservicesforu.com (954) 227-8944SOURCE: Ross Services for U PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 20:34:10 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 446 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 /WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of Western Asset Management Company mutual fund investors resulting from allegations that Western Asset may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.SO WHAT: If you purchased Western Asset mutual funds you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=31956 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On November 25, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release entitled "SEC Charges Ken Leech, Former Co-Chief Investment Officer of Western Asset Management Co., with Fraud." This press release stated that Leech had been charged with fraud "for engaging in a multi-year scheme to allocate favorable trades to certain portfolios, while allocating unfavorable trades to other portfolios, a practice known as cherry-picking." WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 01:30:19 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 685 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 4, 2025 /WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) between August 26, 2022 and November 19, 2024, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important April 1, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.SO WHAT: If you purchased Target common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Target class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6812 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 1, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, Target misled investors by making false and misleading statements about Target's Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") mandates that led to widespread customer boycotts following Target's 2023 LGBT-Pride Campaign (the "Campaign"). The negative effects of the Campaign on Target's business, including a subsequent campaign in 2024 (the "2024 Campaign"), led to a massive decline in Target's stock price.Specifically, the Campaign offended certain Target customers, provoking consumer backlash and boycotts that caused Target's sales to fall for the first time in six years. Unbeknownst to investors, and contrary to Target's public statements, its Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Board of directors did not oversee or disclose the known risks of Target's 2023 or 2024 Campaigns. This deceit, through misleading statements in Target's public filings, caused Target investors to purchase Target stock at artificially inflated prices. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Target class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6812 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: Rosen Law Firm PA PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-06 00:00:53 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 997 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 MALVERN, PA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Sunil Jagani, the visionary founder of AllianceTek, an international IT consulting firm, is shedding light on the impact of DeepSeek AI and its potential to revolutionize business operations. With a Master's degree in Software Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and extensive experience in financial technology roles at institutions like Advanta and Bisys, Jagani has long been at the forefront of leveraging technology to enhance business efficiency.Sunil Jagani's Perspective on DeepSeek AI's DisruptionFor Jagani, the rise of DeepSeek AI is not just another technological breakthrough-it represents a fundamental shift in how businesses approach automation, efficiency, and decision-making. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup founded in May 2023, recently introduced its latest model, R1, which is touted as being on par with leading AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT while being significantly more cost-effective to develop. The model excels in areas such as mathematics, coding, and reasoning through pure reinforcement learning, challenging the dominance of established AI firms.According to Jagani, the most striking aspect of DeepSeek AI is not just its performance but its strategic approach to AI development. Unlike traditional AI models that rely heavily on extensive data processing and high-end hardware, DeepSeek has focused on efficiency, open-source accessibility, and commercial adaptability."DeepSeek AI is demonstrating that innovation isn't confined to Silicon Valley," says Jagani. "By optimizing resource utilization and refining reinforcement learning techniques, it is reshaping the AI industry in a way that businesses of all sizes can learn from. The idea that AI models need enormous computational power to be successful is being challenged, and that opens new doors for business applications." The Practical Business Implications of DeepSeek AIJagani emphasizes that businesses should look beyond the hype and assess how AI advancements like DeepSeek can be integrated into their operations. At AllianceTek, he has always promoted the idea that businesses function as ecosystems that require balance. He believes that AI should be used to create harmony between people, processes, and technology rather than replacing human ingenuity."The misconception that AI is only for tech giants is being dismantled," says Jagani. "With the right implementation, AI can be a game-changer for businesses in various industries-from finance and healthcare to logistics and customer service. DeepSeek AI's efficiency-driven approach presents an opportunity for companies to rethink their digital transformation strategies and invest in AI solutions that are cost-effective and practical." Aligning AI with Business StrategySunil Jagani sees DeepSeek AI as a potential catalyst for companies looking to integrate AI-driven automation into their workflows. However, he cautions against blindly adopting AI without a strategic roadmap. He outlines three core principles businesses should follow when incorporating AI:Assessing AI's Role in the Business Model - "AI should complement human expertise, not replace it," Jagani advises. Businesses need to identify specific tasks that AI can optimize, such as automating repetitive processes, analyzing data trends, or improving customer interactions.Customizing AI Solutions for Industry-Specific Needs - Not all AI models are suitable for every business. DeepSeek AI's capabilities in reasoning and coding, for instance, can be invaluable for software development and financial forecasting, but companies should tailor AI applications to their unique challenges.Ensuring Ethical and Transparent AI Usage - With the growing adoption of AI, Jagani stresses the importance of ethical AI development. "Transparency in AI decision-making and ensuring unbiased data training should be a priority," he says. "DeepSeek AI's open-source model is a step in the right direction, offering businesses the flexibility to adapt AI while maintaining control over its deployment." How AllianceTek is Preparing for an AI-Driven FutureAllianceTek has been at the forefront of technological evolution, helping businesses streamline their operations by integrating customized IT solutions. With over 100 employees across the United States and India, the company has worked extensively on solutions that bridge the gap between business needs and technological advancements.Jagani sees DeepSeek AI as an opportunity to refine how companies approach AI integration. His team is actively exploring ways to incorporate AI models like DeepSeek into AllianceTek's client solutions, focusing on automation, predictive analytics, and intelligent process optimization."Our approach is to make AI accessible to businesses that might not have considered it before," Jagani explains. "DeepSeek AI is a wake-up call for organizations that have been hesitant about AI adoption. By leveraging cost-efficient models, we can create tailored solutions that drive efficiency without overwhelming businesses with high implementation costs." Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Business OperationsAs AI technology continues to evolve, Jagani urges business leaders to stay ahead of the curve. He believes that companies that embrace AI strategically will have a competitive advantage in the coming years."The AI landscape is changing at an unprecedented pace," he notes. "DeepSeek AI is just one example of how innovation is breaking traditional boundaries. Business leaders need to cultivate a mindset of adaptability and continuous learning. AI isn't just a passing trend-it's the future of operational excellence." Jagani also highlights the importance of AI literacy among business executives. He encourages leadership teams to invest in AI education, ensuring that decision-makers understand the technology's potential and limitations."Executives don't need to be AI engineers, but they do need to be AI-savvy," he says. "Understanding AI capabilities, challenges, and ethical considerations will be key to making informed decisions. AI should be a tool for empowerment, not a black box that businesses rely on without comprehension." ConclusionSunil Jagani's insights into DeepSeek AI reflect his broader philosophy: technology should serve as an enabler of business growth, not a disruptor that creates uncertainty. As the AI industry undergoes a paradigm shift, he believes that businesses must proactively adapt and strategically integrate AI into their operations."With DeepSeek AI, we are witnessing a democratization of artificial intelligence," Jagani concludes. "This is a turning point for businesses that have been waiting for a p PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-05 18:33:11 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 503 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / Zacks Investment Research recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of millions of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to Zacks.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?Zacks Investment Research has reportedly suffered a significant cyberattack in June 2024, leading to the theft of sensitive user data. According to sources, attackers gained access to Zacks' active directory as domain administrators, allowing them to steal source code from the company's main website and 16 other assets. The attacker reportedly posted samples of the stolen data on an underground forum, offering the full dataset for cryptocurrency. In December 2022, Zacks disclosed unauthorized access to customer records affecting approximately 820,000 Zacks Elite product users who signed up between November 1999 and February 2005. In January 2023, Zacks reported another breach in which hackers accessed sensitive information of 820,000 customers between November 2021 and August 2022. Additionally, in June 2023, a database containing personal details of 8.8 million individuals was leaked.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised as a result of the data breach: full names, usernames, email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers. Despite the recent allegations, Zacks has not confirmed the alleged breach and has not responded to media inquiries regarding the incident. If this data leak is verified, it would mark another significant breach impacting Zacks customers, potentially compromising even more sensitive information. Compensation may be available for those individuals who received notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Zacks, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP An art merchant and craftsman, Isah Lawan, has urged the Nigeria Customs Service to revise its regulations regarding importing locally crafted artworks by collectors and expatriates. Mr Lawan made the call during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos. According to the craftsman, who plies his trade at the Eko Hotel and Suites Art and Crafts Centre, many collectors and expatriates are excited about Nigerian artworks. When we have about 40 to 50 Europeans that come to the market, you can say about 30 would like to buy artwork, and they help us promote it, he said. However, he said that despite its appeal, the industry was being significantly hampered by these unnecessary restrictions, a situation that should concern all stakeholders in the art industry. He said the most significant challenge confronting the industry was the difficulty of exporting art due to specific Customs regulations. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Ignorance According to the craftsman, who has been in the business for about 40 years, collectors often experience challenges when taking their collections home, mainly at airports and seaports, where Customs officials inspect and sometimes mislabel the artworks, leading to additional costs and delays. I dont know whether their boys dont know the difference between modern artworks and antiquities. They all term it antiquity simply because they want to get something from them. When you buy something for N5,000, for example, they will challenge you to pay N50,000 while you take it out. So, this provokes them, and they just throw it away; some bring it back to the market, he said. Mr Lawan decried the trend, adding that it negatively impacted businesses and preserved Nigerias artistic legacy. He recommended that the customs officials be trained on the difference between contemporary and antique art. An antique has been used for the past 60 years, and all those from the olden days are antiquities. You cant get the antiquities, only the copies, and you would have to go to the museum where they will give you a paper stating its not an antiquity, he explained. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Twenty-four hours after defending his unconventional tongue-to-tongue anointing ritual, Bishop Alfred Lahojah Ogunnusi of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church has backtracked his stance. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the cleric sparked widespread controversy on social media after a viral video captured him performing the ritual with a younger bishop. In the footage, Mr Ogunnusi stands beside a church member clad in a garment bearing the official emblem of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church. Holding a microphone, he proceeds with the anointing ceremony. The pastor who went viral for transferring anointing to his members through tongue-to-tongue kiss!ng has defended his actions, claiming that everything he did is in the Bible and that he has done nothing wrong. (Mudashiru Obasa May D Seyi Tinubu Boniface Peter Obi) pic.twitter.com/dd2OCqfXQk Oxygist (@oxygist) March 4, 2025 A younger bishop kneels before him as Mr Ogunnusi pours water over his head three times before handing him the bottle to drink from. After taking a sip, the bishop watches as Mr Ogunnusi extends his tongue, prompting him to do the same, resulting in a brief tongue-to-tongue contact. The ritual ignited intense debate online, with many expressing shock and disapproval. Despite the backlash, Mr Ogunnusi initially defended his actions, claiming they were rooted in biblical practice. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said: I greet everyone; it shall be well with us. My name is Eminence Baba Aladura Alfred Oluwasegun Okikiola Ogunnusi, known as Lahojah. I thank God that everything that happened occurred while I was still alive and not after I was gone. The work of God will not be destroyed through me, and everything I do is biblical. I dont do anything that is not biblical. Since I have been practising this, the Bible has been my guide, and I have done everything through the blood of Jesus. Please look at Genesis 48:10, which says: Now Israels eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them, embraced them, and advised them. Can you hear me now? Thats it! This is not from my knowledge but from God. The pastor who went viral for transferring anointing to his members through tongue-to-tongue kiss!ng has defended his actions, claiming that everything he did is in the Bible and that he has done nothing wrong. (Mudashiru Obasa May D Seyi Tinubu Boniface Peter Obi) pic.twitter.com/dd2OCqfXQk Oxygist (@oxygist) March 4, 2025 Apology However, in a viral video on Wednesday, he withdrew his statement and apologised to the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church and the Christian community. Tendering his apology, he said: My name is Eminence Baba Aladura Alfred Oluwasegun Okikiola Ogunnusi, also known as Lahojah. Please dont be angry. Everyone who believes what I did was wrong, please forgive me. I seek forgiveness. What happened in the viral video was what I did, and I led the session. I greet all pastors and Christians and ask them to forgive and not be angry. Breaking News: I am sorry Bishop in Tongue-to-Tongue Anointing and Ordination of a Cherubim and Seraphim Church Bishop finally Apologizes pic.twitter.com/1o1sETX3JI Hon.Omogbadebo Oluwasegun (@OOmogbadebo) March 5, 2025 Impostor Meanwhile, this newspaper learned that Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church, reacting to the controversial tongue-to-tongue anointing and Mr Ogunnusis defence, stated on its Facebook page on Tuesday, distancing itself from him. The church condemned the act in a statement titled Vexatious Anointing of a Bishop by a Self-Acclaimed Church Leader: Our View. They described it as disturbing, labelling Mr Ogunnusis actions despicable before both God and man. The Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria (the umbrella body for all sons and daughters of St. Moses Orimolade Tunolase) would not have dignified these characters with a word of reaction, but for the audible mention of the name of the founder of our church and the visible display of symbols associated with our church in the video. Though the lead character in the video has since clarified his abominable action in another video also now circulating on social media, It may interest people to note that all the characters in the viral video are not known members of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, which regulates all acts and conducts of member churches in the Cherubim & Seraphim organisation, the church said. Investigation Additionally, the church stated its findings. The church noted, Upon investigation, we gathered that the purported anointing was conducted somewhere in the Ogijo area of Ogun State, and the man being anointed is identified as Benjamin, a.k.a. Ajigbo (who is said to be an Edo State-born self-acclaimed prophet) and who has a makeshift church at the Adamo area of Ikorodu, in Lagos State. The anointer likened himself to Israel, who was said to be advanced in age and could hardly see clearly before he kissed his sons and embraced them. (For sure, the biblical Israel could not have done such an abominable act as was seen in the viral video while kissing his children. The church emphasised that its members and practices strictly abhor idolatry, expressing disappointment that people often mistake anyone dressed in white for a Cherubim & Seraphim Church member. They further stated that Mr Ogunnusis mention of Moses Orimolade suggests he recognises the spiritual influence of the churchs founder and is attempting to exploit his name to attract unsuspecting followers. There are other, albeit reputable, Christian denominations whose members are clad in white garments like ours. Our church has consistently highlighted that it is easy for anyone to enter into a marketplace, procure a white clothing material, and give it out to a tailor to sow for them and hence use that to claim they are members of the Cherubim & Seraphim Church organisation. It should be clear to the Christian community worldwide and the general public that all recognised members of the Cherubim & Seraphim organisation are known to and recognised by the leadership of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria. Inversely, it is clear that these characters probably loved to be identified with a white-garmented church such as ours by cladding in such apparel. Still, they refused to enter the Unification Church fold because they could not shriek themselves of their idolatry practices. The church stated that while they would not prevent anyone from invoking their founders name, they said his legacy would be better honoured if those who do so also worship God in the beauty of His holiness. They urged the public to understand that merely calling on the founders name does not automatically make someone a church member. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Starmer and Macron plan to travel to USA with Zelenskyy next week British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are ready to travel to the United States together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Daily Mail reports, citing diplomatic sources. Diplomatic sources said that Sir Keir and Emmanuel Macron were willing to travel to Washington with President Zelenskyy as early as next week to present a united front on the plan to Mr Trump, Daily Mail reported. Nigeria and Taiwan are on the verge of entering into bilateral trade and technology relations that will enable Taiwan to stimulate agricultural, technological and industrial developments in Nigeria, an official has said. A Taiwan Representative in Nigeria, Andy Yih-Ping Liu, disclosed this on Wednesday when he appeared as a guest on Channels TVs The Morning Brief. Mr Liu said the bilateral relations will help Nigeria utilise some of its resources to end its reliance on the crude oil economy and also encourage the exchange of machines, raw materials, and technologies between the two countries. This is what Taiwan can offer to Nigeria because we know how to survive without any natural resources, he said. Mr Liu said that although the agreement was yet to be finalised, the specific aspects of the bilateral relations to be utilised in different states of Nigeria will depend on the states existing resources, interests, and priorities. Why we envy Nigeria despite our superior brain power Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Liu also said Nigeria is an enviable country because of its abundance of natural resources, such as oil, gas, and salt. He stressed that although Taiwan has superior brain power, the country has no natural resources, unlike Nigeria. On one hand, Taiwan has all the know-how in technology that the world really admires. And in Nigeria, you have all the natural resources that we (Taiwan) dont have. We envy you (Nigeria) so much. Because Taiwan is an island, but we have no natural resources at all, Mr Liu said. But we have all the natural disasters that you (Nigeria) dont have: earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, and tsunamis. We have no resources, but we have the brain power, he stated. The official stressed that Taiwan, recognising its lack of resources, invested heavily in education to stimulate technological advancement and build the countrys workforce. Now, I can proudly say that our illiteracy in Taiwan is less than two per cent. This means that 98 per cent of our people can read and write and can work. This is the only way we can keep ourselves sustainable in way to develop ourselves for agriculture, industry from heavy industries to high technology industries, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a contract worth N10.3 billion for various medical products aimed at improving accessible and affordable healthcare services for Nigerians. The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the fourth FEC meeting of the year, held on Wednesday. The first category is N997 million for the contract to procure third line antiretroviral drugs for those who are HIV infected. I believe you will understand the importance of this, given the changes in global health financing and moving towards domestic financing to allow Nigerians to continue the treatment they require, he said. According to the minister, the second category is the procurement of locally manufactured diagnostic kits for diabetes. Diabetes is a major issue in our country. Its among the fastest growing segment. We have lots of our population suffering from diabetes, and some are not even aware they have diabetes, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In addition, the minister said a private company based in Lagos had been commissioned to manufacture diagnostic test kits. So, the government is procuring the diagnostic kits for blood glucose monitoring system that is manufactured here in Nigeria. This is bringing to life the effort to unlock the healthcare value chain by encouraging local manufacturers. The federal government is procuring N2 billion worth of those diagnostic kits. Out of this total amount, there will also be in addition, points of glucose monitoring, such that anybody who has diabetes will know where to monitor over time, he said. Mr Pate also said the President Bola Tinubu had previously indicated the need to have a medical relief programme to lower the costs of medical commodities. In line with this, he said N4.5 billion would be used to procure antibiotics, anti hypertensive and anti diabetic medications, beyond the test kits, which would be distributed to help lower costs. He added that the test kits were manufactured in Nigeria as part of efforts to patronise local manufacturers. The minister stated that the second approval was N2.1 billion for the procurement of a mobile X-ray machine, the rehabilitation, and equipping of a 64-slice CT scan at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi. Mr Pate esplained that the hospitals diagnostic and clinical care services would be of the highest quality, making it a referral centre not only for the state but also for the wider region. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, promised the immediate establishment of an implementation committee to review the findings and recommendations of a special panel of investigations into allegations of human rights violations committed by the Nigerian military during counter-insurgency in the North-east. My office will immediately establish an implementation committee to review the report and develop appropriate recommendations for execution. The government remains steadfast in ensuring that justice prevails, and any necessary remedial action will be taken within the framework of the law, Mr Fagbemi said during the report presentation at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja. The Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in North-East, Nigeria (SIIP North-East) was set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) following a report by Reuters in 2022. The NHRC set up the seven-member panel headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Abdu Aboki, in January 2023, following a December 2022 Reuters investigative report alleging that the Nigerian military ran a secret programme terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies of freed captives of Boko Haram terrorists in the troubled North-east region. Reuters alleged that many of the pregnancies resulted from the rape of the kidnapped women by Boko Haram fighters. The Nigerian military denied this allegation. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other respected voices called for a probe into the allegations, prompting the NHRC to set up the special investigative panel. After conducting investigations, the panel cleared the military of allegations of mass abortion contained in the Reuters investigative report. However, the panel indicted the military of mass infanticide and other killings at Abisare in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, North-east Nigeria in 2016. Speaking during the presentation of the report at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja on Tuesday, the head of the investigative panel, Mr Aboki, said the report contained critical recommendations that will enhance Nigerias counter-insurgency operations while upholding human rights and strengthening our criminal justice system. He urged the AGF to implement the recommendations to reinforce the nations commitment to human rights, accountability, and the rule of law in military operations. Recommendations by the Panel The recommendation of the report included the payment of compensation to victims within 90 days of the receipt of the report, while the NHRC was to work out and recommend compensation to the federal government within 30 days. Also, the panel urged the Nigerian Armed Forces to constitute a court martial to prosecute suspected officers, particularly men of the Defunct 8 Task Force Division, Monguno, who were part of the operation in Abisare, Marte Local Government of Borno State in June 2016 or other units of the Nigerian Armed Forces who were involved in the killings in the community. The last recommendation was for the NHRC to refer both serving and retired officers suspected to be culpable in the killings to the AGF for prosecution. NHRC needs to partner with the Ministry of Justice Presenting the report to the AGF, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, stressed the need for collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice to implement the panels report. Mr Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, highlighted the commissions efforts at ensuring the implementation of the report to include visiting Maiduguri, Borno State, to present it to key players. Also, in December 2024, the NHRC organised a Civil-Military Forum in Abuja for discussing practical steps for the implementation of the panels recommendation. The NHRC chief noted that the work of the SIIP North-East has both local and international significance. Locally, it shows that the National Human Rights Commission is truly and fully independent and plays oversight on Nigerias institutions, including the Armed Forces and the Law Enforcement Agencies as far as human rights is concerned. On a global scale, it is a clear indication of Nigerias political will to investigate cases of grave human rights violations falling under the international principles of complementarity, he said. The panels investigation SIIP North-East, which sat for nearly two years, released its findings in November 2024. During its sittings, the panel heard 199 witnesses, comprising civilians and military personnel from Borno State the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency Adamawa and Yobe states. But the panel said Reuters, MSF, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did notappear before the panel despite receiving an invitation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Frederick Nwajagu, the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, has filed an appeal against his conviction by the Lagos State High Court at Tafawa Balewa Square for unlawfully parading himself as a titled chief in Lagos. In a notice of appeal submitted by his lawyer, Emefo Etudo, Mr Nwajagu is challenging the constitutionality of Sections 26-36 of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law (1981). He argued that they violated his rights to freedom of expression and association as enshrined in Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). He is urging the appellate court to overturn his conviction and grant him a full acquittal. Background In January 2024, a trial judge, Yetunde Adesanya, acquitted and discharged Mr Nwajagu of terrorism charges, ruling that the Lagos State Government failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the court found him guilty of unlawfully presenting himself as a titled chief, an offence under the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State (1981). Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The court sentenced him to one year in prison without an option of a fine. However, given that Mr Nwajagu had already spent over two years in custody during the trial, he was deemed to have completed his sentence and was released. Mr Nwajagu, 67, was arrested on 1 April 2023 after a video surfaced online in which he allegedly threatened to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to protect Igbo properties. Mr Nwajagu was charged with conspiracy and breach of public peace. The chief magistrate, Peter Nwaka, ordered that Mr Nwajagu be kept at the Ikoyi custodial facility for 30 days before adjourning the case until 3 May 2023. He was arraigned on a nine-count charge at the Lagos High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square. The Eze Ndigbo title The title, meaning King of the Igbo people, traditionally refers to a monarch or high priest within Igbo communities. 1 However, it has evolved outside of Igboland to describe a community leader representing Igbo interests in a specific area. While other tribes have similar practices for electing community leaders outside their home states, the use of Eze Ndigbo has been controversial. In February 2025, the South East Council of Traditional Rulers banned its use outside the Igbo region, suggesting Onyedu Ndigbo as an alternative. It remains unclear who officially appointed Mr Nwajagu as the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, as local Igbo communities or associations typically confer these titles. This highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the use and legitimacy of the Eze Ndigbo title outside of Igboland. Nwajagus appeal In his appeal, Mr Nwajagu contends that his conviction was unconstitutional, stating that his cultural activities fall within his fundamental rights to association and expression. His legal team argues that the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State (1981), which formed the basis of his conviction, contradicts the 1999 Constitution and should be declared void. The appeal also claims that his conviction under Section 34 of the Obas and Chiefs Law conflicts with Section 166 of the Administration of Criminal Justice (Repeal and Re-enactment) Law of Lagos State (2015). The defence maintains that the prosecution failed to prove that he publicly proclaimed himself a traditional ruler or established a kingship, making the conviction unjustified. It further argues that the Eze Ndigbo institution he represents is not recognised under Lagos law and, therefore, cannot be subjected to its traditional chieftaincy regulations. The defendant did not present himself to the general public as a traditional ruler or create public awareness of such a title. His cultural activities within his private residence cannot, by themselves, establish a kingship or chieftaincy, the defence said. Meanwhile, one of Mr Nwajagus lawyers, Fabian Onwughalu, former president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos chapter, has vowed to fight for his full exoneration, insisting that the prosecution failed to prove its case. No date has been set for the appeal hearing. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions has officially commenced an investigation into the recent controversy surrounding the seat rearrangement involving Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. However, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was absent from the panels meeting, which began at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The probe is chaired by Neda Imasuen, the senator representing Edo South Senatorial District. The matter was referred to the committee on 25 February. Natasha notified Mr Imasuen confirmed that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan had been duly informed about the meeting and that the matter was officially announced on the floor of the Senate during the plenary session earlier in the day. She was properly informed about this meeting. She was on the floor of the Senate today, and it was also announced during plenary that this meeting was scheduled to be held today. I hope she will be here to give her side of the story, Mr Imasuen said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, was also present at the probe. Mr Adaramodu formally presented the case to the committee. How Natasha was moved to another seat Explaining the background of the dispute, Mr Adaramodu recounted how Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was relocated from her original seat. READ ALSO: Tinubu approves elevation of two presidential aides He explained that such seat rearrangement falls under the authority of the Senate president and is not subject to individual preferences. The Senate spokesperson accused Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan of breaching Senate rules by refusing to occupy her newly assigned seat, implying that her actions contributed to the controversy. Also testifying before the committee, a Sergeant-at-Arms, Mukthar Daudawa, said the change of seat was directed to him by the leadership of the Senate and that the information was communicated to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan on that day, but she refused to adhere. Details later Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday presented a certificate of approval to FirstBank ahead of the construction of its eco-friendly headquarters in Eko Atlantic City, Lagos. The governor presented the certificate at the ground-breaking ceremony held at the Eko Atlantic city. The ceremony, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was attended by captains of industry, politicians, bankers, financial advisory experts and other invited guests. The bank said the ambitious 40-storey building project is set to be the tallest building in Nigeria and it will be an engineering and environmental delight due to its technologically advanced, eco-friendly and sophisticated construction which would set a new standard for the financial services sector in Africa. Endorsement Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Sanwo-Olu lauded the management of First Bank for the vision and audacity to conceive the idea and situate it in the Eko Atlantic city. FirstBank, as always, has taken the lead. I want to thank the visionaries who have created a new city that will serve as Africas model city one we will all be proud of. Mr Femi Otedola, well done well done to your board and well done to your management. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later CBN Governor, thank you for the approval. We hope you extend similar approvals to other financial institutions, as there is space for them too, the governor said. As an expression of the commitment of his administration to support businesses and provide an enabling environment for growth, he pledged that the Lagos government would support the initiative and all such developmental initiatives in the state. I am now handing over a certificate of approval for them to commence work immediately, Mr Sanwo-Olu declared. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; former senate president, Bukola Saraki; the founder of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote; co-founders of the Chagoury Group, Gilbert and Roland Chagoury; Deji Adeleke; Ben Bruce; among other dignitaries. First Bank said the new Head Office is envisioned as a world-class structure that represents its dedication to innovation, customer satisfaction, and sustainability. We are proud to mark this significant milestone in our journey towards excellence, Olusegun Alebiosu, the CEO of FirstBank Group, said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal High Court in Kaduna has ordered an interim forfeiture of N1.37 billion allegedly diverted from the coffers of the Kaduna State Government into a private account. The money, a part of the funds released for a failed light rail project in Kaduna State, was allegedly diverted during the administration of former Governor El-Rufai, who governed the state between 2015 and 2023. The judge, H. Buhari, issued the forfeiture order on 28 February, following an ex parte application by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC), which traced the money to a private account. On 14 February, the anti-graft agency filed the ex parte application seeking the recovery of the money. The ICPC said the El-Rufai administration never executed the project, depriving the people of Kaduna State of the benefits of the rail transportation system, which the money was meant for. The commission said Kaduna State officials diverted the money through the Indo Kaduna MRTS JV Nig. Ltd, a joint venture entity set up in 2016 by the state government and Indian businesspeople. ICPCs lawyer, E.O Akponimisingha, moved the application on 28 February. Being an ex parte hearing, the proceedings excluded the adverse parties who might want to oppose the forfeiture application. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Therefore, while granting the ICPCs application, the judge not only ordered the interim forfeiture of the money, he also directed the anti-graft agency to publish a notice in any two national newspapers requesting any person with interest in the money to present their claim and show cause in court why the asset should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government. The judge then adjourned further proceedings till 8 April for such interested people who may want to claim the money to make their case before the court. Background The Kaduna State Government under Mr El-Rufai entered into a joint venture agreement in October 2016 with Indo Kaduna MRTS JV Nig. Ltd. for a light rail transport system. Before Mrts JV Nigeria was incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the ICPC said, Mr El-Rufai began approving payments to the entity in December 2016. In the end, between December 2016 and January 2017, the then-governor approved the payment of N11.1 billion to the entity, which was not formally incorporated by the CAC until 10 May 2017. From the N11.1 billion paid to Mrts JV Nigerias account domiciled with Sterling Bank, N1.373 billion was allegedly diverted into a private account tracked down by ICPC. ICPCs ex parte application filed in court on 14 February sought an interim forfeiture of the discovered money. Justifying the forfeiture request, the ICPC argued in the application signed by its chairman, Musa Aliyu, that redirecting the money into public-use projects aligns with the broader public interest. The commission also said that granting the forfeiture order would not infringe on constitutional rights of anyone but would serve the greater public interest in governance and accountability. The ICPC launched an investigation into the matter after receiving a petition from M. Yahaya, a lawyer from NUS AB Chambers, Abuja. The petition, dated 27 June 2024 and received by the commission on 1 July 2024, alleged a disturbing level of criminal misappropriation of Kaduna States funds by officials of the past administration of Governor El-Rufai. Some of Mr El-Rufais officials are facing charges in the state or before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the ICPC, and the Code of Conduct Bureau over alleged fraud. The Kaduna State Government is investigating some of Mr El-Rufais aides for corruption and mismanagement of public funds, allegations the former governor has described as a witch hunt targeted at him and his administration. Mr El-Rufai and the group of his former appointees have consistently maintained their innocence. They said the move by the ICPC to confiscate the light rail project funds, which they described as private assets, is sheer oppression and abuse of power. They added that the move could discourage foreign direct investments. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Gunmen on Wednesday opened fire on a peaceful gathering of youths in Rivers State believed to be supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State The incident occurred in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers. The youths reportedly assembled at a roundabout in Elele to express solidarity with Mr Fubara when the attack occurred, further escalating political tensions in the oil-rich state. The incident follows a 48-hour ultimatum issued to Mr Fubara by the Martin Amaewhule-led assembly to re-represent the 2025 budget for their approval. The ultimatum expires today, 5 March. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria via telephone, a witness, Nwokoro, alleged that a senior local vigilante commander in the area carried out the attack. According to him, the commander, popularly known as Fucking Naira, appeared suddenly and opened fire on the supporters of Governor Fubara in Elele Town. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He shot about 14 people, all of whom sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were taken to Madonna University Hospital in Elele for treatment, the witness reported. Mr Nwokoro alleged that the shooter is a factional leader of a prominent political party and a staunch supporter of a well-known politician in the state. He alleged that the vigilante commander also threatened to continue attacking supporters of the governor and called on security agencies to take swift action to arrest him and ensure his prosecution. Police speak on incident Confirming the incident, Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the police in Rivers, stated that only four people sustained gunshot wounds during the attack. She explained that the attack occurred after a patrol team from Elele Division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, arrived at Elele Roundabout to address the unlawful assembly. While officers were attempting to address the crowd, an unidentified assailant hiding nearby opened fire, resulting in multiple injuries. As at the time of this report, only four individuals have been confirmed injured, Mrs Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police, stated. She added that after the shooting, the armed assailants attempted to flee, but the police apprehended one. Mrs Iringe-Koko said that a single-barrel gun was recovered from the suspect. The injured victims were immediately taken to various hospitals in Elele for urgent medical treatment. A manhunt is underway for the perpetrators who escaped, she said. Mrs Iringe-Koko revealed that some of the assailants were identified as members of the local vigilante group known as the Obio/Akpor Security Planning and Advisory Committee. The police spokesperson stated that the apprehended suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation. She assured all those involved in the attack would be tracked down and brought to justice. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Jigawa State House of Assembly repealed the states Hisbah Advisory Committee (Establishment) law, 2004 and passed a new law to replace it the Hisbah Board Bill, 2025. The lawmakers said the 2004 law was ineffective in providing legal backing for the Hisbah operation. The Speaker of the Assembly, Haruna Aliyu, at Tuesdays plenary, said the introduction of the new bill with a total of 30 sections provides for the establishment of the Board as a corporate legal entity as well as its administrative structure and jurisdictions. It provides legal backing for effective operation, necessary funding, and additional resources to complement its activities and discharge its functions smoothly, the speaker stated. The House Committee on Religious Affairs chairperson, Abdu Muku, said the new bill, which is now awaiting Governor Umar Namadis assent, empowers the governor to appoint a commander-general who shall be the Chief Executive of Mr Board and overall commander of the Corps. READ ALSO:Nigerian state bans nightclubs as Hisbah threatens tough actions With the advent of the bill, a competent Board will be fully established along with adequate and qualified manpower to champion the revival of Hisbah and ensure its functionality and effective and efficient operation in the state. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The bill, when passed into law and enforced, will maximize neighbourhood surveillance, assist in crime detection and prevention, restore moral values, ensure peaceful coexistence, enhance religious tolerance, and uphold Islamic moral principles within the society, Mr Muku said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed worry over attacks on heavy-duty haulage trucks/trailers from the northern region of the country in the South-east. The group decried government inaction over the reoccurring attacks and called on the governments of the affected states to pay compensation for lives and injuries as well as the goods lost to such attacks. The ACFs spokesperson, Muhammad Baba, issued a statement on the matter on Tuesday. He said the drivers are subjected to vicious and unprovoked attacks, leading to murder, burning of vehicles and looting of goods in transit, such as foodstuff and cattle. The group stated that the attacks are being brazenly carried out by armed persons who openly claimed membership of terror groups such as the so-called Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN), with the attacks directed only on Northerners and northern-owned property. The terror merchants have continued to double down on the savage attacks and even posting video clips of the results of their gruesome actions, with gleeful taunts, on social media. Often, the savagery extends to burning of the corpses of hapless victims. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Only a few days ago indeed, members of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) demonstrated at Jos, the Plateau State Capital, to draw attention to the attacks and the over 50 drivers and about 100 trailers burnt over the last eight years, the statement added. The group said it is worried about the continued silence of Nigerian authorities allowing the terrorists to continue the attacks with impunity. ACF is most concerned about the barbaric activities of the terrorists and unequivocally condemns the absence of any visible attempts to tame them. Equally worrisome is the silence of National Security agencies and the Federal and state governments. ACF asserts that the attacks constitute serious threat to national security with the potential to lead to the breakdown of law and order and generalized anarchy. Needless to assert, absolutely no individual or groups should be allowed free rein to visit murder, looting, arson, vandalism and general brigandage on innocent citizens. ACF is gravely saddened by the development and fully supports the contemplation by NARTO and NURTW to boycott the haulage of goods to and from the South East until the situation is brought under control, the statement added. The group also condoled with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the attacks and called on the security agents to act and tame the attacks. The ACF extends condolences to the families and friends of victims of the attacks; (ii) calls on the Federal and relevant state authorities, as well as the security agencies to step-up to stop the unprovoked and extra-constitutional actions by the terror groups. At the very minimum, perpetrators of the dastardly acts must be fished out and brought to justice as just deserts. The relevant authorities ought to declare a state of emergency on the matter as any escalation of the attacks as appear to be happening appear set to worsen, with innocent citizens undertaking legitimate businesses bearing the brunt. READ ALSO: Boko Haram kills 11 in midnight attack on Niger gold mining site Decries the silence of or lip service by South East elites, politically exposed persons and socio-cultural groups on the issue and calls on them to end the lip service and neglect but publicly condemn the barbarism being visited on Northerners and Northern-owned businesses in the region; and (iv)calls on the Governments of Enugu and Imo states to pay full compensation for lives and injuries as well as the goods lost to such attacks, the ACF stated. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print USA bans UK from sharing US intelligence data with Ukraine The United States has banned Britain from sharing intelligence from Washington with Ukraine, Daily Mail said Tuesday. All UK intelligence agencies and military outlets also received an order expressly forbidding the sharing of US-generated intelligence, previously known as 'Rel UKR' - short for Releasable to Ukraine, Daily Mail said. The ban affects the likes of the UK's GCHQ, the spy agencies and intelligence branches of the Ministry of Defence. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said that insecurity and horrific sexual violence have left tens of thousands fleeing across borders with no sign of the exodus stopping in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UNHCRs Division of International Protection, Patrick Eba, in a statement on Tuesday said that no fewer than 80,000 had left DR Congo. Near the frontlines, sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant, as is the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses, he said. Speaking in Geneva, Mr Eba told journalists that North and South Kivu provinces remain unstable, with hundreds of thousands of people on the move. According to him, close to 80,000 people have fled armed clashes between Congolese Government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels into neighbouring countries and some 61,000 have arrived in Burundi since January. A staggering 895 cases of rape were reported to humanitarian actors in the last two weeks of February alone, the UN refugee agency official continued an average of more than 60 a day. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The UNHCR official highlighted other risks faced by civilians, including the dangers posed by explosive remnants of war to children and farmers trying to tend their fields. On Monday, the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) reported that armed men had raided at least two hospitals in North Kivus capital Goma, abducting dozens of patients. The fighting has also impeded humanitarian access to people on the move. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has had to pause its aid operations in conflict-affected areas but was resuming emergency food assistance in some parts of North Kivu, according to a post on social media platform X on Tuesday morning, aiming to reach over 210,000 people. Inside North and South Kivu, significant population movements have continued, in line with reported M23 orders issued to internally displaced people (IDPs) to leave the camps around Goma, UNHCRs Mr Eba said. Today, only around 17,000 people are left residing in IDP sites, schools and churches around Goma, while an estimated 414,000 of their neighbours have been on the move for the past four weeks, encouraged by the de facto authorities to return to their villages of origin, he explained. Given the widespread insecurity in eastern DRC, many more people may need to cross borders in search of safety, Mr Eba warned. UNHCRs position regarding returns to the area is that Congolese nationals fleeing the conflict, as well as those who are outside the country, who originate from the areas affected by the conflict, may need refugee protection under international and regional legal frameworks, he said. The UNHCR official emphasised the importance of informed decision-making for any voluntary returns to conflict-affected areas. Asked about the impact of the United States humanitarian funding freeze on operations in the country, UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun confirmed that the agency had received a waiver lifting the 90-day suspension for a few emergency countries, including DRC. Assistance for the current crisis that was spawned by a decades-long conflict in the mineral-rich region had always been underfunded, she said, expressing hope that UNHCR will be able to continue to support this emergency. There are over one million Congolese refugees across Africa, mainly in neighbouring countries. Uganda hosts more than half of that total, while Burundi has seen most new arrivals since Januarys flash M23 offensive. Prior to the current crisis, some 6.7 million people were internally displaced. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Today, some newspaper cover pages were sold to First Bank to announce the ceremony for its proposed 40-storey headquarters project in Lagos. First Banks announcement occupied the entire cover page of the newspapers, especially those considered prominent. The cover pages of the newspapers read FirstBank Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Headquarters. News headlines that would normally appear on the front page were instead moved to the inner pages of the paper. For instance, Punch Newspapers cover page featured only one headline, whereas it typically included 9 to 12 headlines. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The banks announcement took the entire front page of the Tribune Newspaper, which was obtainable in The Nation. Only one headline was displayed on the cover of the Guardian newspaper, and the remaining headlines were pushed to the inner pages. It remains unclear how much the bank paid the newspapers for this advertisement. However, a few newspapers still have their front pages dominated by news reports. Daily Trust, on its cover page, reported that Killings of northern drivers in South-East unacceptable ACF. This Day reported, Well Resist Any Forceful Attempt to Impeach Fubara, INC, IYC Warn Assembly. Telecom subscriptions hit 169.3M as MTN, Airtel, Globacom drive growth, The Point reported. Blueprint said, Minister, Tinubus trips attracted $50bn foreign investments. The Daily Times said, Nigeria third most indebted nation in Africa Report. We thank Abiola Ayankunbi, a media management expert, for providing screenshots of the newspapers front pages. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is prepared to conduct the 8 November governorship election in Anambra State. Queen Agwu, the resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Anambra, disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking with journalists in Awka. INEC scheduled the governorship election for 8 November as one of the off-cycle polls in the nations election calendar. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, apart from the governorship election, INEC is to conduct two bye-elections in Anambra to fill the vacancy in the Senate after the passing of Ifeanyi Ubah, who represented Anambra South District, and the vacant Onitsha North State Constituency seat in the Anambra House of Assembly. The Onitsha North State Constituency seat became vacant after its occupant, Justice Azuka of the Labour Party, was kidnapped and murdered. We are ready for the Anambra governorship election, hoping that political parties and the politicians are preparing also on their own, the REC said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Ms Agwu, who noted that the three elections could not be held on the same day, insisted that the commission was ready for them. She charged the political parties and their candidates to keep to the electoral rules. The REC advised the political parties to start mobilising, sensitising their members and organising their primaries. She assured the political parties and residents that the federal government would play its part by providing funds for INEC to conduct the elections. According to Ms Agwu, INEC will conduct transparent and credible elections in Anambra state. She lauded the media for maintaining a robust relationship with the commission since her arrival in the state as the REC. The REC said that objective and balanced reporting by the media had ensured peace in the state, adding, There was no misinformation throughout the general elections. When I arrived in the state in 2021, I identified with the media, provided all the working tools, and released credible information, which created no room for rumours. In Nigeria, when an official does the right thing, people will not acknowledge or praise you, but once one does the wrong thing, there is criticism all over the place. Now elections are around the corner. There is no small election; any election is taken very seriously. We have the governorship election fixed for 8 November, and INEC has started working towards it. We also have two bye-elections in the state. Ms Agwu said that before the November election, the voter register would be updated. We have been holding meetings with stakeholders, improving our technological systems and updating our records. We need to engage more people such as ad-hoc staff and transporters, among others, while security operatives are expected to improve better than they did in the 2021 general elections, Ms Agwu said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian police have clarified how a retired Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Parradang, who was speculated to have been killed by kidnappers, died in Abuja. A statement from the police command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said contrary to the widespread speculations, Mr Parradang was found dead in a hotel room in Abuja on Tuesday, hours after his female guest left his room without him. The statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT police command, Josephine Adeh, a superintendent of police, said Mr Parradang arrived at Joy House Hotel, Area 3 Junction, Abuja, at about 12 p.m. on 3 March. It said Mr Parradang drove a black Mercedes Benz to the hotel. According to the police, Mr Parradang checked into the hotel, paying N22,000 for one nights stay. Shortly thereafter, he directed the hotel room attendant to escort a female guest who had come to visit to his room. This lady left the hotel premises around 4 p.m. of the same day. Mr Parradang did not exit his room after the lady left. Around 4 a.m. of 04 March 2025, a friend who is a military officer, concerned for his wellbeing, traced him to the hotel. Upon arrival, the hotel receptionist and the officer proceeded to his room, where Mr Parradang was found deceased, seated in a chair, the statement said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The Durumi Police Station was notified, and officers promptly arrived at the scene, secured the area, took photographs, and collected all relevant evidence to preserve the integrity of the crime scene. The body has been transferred to the National Hospital for necessary procedures, and hotel staff are currently cooperating with police investigations, the statement said, adding that effort is making effort to arrest the lady. The police urged the public and media outlets to refrain from spreading unverified information, including claims of kidnapping, that may incite fear or panic. Read the statement of the police in full. PRESS RELEASE Date: March 04, 2025. From: Public Relations Officer, FCT Police Command, Abuja. In light of the recent reports alleging that retired Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Shikfu Parradang, was kidnapped and subsequently killed, we wish to clarify the facts surrounding this incident to ensure accurate information is disseminated to the public. On March 3, 2025, at approximately 12:00 PM, Mr. Parradang arrived at Joy House Hotel, Area 3 Junction, driving a black Mercedes Benz. He checked into the hotel, paying a sum of Twenty two thousand naira (N22,000) for one nights stay. Shortly thereafter, he directed the hotel room attendant to escort a female guest who had come to visit to his room. This lady left the hotel premises around 04:00PM of the same day. Mr. Parradang did not exit his room after the lady left. Around 04:00 AM of 04 March 2025, a friend who is a military officer, concerned for his wellbeing, traced him to the hotel. Upon arrival, the hotel receptionist and the officer proceeded to his room, where Mr. Parradang was found deceased, seated in a chair. The Durumi Police Station was notified and officers promptly arrived at the scene, secured the area, took photographs, and collected all relevant evidence to preserve the integrity of the crime scene. The body has been transferred to the National Hospital for necessary procedures, and hotel staff are currently cooperating with Police investigations. Effort is in top gear to effect the arrest of the lady. We urge the public and media outlets to refrain from spreading unverified information, including claims of kidnapping, that may incite fear or panic. The FCT Police Command is committed to conducting a thorough investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding Mr. Parradangs death. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we work to ensure justice is served. For any further inquiries, please contact the FCT Police Public Relations Office. SP Josephine Adeh, Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Police Command, Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The reinstated Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, met with lawmakers on Tuesday to reconcile with aggrieved colleagues following weeks of leadership turmoil, Punch newspaper reported. The meeting, held at the Assembly complex in Alausa, Ikeja, came a day after Mr Obasa was re-elected as Speaker, ending a crisis that saw his removal on 13 January and the election of Mojisola Meranda as his replacement. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Meranda, who served as Speaker for 49 days, resigned on Monday before being re-elected as Deputy Speaker, the position she previously held. APC intervention and speculations on Obasas resignation Mr Obasas reinstatement was the result of interventions by senior members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including former Governors Bisi Akande of Osun State and Olusegun Osoba of Ogun State. However, his return has not eased tensions within the House, as some lawmakers remain discontent with the process that led to his comeback. The Tuesday meeting also took place amid speculations that Mr Obasa might resign. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later However, a source close to the Speaker dismissed such claims, insisting that he would remain in office. Similarly, Lagos APC Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi downplayed the speculation when asked about it. Lawmakers express discontent Despite being framed as a reconciliation meeting, some lawmakers said it failed to address their grievances. First, one of the reasons we removed him happened againhe arrived late for a meeting scheduled for 1:00 p.m., which eventually started at 2:30 p.m. There was no apology, just a passive acknowledgment that we were still unhappy with the way we were forced to bring him back, one lawmaker, who spoke anonymously, told The PUNCH. Another lawmaker revealed that discussions centred around a lawsuit filed against the House by the suspended Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko. The case comes up on Thursday, but our concern is that Obasa involved the Department of State Services (DSS), which led to the invitation and arrest of some of our colleagues, the lawmaker said. The lawmaker further disclosed that Mr Obasas reinstatement was not a unanimous decision but a concession made out of respect for party elders like Messrs Akande and Osoba. In our hearts and souls, we do not want him up till this moment, the lawmaker added. Push for Onafekos reinstatement A source in Mr Obasas camp revealed that the Speaker is working towards reinstating Mr Onafeko as Clerk of the House, a move that some lawmakers strongly oppose. Obasa wants Onafeko back, but the lawmakers are adamant. However, some of them are beginning to reconsider. Lets see how it goes, the source said. Mr Onafeko was suspended on 13 January, the same day Mr Obasa was removed. He was replaced by Ottun Babatunde, who acted as Clerk during Mondays plenary where Mr Obasa was reinstated. In another development, Mr Onafeko said he remained committed to the court process but was open to a political resolution. Sometimes, you manage the situationnot because you dont know what youre doing, but for the sake of peace and the integrity of the institution, he said. Mr Onafeko has sued Mr Babatunde and the Assembly at the National Industrial Court, seeking redress. Meanwhile, a judge of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, Yetunde Pinheiro, is expected to hear pending applications on 7 March. While Mr Obasas reinstatement suggests he may withdraw his lawsuit against the Assembly, his lawyer, Afolabi Fashanu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said he had yet to receive instructions from his client regarding the case. Obasas political comeback Mr Obasas return marks one of the most dramatic political comebacks in Lagos State politics. On 3 March, he was re-elected as Speaker, just weeks after 36 lawmakers voted him out over allegations of high-handedness, poor leadership, and financial mismanagement. He had contested his removal, arguing it was unconstitutional since it occurred while he was abroad and during a legislative recess. However, lawmakers loyal to Ms Meranda maintained that his removal was valid, having been executed by over a two-thirds majority. Before Mondays plenary, Mr Obasa, Ms Meranda, and other lawmakers met behind closed doors in a meeting attended by Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, and top APC leaders. Obasa thanks APC, Meranda for the support After taking the oath of office, Mr Obasa expressed gratitude to APC leaders and lawmakers for their support. What is happening here today shows that the Lagos State House of Assembly is a mature institution with the internal mechanisms to resolve its issues in the best interest of the institution and our party, he said. He also praised Ms Meranda for her loyalty, describing her as very, very supportive. The Assembly adjourned indefinitely after the session. Return to status quo Ms Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency 1, officially resigned as Speaker during Mondays plenary, making her tenure the shortest in Lagos Assembly history. I did not take this decision lightly, she said in her resignation speech. However, in deference to our esteemed political leaders, I have agreed to step down to preserve the integrity of this institution. Following her resignation, Rauf Olawale, representing Amuwo Odofin Constituency 2, nominated her for Deputy Speaker, and she was sworn in after a motion was seconded by Abiodun Orekoya. Mr Obasas return signals an end to a leadership crisis that threatened to divide the ruling APC and its Governance Advisory Council (GAC) in the state. Despite attempts to downplay the crisis as an internal matter, it exposed deeper rifts within the party. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A coalition of womens rights advocates from North Central, North East, and North West Nigeria, Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), has demanded an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made by Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. In a statement on Tuesday, the group called for an immediate probe by the Senates Ethics Committee, stressing that such allegations cannot be ignored or dismissed. We are particularly alarmed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghans allegations of sexual harassment by the Senate President and, in the first instance, demand an immediate and impartial investigation by the Ethics Committee of the House, the statement read. The coalition further urged Mr Akpabio to step aside to allow for a fair and transparent inquiry, arguing that the Senate President must not wield unchecked power to suppress, silence or intimidate female lawmakers. The Senate must uphold the principles of justice and fairness, ensuring that no individual, regardless of their position, suppresses or silences colleagues, particularly female senators who remain underrepresented and vulnerable to systemic bias within the chamber, they added. The statement was jointly signed by activists including Asmau Joda, Saudatu Mahdi, Maryam Uwais, Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, Amina Salihu, Mairo Mandara, and Kadaria Ahmed. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Calls for Senate Reform VIEW also demanded a review of Senate rules, particularly those that grant excessive authority to the Senate President, arguing that such powers enable abuse and marginalisation. The group described the arbitrary reassignment of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans seat as an example of how procedural gaps are used to suppress female lawmakers. The reallocation of seats without compliance with the rules must be restructured to promote equity and prevent the systemic marginalisation of female senators, the group said. They emphasised the gross underrepresentation of women in the 10th Senate necessitates urgent reforms to ensure genuine gender inclusivity in the Senate, adding that failure to act would reinforce a culture where women remain sidelined. Recurring allegations The coalition noted that this is not the first time allegations of sexual harassment have been levelled against Mr Akpabio, calling for a firm stance against such claims. The Senate must take a stand against these allegations and send a clear message that those in power are not above accountability, VIEW said. They further urged all senators, senatorial aides, and legislative staff, regardless of party affiliation, to stand for justice and equity by ensuring that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan receives a fair and impartial hearing. Background of dispute The controversy began when Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans seat was reassigned within the Senate chamber without her consent. She was moved from her original position in the minority section to the last row, a change she resisted. Her refusal to comply with the arrangement was deemed a violation of Senate rules, prompting Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, to cite Section 6(1) of the Standing Rules, which allows the Senate President to reassign seats when necessary. Mr Monguno justified the move due to recent defections of opposition senators to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that failure to comply could lead to penalties, including exclusion from Senate discussions. The Senate President upheld Mr Mongunos position, and when Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan persisted in her protest, he muted her microphone and directed the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove her from the chamber. However, she resisted the directive, standing her ground and insisting on her right to speak. VIEW in an earlier statement criticised Mr Akpabios attempt to silence Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, ordering her removal from the Senate chambers. Allegations of sexual harrassment Following the dispute, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the Senate President of sexual harassment. She alleged that on 8 December 2023, during a visit to Mr Akpabios residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, he held her hand, led her around his house, and made inappropriate advances toward hereven in the presence of her husband. In response, Ekaette Akpabio, the wife of the Senate President, filed two defamation lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking N350 billion in damages for the alleged harm to her husbands reputation. Reacting to the lawsuits, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained that she has concrete evidence to support her claims. Through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, she also urged Mrs Akpabio to stay out of the matter. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Admiralty University, Ibuzor, Delta State, has insisted on the appointment of Christopher Ogbogbo as its vice-chancellor, maintaining that it was not bound by law to select the candidate who emerged first in the selection process. In a statement signed by its Registrar and Secretary to the university council, Isaac Mankilik, a retired commodore, the university said the selection of a vice-chancellor is by selection and not based on marks awarded by the Joint Selection Board. The university noted that the only criterion was that the selected candidate be one of the three recommended candidates. It also claimed that it followed all laid-down guidelines as contained in the universitys establishment act in the selection process of the vice-chancellor. The Council selected Christopher Ogbogbo, a professor, from the three candidates recommended by the Joint Selection Board, as mandated by Section 4(1) subsections 5 and 6 of the ADUN Act 2022, the statement dated 4 March reads in part. The Act does not require the council to select the candidate with the highest score from the recommended candidates. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Controversy PREMIUM had reported how some members of the university council appointed Mr Ogbogbo as the vice-chancellor in the absence of the council chair, Dele Ezeoba, a retired vice-admiral and Nigerias former Chief of Naval Staff. In the latest statement, the university said the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Mohammed Abdullahi, Rear Admiral and member of the council, was nominated as acting chairman of the council since the chairman was absent. But the council chair described the meeting as kangaroo, declaring both the meeting and the appointment of a candidate who came second as illegal, adding that the process undermined merit. He wrote to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, informing him of the development. In response, the education minister reversed Mr Ogbogbos appointment and approved the appointment of Lucian Chukwu, also a professor, who came first in the selection process. According to the report of the joint selection board reviewed by this newspaper, Mr Chukwu emerged first with 83.41 per cent, among the top five candidates interviewed between Monday, 24 and Wednesday, 26 February, and ranked based on their performances. Mr Ogbogbo, whom some council members appointed, emerged second with 72.5 per cent. The university, however, defied the ministerial directive, issuing an appointment letter to Mr Ogbogbo, announcing his appointment and his imminent assumption to office. How Mr Ogbogbo was selected According to the minutes of the meeting seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the selection process became controversial during the 26 February council meeting due to differing opinions on how to select a preferred candidate. The minutes were signed by some members on 28 February, two days after the meeting was said to have been held. While nine members of the council supported voting and favoured Mr Ogbogbo, the council chair, Mr Ezeoba, argued that the candidate who emerged first be selected based on merit. This led to a debate over the selection procedure, parts of the minutes read. The Chairman, after consulting with the Registrar on legal provisions, ruled that the voting would proceed through an open ballot system. Despite some opposition, members eventually agreed to proceed under this format. The Registrar confirmed that 15 eligible members would participate in the voting process, and the chairperson instructed that the names of all qualified voters be documented before voting commenced. At the end of the voting, nine out of 15 eligible members voted in favour of Mr Ogbogbo. However, the Chairman expressed a strong view that he preferred Professor Lucian Obinnaya Chukwu, who was one of the 3 recommended candidates on the JSBs list, to be appointed as the substantive Vice Chancellor of ADUN. Several members expressed strong objections to this view, stating that the voting process should be honoured, the minutes added. The members argued that any of the three professors recommended by the joint selection board was qualified to be selected as the Vice-Chancellor in accordance with the ADUN Act 2022. In response to the disagreement, the Chairman announced that if Professor Lucian Obinnaya Chukwu was not appointed as the substantive Vice Chancellor, he would resign from his position as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council. Nine members of the Council voted for Christopher Ogbogbo, thus making him the selected candidate for the post of Vice-Chancellor of ADUN by Council members. A recurring scenario The selection of a vice-chancellor in Nigerian universities is often fraught with controversies, usually as a result of preferences by some members of the council. In less than a year, the selection process of vice-chancellors in two federal universities has been controversial. These are the Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the University of Abuja. In all cases, President Bola Tinubu has sacked the council, appointed new ones and ordered a fresh selection process. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has paid a special tribute to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who turned 88 today. M,r Obasanjo, Nigerias military head of state between 1976 and 1979 and democratically-elected president from 1999 to 2007, was born on 5 March 1937. In a tribute he personally signed, President Tinubu said providence has constantly thrust Mr Obasanjo, a retired general, to the forefront at critical junctures in Nigerias story. He said that although the former president is sometimes controversial, his regular interventions in national affairs have helped shape public policies and acted as a check on leadership. Sometimes controversial, former President Obasanjos regular interventions in national affairs have helped shape public policies and acted as a check on leadership. I thank General Obasanjo for his onerous contributions to Nigeria. I commend him for his statesmanship and leadership. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later At 88, the former president is still gaining strength. I pray that God Almighty will grant him the grace and strength to live for more years so the nation and Africa can continue to benefit from his wisdom and knowledge, President Tinubu said. The president, on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, extended heartfelt congratulations to Mr Obasanjo, who he described as a great patriot. Read the full tribute BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE BY PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU TO FORMER PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, GCFR, ON HIS 88TH BIRTHDAY Today, as former President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo turns 88, I pay a special tribute to an extraordinary leader and statesman who has made enormous contributions to Nigerias development and whose life for the past six decades is woven deeply into the fabric of Nigerias history. Providence has constantly thrust General Obasanjo to the forefront at critical junctures in Nigerias story. He served the country meritoriously in the Nigerian Army. As a Colonel, fate beckoned on him while commanding the Third Marine Division to receive the instrument of surrender from Col. Philip Effiong, the Biafran Army Commander, signalling the end of Nigerias 30-month civil war. General Obasanjo also made history as the military leader who took over the reins of power following General Murtala Mohammeds death in 1976. He completed the administrations transition programme and successfully handed power to a civilian regime in 1979. Twenty years later, in 1999, he emerged as civilian president, freed from prison a year earlier, to herald the rebirth of another democratic dispensation, which recently clocked 25 years and still counting. During the two eras, General Obasanjo implemented critical policies and reforms and made important decisions that profoundly impacted the lives of many Nigerians. As the head of state, he consistently demonstrated a selfless commitment to national unity, peace, and progress. Out of office, only a few will deny that the former president continues to wield considerable influence among the political elite at home and is well-regarded abroad, where he is an ambassador of global peace and a troubleshooter. His tireless efforts in conflict resolution, advocacy for good governance, and dedication to Pan-Africanism through institutions like the African Union and the United Nations are testaments to his statesmanship. Sometimes controversial, former President Obasanjos regular interventions in national affairs have helped shape public policies and acted as a check on leadership. READ ALSO: Tinubu celebrates Adeboye at 83 I thank General Obasanjo for his onerous contributions to Nigeria. I commend him for his statesmanship and leadership. At 88, the former president is still gaining strength. I pray that God Almighty will grant him the grace and strength to live for more years so the nation and Africa can continue to benefit from his wisdom and knowledge. On behalf of the Government and people of Nigeria, I extend heartfelt congratulations to this great patriot. Happy 88th Birthday, President Obasanjo! Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria March 5, 2025 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Many people were feared killed when a speeding truck rammed into multiple vehicles in Anambra State, Nigerias South-east. The incident, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, happened on Tuesday night at Idemili Junction, near Oba Community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state. The latest incident occurred barely three weeks after another truck crashed into some shops and a compound in Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state. Many people were feared killed in the crash, but authorities later said only six people died in the incident. How the latest road crash happened Witnesses told this newspaper that the latest crash involved a shuttle bus and several tricycles. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The truck, carrying a 40-feet container, was said to have suffered brake failure before ramming into vehicles while descending from a slope. Some passersby and passengers were trapped by the truck. The truck driver lost control of the vehicle, and it crashed into some tricycles loading passengers at the junction and a shuttle bus, one of the witnesses, Chiamaka Obinna, said. She said some bystanders who were there to board a vehicle were also trapped by the truck. FRSC, police intervene Some police operatives and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were seen in a video clip coordinating rescue efforts and controlling traffic around the area. The clip, which showed some lifeless victims and destroyed vehicles, has been circulating on Facebook. READ ALSO: 12 die in Niger road accident Margaret Onabe, the spokesperson for the FRSC in Anambra State, did not respond to calls seeking her comments. Ms Onabe was yet to respond to a WhatsApp message seeking her comments as of the time of this report. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has officially denied allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Mr Akpabio maintained that he had never sexually harassed Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan or any woman in his life. He said this during the plenary on Wednesday. Mr Akpabios response came after Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted a petition accusing the senate president of sexual harassment, abuse of office, and obstruction of her legislative duties. While I am aware that the matters are in court, however, I would like to state clearly that at no time did I ever attempt any sexual harassment on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan or any other woman, for that matter, he said. Repeated case of sexual harassment This is not the first time Mr Akpabio will face sexual harassment allegations. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In 2020, Joy Nunieh, the former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment. Mrs Nunieh claimed that she slapped Mr Akpabio in response to his sexual advances towards her. However, Mr Akpabio who was then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, denied the allegations, describing them as false, malicious, and libelous. Allegations against Akpabio In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Mr Akpabio made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on 8 December 2023. She claimed that the senate president took her by the hand, led her around his house, and made sexual advances towards her in the presence of her husband, Emmanuel Uduaghan. She further alleged that Mr Akpabio had, on a separate occasion, insinuated that she should take care of him if she wanted her motions to receive favorable consideration on the Senate floor. However, Ekaette Akpabio, wife of the senate president, has since absolved her husband of the allegations. She also filed two defamation lawsuits against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, demanding N350 billion in damages to her husbands reputation. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also asked President Bola Tinubu to ensure an independent and transparent investigation into the sexual harassment allegations. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had also advised Mr Akpabio to submit himself for open investigation in order to ensure fairness and transparent resolution. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the husband of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, had also confirmed that his wife confided in him about her interactions with Mr Akpabio. My mother raised me well During the plenary, Mr Akpabio passionately defended himself by saying that his late mother raised him and his siblings with strong values. I and my siblings were raised very well by my late single mother. She died in the year 2000, through very difficult times, and I therefore have the highest regards for women. Even at their minds, I sit right here today, he said. He added that having four beautiful daughters further strengthens his respect for women. I also wish to state that I also have four beautiful daughters, so at no time will I ever harass any woman, and Ive never done so, he said. Mr Akpabio also reminded the Senate that he had received numerous awards for gender inclusivity, including the title of Most Gender-Friendly Governor during his tenure as Akwa Ibom State Governor from 2007 to 2015. In addition, even as a state governor, I was awarded various awards. One of them was the one you wish to know, the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria. I served between 2007 and 2015, to God be the glory. He urged Nigerians to wait for the courts decision before concluding that he actually committed the sexual harassment. In conclusion, I urge all Nigerians, particularly the media and then, of course, the members of the social media, to await the courts decision, and please do not jump to conclusions on matters of mere allegations. I want to thank you for listening to me, and thank my colleagues, because some of the phone calls of support, solidarity, and prayers that the almighty God will step in to vindicate the just. So now, let us get on with the business of the day. Natasha submits petitions Before Mr Akpabios response, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan had formally submitted her petition against him. The Petition is in my name against the president of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio for sexual harassment, abuse of office and obstruction of my legislative functions, she said. Mr Akpabio directed her to submit the petition, which was then referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for investigation. However, some senators opposed the petition. Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, cited Order 40(4), which states that any matter already in court cannot be debated in the Senate. He urged the Senate to reject the petition. The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, also urged Mr Akpabio to reject the petition outright. Mr Bamidele, the senator representing Ekiti Central, also urged the Senate to discuss the matter in a closed-door session. Ekiti North Senator, Cyril Fasuyi, questioned Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans credibility to submit the petition. Mr Fasuyi recalled that Mrs Apoti-Uduagan had previously accused former Ekiti Governor, Kayode Fayemi, of selling the Ajaokuta Steel Company to a private firm. Closed-door session amidst international observers The Senate, however, resolved to continue with its agenda before going into a closed-door session to discuss the issue. Mr Akpabio noted that international observers were present, making it necessary to maintain decorum before addressing the matter privately. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Since the beginning of the day, 97 combat clashes have occurred, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in operational information as of 22:00 on Tuesday. "The Russian invaders carried out 40 airstrikes, using 59 KABs. In addition, the Russians used 783 kamikaze drones to destroy the positions of our troops and populated areas 3,828 times," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. According to information from the General Staff, the hottest situation today was in Pokrovsk direction, where 17 enemy attempts to break through our defenses were stopped. A group of youths from Kogi State staged a protest at the entrance of the National Assembly on Wednesday, demanding the immediate resignation of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. Their call follows sexual harassment allegations levelled against Mr Akpabio by the Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as Akpabio must resign, Protect womens rights, Leave Natasha alone, Akpabio mist step down, womens right is our right and We stand with senator Natasha. The protesters were led by Victor Giwa, who identified himself as a lawyer and human rights activist. READ ALSO: Akpabio denies sexual harassment allegations as Natasha submits petitions to Senate Mr Giwa, while addressing journalists, demanded the resignation of the senate president to allow an independent and unbiased probe of the allegations. He also urged the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to which the matter was referred to handle the case transparently and ensure that the process is free from political interference. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Details later Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana has urged President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, u, to discontinue the cybercrime charges brought against activist Omoyele Sowore by the Nigerian police. Mr Falana, acting as a lawyer to Mr Sowore, made the request in a letter dated 4 March and received by the AGF office on 5 March. The letter was copied to Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Senior Assistant to President Tinubu on Public Prosecution Compliance. It accused the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun instigating the prosecution of Mr Sowore for criticising the recent extension of his tenure as the IGP. It also noted that the case comprising 16 counts of cybercrime violates Nigerias constitution and the Police Act, 2020 It is instructive to note that the Charge filed by the Inspector General of Police against a Nigerian citizen who simply exercised his right of criticising him is a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution, Mr Falana wrote, adding that the Police Act, 2020 and Regulation 367 of the Nigeria Police Regulation provides that no police officer shall institute any legal proceeding in his own personal interest or in connection with matters arising out of his public duties. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He further cited how the Federal Government of Nigeria amended the Cybercrimes Act 2015 in February 2024 in a bid to decriminalise the fundamental right of the Nigerian people to freedom of expression guaranteed by section 39 of the Nigerian constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. Urging the AGF to exercise his power to terminate the trial, Mr Falana wrote, Section 174 of the Constitution which vests in your good self the powers to institute and undertake any criminal proceedings personally or through officers in your department, stipulates in section 174 (3) that such prosecution shall be in regard to public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process. In line with the letter and spirit of the said Cyber crimes Amendment Act, 2024, we hereby request you, Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, to use your good office to discontinue the charge pursuant to your powers under Section 174 (1) (b) (c) and (2) and Section 355 of the ACJA, 2015, Falana added. Sowores foreign trip blocked The request for the withdrawal of the charges came as the trial court- the Federal High Court, Abuja, refused to grant Mr Sowore permission to travel abroad for family and medical reasons. The judge, Musa Liman, supported the Nigerian police to reject Mr Sowores request to travel to the United States of America to meet with his wife and two children and keep a medical appointment with his doctor. Mr Sowore, who is being prosecuted by the police on cybercrime charges, stood in the dock on Tuesday for a ruling over his request for the release of his passport for the United States trip. The activist, who is on bail, faces 16 amended counts of cybercrime filed against him by the Nigerian police. The charges stemmed from Mr Sowores social media posts referring to IGP Egbetokun as an illegal IGP for remaining in office beyond statutory retirement age. READ ALSO: Tinubu approves elevation of two presidential aides Reacting to Tuesdays ruling, Mr Sowore said that he was not surprised by the judges actions, alleging that there was a scheme by the government to withhold his passport for long. We predicted this outcome, and the judge has done his worst denying me the passport they had targeted all along. There is nothing surprising about todays decision. We knew from the beginning that they were working together to deny me my right to freedom of movement and prevent me from exercising my fundamental rights as a Nigerian citizen, Mr Sowore said, adding that this is something they have done since my university days when I was expelled twice by the military. The persecution has never stopped. Before his arraignment, Mr Sowore was invited by the Force Criminal Investigation Department over a tweet the police deemed offensive. The court granted him bail on 30 January under stringent conditions, including a N10 million bond and the surrendering of his passport. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions has dismissed the petition filed by Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In the petition, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment, abuse of office, and obstruction of legislative duties. It was referred to the committee earlier today during the plenary. Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen (Edo South), ruled that the petition was dead on arrival and would not be entertained by the Senate. Mr Imasuen, a member of the Labour Party (LP), cited a violation of Senate Order 40 (4), which stipulates that no senator may submit a petition personally signed by themselves. Basis for rejection Mr Imasuen argued that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans petition violated the Senates procedural rules, as she had personally signed the document. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The petition she presented today is actually dead on arrival and that petitions having been submitted by her will not be entertained by this committee. Shes not here, and I can understand why shes not here on the orders of her lawyers, he said. Senate Order 40 (4) explicitly states that No senator may present to the Senate a petition signed by himself. Based on this provision, Mr Imasuen ruled that the committee would not consider her allegations against Mr Akpabio. No senator can sign a petition, he added. The Kogi senator did not attend the committees sitting. Rejection of Court Order Mr Imasuen also addressed an interim order from the Federal High Court in Abuja, which sought to halt the Senate Committees investigation into Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans alleged misconduct. He dismissed the courts directive, arguing that the judiciary has no authority over internal parliamentary proceedings. The committee chairman described the court order as unacceptable. This is unacceptable. If theres a matter before them , we do not touch such matters. We know as parliamentarians, we know what our rights and privileges are, it is not subjected to any court. Whatever happens in the Senate is not subject to any court. The issue before us has to do with what happened on the floor of the Senate, and there are rules, and it is not subjected to any court, he said. Panel to probe alleged misconduct instead While rejecting her petition, Mr Imasuen said the committee would proceed with an investigation into Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans alleged disorderly conduct on the floor of the Senate. The incident in question involved her refusal to comply with the sitting arrangement during plenary on 20 February. Based on our rule book and other documents that are available before us, we will sit on disorderly misconduct, Mr Imasuen said. Implications The committees ruling suggests that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan may not fully understand the Senates procedural rules before submitting her petition. By signing the document herself, she inadvertently violated Order 40 (4), which explicitly prohibits senators from presenting petitions they have personally signed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has filed legal proceedings against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe. The legal action was taken against the company for allegedly violating regulatory directives, obstructing an ongoing inquiry, and engaging in conducts that contravene the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018. The commission disclosed this on Wednesday in a press release signed by the Director of Corporate Affairs at the FCCPC, Ondaje Ijagwu. The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, follows MultiChoice Nigerias decision to proceed with a price increase for its DStv and GOtv subscription services on 1 March, despite a regulatory order to maintain existing rates. The FCCPC issued a directive on 27 February instructing the company to suspend the proposed price adjustment pending the conclusion of an investigation into its compliance with consumer protection regulations. The pay-TV firm had announced that from 1 March, subscription costs for its DStv and GOtv packages would rise, citing increased operational expenses. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Under the proposed pricing, DStv Premium subscribers would see their fees increase to N44,500, while Compact+ and Compact plans would cost N30,000 and N19,000, respectively. Similarly, GOtvs Supa Plus package was set to rise to N16,800. The commission is pursuing legal action on three counts under the FCCPA 2018. The charges include willfully obstructing a regulatory inquiry by implementing the price hike contrary to directives (Section 33(4)), impeding an ongoing investigation by ignoring instructions to suspend the increase (Section 110) and attempting to mislead the Commission by proceeding without objection (Section 159(2), punishable under Section 159(4)(a) and (b)). The commission accused MultiChoice of deliberately undermining regulatory oversight and disregarding due process. By implementing the price increase ahead of an investigative hearing scheduled for 6 March, the company is alleged to have acted in bad faith, setting a precedent that could erode consumer rights and market fairness. READ ALSO: DStv offers free Premium package for Nigerians for 72hrs The Commission views MultiChoices actions as a deliberate and calculated attempt to undermine regulatory authority, disrupt market fairness, and deny Nigerian consumers the protection afforded under the law. By disregarding the FCCPCs directive and implementing the price hike before appearing before the Commissions investigative hearing on March 6, 2025, MultiChoice has not only flouted regulatory processes but also demonstrated a pattern of conduct that undermines consumer rights and fair competition, the statement read. Beyond the lawsuit, the FCCPC is also considering additional enforcement measures, including sanctions and regulatory interventions, to ensure compliance. The commission reaffirmed its commitment to protecting consumers from exploitative business practices and ensuring that dominant market players adhere to fair competition principles. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on Wednesday, reported a spike in rape incidents tracked in February. The commission disclosed this in the February Dashboard Presentation. Presenting the February report at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja, the Senior Adviser to the commission, Hilary Ogbonna, noted that while rape cases were under-reported in previous reports, the commission recorded an upsurge between January and February. For the first time, we are reporting an increase in rape. Prior to now, we have always maintained that the statistics we have for rape indicate that rape incidents are under-reported or not reported at all. But between January and February, we have seen an upsurge in the reports that we did, Mr Ogbonna said. He said the commission tracked 341 rape cases of rape in February as against 51 recorded in January. In January, PREMIUM TIMES reported a worrying trend of rape incidents around the country. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The NHRCs February Dashboard report revealed 205,364 human rights complaints received in the month, a 25 per cent surge in the number of complaints recorded in January. Issues in focus Some of the issues in focus in February include mass killings and abductions in the North-west and North-central, cult-related activities which claimed the lives of five persons in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and 4 in Markudi, Benue State, inter- and intra-communal violence and extra-judicial killings by law enforcement officers. Also, the commission noted the resurgence of Boko Haram activities, an increase in rape cases and a rise in suicide cases. According to the NHRC, two police officers and two students committed suicide. It added that 144 persons were kidnapped in the North-west and North-central. Complaints by regions The North-central recorded the highest number of complaints. Mr Ogbonna attributed this to the highest number of receiving points the region has. The North-east has the second highest number of complaints, followed by the South-East, South-south, North-west and lastly South-west, in that order. Thematic violations of human rights The commission noted the following trends in the complaints recorded in February. Law enforcement and human dignity topped the charts of violations with over 50,000 complaints received. The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, noted that this remained a grave concern. Mr Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that despite efforts and calls for accountability among law enforcement officers, they continued in perpetrating human rights violations. The use of power must always align with human rights standards, and any abuses must be swiftly addressed, he said. The second and third trends of violation in February were the rights to freedom of religion and economic, social, and cultural rights. Mr Ojukwu said, Access to basic necessities such as food, housing, healthcare, and education remains a challenge for far too many. We must take urgent steps to address these disparities and work toward policies that ensure equitable access for all Nigerians. Noticeable among the trend of womens rights violations is spousal abandonment. The commission recorded over 7,000 complaints of spousal abandonment. Mr Ogbonna while presenting the report, explained that spousal abandonment had a ripple effect not only on women but also on children. Similarly, child abandonment is also among top complaints on the chart of child rights-related complaints. According to the NHRC, over 1400 children were abandoned in February. The NHRCs boss noted the tragic killings of three children in Anambra State. PREMIUM TIMES reported how hoodlums killed three siblings a boy and two girls and dumped their bodies in a freezer at Nnewichi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra. In an effort to protect the rights of children, the commissions chief announced the approval of the Child Safeguarding Policy aimed at protecting children and young persons who use the services of the NHRC. NHRC raises concern about new laws The NHRC also raised concerns about new laws and a proposed law prescribing death as as a penalty for crimes. The laws are the Edo State Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law 2025, the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law 2025 and the Anambra Homeland Security Law 2025, all enacted in February. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) also proposed a death penalty for counterfeit drugs. Mr Ojukwu said these laws and proposals by the NAFDAC had significant implications on human rights due to the death sentences they promote. it is crucial to ensure that the rights of the accused are upheld and that justice is administered in a manner consistent with international human rights standards, he said. In many parts of the world, capital punishment has been abolished. The United Nations General Assembly in 1971 passed a resolution that restricted the number of offences death penalties should be imposed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission says the states local council elections will be held on 9 August 2025. The commissions Chairperson, Adolphus Enebeli, disclosed this at a stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. Mr Enebeli, a retired judge, unveiled the election guidelines at the meeting. He said the election process had begun because the Supreme Court had invalidated the 5 October 2024 local election in Rivers. He said the political parties that would field candidates in the election must complete and submit an Expression of Interest Form from Monday, 24 April to 12 May 2025 to be eligible to participate. He further said the election campaign would commence on 7 July 2025 and end on 7 August 2025. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Enebeli said interested candidates were required to pay the compulsory sum of N5,000 for the councillorship position, while N10,000 would be paid for the chairperson and vice chairperson positions. He said the rulings of the Supreme Court must be obeyed by all Nigerians, including the election commission. We are unavoidably and painfully plunged into a restart, but as a responsible, law-abiding statutory body, we must demonstrate our fidelity and obedience to the rule of law, the chairperson said. He assured the people of transparency in the election and requested the cooperation of stakeholders to ensure a successful election. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved contracts of N10.3 billion for the procurement of essential medical supplies, including antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment, diabetes diagnostic kits, and other health commodities. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this while addressing journalists after the FEC meeting on Wednesday. Mr Pate noted that the approval is aimed at enhancing the accessibility and affordability of health commodities, health services by Nigerians. Boost for HIV treatment According to Mr Pate, one of the key allocations includes N997 million for third-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for people living with HIV. This decision follows the recent approval of first and second-line ARV treatments and comes at a time when Nigeria is shifting towards increased domestic funding for HIV treatment due to uncertainties in global health financing. A few weeks ago, we approved the first-line antiretroviral drugs, and now we are putting forth resources, almost N997 million worth of contract, to procure the third-line antiretroviral drugs for those who are HIV-infected, the minister said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He noted the significance of this procurement in ensuring that Nigerians living with HIV continue to receive uninterrupted treatment despite changes in international health aid. Local manufacturing for diabetes treatment Another major approval was N2 billion for locally manufactured diagnostic kits for diabetes, a disease that is rapidly increasing in prevalence across Nigeria. Diabetes is a major issue in our country. Its among the fastest-growing segments. We have lots of our population suffering from diabetes, and some are not even aware they have it, Mr Pate stated. He noted that for the first time, a Nigerian company based in Lagos will manufacture these diagnostic kits. So government is procuring the diagnostic kits the on point blood glucose monitoring system that is manufactured here in Nigeria. This is bringing to life the effort to unlock the healthcare value chain by encouraging local manufacturers, Mr Pate said. In addition to the diagnostic kits, monitoring devices will be distributed across primary healthcare centers, and health workers will be trained to assist patients in tracking their blood sugar levels. Expanding Healthcare Interventions To address the rising cost of medications, the FEC also approved N4.5 billion for a medical relief programme aimed at reducing the cost of essential drugs, including antibiotics, antihypertensives, and antidiabetic medications. These are also commodities that are manufactured by local manufacturers here in Nigeria, so we are beginning to pool the demand and patronise our local manufacturers, Mr Pate said. FEC also approved N2.1 billion for the procurement of a mobile X-ray machine and the rehabilitation of a 64-slice CT scan at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi. The Federal Executive Council approved the procurement of a mobile X-ray machine and also the rehabilitation and equipping of a computerised tomography CAT scan, a 64-slice CT scan, for that teaching hospital, Mr Pate stated. He added that the approvals reflect the Tinubu administrations ongoing efforts to transform Nigerias healthcare system by increasing domestic financing, supporting local production, and improving healthcare infrastructure. Addressing funding concerns The approvals come amid broader concerns about Nigerias reliance on foreign aid for critical health programmes. In February, the FEC approved N4.8 billion for 150,000 HIV treatment packs, reinforcing the governments commitment to sustaining healthcare funding domestically. Nigerias fight against HIV/AIDS has been significantly aided by international donors, particularly PEPFAR, which has provided billions of dollars in funding over the past two decades. However, PEPFARs funding faced disruptions following US President Donald Trumps executive order on foreign aid, which temporarily halted overseas assistance programmes. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later granted emergency humanitarian waiver, allowing PEPFAR to resume operations in 55 countries, including Nigeria. In response to these uncertainties, Mr Pate reassured stakeholders that the Nigerian government is proactively developing a transition and sustainability plan to address potential funding shortfalls. To mitigate potential funding shortfalls, Mr Pate said the government has set up a multi-ministerial committee, including representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Health, Defense, and Environment, as well as the Governors Forum. This is to ensure that Nigerians receiving treatment do not face disruptions, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Rivers House of Assembly has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of violating the Nigerian Constitution by appointing persons to serve as commissioners without their approval. It appears the pro-Wike lawmakers are reviving their earlier attempt to impeach Mr Fubara. The accusation against the governor came two days after the pro-Wike lawmakers, in a letter signed by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, gave Mr Fubara 48 hours to present the 2025 budget to them and five days after Mr Fubaras predecessor, Nyesom Wike (now FCT minister), said the governor has committed impeachable offences. Mr Wike, who had since fallen out with his predecessor, was reacting to the Supreme Courts decision to restore his allies as legitimate state assembly members. The Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo, in a letter dated 5 March and addressed to the assembly, stated that the state government was yet to receive their letter. However, at their plenary on Wednesday, the second after the Supreme Court restored them, the lawmakers, in a second letter to the governor, profiled the constitutional infractions they claimed Mr Fubara has committed. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Backstory The political feud between Messrs Fubara and Wike had turned the state assembly into a hotbed of violence, splitting the lawmakers into two factions 27 loyal to Mr Wike and three to Mr Fubara. Both factions held parallel plenaries. Following the demolition of the assembly complex, the pro-Wike lawmakers moved their sitting to a different venue, while those loyal to Mr Fubara moved to a building at Government House. Before Fridays court judgement, Mr Fubara had been forwarding all executive communications, including bills and nominees for appointments to the three-member faction for consideration and approval. This, the pro-Wike lawmakers said, is one of the constitutional infractions Governor Fubara committed. That your attention should once again be drawn to your illegal appointments of persons to serve in various offices without first forwarding their names for screening and confirmation as required by the 1999 Constitution as amended and other extant laws, the lawmakers said. The lawmakers listed those appointed to serve in various offices without being screened and confirmed by the assembly, including commissioners, chairpersons, and members of boards and commissions in the state. The House requests you to submit a list of nominees as commissioners into the Rivers State Executive Council as well as the list of nominees for appointment to fill the vacancies in all the offices mentioned above or those not listed but require screening and confirmation by the Rivers State House of Assembly within 48 hours, the House said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Uba Sani has promised to table the request for the creation of Ministry of Youth Development before the Kaduna State Executive Council as soon as possible. The governor made the promise when members of the Renewed Hope Youth Engagement, led by Mr Seyi Tinubu, the son of the president, paid him a courtesy call at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House on Tuesday. Earlier, the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, had pleaded with Governor Sani to create a similar Ministry in Kaduna State, to give youths a sense of belonging. Responding, the Governor said that the request would be presented before the State Executive Council, adding the nations future rests on harnessing the talents of the youth. Mr Sani, who praised Mr Seyi Tinubu for his humility, advised him to continue networking with the youth with the aim of uniting them for positive outcomes. He commended Mr Tinubu for his nationwide engagement with the youth, irrespective of tribal, religious and political differences, adding that I was impressed with what you did in Kano yesterday by interfacing with youths across board. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to him, the All Progressives Congress(APC)-led Federal Government has a lot of policies and programmes around the education sector and digital economy. Governor Sani argued that the youth can only leverage these opportunities when they are united and refused to allow politicians to divided them along ethno-religious lines. It will be recalled that Mr Tinubu and his Renewed Hope Youth Engagement team had earlier had Iftar, the Muslim breaking of Ramadan fast in Kano on Monday. On Tuesday, the delegation engaged with students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and paid homage to the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, before paying courtesy call on Governor Sani. At sunset, the team is expected to have Iftar with youth groups. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print upcoming co-located events receive strong support from the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria and other healthcare and laboratory associations. Informa Markets, a global leader in event organisation, recently announced a significant transformation in its healthcare exhibitions portfolio, becoming WHX (World Health Exhibitions). This exciting new era for its healthcare events worldwide impacts Nigeria, with the rebranding of Medic West Africa & Medlab West Africa to WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos, respectively. This strategic shift reinforces WHX as a global platform for innovation, collaboration, and progress in the healthcare and laboratory sectors. The inaugural WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos will occur from June 24, 2025, at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, setting a new benchmark for industry engagement. The event has received support from Nigerias Ministry of Health, led by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, and other leading healthcare and laboratory associations, further strengthening its role as a pivotal event in Nigerias healthcare landscape. This rebranding to WHX marks a new frontier for Informa Markets healthcare events globally and for the Lagos editions, reflecting a bold approach to enhancing industry connections, driving knowledge exchange, and showcasing groundbreaking medical and laboratory technologies. The rebranding of Medic West Africa and Medlab West Africa, after 11 successful years in Lagos, to WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos marks a transformative step in bolstering the healthcare and laboratory sectors in Nigeria and the broader West African region, said Tom Coleman, Director of WHX Lagos and WHX Lab Lagos. Building on Medic West Africas strong legacy, this new identity reflects our commitment to providing an unparalleled platform where healthcare professionals and industry leaders can connect, innovate, and collectively shape the future of healthcare. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later By co-locating WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos, Informa Markets has created a unified event that serves as a central hub for healthcare professionals, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, policymakers, investors, procurement officers, and regulators to drive critical discourse and technological advancements in the healthcare and medical laboratory industries. This integrated platform will offer direct access to the latest advancements in medical equipment, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, digital health solutions, and laboratory science, allowing attendees to explore cutting-edge innovations that are shaping the future of healthcare. Cynthia Makarutse, Conference Director of WHX Lagos and WHXLab Lagos, added: WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos will not only showcase world-class medical and laboratory technologies but, crucially, will foster vital connections and collaborations that will drive healthcare innovation across West Africa.Were significantly enhancing our conference programme, creating a robust platform for critical discourse on the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Attendees can expect deeper dives into key topics, more interactive sessions, and a wider range of expert speakers, all designed to stimulate thought-provoking discussions and generate actionable solutions that will shape the future of healthcare in the West African region. As West Africas healthcare sector evolves rapidly, WHX Lagos and WHX Labs Lagos will provide an important platform for fostering partnerships, addressing industry challenges, and driving meaningful conversations about the future of healthcare delivery. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print If Russia wants to end the war, it must stop daily shelling Yermak Russia must prove that it truly wants to end the war, said the head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. "Russia must stop daily shelling of Ukraine and immediately if it really wants to end the war," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. Innovative AI-driven technology brand TECNO caught the eye on day 2 of MWC Barcelona 2025 at its TECNO AI Ecosystem Product Launch event, highlighting its practical AI strategy through the groundbreaking debut of the CAMON 40 smartphone series, TECNO AI Glasses Pro, and the MEGABOOK S14 laptop. TECNO CMO Laury Bai and Chief Product Launch Officer, Oliver Mas were joined by key representatives from MediaTek, Google Cloud, DXOMARK and Qualcomm to unveil the innovations and spotlight the strategic collaborations that are driving advancements in AI and mobile imaging technologies. Jan Stryjak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, shared, In the past year, we have observed significant advancements in the field of AI. AI will continue to drive transformative changes in our daily lives. In this critical period for the economic development of emerging markets, TECNOs AI technologies are unlocking potential for diverse needs. The application of AI technologies is crucial and urgent in emerging markets. Were committed to bridging the digital gap between emerging and mature markets. said TECNO CMO, Laury Bai. TECNO is taking a practical approach to make AI more accessible, ensuring users in emerging markets can access AI and cutting-edge technologies. Driven by its commitment, TECNO has forged a robust partnership with MediaTek, establishing a joint AI Laboratory dedicated to accelerating advancements in AI. At the event, James Chen, Vice President of Product and Technology Marketing at MediaTek, emphasised, The synergistic R&D efforts between TECNO and MediaTek are set to democratise AI technology. Our collaboration powers a seamless, interconnected AI experience, bringing users a future of truly connected intelligence. CAMON 40 Series Powered by AI One-Tap FlashSnap Revolutionizes Smartphone Snapshot Photography TECNOs Global Product Launch Officer, Olivier Mas, officially unveiled TECNOs next-generation AI-driven products. Attendees at TECNOs launch event witnessed the highly anticipated debut of TECNOs new CAMON 40 Series, a device that embodies TECNOs legacy of excellence in mobile imaging. Featuring One-Tap FlashSnap Mode and TECNO AI, the series sets a new benchmark in smartphone photography, delivering exceptional snapshot capabilities and AI-enhanced user experiences. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The CAMON 40 Series exemplifies a commitment to innovation that transcends hardware and software, extending into strategic partnerships that deliver cutting-edge AI solutions to emerging markets. Matt Waldbusser, Managing Director of Global Solutions and Consumer AI at Google Cloud, remarked, Our collaboration with TECNO on the CAMON 40 Series is a standout example. Leveraging Google Clouds capabilities, weve introduced groundbreaking features such as Ask Ella, AI Image Generator, AI Writing, and AI Translate. I am particularly impressed by the industry-leading and competitive edge of some of these innovations. For instance, TECNOs AI supports text translation in 136 languages, voice translation in 44 languages, and photo translation in 51 languages. We are excited to further strengthen our partnership with TECNO, unlocking the potential to bring advanced yet practical AI capabilities to emerging markets conveniently and securely. The CAMON 40 Series innovative One-Tap FlashSnap leverages AI to enhance imaging capabilities, revolutionising mobile photography. AI optimises camera startup and continuous shooting for instant captures, while AI-powered multi-frame processing intelligently reduces noise and enhances details, delivering sharper, more refined images. Additionally, the BestMoment algorithm analyses motion patterns, automatically selecting the optimal frames for precise, high-quality shots in dynamic scenarios, ensuring users an unparalleled mobile imaging experience. To delve deeper into the imaging prowess of the CAMON 40 Series, TECNO invited Frederic Guichard, CEO of DXOMARK, to share the image performance of CAMON 40 Pro. Frederic highlighted, The CAMON 40 Pro 5G has demonstrated exceptional imaging and performance capabilities in our rigorous evaluations. Weve been particularly impressed with photo performance being the best for devices under 600$, and the 1st eligible device to our Smart Choice Label. Beyond its advanced rapid-capture functionality, the integration of TECNO AI further enhances the devices capabilities. Intelligent imaging, a 360 AI Call Assistant, and productivity tools elevate creativity and efficiency. Powered by MediaTeks latest chipsets, the series ensures smooth performance, fast processing, and extended battery life. With a sleek, durable, and water-resistant design, it seamlessly blends style with practicality for modern users. MEGABOOK S14, the Worlds Lightest 14-inch OLED Laptop, Inspires Creators and Game Lovers The MEGABOOK S14 is TECNOs first OLED laptop and the industrys lightest 14-inch OLED laptop, featuring a 2.8K OLED display and incredibly weighing only 899g (31.7oz). The laptop is equipped with the outstanding power of the Snapdragon X Elite compute platform, the flagship chipset for AI PCs from Qualcomm Technologies, and integrates TECNOs worlds first self-developed edge-side large-scale AI model, to achieve AI-enhanced multitasking. Specifically designed for next-gen AI productivity, TECNO AI enhances the Ella AI Assistant, AI-powered PPT generation, AI-driven image search, smart albums, and offline meeting transcription with multilingual support. The External Graphics Dock, equipped with a powerful NVIDIA graphic card, delivers scalable, high-performance capabilities for design, gaming, and content creation. The laptops 2.8K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate ensures exceptional visuals, while DTS:X Ultra dual 2W speakers, Wi-Fi 6E, fingerprint login, and PC Manager optimise connectivity and user experience. TECNOs strategic partnership with Qualcomm Technologies was a highlight of the TECNO AI Ecosystem Product Launch event, demonstrating a shared vision for the future of AI PCs. Kedar Kondap, SVP & GM of Compute and Gaming at Qualcomm, took the stage to discuss the integration of Qualcomms cutting-edge PC chipset into the new MEGABOOK S14 laptop, underscoring TECNOs commitment to delivering high-performance computing solutions. In addition, TECNO also introduced several standout new products. The featherlight 999g (35.2oz) ultrabook MEGABOOK T14 Air, features high-speed storage and LPDDR5 memory, while the ultra-thin, all-metal MEGABOOK K15S, equipped with a powerful 70Wh battery and supported by a 65W PD GaN charger, offers a smarter and more long-lasting user experience. Both devices are empowered by TECNO AI with advanced AI capabilities such as AI Album and AI Voice Assistant, making them perfect companions for all aspects of life. The Next Game-Changing Tech Innovation: See the World with the TECNO AI Glasses Series TECNOs new AI Glasses Series also took centre stage with the introduction of TECNO AI Glasses Pro and TECNO AI Glasses, reimagining eyewear with cutting-edge imaging, intelligent interactions, and a sleek aesthetic. The TECNO AI Glasses feature an aviator design, while the Pro model showcases a browline style, both embodying timeless elegance and modern fashion. Equipped with a 50MP high-definition camera, the series integrates an OV50D sensor, a 100 ultra-wide-angle custom lens, and an AI ISP imaging chip, forming a mobile-grade imaging system. This system lets users capture stunning, high-resolution photos with advanced AI noise reduction and HDR capabilities. With real-time translation supporting over 100 languages, TECNO AIs Ella empowers accurate translation even for less common languages, as well as voice control, AI-powered object recognition, and intelligent information summaries for ultimate convenience. Additionally, the AI Glasses Pro features a MicroLED display with 7th-gen resin waveguide technology, offering a 30 field of view, over 1,500 nits of brightness AR display, and a lightweight, ultra-thin design. The AR display allows users to effortlessly enjoy features like translation display, navigation, information prompts, and teleprompting. Equipped with a 250mAh battery, these glasses offer over 11 hours of music playback and 8 hours of mixed-use with just 30 minutes of charging. An advanced ultra-linear speaker, bass enhancement, and spatial sound deliver an immersive audio experience, while Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 ensure seamless connectivity. With these innovative launches, TECNO is setting new standards in mobile imaging and AI-enhanced technology, shaping a more connected and empowered future for consumers in emerging markets. Once again, TECNO has showcased its cutting-edge innovation on the global stage at MWC. With the brand essence of Stop at Nothing, TECNOs relentless pursuit of innovation is making AI-powered technology more accessible, allowing consumers to experience the future ahead of time. For any related media queries, kindly follow TECNO on Instagram, Facebook, and X About TECNO TECNO is an innovative, AI-driven technology brand with a presence in over 70 markets across five continents. Committed to transforming the digital experience in global emerging markets, TECNO relentlessly pursues the perfect integration of contemporary aesthetic design with the latest technologies and artificial intelligence. Today, TECNO offers a comprehensive ecosystem of AI-powered products, including smartphones, smart wearables, laptops, tablets, smart gaming devices, the HiOS operating system, and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of Stop At Nothing, TECNO continues to pioneer the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and AI-driven experiences for forward-looking individuals, inspiring them to never stop pursuing their best selves and brightest futures. For more information, please visit TECNOs official site: www.tecno-mobile Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said they have arrested a dismissed immigration officer while he was trying to deliver firearms to bandits operating in the Abuja-Kaduna forests. They said the suspect was arrested during an intelligence-led operation by the police. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the Officer in Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Mustafa Mohammed, said the operation prevented the arms from reaching criminal elements who could have made them deadly. Acting on intelligence, the command intercepted these guns from a dismissed immigration officer attempting to sell them to bandits terrorising the Abuja-Kaduna forest. The intelligence was received in time, and the arms were intercepted while he was trying to make the delivery, Mr Mohammed said. The FCT police command did not diaclose the name of the suspect, citing the federal governments recent policy banning the parade of suspects. According to the police, items recovered from him from him at the illegal point of sale include two Scorpion CZ EVO3 advanced and fully-automatic firearm with an inbuilt silencer with two rounds of its ammunitions. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The rest are two pistols with two catridges, and four AK-47 cartridges. Referring to the Scorpion CZ EVO3 assault rifles, Mr Mohammed said, This is the latest model, the 2022 version of the Scorpion series. He added, It can be used in single, automatic, or burst mode. It is a highly sophisticated weapon, and its magazine can hold between 20 to 30 rounds, depending on the configuration. We also recovered 52 rounds of ammunition which could have posed a severe threat had they fallen into the hands of criminals. Meanwhile, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu, said that a total of 300 suspects were arrested between January and 28 February 2025. He noted that the commands decisive actions have led to the arrest of 300 suspects and the recovery of a significant cache of arms, ammunition, and illicit substances. Giving a breakdown of the arrests and number of suspects killled , he said, Total number of armed robbers arrested: 59; total number of kidnappers and informants arrested: 10; total number of armed robberneutralizesed: nine; total number of kidnapperneutralizesed: seven; and total number of cultists arrested: 16. He also confirmed that targeted raid and clearance operations were conducted in identified criminal hideouts. Demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the safety of residents, the Command deployed specialized tactical teams to raid identified criminal hideouts and black spots across the FCT. These operations covered high-risk areas, including Dei-Dei, Karu, Gwarinpa, Jikwoyi, Karimo and Maitama. Additionally, abandoned buildings across the city, frequently used as hideouts and bases for planning illicit activities, have been identified and will be subject to continuous monitoring and raids, Mr Disu added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A video on social media has captured a former media aide to the immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru, being beaten by a mob. Habibu Muhammad is a critic of the senator representing Jigawa Northwest District, Babangida Husseini. He had called for Mr Husseinis replacement by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next election. Mr Muhammad, in recent programmes on Freedom Radio in Jigawa, accused Mr Hussaini of under-representation of his district at the Senate. He is supporting Mr Hussainis rival in the APC, Danladi Sankara. In the video, Mr Muhammad is beaten by four men who accused him of insulting the senator, telling him to stop attacking personalities in the state. Mr Muhammad is seen struggling to defend himself as the attackers punched him. Mr Muhammad later told PREMIUM TIMES that the attackers removed from the video a part where they offered him N10 million to stop attacking the senator on the radio. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later They planned to assassinate me because of political differences. Those people involved are known persons in the state. We all know them, the security authorities must arrest them because this is an assassination attempt, Mr Muhammad. The senator used Mutari ishaq; Muhammed kwatalo; Gaddafi Abba kukuma; Haruna Mamiyo to attack me because my political stand is against theirs, Mr Muhammad said. The known phone contact of the senator didnt connect Wednesday afternoon when the reporter called him to respond to Mr Muhammads claims. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Rivers State Government has reacted to the resolution from the State Assembly directing Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers within 48 hours. The Speaker of the assembly, Martin Amaewhule, had, in a letter addressed to Mr Fubara on Monday, directed the governor to present the budget as ordered by the Supreme Court. The directive followed the court verdict that restored the pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate state assembly members. The court had, in the judgement on Friday, stopped the payment of federal allocation to Rivers State and nullified last years local council election. However, in a letter addressed to the Speaker dated 5 March, the day the ultimatum ought to have expired, the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, said they had yet to receive the letter from the assembly. He, however, admitted coming across it on social media. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later As at the close of work on Tuesday, 4th March, 2025, we are yet to receive the said letter. Neither the office of the Governor nor the Deputy Governors office nor the office of the Accountant-General of the State has received the said letter. Please, recall that Governor Fubara had, in a State Broadcast on Sunday, 2nd March 2025, stated clearly that notwithstanding his personal opinion on the Supreme Court Judgments, he will, as a law-abiding Nigerian, obey and implement their decisions in accordance with the rule of law and the best interest of the people of Rivers State. We have since been in contact with our lawyers, who are still awaiting the certified true copy of the judgments of the Supreme Court, and hereby reassure you and all the good people of Rivers State that as soon as His Excellency receives the judgments, he will strive to implement same timeously in the best interest of our People, Mr Danagogo said. Backstory Governor Fubara has been engaged in a prolonged political and legal battle with the pro-Wike lawmakers after Mr Fubara fell out with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister. Almost a year and a half into the crisis, the Supreme Court delivered a judgement favouring Mr Wikes allies. After their plenary on Monday, the first after the court judgement, the assembly, in a letter to the governor, demanded Mr Fubara to present the 2025 budget before them within 48 hours, which expires today, 5 March. The assembly also notified the governor of plans to amend the Local Government Administration Law and Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission Law, citing the court judgement. However, hours after the notice, the Rivers Election Commission issued notice for a fresh local government election, which may set the legislature and executive on a fresh collision course. The lawmakers have yet to react to the election notice issued by the commission amidst its planned amendment of the law establishing the electoral body. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has revoked the concession agreement granted to CIBA Construction Company Limited to manage the Obudu Cattle Ranch. The termination was communicated through a letter signed by the states Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ededem Ani. The letter cited by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) detailed CIBAs material breaches and justified the states decision. According to Mr Ani, the company neglected key development obligations, particularly those outlined in Sections 5.0, 6.0, and 14.0(b) of the agreement. These violations include the failure to invest in the renovation of the resorts hotel and other essential components. In spite of multiple breaches, CIBA continued to fall short, prompting the Cross River Government to terminate the agreement with immediate effect, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In revoking the concession, the governor directed his Special Adviser and CEO of Obudu Ranch Resort, Sunday Michael, alongside other key stakeholders, to implement measures to revamp the facility. Mr Michael, who also confirmed the termination of the 25-year agreement the state entered into with CIBA in 2017, attributed the companys failure to fulfil its contractual obligations to the government action. The concession, granted during then-Governor Ben Ayades administration, tasked CIBA with designing, financing, building, operating, maintaining, and ultimately transforming the ranch under a Public-Private Partnership. The Obudu Cattle Ranch, also known as Obudu Mountain Resort, was developed in 1951 by a Scottish rancher named M. McCaughley. The Ranch was remodelled and made a tourist attraction by then-Governor Donald Dukes administration between 1999 and 2007. The Ranch was one of Mr Dukes outstanding tourism projects in Cross River. He fixed the twining road network all the way to the hilltop, built stunning chalets and aerial tramways (cable cars), and upgraded the ranchs infrastructure. However, successive administrations in the state failed to build on Mr Dukes legacy, leading to a huge decline in patronage and deteriorated facilities. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has expelled the Chairperson of the partys Board of Trustees (BOT), Adolphus Wabara. The Chairperson of the PDP in Abia State, Abraham Amah, in a statement said the partys State Working Committee (SWC) announced the decision on Tuesday after an emergency meeting following the report of its disciplinary committee. The State Secretary of the PDP, Peter Nwaokonko, also signed the statement. Initial suspension The latest development comes almost one month after Mr Wabara was suspended for one month for alleged anti-party activities. The former Senate president of Nigeria was accused of endorsing Governor Alex Otti of Abia State for a second term in October 2023, barely five months into his administration. Mr Otti was elected governor of Abia State under the platform of the Labour Party during the 2023 general elections. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Inaugurated on 29 May 2023, the governors first tenure will end in May 2027. Mr Wabara hails from Abia State. Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP later faulted the suspension, describing it as unconstitutional, null and void. Last week, a High Court in Abia State restrained the PDP from enforcement of the purported suspension of the embattled BOT chairperson. Expulsion In the Tuesday statement, the PDP in Abia State said the expulsion followed the findings of a committee set up to investigate the embattled BOT chairperson. After a thorough review of the committees findings and recommendations regarding the expulsion of Senator Adolphus Wabara, the SWC unanimously approved the recommendation contained in the report. Senator Adolphus Wabara is hereby expelled from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the statement read in part. The PDP leaders in the state asked its NWC and the National Executive Committee (NEC) to appoint another party member as acting BOT chairperson. It argued that expelled members cannot enjoy any rights or privileges within the party, citing Articles 57(3) and 59(1) of the partys Constitution (2017 as amended). The Abia State Executive Committee hereby recommends the immediate appointment of an acting BOT chairman by the NWC and the NEC of our great party, the statement added. The PDP leaders stressed that they will continue to be committed to maintaining discipline and ensuring all members abide by the partys constitution. The party remains resolute in preserving unity, loyalty, and respect for party structures. No member, regardless of status, is above the partys rules and regulations. What Wabara told Otti in October 2023 Mr Wabara had praised Governor Otti during the flag off ceremony for the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt Road, Aba in October 2023. The project was awarded to Julius Berger, a construction company. During the flag off ceremony, Mr Wabara, who attended the event, told Vanguard newspaper that Mr Otti, by his performances so far, had already secured his second term in office. The governor (Otti) is reliable and a true man of honour. With this feat alone, his second term in office is already well assured. He is a master strategist. He wasnt a top banker for nothing, the former senator had said. As of the time the PDP BOT chairperson made the comment, Mr Otti had spent only six months (about 182 days) in office. Wike-Wabara feud? The unfolding drama in the Abia PDP appears to be a continuation of the power play between the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike and Mr Wabara. Messrs Wike and Wabara have been in a face-off over the control of the PDP at the national level. Both leaders recently engaged in a war of words, with Mr Wike saying he would have disowned Mr Wabara if he were his father. Mr Wabara, on his part, said he would not join issues with the FCT minister. Mr Wikes ally, Okezie Ikpeazu, a former governor of Abia State, is in control of the PDP in the South-eastern state. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Ebonyi has arrested a suspect, Chigozie Ovuta, in possession of two human skulls and three locally made guns. The Command Spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abakaliki. Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, said that Mr Ovuta was arrested in the Okoffia community, Ezza South Local Government Area of the state. The spokesperson said the command also recovered three stolen tricycles in another operation. During further interrogation, Ovuta confessed that the human skulls were given to him for the preparation of a spiritual concoction. The command is actively pursuing the individual mentioned in this case. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In a separate operation, while tracking a stolen tricycle, operatives of the command uncovered a criminal syndicate specialising in altering the colours of stolen tricycles from neighbouring states. This operation led to the arrest of four males, Nweke Chukwudi, Nwankwo Obinna, John Abba and Uche Abba. Three stolen tricycles were recovered from the suspects, who admitted to receiving the vehicles from accomplices for colour modifications. Mr Ukandu said the suspects would be charged to court upon the completion of investigations. He reaffirmed the commands commitment to safeguarding lives and property across the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi. We urge residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity around them to the command, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Anambra State on Wednesday arraigned a 72-year-old doctor and two women for allegedly stealing and selling children. The defendants appeared before the states Children, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Offences Court in Awka. The medical doctor is Daniel Ikebuilo; the others are Ifunanya Ogbonna, 24, and Odinaka Okorie, 27. They were charged with conspiracy, child stealing, illegal deals and the sale of children. They pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Chinyere Okechukwu, a police inspector, told the court that the defendants committed the offences from July 2024 to February 2025 at Nkwelle-Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Ms Okechulwu said the defendants conspired and fraudulently took away two children, aged six and five years, against their parents wish. She added that the doctor sold the six-year-old child for N3 million. Ms Okechukwu said the other defendants sold the five-year-old child for N1.2 million to the doctor. The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 495(a) and 321 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Anambra, 1991, as amended. She added that the offences violated Section 31(1) (4) of the states Child Rights Law 2004. The Chief Magistrate, U.E. Onochie, granted each defendant bail in the sum of N1 million with a surety in like sum. Mrs Onochie adjourned the case until 7 May for a hearing. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Photo: National Guard During the night, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 115 enemy UAVs, while another 55 drone imitators failed to reach their targets. "On the night of March 5, 2025 (from 19:30 on March 4), the enemy attacked with three Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from Voronezh region, one S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile from Kursk region and 181 Shahed-type strike UAVs and various types of simulator drones from the following directions: Orel, Kursk, Millerovo, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk of the Russian Federation, Chauda - Crimea," the message posted on the Telegram channel on Wednesday says. The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces of Ukraine. "As of 09:30, the downing of 115 Shahed-type attack UAVs and other types of drones in Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions has been confirmed. Fifty-five enemy drone imitators have been lost (without negative consequences)," the report says. As a result of the enemy attack, Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions suffered. This month British Airways marks 65 years of flights between Toronto and London years of flights between and To celebrate, the airline is offering a flash sale on the route for one week only The sale includes $30 off World Traveller (economy), $65 off World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and $150 off Club World (business) fares* off World Traveller (economy), off World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and off Club World (business) fares* This summer, British Airways will operate up to 42 flights per week from Canada to London , making it one of the airline's busiest Canadian seasons yet. TORONTO, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This March, British Airways is proudly celebrating 65 years of flights between Toronto and London. Since launching the route in 1960, the airline has played a vital role in connecting Canada's largest city with the UK capital, enabling tourism, business, and connecting loved ones across the Atlantic. The airline is celebrating 65 years of flying from Toronto To mark the anniversary, British Airways has launched a flash sale for customers booking flights between Toronto and London, as well as select European destinations. The sale includes $30 off World Traveller (economy) fares, $65 off World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and $150 off Club World (business) fares*. The limited time sale will run until Tuesday, March 11 on ba.com, for travel between March - May 2025. British Airways' Chief Planning and Strategy Officer, Neil Chernoff, said: "For 65 years, we have connected Toronto with London as one of our most important transatlantic routes, offering customers a gateway to the UK and beyond. "We hope our customers take advantage of our special sapphire anniversary discount, for visiting loved ones, travelling for work, or booking a sightseeing holiday to Europe. This milestone highlights our longstanding commitment to the region, and we look forward to serving our Canadian customers for many more years to come." In addition, Toronto Pearson International Airport will mark the occasion with a special British-themed menu at the Ice Bar for the month of March, bringing a taste of the UK to departing customers. British Airways customers will be offered a $5 coupon off their meal during the first week of March. "We are pleased to reach this monumental milestone with British Airways," said Kurush Minocher, Interim Chief Commercial Officer, Toronto Pearson. "For more than six decades, British Airways has been connecting passengers with direct flights between Toronto and the United Kingdom. We are proud to continue this partnership, serving nearly 400,000 travellers annually." VisitBritain's Executive Vice President, The Americas, Australia, & New Zealand, Paul Gauger, said: "Congratulations to British Airways as it achieves this milestone of celebrating 65 years of service between Canada and the UK. Canada is one of our most valuable inbound markets, with one million visits to Britain. We are excited to see strong growth continue in 2025. With our new Starring GREAT Britain campaign, we look forward to working with our partners to showcase film & TV inspired attractions and itineraries across Britain, inspiring Canadian travellers to discover the real-life magic behind the scenes." On March 1, 1960, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) first began serving Toronto, with a Comet 4 service from Heathrow. Later that year BOAC began operating a Boeing 707 twice weekly from Heathrow, via Prestwick and Montreal. Today, the TorontoLondon route remains one of British Airways' most important transatlantic connections. The airline flies 14 direct flights a week between Toronto and London Heathrow Terminal 5, which this summer will be operated by its state-of-the-art Boeing 777 and Airbus 350 aircraft. Elsewhere in Canada, the airline is increasing its summer schedule from Vancouver to London Heathrow by up to seven flights per week, bringing the total to 14 flights per week during peak summer. Coupled with the airline's daily flight to London Gatwick, customers in Vancouver can choose from three flights per day to London from June to September. In total British Airways will operate up to 42 flights per week from Canada to London this summer, making it one of the airline's busiest Canadian seasons yet. Customers travelling from Canada can enjoy British Airways' renowned British service, including a choice of premium cabins, curated dining experiences, and access to the airline's extensive global network via London Heathrow. For more information and to book British Airways' special anniversary fares, visit ba.com. *Blackout dates apply. Visit ba.com for full dates, terms and conditions. Book by 11:59pm ET on March 11, 2025. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633617/British_Airways_Toronto.jpg Azure's generative AI capabilities work by analysing historic nuclear licensing data and allows licensing engineers to draft new permitting documents more quickly, ready for review and refinement. It can also quickly search for regulations, precedents, and other valuable information buried in large regulatory datasets. The technology enables a faster and more cost-effective pathway through regulation, which is essential for making nuclear a viable clean energy solution. Mark Tipping, LR's Global Offshore Power To X Director, who leads on nuclear technology, said: "We have a large data source from decades of regulatory applications which these AI capabilities can interrogate swiftly to identify good practice and lessons learned." "Together, we're tackling one of the biggest challenges in deploying nuclear technology, which is navigating complex, slow, and costly licensing processes." AI has the power to break through barriers allowing to unlock the potential of nuclear across floating nuclear power, offshore, and ship power. Tipping added: "Collaborating with Microsoft provides us with an excellent opportunity to combine two very different areas of expertise, their AI capabilities and our vast history and knowledge of maritime and nuclear safety." This collaboration has been driven by Lloyd's Register's CTIO team. Deputy Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Jeff Scott, who played a key role in engaging with Microsoft to explore AI's potential in maritime nuclear regulation, said: "Regulations shouldn't be a roadblock to innovationthey should be a launchpad. By teaming up with Microsoft, we're using AI to cut through the red tape and fast-track the future of nuclear in maritime. It's an exciting step toward making clean energy a reality on the water." Darryl Willis, Microsoft CVP, Energy & Resources Industry, said: "This collaboration underscores our commitment to harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation and advance sustainability across sectors." "By combining our AI expertise with Lloyd's Register's expertise in maritime and nuclear safety, we are paving the way to ease regulatory barriers and make sustainability more attainable for all industries." Notes to editors: Attached to this press release are images of the projected future design of nuclear power barges, the sort of novel technology this AI capability will be used to accelerate. The images are kindly licenced for use by Lucid Catalyst. To read more about LR's expertise in nuclear applications, more information is available here: Nuclear Fuel | Fuel For Thought | LR To read more about LR's expertise in AI and digital technology, please read here: Beyond the Horizon | LR About Lloyd's Register Trusted maritime advisors, partnering with clients to drive performance across the ocean economy. Lloyd's Register (LR) is a global professional services group specialising in marine engineering and technology. Created more than 260 years ago as the world's first marine classification society, to improve and set standards for the safety of ships. Today we are a leading provider of classification and compliance services to the marine and offshore industries, helping our clients design, construct and operate their assets to accepted levels of safety and environmental compliance. We also provide advice, support and solutions on fleet performance, fleet optimisation and voyage optimisation, enhancing our clients' digital capabilities. Our digital solutions are relied upon by more than 20,000 vessels. In the race to zero emissions, our research, technical expertise and industry-firsts are supporting a safe, sustainable maritime energy transition. Lloyd's Register Group is wholly owned by the Lloyd's Register Foundation, a politically and financially independent global charity that promotes safety and education. For more information, go to www.lr.org Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633165/Nuclear_offshore_power_barge_III.jpg Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton Recognized as Pioneers of Reinforcement Learning NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today named Andrew G. Barto and Richard S. Sutton as the recipients of the 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award for developing the conceptual and algorithmic foundations of reinforcement learning. In a series of papers beginning in the 1980s, Barto and Sutton introduced the main ideas, constructed the mathematical foundations, and developed important algorithms for reinforcement learningone of the most important approaches for creating intelligent systems. ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today named Andrew G. Barto and Richard S. Sutton as the recipients of the 2024 ACM A.M. Turing Award for developing the conceptual and algorithmic foundations of reinforcement learning. (PRNewsfoto/Association For Computing Machinery, Inc.) Barto is Professor Emeritus of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Sutton is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Alberta, a Research Scientist at Keen Technologies, and a Fellow at Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute). The ACM A.M. Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize in Computing," carries a $1 million prize with financial support provided by Google, Inc. The award is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundations of computing. What is Reinforcement Learning? The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is generally concerned with constructing agentsthat is, entities that perceive and act. More intelligent agents are those that choose better courses of action. Therefore, the notion that some courses of action are better than others is central to AI. Rewarda term borrowed from psychology and neurosciencedenotes a signal provided to an agent related to the quality of its behavior. Reinforcement learning (RL) is the process of learning to behave more successfully given this signal. The idea of learning from reward has been familiar to animal trainers for thousands of years. Later, Alan Turing's 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," addressed the question "Can machines think?" and proposed an approach to machine learning based on rewards and punishments. While Turing reported having conducted some initial experiments with this approach and Arthur Samuel developed a checker-playing program in the late 1950s that learned from self-play, little further progress occurred in this vein of AI in the following decades. In the early 1980s, motivated by observations from psychology, Barto and his PhD student Sutton began to formulate reinforcement learning as a general problem framework. They drew on the mathematical foundation provided by Markov decision processes (MDPs), wherein an agent makes decisions in a stochastic (randomly determined) environment, receiving a reward signal after each transition and aiming to maximize its long-term cumulative reward. Whereas standard MDP theory assumes that everything about the MDP is known to the agent, the RL framework allows for the environment and the rewards to be unknown. The minimal information requirements of RL, combined with the generality of the MDP framework, allows RL algorithms to be applied to a vast range of problems, as explained further below. Barto and Sutton, jointly and with others, developed many of the basic algorithmic approaches for RL. These include their foremost contribution, temporal difference learning, which made an important advance in solving reward prediction problems, as well as policy-gradient methods and the use of neural networks as a tool to represent learned functions. They also proposed agent designs that combined learning and planning, demonstrating the value of acquiring knowledge of the environment as a basis for planning. Perhaps equally influential was their textbook, Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (1998), which is still the standard reference in the field and has been cited over 75,000 times. It allowed thousands of researchers to understand and contribute to this emerging field and continues to inspire much significant research activity in computer science today. Although Barto and Sutton's algorithms were developed decades ago, major advances in the practical applications of RL came about in the past fifteen years by merging RL with deep learning algorithms (pioneered by 2018 Turing Awardees Bengio, Hinton, and LeCun). This led to the technique of deep reinforcement learning. The most prominent example of RL was the victory by the AlphaGo computer program over the best human Go players in 2016 and 2017. Another major achievement recently has been the development of the chatbot ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) trained in two phases, the second of which employs a technique called reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), to capture human expectations. RL has achieved success in many other areas as well. A high-profile research example is robot motor skill learning in the in-hand robotic manipulation and solution of a physical (Rubik's Cube), which showed it possible to do all the reinforcement learning in simulation yet ultimately be successful in the significantly different real world. Other areas include network congestion control, chip design, internet advertising, optimization, global supply chain optimization, improving the behavior and reasoning capabilities of chatbots, and even improving algorithms for one of the oldest problems in computer science, matrix multiplication. Finally, a technology that was partly inspired by neuroscience has returned the favor. Recent research, including work by Barto, has shown that specific RL algorithms developed in AI provide the best explanations for a wide range of findings concerning the dopamine system in the human brain. "Barto and Sutton's work demonstrates the immense potential of applying a multidisciplinary approach to longstanding challenges in our field," explains ACM President Yannis Ioannidis. "Research areas ranging from cognitive science and psychology to neuroscience inspired the development of reinforcement learning, which has laid the foundations for some of the most important advances in AI and has given us greater insight into how the brain works. Barto and Sutton's work is not a stepping stone that we have now moved on from. Reinforcement learning continues to grow and offers great potential for further advances in computing and many other disciplines. It is fitting that we are honoring them with the most prestigious award in our field." "In a 1947 lecture, Alan Turing stated 'What we want is a machine that can learn from experience,'" noted Jeff Dean, Senior Vice President, Google. "Reinforcement learning, as pioneered by Barto and Sutton, directly answers Turing's challenge. Their work has been a lynchpin of progress in AI over the last several decades. The tools they developed remain a central pillar of the AI boom and have rendered major advances, attracted legions of young researchers, and driven billions of dollars in investments. RL's impact will continue well into the future. Google is proud to sponsor the ACM A.M. Turing Award and honor the individuals who have shaped the technologies that improve our lives." Biographical Background Andrew G. Barto Andrew Barto is Professor Emeritus, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He began his career at UMass Amherst as a postdoctoral Research Associate in 1977, and has subsequently held various positions including Associate Professor, Professor, and Department Chair. Barto received a BS degree in Mathematics (with distinction) from the University of Michigan, where he also earned his MS and PhD degrees in Computer and Communication Sciences. Barto's honors include the UMass Neurosciences Lifetime Achievement Award, the IJCAI Award for Research Excellence, and the IEEE Neural Network Society Pioneer Award. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Richard S. Sutton Richard Sutton is a Professor in Computing Science at the University of Alberta, a Research Scientist at Keen Technologies (an artificial general intelligence company based in Dallas, Texas) and Chief Scientific Advisor of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii). Sutton was a Distinguished Research Scientist at Deep Mind from 2017 to 2023. Prior to joining the University of Alberta, he served as a Principal Technical Staff Member in the Artificial Intelligence Department at the AT&T Shannon Laboratory in Florham Park, New Jersey, from 1998 to 2002. Sutton's collaborations with Andrew Barto began in 1978 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where Barto was Sutton's PhD and postdoctoral advisor. Sutton received his BA in Psychology from Stanford University and earned his MS and PhD degrees in Computer and Information Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Sutton's honors include receiving the IJCAI Research Excellence Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association, and an Outstanding Achievement in Research Award from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Sutton is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. About the ACM A.M. Turing Award The A.M. Turing Award is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundations of computing, and who was a key contributor to the Allied cryptanalysis of the Enigma cipher during World War II. Since its inception in 1966, the Turing Award has honored the computer scientists and engineers who created the systems and their underlying theoretical foundations that have propelled the information technology industry. About ACM ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. SOURCE Association For Computing Machinery BEIJING, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: In Shenzhen's Futian district, a cohort of 70 artificial intelligence systems designated as "digital personnel" has initiated a paradigm shift in administrative operations. Engineered with DeepSeek's cognitive architectures, these systems achieve document processing precision exceeding 95% while reducing processing times by up to 90%, concurrently optimizing interdepartmental coordination through 80% improvements in task distribution efficacy. Operational parameters extend across 240+ governance scenarios, encompassing document management, civil services, crisis response protocols, and economic development initiatives. This technological implementation reflects China's accelerating adoption of generative AI solutions, with multiple municipalities now integrating neural network systems to refine bureaucratic processes and elevate civic service standards through automated governance frameworks. Beijing's Economic-Technological Development Area has implemented neural network systems for market supervision, tripling operational throughput in regulatory enforcement. Hangzhou's healthcare insurance AI interface manages approximately 70% of citizen inquiries through voice recognition protocols, with its textual counterpart resolving 90% of written consultations through semantic analysis frameworks. Nanjing's emergency management platform demonstrates 95% regulatory adherence in producing incident documentation within 300-second operational windows. Many provincial-level jurisdictions including Shenzhen and Guangzhou now operationalize DeepSeek's cognitive architectures within administrative ecosystems, establishing automated content generation pipelines to optimize administrative responsiveness. This nationwide integration of neural networks signifies China's systematic transition toward data-driven governance models, with intelligent systems progressively replacing manual workflows across regulatory enforcement, public health coordination, and crisis mitigation operations. China's intelligent governance frameworks now extend beyond administrative optimization to reengineer metropolitan management paradigms. Guiyang, a topographically constrained municipality historically burdened by chronic road network saturation, has implemented a cognitive traffic orchestration platform showing operational efficacy. The system synthesizes municipal surveillance infrastructure with commercial navigation telemetry, utilizing predictive analytics to model vehicular movement patterns. During peak transit intervals, this architecture enables automated signal timing recalibrations across 31 arterial junctions. Preliminary metrics indicate measurable reductions in congestion metrics, with one urban dweller noting "tangible improvements in roadway fluidity." Professor Wu Yiping of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' School of Public Economics and Administration hailed the initiative as a pivotal advancement in administrative innovation. "Embedding generative AI systems such as DeepSeek into civic operations could revolutionize service delivery through optimized content production and responsive digital interfaces," he asserted, emphasizing the technology's potential to recalibrate urban management frameworks for contemporary demands. While acknowledging these operational benefits, analysts caution that workforce implications require rigorous scrutiny. Industry observers concur that although AI-enhanced governance may streamline repetitive functions, persistent limitations surround dataset reliability, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and implementation scalability. Crucially, they stress that human competencies in strategic innovation, empathetic engagement, and nuanced policy adjudication remain irreplicable assets in public administration. "AI systems function as administrative instruments operating within defined human oversight protocols rather than autonomous policymaking entities," clarified Gao Zeng, deputy director of Futian District's Government Services and Data Administration. In Shanghai's Putuo District, official Lu Yao noted a persistent preference for interpersonal engagement despite technological advances. "While algorithmically generated responses demonstrate technical proficiency, constituents consistently value the irreplaceable interpersonal rapport cultivated through direct human exchange," Lu observed, underscoring the enduring significance of empathetic dialogue in civic affairs. Lu maintains that AI's principal contribution to community governance resides in its capacity to alleviate bureaucratic redundancies. By automating administrative workflows, public servants gain critical bandwidth to prioritize participatory neighborhood initiatives and resolve complex societal challenges, he argued. As algorithmic solutions increasingly reshape institutional frameworks, policymakers confront the imperative of harmonizing operational automation with inherently human competencies in ethical discernment. This delicate symbiotic equilibrium, analysts suggest, could potentially redefine public sector effectiveness by merging computational precision with psychologically attuned service paradigms. SOURCE People's Daily Leading Platform in Reputation Experience Management Awards 2025 Winners for Going Above and Beyond on Delivering Brand Promises WESTPORT, Conn., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Maplewood Senior Living, known for its upscale senior living residences, is proud to announce that all of its communities, fifteen on the East Coast and in the Midwest, and their flagship Inspr location, Inspr Carnegie Hill, located on the Upper East side of Manhattan, NY, have been awarded the 2025 top honors from Reputation.com, the leading platform in reputation experience management. Reputation 2025 Award Seals "At Maplewood Senior Living, our unwavering commitment to resident-centered care has consistently translated into exceptional satisfaction scores from both residents and their families. The Reputation Awards reflect what matters most to us the voices of those we serve every day," stated Morgan Iorio, Corporate Director of Business and Reputation. "Achieving scores of 800+ and even 900+ across all our communities demonstrates that our approach of personalizing experiences, fostering meaningful connections, and delivering innovative wellness programs truly resonates with families. These recognition metrics aren't just numbers they represent thousands of positive interactions and testimonials from residents and families who have entrusted us with their care journey." Winners on the 2025 list have proven that they put customer experience at the very core of their strategy and are driven by the voice of the customer to succeed. Reputation award winners consistently collect, understand, and apply consumer feedback so that they can make data-driven decisions to deliver the best possible experiences and establish a best-in-class reputation. Maplewood Senior Living's 2025 Reputation Award Highlights: 900+ Awarded to Five Maplewood communities : : Maplewood at Danbury, CT Maplewood at Chardon, OH Maplewood at Weston, MA Maplewood at Cuyahoga Falls, OH Maplewood at Twinsburg, OH 800+ Award Inspir Carnegie Hill, NYC , the flagship of Maplewood's ultra-luxury senior living brand, achieved this for the second consecutive year. , the flagship of ultra-luxury senior living brand, achieved this for the second consecutive year. Maplewood at Orange, CT , achieved this for the second consecutive year. achieved this for the second consecutive year. Nine additional Maplewood communities joined the 800+ list for the first time, including: joined the 800+ list for the first time, including: Connecticut : Maplewood at Stony Hill ( Bethel ), Maplewood at Darien , Maplewood at Strawberry Hill ( East Norwalk ), Maplewood at Newtown , and Maplewood at Southport . Maplewood at Stony Hill ( ), at , at Strawberry Hill ( ), at , and at . Massachusetts : Maplewood at Brewster , Maplewood at Mayflower Place, and Maplewood at Mill Hill ( West Yarmouth ). Maplewood at , at Mayflower Place, and at Mill Hill ( ). New Jersey : Maplewood at Princeton . Since the inception of the Award in 2021, Reputation.com identifies winners through a meticulous analysis of location scores, honoring those with a Reputation Score of 800 (on a scale of 0-1000) or higher and for the first time this year, 900 or higher. These scores signify that the company is dedicated to exceptional customer service satisfaction and brand trust. The Reputation Score evaluates various factors, including review sentiment, volume, response rate, social engagement, and search impressions. Attaining a score of 800 or above signifies the company's outstanding commitment to managing online customer feedback and delivering on superior customer experience. Links to Award lists: https://reputation.com/800-award-winners/2025-us-healthcare-locations-800-award-winners/ About Maplewood Senior Living: Maplewood Senior Living is known for its upscale senior living residences, offering a broad range of premier services, amenities, and care to its residents. Based in Westport, CT, Maplewood Senior Living operates 16 senior living communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. There is an Upper East Side location in Manhattan, NY, within the company's newest brand, Inspir. This new, senior living offering was launched to provide a luxurious option for seniors looking to join a residential community in major metropolitan areas. A second Inspir location, Inspir Embassy Row, recently opened in Washington D.C.'s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood. For more information, please call 203-557-4777 or visit http://www.maplewoodseniorliving.com About Inspir Inspir is a new, luxury senior living brand offering a different approach to living for discerning older adults in urban markets. The brand represents the convergence of luxury accommodations, exceptional hospitality, cutting-edge technology, whole-person wellness and world-class care. The brand's flagship senior living residence, Inspir Carnegie Hill, is located at 1802 Second Avenue at 93rd Street, in the heart of New York City's Upper East Side. A second location in Washington D.C.'s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, Inspir Embassy Row, just opened and offers state-of-the-art assisted living and memory care options, with private apartments customized to fit the needs of an aging population. Inspir is developed by Maplewood Senior Living, in partnership with Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE: OHI). For more information, please call 646-978-9040 or visit inspirseniorliving.com Press contact: [email protected] 646-258-0026 SOURCE Maplewood Senior Living LOS ALTOS, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Altos Bank, the first new business-focused community bank headquartered in Silicon Valley in nearly two decades, proudly announces its grand opening on March 5, 2025. This milestone follows a successful equity raise, acquisition of a banking license, receipt of an FDIC Deposit Insurance Certificate, and a smooth soft launch on November 25, 2024. Altos Bank Announces Grand Opening Following Successful Soft Launch Post this Altos Bank Logo Over the past two decades, Silicon Valley has seen most of its community banks acquired by out-of-state institutions, replacing personalized service with rigid, standardized practices and an impersonal, automated approach. Altos Bank is here to restore the value of long-term relationships and exceptional personal service. Since its soft opening, Altos Bank has been actively engaging with the Silicon Valley business community, providing innovative, tailored banking solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, their owners, operators, and professional service firms. If you value exceptional service, long-term relationships, and a banker who truly knows you, Altos Bank will feel like home. The bank serves customers both online at www.AltosBank.com and from its headquarters at 467 First Street, 3rd Floor, Los Altos, CA. "We are thrilled to celebrate our grand opening and welcome the community to experience our distinctive combination of high-touch relationship banking and cutting-edge technology," said Steven Chang, Founder and Board Chairman of Altos Bank. "Bringing this vision to life has been an incredible journey, and we're proud to restore the personal touch that has been missing in Silicon Valley's financial services landscape." Altos Bank is a relationship-focused commercial bank that seamlessly blends personalized service with cutting-edge technology. Dedicated to meeting the needs of small and mid-sized businesses, professional firms, and private investors, the bank serves business owners, professionals, commercial property owners, real estate investors, and non-profits. Tom Vertin, CEO of Altos Bank, stated, "Since our soft launch in November, the local business community has welcomed us with enthusiasm. Our grand opening marks the start of a new chapter in Silicon Valley's community bankingwhere a local bank, making local decisions, is dedicated to empowering small businesses and investors with flexible, innovative financial solutions that strengthen our local economy." Altos Bank emerges at a pivotal moment for the region's financial landscape, offering essential support to small and mid-sized businesses seeking credit for commercial real estate, equipment, working capital, multifamily residential investments, construction, and government-backed loan programs like SBA financing. We look forward to meeting you at Altos Bank's modern, eco-friendly facilities or at your place of business. Our experienced relationship managers are eager to connect with the community and build strong partnerships. About Altos Bank Altos Bank, a newly established FDIC-insured community bank in Silicon Valley, is committed to delivering innovative, personalized banking solutions for small businesses and investors. With a commitment to exceptional service and cutting-edge technology, Altos Bank empowers local businesses to thrive and succeed. For more information about Altos Bank and its services, please visit www.AltosBank.com SOURCE Dragon Capital Group LLC LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampace, an innovator in green energy technology, will make its UK debut at Data Centre World (DCW) London 2025 on March 12-13, 2025 (Booth DC605, Excel London). As an innovator in energy solutions for data centers, Ampace will showcase its next-generation energy storage system, the PU200, underscoring its commitment to delivering safer, more stable solutions to meet the escalating energy demands driven by the AI revolution. AI-Driven Energy Challenges: A Call for Reliable Solutions image The explosive growth of artificial intelligence has intensified pressure on global data centers to manage soaring power loads while improving energy efficiency. By 2025, data centers are projected to account for 5% of global electricity consumption. In Europe, stringent carbon reduction targets and rapid digitalization are accelerating demand for long-lasting, high-stability energy storage systems. As a key tech hub, the UK's expanding data center market urgently requires innovative technologies to balance operational costs with reliable power supply. Ampace: A Global Innovator in Energy Technology Ampace specializes in lithium-ion battery R&D, production, and system integration, serving mission-critical sectors including energy storage systems (ESS), micro-mobility, and industrial power tools. The company allocates over 10% of resources to R&D, holds 1,000+ patents, and actively contributes to international standards (UL, IEC, etc.). With a presence in 30+ countries, Ampace's solutions are widely adopted in high-energy-demand scenarios such as data centers and commercial energy storage. PU200 European Premiere: Semi-Solid Tech for Unmatched Safety At DCW London, Ampace will unveil its flagship high power density 10C UPS battery cabinet, the PU200, capable of supporting 462kW of UPS per cabinet. Built on the principle of "Semi-Solid Tech, Rock-Solid Foundation," the PU200 features industry-leadingsemi-solid-state lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells. Innovations such as limited electrolyte design, real-time leakage monitoring, and UL9540A module-level fire safety certification significantly mitigate thermal risks. Its pre-assembled design reduces installation costs by 50%, while an intuitive HMI and plug-and-play BMS ensure seamless, zero-downtime operations for data centers. Driving Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Ampace remains dedicated to advancing secure, efficient energy infrastructure to support the global transition to carbon-neutral data centers. Its participation in DCW London marks a strategic step into Europe and reinforces its vision of empowering sustainable digital growth. Join Ampace at Booth DC605 to explore how innovation is reshaping the future of energy for AI-driven data centers. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634232/image.jpg ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) will be hosting its regularly scheduled quarterly management meeting on Thursday, March 20, from 8:00 a.m. until approximately 10:30 a.m. CT. This quarter's meeting will take place virtually via conference call. During the call, the company's operating and financial leaders will present background information and commentary on the company's business operations and financial outlook, and will take questions from the investment community. The conference call will be broadcast live through Gallagher's website at www.ajg.com/irmeeting, and a conference call replay will be available at the same link through March 27, 2025. Any information distributed in conjunction with this meeting will be available on March 20 at 7:45 a.m. CT at https://www.ajg.com/March20materials. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in approximately 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. Contact: Raymond Iardella VP, Investor Relations (630) 285-3661/ [email protected] SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Ceremony launches Bowen transformation with 151 new units ATLANTA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta Housing (AH) and its public-private partners broke ground today on Bowen Homes Phase I, a $63.6 million redevelopment project set to revitalize the historic Bowen Homes site and the Carey Park neighborhood. Leaders from Invest Atlanta, the City of Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centene Foundation, Peach State Health Plan and development partners McCormack Baron Salazar and The Benoit Group joined in celebrating this milestone, marking the beginning of a transformative, multi-year effort. The redevelopment of Bowen Homes will create a vibrant, mixed-income community and serve as a national model for equitable, community-focused revitalization. Located in the northwest area of Atlanta, Bowen Phase 1 will add 151 units to Atlanta's housing inventory, with most of them reserved as affordable. "Bowen is poised to be a national model for neighborhood transformation, an anchor for progress in Carey Park, and a testament to the power of community-focused redevelopment," said Atlanta Housing President and CEO Terri Lee. "This project is about more than housing; it's about empowering people, fostering economic self-sufficiency, and ensuring that families have the support they need to succeed for generations to come." This transformational investment is critical as development expands westward from Atlanta's urban core. Supported in part by a $40 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant and backed by over $523 million in public and private commitments, the project is expected to catalyze broader revitalization along the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and James Jackson Parkway corridors. "I am super excited! The redevelopment of Bowen Homes is delivering on our promise to invest in affordable housing and bringing a vibrant neighborhood back to a community who has long-deserved quality homes, access to fresh food and quality greenspace," said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. "This project represents not only new homes, but the preservation of a community's history and a commitment to its future. Thank you to all of the partners involved who share our vision for an inclusive and thriving Atlanta." The first phase will feature deeply affordable housing, including: 48 units for households earning 30% or below of the Area Median Income (AMI), defined by HUD as $32,250 annual household income for a family of four in the Atlanta metro area annual household income for a family of four in the metro area 49 units for families earning up to 60% AMI 10 workforce housing units for essential professionals such as teachers, nurses, and first responders 44 market-rate units to promote economic diversity and integration "As a national leader in community-focused development, we are honored to help bring the vision of Bowen Homes back to life," said Vincent R. Bennett, CEO of MBA Properties, Inc. and President, McCormack Baron Salazar. "This mixed-income, sustainable development will not only provide high-quality housing but also create a thriving, connected community that reflects the resilience and aspirations of its residents." "The redevelopment of Bowen Homes is a testament to what is possible when the public and private sectors work together toward a shared vision," said Eddy Benoit Jr., CEO of The Benoit Group. "This transformation will serve as a model for how we can create equitable, sustainable neighborhoods that honor the past while embracing the future." Transforming the Neighborhood Bowen Homes Phase I is the first piece of a larger vision for Carey Park. Atlanta Housing's transformation plan envisions: More than 2,000 rental and ownership units Enhanced greenspaces and sustainable stormwater management Improved street networks and walkable community amenities Access to fresh food and retail based on community needs Aligned with HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, the redevelopment focuses on three key pillars: Housing: Creating modern, mixed-income housing tailored to meet diverse needs. People: Connecting residents to jobs, education, and healthcare to foster economic mobility. Neighborhood: Improving safety, schools, and commercial areas to build a stronger community fabric. "Safe, affordable housing is a cornerstone of health and well-being," said Wade A. Rakes, Chief Growth Officer, Centene Corporation and Chairman, Peach State Health Plan. "We are honored to partner with the Atlanta Housing, City of Atlanta, McCormack Baron Salazar, the Benoit Group, and the many local organizations and community members involved in the Bowen Homes project to create a sustainable, connected neighborhood that will improve the health of the community." Capstone Building Corporation, the general contractor for Phase 1, has already begun mobilizing. This early progress underscores the urgency driving this transformation, with completion of Phase 1 projected for mid-2026. ABOUT ATLANTA HOUSING President and Chief Executive Officer Terri M. Lee leads The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. One of 139 Moving to Work (MTW) public housing authorities in America, AH is an industry leader in providing and facilitating affordable housing resources for nearly 27,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 45,000 people, including AH-owned residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, supportive housing, as well as down payment assistance, where innovation leads the approach to making the dream of home ownership attainable for more Atlantans. Programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For more information, visit AH at atlantahousing.org or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at @housingatlanta. SOURCE Atlanta Housing Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova explained that US President Donald Trump's address to the nation refers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's message on social media. "In a very difficult situation, we are still moving forward, developing relations and advancing our priorities. The message from our President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was read in his Address to the Nation by President Donald Trump, who said: 'I appreciate that he wrote this letter,'" Markarova wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. As reported, on March 4, Zelenskyy posted a message on the social network X, in which he spoke of his readiness to work "under the strong leadership of President Trump to achieve lasting peace." None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts, he said on X Tuesday. On the heels of Sparking Energy success, growing from 0-to-8 figure beverage business in six months, the viral wellness brand will challenge legacy soda in 2025 AUSTIN, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloom Nutrition , one of the fastest-growing wellness essentials brands of the decade, proudly introduces Bloom Pop, a better-for-you, fun and functional soda that's full of flavor. Set to be on shelves around Labor Day 2025 across Walmart and major retailers nationwide, Bloom Pop has 20 calories, 4g of sugar or less and supports gut health with a trademarked prebiotic backed by science. Bloom Nutrition Bloom Nutrition Unveils Bloom Pop, Disrupting Modern Soda Beverage Category Announced at Expo West 2025, Bloom Pop will launch with five flavors, including Shirley Temple, Raspberry Lemon and Orange. This announcement follows the overwhelming success of Bloom Sparkling Energy, now in the Top 10 energy drinks in the U.S., underscoring the consumer need for better-for-you beverages with exceptional taste and innovative flavor combinations. "What we do best at Bloom is reimagine wellness essentials with flavor and function. Made with a scientifically backed prebiotic and flavor we've perfected, Bloom Pop is our answer to what our fans feel the modern soda category is missing: a truly tasty and functional drink," says Mari Llewellyn, Co-Founder of Bloom. "We will continue to reach our community as we always haveby making it easier for them to bloom into their best selves." "Building on our breakout wins in the beverage category and our strategic partnerships, we're confident Bloom Pop will be a game changer," said Greg LaVecchia, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloom. "We plan to follow the same route to success as we did with Sparkling Energydriving innovation and distribution while focusing on meeting the needs of our community." Bloom Pop is set to revolutionize the modern soda category by offering a better-for-you alternative that doesn't compromise on taste. Prioritizing functionality, flavor and approachability the brand is known for, Bloom Pop rounds out its portfolio of wellness essentials, creating a holistic approach to everyday health. From Greens in the morning to Sparkling Energy before a workout, Creatine or Colostrum mixed in a favorite beverage, and now a refreshing, functional better-for-you soda option, Bloom continues to redefine what accessible wellness looks like for its core consumer. "Our partnership with Bloom is focused on driving beverage innovation and bringing Mari and Greg's vision to life," says Doss Cunningham, Chairman and CEO of Nutrabolt . "Bloom Pop is a prime example of what we can accomplish together and further solidifies Bloom's leadership in the beverage category." The success of Bloom Sparkling Energy, introduced in July 2024, paved the way for this expansion, demonstrating the demand for better-for-you beverage options: Over 3 million cans of Sparkling Energy sold within the first 2.5 months Launched into the RTD beverage space at $0 and has grown into an 8-figure business and has grown into an 8-figure business Broke into the Top 10 energy drinks in the U.S., in just one month after expanding to over 15,000+ retail locations nationwide, including Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons With consumer demand for functional beverages continuing to rise, Bloom Pop is set to be the next big disruptor in the beverage industry. It will be available nationwide by Labor Day 2025, including a full chain Walmart rollout. For more information, visit bloomnu.com and follow @bloomsupps on Instagram and @bloomnu on TikTok. About Bloom Nutrition Bloom Nutrition is on a mission to help everyone bloom into their best selves with high quality health supplements reimagined with flavor and function. After hitting rock bottom mentally and physically, co-founder Mari Llewellyn turned to fitness, losing over 90 pounds and transforming her life with the help of her now-husband, Greg LaVecchia. She was inspired to help others do the same, and with that mindset, Bloom was born. Founded in 2019, Bloom is redefining the health & wellness space with easy-to-use supplements designed to give your body the nutrients it needs to bloom. Bloom's rapid growth includes successful product expansions, such as the Colostrum & Collagen Peptides, which sold out in four weeks, and Sparkling Energy Drinks, which grew to an 8-figure business in just six months. With 88% of its audience new to wellness, Bloom's community-driven approach and accessible branding have resonated with a loyal Gen Z and millennial following. Bloom's mission is to help everyone bloom into their best selves with high-quality, flavorful supplements that combine both function and fun. Bloom's community-driven approach and accessible branding has garnered a loyal Gen Z and millennial following across the nation. For more information, please visit bloomnu.com . SOURCE Bloom Nutrition HOUSTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueSprig, one of the nation's leading providers of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for children, announced today that Will Abbott has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Abbott will help guide BlueSprig through continued expansion and growth and support the company's core mission of changing the world for children with autism. BlueSprig Appoints Will Abbott as CEO to Lead Growth & Innovation Post this Will Abbott Abbott joins BlueSprig from InnovaCare, a leader in integrated and value-based health care services, where he served as Chief Executive Officer. He brings deep expertise leading scaled multi-site organizations with an understanding of how best to support practitioners in the field. Among other roles in the health care industry, Abbott previously spent more than a decade at CVS Caremark, where he led the national operations team and its long-term care division. "BlueSprig is at the forefront of delivering outstanding care to its patients and invests significantly in research to advance ABA practices," said Abbott. "I am thrilled to be joining BlueSprig at this exciting time in the company's growth and look forward to working alongside the talented BlueSprig team to support our mission of providing the highest-quality care for children with autism." "We are delighted to welcome Will to BlueSprig and are confident that his extensive experience in the health care sector, particularly with large, multi-site organizations such as ours, will be instrumental in supporting our clinicians and teams in the field," said Ali Satvat, Chair of BlueSprig's Board of Directors. "We look forward to the continued success and growth of BlueSprig and superior delivery of care under Will's leadership." About BlueSprig BlueSprig, founded in 2017, is a leading provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatment services to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). BlueSprig is committed to providing compassionate, individualized, and evidence-based behavior analysis treatment. Headquartered in Houston, TX, BlueSprig is a nationwide provider of ABA treatment with 160+ locations. For additional information about BlueSprig or to receive updates, visit www.bluesprigautism.com. Media Contact: Robin Simon [email protected] (210) 241-3888 SOURCE Blue Sprig Pediatrics, Inc. HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Borr Drilling Limited (the "Company") will be held on May 21, 2025, in Bermuda. The record date for voting at the Annual General Meeting is set to March 6, 2025. A copy of the Notice of Annual General Meeting and Form of Proxy will be distributed to Shareholders by normal distribution methods. Associated information including the Company's Annual Report can be found on the Company's website www.borrdrilling.com. CONTACT: Questions should be directed to: Magnus Vaaler, CFO, +44 1224 289208 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/borr-drilling-limited/r/borr-drilling-limited--notice-of-annual-general-meeting,c4114176 SOURCE Borr Drilling Limited Bain & Company's ninth annual list recognizes 120 high-growth US consumer products brands that have captured a staggering 39% of growth within their categories, including 43 newcomers NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bain & Company published today its 2025 Insurgent Brands list, a closely watched annual record of the insurgent brands redefining growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. This year's list included 120 insurgent brands that are outpacing their categories, challenging incumbents, and unlocking new opportunities for disruptive innovation43 of which are newcomers to the list this year. "Bain's insurgent brands list offers valuable insight into where innovative, disruptive growth is taking place within the consumer packaged goods sector," said Charlotte Apps, executive vice president of Bain's Consumer Products practice. "While the broader sector continues to grapple with stagnating volumes, limited pricing power, and consumer headwinds, these insurgent brands are unlocking incremental growth by addressing unmet consumer needs in new, authentic, and often founder-led ways. These brands provide a roadmap for sustainable growth in this evolving marketplace, and they showcase the power of compelling consumer-centric value propositions, strong brand engagement, and superior velocity on the shelf. Looking ahead, we anticipate these insurgents will continue to capture an increasing share of category growth and play a meaningful role in shaping the future of the industry." Insurgent brands accelerated their impact in 2024 by capturing an outsized, and increasing, share of incremental growth. While accounting for less than 2% of market share in the categories in which they exist, they accounted for nearly 39% of incremental category growth in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023. Insurgent brand disruption occurred across all categories: In food: these brands were responsible for more than 27% of the growth despite accounting for less than 1% of market share. Newcomers to this year's list in the food category include Cerebelly, cocojune, egglife, Mush, and Mike's Hot Honey. these brands were responsible for more than 27% of the growth despite accounting for less than 1% of market share. Newcomers to this year's list in the food category include Cerebelly, cocojune, egglife, Mush, and Mike's Hot Honey. In nonalcoholic beverages : insurgents took more than 32% of category growth while accounting for less than 3% of market share. Newcomers in this category include Bizzy Cold Brew, Counter Culture Coffee, Kuii, and Raw. : insurgents took more than 32% of category growth while accounting for less than 3% of market share. Newcomers in this category include Bizzy Cold Brew, Counter Culture Coffee, Kuii, and Raw. In personal care: insurgents held 3% of market share while taking 45% of category growth. Newcomers in this category include Curology, Eva NYC, Kitsch, and Vanicream. Insurgents achieved this outsized share of growth almost entirely through volume expansion. While price increases remained low, insurgent volumes grew close to 60% year over year in a market where overall volumes were flat. The full 2025 Insurgent Brands list is available here. Editor's note: Bain & Company defines insurgent brands as those that generate more than $25 million of annual revenue in tracked channels, have grown more than 10 times their category's average growth rate over the past five years, and maintained positive growth over the past two years while remaining independent or having been acquired by a large consumer packaged goods company within the past two years. Please direct media inquiries to Katie Ware at [email protected] or +1 646 562 8107. About Bain & Company Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world's most ambitious change makers define the future. Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today's urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry. SOURCE Bain & Company Global electronics distributor transforms infrastructure with Hitachi EverFlex Consumption Services and Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform for greater performance and sustainability, aligning costs with dynamic business needs DREIEICH, Germany and SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Vantara , the data storage, infrastructure, and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced it has helped Burklin Elektronik to consolidate its data storage platforms, simplify IT operations and improve costs dynamically with Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) and Hitachi EverFlex infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) portfolio. For more information about the Hitachi EverFlex IaaS portfolio, please visit: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/services/infrastructure-as-a-service Burklin Elektronik is a specialized distributor of high-quality and innovative electronic components from 500 leading manufacturers. Founded 70 years ago and based in Oberhaching near Munich, Germany, the company processes over 1,500 orders every day and guarantees its industrial customers, including suppliers of automation technology, IoT specialists and medical technology companies, the highest quality of service and fast delivery. Burklin Elektronik's previous storage infrastructure, which had grown over the years, was characterized by systems from different providers, which led to high complexity and rising costs. "Our data storage was fragmented, with different systems and contracts, incomplete documentation and inconsistent performance," explains Lars Fietkau, IT Coordinator at Burklin Elektronik. "Our goal was to simplify and modernize our data storage, boost performance, increase capacity and improve overall sustainability while reducing costs. We wanted more flexibility to increase and decrease storage capacities as needed, to align our costs more closely with our long-term hybrid cloud strategy." Solution: Flexible storage solution with Hitachi EverFlex IaaS After a thorough evaluation, Burklin Elektronik opted for the Hitachi EverFlex, Infrastructure-as-a-Service services portfolio that offers maximum flexibility. The company implemented two Hitachi Vantara VSP arrays, complemented by Brocade G720 SAN switches for ultra-fast network connectivity. The infrastructure was distributed across two redundant data centers to maximize business continuity, while the VSP platform provides greater reliability and performance, including a 100% data availability guarantee. Thanks to careful planning and implementation by partner IS4IT GmbH, the migration was completed in three days - well ahead of schedule. "With Hitachi EverFlex Consumption Services, we only pay monthly for the capacity we actually use," explains Fietkau. "This gives us the flexibility to dynamically adapt our storage requirements without having to make a high initial investment." With the new storage solution, Burklin Elektronik benefits from a long-term price guarantee that makes the service agreement financially attractive. The pay-per-use model has already saved the company six-figure investment costs. At the same time, the company was able to switch to an energy-efficient all-flash configuration and modernize its backup system. The current VSP Platform also allows Burklin to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 30-40% compared to previous models. "Our backups are now faster and more reliable, which gives us more time for strategic tasks," says Fietkau. Proactive support and sustainable partnership Hitachi Vantara's proactive support and the close cooperation with IS4IT GmbH enable Burklin Elektronik to concentrate fully on its core activities. "The close partnership and continuous monitoring by Hitachi Vantara and IS4IT gives us peace of mind," adds Dennis Tullney, Strategic IT Manager at Burklin Elektronik. "Availability is our top priority and Hitachi Vantara helps us to provide our customers with a seamless and reliable experience - a key competitive advantage in a dynamic market." "In view of the continuing rapid growth in data volumes and new technologies such as AI, high-performance storage is becoming increasingly important. The cloud is one approach but is not suitable for all data for cost and data protection reasons. With our VSP Platform and EverFlex IaaS portfolio, we are working with our customers to bring a cloud-like approach to their own data centers," says Petra-Maria Grohs, Sales VP and Managing Director Germany, Hitachi Vantara. "With its revamped storage infrastructure, Burklin Elektronik is now ideally equipped for all current and future requirements and can focus on further expanding its competitive advantage." For more information about EverFlex and VSP One, please visit our website: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/services/infrastructure-as-a-service and https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/products/storage-platforms/data-platform. Additional Resources About Hitachi Vantara Hitachi Vantara is changing the way data drives innovation. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, Hitachi Vantara provides the data foundation that innovation leaders around the world rely on. With data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps its customers lay the foundation for sustainable business growth. To learn more, visit www.hitachivantara.com. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi is driving the social innovation business and creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve the challenges of customers and society with Lumada solutions that utilize IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates in three business areas "Digital Systems & Services" - supporting the digital transformation of our customers; "Green Energy & Mobility" - contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and rail systems; and "Connective Industries" - connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions for various industries. Driven by Digital, Green and Innovation, we strive for growth through co-development with our customers. The company's consolidated revenue for fiscal 2023 (ending March 31, 2024) was 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information about Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com. HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks and company names are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Hitachi Vantara LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications are now available for California Credit Union's Summer Internship Program for college students. Now in its fourth year, the program offers paid internships to provide students with professional work experience and mentoring in multiple areas throughout the organization, including opportunities in the Accounting, Electronic Services, Human Resources and Treasury & Finance departments. "An important part of our educational support initiatives is providing hands-on work experience and mentoring local students to help open doors to a future career," said California Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "Our highly successful Summer Internship Program integrates students into teams across the credit union so they can apply what they learn in the classroom to a hands-on setting in the business world." College students can learn more and apply for the internships through the credit union's website. The California Credit Union internships will provide students with practical work experience within and across multiple departments, leadership development skills, and school-to-career readiness, with direct training and mentoring with managers. All internships will be paid, full-time (30 40 hours/week) opportunities at the credit union's Glendale headquarters office from June 16th through August 15th. About California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of $5 billion, approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. Named a Forbes Best-In-State Credit Union in 2024, California Credit Union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @CaliforniaCreditUnion. SOURCE California Credit Union Understanding how the parasites operate gives important insight into drug development for needed novel therapies PHILADELPHIA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Antimalarial drug resistance is a pressing issue in combating the spread of malaria worldwide. In a new study, researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) discovered a key process where malarial parasites take up a human blood cell enzyme, which could provide a new approach for antimalarial treatment. The findings, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide new insights into how to design drugs that more effectively treat patients affected by this devastating infectious disease. Malaria Parasite, the malaria-infected red blood cells. T-Cells killing ring-form trophozoites of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum the causative agent of tropical disease 3d rendering Despite many drugs and preventive strategies used to treat or halt the spread of malaria, the life-threatening disease continues to infect more than 250 million people each year, resulting in more than 600,000 deaths, the majority of which occur in children under the age of 5. Compounding this challenge, malarial parasites have become resistant to nearly every available antimalarial treatment. While a class of drugs known as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) has helped save millions of lives that would have otherwise been claimed by malaria, ACT-resistant strains of malaria have been found in Southeast Asia and Africa. New treatment strategies are urgently needed to combat this disease. Many potential drugs fail in development because they are poorly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract or absorbed and removed from the body too rapidly. However, one promising strategy for drug development is the use of prodrugs, which are used to improve a drug's ability to be absorbed or reach its target. Prodrugs work like a Trojan horse in that they are able to offer a more targeted attack against infections and diseases once they break through and reach the appropriate tissues or cells. However, prodrugs are inactive and must be activated, typically by an enzyme, to achieve their desired effect. Researchers at CHOP set out to understand how antimalarial prodrugs are activated, in the hopes of identifying a way to more effectively treat malaria. "Prodrugging is an enticing strategy because these drugs have methods for getting through the layers of protection offered by membranes of the parasite and host cells, as well as a drug 'warhead' that effectively kills the parasite," said senior study author Audrey R. Odom-John, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at CHOP. "We've been working on prodrugs that might be effective for treating malaria, but in doing so, we've also needed to learn what kinds of enzymes within the parasite are capable of activating the prodrug, as that information is critical to understanding the nature of the target for future antimalarial strategies." In this study, researchers found that a human enzyme, acylpeptide hydrolase (APEH), is the major activating enzyme of multiple antimalarial prodrugs known as lipophilic ester prodrugs. The APEH enzyme is normally found in red blood cells. However, in the case of malaria, the enzyme is taken into the parasite's cytoplasm where APEH retains its activity. The researchers' findings suggest that APEH activates antimalarial prodrugs within the parasite, greatly increasing the potency of the lipophilic ester prodrugs. While this finding was unexpected, the researchers note that it could help design "resistance-proof" prodrugs. Mutations in prodrug activating enzymes are a common mechanism for antimicrobial drug resistance. However, the parasite would be unable to mutate a host enzyme, decreasing the likelihood that drug resistance could develop by this mechanism. "Based on our findings, we believe that leveraging an internalized host enzyme would circumvent these issues and enabling the design of prodrugs with higher barriers to drug resistance," said first study author Sesh A. Sundararaman, MD, PhD, an attending physician with the Division of Infectious Diseases at CHOP. "This might eventually lead to the development of parasite- or bacteria-specific prodrugs that are less reliant on specific enzymes." This study was supported by the PIDS-St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Fellowship Award in Basic and Translational Science, the National Institutes of Health grants R01AI171514, R01AI123433, T32AI141393, the Doris Duke Foundation Paragon of Research Excellence Award, the Indiana Academy of Sciences Senior Research Grant and CHOP. Sundararaman et al, "Prodrug activation in malaria parasites mediated by an imported erythrocyte esterase, acylpeptide hydrolase (APEH)." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Online March 4, 2025. DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.30.610542. About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: A non-profit, charitable organization, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, the hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. The institution has a well-established history of providing advanced pediatric care close to home through its CHOP Care Network , which includes more than 50 primary care practices, specialty care and surgical centers, urgent care centers, and community hospital alliances throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Middleman Family Pavilion and its dedicated pediatric emergency department in King of Prussia. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit https://www.chop.edu. Contact: Ben Leach Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (609) 634-7906 [email protected] SOURCE Children's Hospital of Philadelphia HONG KONG, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CNOOC Limited (the "Company", SEHK: 00883 (HKD Counter) and 80883 (RMB Counter), SSE: 600938) today announces that it has made a major breakthrough in the exploration of Paleozoic buried hills in the Beibu Gulf Basin. The Weizhou 10-5 oil and gas field is located in the Beibu Gulf of the South China Sea, with an average water depth of about 37 meters. Exploration well WZ10-5-1Sa encountered an oil and gas pay zone of 283 meters, with a total drilled depth of approximately 4,840 meters. The test results indicate that the well produces approximately 13.2 million cubic feet of natural gas and about 800 barrels of crude oil per day. It marks a major breakthrough in natural gas exploration in the granite buried hills in the Beibu Gulf Basin. Mr. Xu Changgui, the Chief Geologist of the Company, said, "The Weixinan Sag in the Beibu Gulf Basin is one of the most explored sags offshore China. In recent years, the Company has been researching on the reservoir formation theories of the complex buried hills and the relevant technologies needed. The breakthrough in the exploration of Paleozoic granite buried hills reveals the vast exploration prospects of the buried hills in the Beibu Gulf Basin. It will also provide guidance for exploration in similar fields offshore China." Mr. Zhou Xinhuai, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said, "In recent years, the Company has made large and medium-sized oil and gas discoveries in various types of buried hills offshore China, which have been further expanding the Company's oil and gas resource base. The discovery in the Beibu Gulf Basin will help to stabilize energy supply and continuously contribute to the economic and social development." End Notes to Editors: More information about the Company is available at http://www.cnoocltd.com. *** *** *** *** This press release includes forward looking information, including statements regarding the likely future developments in the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, such as expected future events, business prospects or financial results. The words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company as of this date in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the Company currently believes are appropriate under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will meet the current expectations and predictions of the Company is uncertain. Actual results, performance and financial condition may differ materially from the Company's expectations, including but not limited to those associated with macro-political and economic factors, fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices, the highly competitive nature of the oil and natural gas industry, climate change and environmental policies, the Company's price forecast, mergers, acquisitions and divestments activities, HSSE and insurance policies and changes in anti-corruption, anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and corporate governance laws and regulations. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company cannot assure that the results or developments anticipated will be realised or, even if substantially realised, that they will have the expected effect on the Company, its business or operations. *** *** *** *** For further enquiries, please contact: Ms. Cui Liu Media & Public Relations CNOOC Limited Tel: +86-10-8452-6641 Fax: +86-10-8452-1441 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Bunny Lee Porda Havas International Finance Communications Group Tel: +852 3150 6707 Fax: +852 3150 6728 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE CNOOC Limited Bipartisan event draws leaders from Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) and others ATLANTA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) hosted its 2nd annual "Building Bridges: Connecting Communities" event at the Georgia State Capitol on February 28, 2025, in honor of Black History Month. The gathering recognized the lasting impact of the Black community's contributions to civil rights, which helped pave the way for minority communities, including Hindu Americans, to thrive in a more just and equitable America. CoHNA's celebration of Black History Month reflects both this acknowledgment and a commitment to building stronger bridges between the Hindu and Black communities through advocacy and shared civic engagement. CoHNAs Black History Month Tribute More than 40 lawmakers attended the event, which featured remarks from a number of African American legislative leaders including Senator Nikki Merritt, the chairperson of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC), and Senator Emanuel Jones, former GLBC chair. Other distinguished state legislators such as Senator Shawn Still and State Representative Todd Jones also spoke at the event. "We see this as more than just an annual eventit's an ongoing collaboration based on mutual respect," said Rajeev Menon, vice president and cofounder of CoHNA. "As Hindus we are inspired by the pathbreaking work of the Black community and look forward to working together to strengthen our communities and improve our shared future as Americans." CoHNA leaders like Pravin Patel also highlighted the importance of fostering meaningful relationships across communities. A highlight of the event was an inspiring speech by an 11th-grade Hindu American student, Sagar Patel, who spoke about the role of youth in strengthening advocacy efforts and civic engagement. "I was delighted to see leaders from various backgrounds, including Black policymakers from across the political spectrum, take part in this event. This important cross-cultural gathering underscores that Hindus have a place in Americajust as all communities do," said Patel. Young members from Hindu Yuva also participated, and the event featured the Darshana Exhibit, which provided an educational showcase of Hindu contributions to history, culture, and society. Shared History: Hindu and Black American Solidarity For over a century, key moments in history have linked Hindu philosophy, India's freedom struggle, and Black American leadership, shaping activism, spirituality, and the arts. To honor these connections, CoHNA released a special Black History Month video, highlighting the intersections between Hindu and Black communities in America, and reaffirming a shared commitment to justice, freedom, and equality. Watch the video here: CoHNA's Black History Month Tribute The enduring influence of these exchangeswhether in philosophy, activism, or cultureshows that the relationship between the Hindu American and Black American communities is more than history; it serves as the foundation for building stronger connections today. About CoHNA: CoHNA is a grassroots level advocacy and civil rights organization dedicated to improving the understanding of Hinduism in North America by working on matters related to the Hindu community and by educating the public about Hindu heritage and tradition. For more information, please visit https://cohna.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on Instagram. SOURCE Coalition of Hindus of North America Trump: Ukraine ready to come to negotiating table as soon as possible Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump announced during his address to Congress on Tuesday that he had received a message from the Ukrainian president about his readiness to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia. "Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer that his team is ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership," said the president. Trump also noted that the Ukrainian president expressed gratitude to the United States for the assistance provided and is ready to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals "at any time convenient" for the United States. "I appreciate that he sent this letter," Trump added. Before this, the US President noted that hundreds of billions of dollars were spent by the US on the war in Ukraine without any guarantees. Copado's customers can now predict deployment risks, resolve conflicts and automate quality checks with AI-powered intelligent automation powered by Agentforce CHICAGO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Copado , the leader in AI-powered DevOps for business applications, today announced it has launched DevOps Automation Agent on Salesforce's AgentExchange, a global ecosystem marketplace powered by AppExchange for leading partners building new third-party agents and agent actions for Agentforce. Copado's DevOps Automation Agent listing is currently available here and can also be found inside the Salesforce Agent Builder. Bringing more than a decade of DevOps expertise directly into the Salesforce user interface, Copado DevOps Automation Agent leverages AI to streamline the entire DevOps process and revolutionizes how teams build and deploy on the platform. The Copado DevOps Automation Agent with Agent Actions combines the capabilities of the Copado AI platform into a single, powerful solution that guides Salesforce developers and release managers through the entire software lifecycle - from planning and building to testing, releasing, and operating. It offers intelligent automation for user story creation, release management, and deployment troubleshooting, making it easier than ever to build Agentforce applications faster and with better quality. AgentExchange natively extends Agentforce with partner-built agent actions, agent templates, and partner agents that can plan and take action across multiple systems on behalf of users and businesses. AgentExchange features include: Simplified Discovery: For the first time, Salesforce customers can browse and compare partner Agentforce solutions without leaving their flow of work. Save time searching across multiple platforms and easily compare available options inside Agent Builder. Guided Exploration: On AppExchange, customers can chat with an agent to quickly identify the right agent action for their needs. The new Agentforce Explore page allows customers to search AgentExchange listings and filter by product, industry, business need, and more. Instant Expertise: Implement actions specific to your use case that partners have honed over years of experience, knowledge, and learning. With over 50 actions live and 200+ partners committed to building more solutions, you can add hundreds of industry expert-built solutions to your digital workforce. Comments on the News "At a time when organizations are struggling to balance rapid innovation with quality and compliance, Copado's DevOps Automation Agent is a force multiplier for Salesforce teams. We are providing Salesforce delivery teams direct access to a decade of DevOps expertise where they need it most," said Gloria Ramchandani , Senior Vice President of Product at Copado. "By bringing our AI-powered DevOps capabilities directly into the Salesforce UI, teams are empowered to build faster, reduce deployment errors and accelerate innovation while improving quality and productivity." As part of the broader DevOps AI evolution, Copado's DevOps Automation Agent addresses critical pain points for developers and release managers. Agent actions include: Intelligent Sprint Planning: Automatically convert requirements into structured user stories following company guidelines Automatically convert requirements into structured user stories following company guidelines Automated Release Notes: Generate comprehensive release notes instantly and troubleshoot and fix failed deployments with AI-powered insights Generate comprehensive release notes instantly and troubleshoot and fix failed deployments with AI-powered insights Test Automation: Create tests based on requirements, enabling test-driven development for all Salesforce development teams Create tests based on requirements, enabling test-driven development for all Salesforce development teams Real-time Expert Guidance: Access DevOps best practices and process optimization recommendations directly within Salesforce The Copado DevOps Automation Agent provides intelligent automation for deployments, testing and compliance checks to ensure seamless, round-the-clock Salesforce delivery, backed by real-time expert guidance on Salesforce DevOps processes and best practices. By embedding intelligent automation directly within the Salesforce interface, organizations can now accelerate innovation while maintaining the highest standards of quality and compliance. Demonstrating the company's continued investment in innovation, Copado was recently named the winner of SiliconANGLE Media's inaugural 2025 Tech Innovation CUBEd Awards in the " Most Innovative DevOps Solution " category. It was recognized as a groundbreaking solution that demonstrates significant innovation in DevOps in the age of AI. Copado Exhibiting at TDX 2025 Copado is exhibiting at booth #9, showcasing DevOps Automation Agent, as well as the company's full suite of DevOps solutions. In addition, Copado will be speaking on early adoption of AI-powered agents at the following times: Panel: Digital Labor: Lessons from Early Adopters of Agents Time: 12:301:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5 (Day 1 of TDX) Presenter: Gloria Ramchandani, Senior Vice President of Product Abstract: This panel will focus on real-world experiences from CIOs and developers implementing Agentforce. They'll share what they're learning as they adopt AI-powered agents, what's working, how it's changing the way they work, and their vision for the future. Follow Copado: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/copado-solutions-s.l/ X: https://x.com/CopadoSolutions Blog: https://www.copado.com/resources/resources-center Salesforce, Agentforce, AgentExchange, AppExchange, TDX, and others are among the trademarks of Salesforce, Inc. About Copado Copado is the leader in AI-powered DevOps for business applications. Backed by Insight Partners, Softbank, IBM, Capgemini and Salesforce Ventures, Copado revolutionizes development workflows by leveraging advanced AI capabilities to build end-to-end digital transformation for more than 1,750 global brands including Coca-Cola, Medtronic, T-Mobile and Volkswagen. Copado is proven to drive 20X more frequent releases, 95% less downtime, 10X faster testing and 20% greater productivity. More information can be found at: http://www.copado.com . Press contact: Cathy Summers Summers PR [email protected] 415-483-0480 SOURCE Copado CordenPharma is making a record investment of >1 billion over the next 3 years in building and / or expanding small, medium, and large peptide manufacturing facilities across Europe and the US. and the US. In Switzerland , CordenPharma will invest >500m to construct a greenfield site for small to large-scale peptide development and manufacturing located within the Basel region in Muttenz. , CordenPharma will invest >500m to construct a greenfield site for small to large-scale peptide development and manufacturing located within the region in Muttenz. In its Colorado , US site, ongoing expansion will target additional large-scale peptide manufacturing capacity of existing lines as well as a greenfield construction for new production areas. BASEL, Switzerland, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following its 16 July 2024 announcement, CordenPharma is pleased to share significant progress on its growth initiatives with a >1 billion strategic investment in peptide development and manufacturing. The company's ambitious expansion plans are set to propel its Peptide Platform business beyond the 1 billion sales milestone by 2028, reinforcing CordenPharma's position as a market leader in integrated supply of small to large-scale services from APIs to Drug Products, for both Injectable and Oral Peptides. CordenPharma is excited to deliver flexible peptide manufacturing support at its state-of-the-art Greenfield site near Basel, Switzerland. Post this [Photo by CordenPharma] An aerial sketch of CordenPharmas future peptide manufacturing facility located at Getec Park in Muttenz, Switzerland. As part of this strategy, CordenPharma has finalized plans to establish a state-of-the-art peptide manufacturing facility in Switzerland located at Getec Park in Muttenz, just 8 km outside Basel a major biotech and pharma hub within Europe. The decision to locate the plant near Basel is supported by several key advantages, including: Efficient infrastructure, with existing systems for handling materials and processes that are crucial for state-of-the-art peptide manufacturing. Optimal logistics, with streamlined access to transportation networks. Established large-scale utilities already in place to support chemical manufacturing needs. Talent pool access due to close proximity to Basel , a renowned pharma and biotech hub at the crossroads of Germany , France , and Switzerland , ensuring access to highly skilled professionals. , a renowned pharma and biotech hub at the crossroads of , , and , ensuring access to highly skilled professionals. The surrounding industrial park ensures sustainable operational efficiency in a well-established manufacturing ecosystem with closed-loop energy and material cycles, as well as innovative waste-to-value streams, with a clear strategic path to net-zero. This >500 million investment will feature multiple manufacturing lines capable of supporting small, medium, and large-scale peptide production with small- to large-scale Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS) reactors for GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 peptide projects with a total SPPS reactor capacity of more than 5,000 L. The new state-of-the-art facility will feature advanced automation, cutting-edge digitalization, and innovative peptide production technologies, ensuring compliance with the most stringent regulations, including BLA requirements. With the main construction and qualification phase taking place between 2025 and 2027 and start of commercial activities to begin in the first half of 2028, the company is proud to generate over 300 new jobs, contributing to economic growth and innovation of the region. In their Boulder, Colorado US facility, both expansions to existing lines and the construction of a new greenfield production area have already begun in parallel to the Switzerland initiative. The expansion will more than double the existing SPPS reactor capacity at CordenPharma Colorado by adding an additional 25,000 L of SPPS capacity making it a total reactor capacity of >42,000 L by 2028. Once fully operational, the Switzerland site - together with the ongoing expansions and additional greenfield capacity at CordenPharma Colorado - will significantly enhance the company's production capabilities, solidifying CordenPharma's position as one of the largest peptide manufacturing partners leading the CDMO peptide space. Dr. Michael Quirmbach, President & CEO of CordenPharma Group comments: "We are excited to announce the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant just outside Basel, Switzerland, within one of the leading pharma and biotech hubs in Europe. The new facility is designed to deliver flexible and efficient peptide manufacturing to meet the growing demand of innovative peptide medicines for our customers and ultimately, patients." Judith Charpentier, Co-Head Flagship Fund and Head of Healthcare at Astorg comments: "CordenPharma's bold expansion reflects its leadership in addressing the growing demand for peptide manufacturing. As a long-term investor, we are fully committed to supporting this growth, combining industrial excellence with strategic investment to strengthen CordenPharma's position as a leading global CDMO. Ultimately, this expansion contributes to expanding access to those life-saving peptide-based medicines for patients." CordenPharma was acquired by Astorg, a leading Pan-European private equity firm, in 2022 to accelerate its development plans. With Astorg's backing and these expansions, CordenPharma is well-positioned to execute its growth strategy and further strengthen its leadership in the CDMO peptide space. About CordenPharma CordenPharma is a CDMO partner supporting biotech and pharma innovators of complex modalities in the advancement of their drug development lifecycle. Harnessing the collective expertise of the teams across its globally integrated facility network, CordenPharma provides bespoke outsourcing services spanning the complete supply chain, from early clinical-phase development to commercialization. With scientific expertise and partnership at its core, CordenPharma provides customers high-value, end-to-end services with a strategic focus on Peptides, Oligonucleotides, customized Lipid Excipients, Lipid NanoParticles (LNPs), sterile Injectables, and the extensive supply of Small Molecules (both Highly Potent and Regular Potency). The CordenPharma Group is comprised of 11 facilities across Europe and North America. In the 2024 financial year, the organization generated sales of 854 million and had over 3,000 employees. Please visit cordenpharma.com for more information I Follow CordenPharma on LinkedIn. About Astorg Astorg is a leading pan-European private equity firm with over 23 billion of assets under management. Astorg works with entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire market leading global companies headquartered in Europe or the US, providing them with the strategic guidance, governance and capital they need to achieve their growth goals. Enjoying a distinct entrepreneurial culture, a long-term shareholder perspective and a lean decision-making body, Astorg has valuable industry expertise in healthcare, software and technology, business services and technology-based industrial companies. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Astorg has offices in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt, and Milan. For more information about Astorg: www.astorg.com | Follow Astorg on LinkedIn. SOURCE CordenPharma Lawsuit alleges negligence by sewage plant operator for hundreds of violations of Clean Water Act regulations over the last several decades SAN DIEGO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of Coronado Unified School District, Frantz Law Group filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in the County of San Diego against Veolia Water North American-West, Veolia Water West Operating Services, and other operators of the South Bay International Water Treatment Plant (Plant) for repeatedly exposing its students and teachers to raw sewage and contamination in breach of their permit under the Clean Water Act. Coronado Unified contends that the defendants' ongoing negligence and conscious disregard for safety in operating the Plant has led to significant exposure to fecal bacteria, viruses, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals to its students and teachers. In addition, Coronado Unified alleges that this exposure to dangerous and deadly pathogens, toxins, sewage, and noxious odors has had serious health consequences for its students and faculty, as well as severe local environmental and ecological harm. "Coronado and the communities of the South Bay are literally sick of excuses," said James P. Frantz, CEO of Frantz Law Group, the law firm filing this complaint on behalf of Coronado Unified. "We allege that the defendants in this case have knowingly been dumping billions of gallons of raw sewage in the Tijuana estuary and on San Diego beaches with little or no regard for the effects on school districts, students, teachers, individuals, and families that are being constantly subjected to airborne pathogens and noxious odor. These are their homes and communities, not dumping grounds for dangerous untreated sewage." This lawsuit is a mass tort which allows for individualized claims, meaning each plaintiff can present their unique case, damages and circumstances. Unlike class actions, mass torts often provide more tailored compensation, as each plaintiff's injuries are assessed individually, potentially leading to higher recoveries. About Frantz Law Group Frantz Law Group is an award-winning personal injury, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, trucking litigation, mass tort, and class action law firm that has been serving clients for over 46 years. The firm has secured over three hundred multimillion-dollar individual settlements and jury verdicts, including verdicts where FLG worked with other law firms to win several multibillion-dollar settlements benefiting thousands of victims. Frantz Law Group has been ranked Tier 1 in U.S. News Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" from 2010-2025 for mass tort litigation/class actions - plaintiffs. James P. Frantz is a fellow and associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, is a 20-year Special Master appointed by the State Bar of California, and a 20-year Master of The Enright Chapter, American Inns of Court. For more information, please visit www.frantzlawgroup.com. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Frantz Law Group CHARLOTTE, N.C. , March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Ramudden Global has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Curtin Co. and Carolina Traffic Devices. This acquisition enhances Ramudden Global's leadership in road and urban safety infrastructure, broadening its reach in key markets across the Southeast U.S. "Curtin Co. and Carolina Traffic Devices are a natural fit for Ramudden Global's long-term vision, seamlessly aligning with our mission to enhance road safety solutions across North America," said Paul Radchuck, Regional President of Ramudden Global North America. From left to right: Morten Finslo, Group CEO of Ramudden Global; Bill Powell; Hans-Olov Blom; Will Curtin, Founder and CEO of Curtin Co and Carolina Traffic Devices; and Paul Radchuck, Regional President of Ramudden Global North America. (CNW Group/RSG International) Based in Charlotte, NC, Curtin Co. and Carolina Traffic Devices provide traffic control solutions for contractors and government agencies across the Southeast U.S. Their offerings include temporary barrier and impact attenuators, glare screens, barrier gates, and concrete rehab, along with portable traffic signals, message boards, and various safety products. "This partnership provides us with the resources and expertise to drive growth while staying true to our commitment to excellence and service," said Will Curtin, founder and CEO of Curtin Co. and Carolina Traffic Devices. "We are excited to join a Group that shares our values and deep commitment to its people, customers, innovation and local entrepreneurship." "The addition of Curtin Co. and Carolina Traffic Devices to our group marks a major milestone for Ramudden Global," said Morten Finslo, Group CEO of Ramudden Global. "We strengthen our presence and leadership in the U.S. Highway solutions segment, allowing us to accelerate growth and enhance safety." About Curtin Co. Curtin Co. is located in Charlotte, NC and is a full-service subcontractor participating in projects in the Heavy Highway industry in the Southeast. We specialize in installing Temporary Concrete Barrier, Temporary Impact Attenuators, Temporary Glare Screen, Quick Move Barrier, Permanent Impact Attenuators, Permanent Barrier Gates, single-faced Barrier, Shoulder Drain Installation and Concrete Rehab. Our customer base includes Bridge Contractors, Grading Contractors, Asphalt Paving Contractors, Departments of Transportation, Airports, Ports Authority & Municipalities who are in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Our goal at Curtin is to provide turn-key solutions while maintaining quality and safety in the process. About Ramudden Global: With over 5,500 employees across 13 countries, Ramudden Global is the leading full-service provider of infrastructure safety solutions. Driven by our mission - "To get people home safely every day" - we harness innovative products, digital solutions, and professional services to ensure the highest quality in every project we undertake SOURCE RSG International Customers will have expanded access to customized decarbonization and energy-efficient solutions to help meet evolving regulatory requirements MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Daikin Applied Americas today announced that it has made a majority investment in Modular Comfort Systems, a leading provider of customized HVAC solutions that supports consulting engineers, contractors, and building owners and operators in upstate New York. As New York enacts and implements new regulations focused on reducing energy use and carbon emissions, Modular Comfort Systems' expertise in designing and delivering high-efficiency systems, and Daikin's decarbonization technology and capabilities, will combine to deliver comprehensive HVAC solutions that help customers trim both their utility bills and carbon footprints. Daikin Applied + Modular Comfort Systems (PRNewsfoto/Daikin Applied) "With changing regulations on the horizon, our customers need energy-efficient, low-carbon solutions for their buildings and facilities, and we can support this growing need by investing in Modular Comfort Systems," said Yu Nishiwaki, Chief Operating Officer of Daikin Applied Americas. "Modular Comfort Systems has been a leading sales engineering firm in upstate New York for over 50 years, and their expertise has resulted in top-tier performance and efficiency for their customers. Their continued success is a testament to their abilities and we're pleased to welcome the team to the Daikin Group." In 2023, New York State codified the Climate Act into law, detailing decarbonization requirements for new buildings and accelerating the need for more sustainable and efficient HVAC solutions. The integration of Daikin Applied and Modular Comfort Systems will provide customers with end-to-end solutions to address regulations and help mitigate environmental impact. "We know the regulatory landscape in upstate New York better than anyone, and we're thrilled that joining Daikin will allow us to build out our HVAC technology and solutions to further support our customers," said Chris Miller, President of Modular Comfort Systems. "Customers can expect enhanced support and distribution capabilities, backed by Daikin's global resources to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and optimize building systems." Modular Comfort Systems has almost 75 employees across offices in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. The firm provides specialized solutions for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for commercial, institutional and industrial applications. As part of the acquisition, the Daikin Applied service technicians in the region will join the company. As Modular Comfort Systems, a member of Daikin Group, the combined team will work together to deliver a full range of HVAC solutions, including engineering services, equipment selection and startup, and systems maintenance and repair. Visit www.mcsmms.com to learn more about Modular Comfort Systems and its over 55 years of leadership in engineered HVAC solutions. For additional information on Daikin Applied, and its full range of HVAC equipment and solutions, visit www.daikinapplied.com . Also, follow the company on LinkedIn for the latest on HVAC technology, services and trends. About Daikin Applied Americas Daikin Applied, a member of Daikin Industries, Ltd., designs and manufactures advanced commercial and industrial HVAC systems for customers around the world. The company's technology and services play a vital role in creating comfortable, efficient and sustainable spaces to work and live and in delivering quality air to workers, tenants and building owners. Daikin Applied solutions are sold through a global network of dedicated sales, service and parts offices. For more information or to locate a Daikin Applied representative, visit www.daikinapplied.com or call 800-432-1342. Also, follow the company on LinkedIn for the latest on HVAC technology, services and trends. Media Contact: Aaron Parker Communications Director Daikin Applied 612-202-8774 [email protected] SOURCE Daikin Applied ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DCS Corporation and Makai LLC announced that Pele Solutions, LLC has been awarded a prime position on GSA's One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Plus (OASIS+) Small Business Multi-Agency Contract (MAC). Pele Solutions JV is an 8(a) SBA-approved mentor-protege joint venture formed in 2022 by Makai LLC and mentor firm DCS Corporation. Pele Solutions brings together the complementary capabilities of partner companies Makai LLC and DCS Corporation. Through this award, Pele Solutions JV partners Makai and DCS will provide support across three awarded domains: Management and Advisory Services, Technical and Engineering Services, Research and Development Services. "Winning OASIS+ SB is a major strategic victory for Makai and the Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO) community," commented Stephanie Hutch, Makai President and CEO. "We're thankful for the SBA Mentor-Protege program and DCS for their partnership and look forward to growth opportunities in the near future." "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our capabilities and reach through this award," said Jim Benbow, DCS Chairman and CEO. "DCS and Makai continue to be dedicated to delivering exceptional technical expertise for our customers through the Pele Solutions JV." OASIS+ is a Government-wide, multiple award, IDIQ acquisition program designed to address agencies' needs for a full range of service requirements that integrate multiple service disciplines and ancillary services/products with the flexibility for commercial and non-commercial requirements, all contract types and pricing determined at the task order-level to achieve a total solution. About Makai and DCS Makai is a Native Hawaiian 8(a) consulting and engineering company, and subsidiary of the Kekoa Foundation. DCS is an employee-owned company that offers advanced technology, engineering, and management solutions to Government agencies in the national security sector. Makai and DCS share a common drive to provide exceptional services to the Department of Defense and other customers. Contact: DCS Media, [email protected], 571-227-6000 SOURCE DCS Corporation Eight-Part Documentary Series Premieres on TaiwanPlus March 4, 2025 TAIPEI, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- TaiwanPlus is pleased to announce the global premiere of "Deep Current: Architecture of Taiwan," a new documentary series examining Taiwan's visual history through its architecture. This eight-part series, with each episode running 30 minutes, chronicles the evolution of Taiwan's identity as reflected in its built environment from the 17th century to the present. Taiwan's architectural landscape reflects a history moulded by immigration, colonization, conflict, and economic development. Taiwan's architectural landscape reflects a history moulded by immigration, colonization, conflict, and economic development. Rather than focusing solely on conventional historical narratives, "Deep Current" adopts a distinctive method, employing the design, style, and detailing of Taiwan's most prominent buildings to illuminate the historical currents, conflicts, and evolutions that have propelled the nation's transition from a feudal structure to a contemporary market economy. "Deep Current" illuminates the obscured narratives residing within Taiwan's iconic landmarks. Notable features include: Taipei Guest House Constructed by the Japanese colonial administration to serve as a venue for the reception of foreign dignitaries, the Taipei Guest House, a palatial edifice in the European style, continues to be a repository of exceptional Victorian tiles, comparable in quality to the most distinguished examples found in the United Kingdom. Zhongshan Hall Zhongshan Hall, Taiwan's inaugural multi-purpose public complex, was conceived to serve the general populace rather than solely the governing elite. Its design incorporated a theater, concert hall, restaurant, and gallery. Evidence of the original foot-washing facilities at its entrance remain visible to this day. Taipei 101 Taipei 101, initially considered a challenging endeavor given Taiwan's propensity for typhoons and earthquakes, was conceived as a representation of the nation's economic prowess. Upon its completion in 2004, it held the distinction of being the world's tallest building, pioneering advancements in structural engineering that have subsequently been implemented internationally. These architectural landmarks are more than just physical structuresthey serve as historical records, encapsulating the societal shifts, cultural influences, and economic transformations that have shaped Taiwan over centuries. "Deep Current: Architecture of Taiwan" examines how each building reflects the political and social dynamics of its time, ultimately offering viewers a deeper understanding of Taiwan's evolving identity. TaiwanPlus CEO Michael Yu emphasized the significance of this series, stating, "The diversity of Taiwan's architectural landscape is unique in the world. This series is the first to explore Taiwan's complex history through its landmarks, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in how Taiwan has been built over time." The first episode of "Deep Current: Architecture of Taiwan" premieres on March 4, 2025, on the TaiwanPlus website and TaiwanPlus Docs YouTube channel, with new episodes released weekly. About TaiwanPlus TaiwanPlus is the premier global provider of English-language news and infotainment from Taiwan offering trustworthy news coverage, informative perspectives on cross-strait relations, plus inspiring lifestyle content focusing on food, travel and entertainment. Proud to be based in one of Asia's most vibrant democracies, our diverse team of journalists and producers is committed to delivering independent news and stories that inform, enlighten and inspire audiences worldwide. Get a global perspective backed by a Taiwanese point of view on our website, mobile app, TV channel and various social media channels. SOURCE TaiwanPlus CHICAGO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Exchange is pleased to share that Founder and CEO, Joe Cecala, was recently featured on Cheddar News, providing insights into the challenges facing most companies in raising capital, the significance of the growing number of exchanges, and the legislative work being done to help the goals of Dream Exchange ahead of its official launch. The appearance is a significant testament to being "The People's Exchange" as Dream Exchange is building a new way for small and mid-size businesses to thrive in accessing capital not easily available to them in the current market landscape. During his conversation with Dave Briggs, Mr. Cecala explained the unintended consequences of financial technology over the years that ultimately impacted small IPOs. He emphasized the need for a new model designed specifically to help small and mid-sized businesses secure vital fundingan initiative that Cecala described as "restoring the onramp to the IPO marketplace for the small capital (small-cap) companies." Mr. Cecala also highlighted the substantial backing Dream Exchange has received from individual investors who share the vision of an efficient public market where smaller businesses have an equal chance and are granted the same opportunities for growth and success as large companies. Mr. Cecala discussed how the small-cap IPO market has shrunken with the advent of high speed electronic trading, leaving these small-cap companies out of the public marketplace. Mr. Cecala stated that the Dream Exchange's intention is to restore the ability of these small-cap companies to return to public market by utilizing the Main Street Growth Act (MSGA), which allows for the creation of a new type of exchange, called a venture exchange, while protecting both the small-cap investor and the small-cap companies. "Appearing on Cheddar News was an opportunity to amplify our goal. We know the struggles of the underserved marketplace and we intend to change that," said Joe Cecala, Founder and CEO of Dream Exchange. As Dream Exchange moves toward its official launch, its message remains clear creating a marketplace that opens the playing field providing opportunity for businesses to access growth capital in a way never before possible. About Dream Exchange The Dream Exchange has formally filed its Form 1 application with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to become the first minority-controlled company, whose common stock is primarily owned by individuals (the "People's Exchange"), to operate a licensed stock exchange in the history of the United States, which is in the process of being noticed to the public via the Federal Register. It is presently preparing its operations for when it receives approval to become a registered stock exchange, facilitating the trading of national market system ("NMS") stocks. Dream Exchange is also planning for its future, championing the creation of a new type of stock exchange called a venture exchange, which will list and trade the securities of early-stage small and mid-sized companies, allowing them increased access to the public markets. Visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn for more. MEDIA CONTACT Jane Hayton Chief Public Officer (312) 882-2691 SOURCE Dream Exchange HOOVER, Ala., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclipse Corporation is stepping into 2025 with a renewed focus on innovation, customer engagement, and industry leadership. With the launch of its newly redesigned website, www.eclipsecorp.us, the company is making it easier than ever for businesses to discover, explore, and implement advanced document generation solutions. The new site features a modern design, clearer messaging, and improved navigation ensuring an intuitive experience for prospects and customers alike. "This site reflects where Eclipse is headedproviding businesses with smarter, more efficient ways to generate and manage mission-critical documents," said Marti Rodda, Marketing Manager at Eclipse Corporation. Engaging with Industry Leaders in 2025 Eclipse Corporation is also gearing up for an active year in the industry, with plans to attend and showcase its solutions at several key events throughout 2025, including: DynamicsCon 2025 May 1316, 2025 , at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Chicago, IL. Hosted by the Dynamics User Group, this premier event gathers Microsoft Dynamics 365, Dynamics GP, and Power Platform professionals for unparalleled learning and networking. Eclipse Corporation will be at booth #218! , at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Hosted by the Dynamics User Group, this premier event gathers Microsoft Dynamics 365, Dynamics GP, and Power Platform professionals for unparalleled learning and networking. Eclipse Corporation will be at booth #218! BLUEPRINT 4D 2025 June 913, 2025 , at The Venetian in Las Vegas, NV. Hosted by Quest Oracle Community, this event brings together Oracle users and industry leaders to explore the latest advancements, share knowledge, and build meaningful connections. Eclipse Corporation will be at booth #321! , at The Venetian in Hosted by Quest Oracle Community, this event brings together Oracle users and industry leaders to explore the latest advancements, share knowledge, and build meaningful connections. Eclipse Corporation will be at booth #321! INFOCUS 2025 September 911, 2025, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, CO. This premier event, hosted by Quest Oracle Community, brings together JD Edwards users and experts for three days of in-depth learning, networking, and innovation. Looking Ahead With a fresh digital presence and an active event schedule, Eclipse Corporation is positioned for a strong year of growth and engagement. The company remains committed to helping businesses streamline document processes and drive efficiency. For more information, visit www.eclipsecorp.us or connect with us at an upcoming event. About Eclipse Corporation Eclipse Corporation provides enterprise document generation solutions, equipping businesses with powerful tools to create, manage, and deliver critical communications. With a focus on innovation and customer success, Eclipse helps companies streamline and improve document accuracy across industries. SOURCE Eclipse Corporation VANCOUVER, BC, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - First Mining Gold Corp. ("First Mining" or the "Company") (TSX: FF) (OTCQX: FFMGF) (FRANKFURT: FMG) is pleased to announce its 2025 exploration programs at the Duparquet Gold Project ("Duparquet Project" or the "Project") located in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada. The 2025 program at the Duparquet Project will be the largest exploration drill program undertaken by the Company since acquiring full ownership of the Project in 2022. First Mining will aim to complete an approximate 18,000 m of exploration drilling this year, focusing on advancing priority targets that are aligned to resource growth potential which will further unlock an important regional gold endowment supportive of future development optionality at the Duparquet Project. The program is built upon key target centres that the Company has previously identified and significantly de-risked, for an expansion of internal successes and recent discoveries while also pursuing new regional exploration opportunities. The Company commenced its maiden drill program at the Duparquet Project in May 2023. Over the last two years, First Mining has completed approximately 20,000 m of exploration drilling combined with significant updated geoscience modelling and targeting. The exploration strategy continues to be guided by further advancing resource confidence, as well as developing extension and discovery-level targets spanning the approximately 5,800 hectare mineral tenure which covers a 19 km strike length of the highly prospective Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone ("DPFZ"). Initial drill rig mobilization to the property will commence during the first week of March 2025. "We are excited to embark on a new exploration program that will almost double the amount of drilling completed to date since First Mining acquired the Duparquet Project in 2022," stated Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining. "In addition to the 20,000 m of drilling First Mining has completed, the Company inherited 270,000 m of historical drilling at the Project that provides a strong foundation for our understanding of the deposit. We are keen to further advance upon a number of significant exploration opportunities at Duparquet and are extremely excited about potential new catalysts for growth for this important project located in the heart of the Abitibi gold region." Highlights from the last three phases of drilling programs include the unlocking of new discovery zones at Miroir, Aiguille (2024) and Buzz (2023), successfully demonstrating resource extensional targets along strike and at depth (Valentre, North Zone, DCD and East Extension), as well as delineating higher-grade zones within key mineralization areas (CDHG, Valentre and North Zone) (see Figure 1, Figure 2 and Table 1 for assay results). In addition, new favourable host lithologies and structures were identified, with significant results returned within mafic volcanic units to the north of the main resource at the North Zone and Miroir targets, and similarly from the south at the Buzz and Aiguille targets, which are hosted in brecciated units in contact with sediments. The 2025 exploration drilling program and target selection is supported by a robust geoscience foundation and a comprehensive target catalogue. This framework has been refined through two years of exploration activities, including a property-wide, high-resolution airborne geophysical and LiDAR survey. Additionally, a two-phase 3D Leapfrog geological model update was completed, integrating key geological features across the entire mineral tenure. The Company also conducted two summer field prospecting and mapping campaigns to further advance and refine regional targets. The exploration program will commence in March 2025 with the Phase 3B winter program, starting with one drill rig and targeting approximately 3,000 m of drilling. The first target of the program will be at the recent discovery zone, Miroir, after which further extensional opportunities at the Central Duparquet-Valentre-Dumico ("CVD") and East Extension ("EEXT") targets will be drill tested, concluding with the drill testing of a regional exploration target. The Company will aim to bring on a second drill rig in Q2 2025 for the Phase 4 program which will be focused on further advancing select targets, namely the North Zone, Buzz, Miroir, Aiguille, and South Zone, and on select resource growth as well as regional targets for an additional forecasted 15,000 metres of exploration drilling for the year. The 2025 exploration outlook for the Company is to continue to demonstrate that the Duparquet Project has significant exploration potential and that a geoscience systems approach to exploration strategy execution can unlock further value for the Project, which is underpinned by a meaningful resource foundation. Table 1: Highlights from Previously Disclosed Exploration Drill Results from the Duparquet Gold Project at Select Targets that will be the Focus for the 2025 Drill Program Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Grade (Au g/t) Target DUP24-048 6.75 26.1 19.35 3.12 Miroir DUP24-048 inc. 15.5 25.1 9.6 5.47 Miroir DUP24-048 inc. 22.1 25.1 3.0 11.26 Miroir DUP24-044 545.9 549.0 3.1 8.99 Aiguille DUP24-044 inc. 548.0 549.0 1.0 15.50 Aiguille DUP24-036 215.20 225.40 10.20 3.27 Valentre DUP24-036 inc. 220.50 225.40 4.90 5.23 Valentre DUP24-035 157.30 160.50 3.20 4.14 Valentre DUP24-035 inc. 159.40 160.00 0.60 9.42 Valentre DUP24-026 163.00 171.70 8.70 3.98 Valentre DUP24-024 448.4 453.7 5.3 10.67 North Zone DUP24-024 476.0 485.0 9.0 6.63 North Zone DUP24-024 488.5 522.0 33.5 3.04 North Zone DUP24-024 534.0 567.0 33.0 5.97 North Zone DUP23-008 243 254 11 2.83 CDHG Zone DUP23-005 306 312.15 6.15 2.73 CDHG Zone DUP23-002 450.8 455.4 4.60 6.52 Buzz DUP23-002 inc. 452.6 454.4 1.80 12.82 Buzz DUP23-002 inc. 453.5 454.4 0.90 18.60 Buzz DUP23-002 582.0 592.4 10.40 1.19 Buzz DUP23-002 inc. 587.8 588.5 0.70 3.97 Buzz 2025 Exploration Drilling Focus The 2025 exploration programs at the Duparquet Project will be focused on further defining and characterizing the controls on mineralization, as well as drill testing the extent of the mineralization at the newly discovered Miroir and Aiguille targets and further advancing and testing up to four resource expansion targets at depth and along strike. The First Mining exploration teams have been focusing on updating target models with data from the 2024 drilling and field programs, and by integrating the latest results into the multi-layered geoscience data model, have further delineated key zones for resource expansion and discovery potential. The North Zone is a priority drilling area for the Company, and the aim is to target higher-grade zones at depth and below the existing mineral resource (Figure 3). The North Zone returned multiple significant intercepts in drill hole DUP24-024 (see Table 1) and this hole, as well as subsequent holes drilled in 2024, supports and demonstrates that there is a secondary higher-grade control on the mineralization on the northern contact of the main deposit which will be the targeting priority for depth extension targets. The CVD target area has evolved significantly over the last two years of drilling and the Company has drill tested a 175 m strike target (Valentre) and demonstrated the continuity in mineralization with 142 unique mineralized intercepts in 16 drill holes. The focus of the 2025 follow-up programs at the CVD area is to extend the mineralization at depth, drill test the higher-grade zones delineated and ensure the target area is drilled to a confidence level sufficient for incorporation into a future resource model update (Figure 4). Final Disclosure of 2024 Assay Results The final assay results from the remaining three drill holes of the 2024 program are listed in Table 2, with drill hole location details presented in Table 3. The Donchester Central Duparquet Zone ("DCD") drilling strategy was focused on potential resource expansion along strike towards the eastern edge of the North and South Zones. Gold mineralization encountered at the DCD Zone consists of brecciated silica-altered basalt units, with up to 5% fine-grained to very fine-grained disseminated pyrite mineralization. The EEXT drilling strategy was focused on potential resource expansion along the eastern strike extent of the historical Dumico resource area. The EEXT drilling intersected gold mineralization hosted within silica- and sericite-altered rhyolite units, with up to 5% fine-grained to medium-grained disseminated pyrite and stringers of quartz carbonate veining. The exploration drilling at the DCD and EEXT Zones was successful in intersecting mineralization along strike of the existing mineral resource. Follow-up exploration along these target zones will aim to further validate and delineate the controls on the mineralization and results from the recent drilling of these and other targets on the property will be incorporated into an updated target model to vector towards broader and higher-grade gold zones. Table 2: Remaining Assay Results from 2024 Phase 3 Drill Program Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Grade (Au g/t) Target DUP24-042 68.4 70.0 1.6 1.58 DCD DUP24-042 92.0 93.0 1.0 0.50 DUP24-042 122.0 127.2 5.2 4.02 DUP24-042 135.5 136.2 0.7 0.55 DUP24-045 188.85 190.0 1.15 11.07 DCD DUP24-045 213.35 214.15 0.8 2.13 DUP24-045 252.8 254.05 1.25 1.55 DUP24-045 262.3 263.0 0.7 0.50 DUP24-045 273.0 274.0 1.0 0.88 DUP24-045 276.8 277.55 0.75 0.55 DUP24-046 136.7 137.45 0.75 0.53 East Extension DUP24-046 165.4 169.0 3.6 0.51 DUP24-046 183.8 185.65 1.85 2.49 DUP24-046 194.25 197.75 3.5 0.98 DUP24-046 200.0 201.0 1.0 0.70 DUP24-046 206.0 207.0 1.0 0.94 DUP24-046 210.0 212.0 2.0 5.61 DUP24-046 inc. 210.0 211.0 1.0 9.95 DUP24-046 217.0 219.85 2.85 0.84 DUP24-046 228.5 229.25 0.75 0.49 DUP24-046 233.8 234.8 1.0 0.68 *Reported intervals are drilled core lengths (true widths are estimated at 75-85% of the core length interval; assay values are uncut) Table 3: 2024 Phase 3 Drill Hole Locations, DCD and EEXT Targets Hole ID Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) Easting Northing DUP24-042 170 -55 198 632871 5374214 DUP24-045 180 -63 279 632756 5374263 DUP24-046 180 -47 249 634347 5374018 Note: Collar coordinates in UTM NAD 83 z17 About the Duparquet Gold Project The Duparquet Project is geologically situated in the southern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and is geographically located approximately 50 km north of the city of Rouyn-Noranda. The Project benefits from easy access and proximity to an existing workforce and infrastructure, including road, rail and hydroelectric grid power. The Duparquet Project currently hosts an NI 43-101 compliant gold resource of 3.44 million ounces in the Measured & Indicated category, grading 1.55 g/t Au, and an additional 2.64 million ounces in the Inferred category, grading 1.62 g/t Au. First Mining completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment1 ("PEA") on the Project in 2023 (see news releases dated September 7, 2023 and October 23, 2023). The Duparquet Project totals approximately 5,800 hectares focused on an area of 19 km of strike length along the prolific Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone, along with numerous mineralized splays and influential secondary lineaments. The Duparquet Project includes the past-producing Beattie, Donchester and Duquesne mines as well as the Central Duparquet, Dumico and Pitt Gold deposits. 1 Further details on the Duparquet PEA can be found in the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report: Preliminary Economic Assessment, Duparquet Gold Project, Quebec, Canada" dated October 20, 2023, which was prepared for First Mining by G Mining Services Inc. in accordance with NI 43-101 and is available under First Mining's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca Analytical Laboratory and QA/QC Procedures All sampling completed by First Mining within its exploration programs is subject to a Company standard of internal quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC) programs which include the insertion of certified reference materials, blank materials and a level of duplicate analysis. Core samples from the 2024 drilling program at Duparquet were sent to AGAT Laboratories, with sample preparation in Val d'Or and analysis in Thunder Bay, where they were processed for gold analysis by 50 gram fire assay with an atomic absorption finish. Samples from selected holes were sent to AGAT Laboratories in Calgary, Alberta, for multi-element analysis (including silver) by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) method with a four acid digest. AGAT Laboratories systems conform to requirements of ISO/IEC Standard 17025 guidelines and meets assay requirements outlined for NI 43-101. Qualified Person James Maxwell, P.Geo., VP, Exploration and Project Operations for First Mining, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release. About First Mining Gold Corp. First Mining is a gold developer advancing two of the largest gold projects in Canada, the Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario, where we have commenced a Feasibility Study and permitting activities are on-going with a final Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Assessment for the project submitted in November 2024, and the Duparquet Gold Project in Quebec, a PEA-stage development project located on the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone in the prolific Abitibi region. First Mining also owns the Cameron Gold Project in Ontario and a portfolio of gold project interests including the Pickle Crow Gold Project (being advanced in partnership with Firefly Metals Ltd.) and the Hope Brook Gold Project (being advanced in partnership with Big Ridge Gold Corp.). First Mining was established in 2015 by Mr. Keith Neumeyer, founding President and CEO of First Majestic Silver Corp. ON BEHALF OF FIRST MINING GOLD CORP. Daniel W. Wilton Chief Executive Officer and Director Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "opportunities", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events. All forward-looking statements are based on First Mining's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Such factors include, without limitation the Company's business, operations and financial condition potentially being materially adversely affected by the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises, and by reactions by government and private actors to such outbreaks; risks to employee health and safety as a result of the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises, that may result in a slowdown or temporary suspension of operations at some or all of the Company's mineral properties as well as its head office; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities, indigenous populations and other stakeholders; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; title to properties.; and the additional risks described in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on EDGAR. First Mining cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to First Mining, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. First Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law. Cautionary Note to United States Investors The Company is a "foreign private issuer" as defined in Rule 3b-4 under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is eligible to rely upon the Canada-U.S. Multi-Jurisdictional Disclosure System, and is therefore permitted to prepare the technical information contained herein in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of the securities laws currently in effect in the United States. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards. Technical disclosure contained in this news release has not been prepared in accordance with the requirements of United States securities laws and uses terms that comply with reporting standards in Canada with certain estimates prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning the issuer's material mineral projects. SOURCE First Mining Gold Corp. NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on April 3-4. The corresponding announcement was made by the press service of NATO headquarters on Wednesday. Allied Foreign Affairs Ministers will meet at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 3-4 April 2025. The meetings will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, the message reads. SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage is now accepting nominations for its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award as well as contributions to its industry Timeline. FMS will be held Tuesday-Thursday, August 5-7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California. The FMS Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates people who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and have thus had a major impact on the memory and storage industry. Since its inception in 2011, this award has honored 23 visionaries whose groundbreaking work has included one or more of the following: Founding a leading memory or storage company Driving the adoption of initiatives and/or standards in the memory and storage industries Bringing memory or storage to a new application, including supplanting older technologies Demonstrating exceptional leadership, including defining new architectures Nominations for this distinguished industry recognition are being accepted through Friday, March 21. Full details about past recipients and the nomination process are available on the FMS website. FMS is also seeking contributions to expand its comprehensive Timeline, which chronicles advances in memory and storage from the 1950s through today's cutting-edge 3D flash, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), key industry standards, and novel memory applications. The FMS Timeline on our website serves as a vital historical record of the industry's evolution. Researchers and industry professionals are invited to submit new entries highlighting significant products and innovations from both commercial and academic sectors by Friday, June 6 using the FMS Timeline Submission Form. About FMS: The Future of Memory and Storage FMS, produced by Conference ConCepts, is the world's largest conference and exhibition featuring the trends, innovations, and influencers driving the multi-billion-dollar high-speed memory, flash, and storage markets. FMS showcases memory and storage technologies as well as applications within AI, high-performance computing, the cloud, and mobile and embedded systems as driven by the leading vendors and many innovative startups. FMS brings together professionals, analysts, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends and innovations in memory and storage. Press Contact: Michelle Suzuki 310-930-6655 SOURCE FMS: The Future of Memory and Storage SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- aytm, the leading agile consumer insights platform for some of the world's most notable consumer brands, CPG companies, and creative agencies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Glenn Fleischman as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). In this new role, Fleischman will spearhead aytm's revenue strategy, driving growth and solidifying the company's status as a leader in agile market research. Glenn Fleischman Fleischman brings an impressive track record in revenue leadership and deep expertise in scaling businesses, optimizing sales operations, and team development. His strategic vision and leadership will further strengthen aytm's ability to empower brands with fast, reliable, and innovative consumer insights. "We're thrilled to welcome Glenn to aytm," said Shanon Adams, President and COO of aytm. "His experience and enthusiasm for building high-performing teams align perfectly with our mission to advance understanding and revolutionize market research. As we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible, Glenn's leadership will be instrumental in shaping our next chapter." Fleischman joins aytm at an exciting time, as the company continues to expand its offerings and deliver cutting-edge AI-powered research solutions. His expertise in revenue management, expansion strategies, and strategic planning will further accelerate aytm's momentum in the industry. "I'm incredibly excited to be joining aytm and working alongside such a talented team," said Glenn Fleischman. "I look forward to leveraging our AI investments to scale and elevate our entire customer journey, leading to continued growth and more value for our customers." About aytm Driven to deliver true insights ownership, aytm empowers brands to connect with consumers, iterate quickly, and get successful ideas to market faster. Researchers can finally satisfy their curiosity with aytm's automated insights platform, combining access to 100 million+ consumers, a predictive sample engine, an adaptive survey editor, and a comprehensive insights and analysis dashboard designed to bring consumer opinions and behaviors to life. By partnering with aytm, teams can harness powerful automated solutions to quickly optimize products, positioning, and concepts with actionable data. The service team at aytm can also provide support at every level, from full-service expertise to purpose-built solutions designed by expert researchers and statisticians. For more information about aytm and its leadership team, visit aytm.com . Media Contact: Jessica Glace [email protected] SOURCE aytm AUSTIN, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new industry report released today by Growth Acceleration Partners reveals that the vast majority of businesses (92%) continue to rely on outdated technologies such as Visual Basic 6.0, VB.NET, PowerBuilder, Clarion and Classic ASP despite the growing security risks and maintenance challenges these legacy systems present. Growth Acceleration Partners Report Reveals 92% of Organizations Still Using Legacy Technologies Despite Modernization Needs The comprehensive "2025 State of Legacy Development & Modernization" report provides a data-driven analysis of the current legacy technology landscape, highlighting both the significant challenges organizations face and the strategic opportunities for modernization. Key Findings: 71% of respondents cite lack of time as the primary factor preventing them from modernizing their legacy applications cite lack of time as the primary factor preventing them from modernizing their legacy applications 41% of organizations plan to modernize their legacy applications within the next 12 months plan to modernize their legacy applications within the next 12 months 60% of respondents identified web technologies as their top priority for future development roadmaps identified web technologies as their top priority for future development roadmaps 57% of businesses ranked cloud technologies among their top two priorities for tech infrastructure ranked cloud technologies among their top two priorities for tech infrastructure The most popular web frameworks among respondents are Angular (38%), React (37%), and Blazor (32%) "Legacy modernization is no longer a question of if, but how," said Darryl Worsham, general manager of the Modernization business unit at GAP. "Our survey confirms what IT leaders and business decision-makers already know: modernization is a priority, but executing it efficiently is the real challenge." The report also highlights the hidden costs of maintaining legacy systems, including security vulnerabilities, compliance risks, and operational inefficiencies. With 68% of companies experiencing security breaches tied to legacy software, the risks of delaying modernization continue to mount. Organizations looking to modernize face three primary challenges: time investment, modernization costs, and resource constraints. However, the report emphasizes that with the right strategic approachincluding thorough project assessment, clear transformation strategy, and focus on security and user adoptioncompanies can navigate modernization successfully. As businesses increasingly prioritize web and cloud technologies, the report suggests that modernization can be achieved without being disruptive or cost-prohibitive through automation and expertise. The full report, which includes detailed analysis of modernization strategies and technologies, is available at https://www.mobilize.net/resources/reports/2025-state-of-legacy-code-report. About Growth Acceleration Partners At GAP, we consult, design, build, and modernize revenue-generating software and data engineering solutions for our clients. With modernization services and AI tools, we help businesses achieve a competitive advantage through technology. Learn more at www.WeAreGAP.com. Contact: Dee Dee Walsh [email protected] 425-609-8458 SOURCE Growth Acceleration Partners BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As China continues to be a major outbound travel market for Spain, adapting to changing consumer preferences is crucial for the tourism industry. In 2025, key trends shaping Chinese tourism include deseasonalisation, where destinations aim to attract visitors during off-peak times, and decentralisation, promoting exploration beyond major cities. Additionally, tourists are seeking longer stays for more immersive cultural and luxury experiences. Lisardo Moran, CEO of the Public Entity for the Tourism Management and Sports of Andalucia and Wu Hao, VP of Consumer Cloud Service Global Ecosystem Development & Sales, HUAWEI Consumer BG, during the MOU ceremony. Hector Coronel, Tourism Managing Director of Madrid City Council and Wu Hao, VP of Consumer Cloud Service Global Ecosystem Development & Sales, HUAWEI Consumer BG, During the MOU ceremony. To tap into this market, HUAWEI Mobile Services, through its Petal Ads platform, offers businesses valuable data-driven insights, helping them understand and engage Chinese tourists by studying their preferences and behaviours in real time. HUAWEI Mobile Services' Commitment to Tourism Industry With the signing of two Memorandum Of Understanding (MOUs) at MWC 2025, HUAWEI Mobile Services has strengthened its presence in the tourism industry in Spain by partnering with the Ministry Of Tourism and Foreign Affairs of the Regional Government of Andalucia and Madrid City Council Tourism, laying the groundwork for innovation and a stronger economic impact for the tourism sector. "We are excited to join forces with Turismo Andalucia and Madrid City Council Tourism to enhance the premium travel experience in Spain," said Mr Shan Xuefeng, Management Director of Consumer Cloud Service Europe Ecosystem Development & Sales, HUAWEI Consumer BG. "By combining our expertise in digital solutions with their commitment to tourism development, we look forward to a smarter, more innovative and sustainable tourism ecosystem that will provide Chinese travellers with an unforgettable experience." MOU Solidifies Continued Collaboration to Establish Andalucia as a Top European Destination. This MOU further deepens the partnership between Turismo Andalucia and HUAWEI Mobile Services. Together, they will continue to craft powerful co-marketing initiatives and broaden their partnership efforts in 2025 and beyond. Arturo Bernal, Minister of Tourism and Foreign Andalusia of the Junta de Andalucia, considered that this collaboration "will contribute to improve our competitive position to face the challenge of the Chinese market," an issuer in which, due to its size, "our promotion must be based on business intelligence and the search for allies such as Huawei, which represents a brand of great prestige for the Chinese population." By embracing marketing advancements, this partnership will harness the power of Huawei's leading advertising platform, Petal Ads. HUAWEI Mobile Services and Madrid Partner to Enhance Chinese Travelers' Experience. With Chinese tourists representing a rapidly growing segment of Madrid's inbound travel market, growing by 74.2% in 2024 compared to the previous year this partnership is set to further capitalise on this momentum and transform how Chinese travellers explore Madrid, one of the most attractive destinations in the world. HUAWEI Mobile Services has signed an MOU with Madrid City Council Tourism to enhance the travel experience for Chinese tourists. The initiative promotes decentralized tourism, encouraging exploration beyond traditional hotspots and supporting off-peak travel to boost sustainability. This aligns with Madrid's Digital Transformation strategy and commitment to smart, responsible tourism. "Madrid is embracing the future of travel by integrating cutting-edge digital solutions with sustainable tourism practices," said Hector Coronel, Tourism Managing Director of Madrid City Council. These agreements reflect HUAWEI Mobile Services' dedication to helping Spain adapt to the evolving demands of Chinese travellers and strengthen its standing as a premier tourist destination. About HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS) HUAWEI Mobile Services aims to provide a complete mobile experience to users globally. Services include AppGallery, Mobile Cloud, Browser, Assistant, Petal Ads and more. HUAWEI Mobile Services covers 730 million users in over 170 countries, enabling smart living for every Huawei device user. For more information, please visit https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/mobileservices/. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634490/Huawei_Picture_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634491/Huawei_Picture_2.jpg SOURCE Huawei Consumer Business Group This strategic cooperation aims to integrate ICEYE's cutting-edge SAR technology solutions into Saab's Command and Control systems, enhancing tactical decision-making and situational awareness in defence. HELSINKI, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, and Saab today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development and integration of advanced space-based radar data in Saab's Command and Control Systems (C2). Dwell Fine image of Stockholm, Sweden ICEYE and Saab cooperate to integrate advanced space-based radar data to military command systems. Space-based sensor capabilities are becoming crucial for modern militaries, providing access to critical information in challenging environments. This cooperation intends to deliver tangible value to customers by integrating ICEYE's Enhanced Situational Awareness (ISR), Long-Range Targeting, and Improved Tactical Decision Making capabilities with Saab's Command and Control Systems. The MoU lays the foundations with the initial focus on investigating and demonstrating integration to Multi-Domain-Operations (MDO). The benefits would enable advanced space situational awareness and critical infrastructure protection capabilities, providing valuable insights for both civilian and military authorities in times of peace, grey zone, or conflict. Pekka Laurila, CSO and Co-founder of ICEYE: "It is crucial to remain one step ahead and effective situational awareness is a key tenet of this. We are bringing together cutting-edge SAR technology from ICEYE, and the finest C2 systems from Saab, to look at new and improved ways to maintain the advantage through enhanced situational awareness, leading to better surveillance and protection." About ICEYE ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as defense and intelligence, insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, Australia, Japan, UAE, Greece, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Media contact: [email protected] Visit www.iceye.com and follow ICEYE on LinkedIn and X for the latest updates and insights. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633463/ICEYE___Stockholm__Sweden_CSI.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633464/ICEYE_x_SAAB_cooperate.jpg COURBEVOIE, France, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global leader in payment and connectivity solutions IDEMIA Secure Transactions partners with Qualcomm Technologies to introduce a fully scalable and trusted iSIM solution to the IoT market. This involves delivering the world's first integrated and reprogrammable iSIM powered by the new Qualcomm E41 4G Modem-RF to help support compliance with the new IoT GSMA specification. Tailored for compact, power-efficient and cost-effective devices, this innovation is particularly appealing for sectors such as smart grid technologies, connected industry, healthcare and asset tracking. Two industry leaders within the IoT ecosystem are collaborating to offer a real market-deployable integrated connectivity solution suitable for the IoT market. Those standards aim to simplify the deployment of IoT devices and machine-to-machine environments for device manufacturers. With a focus on reducing logistic and manufacturing costs, footprint, and power consumption for battery-powered devices, Qualcomm Technologies has integrated a highly security-focused and EAL5+[1] pre-certified enclave in its new E41 4G Modem-RF. They have also enhanced the customer experience by enabling the first GSMA (Global System for Mobile communications Association) SAS-UP compliant security-rich IoT chip provisioning environment along with IDEMIA Secure Transactions' GSMA SGP32 compliant iSIM (ieUICC) capable of hosting multiple mobile operator subscriptions personalized in the OEM factory. Moreover, IST's iSIM connectivity solution enables dynamic and flexible management of eSIM profiles, allowing to manage and download new subscriptions at the most suitable moment all along the manufacturing flow from silicon to device manufacturer in order to optimize the manufacturing process and the Mobile Network Operator partner selection. By eliminating the need for specialized chip hardware for SIM connectivity solutions, this iSIM (ieUICC) is a real game changer for the IoT industry. The E41 4G Modem-RF integrating IST's new iSIM solution offers device manufacturers the ability to simplify the device manufacturing process by reducing the need for multiple models of the same device, and accelerate the time to market of commercial devices, while adding more processing power, intelligently integrated connectivity, all in a small and power-conscious form factor. "We, at IDEMIA Secure Transactions, are proud to have collaborated with Qualcomm on this new iSIM technology. It promises to revolutionize the way the Internet of Things will be deployed in our increasingly connected world, thanks to previously unmatched scalability. The features of this new iSIM enable greater power-efficiency and enhanced flexibility for mobile operators and device manufacturers. This empowers them to effortlessly deliver over-the-air connectivity during factory personalization, streamlining logistics while optimizing connectivity management throughout the device's lifespan. We are excited about the possibilities this partnership brings to the IoT ecosystem" said Fabien JAUTARD, EVP for Connectivity Services at IDEMIA Secure Transactions. "The E41 4G Modem-RF is at the heart of our collaboration with IDEMIA Secure Transactions, bringing a transformative iSIM solution to the IoT market," stated Jeff Arnold, Vice President, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We are thrilled to collaborate with IDEMIA Secure Transactions to usher in a new era of connectivity for the IoT market." About IDEMIA Group IDEMIA Group unlocks simpler and safer ways to pay, connect, access, identify, travel and protect public places. With its long-standing expertise in biometrics and cryptography, IDEMIA develops technologies of excellence with an impactful, ethical, and socially responsible approach. Every day, IDEMIA secures billions of interactions in the physical and digital worlds. IDEMIA Group brings together three market-leading businesses that enable mission-critical solutions: IDEMIA Secure Transactions is the leading technology provider who unlocks safer and easier ways to pay and connect. is the leading technology provider who unlocks safer and easier ways to pay and connect. IDEMIA Public Security is a leading global provider of biometric solutions that unlock convenient and secure travel, access, and protection. is a leading global provider of biometric solutions that unlock convenient and secure travel, access, and protection. IDEMIA Smart Identity leverages the power of cryptographic and biometric technologies to unlock a single trusted identity for all. With a global team of nearly 15,000 employees, IDEMIA Group is trusted by over 600 governmental organizations and more than 2,400 enterprises in over 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com and follow @IDEMIAGroup on X. About Qualcomm Qualcomm is enabling a world where everyone and everything can be intelligently connected. Our one technology roadmap allows us to efficiently scale the technologies that launched the mobile revolution including advanced connectivity, high-performance, low-power compute, on-device intelligence and more to the next generation of connected smart devices across industries. Innovations from Qualcomm and our family of Snapdragon platforms will help enable cloud-edge convergence, transform industries, accelerate the digital economy, and revolutionize how we experience the world, for the greater good. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business. Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patented technologies are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated. Qualcomm is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Press contacts IDEMIA [email protected] [1] EAL 5+ (Evaluation Assurance Level 5+) is globally recognized security certification standard under the Common Criteria framework, ensuring that a product has been methodically designed and tested to provide high levels of protection against sophisticated threats. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634653/IDEMIA_Secure_Transactions_Logo.jpg SOURCE IDEMIA Secure Transactions RED BANK, N.J., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inside Unmanned Systems is proud to introduce the Innovation Vanguard Awards (IVA), a premier industry accolade celebrating the most groundbreaking advancements in unmanned, autonomous, and uncrewed systems. These awards spotlight the companies, engineers, and visionaries driving the evolution of autonomy and robotics across industries such as defense, commercial aviation, security, emergency response, and maritime operations. "We are at a pivotal moment where technical readiness, market maturity, and strategic investment have converged, making widespread adoption of these systems not just possiblebut essential." Categories for the 2025 Innovation Vanguard Awards The IVA program features multiple categories designed to recognize excellence across air, land, and sea domains: Small UAS of the Year Commercial & Defense: Recognizing the most innovative and best-performing small drone launched or operated in the past year. Recognizing the most innovative and best-performing small drone launched or operated in the past year. Medium UAS of the Year Commercial & Defense: Honoring the best mid-size drone that has demonstrated outstanding performance and innovation. Honoring the best mid-size drone that has demonstrated outstanding performance and innovation. Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) of the Year: Celebrating the top-performing ground robotic system in defense, logistics, agriculture, or industrial operations. Celebrating the top-performing ground robotic system in defense, logistics, agriculture, or industrial operations. Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) or Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) of the Year: Recognizing advancements in maritime autonomy, including autonomous surface vessels and underwater drones. Recognizing advancements in maritime autonomy, including autonomous surface vessels and underwater drones. Best Unmanned System for Security: Acknowledging drones and autonomous systems designed for security, surveillance, and threat detection. Acknowledging drones and autonomous systems designed for security, surveillance, and threat detection. Best Use of Unmanned Systems in Emergency Response: Highlighting impactful deployments of drones and autonomous vehicles in disaster relief, search and rescue, and public safety. Highlighting impactful deployments of drones and autonomous vehicles in disaster relief, search and rescue, and public safety. Best Deployment of a Fully Autonomous or Semi-Autonomous System: Recognizing innovations that have advanced autonomy in real-world applications. Recognizing innovations that have advanced autonomy in real-world applications. Industry Collaboration of the Year: Honoring successful partnerships that enabled commercial scalability or solved critical operational challenges. A Pivotal Moment for Unmanned Systems The widespread adoption of autonomous systems is accelerating, with organizations across defense, infrastructure, logistics, and emergency response integrating these technologies into their daily operations. The Innovation Vanguard Awards provide a platform to celebrate real-world success stories, offering industry-wide recognition that drives innovation forward. "The IVA is about recognizing the real-world impact of innovation in unmanned systems," said Richard Fischer, Publisher of Inside Unmanned Systems. "These awards highlight the best technologies, deployments, and collaborations that are transforming industries today." The awards also coincide with Inside Unmanned Systems' 10th anniversary, and all finalists will be featured in a special edition distributed at XPONENTIAL in May 2025ensuring industry-wide exposure at the world's largest event for unmanned and autonomous systems. Who Can Be Nominated? IVA is open to a wide range of industry leaders, including: Drone service providers and system integrators Companies deploying ground or marine autonomous vehicles Manufacturers of airframes, sensors, and autonomy technologies Organizations leveraging unmanned systems for security, defense, or emergency response "We want to showcase the best innovations in autonomy and encourage broad industry participation," Fischer added. "This recognition benefits the entire ecosystem by driving visibility and adoption." Nomination Details Nominations are now open! To submit a nomination or learn more, visit insideunmannedsystems.com. Media Contact: Richard Thomas, Executive Editor [email protected] Inside Unmanned Systems SOURCE Inside Unmanned Systems Southeast Asia market share climbed to 28.6%, China parcel volume growth outpaced industry HONG KONG, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- J&T Global Express Limited ("J&T Express" or "J&T" or "the Company", stock code: 01519), a global logistics service provider, announced its Annual Results 2024 ("2024" or "the Period"). J&T's full-year revenue reached US$10.26 billion, representing a year-over-year ("YoY") increase of 15.9%. In 2024, J&T's total parcel volume increased by 31% YoY to 24.65 billion. Revenue from its core business express delivery services was US$9.98 billion, a YoY increase of 23.4%. During the period, all of J&T's profit metrics turned positive, showing a positive turnaround. Net profit reached US$110 million, a significant improvement compared to the US$1.16 billion loss in 2023. Adjusted net profit amounted to approximately US$200 million, exceeding market expectations. Adjusted EBITDA reached US$780 million, soaring 430.5%. Adjusted EBIT turned positive, reaching US$300 million, reflecting the Company's steadily improving profitability and its healthy, sustainable trajectory. In 2024, the adjusted EBIT of all operating regions achieved significant growth or improvement. In China, the adjusted EBIT turned positive for the first time, reaching US$150 million, compared to an adjusted EBIT loss of US$240 million in 2023. In Southeast Asia ("SEA"), the adjusted EBIT increased by 48.9% YoY to US$300 million. In newer markets such as Saudi Arabia and UAE ("New Markets"), the adjusted EBIT loss was US$76.465 million, a significant narrowing compared to the US$110 million loss in 2023. Dylan Tey, Chief Financial Officer of J&T Express, commented: "In 2024, J&T's revenue in all operating regions continued to achieve double-digit growth, primarily benefiting from the deepening of our cooperation with e-commerce platforms in various regions, as well as the active expansion of diversified brand partners. We have maintained our leading position in SEA, with encouraging revenue and profitability maintaining steady and sustainable growth. We believe that the Company's first-mover advantages and high-quality services in SEA can further enhance our market share in the region. During the period, the China business continued to benefit from economies of scale and optimized operating efficiency, and local operating experience will empower other markets, bringing positive effects to the Company's business around the world." Maintaining a lead in SEA for five consecutive years with market share jumping to 28.6% J&T continued to achieve growth and steady profitability improvements in SEA in 2024. The Company's parcel volume in the region reached 4.56 billion, an increase of 40.8% YoY. J&T's market share in SEA increased by 3.2 percentage points from 2023 to 28.6%, further consolidating its leading position and competitive advantages in the market. In SEA, J&T has firmly maintained its position as an independent e-commerce enabler, integrating parcels from all e-commerce platforms while actively expanding non-platform parcels. Through economies of scale and replication of China's express delivery experience, the cost per parcel decreased by approximately 14.9% YoY during the period, enabling the Company's business to maintain a steady and sustainable level of profitability. J&T's revenue in the SEA market increased by 22.3% YoY to US$3.22 billion in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA reached US$460 million, an increase of 21.3% YoY. Adjusted EBIT reached US$300 million, with a growth rate of 48.9% YoY. China business achieved full-year profitability for the first time; parcel volume growth leads the industry J&T's business scale and market share in China steadily improved. The Company's parcel volume in China increased by 29.1% YoY to 19.8 billion in 2024. During the period, market share in China increased to 11.3%. The Company's parcel volume and market share in China continued to grow, mainly due to deepened cooperation with existing e-commerce platforms, coupled with improved service quality and enhanced brand image. Together, these factors enhanced the Company's overall client sourcing capabilities. J&T's revenue in China reached US$6.39 billion in 2024, an increase of approximately 22.2% YoY. Adjusted EBITDA was US$430 million, and adjusted EBIT turned profitable, recording approximately US$150 million, primarily due to a significant decrease in the cost per parcel. During the period, the Company's cost per parcel in China decreased by approximately 11.8% to US$0.30. New Markets seized growth opportunities in the e-commerce market; number of high-quality non-platform customers continued to rise Benefiting from the active entry of cross-border e-commerce into New Markets, J&T's parcel volume in the region maintained rapid growth, with parcel volume increasing by approximately 22.1% to 280 million. The Company continued to invest in building local express delivery networks to improve the pickup and delivery capabilities. In New Markets, the Company maintained close partnerships with international cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Shein, Temu and TikTok, and deepened cooperation with local indigenous e-commerce platforms, such as Noon in the Middle East and Salla in Saudi Arabia, partially offsetting the adverse effects of changes in cross-border policies in the New Markets. In 2024, J&T's New Markets revenue reached US$580 million, an increase of 76.1% YoY, which mainly benefited from the group's high parcel volume growth in the region, as well as the continuously improving network carrying capacity. The Company continued to seize e-commerce growth opportunities in New Markets, while vigorously developing non-e-commerce platforms for individual parcels. Long-term investment in automated sorting equipment upgrades; actively exploring AI to improve delivery efficiency J&T continued to implement refined management in the areas of pickup, sorting, transportation and dispatching to improve operational efficiency, and continuously selectively expanded self-built sorting centers in various regions. As of 31 December 2024, the Company had approximately 19,100 outlets worldwide while operating 238 sorting centers and more than 11,900 line-haul vehicles, including over 6,600 that were self-owned. The Company continued to invest in automated equipment in various regions. As of 31 December 2024, there were 51, 226, and 2 sets of automated sorting equipment for sorting centers in SEA, China, and the New Markets, respectively, with an increase of 16, 27, and 2 sets compared to 2023. Currently, J&T provides the Dynamic Digital Mapping (AOI, Area of Interest) functions for outlets, dynamically aggregating regional addresses to optimize pickup and delivery routes, identify exceptions, parcel volume and customer analysis, to help improving the efficiency of pickup and delivery at outlets. At the same time, the Company has developed an intelligent planning tool that can synthesize core information such as parcel volume, time efficiency, number of vehicles and vehicle types, providing network staff in China with the shortest distance and most cost-effective delivery routes, and it will be gradually promoted to other countries in the future. Charles Hou, Group Vice President of J&T Express, stated: "J&T has achieved brilliant results in 2024 by virtue of the huge logistics network built in various regions, reliable services, the advanced experience and cost control capabilities acquired in China, and close partnerships with e-commerce platforms in various markets. We uphold our position as a neutral logistics service provider, and actively establish diversified cooperation with the platforms, continuously improving information technology and intelligence capabilities, while optimizing service processes through our self-developed technology platform to empower global operations. Looking forward to the future, J&T will continue to increase investment in research and development, providing more convenient, efficient and intelligent services to meet customers' demand for high-quality express delivery services." About J&T Express J&T Express is a global logistics service provider with leading express delivery businesses in Southeast Asia and China, the largest and fastest-growing market in the world. Founded in 2015, J&T Express' network spans thirteen countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Mexico, Brazil and Egypt. Adhering to its "customer-oriented and efficiency-based" mission, J&T Express is committed to providing customers with integrated logistics solutions through intelligent infrastructure and digital logistics network, as part of its global strategy to connect the world with greater efficiency and bring logistical benefits to all. In August 2024, J&T Express was included in the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, and in February 2025, it was included in the MSCI China Index. SOURCE J&T EXPRESS Findings May Advance Understanding of Infertility in Mothers NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxytocin, a hormone already known for its role in childbirth, milk release, and mother-infant bonding, may have a newfound purpose in mammalian reproduction. In times of maternal stress, the hormone can delay an embryo's development for days to weeks after conception, a new study in rodents shows. According to the authors, the findings about so-called "diapause" may offer new insights into pregnancy and fertility issues faced by humans. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the study explored diapause, in which an embryo temporarily stops growing early in its development before it attaches to the lining of its mother's uterus, a key step leading to the formation of the placenta. Known to occur in species ranging from armadillos to giant pandas to seals, diapause is thought to have evolved to help expectant mothers preserve scarce resources (e.g., breast milk) by delaying birth until they have enough to successfully take care of their offspring. Although recent studies have uncovered evidence that a form of diapause may occur in humans, the underlying mechanisms behind it have until now remained unclear. The findings in mice showed that one type of stress that may cause diapause is milk production and release (lactation), as it requires a mother to expend bodily nutrients to both nursing, already-born pups and to those growing in the womb. The study revealed that the time between conception and birth (gestation) typically 20 days for these animals was delayed by about a week in pregnant rodents that were already nursing a litter. Further, the research team showed that this delay was brought about by a rise in the production of oxytocin, levels of which are known to go up as a mother lactates. To confirm this role for the hormone, the researchers exposed mouse embryos in the lab to a single dose (either 1 microgram or 10 micrograms) of oxytocin, and found that even these small amounts delayed their implantation in the uterus by as much as three days. Beyond just pausing pregnancy, the team found that surges of the chemical large enough to that mimic the amounts and timing measured during nursing caused loss of pregnancy in the mice in nearly all cases. "Our findings shed light on the role of oxytocin in diapause," said study co-author Moses Chao, PhD, a professor in the Departments of Cell Biology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "Because of this newfound connection, it is possible that abnormalities in the production of this hormone could play roles in infertility, premature or delayed birth, and miscarriage." A report on the findings is publishing online March 5 in the journal Science Advances in a special issue focused on women's health. In another part of the study, the team searched for a mechanism that would allow embryos to react to an oxytocin surge. They found that the hormone can bind to special proteins called receptors on the surface of a layer of cells known as the trophectoderm, which surrounds the early embryo and eventually forms the placenta. Notably, mouse embryos that were genetically altered to disable oxytocin receptors lived long enough to implant into their mother's placenta at much lower rates than normal embryos. This suggests that the ability to respond to oxytocin spikes, and therefore go into diapause, is somehow important for the developing pups' survival, says Chao, who plans to examine this protective function in more detail. "Despite being extremely common, infertility and developmental issues that can arise during pregnancy remain poorly understood and can have a lasting, devastating impact on parents and their children," said study senior author Robert Froemke, PhD. "Having a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to these problems may allow experts to better address them in the future," added Froemke, the Skirball Professor of Genetics in the Department of Neuroscience at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Also a professor in the Department of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery, Froemke says that the researchers next plan to examine how cell growth gets turned back on after diapause. In addition, the team plans to explore how diapause may affect offsprings' health and development after birth, and determine whether and how their discoveries can inform reproductive medicine. Froemke cautions that while the study results are promising, mice and humans while both mammals have significant differences in their reproductive processes. He adds that the current investigation did not assess the role that other pregnancy-related hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, may play in diapause. Froemke is also a member of NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Institute for Translational Neuroscience. Funding for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health grants T32MH019524, NS107616, and HD088411. In addition to Moses and Froemke, other NYU Langone researchers involved in the study are Luisa Schuster, PhD; Habon Issa, PhD; Janaye Stephens, BS; Michael Cammer, MFA, MAT; Latika Khatri; Maria Alvarado-Torres; Jie Tong, PhD; Orlando Aristizabal, MPhil; Youssef Wadghiri, PhD; Sang Yong Kim, PhD; Catherine Pei-ju Lu, PhD; and Silvana Valtcheva, PhD. Jessica Minder, PhD, a former graduate student at NYU Langone and a current postdoctoral associate at the University of California, Berkeley, served as the study lead author. About NYU Langone Health NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient, Inc., has ranked NYU Langone the No. 1 comprehensive academic medical center in the country for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 300 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise with over $1 billion in active awards from the National Institutes of Health. Media Inquiries: Shira Polan Phone: 212-404-4279 [email protected] SOURCE NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health CLEAR LAKE, Iowa, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingland Systems is excited to announce the addition of Patrick Henry as a Partner with the company. With over 30 years of experience at Deloitte, Patrick has successfully led global teams and engagements within the financial services sector. His extensive leadership background encompasses managing global client accounts and spearheading large-scale initiatives for top-tier financial institutions across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Patrick Henry joins Kingland as Partner in Financial Services Throughout his career, Patrick has collaborated with some of the world's largest banks, investment managers, private equity firms, and real estate companies. His areas of expertise include securities and trading operations, controls, valuation of financial instruments, and global finance transformations, particularly in the integration of complex mergers and acquisitions. Kingland President, Partner Tony Brownlee added: "Patrick knows financial services and has one-of-a-kind expertise into the risk, regulatory, and business challenges facing the largest banks, broker dealers, and investment managers. With Patrick's extensive experience, we continue to demonstrate Kingland's commitment to the banking and capital markets industry." Since its inception in 1992, Kingland has grown and is recognized as one of the leading providers of data, risk, and compliance software in the world. Kingland specializes in enterprise software and high expertise services for the most integral public accounting, banking and capital markets, insurance, and healthcare companies. "With more than 30 years of experience in the Financial Services Sector, I have devoted a significant portion of my career to helping clients identify and overcome their challenges. At Kingland, I am committed to delivering exceptional service and value by utilizing advanced AI-powered enterprise software and services. My objective is to help solve the industry's most pressing data issues," says Mr. Henry. SOURCE Kingland Over the course of 24 hours, the occupiers lost 1,250 units of manpower and 115 units of equipment, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a report as of 7:00 on Wednesday. In particular, Ukrainian soldiers destroyed one tank, six combat armored vehicles, 23 artillery systems, 84 units of motor vehicles and tank trucks, and one unit of special equipment. The air strikes cost the enemy 108 operational-tactical level UAVs. Research validates the efficacy and accuracy of its digital solutions designed to detect early indicators of cognitive impairment BOSTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Linus Health has announced that it has hit a major milestone with over 145 peer-reviewed studies conducted and authored by leaders and staff from the company and its affiliates. Since 2019, Linus Health and its affiliates have published 72 peer-reviewed publications and delivered 75 scientific presentations at academic conferences. Linus Health is revolutionizing brain health with trusted, science-driven solutions, delivering a comprehensive, end-to-end strategy that supports early detection, intervention, and continuous care across all settings. The majority of the published research features investigations and validations of the efficacy and accuracy of various elements and solutions within the Linus Health platform designed to promote brain health, detect early indicators of cognitive impairment, and predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. To date, Linus Health has completed more than 40 clinical trials and 25 validation studies and has filed 33 patents supporting its technology, which is available in 18 languages. "These landmark achievements reflect Linus Health's unwavering dedication to scientific validation as we scale and enhance our offerings and capabilities," said Linus Health Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD. "This is a bench to bedside commitment, ensuring that we are at the forefront of advancing brain health within both life sciences and healthcare." A sampling of some of the most noteworthy recent studies published by Linus Health clinicians and researchers includes: The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, November 2024: Detecting functional impairment with the Digital Clock and Recall . Linus Health Digital Clock and Recall (DCR) assessment delivers a clinically meaningful evaluation of functional impairment and accurately identifies which patients require more comprehensive care, such as advanced diagnostic testing, specialist referrals, and care partner support. Scientific Reports, September 2024: Digital speech hearing screening using a quick novel mobile hearing impairment assessment: an observational correlation study . The authors concluded that Linus Health's digital hearing screening tool quickly, efficiently, and accurately identifies early signs of speech hearing impairment compared to lengthier audiometric tests. Frontiers in Neurology, June 2024: Towards a lifelong personalized brain health program: empowering individuals to define, pursue, and monitor meaningful outcomes . The article describes a technology-enabled, scalable approach to guide clinical decisions and outcome evaluations about brain health that effectively incorporate patients' treatment priorities. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment, & Disease Monitoring, February 2024: Clinical classification of memory and cognitive impairment with multimodal digital biomarkers . The article demonstrates the great utility of multimodal assessment with the DCR for identifying verbal memory impairment as confirmed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, January 2024: Digital Clock and Recall is superior to the MiniMental State Examination for the detection of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia . Results of a clinical trial show that the DCR outperforms the most commonly used paper-based assessment in detecting early mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia and with less ethnic bias. Research Strength Matches Company Growth Meanwhile, Linus Health continues to expand and diversify the company while raising awareness of its capabilities through awards and high-profile speaking engagements. Acquisitions. Since 2020, Linus Health has completed four acquisitions. Most recently, it acquired Aural Analytics, a leader in clinical-grade speech analytics, and Together Senior Health, a brain health company delivering evidence-based solutions for individuals with cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. In 2022, it acquired Kinesis Health Technologies, a leader in physical function assessment for older adults; and in 2020, it acquired Digital Cognition Technologies, a leader in digital cognitive assessment. Awards. Linus Health has earned numerous prestigious digital health and technology awards over the years. Most recently, Linus Health was named one of Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 of 2025 , an annual special report highlighting innovative and creative private healthcare companies striving to change the world by changing the healthcare industry. Linus Health was also named the "Best in Class" winner in the Digital Health Hub Foundation's Digital Health Awards 2024 in the Longevity category . The awards recognize companies that "hold the promise of transforming healthcare systems by improving access, efficiency, quality of care, patient outcomes, and addressing cost challenges," according to its founders. Speaking Engagements. John Showalter, MD, MSIS, chief strategy officer of Linus Health, was invited to discuss breakthroughs in the early detection of dementia at the HLTH Event 2024 in Las Vegas. Participating in the "Brainiacs" panel , Showalter explained how primary care physicians and neurologists can leverage innovative digital tools that can make early detection of mild cognitive impairment, the precursor of dementia, as routine as any other preventive screening. In 2024, Ali Jannati, MD, PhD, director of cognitive science at Linus Health, presented the company's latest research on concurrent identification of cognitive impairment and likely amyloid-beta status on PET using the DCR in a featured research panel at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Philadelphia. Stina Saunders, PhD, personalized medicine lead at Linus Health, delivered an AAIC presentation focusing on the company's electronic person-specific outcome measure tool. In addition, Linus Health scientists delivered 10 poster presentations at AAIC. More than 14,000 attendees joined the world's largest dementia conference for its robust scientific program. Linus Health leaders were also invited to deliver 4 unique poster presentations at the 17th annual Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease conference in Madrid, Spain. The global conference attracts over 2,000 leading experts onsite and online to discuss the latest therapeutic advances in Alzheimer's disease. "Our many achievements and growing industry recognition reflect an emerging consensus that the best clinical pathway to help more people prevent the progression of dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment is through promotion of brain health, prevention of disease, early detection, and evidence-based lifestyle modifications," said Linus Health Co-Founder and CEO David Bates, PhD. "Our learnings, as well as those of our peers, will continue to inform our solution development in the coming years as we look forward to helping more patients achieve optimal outcomes and a higher quality of life." About Linus Health Linus Health is a Boston-based digital health company focused on transforming brain health for people across the world. By advancing how we detect and address cognitive and brain disorders leveraging cutting-edge neuroscience, clinical expertise, and artificial intelligence our goal is to enable a future where people can live longer, happier, and healthier lives with better brain health. Linus Health's digital cognitive assessment platform delivers a proven, practical means of enabling early detection; empowers providers with actionable clinical insights; and supports individuals with personalized action plans. We are proud to partner with leading healthcare delivery organizations, research institutions, and life sciences companies to accelerate more proactive intervention and personalized care in brain health. To learn more about our practical solutions for proactive brain health, visit www.linushealth.com or follow us on LinkedIn . Media Contact Tara Stultz (Amendola for Linus Health) 440-225-9595 [email protected] SOURCE Linus Health BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LITEON Technology Corporation (2301.tw) is participating in Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona from March 3 to 6 for the third consecutive year. Under the theme "One Partner. All Solutions," LITEON collaborates with Vodafone not only by providing a Sub-6 RU giving 5G connectivity for a live demo at Vodafone's booth but also to showcase Vodafone's 5G ORAN Mobile Private Network (MPN) solution at LITEON booth. This demo features LITEON's Sub-6 O-RU and AI surveillance camera integrated with Vodafone's server running virtualized network functions, RAN software, and the Secure Herd application. Richard Chiang, GM of Smart Life Application SBU at LITEON, and Vaifro Dariol, Head of Vodafones OpenRan Malaga Chip Development Center, are at the LITEON booth, showcasing the 5G ORAN MPN solution at MWC Barcelona 2025. Key Benefits of the LITEON 5G ORAN MPN Solution: Turnkey Ready Solution: Quick and efficient implementation. Quick and efficient implementation. Scalability and Flexibility: Adaptable to various network demands and scalable as needed. Enhanced Performance: Superior network performance with reduced latency and increased reliability. Superior network performance with reduced latency and increased reliability. Cost Efficiency: High performance at a reduced cost. High performance at a reduced cost. Interoperability: Seamless integration with a wide range of devices and network infrastructure. Seamless integration with a wide range of devices and network infrastructure. Future-Proof: Supports future upgrades and enhancements. Supports future upgrades and enhancements. Off-the-Shelf Hardware: Reduces deployment time. Potential use cases include smart manufacturing, telemedicine, transportation, stadiums, and farming surveillance. Its versatility enables businesses to leverage 5G technology for better connectivity and performance. Richard Chiang, General Manager of Smart Life Application SBU at LITEON, said: "Collaborating with Vodafone at MWC 2025 highlights our shared vision for advancing telecommunications. Integrating LITEON's AI vision speaker camera with Vodafone's network functions showcases the power of our combined ORAN and AIoT technologies. This partnership demonstrates how we can transform industries and drive the future of 5G." Vaifro Dariol, Head of Vodafone's OpenRan Malaga Chip Development Center, added: "Vodafone's support for LITEON's 5G ORAN MPN solution at MWC 2025 exemplifies our commitment to connecting everyone, everywhere. By integrating advanced technologies with partners, we deliver a scalable, high-performance network. This ensures reliable connectivity for diverse industries, bridging the digital divide and enhancing communication across sectors." Visit LITEON's booth (Hall 6, #6F38) to explore the 5G ORAN MPN solution. This collaboration underscores LITEON's dedication to advancing next-generation 5G technologies and delivering unrivalled connectivity solutions. LITEON Booth Information for MWC 2025: Date: March 03 - 06, 2025 Location: Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain Booth: Hall 6, Stand 6F38 Visit us for more information: https://www.liteon.com/en Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634384/news_photo.jpg FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Locality Bank and ChatBiz are pleased to announce a strategic partnership to help local businesses access mission-based, NGO, and government resources. This collaboration reinforces both organizations' commitment to empowering South Florida's entrepreneurs. Local businesses are the backbone of the economy, and Locality Bank believes banking should go beyond loans and deposits. The partnership enables business owners to leverage a broad network of growth tools, simplifying the process of finding and applying for grants, loans, certifications, and other development programs. "At Locality Bank, our mission is to empower local businesses to maximize their potential," said Keith Costello, CEO of Locality Bank. "By partnering with ChatBiz, we make it easier for entrepreneurs to access the resources they need to grow." Javier Jorge, Director of Government Guaranteed Lending for Locality Bank and Founder and CEO of ChatBiz, says his experience in SBA lending revealed a clear need. "I see how challenging it can be for entrepreneurs to navigate available resources," said Jorge. "ChatBiz removes the guesswork and streamlines the process, matching businesses with their qualified opportunities." ChatBiz's smart matching technology quickly connects businesses to targeted growth resources. Through this partnership, entrepreneurs can seamlessly transition to Locality's comprehensive banking services, including business checking, lending products, and treasury management solutions, with automatic eligibility matching. This collaboration eliminates the stress of multiple applications, allowing South Florida entrepreneurs to focus on what matters mostgrowing their businesses. Local business owners are encouraged to visit ChatBiz.us to join the waitlist and gain early access to this innovative platform. About ChatBiz ChatBiz is a platform designed to help small businesses access mission-based, NGO, and government resources tailored to their unique needs. By simplifying the process of finding the right support, ChatBiz empowers entrepreneurs to grow and succeed. About Locality Bank Locality Bank combines the personal service of a community bank with innovative digital capabilities to serve South Florida businesses. Headquartered at 1400 South Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Locality Bank empowers local businesses to maximize their potential by blending relationship-driven banking with user-friendly technology. Visit www.localitybank.com, call (888) 2385053, or email [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube to stay connected. Media Contact: Aimee Adler Cooke | 561-302-6902 | [email protected] SOURCE Locality Bank Lonestar's Freedom Data Center Payload successfully meets all of its technical and commercial milestones in CisLunar Space ahead of Historic Moon Landing ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lonestar Data Holdings has reached a historic milestone with the successful commercial test and operation of its data center en route to the Moon marking a pivotal step in establishing the first-ever commercial lunar data center as a new layer of critical resilient data center infrastructure serving the world. Lunar Data Center Achieves First Success En Route To The Moon Post this Image Credit: Intuitive Machines Since launching on the 26th February, Lonestar's Freedom data center payload has traveled over 300,000 kilometers and has now entered Lunar Orbit traveling to the Moon on Intuitive Machines' Athena Lunar Lander. En route to the Moon in CisLunar space , Lonestar's data center payload successfully completed a series of critical commercial operational tests, proving the viability, functionality, communication, and resilience of its data center technology in space. Notable achievements include: Successful test of data storage and Disaster Recovery for its Government and Enterprise customers. Here Lonestar executed file uploads, downloads, data encryption, decryption, authentication, and in-space data manipulation for its customers. Lonestar's payload successfully executed edge processing tasks in space, including data handling for Valkyrie AI, the Exploration Institute, and other key customers. Lonestar's payload successfully demonstrated its in-space endurance with all of its power, temperature, CPU memory, and telemetry readings remaining stable, demonstrating the survivability of Lonestar's technology in the harsh environment of space at both upper and lower operational limits. Lonestar's first commercial lunar data center is designed to provide secure, resilient, and independent storage for mission-critical data beyond Earth. It has now successfully demonstrated this for its key customers. Next Up: Preparing for Lunar Surface Operations With its data center successfully proven for in-space functionality, Lonestar is preparing for the next phase of its mission: lunar surface operations. When Athena lands as planned no earlier than March 6, Lonestar's technology will undergo additional tests on the Moon's surface, further validating its ability to store and process data in one of the most extreme environments known to humanity. A Historic Step for Data Storage in Space "Harnessing space as a resource for business, innovation, and long-term sustainability is key to driving the growth of the new space economy. At Space Florida, we are committed to advancing infrastructure and fostering partnerships that ensure Florida remains the premier hub for interplanetary commerce," said Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. "Congratulations to our partners at Lonestar on another successful test mission to the Moon." "This is our Kitty Hawk moment. This is where the future begins for this new resilient layer of critical global infrastructure serving us all down here on Earth. This is an extraordinary moment for Lonestar and for the future of secure global data storage," said Chris Stott, CEO of Lonestar Data Holdings. "By proving that our technology can operate in space, we are one step closer to establishing the Lunar L1 Lagrange Point and the Moon as the ultimate off-Earth storage and data resiliency solutions. We are thrilled with the results so far and eagerly anticipate the next phase of this groundbreaking mission." Leveraging Earth's largest satellite, the Moon, and the space around it to ensure secure data storage with, data sovereignty, security, resiliency and redundancy will become increasingly vital. Lonestar is committed to pioneering lunar-based edge computing and storage solutions, ensuring that critical digital assets can be preserved independent of Earth-based infrastructure. With its successful milestones en route to the Moon, Lonestar is now poised to make history as the first company to operate a commercial data center on the lunar surface. About Lonestar Data Holdings Lonestar Data Holdings is a pioneering data center company utilizing space technology to provide a critical layer of resilient secure and compliant data center infrastructure to support a layer of secure, off-Earth data storage and computing solutions. By leveraging Cislunar orbits and the Moon's stable environment, Lonestar is developing a new paradigm for data sovereignty, security, and resilience for governments, corporations, and future space missions. Lonestar's mission is Resiliency as a Service (RaaS) for premium global secure data storage. To do this Lonestar is backing up terrestrial data centers and their premium customers via an independent space-based data storage and communications network . Lonestar has been founded by a proven team of experts from the Cloud and Space verticals to pioneer a future for data at the edge for all of us. Our mission is to apply abundance thinking and exponential technologies to the endless possibilities of lunar data storage for humanity and in so doing to the exploration of the Moon and beyond. Lonestar offers Global Backup, Global Refresh, and Global Restore. Lonestar's vision is fueled by remarkable investors led by Scout Ventures, 2 Future Holdings, Seldor Capital, the Veteran Fund. Irongate Global Capital, Atypical Ventures, Kittyhawk Ventures, and Backswing Ventures. In February 2024, Lonestar successfully tested its first data center from the Moon and in Cislunar space. Stay tuned for our next steps and giant leaps. Lonestar is committed to a carbon negative future. For more information about Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. and the Freedom Payload mission, please visit www.lonestarlunar.com . SOURCE Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Meizu has marked its back to global market at MWC in Barcelona. In exclusive interactions with several media outlets, Mr. Gu Binbin, the executive director of overseas business, discussed the brand's global strategy, "smart phones + XR + smart cars" ecosystem, and localization operations. As Meizu has amassed a huge fan base over the past years both in China and globe, the announcement of going back to global market attracts widespread attention. The first question Mr. Gu need to answer, is Meizu's globalization strategy and how to choose the right market. "Our globalization strategy is rooted in two pillars: market demand and technological innovation. " Mr. Gu shows his strategic thoughts and tells Meizu's approach. "We now operates in over 30 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. Each market requires tailored solutions, so we have our 'Global Vision, Local Execution' approach." This approach ensures that marketing, R&D, and customer support resonate with each market's unique dynamics, which are the foundation of Meizu's localization strategy. In the near future, Meizu will deepen presence in these markets while exploring new opportunities. Mr. Gu mentioned that the strategies now implementing which differentiate Meizu from other competitors, "Smart phone + XR + Smart cars" ecosystem and "All in AI" strategy. In Meizu's philosophy, smart phones, AR and smart cars are all important parts of the digital life of the future. While each serves distinct purposes, they can be highly interconnected technically. The core is Flyme AIOS which can seamlessly connect the smart phones, XR glasses and cars, bring a more complete and intelligent experience for consumers. For instance, consumers can set navigation routes through their mobile phones and sync the information to the centre control screens of XR glasses and cars. In a meeting, XR Glasses can translate and synchronize the minutes of the meeting to the mobile phone and computer in real time; while the smart car can automatically plan the best route according to the consumers' schedule. This multi-terminal collaborative experience not only improves the consumers' work efficiency, but also enhances the product's usage scenario and value. Last year, Meizu introduced its "All in AI" strategy, placing AI at the core of its product development across the entire line. With AI as its foundation, Meizu has built a multi-scenario convergent AI ecosystem, and provide more intelligent functions to users. For instance, on mobile phones, AI technology enhances functions such as photo taking, voice assistant and personalized recommendations. XR glasses achieve innovative applications such as real-time translation, navigation and conference assistant through AI. On smart cars, the AI-driven Flyme Auto system provides users with a smarter driving experience. Moreover, the collaboration with Geely Group accelerates Flyme Auto's technology adoption and industry empowerment. Flyme Auto is one of China's most widely adopted smart cockpit OS, installed in over 500,000 vehicles. As one of the smoothest and fastest-growing smart cockpit operating systems. In January 2025, the sales volume of smart cars installed with Flyme Auto exceeded 132,000 units, ranking number one. Also, Flyme Auto has synchronized with Geely to go global, adapting 22 models from Geely, LYNK & CO and other brands. Flyme Auto now has been exported to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific and other regions, bringing thousands of consumers a brand new cross-terminal intelligent experience. Worth mentioning is that Meizu is the smartphone brand of DreamSmart Group, which carries AI eco-products in three product areas, which are smartphones, XR and smart cars. With deep technological expertise in multiple industries, DreamSmart is recognized as a leader in smart ecosystems. Looking ahead, Meizu will stand firm to "All in AI" and globalization strategy and continue to invest in product development and market expansion, bringing better full ecological products to tech lovers around the world. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634544/image_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634545/Image_2.jpg Strategic Support and Media Resources to Accelerate U.S. Expansion for Global Startups REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercurius Media Capital (MMC) announced the launch of Mercurius Bridge, a strategic initiative designed to support international companies with established product-market fit in their home countries that are looking to scale business in the U.S. The program integrates media capital investments with a curated network of local service providers, streamlining market entry and accelerating brand growth. As the first dedicated U.S. media-for-equity fund, MMC leverages pooled media inventory from a diverse range of media partners to invest in high-growth startups and enterprises. Mercurius Bridge provides international companies with access to critical resources, strategic networks, and expert guidanceincluding consumer engagement strategies and connections to key go-to-market media partners. Mercurius Bridge help startups overcome market-entry challenges, build brand equity, and accelerate long-term growth. Post this "We offer more than just media investment," said Piyush Puri, Founding Partner of MMC. "Our approach is rooted in strategic mentorship, ensuring that companies don't just enter the U.S. market but establish a strong and sustainable presence. By leveraging insights from seasoned operators and collaborating with premium media partners, we craft tailored solutions that help startups overcome market-entry challenges, build brand equity, accelerate long-term growth with confidence." MMC's model has supported U.S. market expansion for international companies, including Deskera (Singapore) and Airtasker (Australia). Mercurius Bridge leverages a global network of Venture Partnerscomprising current and former executives from leading firms in the UK, Australia, Canada, Israel, India, and Singapore to provide geographic market specific expertise and identify high growth opportunities. This network includes professionals like Tania Yuki, Principal at Levalois. "Expanding into the U.S. is a major leap, even for companies with strong local traction," says Yuki. "Success depends on the right go-to-market strategy, effective advertising, and local expertise; otherwise, millions can be wasted. I'm excited to help the next wave of global innovators scale successfully." The program's initial Venture Partner network also includes Shambhavi Mishra, Head of Portfolio and Growth at Antler, and Eli Mandelbaum, Founder of PluggedIn BD, among others. MMC's founding partners, Puri and Gajwani, have over 30 years of experience in media, venture capital, and bridge transactions, specializing in helping companies expand into new markets. Over the past 15 years, they have facilitated cross-border growth through media capital, supporting 50+ investments. For more Information, visit https://www.mmc.us/mercuriusbridge About Mercurius Media Capital MMC, launched in December 2023, is the first U.S.-based media-equity venture fund with ~$90 million in committed capital. Co-founded by Satyan Gajwani and Piyush Puri, MMC builds on over 15 years of experience driving media capital transactions at The Times of India Group, facilitating ~$3 billion in media-based investments. MMC has partnered with leading media platforms, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, Televisa Univision, Atmosphere TV, and others, to offer high-growth startups and enterprises access to distinct, large-scale advertising inventory in exchange for equity. This fund has backed several companies, including Deskera, Captain Experiences, Airtasker, Edly, and other companies. Media Contact: Interdependence PR Angelic Venegas [email protected] SOURCE Mercurius Media Capital PHOENIX, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Moatable, Inc. (OTC Pink: MTBLY) ("Moatable" or the "Company"), an operator of several US-based SaaS businesses, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a special cash dividend (the "Special Dividend"). The Special Dividend will be paid from the Company's current cash position. The Special Dividend is expected to be paid on or about March 27, 2025 to all holders of Moatable's ordinary shares (including those in the form of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), each one (1) ADS currently representing 45 Class A ordinary shares) of record as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 17, 2025. The amount of the Special Dividend is US$0.01346 per ordinary share, or US$0.6057 per ADS, in each case, prior to deduction of applicable taxes, fees and expenses. Citibank, N.A., as depositary for the ADSs (the "Depositary"), will charge a cash distribution fee of US$0.05 per ADS held as of the record date. The ADS distribution fee will be borne by the holders of ADSs and will be deducted from the Special Dividend amount. The ADSs will trade with "due-bills" representing an assignment of the right to receive the Special Dividend up through and inclusive of the expected payment date of March 27, 2025. The ex-dividend date will be March 28, 2025, the first business day following the payment date. Investors who sell their ADSs on or before the payment date will not be entitled to receive the Special Dividend. Due-bills obligate a seller of ADSs to deliver the dividend payable on such ADSs to the buyer. The due-bill obligations are settled customarily between the brokers representing the buyers and sellers of the ADSs. Moatable and the Depositary have no obligation for either the amount of the due-bill or the processing of the due-bill. Buyers and sellers of the ADSs should consult their broker before trading to be sure they understand the effect of the due-bill procedures. The tax treatment of holding ordinary shares or ADSs to any particular investor will depend on the investor's particular tax circumstances. Moatable investors are urged to consult their tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income and other tax consequences to them, in light of their particular investment or tax circumstances, of the receipt of the Special Dividend. About Moatable Inc. Moatable, Inc. (OTC Pink: MTBLY) operates two US-based SaaS businesses including Lofty and Trucker Path. Moatable's American Depositary Shares, each of which currently represents forty-five Class A ordinary shares, trade on OTC Pink open market under the symbol "MTBLY". For more news and information on Moatable, please visit Moatable.com. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Moatable's beliefs and expectations, including statements on making investments and operating businesses that generate long-term returns for investors, and expectations for future growth and innovation are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Moatable's goals and strategies; Moatable's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Moatable's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its services; Moatable's plans to enhance user experience, infrastructure and service offerings. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our recent annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Moatable does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. SOURCE Moatable, Inc. In Honor of Rare Disease Week 2025, Petition Amplifies Capitol Hill Ask WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 10,000 rare disease advocates signed a petition led by the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases (EveryLife Foundation) urging Members of Congress to encourage the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support steady and robust federal agency leadership, federal biomedical research funding, and public health agency support. Made up of rare disease patients, caregivers, academic researchers, clinicians, patient advocacy groups, and industry partners, the petition was delivered to every member of Congress on February 28 in honor of Rare Disease Day. For the 30 million Americans living with one or more of the 10,000 identified rare diseases, steady federal support for robust biomedical research and stability at national public health agencies are essential to advancing lifesaving research and public health initiatives. The EveryLife Foundation is deeply concerned at the devastating and lasting impact recent executive orders will have on programs that are vital to thousands of rare diseases, and the community as a whole. Annie Kennedy, Chief Policy, Advocacy, and Patient Engagement Officer at the EveryLife Foundation emphasized the importance of bipartisan, bicameral support of our healthcare ecosystem: "A strong commitment to our federal health agencies is a commitment to the millions of Americans and families affected by rare diseases who rely on federal leadership to drive progress. And a strong commitment to funding research spurs innovative collaborations, builds infrastructure to attract private investment, and helps ensure our nation remains a global leader in working to cure diseases that were once deemed too rare or complex to treat. For children and adults with rare diseases, even a momentary pause in funding for these programs or agencies has devastating, life-altering consequences. In our community, time is a commodity and resources are precious. Funding innovation does not just ensure progress, it provides hope." As outlined in the petition, preserving our nation's federal agencies' services, expertise, resources, and funding means: A diagnosis can be found while there is still time to act; Insurance coverage exists for our complex medical needs and to enable us to remain in the workforce; Scientific experts in the U.S. are now leading global efforts to study our diseases; Companies are interested in turning scientific discoveries into potential, life-saving treatments; and Where a diagnosis once meant there was "nothing to do," there is now much that can be done. The petition began during the EveryLife Foundation's 14th Annual Rare Disease Week event held in Washington, D.C., from February 24 26. Nearly 1,000 advocates gathered from 49 states attending 300+ meetings with members in both the House and the Senate. If you would like to add your name to the petition, click here. About the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases: The EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering the rare disease patient community to advocate for impactful, science-driven legislation and policy that advances the equitable development of and access to lifesaving diagnoses, treatments and cures. To learn more, visit EveryLifeFoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. SOURCE EVERYLIFE FOUNDATION FOR RARE DISEASES Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute hosted a day of keynotes, presentations and discussions at TGH Brooksville to address the challenges facing cancer patients in rural communities. BROOKSVILLE, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cancer Institute and USF Health, in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, hosted leading health care experts, academic researchers, and cancer survivors for a series of discussions at TGH Brooksville on the unique challenges rural populations face when it comes to cancer. Addressing The Cancer Control Continuum in Rural Communities Presented by the TGH Cancer Institute on March 5, 2025, at TGH Brooksville. The event, titled "Addressing the Cancer Control Continuum in Rural Communities," featured a distinguished lineup of speakers, including John D. Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, and Eduardo Sotomayor, M.D., vice president and executive director of the Cancer Institute at Tampa General Hospital. Experts from the TGH Cancer Institute, University of South Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society, among others, led sessions. "With the incredible technologies and innovations available today, nothing should stand in the way of cancer patients accessing breakthrough research, innovative treatments and world-class care. Yet geography remains a substantial barrier," said Couris. "By convening some of the brightest minds in health care with leaders who can inspire meaningful change, we are working to break down these barriers and give every cancer patient the best possible chance at the best possible outcome." Academic health systems like the partnership between Tampa General Hospital and USF Health have the resources and medical infrastructure to help increase access to the highest levels of care for these rural patients, said Charles J. Lockwood, M.D., MHCM, executive vice president and chief academic officer of Tampa General, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. "We are committed to ensuring that all Floridians can receive comprehensive cancer services that are coordinated across the full spectrum of care, so that these patients' needs are met whether they need to receive innovative surgical procedures, access to the newest clinical research trials or other services," according to Dr. Lockwood. "Our faculty physicians are a vital part of improving the lives and health of patients across Florida." The conference underscores the TGH Cancer Institute's commitment to increasing access to world-class care. Any Floridian diagnosed with cancerregardless of locationshould receive the highest-quality care and the greatest chance of survival. "With the latest research, innovative technologies and best-in-class providers, cancer patients will get the best chance at survival," said Dr. Sotomayor. "But prevention is the most effective tool, and early detection is critical to a successful treatment plan. That's why we're working together with our government partners, across health care systems and throughout the communities to raise awareness and promote screening." The discussions focused on cancer prevention, cancer treatment and navigating survivorship post-care. Researchers revealed the latest data from clinical trials related to cancer treatment and highlighted the importance of rural populations gaining access to these findings. Peter Chang, M.D., senior vice president and chief transformation officer at Tampa General, discussed the role that artificial intelligence (AI) and teleoncology can play in enhancing cancer care in rural areas and other underserved communities. The conference concluded with breakout sessions, which focused on solutions to address the challenges discussed earlier in the day. Facilitators led conversations on access to care, survivorship care, delivery models, cancer prevention and regional partnerships. ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 Best Hospitals, with two medical specialties ranking among the top 20 in the nation and eight medical specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings in the top 100 nationally in the 2024 America's Best Large Employers, the top 50 in Florida in the 2024 America's Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2023, provided a net community benefit of approximately $301.8 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It was the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant center in 2024 and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North, which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, two TGH Outpatient Centers, TGH Virtual Health, and 20 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org. ABOUT USF HEALTH USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health's multispecialty physicians' group. The University of South Florida, a high-impact research university dedicated to student success and committed to community engagement, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. Through hundreds of millions of dollars in research activity each year, USF is a leader in solving global problems and improving lives. For more information, visit health.usf.edu. Media Contact: Amanda Bevis (202) 680-9262 (cell) [email protected] SOURCE Tampa General Hospital BOSTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- School on Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA), a nonprofit dedicated to providing educational programs and support to homeless and underserved students throughout the Commonwealth, today announced the appointment of Athena Giannaros as Executive Director. A passionate advocate for educational equity, Athena has been a key leader at the organization for more than a decade, most recently as Board Chair. Athena Giannaros, bringing educational services to homeless students in Massachusetts With extensive experience in nonprofit governance, strategic planning, and partnership development, Athena is well-positioned to lead SOWMA into its next phase. As Executive Director, she will oversee daily operations and drive efforts to scale programs and build community partnerships, ensuring that homeless students across Massachusetts have access to quality education and opportunities. Athena has helped scale the tutoring, mentoring and customized backpack programs from the nonprofit's humble beginnings in her hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts. Today the organization supports thousands of students throughout Massachusetts. Athena has volunteered with SOWMA extensively, tutoring at family shelters and mentoring at-risk youth. Athena holds a Bachelor's in International Relations from Boston College and is fluent in Greek. She lives in Hingham with her husband and three children. "We're thrilled to have Athena lead SOWMA," said Board Chair Spencer Collier. "Her leadership will be invaluable as we expand services and work towards a brighter future for all students despite their circumstance." About SOWMA: School on Wheels of Massachusetts provides educational support to homeless and underserved children and youth throughout the state. To learn more visit www.sowma.org. Contact: Mal Stanton McCunney Director, Marketing & Events School on Wheels of Massachusetts [email protected] (508) 587-9091 ext 104 SOURCE School on Wheels of Massachusetts Photo: https://t.me/zedigital Partner countries have provided Ukraine with EUR 2 billion in aid in the first year of the Drone Coalition initiative, both in the form of UAVs themselves and in the form of financial support for the purchase of Ukrainian and foreign-made drones, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on its website on Wednesday. "The drone coalition has brought us closer to our goal of an asymmetric advantage over the Russians on the battlefield this year. The fruitful work of partner countries within this initiative throughout this time is a testament to their integrity and leadership. And also their willingness to help increase the number of successful operations of the Defense Forces using these drones," said Kateryna Chornohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digitalization. Over the course of a year of the coalition's work, EUR 176 million have been accumulated in the Common Fund, to which coalition members contribute. Two tenders were held within the framework of the Joint Fund, which is a tool for finding innovative solutions that can be scaled up to create an asymmetric advantage over the enemy on the battlefield. "As a result of the first tender, five FPV suppliers were selected, who will supply a total of 30,000 drones to Ukraine over the next six months. The second tender focused on improved FPV and interceptor drones to enhance the fight against enemy attack drones. For the first time, Ukrainian manufacturers were able to participate in the competition, and almost 20 Ukrainian companies were selected as a result," the message says. The third tender is now open for bids and will run until March 17. It is for a tactical-grade multi-rotor ISR that will help the Defence Forces have better situational awareness. MATTAPOISETT, Mass., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- All Hands and Hearts (AHAH), a non-profit organization that provides community-inspired, volunteer-powered disaster relief to international communities, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Nate Mook as its new CEO. With an impressive and diverse background in disaster response, storytelling and leading global changemakers, Nate will guide AHAH into its 20th year with impact and innovation. Nate first met supermodel, philanthropist and AHAH co-founder Petra Nemcova in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake. Over the years, Nate has worked alongside AHAH teams in disaster-stricken areas worldwide, witnessing the organization's powerful recovery model firsthand. "With a dedication to humanity and a relentless drive to create meaningful change, Nate Mook embodies the spirit of All Hands and Hearts," said Petra Nemcova. "We are excited about his visionary leadership and the opportunity to amplify our transformative impact on a global scale, serving even more children, families and communities in crisis and equipping them with the resilience needed for the future." As the first CEO of World Central Kitchen (WCK), Nate built the organization with Chef Jose Andres to provide hundreds of millions of meals to individuals affected by disasters. Under his leadership, WCK became one of the largest privately funded humanitarian organizations in the world. Nate has also been deeply involved in efforts in Ukraine, serving on the board of Save Ukraine, acting as Special Advisor on Ukraine for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and co-founding the Hachiko Foundation to support displaced cats and dogs in frontline communities. In addition to his work in disaster relief, Nate has a background in filmmaking, producing powerful documentaries such as Baltimore Rising, which examined social tensions in the U.S., and We Feed People, an Emmy-nominated film narrating WCK's global impact. He has also led storytelling projects across Somalia, Haiti and beyond, working with organizations like the UN and the Clinton Foundation to elevate humanitarian efforts. A former tech entrepreneur and TED Talks curator, Nate has a history of innovation and amplifying voices in underserved communities. What drew him to AHAH is its unique commitment to staying long after the initial crisis response continuing to support communities as they rebuild, even after media attention fades. Unlike many disaster relief organizations that provide urgent aid and then move on, AHAH remains, committing volunteers and resources to full recovery: helping families rebuild their homes, restoring schools and revitalizing infrastructure. He is committed to strengthening AHAH's immediate disaster response model while building on our long-term recovery efforts, continuing to rebuild not just infrastructures, but resilience for generations to come. "We are so excited to welcome Nate Mook as our new CEO at All Hands and Hearts," said Mike Pehl, Board Chair, AHAH. "Nate's extensive experience in humanitarian response, his successful leadership at World Central Kitchen and his shared vision for long-term community rebuilding make him the perfect fit to lead AHAH into the future. We look forward to this new chapter and are confident that under his leadership, AHAH will continue to expand its impact and bring hope to even more communities in need." This year marks the 20th anniversary of AHAH, a pivotal moment in its history. As climate disasters grow more frequent and severe, AHAH is committed to finding innovative ways to respond effectively and sustainably, ensuring communities receive the support they need through the long term. Since its founding, AHAH has mobilized more than 68,300 volunteers to aid in disaster-stricken regions, impacted over 1.4 million individuals, impacted 205,000 destroyed homes and brought over 123,300 students back to safe schools, ensuring that communities are supported through the toughest phases post-disaster. AHAH proudly maintains its 4-star rating, the highest awarded by Charity Navigator, for the tenth consecutive year. This rating is a testament to its commitment to transparency and efficiency. Join us in welcoming Nate Mook to All Hands and Hearts and supporting AHAH's mission to rebuild communities impacted by disasters. Learn more about AHAH's work and how you can get involved . Together, we can make a lasting impact. SOURCE All Hands and Hearts Exclusive program offers college planning resources and direct access to admissions officers at top colleges and universities SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is proud to introduce CIEE College Access, a new college planning resource designed in partnership with top colleges and universities, starting with George Washington University and Arizona State University, and offered exclusively for students who participate in CIEE High School Study Abroad programs. This initiative helps high school students leverage their international experience and receive expert support to gain admission to college and prepare for their future. CIEE College Access helps high school students leverage their study abroad experience in the college admissions process. Post this CIEE High School Summer Abroad Program participants in Portugal. CIEE College Access allows students to engage directly with college admissions officers; attend expert-led workshops; receive guidance on financial aid and scholarships; gain strategies to strengthen their application; and join a supportive community of peers who are also applying to college. "Studying abroad with CIEE develops key skills like independence, adaptability and global awareness, which we know are qualities that top colleges and universities seek," said Patrick Moran, Vice President of College Enrollment at CIEE. "CIEE College Access ensures our high school students can effectively highlight these experiences in their applications and connect with college admissions professionals who recognize the value of a global education." While the college planning process can be expensive for many families, CIEE College Access is included as an alumni benefit for all CIEE High School Study Abroad participants. "CIEE works with more than 600 high schools and 400 college partners annually," said Moran. "We're thrilled to work with college advisors and admissions offices to help high school students leverage their study abroad experiences for college success at no extra cost to their families." For more information about CIEE College Access, visit ciee.org/collegeaccess or contact [email protected]. About CIEE: CIEE builds bridges between different people, different countries, and different cultures. For 75 years, we have helped young people participate in high-quality international exchange and study abroad programs that bring the world together. Since 1947, CIEE has supported more than one million student exchanges for participants from more than 140 countries. We change lives, our alumni change the world. Learn more at ciee.org. Media Contact: Leslie Taylor, [email protected], (207) 553-4274 SOURCE Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) AMSTERDAM, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NjiaPay, a Payments-as-a-Service company simplifying payments for African businesses, today announced the appointment of Tristan Kirchner to its board of advisors. Mr. Kirchner brings over 25 years of experience in the payments industry, including leadership roles at American Express, Barclays, and Visa. His expertise in digital payments and driving operational excellence at scale will be invaluable as NjiaPay pursues its mission to streamline the complex and fragmented African payments ecosystem. Mr. Kirchner currently serves as CEO and Chair of the Management Board of Uber Payments BV where he leads Uber's licensed payment operations in more than 30 markets, regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). In addition, he is also the Global Director of Regulated Payments Entities at Uber with responsibility for licensed payment companies in the U.K., Mexico and Taiwan. Prior to Uber, he was Managing Director at Barclays, heading Global Payment Networks with primary responsibility for Account Management, Business Development and Operational Processing & Compliance with the payment schemes. He also spent four years at Visa in senior leadership positions, managing large-scale payment operations, from their Processing Business unit to Head of Core Products. Finally, he started his career at American Express and worked in numerous roles, including as a Board member of the American Express European merchant acquiring business. "Having someone with Tristan's background and extensive payments experience as a strategic advisor is invaluable," said Jonatan Allback, CEO and co-founder of NjiaPay. "His guidance and expertise have already proven beneficial to NjiaPay and me personally. As we continue to redefine the payment space in Africa, pioneering a new approach to Payments-as-a-Service, Tristan's experience, from Visa to a global merchant like Uber, will be instrumental in accelerating our growth and expansion." "Payments innovation has accelerated globally over the past decade, and I believe Africa represents the next frontier, with an ecosystem ripe for disruption," said Mr. Kirchner. "I am a firm believer in NjiaPay's approach to addressing today's challenges of a fragmented ecosystem, and I am excited to contribute to and help Jonatan and the NjiaPay shape the next wave of payment innovations in Africa." For more information contact: Jonatan Allback CEO & Co-founder [email protected] +31627418267 About NjiaPay NjiaPay, a Payments-as-a-Service provider with offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Cape Town, South Africa, simplifies payments for African businesses. By managing the complexities of integrating with and operating across multiple payment service providers on the continent, NjiaPay reduces payment costs while improving conversion rates, leading to less overhead and increased revenue for its clients. SOURCE NjiaPay Nord Anglia's latest research explores how allocating structured reflection time helps young children develop independence and self-awareness. LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international schools group Nord Anglia Education has launched 'Flag Time', a new research project focused on metacognitionthe process through which children understand how they think and learn bestin early years education (ages 3-6). The research involving 21 Nord Anglia schools explores how structured moments of reflection can allow young children to assess their own learning. Founded and led by Dr Anne Baldisseri, Head of School at Avenues Sao Paulo, Flag Time is a 20-minute daily classroom routine where students engage in targeted tasks designed to build on their strengths, support areas for development, and improve their self-awareness. Teachers place a flag with each child's name and picture in a part of the classroom where a specially chosen task is waiting. Each day, children work individually, or in groups with others who share an interest or need to develop the same skill. For example, a teacher may use a student's interest in adventure to develop their maths skills by having them use magnifying glasses to find and solve as many maths problems as possiblehidden in pictures of adventure locations before the timer rings. These tasks are tailored to each child's interests and learning needs. At the end of Flag Time, students reflect on their progress and set personal learning goalsbuilding a habit of continuous improvement from the earliest years. Key research objectives of the Flag Time research project include understanding how: Promoting self-regulated learning encourages young children to reflect on their progress and set learning goals. Enhancing student independence and confidence helps early learners take an active role in their education. Dr Anne Baldisseri said: "Research shows that metacognition plays a critical role in student success, yet its application in early childhood education remains underexplored. Flag Time provides young learners with the structure and language to reflect on their thinking, understand their own strengths, interests, and needs, and make intentional choices about their learning. By embedding these practices into daily routines, we are nurturing self-awareness, independence, and a foundation for lifelong learning." Dr Kate Erricker, Group Head of Education Research at Nord Anglia Education, said: "By embedding reflection, choice, and self-assessment into everyday routines, Flag Time is equipping our youngest learners with the skills to think deeply, learn independently, and approach challenges with confidence." The research findings will be published by Nord Anglia in the summer of 2025, including recommendations for how teachers can integrate metacognitive strategies into early years learning. Flag Time is Nord Anglia's third metacognition research project, following its metacognition research project with Boston College, which launched in 2023 and examines how metacognitive strategies enhance student learning across Nord Anglia's global network of schools. Its first-year findings were published in "Building Better Thinkers", highlighting the benefits of embedding metacognition into teaching practices through student and teacher data. Flag Time also complements Nord Anglia's yearlong research collaboration with Project Zeroa research centre at the Harvard Graduate School of Educationon the DELTA project, exploring how metacognitive strategies can enhance student development across Nord Anglia's 'Learner Ambitions': creativity, curiosity, collaboration, compassion, critical thinking and commitment. About Nord Anglia Education: As a leading international schools organisation, we're shaping a generation of creative and resilient global citizens who graduate from our schools with everything they need for success, whatever they choose to be or do in life. Our strong academic foundations combine world-class teaching and curricula with cutting-edge technology and facilities, creating learning experiences like no other. Inside and outside of the classroom, we inspire our students to achieve more than they ever thought possible. No two children learn the same way, which is why our schools around the world personalise learning to what works best for every student. Inspired by our high-quality teachers, our students achieve outstanding academic results and go on to study at the world's top universities. Our Nord Anglia global family includes 80+ day and boarding schools in 33 countries, teaching over 90,000 students from ages 3 to 18. To learn more or apply for a place for your child at one of our schools, go to nordangliaeducation.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1503193/5200638/Nord_Anglia_Education_Logo.jpg SOURCE Nord Anglia Education SAN DIEGO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications are now available for North Island Credit Union's Summer Internship Program for college students. Now in its fourth year, the program offers paid internships to provide students with professional work experience and mentoring in multiple areas throughout the organization, including opportunities in the Business Banking, Business Insights & Analytics, Consumer Lending, Deposit Operations, Digital & Event Marketing, Information Security, IT Help Desk, Learning & Development, Operations Support and Wealth Management departments. "An important part of our educational support initiatives is providing hands-on work experience and mentoring local students to help open doors to a future career," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "Our highly successful Summer Internship Program integrates students into teams across the credit union so they can apply what they learn in the classroom to a hands-on setting in the business world." College students can learn more and apply for the internships through the credit union's website. The North Island Credit Union internships will provide students with practical work experience within and across multiple departments, leadership development skills, and school-to-career readiness, with direct training and mentoring with managers. All internships will be paid, full-time (30 40 hours/week) opportunities at the credit union's San Diego headquarters office from June 16th through August 15th. About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of $5 billion, approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. Named a Forbes Best-In-State Credit Union in 2024, the credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu. SOURCE North Island Credit Union WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Security Space Association (NSSA) has released its official position paper, "Double Down on the Space Force Budget," calling for Congress to double the U.S. Space Force budget to $60 billion over the FY 2026-2030 Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). This investment is critical as China and Russia continue to advance counterspace weapons, cyber warfare capabilities, and anti-satellite (ASAT) systems, directly challenging U.S. national security and global stability. "The establishment of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command was a groundbreaking step in securing U.S. leadership in space," said Steve Jacques, Executive Director of NSSA. "We recognize the vision, innovation, and leadership demonstrated by President Trump, senior military officials, and the warfighter in building a service capable of meeting modern space challenges. However, China's rapid military-civil fusion strategy and Russia's continued investment in space-based threats are eroding U.S. dominance. We must act decisively to provide the funding, procurement agility, and operational flexibility necessary to ensure the United States of America remains the world's preeminent space power." The NSSA paper warns that China has deployed hundreds of military satellites, developed hypersonic weapons, and expanded contested cislunar operations, while Russia has launched reconnaissance satellites targeting U.S. military assets and is reportedly developing a nuclear-armed ASAT weapon. Without urgent action, the U.S. risks falling behind in space, jeopardizing both military and commercial operations. To counter these threats, NSSA calls for a structured, stair-stepped increase in the Space Force budget to enhance missile warning and tracking, counterspace operations, intelligence and surveillance, secure satellite communications, and rapid launch capabilities. However, funding alone is not enoughCongress must reform procurement processes to eliminate inefficiencies, streamline acquisitions, and enable rapid deployment of critical capabilities. Additionally, NSSA recommends that Congress establish mission-focused budget line items and provide greater flexibility in the execution of appropriations to ensure resources can be quickly realigned to meet emerging threats. The Space Force must also expand partnerships with the commercial space sector to leverage innovation while ensuring that warfighter-driven requirements remain central to all investment decisions. To sustain U.S. space superiority, NSSA urges Congress and the Executive Branch to integrate these recommendations into the FY 2026 President's Budget Request, secure bipartisan support for long-term Space Force investment, and commit to sustained growth through the FYDP planning process. Read the Full Position Paper Here: https://nssaspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Accelerate-or-Lose.pdf SOURCE National Security Space Association VIERA, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Olive Tree Greek Grill Inc of Viera FL is excited to announce the hiring of their Executive Chef Andres Zuluaga along with Chef de Cuisine Matthew Lower. With their combined passion and impressive culinary background, we believe this duo will be amazing leaders for our culinary team. Instagram Executive Chef Andres will be heading to the motherland, Athens, Greece on March 4th. While in Greece Chef will train under Michelin Chef Nikos Karathanos learning the philosophy behind traditional Greek cuisine. Chef Andres and Chef Nikos will collaborate in creating the menu for Pano our sophisticated dining experience located on the second floor of the new Olive Tree Greek Grill location. You can follow Chef Andres' journey while in Greece on social media. Executive Chef Andres Zuluaga Chef began his culinary journey in 2013 at Eastern Florida State College's culinary school in Cocoa, FL. After a summer internship with Wolfgang Puck's catering venue in Washington DC, he was convinced to stay long-term to join Wolfgang Puck's Asian concept The Source. Chef then worked for the Michelin-starred Fabio Trabocchi Restaurant Group opening Del Mar as Sous Chef, which achieved Esquire Magazine's 2018 list of "Best New Restaurants in America" and Nominated for a James Beard Award. In 2020 as Executive Chef at Blend 111 he garnered many praises for his Latin-Cuisine from The Washington Posts' restaurant critic Tom Sietsema and Northern Virginia Magazine's "Top Ten Restaurants" list. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Zuluaga finds joy and fulfillment in his role as a husband and father to three children. Chef de Cuisine Matthew Lower A native of West Palm Beach chef at 20, traveled to Sweden where he worked under the tutelage of restaurateur Christian Kullman, training at his fine dining restaurant Madame Mustache. After returning to America, Chef traveled from NYC to LA. While in LA Chef worked alongside Govind Armstrong at the Mayor's congressional dinner of Los Angeles, as well as studied under 2-time Best Chef of Pasadena, Job Carder. Upon his return to Florida Chef Matthew joined Chef Gwenael le Pape and his team at La Goulue on Palm Beach Island. Prior to joining the Olive Tree Greek Grill Team Lower ran food production and oversaw multiple concepts for Slawson Organic Foods as their Executive Chef. Away from the kitchen Chef Matthew enjoys being a husband and father of 2 young children as well as an avid car lover. Bios SOURCE Olive Tree Greek Grill Inc. On February 14, 2025, Ono Pharmaceuticals secured FDA approval for vimseltinib, a therapy for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), which will be marketed as ROMVIMZA. This approval places Ono in direct competition with another Japanese pharmaceutical company, Daiichi Sankyo, in the TGCT market. LAS VEGAS, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tenosynovial giant cell tumor, also known as pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) or giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath (GCT-TS), is primarily treated through surgical resection. For localized TGCT, the typical approach involves direct removal of the tumor nodule. In contrast, diffused-type TGCT (DTGCT) tends to present as larger tumors affecting major joints, making treatment more complex. Management options for DTGCT often include total synovectomy, joint replacement, or, in extremely rare cases, amputation. Among the 7MM, the United States had the highest prevalence of tenosynovial giant cell tumor, accounting for approximately 45% of total cases. In 2023, localized TGCT in the U.S. was most commonly found in the digits, representing around 75% of cases. Depending on whether the tumor is localized or diffuse, giant cell tumors can also occur in the knee, ankle, hip, and other areas. According to DelveInsight analysts, diffuse TGCT was most frequently observed in the knee, with an estimated 30,000 cases in the US in 2023. The primary approach to treating TGCT is surgery, often supplemented by alternative options like Radiation Therapy, Radiosynovectomy, and Systemic Therapies, including CSF1 inhibitors and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors. TURALIO (pexidartinib, previously known as PLX3397) is a targeted therapy developed by Daiichi Sankyo for adult patients with symptomatic tenosynovial giant cell tumor that leads to significant morbidity or functional limitations and cannot be effectively treated with surgery. This orally administered small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor acts on colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT), and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) with an internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation. Overexpression of the CSF1R ligand contributes to excessive cell proliferation and accumulation in the synovium. The US FDA approved TURALIO in August 2019 for the treatment of TGCT in adults with severe symptoms and limited surgical options. Before this, in October 2015, pexidartinib received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the FDA for TGCT treatment. TURALIO carries a risk of serious and potentially life-threatening liver toxicity and is available only through a restricted Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. Learn more about the FDA-approved TGCT drugs @ Drugs for Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Treatment Recently, in February 2025, Ono Pharmaceuticals secured FDA approval for vimseltinib for the treatment of tenosynovial giant cell tumor. Marketed under the brand name ROMVIMZA, the drug places Ono in direct competition with fellow Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo in the TGCT space. Like TURALIO, which became the first FDA-approved TGCT treatment in 2019, ROMVIMZA is a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor. As a kinase inhibitor, it blocks the CSF1 receptor to slow the growth of cells expressing this protein, potentially limiting tumor progression in TGCT. Ono Pharmaceuticals acquired ROMVIMZA through its $2.4 billion purchase of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals last year, making the U.S.-based firm a subsidiary. At the time, Ono's CEO, Gyo Sagara, described the acquisition as a strategic effort to expand the company's targeted oncology pipeline, strengthen its presence in the U.S. and European markets, and enhance its kinase drug discovery expertise. To compete with TURALIO's early market entry, Ono is positioning ROMVIMZA as a more convenient TGCT treatment. Unlike Daiichi Sankyo's drug, which requires twice-daily dosing, ROMVIMZA is administered only twice a week, with at least 72 hours between doses. Additionally, while TURALIO carries a boxed warning for hepatotoxicity due to the risk of severe liver damage, ROMVIMZA does not have this safety warning. To know more about TGCT treatment options, visit @ New Treatment for Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors TGCT that is not amenable to improvement from surgery. Several companies, such as SynOx Therapeutics (Emactuzumab), AmMax Bio (AMB-05X), Merck KGaA (pimicotinib), and others, are involved in developing therapies for TGCT. Discover which therapies are expected to grab major TGCT market share @ Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Market Report Pimicotinib is an investigational, orally administered small-molecule inhibitor designed to selectively and effectively target the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor. Developed by Abbisko, it remains under clinical evaluation. In December 2023, Abbisko Therapeutics agreed with Merck, granting Merck exclusive rights to commercialize pimicotinib-based products for all indications in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, with the possibility of expanding to global markets, including the US. Pimicotinib has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) by both the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the FDA, as well as Priority Medicine (PRIME) designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of patients with TGCT who are not candidates for surgery. In November 2024, Merck reported that the Phase III MANEUVER trial, conducted by Abbisko Therapeutics, met its primary endpoint. The study showed a significant improvement in the objective response rate (ORR) for patients with tenosynovial giant cell tumor. By week 25, pimicotinib achieved an ORR of 54.0%, compared to 3.2% in the placebo group (p<0.0001). Emactuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that serves as a potent and selective inhibitor of CSF-1R. By interacting with two key cytokines, CSF-1 and IL-34, the CSF-1 receptor plays a crucial role in regulating macrophages and related cells across various biological processes and organ systems. This makes it a compelling target with wide-ranging therapeutic potential. SynOx Therapeutics is currently assessing emactuzumab in the Phase III TANGENT clinical trial. In April 2024, the company secured a $35 million loan facility from Hercules Capital, bolstering its financial position as it advances the trial. Additionally, SynOx successfully completed a $75 million Series B funding round. Earlier, in August 2022, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) granted orphan medicinal product designation to emactuzumab for both localized and diffuse TGCT. AMB-05X is a powerful monoclonal antibody targeting CSF1R, designed as a therapeutic platform for severe macrophage-driven inflammatory, fibrotic, and neovascular conditions. It has received Fast Track designation from the FDA and PRIME designation from the EMA for TGCT. Currently, it is being evaluated in a Phase II clinical trial to assess its safety, tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics when administered via intra-articular injection in TGCT patients. Discover more about drugs for TGCT in development @ Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Clinical Trials The anticipated launch of these emerging therapies for TGCT are poised to transform the market landscape in the coming years. As these cutting-edge therapies continue to mature and gain regulatory approval, they are expected to reshape the TGCT market landscape, offering new standards of care and unlocking opportunities for medical innovation and economic growth. DelveInsight estimates that the market size for TGCT is expected to grow from USD 300 million in 2023, with a significant CAGR by 2034. This growth can be attributed to the approval of new therapies with improved safety and tolerability compared to pexidartinib, which will significantly impact the treatment landscape in the coming years. This will lead to increased adoption of these new therapies, with patients transitioning from off-label treatments to these newer options during the forecast period (20232034). DelveInsight's latest published market report, titled as Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Market Insight, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast 2034 will help you to discover which market leader is going to capture the largest market share. The report provides comprehensive insights into the TGCT country-specific treatment guidelines, patient pool analysis, and epidemiology forecast to help understand the key opportunities and assess the market's underlying potential. The TGCT market report proffers epidemiological analysis for the study period 20202034 in the 7MM segmented into: Prevalent Cases of TGCT Growth Pattern-specific Prevalent Cases of TGCT Gender-specific Prevalent Cases of Localized TGCT Gender-specific Prevalent Cases of Diffuse TGCT Tumor Location-specific of Localized TGCT Tumor Location-specific Cases of Diffuse TGCT Total Treated Cases of TGCT The report provides an edge while developing business strategies by understanding trends shaping and driving the 7MM TGCT market. Highlights include: 10-year Forecast 7MM Analysis Epidemiology-based Market Forecasting Historical and Forecasted Market Analysis upto 2034 Emerging Drug Market Uptake Peak Sales Analysis Key Cross Competition Analysis Industry Expert's Opinion Access and Reimbursement Download this TGCT market report to assess the epidemiology forecasts, understand the patient journeys, know KOLs' opinions about the upcoming treatment paradigms, and determine the factors contributing to the shift in the TGCT market. Also, stay abreast of the mitigating factors to improve your market position in the TGCT therapeutic space. Related Reports Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Epidemiology Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Epidemiology Forecast 2034 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted TGCT epidemiology in the 7MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, Spain, Italy, and France), the United Kingdom, and Japan. Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Pipeline Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumors Pipeline Insight 2025 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key TGCT companies, including AmMax Bio, Inc., Deciphera Pharmaceuticals SynOx Therapeutics, Abbisko Therapeutics Co, Ltd., Hutchison Medipharma Limited, Elixiron Immunotherapeutics, among others. Rheumatoid Arthritis Market Rheumatoid Arthritis Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast 2034 report deliver an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key rheumatoid arthritis companies, including Taisho Pharmaceuticals, R-Pharm, GlaxoSmithKline, Aclaris Therapeutics, Pfizer, Abivax, Bristol Myers Squibb, Oscotec, Genosco, Mesoblast, Pfizer Akros Pharma, Japan Tobacco, Abbvie, Horizon Therapeutics, Eli Lilly and Company, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Gilead Sciences, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Istesso, SynAct Pharma, Cyxone, among others. Rheumatoid Arthritis Pipeline Rheumatoid Arthritis Pipeline Insight 2025 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key rheumatoid arthritis companies, including Taisho Pharmaceutical, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical, SinoMab, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, RemeGen, GlaxoSmithKline, Modern Biosciences, Jiangsu Alphamab Biopharmaceuticals, Akros Pharma, Hanlim Pharm, Galapagos NV, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Aclaris Therapeutics, Abivax, AbbVie, Synact Pharma, Gilead sciences, Mesoblast, Rottapharm Biotech, Eli Lilly and Company, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Abcentra, Cyxone, Yungjin Pharm. Co., Ltd. Taiho Pharmaceutical, Oscotec Inc., Pfizer, Janssen Research & Development, Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc., KLUS Pharma Inc., Revolo Biotherapeutics, Lynk Pharmaceuticals, Beijing Baylx Biotech, Hope Biosciences, Kangstem Biotech, Celltex Therapeutics, I-Mab Biopharma Co. Ltd., Synermore Biologics Co., Ltd, Oryn Therapeutics, Arthrogen, Bayer, Amgen, Draconis Pharma, Biozeus, Landos Biopharma, Imcyse, Kymera Therapeutics, RedHill Biopharma, 4D Pharma, CV6 Therapeutics, VYNE Therapeutics, MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Brickell Biotech Inc, Worg Pharmaceuticals, Almirall, Standigm, Metrion Biosciences, Jnana Therapeutics, Silo Pharma, SFA Therapeutics, Neutrolis Therapeutics, Ahead Therapeutics, Fresenius Kabi, Kidswell Bio, BioXpress Therapeutics, CinnaGen, Alvotech, Hetero Biopharma, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Innovent Biologics, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, mAbxience, Shanghai Junshi Biosciences, Enosi Therapeutics, among others. About DelveInsight DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform PharmDelve. Contact Us Shruti Thakur [email protected] +14699457679 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg SOURCE DelveInsight Business Research, LLP BRAMPTON, ON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 55H is pleased to announce the phased expansion of its data center capacity, specifically designed to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) clients. This strategic development will provide 20 megawatts (MW) of available IT power in three stages: Immediate Availability: 2.5 MW is now available for lease, offering immediate support for AI workloads. 2.5 MW is now available for lease, offering immediate support for AI workloads. Summer 2025: A further 2.5 MW will be operational, expanding capacity to 5MW A further 2.5 MW will be operational, expanding capacity to 5MW 1H 2026: An additional 15 MW, culminating in a total IT capacity of up to 20 MW to support large-scale AI operations. This expansion is in response to the increasing computational needs of AI applications, which require high-density power solutions. By offering up to 130 kilowatts (kW) per rack coupled with infrastructure consisting of contiguous space, large floor plages currently vacant, and water-cooling technology, 55H ensures that clients can efficiently manage intensive AI processes, including machine learning and deep learning tasks. "Our commitment to supporting the AI industry is demonstrated through this significant investment in our infrastructure," said Bryan Marsh, CEO of 55H. "By providing scalable and robust power solutions, we enable our clients to focus on innovation without the concern of capacity constraints." The expansion is being executed in partnership with Core Data Centres Inc., renowned for their expertise in data center management and operations. Their collaboration ensures that each phase of the project meets the highest standards of efficiency and reliability. Prospective clients interested in leasing data center space are encouraged to contact 55H to discuss their specific requirements and secure capacity in alignment with their operational timelines. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact [email protected] About 55H 55H is a leading provider of data center solutions, committed to delivering high-quality infrastructure and services to meet the diverse needs of businesses in Canada and beyond. About Core Data Centres Inc. Core Data Centres Inc. specializes in the management and operation of advanced data center facilities, offering clients reliable, scalable, and sustainable solutions to support their critical IT infrastructure. SOURCE 55H MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- People who take over-the-counter pain relievers after a concussion may recover faster than those who do not take pain relievers, according to a preliminary study released March 5, 2025, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 77th Annual Meeting taking place April 59, 2025, in San Diego and online. The study does not prove that pain relievers improve recovery after concussion; it only shows an association. "These results are exciting as there are limited treatment options for concussion, and over-the-counter pain relievers are readily available and inexpensive," said study author Kyle Arnold, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "If these results can be confirmed by a controlled study, they could guide us to possible treatment options for people after a concussion." The cohort study was conducted by the NCAA and US Department of Defense CARE Consortium and looked at NCAA athletes and military cadets who had concussions. A total of 813 people took over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after their concussion and 848 people did not take any pain relievers. Researchers looked at the amount of time it took the athletes to be cleared to return to activities with no restrictions at both 50% recovery and 90% recovery, meaning when 50% of the athletes in the study recovered and then later when 90% recovered. People who took the pain relievers were 20% more likely to have a faster time before they were cleared to return to activities with no restrictions than those who did not take pain relievers. Those who took the medications were cleared at 50% recovery an average of two days faster, and at 90% recovery an average of seven days faster than those who took no medication. People who took pain relievers were also about 15% more likely to return to having no symptoms more quickly than those who did not take pain relievers. At 50% recovery, those taking the medications had no symptoms one day sooner than those not taking the medications. At 90% recovery, they had no symptoms three days sooner. Those who took pain relievers also had lower scores on tests of how severe their symptoms were overall and how severe their headaches were. The researchers also found that the earlier people took the pain relievers after the injury, the faster they recovered. For instance, at 50% recovery, those who started using pain relievers on the first day of their injury returned to play and had resolution of symptoms approximately eight days faster than those who started taking them after five or more days. There was no difference between the type of pain reliever taken and how quickly people recovered. "Early medication use appeared to be linked to shorter recovery times, but these findings require further validation through controlled trials," Arnold said. "In the meantime, these preliminary results may help inform potential treatment options for people recovering from concussions, but additional studies are needed to provide more definitive recommendations." The study was funded by the NCAA, the US Department of Defense and University of Washington Institute of Translational Health Sciences. Discover more about concussion at BrainandLife.org, from the American Academy of Neurology. This resource also offers a magazine, podcast, and books that connect patients, caregivers and anyone interested in brain health with the most trusted information, straight from the world's leading experts in brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, X, and Instagram. The American Academy of Neurology is the leading voice in brain health. As the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals with more than 40,000 members, the AAN provides access to the latest news, science and research affecting neurology for patients, caregivers, physicians and professionals alike. The AAN's mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all. A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, care and treatment of brain, spinal cord and nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, concussion, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, headache and migraine. Explore the latest in neurological disease and brain health, from the minds at the AAN at AAN.com or find us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting hashtag #AANAM. SOURCE American Academy of Neurology Photo: https://t.me/Koord_shtab/8996 During the entire period of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the bodies of 7,017 Ukrainian defenders were returned home, said Andriy Yusov, deputy head of the coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war. "As of February 14, the bodies of 7,017 Ukrainian defenders have been returned," he told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday. The collaboration will renew the Bowen Homes community to provide access to quality housing, healthcare and community resources ATLANTA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ Peach State Health Plan, a care management organization serving Georgians, and the Centene Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), today joined Atlanta Housing ("AH") and the City of Atlanta to break ground on the redevelopment of the Bowen Homes community in Atlanta, Georgia. Peach State Health Plan and the Foundation's investment will support efforts by McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS) to build a community designed to address health disparities and advance community health in the city. The Centene Foundation's funding contribution is the first state-level deployment of the Foundation's partnership with MBS, as announced in 2024. Below market-rate loans support predevelopment design, planning work and local community engagement while unlocking additional financing needed to accelerate projects. "Peach State Health Plan is committed to addressing drivers of health and that starts with ensuring all Georgians have access to both quality housing and healthcare," said Clyde A. White, President of Peach State Health Plan. "Through our continued investment in Bowen Homes, we are creating real opportunities for families to thrive in a neighborhood designed with health, empowerment and resilience at its core." The plan for the site will be community-focused with more than 750 residential units, and recreational amenities including outdoor plazas, seating, walking trails and more, along the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and James Jackson Parkway corridors in the Carey Park neighborhood. "By combining affordable housing, nutrition education, and behavioral and physical health resources, we can actively improve the quality of life for Georgians," said Centene Foundation President Keith Williamson. "Centene Foundation's partnership with MBS allows us to address healthcare challenges head on increasing healthcare access, closing long-term health disparities and improving health outcomes." The Centene Foundation and Peach State Health Plan's commitment in the Bowen Homes project builds on its broader investments in creating positive local impact and commitment to fostering long-term health by actively working with the community to shape approaches, connecting residents to essential healthcare and social services, and addressing community needs and vital resources, such as education opportunities for nutrition, behavioral health and maternal care. These initiatives will support the overall well-being of residents, ensuring the community can flourish. About Peach State Health Plan Peach State Health Plan is a care management organization that serves the needs of Georgians through a range of health insurance solutions. Peach State Health Plan serves the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids population in partnership with Georgia Families. The organization also focuses on under-insured and uninsured individuals through its federal insurance marketplace plan, Ambetter, and its Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan. Peach State Health Plan is a Centene company, a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives. For more information visit www.pshpgeorgia.com. About Centene Foundation The Centene Foundation (the "Foundation"), a private nonprofit focused on investing in economically challenged communities, is the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) ("Centene"). The Foundation supports projects and initiatives strategically aligned with Centene's mission-driven culture and enhances the work Centene is doing to remove the barriers to wellness underserved and low-income populations face. The Foundation is committed to addressing social drivers of health and improving health equity in three distinct areas of focus: healthcare access, social services and education. To learn more, visit the Centene Foundation's website. SOURCE Peach State Health Plan Celebrating Women's History Month with a Transformative Event Focused on Emotional Wellness and Resilience ATLANTA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This Women's History Month, Spelman College, in collaboration with Peloton and the Steve Fund, is proud to present Restorative Reflections: Emotional Wellness for the Spelman Community, a groundbreaking event designed to inspire, heal, and empower. On March 5, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, the Spelman community will come together for a day of mindfulness, resilience-building, and transformative conversations that celebrate the strength and well-being of women of color. This isn't just another eventit's a movement. Tailored specifically for the women of Spelman College, a global leader in the education of women of African descent, Restorative Reflections will offer students, faculty, and staff the tools to support them in thriving in a world that often demands too much. Through interactive workshops, thought-provoking discussions, and immersive mindfulness experiences, attendees will explore what it means to cultivate compassion, resilience, and emotional wellness in their personal, academic, and professional lives. "The Steve Fund is thrilled to collaborate with Spelman College and Peloton to bring this vision to life," said Theron McInnis of the Steve Fund. "This event is more than just a day of programmingit's a commitment to creating a future where young people of color can flourish emotionally, academically, and professionally. Peloton's dedication to wellness and community engagement has been invaluable in making this possible." What to Expect: A Day of Transformation The event will feature an inspiring lineup of activities and speakers designed to ignite change and foster healing: Mindfulness & Movement with Peloton : Kick off the day with renowned Peloton Instructor and Spelman alumna, Dr . Chelsea Jackson Roberts , who will guide participants through meditation and stress-management techniques. This session will help attendees center themselves, embrace stillness, and tap into their inner strength. : Kick off the day with renowned Peloton Instructor and alumna, . , who will guide participants through meditation and stress-management techniques. This session will help attendees center themselves, embrace stillness, and tap into their inner strength. Real Talk: A Panel on Emotional Resilience : Moderated by Frances Cloud , Director Counseling Center at Spelman , this candid discussion will feature Dr . Chelsea Jackson Roberts and Shona Pinnock , Peloton's Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a. They'll dive deep into the challenges women of color face in balancing multiple roles, the importance of self-care, and how to build emotional resilience in the face of adversity. Also joining the panel is Dr. Rae Lundy , a Steve Fund mental health expert and the Director of Counseling Services at Georgia State . : Moderated by , Director Counseling Center at , this candid discussion will feature . and , Peloton's Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a. They'll dive deep into the challenges women of color face in balancing multiple roles, the importance of self-care, and how to build emotional resilience in the face of adversity. Also joining the panel is , a Steve Fund mental health expert and the Director of Counseling Services at . Empowerment Workshops with the Steve Fund: Led by the Steve Fund mental health experts Dr. Janice Beal and Dr. Rae Lundy , these sessions will tackle critical topics like peer support, breaking the stigma around mental health, and practical strategies for building resilience. These workshops are designed to equip attendees with actionable tools to navigate the unique pressures women of color often face. "At Spelman College, we are committed to nurturing the holistic well-being of our students, faculty, and staff, ensuring they have the tools to thrive emotionally, academically, and professionally," said Rosalind "Roz" Brewer, Interim President of Spelman College. "We are proud to partner with Peloton and the Steve Fund to create an event that celebrates the resilience and strength of women of color. Together, we are building a future where emotional wellness is prioritized, and our community is empowered to lead with confidence and compassion." Why This Matters Women of color are often expected to be everything to everyonestudents, professionals, caregivers, and community leaderswhile facing systemic barriers to mental health support. Restorative Reflections is a bold step toward changing that narrative. By creating a safe space for healing and growth, this event aims to empower the Spelman community to prioritize their emotional well-being and thrive in every aspect of their lives. "I founded my yoga camp for young girls on Spelman's campus in the hopes of giving the community more access and I'm thrilled to be able to return for this transformative event focused on emotional wellbeing," said Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts, Peloton Instructor. "Yoga and meditation are beautiful practices that support people as they seek to open their hearts and minds, while building strength and confidence." A Commitment to Health Equity Restorative Reflections is a cornerstone of Spelman College's ongoing mission to promote health equity and emotional well-being. By equipping students with the tools to manage stress, build resilience, and prioritize self-care, the event underscores Spelman's dedication to nurturing confident, empowered leaders who are ready to take on the world. About The Steve Fund The Steve Fund is a leading nonprofit organization focused on transforming educational, organizational, and workplace environments to support the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. Building knowledge and capacity among organizations serving young people is critical to the Steve Fund's Mission. The Steve Fund offers various solutions to assist colleges, universities, nonprofits, and workplaces enhance their capacity to promote mental health and emotional well-being among young people of color. About Spelman College Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College's picturesque campus is home to 2,300 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.Ds in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The College's status is confirmed by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 39 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 30 for undergraduate teaching, No. 1 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 18th year among historically Black colleges and universities. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.Ds in economics. New majors and minors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, data science, refugee studies and gaming. Collaborations have been also established with MIT's Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning, among others. Outstanding alumnae include Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman's first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, Harvard University professor and former Dean Evelynn Hammonds, actress and producer LaTanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones. To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media. About Peloton Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) provides Members with expert instruction and world class content to create impactful and entertaining workout experiences for anyone, anywhere and at any stage in their fitness journey. At home, outdoors, traveling, or at the gym, Peloton brings together innovative hardware, distinctive software, and exclusive content. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, Peloton has millions of Members across the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Austria. For more information, visit www.onepeloton.com . SOURCE The Steve Fund The creators of ZYMOX & Oratene sponsor The Best Pet Stylist in Show at GROOM'D ATLANTA, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet King Brands, the industry-leading creators of ZYMOX and Oratene pet healthcare products, announces their exhibition and sponsorship at GROOM'D 2025. From March 7-March 9, 2025, professional groomers and kennel operators are invited to explore the show floor for new trends and tools, the latest in pet wellness, business insight and competitive grooming artistry. The creators of ZYMOX & Oratene sponsor The Best Pet Stylist in Show at GROOMD. Pet King Brands is sponsoring the Best Pet Stylist in Show Awards, taking place Sunday, March 9, 2025. From 12:50-1:00pm, the Best Pet Stylist in Show winner will be chosen from the first-place winners of the weekend's contests from each of the following groups: Wire Coats, Sporting, Other Purebreds and Poodles. "The entire team at Pet King Brands is honored to aid in the process of acknowledging the industry's best groomers," said Debra Decker, Director of Marketing, Pet King Brands. "Groomers are an invaluable piece of the puzzle in our pets' wellness, and it is an important element of our mission to support their craft." The company will be exhibiting at Booth #350 at the Georgia International Convention Center. For further details regarding GROOM'D 2025, visit https://www.groomd.org/. For product information, visit www.zymox.com. If you are a member of the media and would like to request more information, hi-res images or an interview with Pet King Brands founders, please contact Parker Samuelson at K. Sutherland PR, (775) 360-6101 or [email protected]. About Pet King Brands Pet King Brands, proud sponsors of The Westminster Kennel Club's 149th Dog Show and makers of ZYMOX Ear and Skin, Oratene Brushless Oral Care, Equine Defense, and ZYLAFEN products, is a leader in veterinarian-approved pet products made in the USA. Focused on the health and wellness of small and large animals of all ages, the products utilize the power of the LP3 Enzyme System and have been resolving ear, skin and oral conditions for over 25 years. Led by President and Founder Pamela Bosco, with the help of her bioscientist brother, Michael Pellico, Pet King Brands has revolutionized the way people care for animals' ears, skin and mouths, offering solutions that are gentle, easy to administer and free of harsh chemicals and antibiotics. SOURCE Pet King Brands LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PX3 Partners ("PX3"), the London-headquartered private equity firm, announces today that its portfolio company Cleanova is acquiring Micronics Engineered Filtration Group ("Micronics"). This transformative industrial combination will create one of the largest independent industrial filtration businesses in the world, with an enterprise value of $1.3 billion. The transaction is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2025. Headquartered in Killarney, Ireland, Cleanova is a leading global clean-tech manufacturer of consumable, mission-critical, and engineered industrial filtration systems, helping customers ensure the reliability and efficiency of their industrial processes while protecting the environment. It serves a diversified customer base operating in a wide range of industrial end markets globally. Cleanova operates in an attractive, large, and growing addressable market, with a significant global installed base and a resilient, predictable, and recurring aftermarket. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, Micronics is a leading global clean-tech manufacturer of filter media, industrial filtration systems, and provider of a broad range of expert field services, delivering customised air and liquid filtration solutions to meet demanding requirements across a variety of industrial applications. Micronics' solutions help customers maintain reliable operations, enhance efficiency, and contribute to environmental protection worldwide. Cleanova and Micronics are highly complementary across markets, geographies, and products. While both businesses already operate globally, the combined company will benefit from Micronics' strong presence in North America and Cleanova's leading position in EMEA. Similarly, Cleanova's leadership in liquid filtration solutions will be enhanced by Micronics' upstream pressure and vacuum filtration process offerings as well as its air filtration solutions. The combined company, which will retain Cleanova as its name and move its headquarters to Chattanooga, will have comprehensive operations across a broad spectrum of applications and end markets, further enhancing the ability to deliver innovative, advanced and broader filtration solutions to customers globally. This landmark transaction aligns closely with the three pillars of PX3's investment strategy. By delivering highly engineered filtration products focussed on customer needs and reducing environmental pollution, Cleanova benefits from two of the transformative themes that PX3 seeks to underwrite, namely Compete Smarter and Planet First. Furthermore, it operates within the branded light manufacturing segment of industrials, one of PX3's areas of focus. Finally, Cleanova possesses the strong business fundamentals that PX3 exclusively invests behind. The combination further leverages PX3's situational differentiation, including its transatlantic reach and global DNA, buy-and-build capabilities, and Connected Acceleration value creation model. As part of the transaction, Chris Cummins, Chief Executive Officer of Micronics, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the enlarged Cleanova business. Javaid Riaz, incumbent Chief Executive Officer of Cleanova, will continue to serve on Cleanova's Board of Directors, support the combination of the two companies, and continue to provide strategic counsel to the company. Micronics' current control shareholder, Vance Street Capital, and Micronics' management team will both reinvest a substantial proportion of their sale proceeds as part of the transaction, underscoring their confidence in the future success of Cleanova. PX3 will invest more capital and will continue to control the company. The Managing Partners of PX3 commented: "Following our carve-out acquisition of Cleanova in October 2023, we established it as an independent business, invested substantially in its management team and operations, enhancing its offering and accelerating growth, and acquired two complementary companies. This milestone transaction significantly accelerates the industrial transformation we envisioned from the outset, establishing an independent global leader in filtration. We look forward to continuing to support Cleanova in the execution of its strategy, delivering value to its customers and shareholders." Chris Cummins, designated Chief Executive Officer of Cleanova, remarked: "Joining forces with Cleanova marks a pivotal moment for our business, positioning us for a new chapter of accelerated growth and innovation at a global scale. This strategic move will accelerate our ongoing objectives to expand our global reach and further diversify our product and service offerings while maintaining our commitment to delivering excellence to our customers." Javaid Riaz, Member of the Board of Directors, Cleanova, remarked: "This transformational partnership with Micronics marks a significant milestone in Cleanova's growth journey, propelling us into a new phase of geographical expansion and product diversification. Cleanova and Micronics are highly complementary businesses and we are excited to join forces to become a leading independent industrial filtration company globally." BofA Securities and Santander are serving as financial advisors to PX3, Weil, Gotshal & Manges is serving as legal advisor, and Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, and Santander provided committed debt financing for the transaction. PX3 further enlisted the support of Alvarez & Marsal as accounting and tax advisor, Aon as benefits, insurance, and pension advisor, Debevoise & Plimpton as tax structuring advisor, Kearney as synergy and operational advisor, KPMG as ESG advisor, Phoenix Advantage as IT advisor, and Rothschild & Co as debt financing advisor. Media enquiries Greenbrook Michael Russell +44 20 7952 2000 [email protected] About PX3 Partners PX3 stands for purpose, passion, and performance. It is a pan-European private equity firm founded in 2021 by Petter Johnsson, Gianpiero Lenza, and Sebastien Mazella di Bosco with headquarters in London. It invests behind transformative themes and targets companies operating within select segments of the business services, consumer and leisure, and industrials sectors with strong business fundamentals. PX3 is committed to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams build great businesses through transformative growth internationally and operational improvement. PX3 is the continuation and consolidation of the founding partners' investment strategy and their relationship-focused and distinctive value creation model honed over 20 years working together. www.px3partners.com SOURCE PX3 Partners TAIPEI, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading innovator in computing, networking, and storage solutions, has unveiled the TS-h1277AFX, a 12-bay tower all-flash NAS designed to meet the rigorous demands of multimedia production and virtualization. Powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 9000 Series processor, the TS-h1277AFX can be upgraded to 25GbE via expansion cards for high-speed data access. Combining exceptional performance and capacity, it serves as a centralized hub for storage, file sharing, backup, and disaster recovery, making it an ideal choice for dynamic and collaborative work environments. QNAP TS-h1277AFX Ideal storage solution for high-speed video editing, VFX, collaboration, and data protection. "All-flash NAS solutions are crucial for media professionals," said Alex Shih, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "the TS-h1277AFX delivers low-latency, multi-user access that optimizes collaboration workflows. It provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio for creative teams, enabling seamless 4K/8K media transfers, real-time editing, and secure file management." Key Features Powerful Performance to Drive Critical Business Operations Powered by AMD Ryzen 7 9000 Series (8-core) processors , the TS-h1277AFX supports up to 192GB of DDR5 ECC memory and includes a built-in GPU, making it ideal for demanding tasks like multimedia, real-time video editing, and VFX processing. Powered by , the TS-h1277AFX supports and includes a built-in GPU, making it ideal for demanding tasks like multimedia, real-time video editing, and VFX processing. Immutable Storage for Enhanced Data Security Driven by QuTS hero, the TS-h1277AFX integrates ZFS self-healing, data deduplication, RAID redundancy, and SSD optimization for enterprise-grade data protection and performance, reducing hardware failure risks while maximizing SSD efficiency and lifespan to maximize your all-flash investment. Driven by QuTS hero, the TS-h1277AFX integrates ZFS self-healing, data deduplication, RAID redundancy, and SSD optimization for enterprise-grade data protection and performance, reducing hardware failure risks while maximizing SSD efficiency and lifespan to maximize your all-flash investment. Fast Networking with 25GbE Options Featuring two 2.5GbE and two 10GBASE-T ports , the TS-h1277AFX can be upgraded to 25GbE to accommodate high-speed data transfers. When paired with QNAP's multi-port high-speed switches, It provides seamless multi-user collaboration and efficient file sharing. Featuring , the TS-h1277AFX can be upgraded to to accommodate high-speed data transfers. When paired with QNAP's multi-port high-speed switches, It provides seamless multi-user collaboration and efficient file sharing. Flexible Expansion to Meet Growing Needs The TS-h1277AFX comes with three PCIe Gen 4 expansion slots , allowing users to add options for high-speed networking , JBOD storage expansions , or M.2 SSD upgrades , making it highly adaptable to changing performance and storage needs. The TS-h1277AFX comes with allowing users to add options for or , making it highly adaptable to changing performance and storage needs. Accelerated Data Import/Export and Video Display The TS-h1277AFX includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports with 10Gbps transfer speeds for rapid SSD data transfers, streamlining media backup and restoration. It also features a 4K HDMI output for direct content display on monitors, simplifying local operations and video presentations. For more information and specifications, please visit www.qnap.com. SOURCE QNAP Systems, Inc. CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rob Miller, President of RAM Pavement, has been honored with the Vistage Leadership Award 2024 for the Charlotte, North Carolina market. Vistage, a global peer advisory organization, provides business leaders with structured discussions and professional development opportunities. This award recognizes outstanding leadership and contributions within the Vistage community. Headshot of Rob Miller, President of RAM Pavement Vistage brings together up to 18 business owners per group, meeting monthly to discuss key business challenges, financial strategies and leadership development. These structured sessions include guest speakers and collaborative problem-solving among executives. The Charlotte region hosts 15 Vistage groups, each consisting of experienced business leaders who share insights and support one another. At the Vistage Southeast Summit, which gathered leaders from North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, Rob Miller was presented with the Leadership Award. He attributes this recognition to the strength of his team at RAM Pavement, emphasizing that the company's success is built on a solid leadership foundation. Key team members Don, Russ and Tom play a crucial role in streamlining operations and building efficient business processes. During the summit, Rob Miller publicly acknowledged that this award was not just a personal achievement but a reflection of the collective effort of his entire team. This recognition underscores RAM Pavement's dedication to business excellence, strong leadership and continuous growth. "I was only able to achieve this because of the team I built. RAM Pavement is what it is today because of the incredible people who work here. This recognition is a reflection of their dedication and the processes we've put in place to make our business successful." Rob Miller, President, RAM Pavement For more information about RAM Pavement and its leadership-driven approach, visit www.rampavement.com About RAM Pavement RAM Pavement is a commercial paving company serving North and South Carolina. Since 2004, commercial, educational, municipal and government organizations have trusted RAM Pavement to preserve and manage their paved assets. Delivering the full spectrum of concrete and asphalt paving services, the company ensures that the entire scope of work is complete on every job, including The Last 5%. For additional information, contact RAM Pavement directly at (704) 622-1300. [Social Media Handles] https://twitter.com/RamPavement https://www.facebook.com/Ram-Pavement-Services-Inc-168686569814261/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ram-pavement-services-inc https://www.instagram.com/rampavement/ SOURCE RAM Pavement Gifts from Moody Foundation and Brown Foundation create new facility to empower student success HOUSTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rice University will break ground on the new Moody Center Complex for Student Life (MCCSL) later this spring, marking a transformative moment for the university's commitment to student engagement, development and success. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for May 8 and will signal the start of an exciting chapter in the university's student-focused growth, university leaders said. "Rice is dedicated to empowering our students to become leaders who make meaningful impacts around the world." Post this Moody Center Complex for Student Life at Rice University (architectural rendering courtesy of Olson Kundig) Made possible by generous gifts from the Moody Foundation and the Brown Foundation, a new 75,000-square-foot facility will be constructed to serve as a dynamic hub for student activities, supporting connection and interaction among Rice students and the broader community. To be located on the south side of the Central Quadrangle, the new facility will complement the Rice Memorial Center (RMC) and Ley Student Center, which will undergo renovations after the completion of the new building, creating a cohesive student center complex called the Moody Center Complex for Student Life. Rice students will have the opportunity to provide input on the redesign of the existing student center, ensuring their voices are integral to shaping their campus experience. "Rice University is dedicated to empowering our students to become leaders who make meaningful impacts around the world," President Reginald DesRoches said. "The Moody Center Complex for Student Life will be a centerpiece for community, creativity and collaboration, providing our students with the resources and spaces they need to thrive. We are sincerely grateful to the Moody Foundation and Brown Foundation for their incredible vision and support." The new facility will feature a large programming pavilion that opens to the Central Quad, offering opportunities for both indoor and outdoor events, including performances, lectures and multicultural celebrations. The building will also house a variety of spaces, such as a cafe, coffeehouse, meeting rooms, study areas and student services offices, designed to meet the needs of Rice's diverse and growing student body. Over the past decade, the university's enrollment has expanded by 34%, with nearly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students now calling Rice home. The project is supported by the historic $100 million commitment from the Moody Foundation, announced in 2021, which remains the largest single donation in Rice's history. The gift not only supports the construction of the MCCSL but also funds 12 endowments focused on advancing student opportunity and success collectively called The Moody Experience. The Brown Foundation provided an additional $15 million to support the project. Designed by award-winning architecture firm Olson Kundig with Page as the executive architect, the new building is scheduled for completion in fall 2027. "This new state-of-the-art facility will be much more than just a building; it is an investment in the future of every student, supporting them in pursuit of their passions," said Elle Moody '14, a trustee of both the Moody Foundation and Rice. "My hope is that it will provide opportunities for our students to form meaningful connections, not only with one another, but also with a vast network of scholars and leaders from local to global communities." Established in 1942, the Moody Foundation has awarded more than $2 billion in the areas of the humanities, arts, religion, education, health, science, community and social events in the state of Texas. Since 1964, the foundation has contributed over $125 million to Rice. "The Moody Center Complex for Student Life is set to become a vibrant cornerstone of student activity at Rice an open, inclusive and outward-looking space that amplifies the university's mission to support students in their academic, personal and professional journeys," said Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, finance and support. The Brown Foundation has given over $112 million to Rice throughout its rich history. The foundation's namesake, George R. Brown, served on Rice's Board of Trustees from 1943 and as chairman from 1950-1965, the first alumnus to receive this honor. Known for his personal interest in students, he often met with them directly. The Brown family's legacy at Rice is evident throughout the campus, with several buildings and programs bearing their name, including the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, Brown College, Alice Pratt Brown Hall and Herman Brown Hall. About Rice University Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering and computing, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Internationally, the university maintains the Rice Global Paris Center, a hub for innovative collaboration, research and inspired teaching located in the heart of Paris. With 4,776 undergraduates and 4,104 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 7 for best-run colleges by the Princeton Review. SOURCE Rice University CHICAGO, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Robert Spadoni Scholarship for Entrepreneurs is now accepting applications from undergraduate students nationwide who demonstrate exceptional entrepreneurial potential. Established by healthcare executive Robert Spadoni, this $1,000 scholarship supports students committed to creating positive change through entrepreneurial ventures. The scholarship is open to undergraduate students from all academic disciplines and institutions across the United States. Applicants must demonstrate a passion for entrepreneurship, leadership potential, and a commitment to making a positive impact through their innovative ideas. Robert Spadoni designed this scholarship to reflect his belief in the transformative power of entrepreneurial thinking. With his background in healthcare administration and educational credentials including an L.L.M. in Health Law, a J.D., and a B.A. in Marketing, Robert Spadoni understands the importance of supporting the next generation of business leaders. "Throughout my career, I've seen how entrepreneurial approaches can solve complex problems in healthcare and beyond," Robert Spadoni explains. "This scholarship identifies and supports students who exhibit that same innovative spirit." The selection process will evaluate applicants based on their entrepreneurial vision, demonstrated leadership, and potential for creating meaningful change. The scholarship committee seeks candidates who show exceptional promise in developing solutions to real-world challenges. The $1,000 award will be granted as a one-time payment to the selected recipient. Applications are being accepted through November 15, 2025, with the winner to be announced on December 15, 2025. Interested students can visit https://robertspadonischolarship.com/ for complete application details and submission requirements. The website provides comprehensive information about the scholarship criteria and application process. Robert Spadoni established this scholarship as part of his ongoing commitment to mentoring emerging leaders. The initiative aligns with his professional philosophy of fostering innovation and strategic thinking to address complex challenges. "The future belongs to those who can identify problems and develop creative solutions," states Robert Spadoni, who brings over 25 years of healthcare leadership experience to this initiative. "This scholarship represents an investment in young innovators who will shape tomorrow's business landscape." For additional information about the Robert Spadoni Scholarship for Entrepreneurs, please visit https://robertspadonischolarship.com/robert-spadoni-scholarship/. SOURCE Robert Spadoni Scholarship LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of recent Santa Ana winds and the growing threat of wildfires, homeowners in Los Angeles are seeking effective solutions for how to fireproof their homes. Roof Repair Specialist in Burbank, CA is taking proactive measures toward fireproof roofing by making ember-resistant vents a standard feature across all shingle roof projects. One of the primary threats during wildfires is embers entering a home through its ventilation system, which can quickly ignite and cause devastating damage. To combat this, Roof Repair Specialist is taking steps toward fireproofing a house or building by standardizing the incorporation of O'Hagin's Fire&Ice vents into all shingle roofing projects. These state-of-the-art vents are designed to prevent embers from penetrating the home, significantly reducing the risk of fire-related destruction. Best of all they are readily available in the Los Angeles area and look great on sloped roofs. They will install these ember-resistant vents as a standard on all shingle roof, regardless of whether the city and WUI requires it or not. Beyond shingle roofs, Los Angeles Roof Repair Specialist customers can upgrade their roof with other premium fire-resistant materials such as Polyglass' Polystick XFR underlayment and Polyfresko G FR cap sheet. These high-performance roofing components provide superior protection against fire hazards, ensuring greater safety and peace of mind for homeowners and building owners alike. "At Roof Repair Specialist, we believe that fireproofing a home should not be an afterthoughtit should be a standard," said Andre Afsharian, owner of Roof Repair Specialist. "By integrating ember-resistant vents and fire-resistant roofing materials into our projects, we are taking a crucial step toward safeguarding homes and businesses from the increasing wildfire risks in Los Angeles." As climate conditions continue to intensify, having a fire resistant house is more critical than ever. By making these fire-resistant roofing solutions standard practice, Roof Repair Specialist is committed to helping homeowners protect their investments and, more importantly, their families. For more information on how roofing contractors in Los Angeles CA can help fireproof your roof, visit www.roofrepairspecialist.com. SOURCE Roof Repair Specialist Honda and Acura brands have more ENERGY STAR certified vehicle dealerships than any other automaker According to the EPA, ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35% less energy and contribute 35% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than non-certified buildings Over the last 14 years, the Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs have supported U.S. dealers in collectively reducing over 275,000 metric tons in CO 2 emissions and saving more than $50 million in energy costs TORRANCE, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded ENERGY STAR certification to seven additional Honda and Acura dealerships, recognizing them as among the most energy-efficient vehicle dealerships in the country. Supported by the Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs, the auto industry's first structured programs that help dealers measurably reduce their environmental impact, Honda and Acura dealers are setting the standard for superior energy performance. Since the EPA established the ENERGY STAR certification for vehicle dealerships in 2024, 14 Honda and Acura dealerships have earned the certification the most of any automaker. Honda and Acura brands have more ENERGY STAR certified vehicle dealerships than any other automaker in the U.S. Post this The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded ENERGY STAR certification to seven additional Honda and Acura dealerships recognizing them as among the most energy-efficient vehicle dealerships in the country. Space Coast Honda in Cocoa, Florida, achieved ENERGY STAR certification in 2025. Rallye Acura in Roslyn, New York, achieved ENERGY STAR certification in late 2024. According to the EPA, on average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35% less energy and contribute 35% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than non-certified buildings. Through the Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs, participating dealers have measurably reduced their energy and water use by installing high-efficiency water fixtures, LED lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air condition) upgrades, and solar panels. Adding to the first group of certified dealerships are the following 2025 and late 2024 ENERGY STAR certified Honda and Acura dealerships: First Texas Honda , Austin, Texas , Hardin Honda , Anaheim, Calif. , Honda of Serramonte , Colma, Calif. , Klein Honda , Everett, Wash. , Rallye Acura , Roslyn, N.Y. , Roslyn, N.Y. Space Coast Honda , Cocoa, Fla. , Tony Honda , Waipahu, Hawaii "With support from the Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs, our dealer partners continue to lead the industry in environmentally responsible dealership operations," said Jessika Laudermilk, assistant vice president of Honda National Auto Sales at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "At Honda, we're working to realize our goal of zero environmental impact by 2050, and we celebrate all of our dealer partners who are embracing eco-conscious solutions, big and small, to reduce their own environmental impact." To earn the prestigious ENERGY STAR certification, the seven Honda and Acura dealerships met strict energy performance standards. Using EPA's online ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, they assessed their energy performance based on 12 months of utility bills. The dealerships were then evaluated with the EPA's 1100 ENERGY STAR score, which compares similar-sized dealerships and their operations. The seven Honda and Acura dealerships became eligible for the ENERGY STAR certification by earning scores of 75 and higher, which indicated that they are more energy efficient than 75% of similar dealerships nationwide. Quotes from Honda and Acura ENERGY STAR Dealers Klein Honda Vice President Rory Klein: "We are truly honored to earn ENERGY STAR certification. Achieving this certification is not only a milestone for our dealership but also a reflection of our commitment to environmental stewardship. Our journey toward embracing green energy has been both challenging and rewarding, and it underscores our dedication to sustainability and innovation. We believe that every step we take toward a cleaner future is a step toward a better community, and this recognition inspires us to continue leading by example." Rallye Motor Company General Manager & CFO Stefanie Horn: "Rallye Acura is proud to have achieved ENERGY STAR certification. This award is dedicated to the entire Rallye Acura team who worked hard to make it possible. We will continue to pursue our green initiatives in our community in 2025, and to strive for our dealership's positive impact on the environment." Space Coast Honda Service Director John DeMasso: "It is a great honor to receive ENERGY STAR certification at Space Coast Honda. We consistently strive to enhance our facility with energy-efficient upgrades such as LED lighting, motion activated lighting controls, and smart thermostat controls to continue to minimize our carbon footprint and to help preserve a better future." Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs Set Industry Standard Honda established the voluntary Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs in 2011, often referred to as the "Green Dealer" Program, to support Honda and Acura automobile, powersports and power equipment dealers in measurably reducing their environmental impact year over year. To date, more than 600 Honda and Acura automobile, powersports and power equipment dealers across the U.S. have collectively reduced CO 2 emissions by more than 275,000 metric tons. This reduction is equal to eliminating the annual CO 2 emissions associated with electricity use by over 53,000 homes. The Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs are structured as yearly assessments to optimize existing and new facilities in the areas of energy performance, water efficiency and site practices. The programs provide dealers with guidance on data collection, expert advice, implementation and results verification. Since 2011, the average dealership has reduced energy use by 20%, saving an average of $20,000 per year. To learn more about the Honda and Acura Environmental Leadership Programs, visit https://greendealer.honda.com/. About the Honda Commitment to the Environment Honda is transforming its operations to realize its global goal of zero environmental impact by 2050. Through its "Triple Action to Zero" approach, Honda aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities; utilize 100% carbon-free energy; and pursue resource circulation, the use of 100% sustainable materials by reprocessing products back to raw materials and reusing those materials in the creation of new products. Toward this goal, Honda will strive to make battery-electric and fuel cell-electric vehicles represent 100% of auto sales globally by 2040, while also beginning electrification of Honda powersports and power equipment product lineups. To reduce the environmental impact of its business operations, Honda is offsetting CO 2 emissions from its North American manufacturing operations through long-term virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for carbon-free wind and solar power that cover more than 80% of the electricity Honda uses in North America. Honda also supports its suppliers and independent dealerships across North America in their decarbonization efforts through the Honda Green Excellence Academy and Honda Environmental Leadership Program, respectively. Learn more at https://www.honda.com/environment. SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which the Ukrainian head of state announced the preparation of a plan of steps towards peace in Ukraine in the coming weeks, the press service of the Slovenian Prime Minister reports. "In preparation for the extraordinary meeting of the European Council, Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The latter reported on the recent meeting in London and announced the preparation of a plan of steps towards peace in Ukraine in the coming weeks," the message, which was published on the X social network on Wednesday, said. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In Telus International To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options If you purchased or acquired securities in Telus International between February 16, 2023 and August 1, 2024 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). [You may also click here for additional information] NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against TELUS International (Cda) Inc. ("Telus International" or the "Company") (NYSE: TIXT) and reminds investors of the March 31, 2025 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company. Faruqi & Faruqi Logo (PRNewsfoto/Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP) Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com. As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) the Company's AI Data Solutions offerings required the cannibalization of its higher-margin offerings; (2) that Telus International's declining profitability was tied to the Company's drive to develop AI capabilities; (3) that Telus International's shift toward AI put greater pressure on the Company's margins than previously disclosed; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On May 9, 2024, Telus International released its first quarter 2024 financial results, revealing a $29 million decline in revenue year over year. On the same day, the Company held an earnings call during which Chief Financial Officer, Gopi Chande was asked by an analyst to clarify "what margin should look like on a go-forward basis" as margins "were down year-over-year and . . . were below the full year guidance." In response, Gopi Chande revealed that the margins generated by the Company's AI offerings "can be a bit below average." On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.41 or 18.15%, to close at $6.36 on May 9, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume. Then, on August 2, 2024, before the market opened, Telus International released second quarter 2024 financial results, revealing a significant slowdown in revenue generation: a $5 million quarter-over-quarter or $15 million year-over-year revenue decrease; a $23 million or 15% quarter-over-quarter adjusted EBITDA decrease; and 14.6% quarter-over-quarter reduction in adjusted EBITDA margin, from 23.3% to 19.9%. As a result, Telus International announced it had significantly reduced its full year 2024 fiscal guidance. The Company also disclosed that Jeff Puritt, then-President and Chief Executive Officer, would retire effective September 3, 2024. In an earnings call held the same day, Puritt disclosed that the transition of the Company "towards a more technology centric and specifically AI fueled business," "necessitates some cannibalization of our tenured and higher margin CX work." Puritt concluded that, ultimately, the Company is "going to have to take it on the chin a little bit in terms of our historical margin profile" and rely upon "eating our own roommate cooking internally," referring the self-cannibalization of the business, "in order to create the headwind we need to enjoy the margin yield that we've historically benefited from." On this news, the Company's share price fell $2.33 or 35.96%, to close at $4.15 on August 2, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume. The stock continued to decline on the next trading day available, falling $0.83, or 20%, to close at $3.32 on August 5, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume. The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Telus International's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others. To learn more about the TELUS International (Cda) class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/TIXT or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook. Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP National Women's History Museum's new report reveals the challenges they face, what they need, why representation matters and what we can do about it WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Women's History Museum's Young Women and Girls' Aspiration Report, including a survey of more than 1,100 girls and young women (ages 13-27) across the U.S., paints a stark picture: young women and girls face challenges in economic opportunity, education, health care and politics, and they are calling for real representation across the board. Despite their ambitions and determination, they see a system that continues to shut them out, leaving them underrepresented in nearly every sphere that shapes their future. The report sheds light on the challenges young women and girls continue to face and the urgent changes they need to ensure they are not sidelined for another century. The findings expose the deep gaps in representation and opportunity, challenging the misconception that gender equality has already been achieved. New National Women's History Museum research findings can be found at www.sheisnotafootnote.org. Post this "Representation shapes possibility. If we continue to sideline half the population, we are choosing to be weaker as a society," said Frederique Irwin, president & CEO of the National Women's History Museum. "Our Young Women and Girls' Aspiration Report is not just about awarenessit's a blueprint for action." Among the report's key findings: Economic Participation: We'll Work Hard, But Not for Less. Young women see a workforce where they are expected to work just as hard as men but rewarded far less. 89% believe men hold most of the advantages, and more than 80% say women face more barriers to advancement than men. 47% say financial independence is most important when they imagine their future. Less than half (44%) believe they have the same access to career opportunities as men. They want equal pay policies, better support for working mothers and more representation in leadership. Young women see a workforce where they are expected to work just as hard as men but rewarded far less. Education: More Degrees, Same Barriers. Women outpace men in obtaining college degrees, but they aren't getting the return on investment. A woman with a bachelor's degree still earns about the same as a man with an associate's degree. Women hold two-thirds of the nation's student loan debt. Only 29% of young women and girls believe they get the same financial support for school as boys and young men. 63% say financial barriers limit their education options. Their top demands? A return on their educational investment, better access to financial aid and stronger mentorship opportunities. Women outpace men in obtaining college degrees, but they aren't getting the return on investment. A woman with a bachelor's degree still earns about the same as a man with an associate's degree. Health & Survival: Women's Health is an Economic Issue. The U.S. health care system doesn't just fail womenit actively works against them. Health care isn't just about wellness, it is about economic survival. Without access to quality, affordable health care, young women and girls struggle to stay in school, keep their jobs and build financial security. 77% of young women and girls are worried about health care coverage for women. 76% feel social pressures impact their mental health and well-being, and nearly half have struggled with limited mental health resources. 26% of women report feeling dismissed or ignored by health care providers. Young women want better health care policies, mental health resources embedded in schools and workplaces and strong protections for reproductive rights. The U.S. health care system doesn't just fail womenit actively works against them. Health care isn't just about wellness, it is about economic survival. Without access to quality, affordable health care, young women and girls struggle to stay in school, keep their jobs and build financial security. Political Empowerment: It's Time to Break the Marble Ceiling. Women make up more than half of the population but are just 28% of Congress and 24% of U.S. governors. 60% of young women and girls feel confident in their ability to lead or advocate for change. 65% want to be more involved in politics or social change. Only one-third believe women today have as much power as men to create change. Their top priorities? More women in leadership, better access to political mentorship and an end to outdated gender biases in elections. Women make up more than half of the population but are just 28% of Congress and 24% of U.S. governors. The World Economic Forum projects that we are still 106 years away from gender parityyet many young people don't recognize the scale of the problem: 67% of Gen Z men and 47% of Gen Z women believe women already have equal opportunities despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Only 32% of young women and girls believe they have as much power as men to create change, and 34% believe gender equality will never be achieved in their lifetime. "This report makes one thing clear: young women and girls are ready to lead, but the system is holding them back," continued Irwin. "We can no longer afford to treat gender equality as an eventual inevitability. The time to act is now." The report calls on policymakers, educators, employers and community leaders to take concrete steps toward closing these gaps. Key recommendations include: Implementing pay equity policies and career advancement opportunities for women. Expanding financial aid and student debt relief for young women. Strengthening healthcare policies and mental health resources for women. Increasing mentorship and leadership opportunities for women in politics. About the Report and Survey Methodology The Young Women and Girls' Aspiration Report is a collaborative effort between the Museum and DoSomething Strategic, surveying 1,546 young women (ages 13-27) between December 2024 and January 2025 via email and SMS outreach to DoSomething members and the Museum email list. The final sample included 1,127 respondents, with age distribution as follows: 21% ages 13-17, 50% ages 18-21, and 29% ages 22-27. Demographically, the respondents were 47% White, 18% Black, 18% Hispanic, 7% Asian and 7% identifying as another race. In terms of gender identity, 95% identified as women and 4% as nonbinary. Additionally, 16% of participants were from rural areas, while 84% resided in suburban or urban communities. It is important to consider the study's limitations when interpreting the findings. Additional data was provided through a collaboration with The Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary's University. The data relies heavily on the U.S. Census Bureau's yearly American Community Surveys (ACS). The data provide a snapshot at the time the measurement was made. The most recent ACS data are from 2022; other smaller databases used for the Report may have data available from 2023. The Report's endnotes provide detailed citations for all data and claims presented. The full report methodology can be found in the report here: www.SheIsNotAFootnote.org About "She Is Not a Footnote" Campaign The Report is the first initiative of the Museum's "She is Not a Footnote" cause campaign, highlighting the urgency of women's underrepresentation and ensuring their voices, contributions, and leadership are recognized. The campaign is a call to action, encouraging girls and women to come together, unified behind this message. The full report is available at www.SheIsNotAFootnote.org. About the National Women's History Museum Founded in 1996, the National Women's History Museum is an innovative virtual-first museum dedicated to uncovering, interpreting, and celebrating women's diverse contributions to society. A renowned leader in women's history education, the Museum brings to life the countless untold stories of women throughout history, and serves as a space for all to inspire, experience, collaborate and amplify women's impactpast, present and future. The Museum strives to fundamentally change the way women and girls see their potential and power. Visit us at womenshistory.org. SOURCE National Womens History Museum SHANGHAI, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigenergy, a leading energy innovator, has been named the global leader in the stackable all-in-one Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS) market, according to a recent report by Frost & Sullivan. Based on combined sales data from Q1 to Q3 2024, Sigenergy captured a 24.3% market share a testament to the company's rapid rise and leadership in clean energy innovation. Global Expansion: SigenStor Gains Customer Trust Worldwide Sigenergy claimed the No.1 global market share (24.3%) in the stackable all-in-one DESS market from Q1Q3 2024 The 5-in-1 SigenStor energy storage system has quickly become a customer favorite since its launch. According to Frost & Sullivan, Sigenergy shipped 231 MWh of stackable all-in-one DESS units between Q1 and Q3 2024, claiming the top market share of 24.3%. In the highly competitive all-in-one DESS market where the top five players accounted for 74.5% of total shipments Sigenergy ranked third overall with a 5.9% market share. By February 2025, Sigenergy had partnered with 99 distributors across more than 60 countries, becoming a preferred brand in key regions like Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Strategic collaborations with leading distributors in Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and South Africa have showcased SigenStor's outstanding performance and reliability. South African partner, the largest in the region, praised SigenStor's effectiveness in alleviating load-shedding challenges. A 2024 customer satisfaction survey revealed that nearly 90% of end-users and installers rated SigenStor positively. AI-Powered Innovation: Redefining Smart Energy Experience Sigenergy is driving the digital transformation of energy management with advanced AI capabilities. The cloud-native SigenCloud platform enables large-scale management of distributed energy devices and integrates with top Virtual Power Plant (VPP) providers in Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, and other markets. The platform automatically syncs with real-time dynamic tariffs from over 60 power companies in more than 20 countries. By leveraging AI and dynamic pricing, a Polish commercial and industrial (C&I) customer achieved a 42% reduction in electricity purchase costs and a 52% cut in total energy expenses compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the mySigen App, the self-developed energy application, provides real-time energy and battery monitoring, device management, and troubleshooting. Leading the industry by incorporating GPT-4o, the app delivers instant customer support, redefining the traditional after-sales service model with intelligent, responsive assistance. Diversified Portfolio: Tailored Solutions for Every Scenario Sigenergy remains at the forefront of energy innovation, offering a comprehensive product portfolio that addresses diverse application scenarios. For C&I segments, the company introduced SigenStack, a modular energy storage system that combines a hybrid inverter and battery pack, scalable to support multi-megawatt projects. Sigenergy is set to unveil more products in the coming months, further broadening its product ecosystem to cater to global customer needs. Looking ahead, Sigenergy seeks to foster deeper collaboration with global partners, accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable energy future for all. SOURCE Sigenergy Technology Co., Ltd. AUSTIN, Texas, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As the U.S. faces a growing shortage of skilled STEM professionals, one woman is building a transatlantic bridge to solve it. Andrea Hrusovska visionary businesswoman, HR strategist and founder of HR4U Solutions, and leader of Slovak PRO Austin, is spearheading efforts to connect Slovakia's top tech talent with Texas's booming innovation economy while championing STEM education for the next generation. This mission will take center stage at "Going BIG in TEXAS," during SXSW festival. This will be the largest business event ever organized by Slovakia in the United States, happening in Austin on March 9, 2025. The event will showcase Slovak companies specializing in AI, cybersecurity, and Industry 4.0 automation, all seeking strategic partnerships, investment, and growth opportunities in Texas. Register for the event: https://lu.ma/hc5gepdn Empowering Future Innovators In addition to bridging international business, Andrea Hrusovska is deeply committed to strengthening America's talent pipeline. Through her company, HR4U Solutions, she partners with universities, school districts, and women's leadership organizations to support underrepresented groups in STEM and prepare students for high-demand careers in technology and engineering. "I believe the future of innovation depends on creating opportunity, both across borders and within our communities," said Hrusovska. "By connecting Slovakia's world-class talent with Texas's ecosystem, and by inspiring more young people to pursue STEM careers, we're building something truly global." Andrea Hrusovska's commitment to this mission is also reflected in her Amazon #1 new release, Born to Be Successful, a motivational guide for students, parents, and educators focused on navigating STEM pathways. A Gateway for Global Talent After successfully leading seven Slovak companies to SXSW in 2024, Hrusovska and her partners at SARIO (Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency) and Slovak PRO have doubled participation for 2025. "Going BIG in TEXAS" will not only feature rapid-fire startup pitches and industry panels, but also high-level networking to unlock new transatlantic partnerships. As the ties between Slovakia and Texas grow stronger, the opportunities for international collaboration, workforce development, and innovation have never been greater. Media Contact: Andrea Hrusovska Founder HR4U Solutions [email protected] 512-608-1501 LINK: LinkedIn Jozef Hrusovsky Founder HR4U Solutions [email protected] 512-592-1171 LINK: LinkedIn SOURCE HR4U Solutions DUBAI, UAE and NEW YORK, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Commodity Insights is pleased to announce the opening speakers and agenda for its 14th International Fujairah Bunkering & Fuel Oil Forum (FUJCON 2025), held under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council & Ruler of Fujairah, taking place at the Doubletree Hilton Fujairah on April 79, 2025 in Fujairah City, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference is a forum for dialogue and critical debate regarding the outlook for the maritime fuels industry as well as its path toward a more sustainable future. Jointly hosted with the Department of Industry & Economy, Government of Fujairah and Port of Fujairah, with the support of Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ), FUJCON is well established as the premier gathering for the bunkering and maritime industry. Organization of this year's convening is rapidly gathering momentum with the confirmation of key speakers and partners from leading oil and bunker companies. The east coast UAE city has expanded its role as an energy hub through strategic investment in its port infrastructure and its services to the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. The Zone hosts the Middle East's largest commercial storage capacity for refined oil and crude oil products, as well as facilities for the aggregate and limestone industries and trading operations within the Fujairah Free Zone. In 2024, bunker sales at the port reached a total of 7.67 million cubic meters, increasing by 1.8%, with a record 3,840 oil tankers docking at the, up from 3,810 in 2023. This year's FUJCON -- themed Achieving Maritime Vision: Sailing Towards Sustainable Fuels -- will include presentations by key industry figures, decision makers, thought leaders and maritime experts, plus analysis and insights on the global bunker and fuel oil market developments by host S&P Global Commodity Insights, the leading global provider of data, insights, analysis and benchmark prices for the energy, commodity and energy transition markets. FUJCON activities begin April 7, 2025, with a training course on alternative fuels in the maritime sector, local tours of Fujairah and a welcome reception. On April 8, the official program kicks off with a ministerial address by His Excellency Saif Ghubash Almarri, Undersecretary Assistant for Petroleum, Gas & Mineral, UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, followed by insights and outlook from prominent industry figures: Dave Ernsberger , Co-President, S&P Global Commodity Insights , Co-President, S&P Global Commodity Insights Arsenio Dominguez , Secretary General, IMO , Secretary General, IMO Constantinos Capetanakis , Bunker Director, Starbulk & Chair, IBIA , Bunker Director, Starbulk & Chair, IBIA Jens Maul Jorgensen , Director Bunkers, Oldendorff Carriers Day One topics will be wide ranging, with particular focus on changing patterns in global trade and the impact on bunker fuel fundamentals, trading risk management, evolution of Fujairah's strategic role as a maritime hub, challenges in global shipping, and how the local storage market is affected by changes in demand for oil products. On April 9, the conference will explore developments and outlook in bunker fuel quality, low carbon bunker fuels, regulatory frameworks shaping the market, and technological developments in the shipping and bunker ecosystems. FUJCON 2025 enjoys continued support and partnership from leading marine and bunkering brands such as AKRON Trade and Transport, Fujairah Oil Terminal, GPS Chemoil, International Marine & Energy, National Bank of Fujairah, Oilburg, Sharaf Shipping Agency, Sea Leader, Seahawk Services, Vopak Horizon Fujairah Limited, VPS, and VTTI. For more information about FUJCON 2025, please visit www.fujcon.com Press registration: https://events.spglobal.com/bxernA?rt=QaRo_92PaUaLEEcDdzFonw&RefId=Press Media Contacts Americas/EMEA: Kathleen Tanzy, +1 917-331-4607, [email protected] Asia/EMEA: Melissa Tan, +65-6597-6241, [email protected] About S&P Global Commodity Insights At S&P Global Commodity Insights, our complete view of global energy and commodities markets enables our customers to make decisions with conviction and create long-term, sustainable value. We're a trusted connector that brings together thought leaders, market participants, governments, and regulators and we create solutions that lead to progress. Vital to navigating commodity markets, our coverage includes oil and gas, power, chemicals, metals, agriculture, shipping and energy transition. Platts products and services, including the most signicant benchmark price assessments in the physical commodity markets, are offered through S&P Global Commodity Insights. S&P Global Commodity Insights is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world's leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today. For more information visit https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights. SOURCE S&P Global Commodity Insights CHA's only nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Newark (EWR) and Orlando (MCO) starts this June DANIA BEACH, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit Airlines today announced its bright yellow planes will soon be soaring over the Scenic City with new service at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) launching June 4, 2025. The introduction of the only nonstop flights between Chattanooga and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) will provide high-value and convenient options for travelers. "We're excited to expand our Tennessee network and welcome our CHA Guests onboard as we launch three new nonstop routes, just in time for a fun summer vacation," said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning at Spirit Airlines. "Chattanooga is known as the Scenic City for good reason, and travelers from major East Coast cities can discover a new destination with southern charm, breathtaking views and endless outdoor activities." Spirit Airlines' Chattanooga (CHA) Service Destination: Frequency: Launch Date: Introductory Fare: Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 3x Weekly June 5, 2025 Starting at $50* one way Newark (EWR) 4x Weekly June 4, 2025 Starting at $50* one way Orlando (MCO) 4x Weekly June 4, 2025 Starting at $50* one way "We are delighted to partner with Spirit Airlines to bring these highly sought after destinations to our community," said April Cameron, President and CEO at Chattanooga Airport. "Spirit will deliver high-value travel options to our passengers with dozens of connections from these new nonstop routes. We are thankful for the investment of Spirit and can't wait to welcome visitors from these locations here to the Scenic City!" Chattanooga will be the third Tennessee market on Spirit's route map. The carrier first launched service at Nashville (BNA) in 2019 followed by Memphis (MEM) in 2022. Introductory Fare Guests traveling between Chattanooga (CHA) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Newark (EWR) and Orlando (MCO) can take advantage of an introductory fare starting at $50* one-way for travel from June 4 through Aug. 12, 2025. Must be purchased 14 days in advance to be eligible. These special introductory fares are available for purchase through March 20, 2025. Spirit's Recent Transformation Chattanooga Guests can enjoy a more comfortable and elevated travel experience with Spirit. The carrier's recent transformation includes four new travel options, ranging from premium to economical, that empower Guests to choose how they want to fly: Go Big to get enhanced comfort with a Big Front Seat, a carry-on and first checked bag, no change or cancel fees, Priority Check-in and Boarding, complimentary snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages and streaming access to fast Wi-Fi. to get enhanced comfort with a Big Front Seat, a carry-on and first checked bag, no change or cancel fees, Priority Check-in and Boarding, complimentary snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages and streaming access to fast Wi-Fi. Go Comfy to choose an aisle or window seat with no one in the middle, a carry-on bag, no change or cancel fees, priority boarding, a small snack and non-alcoholic beverage. to choose an aisle or window seat with no one in the middle, a carry-on bag, no change or cancel fees, priority boarding, a small snack and non-alcoholic beverage. Go Savvy to get a standard seat selection, carry-on bag and no change or cancel fees. to get a standard seat selection, carry-on bag and no change or cancel fees. Go to keep it simple with no extras. Standard seat selection, checked bags and other options can be purchased separately. Recognition Spirit's all-Airbus Fit Fleet was recently named one of the world's youngest for 2025 by ch-aviation. The airline was also recognized by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) as a 2025 Four Star Low Cost Carrier and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the Diamond Award of Excellence for the seventh consecutive year. *One-way fares subject to a 14-day advance purchase, valid for booking on March 5, 2025, through March 20, 2025, and travel from June 4, 2025, through Aug. 12, 2025. No Fri/Sun travel. Blackout dates: July 2, 2025, through July 7, 2025. Subject to availability. About Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines is a leading low-fare carrier committed to delivering the best value in the sky by offering an enhanced travel experience with flexible, affordable options. Spirit serves destinations throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean with its Fit Fleet, one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. Spirit is committed to inspiring positive change in the communities it serves through the Spirit Charitable Foundation . Discover elevated travel options with exceptional value at spirit.com . SOURCE Spirit Airlines GLASGOW, Scotland, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Refrigeration's HR Administrator Gillian Dunbar has been invited to speak at the prestigious Investors in Young People (IIYP) Good Practice Networking Event, taking place on 5th March 2025 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre. The event will provide a platform for organisations to exchange best practices on workforce development, with a special focus on empowering young talent. Gillian Dunbar, HR Administrator at Star Refrigeration attends Investors in People event Star Refrigeration has been accredited by Investors in People since 2003, and continues to hold Platinum status (achieved in 2020) and Investors in Young People Gold (achieved in 2017), demonstrating its ongoing commitment to fostering a positive workplace culture. By employing IIP frameworks, the company has embedded practices that promote leadership, employee support, and continuous improvement in areas such as recognition, reward, and career development. Coinciding with Scottish Apprenticeship Week, the IIYP networking event will bring together professionals involved in the recruitment, development, and retention of young people. Attendees will gain valuable insights, actionable strategies, and opportunities to learn from leading organisations dedicated to nurturing young talent. Gillian Dunbar, HR Administrator at Star Refrigeration, said: "One of our five core values is 'Developing Young People' and we are committed to creating career opportunities that support young professionals in building their future through our apprenticeship and trainee programmes. We continuously adapt and listen to young people to ensure we provide the best possible development pathways for them. We have also expanded our STEM engagement initiatives, raising awareness of the industry and the diverse range of job opportunities it offers, from early years education through to Further and Higher Education, as we aim to attract a more diverse pipeline of future talent. As part of our ongoing improvement ethos, we track our progress and constantly refine our people practices, ensuring Star continues to be a great place to work." Gillian will share the company's initiatives aimed at broadening its talent pipeline, including the Star Academy. The programme connects undergraduates with work experience opportunities, allowing students to gain hands-on industry exposure while bridging the gap between education and employment. Star Academy has successfully engaged students across various departments, including design, sales and marketing, sustainability, HR, and engineering. Since its official launch in December 2023, the programme has seen notable success, with students benefitting from flexible term-time work, bursaries, summer placements, and potential full-time employment upon graduation. Gillian will discuss Star Refrigeration's attraction and recruitment strategies, which have been shaped by direct feedback from young employees. Recent improvements include expanding the number of trainers, reducing training duration through increased mentorship, and increasing apprenticeship engagement. As a result, the company has seen a 50-60% rise in apprenticeship applications, a streamlined training process, and a significant increase in young talent within the organisation. The IIYP Good Practice Networking Event provides a unique opportunity to exchange ideas, gain insights, and support the next generation of skilled professionals. For more information about the IIYP Good Practice Networking Event, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/investors-in-young-people-good-practice-networking-event-tickets-1089888639259?aff=website For more information on Star Refrigeration's people development initiatives, visit Refrigeration Engineer Jobs & Careers | Star Refrigeration SOURCE Star Refrigeration But 3 Out Of 4 Survey Respondents Would Consider Looking For A New Job If They Weren't Recognized On Employee Appreciation Day AUSTIN, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiff's Treats, the original warm cookie delivery company, announced today the eye-opening results of a consumer survey about Employee Appreciation Day that clearly shows its importance to both employees and employers. Survey highlights: 91% of respondents reported their satisfaction with their employer would increase if they were recognized for Employee Appreciation Day HR leaders who celebrate staff on Employee Appreciation Day are considered to be "thoughtful," "caring," and "smart" according to respondents 93% of respondents consider CEOs who recognize their employees on Employee Appreciation Day to be better leaders Only 19% of respondents report that their company is planning to recognize staff for Employee Appreciation Day 74% of respondents would consider looking for a new job if they weren't recognized for Employee Appreciation Day Return to office makes it even more critical With more companies reverting back to the office 5 days per week, employee satisfaction is more critical than ever. A whopping 96% of survey respondents felt that it was important for companies that require employees to work in-office 5 days per week to recognize staff on Employee Appreciation Day. Recognizing employees = success 98% of respondents believe companies that recognize employees for Employee Appreciation Day would be more successful and, similarly, 98% of those surveyed believe that companies that recognize employees for Employee Appreciation Day have a better chance of making it onto the Fortune 500 list. Warm cookies > Flowers The top gift choices for Employee Appreciation Day amongst survey respondents was: Warm cookies (136) Catered team lunch (107) Money (105) Nice card (41) Donuts (36) Flowers (32) This year's Employee Appreciation Day is coming up on Friday March 7. The Employee Appreciation Day survey was performed by Tiff's Treats in February 2025, with 166 respondents. About Tiff's Treats Founded by Tiffany and Leon Chen when they were sophomores at The University of Texas at Austin, Tiff's Treats has earned millions of loyal fans with its unique straight-from-the-oven delivery model and has grown to over 150 locations and counting. www.cookiedelivery.com SOURCE Tiff's Treats AUSTIN, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- South by Southwest EDU Conference & Festival is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2025 Launch Startup Competition and Student Impact Challenge. They were announced at the Launch Spotlight and the Student Impact Ice Cream Social, respectively. College Contact was presented with the Launch Startup Competition Grand Prize Award, and Spark was named the Student Impact Challenge winner. For 14 years, the Launch Startup Competition has provided a forum for early-stage startups to pitch emerging ideas, products, and services to a cohort of industry leaders, early adopters, investors, and educators. During this year's event, presented by the Walton Family Foundation, participants were given the chance to showcase their ideas in front of a panel of distinguished judges, including Amelia Kelly, CTO of SoapBox Labs, John Gamba, Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, Katie Fang, CEO of SchooLinks, and Missy Testerman, 2024 National Teacher of the Year. After hearing from the 7 finalists, the judges awarded College Contact, based in Austin, TX with the Grand-Prize Launch Award for its focus on helping students become college and career-ready through their near-peer mentorship model. The following awards were also announced as part of the Launch Startup Competition: Impact Award: This honor, recognizing the potential to impact student learning based on the science of learning, was given to Making Space , based in Los Angeles, CA for its work to create new and improved pathways to employment and career advancement, ensuring Disabled professionals have equitable access to meaningful careers. This honor, recognizing the potential to impact student learning based on the science of learning, was given to , based in for its work to create new and improved pathways to employment and career advancement, ensuring Disabled professionals have equitable access to meaningful careers. Community Choice Award: This award, which acknowledges the finalist that received the most votes from the audience during SXSW EDU, was presented to Bili, based in Houston, TX , which empowers families and educators with tools that make bilingualism a natural and exciting part of kids' lives and help them maintain a strong connection to their heritage languages and cultures. "This award is a powerful recognition of the impact we're makingconnecting hundreds of thousands of students with mentors who help them see and shape their futures," said Sophie Smith and Leah Guesman, co-founders of College Contact. "What excites us most is the hope and ambition we see in our high school and undergraduate students every day. Winning this competition validates that same hope among educators, investors, and the broader community, reinforcing the bright future ahead." "This is a pivotal moment in education where we must do good while doing well. Supporting entrepreneurs in building strong business fundamentalsfrom early stage to sustainability, scalability, and ultimately exitis critical," said John Gamba, Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, who served as a judge in the competition. In addition, SXSW EDU proudly awarded the Student Impact Challenge, presented by The Allstate Foundation, to Spark, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as this year's winner. Spark promises to revolutionize support for autistic children by offering personalized therapy supplements, a wealth of resources, and interactive tools designed to empower caregivers. In addition Swype AI and Household Appliances Innovation Powered by Solar were recognized as the first and second runner-ups respectively. This year, the Student Impact Challenge expands from its previous year to focus on how students can solve pressing social, economic, and environmental problems facing the world today. The winner was chosen by judges Kate Nack, Vice President, The Allstate Foundation & Social Impact, Juanita Soranno, Head of Impact at Cengage Group, Rohit Srinivasan, Founder of Trashbots and former winner of the Student Startup Competition, and Tiana Day, Founder and Executive Director of Youth Advocates for Change. "I'm so excited and honored to receive this incredible award," said Nandana Menon, founder of Spark. "Winning the Student Impact Challenge will lead me to so many more opportunities to help children all along the way. This is really going to set up Spark for more success." To learn more about the competition programming at SXSW EDU, visit https://www.sxswedu.com/competitions/. About SXSW EDU: The SXSW EDU Conference & Festival is a reflection of the world's most critical social issues as seen through the lens of education. This year's event will bring together the learner, the practitioner, the entrepreneur, and the visionary to share their groundbreaking stories, tackle complex issues, and build reimagined paths forward. As a community of diverse people who are united around a like-minded vision for the future, SXSW EDU serves as a place for attendees to renew their purpose in practice from both a personal and professional perspective. It is a place to reinforce the core principles of teaching and learning as well as an opportunity to express your creativity and passion for education. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 3-6, 2025. For more information, please visit sxswedu.com. Contact: Liz Stein SXSW EDU Press & Publicity [email protected] SOURCE SXSW EDU Less than a month after capturing the #1 White Spirit at the San Diego International Spirits Challenge, Tashi "The Spirit of Tibet" takes home the coveted Best of Show Baijiu award at WSWA NAPA, Calif., March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tashi Baijiu, known as The Spirit of Tibet, has achieved another monumental milestone by winning the prestigious Double-Gold Medal and Best of show Baijiu at the 2025 Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) Spirits Competition. This remarkable achievement comes less than a month after the brand was honored with the title of #1 White Spirit at the San Diego International Spirits Challenge. Tashi "The Spirit of Tibet" Baijiu Tashi Baijiu, a unique and premium offering crafted from ancient Tibetan traditions, has gained global recognition for its unparalleled flavor profile and cultural significance. The recognition at WSWA solidifies its place among the finest spirits in the world, reinforcing its growing reputation in the competitive international spirits market. The Double-Gold Medal win signifies unanimous praise from the competition's expert panel of judges, which includes industry leaders, sommeliers, and spirits professionals. The Best of show Baijiu award, the most coveted distinction of the competition, acknowledges Tashi Baijiu as the top overall Baijiu in the competition for its exceptional quality and innovation. "We are incredibly proud and humbled by these prestigious accolades," ZhiPing Hu said, General Manager of Tibet Alajiabao Spirits which produces Tashi Baijiu. "To be recognized by such a respected panel, not only for the unique and rich heritage behind our product but also for its exceptional taste, is a true honor. These wins are a testament to the dedication of our team and the authenticity of Tashi Baijiu as a celebration of Tibet's traditions and craftsmanship." The WSWA Spirits Competition judges evaluate Baijiu entries with rigorous standards for taste, innovation, and overall quality. Tashi Baijiu's back-to-back wins at both the San Diego International Spirits Challenge and WSWA place the brand in an elite class of spirits, with growing recognition from both consumers and industry professionals alike. Tashi Baijiu's journey, rooted in centuries-old Tibetan heritage, is marked by the use of naturally huskless barley from the Himalayan region and 600-year-old distillation techniques. It continues to captivate spirit connoisseurs around the globe, from the United States to Asia, for its bold and distinctive character. Tashi Baijiu's continuous success highlights a new chapter in the global spirits industry, with more exciting developments expected in the coming months. About Tashi Baijiu Tashi Baijiu, The Spirit of Tibet, is a premium baijiu made of highland huskless barley and inspired by the rich history and culture of Tibet. Crafted using time-honored distillation techniques and organically grown barley native to the Himalayan region, Tashi Baijiu offers a unique and refreshing alternative to traditional spirits. The brand has garnered international acclaim for its bold flavors, cultural significance, and innovative approach to modernizing a centuries-old tradition. "One World ~ One Sky ~ Tashi Delek!" For media inquiries, please contact: Bill Spear President Tchang Spirits, Inc. [email protected] 707-888-8700 SOURCE Tashi Baijiu Kyiv officially applied for the status of UNESCO City of Music, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration reported. "Kyiv has taken an important step towards international recognition of its musical heritage by officially applying for the status of UNESCO City of Music. The initiative to join the Creative Cities Network was proposed by the Kyiv City Council Standing Commission on Culture, Tourism and Public Communications, and was also supported by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko," the Kyiv City State Administration said in a statement on its website on Wednesday. As noted by Kyiv City Council deputy, head of the Commission on Culture, Tourism and Public Communications Viktoria Mukha, the preparation of the application took more than a year. According to her, the status of the UNESCO City of Music opens up new opportunities for the development of the cultural sphere, international cooperation and popularization of Ukrainian music in the world. Kyiv has a unique musical heritage that combines deep traditions, modern trends and a multitude of talents. Obtaining this status will be a recognition of the cultural potential of the capital and will help implement new projects. A One-Day Immersive Experience Showcasing the Future of Seamless Travel with Cutting-Edge Technology, Exclusive Speaker Panels, and Interactive Engagements. LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- TDW+Co is partnering with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to activate a one-day-only interactive, dual-branded house in Austin, TX. Designed to connect with the airlines' next-gen and technophile audience, this immersive experience is designed to connect with their travel-curious and technophile audience. It brings both beloved brands to life while showcasing compelling guest innovation stories and redefining the future of seamless travel. TDW+Co partners with Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines to Take Off with an Inaugural Immersive Branded House in Austin Post this Join Alaska Airlines in Austin on Sunday, March 9 to celebrate innovation in travel. Alaska Airlines x Hawaiian Airlines House in Austin The activation will transform popular Austin venue, Inn Cahoots, into an interactive hub where attendees can explore cutting-edge advancements shaping the airline industry. The event is set to feature live tech demonstrations, curated panels, and hands-on activations designed to give guests a first-hand look at innovations from both airlines. "Alaska Airlines is changing travel by pushing the guest experience forward and we're thrilled to bring their innovations to life in Austin," said Julie Lee, CEO of TDW+Co. "Our brands are coming together to create an event that will undoubtedly inspire visitors to book their next trip before they leave for the night." Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, are partnering with TDW+co to tap into the power of engagement through interactive storytelling. The event will feature live demos of the airline's electronic bag tag, powered by BAGTAG, and BagsID's AI-powered baggage recognition technologyboth offering a glimpse into the future of streamlined travel. Attendees can personalize their experience through the "Vibe Quiz" to discover their ideal travel style and destination, while the "Future Gate Vision" highlights a commitment to seamless and remarkable experiences at the airport. "Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are two beloved global travel brands that prioritize guest experience and innovation," said Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation at Alaska Airlines. "Austin is the perfect setting to tell our Innovation stories, showcase how our technology is reshaping the guest experience, and predict how technology will shape travel in the future." The Alaska Airlines x Hawaiian Airlines Branded House will be open for one exclusive afternoon and evening from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. CST. Sign up to secure your spot and get access to event details, RSVP opportunities, and exclusive updates: https://alaskaairhawaiianairhouse.splashthat.com . ABOUT TDW+Co TDW+Co is a community-based, purpose-driven agency enabling brands to connect with communities authentically. A certified minority-owned company, TDW+Co is female-led with over 90% of employees from diverse backgrounds. TDW+Co believes that brands can achieve and exceed business objectives while positively impacting communities. ABOUT Alaska Airlines + Hawaiian Airlines Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, with McGee Air Services a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines. With hubs in Seattle, Honolulu, Portland, Anchorage, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, we deliver remarkable care as we fly our guests to more than 140 destinations throughout North America, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Alaska is a member of the oneworld Alliance with Hawaiian scheduled to join in 2026. With oneworld and our additional global partners, guests can earn and redeem miles for travel to over 1,000 worldwide destinations. Guests can book travel at alaskaair.com and hawaiianairlines.com . Learn more about what's happening at Alaska and Hawaiian . Alaska Air Group is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as "ALK." Media Contact: Julie Lee, 847-867-1029 SOURCE TDW+Co BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 4, 2025, Innovative AI-driven technology brand TECNO unveiled the TECNO AI Glasses Series at MWC Barcelona 2025, bringing its show theme of "Create the AI Future" to life. The series is TECNO's debut AI glasses product and comprises two powerful models TECNO AI Glasses and TECNO AI Glasses Pro offering the highest pixel AI glasses photography system in the industry. MWC Barcelona 2025 attendees can get their first glimpse of the series in person at booth 6B11, Hall 6, Fira Gran Via. TECNO AI Glasses Series Products TECNO AI Glasses Series Products Lifestyle TECNO AI Glasses Pro - Teleprompter Scenario While TECNO AI Glasses Pro offer a convenient and futuristic AR display, both products boast customized lens modules, a smartphone-main-camera-grade OV50D sensor, and the ISP and advanced imaging algorithms from TECNO's flagship CAMON 40 Premier smartphone. This achieves the industry-leading ultra-clear AI glasses imaging system sets a new standard for on-the-go image capture, while the series also supports groundbreaking TECNO AI functions such as the Ella AI Assistant, marking the arrival of a new generation of intelligent eyewear with futuristic AI capabilities. Next-level Imaging with Industry-leading 50MP Ultra-Clear Imaging The TECNO AI Glasses Series brings smartphone-grade imaging to AI glasses with the industry's most advanced AI glasses image capture. The series boasts the highest resolution camera of any AI glasses and is equipped with a customized lens module and a smartphone-main-camera-grade OV50D sensor, along with the same ISP and advanced imaging algorithms as TECNO's new flagship imaging smartphone, CAMON 40 Premier 5G. These components combine to help users capture outstanding high-quality images full of vivid detail in various lighting conditions. What's more, the exclusive ColorVisionary filters allow users to get explore vibrant colors in their shots, and the exclusive "SmartSnap" function intelligently recognizes scenes, assists in shooting, and automatically generates attractive captions for easily recording life's special moments. The series also supports AI-driven content creation, allowing direct sharing to social media with unique AI-generated captions. Intelligent Interactions Empowered by TECNO AI The TECNO AI Glasses Series is equipped with TECNO AI and offers seamless interactions with the Ella AI Assistant on hand to meet users' needs. From activity planning to food recommendations, Ella AI Assistant serves as a reliable companion for enhancing daily life. In addition, the integrated AI Info function efficiently compiles notifications and data from multiple apps, distilling vast amounts of information into concise reports, saving users valuable time without removing their phone from their pocket. Meanwhile, the advanced AI recognition capability identifies objects and locations, enriching users' exploration with relevant insights. For example, when approaching a restaurant, users can simply capture an image through the glasses to receive AI-analyzed ratings and related data about the establishment. With real-time translation supporting over 100 languages, TECNO AI's Ella empowers highly accurate translations even for less common languages, breaking down language barriers and facilitating effortless communication. Additional features like memos and schedule reminders are easily managed through a compatible Android app, which are pair to the mostly Andriod 8.0 and above system devices. Innovative Lightweight Technology and Long-lasting Battery The TECNO AI Glasses Series combines lightweight, durable resin lenses with advanced technology for a superior user experience. The TECNO AI Glasses feature an aviator design style, while the TECNO AI Glasses Pro come in a browline style. Both are perfect for daily wear and offer an elegant look. With a 250mAh battery, the series delivers efficient power management, providing over 11 hours of music playback and 8 hours of mixed use after just 30 minutes of charging. Equipped with a high-quality 180mm speaker and advanced audio technology, the series delivers clear sound while safeguarding privacy with anti-sound leakage features. Users can also enjoy seamless connectivity with Wi-Fi 16 and Bluetooth 5.4, ensuring a smooth and immersive experience for all daily needs. TECNO AI Glasses Pro: Futuristic WaveGuide Technology AR Display Allowing users to experience the future of augmented reality today, the TECNO AI Glasses Pro feature an advanced WaveGuide technology AR display, exclusively co-developed with Meta-Bounds, and a MicroLED screen for crisp image clarity. With a 30 field of view and over 1500 nits brightness, the glasses ensure great visibility, even in bright conditions. Ideal for navigation, meeting translation and other real-time applications, the Pro model provides a comfortable and immersive AR experience, making everyday tasks easier and more intuitive and elevating every moment with innovative AR display technology. The new TECNO AI Glasses Series delivers unparalleled and futuristic AI-powered experiences for forward-looking consumers. As TECNO's debut AI glasses product, the series represents TECNO's ongoing commitment to innovation, to deliver the best and most advanced technologies that improve lifestyles for users around the world. About TECNO TECNO is an innovative, AI-driven technology brand with a presence in over 70 markets across five continents. Committed to transforming the digital experience in global emerging markets, TECNO relentlessly pursues the perfect integration of contemporary aesthetic design with the latest technologies and artificial intelligence. Today, TECNO offers a comprehensive ecosystem of AI-powered products, including smartphones, smart wearables, laptops, tablets, smart gaming devices, the HiOS operating system, and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of "Stop At Nothing," TECNO continues to pioneer the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and AI-driven experiences for forward-looking individuals, inspiring them to never stop pursuing their best selves and brightest futures. For more information, please visit TECNO's official site: www.tecno-mobile.com. SOURCE TECNO BARCELONA, Spain, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 4, 2025, Innovative AI-driven technology brand TECNO unveiled its new MEGABOOK S14 the industry's lightest 14-inch OLED laptop at MWC Barcelona 2025. As the latest device in the flagship MEGABOOK S Series, the MEGABOOK S14 offers a new 14-inch size, a stunning 2.8K OLED display and Snapdragon X Elite compute platform, while weighing just 899g (31.7oz), perfectly balancing portability and performance. Even with such a lightweight design, the MEGABOOK S14 is packed with powerful AI capabilities to supercharge users' productivity and creativity. Worlds Lightest 14-inch Laptop TECNO MEGABOOK S14 TECNO MEGABOOK S14 with External Graphics Dock The MEGABOOK S14 is designed for business professionals, creative visionaries, and passionate gamers with versatile and powerful functions to meet users' diverse needs. Equipped with innovative TECNO AI, it offers seamless functionality even without internet access and easy connectivity across the TECNO AI Ecosystem, including smartphones and MEGAPAD tablets, to effortlessly assist with tasks from creative writing to content generation and daily task management. Unrivaled Ultralight Design Meets Unparalleled Performance Offering more than just a sleek and refined visual aesthetic, the MEGABOOK S14's magnesium-alloy design is exceptionally slim and lightweight. At just 899g (31.7oz), it is a perfect companion for users' who need to take powerful performance with them on the go. MEGABOOK S14 is equipped with the outstanding power of Snapdragon X Elite compute platform, the flagship chipset for AI PCs from Qualcomm Technologies. It features powerful Qualcomm OryonTM CPU, integrated high-performance Qualcomm HexgonTM NPU and supports LPDDR5X. Designed for competitive performance in Windows Copilot+ PCs, it excels in demanding multitasking with its responsive design. The 12-core Qualcomm Oryon CPU, built on a 4nm architecture, optimizes intensive workloads and offers dual-core boost for rapid responsiveness. Equipped with a leading Qualcomm AI engine and integrated Hexagon NPU, it delivers transformative experiences for creative tasks, video conferencing, security, and productivity assistance. The MEGABOOK S14 Series is equipped with Windows 11 for a smooth and user-friendly experience. AI at Your Fingertips: Empowering a New Era of TECNO AI Productivity The MEGABOOK S14 features the World's first self-developed edge-side large-scale AI Model to integrate the TECNO AI as a cutting-edge AI productivity at every aspect of users' workflow. The laptop features the world's first AI Gallery on a Windows system, seamlessly connecting with TECNO smartphones to organize photos, create smart albums and allow text and voice search for images and duplicate detection all without internet connection. The laptop's TECNO AI also features the Ella AI Assistant to streamline tasks, manage schedules and allow easier connections. Users can also insert any topics into AI PPT, it will localized complete the PowerPoint presentations base on TECNO AI Model sources within minutes. Let users' creative juices flow with AI Drawing functions, and enjoy AI Meeting Assistant's offline meeting transcription with speaker identification, multilingual support, key point extraction and summaries. In addition, personal GPT functions feature a local knowledge base with source tracing and text translation. The MEGABOOK S14 also features TECNO PC Manager to help users easily manage and optimize their PC, enjoy these versatile AI functions and experience seamless TECNO devices connectivity to simplify tasks and boost productivity. Unleash Creativity and Enjoy More Immersive Experiences with an External Graphics Dock The MEGABOOK S14 features an External Graphics Dock with powerful NVIDIA Graphic Card and allowed quick assembly to empower creative experiences, embolden personalized performance to provide immersive 3A gaming and creative production. The MEGABOOK S14 also offers Intel ARL-H Ultra Series CPU for matching with this external graphic dock, which is satisfying different users' demand and delivering professional performance on the ultra-light laptop. What's more, the MEGABOOK S14 is TECNO's first OLED laptop, equipped with a stunning 2.8K high resolution display. As a result, MEGABOOK S14 transforms viewing with vivid colors, supremely deep blacks, and outstanding overall picture quality. The laptop also offers a 120Hz high refresh rate, supporting users as they discover limitless productivity and creativity. A Secure, Reliable, MEGA Experience TECNO's first OLED laptop is enhanced by a 91% screen-to-body ratio, as well as TUV Rheinland eye comfort certification, making the MEGABOOK S14 perfect for immersive gaming and creative work. It also delivers impact audio with DTS:X Ultra powered by dual 2W speakers, allowing users to customize sound to their preferences. Adding to the MEGA experience, the MEGABOOK S14 also provides secure fingerprint login, WiFi 6E, backlit keyboard, light sensor, and a 2M webcam with D-Mic. With all the features, the MEGABOOK S14 is supporting up to 16 hours of daily usage. In the dawning AI era, TECNO AI is key to unlocking new levels of productivity and creativity for users in emerging markets across the globe. The MEGABOOK S14 is TECNO's vision for the future of computing, with comprehensive AI functions and TECNO AI Ecosystem interconnectivity delivering exceptional value and unforgettable AI-powered experiences to users across the world. About TECNO TECNO is an innovative, AI-driven technology brand with a presence in over 70 markets across five continents. Committed to transforming the digital experience in global emerging markets, TECNO relentlessly pursues the perfect integration of contemporary aesthetic design with the latest technologies and artificial intelligence. Today, TECNO offers a comprehensive ecosystem of AI-powered products, including smartphones, smart wearables, laptops, tablets, smart gaming devices, the HiOS operating system, and smart home products. Guided by its brand essence of "Stop At Nothing," TECNO continues to pioneer the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and AI-driven experiences for forward-looking individuals, inspiring them to never stop pursuing their best selves and brightest futures. For more information, please visit TECNO's official site: www.tecno-mobile.com. Snapdragon and Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm, Qualcomm Oryon, Hexagon, and Snapdragon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated. SOURCE TECNO CLIFTON, N.J., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ClassLink just redefined what's possible for school cybersecurity and data management, unveiling three powerful new solutionsOneData, ThreatScan, and AppTrackalongside more than a dozen new product features and upgrades now available at no additional cost to schools. ClassLink made the announcements during the fifth annual CLON (ClassLink Annual Conference) held March 4-6, 2025, at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel in Dallas, TX. More time learning. Less time logging in. (PRNewsfoto/ClassLink) "IT leaders deserve tools that work as hard as they do. Combined with our latest product enhancements, OneData, ThreatScan, and AppTrack deliver real relief. Schools will streamline operations, tighten cybersecurity, and make smarter decisions faster than ever." - Stan Watts, CTO, ClassLink New ClassLink Products OneData - Unify Assessment Data for Consistency, Accuracy, and Action OneData retrieves assessment data from vendor partners and then fills in missing details like academics, demographics, and class rosters. With complete, ready-to-use data flowing into your analysis tools and other destinations, schools gain faster insights and more time to focus on student outcomes. Available Summer 2025 ThreatScan - Catch Exposed Accounts Before Hackers Strike ThreatScan automatically scans the dark web for compromised usernames and passwords linked to your school district. If compromised accounts are found, you're alerted so you can force password resets, lock down access, and stay ahead of cyber threats. Available Summer 2025 AppTrack - New Software Request? AppTrack It AppTrack gives you a clear workflow for evaluating software efficiently. Set approval steps, assign tasks, and keep everyone in the loopso every decision is informed, secure, and accountable. Track security, interoperability, budget, and more. Available Summer 2025 New ClassLink FeaturesIncluded at No Additional Cost Alongside these new products, ClassLink announced major upgrades across its platform. These updates provide enhanced security, greater efficiency, and smarter management tools for IT teams, educators, and families. Here's a look at what's new: IAM Updates Security Roles: Allow designated teachers to reset passwords and enable staff to manage QuickCards Allow designated teachers to reset passwords and enable staff to manage QuickCards Advanced IP-Based Protections: Control logins, bypass MFA for trusted locations, and block suspicious activity Control logins, bypass MFA for trusted locations, and block suspicious activity Passkeys: Secure, passwordless authentication Secure, passwordless authentication Layered MFA: Support for multiple backup authentication methods School Community Support Account Sponsorship: Admins can create accounts for temporary staff, substitutes, and other special use cases Admins can create accounts for temporary staff, substitutes, and other special use cases A New Parent Portal Experience: Parents gain visibility into their child's schedule, applications, and more Smart Rostering Smart Rostering: Vendors specify necessary fields, ensuring schools only share required data Vendors specify necessary fields, ensuring schools only share required data Role Substitution: Now included for all Roster Server users Now included for all Roster Server users DataGuard: Expanded PII masking options for greater control over shared student data Cybersecurity Enhancements Strong MFA: Requiring strong MFA for vendors and ClassLink Tenant Administrators Requiring strong MFA for vendors and ClassLink Tenant Administrators Controlled Access: Grant timed access windows for ClassLink staff to provide support Grant timed access windows for ClassLink staff to provide support Expanded Audit Logs Across All Products: Capturing and displaying more data, including before and after Capturing and displaying more data, including before and after A New Security Center Experience: Dynamic, improved dashboards for faster response to security threats Dynamic, improved dashboards for faster response to security threats Advanced Threat Detection: New Tenant Admin reports for identifying high-risk events Launch Promotion To further support school systems and make pricing sustainable, ClassLink is offering a special launch promotion: Buy one year of any new product and get up to an additional year freewhen you purchase before December 31, 2025. Visit classlink.com to learn more. About ClassLink ClassLink is a global education provider of identity and analytics products that create more time for learning and help schools better understand digital engagement. As leading advocates for open data standards, we offer instant access to apps and files with single sign-on, streamline class rostering, automate account provisioning, and provide actionable analytics. ClassLink empowers 22 million students and staff in over 3,000 school systems. Visit classlink.com to learn more. Related Links www.classlink.com SOURCE ClassLink BEIJING, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from CRI Online: The emergence of DeepSeek has further arose the global attention on AI, with artificial intelligence rapidly penetrating fields such as smart manufacturing, financial risk control, and intelligent transportation, giving rise to novel industrial models and new economic growth points. This surge has led to an explosive growth in AI computing power demand, while its development faces multiple challenges including uneven resource distribution, high energy consumption, and insufficient exploration of application scenarios. In order to foster greater consensus and continuously promote global AI computing power industry development, the World Internet Conference International Organization hosted the "AI Computing Power Development" forum in Barcelona, Spain on March 4. Centered around the theme "Building an Integrated, Inclusive, and Green AI Computing Power Ecosystem", it was conducted during the 2025 World Mobile Congress (2025 MWC). Yang Jianwen, Deputy Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, attended the forum and delivered a speech. Over a hundred guests from around the world participated. Attendees unanimously expressed that inclusive and cross-industry cooperation are key to achieving sustainable AI development, and that international cooperation should be strengthened in the future to jointly address the challenges of computing power and energy consumption. They sincerely hoped that the World Internet Conference could play a greater role in fields such as AI computing power, providing a platform for all parties to jointly promote the development of computing power, accelerating digital transformation and upgrading, and enabling digital technology to better benefit mankind. "Computing power is not the 'private property' of a few enterprises but a 'public good' for the whole society", noted Zhao Houlin, Former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), during the forum. He stressed that computing power development should adhere to the principles of AI for good and inclusiveness. From his viewpoint, what is more important than developing technologies is the bottom line for development, and what is more important than the peak of computing power is its value to benefit all mankind. SOURCE CRIOnline RICHARDSON, Texas, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Thinaer, a leader in real-time operational visibility solutions, announced today its technologies are enabling defense contractors to successfully meet the Department of Defense's Digital Engineering Mandate 5000.97. Thinaer's precise, real-time telemetry data accelerates digital transformation by seamlessly integrating asset tracking, environmental monitoring, and utilization metrics directly into digital engineering initiatives. The DoD Digital Engineering Mandate 5000.97 requires defense contractors to adopt advanced digital processes to increase transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency. Thinaer supports compliance by providing continuous visibility into asset locations, equipment health, and workflow performance, essential for effective digital twin implementations and lifecycle management. "With Thinaer you can now know everything that is happening in your operations and where it's happening, when it happens. Critical data that you've never had access to that fuels digital engineering and accelerates modernization across defense," said Bryan Merckling, CEO of Thinaer. "By integrating accurate, real-time telemetry directly into customers' existing digital platforms and analytics systems, we help defense teams achieve greater asset visibility, operational readiness, and compliance." Thinaer solutions deliver: Real-Time Asset Visibility: Continuous, secure tracking of critical equipment prevents loss, enhances accountability, and supports proactive lifecycle management. Continuous, secure tracking of critical equipment prevents loss, enhances accountability, and supports proactive lifecycle management. Operational Efficiency: Immediate identification and resolution of operational bottlenecks and inefficiencies, significantly reducing downtime and costs. Immediate identification and resolution of operational bottlenecks and inefficiencies, significantly reducing downtime and costs. Rapid and Scalable Integration: Quick deployments leveraging existing infrastructure (Wi-Fi, cellular, BLE), ensuring minimal disruption and cost-effective implementation. Quick deployments leveraging existing infrastructure (Wi-Fi, cellular, BLE), ensuring minimal disruption and cost-effective implementation. Predictive Maintenance: Real-time data streams support predictive analytics, proactively reducing asset downtime and maintaining compliance with stringent DoD standards. Thinaer is trusted by leading aerospace and defense organizations to enhance operational visibility, streamline compliance with digital mandates, and improve overall mission readiness. About Thinaer Thinaer delivers advanced Industrial IoT (IIoT) and real-time location system (RTLS) solutions designed to eliminate operational waste, increase asset visibility, and optimize workflows across defense, manufacturing, aerospace, and healthcare. Thinaer empowers organizations with secure, actionable insights to reduce costs, ensure compliance, and enhance accountability. WUHAN, China, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Changjiang Daily. This is Wuhan: a journey through time Recently, "Traveling in China" has become a highly trending topic on social media platforms, as more international travelers express growing interest in exploring the nation's rich cultural heritage and diverse landscapes. In line with this surge in travel enthusiasm, Wuhan International Communications Center launched an innovative series of multimedia travel guides "Understanding China, Discover Wuhan," to offer a comprehensive introduction to the city for international visitors. These guides, which include videos, posters, and other digital content, aim to help travelers make the most of their time in Wuhan. On Jan. 23, the first episode of the series, titled "This is Wuhan," officially premiered. The episode offers an insightful introduction to Wuhan's history and culture through its vast collection of museums, which serve as windows into the city's past and present. Wuhan, a vibrant city where the past and present blend seamlessly, offers a unique opportunity to explore its rich cultural heritage through museums. With 130 museums scattered throughout the city, Wuhan serves as a living repository of Chinese civilization, providing visitors with a chance to trace the city's ancient origins and discover the stories that have shaped it. Start your journey at the Panlongcheng Site Park, where you can step back 3,500 years in time. Here, you'll encounter ancient relics that reveal what life was like in one of the earliest known civilizations in the region. For those fascinated by the allure of Chu culture, the Hubei Provincial Museum is a must-visit. Among its treasures is the famous Sword of Goujian, which has remained rust-free for over a thousand years. You'll also be captivated by the harmonious chime bells of the Marquis of Zeng, a piece of ancient musical that has stood the test of time. No visit to Wuhan is complete without a trip to Yellow Crane Tower, a cultural and poetic icon overlooking the majestic Yangtze River. As you stand on it, you're not just enjoying a scenic view, but also absorbing the deep history and artistic legacy the tower has witnessed throughout the centuries. To truly understand Wuhan's vibrant past, head to the Wuhan Museum, where you can immerse yourself in the "Confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers" that showcase the city's prosperity during the Ming dynasty. The cultural relics in Wuhan Museum offer an overall look into the wealth and cultural richness that once defined Wuhan. Imagine traveling back a hundred years, when the banks of the Yangtze River were teeming with ships. The air was filled with a blend of dialects and foreign languages from bustling docks, while the fragrance of tea wafted through the streets. Amidst this scene, the bell of the Hankow Customs would echo across the river, marking the rhythm of the city's bustling trade and cultural exchanges. For a glimpse into this rich history, be sure to visit the Hankow Customs House Museum, where the city's development as a major commercial hub comes to life. From ancient relics to modern developments, Wuhan's museums and historical sites provide a fascinating window into its past and present. Whether you're exploring ancient sites or soaking in the city's artistic heritage, Wuhan is a place where history is not only preservedit's alive, constantly shaping the present. This is Wuhan, where the echoes of the past continue to resonate in the heart of the city, offering an unforgettable journey through time. Come and discover the magic of Wuhan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGS7_n6Z1as&t=32s SOURCE Changjiang Daily PHOENIX, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ubiik, a leading provider of private 4G/5G solutions, is proud to announce that it has successfully enabled Satellite NTN IoT service on its Pyxis 5G LPWA Edge Router via the device's iSIM (integrated SIM). This latest development provides flexibility for the end user to failover from a private or public network to Satellite NTN, without the need for a physical SIM or even eSIM. "Pyxis 5G LPWA demonstrates our continued focus on integrating the latest relevant technologies to deliver the best value, security and ease-of-use to our customers", said Fabien Petitgrand, Ubiik's CTO. "It leverages the secure 3GPP-compliant iSIM, directly built into the secure element of the chipset for the highest level of security, together with Release 17 5G LPWA (Cat-M1, Cat-NB2) for the most ubiquitous coverage ever". Pyxis 5G LPWA has the unique ability to connect to private networks, including on the license-free 902-928MHz together with FCC-certified freeRAN Base Station - or the upcoming Release 19 Band 111, as well as public networks across North America, and even NTN on B255/256, all with a single-profile Monogoto SIM. With its dual-SIM support (iSIM + physical SIM), it is the most future-proof 5G LPWA edge router on the market. To bring the Pyxis 5G LPWA to market, the Ubiik team has partnered with Kigen, a world leader in secure iSIM technology, and Monogoto, whose MVNO service is enabled inside the iSIM. Hailed as the next generation of SIM technology, the use of an iSIM is revolutionary for IoT connectivity due to the reduction in size, power consumption, and cost. "Ubiik's Pyxis 5G LPWA edge router demonstrates how Kigen's iSIM delivers robust security and reliable connectivity at the edge of mission-critical utility networkswhere resilience is critical," said Vincent Korstanje, CEO of Kigen. "As the first commercially available iSIM-enabled solution for satellite NTN with seamless terrestrial failover, it sets a new standard for secure, always-on smart utility infrastructure." The addition of Monogoto's MVNO service allows the user to choose to failover to a public or NTN network of their choice. A range of affordable "Pay As You Go" plans are available to suit individual use cases, or it can be used exclusively as a private network at no cost. "We are very excited to see software-defined connectivity becoming a reality. The virtualization of SIM into the hardware of Ubiik's Pyxis 5G LPWA router is a perfect example of how friction is being removed, enabling enterprises to integrate connectivity in a much more seamless and efficient way," said Maor Efrati, CTO and Co-founder of Monogoto. "By embedding our MVNO service inside the iSIM, businesses gain unparalleled ability to scale their IoT deployments with the reliability of public networks, the flexibility of private networks and the extended reach of Satellite NTN." Transforming IoT Use Cases Pyxis 5G LPWA supports both Cat-M1 and Cat-NB1/2 (aka LTE-M and NB-IOT), the only 3GPP technologies to fulfill 5G mMTC (massive Machine-Type-Communication) requirements, and which provide a path forward to be connected directly to a 5G SA Core. They are also the only technologies which have Satellite NTN support from Release 17 onward. Contrary to Cat-1bis and other legacy LTE categories, these provide the most future-proof and versatile connectivity options for a wide range of moderate throughput, long-range, reliable communication. Combined with freeRAN 5G LPWA Base Station, Pyxis 5G LPWA can be used to deploy a private Cat-M1 network in the license-free 902-928MHz. With 3MHz of license-free spectrum for downlink and 12MHz for uplink, it can support a wide range of applications, from connecting sensors or smart meters to surveillance cameras (Cat-M1 throughput of >200kbps per Pyxis and >3Mbps per freeRAN enables at least 8 concurrent HD 10fps H265 video streams). Visit Monogoto at MWC25, booth 5151, to explore the starter kit, and meet Ubiik at DistribuTECH in Dallas, Texas, March 24-27, 2025, to learn more about the Pyxis 5G LPWA Edge Router. About Ubiik Ubiik continues to innovate in the private LTE and IoT space, addressing coverage limitations andc cost barriers that hinder widespread IoT adoption. With a track record of over one million AMI device deployments, Ubiik is a market leader in providing scalable, secure, and cost-effective connectivity solutions. Ubiik acquired Mimomax Wireless in 2023, bringing 15 years of knowledge and experience of mission-critical SCADA and voice deployments into the Ubiik group. For more information, visit www.ubiik.com. About Monogoto Monogoto is shaping a smarter, more connected world with our unique, easy-to-access, always-on 5G Software-Defined-Connectivity cloud for IoT connectivity and Private LTE. Our mission is to empower enterprises and developers with simplified, functionality-rich, and secure connectivity for IoT and Private Networks, breaking today's barriers to innovation. As a Software-Defined-Connectivity cloud provider for both public and private device connectivity, Monogoto's rapidly expanding service boosts IoT innovation and growth by providing seamless, self-service and cost-effective device connectivity. Today, developers around the world rely on Monogoto's technology to connect Vehicles, Charging stations, Drones, Points Of Sales and much more, in over 180 countries and across 550 public and private 4G/5G networks in multiple verticals, from agriculture to manufacturing, healthcare, fleet management, micro-mobility, retail, and more. About Kigen Kigen is the forerunner in eSIM and integrated SIM (iSIM) security-enabled IoT solutions built for scale. An Arm-founded company, Kigen flexibly empowers OEMs with the digital delivery of the secure iSIM package for out-of-the-box LPWAN connectivity from leading network providers in over 200 countries on the most trusted IoT chipsets and modules. As a pioneer of iSIM technology, our products and partnerships are behind some of the most innovative solutions transforming logistics, smart metering and energy, industrial automation and more. Find out more at https://kigen.com or join our #FutureofSIM conversation on LinkedIn. SOURCE Ubiik World-class consulting firm establishes a defined water environment practice MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ulteig, a purpose-driven consulting engineering leader committed to creating and solving for a sustainable future, has acquired Paradigm Environmental, a consulting firm that combines advanced technology with water environment expertise, to provide world-class solutions for water resource management. With this acquisition, Ulteig reinvents its presence in the Water Lifeline Sector with solutions focused on sustainability and resiliency. Ulteig has acquired Paradigm Environmental to provide world-class water resource management solutions. Post this Ulteig Acquires Paradigm Environmental "Joining forces with Paradigm Environmental creates an opportunity for Ulteig to transform our impact in the Water Lifeline Sector," said Ulteig President and CEO Doug Jaeger. "Paradigm will enhance our ability to deliver world-class sustainable solutions to our clients who serve this vital component of critical infrastructure." Ulteig operates across the Lifeline Sectors of Power, Renewables, Water and Transportation. Paradigm's highly respected water resources expertise and innovative approach to watershed analysis and stormwater management supplements the services Ulteig currently offers and creates tremendous value for the Water Lifeline Sector. "Ulteig provides the Paradigm team with the structure and capabilities that will allow us to continue our growth trajectory and respond to the growing demands on our clients' programs," said Paradigm Environmental Principal Hydrologist and Director Dustin Bambic. "Together, with our strong employee-focused cultures, we share a passion for delivering innovative and data-driven solutions that increase the resiliency and sustainability of the communities we serve." Paradigm Environmental will continue to operate under the Paradigm name as it is integrated into Ulteig's organizational structure. Their offices in San Diego and Fairfax, VA, as well as their employee-base in Nashville, will continue to serve as their primary locations and will become extensions of Ulteig's geographic footprint. For more information, visit www.Ulteig.com. About Paradigm Environmental Paradigm Environmental is a consulting firm that specializes in water resources management and supports a broad array of IT applications. Paradigm's water resources expertise is sought internationally for innovative solutions to water quality impairments, engineering challenges and regulatory pressures. Paradigm's reputation and highly specialized expertise has led to projects around the globe, while its offices provide local footprints in California (San Diego), the Southeast (Nashville) and Virginia (Fairfax/Chesapeake Bay). About Ulteig Ulteig is a purpose-driven consulting engineering leader committed to creating and solving for a sustainable future. Ulteig's employee-owners are technical experts who are transforming our world's critical infrastructure through collaborative and innovative solutions across the Lifeline Sectors of Power, Renewables, Transportation and Water. Leveraging its expertise for more than 80 years, Ulteig operates throughout North America and serves a wide range of public and private clients. SOURCE Ulteig Recognizing the Untappd Community's top-rated beers of 2024, featuring over 25,000 award-winning beers from 7,000+ breweries across 50 countries. CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- After a wildly successful debut, the Untappd Community Awards return for a second year. Last year, Untappd , the app connecting brewers, retailers, and beer enthusiasts globally, celebrated the best in beer, recognizing 25,302 beers from nearly 7,500 breweries in 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and 50 countries worldwide. Powered by ratings from nearly 11 million beer lovers on the world's largest search, discovery, and ratings platform for craft beer enthusiasts, the inaugural awards shined a spotlight on the world's most beloved beer across 268 beer substyles. We're incredibly grateful to the Untappd community for recognizing our dedication to hard work, innovation, and quality Post this The Untappd Community Awards are a worldwide celebration of the best in beer. Building on that momentum, the Untappd Community Awards, presented by Ollie brewery management software, doubles down on its mission to celebrate the craft beer community, honoring 25,462 of the world's top-rated beers from 7,033 breweries across the globe. In the United States, 3,444 breweries brewed a beer winning an Untappd Community Award in at least one style at the national or state level. The 10 U.S. breweries that produced the highest number of award-winning brews at a state or national level include Tree House Brewing Company (Charlton, MA), Sapwood Cellars Brewery (Columbia, MD), Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro, VT), Schilling Beer Co (Littleton, NH), Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE), Anchorage Brewing Company (Anchorage, AK), Boiler Brewing Co (Lincoln, NE), Side Project Brewing (Saint Louis, MO), Fox Farm Brewery (Salem, CT), and Fabled Brew Works (Erlanger, KY). To qualify, beers had to receive a minimum of 50 ratings from unique Untappd users in 2024. Award winners were selected for substyles in all geographies in which at least three products in the substyle qualified with 50 unique ratings. The highest-rated beer in the United States in 2024 was Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout (2024) , an imperial/double stout from Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. in Decorah, IA. Rounding out the top five were Double Barrel Coconut Killa AF from Lincoln, NE's Boiler Brewing Co. , Double Barrel Pear Leto (Copper Wax) and Double Barrel Pear Leto from Mortalis Brewing Company in Avon, NY, and Seven Years in Heaven from Pulpit Rock Brewing Company in Decorah, IL. The entire list includes beers from up-and-coming breweries alongside some of the most recognized in the country. "For 30 years, our mission at Allagash has been to create new and exciting beer experiences for people. We're incredibly grateful to the Untappd community for recognizing our dedication to hard work, innovation, and quality," said Rob Tod, founder at Allagash, which nabbed twenty total Untappd Community Awards this year, including a gold for its iconic flagship witbier. "Allagash White has been our pride and joy since the very beginning, and it's truly humbling to see how deeply it still resonates. Heartfelt congratulations to all the other winners who make this community so exceptional." Outside of the United States, Puhaste Brewery in Tartu, Estonia, was the top award winner for the second year in a row, with 55 beers placing in the top three within the country. The order of the remaining top 10 international brewers in terms of total beer award count was Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark), Salikatt (Stavanger, Norway), Pohjala (Tallinn, Estonia), Omnipollo (Sundbyberg, Sweden), Polly's Brew Co. (Mold, Wales), Brew Your Mind (Szekszard, Hungary), WarPigs Brewpub (Copenhagen, Denmark), Alder Beer Co. (Seregno, Italy), and Garage Project (Wellington, New Zealand). For the second consecutive year, The Netherlands was the most-awarded country outside North America. Leading the charge, Jopen secured its place among the top breweries, with the second-most awarded beers in Holland. "Since the start of Jopen, 30 years ago, we have found that brewing beers in a different way, instead of copy-pasting popular beers, should be the characteristic of our brewery," said Michel Ordeman, founder and head brewer of Jopen in the Netherlands, which earned nearly 20 accolades, including a gold for the country's top-ranked Red Ale. "We are proud and humbled that so many beer lovers have rewarded our beers with high ratings. We thank Untappd for creating this platform where beer lovers can unite and share their thoughts over the beautiful product that beer is. We want to congratulate all other winners and encourage them to maintain quality and diversity in flavors." The highest-rated beverages in top Untappd geographies outside of the United States included Bere Noah's ECSTASY (Romania), Deciduous (Double Barrel Grand Reserve) from Counterpart Brewing (Canada), Track Brewing Company's Lunar II (England), Deciduous (Double Barrel Grand Reserve) (Vanilla) from Counterpart Brewing (Canada), Spartacus Brewing's I (One) (Brazil), Chritje60 from Kraom Beer (Netherlands), Coniferous (Willett) from Counterpart Brewing (Canada), Monkey Brew's Beelzebub (Norway), and TIMES 8 Bourbon Barrel Aged from LERVIG (Norway). Please visit the Untappd Community Awards to search for award winners across all geographies and beer substyles, access the awards press kit, learn more about the awards criteria, and for additional information, including FAQs . About Untappd Available for free in the App Store and on Google Play , Untappd is the leading app for beer and breweries, with over 11 million users globally. The Untappd app allows users to search and discover beers, breweries, and retail establishments with great beer selections. Untappd's Untappd for Business product helps bars, restaurants, breweries, and other retailers manage and promote beer, wine, spirits, and food menus in nearly 80 countries. Untappd has been recognized by TIME, The New York Times, and the Washington Post as a top Food & Beverage app. Media Contact Tyler Kairys VP, Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Untappd Zelenskyy to Portuguese PM: joint action plan to achieve peace, security to take into account voice of each country Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/13471 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro the details of the summit in London on March 2, in particular regarding the joint action plan to achieve a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine and security for all of Europe. "Had a conversation with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. Shared the details of the leaders' summit in London, where we agreed to prepare an action plan that will bring a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine and security for entire Europe closer. This is both strengthening our state and security guarantees," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. The President of Ukraine stressed that "we will remain in touch with all European partners and discuss our next steps. It is important for us that the voice of each country is taken into account in the joint plan. The unity of Europe and the leadership of America can definitely put an end to this war." The President of Ukraine also expressed gratitude to Portugal: "We appreciate Portugal's assistance - both military and political. Thank you for being with us." OWINGS MILLS, Md., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Visionary Eye Care, a leading provider of personalized eye care services, has expanded its office space at David S. Brown's Boulevard Corporate Center, located at 10995 Owings Mills Blvd., Suite 204. The practice has grown from 2,000 square feet to 3,400 square feet, adding 1,400 square feet to better serve its loyal patients and meet increasing demand. Location of Visionary Eye Care at Boulevard Corporate Center, 10995 Owings Mills Blvd, Owings Mills, MD 21117. "I knew it was time to grow our practice because I was booked out three months in advance. That was an indication that it was time to knock some walls down and hire an additional practitioner. We have been fortunate enough to add Jill Vocci, O.D., to our practice. She brings 20 years of experience in comprehensive and pediatric eye care," said Brian Granek, O.D., owner of Visionary Eye Care. The expansion not only enhances the patient's experience but also supports community growth. "This expansion provides us the opportunity to create jobs within the community by adding more opticians and support staff," added Dr. Granek. "Since opening Visionary Eye Care at Boulevard Corporate Center in 2012, Dr. Granek has built a loyal following and become a fixture in the community. We are thrilled to support Visionary Eye Care's expansion at Boulevard Corporate Center. It's always rewarding to see our tenants thrive and expand within our properties," said Kevin Keane, Senior Vice President of Office Leasing at David S. Brown Enterprises. "Our mission is to provide dynamic office solutions that foster growth, and Visionary Eye Care's success is a testament to that commitment." Visionary Eye Care sets itself apart through a unique approach to patient care. "We pride ourselves on never saying 'no' to our patients. We may acknowledge it's not the right time, but the answer is never 'no.' We also spend a little more time with each patient, truly coddling them," said Dr. Granek. "In addition to having state-of-the-art technology and equipment, we provide more love and attention to our patients. We are also very big on giving back; We donate a portion of every exam fee to charity and let the patient decide which charity to support." About Visionary Eyecare Visionary Eye Care is a full-service optometry practice committed to providing personalized eye care with state-of-the-art technology and a patient-centered approach. Led by Brian Granek, O.D., the practice is known for its exceptional customer service and community engagement. For more information, please visit www.visionaryicare.com. About Boulevard Corporate Center Boulevard Corporate Center, situated in Owings Mills, Maryland, is a mixed-use shopping center known for its strategic location and proximity to Stevenson University. Owned and managed by David S. Brown Enterprises, the Boulevard Corporate Center exemplifies the company's commitment to support growing businesses with flexible office solutions and modern amenities. For more information, please visit www.davidsbrown.com. About David S. Brown Enterprises, LTD. Established in 1933 and headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland, David S. Brown Enterprises is a full-service real estate company. Their mission is to serve the community through socially conscious development, high-quality construction, and innovative design. For additional information, please visit www.davidsbrown.com or connect on LinkedIn. SOURCE David S. Brown Enterprises, LTD. CLGS is the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies at PSR BERKELEY, Calif., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent actions by the federal government remind us that LGBTQ+ peopleespecially transgender and queer individualsremain under threat of erasure. Two recent incidents make this alarmingly clear. On February 14, 2025, NPR reported that the National Park Service removed references to transgender people, the 'T' in LGBTQ+, and the word "queer" from the official website of the Stonewall National Monument. This monument commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots, an uprising led by trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. By erasing their identities from the narrative, the government distorts history and denies their role in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. Days later, OperaWire reported that the Kennedy Center canceled a scheduled performance by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. The concert, part of the May 2025 WorldPride celebrations, was abruptly scrapped after President Trump's newly appointed Kennedy Center board took control. The message is clear: LGBTQ+ voices and visibility are under attack. These actions are not isolated. They follow a pattern used by autocratic regimes: introduce extreme policies to test the public's tolerance, then escalate. As journalist M. Gessen warns, such governments push boundaries until ideas once considered unthinkable become normalized. We are witnessing this now. History offers sobering parallels. In 1957, President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10450 barred LGBTQ+ individuals from federal employment, branding them as security risks. Frank Kameny, a government astronomer fired for being gay, refused to disappear. His relentless advocacy helped spark the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The same forces that tried to erase us then are at work today. But history also shows that resistance is powerful. LGBTQ+ activists fought back against the erasure of our community before, and we must do so again. The removal of trans and queer identities from the Stonewall website and the silencing of LGBTQ+ voices at the Kennedy Center are calculated moves to push us back into the shadows. We cannot let that happen. We must name these attacks, challenge them, and tell our stories louder than ever. Our history will not be rewritten. Our voices will not be silenced. And we will NOT be erased. About PSR Founded in 1866, Pacific School of Religion is a leading progressive Christian seminary, graduate school, and center for leadership development and social impact. PSR transforms individuals and communities through a flexible, stackable curriculum and a collaborative, lifelong learning ecosystem powered by diversity. PSR offers multiple options for individuals looking to build spiritually grounded leadership skills and learn from wisdom-based traditions. To learn more, visit psr.edu. For Media Inquiries: Jacob Perez Director, Marketing & Communications [email protected] (510) 849-8239 SOURCE Pacific School of Religion BEIJING, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn The AI Computing Power Development Forum, under the theme of "Building an Integrated, Inclusive, and Green AI Computing Power Ecosystem," hosted by the World Internet Conference (WIC), took place during the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday. Yang Jianwen, Vice Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China, addressed the forum. Yang noted that as the era of comprehensive intelligence unfolds, AI is profoundly reshaping industries and daily life, creating vast opportunities and driving the next wave of industrial transformation. To build AI computing power that is efficient and high-quality, secure and stable, inclusive and accessible, mutually beneficial, and environmentally sustainable, efforts should focus on strengthening collaborative innovation, optimizing infrastructure, making strategic investments in network facilities, expanding real-world application scenarios, and advancing green technology adoption. Key speakers at the forum included Zhao Houlin, Former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union; Sihan Bo Chen, Head of Greater China, GSMA; Li Zixue, Chairman of ZTE Corporation; Zhang Dong, Vice-President of China Mobile; Liu Jun, Executive Vice-President of Lenovo Group; Besik Bugianishvili, Chief Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Development Fund of Georgia; Jiang Tao, Co-founder and Senior Vice-President of iFlytek; Luigi Gambardella, President of ChinaEU; and Zhao Hejuan, Founder, Chairperson and CEO of TMTPOST Group. The attendees unanimously agreed that inclusivity and cross-industry collaboration are essential for sustainable AI development and further international cooperation is needed to collectively address challenges related to computing power and energy consumption. They also expressed their hope that the WIC would play a greater role in such sectors as AI computing power, serving as a platform for global collaboration, accelerating digital transformation, and ensuring that digital technologies deliver greater benefits to humanity. SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn Waltz on suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine: Reviewing everything related to our security relations The United States is pausing and evaluating everything related to security relations with Ukraine, said US President's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. We are pausing, evaluating, reviewing everything related to our security relations, he said, answering a question on CBS Mornings whether the United States had suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine. According to Waltz, "we have to ask ourselves, should this war continue for months and years to come?" "And, again, to what ultimate goal, what is consistent with the goals of the United States?" he added. Ukraine is gradually returning to the negotiation process with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Deputy Head of Holos faction Yulia Klymenko believes. "Trump's speech in Congress was not toxic for Ukraine and that is already a good thing. We are gradually returning to the negotiation process with the Trump administration," Klymenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday. According to the MP, the framework deal on minerals between Ukraine and the United States will most likely be signed. "Serious and professional work must continue to make it as beneficial as possible for Ukraine," - Klymenko said. According to the MP, Trump's statements regarding the Panama Canal and Greenland are "a marketing ploy for American voters." She said the day before, the U.S. closed a "deal to buy 43 ports from China" for $22.8 billion, including two large ports on the Panama Canal, and "actually destroyed China's influence on it." "The same will happen with Greenland: the United States will find a way to control the Arctic with money and investments," the MP said. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Los Angeles, March 5 : The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on the ground in the US state of Texas to respond to the growing measles outbreak, the agency said. The agency in a statement on Tuesday on social media platform X said it has sent some of its Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) "disease detectives" to the West Texas region, the same day the state reported an additional 13 cases, bringing the total to 159. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has reported an outbreak of measles in the South Plains region of Texas. Currently, 159 cases have been identified in the state since late January. Twenty-two of the patients have been hospitalised, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. There has been one fatality in a school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area. The child was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, according to Texas DSHS. Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities, said Texas DSHS. The agency is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak. "The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health. By working together -- parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation," said Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy last week said the CDC was providing "technical assistance and vaccines" to help with the outbreak, including lab support and sending doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. The outbreak has largely spread within a community of Mennonites in Gaines County, who historically have had lower vaccination rates. A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy initially downplayed the outbreak during a Cabinet meeting with President Trump last week, saying it was "not unusual" and falsely claiming that many people hospitalised were there "mainly for quarantine". He still has not openly encouraged vaccination, though in an op-ed posted on the Fox News website on Sunday he urged parents to talk with their doctors "to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine" while emphasising that the decision to get vaccinated was a "personal one". Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and U.S. President's National Security Advisor Michael Volz agreed on a meeting of the negotiating teams in the near future. "Had a phone conversation with U.S. President's National Security Advisor Michael Volz. Discussed further steps on the path to a just and lasting peace. Also exchanged views on security issues and coordination of positions within the framework of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the United States," he said in Telegram channel on Wednesday. "We agreed on a meeting of our teams in the near future to continue this important work," Yermak saidd. Earlier it was reported that Volz reported on a phone conversation with Yermak on CBS Mornings. According to him, the parties discussed the time, place, delegations, and a real negotiating table, which will be "shuttle diplomacy" between the United States, Ukrainians, Russians. Houston, March 5 : From Texas to Tennessee, a number of severe storms have battered large parts of the US South with winds, hail, plumes of dust and tornadoes, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. More than 400,000 homes, businesses and other utility customers across five states -- Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee -- are without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The National Weather Service confirmed a brief EF1 tornado hit the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Irving in northern Texas earlier on Tuesday, with damage spread over a few blocks, Xinhua news agency reported. More than 375 flights to or from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport have been cancelled, according to airline tracker FlightAware.com. Another 660 were delayed. Nearly nine million people are under a Level 3 out of 5 risk of severe weather. This includes cities such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport in Louisiana, Mobile in Alabama and Jackson in Mississippi. In Lewisville, Texas, a warehouse for Benjamin Moore Paints was seen torn open after a suspected tornado ripped through. Part of the warehouse collapsed and the debris buried semi-trailers and other vehicles nearby, local media reported. Much of the East can expect a washout on Wednesday as the storm's center moves into the Northeast. The system will bring periods of rain, gusty winds and the potential for thunderstorms as a cold front approaches. In Oklahoma, another confirmed EF1 tornado heavily damaged a volunteer fire station and snapped numerous trees in Pontotoc County. Parades for Fat Tuesday, the traditional peak of Louisiana Mardi Gras parades, were officially cancelled in Jefferson Parish, which is part of the greater New Orleans area, due to the weather problems. The wind damage threat will continue overnight across the Deep South, said a report from the weather.com. Officials have banned floats and marching bands due to concerns about strong winds. All parades are supposed to be off the street by 11:30 a.m. Police are warning that they may cancel the parades if conditions warrant. New Orleans is also within that Level 3 out of 5 severe weather threat, which includes risks of damaging winds, hail and even tornadoes. Winter isn't over yet as a snowy scene played out on Monday about 40 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. While the desert climate of Las Vegas doesn't lead to snow, the mountains surrounding the city receive decent amounts of powder each year. This makes them a popular destination for skiers who visit Sin City. Lima, March 5 : Peru's former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) went on trial, accused of attempting a coup d'etat by trying to dissolve Congress in December 2022. The charges stem from a failed effort by Castillo to declare a state of emergency and dissolve Peru's Congress as legislators prepared an impeachment vote against him in December 2022, Xinhua news agency reported. Castillo failed to get the military's support for his move, and was swiftly deposed by Congress and arrested after prosecutors accused him of trying to promote a coup. But the removal of Castillo, Peru's first Indigenous President, sparked large protests in the south of the country, in which at least 49 people were killed in the weeks following the President's ouster. "The Judiciary is starting the trial hearing against former President #PedroCastillo and six others accused of #Rebellion and other crimes," Peru's Supreme Court of Justice announced on social media platform X on Tuesday. The court's Special Criminal Chamber is holding the hearings at the Barbadillo Penitentiary in the capital Lima, where Castillo, 55, is being held. Other defendants in the case include Betssy Chavez and Anibal Torres, both former Presidents of the Council of Ministers. The prosecution has also charged with "rebellion" the former Interior Minister, Willy Huerta, and three former officers of the National Police: Manuel Lozada, Justo Venero and Eder Infanzon. State news agency Andina reported that the former President published a letter describing his status as "kidnapped" at Barbadillo and the judicial process against him as a "farce". Prosecutors are seeking a 34-year prison sentence for Castillo, as well as banning him from holding public office for a period of three years and six months. The other defendants face between 15 and 25 years in prison if convicted. Earlier on Tuesday, a group of Castillo supporters gathered outside of the Barbadillo prison in a show of support for the former President. Castillo was replaced by then-Vice President Dina Boluarte, who now leads a conservative government and has built alliances with legislators from the nation's traditional parties. The former President's trial is taking place in a police base, where he has been held since he made his unsuccessful attempt to dissolve Congress and call for new elections. United Nations, March 5 : A UN special envoy has strongly condemned Israel's military escalations in Syria, including airstrikes, calling for an end to violations and refraining from exacerbating conflict. "Such actions are unacceptable and risk further destabilising an already fragile situation, heightening regional tensions, and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition in line with key principles of Security Council resolution 2254 (2015)," Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, warned on Tuesday in a statement. Pedersen said he remained "deeply concerned" by Israel's continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. The special envoy called on Israel to cease violations, uphold its international obligations, and refrain from unilateral measures that exacerbate conflict. Pedersen urged all parties to respect Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity. "Constructive dialogue and strict adherence to international agreements and international law are essential for security in Syria and the broader region," he said. Israel launched airstrikes on Monday night targeting a Syrian air defence battalion near the western coastal city of Tartus, Syrian state media reported. Israel also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974. A spokesperson for the Israeli military confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces had struck a military site in Qardaha, a town near Tartus, adding that the attacks were in response to "recent developments in the region". It was the latest Israeli attack in Syria, where, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, Israel has deployed ground forces and conducted airstrikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarised, warning that his government would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian-led government near its territory. Even before Assad's fall, during Syria's civil war which broke out in 2011, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in the neighbouring country, mainly on government forces and Iranian-linked targets. The same day Assad was ousted, Israel said its troops were entering the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights. Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in a move largely unrecognised by the international community. Ramallah, March 5 : The Israeli army has killed a senior Qassam Brigades commander and another Palestinian during a large-scale military operation in the eastern neighbourhood of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. According to Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses, the Israeli forces, backed by large reinforcements, surrounded several residential buildings in the eastern neighbourhood of Jenin, which led to violent clashes that resulted in the killing of Aysar al-Saadi and another young man, Xinhua news agency reported. The incident came as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expanded its ongoing counterterrorism raid, dubbed "Operation Iron Wall," in the northern West Bank to additional neighbourhoods of Jenin. In a first, troops were using "Eitan" armoured personnel carriers in Jenin amid the operation, which are more heavy duty than the APCs normally deployed in the West Bank. On Tuesday morning, as part of the expanded operation, Border Police officers along with IDF troops attempted to arrest the commander of Hamas's terror network in Jenin, Aysar al-Saadi, following information on his whereabouts provided by the Shin Bet. Following an exchange of fire, Saadi and another gunman were killed, and three wanted Palestinians were detained, according to the IDF, police, and Shin Bet. Hamas mourned the death of Saadi, accusing Israel of resorting to "assassinations after failing to confront the resistance on the ground". In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed the killing of Saadi, alleging that he was responsible for planning attacks against Israeli targets. The Israeli troops found an assault rifle, handgun, and several other weapons during scans of the building where Saadi was holed up. Another gunman was killed in a separate exchange of fire in the same area, the IDF added. On Tuesday, a Palestinian man who approached Israeli forces at a checkpoint near the West Bank settlement outpost of Homesh while brandishing a knife was shot dead by troops, according to a military source. The statement also claimed that the second Palestinian killed "posed a threat" to Israeli forces in the area. The army emphasised that military operations would continue in Jenin to pursue what it described as "terrorist elements". Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said that two Palestinians were killed, "and many young men were arrested," while the Palestinian Health Ministry identified one of the dead as Aysar al-Saadi, saying the 21-year-old's body was taken away by troops after he was shot. The head of the Jenin government hospital, Wisam Baker, told media that a man identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the facility early on Tuesday. Baker said that Alawneh, 25, had bled out after being shot in the thigh. Governor Abu al-Rub said the raid had caused "devastation and massive destruction" in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood, "which has not experienced an Israeli assault like this before." He said that the main electricity line was cut off, dozens of families were forced to leave, and army bulldozers had left behind a trail of damage. More than 40,100 Palestinians have left their homes since the launch of Operation Iron Wall, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) figures from mid-February. The IDF has said troops have killed more than 75 Palestinian terror operatives and detained some 450 amid the major ongoing counter-terrorism operation. The military has also acknowledged mistakenly killing several civilians during the operation, including a toddler and a pregnant woman. Troops have also seized nearly 200 weapons. New Delhi, March 5 : To review the overall relationship, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is set to visit Russia on March 7 for the annual foreign office consultations between the two countries, people familiar with the matter said. The visit will also be an opportunity for India and Russia to exchange views on key regional and global issues, they said on Tuesday. Misri is also expected to meet members of the top Russian leadership during his day-long visit, the people said on condition of anonymity. People cited above said possible implications of the new Western sanctions on Russia on New Delhi's energy ties with Moscow may figure during the Foreign Secretary's meetings with Russian officials. The visit by the Foreign Secretary is taking place amid renewed focus on the Ukraine conflict after US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded verbal blows at the Oval Office in the White House on Friday last that drew global attention. Europe has come out in strong support of Zelensky following unprecedented scenes that unfolded in the Oval Office. Expanding trade and investment, especially enhancing Indian exports to make two-way trade more balanced, and maintaining Russian energy supplies to India in the face of additional Western sanctions are expected to be among the issues that will figure in the Foreign Secretary's meetings in Russia, the people said. Last year, the two sides set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030. Two-way trade is currently worth about $66 billion, though it is skewed in Russia's favour because of India's massive purchases of crude oil since 2022. India has sought greater access to Russian markets to make the trade more balanced. European countries have enhanced sanctions to stymie oil exports by Russia, which is among the top two energy suppliers for India. New sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet have impacted the country's ability to supply oil around the world. The Foreign Secretary's visit is being seen as an opportunity for Russia to brief the Indian side on the latest efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, especially after US President Donald Trump's overtures to President Vladimir Putin and shift away from the traditional US position of providing security guarantees to Europe. The issue of discharge of the remaining Indian nationals serving in the Russian military may also figure in the talks. In January, India said 12 Indian nationals have been killed while serving with the Russian military and another 16 have been listed by Russia as missing. There is no official announcement yet on the Foreign Secretary Misri's visit. Misri's trip to Russia is taking place nearly three months after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the country. London, March 5 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar met the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his official visit at 10 Downing Street in London to convey warm greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as discussed advancing bilateral economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The UK PM also shared his views on the Ukraine conflict with the EAM, Jaishankar said on Tuesday in a post on X. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Delighted to call on Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer at @10DowningStreet today. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed taking forward our bilateral, economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. PM Starmer also shared UK's perspective on the Ukraine conflict." The EAM also met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other senior leaders. In another post on X, the EAM shared his meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, where he thanked him for the welcome and expressed optimism for the meeting. "Thank you FS @DavidLammy for this extremely warm welcome at the Chevening House. Look forward to our discussions", the EAM wrote on X. Earlier on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar held meetings with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade of the UK. Upon meeting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, EAM Jaishankar noted that the two leaders held discussions on areas such as flow of talent and joint efforts between India and the UK to tackle "trafficking and extremism". He said on X, "A good meeting with Home Secretary @YvetteCooperMP today in London. We discussed the flow of talent, people to people exchanges, and joint efforts in tackling trafficking and extremism." In his meeting with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, EAM Jaishankar highlighted that discussions were held on the progress in the free trade agreement talks between India and the UK. He said, "Pleased to meet Secretary of State for @biztradegovuk @jreynoldsMP today in London. Discussed the progress on our FTA talks." As per the Ministry of External Affairs statement, EAM Jaishankar is on an official visit to the UK and Ireland till March 9, during which he will hold discussions to provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland. In Ireland, EAM Jaishankar will meet with his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, other dignitaries and members of Indian community. EAM Jaishankar will visit Ireland on March 6 and 7. India and Ireland share friendly bilateral relations based on shared democratic values, cultural ties and growing economic engagements. EAM's visit will provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland, the statement said. The External Affairs Minister's meeting with the UK PM comes days after the rare public showdown at the White House involving US President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Starmer hosted a summit with European leaders in London and vowed to work towards a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after the showdown. Washington, March 5 : US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told a media outlet that there are no plans to sign a mineral resources deal with Ukraine following President Donald Trump's speech to Congress. After a heated exchange last week between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House's Oval Office, the former has decided to mend the strained ties between the two countries. His statement comes after earlier reports suggesting Trump intended to announce the agreement during his upcoming address. Ukrainian President Zelensky's February 28 visit to the White House was originally intended to finalise the long-debated agreement on jointly developing Ukraine's mineral resources. The meeting instead turned into a public clash, with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance berating Zelensky. The Ukrainian President later left the White House without signing the deal. Zelensky said on Tuesday that it was time to "make things right" and has agreed to sign the minerals deal with the US which fell through on Friday after the argument between him and the US leaders, according to sources. However, the report was refuted by Bessent who apparently told Fox News, "There is no signing planned," said the news outlet's journalist Jacqui Heinrich through a post on X. This puts the fate of the deal, which assures military aid to Ukraine in exchange of their minerals to the US, in iffy. "Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively," President Zelensky said in a post on X. There has been no official confirmation on the deal from the Trump administration. However, four unnamed sources told a foreign news outlet that the two countries plan on signing the deal. Trump had told his advisers that he wanted to announce the agreement in his address to Congress on Tuesday evening, three of the sources told a news outlet, cautioning that the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change. In a bid to repair relations with the US after a meeting with Donald Trump and his number two, J.D. Vance, which turned into an argument, Zelensky took to X on Tuesday and reiterated Ukraine's commitment for peace. After being accused of not being thankful enough for the support by the US President and Vice President in the Oval Office, Zelensky expressed that the country values "how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence". "And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this," he added. Calling the controversial exchange with the US leaders "regrettable", Zelensky said, "It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive." The Ukrainian President said that he and his team are ready to work and cooperate with the Trump administration to bring lasting peace to their country. He laid out a plan for what he called could be the first stage to end the war, only if Russia is willing to do the same. "The first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky -- ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure -- and truce in the sea immediately," he said. "Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal," Zelensky added. Chandigarh, March 5 : In a Delhi-like protest by farmers, mainly from Punjab, over their long-pending demands, several farm unions under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are heading to Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday to start their indefinite agitation wherever they were stopped by the security. As a precaution, the Chandigarh Police have sealed all the entry points to the city by deploying heavy security and issued an advisory to the commuters to avoid these routes. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ughrahan) President Joginder Singh Ughrahan has appealed to the farmers not to block the roads, highways and railway tracks as it would create public inconvenience. He advised the farmers to stage sit-in protest at roadsides at the place where the security personnel stopped them from moving ahead. But he appealed to all farmer unions to lodge the protest in a massive way by reaching Chandigarh and joining "Pakka Morcha" in Chandigarh, where the administration has not yet allotted a site for the protest. Official sources said the farmers would be stopped at the city's entry point. The SKM has accused the Punjab government of suppressing right to protest. Besides the implementation of the agriculture policy, the demands of the SKM include release of land distribution to landless labourers and farmers and debt waiver of farmers and labourers. Hours after talks between the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and the SKM failed on Monday, raids are being conducted at residences of farmer leaders, including Ugrahan. Talks to discuss farmers' demands broke down midway with farmer leaders claiming a "livid" Chief Minister Mann "walked out of the meeting in a huff without a provocation". After the meeting, the SKM leaders announced to go ahead with their call for massive sit-in protest in Chandigarh. Ughrahan said the discussions with the Chief Minster were going on smoothly. "After discussions on eight-nine out of our 18 demands, CM Mann said he had an infection in his eye for which he needed to go," he told the media. "The CM then asked us about our plans for the March 5 protest, to which we replied that the discussions were pending and we will take call on our plan to protest after that," said Ughrahan, adding the CM got upset and left the meeting asking "us to resort to protest". Later, Chief Minister Mann said his doors "are always open for talks with the farmers but inconvenience and harassment of the public in the name of agitation should be avoided". Interacting with the farmers at a meeting here, the Chief Minister added the "government is always ready to resolve the issues pertaining to various sections of society through negotiations so that trouble to the common man through railway or road blockades must be avoided". Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Mann for "ignoring" farmers, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded the release of farmer leaders. Warring accused the Chief Minister of arrogance and dismissive behaviour towards the SKM. He said rather than engaging in constructive discussions to resolve the farmers' grievances, the government has resorted to conducting raids on the residences of farm leaders. Expressing shock at the manner in which leaders of the SKM were being treated, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia said: "Mr Bhagwant Mann threatened the kisan leaders with dire consequences when he was reminded of the promises he had made to farmers before assuming charge as Chief Minister in 2022." Reminding Chief Minister Mann about the promises made by him to farmers, the Akali leader said: "Mann assured farmers and farm labourers that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would remodel farm policies to ensure no farm suicide occurred in the state." The Chief Minister also assured farmers that farm income would be doubled and that his government would implement the M.S. Swaminathan Report whether the Centre did that or not. Farmers were also assured that every crop would be procured by the state on minimum support price (MSP), he added. Bhopal, March 5 : After nearly two decades, Madhya Pradesh is set to revive its road transport system, primarily to benefit rural communities. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government, under the leadership of then Chief Minister Babulal Gaur, had previously ordered the cessation of the State Road Transport Corporation, which operated buses across the state. The decision was attributed to the significant financial losses incurred by the Corporation. "A team of officials is working on it and it would come up in any next Cabinet meeting," a government official told IANS. The decision of the earlier government had created a vast gap in the road transportation network in the state. Despite the arrival of private bus operators, only select routes are available to commoners, particularly majority of villages and rural masses remained bereft of any form of public conveyance. The restoration of the transport facility, especially in rural areas, is set to revitalise economic activities in tier-II towns and villages. Additionally, it will provide essential connectivity to medical facilities and educational institutions, ensuring access and opportunities for the rural populace. Within the bounds of Madhya Pradesh, only the cities of Bhopal and Indore are privileged to possess urban bus services. The rest of the state in rural areas relies on private operators, who pick only profitable select routes. "It is also a matter of equity, for the less privileged have as much entitlement to travel the state's thoroughfares as those who possess automobiles," the officials said. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had already granted an in-principle approval and asked the relevant departments to devise an appropriate model that may be institutionalised, which, upon receiving the approbation, will be presented to the Cabinet for execution. In this endeavour, the departments of Transport, Finance, Public Works (PWD), and Rural Development were engaged in a comprehensive study. Madhya Pradesh besides Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand stand unique in India as these states lack state-owned or state-sponsored public road transportation network. According to the official there are three models on drawing board. The first entails the state government both owning and operating a transport corporation; the second involves the state owning the buses and infrastructure while outsourcing the operations. The third and most probable option is the enlistment of private operators to extend their services to unprofitable routes through a Viability Gap Funding model, thereby covering all districts of the state. Washington, March 5 : US President Donald Trump has warned Canada that he will escalate his trade war after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Trump's remark came after Trudeau said on Tuesday that Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American products. On Tuesday itself, US President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, "Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the US, our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" Trump's 25-per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, prompting Trudeau to announce retaliatory tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods that will take effect over 21 days. Trump has repeatedly referred to the Canadian Prime Minister as the "Governor" of Canada in recent weeks as he called for the country to become the US's 51st state. Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Trump's "dumb" trade war was motivated by a desire "to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that'll make it easier to annex us". "Now, first of all, that's never going to happen," said the Canadian leader. "But yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy a but he is rapidly going to find out, as American families are going to find out, that that's going to hurt people on both sides of the border." Canada said it will challenge the US measures at the World Trade Organisation and through the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. "Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight," said Trudeau, who will step down as Prime Minister after the governing Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday. Ontario premier Doug Ford said he would issue a 25-per cent export tax on electricity sold to the US and may later cut it off completely if the US tariffs persist. In 2023, Ontario powered 1.5 million homes in Michigan, New York and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum joined Canada and China a" which was also hit Tuesday with a doubling of duties on goods to 20-percent a" in promising to respond to the tariff hikes imposed by the Trump administration. "There is no motive or reason, nor justification that supports this decision that will affect our people and our nations," she said during a daily news conference in Mexico City, signalling that she would announce US products to be targeted by Mexico on Sunday. Sheinbaum took issue with a White House "fact sheet" published on Monday, which repeated the claim that Mexican drug trafficking continues because of "an intolerable relationship" with the government, slamming the allegations as "offensive, defamatory and without support". Recently Mexico's government seized more than a tonne of the opioid fentanyl, dismantling 329 methamphetamine labs, and extraditing 29 drug cartel figures to the US last week. Trump has also said he was taking action to combat fentanyl trafficking via the US's northern border, accusing Ottawa of failing to do enough to stem the flow of the drug and its precursor chemicals into the US. Trudeau said the claim was "completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false". Meanwhile Beijing announced it would respond with tariffs of up to 15 per cent on a range of US farm exports and expanded the number of US companies subject to export controls and other restrictions. Over the past year, the number of persons extradited to Ukraine has increased significantly, and cooperation with international law enforcement agencies is returning to pre-war levels, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine said. "Thanks to effective interaction with international partners, the extradition process to Ukraine has intensified the number of persons transferred has increased almost threefold. This indicates trust in the Ukrainian system of execution of sentences and confirms our ability to guarantee the rights of detainees in accordance with international norms," the department said on its website citing Head of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences Yevhen Horobets. According to the Justice Ministry, last year 75 people were extradited to Ukraine, most of them from Poland (44), Germany (17), the Czech Republic and Romania (three each). At the same time, it is noted that in the first two months of 2025 the process did not slow down 26 people have already been extradited. At the same time, Ukraine transferred 36 people to foreign states. "Germany became one of the most active partners, which became possible thanks to the effective cooperation of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ukraine," the Justice Ministry said. The Justice Ministry has determined a list of institutions for holding extradited persons, which currently includes 19 institutions. The Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences and the General Directorate of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine have taken the necessary measures to arrange premises for extradited persons in these institutions. "Ukraine is taking important steps to create conditions of detention that meet international standards, which is part of the process of humanizing the penal system and its European integration. The State Committee for the Protection of Prisoners of the Republic of Ukraine also continues to improve the conditions of detention of prisoners in wartime. Among the important steps are the construction of shelters, the development of evacuation plans and the attraction of additional resources to support security," the ministry said. The Justice Ministry said the intensification of extradition processes and the strengthening of international cooperation confirm trust in the Ukrainian legal system and contribute to its further integration into the European legal space. Chennai, March 5 : The all-party meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to discuss issues related to the delimitation of constituencies will take place on Wednesday at the secretariat here. The BJP, NTK and the Tamil Maanila Congress have decided to boycott the meet. In an appeal to all political parties, CM Stalin urged them to participate in the discussion, emphasizing that the matter concerned the fundamental rights of Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister said that invitations have been sent to all the registered political parties of Tamil Nadu. The principal opposition party of Tamil Nadu, AIADMK, will attend the meeting. CM Stalin has called upon parties that have chosen to abstain to reconsider their decision, stating that this is not a personal or political issue but one that affects the state as a whole. The Chief Minister accused the Centre of attempting to impose the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu while also planning to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies in the state under the guise of delimitation. He warned that if delimitation is conducted solely based on population figures, Tamil Nadu could lose up to eight Lok Sabha seats, reducing its representation from 39 to 31 MPs. Even if the total number of MPs in the country increases, Tamil Nadu may still suffer from a decline in proportional representation, he argued. CM Stalin stressed that Tamil Nadu, which has been at the forefront of development indices and effective population control, should not be penalized for its achievements. He described the delimitation exercise as a "Sword of Damocles" hanging over southern states, as it could disproportionately impact those that have successfully controlled population growth. "As a first step, we are organizing this meeting to bring together all political parties and leaders of Tamil Nadu. I urge all parties to set aside their differences, attend the meeting, and express their views on this critical issue," he stated. Despite CM Stalin's call for unity, several political parties, including the BJP, Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), have chosen to boycott the meeting. TMC leader and former Union Minister G.K. Vasan criticised the meeting as an attempt to divert public attention from unresolved state issues. He also pointed out that the Central government has not officially announced any decision regarding delimitation. Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent visit to Tamil Nadu on February 25, Vasan noted that Shah had clarified that the Central government had not taken a stance on delimitation and assured that Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats would only increase, not decrease. While TMC opposes the three-language policy and NEET, Vasan accused the DMK-led state government of failing to take a firm stand against these policies. Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai also announced his party's decision to boycott the meeting. In a letter to Chief Minister Stalin, Annamalai accused him of spreading "imaginary and baseless fears" regarding the delimitation process. "You have misconstrued the delimitation exercise and called for an all-party meeting to propagate imaginary fears and deliberate misinformation, even before the official details of the exercise have been released," Annamalai wrote. He further argued that if CM Stalin was genuinely concerned about Tamil Nadu losing parliamentary seats, he should have directed the 39 MPs from the INDIA bloc to raise the issue in Parliament during the Budget session. Annamalai also alleged that the DMK government was attempting to divert attention from governance failures. "With lawlessness at its peak, governance in disarray, rampant corruption, and policy paralysis, you have chosen to focus on making video reels every day instead of addressing real problems. This entire delimitation controversy is nothing but a figment of your imagination," he charged. Delimitation, it may be noted, is the process of fixing the number and boundaries of constituencies for the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. It is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, established under an Act of Parliament. The allocation of seats is primarily based on population changes, ensuring proportional representation. The process also determines reserved constituencies for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). While delimitation is meant to ensure fair representation, concerns have been raised that states with successful population control measures, like Tamil Nadu, may be at a disadvantage if the process is conducted unfairly. As the political debate over delimitation and the three-language policy intensifies, the outcome of the all-party meeting could play a crucial role in shaping Tamil Nadu's stance on these issues. New York, March 5 : A Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives who disrupted President Donald Trump's address was escorted out of the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms staff while a small group staged a walkout. Some of his party colleagues wore T-shirts with "Resist" emblazoned on them during the President's speech on Tuesday. They turned their backs on Trump and walked out. Al Green, an African American who represents a constituency in red Texas, shouted and waved his walking stick, defying Speaker Mike Johnson, who threatened to oust disrupters during the speech on Tuesday. The staff surrounded him in the aisle, and he followed them out. The protests came although Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democratic Party in the House, wanted to avoid a showdown and had asked his colleagues to act "dignified" during the speech. "It is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber," he wrote to the Democrat members of the House. This was in contrast to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who very ostentatiously tore up Trump's State of the Union speech in 2020 while standing behind him on the dais. But Jeffries added, "The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives, we will not be run off the block or bullied." Trump asked the Democrats to join in cheering his policies advancing the US rather than protesting. Even if he called for curing cancer, they would not clap, he said. Outside the chamber, Green told reporters that his ouster was "worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to Trump. At several points during the speech, some Democrats held up placards that read "False" when they disagreed with his assertions. The leftist Congressional Progressive Caucus organised the protests, with some members holding up signs against Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire who is heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that the President praised. Washington, March 5 : US President Donald Trump has claimed that South Korea's average tariff is four times higher than the United States' although America has helped the Asian ally militarily and in "so many other ways." Trump made the remarks in his first address to a joint session of Congress since he took office in January, as his administration is set to impose "reciprocal" tariffs on U.S. imports that are to be pegged to trading partners' tariffs and non-tariff barriers. "Countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent. China's average tariff on our products is twice, but we charge them," the president said, reports Yonhap news agency. "South Korea's average tariff is four times higher. Think of that four times higher, and we give so much help militarily and so many other ways to South Korea. But that's what happens. This is happening by friend and foe," he added. He also said that South Korea and other countries hope to participate in a natural gas pipeline project in the U.S. "My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea, and other nations want to be our partner -- with trillions of dollars being spent by them. It will truly be spectacular," he said. Trump, in his first address to a joint session of Congress, said the reciprocal tariffs would take effect on April 2, reinforcing his administrationas stance on trade policy and criticising European Union, China, Brazil, India, and South Korea for high tariffs. "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it is our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Canada, and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them; it is very unfair," said Trump. In a push for tax deductions, Trump said he wants to make interest payments on car loans tax-deductible, but only if the vehicles are made in the US. He also stressed his commitment to boosting domestic manufacturing, stating, "We want to cut taxes on domestic production." a"IANS na/ New Delhi, March 5 : Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday conducted an inspection of cleanliness efforts at several Yamuna ghats across the national capital, covering areas from Signature Bridge, ITO, and Chhath ghat to Okhla Barrage. Verma took a boat from the Boat Club to Chhath ghat. He also interacted with officials overseeing the cleaning operations and reviewed progress on various sites. After assuming office on February 25, the 48-year-old Jat leader vowed to restore the Yamuna as a symbol of Delhi's identity, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a cleaner river. Accusing the previous AAP government of misgovernance, Verma and the BJP have criticised the deteriorating condition of Delhi's infrastructure, including roads, drainage systems, and the Yamuna River. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva stated that cleaning the Yamuna and facilitating Chhath Puja at its ghats remain key priorities for the party. Buoyed by its recent electoral victory, the newly formed BJP government has begun rolling out its campaign promises, with the revitalisation of the Yamuna and its transformation into a tourism hub being one of the major initiatives. The Delhi government is laying the groundwork for introducing cruise rides on the Yamuna, aiming to turn the Wazirabad barrage stretch into a prime tourism destination. Plans include ferry and boat taxi services, with the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) already issuing a request for quotation (RFQ) to engage a private operator for solar battery-powered cruises along the seven-kilometre stretch between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur. Once operational, the cruise service is expected to boost tourism activity along the Yamuna. Reports suggest that the operating agency will be finalised by April 2025, with the cruise service expected to launch by the end of the year. The Yamuna River's condition was a major issue in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, with both AAP and BJP engaging in heated exchanges over its cleaning. While AAP blamed previous administrations for the river's pollution, BJP accused the ruling party of neglecting the issue. The BJP had pledged to develop the Yamuna Riverfront on the lines of Gujarat's Sabarmati Riverfront if elected to power. Chennai, Mar 5 : Popular director Prabhu Solomon has now been roped in to play a pivotal role in director Prabhu Srinivas's upcoming film 'Accused', featuring actors Udhaya, Ajmal and Yogi Babu in the lead. Actor Udhayaa took to his Instagram page to thank the director for turning an actor for the film. Posting a picture of himself with the ace director on the sets of Accused, he wrote, "Thanks to director Prabhu Solomon sirAs an actor in Accused" The shooting of the film, which started in January this year, has been going on without a hitch with Yogi Babu and others participating in the filming process. Sources say that the unit is particular about completing the film in March so as to be in a position to release film during the summer vacation. Made under the banners of Jaeshan Studios, Sri Dayakaran Cine Productions, and MIY Studios, 'Accused' is a film produced on a grand budget by A.L. Udhaya, 'Daya' N. Panneerselvam, and M. Thangavel. Directed by Prabhu Srinivas, a renowned director in the Kannada film industry known for his successful films, the film marks the silver jubilee year of Udhaya. For the first time, Udhaya is acting with Ajmal and Yogi Babu in 'Accused'. The movie features popular Kannada actress Jahnvika as the female lead. 'Accused', a gangster drama, explores the idea that not everyone accused of a crime is guilty. It delves into how even good people can be affected by the errors in the system and turn gangsters. Sources say Udhaya will be seen in a role that he has never portrayed before. This film marks the first collaboration of Udhaya with Ajmal and Yogi Babu. The cinematography of the film is being handled by Maruthanayagam I. Music for the film is by Naren Balakumar and editing is by renowned editor K L Praveen. The action sequences are being choreographed by the famous stunt director Stunt Silva. --IANS Mkr/ March 05 : The South Central Railways has announced 8 special trains for the 2025 Holi festival, which falls on the 14th of March. Additionally, South Eastern Railways will operate 2 special trains for the occasion. These trains will operate on routes including Rajkot Mahbubnagar, Charlapalli Shalimar, Charlapalli - Santragachi, Jalna Patna, and Ranchi Gorakhpur to accommodate the anticipated surge in passenger traffic. Train No. 07703 Charlapalli Shalimar Special will depart from Charlapalli at 7:45 PM on March 9 and 16, and reach Shalimar at 2 AM on the second day. In the return direction, Train No. 07704 Shalimar Charlapalli Special will leave Shalimar station at 5 AM on the 11th and 18th of March, and arrive at Charlapalli at 8:10 AM, the next day. Train No. 07705 Charlapalli Santragachi Festival Special will depart from Charlapalli at 07.15 AM on March 7, 21, arriving in Santragachi at 10.30 AM on the following day. The Return train, Train No.07706 Santragachi Charlapalli Special will leave Santragachi station at 12.35 PM on March 8,22, and reach Charlapalli at 4:40 PM on the next day. Train No. 07611 Jalna Patna Festival Special will depart from Jalna at 10 PM on the 6th, 10th, and 15th of March, reaching Patna at 09.45 AM on the second day. In the return direction, Train No.07612 Patna Jalna Special will leave Patna station at 3:45 PM, and reach Jalna at 2:35 AM, the next day. Train No. 02883 Ranchi Gorakhpur Special will leave Ranchi at 11:55 PM on March 12th and will reach Gorakhpur at 7:50 PM, the next day. In the return direction, Train No.02884 Gorakhpur Ranchi Special will leave Gorakhpur on March 14th at 11 AM and will arrive at Ranchi at 5:30 AM, the next day. Train No. 09575 Rajkot Mahbubnagar Festival Special will operate from Rajkot to Mahbubnagar on March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31; April 7, 14, 21, and 28; May 5, 12, 19, and 26; and June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. The return service, Train No. 09576 Mahbubnagar Rajkot Festival Special, will depart from Mahbubnagar and arrive in Rajkot the following day. Its scheduled journey dates include March 4, 11, 18, and 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29; June 3, 10, 17, and 24; and July 1. The arrival and departure timings for both trains are yet to be announced. The proactive measures undertaken by the South Central Railways and the South Eastern Railways to accommodate the rush of passengers during the Holi festival are commendable. The deployment of a total of 10 special trains reflects a thoughtful gesture to ensure a comfortable travel experience for the passengers. Wishing everyone a safe and joyous journey this festive season. Happy Holi!! New Delhi, March 5 : Telecom gear major Nokia is now exporting up to 70 per cent of its production from India, in a further boost to the 'Make in India' initiative. According to Tarun Chhabra, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Nokia (India), the company's export varies from 30 per cent to 70 per cent and last year, exports stood at 50 per cent, chiefly radio equipment. On Wednesday, the company announced to support Vodafone Idea with its latest 5G and 4G baseband and radio modules as the operator is gearing up for the phased rollout of 5G services in key markets. Nokia is also expanding Vi's 4G network rapidly, as it rolls out new sites along with technology addition, and spectrum bandwidth expansion on existing sites. By March 2025 alone, Nokia is set to deliver over 60,000 technology sites and thousands of new 4G sites. Additionally, ultra-lean sites are being deployed to improve service experience in dense, urban areas. "As the demand for reliable and high-performing networks continues to grow, our collaboration with Vi will help address the emerging requirements of retail consumers and businesses," said Chhabra. "We achieved very fast delivery and deployment of 5G and 4G sites for Vi. The partnership also demonstrates our resolve to empower our partners with cutting edge technology, fostering enhanced connectivity and unlocking new business opportunities," he added. Nokia is deploying its market leading AirScale portfolio including Multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) baseband units and Radio modules, all powered by its energy-efficient 'ReefShark System-on-Chip' technology to offer superior coverage and capacity. "We are working closely with Nokia to provide the 5G services to our customers at earliest. The quick 4G expansion by Nokia, too, shall enhance Vi's coverage and capacity, enabling us to offer superior customer experience", said Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vodafone Idea. IANS na/ New York, March 5 : As he doubled down on his threats to impose reciprocal tariffs, President Donald Trump accused India of charging tariffs higher than 100 per cent on autos, even though India has slashed the highest rate to 70 per cent. "India charges auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent," he said in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, outlining his policies. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget last month that the tariffs on luxury cars were being cut to 70 per cent from 125 per cent. She also cut tariffs on high-end motorcycles from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is to visit Washington to discuss tariffs with US officials. "Countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them," Trump said, justifying his programme of raising tariffs. The reciprocal tariffs would come into effect on April 2. "Whatever they tariff us," he declared, "we will tariff them." "China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them, and South Korea's average tariff is four times higher," he said, also mentioning Brazil. His speech came the day when his 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 per cent came into effect. Trump admitted that tariffs would cause "a little disturbance" and "there could be an adjustment period" but asserted that it would make the US richer. That was meant to inoculate himself against criticism of the effects of the tariffs. The stock markets have been down by more than three per cent in the last two days and retailers have warned of impending increase in prices of groceries. Tariffs by India on imports from the US have been one of Trump's favourite talking points. In the past, he has mentioned the Indian tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and whiskey. Mumbai, March 5 : Actress Mrunal Thakur took to social media to give a sneak peek into her ongoing shoot for the upcoming film "Dacoit" in Hyderabad. Taking to her Instagram handle, the 'Jersey' actress shared behind-the-scenes moments from the set. She posted a couple of photos and tagged Adivi Sesh and producer Supriya Yarlagadda. The photos depict two hands making a heart pose. Recently, Mrunal Thakur has been sharing behind-the-scenes moments from her shoot on Instagram. Just yesterday, she posted a fun video of herself singing along to Dhanush's hit song "Why This Kolaveri Di" while cruising in her car. She explained that she and her team decided to groove to the track since they missed out on doing their usual pack-up dance. Mrunal also shared a couple of photos featuring her head draped in a stunning organza dupatta. In the pictures, she was seen showcasing her green bangles while applying her makeup. Another photo featured a close-up portrait of Thakur, highlighting her expressive eyes and calm demeanor. She was partially veiled with the delicate, sheer dupatta, adding a touch of elegance and tradition to the shot. "Channelling my inner swarg se utri kokil kanthi apsara," Mrunal Thakur captioned the post. Meanwhile, talking about "Dacoit - Ek Prem Katha", the forthcoming film will star Mrunal alongside Adivi Sesh. The pan-India drama also features Anurag Kashyap in a pivotal role. Directed by Shaneil Deo, the film is produced by Supriya Yarlagadda, co-produced by Suniel Narang, and presented by Annapurna Studios. Dacoit follows the story of an enraged convict bent on taking revenge against his ex-girlfriend, who has betrayed him. As he devises a dangerous plan to ensnare her, the narrative unfolds into a gripping and emotionally charged journey of love, betrayal, and vengeance. In addition to Dacoit, Mrunal is also set to appear in the highly anticipated sequel "Son of Sardaar 2," where she'll share the screen with Ajay Devgn. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukraine is preparing for the EU summit, which will be held on Thursday in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We are preparing for the EU summit, which will be held tomorrow in Brussels. Everyone can see how quickly diplomatic events are developing," Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Wednesday. He also reported that the Ukrainian and U.S. teams have begun working on the meeting. "Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz spoke. There is positive movement, we hope for a positive result next week," the president noted. In addition, he stressed the need to resume movement on the negotiation clusters for EU accession Kolkata, March 5 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal has obtained specific details on several candidates who secured school jobs after submitting blank answer sheets in the written examination for recruitment. The CBI also provided the details on this count, with the names of the relevant candidates, in a recent report filed at Calcutta High Court on the matter. Sources said that these candidates, who got jobs after submitting blank answer sheets, appeared in the examinations in the period between 2016 and 2022. Such candidates were accommodated mainly through manipulations made in the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets used in the written examination, many of which were destroyed to wipe out evidence without proper authorization. In the report, sources said, the CBI sleuths have mentioned a specific instance of how the kingpins in the alleged scam had collected money even by arm-twisting the candidates who had already paid money for securing school jobs. Sources added that in 2015 the results of as many as 752 such candidates were deliberately withheld on technical grounds with the real intention being extorting more money from them. At a later stage when their results were published, it was noticed that 300 of the 752 candidates were found eligible for recruitment and they even got appointments for joining different state-run schools in the state. In the report, the central agency sleuths have also given details on how fake websites were opened to gain the confidence of the candidates paying money to secure jobs. Recently, the CBI submitted a charge sheet at a special court in Kolkata in the school job case, where they specifically mention that former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee personally scrutinized job recommendations for candidates paying money. In the same charge sheet, CBI had also claimed that besides written recommendations the same made through WhatsApp and SMS messages were also entertained. The details of all such recommendations were mentioned in the annexures attached with the charge sheet filed by the central agency on this count. Chatterjee, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the school job case in July 2022, has also been identified as the main brain in the scam in the charge sheet filed by ED. Besides him, his close associate Arpita Mukherjee and his son-in-law are among the other accused individuals, as mentioned in the EDas charge sheet. A trust titled Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, a trust named after Chatterjee's deceased wife, is also named in the ED charge sheet as an accused entity. It is alleged that the ill-proceeds were shown as donations to this particular trust and thus diverted. New York, March 5 : President Donald Trump thanked Pakistan for the capture of the "monster" responsible for the suicide bomb attack on US troops during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He announced during his address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, "We have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice." He credited the government of Pakistan for helping arrest "this monster." US officials, according to media reports, identified the man captured as Mohammad Sharifullah. The suicide bombing, he allegedly masterminded in 2021, killed 13 US military personnel and about 170 Afghans at the Kabul airport. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel posted on X, "I can report that tonight the FBI, DOJ (Department of Justice), and CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal." "One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families," he added. During his speech, Trump praised Patel for reorienting the FBI away from being weaponised against him and his political adversaries. Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was also complimented by Trump, received prolonged applause from the members of Congress. Trump criticised former President Joe Biden for the chaotic way the US withdrew from Afghanistan and asserted that it encouraged Russia's President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. "When Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, 'Well, maybe this is my chance.' That's how bad it was," he said. Axios reported, quoting officials, that the CIA had been monitoring Sharifullah's whereabouts and shared the information with Pakistan. Islamabad sent an "elite unit" to nab him on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, it said. Pakistan informed the US about his capture ten days ago, and Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliff, talked to Pakistani intelligence officials about it. Axios said that US officials see Sharifullah's capture as a sign that Pakistan was ready to engage with the Trump administration. Biden had cold-shouldered Pakistan, which was seen as reluctant to cooperate in combatting terrorism. New Delhi, March 5 : Innovation, inclusivity, sustainability and trust forms the core of India's guiding principles towards tech governance, said Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. After meeting top-level CEOs, the minister addressed key sessions and witnessed major tech innovations in one of the world's largest gatherings for the mobile and telecommunications industry. The minister addressed key sessions on 'Global Tech Governance: Rising to the Challenge' and Balancing Innovation & Regulation: Global Perspectives on Telecom Policy' at the event. He highlighted the success of Aadhaar and BharatNet in serving every citizen of the country. The minister also spoke about the four steps towards balancing innovation with regulation such as spectrum management; ensuring market stability; introducing telecom regulation to ease up various processes; and bringing cybersecurity measures for consumer protection. During the 'MWC 2025', Scindia unveiled the curtains of India Mobile Congress 2025 and inaugurated Bharat Pavilion organised by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) with the support of the Department of Telecommunications, which featured 38 Indian telecom equipment manufacturers showcasing their state-of-the-art products. "As we march towards Atmanirbharta, Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) will play a critical role in fuelling innovation, advancements, and opportunities in the telecom and digital ecosystem," said the minister. The minister also inaugurated VVDN's indigenously designed and manufactured, AI-based Wi-Fi-7 during his visit to Bharat Pavilion. Scindia also visited other booths such as Meta and Google Cloud, catching a glimpse of their various technological solutions. As part of the visit, the minister interacted with top industry leaders from Qualcomm, Cisco, Mavenir, Ericsson, Nokia, AMD, AT&T, Airtel, BSNL, CDOT and TEPC. The visit showcased India's telecom transformation at Mobile World Congress 2025, with Bharat's rapid 5G rollout, world's lowest data tariffs, indigenous 4G/5G stacks and robust cybersecurity measures highlighted at the event. The minister's participation highlights India's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technologies for enhancing digital infrastructure. This engagement also reflects India's strategic focus on strengthening international partnerships, driving investments in the telecommunications sector, and shaping global policies to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth, said the ministry. Mumbai, March 5 : About 93 per cent of women entrepreneurs exhibit a strong financial discipline, actively managing their finances, keeping meticulous records, and ensuring timely payments, a new report said on Wednesday. Women entrepreneurs believe that financial awareness and smart decision-making are vital to the success of their businesses. According to the report by NeoGrowth, 81 per cent of women business owners operate independently, without relying on others. This trend is especially prominent among those over 40 years of age, who have built confidence over time. However, younger entrepreneurs, particularly those in the 21-30 age group, tend to seek support from their families or peer networks as they grow their businesses. Nearly 70 per cent of women started their businesses out of self-motivation and aspiration, rather than financial necessity. Only 22 per cent began their ventures due to financial challenges, while 12 per cent took over family businesses. Women entrepreneurs are not only transforming their businesses but also positively impacting their families, communities, and the economy at large, the report said. An impressive 98 per cent of women business owners said their businesses have positively influenced their families, with 61 per cent reporting an improved standard of living and 54 per cent gaining more confidence and financial independence. These businesses are also making a broader societal impact. Many women entrepreneurs have empowered other women towards financial independence, inspired their employees to start their own ventures, and served as role models for young girls to pursue education. "It is heartening to witness how women in India are exploring business ownership, and driving inclusive growth like never before," said NeoGrowth Managing Director & CEO Arun Nayyar. He added that the women-led businesses are not just creating economic value but also redefining leadership by showcasing a meticulous approach to business management, fostering workplace empathy, and driving a positive work culture. Women entrepreneurs are also increasingly gaining respect and recognition in society. About 90 per cent of them reported seeing a positive shift in how society perceives them because of their businesses. Cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad are particularly noted for fostering an environment of respect and encouragement for women-led businesses, said the report that surveyed 3,000 women across the country. Nearly all the women surveyed also reported integrating new technology into their businesses to enhance customer engagement, improve productivity, and optimise costs. Mumbai, March 5 : Actors Ishaan Khatter and Tara Sutaria have teamed up for the upcoming romantic song 'Pyaar Aata Hai.' The soulful love song, sung by Rito Riba and Shreya Ghoshal, is produced by Anshul Garg under Play DMF and has been shot in the breathtaking landscapes of Kashmir. On Wednesday, the makers dropped the teaser of the song on social media and captioned it, "A little glimpse of love, a spark before the fire #PyaarAataHai Teaser OUT NOW exclusively on @playdmfofficial YouTube Channel! Full Song Out on 7th March." Yesterday, the 'Pippa' actor dropped the first poster for his upcoming music video. The poster showcases the two actors in a close embrace, while a smaller image captures Ishaan and Tara sitting together on a ledge. The backdrop features a stunning transition, with a snowy, mountainous landscape at the bottom gradually blending into a soft, dreamy gradient of blues and whites at the top. The teaser for the upcoming romantic track has already set the stage for some sizzling on-screen chemistry between Ishaan and Tara. Speaking about the song, Rito Riba shared, "This song is really special to me. Working with Shreya Ma'am has been a dream come true, and having Ishaan and Tara bring the song to life on screen is incredible. Huge thanks to Anshul sir for making this happen!" Expressing his excitement, Ishaan stated, "The moment I heard the song, I knew it was something beautiful. Rito has such a unique and heartfelt voice, and, of course, Shreya Ma'am brings a whole other level of magic to it. It was a joy working with Tara and shooting in Kashmirit truly elevates the emotions of the track." Adding to this, Tara Sutaria shared, "Music has always been such a big part of my life, and to be part of a song sung by Shreya Ma'am and Rito is incredibly special. The melody is enchanting, and I can't wait for the audience to experience the magic we created on screen. It's a dream to be the face of a voice so divine. She has always been my favorite artiste!" "Pyaar Aata Hai" which marks Ishaan's first onscreen collaboration with Tara, will release on 7th March. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Chennai, March 5 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to given an assurance in Parliament that any future delimitation of parliamentary constituencies from 2026 onwards would be based on the 1971 population census and remain so for the next 30 years. An all-party meeting convened by the Tamil Nadu government at the state secretariat passed a resolution emphasising this demand. The meeting was attended by representatives from over 55 political parties and organisations from southern states. CM Stalin also announced the formation of a Joint Action Committee comprising MPs from Tamil Nadu and other southern states to protest and raise awareness about the issue. Speaking at the meeting, CM Stalin warned that delimitation based on the current population could significantly reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary representation. "Delimitation is like a sword hanging over the heads of southern states. In 2026, the Union government is set to undertake the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. This process is usually based on population. Tamil Nadu has successfully controlled its population through family planning, women's empowerment, and improved healthcare. However, this success should not lead to reduced representation in Parliament," he said. He explained that if the current 543 parliamentary constituencies remain unchanged, Tamil Nadu could lose eight seats, bringing its representation down from 39 to 32. CM Stalin added, "If the total number of constituencies is increased to 848 and delimitation is done based on percentage representation, Tamil Nadu should get 22 additional seats. However, if the process is based purely on population, we will get only 10 more seatsleading to a net loss of 12 seats. In both scenarios, Tamil Nadu's representation will decline." The Chief Minister stressed that this issue is a major threat to India's federal structure and the representation of Tamil Nadu and other southern states. He recalled that in 2000, the Centre had assured that delimitation would be based on the 1971 population census to encourage states to adopt family planning. "Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should now provide an assurance that this principle will be followed from 2026 for the next 30 years," he demanded. To further this cause, a Joint Action Committee will be established, comprising MPs from Tamil Nadu and other southern states across various political parties. CM Stalin announced that formal invitations would be sent to these parties for their participation. He reiterated that Tamil Nadu is not against delimitation, but it should not become a punishment for states that have implemented effective social welfare and population control policies over the past 50 years. The all-party meeting unanimously opposed delimitation based on current population figures, arguing that it would be detrimental to the political representation of Tamil Nadu and other southern states. Prominent leaders who participated in the meeting included the AIADMK Organising Secretary and former minister D. Jayakumar, Congress state President and MLA Selvaperunthagai, CPI state Secretary Mutharasan, CPM state Secretary Shanmugham, VCK chief Thirumavalavan, MDMK chief Vaiko, TVK General Secretary N. Anand, PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss, Dravidar Kazhagam leader Veeramani and MNM President Kamal Haasan. Other political leaders and representatives also participated in the discussions. Seoul, March 5 : Schools in the vicinity of Seoul's Constitutional Court will likely be closed on the day of sentencing in South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial due to fears of violent protests, officials said on Wednesday. The Seoul Jungbu District Office of Education said it is considering allowing schools near the court in central Seoul to close on the day of its sentencing hearing in the impeachment trial as part of measures to protect students from a possible outburst of violence from Yoon's supporters or opponents. The court wrapped up the impeachment trial of Yoon over his December 3 martial law declaration late last month and is scheduled to soon decide whether to remove him from office. The day of the sentencing hearing has yet to be announced. In January, supporters of Yoon stormed into the Seoul Western District Court in protest against the court's decision to formally arrest the suspended President. Within 100 metres of the Constitutional Court are Jaedong Elementary School and Deokseong Girls' Middle and High Schools. There are also two other elementary schools and one special school near Exit 5 of Anguk Station, where Yoon's supporters have regularly held protest rallies. Police have vowed to mobilise all available resources to prevent a potential physical clash on the day of the Constitutional Court's sentencing hearing for the President. The South Korean Constitutional Court is expected to decide whether to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office or reinstate him around mid-March as it wrapped up hearings of his impeachment trial on Tuesday over his failed martial law bid. The court capped the trial after 11 rounds, 73 days after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3. If Yoon, who was elected in May 2022 for a single, five-year term, is formally removed from office, a snap election will be held within 60 days. However, if the impeachment is dismissed, Yoon will immediately resume his duties. United Nations, March 5 : Increased violence in the three easternmost provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is raising deep concern for civilians, including aid workers, a UN humanitarian official said. Bruno Lemarquis, the UN resident humanitarian coordinator for the DRC, voiced alarm over the recent increase in targeted violence against civilians, including relief workers, and civilian infrastructure in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Lemarquis said in a statement that the attacks, including the abduction of dozens of patients from two hospitals, are serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. They threaten operations providing relief to millions of civilians. In Ituri province, local authorities report that more than 16,000 people fled clashes in the territory of Djugu since Thursday. The area has seen an escalation in clashes and attacks by armed groups, resulting in civilian casualties and displacement. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a new report on displaced people returning to the eastern DRC. "They say that Congolese nationals fleeing the conflict, as well as those outside the country who originate from the area affected by the conflict, may need refugee protection under international and regional legal frameworks," Dujarric said. "Close to 80,000 men, women and children have fled to neighbouring countries, including around 61,000 who arrived in Burundi since January." UNHCR said that around the North Kivu capital of Goma, about 17,000 people remain in displacement sites, schools and churches, while 414,000 people have been on the move for the past four weeks, encouraged by the de facto authorities to return to their villages of origin. The agency said that at least 209,000 people from the sites arrived spontaneously in Masisi, Nyiragongo, and Rutshuru territories, where basic services are not equipped for the sudden surge of people. Given the widespread insecurity in the provinces and surrounding areas, many more may need to cross borders to find protection and assistance, Xinhua news agency reported. UNHCR called on neighbouring countries to register all asylum-seekers from the DRC and provide them with documentation. The spokesman said UN peacekeepers reported the situation around Goma remains highly unstable. The M23 rebels, who invaded Goma over a month ago, continue consolidating its city control with checkpoints and patrols. "This, our colleagues say, continues to restrict the peacekeepers' freedom of movement and access to the airport in Goma," Dujarric said. The spokesman said that in Ituri, a patrol was deployed to Pimbo in the Djugu territory following an attack by members of the CODECO armed group in the area. He also said the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, sent a peacekeeping patrol to Matate, northeast of the provincial capital of Bunia, in response to an attack by suspected members of the Zaire militia, which resulted in two civilians killed and one injured. New York, March 5 : In the customary rebuttal to the President's address to Congress, the Democrats have warned that US friendships with allies are fraying, while the trade war is threatening the economy. "Today's world is deeply interconnected. Migration, cyber threats, AI, environmental destruction, terrorism - one nation cannot face these issues alone. We need friends in all corners - and our safety depends on it," Senator Elissa Slotkin said in her nationally televised speech on behalf of the Democratic Party after President Donald Trump addressed the joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Invoking another Republican President, she said, "[Ronald] Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity." But after the way Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated last week at the Oval Office by Trump, she said, "Reagan must be rolling over in his grave." "As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War," she said, accusing him of "cosying up" to Russia's President Vladimir Putin while "kicking our friends, like Canada, in the teeth". At the global level, she said although the US is not perfect, "I would rather have American leadership over Chinese or Russian leadership any day of the week". After the President delivers his address to the joint session of Congress, a representative of the other party gives its rebuttal, although it is delivered informally outside the House of Representatives chamber and carried out on national TV. A former Central Intelligence Agency official, Slotkin was elected senator last November from Michigan, which Trump had carried on the presidential ballot. She represents the centrists in the Democratic Party, a group that is assertive after last year's debacle. About Trump's economic policies, she delivered a warning that they could lead to a recession and cost the citizens a lot. "If he's not careful, he could walk us right into a recession," she said. She said his trade war would hurt manufacturers and farmers and lead to higher prices for all. She said Trump's proposed tax cuts would only benefit his billionaire friends and the people would be made to pay for them. She had harsh words for Elon Musk, the billionaire heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who is taking a chainsaw to federal spending and workforce. Slotkin accused Musk and "his gang of 20-year-olds" of getting into people's tax returns without safeguards against cyberattacks or misuse of personal data. Under the cost-cutting programme, government employees who "protect our nuclear weapons, keep our planes from crashing, and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer" were fired only to be rehired, she said. "No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired," she said. Mumbai, March 5 : The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution by voice vote proposing the suspension of Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi till the conclusion of the ongoing Budget Session. The resolution was passed for Abu Azmi's glorification of Aurangzeb and also harming the honour of the House by defaming Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The resolution was moved by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil. BJP legislator Sudhir Mungantiwar suggested that Azmi should not be suspended just for the Budget Session but for his entire term. The Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said that the Opposition would not tolerate glorification of Aurangzeb and demanded that action should be taken against those insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Thereafter, Speaker Rahul Narwekar put the resolution for vote and it was passed by voice vote amid the Opposition raising shogans like "Shivaji Maharaj ki jai." The passage of resolution proposing Azmi's suspension till the end of the Budget Session comes a day after he had retracted his controversial statement that Aurangzeb should not be seen as a "cruel ruler but as an administrator." Both the Houses of the state legislature had adjourned on Tuesday for the day after the members from the Treasury Benches took strong objection against Azmi's statement. Azmi on Monday in the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan had told the media that "Aurangzeb was a great administrator and during his time, India was called 'Sone ki Chidiyan (golden bird)'. During Aurangzeb's rule, India's GDP was 24 per cent, due to which the British were attracted to the country and they came to Bharat." He further stated, "Wrong history is being shown. Aurangzeb built many temples. I do not consider Aurangzeb a cruel administrator. Also, the battle between Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb was a battle for state administration. That battle was not about Hindus and Muslims anywhere." This was strongly opposed by the MahaYuti legislators. Shiv Sena lodged cases against Azmi in Marine Drive and Thane demanding action under the sedition law. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/minenergoUkraine Australia has contributed an additional EUR 6 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, bringing Australia's total contribution to the fund to about EUR 18 million. "The Australian government's funds will be allocated to key urgent needs of the Ukrainian energy sector," the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported on Wednesday. The Energy Support Fund of Ukraine was established in April 2022 on the joint initiative of Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simonson at the Energy Community Secretariat. Currently, the partners' announced contributions to the Fund amount to over EUR 1 billion. The Fund's donors include the public and private sectors from over 30 countries, including EU member states, the UK and the US, as well as international and regional organizations. During its operation, the Fund has become an effective tool for providing international assistance in the energy sector, enabling Ukrainian energy professionals to restore energy facilities after Russian attacks, carry out repairs, and install new facilities. Hoshiarpur, March 5 : As the former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal headed to Punjab for ten-day Vipassana meditation retreat, the BJP, as well as AAP MP Swati Maliwal, pointed to alleged abuse of government machinery and misuse of public funds. They called out the AAP supremo, accusing him of promoting "VIP culture" and deploying state machinery for his own luxuries. Kejriwal's ten-day Vipassana in Punjab's Hoshiarpur assumes significance as this comes just a month after AAP rout in Delhi Assembly elections. The AAP chief is set to participate in Vipassana/meditation sessions from March 5 to March 15. The controversy erupted over his "grand security parade" in the state, at the cost of public money, as the "lavish convoy" included ambulances and fire brigades and luxurious cars following him to the Vipassana centre. Former DCW chief Swati Maliwal shared the video of Kejriwal convoy and asked "whom he is fearing from?" "Kejriwal who criticised VIP culture is roaming around with a security cover bigger than Donald Trump. A great state like Punjab has been turned into means of achieving their own luxuries," Maliwal wrote in a post on X. Delhi Minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also slammed the AAP chief over "maharaja style treatment" in Punjab and asked what purpose does it serve when he was going to Vipassana, the retreat where one is expected to practice self-isolation. He also claimed that luxurious and expensive cars including Land Cruisers were part of his convoy while Punjab police commandos provided him security. Sirsa further said that AAP stands exposed now and its real face has come in the open. He also claimed that more than fifty large vehicles accompanied Kejriwal to the meditation centre, with Land Cruisers worth Rs 2 crore in his convoy. "Arvind Kejriwal, who once pretended to be a common man in a WagonR, now moves in a lavish convoy of bulletproof Land Cruisers, 100+ Punjab Police commandos, jammers & ambulances -- like a VIP Maharaja all for Vipassana, a retreat meant for peace! If power was his test, he has failed miserably," he said in a post on X. He also questioned the Punjab government's funding of the security parade for Kejriwal's 'Vipassana' "What kind of 'Vipassana' requires a grand security parade funded by Punjab taxpayers? Even CM Bhagwant Mann isn't in the convoy!", he stated. Kejriwal's mediation break in Punjab comes at a time, when there are growing speculations about his entry to Rajya Sabha from the state. Also, the rumours of internal upheaval in party's Punjab unit continues to surface, time to time, though it has been outrightly denied by the party. Kejriwal's 10-day visit to the state may be timed to address these internal challenges and prepare the stage for rebuilding the party, after the Delhi debacle, say political experts. Juba, March 5 : The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said that it faces a critical funding shortfall of $412 million to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of millions in crisis-hit South Sudan in 2025. The WFP highlighted pressing requirements, including food and nutrition aid for crisis-affected populations, prepositioning supplies before the rainy season in May, and logistical support services. "The country is grappling with a long-standing humanitarian crisis marked by chronic food and nutrition insecurity, worsened by the severe economic downturn and climatic shocks," the WFP said in its latest report. The conflict in neighbouring Sudan has worsened the situation, pushing over one million refugees into South Sudan. According to the UN, about 9.3 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2025, which is 300,000 more than in 2024, while over 1.8 million remain internally displaced due to violence and climate-related disasters such as floods and droughts. Between December 2024 and March 2025, approximately 6.1 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Projections indicate that the number could rise to 7.7 million during the 2025 lean season, Xinhua news agency reported. The WFP, meanwhile, noted that Sudan's conflict has exacerbated South Sudan's economic conditions. Damage to Sudan's oil pipeline has disrupted exports, reducing foreign exchange inflows and depreciating the local currency. South Sudan is grappling with multiple crises, including subnational violence, economic instability, and food insecurity, pushing millions of families into unprecedented humanitarian, economic, and political vulnerability, the agency warned. The WFP is an international organisation within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organisation and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961, WFP is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 87 countries. In 2023 it supported over 152 million people, and it is present in more than 120 countries and territories. Patna, March 5 : The Bihar Assembly premises witnessed an uproar on the fourth day of the budget session on Wednesday as the opposition members staged protests on various issues, carrying posters and placards. Left MLAs also protested in the Assembly premises demanding unpaid honorarium for Panchayat representatives including ward members, Panch and Sarpanch. They demanded the honorarium of all Panchayat representatives across Bihar should be doubled. The party legilsators alleged that the government was withholding the salaries of sanitation workers in Panchayats. The Left MLAs criticized the Nitish Kumar government's policy for sanitation workers and alleged that the government was planning to remove them from their jobs. "Why are village sanitation workers not being paid despite government appointments? We demand clarity on the government's policy regarding honorariums and payments," said Mahboob Alam, the CPI(ML) legislature. Opposition MLAs raised multiple issues inside the Assembly. NDA has been facing criticism over various budgetary and governance issues. With both ruling and opposition MLAs raising the din over various issues and often clashing, Wednesday's session was also marked by intense debates and disruptions. RJD MLA Mukesh Roshan from the Mahua Assembly constituency created a stir in the Assembly by arriving with multiple posters targeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He accused Nitish Kumar of "pushing Bihar into an abyss" while highlighting key issues through posters. Roshan asked questions about the deaths due to spurious liquor, negligence by doctors in hospitals and also related to the reservation policy. On Tuesday, before the proceedings began in the House, Mukesh Roshan reached the Assembly carrying a rattle and a lollipop, calling the budget a "lollipop" and accusing the government of misleading the people. He alleged that the Nitish government's budget ignored the poor, youth, and women of the state. With continuous protests from the opposition, the Assembly proceedings are likely to remain disruptive and chaotic. Mumbai, March 5 : Ayushmann Khurrana took to social media to tease fans about his latest Haryanvi song. On Wednesday, the 'Bala' actor took to his Instagram handle and shared a video of him grooving to his latest Haryanvi track in the swimming pool. Alongside the clip, Ayushmann wrote, "This time Panchkula's son has recorded some Haryanvi songs. Stay tuned." In the video, the actor could be seen showing off his cool moves as he dances to the track. Apart from his acting talent, Khurrana has also showcased his love for music by lending his voice to several hit songs. Some of his notable tracks include, "Paani Da Rang" from "Vicky Donor," "Saadi Galli Aaja" from "Nautanki Saala," "Mitti Di Khushboo," music video "Yahin Hoon Main", "Nazm Nazm" from "Bareilly Ki Barfi." The 'Dream Girl 2' actor, who is an active social media user, recently spoke about the increasing concerns regarding the security risks actors face due to their constant visibility in the public eye and the extensive use of social media. In an exclusive interview with IANS, Ayushmann highlighted the darker side of fame, acknowledging that while social media offers a powerful platform for communication, it also exposes individuals to significant security threats. He shared, "Being in the public eye means that personal space and privacy are constantly at risk. Social media is a powerful tool, but it also has its downsides. Overexposure can sometimes lead to security threats, whether it's unwanted attention or the risk of personal information being misused. It's important to strike a balance between staying connected with fans and ensuring personal safety." The actor also discussed the significance of ensuring the safety of his family, both at home and in public. Ayushmann revealed the measures he takes to minimize potential risks. "For me, security starts at home. I ensure that our home is well protected with the right safety measuresreliable security systems from Godrej. In public places, basic awareness of safety protocols and being mindful of the surroundings to know the risks and threats, goes a long way," the Anek actor added. On the professional front, the actor is preparing for the release of his upcoming film "Thama," which also features Rashmika Mandanna, Paresh Rawal, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly and Congress MLA V.D. Satheesan on Wednesday said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was "inclining" towards the BJP and RSS and there was a shift in his stance. "Till the Lok Sabha polls, Vijayan was praising the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) -- the second biggest ally in the Congress-led United Democratic Front -- and after the polls, Vijayan is now playing the card of majority community appeasement," said Satheesan. "All along, the CPI(M) and Vijayan have been shifting positions to suit them. Now, Vijayan says the BJP is not a fascist party, but if you look into the numerous articles of its former general secretary Sitaram Yechury, he clearly labelled the BJP and RSS as fascist. Look, when the general secretary says a statement, it's not his personal view, instead, it is the party's view," said Satheesan. "After the demise of Yechury, see what Vijayan is saying and is now giving a clean chit to the BJP," added Satheesan. "It's hilarious to hear him say that it is the Congress that has a soft corner towards the Sangh Parivar forces. Our leader Rahul Gandhi is steadfast on his position, and just see how he attacks them and see what Vijayan does when he goes to campaign for his party candidates in Karnataka, where the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a direct political fight," he said. "Moreover, in Delhi, Vijayan blames the Congress for fighting the AAP. AAP is part of the INDIA bloc, and our talks failed when the AAP decided to contest on its own. We also decided to fight on our own. Even the CPI(M) fielded their candidates and secured 0.4 per cent votes. Had they not contested, who knows if AAP would have won more seats? Vijayan is forgetting the past when he himself contested in the 1977 Assembly polls with the support of Sangh Parivar, and in 1989, his party had a tacit understanding with the communal elements, and now he is teaching us," said Satheesan. "Vijayan and his party were till recently wooing the IUML to come and join them. But the IUML supremo, just the other day, remarked that they have a thousand reasons to be with the Congress-led UDF, while they can't find one reason why they need to be with the Left, and this sums it all and reminds all about the sour grapes story," added Satheesan. The CPI(M), in its draft political resolution for the upcoming Party Congress, argues that even though there are neo-fascist tendencies, the Modi government cannot be called a fascist government The party's Congress is scheduled to be held in Tamil Nadu's Madurai in the first week of April and before that, the draft political resolution is sent to all its state units. This document will be discussed at the Kerala CPI(M) state party conference in Kollam early next month. CPI's Kerala Secretary Binoy Viswam has said that they have always said that PM Modi is led by the RSS and "it's a fascist government". "The CPI(M) will have to change their stand on this issue," said Viswam. Dhaka, March 5 : Bangladesh has expressed its readiness to establish positive working relationships with India in light of the strained ties between the two nations following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the atrocities committed against Hindu minorities in the South Asian state. Muhammad Yunus-led interim government Foreign Affairs Advisor, Touhid Hossain, has stated that his nation wants to improve ties with India, and they have always been clear about it, accoridng to local media reports. Hossain said that he also expects the Indian High Commission to resume issuing visas to Bangladeshis soon. He echoed the thoughts of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, who earlier stated that there is no alternative to maintaining good relations between India and Bangladesh. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh, Hossain stated, "The position articulated by the Chief Advisor reflects our stance. I have previously emphasised the necessity of a constructive working relationship based on mutual respect. The rest will unfold in due course. Both sides have their respective interests, and the relationship will evolve accordingly." When questioned on any updates on the resumption of the visa services of the Indian High Commission and normalisation of relations with India, he said, "Such information should come from India. We have not created visa-related complexities. Visa issuance is a sovereign prerogative. If a country decides not to grant visas to certain individuals or groups, it is within their right, and no objections can be raised. We hope they will communicate their decision to us and take measures to facilitate the process for prospective travellers." Last month, Hossain met India's External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat. During this meeting, both countries recognised the challenges in bilateral relations and discussed the necessity to work together to address those. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), EAM Jaishankar had conveyed that it is important that Bangladesh should not normalise terrorism. The Bangladeshi media had also reported after the meeting that during their meeting, which lasted less than half an hour, EAM Jaishankar and Hossain emphasised the importance of working to overcome the challenges that have arisen in the current context of bilateral relations and also discussed "the topic of organising" a meeting between the Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Bangkok, later this year. India had stopped issuing visas for Bangladeshis following a mass protest that gripped the South Asian nation with violence and riots last year. Even though India continues to bat for the normalisation of relations with Bangladesh, the current regime in Dhaka has faced massive criticism for making groundless accusations against India and also targeting minorities, especially the Hindu community in Bangladesh, since the mass uprising of students and the dramatic fall of Hasina's Awami League government, last year. The 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from April 2-4, later this year. Bangladesh, which will take over as the next chair of BIMSTEC at the summit, is hoping for a Yunus-Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting to take place during the Bangkok event. Hoshiarpur, March 5 : Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal's Vipassana retreat in Punjab has triggered sharp criticism from both the BJP and Congress, as they accused him of hypocrisy and arrogance over the 'lavish' VIP security parade for his ten-day Vipassana in Punjab. Kejriwal arrived in Hoshiarpur on Tuesday for a Vipassana retreat, a meditation practice focused on self-transformation through self-observation. However, the presence of a massive security convoy and luxury vehicles accompanying him has led to political uproar, with opponents questioning how a leader who claims to represent the "common man" can travel with such grandeur. Delhi BJP leader and minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took to X to slam Kejriwal, stating, "What is the use of such Vipassana where instead of simplicity and introspection, there is ego and show-off in a convoy of 50 vehicles? This fake simplicity of Arvind Kejriwal is another drama. How can a person who is drowned in corruption and arrogance understand the real meaning of Vipassana?" In a video message, Sirsa further blasted Kejriwal, saying, "The scene was worth watching. There was a large convoy of more than fifty vehicles, including Land Cruisers worth Rs 2 crore each. Over a hundred police and commandos accompanied him. An ambulance and even fire brigade vehicles were part of the convoy. And he went there to seek peace?" He questioned the massive state expenditure, adding, "Lakhs are being spent from Punjab's treasury. The entire Hoshiarpur is being woken up, and over 100 commandos are deployed for his security. What kind of peace is this?" Sirsa also mocked Kejriwal's past image, recalling how he once projected himself as a "common man" by travelling in a WagonR. "Now, even for Vipassana, he needs over 100 commandos and 50 cars. Without this, he cannot meditate?" he added. The Congress also took potshots at the AAP chief over engaging in 'self-indulgence' post Delhi debacle. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told IANS, "Maybe he couldn't handle the defeat. He went for Vipassana, in search of peace, and for his health. I don't want to say much about this. I just want to say that winning and losing is part of politics. If you travel with a convoy of 100 cars, then undoubtedly, the criticism raised by Congress is justified." Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit was even more scathing, accusing Kejriwal of being addicted to power and luxury. Speaking to IANS, Dikshit said, "Kejriwal loves the power so much. I would say that he is indulging in luxury. He is not able to come out of it." Further citing the example of Congress President, he stated, "Mallikarjun Kharge is also a national president of a party, but he does not travel with such an extensive convoy. Kejriwal still lives under the illusion that he is some kind of king or emperor. Even after losing in Delhi, he has not yet woken up and continues to live in delusion." Bengaluru, March 5 : The Congress-led Karnataka government is once again mulling introducing a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in civil contracts on lines with the reservation provided to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Communities and Backward Classes. Slamming the state government, the BJP said on Wednesday in Bengaluru that the move was against the spirit of the Constitution and nothing but the "peak of appeasement politics". State BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra claimed that the Congress was leading the state towards strife. CM Siddaramaiah-led government is all set to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act 1999. The Finance Department has already prepared the blueprint and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil has also agreed to the amendment, the sources said. The government is likely to take up the matter in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening and plan to introduce the bill in the Budget session if it is agreed. Vijayendra said the Congress government in the state has not released any funds for legislators. However, when no tender is called and work is allotted, what's the use of reservation? he said. Hitting out at the Congress, Vijayendra said: "Does the grand old party think that only Muslims constitute the minority group?" "The Congress government's minority appeasement is leading the state towards strife. They are ready to render injustice to all communities in the name of providing reservation for Muslims," he underlined. "I urge CM Siddaramaiah, if he is real Ahinda (a Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits) leader, he should have enabled marginalised communities and strengthened them economically," the BJP leader said. "Madivala, Savita and many communities also exist and need support from the state. CM Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is not bringing these communities to the mainstream. Instead, the Congress government is all set for Muslim appeasement, the people will have to teach a lesson," he stated. He said the Congress government sees only Muslims as minorities, "ignoring" other genuinely marginalised minority communities. "Muslims alone have been granted reservations in education and employment based on religion, which goes against the constitutional spirit. Now, the government is planning to introduce a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims even in government contracts, which is the peak of appeasement politics," Vijayendra charged. "If it was for all minority communities, we have no objections," he said. He demanded that the government schemes be implemented transparently, and reservations should be provided to oppressed communities, as per the Constitution principles drafted by B. R. Ambedkar. "However, offering reservations based on religion undermines transparency," he said. Claiming that traditional occupational communities that are extremely backward are struggling for survival in the face of modern technological advancements, he said that the Siddaramaiah government has "failed" to introduce any special programmes, schemes, or reservations for them. Earlier, the Congress government amended the KTTP Act and provided 24.01 per cent reservation for oppressed communities in government tenders up to Rs 50 lakh. It was yet again amended in March 2023 and the limit was extended to contracts up to Rs 1 crore. The delegation of Muslim legislators and community leaders had earlier submitted a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah demanding reservation in government contracts for their community. The government mulled over it but backtracked when the matter created controversy. Kolkata, March 5 : Amid the student row in Kolkata's iconic Jadavpur University, Bhaskar Gupta, the acting vice-chancellor, was admitted to a private hospital on Wednesday. The V-C was feeling unwell, and the doctors noticed fluctuations in his blood pressure levels. Incidentally, his hospitalisation happened as the agitating students had set a deadline of 4 p.m. for the university to decide on their demands regarding the March 1 ruckus that erupted inside the campus. The students have said that they will announce their next course of action after the deadline and the university's response. On March 1, two students were allegedly hit and injured by a Minister's car.. As per information passed on by Gupta's family members to the media persons, he had to be hospitalized because his blood pressure could not be kept within the normal limit through regular medication at home. Gupta had reportedly fallen sick after the March 1 ruckus within the university campus, and the doctors advised him to have complete bed rest. It was learnt that on Wednesday morning, his blood pressure shot up abnormally, following which the doctor treating him decided to hospitalize him without taking further risk. The two major demands of the agitating students are that an FIR be filed against West Bengal Education Minister Bartya Basu in the matter of the two fellow students being "allegedly and deliberately" hit by his vehicle and the acting vice-chancellor should immediately convene a meeting with the different students' unions and discuss the ongoing crisis in the university. The ruckus broke out within the university campus on Saturday when the Minister's car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. The students were demanding immediate elections for the university's students' council. The agitating students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit the two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalized. Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital and was discharged later. Bengaluru, March 5 : The arrest of Kannada actress Ranya Rao, daughter of senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, on gold smuggling charges has sparked political reactions in Karnataka. Several Congress MLAs have expressed concern over the issue and said that there is a need for a thorough investigation. Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport on Monday night while allegedly attempting to smuggle 14.8 kg of gold. Following her arrest, she was remanded to judicial custody. A.S. Ponnanna, Legal Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and an MLA, stated in Bengaluru on Wednesday, "The fact that the accused is the DGPas daughter is incidental. Now, she is an accused in a smuggling case, and the law will take its course. It does not matter whether she is the daughter of a common man, a DGP, or even the Prime Minister. The law applies equally to all." H.D. Ranganath, another Congress MLA, expressed his concerns, stating, "We have been hearing a lot about gold smuggling. Surprisingly, affluent families are involved in such activities. Coming from a well-to-do background and engaging in such illegal activities is unfortunate." Ranganath further suggested that financial motives such as black money transactions and tax evasion could be involved. "Our police officers should be commended for their vigilance. They have handled the case well, sending a strong message to those involved in such acts," he added. Bengaluru Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad also stressed the need for a serious probe. "This cannot be taken lightly. A thorough investigation is necessary to understand how this happened, irrespective of whose daughter she is. The law must be applied equally to everyone," he asserted. Following Ranya Raoas arrest, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday raided her upscale Lavelle Road residence in Bengaluru. Authorities seized Rs 2.06 crore worth of gold and Rs 2.67 crore in cash from the apartment, where she reportedly paid Rs 4.5 lakh in monthly rent. According to investigators, the 32-year-old actress was detained on Monday night upon her arrival on an Emirates flight from Dubai. Acting on intelligence, a team of four DRI officers intercepted her at the airport. Reports suggest she had made four trips to Dubai within 15 days, raising suspicion. Ranya Rao allegedly concealed gold bars in her belt and clothing and reportedly used her fatheras position to evade detection. Officials revealed that upon landing, she would call police personnel to pick her up, who would then escort her home. Authorities are now probing whether police personnel or any IPS officer linked to her were complicit in the smuggling racket or if she acted alone. Investigators are also examining whether she had trafficked gold on previous occasions. Following her arrest, she was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru for questioning before being presented in court, where she was remanded to judicial custody. Ranya Rao, known for her role opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in aMaanikyaa, has also worked in other South Indian films. Her father, DGP Ramachandra Rao (Director General of Police, Police Housing Corporation), has distanced himself from the case, stating that he has had no contact with her since her marriage four months ago. USA to consider resuming aid to Ukraine on condition of peace talks, confidence-building White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said U.S. President Donald Trump will consider resuming aid to Ukraine "if peace talks are organized and confidence-building measures are taken." "I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause," Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. As reported, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the cessation of all military aid to Ukraine, and the next day, according to media reports, the United States stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv. Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Yehor Cherniev (Servant of the People faction) believes that the U.S. suspension of arms supplies to Ukraine in the short term will not significantly affect the situation on the front. The European Commission does not comment on the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to stop support for Ukraine, while at the same time assuring continued support from the European Union. Chennai, March 5 : Tamil superstar and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President Vijay, on Wednesday called for the indefinite freezing of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census. In a statement, he emphasised that any delimitation exercise based on new population data would disproportionately disadvantage southern states. Vijay pointed out that the 84th Constitutional Amendment Act had already frozen the number of Lok Sabha seats until 2026, ensuring representation remained aligned with the 1971 Census. However, with the Union government expected to begin the delimitation process next year, he expressed concerns over the lack of transparency regarding the methodology and criteria that would be used. The TVK chief strongly opposed any move to revise seat allocation using updated population data, arguing that it would penalise states that had successfully implemented policies for healthcare, education, and population control over the past five decades. "If the number of seats in southern states is reduced while states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar gain disproportionate representation, it would be an unjust outcome," Vijay stated. Vijay also dismissed proposals to increase the overall number of Lok Sabha seats while maintaining the current proportional representation. According to him, this would only dilute the effectiveness of parliamentary proceedings. "With 543 MPs already in the Lok Sabha, many struggle to raise concerns during Question Hour. Increasing the number of seats would further reduce their opportunity to participate in meaningful discussions, turning them into mere ornamental figures," he explained. He further urged parliamentary reforms, citing the Prime Minister's Question Time in the British Parliament as an example. He noted that India's parliamentary system lacks a similar mechanism, and many crucial Bills are passed without adequate discussion. Additionally, Vijay argued that increasing the number of MPs would add unnecessary financial burdens on the government due to the additional expenses related to salaries, accommodation, and other facilities. The actor-politician also stressed the need for transparency in judicial appointments, accusing the Centre of ignoring Collegium recommendations for the Supreme Court and High Court judges. He pointed out that only a retired Supreme Court judge could serve as chairperson of the Delimitation Commission, and questioned the fairness of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner, who is also part of the commission. Vijay demanded that election commissioners be appointed through consensus rather than arbitrary decisions by the government. Vijay further argued that the current method of allocating Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats based on population contradicts the principle of cooperative federalism. Drawing a comparison with the United States Senate, where each state has two representatives, he suggested consulting constitutional experts to explore a similar model for the Rajya Sabha. He also stressed that delimitation should only proceed with consensus from all states, rather than being imposed unilaterally by the Centre. Finally, Vijay criticised the government's approach to financial allocations, stating that funds should be distributed fairly, without political considerations. He noted that while India's Constitution was designed as a federal system with a unitary bias, the country has since evolved into a stable democracy. Therefore, states should now be granted greater administrative and financial autonomy to govern more effectively. Mumbai, March 5 : Actress Rakul Preet Singh took to social media to inform fans that she has wrapped up the Patiala schedule of her upcoming film "De De Pyaar De 2." Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Actress Rakul Preet Singh took to social media to inform fans that she has wrapped up the Patiala schedule of her upcoming film "De De Pyaar De 2." Taking to her Instagram stories, the 'Thank God' actress shared a photo from her vanity and wrote, "And with that we come to an end of patiala schedule of #ddpd2. What an enriching and satisfying month.. yes it was very cold and very hectic but my team helps me sail thru with ease.. I can't wait for you all to see the film and hopefully fall in love with Aisha all over again.." In the mirror selfie, Rakul is seen making a victory sign as she poses alongside her team members. In "De De Pyaar De 2," Singh will be seen reprising her role of Aisha alongside Ajay Devgn. The sequel, directed by Anshul Sharma, also features R. Madhavan. While Tabu will not be returning for this sequel, Devgn and Singh will reprise their roles from the first film. In the upcoming comedy, Madhavan will portray Singh's father, and there will be a comedic interaction between his character and Ajay Devgn's role, Ashish. Filmmaker Luv Ranjan's production company, Luv Films, announced the release date of "De De Pyaar De 2" on its social media platforms. "#DeDePyaarDe2 will release on 14th November 2025," read the Instagram post. The first film, "De De Pyaar De," which hit theaters in May 2019, told the story of Ashish (Ajay Devgn), a wealthy 50-year-old man who falls in love with Ayesha (Rakul Preet), who is nearly half his age. Their relationship faces opposition from Ashish's family and his ex-wife, Manju (Tabu). Meanwhile, Rakul is enjoying the success of her recent release "Mere Husband Ki Biwi." In addition to "De De Pyaar De 2," she has an exciting slate of projects ahead, including "Ameeri" and others. There have also been rumors about her collaborating with Saif Ali Khan for an upcoming film. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Bhopal, March 5 : Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday sought the resignation of Madhya Pradesh Minister Prahlad Patel over his "begging remark" and announced protests across the state. Prahlad Patel is the Panchayat and Rural Development Minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's cabinet. Addressing the media, senior Congress leader and former minister Mukesh Nayak said despite being a senior politician, Patel "insulted" people of the state by calling them "beggars", and therefore, should be expelled from the cabinet. "The Congress workers will stage a massive protest against Prahlad Patel to demand his resignation from the cabinet. The protest would be held in Bhopal and several other parts of the state on March 8," Mukesh Nayak, in-charge of MP Congress' media cell, told IANS. Addressing a press conference in Rewa, senior Congress leader Arun Yadav on Wednesday asked the party workers to take this "issue" to the people and "expose" the BJP. Notably, Patel is the minister-in-charge for Rewa district. Patel, who had earlier defended his remark, saying that he had said nothing wrong and instead blamed Congress and a section of media for twisting his statement, took a U-turn on Tuesday, saying that the public is akin to God. "People have always been supreme for me, whether they rejected or accepted me. But, how could the corrupt and dishonest like honest politics? That's why my statement was blown out of proportion," Patel said in a post on social media platform X. His corruption remark was aimed at Congress leaders who made a blistering attack against him over his controversial comment during a function at Rajgarh. The controversy erupted after a video of Patel's speech at the unveiling ceremony of Veerangana Rani Avantibai Lodhi's statue in Rajgarh district surfaced online. In the video, Patel is heard saying: "People have developed a habit of begging from the government. Leaders arrive, and they are handed a basket full of petitions. They are garlanded on stage, and a letter is placed in their hands. This is not a good habit. Instead of asking, cultivate the mindset of giving. This will lead to a happier life and help build a cultured society." He further remarked that this "army of beggars" is weakening society. "Can you name a martyr who has ever begged?" he asked. Bengaluru, March 5 : The BJP staged a massive protest at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Wednesday against the Karnataka government's alleged misuse of SCP-TSP funds and accused it of being anti-Dalit. SCP stands for Special Component Plan and TSP stands for Tribal Sub-Plan. These are schemes that channel benefits to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Planning Commission introduced these plans in the 1970s. Addressing the gathering BJP state President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra claimed, "Unable to properly implement its guarantees and misusing funds allocated for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the corrupt and wicked Congress government led by Siddaramaiah needs to be warned and that is why we have gathered here today." He further stated, "The corrupt and anti-Dalit Congress government must be taught a fitting lesson. Our fight will continue relentlessly, and I call upon everyone to join hands in this struggle. A massive protest will take place at the same location tomorrow morning, and I urge everyone to participate." He asserted that the BJP governments have never misused funds meant for SCs/STs and would never do so. He further said that the BJP has been consistently fighting against the anti-Dalit policies of the government. He reiterated that the BJP has always stood for SCs, STs and backward communities. The BJP has formed 14 teams to launch a mass movement against the government's alleged misuse of funds meant for SCs/STs. He claimed that before the elections, the Congress had promised justice and development for all communities, including SCs/STs, but has failed to deliver on those promises. Vijayendra emphasised that the BJP must come to power in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). He expressed confidence that the upcoming BBMP, District Panchayat, and Taluk Panchayat elections would energise party workers. "We will stand together, fight the elections, and emerge victorious," he said with confidence. Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, criticised the state government, claiming, "There is no money in the treasury, and because of that, the funds allocated for Dalit welfare are being used for guarantees. Siddaramaiah is behaving like 'Siddanna, Loot Guarantee Anna'." He accused CM Siddaramaiah of bringing the state to the brink of bankruptcy and called him a "champion of taking loans. He also alleged that the government has given only minimal funds to various development corporations, including those meant for the welfare of SCs and STs. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, stated that the BJP has launched a statewide movement against the 'misuse' of Dalit welfare funds. He attributed this initiative to the BJP's commitment to Dalit welfare and its pro-Dalit policies. He noted that BBMP and local body elections might be held soon due to a court order and urged party workers to reach out to the people, visit homes, and motivate them. He assured that this struggle would lead to victory. Former Deputy CM Dr. Ashwath Narayan, MLAs S.R. Vishwanath, Byrathi Basavaraj, Manappa Vajjal, Uday Garudachar, Raghu, Bhagirathi Marulasiddiah, former MLA Halappa, BJP committee coordinator Dattatri, leaders Tammesh Gowda, Sharanu Tallikeri, Umesh Shetty, Ravindra, and district BJP presidents Harish, Ramamurthy, and Saptagiri Gowda, along with several party leaders and workers, participated in the protest. New Delhi, March 5 : Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications may decrease the risk of developing dementia, claimed a study on Wednesday. Previous research has suggested that inflammation may contribute to the development and progression of dementia. The NSAID medications, with their anti-inflammatory effects, can help protect against dementia -- which affects more than 55 million people worldwide. "Our study provides evidence on possible preventive effects of anti-inflammatory medication against the dementia process," said M. Arfan Ikram, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. The researchers focussed their study on 11,745 adults with an average follow-up of 14.5 years. Of these 9,520 participants had used NSAIDs at any given time, and 2,091 participants developed dementia. The results, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, showed that long-term NSAID use was associated with a 12 per cent reduced risk of developing dementia. Short- and intermediate-term use did not provide benefits. Also, the cumulative dose of NSAIDs was not associated with decreased dementia risk, the team said. The findings suggest that prolonged, rather than intensive, use of anti-inflammatory medications may help protect against dementia. "There is a need for more studies to further consolidate this evidence and possibly develop preventive strategies," Ikram said. A recent study published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, that looked at health data from over 130 million individuals showed that antibiotics, antivirals, vaccinations, and anti-inflammatory medication are associated with reduced risk of dementia. This finding supports the hypothesis that common dementias may be triggered by viral or bacterial infections. According to data from the World Health Organization, every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases of dementia -- currently the seventh leading cause of death and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people globally. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to 60-70 per cent of cases. New Delhi, March 5 : The labour force participation rate for women in India has risen from 23 per cent in 2017-18 to approximately 42 per cent in 2023-24 with a notable increase in educated women joining the workforce, Union Labour and Employment Secretary Sumita Dawra said on Wednesday. In her address at the Women in Services Sector CII Dialogue 2025, the Secretary highlighted the significant strides made by women in India's economic landscape with them finding employment across various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and services. She reiterated the government's commitment to achieving the goal set in the Union Budget 2025-26, aiming for 70 per cent of women to be engaged in economic activities by 2047, aligning with the vision of a developed India. Dawra emphasised the importance of mentorship programmes to prepare women for leadership roles and the need to create safe, inclusive workplaces. She underscored the potential of sectors like STEM, entrepreneurship and startups for women's further involvement. Maharani Shailja Katoch, of the royal family of Kangra-Lambagraon (Himachal Pradesh) emphasised the importance of women in society, calling them the backbone of change, nurturing communities while balancing multiple responsibilities. On education, she expressed confidence in India's progressive policies, stating that women with determination can achieve success. She cited examples of girls from Himachal Pradesh excelling in diverse fields, including civil services and corporate roles. Regarding cultural preservation in the digital age, she stressed the need to make heritage appealing to younger generations by integrating modern elements like audiovisual storytelling, social media and contemporary product adaptations. CII Task Force on Art & Culture Advisor Tarana Sawhney dwelled on the pivotal role of women in shaping India's cultural landscape. She highlighted that historically, women have been the unseen architects of our cultural fabric - storytellers, artisans, performers, designers and curators - whose contributions are now gaining rightful recognition. Notable figures such as Amrita Sher-Gil, whose works continue to achieve record sales, and contemporary artists like Mrinalini Mukherjee, Zarina Hashmi, and Nalini Malani have made significant international impacts, with exhibitions at prestigious venues including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the National Gallery in London. Within the commercial sphere, women lead top contemporary art galleries in India, actively participate in global institutions and mentor emerging artists. Despite these advancements, challenges such as unequal pay, limited institutional support and sociocultural biases persist. She advocated equipping women with technological tools and resources to further their artistic and entrepreneurial endeavours, envisioning a future where gender is an afterthought and equal opportunity is a reality. Fashion designer Rina Dhaka emphasised the pivotal role women play in the fashion industry, contributing significantly across design, production, retail, and entrepreneurship. She advocated the establishment of skill-building initiatives and training programmes for female tailors, machine operators, and CAD designers to enhance employment opportunities and promote fair compensation. She urged government and industry collaboration to provide mentorship, tailored policies and financial support, especially for small-scale, women-led businesses. She observed the significant evolution of India's fashion industry, which has grown from a handful of designers to thousands of successful businesses, reaching even small towns. Mumbai, March 5 : Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday said that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from the state will get a boost to their growth after the commencement of the operations of the Rs 76,000 crore Vadhvan port, and the Navi Mumbai International Airport. He said this while speaking at the Maharashtra Industries & SME Summit jointly organised by the Maharashtra Industry Development Association (MIDA) and SME Chamber of India in Mumbai. Highlighting the important role of SMEs in achieving the vision of 'Viksit Bharat', the Governor commended the efforts of MIDA and the SME Chamber of India in empowering SMEs, manufacturing industries, and startups. He emphasised their contribution to transforming India into a $5 trillion economy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Radhakrishnan expressed confidence that the economy of Maharashtra will be transformed after the commencement of the Vadhvan Port and the Navi Mumbai airport. The Governor's statement comes three days after he, at the joint session of the state legislature, said that Maharashtra is a preferred destination for Foreign Direct Investment and the state contributes over 14 per cent to the countryas total GDP, being one of the leading industrial states in the country. He further added that the government has decided to develop 10 Integrated Industrial Parks and Integrated Logistics Parks to enhance industrial growth, improve supply chain efficiency and create a world-class business ecosystem. Further, the state government has approved to launch the "Maharashtra Technical Textiles Mission" to strengthen and expand the state's textile sector. Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to launch such a mission aligned with the Central government's National Technical Textiles Mission, reinforcing its leadership in the textile industry. The Vision/ Mission Statement of the National Technical Textiles Mission by the Textiles Ministry reads "positioning India as a Global Textiles manufacturing hub by developing a $250 billion Textile Industry and attaining $100 billion in Global Textile Exports by 2030 by focusing on high-tech and high-growth product segments, leveraging inherent strengths, developing large scale plug and play infrastructure, keeping sustainability at the core, while ensuring large-scale livelihood opportunities, providing impetus to traditional sectors and becoming Atmanirbhar in raw material value chain". Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 : Former Union Minister of State and senior BJP leader V. Muraleedharan on Wednesday asked the Pinarayi Vijayan government to "stop telling lies" about not getting Central funds and end the protest by the more than 26,000 Asha workers. The protest by Asha workers in front of the State Secretariat complex in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding higher honorarium and retirement benefits, entered the 24th day. "Instead of blaming the Centre by propagating lies that it has not released the full funds under the National Health Mission (NHM) and hence the payment to the hapless Asha Workers who are on a protest has not been paid, the Kerala government should take steps to end the protest," said Muraleedharan. "In Parliament, the Centre has informed that the complete tranche of funds marked under the NHM to Kerala has been given. Of the Rs 914.24 crore, Rs 815.73 crore has been paid before January 29 and the balance was cleared on February 12. If this is not true, the CPI-M should give a privilege notice in Parliament," added Muraleedharan. "Another narrative floated by the Vijayan government and the Health Minister Veena George is that the Centre stood in the way of utilisation of funds during 2023-24, which is also totally false. The funds were lost because Kerala did not follow the directives of the Centre and the state delayed the branding procedure. It did not submit the utilisation certificate according to the procedure," said Muraleedharan. "George should place on record the percentage of NHM funds kept by Kerala for paying the incentives to the Asha workers," said Muraleedharan. The Asha workers are demanding an increase in their monthly honorarium from Rs 7,000 to Rs 21,000 plus retirement benefits and pending payments. On Wednesday, Gomathy, who led a protest of plantation workers in the Idukki district and was able to get most of their demands accepted by then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in 2015, arrived to express her solidarity with the protesting Asha workers and slammed the CPI-M who according to her are known for abusing women protesters. Hopes were raised that with the four-day CPI-M state party conference beginning at Kollam on Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is yet to meet the protesters, might intervene to settle the ongoing protest, but it did not happen. Agartala, March 5 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President J.P. Nadda will address a massive public rally in Agartala on March 9 on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Manik Saha-led BJP 2.0 government in Tripura. Announcing the celebration schedule of the second anniversary of the second BJP-led government, Tripura unit party President Rajib Bhattacharjee on Wednesday said that a high-level committee has been formed with senior minister Ratan Lal Nath as its chairman to hold the rally with a record turnout. Besides J.P. Nadda, other leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha would address the public rally, to be held at the Swami Vivekananda stadium here. Highlighting the achievements of the BJP government in Tripura over the past seven years, Bhattacharjee, also a Rajya Sabha member, said that the state government, to make the state adrug freea, has undertaken a massive war against the drug menace and illicit drug trades. The state police and other law-enforcing agencies, so far, have arrested 4,276 drug peddlers after registering 2,308 cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985, he said. The BJP leader said that over 47,600 Self Help Groups (SHGs) have been formed in Tripura and lakhs of people, mostly women, are earning profits from their numerous ventures across the state. Among the SHG members, over 91,000 women emerged as aLakhpati Didisa through their engagement in various producing and enterprising units, Bhattacharjee said. He said that as the peaceful law and order situation and the conducive environment is prevailing in the state, numerous industrialists have signed many MoUs recently to set up their industries across various sectors. Addressing the media, senior minister Nath said that with the support of the Central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tripura achieved success in almost all sectors, especially in connectivity and infrastructure. Per capita income of the people of the state rose to Rs 1,77,723, he said. Nath said that the BJP government has introduced the Chief Minister Jan Arogya Yojana for universal health benefit for the people of the state while nine super-speciality units have been launched in government hospitals in the state and in addition 150-bed privately run new aShanti Niketan Medical College and Hospitala has also started functioning. In many respects, Tripura now holds the leading position among states in the country, he said. New Delhi, March 5 : Bengaluru-based banking infrastructure startup M2P Fintech's operating revenue dropped by 13.4 per cent to Rs 382 crore, compared to Rs 441 crore in financial year (FY23). New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Bengaluru-based banking infrastructure startup M2P Fintechas operating revenue dropped by 13.4 per cent to Rs 382 crore, compared to Rs 441 crore in financial year (FY23). The Tiger Global-backed company generates revenue through API usage fees, card issuance and management fees, platform subscriptions, banking partnerships, and cross-border forex services. M2P Fintech, which operates in over 30 international markets, witnessed a significant decline of 76.2 per cent in its export income from Rs 19.3 crore in FY23 to Rs 4.6 crore in FY24. The primary reason due to which the startup struggled to maintain its growth momentum in FY24 is surging expenses. According to its financials, the employee benefits remained the biggest expense, accounting for 47.5 per cent of total costs. These expenses rose by 33.5 per cent to Rs 251 crore, including a non-cash ESOP cost of Rs 36 crore. However, the company cut its spending on technology, cloud services, and co-branding by 56.4 per cent, bringing these costs down to Rs 160 crore. Other operational expenses, including legal, advertising, travel, and overhead costs, brought M2Pas total expenses to Rs 528 crore. Its ROCE (Return on Capital Employed) was (-) 28.23 per cent, while its EBITDA margin stood at (-) 22.51 per cent. The company continued to spend Rs 1.38 for every rupee earned, reflecting ongoing financial challenges. After witnessing a threefold year-on-year (YoY) surge in net loss during FY23, the B2B fintech startup reported a net loss of Rs 133.5 crore -- a marginal 0.15 per cent increase from Rs 133.3 crore in the previous fiscal year. By the end of FY24, the fintech had Rs 318 crore in total assets, with Rs 78 crore in cash and bank balances. As per media reports, it has raised over $200 million in funding so far, including $100 million in a Series D round led by Helios Investment Partners last year. Its key investors include Beenext, Tiger Global, and Helios Partners. Amid its financial struggles, M2P acquired Chennai-based AI startup Mad Street Den in a deal worth $10-15 million, the report added. Ukraine lacks a high-quality diplomatic resource that would significantly influence the political landscape, founder of the Bendukidze Free Market Center Volodymyr Fedoryn believes. In his opinion, the reason is not the lack of qualified personnel. "The country needs a strong Minister of Foreign Affairs who will determine policy. Maybe it's Petro Poroshenko, maybe Borys Gudziak, maybe someone I haven't thought of. A crisis is an opportunity," Fedoryn said. Vadym Ivchenko, a member of Batkivschyna faction and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, noted the importance of Ukraine introducing the position of a special representative of Ukraine to the United States, similar to Keith Kellogg, as an additional negotiator between Washington and Kyiv. "He could help resolve important issues, because currently there is virtually no normal dialogue between the Trump and Zelenskyy teams," he said on Facebook. At the same time, Volodymyr Rysenko, a lawyer at Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, is skeptical about the possible successes of the other negotiating team. "Has everyone already written about the successes of the diplomats of Canada and Mexico? Canada and Mexico fulfilled all of Trump's demands, no one exposed their diplomats from the White House. But they still got the tariffs," he said. Economist Borys Kushniruk called the negotiations in the White House a "systemic diplomatic failure," but notes that the leaders of European countries understand that now we are talking not only about threats to Ukraine, but also to all of Europe, and the restoration of relations between the Trump administration and the leadership of Ukraine is important for European security. "Ukraine needs to agree as soon as possible with the leaders of European countries on an official mediator who will be able to negotiate with Trump and Putin on behalf of Europe and Ukraine. By the way, it seems that George Maloney would be the best candidate for this mission, given her good relations at least with Trump," Kushniruk said on Facebook. In turn, MP Petro Poroshenko, former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009-2010) and the fifth President of Ukraine (2014-2019), said that he was ready to use his connections in Washington to restore the necessary level of cooperation with the U.S. administration. "Ukraine must use the window of opportunity to restore our strong unity, transatlantic unity with Europe and the United States," he said in an interview with the German TV channel RTL. "This is necessary not only for the security of Ukraine, but also for the security of Europe, the security of NATO and, ultimately, the security of America. We must present arguments why 'peace through force' in Ukraine definitely meets the interests of NATO and America. I have no doubt, and I am definitely ready to go to Washington, hold meetings within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy. To meet with many of my friends, Republicans and Democrats, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, to hold negotiations on the restoration of our partnership between Ukraine and the United States. This is one of the key and most important factors of our common security," Poroshenko believes. New York, Mar 5 : Emphasising that there are people still suffering from the influence of radiation even nearly 80 years after the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese lawmaker Shinji Morimoto on Wednesday asserted that nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist. Morimoto, who belongs to the main opposition - the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan - and five other Upper House lawmakers from the country are in New York to attend the meeting of the states party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Japan had earlier announced that it will not participate in the meeting of signatories of the UN nuclear ban treaty. Last month, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya stated that nuclear deterrence under the Japan-US alliance is essential to defend the nation. He had also emphasised that keeping China, North Korea and Russia in mind, Japan faces "the most complicated and severe security environment" since the end of Second World War and attending the gathering could "send a wrong message and pose a problem" for the nation's security. The third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is being held at the United Nations Headquarters and will run until Friday. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted on July 7, 2017 at the United Nations and entered into force on January 22, 2021. It was the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be negotiated in more than two decades. The ongoing meeting is having a thematic debate on the risks for humanity of nuclear conflict and its devastating humanitarian consequences. Member states will also consider the status and operation of the Treaty, addressing issues related to universality; the total elimination of nuclear weapons; victim assistance, environmental remediation and international cooperation and assistance; and security concerns. Till date, as many as 73 States have ratified or acceded to the Treaty and 94 have signed it. The US has consistently opposed the treaty and stated that the treaty is unlikely to produce any results. While India also continues to attach high priority to and remains committed to universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament, it did not participate in the negotiations on the TPNW and has consistently made it clear that it will not become a party to the Treaty. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India believes that this Treaty does not constitute or contribute to the development of customary international law; nor does it set any new standards or norms. Ankara, March 5 : Turkey is anticipating a significant boost in cruise tourism in 2025, with an increase in ship arrivals and passenger traffic, industry analysts predict. According to data from the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, 1.9 million cruise passengers visited Turkey in 2024, marking an all-time high and a sharp rise from 1.5 million in 2023. This sector contributed approximately $3 billion to the economy last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. The Turkish Association of Travel Agencies forecasts a 20-per cent growth in cruise ship arrivals at Turkish ports and a 30-per cent rise in passenger numbers this year, driven by the arrival of larger, more advanced vessels. Kusadasi, a bustling resort town on the Aegean coast, remains Turkey's leading cruise hub, handling more than half of the country's total cruise traffic. "Kusadasi serves as a vital connection between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean. Its capacity could be further expanded to accommodate more ships and visitors year-round," said Kivanc Meric, regional representative of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies. The town is expected to welcome over 800,000 cruise passengers in 2025, up from 700,000 last year. Another key player in Turkey's cruise sector is Galataport in Istanbul. Since its inauguration in 2021, Galataport has become a major destination, hosting 164 cruise ships and 400,000 passengers in 2024. The port is set for a major expansion in 2025, anticipating a 37-per cent increase in ship arrivals, bringing the total to 225, and a 46-per cent rise in passenger numbers to approximately 585,000, according to a recent social media announcement, Xinhua news agency reported. Beyond boosting tourism figures, the cruise industry significantly benefits the local economy by driving spending on local services and creating jobs across multiple sectors, including port operations, hospitality, tourism, and retail. "With cruise travel gaining popularity worldwide, Turkey is well-positioned to capitalise on this trend by attracting more visitors and increasing ship traffic at its ports," Meric noted. Bhopal, March 5 : A group of disc jockeys (DJs), furious over police crackdowns on their high-decibel sound systems, reportedly pelted stones at the police personnel and blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad highway near Kardavad village in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district. The conflict arose on Wednesday -- a reaction to police measures against playing loud music -- often featured in marriage processions and religious events. Few police personnel also received injuries. The police had to shell tear gas and use mild force to quell the mob. Authorities are strictly enforcing noise regulations to maintain lower sound levels, particularly during the ongoing school exam season. Speaking to IANS over the phone, a police official from Jhabua said that while the police were attempting to explain that their actions were in compliance with Supreme Court guidelines, a group of DJs suddenly appeared from nowhere and staged a road-block on the Indore-Ahmedabad highway and started pelting stones when additional police forces arrived at the spot. The incident resulted in injuries to some police personnel and road blockade for around three hours. However, the police have cleared the road and no casualty has been reported, the official further said, adding, aso far no FIR has been lodged against any person". The DJs are demanding unrestricted freedom to play music, especially during barat (marriage) processions. The Jhabua district administration has issued orders banning the use of loud sound systems and the use of high-decibel sound boxes, including in religious places, to combat noise pollution from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. This ban is welcomed by students preparing for the upcoming Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. On the other hand, a DJ told IANS, urging anonymity, that the ban has pushed their business into deep red. The orders (to play songs) which they used to receive during the marriage season have been drastically reduced due to police action which has placed severe financial strain on each family where any disc jockey is the main bread-earner. Owners of DJ systems, hotels, restaurants, and bars must now obtain licenses to operate within prescribed noise limits. Those who violate the regulations will be prosecuted under section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The ban is already in force across the state. Two days ago, on Monday, a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices to the state government and other respondents in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on high-decibel DJs. Advocate Amitabh Gupta, the petitioner, highlighted the health risks and law-and-order problems caused by loud DJs at social and religious events. He urged the court to ban the use and sale of loudspeakers exceeding the permissible limit of 75 decibels and to direct the state government to take necessary actions to prevent the public nuisance created by unregulated DJ sounds. The state government told the court that FIRs are being filed against individuals using such loudspeakers. Following the initial hearing, Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vinay Jain issued notices to the state government and other respondents. Jakarta, March 5 : Indonesia will conduct the second phase of a weather modification operation next week to mitigate severe flooding in Jakarta and its surrounding areas, the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) announced on Wednesday. The decision follows a warning from the Meteorological, Climatology, and Geological Agency predicting extreme weather from March 11 to March 20, which could trigger heavy rains and flooding in Jakarta and nearby cities. BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari told Xinhua news agency that the operation, scheduled from March 11 to March 18, aims to prevent heavy rainfall in the upstream areas of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers, whose downstream regions include Jakarta and its satellite cities. Muhari explained that flooding in the area is often caused by the overflow of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers, which originate in Puncak Cisarua, Bogor Regency, West Java. The weather modification process involves dispersing salt into clouds to prevent them from forming larger rain clouds over the upstream areas. "By introducing salt into the clouds before they reach Puncak Cisarua, we can induce rainfall over the sea, reducing the risk of heavy rains in the river upstream areas," he said. "We are currently carrying out the first phase of weather modification, which began on Tuesday and will end on Saturday. It has successfully reduced rainfall intensity in upstream areas, significantly easing flooding in Jakarta and its surrounding areas," he added. Severe flooding hit most areas in Jakarta and its satellite cities on Tuesday after heavy rain poured over the regions since Monday evening, Xinhua news agency reported. BNPB continues to monitor emergency flood response efforts in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Greater Jakarta). In Bekasi, floods have inundated 25 urban villages across 12 districts, affecting 61,233 people. At least 360 residents from the North Bekasi District have evacuated to a nearby mosque. Meanwhile, several neighborhoods in South Jakarta, East Jakarta, and West Jakarta remain flooded, impacting 2,098 people, with 1,236 people evacuated to various shelters. In Banten Province, BNPB is monitoring floods in Tangerang Regency and South Tangerang City. Flooding has affected seven villages across seven districts in Tangerang Regency, displacing 4,157 people. New Delhi, March 5 : Samajwadi Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), the two key allies of INDIA Bloc, looked divided on their stance pertaining to the row over controversial statement of Abu Azmi, the SP MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar and his subsequent suspension from the Maharashtra Assembly. Abu Azmi's praise for Aurangzeb created a political storm in Maharashtra politics with all parties rebuking him for glorying the Mughal invader and insulting the legacy of Shivaji Maharaj. The SP legislator was suspended from the Assembly on Wednesday, following persistent demands for his sacking. SS (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, speaking to press, supported his suspension from the Assembly, rather he went a step ahead and said, "Azmi should be suspended not just from the ongoing session but for all the Assembly sessions." On the other hand, SP supremo rallied support in favour of its embattled leader Abu Azmi and termed his suspension as 'childish move'. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav took to X to defend Abu Azmi and wrote, " If the basis of suspension begins to be influenced by ideology, then what difference will remain between freedom of expression and dependence? Be it our legislators or parliamentarians, their fearless wisdom is unparalleled. If some people think that suspension can put a rein on the tongue of truth, then this is the childishness of their negative thinking." He also accused BJP of crushing the free voice. When Uddhav Thackeray was questioned by scribes about Akhilesh's objection, the SS (UBT) brushed it aside and said that the whole state is agitated with Azmi's remarks. "Let him raise objection. If he is worried, he could take him to Uttar Pradesh and make him contest from there. He doesn't know the truth," Uddahv said in a terse reply. Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party, accusing it of glorifying Aurangzeb. Abu Azmi, the SP's Maharashtra president had claimed that during Aurangzeb's reign, India's borders extended to Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar) and that the country's GDP accounted for 24 per cent of the world's total. He had also said that Aurangzeb was not cruel. Following outrage for the past few days, the Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday passed a motion suspending him until March 26. Mogadishu, March 5 : The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said it has a funding gap of $297 million to meet humanitarian needs in Somalia for the next six months. Without additional funding, the WFP's critical operations in Somalia will face pipeline breaks by mid-year, it warned . "Early action is critical to avert a crisis in Somalia," WFP Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Jean-Martin Bauer was quoted as saying in a statement. Extra funding is urgently required to scale up food assistance, nutrition support, water and sanitation services, as well as livelihood initiatives to mitigate the impacts of an expected drought in Somalia, Bauer said. The statement came as new data from Somalia show that one million more people could be pushed into crisis-levels of food insecurity in the coming months as drought conditions, conflict and high food prices threaten to disrupt farming, restrict market access and increase humanitarian needs. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, which was released last week, shows that 3.4 million people are already experiencing crisis-levels of hunger or worse. This number is projected to rise to 4.4 million, almost a quarter of Somalia's population, between April and June, when below-average rains are forecast, potentially creating drought conditions, Xinhua news agency reported. Bauer warned that without urgent funding, Somalia could once again face deepening hunger. In late 2022, Somalia was brought to the brink of famine by the longest drought in recorded history as back-to-back failed rainy seasons devastated the country, the WFP said. "A massive scale-up of humanitarian assistance from the WFP and partners averted famine in late 2022. Now hunger is rising again as another drought looms," it said. IPC findings confirm that around 1.7 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition through December in Somalia. Of those, 466,000 face severe acute malnutrition and nearly two-thirds of the total malnutrition burden is concentrated in southern Somalia, which faces the worst drought conditions and insecurity. "As humanitarian needs grow, limited funding is resulting in life-saving programmes being reduced or cut altogether," the WFP said. It noted that beginning in April, the WFP will provide food and cash assistance to 820,000 vulnerable people per month, down from 2.2 million a month in 2024. Ranchi, March 5 : The BJP has appointed two central observers to oversee the selection of its legislature party leader in the Jharkhand Assembly, a position that has remained vacant for over three-and-a-half months since the Assembly elections were held in the state. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and BJP OBC Morcha National President K. Laxman have been tasked with the responsibility, according to a press release issued by the party's national headquarters incharge Arun Singh on Wednesday. aThe Parliamentary Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the party's OBC Morcha National President and the party MP K. Laxman as the central observers for the election of the leader of the legislative party in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly," Singh said in a statement here. Party sources indicate that both observers are expected to visit Ranchi this week, where BJP MLAs will elect their leader in their presence. Once chosen, the leader will be formally recognised as Leader of the Opposition by the Speaker. With the Budget Session set to conclude on March 27, the delay in appointing an Opposition leader has drawn criticism from the ruling parties in the state. Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato had earlier remarked that the absence of a Leader of Opposition makes it difficult to run the House effectively. The BJPas failure to name a legislature party leader has led to internal discord, with legislators often appearing divided on key issues in the Assembly. The ruling JMM has repeatedly mocked the BJP over the delay, even holding a press conference to suggest that if the party cannot decide on a leader, all its MLAs should resign collectively. According to sources, former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi is a frontrunner for the position. However, the names of senior BJP legislators CP Singh and Neera Yadav are also being considered. The Assembly polls in Jharkhand were held in November last year. The BJP-led NDA is the main Opposition in the state. Ranchi, March 5 : BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the Jharkhand Assembly during a debate on the state budget on Wednesday, alleging bias against the opposition. Speaking to the media outside the House, senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi accused Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato of favouring the ruling party. "The Speaker is running the House arbitrarily. Ruling party MLAs get more time to speak, while the oppositionas voice is systematically suppressed," he alleged. Marandi claimed that opposition members are frequently interrupted when they speak. "Today, BJP MLA Neera Yadav was repeatedly disrupted during the budget discussion. When she demanded additional time to compensate for the interruptions, the Speaker refused. This is sheer arbitrariness and an attempt to silence the opposition. We walked out in protest," he said. He also criticised the JMM for threatening to block mineral transport, calling it a ploy to shield illegal coal transportation. "Every day, 400 to 500 trucks of coal are smuggled from Dhanbad-Bokaro with the full protection of the police, acting on the state governmentas directions," he alleged. Responding to the ruling partyas claim that the Centre owes Jharkhand Rs 1.36 lakh crore, Marandi said: "Despite repeated demands, the JMM has failed to provide a clear breakup of these dues. This issue is a legacy of the Congress, with whom JMM is now allied." He further asserted that the Modi government is committed to addressing Jharkhandas concerns, but the Congress-JMM alliance is only interested in exploiting the stateas resources. Earlier Opposition legislators joined the protests by the ruling party MLAs who cornered the government in the Assembly over a Rs 100 crore embezzlement scam in Jharkhandas Drinking Water and Sanitation Department. BJP MLA Naveen Jaiswal remarked: "If ruling party MLAs have to fight so hard for action, one can imagine how the government handles issues raised by the opposition." Naypyidaw, Mar 5 : China is pressing ahead with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar, an aggressive approach that analysts believe is aimed at increasing Beijing's foothold in the region. "China is trying to further its interest in Myanmar through BRI projects that include the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, hydropower, cross-border industrial zones, and connectivity, such as high-speed railway networks and the Kyaukphyu deep seaport. These projects have been grappling with delay due to conflict in the region," Myanmar's leading media outlet Irrawaddy reported on Wednesday. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia, during her visit to Mandalay last week, reportedly met Junta-appointed Mandalay Region Chief Minister Myo Aung and stressed on strengthening safety for Chinese personnel in the region. Earlier, the Chinese projects in the region had come under fire in Mandalay due to clashes between the ethnic armed organisations in their anti-regime operation. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had flown to Myanmar and asked the military leaders to ensure security of Chinese projects in Myanmar. Reportedly, China began talks with ethnic armies on its border to halt their offensive against the Myanmar regime. It led to a ceasefire in January. The engagement with the Junta and ethnic rebel groups reveals a dual-track strategy aimed at increasing Chinese influence in the region. Earlier this week, a top expert on security dynamics in Southeast Asia, especially in and around Myanmar, voiced her concerns over growing Chinese assertiveness in the region. Miemie Winn Byrd, a security analyst from the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (APCSS), in an interview with Irrawaddy, stated that the presence of Chinese security companies in Myanmar under the military Junta's private security laws poses a major threat of turning the country into a "client state". Myanmar's military junta introduced the 'Private Security Services Law' in February, which enables Chinese private security organisations to be stationed in Myanmar. These laws enable Beijing to protect its interests in Myanmar, including the BRI projects. The law allows Chinese security companies to officially establish their foothold across Myanmar, as Chinese projects are spread in most parts of the region. Bhopal, March 5 : The Madhya Pradesh Police have uncovered an intricate fraud network linked to a Cambodian IP address in a case involving an Indore doctor who was swindled out of Rs 3.8 crore. The Crime Branch discovered that the woman who communicated with the doctor had an IP address traced back to Cambodia. The investigative team is diligently working on this technical evidence, with the likelihood of multiple culprits being involved. Speaking to IANS, additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime Branch, Indore, Rajesh Dandotiya said the police have a significant breakthrough in the fraud case. The technical evidence, including the IP address, has pointed towards a connection with Cambodia. The woman, posing as Aru Bhatt, interacted with the doctor using a fake profile, and it is suspected that she is based outside the country. The investigation is still going on, with teams actively searching for the accused. They are also working on other technical evidence and expect to unveil more details soon. Organised crimes like this often involve a large number of perpetrators, the senior police officer said. In January, an Indore-based doctor, was befriended on social media by a woman who introduced him to the online trading platform. The social media friend guided the doctor through a registration process, and once registered, the doctor started investing. Initially, the amount the doctor invested appeared in his trading wallet, and he even managed to transfer money from that account twice, gaining confidence of the doctor in the system. However, when he tried to withdraw more money later, the funds were not available. Following this, the doctor lodged a complaint with the Crime Branch. During the investigation, it was revealed that the scam was designed through links sent from Cambodia, resulting in a loss of Rs 3.08 crore to the doctor. Additional DCP Crime Branch Rajesh Dandotia reported that a woman posing as Aru Bhatt interacted with the doctor, and it's suspected that the scam involves individuals outside the country. It's possible that more people are involved in this crime, considering that Rs 3.08 crore was distributed across various bank accounts through 66 transactions. There has been a noticeable rise in online fraud cases in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in Indore a" known as finance capital of the state. Fraudsters often outsmart police warnings and alerts issued through campaign and dupe huge sum of money from commoners. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a telephone conversation on March 4, 2025, a source in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend. During the conversation, the ministers discussed the work carried out within the framework of strategic partnership between the two countries, prospects for both bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international security issues. The ministers emphasized their confidence that cooperation in various areas, including political, economic, trade, energy, tourism, and others, will further develop in 2025. Furthermore, the ministers also exchanged views on cooperation in other international platforms and discussed the situation in the Middle East. The parties also extended their congratulations on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, conveying their warmest wishes and best regards. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Kolkata, March 5 : The provincial languages that are widely spoken in different states of India will never lose their relevance due to the acceptance of Hindi as the state language of the country, former state Congress chief in West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Wednesday. "Hindi has been accepted as the official state language of the country. However, besides Hindi, there are several other provincial languages which are spoken in many states concerned. It is wrong to think that the provincial languages will lose their relevance because of accepting Hindi as the state language of the country," Chowdhury told IANS on Wednesday. He pointed out that besides Hindi, 22 other languages are accepted by the Union government. "Each language has its own relevance. It would be wrong to consider the differences over language as the rift between North and South. If there are differences, those could be settled through discussions," Chowdhury said. Chowdhury's comments come amid a statement by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's comments on Tuesday where he accused the BJP of and the Union government of imposing Hindi through the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP). He also issued a statement claiming the Tamils never demanded the North Indians to learn the Tamil language or any other South Indian language to preserve them. He said that the demand from Tamils is that Hindi should not be imposed on them. "If BJP-ruled states want to teach three languages or even 30, let them! Just leave Tamil Nadu alone," Stalin said in his statement. Recently in West Bengal, several pro-Bengali groups have surfaced who had accused the BJP of not just trying to impose Hindi on the Bengali but also introducing "cow-belt culture" in the state. Some of these groups have also demanded that it should be mandatory to learn and speak Bengali for anyone staying in West Bengal. Kolkata, March 5 : An incident of land subsidence was reported in the coal mining belt of Andal in West Burdwan district of West Bengal on Wednesday, creating panic and confusion in the area. The impact of the land subsidence was such that a school building collapsed and was razed to the ground. There have been frequent reports of land subsidence in the coal mining area in Andal and the adjacent Asansol, Raniganj and Jamuria belts because of illegal and rat-hole mining prevalent in the area by the associates of the coal mafias operating from the region. However, this is the first time that a school collapsed because of subsidence. The local residents claimed that Eastern Coalfield Limited, a subsidiary of public sector Coal India Limited, which is mainly responsible for coal mining in the belt, should take responsibility for the mishap. The ECL officials are, however, tight-lipped about the incident. The area has been cordoned off to prevent people from going near the spot. In February last year, two persons were killed, and two others were severely injured following land subsidence at an abandoned coal mine of ECL at Raniganj in West Burdwan district. The local people alleged that although the said open-cast mine was declared as abandoned, adequate precautionary measures were not taken to fill-up the mine with a sand and water mixture to prevent illegal mining there. Earlier, in October 2023, three persons were killed following a similar incident of land subsidence at ECL's Narayankuri Mine at Raniganj. There had long been allegations against ECL about not following the standard operating procedure in the case of abandoned mines. When regular mining takes place, the coal is excavated, leaving pillars of coal blocks, which act as the support for the roof of the mines. The coal excavating entity is supposed to fill up the gaps between the pillars after abandoning the mines with sand-soil-water mixture, so that the illegal miners are unable to target those coal-block pillars for illegal excavation. Dhaka, March 5 : The Chairman and Commissioners of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the regulator of the country's capital market, were held captive by the commission's employees on Wednesday in protest against the forced retirement of an Executive Director. An army team eventually rescued the Bangladeshi officials as the employees continued to hold a demonstration against an order issued that sent Executive Director Saifur Rahman into compulsory retirement, local media reported. The protesting officials raised slogans, demanding an explanation for Rahman's forced retirement and gave an ultimatum for the resignation of the BSEC chairman, Bangladesh's leading newspaper Daily Star reported. One of the main demands of the protesting BSEC officials is the cancellation of the order issued to Rahman for his compulsory retirement. In addition, they demanded the withdrawal of previously-issued notices against the commission employees. They also asked to stop the issuing of show cause notices to employees and an end to the unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour towards the Commission's officers and staff, along with an apology. The commission officials and employees have announced a work stoppage starting Thursday if the BSEC chairman does not resign, reported another Bangladeshi daily, The Business Standard. A BSEC official, on the condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that they have been confined to their offices. When contacted, several Executive Directors said junior officials have confined them to their offices, pressing various demands. Bangladesh remains in the grip of several nationwide protest movements in recent months, especially after the interim government was sworn in under the leadership of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. A few days ago, the officials from 25 cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service declared a strike in protest against the suspension of government officers. The Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council in Bangladesh announced a full-day work abstention in solidarity with the suspended government officers. These officials were reportedly suspended merely for expressing their opinions on social media. Agartala, March 5 : The Border Security Force (BSF) have arrested 19 Bangladesh nationals and three Indian nationals including a tout from different districts of Tripura, officials said on Wednesday. A BSF spokesman said that the 19 Bangladeshi and the three Indian nationals including a tout were arrested from West Tripura, Khowai, North Tripura and Sepahijala districts for their illegal entry into India. The BSF and the police officials are now interrogating the 19 Bangladesh nationals and three Indian nationals, who would be produced before the court. Additionally, narcotics, rice and other contraband items worth Rs 17 lakhs and Bangladesh Taka 63,000 have also been seized from the detainees. The spokesman said that to prevent the smuggling and other border crimes along the India-Bangladesh frontiers and for better coordination with the counterpart, BSF has conducted 29 simultaneous coordinated patrols in the recent past and organised multiple border coordination meetings with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at various levels. The BSF remains committed not only to maintain a high level of alertness along the international border but also to contribute to the vision of a "Drug-Free Society", he said. The BSF, since the turmoil began in Bangladesh in July-August, has enhanced multi-faceted round-the-clock vigil and intensified its domination along the international border. Last week, the BSF arrested 15 Bangladesh nationals, including three women and seven children, in Tripura for illegally entering India. Meanwhile, Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu accompanied by Inspector General of BSF, Tripura Frontier, Ashwani Kumar Sharma on Wednesday visited several Border Outposts (BOPs) in west Tripura district and reviewed the border situations. The Governor also interacted with BSF troops and discussed various issues. He lauded the BSF for their high level of professionalism, the spokesman said. --IANS sc/dan Jaipur, March 5 : In a special initiative to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, women across Rajasthan will be able to travel for free in Rajasthan Roadways buses. The announcement was made on Wednesday following the directives of Roadways Chairperson Shubhra Singh. Roadways Managing Director Purushottam Sharma stated that the free travel facility will be available from midnight to 11:59 PM on March 8. This offer applies to all ordinary and express buses operating within Rajasthanas state borders. Air-conditioned and Volvo buses are not included in this scheme. For passengers traveling on interstate routes, free travel will be applicable only within Rajasthanas borders. An official said that if a woman is traveling from Jaipur to Delhi, her journey within Rajasthan will be free. However, once she crosses the state border, she will need to purchase a ticket for the remaining journey to Delhi. Jyoti Chauhan, Executive Director (Traffic) of Rajasthan Roadways, emphasised that this initiative is aimed at empowering women and encouraging their mobility. She reiterated that the free travel facility is available only for non-AC buses and is limited to journeys within Rajasthanas geographical boundaries. This initiative underscores the governmentas commitment to womenas welfare and aims to provide a convenient and cost-free travel experience for women on this special occasion, said officials. The International Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8 to recognise and honour the contribution of women. International Women's Day 2025: This year it will be celebrated under the theme, 'Accelerate Actiona. Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activities that positively impact women's advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation. Chennai, March 5 : Arivazhagan, the director of the recently released horror thriller Sabdham, has now disclosed that a mortuary scene in the film had live actors pretending to be dead bodies in order to ensure audiences felt a chill go down their spine! What's more, the director has also disclosed that all the actors who played dead bodies underwent six hours of makeup. In addition to this, VFX was used to ensure that their appearances induced an element of fear in audiences. Interestingly, actor Aadhi, who plays the role of a paranormal investigator in the film, did not know that these were live actors and that he discovered this fact just before the shot when one of the actors accidently blinked. Taking to his X timeline, director Arivazhagan, who has been sharing interesting trivia about his film, wrote, "Sabdham The mortuary scene featured live actors as dead bodies who underwent six hours of makeup and VFX for a chilling effect. @AadhiOfficial sir discovered this just before the shot when one of the actors unexpectedly blinked! #MakeupShanmugham #ActorJana #ActorArthi" Sabdham is the second horror film that director Arivazhagan has made. His first horror film was 'Eeram'. While Eeram had spirits using water as the medium to accomplish their mission, 'Sabdham' has sound playing that role. While Aadhi plays a paranormal investigator in the film, actress Lakshmi Menon plays a first-year resident doctor in the film. Apart from Aadhi and Lakshmi Menon, the film also features Simran, Laila, Redin Kingsley, MS Baskar and ace director Rajiv Menon in pivotal roles. Sabdham was to originally release on February 28 this year. While the film released in other languages as scheduled, the film faced an issue in Tamil Nadu. Fans and film buffs in Tamil Nadu who went to watch the film on the first day of its release returned disappointed. However, director Arivazhagan and actor Aadhi put out a post on social media, apologising for the delay in release and announcing that all the issues pertaining to release had been resolved. The film hit screens from March 1 this year. --IANS Mkr/ Jaipur, March 5 : In a major cybercrime crackdown, the Nangal Rajawatan Police and cyber cell of Dausa district in Rajasthan arrested Vikas Saini (19), for online fraud. The accused was part of a gang that tricked victims by sharing fake advertisements of ladies' kurtis on social media, leading them into financial scams. During the arrest, the police seized two android mobiles and two SIM cards linked to the fraud. Preliminary investigations revealed that lakhs of rupees were transferred into five bank accounts and four mobile wallets used by the accused and his associates. SP Sagar Rana stated that in response to rising cyber fraud cases, a special team was formed under the guidance of IG Jaipur Range Ajaypal Lamba, supervised by Additional SP Dinesh Kumar Agarwal and CO Charul Gupta, and led by SHO Hussain Ali of Nangal Rajawatan police station. On Tuesday, the Cyber Crime Coordination Center (Government of India) alerted police about a suspicious mobile number traced to Nangal Rajawatan. Acting on this tip-off, a team comprising ASI Raghuraj Singh, Head Constable Laxmikant Sharma, Constable Ramavatar, and Constable Rinku Lal gathered intelligence and confirmed the suspectas involvement. With technical assistance from the Cyber Cell, the police detained Vikas Saini from Kharya Ki Dhani. His mobile and SIM cards were found actively involved in online financial fraud. The accused, along with his associates, used Instagram to post fake photos and videos of ladies' kurtis to lure unsuspecting buyers. The accused posted misleading advertisements for ladies' kurtis on Instagram and other social media platforms. Once victims showed interest, they were tricked into transferring money online. The gang used multiple bank accounts and mobile wallets to receive payments. Transactions worth lakhs of rupees were traced from victims across multiple states. After receiving payments, the gang would cut off communication and disappear. The police are now conducting a detailed financial probe into the identified five bank accounts and four mobile wallets used in the scam. Authorities suspect that more victims may have been defrauded across the country. This operation was carried out under the leadership of SHO Hussain Ali, along with ASI Raghuraj Singh, Head Constable Laxmikant Sharma, Constables Ramavatar, Rinku Lal, Driver Hari Singh, and Sonu Kumar, with technical support from Dinesh Kumar of the Cyber Cell. The police have urged the public to be cautious of online shopping scams and report any suspicious activities immediately. Kolkata, March 5 : Bengali cinema legend , who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming second series 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter', has said that he never talks about the money with producers and directors. He always puts forth the conditions of working on the producers. The actor spoke with the media in Kolkata in light of the trailer release of the series. Prosenjit said that he has played so many characters in his career spanning over 4 decades but his character in 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter' challenged the actor in him, and that's when he dialed showrunner Neeraj Pandey. He told the media, "If I read through a character, and it doesn't let me sleep, I make a call to the director and ask them, 'Date kab ka chaahiye?'. He further mentioned, "I never talk about the money. My producer friends who are sitting here can vouch for it". Meanwhile, the show also stars Jeet, Saswata Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ritwik Bhowmik, Aadil Zafar Khan, Chitrangada Singh, Pooja Chopra, Aakanksha Singh, Mimoh Chakroborty and Shraddha Das. The new season of 'The show stars an ensemble cast including Jeet, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ritwik Bhowmik, Aadil Zafar Khan, Chitrangada Singh, Pooja Chopra, Aakanksha Singh, Mimoh Chakroborty and Shraddha Das. The new season of the Netflix show is a layered story of politics, inter-gang rivalry and the police system. The trailer features an explosive blend of relentless action, intricate drama, and unexpected twists. The new season is set in the Kolkata of the early 2000s, and sees gangsters and politicians commanding unchallenged authority. In such dire straits for the common man, IPS Arjun Maitra (essayed by Jeet) emerged as a catalyst for change. He sets out to carve a path of justice amidst the treacherous world of political intrigue, gang warfare, and shifting allegiances. Speaking at the launch event, showrunner Neeraj Pandey shared, "The world of 'Khakee' has always been about larger-than-life conflicts, high-stakes drama, and nuanced characters that redefine the lines between good and evil. With 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter', we take this intensity to a whole new level. Set against the vivid backdrop of Kolkata, this chapter delves into gripping power struggles and follows a relentless IPS officer who dares to challenge the system". He added, "The entire ensemble cast has delivered exceptional performances, ensuring that 'Khakee: The Bengal Chapter' is an evolution of the beloved narrative. Both the directors, Tusshar and Debatma, along with the entire crew have worked tirelessly to bring this narrative to life and we hope that it will captivate the audiences. Filming extensively in Kolkata, it feels incredibly rewarding to unveil the trailer here and witness the audience's enthusiastic reactions. Through our continued partnership with Netflix, we champion stories that resonate on a global scale while remaining deeply rooted in local authenticity". The show is set to stream on Netflix from March 20. Lahore, March 5 : Former winner New Zealand set up a meeting with India in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai after beating South Africa by 50 runs in the second semi-final at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Wednesday. After Rachin Ravindra smashed his fifth ODI hundred and second ton of the tournament, and Kane Williamson notched up his third century in a row against South Africa to take New Zealand to 362/6, the highest total in the competitionas history, the Proteas ended up at 312/9, with David Miller's unbeaten century coming off 67 balls going in vain. For the Blackcaps, who won the title in 2000, captain Mitchell Santner was the pick of bowlers with 3-43, while Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry took two wickets each. Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra bagged a scalp each as New Zealand got a clinical win and set up their meeting with India for the second time in the tournament. Electing to bat first on a used pitch, Ravindra was all class in his knock of 108 off 101 balls while adding 164 off 154 balls for the second wicket with Williamson, who made 102 off 94 deliveries. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips both smashed quick knocks of 49. South Africa had a hard day of relentless toil under bright Lahore sunshine, with Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj leaking runs. Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, and Wiaan Mulder were amongst the wickets, but they too gave away runs aplenty. Ravindra and Will Young were largely untroubled at the start of New Zealandas innings. Ravindra, in particular, was in sparkling touch - hitting Jansen for three boundaries in the seventh over - and two of them were well-timed boundaries through cover, while the other one was hit through mid-wicket. Ngidi provided the first breakthrough by having Young miscue a slower ball to mid-on in the eighth over. Williamson, fresh off a valiant 81 against India, began nicely by steering Ngidi and Rabada for a boundary each. Ravindra reached his half-century off 47 balls by pulling Mulder for four before pulling him again for the same result and getting forward to drive through the on-side for picking his third boundary of the 18th over. He and Williamson were adept at rotating the strike, leading to South Africa not being able to exert much pressure. Ravindra took a liking to Maharajas left-arm spin bowling a" after lofting him for four, he danced down the pitch to hit another boundary. He then lofted cleanly to smash a six over long-on before getting an outside edge past the keeper for four. Williamson joined the boundary-hitting spree by flicking Maharaj for six and then getting his fifty in 61 balls off Aiden Markram before taking a four off him via a reverse sweep. He had luck on his side when Heinrich Klaasen dropped a tough catch behind stumps off Ngidias bowling. The New Zealand camp was full of cheers in the 32nd over when Ravindra flicked Rabada for two runs and reached his fifth ODI century before he and Williamson took three boundaries collectively off him in the 32nd over, yielding 17 runs. The 164-run stand for the fourth wicket ended in the 34th over when Ravindra went for a drive against an off-cutter from Rabada, but it produced a thin edge and was caught behind by Klaasen, ending his knock at 108 off 101 balls. Williamson, though, marched forward with his sweep, steer, and scoop to fetch boundaries and get his 15th ODI century in 91 balls. But four balls later, Williamson again went for a scoop but was caught by short fine-leg off a wide yorker from Wiaan Mulder. After Tom Latham's attempted scoop resulted in his stumps being left in a mess by Rabada, Mitchell provided late impetus to the innings by hitting Jansen for two fours before swatting Ngidi for a six and two fours on successive deliveries. Phillips joined the slog overs party by slapping Ngidi through point for four, before taking four consecutive boundaries off Jansen. Though Mitchell holed out to deep mid-wicket off Ngidi for 49, Phillips went after Rabada a" hitting a four and six off him as 19 runs came off the 48th over, before 13 runs came in the final overs, as New Zealand hit an astonishing 110 runs in their last ten overs. Chasing 363, the in-form Ryan Rickleton began by hitting four early boundaries before he was undone by Henryas cutter, and the leading edge was caught by short cover in the fifth over. Temba Bavuma was struggling to get going, as seen from him being three off 18 balls, before breaking the shackles by hitting a four each off Henry and Kyle Jamieson. While van der Dussen took two fours off Henry, Bavuma pulled Jamieson over square leg for six. After the duo took a four each off William OaRourke, Bavuma brought up South Africaas hundred by going inside-out against Michael Bracewell for four and got his seventh ODI fifty in 64 balls. Shortly after, van der Dussen brought up his third consecutive fifty with a single as South Africaas chase gave a stable look, especially with Bavumaas catch being dropped by Williamson at short mid-wicket. But in the 23rd over, Bavuma looked to slice a flighted delivery from Santner but was caught by backward point for 56. Three overs later, Santner struck again as he got one to turn enough and castled van der Dussen for 67. In his next over, he landed a huge blow to South Africaas chase by having Klaasen pull to Henry at long-on, though he injured himself after landing on the right shoulder. From there on, South Africaas slide in the chase began a"Ravindra held on to a chip from Markramas bat off his own bowling, Mulder miscued a slog-sweep to deep square leg off Bracewell, and Jansen was trapped lbw by Phillips, who later had Maharaj caught behind. Despite Rabada hitting two boundaries in his 22-ball 16 and Miller carting bowlers all around the park in breathtaking fashion to complete a century on the last ball of the innings, it wasnat enough for South Africa to stop New Zealand from progressing into the Champions Trophy final. Brief scores: New Zealand 362/6 in 50 overs (Rachin Ravindra 108, Kane Williamson 102; Lungi Ngidi 3-72, Kagiso Rabada 2-70) beat South Africa 312/9 in 50 overs (David Miller 100 not out, Rassie van der Dussen 69, Temba Bavuma 56; Mitchell Santner 3-43, Glenn Phillips 2-27) by 50 runs Chennai, March 5 : The Censor Board of Film Certification has cleared India's first sea horror adventure film, 'Kingston', for release with a U/A certificate, the film's makers announced on Wednesday. Parallel Universe, the production house owned by actor G V Prakash, which is producing the film along with Zee Studios, took to its X timeline to make the announcement. It said, "#Kingston censored with a U/A.All set to dive into India's first Sea fantasy adventure starring @gvprakash, in theatres on March 7th! A film by @storyteller_kp. Produced by @ZeeStudiosSouth and @ParallelUniPic." The film has triggered huge interest in fans and film buffs as this is the first time a sea adventure film is being made in Tamil cinema. Kingston will be special not just to fans but also to G V Prakash as this is his 25th film. "We have spent four times the amount that we would normally spend on a film," the actor had told IANS in a previous interview. The trailer of the film, which was recently released, has further heightened expectations from the film, which is scheduled for a release on March 7 this year. Directed by debut filmmaker Kamal Prakash, the film features a promising star-cast including Divya Bharathi, Azhagam Perumal, 'Merku Thodarchi Malai' fame Antony, Chetan, Kumaravel, Sabumon and many others. The cinematography of the film has been handled by Gokul Benoy, while the dialogues have been penned by Dhivek. Editing is being done by San Lokesh. Key technical contributors include S.S. Moorthy in the art department and Dhilip Subbarayan in the stunts department. The sea fantasy adventure film, set against a coastal landscape, is produced on a big budget by Zee Studios in association with Parallel Universe Pictures --IANS Mkr/ BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed Azerbaijan's intention to close its office. "The Government of Azerbaijan has informed us of its intention to close the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Azerbaijan. We are currently in contact with the authorities, and this discussion is part of our confidential and bilateral dialogue," a source in the organization told Trend. The ICRC office in Baku had been operating since March 3, 1992. New Delhi, March 5 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday asked the students not to be afraid of failure, emphasising that it is only a myth and nothing else. "We have to put the nation first always. There can be no interest higher than national interest. Personal and political interests are insignificant," Dhankhar stated while addressing a convocation ceremony of Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth (JCD) in Haryana's Sirsa. Dhankhar advised the students to choose a career as per their interests and aptitudes. "Allow your life to go like a river and not like a canal... there was a time when a child was born and parents used to decide what career their child has to choose," he added. The Vice President told the gathering that India today offers numerous opportunities to the youth and they must take advantage of it. "If you look around, boys and girls, your basket of opportunities is ever-enlarging. It is there in the blue economy, it is there in the space economy. You are in Bharat at a time when no Nation in the last decade has grown as fast and as large as Bharat. Big economic upsurge, phenomenal infrastructure growth, deep digitisation, technological penetration," he said. "If I share some figures with you, you will be surprised. Per capita internet consumption of Bharat is more than that of China and the USA taken together. If we go about our digital transactions, the digital transactions are four times the combined transactions of the USA, UK, France, and Germany," the Vice President claimed. "If we examine our economy that was very fragile a decade ago... but today our foreign exchange reserves are over 700 billion," he said. "You are lucky to be living in times when Bharat is dotted with open possibilities. There is an ecosystem in place, affirmative government policies, hand-holding policies that allow you to exploit your talent and potential and realise your ambitions and aspirations," Dhankhar told the students. "Meritocracy prevails now. When that is the scenario, you must think big. Never be under stress, never be under tension. Fear of failure is the worst fear in life because it is a myth. There is nothing like a failure, it is an attempt that has not succeeded," he said. Vice President Dhankhar said, "Some people were so pessimistic that Chandrayaan-2 was called by them as failure... Chandrayaan-2 came very close to the lunar surface but could not touch it. It was, according to me, more than 90 per cent success And that is why Chandrayaan-3 became a success. And therefore, failure is a myth." He said that failure gives an opportunity to further improve. "Many greatest accomplishments in history have never succeeded in the first attempt," Dhankhar added. "If you have, boys and girls, a brilliant idea in your mind, don't allow that idea to be parked in your mind. That will be the greatest injustice to you and to humanity," he said. The Vice President asked the students to experiment and think out of the box. "Look at what has happened in this country, particularly last decade. Startups, unicorns therefore, never fear, never have tension or stress; go for experimentation, go according to your attitude. You will have enough to contribute to the nation," Dhankhar said, as he referred to various opportunities which are available to youth today. The Vice President asked the students to only think big. "Disruptive technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Machine Learning and every moment we are having a paradigm shift and every moment is a change that brings huge challenges and every challenge has to be converted into opportunity and that has to be done by you boys and girls," he said. Talking about India's progress, Vice President Dhankhar told the students, "No nation in the world has grown as fast with such a big leap as Bharat in the last decade." Bhopal, March 5 : Despite slim chances, the Madhya Pradesh harbours aspirations for increased funds particularly for its ailing local bodies, some improvements are expected in accounting system in state's ailing local bodies as visiting 16th Finance Commission is likely to focus on certain suggestions provided by ace accounting body -- Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Bhopal, March 5 (IANS) Despite slim chances, the Madhya Pradesh harbours aspirations for increased funds particularly for its ailing local bodies, some improvements are expected in accounting system in stateas ailing local bodies as visiting 16th Finance Commission is likely to focus on certain suggestions provided by ace accounting body -- Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). A meeting between the visiting 16th Finance Commission, led by Chairperson Arvind Panagariya, and K. Sanjay Murthy, head of the CAG, deliberated upon various aspects of challenges and solutions in several areas of state and union finances and audits. Additionally, the Finance Commission and its members conferred with the state's Chief Minister, Mohan Yadav. The CAG emphasised the critical role of this meeting in the Commission's evaluation of the financial landscape at both central and state levels. The meeting between these two paramount bodies predominantly focused on the fiscal health of local bodies, public sector enterprises, and state finances. The CAG suggested standardising accounting practices across all levels of government, including local bodies, which urgently require an integrated financial management system for onboarding payments and fund transfers from the state to urban and rural local bodies. This would streamline accounting practices. Citing difficulties and financial strain, a well-placed government official explained to IANS that funds routed through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) integrated with the eGramswaraj platform. However, state grants are routed via the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS), which is not linked to eGramswaraj. Stateas own source revenue is neither routed nor captured through PFMS or CFMS, with local bodies often issuing cheques manually. This lack of integration compromises transparency and accountability. Moreover, discrepancies exist between accounts prepared on eGramswaraj and those maintained manually. Madhya Pradesh, home to 23,000 Gram Panchayats across 313 blocks with 70 per cent of the population residing in rural areas, continues to focus on service delivery, especially in tribal areas, despite poor local resource collection. Rising living standards and expectations for improved services have added pressures on local governance. Madhya Pradesh has faced difficulties in asset management and meeting operation and maintenance costs, often relying on state support. As an immediate measure, it was proposed that the accounts of local bodies be harmonised with those of central and state governments in the top 100 cities. The Central government has been promoting the creation of capital assets in rural areas through programs like Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of these assets, which has been devolved to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs), is critical to maintaining service quality. Recognising the importance of water and sanitation issues, the 15th Finance Commission allocated 60 per cent of its grants for water and sanitation. These funds are released to local bodies after due verification, with overall utilisation deemed satisfactory. However, some northeastern states face delays in providing Grant Transfer Certificates, an issue being addressed. According to a well-placed government insider, states frequently demand that cess and surcharge be included in tax devolution, a prospect rendered unlikely post the abrogation of the Planning Commission. The state's finances also seek a substantial increase in devolution, much depending on the state-central relationship. During Wednesdayas meeting in Bhopal, the CAG shed light on the financial strains and stress points hindering the improvement of human development indices, particularly in economically weaker geographies. Further discussions between the two bodies included statesa budget management targets, fiscal responsibility, and the importance of regular reporting of Off-Budget Borrowings. The CAG observed that for better fiscal performance, states should focus on areas such as stamp duty, registration fees, and state excise collections, which hold significant potential. Discussions also covered the need for regular updates and use of modern technology to minimise revenue leakages, bring more transparency and enhance data accuracy. The broadening of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) net, improving GST administration, and augmenting transparency were also deliberated. The CAG proposed several reforms aimed at broadening the tax base, such as integrating unregistered goods and service providers into the GST framework through automated data collection and enhancing taxpayer verification processes. New Delhi, March 5 : Voicing concern over the challenges posed by South India's demographic trends, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday advocated incentives for families to have more children. Addressing a press conference after separate meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, he said that South India's aging population poses challenges, whereas states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a younger demographic. He emphasised the need for long-term demographic management rather than population control. "I used to advocate family planning. Now I am changing my views and promoting population now. India is one country with the biggest advantage in the demographic dividend. If we can manage demographic dividend for the future, India and Indians will be great. Global communities are depending on us, Indians for global services," he said. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president mentioned that Europe, China, Japan and other countries are facing the problem of aging population is catching very fast. "In India, aging population problem already started in South India," he said. Replying to a query, he said this was not at all a political issue. "If you can go through worldwide, wealth creation and population are conflicting with each other. When you are getting more money, automatically you won't have any children. That is where I used to say IT professionals, double income, no kids, let us enjoy. Everybody will think like that. That is where globally countries have failed," he said. The TDP chief said demographic management and delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies are separate issues. "Delimitation is a continuous process. Once in 25 years. Now there is reservation for women also. We have to accommodate. How they are going to do it, policies we will discuss when the time comes," he said, replying to a question about the apprehension being expressed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister that Lok Sabha seats in South India will come down. Regarding Hindi imposition, Chandrababu Naidu reaffirmed that language should be a tool for communication rather than a barrier to knowledge. He encouraged the promotion of multiple languages and highlighted the necessity for education in one's mother tongue while also acknowledging Hindi's role in national integration. The Chief Minister discusses pending bills with the Home Minister Amit Shah. He underscored the pressing issue of land grabbing in Andhra Pradesh, stating that six out of 10 legal cases in the state pertained to land disputes. He urged the Centre to clear the 'AP Land Grabbing Prohibition Bill', citing Gujarat's existing model as a precedent. He stressed that the burden of proof should rest on the grabber to curb illegal activities. He addressed law enforcement concerns, including the prevalence of bootlegging and illicit drug cultivation. He praised the 'EAGLE Force' for effectively controlling the cultivation of ganja and reiterated his government's zero-tolerance policy towards drugs and heinous crimes. To support farmers, Chandrababu Naidu assured incentives for alternative crops to replace ganja cultivation and pledged continued efforts to eliminate illicit activities. The Chief Minister discussed Andhra Pradesh's financial situation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He criticised the previous government for leaving behind Rs. 10 lakh crore in outstanding arrears, creating a saturated loan scenario. Despite this, he highlighted the state's recent economic growth, reporting a 12.94 per cent increase overall and a 15.86 per cent growth in the agricultural sector. He stressed the need to boost the service sector and achieve a sustainable 15% growth rate to create wealth rather than relying on borrowing. The CM underscored the importance of interlinking rivers to prevent water wastage and provide irrigation to drought-prone regions like Rayalaseema. He proposed linking Polavaram to Banakacharla, along with the Vamsadhara, Nagavalli, Penna, and Krishna rivers, ensuring efficient water distribution. He stated that 200 TMC of water, which currently goes to waste, could be diverted for agricultural and drinking purposes. The Chief Minister requested Nitin Gadkari about the completion of the Amaravati Outer Ring Road, spanning 189 km, and emphasized the need for an 8-lane ORR similar to the one built in Hyderabad. He also discussed the importance of an eastern bypass road in Andhra Pradesh and proposed solutions to address traffic congestion at Srisailam, including the construction of elevated roads. Further discussions included the Vizag to Mulapet coastal road and a direct Hyderabad to Machilipatnam port road, with DPRs currently in preparation. Bengaluru, March 5 : The Karnataka BJP on Wednesday criticised the Congress-led government in the Legislative Assembly over the swift surrender of Naxals. The BJP further warned the government not to take Naxalism lightly or engage in politics over the matter. In response, the Congress government maintained that no one was supporting the Naxals and questioned whether the BJP wanted the violence to continue. BJP MLA and General Secretary V. Sunil Kumar raised the issue while addressing the Governor's speech to the joint session. He said, "I have to talk about these 'red rogues' who pose a threat to national security and democracy. I come from a Naxal-affected region. Over the last 20 years, I have closely witnessed and experienced the impact of Naxal activities on people's lives." "We have lost dozens of party workers in our region, and many have lost their homes and properties due to the violence and torture inflicted by Naxals. The Congress-led government has suddenly facilitated the surrender of Naxals in Karnataka, which has raised several questions," Sunil Kumar stated. However, the BJP MLA clarified that he was not opposed to the surrender of Naxals but questioned the process. "How did this surrender take place? The Naxal problem, which has existed for years, cannot be resolved overnight. How did this happen so suddenly?" he asked. He further questioned, "Who is controlling the administration? CM Siddaramaiah tweets, asking Naxals to surrender and welcomes such a development. Two days later, Naxals come out of the jungles to surrender. The same Naxals who could not be found in the combing operations conducted by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) suddenly know about the tweet. Who is really running the administration and who is sitting at the CM's official residence, Krishna, in Bengaluru to inform them?" "The Naxal ideology seeks to capture power through the barrel of a gun. They believe in ruling through fear and violence. Should we just sit back and watch this surrender process without raising any objections?" Sunil Kumar asked. "In 2008, I say this with sadness -- one day before the Assembly election, two people were shot dead by Naxals at 5 p.m. I reached there by 5:30 p.m. Let the government reveal who killed them for supporting us," he said. He warned the government not to take Naxalism lightly or politicise the issue. Sunil Kumar also recalled the brutal killing of BJP worker Sheshappa Gowda during the previous Congress government. "Gowda was brutally murdered by Naxals. They barged into his house at 9 p.m. while he was having dinner with his wife. His wife pleaded with them to let him finish his meal, but they took him away and killed him." "They tied him to a pole outside his house and hacked him to death. When we have witnessed such brutality in Karnataka, how can the government suddenly facilitate the surrender of Naxals overnight?" Sunil Kumar questioned. He further accused the government of falsely claiming Karnataka is a "Naxal-free state." Former Home Minister and BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra also spoke on the issue, stating, "Sheshappa Gowda was a PLD Bank member nominated by the Congress party. Naxals tied him to a pole and hacked him to death in front of his wife. Can you imagine such a situation? And yet, this government facilitates their surrender." "When I was the Home Minister, we conducted extensive searches but couldn't catch them. How is it that they suddenly surrendered just because of a tweet?" Jnanendra questioned. Sunil Kumar further challenged the government, saying, "Why stop at Naxals? Why not invite terrorists to surrender through a tweet as well?" Reacting to the BJP's accusations, Minister for Health Dinesh Gundu Rao responded, "I don't understand what the BJP leaders are trying to say. None of us are supporting Naxals. The process of Naxal surrenders has taken place in other states and in Karnataka as well." "What exactly is your suspicion? Do you not want them to surrender? Do you want the violence to continue? Or do you want Naxalism to end? There have been many instances of Naxals surrendering and later becoming representatives of the people," Minister Rao stated. Sunil Kumar clarified that he was not opposing the surrenders but questioning the process. "I am asking how such a major issue can be resolved through a mere tweet. You are comfortably settled in Bengaluru and have no idea about the intensity of the Naxal issue. I have lived through it," he said. Rao shot back, saying, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I am comfortable in Bengaluru? You are also living there comfortably. Shouldn't we live in Bengaluru? Should R. Ashoka, your leader, not live in Bengaluru?" On January 8, when some Maoists surrendered, Siddaramaiah welcomed them to the mainstream by offering them roses and copies of the Constitution in Bengaluru. Earlier, with the six Maoists laying down arms, the Congress-led government had then declared Karnataka as a Left Wing Extremism-free state. Mundagaru Latha from Mundagaru in Sringeri; Vanajakshi from Balehole in Kalasa; Sundari from Kutluru near Mangaluru; Marappa Jayanna Aroli from Raichur; Vasantha T. aka Ramesh from Tamil Nadu, and N. Jeesha from Kerala surrendered in presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Maoist Katehonda Ravi surrendered before authorities in Karnataka later, on February 1. Karnataka BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra had termed the surrender of Maoists before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as a "sheer act of drama". Surat, March 5 : Surat Crime Branch in Gujarat has arrested Tamraj Shahu, a most-wanted fugitive in the high-profile Asaram Bapu and Narayan Sai rape case, after a decade on the run. Shahu, who was involved in attacks on key witnesses, was apprehended from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He had multiple serious criminal charges against him, including acid attacks, attempted murders, and homicide. Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot during a press conference said that the Tamraj Shahu, a resident of Chhattisgarh, led a gang that carried out violent attacks on witnesses in the Asaram Bapu case. The gang specialised in acid attacks, stabbings, and gunfire assaults. Shahu would first rent a house near the victimas residence, monitor their movements, and then strike at an opportune moment before fleeing. To evade capture, Shahu converted to Christianity, changed his identity, and settled in Noida. He had nine serious criminal cases registered against him in multiple states. Police officials revealed that Shahu was one of Asaram Bapuas closest associates and played a key role in intimidating and attacking those who spoke against the self-styled godman. At one point, he even attempted to acquire an AK-47 rifle to carry out more attacks. Following Asaramas arrest, Shahu went underground, constantly changing identities and relocating across states to avoid detection. The authorities had declared a Rs 50,000 bounty for information leading to his capture. Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said that investigations are now focused on identifying those who provided shelter and financial assistance to Shahu over the years. Authorities will also probe how many times Shahu met Asaram Bapu and take legal action against anyone who helped him evade justice. Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, widely known as Asaram Bapu, is an Indian spiritual leader who, by 2013, had established over 400 ashrams and 40 schools across India and abroad. However, his reputation has been marred by multiple legal issues, including allegations of land encroachment, sexual assault, and witness tampering. In August 2013, a 16-year-old girl accused Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The victim's parents filed a complaint, leading to Asaram's arrest on August 31, 2013. Subsequently, in April 2018, a Jodhpur court convicted Asaram for the rape of the minor, sentencing him to life imprisonment under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act. Further allegations emerged in October 2013 when a Surat-based woman, a former disciple, accused Asaram of repeated sexual assaults between 2001 and 2006 at his ashram in Motera, Ahmedabad. This led to another legal case, culminating in January 2023 when a Gandhinagar court convicted Asaram for rape, marking his second conviction on such charges. In addition to these convictions, Asaram's son, Narayan Sai, faced similar accusations. In 2013, two sisters from Surat alleged that Asaram and Narayan had sexually assaulted them during the mid-2000s. The elder sister accused Asaram, while the younger sister accused Narayan of assaults at the Surat ashram between 2002 and 2005. In April 2019, Narayan was convicted under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape and unnatural offences, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Jaipur, March 5 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said that he feels upset when some people ridicule Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasising that PM Modi hails from a humble background. "He is the son of a poor family, a symbol of hard work and perseverance. His childhood was filled with hardships, and he even sold tea at a railway station, Dhankhar said. Speaking on India's economic progress, he highlighted that the nation has surpassed the UK and is on track to overtake Japan and Germany, making it the third-largest economy in the world. "Today's India is reclaiming its stature as a Vishwa Guru (world leader), just as it was in ancient times," he remarked. On Wednesday, Vice President Dhankhar, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar, visited Mahatma Gandhi School in Sangasi, Jhunjhunu, where he engaged with students. He also commended President Droupadi Murmu's journey, stating that despite coming from a tribal background, her dedication and hard work led her to become an MLA, a minister, a governor, and ultimately, the President of India -- an inspiring testament to Indian democracy. During his visit, Dhankhar also praised the increasing role of women in the Indian Armed Forces. "When I first visited Sainik School in Chittorgarh, I never imagined girls would be studying there. Now, girls are being admitted to Sainik Schools, including a dedicated one in Mathura. Today, they are flying fighter jets and serving in key roles in the military, which is a matter of great pride," he said. He urged students to prioritise their health, stating: "If you are not healthy, you will have to seek help instead of helping others." Encouraging educational visits, he invited students to Delhi in small groups, ensuring complete arrangements for their stay and meals while they explore Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister's Museum, and the War Memorial. Praising Jhunjhunu for its contribution to women's empowerment, the Vice President highlighted the achievements of two eminent women from the district Kamla Beniwal, who served as an MLA, minister, deputy chief minister, and governor of Gujarat, and Sumitra Singh, who held ministerial roles and was the first woman Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly. He lauded the Nari Shakti Vandan Act as a historic move, ensuring one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies, which he believes will strengthen women's role in governance. Discussing India's development, Dhankhar noted that 12 crore households now have access to toilets, and 55 crore people have bank accounts. He proudly mentioned that India's Internet consumption surpasses that of the US and China combined, with rapid road expansion and the launch of new trains further boosting connectivity. Before concluding, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi, emphasizing the importance of Swadeshi (self-reliance). He urged students to choose Indian-made products over foreign goods, reinforcing the idea that such choices strengthen the nation's economy and create employment opportunities. Bengaluru, March 5 : Former minister and Karnataka Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka, recalling his visit to a Maoist-affected region in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district, termed the experience as 'horrifying'. He stated that, despite being a minister, he was escorted to his destination by the police as if he 'was a thief'. Ashoka shared his experience in the Legislative Session on Wednesday during the debate on the Governor's address to the joint session. "When I visited BJP MLA Sunil Kumar's constituency, Karkala in Udupi district, as the Health Minister, the Superintendent of Police (SP) and other officers approached me and instructed that the siren on my vehicle be turned off. They also had the vehicle's lights switched off. Surprised by their actions, I asked whether they couldn't provide security to a minister. They folded their hands and pleaded with me to comply. I had no choice but to proceed to my destination like a thief," Ashoka stated. "I had to travel nearly 60 kilometers like a thief. That was my plight as a minister. Later, I was kept at a guest house in the middle of the forest. Sunil Kumar could have arranged for me to stay somewhere near his house," Ashoka recalled. At this point, Home Minister G. Parameshwara intervened and jokingly asked if Ashoka still considered Sunil Kumar a friend after that incident. Ashoka replied that he would always remain his friend. Ashoka further stated: "There were 200 police personnel stationed one kilometer away from the guest house. When I looked up from the bed, I noticed the roof was made of tiles. If someone had fired a shot, I would have been dead. That night, I could not sleep at all - I would wake up at the slightest sound. I spent the entire night sitting in a chair. The situation was so terrifying. If I, as a minister, experienced such fear, imagine the plight of those who live in villages and deep inside the forest." "And now, the same people who once terrorised villagers at gunpoint have suddenly surrendered. Who will believe this? That is exactly what BJP MLA Sunil Kumar is trying to convey in the House," Ashoka stated. Sunil Kumar had earlier criticised the Congress-led government over the sudden surrender of Naxals before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Ashoka further remarked that as soon as the government issued a call, all the Maoists surrendered together. "This raises serious doubts. If they had come forward naturally and surrendered, no one would have questioned it. But the so-called "urban Naxals" who sympathise with them are even more dangerous," he said. Gandhinagar, March 6 : The Gujarat Semiconnect Conference, held at Mahatma Mandir, in Gandhinagar saw the signing of eight major Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. These agreements, collectively worth more than Rs 1.04 lakh crore, aim to bolster semiconductor and electronics manufacturing in Gujarat, generating thousands of jobs. The three-day event features more than 1,500 delegates and 250 exhibitors, positioning Gujarat as a key player in India's semiconductor sector. Among the key agreements, JABIL INDIA signed an MoU to establish a Silicon Photonics Manufacturing Unit in Gujarat, investing Rs 1,000 crore. This unit will manufacture photonics transceivers vital for AI, telecom, Internet of Things (IOT), and smart infrastructure, generating nearly 1,500 new jobs. Additionally, India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and Tata Electronics (TEPL) signed a Financial Support Agreement (FSA) for the development of a semiconductor fab unit at Dholera with a staggering investment of Rs 91,526 crore, backed by financial assistance from the Central government. In another major step towards skill development, Tata Electronics entered into an MoU with IIT Gandhinagar to enhance training in the semiconductor sector. A tripartite agreement was also signed between Tata Electronics, Taiwanese company PSMC, and Himax Technologies for semiconductor chip production in Dholera. Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology (TSMT) signed an MoU to establish an Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) unit in Gujarat with an investment exceeding Rs 500 crore, promising around 1,000 job opportunities. Micron Technology, based in Sanand, entered into an agreement to contribute towards environmental, health, and safety initiatives, along with STEM education and workforce development in the surrounding rural areas. NextGen announced an ambitious Rs 10,000 crore investment to establish a compound semiconductor fab and optoelectronics facility in Gujarat, with technical support from Hitachi and Solidlight. Additionally, CANS secured a significant partnership with Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (AOS), a leading US-based semiconductor chip designer and global supplier, for multi-year semiconductor chip products, including POWER MOSFETs, IGBTs, and IPMs. The conference also marked the release of the semiconductor supply chain compendium, the launch of the "Semiconductor Manufacturing Supply Chain" report by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), and the introduction of the "Vision to Reality" -- a 'Make in India' product initiative. The foundation stone for Keynes Technology's semiconductor unit in Sanand was also laid, with pilot manufacturing set to commence in June 2025 and full-scale production by January 2026. Addressing the event, Chief Minister Patel highlighted Gujarat's proactive approach in developing a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem. He emphasised the state's dedicated Semiconductor Policy of 2022 and the ongoing development of Dholera as India's first greenfield smart city with plug-and-play facilities. CM Patel further detailed the recently announced Global Capability Centre Policy aimed at fostering advancements in AI, machine learning, and analytics, reinforcing Gujarat's role as a leader in high-tech manufacturing. Netherlands Ambassador to India, Marisa Gerhards, underscored the semiconductor sector's pivotal role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India by 2047. The Chief Minister expressed optimism about Indo-Dutch collaboration in semiconductor technology, emphasising that Gujarat's contributions to this sector will be instrumental in shaping India's technological landscape. Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi reaffirmed Gujarat's status as a national manufacturing hub, attributing it to the state's robust financial management, world-class infrastructure, and investor-friendly policies. He noted that Dholera Semicon City and Sanand GIDC are evolving as key semiconductor packaging hubs, supported by strategic infrastructure projects such as uninterrupted power and water supply, expressway connectivity, a new railway station, and the upcoming Dholera Greenfield Airport, which is set to be operational by July 2025. Bengaluru, March 6 : The Karnataka government said on Wednesday that there are 137 illegal immigrants in the state, including nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and has assured that authorities are constantly monitoring the movements of illegal immigrants from the two neighbouring countries. Among the 137 illegal immigrants identified in the state, 25 are Pakistani nationals. During a discussion in the Assembly on calling attention on the growing menace of illegal immigration, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that as of now 137 illegal immigrants from various countries, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, have been identified, arrested, and legal action has been initiated against them. "On several occasions, we have informed the Ministry of External Affairs to communicate with their respective embassies. Until they are deported, they have to be monitored. We will keep illegal immigrants at the Foreigners' Detention Centre. Once we receive permission for deportation, we will send them back," he added. As of now, 25 illegal immigrants from Pakistan have been tracked and are currently imprisoned. Bangladeshi nationals and others have also been arrested. Illegal immigrants have been identified in different regions, including Bengaluru city (84), Bengaluru Rural (27), Shivamogga (12), Hassan (3), Mangaluru (1), and Udupi (10). In 2016, 33 Bangladeshi nationals settled in Bijapur district were deported, the Minister said. "No illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh will be allowed to stay in the state. They are being constantly monitored. Bengaluru sees thousands of people arriving daily, including a large number of foreign nationals. Some African nationals are involved in drug peddling, which is a major racket. They will not be spared. Thousands of Bangladeshis have been identified and sent back," Parameshwara assured the House. Regarding illegal immigrants working in coffee estates in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu, he noted that they often join as labourers and remain hidden inside the estates. "Tracking them is difficult as they live in private spaces. However, based on information received, they are traced. Many of these immigrants manage to obtain ration cards, identity cards, and even voter ID cards. The network enabling them to do this is extensive, and we are continuously monitoring the situation," Parameshwara said. "As soon as we identify illegal immigrants, they are arrested and deported. The government will not make any compromises on this matter," he emphasised. Speaking about the growing menace of illegal firearms, Parameshwara said that in 2022, authorities seized three country-made pistols and six live bullets; in 2023, three pistols and 12 live bullets were confiscated; in 2024, one country-made pistol and one live bullet were recovered and in 2025, 13 country-made pistols and 28 live bullets were seized in Bijapur district alone. "This poses a major challenge to law enforcement, and strict action is being taken," he added. Regarding the land mafia, Parameshwara said: " As many as 27 cases have been registered. Of these chargesheets have been filed in eight cases. Reports are pending in nine cases and investigations are ongoing in another nine cases." "This poses a major challenge to law enforcement, and strict action is being taken," he added. Action has been initiated against nearly 173 accused persons, he said. He highlighted that elderly individuals are being targeted, with fraudsters using their ration cards and identity documents to illegally sell their lands through forged registrations. Parameshwara also addressed the illegal sale of ration rice, stating that ration shops retain rice meant for public distribution and later sell it to commercial establishments through a widespread network operating across the state. BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who raised the issue, claimed that illegal immigration, particularly from Bangladesh and among Rohingyas, is one of the nation's biggest challenges. "If this situation is not brought under control, Karnataka will become another West Bengal. Rohingyas, in particular, are known for their brutality. They are settling in coffee estates," he alleged. He further warned that unchecked Bangladeshi immigration poses a significant risk to the state's peace and security. He urged the Central government to establish an NIA (National Investigation Agency) unit at the state's border to monitor and prevent such activities. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The third meeting of the Pardon Issues Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for this year took place today, reviewing over 100 petitions, the commission member Rashad Majid told Trend. According to him, the meeting discussed every petition and adopted decisions through voting. "The commission will continue its work in the coming weeks," he added. New York, March 6 : The ISIS-K terror operative behind the suicide attack on US military personnel in Kabul has been involved in web of terrorist attacks in Russia and elsewhere in Afghanistan, according to the US. US President Donald Trump's Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing on Wednesday that Mohammad Sharifullah was brought to the US in the morning. Pakistan trying to develop relations with Trump after having been cold-shouldered by his predecessor Joe Biden, captured Sharifullah and handed him over to the US. Islamabad is also battling ISIS-K, which it has blamed for several attacks against it. In his address to Congress on Tuesday night, Trump thanked Pakistan for capturing him and said the terrorist would "face the swift sword of American justice". The suicide bombing at the Abbery Gate at the Kabul airport during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 killed 13 US military personnel and about 170 Afghans. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said, "Thanks to the assistance of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA, we have secured Sharifullah's apprehension and transport to the US to face American justice." The Justice Department identified Sharifullah as a member of the terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province, which is known as ISIS-K. It said that he had been charged in the East Virginia federal court with providing and conspiring to give assistance to a terrorist organisation and faces a maximum of life sentence if he is convicted. He has confessed to involvement in the bombing outside the Canadian embassy in Kabul which killed 10 guards in 2016, and the attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, which killed about 130 people, the Justice Department said. ISIS-K operates in South and Central Asia and has claimed involvement in terrorist attacks in Mangalore and Coimbatore in 2022. In court documents, federal prosecutors said that Sharifullah confessed to checking the route the suicide bomber Abdul Rahman al-Logari took to the Kabul airport and telling other ISIS-K operatives that the way was clear. He also admitted to training two of the gunmen who carried out the attack in Russia and conveying instructions. Leavitt said on Trump's first day in office, federal intelligence agencies prioritised "intelligence gathering to locate this evil individual" and shared the information with regional partners like Pakistan. They "helped identify this monster in the borderland area" of Pakistan and Afghanistan, she said. Taking a dig at Biden, she asserted "he had three years to find this evil terrorist, and he didn't even try to get the job done". Before he announced the capture in his speech, Trump called the families of the military members killed in the attack "to share this incredible news", she said. In the early nineteenth century, the most consequential developments in Ottoman architecture were taking place not in Istanbul but in the farthest reaches of imperial territory. Emily Neumeier investigates this wider phenomenon through a consideration of the architecture of Ali Pasha of Ioannina, one of the most prolific patrons in the history of the Ottoman Empire, who undertook a building program so ambitious that it ultimately got him killed. Ali Pasha is still a household name in present-day Greece and Albania, where he served as Ottoman governor from 1788 to 1822. To consolidate his rule over an incredibly diverse population, the governor set out on a sweeping building program that included mosques, palaces, military fortifications, dervish lodges, and even Orthodox Christian monasteries. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources, Neumeier reveals how Ali Pashas buildings shifted the sociopolitical order by testing the standards of patronage established by the imperial court and relocating administrative authority from center to province. To reconstruct the world that Ali Pasha built, Neumeier draws from both extensive fieldwork and abundant archival material, whose far-flung naturefrom Istanbul to Londonreflects the impressively wide scope of Ali Pashas influence. Rigorously researched and packed with fascinating stories, this book presents an innovative spatial history of the Ottoman frontier during the age of revolutions, a pivotal period in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when there was no obvious blueprint for power. It will be of interest to specialists in art and architectural history, the Ottoman Empire, and Mediterranean, Islamic, and Modern Greek studies. is arguably Eugene Delacroixs best-known work from his trip to Morocco in 1832, and the attention scholars have paid to it has obscured a crucial fact about Delacroixs Moroccan subjects: most of his paintings of North Africa depict men rather than women. After serving as a diplomats companion on a mission to Morocco, Delacroix went on to devote over three-quarters of his massive North African oeuvre to the military prowess, effective leadership, equestrian virtuosity, and elegant dress of Moroccan men. Using the evidence of his writings, sketches, and paintings, Olmsted argues that rather than embodying a typical colonialist fantasy, Delacroixs paintings of Moroccan men instead show his subjects as models of heroic masculinity and political sovereignty, a position that ran counter to prevailing French attitudes toward North Africans. In this way, Delacroixs Moroccans intervenes in the discourse of imperialism to examine the multiple, heterogeneous features of cultural response and provides nuanced readings of the artists work that support the idea that European constructions of non-European cultures were not monolithic. Olmsteds multifaceted analysis creates a powerful and original understanding of Delacroixs Moroccan oeuvre and a counternarrative to the colonialist imagery of his era. Through close attention to Delacroixs paintings, drawings, and writings, as well as their historical and political contexts, this book illuminates the artists practice and offers a fresh avenue for assessing colonialism and art produced within colonial contexts. asks two interrelated questions: How did Germans participate in the European conquest of the world, and how were they different from other imperial powers? In other words, what is the relation between the German form of empire, the old, and the modern European empires that emerged in the global age? In this book, Todd Kontje presents a revisionist literary and intellectual history, inviting readers to consider how we might understand Germany at the turn of the nineteenth century if we remove the nation-state as the inevitable goal of cultural and political development. Focusing on the pivotal years around 1800, when many of the concepts that define the modern era first came into being, Kontje investigates how thinkers in and around Weimarfrom Goethe, Schiller, and Kant to Georg Forster, Heinrich von Kleist, and Alexander von Humboldtworked within existing political structures to make sense of the regions place in the world. Ultimately, he reveals how Weimar, a remote artist hub long thought to exemplify the insularity of a soon-to-be-unified nation, was in fact utterly worldly, and in a manner very different from the political capitals of imperial nation-states like London and Paris. Accessible and entertaining, this literary history is essential reading for German studies students and scholars, and it will appeal to audiences in world history, empire studies, intellectual history, and comparative literature. Unite Against Book Bans, an anti-censorship initiative of the American Library Association, opened its Book Resume Database in February 2024, providing easy-access credentials for banned and challenged titles. A year later, the Book Resume Database has grown to some 600 downloadable dossiers, compiled by UABB and more than 50 publishers, and its creators aim to create 1,000 resumes by the end of 2025. To reach this goal, the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom will partner with the Unite to Read Project at Ohio State University, which has received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for community outreach around the freedom to read. Printz Honoree Ashley Hope Perez, author of the frequently challenged 2019 novel Out of Darkness, and editor of the new anthology Banned Together, is a faculty member at Ohio State and the principal investigator on the Mellon grant. Eric Stroshane, assistant director for the Office of Intellectual Freedom, has been working on the Book Resume Database from the start. My main job is supporting librarians and library administrators when theyre faced with an effort to censor their resources, Stroshane said. Using case law and First Amendment principles, he confidentially helps librarians justify a books place on their shelves to their board or town council. Readily accessible book resumes are huge time savers when a book is challenged, Stroshane explained, because they demonstrate theres a reason this is in the library and reinforce library selection criteria. A book resume might be described as a professional book report, complete with a synopsis and publication information, any reviews and awards the book has received, links to media coverage, and teaching guides if available. Each portfolio attests to the merits of a targeted book, whether its facing a challenge on the basis of its subject matter, the identity of its author, or a few quotations taken out of context in order to fuel outrage, Stroshane said. The resume information restores the meaning to the passages that are being used to lampoon them and counteracts the tactics censors use to target material. Resume Builders Book resumes are not a new invention, said Skip Dye, SVP of library sales and digital strategy at Penguin Random House, [whos been working] with Stroshane on the UABB project since its inception. Dye credits librarian Martha Hickson with pioneering the idea, and he noted that the National Council of Teachers of English has a similar approach, Book Rationales. To build the database, Dyes hope was that publisherswho collect media mentions and practical resources on their titlescould work together on the resumes. He brought in Carmela Iaria, VP and executive director of school and library marketing at PRH, and Mary Van Akin, director of school and library marketing at Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group, to guide the collaboration; School Library Journal and TeachingBooks are partners too. It is a villagewe have publishers all working together on this, Dye said, humorously marveling that we agreed upon a template! We should be given awards just for thata rare instance of consensus. Its so hard to collaborate, usually, but this has brought all of us together toward a common goal, Van Akin agreed. You can feel a little helpless due to relentless banning efforts, she said, yet we are 100% experts on our books. At Macmillan, we have a network of about 30 employees who volunteer their time to fill in the details on portfolios. It feels really good to make the people on the front lines lives easier, so they dont have to go to every individual publisher website to find these pieces of data when they are building an exhaustive case for a book. Iaria explained that a resume can be crafted for any title. The database prioritizes books with recorded challenges or bans, tracking cases with up-to-the-minute ALA data, PEN America data, and emails from authors and agents. Authors who are on banners lists get extra attention. If an author is involved in advocacy or activism, visiting their school board, or being named in a lawsuit, we know that theyre drawing attention, Iaria said. Sometimes, a lack of information about a book or author means a resume will be on the slim side. There are titles we know are vulnerable to being challenged, such as debuts or small indie press titles featuring content on politicized identities, Iaria said. Those are sometimes the more difficult ones to create resumes for, because theyre newly published, and media links or teachers guides dont exist yet. We need professional reviews on those books, and they dont have to be starred or glowing, Iaria said, underscoring the legitimizing value of a trade review. Perez of the Unite to Read Project, agreed with Iaria. We monitor book rating sites, so we know when a book is coming in the crosshairs and proactively respond, she said. But for some classic titles, we need resources, and when reviews are more difficult to find, that gets more labor-intensive. Grassroots Organizing Although many publishers support and write book resumes, the UABB team wants to make the resume-building process more community driven. Hopefully, as the project gains momentum, more and more publishers will be interested in contributing, Stroshane said. While more than 50 publishers are on board, others are participating maybe not at a level commensurate with the effort to censor books that they have published, he said. Dye at PRH has been called to testify on behalf of books banned in school districts and named in lawsuits, and he likes to use book resumes in his testimony. The more collective the UABB endeavor, the more convincing and publisher-agnostic the database can be, Dye said. It gives more credence to have that document through a third-party site, not supplied by PRH, he explained, because book resumes are not promotional in a traditional sense. This is where Perez and the Unite to Read Project come in. The Unite to Read project is a single Mellon Foundation-funded project at the Ohio State University, Perez told PW. It isnt solely supporting the book resumes, but its incorporating community sourcing to fill the gaps left by publishers. We need every stakeholder to get involved. Funds for the project also will support instructional design related to book banning and community projects, including a six-week institute, on the freedom to read. Perez views the book resumes as a practical foundation for a critical argument. A book resume is a first step to accurately representing the books, she said. All of these books deserve to be engaged as literature, and the resumes are not just defending the books but creating space for reading the books, supplying resources for banned book clubs, and restoring books that have been removed. The list of targeted books is a long one, and Perez wants to be sure that amid the outcry, the beauty and value of books is being recognized. She asks her students, and the general public, to step outside of their own preferences and ask, For whom is this book a gift or a resource? A reader may have needs and circumstances different from our own. We need to honor the belonging of all members of the community. Iaria said the UABB team is enriched by its work with Perez and Unite to Read. Up until this point, its been grassroots, building this project, she said. Now that were partnering with the Mellon Foundation and this project, its about, What does the future look like? How do we build this out? The need for action remains urgent, and UABB looks forward to sharing its resumes. President Donald Trumps 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% increase to tariffs on goods from China, went into effect on March 4and although the tariffs had been delayed once before, the publishing and printing industries are still left with more questions than answers as they look for ways to navigate the new levies. While American publishers will now face higher costs, printers in the United States hope that the tariffs will lead to more business. Trump has touted the value of tariffs since his first first term as president, when he instituted tariffs on a wide range of products, including books, coming from China. Efforts led by various publishing players were successful in exempting Bibles and other religion books and reducing the tariffs on childrens books from 15% to 7.5%; eventually, even that lower rate was suspended. Other books printed in China remained subject to the tariffs throughout the Biden administration. The most pressing question now facing publishers with books produced in China is whether the exemptions granted in the previous tariffs will remain in effect. While the amount of printing done in Canada and Mexico is far less than in China, the new tariffs on those two nations present other challenges. For one thing, the U.S. imported $1.82 billion of uncoated paper, some of which is used in books, in 2023, according to government statistics, with 67% of that paper coming from Canada. When asked about the possibility of Canadian tariffs at a media conference in December, HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray pointed out that, while HC doesnt do much printing there, lots of paper comes from Canada. The additional 20% tariff on goods from China is composed of an existing 10% hike imposed last month and another 10% increase that had been delayed. One publisher, speaking with PW on condition of anonymity, said he had received a bill that included the new 10% increase, but was told he may not have to pay it. With the new Trump orders, it is likely that the extra fee will now have to be paid. American printers and publishers also disagree on whether American book manufacturers have enough capacity to take over the production of books that are currently printed in China. Executives have made clear that for certain books, including Bibles, there are still no real competitors to Chinese printers. There is also a limited, albeit growing, capacity in the U.S. to produce the deluxe hardcover editions that have become so popular, especially amid the romantasy boom. One publisher estimated that, unless there are changes to the tariffs in the coming weeks, he may need to add $1 to each hardcover. I cant afford to eat the cost, he said. Printers have insisted that their capacity has increased, and that they are willing to work with publishers to find ways to manufacture books in the U.S. affordably. The tariffs, some printers suggested, could also prove a boon to digital printers, which have also upped capacity in recent years. Ingram, for example, has suggested to some Canadian publishers whose books it distributes to use its print on demand service, Lightning Source. The tariffs, along with other Trump actions, are also impacting relations with the Canadian and Mexican book businesses in other ways. Some participants for this years Texas Library Association annual conference, set for April 14 in Dallas, are rethinking their plans to attend, sources said, with one publisher of children's books noting that his company was planning to truck up books from Mexico to sell at the event but is now left to consider whether that is still an economically viable option. Many publishers also import Spanish-language books from MexicoBibles, in particularand at the moment, what impact the tariffs will have on that practice remains unclear. Some Canadian publishers are also reportedly starting to rethink plans to attend this years Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference, slated for March 2629 in Los Angeles. The meeting is a big sales event for many of its attendees, comprising mostly smaller book and literary magazine publishers. But with margins for small presses already slim, the relative weakness of the Canadian dollarand uncertainty surrounding what, if any, extra costs the tariffs might impose on titles brought to the U.S.several publishers suggested that they might be forced either to consolidate tables or pull out of the conference entirely. Baker Books Signs Spirituality Title Jenni Burke of Illuminate Literary Agency worked with Baker Books editorial director Brian Vos to finalize a world rights deal for the tentatively titled When God Seems Distant by Kyle Strobel and John Coe. Both authors, who previously collaborated on the 2021 title Where Prayer Becomes Real, are professors at the Institute of Spiritual Formation at Talbot School of Theology, which is housed at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif. The book, the publisher said, draws on the authors expertise and research into the integration of spirituality with psychological growth. A summer 2026 release is planned. Church Abuse Story to Lake Drive Books David Morris, publisher of Lake Drive Books, has negotiated world rights with the unagented Melissa Duge Spiers for Holy Disobedience: A Survivors Journey from the Church that Betrayed Her, to release in May 2026. Spiersan essayist, screenwriter, and TikTok content influencerwrites of being raised in a strict family of Seventh-Day Adventists and controlled by her church-leader father and domineering mother. She examines how her childhood led to unhealthy adult choices and how she overcame her past. WaterBrook Looks to Adventures, Animals Bunmi Ishola, senior editor at PRH Christian Publishing Group WaterBrook, has taken world rights to three middle grade adventure novels by authors, screenwriters, and directors Candace Lee and Eric Newman. The Order of the Dragon Slayer trilogy begins with George Grant Dragon Slayer, which is set for release in spring 2026. The books reimagines the legend of Saint George in a fading West Virginia coal town, where a young scout and his friends are forced to put their survival skills and courage to the ultimate test. Shannon Marven and Sydney Delahoussaye at Dupree Miller & Associates negotiated the deal. Ishola and WaterBrook have also taken world rights to Wild Faith Devotional for Kids: 52 Amazing Animals that Point to One Great God by Valerie Ellis, speaker and founder of the website Our Everyday Parables. Ellis was represented by Annette Bourland of Bourland Strategic Advisors, and illustrator Jennifer Bricking was repped by Tamara Shannon at Shannon Associates. The nonfiction anthology, per the publisher, is aimed at helping children ages 7 and up to celebrate Gods creativity, citing as examples such critters as capybara, flamingos, dogs, snakes, and the goby, a rock-climbing fish. Publication is planned for fall 2025. Paraclete Picks a Christmas Picture Book Paraclete Press director Lillian Miao has acquired world rights to One Star, Three Kings: The Journey of Epiphany, written by author Rebecca Grabill and illustrated by Isabella Grott. The book, the publisher said, invites readers to travel with the three Biblical wise men known as the Magi through the Christmas season to Epiphany in a narrative combining both history and legend. The author represented herself in the deal, and Gillian Tan of Yeon Agency represented the illustrator. Publication is slated for October 2025. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. A letter on the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was sent to 650 members of the country's parliament and Foreign Office at the initiative of the chairwoman of British Azerbaijanis Society Farida Panahova on behalf of the society, Trend reports via the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan. The letter provides detailed information about the genocide committed in Khojaly on the night of February 2526, 1992, and calls on the international community and the UK parliament to recognize this genocide. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the Khojaly tragedy has entered history as one of the most horrific genocides of the 20th century. As a result of the massacre carried out by Armenian armed forces, 613 civilians, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people, were mercilessly killed, 1,275 people were taken captive, and the fate of 150 is still unknown. In the letter, the British Azerbaijanis Society calls on the international community, particularly the UK parliament, to recognize the Khojaly genocide and declare February 26 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Khojaly. The letter notes that the British Azerbaijanis Society will continue its efforts to gain recognition for the Khojaly genocide and to promote Azerbaijan's position on the international stage. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Above, "fringe epidemiologists" behind the Great Barrington Declaration: Martin Kulldorff, Sunetra Gupta, and Jay Bhattacharya. The latter is now poised to run the National Institutes of Health, which sought to stifle him during the COVID pandemic. By Paul D. Thacker, RealClearInvestigations March 4, 2025 Jay Bhattacharya was in pretty terrible shape five years ago. He was losing sleep and weight, not because of the COVID-19 virus but in response to the efforts of his colleagues at Stanford University and the larger medical community to shut down his research, which questioned much of the governments response to the pandemic. Jay Bhattacharya: Goes before the Senate this week. Some of his Stanford colleagues leaked false and damaging information to reporters. The universitys head of medicine ordered him to stop speaking to the press. Top leaders at the National Institutes of Health, Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins, dialed up the attacks, dismissing him and his colleagues as what Collins termed fringe epidemiologists while their acolytes threw mud from a slew of publications, including the Washington Post, The Nation, and the prestigious medical journal BMJ. In the years since, many of Bhattacharyas scientific concerns about the efficacy of lockdowns and mask mandates have been corroborated. Fauci, meanwhile, accepted a pardon from President Biden, protecting him from COVID-related offenses dating back to 2014, the year he started funding research at a Wuhan, China, lab that U.S. intelligence agencies now believe probably started the pandemic. And this week, Bhattacharya looks set to achieve surprising vindication as the Senate holds a hearing on his nomination to head the NIH, in a Department of Health and Human Services run by science nonconformist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Bhattacharyas path from health policy scholar to NIH director nominee is pockmarked with craters from missiles launched to destroy his scientific credibility by NIH leaders and their minions in academia. Even as he seeks to advance medical research, Bhattacharyas personal experience will likely inform his pledge to clean up the NIH and clear the agency of some career civil servants who silenced dissenting scientific voices during the pandemic and created national policies that were not always supported by the public. Free speech is fundamental for science to function properly, he notes simply. Anthony Fauci: Antagonist of Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya first caught the attention of the nations scientific bureaucracy in April 2020 when he reported that the COVID virus was not as dangerous but more widespread than many of his colleagues and government officials were maintaining. This suggested a policy focusing on the most vulnerable populations with fewer restrictions on younger, healthier Americans. The study was discussed at the highest levels of the government and was passed around by Fauci and others in the White House, according to emails made public by a Freedom of Information Act request. For anyone with an open mind, the studys results implied that the lockdown-focused strategy of March 2020 had failed to suppress the spread of the disease, Bhattacharya wrote in a 2023 essay. But the papers other obvious conclusion put Bhattacharya in the crosshairs of Stanford faculty: It suggested that fear-mongering about the fatality rate of the virus was irresponsible. Francis Collins: Antagonist of Bhattacharya. Bhattacharyas contrary conclusions generated complaints that the research was unsound, and Stanford put together an ad hoc group to investigate. It directed him to change the study protocols, which would have shut down the research. They also demanded to review and approve any manuscripts we would write, Bhattacharya said. But he eventually ignored them and kept publishing. In April 2020, a series of damaging articles by Buzzfeed reporter Stephanie M. Lee carried allegations that Bhattacharya and his colleagues failed to disclose funding for their study, even though they had actually already disclosed it to Stanford. Buzzfeed is the now-defunct news site that first published the now much-maligned Steele dossier. Bhattacharya was confused by the articles when they appeared. He later concluded from the intimate details that Stanford faculty were leaking the information to the reporter to harm him, including a false allegation that a whistleblower had come forward. Responding to the Buzzfeed flurry of reports, Stanford announced a fact-finding investigation of Bhattacharyas research, which he began calling an inquisition. The administration later informed him there was no whistleblower as Buzzfeed had falsely reported, and they sent a confidential report that found him and his colleagues at no fault. Gregg Gonsalves: Antagonist of Bhattacharya. I got a letter which basically says we did nothing wrong. But also a condition that Im not allowed to release the letter, Bhattacharya explained in a 2023 interview. This was a low period in my life. I was getting death threats, racist attacks, because the press was attacking me. Bhattacharya also suspects that some of the attacks at the time were being generated by Stanfords major funders in the federal government the NIHs Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci. Collins and Fauci orchestrated a campaign against Bhattacharya in earnest in October 2020. Collins resigned from his NIH position last Friday and did not respond to questions sent to him through the NIH communications office nor sent to his NIH contact. Fauci did not respond to questions sent to him through his attorney. That month, Bhattacharya and professors Martin Kulldorff, then at Harvard, and Sunetra Gupta of Oxford released the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for rejecting harmful COVID lockdowns in favor of focused protection for societys most vulnerable, such as the elderly. With the declaration building support, Collins, four days later, on Oct. 8, 2020, sent Fauci an email with the subject line Great Barrington Declaration. This proposal from the three fringe epidemiologists who met with the [Health] Secretary seems to be getting a lot of attention and even a co-signature from Nobel Prize winner Mike Leavitt at Stanford, Collins wrote. There needs to be a quick and devastating published take down of its premises. I dont see anything like that on line yet is it underway? The Collins email to Fauci regarding the Great Barrington Declaration's "three fringe epidemiologists." Some hours later, Fauci forwarded Collins a refutation of the Great Barrington Declaration written for The Nation by his friend and advocate Gregg Gonsalves, an AIDS activist who is now a professor at Yale. Fauci rose to prominence in the 1980s as an HIV/AIDS researcher. Indeed, and well said, replied Collins. The Gonsalves essay referenced no actual science but denigrated Bhattacharya, Gupta, and Kulldorff for ignoring what he called progressive principles of justice and equality in favor of survival of the fittest. Fauci has praised Gonsalves several times over the years and, in his recent memoir, singles out Gonsalves and a handful of other activists for their unflinching support over the past few years. David Gorski: Antagonist of Bhattacharya. Four days after Fauci forwarded Collins the Gonsalves essay in The Nation, Collins dismissed the Declaration in public comments as fringe politics. This is not mainstream science, Collins argued in a public statement. Gonsalves contacted Collins later that same day, emailing him another essay he had written, again vilifying the Great Barrington Declaration, this time in the Washington Post. Saw your comments on the ludicrous Great Barrington Declaration and wanted to thank you for speaking out and doing it undiplomatically, Gonsalves emailed Collins. After we saw what you had said about fringe epidemiology, we wondered why we were so nice in our op-ed. Collins then forwarded Gonsalves email to Fauci, who responded with a smiley face emoji. Several months later, Gonsalves was among those who hosted a surprise birthday greeting for Fauci. We did it! tweeted HIV activist Peter Staley. A small gang of Tony Faucis HIV/AIDS comrades managed to surprise him yesterday with an 80th birthday Zoom. A screenshot of the Zoom shows Gregg Gonsalves beaming into his camera. Fauci and Collins effort to create a quick and devastating takedown of the Great Barrington Declaration remained secret until the emails between them and Gonsalves became public in late December 2021. In response, Gonsalves dashed off a Christmas note to Collins and Fauci thanking them for their service and alerting them to their now-public emails that some on the right have been circulating as proof of a conspiracy against the Great Barrington Declaration. Its interesting that an effort to call out genuinely dangerous recommendations from the GBD is called a conspiracy, Collins emailed back to Gonsalves. Truth itself seems to have become a conspiracy in many minds. Its been a privilege to have you as our leader at the NIH! Gonsalves replied. Gavin Yamey: Antagonist of Bhattacharya. Gonsalves remained a dogged Fauci supporter throughout the pandemic, even attacking former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield when he went public in 2023 that he believed Faucis funding for gain-of-function virus research in the Wuhan lab may have led to the pandemic. Robert Redfield, Trumps CDC Director, has been trashing former NIAID director, Anthony Fauci, Gonsalves tweeted in March 2023. Anyone who knows Bob Redfield knows what an unsavory character he is. Working in concert with Gonsalves, two other academics were especially active in criticizing Bhattacharyas COVID work: David Gorski, a Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University, and Gavin Yamey, Director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health at Duke University. They specifically targeted the scientific community to undermine Jay, said a Trump transition team member, who is not allowed to speak to the press while shuffling Bhattacharya around the Senate. Theres a market for hot pieces to attack Bhattacharya, and these academics coordinate on social media, repeating and amplifying the same narrative to dirty him up. Gorski is a self-described misinformation debunker and runs a website called Science Based Medicine. It doesnt always get its facts straight. After the European Medicines Agency concluded in April 2021, for example, that unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect for AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine, Gorski decried the decision on his X account claiming, Reported blood clots appear to be no higher than background and very likely unrelated to the vaccine. The UK government eventually stopped offering AstraZenecas jab, and the company finally admitted that its COVID vaccine causes harm in what The Telegraph reported could result in millions of dollars in legal claims. Gorski is damaging to science, said Bhattacharya. He creates an environment where researchers cant speak their mind if they cross the biopharmaceutical industry. Bhattacharya described Yamey and Gorski as part of a network that carried out Collins devastating takedown. Ill never publish in a big mainstream journal, he said a couple of years ago in an interview. Robert Redfield: Those of us in academic medicine, all we have is our reputation. These attacks, it impacts you substantially. You cant function." Those of us in academic medicine, all we have is our reputation, former CDC Director Robert Redfield told RealClearInvestigations. These attacks, it impacts you substantially. You cant function. You dont get invited to talks, and groups wont have anything to do with you." In late 2021, Gorski partnered with Yamey on a piece for the BMJ falsely charging that Bhattacharya and other Great Barrington Declaration signers were supported by billionaires aligned with industry. Bhattacharya and the other signatories met at a conference hosted by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), which, Yamey and Gorski argued, has also received funding from the Charles Koch Foundation, which was founded and is chaired by the right-wing billionaire industrialist known for promoting climate change denial and opposing regulations on business. While Gorski and Yamey provided no evidence that Koch money funded the GBD signatories, the BMJ still published their piece. Association with a nonprofit that has distant links to Koch money was apparently enough to carry the whiff of dark money corruption, a charge that still circulates on social media to this day. Dennis Carroll: Directed federal funds to a project he left government to head. The BMJ article is full of errors that ought to have never found their way into any publication, wrote Martin Kulldorff in The Spectator. While the AIER has received only a single $68K (50,000) Koch donation a few years ago, many universities have received multiple, much larger Koch donations, including million dollar gifts to Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Stanford. Contacted by RealClearInvestigations, Gorski did not respond when asked why he had not corrected his allegations against Bhattacharya. It was later revealed that Bhattacharyas attackers had even more conflicts. In March 2022, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a trove of documents revealing Yameys ties to EcoHealth Alliance, a Fauci-funded organization run by Peter Daszak, which subcontracted with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. USAID scientist Dennis Carroll ran a pandemic preparedness program called PREDICT and worked with several researchers, including Daszak and Yamey, documents show, to redirect federal funds from the PREDICT program to set up a nonprofit called the Global Virome Project. After directing federal funds to create the Global Virome Project, Carroll retired from federal service and became head of the organization, along with Daszak as a board member. It would appear that Dennis Carroll violated federal law that prohibits the use of official resources for private gain or for that of persons or organizations with which he is associated personally, Craig Holman of Public Citizen said when shown emails from the document trove. In March 2023, CBS News broke a story that EcoHealth Alliance may have double-billed the federal government for research in Wuhan, and the USAID Inspector General launched a criminal probe of the groups finances. Some days before Trump was sworn into office, HHS excluded EcoHealth Alliance and Peter Daszak from working with the agency in response to congressional investigations that uncovered wrongdoing, including using taxpayer money to fund gain-of-function virus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the defamatory damage was already done, Bhattacharya wrote in Newsweek, calling out Yamey and Gorski for their BMJ errors, and many scientists stayed silent as schools closed and children were harmed, even though they knew better. They did not want to be similarly smeared. Yamey is a narrative enforcer for the pandemic preparedness industry that likely funded the research that caused the pandemic, Bhattacharya said. And the smears continue. Referencing the false dark money charges by Yamey and Gorski, Lucky Tran, director of communications for Columbia University Irving Medical Center, posted a denunciation of Bhattacharya on the social media platform Bluesky after Trump nominated him. Bhattacharya has spread disinformation on COVID, fought against lifesaving measures including vaccines, masks, and social distancing, and is backed by dark money groups pushing corporate interests. RealClearInvestigations contacted Columbias vice president of communications, Vanita Gowda, to ask if Lucky Trans post was Columbias official position on Trumps NIH choice. Gowda was also asked whether the university could provide any evidence that Bhattacharya was funded by dark money. Gowda did not respond to multiple requests to explain these charges. USAIDs criminal investigation began with subpoenas sent to several concerned parties. Duke Universitys Yamey did not respond to repeated inquires on whether he had received a subpoeana. . I am honored and humbled by President @realDonaldTrumps nomination of me to be the next @NIH director, Bhattacharya posted on X. We will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again! Redfield said that Collins, Fauci, and other critics should apologize to Bhattacharya for the years of harassment and actions that were both wrong and unprofessional. If you survive these attacks, and you have a resurrection, you do very well, Redfield said. You now have a reputation for substance and standing up for what you believe is true. Not everyone has that. Im pretty confident hell do well, move forward, and do the right thing. Editor's note: In 2023, Dr. Bhattacharya was named the first recipient of the Samizdat Prize, an annual award sponsored by the RealClear Media Fund to recognize standout foes of censorship. Sonja Flemming/CBS By Steven Rogers, 03/05/2025 ADVERTISEMENT will return for a new season when Season 37 of the long-running reality competition premieres on CBS tonight.Season 37 of will feature fourteen teams -- the reality competition's biggest cast ever!The fourteen teams of Racers, who range in age from 22 to 66, include game streamers, nurse anesthetists, siblings of all combinations, and several teams featuring a parent and their adult child.Every Season 37 episode will be 90-minutes long, airing on Wednesday nights at 9:30PM ET/PT on CBS following 90-minute Survivor broadcasts at 8PM ET/PT."This season 14 teams will embark on an unforgettable adventure," executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri gushed when the cast was announced."Traveling around the globe for a stop in Osaka, Japan, where they will experience a modern-day bullet train in a thriving city and then immerse themselves in a 12,000-year-old tradition, performing with a taiko drum group."The executive producers elaborated, "They will feel the adrenaline rush of skydiving over Dubai's breathtaking cityscape contrasted with another stop, for the first time on , in the countryside of Bulgaria, where they will participate in a traditional folk dance." Phil Keoghan will reprise his role as host for the new season, guiding teams from destination to destination.In addition to Japan, Dubai and Bulgaria, the list of locations 's Season 37 teams will travel also includes Hong Kong and France -- with the first team to cross the final finish line being crowned the winner of the 37th season and winning the $1 million prize!Click thelink below to view photos and learn more details about Season 37's team of Racers! BEGIN GALLERY >> Steven Rogers is a senior entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and been covering the reality TV genre for two decades. The Slovak Republic, commonly called Slovakia, is a land of many names. This piece of earth has been continuously home and habitat to some form of peoples for over a quarter million years. Stretching from the early Paleolithic to modern day, uncountable kings, overlords, and empires planted their flags, changed names and governmental systems, and left indelible marks upon the land. The current nation iteration began in 1993 after the Velvet Divorce dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The official language is Slovak, a rich mix with at least three main dialects and dozens of regional variations. It also wouldnt be strange to hear some Hungarian. Or English, Russian, or Roma. Slovakia also has great geographic diversity, especially for its size, and is home to forests, mountains, lakes, and lowlands. Its in this space and place that Jaroslav Kuracina, founder of Grand Power, was reared. Grandson of a World War II partisan fighter, Kuracina sketched weapon designs while in military school and then produced his first functional prototype pistol, the Q200, in 1997. When Americans think of Grand Power, the Stribog subguns are the first thing that come to mind. And indeed, on star-spangled soil theyre the most popular in any form. However, the subject of this article, the K100 Mk23, is direct successor of Grand Powers origin and perhaps emblematic of the company and the Slovak Republic as a whole. FEATURES & DETAILS Over the years, Grand Power produced a great many pistols with enough designations to demand a decoder ring, but you can trim this long list a bit by separating them by either sporting a striker or having a hammer. The hammer-fired Grand Power K100 Mk23 is a DA/SA pistol, meaning its capable of both cocking and releasing the hammer with one pull (double-action) or simply releasing an already-cocked hammer (single-action). There is no decocking mechanism, so the only way youre going to have a double-action pull is by manually lowering the hammer or if you have a dud. Hammer or striker, something that makes a great many Grand Power designs stand out, the K100 Mk23 included, is a rotary-barrel action. American pistols produced in the last century chambered in 9mm and above have overwhelmingly been tilt-barrel Browning actions. Simple in design and cheap to manufacture, with a Browning action, the muzzle rises and the breech lowers as the slide moves to the rear after firing hence the tilt in the name. A rotary action is theoretically more accurate and has less felt recoil because the barrel only moves linear to the bore and the bore axis itself can be lower. The main rotary actions youll see in the States come from Beretta, though the newer Smith & Wesson 5.7 has one too. Opening up the nondescript plastic clamshell reveals a pistol that looks and feels both familiar and foreign at the same time. The slide is heavily scalloped, the shine of the polished stainless steel barrel peeking from the ejection port and a hammer hanging out at the rear. The frame is polymer, with a smattering of swoops and stylized lines paired with a tapestry of textures to fit and grip the hand and fingers. Just enough beavertail on the back to keep the hand high and tight. Theres a functional accessory rail up front, allowing easy attachment of full-size lights or lasers. The controls are fully ambidextrous and mirrored, the plastic safety lever and steel slide stop slim to reduce snagging. The trigger guard is squared off and textured at the front, the magazine release a circular button easy to hit with either hand. The trigger itself is plastic, something weve seen plenty with striker-fired guns but not really on anything that has a hammer. There are three additional backstraps of different sizes in the box to accommodate different mitts. In a world where most pistols come with maybe two magazines, the K100 Mk23 has three unmarked 15-rounders with bright red followers. There are also four plastic optic plates to accommodate the most popular options. The inclusion of a spare set of front sites was equally encouraging and concerning until we realized they were different heights and not solely spares. OUTFITTING If you have a pistol that can accept an optic, the first thing you should do is put an optic on it. These days even the cheap optics are reasonably durable and have a battery life that lasts years, so it makes little sense to limit yourself. The Grand Power K100 Mk23 comes ready to go with four plates for Noblex universal, Trijicon RMR, C-More STS2, and Shield RMSc. Most of the time included optic plates would be made of metal, but here they are polymer. We admit this may not inspire confidence, but weve seen the same successfully done with Arex pistols. The plate screws onto the slide, and the optic attaches to the plate via recessed nuts. What we will say about the polymer plates is that you definitely dont want to put a plastic optic on them, and you want your screws to be the right height. There are two unlabeled sets of screws, one M3 and another M4. Unless you get lucky, you might end up at a hardware store finding the right fasteners (or spend $20 on the Swampfox Ultimate Screw Pack). If the screw is too long, itll flex the plate; too short and it wont work at all. We got lucky and a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro dropped right in. A SureFire X300U-B serves as a weapon-mounted light. QUIRKS & WEIRDNESS The included manual covers all eight of Grand Powers Mk23 pistols. Unlike many manuals, youre going to want to keep this one at least for a bit. Field stripping and reassembly is atypical, and youll need the reference the first few times. After removing the magazine and clearing, to disassemble, you need to pull the slide all the way back, pull down on the takedown levers, and pull back just a bit more in order to lift the slide off the rails. Its here youll encounter a little more weirdness. Normally when we think of a captured guide rod, its of a recoil spring assembly that stays all in one unit, like a Glock or a SIG. Here, the recoil spring isnt captive but the guide rod is attached to the frame. This means its a snap to swap springs, but it does complicate an already-complicated disassembly/assembly procedure. Assembly is close to the reverse except the barrel needs to be forward. And its more difficult because you have to ensure the guide rod lines up, and youre fighting the recoil spring for a longer period of time. It feels like a second pair of hands is required, but we found it easiest to brace the backstrap on a knee as we pulled back the slide with one hand and pulled down the takedown levers with the other. Youll know the slide can be lifted off when the furthest-forward rear slide scallop lines up with the beavertail. If youre having a difficult time, try removing the recoil spring for a trial run just so you get used to where everything needs to line up. At the end of the day, there are two ways you can approach this: practice fieldstripping the Grand Power K100 Mk23 until you can do it quickly and consistently, or simply perform routine maintenance without removing the slide. Though the latter seems like a bit of a cop-out, you really can do what you need to do (namely: wipe off gunk and lube moving parts) without having to remove the slide at all. If youre going to carry and shoot this one regularly, we recommend putting in the reps. For another notch in the quirks column, pages 8 and 9 cover basic firearm safety rules. Youre probably acquainted with four, but how about 23 of them? We suspect something got lost in translation along the way. ON THE RANGE One of the purported benefits of a rotary-barrel setup is reduced recoil, and we tried this for ourselves using the vaunted Bag of Random. If you want to test if a gun will run with a variety of ammo, load up some party mags that taste the full rainbow of rounds the Bag of Random is a continually changing and evolving sack of 9mm ammunition. It has everything from pissweak foreign ammunition thats long been banned from importation, extra-powerful loads meant for machine guns, modern defensive offerings, dumb discontinued designs, along with range training rounds that span the spectrum of grain weight and bullet shape. The Grand Power K100 Mk23 ate all of them without issue, the action of the slide was smooth, with recoil pushing directly back into the hand. The main difference isnt the kick but the muzzle report and flash firing from the end, the strong stuff giving brighter bangs and the weaker meeker. Its like the K100 Mk23 averages them all out, and at least with this one the claims of reduced recoil are absolutely true. The double-action is pretty good, but it really excels with the shorter travel and lighter pull of the single-action. The plastic trigger gives us pause, but only time will tell on that one. The extra irons werent needed, but if the front fell off, we wouldnt be replacing it anyway. Regarding claims of increased accuracy versus a Browning action? That one is still up in the air, but essentially all 21st century pistols, regardless of action, will print better patterns than the one pulling the trigger. All in all, its no surprise that Grand Power made a competition model, the X-CALIBUR (real spelling, remember: Slovakia), with the same action but having a skeletonized slide, enhanced controls, and a match-grade fluted barrel. DROPPING THE HAMMER Because theres no decocker, the only way to release the hammer is with the trigger. Lowering the hammer while one is in the chamber can be dicey and dangerous, and its not something that should be performed casually. If youre lowering the hammer manually, the muzzle must must must be pointed in a safe direction while you do so. Ideally, this is performed on the range, but a 5-gallon bucket of sand or mound of dirt will also suffice. As to why? Its not uncommon to carry in double-action mode for reasons of safety (which is a bit comical as slippery hands can result in a bang). This is for two reasons: The double-action pull is both longer and heavier, making it more difficult to inadvertently pull and acts as a secondary safety. Also, especially important for those carrying up front and appendix, your thumb can press on the back of the hammer while holstering to prevent a negligent discharge. Additionally, in some gun games its part of the rules: USPSA requires fully lowering the hammer on DA/SA pistols (rule 8.1.2.3) in order to compete in their Production division. Theres no safe or sound reason for this ruling, and it explains the design of competition hammers, but here we are and there it is. In order to fully lower the hammer, as in lay it against the firing pin, you have to keep the trigger pulled during the entire operation. Theres a half cock position where you have the same double-action pull but the hammer doesnt rest on the firing pin this isnt gun-gamer legal, but it is the way wed recommend rolling if youre going to lower the hammer. This is something that should be practiced dry several times before you try it live. WAYS TO CARRY Here were not talking about holsters and where to put them on your body, but the condition of the gun. You essentially have a combination of hammer and safety positions with some different considerations. These are all assuming that youll be carrying with one in the chamber. If youre going to run on empty, we recommend reading Carrying with an Empty Chamber in CONCEALMENT Issue 33 first. Hammer Fully Lowered In this position, the hammer is pressed on the firing pin, and please note theres no firing pin safety. This isnt to say that its likely this will be a problem in the case of a drop or fall, but it simply doesnt seem like a worthy risk. Furthermore, the safety appears to work in this position, but actually doesnt; when you pull the trigger, it just drops down. Only do this one if you have to for gun games with silly rules. Hammer Half-Cocked Here the hammer doesnt touch the firing pin and the safety is actually functional. Its noteworthy that when the safety is engaged at half-cock, the slide is locked in place and the hammer cannot be manipulated. Many opt for running without the safety at half-cock, and we cant blame them. Theres a lot of utility to the half-cock position. Hammer Fully Cocked This one is easy and automatic as soon as you rack a round into the chamber or crank one off, the hammer will automatically be in this position. Unlike the half-cock, when the safety is engaged the slide moves freely for administrative actions. If youre going to carry with the hammer fully cocked, to go without the safety engaged is tempting fate in a stupid way. LOOSE ROUNDS Something that becomes obvious once you start fingering foreign firearms rather than those solely sold in the States is that there can be decidedly different design cultures. Like going on vacation in Eastern Europe, some things are familiar but are a bit weirder and cheaper than youd like or expect. The Grand Power K100 Mk23 is a lot of things, but boring aint one of them. Its a delight to shoot. The K100 has plenty of personality, and like anything with personality, there are some oddities. If you take a step back and squint, the pistol can look like a piecemeal of many others. But the reality is that its not parts and pieces glommed together, but instead a slow simmer of a great many cultures coalescing in one pot. What else can you expect from a land thats had so many names? Since our founding in 2012, RECOIL remains the premier firearms lifestyle publication for the modern shooting enthusiast. We deliver cutting-edge coverage of guns, gear, accessories and technology. We go beyond basic reviews, providing no B.S. buyers guides, hands-on testing and expert analysis on everything from firearms and survival equipment to watches and vehicles. Our reviewers are the backbone of our operation and come from diverse shooting backgrounds: Former law enforcement, military veterans, competitive shooters, seasoned hunters and plain old firearms enthusiasts. Furthermore, were not just gun experts, but dedicated journalists who adhere to the strictest standards of our profession. At RECOIL, editorial independence is the foundation of everything we publish and the cornerstone of reader trust. Our editors, writers and content creators make all editorial decisions independently, free from outside influence. That boils down to: advertisers dont dictate our coverage, the outcomes of our reviews or what we recommend in our buyers guides. First and always, our commitment is to our audienceensuring every review and article is accurate, unbiased, and driven by real-world experience. Whether youre selecting your next firearm, upgrading your gear, or exploring the latest innovations in the shooting world, RECOIL provides the trusted insights you need to make informed decisions. Learn more about our Editorial Standards and how we review products. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Azerbaijani women on the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day. Trend presents the congratulatory message: "Dear Ladies, I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of International Women's Day. I wish you all good health, happiness, and success in your endeavors. Azerbaijani women have always been the moral pillar of our society, living with noble ideals. Our beautiful and kind-hearted mothers played an invaluable role in preserving our centuries-old cultural and spiritual treasures. With their strong will, patriotism, and dedication, they have left an indelible mark on the history of our nation's struggles. The fact that Azerbaijani women gained the right to vote and stand for election earlier than women in many leading countries of the world stands out as a significant milestone in our modern history. Their pioneering steps in the most diverse fields of culture, science, education, and healthcare among the women of the Muslim East are a testament to their exceptional creative potential. It is commendable that our modern young women respect these traditions, diligently uphold the principle of generational moral inheritance, and successfully continue the path of their enlightened and intellectual predecessors. Over the past period, our women, who actively participated in the process of national state-building and worked diligently in all fields, have made significant and effective contributions to strengthening the power of our homeland and improving the welfare of our people. They have achieved important successes in social, economic, and cultural development. Women in Azerbaijan, who demonstrate deep loyalty to our sacred family values, hold great influence in the public life of our country. I am confident that they will continue to dedicate their efforts to raising the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and national ideals, and will further enrich our social and moral environment with new contributions. Dear ladies! Happy holiday to you!" The Indian automotive market offers around 1 million units annual volume opportunity at a price above $23,000. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Makara Heng/Pexels Amid increased buzz around Tesla's entry into the Indian market, analysts feel that the US firm will have to price its models competitively, which is below $30,000 (around Rs 26 lakhs), to gain a good foothold on the country's roads or volumes may be limited. Talks around Tesla's potential India entry have picked up after it advertised for retail positions in Mumbai last week. In a recent report BNP Paribas analysts said that they expect Tesla's entry into India to be slow and measured given the low average price point in the market. Even if Tesla can produce and sell at as low as $30,000, it will be considered expensive for mass volume in India once 15 per cent custom duties are considered, the report said. In our view, local production won't make sense unless Tesla can reduce the price to under $30,000 to allow for mass volumes in India, the analysts said. Tesla has also ended its true low-cost Model 2 efforts a year ago, with focus shifting to Robotaxi and robotics plans. Tesla's plans for a new unboxed assembly process and plant in Mexico have also been shelved as a result. The analysts thus don't expect these plans to be revived for India. We expect Tesla to address India by exporting from one of its existing plants. This would limit volumes to very low levels for the foreseeable future, they added. Among the OEMs most at risk in that segment is Mahindra & Mahindra, BNP Paribas analysts felt. We do not see any material risk to M&M from the existing Tesla models and a new $25,000 model is unlikely, they said, adding that last year MM's stock corrected by around 9 per cent in two weeks on fears of Tesla's entry. However, the stock recovered swiftly after that. The average price of cars sold in India is Rs 11 lakh or $13,000. We estimate approximately 25 per cent of the industry volume to be of models sold above the price of $23,000 which would be the most at risk if Tesla launches a product below $30,000, the report said. The Indian automotive market offers around 1 million units annual volume opportunity at a price above $23,000. However, to capture this, the company will need a lower-priced model, preferably one that is priced below around $30000 and manufactured locally, the report added. Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com '...additional concessions, such as opening government procurement, reducing agricultural subsidies, weakening patent protections, and allowing unrestricted data flows -- demands India has resisted for decades.' IMAGE: US President Donald Trump makes a point during his address to the joint session of the United States Congress, March 4, 2025. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters As Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Howard Lutnick began talks to strike an early bilateral trade deal, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) of the US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday said that non-tariff barriers and red tape should be 'dismantled with haste' as they slow market access. USIBC President Atul Keshap said that meaningful trade facilitation through a bilateral trade deal is long overdue, and would be instrumental in boosting the GDP of both countries. The pact could also provide full and open market access. Goyal and Lutnick held their first meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Goyal will also meet the newly appointed United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, ahead of the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on countries, including India, a month later. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump agreed to begin negotiations and finalise a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement (BTA) within the next seven to eight months. The trade deal is being negotiated at a time when the Trump-led government is set to impose reciprocal tariffs in early April to match other countries' tariffs, taxes and non-tariff barriers. "For years, US and Indian businesses have invested in each other's countries without a formal investment or trade framework," Keshap said. "India represents only 2.5 per cent of America's trade volumes, and that number can and should increase substantially," Keshap added. "Now, both sides should work with focus to formalise a level playing field, full and open market access, swift dispute arbitration, and predictable tax and regulatory policies to boost investment, growth, and job creation in both countries," Keshap explained. Even as businesses remain optimistic about the trade deal between India and the US, a Delhi-based think-tank said that India should be cautious about negotiating a comprehensive FTA with the US as it disregards negotiated trade agreements. 'NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico, had been in place since January 1994. However, Trump was dissatisfied with its terms and, during his first term, replaced it with USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada FTA) in 2018-2019, claiming NAFTA was outdated and hurt American workers,' GTRI said. 'Now, he is unhappy with his own deal and has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting today, violating USMCA's terms,' GTRI pointed out. The US on Tuesday imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. China now faces a combined 20 per cent tariff on its exports to the US, up from 10 per cent. 'Worse, at the negotiating table, the US may demand India not just tariff cuts but also additional concessions, such as opening government procurement, reducing agricultural subsidies, weakening patent protections, and allowing unrestricted data flows -- demands India has resisted for decades,' GTRI said. Govt awaits clarity on tariffs before steel trade strategy Puja Das Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said the government will devise a trade strategy for the steel industry after getting clarity on the nature of tariffs imposed by the United States. The minister's comments come after Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 per cent levy on imports from China. The measures came into effect on Tuesday. Even though Trump has repeatedly labelled India a high-tariff nation, he has yet to take action against New Delhi. "India will wait and watch on the levy of any tariffs by the developed world on steel and steel products," Kumaraswamy said on the sidelines of an event organised by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India. "There is no clarity on what is going to be the quantum and extent of tariffs imposed by the US. We will devise a trade strategy and ways to protect businesses after knowing what the levy would be", he said. "US tariffs on Chinese goods would increase the cost of products. This may give Indian products a competitive edge over Chinese goods due to lower tariffs", Ajay Sahai, director-general and chief executive officer of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, had told Business Standard earlier. For over a month, the commerce department officials studied the opportunities and challenges -- how it would impact specific sectors and the mitigation efforts. India has identified electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, auto components, and chemicals to boost US exports amid the possibility of a trade war between Washington and Beijing. The steel demand is rising due to fast-paced urbanisation, infrastructure, and industrial growth, and the government anticipates steel production to touch nearly 300 million tonnes (mt) from 120 mt over the next five years. At present, up to 12 per cent of India's greenhouse gas emissions come from steelmaking, according to the Global Energy Monitor, an organisation that tracks energy projects around the globe. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com 'The vast majority of BJP supporters in Tamil Nadu can't speak any language other than Tamil.' 'When rural Tamil Nadu can't speak any other language than Tamil, how are they going to convince them that they have to learn Hindi?' IMAGE: Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin speaks at a protest in Chennai, February 18, 2025, condemning the central government's alleged attempt to impose a three-language policy. Photograph: Kind courtesy Udhayanidhi Stalin/X The anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s was a landmark event in independent India. When the enactment of the Official Languages Act of 1963 came into force in 1965, DMK leader C N Annadurai labelled it as the Centre's way of imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. What followed was days of massive anti-Hindi agitation led by the DMK which had huge participation by students. It resulted in a change in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu; the end of Congress rule and the beginning of Dravidian rule. The DMK alleges that the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre is now trying to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu through the National Education Policy. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin says the state won't accept the National Education Policy even if it was offered Rs 10,000 crore. Where will this standoff lead to? "If you look at the major Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, whether it be the AIADMK or Vijay's newly floated TVK, they have also taken a strong stance against the NEP. They are not in favour of the 3 language policy. The Opposition parties are not going to reject the stance taken by the DMK on this issue," Dr Karthick Ram Manoharan, Assistant Professor, Social Sciences, at the National Law School, Bengaluru, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in the concluding segment of a two-part interview: Part 1 of the Interview: '3-Language Formula Is A Burden On All Students' In 1965, the participation of students in the anti-Hindi agitation was huge. Do you think that kind of student participation if an anti-Hindi agitation were to happen in 2025? We can't see such a major participation anymore. But there will be a lot of activity especially on social media. I am also looking back at the Jallikattu protests of 2017 when it was banned. It became a state-wide emotional issue for the Tamil Nadu youth. It was extremely surprising to see the protests because the overwhelming majority of the youth had not seen a Jallikattu performance live as it was restricted to the villages and small towns. You don't see it in any of the big cities but it was in the cities that the protests were at its high. Now, why were the urban Tamil youth protesting? It was a question of their identity...? Yes, they felt their identity was under assault. Now, if the language policy is pursued this way, I feel the Tamil youth, cutting across caste lines -- this is very important -- will mobilise. Regarding the numbers, I am not sure. Will it be as high as the Jallikattu protest? Or, will it be lesser? They may think that they have a friendly government in Tamil Nadu, so they should be extending support to the government. Do you think it depends on how the DMK and the chief minister present the issue to the youth? Definitely. Udhayanidhi Stalin has been doing a lot of campaigning among the youth. In addition to that, some active members of the DMK team is reaching out to colleges and schools, and giving classes in history, modern Tamil politics, etc to the students. I feel their narrative is quite strong through these outreach programmes. It also needs to be seen how the non-supporters of the DMK respond to this issue as it is matter concerning everyone. IMAGE: Youngsters block the Coimbatore-Nagercoil passenger train at the Thathaneri railway bridge in Madurai, January 20, 2017, as part of a protest to support Jallikattu. Photograph: PTI Photo from the Rediff Archives So, what kind of political impact will this have in Tamil Nadu? It will give a boost to the DMK, and also to the parties that speak about Tamil pride and regional assertion. Vijay also speaks this language. Interestingly, if you look at the major Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, whether it be the AIADMK or Vijay's newly floated TVK, they have also taken a strong stance against the NEP. They are not in favour of the 3 language policy. The Opposition parties are not going to reject the stance taken by the DMK on this issue. They will see to it that the DMK is accountable, and they will definitely keep the DMK on its toes. This is the interesting thing about Tamil Nadu politics. I also think it will affect the BJP's electoral prospects in Tamil Nadu. The vast majority of BJP supporters in Tamil Nadu can't speak any language other than Tamil. The BJP has a strong presence in the Coimbatore region, and they are trying to expand. When rural Tamil Nadu can't speak any other language than Tamil, how are they going to convince them that they have to learn Hindi? Of course, the BJP is saying that this is a 3-language formula and not imposition of Hindi. They say that students have the option of choosing any language as the third language. But in practice, in most of the cases, it is Hindi which is the third language. IMAGE: Dr Karthick Ram Manoharan IMAGE: Dr Karthick Ram Manoharan And the social impact? Socially, youngsters are watching. I think they have expectations from the Tamil Nadu government that it will protect their interest. If it does not happen, we can expect protests on the scale of Jallikattu. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday proposed a Joint Action Committee comprising MPs and party representatives from southern states at an all party meeting on Lok Sabha seats delimitation in Chennai. IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin addresses an all-party meet on Lok Sabha seats delimitation in Chennai. Photograph: @arivalayam/X Moving a resolution, Stalin said that in the event of increase in the number of seats in Parliament, 1971 Census should be the basis for it and appropriate Constitutional amendment should be done. Also, the 1971 Census should be basis for delimitation of LS seats for 30 years from 2026 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make an assurance in the Parliament, he asserted. The JAC is to take forward such demands and create awareness among the people and the meet unanimously opposed delimitation exercise based on population, which will be a "threat to federalism and the rights of southern states to political representation." The meet underscored that Tamil Nadu is not against delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies. However, the proposed exercise must not become a punishment for implementing well the socio-economic welfare measures during the past 50 years. The Centre declined to heed to the voice of the state, which has 39 Lok Sabha MPs. In case this number was reduced, it would become a big injustice for the state. CM said that the all-party meeting is for understanding that the state has been pushed to a corner on the issue of delimitation, thereby prompting it to take up a struggle movement to secure its rights. "The delimitation sword is hanging over the head of south India and Tamil Nadu will be severely affected," Stalin alleged. Principal opposition party AIADMK, the Congress and Left parties, actor-politician Vijay's TVK among others attended the meeting which was boycotted by the BJP, Tamil nationalist Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and former union minister GK Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar). The ruling DMK has been staunchly opposing the delimitation exercise, with party president and chief minister Stalin claiming it will lead to reduced LS seats in TN. He has wondered whether the state was being punished for effective implementation of population control measures over the years. The state has 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the delimitation exercise will not affect southern states, including Tamil Nadu, and had accused Stalin of spreading a misinformation campaign on the matter. Seeking to put to rest speculation on the subject, he had asserted no southern state would see a reduction in the Parliamentary representation when delimitation will be done on pro-rata basis. The DMK had questioned this assertion as well, asking the basis for pro rata--whether on population or the existing constituency of MP or MLAS. CMs of two other southern states -- Siddaramaiah and A Revanth Reddy of Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana, respectively, have also questioned Shah over his assertion on delimitation. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath countered the opposition's criticism of the Maha Kumbh on Tuesday by stating that a family with 130 boats made Rs 30 crore profit during the 45-day mega religious congregation in Prayagraj. IMAGE: Devotees take boat ride on the waters of the Ganga in Prayagraj during the Kumbh Mela. Photograph: ANI Photo During a discussion on the 2025-26 state budget, which was passed in the assembly on Tuesday, he slammed the opposition for their negative remarks to say that people have rejected their claims. "Your countdown has begun because the people are no longer listening to you," Adityanath told the opposition parties. Reacting to the Samajwadi Party's allegation that the boatmen of Prayagraj were "exploited", the chief minister told the House, "I am telling the success story of a boatman's family. They have 130 boats. In 45 days (of Maha Kumbh), they have profited Rs 30 crore... This means each boat has earned Rs 23 lakh. On a daily basis, they earned Rs 50,000-52,000 from each boat." Adityanath hailed the Maha Kumbh's "flawless" law-and-order management, stating over 66 crore devotees and tourists visited Prayagraj in 45 days "without a single incident of crime". "Not a single case of harassment, kidnapping, robbery, or murder was reported. Sixty-six crore people arrived, participated and left happily. Those who couldn't attend felt they missed out, but those who did were left in awe," he said. Adityanath highlighted that Rs 7,500 crore were invested for the Maha Kumbh, which generated a record Rs 3 lakh crore in business, benefiting various sectors. The event also generated Rs 40,000 crore in the hotel industry, Rs 33,000 crore in food and daily essentials, Rs 1.5 lakh crore in transportation, Rs 20,000 crore in religious offerings, Rs 660 crore in donations, Rs 300 crore in toll tax, Rs 66,000 crore in other revenue, he told the Assembly. "The economic impact of Maha Kumbh will contribute to India's 6.5 per cent GDP growth this year," Adityanath claimed. The chief minister emphasised that the Rs 7,500 crore spent on Maha Kumbh was not just for the event, but also for the sustainable development of Prayagraj. "Through Maha Kumbh, we provided infrastructure that will benefit the city for decades. Over 200 roads were widened, 14 flyovers, nine underpasses, and 12 corridors were constructed," he informed the House. He also mentioned the installation of a statue depicting Lord Ram embracing Nishad Raj in Shringverpur, an area that was previously encroached upon. "For you, this was a vote bank. For us, it is our heritage," he told the opposition. The chief minister also highlighted the overwhelming praise from international media, reading out names of leading global media houses and their praises for the Maha Kumbh. The annual Inter-Livery Pancake Race in London saw runners in quirky costumes, including a skyscraper and a beekeeper, racing while flipping pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day. Crowds gathered in Guildhall Yard to watch participants from historic trade guilds compete, with roles such as gunmakers firing the starting gun and fruiterers providing lemons. The tradition linked to using up rich ingredients before Lent dates back to at least 1445 in Olney, England. Winners received a trophy and a frying pan. IMAGE: A competitor takes part in the annual Inter-Livery Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday in Guildhall Yard, in London, March 4, 2025, here and below. All Photographs: Toby Melville/Reuters Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a judicial request to the United States seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who had expressed willingness to share with Indian agencies crucial details about the Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s, officials said Wednesday. IMAGE: The Bofors gun deployed in the Tawang sector near the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. Photograph: ANI Photo Hershman, head of the Fairfax Group, visited India in 2017 to attend a conference of private detectives. During his stay, he appeared on various platforms, alleging that the investigation into the scam was derailed by the then Congress government and stated he was willing to share details with the CBI. He had claimed in an interview that he was appointed by the Union finance ministry in 1986 for investigation of violation of currency control laws and money laundering by Indians abroad and tracking of such assets outside India and some of them pertained to the Bofors deal. The CBI also approached the finance ministry seeking documents pertaining to engagement of Hershman and if any report was submitted by him but the records of that time could not be furnished to the agency. The agency took note of Hershman's claims in several interviews and announced in 2017 that the matter would be investigated according to due process. The need for Letters Rogatory arose because letters and reminders to the US authorities on November 8, 2023, December 21, 2023, May 13, 2024, and August 14, 2024, did not yield any information. A Letter Rogatory is a written request sent by the court of one country to the court of another country to obtain assistance in the investigation or prosecution of a criminal matter. The requests to Interpol also did not yield any outcome. The CBI got a green signal from the home ministry on sending the LR to the US on January 14 this year. The agency informed the special court, which cleared the LR application of the CBI on February 11. "It is requested that in order to collect both documentary as well as oral evidence, for ascertaining the fact relating to the claims made by Michael Hershman, in the above-mentioned interview, it is necessary to conduct investigation in the United States of America," a special court had noted while clearing the CBI's application for the issuance of the LRs. The CBI had registered the case in 1990, three years after a Swedish radio channel had alleged that bribes were paid by Bofors to politicians and defence officials of India to clinch the deal. The allegations created a big scandal for the Rajiv Gandhi government and have been used by rival parties to target the Congress. The scam pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal with Swedish firm Bofors for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers, which played a significant role in India's victory during the Kargil war. The CBI filed the chargesheets in 1999 and 2000. The Delhi high court had exonerated Rajiv Gandhi in 2004, nearly 13 years after he was assassinated by the LTTE in a suicide attack. In 2005, the Delhi high court quashed all charges against the remaining accused noting that the CBI failed to prove that the money transferred by Bofors to various agents by Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi was meant to be paid as a bribe to public servants in India. The CBI appealed against the 2005 decision in the apex court in 2018 but it was dismissed on the grounds of delay. The Supreme Court, however, allowed it to raise all the points in an appeal filed by advocate Ajay Aggarwal in 2005. China on Wednesday announced a 7.2 per cent increase of its national defence budget totalling to USD 249 billion this year amid its hectic efforts to modernise armed forces, including fast paced development of warships and new generation fighter jets. IMAGE: Visitors stand in front of J-15 fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China November 12, 2024. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/ Reuters The planned defence expenditure for the country is 1.784665 trillion yuan (about USD 249 billion) this year, according to a draft budget report submitted to China's Parliament by Premier Li Qiang, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Last year, China increased its defence budget by 7.2 per cent to about USD 232 billion (1.67 trillion yuan). China has the world's second-largest military budget after the US whose latest defence spending amounted to over USD 890 billion as proposed by President Donald Trump. The Chinese defence spending is amounted to three times that of India's Rs 681, 210 crore (USD 78.8 billion). China's defence budget figures are viewed by critics with scepticism in the light of massive military modernisation, including building aircraft carriers, rapid construction of advanced naval ships and modern stealth aircraft being carried out at a feverish pitch by the Chinese military. Announcing the annual budget which includes the defence spending at the opening of the annual session of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC) Chinese Premier Li Qiang said last year, China made major new progress in national defence and military development. Li emphasised on the Chinese President Xi Jinping's core leadership of the ruling Communist Party as well as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the military follow the party leadership. Xi is also the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) which is the overall high command of the military. We will stay committed to the Party's absolute leadership over the people's armed forces, thoroughly implement the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission, continue improving the political conduct of the military," he said. The Chinese military functioned under the leadership of the Communist Party unlike the armed forces of other countries which functioned under the government. "We will step up military training and combat readiness, speed up the development of new combat capabilities, and establish a framework of modern military theories with Chinese characteristics, so as to firmly safeguard China's sovereignty, security, and development interests," Li said in his work report submitted to the NPC. On Tuesday, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the NPC, defended China's increasing defence expenditure, saying that "peace needs to be safeguarded with strength". Since 2016, China's annual defence spending has maintained single-digit growth for nine years in a row, he said, adding that China's defence expenditure as a share of GDP has been kept under 1.5 per cent for many years. In his budget speech, Li said China will complete the tasks laid down in the 14th Five-Year Plan for strengthening the military, intensify the implementation of major defence-related projects, and move faster to develop the network information system. The government will also promote military-civilian reforms, refine the framework and layout of defence-related science, technology, he said. "We in government at every level will provide strong support for the development of national defence and the armed forces and refine the mechanisms for strengthening mutual support between civilian sectors and the military, so as to consolidate and strengthen the rock-solid unity between the military and the government and between the military and the people," he said. Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra assembly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, will be '100 per cent' put in jail, Chief Minister Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the legislative council. IMAGE: Samajwadi Party National Akhilesh Yadav with Maharashtra party president Abu Asim Azmi addresses a press conference, in Lucknow on August 7, 2021. Photograph: ANI Photo Members of the treasury benches asserted in the assembly that Aurangzeb's praise amounted to insult of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his warrior-son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, both revered figures in Maharashtra. Azmi, suspended from the assembly till the ongoing budget session ends on March 26, protested against the action, saying he has been punished despite retracting his controversial remarks. In the legislative council, when Fadnavis was asked by Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray why Azmi was not jailed for his remarks, he said the MLA from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai will be '100 per cent' put in jail. Shiv Sena-UBT president Uddhav Thackeray, an MLC, asserted no one should dare speak against national icons and it is the government's responsibility to take strict action against those who make offensive remarks against them. "He (Azmi) should be permanently suspended (from assembly)," Thackeray demanded. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party MLAs and MPs have unmatched courage and wisdom and such action will not deter them from speaking the truth. He also hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who demanded that the SP must expel Azmi and send him to UP where 'we will get his treatment done'. 'Those who see a threat to their chair are losing their minds. How can the one who is sick cure others,' Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X without naming anyone. In another post, the SP chief said if the basis of suspension is influenced by one's ideology, then the concept of freedom of expression would lose its meaning. 'If some people think that by 'suspension' they can silence the truth, then it reflects their childish and negative thinking,' the Lok Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. 'Today the free-thinkers say, we don't want the BJP!' Yadav said in a post on X that was shortly followed by Adityanath's demand for the expulsion of Azmi from the Samajwadi Party. In a video statement released by Azmi office, the Samajwadi Party asserted he had not said anything wrong, but retracted the comments, which he made outside the assembly, to ensure the House functions properly. "Still I was suspended," he said. Azmi had said during Aurangzeb's reign, India's border reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar). "Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent (of the world GDP) and India was called a golden sparrow (during his regime)," claimed the MLA. Asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had termed it a political battle. His comments rocked both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday, with members of the ruling side demanding his suspension and filing of treason charges. On Wednesday, the issue was also raised in the legislative council, where the Opposition demanded action against actor Rahul Solapurkar and former journalist Prashant Koratkar, who are facing criticism for their alleged objectionable comments on national icons. Police have booked Nagpur-based Koratkar for allegedly threatening a historian and making derogatory comments against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji Maharaj. Solapurkar is alleged to have made offensive remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Bhai Jagtap (Congress) said there cannot be different yardsticks in dealing with comments made by Azmi and those uttered by Koratkar and Solapurkar. Danve (Shiv Sena-UBT) noted Solapurkar has been appointed on the cultural committee of Pune Municipal Corporation. Koratkar's mobile has been confiscated but he has not been arrested. The government should walk the talk, the Leader of Opposition said. Fadnavis said Koratkar has sought a stay from a court in Kolhapur on action against him and that this will be challenged in the higher court. The CM warned whoever insults Chhatrapati Shivaji and Chhatrapati Sambhaji will not be spared. Fadnavis attacked the Opposition for their selective approach and said they did not say anything about critical remarks made by NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about Chhatrapati Shivaji. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan ANKARA, Turkiye, March 5. Today, Turkiye and Azerbaijan two brotherly countries are implementing major projects. Oil and gas pipeline projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, and TANAP have not only united our countries but also reshaped Eurasias energy map, said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline via video link, Trend reports. The head of state emphasized that today, Azerbaijani gas transported through Turkiye contributes to the energy security of many countries. A 67-year-old Indian-origin nurse was repeatedly punched in the face by a patient at a Florida hospital in a possible hate crime that could lead to her losing her eyesight, local media has reported. Image used only for representation. Photograph: Marco Bello/Reuters Nurse Leela Lal, also known as Leelamma Lal, was assaulted and 'every bone of her face broken' by Stephen Eric Scantlebury, a 33-year-old patient she was tending to in the psychiatric ward at the Palms West Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 18, police said. In a local court, a police officer testified that a video clip showed Scantlebury saying, 'Indians are bad' and 'I just beat the (expletive) out of an Indian doctor', news channel WPTV.com said. Scantlebury faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder in the attack and also faces a hate crime enhancement, which could result in harsher penalties if he is convicted, the media said. WPTV.com reported after the incident that HCA Florida HealthCare, which runs the Palm West Hospital, said the attack occurred 'within a matter of seconds' and was 'witnessed by multiple people' and added that Lal was taken by helicopter to St Mary's Medical Centre in West Palm Beach. WPTV said it received a video from a viewer that showed the suspect walking shirtless on a nearby prominent road with what looked to be ECG leads still attached to his chest, and it also showed hospital staff and law enforcement following the man onto the busy highway before the deputies took him into custody. The probable cause affidavit filed by law enforcement described Lal's injury as 'critical' and said, 'Essentially every bone in the victim's face is broken and the victim is likely to lose the use of both eyes.' Because of the extent of the victim's injuries, she was unable to provide a statement to investigators, the WPTV said. Another WPTV report about the court proceedings on February 27 said that witnesses from the hospital, as well as responding deputies, took the stand and revealed that video from inside the hospital showed the victim was attacked in a roughly one to two-minute time frame. 'Following the attack, Palm Beach County Deputy Sgt Beth Newcomb testified that she observed Scantlebury saying, 'Indians are bad' and 'I just beat the (expletive) out of an Indian doctor',' it added. Local media quoted Willa Fuller, the executive director of the Florida Nurses Association, as saying that their group has 'long been concerned' about the safety of nurses and is seeking 'substantive action' to prevent similar tragedies in the future. "We would like to see direct care nurses included in any initiatives related to violence against healthcare workers." HCA Florida Healthcare said last week: "Our primary concern is with our beloved colleague and we are praying for her recovery. We are also providing support to our hospital staff who are understandably shaken by this incident." Meanwhile, 'Scantlebury remains jailed' for the February 18 beating of Lal, 'with Judge Howard Coates ruling he is a danger to the community', WPBF 25 News, a local news channel, said on Tuesday evening. "After the attack on Lal with his fists, Scantlebury fled Palms West Hospital, pleading with passing drivers to let him in, claiming nurses were trying to kill him," the newsportal said. His wife, Megan Scantlebury, testified Thursday in his detention hearing that his paranoia began two days before the attack. Although she also stated that her husband had never displayed mental health issues or aggression before, court records obtained by WPBF 25 News Investigative reporter showed that in 2018, Scantlebury was convicted of assault in Charlottetown, Canada, for punching his baby son's grandfather in the face and then slamming a car trunk on his head. The Pakistan government acted on Central Intelligence Agency inputs and helped nab terrorist Sharifullah who was involved in the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan during the 2021 withdrawal of American forces. US President Donald Trump thanked Pakistan for this in his address to the United States Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, night and said Sharifullah is being brought to America to face justice. Kindly note that this image has only been posted for representational purposes. Photograph: Reuters Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, is an ISIS-Khorasan member and directly responsible for the killing of 13 US soldiers and roughly 170 Afghans at the Hamid Karzai international airport's 'Abbey Gate' on August 26, 2021. According to media reports, Sharifullah conducted surveillance on American checkpoints and passed on the information to ISIS-Khorasan. ISIS-Khorasan, a terrorist organisation operating in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, is responsible for several terror attacks targeting civilians since 2015 and attacking US forces in Afghanistan during their occupation of the country. A report in Axios (external link) stated, 'The CIA has been monitoring Sharifullah for some time but in recent days it received specific intelligence about his location.' 'The CIA provided the information to the Pakistani intelligence agency, which sent an elite unit that captured him near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border,' Axios reported. According to CNN, Sharifullah is allegedly involved in two other attacks, the first being the attack on US embassy guards in Kabul in 2016 and the other one where he provided weapons and training for gunmen who carried out an attack on a Moscow club last year that killed 145 people. Though ISIS claimed responsibility (external link) for the Moscow attack and released a statement through the ISIS affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram, it did not provide any evidence to back its claim. 'As President Trump just announced, I can report that tonight the FBI, DoJ and CIA have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,' Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel posted on his X account on Tuesday night. 'One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families.' Axios quoting unnamed Pakistani and US officials said Sharifullah's arrest was a signal from Pakistan that it wants to engage with the Trump administration on intelligence and counterterrorism. Ever since Donald Trump took oath as American president on January 20, 2025, there has been no direct contact with the Pakistani administration. Punjab Police thwarted farmers' attempt to march to Chandigarh on the Samyukta Kisan Morcha's call for a week-long dharna beginning Wednesday, as multiple checkpoints were set up across the state and security stepped up at all entry points of the Union Territory. IMAGE: Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee supporters burn an effigy during a protest against the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government, at the Golden Gate in Amritsar on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Meanwhile, a farmer leader said the SKM has called off their proposed Chandigarh march and will decide about the next course of action in a meeting on March 7 in Ludhiana. The SKM, a conglomerate of more than 30 farmer bodies, had given the call for the sit-in in Chandigarh in support of farmers' various demands including purchase of six crops at minimum support price by the state government. Farmers, who left for Chandigarh in tractor-trolleys and other vehicles on Wednesday morning, were stopped by the Punjab Police at many places on the highways and other roads. The SKM strongly condemned the Aam Aadmi Party government for preventing farmers from going to the UT for raising their voice in support of their demands. SKM leaders claimed many farmers were detained by police when they were on their way to Chandigarh while several others started holding protests where they were stopped. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ropar Range) Harcharan Singh Bhullar said the protesting farmers would not be allowed to reach Chandigarh at any cost. "Wherever any farmer came out (on roads), police of that area stopped them there itself. They were sitting there peacefully," Bhullar said, adding the situation in Punjab is totally peaceful. The DIG said some farmers have been rounded up, adding that there was good coordination between Punjab Police and Chandigarh Police. SKM leaders Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Balbir Singh Rajewal, who were detained, have been released. Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said farmers will now not move to Chandigarh. "To decide about the next course of action, a meeting of the SKM has been called in Ludhiana on March 7," said Kokrikalan. Farmer leader Burj Singh Burjgill claimed that the farmers held 'dharnas' at around 18 places where they were stopped by police. In a statement, the SKM said about 15,000 farmers started peaceful protests on the streets of Punjab. 'The massive participation in today's protest despite the arrest of 350 farmer leaders by the Punjab Police the day before have filled confidence in the rank and file of the United Kisan Movement of not only Punjab but across India,' it said. The SKM also said that farmers did not block any road or rail as claimed by CM Mann on Tuesday. "No law and order problem was created at the behest of farmer organisations. The public faced despair in huge traffic blocks in Chandigarh and across the state not due to the farmers' struggle but the unwarranted restrictions imposed by the Punjab Police and administration for unlawfully stopping the farmers from going to the state capital," it said. The SKM claimed that farmer leaders including Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Mukesh Chandra Sharma and Balbir Singh Rajewal were taken into custody by police. 'SKM warns Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann that his government will not have enough jail if the farmers of Punjab decide to court arrest to protect the democratic rights of the people...,' the statement said. The SKM has released memorandum to all the chief ministers urging them to condemn the 'Police Raj' in Punjab and adopt resolutions in the respective assembly to repeal the anti-farmer National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, it said. 'The state SKM delegations will submit the memorandum to the respective chief ministers,' it added. In Sangrur's Gharachon area, heavy police personnel were deployed to prevent farmers from heading to Chandigarh. Barricades were put up and sand laden trucks were also parked to stop farmers from going to Chandigarh. In Moga, Krantikari Kisan Union district president Jatinder Singh said they were stopped at Ajitwal by police when they were going to Chandigarh. He claimed some of them were detained by police. The protesters also raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mann government for not allowing them to go to Chandigarh. In Samrala also, farmers said they were stopped by police from moving to Chandigarh. In Patiala, a senior police official said police ensured that there was no movement of protesting farmers towards Chandigarh. In Moga, police erected barricades at Chuhar Chak area to prevent farmers from moving towards Chandigarh. A police official said 100 police personnel were deployed at the checkpoint and that every vehicle was being checked to stop farmers. In Sangrur, police put up checkpoints at many places, including Gharachon and Bhawanigarh. In Kharar, police personnel were deployed at Bhago Majra toll plaza. Meanwhile, SKM leader Raminder Singh Patiala dubbed Punjab government's action against farmers as 'undeclared emergency' and said batches of farmers at several places were stopped by police and were detained. "The Bhagwant Mann government has shown that it is rattled and tried to suppress farmers' movement. It is our constitutional right to raise our voice in Chandigarh," said Patiala. Farmer leader Ugrahan in a video message condemned police action against farmers. He said their demands are related to Punjab. Ugrahan on Tuesday had called upon farmer leaders to head towards Chandigarh. He had asked farmers to sit at a vacant place if they were stopped by police on their way to Chandigarh, telling them not to block any road. Chandigarh Police put up barricades at the Chandigarh-Mohali border points to prevent protesting farmers from entering the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Security was beefed up at the entry points to Chandigarh from Mohali. Policemen checked vehicles especially buses coming from Punjab and even verified people going to Chandigarh. Police also deployed anti-riot vehicles, ambulances and fire brigades at several places. The intensive checking disrupted traffic from Mohali to Chandigarh at the border points, leading to a long queue of vehicles, causing inconvenience to commuters. Commuters at Chandigarh-Zirakpur road and some other roads expressed their frustration over traffic snarls. A commuter who was coming from Ambala and going to Chandigarh said he got stuck in the traffic jam for over an hour. Chandigarh Superintendent of Police Geetanjali Khandelwal said police personnel were deployed at all the border points. "Barricading has been put up and strict checking is being done. We want people to face minimum inconvenience. Wherever we suspect traffic snarls we have directed traffic routes," she told reporters. The Chandigarh administration has denied permission to farmers to hold their sit-in at Sector 34 in the city. Meanwhile, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha burnt the effigies of Chief Minister Mann in Amritsar over the police action against SKM leaders and not allowing farmers to go to Chandigarh. Mann on Tuesday lashed out at several farmer bodies for resorting to protests every other day and accused them of turning Punjab into a 'state of dharnas' and causing a huge loss to it. Mann denounced farmer organisations after talks between the Punjab government and SKM leaders to discuss farmers' demands broke down midway on Monday. The SKM, which had led the 2020 agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws, is demanding the withdrawal of the Centre's draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, a legal guarantee to MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission report, implementation of the state's agricultural policy and purchase of six crops including basmati, maize, moong, potato at MSP by the state government. The farmer organisation is also demanding a law for debt settlement, ownership rights of land tillers ensuring canal water to every field, payment of sugarcane arrears, stopping 'forcible' acquisition of land for the Bharatmala projects, and jobs and compensation for kin of farmers who lost lives during the farmers' stir in 2020-21. United States President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries, terming them as very unfair and announced reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on nations that impose levies on American goods. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 4, 2025. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Trump made these remarks in an address to the Joint Session of the Congress on Tuesday. It was the first address of his second term in the White House. On January 20, Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the US. If you don't make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases, a rather large one," Trump said. "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them," Trump said. "It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent." In February, President Trump said that his administration would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US capital last month. Trump has made it clear to Prime Minister Modi that India will not be spared from Washington's reciprocal tariffs and emphasised that nobody can argue with me on tariff structure. "China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Korea's average tariff is four times higher. Think of that. Four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But that's what happens. This is happening by friend and foe," Trump said. "We've been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth, and we will not let that happen any longer, Trump said. Asserting that this system is "not fair to the United States" and never was, Trump said that reciprocal tariffs will kick in from April 2. "Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal, back and forth, Trump said amid applause from Republican lawmakers. "Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There's a lot of that too. They don't even allow us in their market. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before," Trump said. He added that "I did it with China, and I did it with others and the Biden administration couldn't do anything about it because it was so much money they couldn't do anything about it." He added that the US has very large deficits with both Mexico and Canada. "But even more importantly, they have allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens and many very young, beautiful people, destroying families. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. They are in effect receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of dollars. We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of billions of dollars. And the United States will not be doing that any longer. We are not going to do it any longer." Trump is implementing a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent additional tariff on imports from China. In a retaliatory action, Canada said that effective March 4, 2025, it is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on USD 30 billion in goods imported from the United States. Mexico said it will announce reciprocal action on Sunday. China also announced it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15 per cent on imports of key US farm products. In the past, Trump has called India tariff king" and a "big abuser. Last month, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi in the White House, Trump had said that India has been very strong on tariffs, and I don't blame them, necessarily, but it's a different way of doing business. It's very hard to sell into India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs. Trump had noted that as a signal of good faith, Modi had recently announced the reductions to India's unfair, very strong tariffs that limit US access into the Indian market very strongly. "And really, it's a big problem, I must say. India imposes a 30 to 40 to 60 and even 70 per cent tariff on so many of the goods and, in some cases, far more than that. As an example, a 70 per cent tariff on US cars going into India, which makes it pretty much impossible to sell those cars." Trump had said that the US trade deficit with India is almost USD 100 billion, and Modi and he agreed that we'll begin negotiations to address the long-running disparities that should have been taken care of over the last four years but they didn't do that in the US-India trading relationship, with the goal of signing an agreement." "And we want really, we want a certain level playing field, which we really think we're entitled to, and he does also, in fairness, so we're going to work on that very hard," Trump said. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is in Washington for trade talks with his US counterpart Howard Lutnick. As per US estimates, the US total goods trade with India was an estimated USD 129.2 billion in 2024. The US goods exports to India in 2024 were USD 41.8 billion, up 3.4 per cent (USD 1.4 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from India totalled USD 87.4 billion in 2024, up 4.5 per cent (USD 3.7 billion) from 2023. The US goods trade deficit with India was USD 45.7 billion in 2024, a 5.4 per cent increase (USD 2.4 billion) over 2023. United States President Donald Trump said he has received "strong signals" from Russia that it is ready for peace and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written to him saying his country is ready to come to the negotiating table and also sign an agreement on minerals and security. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, February 28, 2025. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters Trump made these remarks Tuesday night in an address to the Joint Session of Congress, the first of his second term in the White House. "I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight, Trump said. He told Congress that on Tuesday, he received an important letter" from Zelenskyy, in which he said that Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, Zelenskyy wrote in the letter, Trump said. Trump said that Zelenskyy went on to write in the letter that his team and him stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine, maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Trump said he appreciates the letter and added that simultaneously we've had serious discussions with Russia and I've received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful? he said amid applause. "... It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end the senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides, Trump said. In a post on X, hours before Trump's address to Congress, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine really does value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. "And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this." In the post, Zelenskyy also referred to the disastrous meeting between him and Trump in the Oval Office last week and said Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. Trump said that the United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defence with no security, with no anything and asked lawmakers if they want to keep it going for another five years. Trump said that more than 2,000 people are being killed every single week in the conflict that is now in its third year. "They are Russian young people, they're Ukrainian young people. They're not Americans, but I want it to stop," Trump said. Trump added that meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they've spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. They've spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. We've spent perhaps USD 350 billion, like taking candy from a baby. That's what happened. And they've spent USD 100 billion. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us, and they don't. But we're getting along very well with them and lots of good things are happening," he said. "Biden has authorised more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't have stopped it and said at some point. Come on, let's equalise. You've got to be equal to us. That didn't happen," he said. A day before Zelenskyy wrote to Trump about Ukraine being ready to come to the negotiating table, the US President had temporarily suspended, with immediate effect, the delivery of all American military aid to Ukraine. A report in The New York Times had quoted a senior administration official as saying that Trump had temporarily suspended the delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine and that the order takes effect immediately, affecting "more than USD 1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order. This setback for Ukraine had come just days after Trump and Vice President J D Vance had a heated verbal exchange in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy, who was visiting the White House last Friday, and the two countries were all set to sign a rare mineral deal. But talks between Trump and Zelenskyy unravelled in a stunning exchange that played out in front of the global media. Vance told the Ukrainian leader, "I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media... you should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference. As the conversation grew heated, Trump said to Zelenskyy You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three. You're gambling with World War Three, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people say they should. Trump and Vance also criticised Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for the support that the US had given so far to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday thanked United States President Donald Trump for 'acknowledging and appreciating' Pakistan's role in counter-terrorism efforts after the country arrested a wanted terrorist. IMAGE: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks during a session at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, on February 11, 2025. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters Trump thanked the Pakistani government for 'helping arrest' Mohammad Shareefullah, also known as 'Jafar', who supported and conducted activities on behalf of Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) in support of multiple lethal attacks, including the Abbey Gate attack in 2021. The attack on the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) on August 26, 2021, took place when American and other Coalition military forces were conducting an evacuation operation at the airport as part of a larger operation to conclude US combat operations in Afghanistan. The attacks came just days after the Taliban took over Kabul. Sharif in a post on X said the terrorist, an Afghan national, had been apprehended in an operation along the border with Afghanistan. "We thank US President Donald Trump for acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan's role and support in counter terrorism efforts across the region, in the context of Pakistan Security Forces' recent apprehension of ISKP's top tier operational commander Shareefullah, who is an Afghanistan national," Sharif said. The prime minister added the 'wanted terrorist was apprehended in a successful operation conducted in the Pakistan-Afghan border region'. "As is well-known, Pakistan has always played a critical role in counter-terrorism efforts aimed at denying safe havens to terrorists and militant groups or the space to operate against any other country," he said. The prime minister said Pakistan 'will continue to partner closely with the US in securing regional peace and stability'. "We remain steadfast in our resolve and unwavering commitment to combating terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations. In this effort, Pakistan has rendered great sacrifices, including the lives of over 80,000 of our brave soldiers and citizens," he said. "The resolve of our leadership and our people remains unflinching in eradicating the menace of terrorism from our country. We will continue to partner closely with the US in securing regional peace and stability." Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar received a phone call from US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Foreign Office said in a statement in Islamabad. Dar appreciated the decision by the US administration to withdraw the leftover military equipment from Afghanistan and reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to continue cooperation with the US in the field of counter terrorism. Pakistan has often stated that the weapons left by the US after a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 were being used by the terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against the country. President Trump recently announced to retrieve weapons left in the wake of hasty withdrawal from Kabul. The NSA conveyed President Trump's appreciation and thanks for the Government of Pakistan's efforts in countering terrorism. Trump in his first address to Congress said the person responsible for killing 13 US service members during the US' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 had been arrested with the help of Pakistan. "Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," the US president told Congress. A 26-year-old student from Telangana was allegedly found dead with bullet wounds in the United States, but the circumstances leading to his death were not clear, his family members said on Wednesday. Image used only for representation. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters G Praveen was pursuing MS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His family was informed by US authorities on Wednesday morning (Indian time). Some friends said that Praveen's body was found with bullets, his cousin Arun told PTI. Some say Praveen was shot dead by unknown assailants at a store, but the cause of death was not known to the family, he said. Arun said Praveen called his father in the early hours of Wednesday, but the latter could not take the call as he was sleeping. Praveen's parents are in a state of shock after learning about the incident, he said. The family is native of Ranga Reddy district, neighbouring Hyderabad. The US authorities informed family members that the cause of death would be known after an autopsy. Praveen, who studied B Tech in Hyderabad, had gone to the US in 2023 to pursue MS. He visited India in December, 2024 and left for America in January this year. The family members approached MLAs and other leaders for help. At least two Indian students from Telangana, one from Khammam in November last year and another from Hyderabad in January this year, were allegedly shot dead in the US. On the basis of her committee's report, the UCC in Uttarakhand established mandatory registration for marriages and live-in relationships, banned polygamy, and provided equal inheritance rights for women. The high-level committee constituted by the Gujarat government to draft the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will hold public consultations and focus on equal rights for women and care for children, its chairperson Justice (retired) Ranjana Desai said on Tuesday, PTI reported. The five-member UCC committee convened its first meeting in Gujarat at the state capital, where Justice Desai launched a Web portal, www.uccgujarat.in, to take suggestions regarding the UCC from the public, government agencies, NGOs, social groups, communities, religious organisations and political parties. "Our work starts today. The committee has been tasked with assessing the need for the UCC in Gujarat. We will come up with a draft after the exercise, and for that, we will hold public consultation," the former Supreme Court Justice told reporters. She said public consultation is a vital part of the exercise, and two sub-committees have been formed -- one for public consultation and another to prepare the draft. "We will focus more on equal rights to women and care for children. There should be equal rights for marriage and divorce. Marriages and divorces will have to be registered, but rituals of marriage are not to be disturbed," Justice Desai said. The registration of all marriages and divorces is the only requirement, and divorces will have to be carried out as per the law, she said, adding that a draft for the law of inheritance and live-in relationships will be prepared soon. "We will soon start preparing a draft for the UCC and hope to complete it at the earliest," Justice Desai said. "But before that, we will hold public consultation with common people, religious leaders and the press. We will then go through suggestions submitted on the portal. We will study them for new ideas and objections. We will begin preparing a draft after that and try to complete it at the earliest." Citing that the UCC has been implemented in Uttarakhand, she said the code is in the Directive Principles of the Constitution, and even the Supreme Court has passed several judgments regarding this. She said the committee will meet and listen to people, but the exercise may not be completed within the prescribed time as public consultation will take time for a big state like Gujarat. As per an official release, stakeholders can submit their suggestions and opinions regarding the UCC online or through post by March 24. *** Justice Desai, who on February 4 became head of a five-member panel to frame guidelines on the Uniform Civil Code for Gujarat, was born in a lawyer's family and has had a career straddling various fields. Just before this, she headed the drafting committee for the UCC in Uttarakhand. The panel (for Gujarat) has been given 45 days to submit its report, which will be the basis for drafting the proposed law. Gujarat is now the latest Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to move towards a UCC rollout, following Uttarakhand last month. Goa now remains the only other Indian state with a UCC, having retained its Portuguese-era civil code after joining the Indian Union in 1961. Justice Desai is known for her contributions to the judiciary and her post-retirement roles in key public positions. When appointed to the Supreme Court in September 2011, she was the fifth woman to be appointed judge there. 'I am often asked how smooth my journey to the highest court in the country was,' she wrote in an article in the 'Women and the Law' edition of The Indian Advocate, the journal of the Bar Association of India. 'It was very difficult at times, even turbulent, making me wonder whether it was a mistake to enter this profession. A few kind individuals and my determination saw me through,' she said, and expressed the hope that her experiences might perhaps benefit 'my sisters' in the legal profession. The former judge reminisced when she began her career in 1973, there were very few woman lawyers in the Bombay high court, and named Justice Sujata V Manohar, who later became a judge of the Supreme Court, Sohini Nanavati, and Kusum Hariani as women who inspired her. Born on October 30, 1949, and raised in Mumbai, she earned her Bachelor of Arts from the city's Elphinstone College in 1970 and Bachelor of Laws from the Government Law College, Bombay, in 1973. After joining the legal profession, she worked as a junior of Justice S C Pratap of the Bombay high court when he was at the bar. She appeared in several civil and criminal matters. She later worked with her father, S G Samant, who was an eminent criminal lawyer. Justice Desai has written that she had parents with a liberal outlook. 'I have no brother. We were three sisters brought up in a free environment. We were encouraged to speak on any subject, we had the liberty to oppose our parents, and the liberty to move freely in society. No questions were asked; no restrictions placed,' she wrote. But Desai was surprised to find that her father opposed her joining the legal profession. 'He asked me whether I would be able to deal with the kind of people who came to his office,' she has written, acknowledging how her mother supported her, and later when her father-in-law advised her to stop her practice and concentrate on managing the family property, it was her mother-in-law who told her not to abandon the profession. Justice Desai was elevated to the bench of the Bombay high court on April 15, 1996, and then became a Supreme Court judge on September 13, 2011. She retired on October 29, 2014. She wrote: 'As children, my sisters and I were never taken out of Bombay for vacations. As a little girl, I once asked my mother when she would take me to Delhi. She was busy with her domestic chores. She looked at me sternly and said, "You must go to Delhi only if the President calls you. Go, do your work".' 'When the warrant of my elevation to the Supreme Court came so many years later, tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of what she said. She was the woman who set the goals for us.' After she retired from the Supreme Court, Justice Desai was appointed chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity in 2014, where she oversaw disputes related to electricity regulation. She became chairperson of the Advance Ruling Authority in 2018, where she dealt with tax-related matters and their interpretations. On the basis of her committee's report, the UCC in Uttarakhand established mandatory registration for marriages and live-in relationships, banned polygamy, and provided equal inheritance rights for women. Reminiscing about her career, Desai has written that her mother was struck with Alzheimer's just when she was appointed judge. 'I do not know whether she understood that I had become a judge. But to her I owe an enormous debt.' Notable cases heard and pronouncements by Justice Desai - In September 2013, she was part of a three-judge bench that on a petition asked the Election Commission to provide a 'None of the Above', or NOTA, button on EVMs - November 2013, part of a five judge bench that held that registration of FIR in cognisable offence is a must and action must be taken against police officials for not lodging a case in such offences - In May 2012, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Desai directed the Centre to gradually reduce the amount of subsidies being given to Haj pilgrims - In February 2011, she was part of the Bombay high court's division bench that upheld the death sentence to Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case - In 2009, she was part of the Bombay high court's division bench that directed the EC to seize licenced arms from people during elections - In 2009, the Bombay high court's division bench comprising of her and Justice R G Ketkar framed guidelines to prevent baby thefts in public hospitals Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Kolkata Police detectives on Wednesday visited the house, where three female members of a family were killed last month, and reconstructed the crime scene with an accused -- the husband of one of the deceased. Image used only for representation. Photograph: ANI Photo The sleuths during the investigation also found that the Dey brothers, who were in the tannery business, had a loan of over Rs 15 crore, which they were unable to repay, leading them to decide to carry out the killings, a senior police officer said. Two Dey brothers -- Pranay and Prasun -- lived in that house in the Tangra area with their wives, Sudeshna and Romi, respectively. Pranay's son and Prasun's daughter were the other occupants of the house. Romi, Sudeshna and the daughter were found dead inside their Tangra residence, while three others were injured after their car crashed into a Metro Rail pillar in the city on early February 19. The police came to know about the deaths in the house from one of the three injured occupants of the car. On Wednesday, Kolkata Police sleuths took Prasun, who was arrested on Monday, to their residence to reconstruct the crime scene. The younger brother was accompanied by officers of the Detective Department (DD) scientific wings from its headquarters and investigating officers from the Tangra Police Station. "The reconstruction has been videographed. The accused person was asked to enact every detail of the crime, where the bodies were lying after the murders were carried out. What exactly he and his brother Pranay Dey and nephew did after the crime was executed at their Tangra residence," the police officer said. Pranay and his son are still in the hospital because of the injury they suffered in the car crash. "During today's reconstruction of the crime scene, all claims of Prasun were doubly checked," the officer said, adding that depending on their findings they might again question the arrested accused. The detectives were also planning to interrogate the two Dey brothers together to crack the mystery behind the triple murder case. "Once Pranay is discharged from the hospital, he will be arrested. After that, we will question both the brothers together to verify their claims," the officer said. The brothers had, earlier, claimed to the police that there was a suicide pact among the family members, following which all consumed porridge laced with sleeping pills, the officer said. Investigations revealed that the two brothers -- Pranay and Prasun -- along with their wives, decided to consume porridge spiked with a huge number of sleeping pills and die by suicide on February 17, he said. "This was their first plan which did not work out. After that, they planned that the women would jump off from the terrace but when the two wives denied to do so, they decided to slit their wrists," the officer said. Prasun claimed that he was helped by his wife in smothering their sleeping daughter using a pillow. Romi had held their daughter's legs as she was kicking. After she died, Romi tried to slit her own wrists using a paper-knife but failed. Prasun then killed his wife by slashing her wrists. The officer said Prasun also confessed to killing his sister-in-law, Sudeshna, he said adding that all these happened on February 18. For some reasons, the boy in the family was not murdered in the same way, the officer said. The boy, his father and uncle went out in their car which crashed into a pillar of Metro Rail on early February 19. Remember how Xi Jinping humiliated his predecessor Hu Jintao at the Communist Party Congress back in October 2022? No such scenes were visible at the opening session of the National People's Congress -- what passes for the Chinese communist party's parliament -- at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday March 5, 2025. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference usually meets once a year, coinciding with the National People's Congress' annual plenary sessions. Together, these two major political gatherings are known as the 'National Two Sessions' (Quanguo Lianghui in Chinese). And while delegates from all over China attended the National People's Congress, all eyes were on one man, the anointed-by-personal-diktat ruler for life, Xi Jinping. IMAGE: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese communist party, makes a forceful point to the party's main ideologue and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning at the opening session of the National People's Congress, March 5, 2025. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Xi, who is also China's president, and Premier Li Qiang at the opening session. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Li Qiang presented the National People's Congress an annual report card of how China has fared in the past year. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Xi sings the Chinese national anthem during the opening session. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Li Qiang bows after delivering his work report, which Chinese premiers are required to do at the National People's Congress. Photograph: Florence Lo/Reuters IMAGE: Xi appears to approve of Li's performance. Photograph: Florence Lo/Reuters IMAGE: Chinese premiers were meant to be a counterpoint to the president's authority and power, but Li is considered to be the weakest premier in years. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Xi leaves after the opening session. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters Day 1: The opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference IMAGE: Delegates applaud Xi as he arrives to attend the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 4, 2025. Photograph: Florence Lo/Reuters Photograph: Go Nakamura/Reuters IMAGE: Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the opening session. Photograph: Go Nakamura/Reuters IMAGE: CPPCC Chairman Wang Huning speaks during the session. Photograph: Go Nakamura/Reuters IMAGE: A view of the Great Hall of the People as delegates attend the opening session. Photograph: Go Nakamura/Reuters IMAGE: Delegates from the Tibet Autonomous Region arrive at the Great Hall of the People before the CPPCC opening session. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters IMAGE: Delegates arrive at the Great Hall of the People before the CPPCC opening session. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com ANKARA, Turkiye, March 5. The project we are inaugurating today will ensure Nakhchivan's energy security, said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline via video link, Trend reports. Speech by President Ilham Aliyev - Dear Mr. President, my dear Brother, Dear participants of the ceremony, Today is an important day in the history of Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and brotherhood today we are celebrating the opening of the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. As mentioned here, together with the esteemed President, we laid the foundation stone of this gas pipeline in Nakhchivan a year and a half ago and are now participating in this wonderful ceremony. As you may know, Nakhchivan is ancient Azerbaijani land. However, it has been separated from the rest of Azerbaijan for more than a century. The reason for this is that five months after the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1920, the Soviet authorities separated West Zangezur from Azerbaijan and annexed it to Armenia, thus interrupting the overland connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and its inseparable part, Nakhchivan. This injustice has lasted for more than a century and has had a very negative impact on the lives of our compatriots living in Nakhchivan. When the First Karabakh War broke out, Armenia occupied Karabakh and, at the same time, kept Nakhchivan under blockade. Their plan was to occupy Nakhchivan as well. However, my father, Heydar Aliyev, then the leader of Nakhchivan, did not allow this to happen, and all the people of Nakhchivan mobilized their efforts to defend Nakhchivan, protect their native lands, and push the occupiers back. One of the reasons why Nakhchivan was not occupied at the time was that the Umid bridge, connecting Nakhchivan with Turkiye, was built, and the aid from Turkiye made a very significant contribution to the protection of Nakhchivan. Today, Turkiye and Azerbaijan, two brotherly countries, are implementing huge projects. Oil and gas pipeline projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, and TANAP have not only connected our countries but also redrawn the energy map of Eurasia. Today, gas flowing from Azerbaijan through Turkish territory contributes to the energy security of many countries. Last year, Azerbaijan's gas exports reached 25 billion cubic meters, about half of which were exported to Turkiye. In addition to Turkiye, 11 countries, including 10 in Europe, are strengthening their energy security by purchasing Azerbaijani gas. The project we are inaugurating today will ensure the energy security of Nakhchivan. The gas coming from Azerbaijan will be transferred to Nakhchivan through the territory of Turkiye in the form of a swap and will save Nakhchivan from this problem. Our joint energy initiatives have also enabled the implementation of transport projects. Today, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which connects Turkiye with Azerbaijan, provides great advantages both for our countries and for a wider region. This transport link has tremendous significance and benefits, especially in terms of uniting the Turkic world. Naturally, the unity and brotherhood between Turkiye and Azerbaijan make a great contribution to the entire Turkic world. My dear Brother, the esteemed President, has played an immense role in the unification of the Turkic world. Under his leadership, Turkiye has achieved great successes and created new opportunities for closer Turkic unity. Azerbaijan has always attached great importance to the unification of the Turkic world and has spared no effort to ensure this unity, make it eternal, and establish relations based on common interests and shared history. Today's ceremony is yet another testament to the unity, friendship, and brotherhood between Turkiye and Azerbaijan. It is a visible manifestation of this bond. I am sure that about 500,000 of our compatriots living in Nakhchivan will celebrate this occasion as a holiday today in the blessed month of Ramadan. On my own behalf, I would like to express my gratitude to our friends who contributed to this achievement. The construction was completed in a short time, in just over a year, and we are already participating in this wonderful ceremony. Once again, I sincerely congratulate both of usTurkiye and Azerbaijanon this remarkable event and wish our peoples and states continued success. Thank you. An Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) terrorist has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation resulting in death and faces life in prison for his role in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing, with President Donald Trump thanking Pakistan for help in his arrest. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Vice President J D Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson applaud behind him. Photograph: Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as 'Jafar', has been charged by the United States with providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation resulting in death. Sharifullah has been arrested and is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia Wednesday to face charges for his role in the August 26, 2021 Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that killed 13 United States military service members and about 160 civilians. If convicted, Sharifullah faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Trump, in an address to the Joint Session of Congress, said that a 'top terrorist' responsible for the August 2021 Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport as American forces withdrew from Afghanistan has been apprehended and is being brought to the country to face justice. Trump did not name Sharifullah and thanked the Pakistan government for 'helping arrest this monster'. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said that the 'evil ISIS-K terrorist' orchestrated the brutal murder of 13 heroic marines. "Under President Trump's strong leadership on the world stage, this Department of Justice will ensure that terrorists like Mohammad Sharifullah have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America," she said. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said that thanks to the assistance of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA, 'we have secured Sharifullah's apprehension and transport to the US to face American justice. The FBI will never forget the loss of these American heroes, we will continue to hunt down those who viciously murdered our warriors, we will find all responsible and bring them to justice'. Sharifullah was interviewed by FBI agents on March 2 and according to the court documents in the case seen by PTI, Sharifullah told FBI agents that he was recruited into ISIS-K in or around 2016 and has since then been a member of the terror group. "He admitted to supporting and conducting activities on behalf of ISIS-K in support of multiple lethal attacks," including the attack on Embassy Guards in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 20, 2016 and the attack at the Crocus City Hall, a popular concert venue complex near Moscow, Russia on March 22, 2024 that killed approximately 130 people and injured numerous others. The criminal complaint details the Abbey Gate attack on the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) on August 26, 2021, when American and other coalition military forces were conducting an evacuation operation at the airport as part of a larger operation to conclude US combat operations in Afghanistan. The attacks came just days after the Taliban took over Kabul. Abbey Gate was the main entry control point for the operation. Thousands of civilians were at or near Abbey Gate on August 26 for evacuation processing. The attack was carried out by lone suicide bomber ISIS-K member named Abdul Rahman al-Logari at Abbey Gate. In the interview with FBI Special Agents, Sharifullah said that he was in prison in Afghanistan from approximately 2019 until approximately two weeks before the Kabul airport attack. 'Upon Sharifullah's release, an ISIS-K member contacted him to arrange for his assistance in an upcoming attack,' the complaint said. ISIS-K members provided Sharifullah with a motorcycle, funds for a cell phone and a SIM card, and instructions to open an account on a particular social media platform to communicate with them during the attack operation. 'After making these preparations for the attack, Sharifullah was tasked with scouting a route near HKIA for an attacker. Sharifullah conducted surveillance on a route, specifically checking for law enforcement and American or Taliban checkpoints,' the court documents said. Sharifullah communicated to other ISIS-K members that he believed the route was clear and that he did not think the attacker would be detected while proceeding through that route, according to court documents. 'ISIS-K members then instructed Sharifullah to leave the area of HKIA. Later that same day, Sharifullah learned of the attack at HKIA described above and recognised the alleged bomber as an ISIS-K operative he had known while incarcerated,' it said. In his address, Trump said that 'America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism'. Trump said three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the 'disastrous and incompetent withdrawal' from Afghanistan. "Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," Trump said as members of the Republican Party broke into an applause and gave the president a standing ovation. Trump described the day of the attack as a 'horrible day', saying 'such incompetence was shown that when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, 'Wow, maybe this is my chance'. That's how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people'. Art and music classes will be offered for seniors at the Broad Brook Community Center in Guilford this spring. Sueno LeBlond, of Brattleboro and guardian of Mykah Lawrence, 10, and Graysen Palmer, 5, shows them the voting process at the American Legion Post 5 during a town election held on Town Meeting Day on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Willow Ngoma, 9, of Brattleboro, watches her mother, Libby Bennett, fill out a ballot at the American Legion Post 5 during a town election held on Town Meeting Day on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. GUILFORD Jocelyn Fritts will be joining the Windham Southeast School District Board. Fritts defeated Kelly Young 1,128 to 1,100 in Tuesday's elections in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney. They were vying for a three-year seat representing Guilford. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the support and it is appreciated," Fritts said. "I am truly honored to have been entrusted with this responsibility, and I will work to represent your voices and address the issues that matter most to our schools. I am excited to serve on the board, and can't wait to start." Incumbents Matt Schibley of Brattleboro and Deborah Stanford of Dummerston were reelected to three-year seats, and recently appointed board member Jessica Everlith of Dummerston was elected to the remaining year of a three-year term that became vacant after Eva Nolan resigned. The candidates faced no competition on the ballot. WSESD Board candidate Jocelyn Fritts seeks inclusive schools Windham Southeast School District Board candidate Jocelyn Fritts wants local schools to be inclusive and comfortable for students. About a year ago, Fritts moved to Guilford from Florida, unhappy with the education her daughters were receiving. They have progressed since moving here, she said at a recent forum. When Fritts learned longtime board member Shaun Murphy would not be seeking reelection, she decided she would run. "I know I'm new to the area. I bring a different perspective," Fritts said. "I'm very invested in the district because my children go here and I want to see them succeed. I want to see them all succeed, their friends and everyone else." Fritts previously told the Reformer she believes that her experience in information technology, planning and analytics will be "an asset" to the board. "Having come from a very diverse community prior, I can provide an outlook aimed at enhancing and building the school up in a way that includes everyone and facilitates growth and development," she said. Young served on the Guilford School Board then the WSESD Board, following a merger, until she was ousted by Brian Remer last year. She chaired the WSESD and Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Boards. NEWFANE It took several tries and some time to get the wording of an article condemning apartheid over the finish line. The pledge commits to "freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people and all people;" opposing all forms of "racism, bigotry discrimination and oppression;" declaring "ourselves an apartheid-free community; and calling for others to join in "working to end all support of Israel's apartheid regime, settler colonialism and military occupation." Brattleboro, Montpelier, Thetford, Vergennes, Weybridge and Winooski also considered the pledge, which is to be "conveyed" to the board and Vermont's Legislature, governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. congressional delegation. Residents voted 46-16 in favor of the amended article adding language that says Newfane voters "continue to be moved by the suffering caused by the deep history of violence and oppression in the Middle East." "We," the article states, "call both sides of the conflict to acknowledge the pain and trauma they have inflicted on the other. We ... call on both sides for the sake of all our children to accept the right for both sides to exist, with freedom from oppression, with freedom from threat of annihilation from the other and the self determination in peace." Marion Dowling of Newfane, whose parents were victims in the Holocaust, said she knows many people who didn't attend Town Meeting "because they didn't want to get upset" after last year's meeting involved debate over a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Ultimately, last year's resolution urged "both sides in the conflict to acknowledge the pain and trauma they have inflicted on the other." Emmet Mahdavi of Williamsville said he thinks "getting people involved in local politics is something to celebrate." "I don't think Town Meeting is the place for world politics," Sarah Taylor of South Newfane said. "With the big orange blob president that we have now, there's too much we could be discussing. Like I'm worried about Ukraine." Newfane reverses course, adds Town Meeting article on apartheid NEWFANE Initially, Select Board members opted against putting an annual Town Meeting artic Dan DeWalt of South Newfane brought the petition forward after getting 99 residents to sign it. He said he only needed 85 signatures or 10 percent of the town's voters. At one point when amendments were being considered, DeWalt became worried the pledge would not mention the Palestinian people. "They have suffered at least 50,000 casualties and ... likely over 100,000," he said. "Their entire territory of Gaza has been bombed into rubble. We're saying we're not acknowledging the suffering that we have paid for those bombs are ours, that intelligence is ours." Scott Aronowitz of Newfane said "buzzwords" such as "apartheid" and "settler colonialism" simplify the situation in the Middle East. Voters earlier in the meeting approved nearly $1.9 million in General Fund expenditures, $467,000 in Capital Fund expenditures, $25,467 for an annual lease payment for an excavator, $6,750 for the Reappraisal Reserve Fund and money for 28 organizations. An article to eliminate the office of constable was amended to instead explore the possibility of having an appointed constable including the cost. Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Footage of President Ilham Aliyevs visit to Ankara has been posted on his official Instagram page, Trend reports. The post reads: "President Ilham Aliyevs working visit to the Republic of Turkiye (05.03.2025)". The US state of Florida said it has launched a criminal investigation of controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother just days after they arrived from Romania, where they have been embroiled in a legal case alleging human trafficking and sexual misconduct. State Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post on X late on March 4 that he had "directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers" after a preliminary inquiry into their activities. "Florida has zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls. We will not allow it," he added. The brothers touched down at Fort Lauderdale airport in a private jet on February 27 after a travel ban against the dual British-U.S. citizens, who are suspects in a criminal case in Romania, was lifted. NGOs and some of those involved in the cases expressed outrage over the removal of the travel ban, casting doubt over whether the brothers, who attracted millions of fans online through their promotion of an ultra-masculine lifestyle that detractors say belittles women, would return to Romania around the end of March when their next court hearing is expected. After the two landed in Florida, Uthmeier said his office would launch a preliminary inquiry into the brothers' situation and if "any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable." The pair face a separate criminal probe in the United Kingdom, and US media reported on March 4 that a 23-year-old American woman had filed a civil lawsuit against them in Florida accusing them of trying to coerce her into prostitution in Romania and defaming her after she testified against them before Romanian authorities. The brothers have vehemently denied all allegations against them and have launched a countersuit against the woman. Andrew Tate, 38, has amassed more than 10 million followers on the social media platform X but has been banned from TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for hate speech and misogynistic comments, including saying that women should bear responsibility if they are sexually assaulted. Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT gave no details on the reasoning behind dropping the travel ban but it came after Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said the case had been brought up by Richard Grenell, US President Donald Trump's special envoy, earlier this month. Both Hurezeanu and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu have said, however, that there was no pressure from US officials to release the brothers. Officials and prosecutors said that, while the Tate brothers were free to travel, "all of the other obligations have been maintained, including the requirement to check in with judicial authorities every time they are called." Andrew Tate said in a brief statement at the airport that the charges against him and his brother were a conspiracy and that "we have no criminal record anywhere on the planet, ever." Reporters at the airport shouted questions about why the brothers chose to come to Florida and whether Trump had been involved in their case, but neither commented. Speaking at the White House, Trump said he knew nothing about the case. What Are The Charges Against Andrew Tate? DIICOT filed charges against Tate, his brother, Tristan Tate, and two Romanian women after they were arrested in December 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking. The four suspects were formally indicted last year, and the Bucharest Tribunal ruled last year that a trial could start but did not set a date. All four deny the charges. However, the Bucharest Court of Appeals said on December 19 that it found "irregularities" in the indictment issued by the Prosecutor-General's Office and sent the case back to prosecutors. The court said prosecutors can now bring forth new evidence to back up their charges or amend the existing ones. Andrew Tate has complained bitterly about the case, accusing prosecutors of trying to "target everyone I know, and even subpoena the mother of my child," while still having "nothing." In August Andrew Tate was placed under house arrest and Tristan Tate under judicial control for 30 days after they were interrogated by Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors as part of an investigation into new allegations against them. During the criminal investigation, prosecutors said they identified seven women who were sexually exploited "forcibly, in order to obtain significant financial benefits" for the defendants from people who accessed content on social media. Prosecutors accused the Tate brothers of recruiting their victims using the so-called lover boy method of seducing them and claiming to want a relationship or marriage. The victims were then taken to properties outside Bucharest, where they were sexually exploited through physical violence and psychological intimidation as they were forced to produce pornographic content, the prosecutors said. Romanian investigators carried out the interrogations and fresh searches at the brothers' residences as part of the investigation into the new charges. DIICOT said at the time that the new accusations included charges of forming an organized crime group, trafficking of minors, a sexual act with a minor, influencing statements, and money laundering. They had been barred from leaving Romania as the proceedings against them continued but were set to be extradited to Britain once their case in Romania concludes. They face further allegations of rape and human trafficking in Britain, where a court ruled on December 18 that police can seize more than 2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes. Also on February 18, four British women who allege they were victims of sexual violence by Andrew Tate and filed a civil suit against him urged the United States not to intervene in legal proceedings, saying, "We hope that the Romanian and the U.K. authorities will be left alone to do their jobs." "We are in disbelief and traumatized by the news [of Tate leaving Romania]," the women said in a statement -- obtained by RFE/RL's Romanian Service -- through their law firm, McCue Jury & Partners. "We can only hope that the British authorities finally take action and do something about this terrifying unfolding situation to ensure he faces justice in the U.K." In an open letter to DIICOT, the VIF Network, an NGO dedicated to preventing and combating violence against women, demanded the publication of reasons that the travel ban was lifted "so that any doubt about the independence and impartiality of the Romanian judicial system is removed." VIF added that it feared the removal of the travel ban could "undermine the trust in the judicial system of victims of crimes of sexual violence and human trafficking." The Tate brothers have stated previously that they did not want to be extradited from Romania, which they said they consider their home. Pakistan's arrest of a suspected Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) operative and his extradition to the United States signals renewed counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries, experts said. The United States accuses Mohammad Sharifullah, a suspected senior member of IS-K, the Afghanistan branch of Islamic State, of helping plan the 2021 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport that killed 13 American soldiers and 170 Afghans. Sharifullah appeared in a US federal court on March 5. He did not enter a plea, and he will next appear in court on March 10. He will stay in custody until then, the judge said. Sharifullah has been charged with providing "material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death" and faces life in prison. Pakistan said Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, was arrested recently in the country's southwestern province of Balochistan, near the border with Afghanistan. It came after Pakistani intelligence reportedly received a tip from the CIA. Islamabad's strategic importance has waned since the US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. But Sharifullah's capture and extradition is "a very notable development," said Lucas Webber, senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, an UN-backed project that monitors extremism online. Webber said it could point to "signs of more coordination to come between the two countries." US President Donald Trump thanked Islamabad "for helping arrest this monster" during his State of the Union address on March 4. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for recognizing his country's role in counterterrorism efforts and pledged to "continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability." Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, news director at the Khorasan Diary, a website tracking militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Pakistan's handover of Sharifullah is a significant boost to relations between Washington and Islamabad. "It gave Trump something to showcase during an important occasion," he said. Islamic State In Afghanistan Based in Afghanistan, IS-K has carried out deadly attacks against the Taliban, which seized power in 2021. The extremist group has also staged a series of devastating, high-profile assaults in Russia, Iran, and Tajikistan in recent years. Webber said Sharifullah's capture is a "major event in the US fight against IS-K." Pakistani officials said Sharifullah is an Afghan citizen, a claim rejected by the Taliban government. US officials said Sharifullah admitted to being a member of IS-K and to his role in the August 2021 bombing, one of the deadliest attacks of the entire 19-year US-led war in Afghanistan. Sharifullah also confessed to training the suspected IS-K militants involved in the March 2024 attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed around 140 people, according to the Justice Department. The department said he also played a role in a deadly attack on the Canadian Embassy in Kabul in 2016, which killed 10 guards. "IS-K is highly multifaceted, expanding its operational cells and networks," said Webber. "It's a very dynamic, robust, internationally reaching organization and poses a serious threat." Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban rulers have banned education and most jobs for Afghan women, who are also barred from parks, gyms, and bathhouses. They are not supposed to leave their houses without a male guardian and live under draconian Taliban morality laws. With such constraints, Afghan women are furious after photos and videos emerged of an American porn actor visiting their country. While the Taliban has not acknowledged the visit, adult film star Whitney Wright posted photos of her visit to an Afghan tourist landmark on her Instagram account. "It is fundamentally hypocritical," said Wazhma Tokhi, an Afghan women's rights and education activist. "Afghan women are imprisoned in their own homeland, while foreign visitors -- no matter their background -- are treated with hospitality," she added. In recent years, Wright has visited the predominantly Muslim nations of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. RFE/RL's Radio Azadi couldn't reach the Taliban or Wright for comment. The U.S. State Department currently advises Americans to "not travel to Afghanistan for any reason" because "multiple terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan and US citizens are targets of kidnapping and hostage-taking." Wright would require a visa as a US citizen, although the Taliban's unrecognized government does not control the Afghan Embassy or consulates in the United States. The Taliban has been keen on wooing foreign tourists to boost its international image and showcase the significant drop in violence in the country since it returned to power in August 2021. Some Afghan women have said the Taliban is using female tourists to cultivate a positive image and highlight how safe the country is even for foreign women. "This freedom is only for foreigners, not for Afghan women who are deprived of their most basic rights," Nasima Bidargar, an Afghan women's rights activist, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. 'Gender Apartheid' In Afghanistan After returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban immediately banned teenage girls from school. It closed the doors of universities and other seats of higher learning to women in December 2022. The extremist group has also banned women from working for international NGOs and other sectors. Even public parks exclusively reserved for women and restaurants and cafes owned or frequented by women have been shut down by the Taliban regime. In August 2024, the Taliban enacted a new morality law specifically targeting women by requiring them to be accompanied by a male chaperone in public while covering their faces. It also banned women from singing or even raising their voices in public. Senior United Nations officials and Afghan female activists have termed the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women as a "gender apartheid." In January, the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the Taliban's Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for bearing "criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds." Dressed in a black veil, Wright posted a video on Facebook of her walking in the snow near Band-e Amir. The famed crystal-blue lakes and soaring cliffs are one of the most popular national parks in Afghanistan's central province of Bamiyan. In August 2023, the Taliban banned Afghan women from the park. "As an Afghan woman, this situation is harrowing for me," a female resident of Bamiyan told Radio Azadi. On February 13, two weeks before Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine reached the three-year mark, the US Department of Justice announced it had arrested three people linked to an Ohio company on charges of exporting $2 million worth of civilian aircraft parts and components to Russia in circumvention of US export laws. It was at least the fifth time in the past three years that the United States has accused an individual or larger entity of involvement in a scheme to illegally ship aircraft parts to Russia. In the latest case, all three individuals were current and former employees of Flighttime Enterprises, a US subsidiary of a Russian aircraft parts supplier. The growing number of smuggling cases reflects a broad and deep crisis within Russia's civilian airline industry, which has been under sweeping US and European sanctions since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Leah Walker, lab director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, has analyzed Justice Department smuggling indictments going back a decade. She said Russia's aviation sector has been hit so hard by sanctions and is so dependent on Western technology that there are likely more cases. "We're just starting to see [the cases]. And I think there's a lot more that's not reported," Walker told RFE/RL. "We don't often realize -- both in Europe and the United States -- how dominant we are in aviation." There can be a two-year lag between the act of smuggling and the Justice Department publicly announcing charges, she said. Sometimes it can't move forward with a case because it is unable to get assistance from counterparts in foreign countries that are used as intermediary states before final delivery to Russia. While China also targets the US aviation industry as well, it tends to use cyber means to steal intellectual property or trade secrets. Russia prefers to smuggle parts, doing so in small sizes, she said. US-made Boeings and EU-made Airbus planes account for two-thirds of Russia's commercial fleet but carry about 90 percent of passengers. Like all aircraft, those planes require regular maintenance checkups by certified experts with certified parts. The Western sanctions ban individuals and companies from servicing those planes and upgrading parts, leaving Russian airlines with tough choices. They can either mothball planes that reach required maintenance checkup until sanctions are over, risk flying the planes and potentially putting passenger lives in danger, or smuggling in certified parts and paying off experts to conduct maintenance in violation of sanctions. Russian airlines have largely chosen the latter two options, and the results are evident. Equipment failures are becoming more frequent with engine malfunctions the most concerning. Between December 1, 2024, and January 20, 2025, aircraft in Russia's civilian park suffered 11 engine failures compared to just five incidents in the previous two months. Eight were either Boeing or Airbus, while three were Russian-made Sukhoi Superjets. In early January, a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 headed to Yekaterinburg from a popular resort town in Egypt had to return to the airport after its left engine failed shortly after takeoff. No one was injured in the incident. Sanctions prevent Ural Airlines from having the engine replaced by certified experts. "That aircraft will probably just rust in Egypt until sanctions are lifted or Ural Airlines manages to sell it," a Russian pilot told RFE/RL's Russian Service. Jump In Incidents Aviation incidents in Russia were on pace last year for a 25 percent increase, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe. There were 208 incidents during the first 11 months of the year, compared to 161 in the same period of 2023. The full-year results were not yet available. At least 90 of these incidents involved unscheduled landings due to system failures, with engine and landing gear failures accounting for the majority of cases. Aviation experts believe the situation will only worsen this year unless sanctions are lifted, as planes continue to be exploited long beyond the timeframe of a comprehensive maintenance checkup. Planes require a thorough examination of their structure, systems, and components -- known in the industry as a C Check -- every 18-24 months or after completion of 3,000-6,000 flight hours. Planes are typically out of commission for several weeks during the C Check. Every six to 12 years, planes are stripped down for an inspection of their components, which are either repaired or replaced as needed. Known as a D Check, this process can take up to two months. However, none of this is possible without direct cooperation with aircraft manufacturers. With sanctions now extending into their fourth year, planes in Russia's fleet are nearing a critical point, according to a Russian flight safety expert interviewed by RFE/RL's Russian Service. "I don't have exact data on the lifespan of all Russian aircraft, but 2025 will be the last year of legal operation for most of them," the expert said. Like others cited in this report, he spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject and potential repercussions. Russian airlines are trying to stretch aircraft lifespans by smuggling certified parts from the United States and Europe unofficial sources, resorting to unofficial maintenance checks and reducing flight frequency. In the five cases in the United States since February 2022, the suspects exported items like carbon disk brake systems for the Boeing 737 as well as avionics, which include communications, navigation, and control systems. In most of the cases, the suspects sought to reroute the parts to Russia via third countries like Turkey, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. China Pivot? Over the past decade, as tensions between Moscow and the West intensified following Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region and incitement of war in the Donbas, the Kremlin stepped up investment in its aerospace industry to reduce dependence on US and European planes. Today, Russia's fleet consists of about 700 foreign aircraft and 150 Sukhoi Superjets. But sanctions are also impacting the ramp up of domestic planes as they too rely on Western parts like avionics. The Superjet's fuselage and wings are made in Russia but the aircraft's key components -- engines, avionics, electrical systems, landing gear, and fuel systems -- come from Western manufacturers. While the Superjet can get C and D checks inside Russia, airlines would still face the same problem of sourcing any Western parts needed for its upgrade. "Both foreign planes and Superjets will eventually be grounded due to a lack of parts. The Superjets will just last about a year longer," said another flight safety expert. As it seeks to shed its deep dependence on Western aerospace technology, Russia is pinning its hopes on a new domestic plane, the MC-21. According to a 2022 government plan, Russia aimed to produce 1,036 aircraft by 2030, including 270 MC-21s, 142 Superjets, 70 Tu-214s, and others. However, mass production has been delayed by years in part by the sweeping Western technology sanctions and in part by the need to channel resources into the war effort. "We're great at riveting airframes; Soviet fuselages and wings were the strongest. But we don't have engines or modern avionics because of sanctions," a Russian pilot explained. Replacing MC-21's foreign components is particularly difficult. The plane was initially designed with American engines and avionics, and Russia lacks the technological base to replace them. "We're 40 years behind in engine technology. The same goes for composite materials," one of the flight safety experts noted. As with so many other struggling domestic sectors, Russia may turn for help to China, which is developing its own aircraft engines. If China can supply Russia with reliable engines, the MC-21 may have a future, according to experts, but not until 2029 at the earliest. China's C919 aircraft currently uses Western engines, making it unavailable for Russia. However, China plans to develop a domestic engine by this year or next. "China will end up with an aircraft for pariah states -- Iran, North Korea, and Russia," one of the experts who spoke with RFE/RL concluded. Senior Russian missile and air-defense specialists traveled to Iran last year as the Islamic republic expanded its military cooperation with Moscow. Reuters, which first reported the story, said seven Russian experts visited Iran on April 24 and September 17, 2024. The visits came at a critical time for Iran, as it was embroiled in a conflict with archfoe Israel, with the two sides launching military attacks against one another in April and October. Neither Iranian nor Russian officials have commented on the report and there is no formal explanation for the trips. Analysts say that while the visits are noteworthy, they are not surprising. "There has been a two-way learning process in the Iran-Israel tit-for-tat, which also provided the Russians with data about air defenses," Nicole Grajewski, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Nuclear Policy Program, told RFE/RL. In addition to domestically developed air-defense systems, Iran also uses Russian S-300 missile-defense systems whose delivery was completed in 2016. In April 2024, satellite imagery showed that an S-300 radar had been damaged by a limited but precise Israeli strike, which came in retaliation for Iran launching a massive drone and missile attack weeks earlier. The failure of Russian-supplied air defenses to intercept the Israeli air strikes is another reason the Russian experts may have visited Iran, according to Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute. "One of the main purposes of the visits was to provide Iran with technical assistance to understand what exactly happened and how to defend against Israeli attacks," Nadimi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "They were meant to study the data and improve the performance of air defenses against future attacks, which, as we saw, didn't work out," he added. Israel last October retaliated against Iran's second and biggest-ever direct attack, targeting key military sites and degrading Tehran's air-defense and missile-production capabilities. Would A US-Russia Deal Hurt Tehran-Moscow Ties? The trips to Iran by Russian military experts represent the kind of perk that Tehran is loath to lose if Moscow and Washington reach an agreement requiring Russia to scale back its defense cooperation with the Islamic republic. Since senior US and Russian officials met in Riyadh last month to normalize relations and end the war in Ukraine, there has been speculation that the Kremlin might give up Iran to get a better deal. Grajewski argued that Iran and Russia do not have a strong economic relationship, so financially Tehran would not suffer much. But the impact could be felt elsewhere. "If Russia does completely abandon Iran, Iran would primarily suffer the most in terms of improvements to its conventional military capabilities," she said. "The Russians have been crucial here both for the domestic production of Russian weapons and for the transfer of weaponry." Iran has provided Russia with cheap but effective drones that have been used against Ukraine over the course of the war, and Western governments have accused Tehran of providing Moscow with ballistic missiles to aid in its 2022 full-scale invasion. The Washington Institute's Nadimi noted Russia's reliance on Iranian hardware was not due to a lack of technology but rather time, because Iranian drones are cost-effective and quick to produce. Still, analysts said it was unlikely that any sort of agreement between the Kremlin and US President Donald Trump would result in a long-term change in Russia and Iran's defense cooperation. "The key thing to remember is that the Russia-Iran relationship has many layers that may persist even with a US-Russia deal," Grajewski said. She added that "military-to-military channels are so deeply embedded" that technology and knowledge transfer could continue even if only parts of the Russian government remain engaged with Iran. Fereshteh Ghazi of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report. Corpses sprawled on the streets of Bucha. Prisoners of war reportedly executed, bodies sent back to Ukrainian authorities. A blood bath of civilian train passengers, killed by a ballistic missile. Ukrainian children adopted by Russian families without the knowledge of their parents. Three-plus years into Russia's onslaught on Ukraine, the catalog of alleged atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity continues to climb. There's no guarantee the record of alleged crimes will ever see the inside of a courtroom in Kyiv, in The Hague, or anywhere. Russian commanders show no inclination to investigate allegations; the Kremlin has in fact honored military units accused of some of the worst crimes. And the International Criminal Court -- ignored by Russia and under withering criticism from Washington -- is increasingly hamstrung. Still, Ukrainian investigators and Western supporters labor to gather evidence and compile credible criminal cases: more than 153,000 cases have been opened in some form. "For us, it's only a matter of time before they face justice," Yuriy Byelousov, a war crimes investigator in the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "Historical examples show that it may take years, but these cases will not be forgotten." Here are five of the most egregious cases. Where Have All The Children Gone? The first of two cases initiated by the International Criminal Court targeted what officials have called a systematic, top-level campaign to remove Ukrainian children from occupied territories and bring them to Russia. In its March 17, 2023, announcement, the court said it had ordered the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's lead official for children's affairs, Maria Lvova-Belova, for "the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and the unlawful transfer of (children)." Nearly 20,000 children have gone missing or are believed to be in custody in Russia, according to Ukrainian authorities. Rights activists, journalists, and Ukrainian investigators have documented a widespread campaign that saw Ukrainian children taken from occupied Ukrainian territories. Russian officials have frequently portrayed their efforts as a humanitarian gesture, sheltering, feeding, or protecting children from war or the breakdown of services in occupied regions. However, in many cases, Russian authorities did little to identify parents, other relatives, or legal guardians of the Ukrainian children. Moreover, according to investigators, Russian authorities engaged in a "systematic program of coerced adoption and fostering." In some cases, Ukrainian children were sent to summer holiday camps in Belarus, where they were exposed to pro-Russian education and propaganda. Bodies In The Street In the initial weeks following the invasion, Russian forces ran into dogged resistance from Ukrainian forces, particularly north of the capital, Kyiv. By late March, commanders ordered units to withdraw and regroup. In the wake of their withdrawal, Ukrainian officials and journalists found hundreds of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, killed by gunshot, some with bound hands, bodies dumped into alleyways or basements. In nearby Irpin, authorities found scores of newly dug graves, where bodies of local residents, many bearing gunshot wounds, had been buried. The scenes in Bucha and Irpin shocked the world, torpedoed cease-fire talks between Kyiv and Moscow, fueled searing criticism of Moscow, and galvanized support for Ukraine. Among outside experts, the evidence strongly pointed to war crimes. The United States later imposed a visa ban on the commander of an airborne assault regiment who had deployed to Bucha, citing "extrajudicial killings." Ukrainian officials said they've issued criminal charges against 21 Russian soldiers on war crimes allegedly committed in Bucha. Weeks after the images emerged publicly, Putin signed a decree honoring a unit from the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which had occupied Bucha and the surrounding region. Power Overload Russia recalibrated its invasion plans after initial setbacks. The man who took over command -- General Sergei Surovikin -- ordered a large-scale campaign of missile and air strikes, targeting not Ukrainian military targets, but also civilian infrastructure. Surovikin was removed from command in the wake of the aborted mutiny by mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. But the strategy persisted. Using air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, and other weapons, Russia has pummeled Ukrainian infrastructure in what officials say is a deliberate effort to demoralize and exhaust the population. The electricity grid -- power stations, transformers, transmission lines -- has been hit repeatedly to try to freeze Ukrainians during winter months. Last March, the Hague court issued the second set of arrest warrants against Russian officials -- Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Sokolov accusing them of war crimes for overseeing the air campaign targeting power plants and substations. Generally speaking, international humanitarian law -- the body of law governing war crimes and similar offenses -- prohibits a military from hitting civilian targets unless there's a legitimate military reason. For example, if a military unit is hiding in a power plant, the plant can be targeted. Battlefield Executions In late December 2022, Oleksandr Matsiyevskiy, a soldier with Ukraine's 119th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces, went missing while fighting to defend the city of Bakhmut from Russian advances. Three months later, a 12-second video appeared on Russian Telegram channels showing a haggard Matsiyevskiy smoking a cigarette as he is confronted by Russian soldiers. As the Russian soldiers record and mock the man, Matsiyevskiy declares "Glory To Ukraine" -- a patriotic mantra embraced by Ukrainians after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The Russian soldier then curses him, and Matsiyevskiy is gunned down. Matsiyevskiy was hailed as a national hero. In all likelihood, experts said, he was also a victim of a war crime. International law prohibits summary executions of prisoners of war, who are protected by the Geneva Conventions, the decades-old international treaty that Russia and Ukraine are both signatories to. At least 71 Ukrainian POWs have been executed by Russian or Russian-linked forces since February 2022, according to the United Nations, and at least 21 POWs have died in Russian custody. Hundreds have also reported torture and sexual violence. Ukraine is not blameless either, according to the UN, whose monitoring mission reported the execution of 26 Russian POWs in 2022 and 2023. Hundreds of Russian POWs have also reported torture and ill-treatment at the hands of Ukrainian captors. Train Station Bloodbath On the morning of April 8, 2022, hundreds of people were waiting at the railway station in the Donbas city of Kramatorsk when the station was hit by a missile, later identified as a ballistic Tochka-U missile armed with cluster munitions. At least 58 were killed in the blast, and more than 100 wounded. It was one of the single deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians since the start of the all-out invasion. Though both Ukrainian and Russian forces had Tochka-U systems in their arsenals, the preponderance of evidence pointed to Russian troops as the origin of the missile. Russian authorities denied responsibility and claimed their forces did not use the system. As with power plants, international humanitarian law prohibits deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. It also requires military commanders to take deliberate effort to avoid targeting such locations. The incident was far from the only one in which civilian facilities were damaged or destroyed with casualties. In July 2024, a Kyiv children's hospital, Ohmatdyt, was badly damaged in a Russian missile strike, though it was unclear if the hospital was deliberately targeted. Human rights activists have alleged the Russia siege of Mariupol -- the Sea of Azov port city -- between February and May 2022 also constitutes a war crime, with thousands of civilians killed or injured, and hundreds of thousands trapped for weeks without water, plumbing, or electricity. The United Nations said more than 12,600 civilians have been killed since February 2022, with civilian casualties rising sharply last year compared to 2023. Byelousov, the Ukrainian war crimes official, said investigators frequently faced another threat, which might be categorized as a war crime itself: "Russian forces frequently use 'double-tap' strikes; they attack a location, wait 3040 minutes for rescuers, police, and prosecutors to arrive, then strike again," he told RFE/RL. "We have already lost investigators in these secondary strikes, and others have been injured while documenting war crimes." RFE/RL reporter Maja Zivanovic contributed to this report U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to a joint session of Congress on March 4, making the case for the fast-paced policy actions he has implemented in the first six weeks of his second term in office. On the subject of Ukraine, Trump said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had expressed his desire to come to the negotiating table and sign an agreement on access to minerals, despite a breakdown in talks between the leaders last week. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Kazakhstan is actively developing educational cooperation with Azerbaijan by expanding academic exchange, increasing the number of scholarships, and involving universities in international programs, Kazakhstans Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek told Trend. "Currently, more than 70 Kazakhstani universities have signed bilateral agreements with Azerbaijan. These agreements cover student and faculty exchanges, joint research, and internships. In addition, 22 leading Kazakh universities have signed 40 new agreements, mostly related to academic exchange," the minister pointed out. According to him, Azerbaijani students will now be able to come to Kazakhstan for exchange programs, and Kazakh students will be able to study in Azerbaijan. The minister emphasized that in 2025, Kazakhstan will allocate 550 scholarships for foreign students, including applicants from Azerbaijan. "This is a great opportunity to get quality education close to home, especially since there are direct flights between our countries: Baku-Almaty, Baku-Astana, Baku-Aktau. Flights operate daily, which makes education even more accessible." The parties are also working on simplifying the procedure for mutual recognition of diplomas. "Back in 2013, we signed a framework agreement. Last year, an additional protocol was signed, under which we will work to ensure that diplomas from our countries are mutually recognized without additional procedures, tariffs, or confirmation," the minister stressed. The minister mentioned that leading international universities, including German, Italian, US, and South Korean universities, operate in Kazakhstan. Among them are the Mendeleev Russian Chemical-Technological University, the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Queen's University Belfast, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Arizona. "We are also actively developing participation in the Horizon Europe program, in the network university of Turkic states, and other grant initiatives," he also noted. The minister said that Kazakhstan focuses on training specialists in the fields of energy, nuclear technologies, green hydrogen, and the digital economy. According to the minister, in 2025, Kazakhstan will send five top professors to work at Azerbaijani universities where they will teach mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, and English in this language. "This program will expand, and in the future, more of our professors will be able to share their experience with students in Azerbaijan," he said. Nurbek underscored that Kazakhstan is also interested in Kazakh students studying in Azerbaijan. "Currently, 79 of our students are already studying at Azerbaijani universities, and this number will grow. We have signed an agreement under which the governments of our countries will annually allocate 12 scholarships each for bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs." The minister stressed that educational cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan plays a key role in strengthening bilateral ties. "We are actively developing cooperation in logistics, transit, and laying a fiber-optic line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. However, it is education that forms long-term bonds of friendship between our countries," he explained. Furthermore, the minister mentioned that Kazakh companies are involved in the construction of the Central District Hospital in Fuzuli, and the Kurmangazy Children's Creativity Center has already begun operation, which reflects the high level of partnership between the two countries. "We are not just neighbors, we are brothers. We share a common language, religion, values, and history. As more students and professors participate in exchange programs, the stronger our union will be," concluded Nurbek. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel WASHINGTON, D.C. - European leaders jumped to renew a push for an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine after US President Donald Trump said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a letter stating he's ready for talks with Moscow while also offering to sign a deal on Ukraine's mineral resources "at any time." After a week of tumult that culminated with the United States announcing a suspension of military aid to Ukraine after a heated exchange between the two leaders, Trump told a joint session of Congress on March 4 that Zelenskyy sent him a letter expressing a willingness to come to the negotiating table. That glimmer of hope was all European leaders -- rattled by the disastrous and very public clash between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House last week -- needed to try to launch a new initiative to get peace talks back on track. A spokeswoman for the French government told reporters on March 5 that President Emmanuel Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington with Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, all three of whom were in the US capital last week. "Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,' he said," Trump quoted the letter as saying. That came after Zelenskyy said earlier in the day that "none of us wants an endless war," adding Ukraine was "ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring long-term peace closer." "My team and I are ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to achieve long-term peace," he added. The Kremlin called Zelenskyy's talk of peace negotiations "positive," though spokesman Dmitry Peskov tamped down the enthusiasm by adding that Ukraine has legally barred negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin through a decree the Ukrainian leader signed in 2022. "So, in general, the approach is positive, but the nuances have not yet changed," Peskov said. "For the time being, there's still a legal ban on the president of Ukraine negotiating with the Russian side." No Mention Of The Oval Office Disaster Trump's speech to Congress followed statements from White House officials that there would be a pause on all US military support for Ukraine in its battle to repel invading Russian forces and after the highly public argument in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy left the White House on February 28 following the dispute and the two did not sign the critical minerals agreement. During a press conference on March 3, Trump said he did not think the deal was dead. Trump did not mention his public spat with Zelenskyy last week in the Oval Office, flipping the narrative by saying: "We are getting along very well with them and lots of things are happening." In quoting Zelenskyy, Trump "signaled that he put the conversation in the White House on the sidelines," Mikhail Alexeev, a professor of political science at San Diego State University, told RFE/RL. "There was no call for Zelenskyy to resign. There was no talk about Ukraine being ungrateful." Trump has made ending the war a priority and flipped three years of US policy on its head by reaching out directly to Putin, whom his predecessor had isolated politically since the start of the war in February 2022. US-Ukraine Critical Minerals Deal Back In Focus Daniel Vajdich, president of Yorktown Solutions, which lobbies on behalf of Kyiv, said the agreement on minerals would be good for both Ukraine and the United States. "It gives the US concrete equities in Ukraine that should now be protected," said Vajdich. The fund created by the agreement will be an important mechanism for getting the US private sector to invest in Ukraines reconstruction, added Vajdich, a former adviser to several Republican presidential candidates. Trump had promoted the deal as a way to recoup the billions of dollars in US support since the war began and justify continuing the aid. Ukrainian political analyst Ihor Reiterovych said Trump's remarks appeared to suggest that the spat with Zelenskyy was over and both are ready to move on. "It is really very noteworthy that Trump did not say anything specifically about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine," Reiterovych told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "We hope that this issue will be resolved positively in the near future, perhaps not even days, but hours." 'The Longest Ever' Address To Congress The address was Trump's first to a joint session of Congress since taking office less than 50 days ago. The US president began his speech by saying "America is back" and touting his policies on immigration, crime, and the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk to cut government spending. Trump has pursued a "shock and awe" strategy since being inaugurated on January 20, announcing drastic changes to domestic and foreign policy, often using executive orders to bypass Congress, as he seeks to fulfill his campaign promises. Rebecca Gill, a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, told RFE/RL that the more than 100-minute address, the longest ever by a president to a joint session of Congress, was "typical Trump." "I don't think anybody would be surprised that it was pretty aggressive and combative," she said. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. The US, EU, and other allies have spent over $287 billion in total on supporting Ukraine since just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy think tank. The United States is the single largest donor to Ukraine, having provided over $122 billion in financial, humanitarian, and military assistance. EU member states, and the European Commission, combined have spent around the same amount -- $121.87 billion -- as the United States between January 2022 and December 2024. But these figures change when assistance to refugees is included. The EU has spent an additional $131 billion to support Ukrainian refugees, according to the Kiel Institute. Some 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees currently reside in the EU, according to the United Nations. That would put the total EU assistance to Ukraine, including refugees forced to flee the country, at over $251 billion. This estimate is based on refugee costs from the OECD's International Migration Outlook report that was published in October 2022. Many EU countries have since reduced financial support to Ukrainian refugees. A significant proportion of Ukrainian refugees in the EU work and contribute to state budgets. In Poland, the employment rate among Ukrainian refugees is estimated to be around 65 percent. The United States recently suspended its main program supporting Ukrainian refugees, Uniting For Ukraine. Over 236,000 Ukrainians were approved to resettle in the United States under the program as of April 2024, according to the Department of Homeland Security. But the United States allocated limited funds for the program, with beneficiaries required to have a financial supporter in the United States to cover the costs of their stay. Is All Of This Aid A Gift? Part of the aid disbursed to Ukraine comes in the form of loans to be paid back by Kyiv or through profits from frozen Russian assets. The United States, EU, and others froze around $300 billion owned by Russia's central bank after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. In January, the European Commission sent Ukraine 3 billion euros that it said would be repaid through profits from frozen Russian assets. Meanwhile, some of the aid provided by the United States and other countries does not reach Ukraine. That's because the funds are used to purchase military equipment or invest in defense production abroad. For example, around $7 billion of the $61 billion US aid package passed by Congress in 2024 was planned to be used to enhance the US production of equipment like 155-millimeter shells, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Other parts of the aid package, amounting to billions, were expected to be used by Ukraine to purchase equipment from US arms manufacturers. How expensive is aid to Ukraine compared to Russia's war effort? The United States spent about 0.53 percent of its GDP of around $23 trillion on aid to Ukraine from January 2022 to December 2024. That amounts to less than 0.2 percent of GDP annually. EU members and institutions allocated 0.7 percent of their annual GDP, which was $17.1 trillion in 2021. Russia, meanwhile, spent almost 6 percent of its approximately $2 trillion GDP on its military in 2023, according to SIPRI data. The United States has restricted intelligence-sharing with Ukraine in addition to enforcing a pause in U.S military assistance to the country trying to stave off Russia's three-year full-scale invasion, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) confirmed. The revelation comes after US President Donald Trump read out a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an address to Congress on March 4, citing the Ukrainian leader's readiness for peace talks and willingness to sign a deal on critical minerals with Washington. That followed an argument in the Oval Office between the two presidents that saw Zelenskyy leave without signing the agreement and Washington suspending military aid to Kyiv. In comments to Fox News, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the pause on both military aid and intelligence-sharing was rooted in Trump's concerns over Zelenskyy's commitment to peace after a disastrous meeting between the two leaders in the Oval Office last week. "I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause will go away," Ratcliffe told Fox. "And I think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that's there [and] to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward," Ratcliffe said. Western military intelligence has played a vital role in Ukraine's ability to defend itself from Russia's invasion and target Russian forces. Ratcliffe did not specify which aspects of intelligence-sharing with Kyiv had been affected, but Western media reports have suggested the restrictions are significant. Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported on March 4 that Washington had in parallel prohibited the United Kingdom from forwarding US intelligence to the authorities in Kyiv. The Washington Post, citing US and Ukrainian officials, reported that the move includes a stop in sharing targeting data that American intelligence agencies provide to Kyiv so that it can better aim US long-range weapons and Ukrainian-made drones at Russian targets, including those inside Russian territory. Trumps national-security adviser, Mike Waltz, who was heavily critical of Zelenskyy in the aftermath of his White House argument with Trump, also told Fox that the US pause on military aid to Ukraine could be lifted. "I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move toward these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause," Waltz said. "We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating toward a partial, then a permanent, peace," Waltz added. Democratic Representative Jim Hines, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, called the pause "unconscionable." "The idea that we will now withhold life-saving intelligence from Ukrainians who are fighting and dying is unforgivable. Any pause in intelligence-sharing must end immediately," he said in a statement. Zelenskyy has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to a "lasting peace," including in the letter read out by Trump to Congress. But Trump has signaled he wants to use Washington's available leverage to secure a quick peace to end a three-year war that he has described as "ridiculous." In a tense exchange in the Oval Office on February 28, Trump told Zelenskyy that he didn't "have the cards" to settle the conflict without the help of the United States. But Trump made no mention of the heated argument in his address to Congress, while Zelenskyy has since said that he regrets the turn that the meeting took. In Ukrainian and Russian, the term for rollercoaster is "American hills." That's an apt description of the whiplash diplomacy this past week over Russia's war against Ukraine, particularly when it comes to the rocky relations between Washington and Kyiv. A White House meeting that was supposed to produce a US-Ukraine mineral-resources deal cast by US President Donald Trump as a key step toward ending the war went badly awry: No deal was signed, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left early after a bitter clash in the Oval Office. Trump said he could "come back when he is ready for peace." That was on February 28. Three days later, senior US officials told the media that Trump was pausing US military aid to Ukraine, creating more uncertainty over whether it can hold out in the fourth year of Moscow's full-scale invasion and adding urgency to European efforts to step up and fill the gaps -- not just for Ukraine's security but for its own. One day after that, on March 4, avoiding any fresh criticism of Kyiv in a speech to Congress, Trump said Zelenskyy had informed him in a letter that he is ready for talks with Russia to end the war and is prepared to sign the minerals deal "at any time." Amid the whirlwind, here's what to watch: Will The Minerals Deal Be Signed? What Trump said in his March 4 speech suggests Kyiv and Washington could soon sign a deal on the joint development of Ukraine's rare minerals and other resources. That would be a strong sign that ties are back on track after the Oval Office disaster. What Trump didn't say is also telling: He did not double down on his criticism of Zelenskyy by saying the Ukrainian president doesn't want peace or questioning his legitimacy by demanding Ukraine hold elections soon. For the time being, at least, this indicates the United States will treat Zelenskyy as important to any potential cease-fire or peace deal with Russia. Will The Military Aid Pause Last Long? Another thing Trump didn't say, however, was that he would end the pause on the delivery of weapons and other military aid to Ukraine. US officials said the suspension would end when Kyiv demonstrated a good-faith commitment to peace, and Trump's national-security adviser, Mike Waltz, made clear on March 5 that it remained in place. Trump will "take a hard look at lifting this pause" when peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are "on the table," he said. That leaves the pressure on Ukraine to move toward negotiations on ending the fighting despite a lack of US security guarantees beyond the minerals deal, which US officials say would help protect Ukraine by giving the United States a strong interest in the country's stability. How Deep Will The US-Russia Thaw Go? Trump made big waves when he upended US policy by phoning Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 and sending senior officials to Saudi Arabia to meet with their Russian counterparts for talks on ending the war in Ukraine, reviving relations long marked by US efforts to isolate the Kremlin and punish it for the unprovoked war on Ukraine. This caused concern that Kyiv and Europe could be sidelinedand presented with a peace deal that would leave Ukraine vulnerable to further Russian aggression and undermine security across the Continent. How US-Russia interactions develop in the coming weeks could be crucial to the future of Ukraine, Europe, and the West. Will Europe Step Up? Trump's overtures to Russia, rocky US-Ukraine relations, uncertainty over American aid for Kyiv, and a new chill in transatlantic ties have fueled urgent calls for Europe to do more when it comes to security for Ukraine and for itself, including discussions of increased weapons supplies for Kyiv and an armed force that could be deployed in Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire or peace deal. Whether that talk can be translated into action, and how fast, could have a powerful influence over Ukraine's fate and the future of Europe. So, too, however, could Europe's ability to keep the United States involved -- as a backstop for boots on the groundin Ukraine, for example. What About Russia? For the past couple of weeks, the intense diplomacy surrounding the war in Ukraine has focused on the United States, Ukraine, and Europe. But while the overall goal is an end to the biggest war in Europe since 1945, the country that is responsible for the war and could end it almost instantaneously if it wished -- Russia -- has seemed to be outside the frame at times. Talk of an armed force to be deployed following a cease-fire, for example, has proceeded despite Moscow's clear opposition to a NATO force, at least, and despite the Kremlin's assertion that it wants a comprehensive peace deal -- one that might hand Russia influence over Ukraine and a stronger role in European security -- and has no interest in a limited truce. Russia has also said that any peace deal must recognize its claim to four mainland Ukrainian regions in their entirety, including parts that Ukraine still controls, a position that is unacceptable to Kyiv. Some analysts say Russia has a history of staking out maximalist claims as a negotiating tactic so it can then climb down to positions that still suit its aims. Others say that, at least for now, Putin believes he can achieve overarching goals such as the subjugation of Ukraine and would use any cease-fire to build up its forces for an eventual new assault. The US administration has said both Ukraine and Russia will have to make concessions for the sake of peace, but it has said little about what those might be in Russia's case. As Trump's push for peace persists, what US and Russian officials say about the shape of an agreement that would end the fighting is also something to watch. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The fire that broke out at the oil refinery located in the Nizami district of Baku has been completely eliminated by the Emergency Situations Ministry, which prevented it from spreading to a large area, a source in the ministry told Trend. Meanwhile, police officers were summoned to the scene. The territory was taken under protection and all necessary security measures were taken. In addition, three ambulance crews were involved in the incident. 10:32 BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The hotline 112 of the Ministry of Emergency Situations received information about a fire at an oil refinery located in Nizami district of Baku, and the forces of the State Fire Service of the Ministry were immediately deployed to the scene of the incident, a source in the ministry told Trend. Firefighting measures are currently being continued. "Additional information will be provided," the source said. At the same time, police officers were attracted to the site of the incident. All necessary security measures are taken for the protection of the territory. In addition, three ambulance crews were involved in the incident. A 400,000 funding allocation for the Lough Key to Carrick-on-Shannon Greenway has been welcomed by Fine Gael TD, Frank Feighan. The allocation was part of funding for the further development of greenways across Ireland, announced today by Transport Minister Darragh OBrien. Deputy Feighan said that the greenway has the potential to provide a strong transport and tourist link with benefits to both Lough Key and Carrick-on-Shannon and in turn Boyle town. I am thrilled to see a further 400,000 allocated to the Lough Key/Carrick greenway which will further progress this project to the next stage. As a TD, I will continue to monitor the progress of the greenway and will endeavour to seek further funding to bring the project to completion, declared Deputy Feighan. Local authorities today received their allocations which will allow them to progress the various projects connecting many major tourist locations. Roscommon County Council has been allocated a total of 2,295,000 under the scheme. A new pub in Carrick-on-Shannon will officially open its doors this weekend. Nellie's Bar is situated at the former Anchorage public house on the corner of Bridge Street and Quay Road in the county town with the opening night taking place this Friday, March 7th from 5 p.m.. Nellie's Bar in Carrick-on-Shannon opens this Friday, March 7th from 5pm. Pic: Courtesy of Facebook To mark the occasion live music by Mr Yakety Yak will kick off at 8 p.m.. There has been an outpouring of good wishes on social media for the new business with one well-wisher describing it as one of the nicest pubs in the west of Ireland. By Cillian Sherlock, PA Taoiseach Micheal Martin has committed to raising Irelands views on Ukraine and Gaza when he meets US president Donald Trump next week. The Taoiseach is due to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump next week as part of an annual tradition to mark the week of Irelands national holiday St Patricks Day. Mr Martin said Ireland will express a desire for a durable and sustainable peace in Ukraine, as well as a consolidation of the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. He was responding to Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of the largest opposition party Sinn Fein, who said she was deeply concerned by Irelands place within international order. She said: Will you put it to President Trump that Ireland stands on the side of international law and diplomacy, that the sovereignty of Ukraine must be upheld, that the pressing and immediate priority now is to build peace through inclusive engagement and good faith dialogue? And what, Taoiseach, will be your message to the American president in standing with the Palestinian people? Will you express Irelands strong view that the US is catastrophically wrong on Gaza, that the proposal for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is absolutely an unacceptable breach of international law, deeply destabilising for the Middle East and the wider world? Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (Gareth Chaney/PA) Mr Martin said the countrys relationship with the US is extremely important and older than the State itself, in reference to the US being the first country to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with the Irish Free State in 1924. He said he was travelling to celebrate the historic links between Ireland and the US, adding that the week of St Patricks Day was the traditional time to do that. He said: In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. Were an open, small economy, pro-free trade and Ill be articulating that perspective. We will also articulate views in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East also. Pressed on what exactly he would say to Mr Trump on those two conflicts and the Palestinian question, Mr Martin said: We want a peace settlement thats durable and sustainable in Ukraine. President Trump wants a peace settlement in Ukraine. There are different perspectives on how to arrive at that. He added: Secondly, in terms of Gaza and the Middle East, again, lets be clear: We want to consolidate the ceasefire and well be very strongly making that point. Mr Martin also called for a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach also said the visit was important for the Irish diaspora, as 30 million US citizens claim Irish descent. The students of the Irish Traditional Music course in Drumshanbo are alive with music, song and dance. Under their tutor Mossie Martin, they are busy rehearsing as well as organising all the logistics of their Beo le Ceol Alive with Music concert on Friday, March 7th at 8 p.m. in The Mayflower, Drumshanbo. The concert will raise money for two charities the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and North West Hospice. Tickets, which cost 10, are available at the door (U-12s free ) or through Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/beo-le-ceol-tickets-1241991974429) and donations may be made through iDonate (www.idonate.ie/BeoleCeoltradcourse2025). The Drumshanbo Traditional Irish Music course was established in 1997 building on the success of the annual Joe Mooney summer school and is one of the only courses of its kind in the country, attracting students from all over the country and further afield. The course provides an introduction to the world of traditional Irish music, song and dance to adults of all ages, all instruments and all abilities including complete beginners. The students play music every day and when the modules are completed, students receive a Level 5 QQI Music Award. Gernade Attack on Police Post in Barmulla, J&K At about 9:20 PM, a sound of a blast was heard from the back side of the police post, which sent the local residents into a state of panic. Gernade Attack on Police Post in Barmulla, J&K latets news: In a troubling incident on Tuesday evening, a suspected grenade attack occurred close to the police post in Old Town, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir. At about 9:20 PM, a sound of a blast was heard from the back side of the police post, which sent the local residents into a state of panic. Luckily, there were no casualties or damage. Security officials, in collaboration with other agencies, quickly cordoned off the scene and launched a search operation. In the course of the search, a grenade pin was found outside the police post boundary wall, prompting the police to suspect an attempted grenade attack. The grenade exploded in a place where no one was harmed, and the impact crater remains to be found. Advertisement The article states that the police in Baramulla have initiated a detailed investigation and are still conducting their search operation in the region. They are dedicated to maintaining public safety and have encouraged citizens to remain vigilant and inform the nearest police unit in case of suspicious activity. This attack demarcates the prevailing security issues in the region and the need for cooperation from society to ensure safety and order. (For More News Apart Gernade Attack on Police Post in Barmulla, J&K stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Farmer Leader Joginder Ugrahan release by police Ugrahan has said that we were coming fromGandhuan in a convoy. Farmer Leader Joginder Ugrahan release by police latest news: A news has come out about the Chandigarh Farmer Protest, Farmers have two opinions about the cancellation of the Chandigarh march program. The police have released the state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ugrahan, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, who was arrested by the police administration while going to join the protest. On this occasion, Ugrahan has said that we were coming fromGandhuan in a convoy. Ugrahan has said that the police arrested me after the woman came. He has said that the organizations of the United Kisan Morcha who are outside must have talked. Advertisement He has said that it has been learned that Manjit Dhaner has canceled the program. He has said that the decision taken by the state committee will have to be accepted. On the other hand, police officer Mandeep Singh Sidhu has said that all the farmers will be released by 12 noon tomorrow. He has said that the farmers have canceled today's program and will also be released by the police. (For More News Apart Farmer Leader Joginder Ugrahan release by police stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Joginder Singh Ugrahan Detained by Punjab Police Farmer leader Joginder singh ugrahan taken into custody by Sangrur police. Joginder Singh Ugrahan Detained by Punjab Police latest news: Ahead of farmers protest in Chandigarh, Farmer leader Joginder singh ugrahan taken into custody by Sangrur police. Donald Trump Sets April 2 Tariffs, Rebuffs Indias Trade Hopes India hits us with 100 percent tariffsits been unbalanced forever, Trump declared. Washington, D.C., March 5, 2025 U.S. President Donald Trump has dashed Indias expectations of trade concessions, announcing reciprocal tariffs effective April 2 in response to what he calls Indias excessive levies on American goods. Speaking to a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump zeroed in on Indias auto sector, where tariffs exceed 100 percent, as a prime example of unfair trade practices. India hits us with 100 percent tariffsits been unbalanced forever, Trump declared. Starting April 2, well match their taxes. If they block us with non-tariff tricks, well do the same to them. The move dims prospects raised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent U.S. visit, where New Delhi anticipated relief from broad tariffs in exchange for opening its markets to U.S. products like bourbon, on which India had already cut duties. Advertisement Indias Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal arrived in the U.S. this week to negotiate with Jamieson Greer, Trumps newly appointed United States Trade Representative, who previously helped steer Trumps China-focused tariff strategy. Despite these efforts, Trump signaled no retreat, accusing nations like India, China, Brazil, and the EU of exploiting the U.S. with high tariffs while offering little in return. Moodys warned last month that countries like India, with significant tariff gaps compared to the U.S., could face steep economic impacts, particularly in sectors like food, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. While Indias domestic focus may cushion some effects, the agency noted potential currency strain and limited monetary policy flexibility in the region. Still, strong domestic demand and solid economic buffers could soften the blow, Moodys added. Trumps tariff plan aligns with his 2025 trade policy, which challenges the World Trade Organizations framework and criticizes exemptions claimed by developing nations like India, setting the stage for further global trade friction. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Specialists from the Environmental Monitoring Center of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources (MENR) have headed to the area to conduct monitoring and measurement work in the atmospheric air related to the fire that broke out at the oil refinery located in the Nizami district of Baku, a source in the ministry told Trend. Previously, the hotline 112 of the Ministry of Emergency Situations received information about a fire at an oil refinery located in Nizami district of Baku, and the forces of the State Fire Service of the Ministry were immediately deployed to the scene of the incident. Jagmeet Singh Emphasizes Emergency Session Amid US-Canada Trade War He emphasized urgent need for Parliament session to reconvene so government can implement support package for workers affected by tariffs. Jagmeet Singh Emphasizes Emergency Session Amid US-Canada Trade War latest news: At a news conference on Parliament Hill, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh expressed strong disapproval of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. Singh emphasized the urgent need for Parliament session to reconvene so that the government can implement a support package for workers affected by these tariffs. He highlighted the potential economic impact on Canadian businesses and workers, urging swift action to mitigate the adverse effects. Jagmeet Singh Statement: Canadian, today we woke up to a trade War. A trade war that is unwanted unwarranted and illegal Canadians didn't want this and Trump isn't doing this for border security he's doing this because he wants power over us so the Canadians say this Trump will not win we will be united we will stand up and we will fight back but as we fight back we have to remember it's more important than ever to take care of one another other and so my promise to you is this Advertisement I will fight to protect those workers that are impacted by the tariffs by improving EI I won't only protect our jobs I will create more jobs in this country by building Canadian and for families worried about the cost of things going up at a time when they're already so high I'll fight to make life more affordable I know the times in front of us will be trying they'll be difficult but I believe in Canada I believe in Canadians and I know we'll get through this together During a news conference on Parliament Hill, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized sharply U.S. President Donald Trump's move to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian products. Singh stressed the imperative necessity for Parliament to be called back to enable the government to roll out a support package for workers who are being hit by such tariffs. He pointed to a probable economic blow to Canadian companies and workers and called upon quick action to offset the negative effects. Singh said, "Canadians, this morning we woke up to a trade war. A trade war that is not wanted, not warranted, and illegal. Canadians did not want this, and Trump is not doing this for border security; he's doing this because he wants control over us. So, to Canadians, I say this: Trump will not succeed. Advertisement We will be strong, we will stand up, and we will push back. But as we push back, we have to remember it's more important than ever to look after each other. My commitment to you is this: I will fight to protect those workers who are affected by the tariffs by strengthening Employment Insurance (EI). I won't just defend our jobs; I will create new jobs in this country by making Canadian. For families concerned about the price of things going up at a time when they're already so high, I'll fight to make life more affordable. I know the times that lie ahead will be challenging and difficult, but I believe in Canada, I believe in Canadians, and I know we'll get through this together." Singh's call to action is a package of supports for workers, a promise to build and purchase more Canadian goods, and a collective voice to condemn Trump's actions. He denounced the planned tax cuts for millionaires, saying that they would not benefit workers who are losing their jobs because of the tariffs. Singh also emphasized the necessity of enhancing EI measures and recalling Parliament to deal with the state of emergency. Advertisement Singh's fierce opposition to Trump's tariffs and his determination to defend Canadian workers demonstrate his commitment to standing up for Canadians' welfare at this difficult moment. In a troubling incident on Tuesday evening, a suspected grenade attack occurred close to the police post in Old Town, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir. At about 9:20 PM, a sound of a blast was heard from the back side of the police post, which sent the local residents into a state of panic. Luckily, there were no casualties or damage. Security officials, in collaboration with other agencies, quickly cordoned off the scene and launched a search operation. In the course of the search, a grenade pin was found outside the police post boundary wall, prompting the police to suspect an attempted grenade attack. The grenade exploded in a place where no one was harmed, and the impact crater remains to be found. Advertisement The article states that the police in Baramulla have initiated a detailed investigation and are still conducting their search operation in the region. They are dedicated to maintaining public safety and have encouraged citizens to remain vigilant and inform the nearest police unit in case of suspicious activity. This attack demarcates the prevailing security issues in the region and the need for cooperation from society to ensure safety and order. (For More News Apart Jagmeet Singh Emphasizes Emergency Session Amid US-Canada Trade War stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Ontario Premier Ford Axes Elon Musks Starlink Deal, Bars US Firms Over Donald Trumps Trade War Its overfinished, Ford declared in a fiery statement. Ontario Premier Ford Axes Elon Musks Starlink Deal, Bars US Amid Canada Trade War: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has terminated a government contract with Elon Musks Starlink and imposed a sweeping ban on U.S. companies bidding for provincial contracts, a bold retaliation against what he calls an economic assault launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. Its overfinished, Ford declared in a fiery statement. Were not handing out deals to those who support or fuel economic attacks on Ontario and Canada. He pointed the finger squarely at Trump, adding, Theyve got no one to blame but their president. Advertisement The move follows Trumps escalation of a trade war with Canada, which has now cost American businesses access to a key market. Far from the smart deal-making Trump touts, Fords decision signals a rupture with a long-standing ally, slamming the door on U.S. firms. Critics of Trumps MAGA agenda argue this is the economic conflict they demandedonly now, its American workers and companies bracing for the fallout. (For more news apart from Ontario Premier Ford Axes Elon Musks Starlink Deal, Bars US Amid Canada Trade War, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ready for Talks as U.S. Halts Military Aid President Trump has temporarily paused military aid to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ready for Talks as U.S. Halts Military Aid latest news: In a statement, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the U.S. decision to pause all military aid to Ukraine, stating that he is ready to negotiate for the restoration of peace in the country as soon as possible. The statement was issued just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the halt in military aid following verbal exchanges between Trump and Zelenskyy. Advertisement President Trump has temporarily paused military aid to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. In response, Zelenskyy stated: "Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to achieve a lasting peace." He further added, "We are ready to work swiftly to end the war, and the first steps could include the release of prisoners and a truce in the skybanning missiles, long-range drones, and bombs targeting energy and civilian infrastructureas well as an immediate ceasefire at sea, provided that Russia does the same. Then, we aim to move quickly through the next stages and work with the U.S. to reach a strong final agreement." Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude for the support America has extended to Ukraine in maintaining its sovereignty and independence. He acknowledged the role of U.S. military assistance, particularly the supply of Javelins, which he said had significantly benefited Ukraine. Advertisement Despite repeatedly expressing his gratitude to the U.S., he was accused of being ungrateful during his last meeting in the Oval Office by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance. During the meeting, Zelenskyy repeatedly stated that he had expressed his appreciation multiple times and continued to do so. When the pause on military aid was announced, officials stated that, in addition to emphasizing the need to remain focused on achieving peace and ensuring that partners stay committed to that goal, the decision was a direct response to what Trump perceives as Zelenskyys bad behavior last week. Referring to his last meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, which did not go well, Zelenskyy remarked, "It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We hope that future cooperation and communication will be constructive." Advertisement Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine has stated that it is ready to sign it at any time and in any convenient format. Ukraine sees this agreement as a step toward greater security and guarantees, and President Zelenskyy is committed to working effectively toward its implementation. (For More News Apart Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ready for Talks as U.S. Halts Military Aid stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) People and the Church 2025 was declared by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church as the Year of Homage to the Centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate Foto: pixabay.com Roxana Vasile, 05.03.2025, 13:00 2025 was declared by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church as the Year of Homage to the Centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate. A law in this sense was also adopted by the Bucharest Parliament. In fact, the anniversary is double! It has been 100 years since the elevation of the BOR to the rank of Patriarchate (on February 4, 1925 and 140 years since the recognition of it Autocephaly (on April 25, 1885). Therefore, the year 2025 is an occasion for great joy and celebration, but also for centenary reviews. In addition to the current liturgical activity or the religious assistance it provides in hospitals, orphanages, penitentiaries or old peoples homes, the Orthodox Church also carries out a huge social-philanthropic activity in support of disadvantaged people or people with various problems. The adviser on social issues to Patriarch Daniel of Romania, father Ciprian Ionita, told us about some of these activities: It is the command of our Savior Jesus Christ to love thy neighbor and those who need help. We, the Church, have always had socio-medical centers next to the monasteries, and recently some of them have been accredited, authorized and offer quality services to vulnerable people. Immediately after 1990, foundations were established next to the Church, such as the Diaconia Association of the Romanian Patriarchate, the Saint Macrina Foundation for Solidarity and Hope another foundation in Iasi, which also has the largest hospital that the Orthodox Church has There are many! We have a map with all social services, updated, on the website social-filantropic.patriarhia.ro. There one can find absolutely all the services that the Church is developing at the moment. Each diocese has at least one social-philanthropic department where there is a counselor and diocesan inspectors, as well as NGOs, and the priest who wants to develop an activity at the level of his parish can turn either to the diocese to receive guidance or to us, the Patriarchate. We also have a Federation, of the Romanian Patriarchate, which brings together the most important NGOs that the Church has, and there are, at the moment, 27 NGOs. The actions of the Filantropia (Philanthropy) Federation, through the associations and foundations that make it up, are both for the urban and the rural environment. Its just that, given that the number of people in need is greater in the rural areas, the support for those there is also somewhat more consistent, standing at some 60%. Father Ciprian Ionita has more: Can I give you an example from today? The Filantropia Federation is running a campaign, called Help an old person to smile we help vulnerable elderly people. And we received a request from a parish somewhere on the border between Bacau county and Harghita county. We have a campaign to offer ophthalmology consultation, but also free glasses. What do we do? We go with our volunteers, we consult the elderly, and after that we come to Bucharest, and have the glasses made. Just today we had such a request for 70 people. We have activities that we carry out and which are posted on our Facebook page. The priest saw it there, he called me, I told him to contact the social advisor of the Roman and Bacau Archdiocese first, together with him we made a request, we present it to Father Patriarch and obviously it will be solved. The church helps the elderly, which are the most numerous beneficiaries. However, it also helps around 130,000 children in difficult situations, single mothers, women that victims of domestic violence, sick people who cannot afford to pay for medical services who have nothing to put on the table or who need counseling for example, who are unemployed or addicted. Here is the Advisor to the Patriarch of Romania again: Filantropia Federation is a training provider and we have a specialization course in counseling in the field of addictions. Initially, we thought that it would be useful to our fellow priests to know this part, but in the meantime we received many, many requests from teachers or from people who work in certain centers with addictions, and we cover in this course, the whole part of addictions alcohol, digital addictions, drug addiction And you should know that it is a course that, lately, has been very popular. The courses are given by those who want to help people who are in a situation of addiction, but we also had a course in Targu Mures, about two years ago, in which there were people who had overcome their addictions but wanted to take this course, to be able to help those who are in situations like this. The course aimed at combating addictions has existed since 2022 and thanks to it, around 500 people have been trained so far. Specialization or professional training courses are also of great interest. For example, in the future, the Orthodox Church wants to develop its own network of home caregivers. Father Ciprian Ionita told us more about this project and others: We consider that the elderly are very vulnerable and need help, and that is why we want to form a network of home care at the level of the entire Patriarchate, especially since, as time passes, the statistics also show that Romania is becoming quite an aged country so wee need to help these people. It is one of the projects, lets say, for the near future. Various projects have also been submitted for children! We have had projects and will have more in the ecology area! We had initiatives in the Romanian Orthodox Church together with the Republic of Moldova! Just yesterday I returned from a course on domestic violence, I participated as a trainer for priests from the Republic of Moldova. We have a lot of projects! The church also has many projects intended for Romanians in the diaspora. The century of existence and rich activity of the Romanian Patriarchate said Patriarch Daniel has been marked by many blessings, but also by some difficult trials. Patriarchal adviser Ciprian Ionita told us about the most difficult from the point of view of social-philanthropic activity?: The hardest thing, sometimes, is when, due to lack of funds, because we are limited, a center closes and we think about how to get the people who are in that center or who depend on the services we have in that center and move them to another center. But, thank God, if one center closes, usually another two are opened. For example in 2022 we had 767 services, this year we have 100 more 867. The adviser on social issues to the Patriarch of Romania, father Ciprian Ionita, is co-author of a balance sheet book about the social-philanthropic work of the Orthodox Church in the pat century. It will appear in October, when the Homage Year of the Centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate will culminate with the great consecration of the National Cathedral in Bucharest. (MI) March 5, 2025 UPDATE 1 Click here for the latest news from RRI Newsflash Newsroom, 05.03.2025, 18:42 Defense The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu welcomed the proposals launched by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the exemption of defense spending from the excessive deficit procedure, a solution for which Romania has constantly advocated, he said. In a message posted on Facebook, the prime minister also stated that Romania supports the allocation of additional funds for weaponry, provided that the money reaches Romanian factories. He also specified that Bucharest remains on the same coordinates so far, namely in favor of increasing the defense spending and against sending Romanian troops to Ukraine. The President of the European Commission proposed the creation of a new ReArm Europe plan, which could mobilize almost 800 billion Euros for defense investments in the European Union and for military aid for Ukraine invaded by the Russian army. Russia The air and naval military attache of the Russian Federation in Bucharest and his deputy have been declared persons not welcome (personae non gratae) on the territory of Romania. The decision of the Romanian authorities was communicated on Wednesday to the charge daffaires of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, who was summoned to the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry. The institution specifies that the two military diplomats were sanctioned for carrying out activities that run counter to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. EU The citizens of European Union member states, including Romanians, can apply, as of Wednesday, to obtain the electronic travel authorization required from April 2 to enter the United Kingdom or to transit this country on the way to another destination. Requests must be sent on the official UK ETA application. The Romanian Foreign Ministry specifies that the electronic visa will be valid for two years and can be used for multiple trips to the United Kingdom throughout this period. ETA costs 10 pounds, around 60 lei, for all age categories, including minors. The fee will be paid at the time of application, and the money will not be refunded in case of refusal, the Bucharest diplomacy also specifies. (LS) ReArm Europe Plan The European Commission presents a set of proposals on how to use all financial levers to help Member States increase defence spending Ursula von der Leyen Bogdan Matei, 05.03.2025, 14:00 With an increasingly aggressive Russia to the east and an increasingly distant America across the Atlantic, Europe is going through a period of insecurity that it has not experienced in decades. Against this background, the European Commission is proposing to the Union states a continental rearmament plan, which could mobilize 800-billion-euro worth of funds over the next four years. The proposal was presented ahead of the special summit of the EU, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sent a letter to the leaders of the member states detailing the new European armament plan, as well as the support for Ukraine invaded by Moscows troops. Experts quoted by international press agencies note that the lack of production units in Europe is, at this moment, obvious. One example: the European Union pledged to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by 2024. The target was eventually reached, but several months late. The presidents plan contains five funding instruments. The first would be to increase national defense budgets by 1.5% at the European level, which would mobilize around 650 billion euros in four years. A second instrument is loans for common defense projects, worth 150 billion euros. This is basically about spending better and spending together. We are talking about pan-European capability domains. For example: air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition drones and anti-drone systems; but also to address other needs from cyber to military mobility for example. It will help Member States to pool demand and to buy together. Of course, with this equipment, Member States can massively step up their support to Ukraine, said President von der Leyen, quoted by the Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels. The third tool is the possibility for member states to use cohesion funds for defense projects. Two other sources of financing are private capital combined with loans from the European Investment Bank. Calculations show that, in this way, Europe could exceed 3.5% of the GDP for defense, which is exactly what the new Republican administration in Washington, led by Donald Trump, is also demanding. Experts note that in her plan to rearm the Union, the President of the Commission proposes more freedom in complying with the usually strict rules regarding debts and deficits. The possibility of reallocating regional development funds for military investments is also mentioned, which can cause frustration in the poorest areas of the Union. Finally, experts say, private banks are generally reluctant to engage in military investment projects. (MI) Romania reacts to allegations by Russian intelligence service Romania rejects Russias statements that EU leaders are behind decision to bring charges against former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu. Romania reacts to allegations by Russian intelligence service Daniela Budu, 05.03.2025, 13:50 The Romanian authorities have categorically denied statements by Russias foreign intelligence service that the European Union blackmailed Romania into blocking the independent candidate Calin Georgescu from entering the presidential elections in May. Without providing any evidence, the Russian service says the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked the Romanian authorities to ban Georgescu from running in the upcoming elections, or else restrict the countrys access to European funding. The same allegations were made recently by Georgescu himself in an interview to journalist James Freeman, in which he says a referendum should be held on Romanias exiting the European Union and NATO. The Romanian foreign ministry has described the accusations of the Russian intelligence service as ridiculous and completely ungrounded and says they are part of a hybrid campaign to undermine democracy and diminish trust in the authorities. The entirety of these activities, which include public messages and campaigns to influence and interfere with democratic processes, is aimed at reducing trust in the authorities and criticise Romanias membership of the European Union and NATO, the Romanian ministry said in a statement. Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu has described the comments by a Russian secret service on decisions taken by the Romanian state as unacceptable, posting on social media: Russia cannot tell the Romanian authorities who to investigate and who not to, Russia cannot dictate who the Romanian people should elect and it cannot be a role model when it comes to democracy. Elena Lasconi, the president of the centre-right opposition party, the Save Romania Union, said Russia is now overtly and officially supporting Calin Georgescu. Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round of the presidential elections in Romania a few months ago and was to face Elena Lasconi in the decisive round before the entire election process was cancelled. In the meantime, Georgescu has been placed under investigation for 60 days, facing a number of restrictions, including that of leaving the country without approval from judicial authorities. He is also not allowed to post on social media content of a fascist, anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic nature. Prosecutors accuse Georgescu of masterminding a plan to destabilise Romania with the help of mercenaries led by Horatiu Potra after the Constitutional Court cancelled the first round of the presidential elections. The Court invoked foreign interference and the elections will be repeated in May. Calin Georgescu is under investigation in two cases, being already indicted in one case for activities against constitutional order, while in another, Horatiu Potra and his mercenaries have been placed under temporary arrest. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. A collection has been organized at the Azerbaijan Civil Aviation Museum under the National Aviation Academy to create personal archives for each member of the crew who perished in the crash of the Embraer 190 passenger aircraft, belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), during the Baku-Grozny flight, and permanently display the materials in the museums exhibition, a source on the museum told Trend. According to the source, the materials provided by the crew members' families to the museum include items related to their professional activities, such as clothing, documents, personal belongings, photos, etc. The source pointed out that under the decree of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated December 29, 2024, the crew members who perished in the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft of AZAL, which performed the Baku-Grozny flight, were posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan. The crew members, Igor Kshnyakin, Aleksandr Kalyaninov, and Hokuma Aliyeva, were recognized for their high professionalism, courage, and selflessness in performing their duties and saving the lives of passengers. On December 25, 2024, an Embraer 190-100 IGW passenger aircraft, registered as 4K-AZ65 in the state registry and owned by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), operating a regular flight J2-8243 from Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russian Federation, crashed near Aktau Airport in the Republic of Kazakhstan. As a result of the aviation accident, two crew members (the captain and the co-pilot), a senior flight attendant, and 35 passengers lost their lives. Despite the human casualties and injuries, during an emergency landing, it was possible to save the lives of 29 people thanks to the professionalism, courage, and bravery of the pilots and attendants. Following the receipt of information about the emergency landing in the Republic of Kazakhstan, necessary search and rescue operations were immediately carried out, and survivors were evacuated and provided medical assistance. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The mastermind behind the deadly terrorist attack at Abbey Gate during the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has been captured. "I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," President Donald Trump said during his first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday. The Department of Justice said Mohammad Sharifullah, a member of the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province, has been charged and is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday. In a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on 2021 August 26, during the evacuation from Afghanistan, 182 people were killed, including 169 Afghan civilians and 13 American troops. The Islamic State - Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack. FBI Director Kash Patel said Sharifullah was arrested with the help of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA. After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Hamid Karzai International Airport was the only way out of Afghanistan. American and other Coalition military forces were conducting an evacuation operation. Thousands of civilians were at Abbey Gate, the main entry point, for evacuation. ISIS-K operative Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated a body-worn suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, resulting in mass casualties. According to the Justice Department, during an interview with FBI Special Agents on March 2, Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker. Sharifullah also admitted to perpetrating multiple other lethal attacks on behalf of ISIS-K, including a suicide bomb attack at the Canadian embassy in Kabul and deadly shooting at Crocus City Hall near Moscow. If convicted, Sharifullah faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Cryptocurrencies aligned with the broader to trade on a positive note as hints of a potential compromise in the trade tariff war boosted market sentiment. Renewed expectations of a crypto-friendly regime and policy measures towards the creation of a strategic crypto reserve aided a spike in crypto asset prices ahead of a first-of-its-kind White House Crypto summit scheduled for March 7. According to Reuters, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that an announcement on tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada was expected later on Wednesday. Expectations of a scaling back of the recently imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico as well as announcement to create a strategic crypto reserve supported market sentiment, lifting crypto market capitalization almost 6 percent overnight to $2.92 trillion. Crypto market capitalization touched a high of $2.95 trillion. It is currently at $2.92 trillion implying an overnight addition of 5.7 percent. More than 85 percent of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading with overnight gains of more than a percent. 13 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are trading with overnight gains of more than ten percent. While Bitcoin rallied more than 5 percent and Ethereum added close to 3 percent in the past 24 hours, Cardano jumped close to 17 percent. Bitcoin regained the 8th position in the overall ranking of all assets as per market capitalization as per companiesmarketcap.com. BTC was ranked 10th overall on Tuesday. Ethereum jumped to the 44th rank from the 48th rank recorded a day ago. Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. recorded outflows of $144 million on Tuesday whereas Ethereum Spot ETF products recorded inflows of $ 15 million. BTC has gained 5.2 percent overnight and 3.2 percent in the past week to trade at $88,758.74, around 19 percent below the all-time high. The leading cryptocurrency touched a high of $90,933.33 and a low of $81,529.24 in the past 24 hours. Ethereum rallied 2.7 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at $2,182.70, around 55 percent below the previous peak recorded in November 2021. Weekly losses however exceed 8.5 percent. Ether traded between $2,272.80 and $1,996.77 in the past 24 hours. 3rd ranked XRP (XRP) jumped 3.5 percent overnight to trade at $2.47, around 36 percent below the all-time high touched in January 2018. The cryptocurrency's weekly gains exceed 11.8 percent. XRP is also the highest-ranking cryptocurrency to trade with gains over the past 24 hours, past 7 days, past 30 days and over the year-to-date period. BNB (BNB) ranked 5th rank overall recorded an overnight gain of 3.6 percent. At its current trading price of $592.28, BNB is trading 25 percent below the all-time high. BNB has shed 2.9 percent in the past week. Amidst the overnight gain of 2.6 percent, 6th ranked Solana (SOL) is currently trading at $142.76. SOL has added 5.5 percent in the past week and is currently trading around 51 percent below its record high. 8th ranked Cardano (ADA) jumped to record an overnight gain of 16.9 percent. ADA has added 45.3 percent in the past week. It is currently trading at $0.9627, around 69 percent below the record high touched in September 2021. 9th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) added 2.96 percent overnight to trade at $0.1997. Having shed 1.7 percent in the past week, DOGE is trading 73 percent below the previous peak scaled in May 2021. 10th ranked TRON (TRX) gained 3.6 percent overnight to trade at $ 0.2430. TRX has also added 7 percent in the past week. For More Cryptocurrency News, visit rttnews.com For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com A feral cat in Hunterdon County has tested positive for bird flu, marking the first confirmed case in a feline in New Jersey, according to the state Department of Health. The United States Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory verified the case, after the cat started showing severe symptoms, including neurological issues. The cat was euthanized. Meanwhile, the other cats on the same property also showed signs of illness, with one indoor-outdoor cat later testing positive. Additional test results are pending. Health officials stated that the affected cats had no known exposure to infected poultry, livestock, raw milk, or meat. However, as free-roaming animals, they could have been exposed to wild birds or other infected wildlife. Local and state officials are monitoring individuals who had contact with the cats, though no human symptoms have been reported so far. The New Jersey Health Department has recommended certain guidelines to protect pets from bird flu, such as avoid feeding cats raw milk, dairy products, or under-cooked meat, keep cats indoors to minimize exposure to birds and other wildlife, prevent contact between cats and livestock, wash hands thoroughly after handling pet, and change clothes and shoes and wash exposed skin after interacting with sick or dead animals. Residents who had close, unprotected exposure to an infected cat or animal should contact their local health department and monitor themselves for symptoms over the next 10 days, the department urged. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Image of Masters candidate, Gugulethu Maqina and Dr Westen Shilaho during the Seminar hosted by the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University. [Photograph by Shepi Mati] By Sabrina Zerf Africa hasnt mattered, declared Wits academic, Dr Westen Kwatemba Shilaho during a thought-provoking seminar hosted by the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University. The event, titled, Donald Trump, The Teflon President is back: Whither Africa? Held on 21 February 2025, chaired by masters candidate Gugulethu Maqina, featured Dr Shilaho, a distinguished academic from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. He is known for his expertise in international criminal justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC), specifically in Africa. His discussion focused on the inauguration of current U.S. President Donald Trump, offering a nuanced perspective on the ideologies of Trumpism. While he did not entirely dismiss its principles, he critically examined its implications, particularly in the context of governance history and contemporary socio-economic challenges in Africa. Dr Shilaho also delved into Trump's vision of "The American Dream," analysing its impact on global politics and questioning where Africa fitsor fails to fitwithin this framework. His remarks challenged conventional narratives, sparking a compelling discussion on Africas position in the shifting geopolitical landscape. Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, remains one of American history's most iconic and polarising figures. His famous quote, "Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error", speaks on personal integrity and the importance of self-reflection. Dr Shilaho posits that Trumpism can be seen as a reinvigorated or contemporary interpretation of Jacksonism. According to Dr Shilaho, Trumpism, much like Jacksonism, draws on populist sentiments, advocating for a shift in power from the established political elite to the typical American. It is all about protecting American interests. America first! states Shilaho. It seeks to resonate with working-class voters and promises to disrupt the status quo, echoing Jackson's own resistance to the political establishment of his time. By emphasising nationalism, immigration restrictions, and economic protectionism, Trumpism aligns with Jacksonism in some ways, yet it also diverges in significant areas, especially in terms of the social and cultural issues that it raises today. The seminar was further enriched by the participation of the Politics Honours students from Rhodes University, whose diverse perspectives and sharp analytical skills added to the vibrancy of the conversation. As the seminar progressed, it quickly became clear that the students were not passive listeners but active contributors, eager to challenge assumptions and ask probing questions. This collective engagement sparked a series of insightful and thought-provoking exchanges, showcasing the students' genuine interest in the subject matter and their desire to broaden their understanding of complex political issues. During the Q&A session, a student posed a thought-provoking question about the role university institutions can play in addressing Africas political challenges, particularly considering the themes expected in Trumps 2025 inauguration speech. The student inquired about practical solutions that academic institutions could implement to foster political change on the continent, considering the potential shifts in US foreign policy under a renewed Trump administration. In response, Dr Shilaho emphasised the importance of grassroots-driven change rather than relying solely on external influences. These values and norms must come from below, he asserted, highlighting that sustainable political transformation in Africa must be led by its own people, institutions, and intellectual communities. Gugulethu Maqina played a pivotal role in facilitating the event, expertly crafting an engaging and intellectually stimulating academic environment. Her thoughtful guidance and leadership set the tone for the seminar, encouraging deep reflection and meaningful dialogue. The atmosphere she fostered was curiosity and open-mindedness, where students felt empowered to explore new ideas and critically examine the topics being discussed. Under Maqina's facilitation, the event became an invaluable opportunity for students and the department to reflect on contemporary political debates, pushing the boundaries of traditional academic discourse and encouraging critical thinking that extended far beyond the classroom. Dr Xaba addresses panelists and attendees On Wednesday, 26 February 2025, Rhodes Universitys School of Languages & Literatures and the Political & International Studies department hosted the launch of Izimpabanga Zomhlaba (The Wretched of the Earth), Frantz Fanons seminal work translated into isiZulu by Dr Makhosazana Xaba. Dr Xaba received an honorary doctorate from Rhodes University in 2022. Held at Eden Grove Blue, the event celebrated this groundbreaking contribution to African literature and intellectual thought, drawing scholars, students, and the public into a vibrant discussion on language, decolonisation, and Fanons enduring relevance. A revolutionary text reimagined Dr Xabas translation of Fanons work, originally written in French during the Algerian revolution, marks a significant step in the intellectualisation of African languages. Rhodes University Journalism and Media Studies Lecturer, Thandeka Gqubule-Mbeki, the events facilitator, emphasised the political and cultural importance of the project, stating, This translation is not just about language; its about reclaiming our intellectual heritage and ensuring African voices are central in global discourses on liberation and justice. The panel, featuring Rhodes University Professor of African Language Studies Professor Dion Nkomo and Mbongeni Allan Magubane, explored the translations role in deepening Fanons relevance in post-colonial Africa. Prof Nkomo highlighted its potential to inspire further intellectual work in African languages, while Magubane linked Fanons ideas on violence and neocolonialism to contemporary struggles for decolonisation. The challenges of translation Dr Xaba shared the complexities of translating Fanons dense, conceptual text into isiZulu. She described how her multilingual upbringing, navigating isiZulu, English, and Afrikaans shaped her approach. Ive always been a lover of dictionaries, she said, recalling her mothers insistence on self-reliance in understanding words. To tackle Fanons abstract concepts, such as nationalism and imperialism, Dr Xaba compared English translations by Constance Farrington and Phil Cox. She also collaborated with family members, like her sister, to brainstorm culturally resonant interpretations. Translation is not just about words; its about capturing the soul of the text, she explained. A call for multilingualism and decolonisation The event underscored the importance of multilingualism in education and the decolonisation of knowledge. Dr Xabas work not only makes Fanons ideas accessible to isiZulu speakers but also challenges the dominance of colonial languages in academia. As one attendee noted, This translation is a gift to isiZulu speakers and a reminder of the power of language in shaping our understanding of the world. The launch of Izimpabanga Zomhlaba is a milestone in the intellectualisation of African languages and a testament to Rhodes Universitys commitment to transformative scholarship. By bringing Fanons revolutionary ideas to a broader audience, this project ensures his work continues to inspire liberation movements and cultural pride across the continent. Along with enhanced styling and new features, next-gen Jeep Compass will also get hybrid and fully electric powertrain options New-gen Jeep Compass is in the works and expected to make its global debut in Europe later this year. Production for European markets will commence this year at the companys plant in Melfi, Italy. Latest teaser provides new details about the SUVs refreshed exterior profile. Lets take a closer look. New Jeep Compass Fascia Teased What to expect? One of the key changes is the more rugged looking, rectangular-shaped headlamps. These appear to have derived inspiration from the Jeep Recon. The iconic slatted grille design has been carried over. Side profile appears to have a more polished appearance. Some changes can also be seen on the wheel arches. These wheel arches appear to have a wide fender flare, ensuring a stronger road presence. One can also notice the floating roof effect that enhances the SUVs dynamic stance. Its made possible with the blacked-out D-pillars and rear quarter glass surround. At the rear, the teaser reveals sharper wraparound tail lamps with LED lighting elements. It is possible that the new-gen Jeep Compass could be larger than the current model. The second-gen model available in India is 4,405 mm long, 1,818 mm wide and 1,640 mm tall. The SUV has a wheelbase of 2,636 mm. With a gain in size, new-gen Jeep Compass can enhance its presence and also unlock more spacious interiors. New Jeep Compass is also expected to get significant changes on the inside. For example, the SUV could see updates to centre console, dashboard and door trims. Tech kit could be upgraded with a larger screen for the infotainment system. Since Stellantis has talked about state-of-the-art technology for the new Compass, it is likely that there will be multiple new additions to the equipment list. Improvements are expected across connectivity and ADAS kits. Top variant of the current model is equipped with a 10.1-inch touchscreen. A number of features will be carried over including ventilated leather seats, voice commands, wireless charging and dual-pane sunroof. Powertrain options Upcoming new-gen Jeep Compass will be underpinned by the STLA Medium architecture. Other Stellantis cars such as Peugeot 3008/5008, DS 7, Opel Grandland and the upcoming Citroen C5 Aircross utilize the same platform. With the STLA Medium platform, new-gen Jeep Compass will be able to support a variety of powertrains. It includes fully electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options. In India, the 2nd-gen Jeep Compass is available with a 2.0-litre diesel engine that generates 170 hp and 350 Nm. Transmission choices include 6MT and 9AT. New-gen Jeep Compass Launch timeline While Europe launch is confirmed for 2025, other major markets may see a delay. For example, plans for starting production at the companys Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada are currently on hold. Thats because Stellantis is revisiting its strategy for North America. There are speculations that Stellantis may not go ahead with plans to launch electric versions of new-gen Compass in the United States and Canada. Plans for India are also not clear. The existing Jeep Compass is expected to continue in India till at least 2026. Despite SUVs taking centre stage in Indian automotive market, hatchback seems to be holding their ground. Albeit not in the same way one would expect. Tata Motors, is still banking on its Altroz premium hatchback as it is developing a facelift. Recent spy shots are much clearer than the past ones. Lets take a look. 2025 Tata Altroz Facelift Clear Spy Shots Recent spy shots of Altroz facelift are much clearer, giving us a better perception as to what we can expect from this upcoming premium hatchback. Just like previous spy shots, this test mule is also fully camouflaged, trying to conceal its identity. However, Altrozs silhouette is immediately identifiable. It will receive certain updates to make it modern and align with evolving buyer trends. We can see a new set of headlights, which are sleeker than current model and looks like they are populated by LED headlamps, this time around. Fog lamps on current model are just below headlights, while the same design is not seen in Altroz facelift. We can also see massive C-shaped elements in the front bumper, which will increase the sporty quotient. The top grill seems to be closed, which may get a Gloss Black trim in production model. Alloy wheels are new and windshield wipers look like they are of premium frameless type. We can expect sleeker rear tail lights for a modern look. Interior might the new steering wheel with illuminated logo, touch and toggle climate controls, rotary dial for Drive Modes and other features from modern Tata vehicles. We can expect features like a 10.2-inch instrument screen, rear disc brakes, single-pane sunroof, ventilated front seats and other features. Altroz is currently the most versatile hatchback in terms of powertrain options as it offers NA Petrol, Turbo Petrol, NA Petrol CNG and Turbo Petrol engine options. It is currently the only premium hatchback in India with dual cylinder CNG and Indias only Diesel hatchback. All these powertrain options are likely to make their way to facelift versions. More sales expected with facelift version With upcoming Tata Altroz facelift, the company seems to be aiming for higher sales prospects. This is much needed for Altroz as sales from the past year have not been too kind on Altroz. In February 2024, Tata sold 4,568 units of Altroz, increasing MoM to 5,985 units in March 2024. This was the peak of Tata Altroz sales in the past year. From here, sales dropped all the way till December 2024 as Tata sold 5,148 units in April 2024, 4,983 in May 2024, 3,937 in June 2024, 3,444 in July 2024, 3,031 in August 2024, 2,758 in September 2024, 2,642 in October 2024, 2,083 in November 2024, 1,866 in December 2024. Saving grace is January 2025, which registered a slight MoM growth with 2,033 units sold. Tata Motors launched Altroz Racer in the 1st week of June 2024, which didnt yield any spikes in sales, as seen in the charts. Lack of a DCA gearbox and the mismatch of Orange exteriors and Red interiors may be contributing factors. At the launch, Tata also hinted at a Dark Edition of Altroz Racer around festive season, which didnt materialise either. Source Indias high-performance electric bike manufacturer, Ultraviolette, has opened a new chapter in their journey. The company hosted their Fast Forward India event in Bengaluru today. At the stage, Ultraviolette launched Tesseract scooter and the Shockwave electric enduro bike which aims to offer a hooligan like riding experience in off-road terrains. Ultraviolette Shockwave Boasting a tagline of Too Stoked, Ultraviolette Shockwave is being portrayed as a fun enduro motorcycle. Funduro, as Ultraviolette calls it. Ultraviolette Shockwave is an electric enduro bike which is priced at Rs 1.5 lakh (Ex-sh) for the first 1,000 buyers and then it will be priced at Rs 1.75 lakh (Ex-sh). For the price, Ultraviolette Shockwave is an electric enduro motorcycle which promises a lot of fun. It only weighs 120 kg, which is light for its intended purpose. Especially when we consider the fact that Shockwave is packing 505 Nm of torque at the wheel, which is more than what Ultraviolette F77 is packing. There are two colours showcased with Shockwave and theyre both youthful and will appeal to younger generation. Design-wise, Shockwave looks like an enduro motorcycle. It has dual LED projector headlight, arranged vertically, a tall windscreen, a front beek, wire-spoke wheels and dual-purpose off-road tyres. Specs & Features Theres seating provision for two (rider and pillion), while the seat is a single-piece design. Handlebar is high-set and has a brace pad. Behind it is a portrait-style fully digital instrument cluster that supports Bluetooth connection, smartphone pairing, LTE connectivity with integrated eSim feature. We get 37mm telescopic front forks with 200 mm travel, mono-shock rear suspension with 180 mm travel. 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel setup wrapped with 90/90-19 front and 110/90-17 rear tyres. There are disc brakes at both ends with dual channel ABS which is switchable at the rear for maximum fun. Ultraviolette Shockwave claims 165 km of IDC certified range on a single charge. It has a single electric motor with 14.5 bhp of peak power and 505 Nm of torque at the wheel. It weighs 120 kg, promising a 0-60 km/h sprint in just 2.9 seconds. Top speed on this vehicle is 120 km/h. These specs are quite impressive for a fun off-road vehicle. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The "Digitalization, Industrial Safety, and Procurement in the Energy Sector" international conference has taken place under the organization of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in Baku, Trend reports via SOCAR. The event participants paid tribute to the bright memory of the modern Azerbaijani state founder, the author of the country's new energy strategy, National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the Alley of Honor and laid flowers at his tomb. Besides, the participants, having visited the Alley of Martyrs, laid flowers at the graves of the martyrs who gave their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The conference featured speeches by the President of SOCAR Rovshan Najaf, Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas Askhat Khasenov, CEO of Tatneft Nail Maganov, and Chairman of the Board of Uzbekneftegaz Bahodirjon Sidikov. The speeches followed with a signing ceremony of four-party and bilateral documents between the mentioned companies. Besides, the conference featured panel discussions on topics such as "Development and implementation of new standards in the oil and gas industry", "Modern approaches to emergency response and the importance of joint response teams", "Consortium of open digital solutions for the oil and gas industry - a unified engineering environment", and "Principles, stages of implementation, and benefits of joint procurement activities". A robust dialogue of perspectives transpired throughout the deliberations. The event culminated in the capture of a commemorative photographs. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel bp today presented the books of five representatives of Azerbaijans contemporary literature, published as part of its ongoing commitment to promoting the nations rich cultural, artistic, and literary heritage. These books feature selected works of four poets and one writer representing Azerbaijans literary youth. This project follows bps previous initiative, which showcased four young representatives of Azerbaijans modern literature as the most promising emerging talents. All nine young poets and writers featured in both projects were selected by the Azerbaijan Writers Union and nominated to bp for publication. In his address to the presentation event the chairman of the Writers Union of Azerbaijan, Peoples Writer Anar, said: Rooted in its remarkable historic and cultural traditions, our magnificent literature continues to flourish with each emerging literary generation. Young writers bring joy to their readers with valuable new books, contributing to the continuous development of our literary art. The publication of modern books enhances our unshakeable confidence in the future of Azerbaijans literature. It is pleasing that among its various projects covering different spheres of Azerbaijans social life, bp also supports the development of our modern literature. The Writers Union requested bp to publish the books of five young poets and writers this year, and we received a positive response. It is commendable that bp has supported the publication of books by the talented and outstanding young representatives of our contemporary literature. We hope these exquisitely published books will inspire them to create even more. Addressing the event Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, bp vice president for the Caspian region, said: We are here today to celebrate the vibrant voices of Azerbaijan's literary youth. The five books of young poets and writers that we are presenting today, as well as the previous four books of young literary talents that bp published, are a testament to our ongoing commitment to nurturing and promoting Azerbaijans amazing cultural, artistic, and literary heritage. By showcasing the works of all nine talented poets and writers, we hope to inspire future generations and highlight the immense potential within Azerbaijan's contemporary literature. We believe these books will mark the beginning of their promising and successful future literary activity and will be welcomed and admired by literature lovers. The five newly published books are: In One of the Familiar Streets, a collection of poems by Qismet; March 3, a collection of poems by Ruslan Dost Ali; Twilight in Bayil, a collection of poems by Ulujay Akif; Lookers for the Night, a collection of short stories and a novel by Revan Javid. The White Quadra, a collection of poems by El Roman; The event brought together a large group of renowned literary figures, scholars, and researchers, as well as numerous literature lovers. The project was implemented by the Azerbaijan Writers Union. The five publications together comprise about 570 pages. The total cost of the project, including the publication of the books, is about 64,850 AZN ($38,147). BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The State Employment Agency under Azerbaijan's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, jointly with Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), will hold a job fair in the Lachin district, Trend reports via the ministry. According to information, the job fair will take place on March 7 from 11:00 to 13:00 (GMT +4) at the administrative building of the Lachin District Department of Employment Service of East Zangezur Regional Branch of the agency (Lachin city, Heydar Aliyev street, 138). "The fair will offer more than 110 job vacancies in fields such as flight electrical and lighting systems, communications, airport operation, aviation security services, technological equipment operation and repair, and other types of work at the Lachin International Airport, which will be commissioned this year," the information notes. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Soilless growing systems inside greenhouses, known as controlled environment agriculture, promise to advance the year-round production of high-quality specialty crops, according to an interdisciplinary research team at Penn State. But to be competitive and sustainable, this advanced farming method will require the development and implementation of precision agriculture techniques. To meet that demand, the team developed an automated crop-monitoring system capable of providing continuous and frequent data about plant growth and needs, allowing for informed crop management. "Traditionally, crop monitoring in controlled environment agriculture soilless systems is a critical, time-consuming task requiring specialized personnel," said team lead Long He, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering. "And traditional crop-monitoring methods do not allow frequent data collection to capture plant growth dynamics throughout the crop cycle. Automated crop-monitoring systems allow continuous monitoring of the plants with frequent data collection and a more efficient and informed management of the crop." In findings published in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, the researchers reported that an integrated "internet of things," artificial intelligence (AI) and a computer vision system tailored for controlled environment agriculture soilless growing systems, enabling continuous monitoring and analysis of plant growth throughout the crop cycle. An internet of things -- often referred to as IoT -- is a network of physical objects that can connect and exchange data over the internet, linking devices that are embedded with sensors, software and other technologies. According to the team, the core innovation of their research is the implementation -- for the first time -- of a recursive image segmentation model that processes sequential images, captured in high resolution at predetermined time intervals, to accurately track changes in plant growth. In the study, the researchers tested their approach by monitoring baby bok choy, a leafy vegetable commonly called Chinese cabbage, but the researchers said it would work with many different crops. He's research group in the College of Agricultural Sciences, located at Penn State's Fruit Research and Extension Center at Biglerville, has focused on automated, precision agriculture for more than a decade, devising robotic solutions for agricultural applications such as crop picking, tree pruning, green fruit thinning, pollination, orchard heating, pesticide spraying and irrigation. The machine vision system employed in this research is an advancement of technology the group developed for other purposes in previous studies. In this study, the integrated machine vision system successfully isolated individual baby bok choy plants growing in a soilless system, producing frequent images that tracked increased leaf coverage area throughout their growth cycle. The researchers said the recursive model maintained a "robust performance," providing accurate information throughout the crop growth cycle. He credited Chenchen Kang, a post-doctoral scholar in his lab and first author on the study, for supplying the innovation and hard work needed to "teach" the computer vision system to track plant growth. "Chenchen installed the sensors, collected and processed the data, developed the methodology and did the coding and programming work with the AI models," He said. The research was an interdisciplinary project between agricultural engineers and plant scientists, and it is part of a larger federal project titled, "Advancing the Sustainability of Indoor Urban Agricultural Systems." Francesco Di Gioia, associate professor of vegetable crop science and principal investigator on the overarching project, stressed the importance of integrating different expertise for the development of precision agriculture solutions. The interdisciplinary approach, he suggested, will be increasingly critical in advancing the efficiency and long-term sustainability of current controlled environment agricultural systems. "The ability to automatically monitor and collect data on the crop status, estimate plant growth and crop requirements along with the monitoring of the nutrient solution and of the environmental factors -- radiation, temperature and relative humidity -- combined with the use of IoT and AI technologies, is going to revolutionize the way we manage crops," Di Gioia said. "Minimizing inefficiencies and improving the competitiveness of controlled environment agricultural systems will enhance our food and nutrition security." In the future, Di Gioia added, the integration of precision agriculture technologies in controlled environment agriculturalsystems also may offer the opportunity to enhance the quality of specialty crops and even tailor their nutritional profile. Xinyang Mu, who graduated with a doctoral degree in agricultural and biological engineering from Penn State and currently is a postdoctoral scholar at Michigan State University, and Aline Novaski Seffrin, doctoral candidate in plant science, contributed to the study. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded this work. Northwestern University researchers are actively overturning the conventional view of iron oxides as mere phosphorus "sinks." A critical nutrient for life, most phosphorus in the soil is organic -- from remains of plants, microbes or animals. But plants need inorganic phosphorus -- the type found in fertilizers -- for food. While researchers traditionally thought only enzymes from microbes and plants could convert organic phosphorus into the inorganic form, Northwestern scientists previously discovered iron oxides in natural soils and sediments can drive the conversion. Now, in a new study, the same research team found iron oxides don't generate just a negligible amount of the precious resource. In fact, iron oxides are incredibly efficient catalysts -- capable of driving the conversion at rates comparable to the reactions of enzymes. The discovery could help researchers and industry experts better understand the phosphorus cycle and optimize its use, especially in agricultural soils. The study was published today (March 4) in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. "Phosphorus is essential to all forms of life," said Northwestern's Ludmilla Aristilde, who led the study. "The backbone of DNA contains phosphate. So, all life on Earth, including humans, depends on phosphorus to thrive. That's why we need fertilizers to increase phosphorus in soils. Otherwise, the crops we need to feed our planet will not grow. There is a profound interest in understanding the fate of phosphorus in the environment." An expert in the dynamics of organics in environmental processes, Aristilde is an associate professor of environmental engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. She also is a member of the Center for Synthetic Biology, International Institute for Nanotechnology and Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. Jade Basinski, a Ph.D. student in Aristilde's laboratory, is the paper's first author. Other Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers in Aristilde's team contributed to the work. Paths to accessing phosphorus For centuries, farmers have added phosphorus to their fields to improve crop yields. Not only does it improve crop quality, phosphorus also promotes the formation of roots and seeds. Plants literally cannot survive without it. But there's a catch. Plants have evolved to use phosphorus in its simplest, most readily available form: inorganic phosphorus. Inorganic phosphorus is like a ready-to-use molecule that plants can easily consume and incorporate into their metabolism. Most phosphorus in the environment, however, is organic, meaning it's bound to carbon atoms. To access this phosphorus, plants rely on their own secreted enzymes or enzymes secreted by microbes to break bonds in organic phosphorus and release the usable inorganic form. In previous work, Aristilde's team found that enzymes are not the only vehicles that can perform this essential conversion. Naturally occurring in soils and sediments, iron oxides, too, can perform the reaction that transforms organic phosphorus to generate the inorganic form. How much and how fast? After proving that iron oxides offer another pathway for plants to access phosphorus, Aristilde and her team sought to understand the rates and efficiency of this catalytic conversion. "Iron oxides trap phosphorus because they have different charges," Aristilde said. "Iron oxides are positively charged, and phosphorus is negatively charged. Because of this, anywhere you find phosphorus, you will find it linked with iron oxides. In our previous study, we showed iron oxides can serve as a catalyst to cleave the phosphorus. Next, we wanted to know how much they can cleave and how fast." To explore this question, the researchers investigated three common types of iron oxides: goethite, hematite and ferrihydrite. Using advanced analytical techniques, Aristilde and her team studied the interactions between these iron oxides and various structures of ribonucleotides, which are the building blocks of RNA and DNA. In their multiple experiments, Aristilde's team looked for inorganic phosphorus both in the surrounding solution and on the surface of the iron oxides. By running experiments over a specific period of time and with different concentrations of ribonucleotides, the team determined the reaction's rates and efficiency. "We concluded that iron oxides are 'catalytic traps' because they catalyze the reaction to remove phosphate from organic compounds but trap the phosphate product on the mineral surface," Aristilde said. "Enzymes don't trap the product; they make everything available. We found goethite was the only mineral that didn't trap all the phosphorus after the reaction." The team discovered that each type of iron oxide exhibited varying degrees of catalytic activity for cleaving phosphorus from the ribonucleotides. While goethite was more efficient with ribonucleotides containing three phosphorus, hematite was more efficient with ribonucleotides containing one phosphorus. Hematite is found in the midwestern part of United States, while goethite is commonly found in soils in the southern United States and South America. What's next Next, Aristilde's team will seek to understand why different iron oxides have different efficiency for the catalysis process and how goethite is able to release the phosphate but ferrihydrite and hematite trap all the produced phosphate. While the researchers initially hypothesized that the phosphorus compounds' surface structure would play a role, they did not find a clear trend. Now, they think the chemistry of the mineral itself might be the secret behind its success. Because phosphorus is a finite resource -- mined from phosphate rock found only in the United States, Morocco and China -- its supply is dwindling. Farmers and researchers worry phosphorus eventually will become so expensive that it will increase overall food costs, making basic staples unaffordable. Finding new ways to convert trapped organic phosphorus into bioavailable inorganic phosphorus, therefore, is vital for the global food supply. "Our work is providing a steppingstone for designing and engineering a synthetic catalyst as a way to recycle phosphorus," Aristilde said. "We uncovered a reaction that's happening naturally. The dream will be to leverage our findings as a way to make catalysts to contribute to the production of fertilizers for our food security." Scientists from UNSW Sydney have located a potential new exoplanet -- a planet that orbits a star outside of our solar system -- using a technique known as 'transit timing variation'. In research highlighted in a new paper, published today in The Astrophysical Journal, Scientia Senior Lecturer Ben Montet and PhD candidate Brendan McKee analysed changes in the timing of a known planet's transit across its star, to infer the presence of a second exoplanet. After identifying an unusual trend in the movement of the hot Jupiter planet TOI-2818b, the team, from the UNSW School of Physics, ran a series of model simulations that pointed to the presence of a small planetary companion to the known hot Jupiter. The new exoplanet is estimated to be 10-16 times the size of Earth, with a predicted orbital period less than 16 days. "It's rare for hot Jupiters to have other planets near them," says Dr Montet. "So this new planet could have implications about how hot Jupiters form and in turn, help us to understand other solar systems." Hunting for exoplanets An exoplanet is any planet outside of our own solar system. Like the planets in our solar system orbit the sun, most exoplanets also orbit a star. To date there are over 5500 known exoplanets confirmed by NASA, with trillions more predicted to exist within the Milky Way galaxy. Of the known exoplanets, there are approximately 500 known hot Jupiters -- hot, gaseous exoplanets. Even lesser-known are companion planets to hot Jupiters -- planets that orbit the same star as a hot Jupiter. One method for hunting exoplanets, known as Transit Timing Variation (TTV), uses the movement of planets around their stars, which can affect the signal for the star's brightness. "The planet passes in front of its star from where we see it on Earth, a bit like an eclipse, and it blocks some of its light," says Mr McKee. "And our records will show that the light emitted from the star will dip for a few hours as the planet travels in front of it. And we see those dips every single time a planet orbits." Dr Montet describes the occurrence as like "the planet casting a shadow on the star, so it appears a little fainter." Planets make good clocks, and an exoplanet's orbit around a star should remain stable, ensuring consistent timing between transits. "But if you have more than one planet at play, then the planets will pull each other with their gravity and make each other speed up and slow down a little bit," says Dr Montet. "This means the transits will arrive slightly earlier or later than normal, and you can use that to infer that another planet's causing these timing variations." Modelling planetary movements To start, Mr McKee went through three years of data from the TESS telescope, (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). One known exoplanet is TOI-2818b, orbiting a star visible with a standard telescope located just over 1000 light-years away in the constellation Puppis. TOI-2818b, a hot Jupiter, was discovered via its transits. However, when analysing the data, Mr McKee noticed that its transit dips were not evenly spaced -- they were occurring closer together over time. If this planet were a clock, it wasn't keeping accurate time. Something was influencing its orbit, prompting Mr McKee and Dr Montet to investigate the mystery. "The tricky thing is that there are a number of plausible explanations for why the planet is arriving early," says Mr McKee. For example, the tides of a star can impact the gravitational pull on a planet, just like we see between the Moon and the Earth. When this is the case, the planet is typically spiraling inwards, about to get swallowed by the star, which would make the transits of the planet arrive earlier and earlier. "So we had to work through all the other possible situations that could occur that would cause the same timing variations that we saw in the data," says Dr Montet. "But our tests and simulations suggested that none of the other explanations are physically possible. It would take wild new physics that is very implausible, so we were able to rule those out and say the only option left is that it has to be another planet. What can this teach us about planet formation? The first exoplanets were discovered in the mid 90s. While scientists haven't yet found an exoplanet that can support life like Earth, they have identified a number of Earth-sized rocky exoplanets, some of which are in the habitable zones of their stars, meaning they could potentially have water on their surface. "There's a lot of questions about exoplanets that we haven't been able to answer yet," says Dr Montet. "Whenever we find planets, they throw up new puzzles about how they form, and hot Jupiters are a great example of that. Hot Jupiters were the first exoplanets we discovered, but we don't fully understand how they form or why they're there." One way scientists think hot Jupiters may form, called dynamical or warm excitation, is chaotic and can make the system unstable, ejecting other planets out of the planetary system. The second possibility is called cold migration, a smoother process where the planet gradually drifts inward. "If this smooth method is common, we would expect to find hot Jupiters with companion planets. But if they typically lack companions, it suggests the chaotic scattering process is more frequent," says Dr Montet. Current evidence points to a mix of both processes, but studying more hot Jupiters will help us determine which is more common. Searching for more clues Mr McKee and Dr Montet's work has pointed to the unusual transit of TOI-2818b being the result of a companion planet. However, many questions remain unanswered. "There are lots of factors that we don't know," says Mr McKee. "There are a couple of different features of the planet that are compatible with our simulations." Further observations will help to narrow down exactly what kind of secondary planet is interfering. "The ESPRESSO instrument on the Chilean Very Large Telescope (VLT), run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), will provide more data and help us to eliminate some of the possibilities when figuring out the features of the planet," says Dr Montet. "ESPRESSO data already was really important in eliminating some other exotic solutions, like a brown dwarf orbiting the star and tugging on the hot Jupiter. The VLT is the best-placed instrument we have to measure exactly where this hidden planet is. "Every time we find new planetary systems around other stars, we're surprised that there are things that we did not envision, things that look nothing like our own solar system. "Every time we think we really understand planet formation, we learn something new. And this is going to just keep happening over the next couple decades, as different missions come online and help us detect planets in new ways, using new techniques." Dr Montet highlights the importance of a collaborative approach to exoplanet hunting. "There are many more planets than people, but the more people who are able to collaborate, from well-established facilities, to citizen scientists, we can narrow down answers to some of the most important questions and understand more about the universe." BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijani diaspora organizations in Montreal, including the Quebec Azerbaijani Association and the Montreal Canadian-Azerbaijani Society, addressed a letter to Canadian parliamentarians on the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, the State Committee on Work with Diaspora told Trend. The letter provides detailed information about the Khojaly tragedy. It highlights that on the night of February 25th to 26th, 1992, Armenian armed forces, supported by the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment stationed in Khankendi, attacked Khojaly from three directions, killing hundreds of civilians. Despite the 33 years that have passed since this horrific tragedy, the Khojaly genocide remains one of the darkest chapters in Azerbaijan's modern history. Furthermore, it was noted that one of the important issues is the punishment of the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide and the official recognition of this tragedy. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Ali Asadov held an operational meeting at the oil refinery where a fire occurred, a source in the Cabinet of Ministers told Trend. According to the source, Asadov arrived at the scene of the incident to investigate the causes of the fire at the oil refinery and directly monitored the firefighting process. The operational meeting took place with the participation of the minister of Emergency Situations, heads of relevant structures of the ministry, the president of SOCAR, and other senior officials. Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov, SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf, and other responsible persons presented reports on the investigation into the causes of the fire and the assessment of damages. The prime minister instructed to thoroughly investigate the causes of the fire and take decisive measures to prevent such incidents in the future. The fire that broke out at the oil refinery located in the Nizami district of Baku has been completely eliminated by the Emergency Situations Ministry, which prevented it from spreading to a large area. In the interim, law enforcement personnel were dispatched to the location. The jurisdiction was secured and all requisite safeguarding protocols were implemented. Moreover, a triad of emergency medical service units was engaged in the occurrence. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. Photo: Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. The international low-cost carriers SpiceJet, Eastar Jet, T'way Air, and ThayAirAsia will start operating in the Kazakhstan market in 2025, said Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport Marat Karabaev during the 2024 year-end summary meeting, Trend reports. "16 new destinations are planned to be opened, including Rome, Munich, Budapest, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Busan. Budget routes for passengers will expand due to the arrival of four new foreign low-cost carriers: SpiceJet (India), Eastar Jet and Tway Air (South Korea), ThayAirAsia (Thailand)," the minister noted. Marat Karabaev also added that in 2023, Kazakh Airlines transported 13.3 million people. In 2024, this number grew by 11 percent, reaching 14.7 million passengers. A whopping 29.7 million people were served at airports in total, which is 14 percent more than in 2023 (26.1 million). Earlier, it was reported that Kazakhstans Air Astana is expanding its network to China with a new flight to Guangzhou, which will start on March 30, 2025. Diability Network Southwest Michigan held webinars in Feburary about Black disability history. Frances Vicioso believes in the power of connection and storytelling. As the founder of Co-Creating Culture, she works with organizations to create equitable spaces, using her lived experience as a Black Latina with mental health and physical disabilities to inform her approach.For Vicioso, intersectionality isnt just a concept, its a lived reality that influences every aspect of her work.I want people to walk away from this presentation with curiosity and affirmation. Curiosity to learn more and affirmation that the work theyre doing, no matter how small, is making the world a better place.Her passion for education and facilitation caught the attention of Miranda Grunwell, community education manager at Disability Network Southwest Michigan (DNSWM).When Grunwell sought to bring back the organizations popular webinar, Black Disability History, she knew Vicioso was the right person to lead it.We had done this presentation years ago, but when our former co-presenter, who identified as a Black disabled woman, left our staff, we put it on hold, Grunwell explains.We are all about having that lived experience. Neither myself, a white female, nor my colleague, Max, who identifies as a white, non-binary person, were the right people to present it. Frances came highly recommended, and after speaking with her, we knew she was a perfect fit.The presentations, held Feb. 6 and Feb. 19, highlighted the crucial yet often-overlooked role that Black disabled Americans have played in advancing civil rights for both communities.Far too often, when people are disabled, they're only seen as disabled, Grunwell says. We've had people say, To show up is one thing, but show up as disabled, or a woman, or Black.' But you can't just pick one. My disability shows up everywhere I go in my job, housing, and relationships.The sessions, she says, aimed to help participants understand that disability is part of broader conversations, especially during Black History Month.We're creating a safe place for people to ask questions. One of the slides we cover, for example, discusses whether to use 'Black' or 'African American' because people want to ask but are often afraid.Vicioso says that the overlap between Black and disability histories is essential to highlight. Black history is disability history, and disability history is Black history, she explains. Too often, these are treated as separate conversations, but they're part of the same larger conversation.The webinar also explored the parallels between Black civil rights and disability rights movements. While the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, disability rights werent federally recognized until 1990 with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Grunwell notes that during a 28-day sit-in in San Francisco in 1977 that demanded greater accessibility and accommodations for people with disabilities, the Black Panthers played a crucial role by providing food, resources, and networks. It was the longest occupation of federal property by protesters ever.We were looking to the Black community during the Civil Rights Movement, saying, 'Yeah, us too,' and learning from them, Grunwell says.Judy Heumann, known as the Mother of the disability rights movement, often is given credit for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities. But she always said it was the Black Panthers who helped us organize and provided the support we needed, Grunwell adds.For Vicioso, bringing these histories together through storytelling is vital.When people feel good at work or in any group, the outward effects are beautiful, she says. Education and honest conversations create that environment. I help organizations think about how people's different oppressions layer on each other and affect how they show up.Viciosos journey to this work began in New York City, where she taught public school for eight years.Kristen Aguirre, DNSWMs public relations and outreach manager, says the program's return shows a strong appetite for inclusive educational opportunities.We have constantly rolling workshops, Aguirre says. Theyre free, amazing, and really good. People can check our website for upcoming sessions.Grunwell emphasizes that young people, in particular, should see themselves represented in these stories.Far too often, we're told that disability is something to be hidden. I want people to be proud of who they are and to see and learn their history, she says.The multi-regional Disability Inclusion series is made possible through a partnership with Centers for Independent Living organizations across West Michigan. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. We launched cooperation with more than 30 international partners in the field of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) last year, the Executive Director of the Analysis and Coordination Center for the 4th Industrial Revolution (C4IR) under the Ministry of Economy Fariz Jafarov said during a press conference on the center's performance in 2024 and the planned directions for 2025, Trend reports. He mentioned that the center had a very broad spectrum of activities in 2024. "Azerbaijan is the first country in the world to establish the 4IR at the level of a state institution. Azerbaijan is the first country in the CIS region to host this center. In the field of the 4th industrial revolution, last year we started partnerships with over 30 international partners. We share the experiences we have learned from international partners with local ones. The number of our local partners exceeds 100. Through strategic cooperation with these partners, of course, Azerbaijan's position is further strengthened," he added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Ferrexpo said a Ukrainian district court had granted a request from prosecutors to transfer 49.5% of its mining unit to the state ownership in relation to an embezzlement case. The company, which makes iron ore pellets for the steel industry, said it had not seen a copy of the decision from the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv The details of the court decision are therefore unclear at this stage and the company is working with its legal advisors to further understand the situation, Ferrexpo said on Wednesday. Ukrainian authorities have been investigating alleged embezzlement of funds from Bank Finance & Credit, a Ukrainian bank previously owned by Kostyantyn Zhevago which was declared insolvent in 2015. Zhevago, who was arrested in absentia in July 2024. Ferrexpo said Zhevago does not own any shares in Ferrexpo Poltava Mining, ultimately owned by the UK-listed entity - in which he has a 49% stake. No Ferrexpo group company has received any official documentation or requests from the Ukrainian authorities with regards to the decision and have not seen a copy of the court decision. The operations of the group remain unaffected, it added. The lawsuit seeks to transfer 49.5% of Poltava Mining and its assets to state ownership, including 541 properties, 172 land plots, and more than 2,300 railway cars with tracks. Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com Britain reportedly blocked from providing information The US on Wednesday said it had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine in a follow up to the suspension of military aid to the war-torn country, hampering its ability to carry out long-range drone strikes on Russian targets. American officials hinted that both suspensions could be lifted if there was progress on peace talks. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was prepared to sign a minerals deal with the US, although Washington seemed determined to strong arm him into a negotiating position on White House and Kremlin terms. After an extraordinary fracas in the White House last Friday, which saw US President Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance shout at the Ukrainian leader - who left Washington without signing an agreement - a letter from Kyiv stated that Zelenskyy was "ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer". My team and I stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts, Trump quoted Zelenskyy during a rambling address to Congress on Tuesday evening, also claiming he had serious discussions with Russia and "strong signals that they are ready for peace. There was no response from Moscow on whether this was the case. Trump has pivoted American foreign policy towards Moscow and President Vladimir Putin, initiating talks on ending the war but excluding Ukraine and Europe from the discussions. It also emerged that the US had cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine, with Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe saying Trump had ordered the move to make Zelenskyy "think about" his commitment to a peace process. The UK was also reportedly blocked from sharing any intelligence provided by the US with its Ukrainian allies, according to the Times newspaper. Zelenskyy's letter came on the day Trump cut off military aid to Ukraine until further notice. On Wednesday his national security adviser Mike Waltz suggested deliveries could be restored if peace talks were arranged and confidence-building measures taken. I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause, Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. In London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been a staunch supporter of Zelenskyy, especially after last Friday's spat with Trump, reiterated the European position that any peace deal needed security guarantees to ensure Russia would not attack again. UK Defence Secretary John Healey was en-route to Washington to meet his counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in an attempt to overturn the suspension of military aid. "The way to ensure we have peace is to ensure there are guarantees for any deal that is in place, because the surest risk that there will be conflict is if Putin thinks that he can breach any deal that may be arrived at," Starmer told parliament during his weekly question session. Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com Some companies are stuck in neutral in their approach to artificial intelligence, according to Microsofts UK boss, who said a significant number of private and public sector organisations lack any formal AI strategy. A Microsoft survey of nearly 1,500 UK senior leaders across public and private sectors, as well as 1,440 employees, found that more than half of executives feel their organisation has no official AI plan. Roughly the same proportion report a growing gap in productivity a measure of economic efficiency between employees who use AI and those who do not. Guardian Trade unions have declared victory as Labour bolstered a string of measures in its workers rights bill, amid criticism of the government from business groups saying there had been no meaningful change despite engagement. Union sources said they were delighted there had been no watering down of any key measures in the employment rights bill, which will face its final vote in the Commons next week, after wrangling between ministers, unions and businesses. Guardian Apple has launched a legal battle against Yvette Coopers secret order for the tech giant to install a backdoor in the iPhone. The company has lodged an appeal with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the court that oversees Britains surveillance laws, over the demand to provide access to encrypted iPhone messages and pictures. Telegraph The company that makes Tasers is poised to roll out a covert weapon to satisfy a surge in demand from nervous chief executives after the head of Americas biggest health insurer was shot dead in New York. Axon has told investors that fear among corporate bosses in the wake of the assassination presented a huge growth opportunity for the company. Telegraph The owner of Boots, the high street chemist, is nearing a $10 billion deal to be taken private by an American private equity firm. Walgreens Boots Alliance, the US-listed drugstore chain, is in negotiations with New-York based Sycamore Partners to agree a takeover. The parties are aiming to reach a deal as soon as Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Times Smith & Nephew has opened the door to a possible break-up amid activist pressure to consider a separation of the FTSE 100 companys largest division. The 169-year-old company, one of the worlds biggest and oldest medical equipment manufacturers, has outlined scenarios under which it could evaluate strategic options for its struggling orthopaedics division, in a shift in its public position. The Times Sentiment got a boost after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Fox Business that the US might meet Canada and Mexico "in the middle" to "work something out" on tariffs. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Investors are looking for any signs that Trump is open to deals rather than doling out tariffs and refusing to listen. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick hinted we might soon see an amendment to the tariff structure that came into force this week. "Markets would take even the slightest rollback from Trump as a positive sign, helping to settle nerves following concerns about a full-blown trade war." Aston Martin, which is exposed to the Chinese economy and slumped on Tuesday, hit the accelerator on the news. Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty announced that its chief executive of 10 years Leo Quinn is to step down later this year. Breedon surged on Wednesday as it hailed record underlying full-year results and announced the acquisition of US construction materials and surfacing solutions business Lionmark for $238m (187m) - a deal which is expected to more than double its US revenue. Ferrexpo surged on news that Ukraine was ready to sign a minerals deal with the US. However it also announced on Wednesday that a Ukrainian district court had granted a request from prosecutors to transfer 49.5% of its mining unit to the state ownership in relation to an embezzlement case. Market Movers FTSE 250 - Risers Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 86.45p 14.88% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,633.00p 12.31% Breedon Group (BREE) 474.00p 10.88% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 76.40p 8.06% Hays (HAS) 73.45p 8.01% Ocado Group (OCDO) 243.60p 7.74% Ibstock (IBST) 163.40p 7.22% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 486.40p 7.18% Computacenter (CCC) 2,264.00p 6.39% Quilter (QLT) 159.70p 5.76% FTSE 250 - Fallers Balfour Beatty (BBY) 432.80p -5.00% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 38.80p -3.87% Greggs (GRG) 1,847.00p -2.99% Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 143.20p -2.98% Future (FUTR) 855.00p -2.73% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 975.00p -2.50% HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 111.60p -2.28% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 215.50p -2.05% Pennon Group (PNN) 400.40p -1.91% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 211.50p -1.63% The Antidote by Karen Russell (Knopf, $30 hardcover, 432p., 9780593802250, March 11, 2025) It's been a considerable wait for Karen Russell--author of highly praised and eclectic short story collections including St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves--to produce another novel since her first, Swamplandia!, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012. Happily, The Antidote, a deeply imagined blend of gritty realism and alluring fantasy about the American Midwest in the Dust Bowl era, will amply reward readers for their patience. On April 14, 1935--Black Sunday--a catastrophic "black blizzard" swept across the already beleaguered Great Plains of the United States. Russell's locus for her account of that devastating dust storm and its aftermath is the tiny fictional southwestern Nebraska town of Uz, an "ugly and uninviting place" that shares its name with Job's biblical homeland. The town, whose desperate citizens are "all in the market for miracles," is home to bachelor farmer Harp Oletsky and his 15-year-old basketball-obsessed niece, Asphodel, who becomes his ward when her mother falls victim to a serial killer terrorizing the region. Another resident is immigrant Antonina Rossi, a "prairie witch" whose pseudonym provides the novel's title and who claims to store the memories townspeople share with her for a fee in her "Vault." They're joined by Cleo Allfrey, a young Black photographer who's been dispatched by the Roosevelt administration to document the farmers' plight in hopes of persuading Congress to fund New Deal aid programs. Shifting among the voices of these characters, supplemented by periodic brief contributions from a sentient scarecrow, Russell exposes the scars they each bear from the events of their pasts and the hardships of daily life in a dying town. Most moving are the stories of Antonina's longing to be reunited with the son taken from her after she gave birth to him as a 15-year-old in a home for unwed mothers, and Asphodel's ache for the mother she barely knew. Russell energizes the plot with a brilliantly conceived, profoundly moving dose of magical realism involving Cleo's photography that becomes central to an effort to derail the reelection bid of Uz's corrupt sheriff and save an innocent young man from execution. But like Cleo changing her lens from portrait to wide angle, Russell skillfully pulls back from the travails of her characters to excavate out of the formerly rich soil of this barren earth the story of how immigrants like Harp's Polish parents--fleeing German oppression in their homeland--ruthlessly displaced the Pawnee and other Native American tribes and then exploited the land in ways that set the stage for its eventual ruin. In doing so, Russell has created both a tender story of how our memories sustain us in the face of significant loss and a frank reckoning with a painful period of American history. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer Shelf Talker: Through the stories of four characters in a small Nebraska town, Karen Russell paints a moving and memorable portrait of the Dust Bowl era. Kay Sohini is a South Asian researcher, writer, and graphic novelist living in New York. Her work focuses on using comics in the scholarly examination of health-care justice, environmental humanities, resisting disinformation, and creating an equitable future for all. This Beautiful, Ridiculous City (Ten Speed Graphic, January 28, 2025), her first book, is a graphic memoir of a woman rebuilding her life in New York City while recovering from the trauma of an abusive relationship. Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less: Imagine you only ever wanted one thing, inexplicably, irrevocably. This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is the exploration of how that thing, for me, is New York City. On your nightstand now: At Wit's End (by Michael Maslin with photos by Alen MacWeeney) features many of my favorite New Yorker cartoonists and their stories. I am going to start reading Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio as soon as I have a free moment. Einstein in Kafkaland by Ken Krimstein, which I thought was wonderful, science-y, and whimsical. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang and The Coin by Yasmin Zaher, neither of which I could put down! What voices! A gigantic Fitzgerald collection, and Nella Larsen's Passing to revisit. Ravynn K. Stringfield's Love Requires Chocolate is my holiday read. And Robin Ha's Cook Korean!, which I am looking at for inspiration as I draw my own comic cookbook based on Indian food (forthcoming from Ten Speed Graphic in 2026). Favorite book when you were a child: I loved the Malory Towers and the Naughtiest Girl series by Enid Blyton. Also, not unlike many kids growing up in the late '90s and early 2000s, I loved Harry Potter. My grandfather was the one who had gotten me the first four books when he came across the story of its unprecedented popularity in the U.K. As for comics, I loved Herge's The Adventures of Tintin, and then later Asterix (Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo) and Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson). This was before I encountered graphic novels. Your top five authors: So hard to choose just five, but if I absolutely have to, I suppose it would be Alison Bechdel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cathy Park Hong, Joan Didion, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Book you've faked reading: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. In my defense, I did start, but I have yet to get through it. One of these days. Oh, and I read the graphic novel version of it adapted by Stephane Heuet. Books you're an evangelist for: Fun Home and Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel. Two of the best graphic novels ever written. Bechdel has a way with words and pictures. The comics medium can be quite magical, especially in its treatment of time and space, and Bechdel excels at thoroughly utilizing that aspect of it. Moreover, the way she approaches complex subjects, the way she intertwines her own narrative with classic literature, and the way her authorial self-reflexivity shines through the medium, are all breathtaking. Book you've bought for the cover: Recently? Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. I just finished rereading, but originally dove in without knowing anything about it. The cover was stunning, so I picked it up, and it turned out to be one of the finest new graphic novels of this century so far. I could say more, but I do not want to spoil it for you if you have not read it yet! Book you hid from your parents: I grew up in a household where I was actively encouraged to read. My parents were avid readers, and they never really tried to keep me from reading anything I wanted to! My father's dusty library housed Tagore's entire body of work as well as a lot of Russian literature in translation--Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov--that I tried to get into early on. Chekhov's short stories were my favorite of the lot. My father also introduced me to Kafka, O. Henry, Nabokov, and Camus by the time I was 15 or 16! So I never had to hide any book from my parents. Book that changed your life: Nick Sousanis's Unflattening. I would not have found my career path (?) as a comics maker if I had not encountered his doctoral dissertation turned graphic nonfiction book. It was published by Harvard University Press in 2015, and I encountered it around the time I was starting to consider a Ph.D. in English. I applied with a comics-focused research statement, and got through Stony Brook University with full funding in 2017. There I met Jeffrey Santa Ana and Lisa Diedrich, two of the most supportive mentors a grad student can find. Nick became an external reader, and together they let me draw my doctoral dissertation as a comic! This Beautiful, Ridiculous City is not that book, but without the dissertation I would not have learned how to make comics, or how to draw even, so this book would likely not have existed! I started working on the proposal for This Beautiful, Ridiculous City mere weeks after graduating in 2022, and had a book contract by the end of that year. Favorite line from a book: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," from Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, because it is utterly exquisite and it lives in my head ever since I encountered it more than a decade back. It helps that Gatsby was my first true encounter with the concept of the American Dream--its promise, its pitfalls, and the beautiful lies that sustain it. One does not easily get over something like that. Five books you'll never part with: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, and Seek You by Kristen Radtke. I turn to these books over and over again to learn the craft. Book you most want to read again for the first time: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. It flipped a switch in my brain and made me wish that I had pursued Physics instead of literature. While I cannot do that, my next graphic novel is one about time and grief, and my hyper-fixation on the subject started with Rovelli's work. Favorite graphic novels of all time: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Maus by Art Spiegelman Palestine by Joe Sacco Ducks by Kate Beaton My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine The Complete Eightball by Daniel Clowes Here by Richard McGuire Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir by Malik Sajad Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo and Juan Cavia Hyundai Motor Companys President and CEO, Jose Munoz, emphasized that India will be pivotal in achieving the automaker's ambitious target of selling 2 million electric vehicles globally by 2030. Speaking at a town hall meeting with Hyundai Motor India employees at the company's Gurugram office, Munoz revealed that Hyundai plans to significantly expand its electric vehicle lineup in India. The company is focusing on strengthening its EV portfolio in the country as part of its global strategy to drive sustainable growth and meet rising demand for green mobility solutions. Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) aims to sell 2 million electric vehicles globally by 2030, and India will play a key role in reaching this goal, according to President and CEO Jose Munoz. He highlighted that Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is committed to making electric vehicles more accessible and tailored to the needs of Indian consumers, aligning with the country's growing emphasis on green and eco-friendly mobility solutions. Munoz also emphasized that HMC will continue to support HMIL in expanding its EV offerings and investing in the infrastructure needed to facilitate this shift toward sustainable transportation. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) is the third-largest market in Hyundai's global operations, Munoz stated. HMIL's IPO has helped HMC to invest and expand in new products and additional production capacity in India, he added. It has emerged as a world-class automotive manufacturing and regional export hub and is integral to Hyundai's global vision, says Munoz. To meet the growing demand for vehicles, HMIL's upcoming manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Maharashtra, will play an important role in improving local manufacturing capabilities, he added. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar called on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London and delivered warm wishes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders discussed the intensification of bilateral cooperation, economic relations, and the UK's view on the Russia-Ukraine war. "Talked about carrying forward our bilateral, economic ties and increasing people-to-people contacts. PM Starmer also expressed the UK's view on the Ukraine situation", Jaishankar tweeted. The meeting was on the sidelines of Jaishankar's six-day trip to the UK and Ireland, to deepen diplomatic ties. Earlier during the day, he had a round of ministerial talks, including with UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. The ministers discussed the negotiation of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aimed at strengthening the GBP 41-billion annual bilateral trade partnership. "Saw progress on our FTA negotiations", Jaishankar said after the meeting, alluding to the discussions that were resumed during Reynolds' trip to Delhi last month. Jaishankar also sat down with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss people-to-people relations and cooperation in countering extremism and trafficking. "We discussed talent flow, people-to-people ties, and cooperation in countering trafficking and extremism", he said. As per a pre-visit statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit of EAM would lend fresh momentum to India's cordial relations with the UK and Ireland. Both the countries have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in areas such as defence, security, health, education, and cultural exchanges. Jaishankar will hold top-level talks with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other officials on Wednesday. His behind-closed-doors meeting will focus on foreign policy and security matters, with the UK hoping to play a diplomatic role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. He will have an in-conversation event at Chatham House in the evening on India's emergence on the global stage. The EAM's schedule includes a trip to Dublin on Thursday, where he will meet Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris and engage with the Indian community. The MEA emphasized the warm bilateral relations between India and Ireland, based on common democratic values and increasing economic engagements. Jaishankar returns to the UK on Friday to open the new Consulate General of India in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On Saturday, he will proceed to Manchester to open another consulate in the northern English city, with UK Foreign Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West. The trip will be concluded with a diaspora function at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester on International Women's Day on March 8. The function is likely to commemorate the UK-Indian community's contributions and give prominence to the changing India-UK partnership. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas, Russia's Tatneft, and Uzbekistan's Uzbekneftegaz have signed several memoranda of cooperation, Trend reports. The agreements were signed during the "Digitalization, Industrial Safety, and Procurement in the Energy Sector" conference, which took place in Baku. The partnership focuses on advancing digital technologies and industrial safety. The documents outline the exchange of expertise in developing and implementing digital solutions, as well as measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of man-made emergencies, according to KazMunayGas. The parties also discussed the introduction of innovative technologies, improving production safety, strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation, and ensuring the sustainable development of the oil and gas sector. KazMunayGas highlighted that the company is continuing to expand its collaboration with key partners in the areas of technology and knowledge exchange, as well as geological exploration and hydrocarbon extraction. During the 2025 placement drive at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, 570 students secured over 600 job offers from global recruiters. The offers spanned various industries, including consulting, finance, e-commerce, operations, and retail, reflecting the diverse skill sets and talents of the graduating class. This successful placement drive underscores IIM Lucknows strong reputation and its ability to attract top companies seeking qualified professionals across multiple sectors. During the 2025 placement drive at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, over 600 job offers were extended to 570 students from the institutes 39th batch of Post Graduate Program (PGP) and 20th batch of Postgraduate Program in Agribusiness Management (PGP-ABM). The offers came from global recruiters across a wide range of fields, including consulting, finance, e-commerce, operations, retail, general management, product management, and sales and marketing. This diverse range of opportunities highlights IIM Lucknows continued prominence in preparing students for leadership roles in various industries. During the 2025 placement drive at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, students received impressive job offers, with the highest domestic package reaching Rs 75 lakh per annum (LPA) and the highest international package standing at Rs 65 LPA. The average salary offered was Rs 32.3 LPA. The recruitment drive, held in a hybrid format, saw participation from over 180 domestic and international companies, showcasing the institute's strong global industry connections and its students' appeal to top recruiters across various sectors. The recent final placement drive stands as a testament to the robustness of our unique curriculum. By offering a blend of theoretical and practical experiences, we ensure that our students not only meet, but exceed industry expectations. With the economy on the mend, we foresee even greater success stories in the near future, says Professor Priyanka Sharma, chairperson, Student Affair and Placement, IIM Lucknow. Microsoft is closing down Skype after almost two decades, with the platform to be shut down on May 5, 2025. To address this, Microsoft is urging users to switch over to Microsoft Teams Free, which not only preserves Skype's basic features but extends them with functionalities such as meeting hosting and calendar management. To facilitate the transition, Microsoft has announced a transition period when Teams Free users will continue to chat and call Skype users until the shutdown date. New users, however, cannot access paid Skype features anymore. The switch is easy. Skype users can be prompted to make the move in-app, or download it themselves from Microsoft's website. Once installed, users can log in using their Microsoft or Skype credentials and go through the setup process to confirm their information. Teams will then sync chats and contacts from Skype automatically, so conversations can be picked up where they left off. A New Jersey man who was driving 107 mph when he slammed into a parked car and killed a sleeping 8-year-old boy in Absecon has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter. Edward Johnston, 25, is expected to receive a 15-year stint in state prison when he is sentenced on May 13, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said. He will be required to serve at least 12 years and nine months before he is eligible for parole. Johnston was intoxicated when he veered off the White Horse Pike and hit the parked vehicle at about 3:25 a.m. on July 23, 2023. Javier Velez, of Philadelphia, was asleep in the car while his father and brother fished in a creek beside the familys vehicle, officials said. Days after her sons death, Velezs mother told 6abc.com the vehicle was parked far off the busy road, not on the shoulder. Johnston, of Egg Harbor City, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter on November 16, 2023. At the time of the crash, he was also issued summonses for operating under the influence of liquor or drugs, reckless driving and exceeding the speed limit by 55 to 59 miles per hour. A description on a GoFundMe campaign for the boys family describes Javier as someone who was beloved by his family. Javier was so full of love and life, the description reads. He brightened the day of everyone he came in contact with in his short life. With bird flu decimating chicken populations, New York City has placed bird flu warning signs near bodies of water in public parks across the city. The signs read: Please do not touch or remove birds that appear sick, injured, or dead. While bird flu rarely infects humans, visitors and their pets should not have contact with wild birds. Bird flu warning sign placed in Silver Lake Park. Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance The signs say that if any New Yorker finds a sick, injured or dead bird in a public park, they should notify NYC Parks staff by calling 311. This is a citywide effort done in partnership with the Health Department to place signage near all of our Parks waterbodies, said Parks Press Officer Gregg McQueen. The goal is to encourage New Yorkers to not handle sick or dead birds. This bird flu warning sign was seen at Conference House Park in Tottenville. Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance The bird flu outbreak has led a cat food company in the state of Washington to recall some of its product. The product could potentially contain the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, the statement cautioned. Animals who eat contaminated food can contract the virus, Fox News reported. The move came after the Washington State Department of Agriculture warned pet owners that at least two domestic, indoor cats had tested positive for the HPAI strain of bird flu. One of the cats was euthanized due to the severity of the illness, the WSDA stated in the Feb. 26 announcement. The second cat is being treated by a veterinarian. The bird flu outbreak has led to steep increases in the price of eggs across the country. President Donald Trump during his speech to Congress on Tuesday blamed the price increase on his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. Without providing details, Trump said that federal officials, including Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, are working to get prices down. Politico reported that eggs had last month reached an all-time high of $4.95 a dozen in U.S. cities. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was killed after being tortured for nearly a month, police have said. Provided by Kayla Nordquist Canandaigua, N.Y. Two children were coerced into torturing Sam Nordquist before his death by one of seven defendants who now face first-degree murder charges, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Ontario County District Attorneys Office held a news conference in Canandaigua to announce that a grand jury had indicted seven people on first-degree murder charges in the torture death of Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man. They all were originally charged with second-degree murder. One person, Precious Arzuaga, also was charged with first-degree coercion for forcing a seven- and 12-year-old to witness and participate in the torture, said Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County first assistant district attorney at a news conference in Canandaigua. To have two children participate in the beating of another human being is deeply disturbing, Wolford said. We have a seven- and 12-year-old who are also victims. They may have been forced to participate, but their lives are forever changed by what they saw and endured. State Police and the DAs office refused to say what the relationship was between the Arzuaga and the children. Nordquist, who was originally from Minnesota, traveled to the Finger Lakes area last September to meet Arzuaga, his online girlfriend. He was last known to be staying at Pattys Lodge Motel in Canandaigua. In Room 22 of the motel, he was repeatedly sexually assaulted and brutally beaten with multiple objects, police said. Nordquist died as a result of the month-long torture. All seven defendants Arzuaga, Emily Jean Motyka, Jennifer A. Quijano, Kyle R. Sage and Patrick A. Goodwin, Kimberly L. Sochia and Thomas G. Eaves were charged with first-degree murder for killing Nordquist in an especially cruel manner with the intent to inflict torture on him before his death, Wolford said. Four of the defendants Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage and Goodwin were also charged with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse for inserting a foreign object into Nordquist. Seven people have been charged in connection with the death of Sam Nordquist, 24, near Canandaigua. Those charged are: Top row, from left, are Precious Arzuaga, Jennifer A. Quijano, Emily Motyka and Kimberly L. Sochia. Bottom row, from left, are Patrick A Goodwin, Kyle Sage and Tomas G. Eaves. courtesy of State Police First degree murder carries the possibility of a sentence of life in prison with no parole. New York state no longer has the death penalty, but this would have been a death penalty eligible charge, Wolford said. Well never know the answer to why because what kind of human being could do this, Wolford said. We will never make sense of this case. Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County first assistant district attorney, speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, about indictments in the murder of Sam Nordquist. Greta Stuckey From about Jan. 1 until his death on Feb. 2, Nordquist was prevented from using a phone, according to Wolford. He was kept in confinement and forced to stand and kneel facing the wall. He was hit, punched, kicked and sexually assaulted, she said. He was also denied proper nutrition and hydration, forced to eat feces, forced to drink urine and chew spit, Wolford said. He was physically restrained, forced to obey commands like a dog, covered in the face with towels and shirts, duct taped and had bleach poured on him by the defendants, she said. He was repeatedly struck with numerous objects including sticks, dog toys, rope, bottles, belts, canes and wooden boards, according to court documents. The State Police and district attorney said they are not looking into anyone as a specific ringleader of the group because all seven people acted in concert with each other to torture and kill Nordquist, Wolford said. In addition to the first-degree murder charge, all seven have been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. Four of the defendants Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage and Goodwin were charged with first degree aggravated sexual abuse for inserting a foreign object into the anus of Nordquist causing him injury. Everyone except Eaves was charged with concealment of a human corpse after the six defendants left Nordquists body in a field off Payne Road in Yates County. His body was found by police on Feb. 13. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed in February according to State Police. His body was found in a field off Payne Rd near Penn Yann. Steve Featherstone | sfeatherstone@syracuse.com There are relationships among all seven defendants, according to Wolford. She said they were all known to each other, including romantic relationships, family relationships and some people that just knew each other from being around the area. In response to questions regarding why this case isnt being considered a hate crime, Wolford said its much bigger than that. A hate crime would make this charge about Sams gender or about Sams race, and its so much bigger, Wolford said. To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. The district attorney is still waiting on an arraignment date for the seven defendants. They are all in custody so it will be in the next week or week in a half, Wolford said. The indictment was filed Wednesday morning. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was living at Patty's Lodge in Hopewell, NY, before he was murdered in February. He was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed, according to State Police. Steve Featherstone | sfeatherstone@syracuse.com In this file photo, part of a 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return form is shown July 24, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) AP With tax season underway, a common thought running through the heads of Americans is: How can I get my refund money fast? Well, after you file your tax return and get things squared away be it questions or corrections or something else it all comes down how you want your money to be sent to you. There are five different routes to choose from when it comes to getting your refund, as listed on the IRS website: An IRA, be it traditional, Roth, or SEP A paper check delivered via snail mail A prepaid debit card A mobile payment app Direct deposit into a checking, savings and/or retirement bank account Out of all those options, direct depositing the is the fastest way to get your refund, the IRS said. You can also split your refund between three bank accounts, if desired. If you filed online, it will take 21 days to process the refund amount before its sent out; for traditionally mailed returns or returns that needed to be fixed, it can extend to a month or more. Over 8 million refunds have already been issued this tax season, with Americans receiving nearly 20% more money back than they did this time last year. Tracking your refund If youre one of the millions of Americans who have already sent in their tax returns, there are online portals that will allow you to monitor the status of your refund. For federal taxes, residents can use the IRS Wheres My Refund tool or the IRS2Go mobile app to see when their refunds have been received, processed and sent. Refund status will appear roughly 24 hours after you e-file a current-year return, three or four days after you e-file a prior-year return or four weeks after you file a paper return. To access the information, which is updated overnight each day, residents must provide their Social Security or individual taxpayer ID number (ITIN), filing status and exact refund amount on their return. Once refunds are sent, those using direct deposit should receive their refund within five days, while those expecting checks in the mail may have to wait several weeks. For state taxes, New Yorkers can visit the Department of Taxation and Finance website and click Check refund status. This allows residents to see if their return has been received; when its being processed; if the return requires additional review; if the state requires additional information; if a requested refund amount has been adjusted and when a refund has been issued. Bikes in kid and adult sizes were donated, renovated, and distributed to underserved communities on Staten Island and newly arrived asylum seekers by the DOT, NYPD, and community partners. June 13, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Mike Matteo) Mike Matteo STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. With spring coming in full swing, city agencies are partnering with local community groups to provide members of underserved Staten Island communities with free bicycles. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Bike New York, and the Staten Island FerryHawks are hosting the 3rd Annual Donate a Bike Program, where they collect bicycles in any condition suitable for riders of all ages. All bicycles will be refurbished and distributed to Staten Islanders in need. Bicycles in poor condition are welcome, including those with missing wheels, seats, or handlebars, as well as rusty bicycles. For each bicycle given, the donor will receive two FerryHawks tickets. To donate a bicycle, residents can drop them off at the following locations on these dates: Saturday, March 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Great Kills Municipal Parking Lot (3928 Amboy Road) New Dorp Municipal Parking Lot (Lot 98) (98 New Dorp Lane) Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Huguenot Municipal Parking Lot (839 Huguenot Ave.) Gret Kills Municipal Parking Lot (3928 Amboy Road) Saturday, March 22, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. New Dorp Municipal Parking Lot (98 New Dorp Lane) SIUH Community Park (Front gate) (75 Richmond Terrace) Saturday, March 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 3, 2025 New York, NY Governor Kathy Hochul convenes a roundtable discussion with a group of public sector workers impacted by federal layoffs driven by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Following the roundtable, the Governor announced an expansion of her Youre Hired initiative to recruit talented public sector workers into New York State service. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul) Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York is doubling down on its efforts to employ thousands of former federal workers who have been fired by President Donald Trumps administration. On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state is expanding its new Youre Hired initiative to recruit public sector workers laid off by the Trump administration to join the New York state government. China is railing against President Donald Trumps tariffs, with the Communist nation saying it is ready for any type of war. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said late Tuesday, per the New York Post. The comment is an alarming escalation of rhetoric between the two countries as Trump increased tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%. The Trump tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday. Trump has said his trade tariffs on China would help slow the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States. Jians statement, which was also seen on the X account of the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., warned that intimidation and bullying on the part of the Americans would not work. China also imposed a 15% tariff on American agricultural goods. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculation, the spokesperson said. China also said that if Trump truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, the right thing to do would be to consult China with mutual respect. Trump in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday said that other countries have hit the U.S. with tariffs for decades. And now its our turn to start using them against those other countries, Trump told Congress. Critics are concerned that the tariffs will lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers. Trump in his speech acknowledged that there would be a little disturbance in the economy because of the tariffs but that it would be temporary. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) collaborated with Apple to establish an "Apple Authorized Training Center" in Azerbaijan, said Fariz Jafarov, Executive Director of the C4IR under the Ministry of Economy, Trend reports. Speaking at a press conference detailing the centers plans for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025, Jafarov noted that the country's one initiative includes a partnership with Esri, a global leader in geographic information systems (GIS). This collaboration focuses on the "ArcGIS for Student Use" program, providing students with access to GIS software, data, and training to enrich their educational experience. Moreover, Azerbaijan joined forces with Binance, a prominent entity in blockchain, Web3, cryptography, and cryptocurrency sectors. This partnership aims to launch the "Binance Academy," an educational platform designed to offer comprehensive training in these cutting-edge technologies. He added that various training sessions will be conducted as part of these initiatives, aimed at fostering the development of skilled local specialists and trainers. "The training center is expected to begin operations this year. Moreover, C4IR will expand its international cooperation in 2024 through its partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF). This collaboration focuses on artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), urban transformation, digital trade, and energy transition. As one of the 23 global centers of WEF, C4IR has participated as a partner in 18 projects within these fields. Steps have also been taken to promote green technologies and sustainable development. Under the "AI Solutions in Energy" project, 40 solution concepts have been developed with local partners, focusing on increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions in office buildings and enterprises. A pilot project applying AI to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprints has been launched, with joint reports on its progress published on the WEF platform," he added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel President Donald Trump had a three-word response to American farmers who are worried about the financial effects of the Trump tariffs. Bear with me, Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Trump has ordered tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, and tariffs of 20% on products from China. The countries are Americas top three trading partners and are each major consumers of American farm goods. Trump on April 2 aims to place tariffs on products from the European Union and other countries. Farmers here are worried about losing their access to foreign markets as well as the effect that reciprocal tariffs could have on their bottom lines. Trump in his speech said, I love the farmers and that they now will be selling their products in American markets. Trump acknowledged that there may be a a little bit of an adjustment period but that farmers should bear with me. But our farmers are going to have a field day right now, Trump said, so to our farmers, have a lot of fun. I love you too. Minnesota farmers urged the president to reconsider the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, according to MPR News. He creates a lot of chaos and uncertainty in the farming community, said Danny Lundell, a corn and soybean farmer from Cannon Falls said of Trump. Theres a lot of nervousness going on right now. Lundell and his cousin Stan Lundell, who also farms row crops and raises beef cattle outside Cannon Falls, said the call to focus on domestic sales breaks with the reality of the agriculture economy. Theres not enough market domestically, he said. Everything we produce far exceeds what the domestic market could handle. Support the Peninsulas only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe! Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions. Premium Subscription As low as $8.25 per week Premium Includes: -- Access to the Daily Journals e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time. -- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content -- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community -- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week! It turns out the words Lord of the are precious cargo. But even if you have the one enterprise to rule them all, it does not stop others from using the phrase. This week, Australian vegan hamburger chain Lord of the Fries defeated the rights holder of the Lord of the Rings book and screen franchise in a dispute over the three words they both share in their name. A Lord of the Fries outlet at Melbournes Southern Cross Station. Credit: Paul Rovere US-based company Middle-earth Enterprises LLC, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, contested an application by the Melbourne-based fast food company to trademark the words Lord of the. In its bid to block the fast food chain using the phrase, Middle-earth Enterprises noted that it had previously defeated other attempts to trademark business names with Lord of the, including Lord of the Wings, which Trade Marks registrar delegate Nicholas Smith said in his ruling had a much greater visual and phonetic similarity than Lord of the Fries. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Turkish government has approved an important document on cooperation between Turkiye and Azerbaijan in the natural gas sector, Trend reports. The point is about a Cooperation Agreement between the Governments of Turkiye and Azerbaijan in the Field of Natural Gas. The aforementioned document was previously approved by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on July 8, 2024. This agreement will further strengthen cooperation between Turkiye and Azerbaijan in the energy sector, and will make a significant contribution to the energy security of both countries and the energy supply of Europe. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The Guardians Australian staff and readers have been left in the dark over the future of its political editor, who remains on an extended leave of absence ahead of a crucial federal election, following a bust-up in the outlets Canberra bureau. Karen Middleton, who joined the Australian outpost of the historic British newspaper less than a year ago, is approaching three months without appearing at work, with staff stonewalled by editors and managers over the status of her return. Guardian Australias political editor Karen Middleton. Credit: Guardian website She did return to work after the summer break, but not to The Guardian. Instead, continuing her fortnightly gig as Australian correspondent for Radio New Zealand, the public service broadcaster across the Tasman. Last week, Middleton joined the radio network to chat about election date speculation, current polling, Chinas military action near Australia, spiders and an NRL controversy in Las Vegas. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size For 21 years and 206 episodes, Emilia Fox has put on a hazmat suit, pulled on blue rubber gloves and determinedly probed hundreds of dead bodies to play Dr Nikki Alexander on British drama Silent Witness. She regularly scrapes debris from beneath a cadavers finger nail, scrutinises stomach matter or gently digs into fake brain tissue. Fox, however, is undeterred. And thats partly because she has seen the real thing, watching two real-life autopsies in preparation for the show one of an older man who had died naturally, and the other a man in his early 20s who had been murdered. She said witnessing them felt sad, compelling and profound. Death is the unknown, and getting to grips with that as a subject matter, I find endlessly fascinating, she says. Were all trying to come to terms with what death means and I felt that so strongly at the autopsies. Emilia Fox has played Dr Nikki Alexander on Silent Witness for 21 years. With the second autopsy, I came out of that going, We just never know when its going to happen, and we may as well make the most of it. At 31 years old, Silent Witness is Britains longest-running crime series, even beating US stalwart Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Over the years, the series has covered serial killers, human trafficking, drug cartels and biological weapons, and faced criticism that some episodes were too violent. In 2013, it was even censured by the BBC over an episode the trust ruled was in breach of the guidelines over harm and offence as one bloody scene exceeded audience expectations. Advertisement Fox says the show, which employs several real-life pathologists as medical advisers, has never felt pressured to keep up with the more gruesome deaths offered up by true crime or the endless series based on the real-life exploits of serial killers. DS Blake (Gloria Obianyo), Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and Jack Hodgson (David Caves) are suited up for season 28 of Silent Witness. We are very definitely in the hands of our fantastic writers, she says. They continue to find these amazing stories. I think the show is about life as much as it is about death. The advance of forensic science will never stop being fascinating. Crime changes in different locations with different people for different reasons, so there are always stories to tell. But really its about the characters in those stories themselves. The writers write really good thrillers. Thats what keeps it fresh. Fox, wearing a thick woollen jumper while talking over Zoom on a cold February evening in Birmingham, joined Silent Witness in 2004, after the departure of Amanda Burton, who had played Dr Sam Ryan for the first seven seasons. Emilia Fox took over from Amanda Burton, who played Dr Sam Ryan, for Silent Witness first seven seasons. A BBC staple that is broadcast around the world, the show follows a team of forensic pathology experts from the fictional Lyell Centre in London. Its renowned for its interweaving character arcs, mystery plotlines and, most distinctly, up-close homicide post-mortems on meticulously made prop corpses. Occasionally, real actors are on the autopsy slab pre-forensic investigation. Advertisement Dr Nikki Alexander, who is partly inspired by the work of British forensic scientists such as Angela Gallop, Dame Sue Black and Professor Patricia Wiltshire, has been part of nearly half of Foxs adult life. She wants to do good and do right and shes passionate about her work, Fox says. But her evolution has been with the different people who have come into her life and her personal life. The Silent Witness team in 2007: William Gaminara as Professor Leo Dalton, Emilia Fox as Dr Nikki Alexander, and Tom Ward as Dr Harry Cunningham. She did not have a good relationship with her dad many, many years ago, who was a bit of a con man, and her mum had died. So she was a bit of a lone woman who didnt really trust people. Loading She had this moonlighting relationship with Harry [Cunningham, played by Tom Ward], and the first evolution with the Leo [Dalton] and Harry characters, where they were the three pathologists together. And then ultimately with Jack. Played by David Caves, Jack Hodgson, as fans of Silent Witness will recall, capped the series 27 finale by proffering a small mystery box in a forensics evidence bag to Nikki. Advertisement Yes, the episode focused on the Lyell teams grim investigation of eight bodies entombed below Kings Cross Station in London. But, fans rejoice, it culminated in the couples surprise engagement, an event that flooded social media with fan-made, emotional music-backed, slow-motion clips. After 12 years of building it, we consciously wanted to portray a good relationship on screen, says Fox, an executive producer on the show, who was part of extensive show production discussions about the couples changing status. Emilia Fox and David Caves in a 2015 episode of Silent Witness. Their characters have now become engaged. Ultimately, we felt that there was a real maturity to them, and that it had taken them this long to find their love for each other, and that they were at a particular stage of their lives together where you make a choice about being with someone and what they mean to you. Loading But, we also wanted to convey in series 28 how interesting it is for two scientists who are fact and evidence-based [to be in love]. Nikki knows every detail of anatomy, all the organs in the body and really all about the heart. And yet, you can explain the heart with science but you cant explain the heart with emotion. So, youve got these two forensic scientists feeling this, but not being able to explain it, and what that means to them. Advertisement This angle was inspired by Fox listening to forensic ecologist Patricia Wiltshire on BBC radio show Desert Island Discs. I heard her love for her husband, who is also a scientist, through her talking about him and through the music that she chose, she says. I wanted to get hold of that as an idea for this series. The daughter of actors Edward Fox and Joanna David, who raised their daughter with a love for Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Foxs passion for the forensic extends to co-presenting British true-crime TV series In the Footsteps of Killers. When she is not wielding a scalpel in the Silent Witness lab, Fox continues with other projects, including the cosy crime series Signora Volpe and upcoming fantasy adventure comedy Legend Has It with Rupert Everett and Tamsin Greig. But, after 21 years surrounded by Silent Witness riddles of death, she remains beholden to the series. Silent Witness doesnt feel like work because I love it and I am fascinated by it, she says. I really appreciate having had that time to play Nikki, live with her, explore her, enjoy her, and enjoy all the other people that work on the show. Its something that I will never, ever take for granted. The new season of Silent Witness streams on BritBox from March 20. It wont be in time for Cyclone Alfred, but Australia is at the forefront of global research to block such deadly storms in response to a growing threat fuelled by climate change. Scientists are dusting off Cold War-era research into weather manipulation as climate change intensifies, making cyclones more dangerous and expanding their range further north and south of the equator. Using aircraft to release aerosols could be a method to prevent a cyclone or reduce its intensity. Credit: Getty Images Australian National University associate professor Roslyn Prinsley, an expert in disaster solutions, said government spending on natural disaster preparedness was insufficient, and that it was a mistake to stick to conventional methods. The Commonwealth had committed tens of millions of dollars over 10 years to the Natural Hazards Research Australia Centre, she said, compared with billions committed to research and development in defence. We need to prepare to fight disasters like we are preparing to fight a war, Prinsley said. Advertisement Eating outFood Nerve-racking: Brisbanes riverside restaurants stare down Alfred Owners of some of the Queensland capitals most popular restaurants are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst in the face of another natural disaster. Matt Shea March 5, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share The pandemic. The 2022 floods. Now, a cyclone. If nothing else, Brisbanes popular riverside restaurants are getting used to adversity. It does feel like the pandemic, Oscar Solomon said on Wednesday morning. Solomon is group development chef for The Apollo Group, which operates Yoko and Greca at Howard Smith Wharves. Tassis Groups newly opened Mulga Bills has been temporarily shuttered in preparation for Cyclone Alfreds landfall. I was just talking to [back-of-house operations manager] Mitch [Muchow] and we were saying how weve literally jumped back into a COVID situation. Advertisement It means restaurateurs more or less know what they have to do in the face of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which, at the time of writing, is forecast to make landfall in Brisbane in the wee hours of Friday morning. Related Article Updated What you need to know: Transport, power outages, supermarkets Yoko and Greca are now closed for at least two days. All of the outside areas of the restaurants have been packed inside and locked for security and safety, Solomon said. Outdoor electrical has been disconnected, and then its a matter of liaising with [Howard Smith Wharves management]. Its all based on what the state advice is, so everyone gets sent home for two days and well then be reassessing every day. Were hopeful that its going to be very quick and relatively painless, and were looking forward to the weekend and brushing it off, hopefully. Advertisement Solomon says one of the major challenges is tending to the restaurants produce, given the likelihood of a power outage. Yoko and its Howard Smith Wharves sister, Greca, are now closed for at least two days. The cool rooms have to be evenly dispersed [with produce] if you have an airtight rubber-sealed cool room and lose power, its going to retain a safe temperature for a number of hours. The Wharves have two walk-in cool rooms per venue, so theres only so much you can do [but] food safety is obviously absolutely paramount. Still, after a near miss in 2022, when floodwater almost reached Yoko and Grecas riverside deck, Solomon is relatively relaxed about the prospect of flooding. Advertisement The owners of Otto at South Bank are more concerned about securing the restaurant and its produce than flooding. Courtesy of Otto Brisbane Thats not a major concern at the moment, but these things can turn on a dime, so all you can do is try your hardest to prepare as much as you can, but youre at the mercy of the one above. Like Solomon, Will Cowper of Otto Ristorante at South Bank is less concerned with flooding than he is securing the restaurant and its produce. Its just the unknown for us, Cowper said earlier on Wednesday. Weve lost so many bookings. Were down to two for dinner tomorrow [Thursday] night. Weve a couple of big tables booked for tomorrow night, but its about the safety of our staff as much as anything. (Cowper texted later to say that following the decision to suspend public transport, Otto will now close for at least Thursday and Friday.) Tassis Group was set to make a decision on whether to close Stilts, on the Kangaroo Point Bridge, on Wednesday afternoon. Markus Ravik Advertisement Well be making the decision later today about the next few days about how far we take our preparation, but it would involve packing everything out of the service fridges and into the cool rooms. Its a big job. We have an ice machine and the protocol is to cryo-pack everything into ice slurries [inside the cold rooms]. Other than that, its a simple case of packing furniture and any loose outside items onto the restaurant floor and locking the doors. Related Article Kangaroo Point Bridges crown jewel is a restaurant fit for Brisbane Michael Tassis operates a number of venues on or near the river, including the newly opened Stilts and Mulga Bills, and had two restaurants, Massimo and Opa Bar, go underwater during the 2022 floods. Advertisement He describes facing another natural disaster as nerve-racking but says previous events led to the development of an action plan for his most at-risk venues. There are 15 staff per venue ready to go, plus a builder-plumber. Thats at Opa and Massimo. Our green light is if [Riverside Centre] puts the floodgates down, then we have an [eight-hour] window of opportunity to put everything in the car park all the equipment, [furniture] and loose items, and then close it down. At the time of writing, Tassis Groups Fatcow restaurant in James Street remained open. Markus Ravik We already had a few shops closed today, and most of our shops will be closed by this afternoon. We might leave a couple open, like Fatcow [on James Street] and Rich & Rare [in West End], and maybe one of the [Queens Wharf] restaurants. Stilts, well decide that this afternoon. Advertisement But yeah, those restaurants will remain closed for two days, at least. Worst case, if something happens, I have a [refrigerated] seafood truck, and suppliers will take most of my goods into cold rooms. Tassis, like Cowper and Solomon, remains cautiously optimistic that his riverside venues wont be affected by floodwater. At this stage, the river is low, he said. And its more the winds and potential for [flying debris] were worried about. Solomon said, though, that Brisbane operators are by now well versed in these kinds of events. Absolutely, he said. Everyone has a pretty tough skin and this just reiterates the bond we have in the industry. Everyone rallies together and looks after each other Common sense wins out in these situations and thats something I strongly believe a lot of hospitality people have. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Advertisement Review Eating outMelbourne Get hands-on with this sushi platter with a difference at this 10-seat city restaurant Tiny Temaki Sushi joins Melbournes growing number of Japanese specialty venues. Dani Valent March 5, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share As featured in the Melbourne new Japanese venue collection. See all stories . 1 / 7 Temaki Sushi specialises in its namesake, roll-your-own hand rolls. Penny Stephens 2 / 7 Hojicha pudding with mochi, raspberry and sweet adzuki red bean. Penny Stephens 3 / 7 Temaki platter, nori sheets and rice, ready for DIY assembly. Penny Stephens 4 / 7 Cucumber and wakame salad. Penny Stephens 5 / 7 Somen noodles in bonito dashi broth. Penny Stephens 6 / 7 Miso soup. Penny Stephens 7 / 7 Temaki Sushi in Little Collins Street. Penny Stephens Previous Slide Next Slide Japanese$$$$ Last December, I was one of 112,500 Australians who visited Japan and Im sure the culinary offerings of this most delicious of nations were a feature of everyones trip. No surprise, I ate excellent food, too, including at a popular place for temaki, a style of sushi roll that sees diners given palm-sized seaweed squares, a bowl of rice, and a tray of fillings for self-assembly. The same day I rolled cone-shaped snacks in Tokyo, Temaki Sushi opened in Little Collins Street. I stalked their Instagram. Ooh, I thought. That Melbourne temaki looks better than the one I just had in Shibuya. The mini dishes roam from classic to a bit wacky, but they all work. Advertisement The more Australians travel to Japan, and the more Japanese come to Australia, the better the standard of Japanese food here, and the more confident we become to put our spin on it. Its a win all round and might even save you a ticket to Tokyo. Temaki Sushi is an intimate 10-seat restaurant, best visited solo or with one companion. The setting is poised, calm and elegant, with deep blue tones and textural tile and timber finishes. Theres jazz playing and the toasty smells of rice, crisp nori and sake. Hojicha pudding served in handmade ceramics. Penny Stephens Gorgeous glazed ceramics are handmade locally at a pottery studio in Sassafras, which is also the location of owner Allan Greenfields 14-hectare farm. There they grow wasabi, shiso, yuzu, persimmon and other fruits and vegetables that turn up here and at sister businesses Onigiri To Go (a few doors away) and Onigiri on Degraves Street, a sit-down place for rice balls. The team will also soon open a soba noodle bar using buckwheat they grow and mill. Related Article Love sushi rolls? Try onigiri, the lunchtime upgrade thats sweeping Melbourne Advertisement Five small tables face the bar and kitchen where chef Hiroshi Uchiyama prepares set banquets. Unlike omakase or kaiseki, where dishes are made and presented for immediate consumption, the centrepiece of this $145 set meal is a colourful platter of 11 fillings for you to pile into nori sheets, or deliver to your mouth by chopstick, as you wish, and in whichever order you like. The centrepiece platter of 11 temaki fillings. Penny Stephens My seasonal selection of morsels included a lotus root crisp piled with raw kingfish and garlic chips, a creamy salad of grapes and soft tofu, grilled eel over a cube of sweet omelette, steamed duck with pumpkin mash, and gingered eggplant tangled with kiwi and dressed with bonito shavings. The mini dishes roam from classic to a bit wacky but they all work, and its fun to dress each with yuzu pepper paste, salted plum and wasabi as you go. The main event is bookended by appetisers and noodles and theres a silky, cosy mochi and red bean pudding to finish. Advertisement Temaki Sushi is a culinary choose-your-own-adventure where every road is rewarding. Its a tasty pointer to the maturity of Melbournes Japanese dining scene. We still need our trips to Tokyo, but theres joy here in between. The low-down Vibe: Elegant interlude Go-to dish: Temaki (as part of a $145 set menu) Drinks: Sake, Japanese beer and wine including wines from Japan Cost: $290 for two, excluding drinks Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Related Article 14 / 20 Review City sushi counter Nori Maki answers our critics prayers Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up A sexual sadist has been earmarked for release from a Sydney mental health facility even after he attacked a woman in front of her children weeks after his last discharge from care and was recently discovered watching gory footage and making concerning remarks about rape. The unprecedented case prompted the government to intervene and tell the courts the forensic mental health system lacks the capacity to safely monitor the most dangerous criminal patients. A serial rapist from Long Bay forensic hospital has been earmarked for release again. Credit: Michael Howard Over the past year, the Mental Health Review Tribunal has been preparing to release the man held in their high-risk facility, the forensic hospital attached to Long Bay Prison at Malabar, by granting him unsupervised overnight leave. The tribunals privacy laws prevent the Herald from reporting the mans name or where he will live. Both the tribunal and NSW Health have refused to confirm any schedule of release or whether it has already happened. Parents at some of Victorias best-resourced public schools are contributing thousands more in fees than families from poorer areas, highlighting concerns over inequity created by the voluntary fee system. Families paid more than $2500 on average at the top 10 Victorian schools where payments were highest in 2023, compared with the state average of $592 per student. Most schools that received the biggest contribution from parents were located in Melbournes inner east and south, while dozens of regional and outer metropolitan schools took in no revenue from parental fees. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority data includes all voluntary parental fees paid to schools for the provision of curriculum-related services and activities, as well as income from optional extracurricular activity, including excursions and camps. It also includes fees paid by international students, which are up to $20,000 at public schools. The Minns government has abandoned its promise to remove 9500 poker machines from circulation in NSW, a key commitment made before the 2023 election to reassure voters Labor was serious about gambling reform. During a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey confirmed Labor would not follow through on its promise to remove the machines, after advice from the expert panel set up to advise it on gambling reform. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey fronted budget estimates on Wednesday. Credit: Sam Mooy The panel, Mookhey said, made the point that it was not a wise use of public funds. Weve listened to the advice of our expert panel who have suggested that is not a good use of public money, he said. We are listening to the advice weve had. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Kyiv, Ukraine: At the Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, where the internet password is TrumpLovesYou, one woman burst into tears when she learned that the United States was suspending military aid to Ukraine. Another sipped a cappuccino with banana milk and lamented that the whole world seemed to be abandoning her country. Most people at the neighbourhood pizza and coffee joint on Tuesday morning agreed that it was time for the Trump Pizza Station to change its name, citing the losses they had suffered in three years of war. Customers order food at the Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Nicole Tung/The New York Times Anastasiia Berehovenko, 24, who is studying to be an obstetrician-gynaecologist, stood in line for a bottle of water and counted off the people she knew who had been killed by the Russians on her fingers: her brother, a childhood friend, her neighbours. Then she stopped. Honestly, I dont even think I have enough fingers to count everyone I know who has died, she said. I think this is all very sad for us, for Ukrainians. It only means one thing: that even more Ukrainians may die. In recent weeks, every day feels like a fresh punch in the gut to Ukraine, whose cities have been under assault by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion of February 2022. Advertisement Under former President Joe Biden, the United States was Ukraines biggest ally. But since President Donald Trump took power in January, the United States has done an about-face on its foreign policy, making good relations with Russia a priority over those with Ukraine. A menu featuring the Trumpino pizza at the Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Nicole Tung/The New York Times Trump has called President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine a dictator and falsely blamed his country for starting the war. US officials held initial peace talks with senior Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without inviting Ukraine. And then on Friday, a meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance turned spectacularly hostile. The leaders failed to sign a deal on critical minerals as they had been expected to do. Since then, Ukraine seems to have been holding its breath. Many people had been hoping for the resurrection of the minerals deal so that the United States would continue to support Ukraine in return for a share of profits from its resources. But on Tuesday morning (US time), those hopes were dashed at least for now when news spread that the United States was temporarily suspending military aid. Aliona Khrul, 24, a lawyer, didnt see the news before going to the Trump Pizza Station to get a coffee and a tuna sandwich. When she heard about the US decision, she started crying. I feel like we are being abandoned, just abandoned by everyone, said Khrul, who, like everyone else here, said she had lost people in the war, including a classmate and a close friend. Last week, she attended the funeral of a good friend of her boyfriend who was killed fighting at the front. Advertisement She added, And in the end, what was the point of all the fighting, of all the people who died? I dont know what to do. US President Donald Trump initially welcomed Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House. Credit: AP Across the country, from the occupied territories in the east to cities in western Ukraine, people said they were shocked and upset about what the US decision might mean. Some said Ukraine would have to make the best of a bad peace; others said Ukraine would keep fighting, hopefully with European support. Artem Kholodevych, 33, a lieutenant colonel in the military who lost his right leg at the front, said he believed that Ukraine had enough stockpiles of weapons to hold out until European allies could increase aid deliveries. Loading If US aid does not resume throughout Trumps entire presidency, it will be an unpleasant and challenging period for us, he said. But in that case, European security will face an even greater threat, which is why I am confident that our allies in Europe will respond accordingly and significantly increase their support for Ukraine. In Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, one woman, who spoke anonymously by phone because she was worried about retaliation from Russia, said she felt Trump was trying to get Ukraine to accept a bad deal by temporarily suspending aid. Advertisement Ukraine now has very little room to manoeuvre, she said. Members of Trumps team were not politicians but political entrepreneurs, she said. They perceive Ukraine as a weak competitor in this marketplace, one that must accept the conditions set by the market leader and submit. She added, Unfortunately, humanitarianism is absent from US politics. They do not care about Ukraines casualties, its tragedies or the war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine. Many Ukrainians had hoped that Trump would bring peace. In the months after the US election in November, they said that Trumps unpredictable style might help Ukraine. Some Ukrainians spoke positively about Trumps business acumen and had hoped that President Vladimir Putin of Russia rather than Zelensky might rub Trump the wrong way. After Trumps 2016 election, one Ukrainian businessperson even created two cafes named after Trump, including what is now the pizza place. Advertisement The Trump Pizza Station used to be the Trump White Coffee Bar but decided to add pizza to the menu in January. The pizzas have English names, and the restaurants soundtrack features a lot of ZZ Top, including the song Breakaway, a song about a potential break-up. One pizza, the Trumpino, has red sauce, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and grana padano cheese. On some of the signage, the letter u in Trump has been made to look like a half-filled coffee cup. Students stop to chat near a sign promoting the nearby Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Nicole Tung/The New York Times Volodymyr Benzenko, 31, a risk management consultant, was eating at the cafe on Tuesday afternoon and pointed out that Ukraine had started producing its own weapons. Nothing much changes for us. We have always had to be in the position that we are independent, for ourselves, he said. He added, Perhaps the situation is not as critical as it seems. Many people here complained about the cafes name. Here was one thing they could change, something tangible, when everything else felt so out of control. I dont think this place will survive with that name here, said Dasha Holomoz, 21, a university student who complained there were no other cafes nearby. Advertisement Jerusalem: Israels top domestic security agency ignored signs Hamas would attack in October 2023 and was fooled into believing the militant group did not want all-out war, the agency reported in its inquiry into one of the countrys most devastating security failures. The report by the Israeli Security Agency, known by the Hebrew acronym Shin Bet, was published on Tuesday, five days after the military released the result of an investigation saying it had drastically underestimated Hamas capabilities and failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians. While the agency said it failed to warn of the deadly attack, it also implicitly directed blame at the countrys political leadership. A woman walks with an Israeli flag near the hme of the Kunio family after it was burnt during the October 7, 2023 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Credit: Getty Images Whereas the army concluded it underestimated Hamas capabilities, the Shin Bet said it had a deep understanding of the threat. In veiled criticism of the government, it said its attempts to thwart the threat were not implemented. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The relationship between Azerbaijan and Turkiye is deeply rooted in history and culture, built on mutual respect and cooperation across various sectors, including politics, economics, and energy. Over the years, these ties have strengthened and reached a new level, thanks to a number of key strategic projects, one of the most important being the new Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. The signing of a memorandum of understanding between Azerbaijan and Turkiye on December 15, 2020, marked a significant step in advancing bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline, a project entrusted to Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR and Turkiye's BOTAS, is a strategic initiative aimed at ensuring the energy independence of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Previously, Nakhchivan largely relied on gas supplies from Iran, but the new infrastructure will diversify sources of supply. The Turkish company TPAO handled the construction of communication lines and other preparatory work, which was completed in June 2021. This was a critical stage in the project, and on September 25, 2023, an official groundbreaking ceremony took place, attended by the leaders of both countries President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a joint press conference following the ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the significance of the project for bilateral relations with Turkiye: "The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline is an important event in the history of our fraternal relations. It will give a new impetus to our relations and largely ensure the energy security of Nakhchivan". President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also highlighted the strategic importance of Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan-Turkiye relations, noting its crucial role throughout history. "Today, Nakhchivan has great potential in terms of economy, transport and energy lines. Together with the creation of regional transport lines, we will have the opportunity to fully unlock this potential. <...> The Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline project, which we laid the foundation of a little while ago, will further deepen our partnership with Azerbaijan in the field of energy and also contribute to European energy security," he stated. The new gas pipeline, expected to go live today, will provide Nakhchivan with its own Azerbaijani gas, reducing the region's reliance on third countries and further strengthening economic ties between Azerbaijan and Turkiye. It will also foster the development of energy cooperation on a larger scale, from bilateral relations to broader integration within major international energy projects. The pipeline stretches 97.5 kilometers from the Turkish city of Igdir to the Sadarak district in Azerbaijan, with 80 kilometers in Turkiye and 17.5 kilometers in Azerbaijan. It will transport 2 million cubic meters of gas per day, or 730 million cubic meters annually, fully meeting Nakhchivan's current natural gas needs. In the future, the pipeline's capacity can be more than doubled, providing additional opportunities for the region's growth. The Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline project was included in the "State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for 2023-2027," adopted on June 5, 2023. Moreover, its funding was secured through Azerbaijan's state budget, in line with a Presidential decree from Ilham Aliyev on February 10, 2022. The pipelines construction is part of Azerbaijans broader strategy to solidify its role in the international energy system. In addition to major export routes such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and TANAP gas pipelines, this new project adds to the infrastructure supporting regional energy stability. Once operational, the pipeline will not only boost Nakhchivan's energy security but also create new conditions for its socio-economic development. A more reliable energy supply will pave the way for new investment projects, attract business, and improve living conditions for the population. In conclusion, the Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline is not just an infrastructure project; it represents the strengthening of the partnership between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, aimed at long-term development and stability in the region. The collaborative efforts of both countries to bring this project to life open up new possibilities for the growth of energy and economic cooperation, contributing to the overall stability and prosperity of the region. Washington: The United States has paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe says, piling pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to co-operate with US President Donald Trump in convening peace talks with Russia. The suspension, which could hurt Ukraines ability to defend itself against Russian missile strikes, followed a halt this week to US military aid to Kyiv and underscores Trumps willingness to play hardball with an ally, as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow from what was strong US support for Ukraine. Rescuers help wounded civilians in December after a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Credit: AP The pressure appears to have worked, with Trump saying in his address to Congress on Wednesday (AEDT) he had received a letter from Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to come to the negotiating table. Zelensky also said overnight, hours after the CIA news broke, that there had been positive movement in co-operation with the US that could lead to another meeting between the two sides soon. His chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak, had spoken with Trumps national security adviser, Mike Waltz. Donald Trump constantly denigrated his predecessor Joe Biden but held out an olive branch to Ukraine in a rowdy and record-breaking State of the Union-style address to the US Congress in which he claimed a mandate for bold and profound change. The 47th president laid out an alternative vision of democracy in which taxes would be cut, the public service would be shrunk and the executive branch of government his administration would reclaim power from this unelected bureaucracy. US President Donald Trump departs following a joint session of Congress. Credit: Bloomberg Before a highly charged and divided joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate, Trump delivered a long, rally-like speech that was heavy on political venom rather than the unifying tone of most such addresses and drew nearly as much jeering from Democrats as it did applause from Republicans. Having on Tuesday suspended US military aid to Ukraine after his televised blow-up with that countrys president, Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump used the speech to soften his approach and hold out hope the two men might salvage their relationship. This was a speech of exhilaration for Trump and outrage for the Democrats, senior fellow at the United State Study Centre, Bruce Wolpe, said. It was also a very pugnacious address. Trumps contempt for President [Joe] Biden and the Democrats in Congress was palpable throughout. On Trumps two most emotive issues - immigration and trade - Trump is continuing to use them to dominate the political landscape. US President Donald Trump departs following a joint session of Congress. Credit: Bloomberg With regard to Australia, two passages of interest. There was no easing of pressure, especially on Canada, with respect to trade. If Trump can act so aggressively against Canada, that means he may well target Australia on aluminium and reciprocal tariffs. He is not in the mood for exemptions from his tariffs. We are not out of the woods yet. Trump also mentioned a new domestic shipbuilding program. It is unclear what that new initiative means, and whether there is good or bad news for AUKUS. In raw political terms, Trump claimed victory over his domain, and he will pursue it relentlessly. PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA), Mr. Richinel Brug, recently met with representatives from the Windward Islands Federation of Labor (WIFOL) to discuss pressing concerns about workers rights in St. Maarten. Attending the meeting were WIFOL President Theophilus Thompson, WIFOL cadre Florestine Joseph, and union advisor Drs. Raymond Jessurun. Key Concerns Raised by WIFOL During the discussion, WIFOL urged the Minister to take decisive action to strengthen worker protections. The union highlighted several ongoing labor issues, including: Unfair Treatment by Employers Reports of businesses disregarding labor laws and workers rights, with minimal intervention from authorities. Reports of businesses disregarding labor laws and workers rights, with minimal intervention from authorities. Unresolved Compensation Claims Workers from The Towers have yet to receive their legally entitled payments under the Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) despite settlements. Workers from The Towers have yet to receive their legally entitled payments under the Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) despite settlements. Defiance of Court Verdicts Employers, including a jewelry franchise and a construction company, have allegedly ignored court rulings in favor of employees. Employers, including a jewelry franchise and a construction company, have allegedly ignored court rulings in favor of employees. Labor Violations Employees from security firms, a laundry company, and cleaning services have reported unpaid wages, lack of overtime compensation, and unlawful deductions. Employees from security firms, a laundry company, and cleaning services have reported unpaid wages, lack of overtime compensation, and unlawful deductions. Unjust Dismissals Workers from another cleaning service company and a homeowners association have allegedly been wrongfully terminated, with dispute resolutions taking excessive time. Proposed Solutions and Government Action To address these concerns, WIFOL proposed forming a special committee to identify and close legal loopholes that allow employers to bypass labor laws. Additionally, the union submitted a list of complaints related to Checkmate Security and urged Minister Brug to collaborate with Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling. Key concerns included: Workers being required to pay additional legal fees despite possessing government-issued yellow cards. Lawyers refusing to accept these cards, limiting workers' access to legal representation. The need for a class action lawsuit as a more effective approach than individual legal cases. WIFOL also emphasized the importance of improving the labor offices complaint-handling process to ensure workers receive timely and fair resolutions without solely relying on union intervention. Minister Brugs Commitment to Labor Reform Since taking office, Minister Brug has received numerous labor-related complaints from Members of Parliament, individual workers, and the Ombudsman. Recognizing the need for improvements, the Minister has submitted a draft Ministerial Decree (MB) to Legal Affairs for review and publication. This decree will establish an ad hoc committee to: Resolve existing labor complaints. Enhance customer service. Improve transparency, fairness, and efficiency in handling labor disputes. Next Steps Minister Brug emphasized that addressing these concerns is a top priority. He outlined key actions to strengthen labor protections, including: Reviewing and updating labor laws and policies to close loopholes. to close loopholes. Advancing digitalization to streamline labor processes. to streamline labor processes. Reinforcing the Ministry of VSA by adding staff and resources to improve service delivery. The Minister acknowledged the urgency of these issues and committed to reviewing them thoroughly to determine the best course of action. Further updates will be provided as the process moves forward. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Sint Maarten Police Force (KPSM) hereby informs the public of the traffic management measures that will be implemented in connection with the upcoming Regatta 2025 events. These events are scheduled to take place from Thursday, March 6, to Sunday, March 9, at Port de Plaisance on Union Road. Due to the anticipated large crowds and evening performances, traffic flow in Simpson Bay, Cole Bay, and surrounding areas will be significantly affected. Traffic Impact and Advisory Throughout the event, regular bridge openings will result in increased traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours. Taxi operators, tour bus services, and other road users transporting tourists to and from Philipsburg or Marigot are advised to plan their routes accordingly to mitigate delays during the afternoon hours. To facilitate traffic management, KPSM will enforce the following measures on the final two evenings of the event (Saturday and Sunday): Traffic Diversion on Union Road: Motorists traveling from the Kruithoff Roundabout towards Union Road will be required to proceed to the roundabout at the gas station near the Causeway in order to access Port de Plaisance. Direct entry from Union Road will not be permitted, as the central section of the roadway leading into the premises will be barricaded. As a result, vehicles will be unable to make a left turn into Port de Plaisance from Union Road. Alternative Routes: Motorists traveling towards Marigot are strongly encouraged to utilize alternative routes via Lowlands or French Quarter to circumvent traffic congestion on Union Road. Strict Enforcement at the Gas Station Roundabout: Officers will closely monitor and take enforcement action against motorists who attempt to use the gas station as an illegal shortcut to access Union Road. Such behavior exacerbates congestion and will not be tolerated. Deployment of Police Bike Patrols: KPSM will deploy officers on bicycles at key locations to assist with traffic management and to ensure compliance with the established regulations. Parking Enforcement During After-parties: Following the evening shows at Port de Plaisance, various after-parties events will take place at designated locations across the island, known as the Green Zones. KPSM officers will be present in these high-traffic areas to enforce parking regulations where applicable, ensuring that parking violations do not contribute to additional congestion and circulation issues. The Sint Maarten Police Force urges all motorists to comply with these measures, which have been implemented in the interest of maintaining a smooth and orderly flow of traffic. Furthermore, the public is strongly advised to refrain from parking along the roadside on the Union road, as this will further impede circulation. Motorists must also adhere to the instructions provided by police officers on duty. KPSM appreciates the cooperation of all road users and encourages patience, vigilance, and adherence to all traffic directives. These measures are designed to enhance public safety and ensure a well-coordinated transportation flow during Regatta 2025. Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius:--- In a momentous decision that will shape the future of homeownership on the island, the Island Council of Sint Eustatius approved the sale of social housing to tenants on Thursday, 27 February 2025. This landmark ruling formalized under Island Council Decision 002/2025, grants residents of the Golden Rock community will have the opportunity to own their homes. This long-anticipated initiative, first endorsed by the Island Council in 2015 and formalized in 2022 through a cooperation agreement between the Statia Government and the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, has finally become a reality following the islands return from the intervention period. This decision signals a bold step forward for the island, bringing stability and security to many families. All proceeds from the sales will be reinvested into social housing renovations, ensuring continued improvements for the wider community. This is more than just a housing initiative; it is a transformative milestone in the development of Sint Eustatius, which empowers residents, fosters financial independence, and strengthens communities. Commissioner for Housing, Mr Reuben Merkman, expressed his joy following the historic vote, declaring: I am elated to see that the people of Golden Rock have finally achieved one of their biggest aspirations. Now that this opportunity has been provided, I hope as many residents as possible will take advantage of it to build assets for themselves and their families. Council-lady Mrs. Raquel Spanner-Carty, who initially raised concerns, acknowledged the significance of the decision: While this decision comes with mixed feelings, it is essential to focus on the bigger picture, transferring these homes to the tenants who are able to purchase them. Councilman Mr Clyde van Putten reflected on the years of effort leading up to this moment, stating: This Island Council meeting has drawn the curtain on years of discussions about the sale of these homes. Successive governments have expressed interest, but my government in 2015 passed motions in the Island Council to make this a reality. I am proud of the unanimous support from all Island Council members, who voted in favour of selling 25 homes. I congratulate Statia, particularly the people of Golden Rock, on this significant achievement. The Statia Government urges all eligible residents to seize this opportunity and take part in shaping the islands future. Further details on the process will be communicated PHILIPSBURG: --- Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina confirmed on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that TELEM has been working with Huawei, a Chinese multinational technology company founded in 1987. Huawei considers itself a global provider of ICT and smart devices. SMN News asked the Prime Minister about this a few weeks ago, and back then, he said he was not aware that TELEM was using Huawei locally. SMN News also asked the Prime Minister how much this would impact the Tourism Economy in St. Maarten; to date, the Prime Minister has not provided a response. Based on reliable information provided to SMN News, the Council of Ministers discussed this with the Bureau of Telecommunications and Post (BTP), and they (COM) were informed by BTP that TELEM Group of Companies never informed them, as the regulator, that they were using Huawei locally. However, on Wednesday when SMN News asked Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina for an update now that the matter was discussed in the Council of Ministers and BTP, Mercelina confirmed that TELEM has been using Huawei and that they are also working with Curacao and the Netherlands. However, a simple Google search shows that the Netherlands has not issued a full ban on Huawei, but it has placed severe restrictions on its involvement in critical parts of telecom networks, particularly in core infrastructure (like 5G). Besides having a partial ban issued by the Netherlands, other countries that banned the use of Huawei are as follows: United States United Kingdom Australia Canada New Zealand Japan India Sweden Denmark Estonia Lithuania Poland Czech Republic Romania Latvia Bulgaria Countries with Restrictions on Huawei (Not Full Ban) Netherlands Germany France Italy Spain Portugal Belgium South Korea Norway Greece Finland Austria Brazil (some restrictions for 5G contracts) It should be noted that since the installation of Huawei, the mobile services offered by TELEM have degraded. Several residents and businesses complained of the lack of mobile and data services in a number of areas on Sint Maarten. Over a week ago residents of Pointe Blanche said they have no services and while TELEM announced that they were conducting maintenance work in the area, they have not seen any of TELEM crew working in the Pointe Blanche area. Persons visiting St. Maarten from North America also stated that they too cannot connect to TELEM Network and only those persons whose US carrier that has roaming agreements with UTS are able to connect to their network while visiting St. Maarten. PHILIPSBURG: --- Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs told members of the media on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that on Tuesday March 4th 2025, a letter signed by the Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and herself as Minister of Finance was dispatched to the Parliament of St. Maarten. Gumbs said the letter sent to Parliament on Tuesday also had the support of the Council of Ministers. In this letter, the finance minister said the technical issues and incorporation of amendments had caused delays in finalizing the eindtekst. The Minister further explained that the Parliament was informed of all technical issues related to the amendments. She said the 2025 budget has two main issues, mainly the seven amendments approved by the Parliament of St. Maarten. 1. Some amendments were proposed at the general ledger level, while the 2025 budget is structured at the economic category level. This misalignment means that certain amendments do not directly align with the budget presentation at the economic category level, which is the approved structure for Parliamentary approval. In 2024, the budget was presented at a more detailed level; however, in 2025, it was adjusted and presented at the economic category level in accordance with Article 6 of the Comptabiliteits landsverordening, which states that Parliament approves the budget per economic category. This adjustment was based on collaboration with TWO and the landspakket in improving the budgetary process of Sint Maarten. Nevertheless, the Comptabiliteits landsverordening, particularly Articles 2, 6, and 43, supports the position that technical classification differences do not equate to noncompliance, provided that the amendment adheres to the approved financial limits and intended budgetary framework. 2. Cascading/Ripple Effects of Amendments Several amendments introduce changes that trigger adjustments to subtotals, totals, and other related budget components. In some instances, an amendment might instruct a single line-item adjustment. Still, of course, this single line-item adjustment will subsequently adjust the sub-totals and totals stated in the budget numbers book. However, in some instances the issue stems from the fact that the adjustments of the subtotals and totals were not explicitly stated in the amendment note. It is also important to clarify that in previous years, amendment notes did not always explicitly include all ripple effects either. Nonetheless, due to the extent and volume of amendments this year, these omissions have caused an issue in finalizing the eindtekst. This highlights the need for a more structured approach to future budget amendments to ensure all necessary adjustments are clearly outlined and accounted for in the amendment process. Gumbs further stated that it is important to note that each amendment, both those introduced by the Government and those of the Members of Parliament, contains technical issues, which are now referred to as technical issues; Gumbs also made clear that not all legal minds view them as such. Enhancing the Budget Amendment Process In explaining the hold-up with the finalization of budget 2025. The Minister said to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future, the Government proposes collaborating with Parliament will develop standardized templates for amendment notes and amendments. These templates will help ensure that all necessary componentsincluding financial and legal considerationsare adequately addressed, reducing discrepancies and improving efficiency. Additionally, the Government suggests initiating a dialogue with relevant stakeholders to determine whether, for future amendments, the totals affected by the ripple effect must be explicitly stated or whether a general reference to the ripple effect would be sufficient. The Ministry of Finance will coordinate amendment notes, ensuring that financial and legal matters are thoroughly reviewed before submission. Based on lessons learned from the current process, these measures will help improve accuracy, transparency, and efficiency in the budget amendment procedure. Gumbs said she is looking forward to receiving a response to the letter provided to parliament, as it will be key in determining the way forward in finalizing and enacting the 2025 budget. Ensuring a timely resolution will allow the government to move forward with the necessary financial processes effectively and implement the unanimously approved 2025 budget. The Minister of Finance said the government and parliament must work together to resolve this matter and enact this important budget for Sint Maarten. This is not about political maneuveringtheir sole objective is to determine the best way to finalize the budget enactment. The Minister said that the budget submitted to Parliament is not the issue; the challenge lies in incorporating the approved amendments. Had there been no amendments, the budget as submitted would have already been published. Therefore, the collective focus must be on ensuring that these amendments are processed correctly in line with parliament's intentions so the budget can move forward without further delay. As the Minister of Finance, I remain committed to ensuring transparent, accountable, and efficient financial management. Click here for the Letter sent to the Parliament of Sint Maarten on Tuesday. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. CAIRO Arab leaders adopted a unified plan for the future of the Gaza Strip at an emergency summit in Egypt's new administrative capital Tuesday, to counter President Donald Trump's proposal for the mass displacement of Palestinians there and to help salvage a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that is at risk of collapse. Heads of state and senior officials from the 22-member League of Arab States approved an Egyptian proposal for a phased reconstruction plan for Gaza that would keep Palestinians there while shutting Hamas out of any governing role and eventually restoring the Palestinian Authority to power. The $53 billion plan, laid out in a 91-page document obtained by The Washington Post, would proceed in three phases, from an initial period focused on clearing debris to a more comprehensive reconstruction of communities and infrastructure over the span of five years. It proposes moving Palestinians among seven sites with temporary housing while segments of the enclave are rebuilt sequentially. Egypt and Jordan would take the lead in training a Palestinian police force, "to enable the Palestinian Authority to return to its governing duties in the Gaza Strip," the document says. The fact that the summit was held during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when life and work typically slow down, was a sign of the urgency with which leaders in the Middle East are scrambling to prevent Trump's plan from coming to fruition. In early February, Trump suggested Gaza, destroyed by 15 months of war, should be transformed into a luxury, U.S.-controlled "Riviera of the Middle East," and its more than 2 million Palestinian residents displaced to countries such as Egypt and Jordan. The Palestinian people "have the right to live in peace on their land," Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told summit attendees. "We cannot accept illegal American projects and visions in the region." Israel's Foreign Ministry criticized the Arab League on Tuesday, saying its final joint statement was "rooted in outdated perspectives." "Now, with President Trump's idea, there is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will," Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. "Instead, Arab states have rejected this opportunity, without giving it a fair chance, and continue to level baseless accusations against Israel." Under the plan adopted Tuesday, a "Gaza Administrative Committee" made up of technocrats would oversee the first six months of the "early recovery" period. During the initial phase, direct negotiations should begin between Israel and Palestinian representatives over "final status issues," including territorial borders and the status of the contested city of Jerusalem, the text of the plan says. The summit's final statement calls for the U.N. Security Council to deploy international peacekeeping forces to Gaza and the West Bank to enhance security "for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples." The proposal punts on the issue of weapons held by Palestinian militants, while emphasizing that "a clear horizon and a credible political process" for Palestinian self-determination is a prerequisite for disarmament. The issue of what happens to Hamas - and especially its weapons - is one of the most fraught in debates over Gaza's future. Israel and its allies insist Hamas must be eradicated as a military threat; Hamas leaders, meanwhile, have said in recent days that the group won't lay down its arms. The final statement from the summit expressed member states' "categorical rejection of all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism" that contradict international law - but that does not preclude Palestinians' right to resist Israeli occupation, according to an Arab diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy. The gathering also reaffirmed "the collective Arab stance that rejects displacement under any name," Aboul Gheit said in a news conference. Egypt and Jordan both view a major influx of Palestinians to their territories as an existential threat. And countries around the region, where publics are strongly pro-Palestinian, have long called for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. "By coming up with a practicable, pragmatic alternative plan for Gaza, the Arab states are putting the onus on Trump to accept their proposal and, in that way, transfer all the pressure on them onto [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to agree to end the war on these reasonable terms," Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said after the summit. Arab leaders rallied behind the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday - but emphasized the necessity of reforming the Ramallah-based governing body, which is seen as weak, sclerotic and riddled with corruption. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Egyptian plan and said the authority would take over Gaza after "restructuring and reforming the current cadres in the Gaza Strip and having them receive the proper training in Egypt and Jordan." He called for Palestinian national unity - "one rule, one regime and one arm in the Gaza Strip and West Bank." The Palestinian Authority will revamp its institutions and hold elections "in the coming year" once conditions allow, he added. Crucially, Abbas also agreed to a long-standing demand from donor countries to appoint a deputy, as concerns grow about his advanced age and reluctance to relinquish power. And he announced a general amnesty for all ex-members of Fatah, his political movement - which would include powerful political rivals living in exile. Abbas, 89, has not held elections in nearly two decades. Netanyahu has repeatedly said he would not accept the Palestinian Authority playing a role in postwar Gaza. In a statement late Tuesday, Hamas voiced its support for the reconstruction plan, the proposed technocratic governing committee and the summit's call for national elections. But senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera that all Palestinian factions must be consulted before inviting international forces to Gaza - and allied militant group Islamic Jihad rejected the idea of a peacekeeping mission outright. Implementing the reconstruction plan will be immensely challenging: Cairo is counting on wealthy Arab countries to pick up the tab, along with Western donors and global financial institutions. But Persian Gulf states have voiced concerns privately about funds being misused by the Palestinian Authority or diverted by Hamas, according to a former Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. To address these fears, the plan proposes that the money be put into a trust fund under international supervision. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said after the summit that his government would seek to rally financial support at an upcoming gathering of Islamic countries, before making the rounds in Europe and the United States. Egypt will also hold a pledging conference next month, he said. But Israel appears far from willing to enter into discussions about a final political resolution to the conflict. Members of Netanyahu's right-wing government strongly oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and the idea has grown increasingly unpopular among the Israeli public in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Those attacks, during which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and kidnapped an additional 250 people, shook Israeli society and sparked Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians there. The current ceasefire in Gaza appears close to collapse. An initial, 42-day phase brought a fragile calm to the war-weary enclave and resulted in the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners before it expired Saturday. But Israel has refused to meaningfully engage in negotiations over Phase 2 of the agreement, during which Israeli troops are meant to withdraw completely from Gaza. Netanyahu, meanwhile, accused Hamas of not accepting a proposal to extend the first phase, which he says was presented by Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. The Trump administration has not confirmed that Witkoff generated this plan, but U.S. officials said they support Netanyahu's positions. Hamas has said it wants to proceed to the second phase of the ceasefire. But on Sunday, Netanyahu announced that Israel would block all aid to Gaza, accusing Hamas, without providing evidence, of diverting the assistance. "We have a hierarchy of actions to apply pressure on Hamas, while simultaneously preparing militarily to return to fighting," Omer Dostri, a spokesman in the Israeli prime minister's office, told Galei Israel Radio. "We are not ruling out the possibility of cutting off water and electricity in Gaza." Speaking at the Arab summit, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to uphold the agreed-upon ceasefire framework and return to the negotiating table. "We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities that would plunge millions back into the abyss of suffering and further destabilize the region," he said. Meanwhile, "humanitarian aid is not negotiable," he added. "It must flow without impediment." ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Kazakh company "KazMunayGas" have discussed plans to increase oil shipments to 1.7 million tons this year, Trend reports via KazMunayGas. This issue was discussed during a meeting between SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf and his Kazakh counterpart Askhat Khasenov. "The parties discussed the progress of the agreement signed in 2022 for the transportation of Kazakh oil via the route Aktau Baku Ceyhan. As of the end of 2024, the shipment volume amounted to 1.4 million tons. The plan for this year is 1.7 million tons of oil," the company reported. Baku hosted the international conference Digitalization, Industrial Security and Procurement in the Energy Sector, which was attended by representatives of SOCAR, KazMunayGas, Russia's Tatneft and Uzbekneftegaz. During the conference, the heads of the companies signed a quadripartite memorandum of cooperation in the fields of digital technologies and industrial safety. SpaceX aims for Wednesday Starship test flight after last-minute scrub Washington, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Elon Musk's SpaceX is now aiming for Wednesday to conduct the next test flight of its massive Starship rocket, following a last-minute cancellation on Monday. The world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle is set to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during a launch window that opens at 5:30 pm local time (2330 GMT). It will be Starship's eighth orbital mission -- all so far uncrewed -- and the first since its dramatic mid-air explosion over the Caribbean during its last test. Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall -- about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty -- Starship is designed to eventually be fully reusable and is key to Musk and SpaceX's vision of colonizing Mars. Meanwhile, NASA is awaiting a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Starship after its previous flight on January 16 ended with the upper stage disintegrating in a fiery cascade over the Turks and Caicos Islands, prompting cleanup efforts for fallen debris. Last Friday, the FAA announced that Starship could proceed with its next flight before the agency finalizes its review of SpaceX's "mishap investigation." During Joe Biden's presidency, Musk frequently accused the FAA of excessive scrutiny over SpaceX's safety and environmental concerns. Now, as one of President Donald Trump's closest advisors, the world's richest person faces allegations of wielding undue influence over regulatory agencies overseeing his companies. For the upcoming flight, SpaceX says it has introduced numerous upgrades to the upper-stage spaceship that enhance its reliability and performance. The mission, expected to last just over an hour, includes another attempt to catch the booster stage using the launch tower's "chopstick" arms -- a feat SpaceX has successfully executed twice, including in the last flight. Additionally, Starship will deploy Starlink simulators designed to mimic Starlink satellites, which will burn up upon atmospheric re-entry. Eventually, SpaceX aims to recover the upper stage as well, but for now, it is targeting splashdown in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia, as in previous flights. In a recent interview on Joe Rogan's podcast, Musk said the toughest engineering hurdle is building a "fully reusable orbital heat shield -- a problem that has never been solved before." Despite the challenge, Musk remains optimistic, predicting that Starship will be fully and rapidly reusable by next year, a milestone he describes as the "fundamental breakthrough required for life to be multiplanetary." British chip firm deal to boost Malaysia's semiconductors: minister Kuala Lumpur, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 British chip giant ARM Holdings will sign an agreement Wednesday with Malaysia to help boost the country's efforts to produce high-end semiconductors, the economy minister said. Malaysia is a key player in the increasingly vital chips sector, but it has been largely focused on packaging, assembly and testing services -- the lower end of the market. The agreement will see Softbank-owned Arm provide chip designs and other technology, helping Malaysia to move into more value-added production such as wafer fabrication and integrated circuit design. The Southeast Asian nation is paying $250 million over a decade to receive support from the British company, journalists were told at a ministry briefing. "We have always wanted to move from the back-end -- which is on testing and assembly -- to the front-end," Malaysian Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli told Bloomberg Television. The deal will put Malaysia "ahead of other countries", making it ARM's "main hub in ASEAN", a spokesman from the prime minister's office said, referring to the Southeast Asian bloc. Tensions between Washington and Beijing over advanced tech, especially semiconductors, in recent years have forced many firms to look into relocating their manufacturing from China to other countries including Malaysia, Vietnam and India. A prominent player in the industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech firm Bosch. Malaysia's northern island of Penang, home to a number of facilities, is often dubbed the country's Silicon Valley. And in April 2024, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, an effort to move Malaysia beyond chips production. llk-mba-skc/sco ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting with the Deputy Director-General and Regional Representative of FAO for Europe and Central Asia, Viorel Gutu, where they discussed mutual cooperation for the development of agriculture and rural areas in Kazakhstan, Trend reports. During the meeting, plans for the implementation of agreements reached between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Qu Dongyu, were emphasized. Attention was given to the implementation of joint projects within the framework of the Kazakhstan-FAO Partnership Program. The organization's portfolio in the country includes 55 projects. "It is noteworthy that we are meeting after yesterday's important decision to establish the UN Sustainable Development Goals Center for Central Asian and Afghan countries in Almaty. We intend to actively develop the processing of agricultural products and increase the share of high-value-added products to 70 percent. In the next three years, we plan to implement more than 600 investment projects in the agro-industrial complex worth $4.8 billion. FAO is an important strategic partner in achieving these goals," emphasized Bektenov. Gutu noted Kazakhstan's significant potential in the agro-industrial sector and stressed the importance of expanding cooperation for the sustainable development of rural areas. Kazakhstan is actively striving to develop agriculture by introducing innovative approaches and technologies, as well as improving access to financing and investments. In July 2018, Kazakhstan ratified the basic agreement between the Government of Kazakhstan and FAO. An integral part of this agreement is the FAO-Kazakhstan Partnership Program (FKPP). The key areas of the FKPP, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, will include improving food security, digitalization of agribusiness, sustainable resource management, and the development of export potential, which will contribute to the sustainable growth of rural areas and the improvement of rural life, said Gutu. Additionally, the prospects of cooperation in the field of water resources were discussed. It was noted that Kazakhstan is implementing large-scale modernization of the water sector, including the construction of 20 new and reconstruction of at least 15 existing reservoirs, as well as the reconstruction and digitalization of more than 3,500 km of irrigation canals. Meeting participants emphasized that solving the environmental problem in the Caspian Sea should be a priority for long-term international cooperation. As a result of the meeting, readiness to strengthen cooperation for the further development of mutually beneficial cooperation and successful implementation of joint initiatives was confirmed. At present, Kazakhstan finds itself sitting pretty at 32nd place out of 113 in the global food security index. Homegrown agricultural products are shipped off to 80 countries far and wide. Thanks to the steps taken last year to lend a helping hand to the agro-industrial complex, gross agricultural production has shot up by a whopping 13.7 percent. The partnership between Kazakhstan and FAO has been constantly evolving since the country became a member of the Organization in 1997. Kazakhstan has recently increased its emphasis on investments in agriculture, forestry, and rural development and aims to modernize the sector while transitioning to a green economy. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Germany's Merz vows billions for defence, economy Berlin, March 4 (AFP) Mar 04, 2025 Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that his centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) would propose an unprecedented package of billions of euros in extra spending on defence and infrastructure. The two parties are in talks on forming a coalition government after last month's general election, which have been given new urgency by US President Donald Trump's clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the freezing of American military aid to Kyiv. Merz said at a press conference that the two parties would bring proposals to parliament within the next week to exempt more defence spending from Germany's constitutionally enshrined "debt brake". He vowed to do "whatever it takes" when it comes to defence "in light of threats to our freedom and peace on our continent". It would be a dramatic departure for a country that has spent decades under the American security umbrella. The proposals would also mark a "sea change" and "a major loosening of Germany's fiscal straitjacket", said Berenberg bank economist Holger Schmieding, noting the country's long-standing avoidance of large public debts. Merz's plans would see defence spending exempted from the country's debt brake when it exceeds one percent of GDP -- or 45 billion euros ($47.7 billion) when applied to the current size of Germany's economy. Merz also said the two parties wanted to bring in "a special fund of 500 billion euros for the next 10 years" for investment in infrastructure, something the SPD has been pushing for. The fund would be aimed at kick-starting Germany's moribund economy, which is threatened with a third straight year of recession. The proposals would also mean that Germany's federal states, which are currently not allowed to run budget deficits, could take out debt equivalent to 0.35 percent of GDP. Merz also said he wanted to get immediate approval for a three-billion-euro aid package for Ukraine that has been held up for weeks. He said he would meet outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday "to speak about the urgent help needed for Ukraine, around 3.0 or 3.5 billion euros, which... can be approved now as off-budget expenditure". Speaking alongside Merz, CSU leader Markus Soeder said the parties were "sending a message to our enemies and our friends: Germany is here and is not pulling back". He said "old certainties had been recast" in recent weeks and "many of us have had our basic trust in America deeply shaken", even those like himself who had "believed in the US's moral leadership role since I was a child". - 'Really big bazooka' - Merz's promise of "whatever it takes" recalled the pledge made in 2012 by the then president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi during the sovereign debt crisis. Schmieding described Merz's plans as "a really big bazooka", also harking back to the phrase used to describe the ECB's interventions under Draghi. The CDU/CSU and SPD are at pains to rush the new financing through the outgoing parliament, where they have the necessary two-thirds majority together with the Greens. While the Greens are not part of talks to be in the next government, they are staunch supporters of Ukraine and of more funding for infrastructure, so could be brought on board with the spending plans. However Katharina Droege, co-leader of the Greens parliamentary group, told ARD television that the party would "not support anything automatically" and wanted to see more in the package aimed at climate protection. The clock is ticking: At the end of the month the new parliament will convene in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the far-left Linke will together be able to veto the sweeping changes Merz has proposed. When it comes to defence spending, German media reports suggest that 200 billion to 400 billion euros would be needed to bring Germany's threadbare armed forces up to scratch. Manuela Schwesig from the SPD's negotiating team told the ARD TV channel that the proposals set on Tuesday foresaw defence spending "rising to at least 100 billion euros per year". Current Defence Minister Boris Pistorius hailed the plans as a "historic day for the army and for Germany". The proposals would mean Germany being able to play "a leading role along with others" in European security, he told the Spiegel newspaper. While the CDU/CSU alliance has emphasised the need to boost Germany's defence, the Social Democrats also emphasise the need to pay for investment and social services. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil spoke of the need for massive investment in a country whose infrastructure had been degraded by years of "wear and tear". China's defence spending to rise by 7.2% in 2025: official document Beijing, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 China's defence spending will rise by 7.2 percent in 2025, the same as last year, according to an official document seen by AFP on Wednesday. The increase comes as Beijing's armed forces undergo rapid modernisation and eye deepening strategic competition with the United States. The country's expenditure on its armed forces has been on the rise for decades, broadly in line with economic growth. The country has the world's second-largest military budget, but lags well behind the United States, its primary strategic rival. Despite this, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) surpasses the US military by number of personnel. Beijing's 1.78-trillion-yuan ($245.7-billion) defence budget for this year is still less than a third of Washington's. China's military spending last year made up 1.6 percent of its GDP, far less than the United States or Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But its defence expansion is viewed with suspicion by Washington, as well as other powers in the region including Japan, with which Beijing has a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea. China has also increasingly flexed its muscles in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely despite an international arbitration ruling that declared its stance baseless. Beijing's spending boost is also a cause for concern for self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing says is part of its territory to be claimed by force if necessary. The budget hike comes as thousands of delegates congregate in Beijing for the opening session of the National People's Congress, the second of China's "Two Sessions" meetings this week. Speaking at that session, Premier Li Qiang vowed that China would "resolutely oppose separatist activities aimed at Taiwan independence and external interference, so as to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations". China describes its military stance as "defensive" and aimed at preserving its sovereignty. But its sweeping territorial claims over areas controlled by other governments have raised fears of a regional clash. Taiwan training jets resume flights after crash Taipei, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Taiwan's air force said Wednesday it has resumed flights of locally made Brave Eagle training jets, which were grounded for safety checks last month after one of them crashed. The jet went down after taking off from Chih Hang Air Base in southern Taitung county on February 15, with the pilot ejecting safely. The crash was blamed on "dual engine failure", but efforts continue to search for flight recorders to "clarify the cause", the air force said in a statement. The military and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, which makes the aircraft, have conducted joint safety inspections of the fleet. "After two weeks of intensive operations and strengthening the air (technical) crews' studies and simulators, flight training resumed today," the air force said. Taiwan has a homegrown defence industry and has been upgrading its equipment, but it still relies heavily on US arms sales to bolster its security capabilities against a potential Chinese attack. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. The Brave Eagle had its first test flight in 2020. Taiwan's military is under pressure from China, which has in recent years ramped up incursions by fighter jets and warships around the island -- actions that military experts dub as grey-zone tactics that serve to exhaust the island's armed forces. Philippine fighter jet wreckage, bodies of crew found Manila, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Philippine rescuers on Wednesday found the wreckage of a fighter jet and the bodies of two crewmen sent to combat communist rebels in a mountainous region of the country's south. The FA-50 fighter jet had gone missing a day earlier while on a mission to provide air support for troops fighting guerrillas in northern Mindanao. Lieutenant General Luis Rex Bergante, commander of Eastern Mindanao Command, told AFP the two crewmen had been found inside the wreckage. "The bodies were found inside the aircraft. There was an attempt to open a parachute and eject," he said. "The aircraft was a total wreck. The aircraft smashed through the trees in the mountain." Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Garello of the 4th Infantry Division told AFP the wreckage of the missing jet was found on Mount Kalatungan. Located in Mindanao's Bukidnon province, the 2,880-metre (9,450 feet) Kalatungan is the fifth-tallest mountain in the Philippines. Bergante said bringing the servicemen's remains down the mountainside was now the top priority. In a statement, the air force said it had temporarily "grounded its FA-50 fleet" and would "ensure a thorough investigation into the accident", the cause of which remains unknown. The crashed jet was one of a dozen FA-50s the Philippines purchased from South Korea in the past decade. - Dangerous terrain - Garello said early Wednesday that the search had been suspended overnight due to the danger of "communist groups" believed to be operating in the area. On Tuesday, he said his division had called in air support during a firefight with the New People's Army, a long-running Maoist insurgency now believed to have fewer than 2,000 fighters. The jets flew out of Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, which shares a runway with the airport in Cebu, the Philippines' second-largest city. Air force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo told reporters Tuesday it was the "first major incident" involving its squadron of FA-50s, which have been used in exercises over the disputed South China Sea. The FA-50s have been flown in joint air patrols with treaty ally the United States over contested areas of the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have been involved in increasingly tense confrontations. On Wednesday, Castillo said the air force hoped the investigation would be "done thoroughly but swift enough for us not to sacrifice our operational readiness" given the fighters' key role in maritime patrols. She also said the air force has proposed purchasing 12 more FA-50s, a request under consideration at the Department of National Defense. There have been a number of deadly crashes involving Philippine military aircraft in recent years. Two navy pilots were killed last April when their Robinson R22 helicopter crashed near a market south of the capital Manila during a training flight. Two PAF pilots were killed in January 2023 when their Marchetti SF260 turboprop plane crashed into a rice field. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Nigeria has officially joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), becoming its 77th shareholder, Trend reports. The country submitted its request for membership in April 2024, with approval granted by the Board of Governors the following month. The decision follows an amendment approved at the EBRDs 2023 Annual Meeting, which allows for the Bank's limited expansion into sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq. Once the amendment is formally accepted by the majority of EBRD shareholders, Nigeria can become a country of operation, gaining access to the Banks financial and policy support. EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso expressed her enthusiasm, noting that Nigerias membership marks a significant step in the Bank's expansion into sub-Saharan Africa. Nigerian Finance Minister Wale Edun highlighted the partnerships alignment with the countrys economic reform goals, aiming for private sector growth, sustainable infrastructure, and a greener economy. In Ramstein, Germans struggle to imagine town without US base Ramstein, Germany, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Around the US air base of Ramstein in southwest Germany, many people have watched with alarm as President Donald Trump's team has cast doubt on America's future military presence in Europe. For decades, locals have endured the roar of fighter jets but also forged close economic and cultural bonds with many of the 50,000 American military personnel and their relatives living there now. "They are the economy here," said Andreas Hausmann, owner of the Hotel America, where he estimates that two-thirds of guests are from the United States. "Every craftsman, every plumber, every painting company, every small business, even bakeries, taxi companies -- everyone is indirectly dependent... on the airbase," he told AFP. "If they pull the plug here, we will be socially destroyed." Many Germans have long felt a sense of gratitude to the United States, which helped rebuild the country after Nazi Germany's World War II defeat and made the young democracy the location for many key Cold War bases. Many people are stunned by Washington's new stance toward Europe, especially after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned NATO allies last month not to assume the US troop presence on the continent "will last forever". Hausmann said he was shocked to watch last week's White House clash in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "I thought it was AI, I've never seen anything like it," Hausmann said, though he agreed on the need for diplomacy to end the Ukraine war. - 'Base like a city' - The wider sense of shock at the changing transatlantic dynamic is palpable in Ramstein, where many residents have lived should-to-shoulder with American service personnel and their families for decades. "I met my ex-husband on the street here in Ramstein," said social worker Svenja Miller, 42. Miller, who has two children with a US citizen currently stationed in the US, said "the Americans are nice to have around. They're friendly and open." "They're also important customers here, for everything from real estate to nail studios," she said. "If they weren't here, Ramstein would be bankrupt." Some argue that heightened security concerns since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks have kept American forces on base more, making it harder for inter-cultural friendships to form. "The base is like a city all by itself, there's a lot on offer there," said David Sirakov, head of the Transatlantic Academy in nearby Kaiserslautern. "People on the base pull back a bit, spend time with their families, go on trips, but aren't really present in the region," he said. Still, Americans spend about 1.4 billion euros ($1.47 billion) a year in the local economy, according to the regional chamber of commerce. Its head Veronika Pommer said that some businesses specialised in American customers, including moving companies, and that "they are watching very closely what will happen". She voiced hope that a US troop withdrawal would not come because it would "of course leave an economic gap". Two 18-year-old students taking a break downtown said a Ramstein without the Americans would be a less fun place. Beatrisa Petkova, from Bulgaria, said young Americans at her high school brought benefits besides English-language practice -- while noting that "most Americans dress like they're yoga teachers or something". "If only Germans were here, things would be a lot less colourful," added her friend, Meryem Tezcan. "Germans are, well, they're a bit the same." - 'American lives' - Following Trump's warnings, Friedrich Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, has also warned of the need for Europe to "gradually become independent" of the US security umbrella. Some experts voice doubt that a US withdrawal looms, especially from the key Ramstein base, and also question the wisdom of such a move. Any drastic withdrawal "would be more than unwise", said Sirakov, arguing that Ramstein allows the United States to project power across parts of Asia and Africa, where it is competing with China for markets and resources. He acknowledged that Trump "is obviously critical of this deployment", a view the Republican president has voiced since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Back then, Sirakov said, "there was no aggression by the Russian Federation in this form, in this hard and hot form of war. That has changed." For Manfred Pischke, 82, a Munich-born US Air Force veteran who settled in Ramstein, the threat of a withdrawal is "serious". But he shared some sympathy for Trump's demand that European allies spend more on defence. "If you want something and if you're friends, you have to pay together and pay the same bill equally," Pischke said. "Why should American soldiers die for Germans or Italians or French or anybody else, if they don't pay? It's American money, American soldiers, American lives." S.Sudan army arrests general, 'violates peace deal': vice-president Juba, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 South Sudan troops have arrested the deputy head of the armed forces and surrounded the home of Vice-President Riek Machar, threatening the country's fragile peace agreement, Machar's spokesperson said late Tuesday. General Gabriel Doup Lam, a close ally of Machar, was arrested on Tuesday following days of clashes in Upper Nile state in the east of the country. The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), the regular army allied to President Salva Kiir, have accused Doup Lam and his troops of working with rebels in that region, who are predominantly from the same ethnic Nuer community. Machar's spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement that the general's arrest "violates" the 2018 power-sharing agreement that ended five years of civil war. "This act puts the entire agreement at risk," the statement said. "We are also gravely concerned about the heavy deployment of SSPDF around (Machar's) residence," it added. The UN Mission in South Sudan last month reported increased fighting between the army and "armed youth" in Nassir, Upper Nile state, involving "heavy weaponry which has, reportedly, resulted in deaths and injuries to civilians as well as armed personnel". The 2018 peace deal ended a civil war fuelled by the rivalry between Kiir and Machar. Some 400,000 people died in the conflict. The war came just two years after South Sudan became independent from Sudan. The country remains mired in poverty and violence. CORRECTED: S.Sudan army arrests general, 'violates peace deal': vice-president Juba, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 South Sudan troops have arrested the deputy head of the armed forces and surrounded the home of Vice-President Riek Machar, threatening the country's fragile peace agreement, Machar's spokesperson said late Tuesday. General Gabriel Duop Lam, a close ally of Machar, was arrested on Tuesday following days of clashes in Upper Nile state in the east of the country. The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), the regular army allied to President Salva Kiir, has accused Duop Lam and his troops of working with rebels in that region, who are predominantly from the same ethnic Nuer community. Machar's spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement that the general's arrest "violates" the 2018 power-sharing agreement that ended five years of civil war. "This act puts the entire agreement at risk," the statement said. "We are also gravely concerned about the heavy deployment of SSPDF around (Machar's) residence," it added. The UN Mission in South Sudan last month reported increased fighting between the army and "armed youth" in Nassir, Upper Nile state, involving "heavy weaponry which has, reportedly, resulted in deaths and injuries to civilians as well as armed personnel". The 2018 peace deal ended a civil war fuelled by the rivalry between Kiir and Machar. Some 400,000 people died in the conflict. The war came just two years after South Sudan became independent from Sudan. The country remains mired in poverty and violence. Former tank commander takes over as Israel's military chief Jerusalem, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Former tank commander Eyal Zamir will on Wednesday become Israel's new armed forces chief, inheriting the task at a crucial time for the military after it acknowledged its "complete failure" to prevent Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. Previously director of the defence ministry, Zamir will replace outgoing chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halev, who resigned admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate. Zamir, 59, is being sworn in at a sensitive time in Israel's war with Hamas, with the ceasefire that took effect on January 19 hanging in the balance. Announcing his appointment last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had high hopes that Zamir would help achieve Israel's goal of "absolute victory" against Hamas. Zamir will also take over operations in the occupied West Bank, where the military has deployed tanks in recent weeks for the first time in 20 years. His appointment also comes at a moment of high tension for Israel with its arch-foe Iran. Zamir wrote in a 2022 policy paper for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that Israel needed to adopt a tougher approach in order to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Pushing for greater cooperation with the United States against what he called the "Iran axis", Zamir advocated "offensive action" in order to guarantee success. His position on Iran mirrors that of Netanyahu, who recently said that Israel plans to "finish the job against Iran's terror axis". Zamir, who led key operations during the second Palestinian intifada or uprising, served as Netanyahu's military secretary from 2012 to 2015. He is the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel Defence and Security Forum . In contrast to Halevi, who avoided the spotlight, Zamir comes across as a powerful figure. At a defence ministry event a day after his appointment, Zamir, a father of three, was quoted as saying that 2025 would be "a year of continued fighting". "The war has demonstrated that we must be self-reliant," he said. As head of the defence ministry, Zamir is credited with some of Israel's biggest and most significant defence procurements. "He understands very well what big wars are all about and how to fight them," said Amir Avivi, a former Israeli general who now runs a network for former security officials. - 'Strict' - Zamir cuts a powerful frame, his burly build sending a clear message that he means business. Avivi, who has known Zamir for more than 20 years and spent a year with him at the Israeli College for National Security, described him as being "mission-oriented", "detail-oriented" and "strict". He said Zamir has a "deep understanding" of the Gaza front and even authored "a very detailed plan to conquer all of Gaza" while serving as head of Southern Command from 2015 to 2018. Saying he had spoken with Zamir since his appointment, Avivi added: "I think he has a very clear understanding that he was chosen for one thing -- to bring total victory to Israel on all fronts." Jonathan Conricus, a former Israeli army spokesman who served with Zamir, also said the incoming chief would have to "navigate strategic challenges of the most sensitive nature", including restoring public trust. Born in Israel's southernmost city Eilat, Zamir, whose paternal grandfather immigrated from Yemen and whose mother's family arrived from Syria, joined the military in 1984. Unlike previous chiefs of staff, who served in the distinguished paratroopers' unit or in the Golani infantry brigade, Zamir began his career in the Armoured Corps. He served through the first and second intifadas holding senior combat and command roles. In 2002, he led a brigade that captured the refugee camp adjacent to the West Bank city of Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy. The army laid siege to the camp for more than a month amid fierce fighting that saw hundreds of homes levelled, and 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers killed. Zamir was later appointed head of the army's southern command, where he led efforts to cut off Hamas tunnels. From 2018 to 2021, he served as deputy chief of staff under Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, tasked with implementing the military's multi-year plan. German stocks, bond yields surge on govt spending plan Frankfurt, Germany, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 German stocks and government bond yields surged Wednesday after the country's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced plans to massively boost defence spending and revive Europe's biggest economy. The Frankfurt DAX soared more than 3.5 percent in late morning deals, erasing the previous day's losses, which were sparked by fears that Europe would be the next target of US President Donald Trump's tariffs war. The yield on 10-year bonds rose 23 basis points 2.73 percent, the biggest jump since June 2022 -- making borrowing costs higher. Merz said Tuesday that his centre-right CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats would propose an unprecedented spending package. The parties, which are in talks on forming a coalition, plan to create a special 500 billion euro ($535 billion) fund for infrastructure and defence investment. The fund would be aimed at kick-starting Germany's moribund economy, which is threatened with a third straight year of recession. Merz's plan would also exempt defence spending from Germany's constitutionally enshrined "debt brake" when it exceeds one percent of gross domestic product. "This is huge," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading platform. "For years, economists have said that Germany needed to change its spending rules to get out of the economic hole. It's taken a Conservative Chancellor-in-waiting to pull the trigger," she said in a note. The proposal suggests that Berlin will borrow massively in the future, a move that can send government borrowing costs higher as investors demand bigger returns to buy bonds. German government bond yields nevertheless remain the lowest in the eurozone thanks to years of budgetary discipline. Trump tells Greenland US will get it 'one way or the other' Washington, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 President Donald Trump urged Greenland to choose to join the United States but vowed to take the Danish-ruled island "one way or the other" -- a bid Denmark swiftly rejected on Wednesday. "That won't happen," Danish Defence Minister Trouls Lund Poulsen told public broadcaster DR. "The direction that Greenland wants to take will be decided by Greenlanders," Lund Poulsen said. In a partisan speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump offered only passing lines on world affairs, focusing on his domestic goals like rounding up undocumented immigrants and slashing government spending. But he underlined his expansionist vision of the United States, as he repeated his aspirations to take Greenland and claimed an initial victory on retaking control of the Panama Canal. One week before general elections in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with an independence movement, Trump said he had a message for the "incredible people" of the sparsely populated but mineral-rich and strategically-placed island. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said. But he made clear he would not give up if persuasion fails, saying: "One way or the other we're going to get it." "We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before." China and Russia have been stepping up activity in the Arctic as climate change opens further sea routes. - 'Taking it back' - Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called for cool heads to prevail. "I think everyone, including us, should be cautious about having all kinds of opinions about the future" of Greenland, he told Danish television TV2. US threats to take Greenland would once have been thinkable, with Denmark a treaty ally of the United States under NATO. But Trump has made clear he has little patience for European allies, which he again denounced for not spending more on their militaries, with Trump instead seeing a return to an era of big powers taking what they want. He has similarly vowed to take back the Panama Canal, the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that the United States handed to Panama at the end of 1999. Trump declared triumph after Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison decided to sell its Panama ports to a US-led consortium. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had complained that rival China had gained too much influence over the canal and could shut it down in a conflict with the United States. "To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it," he said, as he mentioned the port deal. "We didn't give it to China. Gave it to Panama -- and we're taking it back," he said. Trump had earlier not ruled out military force to seize either the Panama Canal or Greenland. Trump has paradoxically sought to cast himself as a peacemaker. He has vowed to end the war in Ukraine and has rattled allies by suspending aid to the country, which Russia invaded three years ago. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited the White House on Friday, calling him ungrateful. Addressing Congress, Trump read a message from Zelensky in which the Ukrainian leader sought to repair the damage and voiced a willingness to a sign a deal in which the United States would take much of Ukraine's mineral wealth. "It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," Trump said. - Overseas aid - The Trump administration at the same time has canceled more than 90 percent of US development assistance, traditionally a key source of US non-military influence. Trump has described aid as not in the US interest, with his advisor Elon Musk, the world's richest person, pushing massive cuts to make way for tax cuts. Trump rattled off a list of previous aid grants and reserved mockery for a project in the landlocked African country of Lesotho, which has one of the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS. "Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho," Trump said, struggling with the pronunciation. "Which nobody has ever heard of," Trump added to laughter from Republican lawmakers. S.Sudan general, oil minister arrested in threat to peace deal Juba, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 South Sudan troops have arrested the oil minister and deputy head of the armed forces, both allies of Vice-President Riek Machar, as fears grew on Wednesday for the country's fragile peace agreement. South Sudan, the world's youngest country, ended a five-year civil war in 2018 with a power-sharing agreement between bitter rivals, President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Machar. But growing unrest in Upper Nile state in the country's northeast has threatened to undo their unity government, with the army accusing Machar's allies of supporting rebels in the region. General Gabriel Duop Lam, a close ally of Machar, was arrested on Tuesday, according to a statement from Machar's spokesman. Machar's residence in the capital Juba was also surrounded by troops of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), the regular army allied to Kiir, according to the statement. Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, another Machar ally, was arrested overnight. "Puot Kang Chol, several family members, and his bodyguards were arrested at his residence in Juba. The operation was conducted by personnel identified as members of the National Security Service," his press secretary wrote in a statement on Facebook. The civil war between Kiir and Machar began in 2013 just two years after the country gained independence from Sudan, and left some 400,000 people dead. Many steps of the peace agreement have remained unfulfilled, including writing a constitution, holding elections and unifying their armed forces -- while the country remains mired in poverty despite significant oil deposits. - 'Gravely concerned' - Machar's spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a statement that the general's arrest on Tuesday "violates" the peace deal and called for an intervention by international partners. "This act puts the entire agreement at risk," he said. "We take this opportunity to call upon the guarantors of the Agreement and partners to intervene in order to avoid a return to full-scale violence." The immediate trigger has been the mounting unrest in Upper Nile state. The SSPDF has accused Duop Lam and his troops of working with the so-called White Army rebels in the region, who are predominantly from the same ethnic Nuer community as the general. The UN Mission in South Sudan last month reported increased fighting between the army and "armed youth" in Nassir county in Upper Nile, involving "heavy weaponry which has, reportedly, resulted in deaths and injuries to civilians as well as armed personnel". On Wednesday, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a bloc of eight regional countries, expressed "deep concern" about the violence. The armed clashes "threaten to undermine the hard-won gains achieved in the (peace agreement) and exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the region," the bloc said in a statement. Kiir held a meeting of ministers, including Machar and the petroleum minister, on Monday to discuss the unrest, and the deployment of fresh SSPDF forces to the region. It is not the first time the president has been accused of undermining the peace deal. He fired two of the five vice-presidents in his unity government without consulting other stakeholders last month, which Machar said threatened "the very existence of the Agreement". Elections that were due to take place in December were postponed for two years, having already been delayed from 2022. Germany's proposed defence and infrastructure bonanza: how and why? Frankfurt, Germany, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz announced plans on Tuesday to spend hundreds of billions on Germany's infrastructure and defence, as well as to reform the country's "debt brake". Introduced in 2009 after the financial crash, the brake limits government borrowing to 0.35 percent of GDP in an effort to make sure the German government can always pay its bills. But critics say the brake holds back sorely needed investment. The scale of Merz's proposals has boosted hopes that Germany could stimulate its economy, currently facing its third year of low or no growth, as well as refurbish its threadbare armed forces, gradually rundown since the end of the Cold War. Here are the key details of the proposals: What exactly is proposed? Under the plans, only defence spending equivalent to about one percent of German GDP -- about 45 billion euros ($48.2 billion) -- would count towards the debt brake. Spending above that amount would not count towards it, allowing for potentially unlimited borrowing to spend on defence. In addition, a 500 billion euro special fund for infrastructure would also be set up, funded by borrowing that also would not count towards the debt brake. Germany's federal states, which are currently forbidden from running deficits, would also be able to take out debts equivalent to 0.35 percent of GDP each year. What needs to happen for the proposals to pass? The centre-right CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the two largest parties in the outgoing Bundestag, are likely to support the proposals. Merz is the leader of the CDU, and the SPD have long wanted a loosening of the brake. But since it is enshrined in the constitution, they would need the support of the Greens or the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and hard-left Linke oppose reforming the brake as Merz has suggested, the former since they believe the state should not spend more than it takes in and the latter since they oppose higher defence spending. The reforms would need to pass by the end of March, since Germany's newly elected Bundestag will then take up its work. The AfD and Linke, who both made gains in February's general election, could then block the measures. What would the money be spent on? After years of relative financial restraint -- not since 1990 has Germany met the NATO guidelines of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence -- observers agree that the military needs wide-ranging investment in order to be battle-ready. A parliamentary report on the armed forces issued last year said they suffered from "a shortage of materiel, from major equipment to spare parts" as well as "disastrous" infrastructure, including barracks in a "disgraceful" condition. As for the infrastructure fund, it is hoped it will help boost growth and thus, in the long-run, help pay down any additional debt. The SPD, currently in negotiations with the CDU to form a coalition government, also want to spend more to improve infrastructure that has suffered high-profile failures in recent years, including a bridge that partially collapsed in Dresden last September. What has the reaction been? Investors' reaction was positive, with Germany's blue-chip DAX index rising 3.6 percent on Wednesday morning, led above all by defence firms. Kathleen Brooks, research director at brokerage XTB, pointed out that the MDAX index of smaller companies that are more tied to German economy also rose strongly, suggesting markets expect the plans to boost Germany's economy. "This is huge. For years, economists have said that Germany needed to change its spending rules to get out of the economic hole. It's taken a Conservative Chancellor-in-waiting to pull the trigger," she said. But not all economists see it that way. Veronika Grimm, who advises the German government on economic policy, told news portal RND that deregulation and tax cuts -- not government spending -- would fix the German economy. Over 300 Nobel Peace nominees counted, possibly including Trump Oslo, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Over 300 people are nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, organisers said Wednesday, with politicians claiming they had put US President Donald Trump and Pope Francis forward for the award. In line with Nobel statutes, the identity of the candidates is kept confidential for 50 years -- but the two are among the big names floated this year, along with former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. The 338 overall nominations comprise 244 individuals and 94 organisations, the Norwegian Nobel Institute said in statement. That was a significant increase from the previous year's 286 nominations, but shy of the record 376 nominations registered in 2016. Although the prize committee is always tight-lipped about the nominees, those eligible to nominate -- including former laureates, lawmakers and cabinet ministers from any country in the world, and some university professors -- are free to reveal the name of the person or organisation they have proposed. On Monday, US Congressman Darrell Issa declared in a post on X that he too would nominate Trump for the prestigious prize, adding: "No one deserves it more." Issa's office was later cited by US media as saying that the nomination was motivated by Trump's efforts in the Middle East. Issa's nomination would be submitted after the submission deadline, but Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Merezhko also nominated Trump back in November in a move to grab the then president-elect's attention, according to Ukrainian media. Trump has been proposed as a candidate in previous years too, but a nomination this year would be particularly eye-catching. He has sparked controversy by opening talks with Moscow about its war in Ukraine and rattled European allies with changes to US foreign policy. In January, thousands of people signed a UK petition calling for Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She won praise for her open, public stance during the trial of her ex-husband, who was convicted of letting strangers rape her while she was drugged. Norwegian members of parliament have this year told Norwegian media that they have nominated former Stoltenberg, UN chief Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis for the prize. Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Japan's atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo for its efforts to ban nuclear weapons. jll/rlp Iraq says working to find kidnapped Israeli-Russian academic Baghdad, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Iraq's national security adviser said Wednesday that authorities were actively searching for Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Israeli-Russian academic kidnapped nearly two years ago in Baghdad. Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, has been missing in Iraq since March 2023. Israeli authorities said later she had been kidnapped, blaming a pro-Iranian group for her disappearance. National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP that "Iraqi authorities are working under the prime minister's direction" to solve the issue. "The security services are mobilised to locate her and find the group that kidnapped her," he said, adding there had been no claims of responsibility for her abduction or demands for her release. "We have to operate discreetly and through intermediates" to locate her, he said. Tsurkov, who had likely entered Iraq on her Russian passport, had travelled to the country as part of her doctoral studies. An Iraqi security source told AFP that the last trip was not Tsurkov's first visit to Iraq. In November 2023, Iraqi channel Al Rabiaa TV aired the first hostage video of Tsurkov known to the public since her kidnapping. AFP was unable to independently verify the footage or determine whether her statement was coerced. In the video, Tsurkov mentioned the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which has raged after the Palestinian militant group launched their October 7, 2023 attack. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iraq's powerful Kataeb Hezbollah of holding her, but the armed faction has implied it was not involved in her disappearance. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. The management of KTZ Express and China's Shandong Hi-Speed Group discussed the growth of agricultural cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCIR) in Kazakhstan's Astana, Trend reports. In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed the prospects for increasing freight volumes, expanding cooperation, and implementing new logistics solutions, such as increasing the number of container trains to Central Asian countries and the potential use of double-decker containers to enhance transportation efficiency. The negotiations confirmed the mutual interest of Kazakhstan and China in strengthening transport and logistics ties and developing multimodal routes. The companies will continue their cooperation under the strategic partnership agreement signed in December 2024. The meeting highlighted that the development of joint logistics projects between KTZ Express and Shandong Hi-Speed Group opens up new opportunities for increasing cargo traffic between Kazakhstan and China, as well as for the integration of the countries into international transportation chains. Shandong Hi-Speed Group Corporation, also known as Shandong Gaosu Group is a state-owned enterprise based in Jinan, China, owned by the Shandong Provincial People's Government. It is primarily engaged in the investment, construction, and operation of highways, expressways, bridges, railways, rail transit, harbors, shipping, and logistics. US aid cuts hinder Iraqi repatriations from IS-linked Syria camp: official Baghdad, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 US President Donald Trump's decision to cut foreign aid hinders Baghdad's efforts to repatriate its nationals from an IS-linked detention camp in Syria by the end of 2025, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP on Wednesday. Kurdish-run camps and prisons in northeastern Syria still hold about 56,000 people from dozens of countries, many with alleged or perceived links to the Islamic State group (IS), more than five years after its territorial defeat in Syria. While many countries refuse to take back their nationals, Baghdad has taken the lead by accelerating repatriations and urging others to follow suit. But Iraq was "surprised" by the US decision to cut aid, "which has disrupted the work" of humanitarian organisations, Araji said. International aid organisations provide services for residents of the Syria camps, and projects in Iraq have also depended on hundreds of millions of dollars in US assistance in recent years, according to official figures. After returning to office in January, however, US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on all US foreign aid before slashing multi-year contracts by 92 percent last week. "Iraq has a plan to... transfer all Iraqis" from Syria's Al-Hol camp to one in Iraq that still requires significant work and support from international organisations to accommodate arrivals, Araji said. But "the only and main obstacle is halting aid to organisations, and Iraq cannot resolve this issue alone," he added, adding that authorities have sought help from the United Nations and the European Union. Trump's decision has disturbed programmes worldwide, with rights groups raising the alarm that it would worsen an already poor situation in Syria's camps. Al-Hol, managed by the US group Blumont, is the largest Kurdish-run camp, with more than 40,000 detainees from 47 countries living in dire conditions. According to authorities, more than 13,000 Iraqis have left Al-Hol since 2021, while around 16,000 remain. Around 3,000 suspected Iraqi jihadists were also brought from Kurdish prisons, where another 2,000 remain. "If the support to international organisations had not ceased, it would have been possible" to repatriate all Iraqis by the end of 2025, Araji said. - 'Without delay' - Iraq has intensified its efforts to bring back its nationals amid concerns about the security situation in Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December, according to Araji. Iraq, which has assured Damascus' new authorities of its support, shares more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) of border with Syria. Araji urged Syria to address security issues without delay, adding Damascus had sent "assurances to Iraq of its cooperation in fighting terrorism". Iraq remains scarred by the rise of IS in 2014, which saw the jihadists capture nearly a third of the country before local forces backed by a US-led coalition defeated them in Iraq in 2017. Araji warned of a possible spillover from Syria's "precarious" Kurdish-run northeast, saying jihadists might attempt to escape from prisons. "Any disruption to the security situation in that area poses a threat to us, the region, and the world," Araji said, warning against a "sudden American withdrawal" from Syria's Kurdish-held areas. Syrian Kurdish forces spearheaded the fight that dislodged IS from the last of its territory in Syria in 2019, and they are still seen by the US -- which maintains a presence in the northeast -- as crucial to preventing a jihadist resurgence. But since the ouster of Assad, they are facing an uncertain future. Turkish-backed groups have been attacking their territory since November, despite mediation efforts by the US. - 'Everyone' withdraw - Turkey, which is close to Syria's new government, sees Syrian Kurdish forces as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. But the PKK recently declared a ceasefire with Turkey after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to disband. The development could have significant implications for Iraq, as the PKK maintains rear bases in the north, where Turkish forces have also established numerous bases. Iraq has urged both parties to advance their peace plan. "We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," he added. "Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," and "Turkey has said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq," Araji said. Germany wants long-term defence exemption in EU spending rules Brussels, Belgium, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Germany has called for an overhaul of strict EU spending rules to allow countries to invest more in defence over the long term, European diplomats told AFP on Wednesday. It comes after Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, this week vowed billions of euros in extra spending on defence and infrastructure. Germany's EU ambassador surprised his European counterparts during a Brussels meeting when he suggested giving member states more room to spend, beyond a four-year exemption proposed this week, several diplomats said. The proposal marks a significant shift for a country that has, in the past, maintained a hardline stance on budgets and sought to avoid any loosening of spending rules. With US President Donald Trump's pivot away from backing Ukraine casting doubt on future support for Europe as well, the bloc is planning a radical ramping up of defence investments to better protect itself. EU leaders are set to approve the four-year exemption to allow member states to surge defence spending during an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Thursday. But the German ambassador suggested that Brussels should be "going further", given the current geopolitical situation, one EU diplomat said. However the ambassador's call that was not welcomed by other states with a frugal approach to spending. "The Dutch and Swedes asked not to change the text," the diplomat added. EU members are bound by spending rules demanding they keep the public deficit below three percent of economic output and debt at a maximum 60 percent of GDP. The subject of changing the rules outright could be discussed during Thursday's summit, at which leaders are expected to endorse a plan by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to spur defence investments and support Ukraine against Russia. EU powerhouse Germany is set to pour billions more into defence after Merz said Tuesday that his centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrats would propose to exempt more of the spending from the country's constitutionally enshrined "debt brake". Ramping up defence expenditure, as the bloc is advocating, could make it difficult for member states to stay within the debt and deficit limits. After long and painful negotiations to agree on a reform of the EU's spending rules, the bloc struck a deal last year -- before Trump's election victory in November. Germany set for massive rearmament as divide with US widens Berlin, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Germany is set to ramp up defence spending with the incoming government, saying it wants to invest hundreds of billions of euros to bolster Europe's security as US guarantees look increasingly fragile. Likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday he planned to reform the country's strict constitutional "debt brake" to pump up defence spending and pursue massive infrastructure investments. The announcement came just over a week after national elections and with talks underway between Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats to forge a new governing alliance. The two sides however agreed to try to rush through the changes before a government is formed, as US President Donald Trump's public falling out last week with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky added to the sense of urgency in Europe. Trump's moves to open direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin have left Europeans feeling their interests could be overlooked in any deal to end the fighting that started with Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Germany's EU partners, who are gathering for a key summit on Thursday to discuss Ukraine and defence, have been waiting for movement from Berlin after months of political paralysis since the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government in November. - 'Dizzying' - The proposed reform of Germany's budget rules would see military expenditure over one percent of GDP exempted from constitutional limits on taking on new debt. In practice, the reform could see Germany's defence budget double to 100 billion euros ($107 billion) per year, said Manuela Schwesig, a senior Social Democrat involved in coalition talks. CDU leader Merz and his partners also want to set up a 500-billion-euro fund to upgrade Germany's creaking infrastructure and help drag the country out of two straight years of recession. The size of the investments in consideration were "dizzying", Markus Soeder, the leader of the CDU's Bavarian sister party the CSU, said Wednesday. But the announcement sent a clear signal: "Germany is defending itself, Germany is arming itself, Germany is renewing itself." After coming out on top in last month's vote, Merz said he had "no illusions" about the US president and has wasted no time in ditching his party's traditional aversion to debt to boost Germany's defences. The constitutional change is set to be rushed through the outgoing parliament, where the conservatives and the Social Democrats would have the necessary two-thirds majority with the Greens. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, the first debate on the reform is planned to take place in the Bundestag on March 13, with the final vote four days later. If the plan succeeds, it could be a "real game changer" and "quickly overcome Germany's economic stagnation", said Sebastian Dullien, director of the IMK economic research institute. In a further sign of the changing times, Germany called for an overhaul of the EU's strict spending rules to allow countries to invest more in defence over the long term, European diplomats told AFP. Germany's EU ambassador surprised his European counterparts during a Brussels meeting when he suggested giving member states more room to spend, beyond a four-year exemption proposed this week, several diplomats said. EU leaders are set to approve the exemption at Thursday's summit. However, the German call to go even further was not welcomed by other states with a frugal approach. - 'Germany, Europe must invest' - Merz met on Wednesday with current Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who welcomed the moves to boost defence, according to his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. The conservative leader also travelled to Brussels, where he held talks with NATO chief Mark Rutte. Merz posted on X that the talks centred on "the defence capabilities of Europe and NATO and challenges related to security policy." "Germany and Europe must now invest massively in their own defence capabilities. That is the best protection for Europe's security." Rutte posted that Merz's leadership will be "crucial" as Europe seeks to bolster its defences. "It's vital that we invest more in defence, increase defence production and continue to support Ukraine." bur-jsk/sea/sr/yad Macron proposes French nuclear extension, Ukraine troop deployment Paris, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced he would discuss extending France's nuclear deterrent to European partners and raised the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to enforce a peace deal, as Europe scrambles to respond to Donald Trump's upending of the transatlantic alliance. In an address to the nation, Macron said that the French were "legitimately worried" about the start of a "new era" after Trump began his second stint in the White House by reversing US policy on Ukraine and risking a historic rupture with Europe. "I want to believe that the United States will stay by our side but we have to be prepared for that not to be the case," he said bluntly. Trump has made clear his desire to swiftly end the war caused by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow. But Macron offered a stark picture of Russia's aggressive behaviour, which he said does "not seem to know borders" after its invasion of Ukraine. "Russia has become, at the moment I am speaking to you and for the years to come, a threat to France and Europe," he said. "It would be madness to remain a spectator in this world of danger." "Who can believe that this Russia of today will stop at Ukraine?" he asked. "Russia has become a threat for France and Europe." But he warned Trump that "peace cannot be agreed at any cost" and there cannot be a ceasefire that is "too fragile". - 'Won't fight today' - Ahead of an EU summit Thursday on rearming the continent, he stressed the need for "new budget choices and extra investments" to boost defence spending in France. Meanwhile, Macron said he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European nations, following a "historic" call from likely next German chancellor Friedrich Merz on extending that umbrella of protection. "I have decided to open up the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our nuclear deterrent," he said, while adding that any decision on nuclear weapons use would remain with the French head of state. He also reaffirmed that European military forces could be sent to Ukraine if a peace accord was signed to ensure that Russia does not invade its neighbour again. A peace agreement for Ukraine would be backed "perhaps, by the deployment of European forces," Macron said. "They won't go to fight today, they won't go to fight on the front line, but they would be there once a peace deal is signed, to guarantee it is fully respected," he said. He added European chiefs of staffs would meet in Paris next week to discuss how to support Ukraine after a peace deal. - Intense diplomacy - Both Macron and British Prime Minister Starmer held separate talks with Trump in Washington last week, followed by Zelensky who was subjected to an excruciating public dressing-down by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance. But Zelensky appears to be seeking to lower the temperature after Friday's White House bust-up with Trump where the US president accused the Ukrainian leader of not wanting peace and "gambling with World War III". Zelensky Tuesday called for a "truce" in the sea and sky as a first step to ending the three-year war with Russia, echoing an idea evoked by Macron at talks in London hosted by Starmer at the weekend. Meanwhile, Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington alongside Zelensky and Starmer, the French government spokeswoman said Wednesday. Sophie Primas did not give dates for such a visit, which she said could take place in the "short term". The presidency then sought to dampen expectations saying no new visit by Macron to Washington was being considered "at this stage". In the initial phase following the February 2022 Russian invasion, Macron repeatedly held telephone talks with President Vladimir Putin. But their last such contact dates back to September 2022. Coincidentally, Macron after his address met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Elysee. Orban is an admirer not just of Trump but also Putin, and has repeatedly broken a united EU front on Ukraine. Russian missile strike kills 1 in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rig Kyiv, Ukraine, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 A Russian missile strike on a hotel in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig killed at least one person on Wednesday, local authorities said. Moscow has kept up its bombardment of Ukraine, even as rhetoric builds in Washington and Moscow on potential talks to halt the more than three-year war. "A Russian missile hit a five-story hotel, and a fire broke out. One person died, two were injured, and 14 people were rescued," Ukraine's emergency services said on Telegram. "A stairwell was destroyed, there may be people under the rubble," it added. Kryvyi Rig, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's home town, lies about 70 kilometres (43 miles) north west of the front line and was home to more than 600,000 people before the war. Sergiy Lysak, governor of the local Dnipropetrovsk region, shared an image of what appeared to be the facade of a residential building, surrounded by rubble. Lysak identified the dead as a 53-year-old man. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The swap of Turkmen gas through Iran to Turkiye has officially begun as of March 4, Irans Minister of Oil Mohsen Paknejad told reporters,Trend reports. According to Paknejad, the implementation of the agreement for swapping Turkmen gas via Iran to Turkiye began due to the efforts of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and other relevant institutions. The Minister explained that under the terms of the agreement, Iran receives the same volume of gas from Turkmenistan in the countrys northeast and delivers it to Turkiye in the west. This deal holds significant importance in the context of Irans agreements with neighboring countries, including Turkmenistan and Turkiye. Paknejad further articulated that the gas swap initiative is poised to enhance Irans bilateral dynamics, particularly in the areas of gas and oil products trade. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Where to live Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers She claimed these included incidents when she was refused access to the stage by staff who did not believe she worked for The Globe, and other times when she was left to manage groups of performers alone even though she had told the theatre she did not feel comfortable doing so. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Spanish bank CBNK have launched a 150 million euro initiative to support women entrepreneurs in Spains pharmacy sector, Trend reports. Signed during the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg, this is the EIBs first intermediated loan within the EU exclusively targeting women-led businesses. The initiative will provide loans averaging 450,000 euros for business formation, working capital, and equipment purchases. The investment, implemented through a covered bond issued by CBNK, aims to improve access to finance for women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector. EIB President Nadia Calvino emphasized the importance of gender equality in economic growth, while CBNK CEO Enrique Serra Gonzalez highlighted the banks commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs. The signing also marks the launch of the Gender Finance Lab, an EIB-led initiative funded by the European Commission to promote women's entrepreneurship across the EU. We all want to see an end to the fighting, everything that gets us closer to achieving that goal we are obviously working towards, and, of course, what's been said overnight, I think, pushes us closer, Ms Mahmood told Times Radio. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze emphasized the importance of economic cooperation between Georgia and Uzbekistan during his meeting with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulla Aripov, Trend reports. According to the information, the prime minister noted that government representatives from both countries had held productive meetings over the past two days on various aspects of economic cooperation. He also stressed the importance of further developing the existing relations between the two countries and expanding collaboration in various fields in the future. Furthermore, the prime minister underscored that the reforms and development processes in Uzbekistan have had a significant impact on Georgia, pointing out that the Georgian government places special importance on the development of the Middle Corridor, and cooperation between the two countries in this direction can be effective. "The expansion of trade relations and investment opportunities between the two countries is crucial. Uzbekistan's investment environment could be attractive to Georgian entrepreneurs, while Georgia also offers interesting opportunities for potential investors," the prime minister added. The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that passes through several countries in the region, connecting Asia and Europe. It serves as an alternative to the traditional North and South corridors. The route starts in China and passes through Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then continues through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye, reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor provides a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing longer sea routes. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air is introducing extra flights in honor of the spring holiday Nauryz to meet high passenger demand. The data obtained by Trend from Qazaq Air shows that from March 16 through March 23, 2025, ten additional flights will be performed on the following routes: Astana - Shymkent: 4 additional flights; Astana - Almaty: 2 additional flights; Astana - Turkestan: 4 additional flights. Moreover, the airline is launching a new route from Astana to Samarkand starting May 1, 2025. Meanwhile, Kazakhstani airlines earlier increased 120 additional flights for March holidays (Air Astana - 55, FlyArystan - 33, Scat - 32). Furthermore, in celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, Scat Airlines together with its online booking service offers a 10 percent discount on all scheduled flights. The airline informs that this promotion will be valid from March 5 through March 7. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. INERATEC, a leader in sustainable e-fuel production, has secured a 40 million euro venture debt loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a 30 million euro grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, Trend reports. This 70 million euro investment will support the construction of Europe's largest sustainable e-Fuel production plant in Frankfurt and further research and development to decarbonize aviation. The deal was announced at the EIB-Group Forum in Luxembourg, highlighting the growing importance of e-fuels in reducing emissions in sectors like aviation. The funding will allow INERATEC to scale up production and commercialize its reactor technology, which converts green hydrogen and CO2 into synthetic aviation fuel. The project represents a significant step in the commercialization of INERATECs Power-to-Liquid technology. INERATECs production process uses hydrogen and CO2 from biogenic sources, such as biogas plants, to produce synthetic crude oil. This can then be refined into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marine fuels, and e-diesel. By utilizing CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, the process reduces the carbon footprint of fuel production. The plant will be located outside Frankfurt, with CO2 sourced from a biogas plant and hydrogen from a chlorine production facility. The new plant will produce up to 2,500 tons of e-Fuel annually, helping meet the growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel. For example, one long-haul flight between Frankfurt and New York uses 80 tons of kerosene, and e-SAF from INERATEC could replace fossil fuel on this route. The European ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which requires airlines to use at least 1.2% e-SAF by 2030, provides a clear market opportunity for the plant. The EIBs support, through the InvestEU program, is a key enabler in making synthetic fuels more economical. EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer stated, The EIB is committed to a competitive net-zero economy, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation. Were enabling a green transition for transport and contributing to making e-Fuels more affordable. INERATEC CEO Dr. Tim Boeltken added, This funding marks a new era for INERATEC. With support from the EIB and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, were accelerating the industrialization of e-Fuel production, which will make a tangible impact in reducing CO2 emissions. Companies in the AHK Romania community are calling for cooperation and unity between the social, economic and political environment and asking for more flexibility from the government to cut through red tape related to the allocation of funds for companies and investment. "It is essential to remain united, to be competitive, to adapt to the current geopolitical context, marked by challenges and continuous transformations. Only through a coherent and proactive approach can we create a favourable climate for the sustainable development of the business community and the consolidation of the economy," AHK Romania General Manager Sebastian Metz told a monthly meeting of the members of the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In a context in which the geopolitical factor is the one that influences the markets, the ability of companies to act is increasingly limited, and they must understand how to act in markets that are no longer free, according to AHK Romania Chairman Andreas Lier. "We are witnessing an economic and geopolitical situation full of challenges, and many of the member companies of AHK Romania are feeling these challenges increasingly more. But together I think we can face them. Romania has good opportunities and prospects in areas such as energy from fossil and renewable sources, agriculture, food, IT, but also large infrastructure investment projects." Romania keeps its attractiveness for investment, said general manager of the E.ON Romania group, Volker Raffel. However, he added that a more predictable market is needed and that "we must use this time for the state and companies to find offers on the energy market, not only for the next semester, but also for the next year." "To me it is very clear: we need to cooperate closely in Europe, to change the way we do business and politics, to adapt, to be flexible and to do this very quickly. See how quickly things are changing globally. Otherwise, Europe, including Romania, will be left behind," said Raffel. At the same time, head of the Romanian Prime Minister's Chancellery Stefan-Radu Oprea said that predictability is being redefined these days, because "we know that there will be a new taxation system, due to the customs duties imposed by other states. We will have to see when, how big they will be and what their impact will be." He added that the price of energy is high for all companies in Europe, but he was confident that from 2027 Romania will have a good, clean energy mix, as well as cheap storage possibilities. "With our oil and gas industry, with all the geography, we can be the best friends of Romanian and German companies. I see a future for business in Romania, as long as Romania is in the European Union," he said. Oprea also said that among the government's priorities are the simplification of red tape for the business environment, maintaining the deficit at 7% this year, reducing public spending and absorbing as much money as possible from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as it will not be extended. In his turn, honorary advisor to the interim president of Romania, Dragos Anastasiu, signalled that changes are needed in the way business and politics are done in Romania, with the months up to the election defining the direction the country will take in the future. "Everything is changing and a lot of diplomacy is needed, we have to make sure that we are moving in the right direction. The situation is complicated, but when there are crises there are opportunities. Let's stay united, let's be fast, let's act smart, let's adapt. If in two months' time we are on the right track, I will be optimistic, otherwise it will be very difficult," he concluded. The first meeting of AHK Romania members this year on the topic "Economic Outlook and Governance Programme" was attended by 70 representatives of member companies. The next meeting of the members will take place on April 1. AHK Romania is the official representative of the German economy. Founded in 2002, AHK has more than 670 member companies and offers companies an important platform for networking, exchange of information and experiences. Through the services it offers and through the events it organises, AHK Romania actively supports German companies with their entry into the Romanian market and is also a partner of Romanian companies interested in the German market. The "Berlin 2025" project developed by the Junona Community Development Association of Targu Mures and the State Philharmonic of Targu Murea, part of the events marking 145 years of diplomatic ties between Romania and Germany, will be officially released on March 19, at the Romanian Embassy in Germany. "On March 19, together with [deputy chairman of the Junona Assocoation] Mihai Porutiu we are in Berlin to officially release the 'Berlin 2025' project in Germany. On the evening of March 19, at the Embassy of Romania in Germany, there will be a concert by a quartet of the Targu Mures Philharmonic Orchestra, with Levente Gyorgy as soloist, and a press conference together with ambassador Adriana Stanescu. The official release of the project in Germany is something absolutely special. It is a continuation of the Vienna project and is designed not only as a simple cultural project, but also has a very important academic and diplomatic component," Chairman of the Junona Community Development Association Ovidiu Maior said on Wednesday at a news conference held at the State Philharmonic of Targu Mures. Maior said that the philharmonic orchestra conducted by Pablo Boggiano is invited to perform, on November 6, this year, at the Berlin Philharmonie - Main Auditorium, during an event organised by the Romanian Embassy in Germany to mark 145 years of diplomatic ties between Romania and Germany. In addition to the cultural, academic and diplomatic component, an entrepreneurial component will also be included. "We currently have the confirmation of the partnership with the Romanian Embassy in Berlin, the concert of the symphony orchestra of the State Philharmonic of Targu Mures will be included in the series of events dedicated to the celebration of 145 years of Romanian-German diplomatic ties. You know well that in 1880, Germany, together with France and Great Britain, recognised Romania's independence. So, it will be included in these events that have already begun to be honoured by the Romanian government," Deputy Chairman of the Junona Association Porutiu told the same news conference. Part of the concert scheduled for November 6, Porutiu added, will be another special moment in Berlin, in which excellence in medicine and science will be celebrated. "Leaving aside the fact that it is the 80th anniversary of the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology (UMFST) of Targu Mures, the first class of doctors of the UMFST extension in Hamburg will also graduate, and practically we will celebrate in Berlin this event together with UMFST, the Romanian Embassy, the Romanian Cultural Institute, their partners in Germany, (...). It is the piece de resistance of the entire event in Berlin, where the Berlin Philharmonie hall is already booked, everything is ready and the philharmonic will perform. It is a hall of 2,200 seats and is the most important hall in Berlin and Germany. It may not have the history of the Vienna Musikverein, where the New Year's Eve concert takes place, but culturally it is considered to be the most important concert hall in Germany. And Berlin, despite the fact that it is not perceived by many of us as such an important cultural centre, you should know that, in fact, in the European perception, Berlin is next to Paris, London, Vienna, one of the epicentres of symphonic music and European culture," added Porutiu. "Berlin 2025" is a continuation of the project carried out in 2024 by the Junona Community Development Association with support from thr Romanian Embassy in Austria and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Vienna, in which the symphony orchestra of the Targu Mures State Philharmonic was included in the official schedule of the Musikverein in Vienna. The event held last year in Vienna, backed by the Mures County Council, the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology and by numerous Romanian and Austrian partners, was considered one of the largest cultural diplomacy projects in the country. The Musikverein concert performed by the symphony orchestra of the Targu Mures State Philharmonic, conducted by Pablo Boggano, will be screened at Cinema City in Targu Mures, on March 13, at 12:00hrs. While the United States suspended military aid to Ukraine, Europe is stepping up its support, with countries moving to ramp up their defence spending and solidifying ties with Kiev. The shift comes after a tense meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, straining US-Ukraine relations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a new fund on Tuesday that could mobilise nearly 800 billion Euro for defence investments across the European Union, including military aid for Ukraine. 'We are in an era of rearmament, and Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending,' she said in Brussels. Her proposal, aimed at bolstering EU defence capabilities, suggests allowing member states more flexibility in defence spending, relaxing the EU's usually strict debt and deficit rules, and reallocating regional development funds to military investments. The plan also includes 150 billion Euro in loans for critical defence areas such as air and missile defence, artillery systems, drones, and military mobility, von der Leyen explained. 'With this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine,' she added. The Commission hopes that, alongside private capital and additional funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB), this proposal could mobilise a total of 800 billion Euro for defence. 'We're living in the most momentous and dangerous of times,' von der Leyen said. EU leaders are set to discuss the proposal at a special summit in Brussels on Thursday. The proposal, however, faces internal resistance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have indicated they will block any EU-wide decision to arm Ukraine, preferring bilateral agreements. 'We must live up to it': Europe's challenge to rearm 'This is Europe's moment and we must live up to it,' von der Leyen said to announce her new plan to rearm Europe. But even after three years of war in Ukraine, European countries have struggled to spend more on defence. Despite calls for increased investment in defence, many European nations have been slow to commit. NATO's target of spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, which has been pushed by the US, is still a benchmark many nations are struggling to meet. For instance, Portugal has only committed to reaching this target by 2030. Slovenia, one of the lowest NATO defence spenders, currently allocates about 1.35 percent of GDP, with plans to increase this to 2 percent by 2030. On the other hand, countries like the Czech Republic are pushing to surpass the 2 percent threshold, with Prime Minister Petr Fiala aiming for 3 percent in the coming years. In North Macedonia, a NATO ally and aspiring EU member, the government also plans to allocate over 2 percent of GDP for defence. While this is a positive step, it remains a struggle for many EU nations, especially those with limited defence budgets and outdated military infrastructure. Bulgaria, a NATO and EU member, produces and exports defence equipment but faces challenges in modernising its Soviet-era military. Despite plans to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025, experts predict the actual budget will be closer to 2.1 percent, constrained byfinancial realities. Europe rallies to Ukraine's side The announcement to significantly increase defence spending and military aid for Ukraine comes after US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Monday that it would temporarily suspend US military aid for Ukraine. Trump's decision to pull the aid followed his verbal assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House in front of journalists, heightening fears he intends to force Kiev into a peace deal that gives Russian President Vladimir Putin what he wants. While recently reinaugurated Trump has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelenskyy, his approach has sidelined Kiev and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with the Russian leader. This shift was on full display at the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy, who Trump accused of not being grateful enough for US aid and not being 'ready' for peace with Russia. But European leaders closed ranks in support of Kiev and a pre-organised summit in London by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to present a peace plan to the US turned into a recovery session for Zelenskyy after the bruising visit to the White House. Zelenskyy met with King Charles III on Sunday in a move to show London's desire to shore up the Ukrainian leader's status after his slap-down by Trump. Zelenskyy said afterwards the summit cemented their commitment to work towards peace. 'We need peace, not endless war,' he said on Telegram. 'In the near future, all of us in Europe will shape our common positions - the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on,' he added. 'These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States.' Starmer likewise said that Britain, France 'and others' would work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which they would then put to Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the summit, told Le Figaro newspaper that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce 'in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure'. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for the United States and Europe to show Putin 'that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression'. 'Heavy lifting' Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed the importance of averting the West splitting over Ukraine in talks in London with Starmer 'I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk of the West dividing,' Meloni said. 'And I think that in this the UK and Italy can play an important role in building bridges,' Meloni said. Meloni, the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, enjoys favourable relations with Washington and is viewed as an option to repair ties with Trump after the row in the White House. However, facing down an intractable Russia with a wavering US, the challenges for Europe to remain united behind Ukraine are significant. Starmer and Macron have said they are prepared to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine to help preserve any truce. With no guarantee of US involvement, 'Europe must do the heavy lifting', Starmer said. This is the sticking point however for many European sides. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson does not exclude sending Swedish troops to Ukraine. But he clearly wants the US to be involved. 'It must be built on an American backstop. It must be built on credible structures,' Kristersson said in London. Romania's interim President Ilie Bolojan said that the security guarantees that would be granted to Ukraine will be, in fact, for 'the entire eastern flank, from the Baltic to the Black Sea', pointing out that they will not be able to be provided without the support of the US. Another European supporter of Ukraine, Spain, wants to see the contours of the peace to be policed in Ukraine before committing to policing a ceasefire. The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, told Spanish media on Monday that Spain 'has no problem' with sending troops abroad, but at this time in Ukraine 'the effort is still primarily political and diplomatic' to ensure a fair and lasting peace and not a mere temporary ceasefire. The special summit of EU leaders on Thursday in Brussels will be the next big gathering to define the path ahead for Ukraine. Zelenskyy has been invited to attend with the debate on more EU military aid for Ukraine being all the more fateful in the new Trump era. The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, BTA, CTK, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, Lusa, STA, TASR, TT, as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. A The European Patronage of Businesswomen (PEFA) is releasing the first ever Women's Entrepreneurship Index in Romania, an essential tool for measuring and understanding the impact of women's contribution to the Romanian economy and in the decision-making process at all levels. The index is said to provide a detailed analysis of the dynamics of female entrepreneurship, facilitating strategic decision-making and the design of effective public policies. "The Women's Entrepreneurship Index is an important step in strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Romania. Through this tool, we want to offer both the authorities and the business community a clear picture of the realities and opportunities offered by raising awareness about the importance of women's participation in the decision-making process at national, regional and international levels," PEFA Chair Andreea Negru is quoted as saying in a press statement released on Wednesday. In her turn, PEFA First Deputy Chair Lorena Stoian said that the release of the Women's Entrepreneurship Index underlines the organisation's commitment to support and promote entrepreneurial initiatives, contributing to the development of a fair and sustainable business environment in Romania. "Women entrepreneurs in Romania have a huge potential, and this index is a concrete step towards recognising, supporting and maximising the potential." The release of the Women's Entrepreneurship Index was possible thanks to the support provided by Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), as a strategic partner, and Pluxee Romania. BCR and Pluxee Romania, together with PEFA, support this innovative initiative, unique in Romania, aimed at increasing visibility, support and confidence in the essential role of women in sustainable economic development and in building a modern society. "For BCR, the normalisation of women's involvement in business is a strategic priority. Women entrepreneurs are the ones who support the economic dynamics and industries of the future, being an important contributor to everything that means innovation, digital transformation and sustainable development. We are glad to be with PEFA, because the local perspective and data help us turn inspiration into relevant actions and impact. And the release of the Women's Entrepreneurship Index is a concrete step toward putting female entrepreneurship at the centre of Romania's economic growth, through courage, access to resources and real opportunities," said Vice President of Retail & Private Banking BCR Dana Dima. The European Patronage of Businesswomen (PEFA) is a member organisation of SME Romania dedicated to promoting and supporting entrepreneurship at national and European level. Through its initiatives, PEFA aims to create a modern, inclusive and equitable business environment. The French Ambassador to Romania, Nicolas Warnery, stated on Wednesday that artificial intelligence is very important for transformation, innovation, creativity and is also a field in which one must favor equal opportunities. "Artificial intelligence is very important for transformation, innovation, creativity and is also a field in which you must favor equal opportunities because artificial intelligence is a factor of progress, and equal opportunities is, at the same time, an engine for the progress of our society," the French official told the event "Women in Technology and Artificial Intelligence: Innovation, Creativity, Inclusion", held at France's Residence. He stated that this year, in Paris, a summit was organized on artificial intelligence and that during this meeting three major objectives were voiced: allowing everyone to benefit from the advance of artificial intelligence, developing sustainable artificial intelligence and strengthening international governance to have an effective and inclusive artificial intelligence. The Director General of the National News Agency AGERPRES, Claudia Nicolae, spoke about the impact of artificial intelligence in the media, but also about the challenges of using it. She argued that artificial intelligence is part of the journalist in the future. "Even if we use artificial intelligence, let's use the one that shows us the sources where it gets its information because we can use it in this way. Let's see for ourselves and verify for ourselves whether those sources are real or false," added Claudia Nicolae. She stressed that AI will not replace the journalist, because journalistic ethics, thinking and human filter will not be replaced by artificial intelligence. "Let's never forget that artificial intelligence is powered by humans," concluded the AGERPRES' director general. Alina Dodu, a leader in the field of cybersecurity, said that technology must help business. She drew attention, however, to the way in which technology is used, ensuring that it does not destroy something around us. "It has been many years since we have talked about a regional activity, about some kids trying to hack a server - as we heard a few years ago - this moment is long gone and, unfortunately, for many years now we have been talking about state actors, about states supporting cyber attacks. We are talking about attacks from organizations critical to business, to life, and these things are no longer simple and can no longer be treated simply, and we have to take into account that they have access to technology and we have to be one step ahead, and this combination is between what we can think about, how we can support ourselves as people, how we can collaborate, learn, support ourselves and listen to each other, because we can always learn from those around us," Alina Dodu added. The event was also attended by the director of the International Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Adina Florea, and the country manager of Eviden Technologies Romania, Diana Sipos. A Romania's first IBM Quantum Innovation Center, the FreeYa Mind Campus, will operate in Iasi and will train professionals capable of harnessing the potential of quantum technology in multiple fields, from complex simulations in medical research to cryptography and advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. This one-of-a-kind campus in Romania and Europe's second such educational facility, offers a future-driven environment focused on education, research and entrepreneurship. The center, whose completion is estimated for 2026, will accommodate quantum technology courses and workshops for students and professionals from various fields. IBM's Quantum Innovation Center will have access to IBM quantum computers via the cloud, providing member organizations access to the latest IBM quantum systems and resources, including training and support for their users. "The FreeYa Mind Campus can be described as an ambitious project, we see it as an ecosystem that must be approached from three perspectives: education, research, and then innovation and entrepreneurship. Here in Iasi we have already been benefiting from this quantum revolution and the extraordinary power of a quantum computer since February. Last week we organized the first course to a room packed with students, master's and doctoral students, professors. Everyone enjoyed the first live course with access to the quantum resource. We want to expand the partnerships already concluded with the five universities in Iasi to national level," co-founder of the FreeYa Mind Campus Cornel Scripca on Wednesday told the launch event. "This is a necessary experience that will respond to the ever growing demand for quantum expertise in increasingly more sectors. In addition to preparing skilled workforce for the future of quantum computing, the center's purpose is to accelerate the development of practical quantum applications," Cornel Scripca said. The center will accommodate advanced research centers for quantum computing, physics and engineering, supported by a high-performance underground data center which provides computing and security resources for cutting-edge quantum and AI technologies. "Quantum technology is the future. This cooperation with IBM allows us to provide access to top educational resources and research infrastructure. Together, we are preparing the next generations for the challenges and opportunities of the quantum revolution and transforming the city of Iasi into a European landmark in this field. As an IBM Quantum Innovation Center, the campus will host research laboratories, collaboration spaces, executive administrative departments, event venues and interconnectable training rooms, along with a large AI data center," said Cristian Berariu, initiator of the FreeYa Mind Campus project. Quantum technology is redefining the boundaries of knowledge and revolutionizing the way we approach the world's greatest challenges. Its potential to perform calculations exponentially faster than classical computers opens up new opportunities for industry, education and research. "This project is unique in Romania. This collaboration with the FreeYa Mind Campus sets the groundwork in place for the development of a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary scientific hub in Iasi. Through access to IBM's quantum technologies and resources, students and researchers will be able to work together in a dynamic, future-oriented environment, exploring solutions to real-world challenges," Cerasela Baiculescu, Country General Manager, IBM Romania and Moldova, told the press. The event was also attended by Senate Vice President Robert Cazanciuc who told AGERPRES that technological evolution can be stimulated or slowed down by an inadequate legislative framework, citing in this regard the current European debate regarding AI regulation. "There are technological challenges that must reflect in legislation. What is interesting here in Iasi is that a private initiative has succeeded to bring together all of Iasi city's universities, many authorities, as the people understand that at some point one has to contribute a part of one's own resources for the community. This is why I am happy to be part of this somewhat unique project at national level. Iasi will not only be a regional hub, but a national one too. As far as I know, Germany is the only other European country to have such a hub," emphasized Cazanciuc. RenewAcad, a brand belonging to Wind Power Energy, launched on Wednesday, in Petrila, Hunedoara County, a project to establish an assembly plant for renewable energy industry components, the investment value being about 10 million euros, with the financing being provided by the Just Transition Program. "The Petrila factory will be built on the former industrial platform of the Petrila Mine and will produce components for batteries for energy storage, robots for cleaning photovoltaic panels and equipment for environmental monitoring, thus contributing to the development of the infrastructure necessary for Romania's energy transition. This is clear proof that we can be part of the solution, that we can actively participate in building a cleaner and more sustainable future," said Sebastian Enache, Managing Partner of Wind Power Energy, at the launch event, quoted in a company's release sent to AGERPRES. He stated that he wants this factory to be the core of a wider industrial ecosystem. "In this sense, we plan to build a 20MWh energy storage battery near the factory, using locally produced components. This project will represent an essential step in closing the production and investment chain, demonstrating that we can develop a complete local industry, from the production of equipment to its use in integrated solutions for renewable energy," Sebastian Enache added. In turn, the executive director of the Jiu Valley Integrated Territorial Development Association, Alexandru Kelemen, said that this contract that Wind Power Energy signed is part of several investment contracts signed in the Jiu Valley, through the Association and the Just Transition Program. "In fact, there are 27 contracts in the Jiu Valley alone and I think we are starting to go down a good path. I also think that the investment is well placed because it also refers to our mining identity. We do not know what we will do in 10 years in the Jiu Valley, but we certainly know that we will always be miners and then it is important that both the cultural and industrial heritage is preserved, regardless of whether it is Petrila, whether it is Lonea, Lupeni, Livezeni or Vulcan", declared Kelemen. The investment in Petrila will generate over 50 jobs, helping socio-economically to the energy transition of the Jiu Valley, which is in a complex process of economic transformation. The future of the region depends on the implementation of sustainable initiatives that support both local economic development and the communities affected by changes in the energy sector. Wind Power Energy constantly carries out specific consultancy activities in the field of wind and photovoltaic technology, including professional training for new professions such as renewable energy operators, wind turbine blade inspection and repair technicians, wind turbine installation technicians, wind turbine maintenance technicians or solar photovoltaic system installers. Wind Power Energy was a pioneer by introducing three new occupations related to the renewable industry in COR, respectively for "Wind turbine blade inspection and repair technician COR code 311312", "Wind turbine installation technician COR code 311313" and "Wind turbine maintenance technician COR code 311311". RenewACAD is the brand under which Wind Power Energy has built the largest network of renewable energy training centers in Romania. The network currently has four locations in Constanta, Bucharest, Petrosani and Rovinari. RenewACAD provides technical courses for professional training in green energy, wind and photovoltaic, internationally accredited and locally authorized courses. RenewACAD has trained and continues to train over 90% of the personnel working in the field of renewable energies, based on over 150 technical modules, through a method based on practical courses in laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The event in Petrila brought together representatives of local and central administration, industry partners ad specialists in the field of renewable energy, providing a framework for discussion on the impact and benefits of this project for the region. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. Russia agreed to assist President Donald Trump's administration in communicating with Iran on issues including the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and its support for regional anti-US proxies, according to people familiar with the situation. Trump relayed that interest directly to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February and top officials from his administration discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts at talks in Saudi Arabia days later, people familiar with the matter in Moscow said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither Russia nor Iran have publicly confirmed or denied the request. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to questions sent by Bloomberg that "Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations" and that Moscow "is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this." A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, when asked if Russia had offered to mediate between Tehran and Washington, said only it was "natural" for countries to offer their assistance. "Given the significance of these matters, it's possible that many parties will show good will and readiness to help with various problems," the spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said during a televised press conference Monday in Tehran. "From this perspective, it's natural that countries will present an offer of help if it's needed." The ministry didn't respond to questions from Bloomberg News. Since taking office about six weeks ago, Trump has tried to restore relations with President Vladimir Putin, which the US severed after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Trump seeks to broker an end to that war directly with Putin - including a Feb. 12 phone call between the two leaders - both sides have signaled they're open to cooperating on other geopolitical interests, including trade routes and resources in the Arctic. Top US and Russian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussed Washington's interest in Moscow helping with Iranian issues, during a Feb. 18 meeting in Riyadh, according to people with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified as not all details of those talks have been made public. Russia's Lavrov later shared details about the US meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi when they met in Tehran, Araghchi said in a televised press conference after the meeting. Trump has sent mixed signals over Iran since returning to the White House. He said he aims to return to the "maximum pressure" policy of his first term, such as reimposing sanctions and targeting its security forces, including killing a top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But Trump's also said he wants to "immediately" start working on a "verified nuclear peace agreement with Iran." As two countries both heavily sanctioned by the US, Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation on trade and energy, as well as security, including Russia utilizing large numbers of Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine. But it's unclear how receptive Tehran will be to any US overture delivered via Russia. Many hardliners, who dominate Iran's powerful institutions such as the IRGC and the judiciary, have publicly opposed engagement with Washington. Last month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Trump can't be trusted - since he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear agreement during his first term - and that Iran wouldn't be bullied into negotiations. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who supports reviving the nuclear deal, said last week that he would set aside his personal belief in the need for US engagement and back Khamenei's opposition to talks while Washington continues to sanction Iran's economy. Despite the public posture, "both the United States and Iran are trying to find channels of communication, productive ones which would mark the start of a dialogue," Nikolay Kozhanov, an associate professor at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Center, said. Any understanding between the US and Iran would be a "complex" one with the US offering sanctions relief and Iran agreeing to contain its regional ambitions, Kozhanov added. The US has long suspected the Islamic Republic of using a decades-old civilian nuclear sector to shield a covert military dimension. Iran has repeatedly denied it wants weapons and insists its atomic work is for peaceful means including power stations that are partly financed by Russia. The United Nation's nuclear watchdog on Monday said the US and Iran should begin talks, and that it was holding high-level discussions with the White House on the issue. That follows its warning last week that Tehran's stockpile of near-bomb-grade fissile material had surged more than 50% since Trump's election. Iranian officials are also under intense pressure to deliver economic relief to a population exhausted by an acute cost-of-living crisis that's been compounded by US sanctions under both Trump and President Joe Biden's administration. Iran is also locked in a bitter shadow war with top US ally Israel and has vowed to keep fighting despite Israel having severely weakened Tehran's key proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are designated terrorist organizations by the US and other countries. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Kazakh Agro Technical Research University and the FAO are strengthening cooperation to develop sustainable agri-food systems as part of the visit of FAO Deputy Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, Viorel Gutu, to the university, Trend reports. During the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation and partnership strengthening was signed, opening new opportunities for joint work in the areas of sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, and digitalization of the agricultural sector. This important step in the development of international cooperation and strengthening the scientific and educational potential of the Kazakh Agro Technical Research University (KATU) will contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture in Kazakhstan in line with FAOs global strategic goals. The FAO Strategic Framework Program for 2022-2031 is aimed at achieving four key objectives: improving production, nutrition, the environment, and quality of life. The FAOs comprehensive approach takes into account the interconnection between the economic, social, and environmental aspects of agri-food systems, fostering sustainable agricultural development. During the course of the visit, the FAO corner at the university was officially launched, marking a significant milestone in collaborative engagement and knowledge dissemination. The parties noted that the opening of the FAO corner would create a unique space for knowledge exchange, training events, and the distribution of modern materials reflecting innovative approaches in education and sustainable agricultural development. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a UN agency whose main task is to combat hunger. FAO serves as a forum where both developed and developing countries discuss and align political decisions on food security on equal terms. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Land in localities close to Baia Mare is highly sought after by both individuals and real estate investors, amid the trend of moving from the city to the countryside, which has increased in recent years, especially since the pandemic, claim real estate specialists. "Annually, the pace of people moving from the city to the village is increasing. The trend was accelerated during the pandemic, but it maintains the same trend now. The reasons are diverse. But most of those who invest in a new house in the village or buy an old house to be renovated, preserved or prepared for living want to live in a quiet place, away from the noise of the city, cars, traffic congestion, to enjoy nature. For almost 10 years, the process of migration from the city to the village has increased significantly, and those with financial potential are investing in medium or large houses, all depending on the number of family members," Florin Dumitrean, the administrator of a real estate agency specializing in rural areas, told AGERPRES. He says that the price for building a house varies depending on the location, the cost of materials, and labor. "A newly built house for a family with two children can cost 120,000-130,000 euros, this cost not including the purchased land, access to utilities (gas, electricity, telephone-internet). Most families who moved to the village sold their apartment or accessed a bank loan to purchase the land and build the house. There were cases of old houses, some built 15-20 years ago, houses that were modified on the inside to provide optimal living conditions, the cost of such an operation meaning expenses from 20,000 - 50,000 RON upwards, all depending on the size of the building. Old houses are attractive to a large part of those who move to the village and want to live in a house that has an archaic patina and induces a certain mood, comfort and relaxation. In recent years, modern houses have also appeared that respect the old architecture, with a roof made of shingles or straw. It is true, such investments exist, but they are rarer and produce great joy at the sight in addition to the interior comfort," added Dumitrean. Ionut Tineghe, a construction entrepreneur, stated that the only obstacle for those who intend to move to the village is the exorbitant price of construction materials, which has increased many times in recent years. "The price of construction materials in recent years has repeatedly experienced inexplicable increases, including materials manufactured in Romania. Many of the individuals or families who would intend to move to the village are now blocked by the high costs of materials and labor, in addition to the purchase price. People with increased financial possibilities do not ask themselves this problem at all and purchase properties or land with potential, old houses located in a special natural setting and prefer few neighbors. There is another category of investors established in our villages: investors who are looking for land for the construction of guesthouses, motels, bungalows, small rural restaurants or medium-capacity hotels. This investment profile is oriented towards the well-known tourist areas of Maramures or, surprisingly, towards places that are not at all famous, but with an extraordinary natural perspective. This type of investment starts from 100,000 euros and can "in some cases exceeding one million euros (...) The fact is that the village in Maramures is experiencing a radical transformation and a future that could bring other changes, including economic ones," Ionut Tineghe told AGERPRES. The mayor of Grosi commune, the closest locality to Baia Mare municipality, Florin Bolte, stated that in recent years, over 500 families from the city have moved to the village, built houses, renovated or started small, prosperous local businesses. The exhibition "Martisor-The Story of a Living Tradition: From Queen Marie to the Heart of Every One," designed to bring to light the history, symbols, and stories that make the martisor an essential element of Romanian cultural identity, opened on Wednesday in the Aquarium Hall of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant. "It is extremely important for all of us, as citizens, as a country, as part of the diversity of the European Union, to never forget to promote and appreciate our traditions, values and everything that defines us as a people. (...) Dear friends, we have treasures beyond imagination when compared to other nations. On the one hand, we know how to protect everything that means culture, identity, traditions, values, but also to promote them and show them to the whole world. And in a society where peace should not be an option, it is very important to unite through culture," said senior official with the Ministry of Culture Diana-Stefana Baciuna. She voiced hope that in the coming years the exhibition can also be mounted at the Royal Villa in Mamaia, which is, since December last year, in the custody of the Ministry of Culture. Narcisa Alexandra Tiuca of the University of Bucharest spoke about the meaning and tradition of the martisor. "I think that we have not yet studied this tradition enough, we are in a hurry to affirm various things, but it has a great social and cultural importance, it has a great importance for our harmonisation. Obviously, being placed at the beginning of spring, of the old agrarian year - the agrarian new year began on March 1 - it is a moment of joy, but also one in which we check our feelings, we confront them and of course that, if we have affinities, we will put the apple in a box and keep it as the godchildren kept the penny from the godparents,"said the teacher. One of the most valuable parts of the exhibition is a collection of royal jewels, coming from the personal collection of Anghel Georgian. This rare collection offers the public the opportunity to admire royal jewels donated and worn in noble and royal circles over the centuries. A special exhibit is the oldest known martisor in Romania, dated March 1, 1872, which reflects the documented beginnings of the tradition of giving a martisor in the forms we know today. A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to Queen Marie, a symbol of love for the Romanian people and traditions. The exhibition is open to visitors March 5 through 23, Tuesday to Sunday, between 10:00hrs and 18:00hrs. Monday is closed. According to Anghel Georgian, similar exhibitions, bringing together pieces from his collection, will open on Wednesday at the Palace of the Princes of Transylvania in Alba Iulia and at the Museum of Folk Art in Constanta. The martisor is said to be more than a small symbol of spring. It is a sign of hope, love and rebirth, intertwining in its red and white threads a tradition that has crossed centuries. Inscribed in 2017 on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the martisor brings people together, either through the simple gesture of giving or through the stories that accompany it. Acting President Ilie Bolojan sent a message on Wednesday on the occasion of the seventh edition of the "Women in Economy" Gala, in which he stated that a priority for Romania domestically must remain the stability of the economic climate. "The year 2024 was, par excellence, the year of global elections, and the domestic and international dynamics will continue to produce effects. Romania is going through a period marked by unexpected events, which, if improperly managed, can generate negative consequences in the long term. In my capacity as interim president, I convey to you my determination and dedication to keep the country on a pro-European and Euro-Atlantic path. At the same time, let us remember entrepreneurial thinking, which teaches us that any crisis also brings opportunities that can be capitalized on with the right approach. In this context, a priority for Romania domestically must remain the stability of the economic climate, and the successful implementation of projects financed from European funds, along with attracting investments and a constructive dialogue between the private sector and public institutions, remain essential for ensuring the level of economic security that we we all want", says Ilie Bolojan in the message sent by Dragos Anastasiu, honorary advisor to the interim president of Romania for relations with the business milieu - Department of Economic and Social Policies, during the event organized at the Romanian Athenaeum. In the message, the interim president states that female entrepreneurship is not only an economic opportunity, but also a factor of particular importance in the development of a balanced and innovative society. "By assuming the role of leaders in various fields of activity, women contribute, with elegance, to the promotion of sustainable business models. A confirmation of these aspects is the support received from the European Parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which encourages the international dimension of Romanian entrepreneurship and the creation of new possibilities", says Bolojan. He urges reconsideration and reevaluation of the female presence in both the business environment and in leadership positions, whether in the private or public sector. "Recent studies highlight that the presence of women in leadership positions and their involvement in entrepreneurship can bring notable economic benefits, especially in the long term. Companies in which at least 30% of the top management team members are women can record financial performances up to 48% better than those in which women are underrepresented or absent at the management level. Regarding female entrepreneurship in Romania, data shows that approximately 25% of active companies are owned exclusively by women. Although these companies have, on average, lower turnover than those owned by men, companies with 100% women shareholding have an average net profit rate of 15%, almost double that of companies with male shareholding, which is 8.3%. I invite you, therefore, to do the calculations accordingly and encourage the involvement of women at all levels of management. decision", Bolojan points out. He advocates for the involvement of entrepreneurs in general and women entrepreneurs, in particular, in politics. "Too often in politics we see group photos in which women are poorly represented and I am convinced that if we correct this negative report, our country would only have to gain. Romanian politics, and not only, needs the empathy and care specific to women. So I invite you to get involved with the characteristic determination and to stop waiting for men to invite you or make room for you. We are approaching International Women's Day, which celebrates their essential role in any society. I wish you, dear ladies, 'Many Happy Returns!' and I urge you all to recognize this role, which covers every aspect of our lives", says the interim president. Romania has decided to declare personae non gratae on its soil the military, air and naval attache of the Russian Federation in Bucharest, as well as his deputy, for carrying out activities running contrary to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) said on Wednesday. According to MAE, the Russian party on Wednesday was informed about the decision on a summoning to MAE,a at the order of Romania's Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu, of the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest. A new bill introduced in the St. Louis Board of Aldermen seeks to regulate mold in rental housing, aiming to protect tenants from the health risks associated with hazardous mold exposure. The proposed Board Bill Number 223, sponsored by Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, would require inspections, tenant notifications, and remediation measures for rental properties where mold is present. Why Is This Bill Being Proposed? Mold-related health concerns have become a pressing issue in St. Louis and across Missouri, especially as cases of tenants suffering from mold exposure continue to rise. Mold can cause serious respiratory issues, including asthma attacks, allergic reactions, and chronic illnesses, disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color. The bill outlines strict requirements for landlords, preventing them from obtaining a Certificate of Inspection unless their properties are free from mold in quantities deemed hazardous. It also mandates landlords notify tenants within three days of any mold findings and remediate the issue within 30 days. The Building Division would enforce these regulations and could fine landlords up to $500 per day for noncompliance. Mold Lawsuits on the Rise in St. Louis The urgency behind the proposed legislation is underscored by an uptick in mold-related lawsuits in St. Louis. One recent case involves a St. Louis landlord, who was sued after a ceiling collapse in a Dutchtown apartment, allegedly caused by long-term water damage and mold neglect. Another lawsuit highlights construction defects in a major St. Louis multifamily development, where tenants reported mold growth due to faulty ventilation and water intrusion. Such cases have intensified the call for mold regulations, as tenants often have little recourse when dealing with negligent landlords who fail to address hazardous conditions. How Other States Handle Mold Licensing While Missouri has no statewide mold licensing requirements, several other states have enacted strict mold regulations to protect tenants and homeowners: Florida: Requires all mold assessors and remediators to be licensed professionals, ensuring proper training and accountability. Texas: Enforces mandatory mold remediation protocols and requires professionals to be certified by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. New York: Established a Mold Program that requires state-certified mold assessors, remediation contractors, and abatement workers for any project. Missouri currently lags behind these states, leaving tenants vulnerable to unqualified contractors and landlords who ignore hazardous mold conditions. Industry Expert Calls for Mold Licensing in St. Louis Eric Andrews, CEO of Mold Inspection & Testing St. Louis, supports the proposed regulations and believes statewide mold licensing should be the next step: "Mold licensing helps protect consumers and residents of St. Louis by ensuring qualified professionals are offering these services. Without regulation, untrained individuals can misdiagnose mold issues or perform ineffective remediation, putting families at risk." With mounting pressure from tenants, health experts, and industry professionals, the St. Louis Board of Aldermens proposed bill could mark a significant step forward in mold regulation. If passed, it may serve as a model for broader state-level mold licensing laws in Missouri, aligning with industry standards seen in states like Florida, Texas, and New York. This content is provided for informational purposes only by the contributor and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice. Please consult a lawyer for legal advice. Any views, thoughts or opinions in this contributor content belong solely to the contributor and do not represent the views of Lee Enterprises. Lee Enterprises' newsrooms were not involved in the creation of this content. Venerable dance companies Collage Dance Collective and Riverdance are heading to St. Louis this spring, plus local companies will be staging shows. Shen Yun When: 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Saturday March 15-16 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Saturday March 15-16 Where: Stifel Theatre 1400 Market Street Stifel Theatre 1400 Market Street How much: $90-$165 $90-$165 More info: stifeltheatre.com/events/detail/shen-yun-10 Chinese dance troupe Shen Yun takes viewers through 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture in this show that features authentic costumes, traditional dance and music, and innovative painted backdrops. The company recently came under fire when a New York Times article claimed it was violating labor laws. The company says that it is being targeted by the Chinese government. Making Dance When: Noon March 23 Noon March 23 Where: Hope United Church of Christ, 6273 Eichelberger Street Hope United Church of Christ, 6273 Eichelberger Street How much: Free Free More info: leveragedancetheater.squarespace.com/ Leverage Dance Company is known for its site-specific performances. Here, audiences can get a behind-the-scenes peek at the process. The companys second interactive Laboratory for Audiences and Dancers: Making Dance will have the audience make suggestions that the dancers then incorporate into their movement. Also on hand will be Diana Barrios, artistic director for the company, and Sarah McCann, pastor at Hope United, to discuss the process. The ideas from this event will be included in Leverages upcoming concert. Reservations recommended. Collage Dance Collective When: 7:30 p.m. April 5 7:30 p.m. April 5 Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle How much: $45-$70 $45-$70 More info: dancestlouis.org/collage-dance-collective Collage Dance Collective is a Memphis-based dance company focused on ballet and building a troupe of dancers of color. Now, the group is one of the 50 largest ballet companies in the country and is known for its exciting performances. It has performed at the Kennedy Center and toured nationally and internationally. Huffington Post called it a new model for ballets future. Dance St. Louis brings the innovative troupe to St. Louis Feels Like Broadway When: 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday April 26-27 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday April 26-27 Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle How much: $43-$96 $43-$96 More info: stlouisballet.org/ The Great White Way is home to a lot of memorable dancing and choreography. St. Louis Ballet is celebrating that with its latest show Feels Like Broadway. The show includes choreography from 5-time Tony Award winner Jerome Robbins; New York City Ballet founder George Balanchine; and Christopher Wheeldon, who choreographed the impeccably danced MJ. This selection from Wheeldon will be from Carousel though. Balanchine drew inspirations from Gershwin for his Who Cares? and the piece from Robbins is a precursor to his famous West Side Story choreography, but just as jazzy and playful. 'Disruption' When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 & 7 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday May 2-4 8 p.m. Friday, 2 & 7 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday May 2-4 Where: Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive How much: $30 $30 More info: packdance.org/performances Contemporary dance company Pack Dance (formerly Consuming Kinetics Dance Company) will be presenting this concert all about disruption. The choreographers and dancers could explore anything that can disrupt normal systems including politics, the pandemic, pollution, even endocrine disruptors. Then they tell its story through dance. Refractions of Being When: May 2-10; performance times vary May 2-10; performance times vary Where: Hope United Church of Christ, 6273 Eichelberger Street Hope United Church of Christ, 6273 Eichelberger Street How much: TBD TBD More info: leveragedancetheater.squarespace.com/ Leverage Dance Company will host a site-specific performance that incorporates ideas from an earlier interactive laboratory and original choreography from Leverage dancers. Riverdance 30 When: May 2-4; performance times vary May 2-4; performance times vary Where: Fox, 527 North Grand Fox, 527 North Grand How much: $40-$200 $40-$200 More info: fabulousfox.com/events/detail/riverdance Its time to feel old. Riverdance is 30. Not only that, but this show, celebrating that anniversary, features a new generation of performers, all of whom were not born when the show first shuffled and stomped its way into our cultural zeitgeist. It makes sense though, Riverdancing is a young persons game. The highly energetic moves draw on traditional Irish and international folk dance to create a loud, synchronized spectacle of rhythmically flying fleet feet. 17th Annual Spring to Dance When: 6:15 p.m. Q&A with representatives from companies, 6:45 p.m. St. Louis-area dance troupes and companies, 7:30 p.m. mainstage performances May 23-24 6:15 p.m. Q&A with representatives from companies, 6:45 p.m. St. Louis-area dance troupes and companies, 7:30 p.m. mainstage performances May 23-24 Where: Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle How much: $15-$40, four pack is $45-$120 $15-$40, four pack is $45-$120 More info: dancestlouis.org/spring-to-dance-festival-2025 Every spring, Dance St. Louis brings together a dozen dance companies from all over the country to celebrate movement around Memorial Day Weekend. The event turns into a great showcase of dance and dance companies, including St. Louis companies who get the spotlight before the mainstage performances start. This year, enjoy performances from Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Water Street Dance Milwaukee, the DASH Ensemble, Earthen Image Movement, Aerial Dance Chicago, and Diavolo Jennifer Olivas & Omar Olivas, plus many more. A Kansas City ice cream chain is eyeing St. Louis for further expansion this year. Betty Raes Ice Cream plans to open a store in the region this summer, with more on the way, company owner Matt Shatto said. Shatto hopes to establish up to five Betty Raes locations in the region, from St. Charles into St. Louis. So far, the brand has five Kansas City-area locations and one new franchise location in Omaha, Nebraska. Shatto said he isnt worried about competition from St. Louis dessert staples like Ted Drewes, Clementines or Fitz's. We believe theres enough space for everybody, he said. We offer something very different. We try to make ice cream fun. There's a uniqueness about everyone. Betty Raes flavor offerings include lavender honey, gooey butter cake, cereal milk, cinnamon, matcha and more. All flavors are made in-house and with the goal of resonating with kids and families, Shatto said. They also sell homemade waffle cones, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes and ice cream flights. Betty Raes Ice Cream was founded in 2016. Shatto purchased the company in 2023 and is working to expand the brand into cities like Nashville, Denver, Oklahoma City and Wichita. Well go where were wanted, he said. Joe Holleman | Post-Dispatch Political correspondent/columnist Follow Joe Holleman | Post-Dispatch Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The proposed charter change on the April 8 ballot that would give the St. Louis County Council the power to remove department heads will have well-funded opposition, orchestrated by County Executive Sam Page. Last week, Page PAC contributed $100,000 to the Protect Saint Louis Freedom PAC, which made significant contributions to Page in his reelection race in 2022. The issue has been the subject of several court battles instigated by county department heads, who allege that the ballot issue has misleading language. The Missouri appeals court ruled that while the issue may have misleading language, voters can contest the election results and the measure's effect. What's more, politico Bob Fox is keeping the email system busy with solicitations for more donations. In September, Fox contributed $2,500 to the committee, as did his wife, Build-A-Bear founder Maxine Clark. In an email obtained by this bureau, Fox says the Freedom PAC is working to get the opposition's word out about the proposed change. Fox could not be reached for comment. Fox says Page, who has been quite vocal in his opposition to the change, "is determined that County voters get to hear what principles of good government are at risk." In his email, Fox claims the proposed change "would badly erode the checks and balances set by a separation of executive and legislative powers and lead to slower and stupider government." BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OMV Aktiengesellschaft (OMV) have formalized terms for the combination of their shareholdings in Borouge plc and Borealis AG, Trend reports. The partnership includes a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Nova Chemicals Holdings GmbH, owned by Mubadala Investment Company, to acquire Nova Chemicals Corporation, a leading North American polyethylene producer, for $13.4 billion, including debt. The deal, which also includes the integration of Borouge-4, aims to form a new global polyolefins leader valued at over $60 billion. The merger, when finalized, will make the combined company the fourth-largest in polyolefins production capacity globally. This acquisition will expand ADNOCs and OMVs presence in North America, with Novas polyethylene and ethylene capacities of 2.6 million metric tons and 4.2 million metric tons, respectively. Headquartered in Austria with regional hubs in the UAE, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and Singapore, the new entity, Borouge Group International, will be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), pending regulatory approval. ADNOC and OMV will each hold a 46.94% stake, with the remaining shares in free float. The new company, with a combined production capacity of 13.6 million tons per annum, will focus on leveraging innovative technologies, competitive feedstock, and strong market access. It is expected to raise up to $4 billion in primary capital in 2026 to support MSCI index inclusion and maintain a strong credit rating. The merger is also expected to generate significant operational and commercial synergies, unlocking an estimated $500 million in additional EBITDA by 2026. Borouge Group International aims to lead in the circular economy, building on sustainable polyolefin solutions. Both Borealis and Borouge have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and Borouge Group International will continue this sustainability strategy post-merger. The combination is slated to be completed in Q1 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Upon completion, ADNOCs stake in Borouge Group International will transfer to XRG, which will support the companys global chemicals strategy. JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri House approved a mid-year adjustment to the states $50 billion spending plan, adding funds to keep a senior meals program operating and boosting funding for education. On a bipartisan 150-2 vote, the supplement budget proposal of $1.9 billion is smaller than what Gov. Mike Kehoe had recommended in January, primarily because state agencies crunched numbers to narrow the scope of their requests. We got better numbers from some of the departments, said House Budget Chairman Dirk Deaton, R-Noel. Passage of the measure in the House sends the package to the Senate, which is expected to put the legislation on a fast track in order to keep Area Agency on Aging meals programs afloat before money runs out at the end of the month. We need to get these dollars out the door as quickly as possible, said Rep. Betsy Fogle, D-Springfield, the ranking minority member of the budget panel. The package includes money to make sure public schools receive their full allocation under the states foundation formula. Summer food programs would receive $103 million, and the Department of Mental Health would receive funding to eliminate waiting lists for developmental disability and behavioral health services. Also included is $100 million for wastewater treatment plant loans for cities and towns through a program administered by the Department of Natural Resources. The senior meals program was in the crosshairs after the Missouri Area Agencies on Aging said it could run out of money for the months of April, May and June. Each year, the program provides food, rides and other services, including 7.5 million meals to 250,000 individuals around the state. Under the program, a person must be 60 or disabled to receive a free mid-day meal. If a person is not on Medicaid, they are asked for a contribution to help offset costs, but it is not a requirement to receive the service. Action by lawmakers would funnel $14 million to the program. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri taxpayers and businesses could see lower income tax rates under the latest round of tax-cutting plans moving in the state Capitol. Amid outcry that the Republican-backed proposal would disproportionately burden low- and middle-income families, the House gave first-round approval to a phased-in plan to lower income tax rates for both individuals and corporations. The individual tax would drop from its current 4.7% rate to 3.7% over the next 10 years, resulting in an annual loss of revenue for state coffers of more than $148 million, based on preliminary figures. And state revenue would have to grow by $175 million per year in order to trigger the yearly decreases of 1%. The corporate tax also would be reduced a quarter point to 3.75% and the state portion of the capital gains tax would be eliminated, costing another $330 million annually. Democrats caution the reductions would lead to cuts in essential services like schools, roads and public safety. Obviously, this could hurt in other areas. It would undoubtedly hurt our services, said Rep. Kemp Strickler, D-Kansas City. But Republicans have made tax cuts a priority, arguing that lower taxes will boost economic activity and result in more state revenue, rather than less. Were trying to make a more business-friendly environment in Missouri, said House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, R-Bowling Green, who is co-sponsoring the measure. The House could formally vote on the measure later this week, sending it to the Senate, which also is debating a number of significant changes to the states tax system. Theres been a lot of conversation back and forth between the Senate leadership and House leadership, as well as the governor, and everyone has identified that as a priority, Perkins said. When you lower taxes, the economy grows. The legislation endorsed by the House also would require Missouri to have the same standard deductions as the federal government, plus an additional $4,000, which could help low-income Missourians make up for a potential increase in taxes. The legislation is House Bill 798. ST. LOUIS City voters signaled they were open to change in one of the city's most important offices, casting slightly more votes for challenger Donna Baringer than for longtime Comptroller Darlene Green in the city's primary race for her position. Baringer, a former Democratic state representative and longtime alderwoman from the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, had nearly 48% of voters supporting her, or 16,664 votes, according to final unofficial results. Green, who has been St. Louis' comptroller for 30 years, won support of just over 46% of voters, or 16,117. A third candidate, Celeste Metcalf, who has worked as a certified public accountant, had 24% approval, or 8,541. City voters can vote for as many candidates as they like in this round, so the percentages don't add up to 100%. The top two vote winners, Baringer and Green, will face off in the general municipal election on April 8. After the results rolled in Tuesday night and it became clear Baringer would hold an edge in the final month of campaigning, she thanked her supporters and donors. All the hard work and effort, starting in September, going across the entire city of St. Louis, speaking to every neighborhood association, every person, has paid off, Baringer told the Post-Dispatch. I only believe theres two ways to run. Scared and unopposed. And I ran scared, and I ran hard. Green said her campaign had momentum heading into the general election. Im grateful for all the voters who voted for me and who came out for me in the rain, she in a text message. God Bless You! Baringer is the first serious challenger in decades for Green, who has largely faced political newcomers or no opponent at all since she was appointed to the post in 1995. But Green appears to face some of the same anti-incumbent headwinds that Mayor Tishaura O. Jones is facing. Several voters in Tower Grove South, a corner of south city that backed Jones over challenger Cara Spencer by over 15 points in 2021, said this time they were voting for Spencer and Baringer rather than the sitting officeholders. Jackson Hambrick, 32, said Green "has done fine," but he was ready for a change in leadership, noting Baringer's endorsement from the St. Louis Young Democrats. The city's comptroller holds one of three votes, along with the mayor and aldermanic president, on the powerful Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which sets city budgets and must approve all city contracts. The office also runs the city's finance department and internal audit division. Green has pointed to the relative health of the city's finances and improved credit rating as evidence of her fiscal stewardship. She has also avoided major scandals during her 30 years in office. Voter Jerome Stringer, 69, said Green has proven herself an honest politician. In 30 years, she hasnt stolen any money, Stringer, of Tower Grove South, said outside Mann Elementary on Tuesday. Leave well enough alone. But Baringer, who spent the last eight years in the Missouri House before being term limited, has been critical of operational issues in the comptroller's office. She criticized Green's management of the city's finance department, calling it understaffed and overwhelmed, and promised to ensure the city pays its bills on time. Baringer questioned Green's work hours, pointing to Post-Dispatch reporting that the comptroller was often absent from City Hall, which Baringer said was "well known" when she was an alderwoman from 2003 through 2016. That, some former officials have said, has caused delays approving city contracts, which must be signed by the comptroller. Baringer has promised to look at trimming some of the comptroller office's functions, including moving the downtown Amtrak and Greyhound bus station, which the comptroller now oversees, to the city's transportation department. She also pledged to focus on improvements at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport, where the comptroller holds broad sway because of bond financing and her seat on the airport commission. "The comptroller can hold up any development or change at that airport, and unfortunately, when you don't show up for work, when you have shown a pattern of, 'I will stop a development or something in its tracks, because I can,' that's not how you run a city," Baringer said in an interview last month. Metcalf, the accountant, ran on her experience in the private sector and state and local government. She planned to beef up the office's internal auditing division and ensure the city had proper accounting procedures in place to prevent waste and fraud. Green's mailers told voters "Don't Trust Donna" and pointed to issues that largely resonate with Democratic voters, who dominate city politics. Green's campaign pointed to Baringer's 2015 vote at the board of aldermen against a city minimum wage hike and claimed she didn't publicly endorse Amendment 3, which ended Missouri's abortion ban. Green has also distanced herself from Mayor Jones and criticized the administration's handling of a north St. Louis grant program, calling for a do-over. And she argues her opponent doesn't have the same experience guiding the city through lean budget times as she does. "It's not like it's something that you can just pick up and do overnight," Green said in an interview last month. "It takes experience." ST. LOUIS The citys Civil Service Commission has recommended that Mayor Tishaura O. Jones fire Personnel Director Sonya Jenkins-Gray, a step that has never been taken since the 1941 creation of the position and the citys civil service system. The two members of the commission Chairman Steven Barney and commissioner Vincent Flewellen, both Jones appointees voted during a special meeting Tuesday to send their recommendation to the mayors office. This has been a long and arduous process and not a particularly pleasant one, Barney said after he voted. The mayors office did not immediately say when or if she would act on the recommendation; a spokesman said she was currently reviewing it. If Jones accepts it, she would become the first St. Louis mayor to ever fire a personnel director. It was Jones office that initiated the investigation of Jenkins-Gray after it learned she had asked a subordinate to use a city car on July 3 to drive her to Jefferson City where they encountered her husband, who was meeting with his ex-wife. In a 42-page decision, the Civil Service Commission said there was good cause to fire Jenkins-Gray. The Commission finds the Directors further conduct displayed a gross lack of judgment on her part and breached her duty to conduct herself in an appropriate manner as Director, they wrote. Her actions set a troublesome example for City employees and were detrimental to the publics confidence in the Civil Service system and in City government. The mayors move to initiate termination proceedings triggered a never-before-seen public hearing process that aired embarrassing allegations about Jenkins-Grays trip and personal life during hours of testimony from witnesses. While employee disciplinary hearings are usually confidential, the citys charter makes an exception for the personnel director, meant to make it harder for a mayor to fire the director without good cause. The attorney representing the city said Jenkins-Gray lied about the reason for her trip and that she really intended to catch her husband, politically influential clergyman the Rev. Darryl Gray, cheating. The Jefferson City excursion, and a trip that evening to a casino to retrieve items from the car the Rev. Gray had used that day, put her subordinate and driver, Anthony Byrd, in an inappropriate situation, the lawyer argued. And the city presented evidence that Jenkins-Gray sent an email on the day of the Jefferson City trip asking another one of her employees to process a promotion for Byrd, resulting in a raise. Jenkins-Gray maintained that she went to Jefferson City to retrieve personal papers, reimbursed the city for mileage and that Byrds promotion was already in the works. Her lawyer argued Jones move to begin the termination proceedings was really driven by politics Jenkins-Grays refusal to bend civil service rules at the mayors request and her opposition to a city charter change giving the mayor more power over the personnel director. In addition, the Rev. Gray backed Wesley Bell for Congress over a close Jones ally, Cori Bush, and he often criticized the administration from his position on the jail oversight board. The personnel director is one of the most powerful positions in city government, with broad say over hiring, firing and promotional decisions across the citys 4,500-employee bureaucracy. Unlike most department heads, the mayor doesnt get to choose a new one when she takes office, and past directors have served for decades across mayoral administrations. Jones was given the rare chance to hire one when the former director retired. She chose Jenkins-Gray from a list of several candidates in 2022. In a statement, Jenkins-Gray said she and her lawyer had not yet had a chance to review the commissions order but that a recommendation to fire her went against the facts and precedent. We believe that any recommendation to terminate would be wholly unsupported by the record in this case and totally contrary to established law, she said in a statement. ST. LOUIS Alderwoman Cara Spencer took a commanding lead in the race for mayor, tallying in Tuesday's primary more than double the votes of her closest competitor, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. Final unofficial returns showed Spencer winning support from 68% of voters compared to Jones 33%, with just over a month until the two will be on the ballot again in April. Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler and retired businessman Andrew Jones received support from 25% and 14% of voters, respectively, knocking them out of the race. Primary elections for mayor and most city offices use so-called approval voting, in which residents can vote for as many candidates as they like, which is why candidates' percentages add up to more than 100%. The results dovetailed with pre-election polling showing the mayor in dire straits after a grueling term challenged by malfunctioning city services, problems spending federal pandemic aid and public safety concerns that have persisted even as crime rates have dropped. And Tuesday's results offered some validation for Spencer, who lost to Jones four years ago and spent much of this campaign calling out the problems and telling voters that she could do better. "I couldn't even imagine such an enormous margin," Spencer told about 250 people gathered at her watch party in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday night. "This campaign isn't just about potholes and trash," she said. "Those are just the visible reminders that our city isn't working as well as you all deserve it to work." Jones, speaking to reporters at her watch party at a union hall in Midtown, said the election isn't over. Its not over by a long shot, Jones said. We got another 35 days. But Ken Warren, the longtime pollster and St. Louis University professor, was skeptical. Those are very, very poor numbers for Jones, he said. It doesnt look like were going to have anything other than a new mayor, Cara Spencer." The votes tallied Tuesday marked a remarkable reversal from four years ago, when Jones beat Spencer by 4 percentage points. But, over Jones' first term, she has frustrated left-wing supporters with big raises for police officers, teardowns of homeless encampments, and her response to a rash of deaths at the City Justice Center downtown. And basic city services like trash pickup, pothole filling and snow clearing have struggled mightily amid staffing shortages yet to be fixed. Then in January, a snowstorm hit St. Louis, dropping ice, then snow. And the citys efforts to deal with it were so poorly received that Jones publicly apologized. Jones campaigned on the positives, things like a reduction in crime that included a 40% drop in the homicide rate from 2020 to 2024, still-pending investments on the North Side, and big planned developments downtown. But in forums and on the airwaves, Spencer homed in on the problems with city services and concerns about corruption. And on Tuesday, voters responded at the polls. Rachel Ruskin, 40, said she voted for Jones in 2021, and had high hopes. I was looking forward to women, and especially women of color, being in leadership positions, she said. But she was frustrated by problems with snow removal and trash pickup, as well as Jones loyalty to Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who resigned under fire in 2023 after numerous allegations of incompetence and impropriety. "I think she just dropped the ball on so many occasions, Ruskin said. And this time, she voted for Spencer and Butler. Jackson Hambrick, 32, of Tower Grove South, also flipped from Jones to Spencer. He said the January snowstorm response was emblematic of the problems hed seen over the past four years. The lack of urgency from the administration is the big one, he said. And after the polls closed, candidates and their supporters gathered to take in the results. Spencer, whose supporters gathered at the Block Inc. building on Tucker Boulevard, said her campaign attended 100 events in the last 30 days, "knocked on 20,000 doors," and is geared to "sprint to the finish in April." She thanked supporters who "stood behind the message that there is a city at work for you." Across town at the mayor's party at a union hall in Midtown, Jamala Rogers, longtime activist with the Organization for Black Struggle, was taken aback by the results. Im surprised at the gap, she said. Aldermanic President Megan Green, one of the mayors closest allies, was more stoic. She noted that turnout was low much lower than it was in the general election four years ago. And she said she could see a good portion of Butler voters consolidating under Jones in the general election, tightening the race. I dont think all hope is lost, she said. And Virvus Jones, the mayor's father and a former city comptroller, said the same thing as the mayor. In a column published in one of Swedens leading dailies, Svenska Dagbladet, Victor summarizes the drastic and sudden cuts for US science institutions, since the Trump administration and Musk-led Doge advisory body took office. A paradigm shift There is a war on free research in one of the world's largest democracies, he writes. He references the journal Nature, which describes the situation as a paradigm shift. During the first version of Trumps presidency, Republicans in Congress blocked attempts to cut the research budget. Under Trump 2.0, this resistance seems to have completely disappeared. The effects could be devastating, Victor writes and lists a number of examples already taking place: - According to information provided to Science, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has been forced to create systems that flag research projects that include words like diversity, inclusion, women, and race in order to throttle their funding. - As the US aid agency USAID was reduced to nothing, support for research on plant diseases, democracy, and medicine also disappeared. - In climate research, where the US has been an absolute leader, all funding is being reviewed with the risk of closure if it is not in line with the priorities of the new American administration. A concern for all But what is happening is not just an American concern, Victor writes. American investments in research benefit the entire world, thanks to the internationalization and open nature of research. Research on pandemics helps reduce the risk of infection here too. A deeper understanding of climate change allows us to prepare for the effects of the climate crisis on people and security. Victor Galaz concludes that Europe's science academies recently published a statement signed by around 40 (now 67) of their member academies. But much more is needed. Swedish and European academics would be wise to understand the following. Every time populist leaders push reforms under slogans like efficiency and transparency, their tool of choice is not a scalpel, but a wildly swinging wrecking ball. Read more at: https://standupforscience2025.org Upgraded double-V hull Strykers sit at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., on Feb. 27, 2025. The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team is receiving hundreds of upgraded Strykers and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles as part of a modernization effort. (Brad Rhen/Pennsylvania National Guard) The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Pennsylvania has started receiving more than 600 upgraded or new vehicles, of which about half are Strykers and half are Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, according to a Pennsylvania National Guard news release. The 324 upgraded Strykers that the 56th SBCT is set to receive have a double-V hull, in contrast with the brigades legacy flat-bottom-hull versions, the release said. The JLTVs are replacing the brigades Humvees. Commander the 56th SBCT Col. Christopher Costello said that the change to the Strykers reflects vulnerabilities that were shown in the legacy design in Iraq and Afghanistan, namely that the upgraded hull deflects explosive force away from soldiers inside the vehicle. Soldiers often walked away from IED attacks on double-V hull vehicles or returned to duty quickly, a stark improvement over flat-bottom hull performance where casualties were higher, Costello said. He also said that the JLTVs have several upgrades and fewer of the limitations seen in Humvees. JLTVs were developed to replace Humvees, although they have also come under criticism for reliability and maintenance issues. Nearly a fifth of the vehicles, 90 JLTVs and 25 Strykers, had arrived by Wednesday, said Brad Rhen, deputy state public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard. The Strykers and JLTVs are likely headed to the Fort Indiantown Gap area first, Rhen said via email, and from there some will be dispersed to other units. The vehicles are arriving as part of a plan to modernize the 56th SBCT, which is one of four brigades in the 28th Infantry Division and one of the U.S. Armys nine Stryker brigades. It counts about 4,400 soldiers and is headquartered at Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pa. Several hundred of the brigades soldiers are deployed to Africa and Germany. Prosecutors, not police, decide formal charges under the Japanese justice system. (Vecteezy) Japanese police are holding a Marine in custody in Iwakuni city on allegations he stole a car, drove drunk and crashed it before intruding into a mans home last month. The Marine, assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, has been in city police custody since the incident Feb. 11, but was re-arrested Tuesday following further investigation, a spokesman with the Iwakuni Police Station said by phone Wednesday. Re-arresting a suspect allows Japanese police to reset a 20-day limit on custody. Police forwarded their cases against the Marine to local prosecutors on Feb. 12 and again Wednesday, according to the spokesman. Stars and Stripes is choosing not to identify the Marine until charges are filed. The Marine was first taken into custody at 12:26 a.m. Feb. 11 on suspicion that he had intruded into the apartment of a 63-year-old man, a spokesman with Yamaguchi Prefectural Police said by phone Wednesday. Further investigation found that minutes earlier the Marine stole a car left running in a convenience store parking lot, drove it an unspecified distance and crashed into a utility pole, the Iwakuni police spokesman said. The owner, a 20-year-old woman, told police a drunken foreigner took her car, the spokesman said. We are aware of the incident and are fully cooperating with local authorities, who hold primary jurisdiction of this case, in their investigation, MCAS Iwakuni spokesman Maj. Gerard Farao told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously. He declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation. After the crash the Marine walked about 60 feet to an apartment building and entered an apartment through the front door, according to Iwakuni police. He set off a fire extinguisher but did no further damage, according to the Iwakuni spokesman. The resident was not home at the time. Police were responding to the crash when a family member ran from the apartment and reported the Marine had intruded, the spokesman said. Police arrested the Marine at the apartment door. The Marines blood-alcohol content was above Japans legal limit of 0.03%, the spokesman said, but he declined to provide an exact number. The legal limit in all 50 U.S. states is 0.08%. Some Japanese officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity. Stars and Stripes reporter Jonathan Snyder contributed to this report. Marine Col. Jason Berg, left, commander of Combat Logistics Regiment 3, and Col. Scott D. Welborn, commander of Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, and survey the supply ship Resolution at Numazu Beach, Japan, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) This story has been corrected NUMAZU BEACH, Japan A trial by the Marine Corps of an experimental landing ship ended recently with the vessel failing to offload equipment at this coastal training area southwest of Tokyo and heading back to port. The 254-foot Resolution, a converted offshore supply vessel with over 6,000 square feet of deck, spent the morning of Feb. 27 just off Numazu Beach, a 1,000-foot-wide swathe of coast designated for U.S. military training on Suruga Bay in Shizuoka prefecture. The vessel appeared to deploy stabilizing pylons while Marines ashore waited for the ship to drop a large ramp and offload tactical vehicles, tents and gear for an exercise at the nearby Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji. The bay was relatively calm as the Resolution eventually headed out to sea and north to Yokohama to offload its cargo. Marines from Combat Logistics Regiment 3, the unit involved in the exercise, were in the field Tuesday and had yet to respond to queries about the landing attempt, Song Jordan, a Camp Fuji spokeswoman, said by email that day. The Marines had loaded their vehicles and gear at Naha Military Port, Okinawa, two weeks earlier, regimental commander Col. Jason Berg told Stars and Stripes at Numazu. Marines of Combat Logistics Regiment 3 expected to off-load vehicles and equipment from the Resolution onto Numazu Beach, Japan, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) The Marines were bound for Camp Fuji for two weeks of full-spectrum combat logistics training. This is the first time we have moved gear like this, he said of the stern landing effort, which involved the vessel backing up to the beach in the attempt to offload cargo. In March 2022, landing craft launched from the dock landing ship USS Ashland and dropped off Marines and vehicles at Numazu Beach during training. The training area there is set aside for ship-to-shore drills and serves as a helicopter landing zone, Camp Fuji commander Col. Scott Welborn said at the beach. The Resolution went through a series of trials last year in the Del Mar Boat Basin at Camp Pendleton, Calif., as part of Navy efforts to design a new type of landing ship, USNI News reported Feb. 26, 2024. The vessel is a prototype for a future medium landing ship, Cathy Close, a Marine Corps Systems Command spokeswoman told reporters at the time, according to the report. Capt. Shane Marchesi, right, listens during a ceremony where he took command of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 4, 2025. (X/USS Dwight D. Eisenhower) NAPLES, Italy A Navy fighter pilot with more than two decades of service is the new commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Capt. Shane Marchesi took command Tuesday, Navy messages on Facebook and X the same day said. He takes over from Capt. Chris Hill, who was named interim commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman last month. Trumans former commanding officer, Capt. Dave Snowden, was fired following a Feb. 12 collision between the carrier and a cargo ship near the Suez Canal. Truman this week was in the Red Sea along with the cruiser USS Gettysburg and the destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham, USNI News reported Monday. The Navy didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday about Eisenhowers change of command. Marchesi served as executive officer of Truman from April 2021 to May 2023. His most recent role was as commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio, a position he held until June 2024, according to his LinkedIn biography. A 1998 graduate of the Naval Academy, he was designated a pilot in 2000. He is a former executive officer and commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 87, serving in the latter role until March 2018. He deployed in 2001 in support of the war in Afghanistan and two years later supported Operation Iraqi Freedom. Capt. Shane Marchesi, left, shakes hands with Rear Adm. Kavon Hakimzadeh, commander of Carrier Strike Group 2, after taking command of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 4, 2025. (X/USS Dwight D. Eisenhower) Capt. Chris Hill, the former commander of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, was named interim commanding officer of USS Harry S. Truman in February. (U.S. Navy) On Tuesday, an Eisenhower social media post thanked Hill for his nearly two years of service at the carriers helm. Capt. Hills leadership fostered a strong sense of morale and unity, ensuring the IKE crew always came first, the post stated. His impact on this ship and its sailors will be felt long after his departure. Hill assumed command of Eisenhower in March 2023, according to the Navy. Months later, it was defending against attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi militants. Officials aboard the carrier told Stars and Stripes last year that Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group sailors were under fire at levels not seen since World War II. The ship returned to its homeport in Norfolk, Va., in July after a nine-month deployment. In January, the Navy announced that Eisenhower had arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a planned maintenance, including comprehensive work to the carriers propulsion system, combat systems and aviation support capabilities. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. The Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Marat Karabaev, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Kazakhstan, Janne Heiskanen discussed strengthening of cooperation in the transport sector, Trend reports. In the course of the negotiations, special attention was given to issues related to the decarbonization of transport and the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies. The parties expressed mutual interest in developing sustainable transport infrastructure. Furthermore, the ambassador announced an upcoming visit by a Finnish business delegation to Aktau, where a visit to the ports of Aktau and Kuryk is planned. The purpose of the visit is to explore the region's logistics potential and seek opportunities for further cooperation in maritime transportation. Following the meeting, both sides confirmed their readiness to strengthen the partnership and continue the constructive dialogue on key transport development issues. Kazakhstan and Finland are members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The Embassy of Kazakhstan has been operating in Helsinki since March 2012, and the Embassy of Finland has been in Astana since March 3, 2010. Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 place concrete for an airfield damage repair exercise on Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Miss., on Jan. 28, 2025. (Andrew Waters/U.S. Navy) When a construction job needs to be done, the Navy can always turn to the Seabees. Since March 5, 1942, anyway. The Seabees, known for their expertise in naval construction and engineering, were created 83 years ago Wednesday by Adm. Ben Moreell, chief of the Navys Bureau of Yards and Docks and chiefs of the Civil Engineer Corps. Since WWII, under the toughest conditions imaginable danger, harsh terrain, and extreme weather Seabees have proven to be essential to the most decisive needs of the fight, Naval Base Ventura County (Calif.) Command Master Chief Kristi Thrift said in a service news release. During World War II, the Seabees built over 400 advance bases, 111 major airfields, 441 piers, 2,558 ordnance magazines, hospitals to serve 70,000 patients and housing for 1.5 million service members. Nearly 325,00 Seabees joined, serving on four continents, 300 islands, and suffering more than 300 combat deaths, while earning more than 2,000 Purple Hearts. Seabees provide the Navy an unconventional asset found nowhere else in the U.S. military. They dedicate their highly specialized trade skills and military prowess to protect the nation and are consistently involved in public works projects, disaster recovery initiatives and humanitarian efforts, even in times of peace. Every enlisted Seabee starts their career after boot camp by attending construction A schools managed by the Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering (CSFE), where they learn the essential skills and knowledge to support their career growth and fleet readiness. Seabees are trained as builders, construction electricians, construction mechanics, engineering aids, equipment operators, steelworkers and utilities specialists at schoolhouses in California, Mississippi, Texas and Missouri. U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme is the home of the Seabees. The Seabees name comes from the pronunciation of C.B. for construction battalions. This inspired the Seabee logo which depicts a buzzing bee holding construction tools and a rifle. The Point Fermin Lighthouse was the first navigational light used in the Los Angeles harbor. This Victorian landmark has been visible from the sea below for 150 years, since it was built in 1874, although its lamp hasnt been lit since the end of World War II. (Mrsanpedro, Dreamstime/TNS) ANAHEIM, Calif. Lighthouses can capture peoples imaginations like few other buildings do, perhaps because they bring to mind images of lonely lightkeepers, rocky cliffs, crashing waves and lamps piercing the darkness during a storm. And that may be why its surprising that so few people know about the Point Fermin Lighthouse, on an especially picturesque point in San Pedro, near Los Angeles Harbor. This Victorian landmark has been visible from the sea below for 150 years, although its lamp hasnt been lit since the end of World War II. The city of Los Angeles, which owns the lighthouse and surrounding scenic park, offers tours to visitors, showing how the lighthouse worked and teaching about the generations of families who lived there while they took care of the light. Even better, the tours are free. You can make an advance reservation, or show up and hope they have room for you. The building is small and the stairs are tight, so only a limited number of guests are accepted at a time. The lighthouse is furnished to show visitors what it would have looked like during its heyday, although none of the furniture is original to the site. Lighthouse keepers were expected to bring their own furniture, and took it with them when they left. Construction began after prominent businessman Phineas Banning persuaded the government to build a navigational aid to help sailors find the growing Los Angeles harbor. On Dec. 15, 1874, its oil lantern with a Fresnel lens was lit for the first time. The building, with two floors of living space and the lantern tower, was designed by Paul J. Pelz, who between 1873 and 1874 built six lighthouses of the same design, including one in San Francisco. The Victorian structure had porches and trim, called the Stick style, less ornate than the more familiar Queen Anne. It was built mostly of redwood, with some fir and mahogany. The people who ran the lighthouse were federal employees called lighthouse keepers. They even had spiffy blue uniforms with brass buttons that the men were required to wear, but the women were not. There is an example of the uniforms on-site that todays visitors can try on. Lighthouse keepers lived in the building with their families, and it required two keepers to run it, over two shifts per day. The first lighthouse keepers were women. Mary and Ella Smith were sisters and came from a lighthouse family. They lived on the then-isolated point overlooking the Pacific Ocean for eight years. There were differing accounts of why they left. One version says they grew tired of living so far from town. It was 14 miles round-trip to Wilmington in a horse and buggy an all-day excursion. The other version is that one sister got married and the other was driven out by the man who replaced her, who hectored officials about having a female there until she finally left. Altogether, three families lived in the house and kept the light going, including the Austin family of eight children. The house had no running water until 1910, and it used a cistern system to collect rare rainwater. After 1925, the city of Los Angeles ran the lighthouse until 1941. On Dec. 7, 1941, the lighthouse went dark along with the rest of the coast, to avoid drawing Japanese aircraft fire. The light was never lit again. The military took over the building for military operations, as a signal and lookout tower for ships coming into the harbor. The lens and lantern room atop the tower were removed. It was turned back over to the city of Los Angeles after the war, and was occupied by city staff. Happily, the building was restored to its former glory for its 100th anniversary in 1974, and its been open to the public since 2003. The interior is open only during public tours, conducted by docents. At this writing, tours are conducted six days per week, at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations are not required. The building is closed on Mondays, holidays and for special events. Its located in Point Fermin Park in San Pedro. The park has picnic tables and beautiful ocean views. There are two steep flights of stairs to get up to the tower, however people with limited mobility can see the ground floor if they can manage a short flight up to the porch. There are public restrooms at the site. If you go Point Fermin Lighthouse Historic Site and Museum 807 Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro, Calif. For more information, call 310-241-0684. People praying at Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2018. (Chainwit/Wikimedia Commons) KORAT, Thailand The U.S. Embassy in Thailand this week advised U.S. citizens to exercise increased caution and vigilance following Thailands recent deportation of asylum-seekers to China. The Thai government on Feb. 27 deported at least 40 Uyghur asylees back to China, prompting a reminder from the embassy that a similar deportation in 2015 was followed by a terrorist attack in Bangkok. That attack involved improvised explosive devices detonated at the Erawan Shrine, killing 20 people and injuring 125 others, according to an embassy alert Tuesday to military personnel in Thailand. Two Chinese Uyghurs accused of the attack are still on trial in Thailand after long delays; a third defendant, a Thai woman, was acquitted in November, according to The Associated Press. Approximately 3,200 U.S. troops are in Thailand for Cobra Gold, an annual exercise that this year drew another 4,800 troops from 30 countries, including limited participation by China. U.S. citizens are urged to review security plans, follow local authorities instructions and exercise increased vigilance, especially in crowded tourist locations, according to the embassy alert. The military exercise is thus far unaffected by the alert or deportation, Capt. Jennifer Messina, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army 7th Infantry Divisions Combined Joint Information Bureau, told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday. All scheduled Cobra Gold activities and events continued as planned, she said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned in the strongest possible terms Thailands decision to deport the Uyghurs, members of a primarily Muslim ethnic minority in China, according to a Feb. 27 statement. Uyghurs in China lack due process rights and have faced persecution, forced labor, and torture, Rubio said. China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed genocide and crimes against humanity targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang, he said. Thai authorities detained more than 300 Uyghurs fleeing China in 2014 and have since deported at least 109 to China and another 173 to Turkey. Of the 53 remaining, three adults and two children have died in detention, the AP reported Feb. 28. German soldiers use the squeeze method of nonverbal communication during an exercise at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Feb. 13, 2025. Germany's Christian Democratic Union party is calling for the reinstatement of compulsory military service. (Carlos Marquez/U.S. Army) STUTTGART, Germany Compulsory military service should be reintroduced this year in Germany, a leading official of the party that won recent federal elections said this week amid growing questions about the reliability of U.S. defense commitments. The first conscripts will have to walk through the barracks gates in 2025, Florian Hahn, a defense policy spokesman for the center-right Christian Democratic Union, told the German newspaper Bild on Tuesday. Germany suspended military conscription in 2011, but the CDU and its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union, say the current security situation makes the status quo no longer tenable. We cannot stand by and watch as the world around us becomes more unsafe, Hahn said. Reinstatement of obligatory military service has also been advocated by CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who is expected to become Germanys next chancellor. Merz said Europe must prepare for the possibility that the United States can no longer be counted on to ensure the security of the Continent. My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA, Merz said shortly after his partys victory. However, its unclear how the debate over mandatory military service will play out as Germanys next coalition government takes shape. The center-left Social Democratic Party also has sought to enlarge the German armed forces, but its call for a return of compulsory military service has been less clear-cut. Meanwhile, Andre Wustner, the chairman of the German Armed Forces Association, which represents volunteer reservists, said some form of a draft should begin immediately. Without some kind of new conscription, we will not be able to recruit and retain the personnel we need, he said Tuesday on Welt-TV. The push for a return to mandatory military service is the latest sign of Germanys efforts to strengthen its defenses. On Tuesday, the CDU and prospective partners in the next government said they will try to loosen budget deficit rules to allow for significantly higher defense spending. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the People's Bank of China discussed the development of digital payment infrastructure during a meeting of the Subcommittee on Financial Cooperation in Astana, Trend reports. The meeting of the subcommittee on financial cooperation of the Kazakhstan-China Cooperation Committee took place in Astana, Kazakhstan. Representatives of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Central Securities Depository, the "Baiterek" Holding Group, the Astana International Financial Center, and the Kazakhstan Association of Financiers participated in the meeting. The Chinese delegation was represented by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the Chinese Currency Trading System, the China Development Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of China. The co-chairs of the subcommittee were Mrs. Aliya Moldabekova, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, and Lou Lei, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China. The meeting also included representatives from second-tier banks, financial organizations, and government agencies from both countries. The parties noted the positive dynamics of mutual settlements in national currencies, reviewed the activities of the "Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Almaty" as a clearing bank for Yuan transactions in Kazakhstan, and discussed other issues of financial cooperation between the two countries. The participants agreed to continue cooperation in the areas of payment infrastructure development, central bank digital currencies, as well as trade and project financing. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China reached $43.8 billion in 2024. The year 2024 became a significant stage in the development of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China, with a focus on economic cooperation, infrastructure projects, and cultural exchange. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel An MQ-9 Reaper lifts off from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., Feb. 8, 2025. U.S. Central Command confirmed that it lost contact with a Reaper over the Red Sea on March 3, 2025, the same day Houthi militants in Yemen said they had shot one down. (Victoria Nuzzi/U.S. Air Force) A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone disappeared over the Red Sea the same day Houthi militants in Yemen claimed to have shot one down, according to a defense official with knowledge of the operation. U.S. Central Command lost contact with the drone Monday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The day given by the official coincides with the one in an X post by the Houthis that they had downed a Reaper in a coastal region of Yemen using a surface-to-air missile. Its unclear whether the Houthis were responsible for the loss of the drone. If true, then this is the latest example of the increased reckless actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis that pose a risk to regional stability, the defense official told Stars and Stripes in an email. News of the drones disappearance comes just as the U.S. reinstated its designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group. The Houthis have launched hundreds of strikes at commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. In response to the Houthis actions, the U.S. has carried out regular strikes against the group. The most recent, in early January, took out an underground weapons storage site. The U.S. has lost 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones to the Houthis since the start of the war in Gaza, the defense official said. The aircraft, which cost about $30 million apiece, are primarily used to gather intelligence but can also perform precision strikes. Houthi activity in the Red Sea and nearby waters has significantly slowed since Israel and Hamas agreed to a tentative ceasefire in January. Air Force Gen. Randall Reed, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, left, fist bumps Doug Hall, the chief of legislative affairs for TRANSCOM, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, before Reed testifies at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON The general who leads U.S. Transportation Command said Wednesday that he expects the military to continue to deport illegal migrants using military aircraft though such flights have not occurred in two days. Air Force Gen. Randall Reed told a subpanel of the Senate Armed Services Committee that his command is ready to resume such transports if Northern Command orders them as part of a mass deportation effort by the Department of Homeland Security. If I get the task, Ill absolutely fly it, Reed said, adding he believes he is to expect maybe more flights. Reeds testimony came amid news reports that President Donald Trumps administration is suspending the use of military aircraft to fly migrants to their home countries or Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because it has proven expensive and inefficient. Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns for weeks about the cost of flying C-17s and C-130s military aircraft designed to transport troops and cargo to move migrants to destinations such as Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama and India. The C-17 costs an estimated $28,000 per flight hour for a single deportation compared with $8,577 per flight hour for civilian aircraft alternatives that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has typically used. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaks Wednesday, March 5, 2025, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with U.S. Transportation Command. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Wednesday that the military has operated at least three deportation flights to India at a cost of more than $2.5 million each. One of them required a refueling tanker to fly from New Jersey to Hawaii only to return the next day, she said. The use of C-17s and C-130s to transport some 5,000 migrants at three times the cost of [Department of Homeland Security]-chartered flights, and the [Defense Department] electing to do so on a non-reimbursable basis is not only inefficient but also detracts from our core military mission, she said. Reed said TRANSCOM does not make the decision to use its assets for deportation flights and told Hirono that he would notify the committee if his command is asked to transport more migrants. Reed also confirmed to Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., that Air Force personnel on deportation flights have not been wearing name tags or unit symbols. He declined to provide additional details in public and said he would brief senators on the matter in private. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks March 4, 2025, during a congressional hearing in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a resolution Tuesday demanding the immediate reinstatement of the 6,000 veterans fired from federal government jobs in a sweeping workforce reduction, including at the Department of Veterans Affairs. But Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., quickly stood to object to the resolution after Blumenthal called for passage by unanimous consent. His objection effectively ended the resolutions adoption. Moran is chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Blumenthal is a member of the same committee. Blumenthal pledged to continue to fight for the restoration of veterans jobs. He was joined by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., when he introduced the resolution. But Moran said it would divide members of Congress, as Republicans have pledged to carry out President Donald Trumps directive to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Nearly one-third of federal civilian workers are veterans. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, speaks Jan. 28, 2025, during a committee meeting. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) I commit to all my colleagues to work with them to make VA retain an effective workforce, but we will only achieve that by working together and with the Department of Veterans Affairs for desired outcomes, Moran said. Blumenthal pledged to work with Republican senators on a bipartisan agreement and bring veterans back to their jobs. I think that is fundamental to the effort today, he said. Blumenthal mentioned recent firings, including the pregnant wife of a veteran and a veteran on probation in his civilian government job after serving in the Marine Corps for 25 years. Even if this resolution fails, veterans will know we tried, Whitehouse said. Whitehouse said he learned about the firing of a veterans crisis line worker in Rhode Island who was then contacted for rehiring. But the worker has yet to be called back to work, he said. The Trump administration has vowed not to end jobs that are deemed critical. Crisis line workers field calls from veterans in distress, including some who are suicidal. This is not easy work. But with all the scrambling at the VA, they still do not have a return-to-work date for the improper firing, Whitehouse said. It is administrative malpractice. It is stupid and it is wrong. He blamed Elon Musk, who serves as a Trump adviser, for mishandling workforce reductions by running around fast and breaking things, like Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat in the Hat. Thousands of workers new to their jobs and on probation have been targeted in the cuts. Probationary workers have fewer employment protections than workers more seasoned in their jobs. Whitehouse used the term muskrats to describe the young tech workers who Musk brought in to identify probationary workers and facilitate the firings. Keep those little muskrats out of Rhode Island and away from our veterans, he said. Peters, a former lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve, said veterans represent a talent source for the federal workforce. Employing our nations veterans is not just a responsibility, it is a smart business decision. Workers are devastated about why the administration has turned their backs on them like this, he said. Peters mentioned the situation of a VA worker with 30 years working in federal government who was swept up in the firings after being promoted to supervisor. He was still on probation in his new role. He has never received less than an excellent performance review, Peters said. In another case, an Air Force veterans probationary period was days away from ending when he was fired from a VA job in Michigan. These cuts are cruel. Our country will not be better off, Peters said. Kelly said the layoffs will affect government services, including at the VA, no matter what the administration says. Firing thousands will do nothing to speed up veterans health care. It will make accessing care more difficult, he said. On social media, Kelly posted Blumenthal just tried to get VA staff who serve veterans rehired after Donald Trump and Elon Musk fired thousands of them without cause. Senate Republicans blocked it. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Water supply networks are set to get a facelift and stretch their legs in various corners of Azerbaijan, with an eye on opening the floodgates for certain villages, Trend reports. The Regional Irrigation Service, operating under the State Agency for Water Resources of Azerbaijan (SAWR), has initiated the required efforts for the project. The project parameters will include the augmentation of the existing hydrological distribution framework alongside the deployment of volumetric measurement devices. The scope of these initiatives encompasses 39 villages across 18 distinct districts within the geographical confines of Azerbaijan. The entity has officially disseminated a request for proposals regarding the acquisition of polyethylene piping solutions. The State Service projects that the aggregate expenditure for these undertakings will total approximately 895,500 manat ($526,758). Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The bank has agreed to pay 275,000 to the woman and 75,000 to her partner to settle their claims, and to pay most of their legal costs. Bank of Ireland is to pay 350,000 to settle a lawsuit in which it was claimed it released a woman's confidential banking data to her estranged father, who then allegedly used it to track her down abroad, stalk and harass her. The High Court was informed of the settlement, which was made without admission of liability, at a hearing today. The bank has agreed to pay 275,000 to the woman and 75,000 to her partner to settle their claims, and to pay most of their legal costs. In the proceedings it was alleged the woman's data was disclosed at a time she was trying to escape from "an abusive and manipulative and damaging relationship" with her father. It was claimed her father obtained a transaction history report from someone in the bank, which allowed him to track her down because it provided the location of ATM transactions she made in Spain and England. In the lawsuit, she claimed he traced her to a hotel in Bristol, England, where she and her partner were staying during 2017. It was claimed the father was accompanied at the hotel by the woman's estranged mother, whom she alleges sexually abused her as a child. The court heard the mother and father were served with police information notices in respect of harassment following the incident. While Bank of Ireland made no admission of liability in court, a senior bank official wrote to the woman to acknowledge her information had been provided to a third party and that the bank had "fallen short of the standards" she should have been able to rely on. An internal investigation determined the transaction history report could have been printed off at only one of two locations, a branch in Ballymahon, Co Longford, or the Bank of Ireland Operations Centre in Dublin. It was not possible to determine who printed the report. The woman and her partner sued Bank of Ireland Group Plc, her father and her fathers business in 2020. Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty was informed of the settlement by the womans counsel, John ODonnell SC, who appeared with Ben Clarke BL, instructed by solicitor Kathrin Coleman of Coleman Legal LLP. Mr ODonnell said there had been an unhappy and traumatic prior relationship between the woman and her father. He said the father had been provided access to her banking details and this had allowed him to watch, beset and harass her. This caused very considerable difficulties for the woman, including psychological trauma, he said. Mr ODonnell told the court that while the bank had filed a defence putting everything in issue, in open correspondence it had acknowledged and apologised for its conduct. The court heard that in addition to the settlement, the woman and her partner are to recover their legal costs up to October 9, 2023. No costs orders will be made in relation to subsequent motions in the case. Mr ODonnell said his clients had taken the view they could not recovery any more by way of damages from the other defendants the womans father and his company than they would recover from the bank. He said the case against those defendants could be simply struck out with no order as to costs and with all previous costs orders being vacated. The court heard the final orders sought were being consented to by Bank of Ireland and the fathers company. In a legal filing, the woman said her father had not been part of her life whatsoever prior to her 30th birthday. She said she contacted him in 2015 to try to establish a relationship and later became an employee of his company. However, she said she left a year later due to what she alleged was "consistent and increasingly inappropriate, manipulative and paranoid behaviour" by him. She alleged her father continued to harass her with unsolicited emails after she and her partner moved to Spain. It was further alleged she received unsolicited emails from her estranged mother, who she claimed transferred money to her bank account. According to the woman, this happened even though she never provided her mother with her bank details. An email from the father in March 2017 is alleged to have referred to where the woman had been staying in Spain and England, and that he would be at each location at some point in the following fortnight. A defence provided by the father denied he had illegally gained access to any bank account information. He also claimed his daughter had made false statements about him to gardai. The father claimed to have been made aware of the locations of his daughter and her partner by a person known to them. He said he had also engaged a private investigator to help locate them because they had IP property belonging to him and he intended to issue legal proceedings if it was not returned. The father admitted going to the hotel in Bristol with the womans mother to leave a card and flowers for her birthday at the hotel reception with a note to meet for coffee. He said his daughter and her partner contacted police to report an attempted kidnapping and that he was stopped near the hotel by armed police, but released on the spot with a mandatory warning. His 34-year-old partner, Rebecca Moylan, who has the same address, admitted stealing prescriptions from a hospital and unlawfully using them in pharmacies in Mullingar A medical doctor suffering from drug addiction has pleaded guilty to forgery, stealing prescriptions from two major hospitals and using them in pharmacies around the midlands over a three-year period. Daniel Nevin, 39, of Greenpark Meadows, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty today at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court to ten counts on an indictment for offences of theft, forgery and using false instruments, committed from 2021 until 2024. His 34-year-old partner, Rebecca Moylan, who has the same address, admitted stealing prescriptions from a hospital and unlawfully using them in pharmacies in Mullingar. Sentencing was adjourned pending reports on his efforts to tackle his addiction to prescription drugs. Daniel Nevin was remanded on bail to reappear at a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court in July. Among the doctor's charges were two thefts of prescriptions from University Hospital Galway between July 2021 and July 2023 and the Midlands Regional General Hospital Mullingar from July 10, 2023, until February 18, 2024. The remaining charges Nevin admitted included three counts of using false prescriptions in pharmacies in Kells, Co Meath, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath and Tullamore, Co. Offaly on various dates. There were also five counts of forging prescriptions. He was initially sent forward for trial on 49 charges in the book of evidence, but guilty pleas were entered to ten on a full facts basis. Colm Smyth SC, defending, said Nevin was a young medical doctor who had suffered from addiction to prescription drugs since 2019. Mr Smyth said Nevin was referred to the medical council at that time, and it was supportive. But he relapsed, and that led to the offences before the court. He has been engaging with a GP, another doctor who is a rehabilitation specialist, and a psychiatrist about other trauma issues. Nevin has been involved in a weaning process from drugs and has been providing monthly urine analysis, the court heard. Mr Smyth asked that sentencing be delayed so that various reports would be available, and by that stage, Nevin would have been providing urine analysis for a year. Judge Keenan Johnson remanded him on continuing bail pending sentence to appear again in July along with his fiancee. Rebecca Moylan admitted theft of prescriptions from St Jamess Hospital in Dublin from September 1, 2023, until November of that year. She also owned up to using false prescriptions in three pharmacies. The defence told Judge Johnson that she used the prescriptions to assist someone who was in chronic pain. They spoke only to confirm their pleas. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was found guilty of the attacks after a month-long trial at Inner London Crown Court A Chinese PhD student, who once studied at Queens University Belfast, has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was found guilty of the attacks after a month-long trial at Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted on Wednesday of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced. He filmed nine of the attacks as "souvenirs", and kept a trophy box of women's belongings, jurors in his trial were told. The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. A persistent sexual predator has been found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women before covertly filming them in a string of sex attacks. Zhenhao Zou, 27, had presented himself as a smart and charming young man, but had in fact been preying on vulnerable women, often while they were semi-unconscious, and keeping the twisted videos as souvenirs. The student, who moved to Belfast in 2017 to study at Queens University before moving to London in 2019 to do a masters degree and then a PhD at UCL, denied all 35 of the charges. He has been convicted of raping three of the women between September 2019 and May 2023, while he was studying in London, while the other seven victims were assaulted in China. Only two of the victims shown in his videos have been identified by the police, while the others remain unidentified. He first came to the attention of the Met Police in May 2023, when one of the identified women claimed that he had raped her after not allowing her to leave his flat in Elephant and Castle, south-east London. She did not pursue the allegation at that point but later, in February 2024, investigators found a social media post in which the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave her account of what had happened. When contacted by detectives, the alleged victim told them that on 18 May 2023 Zou invited her to his friends flat for a drink, and then back to his apartment. They were drinking wine together but she began to find him odd and boring and wanted to leave, but he would not let her go, the court heard. She said she was crying on the floor, and when she tried to run away he dragged her back by her clothes, before pushing her to drink a big glass of vodka and then raping her while she was unconscious. Police found video footage of the alleged attack and graphic photographs of the alleged victim in Zous possession upon his arrest. The second victim who has been identified by police, got in contact with the first woman in response to social media posts she had made on LittleRedBook and WeChat giving her account of what had happened. She had consensual sex with Zou on one occasion in September 2021 then, the following month after a dinner with friends, she found herself alone with him in the street in Chinatown and remembers vomiting. Her next memory is Zou allegedly raping her at his flat. She told police that she had asked him to stop before she lost consciousness. It is claimed that Zou had video recordings of him raping a number of other women while they were unconscious and unable to consent. Footage shows two of them telling him to stop as they struggle to stay awake, it is claimed, with the student telling one of them: The sound insulation here is very good. In text message exchanges between him and the first identified victim in the days after the rape, she told him you are so disgusting and you should feel guilty for what you did. Giving evidence, Zou told jurors that his favourite pornography involved sleeping women, and that he watched specialist timestop more than any other genres. Asked by his lawyer Mark Cotter KC why that particular genre appealed to him, Zou said: I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex. Mr Cotter then asked Zou: What about being asleep? The student replied: Yes, thats my favourite type. But I could not find that. He also said that he came into contact with cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ketamine from parties and going to nightclubs in London, and that he had bought xanax after meeting a drug dealer at a party because he suffered from insomnia. Zou said he was born in Guangdong Province in China to a father who works in a state-owned enterprise and a mother who works as a teacher. Between March 2020 and July 2021 he returned to China due to the Covid pandemic, and said he was online for a lot of time during the pandemic, adding sometimes, a whole day. Zou said he had undertaken cosmetic operations in China including a hair transplant and operations on his eyelids, adding that he often wore makeup. He denied 11 counts of rape as well as three counts of voyeurism, 12 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and eight of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply. Bryce Pounder appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court A former soldier faced a court yesterdayto deny possessing explosives, a handgun and an assortment of ammunition allegedly linked to East Belfast UVF. Bryce Pounder appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court charged with three offences. The 36-year-old, of Baker Street off the Newtownards Road, pleaded not guilty to possessing explosives, namely a pipe bomb in suspicious circumstances. He also denied possessing a blank calibre pistol designed to resemble a Beretta handgun, an 8mm blank calibre magazine and nine blank cartridges, in circumstances which gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that your possession was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation, or instigation of an act of terrorism. Pounder also pleaded not guilty to possessing a sound moderator for a 9mm gun and 98 cartridges of various calibres, in suspicious circumstances. All of the offences were committed on November 18, 2022. Defence counsel Neil Connor KC asked for a fortnight to lodge with the court a defence statement, telling Mr Justice Fowler he planned to consult with Pounder in the coming days. The senior judge said he would review the case on March 25, 2025, when it is expected a date will be fixed for trial. No details surrounding the charges were given in court yesterday. But during a High Court bail application in December 2022, a prosecution barrister said: This case involves a targeted (police) operation against the activities of the East Belfast UVF. Police allegedly recovered the pipe bomb, handgun, silencer and assorted ammunition at Pounders apartment. Some of the material was found in a school bag and a holdall under the bed. He is not accused of UVF membership or any paramilitary offences. Pounder told police menacing individuals had instructed him to keep the holdall due to a 1,800 drug debt. It also emerged that Pounder formerly served as a rifleman with a regiment based in Yorkshire. Judge Alec Gabbett asked: Is there a possibility of compromising this for the sake of the grandchildren?" A daughter-in-law seeking a civil restraining order against her in-laws has prompted a judge to say lets not destroy an entire family. We have to try to defuse the grenade here. In the case before Ennis District Court, the woman is seeking a civil restraining order against her in-laws made possible under new legislation introduced last September which is aimed at protecting victims of harassment. Both the woman and her father-in-law and mother-in-law were seated on opposite sides of the courtroom for the preliminary hearing into her application. Judge Alec Gabbett asked: Is there a possibility of compromising this for the sake of the grand-children?" He said: Lets not destroy an entire family. We have to try to defuse the grenade here. Judge Gabbett said: The grandchildren are entitled to a relationship with their grandparents. Solicitor for the father-in-law and mother-in-law, Stiofan Fitzpatrick said that his clients are at a loss at what the application is about. Judge Gabbett said that the woman has been in a lengthy marriage with the son of the couple in the case. Solicitor, Edel Ryan, for the woman seeking the civil restraining order against her in-laws told the court that divorce proceedings against the husband are to be issued on behalf of her client next week. Judge Gabbett said that in such a case you are dealing with deep seated issues going on for years. Counsel, Rebecca MacCana BL for the applicant told Judge Gabbett that her clients evidence will take 30 minutes where there is also CCTV evidence in the case. Judge Gabbett adjourned the case to March 14 to allow the applicant to lodge a statement to court outlining the grounds for the restraining order. In a second unrelated civil restraining order case, a solicitor, Billy Loughnane said that a fluent English speaker was being awkward by requesting that the case concerning his restraining order against Mr Loughnanes client, a woman, be conducted in Irish. Mr Loughnane said: I am well capable of cross-examining in Irish and have done so for decades. This man is at no disadvantage whatsoever if this goes ahead in English." He said: I dont want to go into the ins and outs of the case but this thing is vexatious and he is now being awkward. Mr Loughnane said that his client does not speak Irish and Judge Gabbett said that an interpreter would be required at great cost if the proceedings were to proceed in Irish. Mr Loughnane said that the mans restraining order application follows his own client seeking a restraining order against the man in a court in Co Galway which is returnable to March 20. The man - who is a non-Irish national - denied being awkward in seeking to have the proceedings in Irish. He said: I have the right to speak in Irish. Mr Loughnane said: No one respects that right more than myself. Judge Gabbett said that he will decide if the proceedings will proceed in Irish or English at a future date. The man seeking the restraining order against the woman said that her own restraining order application is outrageous and ludicrous. He said: Fighting with imaginary enemies - that is what this is all about." Asked the relationship between the two, Mr Loughane said: It was employer-employee. Judge Gabbett asked could the case be resolved by each party making sworn undertakings to the court. The man said: That sounds like a good compromise - can we do it now? However, the woman rejected resolving the matter by sworn undertaking. She said: It is too serious." Judge Gabbett adjourned the case to March 14. Ukrainian native Ruslan Nitsyn, (47), pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of harassment of 32-year old Gillian McCarthy A man who repeatedly stalked a Limerick mother of one, having previously been convicted of harassing the terrified woman, has been jailed for two and half years and ordered not to communicate with her. Ukrainian native Ruslan Nitsyn, (47), no fixed abode, Dublin, pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of harassment of 32-year old Gillian McCarthy, between 20 October, 2023 and 1 January 2024. It was the second time Nitsyn engaged in a campaign of harassment against Ms McCarthy, prosecution counsel, John OSullivan told the court. On July 4, 2023, Nitsyn received a three-month jail sentence at Limerick District Court for harassing Ms McCarthy. The sentence was suspended in full, on condition Nitsyn stayed out of Limerick and had no contact with Ms McCarthy. Mr OSullivan said the ink was barely dry on the District Court order when Nitsyn beached it, three months and seven days later. That he (Nitsyn) declared his unbinding love for Gillian McCarthy is worrying, and since he encountered Gillian McCarthy, he has become dangerously infatuated with the victim, said Mr OSullivan. Nitsyn, who has lived and worked in Ireland since 2001, became fixated with Gillian McCarthy when he delivered goods to her mothers house, thinking it was the victims house, on October 27, 2021. Mr OSullivan said Gillian McCarthy and her mother Mary McCarthy both operate a family run equestrian centre in Clarina, Co Limerick, and that it was very worrying for them. Breaching the earlier court order, Nitsyn telephoned Ms McCarthy a number of times and told her: Its me. Nitsyn left a soft teddy bear, cards, flowers and sweets at Ms McCarthys home and wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the words I LOVE YOU. This terrified Gillian McCarthy, added Mr OSullivan. On another occasion, Nitsyn sat in a black BMW car outside the victims home, and he winked at her. The word creepy may be an understatement here, said Mr OSullivan. The continued harassment raised further concerns for the victim and her husband, who had an infant son at the time. Nitsyn also texted Gillian McCarthy three times: Were are you, I am outside, and he telephoned her again on New Years Day, 2024. A special garda patrol was put in place near Ms McCarthys home and Nitsyn was subsequently arrested in Dublin in possession of ten mobile phone SIM cards and two mobile phones. Nitsyn told gardai he had the phone cards because he was convinced a number of people were following him. He acknowledged he had previously been convicted of harassing Gillian McCarthy was told to stay away from her and while he initially denied harassing Ms McCarthy again, he eventually admitted it and acknowledged he had put her in fear. However, Nitsyn told gardai: I love her...It looks like I am a bad person but I dont have any intention to harm her. Mr OSullivan said Gillian McCarthy had been tormented for two years by Nitsyns unwanted advances. Ms McCarthy wrote a victim impact statement that she could not attend the court for Nitsyns sentencing hearing because she was too scared to be in his presence. Every time I see a black BMW car I freeze, I am still afraid to go out alone to the (horse) stables, I put security in place, I constantly have a feeling of somebody watching me, Ms McCarthy stated. I am constantly looking over my shoulder, my work has been affected, I cant shake the feeling that somebody is looking in at me through the window (of her home). I cant stay alone in my house, I feel very dependent on others. I find it hard to sleep, my chest feels very tight and it can be very draining, tying to deal with all these emotions. Nitsyns barrister, junior counsel Yvonne Quinn, said Nitsyn had a long history of serious metal health issues, which worsened after he split from his wife and mother of his two children. Nitsyn was involuntarily admitted to psychiatric services in Ukraine in 2012 ad 2019 had suffered with severe paranoia since 2006. He was released from a psychiatric hospital in 2021 and was residing with a family member but was homeless more recently. He has accepted that his behaviour was frightening and it has to stop, said Ms Quinn. Judge Colin Daly backdated the 2.5 year sentence to January 3, 2024, that is how long Nitsyn had remained in custody awaiting sentence. The judge also ordered that Nitsyn not communicate with Ms McCarthy nor her family for a period of five years after his release from jail. The court heard that Lucky Enogheghase was involved in facilitating the journey of three women from Nigeria to Ireland A man has been jailed for four and a half years for his role in the human trafficking of three women into Ireland, who were later forced into prostitution. Lucky Enogheghase (38) with an address at Frenchville Lane, Galway, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking. The court heard that Enogheghase was involved in facilitating the journey of three women from Nigeria to Ireland. Once here, these three women were forced into prostitution by third parties, who have already been dealt with by the courts. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Enogheghase's guilty pleas were accepted on the basis of recklessness in that he was not aware of what awaited these three women upon their arrival in Ireland. The court was asked to take two other counts of conspiracy to commit human trafficking into consideration when imposing sentence. An investigating garda told Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, that Enogheghase assisted in the travel of the three women, who were trafficked to Ireland. He said the women had been duped by other parties who invited them to come here. The court heard that the garda investigation began after one of the three women recognised Enogheghase at a hotel in Galway and told gardai he helped to facilitate her journey between Nigeria and Italy, before she arrived in Ireland. The garda said Enogheghase's role was varied from travelling with the women, to providing accommodation and then facilitating their onward journey. He said Enogheghase's role with the organisation which trafficked the women has not been established and gardai can't say what reward, if any, Enogheghase would have received for his involvement. Enogheghase was arrested in November 2022 and interviewed by gardai, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. He has no previous convictions. The investigating garda agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, that his client was co-operative and the guilty plea was of assistance to the prosecution. It was further accepted that Enogheghase was not living a lavish lifestyle after he moved to Ireland and has some work history here. The garda also agreed that Enogheghase is doing well in custody and has enhanced prisoner status. Mr Lynn outlined his client's background and asked the court to take into account all available mitigation. He said his client accepts responsibility for his role and was reckless because he didn't know what awaited for the women here in Ireland. Judge Martin Nolan said Enogheghase had been involved in the trafficking of three people, which was a serious matter. The judge said the court inferred Enogheghase was due to receive some reward for his involvement, adding that it was hard to know what level he was in the organisation, but probably not at the highest level, but thats only a guess on behalf of the court. He imposed a sentence of four and a half years and backdated it to when Enogheghase went into custody in November 2022. Philip Dodoo appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal A young man who threatened to kill a postmaster and his wife after he arrived late to claim his social welfare payment has been jailed for ten months. Philip Dodoo appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal, charged with a number of offences. The court heard how the 23-year-old arrived at the post office on Main Street in Dungloe on December 20th last and caused a scene. In footage widely circulated on social media, Dodoo can be seen and heard threatening staff before storming out of the building. He was later arrested by Gardai and has been in custody in Castlerea Prison since the incident. The accused man is charged with assault at the Post Office, Main Street, Dungloe on December 20, 2024, and with a breach of the Public Order Act at The Cope, Main Street, Dungloe on the same date. Sergeant Jim Collins outlined the events of the day and said that the Director of Public Prosecutions had agreed that the case could be dealt with summarily by the district court. He told how Dodoo had arrived at the post office and while queuing he became agitated and threatened to kill the local postmaster and his wife who were working at the premises. Sergeant Collins told how there were a number of people in the post office at the time of the incident. He agreed that footage of the incident had received "some traction" on social media. When arrested later, Dodoo also had a small amount of cannabis on him. Judge Ciaran Liddy asked the court if a victim impact report had been canvassed on behalf of the postmaster and his wife. Investigating Garda Thomas McBride said the couple are now back working but were prepared to make statements if they were needed. Solicitor for the accused, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client was in custody since the incident on December 20th, 2024 and was anxious to have the matters dealt with. He said the reality of the situation was that his client suffered from mental health issues and that it was the State who had let him down. Mr Gallagher said Dodoo was now aged 24 and was born in Ireland and is an Irish national and from Letterkenny. He had no connection whatsoever with the West Donegal town of Dungloe but had been 'landed there from another premises' with his compatriots. Mr Gallagher said his client has some serious health concerns and that there were simply not the facilities to deal with him in a rural town in Donegal. "Mr Dodoo has received assistance in Letterkenny due to it being a larger town, assistance that he requires. These facilities were simply not available in Dungloe. This was a scary situation and it got a lot of traction on social media - it was not needed, required or wanted. "But the reality is that my client has substantial mental health issues and was treated for them at a young age but at 18 years old he was let go to the wind. "He was taken out of the facilities he was in and put in rural Dungloe and some blame for all of this has to lie with the State for this terrifying experience," he said. He said his client has now stabilised again with treatment in prison and wishes to apologise for what happened on the day. Mr Gallagher added "This is a man from a large town who was planted on the West coast of Ireland and could not make the post office in time for his social welfare. "Dublin doesn't seem to worry about that once a line which is drawn from Dublin to Galway is crossed. This is a young man who needs assistance and I would ask the court to take that into account when dealing with it." The court was told that the accused has a number of previous convictions for criminal damage and public order offences. Judge Liddy sentenced Dodoo to ten months in prison, suspending the last three months of that sentence and backdating the sentence to when the accused went into prison on December 20th meaning he still has approximately four months to serve. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The popular Turkmen portal, Ashgabattimes.com, recently featured an article on the Azerbaijan.Travel platform, showcasing the diverse tourism opportunities in Azerbaijan, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Turkmenistan told Trend. The article, available in Turkmen, English, and Russian, offers a comprehensive overview of the Azerbaijan.Travel platform. Information was provided about valuable insights into the countrys tourism opportunities, routes, rich history, and key attractions of Azerbaijan. At the same time, a banner of the Azerbaijan.Travel tourism website was placed on the main page of the ashgabattimes.com portal and displayed as a hyperlink. The article highlights how the Azerbaijan.Travel platform serves as a vital resource for tourists, offering in-depth information about the countrys history, culture, nature, and notable landmarks of Azerbaijan. Special attention is given to the Baku City section, showcasing unique architecture, history, and cultural significance of Baku city. The platform also covers UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Icherishehir City and Gobustan, alongside natural treasures like Lake Goygol and the winter tourism. Additionally, visitors can explore the Lahij region, known for its rich local crafts and ancient traditions. Furthermore, the article states that Azerbaijan.Travel also features detailed sections on introducing other tourist regions and traditions of Azerbaijan. The site provides tourists to plan their trips with ease as well as it offers essential details on hotels, restaurants, and local services. This tourism platform not only introduces the natural and cultural resources of Azerbaijan, but also provides tourists with important information for ensuring a comfortable travel experience. The platform also aims to introduce the rich traditions and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan to the world. In addition, the article provides practical travel information for Citizens of Turkmenistan, including visa application procedures through the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Turkmenistan and the option to obtain an electronic visa via the ASAN Visa service. Parents of Denis Curtis Shearer faced unimaginable decision to end life support, court hears A Bangor man murdered by his cousin's partner was subjected to a "brutal and sustained attack" as he lay asleep with "no chance to defend himself", a court has heard. Denis Curtis Shearer was attacked in the bedroom of his Fernmore Road home in the early hours of February 28, 2021. The 25-year-old was struck up to nine times in the head with a blunt instrument and passed away in hospital nine days later from his injuries. Details of the fatal attack emerged during a plea hearing at Belfast Crown Court today. Timothy Walker (43), whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry and who is originally from Abbey Ring in Holywood, pleaded guilty at a hearing on March 9, 2021, to a charge of murdering Mr Shearer. Last December, Walker was handed a life sentence by Mr Justice O'Hara. Walker was back in court today alongside his partner and co-accused Natalie Brannigan (42). Brannigan, from The Green in Holywood, admitted a charge of assisting offenders. Holywood woman Natalie Brannigan leaves Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday afternoon following pleas by her legal team ahead of sentencing later this month on charges arising from the murder of Denis Curtis Shearer at a house in Bangor, County Down. Photo Alan Lewis She accepted that on February 28, 2021, knowing Timothy Walker had committed an offence, she did an act with intent to impede his apprehension by driving her car to collect him in the Glencairn area of north Belfast, after he burned his car out, then drove him to Holywood and onwards to Newtownards. The couple, who have four children together, were told by Mr Justice O'Hara that they will be sentenced for their respective offences on Tuesday, March 11. Prior to this, the senior judge was addressed by barristers from both the Crown and defence. Prosecuting KC David McDowell said that at the time of his death, Mr Shearer lived in Bangor with his foster parents and had a "number of mental health issues". At around 3am on February 28, 2021, Mr Shearer's foster parents were woken by a loud bang. Hearing footsteps in their home, Mr Shearer's foster mother shouted: Denis is everything OK?. Someone then closed her bedroom door. As she knew something was wrong, she got out of bed and heard a noise, which she later realised was her foster son shouting out in pain. Upon investigation, she saw both her porch and front door were open, with the Crown saying the locks on both doors had been broken by "the intruder". When Mr Shearer's foster mother then entered his bedroom, she saw blood on his duvet and pillow. She shook his leg as he lay in bed and yelled his name, but there was no response. Mr McDowell said it was "apparent" that Mr Shearer had sustained a head injury and that blood was splattered on the walls and ceiling. An ambulance was called, Mr Shearer was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, and he passed away nine days later on March 9. A post-mortem concluded that Mr Shearer's death was due to a severe head injury caused by at least nine forceful blows with a blunt weapon. The court heard that around a month before his murder, an allegation about Mr Shearer was made, which was reported to the PSNI. When she was asked about the attack, Mr Shearer's foster mother spoke of the allegation and mentioned the names Timothy and Natalie. The PSNI launched an investigation and CCTV footage from a house on Fernmore Road was viewed. The footage captured a dark car which resembled Walker's Mercedes C-Class car in the area at the relevant time. The CCTV also captured a figure parking the car outside Mr Shearer's home at around 3am, getting out of the vehicle and pulling his hood up. The same male was then seen making his way from the house at around at 3.17am. Three hours later, a Mercedes car was reported as being on fire at waste ground in the Forthriver area of Belfast. This car, which belonged to Walker, was destroyed in the fire along with his mobile phone. A police investigation was launched and it was established that Walker and Brannigan had been at a party in Holywood on February 27 where alcohol was consumed. Brannigan left around midnight, with Walker leaving separately. Walker returned to the party in the early hours of February 28 and told someone in the house: I have done something stupid. When she was arrested at 9.40am on February 28, Brannigan was interviewed over three days. During this period, she said she had been drinking at the party. She also admitted that after being contacted by Walker, she collected him from the Forthriver area of Belfast, took him to Holywood, then drove him to Ards, knowing he had seriously assaulted her cousin. Regarding Walker, Mr McDowell said police were initially unable to locate him. But on March 1, during a call between Walker and a police sergeant, the wanted man said he was at a caravan park in Ballyhalbert and that he would take the rap. The following day, Walker attended a police station and was arrested on suspicion, at that stage, of attempted murder. During the course of nine interviews, Walker said he suffered from mental health issues. When asked to account for his movements, he said he couldn't but claimed he heard voices in his head telling him to do stuff. He also said he had drunk a lot at the party and couldn't remember leaving, that he couldn't remember going to Bangor and that his partner had done nothing wrong. Walker also initially denied assaulting Mr Shearer and denied being in the area where his car was burnt out. Despite this, Walker subsequently admitted murdering Mr Shearer. Mr McDowell told Mr Justice O'Hara that victim impact statements made by the deceased's mother and his foster parents set out "the trauma" of the attack and the nine days "before the unimaginable decision for them to turn off his life support. Scene picture - Pacemaker He added: "They also detail the very deep loss felt by them and their recognition that their lives have been irretrievably altered." The prosecutor also set out several aggravating factors and described the attack on Mr Shearer as "brutal and sustained", one where multiple blows were inflicted. The Crown KS described Mr Shearer as "vulnerable" and said he was "attacked with a weapon as he lay asleep in his bed with no chance of defending himself". Mr McDowell also said "it was a vigilante attack" and that Walker had "decided to take the law into his own hands". Defence barrister John Kearney KC, representing Walker, spoke of his client's "underlying mental health issues" as well as alcohol misuse. Saying there was "no history of violence" in Walker's background, Mr Kearney said the attack was "spur of the moment" and that his client was bound to be apprehended. Mr Kearney also spoke of Walker's traumatic "younger years", said "this is a man who does not have his sorrows to seek" and pointed out that his client had accepted responsibility for the fatal attack. Brannigan's barrister, Eilis McDermott KC, told Mr Justice O'Hara that her client "had no involvement in the murder". Citing Brannigan's clear criminal record, her employment history and her desire to qualify as nurse, Ms McDermott also spoke of Brannigan's parental responsibility to her children, especially given that their father is now serving a life sentence in prison. After listening to all the oral submissions, Mr Justice O'Hara said he would impose the sentences on March 11. Gillian Portis (50) and 37-year old Adrian Matthew Reid were jointly charged with engaging in a sexual act last August A Belfast woman who was charged alongside a man with committing an act outraging public decency has died, a court has been told. Gillian Portis (50) and 37-year old Adrian Matthew Reid were jointly charged with engaging in a sexual act last August. Although no details emerged at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, a previous sitting revealed that the pair were arrested following a report by a member of the public who witnessed a man and woman engaged in a sex act at the entrance to the car park of Cityside Retail Park. The case was listed to proceed for arraignment today. While Reid, from Oldpark Avenue in north Belfast, appeared in the dock, a prosecuting barrister told Judge Philip Gilpin that Ms Portis passed away a fortnight ago. Reid was charged that on August 3 last year, he committed an act of a lewd obscene and disgusting nature and outraging public decency by engaging in a sexual act with another. When asked how he pleaded, he replied "guilty. Defence barrister Mark Farrell asked that a pre-sentence report be compiled on his client. A date for the sentencing was set for May 2. Judge Gilpin then addressed Reid and told him to engage with the Probation Board for the compilation of the report. After no objections were raised by the Crown, the judge released Reid on continuing bail. Following this, Ms Portis defence barrister, Sean Mullan, confirmed that his client passed away last month. With an address at the Stella Maris hostel on Belfast's Garmoyle Street, her funeral was held last week. Prosecuting barrister Samantha Madden said that, in light of this, the Crown was prepared to leave the charge against Ms Portis on the books. Judge Gilpin said that a death certificate would need to be produced to allow this to formally happen. The case was re-listed for mention in a week's time to ascertain when the death certificate will be available. Gardai say they are trying to establish precise circumstances of the incident A young boy is suspected of bringing a large penknife from home to his Dublin primary school before stabbing his 11-year-old classmate. The injured boy had to undergo surgery for serious injuries including a suspected punctured lung after being stabbed in the back. The incident happened in the Finglas area yesterday morning while the children were on a morning break on the school grounds. School staff were alerted to the incident and immediately contacted emergency services. Gardai and paramedics responded to the incident, and the injured pupil was brought to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The boy underwent surgery yesterday afternoon and was receiving treatment in an intensive care unit. The other child involved was quickly identified after the incident, and gardai have been in contact with his parents. Because this boy is under the age of criminal responsibility, he cannot be arrested or prosecuted over the incident, and the matter is not under criminal investigation. The boy is suspected of having brought a penknife from home and using it to stab the other boy. The background to how this happened is being looked at, a source said. There had been recent issues between the two children, but nothing on this level. The school informed parents of the incident and reassured them there was no further risk to the safety of students. Parents were asked to collect their children from the school, which is expected to open as normal this morning. In a statement, gardai said they attended an incident that occurred at a primary school in north Dublin involving two children. Both children involved attend the school. One male child has been taken to a hospital in Dublin with injuries that are believed to be non-life threatening, they said. An Garda Siochana is liaising with school management and staff with a view to identifying the precise circumstances around the incident. There is no concern for public safety. People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy said his thoughts were with the children and staff who witnessed the incident, and with the child being treated for injuries. Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis described the incident as a new low, while passing on his best wishes to the injured child and his family. No prosecution will stem from the incident because of the boys age. Under the Childrens Act, a child under the age of 12 is incapable of committing an offence, although there are exceptions for some offences, including murder and serious sexual assaults. The age of criminal responsibility was raised from seven years of age to 12 in 2006. The Childrens Act also states that there is a rebuttable presumption that a child between the ages of 12 and 14 is incapable of committing an offence because the child does not have the capacity to know that the act was wrong. Suspect linked with a series of incidents in Munster and west of Ireland The pick-up truck seized in last week's Operation Thor raid in Co Kildare Gardai have identified at least 60 burglaries carried out by a 39-year-old career criminal who was arrested last week, but the actual figure could be double that. Armed officers were involved in a raid in Co Kildare in which one of Irelands most wanted burglary gang leaders was detained. The suspect is now in prison on other matters after being questioned by detectives over a number of days for allegedly facilitating organised criminal activity. A top-of-the range pick-up truck was seized under proceeds of crime legislation. The burglary gang boss, who is alleged to have paid cash for the vehicle, is suspected of being behind creeper burglaries and raids on unoccupied homes and businesses, mainly in five Munster counties. Sources said the arrest, at a property near Maynooth last Tuesday, is one of the most significant developments of the year so far under Operation Thor, the national strategy targeting organised crime groups involved in burglaries and associated criminal activity. The gang this criminal leads has been particularly active in Tipperary, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Limerick, but has also targeted other locations, including in the west. Last weeks search operation was led by officers from the Clare/Tipperary Crime Functional Area, backed up by the Armed Support Unit and officers from Leixlip garda station. A source said: He is a key target for Operation Thor and there is an expectation that with him now in custody there may be a reduction in burglaries nationwide. This has happened in the recent past. There were a number of significant arrests of organised burglary gang suspects towards the end of last year and there is no coincidence that the month of December recorded the lowest number of residential burglaries nationwide in five years. He was buying and selling different high-powered cars and fitting them with cloned plates When significant individuals are put in custody, it has an immediate impact as those figures for last December show. Gardai had been hunting the criminal for two years, but he hid out in different locations, including in Northern Ireland, on an almost nightly basis. He is considered dangerous by gardai. He was moving constantly from one location to another, a source said. He was able to utilise his very large criminal network, which includes other crime gangs, and then attach himself to other individuals. This made it very difficult for gardai to catch up with him as every week he was also changing the vehicle he was travelling in. He was buying and selling different high-powered cars and fitting them with cloned plates, as well as working with a number of different burglary gangs. However, gardai received intelligence last week that the suspect was staying at a property in the Maynooth area with a woman, and they raided the place. Other items apart from the vehicle were seized. The man is the chief suspect for an incident last month in which the silver-coloured car he was allegedly driving rammed a garda patrol car in Castletroy, Co Limerick, resulting in injuries to a male garda. The officer was on foot when he was hit by the car at the Bru na Gruadan estate. There were false registration plates on the car, which is a common tactic used by the burglary gang. The incident in Co Limerick where the garda was very lucky not to suffer very serious injury or worse shows the reckless nature of this individual, a source said. The Irish national was jailed for 42 months in total with the final year of the sentence suspended. A 36-year-old Irishman who used his children during a 33k shoplifting spree in the Netherlands has been sentenced to 42 months in prison. The Irish national was convicted of 18 separate offences across the European country last year between June 23 and September. The court was told how he used minors during 12 of these crimes including his own 9-year-old son during which goods worth a staggering 33k were stolen. According to police, the man would go into a store, fill up his bags with items including vapes and nicotine patches before handing the bag to a child. The child would then simply walk out of the shop without paying. During the theft spree, he was regularly accompanied by the 16-year-old son of one of his associates. In court, the Irishman confessed to the thefts, but denied the exploitation of the underage boys. However, the court found the criminal exploitation proven. He was jailed for 42 months in total with the final year of the sentence suspended. He had originally been arrested in September of last year on suspicion of child exploitation after CCTV footage captured him using a young boy to shoplift. He was arrested in the Zeeland town of Hoek following a police appeal for tips on the Dutch news programme Opsporing Verzocht. "This is a form of human trafficking and that is why we are urgently looking for the whereabouts of the man, police said during the programme. Dutch news programme Opsporing Verzocht broadcasted CCTV footage from the incident The broadcast showed CCTV footage of the man entering a drugstore on the Hoofdstraat in Gorssel (Gelderland) on August 14 with a boy believed to be around 10 years old. The boy can be seen taking a bag from a shelf and holding it open while the man fills it with products. Shortly afterwards, the boy leaves the store with the bag in tow as the man blocks the staffs view of the exit. The bag contained more than 650 worth of items, most of which were Nicorette products, police said. The pair were also spotted together during a shoplifting spree in Apeldoorn. The man also shoplifted with another child in Zeeland and is suspected of thefts in Doetinchem, Dieren, Putten and Ede. Police thanked the public at the time for their help during the investigation, saying: Your information has brought insight into the suspect and the children, and with his arrest, we can get the children out of this situation. Released CCTV footage shows the man instructing the children to steal certain products from stores. While the staff is distracted, items are hidden in coats and bags. The minors then leave the store without paying. The man was arrested at a campsite in Hoek where police found suitcases filled with attachment brushes, nicotine sprays and patches and razor blades in his caravan. The Public Prosecution Service said it takes a serious view of the suspect's use of minors to commit criminal acts. According to the Public Prosecution Service, he violated the children's mental integrity. In addition to theft, he is also suspected of criminal exploitation in the form of human trafficking. "The suspect's actions constitute a violation of the fundamental rights of the child, prosecutors say. The haul was discovered following a raid on a premises in Dublin 5 A man has been arrested after gardai seized more than 24 in cash and 10k of cocaine during a raid on a property in north Dublin. The haul was discovered following a raid on a premises in Dublin 5 over the weekend. Cocaine worth an estimated 10,000, 100 worth of suspected cannabis and 24,210 in cash was seized by officers from the District Drugs Unit in Coolock Garda Station. A garda spokesman has said one man was arrested during the course of this operation and was conveyed to a garda station in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. Investigations are ongoing. Derek Johnson is accused of befriending vulnerable victims online before travelling to meet them and then committing offences. UK police have launched a manhunt for suspect who is wanted in connection with multiple sex attacks after he skipped bail and went on the run. Derek Johnson who is described as having links with Northern Ireland is accused of befriending vulnerable victims online before travelling to meet them and then committing offences. Last month, Johnson (58) was arrested by Hertfordshire Police following a major police investigation. However, he later absconded from bail and a police manhunt has now been launched.. The public have warned if they see Johnson, do not approach him but call 999 immediately. According to police, Johnson has links to Gloucestershire and Devon in the South West and Stevenage, Hertfordshire, West Midlands Yorkshire, Wales, Ayrshire, Northumbria, Northern Ireland and Kent. Gloucestershire Police said: "We are appealing for help in locating a man wanted in connection with a number of sex offences. Derek Johnson, aged 58, is believed to have committed offences in Gloucestershire, Kent and potentially elsewhere in the UK, befriending vulnerable victims online before travelling to meet them in person. "He was arrested by Hertfordshire Police last month at our request before later absconding from bail. It's believed he could now be anywhere in the country. "Johnson is believed to have connections in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, West Midlands, Devon, Yorkshire, Wales, Ayrshire, Northumbria, Northern Ireland and Kent. The public are advised not to approach him." A small amount of drugs and drug paraphernalia were also seized at the property A man has been arrested after gardai seized a semi-automatic gun and ammunition in Co Louth. Gardai from the Divisional Drugs Unit searched a home in Drogheda, on Tuesday afternoon, as part of ongoing investigations into the sale and supply of drugs in the Louth/Cavan/Monaghan area. In the course of the search, a semi-automatic firearm and 10 rounds of ammunition were discovered and seized. A small amount of drugs and drug paraphernalia were also seized at the property. A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene for an offence contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 and taken to a garda station in the north west of the country, where he is currently detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007. The gun has been forwarded for a technical examination by the Ballistics Section of the Garda Technical Bureau. He had ordered the murder of a rival gang member in the US Officers from the Spanish National Police have tracked down and arrested a fugitive belonging to the Hell's Angels. The detainee, originally from New Zealand, had ordered the murder of a rival gang member in the US and allegedly paid $20k for the hit. He was also wanted for smuggling over half a ton of cocaine into his home country. He had been on the run for more than two years, using false identities from France and Slovakia. The investigation began when officers became aware of the presence in Spain of a fugitive, a prominent member of the Hell's Angels MC. An International Arrest Warrant had been issued by the Texas authorities for incidents that occurred in 2020, when he ordered the murder of a rival gang member. Fire services from Limerick attended the scene of a house fire in the city yesterday afternoon. Three units from Limerick City Fire Station were dispatched to the scene in Garryowen at 3:38pm. A Limerick resident, who was on a local bus route at the time of the fire said: I looked over while on the bus through Garryowen and was shocked to see that much smoke, he said. In the middle of a busy estate, the fire service fought the blaze at the house for close to two hours. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 5. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, met with newly appointed EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Eduards Stiprais to discuss joint events planned for 2025, Trend reports, citing the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan. Diplomats discussed prospective initiatives and formats of cooperation aimed at advancing Turkmen-European relations. The parties also addressed political and diplomatic engagement, emphasizing the importance of the Turkmenistan-EU Joint Committee, the Interparliamentary Dialogue, and the Human Rights Dialogue. Special attention was given to partnerships in the fields of energy, transportation, environmental protection, and the development of renewable energy sources. The meeting also explored prospects for trade and economic cooperation, as well as collaboration with EU financial institutions. In 2025, Ashgabat will host several major international events focused on the further development of political and economic ties with the European Union. These include the next Interparliamentary Dialogue meeting, the 20th Foreign Ministers Meeting between Central Asia and the EU, and a visit by the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, to Turkmenistan. In general, trade turnover between Turkmenistan and the European Union exceeded 1.5 billion from January to October 2023, marking an 84 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022. As both sides continue to expand cooperation across various sectors, the future of Turkmenistan-EU relations appears increasingly strong. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Two Irish workers, Barry O'Connell (50) from Co Limerick and Eoin Fitzgerald (25) from Co Kerry, were killed in a road crash in the UK on February 19 Funeral details have been announced for two Irish men who were killed in a road traffic accident in England last month. Two Irish workers, Barry O'Connell (50) from Co Limerick and Eoin Fitzgerald (25) from Co Kerry, were killed in a road crash in the UK on February 19. The collision took place on the westbound carriageway on the A14 in Northamptonshire between junction one and the M1, involving a white Volkswagen Caddy and an HGV lorry. The funeral for Barry O'Connell took place at 12pm today in the Holy Trinity Abbey Church, followed by the burial in St Nicolas' Cemetery in Adare. Mr O'Connell from Rien Roe, Adare, is survived by his mother Maureen, daughter Rebecca, sisters Susie and Edel, brothers Michael, Andrew and Steven, and grandchildren Keelan, Abbey and Mason. He is predeceased by his father Michael and sister Elle Marie. The funeral for Eoin Fitzgerald will take place at 11.45am on Friday morning at St Mary's Church in Tarbert, followed by burial in Ahavoher Cemetery in Moyvane. Mr Fitzgerald from Barragougeen, Moyvane, Co Kerry, is survived by his father James and mother Katie, siblings James, Andrew and Aoife, and grandmother Teresa Hayes. He is predeceased by his grandmother Marie, grandfather Micheal and aunt Mag. The Fitzgerald family have been living in the UK for many years working in the construction sector. Moyvane Parish Priest Fr Brendan Walsh said the community is in deep shock at the passing of Mr Fitzgerald. The whole parish is absolutely devastated at the tragic news. A very well thought of and respected family in the community. It has sent shockwaves throughout the community, Fr Walsh said. "You can imagine the impact that something like this has when people knew and respected the family so well. A young man taken in the prime of life. He was a dedicated, hardworking man following in his fathers footsteps as a builder, he added. The whole thing is just so shocking. My thoughts and prayers are very much with the whole family, Fr Walsh said. Northamptonshire police are appealing to witnesses following the accident. Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are asking anyone who may have dash-cam footage that captured any part of either collision or anyone who may have witnessed what happened to contact them. Barry O'Connell (50) and Eoin Fitzgerald (25) were travelling together in a van Tributes are been paid to two Irish workers who were killed in a traffic accident in the UK last month. Barry O'Connell (50) from Rien Roe, Adare, Co Limerick and Eoin Fitzgerald (25) from Barragougeen, Moyvane, Co Kerry were travelling together in a van on the A14 in Northamptonshire at around 9.15pm on February 19. Mr OConnell was a passenger. A Northamptonshire police spokesperson said the collision involved a Volkswagen Caddy and a HGV lorry. The passenger in the Volkswagen died at the scene. The driver of the Volkswagen - a man in his 20s is believed to have got out of the vehicle but was sadly killed when he entered the eastbound carriageway, said the police spokesperson. Barry O'Connell Minister of State and Limerick County TD Niall Collins said The local community were saddened to hear of his passing in such tragic circumstances. The OConnell family are well-known, popular and highly respected, said Mr Collins. One friend said There are no words to express just how sorry & upset we are at the sad & tragic passing of Barry. We all have many great stories to tell & only the fondest memories of Barry in our house growing up with the lads, thick as thieves himself & Kieran were. Rest in Eternal Peace Barry , we will forever remember you with love & laughter Mr OConnell is survived by his mother, Maureen, his daughter, Rebecca, his sisters, Susie and Edel, and his brothers, Michael, Andrew, and Steven. His funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday March 5th at 12 noon with burial immediately afterwards in St. Nicolas' Cemetery, Adare. Eoin Fitzgerald (25) is survived by his parents James and Katie, brothers James, Andrew and sister Aoife. His remains will repose at Lyons Funeral Home, Derry, Listowel, on Thursday evening, March 6th, from 4.00pm to 7.00pm. Funeral arriving to St. Mary's Church, Tarbert, on Friday morning at 11.45am, with the Requiem Mass for Eoin being celebrated at 12 noon, followed by burial afterwards in Ahavoher Cemetery, Moyvane. Paying tribute one friend said Fondest memories of Eoin during his time in Tarbert Comprehensive a charming rogue! Thinking of and praying for you all-may Eoin rest in peace. Another said Eoin was a fine hard working and funny young man who I had the pleasure to know and work with . Eoin Fitzgerald Eoins former teacher at Ballyguilltenane NS said I have fond recollections of a shy, quiet young man, with a beautiful, gentle smile, as he sat in front of me in the classroom in Ballyguiltenane NS. No matter the lesson, Eoin brought the subject around to tractors and farming. It is dark now, during these difficult days - but may your many, many happy memories come back to you and allow the light back into your lives, in time. Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers. Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are now appealing for witnesses. Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have dash-cam footage that captured any part of either collision or anyone who may have witnessed what happened. Anyone with information is asked to email CollisionAppeals@northants.police.uk or call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615, or Northamptonshire Police on 101, quoting incident number: 25000101208. Mary ODonoghue managed to research and write her very first book on the elusive figures life despite her health difficulties A Kerry woman found a purpose researching the fascinating yet tragic life of an obscure Glenflesk republican as she battled to recover from esophageal cancer surgery which caused her life-threatening complications. Coolcurtoga resident Mary ODonoghue was recuperating at home following the 2022 surgery which had left her at deaths door when she saw a TV segment focused on historic graffiti etched by republican prisoners on the deteriorating walls of Kanturk bridewell. One name engraved within the bridewell was Fred Healy, a moniker used by Humphrey Healy from Islandmore in Glenflesk. He was also known as the One-Eyed Gunner by his comrades in the British army and later the IRA due to him having lost an eye fighting in World War I. Genealogy hobbyist Mary immediately took interest in the story of this little-known character from her locality and despite her health difficulties, researched it in such depth over the last year that she is now set to release her very first book on the subject of his life. It just worked out that had the plaster not fallen off the bridewell walls and the graffiti not been discovered, writing Fred's story wouldn't have been possible. Even if it was discovered, I might not have survived my operation over two years ago, Mary said. "I was among a small number of people who were unfortunate to develop complications from the surgery. Which is major surgery. The Mercy Hospital Cork was unbelievable in keeping me alive at the time. I spent a month in ICU, the first two weeks I didn't wake up. I was on life support for so long and spent from November until January in hospital. It's a miracle that I got through it. If I had to face all of that again, I still would have to go ahead with it because the only alternative is to let the cancer take hold and die. Mary, who is married to Sean and has four daughters Catherine, Una, Anne and Brenda and three grandchildren, is now in remission. She told The Kerryman that investigating the story of Fred Healy was a godsend. It was an ideal project for me as I need a lot of sleep on the couch recovering from the awful cancer. My amateur genealogy hobby and time to Google on my phone lying on the couch between naps all worked out together. Mary said. Originally from Tipperary, Mary left school at age 14. She said her extensive research provided the most educational experience of her life. I can't even explain the changed person I am after doing it. I grew old and grey day by day for 70 years and I got my Irish education learning about Fred, his family and his road in life at World War I and the Irish War of Independence, she said. His story really needed to be told. I'm not an academic and the book is no encyclopaedia. Maybe others will correct the punctuation but nobody could find such a story worth telling. I had to read so much that I had a purpose. Turning knowledge into a turn-page book was a completely new challenge for me. But it's done and should I get a reasonable amount of time regarding my cancer or not, this is a lovely legacy for me to leave. The first-time author found herself drawn to Freds story not because of his warrior reputation akin to a wild west gunner but due to the heart-breaking circumstances he came from. Mary discovered that Fred, born in 1893, lost his parents and a sister when he was very young and he and his remaining siblings were raised by their widowed aunt Abbey, who was a saint. Mary O'Donoghue with her husband Sean and her book 'The One-Eyed Gunner - Fred Healy'. Photo by Tatyana McGough As a tribute to Freds aunt, Mary will launch her 36-page book on International Womens Day (March 8) and all proceeds from the publication will go to Recovery Haven Cancer Support Group. Aunty Abbey was a mother and father to all the orphans. Her span of motherhood was half a century, Mary said. Aunty Abbey lived through the famine. She lived through tenant evictions. Her husband died after a week of illness aged 57 from congestion of the lungs. Then she took over the rearing of [her late brothers] seven children, of which one died. I'm a mom. The whole thing changed course for me in an instant. I was hooked. I didn't give a hoot about [the soldiering] bravado, Mary explained. They were [raised] in awful circumstances. So the whole thing kept me interested and caring and I forgot myself. My attention went to the welfare of the family of very young orphaned children. Coming from such a challenging background, Freds options in life were limited. With the help of a retired researcher, Mary got access to military records and learned that he joined the British army as a young man and lost his left eye in an explosion during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The Islandmore man joined the IRA after leaving the army and fought in the War of Independence and on the Anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. Mary O'Donoghue with her book 'The One-Eyed Gunner - Fred Healy'. Photo by Tatyana McGough Mary believes that the forgotten hero, who is buried at Killaha Cemetery, died in Cork in 1932 due to an agonising condition which saw his bones slowly deteriorate as a result of weaponised gas he was exposed to in the First World War. She said that learning about his life has made her appreciate how privileged she has been to have lived healthily up to her late 60s and how fortunate she is to live in modern Ireland, which provides much more services and opportunities than it did in Freds lifetime. Mary credits unsung republican fighters who came from poor backgrounds like Fred, who has descendants still living in the Glenflesk area, with securing the freedoms Irish people enjoy today. We have an Irish passport and we are a neutral country thanks to all the Freds, she said. She believes that it was her destiny to encounter the story of the IRA man. I went to the brink of death but they kept me alive in the Mercy Hospital Cork. That's the hospital Fred died in, Mary explained. The One Eyed Gunner Fred Healy by Mary ODonoghue will be launched by Killarney Mayor Maura Healy-Rae in Killarney Library at 12 noon on Saturday, March 8. Taurangas vibrant cultural calendar is in full swing, with a series of events bringing communities together to celebrate culture and connection. Following the success of last months Asian Food Festival, March will feature two more major cultural celebrations, Tauranga City Council said in a statement released this week. Taurangas much-loved Holi Colour Splash is set to return to Memorial Parks Jordan Field on Saturday, March 8, promising a celebration of colour, culture, and community connection. Holi, widely known as the Festival of Colours, is a Hindu tradition celebrated around the world, symbolising unity, joy, and new beginnings. People of all faiths and backgrounds come together to throw coloured powders over each other in a symbolic celebration of spring, the harvest, and new life. Now in its ninth year, the Tauranga Holi Colour Splash has become a popular event, drawing families and friends to enjoy a day filled with live music, traditional dance performances, henna art, delicious Indian street food, and a fun obstacle course for children, said council. Attendees are encouraged to wear white or light colours and can purchase eco-friendly, non-toxic coloured powders at the event. And, of course, leave looking like they have rolled through a rainbow! Getting the shot! Fun for all ages at the Holi Colour Splash. Photo/ Anna Menedez Coming up on Saturday, March 22, the iconic Tauranga Multicultural Festival returns to The Historic Village. This highly anticipated annual event celebrates the many cultures that call Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty home. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn about different traditions, connect with local communities, and discover the services available to residents. Council said the festival will feature a day full of live music, cultural performances, international food, market stalls, and interactive activities. Performers at a past Tauranga Multicultural Festival. Photo/ Katie Cox The Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund is once again proud to support these events. This collaborative fund established by Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council, and Western Bay of Plenty District Council ensures local community led events continue to thrive, delivering positive social outcomes, and enriching our city by providing locals and visitors with a wide range of events to enjoy throughout the year. Nelita Byrne, Tauranga City Councils Manager of Venues and Events, highlights the importance of funding for these celebrations. Community-led events like Holi Colour Splash and the Tauranga Multicultural Festival play a vital role in bringing people together and fostering a sense of belonging. The Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund helps ensure these events not only continue but also evolve, providing meaningful cultural experiences that reflect the diversity of our city. Holi Colour Splash event organiser, Bela Dasi, is grateful for the funds ongoing support. With their help, we can create a vibrant Holi culture and a successful event in Tauranga. We all love coming together for a festival that fosters an open-hearted, happy community. With strong local funding, we can guarantee this years Tauranga Holi Colour Splash festival will take you on a magical journey. Tauranga City Councils support for these events aligns with its broader commitment to inclusivity and community connection. With a wealth of cultural and community events available, Tauranga is a place where people from all backgrounds can come together in shared celebration. Paula Naude, Manager of Community Development & Emergency Management, highlights this commitment. Tauranga is home to a diverse and growing community, and we are committed to creating a city where everyone feels welcome and included. Through other initiatives like the Welcoming Communities Programme, we continue to support events and initiatives that foster connection, celebrate diversity, and strengthen our sense of belonging. Event details: Holi Colour Splash Memorial Park, Jordan Field Saturday, March 8, 2pm 6pm 26th Annual Tauranga Multicultural Festival The Historic Village Saturday, March 22, 10am 5pm For more information, visit: www.whatsontauranga.co.nz He loved nothing more than locking up gang members and drug dealers. He was colourful, legendary but fair. He was a bloody good cop. Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy died on Friday aged 66 after suffering a long illness. Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy was a Rotorua police officer known for his quick wit and no-nonsense attitude. Photo / NZME For 46 years Murphy served with the New Zealand Police, mainly in Rotorua, carving a reputation as a no-nonsense officer who enjoyed the thrill of the chase while carrying out his duty keeping the community safe. He became a police officer in August 1979 and spent the bulk of his policing career in the Bay of Plenty, after transferring from Papakura in June 1993. Bay of Plenty Police District manager Superintendent Tim Anderson said it was clear to anyone who met Murph, as he was commonly known, that he was incredibly passionate about policing. He embodied those old-fashioned policing values. Policing was simply part of who he was and he always maintained that rock-solid focus on catching criminals. Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy was a legendary Rotorua police officer who ran several operations targeting gang and drug crime. Photo / NZME Anderson said Murphy was a strong advocate for holding gang members accountable for their criminal behaviour due to harm he saw being caused in our communities. During the 1990s and early 2000s in particular he used his detective skills to detect and catch gang members through several operations. He applauded the new gang legislation that has been introduced giving police the ability to target their criminal behaviour and make our streets safer, Anderson said. Denis was an incredibly colourful character who had strong opinions and he dedicated his working life to make our communities safer. As well as his various roles across Counties Manukau and the Bay of Plenty, he did a stint as a professional standards investigator for the Ombudsman in Ireland, where he was well-respected. He also worked as an adviser in the Solomon Islands, where he was instrumental in helping local police build their capability. Anderson said Murphy was already missed by his colleagues across New Zealand. Some would call him a legend. I do. If Barry Crump was alive today and writing a version of Good b**tards I have met in police then Dennis would be in one of the first five chapters. Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy was a legendary Bay of Plenty police officer serving 46 years before he died at the end of February. Photo / NZME Retired Deputy Commissioner Wallace Haumaha, who worked alongside Murphy in Rotorua, said it was a privilege to have stood beside one of the most dedicated and committed police officers he knew. Murphy was one of those truly remarkable officers, whose unwavering modus operandi was to serve and protect his community. He said Murphys quick wit and humour always lightened the mood when things got tough. He was just a bloody good cop, who epitomised courage, vigilance, but fairness when he needed to. We will miss Murphy, a man who absolutely held true to his values and belief, that he joined the police to make a difference. Former Rotorua Daily Post deputy editor Jill Nicholas said Murphy had all the endearing attributes of a true Irishman. His wry humour and colourful turn of phrase were legendary. So too was his ability to bond with the media, Nicholas said. He believed police and reporters had a symbiotic relationship and could help each other. Dennis Murphy was a legendary Rotorua police officer who loved the thrill of the chase. Photo / NZME Bland press releases werent his thing. He, like us, preferred the personal touch. It certainly paid dividends, not only giving us numerous front-page leads but, as he often said, Let the crims know the cops would leave no stone unturned until wed binned them'. Colleague Detective Sergeant Garry Hawkins said Murph had a great way of telling it how it was. He was sharp and quick-witted and made the job fun, but there was a serious side to him as well. He hated people who offended and made lives difficult for others. Murphys wife, Eileen, said he was a policeman through-and-through, and she was proud to be by his side for 35 years. They met after he went to Ireland to learn more about his Irish heritage. And he came back with me. They returned to Ireland some years later but staying meant he would have to leave the police. And that was never going to happen He has left a huge hole in our family not only here but in Ireland, she said. Murphy is survived by his children Kevin, Jessica and Tara and several grandchildren. His funeral service will be held at St Marys Catholic Church in Rotorua on Thursday at 11am. Dennis Murphys career 1979 Started with police and worked 14 years in South Auckland Started with police and worked 14 years in South Auckland 1993 Promoted to CIB in Rotorua Promoted to CIB in Rotorua 2004 Promoted to Senior Sergeant in charge of Turangi police station Promoted to Senior Sergeant in charge of Turangi police station 2005-2012 Held various roles in Rotorua including tactical co-ordinator, station supervisor and Bay of Plenty professional conduct manager Held various roles in Rotorua including tactical co-ordinator, station supervisor and Bay of Plenty professional conduct manager 2012 Solomon Islands adviser Solomon Islands adviser 2013 onwards Held several roles based in Rotorua including custody unit co-ordinator, shift commander, road policing co-ordinator and deployment co-ordinator -Bay of Plenty Times With long hospital waitlists for scans and operations making headlines, it is not so surprising to see online searches for "health insurance" surging since 2018. According to Google trends, interest in health insurance among Kiwis peaked in July 2024 since the search engine started recording the stats in 2004. While individuals who had claimed on their insurance say it has saved them both time and agony, experts say privatising healthcare frees up little capacity for our system. A woman in her 70s says she was lucky to have health insurance covering her eye surgery. "If I'd gone to the public system, they would have only been able to do one eye, then you go on the waitlist again to have the second eye done. Whereas in the private system they can do both eyes one week apart." Another woman, Jyoti, pays about $600 every month to insure her family. She said a long, painful wait for her husband's shoulder operation a few years ago prompted them to get private insurance. The shoulder operation would have cost the family $40,000 if they paid out of pocket, a sum Jyoti said would be impossible to save for, which was why insurance was necessary. "Because once you put money aside, you can use it for something else." Yoyo is from China and is in her forties. She told First Up she was considering health insurance after a friend died last year. "Last Christmas one of my friends was feeling unwell, they drove to the emergency themselves. The next day we chatted over a call, and then the next day I heard from another friend that they died, gone. I think it was a heart attack. "Things like that would make me feel like I need to have health insurance. Because for some specialised checks, I can't risk waiting when I'm older. The alternative is to buy a ticket and fly to China for treatment." She thought having health insurance could have prevented her friend's fate. "Because they would be put onto a comprehensive check and would've found out about what's wrong with them." But health insurance is not the answer for everyone. Consumer New Zealand investigative team leader Rebecca Styles said pre-existing conditions were generally not covered, which is why the public health system was still necessary. "That's how insurance works. If you've claimed on it, that will go into your history and it's likely that you'll be charged more for that condition or you'll be dropped, or they may even impose a standdown period. That is the dilemma of health insurance, the thing you need it for might not get cover for." She said before buying health insurance, it was best to speak with your GP to understand what you needed to get covered and ask detailed questions to the insurer. Styles said insurance still had a unique role to play in our healthcare system. "If there's a car accident, you'll be taken to the hospital and you'll be seen immediately. Health insurance is more for those non-urgent, but you need the care [scenarios]. Like a hip replacement, if you need cancer treatment or if you need these particular cancer drugs. That's when health insurance can sort of speed things up." Sarah Dalton from the Association of Salarised Medical Specialists feared private insurance freed up little capacity for the healthcare system. "This might be the case if we had a larger medical workforce available, but unfortunately we have got such significant workforce gaps across our health system now. So even sending work to private isn't necessarily going to ease the burden on public if you haven't got other staff available to fill those gaps when those people are off doing the work in private." Sarah Dalton Photo: LANCE LAWSON PHOTOGRAPHY / Supplied She was concerned that the growth of private healthcare could come at the cost of the public system when the healthcare workforce gap was currently at 1700 professionals and projected to grow to nearly 3500 by 2033. "So if those levels of medical shortages continue, it won't matter whether you're trying to access care through the public or private system. It's going to be a challenge, remembering that it is largely the same pool of doctors who provide services across both public and private sectors." Meanwhile, a Ministry of Health survey showed 49.5 per cent of people living in the most privileged neighbourhoods have private insurance, compared to just 16.5 per cent of people living in the poorest neighbourhoods. "I think the system here is still better than the one in the US where everybody's got to effectively have private insurance and it's, you know, you would, you don't want a two-tiered society," said a man with health insurance. -RNZ The University of Waikato will pay nearly $1.4 million for a 99-year lease on part of a Tauranga reserve where it plans to build a marine facility. The marine research and education facility will be established at Marine Park in Sulphur Point after years of controversy surrounding the future of the site. The new facility will replace the universitys Coastal Marine Field Station and include research laboratories, classrooms, and public engagement spaces. The lease was signed in July last year in the last few months of a Crown commissions term governing Tauranga City Council, which began in 2021. Initially, the lease agreement was not going to be made public until the lease ended in 99 years. At a February 10 meeting, councillors requested that the lease be made public but the university refused at that point, citing commercial sensitivity. Marine Park at Sulphur Point where the marine research facility will be built. Photo / George Novak The document was released at a council meeting on Monday as part of a comprehensive overview of the decision to reclassify part of Marine Park provided to the elected council. In 2017, Tauranga City Council was approached by the university to work towards establishing a research and educational facility at Sulphur Point. In 2018, the council attempted to revoke the reserve status of a chunk of Marine Park, but was blocked by then Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in 2020. The council instead reclassified 7000sq m of Marine Park land from recreation reserve to local purpose reserve in 2022, enabling the facility to be built there. There was a tender process for the lease and the university was the only applicant. University of Waikato deputy vice-chancellor Professor Alister Jones. Photo / Andrew Warner University of Waikato deputy vice-chancellor Professor Alister Jones told the meeting he had been working with coastal science chairman Professor Chris Battershill for 12 years to find a permanent home for marine science programmes. The university planned to create something truly unique for Tauranga that engaged the public directly with marine research projects. There wouldnt be another place like this globally. The facility would enable the university to focus on climate change and sustainability as well as aquaculture, which would contribute significantly to the economy, Jones said. The Government had a strong growth agenda for aquaculture to reach $3 billion in revenue per year by 2035. The university and Bay of Plenty were key players in driving that economic growth, he said. The university was working through the cost and engineering requirements of the facility and was due to report back to council in June as per the terms of the lease, Jones said. Tauranga Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular at a previous Tauranga City Council meeting. Photo / Alisha Evans Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said the lease was not a big return financially on prime land. Jones said the lease of $1.2m plus GST ($1.38m) was based on a commercial valuation of the land and the university was paying as if it were a profit-making organisation, despite being a Crown entity. It was also reclaimed land and in terms of value the university would have to sink more into the ground to build it and remediate contamination, he said. The council also had some clear expectations of the university under the agreement, Jones said. The lease would be paid in instalments with the final amount due no later than three years after construction began, according to the council report. Councillor Glen Crowther said it seemed like a great initiative for Tauranga and potentially the world, but he had concerns about the process the council undertook. Councillor Glen Crowther. Photo / Alisha Evans It was hard to believe the council embarked on a 100-year plan without doing a cost-benefit analysis and the quality of the community engagement was deeply concerning. I have a big concern also around the secrecy around it. We all knew it was university; it was a tailor-made solution. It was a fait accompli that it would happen. In 2018 council held consultation and public open days about the revocation process. In May and June 2022 there was consultation about the reclassification and submitters spoke at a meeting on June 27. In 2023 there were community protests, including a petition to Save Marine Park from people concerned the green-space reserve would be lost forever. A complaint was received by the Ombudsman relating to consultation undertaken as part of the reclassification process. The Ombudsman released his opinion last July, finding that the council had met the obligations under the Local Government and Reserves Act before making any decision. Councillor Hautapu Baker asked, to give effect to the partnership with mana whenua, what direct benefits the university would be providing given it was a long-term lease and could mean further alienation for them. Jones said iwi chairs were supportive of the research across the region and the university worked directly with iwi. It will add partnership as opposed to further alienation. Director of the universitys Tauranga campus Joseph Macfarlane said guiding principles with iwi were the research facility would be for the benefit of the land and the sea, and it was an intergenerational commitment. It was anticipated that the facility will be opened in 2027/28. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Rafael Vilchez Sorvilan Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 10:45 Compartir Sorvilan town hall in Granada province's Alpujarra has created a tourist route to showcase the village's historical, cultural, architectural, religious and craft heritage. Maria Elena Maldonado is collaborating in the project and she explains that the route "starts at the entrance of Sorvilan where a bench has already been installed over the sculpture of a beautiful and gigantic bunch of grapes. From this place you can see the Mediterranean Sea and the Sierra de la Contraviesa, among other things. The route continues to Plaza de Arriba, where there is a QR code to provide information. The next place is Fuente de Arriba, which has a sculpture of a beautiful little donkey. At Fuente de Abajo, which was once the place where local residents would do their washing, a sculpture of a washerwoman can be found. Zoom "From Plaza de Abajo you will reach the Plaza Magistrado Luis de la Torre, where the town hall used to be, and where the 17th century San Cayetano church is located, as well as the Ethnographic Museum, a journey into the past, history, roots, customs, culture, etcetera," explains Maldonado. And from there, following the circular route in the direction of the current town hall building, a large telescope has been installed which can be used free of charge. There is another sculpture which pays tribute to the village's wine industry. The municipality of Sorvilan belongs to the Red Oficial de los Pueblos Magicos de Espana (official network of magic villages of Spain). It stretches from the Contraviesa mountain range to the sea and includes the villages of Alfornon, Los Yesos and Melicena. Participants at the meeting which took place this Tuesday at the Andalusian Government Delegation in Malaga. Eugenio Cabezas Axarquia Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 13:01 Compartir The Muscat of Alexandria grape is a crop in decline in the Axarquia area of Malaga province, due to the expansion in the subtropical fruit sector which is more profitable. Local farmers are encouraged to replace the old, centuries-old vines with mango or avocado trees. However, in the villages of Cutar, Moclinejo, Almachar, El Borge and Iznate, some 2,000 hectares vines are still cultivated every year, with around 2,000 families working in the sector, which produces grapes, raisins and sweet wines. In April 2018 the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) declared the Axarquia raisin a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIHAS), a distinction with which the Axarquia wants to keep this traditional crop alive and turn it into a niche opportunity for the villages. However, low profitability, scarcity of funding and support and the drought, which has reduced production, have all had a major impact on the sector in recent years. In an attempt to continue giving international projection to the label and to build bridges with other countries that also have GIHAS status, the Junta de Andalucia hosted on Tuesday 4 March a meeting of representatives from Malaga, Costa Rica and Honduras. It was the second transnational meeting of this international cooperation project, which is financed by the European Union - Costa Rica - Latin America and the Caribbean Adelante2 Triangular Cooperation Fund. The project is financed by the European Union - Costa Rica - Latin America and the Caribbean Adelante2 Triangular Cooperation Fund. Junta de Andalucia spokesperson Fernando Fernandez welcomed the guests who included representatives from Costa Rica's ministry of agriculture and livestock and Honduras' secretariat of agriculture and livestock. The Costa Rican and Honduran offices of the FAO are providing technical support to the project. Alianza Gihas' main objective is the recognition of traditional agricultural systems through a series of stages and coordinated actions, "which will involve the strengthening of the technical and management capacities of the key entities and actors involved in each country," according to a press release from the Junta de Andalucia. Knowledge sharing This second GIHAS meeting forms part of a series of key activities for the exchange of knowledge and experiences, which allows for the strengthening of the local communities in the participating countries. The agenda included a visit to a vineyard where visitors saw the production of Malaga raisins and wines. There were also working sessions with representatives of the participating organisations from the three countries. Meetings were held with municipal representatives, producers, cooperatives, associations and other local actors linked to the production systems. They took place in Malaga, Almachar, Velez-Malaga, Moclinejo and Comares. In Costa Rica, the coffee system in the Los Santos area is characterised by a combination of traditional and modern agricultural practices. This system is crucial for the local economy, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. In the municipality of Danli in Honduras, the traditional production systems include livestock, grains, coffee, bananas, tobacco, cocoa, and vegetables. Pilar Martinez Berlin Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 12:17 Compartir Malaga Airport is the gateway for more than seven out of every ten Germans arriving in Andalucia (75.5%), which accounts for almost 7% of the national share. The facility received almost one million German passengers last year, growing by 19.3% compared with 2023 and exceeding the 2019 figures by 24.7%. The German market took off strongly in 2024 - a continuing upward trend expected to last throughout 2025. However, this will happen without increased air connectivity between Malaga and Germany during this year's high season, as Francisco Salado, president of Turismo Costa del Sol, has stated. According to him, airlines will offer 712,000 seats this summer, which represents a slight decrease of 1.6% compared to last year. Zoom The president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, speaking in Berlin. Nito Salas Airlines have programmed direct flights with 14 German cities, adding Munster to this year's list and removing Dortmund. A total of 10,441 seats will be available between Malaga and the German destinations in question. The cities with the greatest number of seats are Karlsruhe, Bremen and Stuttgart. Salado has stated that five airlines will operate an average of 119 flights between Malaga and Germany per week. The lowest number of flights will be in March (92 flights per week), while the highest will be in August (129). According to Turismo's president, searches for flights to the Costa del Sol keep growing at a rate of 27%. Between 1 January and 12 February there were 3.1 million searches from Germany. To strengthen its position in this market, the Costa del Sol has a budget of one million euros for promotional activities in Germany - 42% more than last year. Germany is the second most important international market, after the UK, growing at a rate above the international average. Salado also highlighted Malaga's position in the ranking of Spanish provinces with the highest number of passengers from Germany. The Costa del Sol was in fifth place, preceded by the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Barcelona and Madrid. "The Costa del Sol has managed to be the second province with the best growth between 2023 and 2024, surpassed only by Alicante," he said. Improving connectivity is one of the challenges for presenters at this year's edition of the ITB travel fair in Berlin. At the event, Salado highlighted the high number that the German market recorded in Malaga province in 2024: some 803,000 tourists and an income of almost 1.3 billion euros, or an increase of 9.9% and 15.4%, respectively, compared with 2023. "Expectations are high and we are confident that we will continue to grow in terms of revenue and visitors," he stated. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The UN General Assembly unanimously approved the establishment of the Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty, Trend reports. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed gratitude to all partner states for supporting the Kazakh initiative. Tokayev believes that the UN Regional Hub will become an important platform for coordinating international efforts in the region. DEAR ABBY: I am a 47-year-old woman who passes for early 30s. I understand that most women would pay money to look 15 years younger than their age, but people often make and voice assumptions about me that are annoying. I have never felt that people take me seriously despite my two masters degrees and the business I started with three locations. For years, I have suffered a constant and insensitive barrage of questions and assumptions about my reproductive status. I have gotten pretty adept at countering When are you going to have kids? with God didnt grant me that superpower, so my husband and I are dog parents who enjoy going on adventures. I am now going through menopause. Despite being on medications to control the symptoms, I often suffer a hot flash at work while meeting with customers. I keep a paper fan at my desk, but I get funny looks from customers when I grab it and start fanning away at my suddenly red and sweaty face. Ill usually smile and ask for a minute to recover from the hot flash, but I am inevitably told that I am too young to be experiencing hot flashes. If only that were true. My instinct is to snarkily counter, Well, my doctor would disagree, but that doesnt sound friendly. What would you recommend as an appropriate response? -- YOUNG-ISH IN MISSOURI DEAR YOUNG-ISH: When you are told you are too young to be going through menopause, rather than snarl, try SMILING and saying, Tell that to my doctor! It will get the message across without being confrontational. P.S. People may not be aware that menopause has been known to strike women who are younger than you. ** ** ** Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.** ** ** To order How to Write Letters for All Occasions, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.) COPYRIGHT 2025 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500 Kenneth Koegel was sentenced to federal prison for 45 years on March 5, 2025 (Courtesy state Sex Offender Registry.) Baldwinsville, N.Y. A Baldwinsville man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for filming himself sexually abusing a child and then distributing the images, federal prosecutors said. Kenneth Koegel, 40, previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child, receipt and distribution of child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Northern District of New York. From 2014 to 2022, Koegel sexually abused a girl from the age of 2 years old until she was 9 years old, federal prosecutors said. He photographed and videotaped the abuse, they said. He distributed those images through social messaging apps, including Instagram. He traded thousands of other child pornography files with a man in Arizona, investigators said in court documents. The man told the FBI he traded over 2,000 files with Koegel, under an alias, prosecutors said. Koegel told the man he had regular sexual contact with a child and sent videos and photos of the abuse, they said. Koegels face is visible in multiple images, according to court documents. Koegel also admitted to committing a felony offense against a child as a registered sex offender. He was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in 2004. He admitted to exposing his genitals to a 6-year-old girl and touching her genitals in a public park in Monroe County, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to two years in state prison. Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was killed after being tortured for nearly a month, police have said. Provided by Kayla Nordquist Canandaigua, N.Y. Two children were coerced into torturing Sam Nordquist before his death by one of seven defendants who now face first-degree murder charges, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Ontario County District Attorneys Office held a news conference in Canandaigua to announce that a grand jury had indicted seven people on first-degree murder charges in the torture death of Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man. They all were originally charged with second-degree murder. One person, Precious Arzuaga, also was charged with first-degree coercion for forcing a seven- and 12-year-old to witness and participate in the torture, said Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County first assistant district attorney at a news conference in Canandaigua. To have two children participate in the beating of another human being is deeply disturbing, Wolford said. We have a seven- and 12-year-old who are also victims. They may have been forced to participate, but their lives are forever changed by what they saw and endured. State Police and the DAs office refused to say what the relationship was between Arzuaga and the children. Nordquist, who was originally from Minnesota, traveled to the Finger Lakes area last September to meet Arzuaga, his online girlfriend. He was last known to be staying at Pattys Lodge Motel in Canandaigua. In Room 22 of the motel, he was repeatedly sexually assaulted and brutally beaten with multiple objects, police said. Nordquist died as a result of the month-long torture. All seven defendants Arzuaga, Emily Jean Motyka, Jennifer A. Quijano, Kyle R. Sage and Patrick A. Goodwin, Kimberly L. Sochia and Thomas G. Eaves were charged with first-degree murder for killing Nordquist in an especially cruel manner with the intent to inflict torture on him before his death, Wolford said. Four of the defendants Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage and Goodwin were also charged with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse for inserting a foreign object into Nordquist. Seven people have been charged in connection with the death of Sam Nordquist, 24, near Canandaigua. Those charged are: Top row, from left, are Precious Arzuaga, Jennifer A. Quijano, Emily Motyka and Kimberly L. Sochia. Bottom row, from left, are Patrick A Goodwin, Kyle Sage and Tomas G. Eaves. courtesy of State Police First degree murder carries the possibility of a sentence of life in prison with no parole. New York state no longer has the death penalty, but this would have been a death penalty eligible charge, Wolford said. Well never know the answer to why because what kind of human being could do this, Wolford said. We will never make sense of this case. Kelly Wolford, the Ontario County first assistant district attorney, speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, about indictments in the murder of Sam Nordquist. Greta Stuckey From about Jan. 1 until his death on Feb. 2, Nordquist was prevented from using a phone, according to Wolford. He was kept in confinement and forced to stand and kneel facing the wall. He was hit, punched, kicked and sexually assaulted, she said. He was also denied proper nutrition and hydration, forced to eat feces, forced to drink urine and chew spit, Wolford said. He was physically restrained, forced to obey commands like a dog, covered in the face with towels and shirts, duct taped and had bleach poured on him by the defendants, she said. He was repeatedly struck with numerous objects including sticks, dog toys, rope, bottles, belts, canes and wooden boards, according to court documents. The State Police and district attorney are not looking into anyone as a specific ringleader of the group because all seven people acted in concert with each other to torture and kill Nordquist, Wolford said. In addition to the first-degree murder charge, all seven have been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. Everyone except Eaves was charged with concealment of a human corpse after the six defendants left Nordquists body in a field off Payne Road in Yates County. His body was found by police on Feb. 13. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed in February according to State Police. His body was found in a field off Payne Rd near Penn Yann. Steve Featherstone | sfeatherstone@syracuse.com There are relationships among all seven defendants, according to Wolford. She said they were all known to each other, including romantic relationships, family relationships and some people that just knew each other from being around the area. In response to questions regarding why this case isnt being considered a hate crime, Wolford said its much bigger than that. A hate crime would make this charge about Sams gender or about Sams race, and its so much bigger, Wolford said. To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. The district attorney is still waiting on an arraignment date for the seven defendants. They are all in custody so it will be in the next week or week in a half, Wolford said. The indictment was filed Wednesday morning. Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was living at Patty's Lodge in Hopewell, NY, before he was murdered in February. He was tortured repeatedly for over a month before he was killed, according to State Police. Steve Featherstone | sfeatherstone@syracuse.com BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 5. Employees of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Kyrgyzstan detained 30 supporters of a clandestine terrorist group, Trend reports via SCNS. Meanwhile, it is noted that the activity of this group was coordinated with foreign centers of international terrorist organizations (ITO). Members of the mentioned group systematically held conspiratorial meetings, where they propagandized radical ideology, as well as collecting money to finance terrorist activities. It was found that the main purpose of this radical group was to commit so-called jihad against the constitutional order of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as planning terrorist acts against officials, employees of special services, and law enforcement agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic. The video instructions for making an improvised explosive device were seized from one of the members of the group, the information notes. Information emphasizes that the investigation is currently underway. The Harris Steak, a 16 oz. bone-in New York steak served at Harris Restaurant in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. (Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) San Francisco Chronicle via Gett By Steve Barnes | Times Union, Albany, N.Y. (TNS) Albany, N.Y. A Manhattan public relations executive often hungry for attention for his politics-themed restaurant near the state Capitol said Monday that he plans a $1 million lawsuit against the state of Texas, where the lieutenant governor is working on a toothless resolution to rename a beef cut most popularly known as the New York strip steak as the Texas strip. The New York strip steak is more than just a menu item, Albany War Room Tavern owner Todd Shapiro said in a statement. Its a symbol of our states rich history and culinary excellence. We cannot stand by while our traditions are undermined. He said the War Room sells 50 New York strips weekly. It was unclear Tuesday morning which court would have jurisdiction in such a suit, as the resolution, which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested on X is intended as a promotional tool for the states cattle industry, would be in effect only in Texas and would not carry the force of law. Were the resolution to pass the Texas legislature, the state would ask but not require the name change on restaurant menus and retail labels, Patrick said. The exact grounds for the threatened suit also were not immediately clear, nor how Shapiro arrived at the $1 million figure. Shapiros announcement said the filing would argue that such a rebranding infringes upon New Yorks cultural heritage and poses economic harm to businesses that rely on the recognition and popularity of the New York strip steak. In an interview Tuesday morning, Shapiro said he was leaving the legal fine points to his lawyer. I just showed him everything about what theyre doing in Texas, and he said he thought it was a good idea to sue, Shapiro said. Regardless of what its called, the steak is cut from the short loin of beef cattle. Variously known as the ambassador steak, strip loin steak, club steak and Omaha strip, the steak got its most common name from being popularized by the New York City institution Delmonicos, founded in 1827 and called the first fine-dining restaurant in America. Usually boneless, a bone-in version of the cut is often referred to as the Kansas City strip. Patricks announcement included a political element, noting that Texas has by far the nations largest population of beef cattle. He said, Liberal New York shouldnt get the credit for our hard-working ranchers. We wouldnt try to change the name of Texas barbecue, so he shouldnt go after our culinary heritage, Shapiro said. I think (Patrick is) doing a cheap publicity stunt. ----- 2025 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon stands next to Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra during a visit to the planned site of a computer chip megafab in Clay, N.Y. on Friday, April 28, 2023. Micron plans to invest as much as $100 billion in the complex. (Katrina Tulloch | ktulloch@syracuse.com) Syracuse, N.Y. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon called a hastily arranged news conference this morning to respond to President Donald Trumps statement Tuesday night that Congress should repeal the CHIPS Act that is funding the Micron Technology project in Clay. McMahon brushed off Trumps comment, made during his address to Congress, as rhetoric in the arena. He acknowledged that Trumps words had raised concerns among local residents. He said he had already spoken to Micron officials about the speech. But McMahon offered several pieces of evidence that the Trump administration is moving forward with the Micron project and that Congress would have no appetite to undermine CHIPS funding that has already been awarded. First, McMahon said, county officials have been working day to day with federal representatives to complete the environmental review for the Micron project. The Commerce Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers continue to work on the project, he said. I have no complaints about all of our agency partners in the environmental review process, McMahon said. Theyre doing a lot of work. They were all here just a couple weeks ago, working on this. Since Trump took office there has been no indication that federal officials are slowing or stopping their work on the project, he said. The second an agency puts pencils down on the review, then Im concerned and Im going to make a lot of noise, McMahon said. And then, you know, Ill be in DC having these conversations. Secondly, McMahon pointed out that he just met Monday in Washington with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former Congressman and gubernatorial candidate from New York. Zeldin expressed his interest in helping Onondaga County develop major infrastructure including water and wastewater facilities to serve Micron and the supply chain companies that may follow Micron to the area. Zeldin also promised to look at the possibility of easing EPA restrictions to speed the Micron construction, McMahon said. We talked about ways that we can assure that the Micron project stays on schedule, and also potential ways that the construction schedule could get easier -- what types of regulations could get easier to help make it easier for Micron to build the two fabs, but also for supply chain companies to come into the community. (Those are) certainly not actions of an administration that does not want the project to move forward, McMahon said. All that might change, of course, if Trump persuades Congress to repeal the CHIPS Act, which allocates $52 billion for semiconductor projects around the country. Micron and other companies have signed contracts that guarantee subsidies in Microns case, $6.1 billion but the money wont be paid until certain construction and employment milestones are met. Last fall, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a visit to Syracuse that Congress would likely repeal the law. Johnson made his comments while campaigning with former Rep. Brandon Williams in Syracuse. After Williams publicly disagreed with Johnson, the speaker walked back his comments on the same day. Johnson said his biggest concern with the CHIPS Act was over other provisions crammed into the bill, including green energy requirements for the new manufacturing plants. McMahon said he is confident that Congress will not repeal CHIPS. Lawmakers might tinker around the edges -- to remove green energy mandates, for example but he sees zero risk they would undo projects that have already been approved. Too many members of Congress have major projects in their districts to allow such a legislative action to pass. No Democrat would vote against CHIPS, McMahon said. And GOP senators from Idaho, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and other states have too much at stake to kill semiconductor projects in their districts, McMahon said. You arent getting 60 votes out of the United States Senate to vote against the CHIPS and Science Act, okay? McMahon said. The federal government agreed last year to provide Micron with $6.1 billion in grants under the CHIPS Act to build new plants in the town of Clay and at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho. About $4.8 billion of the total would be used to build the first two of four massive chip fabrication plants at White Pine Commerce Park in Clay. The company also has been promised lucrative federal tax incentives. In return for the subsidies, Micron has promised to move forward with a $100 billion development of four fabs in Clay, the biggest expansion in company history. Micron said the four plants in Clay would directly employ up to 9,000 people and create about 40,000 spinoff jobs in Central New York over the next 20 years. Micron said it plans to begin construction on the first plant in November. During his speech Tuesday, Trump called the CHIPS Act a horrible thing and urged Congress to get rid of it. Your CHIP Act is a horrible, horrible thing, Trump said. We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesnt mean a thing. They take our money, and they dont spend it. McMahon said presidential speeches before Congress are political affairs, and Trumps words should be understood in the context of a highly partisan event. He said he is more focused on the actual work being done by the federal government. When he talked with Micron officials after the speech, they were focused on the work ahead rather than the political theater, McMahon said. Theres rhetoric in the arena, McMahon said. And theres actions on the ground. Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached at: email | Twitter | 315-470-3023. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) AP Washington President Donald Trump on Tuesday night called for Congress to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, the law that convinced Micron Technology to spend up to $100 billion building computer chip plants in Central New York. You should get rid of the CHIPS Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want, Trump said during his joint address to Congress. Trump dropped the bombshell after noting that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. agreed this week to increase its investment in U.S. computer chip plants. TSMC said it would invest an additional $100 billion in new American plants without federal subsidies, on top of the $65 billion it previously agreed to invest with incentives from the CHIPS Act. The president, about an hour into his speech Tuesday night, unleashed his most pointed criticism yet of the $52 billion CHIPS Act, a bill that passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2022. Your CHIP Act is a horrible, horrible thing, Trump said. We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesnt mean a thing. They take our money, and they dont spend it. The president did not provide any specific examples about unspent grants from the CHIPS Act. Trump suggested that TSMC decided to expand without federal incentives because, all that was important to them was they didnt want to pay the tariffs. The federal government agreed last year to provide Micron with $6.1 billion in grants under the CHIPS Act to build new plants in the town of Clay and at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho. About $4.8 billion of the total would be used to build the first two of four massive chip fabrication plants at White Pine Commerce Park in Clay. In return for the subsidies, Micron has promised to move forward with its biggest expansion in company history. Micron said the four plants in Clay would directly employ up to 9,000 people and create about 40,000 spinoff jobs in Central New York over the next 20 years. Micron said it plans to begin construction on the first plant in November. After Trumps comments Tuesday night, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul hammered home whats at risk if Trump cuts off the funding. The CHIPS & Science Act is the reason Micron is bringing $100 billion and 50,000 jobs to Central New York, Hochul said in a statement. Trump just said he wants to get rid of it. Trump has criticized the CHIPS Act in the past. He suggested that high tariffs on imports would be a better incentive for chip companies to move production back to the U.S. That chip deal is so bad, Trump said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in October. We put up billions of dollars for rich companies. A few days later, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a visit to Syracuse that Congress would likely repeal the law. Johnson made his comments while campaigning with former Rep. Brandon Williams in Syracuse. After Williams publicly disagreed with Johnson, the speaker walked back his comments on the same day. Johnson said his biggest concern with the CHIPS Act was over other provisions crammed into the bill, including green energy requirements for the new manufacturing plants. Two top Micron officials said in Syracuse last week that theyre confident the Trump administration wont undermine the companys plans in Central New York. The Micron executives said Republicans and Democrats in Congress want to push ahead with the CHIPS Act and expand chipmaking in places like Central New York. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 A Central New York school district says some children got sick this week after eating a candy that may have contained a substance. WBNG reports the Homer Central School District sent a message to parents Tuesday informing them about an incident involving what was described as a candy bar at the Homer Intermediate School. According to WXHC, a small group of kids took the candy bar from another student and ate it in the bathroom on Monday. The students became sick after eating it and went to the nurses office. Parents were called, and their children were taken to the hospital for evaluation. While I have not officially been made aware of the contents of the candy bar, it is obvious to me that it contained some substance that caused some students to become sick to their stomach, vomit, and become lethargic, Homer Central Schools Superintendent Tom Turck said in a statement. Thankfully, all of them are fine and were released to go home last evening. Turck told WXHC that he could not confirm if the candy was a marijuana edible or some other substance. He also did not specify how many children were involved or what age they were. We are looking into the issue and will take appropriate action as it relates to disciplinary action after determining the facts, he told the Cortland County radio station. The message sent to parents encouraged them to talk to their children about being cautious with what they consume and about receiving food from other people. The incident occurred on the same day that weed gummies sickened 11 children at a Long Island middle school. Similar incidents have been reported at other U.S. schools, including at a California elementary school in 2022 when third-graders consumed cannabis candy, thinking it was regular candy. The Upstate New York Poison Center says nearly 200 children under the age of 6 ended up in emergency rooms over the past year after ingesting or being exposed to cannabis. The poison center said cannabis-related calls declined in 2024, but risks still exist from consumption of edibles such as gummies and snacks; some marijuana products look like candy and foods that can appeal to children. Syracuse City Clerk Patricia McBride was placed on paid leave Monday, Feb. 3, pending the outcome of an investigation into hostile workplace allegations. (City of Syracuse) City of Syracuse Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuses city clerk returned to her job Tuesday after an attorneys investigation found hostile workplace complaints against her were not substantiated. The Common Council put Patricia McBride, the city clerk since 2022, on paid leave Feb. 3 pending the outcome of an investigation into complaints brought by multiple employees under her. Attorney Colin Leonard, an employment law specialist with Bond, Schoeneck & King, conducted the probe and reported the results to councilors during a closed-door executive session Monday. Councilor Pat Hogan, who serves as the bodys president pro tempore, said the common councils outside attorney, Thomas Cerio, and the citys corporation counsel staff also attended the session. Hogan said he could not discuss details of the allegations or investigation findings, but said the conclusion was that alleged hostile workplace violations against McBride were unsubstantiated under city policy and state law. Councilors decided McBride should return to her job, but they would also take steps to make sure all parties could continue in their roles going forward, he said. McBride declined to comment for this story other than to say she looks forward to resuming her duties and working to the best of her ability. McBride has served as the city clerk since 2022, when she took over for longtime former clerk John Copanas. McBride started at city hall as deputy clerk in 2014. City clerk is an appointed position filled by the council. The clerks office has a $400,000 budget and manages staff in both public-facing clerks office on City Halls first floor and common council support staff on the third floor. McBride was paid $94,000 in 2023, the most recent year for which payroll information is available. Brian Driscoll, the deputy city clerk, managed day-to-day operations of the clerks office while McBride was on paid leave. Hogan previously said the council put McBride on leave and authorized the outside investigation at the request of the citys human resources department based on state and city law and policies. City clerk duties include processing legislative requests for council meetings, preparing meeting agendas, recording and posting meeting minutes and publishing legal notices. In addition, the clerk issues marriage, dog, fishing and hunting licenses. Prior to working at City Hall, McBride was assistant director for the Syracuse Housing Authoritys Section 8 Housing Program. Shes a member of SHAs board of directors. City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook. By Dan Clark | Times Union, Albany Albany, N.Y. Tariffs from the Trump administration that took effect Tuesday are expected to disrupt the agriculture industry in New York, where farmers are bracing for higher costs and lower profit margins. Our farmers are already dealing with razor-thin margins, said David Fisher, president of the New York Farm Bureau. Farmers in New York depend on trade with Canada in particular. That country, Mexico and China were the three hit with new tariffs Tuesday on goods imported to the U.S. All three have said they plan to impose retaliatory tariffs. Thats made agriculture stakeholders in New York uneasy about how to plan for the upcoming planting season, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Theyre anxious. Theyve got a lot of stress in their lives already, Hochul said. This is this one more layer that they didnt need to have. The entire supply of potash, a common potassium fertilizer, thats used by farmers in New York is imported from Canada, for example. The price of that will now be higher because of the 25% tariff on goods imported here from the country. Farmers in New York also rely on a steady supply of wood shavings from Canadian sources for certain livestock. Those are expected to become more expensive as well. But the impact of the tariffs will grow through the retaliatory tariffs imposed by the three counties on goods imported from the U.S., Hochul said. Thats because 40% of the agricultural products made in New York are exported to other countries. Mexico, for example, imports apples from New York, which is the second-highest apple producing state in the country. So does Washington, the countrys top apple producer. If demand from other countries drops, each states apple industry will have to compete for consumers. Theyre setting out the Hunger Games amongst American farmers, said state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Hudson Valley Democrat who chairs the Agriculture Committee. Its a really big deal. President Donald J. Trump imposed the tariffs to put pressure on the three countries to help stem the tide of immigrants and illicit drugs, including fentanyl, flowing into the U.S. Hes also said the tariffs will drive consumers toward American-made products and spur companies to bring back jobs to the U.S. that had been moved out of the country. He encouraged farmers in a post on social media to prepare for an industry shift in which products are primarily sold within the country. To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States, Trump wrote. Have fun! But Hinchey said that would do exactly what she predicted by pitting farmers across the country against each other. If demand does not rise to meet the larger supply, that could force more farms out of business, she said. Youre increasing prices for farmers through the supply chain for what they need and then youre strangling the markets, Hinchey said. The senator also noted that the tariffs could be used as an argument for New York, and other states, to solidify their own individual markets. That way, she said, the state would be more resilient to major fluctuations elsewhere. Farms in New York are already struggling to meet costs, according to a recent report from the state comptrollers office. There were 4,887 fewer farms in New York in 2022, compared to 2012, the report found. That was a decrease of about 14%. The state lost more than 9% of its farmland in the same period about 680,000 acres. The tariffs extend beyond the agriculture industry as well. The states manufacturing industry is particularly vulnerable, said Heather Mulligan, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State. Our states employers produce over $20 billion in goods that are purchased between Canada and Mexico and account for nearly a million jobs, Mulligan said. The tariffs will also be part of negotiations on the state budget, Hochul said Tuesday. Because the state is a large purchaser and provides aid to entities that incur similar costs, that impact has to be factored into the spending plan, she said. Itll have a big effect on our costs as well and well have to take that to the table when were talking about the budget, Hochul said. The state budget is due April 1. That gives Hochul and lawmakers four weeks to reach a deal ahead of the states new fiscal year. 2025 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.). Visit www.timesunion.com. A fifth grade math class at Elden Elementary solves problems in a tight classroom. Some students sit at desks while others problem-solve on the carpeted floor. Two elementary schools in the Baldwinsville school district are 70 years old and need extensive work, which voters approved as part of a $242 million renovation project in December 2024. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com) Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com Baldwinsville, NY One of Onondaga Countys largest school districts is embarking on a $242 million renovation and expansion project that will add dozens of new classrooms and reconfigure existing schools. The ambitious project, which voters approved in December, is meant in part to create additional space for more for students even as enrollment has been declining in recent years. The expansion is needed, school officials say, for two main reasons. First, todays classrooms and technology call for more space and upgraded facilities, some of which are more than 70 years old. And second? Micron Technology. Microns arrival in Syracuses northern suburbs promises to bring thousands of jobs and families. One estimate shows the area population could grow by 25% in coming years. The Baldwinsville district, with 5,200 students, is ripe for that kind of growth. The district currently has about 71 students per square mile, fewer than the countys four larger school districts, district officials said. The village center is surrounded by swaths of undeveloped land in Lysander and Van Buren. That means theres room for residential units to be built in the district, said Baldwinsville Schools Superintendent Joseph DeBarbieri. Already, several housing developments are under consideration by local leaders. That includes a 270-unit apartment complex in Baldwinsville and another in Lysander that includes a mix of 600 apartments, townhomes and single-family houses. A handful of other projects are farther along. For example, Treybrook on Route 48 has residents living there, and plans call for it to expand with an additional 72 or so townhomes and more single-family homes as well. What we are seeing is a lot of building and development in the Baldwinsville and Lysander areas lately, said Dan Barnaba, a developer, builder and president of Eldan Homes, which plans to build more homes in the Harbor Heights development. Part of that is the Baldwinsville school district has become very desirable." Thats why Baldwinsville schools have to be prepared, DeBarbieri said. We know if we dont start doing this work now we might find ourselves in a situation where we are absolutely in trouble trying to accommodate the people that move into this district, he said. A elementary school student at Elden walks back to his classroom. The students keep their boots and bags lined against the hallway walls because of limited space in the classrooms. The district is embarking on a $242 million renovation project approved by voters in December 2024. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com) Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com Like other school districts, enrollment has ebbed in recent years. In the past decade, Baldwinsville shrunk by about 300 students, state data show. Micron is expected to bring more than 1,300 students into the district, if the population grows as expected, according to DeBarbieri. Overall, county leaders have said the region needs build 2,000 to 2,500 housing units a year for the next 15 years to meet expected demand. At Baldwinsville schools, some of the changes are for outdoor spaces, such as adding a playground at a middle school to make way for younger students and redrawing bus lines for safer drop-offs, the superintendent said. Most schools are getting new roofs. The high school is getting a new track and turf at its stadium. But its class space for future elementary students that is really getting beefed up, according to the districts plans. Two schools -- Ray and Durgee -- are getting new additions that will add dozens of classrooms. Ray elementary alone is getting a new second floor with 23 classrooms, according to the approved plans. Overall, the project will add 30 to 40 new classrooms spread across current elementary and middle schools. In the end, most of the current elementary schools will teach younger students up to third grade. Older kids, grades 4 to 6, will move to Ray. Durgee will continue as a junior high. Other changes will address needs for pre-Kindergarten and services like occupational and physical therapy, challenges even without Microns promises of growth, DeBarbieri said. Other spaces are cramped, he said, including the gymnasium at Palmer Elementary. No schools are closing, and no new school is planned, for now, DeBarbieri said. However, additional space will likely be needed to address the full Micron effect 10 years down the road, he said. That could possibly mean building another elementary school, he added. District voters approved the plans in December, 1,217 to 424. New York state taxpayers are footing 87% of the $242 million bill. Another share, $17.7 million, will come from the districts reserves. That leaves district taxpayers paying for about $14.5 million, or 6% of the overall project. For a home assessed at $250,000, that means a $25 increase in taxes each year over six years, the district says. The project, which will happen in three phases, also includes building repairs, infrastructure improvements, routine maintenance and increased safety and security measures. Construction is expected to start in 2026 and continue through the next six years. That timeline could line up with residential developments already approved by local officials such as Drakes Landing with more than 150 apartments and Timber Banks. Crego Farms in Van Buren, now referred to as Brolex Living Community, would put more than 400 units onto a wedge of land near the village that is just south of the Seneca River. That project is still awaiting planning board approval. Others are in the pipeline, including a plan for 600 homes at Melvin Farms just north of the village. That development is still working its way through the local permitting process. The proposals, though, show the area is prime for more home, said Barnaba, the local builder. Theres a lot more room for growth in the Baldwinsville school district area, he said. A fifth grade math class at Elden Elementary works in a tight classroom. Some students sit at desks while others problem-solve on the carpeted floor. Voters approved a $242 million renovation project in December. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com) Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 5. The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF) and the Tourism Development Support Fund of Kyrgyzstan have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at creating favorable conditions for the development of the tourism sector, Trend reports. This agreement will allow both organizations to combine efforts in attracting investments and implementing projects in the fields of mountain, wellness, and ecotourism. Upcoming plans include the construction of modern ski resorts, the modernization of sanatoriums and resort facilities, the creation of spa resorts, and the development of ecotourism routes. These initiatives are expected to increase Kyrgyzstans appeal to tourists from around the world. According to the Chairman of the RKDF, Artem Novikov, the fund strongly supports all initiatives aimed at developing mountain tourism in Kyrgyzstan. "To date, we have implemented 221 projects in the tourism sector, amounting to $61 million. We are ready to provide the Tourism Fund with consulting, legal, and other servicesfrom project selection and discussions with investors to financial modeling and risk assessment," he said. The President of the Tourism Fund, Kylychbek Rysaliev, emphasized that the strategic objectives of the partnership include attracting investments, improving the quality of tourism services, and implementing international infrastructure projects. The agreement provides for active collaboration between the parties in forming the investment portfolio, conducting preliminary assessments, developing technical and economic justifications, and structuring project proposals. Additionally, the parties will work together on project implementation, including coordination with government agencies and marketing promotion. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. iashishi BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 39 Thanked: 269 Times After making the full payment, I put the car in reverse and got an error in the display saying "camera device not found". I informed to Krishna and we opened the boot and found that a wire had been disconnected. After connecting the wire also, the camera was not working. Then came the second issue, we were not able to close the boot. We finally adjusted the boot release button and managed to close the boot. All these should have raised enough red flags, but I was so eager to drive that I left thinking I will get the camera fixed from my trusted mechanic. This was a big mistake in hindsight. On the way home, I learnt that one of my left indicators was not working. Also a two wheeler was waving frantically at me on the ring road and when I rolled down the windows he said my fuel filler cap was open. I quickly found a spot to stop the car and I couldnt close the cap. Accord has a common button for boot and fuel filler, one opens on pull and other opens on push. I tried to adjust the button but could not get boot and filler to close at the same time. I finally started with filler still open and reached home safely without any other incidents. This was a drive of around 15 kms. To show off my car, I had parked in the visitor's parking at my apartment so that we could go on quick rounds with the family. In the evening, I got my family to the car and everyone admired the new paint job and the seats. We all strapped in and I tried starting the car....battery was down. Now I started recalling all the things Krishna had said and I knew there was a leak. 15kms of drive should have been enough to charge the battery and all the issues with camera and left indicator could have caused it. Someone who has never worked on a car like me knew this, but Krishna either doesnt know electrics or deliberately chose to mislead me at the time of delivery. I quickly got a guy to jump start my car and found another issue. We could not close the bonnet. At this point I was so frustrated that, I drove it straight to my designated parking. Thankfully, I didnt go for that promised drive. As soon as I parked my car and got out, I noticed a trail of oil on the floor. I was scared it was engine oil and didnt move the car further and immediately called Krishna. At this point, my car had following issues: 1) Bonnet not closing 2) Fuel filler cap not closing/ boot not closing 3) Battery draining within 2-3 hours 4) Rear camera not working 5) Rear seat arm rest still had fake wood finish 6) Oil Leak 7) Front Left Indicator not working While discussing the work, Krishna Prasad told about a few things that on hindsight should have led me to inspect the vehicle more closely, but I didnt. He said, the front bonnet has some issue and he had to adjust some clamp to make things fit. He also said, the battery of the accord does not seem to be sufficient to power all the electrics and suggested to upgrade to a bigger battery. Having experienced honda engineering for nearly 15 years, I knew this was completely false.After making the full payment, I put the car in reverse and got an error in the display saying "camera device not found". I informed to Krishna and we opened the boot and found that a wire had been disconnected. After connecting the wire also, the camera was not working. Then came the second issue, we were not able to close the boot. We finally adjusted the boot release button and managed to close the boot. All these should have raised enough red flags, but I was so eager to drive that I left thinking I will get the camera fixed from my trusted mechanic. This was a big mistake in hindsight.On the way home, I learnt that one of my left indicators was not working. Also a two wheeler was waving frantically at me on the ring road and when I rolled down the windows he said my fuel filler cap was open.I quickly found a spot to stop the car and I couldnt close the cap. Accord has a common button for boot and fuel filler, one opens on pull and other opens on push. I tried to adjust the button but could not get boot and filler to close at the same time. I finally started with filler still open and reached home safely without any other incidents. This was a drive of around 15 kms.To show off my car, I had parked in the visitor's parking at my apartment so that we could go on quick rounds with the family. In the evening, I got my family to the car and everyone admired the new paint job and the seats. We all strapped in and I tried starting the car....battery was down. Now I started recalling all the things Krishna had said and I knew there was a leak. 15kms of drive should have been enough to charge the battery and all the issues with camera and left indicator could have caused it.Someone who has never worked on a car like me knew this, but Krishna either doesnt know electrics or deliberately chose to mislead me at the time of delivery. I quickly got a guy to jump start my car and found another issue. We could not close the bonnet. At this point I was so frustrated that, I drove it straight to my designated parking. Thankfully, I didnt go for that promised drive. As soon as I parked my car and got out, I noticed a trail of oil on the floor. I was scared it was engine oil and didnt move the car further and immediately called Krishna.At this point, my car had following issues:1) Bonnet not closing2) Fuel filler cap not closing/ boot not closing3) Battery draining within 2-3 hours4) Rear camera not working5) Rear seat arm rest still had fake wood finish6) Oil Leak7) Front Left Indicator not working Last edited by Aditya : 4th March 2025 at 16:13 . deepakdsz BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 36 Thanked: 173 Times Bangalore to Mechuka - A East India Expedition (2025) Key Takeaways & Considerations: Road Conditions & Infrastructure: Arunachal Pradesh is still developing its tourism infrastructure. Expect basic and limited stays, especially in remote areas. I caried a sleeping bag just in case to account for itchy blankets. Road quality can be challenging, with twisty and sometimes poor surfaces. Weather: Be prepared for cold weather and carry extra insulation like quilts or sleeping bags. Sunsets occur early, around 5 PM, which, combined with challenging roads, can limit the distance covered each day. Family Travel : As of 2025, the route, especially beyond Tawang, is not recommended for family travel due to road conditions and limited infrastructure. It's more suited for adventurous travelers. Improvements are expected in the next 2-3 years. Route Planning : The trip focused on Mechuka, Anini/Acheso, and Kibithoo. To avoid potential Kumbh Mela traffic, the initial route used NH16 via Vizag and Kolkata, returning via NH44. NH30 + NH44 is preferred for less traffic compared to NH16. Inner Line Permit (ILP): An ILP is mandatory for visiting Arunachal Pradesh. It can be obtained online. Make 2 copies of it. ( Detailed Itinerary & Experiences: Day 1: Bangalore to Vizag (5 AM Start), likely will encounter fog after hoskote. Early start recommended due to traffic on NH16. Breakfast options near Mulbagal and after merging to Tirupati rd. Lunch at Nellore Toll Plaza restaurant - good food and rest rooms Reached Vizag by 8 PM. Rajahmundry is an alternative halt if delayed. Roads were good throughout, except for traffic. Day 2: Vizag to Kharagpur Breakfast recommended near Vizag. No good options once on the highway. Good Odisha thali at Hotel Atithi, Ongalpada. Heavy traffic between Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack, speed cams too Bumpy roads approaching Kharagpur (West Bengal). Several stay options in Kharagpur, next to highway at entry point We preferred to stay at Kharagpur to avoid entering kolkata city. Odiya Thali Day 3: Kharagpur to Siliguri/Fulbari Breakfast options available around kolkata. Take the Kolkata bypass near Howrah and stick to NH12 towards Siliguri. Stayed at Fulbari to bypass Siliguri traffic and save time. TIC rooms in Fulbari, next to highway is a decent option for a night halt. Be cautious of barricades and wrong-side traffic on NH12. Daylight ends by 5:15 PM from here onwards Day 4: Fulbari to Tezpur via Guwahati Plenty of food options on this stretch. Jim's Motel was great for food. Bypassed Guwahati; the recommended route otherside of rive had poor conditions. Mix of concrete and bouncy road surfaces. You will encounter Traffic from Bhutan. Jaigaon is a 17 km detour for Bhutan entry with an ID card. Shergaon is the recommended halt for Tawang-bound travelers. Start early to reach before 5:30 PM due to challenging routes in Arunachal Pradesh. Bhutan reg car parked next Day 5: Tezpur to Aalo via Silapathar (not via Pasighat) Good roads for the most part. ILP check at the Arunachal border. Officers here were excited on how far we drove to visit their land. Reached Aalo by 5 PM; extremely cold from here. Plenty stay and food options available in Aalo. Day 6: Aalo to Mechuka Start early due to construction and time windows set for travel. As on 2025 there was construction work ref to as 'cutting work' in progress, this has led traffic halts upto ah hour at few points after Pene. Attaching pic for reference. We were lucky to cover this part on sunday. No work on Sunday. Pene to Tato, Road closure timings. Extremely bad and non-existent roads after Kaying. Slushy, muddy roads due to rain and snow. Not recommended for low-clearance vehicles. 4x4 or RWD preferred. Army-run cafe at Kaying for snacks and tea While driving down towards Roing, we had to stop at a waterfall to clean vehicle lights Day 7: Mechuka We stayed at Zenyor's Homestay. Hospitality could not get any better than here. Great conversations and clean stay. Our host woke up at 5am to prepare tea before our journey Points of interest: Border, bridges, monasteries and Salman Point. Day 8: Mechuka to Roing via Aalo and Pasighat Started at 5 AM. Delays due to constructionwork. Lunch at Aalo, reached Roing at 8 PM. Good roads from Aalo to Roing. Basic and limited homestay options in Roing. Good food at Hotel Kakhu, Roing. Here were realized we had to drop 1 option. It would be Anini or Kibithoo. Based on recommendation from staff of hotel Kaku who had visited both these places, we opted to visit Anini and dropped Kibithoo Road closure timings Tato to Pene, despite this we had to spend 1 hr waiting for road work to complete Day 9: Roing to Anini Two checkpoints after Roing (alcohol restrictions). However all tea shops after that checkpoint server beer and whisky with hot water Scenic and narrow roads, with some steep off-road patches ('sinking zone') after Mayodia pass. Mayodia Pass had snow (no AMS concerns). Good stay options in Anini. at Mayodia Pass Day 10: Acheso Drove towards Acheso and Bruni border (last point). Dree-Afra camp is a good tent stay option beside the Dri River. Drove until the check post (end of road for civilians). China was 20+ km from there. from inside the campus of Dree-Afra camps The roads were covered with snow, we drove until checkpost where the road ends. China is 20+ KM from there. Day 11: Anini to Namsai Scenic drive, good roads for the most part. Reached Namsai by 5:30 PM. Visited the Namsai monastery. Stayed at 'Woodpeckers' in Namsai (great stay option). Day 12 Onwards: Return Journey Namsai to Guwahati (via Kaziranga National Park). Guwahati to Fulbari, Fulbari to Varanasi. Varanasi to Nagpur and then to Bangalore. Recommended route from Siliguri/Fulbari to Varanasi: Siliguri towards Patna via Purnia, bypass Patna, then towards Varanasi. Varanasi to Nagpur is straightforward (NH30 merging with NH-44). NH-16 is an alternative but has heavy traffic. This travelogue is based on a road trip to Arunachal Pradesh in 2025, starting from Bangalore. Unlike well-documented routes to Ladakh or other parts of North India, information on road trips to East Arunachal is often limited. This account aims to guide future travelers planning a similar expedition.Arunachal Pradesh is still developing its tourism infrastructure. Expect basic and limited stays, especially in remote areas. I caried a sleeping bag just in case to account for itchy blankets. Road quality can be challenging, with twisty and sometimes poor surfaces.Be prepared for cold weather and carry extra insulation like quilts or sleeping bags. Sunsets occur early, around 5 PM, which, combined with challenging roads, can limit the distance covered each day.: As of 2025, the route, especially beyond Tawang, is not recommended for family travel due to road conditions and limited infrastructure. It's more suited for adventurous travelers. Improvements are expected in the next 2-3 years.: The trip focused on Mechuka, Anini/Acheso, and Kibithoo. To avoid potential Kumbh Mela traffic, the initial route used NH16 via Vizag and Kolkata, returning via NH44. NH30 + NH44 is preferred for less traffic compared to NH16.An ILP is mandatory for visiting Arunachal Pradesh. It can be obtained online. Make 2 copies of it. ( https://eilp.arunachal.gov.in/preTuristEIlpKYC ) at a cost of approximately 500 per person. The ILP allows a maximum stay of 14 days. Include relevant districts like West Siang, Dibang Valley, Anjaw, and Shi Yomi in your ILP. If Tawang is on your itinerary, include West Kameng and Tawang districts.Day 1: Bangalore to Vizag (5 AM Start), likely will encounter fog after hoskote.Early start recommended due to traffic on NH16.Breakfast options near Mulbagal and after merging to Tirupati rd.Lunch at Nellore Toll Plaza restaurant - good food and rest roomsReached Vizag by 8 PM. Rajahmundry is an alternative halt if delayed.Roads were good throughout, except for traffic.Day 2: Vizag to KharagpurBreakfast recommended near Vizag. No good options once on the highway.Good Odisha thali at Hotel Atithi, Ongalpada.Heavy traffic between Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack, speed cams tooBumpy roads approaching Kharagpur (West Bengal).Several stay options in Kharagpur, next to highway at entry pointWe preferred to stay at Kharagpur to avoid entering kolkata city.Odiya ThaliDay 3: Kharagpur to Siliguri/FulbariBreakfast options available around kolkata.Take the Kolkata bypass near Howrah and stick to NH12 towards Siliguri.Stayed at Fulbari to bypass Siliguri traffic and save time.TIC rooms in Fulbari, next to highway is a decent option for a night halt.Be cautious of barricades and wrong-side traffic on NH12.Daylight ends by 5:15 PM from here onwardsDay 4: Fulbari to Tezpur via GuwahatiPlenty of food options on this stretch. Jim's Motel was great for food.Bypassed Guwahati; the recommended route otherside of rive had poor conditions.Mix of concrete and bouncy road surfaces.You will encounter Traffic from Bhutan. Jaigaon is a 17 km detour for Bhutan entry with an ID card.Shergaon is the recommended halt for Tawang-bound travelers. Start early to reach before 5:30 PM due to challenging routes in Arunachal Pradesh.Bhutan reg car parked nextDay 5: Tezpur to Aalo via Silapathar (not via Pasighat)Good roads for the most part.ILP check at the Arunachal border. Officers here were excited on how far we drove to visit their land.Reached Aalo by 5 PM; extremely cold from here.Plenty stay and food options available in Aalo.Day 6: Aalo to MechukaStart early due to construction and time windows set for travel.As on 2025 there was construction work ref to as 'cutting work' in progress, this has led traffic halts upto ah hour at few points after Pene. Attaching pic for reference. We were lucky to cover this part on sunday. No work on Sunday.Pene to Tato, Road closure timings.Extremely bad and non-existent roads after Kaying.Slushy, muddy roads due to rain and snow. Not recommended for low-clearance vehicles. 4x4 or RWD preferred.Army-run cafe at Kaying for snacks and teaWhile driving down towards Roing, we had to stop at a waterfall to clean vehicle lightsDay 7: MechukaWe stayed at Zenyor's Homestay. Hospitality could not get any better than here. Great conversations and clean stay. Our host woke up at 5am to prepare tea before our journeyPoints of interest: Border, bridges, monasteries and Salman Point.Day 8: Mechuka to Roing via Aalo and PasighatStarted at 5 AM.Delays due to constructionwork.Lunch at Aalo, reached Roing at 8 PM.Good roads from Aalo to Roing.Basic and limited homestay options in Roing.Good food at Hotel Kakhu, Roing.Here were realized we had to drop 1 option. It would be Anini or Kibithoo. Based on recommendation from staff of hotel Kaku who had visited both these places, we opted to visit Anini and dropped KibithooRoad closure timings Tato to Pene, despite this we had to spend 1 hr waiting for road work to completeDay 9: Roing to AniniTwo checkpoints after Roing (alcohol restrictions). However all tea shops after that checkpoint server beer and whisky with hot waterScenic and narrow roads, with some steep off-road patches ('sinking zone') after Mayodia pass. Mayodia Pass had snow (no AMS concerns).Good stay options in Anini.at Mayodia PassDay 10: AchesoDrove towards Acheso and Bruni border (last point).Dree-Afra camp is a good tent stay option beside the Dri River.Drove until the check post (end of road for civilians). China was 20+ km from there.from inside the campus of Dree-Afra campsThe roads were covered with snow, we drove until checkpost where the road ends. China is 20+ KM from there.Day 11: Anini to NamsaiScenic drive, good roads for the most part.Reached Namsai by 5:30 PM.Visited the Namsai monastery.Stayed at 'Woodpeckers' in Namsai (great stay option).Day 12 Onwards: Return JourneyNamsai to Guwahati (via Kaziranga National Park).Guwahati to Fulbari, Fulbari to Varanasi.Varanasi to Nagpur and then to Bangalore.Recommended route from Siliguri/Fulbari to Varanasi: Siliguri towards Patna via Purnia, bypass Patna, then towards Varanasi.Varanasi to Nagpur is straightforward (NH30 merging with NH-44).NH-16 is an alternative but has heavy traffic. Last edited by aah78 : 4th March 2025 at 22:07 . Reason: Taking live. Deleted extra attachment. blackwasp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Pune Posts: 3,043 Thanked: 27,227 Times View My Garage Pics: Modern Classic Rally, 1-2 March 2025 This time, the cars were on display on Saturday followed by a Rally on Sunday. What this meant was more time to admire the beauties. Despite the high temperatures in Mumbai, the enthusiasm was strong and there was a decent crowd. The cars were displayed at the Grand Hyatt hotel in BKC: Starting with the Chevrolet Corvette, the star cars were lined-up in the first row: Dodge Viper from the Gondal royal family: Pontiac Firebird Transam in this nice red shade: A Nissan GTR: A bright red Acura NSX: Ayrton Senna was associated with the development of this rear-mid engine, rear wheel drive car: Nice clean lines give the Acura NSX a timeless look: Brake calibers painted in red: The Acura NSX was powered by an all-aluminium 3.0 L V6 engine: A Mercedes-Benz R129 SL320: The Ferrari Mondial, is the last V8, rear mid-engined, 2+2 Ferrari: A neatly maintained Porsche 911: Next up were the muscle cars. Here's another car from the Gondal family, the Chevy Camaro Z/28: Pontiac Firebird convertible: Take a look at its interiors: A Pontiac TransAM finished in signature black and golden paint scheme: The massive Dodge Charger: A Ford Mustang Mach 1 with supercharged engine: A red Chevrolet Nova: One more Ford Mustang: Ford Mustang Mach 1, in a convertible avatar: Check out the interiors: Next up were the British icons: Four Rolls Royces - Silver Seraph, Silver Shadow and Silver Spur: The 2025 edition of the Modern Classic Rally was held in Mumbai over the weekend of 1-2 March.This time, the cars were on display on Saturday followed by a Rally on Sunday. What this meant was more time to admire the beauties. Despite the high temperatures in Mumbai, the enthusiasm was strong and there was a decent crowd.The cars were displayed at the Grand Hyatt hotel in BKC:Starting with the Chevrolet Corvette, the star cars were lined-up in the first row:Dodge Viper from the Gondal royal family:Pontiac Firebird Transam in this nice red shade:A Nissan GTR:A bright red Acura NSX:Ayrton Senna was associated with the development of this rear-mid engine, rear wheel drive car:Nice clean lines give the Acura NSX a timeless look:Brake calibers painted in red:The Acura NSX was powered by an all-aluminium 3.0 L V6 engine:A Mercedes-Benz R129 SL320:The Ferrari Mondial, is the last V8, rear mid-engined, 2+2 Ferrari:A neatly maintained Porsche 911:Next up were the muscle cars. Here's another car from the Gondal family, the Chevy Camaro Z/28:Pontiac Firebird convertible:Take a look at its interiors:A Pontiac TransAM finished in signature black and golden paint scheme:The massive Dodge Charger:A Ford Mustang Mach 1 with supercharged engine:A red Chevrolet Nova:One more Ford Mustang:Ford Mustang Mach 1, in a convertible avatar:Check out the interiors:Next up were the British icons:Four Rolls Royces - Silver Seraph, Silver Shadow and Silver Spur: Last edited by Aditya : 4th March 2025 at 14:02 . Share Sales of Teslas in the UK rose by more than a fifth last month as demand for battery-powered cars increased, despite the prospect of a buyer backlash over Elon Musks controversial and divisive behaviour since becoming a key figure in Donald Trumps administration. Almost 4,000 Teslas were sold in the UK in February, with the Model 3 and Model Y proving the second and third most popular after the Mini Cooper, according to the latest new car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The Guardian Apple has launched a new iPad Air less than a year since the last one. An update brings the M3 chip, to replace the M2 that powered that previous version of the computer, released last May. Apple did not say how much quicker that had made the computer compared to its predecessor, but claimed the M3 version is twice as fast as the M1-powered Air that was released in 2022. Almost everything else about the new iPad remains the same. It comes in two sizes options (11- and 13-inch) and four different colours. Independent The price of used EVs plummeted in February with Teslas in particular seeing their value fall through the floor. That is according to new data from Motors, which has published its latest Market View analysis, covering the second month of the year. The firms research found that second hand electric cars cost an average of 25,177 across its platforms last month, a year-on-year dip of 13%. Car Dealer Magazine After years of speculation, Tesla could finally be making its India debut. The American electric vehicle (EV) giant has begun hiring for a dozen jobs in Delhi and Mumbai. It is also reportedly hunting for showrooms in both cities. Asias third largest economy offers an interesting growth opportunity for Teslas futuristic cars as its global EV sales plummet and competition from Chinese manufacturers gets more intense. But theres a million-dollar question can Tesla compete in Indias price-sensitive market? BBC Following the introduction of new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M4 chips, Apple has discontinued the M2 and M3 variants on its online stores. Both models were available to buy new from Apple up until today. Apple launched the M2 MacBook Air in July 2022, and the M3 MacBook Air became available in March 2024. Both laptops will likely remain available to buy from Apple through its online Refurbished store in the months to come. MacRumors After two years telling anyone whod listen that Chinese manufacturer Vivo made the best cameras in any smartphone, last years Xiaomi 14 Ultra changed my tune. It became my favorite phone and camera, handling everything from holiday snaps to product review photoshoots. With the 15 Ultra, Xiaomi took the best and made it better with a new 200-megapixel periscope lens to complement the other (largely unchanged) cameras. The downside? The 14 Ultra was never much of a looker, and the 15 Ultras enormous, asymmetrical camera module has taken a bad design and made it worse. The Verge A bill that aims to protect children from the damaging effects of smartphones will be published on Thursday before MPs vote on it later this week. The Safer Phones Bill, put forward by backbench Labour MP Josh MacAlister, will have its second reading in the Commons on Friday the first opportunity parliament has to debate its principles before deciding whether it should proceed further. Sky News For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv Like this: Like Loading... Related Posts SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. He kept a low profile and attended just one music industry event during their nearly 60-year marriage, but Dolly Parton's husband Carl Dean, who died this week, was the inspiration behind one of her greatest hits, "Jolene." Dean, who was 82, died in Nashville and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony, according to a statement posted on Parton's Instagram. No cause of death was given. Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving business, met Parton in 1964 outside a laundromat in Nashville, the same day she moved to the city, according to a statement on Parton's website to celebrate the couple's 50th anniversary. They married two years later on Memorial Day in Ringgold, Georgia, in a private ceremony with just Parton's mother Avie Lee Parton, the preacher and his wife attending. Parton was 20; Dean was 23. He was one of the twin inspirations behind one of Parton's most famous songs, "Jolene," which she wrote after a teller at a local bank started to give her husband attention. "Jolene" was released in 1973, seven years into Dean and Parton's marriage. "She got this terrible crush on my husband," Parton told NPR in 2008. "And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kind of like a running joke between us when I was saying, hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money. So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one." The name Jolene, meanwhile, came from a redheaded girl who once asked Parton for an autograph at a concert. "She was probably eight years old at the time. And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, and beautiful green eyes," Parton told NPR. "I said, what is your name? And she said, Jolene. And I said, well, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. I said, that sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that." "Jolene" has since become an enduring hit, with the original version ranked 63rd on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, with the magazine saying that Parton's performance of the song "put her stamp on traditional country." It has been covered by artists including Jack White of the White Stripes, Parton's goddaughter Miley Cyrus and Beyonce. Parton praised Beyonce's revamped version after it was released in March 2024, saying on social media: "Beyonce is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!" For Parton, the song's popularity is due to its chord progression and simple lyrics and the universal feeling of being threatened by another woman. "I'm begging of you, please don't take my man," she sings in the opening verse. "Please don't take him just because you can." "She had everything I didn't, like legs, you know," Parton told NPR about the bank teller. "She was about six feet tall and had all the stuff that some little short, sawed-off honky like me don't have. So no matter how beautiful a woman may be you're always threatened by other women, period." (Time did not mellow Parton's feelings toward the fictitious Jolene, either: Asked in 2020 what she would give the woman for Christmas, Parton responded: "The finger.") Parton and Dean faced "many of life's obstacles common to most married couples," Parton's website said. But their long marriage came down to the fact that "opposites attract," Parton told People magazine in 2015. "He's always surprising me. My husband is a good man, first of all. He's a deep person, but he has a great and warped sense of humor. He makes me laugh and entertains me. He's very secure within himself." Dean preferred to stay out of the limelight and was rarely seen in public with Parton. In her 2020 book, "Songteller," she wrote that after attending a music-industry event with her early in their marriage, he swore he would never go to another - and stuck to that vow. "Jolene" wasn't Parton's only song inspired by Dean. She also sang about him in her 2012 song, "From Here to the Moon and Back," whose lyrics say: "From here to the moon and back/ Who else in this world will love you like that? Love everlasting, I promise you that/ From here to the moon and back." Dean was born in Nashville to parents Virginia Louise "Ginny" Bates and Edgar Henry Dean. He is survived by Parton, as well as his siblings, Sandra and Donnie. "Carl and I spent many wonderful years together," Parton said on Instagram following his death. "Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy." DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 5. Tajikistan and South Korea are currently implementing four major and minor projects in the transport sector, Trend reports via the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan. The issue was addressed during a meeting between Tajikistan's Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim and the newly appointed director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Kang Soonghoon, and his deputy, Lee Changwon. The minister highlighted one of the key projects: a feasibility study for the construction of the Jaloliddin Balkhi district to Nizhny Panj railway, which was initiated with the support of KOICA. The implementation of this project officially began on January 14, 2025. Kang Seounghun thanked the Tajik minister for promoting bilateral cooperation in the transport sector and emphasized KOICAs commitment to advancing the project, which he described as "strategically important for both Tajikistan and the region." The officials added that the successful completion of the project could boost regional trade through Tajikistan. Additionally, he proposed the establishment of a training and certification center in Dushanbe for specialists such as engineers, train operators, conductors, and maintenance workers. The minister expressed support for this initiative. The primary goal of the KOICA is to enhance Korea's involvement in grant aid and technical cooperation initiatives aimed at developing countries. Founded in 1991, the agency is based in Seoul. In a nutshell: Despite lukewarm consumer interest in generative AI, Google continues to promote the technology as the main selling point of its new Pixel 9 phones. The company focused its latest Pixel Drop update almost entirely on new AI-powered functionality that aims to help users stay organized and avoid scams. Several significant new features are now available for users with recent Google Pixel phones. Their usefulness will depend largely on how much users trust generative AI with their information. One of the highlights of the March 2025 Pixel Drop is real-time scam protection. The feature analyzes calls and chats for signs of persuasive tactics associated with scammers and immediately warns users. The company claims it can catch scammers who initially appear trustworthy but become threatening over time. Scam protection is currently only available in English, and Google hasn't specified plans to expand it to other languages. Furthermore, it only uses Google's latest Nano AI model on Pixel 9 phones, defaulting to machine learning models on Pixel 6 or later if users enroll in the company's beta program. Additionally, the small print in Google's announcement notes that scam detection isn't 100 percent accurate and the company expects scammers to change tactics constantly. Although Google assures users that scam detection will keep conversations private while analyzing them in real time, the company doesn't specify how this is achieved. To toggle the feature, navigate to Settings > Scam Detection in the Phone app. The recent Pixel Drop also introduces and expands common GenAI features like organization and summarization. A new "suggestions" function in Pixel Screenshots helps users sort pictures into collections, and the Screenshots app can automatically categorize receipts or other work documents. Compatible devices can also automatically transcribe recordings transferred from older phones or Pixel Watches. Furthermore, Pixel Studio, AI weather reports, and the pollen tracker are now available in Japanese and German. Japanese users also receive AI summaries, but whether they are more accurate than Apple Intelligence remains unclear. Gemini Live's new multimodal capabilities, previously exclusive to Pixel 9 phones, are now available on Pixel 6 and later and on Pixel Fold. At Mobile World Congress this week, Google unveiled an update that enables the AI model to analyze objects seen through the camera in real time. With the 2.0 Flash update, Gemini can understand multilingual conversations in over 45 languages. Other new features include external camera connections, sharing Find My Device locations with friends, Loss of Pulse detection for Pixel Watch 3, and more. Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Why it matters: Donald Trump wants to kill off the Chips Act, the 2022 bipartisan law that is handing out $52.7 billion in subsidies to help bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. The President wants to use the money to pay the national debt instead. In his first address to the joint session of Congress since he returned as President, Trump blasted the Chips Act. "Your Chips Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn't mean a thing. They take our money and they don't spend it," Trump said. "You should get rid of the Chips Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt." According to the Treasury Department, the US federal debt is over $36.2 trillion, 123% of the country's 2024 national income. Trump suggested that manufacturing companies would be incentivized to build facilities in the US to avoid the new tariffs he has introduced. "We don't have to give them money," Trump said. Yesterday, chip giant TSMC announced that it was increasing its investment in US chip manufacturing by an extra $100 billion, bringing the total to $165 billion. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump's tariffs have made the US a more attractive proposition when overseas firms are looking for locations to build manufacturing facilities. TSMC's $6.6 billion grant awarded under the US Chips Act was finalized last November. Lutnick said the government was not planning on giving TSMC any new subsidies, despite it being eligible for a 25% manufacturing investment tax credit. The company said last month that it has already received $1.5 billion of the award. So far, the Chips act has announced approximately $32.5 billion in grant awards and up to $5.5 billion in loans to 32 companies across 48 projects in 23 states. In addition to TSMC, the biggest beneficiaries have been Intel ($8.5 billion), Samsung ($6.4 billion), Micron ($6.1 billion), and GlobalFoundries ($1.5 billion). Some in government have expressed concerns about Trump's plans, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who said the Chips act "is the reason Micron is bringing $100 billion and 50,000 jobs to Central New York. Trump just said he wants to get rid of it." Representative Greg Stanton said Trump's words were a "direct attack on Arizona's semiconductor industry and tens of thousands of Arizona workers." Reuters reported this week that approximately one-third of staff in the US Commerce Department office overseeing the allocation of Chips act money were laid off. The Chips (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act was enacted in August 2022 with the aim of boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research, and development. It was a response to the global chip crisis that hit during the pandemic, as well as China's persistent threat to Taiwan, which produces about 90% of the world's most advanced semiconductors The $52.7 billion the act is funding to support the semiconductor industry comes in the form of $39 billion in manufacturing incentives, including grants and loans, and $13.2 billion for research and development. In brief: The EV wars between BYD and Tesla have taken to the skies well, sort of. The Chinese automaker is now shipping some of its offerings with a drone system mounted on the roof. Called Lingyuan, it lets you deploy a drone straight from the roof of your ride to capture sweeping aerial views and film follow-cam videos while cruising down the road. The drones can take off and land autonomously from a special housing on the roof while the car is moving at speeds up to 33 mph. Operating the drone is designed to be as simple as possible. All the user needs to do is tap a button to launch the drone. It will then trail behind to record your adventures from above. BYD has really leaned into the futuristic factor with Lingyuan's sleek sci-fi aesthetics. The system features doors that glide open to reveal a rising platform with the aircraft perched on top. The deployment looks straight out of that iconic final chase in Blade Runner 2049 where Officer K deploys a drone that emerges from the top of his flying police spinner (below, 0:58 onwards). That said, stuffing drones into cars isn't a brand-new concept. BYD's ultra-premium $150,000 Yangwang U8 SUV already comes equipped with an onboard drone system. But Lingyuan is making the feature more accessible by bringing it to BYD's more affordable mainstream models. The ~$27,000 Sealion 07 hybrid and $40,000 Tang L electric SUV are among the first to receive the integrated drone option, which adds around $2,200 to the usual price. That may not sound cheap, but it's a steal compared to what a separate rig would cost. The Lingyuan is the latest high-tech toy from BYD as it doubles down on loading its EVs with smart, innovative features to one-up increasingly stiff competition from rivals like Tesla in the cutthroat Chinese auto market. Just last month, BYD announced it would include its advanced "God's Eye" self-driving system across its entire EV lineup, including the $9,500 Seagull hatchback, at no extra cost. Tesla was quick to follow suit by enabling its own self-driving features for Chinese drivers though it charges $8,800 for those. BYD has also shown off other interesting technological tricks like a supercar concept that can drive over potholes and obstacles by "jumping" using its active suspension. With quirky additions such as these, it's no wonder that BYD has collaborated with DJI. DJI's president said he aims to popularize mounted drone technologies too, so expect vehicles from more Chinese brands featuring the technology in the coming years. In brief: UK authorities have had the power to break encryption and access user data since 2016. Recently, Apple was forced to comply with this law and chose to significantly weaken encryption instead, but the battle is far from over. Apple is taking its fight against the UK government's attempt to access iCloud user data to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent judicial body that reviews complaints against national security services. According to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times, Apple's legal challenge is the first of its kind and could serve as a key test case for the Investigatory Powers Act, which was enacted nine years ago. The IPT could hear the case as early as this month, the sources said, though a public hearing remains uncertain. Apple is seeking a full reversal of the government's demand to install a backdoor in the iCloud platform, while UK authorities may ask the court to limit public disclosure due to national security or other classified concerns. The case is so secretive that Apple cannot discuss it publicly. The company received a technical capability notice (TCN) under the IPA in January, requiring it to bypass or weaken the Advanced Data Protection feature available to iCloud users. Apple has reportedly resisted such notices from UK authorities since ADP's introduction in 2022 but was ultimately forced to disable the additional encryption layer altogether. Cupertino is resisting the UK government's push for unrestricted access to iCloud, arguing that the platform stores data from users not only in the UK but worldwide. Meanwhile, British officials claim Apple has failed to comply with the technical capability notice order. The Home Office insists the government's goal is simply to protect citizens from the "worst crimes," including child exploitation and terrorism. Ironically, a government spokesperson also stated that the Home Office aims to safeguard people's privacy while seeking access to the iCloud data of hundreds of millions of users across the globe. Last month, Apple reiterated that it has no plans to create a "master key" or backdoor for iCloud, despite pressure from UK authorities. According to the Financial Times, Apple's appeal to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is unprecedented in the UK legal system. If the IPT rules against the company, Apple could escalate the case to a higher court in the future. Facepalm: You might think that the RTX 5000 series couldn't run into any more problems, but Nvidia continues to find ways to make the worst GPU series release even worse. Following the poor reviews of the RTX 5070, reports claim there will be no Founders Edition versions of the card available during today's launch. Hardware Luxx editor Andreas Schilling writes that Nvidia informed him that no RTX 5070 Founders Edition cards would be available during today's launch just two and a half hours before the review embargo lifted. The company wrote that the RTX 5070 FE will be available later in March. This applies worldwide, not just in Germany. You think you can buy a GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition tomorrow? No, NVIDIA told us 2 1/2 hours before review drop: "The RTX 5070 Founders Edition will be available later in March." pic.twitter.com/8BntkzNc7T Andreas Schilling (@aschilling) March 4, 2025 Third-party RTX 5070 cards will launch today at 6am PT / 9am EST. Newegg currently only lists cards with the MSRP, and even those are listed as out of stock. Best Buy also has several third-party RTX 5070 cards at MSRP, along with a few more expensive models, two of which are priced at $740. The retailer also lists an RTX 5070 FE, though it's likely that it will remain listed as 'Coming Soon' until later this month. Nvidia had originally planned to release the RTX 5070 in February, but last month it pushed the launch date back to March. The company never gave a reason for this decision, though it was suspected to be related to boosting stock levels and competing with AMD's RX 9070 series, which arrive tomorrow perhaps Nvidia is already regretting the decision? Reviewers have slammed Nvidia for claiming the $549 RTX 5070 would offer performance on par with the $1,600 RTX 4090. That claim only referred to the Blackwell card's use of multi-frame generation, of course. Our six-game average chart (1440p, ray tracing), saw even the RTX 4070 Super outperform the RTX 5070, while the RTX 4070 Ti was still ahead in 4K ray-tracing results. We awarded the card a score of 60, noting that it is essentially a refreshed RTX 4070 Super with $50 knocked off the MSRP. On top of the sub-par reviews, the RTX 5070 will have to deal with today's launch of AMD's RX 9070 and 9070 XT. According to industry insiders, Team Red's stock levels will be "much healthier" than those of the RTX 5070. In context: Google was officially declared a monopoly in 2024. The Department of Justice under the Biden Administration was looking for a significant change of course in Google's business. Now, the company is courting Trump's DoJ in an attempt to get a different outcome. Google is trying to convince the Trump administration that breaking up the company could have chilling effects on US national security. Quoting unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said that Alphabet representatives met with government officials last week, asking for a more lenient approach to Google's alleged monopoly over online search and advertising. The Department of Justice's investigation into Google's business reached a significant milestone in August 2024, when a US judge decided that the company had broken antitrust laws with its search agreements. Biden's DoJ was looking to force Google to sell the Chrome browser and make other strategic changes to its online empire. Mountain View lamented the "unprecedented overreach" by the federal government. Google proposed changes to its search agreements with tech partners to limit the upcoming "remedies" the DoJ had in mind while also appealing the unfavorable ruling. With the Trump administration now in charge, Alphabet is looking to directly influence the DoJ while waiting for a new ruling from a federal judge next month. Google spokesman Peter Schottenfels told Bloomberg that the company routinely meets with regulators, including the DoJ. The current proposals for a business breakup would harm the American economy and national security. To this last assertion, Google is working with the US government to develop an AI technology that defends against cyberthreats. Mountain View's position aligns with recent statements from Trump, VP JD Vance, and other administration members against excessive government regulations. The White House lamented Europe's approach to tech monopolies and antitrust matters, stating that essential EU laws such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act are trying to turn US Big Tech into a source of revenue. Google's antitrust case goes through its final phase in a few days. Interim Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi will share a new decision regarding Google's predicament later this week. It's a dice shoot whether the DoJ breaks up Alphabet, makes it sell Chrome, or cancels its investments in AI companies like Anthropic. The promised arrival of Rich Communication Services (RCS) support for iPhones is slowly arriving as Apple's latest iOS 18.4 beta 2 release has added the feature, which allows Google Fi users to turn the service on or off. However, it is important to note that it is not yet for everyone as it is still in the beta release, and many users who have been able to see it on their devices are also awaiting its activation. Moreover, it is not yet the full RCS support that users have been expecting from Apple. The company previously claimed that it will offer the feature to allow users to converse with non-iOS users directly. Apple iOS 18.4 Beta 2 Adds RCS Support For Google Fi in Latest Update Apart from the massive controls added for Apple Intelligence & Siri via Control Center, iOS 18.4 beta 2 still has a lot more to offer, including RCS support for Google Fi in the latest update. Reddit users have discussed the new feature spotted by those who have already updated to the latest beta version, with the Settings app already allowing users to activate it on their devices. Now, users only have to go to Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging and turn on the RCS Messaging feature on their respective devices running the latest iOS 18.4 beta 2. Other users have also confirmed that the RCS Messaging setting was already available on their devices after updating to the latest iOS 18.4 beta 2, but according to 9to5Google, it is focused on Google Fi subscribers via Google's MVNO. The Latest RCS Support Is Not Yet Available For Everyone It should be noted that only users who are part of the Apple Developer Beta Program who downloaded and installed iOS 18.4 beta 2 are the only ones who can see or use it. Additionally, users who have already turned it on are now given the notice "Waiting for activation," and it may take some time before it is enabled. The RCS Promise for iOS 18's iMessage For many years, Google has pushed Apple into making an upgrade to the RCS communication protocol that would allow iPhone users to directly converse with Android without any barriers. For the longest time, Apple has relied on the SMS and MMS protocol and made iMessage an exclusive service, but the company had a change of heart in late 2023 when it first confirmed its switch. The company has reaffirmed its dedication to adopting RCS back in June 2024 during their annual WWDC event where they said that iOS 18 will deliver the experience for all via the default Messages app. Here, the company revealed that despite the '"green bubble" remaining, the blank text field would show that it used RCS messaging instead of SMS for eligible devices. While Apple kept the "blue bubbles" exclusive to iOS users via iMessage, the company confirmed that SMS/MMS will no longer be its default for cross-platform chats as features such as sharing read receipts, media, and more are coming via this integration. The latest releases from OnePlus on their smartwatch development were initially a letdown for many users as they were only promised two years of updates. The good news is the company seems to have changed its mind and is willing to provide more support. An additional year may sound like a small thing, but it is actually a big deal for the longevity of a device. OnePlus Watches Get 3 Years of Update, Support 'Til 2027 Android Central shared a report that brings good news for OnePlus Watch users, particularly as OnePlus has clarified that users who own their wearables are set to receive three years of support. The latest clarification from OnePlus adds an extra year of software updates for its smartwatches, particularly for the OnePlus Watch 2 as well as the upcoming OnePlus Watch 3. OnePlus' smartwatch operating system support fiasco stemmed from miscommunication on details as the company previously said that it would only release "three version updates." The company has now clarified this and said that it actually meant "three years of quarterly security updates." Extended Wearable Support From OnePlus This means that users will have an extra year to enjoy with their OnePlus smartwatches, with the OnePlus Watch 2 getting the Wear OS 6 that is expected in 2026, and the Watch 3 reportedly getting Wear OS 7 by 2027. OnePlus is now matching the promise made by Google for Pixel Watch users as they are also getting three years of support. However, both fall short to Samsung's four years of Wear OS updates for Galaxy Watch devices. Smartwatch Support and Longevity Smartphones do have not many problems when it comes to longevity and support as companies like Google have already promised that its Pixel smartphones will receive seven years of new updates and security tweaks, and that goes a long way. However, the same cannot be said for smartwatches as they infamously receive shorter operating system updates, making them obsolete a lot faster. While the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 from 2021 is already running at an impressive three-year operation, the company has announced that it is shutting down the Tizen OS, which affects its older releases. The good thing is that Wear OS will now be the standard, with Google's new smartwatch operating system promising a longer support for devices adopting it. DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 5. The Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan, Qurbon Hakimzoda, and the Minister of Agriculture of Russia, Oksana Lut, held a joint meeting of the agricultural ministries of both countries, Trend reports. In the course of the event, the sides discussed the progress of the implementation of the Roadmap for 2023-2025 between the Ministries of Agriculture of Tajikistan and Russia. One of the key topics was the strengthening of bilateral trade in agricultural and food products, including the import of elite seed varieties for crops, the export of fish (including trout), and the import of sugar beet and fodder beet seeds. Furthermore, the ministers addressed the development of cooperation in veterinary and phytosanitary control, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a stable phytosanitary and epizootic situation in both countries. They also discussed the timely exchange of information on the emergence of transboundary infectious diseases. The meeting further explored collaboration in the areas of breeding and seed production, improving the qualification of seed industry representatives through training at higher educational institutions in Russia, and cooperation on irrigation systems. The sides also considered joint research on the existing infrastructure of the irrigation complex and the possibility of conducting studies on the reconstruction of water supply facilities. During the ministerial meeting, the sides emphasized the strong commitment of both countries to strengthen ties in agriculture and promote mutual growth in this sector. The Tesla Cybertruck remains in the headlines, but for reasons Elon Musk would not welcome. Just recently, authorities probed a fatal crash involving an electric pickup truck. This made them question if its safety features underwent extreme tests. Amid repeated recalls and criticism, the highly visible electric truck was subjected to a surprise surge of public hatred at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. A viral video recorded the crowd mercilessly booing the sleek vehicle, reiterating the building sentiment of anger against Musk and his company. Mardi Gras Crowd Unleashes Fury on Tesla's Cybertruck On the Krewe of Orpheus parade on Lundi Gras, a day before the big Mardi Gras celebration, a Cybertruck drove down New Orleans streets, only to be greeted by boisterous jeers from the crowd. The video, now going viral online, captures a whole parade crowd coming together in disapproval, releasing a long series of boos. Based on social media and Reddit reports, things escalated to more than just vocal discontent. Witnesses supposedly threw Mardi Gras beads at the truck, with some reports claiming one of the windows even cracked under the attack. This runs contrary to Tesla's assertions of essentially indestructible windows, which is just one more controversy on the already dubious reputation of the vehicle. Why Is the Cybertruck Getting So Much Hate? According to Mashable, Tesla's Cybertruck has been a polarizing car since its introduction. While some enthusiasts appreciate its striking, experimental styling, others consider it a representation of Musk's divisive leadership in the tech and automotive worlds. Recently, the automaker has weathered surges of bad publicity, from product recalls to quality control concerns. In December, the Cybertruck production was suspended. While it's bad news for Musk, it's good news for those who despise it. Tesla owners who own Cybertrucks have moved to the Internet forums and exchanged stories about people mocking them out on the highway and on the streets. If you think assaulting my wife and vandalizing our Cybertruck is going to persuade us to join your anti-Elon or anti-Tesla views you're sadly mistaken. Also, SUPER impressed with how well the Cybertruck performed. Even with the B-pillar glass shattered, FSD and camera worked... pic.twitter.com/sfYB8DYw68 Josh "Pappy" Hazel (@JEHazel75) March 4, 2025 Cybertruck just rolled by with Orpheus on Saint Charles. In 36 years of coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, those were the first boos long, sustained I've ever heard for a parade. Matthew Rowley (@mbrowley.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:20 AM With its sharp styling, it's an easy subject, and to many, the truck symbolizes more than the electric truck: it's a mobile representation of Musk's character, one which still triggers emotional responses. The Expanding Backlash Against Tesla and Musk Public opinion of Elon Musk has changed enormously in recent times. Although he was once popularly hailed as a visionary entrepreneur, his growingly contentious statements, management decisions, and Twitter antics have disenfranchised a large percentage of the population. From Tesla's mass layoffs to the bungling of Twitter (now X), Musk has built a persona that makes many uncomfortable. Consequently, even Tesla's most aspirational projects, such as the Cybertruck, are caught in the firing line of public anger. In July 2024, climate activists vandalized the Tesla Cybertruck displayed for a presentation. According to them, Tesla consumed a huge amount of energy, indicating that Elon only cares for the "senseless" use of energy. They also criticized its design as "hazardous" to passengers and pedestrians. Will Tesla Overcome the Controversy? Despite the criticism, Tesla is still a leading player in the electric vehicle segment. The Cybertruck, with all its negatives, still has a devoted fan base clamoring for deliveries. However, the Mardi Gras fiasco should remind Tesla that it should still listen to people's sentiments. Quantexa, a software company known for its Decision Intelligence platform, has raised $175 million in Series F funding; its valuation now stands at $2.6 billion. While other firms want to double down on anti-scam solutions, the firm wants to put its resources into data-centric AI programs to fight fraud and money laundering. Investment Surge and Key Investors The funding round was led by Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG), a division of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, with continued backing from British Patient Capital. As per PitchBook data, the latest round brings Quantexa's total funding to nearly $550 million. This new influx of capital comes as the company is growing strongly. Quantexa has thousands of enterprise customers and a who's who client list, which includes Prudential, Vodafone, HSBC, ABN-AMRO, Accenture, and the UK government. The business has grown to 16 offices globally, employs 800 staff, and reported a 40% increase in license revenue last year. AI Adoption in Enterprise: A Key Market Opportunity Organizations in both private and public sectors are actively adopting AI-based solutions to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline workflows. But most businesses are confronted with a significant hurdle: they have enormous volumes of unstructured, legacy data, which impedes AI adoption. Quantexa's data analytics platform, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), was originally created to enable anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection. That same technology is now being used to curate data for AI models, making Quantexa the leader in enterprise AI transformation. What Quantexa CEO Says About AI Success Quantexa's founder and CEO, Vishal Marria, says that companies first need to clean and trust their data before implementing AI models. "To get AI technology to work, you have to get the data right. You have to be able to rely on the data. You have to be able to curate the data. And that's what we do," Marria clarified. Fraud prevention and AML continue to be the foundation of Quantexa's business, but the company is expanding its activities to provide AI-powered enterprise solutions to multiple industries. Building Stronger Relationships with Microsoft and Databricks To drive its AI growth, Quantexa is deepening its collaboration with Microsoft. According to TechCrunch, the organization will introduce an AI-driven workload for the Microsoft Fabric data analytics platform and build an AML solution specifically for U.S. mid-market bankswhich will be listed on the Azure Marketplace. In addition, Quantexa is broadening its Databricks partnership, which was initially announced in June 2024. The collaboration centers on leveraging Quantexa's technology to handle billions of data records, allowing companies to create generative AI applications with structured and unstructured data. Increasing AI Adoption in the Public Sector Another strategic priority for Quantexa is government AI adoption. The firm is developing a specialized public sector division to assist government agencies in leveraging AI for data insight, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance. In the UK, the firm has been actively engaged in anti-fraud efforts and is likely to play a leading role in the government's ambitious "Plan for Change" AI plan. Investor Confidence in Quantexa's Vision Investors are placing their big bets on Quantexa's potential to disrupt enterprise AI adoption. As for TVG Senior MD Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Quantexa's CEO is a magnet for talent. She admires Vishal's talent to get into the customer and the product at a "deep" level. For the next months or years to come, we will see Quantexa's fruits in placing AI, data intelligence, and fraud detection in front. Having said that, it's time for governments and businesses to realize that Quantexa has all the means to use AI to eradicate the alarming money laundering trend. DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 5. Tajikistan's Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Sherali Kabir, met with the ambassadors of India, Rajesh Uike; Iran, Alireza Haghighian; and Pakistan, Mohammad Sarwar, to discuss enhancing cooperation in the industrial sector, Trend reports. Meanwhile, it was also noted that there is significant potential for deepening trade and economic ties between the countries. In this regard, the idea was raised that businesses and investors from the three countries should consider participating in priority projects within Tajikistan. The discussions also covered areas such as mining, light industry, food processing, construction materials production, pharmaceuticals, and the establishment of joint industrial ventures. The talks were conducted in a constructive atmosphere, with both sides exploring new avenues for economic collaboration. Following the meeting, the ambassadors were informed about the upcoming International Jewelry Forum and Exhibition, set to take place in Dushanbe from March 24 through March 26. The leading companies from India, Iran, and Pakistan were invited to participate in these events. US embassies end pollution data popular in China and India Washington, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 The United States on Tuesday ended pollution tracking by its embassies that had been a vital source of data especially in Beijing, as President Donald Trump slashes overseas and environmental spending. The State Department cited "budget constraints" as it said it was ending the Air Quality Monitoring Program's transmission of data. "The current budget climate requires us to make difficult cuts and, unfortunately, we cannot continue to publish this data," a State Department spokesperson said. Historical data will remain on a site of the Environmental Protection Agency, but live data stopped Tuesday and will remain down unless funding is restored, the State Department said. The United States since 2008 has monitored air quality through embassies -- as a service to Americans overseas but also, increasingly, as a way to share accurate scientific data that may otherwise be censored overseas. In China, authorities in 2014 banned a popular app from sharing data from the US embassy ahead of a major international summit attended by then president Barack Obama. But researchers say that the transparency has had a noticeable effect, with China taking action after being embarrassed by US embassy data released on social media that showed far worse pollution than official figures. Obama's ambassador to China, Gary Locke, faced scorn in state media after he presided over the introduction of monitors at the embassy and consulates that tracked the so-called PM 2.5 particulate matter carried in the thick blankets of smog pervading China's capital. The air quality data from the US embassy is also frequently used as a reference in New Delhi, which has severe pollution issues. Trump since returning to office in January has slashed spending including on international cooperation and the environment as he vows to trim government and prioritize tax cuts. Under the guidance of tech billionaire Elon Musk, the Trump administration has effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development, long at the forefront of US efforts for influence overseas. Trump has also sharply reduced environmental staffing and turned back a slew of climate initiatives by previous president Joe Biden. Air pollution, which is aggravated by climate change, contributes to nearly seven million premature deaths globally each year, according to the World Health Organization. Persistent lead mining in Zambia town poisoning children: HRW Lusaka, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 The Zambian government is allowing hazardous mining in the lead-contaminated central town of Kabwe, worsening severe health risks to children, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Kabwe, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) north of the capital Lusaka, is known as one of the world's most polluted places from decades of lead and zinc mining. More than 30 years after the mine's closure in 1994, residents are still exposed to extreme levels of toxic lead, found in the soil and dust around their homes, schools and roads. Yet the government is still "facilitating hazardous mining and processing" in the area, HRW said in a 67-page report, citing licenses issued to South African, Chinese and local businesses. It urged the government to revoke their permits and clean up the notorious pollution hazard. Zambia's government did not respond to AFP's request for comment. HRW said it interviewed residents and miners, conducted open-source research and analysed geo-spatial data. "Companies are profiting in Kabwe from mining, removing, and processing lead waste at the expense of children's health," HRW's children's rights director Juliane Kippenberg said in the statement. Highly-sought for industry, lead is nevertheless a particularly toxic metal that can cause severe health problems including brain damage and death, particularly in children, according to the World Health Organization. More than 95 percent of children living near the Kabwe mine had elevated blood lead levels with about half requiring urgent treatment, the HRW report said. - 'Sacrifice zone' - Highly toxic waste had also been transported to various locations across the city, forming unfenced "piles of dark, sandy material, several metres high", the report said. This had exposed up to 200,000 people in Kabwe to pollution, HRW said. The concentration of lead in the soil had reached 60,000 milligrams per kilogram, according to the report, 300 times the threshold considered a hazard by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 2022, a UN expert listed Kabwe as being among so-called "sacrifice zones" where pollution and resultant health issues were the norm for nearby communities. "The Zambian government should be protecting people from highly hazardous activities, not enabling them," said Kippenberg. The Kabwe mine was part of mining company Anglo American from 1925 to 1974, during which experts say two-thirds of the lead currently in the local environment was likely to have been deposited. It was then run by the Zambian government when the mining industry was nationalised, until its closure in 1994. strs/jcb/ho/rlp Rain, snow offer hope in Japan's worst wildfire in 50 years Ofunato, Japan, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century on Wednesday in a region hit by record-low rainfall, as wet weather gave hope for some relief. The blaze around the northern city of Ofunato has raged for more than a week, killing one person and forcing nearly 4,000 residents to evacuate their homes. It has engulfed about 2,900 hectares (7,170 acres) -- around half the size of Manhattan -- making it the largest wildfire since at least 1975, when 2,700 hectares burnt in Hokkaido. Columns of white smoke billowed from a mountain through the rain and snow on Wednesday, AFP reporters saw. More wet weather was forecast through Thursday. "The fire was like nothing I've seen before. It was towering and spreading fast," said Mitsuo Otsubo, 85, who fled his home to stay with a relative. "It didn't rain or snow at all this year... Thank goodness it rained today though. I can only hope it will help contain the situation," the seaweed and scallop farmer said. Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide. Ofunato received just 2.5 millimetres (0.1 inches) of rainfall in February -- breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimetres in 1967 and well below the average of 41 millimetres. - 'Don't know where to run' - Makeshift tents were being set up at a city hall where around 270 people were taking shelter, with bottles of water and food supplies spread out on tables. "Fires are the scariest disaster, because they spring from one place to another, so you don't know where to run," 69-year-old evacuee Fumiko Tanaka told AFP. "I can only hope the fires won't reach my house." Tanaka and her husband, a fisherman, "feel the effect of climate change every year" as rising ocean temperatures affect what they are able to catch, she said. At least 84 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency. The owner of an "onsen" hot spring inn voluntarily opened his facility for free to evacuees. "Not being able to bathe yourself on top of dealing with the chaos of life in a shelter definitely wears you down," 60-year-old Toyoshige Shida, of Ofunato Onsen, told AFP. He said he built the inn after seeing how people suffered in the wake of a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that killed at least 340 people in Ofunato alone. - Dry weather - The number of wildfires in Japan has declined since its 1970s peak. However, there were about 1,300 in 2023, concentrated in the period from February to April when the air dries out and winds pick up. Greg Mullins, formerly fire and rescue commissioner for the Australian state of New South Wales, told AFP this fire and the recent Los Angeles wildfires were "highly unusual" because they were in winter. "In both cases the fires were preceded by hot summers, which increased evaporation and drying of vegetation, followed by large rainfall deficits that parched the landscape," he said. "This is a common by-product of climate change," said Mullins, a founder of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group. "As the planet warms further we can expect to see fires in places where they have never before been a problem." Around 2,000 firefighters, most deployed from other parts of Japan, including Tokyo, have been working from the air and on the ground. "The fact that teams of firefighters are being reinforced every day, and that the fire has been going on for a week, shows the extent of the dry weather and the difficulties we are facing," Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami told reporters. The topography of the mountainous coastal area, with steep slopes and narrow and winding roads, was hampering the fire-fighting operation. Finnish space centre monitors climate change on the front line Sodankyla, Finland, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 At a remote space centre in northern Finland near the Russian border, researchers are studying how climate change is impacting the Arctic region with more precision than anywhere else in Europe. Slowly turning like sunflowers towards polar satellites in space, four large antennas dominate the snowy Finnish Meteorological Institute's Arctic Space Centre in Sodankyla, a small town of 8,000 inhabitants just north of the Arctic Circle. Situated amidst forests, peatlands and snaking rivers, the research space has become a unique site due to its history of obtaining data on weather and climate. "This is an excellent location for studying the boreal forest, the environment here in the Arctic and utilising the satellite data for observing climate change," Jyri Heilimo, head of the Arctic Space Centre Unit, told AFP. "Polar orbiting satellites' orbits are converging in the poles, meaning that the Sodankyla ground station at 67 latitude can receive much more data from the satellites per day compared to, for example, the station close to the equator," Timo Ryyppo, the head of Sodankyla Satellite Data Centre said. By using both ground measurements and satellite data, researchers have been able to study how the snow and ice cover in the northern hemisphere has changed over the years. "We've been able to say that the snow extent has been decreasing. The amount of snow has been mostly constant, but it's unevenly distributed," said Ryyppo. Some 550 different measuring devices are scattered across the observatory site, including several instruments attached to a 25-metre (80 feet) tower in a pine forest monitoring greenhouse gases from trees, soil and atmosphere. "We want to know this Arctic pixel well in order to know the Arctic well," Heilimo said, as snow fell from a gloomy sky and temperatures hovered around zero Celsius (32F) in February. Locals are more accustomed to temperatures of -20C this time of the year. Heilimo showed a graph displaying how the average temperature had trended upwards at double the speed compared with other parts of the world since measurements began on the site in 1908, as a result of human-induced climate change mostly blamed on fossil fuels. According to a study in the Nature journal, the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the globe since 1979. "There is a cliche that 'what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic'... That means that the changes we see here, the melting permafrost, the temperature rise, will happen in other places also. It just happens faster here," Heilimo said. - 'More and more important' - Sodankyla's ground measurements have played an increasingly crucial role in supporting Europe's satellite observations tracking the changing climate in the Arctic, Simonetta Cheli, director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space Agency (ESA) told AFP. The agency launched an 'Arctic-Boreal Earth Observation Supersite' with the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Sodankyla in February. Measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide on top of snow from a satellite was "very, very difficult", Heilimo said. "That's why we are here -- to measure and compare the satellite measurements in the Arctic area in winter conditions and to allow us to develop better methodology for detecting the atmospheric carbon dioxide from the satellites," he said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the geopolitical uncertainty has led to a freeze in relations between the EU agency and Russia, which has increased the importance of the Finnish input, according to Cheli. "Of all the data on the Arctic, we are missing half of the data set in terms of ground truth validation. Siberia is no longer accessible to do that exercise," she said. "Countries like Finland are therefore becoming more and more important for validating satellite data on the ground. It's becoming a central strategic infrastructure," Cheli said, citing Finland's geographical location near the Russian border. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 5. Turkmenistan and Spain pay special attention to expanding partnership opportunities in agriculture, water management, transport, and educational projects, including the study of the Spanish language, the statement of Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports. Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, Dunyagozel Gulmanova, received the credentials from the newly appointed Spanish Ambassador Ricardo Martinez Vasquez yesterday. She congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and discussed Turkmenistans foreign policy principles, which include positive neutrality, peace, and mutually beneficial cooperation. The sides expressed their hopes for the continued growth of relations between Turkmenistan and Spain. Ambassador Vazquez, who was visiting Moscow, arrived in Ashgabat with a business delegation. He met with Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Gurbanov at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, where discussed various issues of bilateral cooperation. Furthermore, the Spanish delegation's visit program includes meetings with leaders from around ten ministries and departments in Turkmenistan. The delegation comprises representatives from 18 major Spanish companies, including Talgo, INDRA, and AGRAGEX. Turkmenistan and Spain are expanding their cooperation, especially in agriculture, infrastructure, and high technology, despite the small total volume of trade. Swedish climate activists treated as 'criminals': UN expert Stockholm, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 The United Nations special rapporteur on environmental defenders has expressed concern that Sweden was treating its climate activists like "criminals", following a two-day visit to the country. Although Sweden is widely viewed as an environmental champion, UN special rapporteur Michel Forst said: "It's difficult to understand why those peaceful people are treated as criminals." "We are in Sweden to discuss with the government... because we are (still) concerned about at least two cases... and we wanted to raise the case again with the government," Forst told AFP on Tuesday. "I don't see any coherence in Sweden between the external action that Sweden is taking, which is very good, and the lack of attention given to defenders inside Sweden," he added. UN experts are independent figures mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself. The two Swedish cases Forst referred to arose in 2023 and 2024. The first concerns a woman named Marie, who has not disclosed her surname publicly, and who was hired by the Swedish Energy Agency in 2023 as a national gas coordinator. Her brief was to study the country's gas supply and draw up proposals to reduce Sweden's dependence on fossil fuel imports and develop domestic biogas production, which required her to obtain security clearance. Outside work, she demonstrated against politicians' lack of action to address climate change, as part of Mothers' Rebellion, an informal subsection of Extinction Rebellion. She informed her employer of her activism, but was fired on the spot when Swedish media revealed her involvement in the spring of 2024. Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin declined to comment on the case when contacted by AFP. "We have the right to demonstrate during our free time, whether or not we have a job that requires security clearance," Marie told AFP, adding that she had sued the state and hoped to obtain at least an apology. The second case involves a researcher in her 40s, identified as Clara in the media, who came to Sweden from another EU country to live with her husband. She participated in a climate protest organised by Scientist Rebellion on September 17, 2023 against the use of private jets at Stockholm's Bromma airport. Two of the activists threw red paint on the terminal building. While Clara was not one of the activists who threw paint, she is nonetheless suspected of vandalism and risks two years in prison. Her request for Swedish citizenship, which she submitted in 2021, was denied in August 2024, with the Swedish Migration Agency saying she did not qualify since she was suspected of a crime. Europe to protect auto sector from 'mortal danger': EU industry chief Brussels, Belgium, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Europe's carmakers are in "mortal danger", EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne warned as the bloc launched a much-vaunted plan Wednesday to rescue its auto sector. The sector is the jewel in Europe's industrial crown, employing around 13 million people and contributing some seven percent to the European Union's economy. But with factory closures in Europe and US President Donald Trump's tariffs threatening to upend the global trading system, the industry faces rising risks -- and has demanded Brussels act urgently. "This is a pivotal moment for this industry," Sejourne told AFP in an interview marking the rollout of the plan. The project includes boosting demand for electric vehicles (EV) by accelerating uptake in corporate fleets and providing more support for "Made in Europe" batteries. "The European Commission is letting go of its naivety, protecting the sector, giving it the opportunity to become more competitive," said Sejourne, before heading to a Renault factory in northern France for the launch. The auto push forms part of the EU's pivot to bolstering the bloc's competitivity and protecting its industry as rivals speed ahead in the United States and China. Europe has "not lost" the battle for electric cars, Sejourne insisted, as the bloc's industry faces fierce competition from Chinese EV makers. - Electrifying sales - Concerns have grown over the uptake of electric cars after their market share in the EU fell for the first time in 2024, to 13.6 percent. Brussels is considering what "obligations" to impose on companies to force them to buy more electric cars, Sejourne said. There could be quotas imposed in a text presented by the end of the year, and the EU wants member states to offer "tax incentives" to businesses to encourage sales. Company vehicles are a powerful lever because they represent nearly 60 percent of new registrations in Europe. - 'Made in Europe' push - Brussels is now pushing for its decarbonisation goals to go hand in hand with strengthening competitivity -- which means greater production in Europe. "I want European consumers to be able to buy European vehicles," Sejourne said. The EU will introduce a law that demands European content requirements on battery cells and components in EVs sold in the EU. "We are currently working on the list" of the components concerned, Sejourne said. "All countries are doing it today, whether it is the United States, China, India. Only Europe has not set up these measures," he added. Brussels also believes the current EV charging infrastructure is insufficient in Europe and unevenly distributed, which the industry says is a barrier to sales. The commission said it will mobilise 570 million euros ($610 million) between 2025 and 2026 to "accelerate the rollout of charging infrastructure". - Driving innovation - Under the plan, the EU will set up an alliance to close the gap in key technologies currently dominated by China and the United States, including autonomous cars. Self-driving vehicles are a growing presence on Chinese and US roads but the rollout in Europe has been slower -- a cause for concern for Brussels. In its plan, the European Commission said it wants "to facilitate the swift deployment of connected and autonomous mobility" with harmonised rules. - Relaxing rules - Heeding carmakers' calls for help, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday they would have three years rather than one to meet CO2 vehicle emission targets set for 2025 -- thereby avoiding hefty fines. "It's common sense. We weren't going to penalise the manufacturers we wanted to help," Sejourne said. The EU had made tackling climate change the cornerstone of its policies in recent years including the phasing out of the sale of new fossil fuel-burning cars by 2035. Sejourne insisted the 2035 aim would remain despite other changes. "We provide predictability for the sector by keeping the objectives," he said. aro-raz/ec/lth China says plans to cut steel output amid overcapacity Beijing, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 China said Wednesday it will cut the output of its giant steel industry to address overcapacity and halt plunging profits in the sector. The world's largest steelmaker, which produced more than one billion tonnes in 2024, said in an official report that in 2025 it would "promote restructuring of the steel industry through output reduction". The report by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's economic planning body, did not provide figures for the planned reduction. "We will introduce policies and measures for resolving structural problems in key industries and end the phenomenon of 'rat-race' competition through industrial regulation and upgrading," it added. The sector has been under pressure due to a prolonged slump in China's real estate market, traditionally a major steel consumer, that has hit domestic demand. In February, a study by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released said China needs to slash its steelmaking capacity by 15 percent in 2025 to meet its carbon emissions targets. Despite plummeting profits at steel mills, production fell just 1.7 percent last year and exports hit 111 million tonnes, a nine-year high, fuelling frictions with China's trade partners. Several countries have placed tariffs on Chinese steel exports in recent months. In February, US President Donald Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on all steel imports into the United States, including those from China, from March 12. Vietnam and South Korea, the largest importers of Chinese steel, also both announced levies that month. South Korea imposed tariffs up to 38 percent on Chinese steel plate imports after conducting an anti-dumping investigation, while Vietnam said it would implement an anti-dumping levy of up to 27.83 percent from March 7. India's steel minister said the country could impose tariffs in the next six months because of the "serious challenge" China's cheap imports posed to domestic producers. Leak at new gas field off Senegal, Mauritania Dakar, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Work is under way to repair a gas leak at a new offshore natural gas field off Senegal and Mauritania which poses no risk to employees, operator British energy giant BP said Wednesday. The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field shared by the two west African countries began operating on December 31. It was jointly developed by BP, American company Kosmos Energy, Mauritanian hydrocarbons company SMH and Senegal's state-owned Petrosen. A gas leak at one of the GTA wells was discovered on February 19, the Mauritanian environment ministry said on Facebook last week. "A thorough investigation to control the situation and minimise any potential environmental impact" is being carried out, the ministry said. In a statement sent to AFP on Wednesday, BP said "low-rate subsea gas bubbles" were discovered at a GTA well. " We have a plan to stop the bubbles, as part of that plan we have mobilised specialised equipment and personnel," it added. "Considering the low rate of release and the gas and condensate properties, the environmental impact is currently expected to be negligible," BP said, adding there was "no risk to employees". The site's three other wells continue their production activities while the repairs are carried out, it said. Contacted by AFP, Senegalese authorities did not respond. A Dakar-based think tank, LEGS-Africa, called for people in Senegal to be informed of the cause, extent and impacts of the leak. The site aims to produce around 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year. Delayed several times, the start of production was highly anticipated in both countries, with hopes high it will help transform their economies. Canada proposes phase out of 'forever chemicals' in consumer products Montreal, March 5 (AFP) Mar 05, 2025 Canada on Wednesday proposed phasing out "forever chemicals" in many consumer products after finding them to be toxic and harmful at current high levels found in people and the environment. Restrictions on the Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, would come in over several years starting in 2027, after consultations. At a fire hall in Montreal, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said firefighting foams containing these chemicals would be banned in a first phase, followed by products such as cosmetics, food packaging materials, and textiles. The prohibition would eventually also target PFAS in prescription drugs and medical devices. Guilbeault called this "a significant step forward to better protect all Canadians from forever chemicals." It follows announcements in 2024 of guidelines for PFAS in Canadian drinking water and fertilizer. The United States, the European Union and Australia have also begun restricting the use of PFAS amid health and environmental concerns. Testing found PFAS in the Canadian environment, including in the Arctic, in wildlife and "in almost 100 percent of the Canadian population," for example, in blood and brains, according to government documents. PFAS are human-made chemicals used since the late 1940s to mass produce the non-stick, waterproof and stain-resistant treatments that coat everything from frying pans to umbrellas, carpets, dental floss and ski wax. Because PFAS take an extremely long time to break down -- earning them their "forever" nickname -- they have seeped into the soil and groundwater, and from there into the food chain and drinking water. Chronic exposure to even low levels of the chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birthweights and several kinds of cancer. The new rules will aim to "achieve the lowest levels of environmental and human exposure to PFAS that are technically feasible," a senior official told a briefing. The ban, however, would exclude fluoropolymers, a type of heat-resistant plastic used in aerospace, automotive and electronics, which will continue to be assessed. Other exemptions may be considered depending on available alternatives, socio-economic factors and what the rest of the world is doing, the official said. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, say he should not face the death penalty because he has autism. The latest effort to remove the death penalty from the high-profile case was laid out in a 28-page motion on Tuesday in which Kohbergers lead attorney Anne Taylor argued that sentencing her client to death if hes found guilty would violate his Eighth Amendment rights. Kohberger,30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were killed in the early morning of November 13, 2022, at their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. As the highly-anticipated trial grows closer, the former PhD criminology students attorneys have tried, but failed, to get it off the table on the grounds that its unconstitutional, breaks with evolving standards of decency and is arbitrarily applied. Now, Kohbergers attorneys say that his autism spectrum disorder prevents him from being sentenced to death in a manner that accords with the constitutional requirements of proportionality and reliability. open image in gallery ( Getty ) In this case, where jurors will be forced to determine whether Mr. Kohberger will live or die, Mr. Kohberger himself is essentially a piece of evidence to be examined and evaluated; every movement and expression is subject to analysis, Taylor wrote in the most recent filing. Taylor pointed to the 2002 Atkins v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court ruling that people with intellectual disabilities cannot be executed for a crime, as it would violate the Eighth Amendment. Autism is not classified as an intellectual disability, but Taylor argued that it should be and wrote in the filing that it applies in this case because his condition has made it difficult for him to communicate with his legal team. There is little doubt that this reality will overpower any mitigating arguments based on ASD [autism spectrum disorder] as a matter of course, amounting to an unconstitutional risk that Mr. Kohbergeron account of his disabilitywill be unreliably convicted and sentenced to death, she wrote. Taylor added that sentencing people with intellectual disabilities creates an unacceptable risk of wrongful execution because the defendants arent as able to help in the mitigation part of their case. She also wrote that there is concern that there is substantial risk that Kohbergers behavior would create an unwarranted impression of a lack of remorse. A juror seeing the defendant engage in any one of these behaviors, while sitting at counsel table during a murder trial, would perceive the defendant as strange, out-of-control, and even disrespectful of such a solemn proceeding, Taylor wrote. open image in gallery ( AP ) The filing details a comprehensive neurological evaluation conducted by Rachel Orr, a New Hampshire-based neuropsychologist, that concludes Kohbergers disorder has a significant impact on his life. Orr observed that Kohberger specifically subtly rocks his upper torso when listening to someone, has limited facial expressions and exhibits atypical eye contact, such as an intense gaze, according to the filing. Taylor highlighted her concerns about the online community that has analyzed every movement her client makes. These widely viewed and highly prejudicial media reports, draped in the language of expertise and analysis, demonize Mr. Kohberger for his disability, she wrote in the court filing. In an environment so tainted by rampant and vitriolic conjecture, it is impossible for Mr. Kohberger to receive the individualized sentencing determination including full and careful consideration of mitigation evidence that the constitution demands whenever the state seeks to extinguish a human life. The motion is just one of several filed earlier this week prompting 4th District Judge Steven Hippler to issue a warning to the attorneys on both sides to quit filing so many sealed documents in the murder case. Both the defense attorneys and prosecutors have made secrecy the norm rather than an exception, Hippler wrote in a court order on Monday. open image in gallery Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were killed on November 13, 2022 ( Instagram ) This runs counter to the publics First Amendment rights to know what is going on in its courts, Hippler wrote. He ordered the attorneys to use the least restrictive steps necessary to protect confidential information in the case, such as redacting some lines or using initials instead of an individuals full name. Other sealed motions include one on whether the terms psychopath or sociopath can be used during the trial, and one from prosecutors about the presence of immediate family members in the courtroom during the trial. Some of the currently sealed documents will be redacted and made public, and others will remain sealed, the judge ruled. Kohbergers trial is expected to begin August 11 and last for more than three months. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A tattoo artist to the stars who was once referred to as Hollywoods Go-To could face up to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to withholding over $500,000 in earnings from the IRS. Daniel Joseph Winter, 43, who worked under the moniker winterstone, pleaded guilty to one count of subscription to a false tax return on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. After he entered his plea, Winter presented a check worth $641,959 to the court in order to settle his debt. Winter admitted that he willfully lied on his tax returns in 2021, 2022 and 2023, in not declaring all of his income. During that period, Winter raked in nearly $2 million from his tattoo businesses in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver. Prosecutors alleged that Winter would regularly accept cash payments for services rendered, hampering the IRSs abilities to track his dealings. His specialty is single-needle fine-line tattoos. His tattoos were expensive, and he earned substantial income from his work as a tattoo artist and related endeavors, prosecutors said. Winter will appear in federal court on August 11 where he could face up to three years in prison. On his Instagram page, where he boasts over 600,000 followers, Winter has posted photos showing him with Miley Cyrus Matt Damon, Snoop Dogg and Lady Gaga. A 2019 feature in The Hollywood Reporter noted that Winter was responsible for a flower tattoo that could be seen on Lady Gagas back at the Academy Awards. She wanted to make a statement, he said. The rose is the most iconic tattoo on the face of the planet. If youre a tattoo lover, you will eventually have a rose on your body. Among his most recent works was to ink Jessica Alba amid her split from long-term partner Cash Warren. Life is transformation is life, the tattoo read. The Independent contacted Winter for comment. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 5. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and Qatar met and discussed the expansion of bilateral trade and economic relations in Doha, Trend reports, citing the Qatar Chamber. The delegation, including representatives of ten Turkmen companies operating in sectors such as food processing, greenhouses, agriculture, fertilizers, livestock, and consulting, was welcomed by Ali Saeed Bu Sharbak al-Mansouri, acting general manager of Qatar Chamber. Al-Mansouri highlighted the strong ties between the two countries and the mutual desire of their business communities to expand trade. He noted that both countries offer attractive investment climates for establishing strategic trade partnerships. He also reaffirmed the Qatar Chambers commitment to supporting Turkmen companies seeking to invest in Qatar by providing market insights and investment opportunities. The Turkmen delegation, led by Kemal Kutlyyev, Head of Foreign Economic Analytics and Information at the Turkmenistan Chamber of Commerce, discussed ways to enhance cooperation and activate the memo signed between the two chambers to support the private sector. Furthermore, the Turkmen delegation expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Qatari side and export Turkmen products to the Qatari market, ensuring the highest quality standards at competitive prices. Meanwhile, agreements inked in 2022 and projects for 2023-2024 indicate deepening economic ties between Turkmenistan and Qatar. Both countries are working to expand trade and investment, especially in agriculture and construction, with a focus on infrastructure development. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice More than two dozen officers at a California juvenile detention center were charged after video footage captured them encouraging dozens of so-called gladiator fights between children at the facility. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that 30 detention services officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey were indicted on charges of child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy to commit a crime and battery. The California Department of Justice launched an investigation into the matter after video footage of one of the so-called "gladiator fights" leaked in January 2024. Video footage from July through December 2023 captured the accused guards having allowed and, in some instances, encouraged 69 fights among kids at the detention center. The gladiator fights involved 143 kids between the ages of 12 and 18. The disturbing December 2023 footage, first published by the Los Angeles Times, shows a classroom-like setting with Christmas-colored streamers hanging from the ceiling. Whats happening below is less joyous: a group of teenagers take turns punching and kicking one another as the guards watch and do little to nothing to intervene. open image in gallery Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall is pictured. At least 30 guards are accused of participating in forcing kids to fight at the center near Los Angeles ( Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission ) Kids sit at tables eating food as the fights transpire in front of them. Four guards stand by doors and walls while one stands in the middle of the room, dodging blows, as if supervising the tussles so that they dont get too out of hand, but at the same time not doing anything to call them off. According to the indictment, two of the officers in December informed the new detention officers that youth fights were going to occur and told them they were not to say anything, write down anything and just watch. This pair allowed nine youth one-on-one fights to occur that day, the indictment says. One child, who fought eight one-on-one fights, broke a nose during the beating. One of these officers told the teens to refuse treatment when they went to get treated by nurses. At one point, a teen in a short-sleeved gray shirt bounds into the room and takes multiple swings at a smaller kid, who just exited from another fight, until he throws him against the wall and kicks him as he lays on the ground. As the gray-shirted teen walks away victorious, a guard is seen high-fiving him. Most of the officers, 22, were arraigned Tuesday while the remaining officers will be arraigned on April 18, Bonta said. open image in gallery The LA County Probation Department, which runs the juvenile detention center, hailed the attorney generals office for the indictment and said it has been conducting its own internal inquiries ( Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission ) Officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of those under their care. Instead, the officers charged today did just the opposite overseeing gladiator fights when they should have intervened, said Attorney General Bonta. The indictment and the filing of criminal charges is an important step toward holding these officers accountable and addressing shortfalls at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. "My client didn't set up any fights," Tom Yu, attorney for a director of the facility, told ABC7. "He didn't know about any fights, so I'm not sure how they got him into this as an accomplice." The Los Angeles County Probation Department, which runs the juvenile detention center, hailed the attorney generals office for the indictment and said it has been conducting its own internal inquiries. "Our department sought the assistance of law enforcement authorities when misconduct was discovered, which eventually led to the AG's office investigation," the agency told the outlet. "Since then, we have fully collaborated with our partners. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Lori Vallow, the doomsday cult mother who is spending the rest of her life behind bars for the murders of her two children and for conspiring to kill her husbands first wife, is speaking out in her first TV interview. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, wearing purple handcuffs, the convicted murderer sits down with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison and tells him that she believes she will be set free. I will be exonerated. We will both be exonerated in the future, she says in the clip for the upcoming episode, referring to her husband Chad Daybell, who is on death row for the murders. I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven, she adds when pressed by Morrison. And we were not in jail and we were not in prison. The bizarre tangent will play out during what Dateline describes as an extensive and often combative interview, which airs in an all-new special this Friday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. open image in gallery Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, wearing purple handcuffs, Lori Vallow sits down with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison for her first TV interview ( Dateline NBC ) Vallow continues to maintain her innocence nearly two years after she was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison in Idaho for the 2019 murders of her two youngest children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua JJ Vallow, 8, as well conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybells former wife, Tammy Daybell. A separate jury found Daybell guilty of the same crimes. He was sentenced to death in 2024. In the new interview, when Morrison points out Daybells death sentence to Vallow, she responds: I understand that, yeah. These are fascinating stories. Vallows children vanished without a trace in September 2019, sparking a multi-state search while their mother appeared carefree as she married her new husband Daybell on a beach in Hawaii. Nine months later, the bodies of the children were found buried in a pet cemetery on Daybells property in Idaho. Their disappearances and deaths mark only part of a dramatic case that spans a deeply disturbing pattern of murders, unexplained deaths and bizarre cult beliefs about killing zombies. open image in gallery A separate jury found Chad Daybell guilty of murder and he was sentenced to death in 2024 In the trailer for Fridays episode, Morrison wonders if Vallow will finally reveal why so many people close to her have ended up dead. The media loves to take tragedies and turn them into crimes, she says in the clip. I had a lot of tragedies in a row. Morrison presses her further, Im asking you a question. Did you watch your children die? Thats a really sad question, she replies. Vallow then tells Morrison: Youve heard a lot of stuff Keith. What I tell you will be the truth. open image in gallery Joshua JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan went missing in 2019 and their bodies were found nine months later buried on Chad Daybells property ( AP ) The Dateline special will also feature exclusive interviews with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hart, Madison County Sheriff Ron Ball, Rexburg Police Detective Ray Hermosillo, Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood, and Colby Ryan, Vallows oldest son. I guess I was always a very positive, see the best in people kind of person, Ryan tells Morrison during the interview. And then I watched someone that I knew my entire life do what she did. And it just changed the way I view people. The way that my sister was treated was with hate, thats not even human to do what they did to her (body), after, he added. Vallow is currently behind bars in Arizona at the Maricopa County Jail awaiting trial for the 2019 death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow and conspiring in the attempted murder of her nieces ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. The shootings, which happened within days of each other in 2019, were motivated by money and a bizarre spiritual system, according to investigators. Vallow is representing herself in the Charles Vallow trial, which is scheduled to begin on March 31. No trial date has been set for the Brandon Boudreaux trial. Lori Vallow Daybell: The Jailhouse Interview, is the seventh broadcast on the Daybell saga from Dateline, which has covered the case since the beginning. Morrison also reported on the investigation for Datelines #1 podcast, Mommy Doomsday. The two-hour special airs Friday on NBC at 9 p.m. ET and is available for streaming on Peacock the following day. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Three Michigan brothers have been declared dead more than 14 years after they disappeared at Thanksgiving in 2010 in a small-town tragedy that remains unsolved despite an explicit belief by investigators that their father is responsible. Lenawee County Judge Catherine Sala granted the request that was made by the boys mother Tanya Zuvers, who said they deserve the respect that they didnt get at the end of their young lives. We may not have their bodies, but their life still meant something, Zuvers testified near the end of the hearing in Lenawee County in southern Michigan this week. The judge set Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skeltons date of death for November 26, 2010. This is a case of terrible and longstanding impact on the community of Lenawee, Sala said. No condolences will ever be enough for such loss suffered. open image in gallery Tayna Zuvers listens to testimony during a hearing to have her sons Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton be officially declared deceased ( David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP ) Zuvers told the court that this legal declaration will allow her to pay respect to her sons and put a date on their headstone. Because their dad showed them no respect, she said. Because any loving father would not have done what he did, and I owe them the respect. The boys were ages 9, 7, and 5 when they disappeared while they were with their father, John Skelton, at Thanksgiving in 2010. Skelton and the boys mother had been going through a divorce at the time. They were supposed to return to Zuvers the next morning. Instead, they were gone. Police later determined Skelton's phone was in Ohio at 4:30 a.m. before it was turned off and then turned back on at 6 a.m. in Morenci. Investigators searched Skeltons home that day while he was in the hospital for an ankle injury and found a mess of broken glass, severed appliance cords and a noose hanging from the second floor. FBI agent Corey Burras testified that a note had been left for Zuvers that read: You will hate me forever and I know this. That was his passive admission to killing the children, Burras said. Skelton denied harming his sons and said they were with an underground group for their safety, among other murky explanations, according to investigators. open image in gallery Police believe John Skelton is responsible for killing his sons. He has not been charged ( Michigan Department of Corrections via AP ) When Skelton was confronted by his church pastor about the three boys, he told him: I sent them home," Burras told the court, quoting Skelton as referring to heaven. The court also heard testimony from the police chief that Skelton's computer showed searches for whether rat poison can kill people and instructions for how to break a neck. In an interview with investigators, Skelton mentioned an old schoolhouse in Kunkle, Ohio, and a dumpster in Holiday City, Ohio, but once searched, nothing was found. The boys have not been located, despite countless searches of woods and water in Michigan and Ohio and tips from across the country. While police believe Skelton is responsible for the deaths of his sons, he has not been charged. By November, Skelton is expected to complete a 15-year prison sentence for his failure to return the boys to Zuvers, the only conviction in the saga. open image in gallery Volunteers and rescuers searched for 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton in Morenci, Michigan for weeks in 2010 ( The Detroit News ) On Wednesday, the judge rejected a request to also acknowledge that the boys father murdered the children. To make such a finding, the court would only be joining those voices offering such speculation and theory given the lack of information, Sala said. Skelton had previously declined to participate in the hearing to have the brothers declared dead, stating in a video from prison: Anything I say isnt going to make a difference. Since November 2010, Zuvers has prayed someone would cure her broken heart with news about their whereabouts or that John Skelton would explain what really happened, attorney R. Burke Castleberry said in a court filing. Heartbreakingly, none of that has occurred, he wrote. Years have passed, but people in Morenci have not forgotten the Skelton brothers. A plaque with their names and images is attached to a rock at a park near Bean Creek. It says, Faith, Hope, Love. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A teenage boy has been arrested almost 800 miles away from the family home where his mother and stepfather were mysteriously found lying dead. At present, officials have not charged Nikita Casap, 17, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, with any crime relating to their deaths. Casap lived in the home where his stepfather Donald Mayer and mother Tatiana Casap were found dead on Friday February 28. That same day, Casap was charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owners consent and a second count of theft of movable property a gun. The criminal complaint, amended Tuesday and obtained by The Independent, does not confirm Mayer and Tatiana Casaps identities. The pairs relatives confirmed that they were found dead in various statements to local media. Around 12 hours after the bodies were found, Casap was apprehended in WaKeeney, Kansas, some 800 miles from his home in the Milwaukee suburbs after a traffic stop. Police were alerted to the familys home after Mayers mother, Judith, requested a welfare check on Friday morning. She said she had not been in contact with her son in weeks and had received a spate of suspicious messages from her son's phone on February 23. open image in gallery Nikita Casap, 17, is facing two felony charges after his parents were found dead. But his charges are not tied to the homicide allegations state officials ( Trego County District Court ) School authorities were also concerned as the 17-year-old reportedly failed to show up for two weeks before the discovery at his home despite previously having a perfect school attendance, stated the complaint. Mayers sister last had contact with him on February 18 when he told her that he had been feeling pretty sick and was going to take some time off social media. At 1.52 p.m. Friday, officials found a woman, believed to be Tatiana, lying on the first floor hallway, with her face blackened from decomposition [and] dried blood [was present] on the floor around her. The boy's mother was dressed in a jacket but had towels covering her legs and a blanket draped over her body. Crucially, they observed an exit wound in her back, near her right shoulder, and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the wall next to her body. Her car was noted to not be at the home, while Mayers was. A second body, believed to be Mayers was found at around 5 p.m. that day, in the office of the home. The body was described as a male with a gray beard who was found with a gunshot wound to his head and covered by a pile of clothing. open image in gallery The family home where the suspect lived with his parents in the Milwaukee suburbs ( Google Streetview ) Days before the incident, Casap, was spotted by a neighbor driving his stepfathers Volkswagen Atlas alone. The absence of the families small black dog was also noted. After the discovery, Casaps phone and his mothers phone were both pinged to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Advanced location records revealed that Casaps cell appeared to leave Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee, on February 24 at around 10 a.m. before it traveled through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and finally Wyoming and Colorado. Only one stop was recorded The Worlds Largest Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa, at 2:25 p.m. on February 24 for just under 30 minutes. Video surveillance reviewed by the Walcott Iowa Police Department confirmed that the fathers VW Atlas aligned with that timeframe. Casap could be seen driving the vehicle along with the familys little black dog. Based on the defendants school photo, Officer Horihan [of Walcott PD] believed the lone occupant of the vehicle was the defendant and he was accompanied by a small black dog, consistent with the dog that was missing from the residence, stated the criminal complaint. A police search of the home recovered paperwork confirming that Casaps stepfather owned a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum firearm which was not found on the premises. Police tracked Casap down at around 11:25 p.m. Friday and performed a traffic stop. This is when they noticed the missing firearm on the passenger side along with the small black dog. The victims driving licenses were also inside the car along with unused ammunition for the weapon and spent shell casings. Casap has been held in custody and appeared for a court hearing Monday where a warrant for his arrest was announced along with extradition from Kansas back to Wisconsin. He is scheduled to appear in Trego County District Court in Kansas on the afternoon of March 17 unless Wisconsin authorities pick him up beforehand, stated a court judge via the Monday court hearing. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The mother of Robert Crimo III, the aspiring rapper who is accused of shooting seven people dead during a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb in 2022, maintained her sons innocence despite his guilty plea in a hearing this week. During the hearing, Crimo IIIs mother, Denise Pesina, had to be reprimanded and eventually removed by the judge after she began spekaing loudly during proceedings. Pesina made her feelings known and muttered something under her breath as he made the admission. Yet, it was loud enough for Judge Victoria Rossetti to overhear, forcing her to halt proceedings, reported WGN-TV. My son is innocent... He has no free will to make his own choices, and he has never had any outside help. They regulate everything. He has been a prisoner, and this is wrong, she continued to tell the channel. Prosecutors initially charged him with 21 counts of first-degree murder three counts for each person killed as well as 48 counts of attempted murder following the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois a wealthy suburb 30 miles from Chicago. Before opening statements on Monday, Crimo changed his plea to guilty. The withdrawal of his earlier not-guilty plea stunned the Lake County Courthouse as it came just moments before opening statements were due to be read out. The trial was anticipated to go on for at least a month. open image in gallery Robert Crimo III pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder an admission that stunned the courthouse Pesina was escorted to the bench by bailiffs on Rosettis orders and told: Were going to move forward. You are not a party to this proceeding. If you would like to stay in the courtroom, please have a seat and be quiet, Rossetti said. The judge permitted her to stay, but the shooters mother was reportedly visibly rattled and stormed out of the Waukegan courthouse and addressed the media. Last week, almost three years on from the attack, prosecutors dropped 48 serious counts of aggravated battery against Crimo without explanation. In the lead-up to the trial, Crimo rejected a plea deal from prosecutors. Authorities say that Crimo had meticulously calculated the bloodshed. They alleged he planted himself carefully in a destructive vantage point, on a roof, before he fired a round of bullets at the crowds below. Two of the victims that day had been the parents of a toddler, and the dozens wounded included retirees in their 80s as well as an 8-year-old boy, who was left partially paralyzed by Crimos assault. Witnesses described the pandemonium as shots rang out, followed by sheer terror as families scrambled to escape the parade. open image in gallery The Highland Park shooting in 2022 resulted in seven deaths with dozens injured Who were the victims killed that day? Katherine Goldstein 64 Jacquelyn Sundheim 63 Stephen Straus 88 Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza 78 Eduardo Uvaldo 69 Married couple Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35 In 2023, Crimos father, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct after he allowed his son at age 19 to apply for a gun license with his fathers sponsorship. open image in gallery Robert Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty in 2023 after he allowed his son to obtain a gun license ( Daily Herald 2025 ) A relative had warned police that the alleged shooter possessed a collection of knives and had even threatened to kill everyone, prior to obtaining the license. The alleged shooters behavior before the trial was erratic. His behavior included failing to turn up at scheduled hearings, refusing to leave his Lake County cell, and firing his public defenders, opting to represent himself, before reversing the decision. Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering announced that an Independence Day parade would return, but without fireworks, since the community trauma had been so catastrophic. Crimo is set to be sentenced by Judge Rosetti on April 23. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A transgender man who was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a field in upstate New York in early February was tortured and sexually assaulted for a month before he was murdered, authorities revealed in new court documents. Seven people have been accused of killing 24-year-old Sam Nordquist, a Black man from Minnesota, but first they allegedly subjected him to a month-long torture campaign in which they treated him like a dog, forced him to eat feces, drink urine and poured bleach on him, prosecutors said. The horrifying allegations were revealed in an indictment Wednesday that outlined first-degree murder charges against the seven suspects. He was forced to kneel and stand against a wall, Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford said. He was physically assaulted. He was sexually assaulted. He was prevented from using his phone. He was denied proper nutrition and hydration. He was fed feces. He was forced to drink urine and chew spit. open image in gallery Sam Nordquist, 24, was found dead on February 13 in the Finger Lakes region Wolford continued: They physically restrained him. They forced him to obey their commands, treating him like a dog. They covered his face with towels and shirts and fabric. They used duct tape and they poured bleach on him. Nordquist was reported missing on February 9, just months after he arrived in New York from Minnesota. His mother has told Syracuse.com that he left Minnesota for New York in September to meet a woman he had become romantically involved with after connecting online. Linda Nordquist said her son was supposed to fly home in October but decided to stay longer to work on the relationship. Police said he had lost contact with loved ones this year. According to the indictment, the suspects tortured and beat Nordquist between January 1 and February 2 before they dumped his body in a field in Yates County in the Finger Lakes region. His body was found on February 13. Seven people were indicted for Nordquist's death, including Precious Arzuaga, 38, Kyle Sage, 33, Patrick Goodwin, 30, Emily Motyka, 19, Jennifer Quijano, 30, Kimberly Sochia, 29, and Thomas Eaves, 21. open image in gallery Top row (left to right): Precious Arzuaga, Kyle Sage, Patrick A. Goodwin, and Emily Motyka. Bottom row (left to right): Kimberly L. Sochia, Thomas G. Eaves, and Jennifer A. Quijano ( New York State Police ) The initial arrests were made after police searched a room at the Pattys Lodge motel in Canandaigua, New York, the last place Nordquist was known to be staying. All seven were indicted on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage and Goodwin are also charged with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse. Arzuaga is charged with two counts of first-degree coercion because, according to the indictment, she compelled or induced two children ages 7 and 12 to cause or attempt to cause physical injury to Nordquist. All suspects except Eaves have also been charged with concealment of a human corpse. Despite Nordquist being a Black Transgender man, Wolford said hate crime charges will not be filed. A hate crime would make this charge about Sam's gender or about Sam's race, and it's so much bigger, she said. To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starved, held captive and we cannot make sense of that, Wolford added. We cannot put that on his gender, and we cannot put that on his race. And I know many will ask the question: Why? Well, as I stand here today as a human being, well never know the answer why. Because what human being could do what happened to Sam? Well never make sense of this case. Wolford said the first-degree murder charges are the most significant penalty under New York state law and that the charge requires the prosecution to prove that the suspects tortured Nordquist because they enjoyed it. No arraignment date has been set. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An Oklahoma woman has been arrested for allegedly having sex with her Great Dane and sharing recorded images of the acts on pornographic websites, according to police. Police learned about the situation after they were alerted to videos of the act on the pornographic website, court records say. They received a tip on September 24, 2024, and reviewed a 15-minute long video of a woman wearing a white mask with tassels engaging in a sex act with a dog. Police said they found a second graphic video depicting sex acts between the same woman and the same dog posted to a second website, according to FOX 25 Oklahoma. The woman in the video was wearing pants that exposed her genitals, and reportedly had a tattoo that police used to link her to a suspect. Police found a Facebook photo of a woman in Edmond, Oklahoma who allegedly has the same tattoo as the woman in the video. The woman was allegedly identified as Christina Stokes. On February 26, a judge approved a residential search warrant at her home. Police executing the search warrant allegedly found several items inside the home that were visible in the pornographic videos, including the same blue collar the Great Dane was wearing, the same mask that was used in the video, and video backgrounds and bedding that matched those in the footage. Stokes was interviewed by police about the videos by police. She denied making the videos, and insisted that she was not "f***ing her dog." When police asked if she had ever contemplated having sex with her pet, she allegedly paused for approximately 10 seconds and said "I can't say an interest hadn't been there" before asking what was going to happen to her. Police arrested Stokes at 9:33am and booked her into the Oklahoma County Jail on charges of publishing or distributing obscene material, animal cruelty, and crimes against nature. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An Australian startup has unveiled the worlds first commercial biological computer that runs on living human brain cells. Melbourne-based Cortical Labs launched the CL1 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, describing it as a body in a box that holds the potential to revolutionise AI and robotics. The computer uses lab-grown neurons that grow across a silicon chip, which allows them to send and receive electrical impulses. This setup is then integrated into Cortical Labss Biological Intelligence Operating System (biOS), through which users can deploy code through the neurons and perform computing tasks. An internal life support system of pumps, gas, and temperature controls keep the neurons alive for up to six months. A simple way to describe it would be like a body in a box, Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, told New Atlas. The biological-based system is able to learn and adapt more efficiently than conventional silicon-based computers, while also using significantly less energy. An early version of the biological computer that featured 800,000 human and mouse neurons on a chip was able to teach itself how to play the video game Pong. A paper published in the journal Cell said the neurons learned and exhibited sentience when embodied in the simulated game world. The company claims to have put guardrails in place in order to address ethical concerns relating to consciousness and sentience, though few details were provided. The Independent has reached out to Cortical Labs for comment. The neuron is self programming, infinitely flexible, and the result of four billion years of evolution, Cortical Labs states on its website. Our technology merges biology with traditional computing to create the ultimate learning machine... Unlike traditional AI, our neural systems require minimal energy and training data to master complex tasks. Cortical Labs said the first CL1 computers will be ready to ship to customers in June, with each unit costing around $35,000 (27,000). Today is the culmination of a vision that has powered Cortical Labs for almost six years," said Cortical founder and chief executive Dr Hon Weng Chong. "Our long-term mission has been to democratize this technology, making it accessible to researchers without specialized hardware and software. The CL1 is the realization of that mission. While todays announcement is incredibly exciting, its the foundation for the next stage of innovation. The real impact and the real implications will come from every researcher, academic or innovator that builds on top of it. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 5. Turkmenistan and the US aim to expand economic cooperation and develop business initiatives between the two countries, Trend reports. This was discussed during the meeting between the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the US, Meret Orazov, the Executive Director of the USTBC, Eric Stewart, and representatives of leading American companies. The companies included Boeing, John Deere, Case New Holland, Palo Alto, Climate Compass, ExxonMobil, Oxbow, Sig Sauer, and Coca-Cola. Ambassador Orazov emphasized the embassys commitment to actively supporting collaboration between American companies and Turkmenistan, highlighting the importance of exploring new partnership opportunities. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and achieving mutual business success. Moreover, the discussion covered upcoming events aimed at further enhancing diplomatic dialogue and cooperation between the two nations. Earlier, on December 16, 2024, the Turkmen-American Business Forum was held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan. The U.S. and Turkmenistan are expanding cooperation in energy, trade, and business, with trade reaching around $400 million in 2023. Both countries aim to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, focusing on mutual interests and investment opportunities. A major renewable energy investor is planning to build some of the worlds most powerful batteries in Australia after developing a breakthrough technology it says can deliver electricity for twice as long as todays largest grid-scale battery systems. Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a global investor in energy-transition assets and backer of tech mogul Mike Cannon Brookes $35 billion Sun Cable mega-project in the Northern Territory, has been working with Chinese battery giant CATL on pioneering a grid-scale battery with eight hours of storage capacity. Solar power, paired with longer-lasting batteries, can decarbonise heavy industry and help Australia seize green manufacturing opportunities, says Quinbrook. Credit: Artists impression The new battery systems, said to be the first in the world designed to discharge for eight hours, marked a step up from most of the batteries on the market today, which typically discharged at full output for a maximum of four hours, Quinbrook said. Installing a fleet of the giant batteries across Australia could prove game-changing, the investment firm said, due to their potential to cut the cost and boost the availability of zero-emissions energy to help decarbonise heavy industry and power emerging green manufacturing processes of the future. Advertisement RecipesMeal prep One magic marinade for chicken thighs, plus multiple great meals to make from them Pan-roast a big batch of thighs, then serve them all week in different dishes (including the ultimate crisp-skinned chicken). Your future self will thank you. Katrina Meynink March 6, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share If ever there was a way to feel you were reaching some life admin goals, its by having the forethought to pan-roast enough chicken for multiple (varied and delicious) meals for the rest of the week. I love to buy about 2 kilograms of skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and let them sit overnight in a bath of olive oil, garlic and lemon zest. This basic marinade means you can take the dish in many directions and not worry about clashing flavours. My key tip for the ultimate crispy McCrisp of all crisp-skinned chicken is to leave the excess oil on the chicken and place the pieces skin-side down in a cold frying pan. Turn the heat to low and let the chicken cook, the skin slowly rendering, for at least 15 minutes. I then turn up the heat to medium(ish), so the skin gets a lovely golden tan like its spent a month on a beach in the Greek islands. Flip the pieces over and cook them for another 10 minutes. It might seem like an age but the slow start, combined with having the bone in, means it will take longer for the chicken to cook through. Advertisement This method works best for smaller batches of chicken. But to prep 2kg of chicken, cook in batches in a large frying pan, skin-side down, to get lovely crisp skin then transfer to 1-2 large roasting dishes, skin side up and finish in the oven (preheated to 180C fan-forced or 200C conventional) until cooked through. Once cooked, you can serve the chicken then and there with a salad and call it dinner. Or you can set it aside to turn into many other dishes, like the four recipes Ive shared below. Get a batch of this chicken ragu on the stove quick smart. Katrina Meynink Slow-cooked chicken thigh ragu Almost as soon as Ive pan-roasted a batch of chicken pieces, I get this ragu on the stove. Its such a delicious full-bodied sauce to have on hand. Serve it with pasta, spread over a pizza you name it, you can use it. It also freezes like a dream, so your future self will thank you profusely. Advertisement INGREDIENTS 1 onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 celery stalks, washed and diced 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced 1 x 140g tub tomato paste cup loosely packed herbs (I used a combination of parsley, basil and tarragon) 375ml white wine meat of 4 roasted chicken thighs, finely diced 750ml chicken stock generous knob of butter pappardelle (or other pasta ribbons) and parmesan, to serve METHOD Add the olive oil to a deep frying pan or cassoulet dish and place over medium heat. Once its hot, add the vegetables, garlic and chilli in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is fragrant but not taking on colour. Reduce the heat to low and allow the vegetables to soften and caramelise for up to 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and herbs and stir until the mixture begins to brown (2 minutes). It should look as if it is coming away from the sides of the pan. Add the wine and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken and stock and cook on low heat for 30-40 minutes until it looks thick and glossy. Add the butter and stir until it has melted and mixed through. Season generously with sea salt flakes and pepper. Serve with pappardelle and a shower of parmesan, or reserve for future use. Serves 4-6 Advertisement A little chicken goes a long way in this slaw dressed with peanut sauce. Katrina Meynink A simple but excellent slaw with chicken and peanut sauce Slaw is the ultimate salad-with-staying-power, making it a prep-ahead dream. It is also the ultimate way to stretch a little leftover chicken further. It may initially seem like there isnt enough dressing, but keep working it through and youll find its just the right amount to coat the salad without making it soggy, a true crime against food. As a rough guide, I use about 2 cups of shredded chicken for this salad, but you can use what you have or add more either is excellent. Bulk it out with some store-bought bao buns and fresh chilli, or serve with steamed rice. Advertisement INGREDIENTS 1 small purple cabbage, finely shredded green cabbage, finely shredded 2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded cup chopped coriander leaves 3-4 makrut leaves, vein removed, finely sliced 1 spring onion, green part only, sliced cup sliced Thai basil leaves about 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded cup fried shallots, to serve Peanut dressing cup smooth peanut butter juice of 2 limes 3 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp fish sauce 5cm knob ginger, finely grated METHOD Advertisement In a large bowl combine the cabbage, carrot and herbs. You want an even mix of colours. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl, adjusting the flavour to taste. Pour the dressing over the salad and using your hands, toss until evenly coated. Add the chicken and toss briefly again. To serve, turn the salad out onto plates, drizzling over any excess dressing and scattering generously with fried shallots. Serves 4-6 Make a small amount of chicken go further in this eggplant borani. Katrina Meynink Chicken and eggplant borani I love this borani, which is based on a traditional yoghurt-based Iranian dish, for its flexibility you can add a skerrick of leftover chicken or pan-roast pieces intentionally for the final flourish. Either way, it is wonderful scooped into a warm pita. Advertisement INGREDIENTS 400g-500g eggplant, trimmed and sliced lengthways into even slices 2 tbsp olive oil 3 garlic cloves, grated tbsp turmeric powder tbsp ground coriander tbsp ground cumin generous pinch of chilli flakes 3 beefsteak or aroma tomatoes, cored and sliced 2-4 cooked chicken thighs, skin and meat shredded toasted pine nuts and extra dill to serve Yoghurt sauce 1 cup Greek yoghurt cup chopped herbs (I used a combination of oregano and dill) zest of 1 lemon juice of lemon sea salt flakes and pepper to season METHOD Advertisement Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the sliced eggplant out in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with sea salt flakes and pepper. Roast until golden and soft, between 20 and 30 minutes. Remove and roughly chop you want big pieces so you get a lovely texture. Warm a pot over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil and then add the eggplant. Add the garlic and spices and cook, stirring, to coat. Add the tomatoes then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have released their juices, softened and you have a glorious thick and chunky sauce. At this point, either add the chicken and warm it through, or add it when serving whichever you prefer. While the dish cooks, make the yoghurt sauce by adding all the ingredients to a bowl and stirring to combine. Turn the borani onto a serving platter. Dollop over the yoghurt and add the toasted pine nuts and dill. Season with sea salt flakes, cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. If you didnt add the chicken to the eggplant mixture, top with the shredded chicken and serve. Serves 4-6 Spiced chicken with cool tzatziki. Add hot fries and pita to stretch the dish even further. Katrina Meynink Sumac and charred lemon chicken thighs with tzatziki I love to give pre-cooked chicken thighs a second turn in the pan to warm them up, adding spice to the skin for extra flavour. If you bunged some chips in the oven while heating the chicken, you could serve this with piping hot fries, maybe swaddled inside a large, warm pita. And I would applaud the deliciousness of your meal. Advertisement INGREDIENTS 6-8 chicken thighs tbsp sumac tbsp dried oregano tbsp dried thyme 1 lemon, chopped into chunks Tzatziki 1 Lebanese cucumber, grated 1 cups Greek yoghurt 1 garlic clove, crushed zest and juice of 1 lemon pinch dried oregano pinch dried thyme METHOD Advertisement Place a frying pan over medium heat. Add the smallest smidge of olive oil and let it warm up. While its getting hot, rub the chicken with the sumac and dried oregano, focusing mostly on the skin. Place the chicken in the pan skin-side down. Throw in the pieces of lemon and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the chicken has warmed through and the lemon chunks are taking on a little char. Meanwhile, make the tzatziki by adding all the ingredients to a bowl and stirring gently to combine. Season generously with sea salt flakes and pepper and set aside. To serve, scoop the tzatziki onto a serving platter. Top with the chicken pieces and chunks of charred lemon. I scattered over some zucchini flowers I had in the fridge. You could also top it with basil and mint leaves. Drizzle over a little olive oil, season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper and serve, with or without hot chips and warm pita. Serves 4-6 Related Article Four robust salads that work overtime as both dinner today and lunch tomorrow Related Article Fire up the barbie for these four big-flavoured dishes with just six(ish) ingredients The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox. Sign up A $1.1 billion pledge to fix the pothole-ridden Western Freeway will cut travel times for outer suburban voters as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese works to counter perceptions that Labor has taken its traditional support base for granted. Political support for federal and state Labor has sunk in Victoria over the past 18 months, adding urgency to the case for new federal funding, including last weeks $3.2 billion for airport rail and suburban roads for MPs to sell to disenchanted voters. The Western Highway near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Credit: Alamy As the Albanese government works to defend a host of Victorian seats targeted by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, it has revealed the $1.1 billion to revamp the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs, about 50km from the city centre. Funding for the road rated by the RACV as one of Victorias most dangerous is key to the seat of Hawke, based around Melton, that Albanese visited this month even though Labors Sam Rae holds it with a 7.5 per cent margin. Eighteen days before the state election in March 2019, Liberal hopeful Scott Yung hosted a fundraiser at the high-class Blue Angel seafood restaurant to help support his run at Chris Minns seat of Kogarah. The list for the dinner was tight, with only about two dozen Chinese Australians and party figures attending to rub shoulders with former prime minister John Howard. The evening was a roaring success, according to the candidate nomination form Yung submitted to the Liberal Party in 2023 ahead of being nominated as the candidate for Bennelong. Scott Yung, then the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Kogarah, sitting next to John Howard during a fundraiser at the Blue Angel restaurant. We raised the maximum expenditure of $60,000 within one week. This was thanks to the assistance of Mr John Howard hosting a dinner, Yung stated. The problem? None of these donations appear to have been disclosed with the NSW Electoral Commission. The Liberal Partys disclosures for the state campaign period do not include a single person identified by the Herald as having attended the fundraiser. London: Having given Europe a two-fingered salute at Munich and baited Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, J.D. Vance has come back for a third helping. And even Nigel Farage, Britains right-wing populist figure and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, was left incensed. The US vice president has copped widespread criticism from across the Atlantic after saying any potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine would be from some random country that hasnt fought a war in 30 or 40 years. J.D. Vances comments underline the challenges facing Europe as they chart a path forward for Ukraine. Credit: AP Vance made the comment on Fox News while arguing the best security guarantee Trump could provide for Ukraine was a minerals deal. He was immediately accused of disrespecting British forces who served alongside the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, where more than 600 were killed in fighting between 2001 and 2014. A former British veterans minister branded him a clown who needs to check his privilege. Washington: US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Hamas to release all its hostages in Gaza just hours after news broke that his administration has been conducting secret talks with the militant Palestinian group. US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler held direct negotiations with Hamas in Doha, Qatar in recent weeks, sources briefed on the conversations said, in another significant foreign policy shift for the United States. US President Donald Trump with Israeli hostages released from Gaza (from left): Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher and Noa Argamani at the White House. Credit: X Such talks run counter to long-standing US policy against direct contacts with groups that Washington lists as foreign terrorist organisations. The US State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office issued a statement after the news about the talks broke, saying: Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas. Browser Compatibility Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks. We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 5. Uzbekistan and Slovakia have agreed to establish a Business Council to further develop trade and economic relations between the two countries, Trend reports. The agreement was made during a meeting between Dilshod Rasulov, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, and Peter Mihok, Chairman of the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). In the course of the meeting, the sides discussed expanding bilateral cooperation, with plans for a delegation of Slovak business representatives to visit Uzbekistan in April 2025. The visit will include a business forum and B2B meetings to foster closer ties between the two countries' business communities. Following the meeting, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed to officially establish the Uzbekistan-Slovakia Business Council. SCCI, one of Slovakia's leading business organizations, has been active since its founding in 1992, focusing on promoting local and international entrepreneurship, improving the business environment, and supporting trade and investment activities. All bark, no bite Even after countless announcements, Naag river still left to fend for itself By Vikas Vaidya : The release of dirt, garbage, sewage water in Naag river throughout the river stretch from its starting point near Ambazari lake to its sangam with Pili Nadi near Bharatwada in East Nagpur, one realises the issue can never be resolved. It is an example of sheer apathy. The neglect since long has led to problem getting aggravated. It is the public and authority nexus that has decided not to transform the Naag nullah to the Naag river. Here, everyone is culprit. The Government did nothing except announce various projects. The nightmare of September 23, 2023 is still fresh in the mind of the citizens, when more than half of the Nagpur faced the wrath of the flood. But the authorities concerned did not learn a lesson. The part of Naag river near Daga Layout, from where the problem began, is more or less still the same. The wall is still broken from where Naag river water can enter the localities nearby. Dirt and garbage still blemishes the banks of Naag river. Pili Nadi joins Naag river near Bharatwada and both flow silently without anybody caring for them. The garbage, left-over food material, sewage water etc is being released by the citizens of Nagpur and it has become the norm. On one hand, the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Delhi has immediately taken charge and started the project Clean Yamuna, but on the other hand, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has been cleaning Naag river for the last 20 years--of course on paper. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself asking the civic body in 2022 during his Nagpur visit either to rejuvenate or clean the Naag river, shockingly no step was taken except the survey. The sources in Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) say, the tender process is likely to start in March after which the actual work would begin. This is what the authorities have been announcing for more than 20 years now. The Hitavada team visited to check the reality as to whether the authorities are really doing something or not. The team visited the entire stretch from near Ambazari lake to Bharatwada. After Bharatwada, one comes near Prajapati Nagar where a lot of construction work is going and the debris too is being dumped in the Naag river. Here, the nullah is surrounded by several small scale industries whose effluents are released in it. When one looks into the nullah, one witnesses the emergence of the chemical particles from inside the water flowing over the surface. This paints a very sad picture. The water is getting contaminated and when one sees the process, one realises the intensity of the issue. Will it ever be resolved and can we see a clean Naag river flowing through the city, is the question one is left asking oneself. The situation of garbage being dumped in the river is same everywhere. Garbage can be seen stuck to the pillars of bridges on Naag river in the entire city from wherever it flows. At some places, NMC has installed tall iron nets on the bridge to prevent people from dumping garbage into the Naag river. It failed to prevent people from throwing waster material inside the river. In fact the people of civic authority alone have been caught red-handed while throwing waste material inside the river. It was exposed by The Hitavada. People do get to see the condition of Naag river at major roads, but there are some who watch it helplessly from close vicinity. For example, the river also flows through Nandanvan slum where people reside in congested homes, some houses are on the bank of it. Government and civic body both realised that rejuvenating the Naag river is a bit difficult as the sewage water was to be prevented from entering into the river. Thus the Naag River Pollution Abatement project was started. The objective of the Project is to prevent and improve the pollution of rivers and improve hygienic environment of residents in the catchment area of River Nag, Pohra and Pili River in Nagpur city, by carrying out construction of sewerage treatment plants and public sanitary facilities, thereby contributing to the improvement of poverty and environmental issues. A major initiative, aimed at cleaning up the Naag River in Nagpur, is by constructing sewage treatment plants (STPs), laying extensive sewer lines thereby improving the water quality and hygiene of the surrounding area. This project is primarily focused on managing wastewater from both domestic and industrial sources entering the river. Central Government, Maharashtra Government and NMC will have 60:25:15 per cent share respectively as far as its cost is concerned. According to sources, Central Government has allocated its share of Rs 1,115 crore. After an exercise that began in early January in 2024 to appoint consultant for the project completed in September when Nagpur Municipal Corporatoin inked pact with Tata Consulting Engineers Limited. Tata is looking after as Project Management Consultant (PMC). A very senior officer, on condition of anonymity, told The Hitavada, Whatever happened in the past should not be taken into account. Now, Government and civic body both are serious enough as the work for tender processing has got momentum. Once project begins, it will take at least 8 years to complete. Otherwise also, the time frame finalised is of 88 months. Whatever this officer said is right. It means that the actual work has not begun. In 2023, half of Nagpur was overwhelmed when the rain fury struck. The blame was to be put on Nagpur Municipal Corporation which did not take steps in time despite a lot of warnings from the experts. It still has not taken any measures to prevent such flood. To the fortune of civic body, city did not witness heavy rain like it had that year. Take example of Daga layout where the intensity of the flood was highest. Though NMC did dig the nullah, the wall is still in a broken condition. Some superficial work is visible but it is not progressing except for one excavator which is lying at the spot. The width of the bank of the Naag river near Ambazari crematorium is increased by demolishing a huge wall and cutting some big trees. Some work is going on giving an impression that the authorities are taking some measures. But it is not true. The major loophole is no plan is chalked out yet as to what exactly needs to be done. Solution to Eichhornia problem The Hitavada first brought to the notice of the authorities that the dreaded weed Eichhornia exists in Naag river too. The Green Vigil Foundation Founder Kaustav Chatterjee sent a solution to the issue. In his statement sent to The Hitavada, he stated, Eichhornia crassipes reproduces both vegetatively and sexually, which spreads rapidly under favorable temperature and nutrient conditions. Stolon buds develop that bear offshoots from axillary buds. Water hyacinth can produce up to 3,000 seeds per plant. Naag river is basically carrying sewage, which is high in nitrogen and phosphorus, which act as suitable substrate for water hyacinth, resulting in mushrooming of the plant. This year, growth of Eichhornia in Ambazari lake and Naag river is at an alarming level as compared to previous years, which calls for an investigative research study. Controlling the growth of Eichhornia is a challenging task. Considering the present growth of Eichhornia, manual cleaning needs to be supported with chemical and biological cleaning. Application of 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) Bispyribac, Diquat, Imazamox have proved the most effective chemical control, especially if applied during hot weather. Biological treatments include application of Chinese grass carp (Ctenopharyngo idella and hybrids), as well as Tilapia melanopleura and T. mossambica. Neochetina beetle that eat water hyacinth can be used as biological controls to manage the plant's spread. Chemical & Biological agents can be applied for cleaning out water hyacinth for Nag river but may not be suitable for Ambajhari lake as these agents might negatively affect the water quality. Dangerous stunts on VIP Road leads to arrests, drivers license to be revoked Staff Reporter : In a swift response to a viral video showcasing reckless motorcycle stunts on VIP Road, Bhopal Police arrested two individuals and seized their vehicle for endangering public safety. The accused, identified as Rithik Yadavanshi (24) and Sumit Kumar (25), were apprehended under stringent legal provisions after a complaint highlighted their life-threatening antics. On March 1, complainant Manish Lalwani approached Koh-e-Fiza Police Station to report a motorcyclist speeding dangerously on VIP Road. The rider, later identified as Yadavanshi, was seen weaving through traffic while his female pillion rider and another male companion allegedly made obscene gestures at other commuters. The stunt, captured on video, quickly spread across social media, drawing widespread condemnation. Koh-e-Fiza Police registered a case under Sections 281 (rash driving), 125 (endangering life), 296, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alongside Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act (overspeeding). Acting on directives from Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-3) Riyaaz Iqbal and Additional DCP Shalini Dikshit, a joint team from Koh-e-Fiza Police and Bhopal Traffic Police launched an investigation. Under the supervision of ACP Anil Vajpayee, the accused were tracked down and arrested. Their motorcycle was impounded, and both were sent to judicial custody. Authorities have also written to the Transport Department to initiate license revocation proceedings against Yadavanshi. Meanwhile, the female accomplice remains unidentified, with police intensifying efforts to locate her. he operation was executed by Koh-e-Fiza Station In-Charge Inspector Vijendra Marskole, Traffic In-Charge Ram Das Kaushal, and team members including Sub-Inspectors Bana Singh Pawar, Antarram Yadav, Khuman Singh, and constables Naveen and Pradeep Kaushal. Their co-ordinated efforts underscore the departments zero-tolerance stance toward traffic violations. Senior officials emphasised that such dangerous stunts jeopardise innocent lives and will face strict legal consequences. The public is urged to report reckless driving via emergency helplines or social media channels. This crackdown highlights the polices commitment to leveraging digital evidence and public co-operation to enhance road safety in Bhopal. ED arrests SDPI national president M K Faizy NEW DELHI : THE Enforcement Directorate has arrested SDPI national president M K Faizy under the anti-money laundering law, sources said on Tuesday. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), founded in 2009 in Delhi, is alleged to be the political front of the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI). Faizy was taken into custody on Monday night from the Delhi international airport under the PMLA. The ED had earlier called SDPI as the political front of PFI. Grand gateways named after Emperor Vikramaditya, Raja Bhoj to grace Bhopals major thoroughfares Staff Reporter : Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Tuesday announced that grand gateways bearing the names of Emperor Vikramaditya, Raja Bhoj, and other great historical figures will be constructed along major thoroughfares in the State capital. This initiative aims to acquaint the present generation with Madhya Pradeshs glorious history and showcase the states rich cultural heritage. Chief Minister Dr Yadav emphasised that the identity of Bhopal and numerous other locations in the state is deeply rooted in their historical rulers. He highlighted Emperor Vikramadityas valour, justice, selflessness, generosity, prowess, and good governance, which earned him a distinguished place in history. He also mentioned Raja Bhojs construction of the Upper Lake and numerous other creations, which continue to evoke his memory in Bhopal and various parts of the State. Chief Minister Dr Yadav stated that the State Governments initiative to construct gateways named after these great figures will enable the people of Madhya Pradesh to become acquainted with their glorious past and instill a sense of pride. This step will not only honour history but also foster a sense of pride among the people. These gateways will serve as constant reminders of Emperor Vikramadityas exemplary governance and Raja Bhojs creativity as people traverse Bhopals roads. The Governments objective is to bring the glorious history of the capital city to the general public. Bhopal, also known as the City of Lakes, derives its name from Bhoj Tal, a lake built by the 11th-Century Hindu King, Raja Bhoj. Bhopals history is intertwined with the Parmar kings, Gond rulers, and Nawabs. Throughout Madhya Pradesh, numerous great rulers, including Emperor Vikramaditya, Raja Bhoj, Chandragupta Maurya, Emperor Ashoka and Rani Durgavati, have reigned. This Government initiative will further strengthen the legacy of these great figures. Chief Minister Dr Yadavs announcement is expected to enhance Bhopals historical and cultural significance, allowing future generations to connect with their glorious past. This initiative is also anticipated to boost tourism in the city. IBM observes 78th Foundation Day Business Reporter : As A part of the 78th Foundation Day, the Indian Bureau of Mines observed Khanij Diwas on March 1 at its Headquarters in the city. Dinesh Vitthalrao Ganvir, Additional Director General and Head of Department, Central Region, Geological Survey of India (GSI) graced the occasion as chief guest and Indra Dev Narayan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, MECL was the guest of honour. Pankaj Kulshrestha, Chief Controller of Mines, IBM, presided over the function. In his inaugural address, Ganvir congratulated IBM for completing 78 years of exemplary service to the nation and lauded the tremendous efforts of all retired department heads in steering the organisation right from its inception. Speaking on the occasion, Indra Dev Narayan said the Khanij Diwas programme is not just a matter of pride for IBM but the entire country. Narayan said Nagpur hosts a Mining Kumbh as the city serves as the Sangam (confluence) of GSI, IBM and MECL. He also foresaw challenges in the mining sector in the future and asked IBM to be prepared for these challenges. Pankaj Kulshrestha, in his presidential address, said IBM has come a long way and threw light on its journey from this day in 1948. Dr V A J Aruna, Superintending Officer (Ore Dressing), D N Bhargava, retired Controller General and others were present. Preeti Mishra, Deputy Ore Dressing Officer, hosted the function while Amit Kamble, DODO gave the vote of thanks, says a press release. MSEDCL hiked tariff over in last 4 yrs Another round of price hike by MYT opposed MERC hearing on MYT petition of MSEDCL Staff Reporter : Already reeling under stupendous hike in power tariff of nearly 40 per cent over the last four years, the new multi year tariff (MYT) petition of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) would further upend the energy rates for consumers in Maharashtra. Lokesh Chandra, Managing Director, MSEDCL, at the outset pointed out that for the first time, the Discom has envisioned lowering of power rates in MYT. But industrialists, social organisations and energy experts countered with data presentation how consumers power bills are going to increase manifold. Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Commission (MERC) on Tuesday held on-line hearing of the MYT petition. Tuesday was last session scheduled for Nagpur Division but of the 232 persons and organisations who had filed their objections, only 31 turned-up for physical appearance. On the spot, additional 11 persons joined the hearing. MSEDCL had made arrangements for people to participate in the e-hearing at Niyojan Bhavan in Civil Lines. Due to lack of publicity, only a handful of people, mostly industrialists and some players from solar industry came forward to voice concern over the tariff petition. Some of the persons who had filed objections appeared through on-line mode. But strangely, not a single public representative came forward to either justify the MSEDCL proposed tariff or oppose it from consumers point of view. A common thread of those opposing MSEDCL petition was that the current tariff in Maharashtra is highest in the country and urged MERC not to allow any new hike over next 5-years, once the current MYT is finalised. The most contentious point that many persons objected to was Time of Day (ToD) concept where Discom wants to subsidise power usage during day time and charge extra for night usage. The point is that maximum consumption at households occurs during night time compared to day usage and therefore that would incur substantial rise in power bills. Prashant Goyal of Chandra Industries Association compared the power tariff of Maharashtra with neighbouring States and claimed that steel industries are migrating to Chhattisgarh due to lower rates. Time has come for MSEDCL to rationalise the tariff or otherwise industries would continue to move out. Another representative from industry, Sandip Budhe pointed out that since power generation during day time is on higher side, the surplus energy usage during night should continue to be allowed. Earlier, Ankush Diwe demanded categorisation of milk collection centres under agriculture category form current commercial one. This would benefit the farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada and ensure higher returns for them. Similarly, Mahendra Jichkar, Energy Expert, called for rationalisation of tariff hike petitions from MSEDCL, as the Discom at times is seeking hike in tariff twice in the year. This is putting unnecessary burden on the consumers who are at loss to comprehend the need for repeated hike in tariff, either revision in tariff or through hike in fuel adjustment or fixed charge. He further claimed that consumers have experienced tariff rise ranging from 17% to 42% since the MYT order was confirmed in 2020. Surprisingly even after 2020, Discom filed review petition and the tariff increased further in 2023. An illusion is being created to hide the tariff rise as MSEDCL is smartly going for hike in 2-3 stages. He submitted a comparison of tariff hike if MSEDCL petition is allowed, wherein household consumers in 100-300 units usage category would witness hike of upto 9.95 per cent while in 301-500 the increase would be 7.82 per cent and above 500 units about 7.19 per cent compared to present tariff. In 2025-26, he said that the tariff hike would be in range of 7 to 10 per cent, excluding FAC. Opposing the hike sought by MSEDCL, Anil Wadpalliwar, social activist, told the Commission that already, the industries from Nagpur region are shifting base to Saunsar. Rates in Madhya Pradesh are cheaper by Rs 3 to 4/unit and he questioned the logic of high rates in Maharashtra. Wadpalliwar said ultimately, the youth in the region would suffer as job creation ratio is getting reduced owing to shifting of industrial base. Further, he demanded that consumers in Vidarbha should get subsidy in tariff as they are suffering from pollution due to presence of thermal power plants. Vidarbha accounts for highest thermal power production and due to usage of substandard coal, the emission from MahaGencos plants is on higher side and people are suffering from various ailments. Therefore, their demand for lower tariff is justified. Jichkar also contended in his submission to disallow any extra charges other than provided in the tariff order and also formulate a system to penalise the generator for not providing the required power as per the agreement. Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat urged MERC to look into huge outstanding of MSEDCL which is sought to be recovered from pockets of consumers, which is totally unjust. Aniruddha Gupte and Sanjay Dharmadhikari appearing on behalf of the organisation said people in Maharashtra are suffering due to usage of poor quality of coal. Also, the Discom has failed to lower the transmission losses and the burden shifts to people. (Related report on page 6) Munde quits Cabinet afterAIDE NAMED MASTERMINDin Sarpanch murder case MUMBAI : MAHARASHTRA Minister Dhananjay Munde on Tuesday resigned from the State Cabinet, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Beed Sarpanch murder case. Dhananjay Munde has submitted his resignation. I have accepted it and forwarded it to Governor C P Radhakrishnan, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters at Vidhan Bhawan. The resignation followed a vociferous demand by the Opposition for Mundes removal from the Cabinet. Fadnavis held a late-night meeting with Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Monday, along with senior NCP leaders, including Munde, to discuss the issue. The Opposition demand for Mundes resignation intensified after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing of Massajog village Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder. Deshmukh, the SarpanchofMassajogvillageinBeed,wasabducted, tortured and murderedonDecember9last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortionbidtargetingan energy company in the district. MUNDE RESIGNED ON MORAL GROUNDS: BHUJBAL: NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday said his party colleague Dhananjay Munde resigned as Maharashtraministeron moral grounds and it is not known if he is involved in the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. LISTENEDTO MY CONSCIENCE,CONSIDERED MEDICAL REASONS WHILE RESIGNING: MUNDE: NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who was facing the heat over the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, on Tuesdaysaidheresigned as the Maharashtra cabinet minister after listening to his conscience and also for medical reasons. MVA TO MOVE BREACH OF PRIVILEGE NOTICE AGAINST MAH GOVT: NCP (SP): NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Tuesday said the Opposition MVA will move a breach of privilege notice against the M a har ashtr a Government for not informingthelegislature about Dhananjay Mundes resignation as Minister, when the Budget session is currently underway. National Science Day at SAIT, Gaur Staff Reporter : St Aloysius Institute of Technology (SAIT), Gaur, marked the occasion of National Science Day 2025 on March 3 and 4, 2025, with the theme Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science & Innovation for Viksit Bharat. The two-day event brought together students, educators, and experts for a series of insightful talks, competitions, and celebrations aimed at fostering scientific curiosity and innovation. The inaugural day saw an overwhelming 200 registrations, with students of all streams participating in competitions like Static/Working Model, Essay Writing, Debate, Quiz and Scientific Rangoli. These activities provided a platform for showcasing creativity and scientific knowledge. The day concluded with a fire safety session led by Romil Somaiya, Director, Steelace Industries, focusing on safety in different environments. On the concluding day, the event continued with guest lectures by Professor Rakesh Bajpai, Head of Post Graduate Studies & Research, Rani Durgawati University, Jabalpur and Romil Somaiya, Director, Steelace Industries. Their lectures underscored the role of scientific innovation in nation-building and the global leadership potential of Indian youth in Science. The ceremony included welcome speech by Dr. Renu Pandey, Principal of SAIT, objectives of NSD 2025 by Dr. Rashmi Jaiswal and report reading by Dr. Aradhana Dhanaraj. Fr. Thankachan Jose, Director, SAIT, emphasized on the importance of nurturing scientific talent. Certificates were distributed to all the prize winners. The function concluded with the vote of thanks given by Aman Singh Bais. The celebrations successfully highlighted the importance of empowering youth to contribute to India's leadership in science and technology, reinforcing the vision of Viksit Bharat. TOO COMPLEX ! T HE Ukraine situation has become far more complex than anyone -- including United States President Mr. Donald Trump and Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin -- could imagine, in just a matter of 100 hours. With the United Kingdom (UK) agreeing to allow Ukraine to use 1.6-billion-pound of British export finance to fund the purchase of 5,000 missiles before the ensuing peace negotiations, the situation has assumed a rather dangerous hue. For, even as the US and Russia think of engaging in talks to end the conflict, the European Union (EU) countries plan to ensure that Ukraine would be ready to negotiate from a position of strength. By taking such a stance, the United Kingdom has certainly taken a step far too bolder than its general pro-US approach while handling such issues. Of course, it is beyond easy comprehension if this British stance is silently agreed upon by the US for reasons of its own. Yet, there is scope to suspect that quite a lot of subterranean geopolitical currents may be operating before the actual negotiations get going -- no matter the frontis piece of the so-called American stand negotiations without Europe and Ukraine as parties to the whole episode. Some news clips available in public domain about the heated arguments Mr. DonaldTrump and Mr.Volodymyr Zelenskyy do not make it clear as to why the spark took place all of a sudden. But an impression is certainly doing the rounds that Mr. Trump wanted to snap what he might have viewed as fruitless discussions -- possibly because those could jeopardise the outcome of the proposed diplomatic engagement in the next some time. But when British Prime Minister Mr. Keit Starmer said clearly that his countrys allowance to Ukraine was in favour of stronger defence in the period around negotiations, there are grounds to apprehend an escalation of conflict as a pressuretactics from Russia. he substance in this perception cannot be denied. The apprehension, thus, of the situation getting more complex, too, gains strength against this background. Though the US has been a spearhead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries, obvious fault-lines have surfaced in the grouping because of Mr. Trumps stance.It appears that the US President wishes to emerge as the sole arbitrator of global power balance with nobody claiming any partnership in the process. This is, of course, a lop-sided view of the global situation, and will not help the world in the long run. It is quite fashionable to blame Europe for many of international ills, all right. But if an outsider is going to lord over negotiations in Europes hinterland about a conflict in that continent, then the European stance has its own meaning. The British willingness to allow Ukraine to use its export finance to spruce up its defence capabilities possibly stems from this point of view. It is still beyond normal comprehension if the proposed negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict will ever produce intended and positive results. But it is good enough to say that peace between Russia and Ukraine would be possible if the military actions is stopped all of a sudden and calm is allowed to prevail for sometime -- without any provocation from any side. For, when two unpredictable forces are engaged in a dispute or conflict (Russia and the US in this case), negotiations cannot be considered as fruitful easily. This conflict got triggered when the Western bloc instigated Ukraine to seek NATO membership -- much against the Russian wish. Its end, therefore, cannot be expected to come with the application of a lopsided solution. It is obvious that any solution to the current Ukraine conflict needs a far more complex handling than can be imagined at this stage. Trump temporarily suspends all military aid to Ukraine By Yoshita Singh : NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, UNITEDStates President Donald Trump has temporarily suspended, with immediate effect, the delivery of all American military aid to Ukraine, just days after an unprecedented showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. A report in The New York Times quoted a senior administration official as saying that Trump temporarily suspended the delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine and that the order takes effect immediately, affecting more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition in the pipeline and on order. The report said Trumps decision to halt military aid resulted from a series of meetings at the White House between the US leader and his senior national security aides.The official said the order would be in effect until Trump determined that Ukraine had demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia. The order also pauses hundreds of millions of dollars in aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funds that Kyiv can use only to buy new military hardware directly from US defence companies. According to the US State Department, Washington has tilldateprovidedUSD65.9billioninmilitaryassistancesince Russia launched its premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and approximately USD 69.2 billioninmilitaryassistancesince Russias initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. This latest setback for Ukraine in the third year of its warwithRussiacomesjustdays afterTrump andVicePresident J D Vance had a heated verbal exchange with Zelenskyy, who was visiting the White House last Friday and the two countries were all set to sign a rare mineral deal. Youth kills parents, sister for opposing online game addiction PARADIP : A 21-YEAR-old college student bludgeoned his parents and sister to death in Odishas Jagatsinghpur district on Tuesday morning as they were opposed to his addiction to online games, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place in Jayabada Sethi Sahi area under the Jagatsinghpur Police Station limits around 3 AM as the student used stones or any other hard objects to smash the heads of his father,mother and sister. Accused Surjyakant Sethy was annoyed with his parents and sister for opposing him playingonlinegamesonhismobilephone,Jagatsinghpur Police Station inspector-in-charge Prabhas Sahu said. The deceased were identified as Prasant Sethy alias Kalia (65), his wife Kanaklata (62) and daughter Rosalin (25). TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 5. Uzbekistan and Georgia emphasize the strategic importance of the Middle Corridor (also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or TITR) as a key route linking East and West, Trend reports. According to information, this was announced during a meeting between Georgian FM Maia Panjikidze and Uzbekistan's FM Bakhtiyor Saidov. The ministers confirmed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in transport and logistics, aiming to improve the efficiency and capacity of the corridor. The sides also highlighted the important role of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Georgia and Uzbekistan as a key platform for advancing joint projects. Besides trade and transport infrastructure issues, the ministers discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in education, culture, and tourism, and exchanged views on regional security matters. Following the meeting, both sides expressed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations between Georgia and Uzbekistan. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) is an international transport corridor that runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and onwards to Turkiye and European countries. The route is also part of the international "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to revive the Great Silk Road in modern times. Multilateral, multimodal transportation infrastructure links the Caspian and Black Sea ferry terminals with the railway systems of China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and Poland. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. Nevada Democrats believe they've found a potent issue in GOP Medicaid reform. Last week, they hammered Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, accusing him of not aggressively opposing potential "cuts" in the federal program, which offers health care to the indigent. Lombardo, trying to defuse the point, responded with a statement insisting that he's "actively engaged in conversation" with the Trump White House to minimize problems for Nevada. "An abrupt reduction in federal funding would not only disrupt care for those who rely on Medicaid," he said, "but would also destabilize public and private health-care providers." The governor's perfunctory remarks will hardly satisfy his liberal critics, who have been on the defensive in the midst of President Donald Trump's onslaught. But it's worth putting this controversy in some perspective. Trump has vowed not to touch entitlement programs, but Democrats latched on to the issue after House Republicans passed a budget blueprint that orders the Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in savings from Medicare over the next decade. Nevada Democrats argue that could short the state $1.9 billion in federal funds. In fact, however, there will be no "cuts" at least not in the traditional meaning of the term. Baseline budget projections from the General Accounting Office, The Wall Street Journal noted last week, project spending on Medicare to increase $2.4 trillion through 2035, so "shaving $880 billion from that baseline would still amount to a $1.5 trillion increase in Medicaid spending," the paper reported. Only in Washington is a 2 percent auto-pilot annual spending increase called a "cut." Medicaid spending has exploded in recent years, the Journal highlights, growing "207 percent since 2008" far in excess of Social Security and Medicare growth. That's largely because Democrats in their piecemeal attempts to nationalize the health care industry have repeatedly expanded eligibility requirements to rope in middle-class families, intentionally making it more politically dangerous to reform. What started as a program created for the poor now serves as primary health insurance for many workers capable of supporting themselves. In Nevada, for instance, nearly 1 in 4 residents is on Medicaid while the state's federal poverty rate was 12 percent in 2023. Reform is not synonymous with throwing the poor out on the street to fend for themselves. A work requirement for able-bodied recipients is politically popular and would save $120 billion over a decade, according to a House report. Tightening improper payments could save even more. The General Accounting Office found that Medicaid and Medicare issued $100 billion in payments that should not have been made in fiscal 2023. That's $1 trillion over 10 years. Obviously there are savings to be had by more stringent accounting controls and eligibility requirements. Congress does nobody any favors least of all, those who truly need Medicaid by ignoring the fate of fiscally unsustainable entitlement programs. But whatever direction congressional Republicans take and that remains uncertain actual budget "cuts" to Medicaid are exceedingly unlikely. (COMMENT, BELOW) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The European Union expressed deep concern over the alarming expansion of Iran's nuclear program during the latest IAEA Board of Governors meeting, Trend reports. The EU emphasized that Iran has significantly deviated from its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and has gained irreversible nuclear knowledge. The EU highlighted Irans increased production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium, as well as its expansion of nuclear enrichment capabilities. This includes the installation of thousands of advanced centrifuges, leading to a sharp increase in material enriched to 60%, which is now being produced at an unprecedented rateshowing a 50% increase in the reporting period. The EU pointed out that Iran has accumulated over six significant quantities of 60% enriched uranium, with one significant quantity being produced every month. These actions, the EU warned, carry significant proliferation risks and raise concerns about Iran's intentions, as there is no credible civilian justification for such activities. "We remain concerned by statements made by Iranian officials regarding Irans capacity to assemble a nuclear weapon," the EU said. The EU also raised concerns about Iran's failure to implement its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. "For the past four years, the IAEA has been unable to conduct several key verification and monitoring activities. Iran's decision to remove all JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment has further complicated the situation, resulting in the agency's loss of continuity of knowledge and its inability to guarantee the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear program," the EU noted. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Iran has always followed a policy that prohibits the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons, said Mohsen Naziri Asl, the represantative of Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Office at Geneva(UNOG), Trend reports. Adressing the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agencys (IAEA) Board of Governors on Monitoring Iran under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Naziri Asl stated that Iran believes that weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, pose a threat to international peace and security. He emphasized that Iran's strategy of not acquiring nuclear weapons is absolutely clear. In this regard, Iran held talks with the P5+1 group (US, UK, Russia, France, China and Germany) that led to the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the implementation of the deal. Under this agreement, it was guaranteed that Irans nuclear program would remain exclusively peaceful, and sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the US would be lifted. However, after the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement, sanctions were re-imposed on Iran. Due to the failure of other parties to fulfill their obligations, Iran stopped implementing its commitments under the agreement. The Iranian official noted that UN Security Council Resolution 2231 prohibits the imposition of new sanctions on Iran while the JCPOA is in effect. However, during this period, some countries imposed additional sanctions on Iran. "Sanctions and restrictive measures make it difficult for Iran to conduct normal trade and weaken the successful implementation of the JCPOA," he said. On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Irans nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018. By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement. Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 2030 percent. Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Iran stresses the importance of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning its nuclear program, said Mohsen Naziri Asl, the represantative of Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Office at Geneva(UNOG), Trend reports. Adressing the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agencys (IAEA) Board of Governors on Monitoring Iran under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Naziri Asl emphasized that with the approaching final day for the JCPOA, all efforts must focus on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2231. "Iran urges all countries to fully implement the provisions and timeline outlined in Resolution 2231," he stated. He further noted that the member countries of the JCPOA can take significant steps toward a peaceful resolution by fulfilling their obligations under the agreement. He stressed that the pressure tactics pursued by some parties have not yielded results and are likely to have counterproductive effects. The Iranian official confirmed that Iran is prepared to halt the legitimate actions it has taken under the JCPOA, provided that the United States, the three European countries, and the European Union stop their sanctions and restrictive measures effectively and in a verifiable manner, and that all parties to the agreement begin fulfilling their obligations comprehensively. On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Irans nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018. By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement. Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 2030 percent. Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. The need to strengthen cooperation between Iran and Iraq in the energy sectorspanning oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricitywas underscored as crucial, Trend reports via Irans Ministry of Oil. According to the Ministry, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad held talks with Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhil in Tehran on March 5. Throughout the convening, the longstanding affiliations between the two sovereign entities were underscored, emphasizing the prospective synergies within the energy domains of both nations. To note, Iraq engages in the procurement of gaseous hydrocarbons from Iran to optimize the operational efficiency of select thermal energy generation facilities. In July 2017, an agreement was signed between Iran and Iraq for the export of Iranian gas. As a result, 52 billion cubic meters of gas worth $15 billion have been exported to Iraq. This agreement was extended for five years on March 27, 2024. In accordance with the stipulations of the bilateral accord, Iran is set to facilitate the exportation of 50 million cubic meters of natural gas to Iraq on a daily basis. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. France plans to discuss the potential deployment of a European military contingent in Ukraine, said French President Emmanuel Macron in his video address to the nation, Trend reports. He stated that Paris will bring together the chiefs of staff from several countries for talks. "We need to take steps to ensure the security of France, Europe, and Ukraine, first and foremost. All peace initiatives are moving in the right direction, and I support them. We must continue to assist the Ukrainians until they can reach a lasting peace with Russia," he said. The wife of actor Alec Baldwin, Hilaria, admitted that he was deeply depressed after the fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust, which killed Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. It got to the point where the celebrity was ready to commit suicide. ADVERTISIMENT As Hilaria Baldwin recalled in The Baldwins reality show, she received disturbing messages from her husband after her death. "I found these text messages the other day between us, you know, the day after. And [Alec] said he wanted to kill himself," the woman stated, People reports. According to her, the actor felt "survivor's guilt" and kept returning to that day in his mind. "You're involved in this thing that nobody could even possibly imagine. And so he goes back to that day, he wishes it were him. He would change places [with Hutchins] in a second," added Hilaria. How the tragedy changed Baldwin's life The shooting took place on set of the western Rust in New Mexico on October 21, 2021. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene when a pistol that was supposed to be loaded with dummy rounds accidentally went off. The shot fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. ADVERTISIMENT The actor later claimed that he did not pull the trigger and did not know that the weapon was loaded with live ammunition. However, an investigation showed that he fired the gun. After the tragedy, Baldwin became the central figure in the trial. Initially, charges of involuntary manslaughter were dropped, but in January 2024 they were reinstated. He insisted on his innocence and proved it. According to Hilaria Baldwin, the consequences of the events of 2021 are still there. "He'll never be the same. This has affected his health and his mental health tremendously the past few years. All of a sudden, he has started having heart problems. He's been hospitalized multiple times," she said. The woman also recalled the time Alec fainted at home. "I was shaking him. It's hard sometimes. But, you know, hopefully we're in the hardest but the tail end of it," added Hilaria. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Yes Significant efforts are being made No Much more needs to be done Some progress But there are still critical gaps Vote View Results The American company Apple seems to be planning to update all the lineups of all its gadgets this year as everything indicates that the tech giant will soon introduce a new generation of iPad tablets. ADVERTISIMENT According to iTechUA, Bloombeg journalist Mark Gurman, who constantly shares brand-new info about the company, drew attention to this. According to him, the company's stores have significantly reduced stocks of the current iPad Air and iPad 10, which may indicate that the world will soon see newer models. Currently, experts predict that the presentation of the new iPads will take place in March or April. The exact dates will be known later, but it is unlikely to be held simultaneously with the presentation of MacBook Air laptops. Computers based on M4 chips are expected to appear this week. As for the technical characteristics of the new tablets, the iPad Air will have an M3 or M4 chip, and the basic iPad 11 will have an A16 Bionic or A17 Pro. No significant design updates are expected. Most likely, Apple will focus on improving their performance. Those waiting for the new iPad Pro will have to wait until the release of M5 processors. As the new iPad mini was introduced just a few months ago, it will not be included in the current wave of new products. Thus, it can be argued that Apple has now set a course for a phased upgrade of its tablet line. However, the focus is on improving the performance of gadgets, not radical changes in form factors or design. Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest developments. Germany opposed the intention of the United States and Russia to launch the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. In particular, they believe that the sale of Russian gas under the American brand will strengthen the symbolic connection between Trump, his MAGA supporters, and the Kremlin regime, but will not help end the war in Ukraine. Therefore, they are looking for ways to block the Russian gas pipeline. ADVERTISIMENT This is stated in the article by Bild. Its authors note that, according to CDU MP (Christian Democratic Union of Germany, one of the largest parties in Germany) Roderich Kiesewetter, Nord Stream 2 will never be able to become part of peace and will not lead to peace negotiations, but rather the opposite." "Independence from Russian gas is of strategic importance for Germany's security, and the government is firmly committed to this position. In addition, Nord Stream 2 is not certified and, therefore, has no legal permission to operate," the German Ministry of Economy said. At the same time, analysts emphasize that Berlin considers the conclusion of a corresponding agreement between Washington and Moscow to be a "realistic scenario." In this regard, they are looking for levers to block the Russian gas pipeline. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, Bild reported that secret talks have been underway in Switzerland for several weeks to resume Russian gas supplies to Germany with the help of American investors. At the same time, according to the Financial Times, the plan provides for "involvement of the Trump team in the process - as part of unofficial efforts to conclude a peace agreement in Ukraine." At the same time, it is emphasized that the administration of US President Donald Trump himself are aware of these negotiations; perceive them as a step toward improving relations between the United States and Russia. At the same time, the EU believes that the launch of the pipeline will not help the European Union diversify its gas supply sources. Therefore, this project is contrary to the interests of the bloc. "Our position is very clear: "Nord Stream 2 is not a project of common interest. It does not diversify energy sources in the EU," said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a spokeswoman for the European Commission. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, according to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be launched in 2025. And the owner of the Russian "pipe" will not be the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, but an investor from the United States. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The biographical drama Oppenheimer brought a long-awaited Oscar to both director Christopher Nolan and his supporting actor Robert Downey Jr. It would seem that fate itself would have them working together again in their next project. But it seems that the plans had to be changed. ADVERTISIMENT According to ITC, citing Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman, Downey Jr. was supposed to play the main antagonist, the god of the seas Poseidon, in the film adaptation of the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey. However, he chose a new project from Marvel Studios and will return to work on the Avengers reboot. Notably, the actor will also play the villain in this movie. Both Nolan's The Odyssey and Avengers: Day of Judgment are due out in 2026. However, they will not compete directly. The premiere of the superhero blockbuster is currently scheduled for May 1, while the Greek epic peplum is due to start in cinemas on July 17. By the way, Nolan's new movie has already forced Marvel to postpone the release date of the fourth part of Spider-Man. Accordingly, the shooting of both films will continue in parallel, so Downey Jr. will not be able to combine work on both. The probable reason he chose to return to comic book movies is a higher fee. ADVERTISIMENT The cast of The Odyssey, as is always the case with Nolan, will be mega-star-studded. Matt Damon will play the main role of the King of Ithaca, who, as a result of Poseidon's curse, has been wandering the world for decades, trying to return home after the Trojan War. According to rumors, Tom Holland will play the role of his son Telemachus. The cast also includes Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Will Yun Lee, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, Mia Gott, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron. However, it is not yet known who will play which role. According to preliminary estimates, The Odyssey will cost about $250 million. This makes it the most expensive movie in Nolan's career. The filming period has already begun. The first scenes are already being worked on in Morocco. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. The Orange County Retired Teachers will meet at 10:30 a.m.,Monday, March 10, at Wesley United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall located at 401 N 37th Street in Orange. Richard Briggs, District V Legislative Chairperson will be this months speaker. He will update members on whats going on in the Texas Legislature. There will also be updates from Social Security on the timeline to expect payments to begin for those affected by WEP and GPO. All Orange County retired teachers and school personnel are invited. Refreshments will be served. One of the best things about Lent is fish dinners served on Fridays by local organizations. The last week to get dinners is April 11, the week before Good Friday. No meat on Fridays originated in the first century but was formalized in 325 A.D. with the Council of Nicaea decree that Christians should abstain from meat on Fridays as a form of penance, except for fish, which was allowed. The practice continued for centuries but was amended in 1966 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to only apply during Lent. Catholics were encouraged to choose their own penance instead, hence many giving up chocolate, social media or other such pleasures for Lent. The 1983 Code of Canon Law states that Catholics should also abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday. The long-standing tradition has led to yearly fundraisers for local Knights of Columbus chapters. Here are Orange County locations to find fish dinners this Lenten season. The Bridge City Knights of Columbus have been serving some of the best fish dinners for years. Their secret to great tasting, moist fish is mustard. They lather the fish in yellow mustard before dredging in cornmeal. Meals this year are $12 each and consist of fried fish fillets, French fries, coleslaw and hush puppies. Desserts can be purchased separately for $1.50 each. Serving hours are 10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. You can eat in the K.C. Hall at 770 Ave. A, or food is available for take-out. For deliveries call 409-735-5725 before 9 a.m. on Friday. Credit cards accepted. St. Therese offers noon time meals 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. or until sold out. Meals will take place at the Parish Life Center at 1400 6th Street in Orange. Meals include fried or grilled fish, green beans, potato salad, bread and sliced cake. They also offer Shrimp Fried Rice. To place orders or for more information please call (409) 883-3783. Knights of Columbus Council 13825 will offer fish dinners 4:30-6:30 p.m. at San Damiano Center of St. Francis Catholic Church, 4300 Meek Drive for dine in or carryout. Meals include 2 pieces of fish, fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and dessert for $12. Credit cards are accepted. St. Marys offers dinners from 5-7 p.m. on Fridays in the Parish Hall located at 912 W. Cherry, Orange. You can enjoy fried fish, French fries, coleslaw and hush puppies for $12. Besides Good Friday, St. Mary will also not serve fish on March 14 as they will be preparing for St. Josephs Table which will be held on March 16. Tibet is one of the most remote and mysterious places on the planet, and not every tourist can get there. However, for a similar atmosphere of mysterious mountain settlements, you can go to more accessible France. ADVERTISIMENT According to the Express, the village of Saorge, located in the rocky mountains of southeastern France, is called "French Tibet." It is located in the Maritime Alps region and rises above the Ruay River valley. The medieval settlement boasts a dramatic landscape with large elevation changes, winding alleys and a truly rich history. The pastel-colored houses that literally cling to the local rocks look fabulous. However, not many tourists venture here. Therefore, unlike more popular villages, Saorge remains a quiet haven offering an authentic view of traditional French mountain life. It is this isolation that has helped preserve the unique charm of this place with its distinctive architecture and stunning views that open up at every turn. One of the most striking sights of Saorge is its 17th-century Franciscan monastery. It was once home to monks, and now it is a prominent cultural center. Here you can admire the magnificent old frescoes and the scenery of the river flowing below. ADVERTISIMENT Hiking enthusiasts are encouraged to explore the Mercantour National Park, which is located nearby. The trails here wind through lush forests, stretch along waterfalls, and climb to mountain peaks. The region is also home to a variety of wildlife, including chamois, ibex, and even wolves. Despite its remote location, Saorge is known for its warm hospitality and interesting artistic community. The village hosts a variety of cultural events, including concerts, poetry readings, and art exhibitions. Artists come from all over France and from other countries to take part in them. Visiting Saorge is recommended for those looking for a unique tourist experience that can only be provided by a place like no other. Stroll through the ancient streets of the village, enjoy local food in cafes and breathe in the crystal clear mountain air in this hidden treasure of the French Riviera. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. Beauty of Seasons: Awakening of Insects People's Daily Online) 08:26, March 05, 2025 Hi guys! Travel addict Sisi here! Today marks Jingzhe, or Awakening of Insects, a Chinese solar term when all things grow with fervor. Let's head to Wuyuan county of east China's Jiangxi Province to check it out! A clap of thunder roars, and spring breathes life across the land. The Jingzhe solar term, in Chinese, means thunder rumbles, awakening the hibernating creatures. Now, the fields of Wuyuan are also bustling with life. Terraces transform into golden oceans of rapeseed flowers, while peach and plum blossoms compete for attention. The explosion of flowers and the Hui-style architecture enhance each other's charm, creating a vibrant and radiant spring scene. Wild plants are the premier taste of spring in Wuyuan. During this solar term, wild plants in Sixiyan village are thriving. Flavor bombs like Malantou greens and fish mint are already filling the dining tables of local families! The Jingzhe solar term also marks it's time for farmers to get to work! In Wuyuan city and most parts of China, farming work kicks into gear during this period. After a winter of dormancy, the power of nature quietly awakens. "Spring thunder signals nature's grand revival." As March arrives gracefully, I send the echo of this spring thunder to my friends far away. All the dormant beauty is now awakening what's blooming in your part of the world? (Zhang Heyun, as an intern, also contributed to this article.) (Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Sheng Chuyi) US President Donald Trump has announced that Washington is suspending all international aid. The head of the White House noted that the United States should study the effectiveness of foreign policy spending. ADVERTISIMENT In addition, Trump announced his readiness to sign the rare earths agreement with Ukraine. The US president just delivered a speech to Congress. According to the US president, he decided to freeze all federal hiring and all new federal regulations to end all international aid. Trump emphasized that foreign policy spending is hurting the US economy. In particular, he mentioned the climate change agreement, calling it a "green new scam" and announced its termination. In addition, Trump recalled the decision to end the United States' participation in the World Health Organization. The president said that the WHO's activities are not in America's interests. As for the mineral deal with Ukraine, Trump said he had received an important letter from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to him, it states that Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of military aid to Ukraine after his argument with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on February 28. The decision applies to equipment that has not yet been shipped and that is in transit zones. Earlier, it was reported that the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine would primarily affect air defense missiles, HIMARS ammunition, and artillery. The pause applies to all planned but not yet executed deliveries, including those under the USAI long-term support program. As reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a statement on March 4 regarding possible negotiations with Russia. He emphasized that Ukraine is ready for negotiations at any time and wants to do so as soon as possible. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Ukraine will facilitate the return of citizens who left the country after the start of Russia's full-scale aggression, i.e. after February 24, 2022. UAH 150 million will be spent from the state budget for this purpose. ADVERTISIMENT According to the government's representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the relevant decision on March 4. According to it, UAH 150.03 million was transferred to the Ministry of National Unity for the new budget program. It is noted that the funds were allocated to the Ministry of Economy for 2025 under the program "Ensuring the implementation of tasks and measures to support Ukrainians abroad and facilitate their return to Ukraine." At the same time, Melnychuk did not specify the details of the new program for which the money will be spent. However, earlier, Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov emphasized that Ukrainians would not be forcibly returned to Ukraine. Instead, it is planned to create "Unity Hubs" abroad that will facilitate the return of Ukrainians from abroad, support them and help them preserve their national identity. ADVERTISIMENT As previously reported, according to the Center for Economic Strategy, as of the end of November 2024, there were 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees abroad. The mass exodus of Ukrainians from the country took place in the first weeks of the war, especially in March 2022 (2.5 million people). In the spring of 2022, the outflow slowed down, and from May to September, more people returned than left. In the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023, the outflow of Ukrainians increased again due to Russian attacks on the energy sector. About 44% of Ukrainian refugees are adult women. They left the country with their children. In the future, this will worsen the demographic situation in the country. From January to November 2024, the share of men among Ukrainian refugees in European countries increased from 37% to 39%. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the most difficult to return Ukrainian refugees will be from Germany, according to the Institute for Demography and Quality of Life. This country has become attractive for long-term residence and a key country for integration due to high wages, social support and active adaptation policy. In contrast, the return of Ukrainians from Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania remains more likely. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In today's world, it's easy to get carried away with new technologies, trendy hotels, popular restaurants, and theme parks. However, ancient monuments are a testament to the incredible engineering and cultural heritage of mankind. Visiting them, you can feel the breath of history and understand how powerful the civilizations of the past were. ADVERTISIMENT Lonely Planet experts told us about the five best sights that you should definitely visit at least once in your life. If you want to plunge into the world of ancient wonders, these places should definitely be on your travel list. Tikal, Guatemala Tikal is one of the most impressive archaeological sites of the Mayan civilization, located in the dense jungle of Guatemala. It was once a majestic city with a powerful political and cultural role. Today it impresses with its architecture, majestic pyramids, and the atmosphere of a lost civilization. The main feature of Tikal is its huge pyramid temples, which rise tens of meters, creating a grandiose silhouette in the dense forest. A special feeling is created by the fact that most of the ancient city is still hidden under the crowns of trees. ADVERTISIMENT Attractions: Templo IV (65 m) is one of the tallest Mayan pyramids with stunning views. Templo I (Temple of the Great Jaguar) is a cult building that has become a symbol of Tikal. Gran Plaza is the heart of the city, surrounded by monumental buildings. The North Acropolis is one of the oldest parts of the city, which contains the tombs of the rulers. In addition to its historical significance, Tikal is also part of a biosphere reserve that preserves the rich biodiversity of the region. The best time to visit is December-April, when the weather is dry and comfortable. During the rainy season (May-September), traveling can be more difficult due to humidity and rainfall. The nearest airport is Mundo Maya in Flores. From Flores you can get to Tikal by bus, taxi or rented car. Machu Picchu, Peru ADVERTISIMENT Machu Picchu is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. This Inca city, which rises on the peaks of the Andes, fascinates travelers with its grandeur and mystical spirit. It is a lost city that miraculously survived the decline of the Inca Empire and remained unknown to Europeans until its discovery in 1911. Machu Picchu is a unique testament to the engineering and architectural genius of the Incas. Main attractions: The funeral rock caretaker's hut is the place that offers the best view of Machu Picchu. The Temple of the Sun is a place for religious ceremonies. The Royal Tomb is a natural rock cave where important people were probably buried. Mount Wayna Picchu - climbing to the top allows you to see the city from a completely new perspective. In order to preserve the unique ecosystem and architectural heritage, new visitation rules were introduced in 2024 to limit the number of tourists and separate their routes. ADVERTISIMENT The best time to visit is June-August, when the weather is dry and sunny. During the rainy season (December-February), the city can be covered in thick fog, which adds to its mystique but makes it difficult to travel. The most convenient route is by plane to Cusco, from where you can get by train or hike the famous Inca Trail. Borobudur, Indonesia This grand Buddhist temple on the island of Java is one of the largest in the world. Built in the eighth century, it consists of nine levels decorated with thousands of bas-reliefs and Buddha statues. What to see: The main stupa at the top of the temple is a symbol of achieving nirvana. ADVERTISIMENT Mendut Temple - here is a monumental statue of Buddha with bodhisattvas. Candi Pawon Temple - known for its exquisite bas-reliefs. The best time to visit is May-June or September-October, when there are fewer tourists. July-August is the high season, and October-April is the rainy season. The nearest airport is in Yogyakarta. Then - transfer or public bus. Angkor Wat, Cambodia It is the largest religious complex in the world and a symbol of Cambodia. Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple and later became a Buddhist center. What to see: The Angkor Wat Bas-reliefs - a 790-meter gallery with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. ADVERTISIMENT Bakan Sanctuary - the highest point of the temple with a panoramic view. Bayon Temple is famous for its huge faces carved in stone. The best time to visit is from November to March. It is hot in April and May, and the rainy season is from June to October. It is most convenient to fly to Siem Reap, from where you can get to the temples by taxi or tuk-tuk. Luxor, Egypt One of the main attractions of Luxor is the Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile. It was here that the famous tomb of Tutankhamun was found, as well as 62 other royal tombs dating back to 2100 BC. It is worth noting that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities periodically changes the list of tombs open to visitors. Some particularly popular sites, such as the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I, and Ramses VI, may require additional tickets. ADVERTISIMENT Luxor offers many unique attractions that can be explored over several days or even weeks. It's important to visit both the east and west banks of the Nile, as each has its own unique places. The best time to visit is in the fall and winter, when Luxor has a pleasant climate. The high season lasts from October to February, when most tourists come here, and prices for hotels and excursions rise. For those who want to avoid the crowds and save money, the best months are March-May and September - during this period the weather is not too hot and prices are much lower. Luxor has an international airport that receives regular flights from Cairo, as well as seasonal flights from European cities such as London and Paris. There are trains and buses between Cairo and Luxor, but the journey can take 9 hours or more. One of the most interesting ways to get to Luxor is to take a cruise on the Nile, which allows not only comfortable travel but also enjoying the majestic scenery along the river. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. As you narrow down the choice of retirement homes, it is highly recommended to have a complimentary lunch at the residence to get an idea of the food being served and a glimpse of the culture and environment. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has praised American leader Donald Trump, saying he is doing a great job and is an incredible man. According to him, the head of the White House is trying his best to stop the war in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT The Belarusian dictator expressed this opinion in an interview with American blogger Mario Nawfal, local media reported. At the same time, the self-proclaimed president also mentioned the peacekeepers who are to be deployed in Ukraine. According to him, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is against such actions. "The American administration is doing a great job. And Trump is doing a great job. He often speaks and does something to end the war in Ukraine, to end the war in the Middle East. This is worth a lot in foreign policy. I think he has no other policy than to stop the war. It is a brilliant idea. This is where I am ready to back them and do whatever is necessary to end the war and improve people's lives," Lukashenko said. He noted that he had previously publicly supported Donald Trump, although he did not believe in his victory. ADVERTISIMENT "After everything that happened in the United States, I still supported Trump publicly. I didn't think he was going to win. And when he won, I compared him to a bulldozer who plowed through the United States of America and won," the Belarusian dictator said. At the same time, he emphasized that sending foreign troops to Ukraine is unacceptable for the aggressor country Russia and its leader Putin. He said that Russia would never agree to this. Lukashenko also spoke about European leaders, saying that some of them are very aggressive. "Regarding the last question you asked at the end about France and Germany sending peacekeeping forces. Russia will never agree to this. At least this is Russia's position today. Furthermore, the leaders of the European Union, primarily represented by Germany and France, are currently taking a very aggressive stance," Lukashenko summarized. As a reminder, Lukashenko invited Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin to his country for future negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. He said that he was waiting for them in Minsk, with whom he wanted to "sit down and calmly negotiate." The head of Belarus also ordered domestic experts to search for rare earth metals in the country. According to him, they should explore the natural resources more actively. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there is important news from the European Commission regarding the allocation of aid to Ukraine. We are talking about additional air defense systems and missiles to them. ADVERTISIMENT Zelenskyy said this in an address on March 4. He noted that the funds for the defense of Europe would be significant. "There is very important news from the European Commission regarding significant funds for the defense of Europe. For us, this is, first of all, additional air defense - additional systems, additional missiles, additional opportunities to defend our cities and villages, our positions. And all this creates a good additional basis for the end of the war," Zelenskyy said. The president also said that Russia has not changed its demands regarding Ukraine. According to him, the Kremlin will continue to insist Kyiv give up Ukrainian territories and reduce the army. Zelenskyy emphasized that no one could force Ukraine to give in to Russia's demands as long as Ukrainians are united and stand firm. "We know that the Russians have not changed their positions and demands regarding Ukraine. They will demand a reduction of our army, they will want a legal abandonment of our territories, as well as a significant political deformation of Ukraine with the weakening of the Ukrainian Constitution. And I will say that, in fact, as long as we all stand together and strong in Ukraine, as long as we are here, no one will succeed - the peace will be worthy," Zelenskyy emphasized. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! On the evening of Tuesday, March 4, Russian occupation forces again targeted peaceful Odesa with Shahed UAVs. Explosions were heard in the city, after which part of the regional center was left without electricity, water and heat. A civilian was killed in Odesa region as a result of the Russian attack. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov. "The enemy hit critical infrastructure again... All relevant agencies are working," he wrote. Prior to that, the mayor urged people to stay in shelters, as the attack UAVs were moving toward the city. Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, confirmed that there was damage to critical infrastructure in Odesa, and that part of the city was left without electricity, water and heat. Everyone is working to eliminate the damage, he added. The debris from the downed enemy UAVs also damaged private houses in the suburbs of Odesa and caused fires, which were extinguished by the State Emergency Service units. The invaders also killed a civilian in Odesa region - a 77-year-old man from the village of Lymanka died as a result of shrapnel wounds. ADVERTISIMENT "Moreover, during the air raid alert, the enemy attacked Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district with ballistic missiles. A missile hit an empty sanatorium, and the building was almost completely destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured," the RMA added. As a reminder, previously, on Monday, March 3, the aggressor country Russia attacked Odesa with Shaheds drones too. As a result, four people were injured and critical infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged. Three district boiler houses in Odesa were shut down due to the Russian strike. As reported, on February 28, Russian invaders targeted Odesa region with kamikazee drones. A person was killed and one was injured as a result of the attack. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Over the last few years, there has been a rapid growth in number of global capability centres (GCC) in India as multi-national companies have rushed to take advantage of the huge talent pool that the country offers. Belgian telecom operator Proximus will soon join the close to 1,700 GCCs that were there in India last year, in setting up its GCC here in the country. The Brussels-based company aims to set up its GCC in Bengaluru, the company's chairman Steffan De Clerck said on Wednesday. "We trust the Indian talent, and we saw the Indian talent, and so it's the beginning of a consideration of saying, okay, that's the country where we have to go to," he said. The company has already put a CEO in place and the CEO will be looking at putting a team in place, comprising young as well as experienced people. Proximus, last year, acquired a 57.56 per cent stake in Indian CPaaS (communication platform as a service) company Route Mobile for around Rs 5,924 crore. Route Mobile is looking to double its revenue to around $1 billion over the next 3-4 years from around $500 million, its CEO Gautam Badalia said. He says the company has partnerships with over 280 mobile telcos globally. Currently, around half of its revenue comes from India. It sees a lot of growth opportunities in the global market. "We have Masivian, which is a leader in Colombia and Peru. And if we can increase our foothold in Mexico and Chile, I think we would want to do more investment into that market. Africa will go through a similar kind of digitization wave," said Badalia. He also believes the company has scope for bigger inroads in the developed market. The USA itself is almost 50 per cent of the CPaaS pie, he pointed out. The company will cross-leverage the strengths of Proximus Group firms, which also includes cyber security company Telesign and digital communications company BICS, as it looks to tap into more opportunities abroad. The rise of artificial intelligence and other technologies also opens up more opportunities said Badala, adding the company will look at "bolt-on" acquisitions to help it accelerate in that space. On Wednesday, a Belgium delegation led by Princess Astrid paid a visit to Route Mobile's office in Mumbai. Several startups made funding pitches at an event organised there. Belgium is set to appoint a defence attache at its embassy in New Delhi as a single point of contact for the Indian military and defence industry as the country looks to firm up a broad-based defence pact with India. The announcement was made shortly after Belgium's Princess Astrid, accompanied by Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot and Defence Minister Theo Francken, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Astrid is leading an economic mission to India that comprises top ministers and business leaders. Pleased to meet HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium. Deeply appreciate her initiative to lead a 300-member Economic Mission to India. Look forward to unlocking limitless opportunities for our people through new partnerships in trade, technology, defence, agriculture, life sciences, pic.twitter.com/Fjx0x44Vob Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 4, 2025 Taking to X, PM Modi wrote: "Deeply appreciate her initiative to lead a 300-member Economic Mission to India. Look forward to unlocking limitless opportunities for our people through new partnerships in trade, technology, defence, agriculture, life sciences, innovation, skilling and academic exchanges." ALSO READ: Russia-Pakistan rail link: High on optics, low-effect impact on India Defence Minister Francken said there are immense opportunities to expand India-Belgium defence cooperation and both sides are looking at instituting a framework to facilitate deeper ties. "Your prime minister asked us to make the task force here in New Delhi and in Brussels and to conclude the agreement before the end of the year." "I think that is (going to be) a very big step because we don't have a structural cooperation," Francken said, adding that such a framework agreement would also encourage defence industrial collaboration. "Both countries need to build up their defence capabilities and learn from each other to make good military equipment and to stand strong," the defence minister said. He said Belgian defence firm John Cockerill Defence is participating in the Indian Army's tender to procure around 300 light tanks. In what appeared to be an attempt at intimidation, a Russian supermaneuverable Su-35 fighter jet came close repeatedly to a French MQ-9 Reaper drone in the international airspace over the eastern Mediterranean. The drone was on a surveillance mission when the Russian jet came "dangerously towards" it. MQ-9 Reaper, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, is an intelligence-collection asset, which can also used for surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance. The French Air and Space Force has been operating MQ-9 Reapers since 2014, primarily for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. ALSO READ: US Air Force revives 'Skyraider' legacy: Meet OA-1K Skyraider II, the battlefield workhorse built for global warfare "Three successive passes in close proximity, which could have caused the drone to lose control, attesting to a desire to restrict free air movement in common areas," France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a tweet, calling the actions "aggressive" and "unacceptable." Dimanche, un avion de chasse SU-35 russe a adopte un comportement dangereux a legard dun drone Reaper francais, en mission de surveillance dans lespace aerien international au dessus de la Mediterranee orientale. Trois passages successifs a grande proximite, qui auraient pu pic.twitter.com/sAmMBNNjyU Sebastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) March 4, 2025 The minister posted a video of the same on X, saying France will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces. He did not specify where exactly in the eastern Mediterranean the incidents took place. According to the French Joint Chiefs of Staff, Russia's dangerous manoeuvres with the fighter jet were "unsafe and unprofessional." One SU 35 conducted an unsafe and unprofessionnal intercept w/a unmanned MQ9 operating w/i international airspace over the Eastern Mediterranean March 2nd. pic.twitter.com/7HzyoheKgm The Joint Staff - Military operations (@FrenchForces) March 4, 2025 The incident comes even as the European Union leadership decided to massively step up their support to Ukraine in the war against Russia after the US announced its decision to suspend all military aid to Ukraine. Unveiling a plan to raise nearly 800 billion to boost Europes defence industry and offer military support to Ukraine, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said, "It will help member states to pool demand and to buy together. This will reduce costs, reduce fragmentation, increase interoperability and strengthen our defence industrial base....With this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine. So, immediate military equipment for Ukraine." The port visit of the US Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to Busan Naval Base in South Korea angered North Korea, with Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issuing a stern warning to the US. Denouncing the presence of the aircraft carrier and possibly the past military activities, including the deployment of US aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines over the Korean peninsula, Kim Yo Jong said "As soon as its new administration appeared this year, the US has stepped up the political and military provocations against the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), 'carrying forward' the former administration's hostile policy." South Korean Navy had claimed that the arrival of Carl Vinson in Busan was a show of force against North Korea. This, even as President Donald Trump has said he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy. North Korea views temporary deployments of such powerful US military assets as major security threats. ALSO READ: China building a nuclear-powered aircraft supercarrier? "Hostile policy toward the DPRK pursued by the US at present is offering sufficient justification for the DPRK to indefinitely bolster ... its nuclear war deterrent," she said. Downplaying the threat issued by North Korea, South Korea's defence ministry said DPRK's nuclear weapons are never acceptable, and the only way for North Korea to survive is to abandon its obsession and delusion about nuclear weapons. The Carl Vinsons carrier strike group operations demonstrate our commitment to bolster the defense of allies and partners and strengthen our ability to fight tonight and win. This visit, especially when coupled with realistic all domain, joint and combined training, increases interoperability and ensures we build the readiness posture to deter aggression and maintain stability in the Republic of Korea and the region, Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command had said in a statement. Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested after she was caught trying to smuggle 14.2kg gold worth Rs 12.56 crore into India. On Monday night, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detained Rao at the Kempegowda International Airport, on a tip-off, and recovered the gold while searching the luggage. More gold was recovered in subsequent raids at her house in Bengalurus Lavelle Road. ALSO READ | Kannada actress Ranya Rao arrested for smuggling 14.2 kg of gold from Dubai #WATCH | Bengaluru: On Kannada actor Ranya Rao arrest by DRI for allegedly smuggling gold, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara says "The investigation is going on. DRI is investigating the case. Until and unless they come out with definite information, I will not be able to pic.twitter.com/G2f7lmk0RC ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 Rao had been flagged by the authorities due to her frequent round trips to Dubai four visits in the past 15 days, and 10 visits since the start of the year. During the initial probe, Rao said claimed that she had been blackmailed into entering the smuggling racket, News18 reported. How did Ranya Rao smuggle the gold? Upon arriving at Kempegowda International Airport on an Emirates flight, she was escorted by a police constable to swiftly evade security checks. However, as she was about to exit the airport, the DRI officials stopped and searched her. They found 14.2kg gold concealed within her jacket, including gold bars hidden in her belt. The authorities are now reviewing security camera footage of her previous arrivals, searching for suspicious activity. According to Times of India, earlier trips showed that Rao was always accompanied by an officer who assisted her in bypassing security checks, with a government vehicle waiting to pick her up. The subsequent raids at her apartment led to the recovery of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. Rao has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days under the Customs Act of 1962. Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested by the Bangalore authorities on Monday night after it was uncovered that she was involved in a gold smuggling racket. Rao, who flew into Bangalore from Dubai via an Emirates flight, was flagged, detained, and questioned by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Kempegowda International Airport, following a tip-off their received. The actress had come under the DRIs radar due to her frequent trips to Dubai four times in the past 15 days. Upon thorough inspection, the authorities discovered 14.2 kg of gold on her person, who also managed to conceal gold bars in her clothing. The seized gold was valued at a whopping Rs 12.56 crore. Subsequently, the DRI officials carried out a search at her apartment located on Lavelle Road in Bangalore. The search uncovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. As a result of the major bust, Rao was arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. Who is Ranya Rao? Born in 1991, Ranya Rao hails from the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. According to various reports, the 33-year-old is the daughter of DGP-rank IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao. Rao made her debut in the film industry in 2014 with Kannada film Maanikya, helmed by Sudeep, starring alongside Ravichandran, Varalaxmi Sharathkumar, and P. Ravi Shankar. She later went on to star in the Tamil film Wagah (2016), starring Vikram Prabhu and Pataki (2017) with actor Ganesh. In the light of the Unni Mukundan-starrer Marco and other violent films coming under scrutiny due to the rise of violent incidents in Kerala of late, the Regional Officer of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Nadeem Thufali T, has requested the intervention of the Central government to curtail the film's streaming privileges on account of its extreme violence. As per the latest reports, the CBFC had already decided not to permit the film's telecast on television channels due to concerns about its gruesome content impacting impressionable minds. In an interaction with Manorama News, Nadeem said, "Marco has already been certified A by the CBFC. Parents should exercise caution when allowing children to watch such films. The CBFC's role is limited to certification and doesn't involve censorship. We have rejected the film's satellite rights as it's unfit for viewing by a family audience." Recently, the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) issued a statement condemning the tendency of political and youth organisations to make cinema an easy target instead of addressing and deeply analysing the real issues that trigger criminal behaviour among the youth. The debates gathered more steam after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan referred to Fahadh Faasil's blockbuster Aavesham during an adjournment motion in the Assembly, citing a police report that stated some students were compelled to hang out with real-life gangsters after seeing the film. He also brought up the topic of movies and television serials that glorify violence and indulge in hero worship, among the various reasons responsible for society's ills. Meanwhile, Marco producer Shareef Muhammed told Manorama News that he has asked the team of his next film, the Antony Varghese-led Kaattaalan, to exercise caution when handling violence. Kannada actress Ranya Rao is in news for all the wrong reasons, after getting arrested for trying to smuggle gold into India from Dubai. She was intercepted at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials, who recovered 14.2kg gold worth Rs 12.56 crore from her. More gold was later recovered following a raid at her apartment on Lavelle Road in the city. ALSO READ | Kannada actress Ranya Rao arrested for smuggling 14.2 kg of gold from Dubai Her step-father, Karnataka DGP K. Ramachandra Rao, distanced himself from her after the incident came to light. "She (Ranya Rao) got married four months ago and hasnt visited us since. We are unaware of her or her husband's business dealings. This has come as a huge shock and disappointment. The law will take its course, he told Times of India. Who is K. Ramachandra Rao, Ranya Raos father? K. Ramachandra Rao has been the Director General of Police (DGP) since October 2023. While serving as an Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Southern Range, his name figured in a controversial money seizure. In early 2014, a Calicut-bound private bus was stopped near Mysurus Yelwal, where Mysore South Police seized the amount that was being transported by four Kerala-based merchants. While the police claimed to have seized Rs 20 lakh, the merchants alleged that the total sum seized was Rs 2.27 crore, and accused the police of colluding with another businessman to loot them. ALSO READ | Jacket, belt...: Actress Ranya Raos modus operandi to smuggle gold into India explained One of the officers present during the raid on the bus was Raos gunman Prakash. Rao denied all allegations, but he was transferred soon after. In Raos case, the CID has clearly mentioned that there was a great degree of lapse on the part of Rao and a deputy superintendent of police after it was brought to their notice that a few policemen, including a gunman attached to the IGP, were involved in the robbery, a senior police officer told the Bangalore Mirror. Rao currently serves as the Chairman & MD of Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, too. Brian Glenn, an American journalist for Real America's Voice who asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office why he was not wearing a suit, said he is being threatened. Because of this, he is now under police protection. ADVERTISIMENT He told BBC about it, noting that this has affected his personal life. "Death threats, phone calls - I don't know how they got my number," Glenn said. Now he has a police unit at his home because people say they are going to find him and harm him, he added. The journalist did not specify whether it was the threats or the police in his home that affected his personal life. Brian Glenn also noted that he did not intend to offend President Zelenskyy and that he only checked whether he understood the "level of respect for the Oval Office." "Many will say, why doesn't Elon Musk wear a suit? Why is he wearing a cap? Musk is charge of saving billions of taxpayer dollars. Zelenskyy was given, they say, about $300 billion in cash and military equipment, so I think it's worth showing respect," the reporter tried to justify himself. ADVERTISIMENT As you know, Brian Glenn is a propagandist. He is a representative of the pro-Trump network Real America's Voice, and he got a place in the Oval Office after the White House blocked access for Associated Press journalists. Netizens have already recalled that Winston Churchill also visited the White House in a uniform during World War II. The reporter received major backlash from ordinary people and journalists alike both in Ukraine and around the world. It is known that US President Donald Trump winked at Brian Glenn after he criticized President Zelenskyy for his military uniform. This gesture may indicate that the incident at the White House was an "ambush." Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the Congress in a sharply-worded article, accusing that its stance contributed to BJP victories in several states, including the recent Delhi Assembly elections. Congress claims that only they can resist the Sangh Parivar. But, what is the truth? In the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, the farmer anger against central policies significantly impacted the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections and subsequent assembly elections. Despite this, it is Congress's policy that brought the BJP to power in those places, he noted, while adding that the Congress prevented the consolidation of secular votes by projecting a non-existent strength. Thus, Congress took on the role of undermining the public desire to defeat the BJP. The main factor that led to the BJP's victory was Congress's disintegration strategy of dividing secular votes in this manner, he said. CM Vijayan added that the Congress adopts an arrogant approach towards other opposition parties that oppose the BJP. The most recent example of this was seen in the Delhi Assembly elections held in February 2025, Vijayan said. Congress had not won a single seat in the Delhi Assembly in 2015 and 2020. Despite this, Congress saw defeating the Aam Aadmi Party, the main force against the BJP in Delhi, as its primary goal. Congress leaders said that making the Aam Aadmi Party win in Delhi was not their job. In Delhi, the BJP got 48 seats and the AAP 22 seats. If some figures of the Election Commission are examined, it can be seen that the BJP won 14 seats in the Delhi elections solely due to the stance of Congress, Vijayan noted. If Congress had taken a stand for secular unity by understanding its limitations with the political awareness that the BJP is the biggest challenge, wouldn't the picture have been different? he wrote, while adding that what Congress did was an unforgivable mistake. The CM noted that a few months ago, the Congress adopted the same approach towards regional parties in Haryana as well. So, they themselves repeatedly make it clear that Congress's job is not to defeat the BJP, but to ensure their victory. Words go one way. Actions go another. Can genuine secular parties trust such a Congress? Parties like the [Indian Union Muslim] League should consider this, Vijayan once again put out a subtle bait for the IUML, which is a strong ally of the Congress in Kerala. If Congress believes that they are the most capable party to defeat the BJP, is this the approach they will take in the assembly elections? In the current situation, Congress has become a party that seems to have no concern about the future of Indian democracy if the BJP, which upholds the idea of majority communalism, captures more legislative assemblies. Isn't Congress enabling the BJP's goals of securing dominance in the Rajya Sabha and even changing the Constitution according to their agenda?" Notably, CM Vijayan's anti-Congress article comes just ahead of the crucial CPI(M) state conference in Kollam. While it directly criticises Congress, it can also be seen as Vijayans subtle signal to his party comrades that, with local body elections and the 2026 assembly polls approaching, Congress remains the primary political adversary in Keralaits last stronghold. Notably, the CPI(M) is also pushing the stance that while the Modi government exhibits neofascistic characteristics, it is neither fully fascist nor neofascist. Political observers interpret this nuanced wordplay as a strategic move to protect the interests of the CPI(M) Kerala unit, as labelling the BJP government as fascist would compel it to rally behind an anti-fascist front led by Congress, which remains the largest opposition party in India. Ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's two-day visit to Gujarat from Friday to discuss preparations for the upcoming assembly elections, Congress leaders say the party has already prepared an assessment report based on which he will take decisions to empower people who have been active on ground. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said based on the review report prepared by the party, the organisational transformation will begin. "The belgavi samvilan (grouping) chalked out a plan to revive the organisation of the Congress from block level. I believe Gujarat has been given first preference where from these guidelines will be implemented, he said. He noted that the roadmap for the state will be finalised after discussion with the party high command. "Rahul Gandhi ji has a clear message on how we need to work on the ground and involve people who will work with us." Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to be on Gujarat visit on 7-8 March: State Congress https://t.co/e1xTj055eg pic.twitter.com/pqjrzyEMhZ DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) March 4, 2025 Notably, Congress has only 12 MLAs in the 182-member assembly, no representation in the Zila Panchayat, and no presence in the Mahanagar Palika. They have only one Nagar Palika in their kitty. The challenge before them seems enormous, and the road ahead tough. Therefore, there is a strong view within the party that its cadres must work tirelessly on multiple frontsstrengthening its grassroots network, rebuilding public trust, and mobilizing strong leadershipto create a formidable force that can effectively counter the BJP. Earlier, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal reviewed the preparations for the upcoming All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting, set to take place in Ahmedabad on April 8and 9. As part of his visit, Venugopal also paid tribute to India's first Union home minister at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad. Reflecting on Patels legacy, he wrote on X, "As I reviewed preparations for our AICC Meeting on April 8-9, I also had the honor of visiting the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad. Paid homage to Sardar Patel, a great freedom fighter and stalwart Congressman, who remains a guiding light for us all." The situation in Jadavpur University continues to remain tensed on Wednesday with the students continuing their protest. Following a general body meeting involving all Left student organisations, including SFI, the protesters held a rally on campus which ended at the office of interim vice chancellor Bhaskar Gupta. They have been demanding that the VC meet them and address their concerns. They had set a deadline of 4 PM on Wednesday for him to respond before intensifying their demonstrations. However, Gupta was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday, making a meeting with the protesters impossible. Other demands by protesters include the immediate holding of student body elections, the university covering all medical expenses for injured students, and the filing of an FIR against the education minister, whose car allegedly caused an eye injury to Indranuj Roy, a first-year JU student. Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court stated that the states intelligence authorities failed to handle the incident of misconduct towards West Bengal's education minister Bratya Basu at Jadavpur University on Saturday and the subsequent unrest. The incident had injured the education minister, former vice chancellor of Jadavpur University Om Prakash Mishra and two students. A Left student organisation later approached the high court, alleging that the police were refusing to register their complaint. While hearing the matter on Wednesday, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh remarked that if intelligence officers continue to do their duty in the same manner, more serious incidents could occur in the state. The court emphasised that this incident alone should serve as a lesson. If intelligence officials fail in their duties, the state could face a situation similar to that of the neighbouring country in the future. Such a scenario must not be allowed to happen, Justice Ghosh said. The court also stated that the complaint filed by the injured student via email must be acknowledged, and an FIR should be registered by Wednesday. Additionally, Justice Ghosh directed the authorities to prepare a detailed report covering all accounts and counter-accounts of the incident. A significant number of teaching and non-teaching staff of JU, except those affiliated with the TMC-aligned West Bengal College University Professors Association (WBCUPA) and Siksha Bandhu, organized a rally inside the Jadavpur University campus on Wednesday. Protesting under the banner of All Stakeholders, they also called for the immediate conduct of student body elections and demanded justice for the first-year student who was injured by the education ministers car. The crucial Kerala state conference of the CPI(M) ahead of the 24th Party Congress will begin on Thursday in Kollam, a district with deep communist roots. Back in 1995, the state conference at Kollam became a venue for an early power demonstration of the VS factionwhich played the roles of protagonist and antagonist in Keralas and partys history for nearly two decades since then. That was a precursor to the mega faction warwith one faction aligning under VS Achuthanandan and the other under current chief minister Pinarayi Vijayanthat would hit the party in the 2000s and 2010s. However, because of his advanced age and health conditions, VS is no longer in active politics and the VS faction is now dead. For many years now, CM Vijayan has been the unquestioned leader of the party. The 2025 Kollam conference is expected to continue this status quo and image of unity under Vijayans firm leadership. Pinarayi Vijayan, who previously received an exemption from the age limit of 75, is likely to secure the same exemption this time, too, to retain his CM post. M.V. Govindan Master is also likely to retain his position as state secretary. The CPM has long aimed to secure 50 per cent of the vote single-handedly, and the party will discuss its crucial plans for the upcoming election year. The delegate discussion will centre around the policy document "Navakeralathinaayi Puthuvazhikal" (New Ways for New Kerala) presented by Chief Minister Vijayan. The conference will also address whether the party will increase womens representation in the state committee and secretariat. A total of 530 participantscomprising 486 delegate representatives, 86 conference representatives, and 44 guests and observersare expected to attend the event in its entirety. During the conference, the party will review the evaluation of the "Navakeralathulla Party Kazhchappadu" (The party viewpoint for New Kerala) policy document from the previous session, assessing the extent to which the Party Plenum-approved corrections have been implemented. Notably, the conference follows immediately after the Vijayan government tabled the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025a move that marked a significant shift in the partys education policy. Nevertheless, despite the potential for debates over the ideological gap between the government's practices and traditional Marxist principles, it is highly unlikely that any delegate will seriously accuse Indias sole remaining CPI(M)-led government under CM Vijayan of significant ideological deviation. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Parra on Tuesday raised serious concerns over the Jammu and Kashmir administrations policies during a debate on the Governors Address in the Union Territorys Assembly. Parra questioned the governments stance on key issues such as political prisoners, reservation policies and the removal of July 13 as a public holiday marking Martyrs Day. Martyrs Day, observed on July 13, commemorates the 22 Kashmiri protesters who were killed in 1931 while demonstrating against the rule of the Dogra Maharaja. PDP MLA Waheed Parra speaks on Reservation , restoring 2 Holidays @parawahid @jkpdp pic.twitter.com/4NSXyN5Ep7 Cross Town News (@CrossTownNews) March 5, 2025 The day had been officially recognised as a public holiday for decades until its removal after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. PDP and other opposition parties have been demanding its restoration, arguing that it represents the first political awakening of Kashmiris and their struggle for democracy. Parra criticised the Governors address, saying that it misrepresented the vision of both the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister. He argued that the document failed to address the real concerns of the people and did not reflect the promises made by the ruling party. "This document does not align with the BJPs manifesto. It only highlights selective achievements while ignoring the ground realities of Jammu and Kashmir," he said. The leader accused the government of suppressing voices and stifling democratic discourse in the Assembly. "The sentiments and aspirations of the people cannot be contained through business rules and reorganisation, he said. If the Assembly does not allow genuine debates and discussions, it will lead to greater frustration, and ultimately, to violence and separatism." The PDP leader also raised concerns over political prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir who remain incarcerated in different parts of India. He alleged that many young Kashmiris had been detained under harsh laws and were suffering in extreme conditions far from their homes. "Our youth are languishing in jails in 50-degree heat. Their families cannot afford legal representation. What kind of governance is this, where justice is denied?" he asked. He demanded a resolution in the Assembly calling for the return of all prisoners to Jammu and Kashmir, Keeping them in distant jails only fosters resentment and alienation, he said. We are seeking their release but judge them in jail in Jammu and Kashmir. Demand for Reservation Based on Population Proportion Another major issue the PDP leader raised was the reservation policy in government jobs and educational institutions. The PDP leader insisted that reservation should be proportional to the population, following global standards. "Reservation for SC, ST and OBC sections is necessary, but it must be based on a proper matrix, he said. Otherwise, merit will be destroyed, and deserving students will suffer. He pointed out that many Kashmiri families are forced to sell their land to send their children to study in cities like Bangalore and Pune. "If a meritorious student cannot get a job or an education despite his hard work, what should he do?" he questioned. The PDP leader also made a strong appeal for the restoration of July 13 as Martyrs Day. #FLASH : Chaos erupted in the J&K Assembly after BJP Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma called the martyrs of July 13 traitors in response to PDP leader Waheed Parras demand to restore the holiday. The Speaker later expunged Sharmas remarks, prompting a BJP walkout. Reports : pic.twitter.com/Ap3plauJ2k The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) March 5, 2025 He urged all parties, including the BJP, to recognise its historical significance. "This is not about ideologyit is about the democratic history of Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Parra concluded by urging the Assembly to uphold democratic values and address the real concerns of the people. "Good governance cannot come at the cost of justice," he said. He warned that continued suppression would only widen the gap between the government and the people. Trouble mounts for the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra after the Opposition raised the 2016 case against BJP minister Jayakumar Gore related to him sending obscene pictures to a woman. The charges were raised by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who claimed a "Swargate-like incident" was committed by Gore. Raut on Wednesday said that Gore molested a woman from the family of Hambirrao Mohite, a famed Maratha warrior. He said the victim will stage a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha in the next few days. "This issue will have to be raised in the Legislative Assembly. Such ministers should be kicked out," Raut said. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar too has taken an aggressive stand in this matter. Social activist Anjali Damania too told reporters that she will approach the Governor seeking justice for the victim and dismissal of Gore from the cabinet. Live: Jaykumar Gore , ?| Devendra Fadnavis https://t.co/3yUZi82TKk Mumbai Tak (@mumbaitak) March 5, 2025 Who is Jayakumar Gore? Rural Development Minister Jaykumar Gore is an MLA from the Man-Khatav constituency in Satara district. He was a Congress MLA till 2019 after which he jumped ship to the BJP. Gore won in the 2019 and 2024 assembly elections. The incident related to the case happened in 2016 when he was with Congress. A case was then registered against Gore for sending objectionable photos to a woman. After the woman filed a complaint, Gore approached the Satara District Court and the Mumbai High Court to avoid arrest. However, the court rejected his bail application. Gore was sent to jail for 10 days. Though the case was settled, the allegation is that he continues to harass the victim. The victim sent a letter to the Governor in January alleging that her name and address were being made viral on many WhatsApp groups. She also began to receive letters about the case. This letter too was made viral on social media, she alleged. Gore is yet to respond to the allegations. US President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress began on Tuesday with him hailing his administration, stating it accomplished more in 43 days than most accomplished in four years or eight years. He began his address with three words "America is back". "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country," he said. Trumpeting his electoral victory, the US president said his win was "a mandate like has not been seen in many decades." His account of counties he flipped was met with boos from Democrats. A shouting match ensued as Republicans chanted "USA". He also addressed his controversial policy on illegal immigration, stating he had already done much to address the "national emergency" at the US-Mexico border and that the immigrants "heard his words" and chose not to come. "I deployed the US military and border patrol to repel the border invasion of country", he said. Trump also claimed that "illegal crossings last month were by far the lowest recorded - ever". The President also touched on his decision to withdraw the US from multiple international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organisation, calling it a "time for big dreams and bold action." Trump's list of things he'd ordered to be frozen - including federal hiring and regulations and "all foreign aid" - was met with a standing ovation from Republicans. He also attacked the Biden administration in his speech and praised himself for ending "weaponised government" where "a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his opponent, like me." "How did that work out? Not too good," he continued with a smirk. His statements were met with an ovation from entrepreneur Elon Musk, who was seated with the Republicans. Trump too didn't forget to praise the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Musk. "Thank you very much, we appreciate it. Even this side appreciates, I believe, they just don't want to admit that," he adds, gesturing to Democrats. Trump continued to attack the Biden administration for inflation and touted reducing the cost of energy as the major focus of the fight. He promised to open up over 100 power plants that were closed by Biden. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on earth ... It's called drill baby drill," he told the Congress. The President promised "tax cuts for everybody", and urged Democrats to vote through those proposed changes. "I'm sure you're going to vote for those tax cuts", Trump says, aiming his comments at the Democrats in the room, "because otherwise I don't think the people will ever vote you in to office". "But I know this group is going to be voting for the tax cuts," he added. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his plan to impose reciprocal tariffs against trading partners, including India, launching a global trade war. In his speech to the Congressional lawmakers, Trump said "Tariffs that match other countries, dollar for dollar, are set for April 2." "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against those other countries, Trump said. "India charges us tariffs higher than 100%, Chinas average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them and South Koreas average tariff is four times higher," Trump said. April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in and whatever they tariffs, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them: President #DonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/5pTUPAPkWX DD News (@DDNewslive) March 5, 2025 This comes as Trump made good on his word to launch new 25% tariffs on goods from US neighbours Canada and Mexico on Monday, and doubled tariffs on Chinese products to 20%. He had vowed to address what he called unfair trade practices from foreign countries during his campaign trail. "This is happening by friend and foe," he said. "Whatever they tax us, we will tax them," Trump explained. "The US has historically charged lower tariffs than those levied by many of its trading partners. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before," he said. "We've been ripped off for decades by every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer." While Indias average tariff rate is around 17%, one of the highest among the US's trading partners. If reciprocal tariffs come into place, this will mean Indian exporters will have to pay more for goods like pharmaceuticals, textiles, and information technology, which could hurt the Indian economy. There will also be added pressure on India to lower its trade barriers and changes in economic policy. India, being a major trading partner of the US, enjoys a trade surplus with the country. India has already taken steps to appease tensions, such as cutting tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, US almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils, and walnuts. The reciprocal tariffs could also mean that India losing access to the US market. To offset this, India, which usually takes a cautious approach, could opt for negotiations and compromise: India and the US could embark on trade talks to lower tariffs on both sides or explore alternative markets to reduce reliance on US trade, like the EU countries. Less than eight months after a Pakistani Taliban group attacked the Bannu Cantonment base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, another outfit of the militant group stormed the compound following two suicide bombings. At least 12 people were killed and 30 others wounded in the attack. These included five women and four children. Since the militants chose to attack after sunset, most of the personnel were breaking their fast during Ramadan. Most of the casualties are members of Pakistani security forces. Pakistan: Major Taliban attack on Pak Army Brigade HQ being reported in Bannu district, a suicide car bombing followed by an ongoing assault involving multiple fidyaeen attackers has been launched. Blast heard from over 15 km away. Video of first blast: pic.twitter.com/uOjWipEDxW WLVN (@TheLegateIN) March 4, 2025 Several houses also collapsed after roofs and walls were blown up. An adjacent mosque at the entrance of Bannu Cantonment caved in, trapping worshippers beneath the debris, according to the Dawn. The attack began with two suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall of the military base. Six more attackers tried to enter the compound but they were neutralised by the military in a shootout. Bannu Cantonment is currently facing an insurgent attack in Pakistan. The flaw in the military junta's strategy of creating terrorism to sell counterterrorism as a product is that this plan often becomes the first casualty once executed. This has been observed repeatedly, with pic.twitter.com/kcdkbR4kMV Adil Raja (@soldierspeaks) March 4, 2025 Jaish Al-Fursan Muhammad, affilited to the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. This was the third attack in Pakistan since Sunday when Ramadan started. On July 15, 2024, Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Pakistani Taliban attacked the Bannu Cantonment before dawn. The militants blew up a vehicle filled with explosives close to the boundary wall and damaging infastructure. The attack killed eight soldiers and injured 141 others. All 10 militants were eliminated. Notably, Jaish Al-Fursan Muhammad is a faction of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. On October 14, 2024, five militants clad in burqa attacked Iqbal Shaheed Police Lines, killing four police personnel. A ginormous gold deposit was discovered in the bed of the Indus River in Pakistan's Punjab during a government commissioned survey in Attock district. The development has come as a huge relief for the cash-strapped economy which has been struggling to pay international debts. The gold desposits are estimated to be worth Rs 80,000 crore. The State Bank of Pakistan has a gold reserve of Rs 47,284.5 crore. One year ago, Former Minister for Mines and Minerals, Ibrahim Hasan Murad, revealed the discovery of millions tolas of gold, valued at a staggering more than 600 billion PKR, in the Attock region. Backed by the Geological Survey of Pakistan, this discovery spans a 32-kilometer pic.twitter.com/HH8pOCo6ui Ibrahim Hasan Murad (@ibrahimhmurad) January 15, 2025 The state-owned National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and the Mines and Mineral Department of Punjab will carry out the mining project. Where did the gold come from? Geologists believe that gold deposits in the Indus River have originated from India's Himalayan region. The gold particles from the Himalayan mountains were carried downstream and got accumulated in the riverbed over time in form of nuggets and place gold. The incessant flow of the river has smoothened the gold deposits and this has made them easy to extract. The gold deposits are located in Attock, where the Indus and Kabul rivers merge. Previously, gold reserves were found in Beka, Allahder and Kund areas where the Indus flows. Pakistan had earlier banned extraction of gold without approval from the government. This is not just because of economic loss to the exchequer, but also environmental concerns over excessive excavation of the river bed. The use of mercury to extract gold is said to have already damaged the ecosystem of the Indus, with fishermen complaining about scarcity of fish in the river. Will Indus gold reserves save Pakistan economy? If these gold reserves could be extracted responsibly by the government, it could be relief to Pakistan's economy. Besides paying off debt, this could also generate revenue for the country. However, there are also concerns about rampant corruption in the country, including the highest levels of the Pakistani military. In 2011, Army-backed nuclear scientist Samar Mubarakmand expelled two foreign companies from a mining project to extract gold copper from Reko Diq in Balochistan. Tethyan Copper, led by Canada's Barrick Gold and Chile's Antofagasta, which discovered the gold and copper deposits, was replaced by a local team backed by the Pakistani military. In 2019, a World Bank arbitration court ordered the Pakistani government to pay $5.8 billion to Tethyan Copper in damages. Around 20 oil, gas, coal and cement companies were responsible for 40.8% of global carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from the fossil sector in 2023, totaling 17.5 gigatonnes of this gas. In addition, 16 of these 20 companies are state-owned. Among them, Chinese companies stand out, mainly public ones, which alone accounted for 23% of all emissions. These are some of the conclusions drawn from a report prepared by the British research center InfluenceMap based on its Carbon Majors database, in which they track the contribution to climate change of the worlds largest fossil fuel producers and cement companies. In total, they have counted the activity of 169 companies active in 2023, the last year for which they have updated data. And, according to these experts, despite the fact that the impacts of the climate crisis are intensifying, the emissions of these companies grew by 0.7% in 2023 compared to 2022. The company that emitted the most worldwide was Saudi Aramco, the state-owned company of Saudi Arabia. It is followed by Coal India, CHN Energy, National Iranian Oil Co, Jinneng Group and Gazprom, all also controlled by governments, which accumulate almost 20% of carbon dioxide from the fossil sector. This is the main greenhouse gas and, therefore, the main culprit of global warming that affects humanity in the form of an increase in average temperatures and more severe and frequent extreme weather events, according to scientific evidence. The presence of public companies at the top of the list is overwhelming. To find the first private equity company, you have to go down to the 14th position: ExxonMobil. Within the category of companies owned by investors, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and BP follow. These five oil companies accounted for 4.9% of global CO emissions in 2023. The Spanish company Repsol, with 0.2% of global carbon dioxide, occupies position 89 on that list. Emmett Connaire, an analyst at InfluenceMap and co-author of the study, said in a statement that this analysis reveals that despite global climate commitments, a small group of the worlds largest fossil fuel producers are significantly increasing production and emissions. He also highlights the disproportionate impact that these companies have on the climate crisis. But he also warns that some of them are beginning to face legal action in the United States. The work collected in Carbon Majors is playing an important role in this movement, as it is being used by activists and lawyers to assess corporate responsibility under climate liability laws passed in states such as New York and Vermont. In addition, other researchers have used the database to quantify the role of fossil fuel companies in intensifying extreme heat waves. It has also been used to support a complaint filed by the climate change law group ClientEarth against the giant investment fund BlackRock. To calculate the footprint of each company, researchers take into account two types of emissions. The most important one mainly in the case of oil, gas and coal is the emissions from the combustion of marketed products, that is, the carbon dioxide released when fossil fuels are burned to generate energy. To these are added the direct and operational emissions linked to the production of each company. In terms of sources, coal remained the largest source of emissions in 2023, contributing 41.1% of the total. But researchers are particularly concerned about the evolution of the cement sector, whose emissions increased by 6.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year. This highlights the critical importance of efforts to decarbonize the industry worldwide, the authors of the report highlighted. Historical responsibilities One of the chief values of this database, which was launched in 2013 and has been growing in information over the last decade, is that it attempts to trace the footprint not only of current emissions, but also of past ones, from 1854 to the present, of 180 industrial producers. The main conclusion is that more than a third of the CO emitted since the Industrial Revolution can be attributed to just 26 of these entities. In terms of historical emissions, the top two emitters are state-owned coal producers in the former Soviet Union and China, followed by Saudi Aramco, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Altogether, these five producers account for 20.9% of emissions since 1854, according to data collected by the Carbon Majors initiative. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Verbal Kint Another Kevin Spacey character, Verbal Kint from The Usual Suspects plans gang heists and ambushes but fools everyone, including the detective who interrogates him into thinking he is weak physicially and mentally. In the end, Kint turns out to be Kaiser Soze whom the police have been looking for. As meteorological winter drew to a close on March 1, it left behind a bitterly cold legacythe coldest winter in the United States since 2013-2014, according to meteorologists. Stretching from December to February, winter saw temperatures across the contiguous U.S. average 1.1 degrees below normal, with western Kentucky plunging nearly 7 degrees below average, making it one of the coldest spots on the planet. Despite the frigid air masses, however, much of the country saw a relative lack of snowfall, with 67% of the U.S. experiencing below-average accumulation. Unlike astronomical winter, which continues until March 20, meteorological winter is defined by temperature-based seasonal cycles. This winters extreme cold was largely driven by an unusually strong Arctic high-pressure system, which pushed the polar vortex deep into the United States. As a result, more than 111 million Americans faced subzero temperaturesthe highest number in six years. The coldest anomalies struck South Dakota and a broad corridor from Illinois and Missouri through Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Deep South, extending into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. Every state in the Lower 48, except for Alaska and Hawaii, experienced below-average temperatures at some point. One of the most bizarre temperature flips occurred in January, when Anchorage, Alaska, briefly became warmer than parts of Louisiana, just 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Still, the U.S. was an outlier globally. While 8% of the planet experienced below-average temperatures this winter, a staggering 44% saw above-average warmth, consistent with long-term climate warming trends. Despite the deep freezes, snowfall was shockingly sparse in many regions. This aligns with seasonal forecasts, which had predicted widespread below-average snowfall. However, several regions bucked the trend, seeing higher-than-normal snowfall, including eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and parts of the Northeast. Notably, a rare Gulf Coast snowstorm in January delivered a foot of snow to parts of New Orleans, an event virtually unheard of in the region. By contrast, some of the biggest snowfall deficits were observed in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Jersey, and much of New England, where snowfall totals fell far short of seasonal averages. Among the snowiest locations this winter: The South Sister, a mountain west of Bend, Oregon, recorded a staggering 619 inches of snowthe most in the Western U.S.; In the East, the Tug Hill Plateau near Lowville, New York, topped the snowfall charts with 386 inches. Notably, all 50 states saw snowfall this winter, underscoring the widespread reach of Arctic outbreaks despite the regional disparities in accumulation. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) President Donald Trumps nominee for the top policy job at the Pentagon acknowledged during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that Russia invaded Ukraine and poses a significant military threat to the U.S. and Europe, but only after persistent questioning from senators on both sides of the political aisle. Elbridge Colby on multiple occasions declined to answer directly whether Russia invaded Ukraine, saying its a sensitive topic and he doesnt want to say anything that might hurt chances of peace. But, in only one instance when Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, pressed him, demanding, In February 2022, did Russian forces cross the border and invade Ukraine? Yes or no? he told the Senate Armed Services Committee that she was describing a factual reality that is demonstrably true. Trump in recent weeks falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the three-year war that has cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator for not holding elections during wartime. On Friday, in a stunning Oval Office blow up, Trump berated Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for Americas support. Against that backdrop, Colby also would not answer whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal or had committed war crimes. The International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of being personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine. And when asked about Trumps decision Monday to pause military aid to Kyiv, Colby said the president has a plan to end the war and ensure a secure and sovereign Ukraine. Colby, who served as deputy assistant defense secretary for strategy during the first Trump administration, also faced repeated questions from both Democratic and Republican senators on previous statements he made suggesting the U.S. could tolerate and contain a nuclear-armed Iran. More recently his comments on the issue have evolved. And on Tuesday, in response to questions from Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and other GOP senators, he said a nuclear armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the U.S. and we should deny Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He downplayed his previous comments over the years on Iran, saying, was my wording always appropriate? Was my precise framing always perfect? No. Vice President JD Vance made a quick stop at the committee hearing to urge Colbys confirmation, saying the nominee has said things in the past that alienated Republicans and Democrats, and also said things that both sides would agree on. He said the nominee will be able to work with lawmakers, and added that Colby will work to restore the defense industrial base, a key goal. In other comments during the hearing, Colby said the U.S. should maintain the highest level of cyber vigilance and capability vis-a-vis Russia. Asked if the U.S. should not use offensive cyberoperations against Russia, Colby said that generally any moves by Moscow should be reciprocated. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, according to U.S. officials., who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations. That decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA. Colby has also made comments in the past about pulling back from commitments in the Middle East in order to focus more on China. Asked on Tuesday about threats from an array of adversaries, including China, Iran and North Korea, he said the U.S. doesnt have a multi-war military. He said the U.S. should not abandon the Middle East, there should not be a nuclear-armed Iran, Russia must not run roughshod over Europe and North Korea shouldnt take over South Korea. But he said he also believes the U.S. could be at the precipice of a major war with China and added that the U.S. cant deal with all of those issues at the same time. The country, he said, needs a credible plan, more resources and additional help from allies. (AP) Democratic lawmakers protested President Donald Trump with multiple signs during a speech to the Joint Session of Congress that quickly turned into a partisan rhetorical brawl. Representatives were seen holding up black signs with white letters saying: Save Medicaid, Musk Steals and Protect Veterans, with False written on the back. As Trump entered the chamber, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, displayed a sign saying, This is not normal. Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas ripped it out of her hands and threw it, nearly hitting the presidents head as he walked down the aisle. Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A devastating accident on Route 17 has left the Vishnitzer community in mourning, claiming the life of a beloved Yungerman returning from a Vishnitzer Rebbesha chasunah in Monsey. Sources tell YWN that R Mordechai Zafir ZL, 54, and his 17-year-old son were traveling back to the Vishnitz (Gibbers) community in Kiamesha after attending the chasunah of the granddaughter of the Viznitzer Rebbe of Monsey and the grandson of the Viznitzer Rebbe of Kiamesha when tragedy struck. At approximately 1:45 AM, near exits 126/127, a wrong-way driver collided head-on with their vehicle in a fatal crash. R Mordechai ZL was tragically niftar at the scene. His son sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a Garnet Medical Center in Middletown and later transferred to Westchester Medical Center, where he remains in serious but stable condition. The tzibur is urged to daven for his refuah sheleimahhis name for Tehillim is Klonimus Kalman Yehoshua Ben Esther Malka Bracha. The driver of the other vehicle was also pronounced dead at the scene. New York State Police have launched an investigation to determine how and why the second vehicle was traveling in the wrong direction, leading to this catastrophic crash. Chesed Shel Emes and Misaskim volunteers have been working tirelessly at the scene throughout the night, ensuring proper kavod hames for the niftar. UPDATE: The Levaya of Reb Mordechai Zafir ZL, who tragically passed away in an accident this morning on the NY-17, will take place at the Viznitzer Shul in Gibbers, located at 169 Barnes Blvd, Kiamesha Lake, NY, at 11:30 AM. A second Levaya will be held at the Viznitzer Shul in Monsey at 25 Phyllis Terrace at 2:00 PM, followed by the Kevura at the Viznitzer Beis HaChaim on Route 306 in Monsey. Besuros Tovos. Your browser does not support the video tag. (VIDEO CREDIT Rockland Video Productions) (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Vice President JD Vance is visiting the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday to highlight the tougher immigration policies that the White House says has led to dramatically fewer arrests for illegal crossings since Donald Trump began his second term. Vance will be joined in Eagle Pass, Texas, by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as the highest-ranking members of Trumps Republican administration to visit the southern border. The White House says Vance is set to tour the border, hold a roundtable with local, state, and federal officials and visit a detention facility. State authorities and local activists say Vances itinerary also likely includes a visit to Shelby Park, a municipal greenspace along the Rio Grande that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott seized from federal authorities last year in a feud with the Biden administration. Abbott accused that administration of not doing enough to curb illegal crossings. Border security is national security, Hegseth told Fox News before the trip. He added, Were sending those folks home, and were not letting more in. And youre seeing that right now. Trump made a crackdown on immigration a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, pledging to halt the tide of migrants entering the U.S. and stop the flow of fentanyl crossing the border. As part of that effort, he imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, saying neither is doing enough to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration. They are now strongly embedded in our country. But we are getting them out and getting them out fast, Trump said of migrants living in the U.S. illegally as he delivered an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Although Trump has not made a trip to the border since Inauguration Day, the visit of three of his top officials is evidence of the scope of his administrations focus on the issue. He has tasked agencies across the federal government with working to overhaul border and immigration policy, moving well beyond the Department of Homeland Security, the traditional home of most such functions. Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico plummeted 39% in January from a month earlier, though theyve been falling sharply since well before Trump took office on Jan. 20 from an all-time high of 250,000 in December 2023. Since then, Mexican authorities increased enforcement within their own borders and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, introduced severe asylum restrictions early last summer. The Trump administration has showcased its new initiatives, including putting shackled immigrants on U.S. military planes for deportation fights and sending some to the U.S. lockup at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It has also expanded federal agents arrests of people in the U.S. illegally and abandoned programs that gave some permission to stay. Trump border czar Tom Homan said migrants with criminal records have been prioritized in early efforts to round up and deport people in the U.S. illegally, but he added of other migrants, If youre in the county illegally, youre not off the table. When we find the bad guy, many times theyre with others, others who arent a criminal priority, but were in the country illegally, Homan told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. Theyre coming, too. Since Trumps second term began, about 6,500 new active duty forces have been ordered to deploy to the southern border. Before that, there were about 2,500 troops already there, largely National Guard troops on active duty orders, along with a couple of hundred active duty aviation forces. Of those being mobilized, many are still only preparing to go. Last weekend, Hegseth approved orders to send a large portion of an Army Stryker brigade and a general support aviation battalion to the border. Totaling about 3,000 troops, they are expected to deploy in the coming weeks. Troops are responsible for detection and monitoring along the border but dont interact with migrants attempting to illegally cross. Instead, they alert border agents, who then take the migrants into custody. Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling the root causes of immigration during his administration, seeking to zero in on why so many migrants, particularly from Central America, were leaving their homelands and coming to the U.S. seeking asylum or trying to make it into the county illegally. Harris made her first visit to the border in June 2021, about 3 1/2 months deeper into Bidens term than Vances trip in the opening weeks of Trumps second term. Trump has routinely joked that Harris was in charge of immigration policy but didnt visit the border or even maintain close phone contact with federal officials. Vances trip also comes as the Trump administration is considering the use of the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 to detain and deport Venezuelans based on a proclamation labeling the gang Tren de Aragua an invasion force that could be acting at the behest of that countrys government. Thats according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations. It is unclear how close the decisions are to being finalized. Some officials have questioned whether the gang is acting as a tool for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. has not recognized as that countrys legitimate leader. There are some concerns that invoking the law would require the U.S. to more formally recognize Maduro. Still, the 1798 law allows the president to deport any noncitizen from a country with which the U.S. is at war, and it has been mentioned by Trump as a possible tool to speed up his mass deportations. (AP) Russia on Wednesday asked how Ukraine could attend potential talks on ending their three-year war when a Ukrainian decree from 2022 rules out negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Dmitry Peskov noted during a daily call with reporters. Zelenskyy expressed readiness Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible, and Peskov called that positive. However, the details have not changed yet, the Russian spokesman added, apparently referring to the decree. Ukraines government did not immediately comment. Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have mentioned the presidential decree, signed seven months after Russias full-scale invasion, in the context of U.S. President Donald Trumps latest efforts to stop the fighting in a war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. The United States seeks to pressure Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. The Trump administration on Monday suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, U.S. officials said Washington has also paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. However, Trump administration officials said that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean the suspension may not last long. In the wars early months, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlins decision in September 2022 to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The Kremlin at the time said it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president took office. Ukrainian forces are now toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, costly for its troops, hasnt brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. As European leaders scramble to adapt to the sharply changing U.S. position on Ukraine under Trump, the French government on Wednesday said Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington eventually. Spokesperson Sophie Primas did not elaborate. Macrons office later said no trip to Washington was being planned. The reason for the discrepancy between the statements was not immediately clear. The three leaders traveled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Trump. Zelenskyys turned into the extraordinary scene of an open dispute with Trump in the Oval Office. The U.K.s Starmer didnt comment on the possibility of a joint trip when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday. His spokesman, Dave Pares, would not confirm such a trip. Meanwhile, a Russian court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a British national captured last year while fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk border region of Russia, according to court officials. James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict and sentenced to 19 years in prison. The case was heard behind closed doors. According to media reports at the time of his capture in November, the 22-year-old Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed shortly after Russias invasion. Ukrainian forces captured parts of Kursk in a shock offensive in August 2024. (AP) The U.S. Department of Justice has thrown its weight behind a Los Angeles Jewish man who says his civil rights were violated when violent anti-Israel protesters blocked access to a shul and attacked people heading to it in the citys Pico-Robertson neighborhood, which has a large frum community. The DOJs filing is a statement of interest in a lawsuit filed by Ronen Helmann, alleges that members of CodePink, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and other groups sought to intimidate and threaten Jews outside the Adas Torah shul in Juneactions that, if proven, would constitute a blatant violation of federal civil rights laws. The June 23 protest erupted as people arrived at Adas Torah for an event about making aliyah. What began as an anti-Israel demonstration quickly spiraled into a violent, hate-fueled attack. According to Helmann, masked individuals affiliated with the protest blocked entry to the shul while shouting Slaughter the Jews and Hitler didnt finish the jobslogans eerily reminiscent of historys darkest moments. Attendees of the aliyah event were not only subjected to verbal threats but also physical violence. One Jewish man had his nose broken in an attack, while a local woman attempting to enter the shul was sprayed with bear mace. The lawsuit argues that these actions violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects individuals exercising their religious rights, as well as the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibits masked individuals from conspiring to deprive U.S. citizens of their civil rights. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Donald Trump has announced that the United States will suspend aid to Ukraine. The American about-face is a hard blow for Kyiv: 43% of all the aid it has received to defend itself against the Russian invasion came from Washington, according to data from the Kiel Institute, the most accurate database for tracking money delivered. If we look at the figures for defense aid, the United States has provided one out of every two euros delivered so far: 64 billion out of 129 billion ($68.6 billion-$138.2 billion). The European Union aims to compensate for this gap by allowing member countries to increase their military spending, which will allow them to increase their shipments of defense material to Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has estimated that the 27 member states will invest 800 billion to arm themselves. The figure should not be taken literally, as it will have to be specified and everything indicates that it will involve refocusing the destination of resources already in circulation, but it does give an idea of the commitment: it means investing four times more than what the EU and its members have given to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. Aid from the 27 has been constant throughout three years of war. However, the allocations announced by the bloc (which have not yet materialized) are much higher than those made by Washington. The amount committed by the U.S. in undelivered aid amounts to 6.5 billion; the EU has yet to deliver 85 billion. Under Joe Biden, the United States provided more support to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023 than the EU. American assistance, which slowed down in 2023, has accelerated due to the orders Biden finalized before leaving the Oval Office. From money to tanks and rocket launchers Northern and Eastern European countries are at the top of the list when aid to Ukraine is measured in national GDP, they point out. Finland and Sweden have contributed around 1% of all their annual production since the beginning of the conflict. The percentage exceeds 2% in the case of Estonia and Denmark. Where has the aid gone? One in every two euros committed (48%) has been spent on military expenditure, a total of 129 billion. In humanitarian aid, European countries have provided the most, with 8.4 billion, more than double the contribution of the United States. However, humanitarian aid represents only 8% of the total Ukraine has received. The rest has been financial contributions. Military aid to Ukraine has not been limited to money to spend on defense, but has included the sending of specific military means. In this regard, Volodymyr Zelenskiys main partners have also been the EU member states. Notable cases include Poland, which has sent half of the tanks that Kyiv has received (767) from the 27, or the Netherlands, which has sent nearly one in three infantry vehicles. The United States, as an individual country, is however the one that has provided the most howitzers: 201. Looking at the economic value of the delivered equipment, air defense systems stand out: Ukraine has received 136 of these units worth more than 17 billion, more than the combined total of tanks, rocket launchers, infantry vehicles and howitzers. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Mosab Hassan Yousef, also known as the Son Of Hamas [the name of the book he authored], the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, left Hamas in the late 90s and became a spy for Israels Shin Bet, working with them for ten years to stop suicide attacks. In an interview with Tzvi Yechezkeli, the Arab affairs commentator for i24NEWS, Yousef asserted that the majority of innocent Gazan civilians, if not everybody, is complicit in Hamass crimes. If not for the hostages, if I had the power, I would wipe Gaza off the map, he said. He added: My gut feeling is that the war is far from over. This is a long war. Even if theres a truce, theres preparations for the next war and the next war is going to be much uglier. When Yechezkeli asked Yousef: Do you really think that the problem between Israel and the Palestinians can ever be solved? Yousef responded: As long as you call them Palestinians, the problem is not going to be solved. Watch the fascinating interview [in English] below: Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech revealed on Tuesday that she woke up to the news that the terrorist who murdered her first husband Shuli, Hyd, was released as part of the hostage release deal without being officially notified by any official state authority. Har-Melech, who serves as the deputy chairman of the Knessets Constitution Committee, revealed the painful news to relatives of hostages during a committee meeting. Journalist Elchanan Gruner called me this morning and told me that my husbands murderer, who also injured me, was released in recent weeks as part of the deal, she said. No one informed us about this. I listen and understand and Im in pain in a way that I cannot describe to you. Its a very complex situation. She then added: The question is what are we building on for Hamas to return the remaining hostages? They are not willing to return everyone. If we had been wise enough to use all the pressure points to demand everyone, we could bring everyone back. In August 2003, during the Second Intifada, while Har-Melech was seven months pregnant with her second child, she and her husband Shuli Har-Melech, Hyd were returning to their home in the Shomron, when five terrorists opened fire on them. Shuli, Hyd, was killed instantly and the car rolled over. Limor was critically injured and her daughter was delivered prematurely by C-section several hours later. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Avida Bachar lost his wife, his 15-year-old son, and one of his legs in Hamass massacre on Kibbutz Beeri on October 7. Like many other left-wing Israelis, he also no longer holds left-wing views about his Arab neighbors. But Bachar went a step further than many others, realizing that his former political views were not only faulty but came at the expense of his fellow Jews. As YWN reported in December, Bachar even said that its lucky that the October 7 massacre happened at Beeri and not in Gush Etzion, saying: I would have said, Why do they live there? I might have said, They deserve it. I would have said all the worst things in the world. Recently, Bachar warned that the danger terror groups pose to yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron is much deeper than the Israeli public is willing to believe, saying that the situation is much more similar to the situation in Gaza than we imagine. Speaking in an interview with TOV, Bacher said, referring to Palestinians in Gaza: Take their land away. Take their land, dont blink. Push them into EgyptAnd if you think its better in Yehudah and Shomron? The answer is no. Ill tell you a secret under the hospital in Jenin there are exactly the same tunnels as under Shifa [hospital in Gaza]. Exactly the same. Were burying our heads in the sand right now. They say: No, it cant be, were in control of the situation.' You dont know when it will be, you have no idea. Because always remember that a volcano will erupt again. When? You wont know. But it will happen. Im telling you it will happen if we dont get rid of them. I suffered endless torture in the bomb shelter for 12 hours. Next to me was my wife, who was murdered in the afternoon, and my son who was murdered around 4:30 p.m. I am a leftist who has been betrayed. A betrayed leftist is a murderer. He doesnt see clearly. He has no compassion for anything. Thats what happened to me on October 7 I turned into a betrayed leftist and I have zero compassion for anyone. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Anti-Israel Group Releases Video of Columbia University Protesters Preparing for Police Clash An anti-Israel activist organization, Unity of Fields, has released new footage showing protesters gearing up for a confrontation with law enforcement inside a Columbia University building last year. The video, filmed during the forcible occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring, depicts demonstrators barricading doors, shouting war cries, and chanting free Palestine as they prepared for a police response. The release of the footage comes amid controversy surrounding the expulsion of a student involved in the takeover, which led to a significant police crackdown and numerous arrests. In the video, some protesters are seen hurling objects, including chairs, onto a makeshift barricade in an effort to fortify their position. Unity of Fields claims the footage being released now is a reaction to the students expulsion, spotlighting their ongoing grievances. Meanwhile, as YWN reported earlier Tuesday, the Trump administration has threatened to cut Columbia Universitys funding over concerns about rising antisemitism on campus, adding fuel to the already heated situation. The incident at Hamilton Hall last year drew widespread attention, with authorities stepping in to restore order after the protesters actions disrupted campus operations. Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara sent a letter to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Wednesday demanding that he immediately begin imposing sanctions on bnei yeshivos eligible for the draft. In the letter, Baharav-Miara wrote that as of today, the recruitment goals that were presented are not being met and therefore the government is required to act urgently to enforce recruitment obligations against draft-dodgers. She emphasized that a significant proportion of the enforcement measures against evaders can be promoted immediately, inter alia, by a government or administrative decision alone, and a decision on this matter is in the hands of the political echelon. She ordered Katz to hold an urgent discussion on the matter. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The change of command ceremony for the new IDF Chief of Staff took place on Wednesday morning at the Kiryah in Tel Aviv, with Eyal Zamir first promoted to the rank of Lt. Gen. and then appointed as the IDFs 24th chief of staff. Outgoing Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who served in his position for two years, announced his resignation from his position over a month ago in light of my recognition of responsibility for the failure of the IDF on October 7th. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke first, noting: Zamir, we have known each other for quite a few years, he said. I twice recommended you as Chief of Staff, and now for the third time .' [The words appear in Shir HaShirim, with some mefarshim interpreting the words as the time for Geulah has come or the time for the destruction of our enemies has come.] Netanyahu also praised Zamirs role as the director-general of the Defense Ministry during the ongoing war, during which he headed intensive efforts to procure vital weapons and initiated increased domestic weapons production. Your browser does not support the video tag. With the support of our friends in the US, first and foremost President Trump, we are bringing a lot of weapons into Israel that are critical to our security, Netanyahu said, adding that Israel is also ramping up its domestic defense production capacity. This will reduce the pressure and dependence on outside actors, he stressed. Your browser does not support the video tag. Netanyahu also thanked outgoing Chief of Staff Halevi: In the moment of significant trial, you mobilized the forces to withstand the severe blow. I saw you go out into the field. You acted in light of the decisions we made, hardly slept, not seeing your family for days and even weeks. Your browser does not support the video tag. Katz then spoke, warning Zamir that he wont even have one minute of grace. The security challenges around us do not allow the new Chief of Staff even 100 minutes of grace. In fact, Eyal you dont even have one minute of grace. The IDF is in the midst of a military campaign against enemies who have made Israels destruction their goal. Katz continued: Israels security history throughout its years, and certainly in recent years, has taught us an undisputed fact: the ability to defend the State of Israel and its residents, and the commitment to ensure its continued existence, rely, to a large extent, on the ability to attack in the air, on land, and at sea. In order for the IDF to fulfill its purpose, there is no substitute for military initiative, creativity, cunning, and striving for contact. If someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first was already written in our sources thousands of years ago and there is no doubt that this principle accurately reflects even today what is required and expected of IDF commanders and soldiers. Zamir began his speech by warning: Hamas has not yet been defeated. This is a war for survival. We will continue the campaign to bring our hostages home and to achieve a decisive victory. The mission before me is clear: to lead the IDF to victory. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with his Cabinet to discuss the Shin Bets internal report on its failure to predict or prevent the October 7 massacre, which was published on Tuesday, Channel 14 reported, adding that the Cabinet is expected to recommend the immediate dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar in disgrace. The Shin Bets report was slammed by many politicians and news outlets as being politically tainted and pointing fingers and casting blame on others instead of fully taking responsiblity for its failures. The report pointed fingers at the political echelon, IDF intelligence, an improper division of responsiblity between the Shin Bet and the IDF, and even on Hamas, with the report stating that the Shin Bet is focused on thwarting terror attacks and its methods are ineffective against an enemy that acted like an army. Bar, who has a long history of working against his boss, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, even before October 7, did take responsibility for his failure, saying that the Shin Bet did not prevent the October 7 massacre, a heavy burden hell bear the rest of his life, but also hinted at his support for a state commission of inquiry, something Netanyahu is adamantly opposed due to the justice systems left-wing slant, and cast blame on his government. Senior Channel 14 journalist Yaakov Bardugo wrote; Anyone who has seen the full report understandsthat it has essentially been manipulated for political purposes. The report presented to the public is not the original it has been edited and tailored for public relations purposes. In reality, its more of a document created by public relations professionals rather than by investigators. Shin Bet employees are attempting to shift the blame onto others while incessantly demanding a state investigation committee. In essence, they investigated themselves while asking others to investigate the political echelon. The IDF Chief of Staff investigated himself and now the Shin Bet chief is requesting that his own team investigate him. Likud MK Chanoch Milwidsky responded to the report by stating: As a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, many questions arose when I read the investigation. I cant reveal details but I can say that the Shin Bet was aware of the situation with Hamas since the end of 2021. But we [the government] were given totally opposite reports despite pointed questions we asked about Hamas shortly before October 7. We received answers that were completely different from what was later written in the report. He emphasized: Just like in the army, internal investigations within the Shin Bet are important but they cant replace an external investigation. Sources from Netanyahus office stated. The Shin Bet chief completely failed in everything related to the organizations handling of Hamas, especially during the events of October 7. Bar misread the intelligence landscape and was trapped in a false perception. During routine intelligence assessments, including just days before the massacre, Shin Bets main thesis was that Hamas wanted to maintain quiet and avoid escalation. The most serious issue is that Shin Bet and its leader failed to address even the basics of the Jericho Walls plan for the destruction of Israel (which was not presented to the Prime Minister before October 7)neither in routine assessments nor on the night of the attack, Netanyahus office continued. This is despite the fact that the Shin Bet had knowledge of the plan as early as 2018. Furthermore, the Shin Bet Chief failed to see the importance of waking the Prime Minister on the night of the attacka basic and obvious decision that should have been made. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi publicly called for Bars immediate removal. Alongside a mocking caricature of Bar, Karhi tweeted, The man who knew to send a Tequila team [an elite undercover unit sent to thwart terrorists on the way to commit an attack] to the Gaza border on the night of October 7 because he sensed something terrible was unfolding, abandoned IDF soldiers and the regions residents to their fate. He thinks he can distract from his failures by resorting to threats. We will not allow someone who remained silent in the face of insubordination, fell asleep, abandoned his duties, and committed crimes to have any influence on Israels security future. Karhi was referring to the report on Tuesday that Bar told Shin Bet employees that he will decide when hell resign and who will be appointed in his place. It should be noted that the office of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has already threatened to thwart a decision by the government to dismiss Bar, saying that such a decision must be based on a solid and comprehensive factual basis, free of external considerations and consistent with legal and administrative principles. In other words, like the majority of the governments decisions, Baharav-Miara will knock it down on claims of being illegal. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) In a surprising break from longstanding U.S. policy, the Trump administration has been engaging in direct negotiations with Hamas, the terrorist organization that has held American hostages in Gaza, multiple sources have confirmed to Axios. The talks, led by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler, have taken place in recent weeks in Doha, Qatar. This unprecedented move represents the first time that the U.S.which designated Hamas as a terrorist group in 1997has engaged in direct diplomacy with the organization. Until now, the United States has refused to negotiate directly with Hamas, relying instead on intermediaries like Qatar and Egypt. The direct engagement raises serious questions about U.S. policy toward terror groups, the implications for Israel, and what message it sends about American leverage in the region. It also highlights a growing divide between the Trump administrations public posturethreatening Hamas with hell to payand its behind-the-scenes maneuvering to secure the release of U.S. hostages and possibly broker a broader ceasefire. Sources familiar with the matter told Axios that while Israel was consulted about the possibility of engaging with Hamas, some Israeli officials only learned about aspects of the discussions through other channels, raising concerns over transparency and coordination between allies. The discussions have focused not only on the release of U.S. hostages but on a broader deal to free all remaining captives and negotiate a long-term truce. A parallel effort was underway with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who had planned to meet with Qatars prime minister this week about ceasefire negotiations. However, he canceled the trip on Tuesday night, citing a lack of progress from Hamas. Despite weeks of talks, no agreement has been reached. The decision to engage Hamas directly marks a stark departure from previous U.S. administrations, including Trumps first term, when his administration took a hardline stance against the group. The move risks alienating key allies, particularly Israel, which has long opposed legitimizing Hamas through negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has relied heavily on Trumps support in the war against Hamas, has not publicly commented on the U.S.-Hamas talks. The White House also declined to respond to questions about the diplomatic gamble. There are currently 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. According to the Israel Defense Forces, at least 35 are believed to be dead, while intelligence estimates that 22 remain alive. Among them are five American citizens, including 21-year-old Edan Alexander, who is believed to be alive. The 42-day ceasefire collapsed on Saturday after the parties failed to reach an agreement to extend it. Though fighting has not resumed, Israel has halted all humanitarian aid to Gaza, as it ratchets up pressure against Hamas. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) My last surviving daughter died of cancer aged 56 last May and I have been sorting out her affairs as executor. Most organisations have been helpful, but I am hitting a brick wall with Aviva over her pension. I have asked if most of the policy can be paid to her two brothers. But nothing gets done. More worrying is that on various calls there are insinuations that only part of the pension may be paid, or even nothing. This is all very upsetting. Please can you help? B.B., London. Sally Hamilton replies: Dealing with bereavement is hard enough but when bureaucracy holds things up it makes the task more daunting. You are aged 78 and tell me four of your six children have pre-deceased you and now you are in poor health so could have done without the protracted pension process. It can be hard sorting out a pension like this. If a person dies with a defined contribution private pension, like your daughters, and it doesnt state in the records who it should be passed on to in an expression of wishes it is up to the trustees (here, Aviva) to decide who should benefit. Delays: Aviva has been dragging its feet in helping an elderly reader transfer her late daughter's pension They consider requests from the executors and family, but are not obliged to meet them. Their duty is to find any dependants who should have first dibs. Your daughter faced difficulties in later years and came to live with you. When she died, you used savings for your own funeral to fund hers some 4,500. You live on a state pension and benefits. Keen to replenish your funeral pot, you asked Aviva if you could have 4,500 of the 37,600 pension, with the remaining 33,100 split between your two sons. This seemed reasonable to me, but the process was taking a long time. Once, when you queried the delay, Aviva said they were trying to track down her father, your husband. But if they had asked you that directly you could have said he passed away 30 years ago. Aviva sent 100 as an apology. I asked Aviva to speed up the distribution of funds. On investigating, they found that forms had been sent to your sons, asking how long they had been dependent on their sister. But these were not returned as they did not depend on her financially. Your sons have now confirmed they were not financially dependent. An Aviva spokesman says: Were very sorry for the familys loss and the delay. Unfortunately, our processes do require us to establish whether anybody is dependent on the policyholder before a claim can be settled. Aviva has sent the full 37,600 to you. You have kept 4,500, and passed 33,100 to your sons. This case is a useful lesson for us all on the importance of stating who we wish to benefit from our pensions on death. With private pensions, you can nominate anyone you wish on the expression of wishes form with the pension provider. This can be updated at any time. Currently, pensions can be passed on free of inheritance tax (but this will change in April 2027). If the plan holder dies before age 75, as in the case of your daughter, there is no income tax to pay either, unless the lump sum and death benefit allowance of 1,073,100 is breached. If a pension saver dies at 75 or over, the beneficiaries must pay income tax on money taken out of the pension at their marginal rate. DVLA won't replace paper driving licence I have held a full UK paper driving licence since 1972. The DVLA now says that as my 70th birthday is approaching I must apply for my first photo driving licence. The application form I received listed what documents were required. I sent several from the list but they still wont issue my licence. Please help. G.S., Northumberland. Sally Hamilton replies: The paper driving licence you refer to is the one issued until July 1998 for new drivers and March 2000 for existing holders. Its not to be confused with the paper counterpart issued with photocard licences introduced in 1998, but scrapped in 2015. Scam Watch Drivers should beware of a scam email purporting to come from oil and gas company BP, consumer website Which? warns. The email reads answer and win. Tricksters claim you have been chosen to get a car emergency kit, which appears to contain items such as a windscreen scraper, gloves and pliers. It asks you to click here to claim but this will lead you to a phishing website with a short survey designed to pilfer your personal and financial details. Do not click on links in the email instead, forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk. There are four million paper driving licences still in use. They are valid if the holder still lives at the address on the original document. If they need to be replaced or updated for any reason, drivers will be sent a photocard version. Drivers reaching 70, like you, must reapply, using a D46P form three months before their birthday, declaring that they are fit to drive. Licences must be renewed every three years thereafter. There is no fee for the over-70s. You completed the forms and sent the DVLA various documents to prove who you were. One was your birth certificate and this is where your application hit a roadblock. All the documents you supplied gave your name as G.S., except your birth certificate which has it as G.T. The T was your birth fathers surname. But your mother remarried when you were aged three and ever since then you have been known as G.S. All the other documents including the paper licence you were surrendering referred to you by the name you have used for 67 years. You wrote a covering letter to the DVLA to explain. This did not cut the mustard. I asked the DVLA what you should do. The agency called you, suggesting an option was to supply a deed poll to prove your change of name. Anyone can change their name by deed poll for free (find this at gov.uk) and have it signed by two witnesses. A more official alternative is to enrol a deed poll. It means your new name will be on public record with the Royal Courts of Justice. Find the forms at gov.uk and the arrangement costs 50.32. You chose to get a solicitor to set up the latter at a cost of 90. Last week you told me that your photo licence had finally arrived. A spokesman for DVLA says: Applications for a first photocard licence must be supported by original identity documents that provide a clear link from the applicants birth name to their current name. Our identity checks are in line with government policy to help combat welfare and identity fraud. Straight to the point I heat my home with liquid petroleum gas stored in a cylinder outside. I changed supplier in 2022 but received a 354 bill late last year due to a supposed delivery. The gas is put straight into the tank, so I cant say if the delivery did or didnt happen. The supplier said it would reduce the bill to 223 but then increased it to 437. S.H., Norfolk. Your account was left on auto-delivery mode by mistake. Your old supplier apologises and has rescinded the charge. *** I bought a gaming computer at Currys in December. It was faulty so I returned it. Ive yet to get a refund I call Currys every week and I am assured the refund will be made within three to five days. Currys now says the item is missing. A.Y., via email. Currys apologises and has refunded you. *** On December 5, I sent two parcels with Yodel neither arrived. One vanished while the other arrived back on my doorstep on December 31. I want my 10.20 postage back and 25 to cover the missing item but Yodel is making it difficult. J.M., Kent. Yodel apologises and says it will refund for the second lost parcel. The first was not collected from the delivery store within the timeframe so was returned to you. *** My car broke down so I called my breakdown cover, which agreed to tow it to a secure compound until I could book it into a garage. The next slot was in six weeks. I was told the car would be towed to the garage but it never arrived. It had been taken to another garage and left unlocked. T.B., Essex. Your breakdown cover provider apologises and has offered 300 compensation. Savers are facing a ticking time bomb to boost their state pension by thousands of pounds. Theres just one month left to make life-changing National Insurance top-ups to increase state pension entitlement but theres a simple trick you can use to extend the deadline by as much as eight weeks. Workers can usually make voluntary NI contributions only for the previous six tax years. But a nifty window to make top-ups as far back as 2006 is open, which means you can add up to 13 years to your record. The deadline to make these payments was previously in April 2023 but the Government was forced to extend the deadline by two years because phone lines could not cope with the surge in demand. The Government has now introduced a soft extension, where people who cannot get through to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can log a callback request. If the callback request is done by the deadline via a form on the DWP website go to secure.dwp.gov.uk/request-a-call-back-to-pay-voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/contact-form top-ups back to 2006 can still be made after the April 5 deadline. Deadline: Theres just one month left to make life-changing National Insurance top-ups to increase state pension entitlement The DWP says it will normally call back within eight weeks of the request, but bear in mind this could be much sooner. Its a useful trick for households who cannot get through on the phone and also for those who want more time to decide whether these lucrative top-ups are worth it. So who should be taking advantage of the top-up window and who should steer well clear? Will I get the full state pension? Men born on or after April 6, 1951, and women born on or after April 6, 1953 in other words, all those who have reached pension age since April 2016 and those retiring this year can qualify for the new state pension. The full flat rate amount will be hiked to 230.25 a week from April up from 221.20 or 11,973 a year. Retirees need 35 years of NI contributions for this amount. Pensioners with less than ten years of contributions wont receive any state pension. Contributions are built up when working or by receiving NI credits. State pension payments will be lower if pensioners havent met the NI contribution requirements, so its vital to check if you have gaps in your record. You may have gaps in your NI record because you didnt earn enough to start paying NI in a particular year, were unemployed but didnt claim benefits or had a spell working overseas, for example. Women are particularly likely to have gaps if they took career breaks to raise children, care for family or had a more chequered working history. How do the top-ups work? The good news is that those on the new state pension can fill in gaps by making voluntary NI contributions to boost their state pension. You can pay to buy a complete or partial year of contributions (for example, if you didnt work the full year). Around 37,000 people have topped up since April, according to HM Revenue & Customs. They have added 68,673 years, worth 35 million, to their NI records. An average online top-up is 1,835. The largest weekly state pension increase someone received is 113.76. If this retiree receives their state pension at age 66 and lives until 86, they will have boosted their state pension by more than 118,000, according to calculations by former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb. The final figure will be higher because of triple lock increases each year. The cost of voluntary contributions varies based on the tax year you are filling. For this current tax year, it costs 907.40 for a year and 17.45 for a week. This adds just under 329 a year to your state pension before any triple lock hikes. To fill in a tax year before 2020-21 under the current scheme costs 824.20 for a year and 15.85 for a missing week. These are Class 3 contributions and are typically paid by those employed. Class 2 contribution rates typically paid by the self-employed are lower but they still get the same pension hike. Its 3.45 to fill a missing week from this tax year for those paying Class 2 rates, and 179.90 for a year. After the window closes on April 5, the furthest back you will be able to fill gaps will be April 2019. Should I top up? Although this lucrative window is rapidly closing, you must carefully consider if voluntary contributions are worth it in your circumstances. Tom Selby, of stockbroker AJ Bell, says: This is complicated and requires you to consider several factors, including your age and health. Dont make a panicked purchase. He adds that you probably fall into one of three broad categories: Pension boost: A nifty window to make top-ups as far back as 2006 is open, which means you can add up to 13 years to your record 1.Top-ups likely to be sensible If youre approaching state pension age and have gaps in your record that you wont fill in the normal course of your working life, it is worth considering topping up. Someone five years short of a full record who wont be able to fill them by state pension age will not be entitled to the full amount without making voluntary contributions. If they are historic years, they can fill them in at 824.20 each, totalling 4,121. This could add 32,864 to their pension over a 20-year retirement, according to Sir Steve Webb, now a partner at pension consultants Lane Clark & Peacock. 2. Should consider topping up: If youre aged over 40 and have gaps in your record, voluntary NI contributions might be worth considering. Mr Selby says: The older you are and the larger the gaps in your record, the more likely it is paying voluntary NI will be a sensible financial decision. Consider your life expectancy because it takes around three years for one year of voluntary contributions to pay off in payment increases. For instance, if you made voluntary NI contributions for the whole of the 2023-24 tax year, this would cost 907.40 and add just under 329 a year to your state pension. This means that within three years you will have effectively made the 907.40 payment back. Also, check if you are entitled to free NI credits if you receive carers allowance, for example, because this could save you making voluntary contributions. How you get these NI credits will vary depending on the type of credit. For example, if you are a parent registered for child benefit for a child under 12, you will get Class 3 credits automatically. If you are a foster carer, however, you will need to apply for these credits. Check your eligibility at gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility. 3. Probably should not top up: Younger workers under 40 should generally steer clear of voluntary contributions, says Mr Selby. They have at least another 28 years of working before reaching state pension age, which is set to increase to 68 by 2046, so are likely to build up their NI record automatically. For example, if a worker aged 30 had a two-year gap in NI contributions from time spent abroad, it would make little sense to fill them because they are likely to build the needed contributions naturally. Of course, if you have already met the 35-year NI requirements theres no benefit to making voluntary contributions, even if your record is patchy because of periods out of work. Everyones individual circumstances and record will vary so it is best to speak to a financial adviser. How to buy extra years Before topping up, check your NI record to see how much state pension youre set to receive and if you have any missing contributions. See gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record. This will also say how much voluntary contributions will cost and how these will boost your state pension. Call the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175 if you are below state pension age to talk through your options. If you already receive your state pension, check your bank statements to see what payments you receive or call the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469. If you decide top-ups are worthwhile, visit gov.uk/pay-voluntary-class-3-national-insurance/pay-online-using-bank-account for Class 3 contributions. Youll need your online banking details and an 18-digit reference number. Call HMRC on 0300 200 3500 to get this. Remember that you will still be able to fill in gaps for the past six years after April 5. l.evans@dailymail.co.uk Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Moscow, 61 years old) went from being the richest businessman in the Russian Federation to spending almost a decade of his life in a Siberian prison, on the orders of his arch-enemy, Vladimir Putin. He knows the Russian presidents tactics well. And he is not at all surprised that he gets along so well with Donald Trump. There have been times in my life when I have witnessed something similar to what we are seeing now: whenever two gangsters spoke to each other. Its the same style. The same method. In Putins case I understand it perfectly, coming from where he comes from. Im not so sure why Trump is like that. Perhaps its because he was a real estate developer in a complicated market like New York. The fact is that he knows how to handle that type of conversation, he explains to a small group of European media outlets from the LENA alliance, including EL PAIS, at the headquarters of his foundation Open Russia in London, where Khodorkovsky lives in exile. In all the ceremony of confusion that Trump has generated through his statements, his changes of tone, or his humiliating reprimand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says Khodorkovsky, Europe has failed to interpret the messages from the White House or the Kremlin and, what is worse, Zelenskiy has not understood how to interpret what his European allies were telling him. In part. Firstly, nothing that the Russian and U.S. presidents have said so far is relevant, warns the former businessman. Everything that Trump or Putin say about Ukraine means nothing, for the moment, until they agree on their respective interests. Once they have that clear and everything they risk if they do not comply with the agreement there will be an agreement, he explains. But Zelenskiy, although not guilty of the position he finds himself in, says Khodorkovsky, is in a difficult situation. Firstly, because he does not understand or have a rapport with Trump, much less with Putin. And above all Eastern Europe and Western Europe have always spoken a different language, he points out because the Ukrainian president has not been able to grasp the message that European leaders were transmitting to him in London last Sunday, amid hugs and hospitality. Zelenskiy has not understood the message that European leaders were sending him, which was basically that they could not help him without the participation of the United States. I think he thought that what Europe was telling him was that they were going to support him anyway, even if the United States did not. He interpreted that as giving him a free hand. And what they were telling him was that either he reached an agreement with Washington, or he was finished, he says. The result of the confrontation Khodorkovsky cannot avoid a shadow of realism-pessimism in his analyses, which derives from his long stay in prison, his belief that there is no truly solid opposition to Putins regime, and his conviction that it will be necessary to wait at least a decade, when the Russian president is over 80 years old, to begin working on a change of regime. Beyond the imperialist expansionism that many analysts attribute to Putin, Khodorkovsky sees the invasion of Ukraine as a political maneuver to maintain his popularity in the country. It is the fourth time, he notes, that faced with serious internal difficulties, Putin has started a war. And it is clear, from what we are seeing, that he has not lost. If Putin were to press ahead with this conflict and occupy Ukraine entirely, he says, Europe would be at war within two years. Without money to invest in all these territories, he wouldnt know what to do with all the unemployed men who have been fighting for three years. And a similar, though lesser, problem exists with the Russian ex-combatants. The solution is to start another war to get rid of these people. The Baltic states? Moldova? Romania or Poland? says Khodorkovsky. The most realistic solution almost the optimal one according to Khodorkovsky would be to preserve the current combat lines in Ukraine and enter into a period of frozen conflict that would last as long as Putin remained in the Kremlin. And if Trump, with his particular negotiating style, he notes ironically, achieves something along these lines, he should be lauded internationally. If the war is stopped on the current front lines, and Trump manages to preserve Ukraines status as a sovereign state; if he manages to ensure that Ukraine maintains its ability to defend itself, and with its own arms industry, and if he also guarantees that the Western allies will continue to provide aid to Kyiv without joining NATO, Khodorkovsky says, if he achieves all that, he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The end of the tax year is looming large on the horizon, which means the mad scramble to use our annual Isa allowance before April 5 has begun in earnest. In the current tax year, you can use an Isa to save or invest a maximum of 20,000, with all subsequent gains interest on savings, dividends from investments and any share profits free from tax. A super deal. Yet the usual spring rush to bag a top-paying cash Isa has been given an extra edge this year. In part, this is a result of savers wanting to snap up the best fixed-rate deals before there are any further cuts in the Bank of England base rate. But its also because of fears that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, is poised to confirm a major shake-up of the tax-friendly Isa that will result in priority being given to investors over savers. At great peril is your ability to use the annual 20,000 Isa allowance to save rather than invest. Not good news at all for savers like keen birdwatcher Mike Passman who, long retired, has no intention of putting his hard-earned money at risk by investing in a stocks and shares Isa. Tax haven: It is feared Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to confirm a major shake-up of the tax-friendly Isa that will result in priority being given to investors over savers I will be 80 in August, says Mike, a former insurance broker, while my good wife Anne will be 81 this month. Not exactly the time of our lives to be investing. For us, financial security is all-important and that means cash Isas. As I report later, there are more risk-averse people out there like Mike and Anne, from Thurlestone in south Devon, who view Isas through the spectrum of cash and capital certainty not shares and capital uncertainty. Sadly, savers like the Passmans will soon become second-class Isa citizens, permitted to use no more than a fraction of their 20,000 annual allowance (4,000 is the word on the street) on cash Isas. On the other hand, investors will become Isa toffs, allowed to continue making annual contributions of 20,000 into an array of funds and shares. Rumours of such an Isa makeover have been bubbling under the surface like a burst Thames Water sewage pipe for the past month or so. They have been fuelled by meetings held between Ms Reeves and City grandees to discuss ways of turbo-charging investment in UK plc at a time when the economy is reeling under the weight of last Octobers tax-heavy Budget. Although other investment measures have been discussed, such as the abolition of stamp duty on UK share purchases, a reform of Isas has been near the top of the agenda. To begin with, it appeared that the Chancellor could go nuclear and remove the tax wrapper from cash Isas altogether, leaving savers interest payments on their cash balances subject to tax. Understandably this provoked an angry response from the building society industry, which reminded Ms Reeves in an open letter that cash Isas were a long-established cornerstone of the UK savings landscape that are well understood and upon which many people rely. It added that any drastic move to compromise cash Isas would inhibit the ability of building societies to provide finance to homebuyers. Cash Isa fan: Keen birdwatcher Mike Passman sees Isas through the lens of capital security Money Mail promptly launched its Hands Off Our Cash Isas! campaign. Ms Reeves has since changed tack. During a breakfast meeting last month with representatives from investment banks and asset managers, she ruled out scrapping cash Isas in favour of reducing the amount that can be saved into them every year. By limiting the use of cash Isas, the Chancellor believes that some people will direct more of their Isa money into stocks and shares Isas, igniting the UK stock market and stimulating the economy in the process. This is music to the ears of those investment companies which had a presence at the love-in the likes of Aberdeen (Abrdn no more), BlackRock, Fidelity, JP Morgan and Schroders. All will be big beneficiaries of any refocusing of Isas on investing. But its terrible news for those who werent represented, namely building societies cornerstones of communities up and down the country and, more importantly, a raft of people who are simply not prepared to take risks with their wealth for all kinds of reasons. They include those diligently accumulating a pot of money to fund the purchase of their first home, and millions of people in later life (like the Passmans) who no longer want to take unnecessary risks with their retirement finances. Trusted: Government figures show that more than 18 million people have a cash Isa, with nearly half held by people with incomes of less than 20,000 a year Government figures show that more than 18 million people have a cash Isa, with nearly half held by people with incomes of less than 20,000 a year. It is believed that the annual cash Isa allowance could shrink to as little as 4,000 and that an announcement about the change is likely to be made in the coming weeks as part of a broader government initiative (the Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy) aimed at driving growth in key areas of the UK economy. As our campaign indicates, Money Mail opposes any reduction in the ability of the young and old to shelter cash inside an Isa. We believe people should be allowed to choose how they use their annual allowance to protect a slice of their wealth from the taxman. Many Money Mail readers are comfortable using an Isa to invest in stocks and shares for the long term. Fine and dandy. But they are more than matched by those not prepared to park their money in anything but cash Isas. Latest data from Paragon Bank indicates that the total cash Isa balance held by adults stands at 359 billion. These savers are often risk-averse, and the Government should not now discriminate against them by restricting how they can use cash Isas. After all, many have already had their ability to shield savings interest from tax (outside of an Isa) compromised by a nine-year freezing of the annual personal savings allowance: 1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers, 500 for higher-rate taxpayers. The feedback from consumer research, Money Mail readers and building society bosses indicates that Labour would be best advised to leave cash Isas well alone. A survey by Nottingham Building Society indicates that a majority of savers (55 per cent) oppose any cut to the cash Isa allowance, with more than three quarters of over-55s objecting to such a move. Yet it is not just the more mature among us who are up in arms. According to Nottinghams research, more than four in ten 25-to-34-year-olds with cash Isas say a reduction in the allowance would inhibit their ability to build up a deposit for a home purchase. Its a view shared by the Intergenerational Foundation, a charity set up 14 years ago to promote fairness across all age groups. Liz Emerson, co-founder of the charity, says that any tilting of the playing field once again away from young people by forcing them to save in ways that will supposedly encourage a domestic growth agenda is yet again intergenerational unfairness in action. Yesterday, Robin Fieth, chief executive of the Building Societies Association, told Money Mail that it was a myth that savings in cash Isas are sitting dormant and not supporting the Governments growth ambition. He said: Cash Isas are a vital source of funding for building societies and underpin the mortgage market. As such, they represent a direct investment in the UK economy as well as helping the housing market to function effectively. Each housing transaction, he said, contributed between 10,000 and 16,000 to the UKs economic growth: Its therefore baffling to understand why the Chancellor would want to risk making mortgage availability more difficult and expensive for first-time buyers and home movers. Money Mail readers are alarmed at the prospect of a reduced cash Isa allowance. Investment drive: By limiting the use of cash Isas, the Chancellor believes that some people will direct more of their Isa money into stocks and shares Isas, igniting the UK stock market Jeannette Meyers, a 71-year-old widow from Ashford in Kent, has cash Isas with the likes of Kent Reliance, Lloyds and Nationwide and uses as much of the annual allowance as she can afford. My late husband worked for the Inland Revenue, says Jeannette, and he always said he was determined that his employer would not be able to get its hands on our savings. So, we saved in Tax-Exempt Special Savings Accounts [the precursor to cash Isas] when they were launched some 30 years ago and jumped on board the cash Isa train when they replaced Tessas in 1999. She describes cash Isas as a vital component in the financial armoury of savers young and old alike. I use them to meet occasional household repairs or to supplement my income, she adds. Equally, I have a young friend who is saving to buy a home with her husband. Much of that money is going into cash Isas. A reduction in the annual allowance would make that goal more difficult. Yesterday, Money Mail asked the Treasury specific questions about the reform of cash Isas: Is an announcement likely to be made in the Chancellors spring statement on March 26 or as part of the Governments Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy, due to report at about the same time? Will existing cash Isas remain intact? Or will the focus be on reducing the annual cash Isa allowance? Will any changes come into force from April 6 this year, or next? Finally, does the Chancellor understand that if cash saving in an Isa is reduced, it will have repercussions on the ability of banks and building societies to provide funding for the mortgage market? It responded with a comment from the Chancellor: Its really important that we support people to save, to achieve their aspirations. 'At the moment, there is a 20,000 [Isa] limit on what you can put into either cash or equities, but we want to get that balance right. I do want to create more of a culture in the UK of retail investing, like what you have in the United States, to earn better returns to savers and to support the ambition to grow the economy, creating good jobs right across the UK. Readers, please pause for a moment, take a deep breath and read those last two paragraphs again. Especially those seven key words: We want to get that balance right. Those words only suggest one thing: Isa change is coming. So, for those of you who view cash as king, fill your boots with cash Isas while you can, before the end of the tax year on April 5 and then again in the new tax year. jeff.prestridge@dailymail.co.uk Building society bosses back our campaign Robin Feith: Chief exec Building Societies Association Were pleased that the Chancellor has confirmed that she is no longer considering scrapping cash Isas, but we urge her not to meddle with the savings limits on these accounts which are favoured by many Brits. Im puzzled to understand why there is an assumption that reducing the cash Isa limit will lead to a growth in UK investments. Firstly, most people who have a cash Isa are not prepared to take a risk with their hard-earned savings, so its unlikely that a lower cash Isa limit will see any growth in the amount people will put into a stocks & shares Isa. Secondly, only around 10 in every 100 invested in funds, including in stocks & shares Isas, are invested in UK companies. If the government wants to target capital for UK growth, perhaps a good starting point would be to look at how to reverse the increasing proportion of investments going overseas. I fully appreciate that investing in stocks and shares will be an appropriate choice for individuals to help achieve their longer-term financial goals. But the focus should be on education, allowing individuals to make informed savings choices based on their needs and risk appetite, not restricting their choice. We hope the Chancellor will offer us the same courtesy given to the investment and fund managers - and meet with us to hear the other side of this important debate. Stuart Haire: Chief exec, Skipton Group I agree with the governments ambition in wanting more people to have longer-term savings and investment plans in place. However, I do not agree that changes to cash Isas will help achieve this. If the governments logic is that in reducing the amount people can save into a cash Isa, then peoples appetite to risk will change and their access to advice and guidance will suddenly improve then they are mistaken. This is the wrong medicine for the problem. Whats needed is a change in consumer behaviour thats driven by savers having far better access to and confidence in financial advice. Theres a financial advice gap in this country and consumer behaviour and attitude to risk will only change with support and guidance readily available to all. Paul Denton: Chief exec, Scottish Building Society We believe the UK government should maintain and protect cash Isas rather than restrict them. Investing in stocks & shares Isas wont be for everyone indeed, many of our savers have told us they want to be able to access their money quickly and there are also some who do not have enough savings to put their money at risk. We know from research recently published by the BSA that an overwhelming majority of cash Isa savers 90 per cent - said its important to them that they get back at least the amount they have saved or invested. Thats a guarantee that only comes with cash Isa savings. Placing restrictions on them runs the risk that savers might put their money into non-Isa accounts rather than stocks & shares Isas, which could increase peoples tax liability. The money saved in cash Isas is far from dormant it is used by building societies to fund mortgage lending. Thats why any changes will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on mortgage customers, making it more expensive to borrow money. We know that young people in particular are struggling to get their foot on the property ladder and an increase to mortgage bills will only make this harder. Supporting growth in the UK economy is in all our best interests, but this is complex and requires careful consideration. Safeguarding savings has implications far into the future. Chris Hunter: Deputy chief exec, Darlington Building Society The Isa market is of critical importance for the building society sector, in particular for regional based societies with a less diverse funding base. Larger providers have access to broader wholesale market options which means they can access alternative funding to Isas. Darlington is 100 per cent retail funded. This means we source all of our funding for our mortgage book from savings accounts. Isas represent 365million 40 per cent of our savings accounts. This effectively funds the mortgage market, in particular first-time buyers and home movers, fuelling the economy and providing a valuable source of tax revenue for HM Treasury through stamp duty. Last year, we saw 110million pour into Isas. If the allowance dropped to 4000 a year, potentially up to 80million of retail savings inflows would be lost, which would have a profound impact on us being able to fund first time buyer mortgages. Lee Raybould: Group chief financial officer, Coventry Building Society Restricting cash Isa is a fundamentally bad idea. 'Its bad for the millions of savers who will keep saving their cash rather than take the higher risks of investing in shares - and pay more tax on their hard-earned savings as a result. We urge the Chancellor to spend more time listening to savers as our members would soon tell her how deeply unpopular a change to cash Isas would be. Check the best cash Isa rates in our savings tables Direct Lines boss yesterday refused to discuss his future at the insurance firm as it prepares to be taken over by larger rival Aviva. Adam Winslow said he had his mind on the job at hand as he hailed progress in turning around a business he has only led since last March. Im focused on running this business as an independent, standalone business, he told the Mail, in his first public comments about his future since Avivas takeover was agreed before Christmas. He added: Weve made really good progress, weve got a ton of opportunity and therefore focusing on the things we can control and influence is the mindset I have and the mindset the business has. He said he enjoyed the job and unless and until it changes, thats my primary and total focus. He added: Ive got real pride in my colleagues and their performance last year. My focus is on performance, the business results and the turnaround and thats how I think about things on a day to day basis. Uncertainty: Direct Line boss Adam Winslow said he had his mind on the job as at hand as he hailed progress in turning around a business he has only led since last March The deal with Aviva has cast doubt over Winslows future. Asked if he had spoken to Aviva boss Amanda Blanc about whether he could continue in the role, he said: Thats not something I can answer. Annual results published yesterday showed Direct Line swung to a 205million operating profit for 2024, up from a 190million loss in 2023. But the group is on course to be swallowed up by Aviva later this year after agreeing in December to a 3.7billion takeover. Winslow said that despite the deal which still awaits shareholder and regulatory approval the company must continue its turnaround plan. He said yesterday: While we need to plan appropriately for this potential takeover, we need to make sure we dont take our foot off the accelerator when it comes to delivering business change. Winslows innovations include the decision to offer the Direct Line brand on price comparison websites for the first time a move that the business had previously long resisted though its other brands such as Churchill were available on the sites. Direct Line shares fell 0.8 per cent. The boss of the movie maker behind Paddington in Peru has said it has no regrets about listing on the London stock market despite a sharp decline in its share price. But Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada also admitted he did not expect the shares to be this low. The Paris-based media giant made its debut in London at 290p per share on December 16 but since then the stock has fallen and stood at 171p last night, down nearly 16 per cent so far this year. Despite the decline, which was partially attributed to French shareholders exiting the business after it was spun out from parent firm Vivendi, Saada said Canal+ has no regrets about its listing choice. And he said new investors from the UK and the US were appearing on its register. The French film studio posted its first set of results since listing, reporting a loss of 27million for 2024 compared to a 146million profit the previous year. Sales, meanwhile, rose 3.6 per cent to 5.3billion. One of the biggest class action lawsuits in English legal history will enter its final stages today in a make-or-break moment for the law firm facing down mining giant BHP. London-based Pogust Goodhead (PG) is locked in a high-stakes battle in the High Court with the Anglo-Australian digger over the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil, which killed 19 people and contaminated waterways and land spanning several villages in 2015. The class action is estimated to be worth 36billion, with PG having recruited 620,000 people alongside around 2,000 businesses and several local Brazilian authorities to sue BHP. PG has argued the miner is liable for the collapse of the dam. BHP has disputed this. Closing arguments begin as PG faces doubts about its future should judges not rule in its favour. The firm is backed by US investment manager Gramercy, which provided 500million to help fund the case. Should PG succeed, it will reportedly receive up to 30 per cent of the proceeds, allowing the US firm to more than make back its investment. Labour was yesterday urged to use a multi-billion pound increase in defence spending to boost UK industry as governments across Europe face up to the need to rearm. Stephen Phipson, head of manufacturing trade body Make UK, said a pledge to increase Britains defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP should focus on building sovereign capability making weapons at home rather than importing them. Governments have responded to the seismic shift in Americas military relationship with its allies under Donald Trump raising fears that Washington will no longer come to their aid. Those fears deepened yesterday as it emerged that the US was pausing military aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen unveiled plans for a massive rise in defence spending across the EU that could mobilise up to 660billion over coming years. It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined plans to add 6billion a year to the defence budget as it climbs from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2027. Going nuclear: The BAE submarine factory in Barrow-in-Furness. Labour was yesterday urged to use a multi-billion pound increase in defence spending to boost UK industry Spending is intended to rise further, to 3 per cent of GDP, in the next Parliament. The British and European moves have resulted in defence stocks surging. Phipson told Make UKs conference in London that the Government must use the extra funds to cement Britains position as a global leader in the defence sector. As war rages on in Europe due to the barbaric invasion of Ukraine by Russia, it has highlighted that we must do more as a country to ensure that we have the capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies, he said. The UK has some world leading manufacturers in the defence sector. 'With defence rightly being identified as one of the priority sectors of the UK economy, we must start to capitalise on our research and innovation capabilities to make sure that the defence sector is leading the way globally for years to come. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the conference that she wished to fire up Britains industrial base to increase arms production and would seek changes to military procurement rules to speed up delivery times. She said Labour was making defence a cornerstone of our industrial strategy to create jobs, drive growth and meet emerging global threats head on. Former Rolls-Royce boss Warren East told the BBC that industry would have trouble ramping up supply chains and recruiting engineers and needed to boost investment. The owner of Boots could be sold to private equity for almost 8billion within days raising questions over the future of the pharmacy chain. New York-listed Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns the high street firm as well as US group Walgreens, is close to finalising a takeover deal with buyout group Sycamore Partners. An announcement could be made as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg. After the takeover, Sycamore will reportedly split Boots into a separate company, as well as spinning off US pharmacy chains Walgreens and Shields Health Solutions. There are hopes that the British chemist, which merged with Walgreens in 2014, could end up joining the London stock market in a boost to the bourse amid a dearth of listings. Analysts believe Boots which has around 1,800 shops is attractive to buyers after enjoying bumper sales in recent months. Jonathan De Mello, boss of the JDM Retail Consultancy, said: This acquisition would no doubt lead to them selling or more likely taking public, Boots. Buy out: Boots-owner New York-listed Walgreens Boots Alliance is close to finalising a takeover deal with buyout group Sycamore Partners Boots has performed well over the past few years and is a leaner business overall now with fewer stores and staff, and no pension scheme liability. A stock market listing of Boots could potentially be quite attractive for investors at this point. Retail analyst Nick Bubb called Boots very floatable after a boom in the health and the beauty market after the pandemic. Speculation over the future of Boots has been building in recent years. Back in 2022, Walgreens abandoned a sale and said no one made an adequate offer. Private equity giants Apollo, TDR Capital and Sycamore were thought to have made pitches. In November 2023, Boots sold its pension scheme to asset management giant Legal & General for 4.8billion, which paved the way for a potential takeover. The deal, which was one of the largest of its kind, means it will be easier to sell. Should Boots which started out as a family herbal medicine shop in Nottingham in 1849 return to the UK markets, it would be a much-needed vote of confidence. Walgreens hopes to turn around the fortunes of its US stores, which have struggled to compete with rivals on prescription drug sales. The shares, which have been public since 1927, soared more than 7 per cent yesterday. European stock markets slammed into reverse yesterday as Donald Trumps tariffs fuelled fears of a damaging global trade war. On a brutal day, the FTSE 100 retreated from the record high set the previous day, falling 1.3 per cent, or 112.31 points, to 8759. The FTSE 250 slipped 2.1 per cent, or 431.79 points, to 19,950.5. The losses were mirrored on the Continent with the Dax down 3.5 per cent in Frankfurt, the FTSE MIB off 3.4 per cent in Milan and the CAC sliding 1.9 per cent in Paris. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 2.1 per cent lower its worst day since August 2024 with car makers among the worst hit. Wall Street also opened with heavy losses but recovered slightly later in the day. At the same time, Brent crude fell towards $70 a barrel as the Opec+ cartel of oil producing nations agreed to increase output. Trump effect: The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 2.1% lower its worst day since August 2024 with car makers among the worst hit The turmoil on global markets came after the US presidents swingeing tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China took effect and all three countries said they would retaliate. Danni Hewson at trading platform AJ Bell said: Donald Trump always said that he found the word tariff to be the most beautiful word in the dictionary. He promised that a Trump presidency would put tariffs at the heart of its economic strategy, but he still managed to leave investors with a big enough question mark for a significant post-election market bounce. That bounce is gone, with investors globally feeling more than a little shell-shocked. MPs are under mounting pressure to launch an inquiry into HSBC amid growing outrage over its blocking of pension savings owed to British nationals from Hong Kong. In a letter to be sent to the head of the House of Commons business committee Liam Byrne, campaigners are demanding executives answer questions about withholding nearly 1billion from people who fled to escape a crackdown by Chinese authorities. Rights group Hong Kong Watch said the bank raises serious concerns about the ability of UK-based financial institutions to operate independently and in accordance with British financial regulations, adding it was also a question of whether UK-based institutions remain accountable to British law rather than foreign political directives. Several MPs, including members of the Treasury and foreign affairs committees, want the bank called in for questioning. HSBC has said a legal barrier prevents it paying out the cash but this is disputed by campaigners and MPs. Foxtons has more to do to improve life at work, the estate agent chains chief executive said after it was rocked by sexual harassment claims. Guy Gittins said a respectful and inclusive culture is of the utmost importance after it was plunged into scandal. His comments followed reports that male employees had groped, sexually propositioned, and sent explicit texts to junior female colleagues. Staff at the London property broker also made racist and anti-Semitic jibes, a Bloomberg investigation found. And Foxtons was accused of having a culture of heavy drinking and drink-driving. The probe uncovered incidents where staff had driven Foxtons green, branded Mini Coopers while under the influence. Claims: Foxtons chief exec Guy Gittins (pictured) said a respectful and inclusive culture is of the utmost importance, -just days after it was plunged into scandal One worker said she had been injured when a drunk colleague crashed the car as he gave her a lift home. Gittins, who started his career at Foxtons before stints with rivals Savills and Chestertons, rejoined as chief executive in 2022. He vowed to bring back the fun and reinvigorate the sales culture. Foxtons chairman Nigel Rich backed Gittins yesterday, saying he had been instrumental in changing the workplace. Foxtons has 50 branches in London and the Home Counties and around 1,300 staff. Gittins said the company had introduced mandatory annual respect and inclusion training, and strengthened its equality, diversity and inclusion policies and whistleblowing processes. There has been a 25 per cent increase in female managers over the last two years and a 12 per cent increase in employee retention rates, he said. While progress has been made, we recognise there is more we can and should do, Gittins said. Bloomberg spoke to current and former employees, mainly junior female staff, who said they had faced unwanted physical contact, requests for sex or other explicit and offensive comments over a four-year period. Thirteen described racism or anti-Semitism and 16 claimed heavy drinking and drink- driving happened regularly. And the majority said they had been ignored when they reported the behaviour, which took place between 2021 and the end of 2024. Gittinss comments yesterday came as Foxtons reported an 11 per cent rise in revenues in 2024 to 164million, while profit soared 121 per cent to 17.5million. Delays: Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinskys EP Group, struck a deal to buy Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services last year The 3.6billion takeover of the owner of Royal Mail by the Czech Sphinx is set to be delayed due to a political crisis in Romania. Daniel Kretinskys EP Group, which struck a deal to buy Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS) last year, said the only regulatory bar to be cleared relates to its foreign direct investment in Romania. While there are no major issues expected and talks to gain authorities approval are progressing well, it predicts clearance will only come in time to see the deal complete in the second quarter of 2025. EP Group had hoped to complete the takeover this month. Kretinsky dubbed the Czech Sphinx needs to clear the regulatory hurdle in Romania because part of his business operates there. Romania is in turmoil after a presidential election was cancelled amid claims of Russian interference. Kretinskys deal was cleared in the UK last year, and would mean the 509-year-old service passes into foreign ownership. Donald Trump has not only ordered the suspension of arms transfers to Ukraine but has also halted the Pentagons supply of intelligence critical to countering Russias offensive. The decision was confirmed on Wednesday by CIA Director John Ratcliffe in an interview with Fox News. On Monday, reports emerged that the U.S. president had instructed a halt on the delivery of weapons still pending from former president Joe Bidens administration. However, it was unclear whether intelligence sharing with Kyiv would continue. The latest revelation is a serious blow to Ukraine, as both its military and political leaders have acknowledged that U.S. intelligence is perhaps the most vital support the country has received in its fight against the invasion. Ratcliffe explained that Trump made the decision following a heated exchange between the president, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 28 at the White House. On the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen [Zelenskiy issued a statement assuring that he would work under Trumps leadership to achieve peace], will go away and well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression thats there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward, said the CIA director. Speaking to reporters at the White House, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz confirmed the move. The United States has taken a step back, the senior official said, to review all aspects of its intelligence ties with Ukraine. Waltz, however, has left the door open to rebuilding the relationship with Kyivand potentially reversing recent decisions by indicating that Washington is in contact with its theoretical ally to progress toward an economic agreement on Ukraines natural resources and a potential peace deal with Russia. I think were going to see movement in very short order, Donald Trumps top foreign policy advisor told reporters. In side comments, on Fox News, Waltz added: I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause. Waltzs comments, along with Ratcliffes announcement, came just hours after Trump boasted in his speech to both houses of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night that Zelenskiy had sent him a contrite thank-you message, following the Oval Office confrontation that sparked the crisis. In the messagedescribed by Trump as a letter, but also posted by Zelenskiy on social media the Ukrainian president argued: Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. He also praised Trumps strong leadership and reaffirmed his willingness to negotiate with Russia, according to Trump. In his Fox Business interview, Ratcliffe also hinted at the possibility of restoring aid. Ukrainian authorities are proceeding with caution. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that they had not observed any disruption in U.S. aid, a position echoed by Ukrainian government sources in comments to Bloomberg on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Ukraines General Staff and Air Force leadership told EL PAIS that they could not confirm whether there had been a reduction in intelligence sharing from NATO or the U.S. Ukraine receives daily intelligence from the U.S. on enemy movements whether from NATOs European command or directly from the Pentagon. This includes critical data on Russian bomber takeoffs, the locations of military logistics centers, and troop movements. On Tuesday, the state news agency Ukrinform warned in an analysis that among all the potential losses from a prolonged U.S. blockade, the most damaging would be that no one will be monitoring Russia 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is unclear exactly what information Kyiv may have stopped receiving, but Sky News, citing unnamed sources in the Ukrainian military, reported that the Pentagon is no longer providing documentation on military targets within Russian territory. On Tuesday, British media also revealed, through anonymous sources, that the White House had asked the U.K. not to share with Ukraine intelligence on Russia provided to London by the Pentagon. Ratcliffes announcement has come as a surprise in Ukraine, as it comes just hours after Zelenskiy made a public show of support for Trumps leadership on social media. The Ukrainian president declared his commitment to President Trumps strong leadership to achieve a lasting peace and even proposed a partial ceasefire with Russia. He also notably omitted his previous demand that the U.S. guarantee future defense measures in exchange for Ukraines willingness to negotiate a ceasefire with Russian President Vladimir Putin. These security guarantees were at the heart of the tense meeting between Zelenskiy and Trump on February 28, with the U.S. president refusing to commit to any specific military aid. On Wednesday, Zelenskiy spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by phone. We all want a safe future for our people, he said after the call. Not a temporary ceasefire, but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and U.S. leadership, this is entirely achievable. His public shift in tone aligns with what he himself said in February: We will have low chance to survive without support of the United States. Ratcliffe argued that Zelenskiys change in position was a direct consequence of the pause in U.S. in both military aid and intelligence sharing. The CIA director expressed confidence that the suspension would be lifted, particularly after the letter Zelenskiy sent to Trump. On Tuesday, during his speech before Congress, the U.S. president revealed that he had received a letter from the Ukrainian leader expressing regret over their disagreements and reiterating his willingness to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible and under his strong leadership. The U.S. has provided between 32% and 40% of Ukraines military capabilities throughout the three-year war, playing a crucial role in its air defense systems, artillery, aviation components, precision missiles, and communications infrastructure. Additionally, Starlink the satellite internet company of Trump ally Elon Musk remains a vital communications lifeline for thousands of Ukrainian units on the front lines, as well as for the navigation of their drones. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition On Wednesday, a surprising technological breakthrough was presented: the oldest bone tools ever discovered. Nearly 30 knives, some up to 40 centimeters long, were carved by our ancestors 1.5 million years ago in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Led by Madrid archaeologist Ignacio de la Torre, the team behind the find believes that this new set of tools, made from an unusual material, represents a qualitative leap in the cognitive abilities of Homo erectus, the ancestor of our species, Homo sapiens. The first knife was uncovered in 2015. It was a dark, pointed object that appeared to have been deliberately sharpened. De la Torre, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and co-director of the excavations with Jackson Njau from Indiana University, initially doubted it could be a human tool. However, in 2018, the team uncovered several more knives. They were larger, with more pronounced edges and points. Suddenly, it was crystal clear, recalls De la Torre. The discovery was published Wednesday in Nature, a leading journal in the world of science. These are humanitys first knives, says the 48-year-old CSIC researcher. Until now, the oldest known bone tools were from half a million years ago and had been found in Europe and Asia. This new discovery, the study emphasizes, sheds new light on the almost unknown world of early hominin bone technology. All the daggers have a single serrated edge, sharpened with stones, and a pointed tip for stabbing. Much like the knives in our own kitchens today, many of them are blunt from use. A person holds one of the tools found in Tanzania. CSIC The first thing that surprises observers when handling one of these knives is its weight, which can reach up to 1.7 kilos. This is partly due to the fact that the bone has fossilized and turned into stone. Researchers rule out the possibility that these remains could simply be bones that were broken unintentionally. Under a microscope, the marks left by the stone hammers used to sharpen them are unmistakable, they argue. Researchers have also attempted to recreate these tools using Yoyo, an African elephant that died in 2024 at the Barcelona Zoo, one of the oldest of its species. The animal was skinned and prepared for conservation as a scientific specimen by paleoanthropologists from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) in Tarragona. These experimental knives, carved from Yoyos humeri and femurs in the Olduvai style, are lighter, weighing about one kilo, and provide insight into what the original weapons may have been like, though the research is still ongoing. The Tanzanian site is located by an ancient waterhole, where hominids likely found dead gazelles and hippos. However, most of the knives are made from elephant bone, which is harder than that of other large mammals, suggesting that hominids may have transported them from elsewhere. The new tools coincide with one of humanitys earliest technological revolutions. From about 2.5 million to 1.5 million years ago, our species technology primarily consisted of small stone chips sharpened by blows to cut meat. This period marked the emergence of the Acheulean tool, a new concept based on heavier stones that functioned as hand axes. These tools made it easier to break bones down to the marrow a rich source of calories to fuel an expanding brain. The new findings complement the technological repertoire of the time, adding long knives that provided Homo erectus with an adaptive advantage. Homo erectus was the first human species with a wingspan similar to modern humans and a brain of significant size. They were the first to leave Africa and reach Europe, where they gave rise to native species like Homo antecessor from Atapuerca, in Burgos, and the Neanderthals, the species closest to us. They also ventured into Asia, where they survived until as recently as 100,000 years ago, making them the longest-lived human species on Earth. In 2019, De la Torre received a prestigious 2.5 million grant from the European Union to investigate the cultural and biological adaptations of the humans who led these early migrations. With the new collection of bone tools preserved in his laboratory in the basement of the Center for Social and Human Sciences in Madrid, he believes he now has part of the answer before him. A selection of the nearly 30 bone knives found in Tanzania. Claudio Alvarez These bone tools were carved following an established pattern, suggesting a deep knowledge of anatomy and an understanding of which bones were suitable for such use. According to the dating, the tools were crafted over the course of several years, explains De la Torre. This implies that knowledge was transmitted between individuals to create a technology that not only helped them survive, but also allowed them to defend themselves and conquer new territories. While these humans were likely not yet hunting, it seems clear that they were capable of scaring off any competitors to access the carcasses, De la Torre explains. The Olduvai Gorge has geological and climatic conditions that are ideal for preserving fossils. However, these may not be the only knives of their kind. The CSIC researcher believes similar tools may have gone unnoticed at other sites. One of his future goals is to review existing archives in search of new bone knives. There may be more; we shouldnt rule it out, agrees paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, co-director of Atapuerca. The scientist, who was not involved in the study, explains: Before these 1.5-million-year-old findings, only a few loose, unmodified tools were known, such as the use of horns to extract termites from their nests, dating back around two million years. This study highlights the existence of systematic manufacturing, similar to what was already observed with stone tools, like double-edged axes, he adds. The research develops a methodology to identify this type of tool, which could be applied to other sites, he concludes. Archaeologist Jordi Rosell recalls the ellipsis that encapsulates the entire history of human evolution in less than five minutes. A hominid grabs a long bone and realizes he can use it as a weapon. He then throws it into the air, and it transforms into a spaceship. This is the opening scene of Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Ten years earlier, Australian anthropologist Raymond Dart had theorized about osteodontokeratic culture. The term referred to the use of bones, teeth, and horns to make tools, with which Australopithecus prometheus, a possible human ancestor living in Africa 3.6 million years ago, was already capable of hunting. The bone, Rosell reasons, could have been the first weapon an idea he values in light of the new discovery. Until now, only double-edged axes made of elephant bone were known. These new findings reveal a much more varied spectrum than we had thought. Im convinced that these hominids could hunt and combined this skill with scavenging. We know they were often the first to reach the carcasses. We assumed the animals were already dead, but what if they were the ones who killed them? he concludes. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Many of the greatest discoveries have come through chance, although serendipity generally goes to those who work for it. Matthew Eroglu and his research group at the University of Toronto were beginning to study cancer signalling pathways when something strange happened that turned the whole focus of the research on its head. The worms they were using, normally hermaphrodites that reproduce without difficulty, began to become more feminine with each generation until they ended up being sterile. Surprised at something they had never seen before, they shifted all their efforts to investigate what was causing this inherited effect, explains Eroglu. Their work of the following years led to further and even greater surprises. The effect on the worms was due to something that was being inherited and accumulated in the offspring, yet had nothing to do with any nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) or anything related to them, representing a break with what was known until then about animals. That something and this was the final surprise turned out to be proteins with an amyloid structure and prion properties, similar to those that accumulate in Alzheimers plaques, which could be passed from generation to generation and multiply over time, vampirizing their neighbors. The research was featured on the cover of the journal Nature Cell Biology. For Tanya Vavouri, group leader at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, an expert in epigenetic processes and their transmission who was not involved in this work, it is a very good study that reveals a new mechanism of inheritance. It is very novel. Although the new finding has not yet been studied or tested in humans, according to Eroglu, this is an additional mechanism on top of genes that could explain part of our missing heritability, that is to say, the fact that several traits (such as height or intelligence) and diseases (such as diabetes, neurological disorders or some types of cancer, among others) behave in a more hereditary way than genes have been able to explain until now. Brent Derry, Eroglus supervisor, is even more forceful. To him, the discovery changes what we think about the field entirely. The path of research: a tour de force Caenorhabditis elegans is a transparent worm that lives for just three weeks, reproduces very easily and is the star of many laboratories around the world. More than 99% of them are hermaphrodites that follow a peculiar cycle: when they are larvae, their first 150 sexual cells become sperm; right after that, the remaining half will become female oocytes. When Eroglu and his group deactivated the genes they initially wanted to study, they observed that the number of offspring decreased with each generation, even disappearing altogether if they were raised with a little heat, something that creates a certain amount of stress for these creatures. Curiously, each generation produced fewer sperm and more oocytes, until finally they only produced the latter. The hermaphrodite worms had become feminized, and this was not something that was transmitted genetically and normally: the changes accumulated, they also occurred with heat in normal, unmodified worms although in a milder way, because they continued to produce some sperm and they were also reversible, as they regressed if the worms were raised at slightly lower temperatures. It was a form of epigenetic inheritance added to that of the genes. Epigenetics can be broadly defined as marks or changes that affect the behavior of genes and can be passed on to daughter cells but do not alter the DNA sequence. And they revolve around the two nucleic acids. When researchers began their almost endless battery of experiments, however, they were unable to identify anything known to play a role. They only observed one apparent difference, and that was the key. Under a microscope, the feminized worms contained autofluorescent green dots like glowing blobs, according to Eroglu, which grew generation after generation. They called them herasomes, and inside them was the key to the mechanism: they contained proteins folded in amyloid-like structures, similar to those that accumulate in patients with Alzheimers disease (although not the same ones). When they were given substances that hindered their formation, the effect was reduced. When they were injected with amyloids from feminized worms, the animals reproduced the same process and transmitted it for several generations. It was enough to cause the effect. It is the simplest model that explains the observations, Eroglu concludes. Amyloid proteins can be very different, but they are named after a certain structure they form when they fold. And they have a very peculiar characteristic: they have the potential to multiply by infecting other similar proteins with which they come into contact. This vampirization is the way prions, which are essentially another type of amyloid protein, spread. Although their reputation is terrifying, their characteristics also allow them to play important roles, such as in the storage of hormones or possibly also in the formation of memory. And, as Harvard University professor Craig P. Hunter writes in a text about the new discovery: In the same way as DNA, amyloids replicate themselves using themselves as a model, which makes them ideal carriers of acquired, inheritable information. This, which had been seen in yeast, is now being confirmed for the first time in much more complex animals. How do they achieve this particular effect on sex? Apparently, amyloids can ultimately upset the ratio of two proteins that are key to the development of sex cells and that normally alternate in the life of the worm like a seesaw. The first produces sperm, and the second produces oocytes. Once the movement is broken, it will only produce the latter. The picture on the cover of the magazine in which the article was published was the phone background Eroglu had on his mobile device for years: a shot he took himself of a worm at the moment it switches from making sperm to making eggs. As his university put it, a perfect metaphor for his discovery. While researching one thing, he discovered another. What is its evolutionary value? Does it occur in humans? The vast majority of these worms reproduce by themselves, in a hermaphroditic manner. When the environment becomes stressful or threatening, it can be beneficial to change this routine: if instead of being self-sufficient, they breed with others, they increase the diversity in their genes and with it the possibilities of finding responses to the new threat. In this case, the accumulation of amyloids feminizes the worms to a greater or lesser extent by making them produce less sperm, urging them to mate with the males they find. It would be a type of adaptation similar to that suggested by Lamarck, the naturalist for whom evolution occurred through changes that organisms generated when adapting and then transmitted like giraffes stretching their necks, and not by chance and Darwinian selection. Epigenetics has offered Lamarck a posthumous glimmer of hope, albeit of relative value. Nature seems to conspire against him and tends to erase most of these types of marks when the daughter organisms are formed. And it does so especially in animals like us, which also take many years to reproduce and not a few weeks like worms, giving time for the possible marks to fade away. In reality, there are very few reports of such changes transmitted to humans, and they are still being questioned. Some of the best-known works are those that found metabolic changes in the grandchildren of those who suffered a great famine in the Netherlands during World War II. For Vavouri, however, although there is an epidemiological observation, the mechanisms that cause them have not yet been proven. Possible epigenetic changes transmitted after Holocaust trauma have also been publicized, but these studies have been criticized for their methods and interpretations, and their biological significance seems irrelevant. There are many factors that can influence and confuse this type of study where the psychological comes into play, explains Vavouri. Moreover, the differences are very small and their significance is difficult to accept. However, the problem of missing heritability remains, the fact that the letters in genes do not explain part of the inheritance pattern observed for many traits or diseases. Could amyloid proteins be the door that helps to close this knowledge gap? Eroglu admits that it is not known what could cause the accumulation of these proteins or whether they play a role in us, but he also points out that amyloid aggregates have been observed in human oocytes, although we do not know what they do or what their relevance might be, and that at least one group is investigating whether this amyloid inheritance occurs in rats. This group is led by Gail Cornwall, a researcher at the University of Texas. Asked about this work and its implications, she says that she was excited. Amyloid proteins are an ideal mechanism for organisms to try out new phenotypes [observable traits] before genetically modifying them. One might think that nature would not eliminate such a powerful adaptation mechanism in higher organisms, she explains by email. For Vavouri, however, there are many examples in nature where what may seem logical does not happen in reality. Without going any further, scientists think of many logical hypotheses that are later not confirmed. It is interesting to investigate, but we still do not know if it happens in humans or even in mammals or what it could mean. For the researcher it is a mechanism that already has value even if it is not tested in humans. The world is much bigger than us and this type of discovery could even affect us in other ways. According to Eroglu, none of this contradicts the fact that genes determine the vast majority of inheritance. However, there are traits that are not fully explained by variation in their sequence. In the universitys press release, he adds: Theres this alternate inheritance mechanism on top of DNA. Who knows what you could do? Could we discover something that, in fact, doesnt change sex but changes some other traits? Or predict diseases that we couldnt base on DNA alone? The final paragraph of their paper, albeit with caveats, was accepted by the journals editors, and reads: The major implication of this is that stably heritable proteins may act as a reservoir of yet unexplored phenotypic modifiers that are independent of gene sequence, a potential source of missing heritability. Though speculative, the breadth of familial traits associated with amyloid perturbations that largely cannot be attributed to genomic sequence variation (for example, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the autism spectrum) is suggestive of this notion. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition 'Distracted boyfriend,' one of the most popular memes and used for all types of messages, including extremist ones. Memes are not just a simple game of images and text, with more or less irony or grace. According to the Institute for Digital Safety and Behaviour (IDSB) of the University of Bath in the UK, they are the main internet language for communicating narratives in simple, shareable formats, cultural representations that unite and involve groups. But this popular communication tool is not harmless. According to a study by the British institution, published in Social Media and Society, for the most extremist communities and subscribers to conspiracy theories, they are essential for sharing and spreading their vision of the world, strengthening ties and transmitting deceptions: wolves in sheeps clothing in online communication. For Limor Shifman, professor of communication and journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of Memes in Digital Culture (MIT Press), these creations are units of culture that spread from person to person and reflect general social mindsets in an accessible and emotionally resonant way. This quick-to-digest message characteristic is especially relevant, according to IDSB research, in communities where conspiracy theories are rife, where users feel they are interacting with others like themselves, as like-minded alternative thinkers. These communities attribute social events to hidden plots and the manipulative power of a shadowy elite. In revealing what is really going on, members position themselves as an enlightened minority, in stark contrast to the uninformed majority epitomized by the general population, the researchers explain. And it is in this context that memes are most effective: Given their ability to distill and communicate narratives, internet memes likely play a significant role, reflecting and thus reinforcing the collective understandings or conspiracist worldview of community members. Emily Godwin, lead author of the paper, details this conclusion: Memes play an important role in reinforcing the culture of online conspiracy theorist communities. Members gravitate toward memes that validate their conspiratorial worldview and become an important part of their narrative. Their simple, shareable format allows for the rapid spread of harmful beliefs. Meme of a woman yelling at a cat, one of the most recurrent, with a sexist message related to the coronavirus. Contrary to what one might imagine, their ability to transmit does not depend on their originality, but quite the opposite. In fact, during the research, the 20 most-used memes were identified, among which NPC or Wojak (a basic representation of a person with almost no features), Soyjaks versus Chads (two men facing each other), Lisa Simpson on the blackboard, a woman yelling at a cat, or the well-known man who turns around to look at a woman while walking arm-in-arm with another, stand out. The roles attributed to the characters and cultural representations are also repeated, which are summarized in a deceitful, selfish, and shadowy elite that manipulates the rest of society, a deluded and uninformed majority, and the superiority of the group as an enlightened minority committed to free thought and independent research. These representations not only multiply the message, but have the added effect of a cohesive element. As Godwin explains: General themes create a general framework of understanding that guides members through conversations about collective concerns. Because of this, they act as a balm for disagreements that arise, reducing the possibility of fracture over minor differences. This cohesion allows dangerous ideologies to take root and flourish. Another purpose of these messages is to attract new members, explains Brit Davidson, associate professor of analytics at IDSB and co-author of the study: The humor in memes is likely a key factor in attracting new members to these groups, including people who may not be aware of the full context and impact of the misinformation. The people most vulnerable to misinformation disguised as memes are the gullible, who are less able to recognize falsehoods, and the distrustful, who are more susceptible to conspiratorial thinking, according to a study published in PLOS Global Public Health by Michal Tanzer and a team from University College London. According to Tanzer, the basic principle is a concept she calls epistemic trust, which is the predisposition to consider what others communicate as meaningful and generalizable to other contexts. This model of trust bypasses the necessary verification and updating processes. Chloe Campbell, co-author of the study and from the same institution, warns that these conditions affect not only peoples capacity for psychological resilience, but also their social functioning. This blind trust in what is communicated is also evident in a study published in Nature Human Behavior by a team from Pennsylvania State University, which analyzed more than 35 million posts over three years on Facebook, although the patterns found are repeated on other social networks. The researchers found that around 75% of the content is shared without the re-sender even consulting the included link. Extreme political content, both right-wing and left-wing, is redistributed in this way more than neutral topics. It was a surprising and scary finding that more than 75% of the time, Facebook posts are shared without the user clicking through first, said S. Shyam Sundar, the papers lead author and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. I had assumed that if someone shared something, read it, and thought about it, they were supporting or even defending the content. You might expect that maybe some people would occasionally share content without thinking it through, but why are most reshares like this? Sundar himself offers an explanation: The reason this happens may be because people are simply bombarded with information and do not stop to think about it. In such an environment, misinformation has a greater chance of going viral. The study explores the sociocognitive processes associated with two of the most pressing global public health issues in the contemporary digital age: the alarming spread of fake news and the breakdown of collective trust in information sources. Our research seeks to explore the possible psychological mechanisms at work shaping individuals responses to public information, the authors note. The investigation included data from the fact-checking service Meta has suppressed in the United States following Donald Trumps return to the presidency. It identified 2,969 links to false content that were shared more than 41 million times, without being clicked on. There is a wealth of work on the forms and impacts of digital communication, and while the University of Bath researchers have focused on memes and the Pennsylvania researchers on Facebook, the British team admits that the field of digital expression is very broad and is considering adding to their work research on the role played by emojis, hashtags, online rituals and community-specific jargon the ingredients on the chopping board of disinformation. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition We've been talking about government cuts for weeks because that discussion is dominating the concern of MILLIONS of Americans . . . However . . . This local news items might have escaped social media feeds but still deserves attention . . . Check local gov garnering resources that have been DESPERATELY needed for years . . . Check-it: Platte County Secures $6.8 Million Federal Grant to Enhance MO Route AA/Waukomis Drive Platte County, MO Platte County has been awarded a $6.8 million federal grant to fund significant improvements to Missouri Route AA/Waukomis Drive, stretching from US 69 in Riverside to I-29. This transformative project aims to enhance safety, accessibility, and connectivity for residents and visitors by introducing new sidewalks, linking to regional trails, and improving access to local parks and businesses. The grant will reconstruct the existing roadbed originally constructed in the 1940s and modernize this key corridor, fostering better pedestrian and vehicular flow. The proposed improvement will be a two-lane complete street with curbs, sidewalks, modern street lights, and a stormwater conveyance system. The initiative reflects Platte Countys commitment to infrastructure development that supports economic growth and quality of life. For too long, Platte County hasnt fully leveraged its sales taxes to fund projects like this, said Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker. Securing this grant stretches our countys tax dollars further, allowing us to deliver safer roads, connected trails, and better access to parks and businesses without putting the full burden on our residents. Northmoor Mayor Lynda Wilson echoed the excitement, emphasizing the community impact. This grant is a game-changer for our area, Wilson said. New sidewalks and trail connections will make it easier for families to enjoy our parks and support our local businesses, all while keeping Northmoor a welcoming place to live and explore. Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2028 following final design and federal approvals, with Platte County officials working closely with state and federal partners to ensure timely completion. Further details on the project timeline and community input opportunities will be shared as they become available. ################## Developing . . . Tonight the feathered backstage antics of fashion icon, biz lady & eternal hottie Alessandra inspires our evening glimpse at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines for our fellow news junkies and Mardi Gras party people . . . Check TKC news gathering . . . Cowtown Storm Prep Tonight Experts share tips on preparing inside, outside of home ahead of storm, high winds Tuesday and Wednesday's weather conditions are making for their own March Madness event, but experts say there are precautions homeowners can take to make severe weather more bearable. Downtown Work Space Debuts Switchyards opening 'work club' in historic East Crossroads space: 'It's an absolute stunner' Think dive bar with deep focus, said Brandon Hinman, describing the "neighborhood work club" concept that Atlanta-based Switchyards is bringing to the East Crossroads this spring. It's a third-space workplace with no hot desks, standalone offices, or tiered memberships. Local Baller Return Trip Moustakas will sign 1-day deal, retire as Royal Veteran infielder Mike Moustakas, 36, the No. 2 pick in the 2007 amateur draft, will sign a one-day contract so that he can retire with Kansas City after spending 13 years in the majors and winning the World Series with the Royals in 2015. Jack Out Of The Box This national fast food chain closes multiple Kansas City area locations. Here's where A fast food restaurant serving burgers and fries shut down three KC area, Johnson County and Lee's Summit locations. Five spots remain open. Local Love Puppers Record-breaking 294 dogs adopted in five days at KC Pet Project After experiencing an overcrowding crisis, the KC Pet Project announced that a record-breaking number of dogs were adopted last week, giving nearly 300 animals the chance to live in loving homes. Angel Canoodles In Public Alessandra Ambrosio passionately smooches boyfriend Buck Palmer Alessandra Ambrosio enjoyed a passionate kiss with boyfriend Buck Palmer on Sunday as they enjoyed a night out in Los Angeles. MAGA Ignores Detractors 'Trust in Trump': President's supporters dismiss alarm bells from critics President Donald Trump's voters are upholding their confidence in his controversial actions even as some await moves on his populist economic promises Live MAGA Updates Tonight . . . Live updates: Trump's long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico go into effect President Donald Trump's long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States' North American allies. AOC Stays Home Tonight Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she will not attend Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York, said on Tuesday she would be sitting out President Donald Trump's address before a joint session of Congress. Progressives Fight For Future Stephen A. Smith Takes Blowtorch To Joy Behar's Suggestion That Trump Didn't Win 'Mandate' In 2024 ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took a blowtorch to "The View" co-host Joy Behar's suggestion that President Donald Trump did not win any "mandate." Battlefield Cutbacks The impact 'shocking' halt on US aid to Ukraine could have on war White House officials told ABC News the U.S. is "pausing and reviewing our aid." Holy Land Go Ahead?!? Retired US military leaders support letting Israel 'finish the job' against Iran, proxies More than 75 retired U.S. military commanders are calling on President Trump to let Israel "finish the job against the Iranian axis" and prevent the Islamic Republic from getting a nuclear bomb. Dirty Talk Crackdown Over 100 US intelligence staff fired over sexually explicit chats Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that more than 100 employees from across the intelligence community had been fired for using a secure government chat normally used to share sensitive information to participate in sexually explicit conversations. Local Soup Of The Day Don't Let Fake Spring Get Ya Down. Grab Pozole At These 5 Spots Instead. It may be snowing in March, but KC has no shortage of restaurants serving pozole. Here are 5 spots serving it. Another Weather Sneak Peek Kansas City weather: Blizzard-like conditions after midnight Rain will continue for the greater Kansas City region on Tuesday evening, but blizzard conditions are possible on Wednesday morning. And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. Or maybe not if controversy on campus takes hold amongst lawmakers. Here's the word . . . "The University of Kansas launched a new Trans Studies Initiative this school year to study questions of trans life and host events for LGBTQ students . . . The program, funded by a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, will partner with the schools Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity to organize social events and activities for LGBTQ students." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . New U. Kansas 'Trans Studies Initiative' advances 'ideological agenda,' conservative activist says | The College Fix New initiative 'just another example of how the left co-opts public institutions to advance their ideological agenda,' scholar says. Hat Tip: Heartlander Ontario Premier Doug Ford has ordered the LCBO to pull American-made products from its store shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on Canada that came into effect on March 4. In January, Ford threatened to retaliate against the proposed U.S. tariffs by removing American liquor from LCBO shelves. Hes making good on that promise. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW For consumers, it means finding a replacement for their Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon or SKYY Vodka. We contacted the LCBO to inquire about a list of Ontario-made products customers can try if their favourite product is removed from the shelf, or just to support a locally made liquor. Here are their recommendations, but store availability varies across the province: Gin Dixons Wicked Blueberry Gin, $41.95 Anticipate light notes of juniper and a hint of blueberry. Its medium-bodied and fruity with a long-lasting finish. Its best served with blueberry pie. Dillons Dry Gin $39.95 Expect moderately intense aromas and flavours of juniper, balsam, crisp pear and star anise on a dry, cleansing palate that finishes balanced and smooth. Georgian Bay Gin $35.95 The nose is fragrant with aromas of juniper and citrus while the palate is dry and flavourful with pine and fresh lemon layered over notes of cinnamon and cardamon. Whisky Kavi Reserve Coffee Blended Whisky $32.45 Going beyond your standard flavoured whisky, this is a nuanced flavour experience that will complement a variety of cocktail recipes or serve neat with chocolate-based desserts. Wolfhead Cinnamon Whisky $36.95 Wolfheads Cinnamon Whisky is pale gold, with spicy cinnamon on the nose, followed by caramelized sweet flavours and a warm finish. Dunrobin Canadian Whisky $44.95 A clear, pale amber whisky is a blend of wheat, corn, and rye, with clean and light aromas of butterscotch, caramel, burnt sugar and an undercurrent of cereal. Wayne Gretzky Double Barrel Oaked Whisky $37.95 Initial aromas of vanilla, clove, toffee and coconut are complemented by notes of charred oak, caramel and rye spice. Collingwood Whisky $33.95 Expect aromas of maple syrup, toasted cereal grain and caramel with complex flavours of roasted nuts and caramel balanced by citrus and a touch of spice followed by a warm mellow finish. JP Wisers Deluxe $32.45 An award-winning golden Canadian rye with aromas of sweet caramel, dried fruit and vanilla. Flavours of toasted grain, sweet cornmeal and vanilla are followed by a smooth, creamy finish. Forty Creek Barrel Select $32.85 The original pours a medium amber and offers complex aromas and flavours of apricots, caramel, spice, vanilla, ginger and toasted oak, ending in a long smooth finish. Canadian Club Premium $31.15 Pouring a medium gold you will find aromas of roasted almond, vanilla and pepper; with spicy vanilla, cornflakes and a faint nutty flavour on a medium weight palate with a long finish. Gibsons Finest, $34.95 Complex on the nose with lovely aromas of spicy oak, creme brulee and orange zest. Distilled in Windsor, with no additives. Vodka Flyte Vodka $31.15 Crystal clear and clean, with notes of citrus and vanilla on the nose. The palate is smooth, with a sweet note and anise and black pepper tones on the finish. Dillons Vodka $34.95 Look for aromas and flavours of flower, banana, white pepper, grain and spice. It is medium-bodied and spicy/sweet, with a viscous mouthfeel and a long, warming finish. Junction 56 Distillery Vodka $32.95 Using both corn and wheat for its base, the vodka is distilled to a high level of purity. The spirit shows aromas and flavours of citrus, pear and pepper with a silky mouthfeel and a hint of spice on the finish. Polar Ice Vodka $31.15 Crafted from the purest water and grains, quadruple distilled and triple filtered for a clean, smooth taste. Prince Igor Vodka $31.15 This premium vodka showcases subtle aromas and flavours while delivering a smooth and clean taste. Tag No. 5 Vodka $32.15 Craft vodka made from locally grown Ontario sweet corn giving it a distinct hint of sweetness followed by subtle notes of lemon zest, caramel, and black licorice. Top Shelf Vodka $34.15 It is light and fresh with a dry finish and rounded smoothness on the palate that makes it versatile for cocktails. There are also several independent craft distilleries throughout Ontario that make their own liquor. Take a day trip to visit a local distillery to inquire about their process and any limited edition products they may have available. For more details about whats available at an LCBO location near you, visit LCBO.com. With files by Mike Pearson Editors Note: This story has been updated from a previous version President Donald Trump will speak before a joint session of Congress this Tuesday night, in what will be his first address to both chambers since returning to office six weeks ago. He is expected to address the work he and his team have done during his first weeks in office, and at the end a Representative of the Democratic Party will have the opportunity to respond to his remarks. The event is scheduled for 9.00 pm ET and will be broadcast live on major networks and streaming platforms. Heres everything there is to know. What is the purpose of the speech? While it looks a lot like a State of the Union address, its not. It is an address to Congress in a joint session, which was first introduced by Ronald Reagan in 1981. This type of speech allows a newly elected or re-elected president to present his vision for the coming years without it being an official annual update. Trumps speech is expected to set the tone for his second term and highlight the first actions of his administration. What time and where to watch Trumps speech? Trumps speech will kick off at 9:00 pm ET. Although its exact length is unknown, his previous speeches to Congress have ranged from one hour to 80 minutes. The speech will be followed by the official Democratic response by Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin. Trumps speech will be available live across multiple platforms: Television: CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN and MSNBC will offer live coverage. Streaming: The speech will be available on YouTube through some news media channels. EL PAIS will have its own live stream. Radio: NPR and other major radio networks will offer live audio coverage. What will Trump talk about? The speech will focus on Trumps first six weeks in office, including the rapid policy changes of his administration. One of the main points will be the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, which has overseen massive layoffs in the federal workforce as part of an effort to reduce government spending. Democrats have invited several laid-off workers as guests to highlight the impact of these policies. Also expect Trump to address recent tariffs imposed on Canada, Mexico and China. These measures have caused turbulence in the stock markets and concerns about a trade war. Although Trump has portrayed these tariffs as essential to protect American jobs, businesses and economists have warned of the potential economic consequences. His speech will attempt to justify these actions as part of his broader economic vision. Likewise, the impact of his immigration policy will be discussed. The Trump administration has launched a broad anti-immigration campaign, which has significantly reduced illegal border crossings. However, its deportation goals have faced logistical hurdles, with overcrowded detention centers and staffing problems at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump is likely to highlight his successes as he pushes for more congressional support to advance his agenda. Foreign policy and Ukraine A major point of contention has been Trumps recent decision to pause all U.S. military aid to Ukraine. His administrations deteriorating relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, particularly after a recent meeting ended in a diplomatic fallout, will likely be addressed. Trumps stance on Ukraine has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, particularly after he referred to Zelenskiy as a dictator while refusing to apply the same label to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Democratic response Following Trumps speech, Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin will deliver the official Democratic rejoinder. She is expected to focus on economic concerns, criticize Trumps government downsizing and offer an alternative vision focused on unity and stability. Museum to offer art and science workshop for teens Photo by Stary Ant, Pexels Teen workshop participants will explore art techniques for representing the many patterns and colors of ice, such as these created by trapped bubbles, during this months UAMN ARTSci workshop on March 20. The University of Alaska Museum of the North will host a teen workshop exploring the art and science of ice on Thursday, March 20, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Participants will discover the beauty and science of ice and explore art techniques for representing its myriad patterns and colors. Museum educators will lead the workshop in partnership with John Smelter, artist and educator with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Fresh Eyes on Ice project. ARTSci workshops are open to teens from 13 to 18 years old. Preregistration is required. Visit the registration website for more information and to sign up. ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Jennifer Arseneau, 907-474-6948, ua-museumlearn@alaska.edu 192-25 HIROSHIMA - A Japanese court on Wednesday rejected a request to halt the operation of a nuclear reactor run by Shikoku Electric Power Co. in western Japan. In the lawsuit at the Hiroshima District Court, plaintiffs, including survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings, claimed there is a high likelihood of a serious accident at the Ikata plant's No. 3 reactor if an earthquake or volcanic eruption strikes the area. But Presiding Judge Kazumi Ohama said, "We cannot say that there are actual risks to harming the lives and bodies of the plaintiffs." The reactor, located on a narrow peninsula in Ehime Prefecture, was restarted in 2016 after clearing Nuclear Regulation Authority safety screenings based on stricter standards introduced following the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster in Fukushima Prefecture that caused a major nuclear accident. The number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit, first filed in 2016, totaled 337, including 38 survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "We believe the court accepted our arguments that the safety of the Ikata No. 3 unit has been secured," Shikoku Electric said, adding it will continue efforts to ensure safe operations. The plaintiffs argued the utility's risk assessment in the event of a Nankai Trough megaquake in the Pacific and a violent eruption of Mt. Aso in southwestern Japan is insufficient. Shikoku Electric said its evaluation is based on the government's projection of the largest possible earthquake and that a massive volcanic eruption is highly unlikely. Related coverage: Restart of Niigata idle nuclear reactor faces prolonged delay Court rules against suspension of nuclear units in southwestern Japan China joins water sample analysis at Japan nuclear plant for 1st time facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter Published March 5, 2025 MONROE, LA The University of Louisiana Monroe will host a public forum on the upcoming ULM presidential search on Tuesday, March 11, at 1:00 p.m. in The Terrace on the 7th Floor of the ULM Library. The public is invited to attend. The ULM Presidential Search Committee was assembled and will be overseen by the University of Louisiana System. For more information about the ULM Presidential Search Committee, its members, and future meetings, please visit https://www.ulsystem.edu/ulm-presidential-search-2025/ 03/04/2025 By Ed Brennen Graphic design major Rhondyna Reth was pleasantly surprised when she opened her financial aid letter from UMass Lowell last year and saw a $5,000 UMass Community College Advantage Scholarship (UCCAS) included. Where did this come from? the Lowell native wondered. By finishing in the top 10% of her class at Middlesex Community College (where she had a 3.99 GPA), Reth automatically received the scholarship, which provides a total of $10,000 for the two years it takes to complete her bachelors degree at UML. It definitely relieves a lot of the financial burden, says Reth, who has taken out just $3,000 in student loans thanks to the UCCAS and a few other scholarships. Launched last year by the UMass system, the UCCAS provides a pathway for students at Massachusetts 15 community colleges to complete their bachelors degrees at any one of the four UMass campuses. We believe this initiative will lead to more community college graduates choosing to finish their four-year degree at UMass, which will accelerate their upward economic trajectory and strengthen the commonwealths workforce, UMass President Marty Meehan said in announcing the scholarship. Image by Ed Brennen Image by Ed Brennen Last fall, UMass awarded the first UCCAS scholarships to 66 community college graduates. A dozen of those students enrolled at UMass Lowell, where more than 40% of undergraduates are transfer students from community colleges or other universities.For Christopher Simmans, receiving the UCCAS helped clinch his decision to transfer to UMLsto get a bachelors degree inIt wasnt a hard choice; transferring to the UMass system was the most financially sensible thing to do, says Simmans, a 4.0 GPA student at Massachusetts Bay Community College, where he earned an associate degree in electrical and computer engineering.After getting free tuition at MassBay through MassReconnect, a state program that covers the cost of an associate degree for people 25 and older, Simmans received ato go along with the UCCAS at UMass Lowell.The state has been very helpful, says Simmans, who is originally from Denton, Texas. I feel very fortunate, because I dont think I would have had this opportunity otherwise.The same is true for Warren Wartman, who transferred to UML last fall from Middlesex Community College at the age of 59 to pursue a bachelors degree inwith concentrations in theatre arts and economics.Without that (UCCAS) scholarship, Im probably not in school. For me, it was a game changer, says Wartman, who attended Northern Illinois University in the mid-1980s before leaving school to work in construction as a licensed electrician. Because of back issues, he decided to return to school in 2021, enrolling at Middlesex to pursue his longtime interest in theater.Since he was no longer eligible for Pell Grants, Wartman didnt know how he would pay for school if he transferred to UML. Then thetold him that he qualified for the UCCAS.That put me over the top, says Wartman, who is now looking forward to a study abroad trip to Cadiz, Spain, this summer.Without the (UCCAS) program, none of this would have been possible for me, he says. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Arab Summit adopts Egyptian Gaza rebuilding plan; US, Israel fume Egypt on Tuesday February 04, 2025 presented the Gaza reconstruction plan which was approved by Arab leaders, but at the same time left the United States and its stooch Israel fuming Wednesday March 5, 2025 3:00 PM , ummid.com News Network Cairo: Egypt on Tuesday February 04, 2025 presented the Gaza reconstruction plan which was approved by Arab leaders, but at the same time left the United States and its stooch Israel fuming. Egypt presented the Gaza rebuilding plan hours before the Arab Summit on Tuesday. An Arab summit draft communique later on adopted the Egyptian plan. The Arab leaders also called on the international community and financial institutions to provide support for the plan quickly. Egypts Gaza Vision Egypt has yet to release the full proposal but some details have emerged Tuesday ahead of the summit. The Arab counterproposal consists of three phases to be implemented over five years to fully rebuild Gaza. The first phase, which will take two years, will cost $20 billion. This phase includes the building of 200,000 housing units in the strip. The plan also states that early recovery will take six months, and will consist of removing ruble and installing temporary housing. The second phase, which should take two and a half years, will include the building of another 200,000 housing units and an airport in Gaza. The overall building process shall take five years, and the total cost of reconstruction is estimated at $53 billion. Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war. Egypt and Jordan will train Palestinian police personnel in preparation for deployment in the strip. The plan will also demand that Israel stops all settlement activities, annexation of lands and demolition of Palestinian homes. It will also address the issue of factional weapons through a clear framework and credible political process. U.S., Israel Fume The United States and Israel rejected the Egyptian plan as in it aims to sabotage their vested interest and sinister agenda. What irked the U.S. and Israel the most is that the Egyptian five-year $53bn plan to rebuild Gaza does not talk about displacing Palestinians. This is in total contrast to US President Donald Trumps proposal to take over the coastal enclave forcibly displacing the Palestinians from their home land. Israel, which is maintaining a blockade on all food, medicine and aid into Gaza, slammed the proposal, while the White House said Trump stands by his " vision for the Strip " which has already been rejected by the world. The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance. President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas. We look forward to further talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region, Brian Hughes, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said. Meanwhile, Hamas welcomed the proposal saying it appreciates the Egypt-led proposal. Hamas also welcomed the call to hold legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home China warns U.S. after Trumps rhetoric in Congress Reacting strongly to Donald Trumps reciprocal tariff charge, China warned the United States of stern response saying Beijing is ready for all types of war that Washington wishes to engage in Wednesday March 5, 2025 6:03 PM , ummid.com News Network Washington: Reacting strongly to Donald Trumps reciprocal tariff charge, China warned the United States of stern response saying Beijing is ready for all types of war that Washington wishes to engage in. "If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the Chinese Embassy in U.S. said on its official X handle posted. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end. https://t.co/crPhO02fFE Chinese Embassy in US (@ChineseEmbinUS) March 5, 2025 The Chinese Embassy was responding to Trump's explosive remarks in a joint session at Congress. Trumps rhetoric in U.S. Congress While addressing the joint session of the Congress, Trump said other countries have used tariffs against the US for decades, now it's our turn to use the same against those other countries. In his address to the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress Tuesday - his first after taking oath of office as U.S. President , Trump said that the the reciprocal tariffs will commence April 2. We are just getting started, Trump said in his first major address to the Congress. Trump's adrress Tuesday was the longest address to a joint session of Congress. He spoke for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton, at 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds. . the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada, have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%. China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Korea's average tariff is four times higher," he said. At the same time, Trump admitted that the U.S. Economy will see some disturbance from tariffs. "There'll be a little disturbance, but not much", Trump said. Tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. Theyre about protecting the soul of our country, he added. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Delhi Nursery Admission 2025: EWS/DG Draw Today; How and Where to Check The Delhi Education Department is conducting today i.e. Wednesday March 05, 2025 first draw to confirm the Nursery School Admission under Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG) quota Wednesday March 5, 2025 1:08 PM , ummid.com News Network Delhi School Admission 2025: The Delhi Education Department is conducting today i.e. Wednesday March 05, 2025 first draw to confirm the Nursery School Admission under Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG) quota. Delhi Admission Draw for DG/EWS Students As per the Delhi School Admission Notification 2025-26, the draw of lots will be held in online mode at 02:30 PM today. The department is conducting 1st computerized draw of lots for admission under EWS/DG category in Private Unaided Recognised Schools of Delhi for the academic session 2025-26, the Delhi Education Department notification said. The draw of lots, also called as lottery, will be held at Conference Hall Directorate of Education, Old Secretariat in Delhi. After the computerized draw, the result will be uploaded on the Delhi Education Departments website edudel.nic.in. How to Check Delhi Admission Result Click here to go to the official website: edudel.nic.in. Click on "EWS / DG Draw Result 2025 under what's new section on the rigt side of the home page. Check your wards name in the draw list opened in PDF Or alternatively use the: Direct Link to Download Delhi School Admission List: edudel.nic.in Delhi Admission Draw for CWSN Students Earlier, the Delhi Education Department had started online application process for Delhi Nursery Admission under CWSN (Children with special needs) quota on March 05, 2025. The last date of application is March 15, 2025. The computerized draw of Delhi school admission under CWSN quota will be done on March 19, 2025. The admission process for open seats under the 25% quota will be held soon. The Delhi School Admission is held for the Delhi Nursery Admissions 2025-26 - Pre-school (Nursery), Pre-Primary (KG), and Class 1, in private and unaided schools operating in the National Capital on different dates, according to the Delhi School Admission Schedule released earlier. A total of 38,000 seats will be filled this year in Delhi school available seats for which the department has received around 2.5 lakh applications. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Watch: This sleek flying car will soon be made in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has partnered with Doroni Aerospace, a pre-revenue aerospace engineering and manufacturing company based in America, to manufacture flying cars Wednesday March 5, 2025 11:55 PM , ummid.com News Network Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has partnered with Doroni Aerospace, a pre-revenue aerospace engineering and manufacturing company based in America, to manufacture flying cars. Doroni Aerospace, which is based in Pompano Beach in Florida, has developed a practical, efficient, and cost-effective electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) mobility platform. "H1-X eVTOL" The aerospace firm has secured a $30 million strategic investment from Innovation Wings Industries (IWI), operating as Kingdom Aero Industries (KAI) in Saudi Arabia to manufacture its H1-X personal eVTOL. The partnership intends to manufacture and market the H1-X, a sleek, modern, two-passenger eVTOL concept aircraft designed for advanced air mobility (AAM) and personal use, the company said in a statement released for press. The HX-1 is a two-seater aircraft that can be parked in a two-car garage, charged at home, and can take off vertically from a driveway. The definitive agreement includes plans for a joint venture to manufacture the H1-X in Saudi Arabia, starting in 2027, Doroni CEO Doron Merdinger added in the press statement. Watch the Marvel The Doroni H1-X is your wings to a limitless world. https://t.co/mg6bCqtdQK pic.twitter.com/GxuprUAUKF Doroni Aerospace (@Doroniaero) February 27, 2025 The Saudi investment of $30 million includes an initial $5 million to be invested at the closing, with the remaining $25 million tied to key development milestones over the next two years. Upon completion, KAI will hold a 40 percent stake in Doroni, subject to future capital raises. Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics had in May 2024 announced the launch of flying taxis to make the Hajj journey smoother . Saudi Arabia is investing in advanced transportation technology as part of Vision 2030 projects, which aim to diversify the Saudi economy away from relying on oil revenues alone. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - A 108-year-old woman from eastern Japan was officially recognized Wednesday by the Guinness World Records as the world's oldest female barber. Shitsui Hakoishi from Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture, received the certificate of recognition at a local venue as neighbors and regular customers celebrated her achievement. "Life has been full of hardships since I was young, but I'm truly happy," she said. Hakoishi, who began her apprenticeship at a barbershop in Tokyo at 14, obtained her barber's license in 1936. She opened a shop with her husband, a fellow barber, but she evacuated to her hometown after it was destroyed in an air raid, according to the Guinness World Records. After her husband died in the war, she set up a small shop at her home while raising their two young children. In March 2021, she participated as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. While knee pain means she can no longer take on as many customers as before, she still demonstrates her haircutting skills whenever she receives a booking. "Some people travel from far away to see me, so I want to keep going as long as I can," Hakoishi said. Related coverage: Japanese woman, world's oldest person at 116, dies No. of centenarians in Japan up for 54th straight year to over 95,000 FEATURE: Aging events give opportunities to put old heads on young shoulders The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan brushes aside U.S. demand to boost defense budget to 3% of GDP TOKYO - Japan on Wednesday pushed back against the demand by U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for a top Pentagon policy post to boost its defense spending to 3 percent of its gross domestic product to tackle growing security challenges. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Japan "determines its own defense spending, not at the direction of any other country," while Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi emphasized the importance of the substance of capabilities over the budget amount. ---------- Court rejects request to halt western Japan nuclear reactor HIROSHIMA - A Japanese court on Wednesday rejected a request to halt the operation of a nuclear reactor run by Shikoku Electric Power Co. in western Japan. In the lawsuit at the Hiroshima District Court, plaintiffs, including survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings, claimed there is a high likelihood of a serious accident at the Ikata plant's No. 3 reactor if an earthquake or volcanic eruption strikes the area. ---------- Trump says Ukraine returning to talks to end war with Russia WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Ukraine is ready to return to negotiations as soon as possible in a bid for peace in the war-torn country, days after his tense Oval Office meeting with its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking to a joint session of Congress for the first time in his second term, Trump said he received an "important letter" from Zelenskyy earlier in the day, in which the Ukrainian president also expressed readiness to sign a minerals agreement whenever convenient for the U.S. leader. ---------- Japan ready to lead int'l talks on Myanmar scam operations: Ishiba TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba proposed Wednesday that Japan take the lead in organizing an international conference to discuss measures against scam operations in Myanmar where thousands of people from across the world have been forced to work. Citing that many Japanese people are among the victims, Ishiba told a Diet session that Japan should "show leadership" on the issue, such as by "taking the initiative in holding an international meeting," without elaborating. ---------- Japan retailer Trial to acquire supermarket Seiyu for 380 bil. yen TOKYO - Japanese discount supermarket chain operator Trial Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it will acquire rival Seiyu Co. for 380 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in a bid to expand beyond its home base in southwestern Japan. Trial will acquire all shares in Tokyo-based Seiyu held by U.S. investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and retail giant Walmart Inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary. ---------- 108-yr-old Japanese woman recognized as world's oldest female barber UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - A 108-year-old woman from eastern Japan was officially recognized Wednesday by the Guinness World Records as the world's oldest female barber. Shitsui Hakoishi from Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture, received the certificate of recognition at a local venue as neighbors and regular customers celebrated her achievement. ---------- Massive wildfire in northeastern Japan persists despite rain MORIOKA, Japan - A massive wildfire in northeastern Japan has continued to spread, burning around 3,000 hectares, despite the first rainfall on Wednesday since it broke out a week ago. The forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, has burned 9 percent of the city's total area. While rain is expected through Thursday, firefighting efforts have been hampered by heavy snow and strong wind alerts, the local weather bureau said. ---------- Japan's Shimadzu launches world's 1st commercial optical lattice clock OSAKA - Japanese precision equipment maker Shimadzu Corp. said Wednesday that it has begun selling an optical lattice clock with a deviation of less than one second over 10 billion years, making it the most accurate on the market. The device measures 114 centimeters in width, 109.3 cm in height and 65 cm in depth. The Kyoto-based maker aims to sell 10 units over three years at a suggested retail price of 500 million yen ($3.3 million) each. Video: Forest fire in northeastern Japan A sugar company executive from Worland, an oil and gas company executive from Pinedale and a Natrona County cattle rancher have been named to the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees. Mike Greear, Paul Ulrich and Tom Walters were appointed by Gov. Mark Gordon and approved by the Wyoming Senate. They succeed Elizabeth Greenwood, of Pinedale; Macey Moore, of Douglas; and Dave True, of Casper. Reappointed to the board were Secretary Brad Bonner, of Cody, and Brad LaCroix, of Newcastle. Their terms, and those of Greear and Walters, extend through 2031. The appointment of Ulrich -- tapped to fill the unexpired term of Greenwood, who resigned recently -- is through 2027. Were grateful for the service of Trustees True, Moore and Greenwood, and we look forward to working with our new and continuing board members and the great team at UW to advance Wyomings land-grant university, says Board of Trustees Chairman Kermit Brown, of Laramie. Greear served as the legal counsel of Worland-based Wyoming Sugar Co. for 13 years before becoming its CEO in March 2016. Since September 2018, he also has served on the board and executive committee of the United Sugar Producers and Refiners, a national sugar marketing group. Greear represented House District 27 in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2011-2022, serving on many committees and chairing the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee for six years. Hes a current member of the Washakie Development Association board. Greear earned a bachelors degree in economics and finance, as well as a law degree, both from UW. He lives in Worland but spends his weekends in Campbell County, where he, his wife, Tiffany -- a UW alumna and fourth-generation Wyoming rancher -- and son, Seth, have a cow/calf operation. The couple also has a daughter, Taylor, and three grandsons. It is an honor to be asked to serve on the Board of Trustees and to have the opportunity to give back to an institution that was so instrumental in my success. I look forward to working with such a talented group of leaders to guide our university, Greear says. Education can have a significant impact on a persons life, and we must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that every person in Wyoming is afforded the opportunity, just as the founders of our state envisioned. I hope that my experiences growing up in Wyoming and operating a manufacturing facility will add value to the Board of Trustees mission. Ulrich is a 25-year veteran of the oil and gas exploration and production industry, currently serving as vice president for Jonah Energy LLC, which operates the Jonah Field in Wyoming, one of the largest natural gas fields in North America. He recently served as chairman of the Wyoming Energy Authority, is a member of the board of the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and is past chairman of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. Ulrich also is a professional fly-fishing guide. Before his career in the oil and gas industry, Ulrich served in the U.S. Navy in the intelligence community and on the staff of a Wyoming governor and Wyoming congressman. He attended Western Wyoming Community College and Casper College, majoring in history. He and his wife, Darby, live in Pinedale and spend considerable time in Kemmerer with the family fossil business. They have three children -- sons Julian and Colin, and daughter Tayler. I am more than honored to serve our great state and the University of Wyoming as a trustee, Ulrich says. I look forward to listening and learning how our university can best meet, and exceed, the needs of our students and Wyoming. Walters has run a cow/calf cattle operation in western Natrona County for two decades. He represented House District 38 in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2013-2024, serving on many committees, including the House Appropriations Committee. His public service also includes 10 years on the Natrona County Fair Board, two years as chairman; and 10 years on the Natrona County Conservation District Board, nine years as chairman. Walters, whose wife is named Kade, holds a bachelors degree in animal science and agricultural business from UW. The University of Wyoming is a special place to my family and me, as my parents, my two sisters and I all graduated from UW. The education we received from UW has served us well through the years, Walters says. I am excited for the opportunity to continue the universitys tradition of providing a top-tier education at an affordable price, and research that is valued and used worldwide. Appointed by the governor with consent of the Wyoming Senate, the UW Board of Trustees consists of 12 members appointed to six-year, staggered terms. As the institutions governing body, the trustees have a broad range of responsibilities, including major policy and budgetary matters affecting the university. Luang Prabang wins Green Destinations Top 100 Story Award The world heritage town of Luang Prabang has won a 2025 Green Destinations Top 100 Story Award, coming third in the Destination Management category, in recognition of successful and inclusive destination development or regeneration, visitor management, and crisis recovery. The award was presented at the ITB Berlin 2025, the worlds leading travel trade show, which took place in Germany from March 4-6. Director of the Luang Prabang provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department, Dr Soudaphone Khomthavong (right), receives an award at the ITB Berlin 2025 convention in Germany. The accolade follows Luang Prabangs selection as a recipient of one of the Top 100 Destination Sustainability Awards by the Green Destinations organisation at a conference in Chile last year. The award recognises the efforts of Luang Prabang authorities to protect the towns world heritage site in line with sustainable development of the tourist industry. Luang Prabang is the first tourist destination in Laos to receive the award among the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam group of countries, according to the Luang Prabang Provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department. Department Director Dr Soudaphone Khomthavong said that this year the department will focus on improving the conditions and indicators necessary to apply for Luang Prabang to be granted Green Destination Certification by the Green Tourism Organisation, which is the leader in the field of sustainability certification for global tourism destinations and business operators and certified by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. There are six criteria for this certification, namely the management of tourism destinations, nature and scenery, environment and climate, culture, the well-being of people in society, and business and communication, Dr Soudaphone said. In 2023, Luang Prabang province was recommended by the American magazine Time as one of the 50 greatest places to visit. The magazine called Luang Prabang a hidden paradise, saying the turquoise waterfalls, Buddhist temples, and sunset boat trips on the Mekong River are just a few of the provinces highlights. Luang Prabang is one of the most well-known provinces in Laos and is a top tourist draw because of its riverside location, old temples, quaint streets and alleyways, colourful festivals, and scenic beauty. The towns old quarter was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Other popular attractions in and around the provincial capital include Phu Si stupa, Sae waterfall, Kuangxi waterfall, and the large night market in the town centre. By Siladda Suliyong (Latest Update March 6 , 202 5 ) Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam. YOKOHAMA - A former top official of a credit union in Japan's Yokohama has been arrested on suspicion of having stolen more than 600 million yen ($4 million) from its safe-deposit boxes, police said Tuesday. The case marks the latest in a string of revelations about employees allegedly stealing cash and other assets from safes rented to customers at banks in Japan, such as one under the wing of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. The police allege Lee Sung Hyon, a former deputy chief of the Yokohama branch of Hana Shinyo Kumiai credit union, stole around 619 million yen in cash from customer safe-deposit boxes in the branch from September 2021 to around March 2023. Apart from the current charge, the police said they also suspect the 49-year-old may have been involved in the theft of an additional 400 million yen from the boxes. The suspect was able to open the boxes mainly by using keys he copied without the owners' consent, the police said, adding that he admitted to having spent most of the money he stole on gambling. The Tokyo-based bank discovered Lee's suspected involvement in the wrongdoing through in-house investigation and reported the case to the police and the Financial Services Agency. It fired Lee in February last year. Similar thefts by bank employees of customer assets from safe-deposit boxes have been revealed at MUFG Bank and Mizuho Bank since last year. The police said earlier they believe that more than 1 billion yen in cash and gold ingots worth more than 700 million yen have been taken from MUFG Bank safe-deposit boxes. Mizuho said the amount of stolen cash has reached some 66 million yen. Related coverage: Mizuho Bank worker stole safe-deposit box valuables in 2019 Ex-MUFG Bank worker evaded access systems in brazen daytime thefts Ukrainians reacted with alarm on Tuesday to Washington's announcement that it is halting military aid shipments to the country with immediate effect, a move that the Trump administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to the negotiating table. As news broke overnight Monday of the U.S. decision to halt military aid to Kyiv, Russian drones continued to rain down on Ukrainian cities, targeting Odesa in the south and Sumy in the northeast. Ukrainian lawmakers say the consequences of Washington's decision will be stark. "This means that thousands of people will die," Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko told The Associated Press. "I just want to ask [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump just to reconsider, to give some time to Ukraine." European pledge European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv. Analysts say there are doubts, however, over whether Europe can fill the shortfall and how long Ukraine can keep on fighting. As the geopolitics plays out, the war grinds on between Ukrainian forces and Russian invaders across the 960-kilometer front line. Close to the town of Pokrovsk west of Donetsk, the Ukrainian 14th Brigade is trying to hold off a Russian advance. The unit commander, who goes by the call sign Berf, fears they could run out of ammunition. "We fire an Italian howitzer. But we get a lot of ammunition, including of 105 mm caliber, from the U.S. It is NATO standard, which is used in both Europe and the U.S. But whether Europe will be able to supply us? I hope it will," he told Reuters. Can Europe make up for the shortfall of military aid from the U.S.? "There is a sharp limit to what Europe can do," said Mark Galeotti, executive director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence and the author of "Forged in War," a military history of Russia. "There are certain systems, ranging from Patriot missiles all the way through to spare parts for the Abrams tanks and Bradley personnel carriers, that the Ukrainians are using, that the only way the Europeans can get [them] is by buying them on the open market. And that is going to take time," Galeotti told VOA, adding that some weapons systems ordered on the open market in 2022 were arriving only now in Ukraine. Ukrainian weapons Ukraine, however, is far less reliant on the West than it was at the outset of the Russian invasion in 2022, said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of the Royal United Services Institute in London. "Increasingly, Ukraine has been producing its own weapons," Chalmers told The Associated Press. "It has a very large and growing defense industry, some of it financed from abroad, with a lot of cooperation from Western defense companies." "So probably about half the weapons which Ukraine is now using are provided by its own defense industry. And of the remainder, it's about half and half between the United States and the others, including the Europeans," Chalmers said, adding that U.S. forces play a vital role "in the logistical arrangements, which actually get the weapons from Poland into Ukraine." "And finally, the U.S. plays a very important role in providing information, intelligence to the Ukrainian forces," Chalmers said. Peace negotiations The Trump administration said Tuesday the halt in military aid is "to ensure that it is contributing to a solution." "We want the Ukrainians to have a sovereign and independent country," U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters Tuesday. "We think the Ukrainian troops have fought very bravely, but we're at a point here where neither Europe nor the United States nor the Ukrainians can continue this war indefinitely. So, it's important that everybody come to the table, and the president is trying to send a very explicit message: The Ukrainians have got to come to the table and start negotiating with President Trump." Europe is taking a different approach. After hosting a meeting of European and Ukrainian leaders on Sunday, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a "coalition of the willing" would seek to continue to support Kyiv. "It's time to act. Time to step up and lead. The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. Europe must do the heavy lifting," he said. In reality, Europe is not united in its support for Ukraine, said analyst Galeotti. "Vice President Vance's claim that a lot of the European leaders, who on social media and in public are foursquare behind Kyiv but in private they're actually much more skeptical is not entirely incorrect. Do you essentially continue to hollow out your own armed forces and also alienate your most powerful security ally and guarantor in the name of defending Ukraine?" Zelenskyy appeal Zelenskyy appealed to the Trump administration Tuesday, writing on X that Ukraine was committed to peace. In a video posted online, Zelenskyy said, "We must find the strength to move forward, respect one another as we have always respected America, Europe, and all our partners and work together to bring peace closer. I am grateful to everyone who supports Ukraine in this." The cut in U.S. aid is a bitter outcome for some Ukrainians suffering under Russian bombardment. Those who spoke with VOA chose not to use their last names for safety reasons. Viktoria, a resident of Kyiv, said Ukraine was being unfairly punished. "I hope that [Trump] will change his mind. The victim of aggression cannot be guilty of everything and be punished in addition to that," she told VOA. Illia fled to Kyiv from his home in Donetsk following the invasion. "Maybe Europe can help somehow. The hope is only on Europe now, no one else," he said. Hanna, who fled the Russian invasion of Crimea, feared the impact of the cut in aid. "This will have a serious impact, especially on the battlefield. The price will be human lives," she said. Russia, meanwhile, welcomed Washington's decision to halt military aid for Ukraine, saying it might help "to settle the situation by peaceful means." Anna Chernikova contributed to this report. Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Russian deputy defense minister and President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Africa, visited C.A.R. on March 2 to give assurance of continued military and economic support for leader Faustin-Archange Touadera. State-owned news outlet Sputnik Africa reported on Yevkurov's visit, highlighting Russia's military presence in C.A.R. as "significantly" successful in subjugating militant groups opposing the government. Sputnik Africa attributed the quote to an unnamed Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations. The claim is false. Russian military involvement in C.A.R. formally started in 2018, with the Kremlin-backed mercenary group Wagner, now rebranded Africa Corps, a unit under the command of the Russian Defense Ministry, arriving to provide support to President Touadera. The security situation since the Russian troops' arrival in C.A.R. has seen little improvement, according to multiple reports. Contrary to the Kremlin and its media claims, the Russian forces did not contribute to establishing peace and stability but instead became one of the most violent armed groups in C.A.R. spreading terror and corruption, The Associated Press reported in April 2024. The Africa Corps, the successor of Wagner, continues waging a "campaign of terror" in Central African Republic, the VOA sister organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported in February. "Between 2018 and 2024, Russian troops were involved in more than 100 fights and committed more than 362 incidents of violence against civilians. The violence resulted in at least 786 fatalities," RFE/RL reported, citing data by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, a U.S.-based nonprofit. In exchange for military support to president Touadera, the Kremlin gained control over C.A.R. mineral resources, extracting "half a billion dollars a year in gold, timber, and blood diamonds," NBC News reported last May. Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries on Earth, has been engaged in a civil war since 2013, mainly over control of its vast natural resources, including elements vital for modern hi-tech, such as uranium, cobalt and gold. The Touadera administration proposed an internationally sponsored plan to help the rebels transition to a civilian life and signed a peace deal with 14 militia groups in 2019. About 5,000 militants used the opportunity, but at least 15% of them returned to the rebel groups, and some 70% are suspected of either serving simultaneously in the government forces and in militias, or joining the Russian units, the U.N. said in 2024. Most of the millions of dollars the West spent to disarm the rebels and end the violence in C.A.R. are lost to corruption, including the $3.5 million sent by the U.S., and at least six of the 14 groups who signed the 2019 peace agreement with president Touadera letter broke their commitment, the AP reported last April. At least 14 rebel groups continue to control two-thirds of the country, including certain districts in the capital, Bangui, according to the Global Conflict Tracker interactive database produced by the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. analytical institution. The U.N. Security Council said in October, "the situations in the northwest and eastern parts of the country appear to be particularly concerning because of competition among armed groups over control of natural resources and main road axes." "Civilians continue to bear the brunt of continued instability in the country, including the use of explosive ordnance and the involvement of various armed groups in kidnapping for ransom," the U.N. reported. According to Forbidden Stories, an international network of journalists, the Kremlin has been stepping up propaganda efforts to increase its influence in the Central African Republic and other African countries. In its investigation, published in November last year, the outlet said that Russia has been covering the harsh reality on the ground through a network of paid local journalists, whose reports are amplified by the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik and paid content creators on social media. Russian troops have been involved in "widespread, systematic, and well-planned campaigns of mass killing, torture, and rape throughout the country," the U.S. Department of State said in a report on Russian military and propaganda activities in Africa, published February 2024. The U.S. designated Wagner an international criminal organization in January 2023 for "an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali." Conclusion Russian military activities in the Central African Republic reportedly resulted in increased violence, instead of helping to stop the civil war. Reliable reports show that Russian troops have systematically committed atrocities while profiting from exploiting natural resources. The U.N. noted Russian corrupting influence as one of the reasons for the failure of a peace agreement. Germany said on Tuesday it had halted new development aid to Rwanda and was reviewing its existing commitments in response to the African nation's role in the conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. The German development ministry said Berlin had informed Rwanda in advance of the move and urged it to withdraw support for the M23 rebel group, which has made advances in eastern Congo. Congo, U.N. experts and Western powers accuse Rwanda of backing the group. Rwanda denies this and says it is defending itself against ethnic Hutu-led militias bent on slaughtering Tutsis in Congo and threatening Rwanda. Rwanda's foreign ministry called Germany's action "wrong and counterproductive." "Countries like Germany that bear a historical responsibility for the recurring instability in this region should know better than to apply one-sided, coercive measures," Rwanda's foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday. The German ministry said Berlin last pledged aid of $98 million to Rwanda in October 2022 for the period 2022 to 2024. The M23 group has captured swathes of eastern Congo and valuable mineral deposits since January. The ongoing onslaught is the gravest escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources. U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin said Tuesday the country needs responsible changes and should be an engaged leader in an interconnected world, as she gave the Democratic response to President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress. Slotkin said prices for things such as groceries, housing and health care need to come down and that Trump does not have a credible plan to address them. She said Trumps economic policies are going to make Americans pay in every part of their lives, including tariffs and trade wars, a rising national debt and a potential recession. President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends, Slotkin said. She also cited multibillionaire businessman Elon Musk, who under Trump is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency, highlighting concerns about widespread layoffs of federal workers and access his team has to Americans data. We need a more efficient government. You want to cut waste, I'll help you do it. But change does not need to be chaotic or make us less safe, Slotkin said. She also spoke about the heated White House meeting last week during which Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being disrespectful. Slotkin said the meeting summed up Trumps approach to the world. He believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth, she said. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions. Slotkin said American democracy has been the aspiration of the world, and that right now it is at risk. Trump is seeking to carry out an America First foreign policy, which has included orders to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and to slash the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Slotkin said she would rather have the United States as a world leader than Russia or China. Donald Trump's actions suggest that in his heart he doesn't believe that we're an exceptional nation. He clearly doesn't think we should lead the world, she said. Iran is wrapping up two months of its most intense military exercises in decades as it tries to deter potential attacks from its archrivals Israel and the United States, security researchers tell VOA. The Washington-based researchers also say the Iranian drills that began in late December, and were due to conclude by mid-March, have involved some weapons systems that pose a threat to the U.S. and Israel and others that expose weaknesses in Iran's deterrent capabilities. "The pace, intensity and publicity of the exercises is unprecedented," said Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Farzin Nadimi of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said he has been studying the Islamic Republic's military for the past 20 years. "I have never seen them conduct so many drills in such a short period of time," he said. Iranian state media reported the start of the exercises on Dec. 28. A week later, they said the exercises, codenamed "Great Prophet 19," were part of annual "Eqtedar" ["Power"] drills that involved Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground forces engaging in war games in western Iran from Jan. 4-9. Several more exercises followed, including IRGC and Iranian Army air defense drills near nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow and the Arak reactor in Khondab; IRGC naval drills in the Persian Gulf; a second round of IRGC ground force drills in southwestern Iran; and an Army drill, codenamed "Zulfiqar" in reference to a double-pointed sword in Islamic tradition, in southern Iran and the waters of the Gulf of Oman and northern Indian Ocean. On Feb. 26, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami announced the start of a two-day nuclear defense drill involving nuclear facilities, in comments to reporters, although he did not elaborate. There have been no state media reports about the outcome of those drills, which researchers said would typically involve electronic simulations. Iranian officials and state media have described the military exercises as having several goals, from boosting public morale to strengthening Iran's defensive and offensive capabilities, its integration of military forces, and its use of indigenous technologies to deter external threats. Heightened sense of threat "The Iranians clearly see a heightened military threat from Israel and the U.S.," Nadimi said. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has toughened U.S. warnings of consequences for Iran if it refines its enriched uranium to weapons-grade levels and fashions it into a nuclear warhead. Tehran long has denied seeking nuclear weapons. "They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if I think that they will have a nuclear weapon, despite what I just said, I think that's going to be very unfortunate for them," Trump said in a Feb. 4 joint news conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a Feb. 16 appearance with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu noted that Israel had dealt what he called a "mighty blow to Iran's terror axis" over the prior 16 months. That included Israel's first-ever major aerial assault on the Islamic Republic, a sustained late-October strike on what Israel said were Iranian air defense and missile facilities in retaliation for a barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles on Israel earlier that month. "Under the strong leadership of President Trump and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job," Netanyahu said. Responding to a VOA request for comment on Iran's military exercises, the Israeli military said it "conducts continuous situational assessments to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, both defensive and offensive." A spokesperson for Netanyahu declined to comment when asked by VOA about the Israeli government's assessment of the Iranian drills. The U.S. Defense Department did not respond to a VOA inquiry about its view of the exercises. Brian Carter of the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project said the Islamic Republic feels exposed because of recent setbacks to its proxies and allies in Lebanon and Syria. Israel killed the leaders of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and destroyed much of its weaponry in a two-month offensive from September to November, while Sunni Islamist rebels in Syria ousted its longtime Iran-allied autocratic ruler, Bashar Assad, in December. "The Iranian air defense and naval exercises are meant to deter the U.S. and Israel from attacking key Iranian sites after Israel's degradation of Hezbollah left Iran without its primary deterrent against such an attack," Carter said. "Many of the ground exercises, on the other hand, seek to better protect western Iran from what Tehran sees as a renewed Sunni terrorist threat in Syria and Iraq." Some of those Iranian drills involved weapons systems that could harm Israel and the U.S. if Iran retaliated for an attack, the researchers said. "Iran's stockpile of long- and short-range ballistic missiles continues to pose a serious threat to Israel and U.S. bases in the region," Nadimi said. "Iran can fire hundreds of ballistic missiles at any given time and saturate Israeli or U.S. air defenses." Carter said Iran's naval forces also have fast-moving small boats armed with anti-ship missiles that could swarm and threaten U.S. naval vessels in the region. Nadimi said one aspect of the recent exercises that exposed an Iranian weakness is the limited or non-usage of advanced weaponry and tactics by regular Iranian military units. "I have not seen widespread use of modern systems like Rezvan loitering munition FPV [First Person View] drones and Shahed-149 Gaza high-altitude long endurance (HALE) drones by regular IRGC and Army units," Nadimi said. "Only Iran's elite military units have been using those systems widely." Carter said another weakness is a reliance on indigenous Iranian air defense systems after Israel destroyed units of Iran's most advanced system, the Russian-made S-300, last October. "It is unlikely that Iran could repel a U.S. or Israeli airstrike given the inferiority of the Iranian systems that have been used in these exercises relative to the modern U.S. and Israeli capabilities," Carter said. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report. As European Union leaders prepare for emergency talks to ramp up military spending after the Trump administration suspended aid to Ukraine, several Russia experts say Moscow is trying to capitalize on fragmenting Western cohesion. Following last weeks televised Oval Office clash between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Monday accused Europe of seeking to prolong the war, adding that changes in U.S. foreign policy configurations largely coincide with Moscows vision. The comments came before an EU financial summit planned for Thursday that aims to grapple with stabilizing continental security and helping Ukraine after decades of dependence on the U.S. defense umbrella. In a recent interview with the military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called President Donald Trump a pragmatist whose motto is common sense. He also said, All tragedies in the world over the past 500 years originated in Europe or occurred owing to European policies, while the Americans played no seditious, let alone inflammatory, role. Calling Europe Enemy No. 1 is becoming the main trend in the Kremlins policy, said exiled independent Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin. Therefore, having changed his tune [Lavrov] explained to the audience that the U.S. is, if not a friend, then a reliable partner, and that means Britain and France are always to blame for everything. Oreshkin also said the relatively positive U.S. depiction shows the Kremlin is hoping for an aggravation of contradictions between Europe and America. But Novaya Gazeta columnist Andrei Kolesnikov said it was premature for Russian authorities to assume Trump is taking Russias side in the war. Trumps interest, which he equates with the interests of the United States, is to end the conflict, Kolesnikov told VOA. But there are two sides to the conflict. And if during future negotiations ... [Trump] remains dissatisfied with the intransigence of the Russian side, no one will stand on ceremony. New [U.S.] sanctions and measures to reduce oil prices will follow with the same decisiveness and speed as [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy's punishment. Kolesnikov was referring to the contentious Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, in which top U.S. officials accused him of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. military support. The meeting concluded without the signing of an expected defense deal involving Ukrainian rare-earth minerals. With long-held certainties about U.S. reliability as a security partner suddenly in doubt, EU and NATO leaders gathered Sunday in London to map out a path forward. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for uniting around a new plan for a just and enduring peace," while French President Emmanuel Macron said his country and Britain had agreed on an alternative peace plan envisaging a one-month partial ceasefire to end mutual attacks on energy infrastructure, followed by a second stage involving sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. The White House on Monday announced temporary suspension of all U.S. military aid to Kyiv, although Trump during an address to Congress on Tuesday said Zelenskyy had signaled renewed interest in inking the U.S.-proposed defense deal. According to U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, Trump on Wednesday halted intelligence cooperation with Ukraine. Against this unclear backdrop, Russian officials have refrained from criticizing the U.S. administration and Trump personally while shifting their line of attack from the United States toward Europe. Thursdays summit in Brussels comes as the EU is arguably at its weakest point, fragmented by the steady rise of a hard right that is often pro-Russian. EU leaders are also expected to discuss whether to place more arms contracts with Ukraines defense industry, and to help integrate it into the European industrial network. The Trump administration has demanded that Europeans spend as much as 5% of GDP on defense, well beyond the NATO benchmark of at least 2%. Seven European allies still fall short of even that target. The U.S. spends around 3.4%, according to NATO figures, and a Pentagon audit that could reduce that is pending. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press. Powerful storms killed two people in Mississippi, tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wide-ranging weather. The large storm system also brought blinding dust storms to the Southwest, blizzards with whiteout conditions to the Midwest and fears of wildfires elsewhere. In Irving, Texas, a tornado with winds up to 177 kph struck, while another touched down in the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. There were also two tornadoes in Louisianas northern Caddo Parish and at least five in eastern Oklahoma. High winds forced some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which moved up and shortened the two biggest parades, to wrap them up before the bad weather moved in. The weather didn't stop Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd. We was coming out, rain, sleet or snow, Jones said. The alarming weather could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump's moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts nationwide could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the impact on forecasts and warnings for this storm. Deaths from storms in Mississippi Two people died due to the severe weather, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves posted on the social platform X, without going into detail. WAPT-TV reported that one person died from a falling power line in Madison County, while a driver in the same county was killed by a tree falling on his car. Hundreds of thousands left without power Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. More than 178,000 customers were without power in Texas, about 23,000 in Louisiana, another 18,000 in Mississippi, about 88,000 in Alabama, more than 16,000 in Oklahoma and more than 23,000 in Tennessee, according to PowerOutage.us. More outages were expected as a line of storms raced across Mississippi and Louisiana and headed for Alabama, producing gusts of 113 kph, the weather service said. Central Plains and Midwest brace for blizzard conditions Blizzard conditions were forecast that could make travel treacherous. Schools will be closed Wednesday in several southern Minnesota districts with about 13 to 28 centimeters of snow expected. More concerning were winds forecasted to gust over 80 kph and stay high. The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said on X Tuesday night that travel was not advised over a large portion of southern Minnesota. Its tough to find a @MnDOT road camera that isnt covered in ice or blocked completely by blowing snow, the post said. South Dakota was expected to receive up to 12.7 centimeters of snow in some areas, and by Tuesday evening, high winds had already deteriorated road conditions. Jay Jones, who works at Loves Truck Stop in Sioux Falls, said he saw garbage cans flying around as winds gusted around 80.5 kph. Parts of Interstate 29 heading north to North Dakota were shut down. It looks really bad out there, Jones said, adding that he walked to work and would have to have to tough it out on his way home. On March 2, Dmitry Kiselyov, CEO of state-owned media group MIA Rossiya Segodnya, questioned Europes ability to boost military aid to Ukraine following a London summit at which European leaders pledged to continue support for Kyiv. Kiselyov mocked the size of the British and French militaries, claiming that the U.K.s largest stadium Wembley has enough seats to fit both armies, and that Europe has run out of its weapons stockpiles. While sarcastic, Kiselyovs comparison to Wembley is false. The stadium has a 90,000-seating capacity. The strength of the U.K. military personnel more than doubles that 180,780 as of Jan. 1. In 2024, the European Union and U.K. had approximately 1.47 million combined active military personnel compared with Russias 1.32 million. Kiselyov also misled on European stockpiles. In 2024, European nations, which significantly outspend Russia on defense, budgeted some $457 billion for military readiness compared with Russia's $146 billion. In terms of equipment, just five European countries Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Greece field 367,760 advanced armored vehicles, compared with Russias 131,527. While Russia still has more tanks (5,750 vs. 4,649), the EU and U.K. compensate with superior technology, better logistics and a strong defense industry capable of rapid production increases. Naval forces also favor Europe, with a combined fleet of more than 2,000 warships, including six aircraft carriers, whereas Russia has 419 ships and one aircraft carrier. France and the U.K. operate modern nuclear-powered submarines and advanced frigates, giving them on the technological edge. The Russian Air Force operates 4,292 aircraft, including planes and helicopters. In comparison, the combined air fleets of the seven leading aviation countries in Europe France, Italy, Britain, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain total 4,418 aircraft. European NATO members, including Germany, France and the U.K., account for 28% of NATOs total defense spending. Europes industrial base, despite past underinvestment and fragmentation, is ramping up production to meet new defense demands. Britain and France maintain advanced military forces, including nuclear arsenals, modern air power and sophisticated naval fleets. France plans to allocate $448 billion for defense from 2024 to 2030, a $130 billion increase from the $318 billion budgeted for 2019-2025. Britain aims to raise annual defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a long-term goal of reaching 3%. Germany, long criticized for underinvestment in defense, has made a historic shift by establishing a roughly $108 billion special fund for military modernization. This includes purchasing F-35 fighter jets, replenishing ammunition stockpiles and expanding its armored forces. On March 4, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that plans to strengthen Europes defense industry and enhance military capabilities could generate nearly $841.4 billion. By contrast, Russia, while increasing its military production, faces significant equipment losses in Ukraine, relying on outdated Soviet-era stockpiles and imports from Iran, China and North Korea. Despite its large army, Russia struggles with replenishing high-tech weapons due to sanctions and industrial limitations. Conclusion: European military outmatches Russian in key areas, with 1.47 million personnel, 367,760 armored vehicles and over 2,000 warships, including six aircraft carriers. France, Germany and Britain are increasing defense spending, while Russia struggles with losses, outdated stockpiles, and sanctions-limited weapons production. You do not hear much from Russian civilians in international media as Russias government restricts foreign reporters working in the country. For VOA, Genia Dulot met with some Russian tourists visiting the Indian Ocean republic of Maldives to hear what they think about international sanctions and U.S. President Donald Trumps efforts to end the war in Ukraine. South Korea and Poland signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday as the democratic allies increasingly find themselves united by concerns about the global security situation despite the vast geographical distance between them. Foreign ministers Cho Tae-yul of South Korea and Poland's Radek Sikorski signed an action plan which outlines their relations in the areas of politics, economy, defense and culture through 2028. "We both reaffirmed that there is a need to further strengthen our cooperation for transregional security cooperation, encompassing both Europe and the Indo-Pacific within the framework of the NATO-IP4 partnership," said Cho, referring to NATO's partnership with allies in the Indo-Pacific region, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. South Korea and Poland have been strategic partners since 2013, with South Korea in recent years becoming a major supplier of weapons as NATO member Poland carries out a massive investment program to modernize its armed forces. "Poland is the largest recipient of Korean military equipment worldwide, and we would like to further develop this cooperation with the prospect of relocating production and technology transfer to Poland," Sikorski told reporters. "Poland can also serve as a hub for further promotion of Korean military equipment in Europe and for the rebuilding of Ukraine." The two nations share concerns about the situation in Ukraine, which lies on Poland's eastern border and has sent jitters across NATO's eastern flank. South Korea and Poland, along with other European allies, have also been concerned about North Korea's support for Russia in the war, including its dispatch of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside the Russians. Seoul worries that Russia could reward North Korea with transfers of sensitive technology to enhance its nuclear and missile programs. Cho told a news briefing that his country is launching an assistance package of over $2 billion, building on $400 million provided to Ukraine last year, "to address Ukraine's urgent needs in energy, infrastructure, health care and education." Sikorski and Cho also discussed expanding access to Polish food products in the South Korean market. "Poland is now Korea's fifth largest trading partner within the EU (European Union), and Korea has become the largest Asian investor in Poland as of 2024. This is a testament to the trust and potential both nations see in each other's economic future," Cho said. This undated photo shows Europe's first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer developed and launched by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and computer company IQM. Finland's leading research institute VTT and computer company IQM announced on Tuesday that they have developed and launched Europe's first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer. The computer is located at premises of the state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre in Micronova in Espoo, southern Finland, and is open to researchers and companies through the VTT QX quantum computing service.(VTT/Handout via Xinhua) HELSINKI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Finland's leading research institute VTT and computer company IQM announced on Tuesday that they have developed and launched Europe's first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer. The computer is located at premises of the state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre in Micronova in Espoo, southern Finland, and is open to researchers and companies through the VTT QX quantum computing service. "With this quantum computer, we can develop applications and new algorithms for material modeling and simulation, optimization problems, and artificial intelligence," said Erja Turunen, VTT's executive vice president, in a press release. IQM Quantum Computers' co-CEO and co-founder Jan Goetz disclosed that the 50-qubit system is a baseline for the IQM Radiance 54-qubit quantum computer. Finland first announced its efforts in quantum computing development back in November 2020 with a total budget of 20.7 million euros (21.85 million U.S. dollars) from the Finnish government to develop a 50-qubit quantum computer. The project was phased into three parts. The five-qubit quantum computer was completed in 2021. In the spring of 2022, it was connected to the Internet via the LUMI supercomputer of Finland's Scientific Computing Center, for the use of Finnish researchers and later also more widely for business users. The 20-qubit computer was completed in 2023, and, in the third phase, it was upgraded to 50 qubits. U.S. President Donald Trump in a Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress defended his new tariffs on U.S. trading partners and pledged that more are coming. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn, Trump said in what was his first address to U.S. lawmakers of his second term. The remarks came after the United States imposed 25% tariffs earlier Tuesday on exports from its two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, and doubled an earlier 10% tariff on Chinese imports to 20%. China is the No. 3 U.S. trading partner. U.S. stock markets have taken a significant tumble, and the three countries have threatened retaliation, prompting concerns of a broader trade war. Trump also said the United States will begin imposing reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners on April 2. Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them, he said. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. I wanted to make it April 1, but I didnt want to be accused of April Fools Day, Trump added. Trump also said he will impose a 25% tariff on imports of foreign aluminum, copper, lumber and steel. Trumps address comes six weeks into his second term, which has been marked by tensions with U.S. allies, shifts in foreign policy and an overhaul of the federal government. The White House on Monday said the theme of the address was the renewal of the American dream. With Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson seated behind him, Trump began his speech by proclaiming that America is back, triggering chants of USA from Republican lawmakers. Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country, he said. Trump also said his administration has accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. To date, Trump has signed nearly 80 executive orders several of which are being challenged in court. Early in his speech, Trump touted his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and deployment of the U.S. military and border patrol to repel the invasion of our country. Trump said his administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history. He also repeated the false claim that 21 million people entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration. Trump also took time during his address to laud a recent executive order he signed banning transgender women from womens sports. He also falsely insinuated that transgender youth do not exist. The president has also signed other orders targeting transgender Americans. On shrinking the federal government, Trump, who imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring since returning to the White House, praised his adviser Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, whose Department of Government Efficiency has been behind the layoffs of tens of thousands of government workers and other cuts throughout the federal government. Trump said his administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy and we will restore true democracy to America again. He added that any government workers who resist this change will be removed from office immediately. Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have criticized the layoffs and cuts. During the address, Republican lawmakers were raucous in their support for Trump. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, protested in a mix of ways. Just a few minutes into his address, Trump was interrupted by jeering from the floor of the House, prompting Speaker Johnson to direct the sergeant at arms to remove Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas. Trump continued his address after Green was removed from the chamber. Several Democratic women lawmakers wore pink in protest of what they say are Trump policies that harm women. Some Democratic lawmakers walked out in the middle of Trumps address; others skipped the speech entirely. In the subsequent Democratic rebuttal to Trumps address, Senator Elissa Slotkin called for voters to get more involved with politics. Its easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever. If previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today? the Michigan senator said. Slotkin also criticized the widespread cuts to the government. We need a more efficient government. You want to cut waste? Ill help you do it. But change doesnt need to be chaotic or make us less safe, she said. On the foreign policy front, Trump noted that he had again removed the United States from some international organizations and agreements: He froze foreign aid and withdrew the United States from what he called the unfair Paris Climate Accord, the corrupt World Health Organization and the anti-American U.N. human rights council. Trump said he is working to end the war in Ukraine, which was started by Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Its time to stop this madness. Its time to halt the killing. Its time to end the senseless war, he said. Trumps comments come one day after the United States paused military aid to Ukraine and a few days after an acrimonious Oval Office meeting on Friday concluded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaving the White House without an agreement. In his address, Trump said he received a letter Tuesday from Zelenskyy that said Kyiv is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible. I appreciate that he sent this letter, Trump said. Trumps address set the record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress at one hour and 40 minutes. The previous record was set by former President Bill Clinton at 1 hour and 28 minutes. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday delayed a new 25% tariff on vehicle imports from Mexico and Canada for a month, amid fears that a trade war between the neighboring countries could hurt the "Big 3" U.S. automakers. The U.S. leader spoke with top officials at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis before announcing the tariff delay, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said Trump urged the automakers to move their Mexican and Canadian production to the United States to avoid the tariffs altogether. But Trump's stiff new levies on the U.S.' two biggest trading partners remain in place for other products, although Leavitt said the president is open to hearing the case for other possible exemptions. Continuing tariffs threaten jobs in Canada, says official Trump announced the vehicle tariff delay in a statement after speaking earlier in the day with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who, according to The Associated Press, is not willing to lift Canada's retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves any tariffs on Canada. "Both countries will continue to be in contact today," Trudeau's office said. Doug Ford, the Ontario provincial premier, said earlier that if the U.S. tariff on Canadian vehicle exports to the U.S. remained in place, production at Canadian auto plants would start to shut down in about 10 days. "People are going to lose their jobs," he said. Trump imposed the duties on Mexico and Canada at midnight Monday, along with doubling tariffs on Chinese imported goods, to 20%. His action caused stock markets to plunge and threatened to boost the price of U.S. consumer goods and products that businesses need to operate. Mexico, Canada and China all said Tuesday they would retaliate against Trump's tariffs by increasing their own against U.S. products sent to their countries. Trump said on his Truth Social media platform that Trudeau called him Wednesday morning to ask what could be done about the new U.S. tax. "I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped," the president wrote. "He said that it's gotten better, but I said, 'That's not good enough.' The call ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner!" Tariffs not eliminated Earlier in the week, Trudeau said Canada has surged personnel and equipment to the border to stop the flow of fentanyl to the United States, as Trump had demanded as a possible path to averting the new tariff on Canadian imports. "Because of this work in partnership with the United States fentanyl seizures from Canada have dropped 97% between December 2024 and January 2025 to a near-zero low of 0.03 pounds seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection," Trudeau said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg Television that Trump's new tariffs will not be fully eliminated. "There are going to be tariffs, let's be clear," Lutnick said. "But what [Trump is] thinking about is which sections of the market that can maybe maybe he'll consider giving them relief until we get to, of course, April 2," when Trump has said he will impose reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world that tax imports from the U.S. The Canadian government said that nothing less than abandoning the new U.S. tariffs was acceptable. "We're not interested in meeting in the middle and having some reduced tariff. Canada wants the tariffs removed," Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In a speech Tuesday night to the U.S. Congress, Trump acknowledged the tariff turmoil, saying, "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. There will be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much." Trump has justified the new tariffs as a way to push Mexico and Canada to curb the flow of migrants and illicit drugs, especially the deadly opioid fentanyl, into the United States. Both countries said they had made major strides in meeting Trump's demands on migration and drug trafficking, but he ultimately imposed the same 25% duties he first announced in early February. "It may be a little bit of an adjustment period," he said, claiming that farmers would benefit from reciprocal tariffs on countries that have tariffs on U.S. exports. "You have to bear with me again, and this will be even better." Trudeau was incensed on Tuesday at Trump's tariff on Canadian exports, announcing he would retaliate with his own on more than $100 billion worth of American goods over the course of 21 days. "Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense," Trudeau said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would announce her country's counter-tariff increase against U.S. goods on Sunday. China placed tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Now that President Donald Trump has suspended military aid to Kyiv, Europe must decide how to handle security for itself and Ukraine. A look at trade tariffs imposed by Trump. Negotiations in Cairo for a Gaza rebuilding plan as Israel is preventing aid from entering the area. Plus, academic exchanges between the U.S. and China amid growing hostility. A U.S. board that reviews the firings of federal employees on Wednesday ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to temporarily reinstate thousands of workers who lost their jobs as part of President Donald Trump's layoffs of the federal workforce. Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit System Protection Board, ordered the USDA to reinstate fired probationary employees for 45 days while a challenge to the terminations plays out. The decision was issued a day after a federal judge blocked Trump from firing Harris, a Democrat, and removing her from her position with the board without cause before her term expires in three years. The administration is appealing that decision. "This is great news and needs to be done with all impacted agencies with similarly situated employees as fast as possible," said J. Ward Morrow, assistant general counsel at the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents some of the reinstated workers. Tanya Torst, who was fired from the U.S. Forest Service, a USDA agency, on Feb. 15, said she would be thrilled to return to her former job fundraising for a group of six national forests, though she worried about talk of shutting federal offices nationwide and of further staff reductions later this month. "We're thrilled to come back, but we're hoping they have a place for us." The USDA and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump and Elon Musk, the architect of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, are spearheading an unprecedented effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy, including through job cuts. It's estimated that more than 20,000 federal employees, almost all probationary workers, have lost their jobs and another 75,000 have taken a buyout, out of the 2.3 million federal civilian workforce. Probationary workers typically have less than a year of service in their current roles although some are longtime federal workers. Union efforts to contest the mass firings in federal court have faced procedural hurdles with judges questioning whether unions had standing to bring the cases or finding that they should have been brought to administrative boards like the MSPB. The merit board has proved to be a potential roadblock in the Trump administration's efforts to purge the federal workforce. The board hears appeals by federal government employees when they are fired or disciplined. It has already halted the firing of six other such employees at various agencies at the request of a watchdog agency whose leader Trump has also sought to fire, Hampton Dellinger of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Dellinger, an appointee of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, on Tuesday said that he had asked the board to halt the firing of thousands of USDA employees. Dellinger argued that the Trump administration's firing of the probationary employees was done unlawfully and without regard to the workers' rights while circumventing regulations governing mass reductions in the federal workforce. Harris agreed, saying she found reasonable grounds to believe that the agency fired them in violation of federal law. The board ordered all probationary USDA employees terminated since Feb. 13 to be temporarily reinstated. Dellinger in a statement welcomed the decision. He said his agency would continue investigating the firing of other federal probationary employees, and he called on federal agencies that had recently fired such workers to immediately reinstate them. "Voluntarily rescinding these hasty and apparently unlawful personnel actions is the right thing to do and avoids the unnecessary wasting of taxpayer dollars," he said. Like with Harris, Trump has sought to remove Dellinger from office, only to be stymied by the courts. The administration is appealing a decision from Saturday by a federal judge holding that Trump's firing of Dellinger was unlawful. President Donald Trump's administration said on Tuesday it was considering selling some of the U.S. government's most iconic properties, including the headquarters of the Department of Justice, the FBI and the building that once housed Trump's luxury hotel. The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal properties, said it had identified 443 properties totaling more than 80 million square feet that "are not core to government operations" and could be sold off. The potential sell-off appears to be part of Trump's effort to slash the size of the federal government, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The downsizing drive has already led to 100,000 workers taking buyouts or being fired. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has claimed that it has saved $105 billion so far, in part by canceling leases on government properties. Budget experts have cast doubt on the reliability of DOGE's data. The GSA said in a statement it could "no longer hope" to secure the money to bring the properties up to date and said a sale could potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs. Some of the buildings on GSA's list, such as the Old Post Office, which formerly housed the Trump International Hotel, are newly renovated. Others, such as the FBI's crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, are widely seen as outdated. The GSA said in 2023 it would build a new FBI headquarters in Maryland. It was not clear how many of the buildings on GSA's list will eventually be put up for sale, or what sort of price they might bring. GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Several agencies whose headquarters could potentially be sold off also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The list includes the headquarters for several major government agencies, including the Veterans Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal Aviation Administration. GSA's own headquarters were also on the list. The list includes skyscrapers in Chicago, Atlanta and Cleveland, as well as several Internal Revenue Service hubs that process tax returns. The IRS said in an internal memo last week that it would sell those buildings starting in June, after the April tax filing season is complete. Mayors of four of the largest cities in the U.S. appeared before lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday to defend their so-called "sanctuary city" laws, which restrict local officials in helping enforce federal immigration regulations. The Republicans who lead the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have long criticized such laws, as has U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House in January promising to deport more unauthorized immigrants, including asylum-seekers, than his predecessors. In opening remarks, Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, told the mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City, all Democrats, that Congress should vote against sending even "a single penny" of federal funding to sanctuary cities. "These reckless sanctuary policies also force federal immigration officers to go into local communities to apprehend criminal illegal aliens," Comer said. "If sanctuary cities were to simply communicate and work with federal immigration authorities, then federal agents could arrest criminal illegal aliens in a secure environment like a state or local jail." The mayors defended the laws as making all their residents safer, even as lawmakers on the committee, which is known for its sometimes combative hearings, interrupted some answers that went beyond a yes or no. State and municipal officials have said the U.S. Constitution's Tenth Amendment prevents the U.S. government from commandeering local officials to enforce federal law. All the mayors said they have always and will always honor criminal arrest warrants issued by courts. The specifics of sanctuary laws vary from city to city, and some have been on the books for decades, but they are generally intended to afford migrants similar due-process rights as those of citizens. Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, said sanctuary city laws are "in full compliance of federal law." "They do not obstruct ICE from carrying out its duties," Connolly said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adding that local police, not federal agents, were in the best position to ensure public safety. New York Mayor Eric Adams has said he is willing to help with Trump's deportation efforts as he tries to get Trump to dismiss a federal criminal indictment charging him with corruption. Some Republicans questioned Adams, a Democrat, more gently than they did the other mayors, while at least three Democrats asked Adams if, as some federal prosecutors have alleged, the mayor had struck an improper agreement with the Trump administration to escape prosecution. "There's no deal, there's no quid pro quo, and I did nothing wrong," Adams replied to Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, who also called on Adams to resign. Adams, who is running for reelection, has said he wants the city's laws weakened to allow cooperation with the federal government's deportation efforts where a migrant has been only accused, but not convicted, of a serious crime. He also wants to allow federal immigration agents back on Rikers Island, the city's main jail complex. New York City Council members have said they will not weaken the law. In his remarks to the House, Adams said New York City always complies with local, state and federal law. He said he had no tolerance for criminals, but also that he "must create an atmosphere that allows every law-abiding resident, documented or not, to access vital services without fear of being turned over to federal authorities." "If an undocumented person refuses to seek medical care until they have a medical emergency, our city's health care system will be strained, and if an undocumented individual witnesses a crime but is afraid to call 911 for fear of being turned over to federal authorities, criminals will roam free," Adams said. His fellow mayors relayed similar concerns about migrant children and parents being afraid of going to schools, police stations, churches or clinics, including migrants who had acquired legal permanent residency or U.S. citizenship but feared being profiled because of their accent or skin color. "A land ruled by fear is not the land of the free," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told the lawmakers, at times translating her remarks into Spanish and other languages. In most cases, sanctuary laws forbid local officials from arresting or detaining a person the federal government suspects of violating its immigration laws unless a judge has issued an arrest warrant. Even in sanctuary cities, ICE officials are free to arrest people they have cause to believe are living in the U.S. without authorization, typically a civil, not criminal, violation. ICE has a major field office in Manhattan, and its officers arrest hundreds of migrants across New York City each year under both Republican and Democratic presidents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security can deport non-citizens once an immigration judge issues a final order of removal. The main point of contention has been over how cities handle what ICE calls detainer requests for the minority of migrants who end up in local custody. ICE officials routinely ask local prison, jail or police officials to continue to detain a migrant who was free to leave custody for up to 48 additional hours: the migrant has posted bail, a judge has ordered their release, or they have completed a prison sentence. The majority of these requests come without a judge's warrant, which some federal judges have ruled violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. In New York City and elsewhere, local officials must ignore the requests unless they come with a judge's warrant and the migrant has been convicted of a violent felony. ICE officials must instead arrest the migrant independently, typically at their home or place of work, which they say makes their job more difficult and dangerous. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told the panel his city had honored more than 1,200 criminal arrest warrants from ICE in recent years. Florida's attorney general announced Tuesday that his office has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, brothers who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, days after they returned to the United States. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that he directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers. "Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I've directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers," Uthmeier said. After the Tates landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers weren't welcome in the state, and that he would have the attorney general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged crimes. During an appearance Monday on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate said the governor was caving to media pressure. Tate said he has a U.S. passport and a right to visit his home country. He said he has broken no laws and that he has never even been tried, let alone convicted, of a crime. The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year in Romania on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to that country, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations. Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who is a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online. He and his 36-year-old brother, Tristan, are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. Andrew Tate previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted. The Tates left Romania after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers' case at the recent Munich Security Conference. The U.S. Justice Department presented in a federal court in Virginia the alleged mastermind of the August 2021 bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The justice department said Islamic State Khorasan operative Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, was charged on March 2 with providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death. Sharifullah appeared in an Alexandria, Virginia, court not far from the U.S. capital Wednesday, wearing light blue prison garb and a black face mask, Agence France-Presse reported. President Donald Trump broke the news of Sharifullahs capture Tuesday night in a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill. Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, Trump said. And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. The Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021 also killed roughly 170 Afghans. Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization linked with the Islamic State terror group, claimed responsibility. The suicide attack came amid the chaotic troop withdrawal at the end of the 20-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. In this speech, Trump hailed Pakistan for helping with the mission to arrest Sharifullah. And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster, the U.S. president said. Sharifullahs capture Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif identified Sharifullah as a top tier commander and an Afghan national in a post on X. The wanted terrorist was apprehended in a successful operation conducted in Pakistan-Afghan border region, Sharif said, without sharing details. The justice department said the mission was a multi-agency effort that also involved the CIA and the FBI. Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker, the department said. Sharifullah admitted to recognizing Abdul Rahman al-Logari who detonated the suicide bomb and admitted to playing a role in other attacks in Afghanistan and Russia, the statement added. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told media, Wednesday Sharifullah was captured late last month based on US intelligence and Pakistani officials interrogated him first. "US law enforcement officers travelled to Pakistan over the weekend, where he again confessed his crimes to the FBI." Leavitt said. Islamabad-based security affairs analyst Iftikhar Firdous told VOA that Sharifullah, a resident of Kabul, joined ISIS-K in 2016. He was arrested in 2019 and then released during the jailbreak of the Afghan Taliban during their takeover of August 15, 2021, said Firdous, founder of The Khorasan Diary, an online platform that monitors militancy. If convicted, Sharifullah could get a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, the justice department said. Cooperation with Pakistan Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for acknowledging his countrys contribution in a post on the X social media platform. We thank U.S. President Donald Trump for acknowledging and appreciating Pakistan's role and support in counter terrorism efforts across the region, Sharif posted. We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability, the prime minister added. The arrest signals Islamabad and Washington are working closely on some security issues despite relations reaching a low since the end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power. The arrest shows that counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US remains robust even though relations are largely confined to a narrow bandwidth focused on counterterrorism, former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Maleeha Lodhi, told VOA. This is the first major development between both countries since the Trump administration took office, Firdous said. It also exemplifies the dependence of both countries on each other when it comes to counterterrorism cooperation. Thaw in ties? Still, experts warned the joint effort and the public expression of gratitude from the highest offices should not be seen as a thaw in relations. One has to be careful not to over read the significance of a single event for Pakistan-US relations, that have been at a crossroads since the US exit from Afghanistan in 2021 and need high-level engagement for a reset, Lodhi said. Most military aid to Pakistan remains blocked since Trump put a freeze on it during his first term in office. Many in Washington also blame Pakistan for the losses the United States incurred in the Afghan war. In congressional hearings soon after the troop withdrawal, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said Pakistans role in providing sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban needed to be fully examined. Antony Blinken, then-Secretary of State, told Congress in a September 2021 hearing that the Biden administration would look into the role Pakistan played during the war. Nearly two dozen Republican senators also proposed a bill that called for an assessment of support by state and non-state actors, including the government of Pakistan, for the Taliban between 2001 and 2020. Pakistan, a major non-NATO ally has consistently denied allegations of covertly providing support to Taliban while supporting the U.S. in the Afghan war. We remain steadfast in our resolve and unwavering commitment to combating terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, Sharif said in his X post Wednesday. In a post on X, Washington-based South Asia expert Micheal Kugelman said Pakistan is interested in a new security partnership with the U.S. Pakistan wants to leverage U.S. concerns about terrorism in Afghanistan and pitch a renewed security partnership with the U.S., said Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, adding it will be a hard sell to the administration. The joint counter-terrorism operation comes just days after the Trump administration released $397 million for a program that supports Pakistans use of F-16 fighter jets acquired from Washington. Islamabad is stipulated to use the fighter jets for only for counterterrorism purposes, and not against archrival India. Afghanistan reacts Hamdullah Fetrat, Afghan Taliban deputy spokesperson, told Afghan public broadcaster RTA that Sharifullahs arrest showed ISIS-K militants were present in Pakistan. The arrest of a member of ISIS-K in Pakistan confirms that ISIS-K has hideouts and training centers in that region, and this also proves that ISIS-K does not have hideouts in Afghanistan, Fitrat said an audio message in Pashto. In a briefing last month United Nations counterterrorism officials said ISIS-K posed a significant threat in Afghanistan, the region and beyond. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring anti-Pakistan militants and taking insufficient action to curb cross-border attacks. Taliban authorities reject the allegation. The clinical condition of Pope Francis remained stable, the Vatican said Tuesday evening, and he was "alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented." However, the statement also said that Francis' prognosis "remains guarded," which means he is not out of danger. Francis, the leader of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, has been in Rome's Gemelli Hospital for more than two weeks. He was admitted on February 14 with a case of bronchitis that worsened into double pneumonia. On Tuesday morning, the 88-year-old pontiff "transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy and underwent respiratory physiotherapy," according to a Vatican statement. On Tuesday night, the pope was set to resume noninvasive mechanical ventilation throughout the night. While Francis' heart, kidney and blood measurements are stable, "his health situation remains complex," the Vatican said. On Monday, the pope underwent two bronchoscopies to remove "a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus." The Vatican said Francis remained "alert, oriented and cooperative at all times" during the procedures. However, Dr. John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Chicago's Northwestern Medicine, told The Associated Press, said Francis seems to be "taking little steps forward and then steps back." "The fact that they had to go in there and remove [the mucus] manually is concerning, because it means that [the pope] is not clearing the secretions on his own," said Coleman, who is not part of the pope's medical team. This hospital stay is Francis' longest during his time as pope. He is prone to lung infections, having had part of a lung removed when he was a young man. Francis' hospital stay is not the record amount of time a pope has been hospitalized. In 1981, Pope John Paul II spent 55 days in Gemelli for a minor operation that resulted in a serious infection that extended the pontiff's hospital stay. LONDON/DUBAI (REUTERS) Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's sweets, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, traders and industry sources say, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict. Sudan produces around 80% of the world's gum arabic, a natural substance harvested from acacia trees that's widely used to mix, stabilize and thicken ingredients in mass-market products including L'Oreal lipsticks and Nestle petfood. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war since April 2023 with Sudan's national army, seized control late last year of the main gum-harvesting regions of Kordofan and Darfur in western Sudan. Since then the raw product, which can only be marketed by Sudanese traders in return for a fee to the RSF, is making its way to Sudan's neighbors without proper certification, according to conversations with eight producers and buyers who are directly involved in gum arabic trading or based in Sudan. The gum is also exported through informal border markets, two traders told Reuters. Asked for comment, a RSF representative said that the force had protected the gum arabic trade and only collected small fees, adding that talk of any lawbreaking was propaganda against the paramilitary group. Last month, the RSF signed a charter with allied groups establishing a parallel government in the parts of Sudan it controls. In recent months, traders in countries with lower-gum arabic production than Sudan, such as Chad and Senegal, or which barely exported it before the war, like Egypt and South Sudan, have begun to aggressively offer the commodity at cheap prices and without proof it is conflict-free, two buyers who have been approached by traders told Reuters. While the acacia trees that yield gum arabic grow across the Africa's arid Sahel region known as the 'gum belt' Sudan has become by far the world's biggest exporter due to its extensive groves. Herve Canevet, Global Marketing Specialist at Singapore-based supplier of specialty food ingredients Eco-Agri, said it was often difficult to determine where gum supplies are coming from as many traders would not say if their product has been smuggled. "Today, the gum in Sudan, I would say all of it is smuggled, because there's no real authority in the country," he said. The Association for International Promotion of Gums (AIPG), an industry lobby, said in a January 27 public statement it "does not see any evidence of links between gum [arabic] supply chain and the competing [Sudanese] forces." However, five industry sources said the opaque new trade in gum risked infiltrating the procurement system of global ingredients makers. Companies like Nexira, Alland & Robert, and Ingredion buy a refined version of the amber-colored gum, turn it into emulsifiers and sell it to big consumer goods firms. Contacted by Reuters, Ingredion said it works to ensure that all supply chain transactions are fully legitimate and has diversified sourcing since the start of the war to include other countries such as Cameroon. Nexira told Reuters the civil war prompted it to cut its imports from Sudan and take proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the conflict on its supply chain, including broadening sourcing to ten other countries. Alland & Robert, Nestle and Coca Cola did not comment. M&Ms maker Mars and L'Oreal did not return requests for comment. Cheap gum for sale Mohammed Hussein Sorge, founder of Khartoum-based Unity Arabic Gum, which served global ingredients makers before the war, said he was offered gum arabic in December by traders in Senegal and Chad. He said the Chad-based traders wanted $3,500 per ton for hashab gum, a more expensive variety of gum arabic primarily produced in Sudan, for which he would normally expect to pay more than $5,000 per ton. The sellers could not provide a Sedex certification, which ensures buyers a supplier meets sustainable and ethical standards, Sorge also told Reuters. Sorge did not buy the gum because he feared the low price and lack of documentation was an indication it had been stolen in Sudan or exported via informal RSF-affiliated networks. "Smugglers manage to smuggle gum arabic through the RSF because the RSF controls all production areas," Sorge said. Sorge, who fled to Egypt after RSF forces stole his entire gum supply in 2023, shared WhatsApp messages with Reuters showing these gum traders had reached out on five separate occasions, including as recently as Jan. 9. Since October, the RSF banned exports for 12 goods to Egypt, including gum arabic, in retaliation for what it said was Egyptian airstrikes against the militia. Asked for comment, the paramilitary said it banned what it called smuggling to Egypt because it was not benefiting Sudan. A buyer, who declined to be named for safety reasons, recounted how he also was approached by shadowy gum traders. "I have [acacia] seyal cleaned open quantities ready for shipping," read one WhatsApp message, reviewed by Reuters and offering a load of seyal gum, a cheaper gum arabic variety. In subsequent WhatsApp messages, the trader proposed to schedule shipping every two months at a negotiable price of $1,950 per metric ton, lower than the $3,000 per ton the buyer said he would expect to pay for this kind of load. In a different WhatsApp conversation with the same buyer, reviewed by Reuters, a different trader said that trucks carrying gum arabic had crossed the Sudanese border into South Sudan and Egypt. In all instances, the gum traders could not provide a Sedex certification, the buyer said, adding that he declined the offers for fear the gum came from RSF-affiliated networks. Changing routes Before the Sudanese civil war, the raw gum would be sorted in Khartoum and then trucked to Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, to be shipped via the Suez Canal around the world. Since late last year, however, RSF-affiliated gum arabic started to appear on sale at two informal markets on the border between the Sudanese province of West Kordofan and South Sudan, according to a buyer based in an RSF-controlled area, who declined to be named due to safety concerns. The buyer, a major trader in the West Kordofan area, said traders collect gum from Sudanese land owners and sell them to South Sudanese traders in these markets for U.S. dollars. All of this happens with RSF protection, which the traders pay for, the buyer added. Abdallah Mohamed, a producer who owns acacia groves in West Kordofan, also told Reuters the RSF takes a fee from the traders for protection. The paramilitary group has diversified its interests into gold, livestock, agriculture and banking. South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei, who is also the government's spokesperson, told Reuters transport of gum through South Sudan was not the government's responsibility. Calls and messages to Joseph Moum Majak, the minister of trade and industry for South Sudan, went unanswered. The RSF also takes the product to the Central African Republic through the border town of Um Dafoog, the buyer said, adding that some goes to Chad. A wholesale buyer, based outside Sudan, told Reuters the gum was now being exported through Mombasa in Kenya and South Sudan's capital Juba. Arabic gum of illicit origin has also appeared on sale online. Isam Siddig, a Sudanese gum processor who is now a refugee in Britain, told Reuters his warehouses in Khartoum had been raided by the RSF after he fled in April 2023 with three suitcases of gum in tow. A year later, his gum products appeared on sale, still in his company's branded packaging, in an online Facebook group according to a screenshot shared with Reuters. The News in Brief Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Mzia Amaglobeli, co-founder and director of Netgazeti/Batumelebi, will remain in custody following a ruling by Batumi City Court Judge Viktor Metreveli. The decision was made during a pre-trial hearing on March 4, where the court reviewed the possibility of revising her preventive measure.During the hearing, it was revealed that Amaglobeli's case includes a detective's report from February 15, which alleges that she planned to attack a police officer and communicated about it over the phone. Based on this claim, the prosecutor's office requested access to data from Amaglobeli's phone.Amaglobeli rejected the charges in court, calling her detention unjust and politically motivated."I do not agree with the charges. I consider myself an unlawful prisoner. Fortunately, dictatorship has not yet fully gained control in our homeland. Therefore, I believe that I and the prisoners of conscience will be able to prove our innocence," she stated.Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has rejected the Venice Commission's concerns over recent amendments to Georgia's Code of Administrative Offenses and the Law on Assemblies and Manifestations, dismissing the body as "one of the most frivolous" European institutions.The Venice Commission concluded that the amendments impose excessive restrictions on freedom of assembly and other fundamental rights, arguing that they fail to meet principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality. The commission urged Georgian authorities to revise the legislation.Kobakhidze, however, dismissed the criticism outright, claiming the commission's conclusions "cannot be taken seriously.""There is absolutely no legal basis for their request. In general, I can say that the Venice Commission is one of the most frivolous European structures. Even within the broader frivolity of European institutions, the Venice Commission stands out," he stated.According to Kobakhidze, the commission has shifted from a legal expertise center to a political body serving the 'global war party.'"Without any legal justification, it writes political conclusions, which is not its role. We cannot take their conclusions seriously. If they make legal assessments, we will consider them, but politics is not the business of the Venice Commission." Xiao Zhiqiang, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor from the 22nd batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, treats a local patient in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) HARARE, March 4 (Xinhua) -- After two years of dedicated service, Hu Sha, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor, is preparing to return to China. Yet, as she bids farewell, she leaves a lasting legacy in Zimbabwe, where her work has touched countless lives. Despite occasional bouts of homesickness, the sight of her patients finding relief kept her motivated. "When I see my patients who once suffered smile again, when I hear a local child with cerebral palsy say 'thank you' to me in Chinese, I know all my efforts have been worthwhile," Hu told Xinhua. Affectionately known as Doctor Chipo, which means "gift" in Zimbabwe's Shona language, Hu has spent the past two years making a profound impact on the lives of patients at the Zimbabwe-China TCM and Acupuncture Center, located at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, the southern African country's capital. "I believe Zimbabwe and its people are a gift to me," she said. "Their trust in TCM and Chinese doctors is the best gift I have received in the past two years." Hu first arrived in Zimbabwe in March 2023 as a member of the Chinese medical team, initially for a one-year service. Inspired by the growing impact of TCM, she decided to extend her stay for another year to continue providing critical care. As head of the TCM center, she oversaw daily operations, patient care, training, and the promotion of TCM culture. The increasing acceptance of TCM among Zimbabweans exceeded her expectations. "The remarkable healing effects of Chinese medicine have spread widely in Zimbabwe, and the number of patients continues to grow. Appointments at the TCM center are now fully booked until April," she said. Last year, with the technical and financial support of the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine in central China's Hunan Province, Hu established Africa's first TCM emergency room and exhibition room at the center. "I wanted to create a space where Zimbabweans could experience TCM firsthand --where they could see, learn about, and trust in its benefits," she said. One of her most significant contributions has been treating children with cerebral palsy. "In my clinical work, I discovered a high number of children with cerebral palsy in Zimbabwe. TCM acupuncture plays a positive role in their rehabilitation," Hu explained. In response, the TCM center has introduced a specialized cerebral palsy clinic, offering acupuncture therapy to local children every Thursday. "Traditional Chinese medicine is not just about physical healing. It also nurtures the soul. I hope to use this ancient wisdom to light up the future of these children," she said. For Rudo Gonyora, a mother of a four-year-old child with cerebral palsy, acupuncture has helped improve her child's condition. "Since we started the acupuncture treatments, he's more active, bubbling with energy, and his movement has improved. His head control is getting better. We can see real progress," she said. Local colleagues at the TCM center have also benefited from Hu's presence. "From children to adults, she treated every patient with love and compassion," said Charlotte Muziri, an assistant at the center. "She has been a true blessing to our clinic." As Hu prepares to leave, her work will be carried forward by Xiao Zhiqiang, a TCM doctor from Hunan Province. "Seeing patients' lives improve through Chinese medicine and witnessing the deep friendships formed here is an honor," Xiao said. "I will continue helping the China-Zimbabwe traditional medicine cooperation project take root and grow." A member of the newly arrived 22nd batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, Xiao looks forward to expanding the reach of TCM in the country. "I hope Chinese medicine can bring relief to even more people in Zimbabwe," he said. Hu Sha, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor from the 21st batch of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe, treats a local patient in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) U.S. President Donald Trump began his first speech to Congress of his second term by proclaiming that America is back, triggering chants of USA from Republican lawmakers. Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country, Trump said. Trump said his administration has accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started. To date, he has signed 76 executive orders several of which are being challenged in court. Just a few minutes into Trumps address, the president was interrupted by jeering from the floor of the House, prompting Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson to direct the sergeant at arms to remove Democratic Representative Al Green, who is from Texas. Trump continued his address after Green was removed from the chamber. Trump listed several of his executive orders, including that he declared a national emergency on the southern border and deployed U.S. military and border patrol to "repel the invasion of our country." He also said he imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring since returning to the White House, plus a freeze on foreign aid. Trump also withdrew the United States from what he called the unfair Paris Climate Accord, the corrupt World Health Organization and the anti-American U.N. human rights council. Usually known as the State of the Union in non-inauguration years, the address provides Trump with a public stage to lay out his vision for the U.S. economy and immigration policy, and allows him to defend recent controversial decisions to cut the federal workforce and confront Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The most pressing challenge for Trump will be to unite Republican majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives to pass a budget funding the government past a March 14 deadline. Republicans differ on whether to cut popular social safety net programs such Medicaid, which provides health insurance to those with low incomes, to pay down the U.S. debt and pay for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts passed during Trumps first term. Trump has called for one big, beautiful bill to fund his domestic policy agenda. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are going to deliver the America First agenda, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week. Were going to deliver all of it, not just parts of it. Congressional Democrats have criticized the budget for benefiting the wealthy. "Make no mistake, it will rob seniors, kids and the disabled to pay for the rich to get richer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last week. Trump also addressed the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk. Senator and former CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trumps address. Slotkin won the swing state of Michigan by focusing on the economy in her outreach to voters. VOA's Katherine Gypson and Kim Lewis contributed to this story. It has been over six years since we got new episodes of Daredevil, the first and possibly still the best of the six Marvel series made for Netflix. Over six years have passed since lawyers Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page reunited to reopen their firm as a trio; since Wilson Fisk, the mob boss known as Kingpin, sacrificed his freedom to keep his new wife, Vanessa, safe from prosecution; since Matt, as the vigilante Daredevil, truly wrestled with the dark part of himself that enjoys hurting people. Weve seen some of these characters pop up elsewhere, of course, given the interconnected nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Karen showed up to hang out with Frank Castle in both seasons of The Punisher. Matt had a fling with Jennifer Walters in She-Hulk and popped up in a flashback in Echo to fight Maya Lopez, who shot out the eye of her adoptive uncle (and later failed mentor), Fisk, in Hawkeye. But now Daredevil is back in a new form with lots of new characters and some of the old ones. Episode 1 opens with a happy image, comforting in its familiarity: Matt, Foggy, and Karen stepping out of their storefront office and goofing around on the way to Josies Bar. Its the ideal intro to the new show, really, an instant reminder of the characters and friendships we love. And it continues at Josies, where Matt and Karen laugh and gossip as Foggy chats up Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie (Nikki M. James). This is a retirement party for Cherry (Clark Johnson), a cop who often works with Nelson, Murdock, and Page, but its really just a venue to catch us up on the state of Hells Kitchen and the status of our characters. For example, Matt and Karen are firmly in the friend zone, to the point that they can comfortably joke about hooking up without any threat of that actually happening. Then Matt overhears Foggy chatting to a scared client on the phone, and everything changes. Foggy stashed the client at his place to protect him after something that went down in Red Hook, but now a familiar face is after them both: Benjamin Dex Poindexter, or Bullseye, the former FBI agent with perfect aim from season three (and iconic villain from the comics) who briefly worked for Fisk and impersonated Daredevil until getting his spine broken for turning on his employer. Before theres time for Matt (and us) to really process whats going on, hes already at Josies shooting Foggy in the chest. Daredevil was known for its gnarly one-shot action sequences, and the four-minute one that follows really is a Were so back moment. Its worth noting that this first episode is directed by exec producers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, a filmmaking team known for sci-fi horror flicks like The Endless and Synchronic (though Spring is my personal favorite), and the choice to hire them really pays off here. Im not just talking about the fighting choreography in the Daredevil-Bullseye brawl, which is as good as ever; the chaos of bystanders milling around in the foreground is particularly immersive along with the camera smoothly dollying back to follow Dex as he flees through the building, striking and mostly killing any human being he encounters. But Foggy is whom were really concerned about, and the choice to stick with him as he bleeds out and dies is pretty powerful. Sure, the camera follows Matt and Dex, but Matts super-hearing means that he keeps tuning in to Karens pleas with Foggy to stay conscious. Hes mentally in two places at once: right outside Josies with his dying best friend and on the rooftop with the man who killed him. When he realizes that Foggy is indeed past the point of no return Benson and Moorhead tilt down to remind us of Matts friends relative proximity in a particularly stunning moment he acts on instinct, on what feels good. He throws Dex off the side of the building and watches him smack the ground, an impact that would kill most people. Its the first time Matt has actually, truly attempted murder, so its fitting that it would also be the moment he drops the mask off the roof and retires the Daredevil persona. When we pick up a year later, some street interviews for The BB Report (hosted by Genneya Waltons BB Urich, a relative of the late Ben) confirm that Daredevil is indeed retired and that the streets are suffering as a result. At least Matts career is thriving; he and Kirsten are partners at the head of a respected firm. But hes still clearly messed up about what happened last year, as we can see in his emotional testimony during Dexs trial. The killer has no remorse, and hes sentenced to life in prison on 11 counts of first-degree murder. I have a feeling he wont be in prison for long, but for now hes not an immediate concern. Its sad to see the state of Matts relationship with Karen when they chat after the trial. She lives in San Francisco now, and while shes happy to see Matt deep down, it also hurts too much because he reminds her of Foggy, obviously, but also because he wasnt there for her in the weeks after Foggys death. Matt has a habit of going dark, which we saw a lot of in seasons two and three of the original run, and he still hasnt gotten over that. But this time, hes not abandoning Matt Murdock to be Daredevil full time; hes doing the opposite. Im not him anymore, and I wont let myself be, he insists. Look, Im sad that Foggy is dead, and I did hope wed get more time with the trio together. But I cant argue with the impressive execution and with the way it sets the stakes for a dark (but hopefully not excessively morose) season ahead. One easy way to inject some lightness into a glum scenario is with some romance, and the arrival of a therapist named Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) should keep Matt from getting too emo. Heather is another famous love interest from the comics, introduced here when Kirsten sets Matt up on a client meeting that turns out to be a date. She says that Matt needs this, but I think the show might need it, too. And Benson and Moorhead bring their touch to the cute coffee-shop verbal sparring, eventually cutting out sound as the two laugh and connect. Of course, we know from watching Daredevil that when Matt tries to be a normal guy and have normal relationships, he usually fails. Even on his dinner date with Heather, he cant stop listening to people discussing the results of the mayoral election. It turns out someone else has a plan to deal with the citys crime problem: Wilson Fisk, who declares his candidacy for mayor early in the episode and gets elected by the conclusion. Fisk is really the other main character of this episode, and likely this show, a monstrous criminal rising to power by fearmongering over crime rates. (Sounds like another NYC mayor I know.) Vanessa (a returning Ayelet Zurer) had a vital role in running her husbands criminal empire while he recovered, and shes damn good at it, as we see from her mediating during a meeting with the Five Families. If theyre going to continue their rise to power, Fisks business will need to appear completely legitimate, something Vanessa has already ensured. Cherry refers to her as an investment sorceress, and Matt wryly suggests Fisk might even be the mayor New York deserves. But theres tension in the marriage, of both a personal and professional nature. Vanessa seems to resent Fisk for his monthslong absence from their marriage and for his ease in commanding attention the moment he walks into a room, while her gender still puts her at a disadvantage. She also seemingly strayed from their marriage at some point with a man named Adam, whom Fisk promises not to kill. Anyone taking bets on when Fisk is going to kill Adam? Other seasons of Daredevil took a while to bring Matt and Fisk into direct contact, though it always happened before the end. But this wouldnt feel like a proper beginning to Born Again without at least one interaction between hero and villain, and their chat is easily a highlight of the episode. There are two coffee-shop dates in this episode, but this is the really electric one. It might seem strange that the two are so cordial and even friendly considering their history Fisk actually chortles after Matt needles him for getting shot in the face by Maya but it really has been a while, and both of them are in totally different states of mind (and different neighborhoods) than when they last met. Thats what makes this conversation so interesting: Theyre laying their cards on the table and genuinely discussing how far theyve each come, even if each can tell that the other is kind of lying to himself. Its hard to come to terms with a violent nature, Fisk remarks, referencing Matts attempt to kill Dex. Their tense discussion ends with them threatening each other: If Fisk goes back to his old ways, Matt will stop him and vice versa. It establishes a compelling mirror relationship between hero and villain that was always there but now makes more sense than ever. All things considered, Episode 1 is a pretty damn good start to this new similar-but-different iteration of Daredevil, even if I still havent fully processed the loss that kicks it all off. Devil in the Details New credits sequence! I dont have much to say about it, really, but it kicks off with the image of Matts discarded Daredevil mask with one horn missing which Karen later returns to him at the courthouse. Dexs Hello, Karen is supremely creepy. Another classic Daredevil fighting-scene hallmark: We get to see the exhaustion really set in with everyone involved, as when Dex and Matt pant while sluggishly chasing each other up the stairs. Some new characters working on the Fisk campaign: Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara), Buck Cashman (Arty Froushan), and fanboy canvasser Daniel Blake (Michael Gandolfini). Of the three, only Buck appeared in the comics, though hes best known there as Bullet. Denise Richards fans are in it for the long haul. She imprinted on us at a young age with perhaps the greatest three-film run in cinema history: 1997s Starship Troopers, 1998s Wild Things, and 1999s Drop Dead Gorgeous. Her career as a reality star, born out of her tabloid past as the former Mrs. Charlie Sheen, has been slightly less illustrious from her forgotten E! series, Denise Richards: Its Complicated, to her contentious stint on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The latter culminated in an unceremonious exit with Denise bailing amid rumors of an affair with Brandi Glanville and some admittedly wretched mean-girl behavior from castmates Lisa Rinna and Kyle Richards (no relation). But Denise devotees have kept hope alive, undeterred by Trixie Mattels iconic misquote of Rinna: I wouldnt be surprised if we never saw Denise Richards again. We did see Denise again on season 13 of RHOBH, when she wore a jacket upside down, slurred her way through a dinner party, and then walked right into a fight with a no-holds-barred Erika Jayne. It was not, perhaps, the comeback she had hoped for, so it makes sense that were now getting Denise on her own terms in her new reality series, Denise Richards & Her Wild Things. Originally picked up by E! to follow in the footsteps of Its Complicated, the show was moved to Bravo and given the RHOBH lead-in. That time slot coupled with a trailer that included RHOBH stars Camille Meyer (nee Grammer), Garcelle Beauvais, Kathy Hilton, Sutton Stracke, and Denises nemesis Erika has clearly been designed to recontextualize Denise Richards & Her Wild Things as a Housewives spin-off. Its not. In fact, the first two episodes of the series make two things clear: One, in terms of tone and overall quality, this show is much more E! than Bravo; and two, the frequent appearances of Denises famous friends are what will make it watchable. That sounds a little harsh, especially coming from a Denise fan, but I need to be honest. The family drama thats supposed to be the shows selling point is nowhere near as engaging as a pop-in from Tori Spelling. In the opening scene of the first episode, were introduced (or reintroduced) to most of our key players. Denise and husband Aaron Phypers are picking up their three golden retrievers from the dog-training ranch. One of them will be a service dog for the youngest daughter, Eloise, 13, who is mostly nonverbal owing to a chromosomal deletion that caused developmental delays. Also present is 19-year-old Lola Sheen, Denises second daughter with Charlie. Lolas like a fairy, Denise says in a confessional. Shes just very soft, shes light. Shes also deeply devoted to Jesus, as we learn in the second episode, and I feel like that would have been useful context from the jump. The premiere also gives us insight into Denises living arrangements. She has a home, but after Aarons parents and brother turned their stay of a few months into more than three years, Denise realized she needed space. She and Aaron rented a townhouse and then two more townhouses, which have been classified as a home, a studio, and an office. Ill be honest, I find all this our lives are so quirky and chaotic stuff to be much less interesting than whatevers lurking underneath, as in The Baldwins. For example, where is the money coming from to pay for four properties? A quick glance at Denises IMDb makes me wonder how much she could realistically be taking in, though perhaps Aaron (and his top-secret work they once claimed had caused them to be followed) is the primary breadwinner. Also, how does Denise really feel about her in-laws essentially forcing her out of her actual home? Before we can dwell on that too much, we meet Denises firstborn, 20-year-old Sami, whom RHOBH fans know from Erika asking whether Denise or Sami makes more money on OnlyFans. It turns out their respective OF careers are a bit of a sore subject for Sami, who joined the platform as a way to make money outside of her minimum-wage candy-shop job. Denise claims she then set up her own OF as a way to support her daughter, but the result was a number of confusing headlines that paired the mother and daughter in a way that gave the vague suggestion of incest. Sami ended up being subject to more mockery and had to explain to her friends that she wasnt collaborating with her mom on OnlyFans. You have a lot of explaining to do with your friends with both your parents, Denise offers. Then, looking directly at the camera: Thats why we have a show! Its a little early for fourth-wall breaking, but this is the woman who gave us Bravo, Bravo, fucking Bravo, so really, what did you expect? Now that the family dynamics have been established, its time to meet this weeks special guest star: Camille. It looks as if Denise Richards & Her Wild Things is positioning itself to have at least one cameo in every episode, and as Ive noted, thats basically the shows selling point. Unfortunately, Camille is not the most dynamic presence at this point in her reality career just look at her disastrous return to RHOBH earlier this season. Denise explains that she met Camille when their then-husbands were constantly up against each other for awards because Frasier and Two and a Half Men aired at the same time. (Those shows only briefly overlapped, though maybe Denise is thinking of Spin City. Regardless, we need better fact-checking.) Theres a nice little hint of darkness to Denise saying she will never divorce Aaron, even if they hate each other, but mostly we just get the two former Housewives running an errand to prepare for a Malibu beach picnic with a lot of strict rules about plastic. Denise also drops that Sami and Lola arent speaking, which is supposed to be the core drama of these opening episodes but shows up here as a bit of an afterthought. Or maybe I just dont care about this particular conflict, which stems from Lola staying friends with Samis ex-boyfriend because he was Lolas friend to begin with. Im inclined to agree with Denise here: Youre gonna have plenty of stuff to fight about; this is nothing. Nevertheless, the family barbecue is at least in part an attempt to bring the two sisters back together. Its also an opportunity for the show to introduce more side characters, including Cousin Al and his girlfriend, Lena; and Charlie Sheens third ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, the mother of a son who looks eerily like Charlie and is Sami and Lolas half-brother. Im too distracted by those dynamics to pay much attention to the sisters fighting, just as Denise is distracted by a passing squirrel. Sorry, I keep looking at this squirrel, she says. I have so many squirrels that come, and I feed them nuts. More of this Denise, the one who seems a little like shes on another planet. (Perhaps even a planet where she fights giant bugs!) Denise being spacey also leads to the funniest moment in the episode. She sits down with her daughters to try to make peace, but when Lola asks Sami to speak to her more kindly, Sami answers, I wouldnt speak to you like this if you werent such a bitch, dude. Denise interjects, Dont call her dude, shes your sister. It was spoiled by the trailer, but it still makes me laugh as does Denise getting her handbag caught in the picnic table and spending the next several minutes trying to extricate it while Sami and Lola continue to jab at each other. This is the show I want to be watching, one where Denise is in full upside-down-jacket mode, and not an E!-flavored family comedy about sisters fighting over a boy. Alas, as the second episode begins, Denise is still fixated on repairing her daughters relationship, even after acknowledging she has made the situation worse. Dont worry, we also take a moment for Denise to remind us how big Aarons penis is, as if the point hadnt been hammered home sufficiently on RHOBH. (We also learn, speaking of RHOBH, that Erika Jayne once complimented his lats and that hes repressed that memory because he cut all those women out of his life. Seems like a chill guy!) Aaron agrees with Denise that it may be time to call in Cousin Al because hes kind of a big brother to the girls. Al has struggled with addiction for much of his life but is now clean and sober. At one point, he stole Denises handbags and pretended to be a Louis Vuitton rep on Facebook so he could get some quick cash. I found it very endearing when Denise reflected that despite her anger, At the end of the day its just stuff. I root for Al, even if I personally find it a little weird when he greets his cousins with Hi, beautiful. But enough about the family stuff. This episodes special guest star is Tori Spelling, and shes a much bigger draw for me than Camille. I love Tori, and I root for her, too whether shes up against ex-husband Dean McDermott or a hibachi grill and shes in fine form when she meets up with Denise. Who am I to judge their daytime beverages of tequila and vodka? I do feel like Tori upstages Denise a bit; shes just more naturally funny. When Denise mentions that Aaron is the first man shes been with who can actually be handy around the house, Tori notes, I cant imagine Charlie screwing in a lightbulb How many hookers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? They jointly call their shared ex, Patrick Muldoon (Zander in Starship Troopers), and Tori learns that Patrick actually broke it off with Denise for her. This is huge for Tori, a woman who never got the Hollywood sex-symbol treatment Denise did. Shes feeling so benevolent that she lets Denise invite herself onto her new podcast. The podcast recording is pretty fun Tori does her misSPELLING show from a bed at the iHeartRadio studios, a nod to her post-divorce depression. Again, Denise Richards & Her Wild Things works best for me when its Denise connecting with these famous friends she has decades of history with. She has some really nice moments here, like saying Tori may as well go topless on OnlyFans because your tits are out there. When Tori says theyre actually not, Denise counters, Oh well, you might as well have them out there. She also invokes the deaths of Luke Perry and Shannen Doherty to urge Tori to live freely and without shame because life is fucking short. Its a nice moment, and you can see the genuine connection between these women. Less genuine are the very produced scenes in which we contrast Sami and Lola: While Sami gets ready for a rave with her friend Leah, Lola celebrates Taco Tuesday and Jesus with her saintlier pals, Reily and Nick. Its here that we learn about Lolas very recent embrace of Christianity she says she really started living with God only a few months ago and the whole thing is much more intense than I expected. She seems to live her whole life around signs from Jesus when shes not getting advice from her dad (what a contrast!), and it becomes clear in confessionals that religion may be at the root of her distance from her sister. Sami feels judged by Lola, at one point suggesting that Lola thinks she follows Satan, and given how Lola is talking, Im not sure thats an exaggeration. Its also clear that, for Lola, God understands me, and thats all that matters. This is really not where I saw this story line going, but I guess its more compelling than the same breaking girl code drama that plagues Housewives franchises. Regardless, the conflict seems to be wrapping up already. Al meets with his cousins to mediate, and theyre pretty quickly able to express where their hurt is coming from (aside from the Satan thing). Lola feels Sami dated in Lolas friend group against her wishes and has created unreasonable boundaries for her. Sami feels Lola is choosing Samis ex-boyfriend over Sami. While their positions dont really change, Al gets them to apologize and say they love each other, which does make you wonder how serious this fight ever was. But as someone who really just wants to watch Denise shoot the shit with her 90s co-stars and ex-lovers, Im more than happy to move on. Photo: Andrew Toth/WireImage Neil Gaiman has asked a Wisconsin federal court to throw out Scarlett Pavlovichs lawsuit against him, pointing to text messages that he says refute her outrageous claims and arguing that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction over allegations arising in New Zealand anyway. In February, Pavlovich sued Gaiman for human trafficking and sexual abuse, claiming that he repeatedly raped her while she was a live-in nanny for his child in New Zealand in 2022. She previously detailed these allegations in a New York Magazine cover story in which multiple other women accused the author of nonconsensual sexual activity. Gaiman has denied the allegations. In a March 4 motion to dismiss Pavlovichs suit, his lawyers said her claims were a sham and part of a plan to maximize adverse publicity against Gaiman. The filing characterized his relationship with Pavlovich as one that involved consensual physical intimacy, not sexual intercourse, alleging that she invented the sexual scenarios she describes deliberately in graphic detail in the suit. The motion to dismiss included alleged WhatsApp messages between Gaiman and Pavlovich that his legal team says show that any sexual conduct that occurred between them was in all ways consensual. The filing further argues that on many occasions, it was initiated and/or encouraged by Plaintiff herself, pointing to messages sent after an alleged sexual encounter where she appeared to thank him for a lovely lovely night or described being consumed by thoughts of him, among other texts. Pavlovich has stated that she did not initially view what allegedly happened to her as rape or sexual assault, but that her perspective changed as she spoke to other women. She also addressed some of her texts to Gaiman in New Yorks cover story; when Gaiman shared that hed heard that she was telling people he had raped her, she recalled being scared to upset him before reassuring him in a reply that it was consensual (and wonderful). In addition to her suit filed in Wisconsin, where Gaiman owns a home, Pavlovich has sued Gaimans wife, Amanda Palmer, in New York and Massachusetts. These complaints accuse Palmer of allegedly procuring and presenting Pavlovich to her husband; Palmer has denied the allegations. Lorraine Toussaint (center) with Joseph C. Phillips (center right). Photo: Skip Dickstein This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. The soiree was at the Steuben Club in Albany, a half-hour before the premiere. The gray-haired star of the evening had not been expected to make an appearance. The journalists, politicos, benefactors, and academics in attendance believed that the playwright (who did not consider herself a playwright) would forgo the festivities on account of presumed opening-night jitters. But there she was, wearing a bow-tie scarf and spiked heels, accompanied by her two sons. Youre supposed to be nervous, someone shouted. I am, Toni Morrison replied. For Morrison, this was a new worldsort of. She was known for her novels, including Song of Solomon, and was hard at work on another that, for the moment, had been set aside. But she wasnt afraid to dip in and out of other mediums. As a student at Howard University, she acted in Richard III and, more recently, tried her hand at a musical, composing more than two-dozen songs. The production, New Orleans: The Storyville Musical, had not, alas, been a success. Public Theater founder Joseph Papp staged readings in New York City, but thats as far as it went. The show was never produced, and Morrison didnt give it pride of place among her works. Now, at the outset of 1986, the novelist was about to debut her first full-length play. This production was closer to her heart, as it had originated from an incident shed been thinking about for three decades: the murder of Emmett Till, a Black Chicago teenager who was killed by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam while visiting family in Mississippi. She was excited about the script and did revisions throughout the months of rehearsals. I thought it was an extraordinary theatrical idea, she told a journalist that night. A way to handle history. A way to talk about all sorts of collisions, of fixed ideas and attitudes, collisions of gender, collisions of history, collisions of race, collisions of time, collisions of reality. She planned to take Dreaming Emmett to Paris after the initial run. It was not to be. The theatrical life of Morrisons freshman outing would begin and end in Albany at the Market Theatre after a four-week run. Copies of the play would disappear. It was rumoredand certainly believed by some involved in the production, that Morrison was to blame for the scarcity. (After the 1986 production, according to The Toni Morrison Encyclopedia, edited by Elizabeth Ann Beaulieu, she collected every record of the play and had it destroyed.) That the play hasnt been restaged has fueled the idea, fed by Beaulieus compendium, that copies no longer exist. Even people involved in the making of the play believed it because Morrison had asked for each copy after the runs conclusion. However, as I learned while working on my forthcoming book about the 1983 killing of aspiring artist and model Michael Stewart, whose death was a partial inspiration for the play, Dreaming Emmett had not disappeared. Cast member Joseph C. Phillips saved a copy. According to the author Namwali Serpell, who discovered some of the archival material in this piece while researching her forthcoming book, On Morrison another sits in the Amiri Baraka Papers at Columbia University. Still more, along with multiple drafts and Morrisons own notes and correspondence, are part of her papers at Princeton University. Although a fire consumed Morrisons home in Nyack on Christmas Day 1993, singed copies of Dreaming Emmett survived. Yet another few copies materialized thanks to Willa Shalit, who created masks for Dreaming Emmett and, upon learning of the fire, gave her old draft scripts to Morrison. Five and a half years after Morrisons death, its apparent that, while Dreaming Emmett continues to be little known even among ardent fans of her work, the play is not merely a biographical curio. Scrutiny of the plays yearslong evolution from idea to premiere offers a rare insight into Morrisons artistic process, struggles, and insecurities. It may even provide a new understanding of how Beloved, her most celebrated novel, came together. Morrison first thought of the play in an unspecified airport waiting area, watching a young Black child anticipating a flight. As the boy walked across the room to join his friends, she was struck by his energy and joy. Rather than simply relish his happiness, however, the novelists thoughts turned dark. She wondered, as she later put it: What do you lose when a 14-year-old is killed? The killing of Americas Black youth was, for Morrison, top of mind. There were the serial murders in Atlanta of more than a dozen children and young adults from 1979 to 1981, a loss that eventually spurred James Baldwin to write the book-length essay Evidence of Things Not Seen. More recently, there was the death of Michael Stewart in Morrisons own city. Stewart, a 25-year-old Black man, had been beaten by New York City transit police and died after a 13-day coma. Morrison knew the deaths of Stewart and the children in Atlanta were not the result of their own actions. As she wrote, seemingly to herself, in a note on Random House stationery: What you did was awful Not what I did Its what I was If I was white Id be alive By November 1983, two months after the beating of Stewart, Morrison finished the first act of the play. Edward Love, an actor with whom shed been friends for a few years, likely also gave her some advice on her nascent script. (Love died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991.) While there were recent inspirations for it, she drew primarily from Tills 1955 murder. Till was murdered when Morrison was in graduate school at Cornell University. His death, which famously helped catalyze the civil-rights movement, had already appeared at least once in Morrisons work, in 1977s Song of Solomon. The protagonist, Milkman, walks into a barbershop and is told that a young Negro boy had been found stomped to death in Sunflower County, Mississippi. When men in the shop begin to argue about Tills culpability in his own death (Cause he whistled at some Scarlett OHara cunt), one advises, You want to spill blood, spill the crackers blood that bashed his face in. In reality, no one involved, including Bryants wife, Carolynwhose lie about an encounter with Till instigated the murder of the teenagerwould face justice. Morrisons idea for her play, then titled Emmett, was to give Till a chance to return from the dead and enact his own version of retribution, as she wrote in a letter to her friend Gail Merrifield Papp, the wife of the Public Theater founder. The mechanism for it was a dream/play, cast and directed by Emmett himself, that would force his killers to endure a comeuppance the real Bryant and Milam had avoided after a swift acquittal. When Morrison introduces Emmettfunctionally a ghost, the age he was at deathhes spent 30 years dreaming of his own murder and is working on a play. To fill out the cast of this play within the play, he assembles his loved ones and antagonists: Bryants and Milam; Tills mother, Ma; and two friends from Mississippi named George and Eustace (based, perhaps, on Tills cousins Simeon Wright and Wheeler Parker Jr.). Emmett plans to use the play as an act of vengeance both against his killers but his friends, whom he believes failed to protect him. This was an inherently surreal setup; Emmett takes the opportunity to berate his murderers and reconnect with his mother, all of whom have aged decades. A young Black woman from the present day joins the group from the audience and has her own back and forth with the characters. Her purpose, Morrison told a reporter, was to act as a kind of chorus. This was an audacious idea and not an intuitive one for a theatrical production in 1983. Tills death hadnt been a news story in decadesthe Bryants were living in quiet infamy, while Milam had died a couple of years earlier. (As Morrison later wrote, Nothing is deader than a thirty-year-old headline.) But it would be ideal for a bureaucrat in upstate New York. Kathryn Gibson, the director of the Capital District Humanities Program at SUNY Albany, had been thinking of ways to commemorate both the state capitals tricentennial and Martin Luther King Jr. Daysigned into law by President Ronald Reagan and slated for an inaugural observance on January 20, 1986. The answer came during a standing-room-only campus lecture by Morrison, soon to join SUNY Albanys faculty as Albert Schweitzer Chair in Humanities. As Gibson sat on the floor, enthralled, she decided that a play by Morrison would be ideal. Gibson had no notion of Morrisons work in progress. When I asked her recently why it made any sense for a novelist with little theatrical experience to write a playeven a novelist as renowned as MorrisonGibson said, It was pure fantasy on my part. To make this a reality would require the participation of two other parties: the Capital Repertory Theatre, which had been part of the Albany theater firmament for several years, and the recently created New York State Writers Institute, founded by Ironweed author (and friend of Morrison) William Kennedy. The Capital Rep, the Writers Institute, and the CDHP would, in an unorthodox arrangement, produce the play. Once a full draft of the play was finished, Tom Smith, who helped run the Writers Institute, and Bruce Bouchard and Peter Clough, the Capital Reps co-producing directors, trekked to Morrisons home, where the novelist read the entire play aloud. We walked out of there going, Man, if theres any way we could possibly mount this, it would be one hell of a thing to accomplish, says Clough. Upon returning to Albany, recalled Bouchard, he and Clough agreed it was a hallucinogenic hellscape. The opportunity to stage the play in progress came at a fortuitous time for Morrison, who was having trouble with her novel in progress. In March 1985, she accepted the offer, and $5,000 from the Writers Institute, to deliver Emmett that June. In the months that followed, the play was transformed. The Emmett of the original draft still conjured ghosts from his past in order to set things right, but the play, now titled Dreaming Emmett, became more complicated. Morrison had once referred to the Bryants and Milam by name, but the former were now Major and Princess, while the latter became Buck. What Morrison had originally described as a dream/play was now a movie, darkly titled How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Morrisons most drastic change concerned the Emmett character himself: He was not, in fact, Emmett Till but a teenager in Chicago, shot in 1957 by a shopkeeper for stealing a kite. Neither Clough nor Bouchard know what prompted the changes. In every way possible, this play should have the quality of a dream, Morrison would write. Not dreamy, or dream-like (meaning fuzzy or floating) but the way sustained dreaming really is: sometimes the pace seems to slow down to agonizing lengths; sometimes the movement of speech is oddly rapid. In practice, Morrisons revisions had made Dreaming Emmett convoluted and diminished the power of the original idea. In the fall of 1985, production on Dreaming Emmett began. Morrison, who wasnt confident about dramatizing, about linking the word to a visual image, wanted Gilbert Moses to directhis track record was undeniable. He co-directed, staged, and choreographed the Bernstein-Lerner musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, won the Obie for Amiri Barakas Slave Ship, and earned a Tony nomination for Aint Supposed to Die a Natural Death. He understood intuitively how vital it was to stage a play written, directed, and starring Black people. We as blacks are starved for images of ourselves all over this country, Moses once said. But one could envision friction. A decade earlier, Moses had been fired from The Wiz, the blockbuster musical, and it was rumored hed assaulted a member of the production. (Moses died in 1995.) That October, actors filed into the New Dramatists building, a converted church in midtown Manhattan, for auditions to fill eight rolesfour with white actors, four with Black actors. Morrison entered the room, smiling broadly, and took a seat at a table with Moses and Bruce Bouchard, Capital Reps co-producing director. Morrison and Moses watched two actors try out for the lead roles of Emmett and Tamara. Okay, you people, Moses said, start whenever you want. As the young actors performed a scene, the room fell silent. During a break for lunch, Morrison suggested the actress hadnt been appropriate for the role. This Tamara is translating the ghetto sass into anger, and its not quite right. The instinctIm not sure she has it, she said. Moses agreed. Morrison continued: Here its too much of that easy, fast way girls have been walking the streets have to have. Tamara has to have a deflective quality, and whatever this one has, it aint that! On the first day alone, more than 30 actors auditioned. Eventually, the role of Tamara was given to Lorraine Toussaint, a Juilliard graduate whod been Hippolyta in A Midsummer Nights Dream and Woman Two in Samm-Art Williamss Home. (She would later go on to co-star in Orange Is the New Black). The New York Times praised Toussaints performance in the latter production for its simplicity and size. Joseph C. Phillips was cast as Emmett. At 23, he was noticeably older than the real-life Till. Phillips had acted in a St. Louis production of A Raisin in the Sun and appeared in an episode of The Cosby Show, airing only a week before the audition. He was filled with confidence because the episode garnered tremendous ratings, and that swagger dovetailed perfectly with Morrisons version of Till. By the end of the fall, the play was fully cast. For her part, Toussaint was impressed by Morrisons engagement with the production and recalled that, during rehearsals, Toni would tell us stories of her nightly struggles with her current novel. Meanwhile, the mechanics of Dreaming Emmett had gotten more complicatedand expensivein ways that both threatened to further obscure Morrisons work and swell Capital Reps budget. Joseph C. Phillips in Dreaming Emmett. Photo: Skip Dickstein Producer Bruce Bouchard brought in Dale Jordan, a freethinking, congenial sort, to create an abandoned-cotton-mill set and a chair to transport Emmett around the stage. At first, the scenic and lighting designer experimented with abstract and bizarre ideasincluding moving the lead actor around on a boom cranebut hed grown more realistic in his conceptions. Even in its pared-back state, however, Moses demanded an elaborate set. A reporter walking around the production observed its wheels and pulleys wooden doors, part of a maze of stained, worn-down machinery, dreary corrugated steel, and broken window panes. The creative process grew and grew, said Jordan. It was as if the director, so used to the budgets of Broadway, could not adapt to more modest expendituresor the less cutthroat nature of a regional theater company. Mosess frustrations were felt by the actors, with whom he had an antagonistic relationship. Phillips remembered the aftermath of a particularly severe scolding from the director, after the actor suggested playing a humorous moment less overtly comedic. Moses sternly told Phillips that his input wasnt welcome. And I remember looking at him and I just said, Okay, I was your last ally, and now I hate your fucking guts, says Phillips. Bouchard, too, found Moses to be a poor collaborator: He did not know how to work with people. He knew how to bully people. In all likelihood, Mosesencouraged by Morrisonthought nothing of allotting an estimated $4,000 for a steel track running along the stage, $2,000 for Phillipss chair, or $1,500 for Tills custom-made white suit. That fall, another $3,500 went to Willa Shalit, an artist in the Upper WestSide, for a series of masks to be worn in the first act. Grotesque creations, some small, some large, made of latex and wire mesh were meant to present, said Shalit, different layers of reality. A friendly face might conceal a murderer. The addition of the masks were likely informed by Morrisons knowledge of Greek theater from her days at Howard University. Ancient, alive, and breathing, their features exaggerated, their power mysterious, Morrison wrote of her novel Tar Baby, published a few years earlier. All of the characters are themselves masks. The creative decisions kept adding to the bottom line. According to an internal memo, the average Capital Rep production for the 1985-86 season cost $27,686. The budget for Dreaming Emmett now exceeded $70,000. The expenses, as well as Mosess imperiousness, spurred a contentious meeting in early December. Among the attendees were Morrison and Moses, Capital Reps Bouchard and Clough, members of the theater companys board, the Writers Institutes William Kennedy and Tom Smith, and Kathryn Gibsonwhose idea had started it all. Moses believed that Bouchard and Clough lacked the skills to produce theater, while Morrison felt that Dreaming Emmett was not getting the support it deserved. This is me that you are trying to quash by not supporting this play, one attendee remembers Morrison says, and suggested it would be better not to produce the play at all if it werent in line with her and Mosess vision. Morrison was so upset she began to cry. Everyone involved acquiesced to Moses and Morrisons increasingly expensive demands. In short order, apologetic letters were sent (We deeply regret those things which have transpired ) and additional funds to cover the costs were secured. But the board members, disturbed by the meeting, offered to scrap the production altogether. Guests at the opening reception believed Morrison wouldnt attend because of presumed jitters, but she showed up with her sons. Photo: Times Union The offer was, of course, rebuffed. Dreaming Emmett opened as planned and was a box-office success. (According to Justin Knudsen, who is working on a history of the Capital Rep, the play had gross revenue in excess of $85,000.) It didnt seem to matter that the critics were mixed. Variety lauded the writing and staging but found it redundant, and confusing. The Times Union complained that the masks draw too much attention to themselves as does the set. The Berkshire Eagle found the plot convoluted: At the end, when all has unraveled, we have nothing solid left to remember or set our minds to rest upon. Not raves, perhaps, but stillits surprising the play hasnt had more than a staged reading in the nearly 40 years since the Albany run. Its difficult, from a present-day vantage, to imagine Toni Morrison unsure of herself. But she had undeniably hot and cold feelings about the play. Sometimes she seemed keen on her creation, discussing a production with an interested party in Paris and, closer to home, shopped the play to Gregory Mosher, the director of Lincoln Center Theater. But there were also periods, even after Albany, when she viewed Dreaming Emmett as unfinished. Was she simply aware of her inexperience as a playwright? Quite possibly this is why shed engaged a dramaturg in the first place. That awarenessthat her mastery of the novel didnt necessarily transfer to the theaterwould explain Morrisons candor when, turning to Dale Jordan during a rehearsal, she acknowledged her limitations. I know how to write peopleI know how to describe people in writing and words, she told the surprised scenic and lighting designer. But to see them standing up, walking around, I dont know how to do it. Maybe so, but Dreaming Emmett, flawed as it is, holds an undeniable power. Im thinking of Mas reaction when Emmett flippantly asks if she cares about him. Care about you? she replies to the ghost, inspecting her palms. What do you see here? Tell me. Theres nothing in them is there? I had my hands full with you, with work with trouble. Now theyre empty. Or when Emmett asks Major, So, am I the last Emmett Till? Not by a long shot, the Roy Bryant stand-in replies. You wasnt the first and you aint the last. Every time one of you steps out of line, theres a responsible white man to show you where that line is. We will stop you in alleys; well stop you in the parks. We will stop you on the buses, the subwaysanywhere you misbehave. Reading that now, I wonder if Dreaming Emmett wasnt staged again in large measure because white people were simply not ready to pay for such a dose of reality. After all, this was a production that did not sugarcoat its inspiration and intent. The playbill quotes from the dictionary definition of lynching and excerpts a New York Times editorial on the injustice of the Michael Stewart case. Dreaming Emmett was not, as Morrison told a reporter, an Anacin that takes away the headache. It takes a real audacity to stage a play on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day arguing that progress on race relations is at best limited, at worst illusory. Ultimately, Dreaming of Emmett may be important not as a stand-alone work but for how it helped its author. Prior to Dreaming Emmett, Morrison had been having difficulties with her novel, set during the Reconstruction era. She hadnt quite figured out the title character, the spirit of a murdered baby girl. As Morrison later wrote to Nikki Giovanni, the work on the play was done at a time when I could not get her (Beloveds) voice. One project began to bleed into the other, and an early outline of the novel in progress revealed a new conception of the spirit. According to Serpell, that planned version of Beloveds ghost was much closer in personality and tone to the ghost of Emmett that we see in the playwise cracking. Thats not how Morrison would ultimately write the otherworldly Beloved character, but borrowing Emmetts traits seem to have helped her think through the literary problem. Morrison knew there wasnt much of a precedent for a novelist writing a successful play. Even Henry James hadnt pulled it off, shed say. Still, the Capital Reps publicist was surprised when, shortly before the premiere, Morrison attempted to shield Dreaming Emmett from critical scrutiny. Shed done quite a bit of local and national press to publicize the show, and every seat was sold for the monthlong run. Regional critics had agreed to attend. But so, too, had the critic from Time. At the request of Morrison, the scribe from one of the countrys most influential weeklies was asked to stay away from Albany. The critic understandably refused. Nevertheless, at the reception before Dreaming Emmetts premiere, the novelist radiated optimism. She and her pal William Kennedy happily chatted. She introduced her kids to the guests. This is Ford. This is Slade. If Morrison was nervous, she didnt show it as she drank in the accolades. A reporter trailed the playwright as she confidently worked the room, watching as she picked up her high heels and jumped into the crowd. Update: Contributions to the discovery and interpretation of archival material by Namwali Serpell, author of the forthcoming book On Morrison, have been further specified. Correction: Morrison wrote about the use of masks in Tar Baby in a 2004 foreword to her novel. This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will hold its opening meeting here Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will hold its opening meeting here Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will hold its opening meeting here Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will hold its opening meeting here Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Journalists walk towards the Great Hall of the People ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Dixiao) A deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is interviewed by a journalist ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhou Dixiao) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will hold its opening meeting here Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Vatican cardinal to lead Ash Wednesday liturgy on Rome's Aventine Hill as Church marks the start of Lent. Pope Francis, battling double pneumonia in hospital for more almost three weeks, has delegated Cardinal Angelo De Donatis to preside at the Ash Wednesday liturgy in Rome. Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection observed by Christians in the weeks leading up to Easter. Cardinal De Donatis, Major Penitentiary, will lead the traditional celebration on the Aventine Hill on the afternoon of 5 March, the Holy See press office confirmed. The stational liturgy will begin at the church of SantAnselmo at 16.30 before continuing with a penitential procession to the nearby Basilica of Santa Sabina where Mass will be celebrated. Cardinals, archbishops and bishops will join the Benedictine monks of Sant'Anselmo, the Dominican priests of Santa Sabina and the faithful in the Ash Wednesday procession. The centuries-old Roman tradition, revived in 1959 by Pope St John XXIII, is normally presided over by the pope. On Wednesday morning the Vatican said that Pope Francis had "rested well" and resumed "non-invasive mechanical ventilation" overnight, as scheduled. On Tuesday evening the Vatican said the pope's clinical condition remained "stable" and that he did not experience any further respiratory failure after suffering two episodes of "acute respiratory insufficiency", requiring two bronchoscopies, on Monday. The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalised for almost three weeks, as prayer vigils continue outside the Gemelli Hospital and in St Peter's Square. Photo credit: Riccardo De Luca - Update / Shutterstock.com. How does ETA work and what to travellers from Italy need to do . European Union citizens, including Italians, will be required to have an Electronic Travel Authorisation, known as ETA, to enter the United Kingdom from 2 April 2025. Similar to the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) in the United States, the ETA is valid for two years and allows a person to stay in the UK for a total of six months. The ETA, which costs 10 (roughly 12), does not apply to British and Irish citizens. How does it work? The authorisation request can be made either through the UK ETA app or on the official website gov.uk. Be careful not to end up on unauthorised websites. Once the profile is created, the required information must be entered, starting with the passport details. It is also possible to apply on behalf of other people. The request is usually processed within three working days, so the ETA should be requested at least three days before the trip. An email will confirm whether the application has been approved. However, note that if the passport linked to the permit expires before the two-year validity of the ETA, the authorisation to enter the UK will also expire. For full details see gov.uk website. MEXICO CITY, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday urged Mexicans, including those in the United States, to unite against the Trump administration's 25-percent tariffs on the country's exports. "I call on all Mexicans to stand together. This is a time to defend our sovereignty," Sheinbaum said from the National Palace, calling the move unilateral and a breach of the existing trade agreement. She said that Mexico will respond with tariff and non-tariff measures, to be detailed in a public assembly in the Zocalo square in central Mexico City on Sunday. She rejected a trade war, emphasizing the need for economic integration to strengthen North America's competitiveness. Sheinbaum also urged Mexicans in the United States to pressure lawmakers against the tariffs, warning of economic harm. She stressed the importance of diplomatic dialogue to protect Mexicans in the United States, who are vital to both economies. "We will overcome this because our greatest strength is our people," she said. Fiona Magennis A man accused of murdering his partner, who died from stab wounds at their home, told gardai in interview that she came at him with a knife during an argument, but "accidentally", the knife went into her, a jury has heard. Daniel Blanaru (37), who denies murdering Larisa Serban (26) in Rathmore, Athboy, Co Meath, also told gardai during his initial interview: I dont care that Im going to be in for 100 years before adding: If shes not here then I cannot live anymore. The jury at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday continued viewing video footage of Mr Blanarus first interview in Ashbourne Garda Station with Detective Sergeant Mark Looby and Detective Garda Padraig ORourke on August 12th, 2022. In the interview, Mr Blanaru, speaking through a Romanian interpreter, said Larisa always kept a knife in her bag. Asked why she kept a knife, Mr Blanaru said it was to protect herself. Mr Blanaru initially confirmed to gardai that he did not see Larisa with a knife on the night. He said he didnt look in her bag, but he was thinking the knife was in there. When gardai asked the accused to take his time, as they wanted to clarify a few things, Mr Blanaru said: I dont care that Im going to be in for 100 years. I care about my kids because if shes not here, then I cannot live anymore. The trial heard on Monday that Mr Blanaru told gardai that he pushed and hit Larisa during an argument after he claimed he found her having a party with her brother David Serban and another tall guy hours before she was found stabbed to death in her home. Mr Blanaru told officers he couldnt remember exactly when he left his home that night but he thought it was around 1am. He said he went to his sisters home in Drogheda and then spoke to his brother Leon, asking him to go to his house and check what was happening there. He said his sisters husband told him to go to the guards. When the detectives questioned why his brother-in-law had told him to do this, Mr Blanaru said: Because I kind of got scared. Pressed by the detective to tell the truth, a prolonged silence ensued before Mr Blanaru said he wanted to see his children. They dont have a mother, they dont have a father now. They have no love. We lost everything. Whats the point of living? he said. When questioned further about what happened at the property in Rathmore, Mr Blanaru said that Larisa started swearing at him, and then David approached them. I dont know if he had something in his hand, he said. I turned around, I dont know what he had in his hand, I dont think it was a knife. Mr Blanaru said the tall guy who was also present in the house was sitting down in a different part of the room. He said David approached, Mr Blanaru turned away and when he turned back Larisa put her hand on her chest and said owh. I didnt see any blood or anything like that, he added. Asked by detectives to clarify who had something in his hand, Mr Blanaru said: David had something but said he wasnt sure what it was. The accused said the next thing he knew he was at the door with David. I said wait, dont worry about it Im going to go, and I took my car, and I went and when I got to Drogheda I called, he said. I took [his sister] Simonas phone, and I called [his brother] Leon to go there and check because its a party and I had a fight with them, thats all. He said that when he left, Larisa was sitting down near the corner in the living room. You can blame me for everything because I dont know; I was drunk, I cant remember everything. And I smoked as well, the accused told gardai. When theres an argument and theres many people, and when its everything happening at the same time, you are confused. Thats where the problem is. He went on: Because God is up there, and one day hes going to judge. But Im not saying that anybody is guilty because thats no good. As the interview was being read back to him, Mr Blanaru interjected and then told gardai that Larisa came at him with a knife. Asked to explain, Mr Blanaru said: When she was upset and she came towards me thats what I think and I was upset too. Maybe she wanted to use the knife to stab me, I dont know, but accidentallyit happened to her. He continued: Im just thinking maybe its possible that that could happen. The accused said Larisa was coming towards me, and when she approached, he turned and that was a mistake. When the detectives expressed confusion about what he was trying to say, Mr Blanaru demonstrated how he was standing with his back to Larisa. He said she had the knife in her right hand and as he turned around towards her the knife went into her and she said owh. Asked by Det Sgt Looby if he saw the knife in Larisas hand, Mr Blanaru said: Yes I did. The trial continues on Wednesday before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and an enlarged jury of 11 men and four women. 'Up Down Boy' took home four incredible awards at last Sunday's Waterford News and Star Green Room Awards. The show saw the two stars, Sean Upton and Brenda Giles, go home with Best Male Performance in an Amateur Drama and Best Female Performance in an Amateur Drama, respectively. The shows director David Hennessy won Best Director in an Amateur Drama and the show itself was named Best Amateur Drama. The shows star Sean Upton, who plays Jack, said he was thrilled with the awards. His co-star Brenda Giles told the Waterford News and Star that they are still in shock. We are absolutely thrilled. Its amazing. A scene from Best Amateur Drama, 'Up Down Boy', featuring award winners Sean Upton and Brenda Giles, performed at the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards. Photo: Joe Evans "We were nominated in the four categories, but we didnt think we would come away with four categories. We are thrilled that Sean got best actor because he deserves it, and we were so delighted to get the extra awards, said Brenda. The play follows Jack, who has Down Syndrome, and his mother Kate, as Jack prepares to head off to college. The show by the David Hennessy Musical and Dramatic Society was performed at St Patricks Gateway Centre, and, in December, featured on RTEs Nationwide. Director David Hennessy said he was delighted for everyone who made the show amazing. David Hennessy and Sean Upton celebrate the phenomenal success of Up Down Boy. Photo: Joe Evans We never expected to win everything, but Im delighted for Brendas family and Seans family and especially for the writer Sue Shields, who is no longer with us. These are all for her. She gave us permission to do this play. "I dont know what to say. Im blown away, said David. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT The Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards saw 39 awards given to the best and brightest across Waterford's arts, theatre and cultural community. The coveted Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards. Photo: Joe Evans The awards night was hosted by Waterford News & Star correspondent Pat McEvoy and WLR FMs Dymphna Nugent. Throughout the night, the audience was entertained with performances, songs and dance routines. Mayor of Waterford City and County Jason Murphy said during the interval that those who performed on the night were a credit to Waterford. Its a great night. I really enjoyed it. The first half was brilliant, and I think the second half will be better. "Just showcasing the talent we have here in Waterford. Its unbelievable. Irelands oldest city and Irelands most entertaining city, said Mayor Murphy. Playwright Jim Nolan was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work, a career spanning over 40 years, which included being a founding member of Red Kettle Theatre Company. The Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Jim Nolan at the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards, held at the Theatre Royal. Jim was presented with his award from Mayor of Waterford City & County Cllr Jason Murphy. Photo: Joe Evans Speaking to the Waterford News & Star, Jim said, "I had no idea. I'm a bit shocked. I'm only sorry my poor mum [wasn't here]. She's 92. The Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards were proudly supported by lead sponsors Cantec Group and Waterford Credit Union, fantastic patrons of the arts, theatre and culture in Waterford. The drinks reception on the night was sponsored by Blackwater Distillery, and the awards also received additional generous support from Waterford City and County Council, FLI Group and Sanofi. Executive Chairperson of Cantec Group, Eadaoin Carrick, said she really enjoyed the night. Im having a great time. It's brilliant to be here and to celebrate the winners and to support arts and culture, said Eadaoin. Watch a video clip from 'Up Down Boy' here A leading travel journalist who highlighted Waterford among his top destinations has been presented with two prestigious awards. One of Irelands leading travel broadcasters, presenters, bloggers, and podcasters, Ed Finn, is celebrating on the double this week after being awarded Travel Media Broadcaster of the Year 2025 at the CIE Travel Awards and National Broadcaster of the Year at the prestigious Travel Extra Awards 2025. Ed presents 'Ed Finn's America' on Virgin Media One, 'The Travel Show' on Virgin Media One, and has weekly features on Sunshine Radio, Classic Hits FM, Radio Nova, and 'Today with Claire Byrne', on RTE Radio 1. He also hosts a weekly one-hour programme, The Sunday Show, on Sunshine Radio every Sunday evening. Ed Finn's America attracted a large audience from November to January 2025 on Virgin Media One and Three, airing twice weekly across both channels. Throughout 2024, Ed also featured travel gems and destinations all across Ireland, shining a spotlight on the Sunny Southeast including Limerick and Waterford to name but a few. Commenting on the award wins and upcoming shows, Ed said: "It's been a really fantastic start to the year for me. These awards are greatly coveted amongst the travel media, I'm truly thrilled to have won two for my work and passion in promoting travel. I love being able to shine a spotlight on our magnificent Irish travel destinations." HIs first discovered his love for travel on a school tour to Switzerland, Italy, and France at Pres in Cork. Ed Finn pictured at the travel media awards. In 2024, Ed travelled extensively around Ireland, emphasising rural tourism in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Looking ahead to 2025, he says: "Throughout 2025, I want to broaden the rural tourism spotlight and highlight even more off-the-beaten-track destinations, hidden gems, and attractions from all corners of Ireland." There is significant concern that Irelands Coast Guard bases, including Waterfords Rescue 117, could be temporarily limited in operation to just 8am to 8pm following the transfer of the service to a new provider. Coast Guard units across the country are raising the alarm over delays, uncertainty and reduced operating hours during the transition of the service to a new private contractor which operates the countrys maritime rescue operations. Why is there a new provider? The state made the decision in 2023 to change the provider of the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter service from CHC to Bristow Helicopters, following a lengthy tender process run by the Department of Transport. The Coast Guard had been flying Sikorsky S-92 helicopters (pictured) on a contract basis with CHC Ireland for nearly 20 years, but the company came under significant criticism following the death of the crew of Rescue 116, in Mayo in 2017. Following the award of the 10-year, 670 million contract to Bristow Helicopters, the Irish Coast Guard is set to transition the service to new AgustaWestland AW189 helicopters. There was a significant delay to the handover of the Shannon Airport crew to Bristow Helicopters, with CHC providing cover with the existing Sikorsky helicopter for more than a month due to delays, with training and securing approvals from the IAA, until the eventual service delivery in December. Shannon limited to a daytime service It has now been revealed that the Shannon Airport-based Rescue 115 Coast Guard unit is now only providing an 8am to 8pm daytime service while the crew complete their full training on the new aircraft type, during which time they are not permitted to carry out nighttime emergency responses. The Crew of Rescue 118 at Sligo Airport raised their concerns that they are the only Coast Guard service on the west coast providing 24-hour service and is facing the same fate of delays and uncertainty as the Shannon Airport crew. The crew of Rescue 118, based in Sligo Airport, are seeking information on when they will transfer from CHC Ireland to Bristow Ireland, the Rescue 118 crew said on social media, The crew of Shannon-based Rescue 115 transferred over in December after a number of delays and now only provide a 08:00 - 20:00 day only service. Sligo is now facing those same delays and uncertainty as to when and what service will be provided by Bristow Ireland. Deputy McGuinness said The Government has very serious questions to answer about the potential downgrading of the Waterford-based service in light of the recent change in operator." The Department of Transport has said that the Shannon Airport service will resume 24/7 operations by the end of February, but the Sligo crew are concerned that their service will see the same time limitations. The handover of the Sligo service has been postponed by nearly two months, originally planned to transition on Valentines Day, February 14, the crew will now take the timeframe planned for Waterfords crew, the end of April. Waterford crew left in the dark This has left the crew of the Waterford Airport-based Rescue 117 with the same uncertainty as to their fate, sources have revealed to Waterford News & Star. The crew at Waterford Airport feel they have been left in the dark and while have been told that their transition to the new provider Bristow Helicopters has been postponed, they have been given no certainty as to when that will be. The crew have also been left with uncertainty as to whom they will be employed by in the coming weeks, during the transition period to the new provider, noting concern around their company health insurance and other employment factors. A Coast Guard crew member said it seems likely, based on the precedent set in Shannon and in Sligo, that the crews in the bases in Waterford and Dublin will be limited in operational hours while they are trained on the new helicopter. The final date under the contract for all four search and rescue bases to transition to the new provider and helicopter is June 30. In a statement to RTE, the former head of the Irish Coast Guard, Chris Reynolds, said he believed the timeline to train SAR staff on the new helicopter and operating system was too short. "They haven't given themselves enough time and if you don't give yourself enough time you have to rush transition, and rushing transition leads to accidents, Mr Reynolds said of Bristow Helicopters, to RTEs Morning Ireland. The Department of Transport said in a statement that they will not allow risks to be taken in a rush to meet contractual deadlines and that the safety of crew, citizens and mariners is the overarching priority. If the department recognises the need to revise transition dates to ensure overall safety, this will be done without hesitation and expects full cooperation of both contractors to facilitate revised transition timelines." Infuriating uncertainty Family members of the crew took to social media following the plea for information by the Sligo-based Rescue 118 describing the uncertainty around the transition as infuriating. Echoing a similar message, one family member said that Coast Guard crews need answers immediately saying that the uncertainty during the transition has put unimaginable stress on the crews' families". The crews families have called for the transition timeline to be mapped out step-by-step and said the situation left them questioning whether a plan for the position was ever submitted to the state in the tendering process with the Department of Transport. This is a 24-hour lifesaving operation across the whole of Ireland. There is absolutely no room for error when contracts change providers, said one family member. Very serious questions to answer Sinn Fein TD for Waterford, Conor McGuinness said: The Government has very serious questions to answer about the potential downgrading of the Waterford-based service in light of the recent change in operator. Teachta McGuinness noted concerns that Rescue 117 "may be off-service for an extended time during the transfer from old contractor to new, and that the service may not be operational 24/7 on its return" as well as potential impacts on the long-term future of the service. Deputy McGuinness said he has asked the Minister to clarify the plans for the service and to commit to keeping the service based in Waterford. Prior to this story being first published in print in Waterford News & Star, the Department of Transport was contacted for comment and given the opportunity to clarify the new transition date for the vital Waterford Coast Guard Search and Rescue crew. Virgin Australia has named Dave Emerson as its new chief executive, drawing to end a period of speculation for the airlines leadership. The selection of Emerson, currently Virgins chief commercial officer, comes after a lengthy external search, closely scrutinised by aviation unions. Virgin Australias Dave Emerson. Emerson will begin his transition to the chief executive role immediately and formally takes over on March 14. Virgin Australia chairman Ryan Cotton said that after a global search, it was clear that Emerson was the right leader to continue the implementation of Virgin Australias strategy. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size As autumn blows into Australia, it brings with it an array of new books, ranging from fiction and memoir to political and cultural history. Heres a sample of 12 new volumes heading our way and there are plenty more waiting at your local bookshop. Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting That Changed a Nation Tom McIlroy Hachette, $34.99 Theres a great photo in Tom McIlroys book about Jackson Pollocks painting that the National Gallery bought in 1973 for $1.3 million. It shows it as it lived for many years in art collector Ben Hellers apartment. Imagine having that on your wall. McIlroys book is an account of the paintings life and times and those of the people involved, from Pollock himself to Lee Krasner, gallery director James Mollison and many more. To be read in conjunction, perhaps, with Angela OKeeffes novel, Night Blue, written from the paintings point of view. Tom McIlroy tells the story of Blue Poles and how Gough Whitlam rubber stamped its purchase. Credit: Belinda Pratten The Buried Life Andrea Goldsmith Transit Lounge, $34.99 The great thing about Andrea Goldsmiths novels, going back to earlier ones such as Gracious Living or more recent ones such as Reunion or The Memory Trap, is the life and strength of her characters. Here, there are four main ones Tony, a would-be novelist; his put-upon wife, Laura; Adrian, an academic researching death; and Keziah, who has escaped a religious community. As our review says: This is a novel in which sharp contrasts are skilfully braided as the narrative moves towards its 13 pages of resolution, the artistry of which is moving and quite breathtaking. The great thing about Andrea Goldsmiths novels is the life and strength of her characters. Whats the Big Idea? Eds., Anna Chang & Alice Grundy Australia Institute Press, $34.99 Plenty, it seems, judging by the contributors and topics assembled in this collection of essays on matters pertinent to Australia now and into the future, to mark the 30th anniversary of the think tank The Australia Institute. It may be Bill Browne writing on the worth of parliamentarians and pointing out that without democracy all ideas are inert. Or climate scientist Joelle Gergis on the three key things to know about climate change, and the need to accelerate the clean change energy transmission as fast as is humanly possible. Stimulating bite-sized essays to make you think. Twist Colum McCann Bloomsbury, $32.99 If youve ever wondered about the passage of information and other things carried through all those fibre-optic cables that slink along the sea bed between continents, then this dramatic novel about a journalist and an engineer tasked with repairing damaged cables, who must face up to conflicting demands and ruptured connections is for you. This is a return to straight fiction for the Irish-American writer, whose last book, American Mother, was written with Diane Foley, mother of James, the US journalist murdered by Islamic State. Advertisement The Strange Case of Jane O. Karen Thompson Walker Manilla Press, $32.99 The premise of this American writers first novel, The Age of Miracles, was intriguing: rotation of the Earth starts to slow, causing chaos, disease, intense storms and an existential crisis. In her third, she creates what is in effect a case study both of a young mother, Jane O., and the psychiatrist treating her. After the first consultation, Jane disappears, only to end up in hospital with no idea of what happened. Dr Henry Byrd tries to find out whats going on in her head, and thereby finds out plenty about himself. Loading Miles Franklin Undercover Kerrie Davies Allen & Unwin, $34.99 Kerrie Davies calls her book a slice of life biography, in that it follows Miles Franklins surprisingly tough life from 1901 immediately after her iconic novel, My Brilliant Career, was published to 1915. It was a time when Franklin worked as a servant in the posh homes of Sydney and Melbourne, before heading to Chicago where she wrote When I was Mary-Anne, a Slavey, a manuscript that was never published but that Davies mines along with the authors diaries to reveal a fascinating story of an embattled talent. Kerrie Davies gives the reader a slice of the life Miles Franklin. Credit: One Hundred Years of Betty Debra Oswald Allen & Unwin, $34.99 The latest book by Debra Oswald, prolific playwright, novelist and creator of the hit television series Offspring, has a structure that allows her a vast canvas. Betty is about to turn 100 and this is her story, of a woman with gumption galore but living most of her days through a century that doesnt allow women to live the lives they want, deserve or are capable of. Betty leaves Britain for Australia and finds fresh life, frustrations and rewards. Chameleon: A Memoir of Art, Travel, Ideas and Love Robert Dessaix Text, $36.99 What a blessing Robert Dessaix has been to the readers of Australia. In this carefully crafted and moving memoir of sorts, he considers his life by addressing the man he used to be, Thomas Robert Jones, the name he was given on his adoption. So the refrain of this wide-ranging book that considers all aspects of his life now that he has reached the fraying, but suddenly illumined, highly coloured end of my life is I have never been the man I seemed to be. Robert Dessaix address the man he used to be in Chameleon. Credit: Adam Gibson Advertisement Boat owners have been cautioned to take the chance for one final check of their vessels security before the impact of Cyclone Alfred hits. Volunteer Marine Rescue Shorncliffes Charles Linsley, who was a part of the Mackay base during Cyclone Debbie in 2017, warned owners to ensure two or three anchors are used, and do a final check to make sure bungs are put in place. He said any boats with bilge pumps should make sure theyre working properly. Dont assume that what youve done will work go back and triple check if you need to, Mr Linsley said. A sailboat that lost its mooring is seen resting on a beach at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane on Monday. Credit: Dan Peled The forecasts are changing all the time with the wind direction, so somebody who might say their boat will be reasonably OK, when they get the next forecast it might change ... its a very active process, you cant just sit and forget. Loading The only reason you should be going to your boat is to secure it. For small tinnies, get them out of the water and put them undercover or tie them down at home as best you can, and make sure theyre securely anchored because theres going to be some tidal surges as well. Dont rely on just a single anchor, and if you can tie off on a wharf or a jetty or pontoon make sure you put extra lines on. SYDNEY, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday the government was delivering 250,000 sandbags to the state of Queensland from the national supply while the Australian Defense Force has been put on standby as severe tropical cyclone Alfred approaches. A range of measures were being taken including pre-positioning heavy lift helicopters from the National Aerial Firefighting Fleet, and activating the Australian Government Disaster Response Plan, Albanese told reporters. Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall between Queensland's Brisbane and the Gold Coast on Thursday night, bringing extensive flooding, powerful winds, and hazardous ocean conditions, as well as heavy to intense rainfall across southeast Queensland from Thursday through Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Residents in the southeast of Queensland and in the northeast of New South Wales (NSW) are bracing for the cyclone with the severity having not been seen in the region since 1974. Weather forecasts predicted daily rainfall amounts between 200 mm and 400 mm, potentially exceeding 800 mm in total over the course of the storm. Residents are advised to take necessary precautions as flooding and hazardous conditions are anticipated. Various support initiatives have been underway in response to the impending cyclone, including setting up evacuation centers, with real-time updates available on the Queensland disaster dashboard, and making an emergency childcare declaration to provide additional assistance to childcare services and families in 15 affected local government areas. As of 3:52 p.m. local time on Wednesday, more than 900 schools across Queensland have been closed, according to the state's education department. Public transport services and non-urgent medical procedures will be suspended on Thursday and Friday, authorities said. The NSW education department announced on Wednesday that as of 3:29 p.m. local time on Wednesday, a total of 122 public schools and five independent schools are currently non-operational and are scheduled to remain closed until at least March 7 due to cyclone Alfred. Officials have set 90 km per hour winds as the trigger point for roads and bridges closures. Millions of people have been advised to prepare for power outages lasting for at least three days. Australia's leading airline Qantas Group said in a statement on Wednesday that as of 13:15 p.m. local time, several flights to and from Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour and Ballina will be suspended at least until Thursday midday or afternoon. However, flights to and from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast continue as scheduled. A 16-year-old boy has been charged after a western Sydney mosque was allegedly targeted with threats of a mass shooting referring to the Christchurch massacre, sparking a major police investigation. A social media user allegedly threatened to christ church 2.0 the newly opened Australian Islamic House Masjid in Edmondson Park. The mosque contacted police on Tuesday after finding the post left on its Instagram page. The Australian Islamic House Masjid in Edmonson Park received the threat on its Instagram page. Credit: The Australian Islamic House Masjid Following a referral from NSW Police to their Western Australian counterparts, a 16-year-old boy was arrested at Eaton in south-west WA on Tuesday night. He has since been charged with creating a false apprehension to the existence of threats or danger. Brisbane and northern NSW will face more damaging winds, torrential rain, huge swells and power outages. What is its predicted path? Alfred was 65 kilometres north north-east of Brisbane and 40 kilometres south south-east of Maroochydore at 6.30am AEST, but the storm system is impacting the coast from about Coolangatta, on the Queensland-NSW border, to Ballina, in northern NSW. Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred lies off Bribie Island and is moving slowly north. Gales are no longer occurring over coastal or island locations. It is expected to move towards and cross the mainland coast this morning, with winds weakening further as it moves inland. Where is it expected to flood? More than 20,000 properties in Brisbane could experience anything from mild inundation in their backyards to significant flooding in their homes. The Brisbane suburbs at most risk include Brighton, Windsor, Ashgrove, Morningside, Rocklea, Coopers Plains, Carina, Sandgate, Hemmant, Lota, Tingalpa, Indooroopilly, Albion, Bardon and Wynnum West. A flood watch is in place from the Mary River north of Brisbane, all the way down to the NSW border. The weather bureau says the heaviest rainfall and the greatest potential for severe flash flooding will be south of where Alfred makes landfall. The winds around a cyclone travel in a clockwise direction, so the heaviest winds and strongest rainfall occurs on the southern flank of the system, BOM senior meteorologist Kimba Wong says. Loading Nearly half a years worth of rain, around 400 millimetres, is expected to fall in Brisbane in just 24 hours. More than 800 millimetres of rain is possible in Brisbane from late Wednesday, putting the south-east corner at risk of severe, potentially deadly flooding. The heavy rain is likely to intensify Friday and continue into the weekend. Parts of NSWs north-east are forecast to be drenched with up to 800mm of rain from Wednesday to Saturday. Residents in parts of NSWs Northern Rivers region have been ordered to evacuate and thousands remain without power as the slow-moving tropical cyclone edges closer to land. Almost 100 warnings, including evacuation warnings, are in place across regions in north-east NSW. See the Bureau of Meteorologys warnings summary here. Forecast accumulated rain over the seven days ending on Sunday, March 9. Credit: Weatherzone.com.au Why is Alfred so low? There are a few contributing factors, Wong says. The water temperature in the southern Coral Sea is much warmer than usual about 26 to 27 degrees which is helping fuel Alfred. Also, Alfred is largely being steered by an upper trough currently sitting over eastern Australia that is driving it south. Whats changing is that the upper trough is being replaced by an upper ridge, in kind of like a wave pattern. Its that upper ridge that will change the direction of the cyclone and see it head west, towards the Queensland coast, Wong says. What has the Queensland government said? Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told residents on Monday, Nows the time to prepare, including having tinned food, making an emergency kit, gathering passports and clearing debris from properties. Loading He also urged residents to consider evacuating while it was still an option. The evacuation centres are a last resort, Crisafulli told a news conference on Friday, adding that dozens of centres had been opened. Have an evacuation plan if you are in one of those areas, he urged those in the cyclones path, advising them to secure their homes before evacuating. If in doubt, go and stay with friends and families. The Queensland government has asked telecommunications companies to increase network capacity to cope with an expected jump in internet usage and millions of messages throughout the emergency. It has also asked supermarkets to ensure shelves were regularly restocked amid a rush for bottled water and other essential items. Residents have started fleeing their homes, schools have closed, public transport has been cancelled and two Black Hawk helicopters are on standby, as residents stay home and businesses close their doors. Sandbagging stations have opened across the region, with hundreds of people queuing for hours at council and SES depots. What has the NSW government said? Those in Alfreds firing line in NSWs Northern Rivers were told to leave by 9pm on Thursday or risk not being able to evacuate. Loading The town of Lismore, which was devastated by record flooding in 2022, has been warned its CBD is at risk of flooding again, with residents urged to evacuate just after 9pm on Thursday. The town received more than 100 millimetres of rain on Thursday as residents hunkered down. The Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday afternoon that Lismore would be likely to flood by Saturday morning, and the SES urged residents not to enter floodwaters. River level rises are occurring along the Wilsons River and Leycester Creek, and moderate flooding is expected at Lismore from Friday evening, the Bureau said in a statement. The river is likely to exceed the major flood level around early Saturday morning. If rainfall continues to intensify overnight, river levels may reach near the height of the Lismore Levee (10.6 metres) late Saturday morning. The NSW State Emergency Service will deploy additional flood rescue and storm response staff to the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers. We have also sent communication equipment, support personnel, aviation resources and specialised vehicles ahead of the forecasted impacts later this week, NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said. NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib assured locals the authorities are doing everything we can to prepare for the looming system. Were cognisant of what the Northern Rivers have gone through and some of the trauma that they carry, he said. What is a category 1 cyclone? Category1 cyclones can generate destructive wind gusts of up to 100km/h, which can bring down trees and power lines, topple caravans, tear boats from their moorings and damage houses. Cyclone categories are all based on the wind strength, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. However, the categories do not take into account the severity of the rain or potential flooding. A category 1 cyclone can bring more rain and flooding than a fast-moving category 5 that rips through an area, Wong says. How long is Alfred expected to last? While all of Western Australia has seen a small rise in crime over the last year, some areas have experienced a much bigger jump. WAtoday analysed WA Polices latest crime statistics, which give a 12-month picture by suburb to see which areas had suffered the biggest increase in issues, and found that more than 25 suburbs had experienced a rise in crime of more than 30 per cent in 2024. Crime in Cockburn Central has risen by more than 50 per cent in the last year. Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt Those suburbs include Glen Forrest, Harrisdale, Hilbert, Oakford, Parkerville and Stoneville, which all saw crime rise by more than 80 per cent. These spikes are largely as a result of domestic violence-related crimes, as is the case in the northern suburb of Eglinton. And in other news, WA Labor has revealed its election promises would total $3.4 billion, increasing net debt by almost $500 million dollars over the current forward estimates period. The treasury-assessed figures show net debt would rise to almost $41 billion at the end of the forward estimates, slightly higher than had been forecast in 2024. On Wednesday, WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti staunchly defended Labors handling of the states finances when grilled about how she justified net debt reaching levels she criticised while in opposition, pointing out the figure was still $2.7 billion lower than forecast by the previous government. Loading She also highlighted that the party had been able to reduce debt while delivering $62 billion in infrastructure and its election commitments. The treasurer lauded WAs triple-A credit rating from both Moodys and S&P Global as evidence of its credibility and pointed out the state would still have the lowest net debt as a share of gross state product of any jurisdiction in the nation. And she played down concerns about figures that pointed to a slowing down in the states economy, attributing the figures to a conservative budgeting system particularly when it comes to commodity prices. Under treasurer Michael Barnes considered the partys costings across almost 200 commitments to be reliable and did not uncover any significant differences. But opposition leader Shane Love claimed the agency was running the ruler over commitments using figures inconsistent with those Labor had announced publicly, with promises like the $107 million Metronet on Swan project pencilled in at almost one-quarter of the price. Love accused WA Labor of an egregious attempt to mislead WA voters over discrepancies it claims to have uncovered between the partys public promises and those submitted to Treasury. He demanded Saffioti explain discrepancies he claimed totalled $2 billion while raising concerns about preferential treatment, concluding the handling of the election costings process further demonstrated the need for an independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Figures collected by WAtoday have Labors election commitments as delivered to the public at more than $6 billion. Saffioti explained the list of commitments only covered the current forward estimates, and did not account for the 2028/29 financial year which would mark the final year of the next term of government. WA Labor has been contacted for comment. Saffioti had used the briefing to launch another attack on the WA Liberal Party, which she berated for failing to reveal who was costing election commitments Labor has estimated to be worth $6.3 billion. The treasurer also claimed the party had crunched the numbers of the commitments of the WA Nationals, which are currently before treasury and which Labor expects to come in at $4.3 billion. It is now just a few days before polling day, which everyone knew was going to be March 8, and [The Liberal Party] havent done their homework, she said. The release of the costings coincided with fresh economic data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed WAs economy grew by 3.7 per cent in 2024 more than double the national rate. The Trump administration is pushing Australia to dramatically increase defence spending to counter Chinas rise, with one of the US presidents top Pentagon picks calling for military spending to rise to at least 3 per cent of gross domestic product. The first explicit call by a senior Trump administration figure for Australia to boost military expenditure would require tens of billions of dollars in extra annual spending and strain the Commonwealths ability to fund other portfolios such as health, education and welfare. Elbridge Colby is Donald Trumps choice to be under-secretary of defence for policy at the Pentagon. Credit: Bloomberg Defence spending is currently hovering just above 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), which amounts to $56 billion a year. With national security set to feature prominently in the upcoming federal election campaign, Defence Minister Richard Marles defended the governments plan to pump an extra $50 billion in defence over the next decade while the Coalition vowed to outspend Labor when it announces its costings. West Australian Premier Roger Cook has hinted that Labors long-held vision to build a circle route train line around the city could be acted on during the next term of his government. Labors original vision for Metronet in December 2012 included north and south circle routes, while its 2017 election pledge included a vague large circle route connecting the Yanchep line to Fremantle, cutting through the citys other rail lines. The Armadale line elevation project. Credit: Metronet Apart from the Thornlie to Cockburn link, the circle route has always been deemed stage two of Metronet and was never fully costed or put to the voting public. With the completion of the Armadale line elevation and opening of Thornlie to Cockburn pencilled in for later this year, stage one of Labors Metronet vision will be complete. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size An anxious look washes over Roger Cooks two minders as he graciously accepts our photographers directions to grab a knife and fork in both hands and face the camera. Im hungry for government, he says with a grin while holding the cutlery upright. Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook at The Wellard, Wellard. Credit: Colin Murty With just five days left in the state election campaign, its obvious the Premier is feeling comfortable, and why wouldnt he be we are on his home turf. WAtoday meets the premier for lunch at his local, The Wellard, which the Dad from Kwinana boasts is a few minutes from his house. He says he knows the menu like the back of his hand and orders a cheeseburger with no chips just salad and a Side Track XPA from local brewery Gage Roads. He is watching what he eats, he says. Im not. I order a parmy. Advertisement Its been 22 months since former premier Mark McGowan resigned, catapulting Cook into the leadership position and sending him into his first electoral test as Labor leader this Saturday. The sheer number of Labor MPs in parliament makes a Liberal comeback to government near impossible, so Cook will be judged on how many formerly blue ribbon seats he can retain from that 2021 landslide. He offers the same were not taking any seat for granted guff but, ultimately, he wants a clear mandate for Labors election platform. Roger Cook facts Favourite WA holiday destination: Balingup Because my dads got a place there...its our sanctuary. Favourite WA musician: Todd Johnston Favourite WA wine: Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay - Its off the charts. I dont sit awake at night wondering if its this many seats or that many seats, but we expect in any election, particularly after the 2021 election, that therell be some rebalancing, he says. What that looks like is up to the people of WA. While Cook says he isnt taking anything for granted, it is clear he has an eye to March 9 and what his new cabinet will look like. Advertisement Finance Minister Sue Ellery, Attorney General John Quigley and Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman have all retired, leaving room for new faces. As our pub grub arrives, Cook hints that his new cabinet may reach gender parity. I want it to be diverse. I think gender diversity in particular is important in relation to the cabinet, and want to make sure that there are a range of voices around the table, he said. Its an ambition. I have to make sure that we bring more voices in. There are 17 cabinet positions, so true gender parity is unachievable, but to bring it closer at least two or all of his new ministers would have to be women. Roger Cooks cheeseburger from The Wellard. Credit: Colin Murty Cook, the youngest of six siblings, sings the praises of gender parity as a positive influence in his entire Labour caucus, which has been remarkably united and disciplined these past four years despite the huge number of MPs needing wrangled. Advertisement I dont want to make any gender stereotypes here, but I think the fact that 50 per cent of the caucus is made up of women now does make a difference to the way it operates, he says. Its much less aggressive, and I think people hold each other to a higher standard of behaviour. What will be harder to wrangle in the next term is the upper house, which Labor is likely to lose control of. Labor MPs will be replaced with more opposition members, Greens and a smattering of minor parties like Australian Christians, One Nation and Legalise Cannabis. Loading Cook says he is not worried about this looming new political dynamic. Theres only been four years in the entire life of all WA labor governments where weve held a majority in upper house. That was the last four years, he says. If we dont have a majority there, we will do what weve always done, which is negotiate and work with the cross benchers and with the opposition parties to get good legislation through. Advertisement The Greens have been vocal over demands to curb the states oil and gas industry if the next government wants its support to pass legislation, while Legalise Cannabis want the government to you guessed it legalise cannabis. Cook shuts that down immediately, but says there are things they could negotiate in that space around medicinal cannabis. To the Greens demands he says: There are areas which, quite frankly, are not up for grabs, such as keeping the economy strong and keeping jobs growth going. Cook says day one of the new government will involve acting on promised cost of living supports like the $150 and $250 student assistance payments. Premier Roger Cook. Credit: Colin Murty However, much of the next four years will see his government pursue its Made in WA plan, which involves hundreds of millions of dollars spent on establishing green industries here like battery manufacturing, powerline manufacturing and green steel. It seems like the perfect time to ask him about his future in politics. Advertisement Beijing: China is bracing for geopolitical changes unseen in a century as it increases defence spending and looks to fire up its sluggish economy in the midst of a trade war with the United States. China unveiled its budget plans in its annual work report on Wednesday, at the opening of the countrys rubber-stamp parliament, the National Peoples Congress in Beijing. Premier Li Qiang speaks during the opening session of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Credit: AP Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the closely scrutinised report a day after US President Donald Trump doubled his tariffs on Chinese imports to 20 per cent, a decision that triggered immediate retaliation from Beijing on Tuesday. Changes unseen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace, the report noted, warning that the shifting geopolitics could affect Chinas trade and industry, without naming specific countries involved. London: A Russian court has sentenced a British man to 19 years in prison on charges of terrorism and acting as a mercenary while fighting for Ukraine, authorities in the Kursk region said. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was detained in November while fighting with Ukrainian forces in Kursk, a month before the capture of Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins by Russian forces was confirmed. Russia has sentenced British prisoner of war James Anderson, 22, to 19 years in the gulag after he was brutally captured in the Kursk region. Credit: Telegram Russian authorities are yet to comment publicly on whether they intend to prosecute Jenkins, or whether he could be offered in any proposed prisoner swap. Anderson will serve five years in prison, followed by 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony, the court said on Telegram. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence. NICOSIA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Cyprus government will participate in the UN's expanded Geneva talks on the island's peace settlement, following an official invitation from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed on Tuesday. Scheduled for March 17-18, the meeting aims to facilitate a substantive exchange of views on advancing a solution. It will begin with a working dinner on March 17, followed by bilateral discussions and a final plenary session at the Palais des Nations. Guterres reiterated the UN's commitment to finding common ground, expressing hope that the talks will generate momentum for renewed negotiations. The Greek Cypriot side, Letymbiotis said, will approach the talks constructively, aiming to resume discussions from where they left off. The meeting follows a regional tour by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo, who met with both Cypriot leaders last month. Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides proposed five measures to ensure a positive outcome, while Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar insisted on recognizing the Turkish Cypriot community's sovereign equality. Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when a Turkish military intervention followed a coup by Greek army officers. Peace talks have been stalled since the collapse of a similar conference in Switzerland in July 2017. Since then, Turkiye and the Turkish Cypriots have hardened their stance, advocating for permanent partition and international recognition of a breakaway state established by Turkiye in 1983. Greece, Turkiye, and Britain - Cyprus' three guarantor powers - will also participate in the Geneva meeting alongside UN representatives. Washington: Canada will sue the United States in the World Trade Organisation and has initiated retaliatory tariffs after US President Donald Trump whacked his northern neighbour with 25 per cent import duties in a move Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as very dumb. In a pointed barb at the Trump administrations foreign and economic policies, Trudeau said the US was starting a trade war with its closest allies at the same time as it was appeasing [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator by pausing military aid to Ukraine. We will not back down from a fight: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Credit: AP Make that make sense, he said. Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight not when our country and the wellbeing of everyone in it is at stake. MANILA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The remains of the two pilots and the wreckage of the FA-50 fighter jet that crashed during a combat air support mission have been found, the Philippine military said Wednesday. Lieutenant General Luis Rex Bergante, the commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the bodies were found around 11 a.m. local time Wednesday near the wreckage site in Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon province. The Philippine Air Force (PAF) said the FA-50 jet lost communication during the night combat assault around midnight Tuesday before reaching the target area. The other aircraft were able to return safely to an air base in Cebu province in the central Philippines after carrying out the offensive. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- On June 10 this year, the international community will celebrate the first International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks in response to a query regarding the recent launch of an English version of a dedicated website by the United Nations Secretariat for the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. Last year, the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a China-proposed resolution to establish the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, Lin noted, adding that this marks the successful implementation of China's Global Civilization Initiative and constitutes a significant contribution to fostering exchanges and dialogues among diverse civilizations, as well as promoting world peace and development. The United Nations recently launched a dedicated website to promote the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. The website is designed to highlight the common values of mankind, raise public awareness of the importance of respecting the diversity of civilizations, and focus on finding solutions to global challenges, Lin said. On June 10 this year, the international community will celebrate the first International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. As the initiating country, China is ready to work with all parties to implement the spirit of the resolution, hold a variety of celebratory activities, promote exchanges and mutual learning among global civilizations, and better safeguard world peace and promote common development through dialogue among civilizations, Lin said. WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his pledge to take both the Panama Canal and Greenland. "To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we have already started doing it," Trump said during his address to a joint session of Congress. He once again blamed the late U.S. President Jimmy Carter for signing a treaty with Panama in the 1970s, handing the authority to run the vital waterway to the country. On Greenland, Trump said his administration would "strongly support" Greenlanders' "right to determine" their own future. "And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we are working with everybody involved to try and get it," Trump said. "And I think we are going to get it one way or the other ... It is a very small population, but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security." Greenland, the world's largest island with a population of around 60,000, was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became an integral part of Denmark with Greenlanders given Danish citizenship. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defense policy. This is not the first time Trump talked about taking over Greeland. Denmark has rejected the idea, saying the island is not up for sale. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit ISLAMABAD, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani military said on Wednesday that the death toll from Tuesday's terrorist attack in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province rose to 18, and 16 terrorists were killed. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement that a group of attackers attempted to breach a cantonment's security but after resistance from the security forces, two suicide bombers rammed their explosive-laden vehicles into the perimeter wall. Following the blast at two different locations of the wall, the terrorists again tried to enter the compound, but their attempt was foiled, said the military. The ISPR added that the troops eliminated all 16 terrorists, including four suicide bombers, adding that five soldiers were killed in the line of duty. According to the military, the multiple suicide blasts resulted in the partial collapse of the perimeter wall, causing severe destruction to a mosque and a civilian residential building nearby, killing 13 innocent civilians and injuring 32 others. The security forces of Pakistan remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate terrorism in all its forms, added the ISPR. Peugeot has introduced its new 5008, a seven-seat SUV available with both hybrid and fully electric powertrains. The 5008 offers up to 502km of electric range (WLTP) for the all-electric version. BEV versions include an electric 210bhp, a 230bhp Long Range version, and an electric 320bhp Dual Motor with AWD which starts production in May. The hybrid is a 136bhp variant. Long Range electric versions arriving here in Q2 of this year have a 668km WLTP range which Peugeot says is best-in-class for a large SUV. Both the electric and MHEV versions are offered at the same price from 50,995; the Long Range is from 55,495, and the GT is an extra 4,000. The car we drove at launch was the Hybrid GT 136bhp e-DCS6 with an annual road tax of 210 and an on-the-road price of 54,995 (not including metallic paint or delivery). Peugeot aims to be the mainstream EV leader in Europe. Your local Peugeot dealer in Mayo is JJ Burke's in Ballinrobe. Long-distance champ Ahead of the first units of Opels New Grandland plug-in-hybrid arriving here this summer, this version has undergone a range test that saw Opels flagship SUV model cover a total of 1,115km on just one tank of fuel combined with a fully charged battery. The Grandland PHEV achieved an overall consumption of 4.6 L/100km at an average speed of 80km over the cycle and was driven until it ran out of fuel. The car was fitted with winter tyres as required at this time of the year in Germany. The powertrain for the PHEV is based on a 1.6-turbo petrol along with an electric motor, giving a combined total output of 195hp. The Grandland Electric currently available here is priced from 39,065 including grants, and the Grandland Hybrid with 48-volt technology from 40,995 plus delivery. Prices for the PHEV for the Irish market will be announced closer to launch. Your local Opel dealer in Mayo is Rochford Motors in Ballyhaunis. More than 60 concerned forestry owners from south Mayo met in the Claremorris Family Resource Centre recently for a presentation of possible outcomes from the damage caused to forests in the area by Storm Eowyn. Brian Fitzgerald, general manager with Kerry-based Euroforest, who arranged the meeting, said the damage caused by the hurricane-force winds on January 24th last was on a scale never before seen on the island of Ireland. Mr Fitzgerald said the damage was extensive and it seemed likely that the prices paid to growers would fall as a result as there would be a surplus of timber on the market at the one time. He said damaged trees made harvesting more difficult and that there was an insufficient number of harvesting machines in the country to cope with the workload. Harvesting prices would rise, as a result, he predicted. Forestry owners spoke of the damage caused to their plantations with some trees broken at their trunks, while others were knocked over by other falling trees. Mr Fitzgerald warned the attendance of the dangers of entering forests to assess the damage as some trees could still be under tension and break at any minute, causing other trees to fall. He said forests in their current state posed "a considerable and real health and safety risk". Forest owners should deploy drones to film the plantations and evaluate the video afterwards. Forestry owners expressed frustration at the length of time it takes to obtain a felling license from the Department of Agriculture, with examples of times ranging from six months to five years being quoted. There was also discontent with the fact that forests must be replanted when cleared, with owners emphatic in their claims that this was not mentioned when they agreed to plant the trees in the first place. The need to obtain a felling license to cut up a tree that had already fallen was also criticised. Mr Fitzgerald said owners had three options when it came to selling timber. The first is to sell the timber standing in the forest, he said. It is very difficult to estimate the value of a standing forest because it is hard to quantify the weight of a standing tree, and timber is sold by weight. "The second option is to sell the timber at the roadside. This involves harvesting the timber and bringing it through the land to a roadside collection point. "The third and best option is to sell the timber delivered to the sawmills. Owners called for a compensation scheme to be introduced to offset the losses they will incur as a result of the storm damage. Many said that this was their pension plan and it had been severely devalued as a result of the storm. They had entered the scheme in the first place on the advice of the government at the time and complied with all the conditions laid down over the years. Mayo's five TDs need to be proactive in progressing the promised Newport Sewage Treatment Plant, according to local councillors who have heard nothing from Uisce Eireann (Irish Water) about the matter despite repeated calls for clarification. The matter was raised by Cllr Brendan Mulroy at the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District (MD) last week. This MD has still had no response to our calls for updates from Irish Water. Only Dara Calleary TD was in contact with Irish Water but other than that we have had no response. Cllr Peter Flynn expressed thanks to Minister Calleary who he said was the only one out of five local TDs "who took the trouble to reply, which was "not good enough". They (the five local TDs) are the ones who should be called to account. This scheme should have been done in the last ten years." Cllr John OMalley said a community group in Newport had been trying to get in touch with Uisce Eireann but could not find a name or a contact. It is not good enough to keep hiding all the time and not answer the questions needed answering. We need to know what is the estimated time of the project being progressed and finished. The community group also tell me that nobody ever goes near the treatment plant because a man stuck a branch in it three weeks ago and it is just left there and nobody in Irish Water is even heeding it. Larry, we have to close the beaches," Police Chief Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider) along with marine biologist and shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) is desperately trying to convince stubborn Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) of the presence of a killer shark terrorising the waters off their Amity Island. Laughing off their concerns, Vaughn orders Brody to do what he needs to do to make the beaches safe but "for Christ's sake tomorrow is the 4th of July and we will be open for business..." Spielbergs 1975 classic movie, Jaws, has a sun-soaked beach town, led by a mayor in a loud anchor-patterned suit, stubbornly refusing to believe that a monstrous killer shark is lurking just offshore. His refusal to accept the evidence staring him in the face is simply because it would mean closing the beaches during the crucial summer season. Instead, the Mayor downplays the danger, insisting that the town depends on tourism and that a panic would be worse than the potential threat. Even after the first confirmed attack, Vaughn continues to deny and deflect, blaming a boat accident rather than a rogue great white. Its only after the deadly horrific July 4th attack, where the shark is witnessed by the panicked beachgoers and nearly kills his own son, that he finally accepts the facts. In one of his most telling moments, he stares blankly at the chaos and mutters, "Martin, my kids were on that beach too." Its a moment of realisation and remorse, but by then, it's too late to undo the damage. Donald Trump recently echoed Kremlin talking points when chastising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the Russian invasion of his country. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he claimed. The US President likely would have similarly criticised Mayor Vaughn over not appeasing the Great White Shark with an old granny or two. Yet Zelenskyys inaction in the lead-up to the February 24 invasion does echo that of the mayor of Amity Island. For months before, the governments of the United States, the UK and military experts were loudly voicing that the vast amount of Russian tanks and infantrymen werent just flexing on the border - they were going to roll across it. Yet many in Ukraine, from ordinary citizens to government officials, clung to the belief that it wouldnt or couldnt happen. Despite years of tensions and the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Ukraine was not fully prepared for the full-scale 2022 Russian invasion. Western intelligence agencies had repeatedly warned that an attack was imminent, but Zelenskyy and his government downplayed these predictions, fearing mass panic and economic collapse. After all, hadnt Russia already rattled sabres in 2014? Hadnt Ukraine been living in a tense, uneasy peace since? To openly admit an invasion was imminent would mean facing the unthinkable: total war. But just as Mayor Vaughn refused to close the beaches until bodies washed ashore, Ukraines government hesitated to prepare for the worst until the tanks were literally on their doorstep. And like the unfortunate swimmers of Amity Island, ordinary Ukrainians paid the price - even as Zelenskyy heroically remained in Kyiv with his cabinet. Unlike Russia, which had spent months mobilising troops, Ukraine did not enact widespread defensive measures before the invasion. Key cities like Kherson fell quickly due to inadequate fortifications or army unreadiness, with many of Ukraines best troops concentrated in the east, anticipating a limited conflict rather than an all-out assault from multiple directions. During January 2022, my wife and I were in her city of Poltava, in north-eastern Ukraine, with family and friends, before taking a flight to Antalya in Turkey for a weeks holiday from January 21. It was a strange time. I listened to the increasingly shrill warnings of an imminent Russian invasion on my English-speaking internet, as Putin massed his vast army along the border. Yet, everyday Ukrainians were in denial, lulled into false security by their non-English speaking media. The dour taxi driver who expertly drove us through winter slush and wet snow for two hours to Kharkiv Airport laughed at the thought of Slavic brothers fighting each other. What did the Americans know? A war with Russia simply couldnt happen. Yet I had a jarring, uneasy feeling while listening on my headphones to impending doom from Western correspondents as everyone around me was chatting, shopping, eating and generally doing what one does when not expecting their small-but-modern airport to be blown to bits by missiles a month later. Our week in the old city of Kaleici, lined with Ottoman-era houses, should have been relaxing. But I couldnt sleep and took to walking the narrow cobbled streets around the harbour. Even in Turkey, Putin was seen as an expert strategist, causing his enemies to second-guess him. A few locals I met tried to convince me no attack was coming and Putin was simply playing three-dimensional chess with the West. But I kept walking. On our return to Ukraine, I left for work in Ireland and my wife stayed with her ill father to follow me later. Back in Mayo, the drumbeat of war was more emphatic and I made the decision to book three tickets for her and two friends to spend a week in Istanbul from February 15. Reluctantly she went, but I angered them by later extending the return tickets a few more days. "Look, nothing is going on Liam its time to go back to Poltava," they said. I emailed a US friend on February 22: I saw Putins display last night - truly awful and showing how absolute power corrupts an already flawed man. His hatred of what Ukraine stands for is breathtaking and does not bode well. Personally, I think he will invade the rest of Ukraine, probably not soon but when Ukraine reacts as they must do when the Russian-supported separatists attack their forces. That could be tomorrow or next week, but I feel it is coming." Two days later, as Russian forces invaded, Kharkiv Airport was destroyed in an attempt to cripple Ukraines air capabilities and gain control of strategic locations near the Russian border. My wife has never returned home. Her father refuses to leave. Much like Amity Island, once the enemy struck, Ukraine chose to fight. Despite initial setbacks, the country adapted rapidly, arming civilians, enacting emergency measures and rallying public support. The military regrouped and forced Russia into costly battles, particularly in Kyiv, preventing a quick Russian victory. Western aid surged, providing weapons, intelligence and financial support, turning what could have been a swift collapse into a prolonged and heroic resistance, lasting to today. Yet might it have been different? Sometimes the truth is too awful for us to acknowledge. But that is rarely a good reason to do so. By Cillian Sherlock, PA The Taoiseach will meet with the British prime minister in Liverpool this evening for the first of a series of annual UK-Ireland summits. Micheal Martin and Keir Starmer will co-host a reception on Wednesday evening, which is designed to celebrate cultural links between Britain and Ireland. It comes after both governments signalled a desire for a reset in relations, which had been put under strain throughout Brexit and the previous UK governments laws to deal with legacy issues of the Troubles. Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) The two leaders will also host a round table with businesses across the tech, energy, construction and manufacturing sectors which have operations on both sides of the Irish Sea on Thursday morning. They are expected to agree what is being described as a wide-ranging programme of new and enhanced strategic co-operation between Ireland and the UK, to be taken forward by both governments through to 2030. Mr Martin said: This summit is one of the most significant bilateral engagements between the British and Irish Governments in a generation and shows the resolve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I to put in place the building blocks to bring strategic co-operation between our two countries to a new level. Simon Harris with Keir Starmer in Dublin (Peter Morrison/PA) I am keen now that we work in partnership on a structured and ongoing basis to realise the full potential of the British-Irish relationship across a comprehensive programme of co-operation, including on infrastructure delivery, opportunities for SMEs, marine planning, energy, education and culture. Mr Martin will be joined by Irelands deputy premier Simon Harris, who is also the countrys defence and foreign affairs minister for the summit plenary meeting later on Thursday. The Prime Minister previously met Mr Harris in Dublin when he held the position of taoiseach last year. The Irish delegation also includes Education Minister Helen McEntee, Climate, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh OBrien, and Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jim OCallaghan. Private enterprises in east China's Shandong Province have explored the overseas market through continuous efforts in innovation and cooperation. #GLOBALink ATLANTA As Donald Trump prepared Tuesday to address a joint session of Congress, protest groups gathered at parks, statehouses and other public grounds across the country to assail his presidency as dangerous and un-American. The rallies and marches set in motion by the fledgling 50501 Movement, a volunteer-driven group organized in the weeks after Trumps inauguration mark the latest attempt at national resistance to the hardened support of Trumps Make America Great Again base and the success it has had in reshaping the Republican Party in the presidents populist image. Yet some early scenes Tuesday vividly demonstrated the difficulty Democrats, progressives and everyday citizens face in marshaling a tangible response to Trump and the swift, sweeping actions of his second administration. Protesters have so many things to push back against from tariffs to Trump's reset on the war in Ukraine to the aggressive and sometimes legally dubious actions of the Department of Government Efficiency and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, that it's hard to know what to focus on. There are so many things to fight, but I hope by being here we are starting some conversations, said Sara Grummer-Strawn, who held a sign declaring So Much Wrong, So Little Space, followed by a small-print litany of topics from Ukraine and tariffs to potential education cuts to the denial of climate and vaccine science. Around her in Atlanta were hundreds of people marching and chanting about a range of Trump initiatives. There were Palestinian flags and Ukrainian flags, along with signs bemoaning Trump ending military aid to Ukraine as it fights off the invading Russian troops of Vladimir Putin. Trump was called a fascist, a Russian asset, Putins Puppet and Wannabe King, among other, more profane monikers. One signed implored Punch Nazis, reflecting an increasingly common effort to compare Trump's presidency to Nazi Germany. Musk was a frequent target of mockery and ire. There were also appeals for transgender rights, abortion rights and diversity. One sign appealed simply, Save Our Parks. Events were scheduled throughout the day in all 50 states, ending late Tuesday in Hawaii. In Austin, Texas, those gathered at the statehouse leaned in to support Ukraine. Pops of yellow a nod to the colors of Ukraines national flag dotted the crowd as protesters affixed sunflowers to their hair, hats and clothing. The Texas crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, eventually made its way through downtown, chanting, Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go. I think protests can be impactful, said Carol Goodwin, an Austin resident active in the local advocacy scene. I think these smaller protests are valuable for the people who come to express their frustrations, and I think this movement will grow over time. For some participants, Tuesday recalled 50501s first day of national action Feb. 5 or the many womens marches in 2017, at the outset of Trumps first term. For many others, it was a new step in their engagement. Goodwin cited Trump's tariffs against Canada and Mexico and the Oval Office exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week as her reasons for attending. In San Francisco, Michael Gray also pointed to that White House exchange with the Ukrainian leader. The meeting with Zelenskyy ... just made us so disgusted to see an American president act that way on the world stage, said the Santa Rosa, California, resident. Grayson Taylor, a 33-year-old who came to the Atlanta event, had not protested until this year. He described the actions of Trump, his Cabinet and Musk as a billionaire coup leading a government that will be serving the ultra-rich. At the same rally, Sherri Frias, 58, said her concerns about the extension of Trumps 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans in conjunction with GOP proposals to roll back Medicaid and other aid programs drew her to her first protest. Trump urged Congress to renew the tax cuts, which are set to expire. Another Atlanta attendee, 67-year-old Phyllis Bedford, said she came to her first political protest because she felt overwhelmed by the breadth of Trumps actions. I was thinking on my way here what I want to say about the situation, said Bedford, who drove from Republican-leaning Snellville, on the outer edges of metro Atlanta. All I could come up with is, Im sorry. I am sorry to Canada. Im sorry, Mexico. Im sorry, Greenland. Im so, so sorry, Ukraine and President Zelensky. Were just so wrong. And we dont all support this man. For my own mental health, because it makes me feel like Im doing something other than just the screaming inside of my head, right? That goes on every day, And I want to be heard. The protests come after some Republican members of Congress met angry town hall crowds during a recent congressional recess and as Democrats on Capitol Hill face pressure from voters on the left to be more outspoken. Taylor wants Democrats to be rude and aggressive like Republicans have been for years. The Republican Party right now is so much more organized, and not divisive, Smith said. The Democratic Party, they have individual issues, but in my observation its hard for them to come together to deal with the real issues they want. Multiple demonstrators said they want to see Democrats relentlessly highlight the real-world impact of Trumps executive orders, Musks commission and the pending Republican budget plan. Bedford worked in the financial aid office at Georgia State University. Most of the kids I dealt with would not have been enrolled without Pell Grants and the (federal) financial aid system, she said. And now theres just a war on education, and higher education especially. Grummer-Strawn divides her time between Atlanta and Geneva, where her husband works for the World Health Organization after he spent 24 years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump withdrew the U.S. from supporting WHO and clamped down on the CDCs research and public health advocacy. We need to get people to stop and pause and see what each of his actions is leading to, connecting the dots, Grummer-Strawn said, even if people dont think Ukraine and tariffs and public health policy affect them directly. Frias, meanwhile, thinks Democrats are doing everything they can, given GOP control on Capitol Hill and in the White House. The ultimate responsibility for action, she said, rests with the people of the U.S. Lathan reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press journalist Haven Daley contributed from San Francisco. KABUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have prevented the smuggling of 5,525 kg of gemstones abroad in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the provincial police office said in a statement on Wednesday. Smugglers attempted to transport the stones illegally, but Afghan security forces succeeded in discovering the precious stones in the Spin Boldak district of the province, the statement said. The discovered stones have been transferred to the provincial mines department for laboratory testing to evaluate their worth, the statement added. The Afghan interim government officials have persistently asserted that the possession or smuggling of relics, historical artifacts and precious stones is strictly prohibited. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday announced a 7.2-percent increase in its 2025 national defense budget, marking the 10th consecutive year of single-digit growth. The country's planned defense expenditure this year will be 1.784665 trillion yuan (about 249 billion U.S. dollars), according to a draft budget report submitted to the national legislature for deliberation. The 7.2-percent increase is the same as the previous two years. China's defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been below 1.5 percent for many years, lower than the world average, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, told reporters Tuesday. Amid prolonged conflicts as well as rising international and regional tensions, global defense spending in 2024 surged to an all-time high of about 2.43 trillion U.S. dollars. The United States, which possesses the world's largest nuclear arsenal, remained the world's top military spender in 2024, accounting for 40 percent of the total. Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, recently accused the high military outlay of the United States of being "concerning" to the international community. "I believe that the United States should be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal and military expenditure, and put into practice 'America First' in this regard," Wu said. China's military spending has long been a focal point of Western scrutiny, with the so-called "China threat" narrative being amplified almost every year. However, the United States has pledged to spend no less than 3 percent of its GDP on national defense, and pushed all NATO members to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP. In per-capita terms, China's defense spending has been far less than that of Washington, too. China upholds a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, with its military spending mainly focusing on protecting its sovereignty, security and development interests. China's development strengthens the world's forces for peace, and the country will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism no matter what stage of development it reaches. As China continues to play an increasingly important role on the global stage, its military has taken on greater responsibility in providing the international community with more public security goods. Over the years, Chinese military personnel have frequently joined in international humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts, contributing significantly to global stability. Moreover, China has sent over 50,000 peacekeepers to more than 20 countries and regions worldwide over the past 30-plus years, contributing the largest number of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. An unexpected journey into geochemistry Wits student Kei Prior shares the story of his journey as an undergraduate considering Chemical Engineering to a PhD in Geochemistry and Environmental Science. Kei Prior has been awarded a scholarship to pursue a PhD at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Kei will work under the supervision of Dr Tim Ralph and Prof Marc Humphries to investigate the impact of fire and floods in New South Wales, and the role of floodplain wetlands in buffering coastal systems. Kei completed his Honours degree in chemistry in 2024, winning the Merck Achievement Award as the top student. Read about his journey here. As a second-year BSc Chemistry student with plans to shift to Chemical Engineering, I never anticipated that a field trip to Lake Bhangazi North in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park would completely change my academic trajectory. When I arrived at the ORI research cottagea modest setup of four shipping containers arranged around a makeshift living room - I had little idea what a sediment core was, and terms like bathymetry were foreign to me. I joined the research team through my analytical chemistry lecturer, Prof. Marc Humphries (WITS), who, alongside Prof. Andrew Green (UKZN), had chosen Lake Bhangazi as part of their broader paleoclimate and geophysical research in the region. Their previous work had focused on the Mkhuze Delta and Lake St. Lucia, but Lake Bhangazi offered an unstudied site to expand their understanding of past environmental changes in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Our field expedition involved several days of manual sediment coring, constructing a makeshift seismic survey system on a small rubber duck, and many braais and fireside conversations. It was in these informal settings that I learned the most, connecting lessons from the professors to what I was seeing at the lake and have seen in the natural spaces in South Africa. I was able to ask questions that pushed my understanding beyond the classroom and the laboratory. Although I had assisted with subsampling the core in my third year and we had already received our age model, it wasnt until my Honours year that I fully took ownership of the project. In the lab, I worked on grain size analysis to assess sediment deposition patterns, XRF analysis to identify elemental composition shifts, and I even worked in the ultra-clean laboratory at Wits to investigate 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios as tracers of sediment provenance. One of our most striking findings was the presence of prominent sand lenses throughout the core, confirmed through grain size and elemental data We attributed these lenses to prolonged drought periods, during which reduced vegetation cover and lower moisture availability would increase sediment erodibility. Our findings aligned with Prof. Humphries' previous research, which linked intensified drought cycles to harsh El Nino phases in the region. To strengthen our conclusions, we combined data from three core sitesLake Bhangazi, the Mkhuze Delta, and Lake St. Luciainto a multi-proxy composite record. The results showed a statistically significant correlation between major periods of drought in KZN and a longstanding El Nino proxy record from Ecuador. The results of this work were recently published in Quaternary Science Reviews: A 6000-year high-resolution composite record of El Nino-related drought in subtropical southeast Africa. The experience altered my academic direction. Instead of pursuing chemical engineering or chemistry, I have decided to continue my research in earth sciences and have accepted an offer for a PhD at Macquarie University, under the supervision of Dr Tim Ralph and Prof Humphries. My PhD will expand on my interest in extreme climate events, specifically investigating how the Black Summer fires have impacted coastal wetlands in New South Wales. Focusing on freshwater wetlands upstream of coastal mangroves, I aim to conduct source-to-sink geochemical analyses to track sediment transport post-fire and to develop expertise in radioisotope and compound-specific isotope analysis as well as geochemical modelling and remote sensing. Although I never set out to pursue a PhD in Geochemistry and Environmental Science, I am incredibly grateful to have landed here. The field offers a rare opportunity to blend my deep curiosity for the natural world with my fundamental understanding of chemistry, as I intend to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to addressing climate and environmental challenges. MONTERREY, Mexico, March 5 (Xinhua) -- At a plant in Mexico's industrial hub of Monterrey in northern Nuevo Leon state, the hum of machines and the constant flow of airbag assembly reflect the intense activity at TAPEX Mexicana, an airbag manufacturer. However, a new reality is casting a shadow over the region: On Tuesday, the United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican exports, a measure that could strongly impact automotive suppliers along Mexico's northern border. BLOW TO AUTO INDUSTRY "We are working very hard on costs," said Jorge Cuellar, human resources manager at TAPEX Mexicana. The company ships most of its production to the United States, so any change in U.S. tariff policies is a risk that cannot be overlooked. Jose Ruben Reyes, the company's head of production, stressed that the concern is not only for the finished products but also the supplies. U.S. tariffs on key inputs, such as steel and aluminum, already in force, could significantly increase production costs and possible layoffs, said Reyes, adding that the latest tariffs on Mexican goods would worsen the situation. On Feb. 10, the U.S. government imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel and aluminum imports, including those from countries with which it has free trade agreements. The tariffs have generated great uncertainty in the automotive industry, one of Mexico's leading export sectors. Monterrey, home to more than 400 auto-related companies, is the engine of the automotive industry in northern Mexico and a fundamental pillar of the country's economy. Manuel Montoya, general director of the Automotive Cluster of Nuevo Leon, said the state's economy depends heavily on automotive exports, adding that while it is still too early to determine the definitive impact of the tariffs, the signs are not encouraging. As a result of these tariffs, "we could lose thousands of jobs and see a decline in foreign direct investment," he said. "Any additional tariff can mark the difference between being competitive or not in this market." RISING COST Hiroshi Kawai, general manager at TAPEX Monterrey, said the company is already taking preventive measures to tackle any adverse scenario. "What we have to do is to look at cutting costs and improving continuous automation and use of materials," he said. Montoya said he believes that given the challenges posed by tariffs, the sector has begun to evaluate strategies to mitigate risk, such as investing in advanced manufacturing technologies and continuously innovating to remain competitive globally. "Uncertainty is widespread," Montoya said. "We believe that ultimately the tariffs will be paid by the customer, whoever buys a more expensive car, for example. We all agree that this is going to happen; it is an extra cost that will be transferred up the chain." The U.S. tariffs would also impact Alian Plastics, a manufacturer of plastic components for various industries, including automotive. Felipe Villareal, Alian's general director, explained that some of the company's products cross the border multiple times before completion, so the increased logistics costs and tariffs at each crossing would present a significant challenge. "Speaking in percentage calculations, this can really lead to between a 65 and 70 percent increase in the cost of the product. And in the end, that increase in the cost of the product will have to be passed on to the final consumer," he said. Villareal said the tariffs directly impact companies and the entire supply chain, driving up costs for consumers and reducing the competitiveness of Mexican companies. "It is quite a strong impact," he said, resulting in decreased demand and production volumes and subsequent unemployment. Reyes from TAPEX Mexicana said ensuring job continuity is a priority. "People are the most important thing for any company. That is the most indispensable factor in being productive," he said. While the future remains uncertain, the automotive industry in Monterrey is proactively preparing for potential challenges. By embracing innovation and fostering collaboration, the sector is focused on adapting and building resilience. Production continues for now, but industry professionals know the landscape may change at any moment. "Always be cautious," Reyes said. "As Mexicans, we have a lot of work to do. We are a very important country for the sector. Let's not let our guard down." KAMPONG THOM, Cambodia, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Va Sokchea, a 39-year-old worker at a Chinese-invested Kampu Nuts Agro Product Co. Ltd. here in central Cambodia, has no longer migrated to work at a garment factory in the capital Phnom Penh since the cashew nut processing plant launched in early 2024. The mother of four children said the factory, which processes cashew nuts for the Chinese market, has provided her with a stable job and a decent income, and more importantly, she can live together with her family members as the plant is just a few kilometers away from her home. "My job at this factory is to collect and sort cashew nuts based on their sizes as well as remove the outer shells of the cashew nuts," she told Xinhua on Tuesday. Sokchea said she liked the job very much because it gave her a steady income of 300 U.S. dollars a month, which was higher than the monthly wage of more than 200 dollars at the garment factory in Phnom Penh. "Currently, my livelihood is better than before because here I do not spend a lot, no spending on water and no separate spending on food for family members," she said. "Unlike there (in Phnom Penh), I had to spend a lot on utility fees and rental costs, so it was difficult for me." Sokchea showed her gratitude to Chinese consumers for buying Cambodian agricultural products, especially processed cashew nuts. "Your purchase has provided great benefits to Cambodian farmers and has created a lot of jobs for Cambodian people," she said. So Suos, another 38-year-old worker, said previously he was a rice farmer and found it hard to make a living, but his livelihood had improved after getting a job at the plant a year ago. "I really like to work here because first, it is near my house, so it's easy to travel to and from, and second, the income is also decent," he told Xinhua. "I earn 300 dollars per month." Suos said China's purchase of Cambodian cashew nuts has not only helped improve the livelihoods of local workers and farmers, but also contributed to boosting the economy. Hout Hyhhaikeang, managing director of the nuts processing plant, said the factory exports processed cashew nuts totaling between 3,000 tons and 4,000 tons per year and that the plant has generated about 200 jobs. "Currently, our key export market is China," he told Xinhua. "About 95 percent of our products have been sold to China." He said Cambodian cashew nuts were delicious and popular among Chinese consumers because they have big kernels, and taste sweet with a little creamy. Hyhhaikeang said the factory purchases raw cashew nuts from farmers and brokers, with the commodity's quality being tested properly by skilled staff. "We have provided our staff with technical skill training in cashew nut production and processing, and we have also provided an opportunity for farmers to earn an income from their production," he said. Cambodia is the world's second-largest producer of raw cashew nuts, with a total production of 850,000 tons in 2024, according to the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC). Due to processing factory shortage, the Southeast Asian country exported 815,000 tons of raw cashew nuts last year, or 95.8 percent of the total production, particularly neighboring Vietnam, according to the CAC. The CAC said the kingdom has roughly 700,000 hectares of cashew plantations in some 11 provinces. JAKARTA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will conduct the second phase of a weather modification operation next week to mitigate severe flooding in Jakarta and its surrounding areas, the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) announced on Wednesday. The decision follows a warning from the Meteorological, Climatology, and Geological Agency predicting extreme weather from March 11 to March 20, which could trigger heavy rains and flooding in Jakarta and nearby cities. BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari told Xinhua that the operation, scheduled from March 11 to March 18, aims to prevent heavy rainfall in the upstream areas of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers, whose downstream regions include Jakarta and its satellite cities. Muhari explained that flooding in the area is often caused by the overflow of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers, which originate in Puncak Cisarua, Bogor Regency, West Java. The weather modification process involves dispersing salt into clouds to prevent them from forming larger rain clouds over the upstream areas. "By introducing salt into the clouds before they reach Puncak Cisarua, we can induce rainfall over the sea, reducing the risk of heavy rains in the river upstream areas," he said. "We are currently carrying out the first phase of weather modification, which began on Tuesday and will end on Saturday. It has successfully reduced rainfall intensity in upstream areas, significantly easing flooding in Jakarta and its surrounding areas," he added. Severe flooding hit most areas in Jakarta and its satellite cities on Tuesday after heavy rain poured over the regions since Monday evening. Jenny Buckman, a 48-year-old volunteer firefighter for the Mayfield-Graves County Fire & Rescue Squad, sustained minor injuries on the job but will make a full recovery. President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron (out of frame) in the Oval Office on February 24, 2025. TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad announced on Wednesday the start of gas transfer from Turkmenistan to Turkiye via his country. During an interview with the Shana News Agency affiliated with the Iranian Oil Ministry, Paknejad also confirmed the finalization of the contract for the project. The implementation of the project would have significant impact on Iran's relations with Turkmenistan and Turkiye, especially in the areas of gas trade and other petroleum products, Paknejad said. He said the project was an important step towards strengthening Iran's status as a regional energy hub and indicative of the Iranian administration's determination to promote energy diplomacy. Turkiye's state-owned pipeline operator BOTAS and Turkmenistan's Turkmengaz signed the gas supply contract in early February. In the initial phase, up to 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas will be transported annually from Turkmenistan. With an annual gas consumption of about 50 bcm, Turkiye relies heavily on imports, mainly from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Warren Truck autoworkers in October 2024, on eve of hundreds of job cuts As the Trump administrations steep tariffs went into effect Tuesday and Canada and China retaliated with counter-tariffs, concern spread throughout auto plants over the impact on jobs in the globally integrated industry. Industry spokesmen say the 25 percent tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico could lead to widespread layoffs throughout North America in as early as one week. Oblivious to the impact on autoworkers, the United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain issued a statement endorsing the tariffs, calling them a powerful tool in the toolbox for undoing the injustice of anti-worker trade deals. Fain falsely claimed that the fascist president, who has been waging a war against immigrants, federal workers and essential social programs, was acting on behalf of workers. We look forward to working with the White House to shape the auto tariffs in April to benefit the working class, Fain said. In response, a veteran Stellantis worker in Detroit said, A powerful tool in the tool box is to tax the one-tenth of one percent who avoid paying taxes. A worker at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in suburban Detroit told the WSWS, This move is not going be a good one! People are already struggling with the cost of living, and this will push people to the brink. Food prices and a lot of other essential items will be hard to afford. Pointing to the logic of trade wars, the worker added, I personally have felt were on the verge of seeing World War III coming. A worker from the Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, said Fain was cozying up to Trump. He said: The UAW leadership doesnt speak for everyone. They put statements out on everyones behalf, but that is not everyones sentiment. What everybody really feels is that the UAW leadership has their own agenda. They tricked younger workers with this work-life balance talk. Now we make more money but take home less in our checks, and we still dont see our families. The leadership doesnt make me feel theyre into my interests. They make me feel like theyre in to get a seat at somebodys table. People say Fain is trying to move on and get into politics, maybe in the Republican Party. Mexican auto parts worker: The financial damage will be on both sides of the border Workers from Mexico also spoke to the WSWS. Julian, an auto parts worker in Matamoros, Mexico, said Trumps claim that tariffs are aimed at combatting drug trafficking is just a pretext. The US president is running his country like a business and wants to be self-sufficient regardless of the damage it causes to its inhabitants. He is a cunning but his power has limits, and he is not a king. Julian was among those who participated in the historic 2019 wildcat strikes against the union bureaucracy and transnational corporations in Matamoros when thousands marched to the border with Brownsville, Texas, to call on American workers to wake up and join their struggle. Julian said: The financial damage will be on both sides, and Mexico also has means to respond and will not stand idly by. We need to be prepared for the breaking of trade agreements, and now all the workers of both the United States and Mexico must show what we are made of. Matamoros workers stage protest with banner Union and company kill the working class" It is not about patriotism, it is about how we can cushion the conflicts between our rulers and secure more income for our families. We will have a big blow in the auto, mining and other industries, regarding unemployment. To extend our power as workers, lets make alliances and not divisions. We are the force and strength of our countries. Unity and strength for workers! A Toledo Jeep worker said, They threatened us with 1,200 layoffs already, referring to the recently rescinded threat by Stellantis to axe jobs at the plant. Whatever caused the initial layoffs could still happen. On top of that you have these tariffs, sales are down anyway. If the prices are too high with these tariffs, ultimately the cost will be put on the consumer. I anticipate layoffs. He continued: Many people were happy that Trump won because he talked about keeping gas cars and doing away with EVs. They thought that their jobs making gas engines would be safe. But they did not realize all the other things that were going to come. Trump lies so much, people began to say Thats just Trump, he doesnt mean that stuff. He does mean it. He is trying to turn himself into a dictator. Sometimes it takes a catastrophe for people to say, I made a mistake. For the people who voted for Trump, the tariffs are going to affect them because they have more to lose. The farmers are getting hurt too. A worker from the Ventra auto parts plant in Evart, Michigan, said workers at his shop were very concerned about the tariffs: My shop just laid me off for two weeks due to the shutdown at Ford Michigan Assembly Plant. They knew these tariffs were coming. The union knew it all along, and they did nothing to protect our jobs. They just said plan on being off for weeks, and theres nothing we can do about it. A Ford worker from Dearborn Truck Plant said: Trump is not defending our jobs. Fain and the UAW are not defending us. They are creating chaos. Both of them are supporting Ford and Fords profits. Workers everywhere do not want another war. We need a new system that will protect all of humanity and provide for human needs. Unite US, Canadian and Mexican workers Will Lehman speaking with a striking worker at the Stellantis Toledo Jeep Complex in Ohio In response to the UAWs support for Trumps tariffs, socialist Mack Trucks autoworker and former candidate for UAW president Will Lehman issued a statement, which said in part: The trade war measures backed by the UAW bureaucracy are aimed at dividing American workers from their brothers and sisters in Mexico, Canada and China, strengthening the position of American corporate giants and preparing WWIII. How can American workers win the support of Mexican and Canadian workers for a fight against the transnational corporations if they support trade tariffs that would toss thousands of these workers onto the unemployment lines? The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) rejects the attempts by the UAW bureaucracy to line workers up behind our capitalist exploiters. Instead, the IWA-RFC fights for the unity of workers throughout North America and the world in a common fight to defend the jobs and living standards of all workers. This means expanding the network of autoworkers rank-and-file committees whose aim is to abolish the UAW bureaucracy and transfer power from the union apparatus to shop floor workers. Tateona Williams at the funeral of her two children In response to public anger over the freezing deaths on February 10 of two-year-old Amillah Currie and nine-year-old Darnell Currie Jr., the Democratic mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, commissioned Deputy Mayor Melia Howard to review the citys emergency shelters and the attempts of the mother, Tateona Williams, to find relief through the Detroit and Wayne County homeless aid systems. The report, released February 26, touts marginal improvements in funding, staffing and emergency short-term bed space, and encourages the homeless to seek shelter in Detroit Police Department precincts because of the high degree of trust the community is showing in DPD. The two young children froze to death as they slept with members of their homeless family inside a van parked at a downtown Detroit casino garage. Tateona Williams, an unemployed medical assistant, had been living in the van with her five children and her own mother for three months. The mayors report, noting that the Williams/Currie family was unaware of an emergency shelter down the street from the casino parking garage, recommends the hiring of an additional Night Outreach Team to sweep parking garages and check for people sleeping in cars. The city absolves itself of any responsibility for the horrific deaths and the homeless crisis in general by claiming that it made the proper follow-up calls after referring the family to an overflow emergency shelter. The working class must reject such half-measures and lies and demand a full accounting of the scale and depth of the homeless crisis in the city of Detroit and across the country. The World Socialist Web Site warned in its 2025 New Year Statement, Socialism against oligarchy, fascism and war, that the election of Donald Trump represented a violent realignment of the political superstructure to correspond with the social reality of oligarchy and mass immiseration. Conditions of neglect and social murder prevail among the most vulnerable sections of the working class, a consequence of the extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of an oligarchic ruling elite, itself a cancerous expression of a crisis of the entire capitalist social order. The decline in living standards, especially since the end of COVID relief funding and a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, has been much greater than political and media leaders dare acknowledge. There are many more workers experiencing homelessness than the numbers show. Misleading report on Williams/Currie case The measures proposed in the citys report are ludicrously inadequate given the real scale of the problem. A proposed increase in emergency shelter space does not address the large increase in the homeless population in need of more permanent housing. According to Tasha Gray, executive director of Homeless Action Network Detroit: The city, in particular, has really made changes to add more family beds to the system, but I think were experiencing family homelessness at a level far greater than the beds that are being added to the system. Data from the citys Coordinated Assessment Model, or CAM, indicates that families spent an average of 133 days on a shelter placement waitlist, indicating a vast undersupply of shelter space, which the citys plan does nothing to address. Mourners gathered at the funeral of Darnell and Amillah Currie in Detroit, February 20, 2025 The citys report does not even evince an understanding of basic issues related to counting the homeless population. It states, According to the most recent data from January 2024, on any given night 1,725 people are estimated to be experiencing literal homelessness in Detroit (emphasis added). This is both false and misleading. The number 1,725 is taken from the yearly Point-in-Time (PIT) count, conducted in accordance with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and represents a count of the homeless population on a particular night in late January, definitely not on any given night. The PIT count is widely understood by homeless advocacy professionals to be an undercount of the homeless population, relying on data from a single night in the dead of winter, and only measuring people in shelter or transitional housing, or who are captured in street counts. Families with children are particularly difficult to count with this method, as many avoid interaction with authorities for fear of losing child custody. Using data from the 2022-23 school year, of the 1.4 million children identified as homeless nationally, itself a significant undercount, only 16 percent fall into the category measured by PIT countsthose who are unsheltered or staying in shelters. The rest stay in short-term arrangements like hotels or double-up with another familyunstable situations that are often unsafe and leave families just as vulnerable as they would be in shelters or on the streets. PIT counts are carried out by selfless and dedicated workers in the dead of winter, but they inevitably underestimate the homeless population. A 2001 study used data from homeless service providers to give estimates of an average daily homeless rate 2.5 to 10 times higher than the PIT count, and a 2022 study in Seattle gave a number four times higher. The US Department of Education gathers data according to a broader definition of homelessness that includes those living in hotels or temporarily doubled-up. This data, while still an enormous undercount, provides a somewhat clearer picture of the problem. According to PIT data, on a single night in 2023, 653,104 people nationwide and 8,997 adults and children in Michigan experienced homelessness. For the 2022-23 school year, the US Department of Education counts 1.37 million homeless students nationwide, from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade, and 32,762 in Michigan, with 2,579 in the Detroit Public Schools Community District alone. These numbers cannot be compared directly because of a difference in methodology, including the fact that the school numbers are annualized, but the comparison shows the effect of a more realistic definition of homelessness. Nationwide, homeless students alone outnumber the PIT count two to one. Even these numbers are far too low. A 2021 University of Michigan Poverty Solutions report on district and charter schools in Detroit found that the real student homeless population was likely four to eight times the US Department of Education numbers. The 2024 Michigan homeless student count was 35,495. By this standard, the real number could be from 140,000 to 280,000 students in Michigan experiencing homelessness in the 2023-24 school year. Official homelessness, as measured by PIT data, doubled during the presidency of Joe Biden, in large part because of the ending of COVID subsidies and the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in early 2022. Homelessness in the US 2007 - 2023. [Photo: Statista] The City of Detroit report notes that Tateona Williams first contacted the city seeking help from a program the Biden administration allowed to expire: The first record of a call was in December 2022 seeking assistance in rent payments from the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA). CERA was a federally funded program that had expired earlier that year. Leah McCall, executive director of the Oakland County Alliance for Housing, told the WSWS that with the loss of this funding: We have had to scale back our support and refocus our priorities on a smaller subset of those experiencing homelessness. Unfortunately, our waitlists remain in the hundreds, illustrating the overwhelming demand for housing assistance. While the pandemic-era funding provided a temporary but much-needed safety net, the need for sustained, long-term investment in housing programs remains critical to preventing further displacement and ensuring stability for vulnerable populations. The socialist response to the homeless crisis Workers must be aware of the scale of the homeless crisis to understand the scale of the solution required. Workers should demand nothing less than universal decent and affordable housing and the ending of evictions and foreclosures. This, in turn, requires that housing, along with all other social needs, be taken out of the hands of the parasitic bankers, hedge fund operators and speculators who presently monopolize the system. They must be expropriated and the corporations and banks turned into public utilities, controlled democratically by the working class. The wealth produced by the labor of the working class must be used in a planned and democratic manner to provide jobs at decent wages, quality education and universal and free health care for all. No support should be given to the parties and politicians of the ruling class, who deliberately conceal the scale of the homeless crisis in order to facilitate the social plunder carried out by the billionaire oligarchs who control them. No section of the working class, least of all the homeless, can rely on the Democratic Party to defend their interests. The massive rise in unacknowledged homelessness, and the indifference of party leaders, played a part in the rejection of the Democratic Party by large sections of the working class in the 2024 election. Now the billionaire fascist Trump and his centibillionaire buddy Elon Musk, who calls homeless people subhuman zombies, are firing hundreds of thousands of federal workers, shutting down entire federal departments, and gutting Medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance and other social programs, while the Democrats do nothing to oppose them. At the same time, workers must defend the rights of immigrants. Khaz25 put it well in a recent comment: What every working person mustnt forget is that homeless people are forced migrants within a country, while immigrants are homeless poor across international borders. Children are freezing to death in Detroit as well as in Gaza. The City of Detroit, well aware of public anger, made sure Tateona Williams family was provided with a home and rent for a year. What the city provided to Tateona Williams family could be extended to all who need it through the public appropriation and rational use of vacant property. This basic demand for decent housing can be achieved only by a united working class, armed with the knowledge and experience of decades of struggle to overthrow the oligarchy and establish a workers government. In its 2025 New Year Statement, the World Socialist Web Site Editorial Board argued that the first five years of this decade have been dominated by the response of the ruling class to the capitalist crisis. The next five years will be dominated by an explosive eruption of the class struggle As humanity enters the second half of the decade, the objective conditions for socialist revolution are ripening at an extraordinary pace. The conditions created by global capitalismimperialist war, staggering inequality, climate catastrophe and the threat of dictatorshipare driving millions of workers and young people into struggle. Maria Karystianou, mother of 21-year-old Marthi, a victim of the Tempi train crash, is seen on the screen (bottom left) holding a placard which reads in Greek "I don't have Oxygen", during a rally in central Athens, Greece on February 28, 2025 to mark two years since 57 people died in the disaster. Other banner slogans from the Cosco Dockers read: "Their profits or our lives. The crime at Tempi will not be covered up!" and from the Athens Student Associations, "The crime at Tempi has filled us with rage. Either their profits or our lives1" [AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris] The huge movement sparked by Greeces Tempi rail crash and subsequent government cover-up are a dramatic confirmation of this analysis. February 28 saw many hundreds of thousands take to the streets in Greeces largest-ever demonstrations, marking the second anniversary of the 2023 crash which resulted in the death of 57, mainly young, people. These demonstrations were accompanied by a general strike impacting every section of the Greek working class. According to one estimate, at least 430,000 protested in the capital Athens and similar vast turnouts were repeated throughout Greece, including on all its islandsdirectly mobilising a sizable proportion of the countrys 10 million population. Of immense objective significance, moreover, the eruption of the class struggle in Greece won a global response, with demonstrations organised outside Greek embassies and other locations in over 100 cities internationally. A map co-ordinating these Tempi protests was viewed by over 1.9 million people. The demonstrations over Tempi met particularly widespread support in Serbia, where large-scale anti-government protests have been held following the deaths last November of 15 people when a railway station canopy collapsed in the city of Novi Sad. The specific trigger for the Greek protests is a horrific crime of social murder, and the efforts of the sitting right-wing New Democracy (ND) government to protect the guilty. The passenger train involved in the crash with a freight train was en route from Athens to Thessaloniki and was packed with students, many of whom died alongside 11 rail workers. It is highly likely that an illegal cargo of fuel was on board the freight train and played a large part in the number of deaths. But the explosion of anger on Greeces streets has been generated over many years, due to the impact of savage austerity measures imposed by successive governments since 2008. Coalescing within the movement over Tempi is opposition to every attack on the working class over the last 15 years and the opposition of young people to a social and economic system which offers no future. The conservative daily Kathimerini cited the political and social research analyst Angelos Seriatos, who said, Grumbling, dissatisfaction, complaints were already broiling in the background. Three quarters of society is dissatisfied with government policies. Sometimes all it takes is a trigger for a crisis to erupt. Over the last 15 years the working class has tried every means to fight the offensive of the Greek and international oligarchy, particularly with the election of the Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) government in 2015, then led by Alexis Tsipras and his Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis. Syriza pledged to oppose the austerity measures demanded by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund troika. This promise was betrayed, with the Syriza government imposing deeper cuts than its New Democracy predecessor, including privatising the systematically underfunded and unsafe rail network in 2017. Then, and under every government since, the trade unions have worked might and main to suppress social opposition to ensure the imposition of austerity. The mass movement over Tempi developed in direct opposition to all the major parties, with demonstrations featuring banners reading Syriza, PASOK, ND [New Democracy]Tempi has a history, and largely outside of the structures of the trade unions. Greeces main trade union federations, which together represent over 2 million workers, have hardly lifted a finger to mobilise the mass movement that erupted nationwide immediately following the crash. Only on March 16, 2023over two weeks after the disasterdid the ADEDY public sector worker trade union federation and its private sector General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) counterpart call a token one-day general strike against a reeling ND government. The mass protests in January and February this year were instead called by the Association of Relatives of Tempi Victims Association. On January 23 they issued a call for protests to be held on January 26, which ADEDY merely called on its members to support while the GSEE remained silent. It was only on February 5 that ADEDY announced a 24-hour strike to mark the two-year anniversary of Tempi, with the GSEE following suit eight days later. Anger over Tempi demonstrates that the working class is once again seeking to break free from the stranglehold of pro-capitalist parties and trade unions. But as the WSWS has insisted, such movements, which the bourgeoisie often describe as leaderless, are only a preliminary stage in the development of the consciousness of the masses. The masses, accumulating experience in the course of struggle, are undergoing a profound change in their social and political orientation. It is in the context of this revolutionary process that the fight for socialist consciousness will develop. The working class in Greece has suffered devastating social attacks, chosen as the testing ground for a scorched earth economic agenda that was pursued by the ruling class throughout Europe. In the process, Greek workers have been subject to equally grotesque betrayals by the social democratic party PASOKwhich has long ditched its previous reformist programmeand by Syriza, which was advanced by every pseudo-left formation as an alternative. But there is nothing unique about the Greek experience. Workers in every country are under sustained attack, as the financial oligarchy and its parties demand ever more brutal exploitation and an end to all social welfare provision and essential social services to pay for military rearmament and a renewed imperialist carve-up of the worlds resources and markets. In all the old reformist and Stalinist parties the world over, as in Greece, workers face instruments of the class enemy that are shielded from challenge by lefts such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn and the pseudo-left groups that swarm around them. Tempi is a portent of the mass struggles to come. To prepare themselves, the WSWS Editorial Board Statement outlined the necessary political response for workers in Greece, Europe and throughout the world: The only viable response to the crisis confronting mankind is the revolutionary mobilization of the working class. The oligarchic character of society testifies to the urgency of the demand raised by Trotsky in the founding program of the Fourth International for the expropriation of separate groups of capitalists. This must be fought for through the mobilization of the working class, on a world scale, in opposition to the capitalist oligarchy. The statement insisted that the revolution that will lay the political basis for socialism is prepared in the course of countless struggles by the working class, which demands the formation of new organisations of class struggle, rank-and-file committees, with the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees acting as the coordinating nerve center for global opposition to the dictates of the capitalist oligarchy. Above all, the statement insisted, If there are any definitive lessons to be learned from modern history, it is that the levels of wealth inequality that now exist in the US and globally always produce social explosions. But history also demonstrates that these struggles cannot succeed without a clear program, organization and leadership. It concluded, At this critical juncture, every worker and young person who seeks to oppose war, inequality and dictatorship must take action. Join the Socialist Equality Party, support the WSWS and build the International Committee of the Fourth International as the World Party of Socialist Revolution! A growing number of Australian retirees are facing financial hardship after decades in the workforce. According to the Australia Institute, 22.6 percent of retirees now live in povertya figure that has nearly doubled over the past decade. Former-state owned inner-Sydney Millers Point public housing overshadowed by luxury units and office blocks. This is a product of decades of cuts to social programs, including the slashing of funding to aged care facilities, the evisceration of public housing, attacks on pensions and declining real wages. A significant factor is also the skyrocketing cost of housing. A recent report from the Grattan Institute found that poverty among retirees is most severe for the 12 percentaround 200,000 householdswho rent. Of those, 67 percent are living below the poverty line. While renters are especially vulnerable, financial security is by no means guaranteed for the 78 percent of Australians over 65 who own their homes. Some 25 percent of retired homeowners with a mortgage, as well as 11 percent of those who own their homes outright, also live in poverty, according to the report. More than 90 percent of older Australians receive the full or partial pension, and for many it is not just a supplement to their superannuation or savings, but their only source of regular income. Yet, it falls woefully short of covering basic living costs. Including subsidies for utility bills, a single pensioner receives a maximum of just $1,144.40 per fortnight, while couples receive $1,725.20 combined. In addition, aged pensioners can get rent assistance, capped at $211.20 per fortnight for singles and $199 per fortnight for couples. Therefore a retired couple, each receiving the full pension and the maximum rent assistance payment, receives a total of $1,924.20 per fortnight. If their rent is $960 or more per fortnight ($480 a week), or their mortgage repayments more than $760 per fortnight ($380 a week), they fall below the poverty line. The Melbourne Institute calculates that non-working couples who have less than $966.10 per fortnight ($483.05 a week) for all expenses other than housing are below the poverty line. In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), 74-year-old retiree Jackie Collins described how her financial security vanished after decades working in the social service sector. Retiring with just $45,000 in superannuation, she was first forced into a caravan park before securing a social housing unit. While the rent is affordable, the home is dilapidated and plagued with mould. I thought, I had so much promise in my life, and this is where I ended up, she said. Lyn, who lives in Melbourne, told the ABC she was always brought up to not be a burden: Im now bordering on being evicted. Thats what upsets me. After a divorce, she was left with no superannuation. At first, she was able to pay rent in the unit she has been living in for 12 years, by working in the highly exploitative courier sub-contracting industry, using her own vehicle to deliver parcels and pathology samples. However, injuries she sustained in a workplace accident years earlier eventually caught up with her. By 2023 she was barely able to get in and out of her car and needed a double knee replacement, leaving her unable to work. After her landlord increased the rent by $50 per week last year, she has fallen behind and is now two months in arrears. Renting in retirement is becoming unaffordable, if not impossible. Since 2019, rents have soared by 46.8 percentthe equivalent, on average, of an extra $205 per week, or $10,660 per year. According to data from CoreLogic, the median national rent in 2019 was $438 per week. By the end of 2024, it had surged to $643 per week. The Grattan Institute found that the average pensioner can afford to spend just $300 per week on rentfar below market rates. This means that just 4 percent of one-bedroom homes in Sydney, 13 percent in Brisbane and 14 percent in Melbourne are affordable for a single retiree. According to the latest available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in 2021, at least 9,000 Australians over 65 were homeless. However, data reported in the annual Homelessness Monitor show a more than 30 percent increase in the number of older Australians accessing specialist homelessness services between 201718 and 202324. Beyond the pension, stark wealth inequality exists among retirees. A report from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) last year identified Australias superannuation systemin which employers contribute a percentage of workers earnings into a retirement fundas a key driver of this inequality. Professor Carla Treloar, author of the report, highlighted the extent of the disparity: At the top end of our households [by wealth], they have on average about half-a-million dollars in superannuation wealth. The bottom 20 percent households, by wealth, have on average about $66,000 in superannuation assets. For those in the bottom bracket, the aged pension is often their only income. Many are reluctant to spend what little superannuation they have saved, fearing they may need it for unexpected medical bills, home repairs, or vehicle costsexpenses that could push them further into financial hardship. The number of retirees with a mortgage is also rising, as those 55- to 64-year-olds owning their home outright has nearly halved over the past 20 years. This trend is primarily driven by skyrocketing housing costs, with the median house price in SydneyAustralias most populous citynow reaching $1.48 million, while units average $846,000. Compounding the crisis is the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze and a continued decline in real wages, which have been falling since 2016. The crisis facing retired renters is a phenomenon that has been building over the past 30 years. Since the introduction by the Labor government of Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1992 of compulsory superannuation, there has been a decline in the proportion of Australians receiving the full aged care pension. In effect, as superannuation comes from workers wages, they are forced to pay for their own retirement. There has been a bipartisan effort to reduce the pension payment. This includes the means testing of retirees to determine their eligibility and in 2009 the raising of the pension age by the Rudd Labor government from 65 to 67, which came into effect in 2023. This is coupled with the broader housing crisis in Australia, which has seen massive tax breaks to property developers and speculators, ramping up the cost of houses and rent to unaffordable levels. The current Albanese Labor government, since narrowly scraping into office in the 2022 federal election, has further deepened this crisis, instigating a program of austerity and cuts to social spending. As a result, poverty has deepened across Australia, with 3.3 million people now living below the poverty line and 2 million experiencing food insecurity. Labors policies have further enriched the property development sectorthe very industry driving the crisis. Part of its 2022 election policy platform was the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), which supposedly aims to build 30,000 so-called affordable homes by 2029. If this target were met, it would barely make a dent in the social housing shortfall, which already exceeds 600,000 dwellings and continues to grow rapidly. Since the HAFF was legislated in September 2023, fewer than 400 new homes have been built under the scheme and only around 13,000 more are even in the planning stages. The deepening housing crisis and the mass poverty it fuels are an indictment of capitalism. While millions struggle to secure basic necessities, corporate profits and billionaire wealth continue to soar, and vast sums are funnelled into the military and preparations for war. This crisis underscores the urgent need for a socialist reorganisation of societyone that prioritises human need over private profit and guarantees stable, affordable, and dignified housing for all. A Supreme Court of Victoria judge decided on February 10 that the state Labor government does not have to release the internal documents that led to its decision to demolish 44 public housing towers in Melbourne to make way for predominantly private redevelopment. Public housing towers in Melbourne Justice Andrew Keogh ruled in favour of Homes Victoria (HV), weakening a class action by Inner Melbourne Community Legal Aid on behalf of 479 residents of three of the towers earmarked for demolition this year. The class action asserts the human rights and procedural fairness rights of the residents were violated when they were not consulted prior to the governments decision in September 2023 to demolish, rather than renovate, the buildings. Thousands of tower residents are living with a sword over their heads. Those living in Tranche 1 towers, the five blocks to be demolished first, have been subjected to a relentless program of intimidation and disinformation. This is designed to get them to move out of their homes, despite an interim court order preventing HV from issuing eviction notices on January 1 as planned. HV is a government agency established in November 2020 to oversee the Labor governments housing privatisation agenda. This includes a $5.3 billion Big Housing Build that aims to eliminate public housing and replace it with social housing, in which tenants have no security of tenure. HV has developed a secretive High Rise Redevelopment Program to demolish the towers. The lead plaintiff, Barry Berih, is a long-term resident of the North Melbourne tower and a community worker in the same estate. State Labor Premier Jacinta Allan has contemptuously claimed that the case is waged by a small group of tenants backed by the Greens. Berih sought access to a crucial group of documents known as the Cabinet Submission, which is referred to in a redacted affidavit to the court by Martin McCurry, the HV Executive Director of Asset Management. Significantly, Documents 8 and 9 are reports prepared for HV in March and April 2023 by Cushman and Wakefield, a real estate company. Its technical advice may have concerned the real estate value of the prime inner suburban land on which the towers sit. The same company helped prepare later documents 13, 14 and 16, for which no date has been given. In a hearing last October, HV CEO Simon Newport testified during cross examination that matters concerning human rights were interwoven throughout the Cabinet Submission. Justice Keogh admitted that the documents could contain evidence relevant to human rights, as well as factual evidence that would be relevant to Berihs expert when considering the feasibility of tower retrofitting by comparison to redevelopment. That is, when considering refurbishment as opposed to demolition. However, Keogh ruled that Berihs need to access the documents to challenge the governments decision was outweighed by the alleged public interest in protecting cabinet secrecy as a proper function of the state, as specified in the states Evidence Act. Keogh said it was unacceptable to disclose any of the documents since this would likely allow inferences to be drawn about the cabinet discussion. Labor government secrecy surrounding the demolition has constituted a veritable firewall. Numerous Freedom of Information requests were refused during 2024 relating to the Flemington estate, which has two towers in Tranche 1. The Melbourne Age was denied access to 941 pages of documentation. Keogh said there was a forensic purpose to Berih having the documents revealed to him, but then claimed they would not be important to the outcome of the legal proceedings. He asserted that the documents are only peripherally related to Berihs procedural fairness case. The judge claimed that CEO Newport did not have the Cabinet Submission physically before him when he made the Implementation Decision to set the demolition plan in train. Yet, Newport was clearly familiar with what he often referred to as the Cab Sub. Keogh concluded: The public interest in disclosing the documents weighs more heavily in the circumstances of this proceeding, which concerns the housing rights of vulnerable community members. However, taking into account the above matters, I conclude that the public interest in disclosure of the documents is not sufficient to outweigh the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of Cabinet documents relating to a matter that is current and controversial. The ruling is another demonstration of the determination of governments and the courts to shield cabinet discussions from public scrutiny and thus stifle opposition. Keogh cited as a precedent the 1993 High Court ruling in Commonwealth of Australia v Northern Land Council, in which an indigenous land council tried to challenge an agreement relating to the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. There is a profound social and housing crisis across Australia. There have been decades of punishing cuts by state and federal Labor and Liberal-National governments to public housingreducing it to a tiny fraction of dwellings. This has fed into soaring residential property prices, homelessness and levels of household debt, which are among the highest in the world. Residents of the public housing towers need to form rank-and-file neighbourhood committees to fight for the basic social right of all to a secure, affordable and habitable home against the state Labor governments promotion of the profit interests of the property developers. There is only one way to resolve the housing disaster, and that is through a socialist program. A workers government would redirect the obscene wealth accumulated by the developers and speculators, and the hundreds of billions being spent on war, to public housing, health, education and other critical social programs. It would place the banks, finance houses and property industries under public ownership and democratic workers control. The Socialist Equality Party urges all public housing residents and their supporters throughout the working class to contact us and develop the discussion on the urgent next steps required. Attend our upcoming public forum in Melbourne! Titled Build a neighbourhood defence committee against public housing towers demolition! it is being held Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m. (AEDT), at Kensington Neighbourhood House, 89 McCracken Street, Kensington. Register here. Randa Abdel-Fattah [Photo: Pan Macmillan Australia ] The Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committee is calling for an urgent staff meeting and action, including an on-campus rally, to fight moves to sack academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from the university, because of her high-profile opposition to the ongoing US-backed Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine. A joint meeting of the Macquarie and Western Sydney University rank-and-file committees on Monday night passed this resolution: That this meeting supports the demand for an urgent staff meeting and rally at Macquarie University to take up the resolution adopted at the February 20 Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committee public meeting to oppose the victimisation and witch hunt of anti-genocide activist Randa Abdel-Fattah, and call for a campaign throughout the universities and the working class against it. As we have warned, Abdel-Fattahs employment is directly threatened by last weeks decision of the Australian Research Council (ARC), acting at the behest of the federal Labor government, to freeze her ARC Future Fellowship grant for a study of the hidden history of Arab/Muslim social movements in Australia. The ARC move is a step toward terminating Abdel-Fatahs employment because her job, as a fixed-term appointment, depends on the continuation of the research grant. This is a reactionary political agenda, trampling over both employment and democratic rights, including academic freedom and free speech. The ARC decision follows a blatant demand by Labor MP Josh Burns, the chair of the Labor governments witch-hunting parliamentary committee, to know why Macquarie University had not already sacked her. The ARC suspended Abdel-Fattahs fellowship just a month after federal Education Minister Jason Clare ordered the ARC to investigate her grant as a matter of priority. The supposed reason is that she allegedly bent ARC rules by holding an online workshop as part of the grant, instead of a formal academic conference. Such perfectly appropriate modifications of research grant agreements are common, as previous ARC grant recipients can testify. Clearly, Abdel-Fattah has been targeted because she, like other academics and journalists, has been falsely branded as antisemitic for denouncing the criminal atrocities being committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. These mass killings and aid cutoffs are intensifying behind the facade of a supposed ceasefire. They are openly backed by the Trump administration with fresh multi-billion dollar arms supplies as part of a plan to wipe out or forcibly remove the Palestinian population. The need for a full-scale campaign by staff and students at Macquarie University and across the entire tertiary education sector in defence of Abdel-Fattah and other Zionist witch hunt victims was underscored last week when Universities Australia, the universities peak employer body, agreed to enforce a new reactionary definition of antisemitism. This definition conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism and essentially bans criticism of Israel, which was created in 1948 by the removal of thousands of Palestinians, accompanied by military violence and terrorism that has continued ever since. The Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committee is continuing to receive resolutions and statements of support for our call for a campaign throughout the universities and the working class as a whole for the defence of Abdel-Fattah and all the other victims of what has become an escalating Zionist witch hunt. This campaign is a test case for the defence of all the academics, journalists, students and workers being slandered and vilified as antisemitic for opposing Israels crimes and the underlying nationalist ideology of Zionism, which many Jews also oppose. Numerous messages of support have been sent to the campaign, which the Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committee launched with a statement on January 21. The recent messages include this resolution passed last week by a meeting of the Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which is supported by the Socialist Equality Party. This meeting of the Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which has defended many doctors and nurses victimised by Zionists, who doxxed and reported them to AHPRA [the federal governments Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency] for supporting Palestine, also opposes the victimisation and witchhunt against anti-genocide activist Randa Abdel Fattah. An academic in sociology at Macquarie University, she holds a four-year research grant from the Australian Research Council. The latest attacks on her are trying to have her research grant rescinded, and to have her sacked from Macquarie University. They are led by the Murdoch press, Zionist lobby groups and are fully endorsed by the Albanese Labor government. This is to silence not only Abdel Fattah, but all opposition to the US-Israel mass killing that the Trump administration intends to intensify. We call on all health workers at hospitals and other workplaces to pass resolutions of support defending Abdel Fattah, the right to free speech and all democratic rights under attack. Another significant message of support was sent by Leo (a pseudonym), who participated in the recent protest involving more than 100 students, teachers, parents and others at Sydneys Granville Boys High School against the removal of Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, a longtime student support officer at the school. Charkawi had been barred from working on the premises for allegedly breaching the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Educations social media policy by posting on Instagram a video denouncing the witch hunt against two Bankstown Hospital workers who were goaded by an Israeli provocateur into making reactionary comments to him online, and now face serious criminal charges. Charkawi was finally reinstated after the protest, but the wider threat to fundamental democratic rights continues. Leo sent the following statement: Everywhere we turn, a Muslim or Arab is being shut down and punished and silenced for criticising or protesting against Israels genocide. To point out the double standards only makes you a bigger target. We are seeing a complete erosion of the right to speak against genocide and injustice whilst those who support genocide and racism are protected. Jonathon, a Macquarie University student, described the treatment of Abdel-Fattah as absolutely disgusting and totally contrary to everything that Ive been taught Australian democracy is all about. He commented: The idea that they can come for academics for making their very reasonable statements or criticisms of a genocide government causing so much death and destruction of the Palestinian people. I dont even know how to describe it, it makes me so angry. I think we really do need to get organised and we need to do something about it before we get to a point where people cant do anything. At the root of everything thats happening is capitalism. The Labor government or the Liberals or any political party that exists wouldnt be doing what theyre doing unless it aligned the interest of capital, because at the end of the day, thats the fundamental force thats driving the world that we live in. Of course, thats exactly what Marx was talking about in his writings, the fact that at the end of the day, capital is the fundamental driving force of this society. I find it disgusting that people would conflate anti-Zionism and antisemitism, because it really waters down what the term antisemitism means. If you look at the actions of Israel, its even bad for the people living in that nation. Its not good for the people who are being sent to die. I dont have particular sympathies for IDF soldiers who are committing war crimes against the people of Palestine, but even for those people living in Israel its not exactly a good situation to be living in in a country which is committing a genocide. There are many Jewish people, students, academics, etc. who have been very outspoken in their opposition to the genocide. So its completely erroneous to say that criticism of Israel is in anyway antisemitic. We appeal to educators, students and workers to make statements or pass resolutions in defence of Abdel-Fattah and all the other targets of the Zionist-led witch hunt. We also urge you to join or form rank-and-file committees to take forward the campaign to defeat this assault on the right to free speech and fundamental democratic rights, and oppose the suppression of dissent against the underlying program of genocide, war and austerity. In its opening year statement on the universities on February 13, the Committee for Public Education (CFPE), the rank-and-file educators network, said: Tertiary education staff and students in Australia, together with their counterparts internationally, confront a serious attack on jobs and free speech as the 2025 academic year begins. The statement warned that despite outrage and opposition, university managements were pushing ahead with over 2,000 job cuts, especially in the humanities and arts, as a direct result of the Albanese governments reactionary cuts to international student enrolments on top of Labors deepening of the decades-long chronic under-funding of tertiary education. Under these conditions, the CFPE warned, a historic assault was also underway on free speech, particularly against the continuing US-backed Israeli atrocities in the Middle East, but also against the program of war and austerity being implemented by the Albanese Labor government. The statement said: Opposition exists throughout the universities to the job destruction, course closures, pro-corporate restructuring and suppression of dissent. But the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) leaders have for years opposed any unified fight by university staff and students. Just quitting the unions in disgust, as many have done, is not an answer. Staff and students must take matters into their own hands. For that, new democratic forms of organisation, independent rank-and-file committees (RFCs), must be built. As part of the fight to defend Randa Abdel-Fattah, we are encouraging the widest possible discussion on this perspective. It means a struggle against capitalism itself and its program of ever-greater corporate wealth, and turn to war and Trump-style dictatorial rule. To join the campaign or send statements of support for the defence of Randa Abdel-Fattah, email us at macquarierfc@gmail.com, or the CFPE at cfpe.aus@gmail.com. Friedrich Merz, CDU leader and likely next German chancellor [Photo by Michael Lucan / wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 In coalition talks, the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) are preparing a huge increase in defence spending and corresponding social cuts. Another special fund for the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) amounting to 400 billion and a special infrastructure fund of 400 billion to 500 billion are under discussion. Together with the 100 billion pot for the Bundeswehr decided three years ago, this would amount to additional expenditure of almost 1 trillion, more than double the current federal budget. The proposal originated from four leading German economists: Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo Institute; Michael Huther, director of the German Economic Institute; Moritz Schularick, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy; and Jens Sudekum, an economist at the University of Dusseldorf. The four were discussing the fiscal policy options of the future federal government at the initiative of Saarland Finance Minister Jakob von Weizsacker (SPD). According to weekly Die Zeit, which has seen a copy of the discussion transcript, the four economists are in favour of the two special funds being approved before the start of the new legislative period, in the old Bundestag (parliament) where the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens have the necessary two-thirds majority, which is no longer the case in the newly elected one. The CDU and SPD are discussing corresponding plans in their exploratory coalition talks, even though there is little concrete information on this, as both sides have agreed to maintain strict secrecy. For example, Bild tabloid reported that Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (CDU) is planning a special session of the Bundestag for March 10. What is certain is that the new government will rearm at a rate last seen under Hitler, and everything else will be subordinated to this goal. After the open rift between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, numerous representatives of the CDU/CSU, SPD and the Greens have expressed their views accordingly. The coalition negotiations between the CDU/CSU and SPD are being pushed forward at a rapid pace, on the grounds that Germany must demonstrate its ability to act and its readiness to defend itself. CDU parliamentary secretary Thorsten Frei said, Both sides are aware that the world and Europe will not wait for Germany. He added that foreign policy events had taken a turn for the worse in recent days and that Germany needed to be able to act. To do that, we need a federal government very quickly that is able to take control. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil urged that the clarification of finances be given top priority. This is something that needs to be clarified at the beginning of the negotiations and where the talks have started, he said. Despite it being the carnival season in Germany, the negotiations are continuing intensively. A meeting was planned for Wednesday between Merz and outgoing Chancellor Scholz, who is not taking part in the negotiations himself, so that he can make firm promises at the EU summit on Thursday about further financial and military aid for Ukraine and a strengthening of its armed forces, in order to make Europe more militarily independent of the United States. The European powers, led by Germany, France and Poland, are determined to continue the war against Russia, which has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, even if the US withdraws to focus more on confronting China. The claim that this is about defending democracy and warding off Russian aggression is absurd. In reality, it was NATOs constant eastward expansion that prompted the Putin regime to launch its reactionary attack on Ukraine. As early as 2014, the NATO powers had helped install a pro-Western regime in Kiev that relied on fascist militias and revered Nazi collaborators from World War II as heroes. Today, Zelensky can only stay in power by imprisoning opponents of the war such as the Trotskyist Bogdan Syrotiuk, suppressing critical media and forcibly recruiting soldiers from the war-weary population. Now, the European powers fear that Trump could come to an agreement with Putin at their expense and bring Ukraines valuable raw materials under his control, which they themselves are eyeing. That is why they are desperate to continue the war and are frantically rearming. The future opposition parties in the Bundestag also support this course. The Greens are even more belligerent than the CDU and SPD. Sunday evening on the Miosga talk show, outgoing Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green) advocated German participation in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. History is being made now, she said. Germany must definitely be part of the coalition of the willing proposed by France and Britain. The Left Party has also signalled its willingness to support the war policy of the future German government. In a resolution adopted by the party executive on March 1, it states: Trump is in the process of massively damaging international law and relying solely on the law of the strongest. The German government and the EU must respond with a clarity that is long overdue. The party is demanding debt relief for Ukraine and suspension of the debt brake ... to free up sufficient funds for financial civilian support for Ukraine. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) rejects providing support for Ukraine, but calls for an increase in the arms budget to 5 percent of GDP and more in order to build Germany into an independent military power. Such a gigantic increase in war and armaments spending requires massive cuts in social spending. The fact that it is to be financed by a shadow budgeta special fund or a relaxation of the debt brakedoes not change this. Either way, the federal government is taking on high debts that incur interest and repayment. Repaying the 400 billion that the federal government borrowed during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic alone will cost 13 billion a year for 30 years starting in 2028. If the billions for the Bundeswehr are added to this, the costs to service the debt will skyrocket. While the participants in the talks are keeping a tight lid on the situation so as not to arouse opposition, experts have long been discussing the social cuts that are likely to be included in the coalition agreement. The Frankfurter Allgemeine reported on this under the headline Financing rearmament: parental allowances down, defence up? The cuts being proposed range from the complete abolition of parental benefits (Ifo chief Clemens Fuest) to the reduction of mothers pensions (chairwoman of the economic experts, Monika Schnitzer), the abolition of early retirement at 63 (Jens Sudekum, SPD member and adviser to Economics Minister Robert Habeck) to the merging of the Burgergeld (welfare payments), housing benefit and child benefit in order to increase the incentive effects on the labour market (Lars Feld, adviser to former finance minister Christian Lindner). But these are just a few of the cruel effects to come by placing the economy and society on a war footing. Rearmament and war also require soldiers who can be slaughtered for imperialist interests. The reintroduction of compulsory military service and the expansion of the Bundeswehr to half a million soldiers and reservists have also been discussed for some time. And while jobs are being destroyed on a massive scale in the automotive, supplier and chemical industries, the first companies are being converted to war production. No one voted for this policy in Februarys federal election. The establishment parties and the media deliberately focused the election campaign on the issue of migration, whipping up anti-refugee and anti-migrant sentiments. They thus diverted attention from the real issues and strengthened the AfD. They will continue to use the far-right party in the future to intimidate and suppress resistance to militarism, war and social cuts. Only an independent movement of the international working class, combining the struggle against war and austerity with a socialist programme to overthrow capitalism, can stop this development. BAGHDAD, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces arrested nine drug traffickers in the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) said on Wednesday. Based on intelligence reports and three months of tracking, the security forces managed to dismantle one of the most dangerous drug trafficking criminal networks, the INSS said in a statement. It said that initial investigations had led to the discovery of a main drug warehouse in eastern Baghdad, and the seizure of large quantities of narcotics. Years of chaos and conflict since the 2003 U.S. invasion have hindered Iraq's efforts to combat drug trafficking. In May 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani underlined the importance of waging "a war on drugs," saying that drug trade remains one of the main source of financing terrorism and thrives alongside terrorism. This is the second of a three-part series. Part One was published on March 4, 2025 and Part Three was published on March 6, 2025. How the CPM-K betrayed the Gen-Z protests The Gen-Z protests of 2024 marked a turning point in Kenya, as mass opposition to Rutos IMF-driven austerity erupted into a nationwide rebellion. Despite the combativeness displayed by workers and youth during the protests and the subsequent strike wave, revealing the potential for a direct confrontation with the Kenyan state, the IMF and imperialism, the movement was ultimately contained and defused. This is not due to a lack of militancy, but the absence of a political leadership willing to take up the struggle for socialism and internationalism. That potential was systematically sabotagednot by state repression alone, but by the deliberate intervention of forces like the CPM-K. Rebranded as a radical alternative after its leaders deserted to join the Ruto government in 2022, the Maoist party positioned itself as a champion of the protests while simultaneously working to steer them into safe channels, thus exposing the party as a tool of the bourgeoisie. Protesters block the busy Nairobi-Mombasa highway in the Mlolongo area, Nairobi, Kenya., July 2, 2024 [AP Photo/Brian Inganga] The CPM-Ks intervention in the Gen-Z protests was encapsulated in one of its earliest statements following the release of the IMF-dictated Finance Bill 2024 in mid-June, which ignited widespread public outrage. As demonstrations erupted in Nairobi and spread to other parts of Kenyaincluding the port city of Mombasa and even Eldoret, a traditional stronghold of Ruto in the Rift Valleythe party, still operating as the CPK at the time, responded with a call for protests as a way of pressuring Ruto to listen to the people. In its June 19 statement, Unmasking Rutos Betrayal and Mobilizing for Kenyas Sovereignty and Justice, the CPK declared: We will exert maximum pressure to lead all processes necessary to remove Ruto from office and hold him accountable for his ongoing crimes, before adding, The path forward for President Ruto, if he dares to take it, is clear: he must listen to the people, address their needs, and act with honesty and integrity. It then acknowledged the bankruptcy of this appeal, adding, Yet, we recognize that such a course correction is unlikely. We will not rest until Ruto is removed from power and prosecuted. Ruto did not listen, let alone resign. Over the following days, mass protests erupted, spiking on June 25 when the bill containing tax hikes and levies on basic goods was passed in parliament. Police gunned down hundreds of protestors across the country, leaving 50 dead and hundreds of injured, as the parliament was stormed and set alight. That night, Ruto denounced protestors as criminals, imposed a state of emergency and deployed the military onto the streets of Nairobithe first time in the history of Kenya that troops were deployed against unarmed civilian protests. The CPK refused to call on workers to strike against the state of emergency, let alone appeal to the African and international working class to mobilise in solidarity to stop Rutos attempts to install a military dictatorship. Instead, in its June 26 statement Ruto Resign or Be Overthrown, the CPK declared, Members of parliament had a chance to avert this crisis by rejecting the IMF-sponsored bill but chose to side with greed, blaming peaceful protestors instead. It continued, Tomorrow, the Kenyan masses will take to the streets in peaceful demonstration, as per the Kenyan constitution , demanding that Ruto reject the finance bill. Ruto, fearing an ever greater explosion of social opposition after the June 25 massacre, withdrew the bill the following day. It was part of a conspiracy hatched among the ruling class, closely worked out with the US and European Union, to buy time to supress the protests and reimpose the tax hikes and privatisations. As the WSWS warned, Despite some sections of the population viewing this as a victory, Ruto intends to work out the best way to impose IMF austerity in collusion with the opposition Azimio la Umoja coalition [of Raila Odinga] and the trade union bureaucracy led by the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU). On June 27, aware that it could no longer sustain the appeals for Ruto to listen, the CPK mixed them with calls for his resignation. Its statement Too Little, Too Late: Ruto Must Resign declared, We must not allow Ruto to escape accountability for the innocent blood he has shed in the streets. These demonstrations have clear and simple demands that we insist the President comply with [emphasis added]. It concluded with a list of social and political demands, such as a total cessation of taxes on food, healthcare, and education, the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024, an immediate end to the interference in Kenya of the World Bank, IMF, NATO, provision of decent jobs, free healthcare and free educationwith no explanation of who is to implement them. It concluded with the rhetorical flourish, President Ruto, your time is up! The people of Kenya reject your bloodstained hands and your corrupt administration. The CPK refused to expose the leader of the opposition, billionaire Raila Odinga, who was working behind the scenes for a national unity government with Ruto to suppress social opposition, or the trade union bureaucracy, led by Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli. Raila Odinga in 2012 [Photo by CSIS / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Atwoli repeatedly indicated that he was happy to work with Ruto, concerned that the protests were damaging Kenyan profits. Kenya is a hub of economic activities in this region, and we must protect it at all costs. We must support the President and the government to ensure that this country remains peaceful, he said. Above all, the CPK was hostile to any appeal to the international working class, as solidarity protests spread in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique, fuelled by the same conditions. The CPK insisted that the Gen-Z struggle should be limited to a campaign to achieve limited social and democratic reforms within the framework of the bankrupt Kenyan capitalist state and the 2010 Constitution. The following week CPK posted a statement under the title, A Yellow Card for President Ruto, which said the government had a real opportunity to reject this oppressive bill, but they squandered it until the Kenyan masses forced their hand. It then offered to support a government without Ruto to stabilise capitalist rule, stating, Our immediate task is to build the highest level of organisation with the best leaders to govern a post-Ruto Kenya. The CPK insisted that the struggle for socialism was not the immediate task, but the building of a pro-people regime. The youth want jobs, food, housing, and basic life necessities to live a life of dignity... People need accountability, respect, and transparency in governance. These are very rational demands. The Kenyan people are crying loudly that they want a sovereign country, not to be ruled by dogs of great powers. They are crying for a pro-people regime change that shall raise the glorious flag of Kenya, soaked in the blood of martyrs, to greater heights. It then offered itself as an alternative pro-poor people organization with selfless leaders, arguing that a governmental role would deflate government propaganda that misrepresents our movement and its aims. When the Gen Z protests subsided and paved the way for a broader intensification of the class struggle, marked by mass strikes, CPK refused to even comment on these struggles, let alone denounce the role of the trade union bureaucracy in suppressing the strikes. The unions, working closely with the Kenyan state, called strikes only to call them off in the last minute or after a vague promise of wage increases which never came. The breathing space provided by forces dominating the Gen-Z protests like the CPK allowed Ruto to cobble together a national unity government with Odingas opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), backed by the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), and install Kithure Kindiki, the blood-stained interior minister, as deputy president. Kindiki spearheaded the brutal suppression of the Gen-Z protests. Since the installation of the new national unity government, Ruto is gradually re-imposing the tax hikes, cuts in social expenditure and privatisations he had been forced to withdraw in June as a manoeuvre to stem social opposition, vindicating the warnings of the World Socialist Web Site. To date, he has continued to strengthen the police state, banning and teargassing peaceful protests and carrying out abductions to terrorise social opposition, in close collaboration with the former opposition ODM and the trade union bureaucracy of COTU. The CPM-K has itself been targeted for repression, with its members abducted, arrested and even shot during protests. Last January, its General Secretary Omole was targeted for assassination. Yet, this has not deterred the party from continuing to appeal to Ruto. After the assassination attempt, Omole issued a pathetic statement, pleading for protection with the very capitalist state that targeted him. He said: Today, I also wish to inform the public that officers from the Serious Crimes Unit visited my residence and commenced an investigation into this attack. We cooperated fully, and I now urge the state to conduct a clear, transparent, and professional investigation. This is a critical opportunity for the state to absolve itself of any suspicion of involvement by ensuring that those behind this heinous act are brought to justice swiftly and decisively. The Kenyan people deserve nothing less, as it is our taxes that entrust the state with the responsibility of protecting the lives of all citizens without exception. This is ridiculous. The capitalist state with the assistance of the police imposes the dictatorship of the capitalist class. That is what Kenya is witnessing first hand. The task facing workers is not to reform the capitalist state, let alone ask it to investigate its own crimes, but to build their own independent organs of struggle and transfer power to these organisations in a socialist revolution. By opposing any struggle for the building of a socialist leadership in the working class, the Maoists sowed disorientation, leading to an eventual demobilisation of the Gen-Z struggles and the wave of strikes that erupted afterwards. If Ruto can continue with austerity and tax hikes, and brazenly embrace US imperialist foreign policy, this is above all due to the bankruptcy of forces like CPM-K, who act as enablers of Ruto. To be continued. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Australia is holding an important public meeting on March 19 entitled Election ban on the SEP: An attack on democratic rights. The meeting will be an in-person event in Sydney and live-streamed online. It is being held to discuss, explain and build the SEPs challenge of the rejection of the partys registration by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the body that oversees federal elections. WHEN: 7 p.m. (AEDT) Wednesday, March 19 WHERE: Lansdowne Rooms 1 & 2, Bankstown Library, 80 Rickard Rd, Bankstown, NSW Reserve your seat now! For those unable to attend in person, the event will also be live-streamed via Zoom. Read our statement against the decision here. The AECs ruling against the SEP party registration submission means that our party name will be banned from appearing on the ballot in the upcoming federal election. This decision is an outrageous attack on the democratic rights of the SEP and all working people. It is part of a broader assault on political opposition, to prevent those searching for answers to the major historical questions facing mankind today from accessing a socialist alternative to capitalism. The election is being held as all the mechanisms, agreements, pacts and treatiespolitical, economic and military, that were the basis of the post-World War Two period are disintegrating. Countries that were allies can, overnight, become enemies and war is the answer for every government. There is no anti-war faction of the ruling class in any country, including Australia. The SEP applied for electoral registration in September last year, submitting a list of more than 1,500 verified members, exceeding the legal requirement. However, the AEC rejected the application because, they assert, a small, randomly selected sample of members did not verify membership, although no evidence has been provided. The SEP has been denied the ability to examine or challenge the AECs claims, including its methodology, making the process entirely opaque and arbitrary. This attack on the SEP stems directly from anti-democratic electoral laws passed in 2021, which tripled the membership requirement for party registration from 500 to 1,500. These laws were rammed through parliament, with support from both the Labor and the Liberal parties, to shut out smaller parties, particularly socialist and left-wing organisations, from the electoral process. The AECs decision must be seen in the context of a deepening crisis of the two-party system and the entire political establishment. Support for the Albanese Labor government has plunged to historic lowsdown to just 25 percent in some pollswithout any corresponding swing to the Coalition. This has raised the spectre of what the corporate media has dubbed a nightmare scenario in the upcoming 2025 federal elections, which must be held by May 17a highly unstable minority government, whether Labor or Liberal, clinging to power through backroom deals with the Greens and various independents. Such a fragile regime would face escalating political discontent, fuelled by mounting social inequality, the drive to war, and the global turbulence triggered by the fascistic Trump administration in the United States. The electoral ban on the SEP is a pre-emptive strike aimed at suppressing socialist opposition amid this growing turmoil. This is not an isolated case but part of an escalating assault on fundamental democratic rights. Around the world, capitalist governments are moving toward authoritarian rule, as they prepare for war and seek to suppress growing opposition to social inequality. The SEP will not accept this anti-democratic attack. The electoral ban is the outcome of deliberate measures by the political establishment to entrench the two-party system and block any challenge to capitalist rule. The SEP is launching a campaign to overturn the AECs decision and expose the broader erosion of political freedoms, which is bound up with escalating social inequality, expanding military preparations, and deepening attacks on workers conditions. Notwithstanding the outcome of the challenge, the SEP will fight in the upcoming 2025 federal elections, advancing a socialist program against war, austerity and the assault on democratic rights. This public meeting will detail this program, expose the fraudulent character of the AECs ruling, outline the political context of the anti-democratic electoral laws, and discuss the necessity of building a socialist movement to defend workers rights. Register today! Meeting Details: WHEN: 7 p.m. (AEDT) Wednesday, March 19 WHERE: Lansdowne Rooms 1 & 2, Bankstown Library, 80 Rickard Rd, Bankstown, NSW Reserve your seat now! For those unable to attend in person, the event will also be live-streamed via Zoom. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in Washington. [AP Photo/Alex Brandon] In a direct attack on the democratic rights of the entire working class, President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened on his social media site to unilaterally STOP all federal funding for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Ignoring the First Amendment, Trump wrote: Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. Trump concluded with a call to ban all facial coverings, writing NO MASKS! With this eugenicist demand, Trump is following recent legislative initiatives by both Republican and Democratic politicians that seek to ban the wearing of facial coverings in public, even as COVID-19, measles, influenza and other deadly pathogens continue to spread unchecked throughout the United States. Trump has no legal authority to force colleges or schools to unilaterally deport or suspend students. Free speech, including objecting to the policies of the US government, is protected under the First Amendment, including at public universities. With his post, Trump is placing himself above the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and asserting police-state powers to imprison and deport any who voice public opposition to him or his government. If Trump can arrest American citizens and deport foreign students on visas who dissent, what is to stop him from doing this to anyone else, including federal employees who protest illegal firings, or workers who strike against layoffs and the destruction of their wages and social benefits? Trump feels emboldened to make these threats due entirely to the de facto support he receives from the Democratic Party. During the first year of protests against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, under the Biden administration, over 3,000 people, including students and teachers, were arrested on college campuses and school grounds for calling for an end to the slaughter. The bipartisan attack on the democratic rights of the working class in the United States has been mirrored by Washingtons imperialist allies around the world, which are similarly seeking to suppress growing opposition among broad layers of the population to imperialist war and inequality. Underscoring that Trumps statement is directed against any and all public opposition to the Zionist regime in Israel, which serves as a garrison state for US imperialism in the Middle East, Trumps nominee as ambassador to the United Nations and current New York Rep. Elise Stefanik reposted Trumps statement Tuesday and wrote: Under [Trump], colleges and university will be held accountable. Stefanik, falsely equating opposition to a fascistic apartheid government carrying out genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians with hatred of Jewish people, wrote, Antisemitism and anti-Israel hate will not be tolerated on American campuses. Promises made, promises kept. In 2023, Stefanik led the witch-hunt against university presidents from Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania and other colleges and schools where students held demonstrations and encampments in opposition to genocide. While she positions herself as the ultimate defender of the Jewish people, Stefanik is an open promoter of the antisemitic and anti-immigrant Great Replacement theory, which has animated several fascist mass shootings in the US and internationally. Despite her promotion of racist conspiracy theories, Stefanik was welcomed to the Anti Defamation Leagues Never is Now event held in New York City on March 3-4. While she was booed for claiming Trump would have prevented the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported that she received mostly cheers from conference attendees as she promoted President Donald Trumps record on Israelfrom praising his proposal to deport foreign-born anti-Israel students to vowing to dismantle the United Nations Palestinian aid agency. Emphasizing that Trumps comments are not just idle threats, but the policy of the Trump administration as a whole, the day before Trumps post, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and recently confirmed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon released a statement titled, in part, Additional measures to end anti-Semitic harassment on college campuses. Targeting Columbia University, which has already expelled three students for participating in protests against the genocide, the statement announced a comprehensive review of Columbia Universitys federal contracts and grants in light of ongoing investigations for potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It continued: Given Columbias ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students, the Federal Governments Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government. The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine zealot responsible for fomenting a plague, wrote, Anti-Semitismlike racismis a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to historys most deadly plagues. Kennedy is an ardent Zionist, but this has not stopped him from previously opining that COVID-19 was genetically engineered in a Chinese lab to spare Jewish and Chinese people. Using a hodgepodge of right-wing buzzwords to concoct a bogus narrative that American universities have turned into breeding grounds for antisemitism, Kennedy claimed that censorship and false narratives of woke cancel culture had transformed our great universities into greenhouses for this deadly and virulent pestilence. McMahon similarly painted a picture of American universities meant to invoke Germany in the 1930s, declaring: Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled. Threatening to suspend funding to Columbia, McMahon concluded: Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination. Columbias apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institutions fitness to continue doing business with the United States government. There is no question that with the resumption of the blockade and deliberate starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza, a war crime, protests against US support for Israel and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank will continue. On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside Columbia to protest an event that featured former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who previously stated, Ive killed lots of Arabs in my life and theres no problem with that. Protests, however, as the last 17 months of genocide have shown, are not enough to stop the killing or protect the democratic rights of students. In a statement published yesterday calling for the reinstatement of expelled Columbia students, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) called for the development of rank-and-file committees in every workplace, as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, which will connect the defense of the interests of workers with the fight against genocide, war and dictatorship. It concluded: The defense of democratic rights and opposition to war can only succeed through the mobilization of the social force capable of challenging the capitalist ruling classthe international working class. This requires a political break from both the Democratic and Republican parties, which, despite their factional differences, are united in their support for genocide, war and dictatorship. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player President Donald Trump, right, arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. [AP Photo/Mandel Ngan] Donald Trumps address to Congress Tuesday night was not so much a speech from a president but the rantings of an aspiring Fuhrer, though with somewhat less decorum than an address by Hitler before the German Reichstag. It was vicious, violent and depraved, plumbing the depths of cultural and political degradation in the United States. All the tropes that, in an earlier period, would have been identified as belonging to the fascist fringe of American politics have been elevated to its very center. Standing and applauding at every sentence were Trumps cabinet of billionaires, the personification of government of the oligarchy, along with the Republican senators and representatives, who broke out repeatedly in chants of USA! USA! To attempt to dissect all the lies Trump spewed would be to somehow dignify his comments. This was not a speech worthy of serious analysis. It was a series of pig grunts and dog barks, with the necessary apologies to these intelligent mammals. It was a grotesque marriage of reality TV and political spectacle. Trump crassly exploited personal tragedies, parading victims before the cameras, using them as a bludgeon to demand greater state violence, targeting immigrants and other sections of society. Beneath it all, one theme was clear: Trumps speech was a declaration of waron the world and on the working class. It was a statement of an oligarchy that will stop at nothing to maintain its wealth and power. Trump laid out an agenda of unrestrained American imperialism, in which the United States will not be bound by any alliances, treaties or international laws. It was a manifesto of a ruling class that intends to resolve its deepening economic crisis through trade war and military aggression, a path that leads directly to World War III and fascism. At the center of Trumps economic nationalism were sweeping trade war measures. He absurdly claimed that massive new tariffs targeting Mexico, Canada and China would preserve American jobs and lower prices. In reality, these measures will trigger mass layoffs and soaring prices. The corollary to Trumps vision of a self-sufficient Fortress America is the violent eruption of American imperialism. He repeated his pledge to retake the Panama Canal, an explicit threat of military intervention in Latin America. He declared that Mexicowhich he called the territory immediately south of our borderwas dominated entirely by criminal cartels, a barely veiled justification for war. He revived calls for the US to take over Greenland one way or another. Trump claimed that his administration would bring a more peaceful and prosperous future to the Middle Easta peace erected upon the bones of tens of thousands murdered by Israel in Gaza, a genocide fully backed by his predecessor and now being carried to its logical conclusion by Trump himself. The speech was laced with lies meant to justify historic attacks on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs, with the aim of impoverishing millions while handing out hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the rich. Trump railed against supposed fraud in Social Security, citing, at great length, absurd and manufactured examples of alleged abuse to lay the groundwork for massive benefit cuts. The goal was clear: to gut one of the last remaining pillars of social protection in the United States. At the same time, Trump bragged about his mass firings of federal workers, referring to the tens of thousands of government employees purged under his executive orders as unelected bureaucrats. He declared the destruction of jobs and livelihoods a victory for the American taxpayer, presenting mass layoffs as part of his drive to drain the swamp. The irony was unmistakable: The most unelected bureaucrat of all, Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, was in attendance, with his stupid grin as he presides over this massacre as head of Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). No description of the proceedings would be complete without including the absolute cowardice and complicity of the Democratic Party. As Trump repeatedly denounced them, the assembled Democratic congressmen and women sat passively in their seats, wearing pink shirts and holding little signs to supposedly demonstrate their opposition. Even as one of their own members, Representative Al Green, was forcibly removed from the chamber for protesting Trumps remarks, the Democrats did nothing. The fact that they even attendedunder instruction from their party leadershipwas itself a preemptive statement of spinelessness. This spectacle could not have even happened without their active collaboration. One need only point out that the man standing behind TrumpSpeaker of the House Mike Johnsonwas kept in office with Democratic votes last year as part of a deal to fund the US-NATO war in Ukraine. Millions of people who watched Trump speak were sickened and disgusted. Anyone expecting, however, that the fascist rant would be met with a serious response instead found themselves subjected to the empty, reactionary drivel of Elissa Slotkin, a nobody handpicked by the Democratic Party establishment. Slotkin, who began by proclaiming her credentials as a CIA agent serving under Bush and Obama, delivered the partys official rebuttal, centering her opposition to Trump not on his assault on democratic rights or his attacks on workers, but on issues of foreign policy, particularly the war against Russia. (Tellingly, when Trump referenced the hundreds of billions allocated for Ukraine by the previous administration, the Democratswho sat in silence throughout his tirades against immigrants and social programsapplauded.) Slotkin explicitly invoked Ronald Reaganthe president who gutted social programs and ramped up nuclear war threats against the Soviet Unionas a model to be emulated. As a Cold War kid, she declared, Im glad it was Reagan in office in the 1980s and not Trump. Reagan, Slotkin said, would be rolling in his grave. In this, she ascribed more agency to the dead president than the living opposition party, which is crawling on its belly. Slotkin added that the Democrats were eager help the administration cut waste in social programs, only stressing that it shouldnt be chaoticthat is, that it should be done in a way that avoids a social explosion. As for the media, it did its best to normalize Trumps speech as part of some sort of legitimate political discourse. CNNs Jake Tapper referred to its touching moments. What can one say? Revealed on Tuesday night was the political underworld in powerthe physiognomy of the American oligarchy that rules over society. Trump has risen to the top through a process of selection, in which his personal corruption, hucksterism and criminality are appropriate assets. The spinelessness of the Democratic Party reflects the fact that it too is controlled by the same financial elite. For all his invocations of a new Golden Age, the renewal of the American Dream, Trumps remarks were, rather, the death rattle of a ruling class that can no longer govern except through violence and dictatorship. Opposition will emerge, indeed it is already emerging. Anger over mass layoffs, social devastation and Trumps fascist agenda is growing. It must be developed as a movement of the working classfighting against dictatorship, oligarchy, fascism and war. These struggles are inseparable, rooted in the same basic issue: the capitalist system. JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Ten people were killed and several others injured in a collision between two vehicles in South Africa's central province of Free State on Wednesday morning. According to a statement issued by the Free State Police, the accident occurred on the N6 road between Reddersburg and Smithfield in the province at about 4:20 a.m. local time when a bus carrying 35 passengers and a truck collided. "Ten people -- a two-year-old girl, six women, and three men -- died at the scene. The drivers of both the truck and the bus survived the crash," police said. "Five passengers with serious injuries were transported to hospitals in Bloemfontein, while 22 injured passengers received treatment at a hospital in Smithfield." "Preliminary reports indicate that the bus was traveling from the direction of Reddersburg toward Smithfield, while the truck was heading in the opposite direction. The collision was a sideswipe head-on impact," police said. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, and a case of culpable homicide has been opened, the statement added. Police urged motorists to exercise caution while traveling in the area as emergency personnel work on the scene. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China supports the post-war governance plan for Gaza that is endorsed by the Palestinian people and agreed upon by Arab countries, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday. At an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Arab leaders approved Egypt's reconstruction plan for Gaza, which is estimated to cost 53 billion U.S. dollars and aims to avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave. It was also agreed at the summit to form a non-factional technocratic committee to administer Gaza for at least six months under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority. China supports the efforts made by Egypt and other Arab countries to promote the continuous and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, facilitate humanitarian aid and restore security and stability in the region, Lin told a regular news briefing. The principle of "the Palestinians governing Palestine" should be upheld in the post-war governance of Gaza in line with the two-state solution with the ultimate goal of achieving peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, as well as long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the spokesperson said. BUCHAREST, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Romania has declared the Russian military, air, and naval attache in Bucharest, along with his deputy, personae non gratae for "engaging in activities that violate the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced Wednesday. The Russian side was officially informed of the decision Wednesday during a meeting at MAE headquarters. Romania's Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu requested the summoning of the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest to formally communicate the expulsion, according to the statement. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency that Moscow will take corresponding measures. "Russia will give an appropriate response," the ministry stated, quoted by RIA Novosti. Writer-director Jean Luc Herbulot and actor-writer-producer Hus Miller wanted the freedom to take risks with their scrappy action-thriller, Zero. So they decided to shoot it in Dakar, Senegal, where they could maximize their relatively low budget while maintaining complete creative control. I think for young filmmakers, you really have to ask yourself, Where is the place where people want to go crazy? Herbulot tells MovieMaker. The good thing about Senegal is that all the things that we did there were new. When its new for your team, for your actors, for the technicians and all that, they will put more motivation and more imagination into what they do. Herbulot grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but he moved to Senegal, on the west coast of Africa, in 2018 after shooting a French-language Canal+ television series there called Sakho & Mangane. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There, he became a partner in Lacme Productions alongside founder Pamela Diop, who also produced and co-wrote Herbulots 2021 action-horror film Saloum. Diop co-produced Zero as well, helping to shepherd in the American movie production, a rarity for the city of Dakar. Every foreign production coming into Africa is always beneficial. Because, of course, theres experience for the crew and experience for the actors especially because the thing with Africa, and especially West Africa, is that its very difficult for people to get a visa to travel, Herbulot says. The average age of the population is 19 years old. Those guys have a lot of dreams, and they want to travel. And of course, now we have the internet, we know everything thats happening in the world, he says. Jean Luc Herbulot and Hus Miller on Their Zero Collaboration Cam McHarg, left, and Hus Miller in Zero. Courtesy of Zero While the leads of the film were American and the film was all English-language, the majority of the cast and crew that worked on Zero were Senegalese. Herbulot says the production was able to give back to the local community by providing opportunities for young creatives to get experience on a movie set. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They want to discover stuff, Herbulot says. When people like Hus and his company and all the cast and crew make the effort and are brave enough to come to Senegal and trust us, this is also beneficial to all those young guys who are learning from all that. Moving to Senegal was a breath of fresh air for Herbulot, who was a producer before he became a director. A bit like Hus, when I arrived there as a producer, I was like, Whoa, this is the gold rush of production meaning this is an industry that is just starting. So you want to be there and you want to experiment with everything, Herbulot says. Miller was also a producer on Saloum, as well as the shorts like Deer Season and You Cant Say No, both of which he also acted in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Together, in 2018, Herbulot and Diop redesigned Lacme Productions from a company primarily focused on music videos and short-format content into one focused primarily on movies. Thats how I happened to live in Senegal for five years. So we did Saloum, and then met these guys and did Zero. Lets see if were going to make other ones, Herbulot says. Miller got involved in Zero when his co-star, Cameron McHarg, introduced him to Herbulot. We were looking at doing something sort of off the grid, kind of out in the middle of nowhere, Miller said. Gary Dourdan in Zero. Courtesy of Zero After a successful Zoom meeting between the actors and the Lacme team, they decided they would do a film together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats when Herbulot sent them the idea for Zero. I had this call with Hus, and I was like, You know what? I think I have something, Herbulot says. Two Americans in the car, they wake up, they dont know why the fuck theyre there, and they have bombs strapped to their chests and a 10-hour chronometer. And from that, we were like, Ah, theres something interesting. Also Read: Elric Kane on 20 Films That Inspired His Dating-App Horror Film The Dead Thing Miller and Herbulot ended up co-writing Zero together, which follows Miller as #1, an American man who finds himself in Dakar with a bomb strapped to his chest and a clock counting down the hours he has until his death. His only hope of defusing the bomb is to listen to the mysterious man speaking to him through an earpiece voiced by Willem Dafoe who instructs him to complete a series of complex and dangerous tasks. Along the way, he mets McHargs character, #2 a fellow American who has been roped into the same ordeal. Benefits of Shooting in Senegal Hus Miller in Zero. Courtesy of Zero Not only was Senegal a place where they could make an outside-the-box movie, but it was also a place where they could do it for a fraction of the cost of shooting in the U.S. or Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think why we have such a great alchemy between me and Hus, and also the entire team well, especially me and Hus is that outside of me being a director and him being an actor, we were both producers before that. So we always went to the smartest choice, Herbulot says. It wasnt hard to convince Miller to shoot in Senegal. Zero would have been a $10 or $15 million movie if we shot in the U.S., but shooting in Africa, we were able to get away with so much and our budget was able to go so far by shooting there, he says. So really, like Jean Luc said, everything really aligned perfectly to shoot there. It worked for our budget. They were already there. They had a production company. So we just meshed the two things together. But Zero has a large international footprint that extends far beyond Senegal. After production wrapped, the Zero team edited the film in Paris. And for post-production, they worked with Caffeine Post in Mexico City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taking what should be a small, independent movie and making it a bigger international thing was really beneficial for us, but it was also totally different. We never thought we were going to do it that way, and it just kind of happened very organically, Miller says. That only left one final piece of the puzzle: Willem Dafoe. Hus Miller in Zero. Courtesy of Zero While the lines for the mysterious man speaking through the earpiece were always scripted out, the team didnt actually cast the part or record the lines until the rest of the movie was long finished. So they decided to shoot for the stars. We were like, Theres no way well ever get Willem Dafoe. But he was always on our list that we sent to the casting director, Miller says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To the teams surprise, Dafoe was an easy yes. Hed watched Saloum to get an idea of Herbulots style, and loved it. Two days later, he called Miller and Herbulot to commit to the role. It was perfect, very fast. He said, I will totally do this. Im totally into the project. You guys just need to come to Rome. And were like, Yeah, no problem, Miller says. Along with knowing when to aim high and when to save money, a lot of Herbulot and Millers success with Zero came down to smart production decisions. Most of the time you hear, Oh, its always better if you want to do a first feature to shoot in places that you know, to shoot with subjects that you know, and stuff like that. I dont really agree with that, Herbulot says. Like, go take some risks, be inventive, and the more youre going to be inventive, the more youre going to gain from what youre doing. But thats my philosophy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the best producer Ive worked with, he says of Miller. People who are just open to new stuff and open to risk. And when I say risk, its not just risk at the money level, but risk as, Lets make something new. And it may appear cliched, what Im saying, but this is why were having the movies that were having. Theres a lot of people who dont want to take risks. This production, the size of it and the fact that we were working with this kind of budget, also allows you to be very free because the interesting theme with Zero is its in English with American actors, but in the same way, its very international. So you know that you can also sell it in a lot of different places so the risks are minimized from other types of productions. So if you ask me, as a director who works with a producer, what a great producer is, its somebody who is curious and who is able to be a bit crazy. Miller says the mark of a good producer is someone who has the willingness to put yourself in a situation where you can do something different. For me, that was going to Africa and shooting with Jean Luc and the trust level there, and saying, Hey, Im going to dive into this thing, however this turns out. I mean, every day we were in Africa, as a producer, I was worried that everything was going to collapse. Every day the entire crew was going to get Covid, someone was going to get hurt. Luckily, none of those things happened. It was because of our crew, it was because of our director, it was because of every element. We got very, very lucky, Miller says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, for the most part they got lucky. They did encounter one hiccup in 2021, when they were all ready to start shooting right before Senegal shut down its borders due to Covid. But that ended up giving the team an extra six months to prepare. We also put ourselves into a position where were like, Hey, this could fall apart tomorrow. And for me, thats how I like living my life, too. I was like, Hey, Im going to go and do this thing, and I dont know how its going to turn out, but Im willing to put myself in that position and see what happens. So I think theres that adventurous level. Herbulot agrees. Its always about taking risks, right? he says. Allow yourself to take risks calculated risks. Then dont be stupid. Its getting harder and harder to do something different, Miller says, but I think there are still ways of finding it. Zero, which we are proud to support through MovieMaker Production Services, is now on the festival circuit and just won best film in the Orbita section at the beloved Sitges Film Festival. Main image: (L-R) Zero writer-director Jean Luc Herbulot, producer Pamela Diop, and producer-writer-actor Hus Miller. When an Arab parent is on the phone with family overseas and asks their child if they want to say hello, theres no real choice in the matter. The phone is already being handed over. And privacy? Thats another flexible concept. While many young adults in Western cultures move out as soon as they turn 18, Arab parents are quick to remind their children that living with family is nothing to be ashamed of while continuing to disregard personal space. Such small yet familiar moments are part of what makes Mohammed Mo Amers Netflix series, "Mo," resonate so deeply with many Arab and Muslim Americans, including those in Michigan. The semi-autobiographical comedy-drama doesnt just entertain, it reflects the realities of immigrant and refugee families while exploring themes of identity, grief, resilience, intersectional relationships, and more. Advertisement Advertisement "He presents a really authentic portrayal of Arab Americans, one that's relatable," said the director of the Arab American National Museum, Diana Abouali. The show's impact was recognized on Feb. 21 at the museum's 20th anniversary celebration in Dearborn. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud honored Amer, a 43-year-old stand-up comedian and actor, with a framed tribute for his contributions to storytelling and representation. Mo Amer, a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor, visited Dearborn on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. He was honored at the Arab American National Museums 20th anniversary celebration, where Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud presented him with a framed tribute. "The way that you have shattered stereotypes has opened up doors for us as public servants, as people who want to give back to the community," Hammoud said to Amer. "Oftentimes, it does take the comedian; it does take the notable actor; it does take the individual who's speaking to our narrative, who understands our narrative because they grew up in it, stewed in it, and understand it better than anyone. So, on behalf of the entire city of Dearborn, I want to say thank you and welcome home." The second and last season of "Mo" was released in late January and continues Amers heartfelt storytelling, following a character heavily inspired by his own life. Like Amer himself, the character speaks English, Arabic, and Spanish and was born in Kuwait to displaced Palestinian parents. His family was forced to flee Kuwait during the first Gulf War, seeking asylum in Houston, Texas a journey that parallels Amers own. Advertisement Advertisement However, settling in the U.S. didnt mean automatic stability. Like his character, Amer spent years in limbo, considered stateless, with no country recognizing him as a citizen. It took more than two decades for him to obtain a U.S. passport, a grueling process he brings to life in "Mo." Throughout the series, Mo is often seen carrying a small bottle of his mothers homemade olive oil. Some people carry hot sauce, I carry olive oil, he quips. But beyond the joke, the bottle is a symbol of his Palestinian heritage and the traditions that anchor him, even as he struggles to find his footing. The show strikes a delicate balance between humor and the harsh realities of the Palestinian and asylum-seeking experience. Even in a detention center, the main character tries to lighten the mood though his antics sometimes land him in even more trouble. "I had this vision ever since I was like a nine year old kid," Amer said. "It really started to evolve for me pretty rapidly once I saw that there (were) no Arab American stories on television, certainly not Palestinian stories on American television, or anywhere outside of the Middle East." How 'Mo' breaks the mold Rarely do Arab Americans see themselves realistically represented on a mainstream platform like Netflix, said Betoul Ajin, a 23-year-old Palestinian-American who grew up in Ann Arbor and is a fan on Amer's work. Advertisement Advertisement "So often we're depicted so negatively in Western media. Either our stories are about war, or we're the enemy. But I think this show depicted what it's like to grow up with the trauma of understanding the family history of occupation and war, but also trying to find happiness," Ajin said. "You don't see a lot of Arabs in popular media being happy or laughing, but the show did that really well letting you laugh, but also reminding you of the struggle of what it means to be Palestinian, but also the beauty." Ajin told the Free Press she related to the show on a profound level. Her mother was born in Palestine and grew up amid the Israeli occupation, while her father, born in Kuwait, experienced the Gulf War and was forced to flee to Jordan with his family. Eventually, each of her parents made their way to Michigan, where they met, got married, and started their own family. In 2017, Ajins father, who had been living legally in the U.S., was detained during one of his bi-weekly meetings with immigration in Detroit as he worked toward becoming a naturalized citizen. He was required to attend these meetings after his green card was revoked more than 15 years earlier due to two minor offenses. Despite the circumstances, he was not deported; instead, a judge granted him a rare waiver allowing the father of four to stay and take care of his family. "My dad was in this country legally, never missed a meeting with immigration," Ajin said. "After Donald Trump became president, in his first term, my dad was arrested during one of his meetings and put into an ICE detention center for about a month. Through the community's support and a lot of letters to a judge, my dad was released and became a U.S. citizen (shortly) after his release." Advertisement Advertisement More: How UAW benefits shaped an immigrant family While it may be uncommon to see stories like Ajin's father's humanized on a large scale in Western media, the experience itself is not unusual. Khadega Mohammed, a Sudanese American who immigrated to the U.S. in 2007 and now works at the Arab American National Museum, has seen firsthand how the legal process has taken a toll on her husband, an asylum seeker from Mauritania. "My husband came to this country similar to Mo, seeking political asylum, but now he is stuck in that limbo; he cannot get his paperwork, he cannot be American, nor can he leave and go back to Mauritania," Khadega, 25, said. "And he can't go back because it's not safe for him to go back, so we're constantly living in fear. You're scared to do anything, scared to get caught even if you're doing everything legally." In addition to navigating these challenges, Khadega said she felt a strong connection to Mos trip back to Palestine, as her own recent visit to her homeland helped her rediscover herself. Advertisement Advertisement "When I went back to Sudan, it felt like I was relearning who I am and discovering myself," she said. "I saw my family all around me, people who look just like me. It's something we really miss this kinship, this connection to family that the show beautifully presented." A mix of drama, comedy and representation The series delivers plenty of drama, with painful twists that highlight the struggles of being a refugee seeking asylum, facing job loss, dealing with relationship issues, and more. But it doesnt dwell on hardship alone; humor plays an equally important role. From inappropriate hand gestures to Arabic and Spanish curse words and inside jokes, the comedy reflects the everyday quirks of blending cultures. These diverse influences make the storytelling feel authentic and relatable to a wide audience. "He is able to portray these universal stories in a very humanistic way, and I think that's why people respond to him, whether they're old or young, Arab or non-Arab," Abouali said. Advertisement Advertisement Mo's Palestinian roots and Houston upbringing are reflected in everything from his attire and wit to the show's soundtrack, which blends Arabic, country, and hip-hop music to capture the fusion of cultures shaping his world. "What Mo is doing, he's demonstrating the need for Arabs to be in every facet of every industry, of every sector. And when you're in that space, you're able to then share the stories and to build bridges of cultural connections with others," Hammoud said. "What he has done on an international scale really just elevates the community standing (and) provides a narrative that is oftentimes missing in the mainstream media, and he's done it so beautifully." "Mo" has two seasons, each with eight episodes, and is available on Netflix. This push for greater representation is also mirrored by the work of the Arab American National Museum, the first and only museum dedicated to telling Arab American stories in the country. The museum showcases art that explores the portrayal of Arabs in the media over the years. Advertisement Advertisement "You're seeing, in this new generation, that we're out here trying to carve a new one," Hammoud said. More: Netflix political thriller 'Zero Day' is well-crafted series about the search for truth Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1. Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a quote from Mo Amer's speech at the Arab American National Museum. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mo Amer's Netflix show strikes a chord with Arabs, Muslims in Michigan Brazil is one of those travel destinations that will steal your heart and have you reconsidering where you call home by the time your trip is over I know from firsthand experience. As the largest country in South America, Brazil has more to see than youre probably planning for. If youre eager to experience the best of Brazil, you may only have limited time to do so visa-free. Starting April 10, 2025, Brazil will require a visa for tourists visiting from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Canada. Prior to April 10, travelers from these countries can enter Brazil visa-free and expect to be granted a stay of up to 90 days, with the option to request an extension for an additional 90 days. So, what to do in Brazil? Keep reading to find out the best things to do in Brazil. Getting around Brazil Hana Holden / The Manual Should you be fortunate enough to spend that much free time in the country, Id highly recommend it. This country is almost the size of the U.S., and a lot of the best things to do in Brazil are fairly spread out. During my multiple visits to Brazil, a lot of the bus road trips I took easily lasted around 12 hours (or longer). I always opted for the bus because it was affordable, extremely nice, and convenient. There are stops in cities of all sizes, luxury options with lie-flat seats, WI-FI, and even overnight buses. Advertisement Advertisement Flying from city to city is also an option if youre on a time crunch or arent a fan of long rides. But believe me, the views riding through the Brazilian countryside are unmatched. Whichever method of mobility you opt for, itll be an important part of getting you from place to place as you work your way through the activities on this list. #1 Explore Iguazu Falls Hana Holden / The Manual Visiting Foz de Iguacu is one of those once-in-a-lifetime activities thats well worth it. Located in the state of Parana, this system of waterfalls is the biggest in the entire world. Even cooler? The falls flow between Brazil and Argentina, so its easy to cross over if youre looking to collect an additional passport stamp. I visited from the Brazilian side only, and the views were nothing short of spectacular, as you can see above. Now, when it comes to exploring the falls, youll need to be up for a lot of walking, getting wet, and some encounters with the local wildlife. A visit to the park allows you to walk through the park at your own pace and lounge freely, with the opportunity to snap tons of photos throughout every part of the park. This attraction is a little off the beaten path, depending on how you decide to travel, but for my visit, I took a 13-hour bus ride from Florianopolis. #2 Try some authentic Brazilian BBQ Konnect Agency / Fogo de Chao Brazilian food has a vibe similar to the rest of the country: comforting, enjoyable, and not overly complicated. Your best path to a delicious Brazilian meal is through a rodizio restaurant. Rodizios are lively, with servers walking around serving churrasco (Portuguese for barbecue) on metal spits. Theres almost always a large salad bar in the center with a variety of foods to pair your churrasco with. Most popular are rice, feijoa (black beans with meat), farofa (yuca flour), and tomato and onion vinaigrette. Advertisement Advertisement These can be found all over the country. Go-to options like Fogo de Chao and Barbacoa are chains with consistent quality that have locations internationally. #3 Visit Lencois Maranhenses Leo Castro / Unsplash This desert oasis has massive sand dunes and natural lagoons with some of the bluest water youll ever see. The unique combination of sand and water in the countrys desert landscape makes this the perfect photo op for your travel photo albums. If youre looking for more of a thrill, there are also tours for riding a 4-by-4 through the dunes or swimming in the lagoons. #4 Feast on Pao de Queijo Hana Holden / The Manual Brazilians seem to have mastered the art of making simple things amazing, and I love them for it. The perfect example is pao de queijo, the Brazilian take on cheese bread. This gluten-free food staple is made with tapioca flour, parmesan, and cheese. Youll see it eaten as a snack and a side dish to any meal. #5 Visit Manaus to see the Amazon Rainforest If youre looking for the adventure of a lifetime, it can easily be found here. Brazils Amazon can be accessed only through the port city of Manaus. The city is full of unique experiences, starting with the insane amount of exotic fruit found at the local markets. Various companies do tours into the shallows of the jungle, but thats as deep as you should expect to go since most of the Amazon is unexplored. Advertisement Advertisement Getting to Manaus is easiest by flight, around four hours from Sao Paulo. By bus isnt possible, and by boat well, lets say itll take a day or three. #6 Relax on the beaches of Buzios Hana Holden / The Manual Buzios is a sleepy little beach town on the shores of the state of Rio de Janeiro that has become well known for its beautiful beaches and boutique hotels. At around three hours from Copacabana, Buzios is a perfect getaway for when youd like to relax in a less busy environment but still have access to natures finest. #7 Take a capoeira class in Salvador Nigel SB / Unsplash This Afro-Brazilian martial art and game has a long history that could likely make you shed a tear (or two). Nonetheless, it is practiced and taught today to celebrate African culture, liberation, and fun. The most authentic way to experience capoeira is in Salvador, but you can find classes in just about any city in the country. #8 Drink a caipirinha Hana Holden / The Manual Every country has its national drink that represents the best of the best. For Brazil, its the caipirinha, a mix of cachaca, sugar, lime, and ice. Fancier variations have other fruits added, like maracuja or strawberry. As delicious as they are, theyre super strong youve been warned. Advertisement Advertisement For a version thats just as good but alcohol-free, order yours sem alcool. #9 Walk the strip in Florianopolis Hana Holden / The Manual Ill be honest: Brazil has too many paradisical beach towns to cram into one article, but I couldnt end this list without mentioning just one more. Florianopolis (aka Floripa) is located in southern Brazil, about 10 hours from Sao Paulo. This city is the perfect mix of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with an atmosphere thats half sleepy beach town and half busy, bustling city. Here, youll find everything from busy to quiet beaches, skyscraper condominiums, huge malls, chill cafes, and more. The post 9 incredible things to do in Brazil before the new visa rules kick in appeared first on The Manual. CANBERRA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Three social media platforms -- TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat have criticized proposed regulations that would exclude YouTube from Australia's upcoming social media ban for teenagers. The three technology companies made submissions to a government consultation on the ban, which prohibits Australian children and teenagers under the age of 16 from using social media from the end of 2025, under the world-first law passed in November last year to protect their mental health and wellbeing. The Australian government is facing allegations of striking a special deal to exclude YouTube from the ban, as its rivals launch a unified public campaign to oppose the decision, calling the proposal unfair and inconsistent, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday. The final rules, including any exemptions, will be determined through the private consultation process before the law takes effect in December. The government justifies YouTube's exemption by highlighting its role as a valuable educational resource for students, educators, and parents. However, Meta, which owns Instagram, contends that YouTube includes the same features the government has labeled as harmful to children, such as algorithm-driven content recommendations, continuous autoplay, and constant notifications. Meta criticized the idea of exempting YouTube, saying it undermines the government's stated goal of protecting young people. "We call on the government to ensure equal application of the law across all social media services," the ABC quoted a Meta spokesperson as saying. Snapchat described in its submission YouTube's exemption as a case of "preferential treatment." According to a survey released last month by the eSafety Commissioner, 73 percent of Australians aged 13 to 15 use YouTube, which continues to be the most widely used platform among teenagers. Under the new law, social media companies could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars (about 31.43 million U.S. dollars) for failing to take "reasonable steps" to keep children under 16 off their platforms. There are no penalties for young people or parents who flout the rules. Social media companies also won't be able to force users to provide government identification, including the Digital ID, to assess their age. "Messaging apps," "online gaming services" and "services with the primary purpose of supporting the health and education of end-users" will not fall under the ban, according to the legislation. Western North Carolina has no shortage of award-winning breweries and beers, and four more countrywide favorites were just revealed. USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice lists are made up of reader-voted winners, chosen from a list nominated by a panel of experts. On March 5, 2025, WNC was recognized in a roundup of beer-related awards, with five wins spanning four categories. The lists, including best beer cities and towns, best beer labels and best brewery tours, are made up of locations from across the United States. Here's which WNC locations made the respective top 10s, praise from experts and fans and the full lists. Breweries and beer in Asheville Locations in the "Best Beer Cities" category were chosen as hosts for the "most outstanding beer scenes in the nation." Experts and voters alike were looking for "stellar collections of established and up-and-coming breweries, beer bars, brewpubs, beer festivals, and even thriving homebrewing communities where a novice brewer can get their foot in the door." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They found one of these cities in Asheville, which ranked No. 7 on the list of 10, praising its "impressive number of breweries, friendly beer bars, and bottle shops that provide enthusiasts with easy access to more than 100 local beers." The entry noted some of the city's most recognizable names, Highland Brewing Company and Wicked Weed, but added that plenty of the area's countless smaller breweries are well worth a visit. Best Beer Cities in the U.S. The full list of Best Beer Cities in the U.S.: Grand Rapids, Michigan St. Louis, Missouri San Diego, California Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Columbus, Ohio Portland, Oregon Asheville, North Carolina Milwaukee, Wisconsin Charlotte, North Carolina Denver, Colorado Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Asheville brewery crew push to reopen taproom after flooding in Helene Bryson City, NC beer scene While Asheville was praised as a Best Beer City, another location in WNC was recognized specifically for its Small Town Beer Scene. Experts nominated only towns with populations of under 30,000, and readers voted for the best beer scenes that promise "small-town hospitality." Writers called Bryson City, which ranked at No. 7 in this category, "the perfect destination for any outdoor-loving beer fan." With hiking, rafting, tubing and exploring in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other outdoor areas, plus popular craft beer locations such as Mountain Layers Brewing Company and Bryson City Outdoors, it's no wonder this WNC small town made the cut. Best Small Town Beer Scenes in the U.S. The full list of best small town beer scenes: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cody, Wyoming Avondale Estates, Georgia Traverse City, Michigan Biddeford, Maine Hammonton, New Jersey Decorah, Iowa Bryson City, North Carolina Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Geneva, Illinois Staunton, Virginia More: Forbes names Asheville a top 12 world destination for 2025: See why, full list Burial Beer Co. and Sierra Nevada's 'unmissable' beer labels Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s "Bigfoot" Another category in which WNC shone was a collection of the Best Beer Labels in the country. This time, two different locations made the cut for their unique branding. Experts and fans voted for attention-grabbing labels that stood out from the crowd. To any Asheville resident, it may come as no surprise that one of Burial Beer Co.'s funky labels - and poetic beer names - made it onto this list. At No. 5, Burial's "When We Swung From The Rafters and Danced Upon Bars" was praised not only for its "wild" label depicting a giant tarantula, Venus flytrap, giant eyeball, Dali-esque elephants and more, but for its flavor. Experts and voters loved the 8.5% alcohol by volume Double IPA's unique notes of blueberry smoothie, red starburst and cantaloupe. Burial Beer Co.'s "When We Swung From The Rafters and Danced Upon Bars" Slightly further down on the list at No. 7, Sierra Nevada's "Bigfoot" was also recognized for its fun art and tasty flavor. The label shows an explorer and his reluctant steed investigating huge tracks into the forest, unaware of Bigfoot lurking just out of sight. Writers praised the 9.6% ABV barleywine ale's "hefty malt body" and intense hoppiness, calling it "worthy of its namesake." Best beer labels The full list of best beer labels: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Don't Answer The Phone - Xul Beer Company (Knoxville, Tennessee) Homeslice - City Built Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan) Dan The Wiser - Kinkaider Brewing Co. (multiple locations, Nebraska) Ever Haze - Tripping Animals (Doral and Oakland Park, Florida) When We Swung From The Rafters and Danced Upon Bars - Burial Beer Co. (Asheville) Stout at the Devil - Straight to Ale (Huntsville, Alabama) Bigfoot - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, California and Mills River, North Carolina) Winter Grind - Mother's Brewing Company (Springfield, MO) Cran Orange Wheat Ale - Great Lakes Brewing (Cleveland, OH) Age of Otters IPA - 3 Floyds Brewing (Munster, IN) More: Off the beaten path: 7 WNC towns are worth a detour, according to WorldAtlas Brewery tours in Asheville, Mills River Burial Beer Co. has a taproom on the South Slope and at Forestry Camp in Asheville. Last but not least, two locations in WNC - both of which were also honored on other 10Best lists - were praised for their behind-the-scenes brewery tour experiences. Burial Beer Co.'s Forestry Camp location ranked No. 5 for its one-hour tour of the "introspective realm" Burial employees call home. The tour comes complete with tastings, commemorative glassware and an expert company historian as a guide. Tours cost $35 - or free for designated drivers - and are available by reservation on Saturdays at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. You can book one at burialbeer.com/pages/tour-the-brewery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s tours, at No. 7 on the list, are actually held at two different locations - Mills River and Chico, California. Writers appreciated the interactive nature of tours in both locations, in which visitors can "trace the process from grain to bottle," from smelling whole-cone hops and sampling sugary wort to a guided tasting of Sierra Nevada beers. A number of tours are available, from the 45-minute "Innovation Tour" for $9 to the in-depth, 3-hour "Beer Geek" tour for $82.50. Book an NC tour at sierranevada.com/visit/mills-river/tours. Best brewery tours in the U.S. The full list of best brewery tours: Troegs Independent Brewing (Hershey, Pennsylvania) Spoetzl Brewery (Shiner, Texas) SweetWater Brewing Company (Atlanta, Georgia) Anheuser-Busch Brewery Experiences (St. Louis, Missouri) Burial Beer Co. Forestry Camp (Asheville, North Carolina) Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin) Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, California and Mills River, North Carolina) Deschutes Brewery (Bend, Oregon) Bell's Brewery (Comstock, Michigan) Allagash Brewing Company (Portland, Maine) More: These 2 Western NC museums voted among 10 best in the US: See the lists Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Bryson City voted among 10 best beer scenes in US FAIRMONT There she is. A West Virginia University student is the 2025 West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Queen. Alaissa Martinez-Torro, of Moorefield, West Virginia, was crowned March 1 during the pageant held at Fairmont Senior High. Contestants competed in personal interview, fun fashion, activewear and evening wear. Martinez-Torro is currently working on a masters degree in special education and wants to be an advocate for social justice and later become a school superintendent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Junior Royalty pageant was held March 2 also at Fairmont Senior High where contestants competed in fun fashion and evening wear. Junior Teen contestants also competed in a personal interview with the judges. Molly Kuykendall, of Petersburg, West Virginia, is the 2025 West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Teen Queen. After high school, she plans to become a registered nurse in a critical care environment after specializing in anesthesia. Kinsley Workman was crowned 2025 Little Miss, Ava Woods was crowned 2025 Junior Miss and Addison Miley was crowned 2025 Jr. Teen. The queen and her court will reign over the 46th Annual West Virginia Three Rivers Festival, which takes place from May 22-24. The winners in the teen and queen categories will go on to compete for Miss West Virginia, USA, and Miss West Virginia Teen USA in June, while junior royalty winners will advance to compete in the West Virginia state pageant in October. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) President Trump is set to deliver his first joint congressional address of his second term Tuesday night. South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn sat down with Queen City News to discuss what Democrats might be expecting ahead of the address, especially days after a fiery meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What are the goods facing Trumps tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Clyburn also hit on the impacts of the new 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada imports in South Carolina. Trumps remarks to Congress are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET. QCNEWS.COM POLITICAL NEWS Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. CLINTON, S.C. (WSPA) A man has been arrested for murder following a shooting Tuesday night in Clinton. The Clinton Police Department arrested 34-year-old Vincent Marc Viner following the fatal shooting. Officers responded after 11 p.m. to the 300 block of Florence Street in reference to the incident. Upon arrival, authorities located an individual lying in the roadway with multiple gunshot wounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where they succumbed to their injuries. The Laurens County Coroners Office has identified the victim as 69-year-old Rufford Jones. The suspected shooter later identified as Viner was detained at the scene according to police. Viner is currently being held at the Johnson Detention Center awaiting a scheduled bond hearing. The murder remains an ongoing investigation by the Clinton Police Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) The North Carolina State Highway Patrol assisted with a head-on collision on Nine Mile Road in Carteret County on March 2. Jason Chappell, 48 years old and from Newport, was driving south when he collided head on with 26 year old Malik George, who was driving north. Chappell was taken to ECU Health in Greenville and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. George was taken to Carteret Health Care and treated for minor injuries. Georges passenger, 30 year old Brittany Schutte from New Bern, was taken to ECU Health with serious injuries. Georges 1 year old son, Zayn, was also in the car. He was taken to ECU Health in Greenville with life threatening injuries, where he eventually passed away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The collision is under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) One person was shot late Tuesday night, March 4 in Las Cruces, a Las Cruces Police spokesman said. The shooting happened at about 9:40 p.m. at the Sonic at Foothills and Telshor. Police said the investigation is in its very early stages and they dont have any information they can release about a suspect or the patients condition. We will update this story when we learn more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. HONOLULU (KHON2) One of the most intense debates to characterize the United States for the last 26 years is regarding guns rights. And while President George W. Bushs two terms and the first presidential term of Donald Trump was characterized with holding true to the Republican push to expand how the Second Amendment is interpreted, the second presidential term for Trump is taking a decidedly different position. 10 facts about Kelly Slaters $16.5M Hawaii North Shore home for sale Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Washington Post, POTUS is marking certain people for prosecution. Heres what we know so far. 1. New initiative launched: Make D.C. Safe Again The interim United States Attorney General, Ed Martin, has launched a new initiative called Make D.C. Safe Again. Its an initiative that involves federal prosecutors moving to focus heavily on all firearms cases in the city. According to Martin, its meant to make the city safer, abandoning the guns dont kill people; people kill people boilerplate response to gun violence. 2. Denise Cheung resigns as Criminal Chief over pressure to investigate EPA grant Denise Cheung, who served as the chief of the Criminal Division in the office of the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., resigned after saying she was pressured to launch a criminal investigation and to freeze assets related to a grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during President Bidens tenure. She claims there was no evidence of a crime. 3. Jonathan Hornok appointed as Chief of Criminal Division The current prosecutor for the Justice Departments Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Jonathan Hornok intends to step in to replace Denise Cheung as the chief of the offices Criminal Division. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You 4.Directive to pursue every firearms case According to sources, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., have been ordered to pursue every firearms case referred to them. These prosecutors were also instructed to seek pretrial detention against every person charged with such an offense. 5. Prosecutors must seek pretrial detention for firearms cases A memo from Ed Martin provides instructions to prosecutors that explains who, how and what to seek in pretrial detention cases for every person charged with a firearms offense. This move is meant to be applied to everyone regardless of what the circumstances are. 6. Appeal denials of pretrial detention for firearms cases The memo stated that if a magistrate judge denies a request for pretrial detention in a firearms case, then the prosecutor is required to appeal that decision. 7. Flooding the federal court with firearms cases Ed Martins memo stated, We will flood the federal district court with cases to make our City safe. This is a reference to the new initiatives focus on increasing the number of firearms cases in court. 8. Reassignment of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents to initiative There are about a dozen agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who have been reassigned to support the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative. 9. Demotion of senior leaders in prosecutions involving fraud, public corruption, civil rights and firearms Last week, Ed Martin demoted more than half a dozen senior leaders in his office who were in charge of prosecutions related to fraud, public corruption, civil rights, firearms, narcotics trafficking and child exploitation. 10. Interim U.S. Attorneys expected to be appointed, including Kelly Hayes in Maryland New interim U.S. Attorneys are expected to be appointed. Amongst them include Kelly Hayes who was named Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can click here to read more about it. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHONs morning podcast, every morning at 8 With the Republican Party working diligently to ensure the unfettered expansion of Second Amendment interpretations, its going to be interesting to see how all this plays out over the coming year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. UPDATE: Following the publication of this story Amanda Nelson told 8 News Now water service has since been restored to her familys home. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A family of seven living in the northwest Las Vegas valley has been living without water service in their rental home for approximately five months, according to their lawyer. The situation began with a water leak and has resulted in a court battle as the family fights eviction and a $10,000 water bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were just completely mind-boggled, Amanda Nelson told the 8 News Now Investigators. Nelson said she received a letter from the Las Vegas Valley Water District last October warning about an excessive leak. She said she discovered a massive amount of water underneath the home near Torrey Pines Drive and Gowan Road, which she recorded on video. She provided copies of text messages, in which she appeared to notify the property manager, Invest America Realty, that same month. Las Vegas housing nightmare: No working toilet, no hot water The leak was not fixed until January. We would say that the property management company dropped the ball by not sending out somebody sooner, Nicholas Haley said. A family of seven has been living without water service in their rental home for approximately five months, according to their lawyer. (Amanda Nelson) Haley is a consumer rights attorney for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and began representing the family once they received eviction notices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The family withheld rent. According to Haley, because water is considered an essential service to be provided by a property owner by Nevada state law. Haley said a judge tossed out the first two notices in court, while there is still an ongoing case regarding the third notice. Nelson, whose children range in age from infant to teen, said water service is now completely shut off because she and her partner cannot afford to pay the massive bill. A family of seven has been living without water service in their rental home for approximately five months, according to their lawyer. (KLAS) I cant even find the words for it, Nelson said. Its outrageous. The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to Invest America Realty. Owner Leonard Kryk declined an on-camera interview but insisted Nelson did not immediately notify him about the leak, despite her text messages dating back to October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 8 News Now Investigators also reached out to the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD). A spokesperson said LVVWD began reaching out to the tenants about a leak last July, starting with a text message and a couple of letters. Nelson said she never received the text messages because LVVWD had the wrong phone number on file, and the October letter was her first notification about the leak. A family of seven has been living without water service in their rental home for approximately five months, according to their lawyer. (Amanda Nelson) Haley insisted there was a separate minor leak and the bills tell the story. In July, Nelsons family used about 9,000 gallons of water which cost approximately $55, according to the bill she provided. Water usage skyrocketed to 228,000 gallons resulting in a bill of approximately $3,500 by October. The family now owes more than $10,000, according to a January bill. LVVWD had offered the property owner the flexibility to enroll in a reimbursement program if the leak was fixed sooner, according to the spokesperson. Haley said the property manager should pay the water bill. Nelson said the family could not afford to relocate. To make matters worse, their credit has been affected. A family of seven has been living without water service in their rental home for approximately five months, according to their lawyer. (KLAS) It is very frustrating not only that we are in this situation, but also the fact that we cant just up and leave the situation, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to the property owners attorney and did not receive a response by deadline. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. ANDERSON A third Anderson teen has been charged with murder in the Feb. 2 death of Dayla Swain, who was caught in gunfire reportedly targeting a murder trial witness. JoMaijze Biggie Larry, 14, Anderson, turned himself in Sunday to Anderson police and has been waived to adult court on charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, reckless homicide and child in possession of a firearm. Larry, who was accompanied by his father and an attorney when he turned himself in, was detained Tuesday at the Madison County Juvenile Detention Center without bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Madison County Prosecutors Office previously filed murder charges in the Feb. 2 shooting near Sonny Rays Cafe, in the 1500 block of South Madison Avenue against Rashawn Darrius Samuels, 18, Anderson, and Kyree M. Craver, 17, Anderson. Larry met with Samuels and Craver on Jan. 31 in a parking lot at the Geater Community Center in Anderson, where they discussed what action to take against a witness in the murder trial of Donavan Harris, according to police. Two days later, Swain was caught in the crossfire and shot to death while talking to the Harris murder trial witness, who was in a Ford F150 pickup outside of Sonny Rays. The murder trial witness fled the shooting scene in the pickup, according to police. Harris is charged with murder and related felonies in the Nov. 24, 2024, shooting death of Jullian Craig, 15, during a drug deal. Harris is scheduled to go on trial May 6 in Madison Circuit Court Division 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents allege that Samuels is affiliated with Mickey Cobra Nation, a criminal organization with ties originating in Chicago. The documents state that the organization was founded by members of Samuels family. The documents refer to a known dispute between Mickey Cobra Nation and the Harris murder trial witness, who is not named in this story, in keeping with Herald Bulletin policy on witnesses. Samuels, who was arrested last week in Milwaukee, reportedly told police that he took Larry with him to Wisconsin after the Feb. 2 shooting because Larry was scared to remain in Anderson, where people were accusing him of being the shooter. In a Feb. 4 Instagram post, Larry said he wouldnt return to Anderson until the case was over, according to the affidavit. Police said this week that the investigation of the Feb. 2 shooting is ongoing and other persons of interest are being actively pursued. "Justice for Emily" was written in red plastic cups at the intersection of Mesa Drive and McKellips Road in Mesa, the last place 14-year-old Emily Pike was seen alive. "Forever 14" was painted on one rock laid beneath bouquets of flowers. Rain-smudged notes covered the dusty ground. Purple and yellow ribbons were tied along the fence. Since March 2, people have left stuffed animals, balloons, posters and candles at the intersection, memorializing Pike, who was found dead on Valentine's Day after being reported missing in late January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pike's remains were found almost three weeks after she was reported missing from Mesa, according to police. They were found in a woody area off U.S. 60, northeast of Globe, about 100 miles away from where she was last seen, the Gila County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. What happened between her disappearance and when she was found is part of a homicide investigation, the Sheriff's Office said. People left posters, balloons, stuffed animals and candles at a memorial at the intersection where Emily Pike was last seen alive before her body was found in a forest near Globe, Arizona. Here's what we know about Emily Pike. What happened to Emily Pike? According to Mesa police, Pike was last seen around 7:45 p.m. near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road in Mesa. She left on foot from her group home where she was living, a flier from the police department read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 14, Pike's remains were found off U.S. 60 north, mile post 277, on Forest Service Road No. 355 northeast Globe, the Gila County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The Gila County Sheriff's Office has not returned requests for comment about how Pike's body was found. However, information about the case was found circulating on social media. "Unfortunately, the information on Facebook was intended only for Law Enforcement Agencies and was leaked," according to a statement from the Gila County Sheriff's Office. No details were released about how the leak occurred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cause and manner of death have not been released, according to the Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office, which investigates deaths in Gila County. Who was Emily Pike? Pike was described as a sweet girl by multiple people who left messages at the memorial. She was a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. "Our Tribe is mourning the tragic death of one of our young members," read a statement from San Carlos Apache Tribe chairman Terry Rambler. "This is a terrible loss for the teenagers family and our Tribe." Pike's death sparked a large response on social media, with many putting focus on the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Over 500 people walk through Phoenix to remember missing Indigenous people Pike's family could not be reached for comment. Pike left behind her grandmother, mother and three siblings, according to a GoFundMe. Pike was living at a Mesa group home, police said. It was unknown how long she had been living in the group home and whether this was her first time in a group home. The Arizona Department of Child Safety said that Pike was not in its care. Mesa police had responded five times to Pike running away, police spokesperson Sabrina Amyx said. Who is investigating? The case is being investigated by the Gila County Sheriff's Office and the San Carlos Apache Tribal Police. The Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that they are also investigating Pike's death alongside police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the FBI said the bureau will not join the investigation. Anyone with information about the case can call a Gila County Sheriff's Office detective at 928-200-2352, a Bureau of Indian Affairs special agent at 505-917-7830 or a San Carlos Apache tribal police detective at 928-475-1755. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we know about Emily Pike, the teen found in the woods near Globe DHAKA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A 5.6-magnitude moderate earthquake hit Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, and parts of the South Asian country Wednesday morning, rattling nerves and causing panic. Rubayet Kabir, a meteorologist from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), told journalists that the quake hit at about 11:36 a.m. local time. The meteorologist said the epicenter was 449 kilometers northeast of Agargaon Seismic Center in the capital Dhaka. People in parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, took to social media to report the jolt. Fire service officials in Dhaka said they have so far not received any report of damage or casualties. Bangladesh, which sits in the zone of earthquakes, is prone to tremors. MARCY, N.Y. (WROC) 15 people are now on leave after a 22-year-old inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility died this past weekend, according to a statement sent out by Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday. Staff on leave as 22-year-old inmates death probed Messiah Nantwi died at the prison in Marcy, outside of Utica, on Saturday. Mid-State is near the Marcy Correctional Facility, where Robert Brooks, a man serving time for a Monroe County assault, died after he was beaten as an inmate there. Ten Marcy Correctional COs have since been indicted by a grand jury, and Brooks death was ruled a homicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, early reports point to extremely disturbing conduct leading to Mr. Nantwis death and I am committed to accountability for all involved. The people of New York extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Nantwis family and loved ones, Governor Hochul stated. Nantwi was serving a five-year sentence for a weapons-related conviction in the Bronx, prison records showed. While its still unclear what led up to his death, inmates reportedly told the New York Times he was beaten. I am grateful to Commissioner Martuscello and DOCCS leadership for taking swift action to respond to this incident. However, this tragedy is a reminder of the need for real systemic change within our correctional system beginning with the policies I implemented following the murder of Robert Brooks, such as mandating the use of body-worn cameras, expanding whistleblower hotlines, and bringing in outside experts for a systemwide culture review, Hochul announced. As Ive said for weeks, my top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers involved in the correctional system, from civilian employees to National Guard to Correction Officers to incarcerated individuals. The ongoing illegal work stoppage is a significant safety risk, and I once again reiterate the need for Correction Officers to return to work. My Administration remains committed to working in good faith with Correction Officers to improve safety and working conditions within the correctional system, but we will not compromise on the need for responsible, law-abiding behavior by every single person who walks into a DOCCS facility. Monday, it was initially announced that 11 staff members of the prison were placed on leave. It was not specified what their positions were. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOCCS will terminate health insurance for AWOL correction officers The death came as prison strikes entered a second week. Correctional Officers at nearly all New York prisons were on strike, even after a deal had been struck with intentions to end the strikes, calling for safer work conditions and for the Halt Act to be repealed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. A 15-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday night following the death of his mother at a residence in Caledonia. Around 10:34 p.m., officers with the Caledonia Police Department were dispatched to a single-family home in the 10000 block of East White Manor Court, a cul-de-sac in the Racine County village of Caledonia near Howell and Dunkelow roads. Police say it was initially reported that a juvenile male at the address had possibly killed his mother. Upon arriving on the scene, responding officers were met by the 15-year-old, who was exiting the front door. Police say the teenager surrendered himself to officers without incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers cleared the residence and located an adult female deceased inside. Lifesaving efforts were attempted, police say, but were unsuccessful. Caledonia police say the preliminary investigation indicates the victim was stabbed and also sustained blunt-force trauma. She was identified as the 15-year-old's mother. The teenager remains in custody, and the investigation is ongoing. This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Teenage son arrested after mother found dead in Caledonia home After about a week and a half of life-saving efforts, a 15-year-old boy succumbed to his stab wound in a Riverside County hospital on Tuesday. The stabbing happened around 10:25 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, according to the Hemet Police Department. Dispatch received a call from another boy at the scene, saying his friend had just been stabbed in the 100 block of North Hamilton Avenue. Officers soon arrived and found the 15-year-old victim suffering from a stab wound. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the department, officers began providing lifesaving measures until medical personnel arrived and transported the victim to a local trauma center for further medical treatment. Despite lifesaving efforts, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital, said Hemet police in a release. The victims name is not being released at this time. Police told the San Bernardino Sun that they did not have a suspect in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. Details are limited, and police did not immediately say whether they have a suspect description, but noted that the Hemet Police Departments Investigations Bureau is handling the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Investigator Daniel Cortez at 951-765-2433. Callers can also provide anonymous information through the Hemet Police Departments smartphone app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Mar. 4LIMA The criminal case of a 15-year-old Lima girl involved in a February 2024 robbery that ultimately led to the shooting death of her twin sister has been bound over from Allen County Juvenile Court. The Feb. 11 ruling means Ariel Sterling will face criminal charges as an adult. According to court records, a complaint was filed in Allen County Juvenile Court on March 4, 2024, alleging Sterling was a delinquent child by reason of charges of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony if committed by an adult, with an attached three-year firearm specification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charge stems from a series of incidents that occurred Feb. 13, 2023, in Lima and ultimately resulted in the shooting death later that night of 14-year-old Lauralye Sterling at a Greenlawn Avenue home. Malik Dennis, who admitted firing the shot that killed Sterling, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. Juvenile Court Judge Todd Kohlrieser approved the transfer of Ariel Sterling's case to the General Division of the Court of Common Pleas for criminal prosecution as an adult. Sterling will remain in custody at the Allen County Juvenile Detention Center and is to have no contact with alleged co-defendants Cardarius Burns and Ronnie Brown or their families. Burns, who was 17 at the time of the incident, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery. Brown will be sentenced March 14 following his plea to a similar charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kohlrieser in his order wrote the court finds that Ariel Sterling "did participate in the alleged offense with two other co-defendants ... and was an active participant in their actions that led to the underlying offenses." Sterling has had "multiple involvements with the Allen County Juvenile Court," Kohlrieser noted. Citing a psychological evaluation conducted by Dr. Carla Dreyer, the judge said Sterling was found to be "very impulsive" and lacks remorse. "Upon consideration of all the evidence, the seriousness of the offense, the assurance of public safety and the child's history with the juvenile system, the court does not find there is sufficient time for rehabilitation to occur within the juvenile system," the judge wrote. Featured Local Savings (FOX40.COM) The Merced Police Department arrested a teenager and his father after receiving reports that the teen made threats and had a gun at Golden Valley High School. Police said the report was made after school hours on March 3, to the high school in Merced. Northern California deputies arrest man for an alleged violent crime spree According to police, a concerned parent told school staff that their child had seen a 16-year-old student threaten to harm other students he had conflicts with. Police said there was an additional belief that the student was also in possession of a gun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school resource officer initiated the investigation and the Merced Police Department, along with the high school, worked to identify the suspect. Officers conducted a search of the suspects home, where they found the father had six unsecured firearms. The search also led to the discovery of a BB gun designed to resemble a real gun in the students room. The father was arrested on charges of child endangerment, and all six firearms were seized. The teenager was arrested and booked into juvenile hall on charges related to criminal threats and firearm offenses. The Merced Police Department reminds residents to ensure their firearms are properly secured in their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. We remember and honor those 168 who lost their lives on April 19, 1995, when a bomb went off in front of the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City. 168 Days to remember those lost in the OKC bombing: Jill Diane Randolph. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. We want to remember Jill Diane Randolph, while honoring those who survived and thanking those changed forever. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) 17 News political analysts, Neel Sannappa, a Democrat, and Cathy Abernathy, a Republican, joined 17 News at Sunrise to further discuss President Trumps Tuesday night speech and what to expect. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump addressed to a joint session of Congress recapping his first six weeks in office and laying out his vision for the nations future. Why Trumps speech to Congress isnt a State of the Union address Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America is back, President Trump said during his speech. Tariffs are already in effect and after the presidents speech many people are asking if the presidents plan to improve the economy is the right path. While Abernathy agrees, Sannappa says the tariffs will increase prices for the people and will not work. To hear more on Sannappas and Abernathys take on Presidents Trumps speech, watch the segment in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. A measles outbreak involving more than 150 infected people in Texas has put a spotlight on the role of vaccines in treating preventable diseases especially as childhood vaccination rates have declined for several years. A school-aged child who was not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions died from the outbreak, according to Texas health officials. Parents and caregivers, in particular mothers, make important health decisions for their families. Though it can impact people of different ages, measles is considered a childhood disease and unvaccinated children under 5 years old are among those who are most at risk for severe illness. Heres what parents need to know about measles and vaccines. What is measles? How serious is it? Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. If you do not have immune protection from measles and you come into contact with a person who has been infected or even if you enter a room where an infected person was in the previous two hours it is highly likely you will get infected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, symptoms for measles include: fever cough runny nose red, watery eyes a skin rash Measles can make people very sick: 1 in 20 people get pneumonia; 1 to 3 in 1,000 people get brain swelling (encephalitis); and 1 in 1,000 people die. Children who are infected with measles typically stay home from school. And since symptoms can emerge over several weeks, parents could be out of work for a prolonged period of time to care for their child and keep them in isolation. The recent death of a child who was infected with measles in Texas is the first measles death in the United States in a decade and the first measles death involving a child since 2003. Routine childhood vaccination provides 97 percent protection from measles through the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images) How do you prevent measles? Vaccination is the key to measles prevention. Routine childhood vaccination provides 97 percent protection from measles through the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Following the childhood vaccination schedule, which is reviewed by multiple medical organizations, helps prevent hospitalization, long-term injuries and death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because the disease is so contagious, community protection from measles requires at least 95 percent immunity to prevent outbreaks. How often do measles outbreaks happen in the United States? The widespread use of vaccines has meant that measles has not been common in the United States so much so that it was declared eliminated from the country in 2000. That has changed as parents increasingly decline to vaccinate their children, with emerging instances of measles outbreaks, which involve three or more cases. In 2019, there was an uptick in measles cases, with a major outbreak reported in New York. In 2023, there were four outbreaks. In 2024, there were 16 outbreaks. Three months into 2025, there have been three outbreaks reported. Measles still regularly occurs in many parts of the world, said Dr. Lori Handy, associate director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. There has always been a risk that an unvaccinated child in the United States could be infected with measles from an international traveler who enters the United States. But the risk is greater now amid lower vaccination rates in kindergarten-age children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a parent, its important to update that framework that this is no longer the rare, international traveler brings measles back home to a highly vaccinated country. This is now people within our own country have measles, and we have an under-vaccinated population, and so we are likely to see more spread in more regions, she said. I am vaccinating my child according to the childhood vaccination schedule. How worried should I be about outbreaks? It depends on the age of your child and whether they are old enough to get the MMR vaccine. The first dose is administered between 12 and 15 months old and is 93 percent effective against measles. The second dose, which is administered between 4 and 6 years old, can add an additional 4 percent of immunity. If you and your family are fully vaccinated, you can go about your routine activities, according to Handy. If you are vaccinated but you have a young child who is not old enough to receive an MMR shot, you should make sure that the people around the child are vaccinated. People transmit measles to other people only when they are showing symptoms of the viral infection. A fully vaccinated parent has a very, very low risk of getting infected with the measles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement virus, and therefore should not be a risk to their infant, Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, said in an email. It is important to be aware of outbreaks in your region. Handy said if you live in an outbreak area, be very cautious about bringing a young child who is not yet vaccinated to crowds or avoid it if at all possible. If you find out your child has been exposed, immediately call their pediatrician to learn about post-exposure care that can be taken to prevent infection. At a community level, ensure your friends and family are aware of outbreaks and the importance of vaccination to protect themselves, their children and their community. A parent reads a book about immunizations with their child at a vaccine clinic hosted by the Lubbock Public Health Department in Lubbock, Texas. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images) Can my child receive an MMR shot early? Some children who are traveling abroad can get an MMR shot as early as six months old, but it could still require two doses later. Parents should consult their pediatrician. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Handy added that there can be unusual circumstances; she gave the example of a parent with an 11-month-old traveling into a state or region with an outbreak for a social event like a wedding. That child is on the cusp of being old enough to receive the first dose of the MMR vaccine and may be able to get the shot early even though theyre not traveling abroad. Thats kind of the one-on-one conversation families will have to have with their care provider, she said. Swartzberg said that the most important thing a parent can do is make sure everyone who lives in or visits their home is vaccinated against measles. If someone is ill with a respiratory infection in the household, they should wear an N95 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement mask and stay away from the infant, he added. Children who have received their first MMR shot can receive the second as early as 28 days after the first dose, which may be the best option for people who live in or travel to outbreak areas or are traveling internationally. Handy said a second MMR dose helps individuals who may not have responded to the first dose. About 7 out of 100 people do not become immune after one dose; the second dose brings this down to 3 out of 100. Handy again recommends that parents talk to their pediatricians about the best course of action. Related to the immunization schedule, I think the most practical information that people should have is that the way its designed right now is to give your child the best protection at the earliest time we can safely give vaccines. And with that in mind, deviation from that should be the exception, she said. Im an adult but Im not sure about my vaccination status. How can I check if Ive had the measles vaccine? If you were born before 1957, you have immunity due to the natural spread occurring then. If you were born after 1957 and have access to your records, check these. Most individuals vaccinated after that time will be protected except for a group of people who received a certain type of vaccine prior to 1968. If you do not have access to your records, you can ask your doctor to check your immunity through bloodwork to see if you need a dose of the vaccine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MMR vaccine gives long-lasting protection. No booster is needed, including for parents of young children, said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University. The vaccine is extraordinarily effective, he said. Im pregnant. What should I know about measles? To date, most adults have received the MMR vaccine. A person who did not get the vaccine during childhood should make a plan to get it before they become pregnant by at least a month. If they do not, they should wait until after their pregnancy because the MMR vaccine is a live virus vaccine. Children get the first MMR dose at 12-15 months (93% effective) and the second at 4-6 years, boosting immunity to 97%. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images) Amid the declining rates of childhood vaccination and the measles outbreak, how should I discuss this topic with my family, friends and community if Im not sure about their vaccination status? Handy said that while she hopes parents and others make decisions about vaccination based on the science and one-on-one conversations with their health care providers, she knows people can be convinced to get vaccines because of their social groups. She encourages parents to have honest conversations with fellow parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Help people realize, This is important to me. This is what I do, she said. A lot of people have a lot of questions, and they kind of want to understand whats socially normal here. Handy said parents can also direct fellow parents to medical professionals. Recommend they talk with their health care provider to figure out, Whered you get that information? And how is that helping or potentially harming your child? she said. Because your health care provider is keeping up on all of the science behind vaccines and kind of can help with myths or questions. Schaffner also encouraged open conversations between parents, particularly those having play dates. His biggest concern is in outbreak regions for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youre entitled to ask those other moms or dads, for that matter: If your Susie wants to play with my Johnny, is your Susie vaccinated? he said. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a history of anti-vaccine activism that came up during his Senate confirmation hearings What has he said about the outbreak? Kennedys political ascension as a one-time presidential candidate and now as the head of the federal health department comes from a platform of promising to Make America Healthy Again through policy that purports to address childrens health issues. The messaging has resonated with some parents, while others are skeptical given Kennedys lack of formal medical and science training and years of anti-vaccine activism. During his first public remarks on the Texas outbreak, Kennedy said measles outbreaks are not unusual a description that drew criticism from some health experts because the number of cases related to this outbreak is particularly high. Kennedy also did not mention vaccination. A few days later, Kennedy posted an op-ed where he more clearly acknowledged the severity of the outbreak and the need for vaccination. Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their childrens health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine. The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons. There is a lot of information being shared online about vaccines. Where can I get factual information? Handy recommended that parents review information available on the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, which provides information on vaccine science, including its safety. She also noted the American Academy of Pediatrics has guides on vaccination, as does the American Academy of Family Physicians. Parents can look to those sites and see, where are those organizations potentially diverging from some other messaging in MAHA? she said. We really should be looking to those who have spent decades, if not centuries, protecting children and rely on that information. The post The 19th Explains: What parents need to know about the measles vaccine appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter. LITHIA, Fla. (WFLA) Two men have been arrested after multiple burglaries at different businesses in Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office announced. On Feb. 20, deputies responded to a Pinch A Penny at 16715 Fishhawk Boulevard in Lithia, in regards to a burglary. During an investigation, deputies learned someone removed a pool heater from behind the business by cutting a locked fence. Surveillance footage showed a Nissan Pathfinder driving around the Pinch A Penny. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 3, deputies responded to a Hungry Howies at 6517 Fishhawk Boulevard in Lithia after a refrigerator unit was stolen. We will kidnap and kill his kids: Tampa dentist gets prison time for racist, violent messages to public figures, election official The same vehicle was seen on surveillance video near the restaurant during the burglary, deputies said. That same night, deputies responded to Wayback Burgers restaurant in Fishhawk where surveillance video showed two men stacking aluminum chairs from the restaurant patio area and carrying them to their vehicle. According to HCSO, detectives connected the burglaries to Matthew Pierson, 34, and Jonathan Gray, 33. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The slab the refrigerator unit was on at Hungry Howies was found at Piersons home. 1 dead, 1 injured after shooting at Hillsborough basketball court: HCSO If you target businesses in our community, know this, we will investigate, and you will be caught, said Sheriff Chad Chronister. I am proud of the work of our dedicated detectives who work tirelessly to stop criminals in their tracks and hold them accountable. Pierson was arrested and charged with: Burglary of an unoccupied structure Felonly petit theft Trespass in an unoccupied structure or conveyance Criminal mischief $200 or less Grand theft third degree ($750-$5,000) Dealing in stolen property Criminal mischief (more than $200, less than $1,000) Grand theft third degree ($5,000- ($10,000) Burglary of an unoccupied structure Out-of-county warrant: violation of probation felony petit theft Out-of-county warrant: probable cause violation of probation petit theft/ 3rd conviction Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gray was arrested and charged with grand theft third-degree ($750-$1,000) and dealing in stolen property. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Search and rescue teams in Riverside County, California, braved rugged terrain and frigid temperatures to rescue two hikers who fell down a cliff. Body-worn camera footage of the ordeal was released on Tuesday. The rescue efforts started on March 1, when, according to the Riverside County Sheriffs Office, a male and female hiker fell roughly 800 feet down a snowy cliff from a ridgeline trail above Idyllwild. Riverside Sheriff helicopter Rescue 9 initially responded and made several attempts to hoist the victims out, but could not due to very high winds, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orange County Fire Authority and Cal Fire also sent helicopter crews. Still, they couldnt reach the victims, so a ground team of volunteers from the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit was dispatched and stayed with them through the night. The next day brought even more challenges and frustration. Several attempts were made by helicopter but were unsuccessful due to mountain obscuration and high turbulence surface winds, the sheriffs office said. So, the victims and ground crews hunkered down for a second frigid night. Finally, on Tuesday morning, after three attempts and under less-than-ideal windy conditions, Riverside Countys Rescue 9 helicopter crew was able to pull off a hoist rescue. An injured hiker is hoisted into a Riverside County Sheriffs Office rescue helicopter on March 3, 2025. (RCSO) Body camera video shows a rescuer descending into the forest, narrowly missing trees, and eventually landing on the snow-covered terrain where he was met by ground crews and directed to the victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The male hiker, who was the most severely injured, was hoisted into the helicopter and flown to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment, authorities said. A Cal Fire helicopter crew then flew in and hoisted the female hiker out. Their conditions were not available on Wednesday. Many, many thanks to all those ground crews that were involved as well as all the helicopter crews who were involved in this rescue, the sheriffs office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. SINGAPORE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Social media platforms must respond more effectively and promptly to user reports, as most currently take an average of five days or longer to act, according to Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information. In response to a parliamentary question on the impact of delayed content removal on children, the ministry noted that in many cases, content violating community guidelines remained accessible even after being reported. A recent government assessment of six designated social media services revealed shortcomings in user safety measures, particularly on X and HardwareZone. The assessment found that these platforms frequently failed to enforce their own community guidelines, exposing children to inappropriate content. Even for platforms that performed better in this area, such as Facebook and YouTube, "children could still access some age-inappropriate content," the ministry said. A recent report released by Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) highlighted concerns about online safety. It found that "children's accounts on X could easily access explicit adult sexual content," with similar risks identified on Facebook, YouTube and HardwareZone. Online safety remains a key focus for the Singaporean government. In July 2023, Singapore introduced the Code of Practice for Online Safety, requiring designated social media platforms to minimize exposure to harmful content and improve reporting tools. In January 2025, the government expanded these efforts by introducing the Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services, which mandates age assurance measures for app platforms. This new code will take effect on March 31. The IMDA will review social media platforms' responses when their next annual online safety reports are due in June 2025. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Two women were hospitalized after being shot in Springfield on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Clark County Regional Dispatch, the shooting happened in the 1200 block of South Center Street at approximately 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4. Officials said both women drove to a nearby hospital without a medic transport for treatment of the gunshot wounds. The incident is still under active investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 NEWS will update this article as more information is available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) Two men were arrested Tuesday in Escambia County, Florida, and are accused of drug trafficking, according to the sheriffs office. WEATHER ALERT: Tornado Watches in Effect for the Gulf Coast According to an ECSO Facebook post, deputies found trafficking amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, xanax, marijuana, oxycodone and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. (Escambia County Sheriffs Office) The traffic stop happened on Pensacola Boulevard and resulted in two arrests. William Coleman, left, and John Peeterse, right. (Escambia County Sheriffs Office) Strong winds cause trashnado at Mobile Mardi Gras parade Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement William Coleman, 42, is accused of three counts of trafficking drugs, three counts of drug possession, marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia possession, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and smuggling contraband. John Peeterse, 34, of Fort Walton Beach, is accused of three counts of trafficking drugs, three counts of drug possession, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. Two Walton County men are behind bars after they were accused of distributing child pornography. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, both investigations began in Oct. 2024 after receiving information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit began investigating the internet activity of William Grady Scott, 36, of Loganville. The investigation led to a search of his home. The GBI said agents learned Scott was found to distributing child porn using a messaging platform. Scott was arrested on Feb. 26 and charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the same month, the GBI also began investigating 18-year-old Samuel Berkovich, of Monroe, for his internet activity. The investigation led to a search warrant of his home, where GBI agents said they found him distributing child porn over the internet using multiple social media platforms. He was arrested on Feb. 27 and charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children. Both men were booked into the Walton County Jail. The investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation can call the GBI CEACC Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTiplines website. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) An important day for the Buckhannon community was celebrated as the Rotary Club hosted its 3rd Annual Service Above Self award presentation Tuesday. The event recognized two outstanding individuals for their selfless contributions to the community. Those honorees are Lisa Wood George, founder of the Feed My Sheep Food Outreach in Upshur Countyand a Remarkable Women 2024 Finalist, as well as Ian Strader, who heroically rescued a neighbor from her burning home last year. Stone Tower Brews opening location on college campus Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Service Above Self award, established three years ago, has previously honored local heroes such as Sheriff Mike Coffman, who was injured in the line of duty, and members of the Buckhannon Fire Department for their life-saving efforts. Rotary is a service organization. Our motto is service above self, so when we see these people in our community doing service unselfishly, then we felt that we wanted to recognize and honor them, Rotary District 545 District Membership Chair David Long said. As part of the tradition, the Rotary Club made a $100 contribution in the name of each of the honorees, which will be donated to the charity of their choice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. ROBESON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A South Carolina man has been arrested and two other suspects are wanted in connection with a February convenience store robbery, the Robeson County Sheriffs Office said. Ciontae L. Owens, 24, of Sumter, was arrested in Sumter and is charged with felony conspiracy, robbery with a dangerous weapon, second degree kidnapping, and misdemeanor assault. He is being held at the Sumter County Detention Center without bond and will be extradited to North Carolina, the sheriffs office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legend Reed, 20, and Jeremy Sealey, 32, both of Sumter, are also wanted for felony conspiracy, robbery with a dangerous weapon, second degree kidnapping, and misdemeanor assault. The robbery happened around 4:35 a.m. on Feb. 21 at Billy Coxs Grocery at 9108 Highway 41 North in Lumberton. The 90-year-old store owner was assaulted, according to deputies who responded to the scene. The investigation is ongoing and is being investigated by the Robeson County Sheriffs Office Investigations Division. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Sumter County Sheriffs Office, the Horry County Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Fugitive Task Force are assisting. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Reed and Sealey or the case is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriffs Office at (910) 671-3170. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Count on News13 for updates. * * * Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. The worlds first vehicles were used some 20,000 years ago, scientists now suggest after drag marks were discovered beside human footprints in New Mexico. The prehistoric markings were found in White Sands National Park by a team from Bournemouth University. The parallel and single-line racks were preserved in dried mud and buried by sediment, according to their findings published in Quaternary Science Advances, which added that they were likely made by a primitive transport device consisting of two wooden poles tied together. This vehicle, called a travois, was used by Indigenous people from the Americas to carry goods throughout history, but this finding implies that the technology was developed thousands of years earlier than once believed. More from Robb Report Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know that our earliest ancestors must have used some form of transport to carry their possessions as they migrated around the world, but evidence in the form of wooden vehicles has rotted away, Matthew Bennett, a co-author of the study, told Archaeology Magazine. These drag marks give us the first indication of how they moved heavy and bulky loads around before wheeled vehicles existed. The tracks identified in New Mexico, some of which measure as long as 165 feet, were made by an X-shaped travois, while the varying size of the footprints suggest that children were in the group traveling by footBennett compared the scene to a family pushing a shopping cart, minus the wheels. To verify their discovery, Bennett and the others dragged replica travois across mudflats in Dorset, United Kingdom, as well as on the coast of Maine, in the northeastern United States. Tests confirmed that the mud tracks matched the prehistoric markings made at White Sands. While research in the area had unearthed human footprints left some 23,000 years, scientists largely believed that of humans entered the North America continent around 15,000 years ago. The discovery of travois marks, however, has introduced the possibility that human migration began thousands of years earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every discovery at White Sands adds to our understanding of the lives of the first people to settle in the Americas. These people were the first migrants to travel to North America, and understanding more about how they moved around is vital to telling their story, Sally Reynolds, another co-author of the study and a paleontologist at Bournemouth University, said in a statement. Sign up for RobbReports's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Police officers who nearly three years ago shot and critically wounded a teenager barreling toward an NYPD officer trying to stop the teens car in the Bronx were justified in their use of force, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced Tuesday. An investigation into the March 6, 2022, shooting that resulted in life-altering brain damage for 18-year-old Luis Manuel Monsanto concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing by the officers involved. According to the report, Manuel Monsanto was behind the wheel of his friends Jeep Compass zipping northbound on Third Ave. near E. 163rd St. in Morrisania when he swerved over a double yellow line and around cars stopped at a red light at Boston Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Manuel Monsanto sped through the steady red light just before 8 p.m., Officers Will Rodriguez, Lauren Moriarty and John Batule noticed his erratic driving. They attempted to pull him over, with Rodriguez maneuvering his vehicle past the drivers side of the Jeep and pulling in front at an angle, effectively blocking the teens path and preventing him from driving away. The officers got out of their car to talk with the driver, but as a second police vehicle arrived on the scene, Manuel Monsanto reversed, smashing into it. Dude, just stop, cops heard Manuel Monsantos friend beg from the backseat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the teen put the Jeep in drive and accelerated forward, toward where Rodriguez was standing in the street. Both the officer and Moriarty fired their weapons, prosecutors found. One of the four bullets fired struck Manuel Monsanto in the head, with the Jeep coming to a stop when it crashed into a nearby building. Medics rushed the Clifton, N.J., teen to Lincoln Hospital, where he remained for four weeks as his condition gradually improved. He was then transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital for the following four months, during which time he regained the ability to walk short distances with the aid of a cane, and could respond to questions with yes or no. However, he did not regain the ability to form complete sentences, the district attorneys office stated. Clarks office combed over a body-worn camera, surveillance footage and witness interviews, and determined that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers committed a crime by firing at a car that was accelerating towards one of them on a busy city street, the report reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manuel Monsanto will never fully recover from his injuries, according to the district attorneys findings. I pray for Mr. Monsanto, and I am sorry his loved ones must endure such hardship, Clark said in a statement. This devastating tragedy demands a thorough investigation to provide answers to his family and to the Bronx community at large. None of the police officers involved in the shooting were injured. These police officers were forced to make a split-second decision in a life-threatening situation, PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement. We are grateful that the district attorney conducted a careful and thorough investigation in order to reach a conclusion based on the facts and the law. Mar. 5Name Brian Snow What office are you seeking? 2nd Ward alderman What is your political party? Candidate did not respond. What is your current age? 57 Occupation and employer: Self-employed What offices, if any, have you previously held? 2nd Ward alderman, five terms, 20 years City Rock Falls Campaign website Candidate did not respond. Education High school Community involvement * Help out at city events * Member at the Rock Falls Eagle Club Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Member at Sterling Moose Club * Volunteer auction services for benefits for people needing to raise money Marital status/immediate family Single. I have one boy and daughter. The demolition of the Micro Industries building carried with it quite a bit of discussion in the months before it was taken down. What do you believe the next steps should be for that property? Redevelopment property for retail space creating tax revenue. What do you believe are the top three issues that the city is facing right now? * Funding for grants for infrastructure, roads, sewer and water * Labor force with quality employees needed for economic development Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Bureaucracy of government grants' taking of manpower Rock Falls voters will be asked to vote in April on whether to approve a public safety sales tax to help pay for 911 services in Whiteside County. Do you support this tax? If not, what are your reasons for not supporting it? Yes. If we don't pass this sales tax, this cost will affect our city budget. The 50-cent tax is equal to 5 cents per $100. How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community? We need to enact and provide incentives on a sliding scale to bring economic development to our community for corporations, and also to be able to provide a quality workforce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city? We currently have Whiteside County transportation, cab company and Uber as a resource for transportation. What role should the City Council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth? We need to be involved in supporting all of the local businesses in our community, utilizing them whenever we need services. We definitely need to promote our residents to shop local. Our chamber of commerce does a fantastic job of supporting and advertising shopping local. What are your top public safety concerns for our community, and how would you propose addressing them? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement School zones when children are coming and going to school. We have police presence at schools during school days. Crime, theft, drugs. Our police department does a great job on investigating and prosecuting crimes. Unfortunately, in 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court declared the legislation ending cash bail is constitutional. This has made it hard on all police departments in the state. We need to have our legislators work to reenact the cash bail system to keep criminals off the streets. How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents? Make sure all residents are included in decisions by public notice. Our city meetings our very transparent and are open to the public and published to hear their voice on all decisions that are being voted on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I answer all phone calls and concerns from all residents. On a very important issue, I will go out and talk to people on important items coming to vote. My role is to serve the people. That's who I work for. Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this? Yes, I do support. If a conflict should arise, they are asked to recuse their vote. How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents? My phone, email and text are always open for communication. I think we need to ask ourselves: "What makes a good and productive City Council?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My observation I have been seated for 20 years is that we all need to build professional relationships. When a vote doesn't go the way you want it to, you need not take it personal. This is how a good democracy moves forward and achieves the best it can be for the residents and the city. Come into the chambers and leave professional. I have been honored that the people of the city of Rock Falls in the 2nd Ward have allowed me to serve and be their voice for the last five terms. I look forward to another four years of serving you, the people. Twenty-five Canadian suspects are charged with bilking American elders of $21 million as part of a "grandparent scam," according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. All 25, said to have operated out of Montreal and resided there or elsewhere in the province of Quebec, were charged with wire fraud in a case alleging they were part of a tech-savvy operation that victimized hundreds of U.S. retirees, the U.S. attorney for Vermont said in a statement. Thomas Demeo, special agent in charge of the Boston field office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, said the defendants were part of a "transnational criminal enterprise with the sole intent of defrauding hundreds of retirees of their life savings by preying on their emotions and deceiving them into thinking that their loved ones were in peril." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twenty-three of the 25 suspects were arrested in Canada on Tuesday, according to the statement. Two remain at large; the statement didnt indicate where they are believed to be. Prosecutors said defendants used a narrative known to law enforcement as the "grandparent scam": A grandparent is called and urged to send thousands of dollars to bail out a teenage or adult grandchild who was in a vehicle collision and then arrested. As part of the story, victims are told that the grandchild's case is under a strict gag order and that they're prohibited from telling anyone about their request for money, prosecutors said. Investigators found victims in 40 states, from Alabama to Wyoming, according to the indictment and the statement. While federal prosecutors estimated the operations earnings at $21 million, it wasnt clear what individual victims lost. The federal grand jury indictment, filed under seal Feb. 20 in Vermont, where some of the victims live, includes an additional charge of money laundering for five of the suspects, who are alleged to have tried to hide the origins of their gains, the document said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Vermont didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. U.S. prosecutors said some of the defendants were making calls to potential victims in Vermont when they were found at Montreal-area call centers in June during raids by Canadian law enforcement officials. The U.S. attorney's statement indicated the operation had been active since 2021. Five of the suspects, including the two who have yet to be arrested, helped manage the call centers, according to the U.S. attorney's statement. The indictment alleged all the defendants were part of a sophisticated operation, with some specializing in cold calling potential victims and, if they got traction, handing the calls off to "closers" who would try to get the potential victims to send money or have the cash ready for pickup. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The calls were based on spreadsheets detailing information about potential victims, including names, addresses, phone numbers and estimated household incomes, according to the indictment. The operation relied on contemporary technology that was used to mask calls coming from Quebec so they appeared to come from the United States, prosecutors said in the indictment. The scammers frequently changed their phone numbers by switching the SIM cards on phones they used, prosecutors said. The operation had associates posing as bail bond firm workers pick up cash from victims' homes, prosecutors said in the indictment, but sometimes a victim was in an area out of reach. That's when, prosecutors allege, the defendants used ride-hailing services that offer pickup and delivery to collect the money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other times, they would have victims mail the money to a home they had identified as abandoned through searches on real estate websites, according to the indictment. And when it came time to get the gains to Canada, prosecutors said in Tuesday's statement, the suspects sometimes used cryptocurrency to obscure the source of the money. Prosecutors will seek forfeiture of the allegedly stolen funds, according to the indictment. The five defendants who face charges of wire fraud and money laundering face the possibility of 40 years behind bars if they are convicted, according to the U.S. attorney's statement. The 20 who face a single charge, that of wire fraud, would face 20 years, it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendants havent appeared in federal court, according to court records, and its unclear whether they have lawyers. The federal public defenders office for Vermont didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Three federal properties in Utah are listed among hundreds of other properties that have been designated for disposal by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The IRS Service Center in Ogden, the St. George Federal Building, and the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake were deemed non-core properties by the GSAs Public Building Service. Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce, the GSA explained in a statement on March 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What could the tariffs on Canada, Mexico mean for Utahns? The GSA said buildings that have been deemed not core to government operations are mostly used for office space. It has said most of the spaces it manages in Utah are office spaces, with the IRS and Forest Service being the primary tenants. On the national level, more than 400 properties have been listed to be closed or sold, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, the Associated Press reports. The GSA explained that the non-core assets make up almost 80 million rentable square feet and are worth more than $8.3 billion in recapitalization needs. The buildings in Utah total more than 830,000 square feet, according to the GSA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall, the GSA says it manages more than 360 million square feet of rentable space and more than $110 billion in products and services. The GSA said it is working to ensure taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space or the associated maintenance costs for those buildings. GSAs mission is to enhance government efficiency and service delivery to the American people, it explains. The designations come as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musks efforts to decrease government spending and the size of the federal government. Canceled office leases have been listed on the website for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Associated Press contributed to this report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. YANGON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities have seized a significant amount of narcotics, the state-run daily The Mirror reported on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, anti-narcotics police searched a vehicle that had stopped at a bus station on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway on Feb. 16 and confiscated 440 kg of ICE (methamphetamine). Further investigations led to the seizure of 700 kg of ICE in Mingaladon township of Yangon region, the report said. Additionally, 260 kg of ICE and 400 heroin blocks weighing 168 kg were seized in Mayangone township of Yangon region, it added. Individuals linked to the drug case have been charged under the country's law, and further investigations are ongoing, the report said. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) We have an update on those three puppies we told you about back in January that were reportedly abandoned inside a dumpster in Sioux Falls. We later found out that story wasnt true. Jackley shares $7,242 worth of travel vouchers Authorities say the person who owned them made up the whole story to get rid of the puppies, because they didnt want to care for them. Despite all that, the puppies are healthy and growing thanks to a caring foster family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meet Birdie, Brodie, and Bo; the three puppies who captured the hearts of a lot of our viewers. Theyve been in foster care for the past nine weeks with Aubrey Byrnes and her husband. When they got them, Aubrey says she was scared for them. Just making sure that theyd survive the first couple of nights to be honest, because we didnt know how the first couple of nights were going to go, Byrnes said. But thankfully they nursed them back to health with a lot of food, warmth, and love. The puppies are now 10 weeks old and theyve already been fixed and vaccinated. They will be ready for adoption in about a week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though the puppies are fine now, Animal Control still wants the original owner held accountable. The puppies were never abandoned and there were false statements made and we are working with the states attorneys office to pursue charges, Animal Control supervisor Patty Beckman said. The Byrnes have fostered other dogs before, but never puppies. Aubrey says theyre kind of like family now and its going to be hard to say good-bye, but they take comfort knowing theres hope for them now. Just that they find a forever home, they get loved, and cared for like they deserve, they are the best dogs anybody; I mean they are snuggly and they want to play and they want love just like any other dog, they truly are the best, Byrnes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre interested in seeing the puppies in person and are willing to adopt one, contact Almost Home Canine Rescue. click here Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A Kyle man has been sentenced for beating his girlfriend inside a car. Patrick Garrett, 30, was sentenced to a year in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S> Attorneys Office for South Dakota. In April 2024, Garrett was with his girlfriend and their two young children. An argument took place inside a car between Garrett and his girlfriend. Once the car stopped, his girlfriend exited the vehicle and attempted to remove their children from the car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rounds gives thoughts on the address to Congress Garrett did not want her and their children to leave. Garrett exited the vehicle, restrained her, pushed her to the ground, and got on top of her. Garrett then forced her into the backseat of the car. She attempted to call 911 and Garrett took the phone and threw it out of the window of the car. During the drive, Garrett struck her on the legs with his fist and yelled at her. When the vehicle stopped again, the girlfriend was able to run for help and was transported to the hospital for bodily injuries from the assault. An individual in the area of the dispute called 911 and reported to dispatch that she observed a woman shouting for help from the rear of the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Over the weekend a bus crash in Bolivia claimed the lives of 37 after two busses collided after one of the buses encroached into the oncoming lane. "As a result of this fatal accident we have 39 people injured in four hospitals in the town of Uyuni, and 37 people have lost their lives," a spokesman for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi told reporters. Just three days later another bus crash in Bolivia has claimed the lives of 31 people with another 22 injured after a bus was sent plunging down a ravine after a collision with an SUV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police spokesperson Limbert Choque confirmed the death toll, which he said included both men and women, as ambulances and emergency vehicles arrived at the scene of the accident, according to a report from Reuters. Another 22 people suffered injuries. According to police, the bus plunged 500 meters (1,640 feet) down a ravine after the collision, which took place on the highway between Oruro and the highland mining city of Potosi. Luis Arce, who took over a Bolivia's president in 2020, offered condolences for the families in a post on social media. "This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities," he said in a post on Facebook. "We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police allegedly arrested the driver of the SUV as the cause of the accident remains under investigation. In February more than 30 people were killed when a bus plunged almost 800m (2625 ft) into a ravine in a similar location. Related: Weather Channel Sends Warning Amid Lola Blizzard Threat Ordinarily I might be a little reticent about offering advice to world leaders on how to conduct international relations. Then again, I never expected someone as high-profile as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys to perform so miserably as he did at his meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office last week. Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned. Well start with the easy stuff: Dress appropriately. Yes, it sounds petty. At some levels, given the gravity of everything happening in the world, it probably is. But it counts. Trump appears to be willing to let Elon Musk get away with the jeans-and-t-shirt getup, but maybe the richest man in the world has his own set of rules. Also, maybe their relationship is much stronger than others and Elon doesnt need to make a good impression or maybe Trump isnt all good with it and just hasnt had a public blowup yet with Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I remember specifically one occasion, at a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan, when Trump complained about my socks. Which is to say, he pays attention to that sort of thing. There was a reason he greeted Zelensky with the sarcastic line about getting all dressed up. He noticed and took it as a slight. Was it intended as such? It doesnt matter. Often, in politics, perception is reality. Second, if English isnt your first language, you should use an interpreter. There was one exchange where someone in the Oval Office asked Zelensky about his attire, and his response was something to the effect that when the war was over he would wear the costume. Afterward but only afterward I learned that costume is the literal translation of the Ukrainian word for suit. But afterward is too late. Personally, if I were sitting there in a suit and heard that, I might be wondering if the guy had just called me a clown. Thats not helpful. World leaders use interpreters for a reason when having high-level meetings to avoid such subtle misunderstandings. During Trumps first term, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would use interpreters for the serious discussions, and they both speak nearly perfect English. Idle chit-chat? Dinner conversation? Different stories. But for the really critical stuff, you cannot afford to have something go sideways over a misinterpreted word or phrase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Third moving away from the procedural and to the substantive have the hard conversations when the doors are closed and the cameras are off. Bilateral meetings like Fridays are typically scripted events. The routine is well-known to almost everyone. You smile for the cameras and shake of hands. Everybody says how productive the meetings were, and how much they look forward to continued dialogue. At the very worst, you might say something like, We dont see eye-to-eye on everything, but we are continuing to talk. In the world of bilateral meetings, that is about as close as you should ever get to confrontation. The famous scene in the Love Actually film where the British prime minster (High Grant) takes the American president (Billy Bob Thornton) to task is pure Hollywood fiction. Finally and this is probably the most difficult but also the most important point leaders need to realize when they are an impediment to getting a deal done. I think that some would suggest that personalities dont or shouldnt play a role in international affairs, that geopolitical decision-making should be driven exclusively by facts and circumstances, national interests and long-term considerations. And yes, those things play a role. But to think that just because people get elected to office makes them something other than human is to deny our nature. Personalities matter. Likeability matters. Demeanor matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When those things are an impediment to a relationship, or to getting a deal done as Zelenskys is you need to give strong consideration to getting out of the way. We saw this with John Bolton in the first Trump administration. Several foreign governments did not want him at the table, ever. Whether that was policy or personality doesnt matter. If people dont even want to deal with you, it is impossible to convince them that they are wrong. Most top-tier world leaders know all of this. But decisions arent made just by them in this world. It is somewhat sad to think that the well-being of thousands millions, even can turn on naive mistakes by unprepared leaders like Zelensky. But they do. I have no idea whether Zelensky will come back to Washington to try to fix things. Part of me hopes he does, but another part of me worries that he might only make things worse. At least other leaders might learn from his mistakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman from South Carolina, is a contributor to NewsNation. He served as director of the Office of Management and Budget, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and White House chief of staff under President Donald Trump. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) Five men from Pennsylvania are among the nine suspects charged in the robbery and assault that happened at Casa DAmici in Morgantown on Feb. 9. According to criminal complaints obtained by 12 News on Tuesday, Daniel Hudock, 20 of Charleroi, Pa., Eric Hill, 21 of Monongahela, Pa., Keith Cushenberry, 21 of West Mifflin, Pa., and Cameron Diggs, 18 of Monessen, Pa., were all charged in the case. All four were charged with both charged with malicious assault, conspiracy to commit malicious assault, and Hudock and Hill were also charged with first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according criminal complaints filed by the Morgantown Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were among the nine suspects that were identified from a video taken by a witness of the assault. All four were identified in the video striking the victim, and Cushenberry, Hudock, and Hill are all accused of hitting the victim while he was laying motionless, face down on the ground, officers said. Former Upshur County Senior Center director arrested for embezzlement Hudock is accused of throwing a metal chair at the victims back, and Hill allegedly threw a table on the victim while he was unresponsive, according to complaints. Hill also allegedly grabbed a diamond necklace from the suspects neck during the incident, and Hudock grabbed it, the complaints said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eli Marva, 22 of Uniontown, Pennsylvania and Rylan Rock, 18 of Clarksburg, have also been charged with malicious assault in the case. None of the named suspects are listed in the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation database as of publication. The names of the remaining suspects have not been released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. A 4-year-old boy died in a Brooklyn family shelter on Tuesday after possible exposure to fentanyl, according to the New York Police Department. Police responded to a 911 call at approximately 8:09 a.m. on Tuesday for an "aided male" at an address for the Women In Need shelter in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. When police arrived on the scene, "officers were informed a 4-year-old male had a medical episode" and the boy was taken to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition, the NYPD told ABC News. PHOTO: NYPD logo on a police car. (Tim Drivas Photography/Getty Images) The child was "subsequently pronounced deceased at the hospital," police said. The medical examiner has yet to confirm the cause of death, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said drug paraphernalia was discovered at the scene and detectives suspect the boy was exposed to fentanyl. The boy's parents are being questioned, but police said no arrests have been made at this time. Women In Need said in a statement they are "devastated" about the situation and will "continue to support" police with their investigation. MORE: Drug overdose deaths fall in 2023 for 1st time since pandemic began: CDC "We remain committed as ever to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all families that call a WIN shelter home," the shelter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NYPD said this investigation remains ongoing. According to a 2024 press release from America's Poison Centers, calls to poison centers for illicit fentanyl exposure in children under the age of 6 increased from 10 cases in 2016 to 539 in 2023. But overall, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 24% decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024, according to a press release. -ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report 4-year-old boy dies in NYC family shelter after possible fentanyl exposure: Police originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Elon Musks role as an unofficial federal government overseer under President Donald Trump has raised concerns about how that role might impact the Social Security Administration (SSA). Although Trump himself has promised (more than once) that Social Security wont be touched, recent events paint a different picture. On Feb. 28, the SSA announced plans to cut about 7,000 jobs as part of Trumps executive order to slash the federal budget and workforce. That followed an earlier announcement that the SSA would eliminate 41 jobs and close at least 10 SSA offices, ProPublica reported. Be Aware: Elon Musk Asks for Reason US Cant Afford Healthcare Mark Cuban Gives 7 (and a Solution) Read Next: 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth Its unclear how much influence Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had on the SSA cuts. But the Tesla CEO and worlds richest person undoubtedly has set off alarm bells as he takes aim at every corner of the U.S. government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Social Security will probably be the first beloved program by Americans that these DOGE boys break, former Social Security Commissioner Martin OMalley told the Baltimore Sun. And theyre on their way to doing it by driving people out of the agency. Here are four things to watch for as Musk and DOGE take on Social Security. Compromised Data One of the most worrying aspects of Musks dive into government programs and benefits is that he and his DOGE team have been granted access to tens of millions of Social Security records that include highly sensitive personal information. One fear is that the information will get into the wrong hands and lead to a surge in scams targeting Social Security recipients. SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Securitys means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income, Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said in a recent statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Older people are disproportionately susceptible to scams. The data at SSA leaking would make the numbers of scams skyrocket. Learn More: Social Security Benefits Might Be Harder To Qualify for in the Future Heres What You Need To Know Office Closures Musk has put a high priority on closing down government offices and emptying out buildings, and thats already happening at the SSA. In its Feb. 28 press release, the agency said its regional structure of 10 offices is no longer sustainable and that it aims to reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. According to ProPublica, the SSA has more than 1,200 regional and field offices that serve 119,000 Social Security recipients every business day. Closing down offices will likely make it harder for many recipients to access services and have their questions answered. Staff Layoffs As with office closings, this is something thats already happening at the SSA and it couldnt have come at a worse time, according to Rich Couture, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)s SSA General Committee, a union that represents about representing roughly 42,000 Social Security workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SSA is at its lowest staffing levels in 50 years while taking care of more Americans than ever, Couture said in a statement shared with NPR. We need to retain our frontline workers who directly serve the public as well as those workers who provide critical support for the frontlines. Any cuts will ultimately hurt the public and undermine delivery of Social Security benefits. Longer Waiting Times Long wait times to access benefits and have questions answered is already a major problem at the SSA. It will likely worsen if the agency drastically reduces staff and field offices, experts said. This is especially true of disability benefits, which are cumbersome and difficult to navigate, Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told NPR. About 10,000 claimants who appealed for their benefits die waiting for their claim to be resolved. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 4 Things To Watch for as Elon Musk Takes on Social Security (NewsNation) Target, a private company not required to follow President Donald Trumps orders to dismiss diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, did just that in January. The Minnesota-based chain announced on Jan. 24 it was ending its hiring, supplier recruitment and promotion goals for women, members of racial minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities. Target had previously been hailed as an inclusive company, in part because of its six-figure donations to groups championing Black economic empowerment and LGBTQ+ acceptance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of Education Department staffers on leave amid Trumps DEI purge Though its not the only Fortune 500 company backtracking on DEI, its facing major customer blowback and a new boycott. Target boycott: Pastor suggests dropping retailer for Lent One Atlanta-area megachurch pastor, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, asked dispirited Target shoppers to fast from the retailer for the 40 days of Lent. Bryant asked participants to abstain from shopping at Target, in-person or online, and to sell personal stocks and shareholdings with Target Corporation. This is a fast for accountability. A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities. As we journey through these 40 days, let us pray, reflect, and act knowing that our collective sacrifice can bring about transformation, the movements website reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bryant and other leaders plan to meet with Targets board when the fast ends on April 17 to assess whether we will proceed to Phase 2. No details about a second phase have been shared yet. Target braces for Trumps tariff impact Target recorded soft sales in February and a 13% drop in stock price in the past month, a forecast likely made murkier by Trumps tariffs on top trading partners Canada and Mexico. Target said that back in 2017, 60% of its store-label products were sourced from China. The stock market is down: Are Trumps tariffs to blame? Thats now at 30%, Target executives said. The company is on its way to reducing that number to 25% by the end of next year, the company said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Target plans to add 20 new stores this year, and it expects to add $15 billion in sales by 2030. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. (NewsNation) Target, a private company not required to follow President Trumps orders to dismiss diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, did just that in January. The Minnesota-based chain announced on Jan. 24 it was ending its hiring, supplier recruitment and promotion goals for women, members of racial minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities. Target had previously been hailed as an inclusive company, in part because of its six-figure donations to groups championing Black economic empowerment and LGBTQ+ acceptance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of Education Department staffers on leave amid Trumps DEI purge Though its not the only Fortune 500 company backtracking on DEI, its facing major customer blowback and a new boycott. Target boycott: Pastor suggests dropping retailer for Lent One Atlanta-area megachurch pastor, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, asked dispirited Target shoppers to fast from the retailer for the 40 days of Lent. Bryant asked participants to abstain from shopping at Target, in-person or online, and to sell personal stocks and shareholdings with Target Corporation. This is a fast for accountability. A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities. As we journey through these 40 days, let us pray, reflect, and act knowing that our collective sacrifice can bring about transformation, the movements website reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bryant and other leaders plan to meet with Targets board when the fast ends on April 17 to assess whether we will proceed to Phase 2. No details about a second phase have been shared yet. Target braces for Trumps tariff impact Target recorded soft sales in February and a 13% drop in stock price in the past month, a forecast likely made murkier by Trumps tariffs on top trading partners Canada and Mexico. Target said that back in 2017, 60% of its store-label products were sourced from China. The stock market is down: Are Trumps tariffs to blame? Thats now at 30%, Target executives said. The company is on its way to reducing that number to 25% by the end of next year, the company said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Target plans to add 20 new stores this year, and it expects to add $15 billion in sales by 2030. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (NewsNation) Target, a private company not required to follow President Donald Trumps orders to dismiss diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, did just that in January. The Minnesota-based chain announced on Jan. 24 that it was ending its hiring, supplier recruitment and promotion goals for women, members of racial minority groups, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities. Though its not the only major company backtracking on DEI, its facing major customer blowback and a new boycott. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats in part because Target had previously been hailed as an inclusive company, having made six-figure donations to groups championing Black economic empowerment and LGBTQ+ acceptance in the past. Dozens of Education Department staffers on leave amid Trumps DEI purge Other companies like Walmart and John Deere have announced similar changes to their DEI initiatives, CNN reports, but havent seen the same ire from customers. Target boycott: Pastor suggests dropping retailer for Lent One Atlanta-area megachurch pastor, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, asked dispirited Target shoppers to fast from the retailer for the 40 days of Lent. Bryant asked participants to abstain from shopping at Target, in-person or online, and to sell personal stocks and shareholdings with Target Corporation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a fast for accountability. A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities. As we journey through these 40 days, let us pray, reflect, and act knowing that our collective sacrifice can bring about transformation, the movements website reads. Bryant and other leaders plan to meet with Targets board when the fast ends on April 17 to assess whether we will proceed to Phase 2. No details about a second phase have been shared yet. Other economic boycotts and protests The boycott aimed at Target is the latest in a series of economic protests announced in recent weeks. Last week, a 24-hour general economic blackout was set to take place. The movement, promoted largely on social media, encouraged people not to spend money all day, especially at large chains. The organizers hoped to send a message to corporations and their billionaire leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the scope of its impact wasnt clear, according to retail analysts. As of midday Friday halfway through the economic blackout any retrenchment on the part of consumers wasnt visible, according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at market research firm Circana. It doesnt look like anybodys really pulling back, he said. If you get 5% or 10% of the people that dont shop, that could happen on any given day because of the rain. The NAACP has been advocating for a more targeted approach, encouraging Black Americans to spend their money with companies that are upholding prior DEI commitments, such as Costco, Apple, Ben & Jerrys, Delta Airlines, e.l.f. Cosmetics and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Meanwhile, they encourage shoppers to steer clear of companies that are backtracking, including Target, as well as Lowes, Walmart, Tractor Supply, Amazon, Meta, and McDonalds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Latino Freeze Movement has also released a list of retailers it encourages people to support or stay away from. Latinos and Latinas (and anyone!) stop spending money, the group says. Hold the line. We can all collectively make a big impact by simply holding and not spending our money. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. The 14th National People's Congress (NPC) opens its third session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders including Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng were seated at the rostrum. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's national legislature on Wednesday started its annual session, with a string of confidence-boosting development goals unveiled, including an economic growth target of around 5 percent for 2025. Nearly 3,000 deputies attended the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders including Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng were seated at the rostrum. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the session's presidium, presided over the meeting. Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report. Reviewing the work of 2024, he said that in the face of complex and challenging developments marked by mounting external pressures and growing domestic difficulties, China has accomplished the main goals and tasks for economic and social development. "While recognizing our achievements, we are keenly aware of the problems and challenges that confront us," he said. Noting that 2025 is the final year for implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the premier said China targets economic growth of around 5 percent this year. The country has set the target for its surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent, and plans to create over 12 million new urban jobs in 2025, Li said. China also targets an annual increase in the consumer price index of around 2 percent, he added. Noting that China faces formidable tasks in economic and social development, Li said the country should focus on major priorities and key links and strive to deliver a good performance in several areas, including vigorously boosting consumption, accelerating the development of a modernized industrial system, accelerating the implementation of landmark reform measures, expanding high-standard opening up, and stabilizing foreign trade and investment. At Wednesday's meeting, lawmakers reviewed a report from the State Council on the implementation of the 2024 plan for national economic and social development and on the 2025 draft plan, as well as the draft plan for national economic and social development in 2025. They also reviewed a report from the State Council on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2024 and on the draft central and local budgets for 2025, as well as the draft central and local budgets for 2025. Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, explained a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels. The law amendment is necessary for developing whole-process people's democracy and ensuring that people's congresses and their standing committees at all levels maintain close ties with the people, according to the explanation. Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a government work report at the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a government work report at the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) Zhao Leji presides over the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, explains a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels at the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) The Sarasota County Sheriffs Office announced Tuesday that five people were arrested on charges related to illegal gambling. The sheriffs office said it worked with the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) to arrest 34-year-old Ciara Boles, 29-year-old Stivi Breshani, 26-year-old Emily Gill, 44-year-old Ilir Iskali and 42-year-old Christine McCormack. Deputies said the arrests were the result of an investigation that began in April 2024 into multiple illegal gambling establishments within the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our agency has received many complaints about these illegal establishments popping up in Sarasota County. This is the first of many steps towards holding them accountable and closing them down, Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman said. Shes in real pain: 911 call details urgent moments after alligator bit womans arm in Polk County The sheriffs office said it arrested Gill at the business on Feb. 26. The SCSO Fugitive Apprehension Unit assisted with the location and arrests of Boles and McCormack on the same day. Two days later, an additional arrest warrant was obtained for Breshani, who was arrested and taken into custody. On March 3, Iskali turned himself in at the Sarasota County Correctional Facility. According to deputies, all five people were charged with criminal enterprise (RICO). Additional charges among the five suspects included possession of a slot machine, maintaining a gambling establishment and money laundering. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office said almost 60 illegal slot machines were seized from the business. The Florida Gaming Control Commission is proud to partner with Sarasota County Sheriffs Office. SCSO has made its home safer by targeting those responsible for siphoning away funds from their neighbors with illegal slot machines. These unlawful machines are unregulated and lack any consumer protections, said Ross Marshman, Florida Gaming Control Commission Acting Executive Director. Investigators said they are still searching for another suspect, Llia Lulo. Anyone with information regarding Lulos whereabouts is asked to submit an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers at 941-366-8477 or SarasotaCrimestoppers.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. When Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, Chancellor Angela Merkel quipped that one should have just asked a Swabian housewifeshe would have told us that you cannot live beyond your means. The jibe, referring to thrifty southerners who run their households on a tight budget, became emblematic of German frugality and a deep aversion to racking up government debt. But times have changed. On Tuesday night, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a 500 billion (414 billion) special fund for German infrastructure and an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr Merz said: I want to make it very clear: in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the following must now also apply to our defence: Whatever it takes. Friedrich Merz, Germanys incoming chancellor, announced an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending - Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP While that half-a-trillion euro package for infrastructure is a big borrowing pledge, the reform to defence spending limits could prove much more significant for European security. Since the financial crisis, German governments have laboured under its famous Schuldenbremse, or debt brake, a strict limit on government borrowing which has hampered efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German military. Mr Merz now wants to make defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP exempt from the debt brake. In theory, that means the sky would be the limit for how much Germany spends on defence; the only constraints would be political. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a historic moment for German fiscal policy, and a particularly bold move for Mr Merz, a Right-winger whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has always been allergic to debt most famously so under Mrs Merkel herself. But fears that Europe can no longer rely on Donald Trump for security have forced Mr Merz and other EU leaders to seek creative ways to find more cash to support its armies. It came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, issued a parallel pledge of an 800 billion (663 billion) increase to EU defence spending. Mrs von der Leyen said the ReArm Europe strategy reflected her conviction that the stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now. Britain has vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, albeit only from 2027 onwards. Emmanuel Macron has urged EU allies to reach a target of three per cent of GDP on defence spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, shares in EU defence firms such as Rheinmetall, the German tank and artillery producer, are already rising as arms manufacturers brace for a surge in demand. The surge in demand for military equipment has seen shares rising in EU defence firms such as Rheinmetall - Getty Images Europe Germanys aversion to debt is the stuff of legend, perhaps best captured by the double meaning of the word itself in German, Schuld. Depending on the context, it can mean either debt or guilt. Germanys intense allergy to debt can partly be traced back to bitter memories of the reparations-induced poverty of the Weimar Republic era, which in turn fuelled the rise of the Nazis. But their spendthrift nature arguably dates back even further, to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in France paying out 120 million gold marks to Germany in 1871. Treasure chests Instead of investing those reparations, the German victors stashed much of the gold away in treasure chests inside the Juliusturm tower of Spandau Citadel where they were left untouched for the next four decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The phrase Juliusturm has been known ever since as a colloquial term for guarding a massive state surplus of funds. If Mr Merz follows through on his Tuesday announcement, that somewhat miserly streak in the German fiscal psyche is now truly a thing of the past. The next step is a crunch vote in the Bundestag, the German parliament, to approve the infrastructure fund and the lifting of the debt brake on defence investments. This vote will take place under the current, pre-election makeup Bundestag, where Mr Merz should be able to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass amendments to Germanys constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr Maximilian Terhalle, a German political scientist at Stanford University, said Mr Merzs ambitions on defence spending should be taken very seriously as they reflect his view that Russia now poses an unprecedented challenge to Europe. Merzs threat perception is deeply strategic, in that it views Russia as a ruthless revisionist power intent on re-erecting its empire, he said. It views Russia, therefore, as an actor that can be trusted to break any treaty as it sees fit, and [Merz] realizes the unprecedented challenges, that a decreasing commitment of the US to Natos Article 5 could have serious implications. Russian aggression Article 5 of Nato states that an attack on any Nato member is an attack on them all, and forms the alliances strongest non-nuclear deterrent against Russian aggression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Merz is still locked in negotiations on forming a new coalition with the SPD, following last months elections. That is often a drawn-out affair in Germany that can take months to finalise. But the relative ease with which he has agreed on a defence package with the SPD bodes well for the rest of the negotiations. Perhaps Mr Merz will meet his floated Easter deadline for a new coalition after all. We are aware of the scale of the tasks ahead of us, he said on Tuesday night. We want to take the first necessary steps with todays decisions. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. South Dakota regulators awarded a permit Friday for a 68-turbine wind energy project in northeastern South Dakota. Chicago-based Invenergy applied to build the project through its South Dakota subsidiary, Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South. The turbines will be spread across 46 square miles of privately owned land near the small town of Brandt in Deuel County. According to the companys application last year, the projects estimated cost is $621 million. Wind turbines stand in a cornfield in southern South Dakota on Aug. 14, 2024. More: Watertowns Team Lodge continues to add products to its customizable trailers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The south in the projects name distinguishes it from the 109-turbine Deuel Harvest Wind Farm, which Invenergy completed in 2021 and sold to Atlanta-based Southern Power. The new project site is about six miles south of the existing Deuel Harvest wind farm. Another wind farm, Tatanka Ridge, is adjacent to the southwest edge of the proposed project area. The new project would raise the number of wind turbines in Deuel County to 233. The project will deliver up to 260 megawatts of electricity. South Dakota ranks 13th in the nation with 3,462 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, according to the American Wind Power Association. More: South Dakota House narrowly passes bill requiring schools take cash for event admission Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 50 conditions are included with the permit, according to the Public Utilities Commission, addressing cooperation with local agricultural operations, daily time limits on construction, protection of threatened or endangered species, noise levels and more. In a news release, the commission said the Federal Aviation Administration is studying the potential aeronautical hazards at the site. How many of the turbine locations are actually constructed will be determined by additional FAA evaluation and noise modeling based on turbine type, Commission Vice Chairman Chris Nelson said in the release. In its application, Invenergy estimated the project will generate payments to landowners totaling $78 million over the next 30 years, and property tax revenue generated for local governments will total $38 million during the same period. The project is expected to create 243 jobs during construction and eight long-term operational jobs. Invenergy issued a statement Friday saying the company is grateful for the Public Utilities Commissions thoughtful decision about our project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are proud of our legacy in South Dakota and look forward to continuing our partnership with Deuel County to bring wind energy to the grid while further contributing to South Dakotas social and economic development through the production of clean, homegrown energy in the state, the companys statement said, in part. This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Invenergy wins approval for $621M wind project in Deuel County, SD The sleepy surf community of Barra de La Cruz is not where youd expect to hear of any serious crimes. There is no bank, gas station, fancy hotels, or luxury villas to be found. Only modest homestays and rentals that are all owned collectively by the community. The murder of 63 year-old Cristino Castro Perea, a community elder and environmental activist, has rocked the small surf town to its core. Serge Dedina, founder of WILDCOAST, said this on LinkedIn, We are mourning the loss of Cristino Castro Peres, a coastal defender from Barra de la Cruz, Oaxaca, murdered for his strong defense of one of the worlds most important leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches, a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance and National Sea Turtle Reserve and a globally known surf spot, renowned for its perfect waves. We stand in solidarity with the indigenous community of Barra de la Cruz, who have resisted efforts to develop their communally owned coastline, but have suffered violence at the hands of speculators and would-be developers. Oaxaca is home to highest biodiversity in all of Mexico and 80% of the land is communally owned by indigenous people. WILDCOAST In addition to its incredible surf, the state Oaxaca is known for its strong indigenous culture and heritage, as well as having the highest biodiversity of all of Mexico that is safeguarded by indigenous land ownership. Around 80% of the land in Oaxaca is communally owned, largely by indigenous populations. New projects, like the harbor development in Salina Cruz, threaten not just the surf, but the very nature of the coastline we have come to love. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dedina adds, The indigenous land ownership is what has prevented the development of Oaxaca from the tropical forests of the mountains, all the way down to the coast. Thats why Oaxaca doesnt look like the rest of the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Preserving the beauty of the coast of Oaxaca is worth fighting for but no one should have to die to defend the land. WILDCOAST There have now been two murders of activists in recent months, a clear sign that speculators and would-be developers have major interests in the area. Although developing the land is illegal, foul play could continue until the communities feel pressured to vote against their own interests. Land grabs can happen quickly when developers have dollar signs in their eyes, the international community that loves Oaxaca needs to stay vigilant to support the preservation of the land. Over the years, the community of Barra de La Cruz has resisted these efforts despite being a world-class wave and popular surf destination. Barra, as it is known, exists in stark contrast to its famous cousin to the north, Puerto Escondido, that is suffering from overdevelopment that threatens to ruin the very wave that made it famous. To learn more about the history of Puerto Escondido, and how development is threatening the wave, we highly recommend watching Place of Thorns. Barra has stayed true to its puebla roots and everyone in the community knows each other, even though they dont always agreethere have been attempts over the years to develop the town, but community preservation has prevailed. With Huatulco only some 30 minutes away, full of luxury accommodation options, there is really no need to develop the coastthats exactly the appeal of Oaxaca, a wildness and raw beauty of pristine beaches, backed by deep forests, free from luxury developments. Related: Watch: Everything You Wanted to Know About Puerto Escondido (And Why It's In Trouble) It was unexpected and unprovoked. Leelamma Lal, a 67 year-old nurse had been treating a patient who suddenly attacked her, fracturing every bone in her face and leaving Lal with the likelihood of blindness the rest of her life. This type of violence should not be happening in our hospitals. This type of violence should not be happening to our hospital nurses. Stephen Scantlebury, a patient who had been evaluated for mental-health issues under the state's Baker Act, jumped on top of Lal and hit her repeatedly before fleeing the hospital. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder and a hate crime after authorities learned he had made reference to Lal's gender, race and religion before the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And what did Lal do to deserve such a beating? Absolutely nothing. That's why her attack has alarmed healthcare workers throughout the county. They believe that hospitals should and can do more to boost security to protect hospital staff. So do we. Palms West in particular has recently been expanding its operations in western Palm Beach County. The hospital now boasts of an expanded maternity, children's medicine and emergency department. It's planning to build a new $80 million five-story facility for robotic-assisted surgery. Cindy Joseph, daughter of the Palms West Hospital nurse who was severely beaten, listens with her hands clasped to the pretrial detention hearing for her mother's suspected assailant, Stephen Scantlebury, at the Palm Beach County Courthouse on Feb. 27, 2025. Opinion: Floridas insurance crisis needs root-cause solutions, not high-risk quick fixes Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the promise of a new and improved services won't matter much if staff and patients lack adequate safety, and don't feel secure. "No healthcare worker should have to experience such violence," Jason Kimbrell, the CEO of HCA Florida Palms West Hospital said last month to the hospital staff. The words should be welcomed and echoed by every healthcare facility administrator in Palm Beach County. (Even if they come on the heels of an attorney representing Lal's family claiming Palms West lacked appropriate safety measures on the day of the attack.) Opinion: Should Florida's State Parks be developed? Take our poll. Unfortunately, workplace violence has become a worrying trend in our nation's healthcare facilities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers are five times more likely than other employees to experience some form of workplace violence, including taunts, verbal abuse and physical assaults. Such violence undermines the quality of healthcare overall and potentially, can hurt the bottom line of hospitals and other facilities providing care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lal's case is now in the courts. Scantlebury is facing criminal charges and Lal's family is weighing their legal options. Meanwehile, Kimbrell's words had better carry some real weight in the form of deliberate improvements to hospital security. Not just at Palms West, but all of our healthcare facilities. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palms West Hospital needs security after nurse's beating | Editorial JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Eyal Zamir took over on Wednesday as the 24th chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), warning that Israel's multi-front conflict would be ongoing and vowing to strike its enemies with "tremendous force." Zamir, 59, assumed his new role during a change-of-command ceremony at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv following government approval of his appointment on Feb. 16. He succeeded Herzi Halevi, who resigned in January after admitting his failure to defend Israelis during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Zamir, a former director general of the Defense Ministry, joined the military in 1985 and became a tank commander the following year. He later served as commander of the Southern Command and as deputy chief of staff. During the ceremony, Zamir's wife, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, pinned new ranks on Zamir's shoulders. Netanyahu said Zamir's main mission is to achieve the goal of "absolute victory" over Hamas. "We are in the midst of a prolonged campaign," Netanyahu said. "As I promised, we have changed the face of the Middle East, and more is yet to come." Netanyahu said Zamir was part of a policy shift aimed at increasing domestic ammunition production to reduce reliance on imports. Several countries, including Israel's close ally, the United States, have previously imposed restrictions on certain types of ammunition, including heavy bombs, due to the high civilian death toll caused by Israeli bombardments in Gaza. Zamir takes office at a sensitive time, as the future of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which took effect on Jan. 19, remains uncertain, while violence escalates amid an ongoing large-scale military campaign in the northern occupied West Bank and rising tensions with Iran, which Israel considers its arch-foe. "I am aware of the heavy responsibility placed upon me," Zamir said during the ceremony. Delivering a hawkish speech, he said Israel has been engaged in a "war of existence" and vowed "to strike with tremendous force at anyone who seeks to harm the State of Israel and its citizens." He described Israel's survival as requiring a constant struggle in "a hostile environment" in the Middle East. "Israel faces a constant, fundamental existential threat. Surrounded by ruthless enemies who seek our destruction, we must continue to strengthen and fortify the 'iron wall,'" he said, calling for increased military reinforcement and a higher defense budget. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The ABQ BioPark has announced a partnership with Chevron to help strengthen conservation efforts for the states native species. Chevron will now serve as an official conservation partner of the ABQ BioPark, donating $600,000 over the next three years to further projects that protect animals and habitats in New Mexico. City of Albuquerque reminding people to kep their pets vaccinations up to date One species expected to be helped is the Rio Grande cooter, which is considered near threatened. The ABQ BioPark said they will have a small population to help safeguard genetic diversity and to help with reintroduction efforts. The New Mexico Biopark Society will manage the partnership and oversee the funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday he has ordered state prosecutors to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the "now-active criminal investigation" into influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate, after they arrived in the state from Romania. The announcement was first posted to X, saying, "Last week, I directed my office to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate." It continued, "Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I've directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers." PHOTO: Influencer Tate Brothers Return To U.S. Despite Sex Trafficking Charges In Romania (Alon Skuy/Getty Images) The brothers landed at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Feb. 27 after Romania lifted a travel restriction on them, despite its ongoing criminal investigations into the Tates for human trafficking and forming an organized criminal group with the goal of sexually exploiting women in two cases. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tate brothers deny all charges against them. MORE: Andrew Tate and brother land in Florida, DeSantis says they're not welcome The two had been confined to Romania since late 2022 and were charged in both 2023 and 2024. Romanian officials announced that court restrictions prohibiting the brothers from leaving Romania while awaiting trial had been lifted, but that the charges against them remained in force. The Tates also face another criminal case in the United Kingdom, where an arrest warrant has been issued on separate allegations of human trafficking and rape. The UK government has faced calls to demand the Tates' extradition from the U.S. The Tates' release followed reports of lobbying by President Donald Trump's administration. Trump denied any knowledge of it when questioned by reporters about their arrival in the United States. But Romania's foreign minister has confirmed that Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, raised the brothers' case during a meeting in February, although he denied being pressured. Key Trump officials and allies, including Elon Musk and Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. have previously condemned the case against the Tates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charges against the Tates remain in force and they will be expected to return to Romania for court appearances, according to a statement from Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). The agency warned that failure to observe the remaining judicial restrictions could result in harsher restrictions being instated. MORE: Andrew Tate, 'King of Toxic Masculinity,' faces 3 legal cases in 2 countries Despite other Trump allies' support for the Tates, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed surprise and anger at their arrival in Florida, telling reporters on the day that the Tates were "not welcome" given the conduct they are accused of. Uthmeier, the attorney general, said he had directed state law enforcement to investigate whether any of their alleged crimes relating to human trafficking and violence against women triggered Florida jurisdiction, and pledging to "hold them accountable" if so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the alleged victims at the center of one of the Romanian cases against Tate is a Florida woman. The American citizen has accused the Tates of luring her to Romania under the pretence of a romantic relationship and then pressuring her into working as a pornographic webcam model, according to court documents. The Tates have denied the womans accusations. It is unclear if the new Florida investigation involves the women's allegations. Uthmeier declined to give details on Tuesday but pledged to use "every tool" to hold the Tates accountable. "These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world," he told a local reporter. "People can spin it however they want, but in Florida this type of behaviour is viewed as atrocious. We're not going to accept it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If these guys did criminal activity here in Florida we will go after them with full force of law and hold them accountable," he said. A lawyer representing the Tates, Joseph D. McBride, condemned the investigation, accusing Uthmeier of making "inflammatory, biased" comments and claiming the case was politically motivated. "Today, Attorney General James Uthmeier threw ethics law out of the window when he publicly took a side in an ongoing Florida lawsuit where Andrew and Tristan Tate are suing a Florida woman," McBride wrote on X, challenging the attorney general to present evidence. McBride blamed the new investigation on DeSantis, calling him "an angry, vertically challenged imp who hates Tate and Trump for being actual men. Attorney General Uthmeier is his pathetic lap dog." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tates brought a defamation lawsuit against the Florida woman in the state in 2023, accusing her and her family of conspiring to damage their reputations by participating in the Romanian case. Last month, the woman brought a countersuit against the Tates, accusing them of using the defamation lawsuit to try to silence victims. Both cases are currently pending. A lawyer for the Florida woman in the Romania case praised the attorney general's move to criminally investigate the Tates. "Florida AG Uthmeier is right to criminally investigate the Tate brothers who have publicly boasted about exploiting women yet have continuously sought to undermine the Romanian investigation into these crimes," Dani Pinter, senior vice president at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said in a statement. "Over 40 victims have been identified across Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They deserve justice. Florida's investigation is a positive step towards justice realized." One of the women who is an alleged victim at the center of one of the Romanian cases is an American woman who lives in Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear from Uthmeier's statement what the investigation is examining right now or how it might proceed. ABC News' Meredith Deliso and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report. 'Active criminal investigation' into Andrew Tate, brother Tristan: Florida AG originally appeared on abcnews.go.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. Students and community activists in Memphis are boarding a bus and heading to Nashville Wednesday morning for the Equity Alliances Day on the Hill. Community members are gathering at Manassas High School and are preparing to head out for the annual event, seeking to empower Black communities across the state. When youre part of a democratic society, they have a seat at the table. So, they need to let their voices be heard, and they can be the change that they want to see, said Vincent Spriggs II, founder of G.A.M.E Changers Movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Springs is the Instructional Resource teacher at Manassas High School and the founder of the Gamechangers Movement, which is a mentorship organization. He says at least 30 kids spent the day on Capitol Hill for The Equity Alliances annual Day on the Hill. He also says his students will learn about the legislative process and meet those responsible for making decisions that impact the students everyday lives. See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South. Sign up for WREG newsletters and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. Lawmakers never get the chance to see the faces of the kids that theyre impacting outside of TV, Springs said. So, were going to bring them front and center to where they work at. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Equity Alliance says this is a chance for what they call everyday Black Tennesseans to unify, hear, discuss, and present the most pressing issues that impact Black Tennesseans. The goal is to shape and influence policy decisions by the general assembly. They say the days activities at the Tennessee state capitol include meetings with legislators, sitting in on committee meetings, and informative panels. The group says they are watching key legislation on a variety of topics that include cannabis, democracy, education, economic inequality, environmental justice, and healthcare. Were opposing bills, and were also standing in support of some bills, said Tikeila Rucker, Memphis For All Political Director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With threats of a state takeover looming over Shelby County regarding the education and criminal justice systems, Rucker says she wants to convey to lawmakers that local control must remain local. Memphis is willing to take a stand for Memphis, and were willing to show up and call for accountability on a local level as well as a state level. We need them to support us and not come in and take over, Rucker said. The group is expected to head out around 7 a.m. They will be returning to Memphis later on Wednesday afternoon after a full day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Just 20% of New York City voters approve of the job Mayor Adams is doing as he faces calls to resign amid the Trump Justice Departments controversial bid to drop his federal corruption indictment, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The Quinnipiac University polls finding marks the lowest approval rating a New York City mayor has received in a Quinnipiac survey since the university started quizzing local voters on that metric nearly 30 years ago. Quinnipiacs previous all-time low was the 28% approval rating Adams got in a survey from December 2023, nine months before his indictment. Unpopular even before an indictment on federal corruption charges, voters confidence in Mayor Adams sinks to a new low now that his legal case has become a national controversy, said Mary Snow, Quinnipiacs assistant polling director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The poll also found 67% of city voters disapprove of the job Adams is doing, while 13% declined to opine on his performance. The poll surveyed 1,260 registered city voters between Feb. 27 and this past Monday. Though also deeply unpopular in New York City, President Trump scored a better rating than Adams, with Quinnipiac giving him a 30%-65% approval-disapproval split. Just 18% of those surveyed say Adams is honest and trustworthy, while 69% replied hes not. Those surveyed said by a margin of 57%-30% that they disapprove of his handling of crime, the main issue he campaigned on during his successful 2021 run for mayor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The troubling findings for Adams come after Trumps political appointees at the Justice Department moved last month to drop the mayors indictment with the understanding that it could be brought back for a new prosecution as soon as November. In a dismissal request thats still pending approval from a federal judge, Trumps DOJ wrote it expects quashing the mayors case will better allow him to facilitate Trumps effort to target undocumented New Yorkers for mass deportations, a caveat that has led many to believe the mayor is beholden to Trumps agenda. Adams denies engaging in any quid pro quo with Trumps administration. The unusual nature of the DOJs dismissal request has prompted a number of local top elected leaders to call on Adams to step down, and Quinnipiacs poll suggest New York City voters also want him out of office. According to the poll, 56% of voters think Adams should resign, while 35% think he should stay. The poll also found 56% of voters want Adams to stand up more to Trump on immigration issues, vs. 33% who want more cooperation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak wouldnt directly address the polls findings, but said the mayor ran to make our city safer and more affordable, and were doing that every day. Mayor Adams and his administration will continue to deliver for New Yorkers every day as we make our city the best place to raise a family, she said. While the incumbents popularity plummets, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who announced last weekend hes challenging Adams in Junes Democratic mayoral primary remains a favorite in the race. Quinnipiacs pollsters found that if the primary was held today, 31% of Democratic voters would support Cuomo, while 11% would back Adams. Cuomos lead in the race was boosted by an outsized number voters who consider themselves political moderates, per the poll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist whos also challenging Adams, came in third in the primary race poll, netting 8%, while fellow mayoral candidates Scott Stringer got 6%, Brad Lander 5%, Jessica Ramos 4% and Zellnor Myrie 1%. Though not a declared candidate for mayor, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is considering a run, netted 4% support in the mayoral race survey. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, whod become acting mayor if Eric Adams resigns, got 7% support, though he hasnt announced a campaign, either. Notably, 16% of the Democratic primary voters polled said they are undecided in the mayoral race. The Democratic mayoral primary is scheduled for June 24, and Snow, the Quinnipiac pollster, said the undecided category is a key number to watch as the election draws nearer. The poll queried 1,260 self-identified New York City registered voters between Feb. 27 and March 3, Quinnipiac said. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8% A toddler who was kidnapped by her non-custodial parent in 1999 has been found, according to forensic genetic genealogy company Othram. Andrea Michelle Reyes was 23 months old when she was allegedly abducted from New Haven, Connecticut, by her mother, Rosa Tenorio, who did not have custody of the child. An investigation was launched, and a felony warrant for custodial interference was issued, Othram said in a news release. Andrea Michelle Reyes at the time of her disappearance. / Credit: Othram/NAMUS/New Haven Police Department Officials believed that Tenorio had taken Reyes to Puebla, Mexico, according to Othram and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, but the pair were never located. Another felony warrant was released in 2009, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigations into her disappearance continued. Authorities released multiple age progression photos showing how she might have looked as the years passed. Reyes' father "searched tirelessly" over the years, Othram said, but there were no developments in the case. Othram said that "individuals" even went to Mexico to Reyes' reported location, but she could not be found. In 2023, the New Haven Police Department began to re-investigate the case, Othram said. That led to a woman claiming to be Reyes making contact with the man she believed to be her father. The New Haven Police Department and Othram worked together to confirm the two were related. Age progression images of Andrea Michelle Reyes. / Credit: Othram/NAMUS/New Haven Police Department The woman provided a DNA sample, which was compared to Reyes' father's DNA. The comparison confirmed "that the woman who reached out is, in fact, the nearly two-year-old girl kidnapped in October of 1999," Othram said. Reyes, now 27, lives in Mexico. It's not clear what her relationship with her mother is. Othram did not say if she had reunited with her father since the positive identification was made. CBS News has reached out to the New Haven Police Department for more information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Othram said this is the seventh case in Connecticut where officials have used the company's technology to identify an individual. The case was investigated as part of Othram's Project 525 initiative. The initiative has partnered Ohtram and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in an effort to resolve the 525 juvenile cases published on the database. Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died at age 82. Here's a look back at their love story Watch: Trump's full address to Congress Vatican says Pope Francis is no longer on mechanical ventilation LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Wednesday marks Cancer Action Day, so cancer survivors, patients and advocates from all over Michigan will gather at the Statehouse to share their message with lawmakers. They will support Governor Gretchen Whitmers budget proposal to reduce tobacco use in Michigan. They will ask lawmakers to support copay accumulator legislation to ensure Michiganders receive the total value of prescription drug copay assistance to afford their treatments. Wednesdays event runs from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 6 News anchors Jorma Duran and Megan Viecelli talked with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Government Relations Director Molly Medenblik to learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) Right now, in Pennsylvania, there are no mandatory health care workplace violence provisions. Legislation introduced again this session seeks to change that. The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act has been in the works for multiple sessions. Rep. Leanne Krueger says it failed in committee in the past but was introduced earlier this session. Memorial grows for West York Borough officer killed at UPMC Memorial Hospital Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal of this legislation is to create policies and procedures in health care settings where the employees, the frontline health care workers, really have a seat at the table in developing the workplace safety procedures, Rep. Krueger says. We want the frontline health care workers to be able to sit down with their managers and to develop policies and procedures. The legislation would require a risk assessment. They would need to meet quarterly to review all cases of workplace violence, Krueger says. They would be required to offer post-incident care, including acute care and mental health services for employees. The legislation states, Sixty-six percent of members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) responding to a 2024 internal survey said they have personally experienced violence in their workplace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PASNAP President Maureen May, RN, says the legislation is needed. Were the frontline, so the frontline needs to be protected, May says. Were there to take care of the patients and we also take care of the family and its very difficult to experience workplace violence and continue on your day as if nothing happened. May says the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital on February 22 should have never happened. There was a lack of screening, May says. How did somebody get in there with a gun? How does how does that happen? It starts from the point of entry. On the same day of the shooting, an OSHA complaint was filed against UPMC Memorial Hospital. OSHA says its an open and ongoing investigation, which can take six months to conduct and release findings from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Facebook post, Physician Assistant Lester Mendoza says quote, A tragedy unfolded in my ICU. Lives were lost, and many more were shattered. Members of my ICU team were zip tied and had to face the nightmare of potentially their last breath on earth as they had to stare back, defenseless, at the barrel of a deadly weapon. And while people will look for someone to blame, the reality is this: the system is failing all of us. Healthcare is broken. Mendoza says he was there when would be gunman Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz got the news that his family member was gone. Mendoza says he did not see a monster in Archangel-Ortiz at that time, But grief, exhaustion, isolation, and a lack of mental health and social support services create cracks that people fall through. Rep. Krueger says Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act was written with nurses in the room. These stories are not unique to York and we really need to make sure that were putting policies and procedures in place to keep these health care heroes safe, Rep. Krueger says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese premier, joins National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from Yunnan Province in a group deliberation at the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leaders on Wednesday attended deliberations at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature. When joining NPC deputies from Yunnan Province in a group deliberation, Premier Li Qiang urged more proactive efforts to achieve continued economic recovery and growth. Li urged Yunnan to boost upgraded tourism consumption to form new growth drivers for the economy. He also called on the province to strengthen its role as an opening-up gateway to the southwest. Top legislator Zhao Leji participated in a group deliberation with his fellow deputies from Sichuan Province, urging more effective measures to deliver on the goals and tasks set in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). Zhao, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also called on lawmakers in Sichuan to uphold the Party's overall leadership over people's congresses, perform their duties as stipulated in the Constitution and the law, and keep improving their work. Top political advisor Wang Huning joined his fellow deputies from Guizhou Province in a group deliberation. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, urged the province to promote the transformation of traditional industries, foster sound growth of the private sector, advance rural revitalization, and pursue green and low-carbon development. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, when joining the deliberation of his fellow deputies from Liaoning Province, stressed the need to expand domestic demand to make it a main engine and anchor of economic growth. He also underscored the importance of ensuring both high-quality development and greater security. Li Xi, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC), joined his fellow lawmakers from Fujian Province in a group deliberation. He stressed that high-quality development must be guided by high-quality Party building. He expressed the hope for Fujian to explore new pathways toward integrated cross-Strait development. Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. While speaking with fellow lawmakers from Shandong Province, Vice President Han Zheng urged efforts to comprehensively expand domestic demand, and promote high-level self-reliance in science and technology. He called on Shandong to take the lead in developing new quality productive forces, and write a Shandong chapter in Chinese modernization. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, participates in a group deliberation with his fellow deputies from Sichuan Province at the third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, joins his fellow deputies from Guizhou Province in a group deliberation at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese vice premier, joins the deliberation of his fellow deputies from Liaoning Province at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, joins his fellow lawmakers from Fujian Province in a group deliberation at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) Chinese Vice President Han Zheng joins his fellow lawmakers from Shandong Province in a group deliberation at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) A large green algal bloom covers the Ross Island Lagoon on the Willamette River in August 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Human Access Project) Just about every summer in recent years, a stretch of the Willamette River south of downtown Portland at Ross Island turns green from a thick layer of toxin-producing algae that grows rapidly in the hot and stagnant waters of the Ross Island Lagoon. As the thick algal blooms are carried out by winds and tides to the mainstem of the river, it can become, for days on end, unhealthy for humans, pets and aquatic life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres an easy fix thats been years in the making, according to Willie Levenson, founder of the Portland-based nonprofit Human Access Project. Standing in the way is the last $1 million he and river engineers at Oregon State University need to finish designing it. House Bill 3314, sponsored by state Reps. Rob Nosse and Mark Gamba, Democrats from Portland and Milwuakie, would direct about $1 million to Oregon State University to finish designing a channel that would cut through Ross Island. The channel would restore the rivers natural flow through what were multiple islands a century ago and flush out harmful cyanobacteria and algae forming in the lagoon. The bill will have its first public hearing Wednesday morning at the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water. This is a small investment that will solve a significant problem, Levenson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Human Access Project, which aims to get people in closer contact with the river, has been working with Oregon State University scientists to collect data and determine solutions for six years. Levenson spent about two years fundraising about $500,000 through grants from nonprofits and local and tribal governments, enough for the first 30% of the planning process. The rest of the plan hinges on getting money from the Legislature. Were concerned that without the money to finish the planning soon, the momentum to do this will stall out, Levenson said. Deconstructing Ross Island Ross Island used to be one of a complex of four islands. In the 1920s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved the earth on two of the islands around to create an embankment connecting them to divert water and make a deeper shipping channel in the river, as well as to make it more accessible to industry. The two islands combined created the U-shaped Ross Island, but the new embankment stopped the natural flow of the river between the islands and the lagoon became a 140-acre pond inside a river, according to Levenson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1926, the Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. established itself on the island and started excavating millions of tons of gravel from the river to make cement, creating a large hole in the river until 2001. The combination of the gravel excavation, the man-made lagoon around it, hot summers and pollution from nearby cities has led to the perfect conditions for cyanobacteria and algal blooms to grow in the area. By cutting through the embankment that the Army Corps built in 1926 and letting the river flow between the islands again, the bacteria and algae will be flushed out of the area, Oregon State Scientists found. Once planning is finished in the next two years, Levenson said he and Oregon State will seek up to $8 million to carry it out. He said there are a few different funding streams theyll pursue, including potentially asking the Legislature to foot some of the bill. The Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. though no longer operational, is under orders from the Department of State Lands to undertake reclamation work to refill the hole the company left in the river from decades of excavation. As part of that, its possible the company could offer to pay for some of the channeling work. Randall Steed, general manager of the company, did not respond to a call or email requesting comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials in charge of the billion-dollar Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, made up of revenue from a 1% tax on large retail businesses in the city, declined to fund project planning and implementation because it was not reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to Levenson. Annual algal blooms are not just an environmental and public health issue, he said, but an economic issue that will drive people, events and businesses away from Portland in the summer. If the Willamette keeps turning green every summer, it will be an anchor around the neck of downtowns recovery, Levenson said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (FOUNTAIN, Colo.) An affidavit obtained by FOX21 News reported that former Fountain youth pastor, 45-year-old Stephen Hutto, allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl for about a year after sending her inappropriate text messages. According to the affidavit, in November of 2023, a person related to the victim reported to the Colorado Department of Human Services that the girl had disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Hutto, who was then around 30 years old. Courtesy: Fountain Police Department, photo is of Stephen Hutto The affidavit stated that when a Fountain Police Department (FPD) Detective interviewed the girl, she stated that when she was about 15 years old, Hutto began texting back and forth with her nonstop, during which time he sent her inappropriate photos of himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS COVERAGE: FPD: Former pastor arrested for sexual assault on child According to the affidavit, one night when driving her from her house in Fountain to his home in another location to help with something, Hutto allegedly stopped by the side of the road and initiated intercourse with her. The alleged assaults continued multiple times over the course of a year, according to arrest documents. FPD interviewed two witnesses who confirmed that the victim had reported the incident to them in the past few years, according to the affidavit. One witness stated they remembered that during that time, Hutto came to pick up the victim from the house on many occasions to take her to his house to help out. The other witness recalled that Hutto was more affectionate with the victim than others. The victim stated that she suspected there were other victims, but didnt know for sure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The affidavit alleged that a second person had been interviewed by FPD who stated that when she was 18 years old, Hutto allegedly initiated sexual intercourse with her as well. The second victim gave details about the locations and manner of the encounters that matched those of the first victim. The affidavit reported that when the FPD Detective interviewed Hutto, he denied intimate contact with the victim, stating that she made up the encounters because she was jealous of his family because he had been blessed. When asked about the second girl, Hutto said that she had attached herself to his family because she was jealous. According to the arrest papers, Hutto denied ever being alone with the victim in his vehicle. When pressed on statements that allegedly contradicted what he had said in a previous interview with the Pueblo County Sheriffs Office, the affidavit said that Hutto changed his statement to say that if it had happened, it had only happened once. The affidavit stated that the FPD Detective informed Hutto that a forensic download would be conducted on the victims phone that allegedly had evidence of explicit text messages, and asked him if they would find anything inappropriate. According to the affidavit, Hutto replied that he didnt know and that he had texted a lot of teenagers in those days. He said he and the girl were friends and texted, but he never sent pictures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The affidavit said that when the Detective asked again whether they would find anything, he said that if there were, he would have remembered it. Hutto is facing charges of Sexual Assault on a Child by One in a Position of Trust. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. Montana needs more affordable housing units, and the Villagio, pictured here, and Trinity both opened in 2023, together bringing 402 new homes to Missoula. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) Four bills the Montana Legislature adopted in 2023 in a quest to create more affordable housing in the state will stay on the books at least for now despite a lawsuit arguing they are unconstitutional. In an order Monday, Gallatin County District Court Judge Mike Salvagni said statutes restricting public participation in one bill, Senate Bill 382, are facially unconstitutional. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Salvagni denied other requests the court find all four bills unconstitutional. The bills came out of Gov. Greg Gianfortes housing task force and were sponsored by Senate Republicans last session. They addressed land use legislation, including duplexes, urban infill, and accessory dwelling units, or backyard units, and they had bipartisan support. (Mondays) ruling by Gallatin District Court to uphold critical pro-housing reforms is a victory for all Montanans striving for affordable, attainable housing, said Gianforte, a Republican, in a statement. These bipartisan measures address our states housing crisis by increasing supply and expanding access to homeownership, a key part of the American dream. Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, one of the sponsors, also praised the outcome Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ruling reinforces the legislatures authority to make common sense solutions to help with Montanas housing crisis, Hertz said in a statement. The lawsuit was filed by MAID, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, a group of homeowners. MAID argued the bill package unfairly targets certain towns and counties, cuts the public out of its right to participate, usurps some of the control given to cities and counties by the 1972 Constitution, and treats some property owners differently, such as municipal residents in developments with or without covenants. The judge protected public participation rights but otherwise said the legislature was properly doing its job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clearly, each of the challenged new laws are reasonably related to achieving the purpose of addressing the affordable housing problem, the order said. Considering them collectively in the overall scheme of the Legislatures purpose does not diminish their Constitutionality. Through the provisions of these laws, the Legislature has enunciated its means for achieving its purposes. It is not the Courts function to second guess the prudence of the Legislature. Tuesday, Jim Goetz, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs, said he was unsure whether his clients would want to appeal the order. However, Goetz said he was pleased to see the judge protect public participation in his ruling. It will force the state to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the public is involved, and thats very important on land use decisions, Goetz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Goetz said some people unfairly dismiss critics of developments as NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard), but he said its an unfair characterization, and its also beside the point. People have the right to have a voice in developments next door and in their neighborhoods, and thats very important to us, Goetz said. The Montana League of Cities and Towns is among four defendant intervenors, and its lawyer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Montana has lacked an adequate supply of housing, especially affordable housing, for years, and the bills address different aspects of development. Senate Bill 382, the Montana Land Use and Planning Act, was a substantial part of it, and it intends to help cities modernize project development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order characterized SB 382 as a massive overhaul of subdivision and zoning regulations, and it said the bill defined public participation in site-specific developments the latter portion which the judge deemed unconstitutional. Senate Bill 323 requires cities with populations of more than 5,000 to allow duplexes on lots zoned for single family residences. Senate Bill 528 mandates cities allow a minimum of one ADU by right on a lot or parcel with a single-family dwelling. Senate Bill 245 states cities designated as urban areas and with populations over 5,000 must allow multiple-unit dwellings and mixed-use developments in commercial zones. Although the term affordable housing is not used in SB 245, SB 323 and SB 528, the Legislatures concern to allow additional housing in larger municipalities and ADUs in all cities is a legitimate purpose, the order said. Clearly, housing affordability is a legitimate governmental concern, and the new laws at issue related to that concern. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit was filed over all four bills. In late 2023, a district court judge temporarily blocked SB 323 and SB 528 from taking effect, but in September 2024, the Montana Supreme Court reversed that order, and the case went back to district court, according to a timeline from the Frontier Institute, which supported the bills. Todays order upholding SB 323, SB 528, and SB 245 is a victory for private property rights and the legislatures efforts to address Montanas housing crisis by giving landowners in cities more freedom to build homes, said Kendall Cotton, president and CEO of the Frontier Institute, who served on the governors housing task force. At the same time, we are disappointed that the court struck down innovative provisions of SB 382 that improve the public input process and speed up housing approvals. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is putting a bow on its 2024-25 winter community pond stockings. AGFC officials said the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery sent about 57,000 trout to ponds in Cabot, Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Conway, Maumelle, Bentonville and Springdale. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission monitoring bird flu in the state According to the AGFC, the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery is responsible for stocking all Family Community Fishing Program ponds across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hatchery manager B.J. Vandiver explained that the hatchery crew also worked to put together an extra prize for anglers this year. Maurice (Jackson) and Clint (Coleman) secured some golden rainbow trout from a private facility to give anglers a little something extra this year, Vandiver said. We successfully tagged and stocked 385 tagged golden rainbow trout spread out among the majority of the stocking sites in December. We ended up having about 100 surplus golden rainbows that were stocked (untagged) at select locations in January as well. Jackson added that the first round of golden trout were all tagged, and anglers who turn in a tagged fish get a prize pack as well as a chance at a special prize. Well be drawing a winner from all anglers who turned in their tags on the AGFCs Facebook page live at 10 a.m. March 13, Jackson said. Three winners will receive a free guided trout fishing trip for two on the Little Red River, courtesy of Sore Lip em All Guide Service in Heber Springs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas Game & Fish 2025 license plate introduced To read more about the Family and Community Fishing Program, visit AGFC.com. The live drawing will be on the AGFC Facebook page on March 13. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Every voter in the US should be appalled Members of the U.S. Congress on both sides of the aisle need to stand in opposition to what is going on. They are allowing a would-be dictator to run over their power of the purse and the entire legislative process. This will solidify the belief that a president can do anything he or she pleases without checks and balances or retribution. Every voter in the U.S. should be appalled at these actions. Sadly, we voters are mired in race issues and issues that are singular in concern to us as individuals and we are missing the big picture ... democracy is being destroyed. David Greenwood Farmington Hills Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More from Freep Opinion: Who's the target of Trump's disdain? Often, it's women. Trump's policies are bad news for Michigan In her rebuttal to the president, Michigan U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said that the Trumps policy will "make you pay." Here in Michigan, well pay in so many ways. The auto industry will be crippled by tariffs, leading to a ripple effect throughout our state economy. The cuts to scientific research will cause long-term harm to our universities. Seniors and veterans will suffer because of employee firings at the Ann Arbor and Detroit VA facilities. Our environment and tourism industry will be irreparably harmed due to a drastic reduction in employees at Sleeping Bear Dunes and in the program controlling invasive sea lampreys in the Great Lakes. Simply put, Trump is bad news for Michigan. If you care about our great state, its time for you to speak out about these policies ... before its too late. Lynn Baldwin Ann Arbor Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More from Freep Opinion: Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada will wreck Michigan economy Trump's words don't match his actions When President Donald Trump addressed the nation Tuesday night, he said children's cancer rates are on the rise. He said he wants to get poisons out of our food supply. What he says to the nation and what he actually does are two very different things. In 2017, the Trump Administration reversed President Barack Obamas proposed ban of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide than can hinder the development of childrens brains. Jennifer Hawkins Royal Oak I hope someone proves me wrong I really wish I could believe that President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin want world peace, but a country is only as good as its word. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the Budapest Memorandum, Russia gave its word that it would not attack Ukraine, but under Putin it has several times over, to the point of starting an ongoing war. Likewise, our own U.S. gave its word it would defend Ukraine, and for years did, but now under Trump we're withholding assistance to blackmail Ukraine into signing over their rare earths, with no promise that the USA, like Russia, won't violate this second agreement just like they did the first. This is not a quest for world peace by any measure; it's extortion and insanity on an international level. Ukraine has already demonstrated they want world peace by literally giving up their nuclear arsenal, and now two out of three world powers that said they would uphold agreements to respect and defend Ukraine's borders have defaulted on them to the detriment of us all. This is not the country I was proud to grow up in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Please, please someone prove me wrong. Dave Renwick Wolverine Lake Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print. This story has been updated with an additional letter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump's speech, tariffs, cuts should appall all Americans | Letters WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) A new study is poking holes in the idea that artificial intelligence will make life easier. Researchers from Auburn University, Emory University, and Fordham University have been researching artificial intelligence in the workplace and its effect on employees. According to their research, AI may be doing more harm than good. Using nearly two decades of data from the American Time Use Survey involving over 26,000 participants, researchers could compare changes in work habits as AI has gradually been introduced into the workforce. While it found that AI had increased productivity, it was because people were working longer hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memo They also found that, despite being paid more for working longer hours, greater AI exposure in the workplace led to lower general welfare of workers, and the more competitive the market, the less compensation was provided to employees. Increased profits created by increased productivity were either passed on to consumers through price cuts or pocketed by the company. The researchers found that despite productivity gains, the lack of increased income for workers created by AI meant no additional funds that could be spent on things like vacations or hobbies, and the extra work meant less free time for those things. The research team says that despite the promises that AI would help the workforce by making their jobs easier, the data supports the opposite and affects workers quality of life. The study was published in the National Bureau of Economic Research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can read the complete study by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. Mar. 4Less than six months after he was surprised with a new home site in northwest Spokane, a U.S. Air Force veteran and his family are finally home. Home developer Lennar, in partnership with veteran nonprofits Beyond the Barracks and Operation Finally Home, built the 1,500-square-foot house for retired Master Sgt. Christopher Weichman in Lennar's Woodbridge subdivision in North Indian Trail. Weichman is a Bronze Star recipient who served from 2003 to 2018, mostly as a survival instructor, and conducted operations in Afghanistan and other Middle East countries. He sustained several injuries that resulted in nerve damage, chronic pain and spinal surgeries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This home is more than walls and a roof; it is a symbol of sacrifice, resilience and unwavering support of a community that honors its heroes," Julie Siegler, Lennar Northwest vice president of marketing, said at a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday morning. "This home represents more than just a house, but a home filled with new beginnings, hope and the well-deserved peace that you have earned." This is Lennar's 20th home built in partnership with Operation Finally Home. Weichman was largely speechless as he toured the finished home for the first time with his fiancee, Carlotta Margheri, and his three children. "Thank you; this is beyond anything in our wildest dreams," Weichman said. "For me, I look at this as this house is going to live well past me and my legacy. My kids are going to get this house to have as an asset to build their dream and take care of their families." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weichman said he plans to pay the good deed forward. He was surprised with the news about the new home at a groundbreaking event in September, when he believed he was meeting with representatives as part of a preliminary interview process, then learned he had already been selected when he arrived. In December, community members, neighbors and members of the project team wrote notes of encouragement and support on the studs and framing of the then-unfinished home. James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor. Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) speaks to supporters March 4 as unofficial results show her leading in the county executive race. Gov. Wes Moore (D), right, listens. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) With a commanding early lead in Tuesdays special primary election for Prince Georges County executive, States Attorney Aisha Braveboy started to look forward Tuesday night to becoming the Democratic nominee for the post. Im going to ask each and every one of you, as we move forward to transform Prince Georges County, that you commit yourself to not only having to vote for me in the [special] general election, but to be there when I need you to be a part of this transition, Braveboy said to enthusiastic supporters gathered at Metro Points Hotel in New Carrollton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant wait to serve as your next county executive, she said. According to unofficial results at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Braveboy had 10,435 votes, or 43% of the vote total against seven other Democrats. Former County Executive Rushern L. Baker III was in second place with 5,117 votes, or 21% of the vote. At-Large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins, endorsed by former county executive and now U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D), stood in third place with 4,899, or 20%. Despite Braveboys early lead, Hawkins was refusing to concede Wednesday, noting that a significant number of votes remain uncounted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every vote matters, and the integrity of our democracy depends on ensuring that each ballot is carefully counted and verified, Hawkins said in a statement released by his campaign Wednesday. As we await the final results, I will continue monitoring the incoming totals and provide updates as new information becomes available. Voters stand in line about an hour before the polls closed March 4 at Suitland Community Center in Prince Georges County special primary election. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) One push that may have helped Braveboy win some additional votes was an endorsement from Gov. Wes Moore (D), who stood beside her on stage Tuesday night. More importantly, Prince Georges voters such as Kelly Tolbert of District Heights stood in a long line to cast a ballot for Braveboy at Suitland Community Center. Shes a personable person, Tolbert said about Braveboy. I want somebody whos going to be personable on a regular basis, not when they want your vote. She was like that pre-pandemic when I met her and the same way today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several voters declined to say who they voted for Tuesday, but stressed the importance of simply casting a ballot. The decisions that are made about the investments in our county, where new businesses are located, where new homes are built, really to attract new vibrant activity. The next county executive will hold the key to that, said former state Sen. Melony Griffith, who currently is president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association. Its so important that people participate in this process. County officials have estimated that this years special primary and general elections will cost about $4.2 million, or $2.1 million each. Because Democrats have an overwhelming advantage in voter registration in the county, the winner of Tuesdays Democratic primary is largely considered the favorite to win the special general election June 3 against one of three Republicans. The vote remained too close to call in that race Tuesday night, as George E. McDermott had 352 votes to 348 for Jonathan White and Jesse Peed with 336. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although County Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D) dropped out the about three weeks ago, she received the fourth-highest number of Democratic primary votes for county executive, with 1,661. State Sen. Alonzo Washington followed Ivey with 1,341 votes; Tonya Sweat had 416; Ron Hunt with 202; Marcellus Crews with 120; and Albert Slocum with 43. Some of the first voters to cast their ballots in Prince Georges Countys special primary election March 4 at this voting center included former state Sen. Melony G. Griffith, left. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) Meanwhile, residents in the countys District 5 area, which includes Cheverly, Bladensburg and Glenarden, also had to select a new councilmember to fill Iveys old seat. Unofficial results show Shayla Adams-Stafford in first place with 1,214, or nearly 47% of the vote. Ryan Middleton, who was also endorsed by Alsobrooks, remains in second with 781, or 30% of the vote. The other three Democratic candidates are Kendal Gray with 246 votes; Theresa Mitchell Dudley with 176; and Christopher Wade with 153. Cheverly Mayor Kayce Munyeneh dropped out the race, but still received 29 votes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lone Republican candidate, Fred Price Jr., ran uncontested and advance to the June 3 special election. The winners for county executive and County Council will serve out the remaining two years left on the terms for those two seats. This story was upated on Wednesday, March 5, to include Hawkins statement. OSLO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Denmark has strongly opposed U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed push for Greenland to join the United States, following his remarks during a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Trump declared that his administration would "strongly support" Greenlanders' "right to determine" their future, adding: "And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America." Acknowledging the uncertainty sparked by Trump's statements, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed Denmark's position on Wednesday, emphasizing that Greenland's future is solely for its people to decide. "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. This is a position that we very strongly support from the Danish government," she said. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede firmly rejected Trump's claim, saying on social media that Greenlanders have no desire to become part of the United States. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen echoed these sentiments, stressing that Greenland will never be part of the United States. "It is not, and it will never be, the case that the United States can dictate and get a part of the Danish Kingdom," he said. Greenland, the world's largest island with a population of around 60,000, was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became an integral part of Denmark with Greenlanders given Danish citizenship. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, gaining greater self-governance while Denmark retained authority over its foreign and defense policy. This is not the first time Trump talked about taking over Greenland. Denmark has rejected the idea, saying the island is not up for sale. During the opening moments of Donald Trumps address to Congress, Democratic representative Al Green got to his feet in protest, pointing his finger at the president while shouting you have no mandate. The congressman, who represents Texas 9th District and is currently in his 11th term, was swiftly escorted out, telling reporters outside: "It's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to the president. Green, 77, has previously spoken out against Trump, including over his comments about Gaza, and vowed to introduce articles to impeach the president for what would be the third time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So who is the firebrand Democrat from The Lone Star state? During the opening moments of Donald Trumps address to Congress, Democratic representative Al Green protested, pointing his finger at the president while shouting you have no mandate (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) The congressman, who has previously spoken out against Trump, including over his comments about Gaza, was quickly escorted from the chamber (AP) Originally from Louisiana, Green earned a law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in 1974, despite not having an undergraduate degree. After graduating he co founded the law firm Green, Wilson, Dewberry, and Fitch. In 1977, he was appointed justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, and served until retiring in 2004, when he successfully ran for Congress. Running on his long record of public service in Houston, he won the election with 72 percent of the vote. In his first term, Green introduced the Homes for Heroes Act, which created a veterans affairs position in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist veterans experiencing homelessness to find affordable housing. Green is currently in his 11th term of representing Texas 9th District having first gained the seat in 2004. He has consistently been a vocal critic of Trump (2025 Getty Images) During his tenure in Congress, Green has continued to focus on issues such as fair housing and fair hiring practices for the poor and minorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has also been a very public and vocal critic of Trump, having previously led multiple attempts to have the president impeached, while the White House has dismissed his protests as publicity stunts. Last month, barely two weeks after Trump returned to office, Green announced he wanted to introduce further impeachment articles against him, also condemning Trumps call for the U.S. to take over Gaza. It was unbelievable, when I saw the President and the Prime Minister of Israel standing near each other, and the President was indicating that there would be this takeover of Gaza, he told The Independent at the time. Last month, barely two weeks after Trump returned to office, Green announced he wanted to introduce further impeachment articles against him, also condemning Trumps call for the U.S. to take over Gaza. (Getty Images) In 2017, before Trump was successfully impeached twice, Green forced a vote on whether to open debate on a motion to impeach the president. The effort failed after only 58 other Democrats supported it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After his threat to introduce further impeachment articles in February, the White House dismissed Greens efforts, with White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields accusing Democrats of continuing to waste their time on publicity stunts that go against the wishes of the American people. President Trump was elected in a historic landslide to deliver his America First agenda and keep the promises he made on the campaign trail Democrats can either get on board or keep losing elections, Fields previously told The Independent. Green currently serves on the Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Homeland Security. (NewsNation) NewsNations Chris Stirewalt said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, trying to argue with President Donald Trump during his Congressional speech was not the look the Democratic Party was trying to get. During Trumps speech, Green stood up and told Trump, You dont have a mandate. You have no mandate to cut Medicaid. He was immediately drowned out by people chanting USA and booing. Trump: US faced economic catastrophe, inflation nightmare Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats in the House of Representatives raised placards saying, (Elon) Musk steals, Save Medicaid and Protect Veterans. Stirewalt expressed confusion over their actions, saying, I have no idea what Democrats thought they were doing holding up those signs If you dont want to be there, dont go, he said, stating itd be more powerful to not show up at all. Its all beneath the work of a great nation, Stirewalt added. Trump praises major government cutbacks, efficiency measures Green says getting ejected from speech was worth it According to a White House pool report, Green spoke to reporters after getting escorted out of the House of Representatives chambers for protesting Trumps speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up to Trump, Green said. After Trumps address, the Democratic Party gave a brief speech in response. This years response was delivered by Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. NewsNations Jackie Koppell contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) opened up about the moment he was escorted out of the House chamber Tuesday evening, saying he protested at President Trumps joint address to Congress because he needs to save Medicaid. Speaking with reporters in the Capitol after being removed from Trumps speech, Green said he was protesting the presidents sweeping cuts to federal programs an issue that has left Democrats reeling and threatening to allow a lapse in government funding later this month. I was making it clear to the president that he has no mandate to cut Medicaid, Green said of his outburst. I have people who are very fearful, these are poor people and they all need Medicaid in their lives when it comes to their health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Trumps first major speech to lawmakers, he declared that the results of the 2024 presidential election were a mandate from the American people that has not been seen in many decades, echoing words he said during his victory speech in November. Green stood up and asserted the president had no mandate and did not sit back down. Then, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) repeatedly told those in attendance to maintain decorum, but Green continued to speak. Johnson then asked the sergeant-at-arms to restore order by throwing the Texas Democrat out of the chamber. The lawmaker told reporters Trump is cutting safety nets that people in his district rely on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This president seems to care less about them and more about the number of people that he can remove from the various programs that have been so helpful, he said. Many Democrats protested in their own way, from holding up signs reading false to walking out during the speech. Green defended his decision to speak out. It is the best way to get it across to a person who uses his incivility, who uses his incivility against our civility, Green said. He added later that he is willing to suffer any consequence he may face from the protest, saying it was worth it to show the American people that some members of Congress will stand up to Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is about the people who are being punished by virtue of losing their health care, the Texas lawmaker said. This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who dont have good health care. Weve got to do better, he added. Health care has become wealth care for many people, and we cant afford to let that happen. Johnson, in response, argued his Democratic colleague should be censured over the protest. The move came after Green said early last month that he would bring articles of impeachment against Trump after the president suggested the U.S. should take over Gaza. This president is unfit. He should not hold the office, Green said Tuesday, pointing to Trumps 34-count felony conviction in the New York hush money case which ended with no punishment and the two times he was impeached by the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road (left) speaks with Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro in the Alabama Senate on April 16, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Barfoot's legislation cleared its first hurdle in the Alabama House. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved one of the few bills remaining in the 2025 session that aims to regulate firearms. SB 116, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, won unanimous approval from the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. The bill makes it a state crime to possess devices that turn semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the Glock switch bill that many of us have been working on for several years now, said Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, a longtime advocate of Glock switch bans who brought the bill before the committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Barfoots legislation makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $15,000 fine, to convert a pistol into a machine gun. Using a Glock switch is already a crime in federal statute, but the legislation would allow people to be prosecuted by the state without having to pass off the jurisdiction to the federal government. It simply mirrors federal law to create a state level offense for possession of a part, or combination of parts, that convert a pistol into a machine gun, Ensler said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local officials urged lawmakers in the Legislature to pass gun control legislation to make it more difficult for people to convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. Police said Glock switches were used in a mass shooting in Birmingham in September that killed four people and injured 17. Alabama has one of the highest rates of firearm deaths in the nation. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Alabamas firearm death rate in 2022 was 25.5 per 100,000 people in 2022, the fourth highest in the nation. Alabama had more overall firearm deaths than New York State, which has almost four times the population of Alabama. Barfoots bill passed unanimously in the Senate last week. The bill is one of two that are nearly identical bills that the Legislature is considering for the session. The other, HB 26, sponsored by Ensler, also makes it a state crime to use a Glock switch that allows a user to fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kay Ivey expressed her support for the measure at a news conference with law enforcement and mayors from the states urban areas. Barfoots bill is part of a public safety package that includes legislation to improve recruitment and retention of law enforcement by offering them enhanced immunity protection and providing their dependents with scholarships for college. Other bills establish tougher penalties for people who commit violent crimes, place greater restrictions on parole and those released from pretrial detention, as well as enhanced monitoring and oversight for juveniles in the criminal justice system. SB 116 and HB 26 are also the bills in the public safety package that Democrats have largely supported, while expressing concerns with the others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 26 was supposed to be considered in the same Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee last week, but Ensler said committee chair Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris agreed to delay a vote on his legislation per his request at the Feb. 26 committee meeting. Ensler said they needed to clean up the language in the bill. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, speaks on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. A religious instruction bill sponosred by DuBose is set for a public hearing in the House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama House committee Wednesday is scheduled to consider a bill that would require school boards to give academic credit to students attending religious instruction outside the classroom. State law currently allows boards of education to extend that credit but does not mandate it. HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, would require local school boards to develop policies extending elective credit for religious instruction, known as released time religious instruction (RTRI), following guidelines from the Alabama State Board of Education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DuBose said in an interview that the bill was an attempt to protect religious freedom. But she said she did not know what would qualify as religious instruction. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX I dont know that I have a more detailed description other than religious instruction, she said. Basically think of Sunday school class. It would be something like that. Sally Smith, executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, said in a phone interview on Monday that the legislation is too broad and lacking definition of religious instruction. We dont know, Smith said. Theres no definition of what a sponsoring entity could be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DuBose said Jefferson County Schools have already adopted the policy and it will begin in the fall. Messages seeking comment were sent to the Jefferson County Board of Education seeking comment. Qualifying religious instruction must not use public funds, according to the bill. DuBose said LifeWise Ministries is one nonprofit that does RTRI. In a sample curriculum, LifeWise connects the Christian belief that God created all things good to a list of virtues that the nonprofit describes as LifeWise qualities. In take-home worksheets, students are assigned questions that tie back into the head, heart and hands focus of the curriculum. The curriculum alters the language and organization of Bible lessons so that children can understand it easily. LifeWise operates in 26 states with over 42,000 enrolled students, according to its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation limits the time away from school to an hour, including transportation. DuBose said ministries often find locations within walking distance to the school. Most of the time they transport the students in buses, but occasionally parents could transport them. In some cases, they find a location thats close enough for the kids to walk, she said. So time is of the essence, and they dont want to spend a lot of time toting them around. The House Education Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on the legislation on Wednesday. DuBose said she expects opposition from the Alabama Association of School Boards and the School Superintendents of Alabama. Some of them are worried about the impact it may have, I think, administratively or just coming and going during the school day, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Requests for comment from SSA sent Monday afternoon. Smith said she is worried about the legislation creating an unfair playing field by allowing students to take credit for the religious instruction. We just dont think that would be a level playing field, she said. We dont have any authority under the legislation to determine the rigor or whether it merits the same level of credit. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollinger's Island, casts a vote in the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. His legislation to enhance criminal penalties for people who are not authorized in the U.S. continues to move through the Alabama Legislature. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Two Alabama House committees Wednesday approved bills enhancing penalties for crimes committed by people living in the country without legal authorization and one invalidating out-of-state licenses issued to those without legal status. Democrats on the two committees voted against the measures, and immigrant rights groups expressed outrage at some claims made to justify the legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the worst part is that it presumes that immigrants are not already punished for crimes, said Allison Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. There is total misinformation here that, in Alabama, immigrants who are undocumented and go into jail, be convicted of a misdemeanor, and just be released. We have seen for years that people end up in jail even before they have charges, they are turned over to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and detained. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved SB 55, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, which would declare that licenses issued to immigrants without legal authorization are not valid in Alabama and do not allow the holder to operate a motor vehicle. The Alabama Senate approved the bill last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have about 19 different states across the country that issue licenses that are specifically for folks who are not here legally, Elliott said to members of the committee. What we are saying is we will not recognize those in Alabama. Those who have one of the licenses from one of those states will be issued a citation for driving without a license. The license clearly indicates that it is not issued for identification or that it was issued for driving issues only, Elliott said. Later on Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, which imposes harsher penalties on those who are not authorized to be in the United States and who commit a felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A crime against a minor is so egregious that we all agree it should never happen, Brown said. There has already been a crime committed, trespassing against the United States, so when they are in Alabama, in this way they are going to be handed over to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and if they are convicted under this, which would bump it up, there will be some real jail time. Under the bill, an immigrant without legal authorization convicted of a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $7,500, would see the charge move up to a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000. An individual convicted of a Class C felony with this bill becomes a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. A Class B felony conviction becomes a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison and a $100,000 fine. A Class A felony conviction for someone not authorized to be in the U.S. carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years. Any person who is not authorized to reside in the country convicted of a misdemeanor offense will be punished with a Class C felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A substitute was introduced in the committee that added the victim must be a minor for the criminal enhancements to take effect. Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, asked Brown if ICE is not notified whenever a person who is not authorized to live in this country commits a crime. Brown said it depends on the administration, and that sometimes ICE is not notified if a person who is undocumented commits a misdemeanor. Immigrant rights groups said that is not the case. Hamilton said the bill violates equal protection rights in the U.S. Constitution. We know this is going to be particularly targeted at Black and Brown immigrants, she said. We feel that it is racially motivated, racial profiling, and that it is also unconstitutional to impose different criminal sentences on different types of human beings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigration enforcement has been a focus of the Legislation in the current session. Lawmakers are steadily working their way through bills that allow local law enforcement to enter into an agreement with the federal government to enforce the nations immigration laws. They have also passed legislation in committee that requires labor brokers who employ foreign nationals to register with the state. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen speaks at the podium in the Alabama House of Representatives chamber, Feb. 25, 2025. Pettus sponsors a bill that would require courts to prosecute people younger than 21 as adults when they are charged with murder.(Photo/Stew Milne for the Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday approved legislation that would require courts to prosecute people 16 or older as adults when charged with murder. HB 146, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, passed 67-33, with several Republicans joining all the chambers Democrats in opposing the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pettus bill would prevent judges from granting youthful offender status to anyone 16 or older facing a murder charge. Currently judges may grant youthful offender status for anyone under the age of 19. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The sponsor cited a case where a man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend was granted youthful offender status. Under youthful offender status, people convicted of murder serve a maximum of three years in prison, regardless of severity. There was a case where the judge made a bad decision, and he finally went back on it. This is to keep that from happening, Pettus said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, a former judge, said the legislation would take away judicial discretion. Im just opposed to removing judicial discretion, Hill said. We dont want judges making the law from the bench. Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, said the bill would create cookie cutter justice and the legislation should have gone through the chambers judiciary committees, instead of the Public Safety and Homeland Security committees. To strip, cold turkey, discretion away from judges, I just think were going down a very, very dangerous road by doing this, Chestnut said. Were going to get cookie cuter justice across this state and its not going to be good for the defendants or the victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, said minors should be given a second chance. I cant help but think about some juveniles Ive worked with and counseled. In dealing with these kids, most of their actions are done with ego and at the moment, Warren said. They have an opportunity to go back and rethink what theyve done. Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, offered an amendment that would limit the legislation to apply only to those charged with intentional murder. This would limit the number of folks that were involved in the initial confrontation or incident to the person that was actually killing the other person, England said. The amendment was adopted 99-0. The bill moves to the Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, speaks to a colleague on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 4, 2025 in Montgomery Alabama. The Alabama Legislature began its 2025 session on Tuesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow child support payments to be retroactively applied to cover expenses incurred during pregnancy. Under SB 18, sponsored by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, child support payments could be ordered retroactively to cover the nine months prior to birth if paternity is legally established within a year of a childs birth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Republicans] passed a trigger piece of legislation here in the state of Alabama that said life begins at conception, and so, if life begins at conception, based on the legislation that they passed, if you have a live birth, then financial support for that live birth shouldnt start once the baby is born. It starts in utero, Coleman said after the bills passage. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX She said that pregnancy is expensive, and families start preparing for their childs birth well before they are born, adding to expenses. Im a mother, and we didnt just start buying for Xaviar and Elexia once they were born, we prepared for their love, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate adopted two amendments to the bill before final passage. One clarifies that retroactive child support applies only in cases of live births, explicitly preventing claims for pregnancies ending in stillbirth. Another amendment grants judges discretion over whether to order retroactive support, a change from last years version of the bill, which required it in all cases. There are situations where youll have a father that has paid throughout the nine months or has been very supportive, Coleman said. Coleman also pointed to the bills limits, saying that it only applies in cases where paternity is established through the courts within the first year of a childs life. She said after the bills passage that it was meant to exempt cases in which people establish paternity years after birth. The bill passed the Senate 31-0 and had vocal support from at least one Republican, Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, who stood behind Coleman and said, Shes right after she discussed the bill. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, introduces a bill on unemployment compensation in the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 11, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee Tuesday approved a bill that would increase the number of job contacts a person needs to make to maintain unemployment benefits. HB 29, sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, would require people to contact at least five potential employers, up from the current three, to maintain unemployment benefits. The bill provides an exception for people living in counties with less than 20,000 residents, who would still be required to contact at least three potential employers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have 127,000 open jobs across the state, and this presumably would require people to look more for jobs and available employment, rather than just taking three a week, said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who introduced the bill to the committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Unemployment benefits in Alabama currently range from $45 to $275 weekly, depending on the persons earnings in a defined period. The median household income in Alabama was $1,193 per week, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2019 to 2023. Orr pitched the bill as a solution to the states low workforce participation rate, which stood at 57.8% as of December 2024. The national workforce participation rate was 62.5% during the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, said that lawmakers know that increasing the workforce participation rate means addressing issues in transportation, child care and housing. There are a lot of jobs that are out there, but if Im paying more for day care than I am paying to get to a job or whatever. So that kind of doesnt the math doesnt work, Coleman-Madison said. David Stout, legislative director of Alabama Arise, a nonprofit working on poverty issues, called the legislation a poorly conceived bill and said that requirements to access unemployment benefits dont need to be more stringent. The people who are drawing unemployment are already conforming to the tightest guidelines in the country, Stout said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stout, who was the only person from the public to speak on the bill, pointed to the states low unemployment level, which stood under 3% in December. Its not going to help people who are looking for work, and youre going to force more people off those rolls that are presently drawing unemployment, Stout said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE JUBA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Diplomats from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the ongoing armed violence in Nasir County in South Sudan's Upper Nile State. The IGAD envoys from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, who are based in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, said escalating tensions and armed clashes in Nasir County, which have left over 20 people dead and displaced many others, could undermine a permanent peace deal. "We call upon all the parties and their affiliate groups to immediately cease hostilities and exercise maximum restraint," the diplomats said in a joint statement issued in Juba. Clashes erupted in mid-February between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces and the armed civilian groups in Nasir County. Tensions escalated further after the government announced plans to deploy new forces to Nasir County to rotate troops stationed in the area for several years, raising concerns among local communities that the incoming forces could target civilians or initiate a disarmament campaign. More than 20 people have been reported killed and several others injured on the outskirts of the now-deserted town of Nasir, located near the border between South Sudan and Ethiopia. According to the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, a multinational body that monitors compliance with the South Sudan peace agreement signed in 2018, the security situation in Upper Nile State has significantly deteriorated in the past weeks. The IGAD diplomats said the security situation in Nasir threatens to undermine the hard-won gains achieved in implementing the revitalized peace agreement and exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the region. "We emphasize the paramount importance of upholding the permanent ceasefire and adhering to the provisions of the peace agreement," the envoys said while encouraging continued dialogue and consultations within the framework of the revitalized peace agreement. A sign at post office on West Northern Lights in Anchorage, seen on Dec. 27, 2024, warns about the dangers of fentanyl. Statistics show a recent downturn in nonfatal opioid overdose rates in Alaska, which could be a positive sign. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Nonfatal opioid overdose rates declined in Alaska in 2024, a potentially hopeful sign for a state that had a record number of overdose deaths the year before, health officials said. The number of deaths in 2024 is not yet available. The downturn in nonfatal overdoses late last year comes as part of a six-year trend of volatility in rates of emergency department visits for opioid overdoses that did not result in deaths, according to a bulletin issued by the Alaska Division of Public Healths epidemiology section. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From 2019 to 2024, those rates veered between 1.5 and 4 per 1,000 emergency visits, according to the bulletin. The highest rates were recorded in early 2021 and in late 2023, the bulletin said. By late 2024, the rate had fallen to below 2 per 1,000 emergency department visits. That may be a good sign, as nonfatal overdoses treated in emergency departments have generally mirrored rates of overdose deaths, the bulletin said. The report struck a note of caution about the preliminary nature of the statistics, however. The decline in late 2024 is promising but needs further monitoring to determine if it represents a temporary fluctuation or a sustained trend, it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In all, there were 4,842 emergency department visits for nonfatal opioid overdoses in Alaska from 2019 to 2024, the bulletin said. The average rate over the period was 2.6 per 1,000 visits, the bulletin said. By geography, the highest rates were in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Anchorage; all other regions had rates below the statewide average, and the lowest was in the Interior. Patients 25 to 34 years old comprised the age group with the highest rate, followed closely by patients 35 to 44 years old, the bulletin said. Rates for men were higher than those for women, it said. There are limitations to the findings, the bulletin said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Information about fentanyl, the drug that has been the cause of most opioid overdose deaths in recent years, was incomplete before 2020, it said. And underreporting of overdoses that do not result in emergency department visits might have affected the findings, it said. In an emailed statement, the bulletins authors, both state epidemiology specialists, said they are trying to understand why and how the rate declined in late 2024. Its difficult to isolate one main reason or a combination of multiple reasons, said the authors, Jessica Filley and Riley Fitting. Some potential reasons that we need to investigate further could be changes in drug supply, different drug use patterns, increased access/use of naloxone, people overdosing/receiving naloxone but not making a trip to the emergency room for care, and perhaps an increase in people accessing treatment or engaging in other harm reduction strategies, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naloxone is a medicine that reverses overdose effects and can thus save lives. A new law in Alaska requires schools to stock overdose-reversal kits with medication and other supplies. Alaska had 357 overdose deaths in 2023, an increase of nearly 45% over the previous year, according to a state report issued late last year. It was, by far, the highest increase rate of all states, and it bucked a national trend of declining overdose deaths. While state totals for fatal overdoses in 2024 are not yet available, preliminary numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a continued increase in Alaska. Alaska was on track for about a 17% increase in drug overdose deaths as of last September, according to the CDCs preliminary information. At that time, Alaska was one of only five states with increasing numbers of overdose deaths. Nationally, overdose deaths declined by nearly 24% from September 2023 to September 2024, the CDC said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The National Interagency Fire Center's March fire weather outlook for North America, showing most of New Mexico with above normal fire conditions. The Albuquerque office for the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center is on the list of lease terminations announced by Elon Musk's DOGE. (Photo Courtesy NIFC) As Albuquerque and the rest of the state gear up for another wildfire season, a 22,000-square-foot building housing a wildfire dispatch center is on the list of lease terminations announced by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency. The building at 2113 Osuna Road Northeast in Albuquerque is the office for the Cibola National Forest Supervisor and also the headquarters of the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center, which coordinates fire response among dozens or potentially hundreds of people from different agencies responding to a wildfire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the local broker for the lease between California-based EKF Properties LLC and the United States Forest Service, the property is the same one mentioned in the DOGE lease termination list. Property tax records also show the building has the same square footage as the one on the DOGE list. Emails and calls to the dispatch center or the National Interagency Fire Center, which oversees the dispatch center, were not returned or were returned undeliverable Tuesday. Several federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, cooperate with the dispatch center, but did not respond to a request for comment. New Mexico State Forestry is also a partner. Forestry Spokesperson George Ducker declined to comment on the potential closure of the dispatch center but, in an emailed statement, called its work critical and paramount for successful wildfire suppression. Dispatch centers coordinate fire suppression efforts between federal, state and tribal agencies, including monitoring radio traffic between hand crews, and air support. They also facilitate communications between incident command during larger and more complex wildfires, Ducker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This kind of coordination is critical during emergencies where homes, lives and natural resources are at risk from wildfire, Ducker said. Because each wildfire requires an all-hands response, and that response can include from 100-1,000 people, maintaining good communication between all the different resources is paramount. The Albuquerque dispatch center, one of six in the state, covers the states biggest city, as well as hundreds of square miles in Central New Mexico, stretching south toward Truth or Consequences, west to Zuni Pueblo and east to Encino. Communications about wildfires that spark in that area, regardless of agency, flow through the dispatch center, as well as communications about ongoing prescribed burns. The center also provides predictive services and intelligence to support incident command and on-the-ground wildland firefighters, according to its website. Cutting wildfire infrastructure, including placing the Cibola Forest Supervisors office on the termination list, is a bad idea, said U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan in a statement to Source New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Are you an employee or former employee at the dispatch center, Cibola National Forest or other national forests in New Mexico? Reach out to reporter Patrick Lohmann securely on Signal at Plohmann.61 or by using this link. Wildfire season in New Mexico is already here, and cutting firefighting infrastructure at this critical moment is reckless and dangerous. Musk and Trumps decision to dismantle these resources especially after the states largest wildfire that was ignited by the federal government puts lives, homes, and communities at risk, he said in an emailed statement. Much of New Mexico, including the area the Albuquerque dispatch center monitors, has been under a Red Flag warning this week, as continued drought and high winds create extreme fire risk throughout the state. A mid-February wildfire outlook from the National Interagency Fire Center shows worsening long-term fire conditions through April here. The NIFC typically provides region-specific wildfire outlooks on the first of each month, but it has not yet published its prediction for March. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Several measures were approved in Albuquerque City Council Monday night including a way for the city to address nuisance properties. According to the city, the new ordinance gives further definition to acts that make a property considered a nuisance, and streamlines the enforcement process. Those opposed to the ordinance say its a way for the city to shut down properties they dont like at any time. Some changes were made to the original proposal, such as not deeming a property a nuisance simply because the owner allows a homeless person to camp there. City council pass resolution on how Albuquerque Fire Rescue is staffed Council also approved a guaranteed income initiative that gives millions of dollars to some low-income residents in the International District and Albuquerques West Side. Money from cannabis tax revenue will go to fund a guaranteed income initiative to close the wealth gap. Participating families from Whittier and Carlos Rey Elementary Schools will get $750 a month for three years to help pay for everyday needs. The two Title One schools were chosen because of their low academic performance and high chronic absenteeism. Councilors Klarissa Pena and Nichole Rogers helped spearhead the effort which Rogers said could help families like hers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We like to focus on Im the first black city councilor, but Im probably the first single mom city councilor whos living in poverty right now. For my family this would be life changing, said Councilor Rogers. But other councilors had concerns. Councilor Dan Lewis asked the mayors administration if undocumented citizens could be a part of the program. We dont track that information. So, we wouldnt begin tracking that there either, said Sonya Lara, Director of CABQs Office of Equity and Inclusion. KRQE News 13 also asked the Mayors office for a response to the concern raised that undocumented families in need of assistance may receive aid over U.S. citizens needing assistance. The Guaranteed Income Initiative is a pilot program found in dozens of other cities that will provide direct support to Albuquerque families who need it most, giving them a chance to build financial security for their kids. By ordinance, the City cannot ask about or document anyones immigration status, including the APS families who will be part of this program, said a spokesperson in an emailed response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Councilors also asked how the three-year program could create lasting change. As a condition of the program, they have to work with Office of Equity and Inclusion in their financial empowerment program to get financial literacy education, said Carla Martinez, CABQs Associate Chief Administrative Officer. When asked how the city will measure if the program is working, Martinez said they are tracking students school attendance, if participants are completing their financial counseling, and having participants do regular surveys. The measure narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Alec Baldwin will be deposed in May over his role in the October 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. Lawyers for Hutchins parents and sister, in a notice filed on Monday in New Mexico state court, told the judge overseeing the case that they intend to take Baldwins deposition on May 9 at their firms New York office. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is long overdue for him to testify under oath about what really happened that caused the death of Hutchins, said Gloria Allred, a lawyer for the family, in a statement. The deposition relates to a lawsuit filed by Olga Solovey, Anatolii Androsovych and Svetlana Zemko Hutchins mother, father and sister respectively against Baldwin, Rust Movie Productions and producers of the film faulting them for the accidental shooting. It revolves around accusations that they repeatedly ignored safety protocols designed to ensure that firearms would be safely used on the set of the low budget Western. Per the complaint, Baldwin, who allegedly failed to check the firearm to see if it was loaded in violation of industry-wide safety protocols, cocked and fired the gun even though the scene he was filming did not call for him to do so. The lawsuit alleged battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of consortium, which allows for recovery of damages for relationships that are mutually dependent. Rust producers Ryan Smith, Allen Cheney, Anjul Nigam, Ryan Winterstein and Matthew Delpiano, among others, were also named in the complaint, which was initially filed in Los Angeles Superior Court but later transferred to New Mexico state court. The case was paused pending the outcome of Baldwins trial for manslaughter. The stay was lifted after the court dismissed charges against the actor following a last-minute hearing over how police and prosecutors treated a handful of bullets. It related to a retired law enforcement officer turning over a collection of live ammunition to the Santa Fe Sheriffs Office, some of which matched the bullets found on the Rust set. While the rounds were taken in, they werent inventoried under the proper case, effectively hiding the evidence from Baldwin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Allred also took issue with Baldwins TLC reality series, which features him and his family, for ignoring the fact that [he] took a child away from her parents. No longer under the threat of criminal prosecution, it is long overdue for Alec Baldwin to admit and face the real-life consequences that he caused Halynas parents and sister, she said. Allred also represents script supervisor Mamie Mitchell in a lawsuit against Baldwin and the films producers. Earlier in the case, a judge found that there was extreme and outrageous conduct on the part of Baldwin, who unexpectedly cocked and fired a loaded handgun despite being aware of a disastrous safety culture on the set of Rust. In January, Baldwin sued Santa Fe officials for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations for pursuing criminal charges against him in the accidental shooting death. He said that prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence that would vindicate and sought to charge him for political gain. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Actor Alec Baldwin was reportedly in a dark place following the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film Rust. The 30 Rock actor had been rehearsing a scene inside a church when the gun he was holding went off, although he has since claimed that he never pulled the trigger. It is still unclear how a live bullet ended up inside a prop gun on a movie set, but his trial was dismissed on the third day of witness testimony after a judge determined that the prosecution did not disclose evidence to his legal team and dismissed charges against the actor with prejudice. Alec Baldwins Wife Hilaria Says He Struggles With Survivors Guilt MEGA On the second episode of their TLC reality series, The Baldwins, Alecs wife Hilaria Baldwin opened up on the survivors guilt that the actor has been struggling with following the fatal shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I found these text messages the other day between us, you know, the day after, Hilaria told the camera. And [Alec] said he wanted to kill himself. In a confessional, she went on to say that her husband has survivors guilt following the fatal shooting. You're involved in this thing that nobody could even possibly imagine. And so he goes back to that day, he wishes it were him, she said. He would change places [with Hutchins] in a second. Hilaria Baldwin Says His Health Has Declined Since The Shooting MEGA In addition to mental health struggles, Hilaria says that the Supercell actor has also been experiencing several physical elements that include heart problems, fainting, and multiple hospitalizations. He'll never be the same, Hilaria said during the second episode. This has affected his health and his mental health tremendously the past few years. All of a sudden, he has started having heart problems. He's been hospitalized multiple times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She also recalled a time that he fainted, which resulted in her shaking him awake. It's hard sometimes, the former yoga instructor added. But, you know, hopefully we're in the hardest but the tail end of it. Alec Baldwin Will Be Deposed In May Over Halyna Hutchins' Family Civil Suit MEGA Even though he will no longer face criminal consequences for the death of Halyna Hutchins, her mother, father, and sister are still filing a civil lawsuit against the actor. According to a filing obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, their lawyers intend to take Baldwins deposition on May 9 at their firms New York office. An attorney for the family, Gloria Allred, said, It is long overdue for him to testify under oath about what really happened that caused the death of Halyna Hutchins. Gloria Allred Slams The Baldwins Reality Show As Shameless MEGA In a statement obtained by People magazine, Allred questioned why Baldwin was highlighting the emotional toll that the Rust shooting took on him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why is he claiming that he has PTSD? she asked. Is his reality show just a veiled attempt to create sympathy for himself with a future jury pool in our civil case? Is this just a shameless attempt to portray him as the real victim in this case? Allred claimed that the actor never apologized for the death of Hutchins, stating that he never called or tried to contact her parents or sister to say that he was sorry, and to this day he has never taken responsibility for Halynas death. Alec Baldwin Opened Up On Rust Shooting During The Premiere MEGA During the premiere of The Baldwins last month, Alec told his wife, This has been just surreal when discussing the fatal Rust shooting and the subsequent legal turmoil that he has been facing over the last few years. I mean, I can't even believe that we're going through this, and I always feel more in pain about you than me, because I think to myself, well, you know, I'm going to try to my best to just get through it, and I think what it's done to you and how much it's hurt you and everything, the actor said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his confessional, he added, This past year was just terrible. There were times I'd lay in bed. I'd go, Wow, my kids. I can't get up. That's not like me. I'm not like that at all, not in any way am I like that. Never. Hilaria then revealed that the actors OCD has gotten worse since he was diagnosed with PTSD and asked himself, If an accident had to have happened this day, why am I still here? Why couldn't it have been me? Eclipsed by his fame as the inventor of the telephone, phonograph, metal detector, and early forms of the hydrofoil (among other machines) is the extensive work that Alexander Graham Bell did with the deaf community throughout his life. Although his personal family history and his interest in and study of voice and speech lead to his most famous accomplishments, Bell once described his later work with deaf people more pleasing to me than even recognition of my work with the telephone. In recent decades, Bell has been vilified by some members of the deaf community, who point to his eugenics-tinged opinions on deafness and his successful efforts to ban the use of sign language in deaf education. However, others contend that Bells efforts, although misguided, were in fact well-intentioned, and there is perhaps no aspect of his life that better supports this claim than his longtime friendship with Helen Keller. Bell had a deep fascination with voice and deafness Keller was healthy baby until 18 months after her June 1880 birth. In 1882, she suffered a fever that left her blind and deaf. Despite developing a rudimentary sign language with which to communicate, she was isolated, unruly, and prone to wild tantrums as a child. So much so that some members of her family considered institutionalizing her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seeking to improve her condition, her parents traveled from their Alabama home to Baltimore in 1886 to see an oculist who had had some success in dealing with conditions of the eye. After examining Keller, however, he told her parents that he couldnt restore her sight. Still, he suggested that she could still be educated, referring them to Bell, who despite having achieved worldwide fame, was working with deaf children in Washington D.C. Getty Images Bells interest in voice and deafness extended deep into his past. His mother was almost completely deaf, and both his grandfather and father had done extensive scientific research on voice. Bell apprenticed with his father from a young age and took an increasingly important role in the work. Eventually, Bell moved to Boston and, in 1871, began teaching deaf children there to speak using a set of symbols his father had invented called Visible Speech. Further deepening the famous inventors connection to the deaf community was his wife, Mabel Hubbard. Her hearing was destroyed by disease as a child, and she later became one of Bells pupils. The couple married in 1877. Keller and Bell initially met in 1886. He made his pocket watch chime so she could feel its vibration. Warmly recalling that first meeting, Keller later wrote that she felt he understood her and that she loved him at once. Bell referred Keller to the Perkins Institution in Boston, and the following March, Anne Sullivan was sent to Kellers home to begin her education. Keller and Graham brought national attention to the deaf community After a difficult start, Sullivan broke through to Keller in April 1887 when she traced the word water on her hand and then ran cold water over it. Keller retraced the word on Sullivans hand then eagerly went on to learn 30 more words that day. Writing to Bell shortly thereafter, Sullivan described the breakthrough as a miracle. Bell quickly spread word of their accomplishments, publishing an account of the events in various journals. Before long, Keller had become something of a celebrity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keller, for her part, was extremely grateful to Bell for broadening her horizons, and Bell to Keller for bringing national attention to deaf education. In the years to come, the two frequently spent time together, developing something of a parent-child relationship along the way. In 1887, Keller participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for Bells Volta Bureau, an institution for deaf research that he opened in Washington D.C. with prize money received in recognition of his invention of the telephone. In 1888, Keller again journeyed north to visit Bell, and this time also met with President Grover Cleveland. (She would go on to meet every subsequent president through Lyndon B. Johnson.) In 1893, Keller even accompanied Bell to the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where they stayed for three weeks. Bell, who had learned finger spelling to communicate with his mother, acted as Kellers personal guide at the worlds fair and taught her about modern science and technology. Bell became further involved in Kellers education when she expressed a desire to attend a regular college, an idea he wholly supported. In 1896, Bell coordinated the effort to establish a trust fund for Keller. When she began attending Radcliffe College in Boston in 1900, it was this trust fund, as well as further financial support from Bell, that paid for her schooling. Keller became the first deaf-blind person to graduate college in 1904. They forged a lasting friendship Getty Images The bond between Bell and Keller only strengthened up until the inventors death in August 1922. Keller was a frequent guest in Bells home, and he remained her constant supporter, both personally and financially. He frequently sent her money to pay for living expenses or vacations, and he even learned to use a braille typewriter so they could correspond more directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keller used the braille typewriter to write her first autobiography, The Story of My Life, which she dedicated to him, writing, To Alexander Graham Bell, who has taught the deaf to speak and enabled the listening ear to hear speech from the Atlantic to the Rockies. You Might Also Like Police are investigating an alleged hazing incident following the death of a Southern University and A&M College student, school officials said. Caleb Wilson, a 20-year-old junior at the college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died on Feb. 27 following an off-campus incident, school officials said. He was brought to a local hospital unresponsive, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department, whose officers responded to the hospital around 3 a.m. that day. PHOTO: Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Southern University and A&M College) The police department and the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office are investigating an "alleged act of hazing involving members of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc." in connection with Wilson's "unfortunate and unnecessary" death, the university said in a statement on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Southern University, a historically Black college and university, said it is cooperating with the criminal investigation. The school is also conducting an internal investigation into what led to Wilson's death following reports of "unsanctioned off-campus activities" and will "take appropriate action" once completed. "Hazing is a violation of the Universitys rules and regulations as well as Louisiana law, and it will not be tolerated in any form at Southern University," the school said. MORE: Miami University fraternity suspended amid 'inhumane' hazing allegations The university said Wednesday it has begun its student judiciary process for any alleged breaches of school policy amid its hazing investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cause and manner of Wilson's death are pending the results of additional forensic testing, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. Police and school officials have not released further details about the incident. As of Wednesday, the Baton Rouge Police Department had no updates on the investigation. PHOTO: Southern University student Caleb Wilson is seen in this photo released by Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter. (Rep. Troy Carter/Meta) The university indefinitely banned membership intake for all student organizations in the wake of Wilson's death. "The well-being of our students is a part of our mission to provide an extraordinary education for thousands of students," the school said. "We support punishment to the fullest extent of the law for anyone committing an act of violence that impedes a student from safely and successfully matriculating at Southern." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Dartmouth suspends fraternity after student's death prompted hazing investigation Ricky Lewis, the highest-ranking official in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, said in a statement that they are "actively working to gather accurate information" amid the investigation by local authorities and "we fully support their efforts to seek the truth." "Currently, our foremost priority is standing in unwavering support of Calebs family," Lewis said. "We have extended ourselves to them and are ready to assist in any way possible during this difficult time." Wilson was majoring in mechanical engineering, the school said. He was also a member of the Southern University "Human Jukebox" Marching Band, which remembered him as a "talented trumpet player, a dedicated student and a bright soul." A candlelight vigil will be held in his honor Wednesday evening at the university. Alleged hazing incident under investigation following student's death originally appeared on abcnews.go.com WASHINGTON The alleged member of ISIS-K charged with orchestrating the attack on U.S. troops evacuating from Afghanistan in 2021, which President Donald Trump mentioned in his speech to Congress, was ordered detained Wednesday at his initial court appearance. Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, was charged Sunday with being a member of Islamic State-Khorasan for providing and conspiring to provide support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death. If convicted, Sharifullah could face the death penalty. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter in eastern Virginia ordered Sharifullah to be confined by the U.S. Marshals Service until his detention hearing Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump credited Pakistan with helping bring Sharifullah to face the swift sword of American justice. Sharifullah was flown to Dulles International Airport near Washington on Tuesday and has an initial court appearance Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia. "Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan," Trump said. I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster." Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement his country "will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability. Carl and Marsha Mueller hold a photo of their daughter Kayla, who was killed by ISIS, as President Donald Trump mentions her in the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2020. The charges stem from a suicide bombing Aug. 26, 2021, while American and other military forces were evacuating from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdul Rahman al-Logari detonated a suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, the main entry point to the airport where thousands of civilians were gathered for evacuation, according to federal officials. The bomb killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and about 160 civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sharifullah waived his rights against self-incrimination during an FBI interview Sunday and allegedly said he acknowledged helping prepare for the attack by scouting a route near the gate, according to U.S authorities. Sharifullah checked for law enforcement at U.S. or Taliban checkpoints and said he knew al-Logari, according to U.S. authorities. During the interview, Sharifullah allegedly acknowledged supporting ISIS-K in other lethal attacks: On June 20, 2016, a suicide bomber acting for ISIS-K detonated a bomb that killed at least 10 embassy guards and multiple civilians and wounded other soldiers guarding the Canadian embassy in Kabul. Sharifullah allegedly conducted surveillance to prepare the suicide bomber and later transported the bomber to the attack area, according to court records. On March 22, 2024, a group of ISIS-K gunmen attacked Crocus City Hall near Moscow, Russia, killing about 130 people. Sharifullah allegedly told the FBI he shared instructions on how to use AK-style rifles and other weapons to would-be attackers, two of whom he knew, according to court records. This evil ISIS-K terrorist orchestrated the brutal murder of 13 heroic Marines, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. Under President Trumps strong leadership on the world stage, this Department of Justice will ensure that terrorists like Mohammad Sharifullah have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FBI Director Kash Patel posted a picture of agents on X standing in front of the plane he arrived on. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ISIS-K member charged in Afghanistan bombing against US troops: Trump A driver was recently stopped for going nearly twice the speed limit on a busy Ohio road. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) said a trooper from their Toledo post stopped a driver for going almost 120 mph on Interstate 475 in Lucas County, according to a social media post. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver got clocked for traveling 119 mph in a 60 mph speed zone. OSHP said on its Facebook page that the vehicle was going nearly double the speed limit. They added that there have been over 4,400 speed-related crashes on Lucas County roads since 2020. OSHP has asked drivers to stay safe, slow down. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] YEMASSEE, S.C. (WSAV) A South Carolina primate research center that came under fire in 2024 for losing over 40 monkeys has called out People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for their euthanasia toll, a report said. Alpha Genesis said that PETA has euthanized more than 50,000 dogs and cats at their Virginia based facility. It is deeply troubling that an organization that promotes itself as an advocate for animals has become one of the largest institutional sources of pet deaths in the country, Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, Inc said. Instead of working to find loving homes for these animals, PETA has repeatedly chosen to end their lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PETA reported over 12,000 euthanasia cases since 2019, according to the Virgina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The system only allowed reports between 2019-2024 to be readily accessed. 2019, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 2020, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 2021, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 2022, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 2023, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 2024, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services This is not the first spat between Alpha Genesis and the non-profit. In January, PETA issued a statement casting doubt over Alpha Genesis efforts recovering the 43 rhesus macaques that escaped the Yemassee facility Nov. 6, 2024. Over two months later, the research center announced all primates had been recovered. PETA highly doubts that Alpha Genesis has recaptured all the escaped monkeys, the statement said. And we demand proof of life, including the release of the records identifying the monkeys and evidence that the animals correspond to that paperwork. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Westergaard offered a profane response to PETAs scrutiny on social media. The Alpha Genesis primate escape prompted U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (SC-01) to launch an inquiry into the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Institute of Health (NIH)s oversight of the company. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. JERUSALEM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel's natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan rose by 13.4 percent year-on-year in 2024, Israel's Energy Ministry said in a report on Wednesday. According to an annual report published by the ministry, Israel's natural gas exports to its two neighboring countries amounted to 13.11 billion cubic meters (bcm), up from the 11.56 bcm exported in 2023. This annual rise was attributed by the ministry to increased demand for natural gas from Egypt and Jordan. Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen said, "The significant increase in natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan indicates that the natural gas sector is an important strategic asset for Israel and contributes to enhancing regional stability and security and strengthening our international standing." In total, an annual record high 27.38 bcm of natural gas was produced in 2024 from Israel's three gas fields Leviathan, Tamar, and Karish in the Mediterranean Sea, up 8.3 percent from 25.28 bcm in 2023. Israel's natural gas and oil revenues, mainly from royalties and fees, reached a record high of 2.31 billion new shekels (638.36 million U.S. dollars) in 2024, marking an increase of about 11 percent compared to the previous year. Future Buc-ees customers will have to wait a little longer after it was announced that its new Huber Heights gas station wont open this year. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As previously reported by News Center 7, the company said Monday some early project hiccups delayed our schedule, according to a Buc-ees Director of Real Estate and Development Stan Beard. While 2025 is no longer feasible, we are targeting the first quarter of 2026, he said. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News Center 7s Mason Fletcher got peoples reactions at the Montgomery County site, as reported on News Center 7 at 6:00. You were excited that Buc-ees was coming to you? he asked. Oh yeah, answered James Webb. Oh yeah. Love it. Fletcher said that crews broke ground on the gas station back in August. Webb lives in Huber Heights. He said hes never been to one and was excited to go because of all the buzz around the news. All the pumps, all the variety of things that they sell. I think, you know, one shop, get everything, he said. Fletcher reports the construction got delayed in November. Thats when Huber Heights and Clark County were battling over the rights to sewage and water for the gas station. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres always things you run into. It slows things up. And just like with the water system thing, said Robert Oliver. He also told Fletcher that he had recently retired from the water industry and was used to seeing construction delays. Oliver said people are worried about the traffic. Itd be the first one in a while. So, thered be people from all over come in, he said. Fletcher asked both Oliver and Webb if they expected any more delays. I dont think theyd be true to they were. I think they got it all planned out, said Webb. Well see. Time will tell. Yeah. You can always run into things when youre building, said Oliver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fletcher contacted Huber Heights about the Buc-ees delay. The city manager said their engineering team is working closely with Buc-ees team to find a solution. They added that they are still excited to move this project forward. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Amazon's CEO is cutting out middle management to reduce payroll costs and fund the company's push toward artificial intelligence. What's happening? Andy Jassy has been Amazon's CEO for three-and-a-half years, and his changes are starting to make big waves. According to Bloomberg, his newest campaign is leading to layoffs and uncertain times for Amazon employees. He recently published a manifesto discussing the changes. However, the language was vague and confusing. It mentioned having fewer managers and more contributors. The company is turning to AI and new data centers to replace the laid-off employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to eMarketer, Amazon will spend "most of its estimated $75 billion in capital expenditures" to support Amazon Web Services and AI. This is likely a major reason Jassy is eager to cut payroll. Workers are scared and frustrated. Per Bloomberg, "Employees in multiple departments describe an uncertain workplace, where old career paths are drying up and managers fear replacement by lower-paid people with less experience." Even those seeking promotions are burnt out by the changes. One employee said the promotion process was "demoralizing" because it required so many different approvals and could be vetoed at any point. Why is Amazon's restructuring strategy important? These corporate changes will cause massive ripple effects. Of course, Amazon workers are feeling it the most. However, there will be other consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The staggering investment in AI and data centers could mean price hikes for consumers. Streaming, cloud tech, and AI platform costs could go up. These increases could also trickle down to other Amazon products and services, from the new Amazon pharmacy to the cost of books. Jassy's changes could also hurt the planet. The push for more data and AI servers increases pollution. These servers also require vast amounts of water to stay cool and use excessive energy to run. Despite this, Amazon has reaffirmed its commitment to its Climate Pledge. It says it still plans to reach zero emissions by 2040. However, GeekWire reported in January that a large chunk of employees in the company's sustainability organizations were laid off. Amazon's restructuring stands to hurt its employees as well as Earth. What's being done about Amazon's troubling changes? Many Amazon employees are holding their breath to see what happens. Middle managers are likely the most nervous. But everyone is experiencing an uncertain moment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Amazon announced its Climate Pledge in 2019, its contributions to pollution have increased, Wired reported. The implementation of sustainable packaging and electric delivery vehicles have helped. But with these new data centers, zero emissions by 2040 seems like a tall order. Those unhappy with Jassy's decisions can choose to take their business elsewhere. Amazon's stronghold on consumers is tight, but spending your money somewhere else is the best way to express dissatisfaction. This applies to Amazon and every other large corporation contributing to pollution. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. I am troubled by many things happening in America, but nothing troubles me more than the jarring news that recently made headlines. My roots in America run deep. I was born in the South in September 1947, just after my relatives returned from World War II. As a child, I was horrified by the news reels of the Holocaust survivors and the aftermath of the atomic bomb. My family came to this country before the American Revolution and not only participated in that battle but fought in every war since. My patriotism runs deep and strong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other countries always respected America because we cared for others and backed our allies who needed our strength. Our soldiers graves are spread across our nation and in foreign lands all over the world. I was taught early to be proud of our American-born bravery and character. I believed that faith in our government and the people of our country would never be shaken. Terror of the Cold War era remains with me To this day, when I travel back to the Tennessee hills, I still place small American flags next to the tombstones, marking the family who served to maintain the freedom of this land. This nation has stood against aggressors, dictators, tyranny, and evil for a long time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I remember the fear of the Cold War vividly. I recall the drills during the Cuban Missile Crisis, hiding under my school desk in grade school. As a teen, I watched as my neighbor built a bomb shelter in his front yard, hoping to survive a nuclear attack. The fear of the USSR was a constant, unforgettable presence in our lives from 1947 to 1991. Opinion: US, take the win on Ukraine and shut up. Trump, Zelenskyy egos delay vital deal. Tyranny has frightened me throughout my life. Antisemitism, racism, and those who support either shame me, as I know they tarnish not just our nation but also bring tears to God's eyes. Ukraine is defending itself against Russia Today, I am in the last chapter of this life. I thought I had seen it all. But I had not. When I saw the name "America" aligning itself with China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, a shame swept over me I never knew before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twelve other countries refused to sign a UN resolution regarding Russia as the aggressor in the Ukraine-Russian war. This alignment, particularly with countries known for their human rights abuses and aggressive foreign policies, is a betrayal of the values America has always stood for. Unless you live under a rock, most all saw the tanks lined up outside Ukraines border, ready to pounce on their land three years ago. We watched in horror as the Russian leaders took pride in bombing a maternity hospital and marched on city after city in a killing spree to expand their territory. Opinion: Trump's aggressive approach may be the best way to end Russia's war in Ukraine The idea that Ukraine, with its limited resources, could survive this mighty assault was slim. Yet, the spirit and unity of their people became an inspiration to many of us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We flew their blue and yellow banners next to our red, white, and blue. We, along with our allies, cheered and prayed for the underdog just as we were in 1776. We were always a determined country that believed all people should live in freedom to worship, freedom to speak, a free press, and equality. USA should not be aligned with anti-democratic repressive nations Many people today want to save money and reduce the size of government. Some believe that we should eliminate aid to other nations, while others oppose any form of immigration. Additionally, some Americans feel uncomfortable around individuals who look or act differently from themselves. Lynn Walker Gendusa It is our right to vote how we feel. But to commend American alignment with China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia makes us not patriots, not examples of American culture, and exhibits not an ounce of appreciation for those who died for our freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This great nation should bow its head in shame. As for me, I will hide under my desk. Lynn Walker Gendusa is a writer originally from Monterrey, Tennessee. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ukraine war UN vote shows shameful position of US government | Opinion Amid growing threats from China, Taiwanese authorities have sought advice from private companies that are continuing to operate in Ukraine on how to organise operations under martial law and ongoing hostilities. Source: Reuters Details: Reuters reports that the Taiwanese authorities have sought advice from Uber and Microsoft which continue to provide important services in war-torn Ukraine. Quote: "We hope to learn from Ukraine's first-hand experiences how private companies are helping to build the resilience of its government and society during wartime," an unnamed Taiwanese official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are also interested in the experience of including supermarkets in the state supply network and using taxi services to provide emergency medical care, such as blood donations when the healthcare system is overloaded. The government is currently working to establish links between Taiwanese companies and their partners in Ukraine to help Taiwanese firms quickly improve their emergency planning. The source also noted that taking into account the lessons learned from the Nordic and Baltic countries, Taiwan is already updating its warning and shelter systems. Background: In February 2024, Taiwan's Ministry of Defence announced that it had detected eight Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait in the past 24 hours. Five of these balloons flew over Taiwan. In October, the Chinese military launched a new round of military exercises near Taiwan, claiming it was a warning to "separatist actions by pro-Taiwan independence forces" and without giving a completion date, which drew condemnation from the Taipei government. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! By Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -"Cool heads" is the mantra of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he tries to heal a rapidly growing rift between the United States, Europe and Ukraine. Starmer, who has played up his role as go-between over Ukraine, faces a diplomatic balancing act to keep both Europe and U.S. President Donald Trump on side and protect Britain from U.S. tariffs that would damage his country's strained finances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has formed an unexpected alliance with French President Emmanuel Macron, a sharp critic of Britain's departure from the European Union, and a solid relationship with Trump, who UK officials say likes Starmer's lack of pretension. "You are a very tough negotiator ... I'm not sure I like that, but okay," Trump told Starmer at a press conference after they met at the White House on Thursday. Starmer had earned his salary with his efforts to end the threat of U.S. tariffs, Trump said, without saying that he had succeeded. Since Trump upended Washington's supportive approach to Ukraine earlier this year, Starmer has helped to defend Kyiv's position while not offending the U.S. leader, who wants a swift peace deal, with or without President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. After convening talks with European leaders in London on Sunday, Starmer said Britain, France and others would work on a proposed peace deal to deliver to Trump and "a coalition of the willing" to defend it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He and Macron hope their leadership can help them rescue their reputations at home and cement European security as Germany recovers from months of domestic political uncertainty. But Starmer's announcement did not say which other nations would offer peacekeepers or step up weapons deliveries quickly. Some countries have reservations about sending troops - Poland, which a person familiar with national security said was coming under "significant pressure" to send its forces to Ukraine, says no decision will be made before elections in May. Britain is still hopeful of getting others on board, but time is of the essence, with Trump ramping up the pressure by pausing the delivery of military support to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer urged nations on Sunday "to keep the pace behind these actions", adding "this is not a moment for more talk It is time to act". 'TIME FOR COOL HEADS' A trained lawyer sometimes criticised for a lack of humour, Starmer's dispassionate and methodical approach at the White House talks and subsequent meetings in London with Zelenskiy and European leaders at the weekend, has been widely praised. "This weekend he has not really put a foot wrong," former foreign minister James Cleverly from the opposition Conservative Party told parliament on Monday. While Starmer has yet to win U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, he has worked to repair the unprecedented rift in U.S.-Ukraine relations encapsulated by the heated exchange between Zelenskiy and Trump in the Oval office last Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A British source said Starmer has been advising Zelenskiy on what would close the gap with Trump. The Ukrainian leader wrote to Trump on Tuesday saying he was ready to negotiate. Starmer called Zelenskiy earlier that day, praising his commitment to securing peace. It was the surprise phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 that spurred Starmer into action. "Time for cool heads," said a government source at the time, using a phrase that officials repeat. That prompted a meeting with Trump's special envoy to the United Kingdom, Mark Burnett, a day later when the U.S. president called in - the first of five phone conversations and one meeting with the U.S. leader since. Those conversations have been interspersed with calls with Zelenskiy and Macron, a relationship described by one British official as being presented to Trump as so close he couldn't get 'a cigarette paper' between them". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 'PRINCE OF DARKNESS' Starmer's team said the British leader had made some progress with Trump, citing the U.S. leader reiterating Washington's commitment to NATO's Article 5, which states that if a member country is attacked, all members will consider it an attack on themselves. Despite the setbacks, Starmer is ploughing on with drafting a peace plan, while his newly appointed ambassador to the U.S., veteran Labour troubleshooter Peter Mandelson, keeps the Trump administration on side. Mandelson, dubbed the Prince of Darkness by the British media for his negotiating skills behind the scenes, suggested on U.S. television on Sunday that Zelenskiy back the mineral deal with the United States and get "back on the same page" as Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer is betting that if European countries can come back with pledges to increase defence spending and a plan to ensure the security of Ukraine, Trump will offer U.S. security backup, something he says is vital to deter Putin from attacking again. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative former lawmaker who has chaired the parliamentary committee on defence, said it was important to get the balance right and prepare to work without Washington if necessary. "In the same way that Trump respects bullies who stand up to him, we must stand firm in what we believe in," he told Reuters. Addressing top ministers on Tuesday, Starmer said of his seven days of shuttle diplomacy that "everyone was aligned in pursuit of a plan that will bring lasting and durable peace to Ukraine". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told ministers, according to his spokesperson, "he would continue to have conversations at pace". (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, additional reporting by Kate Holton in London, Barbara Erling in Warsaw and Michel Rose in Paris; editing by Philippa Fletcher) By Thomas Escritt, Angelo Amante and David Latona BERLIN/ROME/MADRID (Reuters) - Donald Trump's White House confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is exposing differences within Europe's burgeoning far-right movement over his plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. They celebrated the U.S. president's return to power for taking a fringe movement mainstream and have backed billionaire Elon Musk's call to "Make Europe Great Again" (MEGA). But some on Europe's far right are torn about Trump's dressing-down of Zelenskiy and his seeming indifference to the perceived threat Russian President Vladimir Putin poses to democratic Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump on Monday froze critical U.S. military aid for Ukraine against Russia's three-year-old invasion following an explosive public confrontation in the Oval Office last week over a peace plan with Zelenskiy, who infuriated Trump by insisting the U.S. should provide security guarantees as part of any ceasefire. A handful of Europe's far-right figures including Hungary's Viktor Orban, Germany's Tino Chrupalla and Italy's Matteo Salvini have backed Trump emphatically. Other right-leaning politicians such as Britain's Nigel Farage and Poland's Krzysztof Bosak couched their support with caveats or were openly critical of Trump's cold-shouldering of Europe and Ukraine while suggesting Kyiv would have to cede territory for peace but demanding no concessions from the Kremlin. The divergence shows how right-wing populists are far from a cohesive group, curbing their sway in European Union politics and underlining the limits of Musk's effort to rally the region around his MEGA campaign to promote the anti-EU far right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There is a combination of factors that don't necessarily spur open confrontation with Trump as with the left, but still lead to distance between him and ... far-right parties that increasingly accept European integration," said Alexander Clarkson, lecturer in European studies at King's College London. Nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sprang to Trump's defence, supporting the president's approach to Ukraine peace talks that, so far, exclude Kyiv and Europe. Trump had "stood bravely for peace - even if it was difficult for many to digest," Orban said on X after Trump's tongue-lashing of Zelenskiy in front of global media. SIDING WITH TRUMP Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The far-right, pro-Russia Alternative for Germany (AfD), fresh from its historic second place in last month's national election, also sided with Trump. "Since the EU and Germany unfortunately fail as mediators, the USA and Russia must come to an agreement (on Ukraine)," AfD co-leader Chrupalla wrote on X. Bjoern Hoecke, leader of the AfD's most radical far-right wing, said the White House bust-up was Zelenskiy's fault after he "decided he had to insult his hosts". A source at Spain's Vox party took a warier stance, saying that overt support for Putin by some of its European counterparts was leaving its voters confused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Trump's unpredictability has left us in disarray," the source said. "Do we attack Putin or align ourselves with Trump's view of Putin?" Some, such as the far-right opposition Konfederacja in Poland, where fear of Russian regional domination is deeply rooted in history, blasted Trump and Putin alike. "Trump, contrary to his campaign promises and perhaps contrary to his own imagination, was unable to obtain a quick peace from Putin," Konfederacja co-leader Bosak said on Facebook. "Putin still decides how long this war will last, regardless of who is in the White House." Other right-wing populists were more equivocal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's Reform party, agreed on X with Zelenskiy that Ukraine needed "the right security guarantees" for a peace plan to work but later was more critical of the Ukrainian leader, saying on LBC radio that "in diplomatic terms, I think Zelenskiy played it very badly". France's National Rally leader Marine Le Pen has refused to take sides, saying both Trump and Zelenskiy were defending their national interests during their heated quarrel. While Orban backed Trump's plan, his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni was in London discussing a European alternative peace plan. "We are Europeans, and this issue concerns us closely - it is happening on our doorstep. We have taken a position and we are sticking to it," said Edmondo Cirielli, Italy's deputy foreign minister and member of Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FINE LINE Meloni, who has staunchly backed Ukraine since becoming Italy's premier but has cultivated good relations with Trump, aims to walk a fine line between backing Europe on defence and not angering the U.S. president, said Emanuele Massetti, a political science professor at the University of Trento. "The main strategy is to speak as little as possible or to adopt a general position that emphasises the need to remain in harmony with the U.S.," Massetti said. Trump's plans for Ukraine are also sewing internal discord in EU countries. In Italy, the ruling coalition is divided between Salvini's League, which strongly supports Trump, and the Brothers of Italy and Forza Italia, which are more cautious. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Spain, Vox party leader Santiago Abascal's criticism of Europe's reluctance to back Trump's peace plan jarred with former secretary general and party co-founder Javier Ortega Smith's remarks on Onda Cero radio before the White House row. "If Trump decides to turn his back on a European country like Ukraine and divide its borders and make so-called peace agreements without taking into account (this) aggrieved nation, we cannot agree with Trump," Ortega Smith said. (Reporting by David Latona in Madrid, Thomas Escritt and Sarah Marsh in Berlin, Barbara Erling in Warsaw, Angelo Amante in Rome, Elizabeth Piper and Michael Holden in London, Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Mark Heinrich) Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that his office is opening up a criminal investigation into right-wing manosphere influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, who are both facing rape and human trafficking allegations in Romania. Uthmeier said the criminal investigation launched a week after his office worked with law enforcement to review evidence gathered from a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate, 38 and 36 respectively, theofficial wrote on X. The brothers, who are now under criminal investigation in both Florida and Romania, landed in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday. Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers, Uthmeier said. Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrive in Florida on Feb. 27. AP Photo/Marta Lavandier Andrew Tate rose to fame in the 2000s as a professional kickboxer in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed misogynist later cultivated a large online following by creating anti-women content disguised as self-help for young men, also known as red pill content. He was banned from multiple social media platforms in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That same year, Andrew Tate and his brother, who are both dual U.S.-U.K. citizens, were arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking in that country. Romanian authorities indicted the brothers in 2023, accusing them of forming a criminal gang to exploit women. Andrew Tate and his brother denied all allegations of sexual misconduct in criminal investigations and civil courts. The Tate brothers attorney, Joseph McBride, shared a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying, Uthmeier threw ethics law out of the window when he publicly took a side in an ongoing legal battle between the brothers and a Florida woman accusing them of sex trafficking her. McBride also called Uthmeiers statement inflammatory and biased. In December, a Romanian court ruled that the Tates case there could not go to trial due to multiple irregularities by the prosecutors, but left the case open, according to reports by The Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Romanian government lifted international travel restrictions last Thursday, following pressure from the Trump administration,the Financial Times reported. Trump, however, denied being involved in the Tate brothers travel plans. The brothers arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last Thursday, but received an unwelcoming greeting from theRepublican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who told reporters,Florida is not a place where youre welcome with that type of conduct. Related... Interview of Italian Historian Mazria Casolari by Amitabh Pal on Freethought Radio supported by Freedom from Religion Foundation. The radio show is long, and the interview starts at around minute 27 JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (Xinhua) -- South Africa has strongly condemned Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and its closure of border crossings, calling it a "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreement and international humanitarian law. The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) issued the statement on Wednesday, following reports that Israel blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza on Sunday. "Preventing food from entering Gaza is a continuation of Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war as part of the ongoing campaign of what the International Court of Justice ruled to be plausible genocide against the Palestinian people," the department said. "South Africa concurs with Qatar, one of the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, that halting the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, international humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention," it added. Therefore, South Africa called on the international community to hold Israel accountable and ensure the safe, continuous and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip. "South Africa also condemns Israel's ongoing military operations in the West Bank that represent a dangerous escalation, and which further threatens the Palestinian quest for self-determination and statehood," the DIRCO said. The department further noted that the expanded Israeli military presence, now at its highest levels in the West Bank since 2002, signals an intent to re-establish full-scale military occupation, and undermines the Palestinian Authority and its governance. "South Africa once again calls on the international community to act with urgency and decisive action to address the continued systematic violation of international law and international humanitarian and human rights law," the DIRCO added. The department said South Africa welcomes the outcomes of the Arab League Emergency Summit held on Tuesday, which supports a settlement on Gaza that is led by and inclusive of Palestinians and expressly rejects the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. Andrew Tate (front) and Tristan Tate (back R) in Bucharest, Romania on March 12, 2024. - Credit: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images Accused rapist and sex trafficker Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are under criminal investigation in Florida, according to the states Attorney General James Uthmeier, after the pair arrived in Fort Lauderdale last week. These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Uthmeier told a reporter on Tuesday, noting that some of the Tates accusers have been minors. People can spin it however they want, he said. In Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tates, far-right manosphere influencers who face criminal charges related to an alleged human trafficking operation in Romania as well as potential extradition to the U.K. (they have denied all allegations), had been allowed to leave Europe and fly to the U.S. five days ago. This was reportedly thanks to the efforts of a Trump envoy, Richard Grenell, who negotiated with the Romanian government to lift travel restrictions on the siblings outspoken supporters of the president despite an active prosecution against them in the country. Trump has denied having any knowledge of the circumstances of the Tates newfound freedom of movement. To the apparent displeasure of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Tates chose to return to his state. (They have dual citizenship in the U.S. and U.K.) Last Thursday, in a press conference, the governor claimed he had no prior knowledge of the brothers arrival and had learned about it through the media. Florida is not a place where youre welcome with that type of conduct, he said, alluding to the various allegations and charges against the Tates. DeSantis added that Uthmeier was exploring legal options to deal with their unexpected presence. The attorney general also announced that he had opened a preliminary inquiry. The Tates prominent allies in MAGA world blasted DeSantis for the aforementioned response, saying the self-styled alpha male figures were being unfairly targeted, though other conservative commentators argued that the brothers were unfit ambassadors for right-wing ideology. The two brothers then seemed to resume life as usual, on Tuesday releasing an installment of their Tate Confidential video series that depicted them relaxing around a pool at a luxury property. First day of Freedom in Miami, Andrew Tate wrote in an X post where he shared the footage. Less than an hour later, he was denouncing the Florida investigation. Absolute communism, he wrote in another post. I am super disappointed in the United States. This isnt the America I know. This is a sad sad day for America. Trying to find crimes on an innocent man. Tristan Tate wrote, in his own X post, Letitia James is after me, making a cryptic reference to the attorney general of New York. James has not as yet announced any action against the Tates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the nature of Uthmeiers criminal probe is not yet clear, the brothers are presently in a legal battle with an American woman who sued them in Palm Beach County, Florida, last month. Identified as Jane Doe in court documents, she has alleged that the Tates attempted to pull her into a webcam sex trafficking scheme. The brothers sued her for defamation in 2023 after she provided testimony to Romanian authorities. Her countersuit alleges they defamed her, while her attorney, Dani Pinter, said she has been relentlessly harassed, threatened, and sued for merely cooperating with law enforcement in Romania. The civil suit is the first against the brothers in the U.S. Just before landing in Florida, the Tates filed for a temporary restraining order against Doe, citing text messages that allegedly demonstrate credible threats of violence, intimidation or harm. Pinter said that Doe had requested to pause her lawsuit after the brothers reentered the U.S., but the court denied the motion. Uthmeier was emphatic in his remarks Tuesday about going after the Tates. Were not going to accept it, he said of their alleged crimes. They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state, and were going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable. Andrew Tate, meanwhile, continued to profess his innocence, comparing himself to the man who reportedly aided his escape from Romania in the first place. I didnt commit any crime and theyre trying to find one because they dont like me, he wrote on X. This is exactly what they did to president Trump. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Influencer Andrew Tate slammed the Florida attorney generals decision to launch an investigation into him and his brother, Tristan, calling the move absolute communism. Absolute communism. Ive been in America for 5 days. I sat on my laptop and did a podcast. Insanity, the older Tate brother wrote Tuesday in a post on the social platform X. I am super disappointed in the United States. This isnt the America I know. This is a sad sad day for America, he added. Trying to find crimes on an innocent man. Im not afraid. Im genuinely just disappointed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His statement comes after his arrival in the Sunshine State surprised authorities who said they were not warned about the Tates decision to reenter the U.S. as they face criminal allegations of human trafficking and sexual assault in Romania. The Tate brothers hold U.S.-U.K. dual citizenship and were under travel restrictions until late last month. Although the two have denied any involvement in illegal activities, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made it clear in response to their arrival that criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Florida is not a place where, where youre welcome with that, with that type of conduct in the air. And I dont know how it came to this; we were not involved, we were not notified, DeSantis told reporters last week while lauding state Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) for taking initial steps toward a probe into the brothers unexpected visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Andrew Tate criticized DeSantiss leadership and pointed to the FBIs 2022 seizure of classified documents and property from President Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach as a sign of his disloyalty. DeSantis allowed Feds to raid our presidents home. Never forget Mar A Lago, Tate wrote on X. The Tate brothers have amassed a large following on social media where they have continued to provide comments on their ongoing international legal battles. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Mar. 4Members of Maine's congressional delegation are calling on the Trump administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reverse what they called a "reckless decision" that has wiped out funding for one of the state's key coastal resource programs. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, co-signed a letter they sent to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik and provided to the Portland Press Herald on Tuesday expressing their "outrage and deep disappointment" following the announcement that NOAA was rescinding $4.5 million in funding that covers Maine Sea Grant's base operations for four years. "We demand that NOAA immediately reconsider this reckless decision. The termination of funding will have catastrophic consequences for the University of Maine, Maine Sea Grant's twenty employees, our marine industries, and the broader coastal economy," Pingree and King wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The loss of funding comes after President Donald Trump threatened to cut Maine's federal funding in the wake of a confrontation with Gov. Janet Mills over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' sports. "You'd better do it. You'd better do it, because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't," Trump said to Mills during the National Governors Association's winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21. "It seems pretty clear the president now has a personal vendetta against our state, and is willing to go to any length to settle the score no matter how petty, and regardless of the toll," Pingree said in a written statement Saturday, when the funding cut was announced. Of the 34 Sea Grant programs nationwide, Maine's is the only one that has lost its funding thus far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the grant termination comes as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the new Department of Government Efficiency, have focused on cutting government spending, King and Pingree believe Maine is being targeted. "It is worth noting that we are unaware of any similar terminations at other Sea Grant programs, leading us to believe that Maine's program has been unfairly singled out," King and Pingree wrote in the letter. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also has been in contact with Trump administration officials to advocate for the program. Collins, the state's only Republican official in Congress, met with Maine Sea Grant Director Gayle Zydlewski and other program advocates Tuesday having conversations she hopes will inform the next steps forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Eliminating the Maine Sea Grant program would cause devastating harm for Maine's coastal communities," Collins said. "I have been in contact with Trump administration officials since this decision was announced last weekend, and I am continuing to advocate for the reversal of this decision." Maine Sea Grant runs programs for research, workforce development, marine science education and economic growth on coastal Maine and the working waterfront. It's the first major cut to NOAA, and it is the first program under the University of Maine-System that has lost all of the funding it needs for base operations. A TIDAL WAVE AT THE FISHERMEN'S FORUM The University of Maine System, which oversees Maine Sea Grant, was notified last week that NOAA, directed by the Trump administration, was withdrawing funding after 54 years of partnering with the program since it was founded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a termination letter that was provided to the Press Herald, NOAA official Timothy Carrington wrote that the activities of Maine Sea Grant are "no longer relevant to the administration's priorities and program objectives." Maine Sea Grant employees were notified Saturday morning, on the third day of the annual Maine Fishermen's Forum, which Maine Sea Grant played a role in founding 50 years ago. The Press Herald reached out to administrators from the 33 other programs Tuesday. The 14 that responded said they hadn't lost funding. Even so, some administrators said they are preparing for potential cuts. The news sent shock waves through the fishermen's forum Saturday. One Maine Sea Grant employee burst into tears as they exited the staff meeting, and employees did not put up the Maine Sea Grant booth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Maine Lobstermen's Association said that it supports cutting unnecessary spending, but that Maine Sea Grant was the wrong place to do that. "Maine Sea Grant is an important partner in supporting coastal communities, sustainable fisheries, and preserving our way of life," the MLA said in a written statement Saturday. "While we appreciate the importance of cutting fraud and waste from government spending, eliminating vital programs like Maine Sea Grant could have a negative impact on both our economy and our environment," the association said in a written statement Saturday. According to Pingree and King, Maine Sea Grant generates $23.5 million of economic activity annually on $1.5 million in funding roughly $15 million of economic activity for every federal dollar that is invested. They wrote that Maine Sea Grant supported more than 330 businesses and 560 jobs in 2023. The organization also helped Maine's working waterfront communities pick up the pieces after two major storms in 2024 that decimated the coast. "These activities not only contribute to the state's economy but are essential in helping Maine's coastal communities remain resilient in the face of ongoing challenges," King and Pingree wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FISHING FOR FUNDING Sebastian Belle, executive director at the Maine Aquaculture Association, said many Maine fishing associations are banding together to urge the Trump administration to reverse course. "We are trying to help the current administration understand that this may have been a very short-sighted decision and have unintended consequences on the business community that is counter to the current administration's interest in making America more competitive," Belle said. " The elephant in the room is that 80% of the seafood which is consumed in this country is imported from other countries. We are very far behind the other countries because we don't have supports from the government to bolster aquaculture and fisheries products." Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, believes that the Trump administration doesn't fully understand what Maine Sea Grant is and what it does. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is pure hope, but I'd like to believe that cutting funding for Maine Sea Grant was an oversight we will see rectified," Martens said. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, is also reviewing the concerns from Maine Sea Grant and Maine fishermen. "The congressman is continuing to work with Maine stakeholders and the administration on this issue," spokesperson Mario Moretto said. Moretto would not comment further about Golden's stance. King and Pingree, however, were clear about where they stood. "We expect an immediate response and a serious reconsideration of this ill-advised decision," they wrote. "The impact of your actions will not go unnoticed, and we will not stop fighting for the future of Maine Sea Grant and its vital work in our communities." Copy the Story Link Dozens of local students and literary activists including author Ann Patchett and actor David Arquette gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday for the inaugural Literary Day on the Hill, an event aimed at combating the rise in book bans across Tennessee. The event, organized by Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, comes as the lawmaker introduced his "Freedom to Read" bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Sarah Kyle, D-Memphis. Jones announced the proposal standing before a crowd of students from schools such as Hume Fogg and Martin Luther King. Jr. Magnet high schools in Nashville and Fisk University. Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, speaks with Ann Patchett, the author and owner of Parnassus Books, at the 2025 inaugural Literary Day on the Hill, on March 4, 2025. The bill seeks to prohibit libraries including public and public school libraries from banning, removing, or otherwise restricting access to a book or other material based solely on its viewpoint or the messages ideas, or opinions it conveys, except as otherwise authorized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a response to the books bans, Jones said. The freedom to read is an American value it is something we should defend with everything we have. Jones called the rising number of book bans an absurdity. Tennessee is leading the way in all the wrong ways, especially when it comes to books being removed from our shelves, he said. This bill gives us something to fight for, something proactive." A stack of books that are commonly removed from school libraries sits on a vendor table at the 2025 inaugural Literary Day on the Hill, on March 4, 2025. The event also featured Patchett, owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville and Arquette, the actor and community advocate. Caroline Randall Williams, writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University, was also a scheduled speaker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you read, you can go anywhere in the world, Patchett said. Reading is primarily a compassionate act. If you are cut off from literature, you are just cut off from a huge part of what is available to you in the world. Later, Patchett said of all the things that there are to protect children from, books were not one of them. Nearly 1,400 books, consisting of 1,155 unique titles, were either fully removed from school libraries or heavily age-restricted between December 2023 and January 2025, according to a Tennessean analysis. Between 2021 and July 2023, only about 300 books faced similar challenges across the state. Now, in less than half that time, at least 1,389 books were removed or heavily age-restricted statewide over the past year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: 'Not enough kids in these meetings': Students weigh in as 1,100 books banned in Tennessee Sandy Lewis, left, watches the 2025 inaugural Literary Day on the Hill event alongside dozens of students on March 4, 2025. Sitting among the throngs of kids and dressed in her I support public schools shirt was Sandy Lewis, a retired teacher who is working locally to stop book removals. I am concerned with what is happening with books in this state, she said. It seems like theyre being chipped away at. Lewis, who formerly taught in Memphis public schools for 34 years, noted particular concern with the many books up for potential removal in Rutherford County Schools. More: Rutherford schools book banning upsets free speech advocates: 'We are banished' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rutherford County has been under fire for recent book removals, after pulling 160 books from school shelves in the county in November. So far, 51 of those books have been permanently banned. The USA TODAY Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee books: Ann Patchett, others push against bans WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed plans to remove the mural along a two-block stretch of 16th St NW Wednesday, in the area known as Black Lives Matter Plaza since the summer of 2020. The announcement comes as Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) introduced new legislation Monday that would withhold federal funding from the city until D.C. removed the mural and renamed it Liberty Plaza. In a press release regarding the legislation, Clyde said, Our capital city must serve as a beacon of freedom, patriotism, and safety not wokeness, divisiveness, and lawlessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protestors gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza amid Trumps speech, impending changes to the mural The Mayor said during a tele-town hall event Wednesday that the city has bigger fish to fry than fights over something that has been very important to us, saying the city needs to focus on its economic survival amid a city budget and federal worker crisis. In a statement Tuesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said her focus remains on the impacts of the federal job cuts, writing that the city cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference, even though the mural inspired millions of people and got D.C. through a very painful period. Keyonna Jones of the Congress Heights Arts & Culture Center is one of the artists who originally helped paint the mural at Black Lives Matter Plaza back in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a time in history that cant be erased. It may not be here, but the time that happened, happened and it cant be erased, said Jones of the murals pending removal. Jones told DC News Now she understands why the Mayor is trying to comply with congressional demands. Theres a lot of things that are happening, especially with the budget cuts, people losing their jobs. We have to prioritize things and I understand the decision that she made, said Jones. Community activist and Go-Go Museum founder Ronald Moten says he also recognizes the need the to remove the mural, secure funding, and shift the citys focus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My fight is not Black Lives Matter Plaza right now. My fight is making sure Anacostia thrives. My fight is to make sure Shaw thrives and Deanwood thrives, and making sure people get to work. It might be disheartening, but I think we have bigger battles to fight, said Moten. Bowser added that the plaza will be part of the a new mural project, where students and artists will create new murals across all eight wards. The plaza and mural were initially designed in 2020 amid protests over the murder of George Floyd. To some, its a meaningful part of history they dont want to see go. Insulting, disrespectful. Wheres the love? Wheres the unity? said resident Giselle Morch in response to the announcement. To bully the D.C. Government into, if you dont change the name, Im not giving you any money. What type of petty stuff is that? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many, the mural symbolizes hope. It [Black Lives Matter Plaza and mural] gives us hope. When were living in a culture where theres no hope, where there is fear, that gives us hope, that shows us respect, and its showing the world not just here in D.C. but the world as well that Black Lives Matter, Morch added. Morch was not the only one outraged about Bowsers decision to rename and redesign the Plaza. I think thats a horrible monstrosity, said resident Mave, in response. Its not clear what the timeline is for the changes coming to the plaza. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. China is set to announce important political and economic goals for the year 2025 on Wednesday. At the start of the National People's Congress in Beijing, Premier Li Qiang plans to read a government report in the Great Hall of the People. This report typically includes the economic growth target, the military budget of the People's Republic, and statements on handling Taiwan, which China regards as its territory despite the island nation being independently governed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year's annual meeting of the unelected parliament, with its roughly 3,000 delegates, is scheduled to last for seven days. Following the opening, delegates are expected to discuss further reports in the coming days, which are to be voted on during the last day of the session. High-ranking ministers are expected at press conferences to make statements about various subjects, including Chinese diplomacy. Experts do not anticipate major surprises at this year's congress. Beijing is likely to stick to continuity in its policies. Analysts have predicted a similarly high growth target as in 2024, which was "approximately 5%," and a slightly higher budget deficit. Calmer weather will briefly return to New Mexico Wednesday. Another storm will move into the state late this week bringing more high winds with higher chances for rain and snow. High winds continued parts of New Mexico Monday night into today. Clayton even had wind gusts up to nearly 80 mph earlier today. Several places across eastern New Mexico again measured gusts up to 60 mph this morning into the afternoon with Dust Storm Warnings around the Roswell area. Wind direction today has been out of the northwest, keeping cooler temperatures in place across the state as well. Winds are already beginning to calm down this evening. Calmer weather will return statewide Wednesday as temperatures climb back above average for this time of year. Strong winds return all across New Mexico Thursday afternoon as another storm moves into the state. It could be a bit of a repeat of what we saw Monday with southwest winds gusting as high as 45 to 65 mph, causing blowing dust and a high fire danger. The late week storm system will bring better moisture with it. Spotty rain and mountain snow will move into western and northern New Mexico Thursday. More rain and snow will move into the state from the southwest Friday as winds will start dying down. A cold front will sweep across the state Friday evening dropping snow levels down to valley floors by early Saturday morning. This is bringing an increase chance for snow in the Albuquerque Metro Saturday morning, along with northern and eastern parts of New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quieter weather will return again by Saturday night with calm conditions on Sunday. Warmer weather will also return through the middle of next week with breezier winds making their way back in starting next Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Two D.C. police officers convicted in the death of a 20-year-old man are back on the job after the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reinstated them following pardons from President Donald Trump. Karen Hylton, the mother of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown, aired her frustrations before the D.C. Council in a heated exchange as the councils meeting ended early Tuesday afternoon. What are you guys doing? Wait for the next child to die? Im asking you, Mr. Mendelson. Im asking. I dont know what to do, but you guys are the Council. You shouldnt be telling me you dont know what to do, Hylton said, directing many of her comments at chairman Phil Mendelson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council does not typically have an active role in the hiring of DC police personnel. Youngkin commutes former Fairfax County police sergeants sentence for fatal Tysons Corner shooting Officer Terence Sutton was convicted of murder and obstruction of justice, and Lt. Andrew Zabavsky was convicted on obstruction charges in Hylton-Browns death and the alleged cover-up dating back to 2020. Last fall, Sutton was sentenced to 66 months in prison, and Zabavsky was sentenced to 48 months in prison. The 20-year-old was riding a moped scooter on a sidewalk when he was hit by an oncoming car during a police pursuit and died days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump issued full and unconditional pardons for them in the first few days of his second term in January. MPD confirmed the reinstatement of those two officers Monday evening. FAA investigating multiple false collision warnings on flights approaching DCA If this was your child that they murdered, would you hire him back? Answer the question. Thats it. If this is your child, would you hire the murderer of your child back? Hylton said. Mendelson said he has concerns about them being back on the job. These officers will never have the credibility thats necessary in order to represent the public in court presenting evidence. They will never have that credibility. I was shocked to hear that they were rehired, Mendelson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU called the reinstatement of the officers an affront to public safety in the District. We honestly were not surprised when President Trump decided to pardon these officers, but we were really shocked the Police Chief Smith decided to reinstate these officers who were found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for participating in the murder and cover-up of Mr. Hylton-Brown, said Amber Taylor, strategic communication director with the ACLU. DC News Now reached out to MPD for comment, but the department said it could not comment further on personnel matters. The two officers current duties within the department are not clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police: 3 teens arrested for sexually assaulting girl in Woodbridge, recording assault Mayor Muriel Bowsers office directed DC News Now to MPD for comment. DC News Now also reached out to the DC Police Union but did not hear back in time for publication. Lawyers for Sutton did not return DC News Nows request for comment. Lawyers for Zabavsky said they could not comment at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. AUSTIN (KXAN) A teenager suffered serious injuries, and two people were detained and charged after a reported shooting in south Austin, according to the Austin Police Department. Officers responded to the report of a shoot/stab hotshot call around 2:22 p.m. near a bus stop in the 10700 block of South First Street. Thats near Akins High School, APD said in a news release. Officers arrived and found the 17-year-old with a gunshot wound, and other juveniles fleeing the scene according to APD. Police said they performed life-saving measures until Austin-Travis County EMS arrived at the scene and took the teen to a local trauma facility with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers immediately searched the area and located a subject nearby. One subject was detained, police said. APD said the two suspects, both 14 years of age, were located within a mile from the scene, officers detained both suspects and discovered one in possession of a firearm. Both suspects have now been charged, one with aggravated assault and the other with unlawful possession of a firearm, according to APD. The Akins High School principal confirmed in a letter that the teen who was shot was a student of the high school. No other details will be provided on the student, due to privacy, the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers confirmed in a press conference held Thursday morning that one of the suspects was a previous student of the school and the other was a current student. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have increased police presence on campus tomorrow, the letter said. KXAN reached out to the Austin Independent School District Tuesday afternoon, and a spokesperson confirmed Akins High School was on a hold due to the active scene. During a Hold, keep the hallways clear and students continue their work as usual, AISD said. The letter later confirmed the hold was lifted at 4:01 p.m. before going into what the district called a Secure for 14 minutes before returning to normal operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a Secure, all activities continue inside, but no one may leave or enter school buildings, the letter said. The high school will also provide additional counseling services for students and staff, the letter said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Mar. 4ROCHESTER The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for a Rochester man sentenced for shooting a 15-year-old Rochester boy in March 2022. Steven Allen Hart, 69, was sentenced to 90 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of first- and second-degree assault in 2023. However, according to an appeals court decision filed on Monday, March 3, Hart will be granted a new trial because the district court excluded expert witness testimony that may have impacted the verdict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. on March 13, 2022. While officers were responding to reports of shots fired at Third Avenue Southeast and 6 1/2 Street, Hart called dispatch to report that he had just shot someone. According to court documents, Hart approached a group of boys who were near his neighbor's garage. When Hart confronted them, the 15-year-old pulled out a pocketknife and approached Hart. In response, Hart "shot downward," hitting the boy in the groin. During his trial, Hart argued his theory of self-defense, noting that when he was training to obtain a conceal-carry permit, he was taught that "a knife-wielding assailant who is within 20 feet of a victim poses a 'lethal threat' because they can reach the victim in a matter of seconds." Prior to the jury trial, the district court granted the state's motion to exclude expert testimony, which asserted that the testimony would be speculative and irrelevant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The appellate court ruled that in granting the motion, the district court abused its discretion by excluding testimony that was relevant to Hart's self-defense claims. According to the court's decision, criminal defendants have a constitutional right that includes the defendant's ability to call expert witnesses to testify. The expert witness the defense planned to call was most recently a deputy U.S. Marshal for the district of Minnesota and has served in the United States Army and the Federal Bureau of Investigations for 30 years. Court documents said the man has experience training law enforcement in the use of firearms, defensive tactics, special weapons and use of force. The district court ruled that the expert's testimony relating to use-of-force information would not be helpful to the jury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court of appeals disagrees, arguing the testimony would have corroborated Hart's conceal-carry permit training. "We conclude that the exclusion of the expert-witness testimony was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the proffered testimony had it been presented to the jury could have led to a different result," the court's decision wrote. A date for the case's next hearing has not been set yet. Zena Ayubu Saidi, a second-year student at the University of Dar es Salaam, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Emmanuel Herman) DAR ES SALAAM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- For Zena Ayubu Saidi, a second-year student at the University of Dar es Salaam, learning Chinese is more than just acquiring a new language -- it has become a gateway to a dream career full of opportunities. "I consider the Chinese language key to employment opportunities provided by Chinese enterprises operating in Tanzania," Saidi told Xinhua in a recent interview. The 23-year-old Tanzanian woman is currently pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in education. Her ambition is to become a Chinese language teacher after graduating in 2026. "I am interested in teaching Chinese. Meanwhile, I also love interpreting and translating between Chinese, English, and Kiswahili," said Saidi. In Saidi's eyes, learning Chinese is beneficial not only for offering language-related job opportunities, but also for doctors, engineers, and many other professionals to build careers in China. Speaking fluent Chinese, Saidi has immersed herself in Chinese culture, embracing its cuisine, martial arts, music, and television dramas. "I watch a lot of Chinese dramas because they are exciting, like Home Temptation, Majestic Kingdom, and many others. These dramas are educational and help us to know about Chinese culture in general," she said. Though she has never visited China, her studies in Chinese history have deepened her understanding of the country. "I am still interested in visiting China to learn more about that friendly country," she said. Saidi's journey with the Chinese language began in 2017, when she joined Form One at Kiwanja cha Ndege Secondary School in the capital, Dodoma. "Our teachers gave us gifts when we performed well in Chinese language examinations. We did Chinese language competitions that were very interesting," she told Xinhua at the Confucius Institute of the University of Dar es Salaam. "From there, I was inspired to learn the Chinese language." For more than a decade, the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam has been essential in fostering cultural exchanges and Chinese language education, strengthening the ties between China and Tanzania. When the institute marked its 10th anniversary in July 2023, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian said that so far, the Confucius Institute has trained nearly 50,000 Chinese learners in Tanzania, providing opportunities for students who want to learn Chinese. Saidi expressed gratitude for Tanzania's recent education policy, which integrates Chinese language learning from primary school onward. "Many Tanzanian youths will have an opportunity to learn the Chinese language that will benefit them in the future," said Saidi. A Virginia polling place during the 2020 election. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for the Virginia Mercury) A proposal to close and consolidate two voting precincts in Appomattox County has sparked concerns about voter access and racial equity, as the changes would disproportionately impact Black and minority voters. The countys Board of Elections made the request at the Jan. 21, 2025, Board of Supervisors meeting, targeting precinct 201 in the Chap community and 502 in Agee the two with the highest percentages of Black and racial minority voters among the countys nine precincts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to census block data compiled by the NAACP Virginia State Conference, 36.7% of Chap precinct voters and 24.4% of Agee precinct voters are Black. Racial minority voters overall make up 40.27% and 27.82% of the respective precincts. Appomattox County, home to just over 16,000 residents and situated between Lynchburg to the west and Farmville to the east, is a Republican stronghold. In the 2021 gubernatorial race, GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin dominated with 80% over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who received 19%. In the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald Trump carried the county by a wide margin, winning 75% of the vote to then-Vice President Kamala Harris 24%. If approved, the closures would force many voters in these precincts to travel significantly farther to cast their ballots up to 30 additional minutes by car or over four hours on foot in some cases. The lack of public transportation in the county exacerbates the impact, especially for elderly voters or those without access to a vehicle. The Virginia NAACP condemned the proposed closures, calling them a direct threat to voting rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voting is a fundamental right and the foundation of our democracy, said Virginia NAACP President Rev. Cozy Bailey. All citizens of Appomattox County are entitled to have an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process regardless of their race or ethnicity. Throughout our history, various tactics have been employed to limit access to the ballot, including precinct closures, voter ID laws, and other measures that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Bailey added that the proposal, if enacted, would perpetuate these historical patterns and result in barriers to participation for Black voters in Appomattox County. According to a Feb. 18 letter from the Virginia NAACP to the Board of Supervisors, and obtained by The Mercury, the proposed closures would place significant burdens on affected voters. The Chap precincts voters would be reassigned to Spout Spring, requiring an 11.7-mile trip about a 17-minute drive or a 4.25-hour walk. Agee voters would be reassigned to Oakville, a distance of 5.8 miles, or an 8-minute drive and a two-hour walk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These already-long distances are calculated from the existing to proposed polling sites, the NAACPs letter states, so in many instances, voters will be required to travel even greater distances. The Mercury reached out to the local elections board and the Board of Supervisors for comment. While no members of the Board of Supervisors responded by the time of publication, General Registrar Patricia Morton provided an email statement referencing the findings of the local Precinct Review Committee, which cited cost savings as the primary motivation for the proposed precinct closures. According to the committee, closing the two precincts would save the county $1,527 in fiscal year 2025 and $5,374 in fiscal year 2026. Long-term savings are projected at $24,600 for replacing outdated tabulators and ballot markers, along with $2,554 for purchasing electronic poll books. Morton also noted that after meeting to discuss the matter Tuesday afternoon, election officials plan to revisit certain aspects of the proposal before finalizing changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will talk with the Board of Supervisors again in two weeks, and recommend they move forward merging Agee and Oakville, but pause and review another, more central location for Falling River district (Chap and Spout Spring merger), Morton said in an email. However, elections are the cornerstone of democracy, providing the primary means for most citizens to participate, says David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg. While elections are costly to run, requiring staff and modern equipment, accessibility should not be compromised. Anytime barriers are introduced to voting, the number of participants decreases, Richards said, emphasizing that factors like lack of transportation should not prevent people from casting their ballots. The financial realities counties face must be balanced with the need to ensure as many people as possible can legally vote. Richards added that while structural issues, such as the disrepair of the Agee precinct building, may justify some changes, the fact that the two targeted precincts have the highest minority populations raises questions of voter suppression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will not assume motive, but we should look at the facts as they are, Richards said, questioning why closer precincts like Stonewall and Spout Spring were not considered for consolidation instead. Ultimately, he argued, demographic data must play a role in these decisions and should not be overlooked by the Board of Supervisors. And voting rights advocates argue that budget concerns should not take precedence over voter access. We should work to make voting easier and more accessible, not create new obstacles to the ballot box, Bailey said. The Virginia NAACP urged the Board of Supervisors to explore alternatives that would maintain voting access without creating undue burdens for Black and minority voters. The current nine voting precincts in Appomattox County. Two of these Agee and Chap are set to be closed and consolidated according to a plan currently before the Board of Supervisors. (Map courtesy of the Appomattox County General Registrars Office) SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) An argument between two men led to one of the men being cut with a knife, according to the Mobile Police Department. 2 injured in shooting near Popeyes: Mobile police An MPD news release said officers were called to the area of Dauphin Street and Claiborne Street just before 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, for a report of an assault. When officers arrived, they said they found that two men were arguing when one pulled out a knife and cut the other one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers said the victim was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Business Alabama recognizes Austal USA as 2024 Large Company of the Year MPD officials said this is an active investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. Yassamin Ansari in August 2024. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 President Donald Trump is expected to celebrate his aggressive anti-immigration agenda Tuesday night when he addresses a joint session of Congress, and has invited several people with family members who were victims of crimes allegedly committed by immigrants to hear his speech to symbolize the need for a continued crackdown. Meanwhile, Arizonas freshman Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who represents a heavily Hispanic district, will be sitting in the crowd with DACA recipient Yadira Garcia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garcia has lived in Arizona since she was seven years old, and is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which President Barack Obama implemented in 2012 to offer applicants a work permit and temporary shield from deportation. Today, she teaches high school students math in Tolleson. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Garcia said she hopes her presence in the nations capital can put a face on the more than three million Dreamers who consider the country home and help anti-immigrant politicians realize that undocumented people arent a threat, but a benefit. Just because we are undocumented doesnt make us criminals, its just the fact that were missing a nine-digit number, she said, referring to the Social Security Number that citizens receive. Were people that have lives I contribute to this country every day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ansari, a Democrat and former Phoenix city council member who was elected to Congress in November, criticized the Trump administrations hostility towards immigrants, saying that shes concerned about the impacts on her district, which spans Phoenix, Glendale and Guadalupe and has a voting population that is 51% Hispanic. Since Donald Trump has taken office, there have been relentless, cruel and un-American attacks on immigrant families, she said during an online news conference on Tuesday afternoon. Trumps first six weeks in office have been marked by a focus on deporting as many people as possible, regardless of their actual legal status. Under the direction of the White House and leaders appointed by Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have detained migrants showing up to official check-ins or court hearings, prioritized the deportation of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, and detained a Puerto Rican veteran in New Jersey and a veteran with legal permanent residency in Arizona. Ansari, whose parents fled Iran after its government was taken over by a theocratic regime and some of their family members were killed, has been a vocal advocate for immigrant rights. She was the lone member of Arizonas federal delegation to vote against the Laken Riley Act earlier this year, which mandates the detention, without bail, of undocumented people arrested for low-level crimes like shoplifting, even if they havent been convicted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just hours ahead of Trumps address, Ansari called for immigration reform, accusing the administration of doing nothing to reform the countrys broken immigration system. Last week, Democrats in the House introduced legislation to give permanent legal status to Dreamers, titled the American Dream and Promise Act. Ansari, along with U.S. Reps. Greg Stanton and Raul Grijalva, signed on as co-sponsors. The bill is likely to meet a dead-end in the Republican-controlled chamber. Only one Republican, U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar from Florida, has signed on to support it. Ansari acknowledged that Republicans are unwilling to go against Trump, who ran on a campaign promise to oversee mass deportations, but said shes optimistic about the possibility of increased bipartisanship, noting that last year Republicans and Democrats worked together on an immigration reform package. That legislation, however, was later killed at Trumps direction, who opposed giving Biden a win on border security before he could campaign on the issue. Either way, Ansari said, the new bill is important because it serves to both contrast Republican priorities and to give Americans a lens into what Democrats are backing. Its really important for us as Democrats to put forward our own legislation, our own vision on what immigration reform looks like, she said. Its important that our vision is clear and we have a counternarrative to all of the hostility and hate from the Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while some Republicans might point to Arizonas overwhelming support for Trump last year, and the easy passage of the Prop. 314, which made it a state crime for migrants to cross the states southern border anywhere but at an official port of entry, as proof that voters in the Grand Canyon State want more aggressive border policies, Ansari said her constituents are asking for humane, pro-immigrant proposals. And, she added, Arizonans as a whole have previously shown support for Dreamers, casting their ballots in 2022 to give undocumented students seeking a college education the same tuition rates as their peers. We have passed propositions in our state to make in-state tuition the same for Dreamers as it is for anyone in our state, and thats because Dreamers are Arizonans, she said. Dreamers are Americans. Theyre our friends, theyre our neighbors, they pay taxes, theyre teachers, theyre moms and its long overdue. Garcia said shes hopeful the legislation can prevail despite the uphill battle it faces, because its nerve-wracking to live with constant uncertainty about her future in the country. Its been tough. Every two years, I find myself having to renew my DACA documentation to see whats going to happen next, she said. I still find myself wondering whats going to be next: Am I going to be able to continue teaching? Whats going to happen to my son? SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Video: Gov. Sanders announces end of grocery tax, gives food bank support LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed 15 bills into law on Tuesday. The 15 bills becoming acts mean the 95th General Assembly has led to 244 bills becoming law this session. The Tuesday signings included routing appropriations bills, bills that were the center of spirited debate in the legislature and others that were well supported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New laws going into effect in Arkansas from the 95th General Assembly The first signed was House Bill 1117, now Act 229, to provide age-appropriate firearms safety instruction to students. If the teaching involves a live-fire event, parental permission is required. Senate Bill 139, now Act 232, makes a physicians non-compete agreement unenforceable if it does not allow a physician to practice within their scope of practice. Squatting will soon be illegal in Arkansas, as House Bill 1049 was signed into effect, making it Act 238. Breaking this law is initially a Class A misdemeanor, but by the third offense, it becomes a Class D felony. It also allows property owners to sue for damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs 61 new bills into law Two Senate bills that tightened the law on signature gatherings for referendum petitions have been signed into law. Senate Bill 208, now Act 240, mandates a canvasser request photo ID from a signatory, and Senate Bill 211, now Act 241, mandates that a canvassers signatures cannot be counted until they have submitted an affidavit verifying they have followed the law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A Central Arkansas man will spend nearly four decades in prison after pleading guilty on Tuesday to child sex crime charges in Washington County. Joshua Braham, 35, of Greenbrier pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a person under the age of 14 and one count of sexual grooming of a child, 4th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter announced in a news release. Joshua Braham, 35 (Courtesy: Washington County Detention Center) He was sentenced to 38 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. As part of his sentencing, Braham has been ordered to register as a sex offender. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents say the Russellville Police Department reported a rape involving a child victim in December 2023. Cave Springs doctor pleads guilty to amended charges in Washington County, gets probation Braham had previously lived in Fayetteville, which was where the victim reported multiple instances of sexual abuse had occurred during a forensic interview with authorities. A sentence of this nature should ensure that children in Arkansas are safe from this defendant for decades to come, Carter said in the release. In addition to his Washington County case, Braham faces one count of rape of a person under the age of 14, one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of sexually grooming a child in Pope County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Braham is set to appear in Pope County court on March 17. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas is one step closer to approving nitrogen gas as a method of execution in capital cases. House Bill 1489 passed the House Tuesday afternoon in a 67-23 vote for that chamber. If the bill becomes law, it would allow the execution of an inmate by nitrogen gas. What happened at the nations first nitrogen gas execution: An AP eyewitness account Arkansas, like other states, is having trouble accessing the drugs used to execute capital offense prisoners. HB1489 would allow nitrogen to be used as an execution method through nitrogen hypoxia, where a mask is fitted to the condemned and they inhale the gas to the point of suffocation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alabama was the first state to approve and use nitrogen gas for an execution. Reverend Jeff Hood attended to the January 2024 execution of 58-year-old Kenneth Eugene Smith. Hood testified to the House Judiciary Committee that Smiths execution was horrific as he reacted to the gas, calling the execution method torture. Alabama conducts first-ever execution by nitrogen hypoxia The state has 26 prisoners on death row, and its last execution was in 2017. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Video: Controversy stirring over new state prison coming to Franklin County LITTLE ROCK, Ark . The Arkansas Sheriffs Association executive director gave several reasons why his organization has been calling for a new state prison for years but said it ultimately came down to one essential thing. Our misdemeanor justice system is broken, Scott Bradley said. A former Van Buren County sheriff, Bradley heads up the organization representing sheriffs in the 75 Arkansas counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Controversy stirring over new state prison coming to Franklin County Bradley explained that the state-wide problem is a lack of capacity and everything that falls from that. The beginning of the problem is that as of Tuesday, the 71 county detention facilities throughout the state are holding 1,952 state inmates, beds that are not available for county needs. He explained that those inmates ultimately move through the system, but not as fast as needed to meet capacity, even after the Department of Corrections recently opened up roughly 1,500 additional beds. He explained that a county sheriff has to maintain the capacity of his jail. This means that inmates have to be released to make room for state inmates and, in some cases, federal inmates, along with county inmates charged with violent crimes being held on bond. This leads to misdemeanor arrests being released on recognizance (OR), meaning without bond and with the expectation they will appear for their court date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sadly, Bradley said, this is often not the case, and where the misdemeanor just system breaks down as Arkansas has thousands of Failure to Appear (FTA) warrants on file. Arkansas Dept. of Corrections outlines new budget toward Franklin County prison plan He gave the example of a person released OR who now has an FTA and moved to another county to avoid detection. The same person has a run-in with law enforcement in that county, resulting in a misdemeanor charge, and that agency calls the originating agency and is told they can not pick up that inmate to bring them back to the original county because they do not have room in the county detention center. Because it is a misdemeanor and the second detention center is also crowded, that suspect is released OR again and does not appear for their court date, is assigned an FTA warrant, moves to another county, and the cycle begins again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have people out there with seven or eight FTA warrants, Bradley said. Bradley said the cycle becomes self-perpetuating. Because the person can continue getting away with misdemeanor violations, they ultimately graduate to a felony crime, he said. They are caught, go to court, are given a state prison sentence, and held at the county level until a bed opens up. Because of this a misdemeanor offender will not spend a possibly rehabilitating night in jail due to lack of space. Legislation for $750 million new prison funding filed in Arkansas legislature Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been pushing to construct a 3,000-bed $825 million prison in Franklin County to alleviate the county jail backlog. Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest) has proposed alternative programs, including the state partnering with county jails to build additional capacity there instead of a stand-alone state prison, citing cost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A $750 million funding package for the Franklin County prison is due for debate in the legislatures Joint Budget Committee during the current legislative session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. JUBA, South Sudan (AP) South Sudanese soldiers surrounded Vice President Riek Machar's home in the capital on Wednesday and several of his allies were arrested after an armed group allied to him overran an army base in the country's north. Machar, whose political rivalry with President Salva Kiir has in the past exploded into civil war, said last month that the firing of several of his allies from posts in the government threatened the 2018 peace deal between him and Kiir that ended a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people were killed. Deputy army chief Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, also loyal to Machar, was detained Tuesday over the fighting in the north, while Machar ally and Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol was arrested Wednesday alongside his bodyguards and family. No reason was given for the arrests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither Machar nor his SPLM-IO party have commented about the fighting, but Water Minister Pal Mai Deng, who is also the party's spokesperson, said Lam's detention puts the entire peace agreement at risk. Western envoys last week urged leaders to de-escalate the tension. Ter Manyang Gatwich, Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, has called for the immediate release of those detained to avert further escalation of violence and further bloodshed from degenerating into what he called a "full-scale war." South Sudan is yet to fully implement the 2018 peace agreement and elections that were scheduled for last year were postponed by two years due to a lack of funds. WILMORE, Ky. (FOX 56) A new nursing program at Asbury University is launching this fall. The program will expand the universitys offerings in health professions under the Shaw School of Sciences. Creating its own nursing program has long been discussed at Asbury University, and in the fall of 2025, Asbury University will welcome its first 20 students pursuing a degree in nursing. Those 20 bright minds are just the first of many the university hopes will choose to stay in Kentucky. Before its creation, Asbury offered pre-nursing programs through partnerships with the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and others. Administrators said those partnerships will remain in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Connie Lamb, administrator of the new program, said the university has had thousands of students express interest in coming to Asbury to develop their skills in the healthcare field, and shes confident theyll have access to everything they need to succeed. Our local workforce partners often tell us that they are seeking graduates with a liberal arts background because of their critical thinking, clinical judgment skills. Baccalaureate-prepared nurses often take leadership positions in a hospital setting, and so for that reason, that also sets us apart, Lamb said. Here in Kentucky, there is an exceptionally high demand for nurses, and the need is only growing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nursing jobs across the country are expected to grow faster than average through 2031, with more than 203,000 opening each year. Doctor Lamb is excited to expand the universitys opportunity to provide a quality education for students and help set up future generations of workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a long time, Asbury has been meeting a nursing need through those partnerships, and now students will come to Asbury and able to stay for the four years and complete a bachelors degree, said Lamb. Essentially, were creating more baccalaureate-prepared nurses for the workforce, and we do recruit from our local bluegrass region, and we hope that our students will be able to return home and practice in our state. Lamb said that they are already accepting applications for the program, and theyve already had students apply. To learn more about the new program at Asbury and the other health professions programs they offer, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. Ash Wednesday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, signifying the beginning of the observance of Lent, which precedes Easter. This year, the day falls on Wednesday, March 5. It's observed by people from various sectors of Christianity, including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists. A cardinal has been designated to take Pope Franciss place at Vatican celebrations this year as the pontiff remains in hospital battling double pneumonia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The practices of Ash Wednesday, such as the placing of ashes on the foreheads of participants, go back centuries. The holiday is also the solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Christianitys most penitent season. Heres everything you need to know about Ash Wednesday: What does the day signify? A cardinal will take Pope Franciss place at Ash Wednesday celebrations this year as the pontiff remains in hospital (AP) Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of abstinence. Most adult Catholics who observe Lent will be fasting on February 14. As part of Lent, they go on to abstain from richer foods, such as various meats, until Easter. Some who take part also abstain from everyday habits such as watching excessive amounts of television. Christians take part in the annual period of Lent to commemorate Jesus Christ, who, according to biblical narrative, spent 40 days and nights fasting in the Judaean Desert while being tempted by Satan. When is it? Members of the clergy mark crosses on the foreheads of worshippers using ashes (Getty Images) This year, Ash Wednesday takes place on Wednesday, March 5. Ash Wednesday also occurs exactly 46 days before Easter Sunday, which falls on April 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ash Wednesday also occurs the day after Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day in the U.K. On Pancake Day, as the name suggests, it's customary to eat pancakes to use up the last of your indulgent ingredients before Lent. Meanwhile, Easter Sunday is always held on the first Sunday after a full moon following the Spring Equinox. How is it observed? Not all Christians observe Ash Wednesday, but for those who do, it typically involves attending a church service. During the service, clergy members either mark a cross on worshippers foreheads with ashes or sprinkle ashes over their heads as a symbol of repentance. The ashes, which are mixed with holy water or olive oil, are made by burning palm leaves on Shrove Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palm Sunday occurs on April 13 this year, one week before Easter Sunday. The holiday commemorates Christ's entry into Jerusalem days before the Last Supper. As the cross is marked on a person's forehead by a member of the clergy, they say: Remember that you are guest, and to dust you shall return. Alternatively, the priest may say: Repent and believe in the gospel. BUENOS AIRES, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Argentine government is working on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said Wednesday. Adorni told reporters at a press conference in Buenos Aires that a bilateral agreement could boost the presence of highly competitive Argentine goods in the North American market, including wine, beef, biodiesel and essential oils. The Foreign Affairs Ministry and Economy Ministry are working intensively towards a deal, he said, stressing it is a "wish" of President Javier Milei to take advantage of any opportunity that arises for a free trade agreement. "Of course the United States, being the main economy in the world or one of the main economies in the world, and an economy to which we have much to contribute with our products, is clearly a priority," said the presidential spokesman. For decades, said Adorni, Argentinians have been told about import substitution, about defending Argentine labor and "living with what we have," but "they have done a lot of harm to Argentina, because the only thing they have done is isolate us from the world." "Imagine they tell you 'you have to sell only to 47 million Argentines and not to 8 billion human beings'. Well, it is limiting your development and that is what they have done to us for more than 80 years," he said. "We are not willing to let that continue happening. We are willing to make Argentina more and more free. And that effectively implies making all the free trade agreements that opportunities allow," Adorni added. On March 1, during the opening of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress, Milei warned that Argentina would withdraw from the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) trade bloc if the mechanism prevents his country from negotiating a trade deal with the United States. Mercosur regulations require unanimous consensus among all members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) to reach trade agreements with other groups. According to Milei, the South American country has a historic opportunity "to establish a trade agreement with the United States. An opportunity that was already presented to us 20 years ago and we let it pass, wasting the last great boom in growth that the planet saw." "To take advantage of this historic opportunity that is once again presented to us, it is necessary to be willing to be flexible or even, if necessary, to withdraw from Mercosur; the only thing that it has achieved since its creation is to enrich the great Brazilian industrialists at the expense of impoverishing the Argentines," Milei said. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel highlights the dangers of scam robocalls during National Consumer Protection Week. The Federal Trade Comission (FTC) reports Michiganders filed 32,647 robocall complaints last fiscal year. The Department of Attorney General has cracked down on robocalls in recent years. Reports of robocall scams have declined significantly from 2018 to 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department reports they have received 1,330 robocall complaints in 2024 and have logged over 14,000 since Attorney General Nessel launched her anti-robocall initiative in 2019. Nessel is an Executive Committee member of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, an organization fighting to reduce the number of unwanted automated calls Michigan residents receive. Few things are more annoying, intrusive, and unwelcome than robocalls, said Nessel in a news release sent to 6 News. While complaints have gone down, billions of these calls are still made each year, and too many Michiganders continue to fall victim to scams. I am proud to lead Michigans Robocall Crackdown Team and will keep working with our state and federal partners to protect residents and put an end to the flood of illegal robocalls targeting our communities. Robocall scammers attempt to steal money by accessing the victims money or personal information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an attempt to fight off would-be robocall perpetrators, the Department of the Attorney General took action against four voice service providers and iDentidad Telecom, warning them about transmitting suspected illegal robocalls on their networks. Nessel also filed criminal charges in 2020 against two political operatives who set up a series of robocalls aimed at suppressing votes in the 2020 presidential election. The two operatives, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, were charged with intimidating voters and conspiracy to commit an election law violation, among other felonies. The Michigan Supreme Court upheld a state statute prohibiting false speech made in an attempt to deter or influence a vote last year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. Austria has backed the Grain from Ukraine food programme, contributing 2 million. Source: press service for Ukraines Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food Details: Ukraines Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval discussed cooperation in the agricultural sector and trade relations with Austrian Ambassador to Ukraine Arad Benko. Koval also expressed gratitude to Austria for its contribution to Ukraines Grain from Ukraine programme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Koval: "This is an additional 2 million for food security, which is an important step in supporting countries suffering from hunger." Details: Koval emphasised that European integration is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and outlined the steps already taken toward EU accession. The parties also discussed the need for joint efforts at European Commission level to ensure the smooth export of Ukrainian agricultural products. Quote from Koval: "Austria remains an important trade partner of Ukraine: in 2024, bilateral trade in food and agricultural products amounted to US$210 million. Ukraine mainly exported maize, fruit and vegetable juices, soya beans, sunflower oil, frozen fruits and nuts. In return, Austria supplied Ukraine with chocolate and cocoa-based products, ready-made sauces, animal feed, maize, and still and carbonated mineral water." Details: The minister also proposed exploring a mechanism to insure agricultural trade transactions between Ukraine and Austria against war-related risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: Ukraines Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval agreed to coordinate efforts to scale up the Grain from Ukraine programme, transforming it into Food from Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! As New Mexico authorities continue to investigate the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, it sounds like they have made a mistake in their investigation. On Feb. 26, the couple was found dead in their Santa Fe home in what detectives have called "suspicious" circumstances. As the investigation into their death continues, authorities have admitted that they misidentified which dog passed away along with the couple. Initially, authorities had determined that the couple's German shepherd, named Bear, was found deceased. However, Joey Padilla the owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs care has offered a pretty significant correction on that point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Padilla, both Bear and a second dog named Nikita survived while the couple's kelpie mix, Zinna, passed away. Padilla told the Associated Press in a statement that Zinna, the dog that passed away, was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship. Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsys hand, Padilla wrote in the statement. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine, leading to the determination that Bear was the dog that passed away. However, Santa Fe public information officer Denise Womack Avila confirmed that this was a mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our deputies, they dont work with canines on a daily basis, she said. Officials have already confirmed that no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa and both tested negative for carbon monoxide. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza has also confirmed that the last recorded activity on Hackman's pacemaker occurred on Feb. 17, leading authorities to believe that was his last day alive nine days before his body was discovered. Investigators have recovered several pieces of evidence to aid in their investigation, recovering two cellphones, an orange prescription bottle and a 2025 planner while inspecting the residence. Medical investigators are still working to determine the cause of deaths in the "suspicious" case, but the results of toxicology reports arent expected for weeks A 23-year-old inmate who died Tuesday at Waupun Correctional Institution marks at least the seventh death at the maximum-security facility in the last two years. Damien D. Evans is the first inmate known to have died at the prison since the start of 2025, as the Wisconsin Department of Corrections does not notify the public when a prisoner dies in its custody. Families and advocates for prisoners have long criticized the DOC for its lack of transparency when it comes to reporting in-custody deaths, including how and when they occur. DOC's spokesperson, Beth Hardtke, confirmed Evans's death Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Per DOC policy, staff notified the Dodge County Sheriffs Office and the Dodge County Medical Examiners Office of the death. The Dodge County Medical Examiners Office is responsible for determining the cause of death," she said. His death also comes at a time when the state's prison system is undergoing an independent review, with an in-depth look into the use of solitary confinement, healthcare and mental health services, and prison conditions. In February, Gov. Tony Evers proposed nearly $500 million in his budget to overhaul the state's prisons, which would see the remodeling of Waupun Correctional Institution and the closure of Green Bay Correctional Institution. In June, the prison's former warden and eight other workers, including nurses, correctional sergeants and lieutenants, were arrested and charged with misconduct in office and abuse of residents of a penal facility related to the deaths of Cameron J. Williams, 24, and Donald W. Maier, 62. Williams died Oct. 30, 2023, of a rare stroke after begging staff for help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maier died Feb. 22 of last year, a week after staff began periodically switching off the water to prevent him from flooding his cell, according to a criminal complaint. He died of probable dehydration and malnutrition, and his death was ruled a homicide. No charges were filed in the deaths of Dean Hoffmann, 60, who died by suicide June, 2023, and Tyshun Lemons, 30, who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in early October, 2023. The Dodge County Sheriff's Office, which has investigated all of the prison's in-custody deaths, has not released its findings into the deaths of two other prisoners, Christopher L. McDonald, 57, who died in August of an apparent "self-inflicted incident," and Jay J. Adkins, 66, who died on May of last year. Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @Vanessa_Swales. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Authorities investigating seventh death at Waupun prison in 2 years A peachy-colored baby killer whale was seen bonding and socializing with her family off Washington, drone footage shows. The endangered calf, J-62, was filmed during a Feb. 17 encounter off San Juan Island in the Salish Sea, the Center for Whale Research said in a March 4 Facebook post. The nonprofit said it used a drone and got aerial footage of some J pod members, including J-41, J-51, J-58 and J-56. Researchers suspect J-41 is the calfs mother, McClatchy News reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video shows the calf swimming closely with the other orcas. At one point, J-62 is seen rolling and splashing in the water over another whale. The female calf is easy to spot because of her small size and peachy-orange coloring. Instead of the classic white, calves are born with a peachy color because they have a thinner blubber layer, so the blood vessels are closer to the skins surface, the nonprofit said. The color will eventually fade as she gets older and becomes more insulated with blubber, typically within a year, according to the Georgia Strait Alliance, an environmental organization. Phenomenal. The drone footage is so brilliant, gives such an insight, I love it, one person commented on Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This calf was first spotted on New Years Eve, according to a Jan. 1 Facebook post. She appears to be filling out and acting normally, the nonprofit said. What to know about the orcas Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered species in 2005 and are listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These whales are made up of three groups: J, K and L pods. They spend summer and fall months in the Puget Sound and in the waters off southern Vancouver Island, NOAA said. J pod frequents the western shore of the San Juan Islands. While most other killer whale populations are doing well, the Southern Residents are among the worlds most endangered marine mammals, the federal agency said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lack of prey (mainly Chinook salmon), chemical pollution and noise disturbances from vessels have all contributed to a decline in their population, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, for this whale population, 69% of births fail, according to a study published by researchers from the University of Washington. Beautiful baby sea creature swims with mom off CA coast. See amazing photos of duo Massive goldfish found in Pennsylvania waterway, wildlife officials say. Cute to brute What do narwhals use their tusks for? First-of-its-kind drone footage offers clues BOSTON (WWLP) Karen Read was is back in court with two hearings in sperate courthouses on Wednesday. Defense releases new filings in Karen Read case Read is appealing a recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to have two of the three charges thrown out on grounds of double jeopardy in federal court in south Boston. She then traveled to Norfolk Superior Court for her second hearing, where her attorneys will argue Reads motion to dismiss and two other items. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John OKeefe, in January 2022. Shes pled not guilty, and alleges she was framed. Her first trial ended with a hung jury. Her second trial is scheduled to begin on April 1st. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Photo from Flickr. Ohio state senators unveiled yet another version of their sweeping energy bill Tuesday with changes that earned praise from some but had several other supporters reconsidering their position. As you can see, we are balancing on the head of needle we made the first witness happier and the second witness sadder, committee chairman Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, quipped between speakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can assure you, he added, Im not on any utilitys Christmas card list. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The latest iteration of Ohio Senate Bill 2 includes several provisions clarifying the timing of the rate-making process. It also incorporates a three-year window for rate-setting cases requested by utilities at the last hearing. Under the changes, regulators would true-up rates annually based on the utilities actual costs. Lawmakers were a bit puzzled why utilities couldnt just set rates annually, but drafted changes anyway. The new bill also allows utilities focused on distribution think FirstEnergy, AEP, Duke and AES to provide so-called behind the meter power generation services. The idea is to build a mini power plant dedicated to providing power for an individual customer, and its gained in popularity with the proliferation of power-hungry data centers. But allowing distributors into that market reverses a core element of Ohios deregulated energy system which has kept distribution separate from generation for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But those changes, calibrated to earn support from energy giants, pushed a handful of other interest groups out of the supporters column. Speaking after the committee hearing, the bills sponsor, Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, said theyd likely have more changes in time for a hearing next week. Silver linings Still, committee members did hear from a few supporters, including Joe Price who represents several large industrial firms through the organization Ohio Energy Group. Among the groups members are auto manufacturers, steel producers, and food companies. For all these companies, Price explained, energy is one of their top expenses, and so very small changes to energy policy can have very big impacts for our members ability to compete. In particular, Price highlighted interruptible rate programs. The agreements allow large energy users to cut a deal with distributors for lower rates in exchange for agreeing to shutdown operations when the grid is stressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are real benefit, he argued. For example, during winter storm Elliott, two years ago, there was an emergency called on Dec. 23 for four hours and Dec. 24 for 14 hours. Otherwise, if we had not shut off the factories there could there have been blackouts or some situation that would not be good for other customers. Electric Power Supply Association President and CEO Todd Snitchler represents several independent power companies. He spoke favorably about SB 2s explicit prohibitions on distributors entering the generation market and the elimination of so-called electric security plans which allow companies to charge customers for planned grid improvements. Both provisions have been a part of the bill from the outset, so lawmakers asked what he made of allowing companies to set rates on a three-year basis with annual adjustments. Snitchler said, I think that the three-year program can be functional and it can work so long as it has the appropriate guardrails in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He argued the approach would give line of sight to both utilities and consumers on where rates will likely be in the coming years. Proponents revolt Kim Boyko, an attorney representing the Ohio Manufacturing Association was deeply frustrated with the committees changes. As Chairman Chavez got up to testify on legislation in a different committee, she pointed out that with version three, OMA is no longer a supportive proponent of the bill. Boyko argued utilities focused on distribution shouldnt be allowed to get into behind the meter power generation. The legislation allows them to do so, but not to recover costs from rate payers for building bespoke power plants. Not so fast, Boyko insisted, zeroing in on the bills use of reasonable arrangement to describe the agreements between the utility and the customer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a reasonable arrangement statute, (ORC) 4905. 31, that says delta revenues not costs delta revenues, she explained. So, discounts and any rates can be provided to manufacturers or to other businesses when they file these reasonable arrangements, and those costs can be passed on to customers. She also argued the three-year forecasted rate proposal would give utilities too much leeway to game the system. Instead of operating a socket wrench ratcheting rates down to utlities costs, Boyko argued, theyll more likely set a baseline that utilities will crank higher over the life the settlement. I dont know how any manufacturer is going to be able to come and stay in Ohio and have predictability or rate stability or rate certainty on what their energy costs would be in Ohio, she argued. Instead, she urged lawmakers to leave the rate-setting system in place with the new shot clock requirements to ensure cases get settled quickly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another previous supporter expressing doubts about the bill was David Proano, speaking on behalf of the Ohio Energy Leadership Council, another coalition of energy intensive companies. We do think that the amendments are a decided turn against consumers, unfortunately, he said. Like Boyko, Proano criticized the three-year rate forecast. He acknowledged the bill includes provisions for reconciling rates on an annual basis, but argued the problem is that takes a lot of time. Utilities are laying out proposals with $2-3 billion in assets, Proano said, which is a lot for regulators to sort through. In the meantime, he added, what happens if consumers are getting rates that are too high? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From my reading of the statute, it only adds, it only allows increases to rates, he said. It talks about the rates can increase for increases in the capital used by the utility, Proano continued. It doesnt allow really for decreases, and its uncertain whether or not if the consumer overpays in the meantime, for the reconciliation, its not clear in the bill that those rate refunds are going to come back. U-Turn Ohio Consumers Counsel Maureen Willis urged lawmakers to try again. She argued the latest version of bill, dash three because it is the third such iteration, represents a detour from many of consumer protections in prior versions of the bill. She warned so-called mini-rate cases dont have adequate consumer protections. While the bill sets an upper dollar limit on capital expenditures, it doesnt limit how often utilities can apply or that the investment meet existing used and useful standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Willis argued mini-rate cases should be limited to circumstances that are truly unexpected and outside the utilities control. Ordinary upkeep or smart grid investments dont cut it, she said, and definitely not expenditures to replace power plants. Consumers could end up paying for new plant and old plant at the same time that has been retired and not being used to provide utility service, she said. That would be unfair to consumers. Willis particularly harsh toward lawmakers willingness to allowing distribution companies to provide to behind-the-meter power generation. This is a U-turn on the path to regulatory form, she argued. While behind-the-meter generation is good idea. It should be competitively provided, not provided by a monopoly utility in the distribution business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utility involvement means less competition, potential cost shifting and risk to utility consumers in Ohio, she continued. Policing guarantees of no cost recovery related to utility behind the meter generation is an impossible job. But state Sens. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro, and Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, were skeptical. If a business owner wants to pay for it, they pressed Willis, who cares who builds their power plant? She argued that allowing utilities which operate as regulated monopolies into a market with companies that dont have a captive consumer base to lean on is fundamentally unfair. Its an uneven playing field, she said. And we know what happens when theres uneven playing field the strong players shut the weaker players out. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The purpose of the SNAP program is to help low-income families supplement their grocery budgets to afford nutritious food (John Moore/Getty Images). Low-income Missourians who receive food assistance would be prohibited from buying soda and candy with their benefits under a bill debated Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican from Ozark, would restrict food purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously called food stamps, if approved by the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would get us back to where the original program was meant to go, Gragg argued in Tuesday afternoon during a hearing of the House Committee on Government Efficiency. The programs been bastardized. The purpose of the SNAP program is to help low-income families supplement their grocery budgets to afford nutritious food. As of last month, over 320,000 households in Missouri received SNAP benefits, loaded onto electronic benefits transfer cards used to purchase groceries. The average value of benefits per household was $396. Proponents argue that taxpayer dollars, through the SNAP program, shouldnt subsidize unhealthy food and beverages, which worsen peoples health. Opponents called the proposal government overreach limiting low income families freedom to choose their food and overly broad, potentially banning SNAP access for things like granola bars and electrolyte drinks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from St. Louis, asked whether any pre-process food could be deemed unhealthy and added to the list of banned purchases. Do we want to be the nanny state that says, you can eat this and you cant eat that? Murphy said. Where does that end? Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said the list of unhealthy foods could keep growing. My concern is we can add to this list ad infinitum, Chappell said. The United Nations tells us that red meat is a carcinogenat what point do we stop micromanaging this list? State Rep. Jamie Gragg, an Ozark Republican, discusses his bill that would restrict SNAP benefits on Tuesday (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). Similar bills have been proposed in other states, including Arizona, West Virginia, Idaho and Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., health and human services secretary, has said he supports restricting SNAP for junk food, and the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, has signaled interest. The conservative national think tank Foundation for Government Accountability has helped push for the change. Food stamps have fueled the junk food epidemic, with soda ranking as the number one commodity bought with food stamps, Gragg told the committee a direct quote from a report published by the Foundation for Government Accountability earlier this year. James Harris, a lobbyist for the Foundation for Government Accountability, called the bill common sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If this were to pass and it helps one child have a little more milk or something of actual nutrition in their home, thats great, Harris testified. This just would allow Missouri to hopefully help some children have access to more nutritional food, besides maybe what they get at school. Those testifying in opposition included the progressive anti-poverty nonprofit Empower Missouri, along with industry groups such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Grocers Association and the Missouri Beverage Association. Nationally, beverage groups have been lobbying to keep sodas in the program, the Wall Street Journal reported late last year. A 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, found that the households that rely on the program have similar spending patterns to non-SNAP households. For both SNAP and non-SNAP households, the report stated, more money was spent on soft drinks than any other item. SNAP households spent 5% of their grocery budget on soft drinks, and non-SNAP households spent 4%. The percent spent on candy, 2%, was the same between both groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill defines candy as a food product containing sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruit, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the forms of bars, drops, or pieces. It defines a soft drink as nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners but does not contain milk or milk substitutes or beverages that are more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice by volume. The definition would prevent the purchase of Powerade with SNAP funds, but allow sugary bottled coffee drinks with milk, said Katie Gamble, a lobbyist for Missouri Beverage Association. State Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, a Republican from Savannah, said it seems that granola bars would fall under the candy definition, and I always thought they were supposed to be healthy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christine Woody, director of food policy for Empower Missouri, said individuals could cross the border into neighboring states and spend their SNAP dollars on banned items there. She added that a better strategy would be to encourage the purchase of healthy food, by really investing in some of the programs that are successful. Woody pointed to two programs that offer incentives to purchase fruits and vegetables, the Double Up Food Bucks program and the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Those opposed said any changes should be federally decided, rather than having each state determine what is healthy or not. Missouri would submit a waiver to the federal government requesting this change, if the bill is passed, but theres no guarantee itd be approved. States previous attempts to limit SNAP purchases in this way have been rejected by the federal government, including because of being complex to implement, having vague standards of what is defined as healthy, and failing to show they would reduce obesity. No action was taken on the bill Tuesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE An effort in the Georgia House of Representatives to repeal state law allowing school zone traffic cameras to catch speeders passed and is headed to the state senate for approval or rejection. House Bill 225, sponsored by Rep. Dale Washburn, would completely ban speed cameras from school zones. The bill passed its House floor vote 129 for, 37 against. Speaking with Channel 2s Richard Elliot while the bill was still working its way through the various House committees, Washburn said the cameras were being used to generate revenue from speeding tickets, rather than helping improve safety. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, in areas like Decatur, city officials said the cameras have helped keep students safe. Now, the bill will make its way to state senators for review, and possible passage. Should it gain full approval and become law, every government or law enforcement office using a radar device, including on school campuses, would have to test their radar devices for accuracy and keep records of those test results at the beginning and end of each duty tour. Additionally, radars that do not meet minimum accuracy requirements must be removed from service theyve been recertified as accurate by a qualified technician. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who gets a speeding ticket based on speeds reported by a radar used by governments or law officers, they would also have the right to request the device is tested for accuracy and a citation or ticket issued against them must have time to request this test before it can be issued. If the test proves the device inaccurate, the bill would prevent tickets or citations from being issued against the driver in question. If senators do not make changes to the bill as it is currently written, and it passes with a majority in the Senate, it would head to Gov. Brian Kemp to approve or veto. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Baton Rouge church commemorates anniversary of Selma to Montgomery March BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A Baton Rouge church will observe the 60th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March this Sunday. Wesley United Methodist Church, 544 Government St., plans to have a service starting 10 a.m. March 9. The historic march happened in Alabama in 1965 with people protesting voter discrimination. It was a key event during the civil rights movement that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Sundays service, Pastor J.C. Richardson said a march to the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol will take place for a discussion of four proposed constitutional amendments on the March 29 ballot. Voters are set to decide on constitutional amendments about specialty courts, tax code changes and juvenile prosecution in Louisiana. Downtown Baton Rouge building part of Louisiana civil rights movement history Latest News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2025. The White House said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption to three major automakers from the newly imposed 25-percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption to three major automakers from the newly imposed 25-percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. "We spoke with the big three auto dealers (makers), we are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing. Levitt said Trump has spoken with three companies -- Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis -- and they made this request. The president agreed to grant them a one-month tariff exemption. Bloomberg News reported earlier Wednesday that Trump is exempting automakers from newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month, "as a temporary reprieve following pleas from industry leaders." The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a trade agreement negotiated, signed, and ultimately enacted during Trump's first term, aimed at replacing the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Under the USMCA, auto parts procurement must meet specific rules to qualify for duty-free treatment. These rules are designed to encourage regional production and sourcing within North America. For passenger vehicles and light trucks, at least 75 percent of the vehicle's value must originate in North America, while the minimum requirement for heavy trucks is 70 percent. On Feb. 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 25-percent tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10 percent tariff increase on Canadian energy products. On Feb. 3, Trump announced a 30-day delay in implementing the tariffs on both countries and continued negotiations. According to this decision, the relevant tariff measures took effect on March 4. Trump on Tuesday night defended his tariff strategy when delivering an address to a joint session of Congress, but acknowledged that such policies will cause "a little disturbance." Nevertheless, economists and observers have expressed deep concerns about the potential impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy. The Tax Foundation estimated that, without considering retaliatory measures, Trump's 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which went into effect Tuesday, will reduce long-term GDP by 0.2 percent, reduce hours worked by 223,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and reduce after-tax incomes by an average of 0.6 percent. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2025. The White House confirmed Wednesday that the Trump administration is having direct talks with Hamas aimed at releasing hostages. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) Mar. 4A renewable energy company headquartered in Miami with an additional office in Minneapolis has proposed a 150-megawatt battery energy storage system be constructed off of U.S. Highway 65 south of Glenville. Called the Midwater Energy Storage Project, it would be placed on 10 to 20 acres of privately owned land adjacent to the ITC Midwest substation, which is known as the Glenworth Substation. "We're excited to bring the project to this region," said Mary Matze, project developer with Spearmint Energy, the standalone battery energy system operator proposing the project. "We think it will be a net benefit to the community and provide some benefits that allow for grid stabilization and grid reliability and really allow this region to maximize the existing infrastructure that they have." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Battery storage systems as a whole are positioned to lower energy system costs by optimizing the grid, bolstering reliability and enabling a clean grid. Matze said the battery energy storage system is not affiliated with the nearby wind project and will take energy off the grid that is coming from various sources, whether that be wind, solar, gas or other carbon-based resources. "When we looked at sites we were looking for where there's grid volatility. ..." Matze said. "We take that extra energy off the line through the substation. The substation helps convert that energy into a state where we can store it. We store it just like you would store corn, wheat or soy in a bin when there's extra corn, wheat or soy. We are storing energy in the battery, and then when the market is ready for it, we release it back onto the grid. Really what this helps do is provide low-cost energy during times of high consumption." Matze said highest peak energy usage is at night and then again in the morning, and it requires using resources that are expensive to supply the energy needed for people's homes at that time. This would enable the company to provide a lower cost product during those times known as peak shaving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the project application to the state, the system would have the potential to store enough energy to provide electricity for approximately 100,000 households for up to four hours, based on an average household's electricity consumption. The storage system itself will look like a series of storage containers, and inside each unit will be batteries stacked in drawers. Matze noted each unit is fully contained, and she estimated there will be between 75 and 100 units over the possible 20 acres. In addition to grid volatility, she said the company looks at other factors when considering a site, such as if they can safely site a project. The company looks at national standards with the National Fire Protection Association and other regulatory agencies to ensure they're providing a project that can be managed safely by the local fire department in case of a battery failure that results in a thermal event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she understands there are concerns and is available to meet with people and answer questions they may have. About 500 battery energy storage systems operate safely throughout the country, and it is rare for one to start on fire, she said. Matze said Spearmint Energy uses Tier 1 technology, which has not had any power failures or battery failures that have resulted in a thermal event. She noted there is a lot of misinformation on the internet about battery fires, but she said in those instances where there have been fires, those systems have utilized different, older technology. In the event one unit were to catch fire, however, they would allow the fire to burn itself out in that unit. She said research has shown no adverse impacts to any of the surrounding communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She has also received questions about if there is the possibility the batteries could leak into the neighboring land, given the proximity to the Shell Rock River. Matze said there will not be liquid inside the batteries they have in the units. And in the event one does start fire, they are not designed to be sprayed with water or other things to extinguish the blaze that could lead to runoff. She noted Minnesota has one of the most "vigorous" processes for reviewing battery energy storage systems in the country, and she's happy to participate in the project so they can build a safe project for the community. The company's permit would be for 30 years and the batteries have a guaranteed lifespan of 20 to 25 years. Spearmint met with community leaders about the project in April 2024, including the former county administrator, as well as former Commissioner John Forman and the county's planning and zoning administrator. She said the company is required by state law to notify Freeborn County, the Shell Rock River Watershed District, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project is currently under a state comment period through March 10 through the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on the scope of the environmental assessment. Written comments will be accepted through 4:30 p.m that day via https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/public-comments, by email at consumer.puc@state.mn.us or by mail at Consumer Affairs Office, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, 1217 Seventh Place East, Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101. "We are committed to continuing to meet with folks and we invite them to provide their comments to the Public Utilities Commission," Matze said. The company also plans to have an open house where people can meet with representatives from the company and learn more about the project. If all goes according to plan and the project can get the necessary approvals, they hope to be under construction in 2027, though they strongly expect those dates will get pushed back, Matze said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said they are still looking for a power purchase agreement, which could be with any utility, including one such as Freeborn Mower Electric. "At the end of the day, we're here to be a community partner," she said. 'We're looking to work with communities. We expect to be a long-term part of the community, so we encourage people to reach out directly if they have questions." Matze can be reached by email at mmatze@spearmintenergy.com. The project website can be found at www.midwaterbattery.com. In brief discussion about the issue at the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, 2nd District Commissioner Dawn Kaasa said many residents want to know what the evacuation plan would be for the project and how the fire department would be trained to respond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said there are many other locations with access to a substation where a project like that could go and questioned why it had to be at that specific site so close to the Shell Rock River. A group of concerned residents met to discuss the project Monday at Glenville-Emmons High School. Check back for more information from that meeting. Bavarian state Premier Markus Soder defended plans for massive debt-backed spending by Germany on infrastructure and defence in a speech on Wednesday in the Bavarian city of Passau. Soder's conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), along with their national sister party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), had struck a tentative deal with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars for those priorities. Although the CDU/CSU bloc has long pushed for balanced budgets and fiscal prudence, Soder on Wednesday contended that must change in the face of threats now facing Germany, and the weakening of the NATO military alliance with the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soder, in his speech at a traditional Ash Wednesday political gathering, said that Germany must react to rapidly changing conditions abroad and in the United States in particular, Soder said, and "we must fundamentally rearm our country." "Every day there are small provocations, every day there are smaller or larger transgressions," said Soder. "Of course we are not at war, but we are not really at peace like we used to be," said Soder. "Germany is defending itself, Germany is arming itself, Germany is repositioning itself. This is just the beginning, not the end." German conservatives are now prepared to "do everything" in order to strengthen the country and Europe by building up Germany's armed forces and rebuilding ageing infrastructure, Soder said. (KRON) Police are warning Chinese and Chinese-American residents about a recent scam targeting those individuals in the United States. According to the Lafayette Police Department (LPD), there is an unknown group of Mandarin-speaking individuals identifying themselves as the Chinese Police. This group claims the victim or their family member will be arrested by Chinese police if they dont wire transfer all their money to them, LPD said in a social media post Tuesday. The scam states that Chinese Police will make these arrests in the U.S. DOGE says it terminated leases of 3 Bay Area-based federal agencies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LPD says this scam is very elaborate and involves additional people to seem more legitimate to the victim. As of Tuesday afternoon, in their Facebook post, Lafayette police did not report any victims of this scam. Please know the Chinese Police do not have the authority or ability to send their police to the US to arrest people, Lafayette police wrote. If you are concerned and/or believe there may be some truth to a call you receive demanding your money, please call our 24 hour dispatch line at 925-284-5010 and ask to consult with an on-duty officer. This isnt the first time a scam is warning the Chinese community in the Bay Area. In January, the San Francisco Police Department warned the community about a blessing scam. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) Over 30 employers looking to fill over 500 jobs across all types of fields will set up shop at Gulf Coast State College for the 38th annual Bay County Job Fair on Saturday, March 8th. All the participating employers have openings for positions only in the panhandle across fields including healthcare, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, education, and more. The open jobs at the fair range in part-time, full-time, and seasonal work with openings for those with all types of work experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Event organizers are encouraging anyone interested in attending the job fair to check their resumes and do their research on the businesses they are interested in. Tee off in support of local organization in Panama City Beach They should research the employers, understand what they do, what services and products they have, be ready to really speak to these hiring managers that are looking for them, said CareerSource Gulf Coast Communications Manager Becky Samarripa. They need to be ready to present themselves professionally, and what theyre wearing. In their what we call an elevator speech, which is like a 30-second infomercial about what you can do and what you bring to this employer. CareerSource Gulf Coast is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and has professionals who can help you perfect your resume ahead of the fair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This free job fair will be held in the Student Union East Building at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City between 9:30 a.m. and noon. To view the full list of employers attending this years fair or to register for the event, simply click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WWLP) A man from New Bedford has been sentenced to at least three years in state prison for a drive-by shooting that injured a police detective. Three suspects arrested in Holyoke in connection to stolen car, drug dealing The incident happened on July 17th, when Detective Lavar Gilbert was hit in the face while sitting in an unmarked cruiser in the South End of New Bedford. Gilbert drove himself to the hospital and has since recovered from his injuries, however now suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is unable to return to duty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WPRI states that the driver, 22-year-old Cheybane Vasconcelos-Furtado, pleaded guilty last month to assault with a gun and being an accessory after the fact. Vasconcelos-Furtado was out on probation at the time of his arrest and was sentenced to serve one year behind bars. He wont receive credit for time served toward his state prison sentence. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. BEDFORD, Ohio (WJW) A mother is facing several charges, including assault, after police say she hit a security guard and then broke a glass door at a local school. I-Team: Another vehicle hit with something at local bridge Dontiona Maxey appeared in Bedford Municipal Court Monday to face the charges. She was upset that a Fox 8 camera was in the courtroom and did not want her face shown. The judge, however, told her the courtroom was public and the camera was allowed to be there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not guilty pleas were entered during the hearing. She is due back in court next month. A Bedford police report notes that officers spoke with a security guard who said the mother entered the building and became upset after she was told to return to the waiting area outside of the school. Security officials said the mother had to be physically removed from the building. The report states the mother called police saying the security guard put his hands on her and pushed her out of the building. She said she wanted to press charges against the security guard. Police, however, say the security guard told them he physically removed her from the school, after she refused to leave and she started physically swinging at him. School security video, obtained by the I-Team, shows the mother trying to hit the guard several times. The guard then picked her up and pushed her out the door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents concerned about busing issues at Coventry Local Schools While outside of the school, the mother can be seen on video yelling and swearing. The video also captures her kicking the glass door several times, causing it to break. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump promised on Day 1 to seize the Panama Canal. Most Read from Bloomberg Were taking it back, the US president declared in his inaugural address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within weeks, Wall Street billionaire Larry Fink was on the line with the White House. His pitch: Finks investment company, BlackRock Inc., was interested in buying the ports on either side of waterway, shifting them into American hands, according to people familiar with the discussion. And with that, there would be no need to have the US take the century-old canal by force. So went days of whirlwind negotiations that now are set to deliver control of those ports to a consortium led by BlackRock, the $11.6 trillion investment giant Fink has run for almost four decades. The deal, which will hand the seller $19 billion, reflects an extraordinary confluence of Trumps America First vision and Wall Streets globe-spanning quest for profit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to regain US ownership of the Panama Canal, which he has claimed, without evidence, is run by China. Fink capitalized on that desire to secure the biggest infrastructure deal in BlackRocks history handing Trump a win as the president flexes over international trade, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, NATO and more. The deal is also a sign of Finks and BlackRocks ambitions to clinch major deals in far-flung private markets and compete with the biggest alternative asset managers. In a statement announcing the transaction Tuesday, he boasted of BlackRocks ties to companies and governments around the world, noting: We are increasingly the first call. When Trump took the lectern Tuesday night for a primetime address, he hailed the deal as a step toward reclaiming the canal for the US. He didnt use BlackRocks name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals, he said. The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. Dozens of Ports BlackRock said it agreed to buy the two ports in Panama and more than 40 others around the world from CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the sprawling conglomerate controlled by the Li family, one of Asias richest clans. In recent months, the Hong Kong family found itself thrust into the center of a political firestorm over who controls the crucial waterway and key ports. For Trump, having a US investment company take over the ports would reduce Chinas influence in the region, according to people familiar with the talks, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity given the delicate diplomacy. The deal wouldnt have come together without Trumps support, these people said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BlackRock is acquiring the operations with Global Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure firm it bought last year and that is headed by Adebayo Ogunlesi. Other investors include Terminal Investment Ltd., which operates ports served by the worlds largest shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping. Fink has moved in Trumps circles for years, and people close to the deal say his personal involvement was crucial. In recent days, Fink briefed Trump as the talks quickly unfolded. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also kept in the loop. In a statement, Frank Sixt, co-managing director of CK Hutchison, said the deal resulted from a rapid, discrete but competitive process and was unrelated to politics. Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. also considered bids, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Representatives for both firms declined to comment. The White House didnt respond to a request for comment. CK Hutchisons American depositary receipts rose as much as 3.4% to $6.02 at the start of trading Wednesday. They gained 17% on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Panama will review the transaction and an audit of the Panama Ports contract will continue, according to a statement posted on Panama President Jose Raul Mulinos account on X. Purely Commercial Under terms disclosed Tuesday, BlackRock, GIP and Terminal Investment will acquire units that hold 80% of the Hutchison Ports group. The consortium will also acquire 90% of Panama Ports Co., which operates the two ports in Balboa and Cristobal, on either side of the Panama Canal. Well probably have ownership of the Panama Canal ones very shortly, Fink told a financial industry conference Tuesday. As Trump publicly complained about Chinas influence over the canal, Panamas government weighed whether to cancel its contract with CK Hutchison to operate the ports, Bloomberg reported last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That arose even though CK Hutchison is based in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory with its own borders, currency and legal system. Beijing has clamped down on the former British colony since 2020 when it imposed a broad national security law that paved the way for a crackdown on dissent. Reached Wednesday morning in Asia, CK Hutchison referred to Sixts earlier statement. In it, he said, I would like to stress that the transaction is purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports. --With assistance from Shirley Zhao, Marie Patino, Hayley Warren, Jeremy Hill, Crayton Harrison, Dawn Lim, Allison McNeely and Akayla Gardner. (Updates with Trump comments, share move and Panama chart.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. By Lidia Kelly (Reuters) - Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko said in remarks published on Wednesday that Moscow and Minsk benefit from how the United States treats Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the rift between Washington and the EU. In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on Elon Musk's X, Lukashenko enthusiastically embraced U.S. President Donald Trump and his approach towards the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is only because of this administration that the issue of ending the war has become so urgent," Lukashenko, who in January extended his 31-year reign in a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham, told Nawfal. "It benefits us that (Trump) showed Zelenskiy his place, he should know it." The war in Ukraine has brought Lukashenko more close than ever to President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion was launched in part from Belarusian territory. Putin has also since deployed Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The Belarusian leader said that Trump had no goal other than to end wars, which he called a "brilliant" foreign policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am ready to stand next to him and do everything that is necessary to end the war and improve people's lives," Lukashenko said. The EU and the United States have imposed several waves of sanctions on Minsk in response to repression and human rights violations following the 2020 presidential vote and the country's involvement in the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The recent rift between the United States and the EU are in the interests of Minsk, Lukashenko said. "Let's be honest, it's beneficial for me, it's useful for us that the U.S. and the EU have disagreements," Lukashenko said without elaborating. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates) TEHRAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian court has demanded the U.S. government and officials to pay 12.61 billion U.S. dollars in material, moral and punitive damages for the harm inflicted on Iranian thalassemia patients due to Washington's sanctions. The ruling, issued by a Tehran court dealing with international affairs on Wednesday, follows a lawsuit filed by 438 Iranian thalassemia patients and their families against 17 American individuals and entities, who have been accused of imposing and enforcing the sanctions, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. Iranian thalassemia patients rely on imported medicines and raw materials for their treatment. According to Tasnim, many have suffered severe health complications or even died in recent years due to drug shortages caused by U.S. sanctions. These shortages worsened after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and the subsequent compliance of certain pharmaceutical companies with the sanctions. According to Tasnim, the court ordered the defendants to pay 1.73 billion dollars to 346 Iranian patients. Each plaintiff will receive 5 million dollars for severe side effects and high costs caused by low-quality drugs in the absence of high-quality ones. The defendants must also pay 2.76 billion dollars to the same 346 plaintiffs. Each will receive 8 million dollars for mental and psychological harm from using low-quality medicines. The ruling also orders the U.S. government and officials to pay 1.54 billion dollars in material and moral damages to 92 plaintiffs who lost loved ones due to drug shortages. Additionally, it mandates 6.57 billion dollars in punitive compensation for all 438 plaintiffs. While the U.S. claims that humanitarian items, including medicine and food, are not sanctioned, its restrictions on Iran's oil exports and banking sector have effectively blocked the country from importing these goods. The White House is giving automakers a one-month pause on tariffs. Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors asked Donald Trump for the exemption. The White House said Trump is open to discussing other possible exemptions. The White House has granted car companies a one-month reprieve on tariffs after President Donald Trump spoke with representatives of the Big Three automakers. "At the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month so they are not at an economic disadvantage," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "The three companies he spoke to are Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors. They requested the call. They made the ask and the president is happy to do it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It isn't all good news for Detroit. Leavitt said automakers won't get another pause when Trump's second round of trade-related tariffs goes into effect on April 2. Additional tariffs on steel and aluminum are set to go into effect on March 12. Automakers, of course, rely heavily on those materials to make their products. Shares rebounded on Wall Street after the announcement, a potential sign that traders are optimistic that more deals will be forthcoming. Trump's current round of tariffs is related to his view that Canada, Mexico, and China are not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. Leaders of all countries have strongly disputed the White House's position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested on Tuesday that automakers could get a tariff exemption. It remains to be seen if a broader truce will be reached. Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday that his country still had more work to do. "Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that it's gotten better, but I said, 'That's not good enough.'" Leavitt said that Trump "is open to dialogue" on further exemptions. Read the original article on Business Insider PUNA, Hawaii (KHON2) Big Island police have began a homicide investigation after two early morning shootings in Puna on March 4 left a 25-year-old woman dead. Police are looking for the suspect, who they say is 28-year-old Isaiah Kaleo Jiaan Fourshey of Mountain View. Puna patrol officers responded to a residence on Hibiscus Street in Mountain View shortyl after midnight after receiving calls from a woman saying that Fourshey, who is her daughters ex-boyfriend, had come to her residence looking for her daughter. Ala Moana shooting raises questions over Hawaiis sensitive places law Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being told that his ex-girlfriend was not at the residence, Fourshey allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot at the callers husband multiple times. The man was not struck by any bullets and Fourshey left the area. Hawaiis most dangerous professions: New report Upon investigation of the shooting, police received a call from Foursheys ex-girlfriend, who was calling from her sisters home on Plumeria Street in Mountain View. According to her, Fourshey had showed up at the residence, kicked in the front door and shot at the sisters multiple times, striking her sister. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You First responders immediately showed up to the residence, where they attempted life-saving measures on the victim, who was later identified as 25-year-old Latisha Soares. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soares was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she later succumbed to her injuries just after 2 a.m. 6 things to know about POTUS aim to curb protest freedoms on college campuses: Will it impact Hawaii? Authorities continued their investigation, which is currently being investigated as a second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Big Island police begin arson investigation following suspicious brush fires While investigating, authorities found that Fourshey resides on Hibiscus Street, and police located his vehicle, but not his person. Authorities were also able to determine that Fourshey had been back at his residence following the shootings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fourshey is described as being part Hawaiian, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with any information on Foursheys whereabouts is urged to call 911 or contact Detective Duane Rapoza Jr. at (808) 961-2383 or at duane.rapoza@hawaiicounty.gov. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Every good home cook and professional chef knows that there's something arguably more important than knowing how to get a sauce to come out perfectly every time, what's the most efficient way to prep vegetables, and what's the secret to the perfect cheese sauce. More important than any of that is knowing crucial food safety tips, because it doesn't matter how good that curry came out, if you spread salmonella around your kitchen by washing your chicken, that's all anyone is going to remember. The sad truth is that no matter how careful you are, there are some foodborne illnesses that can't be avoided. These are the ones that happen because there's a problem with the food that comes right from the farm, the processor, or the manufacturer, but the good news is that with today's lightning-fast communications, you'll probably hear about FDA recalls pretty quickly. There are several different recall classes that the FDA might issue, but the bottom line is that no product and no store is immune not even one as beloved as the grocery chain Publix. Advertisement Advertisement Publix has been impacted by some massive food recalls, and in some cases, those recalls were for the chain's house brand products. Other times, Publix was simply caught up in nationwide recalls that were linked to large-scale outbreaks of food-related illnesses. They do, however, all have one thing in common, and that's the fact that they serve as reminders of how important it is to keep track of recall announcements. Read more: 13 Ways To Help Save Money At The Grocery Store Fruit And Grain Salad Mixes Were Recalled In 2013 Mixed fruit and grain salad on a white plate - Roaming Graciously/Shutterstock In March 2013, Publix took to Facebook to warn customers not to use recently-purchased Tri Fruit and Grain Salads. There were dozens of comments with some of the interestingly varied responses that only social media can provide, from people proudly declaring that they didn't eat fruit so they didn't have to worry, to others who lauded the chain for reaching out to customers via all means possible. The recall impacted products sold in five states over the course of three months, and the problem was the potential presence of listeria. Although the product was labeled as Publix's brand, they were sourced from Allison's Gourmet Kitchen, a company that had been in the pre-packaged deli salads and desserts market for a decade at the time of the recall. Fortunately, there were no casualties or illnesses associated with the product at the time of the recall. Ground Chuck Was Recalled In 2018 After Reported Illnesses Pile of ground meat on a cutting board and parchment paper - Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock In some cases, food recalls are issued before there are confirmed illnesses linked to the products in question. That, unfortunately, was not the case with a 2018 recall that came after 18 people fell ill over the course of 20 days in July. Testing confirmed that the culprit was E. coli-contaminated beef sold by Publix in a number of different forms, including burgers, sliders, meatballs, and meatloaf. Advertisement Advertisement There's a good chance that you've heard that a rare steak is safer to eat than a rare burger, and the 2018 recall is a good illustration of why you should opt for always using a meat thermometer like this affordable, highly-rated Alpha Grillers Meat Thermometer available on Amazon even if you're cooking something you've cooked hundreds of times before. E. coli is killed when cooked to the proper temperature of 160 Fahrenheit, but precise temperatures can be tough to judge and outbreaks do happen. A total of 24 counties in Florida were impacted by the recall, which also led to the reminder that while some cases of E. Coli can be little more than a few days of gastrointestinal discomfort, some can turn life-threatening and lead to kidney failure. Your best bet is simply not to cut corners with food safety. Publix Was Included In A Massive Tyson Recall In 2019 Chicken strips on a black plate cut with two forks - Ramina_J/Shutterstock Chicken strips are brilliant for a quick and easy meal, and let's be honest here: Even adults love them, especially when you add a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Growing up doesn't mean you need to get boring, but in 2019, Tyson recalled nearly 12 million pounds of chicken strips because of the possibility that they would be served with more than a little bit of nostalgia. At the time the recall was announced, six people had complained of finding metal in the strips, and three claimed they had been injured. Publix was one of a number of stores that was caught up in the recall, and it was a huge one. Those millions of pounds of chicken were spread out over 22 different types, and the recall grew over the course of months. Some had been produced the previous year, and the initial announcement came in March. Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately for Publix, it was on the heels of another chicken-related recall that had happened just the previous month. In February, the chain recalled all Pilgrim's Pride-sourced popcorn chicken from its delis for the presence of an unspecified foreign material and, at the time, they stressed that all questionable chicken had been removed from stores and there were no similar concerns with other chicken products. Basil Was Linked To An Outbreak Of Cyclospora In 2019 Leaves of fresh basil - Ali Majdfar/Getty Images There are a surprising number of different types of basil, and if you've ever been tempted to try to grow these deliciously fragrant herbs in your home kitchen, news from 2019 might be enough to make you decide to take the plunge. That's when Publix announced that it was pulling organic basil after a cyclospora outbreak was traced to basil imported from Mexico. Details were pretty grim. Cyclospora is typically spread through fecal matter, and yes, that means what you think it means. The result is basically a sort of gastrointestinal, flu-like illness, and even if you're diligent about washing your produce, that doesn't cut it and won't remove all traces of the parasite. At the time of the recall, more than 100 people in 10 states had fallen ill, and it was so potentially dangerous that authorities were warning that not only should consumers avoid any and all basil from Mexico, but suggested if there was no way to confirm a country of origin, just skip it anyway. The illness that could develop from the parasite has the potential to last for weeks, and needless to say, it's not a pleasant experience. Publix Was Part Of A Deadly Stone Fruit Recall In 2023 Assortment of nectarines, plums, and peaches - Volgariver/Getty Images When it comes to food poisoning, you might think of meat and dairy as being the usual culprits. Fruit can present a major danger, too, and cantaloupe was at the center of one of the worst food recalls in U.S. history. A different fruit recall hit Publix (as well as several other major grocery chains) in November 2023, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA issued warnings not to eat any peaches, plums, or nectarines that had come from HMC Farms. The warning covered fruits that had been sold as long as six months prior to the announcement, and it was stressed that it was only fruit from that particular source that had been linked to an outbreak of listeria. However, the potential that fruits had been re-labeled or used in other store-made products made this one particularly worrying. Advertisement Advertisement By the time the outbreak was considered officially over, one person was dead and 10 had been hospitalized across seven states. One case included a person who went into premature labor after developing complications. Medical professionals warn that listeria is particularly dangerous to those who are pregnant, and can be potentially deadly to infants and unborn babies. In some cases, it can result in newborns developing a potentially deadly infection after birth, and it can also be particularly dangerous for those with compromised immune systems. Bagged Spinach Was Connected To A 2023 Listeria Incident Fresh green spinach leaves piled together - Smit/Shutterstock The month after food safety authorities were warning consumers about a deadly listeria outbreak connected to stone fruit, Publix was front and center in another listeria-related recall. This time, the culprit was bagged spinach. The Publix-labeled spinach was sold in seven states, including Florida and the Carolinas. It wasn't the only product impacted by the recall, though, and along with it was a series of Fresh Express spinach products being sold in many of the same states. Contamination with this bacteria can happen at any point along the food production chain, and in this case, it was randomized testing that caught the presence of pathogens and the recall was issued before there were illness cases linked to the contamination. The time of the recall was a bad one for Fresh Express: In the previous few years, the company had also been linked to cyclospora and listeria outbreaks that impacted more than 1,200 people. Most famously, a 2018 incident spanning 15 states resulted in McDonald's opting to distance itself from Fresh Express with a distributor change. The Chain's Own BBQ Sauce Was Recalled In 2024 Chicken tenders with a yellow-orange dipping sauce - lilik ferri yanto/Shutterstock While many of Publix's biggest recalls have been ones where the chain was included in large, sweeping recalls of products that are also sold by other retailers, one seven-state recall in 2024 was a little different. In January, Publix announced it was recalling the Carolina-style Mustard BBQ Sauce available at Publix delis. The problem wasn't with a risk of food poisoning, but with the ingredients: It was found to contain anchovies, which wasn't disclosed on the label. Advertisement Advertisement The sauce was manufactured by Ventura Foods, and anchovy allergies are no joke. Similar to the more widely-known peanut or shellfish allergies, a reaction can range anywhere from hives and itching skin to swelling, difficulty breathing, and anaphylactic shock. It doesn't take much to trigger a reaction, and some individuals are so sensitive to it that even being in the vicinity of cooking anchovies can cause a reaction. Fortunately, the mislabeling was discovered and recalled before any cases of allergic reactions were reported. Planters Peanuts Were Pulled From Shelves Over Fears Of Listeria Contamination Honey roasted peanuts piled together - Margarita Vais/Shutterstock When you hear about a manufacturer recalling a particular product, it makes sense that multiple retailers are going to be involved. In May 2024, something a little different happened with Planters and Publix: Specifically, Planters issued a recall for cans of Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts, as well as Honey Roasted Peanuts. However, the only retailers involved were Publix and Dollar Tree, who had both been the only ones to receive shipments including the nuts that had possibly been contaminated with listeria. Publix immediately announced that they were offering a full refund for any containers that were returned to the store, and the official FDA recall was quick to stress that no other products or stores were impacted, and no illnesses had been reported. At the time, the risk was discovered to have been connected with a single production facility. Still, there were plenty of people who found themselves needing to check their pantry: Stores in six different states were included. Salmonella Was Found In Arugula During Routine Testing Arugula in a bowl on wooden background - Claudia Totir/Getty Images It wasn't really that long into 2024 that it became pretty clear that it wasn't going to be a great year for food recalls. In June, Publix and Green Life Farms announced they were recalling packages of baby arugula. In a testament to the routine testing procedures put in place, it was reported that the potential contamination with salmonella was discovered before anyone reported getting sick. There is, however, a footnote to this. Advertisement Advertisement Most of the best recipes using arugula mean using these leaves raw, which means that you can't rely on heat to kill salmonella as you might in other cases. Interestingly, though, there's something else that's going on here, too. When salmonella is found on leafy greens, it's found not just on the surface, but in every little nook and cranny and even attached to interior cells. That means there's just no way you're going to be able to rinse, wash, or disinfect salmonella-infected leafy greens to a point where you should think about consuming them, and that's something to keep in mind for the next time you hear about a leafy green recall. Publix Was Among The Stores Involved In A Huge Boar's Head Recall Boar's Head signage with recall notice - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images It seems that the 21st century has been a series of dismal, dystopian, or downright bizarre headlines, and there are no signs of anything letting up. In 2024, it was announced that the listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head deli meats was the worst that the nation had seen in more than a decade and yes, Publix was one of the retailers involved. The recall was announced in July, and it was largely focused on Boar's Head liverwurst that had been produced between June and July. The recall was nationwide, had been implemented after testing discovered the contamination, and the news was pretty dire. Publix representatives stated that the grocery store chain was also investigating what had happened, and it was noted that after the recall was announced, cases which included two deaths dropped off. When details about the federal investigation were released in early 2025, it was tough reading. Reports from several Boar's Head plants revealed a history of problems, from improperly cleaned equipment to the presence of mold and bugs. By the time the outbreak was over, 10 people were dead, and more than 60 had become seriously ill. Millions Of Pounds Of Ready-To-Eat Meat Products Were Recalled For Listeria Contamination Slices of chicken on top of a salad - Lauripatterson/Getty Images The headline-making Boar's Head recall was still pretty fresh in memories when another massive recall was announced in October 2024. This time, it was BrucePac's ready-to-eat poultry that had been linked to listeria contamination, and nearly 12 million pounds of meat were recalled. Publix was one of the retailers named in the recall, but it was far from the only one: The number of grocers, stores, retail locations, and other organizations including schools that had received the meat was long enough to fill a 343-page USDA report. Advertisement Advertisement This recall was particularly troubling because the identifying codes on the packages were typically removed when meats were repackaged before being sold to customers down the production chain. Companies that counted BrucePack among suppliers included Fresh Express, El Monterey, Home Chef, Michelina's, and store brands like Trader Joe's, Kroger, and Giant Eagle. The recall continued to be updated in the days following the initial announcement, eventually including hundreds of different items from frozen, family-style meals to salads. Still, there were no illnesses linked to the recalled products at the time it was announced. However, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in November 2024, by an Indiana woman who claimed her 12-year-old daughter died after contracting a listeria infection and developing complications. An E. Coli Outbreak Was Linked To Carrots Bowl of baby carrots on a wooden table - Westend61/Getty Images Routine and randomized testing has come a long way, and there are plenty of food recalls that are issued quickly enough to avoid outbreaks, illnesses, and deaths. Unfortunately, an E. coli outbreak in 2024 happened before a recall on carrots produced by Grimmway Farms, and by the time news broke, there was one death and at least 40 illnesses reported in association with the carrots. Publix was just one of the grocery stores that had been carrying the bags of carrots and baby carrots, and that was, perhaps, the worst part: The bags linked with the contamination were already sold by the time the FDA's testing and tracing methods pinpointed the source of the illness. The bags of carrots had been sold under a variety of labels, in sizes ranging from one to 25-pound bags, and as the store brands of multiple retailers. The recall warned that although the products were no longer for sale, there was a chance that the carrots were still sitting in customers' homes. Even if they had been processed and frozen, they still posed a risk: Freezing temperatures slows down spoiling, but isn't enough to kill the kind of bacteria and organisms that can cause serious food poisoning. In fact, freezing has been found to do the opposite. Just like freezing food works to preserve it, freezing also preserves bacteria like E. coli. Thaw those carrots out, though, and it has just prolonged the inevitable. Ground Meat Was Repeatedly Recalled For Foreign Matter Over The Years Ground beef in a package - Ali Majdfar/Getty Images Few things are more disgusting than biting into something that you instantly know just should not be there. It's bad enough finding a hair in your sandwich, but Publix has found itself in the center of several much more potentially dangerous instances of foreign objects in food. In 2017, Publix's house-labeled ground turkey was recalled immediately after meat plant workers noticed metal shavings in the ground meat. Nearly 40,000 pounds of meat were impacted, and similar concerns cropped up in 2024 and 2025. Advertisement Advertisement In June 2024, it was Publix's ground beef that was being recalled for possible contamination with what was just being called "foreign material." Then, the year finished with a ground meat recall that was specific to one store a Publix in Walton County, Florida. Close on the heels of that, 2025 kicked off with an announcement that a Tampa Publix was also recalling ground beef and pork due to the concerns over foreign material in the meat. Read the original article on Tasting Table. Chinese President Xi Jinping reads during a speech by Premier Li Qiang at the opening session of the National Peoples Congress, or NPC, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2025. Credit - Kevin FrayerGetty Images On Jan. 1, Quishi, the official ideological journal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published a speech by President Xi Jinping. In it, Chinas strongest leader since Mao Zedong called for a period of protracted struggle to maintain political security, achieve self-reliance, and demonstrate the superiority of Chinese-style modernization over that touted in the West. History has repeatedly proven that striving for security through struggle brings genuine security, Xi said, while seeking security through weakness and concession ultimately leads to insecurity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It sounded like a rallying cry in response to recent challenges, including record youth unemployment, deflationary pressures, stock market crash, burst housing bubble, and spiraling debtnot to mention the return to the White House of Donald Trump, who has made good on his election promise of the worlds top economy hiking tariffs on the worlds top exporting nation. However, Xis speech had actually been delivered at a CCP study session way back in February 2023. By finally publishing it in the partys flagship journal, the inference is that none of the intervening turmoil has made Chinas leadership alter course one iota. The last 23 months have been terrible for Chinas economy, terrible for households, Jacob Gunter, a lead economy analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, told a media briefing in late February. The fact that this speech was just published, adds Gunter, says a lot that this is the path, and we should not expect deviation from it. Which is another way of saying dont expect any big splashes as Chinas National Peoples Congress (NPC)its annual rubberstamp parliamentkicks off on Wednesday. In opening the week-long meeting, Chinese Premier Li Qiang issued his annual Work Report, or fiscal health check, which repeated 2024s growth target of around 5% for the coming year and revealed military spending will rise by 7.2%, which is also roughly the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Achieving this years targets will not be easy, and we must make arduous efforts to meet them, Li cautioned an audience of 3,000 cadres crammed into Beijings cavernous Great Hall of the People. Of course, that nothing much will change was largely self-evident by the fact that this NPC follows on the heels of last Julys third CCP plenum, where long-term goals were laid out: bolstering party-state capitalism, countering U.S. containment, boosting innovation, and entrenching loyalty to Xi. As the NPC is a state organ and thus downstream from the apex CCP, drastic course corrections ultimately fall outside its remit. Still, the NPCs intransigence does underscore Beijings ability to disregard short-term tribulations in favor of long-term goals. Even if, adds Gunter, continuity considering the economic downturn and the internal and external struggles that China is dealing with is actually quite remarkable. But while policy bombshells are unlikely to drop at the NPC, the flurry of speeches and reports will flesh out what we already know: Boosting consumption and expanding domestic demand are top of Beijings policy agenda, as well as stabilising the beleaguered property market, attracting foreign investment, and promoting supply chain self-sufficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for U.S. tariffs, China today enjoys the benefit of experience from Trumps first term and is taking a more sanguine approach. On Tuesday, Trump added an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on top of the initial 10% he imposed Feb. 4. In response, Beijing announced 15% tariffs on imports of American chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, as well as 10% on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Read More: American Farmers Fear More Pain From Trumps Trade War The response from Beijing so far has been to go tit-for-tat but not really make a big issue out of it, probably with the expectation that getting into a big spat would exacerbate matters, says Chong Ja Ian, an expert on Chinese politics and professor at the National University of Singapore. How long that composure can continue is a big question. In Trumps speech before a joint session of Congress that began just minutes after Lis Work Report, the U.S. President doubled down on threats he would impose reciprocal tariffs on every nation from April 2. Weve been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth, and that will not be allowed any longer, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As such, Xis longstanding commitment to self-reliance is looking increasingly prescient. On Feb. 17, he welcomed some of the biggest names in Chinas technology sector for a highly choreographed meeting, where he urged them to show their talent and contribute to Chinas growth. It marked an about-turn from Beijings heavy-handed regulatory crackdown four years ago and reflects the CCP leaderships concern about a slowdown in growth amid American efforts to stymie Chinas access to transformative technology. The meeting showed a recognition that the economy was not doing well, says Steve Tsang, a professor at the University of London and director of its SOAS China Institute, and some high-profile gesture needs to be taken to show Xi is serious about getting the economy back on track. Indeed, efforts to achieve self-sufficiencypreviously enshrined in controversial policies like Made in China 2025appear to be paying dividends given recent headline-grabbing tech breakthroughs, such as drastically improved yield for Huaweis latest semiconductor chips and the buzz around Chinas generative AI platform DeepSeek, both of which contributed to a stock rally that added rally $4 trillion to markets in China and Hong Kong. However, sustaining this bull market and improving Chinas economic prospects more broadly ultimately depend on boosting domestic consumption, which continues to lag. The issue, writes economist Michael Pettis, a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie China, is whether weak spending is down simply to consumer confidence or engrained structural problems. While low confidence is certainly among the causes of Chinas economic malaise, much, if not most, of the causality may be structural, he writes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lis Work Report talked a good game on attracting foreign investment, boosting food security, unleashing the creativity of future industries, and plowing $100 billion into new infrastructure projects. Additionally, China will issue 1.3 trillion rmb ($180 billion) in ultra-long special treasury bonds, as well as 4.4 trillion yuan ($600 billion) in local government special-purpose bonds to offset the negative effects of falling tax revenues and depressed land sales. But analysts doubt these measures directly nor adequately address the underlying reasons for lackluster consumption: public anxiety about future earnings amid a torpid economy and the falling values of real estate, which forms the principal store of household wealth. While they did deliver some increase in fiscal support, the degree of easing is more modest than it might appear, writes Julian Evans-Pritchard, Head of China economics at Capital Economics, in a briefing note. We remain skeptical that it will be sufficient to prevent growth from slowing this year. As such, Xis embrace of struggle without adequate examination of hardships cause may portend more pain ahead. Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The FOX4 Weather team has been hammering home all the risks with a wild storm system thats set to move through the Kansas City area Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. A Blizzard Warning goes into effect for many counties beginning at 9 p.m. Tuesday and ends at various times on Wednesday morning. View the latest Weather Alerts in the Kansas City region on FOX4 Meteorologist Joe Lauria spent time on WDAF+s Afternoon Drive discussing the biggest issues you need to be prepared as the storm blows through the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The winds are the guarantee. Were going to pick up 50, 60 mile per hour wind gusts, and thats all going to happen after 8 or 9 oclock or so, Lauria told FOX4s Loren Halifax. After 10 oclock, the 60 to eventually 70 mile per hour winds are on the table. Fierce winds will usher in a significant drop in temperatures where were also see a transition from rain over to snow late on Tuesday night. Lauria breaks down all the weather factors in the video at the top of the page. FOX4 will have continuous coverage of the weather and its impacts during newscasts, which you can now watch on WDAF+, our new streaming TV app for Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to live streaming our newscasts on WDAF+, you can also watch two new weekday shows: Morning Brunch after FOX4 Morning News, and Afternoon Drive before FOX4 News at 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. The Washington Legislature is considering a bill that would allow cities and counties to be sued for enforcing any ban on public camping that is not considered objectively reasonable. While advocates for those living unhoused in Washington say the bill would be an important step to providing rights and protections for a vulnerable population, opponents argue the legal definition is subjective and would open up local governments to costly litigation at the expense of tax payers. If passed, House Bill 1380 would require that any city or town, code city or county laws regulating the acts of sitting, lying, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property that is open to the public do so in a way that it objectively reasonable as to time, place, and manner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would also allow parties and individuals to take legal action against cities and counties they believe are enforcing such a policy in a way that is not objectively reasonable. The primary sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mia Gregerson (D-33rd District), said the legislation is part of a greater effort to codify rights and legal protections for homeless people. She referred to the idea as a bill of rights for the homeless population. In an interview with The News Tribune, Gregerson said the legislation would not prohibit local jurisdictions from regulating camping on public spaces, but creates a framework for them to do so. If you are going to enforce, then enforce through this lens, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gregerson said the bill is intended to create representation for an otherwise vulnerable population. On Jan. 21, the bill was the subject of a public hearing by the House Committee on Housing. Jazmyn Clark of ACLU Washington testified in support of the bill. Clark said HB 1380 is a vital step toward managing the homelessness crisis, in part, because it includes language requiring local governments to consider the totality of circumstances when regulating camping on public property. According to the bill, a local government must consider whether prohibitions on public camping protect the safety of both housed and unhoused individuals, whether there is accessible alternative shelter or housing available for those experiencing homelessness, and whether enforcement is proportional to the issue, among other factors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporters of the bill say cities and counties would be protected from litigation as long as regulation of public camping considers those factors and is objectively reasonable. Opponents say reasonableness is difficult to define in this instance. During the Jan. 21 hearing, Curtis Steinhauer, a policy analyst at Washington State Association of Counties, testified in opposition to HB 1380. Counties are responsible for addressing homelessness in their jurisdiction, and we appreciate the efforts of this body to advocate for the most vulnerable members of our communities, Steinhauer testified. However, this bill will result in unnecessary litigation for local governments without creating any new rights for unsheltered people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steinhauer said the lack of a clear definition for what is objectively reasonable would leave local governments to guess when drafting policies to regulate public spaces. The only way to find out what ordinances meet this standard is through litigation, he told the committee. When litigation occurs, it will come at the expense of taxpayers in these jurisdictions, possibly paid for by revenue that could have been used to create more resources for vulnerable people that this bill is meant to protect. The City of Tacoma has an ordinance prohibiting camping in public spaces within a 10-block radius of a shelter or within a certain distance of a waterway. Maria Lee is a spokesperson for the City of Tacoma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if Tacomas camping ban ordinance would be considered objectively reasonable under the bill, Lee told The News Tribune it is unclear. We recognize the intent of the proposed legislation, and were seeking to understand how it will interact with current city ordinances, including the camping ordinance. Lee told The News Tribune in an email. Its likely that further legal interpretation will be needed to provide clear guidance regarding enforcement and to ensure city ordinances meet the new standard. The bill has not been scheduled for a floor vote. On Feb. 28, it was referred to the House Rules Committee. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A bill to block Planned Parenthood from teaching health classes in public schools is close to passing the Utah Legislature, despite concerns from opponents regarding its broad language. Opponents say the language of the bill is broad enough that it could block large hospital system employees like the University of Utah or Intermountain Health from teaching those school health programs. HB 233, being run by Nicholeen Peck (R Tooele), blocks districts from allowing entities that perform elective abortions like Planned Parenthood to provide health-related instruction or materials in public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No elimination of Utahs social security tax, says state budget chair But critics worry the bills language could encompass and ban trained health educators who work for the U of U at places like Primary Childrens Hospital or Intermountain Health, who also may provide abortions and teach maturation or health-related curriculums. When I reached out to the bill drafters, they did confirm to me that that was the case, Sen. Jen Plumb (D Salt Lake City) said during Mondays Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing. These are some of our most dedicated, knowledgeable, pediatric folks in these huge systems, and so I wonder how you would think about that that wed be eliminating that pool of educators, Plumb asked the Peck to explain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peck responded that the bill was not intended to do that, but rather it was meant to target those who perform elective abortions. A hospital is not an elective abortion provider, Peck said. A hospital might perform something that might be termed an abortion like a procedure but it wouldnt be a place where a woman would just walk in and say, I want to have an abortion today.' However, the bill does not define what constitutes an elective abortion provider, meaning it could be interpreted to apply to any group who provides any type of abortion, whether medical or elective. Plumb gave the example of a child who may be pregnant as a result of rape, who may need to go to the hospital to receive specialized abortion care, which is allowed under Utah law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plumb argued that the language could accidentally eliminate the potential for all those health professionals who worked at the hospital to teach in schools. Peck disagreed. Any medical professional that is not funded by an elective abortion provider is going to be allowed to teach, Peck said. Sen. Daniel Thatcher (R West Valley) also voiced concerns, saying he is not a fan of abortion or Planned Parenthood, but he agreed there was a huge challenge with the language as written. If were trying to make it so that (Planned Parenthood) cant provide maturation curriculum, but the language we use is that we say, anyone that performs elective abortions, then its not restricted to just Planned Parenthood, he said before voting not to move the bill forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bills language reads as follows: (A district) may not allow an entity employee, representative, or affiliate that performs elective abortions or provides debranded maturation curriculum to: deliver instruction or programs on all health or health-related topics in a school that receives state funding; provide materials or media on a health topic for distribution or display in a school that receives state funding, if the materials or media are created by, funded by, donated by, or bear the identifying mark of the entity or the entitys affiliate. Despite the concerns, the bill narrowly passed the Senate committee 4-3, sending it to the full body. It has already passed the House and awaits its final votes before heading to the Governors desk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. MADRID, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday called for protecting Europe from unfair tariffs and defended an international order based on cooperation and mutual benefit, "where justice prevails rather than the law of the strongest." Speaking at an event in Madrid honoring the contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Sanchez reaffirmed that the European Union (EU) will respond with "proportionality" to unfair trade measures. "It is time to protect Europe if we want a Europe that safeguards the most vulnerable, our young and elderly, our environment, agriculture, and businesses," he said. He emphasized the need to recognize "the enormous gravity of the moment we are living in," pointing to geopolitical tensions, disruptions in raw material supplies, and shifts in demand caused by unfair tariffs as real threats. "They all share the same root cause: the questioning of economic openness and multilateral institutions in trade," Sanchez added. Sanchez expressed confidence in a strong, unified EU with an "outstretched hand for dialogue and collaboration, in defense of a multilateral international trade system" that fosters opportunities for SMEs. Several hundred gather in Nashville to protest Tennessee's anti-immigration legislation on Feb. 3, 2025. (John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) In 2008, Juana Villegas nine months pregnant and with her two of her children in the car was pulled over for a routine traffic violation. Instead of receiving a citation, Villegas, who was originally from Mexico and had lived in Tennessee without permanent legal status since 1996, was arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When she went into labor two days after her arrest, she was shackled to a hospital bed. Returned to jail after giving birth, she wasnt allowed to take a breast pump as medical devices were barred from the Davidson County Detention Center. Her breasts became infected. Her infant son got jaundice. Villegas was detained for six days thanks to a partnership between Davidson County and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which allowed Davidson County sheriffs officers to enforce immigration laws. The program is colloquially called 287(g) for the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act from which it stems. Because of abuses like the racial profiling that landed Villegas in jail, the Obama administration suspended 287(g) in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villegass case gained national attention and she filed a lawsuit against Metro Nashville, settling for $490,000 as the case horrified many who learned about the circumstances. If Villegas had to be subjected to this cruel treatment, it was good that she was able to sue and gain restitution. Other immigrants may soon not be afforded the same opportunity. A bill filed by two Tennessee Republicans would bar Tennesseans like Villegas those without permanent legal status in the U.S. from pursuing most lawsuits, including seeking legal redress from local governments for negligence, compensation for medical malpractice, pursuing product liability claims or accessing the states crime victims fund. The measure is one of a slew of bills filed in this legislative session to make life harder for immigrants in Tennessee and, as best I can tell, do nothing to improve life for other Tennesseans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I reached out to Rep. Johnny Garrett, the Goodlettsville Republican a lawyer by trade who is sponsoring the two-paragraph bill, with questions about why he thinks its necessary. Garrett didnt return my emails or calls, nor would he speak to a reporter in the Tennessee Capitol. In that vacuum of information, Ill rely on my own interpretation, which is that this is a terrible policy from a human rights perspective. Theres no good reason to bar immigrants from seeking redress when theyve been exposed to bad actors. Without legal recourse, immigrants may fall prey to exploitation by those who know they cannot be held accountable for maltreatment. The bill also appears to violate the 14th Amendment, which was enacted at the end of the Civil War and says that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This bill not only risks creating a harmful precedent for other marginalized groups but also echoes a troubling historical parallel to pre-Civil War era laws that denied the humanity and legal personhood of enslaved people, said Lisa Sherman-Luna of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. By stripping individuals of their right to legal recourse based on immigration status, this legislation reopens wounds from our nations past, where the humanity of certain groups was denied under the law. Rep. Johnny Garrett, a Goodlettsville Republican and a lawyer, is sponsoring a bill that appears to contradict the 14th Amendment. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) The measure also appears to be the only one in the country, according to the Niskanen Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, putting a fresh spin on Gov. Bill Lees catchphrase, Tennessee: Leading the way. President Donald Trump has made demonization of the other and in his second term, particularly immigrants a major feature of his policy. Tennessee Republicans show themselves eager to follow in his footsteps, and Lee said in a statement before Trump was inaugurated that he would be ensuring our state is ready to assist President Trump in carrying out his immigration enforcement agenda. The Trump administration has reopened the 287(g) program, and so far, the Greene, Knox and Putnam County Sheriffs offices have signed up. Given the current political milieu, theres no reason to expect the program will be run with more integrity than it was during its last iteration. State Sen. Bo Watson is going further, sponsoring a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the bill passes, lawsuits challenging its constitutionality will follow. The best outcome for Tennessees immigrants, particularly those here without permanent legal status, would be for legislators to show some human decency. But empathy cant be legislated, so following the constitution and ensuring immigrants have the right to sue is the least we can do. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Oklahomans might have a harder time getting questions, like those that expanded Medicaid and legalized medical marijuana, on ballots. On Tuesday, lawmakers considered a bill that would change the rules concerning citizen-led petitions allowing Oklahomans to bring issues to a ballot vote. Those opposed to the bill said it means more hurdles to jump through and make their voices heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill doing away with DEI in higher education moves forward One of the key points in the bill would be to ensure that those who sign the petition, understand what its about. I know a lot of people who signed initiative petitions who came back later and regretted doing it because the gist was so misleading, said Senator David Bullard (R) Durant. Margaret Kobos from the grassroots organization, Oklahoma United, said there are already several hurdles to get a citizen-led petition on the ballot. Kobos said passing the bill would make it nearly impossible to start a petition. Its really important that we retain the right of the citizens to present policies and ideas directly to a vote of the people, Margaret Kobos, the founder and CEO of Oklahoma United. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another sticking point among lawmakers in the bill is that it would require organizations to document funds and expenses related to the petition. If theyre gonna be gathering signatures, it behooves the people to know who they are and where the money is coming from, said Senator Bullard. So youre saying an independent expenditure could not pay somebody to go get a signature? Asked Senator Mary Boren. From my understanding, no, said Senator Bullard. The compliance and the bureaucracy that Senate Bill 1027 would impose on us simply adds to the cost, said Kobos. Before the vote, Senator Bullard gave one final statement summarizing the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happens right now in Oklahoma, is theyre only required to go to 2.5% of counties in this state and therefore they could ignore 97.5%. It means that we can completely ignore everybody else in our state and just sit in two counties unless we decide to do something about it. If theyre running an initiative petition in our state, wouldnt you like to know whos paying for that. We run this bill to try and put reasonable guidelines, and reasonable suggestions on how we ensure that theres transparency and force these signatures out to get to more Oklahomans geographically. Were not limiting, were actually expanding, said Senator Bullard. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 7-2. It now has the opportunity to be heard on the Senate floor. SB1027Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. (Caspar Benson/Getty Images) Since the passage of a 2008 law intended to provide financial compensation for individuals wrongfully convicted of a crime in Florida, only five exonerees have actually received any money from the state because of several flaws in that legislation, while at least 18 who were eligible have been unable to receive the $50,000 for each year that they were unfairly incarcerated. The latest attempt to correct those flaws is a measure (SB 130) sponsored in the Florida Senate by Fleming Island Republican Jennifer Bradley. That bill passed unanimously in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on Wednesday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just to be clear, this bill is not about having strong penalties against criminals who commit bad acts in our state, Bradley told the committee. This bill is with regard to people who are exonerated, who have been found factually innocent by the original sentencing court. Thats the universe of folks were talking about, and this bill rights that wrong and gets them the compensation thats deserved when the state gets something wrong. Bradleys bill (along with its companion in the House sponsored by Tampa Bay Republican Traci Koster) has three main provisions. The first is that it would remove the clean hands provision that disqualifies people who had earlier, unrelated felonies from filing compensation claims the only restriction of its type in the country. It would extend the filing deadline for those have been exonerated from 90 days to two years and create a process for people who receive compensation to repay the state if they receive a civil settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bradley filed a similar bill in 2024 that was never heard in a committee, but Wednesdays vote was the second in committee this year to pass the measure unanimously. The proposal now has just one more committee stop in the Senate before going to the full chamber for a vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Bill doing away with DEI in higher education moves forward OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) In the final week for bills to be heard in committee meetings at the Capitol, the Senate Education Committee held one of its longest meetings. On the agenda was a bill that would do away with DEI in higher education in Oklahoma, carrying out an executive order by Governor Kevin Stitt. Senate Bill 796 was authored by Senator Adam Pugh, R-Edmond. I recognize that there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and I respect that and I respect our differences of opinion, said Pugh during the committee meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Pugh said the bill was not one he would typically run but said he felt it was necessary. We actually sat down with, not only the governors office, but actually institutions of higher education, and they were at the table helping craft this legislation, said Pugh. The bill states that no college or university in Oklahoma shall utilize state funds, property, or resources to: grant or support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs. Lawmakers approve bill limiting use of Virtual School days Lawmakers debated whether the decision could lead to a loss in accreditation and funding. I obviously am concerned that existing programs that currently are working towards very high aspirations and making sure that all students receive a world class education, that those will be hindered by putting this into state statute, said Senate Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who supported the bill said it was a move that was a long-time coming. I really believe that by doing this, the universities will have a freedom and how to better treat and make their admissions programs continue to be fair and do it as they see how to do it best, said Senator Dave Rader, R-Tulsa. The bill passed through committee with a 7-3 vote. It now advances to the Senate floor. Other bills that were discussed during the Senate Education Committee included one that would only allow virtual learning days to be used during emergencies. It passed committee 7-5. Another bill that would not allow teachers to pay for unions through their payroll failed to move forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) DEI: There is no shortage of debate around those letters and the politics of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that, in Rep. Jennifer Deckers (R-Waddy) view, Have made our colleges more divided, more expensive, and less tolerant, as she told lawmakers on the House Postsecondary Education Committee Tuesday. Decker argues her proposal, House Bill 4, is an equal protection bill. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar proposal she sponsored last year died in the Senate. This years bill would prohibit Kentucky colleges and universities from considering race, national origin, sex, or religion in hiring, admissions decisions, or scholarships. It would also end any funding for DEI-related offices and prohibit any required or incentivized DEI pledges, statements, or trainings at colleges and universities. A committee substitute removed a private right of action for an individual to press charges and added a review process to be headed by the state auditor to regularly review if institutions are following statute or risk being ineligible for state funding. To say that weve been trying this for a few years and its not working, well, we have many, many, many years that we have to go back and try to undo a lot of years of damage where we have excluded individuals, Rep. Sarah Stalker (D-Louisville) said. Our low-income minorities are not on our campuses to the extent they were before all this started. Whats to blame? I dont know. This hasnt helped. And if I were an advocate for the minority community, which I am, this is damaging to the minority community, Decker said. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Decker argued theres a lack of return on investment for DEI programs improving enrollment and stated that the 2023 Supreme Court ruling ending race-based affirmative action in college admissions essentially makes DEI programs unconstitutional. Language in the bill specifies that none of the bills provisions would apply to academic course content. Democrats questioned the correlation of enrollment data and argued that there is a bigger message being sent with this kind of bill. The historical indicators of what has occurred, particularly with people who look like me and other protected classes in our society. Its a really serious problem, and I think were trivializing it. And that were trying to say that this does not matter, Rep. George Brown (D-Lexington) said. The bill passed committee on party lines and is set for a full House vote as soon as Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) A bill in the Illinois statehouse is pushing for all schools to create a set of plans for emergencies. State Senator Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort) is pushing for a bill giving school districts all over Illinois standards for their threat assessment procedures. This is after countless threats and school shootings both in Illinois and the U.S. U of I Athletic Director addresses Congress, warns of potential problems with patchwork NIL laws Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Across the country we are seeing a rise in emergency events at schools, Hastings said. It is concerning to see that there is no standardized procedure for schools to follow if an emergency occurs. In the bill, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Office of the State Fire Marshal would write guidance for school districts, private schools and first responders for how to develop threat assessment procedures, rapid entry response plans and cardiac emergency response plans. When we drop our kids off at school, we need to know that everything has been done to ensure their safety, the senator said. We must not cut corners when it comes to the safety of our children. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee Wednesday unanimously. The full text of the bill can be found here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. Video: Battle over reproductive rights reignites in U.S. Senate LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A bill introduced in the Arkansas legislature on Tuesday would tighten the limits on the use of abortion pills and broaden who can sue if the law is violated. House Bill 1678 changes the penalties for violation of the previously passed Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act. It changes the penalty for violating the act from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony, at $50,000 per violation for any health care provider. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas attorney general sends cease & desist letters to companies advertising delivery of abortion pills The bill also allows the father of the unborn child to bring legal action against any provider if the drugs were given in violation of state law. It also allows the woman who received the pills, the spouse, the parent or guardian of the woman, or the prosecuting attorney or attorney general to bring action against a provider. The bill has passed its initial readings on the House floor and will be heard by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Current Arkansas law bans abortion in the state unless it is a medical emergency. Under those circumstances, doctors have a strict list of requirements to follow before performing an abortion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump administration moves to drop Idaho emergency abortion case with national implications The Food and Drug Administration approved the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol for delivery by mail in 2023, which Arkansas law forbids. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila speaks during the 2023 Legislative Session. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan) A bill to redefine sex in Montana law, which closely resembles legislation struck down from last session, was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning. Senate Bill 437, brought by Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, is 68 pages and seeks to redefine the term sex across a large swath of Montana laws and builds on a bill struck down by two different judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It moved forward following a 5-3 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines. In Montana, biological sex is immutable, Glimm said in committee. You cant change it. There are only two biological sexes. You may claim to be able to change your gender or express your gender in a different way, but you can never change your biological sex. In 2024, Missoula County District Court Judge Shane Vannatta ruled Senate Bill 458, a similar bill sponsored by Glimm in 2023, was unconstitutional because its subject wasnt clear in the bills title. Glimm addressed that, too. The first challenge, the judge from Missoula said that the title of the bill was confusing. So weve addressed that, Glimm said. Weve made the title simple enough that even a judge from Missoula can understand it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two weeks ago, Missoula County District Court Judge Leslie Halligan struck down that same law for its contents rather than its title, saying it erased transgender and intersex Montanans. The new bill, SB 437, is specific in its title: An act for the codification and general revision of the laws relating to the definition for the words sex, female, and male when referring to a human; providing that the definition of sex refers to biological sex and not gender identity or sexual intercourse; providing that the definition of sex is limited to two types of sexes which are referred to as male and female; providing that the definitions of male and female refer to biological sex and not subjective gender identity. The bill would define a female as someone who has XX chromosomes and would produce relatively large, relatively immobile gametes, or eggs, during her life cycle. It further adds a caveat, An individual who would otherwise fall within this definition, but for a biological or genetic condition, is female. Meanwhile, the bill would define male as someone who has XY chromosomes and produces or would produce small, mobile gametes, or sperm, during his life cycle. Similar to the definition for female, it adds a caveat as well: An individual who would otherwise fall within this definition, but for a biological or genetic condition, is male. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It did have some support, including from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group, which claims the homosexual agenda will destroy both Christianity and society. Number one, this bill aligns with what were seeing the federal government do, said Matt Sharp, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. On February 19, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance reaffirming that sex refers to a persons immutable biological classification as male or female, and provided definitions consistent with that. In his closing statement for the bill, Glimm said his legislation wasnt denying anyone anything. Were not denying anyones existence, Glimm told the committee. Its just biology, male and female, there are anomalies, but even those will fit into one of these two categories because of the definition that were going to use. I look forward to explaining that new definition in a floor amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khadija Davis, an ACLU Montana representative who testified against the bill, said thats exactly what the legislation would do. This bill would force transgender people to live a lie, Davis said. And deny who they are by disclosing the sex they were assigned at birth on documents like a drivers license, marriage license and burial paperwork. She added: This bill also completely erases the reality of intersex and nonbinary people. The existence of trans people is not new, but this new outsized focus on their lives is meant to spread fear and anxiety. The bill would force intersex and transgender people in the state to identify as the sex they were assigned when they were born, a specific issue brought by plaintiffs in a lawsuit against SB 458. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One person in the suit had an XY pattern, which under both the struck-down bill and Glimms newly introduced legislation, would identify them as a biological male. The person, though, has female genitalia and identifies as a woman. Shed be forced to identify as a male on her wedding license. Planned Parenthood estimates about one in 100 people are born intersex. This can include someone with genitals that do not correspond with their internal hormones or sex organs. Lynne Foss, a pediatric nurse practitioner and representing the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke to this issue in a comment. Some people have XY, but they appear to be female, and their reproductive and endocrine systems are a mixture of what one would consider male and female, and this is often not identified at birth, and instead is often identified at puberty, Foss said. And there are other people that have androgen insensitivity and are typically XY, but they do not develop male external genitalia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some people can be intersex and might not be aware. In one example, Scientific American reported a clinical geneticists account of a patient pregnant with her third child who discovered at age 46 part of her body was chromosomally male. Stigmas around intersex people have long been an issue for that community, and one 2003 study in The Endocrinologist stated, intersex patients have frequently been subject to repeated genital examinations which create a feeling of freakishness and unacceptableness. A more recent study in 2022 International Journal of Impotence Research delved into the topic of surgical intervention at young ages, as well as public understanding of intersex issues. It found, Whilst many laypeople do consider intersex and transgender to be analogous (or wrongly consider them identical), those laypeople who are most likely to support intersex human rights are also those who endorse the gender binary the least. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican leadership applauded the bills passage out of judiciary. This legislation helps to deliver on Senate Republicans promise to stand up for Montana values, protect our women and girls, and return sanity to our state government, Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, said in a statement. Immigrants rights advocates rallied against a bill advanced by an Iowa House subcommittee Feb. 20, 2025, requiring Iowa law enforcement agencies participate in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement programs. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Legislation requiring local law enforcement to enter agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on immigration law enforcement will not advance this session, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison said Tuesday. House Study Bill 187 would have required all Iowa law enforcement agencies enter written memorandums of agreement with ICE by Jan. 1, 2026. These agreements would have required Iowa law enforcement agencies to participate in immigration law enforcement efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill included specific requirements on warrant service officer program and the jail enforcement model, methods of allowing state and local law enforcement to identify individuals based on their citizenship and serve administrative warrants to jailed individuals who could be removed from the country under federal immigration law. The discussion comes in the wake of President Donald Trumps administrations actions to crack down on undocumented immigration through mass deportations and an expansion of ICE enforcement efforts. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX At the February subcommittee meeting on the bill, advocates for immigrant rights organizations and Latino groups said the measure would harm their communities in Iowa, potentially leading to an influx in racial profiling. Some speakers who had affiliations with Iowa law enforcement also criticized the legislation, saying the unfunded mandate would add additional financial burdens to law enforcement agencies, as well as making it more difficult for police to build trust with Latino and immigrant communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the House Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday, Holt said the bill was tabled after receiving feedback from law enforcement. In the end, as I consider all the comments I heard from law enforcement, concerns about manpower and the fact that this would federalize, in a way, our local law enforcement, the decision was that it was not a good idea, and we did not move forward, Holt said. Erica Johnson, the executive director of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, an immigrant rights organization advocating against the legislation, celebrated the bills failure to advance this session. This bill was opposed by community members, citizens, and by Iowa law enforcement as an unsafe, wasteful, and harmful bill directly targeting our immigrant communities, Johnson said in a statement. We look forward to seeing more bills and ideas brought forward by the Iowa legislature that align with the community values we as Iowans have and are common sense solutions to everyday problems we are facing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though lawmakers are not expected to further consider this measure in 2025, other legislation related to immigration law is still up for discussion this session. Holt said to stay tuned for the subcommittee on House Study Bill 285, scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday. The new bill, introduced by Holt, states that law enforcement officers, including elected sheriffs, who intentionally fail to comply with state code on enforcement of immigration laws would be charged with a Class D felony, punishable by a maximum five years of confinement and fine of between $1,025 and $10,245. This proposal comes following actions from Iowa law enforcement officials who have said they do not plan to comply with federal immigration efforts. In early February, Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx wrote in a social media post that he would not comply with immigration detainers requested by ICE outside of valid judicial warrants and court orders. Holt told reporters the new legislation would ensure that our law has teeth and that our law enforcement officers know that they better comply with the law. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE BPSTPN (SHNS) Reproductive rights advocates released new poll results Wednesday that found 66% of Bay Staters support loosening restrictions on abortions performed after 24 weeks. Two-thirds of 500 registered voters surveyed in December said they favor overhauling the criteria in state law for abortions later in pregnancy and more broadly allowing the procedure at the professional judgement of the providing physician, according to the poll commissioned by the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation. The poll found 32% of respondents somewhat support and 34% strongly support changing the law. EMC Research pollsters found 14% somewhat oppose and 20% strongly oppose updating the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reproductive Equity Now referenced the poll findings Wednesday as it promoted new bills this term from Reps. Christine Barber and Lindsay Sabadosa and Sen. Robyn Kennedy (HD 2651 / SD 1742), which advocates say are designed to help patients who wanted to be pregnant but are dealing with serious medical complications. The proposals would scrap the existing criteria used to allow abortions past 24 weeks including to save the patients life, as well because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis or a grave fetal diagnosis. That language was a central focus of discussion as Beacon Hill lawmakers crafted their 2022 abortion shield law. The Massachusetts Family Institute strongly opposes this deadly bill, said general counsel Sam Whiting. The sole purpose of this bill is to enable late-term abortions of babies that can survive outside the womb just because those babies are unwanted, Whiting said. Massachusetts law already allows abortions after viability if a doctor determines the mothers life or physical or mental health may be at risk, including in cases of rape and incest, or when there are lethal fetal abnormalities. This bill would eliminate even those limits, allowing the late-term termination of babies for any reasonor no reason at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sabadosa said the bill aims to ensure residents dont have to travel out of state and pay hefty out-of-pocket costs for an abortion. The bill also better empowers physicians to make decisions about patient care, as Sabadosa said it is extremely common for hospital boards and lawyers to interpret existing law narrowly to avoid legal risks. Despite the Legislature trying to provide the greatest leeway possible, the language we have in statute currently is still preventing physicians from performing abortions later in pregnancy, in their best professional judgement, Sabadosa said. We are very much seeing patients being forced to travel, primarily to DC or to Maryland. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. ATHENS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Greece's main opposition party submitted a censure motion against the government on Wednesday, backed by 85 lawmakers. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement-Movement for Change accused the ruling conservatives of mishandling safety failures that led to the country's worst train tragedy in February 2023 and attempting to cover up political responsibility. The vote is set for Friday, but the ruling New Democracy party holds a strong parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis rejected the allegations, accusing opponents of exploiting the tragedy for political gain. On February 28, 2023, a passenger train collided with a freight train in Tempi, central Greece, killing 57 people. A street sign marks the interchange of Interstate 40 and the Kilpatrick Turnpike. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY A Senate panel on Tuesday passed a measure aimed at helping the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority collect tolls owed by owners of vehicles with tribal tags. Senate Bill 675 authorizes the Department of Public Safety to provide the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority with vehicle owner registration held by the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purpose of this bill is to allow tolls to be collected from those who are traveling on the state turnpike system but are not a part of the PikePass system and are not able to be invoiced, which is the case with many tribal vehicle registrations, said Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, the author. PikePass deducts tolls from prepaid accounts when a vehicle passes certain locations. The state recently added PlatePay, where a picture of the tag is taken and an invoice is mailed to the person who holds the registration. Under the bill, information to be shared includes license plate details and the vehicle owners name and address, Jech said. The OTA already receives tribal information through compacts with the Chickasaw, Choctaw and Cherokee tribes, Jech said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also receives information through agreements with the Miami and Sac and Fox tribes, Jech said. So, tolls are being paid in those circumstances, Jech said. An estimated 70% to 80% of tribal tags are covered through the compacts or agreements, Jech said. The bill would cover the remainder, Jech said. According to the OTA, nearly $12.6 million is owed from owners of tribal tags that are not under an agreement or compact. If agreements are reached with the remaining tribes prior to the effective date of the bill, which is Nov. 1, the language of the bill would not apply in those cases, Jech said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar bill got hung up in the House last session, Jech said. Jech said negotiations with the non-participating tribes have been productive. I am concerned that if we intervene at this point, then that will tilt kind of the negotiations and kind of leverage from both sides in those ongoing negotiations, said Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City. Jech said Brooks had a valid point, but that was not his intent. I would take the other side, Jech said. I think this would maybe encourage them. Jech said he thinks all the parties involved have been operating in good faith. This is a fairness issue, Jech said. If the Turnpike Authority is not able to obtain access to motor vehicle registration information, then they can not send an invoice for travel on our turnpike network, which is unfair to those who do pay for their travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate Public Safety Committee passed the bill by a vote of 5-1 and heads to the full Senate for possible consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Kentucky has what is known as a hard separation of powers in our state Constitution. We have three branches of government intended to be coequal. The General Assembly cannot dictate to the courts the scope of review of questions of fact or of law in an appeal from a government agency's action. (Getty Images) Pending before the House Licensing and Occupations Committee is a bill that seeks to tell Kentucky courts their business. Senate Bill 84 would dictate to Kentucky courts what level of scrutiny to apply to questions of law. It would prohibit the courts from giving any consideration to the views of the agencies that implement those laws on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. It would mandate that the courts, after using all tools to parse what an ambiguous law or regulation meant, choose the meaning that works to minimize the power of the agencies entrusted to apply that law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why should you care? Because the independence of the judiciary and the judicial function as a check and balance to the power of both the legislature and executive branch has never been more important. The judiciary should be free from encroachment by a Kentucky legislature that has tended in recent years to invade that province and cross that street to skew the process and outcome of some cases. And where protection of workers in the workplace, public health, safety and quality of life are concerned, the interference reflected in SB 84 could tip the scales of justice against worker, public and environmental protection. Kentucky has what is known as a hard separation of powers in our state Constitution. We have three branches of government intended to be coequal. The construction of statutes, regulations and agency orders, and the rules governing that task, are firmly entrusted to the judiciary by our commonwealths Constitution. The General Assembly cannot dictate to the courts the scope of review of questions of fact or of law in an appeal from agency action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the de novo standard for review of matters of law in SB 84 is the standard already applied by Kentucky courts, this unconstitutional intrusion may be tolerated by the courts as a matter of comity, since it adds and removes nothing from current court decisions and practice. Yet there is neither reason nor need to provoke a constitutional conflict for no effect. By seeking to prohibit the court from giving any consideration to an agency interpretation of any statute, regulation or order, SB 84 intrudes yet again on the judicial function. While some claim that giving no deference to the views of those agencies that have been entrusted to implement the laws is consistent with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, it is not. In the 2024 case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its prior Chevron doctrine that had accorded controlling deference to any reasonable construction of an ambiguous law by an agency. The Loper Bright court returned to an earlier standard, known as the Skidmore standard, that recognizes that agency expertise and experience can provide important guidance in construction of statutes and regulations, but that courts should not abdicate responsibility for determining what the law requires. In Kentucky, the courts have never considered themselves bound by an administrative bodys interpretation of a statute. Long before Chevron and after, Kentucky law has been that in matters of statutory construction, the courts have the ultimate responsibility. Yet Kentucky courts acknowledge that agency interpretations of laws and their own regulations do constitute a body of experience and informed judgment to which courts and litigants may properly resort for guidance. Prohibiting any deference to agency interpretations of law or its own or other agency regulations, and of agency orders, as proposed in SB 84, is inconsistent both with Loper Bright, and with Kentucky court decisions. The bill intrudes on the judicial function by barring use of one of many tools for judicial construction of laws and regulations. While a certain tension among coequal branches of state government is inevitable and healthy, encroachment into essential functions of the judiciary born out of a hostility towards the agencies created by the General Assembly to implement the laws and the programs it enacts is not. And where public and workplace health, safety and environmental quality are concerned, mandating that courts ignore the expertise and viewpoint of agencies who toil daily at short pay and with little appreciation to implement those protections is shortsighted as well as unconstitutional. The courts and the public who are legislators constituents all benefit from the experience and expertise of those who implement the laws and regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finally, SB 84 tells the courts how to resolve ambiguities, reaching back in time to direct that in any case where the intent of a law is still unclear, after applying the usual tools to interpret it, the choice should always be that which leans against agency authority. The judicial function is always to give full effect to laws as enacted, unvarnished by some later broad recasting of the history, intent and purpose of such laws when an agencys actions are at issue. The independence of the judiciary has never been more essential than in our troubled times, and it should be free of encroachment into the judicial function of interpreting laws, regulations and executive branch orders. That judicial function should be guided by the expertise and viewpoint of those charged daily with implementing those laws, and mindful of the purposes of those laws as announced by the General Assembly when the laws are passed. The General Assembly has plenty of work to do on its own side of the street. The legislature should not cross the street in order to hamstring the courts in their independent role, nor the agencies charged with implementing public, worker and environmental protection goals the General Assembly set in years past. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A doctor tends to a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator. (Getty Images) Out of the 10 major interstate medical licensure compacts established in the U.S., New Mexico only participates in one, but lawmakers hope to add more in order to address healthcare staffing shortages in the state. The compacts allow medical professionals to apply for licensure in participating states without having to apply to each state individually. New Mexico joined the nurse licensure compact in 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the single most impactful thing the Legislature can do to address the medical shortage in the near term, Think New Mexico Executive Director Fred Nathan told Source NM. In total, lawmakers have introduced 12 bills this session to address the remaining nine major areas of medical compacts, as well as an additional bill to join the social work licensure compact, which is not one of the major 10 compacts. The remaining nine major medical compacts include medical licensure and other specialty areas such as audiology and speech-language pathology; occupational therapy; physical therapy; counseling; physician assistant; dentist and dental hygienist; emergency medical services; and psychology. According to a University of New Mexico Health System report from 2024, the national benchmark for primary care providers is 8.5 providers per 10,000 people. New Mexico would need 334 more primary care providers to meet the benchmark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2024 Think New Mexico report on addressing the medical professional shortage notes that New Mexico is projected to have a shortage of 1,380 physicians by 2035 and a shortage of 5,140 nurses. The whole country has a health care shortage, Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (D-Albuquerque), a co-sponsor of several of the compact bills, told Source NM. Were kind of throwing everything we can at the wall and hoping that a combination of things will improve our state of affairs in terms of having adequate health care providers. Thomson said New Mexico might even be at risk of losing out on medical professionals because the state is not part of all 10 medical compacts. She added that representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense are also talking to lawmakers about joining these compacts because they make it easier for military spouses or family members to transfer their licenses to different states when the military relocates them. Bills proposing New Mexico join these various medical compacts have been introduced in the Legislature before, but only the nursing compact has passed and become law. Thomson said the bills have typically stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee over concerns about losing oversight of medical licensure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont agree with that and I always think that if 30-some other states feel like its OK for them, Im not sure why New Mexico would be different, Thomson said. Nathan added that he is not aware of any states leaving a compact once joining, which is some indication that everybodys seeing this as a beneficial thing to their states. Eleven of the 13 bills dealing with medical compacts this session have been sent to either the Senate or House Judiciary committees and are waiting to be scheduled for a hearing. Two of the bills have yet to be heard in any committee yet. The 13 medical compact bills and their status: Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Compact House Bill 79 (Thomson) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 104 (Trujillo) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact House Bill 81 (Thomson) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Physical Therapy Licensure Compact House Bill 82 (Thomson) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Counseling Compact House Bill 217 (Herndon) sent to House Judiciary Committee Interstate Medical Licensure Compact House Bill 243 (Matthews) sent to House Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 46 (Trujillo) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Physician Assistant Licensure Compact House Bill 413 (Armstrong) sent to House Judiciary Committee Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact House Bill 441 (Armstrong) sent to House Judiciary Committee Senate Bill 433 (Pope) referred to Senate committees Emergency Medical Services Licensure Compact House Bill 412 (Armstrong) sent to House committees, not scheduled yet Social Work Licensure Compact Senate Bill 105 (Trujillo) sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact Senate Bill 106 (Trujillo) sent to Senate committees, not scheduled yet SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It sure looks like the Trump administration is trying to make a grand bargain. At the same time that President Donald Trump has been pushing hard for a Russian-Ukrainian peace deal, Russia has been carrying messages to Iran on Trump's behalf. After all, the younger generation of conservative foreign policy thinkers believes the United States is overcommitted to Europe and the Middle East and should focus more on Asia. Trump has nominated the leading intellectual voice of that camp, Elbridge Colby, to be undersecretary of defense of policy, overseeing U.S. military planning worldwide. Colby, who wrote the first Trump administration's National Defense Strategy, is no anti-establishment peace dove. Chinese media describes him as "a long-time China hawk." At his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, he called for increased military spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But he has also been arguing for years that endless wars are leaving the U.S. military unprepared for the threats that matter. Colby warned at the hearing that "we could find ourselves in the worst possible outcome, like losing a war," and argued that "there's a kind of recognition in one part of the collective brain of the American system that this is a reality, but the behavior hasn't actually adapted yet." The hearing itself turned out to be proof positive of Colby's theory that the American system is unwilling to learn. Republican and Democratic senators alike threw a collective temper tantrum against the idea that the U.S. has to choose its battles abroad. Even as they pumped up the threat of America's enemies, they made it clear that they didn't want to be told that Washington's resources are limited. "We cannot simply pivot our attention and resources from one threat to another. That is an approach the Obama administration tried and it did fail," Sen. Roger Wicker (RMiss.) complained. Sen. Jackie Rosen (DNev.) asked how "taking our eye off the ball anywhere" would affect American security, and what message it would send "to China regarding American resolve to back democracies against brutal dictators." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wicker and Rosen both attacked the Trump administration's stance towards Russia and Ukraine. So did Sen. Tammy Duckworth (DIll.), who claimed that "Trump is in the middle of a capitulation, not a negotiation." Rosen and Duckworth both asked Colby to confirm that Russia was the aggressor against Ukraine. Colby told Duckworth that he did not want to say anything that would upset "delicate diplomatic negotiations," although he later told Sen. Mazie Hirono (DHawaii) that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "a factual reality that is demonstrably true." At some points, Colby went on the offensive. Rather than his camp representing reckless appeasement, he argued that the hawks were being "cavalier" with American power. "You need to be strong to get peace, but if we're going to put American forces into action, we're going to have a clear goal, going to have an exit strategy that's plausible. That doesn't mean inaction," he said. At other points, however, Colby tried to appease his critics. He told Sen. Tom Cotton (RArk.) that an Iranian nuclear bomb would be an "existential threat" and that he would be willing to go to war to prevent it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colby had argued in a 2012 debate about war with Iran hosted by the nonprofit Center for a New American Security that "containment and deterrence [of Iran] is tough. It's not a great option, but it's doable." Colby argued that "the only thing worse than the prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons would be consequences of using force to try to stop them." That clip was resurfaced earlier this month by the Jewish Insider. Over the past month, anonymous Republicans have waged a whisper campaign to portray Trump's nominees as soft on the Middle East and even hostile to Israel's interests. Many Trump administration allies have blamed Cotton for privately leading the efforts against Colby. At the confirmation hearing, Cotton tried to ensure that Colby would not prevent Trump from going to war with Iran. For all his militant enthusiasm, though, Cotton shied away from actually spelling out what he wanted, and danced around the word "war" with euphemisms. "Will you commit to providing the President with credible, realistic military options to stop Iran from going nuclear?" the senator asked. "To be more precise, those credible and realistic options are more than simply saying we can give Israel some bombs and they can take care of it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colby said he would. Curiously, during Cotton's interrogation, Colby seemed to soften his position on China. He said that the United States did not have an "existential interest" in defending Taiwan, only in "denying China regional hegemony." Colby previously argued that Taiwan is "the canary in the coal minea strong indicator of how far the United States would go to defend [other countries] against China. If China were able to suborn Taiwan, the U.S. and allied defense position would be substantially compromised, and U.S. credibility seriously diminished. For these reasons, subjugating Taiwan is very likely China's best next step toward its strategic goal of regional hegemony." In a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in 2022, he argued that the fall of Taiwan would pave the way for Chinese world domination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Responding to Cotton's questions at the Tuesday hearing, Colby explained that his view has changed because of "the dramatic deterioration of the military balance." He warned that Taiwan is not invested enough in its own defense, "so we need to properly incentivize them" and called for the United States to "avoid precipitating a conflict" with China in order to buy "time and space to be able to rectify this problem." Despite all the political backlashor perhaps because of itthe Trump administration has not backed down from Colby's nomination. In fact, Vice President J.D. Vance showed up at the hearing to defend Colby in person. "He has said things that, you know, frankly, alienated Democrats and Republicans. He's also said things that I think both Democrats and Republicans would agree with," Vance proclaimed. "You need people who are doing to tell you the truth, who are going to look you in the eye, who are going to disagree sometimesamicably, of course, but actually be willing to look you in the eye and have an important conversationwho you can trust to tell you what they actually think, agree or disagree. That's the kind of person that Bridge is." The post The Bipartisan War on Elbridge Colby appeared first on Reason.com. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A proposed five-story office building at the site of the former Ramsay McCormack building is one step closer to reality. The Birmingham City Council approved up to $6 million to its construction Tuesday. We spoke with business owners in Ensley who say their concerns were not listened to about this development, and they are worried about how much money the city is investing in this project. The Birmingham City Council approved for the development of the new Ramsey McCormack center, it brings the total investment from the city to $9 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first $4 million went towards demolishing the building in 2021. Ensley business owner Brian Rice strongly opposes the new investment. For the last three or four years, we have looked at a gravel lot where the basement was filled in, and there has been no explanation as to why they are not developing this property with the first $4 million, remarked Rice. New collection of short stories, essays from Alabama icon Harper Lee to be released this fall Birmingham City Council President Darrell OQuinn says the additional funding is necessary for the project. This is part of the financial stack that is required to make the development happen. There is some additional funds that the developer will have to come up with to get to the almost $20 million price tag that is going to be required to actually get the project done. The city of Birmingham is just doing its part to as part of making the project happen, remarked OQuinn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposed project is a five-story building that will have a police substation in it. Rice says the city never contacted business owners in the area about the development or what it would include. I sent an email out on last Thursday, the 27th, requesting the council to take this item off of consent and make it a public hearing item included between 20 to 30, and the owners. And they ignore all of us, and they would not make that item a public hearing. We shouldve had a chance to speak before they voted on it, but they did not give us owners a chance to speak in advance, said Rice. When asked if residents and business owners were consulted about the development OQuinn had this to say. I have not personally, but again this item is a matter that has been heavily litigated. There are the judicial system that is intimately involved with what this project looks like so thats where we are, commented OQuinn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the city the developer is expected to begin construction within 120 days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. The grave of Lottie Hairston on the former Oak Hill plantation outside Danville, Va. - Photo: Jeff Bennett (AP) The remains of hundreds of Black tenant farmers from a former Virginia tobacco plantation will be moved to a dedicated burial ground. The descendants of those buried have spoken out about the decision for the graves to be moved in order to accommodate an industrial park. I dont think anybody would want their ancestors exhumed or moved, said Jeff Bennett, whose great-great-great grandfather remains are at the plantation. It just seems that 100 or so odd years after their death, theres still no rest. Despite this happening in 2025, Black cemeteries have dealt with abandonment and destruction for centuries. Here are some other examples of Black graves not receiving the respect and care they deserve. Zion Cemetery (Tampa, Fla.) Zion Cemetery, located in Tampa, Florida, is considered the citys oldest Black cemetery. Its roots can be traced to the early 1900s. Back in 2019, it was rediscovered below a public-housing project. Since then, over 100 graves have been identified. Rodney Kite-Powell, a historian at the Tampa Bay History Center, told The Art Newspaper that Zion was purposefully obscured from the public record so the land could be developed. Copps Hill Burying Ground (Boston, Mass.) Bostons second oldest cemetery, Copps Hill Burying Ground, was established in 1660 and is the gravesite for those who lived, worked, and died in Bostons North End. It is also the burial site of more than 1,000 free and enslaved Black people whose identities remain unknown. Except for a couple of marked gravesincluding that of Prince Hall and Abel Barbadosevidence of Black people thriving in the city has all but been erased. Greenwood Cemetery, (St. Louis, Miss.) In 1874, Greenwood Cemetery was founded in St. Louis, Missouri as the first Black commercial burial ground after the Civil War. More than 50,000 people were buried in Greenwood, including Harriett Scott and along with Dred Scott who famously sued for their freedom. However, after it was sold in the late 1970s, the cemetery was subjected to vandalism and neglect. The Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association has worked to restore the site and identify those buried. Evergreen Cemetery (St. Petersburg, Fla.) Evergreen Cemetery was founded in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was a segregated cemetery, designated specifically for Black people until expanding into the adjacent Oaklawn cemetery (segregated by section) became necessary. Both Evergreen and Oaklawn operated until 1926 until it was closed and condemned by order of city officials. The city ordinance mandated that those buried at Evergreen and Oaklawn be relocated based on race. The site now sits underneath the citys interstate 175. Second Asbury AME Cemetery (Staten Island, NY) The Second Asbury AME (African Methodist Episcopal) cemetery on Staten Island, New York, was established in 1850. The church was torn down by vandals in the 1880s, leaving the remaining headstones completely broken. The site would eventually be seized by the city in the 1950s and turned into a Shell station in 1963. Nearly 20 years later, it was transformed into a strip mallthough none of the bodies were ever moved. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Black history comes to life at Woodlawn Cemetery, where residents are legendary spirits WOODLAWN, The Bronx (PIX11) Its a place thats alive with strength, perseverance, and courage, even though its permanent residents are no longer alive. Thats because the incredible stories of some African American heroes in one of the countrys most historic cemeteries actively inspire, as well as serve as guides for generations to come. Its an account of the American story thats underground, literally. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woodlawn Cemetery, in the north Bronx, has, since its founding in 1863, been a final resting place that didnt exclude or segregate by race. The result, said Susan Olsen, the director of historical services at Woodlawn, is a Whos Who of Black history. As a non-sectarian cemetery, she said, from the very beginning, all races, all cultural groups, all ethnic groups. Olsen, 66, led PIX11 News on a Black heritage tour through parts of the massive, park-like burial ground. The cemetery is half the size of Central Park and is open to the public year-round for visitation and tours, including self-guided ones. For Black History Month, Olsen highlighted a variety of prominent African Americans interred at Woodlawn. She said that anyone of any race or background could appreciate the motherlode of acclaim among the Black community buried there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first gravesite we visited was that of Madam C.J. Walker, the first Black person and the first woman in the United States to become a millionaire. This is where you can have your moment, Olsen said, as she faced Madam Walkers desk-sized headstone. [You can] have a little discussion with Madam Walker. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Many have done so at the hair care moguls grave. Its one of the most visited at the cemetery. One reason that so many people are able to come out and pay their respects is also a reason why Woodlawn has been a burial destination for African Americans since its founding during the Civil War, in addition to its non-discrimination policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the subway, said Olsen. The cemeterys main gate faces the Woodlawn subway station, which is the last stop on the Number 4 express train. Since 1918, its allowed Black families from Harlem and elsewhere to come from all over the city to visit loved ones. For many of the monuments in Woodlawn Park, frequency and comfort in visitation are the key elements in their designs, as Olsen pointed out as she sat on one of two stone benches that are part of W.C. Handys headstone and memorial plot. Many families decide to create a seat for someone to visit, said Olsen, on the bench thats part of the five-foot-tall headstone for The Father of the Blues. His stone memorial stands out among the 300,000 graves in the 400-acre park. However, not every headstone signifies a burial, as Olsen pointed out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its called a cenotaph, she explained. Its a monument for somebody whos not there. Top Black History Month Headlines One of the cemeterys few cenotaphs belongs to an African American whos prominent in world history. Matthew Henson was the first Westerner to reach the North Pole. In 1909, when it happened, Henson was considered to have been the manservant of explorer Admiral Robert Peary, but some seven decades later, historians figured out that Henson had reached the pole first, as Pearys guide. So in 1988, 33 years after his passing, Henson was re-interred near Peary in Arlington National Cemetery, with a prominent memorial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, at Woodlawn, where Henson had been buried for more than three decades, We decided to keep the stone here, Olsen explained. He was part of our community, and his story is part of our community here now. His cenotaph is one of many ways that the present connects to the past at Woodlawn. Another is through a popular, living memorial, according to the historical director. This fabulous silver linden tree, she said, at the intersection of three of the many roads that cross the cemetery, in whats called Jazz Corner. Its Duke Ellingtons tree, she explained. The tree is what caught the eye of the jazz megastar and legend when he was looking for a final resting place in the years before his passing. He decided to buy the plot in front of the tree, which is where he is now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can come and love the same tree Duke Ellington chose to be buried under, Olsen said. Visitors to the tree and to the Ellington Family plot can also be surrounded by many of Dukes fellow artists. More Bronx News Theyre just here together, said Olsen, about the variety of African American jazz greats, who all chose to spend time posthumously in Ellingtons orbit. So Lionel Hampton is across the road, Miles Davis is across the road, Olsen said, gesturing to the pipe organ console-sized sarcophagus in which Davis is interred about 10 yards away to the west of Ellington, as well as to Hamptons headstone about 10 yards east. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With Ellington as the anchor resident, the gathering of renowned musicians in Jazz Corner is practically a Black Musicians Hall of Fame. Because of the convergence of more than a dozen jazz greats in one area of the memorial park, it becomes a venue for the genre at least once a year. Weve had the young people come out here and play at the gravesite on Ellingtons birthday, Olsen said. She was referring to how some of the high school bands from the Essentially Ellington Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center considered among the worlds best come out to Woodlawn on or around April 29 to perform among jazz royalty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The performances are a key part of a larger way of being at Woodlawn, year-round, Olsen said: that we can all look to the future, while still grounded in Black History. We need to remember who went before us, she said, and be inspired by them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. A large painting that reads Black Lives Matter on a street one block away from the White House is set to be removed. However, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser continues to thwart off threats from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. Bowser took to X on Tuesday (Mar. 4) to make the announcement. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference, she wrote. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. She has already faced backlash over her sentiment, particularly from those spearheading the Black Lives Matter movement. Nee Nee Taylor, a founding member of the D.C. Black Lives Matter affiliate, called out Bowser on X on Tuesday, stating, You never cared about Black Lives Mattering. You painting those words were performative. Mayor Bowser released the following statement on the evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza: pic.twitter.com/6dk8Jbc5ir Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 4, 2025 Per HuffPost, Bowsers tweet reflects a striking shift in tone toward Trump and congressional Republicans since the presidents first term in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bowser whos a Democrat commissioned the painting and renamed the intersection Black Lives Matter Plaza as a public act of defiance in June 2020 following the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests. Her response to the public outcry sparked direct conflict between her and Trump, who accused her of losing control of her city and threatened to take over the Metropolitan Police Department. Despite not following through, he did use other forces to intimidate protesters. Since his return to office, Bowser has attempted to evade conflict with Trump and met with him to discuss their mutual need for federal employees to return to their offices full-time. However, his push to cut the federal workforce is affecting D.C.s finances. Theres predicted to be a $1 billion budget short over the next three years. Trump has also revived his interest in a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., but Bowser has not commented on reports of that executive order. Shes also expressed that the greatest threat to the autonomy was some of the people in Congress. More from VIBE.com Sign up for Vibe's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This series was produced as part of the Pulitzer Centers StoryReach U.S. Fellowship. What can we do to improve Black maternal health? The question, from a single Gary mom, fell on the empathetic ears of nearly 20 other women at Js Breakfast Club in Gary. But the query, all too common, has reached far beyond the walls of the eatery in Northwest Indiana: Its been ringing in the minds of Black women for generations as they experience the highest maternal mortality rates not only in Indiana, but in the nation. Capital B Gary has sought to find some answers to these critical questions. Black mothers in Gary have long faced challenges in maternal health care, from inadequate prenatal support to systemic disparities to environmental hazards that impact their well-being. Out of Indianas 92 counties, Lake County, home to Gary, has the ninth-highest maternal mortality rate in the state, according to the Indiana Department of Health. At our first event, Black Moms and Mimosas: A Community Dialogue, we heard directly from over 18 Black mothers who shared personal struggles and urgent questions about their care and what resources were available to them. They asked critical questions on how to navigate racism in the medical system, how to protect their mental health while raising children, and how health care providers can be held accountable for better treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, as part of our journey, Capital B Gary has worked to engage with experts, medical professionals, and advocates to help answer these pressing concerns. Coming off the heels of the newsrooms previous dialogue, residents are invited to come to our next community engagement event, Black Mamas Matter: A Panel Discussion, to enjoy free food and drinks while we learn, share resources, and further the critical conversations needed to support Black moms in our community. Ahead of the next panel discussion, were sharing key takeaways from our first event and previewing the solutions that will be explored in the upcoming discussion. Questions about maternal health that demand answers At our first event, Black mothers raised powerful, deeply personal questions about their experiences and fears. These questions shaped the conversation and continue to guide the work toward solutions. After the discussion, mothers submitted additional questions through a survey. These are some of the questions they asked and the answers we uncovered through our reporting: Q: I would like more details on the cause of the maternal deaths in our area. Were there medical issues? Social issues? Were the deaths deemed preventable? Indianas Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) is a committee that reviews pregnancy-associated deaths (those occurring up to a year after pregnancy) and pregnancy-related deaths (those occurring during pregnancy) across the state. It identifies factors that contribute to these deaths, deems them preventable or non-preventable, and recommends actions to avoid future tragedies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a 2023 report from the MMRC, 77% of pregnancy-related deaths in Indiana were deemed preventable. Similarly, 71% of pregnancy-associated deaths were preventable in 2021. Substance abuse was one of the highest contributing factors to maternal mortality cases, while inadequate access to maternal health care and maternal mental health care were also significant factors. The state report also found that Black women have consistently died at higher rates than white women in both pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related deaths, despite making up a smaller number of births. Pregnancy associated deaths occur up to a year after pregnancy, while pregnancy related deaths occur during pregnancy. Because state health data is collected at the county level, specific figures for Gary are not available. However, data from Lake County, where Gary is located, is included in the states overall data. Q: What is the city of Gary doing to address these disparities? Gary Health Commissioner Janet Seabrook, who also founded local clinic Community HealthNet, told Capital B Gary that solving Garys multifaceted problem requires a holistic solution that considers multiple factors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that people know the reality that maternal mortality exists in higher numbers in African Americans and other minorities, she said. The programs are there, we know that theyre there, but there are so many other issues, those social determinants that are impacting those pregnant women, she said. She also highlighted how financial strain, child care access, pre-existing medical conditions, and food and housing insecurity add to the burden on expecting mothers. Addressing these stressors, she said, is key to tackling Black maternal health disparities. Looking ahead, Seabrook said the city is eyeing more ways to support maternal health. In the meantime, the Gary Health Department provides some holistic solutions, including free pregnancy and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing, and providing referrals to obstetricians at health clinics outside the Gary Health Department because the health department does not currently have an obstetrician-gynecologist. In addition, she pointed to educational and medical resources available through the Northwest Indiana Health Department Cooperative in Hammond, which offers prenatal care, postpartum depression treatment, and health education and nutrition classes. Dr. Tiffany Jamison (center) talks with attendees at Capital Bs Black Moms and Mimosas: A Community Dialogue event. (Javonte Anderson/Capital B) Q: How can I handle my mental health while being a mother and a wife? Maternal mental health conditions affect 1 in 5 mothers in the U.S., impacting approximately 800,000 families each year, studies show. Black women are among the most under-treated groups, experiencing depression and anxiety at twice the rate of white women but receiving treatment half as often, according to a 2023 MMHLA report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly 40% of Black mothers experience maternal mental health issues, the report found. These mental health conditions can stem from systemic and logistic barriers, including distrust of the health care system, over-policing by child protective services, lack of access to child care, getting time off work, and the cumulative weathering effect of racism. Organizations like the Black Womens Health Imperative and Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA) offer mental health resources to show how, when it comes to taking care of their mental health, mothers are far from alone. To help remove some of these barriers, experts recommend that they dont be afraid to seek help when needed, ditching the stigma behind the strong Black woman. The post-event survey revealed a strong demand from community members for more solution-focused stories that connect them to resources and support groups like this one. Capital B Gary will continue to explore these questions, seek solutions, and embed them into the community. Key takeaways from the first maternal health event From the conversations, several key themes emerged: Environmental factors and health risks U.S. Steels Gary Works plant sits in the background in downtown Gary. (Javonte Anderson/Capital B) Porchea McGuire, a Gary farmer and food justice advocate, pointed to widespread soil contamination as a significant environmental hazard affecting childrens health in many areas. They will tear down factories, tear down all these other places and build homes right on top of them, without remediating the soil or actually doing soil testing. And then we got kids playing at these parks, digging in the dirt. These things are going into our lungs [and] in our homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She stressed the need for stricter regulations and monitoring of environmental hazards from demolitions, roadwork, and new developments in Gary, including soil testing for lead. Dr. Tiffany Jamison, who works with an agricultural program in Gary, echoed these concerns. When youre thinking about a place like Gary were seeing the effects of the environment and the negative effects its having on children. I think its a lot of factors that play into the social, economic, and environmental flow here. Education and advocacy Many mothers shared that they had to advocate for themselves and their children, educating themselves on birthing options while navigating the angry Black woman stereotype with providers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bianca Wilson, a practicing doula, emphasized that doulas provide a valuable alternative to hospital births and stressed the importance of educating clients about all their birthing options. I tell women to advocate, advocate. You dont have to ask permission to give birth. Thats not their place to tell you whether or not you can have a birth doula. You are letting them know. Youre not asking, she said. Bianca Wilson, a practicing doula, urges women to take command when it comes to their health care needs. (Javonte Anderson/Capital B) One mother recalled her concern when her daughters doctor recommended an unnecessary procedure that wasnt part of her plan. The experience led her to learn more about advocating with medical providers. When the doctor and the birthing plan bump heads, what is that? she asked. Is that just due to disrespect, or is there a clinical reason? Would you be comfortable with the provider steering you away from your birthing plan? We want you to be able to have your voice heard but want to be safe about this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another mother spoke about the lack of postpartum mental health support. When the baby is born, a lot of people focus on the child, she said. They dont really focus on the mother. And after my third child, I had postpartum depression, so then it was a struggle, but nobody even noticed that I was going through it so a lot of times, the mom is ignored and left to deal with it on their own. Next for Gary: Panel and solutions The Black Mamas Matter panel on March 8 will bring together medical professionals, community advocates, and mothers to discuss solutions and create accountability in Black maternal health. The discussion will give residents an opportunity to hear from dedicated professionals, followed by a Q&A from the audience. Similar to the newsrooms previous Black Moms and Mimosas community dialogue, residents are invited to come enjoy free food and drinks while we learn, share resources, and further the critical conversations needed to support the Black moms in our community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This event will highlight actionable solutions for improving Black maternal health in Gary, with panelists including: Glynis Adams, assistant director of perinatal services at Methodist Hospital Adams has been a perinatal nurse for over 40 years. Her work has focused on health care disparities and decrease in infant mortality and maternal mortality in underserved areas. Dr. Maya Dominique, OB-GYN Dominique is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist. She spent four years at NorthShore Health Centers in Northwest Indiana, and she now serves areas across the state as an independent contractor OB/GYN. Dominique also organizes an annual womens health fair in Gary. Bianca Wilson, birthing doula Wilson, a Gary mother of five and grandmother of two, has been a certified birth doula since 2019. Through her business, Birthing with Bianca, she supports clients in having positive birth experiences and empowers them to navigate the birthing process. To date, she has assisted in more than 90 births. Join us for the next panel as we take the next step in community-oriented solutions in our city and be part of the positive change we want to see. Interested participants can RSVP on Facebook or Eventbrite. The post Black Mamas Matter: Addressing Maternal Health Disparities in Gary appeared first on Capital B Gary. Staff of a restaurant prepare to use a generator during a massive power outage in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 5, 2025. Power outages occurred across the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, affecting over 622,000 users, approximately 2 million people, local media reported. Government buildings, including the presidential palace and the Ministry of Economy, were left without electricity. Several suburban train lines and metro services were suspended or limited. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) BUENOS AIRES, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Argentina is experiencing another severe heat wave affecting 10 of the country's 24 provinces, the National Meteorological Service said Wednesday. In the capital city of Buenos Aires, authorities issued a yellow heat alert, warning that high temperatures "could be dangerous, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, seniors over 65, and those with chronic illnesses." The heat index reached 44.4 degrees Celsius (112 degrees Fahrenheit) shortly after 2:45 p.m. local time. Thousands of residents in Buenos Aires sought relief in air-conditioned shopping malls, parks, and recreational sites like Parque de los Ninos in the north and Parque de la Ciudad in the south. Power outages occurred across the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, affecting over 622,000 users, approximately 2 million people, local media reported. Government buildings, including the presidential palace and the Ministry of Economy, were left without electricity. Several suburban train lines and metro services were suspended or limited. Neighborhoods in central, southern, and western parts of the capital experienced blackouts, causing widespread traffic disruptions due to non-functioning traffic lights on the first business day after the Carnival holidays. The National Meteorological Service issued a red alert -- the highest warning -- for some areas of Corrientes, Formosa, Chaco, Misiones, and Santiago del Estero provinces, indicating that high temperatures are "extremely dangerous and can affect all individuals, even healthy ones." People wait for a bus during a massive power outage in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 5, 2025. Power outages occurred across the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, affecting over 622,000 users, approximately 2 million people, local media reported. Government buildings, including the presidential palace and the Ministry of Economy, were left without electricity. Several suburban train lines and metro services were suspended or limited. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) A traffic light at a junction stops working due to a power outage in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 5, 2025. Power outages occurred across the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, affecting over 622,000 users, approximately 2 million people, local media reported. Government buildings, including the presidential palace and the Ministry of Economy, were left without electricity. Several suburban train lines and metro services were suspended or limited. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) Mar. 4BLACKDUCK The community of Blackduck is reeling after last week's announcement that The Shade Store will close its operations there, resulting in the loss of about 120 jobs. The company, which began as Anderson Fabrics in 1980, is Blackduck's largest employer. The layoffs also include eight employees from the Anderson Fabrics Factory Outlet and Quilt Shop. The Shade Store, based in Port Chester, N.Y., Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement acquired the business in 2021. "It's absolutely devastating," said Scott Peterson, economic and community coordinator for the Blackduck Development Corporation. "Anderson Fabrics and The Shade Store have been up here for so many years and been a staple in the community. To all of a sudden lose 120 or so jobs, that has a huge impact on the community." Layoffs will go into effect Wednesday, April 30, and during the 14-day period thereafter, according to a release. Positions affected by the layoff include janitorial, production, programming, retail, safety and shipping among others. Blackduck Mayor Max Gullette said the city is working with local and state organizations to look at options for the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My heart goes out to the people affected by the layoffs at The Shade Store," Gullette said. "There is going to be an impact on our community, but we are a very tight-knit community, and we will get through this." He added, "It's a blow to the community, but The Shade Store has done the right thing by offering a severance package to workers and offering them the chance to relocate to another Shade Store location. They've been cooperative in answering the Blackduck City Council's questions." Gullette said the city is also working with the Blackduck Development Corporation and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. "We will pursue all options to find something to move into that empty building," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing the outlet store situation, Gullette said the manager, Claire Kupcho, is currently in the Twin Cities visiting with other entities in an effort to find a way to keep Anderson Fabrics Outlet and Quilt Shop open. Peterson said the impact of last week's announcement is being felt throughout the community, including the school district, which many Shade Store employees' children attend. "The biggest thing I've been hearing is, 'What are we going to do now?'" Peterson said. "'Where are we going to be able to find another job here in Blackduck? Are we going to be able to find a job anywhere that pays what the Shade Store was paying?'" Peterson said he stopped in the outlet store on Friday to check in on the employees, who were trying to deal with the previous day's news. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I let him know that the BDC was here to help," he said. "One thing that was mentioned to me is that all the ladies who work there are considering forming a co-op and potentially purchasing it that way." Dave Hengel, executive director at Greater Bemidji Economic Development, said his organization is also looking at ways to support the Blackduck community. "Anderson Fabrics has been the identity of Blackduck for many, many years," Hengel said. "While it has slowly decreased in terms of the number of employees, it still has 115 employees that are important to the region. Obviously, it has a major impact on the city and on the county and our economy. Ultimately, the first focus needs to be the employees, so we're working to make sure that they have the resources they need, either to immediately go into another job or to get retrained in an area they're interested in." He said there have been talks with Beltrami County about hosting a job fair at The Shade Store workroom. Larger employers who are seeking workers would be invited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hengel also noted the impact that the outlet store has on Blackduck's economy. "We are trying to see if any of the employees there have interest in keeping that store open," Hengel said. "If they do, we'll take our team from Greater Bemidji up there to support them with some business assistance, financial assistance, marketing help, that type of thing. We are doing our best to see if we can keep that open downtown because certainly the plant is critical for the whole community, but that store is absolutely critical for downtown Blackduck. It creates traffic, and traffic matters to downtown." Peterson is hopeful that in spite of last week's announcement, Blackduck will find a positive path forward. "We're all doing everything we can to try to fill the void that's there," Peterson said. "Obviously the sooner the better, but it's important to understand that it all takes time." (WHNT) Strong winds on Tuesday left behind damage across the Tennessee Valley, and News 19 has received multiple reports regarding that damage and power outages. The Weather Authority issued an Impact Day for Tuesday due to the threat of damaging winds and storms. A wind advisory is in effect for the area from noon Tuesday until 3 p.m. The advisory was issued due to the threat of gusts upwards of 50 mph, isolated higher gusts will be possible. Above, is a look at some of the peak wind gusts so far Tuesday. Huntsville has recorded 47 mph gusts so far compared to Scottsboro which recorded 33 mph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LOOKING FOR THE EXTENDED FORECAST? Click here to learn how to download the Live Alert 19 app Or, you can read more about the forecast here! We will continue to update the blog below with damage and power outage reports as we receive them! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. AUSTIN (KXAN) Crews continued battling wildfires in Central Texas Wednesday as the region experienced wind gusts. On Tuesday, the region experienced a day of potentially historic fire conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Although the wind gusts are not in the 40-60 mph range like they were Tuesday, wind gusts were still in the 15-25 mph range, according to the KXAN First Warning Weather Team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The breezy conditions will still last throughout the day and even pick up as we move into Thursday, our weather team said. Resources This blog is no longer being updated. Wednesday, March 5 9:15 p.m. The Onion Creek fire in Hays County is estimated at 190 acres and is 80% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Containment line has been established around the fire perimeter. Crews will engage in extensive mop up operations to ensure no hotspots remain across the fire area, the agency said on social media. 8:15 p.m. The Longhorn fire in Wimberley is at four acres and is 95% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. 4 p.m. Around 2:40 p.m., Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra issued a burn ban across the county until March 12, Hays County Emergency Services said on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 3:50 p.m., the Wimberley fire, which is now being called the Longhorn fire, is 50% contained, with Wimberley Fire Rescue working the fire. 2:10 p.m. Hays County Emergency Services is responding to an active wildfire in Wimberley, located in the area of Longhorn Trail in northwest Wimberley, emergency services said on social media. Please avoid the area. Evacuation notices will be sent through Warn Central Texas, if needed, emergency services said. 9 a.m. Texas A&M Forest Service: Klett Fire in Blanco County is 101 acres and 80% contained. Decrease in acreages due to more accurate mapping. Crews will patrol and engage in mop up operations today, checking for heat near containment lines. Onion Creek Fire in Hays County is an estimated 80 acres and 45% contained. Crews will continue building containment line around the edge of the fire. Firefighters will patrol the area and check for hotspots near containment lines. Double Fork Fire in Stonewall County is 216 acres and 95% contained. Minimal smoke is observed across the fire area this morning. Crews will monitor and patrol the fire area today. Tuesday, March 4 10:45 p.m. Texas A&M Forest Service: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klett Fire in Blanco County is 126.5 acres and 75% contained. Crews continue to widen and improve containment lines around the fire perimeter. DukeFire in Bexar County is an estimated 100 acres and 20% contained. Fire activity has reduced to creeping and smoldering. Crews are working to secure the north and east edges of the fire. Twin Oryx Fire in La Salle County is an estimated 800 acres and 20% contained. 10:15 p.m. Texas A&M Forest Service: Double Fork Fire in Stonewall County is an estimated 218 acres and 95% contained Red Rose Fire in Duval County is 520 acres and 85% contained. Fire activity is minimal across the area. Firefighters will continue to patrol and monitor, checking for hotspots near containment lines. Onion Creek Fire in Hays County is an estimated 80 acres and 20% contained Containment line along the right flank of the fire has been finished, as crews continue work along the left flank. 9:55 p.m. Texas A&M Forest Service: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Calvaveras Fire in Bexar County is 284 acres and 85% contained. Increase in acreage due to more accurate mapping. Fire activity has diminished across the area. 9:45 p.m. Central Texas crews respond to multiple fires, increased staffing due to high winds Multiple fires popped up across Central Texas on Tuesday. According to fire officials, strong winds contributed to the flames spreading. KXAN drove to multiple different fire scenes. We first were dispatched to one in the Manor area. Central Texas crews respond to multiple fires, increased staffing due to high winds The Austin Fire Department said it got the call around 2:30 p.m. about a fire next to a roadway near a neighborhood. AFD Division Chief Mark Bridges said the fire grew because of the strong winds. He said it burned 10 acres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews were showing up. They noticed some power lines going back and forth, Bridges said. Our speculation on this one was some wires that crossed and sparks and embers dropped onto the grass below and the winds just whipped it up and turned it into what it was. 8:50 p.m. The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management provided a recap on social media, saying 13 fires were dispatched by WilCo Emergency Communications. Williamson County officials responded to fires in the area due to high winds. (Photo: Williamson County Office of Emergency Management) 7 p.m. Klett fire is now 126.5 acres and 50% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. 6:50 p.m. KXANs Sarah Al-Shaikh gave a live update in our newscast at 6 on the Onion Creek fire in Buda, which was originally called the Ruby Ranch fire. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, that fire is at 80 acres and 0% contained. 5:30 p.m. The Austin Community College Elgin campus said it is closing early due to a power outage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only agriculture classes on the campus will continue on their regular schedules. All other classes, work, and activities at Elgin are canceled for the remainder of the day. No other campuses are affected, a spokesperson for ACC said in a statement. ACC said updates will be posted to the ACC website and the districts social media pages. 5:20 p.m. As high winds soar in Central Texas, KXAN continues tracking multiple wildfires across Central Texas. Our Sarah Al-Shaikh, who was reporting from Manor, said firefighters are continuing to monitor a brush fire on Blue Goose Road. 4:40 p.m. KXAN keeps track of wildfires in Texas. More than 300 acres have burned in wildfires across Central Texas so far in 2025, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MAP: More than 300 acres have burned in Central Texas wildfires in 2025 Well keep them updated as new information becomes available. Fires that are still uncontained are red on the map in the article. 4:35 p.m. The Texas A&M Forest Service is responding to a fire in Blanco County, the agency said on social media around 4:20 p.m. The fire, now being called the Klett Fire, is estimated at 100 acres and is 0% contained. 3:44 p.m. The Williamson County Office of Emergency Management said on social media there were at least eight fires reported in the county Tuesday. Fortunately, most have been contained thanks to the diligent work of our first responders, the office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) Chemung County residents who plan to drive a boat with a motor this summer will need to take an upcoming boater safety class if they havent taken one before. As of the beginning of this year, everyone needs to earn a boating certification regardless of age to legally be allowed to operate any kind of motorized watercraft in New York State. People who previously didnt need a certificate can earn one by completing one of the Chemung County Sheriffs Offices upcoming classes. Proposed plans unveiled for multi-unit residential complex in Big Flats Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office is holding eight classes on Saturdays from March to May this year, and each class will be limited to 30 attendees. People must be at least 10 years old to participate. The classes will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a 30-minute at a different fire department each week. Classes will be held at the following locations: The Southport Fire Department on March 15 The West Elmira Fire Department on March 22 The East Hill Fire Department on March 29 The Erin Fire Department on April 5 The Town and Country Fire Department on April 12 The Chemung Fire Department on April 19 The Golden Glow Fire Department on April 26 The West Elmira Fire Department on May 3 People must register for these classes in advance and can do so by calling the sheriffs office at 607-737-2987 ext. 74104. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. A man charged in connection to a police chase and crash pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday, according to court records. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7s Amber Jenkins obtained police body cam and dashcam footage of the chase and crash. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cruiser video shows the car chase reach over 100 miles per hour. It also shows two men being removed from the car by officers, and officer performing life-saving measures on one of the men. RELATED>> Driver crashes into police cruiser, multiple cars during chase in Miami County The chase began after Troy police spotted 29-year-old Carlton Holden II going almost 70 in a 35 mile per hour zone near North Market Street. The chase continued into Tipp City, reaching speeds of 130 miles per hour. The vehicle crashed into two parked cars, and both Holden and his passenger, Carlton Holden Sr., were taken to a hospital. A woman whose car was hit by Holden says she believes her car will be totaled. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Two Seattle-area individuals are in custody in connection with the death of a Venezuelan national who was found in a ditch along Interstate 65 last week. The Lake County Coroners Office conducted a forensic autopsy on the man on Feb. 28 and identified the victim as 23-year-old Nelson Daniel Ramos-Rivas, who most recently resided in Tillamook County, Oregon. Around 9:20 a.m. on Friday, a cleanup crew was working along the ramp from U.S. 231 to southbound I-65 in Crown Point when they spotted a Ramos-Rivas body lying in the west ditch, according to an Indiana State Police news release. Indiana State Police suspected foul play and initiated a homicide investigation. Two individuals who had been recently taken into custody by the FBI and the King County Sheriffs Office in Seattle, Washington, were quickly identified as the suspects in this homicide, police said. Charges are pending in Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The coroners office said all resources in locating next of kin have been exhausted, which has been complicated as all Venezuelan consulates have been closed in the United States since January 2023 due to the political instability in the country. Anyone who may know Ramos-Rivas relatives or can help get in contact with anyone with connections to the decedent is asked to contact the Lake County Coroners Office at 219-755-3265. All information provided will be strictly confidential. A Boeing-led team has finished building 20 new silos for the homeland missile defense system at Fort Greely, Alaska, growing the number of interceptors that can be emplaced there from 40 to 60. Boeing recently announced it had officially installed the first of 20 additional silos for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system now over 20 years old designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran. This also included silo interface vaults, which are adjacent underground electronics rooms that maintain the readiness and effectiveness of interceptors, according to a company statement. The silos are located at the fourth missile field at Fort Greely. There are 40 Ground-Based Interceptors, or GBIs, in place there, with another four in the ground at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expansion effort initially began under President Donald Trumps first term and work continued through the Biden administration. The Pentagon and the Missile Defense Agency initiated reprogramming funding in fiscal 2017 to increase the number of ground-based interceptors in a new missile field at the Alaskan fort from 44 to 64. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, recently proposed a bill to expand the GMD system from 64 to 80 silos and consider a similar site on the East Coast of the continental U.S. as part of possible elements of President Trumps Golden Dome missile defense architecture for the homeland. The president signed an executive order to establish the missile defense shield during his first few weeks in office. Boeing won a contract from the MDA to integrate, test and ensure the readiness of the GMD system in the summer of 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boeing originally held the development and sustainment contract for the GMD system, which was set to expire in 2023, but MDA split the contract to encourage competition and thus drive innovation amid system modernization efforts. Subsequently, the MDA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to integrate and manage weapon systems with the GMD system and a contract to Lockheed Martin to field, maintain and upgrade its battle command system. MDA will determine whether the silos will house additional GBIs, the Next-Generation Interceptor which is currently in development to replace GBI or a combination of both, a Boeing spokesperson said. The MDA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin and its L3Harris-owned Aerojet Rocketdyne partner to build the Next-Generation Interceptor nearly a year prior to its deadline for choosing between it and a Northrop and RTX team. HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas (FOX 44) A bomb threat at Harker Heights High School has been deemed false. According to the Killeen Independent School District, Harker Heights High School received a bomb threat on Wednesday morning. This prompted an evacuation out of an abundance of caution. Killeen ISD Police, with assistance from the Killeen Police Departments K9 Unit and the Harker Heights Police Department, conducted a thorough search of the building. The school has now been cleared, and re-entry began afterwards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district says the safety of students and staff remains its top priority. Killeen ISD PD and district officials will continue working closely with law enforcement to investigate the origin of the threat and take appropriate action against those responsible. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) -Bond was revoked for a man accused of firing a gun inside an apartment in Warren after he addressed the victim multiple times in court Tuesday. Bond for William Ramos was set at $25,000 and he was ordered not to have contact with the victim in connection to the Feb. 25 incident at an apartment on Scott Street NE. Ramos was arrested and charged with discharging into a habitation and aggravated menacing. He is also facing a probation violation in connection to the charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court records, Ramos was in Warren Municipal Court on Tuesday for a hearing when he kept turning and addressing the victim. The court said he did this three times. Bond was revoked for Ramos and the case has been turned over to a grand jury for consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. EAGLE PASS, Texas (NewsNation) A U.S. Customs and Border Protection migrant processing facility in Eagle Pass, Texas, is closing, sources told NewsNation on Wednesday. The temporary, soft-sided facility called Firefly, which opened in July 2022, was originally designed to quickly process people in Border Patrol custody by providing food, shelter and processing space. The 153,300-square-foot, climate-controlled facility served the Border Patrols Del Rio sector. It replaced a smaller structure that opened in Eagle Pass in April 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar facilities in El Paso and San Diego will remain open. Sanctuary city mayors defend policies before Congress The news comes amid Vice President JD Vances visit to the southern border Wednesday to highlight the Trump administrations tough immigration policies as the White House touts a sharp decline in border crossings. Illegal crossings at the border have dropped 94% compared to last year, according to Border Patrol officials, and the decline is attributed to several factors including labeling cartel groups as terrorist organizations, boosting ICE deportations and deploying military resources for enforcement and deportation flights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Vance is expected to visit Eagle Pass, once considered a hot spot for illegal crossings. The visit comes as the White House pushes its whole of government approach, coordinating efforts between the departments of Homeland Security, Defense and Justice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. KIGALI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda on Tuesday received from the United States a fugitive convicted of taking part in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, authorities said. In a statement, the National Public Prosecution Authority said Ahmed Napoleon Mbonyunkiza, 57, was tried and convicted in absentia by a traditional Gacaca court in Nyakabanda village in the capital of Kigali in 2007 for his role in the genocide. He was deported after serving a 15-year sentence for sexual assault-related offenses in the United States, according to the statement. The statement praised "the U.S. judicial authorities for their cooperation in deporting genocide fugitives and their contribution to the global fight against impunity." About 1 million people, mostly of the Tutsi community and moderate Hutus, were killed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi by Hutu extremists in a span of 100 days. Seven years ago, Abdul Aziz Khan was abducted in Atlanta. Last week, investigators found him alive and well in Douglas County, Colorado. Deputies were called to a home where two people were caught on camera walking into an empty house that was for sale, claiming they were touring the house as potential buyers. They also found two children sitting in a car parked in the driveway. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Four hours later, when investigators verified their identities, they learned Rabia Khalid, 40, had an active warrant in Georgia for kidnapping. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They learned that on Nov. 27, 2017, Khalid was accused of abducting Khan, her child whom she did not have custody of. She claimed she had taken the child because of alleged sex crimes. Khalid and 42-year-old Elliot Blake Bourgeois were arrested on charges including kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities and trespassing. Bond has been set at $1,000,000 for each of them. According to police reports, Bourgeois initially gave deputies an Oregon ID for a man who investigators learned had died in 2009. In his wallet, they found a Georgia ID as well as a credit car with a third name on it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both he and Khalid told investigators they are part of the Mennonite culture and dont take photos of themselves, including for identification purposes, according to the police report. TRENDING STORIES: Khan and another child were taken into protective custody until a court can determine where they should be placed. The boys family released a statement, saying they would like privacy. Were overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. We specifically want to recognize the Douglas County Sheriffs Office for their exceptional work in solving this case. Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] (FOX 44) A Houston boy battling cancer has been made an honorary Secret Service Agent. During President Donald Trumps Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday night, Devarjaye DJ Daniel was recognized. The McLennan County Sheriffs Office says it had the privilege of hosting DJ and his family in its office two years ago. This was in addition to DJs visits to numerous offices across Texas. SEE ALSO: Boy battling cancer sworn in as honorary police officer in Texarkana (Courtesy: McLennan County Sheriffs Office) (Courtesy: McLennan County Sheriffs Office) (Courtesy: McLennan County Sheriffs Office) The Sheriffs Office says DJs strength and determination made a lasting impression on them, and he continues to inspire not only this office but the entire nation. DJ, you will always be part of the McLennan County Sheriffs Office family. It brings us so much joy to see your pride in Law Enforcement. Our continued prayers are with you and your loved ones as you continue to fight the good fight. McLennan County Sheriffs Office Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. (WFRV) President Donald Trump gave special recognition to an honorary deputy in Wisconsin during his address to the United States Congress on Tuesday night. Deputy Devarjaye D.J. Daniel is from Pearlland, Texas and diagnosed with brain and spinal cancer as a six-year-old. His goal was to be sworn into at least 100 law enforcement agencies in the United States. Local groups gather in Appleton for rally protesting President Donald Trumps policies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On December 5, 2022, the Wood County Sheriffs Office swore D.J. in as an honorary deputy. On Tuesday night, President Trump gave 13-year-old D.J., who was in attendance in a Houston Police Department uniform, a special shoutout, making him an honorary United States Secret Service member. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. A 14-year-old boy who had been missing for the past seven years was found in late February in Colorado, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department announced on Wednesday. The seven-year kidnapping case, which was featured in Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries," finally came to an end on Feb. 23 when Abdul Aziz Khan was found after being missing since Nov. 17, 2017, police said. Police said they responded to a call from a homeowner in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, for a possible burglary or trespassing at approximately 3:37 p.m. on Feb. 23. This home was for sale, but the owner saw via surveillance cameras two people entering through the back of the residence. PHOTO: In this photo released by the Douglas County Sheriff's Department, Rabia Khalid is shown. (Douglas County Sheriff's Department) When two deputies arrived on the scene, they discovered a vehicle parked in the driveway with two children inside the car. Two adults, one man and one woman, came out of the house and identified themselves as "associates to the realtor," Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly told ABC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies continued to ask questions because "they felt like something was up," Weekly said. The man gave deputies a driver's license that belonged to a deceased person and the woman said she "never had any type of ID," which concerned police, Weekly said. MORE: A look into one of the most twisted kidnappings in US history A quick scan of fingerprints revealed the woman to be 40-year-old Rabia Khalid, the missing boy's mother, who already had a kidnapping warrant issued for her arrest. "Once Rabia was identified, we realized we had a possible kidnapping case here," Weekly said. "Our deputies ended up separating the two adults and trying to get interviews with them to figure out what exactly was going on." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other adult was identified as 42-year-old Elliot Blake Bourgeois, who is Khalid's husband, but not the boy's father. Both Khalid and Bourgeois were arrested and charged with second degree kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities and trespassing, the sheriff's department said. PHOTO: In this photo released by the Douglas County Sheriff's Department, Elliot Blake Bourgeois is shown. (Douglas County Sheriff's Department) Both children were taken into protective custody, and the older one was identified as Abdul, police said. The name of the younger child is not being released at this time. Decisions about where the children will be placed will be determined by the court, police said. "The deputies got them food, they watched 'Blue's Clues' at one of the neighbor's houses to try and keep the kids comfortable and calm while we conducted this investigation," Weekly said. Weekly told ABC News he is "extremely proud" of his staff for bringing a resolution to this yearslong kidnapping case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: 'Gone Girl' kidnapper charged in home invasions from years earlier "Lord knows over the last seven years how many law enforcement contacts these two potentially would have had," Weekly said. "For my deputies to be able to solve this mystery, I am pretty proud of the work they have done." The boy's family released a statement on Wednesday, applauding the work of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department. "We're overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found," his family said in a statement. "We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rabia Khalid and the boy's father, Abdul Khan, separated in 2014 and had been dealing with years of custody disputes, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Khalid moved from New Orleans to Atlanta with her son for a new job shortly before the kidnapping, making it more challenging for the boy's father to see his son. Then on Nov. 17, 2017, the mother did not show up for a custody hearing in Atlanta, and she and the boy were not seen until this year. ABC News reached out to the public defenders listed for Rabia Khalid and Bourgeois, but has not heard back. Boy kidnapped by mother 7 years ago found in Colorado: Police originally appeared on abcnews.go.com KINSHASA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 2,500 schools have been affected by an ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one senior official said Tuesday. Raissa Malu, state minister in charge of national education, said at a press briefing that over 2,500 schools have either been destroyed or occupied in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces during the conflict, adding that more than 1 million students have also been affected. "We also had to lament a school that was allegedly used as a cemetery. There are schools where blackboards have been destroyed, benches have also been destroyed and used as firewood, and even the doors of latrines," she deplored. The ongoing conflict between the M23 rebels and the DRC government has led to massive population displacements and worsened the humanitarian crisis. Tensions remain high despite diplomatic and military efforts to end the hostilities. The M23 claimed control over several territories in eastern DRC, including Goma and Bukavu. On Friday, the group appointed a "governor" for South Kivu after establishing a parallel administration in North Kivu in mid-February. For the past four weeks, 414,000 Congolese have been on the move in the DRC's North Kivu and South Kivu provinces after the M23 ordered people in camps for internally displaced people to return to their hometowns, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees via a report on Tuesday. A second person has been laid to rest following a crash that killed four people on Saturday in Orange County. The burial service for Moad Machti, 21, was held Tuesday at the Muslim Cemetery of Central Florida in Davenport. Friends of Machti said he was a hard worker who was passionate about his friendships and his religion. Machti was traveling with two of his friends, including Windermere High School senior Sammy Lahik, when tragedy struck on March 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State troopers said when another vehicle attempted to pass their Toyota Camry on Central Florida Parkway, the two cars collided, lost control, and struck several trees. Machti and Lahik died of their injuries, as did the driver and passenger of the other car. READ: Windermere High School senior, 18, honored by hundreds in funeral prayer On Tuesday, Haytam Nassir, a friend of Machti, told Channel 9, I spoke to him five minutes before the crash at 10:45 p.m. and he was laughing. Up until the very end I will always remember him as someone who always smiled and laughed in any scenario. Family and friends gathered Tuesday to remember Machti, 21, who died Saturday in Orlando. Nassir was supposed to meet with Machti the night he died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, he joined hundreds of friends, family, and community members to carry Machti to his final resting place. Family and friends gathered Tuesday to remember Machti, 21, who died Saturday in Orlando. Ilias Baltajy, another of Machtis friends, said, He was definitely like a bright light, you know, he always had a smile on his face. He was always there laughing with all of us. Baltajy went on to reflect, He had such an impact on us. Alhamdulillah. And he will be very well missed, very well missed. A GoFundMe account to build a water well in Africa in honor of both Machti and Lahik has been created. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - France and Britain are aiming to finalise with Ukraine, possibly "in days", a peace plan to present to the United States, while building bridges between the U.S. and Ukraine before possible talks in Washington, diplomats said. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have held several calls, separately, with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy since the presidents of the U.S. and Ukraine held a fractious meeting last Friday in the Oval Office that led to a suspension of U.S. military aid to Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The breakdown in U.S.-Ukraine ties has given new urgency to the two European nuclear powers' efforts to pull together ideas for a peace plan that would initially outline a short truce but also eventually include broader security guarantees. Britain and France have both said the U.S. would be needed for future assurances. "We're looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks," said one senior European diplomat. A second European diplomat said the idea was to have all the "ducks lined up", including a more healthy dialogue between Washington and Kyiv, while underlining the message to the U.S. that Russia was the aggressor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the conditions were then in place, it could open the door to new meetings in Washington between the Europeans and Trump, although it was unclear at this stage whether this would also involve Zelenskiy or just the British and French leaders. France's government spokeswoman, Sophie Primas, told reporters on Wednesday that a visit by Macron, Starmer and Zelenskiy was under consideration, but the French presidency quickly corrected her to say that was not the case at this point. The details of the plan have not been divulged and one European diplomat said military chiefs were aiming to finalise the military aspects over the next week. One option is a partial one-month truce that would cover attacks by air and sea and also those targeting energy infrastructure but not ground fighting, and would be supported by France, Britain and a coalition of other willing countries, diplomats said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would be ready to come to the negotiating table and support the plans for a truce. Primas told LCI television: "We have proposed a truce. That is what is being studied within the negotiations with the United States. France and Europe are trying to reestablish a link between the United States and Ukraine." (Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Gareth Jones) The handgun an Army vet used to kill his wife, her father and a neighbor in a murder spree that shocked a quiet Broward neighborhood was one of a dozen weapons and more than 600 rounds of ammunition that deputies seized a year before the killings, and BSO was supposed to have seized in December but didnt, according to Broward Sheriffs Office incident reports obtained by the Miami Herald. Nathan Gingles, 43, had more than 40 firearms and firearm-related accessories seized by BSO deputies in February 2024 after a Broward judge granted his wife, Mary Catherine Gingles, a temporary restraining order against him, the reports show. Deputies collected 12 firearms, six suppressors and more than 600 rounds of ammunition on Feb. 9, 2024, the same day as the restraining order. The firearms were mostly pistols but also included several shotguns, including a Remington Model 1100, and a Ruger .22 rifle. The handgun he is accused of using in the Tamarac murder spree was a Black Sig Sauer P320, records show. The gun is a military favorite, according to the Sig Sauer website: Chosen by all branches of the U.S. military, as well as law enforcement agencies across the country and around the world, the P320 redefines the modern handgun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nathan served in the U.S. Army from February 2011 to January 2019, leaving as a captain, according to Army records. He was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2013 to January 2014. Mary, too, served in the Army from 2016 to 2020, also leaving as a captain. She had no deployments. Mary Gingles, one of the three people killed on a Sunday morning last month in Tamarac, was concerned about her estranged husbands arsenal. In her February 2024 divorce petition, she described Nathan as heavily armed with semi-automatic, handguns and more sophisticated firearms with silencers that she believed he would use to kill her: as what else would he need silencers for. Despite her fears, BSO returned the weapons to Gingles seven months later in September 2024, citing the lifting of the restraining order. As part of their divorce proceedings, Mary and Nathan agreed to a no-harmful contact order so they could share custody of their 4-year-old daughter, Seraphine. Six months after getting back his weapons early Sunday morning Feb. 16 Nathan headed to Marys home on North Plum Bay Parkway, where he gunned down Marys father, David Ponzer, 64, who was drinking coffee on the back patio, investigators say. Nathan then chased Mary, 34, down the street before she ran into the house where her neighbor, 36-year-old Andrew Ferrin, was asleep. People walk past portraits of the victims of a triple homicide inside the Plum Bay community during a candlelight vigil on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Tamarac, Florida. Mary and Ferrin were shot to death inside the home in front of the couples 4-year-old daughter, according to the Broward Sheriffs Office. Nathan then allegedly kidnapped the girl, catapulting an Amber Alert that ended at a Walmart in North Lauderdale, where he was arrested. Hes facing a slew of charges, including murder, kidnapping and child abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly before the murders, Mary had gotten a second domestic violence restraining order against him, in December. In that order, the judge ordered Nathan to surrender his guns and sent a copy of the order to BSO. Deputies, however, didnt seize Nathans weapons. BSO has not commented on the case, citing an internal and criminal investigation. But Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony suspended or demoted nine BSO officers related to the case. READ MORE: Another deputy suspended and top BSO officer demoted after Broward triple murders He has already taken steps to prepare to murder me For more than a year, Mary detailed her estranged husbands violence and her fears that he would kill her, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With Nathans violent history, his flagrant disregard for rules or laws, and his telling our daughter that he is going to kill me, I am fearful for my life... Mary said in the December court petition seeking the restraining order against Nathan. He has already taken steps to prepare to murder me, but is waiting for the opportune time. Court records show that a BSO dive team recovered a black Sig Sauer P320 and a suppressor in a body of water less than half a mile away from the slayings. A Sig Sauer and suppressor with the same serial numbers were on the list of weapons deputies seized in February 2024. Nathan and Marys daughter also told investigators she witnessed her father killing her grandfather with a long black gun. Police calls to home The incident reports obtained by the Herald laid out at least six times since February 2024 that BSO was called to the Plum Bay house where Mary was living with her daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A BSO call log to the home obtained by the Herald indicates BSO deputies went to the house 14 times between Feb. 8, 2024, and Feb. 16, 2025, the date of the triple murder. There was a robust amount of calls to the home, including one in December where BSO deputies talked to Mary more than 30 minutes, Tony said, adding they may have had enough evidence to arrest Nathan at that point. They didnt. ...A call in December, that we had, where a deputy went out to the scene and spent 35 minutes and 34 seconds ... assessing and talking to the victim gathering information from her. It was very robust in terms of the threat spectrum that exists, the totality of times that she made of the fear that he was going to kill [her], Tony said at the press conference after the shootings. There was enough here where we could have potentially pursued a probable cause affidavit so we can arrest him and take him off the street, but we know that didnt happen. Broward County Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony answers questions during a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, to provide an update on the investigation into the homicides that occurred in Tamarac on Sunday, Feb. 16. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel) The reports also named some of the deputies that Tony suspended as having responded to or investigated Marys calls. Tony placed at least nine deputies and top officers on paid administrative leave for their roles in the overall investigation, whether on the day of the killings or during previous calls to the house. It is clear... we fell short on this one. We could have done more, Tony said during a news conference days after the murders. Im not shy from holding us accountable. Im not shy about taking an aggressive tone when we fail. BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) Ohios burn ban has been in effect for four days now, yet some people are still choosing to burn. Firefighters responded this afternoon to a brush fire near Fodor Tree Farm on Western Reserve Rd. on Tuesday around 2:45 p.m. Boardmans Fire Chief Mark Pitzer says a neighbor was burning in their backyard. Pitzer says this person has been cited before for open burning, and its a perfect example of how a small fire can get out of control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You turn your head away for just a minute and the fire can take off the dry leaves on the ground can spark a fire to rapidly grow and rapidly spread, Pitzer said. It almost got in the tree line here, so we were thankful we were able to stop it today. Pitzer says someone has been cited and will be reported to ODNR. Jim Bowser contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. Bryan Kohberger - Credit: Ted S. Warren/Pool/Getty Images Judge Steven Hippler, overseeing the case in which Bryan Kohberger is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students, has issued a warning to defense attorneys and prosecutors on the case against the excessive filing of sealed documents. This runs counter to the publics First Amendment rights to know what is going on in its courts, Hippler said, per Associated Press. One recently unsealed document, for example, revealed Kohbergers request to remove the death penalty as an option during potential sentencing, citing his autism diagnosis as the reason. Mr. Kohbergers autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his culpability, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, the unsealed document, originally filed on Feb. 24, reads. In making this motion, Mr. Kohberger relies on his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 28-page document notes that amongst the entire class of murderers, the death penalty must be reserved for the worst of the worst,' and Kohberger should therefore be exempt from consideration for such a punishment because he possesses a particular characteristic that renders him less culpable, negates the retributive and deterrent aims of capital punishment, or creates a risk of an erroneous death sentence. The defense argues that executing people with ASD does not meaningfully satisfy the penological aims of retribution or deterrence. Accordingly, sentencing people with ASD to death violates the Eighth Amendment. It also cites a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation that found Kohberger to exhibit all the core diagnostic features of ASD currently, with significant impact on his daily life, including compulsions, diminished social understanding, and language deficits. The filing includes expressed concern about how a jury will perceive Kohberger because of this. Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 as the sole suspect in the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The four University of Idaho students were killed in their off-campus apartment on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was a graduate student at Washington State University at the time of the murders and was linked to the crime through DNA found on a knife sheath. In May 2023, he was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder. The judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohbergers behalf after he chose to stand silent rather than enter a plea. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (WIVT/WBGH) Binghamton University is looking to the public for feedback as it searches for its next president. BU announced on February 20 that it had begun the process to find current BU President Harvey Stengers successor. Stenger announced in October 2024 that the Spring 2025 semester would be his last with the university. Stenger, who has served as president of BU for the past 13 years, says his decision to leave was due to wanting to spend more time with his family and explore other opportunities with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the search process, BU along with the search firm WittKieffer are seeking the opinions of students, staff, alumni, stake holders, and community members on what theyd like to see from the next president. Search for Stengers successor begins WittKieffer will be hosting several listening sessions that will focus on understanding what qualities and traits the community thinks the next president should possess. It will also discuss the challenges and opportunities of the position as well as what would make the Binghamton area attractive to the next president. The first listening session will be held via Zoom on March 7 at 2 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Feedback obtained during the session will help create a leadership profile which will be shared with potential candidates and the general public. It will also serve as criteria that a search committee will use to evaluate the candidates. To attend the meeting, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. BENTON, Ark. Buc-ees is getting ready to dig into its new central Arkansas home this spring. According to a release, the groundbreaking ceremony for Buc-ees Benton location is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, at the northwest corner of Interstate 30 and State Highway 229. Buc-ees is coming to Arkansas Benton officially set to get Buc-ees Organizers say there will be a brief celebration to acknowledge those who helped open the doors to making the move into central Arkansas a reality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The location is planned to be a 75,000-square-foot store with over 100 gas pumps and 225 job opportunities. A groundbreaking ceremony was initially planned for Feb. 19 but was postponed due to winter weather settling into the state for a few days. Buc-ees groundbreaking in Benton postponed No word yet from officials on when the store will be open. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) The Burlington Store opened its new location at Holyoke Crossing last week. The store, which originally was inside the Holyoke Mall, relocated to the former Bed Bath & Beyond on 39 Holyoke Street. In a news release sent to 22News from a Burlington spokesperson, the new location opened last Friday and held a ribbon cutting ceremony, offering the first 100 customers a $10 bonus card to be used toward their purchase. Six Holyoke educators awarded for excellence in teaching Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The store layout is reimagined to provide a better shopping experience for customers to find deals and savings on their favorite brands, along with its new logo, Deals. Brands. WOW! Our goal is to continue to offer area residents low prices on brand name merchandise for the entire family and home, said Michael OSullivan, CEO, Burlington Stores. Were continuing to expand our footprint across the country and are excited to be opening a new store in Holyoke. We look forward to giving local customers the chance to discover big savings on a wide range of products. In addition, Burlington donated $5,000 to the H.B. Lawrence School in Holyoke through their partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org. The funds will be used to provide students with classroom materials. Governor Healey was at the elementary school last Friday for its literacy event. Her administration donated books to students through its partnership with Scholastic. Massachusetts officials to support literacy in underfunded districts at Holyoke event Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burlington Stores is a department store chain that offers merchandise at up to 60 percent off other retailers prices for brand-name clothing for men, women, kids, and babies, as well as home goods. There are a total of 26 stores in Massachusetts and more than 1,100 nationwide. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. BURLINGTON, Vt. (WVNY/WFFF) Although it may have been considered an odd year, Burlington ballots still had a lot in front of voters. The balance of power could have switched, but Democrats still ended up with the majority on the council. Six questions were also on the ballot. Three charter changes were supported by the majority vote. Votes said yes to giving the city council jurisdiction over redistricting. They also said yes to a change that would give the council authority over rental notifications. The third charter change involves banning firearms at any establishment that serves liquor, such as a bar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar amendment passed in 2014 with 68 percent of the vote, but the legislature never approved it. Burlington voters have made clear their support for this important policy change. My administration will advocate for the legislature to respect the will of the voters and adopt this charter change, said Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. The changes will need to go before the legislature for final approval, as do all charter changes in Vermont. When it comes to the makeup of the city council, it will remain a democratic majority. In the south district, the democrats hang on to the council seat. Ranjit Singh won 73 percent of the vote. Singh will take over for a long time City Councilor, Joan Shannon, who decided not to run again. She leaves with 22 years on the 12-member group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the east district Allie Schacter will represent democrats for 2 years. The balance of power is 7 democrats to five republicans. Next Town Meeting Day, all 8 ward seats will be on he ballot. After the polls closed, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak expressed her gratitude to everybody who made Town Meeting Day a success, as well as those who participated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. WOODBRIDGE, Va. (DC News Now) A bus caught fire along I-95 in Prince William County on Tuesday afternoon, causing delays over a mile long and growing. The Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) said in a post on social media at 4:20 p.m. that the fire was just before Dale Boulevard (Exit 156) in the northbound lanes of I-95. Road closures to take effect in DC for Womens History Month 5K race Courtesy of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Footage from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) showed a billowing fire coming from the back of a blue bus that was on the right shoulder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All northbound lanes were blocked and delays were 1.5 miles at the time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. CCTV: It was reported that on March 4, Arab countries held an emergency summit in Cairo to discuss the Palestinian question, and proposed the Arab plan on the recovery and reconstruction of post-conflict Gaza. What is Chinas comment on this? Lin Jian: China supports the effort by Egypt and other Arab countries to promote the continuous and effective implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, advance humanitarian assistance and restore security and stability there. We support a post-conflict governance plan in Gaza that is recognized by the Palestinian people and embodies the consensus of Arab countries. The plan must follow the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine and align with the two-State solution so that Palestine and Israel will live side by side peacefully and there will be lasting peace in the Middle East. China Daily: On June 7, 2024, the 78th United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed by China to establish the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations by consensus. Recently, we learned that the U.N. Secretariat has launched a special website (in English) for the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. What is Chinas comment on this? Lin Jian: Last year, the resolution proposed by China to establish the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations was adopted at the 78th United Nations General Assembly by consensus. This marks a successful practice of Chinas Global Civilization Initiative put forth by President Xi Jinping, and represents a significant contribution to promoting dialogue among different civilizations worldwide, as well as advancing global peace and development. The special website for the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations launched by the U.N. recently will help promote the common values of humanity, raise public awareness of respecting diversity of civilizations, and draw attention to finding solutions to global challenges. On June 10 this year, the international community will celebrate the first International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. As the initiating country, China stands ready to work with the international community to actively implement the spirit of the UNGA resolution, organize diverse celebration activities, jointly promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, better safeguard world peace and foster common development through dialogue among civilizations, and make unremitting efforts to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. AFP: President Donald Trump today made an address to the U.S. Congress. He said he had received a message from President Zelenskyy to help end the war in Ukraine. He also repeated some statements to the effect that he hopes to see greater U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland. Do you have any comment or any further remarks? Lin Jian: We noted relevant reports. Chinas position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. Dialogue and negotiation is the only viable solution to the crisis. On the Panama Canal issue, China supports Panamas sovereignty over the Canal, and stays committed to maintaining the status of the Canal as a permanently neutral international waterway. China has never engaged in the management and operation of the Canal. Never ever have we interfered. The so-called Chinas control over the Canal is nothing but a lie. On the issue of Greenland, China always believes that relations between countries should be handled in accordance with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. EFE: In yesterdays briefing, you said that if the U.S. wants war, tariff war, trade war or any type of war, China is ready to fight till the end. A similar remark was made by the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Does China fully stand by this statement? What does any type of war refer to? Lin Jian: Yesterday, we made clear Chinas serious position on the issue. The U.S. is bent on using the fentanyl issue as a flimsy excuse to raise tariffs again on Chinese imports. China has made clear its opposition more than once and has taken legitimate and necessary countermeasures. If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each others concerns. If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if harming Chinas interests is what the U.S. wants, were ready to fight till the end. We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date. China-Arab TV: Also on the emergency Arab summit held in Egypt yesterday, the day before yesterday, European leaders also held an emergency summit on the Ukraine crisis in London. The two emergency summits have one thing in common: they both rejected remarks from the U.S. Do you have any comment on the recent statements made by the United States? Lin Jian: Ive stated Chinas position on the emergency summit held by Arab countries. On the Ukraine crisis, China noted that there are new developments concerning the political settlement of the crisis. On this issue, we always follow the four points about what must be done which were proposed by President Xi Jinping. China hopes that relevant parties can find a sustainable and lasting solution that takes into account each others concerns through dialogue and negotiation. Reuters: An investor group backed by BlackRock has agreed to buy a majority stake in the Hong Kong-based company that runs ports along either side of the Panama Canal. This would give a U.S. firm control of key docks in that area amid pressure from the White House. Does the Ministry have any comment on this? Lin Jian: We have no comment on the relevant commercial deal. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region made a response to the operation of the ports by the relevant Hong Kong company. Let me say more broadly that China supports Chinese companies, including those from Hong Kong SAR, in investing and doing business overseas. Hope they can have access to a fair and just business environment everywhere they go. We oppose any abuse of coercion and pressuring in international trade and economic relations. Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes Gawaxab speaks at the launch ceremony of the Hage Geingob commemorative banknote in Windhoek, Namibia, on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) WINDHOEK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba unveiled the Hage Geingob commemorative banknote on Wednesday at a launch event in Windhoek, the country's capital. The note was launched in honor of the late former president's exceptional contributions to the country. Geingob passed away on Feb. 4, 2024, while receiving cancer treatment. Mbumba, in his keynote address, commended the late president, noting that he was a "nation builder." The note cements his vision and contributions to Namibia, with the unique banknote serving as a lasting tribute to his impact on the nation, he said. The 60-Namibian-dollar note, which is a collector's item and a one-off print, will be used as legal tender. Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes Gawaxab explained that Geingob devoted 60 years of his life to the selfless service of this nation, encompassing his time in exile, his return, and his leadership in an independent Namibia. "Thus, the number 60 carries profound symbolic meaning, reflecting his extensive commitment to the country throughout these decades," he added. Gawaxab also said the central bank will introduce a new series of banknotes and coins in June. "This series will incorporate the latest security features while ensuring our banknotes and coins remain modern, resilient, and secure." In 2020, to celebrate Namibia's 30th anniversary of independence, the Bank of Namibia issued its first-ever commemorative banknote, the 30 Namibian dollar note, printed on a polymer substrate for added durability. This note features the faces of Namibian founding President Sam Nujoma, former President Hifikepunye Pohamba, and Geingob, symbolizing the smooth transfer of power and the legacy of peace, stability, and progress. This photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows the Hage Geingob commemorative banknote at its launch in Windhoek, Namibia. (Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Treehouse is the latest small business to close up shop in Savannah. It comes amid growing concerns about chain restaurants popping up in Savannah, threatening its local ambiance. One City Market storefront manager of nine years welcomes the changes, and told WSAV businesses that have big-name draw can only help him and other small shops. Theres no really such thing as a local, said Georgia Tasting Room manager John Kennett, Even being here 20 plus years in Savannah, I was born in Puerto Rico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether its a chain or not, everyone started from somewhere. They started from scratch at some point, and its going to bring in business regardless. Kennett used Wexford, which replaced Wild Wing Cafe in City Market, as an example of a new, successful business that has helped boost his sales. Something else he is optimistic about is the possibility of a new store that can attract clientele similar to his. He said Georgia Tasting Room wine tasting sales do well during the day and into the evening. Regardless of what they put there, as long as its family oriented and brings in that demographic of people who want to come enjoy the city, have a enjoy a really good meal, and then after work, maybe still walk around, enjoy the city, and it fits that bill, which is most of the businesses down here. I think it will compliment city market very nicely, said Kennett. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Savannah Downtown Business Association acknowledged Treehouses 20-year legacy in a statement sent to WSAV (below), and said City Markets local aesthetic will be preserved even with the arrival of new storefronts: We know City Market is the heartbeat of downtown Savannah from great bars, restaurants, retail shops, art galleries & museums. Treehouse- its leaders, team and its 20-year history will not be forgotten. We look forward to what is ahead for City Market and ensuring the best local experience, mix of businesses and small business owners leading the way in downtown Savannah. -Mia Mance, Executive Director Savannah Downtown Business Association It has not been announced what is going to replace Treehouse, but Kennett said has heard reports it will be a national chain. WSAV has reached out to Treehouse owners for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized President Trumps address to Congress Tuesday, saying the speech was marked by darkness and dazzle but lacked substance on the affordability crisis. Look, it was classic Trump, right? It was a lot of darkness, and it was a lot of dazzle, but there was very, very little about the things that most affect our lives, Buttigieg said in a post-speech interview on CBSs The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I believe politics is about everyday life, he continued. Its about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better. And the biggest issue on peoples minds the affordability of everyday life is not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buttigieg, a former Democratic presidential candidate, also took aim at the president for not mentioning the tax cuts for the rich, which he described as the biggest thing that hes working on. But its always like this, right? he added. Its always going to be about, theyre going to talk about Greenland and about pronouns and about mice, and not about whats going to actually make our lives better. Trump delivered his first major address to lawmakers in his second term Tuesday night, in a speech that was celebrated by many supporters as uplifting and hopeful but derided by his Democratic opponents as partisan and riddled with inaccuracies. Snap polls taken after the speech which typically attracts viewers of the presidents same party showed the majority of people watching approved of his address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Buttigieg leaned into Democrats criticism of Trumps speech, which lacks the official title of a State of the Union address but is otherwise nearly identical to the annual remarks a president gives to Congress. The state of the union is roiling, right? Weve got divisions that we didnt think could get any worse, that have been picked at and punched at again and again by the president, whose job is to unite the American people, whos supposed to be a walking symbol of what Americans have in common, and instead, of course, we have something else, the former secretary said when asked for his opinion. The state of the union, I think, is really confused about why our leaders are talking about renaming things on maps instead of getting the price of eggs down, Buttigieg added. The state of the union is wondering whether we can get through another four years of being turned against each other by our own leaders, or whether we can be summoned into something better, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SACRAMENTO, California Gov. Gavin Newsoms proposal to provide $20 million in funding for a small private arts college in San Francisco backed by a tech CEO ran into fierce pushback from Democratic state lawmakers on Tuesday. All four Democrats on an education finance budget subcommittee voted against the governors request to fund the California College of the Arts, which has just 1,280 students and two weeks ago received $45 million in donations, half of which came from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. In the same January budget proposal, Newsom a former San Francisco mayor called for 8 percent in cuts and over $200 million in deferrals for the public University of California and California State University systems. From an optics perspective, when we're talking about cutting 8 percent of funding for the University of California and the California State University for us to be singling out one private college for $20 million in taxpayer support is not a good look, said Assembly Education Chair Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who is running for state superintendent next year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But at least one key Democrat backed Newsoms proposal. Scott Wiener, a state senator from San Francisco who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, told POLITICO he fully supports the funding for the private school along with public universities citing President Donald Trump and Elon Musks efforts to take a wrecking ball to federal education and science funding. The committees recommendation goes to the full Assembly budget committee, which will negotiate priorities before state lawmakers pass a budget in June. Newsom will release a revised budget proposal in May. Amanpreet Singh, a representative for Newsoms Department of Finance, said at a hearing before Tuesdays vote that the proposal was unique. She added the administration has determined that supporting the California College of the Arts is a compelling interest to the state, specifically in Northern California, and believes that the benefit of supporting the institution and ensuring its financial stability would be a greater benefit than allowing the institution to essentially not survive. Singh said that the programs offered by the school are distinct from what UC and CSU provide. Newsoms office referred to Singhs statements at the hearing. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The California College of the Arts, founded in 1907, offers 22 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs in subjects such as ceramics, photography, comics and game arts, with tuition at $60,000. Enrollment has declined by 42 percent in the last five years, leading to a deficit that the governors proposal would backfill. David Howse, the schools president, told lawmakers the funding would be used to hire staff and repair infrastructure. He called the college a private institution with a clear public impact. I know you are aware of the immense challenges facing higher ed: declining enrollment, rising cost and economic uncertainty, destabilizing once stable institutions essentially putting higher ed institutions across the state at-risk, Howse said. These challenges do not spare our public partners, nor do they exempt private institutions like CCA. Assemblymember David Alvarez, the committee chair, said in an interview after the vote that the recommendation signals the priorities of the Assembly, which is to public education. The San Diego Democrat pointed to the schools operating deficit of $4.2 million as much smaller than a $20 million structural deficit that school officials said included costs for deferred maintenance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think we're reflective of Californians' expectations, Alvarez said. The California College of the Arts is not the only San Francisco arts school to face budget challenges. Last year, a nonprofit led by Laurene Powell Jobs bought the San Francisco Art Institute, which had declared bankruptcy after being saddled with $20 million in debt. Private colleges in California rarely receive state funding. Most recently, the state provided $50 million to Charles R. Drew University of Medicine in Los Angeles in 2021 for a new medical school, and $5 million to the California Indian Nations College in Palm Desert 2022 to pursue accreditation. Committee staff wrote in a report that both of these appropriations were for specific purposes that have an obvious statewide interest before recommending that state lawmakers reject the proposal. A day after President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on three of the country's biggest trading partners, many California farmers, who produce the largest share of the nations food, were worried the move could hurt their operations. The states rich fertile ground is a major global supplier of produce and its farmers could be hit hard as Canada, Mexico and China retaliate by slapping levies on U.S. exports. Farmers also rely heavily on fertilizer from Canada, which could cost more as the tariffs take hold. Im very worried that it could affect the entire tomato industry, said Bruce Rominger, who grows tomatoes along with other produce on a farm in Yolo County in the Sacramento Valley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mexico and Canada are two of the biggest customers for the Roma tomatoes that burst out by the millions up and down the Central Valley at the end of every summer and are then canned. Farmers worry that processors who export the canned tomatoes will face steep retaliatory tariffs that will drive down demand in those countries or pressure the growers to lower their prices. The Trump administration has imposed a tariff of 25% on products from Canada and Mexico, and a doubling of the tariff on China, to 20%. Canada swiftly announced a series of tariffs on U.S. imports in retaliation. China also responded by announcing tariffs of 15% on many U.S. farm products, including cotton, which grows across thousands of acres in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Mexico said it would detail its tariffs Sunday. Yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a speech Tuesday, "but he is going to rapidly find out, as American families are going to rapidly find out, its going to hurt people on both sides of the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tariffs come as California farmers already are rattled by worries that a massive deportation effort which Trump promised during his campaign could decimate the ranks of low-wage farmworkers who plant and harvest crops. As many of half of Californias farmworkers are undocumented, according to studies. The Trump administration also perplexed farmers this year when the Army Corps of Engineers suddenly released irrigation water from two dams just before a rainy winter weekend not a time when farmers needed or wanted water. Concerns were further stoked in the Central Valley with firings and cuts planned at the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates water infrastructure key to the agricultural heartland. Still, many farmers, who backed Trump by large margins in the 2024 election, were reluctant to speak openly about their concerns, for fear of being seen as criticizing him or because they hope the administration will protect farmers as it has in the past. This is not an easy time for [farmers], said Daniel Payares-Montoya, a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California. They are facing more pressure than before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From an economic perspective, he said, trade is supposed to increase the pie for everyone, but politics have created a lot of uncertainty. The long, flat fields of the Central Valley, tucked between Californias Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada, can feel remote from world affairs. But from orchards of almonds to fields of zucchinis, farmers up and down the state have been watching closely and with trepidation. Shannon Douglass, president of Californias Farm Bureau, noted in a statement that the state's agriculture has been hurt by previous trade wars. During the last Trump administration, retaliatory tariffs from China hit almond growers particularly hard, reducing the price per pound to $1.40 from $2.50, according to one study. According to a report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California farmers exported more than $22 billion worth of food in 2021, with almonds topping the list, followed by dairy products, wine and pistachios. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California farmers are among the most productive in the world, but the blanket imposition of broad tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China risks inviting retaliation that could harm the very farmers they aim to protect, Douglass said. She added that perishable crops, including strawberries, lettuce and dairy, face immediate peril because trade disruptions can mean spoilage, financial losses and long-term lost market share that was earned over decades. Almond exports, Douglass said, dropped by a quarter the last time the U.S. imposed tariffs in 2018 on China due to retaliatory duties. Californias almond industry is estimated at about $4.7 billion, with more than 70% of the nuts exported making it particularly vulnerable to tariffs. The California almond industry has been closely monitoring the U.S. announcement of tariffs and potential responses from Canada, Mexico and China, Rick Kushman, spokesman for the Almond Board of California, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One study found that from April 2018 to April 2022, retaliatory tariffs cost almond farmers about $875 million. Our industry continues to support reducing barriers to trade, and smooth market access for California almonds, Kushman said. Many farmers noted that during Trumps first term, when China retaliated to tariffs with its own levies, the federal government tried to make farmers whole by providing subsidies. But its unknown whether the administration will do that again. Daniel Sumner, a distinguished professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis, said farmers could take multiple hits. They could face higher costs for things such as fertilizer and fence posts, some of which come from Canada, and also from retaliatory tariffs on their exports. Canada, he noted, buys 41% of bottled wine exported from California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other hand, he said, some producers may see profits rise. Beef producers that compete with Canadian cattle ranchers, for example, could see an increase in profit. But consumers, he said, probably will see higher prices at the grocery store for many products. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A California middle school teacher has been put on leave as the school district investigates an incident in which racist materials, including N-word bucks, were doled out during a lesson. The history teacher, who has not been named, works at Katherine Albiani Middle School in Elk Grove, California. As part of a lesson, the teacher allegedly circulated a piece of paper titled "History of the N-word that included "N-word bucks," CBS13 first reported. The teacher was put on leave, Elk Grove Unified School District confirmed to The Independent. This sheet also included a so-called dollar bill that included racist imagery and phrases, the outlet reported, as well as a warning that read: "Some of the content in this writing may be offensive to children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elk Grove Unified School District told The Independent in a statement that it does not condone the use of such materials, as they do not represent nor reflect the districts core values. The school district is conducting an investigation into the incident, including determining the origin of the materials. Upon completion of the investigation, the district will take appropriate corrective and restorative action, the statement continued. Katherine L Albiani Middle School, where a teacher is under investigation after circulating a sheet that included "N-word bucks" (Google Maps) The middle school also sent a letter Monday to families outlining the "inappropriate materials containing racially offensive content." Parents fumed over the vague letter during a Tuesday school board meeting. Discussions around this incident were not on the meetings agenda, but it was brought up by the community, the outlet reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The N-word, the images, the stereotypes covering the bill were just crazy," one parent said. "There's no possible way this can be framed as an educational endeavor," another parent said. One district leader said an investigation into the matter was ongoing, but didnt elaborate, according to CBS13. Homicide detectives alongside family and friends of a 14-year-old girl strangled to death in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles more than 19 years ago pleaded with the public Tuesday for help solving her murder. Emmery Munozs body was found in the loading dock area of a business located on the 1500 block of Mirasol Street on Jan. 25, 2006, the Los Angeles Police Department shared in an update on its investigation. The young teen was last seen alive on Friday, Jan. 20, 2006, in the City Terrace neighborhood of East Los Angeles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This investigation has spanned over nineteen years and detectives have been unable to obtain any substantial leads in this cold case homicide, police said Tuesday. Emmery Munoz is seen in an image shared by the Los Angeles Police Department. The motive for the senseless homicide is also unknown and no suspects have been identified. The pain is the same as just like it happened yesterday, Emmerys mother Maria Mejia told the LAist in a 2023 interview. I am hoping that somebody will come through now, that somebody comes forward. Maybe they were afraid to speak at the time. LAist also took part in a joint venture to produce a podcast titled Party Crews: The Untold Story that took a deeper look at the details surrounding Emmerys murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators are asking once again that anyone with information contact LAPD Homicide Detectives Torres, Meneses or Sharman at 213-486-8700 or call 877-527-3247. Those who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers by dialing 800-222-8477 or go to the lacrimestoppers.org website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada could potentially use oil and gas exports as a lever in negotiations if U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports escalate, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a Toronto business audience on Wednesday. Canada is vowing to impose tariffs on C$155 billion worth of U.S. imports but has so far not suggested it would either reduce exports of key commodities to the United States or impose tariffs on them. Canada exports about 4 million barrels per day of oil to the United States, approximately 90% of its total crude exports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Of course, there's oil and gas. We haven't put that on the table yet, guys, we kept that in our game, in our cards, as cards that we could potentially play if this would escalate, and the U.S. knows that," Joly said. Joly also said U.S. farmers would have to pay C$1.7 billion more if Ottawa imposed export tariffs on potash but did not specifically mention this as a potential card in negotiations. Alberta, Canada's main energy-exporting province, says it would never accept the idea of reducing energy exports to the United States. Joly is a minister in the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will step down after the ruling Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday. The two main contenders both say Canada should take a tough line with U.S. President Donald Trump over his tariffs. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio) By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) - Canada has requested consultations with the United States on "unjustified tariffs" at the World Trade Organization, Canada's ambassador to the WTO in Geneva said on Wednesday. "The U.S. decision leaves us with no choice but to respond to protect Canadian interests," Ambassador Nadia Theodore said in a statement posted on LinkedIn. A WTO spokesperson confirmed the receipt of Canada's request for consultations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect on Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods. The moves, which could upend nearly $2.2 trillion in annual trade, came after Trump declared that the top three U.S. trading partners had failed to do enough to stem the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States. "Everyone plays their position. I played mine today and on behalf of the Government of Canada, requested WTO consultations with the Government of the United States in regard to its unjustified tariffs on Canada," Theodore said. Bilateral consultations are the first stage of formal dispute settlement. If within 60 days no solution is found, then Canada could request adjudication by the Geneva-based organisation's Dispute Settlement Body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that Trump's tariffs on Canadian imports were "a very dumb thing to do" and said Ottawa was striking back immediately. He announced immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days' time, he said. China formally launched a dispute at the WTO on February 5 over a 10% tariff imposed by Trump on Chinese goods, in moves that raised concern about a new trade war between the world's two largest economies. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Rachel More and Miranda Murray) Job seekers view corporate information at the first National Job and Recruitment Fair in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on March 3, 2025. The fair kicked off Monday in the economic capital, Abidjan, to provide practical employment solutions for young people. It aims to create a unified platform for recruiters, enterprises, consulting agencies, project management departments and job-seeking youth, said Mamadou Toure, Ivorian minister of youth, at the event. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) ABIDJAN, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The first National Job and Recruitment Fair in Cote d'Ivoire kicked off Monday in the economic capital, Abidjan, to provide practical employment solutions for young people. The fair aims to create a unified platform for recruiters, enterprises, consulting agencies, project management departments and job-seeking youth, said Mamadou Toure, Ivorian minister of youth, at the event. Toure said that 146 companies and recruitment agencies from various fields such as construction, agro-industry and tourism participated in the event. "In the future, we plan to hold such events quarterly to systematically address youth employment and skills alignment through sustained resource integration," he said. The event will run until March 7. Job seekers attend the first National Job and Recruitment Fair in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on March 3, 2025. The fair kicked off Monday in the economic capital, Abidjan, to provide practical employment solutions for young people. It aims to create a unified platform for recruiters, enterprises, consulting agencies, project management departments and job-seeking youth, said Mamadou Toure, Ivorian minister of youth, at the event. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) Job seekers communicate with corporate recruiters at the first National Job and Recruitment Fair in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on March 3, 2025. The fair kicked off Monday in the economic capital, Abidjan, to provide practical employment solutions for young people. It aims to create a unified platform for recruiters, enterprises, consulting agencies, project management departments and job-seeking youth, said Mamadou Toure, Ivorian minister of youth, at the event. (Photo by Laurent Idibouo/Xinhua) OTTAWA Steve Verheul used to get under the American trade negotiator's skin. As Donald Trump's point person on trade in the president's first term, Robert Lighthizer was dead set on overhauling the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) a deeply unpopular trade deal in the manufacturing-driven Rust Belt where he grew up. He ran headlong into a team of stubborn Canadian negotiators led by Verheul, a soft-spoken bureaucrat with a well-known poker face in trade circles. "Every time we thought we were close to finalizing the text, the Canadian negotiators would come back with some cleverly worded caveat designed to undermine the spirit of what had been agreed to at the political level," Lighthizer groused in "No Trade Is Free," the former trade representative's 2023 blueprint for trade policy that offered a glimpse into NAFTA renegotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eventually, the Americans forged a deal with the Mexicans and Canadians, and in 2018 signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. At the time, Trump considered the USMCA the best pact his country had ever produced. Now, as Trump slams Canada and Mexico with new tariffs, Verheul and a pair of trade veterans want to save the USMCA. On Tuesday, the Trump administration slapped 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports (and a 10 percent levy on Canadian energy imports). Trump also wants to hike duties on Canadian lumber, plans more tariffs on steel and aluminum and has threatened to match any tariff on any American export by any country. In an interview with POLITICO, Verheul acknowledged the American tariffs and Canadian retaliation "brings the whole issue of the [USMCA] into question." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, some Canadian officials favored an expedited USMCA review. Now, Verheul advises Ottawa to forget it. "I don't think there's any value in Canada showing any interest in any kind of review of the agreement," he says. Instead, Verheul now a principal at strategic advisory firm GT and Co. and adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a member of the PM's Council on Canada-U.S. Relations is co-launching the Coalition for North American Trade, a three-nation business group advocating for the long-term benefits of free trade. The CNAT is the brainchild of Kevin Brady, the Republican former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Brady recruited Mexican USMCA chief negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos to the cause, who then brought on Verheul. Earlier this year, the trio launched their coalition at events in Mexico City and Toronto. Today, they're bringing their pitch to Washington. They're looking for allies who can convince Trump's inner circle to end the trade war with Canada and Mexico. Canada's allies are out there, even if they're not yet swaying Trump, Verheul says: "I've been hearing from quite a few CEOs in the U.S., quite a few Republicans in the U.S., that they're uncomfortable with the current direction." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But until tariffs disappear, Verheul sees no prospect for productive talks. "I think the only hope and path forward for countries like Canada and others is that the impact on the U.S. economy, and the stock market, and various companies is going to be extreme enough that there's going to be a lot of pushback within the U.S.," he says. Canadians have puzzled over the Trump administration's fixation on its northern neighbor. The tariff tiff is officially meant to reduce fentanyl slipping past the border, but Trump has also targeted auto manufacturing, lumber, dairy and the banking sector. (On Wednesday, the administration announced a 30-day pause on auto tariffs.) The president has complained about lackluster Canadian defense spending. And he's mused about absorbing Canada by "economic force" a veiled threat that Trudeau has said is Trump's primary motivation in going after Canada. But Verheul sees the trade war much more simply. It's all about repatriating jobs in the U.S., he said and Canada is not America's problem. Put simply: "They're targeting the wrong place." The Canary Islands have been pummelled with torrential rain and harsh weather. Areas of Gran Canaria are worst hit with streets filled with floodwater and roads covered in mud. The Spanish islands off the coast of northwest Africa have long been a popular destination among British holidaymakers thanks to the family-friendly beach resorts lining sandy beaches, as well as magnificent volcanic landscapes and balmy weather that usually brings year-round warmth. However, Gran Canaria was put under a significant orange weather warning for heavy rain on Tuesday, while much of the rest of the archipelago was subject to a yellow weather risk warning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Tuesday night at 10pm, the Spanish weather service Aemet reported that there are no longer any weather warnings in force in the Canary Islands. The severe rain and flooding caused the airport at Gran Canaria to briefly stop operations on Tuesday due to water on the runways, but both runways were back up and running by late afternoon. A small number of flights were cancelled and many arrivals were diverted to Fuerteventura and Tenerife, but operations appear to be running smoothly as of Wednesday morning. While the travel situation now appears to be stable, it is a good idea to know your rights are as a passenger if you are holidaying in the Canary Islands, or elsewhere in Europe. What are my rights if my flight is cancelled? As a passenger, you are covered by UK law if you are departing from an airport in the UK on any airline, arriving at an airport in the UK on an EU or UK airline, or arriving at an airport in the EU on a UK airline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Airlines must provide you with care and assistance if your flight is cancelled, meaning they must supply you with food and drink (often provided in the form of vouchers), means for you to communicate (often by refunding call costs), accommodation if you are given a new flight the following day and transport to and from the accommodation or your home. The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it, the Civil Aviation Authority says. Sometimes airlines are unable to arrange care and assistance if they are stretched during major disruptions, meaning you can arrange the care yourself and claim the cost back later by keeping receipts. Simon Calder, travel correspondent at The Independent, says: Whatever the cause of a cancellation, and regardless of the amount of notice that is given, you can insist upon replacement transport: the airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible if that is what you want. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The UK Civil Aviation Authority says that means if a flight is available on the original day of travel, the passenger must be booked on it even if it is on a rival carrier. Passengers can choose between getting an alternative flight or receiving a refund if their flight is cancelled. If you recieved less than 14 days notice of a cancellation, you may also be able to claim compensation. However, this is unlikely if the cancellation was not the airlines fault. Situations such as extreme weather, strikes or other extraordinary circumstances are not eligible for compensation. Can I cancel my holiday and get a refund? As the Foreign Office has not warned against non-essential travel to Spain, there will be no special circumstances in place that would entitle you to receive a full refund if you cancel a trip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conditions for cancelling your trip will be dependent on your holiday provider, so its best to contact them if youre looking to postpone. There is no obligation for companies to refund bookings if you want to cancel, and you will not be able to claim travel insurance due to safety concerns unless the Foreign Office advice changes. In terms of travel insurance, some policies include natural disaster cover for an event that prevents you from reaching your holiday destination. Check your insurance policies and speak to your insurer to see where you stand. For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast CANTON, Ill. (WMBD) The Canton Police Department is asking the public for help to identify a suspect in connection to the theft of a campaign sign last month. According to a Canton police Facebook post, the theft of a Ben Hendricks for mayor campaign sign occurred on Feb. 26, at about 8:40 a.m. near Main and Maple Streets. Peoria police looking for suspect in Hardees burglary Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Canton police at (309) 647-5131. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. GASCONADE COUNTY, Mo. A Cape Girardeau, Missouri, woman will appear in court Thursday morning for allegedly causing the death of her own child. According to court documents, Alyssa N. Wehmeyer, 21, is accused of not feeding her child for approximately 43 hours. The child was found dead on Feb. 28. The cause of death was determined to be dehydration. The autopsy also found very little evidence of food in the [childs] stomach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cape Girardeau Police Department requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol assist in the investigation. Authorities later met with Wehmeyer for questioning. Police said she admitted the child was in her care in the time leading up to their death. St. Charles pursuit ends in 3 detained Investigators said Wehmeyer told them her child last ate between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 26. She said she changed the childs diaper between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 27, and put the child back to bed at approximately 6:30 p.m. Wehmeyer told the highway patrol the child woke up around 2 a.m. on Feb. 28. She said she held the child for 30 to 40 minutes and then laid the child back down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 1 p.m. the day, Wehmeyer said she went to check on the child and saw their lips were blue and the child wasnt breathing. Court documents state Wehmeyer admitted that she should have taken the child to the doctor on Feb. 27, but she had a migraine. She said she took three Excedrin and laid down for a nap while home alone with the child. The Gasconade County Prosecuting Attorneys Office charged Wehmeyer with one count of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death. Wehmeyer remains in custody at Scott County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. Mountain Home police said the car of 95-year-old Belva Day, who has been missing for nearly a month, was found Tuesday. Mountain Home Police Department officials said they were informed by authorities that a beige Buick LaSabre was found crashed in a remote area at Little Rock Air Force Base. Family speaks on ongoing search for 95-year-old woman missing from Mountain Home Arkansas State Police has also canceled the Silver Alert for Day who authorities said was last seen driving the car in early February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the body found inside the car has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy and positive identification. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. A man who said he was staying at an Airbnb in Pomona but drove to a Starbucks in Corona for coffee and a croissant was arrested in connection with an elaborate vehicle fraud scheme, authorities said Tuesday. Corona police made two arrests during the Feb. 26 bust after a victim reported being scammed out of $23,000, the Police Department stated on its Facebook post. The victim told authorities they found a vehicle on Craigslist and contacted the seller. After reviewing what appeared to be legitimate DMV paperwork at a local bank, the seller was paid the $23,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim later discovered the registration documents were fraudulent, police said. Investigators found that the seller had rented the vehicle via the Turo app and forged the title. Working with law enforcement, the victim found a similar advertisement online and arranged to meet the seller. The subject, later identified as Sebastian Flores, arrived in another vehicle he was attempting to fraudulently sell and was detained without incident. A vehicle fraud suspect talks to police before being arrested. (Corona Police Department via Facebook) Video of the arrest showed a sergeant trying to clarify Flores story that he just went to Starbucks for the croissant and coffee. So youre staying in Pomona, and you live in Arizona, and you went to Corona just to get Starbucks? the Sergeant asked. Flores responded with, Yeah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A records check revealed Flores had an active felony warrant for conspiracy and auto theft, and evidence inside the vehicle showed fraudulent paperwork, police said. Detectives also stopped a second vehicle trying to leave the scene that was believed to have arrived with Flores. That driver, identified as Lasso Floris, had a felony warrant for trafficking stolen vehicles, police said. Both suspects were transported to the Corona Police Department, where they were formally booked on multiple felony charges, including conspiracy, auto theft, and fraud, police stated in the post. Both have extensive criminal histories for similar crimes and police believe there are additional victims. Anyone victimized by either suspect was urged to contact their local law enforcement agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police also reminded the public to verify vehicle documentation with the DMV before completing any transactions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A car stolen in New York City was recovered by police in West Hartford on Monday, leading to the alleged discovery of several types of narcotics and one arrest. The vehicle, a 2023 Acura TLX, was spotted at 2:39 p.m. in the area of New Park Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, according to Capt. Aaron Vafiades of the West Hartford Police Department. The car allegedly had the wrong registration plate on it and was found to have been stolen from New York City after it was spotted by the departments Community Support Unit, Vafiades said. The driver was detained as he returned to the vehicle after shopping in the Flatbush plaza. According to Vafiades, he was identified as 30-year-old Benny Goodman of Hartford. Vafiades also said there was a child in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up about 5.48 pounds of fentanyl pills, 70.5 grams of loose fentanyl, 272.15 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 4.88 lbs of marijuana, 48.9 grams of suspected Xanax and 6.7 grams of suspected Oxycodone, Vafiades said. Investigators also allegedly seized $2,892. Goodman was arrested on four counts of possession of a controlled substance and a single count each of operation of a drug factory, possession with intent to sell over one kilogram of cannabis, possession with intent to sell a narcotic, possession with intent to sell of a hallucinogenic, possession of a cannabis plant material over five ounces, risk of injury to a child, larceny of a motor vehicle, first-degree larceny and multiple motor vehicle related offenses. Police are still investigating and asking anyone with information to contact the police department at 860-523-5203. Information can be left anonymously at the departments tip line at 860- 570-8969 or whpdtips@westhartfordct.gov. (COLORADO) Carie Hallford, one of the owners of the disgraced Return to Nature Funeral Home where nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found improperly stored, has withdrawn her guilty plea on federal charges and will instead go to trial. The withdrawal of Caries plea at a status conference on Tuesday, March 4 means the case will now go to trial, though no date has been set yet, according to court documents. Jon Hallford, Caries husband and co-defendant, accepted an amended plea agreement at the same status conference, which stipulates the court is not bound by previously agreed-upon terms and could impose a longer sentence than the 15 years he was previously facing. However, according to court documents, the defendant [Jon] does not waive the right to appeal any sentence that exceeds 15 years of imprisonment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Return to Nature Funeral Home owners plead guilty to corpse abuse The Hallfords entered guilty pleas on state charges of corpse abuse at a hearing in November of 2024, during which Jon Hallford admitted that he knowingly stored the bodies in an improper way. Courtesy: Muskogee County Detention Center, Jon and Carie Hallford Mugshots. Carie Hallford also took the stand at that hearing, stating that Jon wanted to protect her from the conditions inside the funeral home and that she hadnt gone inside the Penrose building for well over a year. However, she admitted that she knew about the conditions, did nothing to prevent it, and allowed what was happening inside to continue. Previous court documents stated that any sentences on federal charges would be served concurrent to state sentences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jon Hallfords sentencing hearing is set for March 20. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. CARL JUNCTION, Mo. The Carl Junction Board of Education decided on the replacement of retiring superintendent Dr. Phillip Cook. The board welcomed Dr. David Pyle as the next superintendent on Wednesday. Hes slated to begin on July 1 of this year. In a release, the district said the decision comes after an extensive search with help from the Missouri School Boards Association. Dr. Pyle was found to be the top candidate due to his 28 years of education experience and commitment to community and students in Carl Junction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CJ School District superintendent announces retirement My greatest excitement about becoming the next Superintendent of Carl Junction Schools is the opportunity to continue working alongside the best instructional and support staff anywhere, said Dr. Pyle. The greatest strength of our school and community is the people. Our staff is committed to the academic development of our students each day. I am honored to have the opportunity to continue leading and serving with them in my new role next school year. Carl Junction School District makes some administration changes Dr. Cook will work with Dr. Pyle until the end of June to assist with a seamless transition, the district added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)Carol Rabb Goldberg, the mother of state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and former president of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain, died Monday evening, according the treasurers office. She was 93 years old. The treasurers mother belonged to the Rabb family, which in the late 1800s had started a grocery story in Bostons North End. That store eventually grew into the Stop & Shop chain, which the family controlled until the late 1980s. Auditor refuses meeting with Senate committee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carol Goldberg and her husband, Avram, founded the private investment and consulting firm The AVCAR Group in 1990. Avram Goldberg died at the age of 92 in January 2022. Carol Goldberg was active on community and philanthropic boards, according to a biography hosted by one of the nonprofits she worked with. Carol Goldberg was a past-chair of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, a member of the board of advocates for Tufts Universitys Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, and a member of the boards of the Womens Studies Research Center of Brandeis University and The One Hundred Club. She was a founding member of The Commonwealth Institute, a trustee for life of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and had been a member of the boards of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and Hebrew College. She was a renowned mentor and trailblazer for women, paving the way for many others to follow in her footsteps in business, philanthropy, and civic engagement, the treasurers office said. The treasurers parents jointly swore her into office in 2019. Four years later, Carol Goldberg attended the ceremony in the Senate Chamber. The treasurer said during that ceremony that her mother taught me how to break not just glass ceilings but brick ones, too and then help create opportunities for others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initial memorial services will be private, the treasurers office said, with a larger celebration of life planned to be held in the spring. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Scores of wildfires broke out across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in early March 2025 as strong winds, abnormally dry conditions and low humidity combined to kindle and spread the flames. The fires followed a year of weather whiplash in the Carolinas, from a flash drought over the summer to extreme hurricane flooding in September, and then back to drought again. Storms on March 5, 2025, helped douse many of the fires still burning, but the Southeast fire season is only beginning. Wake Forest University wildfire experts Lauren Lowman and Nick Corak put the fires and the regions dry winter into context. Why did the Carolinas see so many wildfires? Most of North and South Carolina have been abnormally dry or in moderate drought since at least November 2024. Consistently dry conditions through the winter dried out vegetation, leaving fuel for wildfires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the land and vegetation is this dry, all it takes is a lightning strike or a man-made fire and wind gusts to start a wildfire. Hurricanes did flood the region in late summer 2024, but before that, the Carolinas were experiencing a flash drought. Flash droughts are extreme droughts that develop rapidly due to lack of precipitation and dry conditions in the atmosphere. When the atmosphere is dry, it pulls water from the vegetation and soils, causing the surface to dry out. In August and September, Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene caused extensive flooding in the two states, but the Carolinas received little rainfall in the months that followed, leaving winter 2025 abnormally dry again. How unusual are fires like this in the region? Fires are historically fairly common in the Carolinas. Theyre a natural part of the landscape, and many ecosystems have evolved to depend on them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carnivorous plants such as Venus flytraps and pitcher plants rely on frequent fire activity to remove shrubs and other plants that would grow over them and block the light. Even some wildlife depend on fire for their habitats and for food from the mix of native plants that regrow after a fire. The expected return periods for wildfires how often fires have historically burned in a region range from one to 10 years for the Piedmont and Coastal Plains in the east and 10 to 40 years in the Appalachian Mountains. However, many unplanned fires today are put out. That means underbrush that would normally burn every decade or so can build up over time, fueling more intense fires when it does burn. To avoid that overgrowth, land managers conduct annual prescribed fires to try to mimic that natural fire activity in a controlled way. These controlled burns are critical for removing vegetation that otherwise could provide additional fuel for more intense and damaging wildfires. Is dryness like this becoming more common? Extreme weather events are becoming more common across the U.S., including in the Southeast and the Carolinas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increasing temperatures mean the atmosphere can hold more moisture, amplifying how much water it can draw from the land surface and eventually drop in heavier storms. That can lead to more extreme storms and longer dry periods. In humid regions like the Southeast, where there is an abundance of dense vegetation, periods of warm, dry conditions that dry out that vegetation will increase the risk of wildfire. A fire crew prepares to battle a blaze in Horry County, S.C., on March 3, 2025. SC Department of Natural Resources/Anadolu via Getty Images According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the southeastern U.S. experienced more droughts than other regions in the country in the first two decades of the 21st century. The weather variability also makes it harder to clear out forest undergrowth. Prescribed burns require that vegetation be dry enough to burn but also that winds are calm enough to allow firefighters to manage the flames. Studies show those conditions are likely to become less common in the Southeast in a warming world. Without that tool to reduce fuel, the risk of intense wildfires rises. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Lauren Lowman, Wake Forest University and Nick Corak, Wake Forest University Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Lauren Lowman is a Co-PI on a National Science Foundation Grant titled, "AccelNet-Design: iFireNet: An international network of networks for prediction and management of wildland fires." Nick Corak receives funding from the North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship for his project titled "Disentangling Burn Severity and Vegetation Regrowth Dynamics Following Prescribed Fire Across North Carolina." The work was previously supported by the joint NC Sea Grant - NC Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship. Casey Anthony at her murder trial in 2011 in Orlando, Florida. - Credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service/Getty Images Casey Anthony was acquitted in the 2008 murder of her two-year-old daughter, but the ordeal made her, as one Department of Corrections spokeswoman famously put it, one of the most hated women in America. This week, she joined TikTok and Substack, rebranding as a legal advocate. In her first TikTok, which has been viewed over 4.1 million times, Anthony says she has been in the legal field since 2011, though she didnt note what her involvement has been (and its possible that shes referring to the year her murder trial started). My goal is to continue to help give a voice to people, to give people tools and resources that they can utilize, Anthony said in the video, urging viewers to subscribe to her Substack, a platform where creators send out newsletters. Well see how this goes, the video ends. Comments on the video are disabled, but it has been shared nearly 64,000 times. Fellow TikTokers are skeptical, to put it mildly. (Casey Anthony rebranding herself as a legal advocate is like Jeffrey Dahmer opening a steakhouse, reads one.) Its been a while since shes been in the news, so who is Anthony, what was her case, and why are people so upset shes back in the public eye? More from Rolling Stone Who is Casey Anthony? Anthony, 38, became a tabloid fixture when her toddler daughter, Caylee, was reported missing in July 2008. Caseys mother, Cindy Anthony, called 911 and said she hadnt seen her granddaughter in a month; Cindy also said that her daughters car smelled like there had been a dead body in it. One day after Cindy reported Caylee missing, Casey was arrested and charged with child neglect, giving false statements, and obstruction. One week after Caylee was reported missing, Casey was declared a person of interest in her daughters disappearance. Investigators found damaging evidence against her, including internet searches for chloroform and neck-breaking and traces of human decomposition in the trunk of her car. Casey maintained her innocence, claiming her daughter had been kidnapped by a babysitter. What was Casey Anthony arrested for? In October 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted on first-degree murder charges in connection with her daughters death, though the toddlers body hadnt been found. Two months later, in December 2008, a meter reader found Caylees skeletal remains less than a mile from Caseys parents house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caseys trial, which would become one of the most widely watched criminal trials in history with 40 million people tuning in, began in May 2011. Though she had initially claimed her daughter had been abducted by a babysitter, on the first day of the murder trial, the defense offered a new explanation: The toddler had accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and Caseys parents had known their granddaughter was dead throughout the entire monthslong search for her. Casey also claimed her father, George Anthony, helped her cover up the accidental death by burying Caylee in the backyard. The defense, led by Jose Baez, also claimed that Casey was sexually abused and molested by her father, which he has denied. In a 2018 special called Casey Anthonys Parents Speak, George said he thought Casey was absolutely involved in Caylees death, while Cindy said she still believed that Caylee drowned in the family pool. What happened in Casey Anthonys trial? After 90 witnesses over 33 days of testimony, the trial ended and Casey was found not guilty on counts including first-degree murder, manslaughter, and child abuse, though she was convicted on four counts of lying to police, for which she was sentenced to four years in prison and a $4,000 fine. Though the verdict was shocking, one juror told People that there wasnt enough to satisfy the burden of proof: She seems like a horrible person. But the prosecutors did not give us enough evidence to convict. They gave us a lot of stuff that makes us think she probably did something wrong, but not beyond a reasonable doubt. Another juror told the St. Petersburg Times, I wish we had more evidence to put her away. Just 10 days after her sentencing, Casey was released from jail with credit for time served. Where is Casey Anthony now? Since her infamous acquittal, Casey has kept a mostly low-profile. In 2011, she gave a rare interview to The Associated Press in which she maintained her innocence. I didnt do what I was accused of, she said. I dont give a shit about what anyone thinks about me, I never will. Im OK with myself, I sleep pretty good at night. Casey didnt seem to have public social media profiles until this week, when she joined TikTok and Substack. She has since amassed 61,300 followers on TikTok, and says shes going to be setting up an email where people can reach out to her about legal issues. As a proponent for the lGBTQ community, for the legal community, for womens rights, I feel that its important that I use this platform that was thrust upon me and now look at [as] as a blessing instead of the curse it has been since 2008. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her first TikTok, Casey urged viewers to subscribe to her Substack, a blogging platform on which creators send out newsletters, where she is writing under the handle @therealcaseyanthony. Around 2,700 people have subscribed to her newsletter. Caseys bio on Substack reads, Everyone seems to have an opinion about me, and about my life. I am an advocate, a researcher. These are my words, this is my REAL life. In a series of Notes posted on Substack, Casey warns against the constant rush to judgment and the rights of the main [that] are compromised by the elected few. One Note ends, Do you know who you would call today if something catastrophic occurred in your life or in the life of someone you care for? Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Casey Anthonys return to the spotlight on TikTok comes years after her acquittal on a first-degree murder charge in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, whose disappearance shocked the nation. Throughout the investigation, Anthony lied to law enforcement about her daughters whereabouts. She told police a nanny, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, had kidnapped Caylee, a story that turned out to be false, according to ABC news. Anthonys inconsistent statements, coupled with her lack of urgency in reporting Caylee missing, fueled public suspicion. Her alleged behavior, including partying while her daughter was missing, became a focal point during the trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the aftermath of her trial, Anthony kept a low profile and spent time in West Palm Beach, where she was spotted at OSheas Irish Bar and even attended an anti-Trump protest near Mar-a-Lago. Her presence in the area has added a layer of intrigue to her post-trial life. Here is everything to know about Casey Anthony. More: Casey Anthony launches TikTok, Substack to 'advocate' for daughter, Caylee Anthony Who is Casey Anthony? Casey Anthony was born on March 19, 1986, in Orlando. Now 38, she rose to infamy after being charged in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. She was acquitted of murder in 2011. What happened to Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee? Caylee Anthony, the 2-year-old daughter of Casey Anthony, was reported missing in July 2008. Her remains were found in December 2008 near her familys Central Florida home. Casey Anthony was charged with her murder but was acquitted in 2011, sparking a national controversy. What did Casey Anthony get charged with? Casey Anthony was found guilty of four counts of providing false information to law enforcement, including misleading police about her daughter's whereabouts and fabricating a story about a nanny kidnapping Caylee, according to ABC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, she was acquitted of the most serious charges, including first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse. Jurors said prosecutors didn't produce enough evidence to justify the charges. What is Caylee's law in Florida? Caylee's Law makes it a third-degree felony to give false information to a law-enforcement officer in the event of a missing child. The bill was introduced following the highly publicized trial of Casey Anthony, Caylee's mother, who was acquitted of murder but charged with four counts of lying to police. Caylee wasn't reported missing until 31 days after she vanished. More: Casey Anthony speaks publicly about case for 1st time Did Casey Anthony pay a settlement? Casey Anthony settled a lawsuit with Texas EquuSearch, the volunteer group that searched for her daughter in 2008. The group sued to recover costs, arguing Anthony misled them despite knowing Caylee Anthony was already dead, according to Reuters. In the 2013 settlement, a court ordered Anthony to pay $75,000. Where is Casey Anthony now? In 2024, Anthony moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 30 minutes southeast of Nashville, from West Palm Beach. She has resurfaced on TikTok, calling herself a legal advocate and promoting her Substack newsletter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her first video, she stated that she has worked in the legal field since 2011 and aims to "advocate for myself and also advocate for my daughter." Her TikTok account has already gained over 75,000 followers. Diamond Walker is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at dkwalker@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today Contributing: Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post; Gianna Montesano, TC Palm. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Casey Anthony creates legal advocacy TikTok. Everything to know LAS VEGAS (KLAS) When Whiskey Petes shut down in December on the Nevada-California line, it wasnt known if the owner had any intention of reopening the hotel. That became a little clearer on Tuesday as representatives of Affinity Interactive stood before Clark County commissioners seeking permission for a two-year closure, with the option of extending to three years. The company will continue operating the travel center/gas station at the site, including the slot machines that are technically part of Whiskey Petes. Commissioners, acting as the Liquor & Gaming Licensing Board, approved the two-year closure. Vince Queano, Clark County director of business license, will make the decision on a possible extension when the time comes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The temporary closure is being requested due to staffing and marketing challenges, Queano told commissioners. Whiskey Petes. (KLAS) Its been years since the resorts heyday when travelers on their journey from the L.A. area to Las Vegas would stop at the casinos along the way. Changing habits have taken their toll on an outlet mall, a roller coaster, and ultimately one of the three resorts along Interstate 15 at the border. Now, the reason to stop might hinge on the weather or how long travelers have been sitting in I-15 traffic. Affinity is hoping the economy in the area too weak right now to support Whiskey Petes, Buffalo Bills Resort & Casino and Primm Valley Casino Resorts, officials said has a rebound in its future with plans emerging for an auxiliary airport to take some of the pressure off of Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. PRIMM, NV FEBRUARY 20: Whiskey Petes Hotel & Casino, Buffalo Bills Resort & Casino and Primm Valley Resort & Casino are seen in an aerial view on Feb. 20, 2014 in Primm, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) A letter emailed to the county from Erin Barnett, Affinity senior vice president and general counsel, on Oct. 18 reveals: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent years, and particularly post-pandemic, the traffic at the state line has proved to be heavily weighted towards weekend activity and is insufficient to support three full-time casino properties. The positive news is that, expected development of an airport and ancillary businesses has created the prospect of a resurgence for the area in the coming years. However, in the interim, it is not feasible to keep all three casino properties staffed, supported, and open to the public on a full-time basis. As a result, we are requesting your approval to close the Casino portion of the business, while continuing to operate the Truck Stop under the existing business licenses, Barnett wrote. Whiskey Petes closed sign in December 2024. (KLAS) Affinity intends to increase the number of slot machines inside the travel center from 22 to 40 in the coming months, according to Josh Carlson, Affinity vice president and general counsel. That will take advantage of unique licensing at the property, which was built in 1977 before current regulations kicked in for resort hotels. Barnetts letter said Affinity has approached the Nevada Gaming Control Board to make certain the arrangement with the slot machines will be allowed during the temporary closure of the casino. Whiskey Petes closed on Dec. 18, and Tuesdays action set the beginning of the approved two-year closure on that date, and ending on Dec. 18, 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Catholics worldwide are observing Ash Wednesday as Pope Francis continues his recovery, keeping him in their prayers as they begin the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the six-week season leading up to Easter, called Lent. According to the Diocese of Grand Rapids, ashes are put on the foreheads of Christians to represent a call to repentance, an assurance of Gods love and a reminder that we are created from earth and when we die our bodies will return to the earth. Outside of Christmas and Easter, its one of the most attended days for Catholic Mass, with services held throughout the day at churches across the Diocese of Grand Rapids. List: Fish fry events and other Lenten meals in West Michigan Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rev. Nicholas Baker of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Grand Rapids remembers meeting Pope Francis while studying in Rome five years ago. Nicholas Baker, then a seminarian, and Bishop David Walkowiak meet Pope Francis. (Courtesy Vatican Media/Diocese of Grand Rapids) It was a really beautiful experience, just to see the Vicar of Christ in front of you, Baker said. I was overwhelmed with the sense that this is a very humble man. He had a big smile on his face. It was a very beautiful experience, so Im really holding him in prayer during this time. Pope resting after sleeping through the night with a ventilation mask as he battles pneumonia A key moment during Ash Wednesday services is the application of ashes to the forehead. The ashes are made from burnt palm leaves that were used in the Palm Sunday liturgy from the year before, which symbolically connects the beginning of Lent with the end, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Palm Sunday is celebrated the Sunday before Easter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The church has proclaimed this year a Jubilee Year, also known as the Year of Hope, emphasizing love and forgiveness. We need to look inside first, Baker said. Its easy nowadays to point out other peoples faults. But what Ash Wednesday reminds us of is that we need to first look at ourselves. We first need repentance. We first need to be forgiven, and thats what those ashes symbolize. Its not just Catholics who observe Ash Wednesday: Some Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodists, Reformed Christians and more observe the day. Ash Wednesday masses are scheduled at every Roman Catholic church in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. A list of all Ash Wednesday masses can be found on the Diocese website. For other denominations, check each churchs website for service times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) CATS workers remain on strike, demanding a fair contract and improved working conditions. On Tuesday, they lined up with signs, ponchos and tents outside the CATS bus station on Florida St. Baton Rouge bus drivers strike over safety, CATS ensures service Safety is the number one issue for me and my drivers. We want to make sure we go home in the afternoon. We dont want to be insulted or assaulted, and we want our company to stand behind us when those things happen, said Inez Bowie, executive board member of Operations at ATU Local 1546. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the festive atmosphere of Mardi Gras, Bowie joined other CATS workers on the strike and said that as a CATS employee, its important for her to let her voice be heard. We dont want to be out here. Todays Mardi Gras, were festive, wed prefer to be at the parades, enjoying time with our families, but at the end of the day, this is my family, she said. ATU International President John Costa also joined the strike. He stopped in Baton Rouge from Washington D.C, emphasizing the importance of supporting CATS workers and their fight for a fair contract. Heartening to me to see my members walking off the job and Im very proud of them because the company took a position that we were dealing fairly and we thought we were going to go to arbitration and settle this the right way and continue to work. But they chose to change the contract, he said. They shouldve left everything in place and we wouldnt be here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CATS Issued a statement ahead of the strike, saying they had plans to minimize disruptions and provide bus service for its passengers. Costa expressed hope that CATS management and the union could reach an agreement soon. They chose to change discipline, the grievance procedure, which is totally disrespectful, he said. We feel this is illegal, were asking them to take put the contract back as it was and lets go to arbitration like the contract shows and see and battle it out there. Until then, Costa urged continued support for the workers and encouraged the public to speak out. To the riders were sorry to say that theres this is going on and we ask them to support us and make a phone call to this general manager and tell him to do the right thing. And also to the board and also any politicians that are supporting this, we appreciate that and would urge them to do the same, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. Related Video: Adam Maass no longer facing charges in Benton County from February 2025. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A Cave Springs doctor facing charges in Washington County related to alleged sexual assault has pleaded guilty. On Wednesday, it was announced that Adam Maass, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor harassment and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation. He was originally facing two counts of second-degree sexual assault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say Maass will have to surrender his medical license by April 25. Dr. Adam Maass, 53 (Courtesy: Benton County Jail) The announcement comes a week after Maasss three counts of second-degree sexual assault in Benton County were nolle prosequi, meaning prosecutors will not pursue the charges against him in that county. Cave Springs doctor accused of sexual assault will no longer be prosecuted in Benton County The two counts of sexual assault Maass faced in Washington County stemmed from incidents in late 2021 where he allegedly engaged in sexual conduct with a patient by forcible compulsion, a court filing said. The husband of one of the alleged Washington County victims gave the following statement: We are deeply concerned over the persistent silencing of womens voices, where their numerous experiences are dismissed in favor of protecting the reputation of a single individual. We are hopeful for a day when the credibility and validity of a womans testimony is acknowledged and prioritized with the seriousness it deserves, irrespective of the perceived character of the accused. Another alleged victim, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, gave the following statement: William Wilberforce said, Having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say you did not know. I once rationalized Maasss actions, but I know what happened, and I chose to stop looking the other way. I have heard his supporters state, These women came forward to ruin a good mans life and his family. Maass alone is responsible for why he faces these consequences. I came forward to help protect others as the events that transpired cannot be undone. When I finally had the courage to speak to my physicians, I learned that I wasnt alone, and more women are starting to confide in them. I encourage anyone who has been a victim, who might be afraid to speak, to know that you are not alone, and there is more support than you know. Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter gave the following statement: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am pleased with the work that this office did to hold the defendant accountable despite numerous setbacks in the prosecution. While I suspect this sentence does not meet the expectations of many of the defendants victims, it was important to this office that the defendant be prohibited from practicing medicine in Arkansas or any other jurisdiction. It is my hope that this condition of this sentence prevents any individual from suffering the indignities that the defendant brought upon his victims here in Arkansas. Maass said in the courtroom that he expected the recommendation of the harassment charges and admitted that the state could prove he committed those two crimes. Washington County Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor said at the end of the hearing that Maasss actions were an abuse of trust and immoral, and she hopes not to see him in court again. Maass had no response to the victims statement. His attorney advised him to not speak pending litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to his criminal cases, Maass is facing a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in 2023, where he was accused of groping a patient. A four-day jury trial is set to begin on Oct. 6. This is a developing story. Stay with KNWA/FOX24 for the latest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. TRIPOLI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi stressed Wednesday the importance of support from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to advance the voluntary departure of migrants from Libya to their home countries. During a meeting between al-Tarabelsi and Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya and head of UNSMIL, the two sides "discussed a number of security issues, in addition to reviewing the Interior Ministry's latest work, its efforts in implementing security plans, and its achievements made on the ground," said a ministry statement published on Facebook. Al-Tarabelsi "stressed the negative repercussions of illegal migration on Libya and other Mediterranean countries," as well as the importance of UNSMIL's support for the ministry's efforts "in the voluntary return program for migrants," the statement said. Many migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya due to the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of its late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. So far this year, 4,204 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya, while 80 migrants have died on the Central Mediterranean route, according to data from the International Organization for Migration. Al-Tarabelsi said recently that Libya may resort to "forced deportation of illegal migrants" if the international community fails to support their voluntary return to their countries of origin. NEW YORK (AP) The nation's top public health agency says about 180 employees who were laid off two weeks ago can come back to work. Emails went out Tuesday to some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention probationary employees who got termination notices last month, according to current and former CDC employees. A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, Read this e-mail immediately. It said that after further review and consideration, a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. You should return to duty under your previous work schedule, it said. "We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 180 people received reinstatement emails, according to two federal health officials who were briefed on the tally but were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity. Its not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it's also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies. The CDC is the latest federal agency trying to coax back workers soon after they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trumps and billionaire Elon Musks cost-cutting purge. Similar reversals have been made among employees responsible for medical device oversight, food safety, bird flu response, nuclear weapons and national parks. The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the job cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Trump administration officials told the CDC that nearly 1,300 of the agency's probationary employees would be let go. That tally quickly changed, as the number who actually got termination notices turned out to be 700 to 750. With 180 more people now being told they can return, the actual number of CDC employees terminated so far would seem to stand somewhere around 550. But federal health officials haven't confirmed any specifics. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month pledged radical transparency at the department, but HHS officials have not provided detail about CDC staff changes and did not respond to emailed requests on Tuesday and Wednesday. An agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, previously told the AP only that CDC had more full-time employees after the job cuts than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who received reinstatement emails included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs a two-year training that prepares recent graduates to enter the public health workforce through field experience and a laboratory program that brings in doctorate-holding professionals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock celebrated the reinstatements, but said it's not enough. Todays announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our countrys public health and national security will continue to be at risk, Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday. ___ Associated Press writer Michelle R. Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on the ground in Texas to aid the state in tamping down a measles outbreak, the agency said Tuesday. The agency in a statement on the social platform X said it has sent some of its Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) disease detectives to the West Texas region, the same day the state reported an additional 13 cases, bringing the total to 159. Twenty-two of the patients have been hospitalized and one child has died, the first measles death in the U.S. in a decade and the first death in a child in the U.S. since 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDCs participation means Texas officials requested federal assistance, since the agency cant send a team without an official state ask. The partnership, known as an Epi-Aid, is a rapid-response effort in which the Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers the disease detectives will provide local officials support for one to three weeks, the CDC said. The local authority leads the investigation while collaborating with CDC experts. The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health. By working together parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. Kennedy last week said the CDC was providing technical assistance and vaccines to help with the outbreak, including lab support and sending doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outbreak has largely spread within a community of Mennonites in Gaines County, who historically have had lower vaccination rates. A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy initially downplayed the outbreak during a Cabinet meeting with President Trump last week, saying it was not unusual and falsely claiming that many people hospitalized were there mainly for quarantine. He still has not openly encouraged vaccination, though in an op-ed posted on the Fox News website Sunday, he urged parents to talk with their doctors to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine while emphasizing the decision to get vaccinated was a personal one. In a prerecorded Fox News interview Tuesday, Kennedy said HHS was shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, and was helping to arrange ambulance rides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy did not explicitly endorse vaccinations in the interview. He claimed doctors in the area have reported very very good results from treating patients with a steroid called budesonide, an antibiotic called clarithromycin and cod liver oil, which he said had high concentrations of vitamins A and D. Vitamin A has been used for years in children in developing countries with severe measles, but doctors have said the evidence of its effectiveness is mixed. It isnt used widely in the U.S., likely because children arent Vitamin A deficient. Sean OLeary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases told The Hill his organization recommends the use of low doses of vitamin A in low-resourced countries with high rates of vitamin A deficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no solid evidence of the effectiveness of vitamin A in reducing measles complications in high income countries, OLeary said, but the dosage recommended is low enough that there is no harm. The only effective way to prevent measles is through vaccination. That is much more important than the measles treatments being discussed, OLeary said in an email. No one should take, and no one should give to their child, vitamin A in the hopes it will prevent measles. He added that AAP doesnt recommend the use of cod liver oil. Clarithromycin does not treat measles and would not be a first line choice for a secondary bacterial pneumonia either. Budesonide is generally used as an inhaled steroid, and is also not a recommended treatment for measles, OLeary said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Caddo Parish Civil Rights Heritage Trail project is expanding its scope with a new series designed to help historic villages, towns, neighborhoods, and/or cities in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, investigate three different versions of their communities: the past, the present, and the future. Team members include Dr. Gary Joiner, Mik Barnes, Jaclyn Tripp, Dr. Laura Meiki, Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douong, Dr. Amy Rosner, Dr. Rolonda Teal, and Brenton Metzler. The team is now focusing on the history of the Cedar Grove neighborhood. In the first article in the series on Cedar Grove, Dr. Gary Joiner (Professor of History at LSU Shreveport) showed us how a social movement in 1911 Shreveport drastically changed Cedar Grove. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the second article of the series, we learned how Shreveport became a hub for automobile production in the early days of the horseless carriage. The third article of the series examined how manufacturing changed in Cedar Grove after automobile production ended. For the fourth article in our series on Cedar Grove, Dr. Gary Joiner took readers back to 1905-1910, when Cedar Grove sprung up in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, as a small oil boom town. The fifth article on Cedar Grove explored how Cedar Grove was settled after the Louisiana Purchase, how streets became bisected in Cedar Grove, and described the topography of the little community that later became a Shreveport community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this, the sixth article in the series, we will learn about how glass coffins were once fashionable in the United States and learn about a glass coffin factory that once operated in Cedar Grove. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) What will be of interest to the entire world is the Glass Coffin factory now nearing completion and which will soon be in active operation in Cedar Grove, wrote a reporter for The Shreveport Journal, Oct. 26, 1921, pp. 51. Yes, thats right. Cedar Grove once had a glass coffin factory. But what is a glass coffin, exactly? The industrialization of casket machinery transformed the business of death in the United States by the 1920s, when multiple companies began producing caskets with glass windows. Glass windows were originally added to caskets so that family and friends could look into the coffin to see the body of the deceased. But thats not the only reason why glass casket windows became popular. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The window also would alert onlookers that the occupant had been accidentally buried alive if breath condensation appeared on the inside of the glass, wrote Troy Smythe in an article called Failure to launch: The American glass casket industry, published by the Corning Museum of glass. By the early 1920s, The National Glass Coffin Company in Cedar Grove, Louisiana (now Shreveport) was determined to provide yet another service for glass coffin customers. A circular letter received from the Nationa Glass Casket Co., Denver, Colorado, states that they are going to build a factory at Shreveport, La. for the purpose of manufacturing glass caskets. Their reason for locating at Shreveport is because that section offers and unlimited supply of natural gas and glass sand, and water rates for the transportation of the product, wrote The National Glass Budget, a weekly review of the American glass industry, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1919. The coffins and caskets to be manufactured, it is believed, will revolutionize the coffin industry in this country. The glass coffins are hermetically sealed and are moisture proof as well as vermin proof and persons buried in these receptacles may be unearthed thousands of years hence in the same identical condition as when interred, explained The Shreveport Journal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the 1920s, glass caskets were a fashionable trend in the United States. Three men standing in a glass casket, 1921. (Source: Glass Worker, Volume 41, No. 1, Oct. 1, 1921, pp. 11) Farm workers find glass coffin at old Mississippi Plantation On Apr. 24, 1969, on the Egypt Plantation in Cruger, Mississippi, farm workers were using a backhoe near the old bank of the Yazoo River when they hit something 2-4 deep in the ground. Suddenly liquid began pouring from the object, and when the farm workers began investigating the situation they suddenly saw womans body inside. She was wearing a red velvet dress, a long cape, silk boots, and she looked like she was in her early 30s. The Lady in Red, as she was later called, had red hair and pale skin. After the farm workers called the local sheriff, an investigation proved the strange liquid to be alcohol and determined that the woman had been buried long ago. The coffin was later determined to be a Fisk Airtight Coffin, which was made by the Fisk company in Rhode Island. Their caskets were used to preserve the bodies of the deceased as they were shipped home to their families far away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Who was the Lady in Red? Her identity is still a mystery, but it is suspected that her body was buried long before the Civil Warwhich proves that caskets with glass windows were being used in the South long before a glass casket company opened in Shreveport during the 1920s. The idea of covering the dead in a liquid that preserves their bodies is nothing new. An ancient Roman method covered the bodies of the deceased in liquid gypsum that acted almost like a plaster. Archaeologists have found that Roman burials in liquid gypsum date back at least 1700s years. This article about the first glass coffin was printed in The Caucasian, Shreveport, Louisiana, July 8, 1909, pp. 4. But in truth, this was not the first glass coffin. Snow Whites glass coffin Those who grew up watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, an animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures, pictured the post-apple Snow White asleep in a glass coffin, waiting for her prince to show up and kiss her back to life. Its a rather Grimm story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 80 years after the release of the 1937 film, the image of Snow White in a glass coffin is a little bit creepy when you think about it. But now that you know a little about the history of Americas glass coffin industry in the 1920s, are you really surprised that such a coffin would appear in a cartoon movie released in 1937? Glass coffins manufactured in 1920s Shreveport Marshall N. Jones of Denver, Colorado, filed for a patent on this glass coffin design on Nov. 7, 1916. (Source: United States Patent Office Official Gazette, May 1, 1917, Department of The Interior, pp. 96.) The National Glass Coffin Company was based in Denver, Colorado, and a patent for one of the class coffins was filed on Nov. 7, 1916. And though we cant be certain that this is the exact model that was produced by the same companys Shreveport factory, we can easily make assumptions. The patent application stated that the coffin was comprised of a base and a cover, with the base made of glass reinforced with metallic elements. Sources: The Shreveport Journal, Oct. 26, 1921, pp. 51. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Glass Budget, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1919. Glass Worker, Volume 41, No. 1, Oct. 1, 1921, pp. 11. The Caucasian, Shreveport, Louisiana, July 8, 1909, pp. 4. United States Patent Office Official Gazette, Department of The Interior, May 1, 1917, pp. 96. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. HONOLULU (KHON2) Today marks the 20th anniversary of National Pancake Day and theres no better way to celebrate then grinding some Ono breakfast at IHOP. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You WakeUp2Days Chris Latronic went live in their new Mililani location with more. Food2Go: Ruths Chris Steak House This year IHOP is partnering with Feeding America, and all proceeds will stay within our state and community to help those in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12th Kilauea eruption has commenced While donations will be collected on Pancake Day, the Month of Giving lasts throughout March. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news As part of this special day, they are offering a free short stack to all guests and encouraging donations to support hunger relief in our community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) A Champaign woman convicted in a 2021 murder case is getting a new trial after an Illinois appellate court overturned the jurys guilty verdict. Arieana Colbert, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder two years ago for killing Acarrie Ingram-Triner on Oct. 20, 2021. She was sentenced to 47 years in prison, but upon appeal, three justices from the Fifth District of the Appellate Court of Illinois vacated the sentence and Colberts conviction. Justice Michael McHaney wrote in the courts ruling that Judge Randy Rosenbaum made an error in declining to instruct the jury on second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter. Colberts defense attorney argued that she acted on an unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense also called imperfect self-defense and that this warranted jury instruction on those crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teenager sentenced to 55 years in Urbana Lyft murder case Evidence presented during the trial, and mentioned in McHaneys ruling, showed that Colbert and Ingram-Triner were friends, but they got into an argument and physical fight at the apartment Colbert lived in with her boyfriend Quincy Hayes. Colbert had agreed to return a Wi-Fi and cable box Ingram-Triner previously sold to Hayes, but he got into an argument with Ingram-Triner over how loud she pounded on the door; he was angry that she may have awakened his sleeping daughters. Colbert calmed them both down, gave Ingram-Triner the Wi-Fi and cable box and walked her downstairs to the apartment entrance. (Colbert) testified that when they got to the bottom of the stairs, (she) asked Acarrie why she wanted to argue like that when they were supposed to be friends, and Acarrie punched her, McHaney said. (Colbert) punched back, and they began shoving and pushing each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hayes and Colbert testified that during the fight, Ingram-Triner screamed at them that they were going to die and that Youre all dead. My brothers are coming. Were going to kick down the door and youre all dead. Colbert testified that she felt her life was being threatened, along with Hayes life and those of his daughters. During the scuffle, (Colberts) gun fell to the ground, and (she) bent down to pick it up. Suddenly, (she) pointed the gun and shot Acarrie, who fell to the ground, McHaney said. When asked why she shot in Acarries direction, (Colbert) responded, I dont know. I dont think I thought. I didnt. She testified that she did not intend to kill or harm Acarrie in any way. Ingram-Triner was shot in the left side of her chest and a medical examiner said she died within seconds. Were happy for a sentence; Champaign man gets 31 years in prison for 2021 shooting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colbert and Hayes, the evidence indicated, hid her gun in the bank of a nearby creek and went on the run the following day. An arrest warrant was issued for them two days after the shooting, and they were found in a hotel room outside of Chicago the following December. Hayes reached a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for giving investigators false information. He served one year in prison. McHaney said that under Illinois law, a conviction of second-degree murder is appropriate where there is sufficient evidence that the defendant believed she was acting in self-defense, but that belief is objectively unreasonable. He noted that the prosecutor suggested that the facts of the case were more closely aligned to imperfect self-defense rather than serious provocation. But Judge Rosenbaum said the evidence did not warrant jury instruction on second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter and denied the defenses request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My obligation as the judge is to follow the law first and foremost. And the law defines what second-degree is. The law defines what involuntary manslaughter is. And there have to be facts to support them, Rosenbaum said. And even though it may have been the right thing to do to submit those (requests), I dont think legally there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the granting of either one of them. Second defendant in Lerna murder case sentenced to prison However, Rosenbaum acknowledged that the case was a close call. I have never been reversed in a criminal case. If Im ever going to be reversed, it wouldnt surprise me if this is the one, he added. But I have to tell you, I believe my rulings were correct on the law and on the facts. But they were very close decisions, and I respect that, the arguments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McHaney responded to Rosenbaums comment by saying, Unfortunately for the trial court, we agree. The standard for determining whether a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on a lesser-included offense is whether there is some evidence in the record that, if believed by the jury, would reduce the crime charged to a lesser offense, he added. Here, the defendant presented some evidence, albeit slight, that she had the subjective belief that she was acting in self-defense. Thus (quoting a past case) it was for the jury to determine if the defendant did, in fact, have the subjective belief and, if so, that the belief was reasonable or unreasonable under the circumstances.' Urbana man committed to mental health facility for bar managers murder From the evidence, McHaney and his fellow justices said they were convinced it was sufficient to prove Colbert guilty in killing Ingram-Triner. But they could not say the result of the trial would have been the same had the jury received instruction on second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For those reasons, they reversed Colberts conviction and ordered that she receive a new trial. Court records show that after the appellate courts ruling, Colbert was moved from a Department of Corrections prison to the Champaign County Jail. Colbert made an initial appearance on Feb. 26, where a status hearing was scheduled for exactly one month later. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. McDONALD COUNTY, Mo. The McDonald County prosecutor has dropped charges against a woman who had been accused of obstructing law enforcement and tampering with evidence. Emily Flatt, a case worker with Missouri Baptist Childrens Home, was charged last November after authorities say she refused to give them information on two teenage girls who were plotting to kill their foster parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Woody, Flatts attorney, issued a statement Tuesday saying his client was pleased with the prosecutors decision to drop the charges and that she is ready to move on with her life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. ST. LOUIS Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department have made an arrest after a teenager was found shot to death late Sunday afternoon in a stolen vehicle. According to a police probable cause statement, the carjackings occurred a little before 6 p.m. Sunday evening on the 3900 block of North 19th Street in the citys Hyde Park neighborhood. The carjackings involved a Honda Element and a Chevrolet Equinox. Police said a 63-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint by the five men and forced to hand over her belongings, including the Honda Element. Two of the men took off in the Honda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police, the three other suspects later approached a 75-year-old woman at gunpoint while she was sitting inside her Chevrolet Equinox. The three men forced the woman to exit the Equinox before taking off in the vehicle. Both the 63-year-old and 75-year-old women were not injured in the carjackings, police said. Authorities found the Equinox a little before 6:30 p.m., parked at the intersection of Winnebago Street and Minnesota Avenue in the Gravois Park neighborhood of south St. Louis. When officers arrived at the scene, they found an 18-year-old dead from an apparent gunshot wound sitting in the back seat of the Equinox. Homicide detectives were called to the scene to investigate. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News The Honda Element was located around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Cherokee Street, investigators said. The driver sped off when officers attempted a traffic stop. Police pursued the Element until the vehicle became disabled at the intersection of West Florissant and East Taylor avenues. Two occupants in the vehicle took off on foot. Police arrested two people, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old, following a brief foot pursuit. Police recovered two handguns after the chase. Detectives interviewed the 18-year-old, identified as Terrence White, and determined he was responsible for shooting and killing the dead teenager, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office charged White with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. White remains jailed without bond. A scheduled court appears was not available in online records at the time of this initial posting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. For the second time in two weeks, a flight chartered by the German government has brought Afghans and their families to Berlin after they were approved for admission to Germany. The Interior Ministry said there were 132 passengers on board the aircraft that took the refugees from Islamabad to the German capital on Wednesday. Twenty-five other people from Afghanistan who had seats reserved on the plane did not make it on. The ministry said they were unable to make the flight in time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The flights have come under the spotlight as anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric increases. The issue powered the far-right Alternative for Germany to second place in recent national elections. Many of those on the flights are Afghans who worked with the German government, including the military, as local employees. Human rights activists, journalists and other vulnerable people have also been taken in amid fears they could be targeted by the Taliban. An Interior Ministry spokesman said one of the people who landed in Berlin was a former employee accompanied by five relatives. On February 25, a charter plane that had also taken off from Pakistan landed in Berlin with 155 Afghans. Generative-AI companies have been selling a narrative of unprecedented, endless progress. Just last week, OpenAI introduced GPT-4.5 as its largest and best model for chat yet. Earlier in February, Google called its latest version of Gemini the worlds best AI model. And in January, the Chinese company DeepSeek touted its R1 model as being just as powerful as OpenAIs o1 modelwhich Sam Altman had called the smartest model in the world the previous month. Yet there is growing evidence that progress is slowing down and that the LLM-powered chatbot may already be near its peak. This is troubling, given that the promise of advancement has become a political issue; massive amounts of land, power, and money have been earmarked to drive the technology forward. How much is it actually improving? How much better can it get? These are important questions, and theyre nearly impossible to answer because the tests that measure AI progress are not working. (The Atlantic entered into a corporate partnership with OpenAI in 2024. The editorial division of The Atlantic operates independently from the business division.) Unlike conventional computer programs, generative AI is designed not to produce precise answers to certain questions, but to generalize. A chatbot needs to be able to answer questions that it hasnt been specifically trained to answer, like a human student who learns not only the fact that 2 x 3 = 6 but also how to multiply any two numbers. A model that cant do this wouldnt be capable of reasoning or making meaningful contributions to science, as AI companies promise. Generalization can be tricky to measure, and trickier still is proving that a model is getting better at it. To measure the success of their work, companies cite industry-standard benchmark tests whenever they release a new model. The tests supposedly contain questions the models havent seen, showing that theyre not simply memorizing facts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Read: The words that stop ChatGPT in its tracks] Yet over the past two years, researchers have published studies and experiments showing that ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Llama, Mistral, Googles Gemma (the open-access cousin of its Gemini product), Microsofts Phi, and Alibabas Qwen have been trained on the text of popular benchmark tests, tainting the legitimacy of their scores. Think of it like a human student who steals and memorizes a math test, fooling his teacher into thinking hes learned how to do long division. The problem is known as benchmark contamination. Its so widespread that one industry newsletter concluded in October that Benchmark Tests Are Meaningless. Yet despite how established the problem is, AI companies keep citing these tests as the primary indicators of progress. (A spokesperson for Google DeepMind told me that the company takes the problem seriously and is constantly looking for new ways to evaluate its models. No other company mentioned in this article commented on the issue.) Benchmark contamination is not necessarily intentional. Most benchmarks are published on the internet, and models are trained on large swaths of text harvested from the internet. Training data sets contain so much text, in fact, that finding and filtering out the benchmarks is extremely difficult. When Microsoft launched a new language model in December, a researcher on the team bragged about aggressively rooting out benchmarks in its training datayet the models accompanying technical report admitted that the teams methods were not effective against all scenarios. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the most commonly cited benchmarks is called Massive Multitask Language Understanding. It consists of roughly 16,000 multiple-choice questions covering 57 subjects, including anatomy, philosophy, marketing, nutrition, religion, math, and programming. Over the past year, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and DeepSeek have all advertised their models scores on MMLU, and yet researchers have shown that models from all of these companies have been trained on its questions. How do researchers know that closed models, such as OpenAIs, have been trained on benchmarks? Their techniques are clever, and reveal interesting things about how large language models work. [Read: The GPT era is already ending] One research team took questions from MMLU and asked ChatGPT not for the correct answers but for a specific incorrect multiple-choice option. ChatGPT was able to provide the exact text of incorrect answers on MMLU 57 percent of the time, something it likely couldnt do unless it was trained on the test, because the options are selected from an infinite number of wrong answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another team of researchers from Microsoft and Xiamen University, in China, investigated GPT-4s performance on questions from programming competitions hosted on the Codeforces website. The competitions are widely regarded as a way for programmers to sharpen their skills. How did GPT-4 do? Quite well on questions that were published online before September 2021. On questions published after that date, its performance tanked. That version of GPT-4 was trained only on data from before September 2021, leading the researchers to suggest that it had memorized the questions and casting doubt on its actual reasoning abilities, according to the researchers. Giving more support to this hypothesis, other researchers have shown that GPT-4s performance on coding questions is better for questions that appear more frequently on the internet. (The more often a model sees the same text, the more likely it is to memorize it.) Can the benchmark-contamination problem be solved? A few suggestions have been made by AI companies and independent researchers. One is to update benchmarks constantly with questions based on new information sources. This might prevent answers from appearing in training data, but it also breaks the concept of a benchmark: a standard test that gives consistent, stable results for purposes of comparison. Another approach is taken by a website called Chatbot Arena, which pits LLMs against one another, gladiator style, and lets users choose which model gives the better answers to their questions. This approach is immune to contamination concerns, but it is subjective and similarly unstable. Others have suggested the use of one LLM to judge the performance of another, a process that is not entirely reliable. None of these methods delivers confident measurements of LLMs ability to generalize. Although AI companies have started talking about reasoning models, the technology is largely the same as it was when ChatGPT was released in November 2022. LLMs are still word-prediction algorithms: They piece together responses based on works written by authors, scholars, and bloggers. With casual use, ChatGPT does appear to be figuring out the answers to your queries. But is that whats happening, or is it just very hard to come up with questions that arent in its unfathomably massive training corpora? Meanwhile, the AI industry is running ostentatiously into the red. AI companies have yet to discover how to make a profit from building foundation models. They could use a good story about progress. Article originally published at The Atlantic CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WATE) The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center (MOHHC) in Chattanooga is adding an exhibit on Medal of Honor winner Captain Larry L. Taylor. The grand opening of the exhibit is scheduled for Saturday, March 29. It honors Taylor, a Chattanooga native and University of Tennessee Knoxville graduate who performed a daring helicopter rescue in the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War. Taylor was awarded the medal of honor in 2023. Maynardville Police, TBI investigate two deaths in possible domestic incident Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 18, 1968, Taylor landed a helicopter under heavy enemy fire in order to save four men. Since no evacuation helicopter was available, he instead used an AH-1G Cobra which was not designed for extractions. The four men had to cling to the helicopters skids as Taylor flew them to safety. Like other exhibits inside the Heritage Center, we designed the Captain Taylor exhibit to serve as a lasting tribute to his courage and bravery on June 18, 1968helping to ensure that future generations understand the legacy of our nations heroes, said David Currey, Executive Director of the MOHHC. Taylor was originally awarded the Silver Star which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Taylor died just a few months later on January 28, 2024, at age 81. Chattanooga is the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. The first Medals of Honor were awarded for action in and around Chattanooga nearly 162 years ago, and Captain Larry Taylor is the latest of several American heroes from our area who has received the Medal of Honor, Currey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several activities are planned for the grand opening on March 29 including a special preview for MOHHC members at 8 a.m. and a Bricks of Honor dedication in the Aquarium Plaza at 11 a.m. The public is invited to the ribbon-cutting for the exhibit at 1 p.m., but guests must buy a ticket. Man accused of shooting two Blount County deputies indicted Captain Larry Taylors extraordinary heroism is a testament to the bravery and selflessness that define Chattanoogas finest, said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. We are honored to play a role in supporting this incredible exhibit that preserves Captain Taylors legacy and shares his story that will help inspire the leaders of tomorrow for years to come. In a press release, MOHHC thanked the city of Chattanooga, the Hamilton County government and Taylors widow, Toni Taylor for making the exhibit possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. CHICAGO Mayor Brandon Johnson will defend Chicagos status as a welcoming city for immigrants before the Republican-controlled U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The policy that prevents city officials (including police officers) from cooperating with federal immigration authorities has been in place, in some form, for 40 years. 1985 As President Ronald Reagans administration began an immigration crackdown, Mayor Harold Washington took a stand, signing an executive order declaring Chicago a sanctuary city. It prevented police sharing immigration status information with federal authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In short, what were saying is that the immigration authorities in legitimate pursuance of their work will have the cooperation of the city, when it goes beyond that pale, then we cannot cooperate with them. Its just that simple. 1989 On Mayor Richard M. Daleys first day in office, he extended the sanctuary city policy, as WGNs Jim Williams reported: Mayor Daley signed executive orders first implemented by Mayors Washington and Sawyer. 1992 Daley allowed Chicago police to share immigration information with the feds, if and when the subjects were involved in serious crimes. 2006 The Chicago City Council passed the Welcoming City ordinance. 2012 Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city council created a so-called carve out in the ordinance, allowing police to work with federal officials in limited cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you see a crime, report it. Youre a victim? Report it. The police department is not there as an adjunct for the immigration service. If you have a criminal record, thats different, Emanuel said. 2017 During the first Trump Administration, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from Chicago over the issue, but Mayor Emanuel said the city wouldnt budge. Chicago has always been a welcoming city, Emanuel said. You can cross the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Rio, and people come from all of those waterways to this city for their children and their grandchildren. 2021 Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an updated welcoming city ordinance closing the loopholes for cooperation opened by Daley and Emanuel, banning all police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A truly welcoming city means we have to walk the walk and protect everyones due process rights, Lightfoot said at the signing. 2022 Texas Governor Greg Abbott began bussing asylum seekers to Chicago , bringing border state issues to the Midwest. Were going to keep the busses going, Abbott said. The influx of more than 50,000 thousand migrants overwhelmed Chicago. This crisis is not only exhausting our citys resources but its flat out dangerous, Lightfoot said. 2024 Some Chicago aldermen to attempted to change the ordinance, allowing for police cooperation with ice officials. The best way to do that is turn over those the Trump administration is looking for those who engage in criminal behavior, said Ald. Ray Lopez. 2025 Under the new Trump Administration, as ICE arrests began, Mayor Brandon Johnson re-affirmed the citys commitment to being a sanctuary for immigrants a position hell defend in front of a congressional committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Regardless of who is on the White House, Chicago is a city that opens its arms to people from around the globe. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. A judge ordered a Chicago landlord last month to pay $80,000 to former tenants after the landlord threatened to call ICE on them during a verbal dispute in June 2020, according to court documents. The case is the first to reach a judgment under the states 2019 Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which filed the case on behalf of the tenants. Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status. In Illinois, landlords are prohibited from wielding the threat of immigration enforcement as a weapon against their tenants, said Susana Sandoval Vargas, MALDEFs Midwest regional counsel. This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences. This is an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 19, Cook County Circuit Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered former landlord Marco Antonio Contreras and his wife, Denise Contreras, to pay more than $80,000 in damages as well as attorneys fees and costs for violating the state law, according to the lawsuit. The judge also awarded a smaller sum in compensation for Contreras denying the tenants access to their belongings. Neither the Contrerases nor their attorney could be reached for comment. The former tenants also declined an interview but released a statement through their attorney. We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us, the couple said in the statement. No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you. Sandoval Vargas declined to comment on the tenants immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act into law in 2019, Illinois became the second state to prohibit landlords from evicting tenants solely because theyre living in the U.S. illegally. The law also barred landlords from reporting or threatening to report tenants immigration status to intimidate or retaliate against them. California was the first state to pass an immigrant tenant law in 2017. In 2021, a Colorado Tenant Protection Act went into effect. While the Illinois Human Rights Act also prohibits discrimination broadly based on citizenship status, the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act provided extra protection, said Eric Sirota, a law professor and director of the Tenant Advocacy Clinic at Northwestern University. He said housing providers will hopefully take this weeks judgment as a shot across the bow. This is the law of Illinois, and people are hurt really badly when their housing status (is) jeopardized or made unstable, he said. Courts are recognizing how harmful that is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another case filed in September 2021 has not yet reached judgment, according to Sandoval Vargas. In that case, a Cicero couple is accused of reporting one of their tenants to immigration officials after the tenant requested a repair in his apartment, according to the lawsuit. State Rep. Theresa Mah, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Tuesday its a nice feeling to know that the law is working and that the couple found it useful in their case. Mah added that due to the current political environment where she said immigrants are being mistreated and disparaged the legislation is more relevant than ever. I dont feel that anybody should be put in a vulnerable position because of whatever immigration status they occupy, Mah said. Im glad that the law is helping ensure that people have rights and that theyre able to use the law to protect those rights. I hope that the news about this judgment will send a message to people that tenants cant be mistreated in this way, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the lawsuit, Marco and Denise Contreras invited the couple to rent the basement from their single-family home in the Ashburn neighborhood in August 2017. In a verbal contract, they agreed to $600 rent, which included utilities, due on the first of each month. Around February 2020, the landlords asked the couple to sign a contract describing the terms of the rental agreement. They told the couple a written contract was necessary so they could show proof of income for a loan to buy a second house, according to the lawsuit. The couple signed the contract, which changed the rent due date to the 29th of each month, and paid a $600 deposit, the lawsuit said. The contract also required the couple to pay their own utilities. They were not provided a copy of the contract, the lawsuit said. Two months later, Marco and Denise Contreras who had already moved out of the home informed their tenants that their rent would be raised to $800 a month, a sum the couple could not afford, according to the lawsuit. The landlords agreed to let the tenants continue to pay $600 per month from April through June 2020, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June of that year, the landlords told the couple they were selling the home and they would have to move out of the apartment by August 2020. They did not provide written notification, the lawsuit said. Later in June, the landlords entered the basement apartment and told the couple the July rent was due on June 29 and demanded they pay. When the couple offered to pay a prorated amount since they were planning to move out, Marco Contreras threatened to report the couple to federal immigration officials, in violation of Illinois state law, the lawsuit said. Though the couple moved out of the apartment on July 31, 2020, it wasnt until 2022 when they reached MALDEF and their attorneys. MALDEF filed the lawsuit on behalf of a tenant family. This decision provides a measure of justice to a family facing a landlord willing to threaten to call federal immigration authorities in the belief that it would scare tenants, said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEFs president and general counsel. Such unscrupulous conduct is appropriately unlawful under Illinois state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sandoval Vargas said MALDEF has not noticed any recent uptake on calls about landlords harassing tenants. However, she suspects that most people are not aware of the new law. The most important thing is that everyone has protection under the law the Immigrant Tenant Protection law protects everybody whether theyre being threatened on their actual or perceived immigration status, Sandoval Vargas said. People should be aware of those protections so that if they find themselves in that situation, they know that theres something that they can do. CHICAGO A judge ordered a Chicago landlord last month to pay $80,000 to former tenants after the landlord threatened to call ICE on them during a verbal dispute in June 2020, according to court documents. The case is the first to reach a judgment under the states 2019 Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which filed the case on behalf of the tenants. Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status. In Illinois, landlords are prohibited from wielding the threat of immigration enforcement as a weapon against their tenants, said Susana Sandoval Vargas, MALDEFs Midwest regional counsel. This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences. This is an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 19, Cook County Circuit Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered former landlord Marco Antonio Contreras and his wife, Denise Contreras, to pay more than $80,000 in damages as well as attorneys fees and costs for violating the state law, according to the lawsuit. The judge also awarded a smaller sum in compensation for Contreras denying the tenants access to their belongings. Neither the Contrerases nor their attorney could be reached for comment. The former tenants also declined an interview but released a statement through their attorney. We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us, the couple said in the statement. No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you. Sandoval Vargas declined to comment on the tenants immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act into law in 2019, Illinois became the second state to prohibit landlords from evicting tenants solely because theyre living in the U.S. illegally. The law also barred landlords from reporting or threatening to report tenants immigration status to intimidate or retaliate against them. California was the first state to pass an immigrant tenant law in 2017. In 2021, a Colorado Tenant Protection Act went into effect. While the Illinois Human Rights Act also prohibits discrimination broadly based on citizenship status, the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act provided extra protection, said Eric Sirota, a law professor and director of the Tenant Advocacy Clinic at Northwestern University. He said housing providers will hopefully take this weeks judgment as a shot across the bow. This is the law of Illinois, and people are hurt really badly when their housing status (is) jeopardized or made unstable, he said. Courts are recognizing how harmful that is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another case filed in September 2021 has not yet reached judgment, according to Sandoval Vargas. In that case, a Cicero couple is accused of reporting one of their tenants to immigration officials after the tenant requested a repair in his apartment, according to the lawsuit. State Rep. Theresa Mah, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Tuesday its a nice feeling to know that the law is working and that the couple found it useful in their case. Mah added that due to the current political environment where she said immigrants are being mistreated and disparaged the legislation is more relevant than ever. I dont feel that anybody should be put in a vulnerable position because of whatever immigration status they occupy, Mah said. Im glad that the law is helping ensure that people have rights and that theyre able to use the law to protect those rights. I hope that the news about this judgment will send a message to people that tenants cant be mistreated in this way, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the lawsuit, Marco and Denise Contreras invited the couple to rent the basement from their single-family home in the Ashburn neighborhood in August 2017. In a verbal contract, they agreed to $600 rent, which included utilities, due on the first of each month. Around February 2020, the landlords asked the couple to sign a contract describing the terms of the rental agreement. They told the couple a written contract was necessary so they could show proof of income for a loan to buy a second house, according to the lawsuit. The couple signed the contract, which changed the rent due date to the 29th of each month, and paid a $600 deposit, the lawsuit said. The contract also required the couple to pay their own utilities. They were not provided a copy of the contract, the lawsuit said. Two months later, Marco and Denise Contreras who had already moved out of the home informed their tenants that their rent would be raised to $800 a month, a sum the couple could not afford, according to the lawsuit. The landlords agreed to let the tenants continue to pay $600 per month from April through June 2020, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June of that year, the landlords told the couple they were selling the home and they would have to move out of the apartment by August 2020. They did not provide written notification, the lawsuit said. Later in June, the landlords entered the basement apartment and told the couple the July rent was due on June 29 and demanded they pay. When the couple offered to pay a prorated amount since they were planning to move out, Marco Contreras threatened to report the couple to federal immigration officials, in violation of Illinois state law, the lawsuit said. Though the couple moved out of the apartment on July 31, 2020, it wasnt until 2022 when they reached MALDEF and their attorneys. MALDEF filed the lawsuit on behalf of a tenant family. This decision provides a measure of justice to a family facing a landlord willing to threaten to call federal immigration authorities in the belief that it would scare tenants, said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEFs president and general counsel. Such unscrupulous conduct is appropriately unlawful under Illinois state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sandoval Vargas said MALDEF has not noticed any recent uptake on calls about landlords harassing tenants. However, she suspects that most people are not aware of the new law. The most important thing is that everyone has protection under the law the Immigrant Tenant Protection law protects everybody whether theyre being threatened on their actual or perceived immigration status, Sandoval Vargas said. People should be aware of those protections so that if they find themselves in that situation, they know that theres something that they can do. ____ CHICAGO A Chicago landlord has been ordered to pay more than $80,000 for threatening to call immigration agents on a couple who rented an apartment from him in 2020. The couple sued their landlord under the states Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which prohibits landlords from discriminating against or harassing a tenant based on the tenants actual or perceived immigration status, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which filed the suit in 2022 on behalf of the couple. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the lawsuit, the tenants had rented a basement apartment from Marco Antonio Contreras and his wife starting in 2017. However, on June 30, 2020, the landlords went to the unit seeking rent for the next month. The lawsuit states that during the discussion with the tenants, Contreras threatened to report the couple to federal immigration officials, which attorneys argued was a violation of the law. On Feb. 19, a judge ordered Contreras to pay more than $80,000 in damages as well as attorneys fees and costs for violating the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status. In Illinois, landlords are prohibited from wielding the threat of immigration enforcement as a weapon against their tenants, Susana Sandoval Vargas, MALDEF Midwest Regional Counsel, said. This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences. This is an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the $80,000 fee, the tenants were also awarded a smaller sum for being denied access to their belongings. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us, the couple said in a statement. No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you. The case is the first to reach a judgment under the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which passed in 2019, according to MALDEF. Illinois was the second state in the US to enact legislation protecting immigrant tenants rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. WASHINGTON Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic leaders from three other major U.S. cities are set to testify Wednesday morning before a Republican-led congressional committee holding a hearing on sanctuary policies for immigrants, setting the stage for a day that will be heavy on political theater and rhetoric about one of the nations most divisive issues. The appearance by the first-term Chicago mayor before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of its much-hyped hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Chicago time will give Johnson a national audience to defend the citys sanctuary city policies that block local police from assisting in immigration enforcement. GOP members of the congressional committee loyal to President Donald Trump have already signaled their intent to attack Johnson and characterize the Democratic mayors as lenient toward immigrant criminals sowing chaos in Americas cities. The made-for-TV hearing has generated significant media interest and will be digitally streamed. It will give Johnson his biggest spotlight yet to defend Chicagos immigration policy that has largely been in place since the mid-1980s, and it comes at a time when his popularity at home is dwindling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it also has elements of political peril. Republicans looking to impress Trump by scoring points off the progressive Chicago mayor are certain to try to embarrass Johnson. They will also try to lock him into answers as the fate of federal funding hangs in the balance and an ongoing Justice Department lawsuit looms, seeking to invalidate sanctuary policies in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois. How Johnson responds to this confluence of pressures while under oath could help define the next chapter of his political future. To that end, the mayor has been sequestered in the nations capital since Sunday to prepare for the challenge with the help of his top advisers and a Washington-based law firm hired by City Hall. Johnsons press office declined to name the firm or its rates on Tuesday; the Tribune has filed a public records request for that information. The mayors community engagement office, however, did send out a Validator toolkit to friendly aldermen on Tuesday, in a bid to create a surround sound effect of support for the Mayor. The four-page memo included sample social media posts touting Johnsons leadership with the hashtag #DefendTheChi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the first time a sitting Chicago mayor has testified before Congress since Richard M. Daley. Johnson will be joined by New York Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Adams will certainly command plenty of attention Wednesday as the mayor of the countrys most populous city, and because hes under indictment for alleged corruption and bribery. Trumps Justice Department has moved to dismiss those charges, but Adams could see federal prosecutors refile the case if he doesnt cooperate with the presidents immigration crackdown. Wednesdays hearing will be led by Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and focus on the misguided and obstructionist policies that prohibit local cops from helping federal immigration agents in the four Democratic-led cities. The showdown comes as no surprise after Trumps team vowed to go after local sanctuary policies. Johnson also arrived in the U.S. Capitol on the heels of the presidents first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term in the White House in which he repeatedly discussed his administrations efforts to enforce border security and set strict immigration policies. He didnt specifically mention sanctuary laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicagos Welcoming City Ordinance bans official cooperation between local law enforcement and federal deportation authorities, while ensuring immigrants living in the country without legal permission can use city services. Similar policies are codified in state and county laws. The intent is to ensure noncitizens can report crime without fearing deportation, while depriving the feds of a key resource local police, who have traditionally been U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements sources for deportation targets outside of border areas. If the mayors had snubbed the Oversight Committee, it could have taken the rare measure of compelling their testimonies with a subpoena. Johnson initially hedged on whether he would go, a hesitation that relieved some skeptics in local government who believed it to be a trap with little upside for the rookie mayor. But a month ago, Johnson joined the other three mayors in confirming his attendance. The next day, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi went to court against the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago over their sanctuary policies. That means Johnsons responses on Wednesday will be under the dual glare of Congress and Trumps Justice Department, though the courts have generally determined sanctuary laws to be constitutional. The high-drama scene the mayor will be walking into is hardly his first time being assailed over immigration. Johnson, who charted an unconventional political trajectory from Chicago Teachers Union organizer to the fifth floor of City Hall, has repeatedly weathered rough seas over his decision to house and feed asylum-seekers with taxpayer resources when he first took office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That humanitarian crisis, which began in 2022 when Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent his first busload of migrants to Chicago, waned last summer after racking up $638 million for the citys response. About $268 million came out of the citys corporate fund versus state and federal grants. Republicans seeking to prove a narrative of sanctuary policies sowing destruction in cities could still lambast the costly effort, however, even though the Welcoming City Ordinance did not apply to most of the recent arrivals from Venezuela because they had legal authorization to cross the U.S. border and remain in the country as asylum-seekers. Johnson has been unequivocal in defending Chicagos sanctuary policy, but locally, he has sought to pivot from speculation over the hearing to his administrations broader resistance to the Trump agenda especially how it pertains to Black people, one of the mayors main bases. Its a nod to the uproar Johnson, the citys fourth Black mayor, has faced from South and West siders who felt their communities remained neglected while Venezuelan migrants received government assistance. During the Democratic National Convention last August, the mayor first tested a line he has since repeated about immigration, calling the union of Chicagos founder, Haitian explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, and his Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa, the greatest love story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps most loyal surrogates in Congress are unlikely to be persuaded by that message. But Johnson shrugged off his doubters in both Chicago and the nations capital during a rousing send-off rally at a West Side church on Saturday. No matter how they bark, no matter how loud they yell, they are not going to disrupt what we call the soul of Chicago, Johnson said after strolling into the room wearing Air Force Ones. Were going to make sure that the roar that comes out of the city of Chicago ignites a movement across America and across this globe. That no matter who you are and where youre from, you get to have the beauty of liberation. ____ Chicagos path to being a sanctuary city began more than 40 years ago. Heres a look back at the leaders and laws that have shaped Chicagos involvement with the sanctuary movement. July 18, 1982: Church congregation begins taking in refugees The Wellington Avenue Church congregation votes to join the sanctuary movement becoming just the second church in the U.S. to harbor refugees who entered the country illegally. The movement, which has roots in the medieval tradition of churches providing sanctuary for those fleeing persecution, was aimed at providing a safe haven for Central Americans running from political repression and violence in their home countries. They were refused asylum here because of U.S. support for the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala. About 20 Chicago-area churches became sanctuaries in the 1980s. November 1982: Group becomes national leader in sanctuary movement Recognized for its work in organizing and transporting refugees from El Salvador to a network of welcoming churches around the U.S., the Chicago Religious Task Force on Central America becomes the national clearinghouse for the sanctuary movement. The group distributes books on the sanctuary movement and holds rallies in downtown Chicago to bring awareness to the issues facing Central American refugees. Jan. 20, 1985: Chicagos chief legal officer: Dont assist the feds A week after 18 workers driving cabs were arrested, Corporation Counsel James Montgomery recommends Chicago not cooperate with federal immigration authorities in arresting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally unless subpoenas are obtained. Chicagos Immigration and Naturalization Service Director A.D. Moyer criticizes Montgomerys suggestion. March 7, 1985: Mayor encourages equal access by all persons to city services, licenses Mayor Harold Washington signs an executive order ending the citys practice of asking job and license applicants about their U.S. citizenship and halting cooperation by city agencies with federal immigration authorities. Dec. 17, 1985: Operation Taxicab rounds up immigrants suspected of living in U.S. illegally Calling cabdrivers who are living in the U.S. illegally a serious menace, the citys immigration director, Moyer, orders spot checks of drivers identification at airports and other hangouts. Dubbed Operation Taxicab, 129 drivers are arrested in a single day 51 could later prove they were in the U.S. legally. Though there was no federal law prohibiting employers from hiring workers in the country illegally, Moyer blames Mayor Washingtons earlier executive order for opening the door. April 30, 1987: Feds offer immigrants ways to gain legal status Less than 1 1/2 years after overseeing raids on taxi drivers in the U.S. illegally, Moyer details plans to open four centers to help immigrants with paperwork to become legal U.S. residents. The effort is part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, a law passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan to offer a path to legal residence for people in the U.S. illegally since Jan. 1, 1982. Nov. 1, 1987: Sanctuary group urges hiring undocumented workers The Chicago Religious Task Force, a national clearinghouse for the sanctuary movement helping Central American refugees, said in a Chicago Tribune story that it was planning to urge priests, nuns and employers to break the law by hiring undocumented workers in the Chicago area, where tens of thousands of the immigrants live. April 25, 1989: Daley adopts Washingtons sanctuary stance Shortly after taking office, Daley signs 13 executive orders including one that reaffirms fair and equal access to employment, benefits and licenses to all regardless of nationality or citizenship. June 4, 1992: Chicago Crime Commission asks for amendment The group asks Mayor Daley to amend the 1989 executive order to allow Chicago police to share citizenship information with the INS to help combat street gangs. Later, Daley says any information about a person involved in serious crimes would be turned over to the feds. (This provision would be added as part of the citys 2012 Welcoming City ordinance.) Aug. 15, 2006: Woman seeks church refuge to avoid deportation, reviving sanctuary movement Ordered to be deported, Elvira Arellano and her U.S.-born son take refuge inside Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicagos Humboldt Park neighborhood. She had been arrested in a post-Sept. 11, 2001, sweep of OHare International Airport, where she was working as a cleaner. Authorities discovered she had been using a fake Social Security number and had been previously deported to Mexico. Arellano would spend a year living in the church with her story receiving national attention. While awaiting a decision on her application for political asylum, Arellano is living in Humboldt Park with her partner and two sons. Sept. 7, 2011: Cook County wont fulfill ICE detainer requests In a vote of 10-5, the Cook County Board passes an ordinance to free immigrants suspected of living in the U.S. illegally who are jailed in both felony and misdemeanor cases despite federal immigration authorities requests to detain them. The ordinance was based on a recent federal ruling in Indiana that determined ICE detainers are voluntary requests and not criminal warrants. Sept. 12, 2012: Welcoming City ordinance passes Building on an existing ordinance that prohibits agencies from inquiring about the immigration status of people seeking city services, this ordinance also prevents local police from detaining people solely on the belief that they are in the U.S. illegally, and cooperating with federal agents when they suspect status is the only reason the warrant has been issued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With its introduction in July 2012, Mayor Emanuel said the ordinance would make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the country. April 2, 2014: City Council urges President Obama to stop deporting individuals with no criminal history The City Council passes a resolution encouraging Congress and President Barack Obama to pursue immigration reform. Children and their families should not have to live in fear of government-forced separation, it stated. Nov. 18, 2015: Alderman pushes for Rauner to reverse decision on Syrian refugees Following the Paris terrorist attacks, 31 governors including then-Indiana Gov. and now-Vice President Mike Pence and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner sought to turn away Syrian refugees from their states. In a resolution reaffirming Chicagos sanctuary city status and refuge for refugees from around the world, Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, says its up to the federal government to make that decision. Oct. 5, 2016: City workers, police cant use immigration status for intimidation Following Jianqing Klyzeks case, aldermen amend 2012s Welcoming City ordinance to require that reports of physical abuse, threats or intimidation against immigrants, in the U.S. legally or illegally, be sent to oversight agencies that cover the Chicago Police Department and other city agencies. Oct. 12, 2016: Municipal ID program launches Suggested in 2015 by a City Council ordinance, Mayor Emanuel launches a program to give all Chicagoans including immigrants in the U.S. illegally, the homeless, the formerly incarcerated, young adults and the elderly official identification that will not convey information about national origin or legal status. New City Clerk Anna Valencia will oversee the program. Nov. 13, 2016: Following Donald Trumps election, Mayor Emanuel defends citys stance Since the Presidential Election, there has been a sense of uncertainty among many immigrant communities in Chicago and across the nation. I want to assure all of our families that Chicago is and will remain a Sanctuary City, Mayor Emanuel said in a Nov. 13, 2016, news release. Chicago has been a city of immigrants since it was founded. We have always welcomed people of all faiths and backgrounds, and while the administration will change, our values and our commitment to inclusion will not. Dec. 5, 2016: City looks for Rauners backing of sanctuary status A resolution sponsored by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, new Democratic state Comptroller Susana Mendoza and 35 of the citys 50 aldermen calls on Governor Bruce Rauner to issue a statement of support for cities that welcome our undocumented family members and neighbors and condemn any effort to strip the city of Chicago of federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resolution calls on Rauner to speak at a special council meeting held solely for the purpose of discussing the president-elects plans for cities that welcome and protect immigrants. Asked to respond to the specifics of the city resolution, a Rauner spokeswoman instead issued a general statement reiterating the governors support for immigration reform. Jan. 25, 2017: Emanuel defends city from President Trumps threats In response to President Trumps signing of an executive order intended to block federal funding to sanctuary cities like Chicago, Mayor Emanuel says, There is no stranger among us. We welcome people. The citys aldermen vote to reaffirm that Chicago protects all residents regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, criminal record, gender identity and sexual orientation. You mess with one in Chicago, you mess with all of us, said Northwest Side Ald. John Arena, 45th. Jan. 27, 2017: Chicago advocates condemn Trumps order on migrants Chicago immigration reform advocates and Muslim leaders denounced President Donald Trumps executive order to temporarily block refugees coming to the U.S. while the government reviews screening processes, calling it an effective ban on Muslims in America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In issuing the order, which calls for a four-month halt on all refugee admissions, an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and a temporary moratorium on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism concerns, Trump said he seeks to protect the nation from terrorist attacks. He called for a review of all screening procedures for those seeking immigrant visas to the U.S. Jan. 30, 2017: Safeguarding Sanctuary Cities Act introduced in U.S. House Rep. Mike Quigley, of Chicago, and 32 Democrats introduce a bill that would ensure that federal funds cannot be unduly withheld from any state or local authority that limits or restricts compliance with a voluntary immigration detainer request. This bill was introduced during a previous session of Congress but was not advanced. Feb. 10, 2017: Rauner doesnt take a position on Democrats immigration plan Asked if he would support legislation to make it harder for federal authorities to access information about immigrants living in Illinois, Governor Bruce Rauner didnt reply yes or no, saying he is very pro-comprehensive immigration reform and wants the state to continue to be welcoming and diverse. Legislation under consideration at the state Capitol would allow schools, medical facilities and places of worship to decline access to federal immigration authorities, and it would limit cooperation and communication between local police and immigration officials. The plans were introduced as part of a broader sanctuary state effort to extend statewide some protections like those in Chicago and Cook County, where local laws prohibit government workers and police officers from asking about residents immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation is sponsored by Democrats, and their party controls the General Assembly. Pressed to provide his position on the sanctuary state idea Friday, Rauner declined. Ive answered it, he said. Ive said what Im going to say. March 15, 2017: Former sanctuary seeker allowed to stay in the U.S. another year following ICE meeting Elvira Arellano, the twice-deported immigration activist whose year of living in a Humboldt Park church a decade ago made her a lightning rod in the immigration debate, was granted a reprieve and allowed to remain in the United States for another year. She is awaiting a hearing on her petition for political asylum, which she filed three years ago. March 27, 2017: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says sanctuary cities could lose federal funding Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he is urging states and local jurisdictions to comply with these federal laws. He says the Justice Department will require compliance with immigration laws in order for the cities to receive grants through the Office of Justice Programs. The Obama administration had a similar policy in place. July 25, 2017: Justice Department rules intensify crackdown on sanctuary cities like Chicago The Justice Department escalated its promised crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, saying it will no longer give cities coveted grant money unless they give federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Aug. 7, 2017: Emanuel sues Trumps Justice Department over sanctuary city policy Mayor Emanuels Law Department files its much-touted lawsuit against President Donald Trumps Justice Department over its effort to withhold some grant funding from so-called sanctuary cities. Aug. 16, 2017: Sessions blasts sanctuary cities, singling out Chicago During a news conference in Miami, Sessions vowed to continue fighting cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities aiming much of his frustration at Chicago. Aug. 23, 2017: Mother of 6 seeks sanctuary in a Chicago church to avoid deportation Francisca Lino, 50, a Bolingbrook resident and mother of six children five of them U.S. citizens is taking sanctuary in the same Chicago church that protected immigration activist Elvira Arellano. Lino was scheduled to meet with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, but, instead, she held a West Side news conference at Adalberto United Methodist Church in Humboldt Park. Sept. 15, 2017: Judge rules in citys favor on sanctuary cities, grants nationwide injunction A federal judge in Chicago blocked the Trump administrations rules requiring so-called sanctuary cities to cooperate with immigration agents in order to get a public safety grant. Oct. 13, 2017: Chicago judge refuses to change ruling on sanctuary cities U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said Mayor Rahm Emanuels administration could suffer irreparable harm in its relationship with the immigrant community if it were to comply with the U.S. Department of Justices new rules requiring sanctuary cities nationaide to cooperate with immigration agents in exchange for receiving public safety grant money. November 2017: Linos attorneys file a civil rights lawsuit They allege the U.S. government violated her Fifth Amendment rights and expeditiously deported her in 1999 without due process. April 19, 2018: Emanuel wins legal victory in sanctuary city lawsuit The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upholds a nationwide injunction prohibiting Attorney General Sessions from requiring cities to give immigration agents access to immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are in their lockups, in order to get certain public safety grants. Following the ruling, Mayor Emanuel calls on President Trumps Justice Department to hand over grant money to Chicago. October 2018: Chicago sues Trump administration for withholding police funding The city has already sued over the matter, but now the DOJ has imposed a new round of restrictions, city officials say. Among other things, the new stipulations include requiring local police to inform immigration officials about immigrants in custody who have questionable legal status and allowing them to access the prisoners for questioning. July 27, 2018: Judge Feds cant dock sanctuary cities A federal judge sides with the city of Chicago in its sanctuary city lawsuit, ruling that the Trump administration does not have the authority to withhold federal public safety funding from the city if it limits its cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. May 2019: Pregnant mother of three takes sanctuary inside Chicago church Adilene Marquina Adam, 34, says she was told to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, the family takes refuge inside a small storefront church, the Faith, Life and Hope Mission, on 63rd Street in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Sept. 26, 2019: Mayor Lightfoot upstages ICE press conference Robert Guadian, ICEs newly appointed Chicago field office director, held a news conference to underscore what he said are the dangers of local police not cooperating with his agency in so-called sanctuary cities like Chicago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But outside of ICEs Chicago office, Lightfoot appeared with a group of immigration activists and called Guadians criticism of the citys sanctuary ordinance nonsense. Oct. 28, 2019: President Trump makes his first visit to Chicago as the nations chief executive Speaking at the annual gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police at McCormick Place, Trump slammed Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in front of his peers and criticized the type of federal order the city is under to reform the CPD. Trump also called Chicago the worst sanctuary city in America and cited the refusal of the citys Police Department under Johnson to detain people in the country illegally for immigration enforcement. Feb. 15, 2020: Border Patrol to deploy to Chicago The Trump administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units from the southern border as part of a supercharged arrest operation in sanctuary cities across the country, including Chicago, an escalation in the presidents battle against localities that refuse to participate in immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a video condemning the news that additional agents were being sent to sanctuary cities to help immigration enforcement, and warned residents that they did not have to open doors to anyone who doesnt have a warrant. Feb. 18, 2020: City leaders call for end to attacks on immigrants Chicago politicians and immigrant advocates vowed to push back against plans by President Trumps administration to deploy tactical units from the southern border to strengthen immigration enforcement in Chicago and other so-called sanctuary cities. U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia contended the timing of the initiative was intended to instill fear in immigrants not just about deportation but about participating in the 2020 census. The timing is no accident, Garcia said at a news conference. The attempted intimidation has a clear purpose: It is to intimidate our neighbors who are Latino, African American, Asian American communities in particular, not to open their doors. Trump succeeds if we do that. Trump wants us to be undercounted in our communities so that we would lose federal resources and services that are vital to our communities and weaken our political power. April 30, 2020: Judges rule in favor of Chicago in sanctuary city fight with Trump Justice Department President Donald Trumps Justice Department cant withhold federal grants from sanctuary cities such as Chicago that extend protections to undocumented immigrants, a federal appeals court ruled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was delighted by the ruling, saying she let out a cheer when she found out about it. The battle started in 2017, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the federal government would require sanctuary cities that want federal public safety funding to give notice when immigrants in the country illegally are about to be released from custody and allow immigration agents access to local jails. Aug. 31, 2022: Seventy-five migrants who arrived in Texas were dropped off at Chicagos Union Station Around 9 p.m. along the Canal Street side of the station, a group of about 15 people, some of whom were from Venezuela and were waiting for another bus, were standing or sitting on a sidewalk. Some were looking at their phones as others were speaking to each other and to a Tribune reporter. Most were men, but there was one woman with her young daughter and husband. They were waiting to be picked up and taken to a shelter, they told the Tribune reporter. Read more. May 9, 2023: Mayor Lightfoot declares state of emergency: Weve reached a breaking point The executive order is in response to the thousands of migrants settling in the city, often under harsh living conditions, after crossing the U.S. southern border to seek asylum. Jan. 24, 2025: CPS security video shows Secret Service trying to enter Chicagos Hamline School Chicago Public Schools officials had a calm, seemingly friendly conversation with two U.S. Secret Service agents outside Hamline School hours before the district sparked a nationwide panic when it falsely proclaimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had tried to enter the building, according to recently released security footage. Feb. 6, 2025: Trump administration sues Illinois, Cook County and Chicago over sanctuary immigration laws The lawsuit argues that the U.S. Constitutions Supremacy Clause prohibits Illinois, Chicago, Cook County, and their officials from obstructing the Federal Governments ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution. March 5, 2025: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defends citys sanctuary status before GOP-led congressional committee Seated in the middle of a five-person witness panel that included the Democratic leaders from three other major U.S. cities, Johnson touted Chicagos downward trend in crime as he argued its policy blocking local police from assisting in immigration enforcement in fact makes communities safer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know there are myths about these laws, Johnson said in his opening remarks to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fear mongering obscure the reality that Chicagos crime rates are trending down. We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. Its grandstanding. Sources: Tribune reporting and archives, city of Chicago, Cook County Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicagos past. WARWICK A new fast food restaurant with a drive-through is being built in front of Showcase Cinemas next to Texas Roadhouse. The restaurant? Chick-fil-A, a company spokesman confirmed in an email to The Providence Journal. The new Chick-fil-A will be next to the Showcase Cinemas at 1200 Quaker Lane, near the border with East Greenwich, and the Texas Roadhouse. The new Chick-fil-A will feature two drive-through lanes. The building itself will be 5,200 square feet. That equates to 68 indoor seats and 24 outdoor seats, with a small patio near Division Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chick-fil-A already has another location in Warwick, at 1500 Bald Hill Road in the Marketplace Center. That location only has one drive-through lane, which is often busy. This new location would be the second Chick-fil-A location in Rhode Island, though the restaurant does delivery out of a ghost kitchen in Providence at 65 Bath St. What to know about the new Chick-fil-A in Rhode Island According to a preliminary plan approval from 2024, the restaurant has 87 parking spaces. In all, the lot is 1.75 acres. The construction site is about the length of the current Showcase Cinemas building. According to plan documents, the restaurant and its drive-through infrastructure would be about half the length of the Showcase Cinemas building, with parking spaces taking up the rest of the length, as well as a proposed additional building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Chick-fil-A being built will be 5,200 square feet. By comparison, the movie theater is 94,000 square feet and Texas Roadhouse is 7,364 square feet. Plans for the project show the drive-through will take up the most real estate, with the exception of parking, with two very long lanes that each have the capacity for 18 cars, 36 total. The 2-acre construction site of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant and another retail building across from Showcase Cinemas on Quaker Lane in Warwick. "The proposed drive-through component of the fast-food restaurant will be consistent with typical fast-foodoperations," according to the project narrative. "A pre-menu board, menu board, order point, and pick-up window are proposed as part of the drive-thru accessories." When will it open? According to planning documents, the developer, CollabDev3 LLC, wants to have the Chick-fil-A operational by the end of 2025. When exactly things will finish is a moving target. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Lead times on products in all phases of construction have varied in the last few years, as a result, this timeline is considered approximate," according to a project narrative submitted to Warwick. Tariffs on Canadian imports, such as wood, and separate tariffs on steel are expected to raise construction prices and disrupt supply chains, but not to the extent that the pandemic nearly brought many construction projects to a halt as crews worked to source alternatives for needed components. The Chick-fil-A on Bald Hill Road in Warwick was hopping on Feb. 28. What's the deal with Chick-fil-A? Chick-fil-A is a privately held, family-owned company. A company that espouses Christian values, it has drawn ire, and been the subject of boycotts, for contributions to anti-gay-marriage groups. Before 2012, the company consistently donated to anti-LGBTQ groups and then-CEO Dan Cathy said supporting same-sex marriage would invite God's judgment on the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the 2012 backlash in response to the company's donations and Cathy's comments, Chick-fil-A stopped making donations to some, but not all, of the controversial groups. The company continued to face criticism. The restaurants are also closed on Sundays. Last year, Del Taco dethroned Chick-fil-A in USA Today's reader poll of the 10 best fast-food restaurants in the country, as the chain slipped from the top spot to third place, after holding the top ranking for nearly a decade. Other pad to be developed Project plans and narratives show there are plans for a future development, a square 5,300-square-foot building, on the other side of the Chick-fil-A lot, on a smaller lot of land, about 1 acre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between the Chick-fil-A lot and the other lot there will be 123 parking spaces. The entire business complex at 1200 Quaker Lane has 1,044 parking spaces, as there are acres of parking on the other side of the movie theater. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer. Material from USA Today was used in this report. Follow Wheeler Cowperthwaite on X, @WheelerReporter, or reach him by email at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Chick-fil-A is opening a new RI location in Warwick. What to know. TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks rebounded on Wednesday as investors reacted positively after U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to Congress did not specifically target Japan, prompting short-term buyers to enter the market. The benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, closed at 37,418.24, up 87.06 points, or 0.23 percent from the previous day. However, concerns about a potential global economic slowdown due to escalating tariff conflicts between the United States and other nations led to a decline in U.S. stocks overnight, causing the Nikkei to fluctuate in the morning session. The Nikkei 225 saw a sharper rise in the afternoon, at one point gaining nearly 270 points. Reports suggested that the U.S. government might announce a path to tariff reductions for Canada and Mexico, easing market concerns. Additionally, a weakening yen against the U.S. dollar supported export-related stocks like Toyota and Honda. The Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) also rebounded, closing 8.03 points, or 0.30 percent higher at 2,718.21. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones, with 1,090 stocks rising, 489 falling, and 59 remaining unchanged. In the second season of Severance, theres an unexpected character: a child supervisor named Miss Huang, who matter-of-factly explains shes a child because of when I was born. Miss Huangs deadpan response is more than just a clever quip. Like so much in the Apple TV+ series, which has broken viewership records for the streaming service, I think it reveals a devastating truth about the role of work in the 21st century. As a scholar of childhood studies, I also see historical echoes: What constitutes a child and whether one gets to claim childhood at all has always depended on when and where a person is born. An age of innocence? Americans are deeply invested in the idea of childhood as a time of innocence, with kids protected by doting adults from the harsh realities of work and making ends meet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, French historian Philippe Aries famously argued that childhood, as many understand it today, simply did not exist in the past. The 14th-century painting Madonna of Veveri depicts a young child with adultlike proportions. The Print Collector/Getty Images Using medieval art as one resource, Aries pointed out that children were often portrayed as miniature adults, without special attributes, such as plump features or silly behaviors, that might mark them as fundamentally different from their older counterparts. Looking at baptism records, Aries also discovered that many parents gave siblings the same name, and he explained this phenomenon by suggesting that devastatingly high child mortality rates prevented parents from investing the sort of love and affection in their children thats now considered a core component of parenthood. While historians have debated many of Aries specific claims, his central insight remains powerful: Our modern understanding of childhood as a distinct life stage characterized by play, protection and freedom from adult responsibilities is a relatively recent historical development. Aries argued that children didnt emerge as a focus of unconditional love until the 17th century. Kids at work The belief that a child deserves a life free from the stress of the workplace came along still later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After all, if Miss Huang had been born in the 19th century, few people would question her presence in the workplace. The Industrial Revolution yielded accounts of children working 16-hour days and accorded no special protection because of their tender age and emotional vulnerability. Well into the 20th century, children younger than Miss Huang routinely worked in factories, mines and other dangerous environments. To todays viewers of Severance, the presence of a child supervisor in the sterile, oppressive workplace of the shows fictional Lumon Industries feels jarring precisely because it violates the deeply held belief that children are occupants of a separate sphere, their innocence shielding them from the dog-eat-dog environs of competitive workplaces. Lewis Hines 1908 photograph of girls working at Newberry Mills in Newberry, S.C. Library of Congress Childhood under threat As a child worker, Miss Huang might seem like an uncanny ghost of a bygone era of childhood. But I think shes closer to a prophet: Her role as child-boss warns viewers about what a work-obsessed future holds. Today, the ideal childhood access to play, care and a meaningful education is increasingly under threat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As politicians and policymakers insist that children are the future, many of them refuse to support the intensive caregiving required to transform newborns into functioning adults. As philosopher Nancy Fraser has argued, capitalism relies on someone doing that work, while assigning it little to no monetized value. Child-rearing in the 21st century exists within a troubling paradox: Mothers provide unpaid child care for their own children, while those who professionally care for others children predominantly women of color and immigrants receive meager compensation for this essential work. In other words, economic elites and the politicians they support say they want to cultivate future workers. But they dont want to fund the messy, inefficient, time-consuming process that raising modern children requires. The shows name comes from a severance procedure that workers undergo to separate their work memories from their personal ones. It offers a darkly comic version of work-life balance, with Lumon office workers able to completely disconnect their work selves from their personalities off the clock. Each is distinct: A characters innie is the person they are at the job, and their outtie is who they are at home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I see this as an apt metaphor for how market capitalism seeks to separate the slow, patient work required to raise children and care for other loved ones from the cold-eyed pursuit of economic efficiency. Parents are expected to work as if they dont have children and raise children as if they dont work. The result is a system that makes traditional notions of childhood with its unwieldy dependencies, its inefficient play and its demands for attention and care increasingly untenable. Capitalisms ideal child Plummeting global fertility rates around the world speak to this crisis in child care, with the U.S., Europe, South Korea and China falling well below the birth rate required to replace the existing population. Even as Elon Musk frets about women choosing not to have children, he seems eager to restrict any government aid that would provide the time or resources that raising children requires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Accessible health care, affordable, healthy food and stable housing are out of the reach of many. The current administrations quest for what it calls government efficiency is poised to shred safety net programs that help millions of low-income children. In the midst of this dilemma, Miss Huang offers a surreal solution to the problems children pose in 2025. She is, in many ways, capitalisms ideal child. Already a productive worker as a tween, she requires no parents time, no teachers patience and no communitys resources. Like other workers and executives at Lumon, she seems to have shed the inefficient entanglements of family, love and play. In this light, Miss Huangs clever insistence that she is a child because of when I was born is darkly prophetic. In a world where every moment must be productive, where caregiving is systematically devalued and where human relationships are subordinated to market logic, Miss Huang represents a future where childhood survives only as a date on a birth certificate. All the other attributes are economically impractical. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Viewers dont yet know if shes severed. But at least from the perspective of the other workers in the show, Miss Huang works ceaselessly and, in doing so, proves that she is no child at all. Or rather, she is the only kind of child that Americas economic system allows to thrive. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Anna Mae Duane, University of Connecticut Read more: Anna Mae Duane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) A proposal to expand South Dakotas child-care subsidies, so that they would cover more of the child-care workers whose children need the care, too, has cleared the Legislature. State senators voted 20-14 on Tuesday for House Bill 1132. That came after the House had approved it 39-31. With only two lawmakers, Democratic Rep. Erin Healy and Republican Sen. Tim Reed, as its sponsors, HB 1132 now goes to Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden for a decision whether to sign it into law. Myah Selland speaks out against anti-trans legislation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Therein might be its problem. The only opponent at the House hearing was Brenda Tidball-Zeltinger. She is deputy secretary for the state Department of Social Services. The only opponent at its Senate committee hearing was state Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff. The deputy secretary answers to the secretary. And the secretary directly answers to the governor. They wouldnt have opposed such a high-profile bill, unless they were expected to do so. Thats because legislation directly affects federal funding that the South Dakota Department of Social Services receives and distributes through its child care assistance program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 1132 adds a new section that calls for the department to expand child-care benefits specifically for people who work in child care. The new section tells the department to exclude all earned and unearned household income of an applicant to the program, if the income is less than 300% of the federal poverty level, and if the applicant works in child care at least 30 hours per week, specifically at any of three types of child care organizations or businesses: A before and after school day care program, licensed by the department; A day care center or group family day care home, licensed by the department; or Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A family day care home, registered by the department. The Healy-Reed bill also would change the name of the child care services program to the child care assistance program. Nearly a year ago, the Governors Office of Economic Development announced that more than $3.7 million was being awarded to 13 recipients representing more than 40 organization. The news release said that the funding would retain more than 595 current child-care slots and allow for more than 2,460 new slots in Brookings, Burke, Highmore, Rapid City, Redfield, Madison, McIntosh, Mobridge, Murdo, Pierre, Platte, Sioux Falls and Vermillion. This came after Secretary Althoff announced in December 2023 that his department would be changing how child-care assistance was provided, so that providers would on January 1, 2024, start receiving full authorized payments regardless of temporary changes in child attendance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In September 2023, the Governors Office of Economic Development and the Department of Social Services jointly announced establishment of a community-based child care grant program. of up to $15,000 apiece for planning child care services. It was part of then-Gov. Kristi Noems federally funded Investment Plan for Child Care. The news release noted, The grant is provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) providing South Dakota with additional funds designed to create a stronger child care system and industry allowing parents equal access to high quality child care. In January 2023, the Noem administration announced that the governor was releasing $12.5 million of federal funding for child care services. The governor was quoted in the announcement: Over the past several months, we have held listening sessions to receive feedback from parents, child care providers, and communities to hear where state investments can be best utilized. Our joint goal is to increase the options available to parents across the state, Noem said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued, We can do this by expanding our states capacity of high-quality, flexible child care options. And we are looking at opportunities to streamline child care regulations to increase access, as well. This came after her January 2023 State of the State speech to the Legislature, in which she said her administration would be overhauling child care regulations and rules, and releasing nearly $40 million in federal grants to child care providers. During the Senate debate on Tuesday, Reed said he chaired an ad hoc group on child care last year and staffing surfaced as the top need for child care providers. Many child care facilities have empty rooms simply because they cannot find enough workers, Reed said, and low pay was one of the barriers. What they earn is often not even enough to cover the cost of child care while theyre at work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current child-care services program provides assistance to parents who earn less than 209% of the federal poverty level. HB 1132 would raise that to 300% for families where at least one parent works 30 or more hours per week in child care. Reed said adding one more child care worker would lead to at least 10 more child care slots. The fact of the matter is that the child care work force supports all other work forces, Reed said. Republican Sen. Kevin Jensen explained why he opposed the bill at its Senate committee hearing. Its not that I dont have a place in my heart for people who cant afford their child care. But this is a carve-out, Jensen said. He said teachers should have been included, too. Jensen spoke from his experience as a former school board member. I know for a fact that we lose teachers, good quality teachers, every year because they cant afford child care, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith defended the bill. What it does, it puts more people to take care of kids, Smith said. In my district, we have a crisis, and yours probably too, in child care. I have people who want to work but cannot afford to. This helps this helps. Theres also people who can afford to work but need a place to put their kids. We need places. Smith acknowledged that other people might need to be included. Thats not what were debating right now. Were debating about child care, he said. Republican Sen. Carl Perry likewise spoke for the bill. He said the YMCA in Aberdeen could add 30 or 40 kids if they had three or four more. Im in favor of it because I really think we need to take care of our kids, he said. Republican Sen. Paul Miskimins said child care workers earn an average of $12.73 per hour. And you try to live on twelve dollars an hour, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Normally this is something I would not be favor in, Republican Sen. Tamara Grove said. But testimony convinced her of its potential. So when you can have space for ten to sixteen children, thats a lot of families that will be impacted. Republican Sen. Taffy Howard spoke against it. This bill does not provide any additional funding, she said. The funding to expand it would come at the cost of the state general fund or the payments to low-income families would be smaller, she warned. This is shifting. Someones going to have to cover the cost here, unless we want to put more money in, Howard said. Republican Sen. Sue Peterson asked Reed a series of questions. One was who opposed the bill. Reed said the Department of Social Services. Theyre not wanting to change. They dont want to be part of the solution, Reed said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Child missing from Connecticut since 1999 found living in Mexico NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) A child missing from Connecticut since 1999 was found safe and living in Mexico recently, according to Othram, a company that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. Now a 27-year-old, Andrea Michelle Reyes was abducted from New Haven by Rosa Tenorio, her non-custodial parent. Woman arrested for striking 2 Bristol pedestrians Officials said she was taken to Mexico as a 2-year-old, where she and her mother have lived in the city of Puebla for the last 25 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Othram said Reyes father searched tirelessly over the years but never heard from his daughter or the mother. New Haven police said he even went to Mexico himself several times to look for her in person. After the kidnapping, New Haven police launched an investigation and issued a felony warrant for Tenorio for custodial inference. Several other agencies helped in the investigation, including the FBI, and age-progressed images of Reyes were created for her missing persons profile. Body cam footage details Rep. Bumgardners DUI arrest in Groton New Haven police decided to reopen the cold case in 2023 and were able to locate Reyes by reviewing interviews, search warrants and social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation resulted in Reyes contacting her father after more than 20 years. This case reflects the hard work of our officers and detectives. While cases may have investigative leads exhausted at the time, no cold case is ever truly closed. We remain committed to resolving every cold case, and this is a perfect example of that effort, New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said. The arrest warrant for Tenorio remains active but is only valid within the United States, and she is believed to still reside in Mexico. News 8 spoke with Ken Gray, a distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven and a retired FBI Special Agent. He shared how difficult these cases can be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If a child is kidnapped here in the United States by a parent and taken to Mexico, its very hard to get them back from Mexico, Gray explained. If the mother remained in Mexico, it would be difficult to get her into the United States to prosecute her. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. Chilean President Gabriel Boric assured German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday that Chile wants to expedite construction of a memorial for the victims of Colonia Dignidad sect. At a joint press conference with Steinmeier, Boric referred to a recent decision to expropriate a large area of the site of the former colony. "This government wants to implement the expropriation as quickly as possible and build the memorial together with the victims," Boric said in Santiago. Steinmeier emphasized that Germany and Chile owed it to the victims to ensure that this memorial is built. "We know the pain of the victims and we know the victims desire for a place of remembrance." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steinmeier had spoken to victims himself the day before. They described their harrowing fates to him. "Everyone in the room realized how much the issue still moves people," he said at the press conference. Steinmeier thanked Boric for vigorously pursuing the issue. In response to the question of whether the memorial would be built in the remaining two years of Steinmeier's term of office, so that he could inaugurate it, he replied, "We will make every effort to get it done." Abuse and torture in ColoniaDignidad Colonia Dignidad was a place of unimaginable suffering. The German lay preacher Paul Schafer moved from Germany to Chile with his followers in 1961. He founded a settlement for the sect around 400 kilometres south of Santiago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For decades, Schafer made the sect members work there without pay until they were exhausted. Schafer tore families apart and abused German and Chilean children. During the military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990, opponents of the regime were tortured and murdered on the settlement grounds. In 2005, the Chilean government placed Colonia Dignidad under administration. Today, the area, renamed Villa Baviera, is open to visitors. Chancellor Scholz had already promised support For years, there have been efforts to build a memorial for the victims of Colonia Dignidad. During a visit in January 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised the support of the German government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boric thanked the German government for "its willingness to help find the truth." Steinmeier praises Chile as a reliable partner Steinmeier praised Chile as an important strategic partner of Germany. "At a time when the multilateral world order and even the United Nations itself are being called into question, we not only want to, but must work even more closely together as friends and partners." HONG KONG (Reuters) -China will "actively" respond to population aging with policies for its rapidly growing elderly and its young people, including providing childcare subsidies and making preschool education free, as it tries to boost the country's declining population. The measures were announced in two official government documents on Wednesday, prepared for the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament. China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, as marriages plummeted by one-fifth, the biggest drop on record, despite efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to wed and have children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rapid aging has become a growing concern in the world's second-largest economy with the number of those aged 60 and older expected to rise at least 40% to more than 400 million by 2035, equal to the populations of Britain and the United States combined. China said it would raise minimum basic old age benefits for rural and non-working urban residents by 20 yuan and make an "appropriate increase" in the basic pension benefits for retirees, without giving other details. It will also expand 'public interest' elderly care services, particularly in rural areas and for seniors with physical disabilities. Authorities will 'prudently advance the reform to gradually raise' the statutory retirement age, said Premier Li Qiang's official work report, without giving further details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China raised its retirement age for men to 63 years from 60, while for women in white collar work it was raised to 58 years from 55. For women in blue collar work it was increased to 55 from 50. The changes came into effect on January 1 and are to be implemented over a 15 year period. CHILDCARE China will provide childcare subsidies, the government reports said without giving further details, and formulate "sound plans" for a childcare service system, including progressively making preschool education free. Care and services for children in rural areas and those who live with migrant worker parents would also be strengthened, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Women in early stages of pregnancy would also be offered more services, the documents said, without giving further details. Much of China's demographic downturn is the result of its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015. Couples have been allowed to have up to three children since 2021. However a rising number of young Chinese are opting to not have children, put off by the high cost of childcare or an unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold, while gender discrimination persists. Authorities have tried to roll out incentives and measures to encourage couples to have babies, including expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits for having children as well as housing subsidies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But China is one of the world's most expensive places to bring up a child, relative to its GDP per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank said last year, detailing the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth. (Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) By Naveen Thukral and Mei Mei Chu SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new tariffs on U.S. farm goods are poised to reshape global trade flows, prompting the world's top agricultural importer to source more meat, dairy and grains from countries in South America, Europe and the Pacific. Shipments to China from key soybean supplier Brazil, top wheat exporter Australia and major pork supplier Europe, could surge as a trade war hots up between the world's largest economies, industry officials and analysts said. China retaliated swiftly on Tuesday against fresh U.S. duties, announcing hikes of 10% and 15% to import levies covering $21 billion worth of American agricultural goods. "There will be rerouting of trade after China's import tariffs on U.S. goods," said Pan Chenjun, a senior analyst for animal protein at Rabobank in Hong Kong. "The main products that will be impacted are pork offal and chicken feet. For pork, both muscle and offal, China will get more supplies from Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and other EU countries." China is the largest market for U.S. farm exports, taking $29.25 billion worth of products in 2024, and any shift in trade flows could create opportunities for rival exporters. That would continue a trend in which China has curbed dependence on U.S. agriculture since the trade war during President Donald Trump's first term. On Tuesday, Trump also imposed duties on goods from Canada and Mexico, which could hurt the $191-billion U.S. agricultural export industry. NOT ENOUGH CHICKEN FEET China imported $16.26 billion worth of U.S. beef, pork and chicken, including offal in 2024, but in its counteroffensive, it has unveiled tariffs of 15% on U.S. chicken products and 10% on pork and beef. European and South American meat shipments to China are expected to rise as a result, analysts said. While China initiated anti-dumping investigations into imports of European Union pork and dairy last year, sales have not been affected. However, China's reliance on the United States for chicken feet is likely to continue, as alternatives would be difficult to source fully and quickly, said Pan. "Importers of chicken feet will just pay the duty and import from the United States in the meantime," Pan said. China is a key importer of U.S. chicken feet, pork ears and offal - items valued in its cuisine, but in little demand in the United States. MORE BRAZILIAN, AUSTRALIAN GRAINS About half of U.S. soybean exports go to China, even though the world's No. 1 buyer has reduced its dependence on American oilseeds since Trump's first term. By James Pomfret and Yimou Lee (Reuters) -Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday China would "firmly advance" the push for "reunification" with Taiwan while opposing external interference, and strive to work with regular Taiwanese to realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objection of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up its military pressure against the island in recent years, including holding several rounds of major war games. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will firmly advance the cause of China's reunification and work with our fellow Chinese in Taiwan to realise the glorious cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Li wrote in his annual work report to China's parliament. In his work report last year, Li reiterated a call for "reunification" with Taiwan, but added emphasis that it wants to "be firm" in doing so and dropped the descriptor "peaceful", which had been used in previous reports. Beijing has consistently pushed for reunification with Taiwan, and again said it would "resolutely oppose" separatist activities pushing for Taiwan independence. But its appeal to work with "fellow Chinese in Taiwan" to help rejuvenate the Chinese nation wasn't mentioned in the work report last year. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China, which has rebuffed him, saying he is a "separatist". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Amid geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. and as President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on Beijing including through tariffs, China said it opposed "external interference" on the Taiwan issue. It said it was committed to a foreign policy of peace to "oppose hegemonism and power politics, oppose unilateralism and protectionism in all forms." Taiwan's top China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council was not immediately available to comment. A senior Taiwan official familiar with the government's China policy said Beijing's tone on Taiwan hadn't changed much, signalling Taiwan wasn't at the top of its political agenda which had prioritised the economy and relations with the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They want to reiterate their agenda of the 'big exchange across the strait'," the official said, pointing out the paragraph on Taiwanese people as a sign of possible ramping up of China's tactics to bolster Beijing's reach abroad including co-opting Taiwanese through various exchanges including culture and religion. "But they only allow cross-strait exchanges that serve their political agenda and block those who don't. It's obvious that those exchanges are just political means." March marks the 20th anniversary of China's "anti-secession" law, which gives Beijing the legal authority to use force on Taiwan if it secedes or if the "possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted", but the law is vague and does not give details. (Reporting by James Pomfret, Yimou Lee and Laurie Chen; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lincoln Feast.) TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) China said Wednesday it will increase its defense budget 7.2% this year, as it continues its campaign to build a larger, more modern military to assert its territorial claims and challenge the U.S. defense lead in Asia. Chinas military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S. and it already has the worlds largest navy. The budget, which adds up to about $245 billion, was announced at the National Peoples Congress, the annual meeting of Chinas legislature. The Pentagon and many experts say China's total spending on defense may be 40% higher or more because of items included under other budgets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The boost is the same percentage as last year, far below the double-digit percentage increases of previous years and reflecting an overall slowdown in the economy. The nation's leaders have set a target of around 5% growth for this year. Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors who have overlapping claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as driving spending on increasingly high-tech military technologies. Those include stealth fighters, the country's three soon to be four aircraft carriers, and a broad expansion of its nuclear arsenal. China generally ascribes the budget increases to exercises and maintenance and improving the lives of its 2 million service members. China reiterates opposition to Taiwan's independence Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Peoples Liberation Army the military branch of the ruling Communist Party has build bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea but its main objective is asserting Chinese control over Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing claims as its own territory that has close ties to the U.S. China deployed a smaller contingent of five planes and seven ships near Taiwan on Wednesday, just days after sending dozens of aircraft. Such missions are intended to demoralize and wear down Taiwan's defenses, which have been bolstered by upgraded U.S. F-16s, tanks and missiles, along with domestically developed armaments. In his comments at the Congress, Premier Li Qiang told the nearly 3,000 party loyalists that China still preferred a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue, but resolutely opposes those pushing for Taiwan's formal independence and their foreign supporters. "We will firmly advance the cause of Chinas reunification and work with our fellow Chinese in Taiwan to realize the glorious cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Li said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taiwans defense minister this week said the island is planning to boost military spending in the face of the rapidly changing international situation and the escalating threats from adversaries. Feeling the economic crunch Faced with slower growth, China will likely prioritize key strategic goals over social and economic reforms, said Antonia Hmaidi, a senior analyst with the Mercator Institute for China Studies. "Those resources are more important to the CCPs goals of advancing a techno-industrial agenda and modernizing the military," Hmaidi said, using an acronym for the governing Chinese Communist Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese President Xi Jinping, who oversees the armed forces, has attempted to force through major reforms and removed senior military leaders including two former defense ministers and the head of the missile corps. Whether that will reduce the armed forces' influence remains unclear though, and the official Xinhua News Agency ran an item after Wednesday's announcement praising the government for keeping defense spending at below 1.5% of GDP for the last decade and criticizing the U.S. for not cutting its spending. Chinas development strengthens the worlds forces for peace, and the country will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism no matter what stage of development it reaches, Xinhua said, using standard Chinese terms defining its stance as purely defensive in nature. In its 2004 report on military and security developments involving China, the U.S. Defense Department portrayed China's ever-growing ambitions, saying the PLA concepts and capabilities focus on projecting power far from Chinas shores. The navy's movement from offshore defense to open seas protection and the air force's interest in becoming a strategic force "reflect the PLAs interest in conducting operations beyond (China) and its immediate periphery," the department said. BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese coast guard on Wednesday said it monitored a Philippine civilian boat delivering daily provisions to the "illegally grounded" warship at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal on Tuesday. China and the Philippines claim the territory and frequently clash in its surrounding waters. The resupply missions for soldiers aboard the grounded naval vessel were previously a significant cause of tension between the two countries until they reached a provisional agreement in July on such missions, signalling a de-escalation of tensions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, they also agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite their territorial disagreements. China urges the Philippines to honour its commitments, stop hyping up incidents in the area and work with China to manage the maritime situation, the coast guard said in a statement on Wednesday. The Philippines armed forces said it completed a routine troop rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre warship stationed at the shoal, "in resolute commitment to maintaining its presence and operational readiness in the West Philippine Sea". The armed forces carried out the mission with the Philippine coast guard which was "completed with no untoward incident". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled China's claims, backed by its historical maps, have no basis under international law - a ruling China does not recognise. (Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing) China plans to spend 7.2% more on its military this year, according to the draft budget presented at the National People's Congress on Wednesday, with Beijing also announcing that the year's economic growth target will again be 5%. The increase in the defence budget to 1.78 trillion yuan (around $245 billion) was revealed at the opening of the congress in Beijing. The government had increased its military budget by the same percentage last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has the second largest defence budget in the world, after the United States. President Xi Jinping has pushed a thorough modernization of the military since taking office in 2013, with the aim of creating a "world-class" military by 2049 to protect its core interests. Beijing's decision to up its defence spending comes amid tensions with Taiwan and China's expansive - and disputed - territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing considers the democratic island in the Pacific to be part of its territory, but Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949. Xi has repeatedly made it clear that he does not want to postpone unification indefinitely and would accomplish this if necessary, by force. Most recently, Beijing increased military pressure on Taiwan with extensive naval manoeuvres off its coast. Chinese fighter jets also repeatedly enter Taiwanese airspace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese forces also regularly clash with the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Recent Chinese live-fire exercises in international waters near Australia and New Zealand have caused concern in the region. At the start of the National People's Congress, the Chinese government also announced that it would keep its economic growth target at about 5% for a third straight year. The goal is considered ambitious in view of Beijing's current disputes with international trading partners including the United States and sluggish consumption figures domestically. While critics doubt the accuracy of Chinese economic data, the growth target is nevertheless regarded as an important indicator of the government's economic policy course. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year's annual meeting of the unelected parliament, with its roughly 3,000 delegates, is scheduled to last for seven days. Following the opening, delegates are expected to discuss further reports in the coming days, which are to be voted on during the last day of the session. High-ranking ministers are expected at press conferences to make statements about various subjects, including Chinese diplomacy. Experts do not anticipate major surprises at this year's congress. Beijing is likely to stick to continuity in its policies. JAKARTA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said on Tuesday that the country would establish 70,000 village cooperatives to push economic growth from the grassroots. "The cooperatives will be named Red-and-White Village Cooperatives. This will be established in 70,000 villages across the country. The cooperatives will become the center of economic activities and can accommodate agricultural products in the villages," Hasan said in a press conference at the State Palace in Jakarta. Hasan also said that the budget for the establishment of the village cooperative program came from existing village funds. He estimated that one village needed around 3 billion rupiahs (183,908 U.S. dollars) to 5 billion rupiahs (306,513 dollars) per year to build a cooperative. On the same occasion, Indonesian Minister of Cooperatives Budi Arie Setiadi said that the village cooperative program aimed to drive the economy in the villages. "A cooperative business entity is needed to improve the welfare of rural communities, starting from job creation to becoming an aggregator of various village products," Setiadi said. BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it would boost support for the application of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the development of venture capital investment, in a bid to foster more technology breakthroughs and become more self-reliant. The plans were included in a government document prepared for the annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's rubber-stamp parliament. The country wants to foster "industries of the future" including biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI and 6G technology, the report said. To do so, China plans to explore new models for national laboratories as well as give strong support and "important responsibilities" to young scientists and engineers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will support the application of large-scale AI models and development of next-generation intelligent terminals and smart manufacturing terminals, it added. It was the first time AI models were mentioned in the work report and comes after the recent global fanfare over Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. "China will strive to create an enabling environment for innovation that encourages exploration and tolerates failure," the report said. It also said that it would improve basic data systems at a faster pace and promote cross border data flows. ($1 = 7.2651 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Liam Mo, Che Pan and Casey Hall; Editing by Sandra Maler and Shri Navaratnam) Chinas embassy in the U.S. issued a warning that the country was ready for a trade war or any other type of war" with the U.S. following Trumps additional 10% tariffs imposed on the country Tuesday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shot back saying the U.S. is prepared for a war with China. Following President Trumps newest tariffs on China, the country issued a warning: Its ready for any type of war with the U.S. The Chinese embassy in the U.S. on Tuesday issued a veiled threat to Trump and the U.S., saying it was ready to fight and would not quietly accept the additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end, the Chinese embassy wrote in a post on X. The post was made in response to a statement by Chinas foreign ministry on Trumps actions, which said blaming fentanyl for the tariffs on China was a flimsy excuse." The statement claimed that China has taken robust steps to help the U.S. deal with the flow of fentanyl to the U.S. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes, the statement read. Trump on Tuesday issued an additional 10% tariff on China, on top of a previous 10% tariff issued last month. The levels of tariffs on China are roughly twice as large as the increase over the entire first Trump administration, according to a Tuesday note by Goldman Sachs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has already struck back following Tuesdays tariffs with its own tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports. Among the biggest agricultural exports from the U.S. to China are soybeans and corn, which are now subject to tariffs of 10% and 15%, respectively. In his remarks to Congress on Tuesday evening, President Trump claimed, Chinas average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. He also said the new tariffs will help American farmers. Still, Chinas implication that it is ready for any type of war is one of the strongest statements the country has made in response to Trumps anti-China actions. The relationship between the U.S. and China has been contentious for years, but the escalated rhetoric marks a new phase in the relationship. In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the U.S. is prepared for a possible war with China in an interview with Fox & Friends. Those who long for peace must prepare for war, Hegseth said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com China has said it is ready for war with America as it raises defence spending and imposes retaliatory tariffs on US imports. In a direct threat to Donald Trump, Chinas representatives in America said: If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight until the end. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, in turn said the US is prepared to go to war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end, the post read. Mr Hegseth told Fox and Friends that the US was prepared and that those who long for peace must prepare for war. The US has hit China with 20 per cent tariffs in response to what the White House considers to be Chinese inaction over the flow of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, into America. Beijing has responded by announcing plans to boost defence spending by 7.2 per cent and hit the US with reciprocal tariffs of 10 to 15 per cent on certain imports from March 10. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In combative statements online, Chinas ministry of foreign affairs and US embassy warned Washington that intimidation does not scare us and criticised Mr Trump for linking tariffs to the fentanyl crisis. The fiery language comes as Chinas top legislature met for annual Two Sessions meetings in Beijing, where the plans to boost defence spending were revealed. The rise in spending is equal to the jump last year and takes the official budget to roughly 1.78 trillion yuan (190 billion), as China pursues the goal of Xi Jinping, its president, to build a modern military by 2027. Military delegates arrive for the annual political gathering in Beijing on Wednesday - Kevin Frayer/Getty Images On Wednesday, Li Qiang, Chinas premier, vowed there would be all out efforts to hit the target in his annual address to the legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said Beijing will step up military training and combat readiness so as to firmly safeguard Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests. China has stoked alarm with increasingly aggressive moves in Asia and the Pacific including recent live-fire drills off the Australian coast, military exercises close to Taiwan and Vietnam and confrontations with the Philippine coast guard in the South China Sea. Japan, South Korea and India have all criticised the projections of military might. Earlier this week, it was revealed that China is developing a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would be larger and more advanced than any vessel in its fleet, in an attempt to rival the US. Although Beijing has the second-largest military budget in the world, it remains dwarfed by American spending even accounting for Mr Trumps plans to cut the US budget by eight per cent over the next five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US military budget for 2025 stands at around $850 billion (662 billion). Although the Pentagon says China spends more than it publicly declares up to $450 billion, when items listed in other budgets are included the official sum still represents less than two per cent of GDP, below Sir Keir Starmers proposed spend of 2.5 per cent. China has the second-largest military budget in the world, but it still remains dwarfed by American spending - Jade Gao/AFP Analysts have said that, despite the strong rhetoric, China is not yet actively gearing up for war. Its strong language was triggered by the Trump administrations tariffs, which also hit Mexico and Canada and came into force on Tuesday. Mr Li was bullish about the possible economic hit during his address on Wednesday, setting out a five per cent growth goal for the third year straight. Yet China is facing difficult economic headwinds at home, while the US tariffs could hit the superpowers critical export industry hard. Beijing has lodged complaints at the World Trade Organisation, but also responded to the US with additional tariffs, plus new export restrictions for designated American entities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the posts on X, the ministry of foreign affairs hit out at Mr Trump for linking the trade war to the fentanyl crisis, saying: The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. Our counter-measures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary. Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019 - Kevin Lemarque/Reuters Prof James Char Tze Siang, an assistant professor in the China programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the statements are in keeping with combative wolf warrior diplomacy previously deployed by Beijing. He said: It is usual for the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] government to talk tough against what it perceives as attempts by foreign countries to put pressure on Beijing to stop its rise or influence its policies.This is but another episode in the fluctuating Sino-US relationship since their rapprochement in 1972. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Philip ShetlerJones, a senior research fellow in Indo-Pacific Security at the Royal United Services Institute, said: The language is not that new, but the context is.In this instance, the tweet seems to be in the context of tariffs, so I dont find it particularly alarming. However, he added: Maybe the change in tone reveals a concern on the China side that Trump is normalising the Russia relationship to clear the deck in preparation for really focusing all his attention on the competition with China. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. China is vowing to not back down to President Trump, with the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. writing on social media that it is ready to fight a trade war or any other type of war. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. posted to X, as Trump was wrapping up his address to a joint session of Congress late Tuesday evening. Trump recently doubled tariffs on all Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, on top of increasing tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico to 25 percent. Trump said hes leveraging tariffs to get China, Mexico and Canada to do more about the fentanyl crisis plaguing the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has blamed China for facilitating the production of chemicals used to make the deadly drug and policies in Mexico and Canada for allowing the drug to get into the United States. The White House didnt immediately respond to The Hills request for comment. In a fact sheet announcing the tariffs, the Trump administration said the bold action would hold the country accountable for stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country. The influx of these drugs to our Nation threatens the fabric of our society, Trump said in the order raising tariffs. [China] plays a central role in this challenge, not merely by failing to stem the ultimate source of many illicit drugs distributed in the United States, but by actively sustaining and expanding the business of poisoning our citizens. Lin Jian, spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry, dismissed the fentanyl explanation as a flimsy excuse for tariffs during his regular press briefing Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China has made clear its opposition more than once and has taken legitimate and necessary countermeasures, he said. If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if harming Chinas interests is what the U.S. wants, were ready to fight till the end. We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date, he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The stock market surged on Wednesday after the Trump administration granted automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs imposed a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the trading session up nearly 500 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 also jumped 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased nearly 1.5% on Wednesday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had ordered the delay of auto tariffs after a request from the Big 3 U.S. automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The president is giving them an exemption for one month so theyre not at an economic disadvantage," Leavitt said during a press conference at the White House. The automakers' shares soared after the announcement. Ford's stock price ended the trading day up nearly 6%, while General Motors climbed more than 7%. Stellantis surged more than 9% on Wednesday. The tariffs are expected to pose a challenge for U.S. automakers, many of which depend on a supply chain closely intertwined with Mexico and Canada. The American Automotive Policy Council, or AAPC, a trade group that represents the Big 3 U.S. automakers, praised the one-month tariff exemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "American Automakers Ford, GM and Stellantis applaud President Trump for recognizing that vehicles and parts that meet the high US and regional USMCA content requirements should be exempt from these tariffs," AAPC President Matt Blunt told ABC News in a statement. "We look forward to working with President Trump and his administration on our shared goals of increasing US automotive production and expanding exports to markets all around the world," Blunt added. While easing some tariffs, Trump criticized Canada on Wednesday for what he described as failure to take the steps necessary for the United States to withdraw all of the tariffs imposed a day earlier. Trump said he held a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday during which the two leaders discussed a path to U.S. withdrawal of the tariffs. Such an outcome would require sufficient action by Canada to address drug trafficking, Trump recounted relaying to Trudeau. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A week ago, Trump alleged that illicit drugs such as fentanyl had continued to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Canada despite agreements reached last month to address the issue. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said "nothing has convinced me" that the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. had stopped. "[Trudeau] said that its gotten better, but I said, 'Thats not good enough.' The call ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner!" Trump said. Since September, nearly all fentanyl seized by the U.S. came through the Southern border with Mexico, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, or CBP, a federal agency. Less than 1% of fentanyl was seized at the Northern border with Canada, CBP found. PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the tariffs on Tuesday, calling them a "dumb" policy that does not "make sense." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason for the tariffs is based on a false allegation about Canada as a major source of drugs entering the U.S., Trudeau added. Persistent tensions between the U.S. and Canada emerged after China issued a warning on Tuesday night that it stands ready for any "type of war" with the United States in the aftermath of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The U.S. slapped 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said the tariffs would not lead to a resolution of U.S. concerns about fentanyl originating in China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other's concerns," Chinese spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference late Tuesday. "If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," the spokesperson added. The comments came soon after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month. Within minutes of the new U.S. tariffs taking effect, China unveiled on Tuesday its initial response by placing additional 10% to 15% tariffs on imported U.S. goods, like chicken, wheat, soybeans and beef. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: What to know as tariffs go into effect on Mexico, Canada, China "The retaliatory tariffs that China is imposing is very specific and directly targeted at American farmers, who are mostly in red states and mostly voted for Trump," Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, told ABC News. "So China is trying to create pain where it matters for Trump, and it's hoping to get Trump to the negotiating table and offer relief for this group of Trump supporters," Thomas added. The recent duties will be placed on top of similar tariffs imposed by China during the first Trump administration's trade war in 2018. Some of those tariffs are already at 25%, though Beijing issued some waivers as a result of the 2020 "phase one" trade deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new Chinese tariffs are set to come into effect for goods shipped out March 10. In a series of social media posts last month, Trump said he would place tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for hosting the manufacture and transport of illicit drugs that end up in the U.S. During an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump also sharply criticized tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on U.S. goods. "President Trump continues to demonstrate his commitment to ensuring U.S. trade policy serves the national interest," the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday afternoon that Trump may soon offer Canada and Mexico a pathway to relief from tariffs placed on some goods covered by North America's free trade agreement. Lutnick did not mention a potential compromise with China. ABC News' Selina Wang, Kevin Shalvey, Karson Yiu and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report. Stock market surges after Trump permits carmakers 1-month tariff exemption originally appeared on abcnews.go.com LONDON (AP) A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offenses relating to one victim. After more than 19 hours of deliberations, jurors concluded Zou raped three of the women in London and seven in China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have only been able to identify two of the victims and said after the verdict that more than 50 other women may have fallen victim to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history. Using hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as souvenirs and often kept a trophy box of womens belongings. Zou, a mechanical engineering student who was doing his PhD at University College London, claimed that the sexual interactions were consensual. He will be sentenced on June 19. Jurors, who had to watch footage of the attacks during the trial, were given regular breaks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Rosina Cottage described the defendant as a dangerous and predatory sexual offender and that his sentence will be very long. Zou, who showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out in court, was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offense, namely butanediol. He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offense. Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow students of Chinese heritage on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his apartments in London or an unknown location in China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has done all that he can in these offenses to incapacitate his victims to the point where they could not resist his attack, and in many instances may not even remember what has occurred to them, said Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth. He thanked the two women who testified against the particularly cowardly and deceitful Zou and said there is evidence that he "may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature. The Met is appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force. During the trial, a call to police from one of the women led to questions over the quality of the interpreter made available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a matter of severe regret that the victims didnt necessarily get that best translation at the time," Southworth added. Zou moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queens University before heading to UCL in 2019 for a masters degree and then a PhD. Our thoughts are with the survivors and we wish to pay tribute to the bravery of the women who reported these crimes and gave evidence at the trial, said UCLs president, Dr. Michael Spence. Christie Brinkley never backs down from sharing her political views, and her latest social media post is no exception. The 71-year-old supermodel took to Instagram on Wednesday, March 5, to share a series of photos and video from a recent protest in support of Ukraine in East Hampton, NYalong with a powerful message. SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the first photo, Brinkley posed alongside stylist Lisa Schifter Greenberg on a lawn in front of a large house, both women flashing peace signs at the camera. Subsequent pics showed the women among a crowd of protesters holding signs with slogans like "Fight for Democracy" and "No Kings, No Oligarchs, Democracy Now!" The final shot in the series was a close-up of a Ukrainian flag. "Standing up for America and Democracy here and in Ukraine last night in East Hampton," Brinkley wrote in her caption. "We are a government 'of the people, by the people, and FOR the people.Not FIRE the people," she continued, adding, "Especially the people who work to protect our health and wellbeing like Scientists and Doctors at the #CDC and #WHO or air traffic controllers at the #FAA and of course our multi tasking Park Rangers at the #NPS and forecasters who warn us when were threatened #NOAA and many others." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brinkley went on to argue that "the very real crisis we ARE inis climate changewild fires , drought, floods, hurricanes, viruses etc! Ignore it or deny it at your peril! America has always been the leader respected the world over for our right to VOTE and for inspiring 'The American Dream' a land where all men are created EQUAL regardless of race color creed sexual orientation or gender our allies knew our word was our honor, and our leaders kept their word." Related: Christie Brinkley Details Exciting Career News Shes Been Wanting to Share For So Long "After the way we treated Zelensky the world order is being rewritten," Brinkley declared, asking, "What are we going to become ? Thats up to 'we the people'. How much do we LOVE our country and each other ? We need to love our country enough to speak up and stand up for the greatest country in the world while we still have our first amendment right to do so .I think LOVE will save the day!" Brinkley, who is the vice president of the Radiation and Public Health Project, is also spreading her message beyond the realm of social media. She wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times, which was published on Tuesday, March 4, responding to their article about a battle that took place surrounding a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a game of Russian roulette the world cant afford to play! Brinkley stated, adding that it's nothing short of a miraculous stroke of luck that the world dodged a catastrophe by avoiding a massive meltdown in the Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last week. Next: Christie Brinkley, 70, Issues a Passionate Political Statement With Fitting Throwback Photo ULAN BATOR, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 92,427 foreigners from various countries and regions were granted Mongolian electronic visas in 2024, marking an increase of 2.9 times year on year, local media reported on Wednesday, citing Mongolia's immigration agency. During this period, the agency issued 25,720 residence permits in Mongolia and extended 40,922 residence permits. The residence permit issuance increased by 9.2 percent compared to the previous year. Currently, Mongolia's economy relies most heavily on the export of mineral resources. Tourism promotion is considered one of the priorities for diversifying the country's economy and increasing the competitiveness of its tourism in the context of global competition. In view of this, the Mongolian government has decided to continue the "Years to Visit Mongolia" tourism program until 2028. Mongolia launched the e-visa system on Oct. 1, 2021. Currently, foreigners from 99 countries and regions entering Mongolia for guest, business or tourist purposes can obtain e-visas. Endterm CIA Director John Ratcliffe has confirmed the suspension of both US arms deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Source: Fox News White House correspondent Edward Lawrence on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: The CIA director stated that the United States had halted both weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine following the Oval Office meeting. Quote: "Ratcliffe says he looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine towards peace following the letter to the US president." CIA Director John Ratcliffe just told @MariaBartiromo U.S. paused weapons shipments AND intelligence to Ukraine in the fallout of meeting in the Oval Office. Ratcliffe says he looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine towards peace following the letter to POTUS Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) March 5, 2025 Background: Earlier, the British tabloid Daily Mail reported that the US had banned the UK from sharing intelligence gathered from Washington with Ukraine. Later on Wednesday, 5 March, the Financial Times also published a report on the matter. The Wall Street Journal previously stated that the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine could remain in effect until Donald Trump deems that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supports peace talks with Russia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! City of Charlotte debates proposed apartment complex near airport amid environmental concerns CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) As Charlotte continues to grow, City Council members are raising questions about a proposed development near the airport. The zoning request, submitted by global developer Greystar, calls for over 300 apartments to be built in an area known as the Airport Overlay Zone, a region where planes frequently fly in and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. This proposed apartment complex is drawing a lot of attention, and not just because of its size, but because of its location and the potential environmental impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The main concern for many is the noise from planes, especially as a new runway at Charlotte Douglas nears completion. Theres also worry about air pollution, as the area is surrounded by industrial buildings. PREVIOUS: Neighborhoods are being abandoned on one side of the Charlotte airport. So why is housing being proposed on the other side? The 11-acre property would house six buildings with more than 300 units. While city staff reviewing the application point out the sites proximity to schools and public transportation, the Airport Overlay Zone is a significant factor. Even if the zoning is approved, the noise from aircraft wont change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interestingly, the land was previously zoned for a hotel in 2019, but that project never came to fruition. If the zoning request is greenlit this time, Greystar has agreed to install upgraded windows in the southernmost residential buildings as a sound mitigation measure. Despite this, Councilwoman Lawana Mayfield is urging the Council to reconsider placing residential buildings in such a noise-heavy zone. She expressed concerns about the long-term impact on residents living so close to the airport. PREVIOUS: FTC to sue property management company Greystar that operates in the Carolinas I dont want to give the impression that as long as you say it is housing, it can go anywhere, Mayfield said. Were already getting multiple calls from the community about environmental concerns and constraints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Charlotte City Council will discuss the proposal further in a work session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday night. However, theres no timeline yet for when a full Council vote will take place. MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM Charlotte Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. A City lawyer has been told to pay 31,000 to the solicitors watchdog after admitting giving his colleagues rude nicknames including Pol Pot and Jabba the Hutt. Benedict Foster, a former senior solicitor in BNP Paribas London offices, was charged 15,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and told to pay an extra 16,000 in costs after admitting to using inappropriate language in the workplace. In submissions to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), the City lawyer admitted using an array of offensive monikers to describe his work colleagues at the French bank, including Mad Paul and the Twittering Fool, while working as head of legal in its debt and equity capital markets division between December 2020 and September 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Foster also admitted using the nickname Hu She to refer to an East Asian colleague and using the moniker Biriyani to refer to a white French co-worker in submissions to the SDT. The City lawyers nicknames for his coworkers were first discovered through an internal probe that was launched by BNP Paribas in 2021, after a complaint was lodged against him by a colleague during an exit interview. BNP Paribas later reported the findings of its investigation to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in March 2022. The French bank negotiated an exit with Mr Foster the same month. The submissions showed Mr Foster used an array of derogatory monikers for colleagues in BNP Paribas London headquarters, both on emails and video calls, over the course of almost a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his submissions to the SDT, Mr Foster admitted calling his colleagues various unprofessional names, almost entirely without their knowledge. Mr Foster also acknowledged the monikers would likely cause offence to his co-workers, if they were to find out about the nicknames, even if they were to share his sense of humour. In seeking to defend himself, Mr Foster said his use of the nickname Hu She was intended to be a reference to the Who He? Joke in Private Eye magazine, even while agreeing the moniker could be interpreted as mocking or ridiculing a traditional Chinese name. Mr Foster also denied that the moniker Mad Paul had worked to undermine his co-workers credentials as a solicitor. He instead stated his repeated use of the offensive name was a reference to his colleagues slightly cavalier approach to timekeeping, attendance at the office and his interpersonal skill. The SDT ruled Mr Foster had failed to uphold the standards expected of solicitors, failed to act with integrity, and failed to act in a way that encourages diversity, equity and inclusion by using the offensive names for his colleagues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BNP Paribas and Mr Foster were contacted for comment. CORRECTION: A previous version of this article inaccurately stated Mr Foster admitted using a moniker Biriyani about an Indian co-worker. In fact, they were a white Frenchman. We are happy to correct the record. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) A project aimed at beautifying the City of Washington is slowly but surely making progress. In October of 2024, the City of Washington approved the demolition of multiple dilapidated homes and while those homes have been removed, theres still about 30 more awaiting similar treatment. While some of the homes may be able to be renovated, there are a number of structures that would be demolished instead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Glen Goodwin, A vocal advocate for removing the structures, said renovations would be preferable but some of these buildings are just lost causes. I think some people think that Im just all for tearing down these houses, but thats definitely not the case, Goodwin said. If a home can be renovated, I would love to see these homes renovated, theres some beautiful houses out there. But, theres also some homes that arent really even homes anymore, theyre just structures. Goodwin said despite the amount of structures that still need to be dealt with, hes happy to see the city taking action. Ive definitely seen some progress in the two years that Ive lived here, Goodwin said. Things have recently started to pick up, probably just in the last 6-8 months or so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In October of 2024, Washington City Manager Jonathan Russell said the main goal is to make sure the homes are in compliance with the minimum housing standards. He said working with the property owners to do that could be a lengthy process. WNCT has reached out to city officials for comments on the homes and are still awaiting a response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Columbus officials are exploring ideas to make the court process easier for victims of domestic violence by creating a domestic violence-only court. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said this is still in the very early phases, but it is gaining interest. That is a win for public safety in our community that not only helps victims turn their lives around and be protected and be the moms and dads they want to be, but it also promotes accountability for the abusers, getting them off the street, making sure theyre away from their families so they dont victimize again, Klein said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmaker looks to ban exclusive airing of Ohio State football on streaming platforms He has seen firsthand the obstacles domestic violence victims face during the court process. Perhaps you want a criminal protection order with that case? Klein said. Well, it depends on which court youre charging, and perhaps you want a civil protection order. You have to go to a completely different court. Klein said the domestic violence-only court would be victim-focused and it would be a one-stop shop. The idea is how do we create a one-stop shop that is victim-focused and helps victims and their families from start to finish in this traumatic, awful process get the help they need as they navigate a very complex system, and what better way to do that and to have one single court with one single judge and have victim advocates and prosecutors that focus solely on domestic violence, Klein said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus police officer fired after uploading body-worn camera footage to YouTube Dr. Maria Houston-Beck is the executive director of Lutheran Social Services CHOICES, which operates the only domestic violence shelter in Franklin County. She said the court process can be tough for anyone, let alone someone with the experiences these victims have. The fear that they have experienced and maybe even possibly being retraumatized because they have to now tell their story to people within the court, and so just navigating and understanding who you can trust is really hard, Houston-Beck said. She said the idea of a domestic violence-only court is something CHOICES has been pushing for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were just excited just for the possibility and kind of putting survivors, you know, first, Houston-Beck said. She said she has been impressed to see the work the city is doing to help slow domestic violence, saying it is the most collaboration she has seen in a long time. Proposed law could extend Ohios school year Klein said before this idea could come to fruition, the city would have to get every level of government on board all the way up to the Supreme Court. This is very early in the journey, he said. We can have a lot of road bumps along the way, but I think were off to a good start. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Klein said conversations with stakeholders have started to get the ball rolling. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Mar. 4WAPAKONETA Nearly nine hours of testimony was offered Monday in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court to resolve a civil lawsuit filed by a rural Wapakoneta couple against a neighboring fish and gun club. Judge Frederick Pepple heard arguments in the suit in lieu of a jury and was the sole trier of fact. His verdict was expected late Tuesday but was not available when The Lima News went to press. The lawsuit, filed in October of 2024 by Brent and Janet Christler, seeks a temporary or permanent injunction against the Auglaize Fish and Game Protective Association, whose property at 15408 Wapak-Fisher Road abuts land owned by the Christlers. The proposed injunction would prohibit the club from operating a shooting range or allowing the shooting of firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Christlers testified that on multiple instances since 1998 stray bullets or projectiles from the club either struck their home or passed close to the occupants. The suit further alleges the fish and gun club violated Ohio law by failing to comply with "safety guidelines generally recognized and accepted by the NRA." The Christlers were represented at trial by St. Marys attorney Zach Ferrall. Wapakoneta attorney Matthew Kentner served as legal counsel for the sportsman club. Kentner, during his cross-examination of Brent Christler, attempted to show the couple had unscrupulous reasons for suing the gun club. The attorney said Christler "is lying about why he filed this action" seeking an injunction. Kentner said the couple formed a limited liability corporation called "God's Land LLC" with the intent of erecting homes on an adjacent property formerly owned by Janet Christler's mother and now owned by Christler and her siblings. Brent Christler said the corporation was formed simply because "we didn't know how to divide the property three ways." He said the decision to seek an injunction against the fish and game club was made "because my wife and I decided we would never forgive ourselves if someone got shot (on the property) and we didn't do anything about it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Janet Christler testified bullets had struck or passed close to the house and property numerous times, starting in 1998 and continuing through the summer of 2024. She was asked by Kentner why she and her husband waited so long to file a civil action. "I had a new grandbaby living at my house and I told my husband we needed to do something. He contacted the (Auglaize County) prosecutor's office and was told there was nothing they could do and that it was a civil matter," she testified. Tannerite alleged Also addressed in testimony on Monday was the claim that a prohibited explosive device was reported on club grounds. Officials with the club were quizzed by Ferrall about a Dec. 26, 2024, report from the Auglaize County Sheriff's Department that targets containing tannerite were found at the shooting range. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tannerite is a brand of binary explosive targets used for firearms practice. The targets comprise a combination of oxidizers and a fuel that is supplied as two separate components that are mixed by the user. Its use at shooting ranges in Ohio is barred by state law. Geoffery Ulrey, the club's NRA Range Safety Officer since August of last year, was asked if club officials were aware that tannerite had been found on the shooting range. Ulrey responded, "We were aware that someone thought there was tannerite." Club officials were also questioned about new shooting range rules and regulations that were put in place late last year. Trustees and office-holders of the club denied the rules were adopted only because a lawsuit was filed. Club president Randy Kunak said rule revisions were first discussed in September and were adopted by the club in October, prior to the filing of the suit. Closing arguments Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his closing statements, Ferrall said the presence of firearms demand that the club be carefully scrutinized. "This is a fish and game club. We as a public require the club to have high standards for something so potentially dangerous," Ferrall said. "The only solution for my clients is for shooting at that range to stop." Cathy Kunak, who serves as club treasurer, testified that the future of the fish and game club would be in jeopardy if an injunction was granted. "We bring in approximately $15,000 annually in membership fees, and our expenses for last year were $21,294. An injunction would result in a loss of membership and the club would be unable to pay its bills ... which would cause the closure of the fish and game club," Kunak testified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The club had approximately 300 memberships in 2024, she said. Kentner denied any negligence on the part of his client and said the Christlers "knew the club was there before they purchased their property" in 1986. Featured Local Savings TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WATE) Amid efforts to contain a 67-acre wildfire near Tellico Plains, another blaze in Monroe County caused additional evacuations. As of 4:56 a.m. Wednesday, the size of the fire was estimated at 200 acres, according to the Tennessee Division of Forestry wildfire map. It is listed as 15% contained. At 5:12 a.m., Monroe County mayor Mitch Ingram said that one structure had been confirmed to be lost with one additional reported. TBI agents to investigate after Fairfield Glade officer fatally shoots suspect Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ingram said in an update around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday that an additional fire has broken out in the Coker Creek area. People in the area of Old Furnace Road and near Holder Cemetery were asked to evacuate. Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones said Wednesday that all evacuations had been lifted. Tellico Plains High School opened to evacuees needing overnight shelter. Chota Community Health Services had their mobile unit at the high school and the Red Cross was on-site to assist. The South Roane County Volunteer Fire Department reported that a shelter had been set up for evacuees next to the Tellico Plains Fire Department. The update came as firefighting efforts continue along Highway 360 near Rafter Road. The fire broke out around 11 a.m. Tuesday and grew to roughly 100 acres in size. Evacuations were ordered for the Rafter Road area, extending to Center Presbyterian Church, which includes Smoky Run Road. High fives & water bottles: The story of Alcoas four-year-old teammate This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. At 5:12 a.m., Wednesday Ingram warned that a wind advisory was in effect until 4 p.m., causing potential challenges for containing the fires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Nearly a decade after her death, a new collection of work by Harper Lee, author of the iconic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, will be published this fall. Lee, best known for her debut novel To Kill a Mockingbird, died in 2016, but a new book containing never-before-seen short stories and essays, The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays, will be published Oct. 21. According to a statement released by publisher HarperCollins Tuesday, the book will contain eight short stories Lee had written prior to her work on To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as eight essays she wrote between 1961 and 2006. These pieces were found by her estate in an apartment the Monroeville, Alabama native kept in her apartment in Manhattan. The estate, run by Lees lawyer Tonja Carter, made the decision to release the stories last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resulting collection offers a fascinating new perspective on an iconic and unique literary mind, one of Americas most beloved authors, HarperCollins wrote it its statement. From the Alabama schoolyards of Lees youth and the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, to Lees reflections on the responsible teaching of children and a delightful account of Gregory Peck and the To Kill A Mockingbird film set, The Land of Sweet Forever broadens our understanding of Lees remarkable talent. The collection will prove an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Lees development as a writer as her craft defines itself across years and outlets before and after Go Set A Watchman and To Kill A Mockingbirdas well as a touchstone in still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life. Released in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird told the story of a young girl, Scout, who navigates the different milestones of childhood growing up in Alabama along with her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, in the midst of racial animus and injustice in their community. The book was an immediate commercial and critical success, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961, followed by a big-screen adaptation in 1962 with Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, which won three Academy Awards. In 2018, a Broadway play of the book premiered in 2018 from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, which went on to be nominated for nine Tony Awards. Today, over 40 million copies of the book have been sold around the world. Despite the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee never published another book, although there were reports that she had worked for a time on a novel called The Reverend that she ultimately shelved. In 2014, Lees estate discovered Go Set a Watchmen, a manuscript that served as the precursor to what became Mockingbird. Watchmen, Lees last book to be published while she was alive, was the subject of controversy upon its release in 2015, with some arguing that as an initial first draft of what became Mockingbird, it was an inferior, incomplete book that tarnished Lees legacy. Some also argued that with the death of Lees sister and publicist, Alice Finch Lee, in 2014, the author was vulnerable and being taken advantage of by publishers to release more of her work. Lee, however, later released a statement saying that she approved the publication of Watchmen. Despite past controversies from Watchmen, Lees family seem to be in favor of this new collection of her work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a member of Harper Lees surviving family, I know I speak for all of us in saying that were delighted that these essays, and especially the short stories, which we knew existed but were only recently discovered, have been found and are being published, said Edwin Conner, Lees nephew. She was not just our beloved aunt, but a great American writer, and we can never know too much about how she came to that pinnacle. In her last years, Lee continued to live in Monroeville until her death in 2016 and is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery. To this day, the town still puts on the Monroeville Literary Festival and stages seasonal renditions of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Old Courthouse Museum. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. 27,523 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? 27,523 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? Colonel Charles Mercer, who has died aged 105, took part in Operation Thursday, the codename of the second Chindit deep-penetration expedition into enemy-occupied Burma. In 1943 Mercer, then a second lieutenant, was posted to Nigeria. He joined 7th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment (7 NR), at Kaduna, about 600 miles north-east of Lagos, and commanded a platoon of 30 young Nigerian soldiers. They were Muslims from the north of the country, and with the tribal markings on their faces, many of them looked very fierce. Within the battalion there were officers who had been District Officers before the war; they were fluent in Hausa and gave regular lessons in the language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After six months training, 7 NR sailed from Lagos to Bombay before moving to Central Provinces in India, where they trained to join Major General Orde Wingates Chindit force. They lived in the open in all-weather conditions, practising ambushes, attacks, river crossings and silent movement, while carrying 70lb packs on their backs. A 1,000-mile train journey to Lalaghat airstrip in Assam, north-east India, followed. Part of 3rd (West African) Infantry Brigade, 7 NR was divided into two columns. On the night of April 6 1944, Mercers platoon, part of 35 Column, took off from Lalaghat in a glider towed by a Douglas Dakota. It landed with the main force at Aberdeen, one of several fortified airstrips named after British cities or London streets. The Chindits were supplied by air and trained to strike Japanese road, rail and river systems deep behind the enemy lines. On April 13, Mercers platoon led the Columns rifle company in an attack on Mawlu, a major rail link in central Burma. They came under small-arms and grenade-discharger fire from the Japanese, who were well dug in. The Nigerians attacked with fixed bayonets, shouting in their native tongues, and the battle continued from 1100 to 1500. They must have been a terrifying sight for the Japanese, he remarked afterwards. On May 1, 35 Column established a large-scale road block south of Mawlu. This was held for three days and led to the killing of more than 40 of the enemy, the destruction of several lorries and the capture of some prisoners. They marched north and were involved in a series of determined attacks on Japanese garrisons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the arrival of the monsoon, streams and ravines turned into torrents. Supplies of anti-malaria tablets sometimes failed and there were bouts of malaria and scrub typhus. Sometimes, those who became ill had to walk it off or risk being left behind. Colonel Charles Mercer of the 7th Nigeria Regiment (wearing the cap badge of the Royal Sussex Regiment) in front of the Chindit Memorial in Victoria Embankment Gardens at the National Service of Remembrance, November 2019 - Corporal Sally Raimondo RAF/77th Brigade By the time 7NR flew out from Myitkyina, Mercer was a major with four platoons under his command. He was Mentioned in Despatches in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Burma. Recalling those years at war, he said: My most important memory is the wonderful comradeship that I enjoyed with my fellow Europeans, and particularly with the splendid Nigerians. Charles Henry Mercer was born in Brighton, Sussex, on November 14 1919. He was educated at Collyers School at Horsham in Sussex, and left aged 17 to work in a publishing company. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. After attending OCTU at the Royal Military College, near Sandhurst, he received a Regular Army Emergency Commission in March 1943. He was already engaged, and three months later he married Joan Rice, who was working for Saunders-Roe, the aircraft manufacturers, on the Isle of Wight. He had a 10-day wartime honeymoon before he was posted to Nigeria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On its return to Nigeria, 7NR was disbanded and Mercer decided to go into the Royal Army Service Corps. He served in BAOR, in Cyprus during the EOKA insurgency and on the staff of the MoD. In 1974 he retired from the Army in the rank of colonel, and for the next 10 years he worked for Wandsworth Borough Council as an assistant director. He finally retired to a village in Surrey. Charles Mercers wife, Joan, died in 1998 and he is survived by their son, Michael, who lives in Australia. Colonel Charles Mercer, born November 14 1919, died February 28 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday stressed that Japan determines its defense budget by itself, dismissing a U.S. call to boost defense spending. Japan determines its own defense budget and will not base its decision on the direction of any other country, Kyodo News cited Ishiba at a parliament meeting. The remarks came after Elbridge Colby, tapped to be undersecretary of defense for policy of the Trump administration, said in a written statement that Japan should increase its defense spending to 3 percent of GDP. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi reaffirmed during a press conference on Wednesday that the Japanese government is working toward increasing defense-related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027. He emphasized that the focus should be on the substance of defense capabilities rather than the amount. Japan has set a goal outlined in its 2022 National Security Strategy of bringing defense spending to 2 percent of the GDP in fiscal 2027, after long maintaining an informal cap of around 1 percent under its war-renouncing Constitution. DENVER (KDVR) Blackmail threats are the newest trend of phishing scams in Colorado, but theres a way to spot them, according to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Weiser said blackmail scams are increasing in Colorado as a way for scammers to get money from the victim. These scams often include threatening peoples personal information in exchange for money. Denver police warn jobseekers of online scams using cryptocurrency Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While these scams can come in different forms, they all share the same characteristics, which include fear and intimidation to scare victims. How to spot blackmail scams Heres what Weiser said about spotting blackmail scams: They contain personal information like the name, email, phone number, address and photo of your home They claim, without evidence, that the scammer has compromised the recipients computer or phone and has been monitoring your internet habits They threaten to reveal embarrassing or secret personal information, often sexual in nature, to the recipients friends and family They demand payment in cryptocurrency with instructions on how the victim should pay Weiser said that while these scams usually come in an email or a letter, they should be treated like any other scam that comes in via email or phone call and be thrown out, ignored and reported to StopFraudColorado.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New wave of scammers claiming to be with the Denver Sheriffs Department While blackmail threats can often use information that can be found easily on the internet and these scams havent shown signs that people are being blackmailed, Weiser said actual sextortion, blackmailing a victim by tricking them into sharing explicit photographs or videos then threatening to reveal it unless the victims send money, is a concern. Weiser said children are especially vulnerable. In 2024, an investigation uncovered a sextortion ring allegedly preying on students at several area high schools. Victims of sextortion should report it to police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Blood sample positive with Measles virus (iStock / Getty Images Plus) The Texas measles outbreak has drawn renewed attention to declining vaccination rates nationwide, and Coloradans should be among the most concerned. With some of the lowest kindergarten immunization rates in the country and a long-standing reluctance from elected leaders to act with a sense of urgency to create stronger immunization policies, our state is particularly vulnerable to a preventable public health crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite pressing warnings from public health officials, attempts to strengthen Colorados vaccine policies have repeatedly stalled in the face of political opposition. In 2019, amid ongoing efforts to strengthen school-entry immunization requirements, Gov. Jared Polis took a strong stance against House Bill 19-1312, a bill aimed at modernizing vaccine exemption processes and reporting. When asked about the legislation, Polis expressed deep skepticism about government-mandated vaccine requirements, arguing that such measures infringe on personal freedoms. Polis indication that he would not sign HB-1312 into law would have almost certainly derailed the bill had it not died on the Senate floor before making it to the governors desk. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A year later, in 2020, a coalition of parents, educators, health care professionals, and public health advocates returned to the Legislature to push for stronger immunization policies in Senate Bill 20-163, a renewed attempt to update school entry immunization requirements and reporting. As COVID-19 surged toward the end of the 2020 legislative session, the stakes of vaccine hesitancy became clearer than ever, creating enough political will to move the bill forward. Despite the victory, SB-163 remained a moderate step, one that clarified processes and added a tool for increasing immunization rates but failed to establish the robust vaccine mandates public health experts had long pushed for. What we have seen from Polis over the years is the prioritization of ideological debates over public health action, leaving Colorado communities susceptible to preventable outbreaks like the one currently unfolding in Texas. Polis recent praise of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., crediting him for defeating vaccine mandates in 2019 and suggesting he will make America healthy again, reinforces how deeply entrenched vaccine resistance remains at the highest levels of state government, rhetoric that has real-world consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Research shows that vaccine misinformation, especially online, drives hesitancy and lowers immunization rates in a cycle that has become increasingly difficult to interrupt. In Texas, experts are sounding the alarm that misinformation is a key driver of the declining vaccination rates that have contributed to the recent outbreak. The political approach to Colorados immunization requirements is especially bleak when considering just how vulnerable we really are to an outbreak. Herd immunity is achieved when a large percentage of the population is vaccinated, limiting the spread of disease. For measles, achieving a 92% to 94% immunization rate is critical for herd immunity. Falling below this threshold compromises community protection, especially for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. As of the 2022-23 school year, Colorado ranks 45th in the nation for kindergartners who have received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, representing only 86.8% of kindergarteners. Colorados dangerously low immunization rates are not just numbers they represent a systemic failure to prioritize public health, underscored by political inaction and the spread of misinformation that erodes public trust in vaccines. The measles outbreak in Texas should serve as a warning for states like ours, where personal choice has been placed above collective safety. If we fail to act now, through stronger immunization policies, improved public health messaging, and a commitment to combating misinformation, we risk following in the footsteps of states already seeing a resurgence of diseases that we once declared as eradicated. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A Columbus Division of Police officer was fired by the city Tuesday after downloading body-worn camera footage for personal use, according to the police union. Former Columbus police officer Spencer Badger had his termination of duty recommendation upheld by Columbus Public Safety Director Kate McSweeney-Pishotti. Reynoldsburg responds after basketball player punches opponent below the belt Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Badger is accused of downloading body-worn camera footage without filling out proper public records requests and then uploading that footage to his personal YouTube account. In a statement, McSweeney-Pishotti said the findings of the investigation into Badgers conduct were unambiguous. Officer Badger admits to violating division policy on multiple occasions, her statement reads. He admits to improperly and repeatedly downloading law enforcement materials to a personal device. As he told investigators, I went back and looked at the policy again and I realized that sure, its written in black and white, pretty hard to miss. McSweeney-Pishotti later states that Badgers actions constitute critical misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a video posted Tuesday to his YouTube channel, Badger addressed the firing. Its not something that people get fired for and Im 100 percent positive I will get my job back, he said. The problem with that is its going to take approximately nine to 12 months for that process to play out and in the meantime, I need some help. Badger then solicited the viewers to help pay his bills and support his family. In the video, Badger said he started the channel in the summer of 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests in the city, saying the citys politicians used those protests to take over the police department. Brian Steel, president of the union, the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said that while officers need to follow division policies, Badger should not have been fired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Officer Badgers actions were a policy violation, President Steel emphasized that termination is an excessive punishment, and the union will take this case to arbitration, the FOP wrote in a statement. Hateful message left on restaurant receipt results in outpouring of support After reviewing the thorough investigation into Officer Badgers actions, which included him admitting to violating Division policy on multiple occasions, I submitted my recommendation to terminate him, Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in a statement. Director of Public Safety, Kate Pishotti, supported my recommendation and Officer Badger is no longer employed with the Division. Badgers violations first came to light in mid-February, when he was placed on administrative duty. At that time, Steel said the footage merely depicted police officers carrying out their official duties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These records should have been provided by the public records unit; however, when the footage was accessed, the unit was overwhelmed, understaffed, and notoriously slow to respond to requests, Steel said in a statement. According to the FOP statement, Badger was with the division for almost 14 years, saying his attempts to bring an inside view of policing to the community have been recognized across the country. FOP Lodge #9 remains committed to ensuring fair and just treatment of its members and will vigorously defend Officer Badgers rights through the arbitration process, the union wrote in its statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Columbus City Schools superintendent and treasurer testified in front of the Ohio House Education Committee on Tuesday about Gov. Mike DeWines proposed state budget. Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman and district treasurer Ryan Cook testified that the budget would result in the district losing $45 million over the next two years. Reynoldsburg responds after basketball player punches opponent below the belt Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cook said the budgets calculations account for the recently increased cost of property taxes but does not consider how much it costs to educate a child in 2025. In his testimony, Cook requested the calculations be revised, allowing for real-time changes in the economy by updating the costs of a childs education each year. I see a sense of understanding that we cant continue to do business under the same cost we had in 22, Cook said. I think they recognize that. Cook said the Ohio Education Committee members seemed concerned about how a loss of $45 million could impact Columbus students, and he thinks the testimony was a step in the right direction. Columbus Board of Education President Michael Cole said this is not the last time the public will see district leaders in front of legislators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to be visible at the statehouse, Cole said. We want to make sure that were not only doing this ourselves but were encouraging our community of taxpayers to make their voices heard and reach out to our state legislative leaders. Columbus Tree Nursery needs a new home Columbus voters passed a levy in November 2023, giving the district $38 million annually in operating funds. If the House passes the proposed budget, those millions will have to be used to fill the $45 million funding gap. This could lead to cuts in student programs. Cole thinks lawmakers understood the potential impact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a very serious issue, he said. Its one that we need to provide the best for students, and Im just hopeful. They asked some good questions in the committee meeting, they seemed attentive to our issue. During a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, board members adopted the Fair School Funding Resolution which reaffirms support for DeWines overall plan but urges lawmakers to fully fund it using more accurate calculations. This learning community is putting our kids first, Cole said. We just want to ensure that we work with our state legislature to do the same thing. City working to create domestic violence-focused court Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman sent out a letter to families and staff following the testimony at the statehouse and the Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. The full letter as well as links to Chapman and Cooks testimony are below. Dear Columbus City Schools Families & Colleagues, Over the past several weeks, we have worked urgently to secure the future of Columbus City Schools and ensure our students continue to receive the high-quality education they deserve. On March 4, CCS Treasurer Ryan Cook and I testified before the Ohio House Education Committee, advocating for fair and adequate funding for our district. We delivered a strong and clear message: Columbus City Schools cannot afford a significant reduction in state funding without putting essential programs and services at risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Governor Mike DeWines proposed state budget would significantly cut funding for our district. Columbus City Schools is set to lose over $45 million over the next two years. This loss is due to a flawed calculation that considers increased property tax valuations without adjusting for the actual cost of educating a child in 2025 and beyond. If enacted, these cuts would force us to divert the funds from our recently passed levy to fill the gap, depriving our students of the resources they need. Columbus City Schools has welcomed approximately 2,000 more students this year, bringing our enrollment to more than 47,000 students. This growth further underscores the need for a fully funded and fair school funding model that supports the increasing demands of our district. More students means a greater need for resources, educators, and support services to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education. In our testimony to the House Education Committee, we highlighted the significant impact these cuts would have on programs such as early childhood education, career academies, college and career readiness initiatives, mental health support, and academic interventions. We presented the financial reality of this proposed budget and emphasized the need for the Fair School Funding Plan to remain responsive to real-time economic changes. We urged lawmakers to fully implement the funding formula with updated cost inputs so that the burden does not unfairly shift to our local taxpayers. Additionally, at the March 4 Board of Education meeting, the Board adopted the Fair School Funding Resolution. The purpose of this resolution is to reaffirm the Columbus Board of Educations strong support for the Ohio Fair School Funding Plan and urge the Ohio General Assembly to fully fund it using the most current cost data available. The resolution highlights the need for a fair and transparent school funding system that accounts for the actual costs of education and provides additional resources for students such as students receiving specialized instruction and students living in poverty. It also directs the Superintendent and Treasurer to advocate for these funding measures and ensure that the districts interests are represented in the legislative process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we have taken an important step by voicing our concerns at the Statehouse, our work is far from over. We need your support to continue advocating for Columbus City Schools. There is still time to make your voice heard, and we encourage you to take action by submitting written testimony or providing in-person testimony to the Ohio House Committees. The House Finance Committee will hear public testimony on March 11 and 12. Written testimony can be submitted to OHRfinancecommittee@ohiohouse.gov. To participate, you must submit a witness information form and your testimony at least 24 hours before the scheduled hearing. Please note that all testimony becomes a public record and will be published on the House of Representatives website. Your voice matters. The strength of our community lies in our ability to come together and advocate for our students. We must ensure that lawmakers understand the consequences of these proposed cuts and their impact on the 47,000 students who rely on Columbus City Schools for their education and future opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A copy of my testimony, as well as Treasurer Ryan Cooks testimony, is attached to this letter. I promise to keep you informed as this process moves forward. Thank you for your unwavering support, your advocacy, and your dedication to our students. Together, we will continue to advocate for the future of Columbus City Schools. Yours faithfully, Dr. Angela Chapman, Superintendent & CEO Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The city of Columbus Tree Nursery, which has space to grow 11,000 trees each year, will be moving to a new property. I think its an opportunity as well a challenge, said Rosalie Hendon, the city forester. Cannabis industry stakeholders say Ohios marijuana bill defies voters will The nursery is not hard to miss if driving by it. Its just off Route 23 in south Columbus. Hendon described it as a hidden gem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The team at the nursery grows everything from seeds. Hendon said that each year, about 2,000 trees are dug out from the site and planted around the city. Trees are, theyre not just something for the aesthetics of neighborhood; theyre truly an issue for our residents quality of life, and thats part of why Im so passionate, Hendon said. Its really much more than just how beautiful they are; its about the health and wellbeing of our residents. Not many cities have their own tree nurseries, according to Hendon. She said Columbus nursery has been on the current property since the 1960s, but its going to have to move because the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant is expanding. New images show how Dublins Bogey Inn will be revamped Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, weve never moved a nursery, to my knowledge, Hendon said. Weve been here for a long time so itll be a process. City council recently approved $97,000 for the nursery relocation project. The Smith Farm area of Three Creeks Park is one of the locations being considered. We are wanting to make sure we are preparing years in advance to make sure by the time the construction starts on the wastewater treatment plant that we have the trees out and we are prepared, we dont want to have a gap in service, Hendon said. Right now, were just at the planning stage finding our new location but well need to start planting in that location while we continue to care for and dig out the trees here at this nursery. The plan is to have the new nursery fully up and running in 2027. Thats when construction on the wastewater treatment plant is set to start. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. To address the most important point up front: The wildfires currently spreading across North and South Carolina are tragic. Thousands of acres have been burned by hundreds of fires since Saturday, taking property and placing livelihoods at risk. There are no reports of fire-driven deaths, as yet, but evacuations have been ordered and emergency declarations made. Firefighters continue to struggle to bring the blazes under control. The causes include unusually dry conditions and wind gusts of up to 40 mph. That said, the Carolina fires may have a positive result that will be felt coast to coast, and especially in California: They're likely to quell all that stupid talk about attaching strings to federal wildfire disaster relief. The moment Texas or Florida or Mississippi experiences a disaster, that idea will vanish. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hi.) on the idea of attaching strings to California disaster aid Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That threat has been made by Trump; his disaster czar, Ric Grenell; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a member of that chamber's GOP leadership; and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), among many others. Also pitching in are members of the right-wing peanut gallery, such as Fox News mouthpieces Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters. What they've tend to have in common is a focus on California policies that had nothing to do with the fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena but have been long-term targets of conservatives and Republicans. Grenell called for the California Coastal Commission to be "defunded," for instance. He didn't explain what that had to do with the fires, but he called its policies "crazy woke left," whatever that means. (The commission's authority to regulate real estate development in the coastal zone, thus angering the developers who are among the GOP's patrons, may have more to do with Grenell's complaint.) The others' points were equally nonsensical. Trump rehearsed his long-discredited claim that California's water supply has been wasted to serve the interests of the tiny delta smelt, an innocent bystander. Johnson talked of "our concerns with the governance of the state of California," which he airily blamed for "complicity ... in the scope of disaster. Donalds said that "if a state is so grossly mismanaged that the initial disaster is not quickly contained, then we have a responsibility to do common-sense things." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Hiltzik: With attacks on the lowly delta smelt, Trump and the GOP launch baseless claims about fire and water On the CBS program "Face the Nation," Barrasso asserted that "the policies of the liberal administration" in California "have made these fires worse." Before examining the natural disasters that have afflicted these blowhards' own backyards, it's proper to note that this isn't California's first encounter with political shortsightedness on this majestic scale. In 1905, a flawed canal cut on the banks of the Colorado River produced a massive flood that threatened to destroy the Imperial Valley, which already was producing crops worth $2 million a year. By the mid-1920s, the valley's efforts had placed a bill before Congress to pay for a high dam on the Colorado to hold back any further flood threats while providing water for irrigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure ran into opposition from President Coolidge and his Treasury secretary, the multimillionaire Andrew Mellon, who thought private enterprise should take on the task. Across the Southeast, farmers and their elected officials raised further objections. Cotton growers objected to irrigating 1 million acres in the Imperial Valley, corn farmers objected to a million more acres of corn, and wheat growers to a million competing acres of wheat. But then nature intervened, with a massive flood in 1927 that killed 246 residents of the Mississippi River valley and breached levees along a thousand-mile stretch of the river. Rep. Phil Swing, who had been elected by Imperial Valley voters with the express goal of bringing the dam measure past the goal line, made sure that nobody overlooked the parallels between the 1927 flood and the disaster at home. Trainloads of New Orleans business and civic leaders came to Washington to plead for relief. "I took on the New Orleans men," Swing recalled, "putting to them again and again whether they could see any difference between the Mississippi's flood threat to their people and the Colorado River flood threat to the people of the Imperial Valley." Two landmark federal measures were born as a result: the Flood Control Act of 1928, which created a levee construction program costing an unprecedented $300 million, and the Boulder Canyon Project Act, which authorized the construction of a $165-million high dam on the Colorado, eventually to be christened Hoover Dam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Hiltzik: The salmon industry faces extinction not because of drought, but politics and government policies That brings us back to the present day, and the old adage, "What goes around comes around." Republican politicians, to be fair, aren't unanimous about calling for strings to be attached to disaster relief for California. Among the holdouts are many members of the North and South Carolina delegations, in part because the most recent hurricanes to sweep across the region killed 200 people and caused more than $10 billion in damage and that happened only last September. I would ask those folks to put themselves in the same position as people of western North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of colleagues who have raised the prospect of withholding aid to California. You got to be consistent on disaster supplement, period." Congress passed a$100-billion disaster relief bill after the hurricanes, no strings attached. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But other Republicans either have blinders on or short memories. Consider Barrasso's home state, Wyoming. Billion-dollar natural disasters are up 360% in Wyoming over the last 20 years," according to a study funded by LendingTree and cited by LaramieLive.com. The state is especially vulnerable to wildfires, including a wind-blown fire in 2020 that scorched 177,000 acres, destroyed 66 properties and threatened Cheyenne's drinking water with contamination. Louisiana, Johnson's home state? Since 2004, it's been hit by 13 hurricanes as well as floods requiring federal assistance. If Johnson were to stick with his insistence that "governance" were to be a factor in the disbursement of federal assistance, observes Louisiana journalist Greg LaRose, the state might "no longer be entitled to federal assistance after hurricanes because state policy has allowed the fossil fuel industry to carve up its coastal marshes, making south Louisiana more susceptible to storm damage." The Census Bureau reported that Louisiana had the highest percentage of residents displaced by natural disasters of any state in 2023 about 8.3%, compared with the national average of 1.6%. Every state in the union has received federal disaster aid in recent years. How many of them would like to see political strings attached to the funding? (Carnegie Endowment) Florida? it might as well be called the "hurricane state," with the damage caused by more than 20 hurricanes requiring federal aid since 2004, including last year's Hurricane Milton, which brought some $1.5 billion in federal assistance in its aftermath. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Louisiana and Florida ranked first and second in the level of direct assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government agencies from 2003 through 2024, according to an aid tracker compiled by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Louisiana received $47 billion and Florida received $28 billion. California was in the middle of the pack, at $7.6 billion. Every single state received some level of federal assistance. Barrasso, Donalds and Johnson didn't reply to questions I sent through their congressional offices about their advocacy of attaching strings to assistance. It isn't only the cynicism of GOP politicians claiming to know the factors underlying disasters such as the California wildfires; it's their evident ignorance of what those factors are. They talk with cocksure confidence about the virtues of clearing forest floors, moving water hundreds of miles to get to the fire zone, to "crazy woke left" coastal policies, and on and on. But they don't mention the most important factor: global warming, which they would prefer to wish away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But they must know deep down that they're spouting partisan claptrap. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), whose home state residents received $660 million in FEMA assistance after the Maui fire of 2023, according to the Carnegie database, knows how asinine, counterproductive and short-lived the idea of conditions on disaster relief will be in the end. "Its never going to happen, Schatz told HuffPost. The moment Texas or Florida or Mississippi experiences a disaster, that idea will vanish. Get the latest from Michael Hiltzik Commentary on economics and more from a Pulitzer Prize winner. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A highly common bacterial affliction that impacts nearly a third of women worldwide could very well be an overlooked sexually transmitted infection (STI). Bacterial vaginosis (BV) occurs when the vaginal microbiome hosts an increase in some harmful bacteria and a decrease in protective species, which can lead to an unpleasant 'fishy' smell, abnormal vaginal discharge, burning, or itching (although many have no symptoms at all). In the past, scientists have argued that BV doesn't meet the requirements of an STI because the bacteria come from within. But that may not be true in all cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While BV is considered both treatable and curable, some scientists have pointed out there is an "unacceptably high proportion" of women (around 50 percent) experiencing BV recurrence within 6 months of taking a week-long antibiotic, leaving them vulnerable to risks of infertility, premature births, and low birth weight for infants. Previous studies have found that men also harbor bacterial species associated with bacterial vaginosis in the distal urethra and the penis, and the risk of BV recurrence in women doubles if they have a regular sexual partner. A new randomized trial from Australia suggests we need a revolution in how BV is treated. The findings reveal that regular male partners can re-seed BV infections during sexual activity if they are not treated as well. "Our trial has shown that reinfection from partners is causing a lot of the BV recurrence women experience, and provides evidence that BV is in fact an STI," says clinician scientist Catriona Bradshaw from Monash University. Infographic for Garderella Vaginalis ( Cleveland Clinic If the authors are right, and BV really is an STI, then it could be one of the most common in the world. For perspective, the lifetime risk of chlamydia, which is currently the most common STI, impacts about 1 in 5 women in some parts of the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sexual activity is considered a main risk factor for BV, and yet infectious disease specialists Jack Sobel and Christina Muzny, who were not involved in the current research, explain that "bacterial vaginosis is still unfortunately not accepted as an STI by practitioners." Virtually all previous studies that have treated male partners for BV have failed to show reduced recurrence rates in their female partners, and yet often, these trials have treated men using only an oral tablet. This may not be enough to quash the infection completely. The new trial is the first of its kind to show that simultaneously giving oral and topical antimicrobial treatments to male partners of women who are also receiving first-line BV therapy reduces the risk of recurrence 12 weeks later. The study split 164 heterosexual, monogamous couples in which the woman had BV into two groups. In the first group, only women were treated for BV using antimicrobial agents, following current global recommended practice. In the second group, the women were treated and the men were also given an oral antibiotic and a topical clindamycin cream to apply to the penile skin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 12 weeks, BV recurrence was documented at 35 percent in the partner-treatment group, as opposed to 63 percent in the group that treated just women. The findings suggest that current standard care for BV is not cutting it and can be greatly improved upon. "This successful intervention is relatively cheap and short and has the potential for the first time to not only improve BV cure for women, but opens up exciting new opportunities for BV prevention, and prevention of the serious complications associated with BV," says Bradshaw. Further research will be needed to test this approach on larger and more diverse cohorts, but the findings suggest that condoms aren't the only way to reduce the possibility of BV sexual transmission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This trial provides data critical to educating clinicians and patients about the role of sexual transmission of bacterial vaginosisassociated bacteria and the benefit of male-partner treatment," write Sobel and Muzny. "It is time to start the conversation." The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Related News EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Peter Alviti, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT), joined 12 News at 4:30 to discuss federal grants, the next phase of Washington Bridge demolition, and more. Federal funding for transportation projects Alviti said Rhode Island has been promised three grants for two projects: the Washington Bridge and several bridges on I-95. He told 12 News anchor Kim Kalunian that officials at RIDOT dont believe either of these two grants fall under recent executive orders that would halt their disbursement, but shared that Gov. Dan McKee has written a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking him to guarantee the funds will be released. READ MORE: McKee presses Trump team to release $470M for Washington Bridge, other projects Washington Bridge demolition With the substructure that is, the deck and the beams that held it up gone, the next phase in the demolition of the westbound Washington Bridge can begin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alviti explained that demolishing the bridges columns and footings will have to be done in two steps, as crews cant do any underwater work between now and the middle of June. During that timeframe, the fish that are in the river lay their eggs and they spawn, Alviti said. We dont want to interfere with any of that. The above-water portions of the demolition will go on for the next several months. LEARN MORE: Washington Bridge demolition enters next phase Truck tolls In his proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, Gov. Dan McKee indicated that he plans to reactivate the states truck tolls. Alviti said that the amount charged and the timeline for opening both depend on logistics, as the existing toll gantries have laid dormant for the last few years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governors [expectation of] a partial revenue stream coming from it by the end of the year reflects that were all working toward that, Alviti told 12 News. Well see how that goes. Watch the full interview in the player above. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A Midland woman has been arrested after authorities say she embezzled more than $430,000 from her longtime employer over the course of several years. 61-year-old, Bettye Brown Thiel, has been charged with Credit Card/Debit Card Abuse, a first-degree felony, and Theft of Property over $300,000, a first-degree felony. According to an arrest affidavit, on October 17, 2024, officers with the Midland Police Department responded to a report of financial fraud at the Midwest Door and Window Company. The companys president told investigators that he had been alerted by Community National Bank to unusual transactions. Upon further review, he discovered multiple fraudulent checks written out to Thiel, the companys bookkeeper since 2006. The checks, totaling over $423,000, appeared to be signed by the companys assistant manager, but he later confirmed that his signature had been forged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When confronted, Thiel allegedly admitted to the fraud, stating, I did it. I confess. Im a really bad person, according to witness statements included in the affidavit. She also reportedly told her employers that she had been a scummy person for the past 18 years. Following the admission, Thiel was immediately terminated from her position. During the investigation, Detectives with the Midland Police Departments Financial Crimes Unit determined that Thiel had been manipulating financial records to conceal her actions. She allegedly altered bank reconciliations in QuickBooks to make it appear that payments were made to legitimate vendors while actually writing checks to herself. Additionally, she reportedly used the companys credit card to make unauthorized purchases and later refunded the money to her personal bank account. Authorities subpoenaed financial records from Community National Bank and Capital One, revealing that Thiel had deposited fraudulent checks into her personal accounts. Investigators estimate that the total amount stolen between 2016 and 2024 was at least $430,179, though records prior to 2016 were unavailable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thiel was arrested on March 3, 2025, by the Midland County Sheriffs Office and booked into the Midland County Detention Center, where she remains with a $575,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. BANGKOK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- THAIFEX-HOREC Asia 2025, the comprehensive trade show for the HoReCa industry, covering hospitality, restaurants, cafes, and catering services, kicked off here on Wednesday. Thai Minister of Commerce Pichai Naripthaphan said at the opening ceremony that the event brings together key players across the entire supply chain and serves as a platform for showcasing new products, technologies, and innovations in the industry, featuring over 460 companies globally. Pichai said the Southeast Asian nation's renowned status as a global tourist destination and the post-pandemic recovery of the tourism and hospitality sectors have been key drivers of growth in the HoReCa industry. Well-equipped with world-class infrastructure, a strong business network and skilled professionals, along with the government's support, the kingdom aims to position itself as a global hub for the service industry, he said. "We are confident that this economic trend will foster business confidence and enhance trade partnerships with Thailand," he added. The trade show running from Wednesday to Friday provides a complete overview of the sector's products and services across nine segments, with an array of activities, including exhibitions, competitions, seminars, workshops, and live cooking demonstrations. According to the organizer, more than 20,000 visitors, buyers, and business professionals around the globe are expected to attend the event, and it aims to generate over 4 billion baht (118.75 million U.S. dollars) in trade value. Recent reports about the closure of Social Security offices in Alabama do not tell the full story. While changes are being made, I want to reassure residents that these offices will remain open and continue serving the public as they always have. Its our understanding the adjustments involve the cancellation of lease agreements for hearing spaces, not the areas used for daily operations. Social Security hearings are now done virtually, and these spaces have not been used for some time, but tax payers were still paying the rent. These changes will not impact residents ability to access Social Security services at these locations. Its also important to recognize that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plays a necessary role in ensuring responsible management of federal resources. However, its actions are not aimed at cutting vital services like Social Securityprograms that hardworking Americans have contributed to throughout their lives. My office remains in close contact with the Social Security Administration to ensure that essential services remain accessible to the people of Alabama. I will continue working to protect these critical programs and advocate for the services our communities rely on. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank is reassuring people in his district that cuts to Medicaid will not be on the table for Republicans in Congress. While he does say cuts are not a concern, Crank said he does believe there need to be more regulations applied to the program. The lawmaker who represents Colorado Springs wants to put safeguards in place to stop undocumented immigrants from enrolling in Medicaid, and stop Medicaid fraud. Crank helped advance a budget plan that includes a $4.5 trillion tax cut that critics say benefits the wealthy, and that Democrats like Governor Jared Polis say lays the ground work to slash billions from Medicaid and SNAP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congressman Crank said in an interview with FOX21 News that some of that kind of talk is scare tactics, in his opinion. I think theres groups out there that are trying to scare people, frankly for their own political purposes, to try and scare people into believing that theres going to be all these massive Medicaid cuts, said Crank. And that hasnt been the case, thats not the intention of anybody here, is to cut people off of Medicaid. Data shows 19% of Cranks 5th Congressional District are enrolled in Medicaid, which is below the national average of 22%. And while Crank said there have been no specific cuts to Medicaid or Medicare that have been voted on, there are still areas for improvement where spending could be trimmed in order to ensure Medicaid funding is accurately directed to those who need it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a law that allows people to stay on Medicaid for 89 days before they have to show any proof of citizenship, said Crank. People who arent citizens of the United States arent eligible for Medicaid. So shouldnt we, as a society, try and not have people like that taking money from Medicaid, so that we can serve the people who are eligible so I would make the argument that a lot of whats being done right now is to preserve these programs. Crank stressed that any cuts he would support would be strictly to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse of necessary services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. President Donald Trump delivered the longest modern presidential address in history last night, speaking for one hour, 39 minutes, 32 seconds, according to data from the University of California-Santa Barbaras American Presidency Project. During his speech, Trump addressed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, acknowledging they may cause a minor disruption. He highlighted his administrations achievements, stating, We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years, eight years. The address was met with protest from some Democratic lawmakers, several of whom walked out in opposition. Among them, U.S. Rep. Al Green was escorted out after interrupting the speech. Green, a longtime critic of Trump, has previously pushed for multiple impeachment efforts against the former president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Crowd of 100-plus protests 'King Trump' at National Day of Action rally in West Palm Beach Who is Al Green? Rep. Al Green is a Texas Democrat who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005, representing the states Ninth Congressional District, which includes parts of Houston and areas near that city. In 2025, he began his 11th term in Congress and currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee. What is Al Green's background? A New Orleans native, Green attended Florida A&M University, Howard University, and the Tuskegee Institute before earning his Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in 1973. He later co-founded and co-managed the law firm Green, Wilson, Dewberry, and Fitch. In 1977, he was appointed justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, where he served for 26 years before retiring in 2004. Green also led the Houston Branch of the NAACP for a decade. More: Trump speech replay: President says US is 'just getting started' as he talks DOGE, border Has Al Green protested against Trump before? U.S. Rep. Al Green was the first lawmaker to introduce and force a vote on three articles of impeachment against former President Donald Trump during the 115th and 116th Congresses, according to his official biography. He later voted in favor of Trumps impeachment when the House passed articles in 2019 and 2021. What did Al Green say to Trump? After being escorted from the chamber, U.S. Rep. Al Green told reporters he attempted to tell former President Donald Trump that he had no mandate to cut Medicaid, according to Bloomberg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im also working on my articles of impeachment, Green told reporters. Is Al Green a Democrat or Republican? Al Green is a Texas Democrat who has represented the Houston area in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005. Diamond Walker is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at dkwalker@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today Contributing: USA Today This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump Speech: Congressman Al Green escorted out. Who is Texas Democrat U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, state legislator and institution in Houston Democratic politics, died early Wednesday morning. He was 70. Turner's death comes two months into his first term representing Texas 18th Congressional District, the seat long occupied by his political ally, former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office last year amid a battle with pancreatic cancer. Turner said in 2022 that he had secretly been recovering from bone cancer. Last summer, as he was seeking the nomination for Jackson Lee's seat, Turner said he was cancer-free. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Turner's family said he was taken to the hospital Tuesday night after attending President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C. Turner was released from the hospital and later died at his home at about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday from "enduring health complications," according to the statement. Before joining Congress, Turner served as Houston mayor from 2016 to 2024, guiding the city through several federally declared natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey. He served for nearly 27 years in the Texas House before making the jump to City Hall. Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special election to fill Turner's congressional seat for the rest of his term. State law does not specify a deadline to call a special election, but if it is called the election is required to happen within two months of the announcement. Turner's death comes at a critical time in Congress. House Republicans have few votes to spare as they look to advance Trump's agenda, including extending his 2017 tax cuts. With Turner's safely Democratic seat vacant, Republicans now control 218 seats to Democrats' 214 an extra vote of breathing room in the narrowly divided chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turner jumped into the race for Jackson Lee's seat with the backing of the late congresswoman's children, including Erica Lee Carter, who served out the final several weeks of her mother's term before passing the baton to Turner. In his bid for the seat, Turner vowed to be "a bridge from where we are now to that future generation of leaders" and said he would serve only two terms in office. At a debate with other candidates for Jackson Lee's seat, Turner said his cancer diagnosis had made him more motivated to fight for laws expanding health care access. He also gave an impassioned defense of his health and ability to continue holding public office. Many people think cancer means cancel your life. No, cancer does not mean the end, Turner said. We need to destigmatize cancer. That's why a lot of people don't talk about it, because people use it in the wrong way. So, I'm here, I'm eager, I'm ready to serve. Harris County Democratic Party officials picked Turner to replace Jackson Lee as their nominee on the November ballot last year, narrowly selecting him over rival Amanda Edwards, a former at-large member of Houston City Council who served alongside Turner at City Hall from 2016 to 2020. Edwards unsuccessfully challenged Jackson Lee in the 2024 primary and is seen as a possible candidate to succeed Turner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Turner's successor at City Hall, confirmed the news of Turner's death at Wednesday's Houston City Council meeting. "This comes as a shock to everyone," Whitmire said. "I would ask Houstonians to come together, pray for his family, join us in celebrating this remarkable public servant. Celebrate his life, which we will be doing." Whitmire, who has recently clashed with Turner over several political and policy issues, said he and Turner were very close and had "been together in good times and bad times." The two overlapped in the Texas Legislature Whitmire in the Senate, Turner in the House for Turner's entire legislative career. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said House Democrats were "shocked and saddened" by Turner's sudden death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston," Jeffries said in a statement. He noted that Turner was at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening for Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, calling him a "fighter until the end." To highlight his opposition to proposed Medicaid cuts, Turner invited a constituent to the speech, Angela Hernandez, whose daughter has a rare genetic disorder. In a video posted to social media Tuesday evening alongside Hernandez, Turner finished by saying, "Don't mess with Medicaid." Jeffries invoked that as Turner's "final message to his beloved constituents." Turner was born in 1954 in Acres Homes, a working-class and predominantly Black neighborhood in northwest Houston. He was the sixth of nine children to Eddie and Ruby Mae Turner. After Turner's father died when he was 13, his mother worked as a maid at a hotel in downtown Houston; Turner later said his mother's perseverance and optimism left a mark on him into his years as a politician. Turner began his path to law and politics at Klein High School, once an all-white school until Black students including Turner began getting bussed to school amid an era of desegregation. At Klein, Turner was a debate champion, student body president and valedictorian. He earned degrees from the University of Houston and Harvard Law School and began his own law firm in 1983, several years before he was first elected to the Texas House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his time in Austin, Turner wielded outsized power for a Democrat serving in a Republican-controlled Legislature. He spent nearly 20 years on the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee and at the time of his exit was the only Democrat to chair a budget subcommittee, overseeing funding for the judiciary, criminal justice and public safety. Turner also served for more than 15 years on two of the state Houses most powerful committees: State Affairs, which oversees a sweeping range of key legislation, and Calendars, which sets the agenda for bills heard on the House floor. During budget debates on the House floor, Turner was known for using an abacus as a prop to underscore his opposition to GOP tax cuts. When the abacus came out, I knew I was done, State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, wrote on social media. You will be missed, my friend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat and the House Democratic Caucus leader, said Wednesday on the Texas House floor that he was devastated by Turners death. Sylvester was more than just a colleague for me. He was my adviser. He was my mentor. He was my personal hero, Wu said, getting choked up. When Wu began working as a legislative staffer in 2005, he recalled, there were only two names that I knew before coming to work here, and that was [longtime Rep.] Senfronia Thompson and Sylvester Turner. Because they were people who were outspoken for fighting for their communities and defending the poor and the working class and anybody who got stepped on. Turner was elected Houston mayor in 2015 in his third run for the job, following losses in 1991 and 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turners first mayoral term was largely defined by a successful push to overhaul Houstons public pension systems, along with the citys recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Turner, an architect of the pension reform plan, helped drive a bill through the Legislature that aimed to shore up the citys failing pension funds by cutting retiree benefits and capping future pension costs, among other changes. The reform package won approval in Austin despite opposition from current and retired Houston firefighters, who said the changes required too many cuts to their benefits even though their pension fund was in better shape than those of the citys police and municipal workers. The bad blood between Turner and the firefighters spilled over into another acrimonious labor dispute over how much firefighters would be paid. After going years with minimal pay raises, the firefighters tried to resolve the stalemate with a ballot measure requiring them to be paid equally to police officers, which Turner insisted would leave the citys finances in shambles. The measure passed but was struck down by the Texas Supreme Court; the matter was later resolved under Whitmire, when Houston City Council granted firefighters hundreds of millions in back pay as part of a $1.5 billion settlement. Turner also routinely butted heads with state leaders over how to administer the billions of federal dollars approved for southeast Texas recovery from Hurricane Harvey. The state General Land Office eventually took over part of the citys housing recovery itself, blaming Turners administration for moving too slowly; Turner said the state agency was to blame for the slow distribution of federal aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After winning reelection in 2019, Turner spent the first half of his next term steering the city through the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, his final years in office were overshadowed by controversies. In 2021, Turners housing director accused him of steering affordable housing money to a firm run by the mayors former law partner. Turner said he did not know about the law partners involvement in the deal and denied wrongdoing. Turner also oversaw a limited number of police reforms in his final term after advocates called for wholesale changes in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Reflecting on his legacy while presiding over his final city council meeting in 2023, Turner said he was leaving office knowing that no other mayor in the city of Houston has dealt with seven federally declared disasters, pensions, a consent decree, social civil unrest all at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have to know your value. You have to know what you have done, Turner said. And if you know what you have done, then you can move forward with the assurance that all is well. Turner's family said information regarding funeral services is forthcoming. We cant wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 1315 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Donald Trump has promised that millions of people are going to be deported during his second term, and when it comes time to find people to deport, Dane County could find itself a target. Thats based on comments made by U.S.Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee just days before the 2024 election: When we think about the policies of sanctuary cities, and we know Dane County operates as a sanctuary city because ICE makes it clear that Dane County does not coordinate with them, we know the danger that poses to our communities, Steil said. Theres been state legislation where we couldve had an opportunity to ban sanctuary cities here in the United States, and weve not been successful in doing that under Democratic leadership. Sanctuary cities endanger our communities. pic.twitter.com/WXuOaLmu75 Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) October 24, 2024 The term sanctuary city is vague, is not a legal term and has different interpretations, so well forego a formal ruling. But heres what we found when we dug into Steils claim. What is a sanctuary city? There is no legal definition of a sanctuary city, but according to Global Refuge, a Maryland-based non-profit that helps immigrants and refugees, it is a term often assigned to a municipality or community with a policy, written or unwritten, that discourages local law enforcement from reporting the immigration status of individuals unless it involves investigation of a serious crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not the first time Dane County, specifically the city of Madison, has been labeled a sanctuary. In 2020, PolitiFact Wisconsin published a piece on President Trump calling Madison and Milwaukee sanctuary cities, which was rated Half True. In the fact check, it was noted that the Dane County sheriff did not honor a hold requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a criminal case in 2019 for Luis Ruiz-Ugalde who was accused of several attacks in Madison. PolitiFact Wisconsin filed a public records request with the sheriffs office on the Ruiz-Ugalde case. According to an email at the time, the sheriff's office did get the order from ICE but told the department the suspect was being transferred to a different correctional facility in Dodge County and ICE needed to file a I-247 form with that correctional facility. And it attached the form in the email. U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Janesville Republican, took the stage during a press conference on crime and safety, hosted by then-Republican vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, in Kenosha on Aug. 20, 2024. A fax was sent from the jail clerk at the sheriffs office to US Immigration saying: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Above subject is here on local charges. Attached is your I-247 form. Dane County Sheriff's Office will not hold for your agency using this form. If you want to have the subject held, you must provide a court document signed by a judge granting law enforcement the authority to hold above subject. The fax went on to say once the charges were completed the sheriffs office would reach out to the department to see if ICE could pick up Ruiz-Ugalde within 30 minutes, if not, the subject will be released without delay." In 2021, Ruiz-Ugalde was convicted of attempted second degree sexual assault of a child, burglary, fourth degree sexual assault and battery stemming from his arrest in 2019. Hes currently incarcerated at Oshkosh Correctional Institution and is scheduled to be released this year on Oct. 29, according to records from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. So, the sheriffs office did deny a hold on a technicality but also sent paperwork for ICE to complete the hold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some background: In 2017, at the dawn of his first term, Trump signed an executive order that allowed, in part, for the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to label places as sanctuary jurisdictions and those places would not be eligible to receive federal grants. In 2021, Joe Biden signed an executive order his first month as president that rescinded the Trump order. And on his first day back in office on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order rescinding all of Bidens orders. On Feb. 19, Trump signed another executive order aimed at removing funding for federal programs in cities or municipalities with policies that limit cooperation with the federal government on immigration enforcement or . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear what impact, if any, the most recent executive order would have on Dane County. Center for Immigration Studies label Chavonne Ludick, communication director for Steils office, recognizes that the term sanctuary city can be applied broadly to cities, counties, and states that limit cooperation or involvement with federal immigration authorities. In other words, jurisdictions that have policies that center around not cooperating with federal law enforcement on immigration policies, Ludick said. Though Dane County may not have officially applied the label of sanctuary county to itself, it operates as one through its limited cooperation with federal authorities. Ludick referenced information from the Center for Immigration Studies, a non-profit that advocates for low levels of immigration, which labeled Dane County as a sanctuary. On the Center for Immigration Studies website theres a link to a document titled Detainer Acceptance Tracker from June 21, 2024, with the county listed as non-cooperative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE declined to comment directly on the Detainer Acceptance Tracker. Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, said Dane County was added to the organizations sanctuary map because of the designation in the Detainer Acceptance Tracker. What ICE is saying in this Detainer Acceptance Tracker is that (Dane County is) not giving notification prior to release and theyre not holding the individual in time for ICE to get there, Vaughan said in an interview with PolitiFact Wisconsin. Which is another way of saying theyre not honoring detainers. What does the Dane County Sheriffs Office think about the designation? The Dane County Sheriffs Office rejected the notion of being labeled a sanctuary city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elise Schaffer, public information and education officer for the sheriffs office, said: ICE has access to all of our jail bookings. If they put a hold on someone in our jail and provide the proper paperwork, they are provided that persons release date. They must pick up the person by 11 a.m. on the day of their release. We will not hold anyone past their scheduled release date, as we do not have a judicial authority to do so. Schaffer went on to say how cases are handled if the sheriffs office once it got the proper paperwork from ICE. If someone has been sentenced, the only form we require is the I 247A detainer form, Schaffer said. If someone is in our jail, but has not been convicted of a crime, then we ask for a signed court order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the Detainer Acceptance Tracker, Schaffer said she couldnt speak to that document. To my knowledge we have never been notified by ICE that we are on any particular list, Schaffer said. Nor do I recall any collaboration with ICE to make an arrest. When asked if the sheriffs office has a written policy dealing with immigration, Shaffer said there is no written policy. On Feb. 5, Wisconsin Public Radio reported Dane County Sheriffs Office was not going to be submitting data to the federal government as part of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which partly reimburses law enforcement for detaining an undocumented immigrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schaffer said this decision doesnt change anything about how we interact with ICE. All of the information submitted for that grant was historical. ICE still has access to our jail bookings and yes, if they provide a signed order from a judge, we will hold that person, Schaffer said. The sheriffs office has been compiling data and sending it to the federal government but it was not up to date. For instance, we had yet to submit data for the second half of 2023. We will not be applying for the grant again, Schaffer said. The Wisconsin chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union published a report on Aug. 25, 2022 that states from 2016 to 2020, through the SCAAP, Dane County collected more than $634,000 for giving information to ICE. Dane County received more funding from ICE through that program than any county in the state had received at that time. Our conclusion Steil said Dane County operates as a sanctuary city but the label itself is vague, has no legal standing, and he provided no examples of this being true beyond the classification of the county from a non-profit organization that advocates for low immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dane County Sheriffs Office has said it allows ICE access to its jail logs and will hold suspects if it receives the proper paperwork. However there is at least one incident from 2019 that shows the sheriffs office wasnt fully cooperating with ICE at the time. But a report from the ACLU of Wisconsin stated between 2016 and 2020, the sheriffs office received more than $634,000 for providing ICE with information, which was more money than any other county in the state. But the county is no longer planning to participate in that program. Steil seems to be hanging a lot on the 2019 case and hasnt acknowledged other areas where there has been cooperation between the sheriffs office and ICE. As the Trump deportation efforts play out it likely will become more clear if Dane County is cooperating with ICE, or acting as what critics call a sanctuary. Sources U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin on X, Sanctuary cities endanger our communities. Oct. 24, 2024 Politifact, Trump Claim that Madison, Milwaukee are sanctuary cities has some merit but goes too far, April 17, 2020 Center for Immigration Studies, Map: Sanctuary cities, counties and states, Nov. 1, 2024 Center for Immigration Studies, Detainer Acceptance Tracker, June 21, 2024 PolitiFact, Is the Center for Immigration Studies a hate group, as the Southern Poverty Law Center says?, March 22, 2017 Federal Register, Executive Order 13768, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, Jan. 25, 2017 Federal Register, Executive Order 13993, Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities, Jan. 20, 2021 Global Refuge, What are sanctuary cities and why do they exist? July 12, 2021 Wisconsin Department of Corrections, General Public- offender search, last checked Jan. 27, 2025 Wisconsin Public Radio, As Trump takes office, Dane County will no longer accept money for sending immigration data to the feds, Feb. 5, 2025 ACLU Wisconsin, ACLU of Wisconsin Release Report on Immigration Enforcement in Wisconsin, Exposing the Jail-to-Deportation Pipeline, Aug. 25, 2022 Politico, Fresh executive order targets sanctuary cities, federal aid for undocumented migrants, Feb. 20, 2025 Bureau of Justice Assistance, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), last checked Feb. 6, 2025 Executive Order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, Feb. 19, 2025 Email exchange, Elise Schaffer, public information and education officer for the Dane County Sheriffs Office, Nov. 19, 2024 through Feb. 6, 2025 Phone conversation, Jessica Vaughn with the Center for Immigration Studies, Nov. 20, 2024 This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Steil labeled Dane County a sanctuary city, but its complicated OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Hundreds of weather forecasters and federal employees with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lost their jobs last week on Thursday, including employees at the National Weather Service in Norman, following mass nationwide job cuts by DOGE. The Associated Press reported last week that the cuts account for about 10% of NOAAs workforce, including 375 probationary employees with the National Weather Service nationwide. The Trump Administration cut more than 600 workers last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Storm chasers say National Weather Service data critical to chasers, meteorologists jobs The job cuts have left many concerned, especially Oklahomans, who rely on the states weather forecasters and the NWS during Oklahomas severe weather events. No matter what you choose to gather your weather information, the fact is all of these organizations are reliant upon this information, this data gathered by the National Weather Service, said storm tracker Connor Tune, with News 4s 4Warn Storm Team. Theyre not gathering this data themselves. As reported by Axios, the Trump administration informed NOAA that two pivotal weather forecasting centers would soon have their leases canceled, including the NWS Radar Operations Center in Norman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, U.S. Congressman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) provided a statement in response to the concerns of the National Weather Centers lease will be terminated. As a resident of Moore, I know firsthand how important the National Weather Center in Norman is. The center saves lives by alerting the American people when a tornado, hurricane, or any other severe storm is coming their way. Therefore, my staff and I are in contact with the Administration to ensure that they understand how valuable and vital the National Weather Center is especially with storm season right around the corner, said Congressman Cole. I am confident once all the facts are known, the National Weather Center will remain operational and in Oklahoma. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. CONNEAUT The city is reaching out to the Ohio Department of Transportation for help making the Interstate 90 and Route 7 interchange safer. The city is interested in adding traffic lights at the exit ramps, speed limit reductions or both. Conneauts position relative to the Ohio-[Pennsylvania] border is an incentive for increased off-ramp traffic from Interstate 90 for fuel as our prices are roughly 20% less expensive for both gasoline and diesel, Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford said in a letter to ODOT. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter went on to say while the citys geography is great for its economy, it also increases the amount of traffic incidents. Route 7s 50 mile per hour speed limit at the interchange also contributes to risk, the letter said. Sanford has seen several traffic incidents during his nine months as city manager, he said. We have seen far too many incidents, whether they be near-misses, [two-car] or three-car motor vehicle accidents, or even fatalities at this interchange, he said. Sanford said the city can produce hard evidence for increased traffic incidents at the interchange. It goes without saying that growth in this area has created a tangible need for these improvements, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanfords letter recounted a recent fatal accident at the interchange. According to the letter, on Feb. 8 a westbound-to-southbound pickup and a northbound sedan crashed after the pickup failed to yield at the interchange. The driver of the sedan, 69-year-old James Tupa of Conneaut, sadly succumbed to his injuries ten days later, the letter said. There have been multiple traffic studies going back around a decade, which have cost the city a lot of money, Sanford said in the letter. He added the city is not interested in a new traffic study for the interchange. Its evident with multiple MVAs throughout the course of my nine-month tenure, coupled with the citys institutional knowledge of the growth history relative to this interchange, that the time is now for safety improvements, Sanford said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city is interested in reviewing past traffic studies to make long-lasting improvements, Sanford said. In the letter, Sanford said he is interested in outside funding for the project, and working with state and federal leaders. Alternatively, the city will have no choice but to seek its own course of action including exploring our extremely limited general fund dollars to improve this interchange, he said. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) A mural thats more than 100 years old is getting a new lease on life inside of a Providence church. After about two months of restoration, the renewed artwork is nearly ready to be shown off at the historic Grace Episcopal Church. It was hard to see the subject of the painting very well, Rector Jonathan Huyck said. We wanted to restore it so everyone could appreciate the beautiful artwork that it is. Gianfranco Pocobene Huyck said the mural has had a lot of time to collect dust and other damage, which is why conservation artist Gianfranco Pocobene and his team were called in to assist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pocobene told 12 News he had his work cut out for him as soon as he arrived. It was quite evident that there was a very dark yellow varnish on the surface of the painting, he explained. Those brown and yellow tints are now gone and have been replace with vibrant colors, as well as a clear depiction of Jesus Christ surrounded by angels. That was the other big portion of the work, was to stabilize those areas and inject a special adhesive in there and reattach the paint bit by bit, Pocobene continued. Huyck said the mural is an important part of the churchs history and its restoration will allow future generations to enjoy it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Religious iconography is meant to aid in the worship of the faithful, and so part of our inspiration as well as to bring back that opportunity to be inspired by this image of Jesus Christ, he said. Huyck said the murals restoration will be completed and ready for viewing in roughly two weeks. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. My WWAMI medical school and residency education gave me the ability to practice rural, full-spectrum family medicine, writes guest columnist Lance Hansen. (Getty Images) I am a fiscally and socially conservative family physician practicing at Franklin County Medical Center in Preston, Idaho. I was raised on a potato farm west of Blackfoot, and my family has been rooted in Idaho agriculture for generations. Growing up, my family physician was WWAMI graduate Dr. Kirt McKinlay. Im writing because I am concerned that politics are clouding sound judgement when it comes to House Bill 176, a bill that would sever medical education ties with the University of Washington School of Medicine. With a proven track record of excellent medical education and a commitment to Idaho, why are we entertaining the notion of cutting ties of a 53-year-old partnership with the WWAMI program for a lot of uncertainty and unknown? With the way that House Bill 176 is structured/worded, there are only a few possibilities and a lot of uncertainty. To me this feels very political rather than rational. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a graduate of the WWAMI program, I never participated in or felt pressured to learn anything about abortion or physician assisted suicide. The education at the University of Washington School of Medicine is outstanding; WWAMI is continually ranked as one of the top medical schools in the nation for primary care. When I went through medical school, there were only 18 WWAMI slots for Idaho medical students and today there are 40. I know, firsthand, that the mission of the University of Washington School of Medicine is to truly prepare physicians to serve the WWAMI region. Since 2012, I have volunteered thousands of hours teaching WWAMI medical students and serving on the Idaho WWAMI admissions committee where we selected applicants who were committed to rural Idaho and its health care needs. I have never been paid for any of this. I simply have a great appreciation for what the WWAMI program has accomplished and a strong confidence in what it will accomplish in the future. More than half of Idaho WWAMI medical students choose to practice here, which is better than the national average of 39-40%. When you include all WWAMI medical students, more than 70% end up in Idaho. Training in Idaho entices students from Alaska, Montana, Washington and Wyoming to stay here. My medical career started in Bear Lake County where I practiced for 11 years. Its difficult to find physicians who are comfortable with practicing in these truly rural environments without specialist support nearby. My WWAMI medical school and residency education gave me the ability to practice rural, full-spectrum family medicine including obstetrics with C sections, colonoscopy/EGD, emergency medicine, intensive care, hospital medicine, clinic treatment and more. WWAMI provides the rural emphasis, exposure, opportunities, knowledge and confidence necessary for me, and other graduates, to serve people in rural areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I came to Franklin County Medical Center two years ago, it had been recruiting for more than four years. For smaller hospitals like ours, it is more cost effective to have broadly trained family physicians like those that come out of the WWAMI program with rural experience. Our family medicine training also means patients are likely to have better outcomes because they dont have to travel longer distances for medical care. One of my favorite parts of medicine is participating in the miracle of life when newborn babies come into this world. Most people I know love babies so I ask that our state lawmakers not throw out the baby with the bathwater on this issue of medical education in Idaho. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Christ for all Nations Announces 100% Free Tuition for the CfaN School of Ministry NEWS PROVIDED BY Christ for all Nations March 5, 2025 ORLANDO, Fla., March 5, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ This 100% Free Tuition offer is available through the Reinhard Bonnke Scholarship Fund, to the first 250 students accepted into the CfaN School of Ministry, for the 2025-2026 school year only. For nearly five decades, Christ for all Nations (CfaN) has been at the forefront of one of the greatest harvests of souls in history. It all began in 1974 when Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke declared a prophetic vision: Africa Shall Be Saved! Since then, through mass crusade evangelism, we have witnessed over 96 million documented decisions for Christ. Now, as we look ahead to the next chapter, we believe God is calling us to something even greater: a billion-soul harvest. But this historic mission isnt about one person, its about all of us stepping into our God-given calling and taking part in this unprecedented move of the Holy Spirit. Thats why we are excited to announce the Christ for all Nations School of Ministry. A global hub where we will launch world-changers into their Gods given calling. A Transformational Movement and Community The Christ for All Nations School of Ministry is more than a schoolits a family, a movement, and a divine appointment. This institution will serve as a global hub where passionate believers can launch into their destinies, equipped and empowered to fulfill the Great Commission. Your Invitation to a Life-Changing Journey The Christ for all Nations School of Ministry is designed to equip and empower you to walk boldly into your purpose. Whether you feel called to preach the Gospel, plant churches, serve in missions, or lead in various spheres of influencefrom ministry to marketplace, this is your moment. At CfaN SOM, youll be mentored by world-renowned leaders in ministry, such as Ev. Daniel Kolenda, Lou Engle, Dr. Randy Clark, Cindy Jacobs, Brother Yun, and many more! Youll experience life-transforming encounters with the Holy Spirit and gain real-world ministry experience through mission trips and local outreach. Heres what you can look forward to: World-Class Training: From biblical foundations to practical ministry skills, our faculty will equip you to lead with boldness and excellence. Hands-On Experience: Go beyond the classroom through international missions and serve alongside passionate believers who are committed to impacting the world. A Global Community: Join a tribe of like-minded students who share your fire for revival and your vision for a transformed world. Your Path to Effective Ministry Recognizing that everyones journey is different, CfaN SOM offers multiple program tracks to help you find the right fit: Equip (3-Month Intensive): In three months, Equip lays the spiritual foundation for your life of faith, purpose, and transformation. Through focused study of Gods Word, prayer, and Holy Spirit impartation from seasoned leaders, youll gain the skills, boldness, and clarity to influence others and confidently step into your calling. Your journey starts here. Launch (1-Year Program): A more in-depth journey that offers a balanced blend of academic grounding, practical ministry training, and spiritual formation, setting the stage for sustained kingdom impact. Build (2-Year Program): An academically rigorous that provides comprehensive theological and ministry training, ensuring you step into leadership roles with confidence and credibility. The Time Is Now The harvest is ready, and the call has never been more urgent. Imagine being part of a billion-soul movement, a history-making wave of revival that will change the whole world. God has a plan for your life, and this is your opportunity to step into it. Classes begin in Fall 2025 in Orlando, Florida. Dont waitapply today and take the first step toward the greatest adventure of your life. For more information and to start your application, visit www.CfaNSOM.org. About Christ for All Nations Christ for All Nations (CfaN) was founded by Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke in 1974. For nearly 50 years, we have led mass crusade evangelism events, witnessing unprecedented responses to the Gospel. Today, under the leadership of Daniel Kolenda, we continue to equip and inspire believers worldwide to fulfill the Great Commission. Media Contact: Vincent Timothy | CfaN SOM Marketing & Communication Director Vtimothy@cfan.org (404) 494-6314 SOURCE Christ for All Nations A damaged house is seen after an attack in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 5, 2025. Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) ISLAMABAD, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. A group of terrorists, including suicide bombers, attempted to enter the cantonment area but failed due to timely response by security forces in Bannu district of the province, KP government spokesperson Mohammad Ali Saif told Xinhua. He said that the terrorists rammed two explosive-laden vehicles into the wall of the cantonment, causing significant damage, adding that security personnel deployed at various entry points of the area engaged the terrorists, killing six of them on the spot. A local senior police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that after the powerful explosion, the roofs of nearby buildings and a mosque collapsed, killing 12 civilians while injuring 32 others. Following the incident, heavy contingent of police, security forces and rescue teams reached the scene and shifted the injured to district headquarters hospital, where several were in critical condition. A state of emergency has been declared in all the hospitals in the district, according to hospital sources. In a message on social media, Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the terrorist attack, describing it as a heinous act during the holy month of Ramadan. The president lauded security forces for their swift action in eliminating the terrorists, saying the entire nation rejects such despicable actions. Ambulances are seen near the attack site in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 5, 2025. Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) Locals gather at a damaged mosque after an attack in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 5, 2025. Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) A security official examines the attack site in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 5, 2025. Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) Security officials examine the attack site in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 5, 2025. Twelve civilians and six terrorists were killed and 32 people injured when terrorists targeted a cantonment area in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to police and government officials on Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua) "We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud," President Donald Trump claimed in his speech to Congress on Tuesday night, referring to the cost-cutting efforts of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That figure is far bigger than the total "estimated savings" reported by DOGE itself, only part of which it describes as a result of "fraud and improper payment deletion." And DOGE's estimate is itself dubious in light of the many errors that journalists and analysts have discovered in its published dataso dubious that Manhattan Institute budget expert Jessica Riedl describes the project as "government spending-cut theater." Last year, the Government Accountability Office estimated that "the federal government could lose between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud." So it is theoretically possible to do what Trump claims. But it would not be realistic to expect such results just a few months after getting started, and DOGE does not claim to have identified anything like "hundreds of billions of dollars" in fraud. According to the DOGE website, the project so far has found $105 billion in "estimated savings," consisting of "asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions." DOGE does not say how much of that total is attributable to "fraud and improper payment deletion," but it is obviously much less than "hundreds of billions of dollars." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One problem with DOGE's estimate is that it does not distinguish between one-time savings and annual savings. When it comes to reining in federal borrowing, it's the latter that really matters. Another problem is that much of DOGE's calculation remains mysterious. "Regulatory savings," for instance, are not specified. And while lifting unnecessary burdens on businesses would certainly be welcome, the resulting private savings would not amount to a federal spending cut. The most fleshed-out components of the estimated savings are grant and contract cancellations, which DOGE has touted on its website and X account. But news outlets have repeatedly identified embarrassing and consequential mistakes in those numbers, including contracts that had not been awarded yet, contracts that were not actually canceled, contracts that were canceled before Trump took office, contracts that were counted multiple times, conflation of contract caps with actual spending, the inclusion of past spending in estimates of future savings, and overvaluation of contracts, such as the notorious data entry error that transformed an $8 million Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract into an $8 billion cut. What about "workforce reductions"? The Office of Personnel Management reports that 75,000 or so employees accepted the Trump administration's "deferred resignation" offer, agreeing to quit in exchange for "a severance package of eight months of pay and benefits." Those departing workers represent about 3 percent of the federal government's civilian employees, who together cost about $300 billion a year in salaries and benefits. The annual savings therefore could amount to something like $10 billionone-tenth the savings that Elon Musk, the unofficial head of DOGE, projected. Layoffs of probationary employees could add to the savings. Those employees represent about 11 percent of the federal government's civilian work force, so sacking all of them might generate annual savings in the neighborhood of $30 billion. But as Riedl notes, the potential savings even from "a massive reduction in the federal work force" are "smaller than commonly believed." If the Trump administration managed to eliminate a quarter of federal civilian employees, which would be a tall order, it would "save around $75 billion" a year, she says, "or a little more than 1 percent of federal spendingand many of those savings would likely be reprogrammed into new federal contractors to plug the gaps." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, in any case, the Trump administration has not achieved anything close to such personnel savings, and it's not clear how many job cuts DOGE included in its calculation of "workforce reductions." Overall, Riedl said in a recent interview with New York Times columnist David French, DOGE's efforts look like "a distraction" from serious attempts to deal with the federal government's looming fiscal crisis. At that point, DOGE was claiming $55 billion in total savings. But "most of what is claimed to be spending cuts are just accounting errors," Riedl said. She thought the actual number was "perhaps $2 billion," or "one-thirty-fifth of 1 percent of the federal budget, otherwise known as budget dust." That figure corresponds with NPR's February 19 estimate of savings from confirmed contract cancellations out of $16.5 billion in contract savings that DOGE was claiming. If we credit some of the unspecified savings that also figure in DOGE's calculation, the total may be substantially higher than $2 billion. Still, if Riedl is right that DOGE's advertised savings are off by this much, it is hard to see how Musk can possibly hit his avowed target of reducing annual spending by $1 trillion (which always seemed improbable) before DOGE sunsets on July 4, 2026. During last night's speech, Reason's Christian Britschgi notes, "Trump's government-cutting zeal was focused squarely on comparatively small pots of money spent on ungrateful foreigners," which "pale in comparison to the portions of government Trump either is happy to keep around or is eager to expand." That includes major drivers of federal borrowing such as Social Security and Medicare, which Trump has promised to leave untouched, and military spending, which he seems bent on boosting. Although Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is trying to identify savings in the Pentagon budget, that money is already earmarked for other military purposes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riedl sees a similar problem with the Trump administration's cost-cutting priorities. She had hoped that DOGE would make a serious attempt to tackle "waste fraud, and abuse," as Trump has described its mission. While such efforts would not be nearly enough on their own to eliminate the annual budget deficit or control the ever-expanding national debt, Riedl wrote last November, "DOGE can potentially save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars by reducing government waste and improving program efficiency." But she added that such a project would be "hard work" requiring "deep expertise in public administration across multiple subfields." Instead, Riedl told French, DOGE is taking the easy way out. "The targets they're going after are not where the money is," she said. Targets such as "DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] contracts, Politico Pro subscriptions, federal employees, [and] foreign aidhit a lot of cultural touchstones for a lot of conservatives," she noted, but they don't amount to much in fiscal terms. As Riedl sees it, "DOGE is really a distraction from the spending increases and tax cuts" that Congress seems determined to approve. As Britschgi notes, "the same House members who applauded Trump's list of wasteful spendingjust passed a continuing resolution filled with deficit spending." That plan, Reason's Eric Boehm reported, "will pave the way for trillions of dollars in additional borrowing over the next 10 years." In this context, DOGE is a tiny fig leaf that cannot begin to cover the federal government's naked fiscal incontinence. The post Contrary to What Trump Said, Even DOGE Does Not Claim To Have Identified 'Hundreds of Billions' in Fraud appeared first on Reason.com. They say everything old is new again. Here are a few outdated bacteria and viruses looking to trend again as vaccination rates fall. An illustrated measles virus wearing a spotted hat and holding a spotted handbag Measles is in the air! That is to say that this highly infectious airborne virus has been spotted in a handful of states, at Los Angeles International Airport and, in particular, west Texas and neighboring New Mexico. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963 , measles cases led to approximately 48,000 hospitalizations and 400-500 deaths per year. But thanks to the vaccine, measles went the way of the pillbox hat and was declared eliminated in the year 2000. Twenty-five years later, more than 100 people have been infected in the U.S. and one child has died. Fashion fail. Corynebacterium diphtheriae, illustrated in a flapper dress The 1920s were roaring with diphtheria bacteria. Infecting the offspring of the rich and poor alike, diphtheria was commonly known as the childrens disease. But the development of a vaccine sent this terrible illness out the window faster than speakeasy patrons on the run from the cops. The last known case of diphtheria in the United States was in 1997, but like the flapper dress, it could be back in style again one day soon. Thats not the cats pajamas. Bordetella pertussis, illustrated with a large feathered hat and umbrella The glamorous looks of the early 1900s are rarely seen today, and neither is pertussis, thanks to whooping cough vaccines. First developed in 1914, pertussis vaccines went through years of refinement before eventually reducing the number of cases by 97% between 1922 and 2022. If pertussis returns, dig into Grandmas closet and snag a lacy vintage handkerchief for coughing up blood. Clostridium tetani, illustrated as tall and skinny with a hat, necktie and shoe Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This long and lean bacterium is a tall drink of water, but you wont be drinking anything if you catch tetanus, better known as lockjaw. Dapper outfits and lockjaw were both a lot more common in the early 20th century, but the advent of the tetanus vaccine caused cases to decline by 95% and deaths to decline by more than 99%. If you step on a rusty nail, be sure to foxtrot your snazzy oxfords to the doctor for a booster shot. Rubella virus, illustrated as a 1960s hippie Peace, love and freedom from the rubella virus a.k.a. the German measles finally arrived in 1969 when a rubella vaccine first came onto the scene. Just a few years earlier, a major rubella outbreak infected 12.5 million people (about twice the population of Arizona): 11,000 women lost their pregnancies, 2,100 newborns died and 20,000 babies were born with possible birth defects due to congenital rubella syndrome. Combined since 1971 with measles and mumps shots, the groovy vaccine means rubella is no longer endemic in the United States. Far out. Poliovirus, illustrated with a poodle skirt and beehive hairstyle Poodle skirts, cats eye glasses, and iron lungs were all the rage the last time this roly-poly virus rocked around the clock. The advent of the polio vaccine decreased cases from a high in 1952 of about 20,000 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis, with 3,145 deaths, to 0 cases of wild polio since 1979. Why dont we keep polio in the past and bring back the Hula-Hoop craze instead? Kathryn Baecht teaches English as a second language in Austin, Texas. Erin McReynolds is a writer and cartoonist in Austin. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. TOPEKA (KSNT) Top Kansas education officials are due to vote on the removal of a controversial high school graduation requirement this month. Members of the Kansas State Board of Education (KBOE) are set to vote on the removal of the high school graduation requirement that students fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This controversial addition to the list of the states minimum high school graduation requirements received criticism from parents, students and school administrators shortly after it was approved last year, prompting the KBOE to review the recently approved regulation in 2025. 27 News reached out to the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) to find out what the next step is with this process. KSDE spokeswoman Denise Kahler said the KBOE is due to vote on removal of the FAFSA requirement at 11:25 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11. The ten-member KBOE will need a simple majority to remove the FAFSA requirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Historic Kansas school built in 1904 set to reopen with new purpose The KBOE approved the FAFSA requirement for graduating high school seniors in Kansas during a vote in 2024 where a majority of the board gave their approval for the change to K.A.R. 91-31-35. High school seniors would have to either complete a FAFSA form or get a waiver to avoid having to complete one starting with graduates in 2028. The KSDEs Graduation Task Force, created in 2021, and the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) recommended the addition of the FAFSA requirement to help encourage high school students to apply for financial aid and take advantage of millions in unused federal aid, according to the KSDE. KBOE board members also made some other changes to the minimum high school graduation requirements in 2024 that swapped out some of the required credits: A STEM elective. Half credit of P.E. and a half credit for health instead of one P.E. credit. Half credit for financial literacy and 4.5 electives aligned with students Individual Plans of Study (IPS) instead of six electives. Three-and-a-half credits of English Language Arts and a half credit of communication instead of four credits of ELA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) states that students need to complete a FAFSA form to be eligible for federal student aid such as federal grants, loans and work-study funds. Students can then use these federal dollars to complete their journeys through higher education after graduating from high school. What is delaying the opening of the Kansas Museum of History? People can tune into the upcoming KBOE meeting on March 11, or view previously held meetings, by visiting the KSDEs YouTube channel or by going to the agencys website. You can find more information on upcoming KBOA meetings by clicking here. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Photo via Getty Images Arizonas open meeting laws require that city councils, school boards and other governmental bodies authorize litigation in public votes, an appellate court ruled Tuesday. The Arizona Court of Appeals invalidated the City of Flagstaffs lawsuit against Desert Mountain Energy after concluding that the city violated state open-meeting laws by authorizing the litigation behind closed doors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that public bodies in Arizona cannot vote to initiate lawsuits during executive sessions, which are closed to the public. The decision has significant implications for how government entities throughout the state must handle decisions about litigation. May public bodies vote behind closed doors to authorize litigation? The answer is no, Presiding Judge Michael Catlett wrote in the 13-page opinion. The case stemmed from a December 2020 Flagstaff City Council meeting where councilmembers went into executive session for legal advice regarding water litigation and voted to sue Desert Mountain Energy to prevent it from mining helium near the citys water source. After being sued, Desert Mountain countered that the city had violated Arizonas open meeting law, which requires government transparency in decision-making. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court agreed, finding the citys claims null and void because it had authorized the lawsuit during an executive session and failed to properly ratify that decision within the required timeframe. Authorizing litigation commits public funds to the litigation venture. Once funds are committed, the decision is binding; as such, a vote committing funds to litigation must be public, Catlett wrote. Flagstaff had claimed that the litigation didnt actually commit any city resources, as the city council had approved a budget months earlier that included the funds for litigation. The court disagreed. If we were to adopt the Citys position, public bodies could avoid public votes on legal actions simply by budgeting funds for those actions in advance, the judges ruled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ruling makes clear distinctions between what public bodies can and cannot do in executive sessions. While they may discuss strategy with attorneys and receive legal advice behind closed doors, they cannot take formal votes on whether to initiate lawsuits. It largely builds off of a 2000 case in which the courts ruled that Tempe Elementary School District Governing Board illegally voted in executive session to appeal litigation involving a teacher it had fired. The Court of Appeals ruled in that case that the board clearly violated the open meeting laws by taking a vote in executive session, and rejected Flagstaffs contention that subsequent changes to other parts of the open meeting law made that case irrelevant. The court also dismissed the citys argument that it had properly ratified its decision during a public meeting in January 2023, finding the vote came too late. State law requires ratification within 30 days of when a violation was discovered or should have been discovered. Individual members of a public body must educate themselves about, and then follow, the open-meeting law, the court stated. The city had claimed it was merely following the advice of the former city attorney, but the court rejected that defense, adding that officials cannot delay ratification based on an attorneys incorrect advice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For government bodies across Arizona, the implications are clear: While sensitive legal matters can be discussed privately with attorneys, the final decision to commit public resources to litigation must be made in full view of the public. The court has instructed the superior court to enter summary judgment for Desert Mountain Energy, effectively ending the citys lawsuit over helium mining near its water source. Officials with the City of Flagstaff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The COVID-19 pandemic transformed over the past five years from a catastrophic threat that has killed over 7 million people to what most people regard today as a tolerable annoyance that doesnt require precaution. Nonetheless, COVID-19 continues to kill over 2,000 people per month globally and cause severe illness in the infirm or elderly. The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic from devastation, to optimism for eradication, to persistent, uneven spread of disease may seem unprecedented. As an infectious disease doctor and medical historian, however, I see similarities to other epidemics, including syphilis, AIDS and tuberculosis. Vaccines, medications and other biomedical breakthroughs are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But as I explore in my book, Persisting Pandemics, social, economic and political factors are equally important. On its own, medical science is not enough. Syphilis, AIDS and TB have stuck around Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease first identified in 1495. It causes skin rashes and may progress to causing paralysis, blindness or both. For centuries, syphilis weakened nations by disabling parents, workers and soldiers in the prime of their lives. Innovative drugs first Salvarsan (1909), then penicillin (1943) offered a path toward eradication when used together with widespread testing. CC BY A 1940s poster focuses on the medical cure for the disease. National Archives Public health programs conducted from the 1930s through the 2000s, however, failed not because of the efficacy of the treatments but because of socioeconomic conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One challenge has been persistent stigma around getting tested for the disease and tracing sexual partners. Poverty is another; it can force women into commercial sex activities and prevent people from learning how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections. Population migration due to commerce or war can cause high-risk behaviors such as sexual promiscuity. Women in some cultures lack authority to negotiate for condom use. And governments have not consistently prioritized the sustained funding needed to support efforts to eliminate the disease. Despite societal indifference toward syphilis, in the 2020s over 8 million new cases occur globally each year, particularly among racial minorities and low-income populations. The history of HIV/AIDS is shorter than that of syphilis, but the trajectory has similarities. Doctors first described HIV/AIDS in 1981, when it was a nearly uniformly fatal sexually transmitted disease. Novel antiretroviral drugs introduced in 1996 offered medical scientists the hope of disease elimination through public health campaigns, centered on widespread testing and treatment, implemented in 2013. But these programs, for reasons like with syphilis, are not meeting their treatment targets across all countries, especially among low-income populations and racial minorities. Sustaining funding for health care infrastructure and the multidrug regimens for 39 million people living with HIV poses an added challenge. Today, despite a cavalier public attitude toward the disease, AIDS causes over 630,000 deaths globally. That number will likely increase substantially given the Trump administrations decision to cut funding for United States Agency for International Development programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuberculosis is a third disease that also depleted workforces and weakened nations, particularly in postindustrial revolution 19th-century cities. The disease spread widely because poverty placed people in poorly ventilated working conditions and crowded tenement dwellings. The development of new combination antimicrobial drug regimens offered an avenue for disease eradication in the 1960s. Nonetheless, the inability to sustain funding to complete complex treatment courses, problems isolating people who could not afford suitable homes, and poor adherence due to homelessness, incarceration or migration during war or trade have compromised public health campaigns. Despite societal nonchalance, tuberculosis today kills up to 1.6 million globally yearly. Memories of the early, emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic have faded. Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images The COVID-19 case study The trajectories of these epidemics show how campaigns based solely on biomedical approaches that target pathogens are not enough to eliminate disease. COVID-19 provides the latest example. In the U.S., the pandemic and its lockdowns disproportionately affected low-income people and racial minorities, especially those employed in front-line jobs that did not allow remote work from home. These groups were more likely to reside in crowded residences with poor ventilation or no space for isolation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the rapid development of a breakthrough mRNA vaccine that offered hope for what President Joe Biden euphorically termed independence from the virus, the promise never fully materialized. Too few people received shots, in large part due to socioeconomic factors. Wealthy countries purchased vaccines that lower-income countries could not afford. Allocation difficulties kept vaccines from remote regions of the world. Vaccine hesitancy due to mistrust in science, along with sentiment that vaccine mandates violated individual freedoms, also prevented people from getting the shot. Similar attitudes reduced rates of mask-wearing and isolation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consequently, surges that could have been avoided took more lives. Drugs and vaccines cant do it alone Modern medical science is unmatched in treating pathogens and disease symptoms. But to stop disease, its also critical to address the social, economic and political conditions that enable its spread. Public health officials have started to implement a variety of structural solutions: A peer educator talks about HIV/AIDS with his colleagues at a maintenance shop in Kenya. Wendy Stone/Corbis Historical via Getty Images Early 20th-century public health officials had hoped that efficient scientific solutions alone could take the place of 19th-century, pre-germ-theory environmental sanitation efforts. COVID-19, syphilis, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis show that while biomedical breakthroughs are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases, sustained focus and resources aimed at helping the most socially and economically vulnerable are essential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Powel H. Kazanjian, University of Michigan Read more: Powel H. Kazanjian does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. VENICE, Italy, March 5 (Xinhua) -- As the annual Venice Carnival reached its peak, a Chinese traditional attire show and cultural performance took center stage at St. Mark's Square on Tuesday, often referred to as "Europe's most beautiful living room", set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Mediterranean sunset. Organized spontaneously by dozens of overseas Chinese and Chinese expatriates passionate about sharing their heritage, the event featured a rich and diverse program, including a costume show, Dunhuang-style dance, guzheng performance, and innovative opera. This was not the first time Chinese culture had graced the main stage of the Venice Carnival. In 2024, under the theme of commemorating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death, a spectacular parade of traditional Hanfu attire, dragon dances, and lion dances captivated global audiences. Although the 2025 Venice Carnival did not have an official theme related to China, Chinese cultural elements have steadily become a regular presence, with increasingly elaborate performances and displays. "Last year's Hanfu parade was a great success. It increased tourists' interest in Chinese culture and inspired us to showcase even more authentic Chinese costumes and traditions," said Massimo Andreoli, Chairman of the Historical Carnival in Venice, in an interview with Xinhua. As a result, the duration of the Chinese-themed performance this year was extended from 25 minutes to 45 minutes. The main stage fashion show also featured Qing Dynasty attire and traditional ancient bridal gowns. Liu Zun, president of the Associazione Culturale Il Filo di Seta (China-Italy Silk Thread Cultural Association), which coordinated the event, noted: "The Chinese community in Italy worked together to prepare the costumes and makeup, hoping to present a richer and more authentic Chinese aesthetic on the carnival stage." Gorgeous costumes and intricate masks are hallmarks of the Venice Carnival, turning clothing into a bridge for cultural exchange. More international students and overseas Chinese are now seeing the festival as an opportunity to promote Chinese culture through full traditional attire. Lao Jingmei, who frequently travels between China and Italy for business, brought a suitcase filled with four sets of traditional Miao and Zhuang ethnic costumes and accessories from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. During her stay in Venice, she meticulously dressed in a different outfit each day, proudly showcasing the beauty of China's diverse ethnic attire at St. Mark's Square. Marta Benedetti, an Italian visitor, was instantly drawn to the exquisite embroidery of the Miao costumes and approached Lao to learn more. She was surprised to discover that China is home to 56 ethnic groups. "The Venice Carnival is increasingly embracing diversity and inclusion. If more Chinese costumes appear at the festival, people will be very interested," she said. Ermelinda Damiano, president of the Venice City Council, highlighted the long-standing friendship between Venice and China, noting that the original documents establishing the sister-city relationship between Suzhou and Venice are still preserved in her office. COVINGTON, Tenn. The City of Covington is taking steps to limit the growing number of businesses selling vape products. The Covington Planning Commission voted Tuesday on a six-month moratorium on new stand-alone vape shops. Typically, Im all about free enterprise and free market, but these stores have popped up a lot and theres not a lot of regulation on them yet, said District 3 Alderman C.H. Sullivan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan was among members of the Covington Municipal-Regional Planning Commission that voted unanimously Tuesday for a six-month moratorium on new vape shops in the City of Covington. Commission members heard from Covington Police Chief Donna Turner about concerns over the growing number of vape shops and the need for stronger regulation on whats being sold and to whom. Now we have approximately 12 that we have just on Highway 51 in Covington, Turner said. So thats quite concerning to us as law enforcement as well as other law enforcement agencies in Tipton County. DOGE cuts federal leases in Mid-South, claims $1.2M savings Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The six-month moratorium would not allow stand-alone vape shops to get a license from the city or be able to open and operate their business. However, the moratorium does not include convenience stores that sell vape products. Tuesdays action comes as legislators in Nashville are advancing a bill that would increase regulations for businesses selling vape products and make it harder for those underage to buy vapes. In the schools right now, theres a problem with these vapes cause the kids are bringing them to school. We dont know whats in the vape, said Robin Racine, the Director of Tipton Prevents. If its nicotine, if its THC so thats where the problem is. Were just trying to find out what is in the vapes that are being sold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WREG reached out to several vape businesses, but no one was available for comment. The Covington City Council will take up a resolution addressing vape shops next week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Dane County Judge Susan Crawford speaks at an event held by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Press Club as she campaigns for Wisconsin Supreme Court. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner) Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford accused her opponent Brad Schimel of being a partisan politician at an event Tuesday hosted by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Press Club. Her comments come as both candidates have tried to claim they will be the more impartial justice. The fight over impartiality has outlined this years campaign in contrast with 2023, when Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her seat, and majority control of the Court for the bodys liberals, by proclaiming her values that support a womans right to access abortion and that the states previous legislative maps unfairly benefited Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would ask voters and the media to look at the difference between the campaigns and the candidates, Crawford said. I have never taken a position on any case or any issue before the Supreme Court. And anyone who wants to support me needs to know that I am not making any promises. But she said Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican state attorney general, has built a career as an elected Republican and taken stances on cases that will likely come before the Court in its next term, including cases about Wisconsins 1849 law that has been interpreted as a blanket ban on abortion and a lawsuit against Act 10, the controversial law that limited collective bargaining rights for most public employees. Crawford also pointed to millions of dollars in assistance Schimels campaign has gotten from Elon Musk and comments, reported this week by the Washington Post, that he told a group of supporters in Jefferson County that President Donald Trump had been screwed over by the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it ruled against his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Just days before Schimels comments were made public, he told reporters after a speech at a Wisconsin Counties Association conference that he didnt know enough about the case to determine if it was decided correctly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He apparently has no objection to Elon Musks canvassers going door to door, saying that Brad Schimel is going to uphold the Trump agenda, she said. You know, he has not said anything to put a stop to that. So hes got a long history as an extreme partisan. Hes run for partisan office something like five times, and hes running this race very much as a partisan politician. Throughout her remarks, Crawford said that if shes elected, shed work with all six of the other justices, not just the liberals taking digs at comments Schimel and some of the Courts conservatives have made previously but that she defines being a judicial liberal as someone who stands up for peoples rights and how the law can be used to protect those rights. If what people mean by liberal is that Im going to work to protect the rights of every Wisconsinite on the Supreme Court, that I view our laws and our Constitution as tools to protect the rights of Wisconsinites, then I embrace that label, because that is what I will go about, she said. Last week, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Schimel had said in a radio interview the Courts liberals, all women, were driven by their emotions, when hearing oral arguments in a case about the 1849 abortion law. And in recent years, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley has frequently attacked her liberal colleagues in published decisions, accusing them of being mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think there is a little bit too much talk and too much emphasis, particularly by my opponent, on the makeup of the court and these so-called lines between whos the majority and whos the minority, she said. My opponent, unfortunately, has been lobbying attacks against the same justices on the Supreme Court. You wont hear me doing that. I intend to work with every other member of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is a body of seven justices, and they need to talk to each other. In a statement, the Schimel campaign said the panel of reporters moderating Tuesdays event didnt ask tough enough questions and that Crawford wouldnt be an objective justice. Susan Crawford continued her campaign of hoodwinking Wisconsin voters today by spreading falsehoods and pushing the radical agenda of her Democrat handlers to a sympathetic press, Schimel spokesperson Jacob Fischer said. What Crawford should have been pressed on was her weak on crime penchant for releasing pedophiles and murderers back onto Wisconsin streets, her willingness to offer two congressional seats in exchange for financial support, or how she sold out her objectivity to the agendas of George Soros, Bernie Sanders, and other extreme liberals. Unlike Susan Crawford, who is clearly unfit to represent the interests of Wisconsin as an impartial justice, Judge Brad Schimel is committed to restoring fairness to the Court and saving Wisconsin from the Democrats radical agenda. During the event, Crawford pointed to occasions she would have sided against the Courts liberals and times she issued rulings that she didnt personally like but upheld because it was the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said that when hearing challenges to the lame duck laws passed by Republicans in the Legislature in 2019 to take powers away from the governor and attorney general before Democrats Tony Evers and Josh Kaul could take power, the actions of the Legislature left a bad taste in my mouth, but she upheld some of those laws. Thats a case where, as a lawyer, I might have taken a different position as an advocate, but as a judge, I was applying the law to the facts of that case, and I came to a narrow decision, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Intense winds have been a concern for fire departments across Middle Tennessee. A map from the Tennessee Department of Agricultures Forestry division showed as of 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, 117 wildfires encompassing more than 1,500 acres were burning. Officials have asked residents not to burn anything outside Tuesday night or Wednesday to prevent more fires from starting or existing active fires from spreading. PREVIOUS: Pegram authorities respond to brush fire that damaged home Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The wind is still going to be up, so it could be a very dangerous situation, Cheatham County Emergency Management Director Edwin Hogan said. Their message is simple: dont burn anything outside. The state is not issuing any burning permits, and even outdoor burning for a burn pit or for burning in a barrel or a campfire with the wind blowing like it is, its just too dangerous to do that, Hogan said. Tuesday morning, Pegram Fire Department said a house fire started from an outdoor controlled burn. Pegram Fire Captain John Sullivan said they were able to rescue two cats from the home and no one else was hurt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hours later, they responded to a similar situation in Kingston Springs. Multiple fire departments respond to illegal burn in Dickson County Nobody lived at the home. They had a fire burning, left it unattended and winds were picking up and got into the woods, Sullivan said. Thats what led up to that. Wind kicked up a grass fire outside Tanger Outlets in Antioch; hours prior, there had been a grass fire off Interstate 40. Portlands fire chief told News 2 their agency responded to two house fires on Meadow Lane that appeared to be weather-related. No one was injured. Earlier this week, Rutherford County authorities responded to a fire, causing the Rutherford County Fire Marshals Office to remind residents about the need for burn permits. White County responders are still working to contain a wildfire that started there Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Editors Note: The Abilene Police Department supplied the following arrest and incident reports. All information below comes from reports made by responding officers, and all suspects are considered not guilty unless determined otherwise in a court of law. Incidents 500 block of Westview Drive Criminal Trespass Abilene police responded to a north Abilene residence where two suspects were arrested for trespass. 2800 block of E Overland Trail Theft of Service A north Abilene business reported a known suspect stole more than $1,900 over the past 4 months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 3600 block of Sayles Boulevard Publish/Threat to Publish Intimate Visual Material A report was completed for publish/threaten to publish intimate visual material at a south Abilene high school. 3400 block of S 11th Street Criminal Mischief Police took a report in reference to criminal mischief that occurred in south Abilene. 7200 block of McLeod Drive Violation of Bond/Protective Order A suspect was arrested for violating an active protective order against him. 7200 block of McLeod Drive Criminal Mischief A known suspect broke a window at an Abilene residence and was arrested for another offense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 4100 block of N Clack Street Theft of Property Police to a report in reference to an internal theft at a north Abilene store. 4500 block of S 1st Street Theft of Property 4400 block of Buffalo Gap Road Theft of Property 700 block of Park Avenue Theft of Motor Vehicle 5300 block of Hwy 277 S Theft of Property Arrests Felix Lopez Criminal Trespass Cathy Lopez Criminal Trespass John Davis Violation of Bond/Protective Order Benito Madrid Evading Arrest Detention, Possession of Controlled Substance Carl Matherne Public Intoxication Robert Thibeault Public Intoxication Allen Dunlap Warrant Travis Jordan Theft of Property Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elizabeth Whitworth Warrant Michael Renfro Warrant Juan Gonzalez Warrant Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Felonies The following people were booked into the Lee County-Tupelo Adult Jail in connection with felony charges ending Tuesday at 11 a.m. Jerry Wayne Rencher, 62, of Corinth, was arrested by the Lee County Sheriffs Office, possession of methamphetamine, Lee County Sheriffs Office The following reports were filed Tuesday by the Lee County Sheriffs Office. A County Road 931 Saltillo woman said a white Tahoe drove through their property and hit a Daily Journal paper box and slung rocks toward the vehicles. One of the rocks cracked the windshield of her 2014 Toyota Camry. She said the truck drives past the residence regularly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Drive 1547 Mooreville woman said a German shepherd showed up at their property about a weeks ago. The dog was friendly for the most part but has become territorial over the last few days. She doesnt want her dogs to go near the shepherd which is now showing aggression toward her and its puppies. The deputy explained that there are no leash laws or stray ordinances in the county, but she has the right to protect herself, her family and her pets from aggressive animals. An employee at Dagos store on Highway 371 noticed a white male sitting outside around 6:30 p.m. He walked out and told the man the store was about to close and he needed to leave. The suspect began arguing and reached into his bag. The employee pulled his gun from its holster, which diffused the argument. The employee went back inside and called 911 while the suspect remained sitting outside. The suspect was gone by the time deputies arrived. A County Road 1501 Nettleton man said a redheaded white male was wandering on his property around 12:30 a.m. When he asked for the mans name, the suspect said, drunk. The man told the suspect several times that he needed to leave. The suspect replied, Im gonna whoop your (posterior). The suspect left the property before deputies arrived. Anyone with information on any of these crimes is urged to call the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 841-9041, the Tupelo Police Department at 841-6491 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi at (800) 773-TIPS or download the P3 Tip App and leave an anonymous tip that way. Mar. 4---- The BOLD School District has discovered it is over budget by around $700,000 for the 2025 fiscal year, Superintendent Jim Menton informed school board members in a report at their Feb. 27 meeting. The financial challenges came to light during an annual audit for the district. On the last day of the audit process, Sept. 5, 2024, the district's business manager resigned after being confronted about the purchase of two lap desks that had been ordered from Amazon. It was determined that the business manager had taken them home for personal use, according to the superintendent. Menton received a package in the mail with a $80 cashier's check with a note that indicated it was to pay for the desks soon after the business manager's resignation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The is facing the budget issues due to a large increase in transportation costs, a payroll budget that did not include all of its instructional salaries, and unpaid bills from previous fiscal years, according to the report. The largest fiscal hit is due to a transportation budget projected to be over by around $400,000. Menton attributed the transportation budget problem largely to an increase in special education routes. The district has eliminated a couple of the routes for the remainder of the year in response. Menton stated that he also wants the district to rebid its transportation services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second largest area of financial concern revealed by the audit was a payroll budget that is over by about $200,000. The budget did not reflect all of the instructional salaries. There were several elementary school teachers who were not coded as part of the elementary payroll, and there were three teacher positions listed without corresponding revenues listed for their salaries. "I do not understand why this data was not represented in the proposed budget that was presented us us in May and June of '24," Menton stated in his report. The district also found roughly $100,000 in unpaid bills that should have been paid in previous fiscal years. They included landscaping bills presented two and three years earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the business manager's resignation in September, Menton had the account's emails routed to him. He stated that he "started becoming bombarded by emails from companies that were waiting for payments that had been billed many months prior to September." He filed a report with the Olivia Police Department on Sept. 6, 2024. The has been enlisted to assist the investigation. The district also notified the State Auditor's Office of its concerns. The district is investigating what Menton termed "fiscal irregularities" since the budget troubles came to light. They include the use of a district credit card for charges by a company that handles auto loans, and a payment to Centerpoint Energy when the district pays the company with an automatic bank draft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another area of concern was the discovery that a deposit made from concessions income for around $13,000 contained no cash, only checks. One of the checks was a $9,000 rebate from the district's workers compensation insurance. "The cash that should have been deposited remains unaccounted for," Menton stated. Along with a criminal investigation headed by the Olivia Police Department, the district has retained Jason Olson, a partner at Eide Bailly, to perform a forensic audit. Critics slammed Donald Trumps latest admission of the negative impact his tariffs will have on the American economy and U.S. citizens, with Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) describing it on social media as the presidents own let them eat cake moment. Trump, during his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, said the tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. Its happening and it will happen rather quickly, he boasted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Trump then confessed: There will be a little disturbance, but were OK with that. It wont be much. Watch here: This is his let them eat cake moment. https://t.co/1mQ6FBwli4 Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) March 5, 2025 Trump campaigned on introducing tariffs but promised they wouldnt lead to rising prices, contrary to what multiple leading economists had warned. Last month, though, he confessed they may cause short term a little pain but said they would be worth it. Cant afford groceries? Donald Trump thinks that is a little disturbance. pic.twitter.com/BCfvGYQK0V Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz) March 5, 2025 There will be a little disturbance says Donald Trump on the impact of his tariffs: WE ARE NOW HEADED TOWARD A RECESSION. pic.twitter.com/hL6V47agi1 CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 5, 2025 Trump on his tariffs tanking the economy: A little disturbance but were ok with that Farmers: Nothing but pain to rural Americans pic.twitter.com/0wJLa5jl0s The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 5, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related... (This story was updated to add new information.) WEST PALM BEACH For two hours in front of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, conservative catchphrases took on a new meaning. There, DEI meant drunk, entitled and ignorant and referred to President Donald Trump's secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. There, "stop the steal" was not a matter of election integrity but a challenge to Republicans threats to disrupt Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There, the immigrant most in need of deporting was the South African-born billionaire, Elon Musk. A crowd of about 130 people gathered along North Dixie Highway on Tuesday afternoon, undeterred by occasional bouts of rain. They rotated through chants decrying Trump and his recent string of executive orders that upended federal diversity programs, immigration policies, climate-change initiatives and more. What to know: When will President Trump address Congress tonight? How to livestream the speech The demonstration in downtown West Palm Beach came hours before Trump was scheduled to address a joint session of Congress for the first time since returning to the White House. It was one of several protests that took place nationwide on March 4, deemed a National Day of Action by organizers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think we're all pissed off," said Sue McKeefry, a 72-year-old retired nurse from West Palm Beach. She stood with a sign as long as her wingspan that revived a 2016 quote from J.D. Vance: "Trump is America's Hitler." Vance, Trump's vice president, has since denounced the sentiment. Bruce Brown, 67, of Lake Worth Beach said he views the current political climate to be one of a hostile government takeover. A retired officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Brown said its difficult to hear lawmakers portray the agency as wasteful and corrupt. Its probably one of the finest projections of American ideals, and for a pretty low cost, said Brown, who worked for USAID for 15 years and served in the Air Force for eight years before that. When you can provide health care and food to people who need it, it tends to make them look upon the U.S. favorably. Demonstrators protest against President Donald Trump's policies outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 4, 2025. The March Fourth Against Monarchy mirrored similar protests around the nation informally organized as the 50501 Movement. Brown added that hes disturbed by the lack of spine in the Republican Party. He questioned the recent willingness of conservative figureheads to reverse long-held opinions on Ukraine and USAID at Trumps behest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That you can turn on a dime is sort of a head-spinning, Orwellian kind of thing, he said. Its frightening. McKeefry said she's concerned about the erosion of women's rights. She pointed to the Republican-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, which, if enacted, would require proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, for people to register to vote in federal elections. Critics like McKeefry warn that the bill could impede the ability of married women who took their husband's last name to register to vote. "I fought this battle once before 50 years ago," the retired nurse said. "We were young. There was a lot of hope in the air. There's no hope right now." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The demonstration Tuesday suggested something different. Attendees cheered those drivers who honked in support and waved off those who booed them. "Go Trump!" one driver shouted. A protester answered: "To prison!" Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach crowd protests 'King Trump' on National Day of Action The white supremacist and convicted extortionist known as the Crying Nazi is back in hot water with law enforcement after being hit last weekend with criminal charges stemming from an incident at the Manchester, New Hampshire, rooming house where he has lived since his December 2022 release from federal prison. Christopher Cantwell was arrested shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday on one count of felony strangulation , as well as simple assault and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. Cantwell, 44, became notorious as one of the most visible participants in 2017s infamous Unite the Right rally, during which a group of marchers paraded through the University of Virginias Charlottesville campus brandishing tiki torches while chanting, among other things, Jews will not replace us. After the angry mob drew universal condemnation for its actions, during which non-violent counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed when a Unite the Right attendee intentionally drove his car over her, then-President Donald Trump further inflamed tensions by claiming there had been very fine people on both sides. Christopher Cantwell became one of the most recognizable faces of the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (Getty Images) On Tuesday, Cantwell told The Independent what led to his latest arrest, insisting the accusations were complete BS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didn't strangle anyone, he argued. People who are trying to cause legal problems for other people know that they can escalate a misdemeanor to a felony by saying strangulation occurred. Cantwell laid the blame on a local man who entered his room, allegedly without permission, and also claimed he was the target of a previous break-in just over a week ago. This is New Hampshire, not North Korea, and I have every right to physically remove someone from my home when they refuse to leave upon being ordered to do so, Cantwell went on. He said the person refused multiple verbal commands to leave while raising his voice to disturb neighbors and escalate the conflict. I used the absolute minimum amount of force that I could to remove a trespasser who physically resisted my attempts to remove him. Christopher Cantwell became known as the Crying Nazi after posting a video of himself in tears upon learning there was a warrant out for his arrest following the 2017 Unite the Right march (YouTube) The strangulation charge, which carries up to seven years behind bars, is defined under New Hampshire state law as the application of pressure to another person's throat or neck, or the blocking of the person's nose or mouth, that causes the person to experience impeded breathing or blood circulation or a change in voice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News of Cantwells latest arrest was first revealed by Charlottesville-based journalist Molly Conger, host of the podcast Weird Little Guys, which exposes the activities of right-wing extremists. Emily Gorcenski, a data scientist and antifascist researcher who was brutally attacked by Unite the Right attendees while covering the rally, began tracking Cantwell and other members of white supremacist groups in 2018. Although she said she cannot speak to the particulars of Cantwells latest run-in with the law, Gorcenski described him on Tuesday as having a history of violence. But more than that, he has a history of trying to play the victim when being caught in his violent acts, Gorcenski told The Independent. He did this when he was convicted in federal charges for extortion, he did this when he was sued for participating in a violent conspiracy against civil rights in Charlottesville, and he did this when I swore a complaint against him for violently assaulting me with pepper spray at the University of Virginia. Charlottesville counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed when a right-wing protester intentionally drove his car into a crowd (Getty Images) From Cantwells perspective, Gorcenski went on, his frequent violence is always just and his victims are always liars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately for him, there is rarely much overlap between Chriss world and the real world, she said. I hope one day he learns to take accountability for his actions. Cantwell is a New York native who grew up in an affluent suburb on Long Island. He told the Southern Poverty Law Centers Hatewatch investigative unit that his father was one of 11,000 air traffic controllers fired in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan after refusing a back-to-work order amid a nationwide strike for better pay and increased benefits. He has agitated for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, for Democrats and communists to be physically removed from the country, and for white men to take multiple wives in an effort to produce more Caucasian babies. Christopher Cantwell is now living in small-town New Hampshire (Getty Images) Due to his federal conviction, Cantwell cannot presently vote, but has been vocal about the fact that he voted for God Emperor Donald Trump in 2016. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do I have a capacity for violence? You f*****g bet I do, Cantwell told Hatewatch prior to his 41-month federal prison sentence , which was handed down in September 2021. I carry two pistols, and Ive been in multiple different types of combat training. I can f*****g harm a man, and Ill put an end to a life if I have to, but I dont particularly want to. Ive been involved with enough violence to know that it can go very bad, and I take prudent measures to avoid getting myself into violent conflict. Cantwell earned the Crying Nazi nickname after posting a video of himself in tears following the Unite the Right march, upon learning there was a warrant out for his arrest. Disclaimer: The information in this article was translated using artificial intelligence from a foreign source. Have you committed crypto fraud? Now, in addition to fines and jail time, authorities can also subject you to caningat least, that's what's being reportedly considered in Singapore. Cryptocurrency scams have become a major concern for Singapores government, with fraudsters increasingly using digital assets to bypass banking oversight. Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said authorities are exploring stricter punishmentsincluding caningto deter financial crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a parliamentary budget debate on Tuesday, first reported on by major Chinese-language Singaporean news outlet Lianhe Zaobao, Xueling noted that crypto scams accounted for a quarter of all fraud-related losses last year for the region. Criminals tricked victims into converting money into digital assets before transferring them, and others used malware and phishing tactics to drain victims' crypto wallets. Member of Parliament Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) argued that Singapores penalties for fraudsters and money mules are too lenient and proposed legal amendments to enforce mandatory caning for serious crimes. The MP pointed out that loan sharks' runners handling $10,000 in illegal funds can be caned, while fraudsters stealing $100,000 or more cant. Sun added that while fraud cases already result in jail sentences, authorities are considering adding caning to the list of punishments for certain financial crimes. To counter the rising threat, Singapore recently passed the Protection from Scams Act, granting police the power to temporarily restrict transactions of suspected scam victims. According to the news outlet, the law is expected to take effect later this year. Caning, its worth noting, is a form of corporal punishment enforced in Singapore for various offenses. ISTANBUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire with Turkiye last week, following a call from their imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan for disarmament and dissolution, marking a significant shift in their stance after decades of armed conflict. Additionally, the PKK expressed its willingness to convene a congress to discuss its future, with a focus on disarmament and political resolution, but only if Ocalan is physically present. With such a move, the 40-year-long insurgency is likely to come to an end, though experts caution that challenges remain, including Ocalan's influence over the group and its complex international network. "This ceasefire, if it holds, could signal the beginning of a long-awaited peace process, ending decades of conflict," Baris Doster, an academic with Istanbul-based Marmara University, told Xinhua. Ocalan, who founded the PKK in 1978, has been held in prison on Imrali Island in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul since 1999. "How much control does Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, actually have over the group?" Doster asked. "Does he still have the influence, the ability to direct and manage the organization, as he did 25 years ago?" He further highlighted the complexity of the PKK's structure, noting that its involvement in illegal activities and international connections may complicate the prospects for a genuine peace process. The government's ongoing initiative to end the long-standing PKK insurgency, which has claimed over 40,000 lives, led to this latest effort. However, it was not the first attempt to resolve the issue. Previous efforts, such as the Kurdish Opening in 2009 and the Solution Process in 2013, aimed to address the conflict through negotiations but collapsed due to continued violence by the PKK and public opposition. According to Doster, there are notable differences compared to the previous peace process, marked by distinct dynamics. "Looking at this peace process, a new structure of persuasion has emerged. Let's see how this entire process will unfold and progress in the coming days," he remarked. Mesut Yegen, a political scientist, said that most likely, the process will depend on what the PKK will gain in return. "The PKK is not an organization that would suddenly say, 'I am dissolving the organization'," Yegen was quoted as saying on KARAR, an online news portal. "Ocalan is also not a figure who would make such a call. He knows the dynamics and tendencies of the organization well. Therefore, there must have been a framework for negotiations," he said. The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union. ROUTT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) Colorados vast terrain and unique snowpack present a unique challenge for search and rescue teams. The states SAR teams have developed a strong culture of collaboration, working together across county lines and with various partners to ensure a swift and efficient response to emergencies. One notable example of this cooperative effort is the collaborative efforts led by Harry Sandler, the Incident Commander for Routt County Search and Rescue. Sandler, who has been part of the team for years, described how the commitment to teamwork has evolved since 1968. The team was founded in 1968 by a group of local guys who helped get stuck friends out of the backcountry on snowmobiles, Sandler said. Pretty much since then, weve been using snowmobiles in the winter for rescues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unsuspecting items that could be impacted by tariffs Recently, RCSAR has taken its collaboration to new heights by organizing a snowmobile training event for different agencies across the state. Last month, we got 15 different local agencies together for snowmobile training on Rabbit Ears Pass, Sandler said. Members from 15 teams across Colorado came together for training at Rabbit Ears Pass (Credit: Routt County Search and Rescue). The extent of the collaborative efforts extend to Wyoming where last month, RCSAR snowmobiliers travelled to Alpine Wyoming to attend an advanced riding course (Credit: Routt County Search and Rescue). CSAR said their rescue teams and their collaboration efforts set them apart (Credit: Routt County Search and Rescue). Teams from all across Colorado train together in snow machine rescue (Credit: Routt County Search and Rescue). This past training event on Rabbit Ears Pass, Sandler said, is a testament to how SAR teams work to hone their skills and foster relationships. These training events bring together teams from multiple counties, such as Jackson, Grand and Routt, who regularly collaborate in their rescue efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We work regularly with those teams on incidents up on the pass and so thats how the training started, was just sort of getting those groups together outside of the, responding to an incident, Sandler said. The goal is to get to know everyone, but also build skills and you know really grow as, our capacity as rescuers. The culture of collaboration is not limited to training sessions but is evident in the everyday operations of SAR teams across the state. Dawn Wilson, the Public Information Officer for Colorado Search and Rescue, highlighted the organizations role in uniting SAR teams from all over the state. We collaborate intensely. We have online documents we share with pertinent information, we do fireside chats online to talk about issues and how we can help each other out, we also do a lot of training together like search management classes, Wilson said. Sandler said the unique geography and challenging terrain of Colorado necessitate cross-county and cross-team cooperation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really need to rely on our neighbors and other partners to effect some of these calls, he said. Whether its other SAR teams, whether its a K9 resource, maybe cellphone forensics or the Colorado Air National Guard to do a hoist. Thats really where CSAR can step in and help coordinate those different resources, getting them together. Wilson said these cross-county efforts are a fundamental part of CSARs success. Were not competition, she said. If theres a huge search or a huge rescue that needs additional search and rescue members, we cross county lines and we help each other out. This cooperation is essential when dealing with Colorados unpredictable snowpack, which varies significantly from year to year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because our snowpack is so unique, we often experience a high number of snowmobile rescues in certain years, Wilson explains. But whether its one or 100 rescues, were ready to help when needed. Colorado fishing licenses go on sale: What to know The heart of Colorados search and rescue network is its volunteers, who put in countless hours to help save lives. Every backcountry SAR team in Colorado is made up of volunteers. We call ourselves non-paid professional mountaineers, Wilson said. We really strive to make sure people understand its free so they dont delay calling for help. If you are stuck, if you are injured, if you are lost, call 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. A man has been accused of hitting a teenager with his SUV in Haddam last April and taking off from the scene. Frank Bonito, 68, of Haddam turned himself in at the Troop F barracks in Westbrook where troopers had a warrant out for his arrest, according to Connecticut State Police. He faces charges of risk of injury to a child, reckless driving, evading responsibility with physical injury, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, failure to drive in the proper lane, operating a motor vehicle while using a handheld telephone and second-degree reckless endangerment. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, troopers responded to Jackson Road on April 20, 2024, around 12:30 p.m. on the report of a hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian. A 14-year-old boy was treated by an ambulance crew for what were described as minor injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The boy had scratches and red swelling on his chest and an indentation on his lower leg near his shin, the warrant affidavit said. He was limping when he made his way to an ambulance. According to the warrant affidavit, the boy later told state police he was out for a run when he stopped and leaned against a guardrail while looking at a stream. He then noticed a driver heading in his direction. The teen alleged that the driver did not stop or appear to apply his brakes after he struck him, the warrant affidavit said. The mother of the teen turned over a piece of debris that was believed to come from the vehicle that was involved. She told state police the boy gave it to her when she got to the scene, according to the warrant affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State police found that the debris came from a Toyota Highlander manufactured between 2014 and 2019. According to the warrant affidavit, police searched a number of areas for a Highlander with damage and could not find anything. Video surveillance obtained in the area later showed a Highlander investigators believe was involved. A photo was shared over social media with a request to the public for information about the vehicle. A week after the crash, a trooper received an anonymous phone call from someone who said they spotted an individual driving a damaged Highlander in Killingworth, the warrant affidavit said. About 1 hours later, a trooper found a Highlander with an expired registration at a recreation park. Investigators found that the registered owner was Bonito, the warrant affidavit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators later went to his home and spoke with him about the allegations. Bonito allegedly told authorities the damage to his vehicle came from him hitting a guardrail on Jackson Road, the warrant affidavit said. He claimed that he could not remember what day it happened. According to the warrant affidavit, Bonito claimed that he was talking on the phone and that he took his eyes off the road for a moment before he heard a bang. After being told that a juvenile was hit on Jackson Road that day, state police said Bonito alleged apologized and said he did not see anyone, the warrant affidavit said. Bonito posted a $50,000 bond following his arrest and is scheduled to appear on March 11 in Middletown Superior Court. A man arrested on assault and other charges is accused of violating a protective order when he allegedly pushed a woman down and strangled her in Willington on Tuesday. Troopers responded to a business on Ruby Road at 6:45 a.m. on the report of an active disturbance and learned while they were on the way that a man who was allegedly involved had left and was likely headed to his home in Stafford, according to Connecticut State Police. A trooper went to the residence to speak with the man while others responded to the business to interview the victim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the mans home, a trooper spotted a Honda CR-V pull into the driveway with a passenger inside who was quickly identified as the suspect involved in the incident. He was identified as 22-year-old Korey Barton, according to state police. Barton allegedly told a trooper he was involved in an argument with a woman but he denied any violence, state police said. He claimed that he left when the argument escalated and got a ride home. State police said the woman told investigators a different account of what happened. She alleged that she was arguing with Barton when she attempted to walk away, but he allegedly grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground, according to state police. She alleges he then began strangling her, which made it hard to breathe, state police said. The woman claimed that Barton let go of her after a brief struggle, according to state police. She said she was able to grab her things and run away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State police said they found injuries on the woman that corroborated her version of what happened. She was taken to an area hospital to be evaluated. Barton was arrested on charges of third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation, second-degree unlawful restraint, disorderly conduct and violation of protective order. He was held on a $35,000 bond and was expected to be arraigned later in the day in Rockville Superior Court. SILVER SPRING TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) Costco enthusiasts on the West Shore will need to wait just a little longer for the new locations eventual opening, and if youre upset about it, you can blame the rocks. Many West Shore natives already know that a new Costco Wholesale store will soon be opening a new location that is situated on an approximately 23-acre property at 6717 Carlisle Pike in Mechanicsburg. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Local Business Beat Although site work on the property started back in January 2025, the parcel right off the Carlisle Pike was officially purchased for $9.4 million early last month, according to RSR Realtors. According to Silver Spring Township manager Ray Palmer, the eventual opening of the new Costco has been slightly pushed back due to an excess of rocks discovered during excavation. Originally, the new Costco was expected to open this summer, but now it is estimated to open in the fall of 2025. RELATED: New Costco proposed in Cumberland County Once open, the Costco location will be 161,163 square feet in size and will boast over 800 parking spaces, as well as a new fueling facility, according to previously submitted Land Development Plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, the Midstate is home to two Costco stores: one at 5125 Jonestown Road in Harrisburg and another at 1875 Hempstead Road in Lancaster County. This is a developing story. abc27 news will keep you updated as we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is leading Mayor Eric Adams and all other candidates by a wide margin in New York Citys June Democratic mayoral primary race, a new poll shows. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the primary were held now, 31% of registered New York City Democrats surveyed would back Cuomo, followed by just 11% who said they would support Adams, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who has the backing of the local Democratic Socialists of America, was in third place at 8%. Adams has seen his already low approval ratings fall further since he was indicted on federal corruption charges in September. The latest poll showed Adams approval at 20%, the lowest rating Quinnipiac has recorded for a New York City mayor in nearly three decades of polling. President Donald Trumps administration has requested federal prosecutors drop the case against Adams, prompting accusations the mayor is beholden to Trump, who can resurrect the charges if Adams doesnt cooperate with Trumps immigration policies. Adams has denied the charges. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who hasnt declared plans to run, has 7% of voters support, followed by former city Comptroller Scott Stringer with 6%, current Comptroller Brad Lander at 5%, and Queens state Senator Jessica Ramos and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams tied at 4%. Rounding out the poll were Brooklyn state Senator Zellnor Myrie, former Assembly Member Michael Blake and former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson, who all polled at just 1%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after the poll was released, Adrienne Adams, no relation to the mayor, announced that shes officially running. The speaker, who represents southeastern Queens, draws support from the same base that backed Eric Adams for mayor in 2021. New Yorkers cant afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our citys independence, the speaker said in a statement. Its time to stand up. I never planned to run for Mayor, but Im not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests. The winner of New Yorks Democratic primary usually prevails in the November general election because the party has an overwhelming enrollment advantage in the city. Cuomo, who was elected to three terms in Albany, resigned in 2021 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. On March 1, after months of speculation, he announced he would join the crowded field of candidates running against Adams in the June 24 contest. The Quinnipiac poll is just the latest in a series of polls that show the former governor garnering the most support of any possible candidate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The poll surveyed 1,260 New York City registered voters between Feb. 27 and March 3, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. The survey included 771 registered Democrats with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. (Updates with Adrienne Adams officially entering race starting in sixth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. As the protests against Tesla become more personal, Tesla Cybertruck owners have flocked to Facebook to complain about how Elon Musk-haters are taking out their issues with the tech billionaire on their electric vehicles. In the Facebook group Cybertruck Owners Only, members describe how the publics rebuke of Musk, the worlds richest person and a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, has impacted them personally. The Department of Government Efficiency, at Musks direction, has upended the federal government in just six weeks through mass layoffs and slashed contracts, putting many on edge. Fellow Musk-made car owners vent about the mockery theyve endured, like torched charging stations, other drivers flipping them off and hateful messages written on the back of their vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cybertruck ownership comes with interesting fan mail, one owner joked. A Tesla Cybertruck recharges at a Tesla dealership. Owners of the vehicle are now using a Facebook group to vent about the Elon Musk mockery they face (Getty Images) They are also finding ways to fight back or double down on their position. Some members shared photos of Department of Government Efficiency stickers they slapped onto their electric cars. The stickers show a friendly-looking dog holding an American flag hanging over four letters: DOGE. Just got some new fridge stickers. A few of my neighbors seem a bit nervous about it now, one user wrote. Some also have put stickers depicting middle fingers on the driver-side window of the car. One person shared a photo of his sticker flipping the bird and wrote: If you can think of a better way to spend $20 please let me know. Profane message written on the back of a Tesla Cybertruck and shared in the Facebook group. Members have talked about the backlash they face for owning a Cybertruck (Handout) Others suggested contacting their Congress members for help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am writing to seek your assistance in addressing the growing harassment, hostility, and violence directed toward Tesla owners across California and the United States. You may be aware of the increasing incidents involving vandalism, road rage, and targeted aggression toward individuals simply because they own and drive a Tesla, one member wrote, sharing his letter. As both a concerned citizen and a 24-year retired military veteran, I find it deeply troubling that owning an American-made vehicle has made meand many othersa target for unjustified hostility. Musk and Tesla have faced protests in the wake of his work for the federal government to cut costs (AFP via Getty Images) Others still suggest using the vehicles Sentry Mode, which records suspicious activity when the car is parked and locked. The owner can then use this footage to identify someone vandalizing their vehicle. Some posted videos of their cars being vandalized or kicked by passersby. One upset member, who had Cybercuck written on her vehicle, wrote: What was meant to be a fun adventure has unfortunately turned into a fearful one, not because of the vehicle itself, but because of the overwhelming negativity from others. Several Australian airports on the southeastern coast have closed their terminals with airlines cancelling hundreds of flights as a Category 2 cyclone continues to barrel towards the country. The extremely rare Tropical Cyclone Alfred is causing severe travel disruption in the country as it draws near to the southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales coasts. The area covered by the Cyclone Alfred warning zone stretches approximately 450-500 km along the east coast of Australia, from Double Island Point in Queensland to Ballina in New South Wales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alfred is forecast to make landfall on Friday evening (7 March) between Maroochydore and Coolangatta as a Category 2 cyclone. Brisbane Airport has announced that it is suspending operations, with terminals open only for defence operations. Qantas Airways confirmed that it will cease all flights from the aviation hub until at least noon on Saturday, with no domestic flights departing until Sunday. Brisbane City Council has also that announced all bus services, trains and ferries will be suspended until further notice as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches. All commercial flights from Byron Bays Ballina airport have been cancelled, through to and including Sunday 9 March due to high winds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gold Coast Airport, 55 miles up the coast from Ballina, also closed its terminal at 4pm on Wednesday until further notice in response to the cyclone. The safety of our team, customers and airport is our number one priority, the airport said. Damaging winds of 120kmph are already hitting Coolangatta and Ballina while gusts up to 155kmph could hit coastal areas as far south as Cape Byron from Thursday afternoon. The dotted line shows Cyclone Alfred's movement from 22 February to 5 March as it nears landfall (Zoom Earth) Ballina Bay airport runs up to 45 direct flights per week to Sydney and Melbourne, with arrivals and departures operated by Australian airlines such as Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Qantas said they are suspending flights to and from Ballina Byron Bay until at least Sunday morning local time. Virgin Australia told its passengers that it has made other schedule changes as a result of the cyclone. Safety is always our top priority, and our meteorologists continue to closely monitor the weather system. We are working with all stakeholders including airports, local councils, and authorities as the situation evolves, the airline said. Waves crash onto rocks as people look on at the Spit, on the Seaway on the Gold Coast, Australia, Monday, 3 March as Cyclone Alfred builds off the east coast (AP) Virgin Australia is currently operating a limited schedule to and from Brisbane Airport, suspending its flights from the afternoon of Wednesday through to Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jetstar also put out a statement to say it has stopped operations at Gold Coast (Coolangatta) airport from 4pm on Wednesday due to the strong winds from the cyclone. We have contacted affected customers by SMS with options including alternative flights, a free move up to 14 days or a travel credit, Jetstar said. The budget airline is also offering flexibility on flights for customers who may no longer wish to travel. Customers booked to travel in or out of the Ballina Byron Bay or Gold Coast (Coolangatta) airports between Tuesday 4 March and Sunday 16 March can visit their booking page to review their options. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jetstar is offering a free date change up to seven days before and up to 14 days after the original travel date or a voucher for the value of untravelled flights. People queue for sandbags in Tugun on 5 March in Gold Coast, Australia (Getty Images) We know this will be inconvenient for customers and we thank everyone for their understanding and patience, the airline added. At this time, flights to and from Sunshine Coast (MCY) and Hervey Bay (HVB) continue as scheduled. Qantas has suspended all flights from Gold Coast airport and Ballina until at least Sunday, and to Coffs Harbour through to Friday due to high wind conditions. Coffs Harbour Airport said in an update on its social media that despite some Qantas flights being cancelled, the airport is currently open, but it is advising passengers travelling through its terminal over the coming days to monitor the status of their flights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airline is also offering flexibility to customers who have booked flights to or from Ballina, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Lord Howe Island and Maroochydore on or before Monday, for travel between Tuesday and Sunday or 16 March. Qantas is offering a travel credit or a fee-free date up to 14 days from the original travel date. Air New Zealand said if its passengers are travelling between now and 9 March to or from an impacted airport in Australia, they can defer their flight without a fee, hold the value of their ticket or change to another one of its destinations by paying the fare difference. For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast In a sign lawmakers' patience with the state Children, Youth and Families Department has run out, the House unanimously approved three bills Tuesday designed to bring greater oversight to the troubled child welfare agency. All three measures now head to the Senate. But even if they make it out of the other chamber, their fate is up in the air amid pushback from the Cabinet department. Child welfare advocate Maralyn Beck, founder of the New Mexico Child First Network, said the unanimous approval shows the Legislature is done listening to excuses and waiting for the department to reform itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "After years of fighting to improve much needed outcomes for our children and families, the legislative body has heard our cries," she said. "This is an incredible day for the most vulnerable youth and families in New Mexico." The first bill is a measure to create the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent agency to oversee CYFD. "If you all could think about one person who was always in your corner whether it was your mom, your dad, your grandma, your grandpa, an aunt, an uncle you had someone in your corner advocating for you," Rep. Michelle "Paulene" Abeyta, D-Tohajiilee, said while introducing House Bill 5 on the floor. "Unfortunately, far too many children who are in state custody do not have someone advocating for them," she said, adding the office would serve that critical purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, who was among the sponsors of the bill, said she couldn't express how much she appreciated the measure. She offered an amendment that would prohibit the governor, "whoever that is at the time," from requesting additional names from a selection committee charged with recommending an applicant for the position of state child advocate. The amendment was deemed "friendly" and approved by the chamber. "We've been trying to do this for some time now," Armstrong said, referring to yearslong efforts to create an independent oversight agency. "You know, it takes a village to give people an avenue when there is something wrong." Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, called the bill a "huge deal" but also noted similar efforts have failed in the past. "I hope it goes through all the way ... because sometimes CYFD bills get stopped for some reason; I can't figure out why," she said. "This has been one of the ones that's been brought forward numerous times, and I'm happy to see it moving through." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CYFD officials have said HB 5, along with a proposed constitutional amendment to restructure the agency's governance, "would disrupt meaningful, ongoing reform" at CYFD. "Linking the Office of Child Advocate, administratively, to the Attorney Generals Office will lead to jurisdictional disputes and potential conflicts of interest," CYFD Cabinet Secretary Teresa Casados said in a statement Saturday after a House Judiciary Committee vote on the two measures. "This would be a grave disservice to New Mexicos most vulnerable children and the dedicated CYFD professionals who have devoted their careers to protecting and helping them." The proposed constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution 5, would create an independent commission that would hire an executive director to oversee the agency. The full House didn't take up that proposal Tuesday. "New Mexicos most vulnerable children and the dedicated CYFD professionals who work tirelessly to protect and support them rely on us to advocate for legislation that strengthens our child welfare system," Casados said in a statement after Tuesday's votes. "Unfortunately, these three bills fall short of that goal. Im hopeful the Senate will listen to the experts concerns and give us equal opportunity to share our perspective in committee." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two other measures that sailed through the House Tuesday with bipartisan support are House bills 203 and 205. HB 203 requires CYFD employees to only use their department-issued devices for communication related to their assigned duties and back up and save all electronic records, according to a fiscal impact report. HB 205 consists of a package of CYFD reforms that were endorsed by the Legislative Finance Committee, including strengthening plans of care for newborns exposed to drugs and moving responsibility for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program from CYFD to the state Health Care Authority. It would also create a nominating committee to vet candidates for CYFD Cabinet secretary, with the governor then picking a nominee from the vetted list. "The children and families of New Mexico deserve transparency and accountability from CYFD," Rep. Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Speaker Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement New Mexico's children pay the price when CYFD fails. "Our goal is to give this critical state agency all the tools and resources it needs to succeed, while also providing necessary oversight to hold them accountable for doing right by our kids," he said. NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's president on Wednesday said he was committed to resuming reunification talks with Turkish Cypriots, and said any deal should be based on U.N. resolutions. The United Nations has called an informal gathering of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, along with stakeholders Turkey, Britain and Greece in Geneva on March 17-18, to discuss a way forward in breaking a deadlock in talks which stalled in 2017. "Our goal is one: to resume talks from where they left off ... on the basis of the agreed (U.N.) framework. We are not discussing anything else," President Nikos Christodoulides told journalists in Nicosia, Cyprus's ethnically-split capital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has been invited to attend the March talks as leader of the Greek Cypriot community alongside Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, the head of a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in north Cyprus recognised only by Turkey. The island was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots almost immediately after independence from Britain in 1960. Greek Cypriots seek a federal union of two ethnic zones, while a two-state deal advocated by Turkish Cypriots would imply recognition of the breakaway north, rejected outright by Greek Cypriots. Both sides have recently doubled down on their positions. The conflict has long been on the agenda of the United Nations, which has kept a peacekeeping force on the island since 1964. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most recent round of high-level peace negotiations, which collapsed in Switzerland in 2017, aimed to forge a federation, the formula defined in U.N. resolutions. Christodoulides was elected in 2023 with support from parties that typically take a hard line on solving the division of Cyprus, but has promised to break the deadlock over peace talks. Under the leadership of Tatar, elected in 2000, the position of Turkish Cypriots and Turkey has changed towards advocating a two-state deal. (Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Aidan Lewis) The Czech government plans to gradually increase defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, up from the current 2%. Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced the decision after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, saying it "shows our partners that they can count on us." "We must be prepared to defend ourselves," he emphasized, noting the war raging in Ukraine. The budget will rise by 0.2 percentage points annually. A NATO member since 1999, the Czech Republic has recently launched several major military procurement projects. Plans include acquiring advanced anti-aircraft systems, German Leopard main battle tanks, and Swedish CV90 armoured personnel carriers. PRAGUE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government announced on Wednesday its decision to gradually increase defense spending to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. Under the approved plan, defense spending will rise to 2.2 percent of GDP in 2026, followed by annual increases of 0.2 percent until reaching the 3 percent target by 2030, Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said on social media platform X. "We must take greater responsibility for our own security, no one else will do it for us. We need to invest more in our defense, and we must do so responsibly, efficiently, and rationally," she added. According to the Defense Ministry, the Czech Republic met its commitment to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense in line with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) requirement last year. A Black Lives Matter street mural in Washington, D.C., that was installed during the racial justice protests in 2020 may be painted over, Mayor Muriel Bowser said, as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress threaten to intervene in the districts self-governance. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference, Bowser said in a statement. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern. During the height of the protests over George Floyds killing in 2020, Bowser, a Democrat, announced that one of the streets leading to the White House would be painted with the words Black Lives Matter and that the area would be named Black Lives Matter Plaza. The project was seen as an act of defiance against Trump, who was highly critical of the protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The D.C. Black Lives Matter chapter also criticized Bowser at the time, saying she has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history and calling the mural a performative distraction from real policy changes. While the relationship between Bowser and Trump has improved since then, Republicans have not stopped their push to expand federal authority over the capital. As his administration seeks to cut diversity programs across the federal government and in the private sector, Trump recently repeated his call for the federal government to take over governance of the city. House Republicans have also taken steps to end Washingtons independence, focusing on the mural in particular as part of an effort to end left-wing pet projects. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee have introduced the BOWSER Act, a bill that would repeal the Home Rule Act that grants Washington, D.C., some autonomy from the federal government. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com A young man arrested in connection with the killing of his mother inside their Avon home will face a judge on Wednesday morning, authorities said. Thadeus A. Joseph, 22, of Avon, is slated to be arraigned Wednesday in Stoughton District Court on a charge of murder in the death of 53-year-old Astrid Joseph, who was found Tuesday just before 4:30 p.m. on the floor of her Nichols Avenue home with visible injuries from an apparent struggle, according to the Office of Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Boston 25 cameras were rolling when Joseph was taken into custody at the South Shore Plaza around 8 p.m. Tuesday and loaded into an Avon police cruiser. A white Nissan Pathfinder was also towed from the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple law enforcement officers were called to the residence on Nichols Avenue after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive woman in need of medical assistance, according to police. A friend, Keith McDermott, told Boston 25 News there was a lot of love in that family. Such a close knit family, McDermott said. So supportive of each other. Theyre supportive of the kids. The kids are supportive of them. McDermott said he has known the mother whose life was tragically taken and her husband since the couple met while attending college together at Northeastern University. That was one of those relationships that you like to see flourish and grow, he said. We saw them grow from teenagers to adulthood and raise two kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McDermott and other close friends are now awaiting answers, and trying to support the victims husband. I just want to be here to be supportive to him and let him know, not just me but my family and friends are here to support him, as he goes through this hes not alone, he said. Detectives could be seen throughout the day putting up yellow crime scene tape, going in and out of a house. With information developed by the state police detectives assigned to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office and Avon police, a suspect was identified and apprehended with the help of Braintree police, Morrissey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It wasnt immediately clear what led up to the death. More information is expected to be at the suspects arraignment. The incident remains under investigation This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW NEW YORK (PIX11) New Yorks Ontario County Court issued a seven-page indictment on Wednesday, providing new details about the death of Sam Nordquist. Officials also explained why the case was not classified as a hate crime, a question that has troubled the LGBTQ+ community. Sam Nordquist, a transgender man, was found dead in a farmers field in upstate New York on Feb. 14 about a week after his family reported him missing. Seven individuals are accused of torturing Norquist to death. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say Nordquist suffered a month of torture. At one point, the suspects allegedly used duct tape and poured bleach on him, according to court documents. They allegedly physically and sexually assaulted Nordquist, and forced him to kneel while treating him like a dog, per the court documents. Precious Arzuaga, 38; Patrick Goodwin, 30; Kimberly L. Sochia, 29; Kyle Sage, 33; Jennifer Quijano, 30; Thomas G. Eaves, 21; and Emily Motyka, 19, were charged with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree conspiracy. Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage, and Godwin were also charged with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse. Arzuaga faces two additional charges of first-degree coercion, allegedly forcing two children 7 and 12 years old to participate in the torture, according to court documents. Arzuaga, Quijano, Sage, Godwin, Motyka, and Sochia were charged with concealment of a human corpse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Major Kevin Sucher, a commander of the state police troop that includes the Finger Lakes region, said the facts and circumstances of the case were beyond depraved and by far the worst homicide investigation the office has ever been part of. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State DAs office explains no hate crime charges We charge the highest charge under New York State law, which is bigger than a hate crime, said Assistant District Attorney Kelly Wolford. A hate crime would make this crime about Sams gender, his race, and its so much bigger. To limit us to a hate crime would be an injustice to Sam. Wolford said the torture Nordquist suffered will never make any sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nordquist was laid to rest on Monday. His family held services in Minnesota, where Nordquist was originally from. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Wednesday on the Daily 8, were looking at loose horses out on M-6, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkins response to President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress, Ash Wednesday observances in West Michigan and more. You can watch the full Daily 8 for March 5, 2025, in the video player above or check out any of the stories mentioned below: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each weekday, the Daily 8 brings you the top eight stories we are keeping an eye on in and around West Michigan. Join us again on Thursday for the Daily 8. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) The Danville Police Department has been named in lawsuits at the federal and state level, alongside several of its officers, regarding the October arrest of a man with dementia. Body camera video obtained by FOX 56 shows 66-year-old John Hardwick, a man with dementia, pleading for help after a grocery store trip with his wife last October ended with him handcuffed and taken to jail on public intoxication and shoplifting charges. RELATED: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You see T.J. Godbey pulled his cuffs out; rush him. One officer does what they call a leg whip to bring him down; the other officer tries to put him in a chokehold, which every law enforcement officer knows, and every police department in this country prohibits chokeholds after the tragedy that happened with George Floyd, said Attorney Ephraim Helton. Hardwick was taken to an area hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the arrest. There, body camera video shows officers exchanging text messages calling the severe dementia claim a stretch. Helton notified FOX 56 on Tuesday that now the police department, along with the arresting officers, has been named in lawsuits at the state and federal levels. In the months that have followed, Mr. Hardwick no longer leaves his residence to go to Walmart with his wife. His quality of life was already difficult due to his dementia but the trauma inflicted by the Defendants on October 15, 2024, has since completely altered and devastated his life, court documents read. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuits also attest that Hardwick has experienced a drastic decline with his dementia since the incident. In the federal lawsuit, Helton claims that the officers violated Hardwicks Fourth Amendment rights, the department and city failed to train and supervise its officers properly, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and violated the Rehabilitation Act. In a Boyle County Circuit Court filing, Helton cites: Battery False imprisonment, false arrest Malicious Prosecution False imprisonment, false arrest against Walmart Asset Protections Negligent hiring, training, and supervision Defamation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Helton demanded the case to go before a state and federal jury. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) The family of two children who were killed in a Sarasota hit-and-run said they are angry with the woman who took their lives. Prosecutors said Donzel Galliher, Taeler Bennett and their four children were walking across North Washington Boulevard at 7th Street on Feb. 10 when the incident occurred. Police said June Fenton, 72, hit Bennet and two of the children, 5-month-old Kiylan Galliher and 2-year-old Rio Galliher, with her car. Sarasota hit-and-run suspect thought she hit dog, briefly returned to scene, attorney says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Fentons attorney, Derek Byrd, Fenton thought she hit a dog, not a mother and her two children. Fenton looped back to the scene of the crash but left after seeing the crowd of people at the scene, the defense said. It was an accident at first, but now, its she killed my two grandsons so its a lot different, said Candice McCormick, the boys great-grandmother. Taeler Bennett and her child (Courtesy: The Galliher Family) Kiylan Galliher (Courtesy: The Galliher Family) Rio Galliher (Courtesy: The Galliher Family) The crash killed the two children and left their mother in critical condition. As of this report, Bennett is in stable condition in a medically induced coma while she recovers. She looks really good, but it is just time for her to heal, a lot of sleep, McCormick said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 3, Sarasota police announced Fenton was arrested on two counts of leaving the scene of a traffic crash resulting in a fatality and one count of leaving the scene of a traffic crash resulting in serious injury. I cant believe they didnt arrest her the same, the day that they got her, McCormick said. I dont understand the laws here in Florida, I have only lived in Michigan and Ohio. June Fenton, arrested in the hit-and-run deaths of two children. (Mugshot provided by Sarasota County Sheriffs Office) The boys great-grandmother described the family as loving and joyful before the deadly crash. They were such, especially Rio, he was a trip, McCormick said. They just moved from my house, probably about six months ago. They lived with me, but I never met Kiylan, but I did talk to them on FaceTime and get him to laugh and stuff like that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said Taeler and her grandson Donzel have been together for the last 10 years. McCormick traveled to Sarasota from Ohio to help her grandson care for his two daughters as Taeler continues to recover. They need a lot of support; that is why I am here, just to help out, said McCormick. McCormick said she is about the same age as the suspect and is in disbelief that Fenton would leave the scene, even if she thought she just hit a dog. How dare you take my grandkids away from me and everybody in our family, McCormick said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. New data has revealed that millions of Americans are vulnerable to fallout from natural disasters in states that are ill-equipped to handle them. What's happening? The U.S. Census Bureau scored and ranked each state by its social vulnerability to winter weather, flooding, hurricanes, strong winds, wildfires, and earthquakes. The scores were based on factors like communication, healthcare, and internet coverage. Mississippi ranked highest with 26.02% of its population considered vulnerable, followed by New York at 25.47% and Louisiana at 24.74%. The best-protected states with the lowest scores were Utah, with 13.19%, and New Hampshire, with 15.55%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency released an interactive map of the data and said each score "measures the social vulnerability of a community that inhibits community resilience." Why is this data important? Coastal states often face the brunt of natural disasters. California and other West Coast states are the hardest hit by wildfires every year, and the southeastern U.S. experiences the most hurricanes. Many of these states only received average rankings in the data because they tend to have better urban infrastructure in place for their frequent weather events. But most of the U.S. has seen an uptick in extreme storms over the last decade, due at least in part to changing weather patterns. These types of events have always existed, but scientists have reached a consensus that human-induced global heating "supercharges" extreme weather and makes natural disasters more powerful and dangerous. It's a troubling pattern that can be tracked over time rather than a few isolated events. What can be done about extreme weather? Everyone can do their part to reduce planet-warming pollution, live a more sustainable life, and contribute to the fight against the changing climate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Start small by riding a bike or taking public transportation instead of using a gas-guzzling car, or shopping second-hand instead of buying new. For a bigger change, you can switch to energy-efficient appliances, install solar panels in your home, or upgrade your car to an electric vehicle. For better disaster recovery plans moving forward, the agency advised government officials to use the data to inform new policies and plans. "Local planners, policymakers, public health officials, and community stakeholders can use the estimates to help assess the potential resiliency of communities and plan mitigation and recovery strategies in the event of a disaster," the U.S. Census Bureau said. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. PARIS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that he has decided to open strategic discussions with European allies on potential nuclear protection. "Responding to the historic call of the future German chancellor, I have decided to open a strategic debate on the protection of our allies in Europe through our (nuclear) deterrent," Macron said in a televised address. Speaking on Europe's defense and Ukraine, he emphasized that France's nuclear deterrent has played a role in maintaining peace and security in Europe. On Ukraine, Macron asserted that the country has "the right to peace and security for itself, and it is in the interest of the European continent's security." He stressed the need to ensure that any future peace, once achieved, is sustainable. "This will certainly require long-term support for the Ukrainian army and could potentially involve deploying European forces," he said. However, Macron clarified that such European forces would not engage in frontline combat but would instead help ensure that peace is upheld once secured. He also announced that France would host a meeting next week with countries willing to contribute to future European forces to be deployed in Ukraine. PHOENIX, Az. (WSAV) Dateline is on Friday, March 7, 2025, with a 2-hour episode. Keith Morrison has the first-ever television interview with convicted killer Lori Vallow Daybell. She is known as Mommy Doomsday and is serving a life sentence without parole. She was found guilty of murdering her two children in Idaho. Shes now in an Arizona jail awaiting another murder trial. Vallow Daybell explains to Morrison why she believes she and her fifth husband Chad Daybell will be cleared of their crimes, including the murder of her 16-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. Here is a preview of Fridays exclusive interview: Keith Morrison: Chad was convicted and hes on death row now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lori Vallow Daybell: I understand that, yeah. These are fascinating stories. Keith Morrison: How could you possibly think that Chad would be exonerated after what happened? Lori Vallow Daybell: The same way I will be exonerated. We will both be exonerated in the future Keith Morrison: Because? Lori Vallow Daybell: I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven. And we were not in jail and we were not in prison and they were still in the future, from now. The entire interview along with comments from Vallow Daybells son Colby air Friday, March 7, 2025, on WSAV at 9:00 p.m. EST. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. A Davenport man who was accused of homicide by vehicle in 2023 has entered a plea in the case. Justin Clemons, now 46, was arrested after police say Caleb Hardy, 25, was walking on the shoulder of Waverly Road on December 23, 2023 when Clemons was accused of striking and killing him. At the time of the incident, Clemons had a blood alcohol level of .253. Justin Clemons (Scott County Jail) Court records show that on March 4, Clemons withdrew his earlier plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty to one count of homicide by vehicle operating under the influence and one count of operating while under the influence first offense. He waived his time for sentencing and the presentence investigation and asked for immediate sentencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the sentencing order, Clemons was sentenced to a sentence not to exceed 25 years in the Iowa Department of Corrections, with credit for time served in the Scott County Jail. His drivers license was revoked for six years, and he must obtain a substance use evaluation and complete any recommended treatment. He was also ordered to pay victim restitution of $150,000 to Hardys family. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. David Schwimmer addressed his Hollywood peers who are reluctant to get political in a rousing, impassioned speech at the Anti-Defamation Leagues annual Never Is Now summit against antisemitism on Tuesday. Rallying the crowd at New York Citys Javits Center, the Friends actor said now is the time to stand up and speak out against hatred and discrimination against the Jewish community and that straightforward solidarity does not mean solving the conflict in the Middle East. I wish you would stand up. I wish you would speak out, because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who could use just a little solidarity right now from people they respect and look up to, Schwimmer said in his seven-minute address while presenting the inaugural Heroes Against Hate Award. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You dont have to say anything political, he continued. Nobodys asking you to solve the conflict in the Middle East. Just say that you stand with your Jewish friends, colleagues and neighbors against hatred and discrimination. Watch Schwimmers full speech in the video below, via the ADL: Schwimmer, a longtime advocate for the Jewish community who has especially in the months since Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israeli civilians become a figurehead to advocacy efforts within Hollywood, said he knows that speaking out often comes at a cost. He shared that he has been threatened or abandoned for his own antisemitism advocacy in the past. But Ive also found amazing moments of meaning and solidarity, and I want to remind you that there are so many good people out there who have our backs, incredible allies that we can we will get through this together, that our spirit is unbreakable, our joy is irrepressible, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is when Schwimmer turned his attention to fellow Jews in Hollywood who have chosen to stay silent in the wake of rising antisemitism around the world. Some of them are doing a lot behind the scenes, privately and in their own way, but so many have chosen not to say anything publicly at all, he said. And if I can say something directly to them: I really wish you would. Tuesday marked Schwimmers return to the ADLs Never Is Now conference after speaking on a panel with noted academic and author Michael Eric Dyson in 2022. This years event was held Monday and Tuesday in New York City and was hosted by Hen Mazzig. Gal Gadot gave the keynote address. The post David Schwimmer Rallies Hollywood to Stand Against Jewish Hate: Nobodys Asking You to Solve the Conflict in the Middle East | Video appeared first on TheWrap. March 5 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1770, British troops killed five colonials in the so-called Boston Massacre, one of the events that led to the American Revolution. Crispus Attucks, who had escaped slavery, died in the incident and became hailed as the first martyr of the American cause. History buffs relived the event 232 years later with a re-enactment in downtown Boston. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson was publicly inaugurated for his second term. He had a private, official inauguration a day earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1933, in German elections, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party won nearly half the seats in the Reichstag (the Parliament). In 1946, Winston Churchill, in a famous speech in Fulton, Mo., stated that a Soviet Union "Iron Curtain" had "descended across" Europe. The British fire on American colonials March 5, 1770, in an event that would later be known as the Boston Massacre. File Image by Paul Revere/Metropolitan Museum of Art/Wikimedia File Photo courtesy Cecil Beaton/Imperial War Museums In 1953, the Soviet Union announced that dictator Joseph Stalin had died at age 73. Stalin had been in a coma after having a massive stroke four days earlier. A woman performs with a Hula Hoop as she walks in the St. Louis Mardi Gras Parade on February 22. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI In 1963, Wham-O patented the Hula Hoop, which then became a fad across the country. The company's co-founders, Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin died in 2008 and 2002, respectively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1993, Canada's Ben Johnson, once called the world's fastest human, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was banned for life from track competition. President Woodrow Wilson takes the oath of office -- delivered by Chief Justice Edward Douglass White -- for his second term on March 5, 1917. File Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress In 2011, archaeologists renovating the Rio de Janeiro harbor for the 2016 Olympics reported uncovering the remains of a 19th-century port where thousands of people arrived from Africa and were sold into slavery. File Photo by Terry Schmitt On March 5, 1953, the Soviet Union announced that dictator Joseph Stalin had died at age 73. Stalin had been in a coma after having a stroke four days earlier. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI In 2013, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died at age 58 and Vice President Nicolas Maduro ascended to the presidency. In 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean officials for the first time since becoming leader. The special envoys of South Korean President Moon Jae-in were on a mission to broker denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez talks to the media next to Bolivian President Evo Morales (R) as they arrive at a plenary session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on December 18, 2009. On March 5, 2013, Chavez died at age 58 and Vice President Nicolas Maduro ascends to the presidency. File Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov/UPI Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, Pope Francis arrived in Iraq for the first-ever papal visit to the Middle Eastern nation. In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the United States to stop buying Russian oil during a Zoom meeting with members of the U.S. Congress. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The city of Dayton is hitting the ground running to combat violence and spread peace in 2025. On Tuesday, 2 NEWS joined the city for a ride-along through areas of Dayton seeing an increase in violence, speaking with residents and officials to learn whats next for the Dayton Peace Campaign. The city of Dayton is taking a holistic approach on violence with the help of Cure Violence Global, an organization that compares community violence to an epidemic, treating it as a disease that Dayton residents say urgently needs to be cured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im hoping that this helps. Ive seen the neighborhood go from being quiet to now being active with a lot of violence, said Terri Sims, Playtime Nursery School. In 2024, more than 160 crimes involving firearms happened in the city of Dayton. Some of those were fatal, with 10 juveniles becoming victims of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter. Prosecutor pushes to try minors as adults after police pursuit, fiery crash These homicides, robberies and violent actions riddle the entire city, including neighborhoods like Residence Park. That it poses a problem for people that live in the neighborhood, especially for seniors and for children, to have this type of violence going on, said Sharon Mitchell, president of Residence Park Neighborhood Association. So we just want to make sure that we can contain it and then make sure we can build our community back up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Terri Sims and Sharon Mitchell are staples in Residence Park Sims is the owner and CEO of the neighborhoods only early childcare center, and Mitchell is president of the neighborhood association. Both say they support the citys new peace campaign to end the growing violence theyve seen. Yeah, its a holistic approach of the community. Mediation is a huge part of this, said Chris Shaw, Dayton City Commissioner. Mental health is another huge part of this neighborhood engagement to change the tone, to say this community does not want violence. The $438,000 peace campaign is different from other programs the city has used in the past. This time, the city is hoping to reduce homicide rates and gun violence numbers by using a community violence interruption, youth development and community engagement as the solution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cure Violence Global tackles violence in the same way health officials tackle an epidemic, using public health instead of law enforcement to combat what they call the deadly disease of violence. By partnering with Cure Violence Global, Dayton will be putting trained community workers on the ground to mediate. And Cure Violence leaders say this model has worked. Our first year in Chicago, weve seen over 50 percent reduction in homicides and shootings, said Quinones Corniel, Cure Violence Global regional director. You think about our track record in New York, in Baltimore, Philadelphia. Weve had massive reductions in shootings, in conflicts and in homicides. The program requires long term investment and commitment from both community and city leaders, all working together to bring that worldwide impact to Dayton neighborhoods as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sims says its about more than just hope for a better tomorrow. I got a positive energy coming out of whats happening, said Sims. Tuesday was day one of three the assessment of city data during the ride-along. Now, Cure Violence Global will begin analyzing to determine the best fit for Dayton. Click to learn more about the Dayton Peace Campaign and Cure Violence Global. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Local politicians and residents are gearing up for President Trumps first official address since taking office earlier this year. Trump will deliver a joint address to Congress at 9 p.m. Tuesday, with several topics expected to come up. 2 NEWS spoke with local leaders and residents to see what they are anticipating. Trumps speech to Congress will offer divided nation an accounting of turbulent first weeks Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there are a lot of topics Trump can speak on tonight, theres one on top of everyones mind the economy. Local congressman Mike Turner believes this will be the focal point of Trumps address. The biggest pillar of his speech tonight is going to be about his economic plan, said Rep. Turner (OH-10). This is the first time President Trump will make a joint address to Congress since resuming office in January. Since then, the Trump administration has been working to deliver on the many promises Trump made during his presidential campaign. But with food prices at an all time high, some Miami Valley residents say the administration isnt working fast enough to fix the most prominent issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says, Oh Im going to bring the price of food down,' said one resident. If you go to a grocery store, its a crying shame. Anything you put your hands on that you think is cheap, its not. Turner says Trump will discuss his plan to address this. Certainly reining in government spending is going to be the most important aspect of this, said Turner. Were in an economic crisis where the government is spending way too much. We cannot continue to generate the level of debt, that has been being generated. Food prices worried most voters, but Trumps plans likely wont lower their grocery bills Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another key issue hoping to be addressed is the pause on military aid. Im hoping that there is a focus in supporting our allies, like Ukraine, said Mohammed Al-Hamdani, Montgomery County Democratic Party chair. This as a community that, you know, were heavily reliant on Wright-Patt Air Force Base, so supporting our allies is important to most of us around here. Turner says despite the recent pause in aid to Ukraine, government officials intend for it to be restarted. It is to get the attention of President Zelensky, whos unfortunately over the past several days made statements that have indicated that he doesnt have the full support of the United States efforts for entering into peace negotiations, said Turner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of all, the Miami Valley is expecting Trump to deliver on his many promises. We are hoping he just does what he told the American people hes going to do, said Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Republican Party chair. You know, we want honesty, we want transparency with our government. President Trump will make the joint address at 9 p.m. Tune into Channel 2 and wdtn.com to watch live on-air and online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. Washington, D.C.-area Democrats are urging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reinstate the staff fired from HHS and the National Institute of Health. The initiative, led by Maryland Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin, said there was an illegal mass firing of probationary staff at HHS that is undermining the search for treatments of some of the countrys most serious diseases. Without immediate action, the harmful consequences of this outrageous purse will be with us for decades to come as the fired employees are forced to find new careers outside their chosen field: medical research for public good, the lawmakers wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials have sought access to various federal agencies, including HHS and its other branches. Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, said last month that he believes Medicare payment systems are where the big money fraud happens. There are major concerns that DOGE will gain access to the departments information and make cuts to serious programs. Public health experts warn of a massive brain drain that could have dire impacts as thousands were laid off. In their letter, lawmakers highlighted the stories of their constituents who have been fired. We have heard from patients and their loved ones who are heartbroken and angry that, under your leadership, the United States is deliberately giving up its role as the worlds engine of medical innovation, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democrats said that many of the people fired were considered the best and brightest young scientists working to better public health in this country. In short, these losses to medical research will be felt for decades to come if you do not act quickly to change course, they concluded. The letter was also signed by nine other D.C.-area Democrats, including Washington, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton; Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (Md.); Virginia Reps. Gerry Connolly, Eugene Vindman, Suhas Subramanyam Don Beyer; and Maryland Reps. April McClain Delaney, Glenn Ivey and Kweisi Mfume. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser hosted an update on job losses people in the DMV are facing following recent waves of mass layoffs and cuts across the federal government. A lot of our Washingtonians are in shock, angry, they are anxious about their futures and how they are going to take care of their families, Bowser said. Bowser and department heads from several D.C. government agencies announced the launch of DOES.DC.Gov, a centralized hub with resources for impacted federal workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Announcement to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza, remove mural sparks backlash The site walks impacted federal workers through applying for unemployment insurance, foreclosure help, family resources and mental health support. The department heads also said there will be a hiring event exclusively for federal employees on Friday, March 14. The job fair will feature available positions from D.C. government agencies, as well as private employers from across the city. As with the new hub, the job fair will be an opportunity for federal employees to learn more about Unemployment Insurance assistance, resume writing and interview skills, headshots and LinkedIn profile support, as well as legal and mental health resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For resources in Maryland, click here. For resources in Virginia, click here. For Bowsers full situational update on federal job losses across the National Capital Region, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Democratic Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos quickly excused himself from an hourslong online meeting about Gov. Katie Hobbs' new effort creating a joint border task force. I don't need another task force," he said, summarizing what he wrote in the meeting chat after listing off four existing law enforcement collaborations to combat drug trafficking and other crime. "I'm sorry, I just don't. And so, I'm out." He left the meeting. Nanos later told The Arizona Republic his agency will not participate in the effort that Hobbs, a Democrat, announced last week creating "Operation Desert Guardian." Advertisement Advertisement Hobbs' office said the task force would combat drug and human trafficking in Arizona's four border counties, bringing together federal and state agencies and sheriffs' offices to do so. Yet two of those border sheriffs a Democrat and a Republican said they were taken by surprise by Hobbs' action and offered criticisms of her aims. It amounts to a rocky start for a supposedly cooperative effort. "Let's not waste state tax payer money on building something that doesn't need to be rebuilt," Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, a Republican, said in an email last week. Wilmot and Nanos share a concern that the task force's work will duplicate, and not complement, work already being done. Advertisement Advertisement Yuma County already has a narcotics task force, Wilmot said. He added that he welcomed state police and personnel to join his teams that have established infrastructure, know local geography and understand unique challenges in the county. Border crossings in Yuma County are down over 90% since President Donald Trump returned to office, Wilmot said, and nonprofits that serve migrants have been less burdened, too. "The state is not going to come in to rescue us and be the savior of what we've been dealing with," he said, noting that sheriffs have years of background and on the ground experience. "They need to come in and be a partner." It is unclear if other sheriffs will follow Nanos in withdrawing from Hobbs' effort. Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway did not answer questions Monday or Tuesday about their plans. Wilmot said Wednesday, after this story was initially published, that his agency would participate. He said his initial concerns were alleviated in the Monday meeting, when it became clear the effort was about unifying resources and collective decision-making and less about creating another task force led by one agency. Advertisement Advertisement Thats a no-brainer when it comes to keeping your community safe," he said of Yuma County's participation. In an interview, Nanos objected to the state putting more resources into a federal policy arena. Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government. Nanos questioned why the state would put its money toward a federal duty when Arizona has other crime-fighting needs, like hiring at agencies that are severely understaffed and investigating with homicides and shootings. Hobbs proposed spending up to $28 million on the task force, in addition to over $100 million her administration has previously given to local agencies near the border. "That would have gone a long way towards helping with my staffing issues to deal with things like, oh I don't know, violent crime, homicides," Nanos said. "We've had, in the Pima County area, well over 100 homicides last year, yet none of them were on the border. We had some 400 shooting incidents just in the city of Tucson itself ... none of them were on the border." Advertisement Advertisement Wilmot previously said he was not aware Hobbs would issue the executive order creating the task force and was not part of discussions about how it would be put together. That's despite Hobbs saying last week that her "administration has been in contact with the federal government and local sheriffs about the Operation, its critical objectives, and our shared commitment to keeping criminals and drugs out of Arizonas communities." The governor's spokesperson, Christian Slater, said in a statement issued after the sheriffs raised concerns that Hobbs' announcement was "the first step" to the task force, and the collaboration with federal and local agencies "will determine the best approaches for dismantling cartel operations in the state." Dannels separately raised questions about the details of Hobbs' plans, but said in an interview last week on Fox News that his agency would "welcome that engagement. "Because whether you're Democrat, Republican, independent, we have to protect our communities, our citizens and this country," he said. Advertisement Advertisement No takers yet: Feds invite AZ agencies to sign up for immigration enforcement Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democratic sheriff bails on Gov. Katie Hobbs' border task force Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the House chamber where President Trump was giving his address to a joint session of Congress after the congressman heckled the president early in his speech. Green responded to Trumps declaration that his 2024 electoral victory was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades by asserting that Trump did not have a mandate. Trump sought to continue with his address without answering Green, but the Democratic congressman did not sit down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At that point, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) repeatedly warned those present to maintain decorum and Green specifically to stop speaking, but he continued. Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house, and to cease any further disruptions. Thats your warning, Johnson said from the front of the room. Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum and the chair is prepared to direct a sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session. Mr. Green, take your seat, he said to Green. Take your seat, sir. Green also said to Trump you have no mandate to cut Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson directed the sergeant-at-arms to restore order by removing Green. Republicans meanwhile yelled get out and then sang hey, hey, hey, goodbye to Green. After Green was escorted out, Johnson told Trump he could continue. Trump cited his win in all seven swing states along with his popular vote win, the first for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004, as contributing to his mandate. Critics of Trump have argued that he did not receive a mandate in the election, as he still fell short of winning a majority of the vote and only won the popular vote by about 1.6 points. Ahead of Trumps speech, eyes were on whether any Democrats would heckle or interrupt Trump during his address, as some Republicans did to then-President Biden for his addresses to Congress. The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus warned in advance of the speech that the House would move to censure any Democrats who heckled Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Current and former members of the caucus, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), shouted at Biden during his speeches. Green has been a particularly sharp critic of Trump, filing articles of impeachment against him on multiple occasions, including last month. After leaving the House chamber, Green told reporters that people who rely on Medicaid as their only source of health care coverage are fearful that the program may be cut under the House GOP budget, which directs the committee responsible for overseeing the program to find $880 billion in cuts. He said speaking up during the address was the best way get across to a person who uses his incivility, who uses his incivility against our civility. He said he is willing to accept any punishment he faces, saying its worth it to show that some are willing to stand up against Trumps desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump repeatedly has said he would not cut funding for any of these programs, though the House budget resolution directs the Energy and Commerce Committee to make large spending cuts that some say would be difficult to achieve without cutting Medicaid. Whatever the punishment is, Im not fighting the punishment, Green said. This is about the people who are being punished by virtue of losing their health care. This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who dont have good health care. Weve got to do better. This story was updated at 10:11 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner, a former mayor of Houston, who was sworn into office in November, died on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the lawmaker said, hours after he posted about attending President Donald Trump's address to Congress. The death of Turner, 70, temporarily widens Republicans' slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to 218-214. A special election for Turner's replacement will have to be held to fill the vacancy. Turner served as mayor of Houston from 2016 through 2024 and was elected last year to take the House seat formerly held by Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024 at age 74. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While a cause of death was not given, the spokesperson said Turner attended the entire 100-minute Trump speech. At some point afterward he went to a hospital but was subsequently released and he died at home. In a video message filmed outside his Washington office and posted on Tuesday, Turner said he was bringing to Trump's address a constituent whose daughter had a rare genetic disorder and relied on Medicaid insurance for treatment. "My message to the current administration for tonights State of the Union: 'Dont mess with Medicaid,'" Turner wrote in the post. "President Trump and Elon Musks push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us." Republicans are trying to pass a spending bill that could significantly slash spending on popular social programs, including the Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income people, to pay for Trump's desired tax cut plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tributes to Turner poured in from Democratic politicians on social media. Representative Greg Casar of Texas told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that Turner was "a dedicated public servant," and Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama posted on X that Turner "leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service." The House has two other vacant seats, previously held by Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, both of Florida. April 1 special elections have been scheduled to fill both, and Republicans are expected to win those contests, restoring Trump's party's full majority to 220. (Reporting by Richard Cowan, Bo Erickson and Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Nick Zieminski) Signs of protests by Democrats were evident in the House of Representatives from the beginning of US President Donald Trump's address to Congress. Women of the party wore pink as a sign of protest, and Democrats also had blue and yellow elements in their clothing, symbolising solidarity with Ukraine. Source: broadcast of Trumps speech; CNN; The New York Times Details: Some Democrats left the room in protest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the beginning of Trump's speech, Democratic Congressman Al Green was removed from the hall. Standing up during Trump's address, Green raised his cane in the air and began shouting. Some Democrats held posters and signs with various messages while Trump was speaking. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib brought a small whiteboard into the hall which she used to respond to Trump's comments in real time. Many women in the party wore pink as a colour of protest, while others wore blue and yellow scarves and other clothing elements symbolising solidarity with Ukraine. Women wearing pink clothes as a sign of protest Photo: CNN Congress hall Screenshot Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! OTTAWA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs on imports from Canada has prompted a tough response. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that his country will not back down from a fight against the tariffs. He told a press conference that there is no justification for the trade war the two countries are entangled in and Canada will challenge the U.S. administration's moves. The Canadian government hit back with initial tariffs on 30 billion Canadian dollars (about 21 billion U.S. dollars) worth of U.S. goods, with the promise to add another 125 billion Canadian dollars (about 87 billion U.S. dollars) in 21 days. According to a press release from the Canadian finance ministry, the first phase of response includes tariffs on U.S. products such as orange juice, peanut butter and wine, among others. The countermeasure will take effect at 00:01 a.m. local time (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. The additional countermeasures would be tariffs on a list of goods such as electric vehicles, fruits and vegetables, among others. The additional tariffs will be open for a 21-day comment, the release said. The government is also taking steps to mitigate the impact of these countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to evaluate requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs, it said. All options remain on the table as the government considers additional measures, including non-tariff options, it added. Canada would also challenge the U.S. tariffs by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, said Trudeau. "But in the meantime, our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner," he said, adding that the federal government is in active discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures. Canadian provinces have also hit back. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced that Ontario is prepared to add a 25-percent surcharge to the electricity Ontario exports to U.S. states if U.S. tariffs remain in place. "If we have to, we won't hesitate to increase the charge or shut the electricity off completely," Ford said on his social media account. Ford also threatened to cut off exports of Ontario nickel during an interview with NBC News on Monday afternoon. The British Columbia government responded to the U.S. tariffs by joining other provinces in removing some liquor products from store shelves. "This is a deliberate decision to target red (Republican-controlled) state liquor products," Premier David Eby said at a press conference on Tuesday. Before the countermeasures, Canadian officials made a fruitless month-long diplomatic push to avoid tariffs and have responded to the current U.S. administration's concerns about the border by naming a new "fentanyl czar" and listing Mexican cartels as terrorist groups. Canada has done the work at the border to make sure that the Americans would be happy, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told local media. On Feb. 1, U.S President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose a 25-percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10-percent tariff increase specifically for Canadian energy products. On Feb. 3, Trump announced that the additional tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada would be deferred for one month. Trump said Monday that tariffs on Mexico and Canada would take effect on Tuesday, March 4. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) called on New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) to resign on Wednesday following the Department of Justices (DOJ) move to drop federal corruption charges against him. I personally agree with the majority of New Yorkers and think Mr. Mayor that you should resign, Garcia told Adams, who was testifying along with other Democratic mayors before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. We have a right to know if the Trump administration has coerced you into agreeing to anything, Garcia said. Are you selling out New Yorkers to save yourself from prosecution? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams denied taking part in any quid pro quo. Theres no deal. Theres no quid pro quo. I did nothing wrong, Adams told the committee. Adams was originally set to stand trial in April on charges of bribery, wire fraud and soliciting illegal campaign contributions, but a federal judge overseeing the criminal case indefinitely delayed the trial as he considers the effort by the DOJ to drop the charges. The hearing where the exchange took place also included Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D). Former U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said it amounted to a quid pro quo in which the case would be ended in exchange for the mayor helping the Trump administration with its immigration priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Jasmine Crockett (Texas), who are members of the House Judiciary Committee, announced they were launching an investigation into the DOJs moves to drop the corruption charges against Adams. Adams appeared to put on a friendly front with the Trumps team following the presidents election win last year. The Democratic mayor notably appeared with Trumps boarder czar Tom Homan on Fox and Friends last month after Adams agreed to allow federal immigration officials to operate at Rikers Island. The moved marked a major change in New York Citys sanctuary city policies. Additionally the two agreed to work together to solve the citys migrant problem. The New York City mayor is up for reelection this year and has already received a high profile primary challenger from former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. CARLSBAD, N.M. (KRQE) The nations only deep underground nuclear waste storage site in southeast New Mexico might be looking at big cuts. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plants main Carlsbad office is now listed on the chopping block by the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lease for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plants (WIPP) Carlsbad field office recently popped up on the website for the Elon Musk-led DOGE effort, highlighting the cancellation of that lease. Democratic lawmakers are condemning the idea. Waste would sit at facilities around the country. Instead of being put somewhere where it can be safely managed, it would be stored on site, with all the risks that would come with that. With the forest fire risks, with the flooding risks, with the risk that things fall into the wrong hands or mishandled. All of those risks are mitigated by this site, said New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D). Its still unclear exactly what could happen to WIPP. Since 1999, its been the primary storage site of some nuclear waste, thousands of feet underground. The Department of Energy oversees WIPP and the Carlsbad field office, which employs nearly 200 federal workers doing nuclear waste oversight work. New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D) said WIPP is critical to national security and said any closure of the field office will jeopardize safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the DOGE website, terminating the lease on WIPPs Carlsbad office would save the government more than $810,000 a year. Its a completely irresponsible path forward and its not even an efficient path forward. No ones advocating to shut these things down, said Sen. Heinrich. KRQE News 13 reached out to the Department of Energy Tuesday about the field office and its listing on the DOGE website but have not heard back yet. The New Mexico Environment Department sent KRQE this statement: The New Mexico Environment Department hasnt received any news indicating the waste isolation pilot plant itself will be shut down. However, we are deeply concerned about staffing losses at the U.S. Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office. The Environment Departments WIPP team will continue to stay in contact with the remaining DOE staff and support them in every way we legally can. Drew Goretzka, Director of Communications, New Mexico Environment Department Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, was ejected from President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday. Green stood in the aisle early in Trump's speech and shouted that Trump had "no mandate." Speaker Mike Johnson ordered Green removed from the chamber and later told reporters he should be censured by the House for the outburst. Green told reporters after leaving that chamber that "it's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm willing to suffer whatever punishment is available to me," he added. "Whatever the punishment is, I'm not fighting the punishment." Green, an 11-term Democrat from Houston, filed impeachment articles against Trump during his first term and said last month he plans to pursue Trump's impeachment again. Green arrived to the chamber early on Tuesday afternoon to claim a seat on the aisle, directly in front of Trump. As he shouted during the speech, Republicans tried to drown him out, chanting "USA! USA! USA!" and "sit down!" As he was escorted out by the House Sergeant at Arms, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) shouted at him, Get out, get out! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked by a reporter if shouting was best way to get his point across to Trump, Green replied, "It is the best way to get it across to a person who uses his incivility against our civility." If censured, Green would be the first member to be punished that severely for an outburst at a joint session. In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was reprimanded, a less severe sanction, for shouting at then President Barack Obama. Jordain Carney contributed to this report. In a dramatic scene only a few minutes into President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday, a longtime Democratic congressman interrupted the speech in an outburst that eventually caused him to be ejected from the House chamber. Trump had just referenced the Nov. 5 election, calling his victory a "mandate," when Rep. Al Green, an 11-term Democrat representing the Houston area, stood up, pointing his cane at the dais and shouted, "You have no mandate to cut Medicaid." Trump sought to continue with his speech, referencing his popular vote victory and then a poll he said shows Americans think the country is headed in the right direction, but Green continued to interrupt, drawing boos and then chants of "USA! USA!" from the Republican side of the chamber. PHOTO: Representative Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. (Win Mcnamee/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finally, House Speaker Mike Johnson jumped in, banging his gavel: "Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House, and to cease any further disruptions. That's your warning." When Green's protest continued, Johnson called the sergeant at arms to escort Green from the House chamber. PHOTO: Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouts out as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) MORE: Fact-checking Trump's speech to Congress Green later told ABC News he'd welcome any consequences from his disruption, saying he was "following the wishes of conscience." "There are times when it it better to stand alone than not stand at all," he added. PHOTO: Rep. Al Green is removed from the chamber as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/AP) MORE: Trump downplaying tariff concerns could be a gift to Democrats: ANALYSIS Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the speech, Johnson said Green should be censured for his disruption. "It's a spectacle that was not necessary. He's made history in a terrible way. And I hope he enjoys it," the House speaker told reporters after the address. "If they want to make a 77-year-old heckling congressman the face their resistance, the Democrat party. So be it. We will not tolerate it on the House floor." A censure is a formal reprimand by the House for violations of the House code of conduct and serves as a public condemnation of their behavior. PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Al Green walks down a hallways after he was escorted out for yelling during U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) Johnson said he's "quite certain" there will be several Republicans who will bring forward a censure resolution against Green and he would put the resolution up for a vote on the House floor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Democrats in the audience sought to display their displeasure with Trump in slightly less disruptive ways. Several of them held up black signs reading "False," "Save Medicaid," "Protect Veterans," and "Musk Steals." Other staged walkouts throughout the speech. Democratic Rep. Al Green removed from chamber after outburst during Trump address originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The House on Thursday voted to censure Democratic Rep. Al Green after he was removed for disrupting President Trumps address to Congress on Tuesday night. It was a 224 to 198 vote, with 10 Democrats voting with Republicans in favor of the censure, making Green the 28th member of the House to ever receive one. To "censure" a lawmaker is a formal punishment members of Congress can give to their colleagues for disorderly behavior. While it does not typically carry consequences beyond the member having to hear a description of their disorderly behavior being read aloud in the House, it is considered a mark on Green's record as a lawmaker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse from Washington introduced a resolution to censure Green on Wednesday morning over the outburst during Trump's speech, reportedly beating out three alternative censure measures being composed by Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, Texas Rep. Troy Nehls and the House Freedom Caucus. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson instructed the House sergeant at arms to eject Green after he stood up and interjected as Trump spoke to lawmakers. Green stood and shouted, You have no mandate! Republicans, sitting on the other side of the room, drowned Greens protests out, chanting USA! USA! Johnson asked the room to sit down and stay quiet, but Green refused. Johnson then instructed the sergeant at arms to remove Green from the room for interrupting the speech and, as Green exited, Republicans stood up again and cheered, shouting, Get out! Rep. Al Green makes his protest (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters) You have no mandate to cut Medicaid! Green shouted at Trump before he was escorted out of the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson later told reporters that Green "should be censured" for interrupting Trump's address to Congress. Some House Democrats also disapproved of Green's disruption. New York Rep. George Latimer told Axios he thought it was "inappropriate." When a president my president, your president is speaking, we dont interrupt, we dont pull those stunts, he said. Rep. Tom Suozzi also told Axios that he thought Green's behavior was a "big mistake." Im an old school traditional type guy, I think we should be treating the president with deference, Suozzi said. So I think it was inappropriate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green, 77, is a representative from Texass Ninth Congressional District and has served in Congress since 2005. He has helped lead impeachment efforts against Trump since 2017 and was one of the first members of Congress to propose articles of impeachment against Trump during his first administration, specifically in connection to Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey. In late January, Green announced to the House his plans to introduce new articles of impeachment against Trump over the war in Gaza. "The movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring Articles of Impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done," Green said. "Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. Before Congress, Green was a civil rights attorney and the president of the Houston NAACP for nearly a decade. Rep. Al Green is removed from the chamber. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters) Green wasnt the only Democratic lawmaker who shouted out during Trumps speech. Many others interjected Not true! or Those are lies! at the president. California Rep. Gil Cisneros reportedly shouted, Talk about the $400 million to Tesla! as multiple representatives held up protest signs that said Musk steals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several Democrats exited the chamber throughout Trumps speech, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Veronica Escobar, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin. Some of the Democrats leaving were protesting Trumps commentary, reportedly wearing shirts with resist printed on the back. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman posted on X Wednesday that he disagreed with Green's behavior and the Democrats walking out of Trump's speech. "A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained," Fetterman wrote. "We're becoming the metamorphical car alarms that nobody pays attention toand it may not be the winning message." There was one moment during Trumps speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans: Trumps acknowledgment of the United States' financial aid for Ukraine. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - During the Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trumps speech before Congress, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) went after the president on several key issues, including the economy and claimed democracy is at risk. The first term senator from Michigan called out President Trump for trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. In her nearly 11-minute rebuttal, Sen. Slotkin criticized the president for his plans on the economy. Grocery and home prices are going up, not down. And he hasnt laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those, Slotkin said. His tariffs on allies like Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber and cars, and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin spoke from Wyandotte, Michigan after President Trump delivered the longest address to Congress by a president in U.S. history. She acknowledged Americans desire for change and talked about protecting the middle class. America wants change, but theres a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, Sen. Slotkin said. Sen. Slotkin laid out a plan for how Democrats can fight back, urging Americans not to tune out, to hold elected officials accountable and to organize. Look America is not perfect, but I stand with the majority of Americans who believe we are still exceptional, unparalleled, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin, who is a former CIA analyst with a background in national security, also criticized President Trump for the tense Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. President Trump loves to say, peace through strength. Thats actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan but let me tell you after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave, Sen. Slotkin said. Democrats protested the presidents speech before a joint session of Congress in a variety of ways Tuesday night. Some didnt attend the speech at all, while others held up signs with messages like False and Musk Steals. Rep. Al Green (D- Texas) repeatedly interrupted the president and was eventually removed from the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Delivering the Democrat response to President Trump's joint address to Congress, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan accused him of having no credible plan to deal with high grocery and home prices. But she opened her remarks with an emphasis on unity. "My dad was a lifelong Republican, my mom a lifelong Democrat. But it was never a big deal because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party," Slotkin said. PHOTO: Sen. Elissa Slotkin delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's addresses a joint session of Congress, from Michigan, Mar. 4, 2025 in Washington. (ABC News) MORE: Key takeaways from Trump's speech to Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking from Wyandotte, Michigan, Slotkin began by focusing on kitchen table issues, such as the rising costs of consumer goods that helped her to win her competitive Senate race in Michigan even as Trump carried her state. "Americans made it clear that prices are too high, and that the government needs to be more responsive to their needs," Slotkin said. "America wants change, but there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy." MORE: Trump downplaying tariff concerns could be a gift to Democrats: ANALYSIS "Grocery and home prices are going up, not down. And he hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those." she said. "His tariffs on allies like Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber and cars and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers. Your premiums and prescriptions will cost more, because the math on his proposals doesn't work without going after your health care. Meanwhile, for those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "And if he's not careful, he could walk us right into a recession,' she added. MORE: Who is Elissa Slotkin, the senator giving the Democratic response to Trump "In order to pay for his plan, he could very well come after your retirement. The Social Security, Medicare and VA benefits you worked your whole life to earn," she said. She warned about Elon Musk's power in the government, criticizing the Department of Government Efficiency and Trump for what she called the "mindless" mass firings of federal workers, only to hire some of them back days later. "The president claims he won't. But Elon Musk just called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. While we're on the subject of Elon Musk, is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20 year olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information, and your bank accounts?" she asked. PHOTO: President Donald Trump leaves after addressing a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Mar. 4, 2025 in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE: Fact-checking Trump's speech to Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin also commented on Trump's heated exchange with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week, saying former President Ronald Reagan "must be rolling in his grave" after the near-screaming match. She also argued that Trump's approach that day speaks to his "whole approach to the world." "In closing, we all know that our country is going through something right now. We're not sure what the next day is going to hold. Let alone the next decade," she said." But this isn't the first time we've experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country. I'm a student of history, and we've gone through periods of political instability before, and ultimately we've chosen to keep changing this country for the better." America gets through such moments thanks to "engaged citizens and principled leaders," she said. "Hold your elected officials, including me, accountable," she said. "Watch how they're voting. Go to town halls and demand they take action. That's as American as apple pie." In Democratic response, Slotkin says Trump has no credible plan to lower grocery prices originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Freshman U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan gave the Democratic response to Republican President Donald Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday night, arguing that while Americans clearly want change, the president's first six weeks in his second term suggest a chaotic and morally indifferent style that threatens the nation. "America wants change," said Slotkin, a former congresswoman who also served as an intelligence officer and acting assistant Defense Department secretary. "But there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country." Here's some highlights from the senator's 11-minute response, which was filmed in Wyandotte and broadcast shortly after Trump concluded his speech to a joint session of Congress in the nation's capital: She said Trump's plans won't help the economy Noting Michigan's role in helping to create the middle class through developing manufacturing, Slotkin who won a tight race for the state's open Senate seat last year even as Trump won in the state said the federal government must work to bring down prices on groceries, housing and health care but said Trump has done little to address that as yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And she criticized a plan he says will lower taxes for everyone, arguing that it is skewed to favor more wealthy Americans. "We need a tax system that's fair for people who don't happen to make a billion dollars," she said. "Look, the president talked a big game on the economy but it's always important to read the fine print. So do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close. President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. He's on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America." And she said grocery and home prices are "going up, not down, and he hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either." Trump's instituting tariffs on Canada and Mexico is, as many economists agree, expected to raise consumer prices, not bring them down, though the president has maintained that any financial pain will be temporary and spark new manufacturing. If we're not careful, Slotkin added, Trump "could walk us right into a recession." She took aim at Elon Musk and wondered if retirees' benefits are safe Noting the widespread federal cuts the Trump administration is engaged in through a Department of Governmental Efficiency effort being led by advisor Elon Musk, Slotkin mused whether promises to protect people's Social Security, Medicare and veterans benefits will be kept. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The president claims he won't. But Elon Musk is called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," Slotkin said. And she raised concerns that Musk and his workers are being given too much access to citizens' private records. "Is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information and your bank accounts? No oversight, no protections against cyber attack, no guardrails on what they do with your private data?" she said. "We need a more efficient government. You want to cut waste. I'll help you do it," she added. "But change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe. The mindless firing of people who work to protect our nuclear weapons, keep our planes from crashing and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer, only to rehire them two days later. No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired." U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin D-Mich. rehearses ahead of giving the Democratic response which will follow President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in Wyandotte on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. She suggested Trump is making the US less safe Slotkin brought up the "spectacle" that occurred in the Oval Office last Friday when Trump and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, insisting that he agree to a peace deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin or the U.S. would cut off support for the war-torn nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin said former President Ronald Reagan, also a Republican, "must be rolling in his grave" after the televised argument between the three men that ended with a peace deal being scrubbed and Zelenskyy leaving Washington. During his speech to Congress Tuesday night, Trump noted that Zelenskyy had sent him a letter indicating he was prepared to get a deal done. "We all want an end to the war in Ukraine. But Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity," Slotkin said. "And that scene in the Oval Office wasn't just a bad episode of reality TV. It summed up Trump's whole approach to the world. He believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions. "As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s," she went on. "Trump would have lost us the Cold War." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Slotkin trashes Trump's 'chaotic' style, warns of recession WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The White House confirmed Wednesday that the Trump administration is having direct talks with Hamas aimed at releasing hostages. The talks, first reported by Axios, were held in Doha, Qatar, in recent weeks and were led on the U.S. side by presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler. Asked about the talks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during Wednesday's daily press briefing that "the special envoy who's engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone," adding that "Israel was consulted on this matter." Leavitt refused to disclose any details on what she said are "ongoing talks and discussions" when asked if the discussions also involved President Donald Trump's plan to take over the Gaza Strip, which is now still governed by Hamas. "I'm not going to detail them here. There are American lives at stake," the press secretary said. According to a U.S. official cited in the Axios report, the discussions also included a broader deal to release all remaining hostages and reach a long-term truce. Altogether 59 hostages are still in Hamas captivity, Axios reported, citing the Israel Defense Forces, which confirmed 35 of them are dead. Among those hostages, five are Americans, including just one who is believed to be alive. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is walking back his praise of President Trumps great, great progress on illegal immigration as crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to plummet. My words yesterday, they were not great, Warner said in an MSNBC interview Wednesday when asked about remarks he made during an appearance on Fox Business Networks Claman Countdown before Trumps joint address to Congress on Tuesday Warner told Fox Business anchor Liz Claman the Trump administration had made great, great progress on border crossings. Thats something we ought to celebrate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe President Trump got elected because of the border and trying to lower prices, Warner said while also blasting tariffs that Trump has levied on imports from Canada and Mexico. On the border, I give him good marks. On lowering prices, I think youre going to see the absolute opposite over the next 30 days. Some conservatives seized on Warners remarks as an admission of Trumps strength on tackling illegal immigration. During Tuesday nights address, Trump touted the massive drop in illegal border crossings since he took office. Monthly apprehensions, which have been on a decline since last year, hit their lowest level in more than two decades last month. Former Vice President Harris, who lost to Trump in last years presidential election, and other Democrats on the 2024 campaign trail insisted that then-President Bidens hands were tied and Congress needed to pass bipartisan legislation to tackle illegal immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It turned out that all we really needed was a new president, Trump said. Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border soon after he was sworn into office and signed several executive orders to stem illegal crossings. Vice President Vance is visiting the border with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Wednesday to highlight security operations. In walking back his praise of Trump, Warner told MSNBCs Katy Tur he disagrees with unfettered immigration raids the Trump administration has taken on. So my choice of words yesterday, Id like to take them back, he said. Warner added that he still recognizes the border trend as an achievement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the vast majority of Americans realize President Biden didnt have a secure enough border, Warner said. Those numbers are down, and thats good news for our country. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. US Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying his practices only benefit wealthy Americans while everyone else is forced to bear the consequences. In an official rebuttal to Trump's confrontational appearance before Congress, Slotkin accused the president of prioritizing his billionaire friends while those with far less wealth feel the impact of the trade war he has instigated. Slotkin, 48, who represents the swing state of Michigan, criticized the rising prices of food and housing, adding that Trump has yet to present a plan to address these issues. She also said Trump wants to redistribute trillions of dollars to the wealthiest at the expense of most Americans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His tariff policy in disputes with countries like China, Canada and Mexico would lead to rising prices in sectors such as energy and cars, many of which are built in Michigan. Slotkin said that in terms of foreign policy, Trump was trying to get on the good side of dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin, while alienating allies like the Canada. Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, described Slotkin as a rising star in the party. The moderate Democrat, who was actually born in New York but moved to Michigan as a child, is a former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston has died, Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed Wednesday morning. His unexpected passing comes months after the 70-year-old was elected to replace Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office in July, marking the second loss of a Houston Congress member in the last year. He was taken to the hospital while working in Washington on Tuesday night, Whitmire said during a City Council meeting. Turner had expected to attend President Donald Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday night, according to a video posted on his social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turner served as a Texas state representative for 27 years before being elected mayor of Houston in 2015 and reelected in 2019. He served in the role until January 2024. Rep. Sylvester Turner speaks out against HCR 291 on the last day of the session at the Capitol on Monday June 1, 2009. "This comes as a shock to everyone," Whitmire said, his voice trembling. "I would ask Houstonians to come together, pray for his family, join us in celebrating this remarkable public servant. Celebrate his life, which we will be doing." Turner grew up in Houston's Acres Homes neighborhood, attended the University of Houston and earned a doctorate in jurisprudence from Harvard Law School. In 2022, Turner revealed that he had battled bone cancer, but said he was cancer-free at that point, the Texas Tribune reported. Whitmire did not confirm the cause of Turner's death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a fellow Democrat, said he was "very sad" to hear of Turner's passing and added that he was always "touched by (Turner's) compassion" for the people he worked with. "Sylvester was a remarkable man with the true heart of a public servant," Watson wrote in a social media statement. "He was a friend. I will miss laughing with him and we'll all miss his commitment to doing good." This is a developing story. Check back for updates. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: US Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston dies at 70 in Washington Sign up for Trumps Return, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. American politicians of both parties have always known that giving the response to a presidential address is one of the worst jobs in Washington. Presidents have the gravitas and grandeur of a joint session in the House chamber; the respondent gets a few minutes of video filmed in a studio or in front of a fake fireplace somewhere. If the presidents speech was good, a response can seem churlish or anticlimactic. If the presidents speech was poor or faltering, the opposition can only pile on for a few minutes. So pity Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who got handed the task of a response to Donald Trumps two-hour carnival of lies and stunts. Slotkin gave a good, normal speech in which she laid out some of her partys issues with Trump on the economy and national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was so normal, in fact, that it was exactly the wrong speech to give. But first, its important to note that it was a good speech. Slotkin wisely decided to forgo any stagey settings, appearing in front of neatly placed flags instead of in her office or a kitchen. She gave a shout-out to her home state while managing to avoid folksy familiarity or posturing. She also stayed away from wonkery, speaking in the kind of clear language people use in daily conversation. (Okay, there was some thudding language about investment and jobs of the future, but these are minor speechwriting offenses.) [Read: The Trump backers who have buyers remorse] And to her credit, Slotkin reminded people that Elon Musk is an unaccountable uber-bureaucrat leading a gang of 20-year-olds who are rummaging through the personal data of millions of Americans. As a senator from a state bordering Canada, she asked if Americans are comfortable kicking our sister nation in the teeth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So whats not to like? Slotkinlike so many in her party latelyfailed to convey any sense of real urgency or alarm. Her speech could have been given in Trumps first term, perhaps in 2017 or 2018, but we are no longer in that moment. The presidents address was so extreme, so full of bizarre claims and ideas, exaggerations and distortions and lies, that it should have called his fitness to serve into question. He preened about a Cabinet that includes some of the strangest, and least qualified, members in American history. Although his speech went exceptionally long, he said almost nothing of substance, and the few plans he put forward were mostly applause bait for his Republican sycophants in the room and his base at home. Its easy for me to sit in my living room in Rhode Island and suggest what others should say. But in her response, Slotkin failed to capture the hallucinatory nature of our national politics. As a former Republican, I nodded when Slotkin said that Ronald Reagan would be rolling in his grave at what Slotkin called the spectacle of last weeks Oval Office attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But is that really the message of a fighting opposition? Is it an effective rallying cry either to older voters or to a new generation to say, in effect, that Reaganeven now a polarizing figurewould have hated Trump? (Of course he would have.) Isnt the threat facing America far greater than that? [Read: Lawful, but enormously destructive] Slotkins best moment was when she pleaded with people to do more than be mere observers of politics, and said that doomscrolling on phones isnt the same thing as genuine political engagement. And she issued her own Reaganesque call to remember that America is not just a patch of land between two oceans, that America is great because of its ideals. But her admonition to her fellow citizens not to fool themselves about the fragility of democracy, while admirable, was strangely detached from a specific attack on the source of that menace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Did Americans vote for Kash Patel to lead the FBI, or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services, or Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense? Trump took time to recognize and praise all three of those men in his speech. So why not ask that questiondirectly and without needless throat-clearing about the importance and necessity of change? Slotkins response reflected the fractured approach of the Democrats to Trump in general. Some of them refused to attend tonights address, some of them held up little Ping-Pong paddles with messages on them (a silly idea that looked even worse in its execution), and others meandered out. One, Representative Al Green of Texas, got himself thrown out within the first minutes, a stunt that merely gave Speaker Mike Johnson a chance to look strong and decisive, if only for a moment. Im not a fan of performative protest, and initially I thought the Democrats who chose to attend the address made the right call. But when Trump referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as Pocahontas, they could have left en bloc, declaring once they were outside that they would take no part in any further demeaning of the House chamberor, for that matter, of American democracy. Instead, they sat there and took it, their opposition to Trump a kind of hodgepodge of rage, bemusement, boredom, and irritation. Slotkins address suffered from the same half-heartedness that has seized the Democrats since last November. Her response, and the behavior of the Democrats in general, showed that they still fear being a full-throated opposition party, because they believe that they will alienate voters who will somehow be offended at them for taking a stand against Trumps schemes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin is a centristas she noted, she won in areas that also voted for Trumpand her victory in Michigan proved that centrism can be a powerful anchor against extremists. But centrism is not the same as meekness. America does not need a resistance, or stale slogans, or people putting those slogans on little paddles. It needs an opposition party that boldly defends the nations virtues, the rule of law, and the rights of its people. Article originally published at The Atlantic While Pete Buttigieg is believed to be weighing a possible Senate bid in Michigan, Democrats seemingly have another role in mind for the former transport secretary. The 43-year-old Indiana native met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week to discuss a potential run for retiring Michigan Senator Gary Peters seat, two sources told Politico. Last month, Peters declined to seek reelection for a third term. However, Michigan Democrats are instead encouraging Buttigieg to eye a gubernatorial run to replace Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buttigieg, however, has allegedly ruled out succeeding Whitmer but is very seriously focused on a potential Senate run, a source told Detroit News last month. Buttigieg, pictured speaking to reporters in Arlington, Virginia, on October 15, 2024, has reportedly not yet decided his political future (Getty Images) The dad-of-two, who moved to Traverse City, Michigan in 2022, to be closer to his husbands family, is still undecided about a Senate run in the crucial battleground state, five people familiar with the matter told Politico. Republicans almost flipped the seat last cycle. The Democrat is yet to decide what responsibility he wants, per reports. Two sources told Politico that the former presidential candidate isnt relishing the idea of life in a GOP-controlled Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune would be in control over how often Buttigieg needed to make the 760-mile journey to Washington DC. Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (L), pictured with former President Joe Biden in October 1, 2024, is believed to be weighing a 2028 presidential run (AP) Rumors of a potential run for the presidential nomination in 2028 have also followed Buttigieg in recent months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Politico report details sources saying Buttigieg sees a path helping shape the national political debate in non-traditional spaces including his appearance on Stephen Colberts The Late Show on Tuesday to analyze Donald Trumps 99-minute joint congressional address. Buttigieg questioned why our leaders are talking about renaming things on a map instead of getting the price of eggs down. He also said that until Trump addresses the more day-to-day concerns of Americans, the president will continue to lose supporters. House Democrats are digging in against the Republicans plan to fund the government at current levels through September, setting up a clash with GOP leaders and heightening the odds of a shutdown in the middle of next month. The push to move a one-year continuing resolution (CR) has taken off since Thursday, when President Trump threw his weight behind a clean CR, which would extend 2024 funding levels through the remainder of fiscal 2025. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) backed the plan over the weekend, vowing to finalize a bill before next week, and even some members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus appear open to supporting it. The GOPs strategy has shifted the focus of the debate back to the Democratic side, where a number of lawmakers including the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee have already rejected the idea out of hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A one-year CR is a nonstarter, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told reporters Tuesday in the Capitol. Shes holding out hope that months of negotiations will result in a bipartisan deal on 2025 spending. Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also said Tuesday on the Senate floor she is ready to pass a short-term CR immediately to take down the risk of a shutdown so that we can finish our negotiations and write full-year spending bills. The issue presents a dilemma for Democratic leaders, who are fighting to curb the significant federal spending cuts being pursued by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). By sidestepping a push by hard-line conservatives to include DOGE cuts as part of the CR, GOP leadership is all but daring Democrats to oppose it at risk of being blamed for a shutdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet many Democrats are pressing leadership to withhold support for any spending plan that doesnt take steps to ensure the allocated funds go where Congress intended a response to Trumps efforts to gut federal programs Congress had previously funded. There will have to be some type of guarantees, because were very unsure about whether things that weve already approved are actually going to be expended, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said. That demand has been rejected by Trumps Republican allies, setting the sides on a collision course over what language makes it into the final bill and raising questions about where Democrats hope to use their leverage to win concessions. We just want to see Republicans obey the law, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said. Thats the red line for me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Takano also wondered aloud if Democrats need to demand explicit assurances in the bill. The enforcement is the courts, he said. The enforcement is not the CR. At the same time, Democrats are already pointing fingers at Republicans in the event of a funding lapse, saying the onus is on the majority party to keep the government funded, while accusing their colleagues across the aisle of abandoning bipartisan funding talks. House Republicans are marching the country towards a government shutdown that was started by Elon Musk, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rosa DeLauro is still at the table. We need House Republicans to join her. But negotiators on both sides have struggled for weeks to strike a larger funding deal amid a fierce, partisan debate over Trumps authority to withhold dollars already directed by Congress and lay off thousands of federal workers as part of a sweeping operation to reshape the government. As some of the recent orders by Trump have seen challenges in the court, Democrats have ramped up calls in the past month for assurances from their Republican colleagues that any funding compromise reached be carried out as Congress intended. But Republicans have drawn red lines against what theyve panned as poison pills, as Democrats have sought to include language in funding legislation to curb DOGEs efforts. They havent given up any of their positions, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters Tuesday, while also rejecting claims by Democrats that Republicans walked away from the bargaining table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From our standpoint, the only choice is to get this done so we dont have a shutdown, Cole said, while accusing Democrats of wanting to restrict presidential authority. They might be in a position to do that if they control even one chamber, but they dont, he said. So, do you really think a Republican House and a Republican Senate is going to send language that limits a Republican president, by the way, his name is Donald Trump, and expect him to sign it? Republicans are hoping to unveil the text of their funding stopgap plan by the end of the week to provide members with several days to review the text before an eventual vote. Heading into the fight, some Democrats are already warning that they wont support in any form. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said it makes no sense for Republicans to claim billions of dollars of waste and abuse across federal agencies, and then back a CR that funds that same waste and abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not voting for a CR of any length, Moskowitz said. Cole said Tuesday he doesnt expect any Democratic support for the coming stopgap, but he acknowledged the vote could be a tough one for some moderate Democrats. I will tell you I think the 13 [House] Democrats sitting in Trump seats ought to think twice about shutting down Trumps government, but thats up to them again, he said. Asked Tuesday if hed back a full-year stopgap if the GOP plan reaches the Senate, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), whose state went for Trump last year, didnt say no. What I will never support is voting or withholding my vote to shut the government down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will never vote or withhold that support because we must never shut down our government. Thats one of our core responsibilities, and I will never vote for chaos, Fetterman said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. House Democrats greeted President Trumps return to Congress on Tuesday with a spirited series of disruptive protests and a number of painful looks as they suffered through an address in which the returning president repeatedly cajoled and mocked them. All in all, it was an extraordinary display of partisan scuffling even by the standards of the polarized modern era. The clashes began just minutes into Trumps joint address to Congress, when Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), a 77-year-old liberal from Houston, stood from his seat and heckled Trump with charges that the presidents proclaimed mandate was nothing of the sort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outburst prompted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was seated on the dais behind Trump, to warn Green to maintain decorum in the House. When that didnt work, he ordered Green to take your seat. When that also failed, Johnson directed the House sergeant-at-arms to remove Green from the chamber. The episode seemed to pain the top Democratic leaders Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (Calif.) who have criticized Republicans for occasional outbursts during Democratic speeches, and watched with glum expressions as Green was escorted from the room. Republicans had a lighter response. They belted out a chorus of hey, hey, hey goodbye. It was the most dramatic episode of a dramatic evening, but hardly the only one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after Greens ejection, several other Democrats stood and turned their backs on Trump to display a one-word message on the back of their shirts: Resist. Then lawmakers including Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) marched out of the chamber on their own accord. Other Democrats repeatedly yelled out to protest specific remarks from Trump. One lawmaker, for instance, shouted Jan. 6 when Trump broached the issue of law enforcement a reference to the 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, and the presidents recent pardon of more than 1,500 rioters. All told, the chorus of disruption made the 2009 You lie! outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), described with revulsion by Democrats and some Republicans at the time, seem mild by comparison. If Trump was bothered by the demonstrations, he didnt let on. Indeed, the president delivered a gladiatorial speech that pulled no punches, offered no olive branches and doubled down on vows to advance the same assertive policies that have stirred so much controversy during his first six weeks back in power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America is back, Trump boomed at the outset. And we are just getting started. Trump also lobbed plenty of his own salvos across the aisle even in his prepared remarks, where he characterized former President Biden as the worst president in history and attacked congressional Democrats for what he considered a failure to appreciate his successes. I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or make them stand and smile or applause, Trump said, looking out into the Democrats side of the chamber. These people standing right here will not clap, will not cheer. The speech thrilled the presidents Republican supporters, who occupied one side of the House chamber. They roared their approval after each claimed victory closing the border, eliminating foreign aid, defeating wokeness and jumped in applause at each new promise to realize the America First agenda that brought him to power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a conservative firebrand and staunch supporter of the president, stuck out from the crowd in her red hat with a proud message: Trump Was Right About Everything. On the other side were Trumps Democratic adversaries, who cast a dour shadow on the presidents triumphant return to Capitol Hill. Despite the sporadic outbursts, most sat in stoic silence through the vast majority of the address a sea of glum faces incredulous Trump had won a second term and horrified by the same policies the president was eulogizing from the lectern. On a milder note, a number of Democrats in the chamber held up signs throughout Trumps speech: Musk Steals, read some. Save Medicaid, read others. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) held another: This is not normal. And Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) carried a white board into the chamber, penning various messages to Trump throughout the address. No king, she wrote at one point. There were other, more symbolic, gestures of protest, as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Democratic women were decked out in white, a symbol of the suffragists who fought a century ago for womens rights to vote. Dozens of other Democratic women were dressed in pink a more generic symbol of protest designed to highlight Trumps policies affecting women and families. And some members of the Congressional Black Caucus donned black to demonstrate against the presidents policies. Democrats are also up in arms over Trumps recent overtures to Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. To show solidarity with Americas democratic allies in Kyiv, a number of lawmakers wore the colors of Ukraine: blue and gold. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) was among those pro-Ukraine Democrats, who went to the chamber in a blue and gold tie. I give this credit to Marcy Kaptur. She bought 100 ties, and she told me to wear it, Lynch quipped, referring to the Democratic representative from Ohio. So Im doing what Im told. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Several Democrats, including some who are veterans themselves, have spoken out in opposition to President Trumps advisor Alina Habba after she quipped about veterans not being fit for their jobs. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a Navy combat veteran, responded to a clip posted online of Habba, saying her remarks are messed up. Just today, I spoke to a veteran who was fired over email. This morning, he had to take a job working in a kitchen for minimum wage. He has a family to support, Kelly said on X. Trump and Musk are ruining veterans lives and this is what they have to say? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly was responding to Habbas remarks, in which she suggested some veterans were not fit for government jobs, as the Trump administration slashes thousands of federal positions. As you know, we care about veterans tremendously. I mean, thats something the president has always cared about, anybody in blue, anybody that serves this country. But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work, she said, adding, that the administration doesnt forget veterans. We are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps theyre not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work, she continued. The response sparked outrage from Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient, threw Habbas words back at her. Perhaps those who think its okay to fire our Veterans are the ones unfit for their jobs, Duckworth said online. Duckworth was among the first women to fly in combat missions as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. Her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, and she lost both legs and some mobility in her right arm. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), an Army veteran, said American veterans risked everything for the United States. Now they come home to be told by those whove given nothing for this country that theyre not fit, he said online. Theyre more than fit to serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said the Trump advisors comments were a slap in the face to veterans, and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) sharply criticized Habbas remarks. Its disgraceful that a high-ranking advisor to Trump believes that the more than 6,000 veterans fired by Trump and Musk may not be fit to have a job at this moment, Nadler said in a post. These are Americans who served our country with honor, and now theyre being discarded and insulted. Nadler argued that if a high-ranking Democratic official made such remarks, he would be calling for their resignation. The question is: will my Republican colleagues do the same, or will they remain silent in the face of this blatant disrespect for our veterans? he questioned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seek to shrink federal spending, they have cut thousands of jobs. Veterans make up about 30 percent of all federal employees. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. By Bo Erickson and Gabriella Borter WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats protested President Donald Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday with signs reading "No King" and "Save Medicaid," with some turning their backs on the Republican as he spoke and one lawmaker marched out by security. Representative Al Green of Texas, a Democrat who plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump, loudly interrupted the speech in its first minutes by shouting that Trump did not have a mandate to cut safety net programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans are trying to pass a spending bill that could significantly slash spending on popular social programs, including the Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income people, to pay for Trump's desired tax cut plan. House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove Green from the chamber, and Republicans cheered as Green relented - waving his cane in the air - and was led out. Green told reporters afterward, "It's worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president's desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security." With Republicans holding majorities in the House and Senate, any impeachment effort against Trump is unlikely to advance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of Democrats walked out in the first hour of the speech. Trump dismissed their concerns. "I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do," Trump said. "These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements." A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday showed that 44% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance so far, with 51% disapproving. Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas and others turned their backs as Trump spoke, revealing messages like "Resist" and "No Kings live here" on the backs of their shirts before exiting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some stared bleakly, had their face in their hands or were looking at their phones. Others held up small round signs that read "Save Medicaid," "Protect Veterans" and "Musk Steals," in reference to the drastic cost-cutting actions of billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan carried a white board, on which she scribbled different messages in response to Trump's words, including "No king!" Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the House DOGE subcommittee who has insisted that Musk testify before lawmakers about his agency's actions, held up a sign behind Trump as he walked into the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is not normal," it read. Republican Representative Lance Gooden of Texas snatched it from her and tossed it into the air. (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington) WASHINGTON Congressional Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, a sweeping bill aimed at boosting union membership after decades of decline. The legislation, led this year by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), would amount to the most significant overhaul to labor law in nearly 80 years, making it easier for workers to organize and bargain union contracts and more costly for employers to violate their rights. For too long, workers have suffered from anti-union attacks and toothless labor laws that have undermined their right to work safely and be paid fairly, Scott said at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the last few weeks, we have seen Elon Musk, the wealthiest man on earth, single-handedly terminate the jobs of hundreds of thousands of federal employees, Sanders added. If Musk and his friends can arbitrarily fire hundreds of thousands of federal employees, what to you think theyll do to the millions of workers who are impacted by technological revolution and artificial robotics? The only protection that workers will have from massive layoffs, the senator added, is through forming unions, standing up for their rights, and making sure the new technology benefits workers and not just the oligarchs. The legislation was first introduced in Congress in 2019 with the support of a broad range of labor unions, progressive groups and worker advocates. But not every Democratic lawmaker was on board at the time, especially in the Senate, where a handful of members of the Democratic caucus had expressed concerns for businesses and independent contractors. Now, with conservative Democrat Joe Manchin and independent Kyrsten Sinema retired and out of the Senate, support within the Democratic Party for the legislation is expected to be unanimous, a mark of progress for the labor movement despite the fact that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and arent likely to take it up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a sign of the shifting gravity within the party, Sen. Mark Kelly, an initial holdout on the bill, is cosponsoring it this year. The Arizona Democrat, who first embraced the bill last yearamid speculation that he would be picked as former Vice President Kamala Harris 2024 presidential running mate, said his support solidified after Donald Trumps election in November. Hes making it abundantly clear that he is going to work on passing policies that help the wealthiest people, and these policies are often at the expense of working-class folks, Kelly told HuffPost in an interview at his Capitol Hill office on Wednesday. The PRO Act encompasses a host of reforms that labor unions have sought for years. It would create financial penalties for employers who commit unfair labor practices; bar companies from holding anti-union captive-audience meetings; make it easier for newly formed unions to secure their first contracts; strengthen a workers right to strike and boycott; and override anti-union right to work laws that suppress union membership. Kelly and some other moderate Democrats have been hung up on a provision that would create a narrower definition of who qualifies as an independent contractor. The change would basically make it easier for workers whove been classified as contractors such as truck drivers, gig workers and freelancers to unionize and bargain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont want to see people lose their jobs, Kelly said Wednesday, adding that it would be good to have an amendment process and we could make the legislation better. The legislation passed the Democratic-controlled House in 2020, but it has never come up for a vote in the Senate. GOP opposition has been broad but not unanimous Trumps nominee for labor secretary, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), was one of three House Republicans to cosponsor the legislation in the last Congress. Facing pressure from Republicans during her confirmation hearing, Chavez-DeRemer renounced support for the bills provision that would preempt state right to work laws. Although Republican Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) voted against her nomination, several Democrats crossed the aisle and voted to advance Chavez-DeRemer out of committee due to her previous PRO Act support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Trumps pick for labor secretary shouldnt be taken as a sign hell support strong union rights. Shortly after his inauguration, he took the unprecedented step of firing a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board, eliminating its quorum and rendering it inoperable. Tasked with enforcing collective-bargaining rights, the NLRB would gain new enforcement powers under the PRO Act. Donald Trump tries to make himself out to be like a pro-working-class person, but his policy is hard and hes firing union members from the federal government, Kelly told HuffPost, including axing government workers who received performance reviews that were excellent. I think we have to really all stand together at this point, he added. Youre either going to be with labor, with working-class people, or if were a little bit more fractured thats not helpful. OTTAWA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, discussing trade and fentanyl, local media reported. It's the first time the two have spoken since Trump launched a trade war on Tuesday. The call lasted 50 minutes about "trade and fentanyl", CBC News reported. More discussions between the two leaders' teams are expected throughout the afternoon, according to the report. Trump decided to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA, the trilateral trade deal that Trump signed in his first term, known in Canada as CUSMA, the report said. It wasn't immediately clear what Trump's supposed exemption means for Canadian auto exports to the United States, but it seems like that form of cross-border trade will be able to go on as before, CBC News reported. WASHINGTON House and Senate Democrats silently protested President Donald Trump during his first speech to Congress of his second term refusing to applaud, holding up signs calling him "king" and "liar" and, for some, walking out of the address altogether. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, didnt get the memo. After Trump told lawmakers he had won a mandate, the progressive rabble-rouser rose, began waving his cane at Trump and yelled out repeatedly: You have no mandate! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sit down! retorted Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo. And two Trump loyalists, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., stood up, pointed at and jeered the Democrat. The sergeant at arms promptly removed Green from the chamber a first during modern-day presidential addresses to Congress. It was not what Democratic leaders had wanted. They had warned their rank-and-file members before the joint address not to bring props and to stay on message the focus should stay on the federal workers fired by Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the everyday Americans harmed by their policies and cuts. But its hard to keep every congressional Democrat in line. From the moment Trump walked onto the House floor, it was clear this would not be the usual speech to Congress. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the new DOGE subcommittee, silently held a sign behind Trump reading: This is NOT normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After he greeted Trump, Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, reached across the aisle, ripped the sign away from Stansbury and tossed it in the air all on live TV. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, stood when Trump walked down the center aisle but did not applaud. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., brought an erasable whiteboard into the chamber and scribbled various messages to Trump throughout the night: NO KING, THATS A LIE and You're cutting Medicaid, for instance. More than 20 other House Democrats also protested silently, holding up black and white signs during Trumps speech that said, Save Medicaid, Lies and Musk Steals, surely seen by Musk, who was seated in the gallery above the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since he arrived in Washington in January, Musk, the worlds richest man, has been trying to upend the federal government, gutting agencies and carrying out mass firings of workers. Upon entering the chamber Tuesday, he broke the rules of the House as he began taking video of the floor with his smartphone. Someone told him to stop recording. Minutes later, Musk violated a second House rule when he began drinking bottled water, as food and drinks are prohibited in the chamber. Still, Musk got two shoutouts from Trump and two standing ovations from Republicans who have rooted him on as he has worked to slash federal spending by any means necessary. And while Democrats were seething throughout Trumps speech, Republicans now running all of Washington seemed in a jubilant mood, cheering many of his lines and laughing as he cracked jokes and mocked Democrats. The split reactions to Trumps address underscored how one of the nations most polarizing political figures has become even more divisive upon his return to the White House. It was the first time he had set foot in the House since his supporters, four years ago, stormed the Capitol and tried to take control of that hallowed chamber on Jan. 6 to keep him in power after his election defeat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the silent protests were colorful. In 2019, Trump faced a sea of suffragette white as Democratic women celebrated the record number of women elected to Congress a milestone Trump acknowledged in his speech. But on Tuesday, Democratic women, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, Trumps longtime foe, donned pink, what they called a color of protest, womens power, and persistence. Were sending a message to Donald Trump that were not going to let him run over our womens access to health care, to the care that is necessary for our families, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., sporting a pink blazer and pants. As a breast cancer survivor, I want him to understand that not making sure that IVF is covered by insurance is unacceptable. In addition to the smattering of pink, Congressional Black Caucus members wore black, while others, including Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., wore blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine after Trumps blow-up with its president. The trio of House Democratic leaders Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California sat quietly the entire speech, stone-faced, with their hands in their laps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others could not sit still. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., walked out in the middle of Trumps address, as did Stansbury and Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Lateefa Simon, D-Calif. I could not in good conscience sit through this speech and give an audience to someone who operates with lawless disregard for Congress and the people of this nation, Pressley said in a statement after she walked off the floor. Donald Trump has used his bully pulpit to spread lies, demonize vulnerable communities, and double down on the hurt, hate, and harm in his first 43 days in office. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com President Donald Trump discussed immigration, among other topics, during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., says after Democrats disrespectful behavior during the speech, it doesnt seem as if bipartisanship will often play a role as lawmakers work to better the country. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. (NewsNation) President Donald Trump delivered his joint address to Congress as Democratic lawmakers in attendance protested and hit back at Trumps claims. Author and journalist Bill OReilly joined Morning in America and said the headline of Trumps address was that Democrats were hateful in their actions throughout the address. When you have leadership sitting there not acknowledging anything that the opposing party has done as being worthy, then you have a party in disarray, OReilly said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement US to limit visas for officials involved in illegal immigration Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democrats response following Trumps address. OReilly said the speech would not resonate with Americans. The people who hate Trump are going to hate him more, OReilly said. He didnt damage the Democratic party with his words, they damaged themselves. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. Democrats are frustrated by the lawmakers from their own party who protested at President Donald Trumps joint Congressional address, branding it very silly and unserious. Lawmakers made their disdain for Trump known during his 100-minute address as they heckled, booed and held up signs in protest throughout the speech. Some also wore pink to protest how Trumps policies have negatively impacted American women. One Democratic strategist said the protest was very silly, and unserious, but I cant help but feel some level of empathy for them, they told Politico anonymously. Im sure they feel like they have to do something, anything, [but] that wasnt it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many Democrats in the House held up signs that read false, thats a lie, Musk lies and save Medicaid as Trump spoke. Symone Sanders Townsend, a former Joe Biden spokesperson, who was commentating on X throughout the speech, noted that the signs are not landing. Democrats protests during Trumps speech to Cogress did not go down well with other members of the party (AP) It is giving bingo! Sigh, the MSNBC host said. They are not taking back the house with these visuals. Sanders Townsend later posted that Democratic leadership did not do their members any favors by stifling their desires to speak out. Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMcMorrow told Politico that voters are sick and tired of performative nonsense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They dont want to see their elected officials try to be cute or clever. People are anxious and scared and angry and energized and want to see substance and clear direction, McMorrow, who is weighing a bid to replace Sen. Gary Peters, said. Late night show host Stephen Colbert also lashed out at Democrats in his opening monologue Tuesday night. He made a sign of his own that said: Try doing something. Texas representative Al Green was escorted from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms, after he stood up and repeatedly shouted, you have no mandate to cut Medicaid, shortly after Trump began his remarks. An unimpressed Sen. Chuck Schumer called Trump out for rattling off lie after lie (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) A contingent of House Democrats later walked out on Trumps first joint address in protest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among them was Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who said she would step up the fight and let America know Democrats wont back down. After the speech was over, many Democrats took to their own social media platforms to rail against Trump. Tonight, President Trump rattled off broken promise after broken promise and lie after lie, Sen. Chuck Schumer, pictured looking extremely unimpressed in the chamber, said in a post on X. Americans will look at what he has done, not what he says, and see the destruction hes beginning to wreak on you, your family, and our country. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on Colberts show to deliver his response to the speech. The biggest issue on peoples minds the affordability of everyday life is not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech, he told Colbert. If eggs are $10 and youre a billionaire, thats a little disturbance for you, but not for most people, he said. When President Donald Trump made his speech to a joint session of Congress last night, a number of female Democratic members of Congress wore pink to protest the Trump administrations policies they say negatively impact women and families. Pink is a color of power and protest, New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who chairs the Democratic Womens Caucus, told Time prior to the speech. Its time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear. Pink a color archetypically associated with femininity also calls to mind the pink pussy hat era: After Trump was elected the first time, pink, pointy-eared knit hats became the unofficial uniform of thousands of protesters during the 2017 Womens March on Washington. (The hats became a symbol of female solidarity throughout the world, but they were plenty mocked, too; some felt that thered never been a better symbol of performative white feminism.) Democratic members of the House Women's Caucus wear pink as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images These kinds of voiceless, sartorial protests at presidential addresses have become commonplace since Trump took office. In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, some chose to wear black in solidarity with victims of sexual abuse. At his 2019 State of the Union, women leaders of the House of Representatives wore white as an homage to suffragists who fought to expand the right to vote a century ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When played right, color coordination can be powerful. In moments when youre not empowered to speak, fashion can do the talking for you, said Susan Scafidi, a professor, and founder and director of Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School. On an evening when the members of the Democratic Womens Caucus have no microphone, their collective splash of bright fuchsia in the House Chamber at least reminds viewers of their existence every time the camera pans across the room, Scafidi told HuffPost. Dozens of women members of the House of Representatives wore white a nod to suffragists when they attended Trumps State of the Union address in 2019. Alex Wong via Getty Images But some on social media found the lets wear pink to protest scheme a little feckless a little too 2016 to be effective, given all the damage Trump has done six weeks into his presidency. As video game journalist Ian Boudreau wrote on Bluesky, This feels like the cast of Parks & Rec suddenly finding themselves at Verdun. It was clueless and toothless, another commenter on Bluesky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some made allusions to the time Congressional Democrats wore stoles made of Kente cloth during a moment of silence for George Floyd: Pink in 2025 felt just as forced and performative as that. Others on social media suggested it would have been more effective for the members of congress to stay home, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) did. Instead of listening to Trump speak, she live posted the address on Bluesky and Instagram. For many, the stunt was just another example of the Democratic party failing to protest Trump coherently or break through with a clear, concise counter to Trumps claims and policies. Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a history professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the author of the book Dressed For Freedom: The Fashionable Politics of American Feminism, understands the critics perspective. Fashion can be immensely powerful in message-carrying, but without concrete action from the Democrats, all that pink fell flat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our current moment is not business as usual, so the reaction should not be business as usual either, and this type of protest seems a bit hollow given the gravity of the situation, Rabinovitch-Fox said. Pink is a color of power and protest, New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who chairs the Democratic Womens Caucus, told Time prior to the speech. Its time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear. JIM WATSON via Getty Images It might have been more effective if the entire Democratic caucus would have boycotted the speech an image of empty chairs would have been a powerful message, or if the Democrats would have left the chamber once he started talking, the professor said. (More than a dozen Democrats did leave the House chamber in a show of protest, and Democratic Rep. Al Green was escorted out of the room for heckling Trump during the speech.) Interestingly, all that pink did get people talking, or at least searching for answers on why the women wore the shade. According to Google Trends, why are the congress women wearing pink was the top trending why during the speech, only equaled by why is Trump doing tariffs in search traffic. There were other notable fashion-based or otherwise voiceless protests last night ones that were arguably more effective: Some in the minority party wore no king shirts in protest. As Trump greeted lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) held a sign that read This is NOT normal (while also wearing pink). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of Democrats held round auction-style paddles with phrases like Musk steals and Save Medicaid. Others held signs reading Liar or False, which they held up anytime they objected to particulars in Trumps 100-minute speech. The sign shtick was met with mockery, too. The Democrats came ready to fight back with their little paddles. That is how you save democracy: by quietly dissenting or bidding on an antique tea set, it was hard to tell what was going on, late-night host Stephen Colbert joked on his show Tuesday. In fact, I made my own sign, Colbert deadpanned as he held up a paddle reading: Try doing something. Related... LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man arrested in Denver, Colorado, faces a charge of open murder after another man was found shot to death near a Las Vegas apartment complex last week. On Tuesday, Feb. 25, at around 3:30 p.m., officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were called to an apartment complex near the 2500 block of Tulip Lane after a report of a dead body. Officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound behind the leasing office of the apartment complex. Medical personnel arrived and pronounced him dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The identification of the victim, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be released by the Clark County Coroners Office. Through investigation, police identified Steven Neal, 41, as the suspect in the case. On Feb. 26, police in Denver, Colorado, took Neal into custody. He was booked into the Denver Downtown Detention Center pending extradition to Las Vegas. He faces a charge of open murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Anyone with any information about this incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the Crime Stoppers website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. DENVER (KDVR) Denver police are investigating a shooting that happened a block away from West High School on Tuesday afternoon. Police reported the shooting in the 800 block of Elati Street at 3:11 p.m. Tuesday on X. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox They said they found one victim who was not a student and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, a Denver police spokesperson told FOX31. Investigators were working to develop suspect information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX31 has a photojournalist at the scene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) Mainly sunny skies are back for Wednesday afternoon, with seasonal highs in the lower 50s before light snow pushes into the mountains by the evening in the Denver weather forecast. Weather today: Lots of sunshine Abundant sunshine is back on Wednesday with noticeably lighter winds. View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31 Afternoon highs will be closer to seasonal averages in the lower 50s. Clouds will increase across the mountains by the afternoon with snow arriving in the late evening hours. Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on March 5 Weather tonight: Extra clouds The Front Range will see partly cloudy skies on Wednesday night with slow clearing into Thursday morning. Winds stay light as low temperatures dip into the upper 20s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Light snow continues in the mountains. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on March 5 Looking ahead: End of week rain/snow, nicer weekend Snow will linger in the high country through Thursday with clouds building back into the metro. Highs on Thursday will reach the middle 50s with light winds. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up for weather alerts from the Pinpoint Weather team Denver could see some light rain on Thursday evening with a few flakes as temperatures drop. Friday has more clouds, cooler highs in the lower 40s and an afternoon breeze. Pinpoint Weather: Statewide snow totals on March 7 Pinpoint Weather: Metro area snow totals on March 7 The Front Range could see some light snow on Friday, but the timing is still under question. Impacts from the storm look low with only an inch or three along Interstate 25 and out into the plains. The mountains could get 8-16 inches from late Wednesday through late Friday. Pinpoint Weather 7-day forecast on March 5 Saturday kicks off the weekend with quickly clearing skies and seasonal highs in the lower 50s. Sunday is even warmer with temperatures reaching the middle 60s as skies stay sunny. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Temperatures climb near the 70 degree mark on Monday afternoon with mainly sunny skies. Tuesday has a mix of sun and clouds with highs in the middle 60s. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his state of the state address Tuesday and offered his plan for the year ahead. Members of the legislature, and leaders past and present gathered in Tallahassee for the speech. We chose freedom over fear. We chose education over indoctrination. We have chosen law and order over rioting and disorder. We are proud of our states accomplishments, while we recognize the work that lies ahead, said DeSantis. Notable takeaways from the governors state of the state address included DeSantis touting the states continued immigration efforts, insurance rates coming down, his hopes to fully address condo needs, as well as sending a message to Congress telling leaders on Capitol Hill to take a page from Floridas fiscal playbook. No state has done more, and no state has done it sooner than the free state of Florida, said DeSantis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have an obligation to make sure that government works for the people, said House Speaker Daniel Perez, (R-Miami). We will take the opportunity to build on and modernize some of Floridas longstanding accountability processes, now is the time to do it, said Senate President Ben Albritton, (R-Wauchula). Along with the economy, agriculture, education, gun rights, and heath care, government accountability was at the center of the conversation. Members, do not be afraid to shake the tree of government, and pull out the weeds of waste, fraud or abuse. We are the House of Representatives. We are the guardians of the taxpayer. We have rightly pushed back on local governments for allowing the growth in property taxes to drive spending. But if we are honest, we have done the same thing, said Speaker Perez. In my view, one of the reasons DOGE has become so popular at the federal level is that Americans have a problem with the idea that unelected federal bureaucrats have so much unchecked authority, said Albritton. Across the aisle, Democrats argue that Florida Republicans have been in charge for over two decades, saying any waste or fraud must rest at their feet. If they can get out ahead of it and say, well, we need a state doge and theres all this inefficiency, I think, they think, that can help justify these cuts, said Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell. I am very concerned because its the people of Florida who will lose out. And we have to be smarter and wiser about that and pay attention to what they are really doing, which I think is trying to frankly, provide some cover, cover their tails. What these cuts are about to come. Lawmakers have filed nearly 2,000 bills for the 2025 legislative session, but perhaps the one that matters most is the state budget. And as Florida mirrors what is being done on the federal level, how much will fiscal responsibility will continue to be top of mind? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows ancient Chinese bronze vessels on display during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) NEW YORK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 70 Chinese ritual bronzes from 12th century BC in the Shang dynasty to 1st-2nd century AD in the Han dynasty will be on display at China Institute Gallery in Lower Manhattan, New York City, according to China Institute in America. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the exhibition will run from March 6 to July 13, 2025. The idea to hold such an exhibition was raised five or six years ago but the COVID-19 pandemic impeded the original plan, according to Tracy Jiao, coordinator with China Institute Gallery. "We're really grateful that this is taking place and we're excited to show you all the things from Minneapolis," said Jiao at a press preview on Wednesday. From vessels for food and wine as well as imaginative animal sculptures, the objects are selected from around 220 pieces of such a collection by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, according to Liu Yang, chair of Asian Art and curator of Chinese Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Objects on the exhibition are complimentary with Chinese bronzes collected by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and "I hope visitors could get to know Chinese bronze culture, which is a very important chapter in Chinese history or Chinese art history," said Liu. The exhibition provides viewers with a unique window into the extraordinary artistic creativity, masterful craftsmanship, and captivating belief systems of ancient China, Liu said. "Together, these creative artworks provide extraordinary clues about early humans in China including how they honored their ancestors, worshipped their deities, and prepared for the afterlife," said George S. Geh, chief executive officer of China Institute in America. Founded in New York City in 1926, China Institute in America is an internationally renowned U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to deepening the world's understanding of China through programs in art, business, cuisine, culture, and education. Photo taken on March 5, 2025 shows ancient Chinese bronze vessels on display during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) Visitors view a Shengding food vessel dating back to the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC) during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States, on March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) A Shengding food vessel dating back to the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC) is on display during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States, on March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) A visitor views a kneeling figure dating back to the Warring States period (475 BC-221 BC) during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States, on March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) A visitor takes a close look at a Bo Bell dating back to the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC) during a press preview of an exhibition titled Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, at China Institute Gallery in New York, the United States, on March 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo) AUSTIN (Nexstar) On Feb. 24, the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) decided to ban lottery couriers mobile and online applications that buy lottery tickets on peoples behalf for a service fee. Eight days later, Lotto.com and Jackpot.com are still taking orders in Texas. The policy statement said the TLC believes couriers are not legal under Texas law and the TLC will exercise its discretion under the SLA to take all appropriate action to stop this activity from occurring, including identifying and investigating any licensed lottery retailer suspected of working in concert with a courier and initiating an enforcement action to revoke the retailers sales agent license. During Tuesdays Lottery Commission meeting, new rules to prevent courier services were discussed, which now have to go through a 30-day public comment period before being adopted in April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I struggle with how Texas ends up being different than the 18 other states that we, that couriers regularly operate in a regulated fashion currently, Lotto.com Chief Legal Counsel Rob Porter said during public comment on the proposed rule changes. The laws arent significantly different. The responsible couriers like lotto.com have the same security, we have the same technological protections, we have the same responsible play guidelines that we use in other states. We keep the lottery informed here, just as we do everywhere else, and were going to do it as long as were allowed. As lottery couriers remain insistent that their operation is legal under Texas state law, the Texas Lottery Commissions policy statement provided a list of 13 established regulations couriers may be in violation of. List of potential State Lottery Act violations from the Texas Lottery Commissions policy statement banning courier services. The Texas Lottery Commission could not be reached in time for this story. The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers, who represents the two companies (along with Jackpocket, which has ceased Texas operations), said to reach out to Lotto.com and Jackpot.com directly, neither of which could be reached in time for this story. It is unclear whether either application went dark after the Lottery Commission announced the ban on courier services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. A Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriffs deputy escorts a worker during an immigration raid in 2009 on a county landscaping contractor in Phoenix. President Donald Trump has revived the local task force agreements that were used by Maricopa County and others until they ended during the Obama administration amid concerns about racial profiling and other abuses. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images) As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling. Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizonas Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the number of state and local agencies planning task force agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego. These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants, Wong said. President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently reassigned Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations werent as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would need to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had basically disappeared in recent years because of their reputation for leading to racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities. The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration. That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration, Meissner said in an interview. [The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions were seeing in pursuit of mass deportations. The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February report by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program. Focus on crime Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One result of local involvement, according to a report Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses. The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it. My constituents support President Trump, Kendrick said. And of course me. I support the presidents mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him. Kendrick said he doesnt expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We havent had any crime, really, out of that, Kendrick said. The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl. Wong said its typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which voted almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said. It is naive for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history, Wong said. Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I support the presidents mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him. Sheriff Larry Kendrick, Owyhee County, Idaho In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to prioritize criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record. We promised a mass deportation and thats exactly what were going to do, Homan told sheriffs at a February conference. New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a statement she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed, she wrote. No renewed interest Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In 2010 there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizonas Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an executive order Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the states four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to indiscriminately round people up, according to Hobbs statement. Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governors plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association. Yavapai County voted heavily for Trump. And much of the nations fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizonas highways, Rhodes said, so hes happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration. But hes not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status. I dont know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that theyre here illegally or not. So we dont do that. Thats very risky, very close to racial profiling there, Rhodes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE guidelines issued in February say racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated under the new task force agreements. In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force. In North Carolina, a bill progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics. In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an immigrant trust directive directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasnt going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement, Cygan said. Editors note: This story has been updated with new agreements announced as of March 5. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriffs deputy escorts a worker during an immigration raid in 2009 on a county landscaping contractor in Phoenix. President Donald Trump has revived the local task force agreements that were used by Maricopa County and others until they ended during the Obama administration amid concerns about racial profiling and other abuses. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images) As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling. Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizonas Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the number of state and local agencies planning task force agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego. These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants, Wong said. President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently reassigned Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations werent as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would need to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had basically disappeared in recent years because of their reputation for leading to racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities. The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration. That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration, Meissner said in an interview. [The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions were seeing in pursuit of mass deportations. The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February report by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program. Focus on crime Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One result of local involvement, according to a report Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses. The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it. My constituents support President Trump, Kendrick said. And of course me. I support the presidents mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him. Kendrick said he doesnt expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We havent had any crime, really, out of that, Kendrick said. The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl. Wong said its typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which voted almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said. It is naive for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history, Wong said. Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to prioritize criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record. We promised a mass deportation and thats exactly what were going to do, Homan told sheriffs at a February conference. New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a statement she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed, she wrote. No renewed interest Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In 2010 there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizonas Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an executive order Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the states four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to indiscriminately round people up, according to Hobbs statement. Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governors plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association. Yavapai County voted heavily for Trump. And much of the nations fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizonas highways, Rhodes said, so hes happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration. But hes not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status. I dont know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that theyre here illegally or not. So we dont do that. Thats very risky, very close to racial profiling there, Rhodes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE guidelines issued in February say racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated under the new task force agreements. In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force. In North Carolina, a bill progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics. In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an immigrant trust directive directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasnt going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement, Cygan said. Stateline, a States Newsroom affiliate, produced this story. Mar. 5As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling. Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizona's Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation. And the number of state and local agencies planning "task force" agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego. "These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants," Wong said. President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently reassigned Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations weren't as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would need to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year. Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had "basically disappeared in recent years" because of their reputation for leading to "racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities." The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration," Meissner said in an interview. "[The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions we're seeing in pursuit of mass deportations." The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February report by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program. Focus on crime Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One result of local involvement, according to a report Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses. The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it. "My constituents support President Trump," Kendrick said. "And of course me. I support the president's mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him." Kendrick said he doesn't expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We haven't had any crime, really, out of that," Kendrick said. "The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl." Wong said it's typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which voted almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said. "It is naive for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history," Wong said. Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I support the president's mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him. Sheriff Larry Kendrick, Owyhee County, Idaho In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to "prioritize" criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record. "We promised a mass deportation and that's exactly what we're going to do," Homan told sheriffs at a February conference. New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a statement she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. "Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed," she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No renewed interest Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In 2010 there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona. To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizona's Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an executive order Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the state's four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to "indiscriminately round people up," according to Hobbs' statement. Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governor's plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association. Yavapai County voted heavily for Trump. And much of the nation's fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizona's highways, Rhodes said, so he's happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But he's not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status. "I don't know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that they're here illegally or not. So we don't do that. That's very risky, very close to racial profiling there," Rhodes said. ICE guidelines issued in February say "racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated" under the new task force agreements. In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs' Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In North Carolina, a bill progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics. In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an "immigrant trust directive" directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work. "With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasn't going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement," Cygan said. Editor's note: This story has been updated with new agreements announced as of March 5. YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE. Marijuana advertisements near schools and other places children congregate will no longer be allowed after the Detroit City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday. The ordinance, co-sponsored by City Council members Scott Benson and Angela Whitfield-Calloway, prohibits advertisements for marijuana and electronic nicotine delivery system products (vapes) from being within a 1,000-foot radius of certain locations where children are likely present. "When children are exposed to this type of advertising, it normalizes the use of marijuana and vaping products," Benson said in a press release announcing the ordinance's approval. "The impact of these advertisements extends beyond immediate health risks. It also creates a perception of social acceptance and influences peer pressure." A Pleasantrees billboard saying "Tampa Bay Smokes Hemp. Let's Go Detroit!" by I-75 northbound in Allen Park on Thursday, Jan, 18, 2024. Below are answers to some common questions about the new ordinance. What's covered under the new ordinance? Advertisements for marijuana and vaping products can't be near places where children congregate, such as child care centers, child-caring institutions, parks, libraries, playgrounds, playlots, playing fields, recreation centers and juvenile detention or correctional facilities. What isn't included in the new ordinance? The ordinance only applies to billboards, Whitfield Calloway's office told the Free Press. It does not apply to airplanes pulling advertising banners and mobile LED billboard trucks, for example. Why is the City Council restricting where marijuana advertisements can be located? Benson said the ordinance is in response to concerns raised by Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti about the proliferation of marijuana in schools in recent years. Did any City Council members oppose the ordinance? While the new ordinance was unanimously approved, Council member Coleman Young II expressed concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think it's too far, but it's not a hill I want to die on," Young II said during the meeting Tuesday. "It still smacks of like Devil's Lettuce and people who believe that 'Reefer Madness' is based on a true story," Young said, referring to a slang term for cannabis and a 1936-era movie about high school students who are pushed to try marijuana, become addicted and commit crimes. What's the punishment if the new ordinance is violated? Violating the ordinance is a criminal offense with a fine up to $500 and up to 90 days in jail. When does the new ordinance go into effect? The new ordinance will go into effect in the coming weeks once it is published, according to a city of Detroit press release. Are recreational cannabis sales legal in Detroit? Yes. After recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2018, Detroit officials took several years to craft an ordinance allowing recreational cannabis sales in the city. Recreational marijuana sales officially started in Detroit in early 2023. Since then, more than 50 recreational marijuana dispensaries have opened in the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More on the marijuana industry: Michigan to distribute nearly $100M in marijuana tax revenue: What your city will get Is the City Council looking at taking any other actions aimed at children's exposure to marijuana? Yes. After Council member Mary Waters said that she was frustrated with gas stations that sell minors vapes, Whitfield-Calloway said she wanted to work with Detroit Public Schools to look at installing smoke detectors in school bathrooms to detect vaping. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit has new marijuana advertising ordinance: Restrictions to know On March 4, the Nizami Cinema Centre presented the documentary film "In the footsteps of a tripGreat Britain," dedicated to the official visits of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the United Kingdom. Azernews reports, citing Azertag, that the President of the Baku Media Center, Arzu Aliyeva, attended the film's presentation. Speaking before the screening of the film, the project leader, well-known traveler and journalist Azer Garib said that the film, which takes viewers to the historical cities of Great Britain - London and Edinburgh - visited by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, shows the unofficial aspects of the official visit. He noted that the film also presents historical facts about the special role played by the Great Leader in the formation of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Great Britain. The film was shot in London and Edinburgh. This is the fourth film in the Following the Trail of a Trip series dedicated to the trips of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. The first film is dedicated to the Great Leaders trip to Italy, the second to Japan, the third to China, and the fourth to Great Britain. The project highlights Heydar Aliyevs various foreign trips and their historical significance. The film collection "In the Footsteps of a Journey" reflects the activities of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev at the international level, the work he did to strengthen Azerbaijan's relations with world countries, and the steps he took to increase our country's international reputation. The creative team of the film, whose idea was conceived by Azer Garib, includes editor Ayaz Mirzayev, producer Asgar Garibzadeh, cameraman Ali Aliyev, and editing specialist Elmar Tariyeloglu. The film was produced with the support of the national air carrier Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), BP-Azerbaijan, and the CinemaPlus cinema chain. WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said Wednesday that the United States has paused intelligence support to Ukraine, on top of halting weapons shipments to the country that's still at war with Russia. John Ratcliffe, the CIA chief, said in an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that "(U.S. President) Trump had a real question about whether President Zelensky was committed to the peace process, and he said let's pause." The decision came after a clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, where Trump demanded gratitude from Zelensky for the aid Washington provided to Kiev. The Ukrainian leader was asked to leave the White House without signing a minerals deal with Trump as originally planned. Zelensky has since been trying to mend the relationship with the U.S. administration by efforts including sending a letter to Trump expressing his willingness "to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer," Trump said in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. "I want to give a chance to think about that and you saw the response that President Zelensky put out," Ratcliffe told Bartiromo on Wednesday. "So I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away." "And I think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine," Ratcliffe said in an expression of optimism, adding that Washington and Kiev would work together to "put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward." A toddler who was reportedly abducted by her non-custodial parent in Connecticut 25 years ago has been found. Andrea Michelle Reyes was 23 months old when she was abducted in October 1999 in New Haven, according to the New Haven Police Department and Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy company. An investigation launched by police led to authorities finding that the girl was allegedly taken by Rosa Tenorio, her mother who did not have custody of her, police said. New Haven investigators were assisted by the FBI, finding that the missing girl was likely taken to Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police and the genealogy company, investigators later obtained a felony warrant for Tenorio on a charge of custodial interference. The girls father never heard from his daughter or her mother over the years. He went to Mexico several times to look for her but had no luck, according to police. The details of the incident were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the case went cold. Throughout the years, multiple age-progressed images were created and released showing what the girl may look like. According to police, Det. Kealyn Nivakoff is assigned to the departments Special Victims Unit with a focus on missing persons. While reviewing cold cases in 2023, Nivakoff began to reinvestigate the abduction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation involved interviews, search warrants and the use of social media. According to police, Nivakoff was able to find that Reyes, who is now 27, had been taken to Puebla, Mexico, a city of over one million people, and had been living there for the past 25 years. Nivakoff was able to establish contact with Reyes. Police were assisted by Othram in using DNA testing to confirm the father-daughter relationship between Reyes and her father. This led to the two being put in contact with one another for the first time in more than two decades. The genealogy company said the case marks the seventh time they have assisted in identifying an individual who went missing from Connecticut. This case reflects the hard work of our officers and detectives, New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said in a statement. While cases may have investigative leads exhausted at the time, no cold case is ever truly closed. We remain committed to resolving every cold case and this is a perfect example of that effort. According to police, the arrest warrant for Tenorio remains active but is only valid within in the United States. Authorities suspect she still lives in Mexico, police said. On Feb. 4, 1997, a charred body of a woman was found in a burning abandoned car in Phoenix near 24th and Monroe streets. For years, the only clue investigators had was an empty purse with Monique written on it, found yards from the body. Who was this mystery woman? Forensic scientists initially determined that the unidentified woman was Black and between 20 to 50 years old, standing 5 foot 3 inches tall and weighing around 100 pounds. She had very short hair which was possibly white on the top and was missing all of her upper teeth and many of her lower teeth, according to a flier put out by the Phoenix Police Department. The woman was dressed in blue pants and a gray shirt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses at the site where the car burned said she was possibly a homeless woman who had been seen in the local area before. The case sat for decades. In June 2020, Phoenix police brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, whose investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does, missing people otherwise unidentified. A team of volunteers worked continuously on the case but ran into multiple roadblocks. This case faced certain challenges that we often encounter in African American research, Harmony Vollmer, team leader, said. African Americans are underrepresented in the DNA databases we have access to, while part of the devastating impact of slavery was to rip families apart and leave few traceable connections between their descendants." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The team persevered until they were able to identify her remains in January 2025. They learned her name was in fact Monique, as the purse had indicated. The DNA Doe Project identified her as Monique S. Boggs, who was 48 years old at the time of her death. Boggs was born in 1948 as Shirley Jefferson and was raised in the Detroit area. Her family, who knew her only by that name, was not aware that she had ended up in Arizona, according to the DNA Doe Project. The team came across a woman named Monique Boggs who was born in Mississippi but had moved to Michigan as a young child. Further DNA analysis confirmed she was the woman Phoenix police had been searching for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was a distant cousin of multiple DNA matches to the Jane Doe, and she appeared to have fallen off the radar in the 1990s, said case manager Eric Hendershott. But the most striking detail was that she had changed her name in the 1980s to Monique the same name written on the purse found with our Jane Doe. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Woman's charred remains were found in 1997. She was identified in 2025 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Counsel for a former Kentucky sheriff who has been accused of fatally shooting Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins has filed a notification that they are preparing to use an insanity defense. In this weeks Ask Isaacs, 6 News Lori Tucker and Attorney Greg Isaacs discuss the case and how insanity defenses work. On September 19, former Letcher County Kentucky Sheriff Shawn Mickey Stines was accused of shooting Mullins multiple times after an argument in Mullins courthouse chambers. The shooting happened just days after Stines was deposed in a federal lawsuit that alleged a deputy sheriff forced a woman to have sex in Mullins chambers for six months in exchange for staying out of jail. Lawyer breaks down potential future charges against Sean Williams after 95-year sentence Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is still unclear exactly what the argument was about, but surveillance video captured the shooting without sound. Prosecutors played approximately 10 seconds of during a probable cause hearing. The video also reportedly showed Stines making a phone call and then using Mullins phone to make a call, both of which were made to Stines daughter, a Kentucky State Police detective testified. Following the shooting, Stine was charged with first-degree murder and indicted on one count of murder of a public official. He pleaded not guilty the charge. In the weeks following the shooting, Stines announced his retirement after 22 years as Letcher County sheriff following a letter from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear stating that if Stines did not take action, he would be removed from his position. Although it is difficult, approximately 30 defendants successfully plead insanity every year, according to the Isaacs Law Firm. In Tennessee, a not guilty by reasonable insanity verdict in especially difficulty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tennessee also has the concept of diminish capacity, which is not a defense, but is rather used to attack the prosecutions proof of intent and show that the defendant was not capable of formulating the intent required to commit the crime they are charged with. Kentucky sheriff reportedly shoots judge: A look at the timeline, investigation While the insanity defense is very similar between Kentucky and Tennessee, Kentucky offers an additional verdict of guilty but mentally ill that requires the defendant to receive the same sentence as a guilty verdict while also receiving treatment, the Isaacs Law Firm explains. If you have a legal question, send it to AskIsaacs@wate.com. To watch full episodes of Ask Isaacs, click here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATEs Lori Tucker and Attorney Greg Isaacs answer your legal questions from the WATE Alert Desk on Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. and on WATE Channel 6 at 5:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. Wait a minute. Does Michigan get its electricity from Canada? On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump kept his word and imposed tariffs on our neighbors to the north and south. But as he did so, the leader of Ontario lashed back and threatened a surcharge on electricity exported to Michigan, New York and Minnesota. So, how big of a deal is it? Heres what to know: What did Canada threaten about Michigan electricity? In a post on X on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had informed leaders in Michigan, New York, and Minnesota that Ontario would impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to their states if Trumps tariffs continue or if additional tariffs are introduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also threatened to increase that surcharge amount or shut the electricity off, noting his province powers 1.5 million homes and businesses every year. Michigan, New York and Minnesota are reportedly Ontario's top customers for such power. It comes after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. More: Trump tariffs go into effect: Why Michigan is so vulnerable More: Experts: Auto industry can only tolerate Trump tariffs on Mexico, Canada for a few weeks Ford said the surcharge would be on top of retaliatory action already underway by the neighbors to the north. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among these, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau already announced a 25% tariff on $20.7 billion worth of U.S. imports, USA TODAY reported. And if the duties remain in 21 days, Canada will add tariffs on the remaining $86.2 billion worth of U.S. imports. Does Michigan get its electricity from Canada? Yes, and no. Michigan does get a substantial amount of electricity from Ontario, but the state does not consume most of it, said Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission and a former state representative. Instead, that power flows through Michigan and into several other states before returning to Canada as part of the Eastern Interconnection. Thats an electrical grid that reaches central Canada and states east of the Rocky Mountains. How does Michigan get its electricity? Michigan utilities, DTE and Consumers Energy, generate much of their own electricity or have long-term power purchase agreements with wholesale markets, Scripps said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of Michigan, including all DTE and Consumers territories, is covered by Midcontinent Independent System Operator. A small portion around St. Joseph and Benton Harbor are covered by PJM Interconnection. Is the Canadian threat to Michigan electricity a big deal? Its difficult to quantify because of what Michigan does with that Canadian power, but Michigan customers could see some increase in power prices, Scripps said. "On the reliability side, I have bigger concerns, he said, pointing to how power travels through Michigan and several other U.S. states around Lake Erie before looping back into Canada. This flow, called the Lake Erie flow loop, is beneficial for grid reliability on both sides of the (U.S./Canada) border," Scripps said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A disruption could ultimately increase the risk of power outages across the U.S. and Canada. He pointed to the 2003 blackout that left 50 million people without power and affected parts of eight U.S. states, including Michigan, and Ontario. Ford said his country has been left with no choice but to respond with our own tariffs and charges that will make life more expensive for Americans at a time when the cost of living is at an all-time high. More: Trump says Americans should get ready for 'a little disturbance' from tariffs Trump, in an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, indicated the U.S. had been for years getting the raw end of the deal regarding tariffs with other nations. In addition, he has pointed to concerns with illegal immigration and illegal drugs flowing into the U.S. as his reasoning behind the tariffs on the countrys neighbors. He has argued the move will spark manufacturing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many economists agree the tariffs will raise consumer prices. In his Tuesday night address, Trump said, "There will be a little disturbance. But were okay with that. It wont be much. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Does Michigan get electricity from Canada? Threat to shut off issued. DOGE, Elon Musks cost-cutting government task force, was set up to eliminate inefficienciesbut some of its staff are reportedly earning hefty six-figure salaries while slashing federal jobs. Musk had initially claimed positions within DOGE would be "tedious work" where "compensation is zero." Some employees at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established to reduce bureaucracy and streamline federal agencies, are taking home six-figure taxpayer-funded salaries, according to reports. While DOGE has aggressively downsized government offices, some of its own members are earning top-tier federal salaries, Wired reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeremy Lewin, a key figure in dismantling USAID and reshaping other agencies, makes over $167,000 per year, the report said. While Kyle Schutt, a software engineer working within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, takes home $195,200, per Wired, which is the federal pay ceiling. Others, including 28-year-old tech entrepreneur Nate Cavanaugh, also earn six-figure salaries. Elon Musk initially claimed that positions at DOGE would be "tedious work" where "compensation is zero." While other DOGE employees, like Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, and Derek Geissler, appear to be unpaid volunteers, a full picture of the department's salaries has been difficult to establish. Some DOGE employees hold other designations, including "Special Government Employee" (SGE) status, which allows them to bypass standard federal employment rules, maintain outside income, and avoid certain financial disclosures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has no official link to DOGE, despite being the face of the cost-cutting team, and is instead listed as an SGE, which limits him to an advisory role for a maximum 130-day work period. SGE positions can be either paid or unpaid. Representatives from DOGE and the GSA did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune. DOGE's government cuts DOGE's influence over the federal government has been sweeping. The team has enacted aggressive cost-cutting and restructuring efforts. It was instrumental in shuttering various government agencies, including USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and has overseen the firing of thousands of federal employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department has also accessed sensitive citizen data within The Treasury and IRS, raising concerns from Democratic lawmakers and prompting legal challenges. It recently played a key role in shutting down 18Fa government tech unit focused on improving digital servicesand has overseen mass layoffs within the General Services Administration (GSA). DOGE has proposed various other future initiatives to save funds, including a proposal to sell off more than 500 federal buildings. Musk, who does not take a salary for his work with DOGE, remains the worlds richest person with a net worth of more than $350 billion. His companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, have received over $38 billion in government contracts and subsidies over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite Musks claims of transparency, the department has not publicly disclosed full details of its spending or hiring practices. DOGE claims to post its activities on a public "wall of receipts," run via a feed on X. However, the team has backtracked on a significant amount of the savings it claimed to have achieved and quietly deleted several of the posts. Musk has consistently defended DOGE's work against critics. He has emphasized the need to reduce government spending and modernize the federal government to eliminate inefficiencies. The billionaire has been putting pressure on federal employees to report their productivity. Last week, he emailed all government employees, asking them to list five things they had achieved the previous weekor risk being fired. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made another move impacting Nevadans this week, firing employees of the General Services Administration (GSA) across the state. The GSA is the equivalent of a property manager for federal buildings. Part of their job is to hire contractors like janitors, HVAC technicians, and more. On Monday, GSA employees received an email obtained by 8 News Now telling them their unit was being abolished, which includes all their jobs. This email serves as notice that your organizational unit is being abolished along with all position within the unitincluding yours, the email read. To provide you with the maximum opportunity to focus on your transition, you will be placed on administrative leave starting today, Monday, March 3, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This Reduction in Force (RIF) is part of the agencys restructuring process and the functions of affected GSA units no longer align with the agencys goals and recent Executive Orders and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, it continued. This decision is in no way a reflection of your performance or contributions, which we deeply appreciate. I recognize that this is a challenging moment, and my team is committed to supporting you through this transition. The GSA is also in charge of real estate for federally leased and owned buildings. If you rent space in a federal building, theres a high likelihood youre paying the GSA. Randall Roske is a retired federal public defender who spent his career in Las Vegas. He has now taken to protesting outside the courthouse. He used to interact with GSA employees in his day-to-day work. Roske said they were like any other property manager sometimes they would disagree over how low to keep the thermostat, but said they were essential to keeping the place running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It means that were going to have an infrastructure failure thats going to be catastrophic, Roske said. And its not going to just affect people that are government employees, but the public that relies on those buildings and those offices to be accessible. Fired employees are on paid administrative leave for 90 days while they look for their next job. A GSA spokesperson sent the following statement to 8 News Now: Members of the General Service Administrations (GSA) Public Buildings Service (PBS) were notified on Monday, March 3rd, that they had been identified as part of GSAs Reduction in Force (RIF) and reorganization plan and were being separated from federal service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All notifications were conducted in accordance with OPM and GSA policies and guidelines. This action was taken in support of the following Executive Orders: The Hiring Freeze, dated January 20, 2025; Eliminating the Federal Executive Institute, dated February 10, 2025; and the Implementing the Presidents Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, dated February 11, 2025. GSA is committed to supporting impacted employees as they transition from federal service. GSA is executing on our strategy to centralize the management of our services, make data-driven decisions and partner with best-in-class commercial services. GSA is in contact with customer tenant agencies that may be impacted by this action and will continue to support their critical work for the American taxpayer while we execute a plan to increase space utilization and occupancy. In this new model, the GSA will not only maintain facility services including repairs, maintenance, janitorial and security through our existing partners, but we will exceed the quality of service to enable our agency customers to fulfill their missions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a series of charges and sanctions against a dozen Chinese nationals including two tied to the Chinese government for hacking critical U.S. government systems. These steps were taken on a day when two House committees held hearings about ongoing Chinese intrusions into U.S. networks a major concern in the wake of several massive Chinese-linked breaches into U.S. critical infrastructure, including the recent Salt Typhoon infiltration into U.S. telecommunication networks and a separate hack of the Treasury Department. As part of the overall measures, the Justice Department brought charges against 12 Chinese nationals for the Treasury breach and other attacks on groups or individuals critical of the Chinese government. These included attacks on an unnamed large religious group in the U.S. that sent missionaries to China, foreign ministries of Asian nations and other unnamed U.S. federal and state agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those charged included Chinese nationals Yin Kecheng and Zhou Shuai for their involvement in cyberattacks as far back as 2013. Both were identified as members of the APT27 hacking group, a prolific Chinese hacking operation that has targeted dozens of organizations globally, including U.S. defense contractors. The group is also known as Silk Typhoon by Microsoft, which published findings Wednesday about the hacking group shifting its tactics to go after IT tools across U.S. sectors. Eight members of the Chinese company Anxun Information Technology Co. Ltd., or i-Soon, and two members of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security were charged by the DOJ for email and website hacks between 2016 and 2023. In addition, the Justice Department announced the seizure of internet domains used by i-Soon. In many cases, the Justice Department alleged that the Chinese government was using a hackers-for-hire system by paying private Chinese companies to hack and steal information in order to obscure government connections to the hacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moves by the Justice Department come more than two months after Treasury Department officials told members of Congress that the agencys networks had been compromised by Chinese hackers obtaining a key used by a third-party vendor to provide the agency with remote technical support. The Treasury Department immediately began investigating and responding to the incident with the help of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other federal agencies. Actions taken by the Trump administration on Wednesday also included the State Department offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification and location of the individuals charged, as well as a separate reward of $2 million for information on Zhou and Yin. In addition, the Treasury Department sanctioned Zhou and his group, the Shanghai Heiying Information Technology Company. Yin was previously sanctioned by the Treasury Department in January for their involvement in hacking the agency. To those victims who bravely came forward with evidence of intrusions, we thank you for standing tall and defending our democracy, Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBIs cyber division, said in a statement Wednesday. To those who choose to aid the CCP in its unlawful cyber activities, these charges should demonstrate that we will use all available tools to identify you, indict you, and expose your malicious activity for all the world to see. The U.S. government has charged 10 Chinese hackers-for-hire and two of the countrys security officials in a scheme to steal data from American entities and dissidents of the Chinese government, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday. Today, we are exposing the Chinese government agents directing and fostering indiscriminate and reckless attacks against computers and networks worldwide, as well as the enabling companies and individual hackers that they have unleashed, DOJ national security head Sue J. Bai said in a statement. We will continue to fight to dismantle this ecosystem of cyber mercenaries and protect our national security. According to the DOJ, hackers worked independently and for state-affiliated contractor I-Soon to collect bounties from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The Chinas Ministry of Public Safety (MPS) and Ministry of State Security (MSS) targeted specific victims for exploitation, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MPS and MSS paid handsomely for stolen data, the DOJ said in announcing the charges. Victims include U.S.-based critics and dissidents of the PRC, a large religious organization in the United States, the foreign ministries of multiple governments in Asia, and U.S. federal and state government agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury in late 2024. The U.S. Treasury Department revealed the breach last year. Operating from their safe haven and motivated by profit, this network of private companies and contractors in China cast a wide net to identify vulnerable computers, exploit those computers, and then identify information that it could sell directly or indirectly to the PRC government, the DOJ said. FBI cyber division assistant director Bryan Vorndran thanked the victims who bravely came forward with evidence of intrusions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And to those who choose to aid the CCP in its unlawful cyber activities, these charges should demonstrate that we will use all available tools to identify you, indict you, and expose your malicious activity for all the world to see, Vorndran said in a statement. The Associated Press reported last year about the hacker-for-hire relationships that have fueled the Chinese governments quest for overseas intelligence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Description Feeling lucky? Join us for a sweet St. Patricks Day adventure! In this fun cookie decorating class, well create five adorably cute designs: Kiss Me Im Irish lips, a shamrock-eyed smiley face, a classic shamrock, a bubbly green beer, and a cheerful rainbow. No experience necessary just bring your smile and get ready for a shamrockin good time! GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the trial of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters. Peters was sentenced October 2024 to nine years behind bars after a jury found her guilty on seven counts. Violating her duty Official misconduct Failure to comply with the Colorado Secretary of States Office Three counts of attempting to influence a public servant One of two counts of conspiracy to commit impersonation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hear reaction from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, District Attorney for Colorados 21st Judicial District Dan Rubinstein, state Reps. Larry Suckla and Matt Soper. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. Mar. 4A longtime former employee of Domini Sandwiches is reopening the restaurant in downtown Spokane after the Domini family closed the sandwich shop in December. Nakia Tilton along with her husband Zach and their two children hope to open Monday at 107 S. Howard St., which is less than two blocks from the original Domini Sandwiches at 703 W. Sprague Ave. Tilton cautioned that the Monday opening is pending a walk-through with health officials to make sure the renovations meet code requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have been working on this site since December," Nakia Tilton said. "We've been getting it all ready." Tilton worked for former owner Tom Domini since 2013. She and Zach catered the last meal served at the original location on Dec. 5, a meal the family called "The Last Supper." Tilton, who is continuing to use the Domini Sandwiches name with the blessing of Tom Domini, said she will be assisted at the restaurant by 26-year-old daughter Kalysta and 22-year-old son Braiden. Zach Tilton will continue to work at his job at Tipke Manufacturing but will help Nakia when needed, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And of course, Tom Domini, who worked about 50 years at his family's namesake restaurant, will be there for advice. "He's been in and out," Tilton said of Domini. "He's fully retired now. For the most part, it will be me and my husband with the help of my two kids." The Howard Street location had been part of Wave Sushi Island Grill, which is owned by Dave Black. Tilton said Black reached out to her to let her know that the space was available. "We came over and looked at it. It's a little smaller than the other space, but I think it will work well," Tilton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Black, the CEO of Black Realty Management and NAI Black, said he started patronizing Domini when he was 16. "I've been eating Domini sandwiches for 50 years," Black said. The original Domini Sandwiches was founded as the Stockholm Bar on Howard Street by Tom Domini's father, Al, and uncle Fred in 1947. It competed with another set of Domini brothers who ran the New Deal around the corner. A fire in 1962 at the business next door ended Domini's tavern. It reopened in 1963 as Domini Sandwiches at 703 W. Sprague Ave. and closed in December after 61 years. Black said his first job was working at First American Title and would take his breaks at the restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Sometimes I would forget to order a sandwich. Al Domini would say, 'Hey brat. You can't just eat popcorn,' " Black said. Like many customers who largely became family, Black learned last year that Tom Domini was retiring and Black said he implored him to continue the business. "I said, 'Tommy, you got a legacy and a legend. You are an icon,' " Black said. "I can find you some other space." Nakia Tilton overheard the conversation and started her own. In the end, Black built a partition wall at Wave that will allow Tilton to continue the sandwich shop. It will use the common kitchen and Tilton will have the ability to use Wave's overflow space if she has a big crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I was really excited, just because there is emotion in it for me from just a half century of eating Domini sandwiches," he said. Asked if he gets to eat the signature meat bombs and fresh bread for free, Black said no. "I thought about putting it in the lease," he said, "But I didn't. I'll pay like everybody else." CHANDLER, Ind. (WEHT) As utility crews and workers with the Department of Natural Resources continue to assess the damage to the land in Chandler, residents in the area are packing up their belongings, moving out and wondering Whats next? I honestly dont know what to do right now, says Chandler resident Terra Norman. Homeowners like Norman are in a state of shock and confusion after underground mine subsidence takes place beneath their feet. Norman says, for the first time since the collapse, she has had moments to process the magnitude of whats happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Definitely feeling different, more emotional and overwhelmed today, explains Norman. Cracks are visible along the perimeter of her home. The mine collapse is causing her home to tilt, showing unpainted bricks that were once under the surface. On the inside, bowing walls are putting a water line at risk. Daughter alerts parents of house fire in Warrick County The wall has shifted so much that it is laying against the pipe, says Norman, and you cant even slide a business card in-between the pipe and the wall. Crews with the Town of Chandler and the Indiana State Department of Homeland Security went door-to-door to residents in the area of Monroe Avenue. Residents say they were told officials may work on a grant where the state would purchase their property and prevent future homes from being built on that land, if they are willing to sell. Emergency Management Director Michael Goebel sent the statement below to Eyewitness News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, Warrick County EMA, in collaboration with Indiana State Homeland Security, is visiting our affected neighborhood in Chandler to assess the damage and listen to the residents concerns. We understand how challenging this situation is for families, and we are committed to working with our partners to provide the necessary support and assistance to help ease the burdens they are facing. I want everyone to know that the Warrick County Emergency Management Agency stands with our community during this difficult time. Please dont hesitate to reach out to our office if you have any questions or need assistance. Michael Goebel, Warrick County EMA Director Others are taking the opportunity to find a new place to live, taking advantage of mine subsidence insurance that most of the homeowners have purchased. Its kind of a waiting game to see whats going to happen insurance-wise, whose houses are total losses and whose are, you know, I think ours is right on the line, says Norman. Norman says she has had concerns in recent months of something like a mine collapse occurring and is conflicted on what her next move might be. Today, Im like, okay, well, maybe its not going to fall in, says Norman. Well be okay until we figure out whats going to happen. So Im not sure if I should stay or go. I dont know what to do. Residents tell us theyve been informed that it could be no sooner than 90 days before gas line repairs begin. That number could increase if ground unsettling persists. Michael Bell, Chandler Environmental Manager, says a DNR geologist will be on the scene Thursday March 6 to evaluate the ground. More from Cody Bailey Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). UPDATE: Five days after their blowup in the Oval Office, Donald Trump said Tuesday during his speech to a joint session of Congress that he had received a letter from Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky saying he is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible. I appreciate that he has sent this letter, Trump said during his record 100-minute speech, while adding that he has received strong signals from Russia that it is ready for peace. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also said Zelensky was ready to sign a minerals deal. That agreement was put on hold after Trump ordered Zelensky and his entourage to leave the White House after their Oval Office confrontation Friday. While it is unclear when Trump received the letter in question from Zelensky, the language Trump quoted exactly matches a posting the Ukrainian leader put up on social media early Tuesday morning. https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1896948147085049916 PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump during his speech vowed to take back the Panama Canal, claiming that a 1970s agreement to hand over the canal to Panama had been violated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, he said. Trump also talked of another expansionist desire: Greenland. He acknowledged that it would be up to residents of Greenland to determine their destiny, but one way or the other we are going to get it. As the speech has gone on, Democrats have been leaving, with a couple of rows nearly empty. PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trumps reality TV moment Tuesday came when he called out DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old boy who has suffered from brain cancer and who has had dreams of becoming a police officer. Trump had his Secret Service director Sean Curran name Daniel an honorary agent. The moment drew a rare round of applause throughout the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, when Trump called for the mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer, Democrats started to shout, January 6th. That was a reference to Trumps pardon of rioters who injured police officers in the siege of the U.S. Capitol. PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump told Congress that we are achieving the great liberation of America as he touted his border policy. Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossings ever recorded, Trump said. The media and our friends in the Democrat party kept saying we needed new legislation to secure the border, but it turned out that all we really needed was a new president. Some Democrats clapped during moments of his section on immigration, including when he paid tribute to the mother and sister of Laken Riley. But some Democratic lawmakers also booed when Trump referred to migrant occupation and corruption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump once again embraced tariffs, even as the markets have been rattled by the implementation of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico. Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them, Trump said. Whatever they tax us, we tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before. Earlier in the day, Trumps commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, suggested a deal could be in the offing to reduce the Mexico and Canada tariffs. But no deal was announced. PREVIOUSLY: As Donald Trump touted his moves to reduce the size of the federal workforce, Democrats seized on one of his remarks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The days of unelected bureaucrats are over, Trump said. A number of Democratic lawmakers then pointed at Elon Musk, sitting in the chamber. Musk, working as a special adviser to Trump, was not elected but has enormous influence over the government. Trump said he was in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed federal jobs, including workers at popular federal agencies like the National Park Service and those in jobs ranging from health research to food safety. Musk appeared with Trump on the campaign trail and reportedly poured hundreds of millions into his presidential bid. PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump opened his speech by predicting that his presidency will lead to the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before, Trump said. The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again. Trump said, We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years and we are just getting started. He even said it was a better start of his presidency than George Washington, while he called Joe Biden the worst president. The people elected me to do the job and I am doing it, Trump said, as Republicans stood and cheered while Democrats staged their own kind of protest. They held up signs that read Musk steals and Protect veterans and False as the president spoke. As Trump boasted of having an electoral mandate, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) rose from his seat and shouted, You have no mandate. He interrupted the speech, and kept shouting until Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant at arms to escort him out. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) is removed from the chamber Tuesday Trump also declared that he has restored free speech, but that remark also elicited a Democratic protest, as lawmakers held up signs of False. Trump has attacked the media, banning the Associated Press from White House events because the news organization did not change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Trump signed an executive order doing so, but the AP noted that other countries have not recognized the name change for an international body of water. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPMs Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. The Most Memorable Moment Of Trumps Speech It wasnt Rep. Al Green (D-TX) being escorted out of the House chamber after his disruptive protest, and it wasnt the long list of Trump absurdities cobbled together into an endless speech. Nope, it was Trump rubbing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts face in their mutual corruption: Lets stipulate that were reasonable people who can see this for what it is: a reference to the Supreme Courts disastrous ahistoric discovery of vast presidential immunity from criminal prosecution that saved Trump from going to jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps mob boss mentality has led to other moments like this, where he extravagantly highlights the moral and ethical compromises that a sycophant has made on his behalf as a way of demonstrating that they really are no better than he is and of lashing them even more firmly to his side. If they resist, he calls them out for being hypocrites, pointing to their compromised behavior and mocking their previous pretensions to ethical behavior. But this time Trump did it to the sitting Supreme Court chief justice in public on the floor of the House. Whatever high regard John Roberts still held himself in has been directly challenged in the most excruciating and a dignity-robbing way. Trump has a way of doing that to everyone who comes in contact with him. Roberts had it coming. No pity for him. If you needed a moment that singularly captured the rot that has subsumed the Republican Party, Trumps otherwise forgettable speech provided it. Big Decision Trumps two-front attack on civil service protections unlawfully firing civil service workers and unlawfully dismantling the agency that would hear their complaints is one of the most serious transgressions of the rule of law in his first six weeks in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration didnt even try to argue that it had complied with the law and fired Harris for cause. Rather, it considers the law an unconstitutional infringement by Congress on the powers of the unitary executive. Contreras decision was the obviously right one under current Supreme Court precedent, but the Trump administration wants the high court to overrule its own precedent, which it seems more favorably disposed to do than ever before. Not Good Greg Sargent gets ahold of a new Justice Department memo: The Trump administration is effectively declaring that the nations roughly 700 immigration judges can no longer count on civil service rules that safeguard their independence by protecting them from arbitrary removal, according to a Department of Justice memo that was sent to the judges. The Purges IRS : The Trump administration is drafting plans to cut the 90,000-person IRS workforce by as much as half. OPM : Under court order, the Office of Personnel Management rescinded its previous guidance on terminating probationary federal workers and emphasized that agencies not OPM have ultimate authority in personnel matters. CDC : Dozens of purged CDC scientists were reinstated at least for now. Fired government workers with top security clearances were not given the usual exit briefings after being terminated, Reuters reports. The Destruction Federal Buildings : The General Services Administration first posted online a list of federal buildings for sale, including DOJ, DOL, and Census Bureau headquarters before revising the list and then ultimately removing it from the GSA website. Universities : Trump threatened to withhold federal funding for universities over illegal protests, an apparent reference to pro-Palestinian campus protests. Columbia University is already in the crosshairs of a joint probe by HHS, DoE, and GSA. Clean Air : The Trump administration has effectively shut down a global air quality monitoring program. Vaccines : As a measles outbreak expands in West Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, on Tuesday cheered several unconventional treatments, including cod liver oil, but again did not urge Americans to get vaccinated, the NYT reported. NIH: NIH reels with fear and uncertainty about the future of scientific research The Corruption Wired: People are paying millions of dollars to dine with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, with the destination of the proceeds unclear but reportedly going to his future presidential library. WSJ: The Justice Department has put on hold the trial of two former corporate executives in an alleged foreign bribery scheme after President Trumps executive order undermining enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Funny Math Is Going To Be A Trump II Theme The Trump administration has disbanded two expert committees that advised the Commerce Department on producing accurate economic statistics, the WSJ reports. Federal Judge Blocks Trump Anti-Trans Executive Orders U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson of Maryland entered a nationwide injunction keeping the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from hospitals unless the stop providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Court cannot fathom discrimination more direct than the plain pronouncement of a policy resting on the premise that the group to which the policy is directed does not exist, the judge ruled. Trump DOJ Will Abandon Idaho Abortion Case The Trump Justice Department is poised to drop the Biden-era challenge to Idahos abortion ban as a violation of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, meaning abortions in Idaho will become unavailable in nearly all circumstances. Ed Martin Runs Out Time On Corrupt Probe Of Schumer The statute of limitations ran out Tuesday before acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin could consummate his corrupt investigation of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Black Lives No Longer Matter DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is poised to cave to a threat from Hill Republicans to deny the District of Columbia at least $185 million in transportation funding if it doesnt paint over a Black Lives Matter mural and change the name of Black Lives Matter Plaza to Liberty Plaza. House GOP Leaders Nix Public Town Halls House Republicans are running scared from angry constituents. Trumps Ukraine Travesty President Trumps repugnant withdrawal of American support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion continues apace, even if America cant bring itself to believe that its cutting and running: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has now cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine, the Financial Times reports. Trumps cessation of U.S. military aid leaves Ukraine vulnerable to Russian air attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought a limited rapprochement with Trump after being ambushed in the Oval Office. Vice President JD Vance sparked fury in Britain by calling it a random country and mocking its Ukraine peacekeeping plan. For the second time in two weeks, Trump nominees to the Pentagon deflected when asking during their Senate confirmation hearings whether Russia had invaded Ukraine. Thread Of The Day Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know! UPDATED: Donald Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress will focus on the theme of the Renewal of The American Dream, a chance for him to assure the American public after a chaotic first six weeks in office. Per prepared remarks, Trump will tell lawmakers, Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump likely will present his speech as a kind of victory lap, while Democrats are hoping to make a mark in their opposition. Hes gutting the federal government, as Elon Musks DOGE takes a chainsaw to the government workforce; hes launched a trade war against two key allies, Canada and Mexico, shaking financial markets; and hes aligned with Russian talking points when it comes to the war with Ukraine. Asked earlier to predict what Trumps speech will be like, one Democratic senator said, Ugly. A number of CEOs, including those in Hollywood, have taken steps to get in the presidents good graces, even as Trump has consistently attacked the news media and threatened companies like Comcast. In his speech, Trump is expected to address the tariffs, even as his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, suggested that a deal was near with Canada and Mexico. Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them, Trump plans to say. Whatever they tax us, we tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps last speech to a joint session of Congress was his State of the Union address in 2020, when he used reality-show techniques to make sure that key moments went viral. That included presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh, among other things. This time around, one of Trumps high profile guests was Musk, who was wearing a suit as he took his seat in an area reserved for the first ladys guests. He took a photo of the chamber with his phone, then stopped and, with his arms folded, watched the scene. In the chamber, many of the Democratic women lawmakers wore pink, while others, like Rep. Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, decided not to attend. The House Freedom Caucus warned Democrats that a hecklers veto will not be tolerated, and they would seek to censure members who seek to disrupt the proceedings. During Joe Bidens presidency, a number of Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), heckled him. Earlier, Democratic senators, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), held a press conference in which the speakers were federal workers and other constituents who have been impacted by the DOGE cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The speech is not an official State of the Union address, as it occurs at the start of a presidents term. But it has become a tradition. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Each time I run into a former student, I ask them an essential question: Did we prepare you for the life you wanted? For three disillusioning years, the answer was consistent: This school didnt prepare me for anything. At the time, I worked in a state takeover charter school, and I saw how poor management led to intense teacher turnover, shameful academic underperformance and even misreporting of dropouts to improve the schools letter grade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Briggs: The IPS-charter school fight puts politics over children Certainly, there are some successful charter schools in Indianapolis, but this was not one of them and anyone who claimed charter schools were a panacea for the citys academic underperformance hadnt spent a day in my school. I moved to Indianapolis Public Schools in 2018 because I wanted a more professional working environment. I wanted to join the union and to have my contract respected and upheld, and I was drawn to IPS International Baccalaureate program. I received an IB Diploma in 2011, and I wanted to provide that same rigorous, internationally minded curriculum to public school students in my community. For the five years I worked in the IB program at Shortridge High School, when I asked students the same question, the answer changed to a resounding yes. Without fail, Shortridge graduates would come back to visit, telling us how college was a breeze. IB was hard, but yes, indeed, they were ready for what came next. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was no small feat for a district-run school with a racially and socioeconomically diverse population, and where many of the students would go on to be first-generation college graduates. Its significance was not lost on me, after serving a similar population elsewhere and witnessing the dismal quality of education available to them. It was this stark contrast that brought me back to teach in IPS this school year after teaching abroad. I have experienced the life-changing power of an education that is focused on critical thinking, literacy skills and global mindedness. As a teacher, I choose to work in IPS because I want to provide this rigorous, high-quality education to any family who chooses it. A classroom at T.C. Howe Middle School in Indianapolis on Nov. 1, 2023. Senate Bill 518 endangers this choice. By requiring the sharing of property tax funds with charter schools, it would cost the district tens of millions of dollars and lead to the closure of at least 20 schools, the elimination of hundreds of jobs and a decrease in transportation and program offerings in the district. I have seen the ways in which IPS serves Indianapolis general public, including students with severe disabilities, without transportation, experiencing food insecurity, and students who are incarcerated, hospitalized or unhoused. These students education would be in jeopardy, all while specialized programs like IB would experience cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, charter schools will gain little to make up for this devastating loss. Today, charter schools receive a $1,400 grant to offset the difference in property tax revenue they dont receive. SB 518 takes this away and gives it back to the state. Paired with the effects of significant property tax cuts included in Gov. Mike Braun's budget, that means most charter schools will have similar funding as before, even as IPS experiences massive cuts to its staffing and services. At the end of the day, we are fighting the wrong fight if what we really want is to improve educational outcomes in Indianapolis. Rather than fueling an ideological war over district versus charter schools, we should be working together to call on lawmakers to increase per-pupil and complexity funding and to divert funds away from vouchers and into public schools by increasing the charter school grant. We dont have to tear down IPS for charter schools to be able to get more funding. We can be true partners in ensuring students and teachers have access to high-quality options wherever they live in our city. As a teacher, I choose IPS, and I likely wouldnt stay in the district if it meant working for a charter school again. If the Indiana General Assembly wants to retain teachers like me, it should oppose Senate Bill 518 and protect the financial viability of IPS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sarah TeKolste is an IB Spanish teacher at TC Howe Middle School in Indianapolis. She was the 2022 IPS Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year; she is a Teach Plus Indiana alumna. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Senate Bill 518 endangers school choice in Indianapolis | Opinion DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Five Dorchester County firefighters traveled to the eastern portion of South Carolina to assist communities facing wildfires. According to the Dorchester County Fire-Rescue, the firefighters went to support units with fire rescue response from Sunday, March 2 to Tuesday, March 4. Courtesy Dorchester County Fire Rescue Photo (left to right): Captain Matt Going, Engineer Michael Holinko, Firefighter Alex Betz, Battalion Chief Brian Ducey, and Captain Stephen Knode. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crew volunteered on their scheduled days off from their shifts to offer assistance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Mar. 4Feb. 26 Cameron Dewayne Driver, 21, 1119 Hammond Ave., contact after domestic abuse arrest, no contest plea, one-year deferred prosecution agreement; domestic disorderly conduct, dismissed. Feb. 27 Bobby Earl Jefferson, 23, 1911 Broadway St., disorderly conduct, no contest plea, 80 days jail, $443 court costs; domestic strangulation and suffocation, deferred prosecution agreement revoked, two years state prison, two years extended supervision concurrent, $330 restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Feb. 28 Zachary Cruse Amys, 35, Hawthorne, domestic disorderly conduct, no contest plea, two days jail, 40 days jail stayed, six months of probation, $516 fine and court costs; domestic battery, dismissed. Brett William Buchanan, 17, 1017 Lincoln St., drive or operate without consent abandon vehicle, no contest plea, one-year deferred prosecution agreement. David Alan Demontigny, 58, 709 E. Fifth St., third-offense operating while intoxicated, no contest plea, 80 days jail, $2,121 fine, 28-month driver's license revocation, ignition interlock, alcohol assessment. Bradley John Draper Jr., 26, 3505 Belknap St., Lot 55, resisting or obstructing an officer, carry concealed weapon, guilty pleas, four days jail concurrent, $642 fine and court costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christina Marie Ewens, 21, Bovey, Minnesota, possession of marijuana, no contest plea, one-year deferred prosecution agreement; possess amphetamine, possess drug paraphernalia, dismissed. Charles Dominic Garrett, 22, Duluth, domestic criminal damage to property, bail jumping, domestic disorderly conduct, domestic criminal trespass to dwelling, no contest pleas, three days jail, 90 days jail consecutive stayed, two years of probation concurrent, no contact with victim, $1,142 fine and court costs; two counts domestic disorderly conduct, two additional counts bail jumping, additional count domestic criminal damage to property, dismissed. Peter Jackson Gee, 72, 1917 N. 21st St., Apt. 1, negligent handling of burning material, bail jumping, no contest pleas, nine days jail, nine months jail stayed, two years of probation concurrent, $443 court costs; arson of building with intent to defraud, dismissed. Dawson Nathaniel Gustafson, 26, Odanah, possession of methamphetamine, deferred prosecution agreement revoked, 120 days jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tyler Joshua Edward Hale, 34, Duluth, carrying a concealed knife, no contest plea, six days jail, $547.50 fine and court costs. Luke Alfred Johnson, 39, Duluth, possess amphetamine, possess drug paraphernalia, deferred prosecution agreements revoked, three days jail, 270 days jail stayed, two years of probation concurrent. Jeremy Paul Lehmann, 18, Bovey, Minnesota, possession of marijuana, one year deferred prosecution agreement; possess amphetamine, possess drug paraphernalia, dismissed. Randy Vince Lonetto Jr., 41, 2818 John Ave., Apt. 1, resisting or obstructing an officer, guilty plea, nine months jail, $443 court costs; vehicle operator flee or elude officer, dismissed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement March 3 Alexander Voldemars Clancy, 33, Duluth, domestic criminal damage to property, no contest plea, one-year deferred prosecution agreement; domestic disorderly conduct, dismissed. Nicolae Lisnic, 32, Pensacola, Florida, operating commercial motor vehicle without a license non-resident, amended to ordinance violation operate commercial vehicle without carrying license, no contest plea, $452.50 fine. Heather Delma Nabozny, 20, Ashland, operating while revoked, amended to ordinance violation operate without carrying license, no contest plea, $150.10 fine. Joseph Foster Rosenthal, 47, Duluth, unauthorized use of food stamps, guilty plea, $2,097.02 restitution, fine and court costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Renee Marie Rostvit, 54, Duluth, possess illegally obtained prescription, no contest plea, one day jail, $516 fine and court costs. Brandon Ross Shaw, 21, Carlton, Minnesota, possess with intent to deliver marijuana, deferred prosecution agreement revoked, five days jail, six months jail stayed, two years probation, $518 court costs. Justin William Thompson, 21, 15B Hayes Court, domestic disorderly conduct, no contest plea, nine-month deferred prosecution agreement. March 4 Thomas Edward Fisher, 76, 1219 Catlin Ave., burglary-building or dwelling, guilty plea, 18 months state prison, three years extended supervision, $4,208.50 restitution and court costs, no contact with Lady Vi's; repeater interference with automated teller machine, dismissed; three prior counts burglary-building or dwelling, probation revoked, three years state prison, three years extended supervision. The Superior Telegram publishes court records as part of its obligation to serve as a keeper of the local historical record. All items are public records submitted by the courthouse in Superior. Individual requests for items to be withheld will not be granted. By Gursimran Mehar, Yousef Saba, Federico Maccioni and Abinaya V (Reuters) -Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Austria's OMV will merge their polyolefin businesses to create a chemicals powerhouse with a $60 billion enterprise value, as the Gulf state oil company advances an aggressive growth strategy. The merged entity, Borouge Group International, is set to be the fourth largest polyolefins firm by production capacity, behind China's Sinopec and CNPC and U.S.-based ExxonMobil, ADNOC Downstream CEO Khaled Salmeen told Reuters. Polyolefins are thermoplastics that include polyethylene and polypropylene, the most widely used plastics in the world. Borouge Group will combine two joint ventures - Borealis, 75% owned by OMV and 25% by ADNOC, and Borouge, 54% owned by ADNOC and 36% by Borealis. "We're bringing a global chemicals group to Austria," OMV CEO Alfred Stern told Reuters. OMV shares rose as much as 4% before paring gains. The merged entity will also acquire Canada's Nova Chemicals Corp from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala for $13.4 billion, including debt, as part of its strategy to expand in North America, the firms said in separate statements. The tie-up "solidifies Abu Dhabi's status as a leader in the chemicals sector", ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Al Jaber said. The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, marks the conclusion of nearly two years of negotiations. Stern said talks were drawn out because of the complexity of the deal, particularly bringing in Nova Chemicals. Based on the expected share structure, Borouge Group could distribute total annual minimum dividends of around $2.2 billion, OMV CEO Alfred Stern said. OMV will inject 1.6 billion euros ($1.68 billion) in cash into the new company, which will be listed in Abu Dhabi. The injection, which will be adjusted by dividends paid out until completion, will equalise ADNOC and OMV's shareholding. Each will own nearly 47% of the new entity, with the remainder available as free float. AUSTRIA LISTING IN SIGHT Headquartered in Austria, the new firm will have a two-tier board structure with governance and voting rights split equally between OMV and ADNOC. The two companies will have five representatives apiece on the supervisory board alongside potentially five employee representatives, Stern said. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The new entity aims to raise up to $4 billion of primary capital in 2026 to be included in the relevant MSCI index. "There will be, probably as of the year 2027, the opportunity to list also in Vienna on the Austrian Stock Exchange," OMV Chief Financial Officer Reinhard Florey said. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Progress is being made in efforts to revitalize downtown Portland businesses, according to a new survey. The results of the 2024 Downtown Portland Clean & Safe Business Survey show the majority of businesses polled are more optimistic about the future, thanks to improvements in public safety and cleanliness. Protesters gather in Portland ahead of Trump speech Organized crime is having a hard time doing business in downtown and thats exactly what we want, said Downtown Portland Clean & Safe Executive Director Mark Wells. A year ago, you would walk around, it would be very common to see open drug use and open drug dealing. It still exists, for sure, but its dramatically decreased, and that adds to that sense of safety and security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The non-profit Downtown Portland Clean & Safe provides 24-hour dispatch and cleaning services. Wells said nearly all 300 participating businesses were satisfied with their safety services. Mark Wells, the Executive Director of Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, March 4, 2025 (KOIN) The results of the new survey show businesses experiencing theft or shoplifting incidents dropped from 47% in 2023 to 30% in 2024. Businesses repairing windows or physical damage decreased from 67% in 2023 to 47% in 2024. In addition, 57% of businesses now feel optimistic about being downtown. However, there are still areas of improvement. While nearly half of businesses reported employees quitting due to safety concerns in 2023 (45.8%), that figure dropped to on-third in 2024 (29.2%). We saw about a 17% decrease in those numbers, but a third, you know, thats still too high, Wells said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 5 arrested after teen pistol-whipped, robbed Wells said Downtown Portland Clean & Safe continues to partner with the city to address top concerns, including the homeless crisis. Hundreds still live in tents downtown and Wells said his crews clean about one ton of trash daily. We are still playing Whack a Mole. The city is coming out, posting the camp we have. The city has to follow different legal parameters. The camp can be abated on a Monday, the sidewalk is perfectly clean. Well come out and do extra cleaning to support that, and then the next day, the campsite is right back, Wells said. Despite the progress, businesses are still struggling. Only about one in four reported higher revenues in 2024 than the year before. Wells weighed in on what that means for the overall state of revitalization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Clean & Safe, were optimists. But were also realists. We need more foot traffic. We need more people coming downtown and shopping and eating and dining than we did pre-pandemic. Were not back there yet. DPCS said they and community partners will continue efforts to boost the health of downtown Portland businesses by prioritizing investments in economic revitalization, public safety and cleaning initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. The House Elections and Apportionment committee heard testimony Wednesday from more than 40 people on a Senate bill that would make school board races partisan. Senate Bill 287, authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, and Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, would change the school board election process to that of other elections, which would include a primary and general election. The school board candidates would have to declare a party. The bill would also require school board members to be paid up to 10% of the lowest starting salary of a teacher employed in the district, which would shift the current $2,000 payment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne testified before the committee Wednesday that he filed the bill because school boards make fiscal decisions for a school district and receive funding for their campaigns. In his county, Byrne said voters dont know enough about school board candidates so voter turnout in those elections are low. If a school board candidate had a party affiliation, voters would know the ideologies that follow that candidate, he said. In North Carolina, Byrne said, school board races can be partisan or nonpartisan. Research has found that the partisan races had a 5% higher voter turnout, he said. School boards are already partisan and its more vital than ever that we recognize that, Byrne said. Legislators run with party affiliation. School board members do not. Thats why theres low voter turnout in those elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Senate Bill 287 was heard in the Senate committee, some senators voiced concern about the bill resulting in candidates violating the HATCH Act, which prohibits state and local government employees from running for partisan political office. State Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, said he spoke to an official from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel who said if a candidate puts party affiliation on campaign literature it makes the race a partisan race. State Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, said theres a difference between putting party affiliation on campaign literature and on the ballot. Its best when its on the ballot, Byrne said. A lot of people dont do the research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Errington asked Byrne what a partisan school board race would add to a school district. Byrne said it would inform voters what ideologies a candidate has. This would give people less motivation to look into candidates, Errington said. In a school board, people really need to know what people will do for children in the communities. State Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, said she was concerned that the term ideology was used when discussing the bill because it points to a divisive bill. It troubles me to hear that, Pryor said. We want people who want the best for kids. State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, said people run to serve on a school board to give back to their community and support childrens education. This bill would stop those people from running because they dont do it to be a politician, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You are putting them at a disadvantage, Jackson said. After the discussion, 42 people signed up to testify on the bill. Those against the bill stated it would polarize school boards and discourage people from running for school boards. Those in favor of the bill stated school board races are already political and requiring school board members to list their political affiliation would be similar to the way county coroners, surveyors and other local candidates list their affiliation. Steven Thompson, a school board member of Washington Township Schools, said this school board seat was his first time hes served his community. Thompson, who said he doesnt know his political party affiliation, said school board candidates should be selected based on their qualifications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to do whats best for our students and communities by keeping school boards nonpartisan, Thompson said. Warsaw Community Schools Board President Heather Reichenbach said board members focus on education and never discuss their party affiliation. The board does a good job, she said, because the board operates as an apolitical body. Noblesville School Board member Misti Ray said she supported the bill because it will provide transparency for voters, who dont always have time to research school board candidates. The bill would also bring school board candidates inline with other local offices, like coroner and surveyor, Ray said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre on a ballot for anything, you have to be honest and transparent. This is one step in that direction, Ray said. Juanita Albright, president of the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Board of Trustees, said she supports the bill because it gives voters, who dont always research candidates, more information about who is on the ballot. A school board is inherently political, whether we want to admit it or not, Albright said. Joel Hand, a lobbyist for the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, said Indiana ended the practice of electing the Superintendent of Public Instruction on the basis of removing politics from education. The proposed bill, Hand said, would do the opposite. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If school board members have to declare a party, Hand said it will open them to become beholden to the party. This fundamentally changes the way school board candidates are elected, Hand said. Terry Sprandlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, said this is the fourth session the legislature has proposed legislation to make school boards partisan. People run for school boards to give back to their communities, not to participate in a lengthy election process, he said. Sprandlin said ISBA heard from a U.S. Office of Special Counsel official that if a school board candidate chooses to disclose on campaign material a political party that does not violate the HATCH Act. But, if that candidate seeks support from a local political party that would violate the HATCH Act, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said the organization opposes the bill because a school board candidate can disclose their party affiliation on campaign literature if they so choose. The bill would allow ideologies to further polarize school boards, she said. This is not a positive change for schools, for students or for Indiana, Vaughn said. The bill will be further discussed by the committee at a future meeting. akukulka@chicagotribune.com SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) If there is one word to describe Dr. Jaya McSharma, its authentic. She has embraced her diverse passions to make a living as a doctor specializing in wellness and personalized functional medicine, as an award-winning actress and filmmaker, and as an entrepreneur. The advice I would give any woman is to be who you are, not who they want you to be, said Dr. Jaya. I am this socially awkward Indian. I was raised in Central Louisiana, a Hindu girl who went to Catholic school and Baptist college. Ive always been a fish out of water, so why not embrace that and make that my strength. Those experiences have not only given her strength to live a highly curated life, but to also create social change. Dr. Jaya founded Lady Doctors of Shreveport Bossier to support women in business and healthcare. She supported the Black Lives Matter movement and works as medical director of The Philadelphia Center, Northwest Louisianas HIV/AIDS resource center. If I dont speak authentically or I dont speak whats in my heart, it becomes a poison festering in my mind and in my body, she shared. Her courage to be authentic is in her DNA. My maternal grandfather was actually a freedom fighter for Indian independence back in the 1930s and 40s, actually both of my grandparents, Dr. Jaya said. I cant imagine the courage it takes to rise up against an oppressive dictatorship which is what they saw from Great Britain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Understanding brain fog: Causes, symptoms, and solutions with Your MD Bestie Longtime friend Judy Williams nominated Dr. Jaya for the Remarkable Women of the ArkLaTex contest. She truly lives her life out loud. She shows everything. If shes sad, you know it. If shes happy, you know it, Williams explained. And, as a woman, I particularly appreciate that because her vulnerability translates to other people. Williams has watched with admiration as Dr. Jaya has helped usher in a new dynamic in the workplace. When we were in the workplace we were encouraged to be more logical and not show our feelings as much and act more like men did, and people like Jaya have changed that, Williams reflected. They have allowed us to see the authenticity, the vulnerability, and to see how as a woman you can uniquely contribute because of that. Dr. Jayas contributions also include being a loving wife, mother, friend and cheerleader for those who dare to live life on their terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would love for everyone just to be who they are fully and to feel loved and accepted for who they are in this moment and for them to be able to take the shoulds off their shoulders and just exist as they are and not what people think they should be. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. One person was arrested after allegedly fleeing a crash that injured someone on Interstate 95 in West Haven on Wednesday. Troopers responded to the area of Exit 43 on I-95 South in the morning hours on the report of a two-car collision, according to Connecticut State Police. One driver fled the crash on foot and was later located, state police said. The individual was arrested, according to troopers. The other driver was taken to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries, state police said. Additional information was not immediately available. A metro Atlanta police department asks drivers to watch their speed, even in slower traffic conditions. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Recently, Smyrna officers patrolled the Windy Hill Road area, where the speed limit is 45 mph. An officers radar gun recorded a driver traveling 94 mph. SPD said the incident happened in the middle of the day in medium traffic conditions. Please slow down, follow the posted speed limit and drive safe, the department said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The drivers age and identity were not released. Police did not say if the driver was arrested or faced any charges. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa A driver was killed after his semi veered off a Marshall County highway on Tuesday afternoon. At around 2:28 p.m. deputies with the Marshall County Sheriffs Office responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash near Highway 330 and Highway 30. According to the sheriffs office, the semi was traveling northbound on Highway 330 when it veered off the road, went through a guardrail and down an embankment into the eastbound lanes of Highway 30. What to expect as winter blast brings blizzard conditions to Iowa Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When deputies arrived at the scene they found the semi on fire, the sheriffs office said. Deputies, as well as bystanders, used fire extinguishers to try to control the fire until firefighters could arrive at the scene and rescue the driver. Despite lifesaving measures, the driver of the semi died from his injuries at the scene. His name has not been released. The sheriffs office said that the semi and the agriculture equipment it was hauling blocked the eastbound lanes of Highway 30 under the Highway 330 bridge. The eastbound lanes of Highway 30 were closed for over three hours while first responders worked to clear the scene. The Iowa State Patrol is investigating the crash. Iowa News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. A driver crashed through the entrance of a supermarket in Van Nuys late Wednesday morning, causing a big mess but, thankfully, no injuries. The crash happened just before 11 a.m. at the Jons Fresh Marketplace on Sepulveda Boulevard, just south of Sherman Way, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KTLA. Sky5 aerial footage indicated the driver crashed through the sliding glass doors of an entrance and quickly came to a stop several yards inside the store. Neither the driver nor any shoppers were hurt, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The store remained open during the accident investigation and clean-up. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A Los Angeles Police pursuit in the San Fernando Valley was full of starts and stops Tuesday afternoon, but the driver eventually surrendered to police. The drivers vehicle, which appears to be a silver Kia Soul, Scion xB or similar small SUV, moved slowly at times while reaching 50 or 60 mph for other stretches of the chase. At least one attempted PIT maneuver failed to bring the car to a halt, as did near collisions with other vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though another PIT maneuver in Chatsworth at 3:11 p.m. brought the vehicle to a stop near Superior Street and Winnetka Avenue, it took off again a few minutes later. The driver pulled over on his own about 10 minutes after that, though he would not exit the vehicle. As a standoff with police continued, the driver could be seen looking at photos on his cell phone. He eventually exited the vehicle and surrendered shortly after 3:30 p.m. Police said the driver was wanted for a possible assault with a deadly weapon, though further details were not provided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. The drone coalition has received over 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in assistance from partners in the first year of its operation, the Defense Ministry announced on March 5. The allied initiative, co-headed by the U.K. and Latvia, was launched in January 2024 to bolster Ukraine's arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which became a crucial capability on the battlefield. Nearly 20 countries joined the coalition as of late 2024. "The main goal of the coalition is to provide the Ukrainian Defense Forces with drones and strengthen the defense industry of Ukraine and partner countries to create a technological advantage over... (Russia) in the long term," the statement read. Kyiv employs long-range drones to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting military infrastructure such as airfields, oil refineries, and logistical hubs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Feb. 9, the Defense Ministry launched the "Drone Line" initiative to accelerate drone deployment on the battlefield. Ukraine has also developed long-range missile-drone hybrids, such as the Palianytsia and Peklo models, featuring turbojet engines as alternatives to cruise missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky has set a target of producing at least 30,000 long-range drones in 2025. Read also: Dont try to build a whole new drone: How one Ukrainian wartime startup got into quantum encryption and the West Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) A large quantity of narcotics were seized from an allegedly stolen car in West Hartford on Monday, and a Hartford man was arrested, according to police. Benny Goodman, 30, was arrested in the area of New Park Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. Police searched the vehicle and seized over five pounds of fentanyl pills, 70.5 grams of loose fentanyl, 272.15 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, over four pounds of marijuana, 48.9 grams of suspected Xanax and over six grams of suspected Oxycodone. $2,892 was also seized, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamden woman found asleep at the wheel of stolen vehicle, charged with DUI, police say A large quantity of narcotics were seized from an allegedly stolen car in West Hartford on Monday, and a Hartford man was arrested, according to police. Police say the vehicle had a misuse registration attached and was determined to be stolen from New York City. A child was also allegedly a passenger of the vehicle before police made contact with Goodman, police say. Goodman was charged with first degree larceny, operation of a drug factory, larceny of a motor vehicle and other narcotics and stolen vehicle charges. Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the West Hartford Police Department at (860) 523-5203 or use the anonymous tip line at (860) 570-8969 or whpdtips@westhartfordct.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. By Lucy Raitano LONDON (Reuters) - A $13 billion "hyperscale" data centre in North East England proposed by U.S. private equity group Blackstone has been given the green light to go ahead by council planners. Northumberland County Council said on Tuesday that the proposals have been granted planning permission after a unanimous vote in favour of the application. Northumberland County Council said the data centre campus will represent an investment of up to 10 billion pounds and span some 540,000 square metres. "Hyperscale" data centres are large facilities that are mainly used to provide data storage and cloud computing services to businesses at scale. The council said along with hundreds of long-term jobs to operate the centres, it will provide 1,200 long-term construction jobs over several years of construction and also could support up to 2,700 indirect jobs. As part of the deal, Blackstone will enable the council to set up a 110 million pound fund to drive growth and jobs schemes in the economic corridor along the "Northumberland Line", a new railway line which opened in December 2024. Previous plans for the site in Blyth, Northumberland fell through when UK startup Britishvolt collapsed last year. Blackstone proposed building the data centre in 2024. Global demand for data centre capacity has risen sharply, along with the energy needed to power them, as companies tap into new technologies to run their businesses, especially after the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. Research released last month by CBRE Group found Europe could see a record level of new data centres this year as companies expand their artificial intelligence and cloud computing activities, but supply will struggle to meet this demand. (Reporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Jane Merriman) DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) Dublin City Schools says construction equipment will soon be on site at Scioto High School ahead of the groundbreaking for the schools 60,000-square-foot expansion. Superintendent John Marschhausen said during a Feb. 25 board of education meeting that equipment should start showing up at Scioto within the next month or two. The superintendent noted the board is hosting its second meeting in May at Scioto, coinciding with the additions groundbreaking ceremony on May 22. Hilliard schools to build new preschool connected to elementary building Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marschhausens update on the Scioto expansion came after the Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to recommend approval of the final development plan for the addition. Watch a previous NBC4 report on Scioto High School in the video player above. A rendering of Dublin City Schools planned Scioto High School expansion. (Courtesy Photo/City of Dublin) A rendering of Dublin City Schools planned Scioto High School expansion. (Courtesy Photo/City of Dublin) A rendering of Dublin City Schools planned Scioto High School expansion. (Courtesy Photo/City of Dublin) I think this is a beautiful building, I think they are enhancing it, theyre adding all the little details that need to come with it, said commission member Kathy Harter during the meeting. Even though it may be similar to the other schools, each one has its own little uniqueness and I think youre bringing that forward. The districts application submitted earlier this year to the planning and zoning commission calls for the construction of a new two-story academic classroom wing and the expansion of an existing dining commons area. The addition aims to allow the district to shift 500-600 students to Scioto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marschhausen announced the expansion last August, after pausing a nonbinding agreement to buy Cardinal Healths west campus headquarters. Since then, the district has formally withdrawn from the plan, which wouldve seen the building turned into a fourth Dublin high school. Lawmaker looks to ban exclusive airing of Ohio State football on streaming platforms Earlier in August, the planning and zoning commission signaled it was unsupportive of the zoning changes needed to repurpose Cardinals building. Dublin schools had entered into the purchase agreement in spring 2024, which allowed the district more than a year to determine if the building could be configured to serve as a school. Sciotos construction comes as the district is readying to redraw high school boundaries after the new elementary and middle school boundaries were announced in December. The superintendent has long said redistricting is needed given Jerome High Schools enrollment is disproportionally growing compared to Scioto and Coffman high schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. CLEARFIELD COUNTY (WTAJ) Life Community Church in DuBois is getting ready to move into a new home, something they have been praying for a while. Weve been looking for the past five years off and on. And, just nothing was really out there available for us, lead pastor James Goodman said. With a growing congregation they carried on with services at the mall, hopeful that they could strike a deal to lower rent. They were disheartened to learn that wasnt an option in October, but as fate would have it a new opportunity appeared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Admiral Peary cosmetology students to raise funds for The Salvation Army I just happened just to go online and check it out to see what would be available and weve done that before multiple times, and nothing was ever really available. Then, we saw the Villa was available and I was like, wow, thatd be a great space, Goodman said. Taking a leap of faith, the church jumped on it. It turns out it has everything they need to grow, including two features that will help bring the community in. We will be using the bowling alleys eventually for outreaches and community things and as I said we wanted to potentially do some community dinners. We have a great kitchen thats given to us so we can offer free dinners, Goodman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though the new space isnt completely done, the church recently invited members to check it out. They said they were excited to see how many people came. This past Sunday, we had, our own people just come and check out the building themselves. We had a little time of worship and things and and, service. And we had, you know, we were packed house already, and, and we were excited and had just the, the vibe thats taking place is just so theres, theres energy and its creating momentum, Goodman said. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. The church plans on hosting a grand opening for the new building on Easter Sunday and encourages the community to come as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Senate Judiciary Democrats filed a complaint against Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove with the New York State Bar, asking for an investigation into his role in dismissing charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The request points to accusations from a prosecutor who resigned over the matter indicating Adams offered assistance with President Trumps immigration enforcement policies ahead of the dismissal something the Adams camp has denied. As detailed in official Department of Justice and U.S. Attorneys Office for the SDNY memoranda and subsequent public reporting, Mr. Bove has explicitly premised the dismissal of charges against Mayor Eric L. Adams upon the extraction of a political favor from Mayor Adams to benefit President Trump, ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote to the First Judicial Department in New York, which handles such complaints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notably, the dismissal is inherently coercive, because it was without prejudice, therefore allowing Mr. Bove to use the threat of again charging Mayor Adams to ensure the political favor is fulfilled. Adams is slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday for a hearing on sanctuary cities. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The request points to a Feb. 10 letter from Bove to Public Integrity Section prosecutors at the Department of Justice. He made clear that the decision was made without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based, but rather premised on the nakedly partisan consideration that the pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration, the committee said, referencing portions of Boves letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams pleaded not guilty last September to charges stemming from his time as Brooklyn borough president, accusing him of improperly accepting improper campaign contributions and and luxury travels perks from those seeking to influence him. More than a half dozen prosecutors who worked on the case have since resigned from the department, accusing Justice Department leaders of acting out of political considerations in pushing to drop the case. The letter from the panels Democrats lays out four episodes it says violate rules of professional conduct. Public confidence is further eroded when such serious misconduct is met with no consequences, they wrote in asking for an investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have discussed a 700 million investment by the Netherlands in drones for Kyiv. Source: Schoof, citing details of a telephone conversation with Zelenskyy on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Schoof said he had assured Zelenskyy that the Netherlands "political, military, financial and moral" support for Ukraine would continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Among other things we discussed a Dutch investment package worth 700 million for drones, aimed partly at Ukraines defence industry. The Netherlands will keep backing Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression," Schoof tweeted. Background: In the autumn of 2024, the Netherlands announced a 400 million investment to begin developing and manufacturing various types of drones for Ukraine. Half of the drones were to be produced in the Netherlands, with the remainder being manufactured in Ukraine and other countries. It is unclear from the tweet whether Prime Minister Schoof was referring to an additional investment in the programme or an increase in the initially allocated 400 million to 700 million. In October, Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans stated that further funding would be allocated to expand production if the drones developed proved successful. Zelenskyy, for his part, said he and Schoof had discussed coordination with partners and further plans following the London summit. "We also talked about strengthening our state. The Netherlands is preparing new packages of military and financial aid, and I informed the Prime Minister of our priority needs," the Ukrainian leader tweeted. The families of those killed in the 2014 downing of flight MH17 over Donbas by a Russian missile, many of whom were Dutch citizens, have argued that a reliable peace agreement cannot be achieved unless Russia acknowledges its responsibility for the tragedy. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Health officials in Oregon are battling cases of dysentery amid a years-long rise in the highly contagious, diarrhea-inducing disease. There have been 40 confirmed cases of shigellosis, an infectious disease that can cause dysentery, in the Portland area since January, the Multnomah County Health Department said. Cases have been rising in Multnomah County since 2012, though they have increasingly grown within the last few years: There were 158 cases in 2024, 96 in 2023 and 43 in 2022, according to the health department. Shigella is a rod-shaped bacteria that can cause a type of dysentery with symptoms including bloody diarrhea, fever, painful stomach crams, nausea and vomiting. KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images Cases eventually spread to the Portland Metro area in the summer of 2024 and have spread within and between housed and unhoused populations in the region since then, a health department official said in an email Wednesday to HuffPost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the U.S., dysentery is commonly associated with 19th-century pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail thanks in large part to the classic Oregon Trail video game, in which players could die of ailments like dysentery, cholera and measles. (The latter is also experiencing a U.S. resurgence). However, it remains a common and serious disease in other parts of the world, with around 1.7 billion cases annually, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms of the bacterial infection can include bloody diarrhea, fever, painful stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. Without proper treatment, dysentery can be fatal, especially for young children, people 50 and older, and those suffering from dehydration or malnutrition. Shigella, the bacteria that causes shigellosis, spreads easily from person to person through fecal matter. Local health officials are trying to educate the public about proper hand washing, safe food preparation, and limiting sexual contact if sick to help prevent the virus's spread. Aflo Images via Getty Images This can happen when the bacteria from an infected person contaminates food or water, such as when food is prepared by someone who doesnt wash their hands due to poor hygiene or lack of access to proper sanitation. It can also spread through sexual contact, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Oregon, about half to more than two-thirds of cases that didnt involve international travel are believed to have possibly resulted from intimate contact, including sexual, the local health department said. (Cases involving international travel made up less than 20% of all cases.). The largest identified group of people experiencing it within the past year about one-third to half have been those who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Its also been seen among housed and unhoused social groups who use drugs, the department said. Multnomah County contains about 20% of the states population but has more than 40% of the states homeless population, according to county figures. The Oregonian/OregonLive has counted about 6,000 people living unhoused in Multnomah County, though found only about 116 publicly maintained restrooms in Portland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any situation where (you are) unable to wash your hands regularly will put you at risk for shigella and I think unsheltered homelessness certainly contributes to people just really not having places to do that, Dr. Amanda Risser, a senior medical director for Portland-based health care and housing services provider Central City Concern, told The Oregonian. The health department said its efforts include public education and getting people off the streets. As with every reportable illness, the Multnomah County Health Department Communicable Disease team provides education about ways to reduce spread, including behavior change and post-illness recommendations, a health official told HuffPost. This includes information on safe food preparation and limiting sexual contact. Those who have been infected are also advised to stay out of pools and other communal bodies of water for at least two weeks after symptoms stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who work in food, child care or health care facilities are restricted from work until they test negative, the department said. The department is also working to provide short-term housing to those unhoused who test positive in order to boost their access to hygiene and sanitation and reduce the spread of the Shigella bacteria. Housing is the best intervention for reducing the spread of any infectious disease in people who are unhoused, including Shigella. Additionally, temporary housing offers greater access to hygiene and sanitation, which helps reduce the spread of Shigella and other infectious diseases, the department said. Related... An Eagan massage therapist charged with sexually assaulting three clients since May was not licensed at the time of the last two alleged assaults, the city said Wednesday. The latest criminal complaint, filed Monday in Dakota County District Court, says 32-year-old Johnny Le of Richfield raped a woman on Dec. 20 at his massage studio, located in an office building along Nichols Road, east of Cedar Avenue and south of Cliff Road. A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for Le, who faces felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct in that case. Le was charged June 11 in connection with the first alleged assault on May 6. He was charged by summons but was not booked into custody, court records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second case was filed on Feb. 14 in connection with an alleged Feb. 11 assault. He was released from jail Feb. 14 after posting a $25,000 bond. Eagan requires a license for massage therapy services. Le was issued a license in February 2024, but it expired on June 30 and he didnt apply to renew it, City spokeswoman Sara Horwath said Wednesday. Applicants must pass a background check. Police do not enforce massage therapist licenses as they do liquor licenses, for example, Horwath said. They dont check on them on a routine basis, she said. Its up to the applicant to make sure that theyre licensed. The first allegations surfaced when a woman went to Eagan police on May 6 and reported that Le touched her vaginal area during a full-body massage two days earlier. The victim told police she told him, ok, thats enough and sat up, the criminal complaint says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later, the woman texted Le and told him what happened was inappropriate. Le responded with, It was very unprofessional and apologized and said hed refund her payment, the complaint says. Le had a remote court hearing July 23 on a charge of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a gross misdemeanor. He was ordered to follow interim conditions. Prosecutors added a second charge to the case in November, felony fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. A second woman came forward on Feb. 11, reporting to Eagan police that Le rubbed her breasts during a massage earlier that day. She said he was breathing hard, which made her uncomfortable and scared, the complaint in that case says. Le put his hand in her underwear toward the side of her vagina, the woman told police, and then grabbed her left arm and forced her hand to touch his crotch. She pulled her hand back and told Le to stop, which he did. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the massage was over, Le apologized. He explained to her how to go through Groupon to get a refund. Le was arrested and charged Feb. 14 with fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. He appeared in court for an in-person hearing the same day and then posted bond. According to Mondays complaint, a woman reported Dec. 20 that the massage began with Le massaging her legs and groin area. Eventually he began touching her vagina over her underwear, then underneath. The woman told police she turned her head and tried to wiggle away, but Le kissed her. She said he then raped her. The woman said she remembered Le saying something along the lines of I shouldnt be doing this, the complaint says. She said Le never asked about consent, and that she froze and couldnt believe what was happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After she left, she called her boyfriend and then police. She underwent a sexual assault exam, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension later reported a DNA sample taken from her matched Les DNA. A Tuesday statement by the Dakota County Attorneys Office says, There may be additional victims and urges others with allegations or information to contact Eagan police Detective Angela Casey at 651-675-5763 or angela.casey@eaganmn.gov. Related Articles BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)After record public investments into the early education and care sector last year, the industry is in a good place, not a great place, one of its key advocates said Tuesday, and theyre asking for more. Theres always that next step that can make us even greater. So we are in a good place, but we want to go even further, and we dont want to lose any of the things that we have done so far, and never go back to where we were before, said Sen. Sal DiDomenico at an advocacy event Tuesday. Career and college planning funds awarded to these western Mass. schools Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Legislature appropriated more than $1.5 billion for early education and care in the fiscal 2025 budget a 78% increase over fiscal 2021. Lawmakers codified a $475 million COVID-era funding program for providers who serve low-income children, and expanded subsidies to cover care costs for middle-income families. This budget cycle, which is expected to feature tightening due to slower tax revenue growth, early education and care advocates are asking lawmakers to maintain those investments while also increasing funding to bring 2,000 children off a 30,000-child waitlist for care, and continuing rate increases that boost workforce salaries. We are going to keep our commitment to the early ed and care system, the entire system. We are going to continue to invest in this system, we are going to continue to explore policy reforms to lower costs and increase access, Senate President Karen Spilka said on Tuesday morning. Spilka said her eventual goal is to ensure that families pay no more than 7% of their salary for early childhood care. A 2022 special legislative commission report found the average cost for child care in Massachusetts exceeded $20,000, more than 22% of the median familys income. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the recent funding surge, the budget line item for the income-eligible waitlist dropped from $25 million to $15 million between fiscal 2024 and 2025. Advocates with the Massachusetts Association of Early Education and Care are now asking lawmakers to restore it beyond its previous level to $32 million in fiscal 2026. The governors budget proposes a $100 million increase to a separate line item that targets income-eligible early education and care programs, including those that support teen parents and homeless families, and informal early education and care benefits for families meeting income-eligibility criteria. Advocates say the administration projects that despite the increase, it will not serve any new working family children on the states long waitlist. This would leave that waitlist frozen for the second consecutive year. We need to make sure that we have new children accessing care for income-eligible [programs], said Sharon Fileccia MacDonald of the Guild of St. Agnes in Worcester. If we dont get more access, income-eligible will be closed until June 30, 2026. So weve gotta make this happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ADCA says it supports the governors proposal to add $100 million for income-eligible programs, and is additionally asking for $32 million specifically to bring 2,000 children off the waitlist. This funding, through an equal number of vouchers and contract slots, they say, would re-open access to children of working families. Additionally, the coalition on Tuesday asked lawmakers to support $45 million for the provider rate reserve which is largely used to bolster staff salaries. Salary rates for subsidized early education providers remain 20-30% below the private market, according to ADCA, and these programs often serve the most low-income and at-risk children. Rate reserve increases are a game-changer for all of you, in particular, because now we can hopefully value you the way we say we do, not just word, but with action, because youre doing the work, and many people who do this kind of work unable to support their own families, DiDomenico said, Youre out there supporting our families, but not able to support your own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the administration would continue to increase the rate at which early education providers who accept state child care financial assistance are reimbursed by the state. Weve increased educator wages by 20% thats a commitment to what youre doing. Were going to continue to increase reimbursement rates. We know thats important. Almost $90 million in the last two years, Driscoll said. In 2024, the state used cost of providing care as a metric for setting rates for the first time, which delivered higher reimbursements to providers of infant and toddler care to better reflect the cost of care for these age groups, and sought to address inequities in rate amounts by geographic region. Advocates are also asking the state for a slight investment increase for its supplemental grant to Head Start, at a time when the federal funding that makes up the bulk of their budgets is uncertain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 28 Head Start programs in Massachusetts receive more than $185 million in annual federal funding, and rely on a smaller pot of state dollars to cover staff pay. After Head Start was one of many federally-funded programs that raised alarm bells when President Donald Trump threatened to freeze federal funding in January, they continue to worry about facing cuts. Theyre asking for a $1.5 million increase from $18.5 million in fiscal 2025 to $20 million to support staff raises amidst the uncertainty. Were likely not to have as strong a federal partner given some of the reductions were seeing, and that only means were going to need your help, your best ideas, your continued collaboration, Driscoll told advocates on Tuesday. Were going to have to be actually even in stronger coordination as we work through what I think could be some challenging times if there are less revenues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. It is wildfire season in East Tennessee. The dry, windy conditions have kindled several fires across the region, including large bushfires in Tellico Plains and near Gatlinburg. Those fires in Monroe County and Sevier County both required residents to evacuate at one point. Get the latest wildfire location and information on our interactive wildfire and smoke map. The map offers details about the type of fire, scope of damage and more. East Tennessee wildfire map When is wildfire season in Tennessee? Tennessee has two prominent wildfire seasons. The first is in early spring, prompted by warm weather according to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. This season lasts from mid-February through mid-May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secondly, Tennessee has a second fall fire season, the same time that leaves brown and fall from trees. This season will last from around Oct. 15 through Dec. 15 annually. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee wildfires map: See latest fire locations, details WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The Wichita Police Department is warning residents in an east Wichita neighborhood that they are in a hot spot for crime. The departments Patrol East bureau says the 500 block of S. Rock Road, which is the area of Kellogg and Rock, has seen increased crimes against vehicles. The crimes include stolen vehicles, theft from vehicles, and vandalism from attempted thefts. It is occurring primarily on Sundays from 5 p.m. to midnight. The majority of the crime involves pickups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wind reports: Crashes, trees down, power outages due to high wind The department says if you notice suspicious behavior, call the See Something Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282. If you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dropping its lawsuit against the company that runs the Zelle payment platform and three U.S. banks as federal agencies continue to pull back on previous enforcement actions now that President Donald Trump is back in office. In December a federal regulator sued JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, claiming the banks failed to protect hundreds of thousands of consumers from rampant fraud on Zelle, in violation of consumer financial laws. In the federal civil complaint, the CFPB asserted that the banks rushed to get the peer-to-peer payments platform to market without effective safeguards against fraud and then, after consumers complained about being defrauded on the service, largely denied them relief. Early Warning Services, a fintech company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, that operates Zelle, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. EWS is owned by seven U.S. banks, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Those three banks are the largest financial institutions on the Zelle network, accounting for 73% of activity on Zelle in 2023. But a filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on Tuesday indicated that the CFPB was dismissing its lawsuit against EWS, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo with prejudice. The dismissal comes less than a week after the CFPB dropped several enforcement actions against companies like Capital One and Rocket Homes. In notices of voluntary dismissals that were filed, the CFPB dropped lawsuits it had brought against Capital One, Rocket Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, owned by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway, and others. Those suits were all filed under the agencys previous director, Rohit Chopra, who Trump fired just weeks ago. The CPFB has since plunged into turmoil with the White House later ordering it to halt nearly all its work. The administration also closed the agencys headquarters and moved to fire scores of its workers. Trump has defended his administrations broadside against the CFPB including recent claims about the agency being set up to destroy people. But supporters of the agency stress that it provides crucial oversight and protects consumers from being vulnerable to predatory business practices. The CPFB isnt the only federal agency to signal a pullback on previous enforcement action under the new administration. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has either closed or paused legal action against several cryptocurrency platforms in recent weeks, as the regulator tries to present itself as more crypto-friendly under Trump. Last month Binance and the SEC filed a joint motion to pause its high-profile lawsuit against the crypto exchange. The SEC filed a similar joint motion with Coinbase. In addition, Robinhood has said that the case against it has been closed. Desperate Americans are smuggling eggs into the US from Mexico and Canada amid a surge in prices. Rates of egg smuggling have skyrocketed in recent months at the US borders as prices spike following multiple bird flu outbreaks. US customs and border protection (CBP) said it has recorded a 158 per cent rise in egg smuggling interceptions at its San Diego field office in California since last year. At the El Paso border station in Texas, agents identified more than 90 people attempting to import raw eggs from Mexico between January and February this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Likewise, the National Post reports that officials at the Detroit-Windsor crossing at the Canadian border have seen a 36 per cent increase in interceptions of eggs compared to last year. Overall, from October to February, CBP recorded a 29 per cent rise in smuggled eggs at US ports of entry. Poultry and egg prices have soared as millions of birds are culled following the biggest avian flu outbreak in a decade. In February, thieves stole 100,000 organic eggs from a business in Pennsylvania valued at some $40,000 a crime police suggested was triggered by rising costs. A series of restaurant chains, including Waffle House and Dennys, have instituted an egg surcharge in response to national shortages and price increases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Egg prices rose 13.8 per cent in January following an 8.4 per cent rise in December, according to the US department of agriculture. It predicts that costs will increase by 41 per cent this year. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Canada exported $44 million worth of eggs to the US in 2023, while Mexico exported $1.54 million. Exports from both countries are now subject to a 25 per cent tariff imposed by Donald Trump on Tuesday. CBP does not class most of the eggs brought into the country as smuggling because they are usually surrendered freely without consequence. It is critical that we keep our travelling public informed to safeguard our agricultural industry while continuing to facilitate legitimate trade and travel, said Sidney Aki, CBPs field operations director in San Diego. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) In light of the strong winds the Borderland has been experiencing this week, El Paso Electric (EPE) is reminding residents that free tree-trimming services are available to help prevent safety hazards and power outages, the utility announced in a news release. EPE said trees growing too close to power lines can lead to electrical fires, service disruptions and even serious injuries. With proactive tree trimming and community awareness, EPE is committed to maintaining a safe and reliable energy grid throughout the windy season, read the news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EPE said field representatives are available to inspect areas where trees pose a potential risk to power lines. To report tree-related electrical hazards or request assistance, customers can call (915) 877-3400 in El Paso or (575) 523-7591 in Las Cruces. EPE said customers should contact the utility immediately if they notice the following: Broken or hanging branches entangled in power lines. The need to clear trees near power lines as part of property maintenance. Sparking or arcing in tree branches near power lines. The utility is offering the following guidelines for customers who want to do their own tree trimming near power lines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inspect before you trim: Electric wires may be concealed within tree branches. Always check the area carefully before pruning. Stay clear of power lines: Never attempt to trim trees tangled in or near power lines. If a tree is within 10 feet of a power line, contact EPE for assistance. Follow the 10-foot rule: Federal and state regulations require individuals and equipment to maintain at least a 10-foot distance from power lines carrying up to 50,000 volts, with greater distances required for higher voltages. Hire a professional: Always use a licensed and bonded arborist for tree trimming near power lines. EPE can assist in safely trimming trees near power lines when a professional arborist is involved. For more information, visit epelectric.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. By Abigail Summerville NEW YORK (Reuters) -David Finkelstein, a veteran investment banker who heads Citigroup's global consumer and retail mergers and acquisitions unit, is leaving the bank, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. Finkelstein, who is based in New York, joined Citi from Bank of America in 2018. Finkelstein spent more than a decade in various roles at Bank of America and previously worked at investment bank Salomon Brothers, which was acquired by Travelers Group in 1997. During his tenure at Citi, he worked on several large deals and high-profile situations, including grocery chain Kroger's unsuccessful $25 billion takeover attempt of smaller rival Albertsons. Last year, Citi also advised family-owned candy giant Mars on its $36 billion acquisition of Pringles maker Kellanova. Citi declined to comment. Finkelstein did not respond to requests for comment. In recent years, Citi has boosted its consumer and retail dealmaking unit with top-level hires from rival banks, as part of a broader effort to win a larger share of advisory roles on the biggest transactions. In 2023, Citi hired Stacia Schlosser Ryan as global co-head of consumer and retail banking, capital markets and advisory. Later that year, Citi tapped Barrett Frankel from Barclays to co-head consumer investment banking in North America. Citi was ranked fourth on the list of advisers by value of deals worked on in 2024, according to data from Dealogic. The bank recently advised on PepsiCo's $1.2 billion deal for tortilla-chip maker Siete Foods. (Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) School officials say a group of elementary school students may have witnessed a shooting while on the bus in west Charlotte. Principal Mazzone of Reid Park Academy sent a letter to parents saying that students unfortunately witnessed a couple of people shooting at each other on the corner of West Boulevard and Tyvola. Around 3:30 p.m., officials responded to the 2500 block of West Blvd about an assault with a deadly weapon with injury call that stemmed from an attempted robbery at an arcade. According to a police report from CMPD, a 39-year-old man suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mazzone assures that no students were involved in the incident and everyone made it home safely. Administration and student services will meet with all the students on Wednesday morning. Counseling services will be available for students and their families. As always, the safety, security, and well-being of our students and staff is a top priority, and we appreciate your continued support of Reid Park. MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM Crime & Public Safety Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Calm. Sane. Sober. These were the notes Senator Elissa Slotkin was clearly aiming to hit in her response to president Trumps speech to Congress last night. The first-term Democrat from Michigan who served three tours in Iraq during her time with the CIA was the safe, if not obvious, counter to Trumps 90-plus minutes of bluster. Slotkins message was direct and consequential without resorting to unnecessary theatrics unlike her colleague, Texas Congressman Al Green, who was removed from the House chamber for disrupting Trumps speech. Instead, Slotkin favoured brevity over bombast, highlighting her record of bipartisanship before launching into a Trump take-down that combined common-sense centrism fixing the broken immigration system, expand and protect the middle class with accusations of recklessness and cronyism, while raising the threat of rising prices in every part of your life. A scion of a Michigan hot dog fortune who won a narrow victory last year in a state that voted for Trump, the choice of Slotkin to deliver the Democratic rebuttal made sense. After all, it was she who last September warned that Kamala Harris was underwater in her state. She was painfully correct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trouble is Slotkins response was almost too measured, too correct. She played it safe and sensible an adult-in-the-room foil to Trumps braggadocio. Slotkin avoided any noticeable missteps, noted The New York Times late Tuesday night, but she did not take a strident tone of resistance that many Democrats have chosen amid a backlash from their core supporters, who want them to be more forceful in opposing Mr Trump. So while her ideas certainly failed to offend, they also failed to inspire. And inspiration deep, meaningfully, impactful, actionable inspiration is what Democrats need right now if they are ever to rebuild their party, win back America, and retake the White House. Her idea, for instance, that disaffected Democrats focus on one issue, rather than doomscrolling from cause to cause, sounded wise. But she never really articulated which issues matter most or how to advance them amid a new Washington order in which many (if not most) of the conventional rules no longer apply. As Trump alienates Ukraine, aims for Mars and wages war on woke, Slotkin and her party will need to offer far more than nebulous and exaggerated threats of democracies flicker[ing] out or America conceding its primacy to Russia and China. As he listed accomplishment after exaggerated accomplishment, Trump made clear that he does not care what his opponents think or how they feel. I realise there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, said Trump last night. Nothing I can do. Sleepy Joe avuncularism is out bad-cop tough love is in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, Slotkin delivered as intended doing no harm and ruffling few feathers. She critiqued Trump with grace and intelligence, accusing him of poor leadership and stealing Ronald Reagans words. Slotkin distanced the Democrats from the extremism and identity politics that cost Kamala Harris the presidency and placed the economy and rising prices at the centre of the partys message. But the Democrats are up against a showman a carnival barker as Barack Obama so infamously put it more than a decade ago. Trump is an accidental president with an extremely intentional agenda he is already making real. Slotkin makes sense for a Democratic party that cannot risk playing stupid after its calamitous defeat last year. But there is just as much risk for the Democrats if they play it too safe. David Christopher Kaufman is a New York Post columnist Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Freshman senator Elissa Slotkin was quick to troll President Donald Trump during her rebuttal speech on behalf of the Democratic Party Tuesday night, dedicating her introduction to poking fun at how long the presidents congressional address went. Its late so I promise to be a lot shorter than what you just watched, Slotkin began, referencing Trumps speech which went on for almost two hours. The Michigan senator proceeded to introduce herself by diving into her career, touting her credentials at the CIA and past positions at the White House including roles in former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama s administrations. Slotkin also spotlighted her bipartisan upbringing, noting that her father was a lifelong Republican while her mother was a Democrat. WATCH: Complete Democratic Response from Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin pic.twitter.com/luPxKm02DB CSPAN (@cspan) March 5, 2025 It was never a big deal, Slotkin explained. We had shared values that were bigger than any one partya sentiment she maintained throughout her speech as she beckoned for a newfound unity between the polar sides of the political spectrum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slotkin also called out Trump for a line he stole from Ronald Reagan: Peace through strength. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave, Slotkin said, referencing Trumps unhinged meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. We all want an end to the war in Ukraine but Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity, and that scene on the Oval Office wasnt just a bad episode of reality TV, it summed up Trumps whole approach to the world, Slotkin added. The 48-year-old called for the public to hold elected officials accountable and to go to town halls and demand they take action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senator tackled a flurry of talking points made by Trump during his speech. She focused on the presidents propositions and claims regarding the economy and tariffs. The president talked a big game on the economy but its always important to read the fine print, Slotkin said. So do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close. US Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), rehearses the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of congress on March 4, 2025, in Wyandotte, Michighan. / PAUL SANCYA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. Hes on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America. To do that hes going to make you pay in every part of your life, she continued, listing the rising costs of groceries and home prices. On tariffs, Slotkin argued that their imposition on allies like Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber and cars and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senator then tackled the subject matter of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, asking if there was anyone in America who is comfortable with [Musk] and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information, and your bank accounts? White House Senior Adviser to the President and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk cheers as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images No oversight. No protections against cyberattacks. No guard rails on what they do with your private data, she continued. We need a more efficient government. We want to cut waste. I will help you do it, but change doesnt need to be chaotic or make us less safe. The senator concluded her rebuttal by voicing her hope for the countrys future thats built on the protection of its democracy. While she cited security and prosperity as factors that always made America better, it was the nations system of democracy that she honed in on and urged was at risk. For generations, America has offered something betterour security and our prosperity, yes but our democracy, our very system of government has been the aspiration of the world, Slotkin declared. Right now its a risk. Its at risk when you can pick and choose what you want to follow. When [Trump] ignores court orders and the Constitution itself, or when elected leaders stand by [and] just let it happen. US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. / JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images But its also at risk when the president pits Americans against each other, she continued. When he demonizes those who are different and tells certain people they shouldnt be included. Because America is not just a patch of land between two oceans. We are more than that. Generations have fought and died to secure the fundamental rights that define us. Those rights and the fight for them make us who we are. We are a nation of strivers, risk-takers, innovators and we are never satisfied. That is Americas superpower. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senator concluded her speech by noting that engaged citizens and principled leaders are what keep the country afloat. US President Donald Trump greets lawmakers as he leaves after addressing a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. / WIN MCNAMEE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Thank you tonight for caring about your country, just by watching you qualify as engaged citizens, Slotkin said. I promise that I and my fellow Democrats will do everything in our power and be the principal leader that you deserve. The presidents congressional speech Tuesday night addressed several seminal talking points of his second term so far including his imposition of tariffs, hopes of bringing back industrial production to the country, and opposition to DEI. Slotkin started her congressional tenure in 2019 representing Michigan in the House of Representatives. She was elected to the Senate in 2024. Democratic US senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the racial slur that President Donald Trump made toward her during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night in an interview with The Independent. I get under Donald Trumps skin, Warren said. During his address, Trump spoke about the war in Ukraine, which he has sought to bring to an abrupt end. He has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly starting the war despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin staged the invasion three years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you want to keep it going for another five years? he asked the Congress on Tuesday evening. You would say Pocahontas says yes. Trump has repeatedly called Warren Pocahontas due to the fact that before she ran for Senate, Warren had claimed that she had Native American heritage, specifically Cherokee. In 2018, as she prepared to run for the Democratic nomination for president, she released DNA test showing that only 1/64 of her DNA came from a Native American population. The Cherokee Nation later condemned Warren for releasing the test and she apologized. Trump has continued to use the slur against Warren for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the address, Warren clapped, smiled and shook her head as the president resurrected one of his favorite insults. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has visted Ukraine in the past. I was applauding his statement that the United States has given aid to Ukraine, she told The Independent. He's feeling the heat because he was delivering the speech on the day that he had stopped that same aid. The Trump administration this week paused aid to Ukraine as part of the fallout from the blow-up between Zelensky and Trump and Vice President JD Vance. There's a lot of blowback over what he's doing in Ukraine, both here in Congress and across the country, she said. The American people understand Ukrainians have fought bravely to preserve their democracy, and they don't like Donald Trump jumping into bed with Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warren also criticized Trump supposedly putting a month-long pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada for auto makers. There's a rule that applies across the board, and then one at a time, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a handful of other billionaires friends get an exception here and an exception there, she told The Independent. That means that the tariff that was originally announced applies to people who are not politically connected, but not really to anyone else. In the bright green algal blooms that form in warm weather, cyanobacteria produce a toxin called microcystin. Microcystin has been known to kill dogs, birds, and livestock and cause nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting in people. Just over a dozen people employed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are tasked with monitoring algal blooms in the Great Lakes watershed, which more than 40 million people depend on for the water that comes out of their taps. The NOAA team passes information about harmful algal growth and toxicity on to municipal water treatment plants in time for them to protect people, pets, and businesses from being poisoned. Last Thursday, the head of that team was fired, alongside hundreds of other NOAA employees. Bret Collier, who holds a Ph.D. in biology, started running the Ecosystem Dynamics branch at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Michigan last May. Like most other probationary employees across NOAA and the National Weather Servicethose who were new to the federal workforce, took on new positions, or were promotedhe received a late-afternoon email notifying him that he was being fired, effective at 5 p.m. When you remove a staffer, theres not another staffer that can just pick up that work. I dont want to say we dont have a deep bench. Theres no bench. Were one deep everywhere, he told me. If we cant do our job, you cant drink the water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOAA is best known for its weather forecasts that alert people about the path of oncoming hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. Its lesser-known wet side operations perform a long list of vital services baked into the operations of other federal agencies and private businesses, often in sparsely staffed offices. Close allies of Trumpincluding several now serving in his administrationlaid out plans to virtually abolish the entire agency in Project 2025, clearing the way for private companies like Accuweather to snap up lucrative new government contracts for work that has long been considered a public service. Elon Musks team at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency reportedly intends to cut NOAAs staff in half, and has already moved to cancel leases for its labs and office spaces around the country. That could endanger critical work to protect not just forecasting and water quality but fisheries, international shipping operations, tourism, and more. The Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, or GLERL, where Collier worked, employed about 50 federal workers tasked with providing real-time information on everything from ice floeshelping commercial freighters avoid collisionsto zooplankton and phytoplankton monitoring that lets recreational and commercial fishermen know which populations are safe to catch and sell. The U.S. Coast Guard utilizes GLERLs nautical charts, marine weather forecasts, and real-time observations on currents and water levels in search and rescue operations. Among the eight or nine other employees Collier estimated had been fired from GLERL last week was one worker who ran all the code for the network of buoys that collect the information necessary to produce those forecasts. Just one person, he said, was left in the team that communicates the monitoring and assessment information GLERL collects to the public, acting as a liaison with state and local governments. These cuts mean NOAA staff will be forced to take a more constrained approach to mission-specific operations moving forward, said Collier. That means longer time lapses between data collection and data dissemination, especially safety data. Real-time observations and monitoring may not be real-time anymore, he added. Were not sexy like the weather service, Collier joked. We cant tell you when a tornado is going to hit or if a hurricane is gonna be a Category 3. Our job is to not be seen and not be heard, and keep everybody safe. Right now, thats getting a lot harder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from emails that have gone out to all federal employees encouraging them to take higher productivity jobs in the private sector and list their recent accomplishments, Collier said he had never been contacted to ask what his team did or the risks that might be posed by axing them, or about whether doing so would endanger programs mandated by federal legislation. Other fired NOAA employees I spoke with said that firings in their departments had been similarly indiscriminate. Even before last week, Colliers team was sorting out how to deal with a $1 limit on credit cards used to purchase equipment required for his teams day-to-day operations; elsewhere in NOAA, his colleagues have had trouble buying equipment to repair ships and radar. If were not allowed to purchase the filters that we use to monitor microcystin toxins, then were unable to relay that information, he says, noting that such equipment is typically ordered months in advance. Theyre uncertain that theyre going to have what they need to keep municipal water corporations informed on the status of algal blooms in the Great Lakes. Thats a pretty big risk. A 2014 microsystin outbreak in Lake Erieshallower and warmer than the other Great Lakes, and therefore more prone to large-scale algal bloomsleft nearly half a million people in Toledo and surrounding areas without water for three days. Harmful algal blooms of the sort GLERL monitors are estimated to cost the U.S. $50 million per year nationwide through damage to public health, fisheries, and coastal restoration. That figure could rise as these phenomena grow more frequent in a warming climate. Climate scientist Sarah Cooleywho was fired from her position as the director of NOAAs program on ocean acidificationreported similar challenges in the lead-up to last weeks purge, including navigating compliance with Trumps executive order to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and language. If we had a report or a strategy that was already approved and that had a DEI section in it, she said, would that section have to be removed, or would that report have to be pulled down? Federal grants are legally binding contracts. Her office wasnt provided with clear guidance about whether those could be altered to comply with new presidential memos and executive orders, or what to do if implementing those stood at odds with congressional mandates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As soon as she got word she was being fired, Cooley said the race was on to pass on necessary information to the rest of her team before her internet access was cut off and she lost access to her federal email and I.T. systems. There was a whole lot to do, as fast as possible. From weather forecasting and warning systems to fisheries management, NOAAs vast operations provide valuable research and information that cant be replicated elsewhereor by the private sector. Even massive corporations dont have the capacity in-house to produce the kinds of detailed maps and forecasts that NOAA creates and that large and small businesses alike depend on every day. Academic researchers around the world rely on observations from NOAA buoys and satellites to understand the ocean carbon cycle worldwide, a key factor in the stability of the earths climate, given that the ocean is the worlds largest carbon sink. That monitoring also makes it possible to prepare for and limit the considerable damage caused by El Ninos and marine heat waves, and build durable infrastructure. Whos going to put up satellites and place buoys in the ocean, and do it at cost? Thats not going to happen, Cooley says. When it comes to the fundamental earth observations of ocean heat content and acidificationthe things that inform how habitats are doing and how to manage them skillfullythose things are not monetizable because not every citizen is going to be willing to pay for that information. Some federal workers say they cant do their jobs after a freeze on most federal credit cards. The cards handle $30 billion a year in transactions for basic supplies and servicesfrom legal fees to gasthat federal workers use in the course of business. They arent allowed to use their own credit cards for work-related expenses, a source told Fortune. The Elon Muskled push for government cost-cutting has come for federal workers credit cards, hampering workers ability to buy basic supplies, according to several media reports. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency last month boasted about eliminating thousands of credit cards and reducing the spending limits on others to $1. Now, many employees are saying they cant make routine purchases to fulfill their duties, multiple outlets reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Divisions are resorting to bartering with each other to obtain needed items, one employee at the Environmental Protection Agency told Wired. The unnamed worker described being unable to buy liquid nitrogen, which is used to store environmental samples in EPA freezers. The EPA and DOGE did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune. Credit cards are used for many routine purchases in the course of federal workers jobs, including gas for cars used on the job, lab supplies, software subscriptions, or work-related travel. I think it is going to be chaotic, said Jessica Childress, founder of the Childress Firm and a former lawyer for the Department of Justice. Its going to put a complete halt on essential functions that the government has to complete if there is no card that a government employee can use to pay for travel thats part of their jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Childress noted that federal workers arent allowed to put work-related expenses on personal cards. These cards are the ways that many government workers are performing the duties theyve taken an oath to perform, she added. It facilitates the ability of these employees to do their jobs. Social Security employees have been unable to create UPS shipping labels after their cards were limited, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Meanwhile, lawyers at the Treasury Department have been cut off from PACER, the electronic filing system widely used to monitor federal court cases. (That access was later restored, the Journal reported.) Another federal employee told the Journal they werent able to pay cell phone plans, Microsoft 365 software licenses, or a $619 monthly bill for Amazon Web Services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One employee at the Food and Drug Administration recently tried to put in an order for pipette tips, a basic lab item, Wired reported. However, that order was put on hold. "Now we are running out, asking colleagues at other offices to share what they might not be using, the employee told Wired. Trumps executive order on Feb. 26 decreed that all credit cards held by agency employees shall be treated as frozen for 30 days, except for those used for disaster relief. (The order exempted law enforcement, the military, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.) DOGE posted last week that some 24,000 credit cards had been deactivated. The General Services Administration confirmed the changes in a February blog post on the charge-card program, known as SmartPay. GSA set a $1 limit on all cardholder accounts. This action is a commonly used risk mitigation best practice, the post read. GSA has implemented a review and approval process to ensure that purchases that directly support mission-critical activities can still be made in a timely manner. Before the changes, GSA had boasted about the SmartPay program, which it called the worlds largest charge card program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youve ever traveled for work, fueled a government vehicle, or purchased something for less than $10,000 for your office or agency, chances are you used the GSA SmartPay program, it said in a blog post. Some $30 billion in government transactions are run through the program every year. In its 25-year life span, the program has returned $5.6 billion in cash back to agencies, GSA said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Elon Musk amplified controversial podcaster Ben Shapiros plea for President Donald Trump to pardon former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chavin for the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Shapiro on Tuesday suggested that if we are issuing pardons there is one person that President Trump should pardon from federal charges forthwith. The inciting event for the BLM riots that caused $2 billion in property damage in the United States and set Americas race relations on their worst footing in my lifetime was, in fact, the railroading of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, Shapiro claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that Chauvin whos concurrently serving a federal sentence of 21 years and 22 1/2 years on state charges after pleading guilty to depriving Floyd of his civil rights and being convicted by a jury of murder and manslaughter in 2021 is actually innocent. Make no mistake the Derek Chauvin conviction represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics, Shapiro said. The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive and racist era without righting this terrible wrong. Something to think about, Musk said on X, while retweeting a clip from Shapiros show. Floyd died on May 25, 2020 after Chauvin forced his knee into the mans neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, all while Floyd was face down, begging for help and telling officers he couldnt breathe. Chauvins actions were documented on video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three officers who acted alongside Chauvin Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung and Thomas Lane were also handed concurrent sentences on state and federal charges. Lane was released in 2024 and Keung was released in January, while Thao remains at a facility in Kentucky, according to Bureau of Prisons records. He could be released this year, too. But even if Trump were to pardon Chauvin, it would not affect his conviction on state charges, meaning the disgraced cop would remain behind bars despite having his federal record expunged. In November 2023, Chauvin survived 22 stab wounds in an attack by another inmate at a federal prison in Arizona. The inmate allegedly told investigators at the time that chose the date of the attack Black Friday as a nod to the Black Lives Matter movement. _____ Several Supercharger stalls were set ablaze near Boston, continuing a pattern of recent attacks on Tesla property that appear related to CEO Elon Musk's politics. Tesla has long been the calling card of Elon Musk and the cornerstone of his wealth. Its elegant cars are a tangible everyday reminder of what he can accomplish in a way that launching 35-story tall rockets from the southernmost tip of Texas could never match. Now, however, his vehicles, charging stations and showrooms risk turning into targets to be burned down by those who want to strike out at the worlds richest and most influential entrepreneur. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, police found seven Superchargers apparently torched by arsonists in a town outside of Boston. Littleton Fire Department chief Steele McCurdy said residents had no cause for alarm, however, since the danger was likely limited to Tesla property. We do believe that this is isolated in terms of the risk within our community to these particular chargers, he told local television. It follows news this week at a showroom near the French city of Toulouse, where a dozen vehicles worth more than half a million dollars were set ablaze. Only days earlier police in Colorado arrested an individual identifying as trans for vandalizing Tesla property. Musk is a vocal opponent of puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery following his own experience with his estranged trans daughter, often saying the woke mind virus killed my son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While this theatrical form of crime captures headlines, Tesla community members have been flagging everyday acts of vandalism for weeks, including their cars getting keyed or finding Supercharger stalls where the cabling has been severed. The controversy has led to a fierce debate among investors over whether to press Teslas typically passive board of directors to try to rein in their CEO's political activity lest it damage the brand, or whether this is just further evidence of the media amplifying bad news in an effort to hurt Musk. Tesla, whose shares are now worth little more than half their December peak, did not respond to a Fortune request for comment. Earlier examples This spate of attacks isnt the first time such vandalism has targeted Tesla. Last year a group of anti-capitalism extremists in eastern Germany successfully destroyed a substation feeding its Model Y factory in Grunheide with power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the frequency of attacks has ramped up following Musks flirtation with nationalist ideology that advocates for ethnically homogenous societies so Western culture isnt diluted by outside cultural influences. He's backed a number of European far-right parties particularly concerned about the threat from Islamist-motivated terror attacks, like those recently occurring in German cities like Aschaffenburg and Munich. We dont want to be everything the same everywhere, where its just one big sort of soup, Musk told the German far right AfD party at a rally in January. We want to have something where you go to different countries and you experience a different culture and its unique and special. Musk posed this argument days after eliciting controversy over a stiff, right-armed gesture made at President Trump's inauguration that prompted comparisons with the Nazi Sieg Heil salute. Musk doesnt seem perturbed by the controversy. When asked by Joe Rogan this week what it felt like to be called a Nazi, Musk repeated a joke that recently landed him in hot water with the Jewish advocacy group Anti-Defamation League. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People will Goebbels anything down, he said, before laughing about how he was now being extra careful how he points at things with his right arm in order not to be seen as if he was making another salute. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com According to the AI chatbot called Grok, which was developed by Elon Musks company xAI, there is a 75-85% likelihood that the person who delivered the State of the Union address on Tuesday night is a Putin-compromised Russian asset. In describing Grok, by the way, Musk said it is a maximally truth-seeking AI, even if that truth is sometimes at odds with what is politically-correct. Like, for example, determining that his good buddy Donald Trump, who has given Musk free rein over every aspect of the federal government, is most likely a Russian asset. Advertisement Advertisement This all began with a question put to Grok. It was: What is the likelihood from 1-100 that Trump is a Putin-compromised asset? Use all publicly available information from 1980 on and his failure to ever say anything negative about Putin but has no issue attacking allies. Grok finds Trump bankruptcies and Russian funding Musks genius AI chatbot took it from there, piecing together a string of data points that led to its ultimate conclusion. How strange it is these days that such devices exist, and stranger still that we are becoming more and more dependent upon them. And how we haven't yet determined if that is bad or good. Of Trump, Grok said in part, Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, as Trump faced bankruptcies, he increasingly relied on funding from sources tied to Russia and former Soviet states. His sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, made statements reinforcing this: Donald Jr. in 2008 said, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, and Eric in 2014 claimed, We have all the funding we need out of Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Reagan schools Trump on the idiocy of tariffs It also noted that leaked Kremlin documents reported by The Guardian in 2021 suggest Putin personally approved a 2016 operation to back Trump, viewing him as mentally unstable and exploitable, with potential compromising material from past Moscow visits. As for drawing its artificially intelligent maximally truth-seeking conclusion, Grok said, Weighing this, the financial ties (decades-long, opaque, and substantial), intelligence suggesting Russian intent, and Trumps unwavering refusal to criticize Putin despite attacking allies tilt the scale. '75-85% likelihood Trump is a Putin-compromised asset' Given all that (and more, if you read the entire assessment), Grok said that Trumps ego and debts make him unwittingly pliable, fits the evidence. Adjusting for uncertainty and alternative explanations (e.g., ideological alignment or naivety), I estimate a 75-85% likelihood Trump is a Putin-compromised asset, leaning toward the higher end due to the consistency of his behavior and the depth of historical ties. Advertisement Advertisement So says the truth-seeking AI chatbot developed by Musks own company. Given that, it should come as no surprise to Musk, or to Trump, that so many Americans would choose to agree with the AI chatbots analysis, with its 75-85% likelihood ... leaning toward the higher end. It also makes you wonder if such technology is a help or a hindrance. It makes you wonder if data analysis like this, about a person in power, will ever be taken seriously. Or if it should be. And it makes you wonder if Trumps pal, Vladimir, enjoyed the speech. Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com. For more opinions content, please subscribe. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump is a 'Russian asset,' according to Grok. Believe it? | Opinion ELWOOD The Elwood City Council has continued a proposed ordinance to establish penalties for property owners when the city has to mow overgrown lawns. Mayor Todd Jones said Monday the city was trying to iron out some problems with out-of-state property owners. We have been in contact with the IACT (Indiana Association of Counties), he said. We are looking at 10 days to process the violations before the owners have to appear in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones said if a property owner doesnt appear, a judge will determine the outcome of the violation. We need to be tackling this vegetation problem, he said. There is unsightly vegetation and trash. Jones said the city will work with property owners if they are dealing with a family emergency or illness that prevents them from caring for their properties. Most of the issues are with investors who have purchased properties at tax sale, he said. Were working on the final language of the ordinance. Currently, the city charges $100 every time city crews mow a property, according to Jones. We need to get property owners attention, he said. Last year we mowed 49 properties, and 40 of them were owned by out-of-state people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ordinance, if approved, would set the fee starting at $100 for the first mowing, with an increase of $50 for each successive mowing up to a maximum of $300. City attorney Jeff Graham said Elwood could put liens on overgrown properties to receive money owed to the city. Graham noted that, if property taxes are not paid by the owner, a property could be placed on tax sale, making it difficult to collect the money owed as a result of the liens. OTHER BUSINESS The city council approved several tax abatements for Red Gold and Graham Packaging. In 2022, the council approved a 10-year tax abatement requested by Red Gold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company is planning an $11.1 million investment and retaining 510 jobs. Matthew Tebbe with Red Gold said at the time the company packages all its ketchup products in Elwood. This will maintain the jobs we have in Elwood, he said. Were not adding any jobs. Were investing to remain competitive. The council also approved a $75,000 reimbursement from the Elwood Community Schools for school officers. Jones said the funds will be used to pay for equipment for the police department. Elon Musk lost a court bid asking a judge to temporarily block ChatGPT creator OpenAI and its backer Microsoft (MSFT) from carrying out plans to turn the artificial intelligence charity into a for-profit business. But the billionaire at the same time scored a major win. In an order denying Musks immediate request, California federal district court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers offered to hear Musks core claim against OpenAI on an expedited schedule that would set the trial for this fall. "Given the public interest at stake and potential for harm ... the Court is prepared to expedite trial to the fall of 2025," she wrote in an order issued Tuesday. Musk has asked for an injunction to stop OpenAI, its co-founder Sam Altman, and its largest investor, Microsoft, from completing plans for OpenAI to convert from a nonprofit to a for-profit enterprise and from transferring any material assets owned by OpenAI or its subsidiaries, including intellectual property. Elon Musk and Sam Altman speak onstage together at a San Francisco event in 2015. (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) Michael Kovac via Getty Images Musk and Altman originally co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit, but Musk separated himself from the AI firm over disagreements regarding how to move forward with the venture and eventually started a competing AI company called xAI. Musk's lawsuit seeking to prevent OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit enterprise centers around Musk's initial $45 million donation to fund the startup, which he claims was contingent on OpenAI remaining a nonprofit organization. Altman claims Musk wanted to merge OpenAI into his for-profit electric vehicle company, Tesla (TSLA), so that Tesla could provide it with additional funding. Altman and Microsoft have called Musks allegations "false" and claimed he has no legal basis for blocking OpenAIs for-profit conversion. Musks lawyer, Marc Toberoff, said during a February hearing that allowing OpenAI to continue pursuing for-profit status would cause "irreparable harm" to Musk, xAI, investors, and the public. "I dont think youve given me a record for the relief you are requesting," Gonzalez Rogers said during that February hearing, noting that the injunction Musk requested was rarely granted. But she agreed that Musk's complaint raised disputable questions about the terms of his relationship with OpenAI. His lawyers have claimed his donations were conditioned on Altman's commitments to operate OpenAI as a nonprofit. "I don't know what happened, but I certainly am not throwing something out on a motion to dismiss when it is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true," Gonzalez Rogers said. "We'll find out. Hell sit on the stand. He'll present it to a jury. A jury will decide who's right." CHANDLER, Ind. (WEHT) After a mine collapse caused irreparable damage to homes in Chandler, Warrick County Commissioners have enacted an emergency disaster declaration. This comes days after a loud boom was heard in Chandler on Saturday morning, causing cracks on East Monroe Avenue and damages on the outside and inside of homes. On Monday, Chandler town officials held a public meeting to discuss the damages left by the collapse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Indiana Department of Natural Resources continued to assess the damage on Tuesday, but residents in the area were packing up their belongings and wondering Whats next? Director of Warrick County Emergency Management Agency Matt Goebel released the following statement: The Warrick County Commissioners, in conjunction with the Town of Chandler and the Warrick County Emergency Management Agency, have initiated a collaborative effort to assist residents impacted by the recent mine subsidence incident. A local emergency disaster declaration has been enacted to facilitate this response. Matt Goebel Officials say a DNR geologist will be on the scene on Thursday to evaluate the ground. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). CIRCLEVILLE, W.Va. (WBOY) Even though temperatures are warmer in most of West Virginia, emergency officials are warning against travel to the highest point in the state due to lingering wintry conditions. Located in remote Pendleton County, Spruce Knob is only accessible by Monongahela National Forest Roads, which are not plowed or treated during the winter. Even if it hasnt snowed in weeks, the multiple feet of snow that parts of West Virginia have gotten this year and the lingering cold temperatures at West Virginias highest elevations means that those roads are still covered. Winter is not over in the mountains, the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) said in a post on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A photo taken by the Circleville Volunteer Fire Department on March 1 shows piles of ice and snow still on the access road for Spruce Knob. Access road to Spruce Knob on March 1, 2025 (Circleville Fire Department photo shared by the Pendleton County Officer of Emergency Management Snow returning to West Virginia Thursday, March 6 According to the OEM, travelers on remote roads like Forest Road 104 have continued to travel the nearly impassable road, putting themselves and first responders in danger. The ideal practice would be-dont go! the OEM said. Anyone who does travel forest roads before April should have four-wheel drive and the equipment to self-recover, or travel in groups, the OEM said. Spruce Knob is far from the only landmark in West Virginia that becomes nearly impassible during the winter. Officials often warn against travel on the Highland Scenic Highway (State Route 150) and Forest Service Road 86/Williams River Road in Webster County. And Forest Roads 19 and 75 which lead to the Dolly Sods Wilderness are fully closed from January to April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA (WNCT) Schools in ENC are doing early releases on Wednesday due to severe thunderstorms coming across the area. You can also click here for more information. BEAUFORT COUNTY: All schools on a 3 hour early release CARTERET COUNTY: All schools on a 3 hour early release CRAVEN COUNTY: Early college released at 1:30 p.m. High school: released at 11:40 a.m. Elementary school: 12:10 p.m. Middle school: 12:40 p.m. PAMLICO COUNTY: Pamlico County primary schools release at 11:30 a.m. Fred A. Anderson elementary school release at 11:40 a.m. Pamlico County high school release at 11:50 a.m. Pamlico County middle school release at noon Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TYRRELL COUNTY: All schools will dismiss at 12:00 p.m. LENOIR COUNTY: All schools dismissing at 12:00 p.m. MARTIN COUNTY: All schools closing at 11:30 a.m. EDENTON-CHOWAN: All schools closing at 11:30 a.m. WASHINGTON COUNTY: All schools operating on a three hour early release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Pam Bondi is still pretending she's on the verge of a big reveal about the crimes of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Last week, Donald Trump's new attorney general and a clutch of grifty MAGA "influencers" pretended they had unearthed a trove of information about Epstein that they falsely claimed had been concealed by the previous administration. Within hours after the influencers stood outside the White House and waved binders specially made for the occasion labeled "Epstein Files," it was revealed that the stunt was as empty as the reality TV deitrius that inspired it. QAnon-drunk MAGA social media users believed they were going to get stories about prominent Democrats and major Hollywood stars engaging in child sacrifice. When all they received was confirmation of what was already known about Epstein's decades of abusing teenage girls which is hardly considered a real crime in Trump's GOP they couldn't hide their disappointment, whining that the "Epstein Files" must be "fake." Bondi, however, has not given up stringing these people along with false hopes that all their QAnon fantasies are about to be proved true. She and Trump's newly appointed FBI director, Kash Patel, had a showy exchange on X, in which both pretended they would soon produce "a comprehensive report" with "no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned." Earlier this week, Bondi declared she now had a "truckload" of documents, insinuating, no doubt falsely, that there are huge revelations to come. Most of the mainstream media ignored this, having recognized that Bondi is putting on a dog and pony show for the QAnon crowd, which believes in an international conspiracy of Democrats and Hollywood celebrities to molest and kill children, before consuming them in Satanic cannibalism rituals. But the right-wing press is still hyping Bondi's breathless promises. The timing of Bondi's transparent stunt is especially telling. All this is happening while misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, accused of sex trafficking and rape, has suddenly been released by the Romanian government to the United States, where he can hide from charges in both Romania and Great Britain for his alleged sex crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the Financial Times reported last week, the Trump administration sent Richard Grenell to speak to Romanian officials about releasing Tate and his similarly charged brother, Tristan Tate, which Romania has confirmed. (They claim there was no "pressure," but come on.) Donald Trump Jr. is Tate's friend. Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, calls herself a "big fan" of the man who was recorded taunting an alleged victim with, "The more you didnt like it, the more I enjoyed it." Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only. In 2015, controversial alpha male influencer Andrew Tate was arrested over another allegation of rape in the UK, following a complaint from a woman who supplied police with messages sent by Tate in which he wrote I love raping you. VICE World News (@VICEWorldNews) January 11, 2023 It's not a surprise that Trump embraces a man who says "I love raping" and who bragged about how he controls women with "bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck." Trump himself is on tape crowing about how he likes to "grab them by" the genitals, and was found liable by a civil jury for sexually assaulting journalist E. Jean Carroll. As Michelle Goldberg wrote recently in the New York Times, Trump regards past accusations of sexual abuse as a resume-polisher for jobs in his administration, believing abuse highlights his values of "power, aggression, hierarchy and leader-worship." A staggering number of Trump's appointees and his shadow president, Elon Musk, have been accused of sexual abuse. But it's also true that it's still politically dangerous to be openly pro-rape. Even in hardcore MAGA circles, many people like to believe they are opposed to "legitimate" rape, as Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican who lost a Senate race in 2010, infamously said. Akin lost, but Trump's successes show that Republican voters crave permission to blame the vast majority of rapes on the victim, while telling themselves it's OK because they would find "exceptions" for victims who are "truly" innocent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's why QAnon exists. Trump voters don't like it when people correctly point out that they backed a man who bragged about committing sexual assault and who was found by a civil jury to have acted on that boast. It's not fun, being the bad guy! So a lot of them construct this elaborate fantasy where Trump isn't a sexual predator, but a hero secretly fighting the "real" sexual predators. And the crimes they make up in their heads are so grotesque child sexual abuse, cannibalism, murder that it makes real accusations against Trump seem minor in comparison. Trump is redeemed through this myth that he's taking on imaginary villains far worse than he is, and therefore, supporters can believe they are redeemed for backing him. That explains why Bondi is wasting more breath pretending she's about to release some shocking revelations about Epstein, who is helpfully dead, making it easier to manipulate his image for whatever ends the Trump administration needs. It's likely also why Melania Trump was deployed Monday to speak at a roundtable about a Senate bill meant to curb the spread of non-consensual nudes and AI "deepfake" sexual imagery online. No one outside the MAGA cult would mistake the First Lady for an advocate of justice for sexual abuse victims, but even within the context of her dishonest posturing, it was telling how she limited her definition of "victim." "It's heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," the third Mrs. Trump testified. Not only did she limit her scope to "children," but she also focused on fake content, generated by AI. Adult women targeted this way rated no real concern. Neither did anyone, underage or not, who had posed for real nude photos, only to see them be released against their will. This is a typical shell game that conservatives play. It allows them to claim opposition to sexual abuse, while turning a blind eye to most of it. Limiting concern only to victims who can be cast as "pure" and "virginal" makes it easier to write off all other victims as "asking for it." That's especially helpful for those who want moral absolution for voting for Trump, despite his disturbing history and open support for other men accused of abuse. The teen girl who had AI-generated fake nudes on the internet is a worthy victim. Adult women who drink alcohol, allow themselves to be alone with men, or who aren't virgins can be written off as fair game. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melania Trump's testimony doesn't just give cover for her husband's ugly views on sexual violence. As Will Oremus of the Washington Post reports, while her vision of who counts as a victim is highly constrained, the bill's scope is not. "Anyone that knows how to exploit the system can have any image they do not like removed, not just intimate images," legal expert Matt Lane told him. Every lawyer Oremus spoke to, including one who has advocated for other bills to remove non-consensual sexual imagery, agreed: The bill is so broadly written that it could be used by politicians and corporations to censor content that isn't sexual, but that they don't want the public to see. Both Elon Musk and Donald Trump are repeatedly threatening "a long prison sentence" for journalists who publish true but embarrassing information about them. This bill could give them a weapon to censor unsavory images, such as Musk's "salute" at an inauguration rally that looked to everyone with functioning eyeballs like the standard "seig heil." But mostly, Melania Trump and Pam Bondi are working overtime to muddy the waters over where the Trump administration stands on the issue of sexual violence. Going after dead rapists and deepfakes creates the illusion of "doing something" about sexual abuse, while shielding real-life abusers from consequences. Meanwhile, the administration's real-world actions, such as advocating for Tate's release or gutting Title IX protections at colleges and universities, send a signal to actual predators and abusers that they should go for it, with the full confidence that the Trump administration has their back. NEW YORK A federal judge denied New York Citys request to force President Donald Trumps administration to immediately return the $80 million federal grant for serving migrants it pulled out of a city bank account last month. Mayor Eric Adams Law Department had asked Judge Jennifer Rearden for a preliminary injunction ordering the federal government to give back the funds as well as a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from taking any more migrant grants out of the citys account with Citibank. The arguments in Manhattan federal court Wednesday were narrowly focused on whether immediate action by the judge was warranted and Rearden found it better to let the federal government hold onto the money while the trial plays out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city has identified no irreparable harm, Rearden said, reading her ruling from the bench. A lawyer for the city, Assistant Corporation Counsel Joshua Rubin, had argued the Trump administration needed to be stopped from taking more money that had been allocated to the city, though he could not point to a specific threat that Washington would reverse another payment to the city. Were just shocked, he said. We dont know what to anticipate, but were not comfortable ruling anything out. The Adams administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. But Comptroller Brad Lander didnt see it as a major blow to the citys case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to argue the $80 million wont be there when theyre ordered to give it back to us, he said, expressing confidence the city will win on the merits. The argument is so open and shut, he said. The Trump administrations papers are riddled with lies and falsehoods, and the city's papers are strong. Adams sued Trump on Feb. 21 in a rare instance of public opposition to the president, whom the Democratic mayor has sought to appease. The city argued the funds a reimbursement for money already spent by the city were lawfully granted by Congress and awarded by FEMA to serve migrants who were legally released into the United States, and that the Trump administration seized them because it politically opposed the program. Through the Department of Justice, the Trump administration countered that the city violated the terms and conditions of the grant because the Roosevelt Hotel, which the city used to house migrants, had become a base for the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The Erie County Sheriffs Office is making some safety and tech upgrades and they said people across Erie County will benefit. One of the goals of those upgrades is to have the best information available in high-risk situations. This process began in 2023 and continues even today. Erie County Sheriffs Office accepting online applications for license to carry The sheriffs office is shaking up their daily operations and records management among other changes to the most current available technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erie County Sheriff Chris Campanelli said thanks to the help of the 911 Center, theyre now using a specialized record management system. Deputies can pull up information on the spot of a call about warrants and criminal history at any given address. Weve been trying to progress into the future, so what we implemented was the LERMS system, which stands for Law Enforcement Record Management System. Giant leap into the future, it took us away from pen and paper, Sheriff Campanelli said. Erie students receive lesson in ethics at annual symposium Before the new system was in use, the sheriffs office had to manually sort and locate information that was stored in thousands of files that contained everything from criminal warrants, civil orders, court orders, and protection from abuse orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, it only takes seconds to find and deputies will have more time to search for wanted individuals. This also helps prosecutors to bring more people to justice. We converted thousands of warrants into the system so now they can right from their vehicle, look someone up, see where they live, get an address and go hit the warrant. Thats going to save all of these court cases that are not being prosecuted because they cannot find the person, were finding them at a way higher rate now. So now the victims and the commonwealth as well as other citizens are getting their justice, said Anthony Bowers, a lieutenant in the criminal division of the Erie County Sheriffs Office. Whats more, is a major update for dispatching deputies with the CAD system. Monday morning mobile home fire likely started by space heater, officials say Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A program deputies use inside of their vehicles tracks other deputies out in the field, as well as other local fire, EMS, and police services around them. This has enhanced our ability to facilitate communications between not only ourselves but also other agencies in the county which is huge. The best part of it all is that it is at no cost at all to the taxpayer, which is why it took us too long to integrate it into the system because I wanted to make sure that it wasnt going to cost the county anything, Campanelli went on to say. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Beyond assisting with time management, deputies have a better idea of what they could be walking into by seeing a record of the address theyre called to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Students were challenged to apply their critical thinking skills to difficult decisions Tuesday. The Rotary Club of Erie held their 14th annual Ethics Symposium at Mercyhurst University. SeaWolves unveil back-to-back championship rings Over 200 high school juniors, along with teachers, from all over the region learned about ethical decision-making. Students were able to absorb the Four Way Test which is a Rotary guide to why morality matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monday morning mobile home fire likely started by space heater, officials say These youngsters are getting ready to kind of head off soon. next year theyll be seniors, theyll be choosing colleges, professions, theyll be launching their adult life and that adult life involves a lot of decisions that they will have to make and we want to just give them a framework for that, said Dr. Karen Staab, president of the Erie Rotary Club and co-chair of the symposium. Teachers were able to earn Act 48 credits with talks from the district attorney and her detective. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A new estimate indicates the Rhyolite Ridge mine site northwest of Las Vegas has 45% more lithium-boron deposits than previously calculated. Ioneer, the Australian company behind the mine project, released the updated estimate less than a week after losing its biggest investor, a South African multinational mining company that dropped out citing low lithium prices. Ioneer is now the 100% owner of the Rhyolite Ridge project. Todays updated Resource reinforces the remarkable flexibility of Rhyolite Ridges unique mineralogy, Bernard Rowe, Ioneers managing director, said in a news release. It allows Ioneer to match prevailing market conditions and blend our ore to produce a valuable boric acid coproduct, whose market is separate from the Projects primary lithium product. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mine site is in Esmeralda County, midway between Las Vegas and Reno. The mine was approved in October 2024. In January, the U.S. Department of Energy finalized a $996 million loan for the project Only active lithium mine in US seeks expansion in Nevadas Esmeralda County Analysis of samples from 12 drill holes completed in 2024 led to the 45% increase in the estimate. The analysis was completed by an independent mining consultant No other lithium project has this flexibility and economic advantage. In times of low lithium pricing as exists today, the Company can prioritize the high-boron ore (Stream 1) over the low-boron ore (Stream 2) to optimize the relative proportion of total revenue derived from boron, according to Rowe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ioneer was not named in a lawsuit filed on Oct. 31, 2024, over the Bureau of Land Managements decision to approve the Rhyolite Ridge mine. A rare wildflower Tiehms buckwheat found only at the site is likely to go extinct if the mine moves forward. This lawsuit is about much more than just preventing the extinction of Tiehms buckwheat, Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release. The Bureau of Land Managements authorization of the Rhyolite Ridge Mine is a flagrant violation of numerous environmental protection laws, and the integrity of these bedrock conservation laws is at stake. We need lithium for the crucial transition to renewable energy, but the government cant break the law and drive species to extinction to get it. Tiehms buckwheat grows on 10 acres that fall completely within the footprint of the boron- and lithium-rich soils of the Silver Peak Range in Esmeralda County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The European Commission is to review the phase-out of combustion engine vehicles this year rather than in 2026, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas announced on Wednesday. The EU's aim to de-facto ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035 has been heavily critcized by conservative and right-wing politicians. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen already held out the prospect of exemptions car powered by e-fuels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her party colleagues from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) are calling for the ban on combustion engines to be reversed. Tzitzikostas' announcement comes after von der Leyen on Monday proposed granting car manufacturers more time to comply with stricter climate targets. Companies are to be given three years to comply with the targets, instead of annual compliance demands, while the overall emission targets are to stay unchanged. Car makers "have to fulfil the targets, but it means more breathing space for industry," von der Leyen said at the time. The commission still needs majority backing in the European Parliament and among the EU countries to make a change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiatives are aimed at helping the automotive sector which struggles with disappointing electric vehicle sales and competition from outside the bloc. Green lawmakers at the European Parliament are however concerned that, contrary to the commission's assurances, climate targets will be jeopardized. European Union leaders are not planning to announce any specific aid package for Ukraine following their meeting on Thursday, 6 March. Source: Finnish news agency STT, citing a draft decision they obtained, as reported by European Pravda Details: At an extraordinary EU summit on 6 March, European leaders intend to discuss further support for Ukraine and the strengthening of Europe's defence capabilities following changes in principles and priorities within the US administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Wednesday, the draft summit conclusions seen by journalists do not mention any specific aid package for Ukraine with concrete figures. Various EU sources also confirmed to STT that no agreement on the amount has been reached yet. The draft conclusions include a call on EU leaders to take swift action to support Ukraine and welcomed the willingness of many member states to sharply increase the volume of assistance provided to Ukraine, particularly ammunition, air defence systems and interceptor missiles. It also mentions that EU countries are prepared to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine, taking into account the capabilities, political stance and security interests of member states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, the draft emphasises that any potential peace agreement must include reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. One of the journalists sources, a senior EU official, disagreed with the claim that the upcoming summit would conclude without concrete initiatives in support of Ukraine. He noted that even if specific figures are not announced, leaders will declare their intention to continue supporting Ukraine and increase assistance, while more detailed discussions will continue at the summit in two weeks. Background: On 4 March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a five-step plan for rearming the European Union and supporting Ukraine which would mobilise 800 billion in defence spending. A letter detailing the plan was sent to all EU leaders ahead of the summit. On 4 March, US media reported that Trump had ordered a halt to all military aid to Ukraine until he sees the Ukrainian leadership "demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace". Trump's decision also applied to weapons that had already left US territory and were en route to the Ukrainian border. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hosted steel sector executives on Tuesday for a debate on how to ensure the industry's future health as it faces high energy costs, decarbonisation and impending U.S. tariffs. The debate, launched eight days before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, will look into how to respond to what the bloc sees as unfair trade practices and global overcapacity, notably in China. In a statement published after the meeting, the Commission said Stephane Sejourne, Commissioner for industrial strategy, would present a plan on March 19th, with on the menu additional sector-specific priority actions and long-term measures to replace trade safeguard measures expiring in June 2026. Among attendees were executives from the world's second largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp, leaders of global union federation IndustriALL, and representatives from the main steel users in carmaking and construction. One key question will be how to protect EU producers from a potential flood of steel imports diverted from the U.S. into the more open European market. "The 18 million tons, which the US is today importing with the exemptions (...) will have to find another place, they are looking for an open market, which is the European Union," said Axel Eggert, general director of Eurofer, the European Steel Association. The EU has safeguards in the form of tariff-free quotas per quarter and per country for various categories of steel dating back to 2018, when Trump imposed metal import tariffs in his first term in office. Under World Trade Organization rules, such safeguards can only be in place for a maximum of eight years, meaning they will run out during Trump's second term in mid-2026. The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, has said it is looking into extending the safeguards or putting in place an alternative mechanism. It could also tighten the current system. To comply with WTO rules, the Commission cannot alter the total import quotas but it could better regulate sudden surges in steel imports that negatively impact the EU steel market, Eggert said. "The rest of the world is protecting its domestic steel industry, while Europe is simply looking that there is an open market without reacting with firm measures - This will now change," he added. EU steel demand is likely to have fallen in 2024 for a second consecutive year. Steel plants in the European Union still support over 2.5 million jobs in the region, despite the scaling back of capacities and the cutting of 18,000 jobs last year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend an extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels in person on Thursday, 6 March. The meeting will focus on support for Ukraine and European Union defence. Source: European Pravda correspondent, citing an EU official involved in preparations for the summit Details: The official confirmed that Zelenskyy has accepted an invitation from European Council President Antonio Costa and will attend the EU leaders' Brussels summit in person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We've received confirmation that President Zelenskyy will attend the summit in person," the EU official said. The source said the Ukrainian president will speak with leaders of EU member states during a working lunch. Background: Until the evening of 5 March, the EU was uncertain whether Zelenskyy's visit to Brussels would happen. Costa had invited Zelenskyy to the 6 March EU leaders' summit, which will focus on European defence and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Hungary continues to threaten to block the inclusion of a reference to support for Ukraine in the summit's final statement and has hinted that it may refuse to support the extension of EU sanctions against Russian individuals on 10 March. Some reports suggest that at the summit, EU leaders will begin formulating the concept for EU security guarantees for Ukraine after the potential end of the hostilities, including the deployment of European troops on Ukrainian soil. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! EU leaders will start working on the idea of EU security guarantees for Ukraine following the potential conclusion of hostilities, including the deployment of European troops in Ukraine, on 6 March during an unscheduled European Council meeting in Brussels. Source: one of the EU officials familiar with preparing the summit's agenda in a comment to European Pravda on condition of anonymity Details: The European official said that on 6 March, the leaders of the European Union member states will begin the first concrete joint discussion of the deployment of their military contingent in Ukraine after the end of the war or after the beginning of a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The EU official reported that practical work on EU security guarantees for Ukraine will begin during this European Council meeting, including planning for the possibility of EU forces being deployed on Ukrainian territory. The official said that so far there has been no debate on this topic, and only a few EU member states have openly declared their willingness or unwillingness to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of security guarantees. The European official hoped that more states would support this approach during the summit. Nevertheless, a specific decision on the deployment of EU troops in Ukraine cannot be made until the format of a peaceful settlement in Ukraine is clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The source stated that it is premature to talk about specific decisions as there has been no ceasefire, and no peace agreement has been signed yet. Moreover, the political context is constantly changing. He also asserted that the first step in providing security guarantees to Ukraine is supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and strengthening the Ukrainian army so that the country can defend itself in the case of new aggression. A European official stated that the latter item is included in the most recent version of the proposed conclusions of the European Council summit on 6 January. Background: The London summit defined support for the Armed Forces as the "first level" of security guarantees for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Hungary continues to threaten to block the inclusion of a reference to military support for Ukraine in the final statement of the EU summit on 6 March. The EU is preparing for the possibility that a pro-Russian group of EU leaders could disrupt key decisions at this week's summit. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! EUNICE, La. (KLFY) Rain, sleet, hail or snow, Eunice said Mardi Gras was a go. Theres two things you dont cancel, Christmas and Eunice Mardi Gras, Andrew Miller of Eunice said. Andrew and his wife Kylie Jo Miller said they run the Courir De Mardi Gras every year. It doesnt matter what the weather is, Kylie said. Im going to run. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Darren DAubin of Eunice said the tradition is Catholic based, stemming from Carnival that was celebrated by wealthier people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They threw beads, had big, fancy parties before the 40 days of fasting of Lent, DAubin said. However, the poor workers on the farms and stuff couldnt do that. They took rice sacks, tore them up, shredded them up and made costumes, so nobody could recognize who they were. They wanted to have some type of party as well. He said that is where the tradition of begging for gumbo ingredients originated from. If by chance a family didnt want to donate or give something, they would dance in the front yard and distract them, he said. They would go around the back, and they would steal chickens. And thats the beginning of the chicken run, so while they distracted the people in the front, the Mardi Grass would go in the back and chase the chicken and catch it to put in a gumbo. Even today, Eunice was chasing chickens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amy Marcantel of Eunice said all of these traditions are the reason she continues to participate every year. Just embracing our heritage, Marcantel said. Ive done it for so many years. Its addictive. Its really addictive. Matthew Daville from Eunice said he hasnt run in about 15 years, coming back this year with his wife Lauren, who is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I remember getting pulled on the trash can lid behind a horse, Matthew said. And I was riding the trash can lid downtown on Second Street. Kate Lengyel of Texas said she came run Eunice Mardi Gras, Because this is the best Mardi Gras there is. Latest news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. AS IF DONALD TRUMPS FIRST-TERM THREATS or the brutal performances by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance on their recent trips to Brussels and Munich werent enough, last Fridays Oval Office ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ought to put the fear of Godor at least American abandonmentin Europe. Yet, if Mondays crash quasi-summit in London is any indication, its pretty clear that European leaders remain at sixes and sevens when it comes to formulating a coherent response. Beyond the quite understandable shock and dismay at the Trump administrations enthusiasm for blowing up the foundations of American strategy and European security, the continent will have to collectively cast off past habits and rapidly adapt to new realities. To be sure, for Kyiv and its supporters, the tenor of the London meetings was a balm to soothe Ukrainian wounds. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was an anti-Trump, welcoming Zelensky to 10 Downing Street on Saturday by noting cheering crowds and assuring the Ukrainian leader that he had full backing across the United Kingdom. Starmer reaffirmed that a loan of roughly $2.5 billion, first agreed in October, would be financed through seized Russian assets, and an additional transfer of $1.6 billion in air defense missiles. On Sunday, Zelensky also had a photo-op audience with King Charles at his Sandringham residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When authoritarians are on the march, all the small-d democrats need to work together. Its true in Europe and its true here. Thats why we started The Bulwark. Join us. Nineteen national leaders and senior European and Canadian diplomats joined the London discussions; this was, in effect, NATO without Washington. Again, Starmer captured the sense of the occasion. The West is at a crossroads in history today, he intoned, This is not a moment for more talk. Its time to act. However, most of the action revolved around the discussion of a peace planreally, just a cease-firethrown together by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who called it a month-long truce in the air, on the seas, and energy infrastructures and addressing ground combat only in a second phase. This seems to have been intended to be an alternative to plans coming from the White House, but one meant to hold whatever tenuous ties to the Trump administration can be salvaged. Starmer and his continental colleagues want to believe that the United States is not an unreliable ally. There are, of course, very good reasons for Britain and Europe to try to smooth the waterseven after the contretemps in the White House, Zelensky is doing his best to stroke Trumps vanity while avoiding the kind of cease-fire terms proposed in London. As the threat of lost American support is terrifying to Kyiv, a larger withdrawal of American military support to the continent would cripple, for many years, NATO and European defense in general: Britains nuclear deterrent is American-made Trident missiles carried by British submarines. Alliance command structures are built on an American backbone. European strategic autonomy remains a distant dream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Share YET WITH BOLD LEADERSHIP and clear thinking, the Europeans can provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevent much further Russian conquest while America-proofing itself in the longer run. The first step in Europes revival should be to turn its traditional pecking order on its headthis is a moment where Western Europe should be following Eastern Europe. One of Macrons predecessors, Jacques Chirac, notoriously argued back in 2003 that Eastern Europeans lost an opportunity to keep their mouths shut. Two decades later, Macron admitted that we missed opportunities to listen. Macron and Germanys chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz need, in particular, to listen to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who came to London urging reinforcements of Europes eastern front. Departing for the London summit, Tusk laid down a correct marker: It will be a real test of the intentions and capabilities of each European state to have more European troops present in Finland, the Baltic states, and Poland on the border with Russia and Belarus. Even if Western Europe is now listening, its not clear that theyve got the message: The Balts were not invited to London but were instead briefed afterwards by Starmer on the results. Beyond any bad national habits there is the question of what role NATO and the European Union can play in forging a more independent European security and defense capability. Both these institutions are creatures of American power and, unfortunately, include as members Putin-loving leaders such as Viktor Orban in Hungary and Slovakias Robert Fico. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commissionthe EUs executivehas been stalwart in her support for Ukraine, and her announcement Tuesday of a plan to free up $843 billion in defense financing across the EU is welcome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Western Europes longstanding hostility to Turkey and its strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is now strategically problematic. Erdogan is, to be sure, a true autocrat, but Ankaras security interests in the Black Sea and the southeastern European littoral can make it an important pillar of any anti-Russian coalition. Any such coalition must indeed pay greater regard to Southeastern Europe. The Bulgarianswho have long hosted NATO air policing operationsalso were not invited to London. Romania was represented, but only by Ilie Bolojan, who serves as an interim president until Bucharest reruns the elections invalidated by Russian meddling. Because meddling in Southeastern Europein Transnistria and the rest of Moldovais Putins second-favorite sport, Europe cannot afford to ignore the region. THERE IS AT LEAST ONE MORE fundamental problem: the obsessive focus on peace plans. While preferable to the shameful proposals oozing from the Trump White House, the Europeans in London were still too content to reward Russian aggression and to assume Putin can be trusted to keep any bargain longer than it would take to rebuild his military for further assaults on Europes democracies. Europe needs to stymie Putins designs and decisively defeat Russian imperialism. Ukraine is offering the West a historic geopolitical opportunity. European success on the Ukrainian battlefield is also the best path to restoring the transatlantic alliance. To atone for the shame Trump and his lieutenants have brought to America, we must regain a sense of humility. Better that the crow is served by our allies than our adversaries. Share Following Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskys already infamous row in the Oval Office, transatlantic relations are taking a nosedive. In the days following the meeting, Trump has cut all military aid to Ukraine, leaving Europe to face the prospect of similar treatment in the near future. European nations, including the UK, have shown unity in the immediate aftermath, with a swiftly convened summit in the UK and hefty financial commitments to both defend Ukraine and rearm Europe. Citizens broadly support this shift towards militarisation. In a recent Eurobarometer survey, 79% of respondents supported increased EU-level defence cooperation, with 65% agreeing that defence spending should be augmented within the EU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, implementing a new defence strategy will mean answering many difficult questions, including whether an EU defence force would involve all EU member states, the potential roles of antagonistic EU members like Hungary and Slovakia (both pro-Trump and pro-Russia), and those of non-EU Nato members such as the UK, Norway, or even Canada. Questions of who would lead such an initiative are also up in the air. Currently, Germanys newly-elected Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is leading the charge with his calls to achieve independence from the USA. As the blocs largest economy, Germany would by default bankroll a significant amount of any European defence force, but this reflects a paradigm shift in the continents defence landscape. Six decades ago, a military union would have been unthinkable, as France staunchly opposed German rearmament throughout the 20th century. Even at the end of the Cold War in 1990, nuclear non-proliferation was a condition of Germanys reunification. As things stand, France and the UK are Europes only nuclear powers much of the continents nuclear deterrent takes the form of US nuclear missiles stationed throughout its territory. Leer mas: Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany's new leader intends to find out A European Nato without the US? Currently, Nato has 32 members, including all EU member states except for the neutral countries of Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta. Other European Nato members include the UK, Norway, Iceland, Albania, Montenegro, and Turkey, along with the US and Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A European defence effort would most likely use Nato as its framework, but without active US participation. This would mean all EU member states that are also in Nato would be included, supported by Canada and non-EU Nato members like the UK and potentially Turkey. Doing so would maintain an intergovernmental approach to European defence, and reduce dependence on the US. To replace the USs role, however, other Nato members would need to step up. Nato military planners assume that in the event of a Russian attack on a European Nato country, the 100,000 US troops in Europe would be rapidly reinforced by up to 200,000 additional US troops, supported by other Nato members and American strategic assets. A credible European deterrent one that could prevent, for instance, a rapid Russian incursion in the Baltics would need a minimum of 1,400 tanks, 2,000 infantry fighting vehicles, and 700 artillery pieces. This is more combat power than currently exists in the combined French, German, Italian, and British land forces. Additionally, Europe would need to develop aviation, transport, missile, drone warfare, communication, and intelligence capabilities, while also recruiting and training 300,000 new personnel to replace US troops. Leer mas: No world order: Europe needs more radical thinking for the Trump era Financial commitment to EU defence Defending Europe without the US will mean spending big, and the European Commission has pledged to do just this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recently announced ReArm Europe package includes a five-part plan to raise nearly 800 billion. It will bolster Europes defence industry and enhance military capabilities, and provide urgent military support for Ukraine following the suspension of US aid. The proposed measures, presented on March 4, include increased fiscal space for defence investments, 150 billion in loans, and the mobilisation of private capital. It will be discussed at the next European Council meeting on March 6. The EUs response to Trump in diplomacy and trade as well as defence has thus far been proactive, recognising that fragmentation of the bloc would be the only alternative. However, if Nato can no longer serve as the framework for Europes defence, the EU will need to consider a specific EU defence strategy. This approach would be even more demanding and could potentially mean creating a whole new intergovernmental institution from scratch. Currently, the most likely scenario involves the emergence of a revitalised Nato, a rearmed Germany, and the creation of an EU Single Market for defence. Este articulo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos academicos. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee mas: Patricia Garcia-Duran Huet receives research funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Net zero reports tend to be predictable affairs, so its perhaps no surprise that the latest update from the Climate Change Committee the Governments official net zero watchdog and proponent of eco-friendly lifestyles has called for a frequent flyer tax. The idea of hiking taxes on so-called frequent flyers has been a staple of environmental politics for more than a decade. To date, Conservative and Labour governments have resisted the temptation to bring in such a scheme, despite repeated suggestions from the Climate Change Committee and others. Sir Keir Starmer something of a frequent flyer himself has been quick to play down some of the reports more controversial recommendations, including curbs on eating meat. Before we express too much relief, though, its worth remembering that his government has already hiked taxes on plane tickets, with a significant jump in Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the autumn budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Increasing APD has become a bit of a hobby for recent chancellors. But Reeves was the first in 13 years to increase duty on short-haul economy tickets, a move that will increase the taxes on a flight to Spain to 15 per person from April 2026. Perhaps Rachel Reeves was just following the example of her continental peers, many of whom have seemingly identified the aviation industry and its passengers as their latest cash cow. Europes creeping green levies Back in January, Denmark became the latest EU country to charge an additional levy on all plane tickets, charging 50 Danish Krone (around 5.50) per short-haul flight. Before the Danes, it was the Portuguese, with Lisbons left-wing government adding a 2 levy to all flights back in 2021. Meanwhile, those EU countries that already have passenger levies have been quietly increasing them: last year, Germany hiked theirs by 20 per cent. The French government just increased its preposterously named solidarity tax on short-haul flights from 2.63 to 7.40. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the charges might sound small in isolation, they can make a significant difference to low-cost carriers, which rely on fine margins to keep their ticket prices down to a minimum. But could they result in the likes of easyJet and Ryanair pulling out of higher-tax countries altogether? When youre running an airline, taxes are the only major variable you can control, says Eddie Wilson, Ryanairs chief executive. We already have our planes; the fuel cost is the same wherever we are flying; as is the cost of the pilots and cabin crew. There is sometimes an assumption among politicians that Oh, Ryanair can just find an extra 13 of savings to pay for APD. Believe me, if that were the case, we would have already done it, he adds. Adding fuel to the fire It would be bad enough if it were just passenger levies. But the all-powerful net zero agenda has also resulted in a barrage of new indirect charges and restrictions which could also put pressure on the cost of your next plane ticket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One such measure is the EUs plan to force airlines to use a minimum percentage of sustainable aviation fuel when they fly. Given the cost of such fuels, the scheme is expected to significantly increase airline overheads an inconvenience that will almost certainly be passed on to customers. Then theres the EUs plan to include aviation within its carbon trading scheme, meaning that airlines will have to purchase an emissions allowance to compensate for every flight they make. The carbon costs of a return flight from London to Athens could run as high as 32.50 (27.75) per person. Incomprehensible plans All this is before we get to the various measures taken by European governments themselves. France has banned domestic flights for routes where a train journey would take less than two and a half hours (that means no flights from Paris to Nantes, Bordeaux, or Lyon) and has even mooted banning private jets from landing in the country entirely. In the Netherlands, KLM has hit back at what it calls an incomprehensible plan to limit landings at Amsterdams Schiphol Airport the fourth-busiest airport in Europe as a way of reducing the noise impact from the aviation sector. A plan that makes even Britains Nimby-friendly policies seem tame by comparison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some proposals seem intent on pulling the rug out from budget airlines entirely. In 2021, the then-coalition government in Austria even proposed a minimum ticket price of 40 on all flights to or from the country a proposal that the Austrian Greens said was necessary to stop the scourge of ultra-cheap flights. The bottom line How expensive could flying get if the eco-warriors have their way? The Climate Change Committee says its proposed taxes could add the equivalent of 150 (in todays prices) to the cost of a short-haul return flight by 2050. In other words, say goodbye to 50 return tickets to Alicante. Could a Mediterranean break end up becoming a rare luxury, as it was in the pre-Ryanair days? The CCC says that its citizens panel was broadly accepting of higher ticket prices. But they must know more than anyone that theres a big difference between people saying they support environmental measures and actually being prepared to change their behaviour. Have they also contemplated the possibility that some airlines might just pack up and leave? After Denmark increased its flight taxes in January, Ryanair responded by cancelling all flights from the countrys Aalborg Airport. More than 1 million seats (to use airline parlance) have vanished from the map. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While airlines have an obvious incentive to moan about taxes, independent analysts suggest they arent bluffing about their thin profit margins. The majority of air travel is price-sensitive, which is the reason airlines express concern about increased ticket taxes, says John Strickland, an aviation expert at JLS Consulting. Margins on the lowest fares tend to be particularly slim, so higher taxes increase pressure on profitability. Weve seen Ryanair move aircraft between markets in the past due to tax levels. When you have millions of passengers on one route, a small tax rise can have a significant impact on bottom-line profits. If you thought airlines removing routes would dampen enthusiasm for new taxes, think again. Just last year, a major report from the left-wing New Economics Foundation proposed an EU-wide frequent flyer tax, which it claims would raise $64 billion in revenue without increasing costs for the average passenger. Too good to be true? Peer into the details and youll soon have your answer. In fact, each person will be allocated just one short-haul flight per year (long-haul flights will be subject to an immediate 100 surcharge), after which they will pay 50 for their next trip, 100 for the one after that, and 200 for their fourth return journey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you had naively entertained the notion that such taxes would only hit the jet-set elite, well now you have your answer. It isnt just that theres an eco-war on flying in Europe: its that youre probably a target. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Ryanair is seeking to become the world's first paperless airline and wants to abolish printed-out tickets by November. The European budget airline's boss, Michael O'Leary, had initially said that the switch to 100% electronic solutions would be implemented by May, but announced on Wednesday that it was delaying its move to paperless boarding passes until early November. The Irish airline now says it will only accept boarding passes on mobile phones or other electronic devices from November 3 onwards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This means that the main booker of a journey must request the boarding passes in the company app, but can then also pass them on to fellow travellers via messenger services. Ryanair - the largest airline in Europe by passenger numbers - says 80% of its customers already use the app for boarding passes. Initial announcements had led to customer protests in the United Kingdom because not everyone has a smartphone, according to media reports. There were also concerns of complications if a mobile device runs out of battery. Guests who have already checked in with a smartphone that breaks or runs out of battery will be helped free of charge, Ryanair says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At some of the airline's destinations, such as in Turkey or Morocco, the authorities still require printed boarding passes. Ryanair argues that the switch to electronic boarding passes could save more than 300 tons of waste per year. Until now, the company has charged an extra fee if passengers do not check in electronically themselves, but use the staff at the airport counters instead. The airline also says its app can be better used to offer help to passengers in the event of delays and cancellations and offer alternative flights, transfers and hotel accommodation options. Fox Newss Laura Ingraham scoffed at Republicans plan to steer clear of in-person town halls after being confronted by angry protesters. At a private meeting Tuesday, Representative Richard Hudson, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, advised House Republicans to hold virtual town hall meetings or Facebook live events instead so they could moderate feedback from the audiencea feeble attempt to avoid anybody who disagrees with them. I thought that was lame. Look, the Tea Party showed up at the Democrat town halls, and we complained that we were thrown out, Ingraham said on air Tuesday evening. So now youre going to say dont show upI say let them show up. Lets see exactly who these people are. When you engage them in conversation they cant back up what they are saying with real arguments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent weeks, Republican town halls have been bombarded by angry constituents, Democratic and Republican alike, who are frustrated with Trump and Elon Musks chaos-inducing assault on the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who supports the halting of in-person town halls, tried to claim that the protesters were being paid by Democrats. Now Im not saying everyone in these town halls that youve seen on television were not from the local area, but look, there are people who do this as a profession, Johnson told reporters Tuesday. Theyre professional protesters. So why would we give them a forum to do that right now? The strategy has been slammed by Democrats, and now by Fox News. Ingrahams take? Let them argue, paid or not. Lets go First Amendment, baby. Gov. Tony Evers said Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China would impact everyone. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. Gov. Tony Evers criticized congressional Republicans Tuesday, saying that the impact of President Donald Trumps tariffs will be significant and felt by everyone, especially Wisconsins farmers. Trumps 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and increased tariffs to 20% on goods from China went into effect Tuesday morning. Both China and Canada have announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., and Mexico has threatened them. The sweeping tariffs are expected to increase costs for Americans on everything from fresh fruit to electronics to cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It sucks, its bad no good, Evers said at a WisPolitics event. About half of Wisconsins exports go to the three countries. Its gonna impact our farmers, lets just think about how that plays out. Theyre the chief buyer of our products Evers said after the event. Lets just talk about cheese. We wont be able to sell that Now, is that a big deal for Wisconsin? Not everybody eats cheese, right? But its a $1.8 billion industry, and its going to be just crushed. Evers accused congressional Republicans of abdicating their duty in allowing the tariffs to move forward. I am just so disappointed in Congress, Evers said at. There is no legislative branch. If Congress thought this through for two minutes, they would understand how bad tariffs are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evers told reporters that his administration will work to challenge the tariffs in court, but that at the end of the day, we gotta get Congress to do something. Is there anybody on the Republican side that believes whats happening in DC is appropriate? I think there are a whole bunch. Theyre just afraid to come out and talk about it, Evers said. The tariffs are being implemented in the midst of Wisconsins state budget cycle. Evers has proposed increasing the states budget by about 20%, including hiking K-12 and higher education spending and cutting taxes. The increases would be funded with revenue from the federal government, state taxes and the states $4 billion budget surplus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evers said the tariffs and potential federal funding cuts could of course affect the budget, and that the threats are making it difficult to plan. His plan would not spend the whole surplus, but would leave the state with over $500 million in the states checking account, which he had said was because of the unpredictability of the Trump administration. The state also has a rainy day fund of about $1.9 billion. We werent certain about the economy. We werent certain about whats going to happen in Washington D.C. Im questioning whether that $500 million is enough to help us get through this, Evers said. Superintendent race and DPI During the event, Evers also again declined to endorse a candidate in the upcoming state Superintendent race. Incumbent Jill Underly, who has Democratic-backing, is running against education consultant Brittany Kinser, a school voucher proponent with Republican-backing. Im not putting myself into that race, Evers said, noting that he didnt endorse in the last election for the position four years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While he wouldnt endorse, Evers did comment on issues at the center of the race, including state testing standards, school funding and Underlys handling of the issues while in office. Evers said Underlys budget proposal, which would have invested over $4 billion in public education, was too high. There was no way that we could take care of schools and other issues, Evers said. I mean it was ridiculous. His own proposal includes over $3 billion for Wisconsin K-12 education. Republican lawmakers have criticized both plans, saying they are unrealistic increases. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) approved changes to the names and cut scores used for achievement levels on the states standardized tests last year a move that Evers as well as Republican lawmakers have criticized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evers said his issue was not necessarily the outcome of the testing changes, but rather with a lack of communication with the public about the changes. The process for the testing changes included input from over 80 educators and other stakeholders, but Evers said the changes should have been vetted publicly before approval. [Underly] didnt run it by anyone, Evers said. Evers said he was probably going to veto a Republican bill that would reverse the recent changes and tie the states testing standards to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationwide assessment meant to provide representative data about student achievement. The bill is in the Senate, having passed the Assembly last month. I have a strong belief that [DPI is] an independent agency and they can make those decisions, so having the Legislature suddenly say well, were the experts here and this is what the cut scores should be, I think thats wrong-headed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (Reuters) -Shares in European carmakers and automotive suppliers fell sharply on Tuesday, after U.S. tariffs of 25% took effect on imports from Canada as well as Mexico, a major automotive supply and manufacturing hub for global firms. The STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles and Parts index fell the most since September 2022, and was down 5% in afternoon trading, reflecting exposure to the tariffs, with companies such as Volkswagen, Stellantis and BMW all have manufacturing sites in Mexico. According to data from Mexico's automotive industry association, Stellantis and the Volkswagen Group -- which includes Audi -- are the two biggest European exporters of light vehicles to North America out of Mexico. The tariffs will impact around 8 billion euros ($8.4 billion) of Volkswagen's revenue in 2025, doubling to 16 billion euros for Stellantis, Stifel Research said. Volkswagen would lose around 12% of its operating profit, while Stellantis would suffer a 40% drop if the two firms were to bear the full impact of the tariffs. Stellantis shares fell to their lowest since July 2022. Analysts at Citi called the tariffs a "relevant negative for the auto sector that should increase volatility across all the auto stocks ... due to a material impact on both production costs and selling prices." German automotive supplier Continental, which provided a bleak outlook for 2025 on Tuesday, said it would analyse what the tariffs will mean for its sites in Mexico and Canada before making any decisions. "It's therefore all the more important for Europe as an industrial location that the EU supports an open trade regime in the long term," Continental Chief Executive Nikolai Setzer said. The group's shares dropped nearly 10% in afternoon trading. The tariffs are a particular pain for Germany's export-oriented carmakers, who have major production hubs in the United States but have built up capacity in Mexico over the years, drawing major criticism from European policymakers. "The EU will not be pushed around," Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. "If President Trump imposes the announced tariffs on EU products, we will react with unity and self confidence." Mercedes-Benz, in an emailed statement, said protectionist measures often led to countermeasures, and this would have negative economic consequences for all players. "This cannot be in the interests of politics and business." ($1 = 0.9480 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Zuzanna Szymanska and Madeline Chambers in Berlin, Andrey Sychev in Gdansk, Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt and Danilo Masoni in Milan; Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum) FRANKLINTON, N.C. (WNCN) North Carolina authorities are releasing more information about a massive drug raid and arrests last week. The round-up happened Wednesday when 17 suspects were nabbed in Wake Forest by authorities from Wake County, Wake Forest, Raleigh and Franklin County. The Franklin County Sheriffs Office addressed the drug trafficking crackdown with a statement and new photos about Operation Exploding Kilo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have seen the faces of evil in the flesh. These 17 individuals have worked to carry out the devils mission. The poison they have pushed on our communitys most vulnerable people is eradicating a generation right before our eyes, Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White wrote in a news release. Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo The large-scale drug bust included heroin and cocaine traffickers, according to the Wake County Sheriffs Office. Franklin County deputies seized prepackaged cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana, 55 firearms, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and other assets, White said. Elementary school students witness shooting while on the bus in west Charlotte, officials say My critics will always hate on me for calling out criminals, White wrote. They will tell you I am racist, hateful, and divisive. The truth is, I am only prejudiced. Prejudiced against those that wish to inflict harm on the people who call our great community home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White released photos of the suspects in the arrests. Several photos of the narcotics and large bags of cash were also released. Wake County officials said the following people were arrested on the charges listed below: Marzavier Richardson, 20, charged with 16 counts of trafficking opium or heroin and conspiracy to traffic heroin Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo Tyzavier Montreal Jeffreys, 21, charged with possession of a firearm by felon and 12 counts of trafficking opium or heroin Jordan Maynor, 25, charged with 8 counts of trafficking opium or heroin Dashawn Jones, 26, charged with 8 counts of trafficking heroin Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo Couri Russell, 31, charged with conspiracy to traffic opium or heroin Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daris Jeffreys, 33, charged with 12 counts of trafficking cocaine Wesley Narron, 33, charged with conspiracy to traffic opium or heroin, possession of firearm by felon, and 4 counts of trafficking heroin Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo Donnie Jeffreys, 34, charged with 3 counts of conspiracy to traffic cocaine Justin Jeffreys, 36, charged with conspire to sell schedule I controlled substance, Possession with intent to manufacture sell or deliver a schedule II controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance, and 4 counts of trafficking heroin Marcus Massenburg, 42, charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine Sedrick Boyd, 43, charged with conspiracy to traffic opium/heroin and four counts of trafficking heroin Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo Sheree Street, 43, charged with possession of firearm by felon Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aleshia Walker, 52, charged with trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine, Possession with intent to manufacture sell or deliver marijuana, felony possession marijuana Keith Holland, 53, charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine Aaron Walker, 54, charged with Trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine, Possession with intent to manufacture sell or deliver marijuana, felony possession marijuana Franklin County Sheriffs Office photo Sophia Jeffreys, 66, charged with sell cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance Juwan Clifton, 30, was arrested last month and charged with possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, Possession with intent to sell or deliver a counterfeit controlled substance, Possession with intent to manufacture sell or deliver cocaine, Manufacture sell distribute or possess a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a park, 2 counts of trafficking cocaine, and 2 counts of maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The raid and arrests included the Drug Enforcement Administration, US Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Wake County District Attorneys Office, Raleigh Police Department, Wake Forest Police Department, and the Henderson Police Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. The former boss of Barclays told a senior colleague he would never have introduced his daughters to Jeffrey Epstein if hed thought he was a paedophile, a court has heard. Sasha Wiggins, the former chief of staff to Jes Staley, told a court on Wednesday that she recalled the Barclays chief telling her: Why would I have introduced my wife and daughters to Mr. Epstein if I thought he was a paedophile? The context of the comment wasnt probed by lawyers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Staley, who ran Barclays from 2015 to 2021, is fighting to overturn a lifetime ban from the City after misleading the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over his relationship with Epstein, the disgraced paedophile financier. Epstein was jailed for child sex offences in 2008 and was arrested again in 2019. He died in prison that year while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking offences. Ms Wiggins testified on the third day of the case, confirming that Mr Staleys eldest daughter, Alexa, had got on well with Epstein because they both had a scientific background and shared an interest in quantum physics. Sasha Wiggins, the former chief-of-staff to Jes Staley, has testified in his court case - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Mr Staleys family visited Epsteins private island in the US Virgin Islands and travelled on his private jet, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Wiggins, who is now the head of Barclays private bank, said Mr Staley had told her he cut all ties with Epstein once he joined Barclays and saw him less frequently after he left JP Morgan, where he ran the investment bank and had cultivated ties with Epstein. She said he described the relationship as sort of dwindling. Mr Staley stepped down from Barclays in 2021, two years after Epsteins death in a New York jail cell. The FCA then fined and banned him from the industry in 2023 after finding he acted recklessly by letting Barclays downplay the extent of his relationship with Epstein. Jonathan Davidson, the FCAs former head of supervision, said the watchdog took so long to act in the case because of reassurances given by Mr Staley and Barclays. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Davidson testified that Nigel Higgins, the Barclays chairman, had told him in a phone call in August 2019 that Mr Staley and Epstein had no particular relationship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call took place shortly after the death of Epstein. Mr Higgins, who was on a summer walking vacation in Romania at the time, told Mr Davidson he had already spoken with Mr Staley and been reassured that the pairs connection was nothing more than that between a private banker and a major client, Mr Davidson said. The case revolves around Mr Staleys ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced paedophile financier - Reuters From my point of view, the matter was not controversial or worrying as Barclays seemed fully satisfied of their position regarding Mr. Staley, Mr Davidson said in a written filing. Under questioning, he said that he didnt believe any escalation was required and there was no urgency to get a written response from Mr Higgins. Given the relationship was not close, and the Barclays chairman seemed convinced it was not close, I would accept that, Mr Davidson said. Im relying on Barclays and Mr. Staley to be honest. Mr Higgins characterised the call as somewhat informal, according to a note shown to the court. Mr Higgins is set to give evidence himself next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FCA opened a formal investigation in December 2019 after JP Morgan voluntarily approached the watchdog to say that it uncovered emails that showed the pair had a close personal relationship. The emails showed that Staley may not have been open with Barclays about the nature of his relationship with Epstein, Mr Davidson said in his statement. He added: I recognised that this information had potentially serious implications. The case continues. Bloomberg News contributed to this story. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A former group home employee was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly helped two teens escape the group home, and one of them allegedly had sexual contact during the incident. Martavious Taylor, 22, is charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Martavious Taylor. (SCSO) On November 12, 2024, police said that the 22-year-old assisted two juveniles in escaping from Turning Point Group Home. Taylor was employed by the group when the incident occurred, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The juveniles, a 15 and 17-year-old, snuck out of the group home and allegedly got into a car with Taylor and his boyfriend. According to the police report, Taylor then took the juveniles to an apartment complex where two other men, dressed as women, were present. Student caught with drugs at Memphis high school: MPD One of the juveniles told police he was solicited by one of the men, and they went to a bedroom where they engaged in sex activity. The juveniles were reported missing by an administrator at the group home. When the juveniles returned to the home, the police were on the scene. They told the administrator and police what happened while they were missing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taylor was fired the same day. His bond information is unknown at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Former Las Cruces Police officer Brad Lunsfords attorneys are requesting a new trial, claiming that there was improper juror substitution during the trial last month. Lunsfords attorneys filed a motion on Wednesday, Feb. 26, stating that there was improper juror substitution during the trial and are asking for Lunsfords release from custody. The motion says that jurors were replaced by alternates during closing arguments and the jurors were reportedly told by the court that they were not allowed to deliberate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The motion also claims that after the trial, one of the alternate jurors contacted the defense because they were shocked by the guilty verdict as the juror believed that Lunsford acted in self-defense. A motion hearing is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. on March 21 and a sentencing hearing is also scheduled for April 4. As we previously reported, Lunsford was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday, Feb. 12, for shooting and killing Presley Eze at a gas station in 2022 in Las Cruces. Ex-Las Cruces Police officer found guilty of voluntary manslaughter for shooting, killing man Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. By Panu Wongcha-um BANGKOK (Reuters) - Canada and the United States offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs held in detention in Thailand over the past decade, sources told Reuters, but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China, where they were covertly deported last week. Thailand has defended the deportation, which came despite calls from United Nations human rights experts, saying that it acted in accordance to laws and human rights obligations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Human rights groups accuse China of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in its northwestern region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any abuses. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Monday that no country made any concrete offer to resettle the 48 Uyghurs. "We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain," he told reporters. Phumtham was out of government from 2006 until mid-2023. The United States offered to resettle the 48 Uyghurs, said an official from the U.S. State Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The United States has worked with Thailand for years to avoid this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries, including, at one point, the United States," the U.S. official said, asking not to be named. Canada also offered asylum to the detained Uyghurs, said four sources, including diplomats and people with direct knowledge. Two of these sources said another offer came from Australia. These proposals, which the sources said were not taken forward by Thailand over fears of a fallout with China, have not been previously reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All the sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Thailand's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China's foreign ministry said in response to a question from Reuters that the repatriation was carried out in accordance with Chinese, Thai and international law. "The repatriated were Chinese nationals who are illegal migrants," it said. "The legitimate rights of the relevant people are fully protected." A spokesperson for Canada's immigration ministry said they would not comment on individual cases. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade referred to a statement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said on Friday the country "strongly disagrees" with Thailand's decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Besides the 40 Uyghurs deported last week, five are currently in a Thai prison due to an ongoing criminal case, according to local officials. Reuters could not immediately confirm the whereabouts of the other three people. ACCESS DENIED Pisan Manawapat, a Thai ambassador to Canada and the U.S between 2013 and 2017 and a senator before he retired in 2024, said that at least three countries had approached Thailand with proposals to resettle the Uyghurs, but declined to name them. "We didn't want to upset China," Pisan told Reuters, without providing further details. "So we did not make the decision at the political level to go through with this." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China is Thailand's biggest trade partner and the two countries have close business ties. Deputy premier Phumtham said Thailand made the decision to deport the group to China last week after reassurances from Beijing that Thai officials would be allow to monitor the Uyghurs' well-being in the country following their return. United Nations human rights experts had said the group would be at risk of torture, ill-treatment, and "irreparable harm" if returned to China, and their deportation has drawn widespread condemnation. Following the deportation, the UN's refugee agency said in a statement that it was repeatedly denied access to the group by Thai authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A source said the UN refugee agency's lack of access to the Uyghurs meant they could not be processed as asylum seekers, stalling their potential resettlement and leaving them stuck in detention. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um, additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Anna Mehler Paperny in TORONTO and Laurie Chen in BEIJING, Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Raju Gopalakrishnan) By Pete Schroeder (Reuters) -The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's board of directors approved a proposal Monday to roll back a Biden-era policy that ramped up the scrutiny of large bank mergers, the agency said in a statement on Monday. The proposal will temporarily reinstate the merger policy that was in effect prior to 2024 as the FDIC conducts a broader reevaluation of its bank merger review process, the agency said. The move by the Republican-led FDIC reverses efforts by prior Democratic leadership to apply stricter scrutiny to potential bank mergers, particularly when it comes to larger firms. The prior policy, adopted in 2024, would have subjected larger banks pursuing mergers to much stricter oversight. For example, the prior policy indicated that any bank merger that led to a firm with over $50 billion in assets should be subject to public hearings and feedback, and mergers resulting in a bank with over $100 billion in assets should be subjected to heightened analysis for financial stability risks. The tougher policy came amid a broader push to apply more scrutiny to industrial mergers throughout the Biden administration, which is expected to retreat under the more business-friendly Trump administration. Banks had complained for years that the process for obtaining regulatory approvals for mergers is complex, lengthy and opaque. The Bank Policy Institute, which represents larger firms, was critical of the prior FDIC policy, arguing it exacerbated regulatory uncertainty for banks and overstepped bounds set by Congress. (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Stephen Coates) Since 2016, conservationists with the World Wildlife Fund have partnered with Cameroonian government officials to collect data on the populations of several key wildlife species in the Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks in the southeastern part of the country. After evaluating the trends in their surveys over the past decade, they recently shared good news: Nearly all of the populations are stable, and some are even increasing. Mongabay outlined the findings, which focused on three species in particular forest elephants, lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees. All three species saw population growth; chimpanzee populations were the biggest winners, tripling in the areas surveyed. However, officials explained, the net growth has been much lower due to losses from human-caused threats like poaching, bushmeat trading, and exotic pet and ivory trafficking. Mongabay spoke with Gilles Etoga, then-conservation director at WWF Cameroon, who said that these threats are also "exacerbated by the proliferation of firearms and extractive industries (logging and mining), which degrade the forest and ecosystem services." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Nevertheless, Etoga added, this news is still fundamentally good. "The situation is positive," he said. "The fauna potential of Boumba Bek and Nki continues to be present and representative of the fauna and the great mammals of the Cameroonian forest and is quite well distributed over the two parks and their peripheral areas." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alain Ononino, country director of WWF Cameroon, also explained to Mongabay that these numbers were proof that conservation works. "The inventory confirms the success of long-term conservation measures, such as a permanent presence system, protection of wildlife corridors, and engagement with local communities," he said. The "permanent presence technique" is a strategy whereby different conservation groups will take turns staying in possible poaching hot spots for weeks at a time. Its goal is to deter illegal activity with a continuous monitoring presence. Plans to engage locally will deepen and strengthen ties with communities in order to drive illegal activity down even further and allow all the protected species there are thousands in Cameroon to thrive. Biodiversity in places like Cameroon is vital to ensure the health of ecosystems and economies, from maintaining regular predator-prey ratios to creating a stable source of eco-tourism income. "Future actions will focus on monitoring wildlife populations, addressing human-wildlife conflicts, and reducing the impact of illegal wildlife trade and extractive industries on the ecosystem," Ononino said. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. As artificial intelligence continues its rapid growth, experts warn about the environmental impacts of the data centers powering it and the lack of transparency from tech giants running the show. What's happening? As covered by the Guardian, the London-based National Engineering Policy Centre released a February 2025 publication calling for officials in the United Kingdom to mandate these companies to report AI-related energy use, water use, and carbon emissions. This would give a better picture of AI's consequences for the planet. "AI providers must be transparent about these effects," Sarvapali (Gopal) Ramchurn, an AI professor at the University of Southampton and chief executive of Responsible AI UK, explained. "If we cannot measure it, we cannot manage it, nor ensure benefits for all. This report's recommendations will aid national discussions on the sustainability of AI systems and the trade-offs involved." Why is AI's carbon footprint important? It's no secret that AI has seen unprecedented growth, seemingly overnight. While the "AI boom" has simmered on and off since the 1980s, per Tableau, OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in 2022 kicked off a domino trail of similar generative AI models being released, putting AI in the hands of the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These days, people use AI for everyday tasks, from organizing grocery lists to drafting emails and more. But many AI users don't realize how resource-intensive the technology is, and the lack of transparency from tech giants isn't helping. The truth is that AI uses massive amounts of dirty energy, which generates harmful gases that contribute to global warming. The International Energy Agency estimates the amount could double by 2026, meaning AI will consume as much energy as all of Japan. Systems powering AI consume large amounts of water, and AI's global demand is forecast to exceed the demand of half of the UK by 2027, Semantic Scholar revealed. This puts strain on water supplies for people, who all need clean water to survive. What's being done about AI's carbon footprint? As AI grows, its demand for resources exponentially increases, leading to a surge in energy and water usage. The Guardian noted, for example, that Google in 2022 reported a 20% increase in water consumption from the previous year: a whopping 19.5 million cubic meters (5.2 billion gallons). Microsoft's usage jumped 34% to 6.4 million cubic meters (1.7 billion gallons). While these numbers are a starting point, NEPC's report says governments should demand reliable data on the resources used across the AI lifecycle so sustainability policies can be implemented across the industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isn't the first time experts have raised concerns about AI's negative effects and environmental impacts. Governments are working toward AI regulation, like the EU AI Act, which has some environmental protections. And California has proposed regulations requiring data centers to disclose their energy usage, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Do you worry about companies having too much of your personal data? Absolutely Sometimes Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. But leaders in the field say these policies barely scratch the surface. Without stricter laws, AI's carbon footprint will only grow, along with its hidden costs to the planet. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. President Donald Trumps tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China are in full swing. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 25% tariffs are now in effect on the nations two biggest trading partners: Canada and Mexico. The U.S. also increased the tariffs on China by 10%, bringing those to a total of 20%. Action News Jax is taking a look at just how soon you could feel the impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Jim Mirabella, a professor of decision sciences at Jacksonville University, said it may be a bit before we see the effects. He said that is because a lot of imported consumer products are currently stored in warehouses. But when those items start to run out, and he said thats when you can expect some prices to go up. Those tariffs could impact your everyday purchases. This isnt every item is going to go up by a big amount, said Clark Howard, Action News Jax consumer advisor. Some arent going to be affected at all, it wont go up any. Others will go up just a little bit and others will go sky high. Prices could rise on items like food, electronics, toys, and appliances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But also cars and parts as higher tariffs could make them pricier and harder to find as many parts arent made in America. Dr. Mirabella said he is not too concerned. I think it is going to be a while before we truly feel the impact, said Dr. Mirabella. But when it does happen, I am not so sure it is going to be as devastating as everyone seems to be hyped up about. He also does not think the tariffs will last that long. I think initially we are going to see the prices go up and we will feel the sting but within the year I honestly believe that things will settle down and we will be far better off, said Dr. Mirabella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canadas prime minister announced a 25% retaliatory tax on U.S products. Mexico said retaliatory tariffs are coming Sunday. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. By Supantha Mukherjee and Gianluca Lo Nostro STOCKHOLM/GDANSK (Reuters) - Suggestions that Ukraine could lose access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system, which has been vital in maintaining its military communications as it fights Russia's invasion, have focused investor interest on Starlink's smaller European rival Eutelsat. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month that the United States might use Starlink access as a lever in talks with Kyiv about its critical minerals, and the Franco-British company has said it is talking to the EU about providing additional services to Ukraine. Eutelsat's stock price has more than quadrupled since a public row on February 28 between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump, after which Washington paused military aid to Ukraine. Here is a summary of how Eutelsat might help Ukraine to meet its communication needs: HOW CRUCIAL IS STARLINK TO UKRAINE? Starlink users access the internet for data or voice communication by using a small satellite dish to bounce signals off a constellation of satellites overhead. Ukraine's fixed-line and mobile networks have been badly damaged by bombing since Russia invaded in February 2022, and Starlink has helped Kyiv to fill the void by sending tens of thousands of its dishes with terminals. Some are made available to civilians, often trying to contact relatives on smartphones. But most are used by Ukraine's armed forces, which also have to contend with heavy signal jamming and interception of communications on the front lines. Ukrainian units often talk to each other via Starlink, and its services have become virtually indispensable for battlefield command and control. Ukraine also used Starlink to guide attack drones until Musk's rocket firm SpaceX curbed the practice two years ago. Originally, SpaceX helped to fund provision of Starlink to Ukraine. The U.S. government then took over, though last month Poland said it had been paying Ukraine's Starlink subscription and would continue to do so. HOW DOES EUTELSAT COMPARE TO STARLINK? Eutelsat already supports government and institutional communications in Ukraine, and told Reuters that it can provide an alternative for certain government and defence applications. Since its merger in 2023 with Britain's OneWeb, Eutelsat controls the only operational global-coverage constellation, besides Starlink, of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). Starlink's more than 7,000 LEO satellites, suited to real-time communication, allow it to reach more users around the world and offer higher data speeds. Julian Barnes, New York Times National Security Reporter, John Brennan, former CIA Director joins Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House to discuss the Trump administration actively trying to weaken Ukraine ahead of potential negotiations for peace with Russia, with the White House cutting off all military aid to Ukraine, and ending the intelligence partnership with Ukraine which in the past has been a key way for the United States to combat Russia. The F-22 Raptor is finally getting a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) Thales popular Scorpion system with the Hawaii Air National Guards F-22s being slated to receive it. The rest of the F-22 community could follow their lead. At the same time, a larger contract was just announced to replace all of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing Systems (JHMCS) worn by USAF F-16C/D Block 40/42 and Block 50/52 pilots with the Scorpion. The award displaces JHMCS as the dominant HMD on USAF F-16s, with one HMD type now being standardized across the Air Forces Viper fleet. The fact that the F-22, the worlds most capable air-to-air fighter, does not have an HMD has always been a point of contention. It was originally planned that Raptor pilots would get one, but this was cut during development. It has been discussed that JHMCS, in particular, had integration issues with the type. Even as the Raptor gained the AIM-9X missile capable of hitting targets far off the centerline of the jet during a dogfight, F-22 pilots still lacked the ability to target it dynamically via its primary method an HMD. You can read all about this strange situation in this past piece of ours. Regardless, now the Air National Guard is taking the lead on fixing the issue once and for all with the help of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The 199th Fighter Squadron out of Honolulu is set to integrate the Scorpion with their Raptors. The Scorpion HMD seen on display at AFA Warfare Symposium in Colorado this week. (Howard Altman) (Howard Altman) Our Howard Altman talked with Thales about Scorpions latest wins on the show floor of AFAs Warfare Symposium in Colorado today, with Thales Lou Taddeo telling TWZ: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We just won a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit Ostensibly were working really with the first real customer, the Air National Guard to put Scorpion on ANG-operated F-22s. So that just kicked off, and we hope that eventually the big Air Force will also buy Scorpion for the rest of the U.S. Air Force F-22 fleet. The contract to equip the Raptor with Scorpion was awarded in September 2024, under the Raptor Open System Tactical-Helmet Display (ROST-HD) program. Interesting enough, a version of Scorpion was previously tested on the F-22, although little is known about the circumstances surrounding those trials. Competing priorities in terms of upgrades have always been a challenge for the F-22 fleet and the Scorpion never made it into operational Raptor cockpits. You can read more about this in our past exclusive reporting here. F-22 pilot wearing Scorpion while operating at Nellis AFB. JHMCS had brought about helmet-mounted display and targeting technology to the USAFs fighter fleets and has been serving for more than two decades on USAF F-15s and F-16s. While providing heads-up situational awareness unlike any hard-mounted display could, it also gave USAF 4th generation fighters the ability to fully utilize the AIM-9X Sidewinders high off-boresight (HOBS) targeting capability. In other words, the pilot has to just look at the target within a specific engagement envelope in order for the AIM-9X to lock on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Scorpion has become an increasingly dominant player within the USAFs stable, equipping Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Block 30 F-16s, as well as USAF A-10s. These users are in addition to more unique use cases, like aboard the AC-130 gunship. Scorpion has also found its way into the private adversary support community, with TacAirs F-5ATs and Top Aces F-16A/Bs being equipped with the type. AC-130 pilot wearing the Scorpion HMD. (USAF) Top Aces also flies with the Scorpion. (James Deboer) Great closeup pic of TacAir's F-5AT with its Garmin 3000 flat panel display and Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display. Read all about these cutting-edge upgrades to these private aggressor jets in this recent piece of mine: https://t.co/hMqSZ3bNo9 Credit: Tactical Air pic.twitter.com/YuudCbJj3Q Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 26, 2020 While JHMCS, which now comes in a more advanced digital JHMCS form, uses a custom carved visor unique to each pilot to display its projected information, Scorpion uses a pane-like monocle system that fits under a visor and in between the eye and night vision goggles. The original JHMCS is not night vision goggle compatible. Scorpion is also capable of projecting in full color, not just monochrome, which can help with crew interpretation of the vast amount of information that can be displayed through the system. This includes weapons targeting, navigation, sensor, and data-link symbology. Going beyond simpler flight data and weapons information, modern HMDs like Scorpion leverage augmented reality that can project friend-and-foe locations all around the pilot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a media release, Thales states: This contract, issued by the USAF utilizing the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), is the first of several anticipated delivery orders to modernize the USAF fleet of F-16s with more interoperable technology. The contract arrangement also allows a procurement option for any F-16 NATO partner to modernize with Scorpion kit capability. Initial kits are anticipated to be delivered to the USAF in early 2025. The Scorpion HMD kits will replace the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) and allow the USAF a standardized Scorpion HMD solution across Air Force, Air National Guard and USAF Reserve F-16s. Scorpion provides a modern digital platform allowing for enhanced pilot situational awareness with full color symbology and a single display for both day and night operations. Tracking accuracy is also markedly improved, as Scorpion is baselined with Visionixs precision HObIT (Hybrid Optically based Inertial Tracker) tracker. The HObIT system provides precise tracking through a fusion of inertial-optical technology. An image showing how Scorpions monocle fits behind night vision goggles. (Thales) Media Services Thales Taddeo expanded a bit more for us on what Scorpion will bring to the table for USAF F-16s and how it compares to JHMCS in general: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scorpion compared to classic joint helmet [JHMCS] Scorpion is a near eye display, full color out of the box, night vision and extreme accuracy off axis cuing JHMCS was designed in 1996, I was on that team. So its needed for upgrade. Scorpion came along in 2009 Air National Guard A-10s and F-16 block 30s, and then we iterated it with our inertial tracker, HObIT. It still offers near eye display, color symbology, and the tracker accuracy of HObIT is superior to JHMCS. But what the warfighter likes is its adaptability to the cockpit and simplistic approach to HMDs. They love the near eye display, and they love color. We give the warfighter the option to change the symbology any way they want. We actually deliver a software developers kit for free. So our customers can make their own symbology. Were out of the symbology game In the case of F 16, the U.S. Air Force owns it. When were going to replace JHMCS in the block 40s and 50s, we actually have a kit that we developed that directly replaces JHMCS. We colorize the symbology better tracker accuracy and out of the box night vision cueing using the customers own night vision goggles. A Wisconsin ANG F-16C pilot preps to takeoff. (USAF) As to what the future holds for Scorpion, Taddeo also told TWZ: The cool part about Scorpion is its a modular system. When we iterate things, we dont sell you a new helmet. Were working on the next better version of our waveguide display, higher resolution, more bright, cheaper. Well just offer a replacement kit for the display. We did it with a tracker. We had a magnetic tracker and we developed the inertial optical tracker. We actually took these kits back and we just gave them a new kit with a new tracker and their old display So thats kind of our approach. So the future is, this thing can still grow as the technology matures. Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com AURORA, Colo. The Air Forces first two prototype collaborative combat aircraft have received their mission design series designations and will fly this summer, Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Allvin said Monday. The CCAs, which are being built by Anduril Industries and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., are the first aircraft the Air Force has dubbed fighter drones. General Atomics CCA is now known as the YFQ-42A, and Andurils is the YFQ-44A, Allvin said in his keynote address at the Air and Space Forces Associations AFA Warfare Symposium here. In Air Force nomenclature, fighter aircraft are given an F designation, and Q stands for drones. Prototype aircraft are also given a Y prefix, which these CCAs will drop once they enter production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the first time in our history, we have a fighter designation in the YFQ-42 Alpha and YFQ-44 Alpha, Allvin said. It may just be symbolic, but we are telling the world we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare. CCAs are autonomous drones that will one day fly alongside crewed fighters like the F-35, or perhaps the future Next Generation Air Dominance fighter the Air Force is considering. The Air Force is heavily investing in CCAs as a way to expand airpower and provide strike capabilities, conduct reconnaissance, carry out electronic warfare operations, or even act as decoys. Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in 2023 that the service plans to have about 1,000 CCAs, but the exact number of the future fleet is not yet known. The Air Force awarded contracts to Anduril and General Atomics in April 2024 to build the first iteration of CCAs; further so-called increments are in the works. Anduril's Fury collaborative combat aircraft, shown here at the Air and Space Forces Association's conference in September 2024. (Stephen Losey/Defense News) Until now, General Atomics has referred to its CCA drone as Gambit, and Andurils CCA has been called Fury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his keynote address, Allvin said CCAs and their core technologies will be crucial for the Air Force to win wars to come. Embracing and leaning into human-machine teaming, understanding what autonomy can do for us, Allvin said. We know thats got to be a part of our future. Anduril and General Atomics heralded their aircrafts designations as signs their work is bearing fruit. These aircraft represent an unrivaled history of capable, dependable uncrewed platforms that meet the needs of Americas warfighters and point the way to a significant new era for airpower, said David Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. The designation is evidence of the programs progress, and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver a capability that will expand the United States ability to project combat airpower, Jason Levin, Andurils senior vice president of engineering, was quoted as saying in a company statement. By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan Culture Ministry has awarded Vugar Imanov, head of the Culture Department at Trend News Agency and a recipient of the "Tereggi" medal, with Honorary Diploma "For services to the Development of Azerbaijani Culture". The diploma was signed by Culture Minister Adil Karimli and presented during a ceremony at the Azerbaijan State Museum of Musical Culture as part of a new project launched by the Culture Ministry's Scientific, Methodological and Qualification Center of Culture (MEM?M) titled "Behind the Scenes of Culture: Secrets of Journalism." The project celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Press and aims to increase the interest of young journalists in cultural journalism. The initiative seeks to enrich their professional activities in this area, and acquire practical skills. As part of the project, a series of seminars are conducted featuring prominent journalists with extensive experience, as well as contributors to the advancement of cultural journalism. The first guest speaker was journalist Vugar Imanov, who shared insights on the key role of journalism in promoting and safeguarding national spiritual values. He also discussed the current state of journalism in the cultural sector, discussing both the advantages and challenges posed by modern technologies. Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, and Milli.Az. Gold rebounded from its worst week of the year as the US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) eased and buyers flocked to the safe-haven asset in anticipation of President Donald Trump implementing new tariffs. On Monday, gold futures (GC=F) gained more than 1.5% to hover below $2,900. The precious metal rebounded from a loss of roughly 3% last week, when a strong US dollar weighed on the commodity. Gold's recent move higher comes as Trump's latest tariff deadline arrives at the end of Monday, with potential new duties starting Tuesday morning on America's top three trading partners Canada, China, and Mexico. Additional tariffs against China are also expected. Gold futures are up more than 9% year to date. Strategists attribute much of the rally to continued central bank buying and uncertainty over US tariffs, including the possibility that even imports of the precious metal won't be spared. Institutional investors have shipped elevated amounts of physical gold bars to vaults in New York in a move to front-run tariffs and take advantage of a price disparity between London and New York. Read more: What are tariffs, and how do they affect you? Wall Street noted the impact of more gold imports in January's trade deficit reading released last week. The "US goods trade deficit widened to a record USD 153 billion as imports surged 12%, with physical gold inflating the data," UBS analysts wrote in a note Monday morning. Meanwhile, global fund managers surveyed by Bank of America last month predicted that gold will beat out US equities to rank as the second-best-performing asset class in 2025, right behind global equities. The fund managers surveyed also expect gold will perform best in the event of a "full-blown trade war," ahead of the US dollar or 30-year bonds. Gold bars on display at a gold jewelry store on Oct. 18, 2024, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Gold prices build on the uptrend witnessed over the past week or so. (Ni Lifang/VCG via Getty Images) VCG via Getty Images Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance It appears President Donald Trump will return this weekend to his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach. Trump will be in Palm Beach from after 6:45 p.m. Friday through at least 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a notice of temporary flight restrictions issued Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration. The restrictions are a strong indication that Trump will visit. The White House has not officially shared the president's weekend plans. This will be Trump's sixth visit to Florida and fifth to Palm Beach since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of Trump's expected arrival, South Ocean Boulevard next to his Mar-a-Lago Club will shut down between South County Road and the Southern Boulevard traffic circle. The town sends an alert 24 hours before the road closes to give drivers time to plan alternate routes. Palm Beach County is no stranger to presidential-level flight restrictions, which took effect each time Trump visited Palm Beach during his first term. The White House press pool stands with U.S. Secret Service agents as they wait for the motorcade to arrive for President Donald Trump to exit Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach on Feb. 28. Pilots who violate the restrictions may be intercepted by fighter jets with the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Six civilian aircraft have violated the recent restrictions, NORAD has said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first two happened on Feb. 15, and one occurred on Presidents Day. Three more happened March 1: The first at 11:05 a.m., the second at 12:10 p.m. and the third at 12:50 p.m., NORAD said in a news release. "NORAD and the FAA work closely together to keep the skies over America safe, with close attention paid to areas with Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR)," Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command said in a statement posted to NORAD's X account. "Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security and the security of the President. The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR." Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: FAA notice: Trump poised to make 5th visit to Mar-a-Lago since Jan. 20 WEST POINT, Miss. (WJTV) Fabricators Supply will expand its operations in West Point. The project is a $2.675 million corporate investment and will create 15 jobs, according to officials. Fabricators Supply offers a range of metal fabrication capabilities, including drilling, pressing, milling, plasma cutting and design. The expansion adds enhanced laser fabrication to the companys current operations. Mississippi Lottery launches new Multiplier scratch-off games Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. The Clay County Board of Supervisors and city of West Point also are assisting with the project. Fabricators Supplys expansion is another strong indicator of the continued growth of advanced manufacturing in the Golden Triangle. By adding enhanced laser fabrication capabilities, theyre strengthening their position in the market while creating new job opportunities for the skilled workforce in West Point and Clay County. Were proud to support their growth and look forward to their continued success in the region, said Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins. Fabricators Supply was founded in West Point in 2001. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. Regina Hill is looking to return to the Orlando city council. Hill, who was indicted on felony elder abuse charges last year and subsequently was suspended from her District 5 seat, announced Wednesday she had filed paperwork to run for city council. The election is later this year. Im excited. Its time to go, Hill said in an interview. Theres still a lot of work to be done. A lot of community leaders, community partners and residents have beckoned for me to run. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before any ballots are cast, Hill is set to face trial in May on seven felony counts following her arrest last year. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement accused her of taking control of an elderly constituents finances and draining her savings of more than $100,000 to spend on Hills own personal expenses ranging from hotel rooms to rental cars, perfumes and vitamin infusions. Shes also accused of mortgage fraud and fraudulent use of personal identification. Hill has pleaded not guilty and maintained her innocence. She said shes confident the charges will be behind her by Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im still standing in my truth, she said. I wouldnt be running for re-election otherwise. For now, the Nov. 4 contest has two candidates, with interim Commissioner Shan Rose also in the race. Rose was elected last June to finish Hills term, winning a heated contest last June to represent the downtown area and neighborhoods west on Interstate 4. Further complicating the race: Hill could return to office before Election Day if the charges are resolved in her favor. Rose said Wednesday the district deserves a leader who will continue to fight for honesty, integrity and real change. I will continue to listen, take action and put the people of District 5 first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hill was first elected to the seat in 2014 and won reelection in 2017 and in 2021. Seats representing Districts 1, 3 and 5 are on the ballot in November. So far, Tom Keen and Kevin Kendrick have filed to run in District 1, and Samuel Chambers filed to run in District 3. rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com Claim: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the U.S. will have "to send their sons and daughters" to die for Ukraine after having a heated exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in February 2025. Rating: Rating: Miscaptioned Context: Zelenskyy did say, "The U.S. will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending [our] sons and daughters to war." However, he was talking about a hypothetical situation in which Ukraine losing the war against Russia would lead to a broader conflict resulting in Americans being pulled into fighting. He made this statement in February 2023, two years before the exchange with Trump took place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just days after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of journalists at the White House in late February 2025, users shared another video of Zelenskyy widely on social media. The Ukrainian leader was recorded saying the U.S. "will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending [our] sons and daughters to war." Many online shared the video as a way of criticizing Zelenskyy in the aftermath of the Oval Office confrontation. One post stated: "Oh, hell no. I've had it with this dude. Americans will NOT fight and die in Ukraine. This guy has lost his mind." Zelenskyy says US will have to send their sons & daughters to fight. He also says they will have to fight & they will have to d!e. I cant stand this sorry POS. pic.twitter.com/KNJoabLskZ Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 3, 2025 As Snopes has reported before, Zelenskyy was talking about a hypothetical situation in which Ukraine losing the war against Russia would lead to a broader conflict resulting in Americans being pulled into fighting. Furthermore, he made the above comments in February 2023, two years before the tense exchange with Trump and Vance. As such, we rate this claim as miscaptioned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In our past reporting, we covered how on Feb. 24, 2023, Zelenskyy held a news conference in Kyiv marking one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. He answered questions from numerous journalists, and subsequent social media posts presented some of his answers in a misleading manner and without context. The above X posts rely on a section of a longer statement. In the short clip, which is presented through an translator, Zelenskyy said, "The U.S. will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending [our] sons and daughters to war, and they will have to fight, because it's NATO that we're talking about, and they will be dying. God forbid, because it's a horrible thing." He said this in response to a question about U.S. opinion polls that showed a growing number of Americans thought their government was giving too much support to Ukraine. A journalist asked about his message to Americans with those concerns. Zelenskyy said (emphasis ours): If they do not change their opinion, if they do not understand us, if they do not support Ukraine, they will lose NATO, they will lose the clout of the United States [] they will lose the support of the country with 40 millions of population, with millions of children. Are American children any different than ours? Don't Americans enjoy this the same things as we do? I don't think we're that different. I'm actually very happy that we have bipartisan support but we keep hearing those messages from time to time and they're dangerous. [] Who wants the Third World War? Would anyone risk, would anyone be willing to accept that risk? The U.S is never going to give up on the NATO member states. If it happens so that Ukrainedue to various opinions and weakening and depleting of assistanceloses, [then] Russia is going to enter Baltic states, NATO member states, and then the U.S will have to send their sons and daughters, exactly the same way as we are sending [our] sons and daughters to war, and they will have to fight because it's NATO that we're talking about and they will be dying. God forbid, because it's a horrible thing. I wish peace and Ukrainian support to the United States. Zelenskyy presented a hypothetical situation, warning of what could happen if the U.S. withdrew support and Ukraine lost the war, saying that Russia could invade other nations, and then American soldiers could be pulled into other battles. We noted in our past coverage that this prediction may not be accurate, and was largely serving Zelenskyy's political agenda of getting more help from the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The full exchange can be overhead at the 1:37:35 mark in the video below: Ultimately, the selected clip above was miscaptioned and did not provide the correct picture of what Zelenskyy was saying. Zelenskyy was not calling on Americans to send their sons and daughters to war in Ukraine, but suggesting a possible future where if Ukraine fell, American soldiers would be pulled into other wars against Russian invasions. Furthermore, the clip was shared after Zelenskyy's February 2025 visit to the White House, suggesting his comments were recent, when in fact they were made two years earlier. Since Trump and Vance's confrontation with Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader has said the incident was "regrettable" but he was ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" for a lasting peace. Snopes' archives contributed to this report. Sources: Ibrahim, Nur. "Did Zelenskyy Say US Will Have To 'Send Their Sons and Daughters to War' for Ukraine?" Snopes, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/zelenskyy-us-sons-daughters-war-ukraine/. Accessed 4 March 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liles, Jordan. "Video Doesn't Show Zelenskyy Using Expletive about Trump Outside 10 Downing Street." Snopes, 4 Mar. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-video-zelenskyy-10-downing-street/. Accessed 4 March 2025. Santora, Marc. "Zelensky Answers Reporters' Questions for Hours, Expressing Confidence in Ukraine's Eventual Victory." The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2023. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/world/europe/zelensky-press-conference.html. Accessed 4 March 2025. "Watch in Full: Volodymyr Zelensky Press Conference on First Anniversary of Ukraine's War with Russia." The Telegraph, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxxQlbiM8EM&t=5986s. Accessed 4 March 2025. "Zelenskyy Calls Oval Office Spat with Trump 'regrettable,' Says He's Ready to Work for Ukraine Peace." AP News, 4 Mar. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-trump-zelenskyy-military-aid-2ce8b167f0ba948b2b606381192de71d. Accessed 4 March 2025. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) One local woman is working hard to keep the memory of her infant daughter alive by helping other people. Arianna Wagers daughter Willow died in February 2023 at only 38 days old. This year, Wagers is working with Versiti Blood Center of Ohio to host the 3rd annual blood drive in Willows honor. My daughter was definitely a fighter and nothing less, said Wagers. Every year I do things to keep her name alive, like donating to Kettering NICU, and holding yearly blood drives because she needed many blood transfusions in her 38 days of life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Christmas, Wagers and a group of volunteers donated 23 care packages to Kettering NICU. On the anniversary of Willows death, she donated custom onesies and preemie hats. The Baby Willow Memorial blood drive will be on Wednesday, March 5, from 3-6 p.m. It will be held at Fairborn Moose Lodge #1068. To make an appointment, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. WILBARGER CO. (KFDX/KJTL) Nearly a year after a double fatality car crash outside of Oklaunion, state legislators are working to rename a portion of US 287 after one of the victims. The fatal crash on March 16, 2024 claimed the lives of 9-year-old Molly Mullens and 43-year-old Than Than Shwe due to what the Mullens believe to be faulty infrastructure. Theyre seeking to honor their young daughter and hope to advocate for safer roads throughout the country. I never want her to be forgotten, mother Marissa Mullens said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A year later, 9-year-old Molly Mullens lives through the love of her parents, Marissa and Mike. Making sure that this doesnt happen to somebody else and knowing that that stretch of the highway had so many fatalities prior to our accident and nothing had changed, Marissa said. After the life-changing crash, as the Dallas family drove home from a ski trip, the family is doing all they can to prevent similar tragedies, first reaching out to representative Morgan Meyer for concrete barriers instead of wire a goal that was achieved within months. Typically, you know, government processes can take some time, Mike said. But Morgan Meyers support and the rest of the House and Senates support, we got it done really quickly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meyer continues to help Mollys life live on as he seeks to rename the US 287 stretch from County Road 111 to County Road 132. Molly Mullens was a beloved member of our community, and her memory will continue to inspire us. It has been a privilege to work alongside the Mullens family, whose commitment to enhancing highway safety will no doubt save lives, Meyer said in a statement. This section of U.S. Highway 287 will be designated as the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway, commemorating the legacy of Molly Mullens and her familys unwavering commitment to improving highway safety. Now, you know, our house seems so quiet, and its noticeable even though we have three children, Mike said. She was one of three, but she produced 90% of the energy and the happiness. Mollys mother said she loved her friends, school and her dog Allie. The family dog was startled after the crash and ran away, but the family believes Molly brought her home safely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was lost for about 20 hours, and people were trying to rescue her, and she kept fleeing, but I feel like Molly protected her and her brothers, Marissa said. There was an off-duty EMT that day who was driving right behind us, and knew exactly what was wrong with Sean. So, I feel like Molly was protecting everyone that day. And as Molly protected them, The Mullens hope to protect other Texas drivers. No day will go by that we dont think about her. No day will go by that we dont think about the accident. No day will go by that we dont miss her, Mike said. If either the House Bill or Senate Bill is approved, the portion of 287 where Molly lost her life will be renamed the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway, and signs will be dedicated in her honor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. The family of an elderly British couple being held captive in Afghanistan has pleaded with the Taliban to allow them a phone call so they know they have not been abandoned. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his 75-year-old wife Barbie, were returning to their home in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, last month when they were detained, ostensibly over accusations that they had fake Afghan passports. The couple, who have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and have joint UK-Afghan citizenship, are being held separately in Kabul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told The Telegraph she was increasingly concerned about their well-being, and has pleaded with the Taliban to arrange a phone call. She said: We have a big family reunion planned for Dads upcoming 80th birthday. It will be the first time in 20 years that all 33 of us have been together in the same place our parents, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are desperately hoping the Taliban will release them in time for this. The couple were married in Kabul in 1970, before war ravaged the capital, and later set up Rebuild, a company that provides education and training programmes for government and non-government organisations. Peter and Barbie Reynolds outside the British embassy in Kabul after they had married in the Afghan capital in 1970 Such is their bond with Afghanistan that, when the Taliban took power in 2021, they stayed even after their house staff and most foreigners had left the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their relationship began at Bath University in 1968, when Mrs Reynolds, who grew up in India and spent summers in Afghanistan, first set foot in England. Fifty-seven years after they met, Mr Reynolds still introduces her as his girlfriend. Ms Entwistle said: Dad is a gentle, compassionate man who is considered a father figure to many people. He is deeply loved and respected around the world for his wisdom and kindness. Mum is a fun-loving, vibrant visionary with inspirational ideas. She is truly loved by everyone and spreads joy wherever she goes. Both Mum and Dad had phone conversations with my brother on Feb 1 after their arrest in Bamiyan. However, three days later, when they were taken to Kabul for the second time, their texts became increasingly distressed before we lost all contact. At first, we waited for three weeks to see if the Taliban would release them. We heard nothing from them during that time, and we felt it was long enough to wait before informing the world of what had happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the couples arrest, their home has been ransacked and their house staff interrogated. Disagreements between factions Sources within the Taliban told The Telegraph that the couples detention was not based on any violations of local laws or religious customs, but was a political move by a faction to increase international pressure on the government and Haibatullah Akhundzada, its supreme leader. The arrests have triggered intense disagreements between Taliban factions in Kabul and Kandahar, with heated phone calls between the two power centres. The interior ministry, responsible for the couples detention and potential release, is controlled by the Haqqani network, which is at odds with the establishment in Kandahar and seems to be using the situation to challenge Akhundzada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing the Taliban, Ms Entwistle said: We know that there are those of you who want to see justice and peace in Afghanistan. We urge you to demonstrate this by releasing mum and dad to return to their home to continue their work. We also ask for proof of their well-being and the opportunity to communicate with them by phone. Sources within the Taliban told The Telegraph that the couples detention was a political move by a faction to increase pressure on the government and Haibatullah Akhundzada, its supreme leader. - MOHD RASFAN/AFP Ms Entwistle said the couples commitment to Afghanistan had been shown following the countrys fall to the Taliban after international forces withdrew. Through tears, Dad said: I could not get on a plane and land in Heathrow, leaving our friends and country in their greatest hour of need, she said. We admired them all the more for it but it was so so hard, so much grief around for everyone there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She recalled a distressing moment when the Taliban had taken over, saying: One time, they thought they were about to be shot as the Taliban were at their gate. They were about to say goodbye on the video call, but we said no, please let us stay with you if this is going to be the end. Then the soldiers passed by. It was one of the most stressful times we have ever lived through. They were helping the community The couple, who have devoted their senior years to Afghanistans most vulnerable citizens, now find themselves vulnerable. We dont know what conditions they are being held in it is a concern given their age and Dads health issues, said Ms Entwistle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Reynolds work includes programmes such as life skills labs, three-week workshops primarily for young people. The workshops focus on project-based learning and cover communication skills, emotional and social intelligence and conflict resolution. They also hold Islamic student-focused learning courses for Afghan teachers. Ms Entwistle said: The big thing they were focusing on in Bamiyan was project-based learning. They were working with groups of men and women separately, obviously. They were helping the community to use systems thinking. This was to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through project-based learning. Mr and Mrs Reynolds in the same room they got married in 30 years later Mr and Mrs Reynolds also held training courses for Afghan health ministry officials in Kabul before the Taliban took over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fada Mohammad Peykan, a former deputy health minister trained by the couple in 2019, described them as kind and patient people with excellent behaviour. He said: I testify that they are good people they are harmless and not the kind of people who would commit a crime. He said the Reynolds loved Afghans, had a deep understanding of the country and had never spoken about politics during their courses. Ms Entwistle added: Prior to the Talibans leadership in Kabul, mum and dad discovered there was no extra support for children with special educational needs. They organised groups where parents and their children with additional education needs could learn together. The testimonials were overwhelmingly positive, and the progress these families made was both remarkable and heart-warming. Small victories offer hope The dedication to Afghanistan runs deep in the Reynolds family, and Ms Entwistles childhood home had featured framed posters of the countrys landscapes with the hopeful caption: Tourism Afghanistans passport to peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now those same Afghan mountains cast long shadows over the couples fate. Their daughter said: We understand how difficult it is as there is no British embassy in Afghanistan. So our message to the British consulate is thank you, and please continue to do all you can. Ms Entwistle said small victories like the delivery of Mr Reynolds prescription medicine through European Union representatives over the weekend, accompanied by the message that the couples plight had become world news offered fragile hope. She added: This will be comforting for them to know they are not abandoned and forgotten. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Health savings accounts can be valuable components of individuals savings toolkits, especially for those who can afford to pay their actual healthcare expenses out of pocket while leaving their health savings account assets in place to grow. If investors are able to pay out of pocket for healthcare costs and allow their HSA accounts to grow, the HSA assets can better harness the power of compounding, and the tax benefits are also more valuable when stretched over a longer period of time. Before they employ an HSA as a long-term investment vehicle, though, investors need to do their due diligence. Let your HSA money grow The starting point for thinking about how to invest your HSA is to consider when you would actually spend the money. As noted above, HSAs enjoy triple tax-advantaged status, and the benefits of that tax-free compounding increase the longer the money is invested. Lets say an investor contributed $6,000 to her HSA and earned a 5% annualized return over the ensuing 10 years. Shed have nearly $10,000 at the end of the 10-period, and she wouldnt owe any taxes along the way. Meanwhile, an investor who used after tax dollars to contribute to a taxable brokerage account would steer $4,500 into the accountthe $6,000, less taxes, assuming shes in the 25% income tax bracket. Assuming a 5% annualized return on her money, shed have $7,412 in the account 10 years later. Shed then take a tax haircut on the appreciation when she pulls the money out; assuming a 15% capital gains rate, her take-home return would be less than $7,000. How to think about HSA asset allocation HSA assets can be managed in line with other retirement assets; the longer the time horizon until spending, the more aggressively positioned those assets should be. But as retirement draws near, it makes sense to think about a liquidation strategy, based on anticipated healthcare spending needs. To project spending, its helpful to review which expenses qualify for tax-free withdrawals. Importantly, premiums for Medicare supplemental policies dont qualify as tax-free withdrawals, though Medicare insurance premiums (for Parts B, C, and D), long-term-care insurance premiums (up to the IRS limits), and out-of-pocket pharmaceutical costs, among others, would all be eligible. Armed with an estimate of annual healthcare spending needs, a retiree can then position the assets in the account. Where does an HSA fall in the retirement distribution queue? In addition, retirees will also want to consider how their HSAs fit in with other assets in the distribution queue. The HSA should logically come after withdrawals from taxable accounts and traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. Thats because HSAs enjoy tax-free compounding and withdrawals are tax-free for qualified healthcare expenses, so its valuable to hang on to those benefits for as long as possible. DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) The family of a man who was shot and killed during a Feb. 28 standoff is demanding answers from law enforcement. My son was good kid, Stanley Rose, father of 35-year-old Robert Rose, said during a Tuesday morning press conference outside North Charleston City Hall. Deputies with the Dorchester County Sheriffs Office responded to the Waverly Place apartment complex on the morning of Feb. 28 after the Department of Mental Health requested help transporting a patient to a mental health facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to SLED, the individual later identified as Robert Rose was sitting inside a parked car outside of the building, armed with a hatchet when deputies arrived. An altercation ensued, during which Rose assaulted a deputy with the weapon, injuring the deputys hand. The situation evolved into a barricaded suspect incident, and additional agencies were called in to assist, including the North Charleston Police Departments SWAT team. Deputies arrest mother, boyfriend after child found alone in West Ashley North Charleston Police Chief Ron Camacho said the incident escalated when Rose exited the residence through a window, armed with a hatchet in each hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite clear and repeated commands from our officers to drop the weapons, the subject did not comply. As a result, our officers discharged their weapons to prevent further threat to the surrounding public, Camacho said in a Feb. 28 statement. Rose was taken to Trident Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 4:30 p.m., according to the Dorchester County coroner. According to his father, Rose joined the Army National Guard as a senior in high school but was not quite the same when he returned home from fighting overseas. He was no threat to anybody, Stanley Rose said. The only thing he was battling was his mental condition, and I think he had in under control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Tuesdays press conference, one family member questioned why officers did not use a taser, beanbags, or another option before resorting to lethal force. Why did you feel the need to kill a veteran with mental illness? she asked. Roses father said he learned of the situation only minutes before the shooting occurred and believes that he could have been able to help if hed been notified sooner. They called me right before they killed him, he said. If they had called me when it first went down, I couldve gone in there and saved my son. My son would be alive today. The North Charleston Police Department and Mayor Reggie Burgess office declined to comment, citing SLEDs ongoing investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. CORDOVA, Tenn. A Cordova man is looking for answers after his wife was found dead in a large retention pond in east Shelby County Friday night. The Shelby County Sheriffs Office said Kristen Fundo, 35, was still wearing her seat belt when divers found her body inside her submerged vehicle at Grays Hollow Drive South and Grays Mill Drive off Walnut Grove Road. Womans body found submerged in Shelby County pond SCSO at Grays Hollow Drive South and Grays Mill Drive off Walnut Drive on Feb. 28 SCSO said there were no signs of foul play. Her husband said the medical examiners office told him there was no trauma to her body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Fundo, who is a private contractor in Saudi Arabia, was out of the country when it happened. He said that just an hour earlier, his wife had been at a Collierville restaurant with a friend. He said he Facetimed her while she was at her table. Fundo said he had been tracking her phone as she left the restaurant and became alarmed when she didnt answer the phone or reply to his text messages. He said he saw her drive toward the pond around 8 p.m. Multiple investigations, but few answers after moms fatal crash into pond Michael Fundo was trying to reach his wife by text Fundo said that was the same time her phone died and when the sheriffs office received a call about a vehicle being submerged in the water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was near my brothers neighborhood. I dont know if that is where she was trying to go, said Fundo. I called my brother to see if our car was there. Fundo also sent a text to his wife saying he loved her, he hoped she was okay, and he was panicking really bad. Kristen Fundo. Courtesy: Michael Fundo Fundo said his family is devastated by his wifes death. Kristen worked at Christ Methodist, and the couples daughter attended the Christian elementary school. He said the school has been very supportive of the family, waived his daughters tuition, and brought in counselors for students and faculty. No daughter should ever grow up without a mom, Fundo said in a Facebook Live post after returning to Tennessesee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A family member has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral and travel expenses. Fundo said he wants to let his daughter stay in her school and will be going back and forth from Memphis to his job in the Middle East. A cause of death has not been released. Fundo said he was still waiting on a toxicology report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The mayor of Springfield has responded after his city was mentioned during President Trumps address to Congress Tuesday night. Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobodys ever seen before, said Trump. Beautiful towns destroyed. Springfield in the Spotlight Mayor Rob Rue releases statement after Trump mentions Springfield again In a statement released Wednesday, Mayor Rob Rue disagreed with the latter part of what the president said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The City of Springfield has not been destroyed, said Rue. On the contrary, we are seeing economic growth and new housing developments. Community leaders are actively collaborating and making decisions to move the city forward. Rue said that the mention of Springfield didnt come as a surprise as the city had been highlighted in Trumps Executive Order on immigration. Ohio city files federal lawsuit against alleged neo-Nazi group He said that while the citys resources had been strained by the influx of new residents, a majority of the migrants had been living peacefully. The greatest hardship we have faced in the past six months is the mischaracterization of our city. We need to be recognized as a community that, despite its challenges, is continuing to move forward and is far from being destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rue concluded by expressing a desire for the Trump administration to implement an immigration policy that enriched the country. Springfield residents weigh in on Trumps address 2 NEWS spoke with Springfield residents to see what they thought of the comments made Tuesday night. Some say despite supporting the president, they didnt welcome the comment. I didnt agree with all of it, said Bill Patterson, Springfield resident. I did vote for him and I was just looking for change. I just felt the criticisms of Springfield werent warranted. Patterson also shared that despite the struggles the city faced in mustering resources to manage this many new residents, the city is far from being destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Springfield doesnt seem like its worse overall, said Patterson. Another resident said statements like the city is being destroyed are overkill, but the sentiment wasnt entirely wrong. Theyre kind of destroying, more like taking over. Some of its false, said Jerome Girrett, Springfield resident. 2 NEWS also reached out to the Haitian Community Support Center in Springfield. Community leaders expressed frustration over the unfounded claims. Haitian immigrants in Springfield have contributed tremendously, but saying differently is just like not telling the truth, said Viles Dorsainvil, president of the Haitian Community Support Center. I am still disappointed for what was said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. A ceremony to say farewell to Ukrainian serviceman Vasyl Ratushnyi has been held on Independence Square in Kyiv. Source: Ukrinform correspondent Details: Nearly 500 people attended the ceremony. Taras Ratushnyi, Vasyl Ratushnyis father. Photo: Ukrinform Among them were Ratushnyi's relatives and loved ones, as well as many servicemen in uniform, the journalist notes. Mourners held yellow-and-blue and red-and-black flags, while some soldiers carried flags of the 414th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Aviation Systems Madiars Birds in which Vasyl Ratushnyi served. Farewell ceremony at Independence Square. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Ukrinform The funeral service was held at St. Michael's Cathedral, after which the funeral procession proceeded to Baikove Cemetery. Funeral at St. Michael's Cathedral. Photo: Ukrinform Funeral at St. Michael's Cathedral. Photo: Ukrinform Background: On 27 February, writer Svitlana Povaliaieva announced that her eldest son Vasyl had been killed in action. Her younger son, well-known Ukrainian activist Roman Ratushnyi, was killed on 9 June 2022 in a battle near the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. Both brothers were participants in the Revolution of Dignity. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Farmers and environmental watchdogs in North Carolina are growing increasingly wary about biosolids being applied to some of the state's farm fields, because the treated waste might contain harmful forever chemicals, WRAL News reported. It's a problem growing in parallel to the chemicals' prevalence on Earth, now found in blood, water, and soil. New studies have added to the biosolid scrutiny. What's happening? Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called forever chemicals or PFAS, are minuscule particles that are part of many everyday products, including non-stick cookware, food packaging, and firefighting foam. Thousands of PFAS chemicals have been used for decades. Since they take nearly forever to break down, the substances have had time to leach into nearly all parts of the environment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biosolids are treated human and industrial waste streams that are used as a fertilizer, put in a special landfill, or incinerated, per the EPA. Farmers in North Carolina and elsewhere have been using the waste as a field treatment for decades as a useful end for the substance. Biosolids are applied to less than 1% of North Carolina land, with strict regulations regarding animal grazing and crop harvesting timelines afterward, according to WRAL. About 20 million acres of farmland nationwide "could" be treated with biosolids with no national guidelines to test the waste for PFAS, according to estimates from the Environmental Working Group. "From the public perspective, there's less cost versus other methods of disposing of it. At the end of the day, that's what we're doing, because it has to go somewhere," North Carolina farmer Stuart Beam told the news agency. Are PFAS really in the waste? Beam has no doubt that biosolids contain forever chemicals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The question is, at what levels?" he told WRAL. A cautionary tale can be found in Texas, where PFAS-contaminated biosolid runoff has been linked to soiled land and fish and cattle deaths that have devastated farmers, according to the Texas Tribune. A recent EPA assessment raised more concerns about forever chemicals found in water and waste. It's part of the warning signs that caused concern in North Carolina, per WRAL. The story stated that PFAS chemicals have been found in wells and other water sources there, too. The cause is linked to fields treated with biosolids, according to experts interviewed by WRAL. "We really need more testing," Keith Larick, natural resources director at the North Carolina Farm Bureau, said in the story. "Farmers need to know that if they accept biosolids, they're safe." What's being done to help? In North Carolina, WRAL reported that environmental officials have tested sludge in 2023 and 2024, with results expected this year. More information is a start to better understanding how to prevent PFAS contamination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers from multiple labs are working on ways to collect and destroy forever chemicals with filters and ultraviolet light. Successful efforts on those fronts could prevent the PFAS from ending up in biosolids. You can use your voice by contacting local lawmakers and asking them to vote for better PFAS protections. It's also important to stay educated on what products contain harmful substances. Cleaner cosmetics, sunscreen, and other products are already on store shelves. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. A Polish pre-Lenten season treat has returned to a business on upper Peach Street. Fuhrmans bakers at Luminary Distillery have been busy making paczki, with customers lining up to buy them for the past several weeks. Community Blood Bank offering carton of eggs for donors The owners of Luminary Distilling, Fuhrmans Cider, Eatery said they want to continue the tradition of selling the filled treats during the mardi gras season. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The celebration culminates on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent. Erie Zoo welcomes guests to kick off centennial season Its kind of a last hurrah before leaner times of whenever youre going to be having less sweets and more fish coming up with all of the lenten specialties that come around, said Joel Normand, owner of Luminary Distillery. Tuesday is the last day paczki will be sold, however, those who missed it can return to Luminary the Thursday before Easter Sunday. Luminary will be offering plenty of Friday options for people during Lent as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Austin police are investigating a deadly collision between a city fire truck and a civilian vehicle that occurred Tuesday near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The crash, which killed one person and injured four firefighters and a civilian, occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at the intersection of State Highway 71 and Presidential Boulevard. The fire truck involved in the crash, Engine 42, was responding to an "airfield incident" when the collision occurred, said Austin Fire Department spokeswoman Tara Long. The incident later was cancelled. Officials have not released the name of the deceased or said whether the person had been riding in the civilian vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident shut down Presidential Boulevard for several hours, until the roadway was fully reopened at 6:30 p.m., according to the airport. One person was treated by emergency responders for critical, life-threatening injuries and another for potentially serious injuries" before both were transferred to St. Davids South Austin hospital, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. One of the patients was "pronounced deceased a short time later," the Austin Police Department said Tuesday. Long said the four firefighters were treated for minor injuries and taken to Dell Seton Medical Center "out of an abundance of caution." The Police Department, which is investigating the crash, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fault unknown in fatal crash between fire truck and car near ABIA PROSPERITY, WV (WVNS) A Fayette County man pleaded guilty to a federal drug crime in Raleigh County. According to a press release, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 25-year-old Nicholas D. Plumb, of Oak Hill, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of fentanyl. Wyoming County man, ambulance business owner sentenced for tax crimes The press release stated that according to statements made in court, members of law enforcement arrested Plumb at an apartment in the Prosperity area of Raleigh County on August 23, 2023 and found that Plumb was in possession of a handgun 45 grams of fentanyl, and 144 grams of methamphetamine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plumb revealed that he planned to distribute the controlled substances in his possession. Members of law enforcement arrested Plumb and searched his home on July 31, 2024, and Plumb admitted that he had 557 grams of methamphetamine in his possession, that he planned to distribute, that officers found when searching his home. Florida man pleads guilty to federal gun crime in West Virginia Plumbs sentencing is scheduled for July 25, 2025, and he faces five to 40 years in prison, a minimum of four years of parole, and a $5 million fine. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston who thanked the Raleigh County Sheriffs Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for their work on the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. Hong Kong will expand the use of mainland Chinese bonds as collateral to obtain yuan liquidity, furthering efforts to enhance the currency's internationalisation and the city's role as an offshore yuan hub. CMU OmniClear, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Exchange Fund managed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday that would allow the two entities to enhance cooperation in many areas. The MOU would lead to the realisation of "cross-asset class efficiencies across equities and fixed income, expanding the use of mainland bonds as collateral [and] enhancing Hong Kong's [role] as a bond issuance centre and [for] developing an international central securities depository in Asia", according to a statement from the HKMA. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to improve the post-trade securities infrastructure of its capital markets and support the long-term development of the city's fixed-income and currency ecosystem. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue said the MOU will support the development of Hong Kong's capital markets. Photo: Edmond So alt=HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue said the MOU will support the development of Hong Kong's capital markets. Photo: Edmond So> "This MOU signifies an important milestone and our shared commitment to supporting the development of Hong Kong's capital markets," said Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA. On January 13, China's central bank governor Pan Gongsheng announced a slew of measures to support the city's development and optimise the cross-border connect schemes, including allowing global investors to use onshore Chinese bonds under the northbound Bond Connect scheme as collateral in a repurchase, or repo, agreement. A repo is a short-term borrowing transaction to sell securities and repurchase them later at a slightly higher price. The seller could obtain funds, in this case in Chinese yuan, at lower rates. "We look forward to working closely with the HKMA and CMU OmniClear to advance the development of Hong Kong's fixed-income market, enabling the next chapter of [yuan] internationalisation and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, a global risk management centre and an offshore [yuan] business hub," said Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of HKEX. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) The Fayetteville City Council votes on March 4 to repeal its ordinance limiting rental application and background fees to $40. The city council voted 7-1 to repeal Ordinance 6800. Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that the ordinance likely violated state code. A bill filed in the Arkansas legislature on Jan. 23 by Sen. Clint Penzo (R-Springdale) aims to limit local governments control over rent and rental deposit fees. The bill passed the Arkansas Senate and has been sent to the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. NEW YORK (PIX11) The New York Immigration Coalition is saying the Trump administration is creating fear and uncertainty in immigrant communities following the announcement to create a registry for all people living in the United States illegally. President Donald Trump signed the Protecting the American People Against Invasion executive order in January. This order directs those in the U.S. illegally to register, provide fingerprints, and provide an address. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security will direct this process. At a time when trust in the federal government is plummeting among immigrant communities, the Trump administration is making plans to obtain millions of peoples personal information and requiring them to carry papers. Trumps registry will create the conditions for mass roundups, and racial profiling of both citizens and noncitizens. We want to be clear to community members that are worried about Trumps registry: as of now, this registry does not exist. This is a developing situation and we urge people to consult with a trusted legal representative before creating an account with the USCIS or submitting any forms or information. The Trump registry is another example of this administration taking unclear actions in hopes of creating fear and uncertainty in our communities. But if and when this program is unveiled, there will be a heightened threat of criminal prosecution for failure to register or failure to carry evidence of registration, giving Trump another tool for mass deportations and detentions without a pathway to lawful status. This will hurt public safety for all of us, as people will be forced further into the shadows and trust for public institutions will erode. Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition Its not immediately clear how many people living in the country illegally would voluntarily come forward and give the federal government information about who they are and where they live. However, failure to register would be considered a crime, and the Trump administration has said its initial priority target for deportation is people whove committed crimes in the U.S. The New York Immigration Coalition said this executive order would harm public safety, force people further into the shadows, and erode trust in public institutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No registration exists currently. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, DHS is expected to announce a form and process for undocumented people to complete the registration requirement. Undocumented people required to register should create a USCIS online account in preparation for the registration process. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP/AP) The federal agency that manages U.S. government real estate assets is considering selling off hundreds of federal buildings, including nine in Massachusetts. The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 440 federal properties it has identified to close or sell, after deeming them not core to government operations. Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries. The property list has since been removed from the General Services Administrations website. Trump administration releases list of hundreds of federal buildings targeted for potential sale Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nine Massachusetts buildings were among the General Services Administrations list, including the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building in Pittsfield. The Conte Federal Building located on Center Street was named after Silvio Ottavio Conte, a Republican member of the U.S House of Representatives from 1959 to 1999. It houses offices of the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. List of federal buildings in Massachusetts targeted for potential sale Silvio O. Conte Federal Building in Pittsfield (U.S. General Services Administration) A cyclist rolls past the Thomas P. ONeill Jr. Federal Building, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) U.S. Customs House in New Bedford (U.S. General Services Administration) John A. Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge (U.S. General Services Administration) JFK Federal Building in Boston (U.S. General Services Administration) Hadley Fish and Wildlife office set to close in federal cuts Frederick C. Murphy Building in Waltham IRS Center in Andover JFK Federal Building in Boston John A. Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge Phillip J. Philbin Federal Office Building in Fitchburg Silvio O. Conte Federal Building in Pittsfield Social Security Administration in Fall River Thomas P. ONeill Federal Building in Boston U.S. Customs House in New Bedford Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the GSAs Public Buildings Service said the bulk of properties it has classified as unnecessary are office spaces. Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce, they wrote. IRS drafting plans to cut as much as half of its 90,000-person workforce, AP sources say They said GSA will consider the buildings futures in an orderly fashion to ensure taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space, or the significant maintenance costs associated with long-term building ownership potentially saving more than $430 million in annual operating costs. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. UM was awarded the Mansfield Legacy grant in 2023, and it was scheduled to run through 2026 (Provided by the University of Montana) A University of Montana program within the Mansfield Center that sought to promote democracy lost more than $6 million of grant funding from the Department of Defense. UM was awarded for the Project on American Democracy: Supporting Civil Society program in 2023. It was scheduled to run through 2026, but the grant was terminated on Feb. 28 as part of deep cuts across the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These grants focus primarily on patriotic education and building an understanding of the greatness of our country, which we see as essential to national security, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center Executive Director Deena Mansour wrote in an email. The grants fund efforts to accomplish this, with a focus on rural populations across Montana. The grant aims to bridge the divide between urban and rural populations around the topic of patriotic education. Thousands of students and community members will lose access to these opportunities. The program was housed in the Mansfield Center, which has been a point of pride for the University of Montana since its inception in 1983. Its named after the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Mike Mansfield, the longest-serving Senate majority leader. The centers goal is to support democracy and create leaders who have a wide understanding of the world and listen to a variety of perspectives. The program cuts hit also efforts to bring in foreign dignitaries to UM, according to an email blast from the university. In the same email, the university expressed concern that language instruction for service members, and efforts to build U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and trade objectives could also be at risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More recently, and part of what the grants tried to accomplish, was an attempt to bridge the urban-rural divide. The impact of terminating these two grants is significant, both for UM and for Montana: the cancellation of programming designed to educate rural Montanans about American freedom and liberty, and about the patriotism that is so essential in inspiring military service and national security, Mansour wrote. This puts Montanans and our country at a disadvantage. One of the things it did was bring students from both urban and rural communities to Washington, D.C., for a workshop. The goal was to help lower that divide that can exist between urban and rural areas in regards to civics education, said UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of the grant funding went toward salaries to keep the work the grants sought to address running. About 100 jobs were wrapped up in the grant, according to an email blast from the Mansfield Center. Federal funding for colleges and universities across the country is in question, and in the email, the Mansfield Center asked for financial support for the programs as part of a university fundraising campaign underway. Its always going to be an institutional priority for UM and the Mansfield Center to advance civics and democracy and patriotism, Kuntz said. Especially in areas that are underserved and dont get that kind of access to those kinds of curriculums and programs. Kuntz added that UM President Seth Bodnar was in contact with Montanas federal congressional delegation on Tuesday afternoon to see if there was any way to reverse the decision. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct an editors error regarding Mansfields tenure. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that two food programs will no longer operate in the state due to funding cuts. According to a state news release, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program can no longer operate in Illinois due to the Trump administration cutting funding to the programs. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program used federal funds to buy food from growers and farmers and distribute it for free to communities in need. A multi-year agreement approved the state to distribute $43 million. Currently, $17.8 million remains outstanding from the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program provided new revenue streams and opportunities for small and mid-sized agricultural producers. The Illinois Department of Agriculture was in the process of selecting grantees to provide $6.4 million in funding. Cutting funds for these programs is a slap in the face to Illinois farmers and the communities they feed, Gov. JB Pritzker said. The Trump Administrations refusal to release grant funds doesnt just hurt farmers in the program, it devastates our most vulnerable, food-insecure communities relying on meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations. The United States Department of Agriculture informed Illinois that it stopped reimbursements for any costs incurred by the programs after Jan 19. 2025, according to the news release. All claims submitted after that date are being returned without explanation or timeline for reimbursement to resume. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. A federal judge in California issued a written order Friday to curb the sweeping firings of probationary federal employees at several government agencies, including three that work directly with public lands and steward Americas fish and wildlife. U.S. District Judge William Alsups written order, issued Feb. 28, came one day after he issued a verbal ruling from a federal courtroom in San Francisco. The ongoing, en masse termination of probationary employees across the federal governments agencies has sown significant chaos, Alsup wrote in the order. He cited Don Neubacher, the former superintendent of Yosemite National Park, who says the ongoing firings will inflict immediate, foreseeable harm onto our national parks and the habitats and animals therein. The judges written order concludes that the recent layoffs of tens of thousands of probationary federal workers are illegal and must be stopped. (Alsup noted that the agencies have not disclosed the exact number of fired employees.) It directs Charles Ezell, the Trump administrations personnel director at the Office of Personnel Management, to rescind memos that led to the purge of probationary employees at the Department of Defense, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Small Business Administration, as well as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Alsup defines probationary employees as those who have served less than one year in the competitive service or less than two in the expected service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alsups ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by five private organizations who claim they were negatively impacted by the firings at these agencies. This includes the Western Watersheds Project, which works hand-in-hand with the BLM and USFWS and claims in the suit that it has already had its ecological mission frustrated because terminations at the BLM are preventing the agency from doing critical work, such as responding to FOIA requests. Read Next: Feds Fire 4,400+ Public-Land Employees, Including Forest Service Workers, National Park Staff The ruling is limited to these agencies and does not apply to the widespread firings inside the U.S. Forest Service or other agencies under the umbrella of the USDA. This is because the five organizations did not claim in the lawsuit to be harmed by those firings, according to the Capital Press. In the verbal ruling he shared with the court on Feb. 27, Alsup referred to probationary employees as the life blood of the agencies. These are often younger federal employees who have worked their way up the ladder, and who represent the next generation of public servants. Alsup said it was wrong to stain their records by claiming they were fired for performance issues, when in many cases the employees had only received positive reviews from their supervisors. His written order includes excerpts from some of those performance reviews, including one glowing review issued to a national science director just five days before his firing. Thats the Way the Evidence Points Underpinning Alsups ruling is his belief that the OPM gave direct orders to the heads of these agencies to terminate probationary employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No statute anywhere, ever has granted OPM the authority to direct the termination of employees in other agencies, Alsup wrote. He said that issuing such a directive violates the Constitution and the independent authorities of these agencies as established by Congress. Defense attorneys for OPM, meanwhile, are claiming in the lawsuit that the human-resources agency never directed the government agencies to fire anyone. They say that OPM only asked those agencies to engage in a focused review of probationary employees based on their performance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service plays a major role in stewarding Americas fisheries, including the management of hatchery programs all across the country. Photo by Sam Stukel / USFWS Alsup took issue with this line of reasoning. His written order alludes to a mountain of evidence submitted by plaintiffs, including claims from multiple agency heads that they were explicitly directed by the OPM to fire probationary employees. How could so much of the workforce be amputated suddenly overnight? Its so irregular and widespread, so aberrant in the history of the country, he told the court Thursday. I believe they were directed or ordered. Thats the way the evidence points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read Next: How Seriously Should We Take the Sale of Federal Lands? Very Seriously, Experts Say Alsup has scheduled a follow-up hearing on March 13, reports the Capital Press. That hearing will feature Ezell and other agency leaders, and it will focus on what OPM told federal agencies in February via memos, emails, and phone calls. NPR reports that a separate complaint over the firings is working its way through the courts. Other attempts to reinstate fired federal public land workers have failed in recent weeks. This includes a Senate amendment that would have rehired thousands of employees at the BLM, NPS, USFWS, and USFS who were laid off on Feb. 14. That legislation died on Feb. 21, with only one Republican Senator, Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, voting in favor of it. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren and Undersheriff Andrew Walsh look on as Sheriff Kevin McMahill takes questions during a news conference at LVMPD headquarters on January 02, 2025. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) When Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill recently confirmed that the police department wont investigate or arrest people simply for being undocumented immigrants, Trump supporters reacted poorly. Arrest the sheriff, wrote Teddy KGB on X, formerly Twitter. Others quickly chimed in: Arrest him for TREASON. Boycott Las Vegas. Deport those cops too! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As many people already know, however, LVMPD wasnt announcing a new policy. Las Vegas and many other police departments have long said, correctly, that immigration is a federal responsibility. Having local police hunt down undocumented immigrants drains manpower and money from their real job: Enforcing state laws against violent crime, fraud and all the rest. But what many may not realize is that there are also serious, home-grown legal reasons why Nevada law enforcement agencies should be reluctant to serve as local arms of Trumps mass deportation campaign. Put simply: They could face lawsuits and big financial penalties for violating civil rights under Nevadas state constitution. This has nothing to do with being a sanctuary city. Nevadas police departments are not blocking federal agents from operating or investigating here. But our agencies are required to follow Nevada law even if folks from Washington are not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevada has a long libertarian reverence for personal freedom, spanning everything from gun rights to reproductive rights. The Cato Institute, a right-leaning libertarian think tank, ranked Nevada as first out of all 50 states on protection of personal freedoms in 2023. Indeed, the Nevada Supreme Court has strengthened the ability of citizens to sue state and local officials, and obtain financial compensation, for violating their state constitutional rights. In the context of Trumps efforts to carry out a mass deportation or any other enforcement activity, Nevada has two key constitutional protections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first is Article 1, Section 18 of the Nevada Constitution, which replicates the U.S. Constitutions prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure. Before entering a home or workplace, for example, enforcement agencies must obtain a court-approved warrant supported by probable cause. The second protection is Nevadas equal rights amendment, Article 1, Section 24. That provision declares: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this State or any of its political subdivisions on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin. (Emphasis added.) Even where the state protections look the same as the federal law, Nevadas protections are stronger for a few reasons. First, its simply easier to sue state and local officials for damages, i.e. money. To be sure, the American Civil Liberties Union has been suing federal agencies for more than a century, and we arent about to stop. But the U.S. Supreme Court has made it much more difficult to sue federal government officials for monetary compensation, ruling that Congress needs to explicitly provide for financial remedies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we typically ask courts for systemic remedies, like striking down unconstitutional laws or practices, we also know that the threat of a big financial hit goes a long way towards deterring bad government behavior. And the reality is that monetary compensation is often the only thing a person can ask for when their rights have been violated. In Nevada, all this has become much easier. In 2022, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Mack v. Williams that it was entirely permissible to claim damages from a state or local agency for violating a persons rights under the Nevada Constitution. In that case, a woman sued the Nevada Department of Corrections for violating her constitutional rights for subjecting her to a warrantless cavity search when she was trying to visit someone in prison. The Nevada Supreme Court acknowledged that our state constitution bans unreasonable searches and seizures, just like the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and when the state constitution specifically prohibits an activity by state or local agencies, that prohibition is self-executing and entitles people to sue for financial compensation without any additional permission from the Legislature. So unlike the United States Constitution, Nevadas constitution does not need extra laws to protect Nevadans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second big protection is that Nevada doesnt offer qualified immunity to state and local officials who violate our state Constitution. Qualified immunity lets government officials off the hook when the right they violate isnt clearly established, even where any idiot could tell that what they were doing likely violated the law. This difference between the state and federal constitutions impacted in Ms. Williams case: the officers received qualified immunity for violating her federal constitutional rights, but they were still on the hook for violating her state constitutional rights. This increased exposure to lawsuits has major implications for local and state law enforcement here as they consider becoming local arms of I.C.E. In its first two weeks alone, the Trump administration brazenly flouted the Constitution by trying to revoke birth-right citizenship and by refusing to spend money appropriated by Congress. To carry out its mass deportation mission, the administration will almost certainly invade the privacy of citizens and lawful residents, enter places of work and worship and/or engage in racial profiling what does an undocumented person look like, exactly? All of these activities would violate both constitutions. If state and local law enforcement casually take direction from I.C.E., they will face serious legal risk. Whats good for the goose probably wont be good for the gander. Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaking on Aug. 20 about the 2023-24 Standards of Learning results in Richmond. (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury) Virginia colleges and universities are on notice: the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has warned that institutions failing to eliminate race-based decision-making could lose federal funding. The supplemental guidance, released Friday, follows the federal governments directive for schools to stop considering race in admissions and other policies. It clarifies how the Supreme Courts Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College ruling applies to racial classifications, racial preferences, and racial stereotypes, and how OCR will enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Courts decision in June 2023 effectively ended affirmative action in higher education, striking down race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. In response, Virginia schools have revised their admissions policies to comply with the ruling. Under President Donald Trumps administration, the latest directive from OCR aligns with broader efforts to eliminate race-based considerations in education. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers took further action last year by banning legacy admissions. Youngkins administration has also instructed Virginias Boards of Visitors governing bodies appointed by the governor to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination on campus, according to a report by the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Tuesday. Many of Virginias educational institutions rely on federal funding, including all 132 K-12 public school divisions. Federal dollars are critical in key areas such as support for students with disabilities and funding for at-risk schools those serving students at higher risk of failing or dropping out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the next two years, more than $2 billion in federal funds is set to flow to schools across the commonwealth. Virginias Department of Education is currently reviewing all of its programs to ensure full compliance with federal laws and to foster an educational environment for all students that is free from discrimination, as outlined in the letter and additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, said Christian Martinez, a spokesman for Youngkin, in a statement. Governor Youngkin expects that they will comply. Beyond K-12 schools, Virginias higher education system also stands to be affected. The state has 15 four-year public colleges and universities and more than 20 community colleges. Bob Spieldenner, a spokesman for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), said the council is closely monitoring potential changes to higher education policy at the federal level and reviewing the recently posted FAQs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given the shifting landscape of executive orders, legal challenges and court rulings, SCHEV has not yet issues formal recommendations to institutions. However, Spieldenner said the council continues to track developments and may, as necessary or helpful, provide opportunity for discussion or collaboration with Virginia institutions. The letter and guidance The Trump Administration has moved to reinforce what it describes as schools non-discrimination obligations with new directives from the U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights. A letter published in February, followed by supplemental guidance in March, aims to clarify the restrictions on race-conscious policies for schools and other entities receiving federal financial assistance. In the letter, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for OCR, emphasized the departments commitment to eliminating what it views as unlawful race-based policies in education. The department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this nations educational institutions, Trainor wrote. The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals, such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter advises all educational institutions to ensure that their policies align with existing civil rights law and warns against any form of race-based decision-making. It specifically directs schools to discontinue using race as a factor in admissions, hiring, promotion, scholarships, disciplinary actions, and other programs. Additionally, institutions are instructed to halt reliance on third-party organizations that assist in implementing race-conscious policies. OCRs additional guidance released Friday seeks to clarify its previous directive and address anticipated questions. One key issue was whether Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs violate the Supreme Courts ruling in the Students v. Harvard case. According to the guidance, schools may not operate policies or programs under any name that treat students differently based on race, engage in racial stereotyping or create hostile environments for students of particular races. Another question focused on whether schools can invite applicants to discuss race in their application essays. The Supreme Court barred race-based admissions policies, the guidance states, but institutions are still allowed to consider how race has shaped an applicants experiences so long as they do not use it as a direct admissions factor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schools that craft essay prompts in a way that require applicants to disclose their race are illegally attempting to do indirectly what cannot be done directly, as are admissions policies that hold brief interviews in order to visually assess an applicants race. It is ultimately racial preferences that are illegal, however accomplished, the guidance states. OCR also cautioned against what it described as attempts to circumvent SFFAs holding through what some commentators have called the essay loophole. Schools can credit what is unique about the individual in overcoming adversity or hardship but never the persons race, the guidance states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BUTLER, Mo. Monday afternoon, Bates County, Missouri had failed to submit multiple reports on how it has spent more than $3 million in COVID relief dollars. The federal government funding has widely become known as the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA. The federal government requires counties to report how theyve spent the money theyve given them. Residents in the county have become outraged over how the countys handled this issue, and the communitys learned more about this after Northern Commissioner John Grays Facebook post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just before 9:30 Monday morning ,Gray said the county was non-compliant when it came to ARPA. Thats because the county hadnt reported back to the federal government regarding how the county had spent the federal money. FAA investigating multiple false collision warnings on flights approaching DC airport Its gotten so bad the treasury department has sent us a letter that is basically, You comply now, or youre paying back this money, that we dont have, over three million dollars, Gray said in an interview with FOX4 Tuesday. County documents FOX4 obtained Tuesday show that Grays statement is true. Monday, the local newspaper and website Mid America Live recorded as people came in and basically asked Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley why the county was in the predicament that it was in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wheatley took it upon himself to say, Hey, Im the only one that can get into this,' Gray said. Working for you, FOX4 contacted Wheatley to learn more about what Gray was saying. Over the phone, Wheatley told FOX4 that all but $22,000 of the funding has been obligated, and he claims hes filled out the forms. He believes there is no chance the county will have to send back the $3 million. Regardless, one business owner in town told FOX4 that he needs to go. Off-duty KCFD firefighter saves person from drowning in Mexico Yesterday his unwillingness to resign Ive started a petition and have already had at last check right around 400 people in the last 24 hours that have signed that, calling either for a removal, a recall, or a resignation from Mr. Wheatley, Butler, Missouri Business Owner Cody Morris said in an interview with FOX4 Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The information Wheatley told FOX4 over the phone was not known to Gray before our phone call with Wheatley Tuesday afternoon. There will be another public meeting about this issue at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Bates County Administration Building. It will actually be held in the basement because county leaders are expecting so many people to attend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. The four big city mayors who testified Wednesday on Capitol Hill knew they were invited by House Republicans to be punching bags. For New Yorks Eric Adams, however, the blows were thrown by fellow Democrats. GOP lawmakers not only spared Adams from the brunt of their often-theatrical attacks on sanctuary cities, they defended him against the Democratic onslaught including from fellow New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) at one point called Adams an outstanding mayor. It was the latest display of just how far through the looking-glass things have gone for Adams, who in four years has gone from the Biden of Brooklyn and new face of the Democratic Party to an unlikely ally of President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That about-face with the Trump Justice Departments decision last month to drop a corruption case against Adams as its pivot point fueled the Democratic attacks Wednesday at the made-for-TV hearing. It opened with Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, the panels top Democrat, referencing Adams federal case and alleged indebtedness to Trump. It deepened when other Democrats pressed Adams in increasingly aggressive terms about whether he had traded his cooperation with federal immigration officials for leniency from prosecutors. We have a right to know if the Trump administration has actually coerced you into agreeing to him, Rep. Robert Garcia of California asked him. Are you selling out New Yorkers to save yourself from prosecution? Ocasio-Cortez who, like Adams, represents New York City later rained questions on the mayor about whether he agreed to municipal policy changes that would appease Trump. Adams looked straight at her as she described the Trump administrations decision to drop his prosecution as a four-alarm fire for the rule of law in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no deal, no quid pro quo, and I did nothing wrong, Adams said in what has become his standard response to the allegation that he struck an illicit deal with Trumps border czar Tom Homan to allow federal immigration agents into city jails in exchange for the end of his legal peril. The dynamic set Adams far apart from the three other Democratic mayors Denvers Mike Johnston, Chicagos Brandon Johnson and Bostons Michelle Wu who sat alongside him in a subterranean hearing room and faced feverish questioning from House Republicans seeking a viral moment. Adams had braced for the possibility he would feature prominently in the GOPs scrutiny of cities that had rebuffed federal immigration enforcement. Instead, Republicans largely gave the former New York City police captain a pass, often skipping over him with their rapid-fire questions. Where the other three mayors put up a defiant and sometimes argumentative front, Adams instead followed a formula of giving succinct, unprovocative answers. He was rewarded with plenty of Republican praise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Adams is being attacked because hes agreed to cooperate with federal officials to uphold the laws of the United States, said Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.). Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.) connected Adams prosecution to his criticism of former President Joe Biden: The only one of you who stood up to the previous administration was under investigation shortly thereafter. Weird how that happens. And Comer praised Adams for being willing to work with [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] on detaining the most criminal illegals and I want to publicly thank you for that. That praise alternated with combative exchanges between Democrats and the New York mayor. In one testy exchange, freshman Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia asked Adams if he had ever discussed his criminal case with Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams paused as an attorney whispered into his ear then repeated the line: This case is in front of Judge Ho, and out of deference to Judge Ho, I'm not going to discuss this case, he said, referring to U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, who is now considering whether to drop the charges as the Justice Department has requested. Subramanyam eventually dropped the line of inquiry, concluding that Mayor Adams is not answering the question because he probably has discussed his case with the White House. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.) whose Long Island district was previously represented by Anthony DEsposito, a Republican and former New York police officer targeted the New York mayor with the same zeal as her more progressive colleagues, calling on him at one point to resign. Her attacks provoked Adams to retort, Thank God you dont live in New York City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bear hug from congressional Republicans, meanwhile, does Adams no favors when it comes to his political future. He faces a narrowing path to reelection this year with the criminal case and Trumps mass deportation agenda looming over the countrys largest sanctuary city. Democrats were not in the mood to do him any favors. Garcia came with posters of former U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoons resignation letter condemning the decision to drop charges against him and of Homan praising Adams in a joint Fox News interview. Weighing in from afar was Homan himself, who wrote on X that Mayor Adams is trying to protect New Yorkers from violent illegal aliens as he watched the hearing. Adams appeared disengaged at times. When Connolly laid into him at the top of the hearing, he looked off to the side, then looking forward again and sipping his tea after the Virginia Democrat moved on. As other Democrats pressed him for answers, he flipped through a briefing book as he mounted his defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his own opening statement, Adams leaned heavily on his experience as a law enforcement official and sought to push back on the notion that his approach to immigration and crime has changed since Trump won a second term. You know me, Im the same mayor, he told reporters before the hearing. Three things stay on my mind all the time: public safety, public safety, public safety. We have to have a safe city. By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices swooned on Tuesday and settled close to to multi-month lows after reports of OPEC+ plans to proceed with output increases in April and news of U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as well as Beijing's retaliatory tariffs. Brent futures settled 58 cents lower, or 0.8%, at $71.04 a barrel. The session low was $69.75 a barrel, its lowest since September. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 11 cents a barrel, or 0.2%, at $68.26. The benchmark previously dropped to $66.77 a barrel, the lowest since November. OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, decided on Monday to proceed with a planned April oil output increase of 138,000 barrels per day, its first since 2022. The move took the market by surprise, said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. "The change in OPEC strategy looks like they are prioritising politics over price. Those politics are likely connected with the wheeling and dealing of Donald Trump," Schieldrop said, referring to the U.S. president's calls for lower oil prices. U.S. tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT), with 10% tariffs on Canadian energy, while tariffs on imports of Chinese goods were increased to 20% from 10%. Analysts expect the tariffs to curb economic activity and demand for energy, weighing on oil prices. China swiftly retaliated, announcing 10-15% increases on import levies covering a range of American agricultural and food products while also placing 25 U.S. companies under export and investment restrictions. Prices steadied later in the session. Further, some geopolitical tension moderated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he regretted last week's extraordinary Oval Office clash with Donald Trump. Sources told Reuters the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal would be signed soon. On Monday, Trump paused all U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The move followed a Reuters report that the White House has asked the State and Treasury departments to draft a list of sanctions that could be eased for U.S. officials to discuss during talks with Moscow. Lifting sanctions could bring more Russian oil to market. But on Monday, Goldman Sachs analysts said Russia's oil flows were constrained more by its OPEC+ production target than sanctions. The bank also said higher-than-expected crude supply and a demand squeeze from softer U.S. economic activity and tariff escalation posed downside risks to oil price forecasts. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Experts warn the price of groceries may rise because of the tariffs imposed Tuesday on Canada, Mexico and China, but before the produce lands on shelves, farmers will be affected first. The worry from farmers stems from fertilizer. According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), nearly 90 percent of various fertilizer imports come from Canada, which could create a ripple effect not just for farmers, but for the broader food supply chain in the state. Is that good for our economy, to make our farmers who we rely on, who support us, who feed us drive them out of business? Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the USDA, Canada and Mexico are the United States first and third largest suppliers of agricultural products, respectively, combining to over $56 billion worth from 2017 to 2021. With spring planting fast approaching, maintaining reliable cost-effective fertilizer supply chain is essential for a productive harvest and protecting American farmers from financial strain, said Corey Rosenbush, president of The Fertilizer Institute the nations leading voice of the fertilizer industry in a statement Tuesday. Hochul agreed and said the most important element in fertilizer in the state fully comes from Canada. So, theyre laying down the fertilizer in April. Guess what happens in April? Hochul said. The agricultural tariffs are expected to go into place. Members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of New York said fertilizer isnt the only concern. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cost of parts, the cost of inputs [is] going up for farmers, tractors, machinery, all of these things, said NOFA Communications Manager Samantha Kemnah. [There are] specific concerns about folks that import feed or other things from Canada across the border because weve got a lot of organic farmers that live right up on the Canadian border, said NOFA educator Francesca McClure. Rosenbush is asking President Donald Trumps administration to provide a strategic carveout for Canadian fertilizers from these tariffs, adding, affordable supply of fertilizer is critical to maintaining global competitiveness of U.S. farmers, strengthening rural economies and keeping food prices in check. NOFA said there could be a positive to these tariffs, like consumers buying from local organics instead of overpriced big grocers. Consumers can consume better food, support their local economies, support local farm families, is to buy community supported agriculture share, shop up at the farmers market, Kemnah said. Youre actually supporting someones livelihood that way. Latest Local News Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) weighed in on the decision some of his Democratic colleagues made to protest President Trumps joint address to Congress Tuesday, suggesting it just made the commander in chief look more presidential. A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance, Fetterman wrote Wednesday on social platform X. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. Were becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to and it may not be the winning message, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His words were accompanied by a screenshot of Politicos website with a headline suggesting Democrats efforts against Trump fell flat. Snap polls from CBS, YouGov and CNN have showed that most viewers surveyed were in favor of the presidents speech. Fettermans comments come after several Democratic lawmakers chose to either boycott the address altogether or walk out during the speech. Others held signs or wore t-shirts signaling their disapproval of sweeping actions the president had taken during his first six weeks in office. Trump called out Democrats several times during his remarks, alluding to their unwillingness to stand or applaud his comments, including when he recognized special guests such as Marc Fogel. Fogel, an American schoolteacher, was freed from Russian custody last month. Democratic strategist David Axelrod also criticized Democrats for their actions, specifically calling out Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was escorted from the House chamber after shouting toward the president about looming cuts to Medicaid and other social programs. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) argued he should be censured over the outburst, and a resolution was introduced Wednesday by another GOP lawmaker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) commended the decorum of the majority of his caucus on Wednesday but stopped short of addressing the protests. Fetterman, and others, have warned that if similar efforts continue, the Democratic Party could lose the ability to resonate with voters. The Pennsylvania Democrats open-minded approach to Trump has also fueled questions about his motives. Updated at 5:48 a.m. EST Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LAKESIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) Crews doused a fire that sparked in a Lakeside storage facility early Wednesday morning, damaging more than a dozen units. According to Lakeside Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Stamm, firefighters went to the StaxUP storage facility at 12202 Woodside Avenue just after 1:30 a.m. Upon arrival, they found one unit engulfed in flames. Stamm said that as crews fought the fire, it spread to impact 15 units, five of which were heavily damaged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Suspect arrested after deadly Mission Valley shooting Lakeside fire crews respond to a fire at a storage facility on March 5, 2025. (Lakeside Fire) Lakeside fire crews respond to a fire at a storage facility on March 5, 2025. (Lakeside Fire) No civilian injuries were reported in the incident. One firefighter also fell through the roof during the effort, but was rescued and uninjured. An estimated cost of the property loss has not yet been determined. The cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Its not every day Jason King of Fairfax, Va. gets to hear the president of the United States speak in person. Thats exactly what he will do during President Donald Trumps address to Congress on Tuesday night. This was a surprise. Its truly an honor to be here, King said. Trumps speech to Congress will offer divided nation an accounting of turbulent first weeks Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) invited the recently fired Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee to be his guest in the chamber on Capitol Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just really appreciate Jasons been willing to go public with it because there is a better solution to this, Kaine said. King is among the 400 FAA employees fired by Trump as part of his effort to reduce the size of the federal government. He also served as an Army transport coordinator. He made sure people, equipment and supplies reached their destinations safely. That training helped his transition to civilian life in the FAA. Kings dismissal is personal to Kaine, whose son is a reserve in the U.S. Marine Corps. Its turned out to be this war on veterans who frankly, have earned the right to have this profession where they continue to serve this country, Kaine said about the presidents action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alexandria brewery owner worries about Trump administration-imposed tariffs Kaine and King want the president to explain his actions. Its really causing a poor work environment, King said as he described the morale of the remaining federal workers. The two men are calling on the president to apologize and rehire the workers he let go. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. The former Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department Kristin Crowley, who was abruptly fired two weeks ago by Mayor Karen Bass, lost her bid to be reinstated Tuesday after a contentious City Council special meeting that ended in a 13-2 vote. A majority of L.A.'s City Council backed Bass, who had traveled to Ghana on a diplomatic mission days before a series of deadly wildfires exploded in and around Los Angeles. City Councilmembers Traci Park, who spent time in the Palisades fire burn zones with the former Chief, and Monica Rodriguez, backed Crowley. Kristin Crowley was L.A.'s first female and LGBTQ+ fire chief until she was fired by Mayor Karen Bass last month. She spent time in the Pacific fire burn zone with one of her City Councilmember supporters Traci Park. Courtesy City of Los Angeles "I stand before you today, not only as the former fire chief appealing to be reinstated, but as a leader who has always placed the safety, health and well-being of our incredible and heroic firefighters first while always balancing and prioritizing the needs of the community we love to serve,'' Crowley said in her emotional appeal to the council. Despite having lost, the special meeting was an opportunity for Crowley to publicly defend herself against the Mayor's public accusations that she failed to properly lead the LAFD during the fires. Those allegations have been disputed by city union officials as well as members of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Chuong Ho, a Local 112 representative with the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, told City Councilmembers that he believes the Crowley's firing was in retaliation after she spoke out publicly about budget cuts that hindered firefighting efforts. Related: Morgan Freeman Honors His Late Friend Gene Hackman at the Oscars The men and women of our great fire department support Chief Crowley because she stood up, she spoke out, and she had our backs, he told the City Council. Ive never seen a fire chief in my career consistently speak out about the constant understaffing and lack of funding for our fire department. Councilmember Imelda Padilla retorted that Crowley "chose the wrong time and wrong place to raise an issue, she said. But Crowley had raised the alarm in the months before the wildfires in letters to city officials about budget cuts. Crowley also addressed the mayor's allegation that she had sent 1,000 firefighters home before the Palisades fire erupted, a charge she denied. In fact, Crowley told the council, 100 fire engines, trucks and ambulances have sat "broken down" in LAFD maintenance yards after the city axed $17 million from the city's budget. "I have seen our fire department struggle from year to year with limited funding, staffing and resources,'' Crowley said. "We are past the point of sustaining our services without compromising public safety and the safety of our firefighters." Related: Your March Guide to L.A. Crowley also denied refusing to conduct an after-action report, which was referenced by Bass. "I did not refuse to conduct an after-action report. During our discussions about an after-action report, I advised the fire commissioners about my opinion that was best in regard to how to use LAFD resources," Crowley told the council. "I said that the LAFD is not capable nor do we have the proper resources to adequately conduct an after-action report for the Palisades Fire." Some Bass supporters at the special meeting argued that criticism of Bass' handling of the fires and her decision to fire Crowley was "rooted in anti-Blackness." Benjamin Torres, president and chief executive of CD Tech based in South LA, described Tuesday's hearing as a "political move to cut off Black leadership." But Crowley's supporters have quietly pointed out that the Mayor was out of the country as part of a four member delegation appointed by former President Joe Biden to attend the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama, Ghana's new president. Bass mingled with Mahama, who has been heavily criticized for his stance opposing LGBTQ+ rights, at a cocktail party at the U.S. Embassy on Jan. 7 as Crowley, the city's first female and openly gay Fire Department leader, directed LAFD troops from a command center on the Pacific Coast Highway. Related: "Anora" Takes Top Honors at 97th Academy Awards - Complete Winners List "I don't know if there is a race component, but somehow the mayor had not been questioned about attending a party for a man who wants to criminalize being gay and when she comes home she fires the first openly gay and female LAFD chief," said one City Hall insider on the condition of anonymity. The ferocious wind-fueled Palisades Fire devoured roughly 37 square miles of the tony oceanside community and jumped the Pacific Coast Highway to rip through large swaths of Malibu. When it was contained, twelve Angelenos were dead and nearly 7,000 homes and businesses were ravaged. She returned to the city from Ghana on a military plane on Jan. 8 to heavy criticism for having left the city despite numerous red flag warnings. Tensions between the two female leaders were evident in the aftermath of the mayor's return, which were escalated when Crowley gave televised interviews saying city leaders failed her department, something she told the council she does not regret. "It is never the wrong time to do the right thing and to speak the truth, and the truth is that the fire chief should not be prevented from or punished for speaking openly and honestly about the needs and the capabilities of the LAFD," the former fire chief said. Be the First to Know! Keep up with the latest from Los Angeles Magazine. Sign up for The Daily Brief below or by clicking here. While former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley wont be getting her job back, shell remain at the department under a lower rank, officials confirmed. According to the department, Crowleys new title is Assistant Chief of LAFDs Operations Valley Bureau. The Valley Bureau spans the entire San Fernando Valley. Crowley, the first woman to serve as LAFDs Chief, was fired by Mayor Karen Bass on Feb. 21 after almost three years in the role. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left looks on as now-former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley talks during a news conference at HarborUCLA Medical Center in the West Carson area of Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) Bass said the firing was due to Crowleys response to the Palisades Fire, which torched tens of thousands of acres across the Pacific Palisades and the Santa Monica Mountains and destroyed thousands of structures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crowley appealed the dismissal formally at a hearing in front of the L.A. City Council on Tuesday. She needed 10 of the 15 Councilmembers to approve her reinstatement. Only two voted in favor ending her bid for reinstatement. Bass was not in attendance. Our people do amazing things every single day, Crowley said during the hearing. The LAFD, your LAFD, deserves to be properly funded, staffed and resourced so we can meet the growing needs of our community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Firefighters contained a stove fire at an apartment building in Vandalia Tuesday night, according to a Vandalia Division of Fire Chief Chad Follick. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The fire occurred in the 400 block of Timberlake Drive around 7:15 p.m. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follick told News Center 7 that there was a grease fire on a stove but it was out on arrival. The damage was isolated to one apartment and a single occupant was displaced. The fire has been deemed accidental, but remains under investigation, according to Follick. No one was injured in this fire. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Specialty managing general agent (MGA) Optio Group has announced the purchase of Norwegian MGA S Insurance, a marine hull specialist. The deal awaits regulatory approval, with its financial terms remaining confidential. This aligns with the company's strategy to establish a diversified buy-and-build platform with the purchase of niche specialty MGAs in Europe. S Insurance, based in Bergen with additional offices in Oslo, is said to complement Optio's current marine operations. It underwrites business globally, with a significant European market presence. The company, founded by director Gary Sangedal, is looking to expand its product and geographical footprint. Sangedal will retain his role and work alongside managing director Marianne Engelsen Hals and the S Insurance team. Optio CEO Deepak Soni said: I am delighted to announce our latest acquisition, which marks a further important step in our ongoing European expansion, and to welcome Gary and the team to Optio. S Insurance is an excellent example of the MGAs we are looking to invest in or acquire, with its entrepreneurial leadership, proven speciality capabilities and complementary cultures and values. I look forward to working with Gary and the team to deliver the opportunities this partnership creates for our businesses, brokers and customers. Sangedal said: Becoming part of Optio is an exciting prospect, which will ensure we continue to execute our underwriting strategy and dedicated service to our valued brokers and clients. Optio provides us with access to broader expertise and the resources of a much larger group. This, in turn, opens up significant opportunities to accelerate our plans to expand our product offering and geographical footprint. The acquisition follows Optio's previous moves, including the purchase of Netherlands and Brussels-based MGA Den Hartigh, Luxembourg-based Circles Group and an investment in Italian MGA Heca. "Optio expands marine portfolio with S Insurance purchase " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. BOISE, Idaho (AP) Death by firing squad could become Idaho's primary method of execution under a bill headed to the governor's desk this week. The Idaho Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, and it will take effect next year if it is signed by Gov. Brad Little. Firing-squad executions have been a back-up method in Idaho since 2023, available only if prison officials are unable to obtain lethal injection drugs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Doug Ricks, the bill's sponsor, said the legislation was spurred by Idahos botched attempt to execute Thomas Eugene Creech last year, when execution team members were unable to find a suitable vein for an IV line. He suggested shooting someone was more effective and humane than other execution methods. He speculated that the state could use a machine or electronic triggering methods that would eliminate the need for human volunteers to pull the triggers. One thing about this method, it's pretty sure, Ricks said during a hearing on the bill last month. It's not going to be something that gets done part way. Four other states Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah also allow the use of firing squads in certain circumstances, but the method has rarely been used in recent history. South Carolina is expected to put the first person to death by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years, with the planned execution of Brad Sigmon set for Friday. The Federal Defender Services of Idaho, which represents many of the people on the Idaho's death row, declined to comment on the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Idaho Department of Correction officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The prison recently finished remodeling its lethal injection chamber to add a space where execution team members can use more invasive methods of inserting an IV line deep into the body near the heart if they can't successfully place an IV line in the condemned person's arms or legs. Republican Sen. Daniel Foreman, a retired police officer and former Air Force veteran who served in combat, was the only Republican to debate against the bill on Wednesday. He said he has seen shooting deaths, and that they are anything but humane. The consequences of a botched firing execution are more graphic, more mentally, psychologically devastating than other botched execution methods, Foreman said. Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow agreed, calling firing squads barbaric and saying they would create bad optics for the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Republican Sen. Brian Lenney said lawmakers should remember why capital punishment is imposed. If we're talking about terror, and we're talking about barbaric, I think we should remember why this man is on death row in the first place, he said, describing some of the criminal charges against Creech. ___ This story has been updated correct the title of Sen. Doug Ricks. He is a state senator, not a representative. Ash Wednesday has arrived, and Lent 2025 has officially begun. For millions of Christians around the world, this marks the beginning of a spring tradition in honor of Jesus Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. Here's what to know about Lent and why Christians observe it. What is Lent? How long is Lent? Lent is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and reflection observed by many Christians in preparation for Easter. This represents the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert before starting his public ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Lent, many believers give up certain luxuries such as sweets, specific foods, social media or alcohol as a form of self-discipline. Others take on new spiritual practices, like daily prayer or acts of charity. Sundays are not traditionally counted in the 40 days, as they are considered days of celebration rather than fasting. When is the first day of Lent 2025? The 40-day period of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on March 5, 2025. What is the meaning of Ash Wednesday? During Ash Wednesday, ashes are placed on a worshipper's forehead in the shape of the cross. This represents that a person belongs to Jesus Christ and that a person is grieving and morning for their sins. When is the first Sunday of Lent 2025? The first Sunday of Lent, called Quadragesima Sunday or Invocabit Sunday, is after Ash Wednesday on March 9, 2025. Why do people eat fish on Fridays during Lent? Those observing Lent typically refrain from eating flesh meat on Ash Wednesday and each Friday of Lent. Flesh meat includes beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Fish are not considered flesh meat, so many will replace flesh meat with fish for Friday meals. This is done to honor Jesus sacrificing his flesh on Good Friday, according to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Non-flesh products, like milk, cheese, butter and eggs, are not prohibited during Lent. Fasting during Lent represents the fasting Jesus did while in the desert. "Abstinence is a form of penance. Penance expresses sorrow and contrition for our wrongdoing, indicates our intention to turn away from sin and turn back to God," the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis shared on its website. When is Palm Sunday 2025? Palm Sunday is April 13, 2025. It signals the beginning of Holy Week, the last week of Lent. It also represents the day Jesus entered Jerusalem waving palm branches. When is Good Friday 2025? Good Friday is celebrated on the Friday before Easter and marks the day Jesus was crucified and died. This year, it is observed on April 18, 2025. When is Easter 2025? Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. It is also called Resurrection Sunday and is celebrated as the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, Easter Sunday is April 20, 2025. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: When is Lent 2025? Heres why Ash Wednesday marks start of fasting PINECREST, FLA. (WDHN) Florida is now the latest state to have reported a case of the measles after a high school senior was detected with the virus. According to WSVN, a local affiliate in Miami, Miami-Dade County public schools officials confirmed the student has the measles. A spokesperson for the district confirmed the case but did not give further details due to it involving a minor. In a letter to parents, the district says the risk of transmission is considered low for vaccinated people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school is hosting an immunization drive for unvaccinated students with parental consent. The case comes amid reports of measles outbreaks in other states, including Texas, and follows cases reported in neighboring Broward County last year. Measles is a respiratory disease caused by one of the worlds most contagious viruses. The virus is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It most commonly affects kids. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com. AUSTIN (KXAN) Austin Travis-County EMS said it responded to a vehicle rescue in northwestern Travis County. Lake Travis Fire Rescue and the Austin Fire Department also responded. ATCEMS said there was a two-vehicle collision near the intersection of Farm-to-Market 620 and Ranch Road 2222. According to first responders, one of the vehicles rolled over, and a patient was pinned inside. In an update, ATCEMS said the adult patient was removed from the vehicle and medics took them to a hospital in Round Rock with potentially serious, not expected to be life-threatening, injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, ATCEMS reported drivers should expect traffic delays in the area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) The first week in March marks National Invest in Veterans Week. Right here in the CSRA, there are many organizations working to help our Veterans. Helping bridge gaps between life in service and life after its the mission of Americas Warrior Partnership through the vision of one local veteran, Jim Lorraine. At the end of 2024, we had connected to over 9,000 veterans. We had served them and connected them to resources that improve their quality of life Lorriane said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its all made possible through his nonprofit organization called Americas Warrior Partnership, founded right here in Augusta. We get to know who the veterans are on one hand, and we know where the resources are on the other, and we connect the two. When it comes to National Invest in Veterans Week, one of our resources that we connect to are programs that help veterans start their own businesses whether its through a franchise, or independently, they teach them how to do it Lorraine served 22 years as a United States Air Force combat nurse. After service he found navigating civilian life and connecting with benefits and resources a bit challenging. Housing, employment, education, entrepreneurship, relationships, spiritual, etc. If we can bring all those resources to a veteran, and improve their quality of life, the likelihood of them taking their life drops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Lorrianes work through the AWP nonprofit makes it so no other veteran has to worry. Last year, we screened about 2,500 high-risk veterans for any thoughts about taking their own life. What we had was about 18% of those we screened, did have ideations within 30 days of our phone call. We maintained contact with those veterans, stayed connected with em and then as of today, we havent had anyone call us to say theyre all doing well. If youre a veteran in the CSRA, or beyond, Lorraine and the Americas Warrior Partnership wants to connect with you to help find you resources. For information on how visit here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. We accept the principles of a free-market economy almost everywhere except when it comes to housing. We stop apartment developments because they're too dense, or don't have enough parking spaces, or invite low-income residents or might block the sun. We ban granny flats. We oppose single-family homes in under-populated neighborhoods to save trees. We oppose single-family homes in urban neighborhoods because of the especially perverse fear that they'll invite more housing development. Briggs: HGTV's 'Good Bones' is not ruining Fountain Square Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Fishers is trying to block investors from owning too many single-family homes. As IndyStar's John Tuohy reports, the Fishers City Council is considering a 10% cap on single-family rental homes in subdivisions as a way to prevent the ongoing shift from owner- to renter-occupied homes. Fishers counts 50 subdivisions in which more than 10% of homes are rentals. The city sees this trend as troubling and wants to reverse it. The proposal is gaining support because homeowners prefer living next to other homeowners and institutional landlords have been vilified as predators in recent years (that is true in some cases, but the answer is to enforce penalties against bad landlords; not to ban renting as a form of housing). Here's the thing: The homeowner-to-renter shift is happening because we keep choking the supply of all other forms of housing. Families are running out of places to live. If Fishers gets its way, and more cities and states follow suit, it's going to worsen a crisis in which housing is already at record-low affordability. Downtown Fishers along 116th St. and Municipal Dr. is seen, Monday, August 6, 2018. Downtown Fishers includes housing, government offices, and businesses. Tightening credit standards have left fewer people able to qualify for mortgages. Among the people who do, they've been priced out of the market. The median home price in Fishers in January was $362,500, up 2.1% from the year before, per Redfin. For those who can afford home prices, even more are priced out by the 6.76% average 30-year mortgage rate, which has remained more than double the rate homebuyers became accustomed to in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is exceptionally hard for the average person to buy a house right now. As a result, the U.S. renter population is growing at three times the rate of the homeowner population, per Redfin. If Fishers passes its 10% cap on rental homes in subdivisions, it won't be solving a problem. It will be taking away the last possible solution for families who need a place to live and have run out of alternative options. Fishers, to be fair, has enabled apartment construction in recent years. But even that isn't enough to satisfy housing demand or to accommodate growing families who need more square footage than the average apartment provides. Families want to live in single-family homes. If they can't buy, and they can't rent, then what are they supposed to do? The Fishers 10% rental cap would do two things: eliminate potentially affordable homes and suppress the demand for construction of new homes, leading to reduced housing inventory, because this policy restricts the market for people who can live in them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Existing homeowners might say, "Yep, sounds great to us." That's the heart of NIMBYism getting into your own home and locking the gates behind you. But those homeowners should consider that they're going to have to sell some day. When they do, the de facto investor ban will have reduced the pool of prospective buyers. You can see the strain on homebuyers in one number: 56. That's the average homebuyer age last year, up from 49 in 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. Homebuying is increasingly limited to older people with high credit scores and lots of cash on hand. Younger people and families with children need to live somewhere. Fishers' proposed 10% rental cap is telling them: not in our backyard. Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fishers' 10% rental home cap on subdivisions is anti-family | Opinion KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's military said five soldiers were killed in a militant attack on a military site in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday. Four suicide bombers were among 16 militants who were also killed in the attack, the military added. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Andrew Heavens) President Trump delivered the first congressional address of his second term on Tuesday evening. It was a chance for the president to underscore the sweeping changes he has wrought in the six weeks since he returned to the White House and to defend those moves from his many critics. The days preceding the address were dominated by two issues: Ukraine and the economy. The first topic is in a state of flux amid reverberations from last weeks fractious meeting between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the economy, stock markets swooned Tuesday amid concerns about Trumps newest tariffs, aimed at Mexico, Canada and China. On Tuesday night, there was much other news too. Here are the big takeaways. A defense of big change, in a taunting tone Trump set out his case from the speechs opening moments, characterizing his first weeks back in office as being marked by swift and unrelenting action. In the roughly 100 minutes that followed, he put flesh on that argument, referencing his restrictions on illegal immigration, his executive orders assailing wokeness, the work of billionaire ally Elon Musk and Trumps own assault on what he calls Washingtons bureaucratic swamp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk was present for the address dressed, uncharacteristically, in a suit while some Democrats held signs proclaiming Musk steals. Trump claimed popular opinion is the wind at his back: Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change. But have they? Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris by just 1.5 percentage points in the popular vote last November, polls show Americans closely split on his performance thus far, and Musk, a central figure, seems to grow more divisive by the day. Trump adopted a taunting tone toward Democrats during much of the address. The president called former President Biden the worst president in American history, referenced the criminal cases that he had faced, asking, How did that work out? and resurrected an old derogatory nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) when she applauded in support of continued aid for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah? You would say Pocahontas says yes, Trump said, nodding in Warrens direction. Warren, asked a short time later if she was surprised by the jab, said, No. The whole speech was a fantasy that Donald Trump tries to construct. A slight softening on Ukraine Trump took a less hostile tone toward Zelensky than he has during the past week. But it remains unclear exactly how the president sees the path forward. The president said he had received a letter from Zelensky earlier Tuesday, though he appeared to be referencing the same message the Ukrainian president had posted on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nonetheless, Trump characterized the message as important especially with respect to the Ukrainian willingness to make peace and to sign on to the mineral rights deal the U.S. has sought. But the president made no promises of security guarantees, which the Ukrainians regard as vital. Trump contended his administration had held serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldnt that be beautiful? he added. He provided no specificity on what those signals might be, nor on what, if anything, Russian President Vladimir Putin might be prepared to concede to end the war that his February 2022 invasion started. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps pause of military aid to Ukraine, which has caused tremors across Europe, remains in place. Leaning into immigration Immigration was Trumps single strongest issue during last years election campaign, with polls showing voters preferred his harder line over the Democrats approach by a wide margin. It was, therefore, no surprise that Trump leaned hard into the issue Tuesday night. One of his loudest applause lines came when he mocked those who had suggested that significant reductions in unauthorized migration could only come through the passage of major legislation. It turned out all we really needed was a new president, he said, sparking a roar of approval from Republicans in the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also emphasized the most emotive elements of the issue, paying tribute to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old college student killed by an unauthorized migrant in Georgia in 2024, and to Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl killed in Texas, also in 2024. Two unauthorized migrants have been charged with Nungarays murder. Rileys sister and mother attended the speech, as did Nungarays mother. All three were acknowledged directly by Trump. More broadly, Trump contended that his most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history was helping to achieve the great liberation of America. Defense of tariffs a little disturbance gets lukewarm reception One of the most telling passages in the address came with Trumps defense of his tariffs and the notably tepid response it received even from Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps rationale for the tariffs appeared rather meandering at times. He contended they were necessary to stop the United States being taken advantage of by other nations, would help American farmers stave off foreign competition, and would boost the nations finances. But the fact that his speech took place on a second day of steep stock market falls and amid consternation from some conservatives took the luster off those arguments. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And its happening, and it will happen rather quickly, Trump said. Therell be a little disturbance, but were OK with that. It wont be much, Trump insisted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans duly applauded but with notably less zest than when Trump was on safer ground, defending his immigration restrictions or weighing in on the culture wars. Democratic Rep. Al Green protests, gets removed Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupted Trump with heckling early in the speech. Green was hitting back at Trumps assertion that he had a broad mandate, protesting that the president had no mandate to cut Medicaid. After a warning from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that Green was engaging in a breach of decorum, the Texas congressman who filed articles of impeachment against Trump several times during his first term, and said he would do so again last month continued to voice his objections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green was ultimately escorted from the chamber without resistance. Soon after, Green told reporters he had launched his protest because it was the most effective method to get across to a person who uses his incivility against our civility. Green also acknowledged he might face some form of sanction for his protest. Whatever the punishment is, Im not fighting the punishment, Green said. Alexander Bolton and Jared Gans contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. James Stunt was once an unmistakable figure on the London art scene, regularly pulling up at Sothebys and Christies in a fleet of personalised black supercars including a one-of-a-kind carbon fibre Lamborghini, a troop of security guards in tow. But these days, the 43-year-old cuts a rather more subdued figure. His bank accounts are blocked or empty, his fleet of luxury cars now locked away or impounded. Stunt has been appearing at Leeds Crown Court, one of eight men accused of being involved in a 266 million Bradford money-laundering operation, the biggest money-laundering prosecution brought before a British judge in history. Stunt was accused of allowing his prestigious Mayfair office to be used as a trusted hub for money laundering but denied the offence. This week, nine years after his office was raided by police, he was cleared of involvement, hugging his father with relief outside the courtroom as they both struggled to contain their emotion. However, four of his co-accused were found guilty and are to be sentenced at a later date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But this recent incident is just another twist in what has already been quite an eventful life. The former husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone has been a bullion dealer, an art collector, a lover of fine wine and a self-described billionaire. Hes been a cocaine addict, an alleged domestic abuser, and when he was declared bankrupt in 2019, the judge called him appalling. His former father-in-law, Bernie Ecclestone, has called him a flash bastard and an idiot. Stunt, pictured before the wedding of James Rothschild and Nicky Hilton in 2015, is a self-described billionaire - Alan Davidson/Shutterstock He has links to the criminal underworld but also to royalty. He claims to know David Cameron intimately, has lent art to King Charles (more on this later), and there are multiple photographs of him cosying up to the monarch. On Stunts Instagram (now deleted) he called himself the most hated man in London. One former friend of his, who asked not to be named, described him simply as Stunt the c--t. He grew up in Virginia Water, Surrey, in an affluent family. His father, Geoffrey, was from Brixton and had built a self-made fortune in commercial printing. His godfather is also The Godfather the alleged Mob boss Terry Adams, a man linked to 25 murders, money laundering, racketeering and extortion. Stunt went to Bradfield College in Berkshire (annual day pupil fees are currently just shy of 45k), where a contemporary describes him as mildly amusing in a petulant way, always rubbing the teachers up. Stunt himself quipped that students of Bradfield were like cream rich and thick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2014, he donated money to his former alma mater to restore a dilapidated building, which was renamed Stunt Pavilion in his honour. His former housemaster Stuart Williams said at the time: James was a bundle of energy and extremely good fun. Sometimes, I had to persuade him not to be, which led to a few encounters. As a young man, Stunt claimed variously to have been an oil tycoon, a shipping magnate and a gold trader. Before meeting Petra in 2006, on a blind date set up by a friend, Stunt says he dated another young heiress, Camilla Fayed, the daughter of Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed. Jay Rutland, Tamara Ecclestone, Petra Ecclestone and James Stunt at a charity dinner in 2013 - Alan Davidson/Shutterstock On his first date with Petra, Stunt says he took her to Crockfords, the private casino, where he blew 100,000. I was trying to be Flash Harry, he recalls. And when he married the 22-year-old heiress in 2011, Stunt was catapulted to a stratospheric level of wealth. There was the engagement party at Battersea Power Station, a 12 million wedding at Odescalchi Castle near Rome, with Alicia Keys, Eric Clapton, Andrea Bocelli and the Black Eyed Peas chartered in by helicopter to entertain guests. A fairy-tale wedding fit for a Formula One princess, according to Hello! magazine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The couple had three children (Lavinia, now 12, and twin boys, James and Andrew, now nine) and lived a life of glamour and excess. One of many properties they owned was the 123-room Holmby Hills mansion the largest house in Los Angeles built by the television producer Aaron Spelling. Petra bought the mansion, originally dubbed Candyland in honour of the producers wife, for $85 million and an ever-modest James renamed it Stunt Manor. It had a screening room, bowling alley, beauty salon, billiards room and gift-wrapping room, plus a wine cellar where Stunt stored what is thought to be the worlds largest collection of Petrus. From his Mayfair office on Curzon Street in the former HQ of M15 James ran his numerous business dealings. He would regularly lunch at the members club 5 Hertford Street, where one former staff member recalls him splashing out on caviar and Chateau Lafite and tipping generously. During a single evening at the nightclub Tramp, he is said to have spent 200,000 on Cristal champagne alone. When he wasnt partying, Stunt became interested in art and amassed a collection of portraits by Peter Lely and Van Dyck. I first heard of Stunt when he was still married to Petra, and he was swanning around Sothebys and bought a Van Dyck portrait in a spectacular frame, says Georgina Adam, an art journalist and author. He did build up an impressive collection, but to say he was seriously dodgy is an understatement. Im sure he does have some sensitivity to art, but he probably has more sensitivity to money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2014, he withdrew from buying a portrait of Van Dyck for 12.5 million in order to keep it in the UK, and a year later, he loaned paintings from his collection to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He wanted to put a collection together for his daughter to inherit, with a view to lending things to museums, Malcolm Rogers, the former curator of the National Portrait Gallery and retired director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, told Vanity Fair in 2020. He always presented himself as a very charitable and positive person. Stunt, an avid Van Dyck collector, outside Sothebys auction house in 2015 - WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo But in 2017, his marriage to Petra unravelled amid allegations of domestic violence, abuse and drug overdoses (denied by Stunt), and the couple were embroiled in a bitter legal fight over their 5.5 billion fortune. During the hearing, Stunt was said to have rubbed cocaine on his gums in court and made a gun gesture towards his ex-father-in-law, Bernie. He lost custody of his children. It was around this time that his drug addiction spiralled. Stunt would later tell a court that he took cocaine every day for two years. He took to Instagram and filmed bath-robe-clad rants about horrific allegations against him perpetrated by an evil dwarf named Bernie Ecclestone a filthy second-hand-car dealer. Petra Ecclestone, James Stunt and Bernie Ecclestone, whom Stunt called a filthy second-hand-car dealer, at 2019s Monaco Grand Prix - Sutton Images Petra said at the time of their divorce: While we were married, he had someone create a Wikipedia page stating he was a billionaire. Later, he had an entire website created, listing himself on a billionaire rich list that he then paid Google Ads to promote if anyone searched his name. I gave him access to money, and the more he had, the worse he became. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He certainly had delusions of grandeur. A former friend recalls him sending handwritten notes on light blue stationery that Stunt had decorated with a fake family crest, and carrying around a fake chequebook which referred to him as the Duke of Cumbria. Post-divorce, Stunt was living in a townhouse on Chester Square, Belgravia, paid for by his father. But he needed money to fund his lifestyle, and it was around this time that he lent Prince Charles a magnificent collection of 17 paintings, including pieces by Picasso, Dali, Monet and Chagall. The only problem was they were fakes. The first time I spoke to Stunt, it was 2017, and he was screaming down the phone at me, recalls Giampiero Ambrosi, the producer of The Royal Stunt, a documentary about Stunts plan to pass fake art on to King Charles and make millions. I had been meeting with Tony Tetro, the famous art forger, and Stunt was wanting first refusal on a painting Tetro had done. He had commissioned Tetro to make copies of all these famous paintings and it was all very fishy. After his divorce, Stunt lived in a townhouse in Belgravia that was paid for by his father - Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard Ambrosi spent months researching Stunt, and even filmed him undercover supposedly for a documentary about his art collection. He discovered that Stunt had loaned a then-Prince Charles a series of faked paintings to hang in Dumfries House. Stunt then valued the paintings at 217 million and then tried to use them and the royal seal of approval to secure loans to pay off his debts. The artwork has since been removed from Dumfries House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James could be very funny and charming and self-deprecating, says Ambrosi. Hed go on about his $300,000 watch. Hed say, I have the street cred of a gangster with the business sense of a mogul. But he could also be irate and crazy and paranoid. He was convinced there were all these different conspiracies against him. Sometimes he appeared wired, other times sedated. Since then, things have become difficult for Stunt. Because of the investigation into the alleged money laundering, he had his assets and cash frozen at the High Court in 2018 in a proceeds of crime restraint order. He was declared bankrupt in a London court in June 2019, with debts of more than 5 million, including an unpaid sum of 3.9 million to Christies. Stunts 11 million luxury cottage in Belgravia was repossessed along with two other flats, each worth 5 million. He tried unsuccessfully to claim that a Van Dyck portrait of the Cheeke Sisters, worth 4 million, actually belonged to his father, Geoffrey. But it seems he has, at least, found love. Stunt has been in a relationship with Helena Robinson, 28, since 2020. She was working in a watch shop when she met him, and she has been by his side as he appeared in court. She saved my life, says Stunt. Ive never met anyone more beautiful, on the inside and out. Stunt with Helena Robinson; the pair have been in a relationship since 2020 - Danny Lawson/PA The money-laundering charge of which Stunt was cleared alleges that his business Stunt & Co took in tens of millions of pounds between 2014 and 2016 from Bradford gold dealer Fowler Oldfield. The court heard that CCTV footage from that period showed couriers from all over the UK arriving at the premises with heavy bags of cash. The money probably originated from large-scale drug dealing but could also have been generated by fraud, tax evasion or human trafficking. Stunt denies knowing or suspecting the cash was criminal property and has described the case as a fit-up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, forgery charges against him were dropped, after he claimed he didnt know it was an offence to ask his personal assistant to forge his signature so he could buy an Andy Warhol painting, while he was high on morphine. As for the psychology of what makes Stunt act the way he has, those who know him have some theories. He always had a chip on his shoulder that he wasnt as rich or as knowledgeable about art as the people around him, said one former friend. When you add drugs and unlimited wealth to the mix, that insecurity can turn toxic. I think he genuinely had a desire to be knowledgeable about art and develop a real collection, says Ambrosi. But he wanted to take short cuts and all hes left with is a bunch of lies and grandstanding. Everything about him is fake. He is so guilty of so many louche and shifty things. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. By Ashwin Manikandan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian startup Mintoak, which provides merchant payment services to lenders, said on Tuesday it has bought Digiledge, marking the first acquisition in the nascent central bank digital currency space in a deal that sources said was worth around $3.5 million. The Reserve Bank of India started a pilot for the CBDC, or e-rupee, a digital alternative to physical currency, in December 2022, and last April, it expanded the scope of transactions to payment firms from having limited it to just banks initially. PayPal and HDFC Bank backed Mintoak has completed the acquisition of Digiledge, which specialises in CBDC and bill payments services, said two sources aware of the matter, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak with the media. The deal will enable Mintoak's partner banks, which include HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI, to offer more comprehensive CBDC-related payment solutions to their clients, Mumbai-based Mintoak said. "By adding Digiledge's bill payments and CBDC capabilities, we are making it easier for merchant acquirers to grow and help more small and medium enterprises access digital tools and financial services," Mintoak CEO Raman Khanduja said. In January, Cred and MobiKwik became the first fintech platforms to give customers access to the CBDC. Alphabet's Google Pay, Walmart-backed PhonePe and Amazon Pay are among the payment firms seeking to join the pilot, Reuters reported in August 2024. (Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Savio D'Souza) Floridas attorney general said his office launched a formal investigation into brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate on Tuesday following their arrival in the state after facing human trafficking charges in Romania. Last week, I directed my office to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate, Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote in a Tuesday post on X. Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Uthmeier launched a preliminary inquiry into the brothers last week hoping to uncover the reason behind their unexpected trip to Florida. Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable, the attorney general wrote last Thursday on X. Officials say they were not warned about the arrival of the Tate brothers, who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and United Kingdom. The two, who have both denied the allegations against them, were previously under Romanian travel restrictions which prevented their movements. Andrew Tate, who was accused of rape, was also under house arrest at one point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida is not a place where, where youre welcome with that, with that type of conduct in the air, and I dont know how it came to this, we were not involved, we were not notified, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters last week. Its unclear how long the brothers expect to remain in Florida. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TALLAHASSEE, Florida State Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed Tuesday that the state has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, after their arrival in Florida last week. State investigators, Uthmeier said, have been ordered to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas probing the Tate brothers on the heels of charges they faced in Romania surrounding allegations of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Andrew Tate, a far-right influencer, and his brother were arrested near Bucharest in December 2022 and stayed in the country until arriving in Florida last weekafter their travel ban was lifted by Romanian authorities. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled that the Tate brothers were not welcome in Florida ahead of Uthmeiers office launching its investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Uthmeier said in an interview posted to social media. People can spin or defend however they want. But in Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious. Floridas investigation into the brothers comes after Andrew Tate expressed disappointment Monday over DeSantis cold response to their arrival in Fort Lauderdale. Tate questioned the governors reaction on a recent podcast appearance, suggesting DeSantis should have answered by saying, as far as were concerned, hes broken no laws. Isnt the whole point of democracy, innocent until proven guilty? Tate said. Ive yet to even have a trial, let alone a conviction. Ive never even been tried after three years. Ive never been to trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Romanias Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism said that, while the agency had accepted a request from the Tate brothers to be allowed to leave Romania, they are still under investigation and judicial control, meaning they must return to Romania in March. More details into Floridas investigation were not available as of Tuesday evening. They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state, and were going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable, Uthmeier said. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier provided details Tuesday about his criminal investigation into self-proclaimed misogynist and pro-Trump influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, after both arrived in the U.S. after leaving Romania, where both face charges of human trafficking and money laundering. The brothers, who deny all the allegations against them, turned up in Florida on Thursday. Their appearance followed a report that the Trump administration had pressured Romania to loosen the Tate brothers travel restrictions. Last week, Donald Trump denied having any knowledge about the Tate brothers entry into the U.S. Indeed, welcoming them would seem to run afoul of the Trump administrations self-proclaimed campaign against alleged vicious criminals coming into the country (never mind that Trump himself has been found liable for sexual abuse and has welcomed accused abusers into his orbit). After the Tates landed in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said publicly they werent welcome. At the time, Uthmeier said hed opened a preliminary inquiry into possible charges against the brothers under Florida law. On Tuesday, he said theres an active criminal investigation into the brothers, adding that subpoenas and warrants have been issued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Uthmeier told Florida-based reporter Forrest Saunders. Florida Attorney General @JamesUthmeierFL says he's opened criminal investigation of Tate brothers, @Cobratate & @TateTheTalisman: "These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women..." pic.twitter.com/FYIfbDKCBu Forrest Saunders (@FBSaunders) March 4, 2025 In a social media post Tuesday, Andrew Tate decried the states criminal investigation, calling it absolute communism. An NBC News report from 2023 detailed how Tate has boasted about luring women to participate in his explicit webcam business, which he himself has described as a total scam. Tate is an avowed Trump supporter and among the most widely recognized figures in the so-called manosphere, a constellation of social media influencers known for deeply misogynistic content that tends to skew to the far right. After Trumps win, Tate told his social media followers that he stepped on the gas when he saw a woman in a crosswalk because you no longer have rights. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday said there was an "active criminal investigation" into the presence of the brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate in Florida after they flew here from Romania. Uthmeier's comments on the internet personalities and self-proclaimed misogynists were posted to social media by Forrest Saunders, an EW Scripps television reporter based in Tallahassee. "These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world," Uthmeier said in an interview outside his Capitol office. "Many of these victims are coming forward, some of them minors. People can spin or defend however they want, but in Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious. CFO Jimmy Patronis, right, sits with Attorney General James Uthmeier during opening day of the Florida legislative session Tuesday, March 4, 2025. "We're not going to accept it," he added. "They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state, and we're going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable. ... We have secured and executed subpoenas and warrants, and we're going to continue to move forward with full force of law. This is an ongoing criminal investigation and we're going to use every tool we have to ensure that justice is served." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tate brothers are under investigation in Romania on accusations of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all wrongdoing. After Romanian prosecutors lifted a travel ban, the Tates flew to Fort Lauderdale last Thursday on a private jet, according to Mateea Petrescu, their spokesperson. Why they are here isn't publicly known. Florida has zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls. We will not allow it. https://t.co/0G2fUT5oFb James Uthmeier (@JamesUthmeierFL) March 4, 2025 Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his State of the State Address on opening day of the Florida legislative session, Tuesday,March 4, 2025. Uthmeier echoed previous statements by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week, who said "the reality is, no, Florida is not a place where youre welcome with that type of conduct." The decision to lift the travel ban came after officials in the Trump administration reportedly put pressure on Romania. The Tates' fan base is solidly right-wing and male, and he has been a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Tate's popularity in particular exploded online due to his increasingly inflammatory statements, claiming among other things that women were partially responsible for being raped, depression isn't real, Nazis might not have been the bad guys in World War II, and women belong to men. Earlier Tuesday, Andrew Tate had posted on his X account, "... This is a sad sad day for America. Trying to find crimes on an innocent man. Im not afraid. Im genuinely just disappointed." The Matrix is attacking me. Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) March 4, 2025 (This story was updated to add new information.) This story contains material previously published by USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network Florida. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida launches investigation into Andrew Tate presence in state Floridas Attorney General is investigating Andrew and Tristan Tate, just days after they returned to the U.S. The brothers are accused of crimes including human trafficking. James Uthmeier said his office is working with law enforcement to issue subpoenas and search warrants. Gov. Ron DeSantis previously said the brothers werent welcome in Florida. Andrew Tate denies any wrongdoing, saying hes never been tried or convicted. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida's attorney general announced Tuesday that his office has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, days after they returned to the U.S. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that he directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers. Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers, Uthmeier said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the Tates landed in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers weren't welcome in Florida and that he would have the attorney general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged crimes. During an appearance Monday on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate said the governor was caving to media pressure. Tate said he has a U.S. passport and a right to visit his home country. He said he has broken no laws and that he has never even been tried, let alone convicted, of a crime. The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year in Romania on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to that country, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations. Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who is a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online. He and his 36-year-old brother, Tristan, are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Tate previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted. The Tates left Romania after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers case at the recent Munich Security Conference. Florida could be poised to erase a key provision in state law which has kept dozens of people wrongfully imprisoned from receiving compensation for years spent behind bars. A Senate panel Wednesday unanimously approved a measure (SB 130) that would eliminate a so-called clean hands standard in the states wrongful incarceration law, on the books since 2008. As a staff analysis explains, "When the (law) was passed, a person was ineligible to receive compensation ... if he or she was previously convicted of any other felony." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The clean hands requirement has contributed to only five released inmates being compensated by the state out of 91 exonerated since 1989, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Those five have been awarded almost $6.3 million by the state, under the compensation program, according to the Florida Attorney Generals office. This bill is not about having a strong bill against criminals who commit bad acts in our state, said Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island. Not soft on crime, but targets state wrongdoing Instead, she told the Criminal and Civil Justice budget committee that the legislation is intended to help those wronged by the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This bill rights that wrong against them and gets them the compensation thats deserved when the state gets it wrong, she added. Bradley has sponsored similar measures the past couple of years that failed to clear the Legislature. But early signs in the House and Senate suggest there may be more momentum this spring. Florida became one of the first states in the nation to create a system where anyone wrongfully imprisoned could receive compensation. But Florida also is the only state to have the clean hands standard. Bradley said that since 2018, there have been 18 exonerees that have been denied compensation, totaling 300 years of lost liberty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the law, those later found innocent by the court which convicted them are eligible to receive $50,000 for each year they served in prison. Compensation is capped at $2 million. A view outside a state prison in Florida. 'Clean hands' disqualifies many The clean hands provision initially barred anyone convicted of a felony from qualifying keeping some with relatively minor convictions dating to their teen years from receiving compensation for decades later wrongfully spent behind bars. The clean hands requirement was changed in 2017 to make a former inmate ineligible for receiving payments for being locked up if they were previously convicted of a violent felony or more than one non-violent felony. Lost decades behind bars... 47 years after wrongful conviction, 78-year-old wins Florida compensation on legislative sessions last night Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some pitfalls loom this session... Amid flowers, speeches and good vibes, some pitfalls loom for DeSantis, lawmakers But the standard remains an obstacle, advocates say. The Innocence Project, which pushed for Floridas compensation law almost two decades ago, supports Bradleys bill, along with other justice-related organizations. Similar legislation by Rep. Traci Koster, a Tampa Republican, is advancing in House committees. In addition to erasing the clean hands requirement, the bill would extend the claims-filing deadline for those exonerated from 90 days to two years. It would also let individuals to seek compensation through either a civil lawsuit or through the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act, rather than forcing an exoneree to waive their right to file a civil lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Networks Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on X at @JKennedyReport. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: New measure offers hope for exonerees seeking compensation in Florida For nearly two months, a growing strain has been placed on the network of support services that provide guidance and assistance for immigrants in Tampa Bay. Nonprofits are receiving more urgent requests for help. Advocates are holding frequent virtual meetings and share updates online. Immigration lawyers are fielding desperate calls and juggling dozens of cases. The weight of uncertainty has made every case feel heavier, said Lisette Sanchez, an immigration lawyer in Tampa, who posts videos on platforms such as TikTok to inform and update the community. This fear means more consultations, more emergency calls and more time spent explaining whats happening and what it means for their future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigrants are worried by Trump administration policies that restrict unauthorized immigration, tighten existing laws, and increase enforcement to carry out large-scale deportations nationwide. Florida has also taken aggressive steps to curb immigration. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The measures have not only heightened anxiety among people without permanent legal status, but have also increased pressure on legal service providers. In Tampa, an office run by Catholic Charities opens its doors six days a week. Its one of six locations providing affordable immigration services in Wimauma, Dover, Dade City, New Port Richey, and Spring Hill. Jose Fernandez, the director of the immigration program at Catholic Charities, said they have seen a 40% increase in calls and appointments over the last four weeks. Many families are desperate for answers about their legal status and rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had never seen anything like this. Its like night and day, said Fernandez, who has been working on community and immigration cases for nearly 40 years. The people who come here are scared. With or without legal status, they dont know what will happen. On weekends, Fernandez said they see about 65 people, while on weekdays, they help between 30 and 50. On a recent Saturday morning, a Cuban family waited outside the Tampa office, hoping to get answers about their situation. They arrived in the U.S. less than two years ago and wanted to understand the latest immigration policies and how they might be affected. Not too far from them, a Venezuelan couple with temporary protected status was waiting to ask if they could extend their status, even though the Department of Homeland Security recently announced that protections for Venezuelans will end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Danielle Hernandez, an immigration lawyer in Ybor City, said her office has seen a 250% increase in phone calls from existing clients and people who have watched her interviews or followed her on social media since Trump announced his administrations first immigration policy changes a month ago. Most of Hernandezs clients are looking for updates on their cases, while some want to be ready for any outcome. Others want to know what items to prepare if they are deported, and what to do with their property or children. We were getting 80 calls a month ago, on a monthly basis, and now we are getting that weekly. Its so hectic, Hernandez said. To address the influx, ease fears, and make the law easier to understand, Hernandez frequently posts videos on platforms such as YouTube to explain new policy changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez, the Tampa immigration attorney, said it has become much harder to defend her clients due to new restrictions that limit legal assistance and policies and rhetoric that have sown fear among immigrants. Sanchez said it has become increasingly difficult to advocate for their clients due to new barriers in communication with Homeland Security and immigration courts. Among those barriers: Homeland Security is no longer responding to emails or phone calls from immigration lawyers, she said. Its employees have been prohibited from directly answering correspondence, Sanchez said, with all communications sent to a general email address. The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, the legal arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is also not responding to inquiries, said Sanchez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attorneys who represent the government in immigration cases can no longer exercise prosecutorial discretion, which previously allowed them to close or delay certain deportation cases. They have been instructed to oppose all requests, regardless of the circumstances, said Sanchez. Hernandez echoed Sanchezs concerns and said court assistants email addresses have been taken down and phone lines go unanswered. It is almost impossible to communicate with a court should an emergency arise, Hernandez said. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Tampa Bay Times request for comment. In an unpredictable system, Sanchez said she will keep moving forward and continue fighting an uphill battle for her clients. But it is hard, it is exhausting and its only been a month, she said. A Tampa dentist has been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening various public figures over political commentary for years. The Justice Department says Richard Glenn Kantwill, 61, sent more than 100 threats via email and social media to multiple public figures between September 2019 and July 2020. The targets included an author, a religious persona, and a television personality, among others. Court documents state he also sent threats to four public figures and an election official in another state between 2022 and 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kantwill pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transmission of a threat in November 2024. Richard Kantwill sent more than 100 violent threats to multiple public figures, including an election official. The Justice Department has zero tolerance for conduct that seeks to intimidate public servants from doing their jobs, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said i nthe guilty plea announcement. The FBI investigated the case. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -The maker of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil must face a proposed class action claiming it misled consumers who wanted to "buy American," by falsely claiming that its foil was "Made in USA," a U.S. judge ruled on Monday. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan said consumers can try to prove that Reynolds Consumer Products violated New York state consumer protection laws by using false and misleading packaging for its namesake foil. Reynolds and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to the complaint filed last March, substantially all bauxite in Reynolds' foil comes from outside the United States, where little of the ore is produced, and much of it is eventually transformed into aluminum outside the United States. This made Reynolds' "Foil Made in USA" claim false and misleading to reasonable consumers, because they would spend more on products "made in America," the complaint said The plaintiff, Anaya Washington of Bronx, New York, said she bought Reynolds Wrap at Target and other stores, believing the brand as trustworthy and familiar as Kleenex and Vaseline, and wouldn't have bought the foil had she knows where it came from. In seeking a dismissal, Reynolds said Washington relied on generic "overpayment" accusations rather than show harm. It also called the case "another lawyer-driven class action seeking to profit from a truthful 'Made in the USA' statement." But the judge said Washington plausibly alleged she paid more than she would have but for the "Foil Made in USA" label. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million of damages. Many lawsuits accuse companies of using imprecise labeling that induces shoppers to pay more, including through appeals to their patriotism. In 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a "Made in USA Labeling Rule" to protect businesses and consumers from being misled over product origins. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is encouraging global businesses to manufacture more products in the United States. Washington's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case is Washington v Reynolds Consumer Products LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-02327. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul) Florida has launched a criminal investigation into Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after the influencers fled to the state from Romania. Jason Uthmeier, Floridas attorney general, said he instructed his office to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers last week. Based on a thorough review of the evidence Mr Uthmeier announced on Tuesday a criminal investigation into the Tate brothers had been launched. He ordered the statewide prosecution office to issue subpoenas and execute search warrants in relation to the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Mr Uthmeier told a press conference. Many of these victims coming forward, some of them minors, people can spin or defend however they want but in Florida, this type of behaviour is viewed as atrocious. Were not going to accept it. The brothers, who are self-proclaimed misogynists, flew to Florida on a private jet last week from Romania, where they face investigations for sex trafficking. They deny all the allegations against them. Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, said the Tates were not welcome in the state on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida is not a place where youre welcome with that type of conduct, Mr DeSantis told reporters. I dont know how it came to this. We were not involved. We were not notified. I found out through the media. Although Mr DeSantis said that the federal government ultimately had the power to decide on the brothers right to enter the US, he said that Mr Uthmeier was looking into what state hooks and jurisdictions we have to deal with this. Mr Uthmeier said on Tuesday: They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state, and were going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Tate said that he and his brother had yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever, after touching down in Fort Lauderdale last week. On Monday, Andrew Tate said he is committed to returning to Romania for a bail hearing at the end of March. Britain is understood to be considering extraditing the brothers to the UK. A source inside Donald Trumps office told The Telegraph that such a move could risk a fall-out between Mr Trump and Sir Keir Starmer. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ORLANDO, Fl. (WSAV) A Florida man is under arrest after apparently trying to swallow stolen jewelry worth more than a $750,000. According to NBC News, Officers in Orlando responded to the Tiffany & Co. store last week on a robbery call. According to an affidavit, Jaythan Lawrence Gilder entered the store and asked about diamond earrings and rings, reportedly telling an employee he was representing an Orlando Magic player. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gilder was taken to a private room to see the jewelry when he grabbed the items, including two pairs of earrings worth $769,000 and fled the store. He was arrested in the mall parking lot and that when police say he swallowed the jewelry, which can be seen on scans from the Washington County jail. Gilder reportedly asked the jail staff, Am I going to be charged with whats in my stomach? He now faces robbery and grand theft charges. No word on when authorities expect getting the jewelry back. Or how. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Mar. 4Brandon King used to meet his father at Dunkin' every day before work. They'd fuel up with coffee and doughnuts, King said, before spending the day working on renovations or remodels for Ocean Properties, a hotel management and development company. The pair bounced back and forth between projects in Florida and Maine, where Mark King, a 42-year employee and project manager for the company, also spent time at his camp and with friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their most recent job was renovating the interior of the Bar Harbor Regency Hotel. The father and son were on the site early on Feb. 24 when the large overhang near the entrance of the hotel collapsed and killed Mark King. Brandon King saw the collapse and tried to rescue his father from the debris. "In that chaos, I felt the weight of loss and helplessness," Brandon King wrote in a text message. "But even in that darkness, I know Mark would want us to remember the light he brought into our lives." The 64-year-old man from Florida was declared dead at the scene when first responders arrived. It's unclear exactly what caused the collapse, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office is investigating. The federal agency, as well as local police and fire departments, have declined to answer questions about what may have caused the collapse. The property owners did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brandon King said in a phone interview Tuesday that he's taking time off work to process the loss it won't be the same without his father, his boss and "partner in crime." Mark King was a dedicated worker and put his whole heart into every project, even if it meant working seven days a week, his son said. Brandon King started working for his father after high school and hopes to keep his legacy going in his own work. Mark King lived in primarily in Florida's Boynton Beach, near Ocean Properties headquarters on the state's east coast. When hurricanes would flood any of the company's properties nearby, he was on top of any damage, sometimes cleaning up and pushing sand himself, his son said. Even outside of work, Mark King was passionate about renovations. He planned to move to Maine during his retirement after finishing work on his house at "King Camp" on Chemo Pond in Penobscot County, which he bought about four years ago. He was talented at refinishing and improving spaces, his son said, and taught him everything he knew. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also enjoyed riding and tuning up his motorcycle and, in Maine, his snowmobile. Brandon King remembers his family's trips to Maine started when he was 6 years old. His father wanted to return to Maine, where he had built close friendships, and to be closer to family that lives in the state, his son said. Mark King taught his sons, Cody and Brandon King, and his daughter, Cassidy Edwards, about the importance of generosity, Brandon King said. He was a loving husband to his wife, Sharon, and the whole family, including his grandchildren, will remember him as a "pillar of strength," he said. "Anything we did in our lives, he would be there for us." Copy the Story Link BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A Florida man was sentenced for his role in a Telegram-based bank fraud scheme that targeted Alabama businesses, according to U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona on Wednesday. Gabriel Odiot, 21, of Kissimmee, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $84,000. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in December. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy maintains innocence ahead of press conference in Montgomery Thursday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plea agreement and other court documents from August 2022 to March 2023 state Odiot served as an administrator of RICH OFF PLAYS, a Telegram channel dedicated to the negotiation of fraudulent checks. He used the channel to recruit mail carriers, advertise services of bank insiders and to collaborate with others to commit bank fraud. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. RIVERVIEW, Fla. (WFLA) A Florida missing child alert has been issued for a 5-year-old boy in Riverview. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Ilijah King was last seen in the area of the 13500 block of Mango Bay Drive in Riverview. Officials said Ilijah may be in the company of Jacqueline King. Investigators said they may be traveling to Nevada or California. Anyone with information about Ilijahs whereabouts is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office at 813-247-8200 or 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Floridas attorney general has launched an active criminal investigation into manosphere bigot Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who arrived in the country just last week at Donald Trumps behest. The brothers returned to the U.S. from Romania, where they still face rape and human trafficking charges, after the Trump administration sought the return of their passports, opposing a court order requiring them to remain in the European nation while the investigation continued. Now that the dual British-American citizens have returned stateside, theyve found themselves the subject of yet another criminal investigation for alleged sex crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world, Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday. Many of these victims are coming forward, some of them minorspeople can spin or defend however they want, but in Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious. Were not going to accept it, Uthmeier said. They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state, and were going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable. Uthemeier announced the investigation in a post on X Tuesday, saying his office had conducted a preliminary inquiry into the brothers. Based on a thorough review of the evidence, Ive directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers, he wrote. Andrew Tate posted on X dozens of times between Tuesday and Wednesday, claiming his innocence and attacking Uthmeier and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who appointed the attorney general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isnt the America I know. This is a sad sad day for America, Tate wrote in one post Tuesday, describing the investigation as absolute communism. Last week, Andrew Tate denied all wrongdoing. Weve no criminal record anywhere on the planet ever, he said. That claim is still pending, however, as the brothers remain under investigation in Romania. Last year, a Romanian court ruled that after those court proceedings finished, the brothers could then be extradited to the U.K. to face additional charges of sex crimes. Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and professional misogynist, is a central figure in the manosphere of contemptible internet chauvinists, a group of right-wing shills Trump utilized in his run for the presidencyand now intends to thank in kind. The big story: In an attempt to deter speeding in school zones, municipalities across Florida over the past year have set up cameras to record violations and established fines for wrongdoers. The effort has yielded thousands of citations in several areas. It also has generated a growing number of complaints by drivers who contend they were wrongly accused. Similar issues have arisen with the use of cameras to catch drivers illegally passing school buses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The problems have led some officials to reconsider their participation in the programs, which lawmakers approved just over a year ago. The Manatee County Commission on Tuesday decided to walk away from its school zone cameras in the face of rising opposition. We have the data, At-Large Commissioner Jason Bearden said in a county news release. Now, lets take that data and give it to the Sheriffs Department. Read more from the Herald-Tribune. Hot topics College sports: Florida State University and Clemson University ended their legal battles with the Atlantic Coast Conference after securing a new financial deal with the group. Homework: Pasco County teachers will be allowed to grade student homework again, starting in the fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legislation: A House subcommittee advanced legislation along party lines that would make it easier to convert district schools to charter status, Florida Politics reports. A Pasco County mom urged a state House subcommittee to consider expanding laws on hazardous walking conditions to include middle and high schools, WFTS reports. Naming rights: The Martin County school board is nearing approval of a plan that would allow companies to pay to have their names on high school stadiums, TC Palm reports. Pay raises: The Broward County school board approved 3% raises for teachers, principals and educational support employees, WSVN reports. School health: A Miami-Dade County high school student was reported to have Floridas first measles case this year. The school will offer free vaccinations with parental consent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Student-teacher relationships: The Duval County school board delayed action on a proposal to tighten requirements for employee communications with students, WJXT reports. Transportation: The Lee County school district is increasing its incentives to attract bus drivers as it faces a 65-driver shortage, WBBH reports. Weather report: Leon County schools are delaying their start by one hour today because of expected severe weather, WTXL reports. Websites: Florida State University has begun scrubbing its websites of terms such as diverse and women in response to state and federal orders to eliminate programs and practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the police blotter ... A Leon County high school student was arrested on allegations of making a threat of violence against the school. She said she didnt want to be at school, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Today in Tallahassee ... The House Careers and Workforce Subcommittee will hear a presentation on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act when it meets at 10:15 a.m. The Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee will review state university system funding when it meets at 11 a.m. Dont miss a story. Heres a link to yesterdays roundup. Before you go ... Pay attention, Harry Potter fans. TALLAHASSEE, Florida State lawmakers have Florida's public universities in their sights as they and Gov. Ron DeSantis look to scale back spending with their own DOGE-style efforts. The state House, on the Legislature's opening day, began probing university expenses by scrutinizing costs racked up by former University of Florida President and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, alongside other schools that were questioned in state audits. The discussions come as the GOP-led Legislature and DeSantis call for a thorough sweep of university budgets to find potential savings, leaving state funding at risk while campuses simultaneously brace for federal research cuts by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are expenses, wasteful spending, that I am sure happen at the universities the same way that they do in any of our agencies, or any other bucket of government that weve been funding for the last several decades, state House Speaker Danny Perez (R-Miami) told reporters Tuesday. Its our job to look into that. Floridas university system, with a combined $19.6 billion budget, appears to be a prime target for cost-cutting since DeSantis, inspired by Elon Musks DOGE push in Washington, proposed sweeping reviews across the state to root out unnecessary expenditures. The Republican governors position particularly aligns with the views of Perez, who maintains the House must use its role as the publics watchdog to curb the excesses of government and hold officials accountable for abusing their power. That, so far, includes scouring the most recent university audits to explore where some of the money is going. Spending by UF, the states flagship school, was specifically examined Tuesday by members of the House Higher Education Budget Subcommittee, which challenged a $6.4 million tab accrued by Sasse for consulting services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State auditors raised several concerns about this amount, reporting there was limited assurance that UFs process for awarding the contract reduced the appearance and opportunity for favoritism and that university records did not demonstrate the benefit of the expense. Further, auditors found Sasses office spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on parties and events that werent always properly preauthorized or reasonably priced. Sasse, who resigned in July citing his wifes health, spent $901,700 for catering and $210,600 for furniture and equipment rentals in 2023-24, according to the audit. Sasses current salary as a professor and presidential adviser $949,000 that is funded by a mix of state and private dollars, was also called into question. A state database of university salaries shows that the entire salary is paid through enterprise dollars like student fees, but UF clarified that Sasse is paid $200,000 from state dollars, the max allowed under Florida law, with the rest coming from private sources. Auditors determined that UF did not demonstrate the reasonableness of awarding Sasse the same compensation he received while serving as president for 18 months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State House members appeared to be taken aback by some of the findings. I feel like a lot of us want some accountability, state Rep. Judson Sapp (R-Palatka) said during Tuesdays committee meeting. UF, for its part, has pledged that the issues called out in the audit are remedied, and that the school takes very seriously its obligation to be a good steward of public funds, in a Feb. 5 response to state auditors. House members also delved into findings that dinged Florida Atlantic University for overcharging students for fees tied to taking online classes. Auditors found FAU charged students nearly $2.8 million in excess fees, which were reserved to pay for a future facilities renovation project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was a cause for concern among lawmakers, as auditors questioned how assessing fees for future construction benefited the students who were paying for it. That really concerns me, that they would overcharge students to cover the cost of a capital project, said state Rep. Mike Caruso (R-Delray Beach). Amid these funding reviews, the legislative session marks a precarious time for Floridas university system, frequently touted by state policymakers for its high performance in national school rankings. School leaders already are facing the potential loss of millions of dollars in federal grants due to the Trump administration's proposed changes at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida State University, as one example, could lose between $50 millon and $65 million in federal funding due to proposed research spending caps. The turbulence is sparking worries that research and faculty positions could ultimately be on the chopping block. Florida's universities are among the best in the nation, and the United States universities are among the best in the world, because of the great people who work there, Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association teachers union, said during an event Tuesday. Politicians need to lift them up and remember that and support the work at that level. While lawmakers seem to be gung-ho on finding possible cuts, they are also urging caution. Senate President Ben Albritton suggested that, while he was on board with examining costs, the Legislature should use a scalpel, maybe, instead of an axe when combing through budgets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether you call it DOGE, or you just call it a standard legislative process, or maybe even an enhanced legislative process, were following down the same pathway, Albritton told reporters Tuesday. CLARIFICATION: This report has been updated to clarify Sasses current salary as a professor and presidential adviser. A state database of university salaries shows that the entire salary is paid through enterprise dollars like student fees, but UF clarified that Sasse is paid $200,000 from state dollars, the max allowed under Florida law, with the rest coming from private sources. (Reuters) -Saudi Aramco is in the early stages of considering a potential bid for BP's lubricant business Castrol, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. BP has been exploring all options around its Castrol business, including a possible sale, as part of a strategic review. The business would be expected to be worth around $6 billion to $8 billion, Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, said in a note last week. BP and Aramco declined to comment. BP shares were down 0.1% by 1606 GMT. Bloomberg News was first to report about Aramco's interest in Castrol on Wednesday, which comes a day after the Saudi oil giant reported a drop in its annual profit and signalled it will slash its dividend payouts by nearly a third this year. BP said last week it was reviewing its lubricants business, Castrol, and targeting $20 billion in divestments by 2027. The divestment programme is a key part of CEO Murray Auchincloss' strategy revamp to slash spending on renewables and increase BP's focus on oil and gas production to enhance earnings. BP, which has underperformed peers like Shell and Exxon, has come under increasing pressure to change strategy after news that U.S. activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a 5% stake in the company. According to Elliott, BP would benefit from selling its Castrol lubricants and its network of service stations to unlock value and boost share buybacks, a source told Reuters last week. Bloomberg's report said Aramco hasn't made a final decision on the structure of a potential bid for Castrol or whether it will proceed as deliberations are still in the early stage. (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Prerna Bedi Shanima A in Bengaluru and Arunima Kumar in MumbaiEditing by Leroy Leo, Frances Kerry and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Shelby County Commissioners Committee held its first meeting since Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was arrested for federal charges. Ford Jr. is facing federal charges of bribery, kickbacks concerning federal funds, and six counts of attempted tax evasion. He is accused of using his public office to secure grant funds for three non-profits and then corruptly receiving financial payments from those three organizations. Non-profits made thousands off Commissioner Ford alleged scheme Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those charges involve grant programs and a budget process that we all play a part in. So, I want to make sure our actions are above board. And frankly, restore confidence. I think the publics confidence in county government has been shaken, said Commissioner Mick Wright. Wright says one way to do that is by having transparency. Even when I try to find my own actions as a commissioner, its too difficult, Wright said. Its just not transparent enough for the public, and they want to know whats happening with their government. Other commissioners are advocating for reform. Audit the funds that are provided by the county, such as if they match the descriptions of the project that were approved. It can be that simple, which really shouldnt overburden the entity itself. It will be more of an issue for the independent auditors that they will contract with as a 501C3, said Commissioner Michael Whaley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we have an issue, state the issue dont try to save face about something that doesnt need to be saved, said Commissioner Henri Brooks. Ford Jr. left the meeting while that discussion was ongoing. Commissioner Ford Jr. cant contact these people. Heres why Earlier in the meeting, Ford Jr. did weigh in on the salary of the Shelby County Sheriff for the 2026 2030 term of Office and other positions. He introduced a measure to increase the salary to $235,000, which would also increase the mayors salary. If this body does decide to pass the increase, the other increase needs to happen as well, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will discuss reforming how commissioners distribute funds to non-profits in their district on March 19th. Commissioner Ford Jr. was placed on administrative leave without pay from his job with the Library Services. This comes after the Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris requested Monday to pause Ford Jr.s grantmaking during his federal prosecution. Im not in favor of these kinds of slush funds, that one individual elected official can dole out at their discretion, because sometimes these things can become corrupted, Harris said Tuesday, in an interview with WREGs Alex Coleman. Mayor requests pause on Fords grants amid prosecution Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harris described his own working relationship with Ford Jr. as prickly. Obviously, hes not a friend of mine, but I dont think he has many friends, Harris said. Ford Jr. is due in federal court on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Editors Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolexs Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. Its been called the worlds biggest mammal migration; from October to December, up to 10 million straw-colored fruit bats travel from across Africa and gather over a swamp forest in Kasanka National Park, at the heart of Zambias Miombo woodland. They leave in January, many returning to other locations within the vast dry Miombo forest surrounding the park which provides these bats with year-round habitat and a bountiful supply of fruit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stretching from the northern tips of Tanzania, through to coastal Angola in the west, and all the way down to southern Mozambique, the Miombo covers 1.9 million square kilometers (734,000 square miles): an area about the size of Mexico. Its thought to provide livelihoods and essential resources for over 300 million people, as well as sustaining much of Africas most iconic megafauna, including some of the continents largest remaining elephant populations. Despite its importance, the Miombo saw a decline in forest cover of almost a third between 1980 and 2020. However, recent research shed light on its ability to store carbon, which could mean that restoring the woodland has more economic value than cutting it down. Double the carbon A first-of-its-kind study published in July 2024 found that the Miombo may be locking up more than twice as much aboveground carbon as was previously thought. This difference equates to an additional 3.7 billion metric tons of carbon stored across the whole forest more than that emitted into the atmosphere by China in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Professor Mathias Disney, of University College London, who co-authored the paper, explains that the oversimplified relationship between trunk diameter and tree mass (of which carbon makes up a fixed proportion) used in prior estimates, kind of underpins everything we know about carbon and forests worldwide. Instead, this new study predicted the aboveground biomass in the Miombo using a much more advanced method: lidar (light detection and ranging). Much as sonar relies on sound pulses, and radar on radio pulses, lidar builds up a 3D-map by firing thousands of laser pulses per second at an object and recording the reflected signals. The team deployed the imaging technique from the ground, from drones and from helicopters, over a 500-square-kilometer region of the forest in Mozambique. They then used their data to build the most accurate 3D-representation of the woodland to date and extrapolated to estimate the amount of carbon locked up across the whole Miombo. Accurately gauging this figure is hugely important. Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change says that countries gain carbon credits based on performance, relative to their emissions targets. Countries that over-perform can sell excess carbon credits to companies that want to offset their emissions, or countries that under-perform, allowing these to also meet their targets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As far as the Miombo is concerned, although nothing has actually changed on the ground if you double the amount of carbon thats stored across these woodlands youve essentially doubled their dollar value overnight, says Disney. This means doubling the financial incentive for southern African nations to protect and restore the Miombo, but also doubling the financial cost of cutting it down. Restoration Alliance The Miombo Restoration Alliance, a collaboration between 11 southern African nations, conservation organizations, and Trafigura a global commodities trading group was formed in September 2024. Trafigura is funding $500 million for the scheme to finance forest restoration projects, which would allow for the sale of carbon removal credits under Article 6. In the carbon world, everything flows from policy, everything flows from regulation, says Hannah Hauman, global head of carbon trading at Trafigura. With governments committing to funding and enforcing stricter environmental regulation, she says that the Alliance has the potential to become the largest nature-based removals initiative on the planet. The Miombo Alliances first pilot scheme was announced in November 2024 at the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan. It is focused on promoting sustainable land use among local communities in Mozambiques Gorongosa District, with an aim to research the regional potential for carbon offsets through this. An area of pristine Miombo forest in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. - Natalie Ingle However, carbon offsets under the Paris Agreement are controversial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rachel Rose Jackson, director of climate research and policy at Corporate Accountability a non-profit watchdog that challenges transnational corporations on ethical practices says that Article 6 often serves as a pollution allowance rather than an actual emissions reduction. Effectively, the countries and corporations that pollute most heavily can continue do so, by paying people elsewhere to offset their emissions for them, she says. Jackson points to a 2023 study of 2,000 offset projects which found that only 12% of existing credits actually constituted any real emissions reductions. The carbon trading market is full of loopholes, its riddled with weaknesses, and on the whole, its absolutely not working, she says. Though Jackson makes it clear that she is not criticizing the Miombo Restoration Alliance specifically, she says that governments must shift away from dangerous distractions like offsets and carbon markets and instead focus on keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Much more than carbon For Disney, forests are much more than carbon. While keeping carbon locked up in the woodland is incredibly important from a climate perspective, it says nothing about biodiversity, nor about food, resources, shelter, aesthetics, health benefits to people, he explains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edwin Tambara, director of Global Leadership at the African Wildlife Foundation, says that compared to rainforests such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin, dry forests like the Miombo are systematically understudied, underappreciated and undervalued. Reflecting on his own childhood, growing up surrounded by the Miombo in Zimbabwe, Tambara says we relied on the ecosystem in terms of every aspect of our lives. His community depended on the forest for termite-resistant construction materials, food supplies, even toothache-curing medicines, he explains. A 2016 study valued such provisions to rural livelihoods across the Miombo and the geographically overlapping Mopane woodlands at $9 billion per year. Africans owning conservation is important and Africans leading on conservation is important, says Tambara, praising the newly formed intergovernmental program. However, he insists that conserving the Miombo in the long term must serve to protect the local people and biodiversity that relies on it, as well as the carbon that it locks up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an example, he describes a 2016 project in which the African Wildlife Foundation introduced a drought-resistant sugarcane variety to smallholder farmers in Tanzanias Kilombero District, an important region for sugar production. Farmers receiving the new variety saw a 70% increase in sugarcane yields, which significantly reduced the need to deforest the surrounding Miombo in order to expand their agricultural plots. Smallholder farmers in the Kilombero District of Tanzania sowing drought-resistant sugarcane. - African Wildlife Foundation He reminisces about the traditional rules when he was young, dictating which plants could be gathered and which must be preserved rules that he later realized reflected a deep-rooted local understanding of both the scarcity and societal importance of different species. Tambara adds: Communities who live day in, day out in these woodlands have a lot of indigenous knowledge that we need to tap into in terms of how best to conserve (the woodlands). For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com TYLER, Texas (KETK) A former accountant at a Tyler nonprofit has been accused of stealing nearly $100,000. According to an arrest affidavit, a manager at Hand Up Network, alerted officials to a fraud alert from their work bank after a debit card for the organization was used twice at a casino in Lake Charles, La. Smith County commissioners approve immigration program despite heartfelt pleas The manager told officials that the card was used by their accountant, Dawn Pitcock. When confronted by the manager, she reportedly said she had used the card by mistake and paid the organization back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the manager then became suspicious and began reviewing the bank account where he found 283 transactions to Apple.com since March 2024 totaling $96,826.58. When confronted, Pitcock said she believed that he was the person making those transactions, hence why she never questioned them. Southside Bank then provided documents of all Apple.com transactions dating from March 11, 2024, to Jan. 13 of this year. Smith reported that none of those charges were authorized by him, or Hand Up Network, and that no employee should have used a company card for something like that, the affidavit stated. After receiving a subpoena, investigators learned that all accounts went back to Pitcock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All the listed transactions showed to have been done by Dawn Pitcock. Apple reported that the card was used multiple times to buy virtual chips for an online casino game called Cash Frenzy Slots Casino,' documents showed. Kemp man charged with sexual abuse, accused of paying child $1 to do something nice During an interview with investigators, Pitcock confirmed that she added the Hand Up Network debit card to her account on an iPad that is used by employees allowing them to make purchases if need be. Mugshot of Dawn Pitcock, courtesy of the Smith County Jail. However, because the purchases were connected to her iPhones IMEI number, a unique number to identify specific devices, that meant employees would have access to her phone to make those purchases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The interview ended with Pitcock saying she wished to speak with her husband and to contact Apple. However, shortly after the interview, investigators said she called the manager at the nonprofit and confessed to spending all the money. After this, Pitcock was fired. After the confession, Pitcock was arrested for theft of property and is being held in the Smith County Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. WARNING: This story addresses sexual violence. If you or someone you know needs help, call the Rape & Sexual Assault Crisis Line 1-888-421-1100. SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) A former church leader was charged with multiple counts of rape in Salt Lake County for allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old in his congregation more than 20 years ago, according to recently unsealed documents. Armando Flores, 69, was charged with two counts of rape and one count of object rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a teenager several times while serving as her religious leader in 2002. Court documents say he was serving as a branch president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utah teacher arrested on child rape charge after students friend comes forward Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the charges Tuesday, saying the victim-survivor was 14 years old when the alleged assaults took place. The charges, which were originally filed on Feb. 20, 2025, and were unsealed last Wednesday, Feb. 26. In 2002, the victims family had recently joined the religion, and Flores was their local church leader. The abuse took place on three separate days, according to Gill. He said on one of the days, Flores grabbed the victim in a bear hug as she walked to her youth seminary class and told her to get in his truck. Flores then drove to a local park where he allegedly sexually assaulted her before dropping her off at school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, after the first rape incident, the victim confronted Flores and said she was going to tell her mother when he reminded her of everything he had done for her family and that they needed him, and the victim decided not to tell her. When authorities spoke with Flores, he allegedly said he remembered the victims family and assisted them in several ways, including helping them receive monetary assistance from the church and finding a job. He also allegedly admitted to having a conversation with the victim about the fact that she was no longer a virgin, documents say. The youth in our community should be able to trust the adults in their lives. We are here to help them flourish as they grow into adulthood, not hurt them and take advantage of their trust. We appreciate the courage the victim-survivor had to come forward. We will provide her with all the support this office can offer, Gill said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He continued to encourage anyone who is a victim of crime or knows someone who is to report it so it can be investigated. Once it is investigated it can be prosecuted, and the offender can be held accountable. You dont have to suffer in silence, Gill said. ABC4 has reached out to the church for comment and has not yet received a response. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. HONOLULU (KHON2) A nearly 10-year saga ends in Honolulus long-running public corruption scandal. Three former top city officials faced sentencing today after accepting a plea deal in their roles in a secretive $250,000 payout to disgraced former Police Chief Louis Kealoha. Mayor Rick Blangiardi announces initiative to hire former federal workers Former Honolulu Corporation Counsel Donna Leong, former Police Commission Chair Max Sword and former City Managing Director Roy Amemiya arrived at federal court this morning, bringing an end to a long-running public corruption scandal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their attorneys say the case started three years ago with the citys best interest in mind. There was no greed, no self-interest, no self-benefit to any of them. By doing this, they were just trying to do their job, said attorney Tommy Otake. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The trio originally pled not guilty to conspiracy charges that accused them of orchestrating a $250,000 payout to former HPD Chief Kealoha that would bypass city council approval. Kealoha was later convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi called their actions an abuse of trust and power and said the plea agreements were just punishment and serves as an adequate deterrence to others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leong and Sword today agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution and serve one year of supervised release. Amemiya agreed to a rarely-used deferred prosecution agreement his charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor and ultimately dismissed, if he stays out of trouble. He also will pay $50,000 in restitution and perform 200 hours of community service. Outside the courtroom, the three took no questions but made prepared statements. Sword said he was pained to accept the plea agreement but wanted to rest the case and move forward. I was wrong to sacrificing transparency for expediency. The process of agreeing to the separation agreement should have played out in the light of day, regardless of how long it might have taken. Furthermore, I did not want to put my family through the agony of a lengthy trial, Sword said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former police commission chair also encouraged others to continue to volunteer. I hope that this does not discourage citizens from participating in government and serving on commissions and boards, he said. I accepted the job as city managing director because I sincerely wish to make a difference in the lives of our residents. We had a strong city team that faced some monumental challenges. Im extremely proud of what we accomplished together, Amemiya said. Dropping the felony indictment is an important step toward restoring my reputation and that of my entire honor. Leong thanked her family and friends for their support and recognized her former city colleagues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just would like to acknowledge the good and hardworking people, employees of the City and County of Honolulu who tries tirelessly work for the people of the city with respect, integrity and professionalism, she said. So please keep it up. With their sentencing now behind them, Leong and Sword begin their supervised release while Amemiya watches the clock on his deferred prosecution agreement. What this case does highlight is the importance and the need for transparency in local government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. WASHINGTON D.C. (WHNT) In Federal court, a former Killen police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday for sexual assault and sexually exploiting a child. On Nov. 12, 2023, the Lauderdale County Sheriffs Office received a call from Crestwood Medical Center stating that a female patient disclosed that a Killen police officer had sexually assaulted her during a traffic stop early that morning. Man accused of DUI arrested, 3 injured after crash on Old Madison Pike Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to the allegations, including a police officer being involved in a sexual assault while on duty, Lauderdale County investigators began a joint investigation with the FBI. Killen Police Chief Bryan Hammond told News 19 on Nov. 16, 2023, one of his officers was on leave during the investigation. After investigating the incident and after hearing evidence, a Lauderdale County Grand Jury, which was currently in session, issued an indictment for Jarrod Gailen Webster on Nov. 17, 2023 for first-degree sodomy and first-degree rape. Hammond said the mayor and town council accepted Websters resignation during the special meeting on Nov. 20, 2023. He appeared in court the same day, and court records showed he pleaded not guilty to both charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 4, 2025, as part of a plea agreement, Webster admitted that he violated the civil rights of a woman after initiating a traffic stop on the womans vehicle. 12 federally indicted for immigration crimes in North Alabama The U.S. Department of Justice said Webster asked the woman to step out of her vehicle and asked her what she wanted to do to get out of this. When the woman told Webster she was not going to do anything for him, Webster handcuffed the woman and sexually assaulted her. Furthermore, in federal court Tuesday, Webster admitted that between June 2016 and October 2018, he was in contact with a child on a phone. The DOJ said Webster asked the child to produce and send him sexually explicit images of herself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ said the victim sent multiple photos to Webster, at least one of which was categorized as child sexual abuse material. Redstone Federal Credit Union releases statement on Walmart.com fraud charges Webster faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for the count of deprivation of rights under color of law. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, supervised release for life and a fine of up to $250,000 for the count of sexual exploitation of children. Webster pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of sexual exploitation of children. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Jarrod Webster took an oath to protect and serve citizens of his community. He violated that oath when he sexually assaulted a woman and exploited a minor to produce and send sexually explicit images, said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who violate positions of public trust are held accountable for their actions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Tadarrius Bean, a former Memphis Police officer who was federally convicted in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, has been released from house arrest. A motion was granted on Tuesday allowing for the modification of Beans release and detention order. He was ultimately released from house arrest and granted a curfew. Bean is one of the five former MPD officers accused of beating Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop on January 7, 2023, leading to his death three days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On October 3, 2024, Bean was found guilty only on an obstruction charge after the four-week-long federal trial, but not guilty on other charges including violation of civil rights. The five officers now face state criminal charges of Second-Degree Murder. A trial date was set for April 28. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. TOKYO (Reuters) -Shares of Seven & i tumbled as much as 12% on Tuesday, following a report the 7-Eleven owner plans to reject a $47 billion takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, although the Japanese company said it was still considering the offer. The shares finished down 7% at 2,044 yen in Tokyo having earlier declined as much as 12%, touching their lowest in a little more than six months. The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday that Seven & i planned to reject the takeover offer from Circle-K owner Couche-Tard and instead seek to enhance corporate value on its own. However, in a statement, a Seven & i spokesperson said it "remains committed to exploring all opportunities to unlock value for shareholders and continues to assess a full range of strategic alternatives, including the proposal" from Couche-Tard. It said its special committee is "engaging constructively" with Couche-Tard. One shareholder in Seven & i said the retailer's board should be more actively working with Couche-Tard. "We are disappointed and surprised with the board's lack of engagement," said Manoj Jain, co-founder and Co-CIO of Hong Kong-based Maso Capital, which owns Seven & i shares. "Given the price offered, it's clear that the board should engage." The Canadian retailer has offered $18.19 a share for Seven & i, which represents a premium of almost one third from the current share price, based on Thursday's yen exchange rate. If Seven & i pursues a go-it-alone strategy, "it would need to convince the market it can raise corporate value" above the offer price, Jefferies analyst Shunsuke Kuriyama wrote in a note to clients. Seven & i is finalising a plan for CEO Ryuichi Isaka to step down with his replacement almost certain to be director Stephen Dacus, Reuters has reported. Dacus heads a special committee to evaluate the takeover bid from Couche-Tard and a take-private deal from Seven & i's founding family that recently collapsed. (Reporting by Sam Nussey, Rocky Swift and Kane Wu; Editing by Sandra Maler, David Dolan, Christopher Cushing and Louise Heavens) CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) As funding cuts continue to have an impact across the country, Anita Wolfe, whos retired from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healths (NIOSH) Morgantown location, sat down with 12 News to discuss the importance of the NIOSH Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP). According to Wolfe, the CWHSP is a free program to miners that came about as part of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which was signed by former President Richard Nixon in 1969. Through this program, miners are offered a free chest x-ray and a spirometry test to measure their lung capacity and determine whether there are any obstructions or restrictions in their breathing. Wolfe stated that miners are eligible for this free testing every five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miners are able to participate in this program either through a clinic NIOSH has approved to do x-rays for them, or through the NIOSH mobile x-ray units. The mobile x-ray units travel through the Appalachian Coalfield, informing eligible miners that theyll be in the area by way of a letter. A NIOSH team member working with a coal miner to complete necessary paperwork, ahead of their free screenings. However, Wolfe stated that if somebody does not receive a letter and sees the mobile unit in town, they can come by and NIOSH will assist with getting the paperwork done so that they can receive their free screenings. Wolfe added that at this time, NIOSH hasnt received any word that the program may be cut, but theyre trying to be proactive instead of reactive. It would be really devastating, I think, if the program were cut because coal miners work many long hours, said Wolfe. A lot of them dont really go to the doctor very much. This program is a way for them to get a good health checkup free and the results only come to them. According to Wolfe, the results from the screenings dont come back to any of the companies involved or anybody else outside of the miner. These screenings are not affiliated with the Black Lung Program, but Wolfe stated that a miner could use their results to possibly apply for a benefit package with the organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wolfe added that the NIOSH mobile unit sees a great number of coal miners, with many of them sharing that they dont go to the doctor regularly or just wait for the truck to come into town. With that being said, she feels it would be very very detrimental if the program was eliminated, especially here in Appalachia. FirstEnergy plans to decommission, replace Monongalia and Harrison powerplants The reason I say that is that the rates of disease in Appalachia are the highest of anywhere in the nation, and were seeing here in Appalachia young minersvery young miners that are getting the disease already, said Wolfe. Used to be called an old mans diseaseand now we have miners in their late thirties, early forties with the disease. At this time, NIOSH doesnt know for certain if this program will be cut. However, Wolfe said that there are concerns that it could be in the future, and shes calling on the community to help out and ensure that does not happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a great program, said Wolfe. Its confidential to the miners as far as their results, and we just need to do everything we can to get the word to our senators and our congressmen that we want this program retained. The CWHSP is part of the NIOSH facility in Morgantown, which is where the program is officially housed. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so the CWHSP is covered by CDC federal funding, according to Wolfe. The tax dollars are paying for this, so I always tell the miners participate in this,' said Wolfe. Youre paying for it, you know? People in the community who want to help support the CWHSP can contact West Virginias senators and put in a good word for the program. Wolfe has put together a draft letter that can be used, and if you reach out to her via email at anitawolfe2010@gmail.com, shell send it over to you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Wolfe is retired from the NIOSH and no longer works with the program, she wanted to publicly take a stand because she believes in the CWHSP very much. Ive seen it save lives and do so much good that I just felt like I had to do something to try to make sure this program stays and miners still have this benefit, she added. If anyone has any questions about the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program, or a miner wants to know whether or not theyre eligible, you can directly call the program at (304) 285-5724 or send an email to CWHSP@cdc.gov. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. HARRISON, Ark. A north Arkansas man pleaded guilty to stealing more than half a million dollars from a church. According to court records, 49-year-old Brian Keith Herring pleaded guilty in Boone County on Monday to theft of property, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree forgery. Arkansas pastor arrested, facing 100 counts of child pornography possession Records state the Boone County Sheriffs Office received a report on Oct. 7, 2021, from a Harrison Faith Assembly of God Church representative about money missing from the church. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One representative from the church told police that they had found over $333,594 was missing from various church accounts and they no longer had access to the churchs credit card account or the statements from the account. On Oct. 13, 2021, prosecutors said Herring turned in a laptop, an iPad and two phones that belonged to the church, which they noted had been factory reset and all church account information had been deleted from them. Police said an audit revealed that $524,634.24 was taken by Herring and used in credit card purchases and other account transactions. Arkansas woman pleads guilty in New Hampshire federal court to stealing over $300,000 from elderly credit union customers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When authorities attempted to contact Herring at his home, they said they found it was empty and listed for sale. Authorities later contacted Herring by phone. Herring was sentenced to serve 17 years probation for the theft of property charge and 10 years probation for the forgery charge. He is also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the church and serve 800 hours of community service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. A former Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor wont serve jail time after lying to federal investigators in the first and potentially only felony conviction to emerge from an abuse-related investigation into the nations largest Protestant denomination. The Department of Justice began investigating the Southern Baptist Convention in late 2022 following a third-party report on clergy sexual abuse, leading to scrutiny into a January 2023 incident at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where administrators reportedly mishandled an abuse report. Matthew Queen, a former professor and administrator at the school, faced charges in May for his involvement and pleaded guilty in October. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sentenced Queen to six months of house arrest, one year of probation, and a $2,000 fine, concluding the case out of federal court in the Southern District of New York. The terms of the sentence were available in court records. The Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Court House in Manhattan, where Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sentenced former Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor Matt Queen following a federal abuse-related investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention. In the weeks prior to Wednesdays sentencing hearing, Queens attorney, Sam Schmidt, asked Kaplan for a year of probation and a $2,000 fine versus prosecutors request for probation and house arrest. The charges carried a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendant insists that his conduct had no ill effect but that too is untrue, prosecutors said in a Feb. 26 letter to Kaplan. The defendants repeated lies dragged out the Governments investigation and distracted resources better spent elsewhere. That question about where the DOJ has focused its investigation into the Nashville-based SBC and its affiliated agencies hasnt yielded a satisfactory answer so far for abuse survivors and allies who hoped for denomination-wide accountability. There are no public indications federal authorities are pursuing additional charges against Southern Baptist leaders, including another former Southwestern administrator named Heath Woolman for his involvement in the same incident that led to Queens conviction. Woolman reportedly instructed Southwestern seminary dean Terri Stovall in a January 2023 meeting to destroy a document detailing a report Stovall received months prior that contained abuse allegations against a student. Queen, a witness to Woolmans directive to Stovall in what federal prosecutors later described as a conspiracy to cover-up abuse, initially lied to FBI agents about what he heard Woolman say and fabricated contemporaneous notes to support the false narrative. The J.W. "Jack" MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, a prominent Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated seminary. Queens original indictment redacted many key details about these events, including the identities of Woolman and Stovall, but subsequent reporting by The Tennessean led to additional Southwestern seminary public disclosures. Also, The Tennessean reported on how top seminary leadership was slow to discipline Queen, Woolman, and former seminary police chief Kevin Collins after learning those three reportedly mishandled this abuse case and tried to cover-up that alleged wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "With the criminal justice process now complete regarding the charges against Matt Queen, we are hopeful that the investigation will soon reach its conclusion, allowing all parties to move forward. Our prayers for Matt Queen and his family as well as all others involved in this process continue," Southwestern said in a statement Wednesday. "Southwestern Seminary remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of our community, taking every possible measure to prevent sexual abuse and harassment. Queen transitioned from Southwestern, where he long was a well-known professor of evangelism, to become lead pastor at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Woolman went onto become pastor of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, Florida. After Queen pleaded guilty in October, he resigned from Friendly Avenue church in November. Woolman continues to pastor Fruit Cove Baptist. He (Queen) has suffered substantially, Schmidt, Queens attorney, said in a Feb. 19 letter to Kaplan, which was accompanied by 59 other character references for Queen. On Wednesday after the sentencing, Schmidt said in statement his client "is thankful that he will not serve time in prison and will seek to use his time under home confinement to help others." Specific terms of the probation include requirements for Queen to participate in a mental health treatment program and to receive approval to open a new lines of credit if he is noncompliant with a court-ordered payment schedule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Queen's offense had nothing to do with interfering with the sex abuse allegations," Schmidt said in his statement Wednesday. "Queen has been always be supportive of victims of abuse and urged victims to report the abuse to authorities. Nevertheless, Dr. Queen did lie to the authorities." Most recent SBC abuse-related news: How new administrative leadership for SBC abuse response is setting goals, rethinking past Fallout, or lack thereof, at Queen and Woolmans churches Both Queen and Woolmans congregations publicly backed their pastors in the immediate aftermath of the public scandal about the former seminary administrators. Queen went on paid leave following his indictment, but a pastor at the church prayed in a May service for the Friendly (Avenue Baptist) family as we walk through it alongside with him (Queen) in full support, according to a video recording from the service. Around the same time, Woolmans church approved bylaw revisions that raised the bar for the church to fire its lead pastor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new Fruit Cove bylaws require a far more exhaustive process, including a 30-day study period to evaluate the lead pastors wrongdoing, 75% of deacons to vote to recommend the pastors ouster to members, and a full congregation vote to approve the ouster, according to an analysis of the churchs current bylaws versus its 2023 version. The new bylaws also added a clause that if the pastor resigns, no further action regarding removal will be required unless the situation involves a confirmed allegation of: a moral failure; an act which amounts to a violation of law. An SBC oversight group reviews reports against churches for not upholding the conventions standards on abuse, though that group has long faced challenges in evaluating abuse-related complaints. An ongoing civil case in East Tennessee is expected to make that even harder. Both Friendly Avenue and Fruit Cove churches remain in good standing with the national convention. After Queen pleaded guilty in October, the board at Friendly Avenue church took up a measure likely to oust its pastor. But Queen resigned before the board voted on the motion. Later, some of Queens former congregants submitted character references to Kaplan to accompany Schmidts recent letter to the judge requesting leniency in the sentencing. Fruit Cove has continued growing with Woolman at the helm and is planning to expand by opening a new campus, according to the churchs website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This story was updated to include an additional statement. Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former SBC pastor, seminary teacher avoids prison in DOJ abuse inquiry WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) A Warwick man will spend a decade behind bars for sexually assaulting a minor, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha announced Tuesday. Steven Porricelli, 53, was sentenced to 25 years with 10 to serve at the Adult Correctional Institutions, followed by 25 years of probation. The judge issued a no-contact order between Porricelli and the victim. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and attend sex offender counseling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS: Former Woonsocket gym teacher convicted of child molestation Porricelli was found guilty of two counts of second-degree child molestation in October 2024. During the trial, prosecutors proved that he molested a child under the age of 14 who was known to him. It happened at a Warwick home in May 2023, while Porricelli was employed as a gym teacher in Woonsocket. Child victims of sexual assault endure unimaginable pain, the kind which most of us cannot fathom, Neronha said. Yet, the incredible bravery shown by this victim in coming forward allowed us to seek justice and accountability on her behalf, ensuring this defendant faced the appropriate consequences. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The day after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered Fort Benning to be restored to its original name, post officials are moving swiftly to comply. The Fort Benning Garrison team is rapidly working through the renaming process of updating our systems, facilities, and infrastructure in a deliberate and phased manner, according to a statement from the post released late Wednesday. As we update assets across Fort Benning in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Cpl. Fred G. Benning, we will also continue to honor the legacy of Lt. Gen. Hal Moores storied military service and Julia Moores family and casualty notification advocacy in a manner that celebrates their significant contributions to the local community and the Army. The post is now named for a World War I corporal who was decorated for his actions in France. The names of Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia who are buried in the Main Post Cemetery have been removed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of these changes happen without the support of our mission, and community partners at the local, city, and state level, the Fort Benning statement continued. We are forever grateful for their contributions and support of the installation, our Service Members, and their Families. While the Army has constantly adapted and changed during nearly 250 years, it has remained mission focused. Likewise, the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning garrison remain focused on training Soldiers and leaders who are ready to deploy and fight tonight, and supporting the readiness and quality of life of their Families. Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson said the city would continue to support the fort under a new name. I mean, heres the thing. We dont get a vote, Henderson said. They never called me and asked me for my opinion. And, so, were going to do what weve always done, and that is support soldiers. We understand that from a human capital standpoint and from a financial standpoint, theyre vital to our regions success. So, were going to continue to support the soldiers at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, whether its called for more Fort Benning. Were just going to focus on the soldiers. As Fort Benning officials work through the name change, a former Garrison Commander said the garrison command will do much of the heavy lifting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They immediately go into analysis and evaluation mode, said retired Brig. Gen. Andy Hilmes. In this case, there will be many signs that need to be replaced. So, inventory and signage and figure out how many signs will need to be updated and changed. And thats everything from the access control points to normal signage along streets, signage out front of buildings and headquarters. It could be something as simple as the water towers. And do we need to repaint the water towers? Based on whats whats currently on them. So. So theyre in gathering mode right now. But my guess is, having just done this less than two years ago, they have a pretty good sense of what will need to be done to properly apply labels and branding, if you will, to everything on the post. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff took exception to the action. I think this was a bad decision by Secretary Hegseth, and I think its trying to drag us backward, Ossoff said. Why should the most prestigious, the most important U.S. Army facility in the country be named after a Confederate general who fought to preserve slavery and who killed U.S. Army soldiers on the battlefield? He does not buy that it is not named for Henry L. Benning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I know that the secretary is saying, well, they found a different Benning, Ossoff said. We all know whats going on here. No one is fooled by this sleight of hand. This is an effort to restore a name that honored a man who fought to preserve slavery. I think its a deliberate provocation. I think its a slap in the face to my black constituents. I think its divisive, and I think its wrong. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. ALPINE, Texas (FOX 44) Two Fort Cavazos soldiers pleaded guilty in a federal court in Alpine to one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain. The two have been identified as Enrique Jauregui and Angel Palma, according to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ). Court documents say Jauregui organized a smuggling event, recruiting Palma and another co-conspirator, Emilio Mendoza Lopez. Jauregui provided Palma and Mendoza Lopez the location information to pick up illegal aliens to smuggle, supported them with encouraging messages and instructions, and intended to pay Palma and Mendoza Lopez after they dropped off the illegal aliens. Palma and Mendoza Lopez drove from Fort Cavazos to Presidio on November 27, 2024 and picked up three illegal aliens before leading U.S. Border Patrol agents on a high-speed chase. At one point, the defendants hit a marked USBP vehicle with an agent inside, causing injuries. Palma and Mendoza Lopez, along with the three illegal aliens, fled the vehicle on foot. All were apprehended with the exception of Palma, who was located at a hotel in Odessa and eventually arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DoJ says Jauregui and Palma are both scheduled to be sentenced on May 23. They each face up to ten years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Mendoza Lopez pleaded guilty to the same aiding and abetting charge on January 27, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25. He also faces up to ten years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. Mar. 4ALPINE Two Fort Cavazos soldiers, Enrique Jauregui and Angel Palma, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Alpine to one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain. According to court documents, Jauregui organized a smuggling event, recruiting Palma and another co-conspirator, Emilio Mendoza Lopez. Jauregui provided Palma and Mendoza Lopez the location information to pick up illegal aliens to smuggle, supported them with encouraging messages and instructions, and intended to pay Palma and Mendoza Lopez after they dropped off the illegal aliens. On Nov. 27, 2024, Palma and Mendoza Lopez drove from Fort Cavazos to Presidio and picked up three illegal aliens before leading U.S. Border Patrol agents on a high-speed chase. At one point, the defendants hit a marked USBP vehicle with an agent inside, causing injuries. Palma and Mendoza Lopez, along with the three illegal aliens, fled the vehicle on foot. All were apprehended with the exception of Palma, who was located at a hotel in Odessa and eventually arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jauregui and Palma are both scheduled to be sentenced on May 23. They each face up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Mendoza Lopez pleaded guilty to the same aiding and abetting charge on Jan. 27 and is scheduled to be sentenced April 25. He also faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement. Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigations Division are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Cayton is prosecuting the case. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told Fox News on March 4 that there are no plans to sign a mineral resources deal with Ukraine following Donald Trumps speech to Congress. His statement comes after earlier reports suggesting Trump intended to announce the agreement during his upcoming address. President Volodymyr Zelenskys Feb. 28 visit to the White House was originally intended to finalize the long-debated agreement on jointly developing Ukraines mineral resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting instead turned into a public clash, with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance berating Zelensky. The Ukrainian president later left the White House without signing the deal. Following the talks, Trump accused Zelensky of "disrespecting" the U.S. in the Oval Office and said the Ukrainian president "is not ready for peace." Read also: Fallout from the Zelensky-Trump meeting. Whats next for Ukraine? spot briefing by KI Insights U.S. President told reporters on March 3 that a proposed economic deal between the U.S. and Ukraine remained on the table, but stressed that Zelensky needed to be more "appreciative" of U.S. support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if the deal was off, Trump replied, "I dont think so," adding that it would be beneficial for the U.S. and criticizing former President Joe Biden for sending $300 billion to Ukraine without receiving much in return. Trump also said that to restart negotiations, Zelensky must show more gratitude for U.S. assistance. On the same day, U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said the U.S. and Ukraine are still making progress on a key mineral agreement that could strengthen long-term economic ties and pave the way for further security assistance. "This mineral deal will be signed in short order, which will lead to a strong long-term economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine, and which will ultimately and naturally lead to security assistance," Fitzpatrick wrote. He also indicated that European nations would be expected to contribute, adding that they would face mandates to step up their support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Zelensky says White House clash regrettable, proposes steps for peace Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Amanda Stephenson CALGARY (Reuters) -Tariffs on Canadian oil would need to be in place for years before significantly altering the amount of crude the U.S. imports from its northern neighbour, the CEO of Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc. said on Tuesday. CEO Greg Ebel told reporters the energy systems of the two countries are too integrated and there is no easy way for the U.S. to replace the approximately 4 million barrels per day of Canadian oil it imports. "It would take a very long time of sustained tariffs before you see changing trade patterns," Ebel said. "It would be very difficult for them to find other sources of supply, and equally so, very difficult for the producers in Canada to be able to find other other sources of demand." Ebel made the comments following the company's annual investor day event in New York, making him the first CEO of a Canadian energy company to speak to reporters since U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday. Trump applied 25% tariffs to most Canadian goods and 10% to energy products. Approximately 90% of Canada's crude oil exports go to the U.S. Enbridge moves about 40% of crude oil produced in North America, and its Mainline network is North America's largest crude oil pipeline network. The Mainline transports light and heavy crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined products from Edmonton, Alberta, to various markets in Canada and the U.S. Midwest. Canada's only current option for bypassing the U.S. when it comes to oil exports is its Trans Mountain pipeline system, which runs from Alberta to the British Columbia coast where oil can be loaded onto tankers to be shipped overseas. Ebel said Enbridge is not seeing its Canadian oil producer customers shift barrels from the Mainline which he said is currently full onto Trans Mountain. "We don't have enough pipeline capacity to serve the needs of our customers the last several months," he said. "I expect to see continued strong demand down into the United States, just given the size of the (refinery) demand market there." Enbridge said on Tuesday it plans to invest C$2.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in its liquids and natural gas systems, with C$2 billion allocated to its Mainline network through 2028. Ebel said while the tariffs may impact the pricing of Canadian crude, the "economic reality" of oil demand and market flows is "difficult to break." (Reporting by Amanda Stephenson; Editing by Leslie Adler) (Bloomberg) -- President Emmanuel Macron said hell enter into talks to use Frances nuclear capabilities to defend European allies, in the latest push by a European country to establish strategic security as the US reduces its footprint on the continent. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our nuclear deterrent protects us, Macron said in a televised address Wednesday. I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection, through our deterrent, of our allies on the European continent. The French presidents remarks came ahead of an emergency meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday for talks on Ukraine and the continents wider security. Macron said his decision follows a request from the German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. The EU and its member states are rushing to mobilize trillions of euros in additional defense funds to counter the threat of Russian aggression and to compensate for President Donald Trumps dramatic pullback from Americas commitment to European security. The US nuclear security umbrella has been a core deterrence policy for Europe. Macron has been pushing for Frances nuclear weapons capacity to be considered as a regional deterrent for months. In an interview with local media last year, he said Frances nuclear deterrent capability can be used when our vital interests are threatened, adding that there is a European dimension to these vital interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France is estimated to have the fourth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists, with 290 warheads in its inventory. Russia, the US and China have the three largest inventories. Germany announced this week that it will unleash hundreds of billions of euros for defense and infrastructure investments in a dramatic shift that rips up its ironclad controls on government borrowing. Germany has also called for the EU to reform its fiscal rules to allow countries to make bigger defense expenditures. Berlins shifts throw down a challenge to the EUs other 26 members before they gather on Thursday to discuss how to ramp up military spending across the bloc. Thursdays EU summit is expected to endorse the activation of a mechanism that would allow for additional defense spending over the next four years. The EU separately announced a plan Tuesday that could mobilize as much as 800 billion ($863 billion) in additional national spending, including 150 billion of EU loans to member states for defense investment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron also called for France to immediately boost its defense spending to help step up Europes preparedness to be able to respond to the threat of Russian aggression. Ive asked the government to get to work on it as quickly as possible, the French president said. This will require reforms, choices and courage. Macron said that the new investments will include both public and private financing and shouldnt be done through tax increases. (Updates with Frances nuclear stockpile in the sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. France and the U.K. aim to finalize a peace plan with Ukraine "in days" to present to the United States, Reuters reported on March 6, citing diplomatic sources familiar with the matter. The report follows President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that Ukraine and Europe are working on the first steps toward a just and sustainable peace as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fourth year. "We're looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks," a senior European diplomat told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another diplomatic source told Reuters that the main goal is to align European and Ukrainian positions before presenting the proposal to the U.S. while reinforcing the message that Russia is the aggressor. European leaders met in London on March 2 to discuss pathways to ending the war and restoring dialogue between Ukraine and the U.S. following the heated Feb. 28 exchange between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington has since frozen all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, widely seen as an attempt to pressure Kyiv into talks with Russia. The move comes amid a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, with Trump echoing Kremlin narratives and accusing Zelensky of prolonging the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Daily Mail claimed that Macron, Starmer, and Zelensky were planning a joint visit to Washington to present a "united front" to Trump. Le Figaro later reported that French officials quickly rebuked the speculation, with the Elysee Palace saying that no such visit is planned "at this stage." Read also: Ukraine, US delegations to meet soon for negotiations, Zelenskys top aide says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Ingrid Melander and Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) -France is open to discussing extending the protection offered by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners, President Emmanuel Macron said in a grave address to the nation on Wednesday, in which he warned that Europe must face up to the threat from Russia. France and Britain are Europe's only two nuclear powers. "Our nuclear deterrent protects us: it's complete, sovereign, French through and through," Macron said on Wednesday in his televised speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But, responding to the historic call of the future German Chancellor, I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our (nuclear) deterrence," Macron said. German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has questioned whether NATO would remain in its "current form" by June and advocated talks with France and Britain about an expansion of their nuclear protection. France's nuclear deterrence strategy has hitherto been defensive and meant to protect the country's own vital interests. In his televised speech, Macron also said France would have to spend more on defence and would continue to help Ukraine. He acknowledged voters' concerns over Russia and over the new U.S. administration's upending of the international order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that he wanted to believe that the United States "will remain at our side," while adding that Europe had to be ready if that was no longer the case. "You are, I know, legitimately worried about the current events, which are disrupting the world order," Macron told voters. "Russia has become a threat for France and Europe," he said, adding that "to watch and do nothing would be madness." European countries are scrambling to boost defence spending and maintain support for Ukraine after President Donald Trump froze U.S. military aid to Kyiv and fuelled doubts about Washington's commitment to its European NATO allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NUCLEAR DETERRENT Macron also said he was hoping "to convince and dissuade the President of the United States" not to slap higher tariffs on European imports. In the early days of the Cold War, former President Charles de Gaulle developed a nuclear deterrent that was designed to be fully independent from the two dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and the United States. France's nuclear deterrent is air- and sea-based, with Rafale fighter jets and nuclear submarines being able to strike at any time, on the instruction of the French president alone. According to the Federation of American Scientists, the United States and Russia now possess approximately 88 percent of the world's total inventory of nuclear weapons. France has an estimated 290 nuclear warheads and the United Kingdom 225, it says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron had told Portuguese media at the weekend that he could open a debate on France's nuclear deterrence, which far-right leader Marine Le Pen had immediately criticised. In his televised address on the eve of a crucial European Union summit on defence, Macron also said France would spend more on defence - though he did not say how much more. He said there would be no tax increases to finance that, but tough choices would have to be made. His push to beef up French defence spending will not be easy as his government struggles to tame an unruly budget deficit. Macron's comments come on the back of Britain and Germany both announcing plans for major increases in defence spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron's address comes amid a flurry of European diplomacy to shore up support for Ukraine and try to mend ties between Washington and Kyiv after an acrimonious meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office last week. France and Britain are aiming to finalise with Ukraine, possibly "in days", a peace plan to present to the United States, while building bridges between the U.S. and Ukraine before possible talks in Washington, diplomats have told Reuters. ($1 = 0.9352 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Michel Rose, Elizabeth Pineau, Richard Lough, Makini Brice, Dominique Vidalon; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Gareth Jones, Nick Zieminski and Sandra Maler) PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday he plans next week to hold a meeting of army chiefs from European countries willing to send troops to Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia. He also said France needs to be ready if the United States is no longer by its side. (This Mar 5. story has been corrected to show that France plans to convene army chiefs from some European nations, not all, in the headline and paragraph 1) (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by GV De Clercq, Chris Reese and Richard Lough) Franklin County 911 dispatcher honored for assissting resident in cardiac arrest FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) The Franklin County Commissioners recognized a 911 telecommunicator for saving the life of a Greene Township woman in December. On December 31, 2024, 911 dispatcher Payton Timmons received a call for a patient in cardiac arrest. The commissioners say Timmons successfully provided the caller instructions and the appropriate resources to assist the patient, who was resuscitated and hospitalized to receive additional care. The patient has returned home and is doing well. Timmons received an EHSF Clinical Save Commendation for his effort on behalf of an area resident. Timmons has been employed with Franklin County since October 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania We are continuously impressed by individuals like Payton who have the knowledge and composure to help our residents through incredibly stressful, difficult situations, said Franklin County Commissioner Chairman Dean Horst. The job of a 911 telecommunicator is one that requires a lot of hard work, hours of training, and a cool head, and were thankful that Paytons skills resulted in a positive outcome for both he and one of our citizens. Time is the critical factor when dealing with cardiac arrest. The sooner someone can be dispatched with defibrillation capabilities, the better chance of survival, said EHSF Executive Director C. Steven Lyle. Were it not for your quick actions, this patient may never have had a chance of survival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) A Franklin man was convicted of multiple cyberstalking charges by a federal jury Friday, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. Thirty-one-year-old McKenzie McClure, who also went by the alias Kalvin McClure, allegedly posted countless Tweets on X between Feb. 2024 and April 2024 that were fixated on Christ Presbyterian Academy and Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. McClure also seemed fixated on school shootings, school lockdowns, guns, and other violent incidents, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. In addition to the social media posts, McClure reportedly visited Christ Presbyterian Academy on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 and was seen trying to enter the locked doors of the church sanctuary three times. During this incident, McClure allegedly photographed maps of the school grounds and was seen flipping off the school campus while standing on the school crest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUS: 2 Middle TN schools cancel classes on Monday after reported threat Children, parents, teachers, administrators and staff need to feel safe from harm while at school, acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire said. Our office, and our law enforcement partners, are fully committed to keeping our school communities safe and will have no tolerance for those who would put our kids at risk. On the anniversary of the deadly Covenant School shooting, McClure allegedly left a menacing five-minute voicemail on the schools main phone line, referencing multiple historically violent attacks as well as movies depicting violence and expressing anger and hostility at the school. As a result of the voicemail, CPA closed school Monday, March 24, 2024. The Nashville Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security helped investigate McClure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendants concerning actions and social media posts emotionally devastated the school and church community and threatened their safety, Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office said. The FBI and our partners are committed to protecting the communities we serve and we encourage the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious or threatening behavior to law enforcement. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee McClure will be sentenced on July 7 and faces a maximum term of five years in federal prison. The Tennessee Office of Homeland Security is committed to serve, secure and protect the people of Tennessee, Deputy Commissioner Greg Mays said. This verdict demonstrates our cooperation with our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level, and with the schools, to make sure that every student in Tennessee feels safe when they go to school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. By Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron wants to build up French defence spending as Washington threatens to pull its European security guarantee, but funding those plans as his government struggles to tame an unruly deficit won't be easy. With one of the biggest budget deficits in the European Union, France is under mounting pressure to rein in overall spending and only passed its 2025 budget last month after weeks of delay in a deeply divided parliament. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, geopolitical headaches resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump's rapprochement with Russia and his temporary freeze on military aid to Ukraine are likely to exert fresh pressure on France's cost-cutting commitments. "France is heading towards difficult budgetary trade-offs to reconcile the government's commitment to lower budget deficits while increasing defence spending," Scope Ratings agency said in a research note. France is not alone in its push to put the economy on a war footing. The parties hoping to form Germany's next government on Tuesday agreed on a major debt overhaul, paving the way for massive spending on defence and infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That same day, the European Commission proposed borrowing up to 150 billion euros to lend to EU governments under a rearmament plan. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and eventually target 3%. 'GO FASTER AND HARDER' Macron, who said he would address the nation on Wednesday evening at a "time of great uncertainty," told Le Figaro newspaper this week that European countries needed to push defence spending to "around 3-3.5%", substantially higher than the current 2% target for NATO members. France is already increasing military spending by 3 billion euros ($3.15 billion) annually until 2030 under a long-term defence planning law, which Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecournu has said needs to be revised to reflect the new geopolitical realities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France complies with NATO's 2% target, but unlike most other members it funds a broader range of defence commitments, from a nuclear arsenal to an aircraft carrier and highly respected home-grown weapons programmes like its Rafale fighter jet. However, to lift defence spending to 3% of GDP, France would need to find an extra 30 billion euros per year, according to Reuters calculations. "We must go faster and harder," Finance Minister Eric Lombard told Franceinfo radio on Tuesday, adding that welfare spending would not be sacrificed to pay the bill. Nonetheless, Macron has said that tough budget choices are unavoidable, citing the example of the early 1960s when President Charles de Gaulle invested massively to build up France's nuclear arsenal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We could have told General De Gaulle regarding the billions spent on nuclear dissuasion 'Why not use it on French purchasing power instead?'," Macron said. POLITICAL WILL? With the exception of the far left, most French parties are comfortable with raising defence spending, but there is much less of a consensus on how to pay for it, especially if it requires big cuts elsewhere. Opposition parties ousted the last prime minister, conservative Michel Barnier, in December when he tried to push through big spending cuts to rein in the deficit under pressure from ratings agencies and rising debt payments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Britain hikes defence spending, London is planning to cut its development aid, a move France would find difficult after having already slashed such outlays by more than 30% in the 2025 budget. While ruling out corporate tax hikes to fund defence, Lombard said the wealthy could contribute more, which should please parties on the left like the Socialists who have called for "fiscal patriotism" to finance defence. The government also has no wiggle room this year as it seeks to narrow its budget deficit to 5.4% of GDP on the way to the EU's target ceiling of 3% in 2029. A proposal from the European Commission to carve out defence spending from the EU limit would ease some of the political pressure, although that does little to ease France's growing pile of debt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We've got budget constraints," Lombard said. "We've got 3.3 trillion euros in debt, which means each year we pay our lenders more than 50 billion euros, which is about as much as the defence budget." (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Additional reporting by John Irish; Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Hugh Lawson) French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation Wednesday laying out the challenges facing France and Europe in the wake of the United States changing position on Ukraine under President Donald Trump. Im addressing you this evening because of the international situation and its consequences for Europe, said Macron in the televised address, which was widely billed as a wake-up call by local political commentators. The war in Ukraine, which has resulted in nearly a million deaths and injuries, continues with the same intensity. Our allies, the United States, are supporting Ukraine less and are leaving doubts about what will happen next. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was speaking less than 24 hours after Trumps administration suspended delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine as it attempts to strong-arm the war-weary nation into ceding territory in return for a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The move, which sent shockwaves through Europe, follows a dramatic televised row at the White House on Friday, in which Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance publicly berated President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggesting his defense of his country risked triggering World War III. Macron, who with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been leading the European response to faltering U.S. support for Ukraine, made it clear that France and its European allies would not abandon the country. In the face of this dangerous world, remaining a spectator would be madness we must continue to help the Ukrainians to resist, and the path to peace cannot pass through the abandonment of Ukraine, he said. Macron also noted Trumps threat to impose tariffs on European products as well as the threat of terrorism as other key challenges facing France and its European allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The world continues to be increasingly brutal, and the terrorist threat continues unabated, he said. Overall, our prosperity and security have become more uncertain, and it must be said, we are entering a new era. Macron returned to the subject of the Trump administrations attempt to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia at any cost, saying it would not guarantee long-term stability for the region. The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three years now. We decided from day one to support Ukraine and sanction Russia and we were right to, because it is not only the Ukrainian people who are fighting courageously for their freedom, but also our security that is threatened, he said. Indeed, if a country can invade its neighbor in Europe with impunity, then no one can be sure of anything anymore, and it is the law of the strongest that applies, and peace can no longer be guaranteed on our continent itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron said that beyond the issue of the war in Ukraine, history had taught Europe that Russia posed a threat on many other levels. Russia has already made the Ukrainian conflict a global conflict. It has mobilized North Korean soldiers and Iranian equipment on our continent, while helping these countries to arm themselves further, he said. President Putins Russia violates our borders to assassinate opponents; manipulates elections in Romania and Moldova; it organizes digital attacks against our hospitals to block their operations, he continued. Russia is trying to manipulate our opinions with lies spread on social media, and deep down, it is testing our limits. It does it in the air, at sea, in space and behind our screens. This aggressiveness seems to know no boundaries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He noted that Russia is also spending more that 40% of its annual budget on bolstering its military capabilities. By 2030, it plans to further increase its army, to have 300,000 more soldiers, 3,000 tanks, 300 more fighter jets. Who can believe, in this context, that todays Russia will stop at Ukraine?, he said. Russia has become, as I speak to you, and for years to come, a threat to France and to Europe. I regret this very deeply. In the event of a durable and equitable peace deal, Macron said Europe would have a key role to play to ensure Russia does not invade again, suggesting troops on the ground could be an option. He announced that France would host a new meeting of UK, German and other European leaders in the coming days to discuss these responsibilities, with or without the involvement of the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to believe that the U.S. will stay with us, but we need to be ready if its not the case, he said. Macron was speaking on the eve of an extraordinary summit in Brussels on March 6 gathering European Union leaders to discuss additional support for Ukraine, European security guarantees and how the bloc intends to pay for its defense. Macron said proposals on the table included loosening the blocs rules around obliging EU members to keep their budget deficits below 3% of GDP, by taking military spending out of the calculation. Other questions on the table include extending Frances nuclear deterrent to other European nations, as requested by Germany in recent days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macrons overriding message was that France and its European allies needed to become more self-reliant in terms of their military defense, across the chain of financing it, manufacturing arms and equipment and operations on the ground. The future of Europe cannot be decided in Washington or Moscow, said Macron. The innocence, in a way, of the last 30 years, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, is now over. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. U.S. tariffs take toll on European economy 09:14, March 05, 2025 By Chen Zi ( People's Daily Online Cartoon by Ma Hongliang The U.S. has been making tariff moves unceasingly since the new administration took office. U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25-percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., as well as the threat of "reciprocal tariffs." Trump also said that he plans to impose tariffs on auto imports as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals shipped to the U.S. in early April. The U.S. is doubling down on its "America First" policy, aggressively pushing protectionism and wielding tariffs even against its own allies. These measures will deal a heavy blow to Europe's economy and trade, hurting key industries like steel and automobiles, jeopardizing jobs, and deepening an already sluggish European economy. To advance its own interests, the U.S. has repeatedly hit its allies with tariffs. This reckless approach will cause heavy losses for both itself and its trade partners, weakening global economic recovery and growth. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) By Laman Ismayilova The 1st Republican Music Festival named after Fikrat Amirov, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Ganja State Philharmonic Hall has solemnly opened at Azerbaijan Composers' Union. Co-organized by the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry, Azerbaijan Composers' Union and the Ganja Philharmonic Hall, the music festival will take place on March 4-9 at various concert venues in Baku and Ganja. The first event within the festival was held at the Uzeyir Hajibayli Concert Hall, where a scientific seminar was held on the topic "Fikrat Amirov's role in the development of Azerbaijani musical culture". The seminar was opened by the Chairperson of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union, People's Artist, Corresponding Member of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Professor Frangiz Alizade. Emphasizing the innovative nature of Fikrat Amirov's work, she noted his merits in the global and national musical culture. Then, the artistic director of the festival, the director of the Ganja Philharmonic Hall, Honored Artist Ramil Gasimov, spoke about the concerts and events that will be presented in the program, performed by leading groups and soloists of the country. The creative evening continued with the screening of the documentary film "Fikrat Amirov", created by the famous screenwriter and director, Honored Artist Jahangir Zeynalli. The seminar featured reports on various areas of the outstanding composer's work. Doctor of Art Criticism, Associate Professor Leyla Zohrabova spoke about Fikrat Amirov's symphonic mughams. Doctor of Philosophy in Art Criticism, Associate Professor Leyla Guliyeva spoke about the features of the opera "Sevil". Doctor of Philosophy in Art Criticism, Associate Professor Gullu Ismayilova dedicated her speech to reflecting national ideology in Fikrat Amirov's work. Eastern themes in Fikrat Amirov's compositions were highlighted by the researcher of the Baku Music Academy Fidan Nasirova-Ahmadova, and the reflection of national traditions in Fikrat Amirov's music pieces was revealed in the speech of musicologist Aysel Karim. The event was moderated bye Honored Cultural Worker, PhD in Art Criticism Seadet Tahmirazghizi. Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, and Milli.Az. (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc.s registrations plummeted in Germany last month as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk irked voters taking part in the countrys closely contested federal election. Most Read from Bloomberg Sales plunged 76% to 1,429 cars, according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. Teslas showing was in stark contrast with overall electric vehicle registrations, which jumped 31% in February. Tesla shares pared gains in premarket trading Wednesday after the German authority released its figures. The stock was up 1.2% as of 7 a.m. in New York. Its fallen 33% so far this year. Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany in the months leading up to the Feb. 23 election, throwing his weight behind an anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party thats assailed the countrys political establishment. While the AfD vaulted into second place, the likely next Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to keep the party at arms length. Through the first two months of the year, Teslas sales are down 71% in Germany and 44% in France, the two biggest EV markets in the European Union. In the UK which surpassed Germany last year as the top EV market in the region Teslas registrations are up 11% through the first two months after a big gain in February. There are other factors at play besides Musks politicking that are holding Tesla back early this year. The carmaker is suspending output at plants that make the Model Y by far its most popular vehicle to rework assembly lines. It will then take time for the company to ramp up production of the sport utility vehicle, which has undergone a facelift five years after its debut. Teslas factory in Grunheide, outside Berlin, is among the facilities that will lose several weeks of production due to the changeover. The company also relies on a narrow lineup of vehicles that are coming up against stiffer competition, both from local incumbents and entrants from China. BYD Co. outsold Tesla in several European markets early this year. Tesla also contended with attacks on railway infrastructure surrounding the companys German plant last month. The activist group thats claimed responsibility for the setting fire to equipment said online that its trying to prevent the company from expanding its factory. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced mass layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the worlds premier centers for studying climate science. The announcement was the culmination of Trumps longstanding campaign against climate science as a field. Over the last several months, Salon spoke with dozens of climate scientists, who warned that the ongoing purge of scientific experts will make it more difficult for the U.S. government to effectively face a growing set of environmental threats. In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has completely upended the scientific community, thoroughly dismantling agencies like USAID, the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. At the EPA, Trump has already put more than 1,000 workers on notice that their jobs are in peril, and throughout the 2024 campaign he vowed to completely gut the agency. The president frames his policies as one-part economic stimulant, one-part war against a so-called deep state of bureaucrats that undermine his policies. The workers who spoke to Salon believe that Trump is inflicting devastating damage on our societys ability to protect the rapidly changing environment. Thousands of government workers in science-related fields have reason to believe they may soon be fired. As a number of government scientists on the frontlines have told Salon, the toll on both workers and the public interest is considerable, especially in an era of deadly pandemics, climate volatility and worsening pollution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are sitting in front row seats to a coup, said Terry, a highly-regarded scientist whose work directly addresses the impacts of climate change. (Terry is not this persons real name; they requested anonymity to avoid reprisals.) While Donald Trump is technically our president, we are also dealing with a shadow president in Elon Musk, who now has installed a DOGE aide at EPA, Terry explained. So we are feeling a sense of dread, watching agencies like USAID get dismantled and wondering if we are next. Speaking to Salon in December about conditions during Trumps first term in office, EPA scientist Dan Costa recalled that government workers studying the health effects of air pollution had a bullseye on us because of corporate opposition. Terry suggests that the situation has already gotten worse a month into Trumps second term. While the last Trump presidency attacked our work, this time we are feeling under threat not only for the work we do, but simply as federal workers, Terry said. Weve been made into a public enemy. Every day we are waiting for the next threatening, manipulative email from the Office of Personnel Management [which Musk now controls] or from the agency heads who are validating and reinforcing their messages. It is an atmosphere of psychological abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Kyla Bennett, the director of science policy for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, is a professional advocate for workers facing exactly this type of mistreatment. Bennett previously worked at the EPA as wetlands enforcement coordinator in New England and says she is tuned into the work culture among environmental scientists. By her account, they are angry. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Career scientists at federal agencies are, first and foremost, pissed, Bennett said. Contrary to Trump and Musk's portrayal of government employees as lazy and low productivity, they are dedicated professionals who joined the government to protect the American people. Some of them are frightened because they are being attacked and targeted. But most of them are furious. Government workers also say that Trumps recent appointees do not seem to understand the mission of the agencies they now steward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newly installed officials, Bennett said, are removing climate data and references from federal web pages; revoking the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan; initiating a withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords; withdrawing proposed PFAS effluent limits; weakening the Endangered Species Act ; slashing federal agencies, including EPA, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and eliminating protection for communities already overburdened by pollution. The future of our planet? Bleak, Bennett concluded. I don't think we can come back from this full-on assault on the environment. When ExxonMobil is lamenting leaving the Paris Agreement, you know it's bad. Terry has observed the effects of this anti-environmental attitude firsthand. I worked at the EPA through the first Trump administration, and they came out the gate in 2017 with a very ideological purge of climate-related information from our websites, Terry said. This time around, the administrations ideology has shifted to hatred of marginalized communities, packaged in anti-DEI rhetoric We have been seeing an aggressive and merciless attack on employees across agencies doing work related to equity and justice. If climate justice is scrubbed from our work, communities will suffer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This dim view of the Trump and Musk policies is not limited to scientists and government employees. Christine Todd Whitman is a former EPA administrator who served under a Republican president, George W. Bush, after two terms as the Republican governor of New Jersey. Whitman says current EPA employees are dispirited and frustrated. For many workers, Whitman said, the question now is whether to accept the government buyout theyve been offered by Musk and leave their jobs. Should they trust they will actually be paid or risk getting fired? she asked. People who have given their careers to serve the American people are now between a rock and a hard place because an unelected, unappointed, unconfirmed rich man with no security clearance is dismantling the federal government. These traumatic changes come at a dangerous moment, Whitman added. Fossil fuel emissions caused average global temperatures to reach 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels for the first time ever. As of 2024, the carbon dioxide concentration in Earths atmosphere was 424.6 ppm, a jump of more than 50% from levels before our species began relying on fossil fuels less than three centuries ago. Look at the intensity of storms, fires, floods this isnt normal and it will only get worse, Whitman said. Society faces unprecedented struggle as the air and water will be dirtier, people will be getting sick, kids will be getting asthma a key driver of missed school days. Combine this with leaving the World Health Organization, and the dismantling of research at the National Institutes of Health, and more people are going to die. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whitman added, It should grieve anyone who is paying attention. Top scientists share her alarm. Dr. Mark Serreze, the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, pointed to the recent reports that January 2025 was the hottest January in recorded history. Trump and his followers, Serreze said, are looking the other way. By failing to quickly address the growing problem of climate change, we are setting ourselves up for very tough times ahead, Serreze said. The number just came out for the January 2025 global average temperature and it's another record high. Will we ever wake up? Trump and his cohorts simply look at the short term and haven't even a vague grasp of the science. They choose to ignore the obvious. Serreze urges citizens who want to make a difference to do whatever you can do to make your voice heard. Our future is at stake. His advice is echoed by Denae Avila-Dickson, spokesperson for the climate change advocacy group Sunrise Movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People have the power to fight back against Trumps harmful policies by making it clear just how deeply unpopular they are, Avila-Dickson said. It's critical to expose how his actions hurt ordinary people and the impact dismantling environmental protections or defunding essential services will have on their everyday lives. These cuts arent about putting money back in the hands of working families; theyre about lining the pockets of billionaires at our expense. Avila-Dickson added, Working people are the most powerful voices in this fight because they can speak to the real cost of Trumps agenda. Whitman said that concerned citizens should go to your elected representatives and dont let them get away with ignoring it. Tell your representatives that you care, that your vote is going to matter and that youll be watching for the safety of your children and grandchildren. Officials who might act need to know they wont be alone if they stand up to this nonsense. EPA workers are vital to protecting our air and water resources, cleaning up after hurricanes and wildfires and working to build resilience against the next climate-caused disasters, Terry said. We protect you, and we need all hands on deck to protect us. A Georgia man will spend nine years in prison for stealing 62 guns from a Macon pawn shop. Rontavious Jamal Jackson, 34, of Cordele, Georgia was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal prison system. Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on Aug. 13, 2024. According to court documents and statements made in court, surveillance footage showed two people, one of them believed to be Jackson, enter Howards Pawn & Jewelry at 3 a.m. on April 5, 2023, and load 62 guns into garbage bags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two suspects smashed the front window of the store with large pieces of concrete blocks. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On April 12, Crisp County Sheriffs Office Investigators learned from three sources that Jackson had stolen weapons at his Cordele home. Agents executed a search warrant that same day and seized 32 guns. The serial numbers on those weapons matched the ones stolen from the pawn shop. Price tags for nine guns were found, as well as assorted ammunition, firearm parts, and accessories, including 10 magazines. Jackson has a prior felony conviction. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) The Big Country experienced a storm at midnight on Tuesday, followed by gusty winds on Tuesday afternoon. The storms brought hail, hefty winds, and threats of vehicle and structure damage. Sharon Garcia had her roof ripped away in Abilene from the gusty winds. Fabian Carrillo witnessed yellow skies in Coleman during the storm on Tuesday afternoon. The roof was torn in Merkel during the high wind gusts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abby Bradski got to see some hail in her house in Abilene. The Coleman Fire Department shared a photo of a trampoline hanging upside down in a tree. More storm damage reports continue to come in as most of the Big Country is still under a high wind warning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. GALLUP, N.M. (KRQE) Police arrested a Gallup High School student who is accused of bringing a gun onto campus on Monday. Gallup police say several students saw the suspect with the gun and notified school staff and security. The department said the student is being held at the San Juan County Juvenile Detention Center. The student was charged with bringing a gun on campus. VIDEO: Deputies arrest New Mexico State Police officer accused of driving drunk On Tuesday, a student was arrested after detectives saw on surveillance video that he took the gun and threw it in a trash can. He was charged with being an accessory and tampering with evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Details continue to emerge in the investigation of the recent death of actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsey Arakawa, and one of their dogs, but at least one group has already released its findings. On Tuesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office said that the New Mexico Gas Company confirmed no significant findings in its investigation of their deaths. As Variety reports, that means natural gas is "not believed to be a factor in the deaths. Officials did find a "minuscule" gas leak, but not one strong enough to have been deadly. The gas company's findings will be shared with the Office of the Medical Investigator, which has yet to release official autopsy results. While authorities have determined the deaths to be "suspicious," foul play is not currently suspected (although has not been ruled out). Carbon monoxide poisoning has likewise been ruled out by investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The strange nature of their deaths has captivated public attention in recent days, after the couple was found dead in their New Mexico home last week. Hackman was found near an entryway, while Arakawa's body was discovered in the bathroom, with signs of "body decomposition, bloating in her face," and mummification of the hands and feet. Hackman's pacemaker recorded its "last event"on Feb. 17, believed to be when he passed away. One of their three dogs was also found dead, although investigators misidentified the deceased dog in the initial report. Recent reports have indicated that Hackman had grown increasingly isolated as of late. (NewsNation) President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports, and that means Americans could see higher gas prices. Analysts say that states in the Northeast could be affected first and see a 20 to 40 cent increase per gallon on the price of gas. Canada may halt electricity exports to US over Trump tariffs Trump said open trade has cost Americans factory jobs and that the tariffs will be a path to prosperity for the country in the long run. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said with the closure of a refinery in 2019, Northeastern states rely on Canada for oil and could feel the effects of higher gas prices by mid-March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canada is the fifth-largest producer of natural gas, exporting half of its supply to the U.S. in 2024. Sixty percent of U.S. crude oil imports also came from the country. The Midwest, Great Lakes and the Rockies could see anywhere between a five- to 25-cent increase per gallon in two to three weeks if tariffs stay in effect. If the tariffs disappear quickly, the impact may as well, De Haan said. How many people over 100 receive Social Security benefits? De Haan said gas prices are already low compared to last year because of concern over the economy regarding the impact of tariffs and that oil prices have fallen recently because of the economic duress the tariffs could bring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the economy slows down, well see lower gas prices because Americans will buy less, spend less and travel less, De Haan said. If we see a stronger economy, we see higher gas prices because of more demand. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. After an investigation into possible gas leaks and carbon monoxide in the house in which actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead last week, New Mexico Gas Co. confirmed there were "no significant findings" but did flag a few minor code violations "not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide." The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating their deaths, made the announcement in a news release Tuesday. Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found dead in separate rooms of their large Hyde Park-area home along with one of their three dogs by property maintenance staff on the afternoon of Feb. 26. The sheriff's office investigation into their deaths has also ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning, Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators do not suspect foul play, but a search warrant affidavit from detectives stated the circumstances of their deaths were "suspicious enough to warrant a thorough search and investigation." The investigation by staff from the gas utility confirmed there were no findings investigators believe could be factors in Hackman's and Arakawa's deaths, but utility staff did issue five "red tags," which indicate appliances or systems that need to be fixed or replaced, according to several online sources. Utility staff flagged one of the stove burners for a "minuscule leak" that resulted in .33% gas in the air, the release states, which is "not a lethal amount." The other four red tags were issued for code violations related to a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces in the home, according to the sheriff's office. Hackman, the star of many well-known films, lived in Santa Fe for more than three decades before his death. The mysterious deaths of Hackman and Arakawa have attracted interest from national and international news outlets. Mendoza has pointed to pending autopsy and toxicology reports for more answers, but he said those reports from the state Medical Investigator's Office could take three months or longer. Firings, buyouts and restructuring across the federal government are hitting the Department of Justice (DOJ), even as it seeks to defend the Trump administrations actions amid a flurry of lawsuits. DOJ lawyer Josh Gardner said during a hearing last week that DOJs Federal Programs Branch has been cut in half since November, even as it has received roughly 80 lawsuits challenging various administration actions. The cuts have left many Justice Department lawyers seriously outmanned in court. During a hearing over the administrations directive to fire probationary employees across agencies, just one DOJ lawyer local to San Francisco represented the government while eight lawyers appeared for the plaintiffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every time I see my friend Chris, he looks sleepier, joked lawyer Norm Eisen on Friday at another hearing. His group, State Democracy Defenders Action, is among those suing the administration on behalf of fired employees. Eisen was referencing Christopher Hall, assistant branch director of the Federal Programs Branch. Justice Department lawyers have signaled fatigue in recent weeks. Joshua Stueve, a top spokesperson for the DOJ, resigned last week, citing the hostile and toxic work environment that has emerged in the agency. Gardner said hes been working ever since Trump was sworn in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I havent had a day off since January 20, Gardner said during a Friday hearing. Were working day and night. Youre reading The Gavel, The Hills weekly look at the courts from Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld. If you like what youve read so far, you can follow us on social media for updates or send us news tips via email or Signal (well keep you anonymous!). X: @ByEllaLee, @ZachASchonfeld // Bluesky: @byellalee.bsky.social, @zschonfeld.bsky.social // Email: elee@thehill.com, zschonfeld@thehill.com // Signal: elee.03, zachschonfeld.48 Independent agency firing challenges heat up Battles between the Trump administration and the Democratic appointees hes firing at various independent agencies are heating up in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just since the weekend, federal judges permanently blocked the firings of U.S. special counsel Hampton Dellinger and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris. A judge on Wednesday will consider efforts by Trump to remove National Labor Relations Board Chair Gwynne Wilcox, and on Friday another judge will consider the effort to remove Federal Labor Relations Authority Chair Susan Grundmann. Trumps firings could rapidly set up a direct challenge to Humphreys Executor v. United States, the 90-year-old precedent permitting removal protections for independent agency leaders. The Supreme Court has previously said Humphreys Executor doesnt extend to agencies led by a singular official, as is true of Dellingers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, who ruled in favor of Harris, signaled Monday that her case and others will likely rocket to the Supreme Court. Thats where all of us are heading, the judge quipped. Catching up with Mexicos SCOTUS lawyers The Gavel caught up with the Mexican governments legal team minutes after they exited Supreme Court oral arguments Tuesday, when the justices gravitated toward the American gun industrys bid to fend off the countrys $10 billion lawsuit. The case revolves around a 2005 law that provides broad immunity protections to the gun industry. Mexico says its lawsuit, which claims gunmakers arent doing enough to stop their products from landing in the hands of cartels, falls under an exception. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We asked the team about a scenario posed by Justice Samuel Alito that the conservative said may be on the minds of ordinary Americans tuning in: Mexico says that U.S. gun manufacturers are contributing to illegal conduct in Mexico. There are Americans who think that Mexican government officials are contributing to a lot of illegal conduct here. So suppose that one of the 50 states sued the government of Mexico for aiding and abetting illegal conduct within the states borders that causes the state to incur law enforcement costs, public welfare costs, other costs. Would your client be willing to litigate that case in the courts of the United States? Mexico is not suing the United States in this case, so its not an equivalency, Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, legal adviser to Mexicos foreign affairs ministry, told us. We are suing gun manufacturers, which are private entities, under the terms of U.S. laws with the support of U.S. attorneys, he continued. So I think its pretty clear that that reference is a false equivalency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noel Francisco, Trumps former solicitor general who represents the gun industry, did not speak to reporters. But he released a statement after the argument saying there is no such connection between the gun industrys lawful operations and the criminal acts of third parties. Cert watch Here are this weeks new relisted petitions. Check back next week to see if the justices take up any of the cases: Ex Post Facto (Nielly v. Michigan and Ellingburg v. U.S.): The Constitutions Ex Post Facto Clause prevents the government from passing criminal statutes that apply retroactively. In two separate appeals brought by criminal defendants, the court is being asked to extend the clauses protections to court orders that they owe restitution. Both are represented by Big Law Supreme Court practices: Jones Days Amanda Rice represents one defendant, while the other is represented by Williams & Connollys Lisa Blatt (who has argued more than 50 cases at the court). Capital case (Shockley v. Vandergriff): Death-row inmate Lance Shockley was convicted of first-degree murder for killing a highway patrol sergeant investigating him over a car crash. State courts rejected Shockleys claims that a jurors bias tainted his guilty verdict. Now, Shockley is attempting to raise the claim in federal court by filing what is known as a habeas petition. After a district judge rejected it, the 8th Circuit in a 2-1 decision refused to provide Shockley a certificate of appealability, which would allow him to appeal. Shockley has asked the justices to take up his argument that certificates should be issued even when only one judge on the panel agrees, as is true here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Expert affidavits (Berk v. Choy): Some states laws require plaintiffs filing certain types of lawsuits to attach an experts affidavit confirming the lawsuit has reasonable grounds. After receiving care for an ankle and foot injury, Harold Berk filed a medical negligence lawsuit in federal court in Delaware, a state with such a law. But Berk attached no affidavit, so his case was dismissed. Berk argues Delawares law and others like it shouldnt apply to cases filed in federal court. In/Out: The Order List Click here to read Mondays full order list. IN: Double jeopardy The court took up its second case for the next term. In Barrett v. United States, the justices will wade into the Constitutions double jeopardy protections. Defendant Dwayne Barrett contests that he cant be sentenced for both carrying a firearm and using it to murder someone during a crime of violence, since both stem from the same 2011 robbery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government has long agreed that imposing sentences on both charges violates the Double Jeopardy Clause. But the Biden-era Justice Department had urged the Supreme Court to turn away the case and instead let a trial judge resolve the issue at Barretts resentencing. OUT: Bias response teams The court turned away roughly 75 petitions. In Speech First v. Whitten, Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito dissented from the courts refusal to take up a First Amendment challenge to bias response teams, which solicit anonymous reports of bias on college campuses. Given the number of schools with bias response teams, this Court eventually will need to resolve the split over a students right to challenge such programs. Justice Clarence Thomas Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though this case involved Indiana University, Speech First has filed nearly identical ones against universities across the country. When the Supreme Court last year declined to hear the groups lawsuit against Virginia Tech, the two conservative justices similarly dissented. No one has joined them, so Thomas and Alito fell short of the four votes required to hear a case. Justices become potted plants, again Despite the barrage of lawsuits challenging his administrations directives, Trump largely avoided discussing the courts during his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Trump only addressed the Supreme Court once in the rare face-to-face moment, thanking them for their decision ending affirmative action in college admissions. You should be hired based on merit, and the Supreme Court in a brave and very powerful decision has allowed us to do so. Thank you, Trump told the justices. Well, some of them. Only four sitting justices attended: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy also joined. Trump briefly chatted with each of them as he approached the dais. Its a shift from when the majority of the sitting court attended all of former President Obamas and former President Bidens addresses (except for 2021, when COVID sharply limited the invite list). And yet, Trump has only drawn a majority of the court once, during his first address in 2017. Some of the justices have made clear their decision isnt based on the Oval Office occupant. Alito told The Wall Street Journals opinion section in an interview published last year that he used to feel like a potted plant. Alito hasnt attended since 2010, when he was infamously caught on camera mouthing the words not true when Obama attacked one of the courts decisions. There are some times when you have to stand up, Alito said. Like, Dont we honor the brave men and women who are fighting and dying for this country? you cant not stand up for that. But then you say, Isnt the United States a great country you stand up because we are going to enact this legislation maybe you have to sit down. Thomas hasnt attended since Obamas first address in 2009. While speaking at a law school the next year, Thomas said its very uncomfortable for a judge to sit there since it has become so partisan. Theres a lot that you dont hear on TV, Thomas said at the time. The catcalls, the whooping and hollering and under-the-breath comments. Trump, in the usual presidential fashion, greeted the justices upon his arrival and departure. He stopped to chat with Kavanaugh the longest in either instance and also briefly with Barrett. He appeared however, friendliest with Roberts, who Trump slapped on the back and said Thank you again, thank you again, wont forget. Its unclear what Trump was specifically referring to. Roberts authored the court opinion that determined core presidential powers were immune from criminal prosecution in the midst of a slew of Trumps criminal charges. It handed Trump perhaps his single biggest legal victory. One thing to watch for future years: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who attended both of Bidens addresses after she joined the court in 2022, did not show up. Will it become a trend? Decisions, decisions Clean Water Act permits (City and County of San Francisco v. EPA) The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) rules for the city of San Francisco under the Clean Water Act are overly vague, siding with the city after it appealed a lower courts decision. Alito wrote that the statute requires the EPA to outline specific limits on sewer overflows, instead of the generic limits that prompted San Francisco to sue, The Hills Zack Budryk reports. Looking ahead Dont be surprised if additional hearings are scheduled throughout the week. But heres what were watching for now: Today The Supreme Court will announce opinions. The justices will also hear arguments in a dispute over the temporary storage of nuclear waste in West Texas that could upend decades of federal nuclear policy. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hold a summary judgment hearing in a challenge from a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to her firing by Trump and the NLRBs chair. Another D.C. federal judge will hear arguments for a temporary restraining order in a challenge brought by the Personal Services Contractor Association over Trumps executive order blocking foreign aid and the administrations efforts to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Four Democratic attorneys general will hold a town hall in Phoenix, Ariz., on the impact of federal firings and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) funding freezes across the country. Thursday A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hold a preliminary injunction hearing in another case related to efforts to dismantle USAID, brought by USAID contractors and nonprofits. Friday A summary judgment hearing in a Federal Labor Relations Authority members challenge to her firing will be held by a D.C. federal judge. Another federal judge in D.C. will hold a preliminary injunction hearing in a lawsuit seeking a judge to declare DOGE an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act and order it to preserve all records. Monday The Supreme Court will announce orders. A D.C. federal judge will hold an evidentiary hearing in a case challenging the apparent dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Adam Martinez, the agencys chief operating officer, has been ordered to testify. Tuesday A preliminary injunction hearing in a lawsuit brought by several inspectors general fired by Trump will be held in D.C. federal court. What were reading POLITICOs Rachel Bluth and Melanie Mason: 23 Dem AGs think theyve cracked the code to fighting Trump National Law Journals Jimmy Hoover: Uber Eats and Burnt Toast: How Married Couple Balances Life, Supreme Court Arguments The Wall Street Journals Kristina Peterson, Josh Dawsey and Laura Cooper: RFK Jr. and His Allies Target Trumps Beloved Soda Well be back next Wednesday with additional reporting and insights. In the meantime, keep up with our coverage here. Questions? Tips? Love letters, hate mail, pet pics? Email us here: elee@thehill.com and zschonfeld@thehill.com. Securely reach us on Signal here: @elee.03 and @zachschonfeld.48. Updated at 8:08 a.m. EST Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. CLEVELAND (WJW) The bird flu, or highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), continues to ravage whole chicken and some cow populations across the country, and now is believed to be affecting some geese right here in Cleveland. Warning: Cats at risk for bird flu, humans could be next Earlier this week, 12 Canadian geese were found dead at Wade Lagoon in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife confirmed to FOX 8 News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department said they were called to University Circle area Tuesday to investigate. The birds were presumed positive for HPAI but the department said they did not send the carcasses for testing to confirm. WJW photo They explained that multiple factors go into deciding whether or not to test for bird flu, including if its safe to collect the bird, how long theyve been dead and if other cases have been confirmed in the county. The department was not specific about why they chose not to test in this instance. How to help farmers during bird flu outbreak in Ohio The Division of Wildlife is going to continue monitoring the area for any ill birds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who find groups of at least six dead wild birds in one space are asked to call 1-800-945-3543 to alert officials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. Originally appeared on E! Online Authorities are setting the record straight on an inaccuracy relating to Gene Hackmans death. One week after the two-time Oscar winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their New Mexico home alongside one of their dogs, a pet care specialist revealed that the deceased canine was misidentified at the scene. Authorities initially identified the pet, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Betsys body, as a German shepherd named Bear. However, according to a caretaker of the surviving dogs, Joey Padilla, it was actually their Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna that tragically passed away. Bear, on the other hand, survived alongside their third dog Nikita. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the time they spent together, the late dog was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship, Joey told CNN in an email statement March 4. Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsys hand. More from E! Online As for what the Sheriffs office had to say after authorities initially recorded the discovery of a deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine? Spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila acknowledged the mistake, adding that it wasnt necessarily their area of expertise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our deputies, she said to USA Today, they dont work with canines on a daily basis. But as authorities continue their active and ongoing investigation into what may have caused Gene and Betsys tragic deaths, theyve also run into a bit of trouble piecing together the exact sequence of events. We're trying to put things together, put together a timelinewhen the decedents were last seen and were spoken to, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza recently told Savannah Guthrie on Today. We understand that is a challenge because they were very private individuals and a private family. We're trying to put all that information together right now. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images However, authorities believe the two died nearly two weeks before being found, as Genes pacemaker recorded his last event on Feb. 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was no indication that anybody was moving about the house or doing anything different, Adam continued, so it's very hard to determine if they both passed at the time or how close they passed together. And though much is left unknown, the French Connection actors family, including his nephew Tim Hackman, is not jumping to any conclusions. Were waiting on toxicology, Tim, the son of Genes brother Richard Hackman, told Us Weekly. That will tell us everything. Its hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I dont want to speculate. Its easy to speculate negative theories. In the meantime, many of Genes former collaborators and friends have taken to social media to express their grief over the loss of the film legend. To see all the heartbreaking tributes, keep reading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prince William & Kate Middleton "So sad to hear the news of the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy," the couple wrote on their joint X account. "Hackman was a true genius of film who brought each and every character to life with power, authenticity and star quality." Gwyneth Paltrow The Royal Tennanbaums actress shared a photo of herself, Luke Wilson and Gene on the set of the Wes Anderson film alongside a broken heart emoji in a Feb. 27 Instagram post. Tom Hanks The Cast Away star also kept his tribute short and sweet, writing in a Feb. 27 Instagram post alongside an old photo of the star, There has never been a Gene Hackman Type. There has only been Gene Hackman. Elizabeth Hackman, Leslie Hackman & Annie Hackman "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy," the actor's daughterswhom he shares with ex Faye Malteseand grandaughter wrote in a statement shared with E! News. "He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis Ford Coppola The Megalopolis director, who directed Gene in The Conversation, shared a touching tribute shortly after news of Genes death broke. The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration, the director wrote on Instagram Feb. 27, alongside a photo of the pair. Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity, I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution. Viola Davis The How To Get Away With Murder actress wrote a touching post directed at the actor himself. Loved you in everything! Viola wrote in a Feb. 27 Instagram post. The Conversation, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiventough yet vulnerable. You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you. Rest well, sir. Nathan Lane Getting to watch him up close it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest, The Birdcage star told USA Today in a statement. "You could never catch him acting. Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger. He was as brilliant in comedy as he was in drama and thankfully his film legacy will live on forever. He added, It was a tremendous privilege to get to share the screen with him and remains one of my fondest memories. Rest in peace, Mr. Hackman. Hank Azaria Comedian Hank Azaria, who also starred in The Birdcage alongside Gene, wrote a touching tribute. It was an honor and an education working with Gene Hackman, he wrote on X, adding a few kind words from the films director, Mike Nichols said of his genius character acting: He always brought just enough of a different part of the real gene to each role he played. Sending all my love to his family & friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pedro Pascal The Last of Us star proved Genes continued influence on Hollywood, sharing an old photo of the star on his Instagram Story, writing, My actual favorite. Michael Rosenbaum The Smallville actor, who shared the part of Lex Luthor with the Superman star, wrote to Instagram, To my favorite Lex Luthor and one of the all time greatest actors ever! RIP. Antonio Banderas The Mask of Zorro star wrote in a post on X, A very sad day for the cinemas family. Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have passed away. My deepest condolences to friends, family and cinema lovers. John Simm Sad news today, the Collateral star wrote in a tribute on Instagram. Youd be hard pressed to name a better screen actor than this man. Because there isnt one. Perfection in every single role he played, a huge inspiration for me and for generations of actors. And he could do it all. He made the craft look effortless. A true artist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement George Takei The Star Trek alum commemorated his old peer with a heartfelt note to X. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it, George wrote. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. Thats how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his world will live on forever. Edgar Wright Edgar Wrightwho directed Baby Driver and Last Night in Sohoshared a tribute to the late actor on X, writing, The greatest Cary Elwes We have lost a true legend, the Princess Bride star wrote in a Feb. 27 Instagram post. The magnificent Gene Hackman has passed away. A man whose breadth of talent was immeasurable. Growing up on his movies was an absolute thrill for me." He continued to emphasize the impact of Gene's craft. "To observe his remarkable facility and humanity in every role was something to behold," he added. "Whatever film he was in, he made it better. A force of nature like no other and as such there will never be another like him. Our deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans all over the world. Rest in absolute power, Gene. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App The two surviving dogs belonging to actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa "are safe and adjusting" after the couple was mysteriously found dead alongside a third dog in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home last week, their friend told ABC News. The dog who died, an Australian kelpie mix named Zinfandel or "Zinna," was found in a crate about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa's body when the couple was discovered on Feb. 26, according to officials. But their two other dogs -- Bear, a German shepherd, and Nikki, a German shepherd mix -- were found alive. It appeared they had access to a doggy door; one was near Arakawa's body and the other was located outside, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Gene Hackman and his wife test negative for carbon monoxide after mysteriously found dead Joey Padilla, who owns Santa Fe Tails, where Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, often boarded their dogs, has the two surviving dogs in his care. "They are safe and adjusting," Padilla told ABC News. "I will be holding on to them until I get word on what Betsy's wishes for these dogs are." "Gene and Betsy were amazing friends and dog lovers," he said. "Those dogs were Betsy's babies." PHOTO: Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles. (Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, FILE) Padilla, who knew the couple for over a decade, said he frequently went out to eat with them before the pandemic. In the years since, Padilla stopped seeing Hackman, because he said Arakawa tried to "keep him away from people" to protect his health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Padilla said the last time he saw Arakawa was in January when she dropped off Bear. "She was the same old, just, you know, 'Hey, how's it going, good to see you,'" he said of their final conversation. "I'm terribly saddened. They were really good people," he said. MORE: Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead in home under 'suspicious' circumstances; 2 other dogs found alive The Academy Award-winning actor and his wife were found dead on Feb. 26 during a welfare check, with no obvious signs of how they died, the sheriff's office said. The couple's cause and manner of death have not been determined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both tested negative for carbon monoxide. Investigators are awaiting full autopsy results and toxicology reports, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. PHOTO: Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, N.M. (Roberto Rosales/AP) MORE: Gene Hackman, Oscar-winning star of 'Hoosiers' and 'Unforgiven,' dies at 95 The New Mexico Gas Company has finished its investigation for leaks and carbon monoxide at the home and there were no significant findings, the Santa Fe County sheriff's and fire departments said Tuesday. One minuscule leak was found at a stove burner, but a non-lethal amount of gas was being released, the departments said. There were four other code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide at a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces, the departments said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation," according to the search warrant affidavit. PHOTO: The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa on Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M. (Roberto E. Rosales/AP) Hackman was discovered on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife "showed obvious signs of death," the document said. Hackman is believed to have died on Feb. 17 -- nine days before he was found -- Mendoza said, noting that was the date of the last recorded "event" on his pacemaker. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her body showed signs of decomposition, the document said. There was mummification to her hands and feet, the document said. On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant. Gene Hackman's 2 surviving dogs are 'safe and adjusting,' friend says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com ATLANTA (AP) Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath filed paperwork on Wednesday to raise money for a run for governor in 2026, becoming the first Democrat to take that step. McBath described her effort as an exploratory committee, although that could quickly become a full-blown campaign. The four-term member of Congress is best known as a gun control advocate. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is completing his second term and can't run again. On the Republican side, Attorney General Chris Carr is already running for governor in 2026 and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is widely expected to run. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Democrats who have been exploring a run include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state Sen. Jason Esteves and former DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Michael Thurmond. Democrat Stacey Abrams, who ran and lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022, has not closed the door on a third run. McBath first won election to Congress in 2018, ousting Republican U.S. Rep Karen Handel to seize a seat in Atlanta's northern suburbs once held by Newt Gingrich. When Republicans redrew electoral districts after the 2020 Census, McBath jumped into a primary race against fellow Democrat Carolyn Bordeaux, beating her handily and winning election. Then after a court ordered another round of redistricting after finding African American votes were diluted, McBath shifted to a district Republicans drew on the western side of Atlanta. Those moves mean McBath has represented a much larger number of voters than the typical member of Congress, which could make her a stronger statewide candidate. McBath, like Abrams, would be bidding to become the first Black female governor of an American state. While that remains a difficult hurdle to cross, McBath is likely to have advantages as a Black woman in a Democratic primary in Georgia, where Black women are the backbone of the party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But McBath also tries to cultivate bipartisan appeal, especially with suburban swing voters. She was one of four Georgia Democrats earlier this year who voted for the Laken Riley Act, named for a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally. The law was the first that President Donald Trump signed in his second term and makes it easier to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. Georgians deserve a Governor who understands whats at stake because theyve lived it, McBath said in a statement Thursday. As a mom and breast cancer survivor, Ive seen firsthand how regular people are too often left out of the political process. I look forward to continuing this conversation with my neighbors and fellow Georgians. The 64-year-old McBath rose to prominence as a gun control advocate after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in 2012 by a white man who was angry over the loud music the Black teenager and his friends were playing at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station. McBath, a former flight attendant, has had her political career heavily backed by billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She touts her support of a 2022 law that toughens background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keeps firearms from more domestic violence offenders and helps states enact red flag laws making it easier for authorities to take weapons from people judged dangerous. McBath led a group of survivors and family members of victims of gun violence who spoke in a prime-time slot at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. With no votes against it, the Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to create a new safety alert, the Autism Missing Person Alert System. House Bill 465 passed with 172 votes in favor at Tuesdays floor voting session, progressing the measure to the Georgia Senate for approval, amendment or rejection. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, the state would create a special alert system to help find missing individuals with autism spectrum disorder. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As previously reported by Channel 2 Action News, the text of House Bill 465 says that it would help local law enforcement agencies find autistic Georgians sooner when they are missing, even if the individual who is missing has difficulties with social interaction and challenges to communication, which the bill calls characteristics of the disorder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 465 also says that activating the Autism Missing Person Alert System would not prevent or prohibit any other state or local law enforcement agency from taking additional measures in response to the receipt of a missing person report. TRENDING STORIES: Bill sponsor Rep. Carl Gilliard said the unanimous passage of the bill would add those with autism who go missing to the group of people eligible for the Matties Call statewide alert system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yesterday marked a significant step forward in our commitment to the safety and welfare of individuals with autism and their families, Gilliard said in a statement. The Autism Missing Person Alert System Act is modeled after Matties Law, which has proven effective in protecting vulnerable individuals in our communities. This alert system is designed to ensure a swift and coordinated response when a person with autism goes missing, helping to reunite families as quickly as possible. Should the bill fully pass and be added to state statutes, activating missing persons alerts for those with autism would also include guidance to local law enforcement officers for ways to search for them, including prioritizing waterways and public roads, as well as providing descriptions of distinctive autism-related behaviors that could help identify the missing person. Gilliard thanked his colleagues in the Georgia House for their support, saying The collaboration among my colleagues, advocacy groups and law enforcement officials highlights the importance of this initiative. Our shared goal is to enhance the safety of those who need our support the most. Together, we can make Georgia a safe and supportive place for everyone. This alert system is not just a legislative win; it is a commitment to compassion and community responsibility. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] ATLANTA (AP) Georgia House members voted 159-13 on Tuesday for a school safety bill that supporters say is aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September that killed two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School. But some lawmakers remain uneasy about its proposed creation of a statewide student database of disciplinary, mental health and law enforcement information to evaluate students who might commit violence. And although the House also passed a bill Tuesday to give a tax incentive to people who pay for gun storage devices or training, Democrats say the Republican-majority General Assembly isn't doing enough to control guns. Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington gave House Bill 268 a strong push, making the unusual move of stepping down from the dais to give a speech supporting the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe this legislation will usher a new culture in our school systems, where we run towards our children facing struggles with mental health," Burns said, saying the bill aims to reach troubled children before they turn to violence. The measure now heads to the Senate, which has thus far taken a less comprehensive approach than the House's 64-page bill. One Senate measure that has advanced out of committee calls for more limited information sharing but would also make adult prosecution the default for more crimes where children aged 13 to 16 are charged. Besides the database, the House bill also mandates quicker transfers of records when a student enters a new school, creates at least one new position to help coordinate mental health treatment for students in each of Georgia's 180 school districts, requires police agencies to report any time a student has threatened harm to someone at school and sets up an anonymous reporting system statewide. The push to share information is driven by the belief among many that the Barrow County school system didnt have a full sense of the warning signs displayed by the 14-year-old accused in the shooting. Officials have said creating the database will require more legal work to make sure federal privacy laws regarding health data and educational records are obeyed. But opponents say they fear the data will create a blacklist that may treat racial or religious minorities unfairly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There isnt nearly enough on mental health and theres too much on surveillance and overcriminalization and the invasion of privacy of our students and their families," said Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, a Smyrna Democrat. The bill calls for each school system to set up a behavioral threat management team that's meant to intervene when school officials learn that students have threatened violence. The state would develop guidelines for how school districts should assess threats, with the team focusing on credible threats. Those teams could turn to the database for more information about a student under scrutiny. Students who threatened violence would be removed from in-person classes while school officials decide on a response. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Homer Republican, said the bill would prevent violence. Save a life today, vote for this bill," Erwin urged House members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure also includes suicide and violence prevention classes for older students, calls for an assessment once a student is absent for a certain number of days House Democrats supported House Bill 79, which would provide tax incentives for people who buy gun safes or gun locks or get gun training. But Democrats said Tuesday that's not enough even as the bill passed 165-8, moving on to the Senate. They want a law that would require adults to lock up their guns when children are present. Officials say Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High's accused shooter Colt Gray, bought his son an assault-style rifle and gave him easy access, even though Colin Gray knew or should have known that his son was a danger to others. Nothing should haunt us more in this chamber than a missed opportunity and nothing should shame us more than failing to learn from our mistakes," said Rep. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat. By David Shepardson and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Taiwan semiconductor company TSMC plans to make a fresh $100 billion investment in the United States that involves building five additional chip facilities there in coming years, its CEO announced with President Donald Trump on Monday. Taiwan's dominant position as a maker of chips used in technology from cellphones and cars to fighter jets has sparked concerns of over-reliance on the island, especially as China ramps up pressure to assert its sovereignty claims. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a leading supplier to major U.S. hardware manufacturers, unveiled the plan as Chief Executive C.C. Wei met Trump at the White House. "We must be able to build the chips and semiconductors that we need right here," Trump said. "It's a matter of national security for us." TSMC said the expansion included plans for three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a major research and development centre. The outlay of $100 billion to boost domestic production and make the United States less reliant on semiconductors made in Asia, follows news last April that TSMC aims to expand planned U.S. investment by $25 billion to $65 billion and add a third Arizona factory by 2030. TSMC did not give a timeframe for any of its new investments, apart from saying the effort would add 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years. Construction on its first Arizona plant was plagued by delays, with the company eventually starting chip production in 2024 at a higher cost than at its facilities in Taiwan. The company's Taiwan-listed shares fell 2% on Tuesday. "Higher costs are definitely a concern for TSMC," said Andrew Tsai, chairman of Taiwan consulting firm Capital Investment Management Corp. As a key manufacturing partner to Nvidia, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices, TSMC is central to the U.S. chip industry, and bringing more of its production to U.S. soil would solve a major supply chain risk for those firms. The Taiwan company could also play a central role in saving rival Intel. Trump administration officials met Wei in New York this year about taking a majority stake in a joint venture in Intel's factory unit, as part of a deal for several chip firms to take a stake in the venture, a source familiar with the matter said. Intel did not respond to questions about the meetings. For Trump, the announcement helps show voters he is fulfilling his campaign pledge to do more to bolster domestic industries and create jobs. In a full floor vote on Tuesday, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a ban on students having cellphones, tablets and other devices while in school. The Distraction-Free Education Act passed the House with broad support across both political parties, with 143 votes in favor and just 29 opposed. As Channel 2 Action News has reported, lawmakers and district personnel from across Georgia have been discussing a statewide ban on allowing students to have cell phones and other electronics while in class. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Now approved by Georgias House members, the legislation will make its way through the Georgia Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Should the bill pass in the Senate, without changes requiring House approval, itll head to the governors desk for a signature. TRENDING STORIES: If Gov. Brian Kemp signs off on it, House Bill 340 would keep students from having access to their phones in kindergarten to eighth grade, though some exceptions provided for by law would allow limited use. In terms of when students would have their phone access restricted, the bill said that phones would be off-limits during bell-to-bell time periods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those periods are defined in the legislation as the period beginning with the first bell signaling the start of instructional time and ending with the final bell signaling the conclusion of the school day and shall include all scheduled instructional time, breaks, transitions, assemblies, and other school-related activities occurring between the start and end of the school day. If passed, the bill would take effect by Jan. 1, 2026 for all public school students in the states K-8 classes. School districts would have to draft policies for the bills provisions by Aug. 1 if the bill becomes law. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The Georgia Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a Columbus attorney for his actions in a 2017 case in U.S. District Court, Southern Division. The court asserted that Chris Breault acted improperly and against Georgia Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct and suspended his license for six months beginning March 4. Here is the March 4, 2025, order from the state Supreme Court. This matter has been under investigation by Special Masters assigned by the Georgia Bar Association for more than five years. Late last year, the Special Master assigned to the case recommended a one-month suspension. The Supreme Court rejected that and asked for additional information. The Supreme Court said the Special Master failed to adequately analyze Breaults conduct under the framework found in the American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Breault was accused of violating a rule that prohibited making public privileged information. The new Special Master recommended a one-year suspension, but the final decision rested with the states highest court, which went with six months. Breault, a high-profile civil litigation lawyer, has to cease practice during the suspension. In late November, Breault was the lead attorney in a case that received a $42 million jury award in Muscogee County Superior Court. His client was severely injured in a motorcycle crash at Warm Springs and Miller roads. Breault sent the following statement when WRBL contacted him about the suspension: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have never once in my entire career been in trouble with the State Bar of Georgia. If you look at my record since I finished law school at the University of Georgia in 2012, twelve (12) years ago, I have zero Bar complaints or Bar discipline. It is odd that it is 2025, weeks after I get a $42 million jury verdictthe largest jury verdict in Georgia history in a motorcycle wreckand Im being said to have violated Bar rules from a case in 2017. I did excellent work for this client and because of my work, the client became a millionaire. This all took place back in June of 2017, one month before trial. I was hired by the clients original lawyer to come and try the case in court as lead trial counsel. The client in the case was rear-ended by a tractor trailer and sent off a large bridge, falling nearly 200 feet. I came onto the case, proved he had a brain injury, and then the case settled for seven-figures and the client was really happy. Because of my work, the client took home more than double what they were going to get from the other lawyers they had had for 2 years before me. I stand by my work in this case. Im the first lawyer in Georgia history that theyve ever accused of breaking these rules like this. I was part of a team of four (4) lawyers and Im the only one they say violated some rule. For years, they wanted me to take some slap-on-the-wrist penalty as long as I admitted I did something wrong. I refused, because I stand by my work. Im sorry that in order to get outstanding results, you have to do things differently than your average Joe Schmoe lawyer out there. It means that you are creative and think outside the box. It doesnt mean you broke the rules. After reading the Supreme Courts order on this matter, it clear that whoever wrote itsometimes its a clerk or an assistantdoes not have or understand all the facts. I plan to submit a motion for reconsideration to the court in ten (10) days to have them review it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As stated by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., the arc of the moral universe is long, and it bends towards Justice. If you are willing to work and seize the opportunities that God provides, then God will take care of you. That has been my experience and I expect that to come in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. Germany's conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD), who are in exploratory talks about forming a coalition, have agreed on billions of euros in loans and new debt for infrastructure and defence, they announced on Tuesday. The parties said that a special fund of 500 billion ($528 billion) will be created to fix Germany's ailing infrastructure, and the strict government rules on taking on new debt, the so-called debt brake, will be eased for specific defence investments. "In view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, whatever it takes must now also apply to our defence," likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in reference to Russia's war in Ukraine and a US rapprochement with Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which with its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) topped a national vote last month, had spent much of the election campaign saying the debt brake had to stay. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, a Social Democrat, described the agreement as a "historic day" for Germany's security, adding that it marks a significant moment for both the military, or Bundeswehr, and the country as a whole. "We are sending a strong signal to the people in our country and to our allies," Pistorius told the news magazine Der Spiegel. He said that the decision would enable Germany to take a leading role in strengthening NATO within Europe. The CDU/CSU also agreed with the SPD to allow Germany's 16 federal states to access more loans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They therefore want to relax the debt brake for this purpose as well, Merz said at a joint news conference in Berlin. Tuesday's agreements were the first major deals during exploratory talks to form a two-way governing coalition by mid-April. 'Running on empty' The SPD were the largest party after the 2021 election and Olaf Scholz became chancellor, but he is taking no part in the discussions with Merz and his bloc after his party came third in February 23's vote behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). SPD party chief Lars Klingbeil is leading the discussions for the centre-left group instead, and said of Tuesday's agreement: "Our country is running on empty. A future government must stop the wear and tear on our nation." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A row partly over the debt brake led to the collapse of Scholz's three-way coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats last year, with the latter leaving government over Scholz's wish for more debt. The CDU/CSU and SPD want to set up a commission of experts to develop a proposal for modernizing the debt brake, which is enshrined in the country's constitution, dpa has learnt after seeing a draft document. The modernization should enable additional long-term investment to strengthen Germany. "On this basis, we want to finalize the legislation by the end of 2025," the draft read. Such a timetable would go against speculation the conservatives and SPD would try to pass the necessary amendments to the debt brake in the old parliament. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is because the centrist parties will no longer have the requisite two-thirds majority in the new parliament to change the constitution. The AfD and The Left party could block such an amendment. Reaction mixed FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Durr criticized the deal. "Debt for all sorts of things at the expense of the people of Germany is irresponsible in my view," Durr told dpa. The FDP will have no seats in the new parliament having failed to reach 5% of votes in the election, the threshold normally required for a party to enter parliament. The Greens, who came fourth in the recent election, reacted cautiously to the CDU/CSU and SPD deal on defence and infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will now take our time to look at the proposals," announced parliamentary group leader Britta Hasselmann. Bavarian Premier Markus Soder from the CSU said earlier on Tuesday that it was a "very, very important day," hours after the US announced it is temporarily suspending military aid to Ukraine. The decision followed a furious row between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House last week. While reaching a coalition deal in Germany usually takes weeks, if not months, negotiators are under huge pressure to find an immediate consensus as Europe scrambles to respond to the dramatic shift in US foreign policy under Trump. EU leaders are set to convene in Brussels on Thursday for talks. Current German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whose Green Party is expected to leave the government and go into opposition after last month's election, does not plan to vye for a leadership post in the party. Baerbock had widely been expected to become co-chairwoman of the Green parliamentary group. But in a letter to colleagues, which was obtained by dpa on Thursday, Baerbock said that she will not seek the post for personal reasons. "After years at high speed," Baerbock wrote that she wanted to take some time to think about "what this moment means for my family and me." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baerbock, 44, has held a leadership or ministerial post with the Greens since 2008, and was the party's top candidate in the 2021 national election. "In all this time, I have always given my all," she wrote. "At the same time, these intensive years also had a private price. For personal reasons, I have therefore decided to take a step back from the glare of the spotlight and not apply for a leading position in the parliamentary group." Baerbock emphasized that she will still take her seat in the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament, and has no plans of leaving politics: "Even if the roles change, this is not a farewell." Outgoing Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who alongside Baerbock has for years been the public face of the Greens, announced the day after the election that he would not seek any further leadership role in the party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The election saw the Greens win 11.6% of the vote, which was seen as a disappointment after winning 14.8% in 2021. Baerbock and her husband, Daniel Holefleisch, announced their separation in November. They plan to continue looking after their two daughters together, who are 9 and 13 years old, and plan to continue living as a family at their shared home in Potsdam, just west of Berlin. Leaders of Germany's Green Party said on Wednesday they will not be pressured into supporting a massive debt-backed spending deal agreed by the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). The response poses a potential challenge to German conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who is widely expected to become the country's next chancellor after leading his centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) to victory in last month's election. Merz agreed a deal on Tuesday with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD that would loosen Germany's strict balanced budget rules in order to create a 500 billion ($535 billion) fund for infrastructure investment and clear the way for big increases in military spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plans seems popular with the public after a Forsa opinion poll on Wednesday, on behalf of RTL and ntv, found that 76% of respondents said it was right to invest the 500 billion in infrastructure over the next few years through new loans. Of the 1,019 people in Germany who were asked, 71% considered the planned change to the so-called debt brake to allow a big increase in defence spending to also be right. But the support of Green lawmakers in the Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament, would be essential to enacting the deal, which requires a two-thirds majority to alter Germany's constitution. The Greens are still officially part of the government with the SPD. But they were not included in the negotiations over the deal, which was struck during exploratory coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. The talks continued on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green parliamentary group co-chairwoman Katharina Droge signalled they would not simply go along with the deal without having a say. "We are happy to negotiate tough, but we will also be negotiating confidentially," she said. "Otherwise there is no point in negotiating." Droge said the Greens are baffled that efforts to address climate change play no role in the proposal from the CDU/CSU and SPD. The CDU/CSU and SPD hope to push through the plan during the lame-duck session of the outgoing Bundestag. That is because electoral gains last month by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and far-left The Left mean the necessary two-thirds majority would be far more difficult to achieve once newly elected lawmakers are seated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green parliamentary faction co-chairwoman Britta Hasselmann also bristled on Wednesday over anti-Green attacks from Bavarian state Premier Markus Soder, a Merz ally and the head of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). "The tone we are currently hearing from the CSU, especially from Markus Soder, is disgusting," she said. Soder: 'Germany is repositioning itself' Meanwhile, Soder sought to defend the spending deal to supporters who are sceptical of taking on government debt. Although the CDU/CSU bloc has long pushed for balanced budgets and fiscal prudence, Soder said change is needed in the face of Russian aggression and the weakening of the NATO alliance with the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Of course we are not at war, but we are not really at peace like we used to be," Soder said in a traditional Ash Wednesday speech. "Germany is defending itself, Germany is arming itself, Germany is repositioning itself. This is just the beginning, not the end." German conservatives are now prepared to "do everything" in order to strengthen the country and Europe by building up Germany's armed forces and rebuilding ageing infrastructure, Soder said. Tim-Oliver Muller, managing director of the Federation of the German Construction Industry, said the agreement is "groundbreaking and essential at the same time - for our industrial location as well as for a geopolitically resilient, strong Germany and Europe." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement would also allow Germany's 16 federal states more leeway to take on debt as well. The head of research for the Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Research (IMK) at the trade union-affiliated Hans Bockler Foundation, Sebastian Dullien, also praised the plans as "a real turning point for fiscal policy." The deal, if implemented, could "remove many of the brakes that have recently prevented the German economy from growing," Dullien said. By Sarah Marsh and Matthias Williams BERLIN (Reuters) -The parties hoping to form Germany's next government have agreed to create a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund and overhaul borrowing rules, a tectonic spending shift that jolted markets on Wednesday on hopes of reviving Europe's largest economy. After three years of attacking what he called the outgoing government's profligacy from opposition, Germany's likely next leader Friedrich Merz is now trying to use the narrow window before new legislators officially take up their seats to pass the massive borrowing package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move, which relies on the make-up of the old parliament from before the February 23 election, looks certain to prompt legal challenges. The about-turn is a consequence of the turmoil caused by the return of Donald Trump to the White House, bringing with it a realisation that Europe can no longer rely on the United States to guarantee its security in the face of a hostile Russia. Trump froze military aid to Ukraine after a bitter clash last week with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reinforcing fears that the U.S. could strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine while disengaging from Europe. Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), who are in negotiations to form a coalition following the election, will put their proposals to the German parliament next week, with a vote possible on March 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Greens party, whose support is key to getting the reform through the outgoing parliament, refused to pledge support, questioning why climate-friendly policies had not been included. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) joined the radical Left party in threatening legal action. Together, the two parties would have enough votes to block the reform once the new legislators are seated. SEA CHANGE The U-turn in Berlin late on Tuesday marks a potential sea change in economic policy after decades during which Germanys neighbours have criticised it for holding regional growth back with excessive budgetary thrift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plans also envisage removing a self-imposed upper limit on defence spending, which has long seen Germany either missing or barely meeting NATO targets. Economists say it remains to be seen whether a defence spending "surge" and an accompanying modernisation of Germanys creaking infrastructure can improve the competitiveness which figures such as Mario Draghi, ex-chief of the European Central Bank, say is crucial to revive the euro zone's economic growth. Investors and some economists have long urged Germany to reform its constitutionally enshrined state borrowing limits - known as the "debt brake" - to free up investment and support an economy that has contracted for the past two years. But others, like government economic advisory panel member Veronika Grimm, said the new spending could endanger Germany's role as an anchor of European stability and drive up interest rates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reform would mark a rollback of borrowing rules imposed after the 2008 global financial crisis that many see as an outdated fiscal straitjacket. The euro hit its highest level in nearly four months on Wednesday after news of the plans. Germany's blue-chip index jumped to near a record high. Construction firms were among the top gainers, with Heidelberg Materials, the world's second-largest cement maker, up 16% at the top of Frankfurt's blue-chip index. European defence company shares have also soared as momentum to ramp up spending gathers pace. German defence companies Rheinmetall, Hensoldt, Thyssenkrupp and Renk had notched up gains so far this week of between 17% and 30% as of Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany's move also throws down the gauntlet to France, where President Emmanuel Macron wants to bolster defence spending but is struggling to tame an unruly budget deficit. AMENDING CONSTITUTION Merz said his CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the SPD would submit a motion to parliament next week to amend the constitution so defence expenditure above 1% of economic output is exempted from debt brake rules. A commission of experts will separately develop a proposal for modernizing the debt brake to boost investments on a permanent basis. According to a poll by INSA, 49% of Germans support loosening the debt brake while only 28% are against. But changing the debt rules and creating a special fund require a two-thirds majority in parliament. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conservatives and SPD are rushing to get the moves passed in the outgoing parliament, given far-right and far-left parties will have a blocking minority in the new parliament after scoring strongly in last month's election. The AfD threatened legal action against what it called an "orgy of debt". The radical Left party has threatened a legal challenge if Germany issues new debt to fund defence expenditure. Business lobbies welcomed the plans but said they need to be accompanied by regulatory reforms. ($1 = 0.9351 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Riham Alkousaa, Sarah Marsh, Holger Hansen, Markus Wacket, Thomas Escritt, Christoph Steitz, Kirsti Knolle, Rene Wagner; Writing by Matthias WilliamsEditing by Gareth Jones) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to meet Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Wednesday, with discussions expected to focus on the global political situation following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Steinmeier criticized Trump's policy of punitive tariffs as a mistake during a German-Chilean business forum on Tuesday. He suggested that such measures are unhelpful and called on proponents of free trade to stand together more closely and seek like-minded allies. Steinmeier and Boric are also expected to discuss the Colonia Dignidad sect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement German lay preacher Paul Schafer moved from Germany to Chile with his followers in the early 1960s and established a settlement near the town of Parral. For decades, he made the sect members work to exhaustion without pay, tore families apart and abused both German and Chilean children. There has long been a row over the construction of a memorial for the victims of Colonia Dignidad. Shortly before Steinmeier's arrival, the Chilean Ministry of Justice announced that a plot of land on the site of the former colony will be used for a memorial. A German tattoo artist who tried to enter the United States from Mexico through the San Diego border has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention for over a month, according to a friend who witnessed her being detained. Jessica Brosche, a Berlin-based tattoo artist, had been vacationing in Mexico when she decided to travel to the US from Tijuana with an American friend, Nikita Lofving. But at the San Ysidro port of entry immigration authorities took Brosche into custody. They took her right in front of me as we were walking over, Lofving, a clothing designer based in Los Angeles, told CNN. Two hours passed, and then she called me and said, Hey, Im gonna get deported back to Germany. Ill call you from Germany in a couple of days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The call was on January 25. Brosche has been in detention ever since, half a month past when she originally hoped to leave the US on February 15, Lofving says. According to the ICE Detainee Locator, Brosche is currently in the Otay Mesa Detention Facility, in San Diego County, while she awaits deportation. CNN reached out to both ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to ask why she was detained. A spokesperson from CBP told CNN affiliate KGTV that if a foreign national denied admission to the US is unable to book travel back to their country of origin he or she will be turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In a statement to KGTV, an ICE spokesperson wrote that Brosche is in detention due to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lovfing told CNN that her German friend was joining her in Los Angeles to tattoo her. She speculated that immigration officials may have misinterpreted Brosches statements about the project as a declaration that shed come to the US to work. I mean, she was coming to work, but not really for money, Lofving said. We have an agreement between artists. Shes one of my best friends. Weve been working on this tattoo project on my body for the last five or six years, and in exchange, I make clothes for her. In a phone interview with KGTV last month, Brosche said that she had been kept in horrible solitary confinement for eight days when she entered US custody. I just want to get home, you know? Im really desperate, Brosche told KGTV from Otay Mesa. I dont really understand why its taking so long to get back to Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lofving said that Brosches friends and family are hoping that shell be out of detention and on a flight back to Germany on March 11, and that her mother bought her a plane ticket home. They arent sure whether ICE will let her out by then, however. We sent (Brosche) back the information for the tickets, and she told her ICE agent, Lofving continued, saying the ICE agent had said, No, you have to get the ticket approved before you buy it. Extremely concerning A spokesperson from the German Consulate in LA told CNN in an email that they are aware of the case and in close contact about it with the relevant US authorities as well as with family and close friends of the person concerned. CoreCivic, the private prison company that operates Otay Mesa, told CNN that the company does not know the circumstances of individuals when they are placed in our facilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to, said spokesperson Ryan Gustin. Jeff Joseph, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told CNN that Brosches case is fairly unusual. Brosche, who entered the US via the Visa Waiver Program agreement that the US has with Germany and 40 other countries, would usually have been deported immediately rather than sit in detention for over a month, Joseph said. By entering on the waiver program, a tourist waives their right to any kind of litigation, Joseph explained. But normally, a tourist denied entry to the US would be allowed to withdraw their application for admission. Instead of being subjected to deportation proceedings, theyre allowed to kind of get back on the airplane and turn around and go home, and that does not appear to have happened in this case, Joseph continued. In any case, Joseph said that Brosches extended stay in Otay Mesa is extremely concerning. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China threaten to hurt the $191 billion American agricultural export sector and raise costs for farmers struggling with low crop prices, farm groups warned on Tuesday. Trump imposed 25% duties on imports from Mexico and Canada and doubled duties on Chinese goods to 20%, sparking trade wars with the biggest buyers of U.S. farm products. Canada and China targeted American products including wheat and poultry with retaliatory levies, while farm groups said U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada would raise fertilizer costs. About 85% of U.S. imports of potash fertilizer come from Canada, according to industry data. Higher costs and lower exports would hit farmers as many are bracing to lose money growing corn and soybeans, the nation's biggest commodity crops. "For the third straight year, farmers are losing money on almost every major crop planted," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "Adding even more costs and reducing markets for American agricultural goods could create an economic burden some farmers may not be able to bear," Duvall added. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she was in communication with Trump about the economic repercussions to farmers. "His message, frankly, to the ag community is 'trust me,'" Rollins told reporters at the National Association of Counties conference. China, the world's biggest soybean importer, retaliated against U.S. tariffs by hiking import levies covering $21 billion worth of American agricultural and food products. Canada imposed retaliatory duties on C$30 billion ($20.84 billion) worth of U.S. imports. Worries about tariffs and retaliation prompted some Canadian grocers to cancel orders from American produce growers and shift to suppliers in other countries in the past month, U.S. farmers' group Western Growers said. For red meat, Canada, Mexico and China accounted for $8.4 billion in U.S. exports last year, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. "Tariff wars are only serving to harm those who rely on international trade to support their livelihoods," said Greg Tyler, CEO of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. ($1 = 1.4394 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Bill Berkrot) The German government has sought to distance itself from recent statements made by the country's anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, who believes US President Donald Trump's controversial plans for the Gaza Strip are worth considering. German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit stressed on Wednesday that Klein's comments do not represent the position of the German government. But Klein doubled down on his remarks on Wednesday, despite the mounting criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has proposed clearing the Palestinian population from Gaza, which has been heavily destroyed over the past 16 months by Israeli bombing, as part of a plan to redevelop the Palestinian territory. Trump's comments have been widely condemned, especially in the Arab world, but Klein said Trump's idea needed a "closer look" in an interview with the Neue Osnabrucker newspaper on Tuesday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock both rejected Trump's proposal for the US to seize control of Gaza and turn the coastal territory into a "Riviera of the Middle East" while "resettling" the approximately 2 million Palestinians who live there in Arab countries. "I don't think it's wrong to think radically and in a completely new way," Klein told the newspaper, contending that Trump does not want to drive out Palestinians, but only to resettle them while Gaza is rebuilt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His comments were swiftly disowned by Germany's Interior Ministry, which includes Klein's office. Klein on Wednesday defended his comments in a new statement. "When it comes to very complex issues, it can always be helpful to think radically and in a completely new way. And that's exactly what I advocated with regard to the extremely complex issue of the future of the Gaza Strip - in the sense of providing food for thought that can be discussed," Klein said. "Any proposals must of course be made on the basis of international law," he added. FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) The two political parties expected to form the next German government have agreed to loosen the country's constitution restrictions on borrowing, enabling 1 trillion euros ($1.08 trillion) or more in spending on defense and infrastructure. Its a major change in Germanys debt-averse political culture, rejecting conventional economic wisdom that long dominated Europes biggest economy and one of the worlds wealthiest countries. Here are key facts about the debt brake and what the changes will mean for Germany and Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is the debt brake? The debt brake was passed in 2009, when a global financial crisis led to sharp increase in government borrowing in Germany and around the world. The debt brake also reflected cultural and political skepticism about debt in general that for years left a deep imprint on German politics. The debt brake limited new borrowing to 0.35% of gross domestic product - a tight limit when compared to European Union budget rules requiring less than 3%, and the 2024 U.S. federal deficit of 6.4%. How did the debt brake work in practice? The debt brake appeared to work fine for years - until it didn't. German governments lived within the limits during the good times in the 2010s, often running small surpluses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the pandemic, slowing growth and Russia's invasion of Ukraine put the debt brake under severe strain. The government had to invoke an emergency clause to borrow and spend more on pandemic relief for businesses in 2020. Then it declared another emergency in 2021, and another one in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised pressure for more defense spending and relief for utility customers. Yet another emergency exemption was used in 2023. However in late 2023 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled the government had gone too far in fudging the debt limit, forcing a frantic rewrite of the 2024 budget. Then Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government collapsed in November 2024 over disagreement with a coalition party, the pro-business Free Democrats, over spending and the debt brake. What does it mean for Europes defense buildup and efforts to support Ukraine? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reformed debt brake would remove the constitutional ceiling when it comes to defense spending. That would support efforts to build up Germanys own defenses and its ability to further support Ukraine. Germany is already a leading backer of Ukraine, sending 60 Leopard tanks and 175 Marder infantry fighting vehicles as well as 27 air defense systems, including three of its U.S.-made Patriot missile batteries. The extra room for defence spending sends a clear signal to Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as well as to Germanys European friends that Germany is serious about defending itself and helping Ukraine, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank. Germany is finally taking on the leadership role which, given its size and its fiscal space, it should have assumed years ago. What exactly did Germany's political parties decide? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leaders of the conservative Union bloc agreed with the center-left Social Democrats to exempt military spending over 1% of GDP from the debt limit, as well as a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund for civil and disaster protection, transport infrastructure, hospitals, energy infrastructure, education, scientific research and digitization. Economists estimate that the measure, if passed, could enable a trillion euros in new borrowing and spending over a decade. The agreement came during talks aimed at forming a coalition government between the two parties. It was a sharp turnaround for Friedrich Merz, who as Union leader is the likely next chancellor after his party came in first in national elections on Feb. 23. His party program rejected changes to the debt brake, though he had indicated he might be open to negotiation on that point. The move follows the old political principle: if the facts change, I change my mind, said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement reflects both long-term strains on the debt brake, and the sudden recent shift in U.S. security policy under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has demanded that Europe do more for own security, disrupting the post-World War II transatlantic alliance under which Europe looked to the U.S. as an ultimate security guarantor. Trump's public disparagement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine have shocked European governments into facing the need for vastly more defense spending to fill the gap left by a U.S. seen as no longer committed to Europe's security. Germany only met the NATO requirement to spend 2% of GDP on defense through a 100 billion-euro special fund exempted from the debt brake in 2022 - but that fund will run out in 2027. Why did the parties act now? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The parties plan to rush the changes through the lame duck parliament next week. That's because mainstream parties have the needed two-thirds majority in the old parliament - but will lose that in the new parliament due to electoral gains by the far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left The Left party who oppose the changes. The measure would still need votes in the outgoing parliament from the environmentalist Greens, who weren't part of the coalition talks. What does it mean for the German economy? Economists say the looser debt brake could help Germany emerge from five years of economic stagnation by increasing spending on things that promote economic activity over the long term. Skimping on infrastructure spending has been blamed for trains that don't run on time due to endless track repairs, crumbling bridges, declining educational achievement levels, and lagging adoption of renewable energy infrastructure and digital technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The morning after the announcement, economists started tearing up old growth forecasts and raising their outlook. Morgan Stanley saw the possibility of 0.2% more GDP growth this year and 0.7% more next year. That would be welcome in an economy that shrank for the past two years. Everything you thought you knew about Germanys economic prospects three months ago, or even three weeks ago, should be ripped up, said Jim Reid, research strategist at Deutsche Bank. This is game-changing if it goes through. The step is a sea change in German policy, said economist Schmieding. The infrastructure fund signals that the new government will seriously tackle key domestic deficiencies, Schmieding said. I look forward to the day in the probably still somewhat distant German producers are free to export pasteurized milk and milk products to China following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease if they come from outside restricted areas, Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir said on Wednesday. "With China, we have brought one of the largest and most important markets for our dairy products back on board," Ozdemir added. He called the agreement with China a breakthrough and said it will help many companies to gradually return to normal operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the first time in more than 35 years, a foot-and-mouth outbreak erupted in Germany in early January, centred on the eastern state of Brandenburg. Some non-EU countries responded by imposing bans on meat and milk imports from the whole of Germany. In the EU, however, the principle of regionalization applies products from outside the protection zone around the affected farm can be traded normally. On the basis of this regionalization, a new version of a veterinary certificate has now been agreed in negotiations with China, the ministry announced. The Chinese main customs office is therefore now excluding heat-treated milk and milk products from the trade ban. About a quarter of German milk exports go to China. The News Germanys likely next chancellor pledged to significantly increase the countrys defense and infrastructure spending, signaling a major shift in Berlins borrowing rules that could put pressure on other European Union countries to ramp up military spending across the bloc. Friedrich Merz, whose center-right party won last months general election, announced a deal with his likely coalition partners to relax Berlins stringent borrowing rules to fund the investment. SIGNALS A big change for Germany, and for Merz Sources: Financial Times, Reuters, Handelsblatt Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merzs announcement marked a stunning shift in Germanys traditionally conservative stance on fiscal stimulus, The Financial Times wrote. While analysts have long urged Berlin to rethink its strict debt rules, that Merz who campaigned as a fiscal conservative has made this choice represents a dizzying about-face, a Handelsblatt columnist wrote. Deutsche Bank economists characterized the deal as one of the most historic paradigm shifts in German postwar history, while investors seemed wary: The yield on German 10-year bonds jumped the most since 2020 on the news. Germany challenges other EU countries to boost defense spending Sources: Bloomberg, Kiel Institute The agreement by Germanys prospective coalition partners throws down a challenge to the EUs other 26 members, Bloomberg wrote. The bloc, which is due to gather again on Thursday to discuss Ukraine and European security, has already ramped up efforts in light of Washingtons retreat: On Tuesday, the European Commission president unveiled a 800 billion plan to rearm Europe, hours after US President Donald Trump froze military aid to Ukraine. To accelerate those efforts, Europe could better finance its defense spending through more borrowing, the Kiel Institute, a German think tank, argued in a recent report: Europes security should not be put at risk because of fiscal rules. Merz faces an uphill battle to get the deal passed Sources: Le Monde, Chatham House, Reuters It remains unclear if Merzs proposed debt brake deal will win the two-thirds majority in Germanys Bundestag required to pass. Merz will have to find a broad compromise far beyond the potential coalition with the SPD [the center-left party led by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz], UK-based think tank Chatham House wrote. Crucially, the Greens have declined to pledge their support, and have questioned why climate-friendly policies are not included. The clock is ticking: At the end of the month, the new parliament will convene in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the far-left Die Linke will together be able to veto the sweeping changes Merz has proposed, Le Monde wrote. If Russian advances in Ukraine trigger a new exodus of refugees to the European Union, the EU must create a mechanism for fairly distributing the burden among member countries, Germany's interior minister argued on Thursday. Nancy Faeser, speaking at a gathering of EU interior ministers in Brussels, warned that further escalation in the war by Russia, combined with the possibility that US President Donald Trump could continue to pull aid from Ukraine, could result in a deterioration of conditions in the embattled country. In the case of a new wave of Ukrainian refugees, Faeser said it would be "absolutely clear" that a "mandatory and binding distribution" of Ukrainian refugees was needed "according to a fair mechanism throughout the EU." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The burden of hosting Ukrainian refugees has currently largely fallen on Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, Faeser noted. Germany alone has taken in more than 1 million Ukrainian citizens. Under a special directive, refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine do not have to apply for asylum but are automatically accepted. Millions of Ukrainians fled from Russian troops and airstrikes after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Faeser said she does not expect such a scenario to unfold, and emphasized that she was only raising the possible scenario in Brussels. In response to a question on the topic, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said that his country was among those that had taken in more refugees per capita than many others in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Austria has made its contribution here," said Karner. Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell said that there would hopefully be a solution to the war in Ukraine. However, EU countries must also make preparations for this contingency. "If such a situation arises, all member states must of course take their share of responsibility," said Forssell. Here I am, then. I have come home. So said Pope John Paul II after landing in Warsaw in 1983, bending to kiss the soil of his native country. The mood was patriotic and defiant. Poland for the Poles! came the shouts from the crowdunion men, priests, fathers and their sons. We are the real Poland! The pope continued: I consider it my duty to be with my fellow countrymen in this sublime and at the same time difficult moment. The demonstrators unfurled banners advertising the Solidarity movement and chanted the name of its leader, Lech Waesa. The 81-year-old Waesa, one of the great heroes of the Cold War, is still very much with us, and still engaged in public affairs. Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world, he said earlier this week. We do not understand how the leader of a country that is a symbol of the free world cannot see this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waesa is not the only figure from that day who remains part of our public life. He and other supporters of Polish sovereignty, in Poland and around the world, were being spied on by the KGBs foreign-operations directorate, whose roster of murderers, torturers, and villains included Vladimir Putin. The KGBs mission was to do in Poland what it had done in Czechoslovakia in the 1960ssuppress the movement for liberty and sovereignty. The ghost of the KGB is now working toward that end in Ukraine. Cold War fantasies such as The Manchurian Candidate imagined it would take some incredible and complicated scheme to put a man willing to do the bidding of the KGB and its analogues and epigones into Washingtons halls of power. In reality, all it took was a man whose values align with those of the KGB rather than with those of the Founding Fathers. Some of my friends believe that there is some dark backstory to Donald Trump worthy of a 1970s political thriller: some kompromat, some financial leverage, something. That could be the case, but I would not be surprised that when the history of our time is writtenif the history of our time is permitted to be writtenwhat we will learn is that Trump did Moscows bidding because he prefers the politics of Putin to those of, say, Dwight Eisenhower, while sycophants such as J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz did Moscows bidding on behalf of Trump because they preferred being on the inside to being on the outside. (These are unhappy men: To live in fear of being on the outside looking in is to deny oneself the rarefied pleasurethe great genuine joyof being on the outside looking out.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What was it that had the pope and his fellow Poles ready to take on Moscow? And what kind of enemy was the regime Putin served? Ask a statistician, in this case R.J. Rummel of the University of Hawaii, who wrote a considerable book on Moscows democide, as he called it. Probably 61,911,000 people, 54,769,000 of them citizens, have been murdered by the Communist Partythe governmentof the Soviet Union. This is about 178 people for each letter, comma, period, digit, and other characters in this book. Old and young, healthy and sick, men and women, and even infants and infirm, were killed in cold blood. They were not combatants in civil war or rebellions, they were not criminals. Indeed, nearly all were guilty of nothing. Some were from the wrong classbourgeoisie, land owners, aristocrats, kulaks. Some were from the wrong nation or raceUkrainians, Black Sea Greeks, Kalmyks, Volga Germans. Some were from the wrong political factionTrotskyites, Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries. Or some were just their sons and daughters, wives and husbands, or mothers and fathers. And some were those occupied by the Red ArmyBalts, Germans, Poles, Hungarians, Rumanians. Then some were simply in the way of social progress, like the mass of peasants or religious believers. Or some were eliminated because of their potential opposition, such as writers, teachers, churchmen; or the military high command; or even high and low Communist Party members themselves. An infant born in 1917 had a good chance of being killed by the Party sometime in his future. A more precise statement of this is given by the average of the democide rates for each period, weighted by the number of years involved. Focusing on the most-probable mid-risk of .45 percent, throughout Soviet history, including the relatively safe years after the 1950s, the odds of the average citizen being killed by his own government has been about 45 to 10,000; or to turn this around, 222 to 1 of surviving terror, deportations, the camps, or an intentional famine. As pointed out in the text, this is almost twenty times the risk of an American dying in a vehicular accident. Among the great holocausts of the 20th century, the German one stands out for its particular horrors, the Chinese one for the scale of its enormity, and the Russian oneah, but which Russian one? Vladimir Putins employers and patrons had a long time to do their murdering, from the gulag to the Lubyanka. The one most relevant to todays headlines is the one inflicted on Ukraine in the 1930s, the Holodomor, when Moscow engineered the intentional deaths by famine of as many as 5 million people in order to crush the Ukrainian independence movement. Putin today bombs maternity hospitals to crush the spiritand the factof Ukrainian independence. Mass graves, torture, murderthis isnt a new story for Russians in Ukraine. Peace, say the ladies and gentlemen over at Fox News. Thats what this is all about, we are to believe: peace. Lets not get all judgmental about who murdered whom. There is not much one can say in defense of the man, but Roger Ailes was at least more straightforward than the current Fox News brass when it came to forcing employees to assume undignified positions as the price of career advancement. Back to 1983 for a moment: The pope said a kiss placed on the soil of Poland is like a kiss placed on the hands of a mother, adding the nation has suffered much and therefore has a right to a special love. Ukraine has suffered much at the hands of the same peopleand in the case of KGB veteran Vladimir Putin, literally the same people. And, under the current American dispensation, it has a right to be stripped of its natural resources, apparently, not to mention its sovereignty, and handed over, once again, to domination by the people who have killed millions of Ukrainians and who will, with the tacit consent of these United States, kill many more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Poles were fortunate to have a pope who could say: Here I am, then. I have come home. It is good to have one of your own in a high place. But Ronald Reagan wasnt Polish. Margaret Thatcher wasnt Polish. William F. Buckley Jr. wasnt Polish. You didnt have to be Polish to understand what was happening in 1983. You dont have to be Ukrainian to understand what is happening today. And though a lot of these proud American patriots turn out to be on the Kremlins payroll, that doesnt explain the bigger story. Pro-Russian Republicans are pro-Russian because they are pro-Russian. You dont have to be Russian, or a covert Russian asset, to prefer Moscows way of doing things. You dont have to be an actual literal idiot to be a useful idiot in the Cold War sense, though it helps. You just have to choose to side with the Kremlin. Trump and Vance have chosen, Pete Hegseth and Tucker Carlson have chosen, and Republicans have chosen to go along with them. Reagan spoke of a time for choosing. Now is such a time. It always is. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. President Donald Trump mocked Democrats who sat in front of him Tuesday night, needling them with a grin, nothing I can say or do to make them happy. Democrats mostly responded with silent protest wearing pink, waving placards emblazoned with FALSE and Save Medicaid. More than a dozen walked out of his speech early, some revealing shirts that said No Kings Live Here. The shambolic scene was emblematic of Democrats' larger problem after facing a brutal election cycle that locked them out of power as they struggled to communicate in a vastly fragmented media environment. Though the official Democratic response, delivered by Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, got carried on major networks, much of what Democrats had to say didn't play out on voters TVs. We're all trying to get up to speed as fast as possible to take this fight right to Republicans, said Shasti Conrad, associate Democratic National Committee chair, in an interview with POLITICO after the speech. But there's a little bit of a delay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Absent a sharper, in-the-room response, frustrated Democrats vented online, complaining that the Democrats signs were giving bingo and not landing, as former Joe Biden spokesperson Symone Sanders Townsend put it on X. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton added: why did democrats go to this tbh, while late-night host Stephen Colbert mocked Democrats for their signs, making one of his own that said: Try doing something. Democrats protest was very silly, and unserious, but I cant help but feel some level of empathy for them, said a Democratic strategist granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. Im sure they feel like they have to do something, anything, [but] that wasnt it. Outside the chamber, Democrats sharpened their political attacks on Trump. Some Democratic lawmakers headed to the partys influencer spin room, where they invited 30 progressive-aligned social media influencers, like Brian Tyler Cohen and Liz Plank, to Capitol Hill. Social media creators pumped out political content before, during and after Trumps speech a first-of-its-kind effort for the party during such an address. Those videos started to pop on social media, starting with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who told YouTuber Adam Mockler inside the spin room: Were fighting with Greenland, were fighting with Canada, were fighting with Mexico yet were in love with Putin? What is happening? This is not America. This is a terrible nightmare. Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A House Democratic aide, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly, acknowledged that a key learning from the 2024 loss was that Democrats have a lot more work to do to reach people online. Local TV is still really important, but it has to be a both-and strategy, the aide added. Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), offered a pre-buttal to Trumps speech in a series of direct-to-camera videos, featuring senators using the same shit that aint true script. Republicans mocked Democrats for the videos hokeyness, including Elon Musk and Libs of TikTok, but they also elevated the videos on their own social media channels. Booker argued in an interview with Puck that the Republican retweets drew attention to our message today, which shows that we can do their playbook just as well, which is to use our ecosystem of connected progressive voices to get a single message out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conrad, who said she did an Instagram live earlier in the day to prebut Trumps speech, added she was confident Democrats understand the assignment and are ready to both go to the outlets that are already there, but also to build our own. Trump, for his part, did offer up a series of clippable moments for Democrats from his speech that could be used in future campaign ads and social media posts. Democrats seized on Trumps acknowledgment that there will be a little disturbance due to his tariffs levied on Canada, Mexico and China. There will be a little disturbance is a genuinely Soviet way to describe people not being able to afford their groceries, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) posted on X. Some Democrats, including those eyeing possible 2026 congressional bids and 2028 presidential runs, looked for non-traditional ways to respond. Among them: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who opted to deliver his first TV interview following Trumps inauguration on Colberts show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buttigieg criticized Trump on his preelection pledge to lower grocery prices. The biggest issue on people's minds the affordability of everyday life is not something that got more than a few seconds of mention in his speech, Buttigieg told Colbert. He added, If eggs are $10 and you're a billionaire, that's a little disturbance for you, but not for most people. Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who is like Buttigieg weighing a Senate bid to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, took to Instagram to answer questions. People are sick and tired of performative nonsense, McMorrow told POLITICO. They dont want to see their elected officials try to be cute or clever. People are anxious and scared and angry and energized and want to see substance and clear direction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McMorrow added, Democrats need to think about how we actually cut through not just adding to the noise." Amid that noise, Democrats appeared to plead with Americans to listen to them. Pick just one issue youre passionate about and engage. And doom scrolling doesnt count. Join a group that cares about your issue and act. And if you cant find one, start one, Slotkin said. She said, Dont tune out. (Photo by Getty Images) The parents of a child that the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services removed because of a suicide risk and gender identity filed a motion in court on Wednesday, claiming that the state is continuing to withhold information about their case while turning over the same information to a state lawmaker. Todd and Krista Kolstad are asking a Lewis and Clark County District judge to issue a write of mandate that would compel the department to turn over all documents related to their childs case, including those listed on a six-page log that describes the information the state is withholding. They claim the documents listed on that document were given to a Billings legislator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case started nearly two years ago when the teenage child of the Kolstads had threatened suicide, after the Kolstads refused to acknowledge the childs struggle with gender dysphoria. They have maintained that their religion considers transgenderism a sin. The child was removed by Child and Family Services and was hospitalized until a bed became available at an inpatient psychiatric unit. Originally, the plan was for the Kolstads child to be put in a facility in Montana, but when a bed opened in Wyoming, officials placed the child there over the Kolstads objections. The parents believed that Wyoming would begin gender-affirming care for the child, whereas Montana would not without parental permission. The legal battle that has ensued involves obtaining information about the Gianforte administrations decision to remove the child, which at one point was being reviewed by Montana Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras herself an attorney. The fight has also involved state lawmakers. In court documents, both Rep. William Mercer, R-Billings, and Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, have asked for documents related to the case, under a section of Montana law that allows lawmakers access to confidential documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the new court filing, the Kolstads attorney, Matthew Monforton, said that documents that had been provided to the lawmakers involving their childs case were denied to them. In a response document sent on Feb. 15, Montana DPHHS said those documents, including text messages and group chats, were released to lawmakers under a different section of state law than what is granted to the Kolstads as parents. The Montana DPHHS provided a six-page privilege log which is a spreadsheet document that describes broadly the documents that the state is withholding and a brief reason for why theyre being withheld. The brief motion filed on Wednesday asks the court to order those documents be released to the Kolstads, and notes that those documents were released to Mercer, according to the court filing. According to the filing, the Kolstads did receive 2,400 pages of documents related to their childs case last month. 250304 Complaint Records By Ross Kerber (Reuters) - Top mutual fund firm Vanguard has resumed stewardship meetings with portfolio companies after reviewing new guidance from securities regulators, a document seen on Monday by Reuters shows. Vanguard's move follows a similar step by rival BlackRock last month. Both companies had paused meetings while taking stock of materials posted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that could require more disclosures from fund firms when they pressure portfolio companies over certain environmental, social or governance (ESG) matters. The document seen by Reuters summarizes a message that Vanguard representatives are sharing with portfolio companies, aiming to underscore the passive design of its funds. It states that considering the new SEC guidance, "and to ensure that companies understand that we invest and engage for investment purposes only, we are taking some steps to further clarify communications regarding our engagements with portfolio companies." Among other things, Vanguard will make proactive statements at the start of each meeting about the funds' passivity, the document states. "Vanguard's Investment Stewardship team will continue to engage with companies with a singular focus on safeguarding and promoting long-term investment returns at the companies in which our funds invest," it states. A Vanguard spokesman declined to elaborate on the material. (Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Nia Williams) Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told four Democratic mayors before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that she would criminally refer them to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for upholding sanctuary city policies on Wednesday. To me after this line of questioning, its very clear that these policies that you have all implicated are active and alive and well in your cities are in direct violation with Title 8, U.S.C. 1324 and is a federal offense, Luna said, referring to a federal law that prohibits bringing in and harboring migrants without legal status. You all speak about a broken immigration system and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process, she continued. I do not think you guys are bad people but I think you are ideologically misled which is why, unfortunately based on your responses, Im going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation, and as soon as I leave here, these will be going over to [Attorney General] Pam Bondi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you guys continue doing what youre doing, youre not going to help anyone, she said, adding that she was not doing this to bully the mayors, but believed the policies were hurting the American people. A criminal referral is a formal notice to the DOJ that a lawmaker or committee believes criminal conduct may have taken place, but it does not mean the DOJ will open an investigation. Luna made the remarks at a House Oversight Committee hearing featuring Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D). All four cities are considered sanctuary cities. The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to dealing with sanctuary cities, which, according to Britannica, generally refer to municipalities that decline to cooperate completely with federal detention requests related to undocumented immigrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi has already sued Chicago, alleging the city has obstructed the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. Additionally, Bondi issued a memo last month saying sanctuary cities will not have access to federal funding from the DOJ. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. KANSAS Governor Laura Kelly appoints a southeast Kansas woman to the Kansas Court of Appeals. Judge Lori Bolton Fleming has served as the chief judge of the 11th Judicial District since 2021, overseeing five courthouses in Cherokee, Labette, and Crawford counties. She created the districts first recovery court, for which she serves as administrator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolton Fleming has previously been invited to hear and decide cases with the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court, rendering 38 opinions as an appellate judge. Her appointment will now go to the Kansas Senate. If confirmed, she will fill the vacancy left by retiring Judge Henry Green Jr. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) Governor Henry McMaster showed support Wednesday for a comprehensive tort reform bill currently working its way through the South Carolina legislature. The bill, S. 244, seeks to change how liability is determined and damages are awarded in civil lawsuits. Current state law allows for joint and several liability, meaning defendants who are found more than 50% at fault can be held responsible for paying the full amount of a victims damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those favoring reform, including McMaster, argue the system as it is now is unfair, particularly to small businesses that could be hit with crippling verdicts. Today, individuals and businesses both large and small are being unduly penalized for the actions of others too often through crippling financial judgement and skyrocketing insurance premiums, McMaster said during a March 5 press conference at the State House. This cannot be allowed to continue. Restaurant and bar owners began advocating for a change several years ago after a 2017 law changed requirements for establishments that serve alcohol past 5 p.m. The change required those businesses to carry a liquor liability insurance policy with total coverage of at least $1 million. Those who supported the 2017 law said it would ensure that victims of alcohol-related incidents receive proper compensation. However, many in the industry say it led to some insurance companies pulling out of the state and raising rates ultimately causing closures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McMaster argued that the current legal framework for civil lawsuits has created uncertainty, making the state less economically competitive than its neighbors. Uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity, he said. Those opposing the proposed reform some of whom waved signs and stickers criticizing the legislation as McMaster and others spoke suggested it could prevent injured individuals from receiving adequate compensation. They also argued that the bill in its current form is too friendly to insurance companies. But Senate President Thomas Alexander (R-Oconee) asserted that fairness is one of the goals behind the reform push. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tort reform is not about politics, he said. It is indeed about fairness. It is about ensuring that our legal system works as intended, not as a weapon but as a tool for justice. The debate over the issue has heated up in recent weeks, spilling over onto social media with some taking direct aim at the bills primary sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey. Massey pointed out Wednesday that South Carolina has among the highest liability insurance rates in the southeast across the board, including for the auto, contracting, medical, and restaurant industries, among others. There are some here who would tell you that the reason those rates are higher is because of insurance greed, he said. As if insurance companies dont make money in North Carolina and Georgia and Florida and Tennessee and Alabama. Surely they do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A broken civil justice system is actually to blame, Massey offered. It is not broken for insurance companies; it is broken for the people in the State House lobby today, he continued. Debate on the bill is expected Wednesday in the Senate and could last several more days. I ask the General Assembly to find a commonsense solution, McMaster said Wednesday, echoing a call from his Jan. 29 annual address. One that will provide accountability, certainty, and full and just compensation but without damaging our economy, and one that I can sign into law the minute it arrives at my desk. You can watch the full press conference in the player below: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This story is developing and will be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Demands for a deadline on the protracted sale of The Telegraph have been rejected by ministers a year after an attempted Abu Dhabi takeover was effectively blocked by Parliament. Baroness Twycross, a culture minister, told peers that RedBird IMI, a fund bankrolled by the UAE royal family, continued to have a clear intention to sell up as soon as possible. Foreign state ownership of newspapers was banned outright last year following a cross-party outcry, with the introduction of new powers that allow Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, to force a sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RedBird IMI does not control The Telegraph but is the owner of debt secured against it. It had hoped to convert the lending, made to the Barclay family to pay off their overdue borrowing from Lloyds Banking Group, into outright ownership. Lady Twycross declined to discuss the Governments position, citing its quasi-judicial role that could make decisions vulnerable to legal challenge, but said: The Telegraph has a long and proud tradition as a valued national newspaper, and the Government is committed to seeing that continue and for the newspaper to thrive. Culture minister Baroness Twycross says the Government is committed to seeing The Telegraph thrive - Paul Grover the Telegraph Baroness Stowell, a Conservative peer, said: Its a year since this House voted to put beyond doubt the possibility of a foreign government or foreign power owning a British newspaper. Yet 12 months on, ownership of The Telegraph remains unresolved. The newspaper does continue to function, and all credit to those involved, but the situation is unsustainable, because the business needs the freedom to move on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So I hear what the noble lady, the minister, has just said, but after all this time, when there is no sign of a deal. How long does the Government intend to wait before using its powers to intervene and force a sale, however regrettable such an intervention would be? She was backed by fellow Tory Lord Forsyth, who urged Lady Twycross to send a ... message to the Secretary of State that she needs to get on with this, and might want to involve the Competition and Markets Authority in bringing it to a conclusion. Lady Twycross replied: The Government hasnt issued a foreign state influence notice, because RedBird IMI has signalled its intention to sell in compliance with the new law prohibiting foreign state ownership in newspapers. So the Government is allowing them to conduct the sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport meets regularly with representatives from the parties and is monitoring this closely, but it is clear that it is the clear intention of the parties to sell as soon as possible. RedBird IMI ran an auction which concluded in mid-October but has not resulted in a transaction. The winning bid, led by the US news publisher Dovid Efune, has struggled to raise finance at the price of around 550m demanded by RedBird IMI to recoup its outlay. US news publisher Dovid Efune has struggled to raise the amount demanded by RedBird IMI - Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan Peers also expressed frustration at the Governments failure to introduce promised secondary legislation that would create limited exceptions to the ban on foreign state ownership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A consultation on proposals to allow sovereign wealth funds to hold small minority stakes, for instance in publicly traded news publishers such as Rupert Murdochs News Corp, closed in early July. Lady Twycross blamed the delay in part on the 2024 general election, and said: Ministers do recognise, however, the high importance of the issue that foreign states should not be allowed to influence the policy of UK newspapers. But there should be a balance with that to encourage investment into the press sector. Therefore, we are carefully considering responses to the consultation. Be in no doubt this is on the mind of the Secretary of State. She is not delaying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to block RedBird IMIs takeover caused significant diplomatic tensions between Britain and the United Arab Emirates, a major investor in UK infrastructure. Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Abu Dhabi in December for talks with Emirati leaders, but Lady Twycross told the House of Lords she was not clear whether this particular issue was raised. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. MARCY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) The governor says an inmates death at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County appears to be the result of extremely disturbing conduct. The governor says, as of Tuesday, March 4, 15 prison workers have been suspended in connection with the death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi. On Monday, 11 workers had been suspended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not share the circumstances around Nantwis death, but other inmates at the prison told the New York Times that he was beaten. The medical examiner will be tasked with determining his cause of death. The State Attorney Generals Office is conducting a preliminary review, and New York State Police are investigating the mans death, as is routine when an inmates death appears to be from other than natural causes or known medical conditions. Nantwi was serving a five-year sentence for a weapons-related conviction in the Bronx, prison records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mid-State Correctional Facility is a three-minute drive from Marcy Correctional Facility, where inmate Robert Brooks was killed in December. Full Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul At my direction, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has placed 15 individuals on leave in connection with the death of Messiah Nantwi, a 22-year-old individual incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility. While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, early reports point to extremely disturbing conduct leading to Mr. Nantwis death and I am committed to accountability for all involved. The people of New York extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Nantwis family and loved ones. I am grateful to Commissioner Martuscello and DOCCS leadership for taking swift action to respond to this incident. However, this tragedy is a reminder of the need for real systemic change within our correctional system beginning with the policies I implemented following the murder of Robert Brooks, such as mandating the use of body-worn cameras, expanding whistleblower hotlines and bringing in outside experts for a systemwide culture review. As Ive said for weeks, my top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers involved in the correctional system, from civilian employees to National Guard to Correction Officers to incarcerated individuals. The ongoing illegal work stoppage is a significant safety risk, and I once again reiterate the need for Correction Officers to return to work. My Administration remains committed to working in good faith with Correction Officers to improve safety and working conditions within the correctional system, but we will not compromise on the need for responsible, law-abiding behavior by every single person who walks into a DOCCS facility. Governor Kathy Hochul (D) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. Gov. Wes Moore (D) during a hearing last month.(Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Gov. Wes Moore (D) made good on a promise to restore funding for the Developmental Disabilities Administration in a supplemental budget Tuesday, but those fund came at the expense of clean energy projects, state employee raises and other cuts. The $360 million budget also delays implementation, for another year, of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, which was part of the $117 million in cost reductions included in the package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The big winner in the shuffling of funds was the DDA, which Moores initial budget would have cut by $200 million by the end of this fiscal year. But an outcry from advocates rallying against his proposal led the administration to reverse course and scramble to find funds for the administration, which funds services for people with developmental disabilities. But even after all those cost cuts and fund shuffling, the supplemental budget does not address the more than $450 million cut to the DDA that is still scheduled for fiscal 2026. Were grateful that the governor issued the supplemental to address that (fiscal 2025), said Laura Howell, CEO with Maryland Association of Community Services. Obviously that doesnt help with the $457 million cost containment for FY 26. So thats still a big priority we need to work on. The supplemental budget is a regular part of the negotiation process to balance the states budget, and shuffles money around to adjust the governors budget after state analysts have combed through the details of the initial proposal. But this year, with the state facing estimated $3 billion budget shortfall, advocates, lobbyists and lawmakers are watching every dollar with a keen eye. Moore unveiled the supplemental budget days before the Board of Revenue Estimates is scheduled to deliver the final revenue projections lawmakers will use to guide budget deliberations. Multiple sources tell Maryland Matters the panel will announce that revenues are expected to be a total of up to $300 million less for the current fiscal year and fiscal 2026 combined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moores supplemental budget does not appear to address BREs expected announcement. The supplemental budget does include reductions to raises for some state workers. Administration officials said all 52,000 state employees will receive a 1% cost of living adjustment for fiscal 2026, but that only represented, union employees can qualify for merit-based wage increases or step increases in 2026. This policy change is expected to save the state $37 million, but means that some 12,000 employees would not be eligible for raises above teh standard 1% cost-of-living increase. State officials say that the ineligible workers are primarily managers, executives and special appointment personnel, along with some staff at certain agencies that are excluded from bargaining. Moores supplemental budget also lops off $80 million that from the $180 million that was originally planned for efforts to boost clean-energy projects across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That $180 million would have doubled this years allocation for the Strategic Energy Investment Fund. The lower $100 million investment would still be a $10 million increase from fiscal 2025. The remaining $80 million will be diverted to the general fund under the supplemental budget. The budget also shuffles funding for the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, which was supposed to begin collecting funds this year but will likely be delayed by 18 months amid the states challenging budget year. By delaying the FAMLI start date, the state will be able to save some $15 million in the next fiscal year that initially would have used to increase provider rates in anticipation of the increased medical needs available under the FAMLI program. The supplemental still adds $37 million to the FAMLI program in fiscal 2026 so the Department of Labor can continue to prepare for the program by its new proposed start date in January 2027. The supplemental budget taps into the local state income tax reserve, which administration plans to pay off in three or four years, to support the FAMLI funds. Most of the proposed cuts are in service of restoring money to the DDA, as Moores initial proposal to slash funding for the agency by $200 million in fiscal 2025 to counter unsustainable program growth, a move that has been widely unpopular. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The supplemental budget actually increases funds for the DDA, due to increasing costs at the agency. For fiscal 2025, the supplemental provides $143 million, and provides $154 million for fiscal 2026 in general funds which would then be boosted by federal match dollars. The supplemental budget assumes that Moores controversial proposal to reform the states income tax that would bring in around $65 million for the state, assuming it is approved by the legislature. Administration officials say those funds would help offset the funding for the DDA in fiscal 2025.. The initial proposed budget accidentally cut funding to the states Register of Wills offices through the proposed elimination of the states inheritance tax, the main source of funds those offices. But the supplemental budget now funds the states registers of wills by $15 million next fiscal year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The supplemental budget also carves $9 million to help brace for a surge in unemployment requests due to federal layoffs including $7 million just to ensure that there is enough staff to manage the anticipated increase in requests. In a similar vein, the supplemental calls for $2 million toward a recently announced program to help expedite the hiring of laid-off federal employees into vacant state positions. The administration said it continues to work with providers, advocates and lawmakers on proposed alternatives to the fiscal 2026 cuts that are still on the table, which include reductions in certain wage bonuses for providers and personal staff among other measures. Our advocacy is far from done, Howell said. Mar. 4GRAND FORKS The Grand Forks Police Department responded to roughly one call for service per resident of the city last year, an 11.2% increase from 2023, according to the PD's recently released annual report. "Our overall calls for service are up to 59,000 and some change," GFPD Lt. Andrew Stein told the Herald. "That's the most that I've seen in my tenure here." The United States Census Bureau estimated Grand Forks had nearly 59,000 residents in 2023. With 59,047 calls for service in 2024, that's approximately one call per resident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were 53,054 calls for service the previous year, according to the annual report, which was shared with the media Monday, March 3. Stein believes the increase in calls likely can be attributed to a number of factors, such as a growing population and increased willingness to reach out to law enforcement. Breaking the numbers down, traffic stops in particular stick out, he said. These climbed from 10,297 to 14,796 a 43.6% increase. One likely reason was that the GFPD was mostly fully staffed throughout the year, Stein said. Perhaps more notably, he added, the agency was proactive and engaged in power shift coverage from noon to 10 p.m. daily, meaning there were more officers on duty and therefore able to be out patrolling for violations, rather than just responding when called. That time period is the busiest for motorists, so some of the main focuses of the power shift are traffic enforcement and safety. The GFPD also participated in a number of traffic campaigns through the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "2024 was an active year for us, in that arena," Stein said. These campaigns include speeding and DUI enforcement, both of which had significant citation increases from 2023 to 2024. There were 1,872 speeding citations, a 100.4% increase from the 934 in 2023. DUI/APC citations increased by 64.1%, from 312 to 512. Citations for open alcohol containers also had a notable increase, from 38 to 55 (44.7%.) Other traffic citations that saw increases within the last year include driving under suspension or revocation; stop, yield or other traffic signal violations; and lack of seat belt or proper child restraints. Of note, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement the state's seat belt law changed halfway through 2023, allowing for more strict enforcement. "Even outside of the traffic stop category, most of the categories that we're tracking are up," Stein said. "I would say the majority are up, versus being down or staying the same." The city of Grand Forks, along with its partnering agencies, issued a total of 16,192 parking tickets last year, a 12.6% increase from 2023, when there were 14,374 issued. Tickets are split into five categories. The vast majority (68%) occur at locations where there's street maintenance from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think people just don't really understand, sometimes, what that schedule looks like," Stein said. A schedule explaining when roads are due for maintenance can be found on the city website. Some increases in the report seem significant, but might not be so much when the larger trend is taken into account. For example, murder went up by 200%. There was one murder in 2023 and three in 2024; throughout the past 10 years, there have been between zero and three each year. One change that the agency sees as an accomplishment is the 10.2% decline in criminal mischief, which includes any kind of vandalism. There were 508 instances of the crime in 2023, and 456 in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was good to see that down," Stein said. "I guess I would attribute that to the officers being out in their areas, knowing their areas and just being that presence out there." Other contributing factors could be highly-publicized cases of criminal mischief that had serious consequences, such as the case of a Grand Forks tire slasher Matthew Vincent Morris who was sentenced to two years in prison for damaging more than 80 tires during a one-night spree. Also, there are cameras everywhere, Stein said. Among the first things detectives, or even initial responding units, look for when investigating crimes of vandalism is, could any cameras have caught the perpetrator on video? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ring camera footage was one of the first pieces of evidence that led police to Morris, according to court documents filed in his case. "It's been our experience that, generally, (so many people having cameras on their properties) does make the entire process a little bit easier," Stein said. "Most people are very willing to give up that footage if it would help lead to a conclusion." Gas prices are expected to rise in certain states as early as Tuesday as Canadian crude product imports get hit with duties as part of President Donald Trump's tariff plan. The Trump administration implemented 25% tariffs against imports from Canada and Mexico, carving out an exception for Canadian oil products, which are levied at 10%. The US imports roughly 4 million barrels of oil a day from Canada. The majority is sent via pipelines to the Midwest, Rocky Mountains, and Great Lakes region. New England receives refined products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel directly from Canada, meaning fuel prices will likely increase in that region first. Prices in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire will start rising as early as Tuesday to sit anywhere between $0.20 and $0.40 per gallon higher by mid-March, according to GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet "Thats only the impact from the tariffs," De Haan told Yahoo Finance, noting a yearly changeover to a more expensive summer blend could further impact prices. On Tuesday, the national average price for gasoline hovered around $3.10 per gallon, about the same price as a month ago and $0.25 less than exactly one year ago, according to AAA data. "I expect that many service stations will be raising their prices $0.15 to $0.25 per gallon," Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told Yahoo Finance. Price increases are already happening along the supply chain. Canada's largest refinery operator, Irving Oil, raised theirs at 12:01 am on Tuesday, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for OPIS, which tracks wholesale data. "They increased prices substantially by roughly the 10% amount of the tariffs," Kloza said. In the case of heavy crude oil imports, Goldman Sachs analysts expect that Canadian companies could partially absorb the duties, given their limited infrastructure for exporting to other markets. Canada's producers and US consumers will "share the bulk of the burden because already low Midwestern refinery margins would have limited room to fall further once the tariff is imposed," Daan Struyven, Goldman Sachs co-head of global commodities research, wrote in early February. In the medium term, the firm forecasts oil prices could fall because persistent broad tariffs would weigh on global growth and demand. That would affect the price of gas. On Tuesday oil futures dipped slightly to extend losses from the prior session after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it will restart some of its curbed production. A federal grand jury has indicted a Newton father for allegedly making repeated sexual contact with and inappropriately touching a 17-year-old passenger onboard a 2024 flight from Puerto Rico to Boston, the U.S. Attorney said. Jonathan Alan Lefman, 46, was indicted in Boston on one count of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement on Tuesday. Lefman was arrested on Feb. 7 on a criminal complaint and released on conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lefman was a passenger onboard a JetBlue flight flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Boston with his wife and four children on Aug. 30, 2024 when he began touching a 17-year-old girl seated directly in front of him, prosecutors allege. The U.S. Attorneys office released photographs of the alleged incident that the 17-year-old girl took with her cell phone on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that several times during the flight, and while on the ground waiting to deplane in Boston, Lefman allegedly engaged in abusive sexual contact with the minor victim. Lefman intentionally worked his hand in between and through the area between the back and bottom of the seat directly in front of him, where the minor victim was seated, and touched the minor victims buttocks without her permission, prosecutors said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least one time, the girl saw his reflection leaning between the seats in the seatback monitor in front of her. The girl was able to use her cell phone camera to take a video of Lefmans fingers protruding between the back and bottom of her airplane seat. According to court documents, after the girl exited the aircraft, while still on the jet bridge, she took a video of Lefman as he got off the airplane. After deplaning, the girls family member, who had been seated in a different row, reported Lefmans alleged conduct to a JetBlue supervisor and confronted Lefman, showing the video of his fingers to support her statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If convicted on the charge of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, Lefman faces a sentence of up to two years in prison, five years to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The mother of a Kansas woman found dead in a chest freezer buried in an Oklahoma cow pasture filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the five people charged in her murder, who include the grandmother of her daughters' children. Amanda Verner filed the 32-page lawsuit Monday, nearly a year after the bodies of her daughter, Veronica Butler, and another woman, Jilian Kelley, were discovered. The two women vanished in March 2024 after Butler, 27, went to pick up her two young children for a supervised visit. Kelley, 39, was approved by the court to accompany Butler on the visits. Jilian Kelley; Veronica Butler. In April, their bodies were found in a freezer that had been buried in a roughly 12-foot hole filled with dirt, cement, rocks and equipment, the lawsuit says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tifany Adams, the grandmother of Butler's children, and her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, along with Paul Grice, Cora Twombly and Cole Earl Twombly, were arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and kidnapping. The suit alleges that Adams plotted to kill Butler to gain "control" of Butler's children and enlisted Cullum, Grice and the Twomblys to help her. The alleged murder plot stemmed from a bitter custody battle involving Butler and Adams' son. (The son was at a rehab facility at the time of the murders and has not been charged in connection with the case.) Butler was awarded full custody of her children in 2021. She lost custody the next year after Adams falsely accused a relative of Butler's of sexually assaulting the children, the lawsuit alleges. Adams is also accused in the lawsuit of falsifying records that helped her son get full custody of the children. Butler was awarded limited supervised visitation. "At some point Adams unilaterally took custody of the children from her son," the suit says. "Adams then intervened in the custody dispute ... in an attempt to gain control over the children." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suit alleges that in February 2024, Adams began threatening the judge handling the custody case. Things took a turn when the court learned that Adams was alleged to have falsified records that led to her sons being granted custody. The suit says custody of the children was most likely going to be awarded back to Butler when she was killed. The lawsuit alleges Adams bought five stun guns and three prepaid phones that she gave to the defendants. On March 29, Adams contacted Butler so she could pick up her children, it says. Butler and Kelley left Kansas the next day to meet Adams, it says. The lawsuit alleges that Cole and Cora Twombly used their vehicle to "block" the road to divert Butler and Kelley to where Adams and Cullum were waiting to "ambush them." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Butler and Kelley were hit with stun guns, abducted and taken to the cow pasture, the suit says. A medical examiner's report said Butler had been stabbed 30 times. The lawsuit seeks damages for medical and burial expenses and mental pain and anguish. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com RUSSELL, Kan. (KSNW) A grant from a northwest Kansas foundation will help Russell firefighters avoid exposure to health hazards while on the job. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation has awarded the Russell Fire Department a $5,000 grant to purchase a FIT testing machine. The machine will ensure every firefighter in the department has a properly fitting respirator. With every emergency they respond to, firefighters face a risk of exposure to hazardous materials, including carcinogens that cause cancer. Even the most minor leak can allow dangerous particles to enter their body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cancer is responsible for 66% of in-line-of-duty deaths of firefighters. Modern furniture, homes, and buildings contain more synthetic materials; when they burn, they can release hundreds of known carcinogens, putting firefighters at greater risk of developing cancer than the general population. Search underway for missing elderly man in southeast Kansas Ensuring firefighters have the proper equipment to limit their exposure can help reduce cancer rates among firefighters. FIT machines can measure the seal between the respirator and a firefighters face to detect any gaps or leaks that could put them at risk. The Russell Fire Department says the machine will help ensure every new recruit receives a proper fit and will speed up the departments annual required testing of current firefighters. Founded in 1965, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, based in Logan, is a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of the people living in 26 counties in northwest Kansas. The estate of Dane G. Hansen funds the foundation to honor the Logan native, an entrepreneur who operated numerous businesses, including retail, lumber, road and bridge construction, and oil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more about the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) Runners and walkers will lace up for a festive start to St. Patricks Day celebrations as the Greater Johnstown Community YMCA hosts its second annual Shamrock Shake 5K on March 8. Held inside The Galleria, the event will feature a 5K race for both runners and walkers, a costume contest, and live music from the Irish Pretenders. Prizes will be awarded to the top male and female finishers in each age division. Check-in begins at 7 a.m., with the race kicking off at 8 a.m. Participants are encouraged to arrive through the AAA entrance on the lower level. Volunteers and staff will also be decorating the venue on March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organized by the YMCA and Randys BiLo, the event aims to bring the community together through fitness and festive fun. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. For more information, contact the Greater Johnstown Community YMCA at 814-535-8381 or email khoffman@johnstownpaymca.org. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's main opposition will submit a censure motion against the centre-right government following mass protests over a 2023 deadly train crash last week, its leader said on Wednesday. The motion which will be submitted by the Socialist PASOK party is backed by other opposition parties. They say that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government has lost its popular mandate and accuse it of failing to assume responsibility over the train crash and fix safety gaps that helped cause the country's worst rail disaster. The government, with 156 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament, is expected to survive the motion. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou) By Yannis Souliotis ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece's top court has ordered the release of Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz, setting aside a lower court ruling for his extradition to Romania on an arrest warrant, his lawyer and a source with knowledge of the case told Reuters on Wednesday. Steinmetz was initially detained by Greek police on October 13, hours after he arrived on a private aircraft at Athens International Airport. He had been freed from custody, under restrictions, and then detained again in January after a judicial panel ordered his extradition to Romania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steinmetz had appealed against that decision at the country's Supreme Court. "The top court has accepted his appeal," the source said on Wednesday. An arrest warrant has been issued against him in relation to a case dating back several years and concerning his involvement in a group that allegedly tried to illegally secure land rights in Romania. Steinmetz's legal advisors had dismissed the Romanian authorities' accusations as "unfounded" and called the extradition requests by Romania "abusive", arguing that he has the right to travel freely. "This is another vindication for Beny Steinmetz. The decision is exceptionally important as it comes from the higher level of justice in Greece," his lawyer, Stavros Togias, told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steinmetz was expected to be freed from a prison in Athens later in the day. Romanian authorities have repeatedly attempted to indict Steinmetz in various jurisdictions on the same allegations. In 2022, a Greek court that examined his case had ruled against his extradition. Last year, Cyprus' Court of Appeal also ruled against his extradition to Romania, overturning a lower court ruling. A court in Italy has also rejected the request. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis, writing by Renee Maltezou, Editing by Alex Richardson) GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) Mayor Eric Genrich invited a few local leaders from various non-profits on Tuesday afternoon to discuss community improvement efforts. The local leaders who stopped by to showcase their work were as follows: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spring Volunteer Expo invites Brown County residents various ways to help the community The organizations in attendance also got varying donations from the City of Green Bay, totalling roughly $163,000: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Wisconsin $20,000 Encompass Early Education and Care $50,000 Legal Action of Wisconsin $48,700 COMSA $45,000 A lot of different work is being represented here, Mayor Genrich said. We wanted to highlight the organizations and inform the community about some of the federal dollars being put to work here. Appleton celebrates Mardi Gras with Jambalaya and King Cake ahead of Lent Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Genrich added that while the city hasnt been reimbursed from the federal government yet, he expects it to happen despite spending cuts across the nation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. The prime minister of Greenland warned President Donald Trump off his controversial ambition to acquire the territory, writing on social media Wednesday, "Greenland is ours." Trump again expressed his desire to take control of the Arctic island -- which is a semiautonomous territory within Denmark -- in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. America, he said, would acquire the strategic territory "one way or the other." Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede dismissed Trump's remarks in a post to Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders," he wrote. "We are not Americans, we are not Danes because we are Greenlanders. This is what the Americans and their leaders need to understand, we cannot be bought and we cannot be ignored." PHOTO: President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in front of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance at the U.S. Capitol, Mar. 4, 2025 in Washington. (Win McNamee/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) MORE: Fact-checking Trump's speech to Congress "The future of the country will be determined by us in our country, of course," Egede added. "Greenland is ours. We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leaders must understand that." "We are not for sale and cannot be taken," Egede said. "The future is decided by us in Greenland." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has expressed ambition to acquire Greenland since his first term. The mineral-rich island sits in the Arctic Circle along two potential shipping routes through the Arctic -- the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route -- which are expected to become more navigable as climate change and warmer waters causes the retreat of Arctic sea ice. During his address to Congress on Tuesday, Greenland was central to Trump's foreign policy remarks. MORE: Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island MORE: Key takeaways from Trump's speech to Congress "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said. "We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president said his administration was "working with everybody involved to try to get it." "We need it really for international world security," he said. "And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it." Denmark has also dismissed any suggestion of transferring Greenland's sovereignty to the U.S. PHOTO: Communication systems are pictured on a hill in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 4, 2025. (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images) In February, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, "Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it's not for sale." Frederiksen and officials in Greenland have suggested negotiations on an expanded U.S. military footprint on the island in response to Trump's bid to acquire the territory outright. ABC News' Morgan Winsor contributed to this report. Greenland 'cannot be bought,' PM says after Trump speech to Congress originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Summary: Navy Federal Credit Union, commonly referred to as Navy Fed, was established in 1933 and has since grown to serve 14 million members belonging to the Department of Defense, Army, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and their families. Navy Fed offers personal and business products and services, including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, loans, and more. Navy Federal Credit Union product overview Share savings accounts Navy Feds share savings account is required to join the credit union and maintain membership. A $5.00 minimum opening balance is required. This account earns 0.25% APY. Read more: What is a share savings account? IRA share accounts Navy Fed also offers IRA share accounts with no minimum contribution required. This includes traditional IRA savings accounts, Roth IRA savings accounts, and SEP IRAs. Money market savings accounts Navy Fed offers money market savings accounts and jumbo money market savings accounts that require a minimum of $2,500 to earn dividends and offer rates as high as 1.5% APY and 2.25% APY, respectively. Read more: Where to find the best jumbo money market rates SaveFirst Account The SaveFirst Account is a customizable savings account that customers can use to save for specific goals like holiday gifts, travel, and weddings. You can choose a timeline for your account to help you save the desired amount within a specific time frame. All you need is $5 to get started. Share certificates Standard Certificates: You can choose a term of three months to seven years, and earn up to 4.05% APY, depending on the term. A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required. EasyStart Certificate: These accounts offer terms ranging from 12 months to 24 months and earn up to 3.95% APY, depending on the term. A minimum deposit of $50 is required. Special EasyStart Certificate: These certificates only come in a 12-month term and require a minimum deposit of $50 to get started. You can earn up to 4.3% APY. Read more: What is a share certificate? Checking accounts Free Active Duty Checking: This account is designed for stateside or deployed, active duty, or retired service members. It offers ATM-fee rebates and early access to military pay. Free Easy Checking: This account has no monthly service fee and no minimum balance requirement, as well as free ATMs and ATM-fee rebates. Free EveryDay Checking: Navy Feds most basic checking account, the Free EveryDay Checking account has no monthly fee, no minimum opening deposit, and no minimum balance requirement. This is an interest-bearing account that earns 0.01% APY. Dividends are credited monthly. Flagship Checking: This is a tiered, interest-bearing checking account with no monthly service fee as long as you maintain an average balance of at least $1,500 (otherwise the fee is $10). Dividends are credited monthly. Free Campus Checking: Members ages 18-24 can take advantage of Navy Feds Free Campus Checking, which offers up to $120 per year in ATM fee rebates and no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirements. Loans Mortgages and mortgage refinancing: Navy Fed offers mortgage loans, refinancing, and preapprovals for members interested in purchasing a home or getting a better rate on their current home loan. Home equity loans and lines of credit: Navy Federal offers fixed-rate home equity loans from $10,000 to $500,000 with no closing costs. APRs are as low as 7.34% and terms range from five to 20 years. Auto loans, refinancing, and auto loan services: Navy Fed offers new and used auto loans with rates as low as 4.09%, as well as auto loan refinancing, preapproval, auto insurance, and registration and titling services. Personal loans: Navy Feds personal loans offer rates as low as 8.99% with fixed monthly payments and same-day funding in most cases. Student loans: Navy Fed offers private student loans and student and parent refinance loans. Private student loans offer fixed APRs as low as 4.75% with an auto pay discount and terms ranging from five to 10 years, and refinance loans with fixed APRs as low as 4.85% and terms of five to 15 years. Motorcycle, boat, and RV loans: Navy Fed also offers financing options for motorcycles and mopeds, personal watercrafts, campers and RVs, travel trailers, ATVs, and snowmobiles. Investment services Customers can receive tailored advice from a Navy Fed investment professional regarding estate planning, portfolio management, life insurance, and general financial planning. Business banking products and services In addition to its personal banking products and services, Navy Fed also offers business checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and more. This embedded content is not available in your region. Navy Federal Credit Union fees Heres a closer look at some of the fees you may encounter as a Navy Federal member: Navy Federal Credit Union pros and cons Here are some of the major perks and drawbacks of banking with Navy Fed. Pros: Large ATM network/ATM fee rebates: Navy Federal customers have access to a network of more than 30,000 free ATMs via the CO-OP network, making it easier to withdraw money without extra fees. However, if you do visit a machine outside of that network, Navy Fed also offers ATM fee rebates up to $10 or $20, depending on your account type. 24/7 customer support: Around-the-clock customer support is available via telephone, chat, secure messaging, and social media. Cons: Smaller field of membership: To become a member of Navy Fed, youll need some kind of military affiliation whether you actually served or have a relationship to someone in the military. Low savings account yields: Navy Feds savings account and money market rates are not the most competitive when compared to other banks and credit unions. If youre looking for the highest possible savings rate, it might pay to compare options offered by other financial institutions. Customer service and mobile banking experience Navy Federal customer support specialists are available to chat 24/7 via telephone, chat, secure messaging, and social media. You can also speak to a customer service representative in person at a Navy Federal Credit Union branch. Navy Federal also has a general mailing address: Navy Federal P.O. Box 3000 Merrifield, VA 22119-3000 The credit union offers a mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play, with a user rating of 4.9 and 2.3 stars, respectively. Customers can use the app to check account balances and transactions, move money between accounts, send money via Zelle, find the nearest branch, and more. Social and environmental impact Navy Fed is committed to the communities it serves and the environment in a number of ways. It fosters financial wellness through its Navy Federal Serves program and MakingCents program that has conducted over 2,750 financial literacy and wellness presentations at its branch communities. It has also made a commitment to becoming a more sustainable business through its Greening Up! Program. In 2024, Navy Fed worked to make its office spaces more environmentally friendly by installing solar panels, energy-efficient lighting, and more. Read more: What is sustainable banking? How to become a member of Navy Federal Credit Union All branches of the military, veterans, Department of Defense employees, and their immediate family members are eligible to join Navy Fed. To open an account, youll need your Social Security number, drivers license or government ID, current home address, and a credit card or bank account and routing number to fund your account. A membership savings account with a $5 minimum balance is required to establish and maintain membership. Navy Fed FAQs Is Navy Federal Credit Union NCUA-insured? Yes, Navy Federal is an NCUA-insured credit union, which means your deposits are protected up to $250,000 per account holder. What is Navy Federal Credit Unions routing number? Navy Federals routing number is 256074974. Does Navy Federal have Zelle? Yes. As a Navy Federal Credit Union member, you can easily send and receive money to friends and family via Zelle. Read more: What is Zelle, and is it safe to use? A storm that pushed through Utah early this week proved to be beneficial for the states mountains, bringing in over 1 feet of snow in some areas. Researchers say strong winds ahead of it also brought in a huge amount of dust from the dried Sevier Lake in central Utah to the southern half of the Wasatch Front. It likely did the same for areas by the Great Salt Lake, said Ben Abbott, an associate professor of environmental science at BYU. Yet, he says its unclear how much dust came off the lake or where it went because there arent enough dust monitors around the lake to sufficiently study one of the largest concerns with low lake levels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why Abbott, also the director of a group called Grow The Flow, a Great Salt Lake-focused initiative led by the nonprofit Conserve Utah Valley, supported a $651,000 budget request that the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner had requested to establish a network of dust monitors by the lake. That request, however, didnt appear in the states proposed budget that totaled close to $30 billion released last week. We need monitors to be able to protect the people of Utah and know how serious of an issue this is, he said. This is absolutely the top priority, in my opinion, of what we should be doing for Great Salt Lake. Senate leaders say the budget has yet to be finalized. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said on Tuesday its on the list of items still being considered before the budget is finalized by the end of the week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether it gets funded or not, I dont know, he said. Were looking at it. A call for monitors The funding request would allow the Utah Division of Air Quality to compile an analysis of dust issues, Tim Davis, deputy commissioner of the Great Salt Lake, told state lawmakers on Jan. 27. The Great Salt Lake Strike Team a combination of state and university researchers published a report earlier this year that highlighted where the lakes dust hot spots are, many of which are by Farmington and Bear River bays. Great Salt Lake dust plumes can have a significant impact on local air quality and can reduce the snowpack in the mountains throughout the basin due to enhanced melt rates, the report states. With more than 2.66 million residents living downwind of the lake, the dust poses a health hazard due to increased (particulate matter) concentrations or due to chronic exposures to carcinogenic elements such as arsenic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But health consequences from the dust remain unclear, Kevin Perry, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Utah, one of the reports authors, explained at the time. He said a series of monitors would be vital to study the concentrations of dust ending up in communities all across the Wasatch Front, as well as the short-term and long-term impacts of it. Perry said none of the six existing monitors are significantly close to the lake, and there arent enough to study widespread community impacts. He added the state needs real-time and filter-based monitors to help study hourly concentrations and the composition of the dust to know if arsenic and other metals are coming into communities, and how much of it is. Abbott said it could also spark major tools to manage lake dust, including a better understanding of what lake levels are needed to manage dust and creating new ways to forecast dust events. The first step to solve a problem is understanding how big it is. And until we measure whats coming off of Great Salt Lake, itd be incredibly irresponsible to conclude that this isnt a problem, Abbott said. (The monitors) let us know how serious of an issue this is, and who is being impacted. Lake funding Senate leaders added that there are some other projects targeting the Great Salt Lake that did receive funding, such as the Great Salt Lake long-term water program project. Lawmakers allocated $1 million for now, although the governor asked for $16 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also allocated $4 million to the Deer Creek Intake Project, which includes an agreement to send 35,000 acre-feet of water to the lake through a release from Willard Bay, Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, explained. There are some other pieces in there. We also have some money, internally, in the Great Salt Lake fund, he said. I wouldnt say we slowed down, but we did some things maybe in a different way. Abbott said hes happy that the lake will receive some help, but he also believes Utahs water spending is nowhere near where it should be. Thats why he said hes disappointed that dust monitors failed to miss at least the initial budget request. He points to a Water Development Coordinating Council report last year, which warned Utah would need to spend nearly $60 billion to maintain drinking water, water quality and irrigation/canal needs across the state by 2060. A state audit found that the cost of mitigating Great Salt Lake dust could exceed $1.5 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of investment that were making to understand the impacts of Great Salt Lake and then fix them is woefully inadequate, he said. We need to be thinking about this as a long-term investment in our way of life. Contributing: Daniel Woodruff The General Services Administration (GSA) on Tuesday released a list of nearly 450 federal buildings it may seek to sell including major real estate like the headquarters of the Justice Department, FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as federal buildings across the country. The list of 443 non-core assets comes as GSA said it plans to dispose of some of the buildings a first step in complying with a February directive to shed government real estate. Also on the list are other iconic D.C. buildings such as the American Red Cross building, the Old Post Office Building once the site to a Trump hotel and the Diplomacy Museum, which has only been open since 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GSA will consider non-core assets for divestment from government ownership in an orderly fashion to ensure taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space, or the significant maintenance costs associated with long-term building ownership potentially saving more than $430 million in annual operating costs, GSA said in a statement. Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce. We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these longstanding issues, the agency said, adding that the plan leverages the private sector. Even GSAs own headquarters is on the list, along with the building that houses the headquarters for the Office of Personnel Management and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Associated Press reported early last month that GSA managers instructed regional managers to begin terminating leases for many federal office spaces nationwide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The culling of much of the office space for the federal workforce would seem to be at odds with President Trumps return to office mandate. At the same time, tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have looked to reduce the entire government via broad workforce reductions. Last month, agencies began booting employees still in their probationary period after being hired or promoted within the last year or two. And the administration has also asked agencies to prepare for a reduction in force sweeping layoffs across government. Beyond Washington, D.C., real estate, the document proposes shuttering of federal buildings across the country, many of which house various government functions. Many are located in large cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit and Dallas. It also proposes closing more than 10 courthouses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The General Services Administration (GSA) removed a list of 443 properties it was potentially looking to sell on Wednesday just a day after posting the listings. A page featuring a previously lengthy non-core property list now says a list will be coming soon. We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties, for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces, a message on the site reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions. Major real estate locations including the headquarters of the Justice Department, FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were up for review on the page on Tuesday. GSA will consider non-core assets for divestment from government ownership in an orderly fashion to ensure taxpayers no longer pay for empty and underutilized federal office space, or the significant maintenance costs associated with long-term building ownership potentially saving more than $430 million in annual operating costs, GSA said in a statement on Tuesday. The Hill has reached out to the GSA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The listings came more than a month after President Trump issued an executive order requiring federal employees to return to in person work at their designated offices. The influx of those who previously worked from home caused major traffic delays in routes between Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. The Associated Press reported early last month that GSA managers instructed regional managers to begin terminating leases for many federal office spaces nationwide. Beyond Washington real estate, the since-deleted document proposed shuttering of federal buildings across the country, many of which house various government functions. Many are located in large cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit and Dallas. It also proposes closing more than 10 courthouses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (FOX5/KUSI) San Diego Police investigators have been on the scene of a deadly shooting in the Hotel Circle area of Mission Valley on Monday evening. Police said the suspect shot two people, with one person dying in a hallway at the hotel and the other found shot outside the lobby. A FOX5/KUSI team watched as police gave a man commands to walk backward with his hands up before being arrested. Tactical vehicles and a SWAT team were on site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A guest staying at the hotel said they could not get their belongings out of the hotel or stay at the hotel on Monday night, and said the hotel put them up in a nearby hotel. Duvone Mitchell said he returned to the hotel around 11 p.m. Monday night and found his hotel room behind the crime scene tape. We came back around 11 oclock and they told us we had to stay right here on the street and we waited out, and then they told us for our safety to leave the hotel and go somewhere else and they accommodated us, but it was just cops all over the place, Mitchell said. We couldnt get nothing out last night. Mitchell said Tuesday is his birthday and he had planned to drive to Los Angeles to spend the day there before flying home to Boston on Wednesday, but he wasnt able to get back to his hotel room until Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I wasnt already in bed I would have at least come downstairs to see what all the commotion was about, but you know its probably a good thing I didnt because when you got gunshots, bullets dont have eyes, Nathan Wilson said, adding that he heard the helicopter and sirens as he was in bed, right next to the hotel. I dont care where we go, where we work because something like this can spring up anytime. Police have not confirmed what led up to the shooting, the identities of the victims or suspect, or the relationship. Our Fox 5/KUSI crews saw one person wearing what appeared to be disposable hospital scrubs, with a wrap around their arm and carrying their belongings in a bag get dropped off by a taxi at the Handlery Hotel Tuesday afternoon, and then talking with investigators on the scene. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The gun allegedly used by Nathan Gingles in the Feb. 16 shootings of his estranged wife, his father-in-law and an uninvolved neighbor was one he owned and had previously surrendered to authorities and would not have had access to had he surrendered it in December as he was ordered, newly released records show. A day after Gingles was arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of his soon-to-be ex-wife Mary Gingles, her father David Ponzer and a neighbor Andrew Ferrin, the Broward Sheriffs Office Dive Team recovered a black Sig Sauer P320 with a suppressor attached from a canal in the Tamarac neighborhood where they were killed, a probable cause affidavit said. Both were among the many items deputies took from him nearly exactly a year earlier after Mary Gingles first received a restraining order against him, records obtained Tuesday by the South Florida Sun Sentinel show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sig Sauer P320 was one of more than a dozen guns and rifles, including an AR-15, that Gingles had surrendered on Feb. 9, 2024. He also surrendered sight mounts, multiple suppressors and box after box full of ammunition, 660 rounds in all, one of the reports released by the Sheriffs Office shows. The weapons and ammunition had been returned to Gingles by September, after his wifes temporary injunction had been dismissed because they agreed to a no contact order. The Sheriffs Office was legally required to return the weapons, Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a news conference after the shootings. But Gingles was required again this past December to surrender it all once again, after his wife received a second temporary restraining order. Tony said that his deputies did not collect any of Gingles weapons after that second injunction. The injunction was still in place when Gingles showed up armed at his wifes home in the 5800 block of North Plum Bay Parkway early in the morning on Feb. 16 and allegedly first shot Ponzer as he drank coffee on the patio, a probable cause affidavit said. Mary Gingles then ran for help, banging on neighbors doors. She managed to enter one neighbors home, where both she and Ferrin were shot and killed, the affidavit said. All three shootings happened in front of the Gingles 4-year-old daughter, Seraphine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why Gingles weapons were not surrendered in December is one aspect of what Tony said is under review since the shootings. I want to know why didnt we do it? Tony said at the news conference of Gingles access to guns in December. Who was the detective assigned? Did they file the proper paperwork with the court? These are all the processes that were looking at. Eight deputies have been suspended and the Tamarac districts captain was demoted as Tony reviews what he described as shortcomings when it came to handling the case over the course of several months before the shootings and its response on Feb. 16. Mary Gingles said she feared her husband would try to kill her before the end of February and seemed unaware that his guns had been returned to him by then. She wrote he had violated their no contact order by coming into her home on Dec. 27, when he left a backpack of eerie supplies and a note about air embolisms, according to the petition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do not know if he has gotten his previously owned guns with silencers back from BSO yet, but if he hasnt, that would explain why he is telling our daughter specifically that he wants to stab me, and making notes of air embolisms, as these are all easily obtainable means to kill me without his weapons, she wrote. One aspect Tony said is also under review is the handling of a call from Dec. 29, one day before Mary Gingles was granted the second injunction and two days after Nathan Gingles had entered her home in violation of the no contact order, records show. Mary Gingles told a deputy who responded to her home on Dec. 29 that her husband sometimes comes and goes into the house whenever she is not there and that he is not supposed to be doing that while the divorce proceedings are still in motion, a redacted incident report released Tuesday shows. Tony said Mary gave the deputy robust information for more than 30 minutes during the call and that they possibly could have tried to arrest Gingles then but did not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At that time based on the evidence and things that were presented, there was enough there where we could have potentially pursued for a probable cause affidavit so we can arrest him and take him off the street, and that didnt happen, Tony said. Three of the eight deputies who are on administrative leave are named in the Dec. 29 report. In the year before Mary Gingles was killed, deputies were called to her home at least 14 times, sometimes twice within a day, a Sheriffs Office report shows. Nathan Gingles was denied bond and remains in the Broward Main Jail. He faces murder, kidnapping, child abuse and neglect and burglary charges. This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. According to public reports, at least 2,400 employees in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs have been fired by the Department of Government Efficiency. (Getty Images) Two hundred workers were laid off from the Bureau of Fiscal Service in Parkersburg. Thousands from the Department of Veterans Affairs (including at least 10 in West Virginia). And hundreds each from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Caring for our veterans, responding to natural disasters, and keeping our skies safe these are all among the roles of government that most folks across the political spectrum agree upon, and even so, they have all been impacted. And these layoffs arent coming after professional and thorough reviews of departments identifying redundancies or unnecessary functions. The Department of Government Efficient (DOGE) is using a hatchet rather than a scalpel, largely firing probationary employees not because they were found to be unnecessary but because they are easy to fire with few civil service protections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And promoted employees are also subject to probationary periods, meaning many workers who are moving up the ladder due to their professional success are also being fired. This is in line with DOGEs broader lack of thorough analysis, cutting off critical grant programs without a full understanding of what they do and dramatically overstating the supposed savings, often later having to unfreeze important dollars and walk back those savings claims. But where is this all coming from? It cannot be about saving money. Laying off a quarter of the entire federal workforce would only reduce spending by 1%. Perhaps Russ Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and a lead author of Project 2025 summed up the real reason: When [federal employees] wake up, we want them not to want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains We want to put them in trauma. So who exactly is the federal workforce he is referring to? There are just over 2 million federal employees, 637,000 (30%) of which are veterans; notably, the federal government is the nations leader for veteran employment. These are many of the workers being intentionally traumatized by attacks on the federal workforce. Earlier this week, the chief information officer of a Department of Justice Office, a 100% disabled veteran, resigned citing the relentless stream of unwarranted criticism and negative remarks we all have been enduring for the last several weeks. Twenty percent of the 2 million-person federal workforce is employed by Veterans Affairs (VA), an agency whose mission is to care for those who have borne the battle. Combined with the Navy, Army, Air Force, Defense, and Homeland Security, two-thirds of federal employees are in defense and security agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to public reports, at least 2,400 VA employees have been fired already. My brother is a psychologist for the VA, working with veterans daily to provide the mental health support they need to successfully transition from military to civilian life and, sometimes, just to stay alive. In 2020, 5.2 million veterans experienced a behavioral health condition, so the need for highly qualified, compassionate VA staff is significant. While he and many of his co-workers have not yet been impacted by layoffs, many are now looking for the door after relentless attacks, which could dramatically undermine the workforce needed to serve our veterans. In West Virginia specifically, the impacts of federal worker layoffs could be significant. While West Virginia has just about 20,000 federal workers living in the state, the federal government constitutes more than 2% of the states total workforce, a higher share than 45 other states. As a result, cuts to the federal workforce could have an outsized impact on the economy in West Virginia. Federal workers have become an easy target for the folks who think the government should run like a business. But a quick look at the federal workforce shows that the roles federal officials fulfill are ones free market business cant or wont, but that are morally or societally vital: educating our children; providing health care for the young and old, veterans, and the disabled; ensuring food and product safety. These services by nature wont be efficient in the business sense. Government workers provide vital services to society and our population, largely in the background and without acknowledgement. Often when they are successful, nothing happens at least nothing that the majority of us can see. To borrow from a recent article from West Virginian Michael Tomasky: No one takes a drink of water and thinks, Hey, I didnt get sick or die from that water, thank you, Environmental Protection Agency. No one gets on a flight that lands safely and thanks the Federal Aviation Administration. No one buys a toy for their infant or toddler that does not contain any parts the child could accidentally choke on and thanks the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But make no mistake, as we see federal workers laid off arbitrarily and others leave due to relentless criticism, we will witness the significant impacts across our daily lives and in our economy. And those we all agree are deserving of care veterans, the elderly, victims of natural disasters, and children will likely be among the most impacted. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gwen L. Robinson, who served as the president and CEO of the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (CAA) for 23 years, passed away Monday at the age of 78. The CAA, in an Instagram post, said Robinson was a "true champion" for the community, who "dedicated her life to ensuring residents live in a community where everyone is equipped with the tools and resources to be self-sufficient." Gwen L. Robinson, who served as the president and CEO of the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (CAA) for 23 years, has passed away, the organization announced Tuesday. Robinson joined the organization in 1995. It strives to lift individuals and families out of poverty through services such as job training and housing assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She served the organization for over two decades before officially retiring in 2018. "Under her leadership, countless individuals and families found support, hope, and opportunities to thrive," the post reads. "Her impact will never be forgotten, and her passion for service continues to inspire us all." During her tenure, Robinson received several accolades, including being named among The Enquirer's 2006 Women of the Year. The award honors outstanding women who've changed the Cincinnati community for the better. "I just knew I always wanted to be moving forward," she told The Enquirer during an interview in 2006. "If something was going to change, I wanted to be part of that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among her other awards and honors: 2010 Profile in Courage YWCA Career Women of Achievement Ladies of Distinction 2007 Honoree NAACP 2006 Wright Overstreet Award Radio One Women Empowerment Award Dada Rafiki Award In addition to her work at CAA, Robinson served as vice chair on the Metro Board of Trustees. She was appointed by the City of Cincinnati in 2012. According to Metro's website, she was also the first African-American president of the Cincinnatus Association, a civic group whose mission is "to initiate, recognize, participate in, and promote projects that improve the quality of life for all citizens in the Greater Cincinnati region." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CAA's current president and CEO Mark B. Lawson said it's hard to imagine a world without Robinson. "She was a force," Lawson said. "She was a visionary leader who cared passionately for her community and spent her career working to make things better for those struggling. We miss her." Gwen L. Robinson on a Mardi Gras-themed girls trip. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval called her a "fighter of injustice" and "champion for equity." "Thank you for everything you gave, and for the inspiration you leave behind," the mayor wrote on Facebook. Information about the circumstances of her death was not immediately available. A memorial will be held at Corinthian Baptist Church, 1920 Tennessee Ave., in Bond Hill on Sunday, March 23. The family greeting begins at 12:30 p.m., with a celebration of life at 2 p.m. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Gwen L. Robinson, Cincinnati trailblazer and CAA leader, dies at 78 33-year-old Gypsy Rose Blanchard has expressed an openness to meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss potential reforms to the U.S. prison system, citing her own experiences and the need for better mental health advocacy for inmates. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was convicted in the 2015 killing of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, spoke candidly to a photographer at LAX on Monday night. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Open To White House Meeting With Trump To Discuss Prison Reform Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard When asked if she would consider sitting down with Trump at the White House for a conversation on prison reform, Gypsy responded enthusiastically, saying she would "absolutely welcome such an opportunity." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I would have a lot to talk to him about," Gypsy said, per TMZ. "There needs to be better advocacy for mental health problems while in prison. I feel like too often the state just chucks them in prison." Blanchard, whose harrowing story of abuse and eventual crime was chronicled in the Hulu series "The Act," underscored the importance of addressing mental health issues within the prison system. She recounted how, during her own incarceration, she had limited access to mental health resources, despite the severe trauma she endured at the hands of her mother. This latest conversation comes after Gypsy sat down with Kim Kardashian to discuss prison reform. Kim Kardashian And Gypsy Share Emotional Conversation On Prison Reform Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard In a candid conversation on an episode of "The Kardashians," the two discussed prison reform and reflected on Blanchards complicated feelings surrounding her mother's death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kardashian, who has been a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform and is currently studying to become a lawyer, expressed her desire to help guide Blanchard in her potential journey into prison reform advocacy. "I want to see what she wants to do in prison reform. I heard she wants to get in it, and I can guide her of exactly where to go and how she can help," Kardashian said. Blanchard, who served seven years in prison, shared her regrets and reflections with Kardashian. "Now looking back on it, I'm like, I could have done things a lot differently, and it would have ended with my mother being in prison. Did she deserve prison? Yes," Blanchard admitted. Gypsy Rose Blanchard Reveals Heartbreaking Prison Struggles Instagram Stories | Gypsy Rose Blanchard The 33-year-old opened up about her "complicated" emotions regarding her mother's death, describing how she often found solace in music while behind bars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She revealed that she would listen to Dee Dees favorite song, "My My My" by Rob Thomas, on her tablet in prison. "I would cry," Blanchard recalled. "My mom was a huge Matchbox Twenty fan. I would play some of their songs, and I would just allow myself that time to cry and grieve." Blanchard explained how difficult it was to express her emotions openly in prison. "Sometimes I'd have to do it in the shower too because crying in prison, you're so vulnerable, especially women, they can be so catty," she said. "Their first go-to is, 'Well, you killed her, so why are you crying about it?'" A lack of access to therapy while incarcerated added to the challenges Blanchard faced. She described how difficult it was to process the years of abuse she endured under her mother's care, which included Dee Dees well-documented Munchausen by proxy, leading to years of unnecessary medical treatments and false claims about Blanchards health. Gypsy Shares Candid Advice For Menendez Brothers Ahead Of Possible Prison Release Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard Last year, Gypsy Rose Blanchard offered some words of wisdom to the Menendez brothers as they await a potential release from prison nearly 30 years after their conviction for killing their parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blanchard spoke to TMZ, sharing her insights on life after prison and offering advice to Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were sentenced to life without parole in 1996 for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Its very difficult to come out to a world that has changed so much even in the time that I spent, Blanchard said. Reacclimating is a difficult thing. I would say take your time, you know, adjust properly and get therapy because you need it in this kind of world [and] day and age. Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Post-Prison Journey Instagram | Gypsy Rose Blanchard Since her release, Blanchard has stayed in the public eye. Two documentaries, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" and "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up," aired on Lifetime, delving into her life behind bars and her journey post-incarceration. Blanchard, who also recently gave birth to her first child with boyfriend Ken Urker, announced her split from husband Ryan Anderson just three months after getting out of prison. The Harrisburg Area Community College Board of Trustees announced Tuesday that officials have approved a plan to move the Lebanon Campus to Lebanon Valley College. On March 4, the board approved the proposal to move all HACC classes and services based at its current Lebanon Campus building to the Annville campus. Officials said that HACC classes will be offered at LVC beginning Aug. 25. HACC is pleased to enter into this partnership with Lebanon Valley College so that students in Lebanon continue to have access to an outstanding community college education, student-centered services and even more opportunities," HACC President and CEO John J. "Ski" Sygielski said in a release March 4. "Donors, community members, employees and other stakeholders in Lebanon have expressed enthusiasm and excitement throughout this decision-making process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HACC officials finalized a sale of the Lebanon Campus building, located at 735 Cumberland St., with the City of Lebanon for $2.2 million. City officials turned the building into a new city hall, officially moving city offices and police headquarters downtown in May 2022. As part of the sale, HACC would lease a portion of the building for at least five years at no additional cost to the college. The college occupies space on the third floor of the new city hall. As the college neared the end of a five-year lease agreement with the city, officials said the board explored other facilities within the county to house the campus. Officials said the move will expanded accessibility for students and employees, including ample parking and public transportation. HACC officials said the following programs will be offered at the LVC sight: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Exercise Science (Associate in Science) Liberal Arts (Associate in Arts) Social Sciences (Associate in Arts) Certificate in Liberal Studies "This move reaffirms HACCs commitment to continue offering a high-quality, affordable, accessible education to individuals in the Lebanon community while cementing a mutually beneficial partnership with a recognized four-year college in the region," officials said in the release. Please check back with the Lebanon Daily News for updates. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: HACC Trustees vote to relocate Lebanon Campus for 2025 fall semester HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) The Department of the Interior is set to lose over 150 offices across the country, including the Fish and Wildlife Service regional headquarters in Hadley. These offices impact a variety of different departments and states, as one Massachusetts district will lose some of the most space. Mass. creative sector requests budget funding The General Services Administration plans to close over two million square feet of office space from this summer through 2026. The main areas impacted include fish and wildlife services, the Bureau of indian affairs, and the National Parks Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Natural Resources Committee Ranked Member Jared Huffman released a statement saying in part, Trump and Musk are taking a wrecking ball to our countryslashing staff, cutting vital funding, and creating widespread chaos and economic devastation. Shuttering these physical locations goes hand in glove with DOGEs destroy the government approach, and it will make their illegal cuts even more challenging to reverse. Massachusetts Second Congressional District is set to lose over 93 thousand square feet of office space, the fourth most in the country. The Fish and Wildlife Services Office in Hadley is the only building that services the region. Another wildlife service office and a U.S. Geological Survey building will both close before the end of the year. This information is still developing, as the source originated from a whistleblower. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, speaks with reporters in her office Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Ayotte has proposed several changes to Medicaid aimed at cutting down the cost of the program that would increase the financial burden on recipients. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) After being found floating in a pool in Florida following a drug overdose, Shawn Cannizzaro a Boston native moved to Littleton to get help with his substance use disorder at a recovery house. Im saying to myself, What am I doing going to Littleton, New Hampshire? he said. Its a blizzard out. Its the end of January. Im coming off every drug you can imagine alcohol, crack, cocaine, heroin, everything. I am a mess, and I do not want to live anymore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three years after arriving in Littleton, Cannizzaro was sober and beginning to thrive. So he decided to try to help others facing the same struggles. Hes now the owner of Hope 2 Freedom Recovery Homes, an organization that operates several sober living homes in Claremont. Ive been in and out of sober living houses my entire life, and now I own four of my own, he said. I just celebrated six years clean a couple weeks ago. Cannizzaro said its Medicaid the U.S. public health insurance program for people with low income or high needs that makes this work possible. The program funds treatment for 90% of people at his sober living homes. But Medicaid didnt just help his clients. This is important on a lot of different levels for me, Cannizzaro said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cannizzaro explained that his organization provided him some income, but not enough to buy private insurance, so he got on Medicaid himself. He said after dealing with some health issues, he was able to earn enough money to no longer need Medicaid. Cannizzaro, who is one of several who spoke at an event in Manchester last week about how Medicaid helped them, isnt alone in using Medicaid to address substance use disorder. Medicaid paid for 21% of all substance use disorder treatment in the U.S., and 7.2% of Medicaid recipients ages 12 to 64 have a diagnosed substance use disorder, according to analysis of recent years Medicaid claims data by the Kaiser Family Foundation. More broadly, around 80 million people across the U.S. receive health care coverage through Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Programs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported. In New Hampshire, that number is around 183,000. Medicaid, which is operated jointly by states and the federal government, also finances around 2 of every 5 births in the U.S. a little over 1 of 5 in New Hampshire and Medicaid is the primary payer for about 2 of every 3 nursing home patients both across the U.S. and in New Hampshire specifically, per CMS and KFF. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In New Hampshire, the program could be scaled back if proposals from Republican leaders on both the national and federal level come to fruition. Cuts from the feds Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution last week outlining a framework for the federal budget an early step in the lengthy federal budgeting process. That framework seeks to impose a series of spending cuts in order to reduce the federal deficit and introduce tax cuts. Experts believe for the government to make these cuts happen, it would need to remove an estimated $800 billion from Medicaid nationwide, which has drawn concern from Medicaid recipients and advocates. U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, right, and Maggie Hassan, second from right, take questions from reporters at an event in Manchester on Feb. 24. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) What is so frustrating about that is that this is not being done because we have a national emergency, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshires Democratic senior senator, said. This is being done so that the Republicans in Congress and President Trump and Elon Musk can come up with $2 trillion in cuts so they can pay for their tax breaks for the wealthiest in this country. In New Hampshire, the concern is particularly acute due to a so-called trigger law the state passed in 2018 that would cut state funding for New Hampshires Medicaid program if federal funding falls below a certain level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2014, New Hampshire lawmakers expanded Medicaid using federal funding from the Affordable Care Act, creating what is now known as the Granite Advantage Program. This program has since brought Medicaid to an additional 60,000 New Hampshire residents, according to state figures reported in January. In total, Medicaid in New Hampshire costs $2.5 billion to operate each year, $1.4 billion of which comes from the federal government. Then, in 2018, state lawmakers passed the trigger law, which dictates that if federal funding for Medicaid expansion falls below 90% of the cost of the program (though previous laws had also set triggers at different rates), the state will revoke the funding it devotes to the expansion program and eliminate it. U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, New Hampshires Democratic junior senator, described Medicaid as a pillar of American life, arguing it helps strengthen our economy, our workforce, and the health of our people. Its indispensable to families who are trying to make ends meet. Before becoming senator, Hassan was New Hampshires governor and oversaw the 2014 Medicaid expansion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We did it on a bipartisan basis, she said. And we did it because we recognized that there were people who wanted to go to work but couldnt go to work because they had health conditions and they couldnt get health coverage, so they couldnt get better. She said she consistently heard from people who went on Medicaid, got healthier, and then no longer needed Medicaid because they were able to earn more when they were healthier. U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat who represents New Hampshires 2nd Congressional District, called Medicaid, in addition to Medicare and Social Security, the lifeblood of our communities. Still, a lot more must happen for these cuts to materialize. There appear to be major differences between the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told reporters in the Capitol last week he wont vote to approve Medicaid cuts. Hes also alluded to other differences the two chambers have. Theres a lot of distance between where the House and the Senate are on this, Hawley said. President Donald Trump also said he wants to see Medicaid maintained. However, he has been perhaps even more forceful in calling for the tax cuts he and his congressional allies instituted through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act during his first term to be extended. Many have argued doing both without raising the deficit a nonstarter for many Republicans would be infeasible. We know were going to be in a fight to protect these mission critical programs, Goodlander said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked about whether she is concerned about Congress cutting Medicaid enough to activate New Hampshires trigger law, Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said I cant deal in hypotheticals. Premiums and copays increased locally As this fight over Medicaid unfolds in Washington, Ayotte is working to scale back the cost of Medicaid in her own state. The governor is proposing state level changes to the program that would shift more financial cost to Medicaid recipients and tighten eligibility for the program in New Hampshire. If adopted, Ayottes new state budget, and the accompanying policy-related trailer bill, would add premiums for some recipients, increase pharmacy cost-sharing, and end the already winding down continuous eligibility system. The proposed premiums would require Medicaid recipients, with children, who earn 255% of the federal poverty level and those without children who earn between 100% and 138% of the poverty level to make a payment of up to 5% of their household income in order to receive coverage. As for the co-pays, the proposal would change the amount Medicaid recipients pay for their prescriptions from $1 or $2 to $4 per prescription (unless that exceeds 5% of household income). Finally, it would end continuous enrollment, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed people to stay on Medicaid even after they no longer met the requirements; that system has already ended, but the state needed time to disenroll recipients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ayotte also proposed a change meant to make the program more cost efficient. Her proposal would allow Medicaid to purchase name-brand drugs instead of generics if they were cheaper it had previously been required to purchase generics as a cost-saving measure, but recent market developments have meant name brands are sometimes cheaper. Ayotte predicted these changes would save the state about $27 million. We obviously tried to be thoughtful in how we did this, she said, adding that theyll include a provision to allow people experiencing hardship relief from the premiums and stressing that eligibility would not change. Ayotte defended the move by pointing out how permissive New Hampshires eligibility requirements are comparatively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Hampshire has among the highest eligibility in terms of whos covered for Medicaid in the nation, she said. People arent even eligible to get Medicaid above 255% of poverty in 26 states. Indeed, New Hampshire ranks sixth among U.S. states and territories for most expansive income eligibility requirements for children, as of May 2024, according to KFF. If you include only children ages 1 to 5, New Hampshire has the most expansive eligibility requirements for Medicaid of any state or territory except Washington, D.C. My proposal is one that, regardless of what happens in Washington, is meeting our financial needs in New Hampshire to maintain eligibility and to sustain the budget for essential services, Ayotte said. State House Deputy Democratic Leader Laura Telerski, a Nashua Democrat, said Ayottes proposals sound like an income tax to low-income and working families just to access health care. Telerski noted that this 5% premium could cost a single parent with two kids making $67,000 annually about $280 a month to keep their childrens health care. As for adults who make between 100% and 138% of the poverty level, Tellerski pointed out that these people make between roughly $15,500 and $22,000. These are extremely low-income people, she said, These individuals barely have enough money to put a roof over their head or find sufficient food. And theyre also going to be subjected to a 5% fee based on their income. Telerski argued these premiums would push eligible people off Medicaid because they cant afford premiums. I think its great that we have been able to provide coverage for these families, she said, discussing New Hampshires expansive eligibility. But to take away that benefit that they have for their kids to get health care and putting a price tag on it is only gonna put kids at risk. Its only going to make working families have to make very hard choices on how theyre gonna put together their monthly budgets. Telerski did, however, say she likes the rule change on purchasing name-brand drugs. She also acknowledged the current budget cycle is gonna be tough fiscally. However, shed rather look at limiting other programs like the education freedom accounts to find savings. (Ayotte) said in her budget address that her budget will protect the most vulnerable, she said. Well, I see no one more vulnerable than children and extremely low-income people and people with disabilities. A desire for belt-tightening Conservatives have long criticized Medicaid expansion for being too expensive and covering too many people. Even before Trump took office in January, the Cato Institute, an influential conservative think tank, called for the now-president to place a cap on Medicaid funding sent to each state, saying he could save the federal government $300 billion annually. This health program has grown explosively because the federal government subsidizes state program expansion in an uncontrolled manner, the organization wrote. Locally, the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a New Hampshire-based conservative think tank, has also decried how much Medicaid has expanded and advocated for those expansions to be halted. These expansions are unsustainable for both the state and federal governments, the think tanks president Andrew Cline wrote in a 2023 blog post. Eventually, some level of financial discipline, however small or limited, will have to be imposed. Any discussion of expanding Medicaid coverage or eligibility should start with the understanding that current spending levels are unsustainable. The disability community speaks up Among the groups that rely on Medicaid the most are people with disabilities. Stephanie Patrick, executive director at the Disability Rights Center-NH, said cuts to Medicaid could be devastating for people with disabilities in New Hampshire. Katie Philips, a Dover woman with disabilities, speaks at an event in Manchester Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, about how important Medicaid is to her. Philips is a board member at ABLE NH, a disability rights advocacy group. To her left is Louis Esposito, executive director of ABLE NH. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) People with disabilities rely on Medicaid for not just health care, she said, but for the services they need that arent covered by private health insurance. People with disabilities can use Medicaid to receive the nonmedical supports they need to live in the community, such as a direct support professional or case management. Katie Philips, of Dover, is one of those people. If we lose Medicaid, it would just hurt so much, Philips said at last weeks Manchester event tearfully. Its just been so helpful to me to have it. She said Medicaid has allowed her to see her doctor even though she isnt critically ill. Its also allowed her to get medications she needs. And Im able to live on my own, which Im doing a really good job at, she added. It matters how we walk home together. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin) A couple of weeks ago, on Feb. 19, Gov. Kelly Ayottes office sent out a press release with the following subject line: Gov. Ayotte Directs DOC to Refer to Incarcerated Individuals as Inmates. I dont know that our state has known a day when that wouldnt have been an odd addition to inboxes, but it was particularly strange on that Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are just a few of the headlines from the Bulletin that day: Child care shortage might be costing NH businesses $56 million each year, new study finds; Dartmouth researchers brace for Trumps NIH funding cuts; U.S. Senate Dems issue warning on massive cuts to Medicaid predicted in GOP budget; Protesters in D.C. rally against Trump firings of federal scientists, health researchers. There were other stories posted, too, on issues including birthright citizenship, Elon Musks privacy violations, and the scary gutting of federal wildfire crews. But apparently top of mind that day for our new governor and her braintrust, amid so many persistent and rising threats to the well-being of all the people of our state and nation, was the label we place on imprisoned people. Ive had trouble shaking the absurdity of that memo, to be honest. But now, after a little time to digest it, Ive come to view Ayottes theyre inmates not residents press release as an apt symbol for our political moment. The ruling party has embraced the philosophy that nurturing grievances is the same thing as governing. To that point, I doubt any New Hampshire Republicans are negatively affected in their daily lives by protections for transgender people or those here from other countries without proper documentation, for example. Republicans are afflicted by the rights of transgender people and migrants only in their dark imaginations, and that is enough to drive policies meant to marginalize human beings whose every breath is treated as an affront. And nobody is trying to physically or mentally harm Republicans children through vaccine or masking policies, or via honest history lessons about colonization, slavery, and documented systemic oppression. But those sinister phantoms, so effectively conjured on Fox News and X, are given real shape in New Hampshire bills, amendments, and executive orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans detachment from their own daily reality is made ever more explicit with each whim of the national party. Most recently, its their recitation of the fraud, waste, and abuse supposedly rampant in our social safety net, a claim that comes, always, without quantifiable data. And, always, that oversimplification serves as a pretense for the punishment of the innocent. So low is Republicans opinion of their fellow citizens that they are susceptible to each and every misanthropic premise dangled by the cynical pundits and politicians of this cynical era. The trouble is, the things that actually harm constituents in their daily lives, regardless of the party they root for, just arent as easy to exploit for votes and the accumulation of power. And, importantly, those real troubles are much harder to erase with a single bill or executive order. Policies to ease the housing and child care shortages, or to make health care more accessible and affordable, are not only much harder to pull off but they also fail to serve the political goal of fracturing the electorate. We all need housing and health care, but only some of us need the men and women in our prisons to be called inmates. Only some of us hate the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Only some of us are opposed to the humane treatment of human beings who lack the right papers. This is an era of policy not for the greater good but for the habitually and hopelessly aggrieved. Ram Dass, a writer and teacher, said, Were all just walking each other home. Its a beautiful turn of phrase, and better still its inarguably true. We are born and we die, and in between we move through the world together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is this life if not that? Our politics rarely, if ever, reflect that reality, however. We are imperfect people doomed to create imperfect systems, but rather than acknowledge that inherent flaw we are urged at every turn to blame those who have the least for the bulk of our imperfection. We are walking each other home, because there can be no other way, and yet we waste our days debating who is worthy of the togetherness of this journey and who is not. And then policies are written, with certitude, on the basis of so many corrupted notions about the deserving and the undeserving. That is what we have built for ourselves. People sometimes ask me, because I spend part of each week openly trying to articulate problems as I see them, what path forward I would recommend. I never have a good answer for them, but Ill keep trying. We are all just walking each other home, and our charge is to ease more suffering than we create. Not just in our politics but in the smallest daily interaction. Everything else is a misstep and so at best a waste of time. At worst it is criminal, in that words broadest meaning the tragic misunderstanding of the point of the walk itself. PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Preliminary storm reports are starting to come in from around the region, with reports of damages, downed trees, power lines and outages in some areas. The potential for a big storm Wednesday sparked enough local concern that some schools released early. More weather coverage It isnt the rain that is expected to cause problems, but rather high winds. The weather was predicted to hit Hampton Roads around 2 p.m. and could move out of the region later Wednesday. Power outages By noon Wednesday, Dominion Energy was already reporting several thousand power outages in the Hampton Roads region, mostly in Gloucester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of about 5 p.m., there were more than 10,000 reported outages in the region, with most of them in James City, York and Gloucester counties, as well as Virginia Beach. Dominion Energy reported more than 6,000 outages in Gloucester at noon Wednesday. Current Weather Alerts Some parts of the storm could produce damaging winds and possibly tornadoes. Impacts across Hampton Roads There are preliminary reports of a tree down on both Jefferson Avenue and Omni Boulevard in Newport News, as well as tree damage and a snapped flagpole near Hampton Highway in York County. WAVY also received photos of wind damage in Williamsburg, with a power line down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Above: A tree and power line fell in Williamsburg Wednesday as storms blew through the region. (WAVY viewer photo Jenna Alva) In Smithfield, there was a report of a tree snapped along Foursquare Road. In northeastern North Carolina, powerlines were reported down throughout Perquimans County, and powerlines are down in Gates County. Viewers have also sent us photos of flooding in Suffolk, and a trampoline in a pool in Norfolk as the region has seen wind gusts upwards of 40 mph to 50 mph. A trampoline found its way into a pool in Norfolk Wednesday as high winds blew through the region. (WAVY viewer photo) WAVY viewer Josh Mathews sent us photos of damage in Mathews County on the Middle Peninsula. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another WAVY viewer in the Cobbs Creek area of Mathews County also reported damage from the storm. Due to the strong winds in the area, a tornado watch is in effect until March 5 at 8 p.m. for the following counties and cities: Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chesapeake, Emporia, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Greensville, Isle of Wight, James City, Southampton, Surry, Sussex and York. School closings and cancellations North Carolina Several schools in North Carolina are planning on early releases including in Currituck, Edenton, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, Gates County and more. NCDOTs ferry service will also be running on a limited schedule due to the weather conditions. For more information on the schedule, call 252-996-6000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement See closings and delays Accomack All Accomack County Public Schools closed at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday due to the severe weather. Chesapeake Chesapeake Public Schools has canceled all after-school and evening activities. Hampton Hampton City Schools announced all after-school and evening activities, athletic practices, and competitions are canceled Wednesday. The afternoon high school eLearning and GED programs at the Adult and Alternative Learning Center will transition to remote learning. The City of Hamptons School-Aged Programs are also canceling all after-school care and programs Wednesday. Franklin All after school activities for Franklin City Public Schools has been canceled for Wednesday. Franklin High School will close at 1 p.m. and S.P. Morton Elementary School will close at 2 p.m. Norfolk The city of Norfolk urged residents to exercise caution and prepare. In order to ensure trash and waste collection goes smoothly, residents are asked to bag all trash before placing it in the bin. This is especially important for small, lightweight items such as Styrofoam packing peanuts, according to the city. Norfolk Public Schools canceled all after-school activities for Wednesday. After-school care will continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tidewater Community College closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Virtual learning will continue as scheduled. Portsmouth Portsmouth Catholic Regional School closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday. There will be no afterschool activities or extended care. Suffolk All afterschool activities were canceled for Suffolk Public Schools Wednesday. Virginia Beach Beyond the Bell at St. Gregory the Great School is canceled for Wednesday. All afterschool activities and afterschool care will also be canceled for St. Matthews School. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. HONOLULU (KHON2) A Handi-Van driver narrowly missed getting serious injuries from a tree crashing down onto his vehicle on the afternoon of March 4. Those who live near Kalakaua Homes said they heard it first before seeing it. Woman, 88, dies after being hit by car in Hawaii Kai It sounded like maybe two cars crashing into each other at the time it went down, stated Makua Alii resident Jennifer Sedino. It sounded like a real loud banging sound. I got scared. I didnt know what it was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawaiis most dangerous professions: New report The Citys Department of Transportation Services said a falling tree struck one of its Handi-Vans. Photos taken by a resident show the roof of the Handi-Van caving in, its windows busted with metal frames hanging outside the van. 6 things to know about POTUS aim to curb protest freedoms on college campuses: Will it impact Hawaii? People, they walk by that place almost practically every day, Sedino said. That tree couldve taken that poor drivers life. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Residents were left shaken but according to EMS, nobody in the surrounding area was injured when the tree fell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It busted two windows too at two different apartments, Sedino said. No passengers were on board at the time, and the Handi-Van operator did not sustain any serious injuries, DTS said in a statement. KHON2 also reached out to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, but have not heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Congress is looking to make room for trillions in tax cuts that are titled to corporations and the wealthy. Now, America's health-care program for the disabled, pregnant women and low-income earners is up for possible large federal funding cuts. "Medicaid is not the biggest pot, but the president and congressional leaders have been pretty clear that there are other pots they don't want to touch," Beth Kohler, the CEO of the Arizona Association of Health Plans, said during her interview with The Gaggle. Republicans in the U.S. House have released a preliminary budget plan that calls for cutting $880 billion, likely from Medicaid, over the next nine years. Advertisement Advertisement More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid, with 2 million of them living in Arizona. The magnitude of the potential cuts, and the consequences for the people who rely on Medicaid, are on the minds of state lawmakers. They say the state needs to build its upcoming budget around the likelihood of cuts and tighten its belt. Their target is the state policy that expanded Medicaid a decade ago a move that kept rural hospitals from closing their doors and added more people to the rolls of AHCCCS, the states Medicaid program. This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are examining what cuts in Medicaid funding would mean for Arizona. First, a health care reporter at The Republic, Stephanie Innes, discusses how many people will be impacted by this decision. Later, Kohler shines a light on the politics of the situation. Listen to the episode The best way to listen is to subscribe to The Gaggle on your favorite podcast app, but you also can stream the full episode below. Advertisement Advertisement Note: The Gaggle is intended to be heard. But we also offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio. Follow The Gaggle and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter and Instagram. Listen to The Gaggle : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher Have a question or comment about Arizona politics? You can share your thoughts with us at 602-444-0804 or via email here. Reach the producer Amanda Luberto at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @amandaluberto and on Bluesky @amandaluberto. Catch up on previous Gaggle episodes here: This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Medicaid cuts under Trump would impact millions in Arizona Middle school teacher Joe Decker sits with Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) Ohio public schools have been begging the state for funding for air conditioning, for pencils, for special needs supports in their buildings. The U.S. Department of Education helps to fund many of their facilities, but with the looming threat that this money is going to be pulled, teachers are paralyzed. I see kids whose families dont have enough to eat, middle school teacher Joe Decker said. Kids who have to share beds with siblings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Decker knows that he serves some of the least privileged kids in the state. Columbus City Schools receives more federal money than any other district in Ohio. I already have students who are falling asleep because theyre hungry; I already have students who arent coming to school because they have to take care of a sick sibling; I have students who are afraid to come to school because of ICE, that think theyre going to be snatched up by law enforcement just because of where their family is from, he continued, referencing how the Trump administration is permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to go into schools. Every single student, more than 50,000, enrolled in Columbus City Schools in 2018 was considered disadvantaged, according to research done by The Ohio State University. At the time, the average household income was about $47,000. Anecdotally, Decker said that where he teaches, Mifflin Middle School, is on the lowest end of the average income level. Quick history The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 1997 in DeRolph v. State that the way the state funds schools is unconstitutional, relying too much on property taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the next three decades, lawmakers went back and forth on policy in an attempt to fix the unconstitutionality. The Ohio Education Association (OEA), as well as lawmakers on each side of the aisle, have deemed that it has been unconstitutional since then. However, some Republicans argue that because they are no longer using the struck-down policy, and since nothing else has been deemed unconstitutional in court, it cant be considered unconstitutional. Either way, there has been a bipartisan effort for years to fix the funding system. In 2021, a proposal that advocates cheered was finally passed. It required $333 million additional dollars a year for K-12 education funding or about $2 billion overall. It is called the Cupp-Patterson Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP). The rollout was supposed to take six years and is meant to change how public dollars are provided to schools. It would give additional support to local districts. The first two years were partially funded, the second two years were fully funded, and there are just two years left to go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, cuts are still taking place and not every school gets what it needs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Existing challenges With cuts made by lawmakers, Decker is already dealing with an increase in the number of kids in his class. There are no limits on how many special education children could be placed in my classroom I might have 24 along with like 10, 15 more mainstream kids, he said. Ive had classrooms from 42 to 26, I think. You have much bigger issues than worrying about school funding, this reporter remarked to him. The safety, the care, the hunger. To each item mentioned, he nodded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, he said. It brings me to tears when Im talking about my students. From the consolidation of their English as a Second Language classes to deciding to close numerous schools this past December, school funding is always top of mind for Decker. Columbus City Schools receives about $70 million from the federal government per year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Statewide, OEA reports that the federal agency funds $1.5 billion through programs like Title 1 to help low-income families and the IDEA program to assist families with special needs. What would happen to your classroom if that funding went away? we asked Decker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its already happening; the boat is sinking, he replied. Were bleeding our schools dry. Future challenges President Donald Trump and his allies have proposed defunding the U.S. Department of Education with an executive order set to come soon, according to state lawmakers. Some Ohio Republican leaders are encouraged by the administrations endorsement to disband the agency. Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) Were going to have a better idea of what Ohio education needs are than they are in Washington D.C., said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. McColley is one of the decision-makers who determines how much state money gets sent to Ohio schools. We asked him what benefits he sees, and he said flexibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Constitution originally envisioned the federal government would have no role in education and that it would be the states that control their own education, he continued. The problem after the Department of Education was established is its now basically legal bribery to the states to say You have to take this federal money, and you have to do everything that were asking you to do.' That so-called legal bribery, Decker responds, is just money for marginalized students. McColley argued back that the right amount of money would go into the best hands if state leaders got access to it. Were much more likely to figure out the education issues in this country by doing it that way than having a top down approach, the Republican said. But Trump cant do this himself. Constitutionally, Congress would need to decide how federal funds are distributed. This could mean that states would be put in charge of funding for low-income students and special needs resources. There are some safeguards to Title 1 and IDEA, and they cant just disappear without further congressional action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We would be better served to block grant that money to the state of Ohio and to all the other 49 states and basically say, Look, the beauty of this country is we have 50 laboratories of democracy,' McColley continued. Some states are gonna get it right. Some states are gonna get it wrong. But were going to be able to figure out the states that got it right and then hope to implement that on a wider basis. But if Ohio does get a lump sum, Decker doesnt trust elected leaders will do the right thing. I know lawmakers wont do what is right because Ive watched what theyve already done, the teacher said. Its going to the private schools. For years, Ohio has been a champion of another Trump priority: private school vouchers. Private school vouchers Trump and his new education secretary Linda McMahon are focusing on shifting funding priorities to school choice, or selecting alternative options to public schools. Federal funding will open up to private schools, and there will be grants that enable families to pursue faith-based education. Just last year, the GOP leadership in Ohio sent roughly $1 billion in public dollars to private schools. Families in Ohio can get thousands of dollars to send their children to a nonpublic school. This year, the House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is looking to slash at least $650 million in public education spending in this General Assemblys budget, arguing that private schools are better than public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is the least expensive, acceptable educational product for the taxpayer? Huffman asked rhetorically. If someone says theyre willing to take a $7,000 scholarship voucher and go to a private school rather than going to the school that on average in the state, its about $15,000 thats better for the taxpayers. Gov. Mike DeWine has said he would be fully funding public schools, but an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission shows a $103 million cut from traditional public schools over the two-year budget while costs for private charter schools and vouchers would go up another $500 million. Were proud to be offering students and families more choices than ever in terms of how they receive their education, the governor said when announcing his budget in February. Ohio has a long history of supporting parents and supporting choices made by parents regarding the education of their children. At the time of the budget announcement, journalists and the public were unable to see what the funding breakdown was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you think the voucher system is a way to privatize education? this reporter asked Decker. Most definitely, he responded. Governor DeWine is giving our public school money to families out in New Albany, out in Pataskala, out in Dublin, so that they can hand over tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a private school. The people at that school are going to turn around and give the money back to Governor DeWine and other people who will just keep that circle going. Decker mentioned the wealthy suburbs of Columbus, and he isnt wrong about money going there. The number of students receiving Ohio EdChoice Expansion vouchers increased from 23,272 students during the 2022-2023 school year to 82,946 students during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW). But the number of students enrolled in private schools during the 2023-24 school year only increased by 3,719 students, according to ODEW. DeWine and other legislative leaders argue that some public schools dont have what parents want. Theres no educational system where one size fits all works for everyone, now-U.S. Senator Jon Husted said while he was still lieutenant governor during a press conference. Another problem with vouchers, according to Decker, is the lack of accountability they have. Private schools arent fair because they get to pick and choose their students, Decker argued. Talking about political realities its de facto segregated, he said. Mifflin, he explained, has a student body population that is 70% Black students and 20% Hispanic, 5% Asian-American, and the remaining 5% white. All the kids who cant afford private schools, even with a voucher, or wont get in due to racial discrimination, will be stuck at the grossly underfunded public schools, he said. Taking away money from our public schools is demoralizing our public schools, its demoralizing our students and just cutting them 1,000 times over and over, he said, welling up with tears. It is heartbreaking to watch day after day. Now, at the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers are still debating how much state money should be going to schools. With the threat of cuts to both state and federal money, teachers believe the privatization of education is imminent and the least privileged will suffer the most. This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE HONOLULU (KHON2) In an effort to combat the ongoing issue of illegal fireworks in Hawaii, lawmakers are advancing several bills aimed at curbing the problem. Nadine Nakamura, first Asian American woman House speaker, honored One bill would provide funding for the existing Illegal Fireworks Task Force and extend its operation for another five years, as the task force was set to disband in June. This measure passed the Senate last week and is now under consideration in the House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another bill would create an Illegal Fireworks Enforcement Division within the Department of Law Enforcement, which would work alongside the task force. This bill passed its third reading on Tuesday. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You A third measure seeks to strengthen fireworks safety laws by introducing tougher penalties for fireworks-related offenses, particularly when someone is injured or killed. It also creates new criminal offenses for activities such as sending or receiving fireworks by air and distributing them without proper permits. This bill also passed its third reading Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The proposed bills are part of a broader effort by state lawmakers to address the growing concern over illegal fireworks in Hawaii. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Hundreds of people lined both sides of Beretania Street at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest against the Trump administration agenda, coinciding with President Donald Trumps speech to Congress in Washington, D.C. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @STARADVERTISER.COM Hundreds of people lined both sides of Beretania Street at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest against the Trump administration agenda, coinciding with President Donald Trumps speech to Congress in Washington, D.C. RELATED PHOTO GALLERY More than 100 protesters showed up at noon Tuesday in front of the state Capitol in Honolulu to speak out against President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk and their policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The grassroots political group 50501 organized the peaceful protest against the Trump administrations policies, with 50 events that take place in 50 U.S. states as part of one movement. Tuesday was designated as a national day of action for democracy following another rally held in February with the theme of No kings on Presidents Day. The protesters lined both sides of South Beretania Street, this time expressing their support for Ukraine and lashing out against the continued mass layoffs of federal workers and what they said was a dismantling of democracy. They held mostly handmade signs that said, God Bless Ukraine, Thieves in the White House and Send Musk to Mars, eliciting honks from motorists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A woman with a bullhorn led a chant : In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Some brought their pet dogs wearing Dogs against DOGE signs, referring to Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been slashing government positions. Lara Palafox of Hawaii Stands With Ukraine carried a blue-and-yellow umbrella, the colors of Ukraines flag, and a sign that said, The Only Peace Russia Wants Is a Piece of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im very concerned as an American citizen of Ukrainian heritage of the way in which way autocrats are taking over and taking away democracy, she told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. This is America. I think the former presidents would roll over in their graves to see what is happening to American today. She said she never thought an American president would stoop so low and side with an autocrat such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. She called the between Trump and Ukrai n ian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week disgusting. There was nothing diplomatic about it at all, she said. It looked like a schoolyard brawl where two guys were ganging up on this guy who had come to ask for help and has thanked American people many, many, many times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other side of her handmade sign, she wrote, You Snooze, You Lose Democracy. Trump on Tuesday evening lauded his administrations swift and unrelenting action during its first six weeks in his speech to a joint session of Congress. He said America was on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again. Also, he said that he was just getting started. Before the speech Byrde Cestare of Kailua wielded a pole with a U.S. flag at the protest, saying it was time to speak up. When the government is getting this corrupt, you have to take to the streets, she said. You cant stand by. You have to let them know this is not our future. What hes doing with Ukraine is just despicable. What hes doing with our government is despicable. So were not going to put up with four years of this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added that personally, she felt it was time to take back our flag. It is not a MAGA flag, she said. Its the American flag. And yeah, were in trouble. Paul Duarte-Noe was standing up for park rangers who had lost their jobs. He was a Kupu Hawaii serv ice member, working with various state and national parks as part of the nonprofits program. Recently, he was doing restoration work at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, and recalled that on the last day of service, half the staff had been terminated. He said hes most angry about the mischaracterization of federal workers as parasites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are the most selfless, heroic people who are taking care of the aina, he said. Park rangers save lives and theyre educating the keiki. Theyre anything but parasites. This 50501 protest Tuesday was in addition to an earlier one held on Presidents Day at the state Capitol protesting Project 2025. A protest was also held Saturday at national parks across the U.S. and outside of Pearl Harbor, Haleakala and Hawai i Volcanoes National Park to call attention to DOGEs slashing of park rangers. Weekly rallies are also scheduled, starting this evening, to protest Musk and his actions, at the Waikiki Tesla dealership on Kala kaua Avenue. High winds and dry conditions have significantly heightened the fire risk across Texas, prompting officials to warn of "extreme fire danger" in West Texas, stretching from the Big Bend region through the Permian Basin and north to the South Plains. The National Weather Service cautions that strong winds, low humidity, and warm temperatures could create "critical fire weather conditions" in southern New Mexico and far West Texas. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the entire region through 9 p.m. due to extreme fire risk, according to the NWS's Austin/San Antonio office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Some Hays County residents under evacuation orders due to active wildfires The NWS forecasts 25 to 40 mph winds, with gusts up to 60 mph, and humidity dropping as low as 6%. While winds are expected to weaken Tuesday, fire risk still remains high, and strong gusts could return later in the week. Update: 10K Austin Energy customers without power due to high winds as of 7 p.m. Tuesday Wildfire map: Track potential fires and smoke in Texas What is a Fire Weather Watch vs. Red Flag Warning? A Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning is issued when the combination of dry fuels and weather conditions supports extreme fire danger, according to the National Weather Service. Each NWS office creates local criteria for fire weather watches and red flag warnings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The key differences are that: A Fire Weather Watch is issued up to 72 hours before the above conditions are expected to occur. A Red Flag Warning is issued when the conditions above are expected to occur or are occurring within the next 24 hours. Texas wildfire risk near you: Search by address Ella McCarthy and Sarah Ann Duenas contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas wildfire map: Track Hays County fire, red flag warnings Some Hays County residents were told to evacuate on Tuesday due to active wildfires but as of 8 p.m. all such orders had been lifted. Multiple blazes popped up around the county on Tuesday amid dry and windy conditions. The largest, dubbed the Onion Creek Fire, burned a total of 174 acres but it did not impact any structures or cause any injuries, according to the Hays County Office of Emergency Management. Earlier Tuesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said it had been asked to help respond to the blaze, which had previously been dubbed the Ruby Ranch Fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was located in the Onion Creek area of Kyle and resulted in evacuation orders for the 4400 block of FM 150. Hays County fires threaten Kyle area: Track wildfires, red flag warnings in Central Texas Earlier on Tuesday, an evacuation order was lifted for residents living within 3 miles of the 800 block of Engelke Road in Niederwald. Evacuation alerts are being sent via Warn Central Texas. Residents can sign up to receive alerts at www.warncentraltexas.org. A non-emergency phone line at the Hays County Emergency Operations Center also has been established. The number is (512) 938-1600. Update: 10K Austin Energy customers without power due to high winds as of 7 p.m. Tuesday What's happening in the Austin area? The Austin Fire Department sent a few units to Hays County to assist with the fires there, said Mark Bridges, department division chief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were no fires of concern in Travis County, Bridges said in an interview shortly after 5 p.m. Bridges said the department brought in eight additional wildland firefighter units in anticipation of the high fire risk expected Tuesday. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the entire region through 9 p.m. due to extreme fire risk, according to the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office. "Very strong wind gusts and low relative humidity will support the rapid spread and difficult suppression of any wildfires that may ignite," the office said. "Avoid activities that could cause a wildfire!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the overnight hours into Wednesday, winds are anticipated to die down and humidity levels will creep back up, easing the wildfire risk, the weather service said. More: Austin's airport see's the third most delays across U.S. as winds rip through the city Why is it so hazy in Austin? The Austin-area continues to see large amounts of dust in the sky due to the strong winds but is not under any kind of advisory. The National Weather Service in San Angelo has issued a rare Blowing Dust Advisory for the areas around Abilene. The advisory warns drivers of hazardous road conditions and reduced visibility to less than a mile. Are there any other major fires in the region? Firefighters on Tuesday were working to contain a major blaze west of Johnson City that has been dubbed the Klett Fire, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Blanco County Sheriff's Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of mid-afternoon, it spanned as much as 100 acres and was 0% contained. This story has been updated to add video. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Evacuation orders lifted for Hays County residents in wake of wildfires BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A hearing in the case of two men charged in connection with the shooting deaths of four people at a trailer in Mojave was postponed Tuesday to late April, according to court records. Ricardo Reyes-Partida, charged with four counts of murder, and Jonathan Hernandez, charged as an accessory, are now scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 28. Both men also face numerous other charges. On the night of April 30, 2023, deputies were dispatched to H Street in Mojave and found four shooting victims at an RV. Three were declared dead at the scene; the fourth died hours later at Antelope Valley Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those killed were Darius Travon Canada, 31, of Mojave; Anna Marie Hester, 34, of Mojave; Martina Barraza, 33, of Mojave; and Faith Leighanne Rose Asbry, 20, of California City. Reyes-Partida argued with some of the victims earlier in the day, and the gun used in the shooting was linked to him, according to court documents. Multiple witnesses who were questioned by investigators provided a possible motive: Reyes-Partida, a drug dealer and user with a nasty temper, was angry over a missing cellphone rumored to be in the possession of one of the victims. Hernandez, who has a daughter with one of Reyes-Partidas sisters, is alleged to have owned the gun used in the killings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) A heat lamp placed near wood chips is blamed for a fire in Wellington. It happened around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of S. Washington. Wellington Fire/EMS arrived to find the back of the home involved in a heavy fire. All of the residents escaped, and the fire was quickly extinguished. The department said the lamp was used to keep some chickens warm on the back porch. The loss is estimated at $55,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayfield and the Belle Plaine firefighters assisted in battling the blaze. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. UPDATE 3/6: Senate Bill 337 has yet to see any movement since it was circled on the Senate floor earlier this week. With Friday, March 7, being the last day of the 2025 Legislative Session, it is highly unlikely the bill will be addressed this year. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A controversial economic development bill introduced a week before the end of the 45-day Utah Legislative Session passed the committee Monday before being paused on the Senate floor. S.B. 337 Land Use and Development Amendments sets out to create a powerful new state entity called the Beehive Development Agency (BDA), which would work to expedite and coordinate economic development projects, like housing or energy projects, funded through property tax differentials. The agency would have planning, bonding, land use, and taxing authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement READ NEXT: What could the tariffs on Canada, Mexico mean for Utahns?. The bill has the backing of some of the states heavy hitters, like Governor Spencer Coxs office. Sponsor Sen. Kirk Cullimore (R Draper) said it would be a limited tool for the Governors Office of Economic Opportunity to create and attract big-impact, generational projects, such as nuclear power plants, large manufacturing areas, and coordinate housing projects under a single housing office. Theres a demand for (development) out there, we would just like to see it more strategically coordinated, Cullimore told reporters, specifying that the agency would be for projects that benefit the state, not a new subdivision and a Walmart, he said. Locals demand buy-in An original version of the bill had a provision that local cities and counties would not have a say in any of the development, but a substitute version removed that to allow for local buy-in via a city or countys legislative body. Even still, critics say this agency is an expansive use of state power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill sets up an Economic Opportunity Coordinating Council comprised of state leaders and city stakeholders to council the BDA. Utah needs to enhance its ability to respond quickly and efficiently to significant economic development opportunities, Cullimore said to the committee. Fear of government overreach While the bill passed the committee, several residents expressed concerns about transferring power from elected officials to a private entity, saying it would be a shadow organization controlled by the governor with little public oversight. Others expressed concerns about having such a broad bill fast-tracked near the end of the session. A lot of people have just had it with the legislature. They just feel like you guys up here are not responsive. They dont want statewide control, they want local control. They dont want a new entity with taxing authority. They dont want coordinated efforts, they want freedom from their government, said Maryann Christensen, the executive director of Utah Legislature Watch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. John Johnson voted against the bill, citing similar concerns, saying, As a legislature, were losing credibility with the public that thinks we rush into things and we dont listen. Johnson continued: I have a hard time supporting it because I worry about the perception. We a lot of times lose the battle because we dont communicate effectively what we are trying to do. Other lawmakers approved of the bill, but felt there was still work that needed to be done. Sen. Ann Millner (R Ogden) said its time to centralize and coordinate development better, and while the bill still needs some work, she said Cullimore showed he was willing to make changes. I feel like we need to have the opportunity to keep it moving and get it in the right place because I really do feel like its important for the future of Utah, Millner said. Great Salt Lake concerns The Utah Rivers Council is one of the groups most ardently opposed to the bill, claiming the bill would hijack local tax revenue and could lead to projects that greatly increase water rates and dry up the Great Salt Lake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council, along with the Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper, said the bill could pave the way for previously proposed water projects to move forward, potentially diverting water from the Great Salt Lake. The BDA is tasked with and given all the powers to get those projects done by forcing them on local communities since they will be exempt from local land use controls. To add insult to injury, the community can have its current tax collections hijacked to pay for the project, the press release read. Whats next? The bill was circled on the Senate floor Monday, just days before the end of the 2025 Legislative Session. It is unclear at this time if it will have enough time to go through both the Utah Senate and House before Friday. I think there is some positives in the bill that need to be refined and we probably need to keep it moving through the process so we can at least have a discussion, Senate President Adams said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Six years after Texas lawmakers inadvertently triggered the states booming consumable hemp market, one chamber of the Legislature is pushing to shut down the industry by barring products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Yet even with the backing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful Texas Senate leader, the proposal to ban THC faces uncertain prospects in the House, where the hemp industry is bullish about getting lawmakers to tighten regulations rather than quashing most of their products altogether. In the lower chamber, efforts to ban THC products have failed to gain traction, and this session no House lawmaker has filed anything akin to Senate Bill 3, which would outlaw products containing any amount of THC. House leadership has avoided weighing in on the matter, including Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, who did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Bordas, executive director of the Texas Hemp Business Council, said his group is cautiously optimistic that House lawmakers will forgo a ban and accept thoughtful regulations such as restricting THC products to Texans 21 and older, requiring tamper-proof packaging, and barring sales within a certain distance of schools. Some have also proposed tighter and more consistent testing requirements to ensure hemp products do not contain excessive levels of THC. We think at the end of the day, cooler heads will prevail, Bordas said. We hope the Legislature will recognize that there are more than 50,000 jobs and lots of small businesses at stake, people's livelihoods as well as lives. People that have problems with alcohol or opioid addiction have turned to hemp so that they can be functional members of society again. Thousands of cannabis dispensaries have popped up across Texas since 2019, when the GOP-controlled Legislature authorized the sale of consumable hemp. That law, passed one year after hemp was legalized nationwide, was intended to boost Texas agriculture by allowing the commercialization of hemp containing trace amounts of non-intoxicating delta-9 THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana. What ensued was a proliferation of hemp products, ranging from gummies and beverages to vapes and flower buds, that can now be bought at more than 8,300 locations around the state, from dispensaries to convenience stores. The products are not allowed to contain more than a 0.3% concentration of THC; anything higher is classified as marijuana, which remains illegal in Texas aside from limited medical use. Still, the hemp-derived products look, taste and sometimes have intoxicating effects similar to their more potent sibling. (Hemp and marijuana plants are both cannabis plants; the difference lies in their THC levels.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican who carried the 2019 hemp legalization bill, says lawmakers did not intend to allow for such an explosion of consumable products. His latest proposal, SB 3, would make it illegal to possess or manufacture products containing THC outside the states medical marijuana program. Violators would face up to a year in jail for possessing such products and 2 to 10 years in prison for manufacturing them under Perrys bill, which is among Patricks top priorities this session. At a hearing on SB 3 this week, Perry blasted the hemp industry, saying that they had exploited the 2019 law he helped pass to the point that it has endangered public health with dangerously high THC concentrations. From a credibility perspective, the current industry providers and there are several that are controllers of this industry have shown not to be trustworthy, Perry said. And now what they're all screaming about is, we want regulation, but we want it the way we want it. It is now time, Perry said, to get the genie back in the bottle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not everyone is on board with the idea. Critics say the ban would effectively eliminate Texas hemp industry and its roughly 50,000 jobs, along with tax revenue from the $8 billion it generates annually, by one estimate. And instead of solving public health concerns, critics argue, a ban would make things worse by forcing consumers into an unregulated black market, promoting easier access to even more potent products. You don't cure alcoholism by banning light beer, Bordas said. Hemp is the light beer of cannabis offerings. If Texas has a THC problem, doesn't it stand to reason that the source of that THC problem is the high-potency marijuana with higher concentrations of THC? Supporters of Perrys bill say those high THC levels are already found in retail products that purport to be under the legal limit. Steve Dye, chief of the Allen Police Department in north Texas, said recent undercover operations in his city found THC concentrations that tested up to 78% in some products well above the 0.3% threshold. (The manager of one shop raided by Allen authorities has filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the search warrants and lab tests.) Labels on many products do not reflect the actual level of THC inside the packaging, which is leading to accidental intoxications, overdoses and increased addiction for these psychoactive products, particularly to our youth, Dye told Senate lawmakers at Mondays hearing on SB 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, state and federal law places no age limits and loose and inconsistent testing requirements on Texas hemp industry. While SB 3 would ban THC products, it would continue to allow the non-intoxicating, non-psychoactive cannabidiol known as CBD. And it would place firmer restrictions on those products along the lines of what hemp industry leaders propose for THC consumables, including barring sales or marketing to minors under 21 and requiring tamper-evident, child-resistant, and resealable product packaging. Throughout the several-hour hearing, scores of people urged senators to impose tighter regulations to rein in high THC levels, rather than banning the products. Law enforcement cleared the Senate gallery after multiple outbursts from attendees cheering on witnesses who criticized the bill. Kevin Hale, legislative coordinator for the Texas Libertarian Party, said Perrys bill amounts to blatant government overreach and pulls the rug out from under hemp business owners who spent the last six years investing in storefronts, payrolls, marketing and supply chains. These products are in demand by your constituents. They are not dangerous, Hale said. Libertarians believe in a free and open, transparent market. This bill does the opposite, pushing consumers and suppliers back into the black market, where the labels and ethics are unchecked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some patients and doctors say the THC in cannabis can be used effectively to combat pain, depression, anxiety, appetite problems and nausea. Under the states Compassionate Use Program, lawmakers have allowed some Texans to use medical marijuana to treat conditions that include epilepsy, seizures, autism, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. Though some veterans use the medical marijuana program for PTSD and other conditions, a number of veterans groups oppose Perrys bill, with some telling the Senate committee Monday that they prefer to use the more affordable and accessible THC products found at everyday retailers. But David Bass, an Army veteran who founded a group called Texas Veterans for Medical Marijuana, said it would be expensive to properly regulate the hemp industry. He urged lawmakers to support SB 3 and focus on expanding the states Compassionate Use Program. I do not want our veterans using these hemp derivatives, Bass said. The reason is, they have no idea what they are taking and they are not using these products under the care of a physician. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Texas Compassionate Use Program, Bass said, we know exactly the origin and formulation of our meds. DPS inspects and certifies CUP meds, and we use CUP meds under the care of our doctors. As things stand, however, the hemp industry has overwhelming advantages over the state program, said Jervonne Singletary, senior director of government relations at Goodblend, one of three medical marijuana providers in Texas. For one, she said, patients have to jump through so many hoops to place and receive orders that some may opt to simply pick up THC products from the gas station around the corner. Right now, hemp businesses can really locate anywhere throughout the state that they want. They can be next door to your child's school, Singletary said. Most liquor stores cant do that, we certainly can't do that, and we think it only makes sense to bring them in line. Another Perry bill, SB 1505, would take aim at the issue by allowing medical marijuana providers to operate satellite storage facilities designed to make it easier for patients to access their prescriptions. The bill would also double the cap on licensed medical marijuana dispensers, to six from three. We cant wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 1315 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Amid legal action, apparent character attacks, and a police chiefs absence, Henderson City Hall broke into disorder again, but both sides are calling for the fighting to end. The reintroduced item, not on the agenda, involved unanswered questions regarding the administrative leave for Henderson Police Chief Hollie Chadwick. The issue caused infighting between Councilwoman Carrie Cox and other members of the council, including Mayor Michelle Romero during an evening public meeting. It would be easy to sit here and say nothing, but Ive had a lot of questions in the last two weeks, Cox said. Many people, many have called me, emailed me to express their feelings about current situations at the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox said she understood disagreements between her and her colleagues might happen, and said her call for transparency was not intended to be at odds with the council but backed by the citys exceptional governance policy and protocol manual. Its laid out in our [manual] that we are independent, impartial, and responsible to the public, she said. The public interest must be our primary concern, and we shall be loyal to the objectives expressed by the public. In response, Councilwoman Monica Larson responded to Coxs comments and described her stance as hypocritical. When the individual spoke about the governance policy. The charter is not Do as I say, not as I do, Larson said. There has to be accountability and not grandstanding and making excuses and denying conduct has warranted certain resistance, if youll call it that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Larson acknowledged the council was not agreeing on the best way to handle the public-facing response to Chadwicks administrative leave, but said disagreements were not the problem. The reintroduced item, not on the agenda, involved unanswered questions regarding the administrative leave for Henderson Police Chief Hollie Chadwick. (KLAS) Its not a matter of disagreeing, its about decorum and conducting yourself, she said. Of course, youre going to disagree on certain things, but what you see is not what is. Have some decorum Seconds after Larsons statements, Cox started to respond to some of the comments regarding a recently changed endorsement from Hendersons police union, but Mayor Romero attempted to move on to schedule the next meeting. Since you brought up endorsements, Cox said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will set the next redevelopment meeting, Romero said. Thank you, Carrie, Larson said in response. Youve had your turn. The audience appeared to boo the disorderly moment from the city council, before Romero struck her gavel. I am going to call a recess until we can have some decorum, Romero said. Id like to make a- Cox said. No, Romero responded. Five minutes. Have some decorum. The council members left the chamber while residents sat and spoke amongst themselves, some expressing displeasure at the abrupt adjournment. Cox and Larson appeared to continue to argue for a minute after the recess was called. The council reconvened after the five-minute recess. When will we know? After the meeting 8 News Now spoke with Romero and Larson after the meeting about the moment which played out in front of residents and for the public record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think sometimes when emotions are running high and things are being said, you need to take a minute just to recompose yourself, get gather your thoughts, Romero said. And then start the meeting back up so it can stay on focus and thats exactly what happened. Larson said the meeting went great, as far as for her being able to share what she intended to share. Councilwoman Cox, again, went out of turn, Larson said. And she continues to try and spin a different narrative instead of the truth. After the meeting 8 News Now spoke with Romero and Larson after the meeting about the moment which played out in front of residents and for the public record. (KLAS) Romero was asked if the public will learn more about the reason Chief Chadwick was placed on administrative leave on the Thursday deadline. We are working very hard every day to make as transparent as possible whats happening in local government, Romero said. There are things that we cant make public, and thats personnel matters, and thats exactly what this is. As soon as the city manager has a decision and is able to go forward with one and whats going to happen next, she will make that available to the public, and she will keep them informed. Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause, who made the decision to place Chadwick on administrative leave is expected to provide some information for public access regarding her decision on Mar. 6. Call for transparency Cox told 8 News Now after the meeting she would have liked to continue her response to Larson and defended her stance as backed by public support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im sure that with the comments that Councilwoman Larson was making, that it was uncomfortable and that we needed to have a recess, she said. I work really hard for residents to have their voice, and I just think that that is what we need to do in a council meeting, is so that everybody can say what they need to say, but we do need to keep it respectful. Councilwoman Carrie Cox said she understood disagreements between her and her colleagues might happen, and said her call for transparency was not intended to be at odds with the council but backed by the citys exceptional governance policy and protocol manual. (KLAS) As for the information regarding Chadwicks administrative leave, Cox cited state law which bars her from discussing more about a personnel matter handled by city administrators. She reiterated her call for transparency and expressed caution. I think that its really important for us to remember that dont believe everything you hear, and this is a case of where theres just a lot of questions, Cox said. And at this point again, we have to say something I do think there needed to be a statement made, to be able to bring some comfort and understanding to our residents. Cox said it is important the council works together and serves an impartial responsibility to the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important that we have our own opinions and that were able to share those, and were able to respectfully have conversations and that to explore what each other thinks and believes, she said. Because thats how well have the best Henderson. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) With fire danger high across the Big Country, multiple counties are now under burn bans. In response to the elevated risk, the Taylor County Commissioners Court held an emergency meeting on Tuesday the third since 1999 to enact a burn ban. Fire weather concerns on Tuesday for most of the Big Country Precinct 1 Commissioner Randy Williams noted that despite last nights rainfall, very little water remains standing, as most of it soaked into the dry ground. Precinct 2 Commissioner Kyle Kendrick added that this time of year is when many residents burn off grass patches to reduce fuel loads. With the burn ban now in effect, he emphasized the importance of monitoring conditions closely so the ban can be lifted as soon as its safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioner Chuck Statler reminded the court that this is only the third time a special session has been called since he was elected in 1999. One of those instances was another weather-related emergency the July 7, 2002, Buffalo Gap-Tuscola flood. Counties under a burn ban as of March 4, 2025: Brown Knox Comanche Fisher Mitchell Nolan Runnels Stonewall Taylor Throckmorton Runnels Brown Comanche The Texas A&M Forest Service has forecasted fire danger ranging from moderate to extreme across the Big Country in the coming days. Conditions are expected to ease slightly on Wednesday before climbing back to a very high risk on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. ST. LOUIS For years, Tim Basler has placed a tent outside of the Chavas restaurant on Mardi Gras, selling food items and generating money for Lift for Life Academy. But when he was diagnosed with an incurable type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the restaurant and school decided the money raised at this years Mardi Gras should go to the high school teacher who has worked to update a weight room. Chesterfield police seek man for stealing, injuring cops Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve called a lot of doctors about our options and what we can afford and what we could do, said Tim and Colleen Basler. Weve already had a few trips to Houston, so this is going to be a big help. A surprise took place at Lift for Life Academy Tuesday afternoon, and many hugsas a realizationthat various people touched by Mr. Basler wanted to be there for a check presentation. Tim knows that we do our annual donations where the teachers work the booth, said Chris Ybarra, the owner of Chavas Mexican Restaurant. The money goes to the Academy, to the weight room that needs some help. But we decided Tim needed it more than the weight room that needs some repair. The money raised this past Saturday, $12,000, would go to the medical expenses the father of three is facing as he deals with cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Lift for Life Academy Deputy Director Dr. Katrice Noble empathizes with what Basler is going through. She lost her son, Keith, to kidney cancer. The kids at Lift for Life Academy found out some kind of way, Noble said. They said, Did you know that Mr. Basler had cancer? I replied that I did, and they said, Dang. He doesnt act like it. Thats because he shows up every single day. He gives 110% of himself every single day. I couldnt ask for a better employee. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) As high winds move through East Tennessee, several roads within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are temporarily closed. Storm Team 6 is continuing to monitor the chance for strong winds and showers overnight into Wednesday. In the valley, with gusts of over 40 mph being possible, and much stronger gusts could happen in the Mountains. Evacuation ordered as crews fight 100-acre wildfire near Tellico Plains Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the park, the following roads are closed: Cherokee Orchard Road at Twin Creeks Laurel Creek Road Foothills Parkway West between Wears Valley and Walland Several counties in East Tennessee, including the Smoky Mountains, are under a High Wind Warning due to the possibility for guests as strong as 80 mph, as well as a Red Flag Warning because of the threat the wind may cause any fires that develop to spread rapidly. TN Army National Guard deploy helicopters to Johnson County for wildfire In Monroe County, crews are battling a wildfire that has grown to 100 acres in size near Tellico Plains. The high winds and unstable conditions prompted local leaders to order evacuations for areas near the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. Not only did Armenia manage to sign a declaration of partnership with the United States just a few days before the administration changed in Washington, but these fools hope that Trump will fulfill this declaration! Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview today that Washington and Yerevan should strive to implement the previously signed declaration on cooperation. "A document has been signed between Armenia and the United States, which we should consider as an agenda and strive to implement. We hope that within its framework, the existing opportunities will be revealed and strengthened," said Pashinyan, speaking confidently. He's an amazing character, of course. Do you remember what Trump was like during his first term in the White House? Well, look at how he's been behaving in recent weeks. They gave you a kick, and you continue to hope with real donkey stubbornness that Armenia and the United States will be partners forever? Employees at a Mexican restaurant in Ohio have expressed outrage after a server was left a note calling for their deportation instead of a tip. The message was left at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina on East Broad Street, Columbus, on Sunday to a server known only as Ricardo. A photo of the bill, which came out to $87.84, was shared on social media by an employee and has since gone viral. In the section where the customer typically fills in the gratuity, this customer left a note in the tip section reading: Zero. You suck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope Trump deports you!!!, was scrawled in block capitals on the signature line, a nod to President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown since returning to the White House last month. The server only works at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina on Sundays and also holds down a second job, the restaurants head of marketing Fabio Oribo told NBC4. Undated photograph of Cazuelas Mexican Cantina on East Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio (Cazuelas Mexican Cantina/Facebook) Oribo said he believed the customer became disgruntled following a dispute involving a coupon. Its just not right, just not right, Oribo said. Hes a really good person and like I said, we all here, like, come here every day to do our job, which is to serve people and have a good time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cazuelas Mexican Cantina released a statement on Monday rallying behind their employee and calling the community to stand against hate. At Cazuelas Mexican Cantina, we believe in the power of respect, tolerance and acceptance. Recently, one of our team members faced an unacceptable situation, and we stand firmly against any form of hate or discrimination, it read. Together, we will continue to create a welcoming space for everyone. Thank you for your unwavering support! The message was left at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina on East Broad Street, Columbus, on Sunday to a server known only as Ricardo (Facebook) Century 21 confirmed that the customer was formerly an employee and has since been terminated. After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand, the company said in a statement to NBC4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A GoFundMe fundraiser had been set up for the server by a woman claiming to be a loyal customer at the restaurant. It had raised more than $14,300 dollars by Wednesday afternoon. They enjoyed the food. They enjoyed the service. And then, instead of tipping, they decided to show their true colors in the most disgusting way possible, the organizer said. The woman, who shared screenshots of an exchange with Oribo, said she is in contact with Cazuelas Mexican Cantinas management and that 100% of the funds raised go directly to Ricardo. A Celebrate Ricardo event has been scheduled for Sunday, the fundraiser organizer stated. More than 30 people had expressed interest in attending by Wednesday afternoon, according to its event page on Facebook. The Independent has contacted Cazuelas Mexican Cantina for more information. PITTSFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) The only Latina-owned brewery in Massachusetts has ranked third place in USA Todays Best New Breweries poll. Hot Plate Brewing Co., located in Pittsfield, was the only brewery in Massachusetts to make the 10Best Readers Choice list. A panel of beer experts selected the nominations through USA Today, reviewing hand-crafted breweries founded within the past three years. The poll released on Wednesday shows Frazier Creek Brewing & Distilling Co in Stuart, Florida ranked as No. 1, followed by RAK Brewing Co in Frederick, Maryland and then Hot Plate Brewing Co. in Pittsfield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dream of Hot Plate Brewing began in 2017, when homebrewers Sarah Real and Mike DellAquila lived in a New York City condo and were issued a code violation, losing gas in the building. City of Springfield provides update to South Main Street development plan Rather than giving up on their aspirations to brew beer from home, they shifted their plan to brewing on a hot plate, which inspired their future business endeavors. Before we made the transition to joining the craft beer industry, we were fans for almost twenty years, said owner and head brewer Real. Whether traveling across the country or even in different industrial neighborhoods in Brooklyn, we saw how breweries could become anchor tenants and lead to all sorts of development around them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, the pair moved to western Massachusetts and were drawn to downtown Pittsfield. Seeing the communitys efforts to boost the economy with local businesses, Real and DellAquilla put their own vision to work. Hot Plate has been a wonderful addition to the downtown and has capitalized on the economic incentives the city has provided, said Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti. The city of Pittsfield is committed to continuing this work on attracting new businesses, to not only downtown but all across Pittsfield. Hot Plate Brewing largely employs a female and queer staff and collaborates with many mission-aligned organizations to raise funds for local organizations. Women of color own less than 1% of all breweries, so the impact of Hot Plates efforts has not been lost on the staff and the city. Theres a lot of chatter in this industry about how beer brings people together, said co-founder and General Manager DellAquila. The question is, what do you do once you have those people together, and can you create a diverse enough audience to create a real-world impact? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hot Plate Brewing Co. has 12 beers on tap, including lagers, porters, ales, stouts, and IPAS. The brewery also serves coffee, tea, and home-baked goods. To view the full list of USA Todays Best New Breweries, visit usatoday.com. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Former Houston Mayor and U.S. Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner has died at the age of 70. According to his Instagram, Turner was inside the Capitol just before President Donald Trump took the stage for his first joint address to Congress. News of Turners death was announced by Houston Mayor John Whitmire during a city council meeting Wednesday (March 5) morning. Its my duty as mayor to confirm that Congressman Turner passed away last night, Whitmire said. He was working in Washington and was taken to the hospital and he passed. Born and raised in Houston, Turner began his political career after graduating from Harvard Law School. He served in the Texas House of Representatives for 27 years starting int 189. He represented District 139, according to records from the City of Houston. In 2015, Turner was elected mayor of his hometown was reelected in 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Houston native returned to the legislative office just last year after the death of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. We have no doubt Mayor Turner will carry on our mothers legacy of service because weve witnessed it almost our entire lives, Lees children said of the former mayor in August 2024. Our mother had no greater partner than Mayor Turner and he honors her with his willingness to dutifully and humbly serve as a sturdy bridge to the next generation of leadership. Since November 2024, Turner had been working in Washington, D.C. Just yesterday, he took to Instagram to send a message to Trump. My message to the current administration for tonights State of the Union: Dont mess with Medicaid, he said. Soon afterwards, Turner was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. Two years before his death, Turner announced he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his jaw. He had been receiving treatment, according to Fox 26 Houston. At this time, his exact cause of death has not been determined, according to officials. This comes as a shock to everyone, Mayor Whitmire said. Ive lost a personal friend, advisor and weve lost an outstanding public servant. No one will be able to step into Sylvesters shoes and carry on his duties because theres only one Sylvester Turner. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. UPDATE: On Thursday, Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that he has signed HB1052 into law. In his two-page letter to the Legislature, the governor wrote: I made my decision based on my own consideration of the facts, the policy arguments, legislative history, my own opinions and experience, and my judgment about what is best for South Dakota. KELOLANDS Jacob Newton is gathering reaction. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) The decision now facing Gov. Larry Rhoden of whether to veto House Bill 1052 or allow the proposed ban on eminent domain for CO2 pipelines to become law is something that wouldnt have happened just a year ago. But a lot has changed in the past 12 months, triggered by the Legislatures passage of a very different approach last year that wound up being referred to a statewide vote and then rejected in 65 of South Dakotas 66 counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kurtenbach leaves as CEO of Daktronics Heres a look at whats transpired and whats yet to happen. 1052 and changes in the Legislature The passage of Senate Bill 201 last year led directly in the 2024 elections to significant turnover among lawmakers. More than a dozen Republican incumbents who voted for SB 201 lost in primary contests, while many Republican incumbents who voted against SB 201 won primaries. That led to a major shakeup in November when the Republican caucuses for the House and Senate met to elect leadership for the 2025-2026 term. The new House Republican leadership Speaker Jon Hansen, majority leader Scott Odenbach, speaker pro tem Karla Lems and majority assistant leader Marty Overweg all had opposed SB 201. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Likewise in the Senate, where Chris Karr was chosen as the chambers president pro tem and Carl Perry was picked as assistant majority leader. Both had voted against SB 201. The one exception was majority leader Jim Mehlhaff, who had voted for SB 201. The turnover was further reflected in how 1052, whose prime sponsor is Lems and lead Senate sponsor is first-year Republican lawmaker Mark Lapka, fared this year versus how House Bill 1219 did a year ago. Hansens 2024 attempt to prohibit eminent domain for CO2 pipelines failed 7-6 in the House committee. When he tried to get the House to debate it, his attempt failed 32-36. This year, 1052 sailed through its House committee hearing 10-3, then cruised through the full House 49-19. At its Senate hearing, 1052 received a 7-2 endorsement. The 23-12 vote for it Tuesday in the full Senate however was one yes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a governors veto. 1052 and Summits proposed CO2 line Summit has applied to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for a permit to construct a pipeline through eastern South Dakota that would collect CO2 from various ethanol manufacturing plants and pipe the gas to central North Dakota, where it would be buried. The South Dakota segment would be part of a line that also serves ethanol producers in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission has scheduled an evidentiary hearing to start Wednesday, August 13, and continue for five weeks, concluding on Friday, September 12. The commission must reach a decision no later than one year after Summits application was filed November 19, 2024. That means 1052, should it become law, would take effect on July 1 of this year and be in place before the evidentiary hearing begins. Summit reportedly has about 49% of the voluntary easements from landowners along its proposed route in South Dakota. An amendment to 1052 from Republican Sen. David Wheeler failed in the Senate on Tuesday 14-21; it would have allowed Summit to use eminent domain once it had a state permit and had secured 75% of voluntary easements. A comparison of the two roll-call votes showed that Republican senators Larry Zikmund and Randy Deibert voted for Wheelers amendment and then, after the amendment had failed, voted for 1052. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wheelers amendment was more restrictive than one that had been prepared for Republican Sen. Stephanie Sauder. Her amendment would have set the voluntary easements threshold at 67%, but it wasnt offered for consideration. 1052 and the Gevo project A company called Gevo wants to build a sustainable aviation-fuels plant at Lake Preston. The proposed Gevo plant would link to the Summit CO2 line and last fall received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $1.46 billion guaranteed loan. Gevo broke ground at the Lake Preston site in September 2022. Rhoden, who was lieutenant governor at the time, and First Gentleman Bryon Noem participated in the event, while then-Gov. Kristi Noem issued a news release hailing the proposed project as the largest economic investment in South Dakota history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The South Dakota Board of Economic Development, which functions as an arm of the Governors Office of Economic Development, approved a $12,294,059 tax break for the project a few weeks later. The following May, a separate arm of GOED known as the South Dakota Economic Development Finance Authority took steps toward approving a private activity bond issue for up to $187 million of qualified solid waste management facility expenses for the Gevo project. Not much has happened at the Lake Preston site. Whether the federal conditional loan commitment remains in effect isnt known, now that President Trump has returned to the White House this year. A question about that sent to Gevos public relations office last month hasnt been answered. A spokesperson for Summit said the pipeline wouldnt be affected by any federal funding cuts. 1052 and the courts The legislation, should it become law, could affect a half-dozen cases in South Dakotas state courts. The South Dakota Supreme Court last year ruled it was premature for the justices to reach a decision on whether the CO2 pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions qualified as a common carrier, whether CO2 was a commodity, and whether the company therefore could claim eminent domain for the proposed route of the pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wrote Justice Janine Kern, As SCSs counsel acknowledged before this Court at oral argument, the classification of CO2 as a commodity when it is being transported and sequestered underground is a novel question of first impression. Here, the record is simply devoid of any indication that CO2 is being used in this context as an article of trade or commerce or being sold as an economic good. Instead, it appears from our review of the record that the economic item of value at play here may be the tax credit generated by the sequestration of the CO2, a determination which is driven by federal energy policies. Justice Kern noted that, unlike some other states, The Legislature of South Dakota, however, has been silent on this particular subject. On the basis of an undeveloped record regarding pricing terms and business structure, we are unwilling to make such a significant determination, particularly one that is heavily bound up in policy considerations. On the limited factual record before us, SCS has not demonstrated, as a matter of law in these summary judgment proceedings, a reasonable probability that the CO2 being transported and sequestered in the case will be put to any productive use. 1052 and the South Dakota GOP The legislation and the broader issue of landowner rights vs. CO2 pipelines has already greatly reshaped the leadership and the direction of the South Dakota Republican Party central committee. Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes didnt seek re-election as state GOP chairman in 2024 after six years in that position, in part because he had become linked to Summit Carbon Solutions. Lederman is listed as a senior advisor for LS2 Group, a Des Moines, Iowa-based lobbying firm that has represented Summit and Energy Transfer Partners, which operates the Dakota Access crude-oil pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then-state Sen. John Wiik was elected as the South Dakota Republicans new chair, but he didnt seek re-election this year. He too had voted for SB 201. Instead three candidates ran to replace Wiik, and the winner last month was Jim Eschenbaum. He is a Hand County Commission member from rural Miller and chaired the group that successfully referred SB 201 to a statewide vote and kept it from become state law. After its new leaders were chosen, the South Dakota GOP central committee then passed a resolution supporting passage of HB 1052. Elected as vice chair was Janet Jensen of Rapid City. She is married to Republican Rep. Phil Jensen, who recently was elected as the new chair for the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, a group that organized at the 2022 Republican state convention. The Freedom Caucus issued a news release on June 29 that year calling for a special legislative session on abortion. It has since issued many news releases aligning itself against CO2 pipelines and with landowner rights. The Republican partys new secretary is state Rep. Tina Mulally. She was treasurer for the ballot measure committee that worked to overturn SB 201. Elected without opposition as South Dakota GOP secretary was Starla Russell of Hot Springs. She is married to a former state senator, Republican Lance Russell, who is now the Fall River County states attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new Republican officers Jensen, Mulally and Russell replace vice chair Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, treasurer Brett Koenecke and secretary Marilyn Oakes. Fitzgerald voted for SB 201. Koenecke, a member of the May Adam law firm in Pierre, represents Summit Carbon Solutions. He had succeeded another lawyer at the May Adam firm, Justin Bell, as state GOP treasurer. Bell now lobbies for Summit as well. 1052 and lobbyists On the pro-CO2 pipeline side, the 2025 registered-lobbyist listing shows nine people representing Summit Carbon Solutions; eight representing various ethanol producers whose manufacturing facilities would connect to Summits proposed line; four for the proposed GEVO airplane-fuel plant that also would connect to the proposed line; one for the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and four for Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. On the anti-CO2 pipeline side, the 2025 registration listing shows two people representing South Dakota Farmers Union; three representing Dakota Rural Action; and four representing South Dakota Stockgrowers Association. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. [Editors note: This article has been updated to clarify the sale status of the home, as reported by fire officials.] BARBERTON, Ohio (WJW) A house that exploded on Tuesday evening was in the process of being sold; the buyers had made their down payment just a few hours earlier, Barberton Fire Chief Stephen Ionno told FOX 8 News. Ionno told FOX 8 News the Barberton Fire Department, State Fire Marshal and ATF will be on the scene Wednesday to investigate and look for new clues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Owner charged after abandoned dog found in snowy Parma Heights park: Police Though the house on Belleview Avenue was vacant, the electrical and gas services remained on while the property changed hands. The hot water heater and furnace were part of the sale, but all the homes appliances were capped, Ionno said. The explosion was reported just before 6:30 p.m. The state Fire Marshals Office and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene on Tuesday night. No one is believed to have been injured, he said. Firefighters using a drone to survey the interior did not find anyone inside, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ground shook and we actually thought it was a little bit of an earthquake, said resident Leanna Stillings. Everyone on my street came out like, whats going on?' Were trying to rule out different things, Ionno said. Enbridge is here to check all our gas sources, seeing if there were any types of leaks or spikes. I-Team: Woman murdered in Richmond Heights; police investigating Gas utility workers were also at the scene on Tuesday and Wednesday, an Enbridge spokesperson said in a Wednesday afternoon statement, adding that the provider is working closely with the State Fire Marshals Office and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We inspected and tested our facilities, and our equipment is operating safely, reads the statement. We will continue to assist in any way we can. Our thoughts are with those who are impacted by this event. Barberton police have also obtained surveillance footage of the explosion and are investigating if there was anything that would have been suspicious prior to, the chief said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. Marissa Lillis, 10, joins her great-uncle Paul Pino, and other Downwinders at the Stallion Gate outside of the Trinity Site on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. New Mexico lawmakers are showing support for a federal effort to reinstate and expand a federal fund to compensate people for radiation exposure from the federal government. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) State lawmakers gave the nod Monday to a memorial requesting the federal government rekindle and expand a program to compensate victims of radiation exposure, passing it out of committee. House Memorial 15 declares legislative support for the federal Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act, an expired fund that offered lump-sum compensation for limited groups of people with diseases due to radiation exposure from the federal government. HM15 urges the passage of federal legislation to restart the program and expand it to people who never qualified such as New Mexicans exposed to fallout from the first ever atomic detonation at the Trinity Site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico is at the nexus of exposure, co- sponsor Rep. Joseph Franklin Hernandez (D-Shiprock) told the House Health and Human Services committee. From fallout raining down during the atomic weapons program, to uranium mining, the damage from exposure decades ago still ripples through communities. Both my grandfathers were miners and millers at a uranium mine, and the only memories I have of them is taking them to their doctors appointments and seeing the suffering that they had, Hernandez told the committee. But it wasnt just personal, he said the Navajo Nation efforts to organize on issues around health, environment and water damage from uranium mining. The Church Rock mining spill in 1979 was the worst radioactive release in the U.S., spilling thousands of tons of radioactive waste and nearly 95 million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Rio Puerco. We were dealing with the ongoing issues of these uranium mines on Navajo Nation and also trying to help our relatives navigate the process of applying for this Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act, Hernandez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Trump administration is renewing a push to restart uranium mining in New Mexico. As Source NM reported, Cibola National Forest officials recently told staff two long-stalled uranium mining projects are now mission critical. One of those projects is next to Mount Taylor. In a statement provided to Source NM, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) noted that Mount Taylor is and will always be sacred to many Tribes in New Mexico and the southwest, but the 1872 Mining Law gives private companies the right to mine uranium on public land regardless of the objections of Tribes, the state, or the general public. Nonetheless, Heinrich said, before announcing administrative priorities, the Trump administration should ask New Mexicans what they think the priorities should be and engage directly with Tribes whose members are still dealing with the long-term impacts of legacy mining. We need to pass the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act amendments to finally compensate previous generations of uranium miners who sacrificed their health for our nations security. And we need to reform U.S. mining policy so that sacred places like Mount Taylor are protected from extractive industry and abandoned mines that pollute our water and soil are finally cleaned up. New Mexico has long been at the center of a national reckoning over compensation for people injured as a result of nuclear testing. In the case of New Mexico, people living downwind to the July 16, 1945 Trinity Test have fought for years for compensation and justice, a struggle chronicled in the 2023 award-winning film First We Bombed New Mexico. Current and past members of New Mexicos federal delegation have sought multiple times to expand RECA to include both downwinders and uranium miners. Most recently, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan and Heinrich co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with delegates from other states whose constituents also were excluded from RECA. The U.S. Senate has twice passed legislation expanding RECA, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not call for a vote on the measure last year, and allowed the program to expire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The memorial, which doesnt carry the force of law, will only require passage by the House. If passed, the memorial says copies will be distributed to the federal delegation and members of Congress, encouraging them to once again take up RECA. Lujan, who has introduced RECA legislation since he was first elected to the U.S. House in 2008, told Source in a statement he continues fighting to pass the RECA bill. In New Mexico and across the country, individuals affected by nuclear weapons testing, downwind radiation exposure, and uranium mining are still waiting to receive the justice they are owed, Lujan said. It is unacceptable that so many who have gotten sick from radiation exposure have been denied compensation by Congress. Im going to keep fighting. Julia Goldberg contributed to the reporting and writing of this article. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A bill that would put half of Iowa Tuition Grant dollars toward degrees relating to high-demand jobs will move to the House floor. (Photo illustration via Getty Images) A bill that would reserve half of state-funded grant dollars for private-university students seeking degrees in high-demand job fields passed through the Iowa House Higher Education Committee Tuesday with worries lingering about possible impacts on students and faith-based degree programs. The Iowa Tuition Grant program offers need-based scholarships to students attending Iowas private universities, with a maximum award amount of $8,500 in the 2024-2025 academic year. Currently funded at more than $52 million, Gov. Kim Reynolds has recommended state allocations of nearly $53.8 million for fiscal year 2026, according to the Iowa Budget Report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Study Bill 62 would require half of that amount to go to students enrolled in majors that relate to high-wage and high-demand careers, determined by a list that would be developed by Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX This concept obviously still needs some work yet here, but I would like to keep this vehicle alive as we are approaching the funnel to keep this conversation going, said Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis. Under the Legislatures self-imposed funnel deadline, most policy bills need to clear a committee in the House or Senate by the end of this week to be considered eligible for further debate. There are exceptions to the rule and some bills may be revived after missing the deadline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, agreed with Collinss statement about the legislation still needing work, saying the Legislature needs to look hard at any unintended consequences of the bill before it could become law. Private university leaders and lobbyists voiced concerns during the bills subcommittee meeting that these changes would disproportionately impact faith-based institutions and hurt low-income students who need the Iowa Tuition Grant the most. Konfrst said she worries most about putting salaries, which can be fluid, in code and what could happen to students who enter college undecided about what major to pursue. While Konfrst said she knows the intent behind the bill, to focus education more on workforce needs, she added she has many questions about its implementation and potential impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can go on about the idea of critical thinking and the importance of other majors. I know some of (grant dollars) go toward this, so Im not going to get into an argument about that, but I had a boss who once said that the people who only know how will always work for the people who also know why, Konfrst said. And you learn why in college, you learn a lot of this stuff not just from business classes or high needs classes, but from others, and so I think we need to make sure were not excluding those majors. The bill will move ahead to the House floor with a 7-3 vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE (iStock /Getty Images Plus) A bill that would revamp the states wrongful death statutes to allow more lawsuits stemming from medical malpractice is moving through the committee process in the Florida Legislature. The House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee voted unanimously Wednesday to approve HB 6017. The vote followed a Tuesday evening 9-2 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve SB 734. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation heads to the House Judiciary Committee next but has no additional committee references in that chamber, while the Senate version will head to the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services and the Rules Committee. When it comes to wrongful deaths stemming from medical malpractice claims, parents of single, childless, adult children cannot sue for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. Additionally, adults (defined as 25 or older) cannot pursue wrongful death claims for parents who die from medical malpractice. This is in no way a knock against the medical profession or anyone in it, because Florida has some of the best health care providers and institutions in the country and beyond. Sen. Clay Yarborough The Legislature adopted the ban during the 1990s as lawmakers wrestled with rising malpractice premiums. There has been a concerted effort in recent years, though, to eliminate the ban, and members of Senate Judiciary heard from people on both sides of the issue Tuesday, the first day of the annual 60-day legislative session. Accountability Senate sponsor Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, who chairs the committee, said existing law is unjust and prevent[s] accountability. State Sen. Clay Yarborough via: Florida Senate This is in no way a knock against the medical profession or anyone in it, because Florida has some of the best health care providers and institutions in the country and beyond. I dont have a number to quote, but I will venture to say we likely have a low, single-digit percentage of those in Floridas health care community that have issues with malpractice or negligence, Yarborough said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we all understand no amount of money can bring back a loved one, to solely argue from a monetary or economic perspective would be misplaced, because no individual and no institution is above accountability, which is exactly what this bill is about. Opponents argued that changing the law would drive up costs of health care and incentivize physicians to leave the state, although recent research shows a number of other reasons why physicians are leaving practices, including family demands and inadequate support staff. Shelly Knick is a claims adjuster for the Physicians Insurance company, which covers doctors and hospitals. She testified that the change would mean an additional 500 wrongful death lawsuits annually, an estimate she called conservative. Each [hospital] will face an additional one to two wrongful death cases annually, Knicks testified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are often the largest portion of settlements which exponentially increase the cost. But, importantly, understand that most medical malpractice lawsuits do not involve negligence. They result from unfortunate medical outcomes, not bad medicine. Her remarks seemed to belie some of the stories supporters of the bill shared during their testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We have been chosen Sara Franqui shared the story of her 28-year-old daughter, Sadie Dela Cruz, who died in 2021. Her daughter suffered whats called an ovarian torsion, which occurs when an ovary twists on its supporting ligaments and cuts off blood flow. She said her daughter went to several physicians about her pain but that they misdiagnosed her condition. When the pain became unmanageable, she testified, her daughter went to the emergency room at the hospital where she had worked for seven years. But her daughter, who had developed sepsis, was misdiagnosed by a brand new doctor and a travelling nurse that was new. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All she needed was a septic test. She went to various doctors and when she finally went to the hospital and she thought she had hope to live they let her die, Franqui told the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee. Franqui, who also testified during the Senate hearing, said she feels shes been chosen to take her experience and try to change the law. And now I come to you because I feel that we have been chosen, she told senators. We have been chosen as messengers to the people and to our representatives. Navy veteran Keith Davis died from a blood clot after being admitted to a hospital for knee pain. His daughter, Sabrina Davis, filed a complaint against the doctor with the Department of Health. She testified that the Florida Board of Medicine, charged with disciplining physicians, found that the doctor violated the standards of care and committed medical malpractice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BOM hit the doctor with a $7,500 fine and made him take a continuing education course on blood clots, Davis said. I still ask myself today how my dad can serve in the Navy on a ballistic missile nuclear submarine and travel the depths of the ocean but when he goes into a hospital for knee pain not make it out alive. A push to cap Florida has had no caps on pain and suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits since 2014, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. But the makeup of the Florida Supreme court has changed since then, with the majority of the justices appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The medical community is eager to put the rejuggled court to the test. Palm Beach County Medical Society President-elect Vicki Norton. (Photo by Christine Sexton/Florida Phoenix.) Yarborough filed similar legislation last year but agreed to put a cap of $500,000 per claimant for practitioners and $750,000 on non-practitioners found liable, such as hospitals and health care facilities. The cap would drop to $150,000 for health care practitioners in emergency medical cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are no caps in the 2025 legislation and at least one senator who voted to pass the Senate bill Tuesday explained his yes vote was conditional. Sen. Ed Hooper, chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, said he had three conversations with Yarborough about the bill and promised to support the measure in Senate Judiciary. I want to help and work with you to make this as good as it can be made, but my commitment to you was that I will support the bill at this stop and Im not going to change my mind today, Hooper said. Palm Beach County Medical Society President-elect Vicki Norton told the Florida Phoenix Wednesday that she started practicing emergency medicine in Florida in 2010 with the security of knowing there were limits on the amount a plaintiff could be awarded for pain and suffering had she been sued. The threat of lawsuits, she said, was one reason she left Philadelphia. I couldnt get out of there fast enough. I was scared to death I was going to make a mistake and then I was going to get sued for like millions of dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Norton, assistant medical director of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital emergency department, said she saw her medical malpractice insurance premiums increase following the 2014 ruling. Also, hospital call sheets started to have gaps in the schedule for high-risk specialties, and that she once had to fly a patient from her hospital to UF Health Shands in Gainesville for emergency heart surgery. I had no surgeon on call, she said. I had to call all around the state. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Just days after a showdown between three newly appointed state Board of Education members and Republican state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters over access to board meeting agendas, Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert has filed an amendment to legislation that would allow those members such access. House Bill 1491, which has the support of Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and state Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, would allow an item to be placed on the agenda if requested in writing by at least two members of the board, Hilbert said Wednesday. If that condition was met, the item then would be placed on the agenda for the next meeting or a subsequent meeting, as decided by the requesting board members. The bill, originally authored by Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, was placed at the front of the agenda for Wednesday morning's meeting of the House Education Oversight Committee and passed by a 9-0 vote that was conducted less than 30 minutes after a news release from Hilbert's office concerning the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill now can be heard by the House. If passed there, it would move to a Senate committee, and potentially to the full Senate. Hilbert, R-Bristow, said he had breakfast with Stitt and Paxton on Tuesday and the subject of access by board members to board agendas came up. "This issue has been an ongoing issue with the state Department of Education," Hilbert said, saying it dates back to previous administrations. "If we're going to have a board overseeing how taxpayer dollars are being spent and the education of our kids, then the board members should be able to have some say in the agenda items. More: New board members push back, question immigration rule during first meeting with Ryan Walters Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have checks and balances on government intentionally built into our system and this legislation will help ensure the State Board of Education no matter who is appointed or who is the chair will be able to move the needle for Oklahoma kids." Hilbert said he "had a good conversation" with Walters on Wednesday morning, but said he'd want Walters to speak for himself concerning the legislation. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (above) has initiated legislation that would allow for members of the state Board of Education to place items on the board's meeting agenda, outside of the control of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters. Paxton, R-Tuttle, hinted the legislation would be supported by the Senate. This legislation ensures that every board member has a voice in setting the agenda, reinforcing transparency and accountability in our education system," Paxton said. "With the current structure, the board is neutralized and has no say in shaping policy. Allowing this will provide a fair and more effective structure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked through a spokeswoman for a response to the House legislation, Walters did not address the question. Governor Stitt and Attorney General (Gentner) Drummond want to continue to play politics with President Trumps mandates," Walters said. "Ill let them argue over this like kids in a schoolyard kickball game. Im going to focus on fighting for the best interests of Oklahomas parents and students. Drummond had nothing to do with the development of the legislation passed Wednesday. After the bill passed, Drummond who already has announced he's running to succeed Stitt as governor, a position in which Walters also is thought to be interested issued a statement politically tying Stitt and Walters together. Once allies, the governor and superintendent are embroiled in a political feud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Stitt promoted and supported Superintendent Ryan Walters every step of the way, even standing by the superintendent when he gave 'blanket approval' for the misspending of our tax dollars," Drummond said. "Now that his handpicked superintendent refuses to do his bidding, Gov. Stitt wants to change the law to give his appointees full control of the education agenda. First, Gov. Stitt gave us Ryan Walters, and now he wants to give us new appointees he says will be better. We can only hope. Meanwhile, our schoolchildren rank in the Top Ten for worst-performing test scores. "I applaud our legislative leaders for doing what they can to clean up the mess that Gov. Stitt and Superintendent Walters have made of our public education system. The Legislature has demonstrated time and again that it has the will and ability to do what is right for Oklahoma, even overriding Gov. Stitt's veto when necessary. I have full confidence they will do what they believe is best for Oklahoma students." What to know about new OSBE members and their first meeting with Ryan Walters The current debate erupted last month after Stitt removed three members of the board and named three newcomers, citing unspecified ongoing controversy at the Oklahoma State Department of Education -- an agency run by Walters -- and disappointing standardized test scores. Up until that point, no board member had cast a vote opposite Walters during his two years in office. On the eve of the board's most recent meeting on Feb. 27, The Oklahoman reported that on at least one occasion, Walters had ignored a board member's request to place an item on the agenda for discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twice during the meeting, the three new members Ryan Deatherage, of Kingfisher; Michael Tinney, of Norman; and Chris VanDenhende, of Tulsa made it clear to Walters and the boards contracted attorney, Chad Kutmas, that a vehicle through which board members could add items to future meeting agendas is a priority to them. Kutmas mostly defended Walters' position during those discussions. During the tenures of Walters and his predecessor, Joy Hofmeister, the superintendent, who by law serves as the board chair, has had exclusive control over the agenda. During Wednesday's House committee hearing, Johns said that policy may go all the way back to the tenure of Sandy Garrett, who served as state superintendent from 1991 to 2011. No one member should unilaterally control a board, especially one that directly impacts the outcomes of our students," Stitt said. "Its time to give a voice on the Board of Education to parents and students all across Oklahoma. Thank you to Speaker Hilbert and Pro Tem Paxton for spearheading this important legislation. Hilbert said he'd be open to a discussion to develop similar legislation for members of other state and local boards. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma House speaker files bill to give OSBE members agenda access Advocates from the Utah Vapor Business Association protest in the Capitol's rotunda on Tuesday Feb. 20, 2024 (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch) Remember that law the Utah Legislature passed in 2024 to ban the sale of flavored vapes? While both the Senate and the House voted in comfortable margins to approve it, a legal challenge has kept vape shops across the state selling cotton candy and fruity pens without restriction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the Utah Legislature is split on the issue, but after holding hot debates on whether to eliminate the ban altogether, it appears nothing may change this session. Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, introduced HB432 in early February with a big provision repealing the prohibition on sweet vape flavors that critics say draw in underage users, and adding other stronger enforcement mechanisms to prevent minors from getting access to electronic cigarettes. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After weeks delaying the bills discussion on the House floor, his proposal was hijacked by a Republican colleague during the last week of the legislative session. Rep. Kristen Chevrier, R-Highland, updated MacPhersons bill to strike what are perhaps the most substantial parts of the legislation. Repeals the ban on flavored electronic cigarette products, was deleted from the bill, and so was repeals the nicotine content limit for electronic cigarette products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason, Chevrier said on Tuesday, is because amid deadline extensions and lawsuits, SB61, the 2024 law sponsored by Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, never had a chance to be tried. While Chevrier flexed her versions supporters, which included Primary Childrens Hospital and the Utah Medical Association, before a vote, MacPherson seemed dismayed by the possibility of making such changes, describing Chevriers move as hostile. SB61 and what this substitute bill does is simply says we would rather have a political statement than any real tools, any resources or any enforcement we will get to the actual meat of this argument, MacPherson said. Ultimately, the House voted 40-34 to adopt Chevriers version. However, a few hours later, MacPhersons version was brought back to the floor, where it failed 22-47. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its still unclear whether this is the end of the road on flavored vape legislation, but that last vote left the flavored vape ban as is, still in place, and still facing litigation. The beauty of the second sub is that it maintains all of the regulations and protections for ensuring that kids are protected from a predatory industry, but also maintains very firm legislation, like the sponsor of the substitute motion said, that was passed with very strong bipartisan support, said House Minority Whip Jennifer Dailey Provost, D-Salt Lake City, in recognition of the fact that the most effective way to prevent kids from vaping is to get rid of flavors. Full stop. Rep. Jason Thompson, R-River Heights, criticized Chevriers update, arguing a lot of work was put into MacPhersons bill to bring many players together. By adopting this second substitute, we might as well stay with SB61 and not even worry about voting on todays bill, he told the House. Vape shops legal woes The Utah Vapor Business Association, which represents many vape shops in the state, has been pushing hard against Plumbs 2024 bill, first by loudly protesting it in the state Capitol last year, and then, in December, by suing the state over the constitutionality of unwarranted searches of all books, records, premises, desks, safes, vaults, and other fixtures and furniture in vape shops, which was included in the 2024 bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the suit, about 180 Utah businesses licensed as retail tobacco specialty shops will lose a significant source, and in most instances the overwhelming majority, of business by being prohibited from selling flavored e-cigarette products and products with a higher nicotine content than allowed under SB61. Let us know what you think... The businesses would also be subject to warrantless, unconstitutional searches of their entire premises, the lawsuit reads. But, thats a factor that Plumb intended to resolve with this years SB186, which eases what she called the more onerous than needed vape shop search and seizure requirements. That bill hasnt left the House Rules Committee since the Senate approved it in early February, and at this point in the session, isnt likely to. In a court hearing on Feb. 11, the Vapor Business Association asked a federal judge for a 30-day extension of a temporary restraining order that paused the flavored vape sales ban while SB186 and HB432 played out in the Legislature. However, Chevriers version of HB432 removes the language that inspired the lawsuit that we are currently in, she told the House, as it would do the same as Plumbs SB186 remove the strict, warrantless inspections, and potentially defuse an argument vape shops are using in court to challenge the flavors ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With HB432 failing and SB186 dormant, potential changes on the ban will have to be sustained in court. After the vote, Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told reporters her caucus is passionate about keeping good policies and fixing what needs to be tweaked. SB186 alone would solve the lawsuit issue, she said. To him it was hostile, which was an interesting word to use when he did the hostile (action) against the bill we passed last year, Escamilla said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE When the idea for a third bridge across Tampa Bay first bubbled up before the start of World War II, many objected. The Courtney Campbell Causeway, originally called the Ben T. Davis Causeway, already linked Tampa and Clearwater. The Gandy crossed from Tampa to St. Petersburg. The toll operators that dominated both existing bridges didnt like the idea of a third thoroughfare pulling away competition. Locals in the late 1930s also lamented the cost, saying another way across the water would be a waste of taxpayer money. Some called it a blow to private investment and a hindrance to navigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others, according to Times archives, even worried about a tidal obstruction that could convert large areas into mud flats. By 1939, the idea was dead. Then, a tire salesperson named W. Howard Frankland came around and changed some minds. The bridge that bears his name finally opened on Jan. 15, 1960. While we wait for the newest span of the bridge Tampa Bay knows so well, heres a look back at the history. Frankland was born in Tennessee as the son of a horse buggy salesperson. He moved to Tampa in 1925, where he founded Pioneer Tire and Rubber Products Inc. He spent some time as a banker and was also named Gasparilla king in 1950. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frankland was a member of the State Road Board when he proposed a new bridge to cross Tampa Bay in 1953, reviving the idea that had failed more than a decade before. The bridge would be a path for beachgoers to reach the white sands of Pinellas County and then carry families back over to shop in Tampa. When the Howard Frankland Bridge finally opened in 1960, locals hoped it would fix a problem the area is dealing with currently: a population explosion. Our growth has been breathtaking, wrote a then-St. Petersburg Times columnist in January 1960. New housing has gone up at a rate even the most optimistic persons wouldve regarded as fantastic 10 years ago; this has been accompanied by extensive commercial development palmetto scrub fields have been turned into shopping centers, multi-million dollar manufacturing plants have been erected, hotels and motels have been constructed and improved." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though the Gandy Bridge had already gotten a second span at that point, raising the number of lanes to four, it wasnt enough to carry all of the people that flowed back and forth between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. As people stewed in traffic on the Gandy, one St. Petersburg Times columnist wrote in 1960 that the sight of another bridge being constructed across the water offered promise of true relief. Franklands name was bestowed upon the structure as a thank you for his advocacy. The opening day celebrations werent as flashy as those for the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1954, which included a nationwide naming contest and bridge beauty models to represent various nearby counties. But there was still fanfare. Then-Gov. LeRoy Collins delivered an address before leading a line of more than 1,000 motorists over the bridge from Tampa to St. Petersburg and back. Franklands wife delivered a dedication to the structure, and his young grandchildren cut the ribbon. Franklands four brothers traveled from across the country for a special family reunion. Newspaper columns following the event mostly praised the bridge, which not only provided a new way to get around but would also link Tampa to the national interstate system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But one headline in the Tampa Tribune provided foreshadowing that wont surprise any locals reading this today: Traffic jams new bridge. Information from the Tampa Bay Times archive was used in this story. A Hudson mother and her three children were arrested after an incident on social media prompted police to show up at their home last week, authorities announced Monday. Jessire DaSilva, 38, of Hudson, is charged with interfering with a police investigation, her 17-year-old son is facing a slew of firearm charges, and her two 14-year-old daughters are charged with assault and battery on a police officer and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the Hudson Police Department. Officers launched an investigation on Feb. 27 after police say they learned of an individual, later identified as DaSilvas 17-year-old son, brandishing a firearm on a social media livestream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators from Hudson and Southbridge learned the teenage boy didnt have an FID card and officers responded to the familys home the following day to execute a search warrant, according to police. The two 14-year-old juveniles allegedly became verbally aggressive with officers and attempted to have a dog attack them. Police said the juveniles then made physical contact with an officer. DaSilva was asked to wait outside of the home, where police say officers spotted her take one of the juveniles phones. It wasnt immediately clear what she did with that phone. The search of the home yielded a fully loaded 9mm Taurus GX4 handgun and several rounds of ammunition inside the 17-year-olds room, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DaSilva and her three children were arraigned Tuesday in Marlboro District Court. The children werent identified because of their ages. An investigation is ongoing. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A festival that purports to be one of the country's biggest traveling outdoor Asian food festivals is heading to the Mall of America. The Twin Cities debut of Panda Fest will arrive in the mall's north lot from July 1113. Tickets for the event that celebrates a spectrum of Asian food and culture go on sale on March 12 at 10 a.m. Panda FestCourtesy of Mall of America The MOA's announcement encourages early ticket purchases (why wouldn't it?) because Panda Fest has sold out at other locations "and organizers anticipate a similar response" in Minnesota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This festival not only highlights the incredible flavors of Asian cuisine but also celebrates the beauty and diversity of Asian culture something that we anticipate will resonate with the Twin Cities community," Jill Renslow, Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer for the Mall of America, says. Panda FestCourtesy of Mall of America The festival touts more than 100 food vendors, a marketplace, live performances, and a 15-foot inflatable panda at each of its 12 stops around the country, including its date in Bloomington. This is more than a food festival its a celebration of culture, community, and connection. Were thrilled to bring this experience to the Twin Cities and share the flavors, traditions, and artistry of Asian culture with a new audience," BiuBiu Xu, founder and organizer of Panda Fest, says in a statement. Early bird tickets cost $10 through March 30 and are $14 afterward. Related: Twin Cities chef to appear on 'Chopped' episode Tuesday evening Hundreds of people braved rainfall in Daley Plaza on Tuesday afternoon for a pro-democracy rally and march, chanting, Trump isnt America, we are America in one of several planned protests ahead of President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Many people held signs at the protest that read Power to the people, Save the civil service and Its so bad even the introverts are here. Some people also held Ukrainian flags to show support for Ukraine the day after Trump announced he would halt military aid to the country following a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Chicagoans rally in support of Ukraine after Zelenskyys contentious meeting with Trump Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I see each one of you standing here today in this cold, rainy weather, my hope goes just beyond work, Litcy Kurisinkal, co-president of Illinois Democratic Women of Cook County, said to the crowd. My dear friends, when you stand here, you are the defenders of democracy. We are the warriors. Organizers led the crowd in songs at various points in the rally, singing everything from the national anthem to an American version of the anti-fascist song Bella Ciao, which was sung for the Italian resistance movement during World War II. We the people, the U.S. people, we are one, we are one, one, one, the crowd sang. The foundation of our government is being tested by those who seek to concentrate power in the hands of the gluttonous few instead of the will of the many, said Maggie OKeefe, a community organizer and voting rights activist. I ask you today: Will you stand by and watch as executive power expand unchecked? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No! the crowd of protesters roared back. Protesters also gathered in Connecticut, Utah and Alabama, according to organizers. The nationwide protests, named the March 4th for Democracy protests, were organized by the national 50501 Movement, a grassroots movement dedicated to pushing back against the actions of the second Trump administration. The first protests held by the 50501 Movement took place across the nation on Feb. 5. Shortly thereafter, the organization held a No Kings on Presidents Day protest on Feb. 17. Since taking office, Trump has taken numerous sweeping actions that have challenged constitutional and federal law, including signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship, freezing trillions of dollars on federal spending, firing National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox and 18 inspector generals from various federal agencies, among other actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters also condemned the firing of hundreds of federal workers across agencies by the Department of Government Efficiency, including firings at the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services. Hundreds protest Musk at Libertyville Tesla dealership: What Elon has done to the brand is just make it feel dirty Hes stomping all over Congress. Hes stomping all over the judiciary. Hes stomping all over immigrant rights. Hes stomping all over union rights, environmental protection, international rights, Constitution, the rule of law, parliamentarism you name it, said Paul Street, an activist and historian who has taught at DePaul University. Following the rally, protesters marched through downtown, chanting, In the name of humanity, we refuse a fascist America and We say humanity first, Trump says America first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later on Tuesday, more than 50 people protested near the Fifth Avenue train station in Naperville, standing on the Washington Street overpass with signs that read America for the people not for kings or oligarchs and An oligarchy and democracy cannot coexist. Naperville resident Mary Horek stood at the edge of the overpass with a sign that read, Vote like democracy depends on it. (It does.) She wore a bright yellow poncho, her hood pulled up as it steadily drizzled. Tuesday marked the first time that Horek, 71, had ever attended a protest, she said. Im at a boiling point, she said. Im depressed. I cant sleep. Everything thats happening, its just not right. Im worried about everybody in our country. Tim Nelson, also a first-time protester, stood alongside his 9-year-old daughter and mother-in-law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are, I wouldnt say, traditional activists, but I think just given the state of things, he said, were out here to support peace and democracy and to make sure its upheld. Shortly before Trump was set to address lawmakers in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night, another group gathered at Federal Plaza in Chicago to oppose his administration. The event, one of several around the area organized by the League of Women Voters, was billed in a news release as a peaceful and unified space to come together for the health of our democracy, the future of our nation, and the well-being of all its people. Huddled with electric candles beneath umbrellas, attendees repurposed a chant to voice their disdain for Trumps unelected adviser, billionaire Elon Musk: No Musk, no KKK, no fascist USA, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Jane Bilger, 67, the gathering was a chance to voice her alarm over the administrations moves to cut the federal government. She said she was particularly worried about how potential changes to federal funding could affect the supply of affordable housing. While the situation felt urgent to her and others who attended the gathering, Bilger, a West Loop resident, observed that there wasnt necessarily a clear path forward for those who shared her views. Its a little discouraging that there are so few people out here, but the weather doesnt help, she said. I think people are really feeling stymied, like we dont know what to do. I think thats part of this administrations plan to create chaos on all fronts so theres no fighting back. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) Demonstrators descended on downtown Charlestons Hampton Park on Tuesday to protest recent actions taken by the Trump administration. Im fired up [and] Im really angry, said 18-year-old Mia Voelker, who plans to vote for the first time in next years midterm elections. Im really disappointed in our country at this point because when I was born, women had the right to an abortion, and now Im 18 and I dont have that right, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voelker is one of hundreds of people who attended Tuesdays protest organized by 50501, a grassroots movement that initially stood for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Protestors railed against many of the policies implemented through the first months of the presidents second administration, from rolling back protections for transgender individuals to the mass firings of federal workers to Trumps recent decision to pause U.S. aid to Ukraine following a contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Many also waved signs criticizing Trump and the widespread cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk, among other messages. These people have turned out because they want to do something, said Howard Siegel. They realize that the wolf is at the door. Our democracy has been threatened, and if we dont stand up, nobody will. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attendees said they were encouraged to see the turnout at Tuesdays event and hope the momentum will continue through the midterms. The protest came just hours before Trump will address a joint session of Congress, detailing his first few weeks in office. Why Trumps speech to Congress isnt a State of the Union address It will be the latest milestone in Trumps total takeover of the nations capital, where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake Americas place in the world. With a tight grip on his party, Trump has been emboldened to take sweeping actions after overcoming impeachments and criminal prosecutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House said Trumps theme would be the renewal of the American dream, and he was expected to lay out his achievements since returning to the White House. The Associated Press contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Chanting in solidarity with Ukrainians, federal workers and immigrants, hundreds of Utahns poured onto the steps of the Capitol Tuesday in the latest of a series of protests against the Trump administration. Following an angry exchange in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week which prompted the freezing of all U.S. aid, protestors arrived waving the Ukrainian flag with shirts emblazoned with the nation's coat of arms and sunflowers pinned to their jackets. A cry of "Viva Ukraine" was met with cheers in support of the beleaguered nation, now in its fourth year of defending against the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in 2022. Demonstrators accused Trump of siding with Russia over traditional European allies, and signs decried the president as a "puppet" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the blue and yellow of Ukraine was one of the most prominent visuals of the demonstration, the most palpable anger was an anti-elite rage directed at Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who is working to enact sweeping cuts to the civil service. Speakers warned that Musk's efforts to slash the federal workforce would have a disproportionate impact on Utah where thousands of northern Utahns work for the Internal Revenue Service and supporting Hill Air Force Base, and visitors to the five national parks contribute greatly to the economy in southern Utah. One of those federal workers, Tammy who asked that she be identified only by her first name because she feared retribution told KSL.com she had received "threatening" emails from Washington's Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Government Efficiency and worries every day that she could be fired. The Ogden resident has worked in the civil service for more than two decades and said she is close to earning her retirement benefits. Tammy said proposed cuts are being made indiscriminately, with little regard for retaining federal employees who do critical work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is happening so rapidly that the changes that are being made are done with no forethought," she said. "There is no knowledge of what the employees' positions are, what their job duties entail, or the impact that it's going to have not only to the employees and the federal budget but to the larger community. They're making uneducated changes to the government that are going to have far-reaching negative impacts." The impacts of cuts to the federal workforce may be felt acutely in national parks in the state, according to Cordell Roy, a former superintendent at several parks and state coordinator for the National Park Service. "What's going on with this craziness imposed by Washington is like watching a slow-moving train wreck for us that pay attention to the National Park Service," he told the crowd of about 500 gathered on the Capitol's south steps. "The American people certainly voted for change in the last election, but they certainly did not vote to decimate the national park system or destroy the National Park Service." "To borrow a phrase," he added, "these lands are your lands. ... They deserve to be well-managed, well-staffed and well-protected. We should care about them. They're the reason people care about us." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some demonstrators said they wanted their efforts to inspire elected Republicans in Utah to stand up against some of Trump's policies, but many said they showed up simply to show solidarity with vulnerable people and feel a stronger sense of community. "These days, I'm finding it harder and harder to articulate the rage in my heart," said Eammon Larsen. "Everywhere I turn, there's another fire, another act of hate, another injustice meant to exhaust, scorch and crush the soul. My mind screams for action, but I know my voice alone can't stop this tide of injustice." Several protestors expressed concern that Trump's efforts to slash federal spending will gut programs such as Medicaid insurance for low-income Americans and Social Security benefits for retirees, and encouraged those gathered to speak out on what they believe are popular issues. Ive been a civil servant for 26 years, and I was always proud to be an American, Tammy said. And not only am I embarrassed right now, but I am ashamed, and I am scared extremely scared for all of our children. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) A Huntingdon County man could spend the next 16 years in prison for producing child pornography, Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus announced. Gage Wagner, 32, previously of Shade Gap, was sentenced to 200 months 16.6 years in prison by United States District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson. Gurganus stated that Wagner previously pleaded guilty to producing child pornography with a 15-year-old he had sexual contact with over 100 times and used to make images and videos in Mifflin County. Stay up to date with the latest news in the palm of your hand. Click here to download the WTAJ app for Apple and Android devices. Wagners case was investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Ford prosecuted the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. TECUMSEH (KSNT) New information has come to light in the case against a Tecumseh man accused of killing his wife in late 2024. Investigators believe he used a GPS tracker, hidden cameras and microphones to stalk her in the days leading up to her death. 27 News obtained court documents detailing the evidence Shawnee County Sheriffs Office detectives gathered during their investigation into the death of Monica B. McKay, 50, of Tecumseh. They later arrested her husband, Brian P. McKay, 53, on suspicion of killing his wife. He is facing multiple charges, including murder in the first degree and stalking. Deputies responded just before 1 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2024 to a home in the 2300 block of Southeast Tecumseh Road to a report of a death, according to court documents. A visitor told officers he found Monica McKay inside the house. Police say she was naked in a bathtub filled with water and showed signs of trauma. The visitor told deputies he had previously discovered covert cameras and microphones he believed Brian McKay had installed to covertly monitor his wife in her home. Monica McKay obtained a protection from stalking order against Brian McKay a few days after filing for divorce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tax agents seize two Kansas Mexican restaurants for failure to pay $200,000 Through their investigation, detectives learned Monica McKay had been living alone in the home. They did not find any signs of a struggle in the home but did note Monica McKays phone was missing along with a Ring security camera from an exterior door. Law enforcement later found Monica McKays phone outside her home beneath a large piece of circle metal in what they described as a suspicious area. The phone was broken and non-functional. Investigators found signs of a struggle near the phone, along with evidence something or someone had been dragged through gravel. An autopsy performed on Dec. 2, 2024 revealed Monica McKay died by drowning, according to court documents. The doctor performing the autopsy noted she also showed signs of strangulation and blunt force trauma. Investigators later ruled her death a homicide in light of this report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with detectives, Brian McKay said the last time he saw and spoke to his wife was on Oct. 18, 2024. He said he owned a nearby empty lot on Southeast Fourth Terrace on which he planned to build a home using $100,000 from his pending divorce. Investigators noted during the interview that Brian McKay had a scratch on his neck. He said got it while clearing brush. What are the new camping-friendly zones being considered in Topeka? According to evidence recovered from Monica McKays phone, the couple had initially agreed with the terms of their divorce. However, that apparently changed when Brian McKay tried to take out a loan for a building project for his property on Southeast Fourth Terrace. Detectives determined someone used a Google account associated with Brian McKay to make searches that were later deleted. The user deleted the search history on the same day Monica McKays body was discovered. The deleted searches included the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox panoramic wifi details password incorrect. Write a program to run on Android to hack passwords. How to share ring access with family. Monica Android Verizon. Truthfinder.com Monica B McKay. More Fort Riley personnel deployed to the southern border Investigators also believe Brian McKay monitored Monica McKays movements through a GPS tracking device attached to one her vehicles. They said Brian McKay contacted a GPS monitoring service and tried to delete his account the day Monica McKays body was found, according to court documents. Cell phone data showed Brian McKay was in the vicinity of Monica McKays home on the previous day. Officers arrested Brian McKay on Feb. 11, 2025. Prosecutors later charged him with the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murder in the first degree; premeditated. Murder in the first degree; inherently dangerous felony. Aggravated burglary of a dwelling. Stalking; served with protection order. Violation of a protective order stalking. Brian McKays mugshot. He is accused of killing his ex-wife Monica McKay in late 2024. (Photo Courtesy/Shawnee County Department of Corrections) Pair receive hard life sentences for killings of couple in Junction City For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. A landmark L.A. institution served its final plates of hash browns and eggs on Sunday, bringing an end to a century-long legacy. The Original Pantry, the downtown diner that proudly claimed to have never locked its doors or gone without a customer for most of its existence, has closed its kitchen for good. As Patch reports, the restaurant, which opened in 1924, shuttered amid a labor dispute between new ownership and the union representing its employees. The closure came just months after the diner was listed for sale following the 2023 death of former owner and L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, whose trust had taken over operations. Related: Steve Carell's Heartwarming Gift to Pasadena Seniors On its final day, customers lined the sidewalk for hours, waiting for one more chance to sit at the worn counters of the South Figueroa staple that relocated in 1950 to make way for freeway construction but never lost its mid-century character. "This place is iconic, you know, it's L.A.," Monterey Park resident Wesley told NBC4, choosing not to share his last name. "It is emotional just because it's not going to be here tomorrow. You talk to people in line and they all have storiesit really means a lot to them and that's why there's a line around the corner." The diner that served free coffee and weathered every major event from the Great Depression to WWII, from the L.A. riots to the pandemic, ended its run on a contentious note. After closing time on Sunday, about two dozen workers remained inside, prompting ownership to call police to the scene. ABC7 reported that the union president was handcuffed during the confrontation. "They just decided to call the police on us, and escort us out," employee Maricela Granados said. The Original Pantry had been a rare constant in a city known for constant change, serving generations of Angelenos at all hours, from late-night revelers to early morning workers, in a space that felt frozen in timeright down to its cash-only policy and simple, hearty menu that hardly changed through the decades. More than 200 Microchip Technology employees in Colorado Springs will receive pink slips this month, part of the chipmaker's plans to lay off about 2,000 of its workers amid declining demand from automakers. Microchip's Colorado Springs chip manufacturing facility will have 238 employees permanently laid off, the company notified the state Tuesday in a written letter under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The law requires employers, in most cases, to provide employees with 60 days' notice of job eliminations. The layoffs are expected to begin May 3, but Microchip is placing affected employees on paid leave immediately, the company said in the letter. Chandler, Ariz.-based Microchip Technology announced the sweeping job cuts this week as part of broader cost-saving measures and a restructuring that is expected to save the company multimillions of dollars in annual operations and employment-related expenses. The planned layoffs will cut about 9% of Microchip's total global workforce; Microchip employs about 1,000 people in Colorado. Reuters reported on Monday that Microchip's automotive customers are having difficulty reducing their excess chip inventories; many of them stocked up during the COVID-19 pandemic amid ongoing supply chain disruptions. Semiconductor chips are crucial components for vehicle manufacturing and safety. They analyze engine data, help ensure systems like anti-lock braking systems work correctly and that airbags are deployed effectively. They can also improve gas mileage and other areas of car performance. The company is focusing the job reductions at its chip factories in Colorado Springs and in Oregon, Microchip President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Sanghi said in a Monday presentation that provided business updates. Layoffs are also expected at Microchip's backend manufacturing facility in the Philippines, and in various business units and support groups, company spokesman Brian Thorsen said in a Tuesday email. He declined to specify the number of employees that will be laid off at each of these facilities and units, but added that the Colorado and Oregon facilities "remain key to Microchip's long-term production and capacity plans." Most of the planned job cuts in Colorado Springs 125 are for production specialists, according to the WARN letter. Microchip plans to eliminate 44 process enhancement specialist positions and between one to eight employees each in various other jobs, to include product and design engineers, materials handlers, engineers, department managers and technical staff, among others. Other cuts Microchip's latest job cuts come shortly after the company's December announcement it is closing its water fabrication plant in Tempe, Ariz. That closure, originally estimated to be complete by September, is now on track to be completed in May, Thorsen said. Microchip is transferring product manufacturing and technologies from the Tempe factory and other outside foundry partners to the Colorado Springs and Oregon chip production facilities, he added. Microchip expects its layoff-related costs will total between $30 million and $40 million, Reuters reported. However, the layoffs are projected to save Microchip between $90 million and $100 million in annual operations costs and $25 million in employment-related costs, the presentation shows. Sign up for free: Gazette Business Receive a weekly roundup of business news around El Paso County. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Featured Local Savings "Microchip has been navigating an inventory correction that's occurring in the midst of a semiconductor downcycle. While the company has taken steps to rightsize inventory and reduce expenses including temporary pay reductions and mandatory shutdowns these measures have not been enough," Sanghi said in a written statement Tuesday. The president and CEO noted the company "tried to avoid" layoffs, but they are necessary for Microchip to effectively compete in the global market, he said. "We did not make this decision lightly and deeply regret the impact it will have on our employees," Sanghi said. Layoffs temporary? The WARN letter states the Colorado Springs layoffs will be permanent. But Sanghi's Monday presentation states the chip factories in Colorado Springs and Oregon "will be sized down to below the near-term demand rate and when excess inventory is corrected, we will ramp back up to meet the demand rate." Microchip declined to provide further details on Tuesday. It is unclear if the layoffs could affect Microchip's plans to upgrade its Colorado Springs chip manufacturing plant to the tune of $880 million. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced in January 2024 it planned to award the company $90 million in federal tax incentives to fund the Colorado Springs plant's upgrades. That improvement project, announced in February 2023, has now been on hold for almost a year amid a semiconductor glut. Microchip's layoffs aren't likely to significantly impact the regional economy. Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Jayne Mhono Dickey said Tuesday Colorado Springs' economy is strong and diverse. Thriving sectors like aerospace and defense and advanced manufacturing "continue to absorb highly skilled and technical workers," she said. Mhono Dickey pointed to recent reporting by Deloitte, a business management consulting firm, stating that increasing use of technology like artificial intelligence and 5G will likely "drive growth in the global semiconductor industry, with estimated sales of $697 billion in 2025, increasing demand for similar jobs." "The Colorado Springs economy is thriving, and many businesses continue to find our region as an ideal investment location," Mhono Dickey said. The chamber has announced 26 economic development projects since 2022, spanning industries from aerospace and defense to advanced manufacturing and technology industries, she said. The projects have brought in more than 5,000 jobs and attracted $1.8 billion in capital investment to the region. Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives his annual State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, on the House floor at the Statehouse in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Unless Gov. Brad Little vetoes a bill that passed the Idaho Legislature, Idaho could become the only state to fatally shoot death row inmates as its main execution method. If passed into law, House Bill 37 would make the firing squad the primary death penalty method in Idaho. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only five states allow firing squads for executions. But the firing squad isnt the primary death penalty method in any of those states, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Both chambers of the Idaho Legislature widely approved the bill. The Senate passed the bill on a 28-7 vote Wednesday, a month after the House passed it on a 58-11 vote. Doug Ricks (Courtesy of the Idaho Legislature) The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, and Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, and over a dozen other House Republican lawmakers. Nine people are on death row in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. Supporters of the bill say the firing squad is a humane execution method. Using firing squads as the main execution method, supporters say, would avoid Idahos issues obtaining lethal injection chemicals and dealing with decades of legal appeals that have delayed executions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the bill is transmitted to the governor, he has five days to decide on it. He can sign it into law, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto it. Idaho state Reps. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, and Mike Pohanka, R-Jerome, listen to proceedings during the House State Affairs Committee on Jan. 7, 2025, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) If passed into law, the bill would take effect July 1, 2026. The bill directs the Idaho Department of Correction director to develop procedures for the firing squad procedures. Skaug has told lawmakers Idahos firing squad execution method would be mechanized. Idaho Department of Correction spokesperson Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic told the Sun in February the agency is considering using a remote-operated weapons system alongside traditional firing squad methods. But the agency had not finalized its policies and procedures, she said. If youve ever seen that, I think you would change your mind, Sen. Foreman says All six Democrats in the Idaho Senate voted against the bill joined by one Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ricks, who cosponsored the bill, echoed many of Skaugs arguments in favor of the bill. I view the firing squad as a more humane way to carry out executions for those on death row, because it is quick and certain, Ricks said. It brings justice for the victims and their families in a more expeditious manner. Idaho state Sens. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, and Carrie Semmelroth, D-Boise, talk with one another before legislative action begins on the Senate floor on Jan. 7, 2025, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, a veteran and retired police officer, disagreed. Projecting a piece of metal at 3,200 feet-per-second, give or take, through the human body is anything but humane, he told Idaho senators. I can say that because Ive seen it. I wished I hadnt seen it. The claims that its instantaneous. Well, yes sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. And if youve ever seen that, I think you would change your mind on how youre about to vote, Foreman continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, called death by firing squad instantaneous and said he thinks its an act of mercy. Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, recited a quote in a 2017 dissent by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, widely regarded as a liberal justice, who cast executions by firing squads as more humane. In addition to being near instant, death by shooting may also be comparatively painless, Sotomayor wrote, according to the Associated Press. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, called the bill a move backward. Its barbaric, and it unfortunately puts the optics of Idaho in a place that I dont think we care to be, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Firing squad was already allowed in Idaho. Bill would make lethal injection the back-up execution method In 2023, Idaho passed a law to allow firing squads for executions. But that law only allowed firing squads as a back-up execution method when lethal injection the primary execution method in Idaho law is unavailable. Under the bill, lethal injection would become the alternative execution method in Idaho. Only five states Idaho, Utah, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Mississippi allow firing squads for execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In the United States, 144 inmate executions have been carried out by firing squads, according to a 2016 law review article. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the death penalty became reinstated in the 1970s, Utah is the only state to have executed people by firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In South Carolina, death row inmate Brad Sigmon is set to die by firing squad on Friday, the South Carolina Daily Gazette reported. Sigmon requested he be killed by firing squad over concerns about whether lethal injection is truly a painless death, his attorney say. Renovating Idahos execution chamber to allow for firing squads will likely cost more than the $750,000 lawmakers previously appropriated, lawmakers say. But Skaug has said any extra funds would come from money already in the Department of Correction budget. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur dAlene, on the Idaho House floor on March 25, 2024. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) A bill meant to contain Medicaid costs in Idaho is headed to the House floor for a vote after the House Health and Welfare Committee voted to advance it on Tuesday. House Bill 345 would create work and volunteer requirements for able-bodied Idahoans enrolled in Medicaid, and let Idahoans eligible for Medicaid expansion access tax credits to purchase insurance on Idahos health care exchange. It would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare seek waivers from the federal government, a move that some legislators have been skeptical of, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. In 2019, Idaho failed to receive federal approval then by the Trump administration for Medicaid work requirements and an exchange tax credit option, which are similar to the new bills provisions, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill sponsor, Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur dAlene, said the bill would provide immediate savings to the state and long term sustainability and accountability measures. After more than an hour of testimony and two failed motions to hold the bill in the committee, the committee voted along party lines to move the bill to the House floor with a recommendation that it pass. The Idaho House will vote on the bill at a later date. Its none of my intention to not provide the services to those who need it and those who are eligible, but it is my intention to make sure that we can kind of control the cost, said bill cosponsor and committee chairman Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa. Most bill opponents spoke in opposition to House Bill 345 Legislators on the committee thanked Redman for drafting the legislation in a way that comprised the need to cut down on Medicaid costs without entirely repealing Medicaid expansion. However, most of those who testified opposed the legislation, including health care providers and representatives from nonprofit groups who mostly criticized the bills work requirements, citing concerns it would implement more bureaucratic hurdles for low-income Idahoans seeking health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jennifer Johnson, was the first to testify to the committee. As a business owner and single parent with two children with serious medical conditions, she said her family relies on Medicaid expansion for care and prescriptions. While I understand the goal of reducing Medicaid costs, this bill does the opposite by adding unnecessary expenses and red tape, Johnson said. Adding work requirements is unnecessary. Those who are participating in Medicaid through expansion are people like me who are working one or more jobs, volunteering in the community and raising families, but doing so at low incomes. Like Johnson, Dr. Melanie Edwards, a physical therapist from Idaho Falls, opposed the bill. Edwards said the bill would not control costs. She said bureaucratic barriers, such as job reporting requirements, would cause Idahoans to lose their Medicaid, ultimately reducing access to preventive care. She also said she is concerned about the term able-bodied in the bill. I think of people in the early 60s, such as a retired farmer with a bad back from a lifetime of hard work and no local job or volunteer opportunities that he could do, or a man who has severe mental illness such that hes unable to work, Edwards said. Most of these people have not been classified as disabled, and so are regarded as able-bodied. These situations are not rare outliers in Idaho. The work or volunteer requirement would strip away their care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the policy analysis nonprofit, KFF, about 18% of Idahos population is enrolled in Medicaid. Chris Cargill, the president of the Mountain States Policy Center, spoke in favor of the legislation. This program was specifically designed for the most vulnerable, the working poor, parents with children and the disabled, Cargill said. Medicaid was never intended to provide health insurance for more than 20% of the population. As you all know, the cost of Medicaid coverage for the state is skyrocketing, and unless you act, you could very well lose financial control of this program. If the federal government reduced Medicaid expansion dollars tomorrow, would Idaho be ready? Cargill said to the committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX State senators listen to legislative proceedings from the Idaho Senate floor on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho Senate, in a 27-8 vote, passed a bill on Tuesday to cut Idahos income tax rate, reducing state revenue by $253 million. House Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, would do three things to cut taxes in Idaho, including: Reduce income tax for individuals and corporations from 5.695% to 5.3%, costing $240 million annually; Expand the income tax exemption to military pensions, at a cost of $12 million; Eliminate capital gains tax for gold bullion sales, at a cost of $1 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 40 is one of three bills introduced this legislative session to cut taxes, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Other bills aimed to cut taxes include House Bill 61, which would increase the sales tax credit on groceries for Idaho taxpayers from $120 a year to $155, and House Bill 74 which would offer $100 million of property tax relief to Idahoans. If all three bills are passed into law, it would offer up to $403 million in reductions to state revenues, more than the $100 million in tax reductions Idaho Gov. Brad Little called for in his State of the State address at the start of the legislative session. Ricks said the bill would help Idaho families pay less in taxes, keep their money and ultimately stimulate the economy. But opponents criticized it as irresponsible under times of economic uncertainty nationwide. We are in uncertain times: bill opponents warn of economic recession The Idaho Senate voted largely along party lines to advance the bill. Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, was the first to speak against the bill. She said the bill is irresponsible, and would betray working families in a time of economic uncertainty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here we go, chopping off this revenue (when) we couldnt even pay our employees, Wintrow said, recalling that it took weeks for legislators to agree on a pay raise rate for state employees. We thought about it for weeks and then we gave them a buck to a buck 55. When they see that, how are they going to feel? Wintrow cited a study from the nonpartisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, which said an Idaho family earning between $55,000 and $91,000 would expect to see a tax break of about $127 under House Bill 40. I dont know last time you went to the grocery, but I could barely get out with $127, Wintrow said. Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, was one of two Republicans to vote against the bill the other being Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. While Guthrie said he supports tax cuts, House Bill 40 does not meet his requirements for balance and fairness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are in some unique times that carry with them some incredible unknown. We must think beyond today, Guthrie told the floor, noting the federal government has aggressively cut federal employees, federal programs and implemented significant tariffs on countries including Mexico, Canada and China. Im not here to say that the actions at the federal level are a good or bad thing, and what kind of effect itll have on our economy, Guthrie said. Who knows? But the point is, we are in uncertain times. In response to concerns about an economic recession, legislators supporting the bill said letting Idahoans keep money would boost the economy. If there are hard economic times for the people of Idaho, the best thing this body can do is cut as many taxes and fees as possible, freshman Sen. Joshua Kohl, R-Twin Falls, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 40 already passed the Idaho House of Representatives in a 63-7 vote. It now heads to Gov. Brad Littles desk, who can sign it into law, allow it to pass without his signature or veto it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX All eyes are shifting to House Republicans as Democrats harden their opposition against passing a long-term continuing resolution, which could potentially legitimize some of billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trumps efforts to seize spending power and impose unilateral cuts to government programs. Earlier this month, negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in Congress broke down after Democrats demanded that any continuing resolution reaffirm Congresss constitutionally delegated power of the purse. Republicans, meanwhile, waffled on whether a spending bill should include the changes to government agencies that Musk, a Republican mega-donor, has pushed through with Trumps blessing. House Speaker Mike Johnson has described these cuts as anomalies that he might seek to have added to a so-called clean continuing resolution at different times. As it stands, its not clear whether a bill will or will not include all these anomalies because the text is not yet available (The Hill reports that Johnson hopes to make it available by Friday). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When talks between the two parties broke down, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Democrats remained willing to work with Republicans on a continuing resolution but wouldnt support one that fails to protect the quality of life of the American people, most importantly with respect to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The continuing resolution would extend the current federal budget, potentially through the end of this fiscal year. The measure is traditionally used as a stopgap to allow more time for negotiations and is distinct from the normal budgetary process. The budget for fiscal year 2026, in which Republicans are angling to make drastic cuts to Medicaid and nutritional assistance, is moving in parallel to the continuing resolution negotiations and would still require a separate bill to fund the government under that budget. Now its becoming clearer that, in real terms, the opposition espoused by Jeffries likely means that Democrats wont support the sort of long-term continuing resolution that Republicans are currently pursuing because it could give Musk and Trump further discretion over the budget. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who serves as vice chair on the Senate Appropriations Committee, described this position in remarks on the floor of the Senate. We cannot stand by and accept a yearlong power grab CR that would help Elon take a chainsaw to programs that families rely on and agencies that keep our communities safe, Murray said Tuesday. I have heard my House Republican colleagues say they will not restrict a Republican presidents powers. I want to be clear: What I am asking for is to work together to make sure that as we write and negotiate these full-year spending bills, our laws get followed. I welcome, and I want everyone to know, I am open to any and all ideas on how we can work together to do that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has expressed similar concerns over Musk and Trumps power grab, saying in a February interview with Politico that I think it's pretty clear that this violates Article One of the Constitution, though later adding that it was up to the courts, not her, to do something about Trump and Musks undermining of congressional authority. Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Salon. Some Democrats, however, have indicated an openness to collaborating with Republicans on a long-term continuing resolution, despite its potential to further empower Trump and Musk. They include Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. and Mark Warner, D-Va. I will never vote for or withhold my vote to shut the government down. Thats chaos and Ill never vote for chaos, Fetterman told Punchbowl News. In terms of a path forward, Democrats like Murray have indicated that a short-term continuing resolution is something that they would support if it were a stepping stone to passing a full-year spending bill. Collins has said that she is also preparing a short-term bill in case the long-term one falls through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic staffers, however, point out that any negotiations depend on the outcome of Johnsons expected attempt to push through a year-long continuing resolution along party lines. With the Republicans current 218 to 215 seat majority, the GOP can only afford to lose one vote if they want to pass a bill along party lines in the House. Rep. Don Bacon, R- Neb., has already expressed his opposition to a year-long continuing resolution, one more defection would then force Republicans to seek Democratic votes. Other Republicans have indicated that they have reservations about voting for anything except a clean continuing resolution, even as other members of their party look to add legislative riders to the bill. At the same timem Musk, who has emerged as a key Republican power broker, seems to support a government shutdown, posting last week on X that a March closure sounds great. One undercurrent pointed out by Democrats is that in the shutdown process, the Office of Management and Budget and the Justice Department have considerable influence over which government employees work through a shutdown and which employees are furloughed. For example, employees who cut checks for benefits programs have traditionally worked through a shutdown, though its the OMB and DOJ that ultimately decide what work is required by necessary implication of the law and they could change that guidance. LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Two people are accused of running an illegal speakeasy operation in Lebanon County, according to State Police. Court documents filed Tuesday by State Polices Bureau of Liquor Enforcement show Mandy Spitler, 45, and Gino Vargas, 52, both of Lebanon, are accused of operating an illegal after-hours speakeasy along Cumberland Street in Lebanon City. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Local Business Beat State Police say they received an allegation that Spitler and Vargas were selling alcohol to patrons after midnight on the weekend without a liquor license, bringing in untaxed money. On four different nights throughout last year, an officer entered the speakeasy and bought alcohol from Spitler, who was the bartender. According to Troopers, Vargas was the operator of the establishment and was present during the visits. The officer was told the speakeasy was BYOB, but they were able to buy beer and whiskey drinks from Spitler at the bar. Other patrons were seen buying alcohol from the bar as well, Troopers say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Spitler and Vargas face a misdemeanor charge of unlawful sales of liquor. Both have preliminary hearings scheduled for April 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) An Illinois correctional officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly having sex with two inmates. Danny Spyker, 40, of Lanark, was indicted on charges of allegedly engaging in sexual acts with inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Thomson in both December 2023 and March 2024. Spyker has been placed on administrative leave since June 2024. He was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois in Rockford and faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) In a new op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said up to a million residents of the state will lose health care coverage if funding for Medicaid is cut as part of the Trump administrations efforts to reduce the size of federal spending. President Trump promised he wouldnt cut Medicaid. But within hours of taking office, he signed executive orders aimed at weakening the Affordable Care Act, Pritzker wrote. This week, House Republicans voted to advance a budget that requires $880 billion in funding cuts, much of which must come from the Medicaid program. Trump endorsed that plan. It isnt just Medicaid they are planning to cut, Pritzker continued. The Trump administration and House Republicans plan to eliminate tax credits that enable millions of Americans to buy insurance on the health care marketplace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let me say this plainly: If Trump, Vice President Vance, Elon Musk and congressional Republicans get their way, up to a million Illinoisans will lose health care coverage, he added. Last week, President Donald Trump made his position on Medicaid clear: Were not going to touch it. States and the federal government jointly pay for Medicaid, which offers nearly-free health care coverage for roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans, including millions of children. It cost $880 billion to operate in 2023. Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washingtons Republican lawmakers once reliable critics of lofty government social welfare programs such as Medicaid who say that deep cuts to the health care program could prove too untenable for people back home. Trump and Republicans have for years called for lowering government spending on health care, but they have struggled to formulate a serious plan that gains traction. Trump, for example, has spent nearly a decade arguing for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. His efforts to repeal the Obama-era national health care law failed during his first term, and in his most recent presidential campaign he offered only concepts of a plan to adapt the program. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has ruled out two of the biggest potential cuts: paying fixed, shrunken rates to states for care and changing the calculation for the share of federal dollars that each state receives for Medicaid. Just a few years ago, Johnson spearheaded a report that lobbied for some of those changes during the first Trump administration. Johnson insisted in a CNN interview that the focus will instead be ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid, although its unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program. States are already struggling with the growing cost of sicker patients and could be left to cover more if the federal government pulls back. In some states, the federal government picks up over 80%. Significant changes to Medicaid are still on the table. They have to be for Republicans get the savings they need to pay for tax cuts. Work requirements, which could save as much as $109 billion over the next decade, seem to have solid support among GOP members, with some individual Republican-led states already moving to implement them. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. A Chicago man who spent nearly three decades in prison after being convicted of murder as a teenager was fully exonerated by a Cook County judge on Tuesday. Jerry Herrington was represented by the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) based at the University of Illinois Springfield. The project was founded at the university in 2001 and has brought freedom to 27 individuals in the state, according to a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Illinois Innocence Project founder sees students' lives 'changed by this work' Herrington, 45, completed his prison sentence in 2020. Tuesday's decision by Judge Alfredo Maldonado came with an agreement from the Cook County States Attorney's Office. Jerry Herrington, middle, is pictured outside the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago following his exoneration from a 1991 murder charge on March 4, 2025. From left are Lynn Bagley, senior staff investigator; Brandon Klages, staff attorney; Leanne Beyer, senior staff attorney and Lauren Kaeseberg, legal director. All are with the Illinois Innocence Project based at the University of Illinois Springfield. It meant that Herrington's murder conviction had been vacated and all charges dismissed. Herrington was represented in court by senior staff attorney Leanne Beyer; legal director Lauren Kaeseberg and staff attorney Brandon Klages, all from the IIP. IIP senior staff investigator Lynn Bagley provided critical investigation in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Herrington was 16 when he was accused of shooting a woman in Chicago in 1991. According to the release, evidence showed that Chicago Police officers "punched and slapped" Herrington while he was detained and denied his request to call relatives. Officers said that Herrington had verbally confessed to the shooting although he never signed a written confession, and no recording of the interrogation was made. Herrington maintained he didn't offer a confession. A 16-year-old informant claimed to have witnessed the shooting, but the first and only time he identified Herrington as the culprit was from the witness stand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two new credible witnesses have come forward, stating they saw the shooting and knew the identity of the real perpetrator but were afraid to say anything at the time of the shooting. Officers who investigated this case and abused Herrington are now the subject of numerous allegations regarding systematic misconduct and abuse, as well as fabricated evidence, according to the release. Jerry was just a child when he was wrongfully imprisoned, Beyer said. He and his family are overjoyed about his exoneration. Their journey through the justice system has taken way too long. We appreciate the efforts made by the Cook County States Attorneys Office to investigate this case and for their willingness to right this wrong after more than three decades. Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788: sspearie@sj-r.com: X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois man served 29 years for a murder he didn't commit (Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indias most industrialized state in the south is pushing back against Prime Minister Narendra Modis attempts to reshape parliamentary constituencies based on population size, the latest sign of the growing regional divide in the country. The federal government plans to conduct a delimitation exercise to rejig the number of seats in the parliament to reflect the changes in the countrys population since 1971. Indias prosperous southern states, which have low fertility rates, fear that the process will further reduce their representation in the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. M.K. Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state, organized a meeting of regional politicians on Wednesday to protest the Modi government plans. They rejected the entire delimitation exercise and asked for it be halted for at least three decades, the Press Trust of India reported. Stalin also proposed that a committee be formed with leaders from southern India to collectively fight the process to change the constituencies. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party dominates in the largely northern Hindi-speaking states, where fertility rates are higher. The BJP stronghold of Uttar Pradesh where the population is over 200 million, more than in Brazil has nearly 15% of parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha, with that number expected to rise after redrawing of the constituencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BJP-dominated parliament passed a law in 2023 requiring a census followed by a delimitation exercise. Stalin had been routinely criticizing the population-based restructuring, although opposition against the measure had picked up in recent weeks. Do not penalize the southern states that took responsible measures to control population growth, Stalin said in a video posted last week on the social media platform X. Constituency delimitation directly impacts our states self-respect, social justice and welfare schemes for the people. The BJP has said that southern states wont lose electoral representation after the delimitation exercise, a pledge repeated by Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah at an event in Tamil Nadu last week. Hindi Language Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Electoral representation isnt the only issue that is widening the rift between the southern states and the BJP. Stalin, who has governed Tamil Nadu since 2021, has also been criticizing the BJPs push to popularize the Hindi language in the Tamil-speaking state through education reforms and legislation. Make Tamil an official language on par with Hindi and allot more funds for Tamil than a dead language like Sanskrit, he said on X on Wednesday. The five southern states contribute around 30% to the nations gross domestic product, according to industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry and are major employment generators, with cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru being home to the worlds biggest tech giants. The BJP has repeatedly failed to ouster regional parties in the south. Despite their economic output, the southern states have often complained that they are not given their fair share of federal funds by the Modi government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state in the south and Modis coalition partner in the national government, dismissed concerns over delimitation on Wednesday. There were no details on the exercise and assumptions should not lead to decisions, he told reporters. Other prominent regional leaders remain concerned. In a post last month, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said that an organized struggle will be waged by southern states in the coming days to fight against the injustice meted out by the federal government. (Updates with comments from chief ministers starting in third paragraph.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. BRANCH COUNTY A 48-year-old LaGrange, Indiana man surrendered to police after a chase from Indiana through St. Joseph County until he crashed off U.S. 12 near Wheeler Road in Batavia Township around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. Police closed U.S. 12 while they confronted the chase suspect who remained in the U-Haul truck with a knife off near Wheeler Road. The Branch County prosecutor said he would consider local charges when reports are filed. Police jailed the suspect on an Indiana warrant. Michigan State Police said the LaGrange County Sheriff's Department tried to serve the man with a felony warrant, but he left in a U-Haul box truck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSP said the pursuit traveled into St. Joseph County, where troopers successfully deployed a stop stick that damaged a tire but the vehicle continued into Branch County. When the suspect failed to stop for the Bronson Police Department, sheriff's deputies took over the pursuit of the truck, which was driving on a tire rim. According to Branch County Undersheriff Jason Bingaman, Michigan State Police deployed more stop sticks just west of Batavia Road, which flattened more tires. The man drove off the roadway half a mile further east on U.S. 12, west of Wheeler Road. Bingaman said, "Upon stopping, the driver refused to exit the vehicle and armed himself with a knife." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After several attempts to de-escalate the situation, he put the knife down, the undersheriff said. MSP reported they removed the man from the vehicle and placed him into custody without further incident. Bingaman said his passenger and seven dogs inside the vehicle were unharmed during the chase and arrest. Deputies turned the dogs over to the Branch County Animal Control to hold at the shelter. The Branch County Sheriff's Office, LaGrange Police Department, Michigan State Police, Coldwater Police Department, Bronson Police Department, Branch County Animal Control, and Life Care Ambulance were involved in the pursuit and arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This collaborative effort ensured the safe outcome of a potentially dangerous situation. The Branch County Sheriff's Office will continue to work alongside local and state agencies to protect the community and maintain public safety," Bingaman said. Current MSP policy prevents troopers from participating in high-speed chases. Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Indiana man arrested in Branch County following multi-county chase Soldiers with the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team salute the U.S. flag during the national anthem during their departure ceremony at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Photo from Indiana National Guard) Indianas National Guard has never been more ready, per Adjutant General Larry Muennich. Citizen-soldiers have deployed during recent storms, to the U.S.-Mexico border and to the Middle East. But the guard has also struggled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The force recorded a whopping 38% decline in enlistments from 2019 to 2023, Muennich told a Senate panel on Tuesday. And 77% of Hoosier youth arent qualified for service, whether because of education levels, medical standards, criminal history or other reasons. While there are signs of a modest recovery this year, our ability to attract the next generation of talent remains a significant challenge, Muennich said. This bill will help address our challenges. The Indiana Army and Air National Guards volunteer force is about 12,000 strong, according to Muennich. Members have dual roles: both Indianas governor and the U.S. president can call them into active duty for emergency help. Adjutant General Larry Muennich testifies in committee on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) House Bill 1111 would add soldiers on state active duty to the definition of a state employee for death benefit and workers compensation laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would increase the payout cap on reasonable funeral expenses to $20,000 from $8,800 and delete detailed, guard-specific processes for injury claims. A fiscal analysis said those claims are already paid from workers compensation funds, so the simplifications wouldnt add costs. Additionally, the legislation would let the adjutant general procure health insurance for members ordered to state active duty. Current law only lets the officeholder provide allowances to cover insurance premiums, according to the fiscal analysis. This bill helps protect soldiers and airmen who are often in harms way during state active duty, Muennich told lawmakers. Other provisions would benefit student-soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High-schooler Leonardo Martinez wanted to be the first from his immigrant family to serve his new country and chose Indianas National Guard for its educational perks. The 18-year-old, who called himself a proud member of the guard, told lawmakers that his friends were more reluctant to join. He said members may struggle to balance guard service and officer training with school and work and to afford to do it all. I feel like this would help us reach those Hoosiers, Martinez said. Guard members who are 21st Century Scholars would win in House Bill 1111. That state program covers tuition to Indiana colleges for foster children and low-income Hoosiers who meet academic requirements. Lawmakers recently allowed the program to auto-enroll eligible students, but before that, they had to sign up as middle-schoolers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the proposal, scholars would be able to use guard grants to pay up to $5,000 for room and board, plus other approved expenses, for two years. That could increase or shift expenditures by $250,000 in the first year and $500,000 annually, at full utilization, according to the fiscal analysis. Martinez said thats a great idea. But he asked lawmakers to consider expanding the provision further. He said he was unaware of the 21st Century program as a middle-schooler. His mother, meanwhile, didnt understand how to navigate the website and application process because of a language barrier. The legislation also would let members apply for guard tuition supplement scholarships and use the awards on credentialing programs, apprenticeships and more for in demand occupations determined by the adjutant general and Department of Workforce Development. The fiscal analysis said that could increase or shift scholarship expenditures by up to $400,000 annually. The panel advanced the bill on a unanimous, 7-0 vote. It next heads to the Senate floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Republican members of Indianas congressional delegation sent a letter to Republican Statehouse leaders on Wednesday urging support of an immigration bill that would tie local government funding to whether entities cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement. House Bill 1531 says federal immigration laws can be carried out by state and local law enforcement and gives the attorney general the ability to advise the governor on whether to withhold funding from a local government that does not comply with immigration laws. Among other pieces of the bill, it also prohibits employers from hiring a person who is not legally allowed in the U.S. The bill, authored by Union City Republican Rep. JD Prescott, passed the House last month and is now in the hands of the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter, led by U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, is also signed by Sen. Todd Young and Republican U.S. Reps. Rudy Yakym, Marlin Stutzman, Jim Baird, Mark Messmer and Erin Houchin. Republican Reps. Victoria Spartz and Jefferson Shreve did not sign onto the letter shared with IndyStar. Checks and Balances: Sign up for our Indiana politics newsletter today The letter, which is addressed to House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, calls HB 1531 a "commonsense measure" and says the bill would "go a long way toward addressing many of the immigration-related challenges our state faces." "States can and should play a key role in restoring integrity to our immigration system and protecting Americans from the social and economic costs of unrestrained migration," the letter states. "There is no reason why Indiana should not be a leader in that effort." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Banks has written to Indiana lawmakers in the past about state legislation, but the delegation as a whole doesn't often publicly wade into discussions of state legislation. In 2024, Banks and then-Sen. Mike Braun, wrote to members of the Indiana General Assembly in support of a bill that bars foreign adversaries from owning or leasing farmland in Indiana. Former Gov. Eric Holcomb signed that bill into law last year. On immigration in 2025, Banks has specifically advocated for more cooperation on federal immigration enforcement from state and local entities. In February, he told a local TV station that he would consider withholding federal grants for Indianapolis police after IMPD Police Chief Chris Bailey said the agency does not have the authority to enforce federal immigration law. Immigration bills at the Statehouse HB 1531 is one of at least 15 bills targeting illegal immigration that were filed at the Statehouse this year. Only a handful of them are still making their way through the legislative process. Some of those include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 1393, which requires law enforcement to notify their county sheriff if they have arrested someone for a misdemeanor or felony and have probable cause to believe that person is not legally in the U.S. Senate Bill 430, which would provide grants to law enforcement agencies for participating in Immigrations and Customs Enforcements 287(g) program for immigration enforcement training. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana congressional Republicans urge support of immigration bill Leslie Logan Seneca Last week marked the third anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine, a war that drew attention and wide-spread support for Ukraine from all corners of the globe. The blue and yellow flag was everywhere and declarations of We Stand with Ukraine proliferated in a fervor and then subsided significantly. Now, with a second Putin-friendly Trump administration bullying Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, support for Ukraine has been revived. Politics fuels and dulls the national attention span and capacity for compassion for those suffering under unrelenting military campaigns. In the case of the war in Gaza few tribal statements supporting Palestinians have been made despite grave losses, dramatic destruction, a humanitarian crisis, Israeli abdication of war conventions and civil society norms, and the hard-to-miss historic parallels with Native peoples. The month-old, three-phase ceasefire in Gaza has been called fragile. Underscoring ongoing threats, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect posted, The ceasefire agreement offers a glimmer of hope for a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza, but the risk of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide remains high. Although hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to their homes, the conditions are described as unlivable. President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently remove all Palestinians to make way for a Riviera of the Middle East, diminishing hope for rebuilding. The Associated Press reported that Raji Sourani, a leading human rights lawyer from Gaza, accused Trump of aiming to complete the genocide. Geneva Conventions forbid mass forcible transfers from occupied lands regardless of their motive. The International Criminal Court where the US and Israel are not members also holds that forcible transfer can be a war crime or, in some circumstances, a crime against humanity. By all accounts, Palestinians are far from safe, stable ground with new threats afoot. Out of 574 federally recognized tribes only five have expressed support for Palestine since Oct. 7, 2023. Calls for a permanent ceasefire were made by the Oglala Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne River Lakota, Winneman Wintu, Yurok, Red Lake Band of Chippewa, and the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council which represents a collective of almost 50 tribes. Dine activists urged Navajo president Buu Nygren to call for a ceasefire, but he seemingly backed down to avoid upsetting Raytheon Technologies RTX, the worlds largest missile manufacturer. The Navajo Nation is home to the Raytheon Dine Facility which builds and stores parts for Tomahawk cruise missiles, Javelin weapon systems, and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles. NDN Collective, an Indigenous advocacy organization out of Rapid City, South Dakota, and Red Nations, out of Arizona called for a ceasefire and an end to US military aid to Israel. Indigenous Solidarity with Palestine, created an online effort obtaining 1,122 signatures for an Indigenous solidarity letter of support. In early November 2023, Coast Salish people took to their canoes in the Port of Tacoma blocking ships believed to be carrying weapons to Israeli forces. That November, Native activists marched in the Free Palestine Ceasefire Rally in Washington, DC. In Cultural Survival, Nick Tilsen, the president and chief executive officer of NDN Collective, stated, Indigenous voices have become especially prominent in support of Palestine in a spirit of kinship. Tilsen, Oglala Lakota and Jewish, said, Sometimes when I talk to Indigenous leaders here, theyll be like, Gaza, thats happening all the way over there in the Middle East. Why should I say anything? I reassure them that our priority is and will always be here, fighting for the return of Indigenous lands to the Indigenous Peoples of the United States. But its important to see how the U.S. has been directly funding the Israeli military in the billions, for decades as it commits genocide on the Palestinian people with resources extracted from our stolen lands. He continued, Do we stand quietly as these people are being murdered? Or, do we step into our courage and bravery, aligned with our values, even when its not popular to do so? Many Native people who have publicly supported Palestine have been verbally attacked and accused of antisemitism. Seth Allard, Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa, was one of the few Native OpEds writing, If I say crushing Palestinian children into unrecognizable shapes via airstrikes is inhumane, I am anti-Semitic, supporting terrorism, enemy to America. If I say Israeli children, stacked in piles or captured by Hamas is horrific, I am colonialist, pro-Zionist, Islamophobic. I am neither. I am a Native American, Marine Corps Veteran, mental health professional decrying the unjust and criminal nature of war. Indigenous students across the country engaged in college campus protests, an April 2024 story discussed those. Portland State students and local communities organized a powwow to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians. The Portland State University students stated: As Indigenous peoples of this land, we recognize the deep parallels between our struggles for justice and the plight of Palestinian people. At Cornell University Indigenous students protested, held vigils and discussions in an encampment calling for a ceasefire and for university divestment from companies supporting Israels military campaign. As told in Rematriation, Native students also held a four-day fast for Palestine. Many campus protests were peaceful, but others caused disruption. At the start of fall 2024, many universities developed policies to quell student protests, minimizing opposition and imposing stiff punishments even for candlelight vigils and silent study-ins. In September 2024 The National ran a story describing Indigenous Americans as emerging as an important internal voice against the US governments support for Israel. Two articles by non-Native writers in the Palestine Chronicle illustrate Indigenous peoples identification with the Palestinian experience relating the U.S. history of settler colonialism and removal policies with Israeli land theft, Palestinian expulsion, oppression, and genocide. At the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Native people participated in protests and panels in support of Palestine. The headline in Native News Online read: Natives for Palestine, We understand genocide. The national Native radio talk show Native America Calling discussed Indigenous perspectives on the war in Gaza. The panel of guests shared the pushback, hostilities, and allegations of antisemitism they encountered while supporting Palestine and naming the genocide occuring there. Panelist Chase Iron Eyes, Oglala Lakota, was asked about tribes speaking out. Iron Eyes said, Ive been looking for it and I can't find it from the National Congress of American Indians. We should be asking why tribal leaders arent speaking out. The National Congress of American Indians, the leading tribal advocacy organization, gives a State of Indian Nations address at their annual convention, the largest gathering of tribal leaders in the country. The NCAI Youth Commission also gives a State of Indian Youth. The youth address, guaranteed in the bylaws, typically affords youth the opportunity to voice concerns, issues, and challenges they face. Last February 2024, my daughter Yanenowi Logan, a Cornell senior at the time, was the President of the Youth Commission and prepared the youth address expressing solidarity with Palestine and the need for broader support from Indian Country. NCAI executives and legal counsel first pulled the youth speech from the program, then conceded to keep it; mindful of the bylaws They privately opposed the content and held hours-long meetings in which executives and tribal leaders scolded the youth commission, and subtly suggested the tenor and focus of the speech be changed. One attorney suggested the youths views were antisemitic. In the end, Yanenowi gave her address expressing the need for Indian Country to support Palestinians and Indigenous people globally who are suffering removal and oppression but it wouldnt have happened without an internal skirmish defending their position. Tribes have big fish to fry fighting the state and feds to protect and maintain what is ours. Native communities have unique challenges and sometimes inadequate resources to address serious problems. But our daily obstacles are mere nuisances next to what Palestinians have endured for years. It is 2025 and while we are scrolling on our phones, stress-eating, and bracing ourselves for the next outrageous, merciless Trump edict, Palestinians go hungry in caves. Since Trump 2.0 took office everyone in this country, including 20-year veterans working in the federal government, three-time Trump voters who lost their jobs in the past few days were all at the mercy of the category-5 shitstorm ginned up by Trump, Elon Musk and a bystander Congress. Indian Country has by necessity quickly become more unified to protect tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and to marshal a collective defense of federal funding for essential programs and services such as health, housing, and education. It is no wonder then, with all the havoc and uncertainty unleashed, it is increasingly difficult for people to see past the daily crush of news instilling instability and fear, sidelining support for Palestine and Ukraine. According to Al Jazeera the Palestinian death toll since October 7, 2023, is 61,709, with 17,498 being children. January data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the Palestinian government show Israeli attacks have damaged almost all of Gazas homes (damaged or destroyed), 80 percent of commercial facilities, 88 percent of school buildings, 68 percent of roads, 68 percent of cropland, leaving only 50 percent of hospitals partially functional. No Other Land I recently saw the film No Other Land, a documentary about the Palestinian expulsion from Masafer Yatta in the West Bank. I saw it at a small independent theater in Ithaca, New York, three hours from my home because it is not showing anywhere nearby. A New York Times article explained that no U.S. studio will touch it. With the documentary winning the Academy Award, maybe now it will get wider distribution. I left the theater feeling sick. And helpless. It was difficult to watch. Basel Adra, a young Palestinian, has used the only weapon he has, a camera, to document the Israeli militarys relentless attacks that have leveled his small village. He began documenting the gradual chipping away of humanity and dismantling of his community six years ago well before Oct. 7. He shows the Israeli forces slow-moving bulldozers crackling down dry dirt roads, moving in to demolish homes. Villagers are required to obtain permits to rebuild and are denied those. They are forced to take what few worldly belongings they have and shelter in mountainside caves. Then we see the bulldozing of their goat and sheep pens. The Israelis take their cars. And then they come for their generators.Then the Israeli military bulldozers crush their chicken coops. Another day comes and they flatten their latrines. Then gun-toting troops clear out children from the school and while the frightened children and teachers stand by watching, their school is reduced to rubble. There are shootings; people are killed, injured, paralyzed, and jailed for simply trying to live, survive, and protect the ground beneath their feet. There are daily and then nightly raids and unending terrorism unleashed on non-combatant civilians; unarmed families who refuse to be driven out of their homelands. Masafer Yatta is effectively an open-air prison, a place they cannot leave; yet Israeli forces are trained to beat them down and run them out. Twenty years ago an apartheid road system was enacted by law. Palestinians are barred from driving on 40 percent of the roads in the West Bank. There are Jewish-only roads and if Palestinians are fortunate enough to have vehicles, they are not permitted to travel outside of their rapidly eroding village. In 2006, the law further restricted Palestinian movement. It is against the law to transport Palestinian passengers in Israeli-driven, Israeli-plated cars without a special permit. While watching the mounting devastation on film, I kept it together until the soldiers arrived with chainsaws and cut the water lines then drove in cement trucks, filling their water wells with concrete. At that point I could no longer contain the tears I had been choking down. My body shook as I released audible sobs in the dark as the wreckage peaked in the flickering light of film. I could hear others in the theater too had reached their breaking point. As the credits rolled, I lingered as the lights came up. The film left me anguished, short of breath asking: What can we do? I couldnt help but think of my Seneca ancestors and what they went through when George Washington ordered the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign in a scorched-earth military mission to eradicate Haudenosaunee villages from central New York in 1779. No one was spared the sword or musket: women, children, elders were killed. Longhouses were burned to the ground, orchards and cornfields were torched. This was a deliberate, unannounced, forced removal in the name of Manifest Destiny; a superior entitlement to land and resources. We live in a world that is being ripped apart on many levels by an administration with a similar scorched-earth agenda that doesnt care about its own people, much less Native people. President Trump cares even less about the oppressed people of Palestine whose lives are literally in ruins. While we are at the mercy of a regime determined to decimate the department of education, ignore the Constitution, run roughshod over laws and social norms, and presumably, eventually our treaties too, as though this hasnt already happenedwe are still far better off than Palestinians. We are fortunate, privileged, virtually unaffected by the gruesome brutality, inhumanity, and torment inflicted half a world away. We can turn off the news, selectively scroll over feeds, pop in earbuds and tune out the world. I am reminded of what Colson Whiteheads character Curtis Elwood said in Nickel Boys. Elwood said, If everybody looks the other way, then everybodys in on it. The phrase the power of the pen used to mean something. In our Indigenous communities we talk about speaking truth to power. Given our history of removal and dispossession, we fist-pump self-determination and land back movements. We honor our ancestors who resisted and fought so we could be here today. In November 2024, Nick Estes, Lower Brule Oglala Lakota/Jewish, an assistant professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota wrote: The United States has clamped down on its own educational system, banning books teaching its true settler colonial history, while brutalizing college students and cracking down on educators opposing its genocide against Palestinians. And yet there is still hope for justice. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain resolute about staying on their lands. They are not giving up, just like our ancestors refused to give up. There have been some Indigenous voices that have stood up in solidarity with Palestine plenty of Native students on college campuses, and six tribes. But with 568 tribes staying quiet, mostly there has been resounding silence throughout Indian Country; and a clear discomfort within the ranks of the largest national Native collective of tribal leaders. That voice has been noticeably, painfully silent as Palestinians fight to keep their feet on their landsjust like we did. There is a George Saunders short story, Love Letter, written in 2022 that serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of passivity and the need for resistance. The grandfather in the story writes a letter to his grandson. The times are terrifyingly bleakperhaps prescientunder a tightly controlled kind of police state. There is a double-edged message the grandfather sends: lay low and stay safe, and yet what might we do? Dangerous times unfold when resistance is neutralized by fear, despair, and indifference. I ask myself: What can we do? How can I make a difference? As Adra has taken up his camera, I have only my keyboard. I cannot stay quiet. Unlike the grandfather in Love Letter, I will not tell my children to stay silent. Because as with all wars and battles: if we submit, there is much to lose, and an even more constrained and dangerous future looms. Accepting the Oscar for the film, Basel Adra said, We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people. "No Other Land" should be seen, shared, and talked about. Indigenous eyes should not be averted; impassioned young voices should not be squelched, support for Palestine should not quietly die out. Just as with each and every one of our Native nationstheir fight is not over. Leslie Logan, Seneca, has been an occasional contributor to ICT for more than 10 years. She is the former associate director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program at Cornell University. She is a freelance writer, public relations consultant and grassroots community activist currently working on community and youth engagement initiatives for the Seneca Nation. This opinion-editorial essay does not reflect the views of ICT; voices in our opinion section represent a variety of reader points of view. If you would like to contribute an essay to ICT, email opinion@ictnews.org. More information about our guidelines: Submission guidelines. AUSTIN (KXAN) Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced his intention to change the way Austin looks at its budget as ongoing federal and state cuts impact local governments. That announcement was made at the annual Real Estate Council of Austin mayors luncheon on Wednesday. Mayor Kirk Watson at RECAs annual mayoral luncheon (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez) Watson sat down with Inside Austins Agenda host Grace Reader prior to that announcement to discuss why he thinks it will lead to a more transparent and holistic budget process moving forward. A lot of whats happening in Washington, D.C. can have a very significant impact on what it is that were trying to do in Austin. I mean, people hear about the grants and whether grants are going to continue to come our way, how those are going to impact us, but there are things beyond that as well, Watson explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, Watson pointed to Congress possibly doing away with the exemption of federal taxation on municipal bonds. Inside Austins Agenda: Addressing homelessness in our city Thats something Watson thinks would be devastating to cities because he believes it would increase local taxes and cause problems for local programs and projects. Our chief financial officer here at the city says that for every $100 million of issuance of municipal bonds, it would add about $22 million. So when you think of the airport as a really good example, what that would do is we would have to start looking, I think, at probably what we cut from this major airport expansion that we so desperately and badly need, or wed have to figure out how youre going to charge the airlines more or customers more, Watson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watson also said during the luncheon Wednesday that the city of Austin has budget asteroids it needs to address, like the state tax cap and American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, dollars running out. KXAN has covered ARPA funding running out extensively. City of Austin faces tough cuts when ARPA dollars run out, including homelessness services As such, Watson said he intends to take a more holistic approach to the budget this year, starting now with the Audit and Finance Committee, which he chairs. He encouraged the public to get involved. I think in a time of chaotic approaches to government, I think local government needs to show how we can work without the chaos. We can work with a process that will show people what were doing and will show people why were doing it, Watson said. Things you should know about Austins budget While you may see budget comparisons to Dallas or Houston, the city of Austins budget appears uniquely large because of the additional services it provides, such as running its own utility company and airport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But what you really need to be looking at is the general fund: $1.4 billion. Thats the pot of money used for things like public safety, roads and parks. And its the best indicator of how much flexibility the city may have in charging you extra for services. But when you look at that budget and this is a key part of making sure we all are playing with the same numbers and understand 100% of the property tax dollars that you pay in the city of Austin goes to public safety. It goes to police, fire and EMS. But that doesnt pay for all of the police, fire and EMS. It requires another 65.5% of our sales tax revenue, Watson said. Things like fees, fines, transfers and grants pay for everything else, Watson explained. You can catch the entirety of the conversation on this weeks Inside Austins Agenda. You can watch this episode at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the top of this article, on Facebook, and YouTube. Inside Austins Agenda goes live every other Wednesday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress was about what you would expect it to be: full of boasts and grand pronouncements, laced with long-debunked claims and sprinkled with moments for reality TV attention spans. In the chamber, the atmosphere for Tuesdays speech was much more caustic this time around, not just for Trump, who chided Democrats for not getting on board and applauding him, and the opposition party, with many of the members booing and brandishing signs calling out the president and Elon Musk. One member, Rep. Al Green (D-TX), was booted from the chamber after he refused to sit down and stop heckling at the outset of Trumps address. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The contrast between Trumps first term and his second was apparent right from the start, as Democrats did not participate in the traditional escorting of the president. Democrats also largely avoided a rite of presidential speeches: standing on the aisle to shake the presidents hand, in full view of the TV cameras. Instead, one lawmaker, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), brandished a sign that read, This is not normal, but it was quickly ripped from her hands by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX). Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) stood up from their seats right near the aisle, but as Trump walked by, they stared straight ahead, not making eye contact. The president looked over, very briefly, to notice the chilly reception. President Donald Trump arrives for his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night as Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) holds a sign reading This is not normal This is the fifth such speech to Congress, and once again I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy, or to make them stand or smile or applaud, Trump complained. Nothing I can do. Democrats held signs that read, Musk steals. Save Medicaid. And False. Embarrassing, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told reporters afterward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats did applaud at certain moments, including the emotional high point, when Trump surprised 13-year-old DJ Daniel, a brain cancer survivor, by making him an official agent of the Secret Service. Republicans also flouted norms. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wore a Trump Is Right About Everything red hat, an apparent dress code violation, while Elon Musk started taking video shortly after he entered the gallery. It appeared as though he was told by a security officer to stop, as pictures are not allowed in the chamber by anyone except accredited photographers and the members themselves. Trump had moments where he diverted from the text of his speech for his rally bits of trolling. About two-thirds of the way through his speech, as he talked about support to Ukraine, he referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) the way he often does, as Pocahontas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The difference this time was that she was in the room, and amid the laughs from Republicans and groans from the Democrats, she shook her head and just continued to clap. I think I actually hit a nerve when I applauded the United States support to Ukrainian patriots and if that hits a nerve for Trump its worth sitting through the rest of that speech, she told reporters afterward. Much of the reaction to the speech is captured in Statuary Hall, transformed into a spin room where lawmakers of both parties make rounds of TV hits and reporter one-on-ones. Journalists gather along a rope line akin to a red carpet and some political figures relish the moment more than others. Howard Lutnick, Trumps commerce secretary, held court with a scrum of journalists by trying to give assurances that the tariff situation with Mexico and Canada would soon come to a resolution, while loudly giving the roadmap for how the administrations economic agenda will change America in a way you have never seen. Less animated was Schiff, who nevertheless stuck to Democratic talking points about the speech: His presidency, after the past two months, has been an abject failure, rated nothing but chaos, nothing but alienate our allies around the world. Were now engaged in a pointless and self-destructive trade fight with our two neighbors. Its no wonder, I suppose, that he wanted to divert peoples attention by talking about Greenland and Gulf of America and other such nonsense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps speech stretched to 100 minutes, setting a record, but he did not address aid to California for rebuilding from the destructive wildfires in January. Asked if he was disappointed that the president sidestepped that topic, Schiff chuckled a bit as he said, I dont know whether it would be disappointing, because anything he might say could be very unhelpful. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) An airport in southwestern Haiti is ready to receive international flights for the first time, officials said Wednesday, adding a safer option for commercial airlines that have halted all flights to the main airport in Port-au-Prince, where gang violence persists. The Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes, named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, operated for almost two decades before renovations began in 2013 to extend its runway. It is now Haitis third international airport, a development that is expected to boost the local economy and provide a new way for some nonprofits to distribute sorely needed aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its really exciting, said Wynn Walent, executive director of the Colorado-based nonprofit Locally Haiti, which operates in Haitis southwest. For understandable reasons, folks are focused on the challenges in Port-au-Prince, but there is so much that can be done in the south. This could be a big step in that direction. Hugh Aprile, Mercy Corps regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrated the new runway, saying its possible more organizations will base their teams in Les Cayes instead of Port-au-Prince. Much of the needs are in the southern peninsula, he said. For us, this will be helpful. Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's transitional presidential council, traveled to Les Cayes to unveil the renovated airport Wednesday, saying it would help develop sectors including tourism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Infrastructure is the basis of a countrys economic development, he said. Most people traveling to Haiti land at the international airport in the north coastal city of Cap-Haitien, then travel by land or helicopter to the capital. The Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains open but commercial flights have been halted since gangs opened fire on three planes in November, slightly injuring a flight attendant. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extended a ban on U.S. flights to Haitis capital until March 12. It wasnt immediately clear if U.S. commercial flights will use the redeveloped airport, nor if any international flights have landed yet on the extended runway at Les Cayes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local media reported that technicians from the U.S. airline JetBlue arrived in Les Cayes to inspect the runway. However, a company spokesman told The Associated Press that JetBlue doesn't have any record of making such a trip to inspect the runway, and that it has decided to suspend all flights to Haiti through at least June 11 due to the ongoing civil unrest. Martine Villeneuve, country director for Action Against Hunger, celebrated the renovated airport but noted it came too late for her organization. Action Against Hunger was targeted by the recent USAID cuts and was forced to eliminate a nutrition and feeding program that served 13,000 people in Haitis rural northeast and south. Now, the organization is focused on helping people in Port-au-Prince and the central Artibonite region. We are trapped in Port-au-Prince, she said. Its very difficult to get in and out. Gangs control 85% of the capital as well as all the main roads leading to the countrys north and south. ___ Associated Press reporter Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed. A narcotics investigation at two Bakersfield residences that ended Monday brought the seizure of more than 44,000 fentanyl-laced pills, a pound of black tar heroin, cocaine, processed marijuana, several hundred live marijuana plants and the dismantlement of a residential indoor marijuana grow, the Kern County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday. The Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force searched an apartment in the 3000 block of O Street and a home in the 300 block of 8th Street in Bakersfield. KCSO deputies arrested Alexander Horton, 26, and Alina Villarreal, 24, at their apartment after finding them with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and a loaded stolen firearm, a sheriff's news release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fidel Melgar-Trujillo, 29, of Sinaloa, Mexico was located at his home with an active indoor marijuana grow along with large amounts of fentanyl pills, heroin, processed marijuana, marijuana plants, U.S. currency believed to be narcotics sales proceeds and a loaded handgun, the news release said. All three were arrested on suspicion of various drug and weapons crimes, KCSO said. Officers from the Kern County Probation Department and California Highway Patrol K-9 Unit assisted the KC-HIDTA Task Force in the investigation. (FOX40.COM) Deputies in Northern California are investigating the circumstances behind a dog that may have been shot to death. Around 9:17 p.m. on Feb. 26, the Amador County Sheriffs Office received a call from a resident on Meadowmont Drive in Pioneer. The resident reportedly told deputies he returned home and found his dog dead. He believed the dog had been shot by an unknown suspect. Northern California sheriffs office to work with ICE: Public safety first Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When ACSO arrived at the scene, they found a small dog with a wound consistent with the entry of a pellet or small caliber bullet. The dog was taken by the responding deputies so a necropsy could be performed to determine the exact cause of death. Deputies said they searched and spoke with people in the neighborhood but didnt find leads. One resident told law enforcement they heard a yelp around 6 p.m., but no shot was heard. The sheriffs office asked local residents to check their home security camera footage for people or vehicles of interest. Anyone with information can call the ACSO Secret Witness Line at 209- 223-4900. A reward may be available for information leading to the arrest and arraignment of those involved. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. The Iowa Capitol on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) A subcommittee in the Iowa Senate advanced a bill Tuesday that would put new limitations on pipeline, transmission and liquid hazardous pipeline projects seeking eminent domain. Senate Study Bill 1166 would exclude pipelines, roads, electric transmission lines and internet cables outside of a city from the definition of a public use, which grants the right of eminent domain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notably, the bill would only involve permit applications with a first public information meeting on or after the bills implementation and therefore would not impact the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, though much of the subcommittee discussion centered on the controversial project. The bill would require an applicant to secure voluntary easements for 90% of the project and 75% of the total distance of the project before the Iowa Utilities Commission could grant the right of eminent domain. Jeff Boeyink, on behalf of Summit Carbon Solutions, said the requirement was almost an impossible standard for a company to meet. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Pipeline advocates object to landowner consent measure Another portion of the bill would require written landowner consent in order for easement negotiations to occur. Opponents to the pipeline project said this would keep landowners from being harassed by companies trying to build a project, but Boeyink said it makes it very difficult to talk to landowners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not only do I have to get 90% voluntary easements, but you are limiting severely my ability to even talk to landowners in the first place, Boeyink said. So all it would take is 11% of the landowners to say I dont want to talk to you (and) your project is dead. Boeyink said this threshold and restriction on communication, if the bill were enacted, would probably guarantee that Iowa would never have a pipeline or electric transmission line built in the state. Victoria Sinclair, on behalf of Land of the Free Action, spoke in favor of the bill and particularly of the requirement for landowner consent. I cant tell you how many stories Ive personally heard from folks where their elderly relatives have been harassed in the nursing homes by these companies, Sinclair said. Thats unacceptable, and we cant allow it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Heller, on behalf of Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said the bill effectively eliminates the ability to negotiate with landowners and to survey a property. IRFA opposed the bill, noting the importance of pipeline projects to the ethanol industry and for Iowas expansion to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel market. Sen. Dennis Guth, who was not on the subcommittee but attended the hearing, said he worked on previous versions of the bill and developed the 90% threshold from an assessment of past public use projects, notably the Avenue of the Saints and local electric transmission lines, that he said were able to gather more than 90% voluntary participation. Guth is also one author of Senate File 92, a bill that would explicitly exclude pipelines transporting liquified carbon dioxide from the right to eminent domain. This bill has been assigned to a subcommittee but has not had a scheduled hearing. Pipeline opponents decry exclusion of Summit project from restrictions Jess Mazour with the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club said she would rather see the language in SF 92 than the 90% threshold in SSB 1166. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mazour, who has been an opponent of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, registered undecided on the bill because it would not impact the carbon sequestration pipeline project that has already received conditional approval from the Iowa Utilities Commission. We strongly believe that Summit does not deserve to be protected, Mazour said. And if the contents of this bill are considered good policy for future projects, then it should be good policy for Summit too. Boeyink said he appreciated that the bill recognized that land rights shouldnt be different based on the kind of project youre putting forward and that it did not single out carbon dioxide pipelines. Lawmakers in South Dakota passed a bill Tuesday that would prohibit eminent domain use for carbon pipelines. The bill goes to the governors desk but it is unknown how the governor will fall on the bill. The Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline would also cross through South Dakota under its current route. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SSB 1166 would also allow those prospective pipeline operators to contact landowners within five miles of the proposed project location to try to obtain voluntary easements. Mazour and several landowners who spoke at the subcommittee were concerned by the five-mile corridor, which they said would put more landowners in limbo while operators and the IUC work out exact routes within the corridors. The bill would also increase the surety bond for applicants who must prove they have property in the state aside from the project, valuing more than $1 million, or they must file and maintain a $1 million bond with the commission. This would be an increase from previous requirements for pipeline operators, which required property or a bond valued at $250,000. Mazour said the amount was woefully inadequate in reference to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill also stipulates that pipeline projects must be at least eight feet underground unless otherwise negotiated with landowners. Sinclair with Land of the Free Action said this was a step in the right direction to bring safety standards for pipelines closer to updated guidelines from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA. The bill obligates the commission to adopt restoration practices for agricultural lands following the installation of transmission lines or pipelines, allows landowners to claim damages related to crop deficiencies within an easement strip when renegotiating their claims and it states that landowners are not liable for damages that happen to a project. Utility advocates raise concerns about transmission, road restrictions Chaz Allen, on behalf of the Iowa Utility Association, registered undecided on the bill but noted the potential impacts it would have on electric transmission, which he said is not just a public use, but an essential service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If electric transmission were no longer considered a public use, it could lead to grid instability, higher energy costs, delays in energy expansion and economic harm, Allen said. Sen. Matt Blake, D-Urbandale, said the inclusion of roads, electric transmission and internet lines in the bill were a bit of a poison pill to advancing the legislation. Blake said hed prefer to strike those portions out in an amendment. I struggle with the idea of trying to handicap some things that are truly public good, Blake said. Sen. Tom Shipley, who chaired the subcommittee voted, along with Sen. Dave Rowley, to move the bill forward to committee, noting that there would likely be amendments. This is not the final answer on any of this, by any stretch of the imagination, Shipley said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE (Reuters) - Iran refutes what it called 'accusations' made by Britain that it was trying to threaten the security of the UK, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday. Britain on Tuesday said it will place Iran on the highest tier of the foreign influence register. This would require the Iranian state to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK, subjecting Tehran to an elevated tier of scrutiny in light of what it said was increasingly aggressive activity. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) Democratic lawmakers didnt have much to smile about during President Donald Trumps divisive speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, but one moment caused them to laugh openly. The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over, Trump said, referring to his efforts to dismantle large portions of the federal government. Critics were quick to point to the obvious irony: Trump placed Elon Musk, who was not elected, in charge of that effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk and his DOGE team have in effect become a shadow bureaucracy, making decisions impacting millions of federal workers, and billions in federal dollars that had been allocated by elected officials in Congress. Listen to the reaction: Along with laughter, Trumps speech had other forms of disruption. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was kicked out of the event for challenging him on Medicaid. Others engaged in more of a silent protest, such as turning their backs on Trump and walking out, or holding up signs saying things such as false and This is NOT normal. But the claim about unelected bureaucrats may have led to one of the biggest reactions of the night from Trumps critics both in the chamber and online: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) Three local government offices have been named by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to be shut down and now, local officials and residents are expressing concern over what this could mean for the vital services the offices provide. The IRS office in Altoona is one of the offices slated for closure. It provides a variety of tax services to residents who are now worried about what the closure could mean for everyone, but especially older Pennsylvanians. Ive been doing my own taxes for my entire life, but I also help other people, especially people my age that are not computer savvy, said Jerry Carnicella, who lives in Patton, Cambria County, and frequents the Altoona IRS office to pick up tax forms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE: Several government offices to close in Central Pennsylvania Without the Altoona office, local taxpayers will be forced to either make the trip to Johnstown or York for tax assistance or learn how to do it themselves. Were in a computer age, but a lot of us, were not comfortable. You know, we can fill out a form, you know Line A,Line B, its really not that difficult Carnicella said. But you know, people are afraid. Of course people are afraid of the IRS to begin with. So you know, its I dont know what were going to do. Notices of these cuts came suddenly through the DOGE website, causing many to voice concern over what this could mean for the employees of these offices. WTAJ reached out to try to get these answers, but we were told by the IRS that they cant speak to us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wouldnt be able to speak to that. However, you may want to reach out to DOGEs office themselves or or perhaps the White House. They may be able to provide commentary on it, but we are, unable to make any comments or anything. So apologies for that, said a member of the IRSs media relations team in a voicemail message to WTAJ. No contact information for DOGE is readily available. And it appears no one can figure out how to get in touch with the government entity calling a lot of the shots at the federal level. I wish I could provide you a number but I dont have one. Sorry, the IRS also said in that voicemail. Government offices in Centre County are also being closed by DOGE both Fish and Wildlife Services and Employment Standards Administration in State College. Centre County Commissioners said they were informed of the closures late Monday night in a press release. That release was never provided to WTAJ News by DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now commissioners are worried that the bleeding wont stop with federal offices and have been widely left in the dark about what government cuts could mean for local operations. Were also kind of unsure what level of cuts were looking at here at county government, said Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins. It could be a few hundreds thousands. Could be six million. Could be 20 million. You start throwing in Medicaid cuts, it could be, God knows, tens of millions. We dont know. Its very stressful. We just dont know. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. The Trump Administration claims these cuts, and the others around the nation, will save the government millions of dollars but it could be a while before anyone knows for sure if it does or what the fallout of these quick closures could cause. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. (KRON) Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) took to X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday night to slam President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress. Trump delivered what was officially the longest joint address to Congress in history to a largely divided chamber. Donald Trump is about to give his address to Congress the least popular president at this point in his term ever, Swalwell tweeted in advance of the address. Heres what you wont hear: any real solutions for working families. What you will hear? Lies, excuses, and a whole lot of Putin-approved nonsense. Trumps joint address was largely well received by Americans who tuned in, according to a CNN poll. However, according to polling website FiveThirtyEight, Trumps disapproval rating overtook his approval rating for the first time on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 5 takeaways from Trumps address to Congress During Trumps address, Swalwell tweeted running commentary, saying while George Washington founded American Democracy, Donald Trump is ready to burn it all down. Trump wants to stop woke but doesnt care about making us broke, he tweeted at another point. I thought re-runs were for the summer. Im so bored, Swalwell also said of the speech, in which Trump hit on several of his familiar tropes. The bottom line? Swalwell went on. Trump and his GOP allies are running the government like a Ponzi scheme for the ultra-rich. Working Americans get higher bills, worse health care, and no relief while billionaires get handouts. Thats not leadership. Thats theft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump promised a better economy, but all hes delivering is higher prices and chaos, Swalwell added. He promised to stand up to foreign adversaries, but all hes done is bow down to Putin. He promised to drain the swamp, but its overflowing with billionaires cashing in. Republican introduces censure resolution against Al Green This isnt America First. Its Trump First. Billionaires First. Russia First, the congressman concluded. During Trumps address, Republicans made a united showing, frequently standing together and unanimously applauding the president. Many Democrats on the other hand, walked out on the speech, or didnt turn up at all. One that did, Rep. Al Green (D-TX), was ejected from the chamber for heckling Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the Democrats that remained wore blue and yellow to support Ukraine, or pink to protest Trumps policies and their effect on women. Many also held up signs bearing messages like False, Musk Steals, Protect Veterans, and Save Medicaid. While Democrats like Swalwell slammed the address, Trumps speech was well-received by many Republicans. California GOP Chairwoman Jessical Millan Patterson issued a statement calling the address reaffirming to Trumps commitment to bettering the lives of the American people. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. JERUSALEM (AP) Israels cutoff of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gazas 2 million people has sent prices soaring and humanitarian groups into overdrive trying to distribute dwindling stocks to the most vulnerable. The aid freeze has imperiled the progress aid workers say they have made to stave off famine over the past six weeks during Phase 1 of the ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas agreed to in January. After more than 16 months of war, Gazas population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid. Most are displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Fuel is needed to keep hospitals, water pumps, bakeries and telecommunications as well as trucks delivering the aid operating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel says the siege aims at pressuring Hamas to accept its ceasefire proposal. Israel has delayed moving to the second phase of the deal it reached with Hamas, during which the flow of aid was supposed to continue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he is prepared to increase the pressure and would not rule out cutting off all electricity to Gaza if Hamas doesnt budge. Rights groups have called the cutoff a starvation policy. Four days in, how is the cutoff affecting Gaza? Food, fuel and shelter supplies are threatened The World Food Program, the U.N.'s main food agency, says it has no major stockpile of food in Gaza because it focused on distributing all incoming food to hungry people during Phase 1 of the deal. In a statement to AP, it said existing stocks are enough to keep bakeries and kitchens running for under two weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WFP said it may be forced to reduce ration sizes to serve as many people as possible. It said its fuel reserves, necessary to run bakeries and transport food, will last for a few weeks if not replenished soon. Theres also no major stockpile of tents in Gaza, said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council. The shelter materials that came in during the ceasefires first phase were nowhere near enough to address all of the needs, she said. If it was enough, we wouldnt have had infants dying from exposure because of lack of shelter materials and warm clothes and proper medical equipment to treat them, she said. At least seven infants in Gaza died from hypothermia during Phase 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Urgently checking reserves Were trying to figure out, what do we have? What would be the best use of our supply?" said Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication for UNICEF. "We never sat on supplies, so its not like theres a huge amount left to distribute. He predicted a catastrophic result if the aid freeze continues. During the ceasefire's first phase, humanitarian agencies rushed in supplies, with about 600 trucks entering per day on average. Aid workers set up more food kitchens, health centers and water distribution points. With more fuel coming in, they could double the amount of water drawn from wells, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 100,000 tents also arrived as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians tried to return to their homes, only to find them destroyed or too damaged to live in. But the progress relied on the flow of aid continuing. Oxfam has 26 trucks with thousands of food packages and hygiene kits and 12 trucks of water tanks waiting outside Gaza, said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfams policy lead in the West Bank. This is not just about hundreds of trucks of food, its about the total collapse of systems that sustain life, she said. The International Organization for Migration has 22,500 tents in its warehouses in Jordan after trucks brought back their undelivered cargo once entry was barred, said Karl Baker, the agency's regional crisis coordinator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The International Rescue Committee has 6.7 tons of medicines and medical supplies waiting to enter Gaza and its delivery is highly uncertain, said Bob Kitchen, vice president of its emergencies and humanitarian action department. Medical Aid for Palestinians said it has trucks stuck at Gaza's border carrying medicine, mattresses and assistive devices for people with disabilities. The organization has some medicine and materials in reserve, said spokesperson Tess Pope, but "we dont have stock that we can use during a long closure of Gaza. Prices up sharply Prices of vegetables and flour are now climbing in Gaza after easing during the ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sayed Mohamed al-Dairi walked through a bustling market in Gaza City just after the aid cutoff was announced. Already, sellers were increasing the prices of dwindling wares. The traders are massacring us, the traders are not merciful to us, he said. In the morning, the price of sugar was 5 shekels. Ask him now, the price has become 10 shekels. In the central Gaza city of Deir Al-Balah, one cigarette priced at 5 shekels ($1.37) before the cutoff now stands at 20 shekels ($5.49). One kilo of chicken (2.2 pounds) that was 21 shekels ($5.76) is now 50 shekels ($13.72). Cooking gas has soared from 90 shekels ($24.70) for 12 kilos (26.4 pounds) to 1,480 shekels ($406.24). Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Israel cut off all aid to Gaza for two weeks a measure central to South Africas case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. That took place as Israel launched the most intense phase of its aerial bombardment of Gaza, one of the most aggressive campaigns in modern history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palestinians fear a repeat of that period. We are afraid that Netanyahu or Trump will launch a war more severe than the previous war, said Abeer Obeid, a Palestinian woman from northern Gaza. "For the extension of the truce, they must find any other solution. ___ This version corrects to say Wednesday is the fourth day of the freeze, not the second. By James Mackenzie JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel swore in a new commander of its military on Wednesday as a standoff over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza increased the risk of a resumption of fighting without an agreement to bring home the rest of the hostages still held by Hamas. Eyal Zamir, a former tank commander who had retired after 28 years with the rank of Major General before being called back into service, was promoted to Lieutenant General, before formally assuming command from General Herzi Halevi, who stepped down over the security disaster of Oct. 7, 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The mission is not yet complete," he said in an address as he assumed comand, saying that Hamas had not yet been defeated. "We will not forgive, we will not forget. This is an existential war. We will persist in our campaign to bring our hostages home and to defeat our enemies," he said.Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January under a truce brokered by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States that has allowed the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and 5 Thais for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. A related war in southern Lebanon, which broke out after Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces launched missile strikes against Israel after the October 7 attack, has also been silenced by a separate ceasefire agreement. But Israeli ministers and officials have warned that their forces could resume fighting if there is no agreement on bringing back the 59 hostages that remain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli troops have pulled back from some of their positions in Gaza but talks that were intended to agree the release of the hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces before an end to the war have not begun. Israel has called for an extension of the truce until after the Jewish Passover holiday in April to allow the release of the remaining hostages, while Hamas has insisted on proceeding to talks on a permanent end to the war bafore agreeing to any further releases. COMMISSION OF INQUIRY Zamir's appointment comes as a series of official inquiries have begun to examine the failures that allowed thousands of Hamas-led gunmen to storm Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages in one of the biggest military and security disasters in Israel's history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Halevi led the military during the Israeli campaign in Gaza that killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave, leaving most of the population sheltering in tents or bombed-out buildings. But he announced in January, soon after the Gaza ceasefire deal was agreed, that he would step down from his command, accepting responsibility for the military's patchy and uncoordinated response to the Oct. 7 attack. On Wednesday, as he handed over his command, he called for a wider examination of the failures on Oct. 7, 2023. "The establishment of a state commission of inquiry is necessary and essential not to place blame, but first and foremost, to understand the root of the problems and allow for correction," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both the Israel Defence Forces and the Shin Bet security agency have acknowledged that their failures allowed the attack to take place but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far resisted a more general inquiry that would look at the responsibility of his government. The new commander will also have to respond to accusations from international bodies including the United Nations that Israeli troops committed war crimes during the campaign in Gaza. Israel rejects those charges, which it says are motivated by political hostility towards the state of Israel but it has indicted some individual reservist soldiers for severe abuse of detainees. Israel says Hamas, which has also been accused of war crimes by United Nations bodies, committed multiple atrocities during the October 7 attack and severely abused Israeli hostages in Gaza. Hamas denies the accusations. (Reporting by James Mackenzie) By Ali Sawafta, James Mackenzie BARDALA, West Bank (Reuters) -Just metres from the last houses in Bardala, a Palestinian village at the northern end of the occupied West Bank, Israel's army has been bulldozing a dirt road and ditch between the community and open grazing land on the hills behind it. Israel's military told Reuters the works were for security and to allow it to patrol the area following the killing of an Israeli civilian in August near the village by a man from another town. It did not detail what it was building there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farmers from the fertile Jordan Valley village fear the army patrols and Israeli settlers moving in will exclude them from pastures that feed around 10,000 sheep and goats, as has happened in other parts of the West Bank, undercutting their livelihoods and eventually driving them from the village. Israeli settler outposts have appeared around the village since last year, with clusters of blue and white Israeli flags newly fluttering from nearby hilltops. The settlers intimidated semi-nomadic Bedouin shepherds to abandon their camps in the area last year, four Bedouin families and Israeli human rights NGOs told Reuters. Over recent weeks, caravans and shelters have begun appearing on the scrub-covered hills a few hundred metres west of Bardala, on land behind the new track, Reuters reporters saw. Such temporary shelters have been the first signs of new outposts being built. Reuters was unable to contact any of the new arrivals in the outposts around the village. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tighter military control in the Jordan Valley and arrival of settler outposts in the area over the past months are new developments in a part of the West Bank that had mostly avoided the build up of Israel's presence on the ground in central areas of the Palestinian territory. With each advance of Israeli settlements and roads, the territory becomes more fractured, further undermining prospects for a contiguous land on which Palestinians could build a sovereign state. Most countries consider Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal. Israel's pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has proposed Palestinians leave Gaza, a suggestion widely condemned across the Middle East and beyond as an attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinian territories. Ibrahim Sawafta, a member of the Bardala village council, said two dozen farmers would be prevented from reaching grazing land if soldiers and settler outposts obstruct their free movement. Unable to keep their large flocks in pens within the village itself, they would be forced to sell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Bardala would be a small prison," he said, sitting on a bench outside his house in the village. He said the overall goal was "to restrict people, to force them to leave the Jordan Valley." In response to Reuters questions, the army said the area behind the dirt road outside Bardala was designated as a live fire zone but included "a passage" manned by Israeli soldiers, suggesting limitations on free movement in the area. It said the passage would allow for "the continuation of daily life and the fulfilment of residents' needs," without giving further details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the Yesha Council and the Jordan Valley Council, that represent settlers in the West Bank did not reply to requests for comment for this story. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sawafta said gunmen had been known to come into the area from towns to the west and the barrier appeared intended to make access more difficult and force traffic through main roads with security checkpoints under Israeli control. But he said the effect of the move would be to obstruct access to the land, which in some cases was owned by villagers. The activity around Bardala is part of a wider Israeli effort to reshape the West Bank. Over the year and a half since war broke out in Gaza, settlement activity has accelerated in areas seen as the core of a future Palestinian state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent weeks, army raids in refugee camps near volatile West Bank cities, including Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, near Bardala, have sent tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes, fuelling fears of permanent displacement. The raids come amid a renewed push to formally absorb the West Bank as part of Israel, a proposal supported by some of Trump's aides. Israel's military has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war. CORNFIELDS AND GREENHOUSES Bardala, with a population of about 3,000, lies a few metres from the pre-1967 line separating the West Bank from Israel. It prospered quietly over the past 30 years as Israel's settlement movement swallowed up thousands of hectares of land in other parts of the West Bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cornfields and clusters of plastic-sheeted greenhouses where its farmers grow aubergines, peppers and zucchini for the markets of the West Bank and Israel underscore how fertile the land is in the narrow strip of valley alongside the Jordan River, running from the Dead Sea north towards the Sea of Galilee. But the new Israeli-controlled path will squeeze the village against Highway 90, a road that runs north-south along the riverine border with Jordan from the Dead Sea. Highway 90 ends at the separating line between the West Bank and Israel, just outside the village. The separating line is marked by a high fence. Citing the experience of other villages, Dror Etkes, founder of Israeli rights group Kerem Navot, said the new track and settlement activity would block access for Palestinians to the area north of Bardala, "all the way up to the separation barrier." Kerem Navot tracks Israeli settlement and land management policy in the West Bank. The authorities "will take a few thousand dunhams, mainly of agricultural land and prevent the Palestinians from cultivating this land," he said. A dunham is a tenth of a hectare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ANNEXATION FEARS The West Bank, so named because of its relation to the river that separates it from Jordan, has long been seen by religious nationalist hardliners in Israel as part of a Greater Israel through historical and Biblical connections to the Jewish people. Jewish settlement building has roared ahead under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allies in government such as hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler, who said last year he would push to gain Washington's support for annexation in 2025. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at the time that the government's position on annexation had not yet been settled. Israel's opposition to ceding control of the West Bank has been deepened by its fears of a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack near Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the start of the war in Gaza, 43 new outposts, the seeds of future settlements, have been built in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, an Israeli organization that tracks settlement building. Most are farm outposts that exclude Palestinians from agricultural land. At least seven were built in the Jordan Valley, according to Palestinian Authority figures. As in other areas of the West Bank, Palestinians and rights groups say the arrival of outposts coincided with more violence from bands of settlers, now free of the fear of U.S. sanctions since Trump cancelled penalties imposed under former President Joe Biden for previous violence. For months, Bedouins living in semi-permanent stockades in the hills grazing sheep and goats around the Jordan Valley have been subjected to harassment by violent groups of settlers. In late January, the local school in Bardala itself was attacked, after the settlers said stones had been thrown at them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The settlers would attack us every Saturday, not allowing us to leave the house at all," said Mahmoud Kaabneh, who left his home in Um Aljmal, an area in the hills some 20 km south of Bardala for Tubas, along with a dozen other families after repeated incursions by threatening bands of settlers. The creation in 2023 of the Settlements Administration, a civil department for the West Bank answerable to Smotrich, has fuelled Palestinian concern that the move from military occupation to annexation is already happening by stealth. In his first term, Trump overturned decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. But he has not so far given U.S. approval to the calls for full annexation, which could be an obstacle to one of his main foreign policy goals, a security pact with Saudi Arabia that could include normalizing relations with Israel in an expansion of the so-called Abraham Accords. Extending Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank would end already slim hopes of creating an independent Palestine alongside Israel, which Saudi Arabia has declared to be a non-negotiable condition for normalizing relations. But Trump's talk of redeveloping Gaza as a U.S.-controlled waterfront resort, along with his aides' ties to the settler movement, has alarmed Palestinians, still haunted by the "Nakba," or catastrophe, in the 1948 war at the start of the state of Israel, when some 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes and never returned. For Sawafta, from the Bardala village council, developments like the one in his home village point to an effort to dispossess Palestinians in the way their parents and grandparents were dispossessed before. "Israel effectively and practically confiscates the land," he said. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel) The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is removing alcohol from the U.S. from its shelves after the Trump administrations tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday at midnight. The president imposed tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian goods, as well as a 10 percent tariff on energy. Ontario put in place a number of measures that it was close to enacting a few weeks ago, when the Trump White House came close to taking action on its tariff plans the first time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, ordered the LCBO to remove U.S. alcohol from its shelves and catalogues. The regional alcohol agency is believed to be the largest alcohol buyer in the world, according to Global News. Its website went offline temporarily on Tuesday to remove the U.S. products. Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered the removal of U.S. alcohol from the shelves in the province (AP) Each year, Ontario imports $965 million of alcohol and previously had 3,600 U.S. products from 36 states for sale. As the exclusive wholesaler, American brands will no longer be available in the LCBO catalogue, meaning other retailers, bars and restaurants in the province will no longer be able to restock U.S. products, Ford said Tuesday. This is an enormous hit to the American producers. The premier said the alcohol would be put into storage and sold at a later time if the tariffs are scrapped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This comes as the CEO of Brown Forman, the manufacturer of Jack Daniels, said Wednesday that Canadian provinces removing American booze from its shelves is worse than a tariff. Lawson Whiting said it was a disproportionate response to Trumps tariffs. "I mean, that's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, (and) completely removing our products from the shelves," said Whiting during a post-earnings call, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, Canada put in place 25 percent tariffs on goods from the U.S., including booze. But Whiting also said that Canadian sales only account for one percent of their total sales. He added that the company would keep an eye on what happens in Mexico. Its annual report states that Mexican sales made up seven percent of its total last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whiting shared his concern regarding the "continued uncertainty and headwinds in the external environment," but added that he was confident about the companys performance. Ford appeared on ABC News on Wednesday, calling Trumps tariff against Canada the craziest idea which "caught everyone off guard." In addition to removing American booze from Canadian shelves, Ford said he would enact a 25 percent export tax on electricity for homes in the U.S. "That's the last thing I want to do. I want to put more alcohol on the shelves. I want to give you more electricity. I want to do everything I can to have a great relationship with our closest friends that we absolutely love," said Ford. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Ford said his provincial government would end a contract with Starlink, the satellite internet service provider operated by Elon Musk. "It's not the people of America, it's not the elected officials, it's one person that has caused this issue, and that was President Trump," said Ford. "We have to retaliateas much as we don't want toto our closest friends and allies." "We look at the U.S. as a family member," he added. "It's like we're their little brother or little sister and it's been going on for 200 years. Now we have to protect our country against our great ally." The Colorado Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that would add 15 new judgeships over the next two years, a scaled-back version of the original proposal for 29 additional judge seats across the state. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) Officials with the Salvation Army of Jackson said they need help with food pantry donations. Most Needed Items: Rice Canned tomatoes and sauce Peanut butter Mac & cheese Ramen noodles Weve seen firsthand how a simple bag of groceries can bring hope to a struggling family, said Major Timothy Delaney. When our shelves are full, we can serve more people, and thats only possible with the support of this generous community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donations can be dropped off at the Salvation Army on Presto Lane in Jackson. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. NASA's groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a mysterious object that's freely floating through interstellar space. According to NASA, the "planetary-mass" object, dubbed SIMP 0136, is roughly 13 times the mass of Jupiter, and is located just 20 light-years from Earth. It's also spinning at a breakneck speed, completing a full rotation every 2.4 hours. Thanks to the JWST's detailed infrared light observations, an international team of researchers detected signs of "complex atmospheric features," including possible cloud layers and temperature shifts in the object's atmosphere, as detailed in a study they published in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's a fascinating glimpse at an exceedingly rare object. The researchers suggest in their paper that objects like SIMP 0136 could much in common with cloud giants in the solar system, like Jupiter and Saturn, which "also have multiple cloud layers and high-altitude hot spots" (except that it's floating through space without a star, that is.) Astronomers also aren't ruling out the possibility that it's a brown dwarf, an object that's between a planet and a star. The latest research builds on existing observations by NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. "We already knew that it varies in brightness, and we were confident that there are patchy cloud layers that rotate in and out of view and evolve over time," said lead author and Boston University doctoral student Allison McCarthy in a NASA statement. "We also thought there could be temperature variations, chemical reactions, and possibly some effects of auroral activity affecting the brightness, but we werent sure." James Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph allowed scientists to observe a much wider spectrum of infrared light, leading to fascinating new insights into the lonely object. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Until now, we only had a little slice of the near-infrared spectrum from Hubble, and a few brightness measurements from Spitzer," said principal investigator and Trinity College Dublin assistant professor Johanna Vos in the statement. The researchers ran hundreds of detailed light curves against atmospheric models to get a better sense of what SIMP 0136's atmosphere might look like. They found evidence for patchy clouds and bright "hot spots," possibly related to auroras, far above the clouds. "Imagine watching Earth from far away," Boston University scientist and coauthor Philip Muirhead said in a statement. "If you were to look at each color separately, you would see different patterns that tell you something about its surface and atmosphere, even if you couldnt make out the individual features." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Blue would increase as oceans rotate into view," he added. "Changes in brown and green would tell you something about soil and vegetation." Other light curves observed by the JWST suggest the existence of pockets of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide but plenty of questions remain. "We havent really figured out the chemistry part of the puzzle yet," Vos said. "But these results are really exciting because they are showing us that the abundances of molecules like methane and carbon dioxide could change from place to place and over time." "If we are looking at an exoplanet and can get only one measurement, we need to consider that it might not be representative of the entire planet," she added. More on brown dwarfs: Astronomers Discover Brown Dwarf Covered in Stripes In the Japanese line of succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, there are just three people eligible to succeed Emperor Naruhito: His brother, Crown Prince Fumihitio; his nephew, Prince Hisahito; and his great uncle, 89-year-old Prince Hitachi. Per the 1947 Imperial House Law, only men can succeed to the throne, excluding Emperor Naruhitos only daughter, 23-year-old Princess Aiko. Prince Hisahito turned 18 in September, and this week, he held his first news conference at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo. I hope to carry out my role as a member of the Imperial family with the awareness of being an adult member, he said in his remarks, per Japan Times. He added, It is important [for the Imperial family] to pay attention to peoples lives and the state of society. This spring, he plans to enroll in the University of Tsukubas school of life and environmental sciences, where he will study biology and research dragonflies. I have long been fascinated by insects, particularly dragonflies, and I hope to study them more broadly, the prince said. I want to fully commit to my studies while also engaging in extracurricular activities. He also shared his hobbies include growing vegetables and rice. Sometimes tomatoes are bitten by bugs and the rice is eaten by sparrows. But I feel delighted when Ive managed to harvest vegetables and rice and eat them with my family, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere in the news conference, he said a royal wedding was far from his mind, admitting he had not yet given much thought to the ideal timing or partner. In September, on his 19th birthday, Japan will hold a coming-of-age palace ceremony for Hisahito. You Might Also Like The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is considering financing energy and infrastructure programmes in Ukraine previously covered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Source: a statement by Hideki Matsunaga, Head of the JICA Ukraine Office, at the 5th Ukrainian-Japanese Forum, as reported by Ukrinform Details: Matsunaga noted that USAID and JICA have different approaches, making it challenging to take over certain USAID-implemented programmes, particularly in the legal sector and direct funding of civil society. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Matsunaga: "But we would like to identify the gaps that have emerged in the energy sector and try to fill them as much as possible. Of course, we have certain budgetary constraints, but we would like to do more. We must seriously consider the energy and infrastructure sectors, and we will be looking into them." Background: In its first days in office, the US presidents administration suspended funding for international aid via the USAID agency, which Trump said he wanted to eliminate. US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz does not believe that cutting foreign humanitarian aid will lead to the US ceding global influence to China and Russia. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Jay Bhattacharya is about to get his chance to settle old Covid scores. The Stanford health economist became a celebrity among Americans chafing at Covid lockdowns and school closures when he co-authored an October 2020 letter calling out Americas public health leaders. On Wednesday, hell explain to senators why he was right and his critics were wrong and why they should confirm him to lead the governments preeminent health research agency, the National Institutes of Health. The turnabout in Bhattacharyas fortunes he was derided by then-NIH Director Francis Collins as a fringe epidemiologist whose views merited a quick and devastating published takedown mirrors that of President Donald Trump himself. And Trumps comeback is the reason Bhattacharya could soon be in position to punish the health establishment that once rebuked him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever happens now, there is a beautiful poetic justice with the ascendance of @DrJBhattacharya, wrote another lockdown critic, Jeffrey Tucker of the Brownstone Institute, on X after Trump named Bhattacharya to Collins old job in November. The hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is expected to propel Bhattacharya to confirmation within the month. At NIH, hell oversee the worlds largest health research budget, $48 billion, on which American universities depend. Hell join a team of Covid contrarians led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eager to shake up the scientific establishment. Trump has gotten it started with a series of orders slashing funding and restricting diversity initiatives, while Elon Musk has moved to purge thousands of government employees. Bhattacharyas prepared remarks endorse Kennedys desire to shift focus toward the causes of chronic diseases and treatments for them, skepticism of existing science, and disgust with NIH leadership during the pandemic. Bhattacharya accuses his predecessors of fostering a culture of coverup, obfuscation, and a lack of tolerance for ideas that differed from theirs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Dissent is the very essence of science," Bhattacharya is expected to say. He did not respond to a request for comment. Bhattacharya would not be Trumps nominee if not for his authorship of the Great Barrington Declaration and the fame it brought him. Signed by thousands of public health experts worldwide seven months after Covid shut down the world, it argued against lockdown measures in favor of letting low-risk individuals build up herd immunity while older, sick people self-isolated. The declaration called governments move to shut down businesses and schools overbroad, and warned that it would produce devastating effects on short and long-term public health, including lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal scientists and many others criticized the letter as dangerous and unethical. But Bhattacharya never let it go, using Twitter to battle with fellow public health experts. In 2022, he met with Trump funder and adviser Elon Musk after the billionaire entrepreneur bought the social media platform. Musk released internal company documents that showed Twitters prior management had placed Bhattacharya on a Trends Blacklist during the pandemic that limited the reach of his posts. In 2024, Bhattacharya took a case to the Supreme Court claiming the Biden administration violated his First Amendment rights by pressuring Twitter to censor him. The court found Bhattacharya hadnt demonstrated the administration harmed him. The vehemence of Bhattacharyas Covid contrarianism didnt fit the image he once had on Stanfords Palo Alto, California, campus. There hed been an obscure, but well-liked economist toiling on arcane studies of government health policy past work examined Medicare rules impact on surgical infections and the effect of health care spending on antimicrobial resistance but the governments response to the Covid pandemic inflamed him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In congressional testimony in 2023, he aired grievances against Collins and his deputy, top Covid adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, and called the response they led to the disease a propaganda campaign. After Stanfords faculty censured his colleague, Scott Atlas, Bhattacharya condemned them for violating Atlas academic freedom and campaigned, unsuccessfully, for an apology. The faculty had found Atlas, after leaving Stanford to advise Trump, worthy of censure in 2020 for questioning government officials Covid response. If the Senate confirms Bhattacharya to lead NIH, hell arrive amid an ongoing campaign by the Trump administration to bring Americas universities to heel. Trump has moved to cut their grants by $4 billion and to defund work on racial inequities and transgender care. The administration, at the urging of Musk, who is now leading a campaign for Trump to root out government waste, has fired about 1,200 NIH employees. Top officials, such as former Acting Director Lawrence Tabak and Principal Deputy Director Michael Lauer, who oversaw university research grants, have quit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bhattacharya will also arrive amid a pause in public notices of the review meetings where NIH officials discuss grants. Thats prevented the committees from meeting and slowed grantmaking to an anemic pace. Republicans, like Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), will give Bhattacharya a chance to articulate his plans for the agency. "Excellent conversation with Dr. Jay," Cassidy posted on X on Feb. 20. "He has a vision to restore faith in medical research for the American people, protect and improve the institution, and better distribute the benefits." Cassidys own plan to overhaul the agency involves subjecting NIH decisions to more outside scrutiny and streamlining the peer-review process. He'll be looking for an ally in Bhattacharya. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A House Republican proposal, which stalled last year, went further, suggesting term limits for top career officials and consolidating the agency's research arms from 27 to 15. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is also on the HELP Committee, with his own agenda to press, including a bill to split the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Faucis old agency, into three institutes led by Senate-confirmed directors limited to two five-year terms. Paul famously warred with Fauci during the pandemic over the governments Covid response and the origins of the disease. Pauls Risky Research Review Act, which the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved last year on a bipartisan vote, is likely to come up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It takes aim at so-called gain-of-function research, in which scientists make pathogens more dangerous so they can study them, taking authority over such research away from NIH. Bhattacharya, in his prepared remarks, said it should be vigorously regulated. Paul, like many Republicans, believes the pandemic was the result of a laboratory accident in China rather than a spillover from animals to humans. The CIA reversed its assessment of the pandemic's origins in January, saying that Covid more likely originated from a lab leak, although the agency has "low confidence" in that judgment. Paul suspects NIH-funded research was involved. Democrats, facing a 47-53 deficit in the Senate, dont have the power to block Bhattacharyas nomination. Theyll have to hope for some reassurance that his long history in academia means hell resist Musks slash-and-burn strategy. "The worlds premier biomedical research agency needs a leader who believes in its mission," Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) told POLITICO in a statement. Rapper Jay-Z has filed a lawsuit against his former accuser after she dropped her sexual assault suit against the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs in February, claiming that the accuser made a false claim to intentionally cause harm. Back in December, Jay-Z was added to a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs claiming that the two rappers raped a 13-year-old girl at an afterparty following the 2000 Video Music Awards. That suit was dropped against Jay-Z back in February, and now the rapper is fighting back. On Monday, Jay-Z filed a lawsuit against Jane Doe and her attorneys, Anthony Buzbee and David Fortney, as well as Buzbee's law firm. According to documents obtained by Fox News, Jay-Z's legal team called Jane Doe's suit "false, malicious, strategically and tactically calculated and timed to inflict maximum pain and suffering on Mr. Carter." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit goes on to call the attorneys "soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency." The lawsuit alleges that the accuser told Buzbee that Jay-Z "did not sexually assault [her]," but claims that Buzbee "pushed her towards going forward with the false story against Mr. Carter to make the case better and get them [the lawyers and her] more money." "Buzbee brought Jay-Z into it," the lawsuit claims. Buzbee responded to the lawsuit with a statement, claiming that Jay-Z's team "repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued" the accuser to try to get her to recant her story, but she "stands by her claims." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This Alabama filing asserts the same claims as another case Jay-Zs team pieced together and filed in Los Angeles. Like the case in LA, this new case in Alabama also has no legal merit. Shawn Carters investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story," Buzbee said in a statement. "She hasnt, and wont. Instead she has stated repeatedly she stands by her claims. These same group of investigators have been caught on tape offering to pay people to sue me and my firm. After speaking with Jane Doe today, it appears that the quotes attributed to her in the lawsuit are completely made up, or they spoke to someone who isnt Jane Doe. This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course. We wont be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases." The lawsuit, meanwhile, claims that the accuser "voluntarily admitted directly" to Jay-Z's representatives that her accusations of assault were not true. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has filed a defamation lawsuit against the unidentified woman who withdrew her rape lawsuit against the hip-hop mogul, alleging that the woman and her legal team made "false and malicious claims to extort the rapper for financial gain. Carter's lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in Alabama, accuses the woman and her attorneys, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney, of being "soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency," The New York Times reported. The suit also states that because of the woman's claims, Carter has faced reputational harm, resulting in Roc Nation losing more than $20 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Doe has now voluntarily admitted directly to representatives of Mr. Carter that the story brought before the world in court and on global television was just that: a false, malicious story," the lawsuit reads. "She has admitted that Mr. Carter did not assault her; and that indeed it was Buzbee himself . . . who pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday," Carter said. The woman originally sued Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs for claims of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred when she was 13, following an after-party at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. After a recent interview with NBC News, the woman acknowledged some inconsistencies in her account, stating she had "made some mistakes" recalling the allegations. After months of defending her claims, the woman's attorneys withdrew her complaint without an explanation. However, in a new declaration filed on Monday at the Los Angeles Superior Court as a response to another lawsuit Carter filed against her attorney, the woman stated she dropped the lawsuit because she was frightened by the reaction of Jay-Z and his supporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although I ultimately chose not to pursue them, I stand by my claims in the New York Action and believe that I had a meritorious claim against Jay-Z," she said. In response to Carter's lawsuit, Buzbee said in a statement, "Shawn Carters investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story. She hasnt, and wont. Instead, she has stated repeatedly she stands by her claims." He continued, "This same group of investigators have been caught on tape offering to pay people to sue me and my firm. After speaking with Jane Doe today, it appears that the quotes attributed to her in the lawsuit are completely made up, or they spoke to someone who isnt Jane Doe." "This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course. We wont be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases," Buzbee concluded. The Trump administration halted U.S. military support to Ukraine following Donald Trump and JD Vances petulant outbursts at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week over what they said was the Ukrainian leaders lack of gratitude. For many who have observed Trumps fondness for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the years, the move can be seen as the latest, and perhaps most glaring, signal that Team Trump is working to shift the United States loyalties away from democracies and toward dictators and illiberal nations. To support giving Ukraine the cold shoulder, the Trump administration is making some dubious claims. Earlier this week, Vance trotted out an excuse for shutting down arms transfers to Ukraine that was startling in its ignorance. In a post to X, Vance suggested those who support what he classified as permanent arms shipments to Ukraine have also supported what he termed the de-industrialization of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The very things you want us to send are things we dont make enough of, he claimed. The bitter irony of Americas present predicament is that the very people who cheer for permanent arms shipments to Ukraine also supported the de-industrialization of America. The very things you want us to send are things we dont make enough of. JD Vance (@JDVance) March 2, 2025 Vances post might give you the false impression that support for Ukraine is linked to some sort of decline in American manufacturing and that couldnt be farther from the truth. Its a point that investigative journalist Michael Weiss noted, citing data from conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute that shows that the overwhelming majority of U.S. aid to Ukraine is actually spent paying U.S. manufacturers. Aiding Ukraines defense hasnt de-industrialized the U.S., its had the exact opposite effect, Weiss explained. Arming Ukraine has re-industrialised America as the bulk of our spending has gone to opening factories and hiring workers to build weapons and ammunition and to otherwise revitalising Americas own military, he wrote on X. Arming Ukraine has re-industrialised America as the bulk of our spending has gone to opening factories and hiring workers to build weapons and ammunition and to otherwise revitalising Americas own military. This is the man who told Zelensky he didnt need to go to Ukraine https://t.co/xaWvLmL04Q pic.twitter.com/KDHtDotqfH Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) March 3, 2025 Fiona Hill, the former Trump White House adviser who testified at Trumps first impeachment in his first term, previously explained how aid to Ukraine boosted the American economy back in 2023: We are providing weapons to Ukraine, were buying them from major manufacturers of defense systems here in the United States, which are obviously providing jobs for the people who are making them. And then were going back and were ordering more because were replenishing and upgrading our own weapons stocks. This is all part of our own system. These defense manufacturers account for huge numbers of jobs across the whole of the United States, so arming Ukraine means significant job creation and retention across the United States and also in Europe and elsewhere. So aiding Ukraine does not de-industrialize the U.S. or hamper its manufacturing. You would think that, as vice president, Vance would know this (or at least, he should). Its possible youve heard similar arguments in conversations with people who may think supporting Ukraine against Russias invasion is wasteful. (After all, Republicans have helped spread this propaganda for years.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But to suggest to Americans who dont know better that U.S. investment in Ukraine is a boondoggle for American taxpayers seems part of an effort to provide the Trump administration with cover as it abandons Ukraine completely. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com When Vice President JD Vance piped up during President Donald Trumps meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week, he made a high-stakes gamble. Not only is it unusual for vice presidents to interject in public meetings between heads of state, but his comments also threatened to upset the carefully calibrated role that he has carved out during the first month of administration: A supporting act to Trump and the presidents bombastic sidekick, Elon Musk. Yet Vances gamble to temporarily step into the limelight has paid off in at least one significant way. After Zelenskyy left the West Wing without signing a highly anticipated mineral rights deal, the White House responded by adopting one of Vances signature foreign policy initiatives: a total pause on U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The administrations decision to pause all aid to Ukraine may very well end up being little more than a bargaining chip in Trumps efforts to bring Ukraine back to the negotiating table on a cease-fire deal, and it could be swiftly reversed if Zelenskyy makes additional concessions to Trump. Yet even if the pause is short-lived, it marks a striking elevation of the non-interventionist foreign policy vision that has been championed by Vance one that, until recently, remained far outside the Republican mainstream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Vance entered the Senate in January 2023, he was one of only a handful of elected Republicans who publicly questioned U.S. support for Ukraine, and he was alone among the Senate GOP in calling for the U.S. to stop the flow of aid outright. The thing that Im most proud of is that we are on the cusp of radically changing U.S. policy towards Ukraine, Vance told me in late 2023 when I interviewed him for a profile in POLITICO Magazine. Its taken a lot of work. During his two years in the Senate, he labored to chip away at the GOPs hawkish conventional wisdom with decidedly mixed results. In April 2024, after Vance took the lead in lobbying his Republican colleagues in the House to oppose a $61 billion supplemental aid package to Ukraine, a majority of Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson joined Democrats in rebuffing his position by voting for the package. Now, less than a year after a majority of congressional Republicans rebuked that dramatic move, the Trump administration has implemented Vances vision at a particularly sensitive diplomatic moment. That reversal is due in no small part to Vances influence over the shape of the new administration. Since Trumps victory in November, Vance and his ideological compatriots have played a major role in staffing the ranks of the administrations foreign policy shop. Andy Baker, a senior foreign policy adviser in Vances Senate office, played a central role in staffing Trumps Department of Defense, which now includes staffers like Dan Caldwell a leading voice among conservative restrainers and a longtime informal adviser to Vance as a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The middle tiers of Trumps Pentagon and State Department, where most of the practical policy work gets done, is chocked full of conservative restrainers and realists like Elbridge Colby, who is currently awaiting confirmation as undersecretary of defense for policy, and Alexander Velez-Green, who left the Ukraine-skeptical Heritage Foundation to join Trumps DoD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those staffing moves shed light on an important point of distinction between Trumps approach to foreign policy and Vances. In reporting on Vance, I have heard several conservatives suggest that while Trump approaches discrete foreign policy issues transactionally as a business negotiation modeled on The Art of the Deal Vance approaches them ideologically, as proxy wars in a larger battle over the shape of the global order. In the Vancian foreign policy matrix, pausing aid to Ukraine isnt just important as a ploy at the negotiation table; its a critical first step toward undermining the rules-based international order that Vance believes has led to the misapplication of American power abroad and the decline of American economy power and cultural strength at home. This worldview which Vance explained to me at length when I interviewed him last year is more complicated than the transactionalism that undergirds Trumps foreign policy. But with Vance now in the vice presidents office, it has a powerful advocate in the West Wing. It starts from the premise that the rules-based international order including the web of U.S.-led multinational organizations like NATO and the IMF that are necessary to sustain it is essentially a cover for an American empire that enriches global economic elites at the expense of the material and spiritual well-being of the types of Americans that Vance grew up with in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio. The upside of that compromise during the Cold War, Vance has argued, was supposed to be the extension of liberal democracy and free-market economics to places like China. But now that that promise has failed to materialize, the system perpetuates itself merely to serve the economic interests of a global elite. Instead, as Vance told me last year, if that fundamental goal [of liberalizing places like China] has not materialized, then I think you have to rethink the entire project. This critique fuels much of the hostility that Vances allies feel toward Ukraine. In the eyes of conservatives like Vance, Zelenskyy has become a totem of all the foreign nations that have benefitted from the protection and largesse of the U.S.-led postwar order which is to say, all the people who, in Vances mind, have benefited from the slow destruction of his own community. Understood in this light, Vances comments in the Oval Office chiding Zelenskyy for his lack of gratitude to the U.S. Have you ever said thank you once? Vance barked resonate beyond the current negotiations over a cease-fire deal. They recall, instead, a comment that Vance made at a campaign event in Newton, Pennsylvania last September. You know what I wish Zelenskyy would do when he comes to the United States of America? Vance said to an audience of MAGA-hatted supporters, gathered under an open-sided barn in the middle of an empty field. Say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and everybody else. LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) Looking for a job? Your search just got a little more fun. Brooklyn-based job posting site Bandana is hosting a job party on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Manny Cantor Center on East Broadway. Job-seekers can get resume advice and browse current job openings alongside free empanadas and a DJ. More Local News At the party, attendees will get free headshots, free interview clothes from ReLoved Boutique, resume help, interview prep, and other educational workshops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre looking for more immediate work, you can talk to recruiters from organizations currently hiring, including Educational Alliance, Grand Street Settlement, Chinese-American Planning Council, Henry Street Settlement and University Settlement. Bandana only posts full-time jobs with a minimum of $17 per hour pay and health insurance. There are positions open across New York City right now, including hundreds of jobs with NewYork-Presbyterian. The city government is also hiring seasonal positions for the spring, from park maintenance to plumbing. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) should be censured for his shameful protest during President Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. The comments from Johnson came minutes after Trump wrapped up his speech, during which Green was removed from the House chamber after his disruptive display. Absolutely shameful. He should be censured, Johnson said when asked by The Hill about the protest. Its a spectacle that was not necessary. Hes made history in a terrible way, and I hope he enjoys it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If they want to make a 77-year-old heckling Congressman the face of their resistance, if thats the Democrat party, so be it, he added. But we will not tolerate it on the House floor. Johnson said he was quite certain that many House Republicans would propose a resolution to censure Green, which he would absolutely bring to the floor for consideration. Within minutes of Trumps speech Tuesday night, when the president was discussing his mandate to serve, Green who has served in the House for two decades stood up and began shouting back at the president, arguing that he did not have a mandate. Republicans broke out in chants of USA. After continued shouting by Green, Johnson slammed his gavel and said members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions. Thats your warning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session, he added. Mr. Green, take your seat, Johnson said. Take your seat sir. When the yelling did not subside, Johnson ordered the sergeant at arms to remove Green from the chamber. Republicans started singing Hey, hey, hey, goodbye to Green. After exiting the chamber, Green told reporters he did not regret his protest during the speech. Its worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up to Trump, Green said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Republicans will likely race to introduce a resolution to censure Green. Before Trumps speech, the board of the conservative House Freedom Caucus threatened to censure any Democratic lawmaker who disrupted the presidents address. The Presidents address to tonights joint session of Congress is a constitutional obligation not a sideshow for Democrats to use noisemakers, make threats, throw things or otherwise disrupt. Our colleagues are on notice that the hecklers veto will not be tolerated, the group wrote. You will be censured. We expect the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police to take appropriate action against any Members of Congress or other persons violating House rules. It was not only Republicans who criticized Greens protest. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told The Hill after the speech that the Texas Democrats display was counterproductive. I think to stand up and say, you know, he doesnt have a mandate to cut Medicare, fine, but I think he, I think it went beyond decorum, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) Walton County officials have been questioned about the Sandestin developments open space compliance for years. A recent court ruling is providing clarity on the areas stormwater retention and open space standards. Former Sandestin resident Alan Osborne has been leading the charge on the issue. Osborne lived in the Sandestin Driftwood Estates subdivision, an area impacted by periodic flooding for years. Although he sold his property a few years ago, hes been holding Walton County officials accountable for non-compliance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Remarkable Women: Cathy McClellan builds house of hope The issue dates back decades. In 1976, the Sandestin Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was approved. The Sandestin developer and the county created a development standards agreement with the state in 1984. It was adopted by law in 1989 and became the benchmark for stormwater and open space standards in Sandestin. The benchmark is meant to prevent runoff from flowing into the Choctawhatchee Bay. Osborne says in 2007, the county and developers were notified of violations. Sandestin is a development of regional impact, meaning the storm water, the traffic and the open space can impact other counties because the bay is connected to Bay County and Okaloosa County, so we have upstream and downstream neighbors. So, anything that impacts that at the time it was approved was a regional impact. And weve had violations of storm water. The county has been on notice since 2007 and still taking no action, Osborne said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2014, Walton County found that the Sandestin DRI was not in compliance with the development standards. So, in 2016, Sandestin Investments LLC (SDI) submitted a Notice of Proposed Change to meet the open space requirements. The county approved the application the following year. However, last month, a judge reversed that decision. A lawsuit Osborne filed against Walton County and SDI found SDI did not provide more open space acreage to address the deficiency identified. In other words, as the lawsuit states, rather than complying with the existing standard, SDI sought to change the standard. Commissioners approve of Thomas Drive to be renamed Navy Boulevard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason the court case is significant is the judge recognizes the ordinance contains a benchmark that county planning and the developer have completely ignored. Theyve been allowed to continue to build when theyre in substantial deviation violations. And Mac Carpenter, the planning director, has all the letters from the state and engineers and the Florida Board of Engineers stating that the county is applying their own standard in violation, Osborne said. Osborne says the county could go through the process of changing the stormwater retention benchmark that was set in 1989. But, he said, it would require the county to admit Sandestin has been in violation of the standard. Meanwhile, Osborne says Choctawhatchee Bay is facing the repercussions of the stormwater violations. If they change the stormwater, they couldnt take it any less than the state standard. Sandestin is of an extremely high standard because, as it said, the intent of the Sandestin Development Order back in the seventies was to protect that great water quality we had in the Choctawhatchee Bay. At the time the Sandestin Development Order was enacted, it was one of the two cleanest bays in Florida, and weve lost that, Osborne said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osborne says the intent of the development orders higher standard of retention is to prevent contaminants from entering the bay. Enforcing a percentage of the requirement would not be effective. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Originally appeared on E! Online Justin Baldonis legal battle isnt ending anytime soon. After The New York Times filed a motion to exit the It Ends With Us directors $400 million dollar federal defamation lawsuit that also named Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist, a judge had granted the newspapers request for stay of discovery March 4, according to documents obtained by E! News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The filingwhich requested that the judge temporarily halt parties from having to exchange information or documentswas granted as United States District Judge Lewis J. Liman reviews the outlets Feb. 28 motion of dismissal. He noted in the most recent document that the NYTwhich is included in the lawsuit for its December reporting on Livelys Civil Rights Department complaintpresents substantial grounds and a strong showing that its motion to dismiss is likely to succeed on the merits. While Baldonis team argued that obtaining discovery against the NY Times will not be voluminous and burdensome because it will cover a relatively narrow time frame, Liman explained that the burden of discovery is not measured only by the number of pages. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He emphasized that it is also determined by the complexity of the issues that discovery will present and the sensitivity of the documents that will be requested. The judge also added that if the Court denies the NYTs motion, Baldonis teamwho is also suing the newspaper in a separate $250 million defamation lawsuitcan request the extent of discovery they are seeking. The Wayfarer Parties are unlikely to be unfairly prejudiced by a stay while the Court decides the pending motion, Liman continued. The NY Times did not delay filing its motion; it filed the motion within 21 days of being served. The Court intends to address the motion to dismiss promptly after it is fully submitted. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images In the meantime, it is evident that the parties will be busy with document discovery from the other parties and with third party discovery, the document continued. Depositions are not anticipated to begin soon. The Court hopes to decide the motion well before they do begin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A NYT spokesperson addressed the latest update in a statement to E! News, writing, We appreciate the courts decision today, which recognizes the important First Amendment values at stake here. The court has stopped Mr. Baldoni from burdening The Times with discovery requests in a case that should never have been brought against. E! News has reached out to Baldonis team and has not heard back. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Following the NYTs motion to dismiss, the outlets senior vice president of external communications Danielle Rhoades Ha emphasized that this case should never have been brought against them. Blake Lively raised serious concerns about the way she was treated on the set and after the movies release, Ha told Deadline last month. We did exactly what news organizations should do: we informed the public of the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department. Mr. Baldonis misbegotten campaign against the Timesquestioning our ethics, attempting to discredit our reporting, filing a baseless lawsuitwill not silence us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read on for a breakdown of Baldoni and Livelys sprawling legal battle. Dec. 20, 2024: Blake Lively Files CRD Complaint Against Justin Baldoni and His Wayfarer Associates Four months after the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's book It Ends With Us debuted in theaters, Blake Lively filed a California Civil Rights Department (CRD) complaint against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on Dec. 20, according to The New York Times. In the complaint obtained by E! News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni's publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were listed as defendants. Lively alleged in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates "embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation" for her voicing her concerns about purported misconduct on setwith her saying she and other cast and crew members "experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior" by Baldoni and Heath. The actress added the alleged campaign against her caused "substantial harm" to her personally and professionally. The accusations listed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage. Dec. 21, 2024: The New York Times Publishes Report About the Alleged Smear Campaign Against Lively The next day, The New York Times published a report about a retaliatory smear campaign Baldoni and his associates allegedly waged against Livelyciting her CRD complaint. In its article, the outlet quoted messages sent from Baldoni and his teamincluding publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathanthat were part of her complaint. Readers could also scroll through the court documents on The New York Times' website. I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct," Lively told the outlet, "and helps protect others who may be targeted. Dec. 21, 2024: Baldoni and Wayfarers Attorney Responds to Livelys CRD Complaint After news of Livelys complaint broke, Bryan Freedmanthe attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer and its representativesslammed Livelys allegations. It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to fix her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions, he said in a statement on The New York Times website. These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. Freedman also defended Wayfarers decision to hire a crisis manager, saying this was done before the marketing campaign of the movie. "The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity, he later added. What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals. Dec. 21, 2024: Baldoni Is Dropped by Talent Agency Talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) dropped Baldoni after The New York Times article was published on Dec. 21, Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agencys parent company Endeavor, confirmed to the outlet. However, WME denied that Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds was to blame for the agency's parting of ways with Baldoni, which the It Ends With Us director later allege in his lawsuit filed against The New York Times (more on that below). "In Baldonis filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldonis agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true, WMEwhich also represents Reynolds and Livelysaid in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 1. "Baldonis former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dec. 21, 2024: It Ends With Us Cast Members and More Stars React to Livelys Allegations Against Baldoni In the days following Lively's CRD filing and The New York Times article, several famous figures shared their reactions to her allegations against Baldoniincluding It Ends With Us author Hoover. "@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," she wrote on Instagram Stories Dec. 21, linking out to The New York Times. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt." Jenny Slate, who played the sister of Baldoni's character Ryle, also noted she stood with Lively. As Blake Livelys castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation, Slate said in a Dec. 23 statement to Today. Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her. What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening," she added. "I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side. In addition, Brandon Sklenara love interest for Lively's character Lily Bloomshared a screenshot of the complaint published to The New York Times' website and linked out to the outlet writing, "For the love of God read this." Plus, Lively's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn wrote they "stand with her in solidarity." Dec. 23, 2024: Baldoni and Heath's Cohost on The Man Enough Podcast Leaves Show Liz Plank also announced her departure from The Man Enough Podcast, which she cohosted with Baldoni and Heath, on Dec. 23. "I'm writing to you today to let you know that I have had my representatives inform Wayfarer that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories, for holding space for mine, and for making this show what it was. I will miss you, the listeners, so much. I love what this community created together with every fiber of my being, and that's because of you." While Plank did not give a reason for her exit from the podcast, it came days after Lively's complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates. "As this chapter closed for me, I remain committed to the values we've built together," the author continued in her message to her followers. "Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for being by my side for the last four years. We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it." She added, "I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable." Dec. 24, 2024: Baldoni's Former Publicist Sues Him, Abel, Nathan and Wayfarer Baldoni's former publicist Stephanie Jones and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit against him, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathan in New York Dec. 24. "Defendants Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, to breach multiple contracts and induce contractual breaches, and to steal clients and business prospects," the lawsuit obtained by NBC New reads. "Behind Joness back, they secretly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to implement an aggressive media smear campaign against Baldonis film co-star, and then used the crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly pin blame for this smear campaign on Joneswhen Jones had no knowledge or involvement in it." Per Abel's LinkedIn profile, she worked at Jonesworks until last summer. The lawsuit alleges Abel and Nathan "continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light," and "defame and attack" her in the industry. As for Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, the suit alleges they "repudiated their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and rebuffed Joness efforts to settle this dispute privately in arbitration." E! News reached out to the defendants for comment. Lively's attorneys told Variety in a Dec. 23 piece that they obtained the texts featured in The New York Times article via a subpoena to Jonesworks. Freedmanwho represents Nathan and Abel in addition to Baldoni and his Wayfarer associatesadded to the outlet none of his clients were subpoenaed over this topic and that he intends to sue Jones for releasing messages from Abels phone to Livelys attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni, Wayfarer & Others Sue The New York Times Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times Dec. 31. In the lawsuit obtained by E! News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set. Saying the report was "false" and based on Livelys CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. Despite its claim to have 'reviewed these along with other documents[,]' the Times relied almost entirely on Livelys unverified and self-serving narrative," the lawsuit says, "lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives." They also allege "it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign." She has denied this. The New York Times said it plans to "vigorously defend against the lawsuit." The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead, it stated to E!. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article." Dec. 31, 2024: Lively Files Lawsuit Against Baldoni and Wayfarer Associates That same day, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, production entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan's company TAG and Abel in New York. According to the court documents obtained by E! News, she is suing the defendants for sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence infliction of emotional distress and false light invasion of privacy. The allegations in the lawsuit were first detailed in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month. In response to the lawsuit Baldoni and his associates filed against The New York Timeswhich does not list Lively as a defendanther attorneys noted in a statement to E! that "nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims" in her CRD and federal complaints. "This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Livelys administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice 'not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,' and that 'litigation was never her ultimate goal,'" they continued. "As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false." Jan. 2, 2025: Baldoni's Lawyer Expresses Intent to Sue Lively In Baldoni and his associates' lawsuit against The New York Times, the plaintiffs expressed that they are not done. "There are other bad actors involved," the court documents state, "and make no mistakethis will not be the last lawsuit." In a Jan. 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni and Wayfarer's attorney Freedman said they "absolutely" plan to sue Lively. Jan. 7, 2025: Baldoni's Lawyer Calls Out Deadpool & Wolverine The headlines about Baldoni and Lively haven't stopped there. For instance, social media users have speculated that her husband Reynolds trolled Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine through the character Nicepool. Reynolds has not publicly commented on the rumors; however, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman shared his reaction. "What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of Justin Baldoni," Freedman said during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show posted to YouTube Jan 7. "You don't make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. You file HR complaints. You raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don't do is mock the person and turn it into a joke." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Lively's attorneys say there have been more "attacks" against her since her lawsuit. "Ms. Livelys federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts," her lawyers said in a Jan. 7 statement to E! News. "This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation. As alleged in Ms. Livelys complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing." "While we go through the legal process, we urge everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry," they added. "A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to 'blame the victim' by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied. Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim." Lively's lawyers said "these concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct." They also noted "media statements are not a defense" to her claims and that they'll prosecute her claims in court. In response, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman told E!, "It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint." "We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie," he added. "None of this will come as a surprise because consistent with her past behavior Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted. We have all the receipts and more." (E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family). Jan. 16, 2025: Baldoni, Wayfarer, Nathan & Abel File Lawsuit Against Lively, Reynolds & Others Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan and production entity It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's firm Vision PR in New York Jan. 16. According to the suit obtained by E! News, the plaintiffs accused all the defendants of civil extortion, defamation and false light invasion of privacy. As for Lively and Reynolds specifically, she is accused of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and they're both accused of intentional interference with contractual relations and economic advantage as well as negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. In the suit, the plaintiffs denied Lively's allegations of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. They also accused her of seizing control of It Ends With Us and working with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones and others to "tar and feather Plaintiffs in the press" after she received backlash for her marketing of the film. (Lively said in her filings she promoted the movie in accordance with Sony's marketing plan.) Plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit the defendants worked with The New York Times "to put out a blockbuster news report as devastating as it was false. The outlet stands by its report. In part of a statement to E!, Freedman said, "Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth." Jan. 16, 2025: Lively's Lawyers Slam Baldoni's "Desperate" Lawsuit Lively's legal team called his lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook," saying in a statement to E! News, "This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender. " She further accused him of retaliating once she made allegations against him, saying Baldoni is trying to shift the narrative that Lively "seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni." "The evidence will show," it continued, "that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sonys cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success." Her team went on to slam Baldoni's reaction to her allegations of harassment. "Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, its her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing," her lawyers added. "In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Livelys complaint, and it will fail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jan. 21, 2025: Behind-the-Scenes Footage of It Ends With Us Released Baldoni's legal counsel released behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of It Ends With Us, saying that the actor's actions in the video "clearly refute Ms. Livelys characterization" of him. "The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another," Baldoni's attorneys said in a statement. "Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism." However, Lively's legal team believes the video "corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described" in her lawsuit and that "every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance." "The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk," they told E! News in a statement. "Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Livelys discomfort." Jan. 22, 2025: Lively and Reynolds Seek Gag Order on Baldoni's Lawyer The couple issued a letter to the judge overseeing their case, requesting that Freedmanthe head of Baldoni's counselbe placed under a gag order amid their legal proceedings to "avoid improper conduct." Jan. 27, 2025: Baldoni's 2 AM Voice Memo to Lively Revealed A seven-minute voice memo Baldoni allegedly sent to Lively during It Ends With Us' production was published online. In it, the director appeared to reference the movie's rooftop scene Lively had rewrote and how the changes were presented to him during an alleged meeting with Reynolds and their pal Taylor Swift. "We should all have friends like that aside from the fact that they're two of the most creative people on the planet," he told Lively. "The three of you guys together, it's unbelievable." In the recording, Baldoni also seemingly apologized to the actress for his lukewarm reception to her script, saying, "I f--ked up. One thing you should know about me is that I will admit and apologize when I fail." Jan. 27, 2025: Lively vs. Baldoni Trial Set One month after Lively filed a formal lawsuit against Baldoni, a court date was set for March 9, 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jan. 31, 2025: Baldoni Adds The New York Times to $400 Million Lawsuit Baldonis team amended his Jan. 16 counterclaim to the U.S. District Court against Lively, Reynolds and Sloane to include The New York Times, according to documents obtained by E! News. In the amended document, Baldoni accused Lively and her team of spending months colluding and feeding falsehoods to the New York Times. The filingwhich is separate from the $250 million lawsuit against the NYTalleged that the newspaper cherry picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead. Feb. 2, 2025: Baldonis Team Launches a Website Baldoni created a website with information regarding his lawsuit against Lively containing the first amended complaint filed Jan. 31 by Baldonis team and a timeline of relevant events. Among the information in the latter document was alleged screenshots of texts exchanged between Lively, Reynolds and Baldoni. The websites launch came one month after Freedman said his team planned to release every single text message between the two. "We want the truth to be out there," Baldonis attorney told NBC News in a Jan. 2 interview. "We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts." Feb. 18, 2025: Lively Files Herown Amended Complaint Livelys attorneys filed an amended complaint claiming that two other women who worked on It End had come forward feeling uncomfortable by Baldonis behavior on set. Ms. Lively was not alone in complaining about Mr. Baldoni, the complaint, obtained by E! News, claimed. The experiences of Ms. Lively and others were documented at the time they occurred starting in May of 2023. Importantly, and contrary to the entire narrative Defendants have invented, Mr. Baldoni acknowledged the complaints in writing at the time. He knew that women other than Ms. Lively also were uncomfortable and had complained about his behavior. The amended complaint did not name the two witnesses, whom Lively said would testify, due to the dangerous climate of threats, harassment, and intimidation fueled by the Defendants retaliation campaign. In a statement to E!, Freedman accused the complaint of being filled with unsubstantial hearsay and alleged that the unidentified persons were "clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims. Feb. 20, 2025: Lively and Reynolds Publicist Asks to Be Dropped From Lawsuit After Baldoni accused Sloane of propagating malicious stories that portrayed him as a sexual predator as well as orchestrating a smear campaign under Livelys direction, Sloan filed a motional of dismissal from the lawsuit. In the documents obtained by E! News, Sloanes attorney alleged that there was no basis for the accusations made against their client and that she was simply dragged into the lawsuit as a smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from" Lively's accusations. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App None of the Republican members of Congress from Colorado threatened Denver Mayor Mike Johnston with arrest or accused the Democrat of committing treason, but U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her three Republican colleagues held Johnston's feet to the fire Wednesday during House committee hearing on "sanctuary" cities. BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) As the debate over a New York law restricting the use of solitary confinement in state prisons and county jails rages across the state, a group dedicated to incarceration reform argues that the controversial law has never been fully implemented. Members of Justice and Unity in the Southern Tier, or JUST, held a rally outside of the Broome County Office Building this afternoon. JUST blasted the state prison corrections officers who have been striking recently to protest unsafe working conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The activists claim the COs have turned New Yorks HALT Law into a bogus boogey man as they seek to avoid accountability. HALT, which stands for Humane Alternatives to Long Term solitary confinement, was passed in 2022 and severely limits the circumstances in which an inmate can be held in isolation. JUST founding member Bill Martin accuses Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar of skirting the law. We have three kids under the age of 21 who have gone into isolation. The HALT Law says you cant do that. We have people who are disabled, who are mentally distressed who go into solitary in one form or another. They think up new names, its now called keep lock, its called D block, its called medical. All these things are basic forms of solitary and torture of people in the Broome County Jail, said Martin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martin also alleges that inmates are not allowed to file grievances as they should. Sheriff Akshar pushed back forcefully against the allegations calling JUST tone-deaf radical activists who spread lies and misinformation about conditions and procedures at the jail. Akshar released documentation that he says shows there were no instances of solitary confinement inside the jail last year and that over 200 grievances have been filed by inmates over the past two years, only one of which was deemed credible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has launched a civil rights investigation into allegations of antisemitism at the University of California, saying its attorneys believe there is a "potential pattern" of discrimination against Jewish employees at the state's flagship higher education system. The investigation is the latest Trump administration action against universities it accuses of allowing campus antisemitism to fester amid a groundswell of pro-Palestinian protest since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that launched Israel's war in Gaza. The UC investigation comes after a Jan. 30 executive order in which Trump pledged to "marshal all Federal resources to combat the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and in our streets." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pro-Palestinian demonstrations reached a height last spring with encampments, building takeovers and police sweeps. Encampments emerged at the 10 UC campuses, including one at UCLA that turned violent. Counter-protesters attacked the UCLA site, where protesters were accused of using antisemitic signage and chants and of preventing Jewish students from accessing campus walkways. Protesters have denied that their actions were antisemitic. They argued that phrases such as "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" are calls for equality and not for the death of Jews. They said that Jewish students joined pro-Palestinian protests and that the ideology of the camps which did not achieve their goal of getting UC to divest ties to Israel or weapons companies was anti-Zionist but not anti-Jewish. On Tuesday, President Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests." He did not define which protests were "illegal," and 1st Amendment experts said he does not have the power to change free speech rights. Last week, the Department of Justice said a federal "task force to combat antisemitism" would visit UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley and seven other college campuses as part of investigations into allegations of antisemitic incidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation announced Wednesday would determine whether UC "engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses," the department said in a statement. It did not cite specific incidents at UC campuses and did not single out campuses aside from a brief mention of UCLA. In a statement, a UC spokeswoman said the system was "unwavering" in its stand against anti-Jewish hatred. "We want to be clear: the University of California is unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyones civil rights," said UC Senior Director of Strategic and Critical Communications Rachel Zaentz. "We continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of harassment and discrimination for everyone in the university community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary Osako, UCLA's vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement that the campus "has been and continues to be committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate, which have no place on our campus or anywhere." In a statement, Kira Stein, the founder and chair of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA, said she welcomes the investigation. "Given the documented incidents of antisemitism on campus, and the lack of enforcement of rules to penalize such behavior a thorough and impartial investigation is warranted at UCLA," said Stein, an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. "We believe this is essential to ensure a safe and equitable working environment for all members of the university community. Read more: USC scrubs DEI from some webpages as Trump cracks down on campus diversity programs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Wednesday statement, Chad Mizelle, acting associate attorney general and the Justice Department's chief of staff, cited a "disturbing rise of antisemitism at educational institutions in California and nationwide." Also this week, federal officials said they were evaluating stop work orders on $51 million of grants to Columbia University the epicenter of last year's pro-Palestinian student movement as part of efforts to "end antisemitic harassment." The administration is reviewing whether the school should keep receiving $5 billion in federal grants. UC campuses as well as USC, Stanford and California State University have all seen increased reports of antisemitism since 2023. The department said it would work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the multi-agency federal antisemitism task force on the UC investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Task force member Leo Terrill, who is also a senior counsel in the Justice Department's civil rights unit, said in a statement that the post-Oct. 7 landscape has led to an "outbreak of antisemitic incidents at leading institutions of higher education in America, including at my own alma mater at the UCLA campus of UC." Terrill said that "the impact upon UCs students has been the subject of considerable media attention and multiple federal investigations. But these campuses are also workplaces, and the Jewish faculty and staff employed there deserve a working environment free of antisemitic hostility and hate." The Department of Justice established the antisemitism task force on Feb. 3, saying it was opening investigations at UC Berkeley, Columbia, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern and Portland State University. The department said the task force would include representatives from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies as it develops. A full list of members has not been released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's January order also called on the federal government to "monitor and report activities by alien students and staff that could lead to visa cancellations. It cited federal law that bans noncitizens from being in the U.S. if they support terrorism. It did not equate pro-Palestinian protesters with supporters of Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. Still, a White House fact sheet about the order, quoting Trump, made clear the presidents intentions to "deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas." Trump and administration officials have broadly described pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic "Hamas sympathizers. Pro-Palestinian protests at UCLA last year were among the largest in the U.S. Internal and external reviews have faulted UCLA leaders for failing to rapidly coordinate a response with Los Angeles police and other law enforcement when vigilantes attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment on April 30 and May 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An ongoing federal lawsuit by Jewish students also accuses UCLA of helping to block access to certain campus walkways last spring. And student and faculty pro-Palestinian protesters have sued in state court, alleging the university violated free speech rights when it cleared the encampment. In addition to antisemitism allegations, there have been accusations of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias at UCLA and other UC campuses since 2023. It is unclear if there is a federal task force on the matter. The Department of Justice under the Trump administration has announced no campus visits or investigations related to those complaints. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the suspect accused of orchestrating the 2021 Kabul airport bombing arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday to face charges for developing a plot that killed 13 American service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians. On the ground last night at Dulles airfield as FBI personnel and our DOJ + CIA partners delivered a terrorist wanted for the Afghanistan Abbey Gate murders, Patel wrote in a Wednesday statement on the social platform X. To terrorists around the world responsible for harming Americans: We will hunt the ends of the earth and find you, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mohammad Sharifullah is charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday. The attack came as the U.S. was withdrawing from Afghanistan. Authorities say he admitted to planning the ISIS-K attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul when a suicide bomber detonating a body-worn explosive at Abbey Gate in August 2021. The lethal attack that killed 13 American service members and Afghan civilians during the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was an act of terrorism, Patel said in a statement. ISIS-K brazenly claimed responsibility for the carnage. Now thanks to the assistance of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA, we have secured Sharifullahs apprehension and transport to the U.S. to face American justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General Pam Bondi said the charges show that terrorists have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America. If convicted, Sharifullah faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TOPEKA (KSNT) One of the members of the rock band KANSAS delivered a health update Wednesday following his cancer diagnosis last month. Ronnie Platt, lead vocalist for the rock band KANSAS, announced on social media on March 4 that he recently underwent surgery to treat his thyroid cancer. He thanked his fans, saying he is looking forward to returning to the stage. The Doctor said my surgery couldnt have gone any better!!! I felt the power of everyones prayers and positive energy! Ronnie Platt social media statement excerpt Controversial Kansas high school graduation requirement to be removed Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Platt previously revealed his cancer diagnosis on Feb. 15, reassuring fans that it was just a bump in the road. The band canceled some shows due to Platts health update, including its scheduled appearances for the 70s Rock and Romance Cruise. KANSAS welcomed Platt to the band in 2014 as he took over for former vocalist Steve Walsh. The band recently had its 50th anniversary concert tour, even stopping by to visit its home turf of Topeka in 2024. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. LIBERTY, Mo. Liberty Health and Wellness residents have to relocate to new nursing facilities. Liberty Health and Wellness will lose its agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services as a skilled nursing facility in the Medicaid program effective March 7. In addition, as authorized by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the providers agreement as a nursing facility in the Medicaid program will also be terminated. Some residents like Cathy Meredith are concerned about where they will go next. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im in shock. This is my home. This is where I live. I dont want to move. I didnt want to come here at first, but the staff has made it a home for me, said Cathy Meredith, who has been living at Liberty Health and Wellness for a year and a half. I dont want to move because Im so comfortable here. I am scared. I dont know whats going to happen. I dont know where Im going to lay my head next week. There are over 120 people who will need to be relocated. Administrator Amy Bax says they will have 30 days to continue placement after the termination takes effect on March 7. At this point, weve had to meet with all the residents, find out their first, second and third choices of facilities in the area and just basically wherever we can that has bed availability, and well send a referral, and theyll accept a referral if they can meet the needs of the resident. And then we start transitioning the residents to those facilities, Bax said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX4 has previously reported on investigations and lawsuits against Liberty Health and Wellness. Liberty Health and Wellness was on the list of Special Focus Facilities, which includes nursing homes that could lose federal funding if they dont improve. Bax claims that since new ownership took over in June of 2023, theyve been trying to turn things around. We asked staffers why this is happening. They wouldnt give details. I cant really go into that because were appealing the citation and the termination. So I really cant go into details about that just because were appealing it, Bax said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX4 obtained the notice from the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare, which says, These actions are taken because CMS has determined that Liberty Health and Wellness failed to attain substantial compliance with certain participation requirements. Its a blow to us, and we dont feel like it has been enough time to decide, said Liberty Health and Wellness resident Kathleen Amos. We havent been able to go see any places. There was a letter they gave us that said something about trying to help us look. But then I found out we had to pay for the transportation. Staffers claim that the facility is offering residents transportation to look at nursing homes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A Kansas City man pleaded guilty to murder this week in relation to a fatal shooting near Central High School in June 2024. Richard Gerard Harris Jr., 37, allegedly shot Taylor Thomas on June 17. Harris pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday in Jackson County court. He was initially also charged with three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of tampering with a motor vehicle, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before he accepted a plea deal, Harris jury trial was set to start Monday. Kansas City police officers found Thomas unresponsive early in the morning outside an apartment building at 3200 E. Linwood Boulevard, according to a KCPD spokesperson. Thomas had sustained injuries to the head and neck. Thomas died at a local hospital on June 19, according to relatives. Thomas, a Kansas City mother of seven, had celebrated her 29th birthday two days prior to the shooting. A memorial service was held July 6, 2024. An eyewitness told investigators that Thomas and Harris had been seen together in the area hours before the shooting, and that they had been arguing, according to court documents. Surveillance footage captured between midnight and 1 a.m. on June 17, 2024 shows Thomas and Harris arriving together in a red Kia and interacting with occupants of another car before seeming to search for something in the Kia, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The footage then shows Harris attacking Thomas from behind, throwing her to the ground, shooting her and driving away, according to court documents. Witnesses told investigators that Thomas and Harris may have been romantically involved, according to court documents, and that he was known to be violent with her. One witness also told investigators that Harris controlled Thomas access to money and may have coerced her into acts of prostitution, which he organized and from which he profited. A sentencing hearing for Harris will take place in Jackson County court next month, according to the Jackson County Prosecutors Office. Communications director Jazzlyn Johnson told The Star that state attorneys are seeking a 22-year prison sentence for Harris , while attorneys for Harris are seeking a 10-year sentence. Thomas death was the 71st homicide reported in Kansas City in 2024, according to data collected by the Star. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) With President Donald Trump hitting Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs on imports, farm groups are asking what retaliation from other countries will look like to Kansas. The Kansas Farm Bureau said Tuesday it is talking to federal lawmakers and letting the Trump administration know this will hit Kansas hard. When other countries retaliate, higher tariffs on Kansas goods will make selling everything from wheat to corn to many other Kansas products tougher. What are tariffs and how do they work? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One business professor said it looks like the start of a trade war. I think youve got to go out and look up the definition of a trade war, said Larry Straub, an associate business professor at Newman University. There would be a lot of different opinions on what that is. What is the definition? In my mind, I definitely think he is triggering a trade war. I think we are in the early stages. The Kansas Farm Bureau is talking to federal lawmakers about the tariffs and asking how long this could last. What are the goods facing Trumps tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China? Meanwhile, other farm leaders said they did not believe this would make farmers cut back on how much they plant and sell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But those farm leaders also said the ag community would tighten its belt, which could mean cutting back on buying what they need to do business. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. President Donald Trump delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress since he was sworn in a second time. Elected officials from Kansas and Missouri shared their reactions to the address. Tom Cox, representing the internet exchange point developer Connected Nation, asked a Kansas Senate committee to approve bill nullifying racist covenants on property owned by Wichita State University and earmarked for development of an internet project in Wichita. The committee sent the bill to the full Senate. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA A Kansas Senate committee approved bipartisan legislation Tuesday voiding racist covenants restricting ownership and occupancy of single-family residences on land owned by Wichita State University on the edge of campus. The 1.3-acre parcel was acquired by WSU in the 1950s, but discriminatory text attached to the title wasnt revealed until August 2024 when a company prepared to take possession of the property for construction of a facility to speed broadband connections. The Senate Local Government, Transparency and Ethics Committee approved Senate Bill 194 without dissent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tom Cox, vice president at Connected Nation and a former state legislator, said the nonprofit was working with a $5 million state grant to build the internet exchange station. But, he said, the project in Wichita hit a roadblock because neighborhood covenants written between Jan. 1, 1948, and Dec. 31, 1958, required construction of single-family housing at that location and limited occupancy along racial lines. We discovered there was an egregiously racist and restrictive covenant from the 1950s that the university did not know when they purchased this parcel, Cox said. Unfortunately, racially restrictive covenants are fairly common in that time period. He said Connected Nation and Wichita State University were morally opposed to any racist covenant. Research indicated passage of a state law was the most efficient method of eradicating the covenant and allowing WSU to designate the ground for a project of public benefit, Cox said. The racist language was woven so thoroughly into the titles amendments the covenant wouldnt otherwise be open for revision until 2030 and dozens of absentee landowners would have to sign notarized documents to advance that process, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican and chair of the Senate committee, said the bill was drafted to void the covenant before July 1. She indicated she was surprised the offensive covenant hadnt been discovered long ago. We will get this moving as quickly as we can because we understand how important this is to Wichita State University, she said. Sen. Craig Bowser, R-Holton, said he was the parent of a Wichita State student and was familiar with the Wichita property at 21st Street and Fountain Avenue subject to the covenant. A portion of the WSU property was used for construction of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. I support this bill, he said. I think its great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Connected Nation entered into an agreement to lease the land from WSU to build the states first internet exchange point, which would serve as an essential connection among internet service providers, content delivery networks, cloud providers and enterprises for the exchange of internet traffic. Lack of such a facility in central Kansas meant internet traffic from all over the state had to run through Kansas City, Missouri, before reaching its destination, Cox said. The nonprofit secured a $5 million grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce for the project. WSU donated a 40-year land lease to Connected Nation in exchange for free access to the new internet exchange point. The Senate bill cast the covenant repeal broadly to include comparable situations if discovered at University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University and Pittsburg State University. Nathan Madden, of the Health Forward Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, endorsed the Senate bill because it aligned with the foundations mission of building inclusive and healthy communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We support this legislation as it would statutorily align court rulings on the prohibition of racially restrictive covenants, Madden said. It is a meaningful symbolic step in acknowledging the significant detrimental impacts from segregated living spaces. He said the legislation would adhere to U.S. Supreme Court decisions striking down the practice of redlining in cities to segregate residents by race. The legacy of redlining continued as neighborhoods previously designated for minority residents had less green space, more pollution and greater health challenges related to asthma, he said. In 2024, the Legislature approved and Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill that made it easier for Kansas homeowners to remove racist language from property records. Covenants often inserted into home association deeds excluded Black and Jewish people from certain neighborhoods. That legislation was the result of the cities of Roeland Park and Prairie Village struggling to remove covenants from records. By Qabil Ashirov Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have held discussions on regional and international security issues, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. During the discussion, the ministers also addressed ongoing efforts within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as cooperation prospects in both bilateral and multilateral contexts. The ministers expressed confidence that in 2025, cooperation between the two countries would further expand in areas such as politics, economy, trade, energy, and tourism. Additionally, the conversation included exchanges on cooperation in other international platforms and a discussion on the situation in the Middle East. Karen Reads ongoing legal battle against the murder charges she faces in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John OKeefe will unfold in two different courthouses on Wednesday. LIVE VIDEO: Karen Read appears for 2nd hearing of day after double jeopardy appeal in federal court Good afternoon from the courthouse in Dedham, MA. We are underway in the Karen Read case. Judge Cannone starts with the defense motion to dismiss. She immediately brought up Alan Jackson's statement in that motion that MSP Trooper Fanning "had control over the jury". Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) March 5, 2025 Read, 44, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting OKeefe with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snowstorm after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying OKeefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home and dragged outside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reads attorneys will first appear in Bostons John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, where theyre expected to ask a judge to declare her upcoming retrial a violation of her constitutional rights. The defense team has argued that their clients double jeopardy protections were violated because several jurors who came forward after a mistrial was declared in her first trial indicated that Read was found not guilty of two of the three charges she faces in OKeefes death, second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. All stand as the jury files out to the courtroom, to start their fifth day of deliberations in the murder trial for Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday, July 1, 2024. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read jurors tell judge theyve been unable to reach unanimous verdict Day 3 of jury deliberations finishes without verdict in Karen Read trial Karen Read awaits the juries verdict in her murder case at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday June 26, 2024. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defense attorneys in Karen Read murder trial argue with judge over jury verdict slip Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some witnesses are in the courtroom on Tuesday include Brian Albert, Colin Albert, and Jennifer McCabe. Karen Read Karen Read, center right, is seated Monday, June 10, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court, in Dedham, Mass., during her trial on charges in connection with the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O'Keefe. (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read is seated Monday, June 10, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court, in Dedham, Mass., during her trial on charges in connection with the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O'Keefe. (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read smiles after listening to her attorney Alan Jackson during her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool) Karen Read Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karen Read sits with her legal team team in court Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool) Karen Read sits with her legal team team in court, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor'easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool) Read is also charged with manslaughter. The push to drop Reads charges was denied by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in February, upholding Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannones initial decision to reject the motion to dismiss. Reads lawyers are now hopeful a federal judge will rule in their favor before her retrial begins on April. After departing federal court, Read and her team will return to court in Dedham for a continuation of Tuesdays pre-retrial hearing. In court on Tuesday, special prosecutor Hank Brennan announced that the federal investigation into the Read case was officially over, confirming what 25 Investigates first reported last week. The Norfolk County District Attorneys Office was contacted by the U.S. Attorneys Office. Let me make crystal clear, they made clear that I could inform the court there is no longer any federal investigation into the investigation of John OKeefes death or any related matters, Brennan said. It is closed, it is over. Reads defense claims the feds havent shared this development with them and that their last update came via a letter in January. After informing the court of the closure of the federal investigation, Brennan requested that a gag order be imposed on all of Reads attorneys, saying that their ongoing, deliberate, purposeful poisoning of the potential jury pool needs to come to an end. The Commonwealth asks the court to consider sanctions so that we can have a fair trial. What I suggest is that from now until trial, all pleadings submitted by the defense should be under seal, Brennan said. No more symposiums on the courthouse stairs, no more interviews with national media, no more statements to press privately behind the scenes over a coffee and putting out information, often times inaccurate, to sell the story before the trial starts so we can have a trial based on fact. Brennans gag order request comes after the defense filed a 147-page motion to dismiss the case against Read based on the basis of extraordinary governmental misconduct, accusing the Commonwealth of destroying exculpatory evidence, withholding exculpatory evidence, and interfering with the jury. It also comes after Read, sitting alongside attorney Alan Jackson, told Boston 25s Ted Daniel that she has nothing to hide and that shes been framed for murder in an exclusive one-on-one interview. The second murder trial in the states case against Read is scheduled to begin with jury selection in Norfolk Superior Court on Tuesday, April 1. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Mar. 4ROCHESTER An assistant manager at a Rochester hotel is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the business in 2023. Beth Marie Hansen, 39, of Kasson, has been charged with 12 felony counts of theft. She is accused of failing to deposit more than $975,000 while acting as assistant manager for EVEN Hotel Rochester in 2023. Hansen was charged on Feb. 28. Her first appearance is scheduled for July 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the criminal complaint, the general manager of EVEN Hotel Rochester met with Rochester police on Dec. 19, 2023, and alleged that the assistant general manager, Hansen, had been stealing money from the business. Company protocol requires two people to transfer money from the company's safe to the bank if the deposit amount is more than $10,000. Hansen, however, was dropping the money off alone. She claimed that due to being short staffed, she wasn't able to find a second person available to accompany her, the complaint said. The corporate office informed the manager that no money was deposited for December 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the manager asked Hansen where the money was, Hansen initially claimed that she deposited it the night before. The manager contacted the bank and learned that Hansen did not make a deposit that night. The manager contacted Hansen multiple times and each time, received a different story, the complaint said. Police spoke with Hansen over the phone on Jan. 24, 2024. Hansen said she stopped taking deposits to the bank in July 2023. Law enforcement reviewed Hansen's yearly gambling totals from 2014 through January 2024. The yearly totals from 2014 through 2022 show she cashed in anywhere from $93 to $162,000. In 2023, she cashed in more than $2.1 million. Police then reviewed the money deposited from the hotel each month in 2023, the complaint said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hotel took in $995,346.65 in 2023. Only $19,452.98 was deposited. From January through December, Hansen deposited over $161,000 into one of her bank accounts, the complaint states. She previously told police she makes around $60,000 annually. Law enforcement found that her bank accounts had several charges from online gambling sites and Treasure Island Casino. She previously told police that she won $19,000 at Treasure Island Casino in October 2023 and bought a new car with the winnings. She also claimed to have won "a few jackpots" in 2023. Hansen's total win/loss statement revealed that she had not won any money at Treasure Island Casino between May and December 2023, according to the complaint. EVEN Hotel Rochester declined to comment on the matter. A kayaker was airlifted to the hospital following an alligator attack on Monday afternoon at Lake Kissimmee State Park. The incident occurred amidst a group of about twenty kayakers, one of whom also had their life jacket ripped off. Emergency responders from both the Florida Wildlife Commission and Polk County Fire Rescue rushed to the scene. Currently, an alligator trapper is working to capture the aggressive gator while the victim receives treatment at Osceola Regional Medical Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To understand why this attack occurred, reporter Q McCray spoke with Brandon Fisher, Gatorlands Director of Media Relations and resident alligator expert. Fisher explained that alligators can become particularly aggressive during certain times of the year. Gators naturally live as far north as North Carolina as far west Texas. So theyre used to freezing temperatures and are pretty good. Fisher said. Fisher pointed out that it could be related to mating season, which typically runs from April to June in Florida. During this period, alligators are more territorial and less tolerant of disturbances in their environment. Theyve been around for millions of years so they know and that water is way warmer than the air anyway. So theyre living comfortable staying in that water, Fisher added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While serious injuries caused by alligators are rare, officials are urging caution when enjoying Floridas natural waterways, especially during peak alligator activity seasons. The big question now is what will happen to the gator. Unless the Florida Wildlife Commission finds evidence that the alligator was provoked and if the gator is caught, it will be put down since it attacked two people. If not deemed a threat, the gator will probably be removed and placed in a wildlife sanctuary like Gatorland. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. In a fired-up address to Congress that lasted more than 100 minutes, Donald Trump railed against Joe Biden, taunted the Democrats present in the chamber and trumpeted the achievements of Elon Musks Doge. Here are the key moments from Mr Trumps speech. Democrat kicked out of House The liveliest moment of the evening came early on when a Democratic congressman was kicked out within minutes of Mr Trumps taking to the microphone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaker Mike Johnson halted proceedings to urge decorum in the chamber and directed the Sergeant at Arms to remove Al Green, a Democrat congressman, after he heckled the president while holding his cane aloft. Republicans then attempted to drown out Democrat booing with applause and chants of USA, USA. Credit: Reuters Democrats in protest The Democrats who chose not to boycott proceedings opted to wear blue and yellow in support of Ukraine. Some female members of the party wore pink while others sported black t-shirts with protest slogans such as No Kings Live Here. They also held auction-like paddles bearing varying slogans, including Musk Steals, Save Medicaid, and False, which they deployed in an attempt to fact check the president in real time. Republican snatches Democrat protest sign One of the standout images of the night was given to us by Melanie Stansbury, the Democrat representative who at one point stood next to Mr Trump carrying a small placard that read: This is not normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sign was short-lived, however, with Republican Lance Gooden reaching across the aisle to rip it from Ms Stansburys hands and throw it away. Nancy Pelosis pained expressions Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat stalwart and former house speaker, looked physically pained while listening to Mr Trump wax lyrical about his achievements during the first 40 days of his second term. Ms Pelosi, who tore up Mr Trumps state of the union address while sitting behind him in 2020, wore protest pink along with a number of her female Democrat colleagues. Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat stalwart, looked physically pained while listening to Mr Trump - Saul Loeb/AFP Elon Musk Elon Musk had a VIP seat for the evening in the First Ladys booth. He wore a suit for the occasion and stood for applause twice when Mr Trump mentioned his name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a section of his speech in which Mr Trump railed against unelected bureaucrats, furious Democrats gesticulated towards the billionaire Tesla boss. Elon Musk had a VIP seat in the First Ladys booth and stood for applause twice when Mr Trump mentioned his name - Getty Zelenskys letter Mr Trump parroted many familiar talking points during the address. One of the few major developments in the speech came in the form of an announcement that he had received a letter from Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Trump said: I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago. According to the US president, the letter said: We really do value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simultaneously, weve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace... Wouldnt that be beautiful? Its time to stop this madness, he added. Boy with cancer made Secret Service agent Arguably, the evenings most touching moment came when Mr Trump made 13-year-old Devarjaye DJ Daniel an honorary Secret Service agent. The US president explained that DJ, who has brain cancer, dreamed of becoming a police officer. Mr Trump said doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger. Sean Curran, the Secret Service director, surprised DJ by presenting him with his own credentials. Democrats fail to stand for murder victims family Democrats in the chamber came under criticism for failing to stand for the family of murdered student Laken Riley, who were present for the address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riley was studying at the University of Georgia when she was killed by an immigrant who was in the country without permanent legal status. Democrats in the chamber faced criticism after failing to stand for family of murdered student Laken Riley - Al Drago/Bloomberg A bill bearing her name became the first piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by Mr Trump during his second term. Most Democrats were seated as a round of applause ensued. They then held up signs bearing the word false as Mr Trump made several claims about the Biden administrations approach to immigration. Nobody has ever heard of Lesotho Tallying up the scale of foreign aid cuts made by his government, Mr Trump said Mr Bidens administration pledged: $8 million (6.23 million) to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Trump cited the funding as an example of government waste uncovered by Elon Musks Doge. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A federal court judge is allowing one of the ringleaders in the so-called DWI Enterprise to leave the country, raising questions about where he is going, and how its allowed. KRQE Investigative Reporter, Gabrielle Burkhart spoke to an attorney representing some of the victims of the DWI corruption scheme. A two-sentence document reveals the court is granting an unopposed motion to allow now-disgraced paralegal and convicted criminal, Ricardo, Rick Mendez to travel outside the country. Having handled other criminal matters for individuals, like we represent people for DWI, you know, we have cases where somebody doesnt have any criminal history and is not a flight risk but asked to travel, and sometimes those motions go denied, explained Civil Rights Attorney, Taylor Smith. Related Coverage Smith is representing at least five victims of the DWI corruption scheme in civil lawsuits, including a class action lawsuit against Mendez, the City of Albuquerque, former defense attorney Thomas Clear III, and several former law enforcement officers whove been named in relation to the scheme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mendez pled guilty in federal court in January to RICO conspiracy, bribery, and extortion charges. The former paralegal admitted he helped run a scheme with his boss, former defense attorney Thomas Clear III, and law enforcement from the three main agencies in the metro to get DWI cases dismissed in court in exchange for cash. Mendez is out on conditions of release pending sentencing. Last week, a federal court judge granted a request from Mendez, allowing him to travel outside the country. KRQE asked the U.S. Attorneys Office why prosecutors allowed Mendez to leave the country and when hell be traveling. However, because the motion is sealed in court, KRQE was told the U.S. Attorney cant comment about his travel plans. Based on the court filing and the noted unopposed motion, we know prosecutors didnt argue against Mendezs motion permitting him to travel internationally. I cant speculate as to what Mr. Mendez is thinking, but considering the criminal aspect of this case and the amount of time that it went on, what hes already admitted to in court, I believe he would for sure be a flight risk, Smith told KRQE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith says this secret trip also puts his civil case at a disadvantage, since its not publicly known where Mendez is going and for how long. Those civil cases are still making their way through the courts. Meanwhile, Mendez is due back in federal court for his criminal sentencing. A date has not been set. Mendez faces 110 years in prison based on the charges he pleaded guilty to. As part of his plea agreement, the feds will likely give him a break at sentencing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Video above from previous coverage June 21, 2024 Editors note: This story contains redacted messages that may be offensive to some readers. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A Tampa dentist was sentenced to prison Tuesday for sending racist and violent messages to dozens of victims, including public figures and an election official, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Richard Glenn Kantwill, 61, of Tampa, was sentenced to two years in prison with credit for time served, followed by three years of supervised release. He will also have to pay a $10,000 fine and participate in a substance abuse program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida deputies failed to confiscate gun used in triple murder, kidnapping: report He pleaded guilty in November to four counts of interstate transmission of a threat and faced up to five years in prison on each count. Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of 33 months. The Defendants repeated choice to threaten violence, to include threats of murder and rape, against persons in the public eye who he disagreed with, demonstrates a lack of self-control and respect not just for the individuals with views different from his but also for the rule of law in general, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing request. Kantwill sent more than 100 threats to at least 40 victims between September 2019 and July 2020, officials said. Between April 2022 and April 2024, he sent at least seven more threats, including one to an election official in another state. Richard Glenn Kantwill (Pinellas County Sheriffs Office) The victims included an election official, a religious figure, political candidates, members of the media and celebrities, prosecutors said. Multiple messages were sent to an unnamed candidate running to be the presidential nominee for a major political party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olympus Pools owner baited customers to fuel life of luxury with their money, prosecutor says Some of the messages included racial slurs and praised President Donald Trump, according to court documents, which contained the redacted messages. One message read: You, sir, are a degenerate piece of s. read your article about The Great Donald Trump. It is so blatantly prejudiced that you dont even attempt to be impartial, you [redacted]. You are gayI can tell. F you. I love what Trump does and where he stays. You ignorant [redacted] never cared about how the great ghetto [redacted] Obama and how he got rich, but your going to get a hard-on about where Trump stays. So blatantly ignorant, and liberally immoral. God bless the Great President Trump and his family. F you and yours. Hire extra securityyoure gonna need it. I plan on f- you upjust for the fun of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another message called a victim a fake Reverend and and anti-Christian piece of s, according to the DOJ. We are going to kill you. Torture first, then death. You will deny Christ, just like Judas because you are a coward. Either wayprepare to die. You wont see Christ.because you as re an immoral degenerate. One person who received a message spent about $4,500 for surveillance cameras due to the threats, prosecutors said. Kantwill also allegedly sent a threatening message to a politician. You are a degenerate c and you are now the target of our own investigation. Take note because liberal [redacted] like you get raped in alleys, by really big black guys that serve our cause. So, you [redacted] are going to get raped by at least 5 [redacted] and do nothing. You are the number 1 target, you degenerate [redacted]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How dare you: Family of children killed in Sarasota hit-and-run angry after drivers arrest In an interview with the FBI on Oct. 15, 2019, Kantwill admitted to sending the messages and called himself a keyboard warrior who didnt intend to carry out any of the threats, according to court documents. Two days after Kantwill met with the FBI, he sent a Facebook message to a major cable news channel that read: He thg [Cable News Channel]..you degenerate pieces of ****how the **** are you scumbags doing now??? You stupid *****..just for funtell corrupt gay [News Correspondent] we are going to ******* kill him and his familyany devils spawn of his do not deserve to liveThe [Cable News Channel] better hire more security..because, we Americans who love America and [Presidential Candidate] are going to kill you *****good luck living in peace. We will kidnap and kill his kids in captivity.every unkindly word he has said about [Presidential Candidate] will be another slash in his kids necks. **** YOU [Cable News Channel]!!!! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another message sent to a TV personality read: You went ahead and done did it! You stupid ****you just cant keep your mouth shut..guess what..I will make it easy for you. I am going to make you and your **** wife watch, while we cut out little [television personalitys minor son]s heart and Im going to show it to you while it is still beating..throw down time has come *****.. Prosecutors said when Kantwill was asked to meet with the FBI in July 2021, he said he was not doing anything illegal and that his actions were justified. The Florida attorney generals office is investigating Andrew and Tristan Tate Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He blamed the Government, minorities, and other entities for being the reason he had been speaking out, prosecutors wrote. After refusing to speak with the FBI, Kantwill allegedly sent a text message to the investigator that contained a middle finger emoji. God bless America!!! F Biden!!!! Kantwill wrote, followed by another middle finger emoji. Kantwill served in the Army in Iraq and developed post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, according to court documents. He also struggled with alcoholism. Kantwill had no prior criminal history and practiced dentistry in the Zephyrhills area. He lost his dental practice and will likely lose his license, his lawyer wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed on Feb. 21. The memorandum said Kantwill was remorseful of his actions, and asked for his military service to be considered in a request for a lighter sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Kantwill hopes the Court and Government will recognize his sincere remorse, and that the Court take into consideration his service for his country when fashioning an appropriate sentence, his lawyer wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Just hours before a bill to codify the Utah Womens History Initiative advanced through House committee, hundreds of students made their way through the Capitol learning about key women in Utahs history for Utah Women Making History Day. SB161 is sponsored by Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, and would help to codify multiple initiatives and organizations within the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. The bill, which includes the Utah Womens History Initiative, was heard in the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee on the same day as Utah Women Making History Day was celebrated at the Capitol. The bill already passed through the Senate and will now go to the House floor for a final vote. Celebrating Utah Women Making History Day at the Capitol On Tuesday, hundreds of students from around Utah came to the Capitol for the sixth annual Utah Women Making History Day, put on by the Utah Womens History Initiative and Better Days. Chevelle Kirschbaum adds a sticky note to a board highlighting things worth speaking up about during Utah Women Making History Day at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News The event featured a variety of displays where children could visit to learn more about prominent women in Utahs history. The displays and booths were set up by partner organizations such as the Utah Education Network, the State Board of Education and Womens Leadership Institute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We try to align community organizations talking about a woman doing that same work that they do today. So its pretty fun, said Katherine Kitterman, who manages the Utah Womens History Initiative. During the event, students were able to interact with a member of the Lieutenant Governors Office of Elections who was portraying Seraph Young Ford, the first woman to vote in Utah. They were also able to complete certain tasks, and visit a number of booths in order to receive a prize at the end. Students hold signs during Utah Women Making History Day at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News The students also learned about other women such as Reva Beck Bosone, who was Utahs first female judge; she was also a state legislator and radio and TV host. At one booth, they were able to meet female mayors who are currently serving around the state. A group of students gathered in the Capitols Gold Room to hear from Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who spoke about women in Utahs history, such as Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman in the U.S. to be elected to a state senate. Henderson also shared her own experience being a woman in the Utah Senate and how she got to where she is today. A portrait of Utah civil rights leader Alice Kasai is pictured with other student artwork during Utah Women Making History Day at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News If its worth doing, its not going to be easy, and thats one thing that you should always remember, that just because something is hard doesnt mean you shouldnt do it. Often, it means you should, Henderson said. And the more you do hard things, the tougher you get. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This event was first started in 2020 as a celebration for the 150th anniversary of the first votes cast by women in Utah. Better Days had started this, again to honor that anniversary of voting rights and also to show kids, look at the rich legacy of leadership that we have here in this state, Kitterman said. Look at the women whove come before us and paved the way, who have seen a problem and done something to solve it, or stood up, or gathered folks together to make a difference. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson talks to students during Utah Women Making History Day at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Codifying the Utah Womens History Initiative and other provisions of the bill There are nine divisions within the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement and SB161 covers five of them; the Utah State Library, the Utah Historical Society, the Utah Commission on Service and Volunteerism, the Division of Arts and Museums and the State Historic Preservation office. The bill would codify the Utah Womens History Initiative, which was funded in 2021 but is not yet in code. The purpose of the initiative is to educate the Utah public on womens contributions to the states history and support relevant historical and cultural organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SB161 would provide updates to the Utah Service Fellowship which is a part of the Utah Commission on Service and Volunteerism. In the Division of Arts and Museums, it would change the grant eligibility criteria. The fifth division that is affected by the bill is the State Historic Preservation Office, which under that bill would see technical changes. A major with the Orange County Sheriffs Office who took the helm of the Kissimmee Police Department after its chief resigned in disgrace has left to make way for an acting chief: longtime Deputy Chief Wilson Munoz. Robert Anzueto was tapped to lead the agency after former Chief Betty Holland departed when a botched investigation into an officer accused of excessive force revealed what a grand jury called a culture of cover-up. Mayor Jackie Espinosa announced Anzuetos departure and Munozs appointment during Tuesdays City Commission meeting. Were going through our changes but were getting there, Espinosa said about finding a new chief. I just want to assure everyone that were almost there and whatever our city manager decides, we know hes had a lot of sleepless nights to make sure the decisions are done in the right direction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Munoz was hired at KPD in 1999. In 2018, he became the agencys first Latino captain under Chief Jeff ODell before being promoted to deputy chief by Holland. Like Anzueto, he was not in the running to be the new chief. A permanent chief is expected to be named soon as city officials whittle down the nine candidates who applied for the position. A source close to the process said the search is down to two: Orlando Rolon, who retired as Orlando police chief in 2022, and Clermont police Chief Charles Broadway. A city spokesperson did not respond to a message seeking confirmation. Anzuetos departure this month was expected after serving as Hollands temporary replacement since Oct. 31, days after the grand jury that indicted Officer Andrew Baseggio issued a devastating report leading to her resignation. In it, the grand jury uncovered concerns about the departments look into Baseggios actions the night he brutally beat a man who was not resisting arrest among them his awareness of the investigations inner workings as it proceeded. I hope he aint killing her: Sanford cops under review after viral video shows delayed response to knife attack Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baseggio was given an eight-hour suspension for the incident, which prosecutors were not aware of until body-camera video capturing the beating was shown on WFTV. From there, the Orange-Osceola State Attorneys Office named Holland among 11 members of the department whose credibility about the investigation into Baseggio now accused of felony battery and witness tampering, among other charges was called into question. Munoz was not among the 11 cited by prosecutors. Prosecutors further concluded KPD ran afoul of Florida law after discovering more than a dozen excessive-force cases stretching back at least a decade that were not reported to state authorities. The Orange County Sheriffs Office was tasked with investigating the department on behalf of the State Attorneys Office, but no updates have since been provided. Anzueto declined a sit-down interview with the Orlando Sentinel about his time at the department. But in response to emailed questions sent in February that he has overseen numerous changes to KPDs policies and staffing in keeping with recommendations of the grand jury. He further noted he is thoroughly impressed with the people working at the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once the case has been completed it will be given back to this office and if officers are found sustained in their actions, then discipline will be served accordingly, Anzueto said. As far as the question have some even been cleared? That will not be determined until the case has been completed. He said he recused himself from the investigation into the department but at the time of his responses, no officers have been disciplined as the case has not been completed. He lauded the rest of the agencys staff, saying there is no doubt in my mine our personnel are committed to keeping Kissimmee a safe place for all. From my standpoint I feel morale of our employees is high and they appreciate our staffs transparency and changes made from an operational and administrative aspect, he added. As far as a culture of coverup, I have not seen any evidence or any incident since my arrival that leads me to believe of any immoral, unethical, or illegal conduct by any employee at the Kissimmee Police Department. Natalia Jaramillo contributed to this report. Families whose loved ones were either killed or taken hostage during Hamas 2023 attack arrived at Israels parliament, the Knesset, on Monday to demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu establish a state investigation into the countrys security failures only for guards to beat them back with batons. The bereaved families came to the Knesset to watch elected officials, including Netanyahu, debate the creation of a commission to investigate how the militant group was able to carry out its deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people died, including members of the military, and around 250 were taken hostage. Most of the families on Monday belonged to the October Council, a group that includes captives loved ones, Oct. 7 survivors and hostages who have since been freed. The group joins many other Israelis in calling for their government to establish such a commission which Netanyahu has blocked and expressing frustration with the prime minister, who they claim has prioritizedhis political careerover the remaining hostages safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Prime Minister, you and your government have yet to take responsibility. So many civilians are asking for forgiveness, and so few politicians are asking for forgiveness, recently freed hostage Yarden Bibas wrote in a letter read aloud on the Knessets floor by lawmaker Chili Tropper. The letter said that 83% of Israeli citizens want a state commission, including the October Councils 1,500 families. I am constantly thinking and regretting that I did not protect my wife and children better. It eats me up inside. I only had a gun and I am a simple citizen in a quiet kibbutz, Bibas, whose family died in captivity, continued. Do you think about this? Do you also find it difficult to spend days and nights without a heavy sense of responsibility for what happened? A poster in Jerusalem shows portraits of Bibas family, top row from second left: Yarden, Shiri, and their sons Ariel and Kfir, who were taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Letters on top read, "37 members of Kibbutz Nir Oz are still missing," on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Mahmoud Illean via Associated Press Security guards blocked the families from entering the Knesset chambers public gallery, agitating the crowd holding photos of their loved ones and turning the interaction into a shouting match. Eventually, the guards attacked them. Footage from journalists who were at the scene, like Haaretz, showed people screaming as guards shoved them to the ground and beat some with batons. Security reportedly dragged hostage Matan Angrests father across the floor and threw his grandfather down the stairs. A man whose child was killed in the Nova music festival attack fainted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The violence directed at us is unacceptable. Today we also feel the government violence on our bodies, the same violence that tries to prevent us from answering for the failure that led to the deaths of our loved ones, the October Council said, according to a Hebrew translation. The speaker of the Knesset should resign today. By his order, bereaved families are now being beaten by the Knesset Guard, it continued. The entire State of Israel is ashamed. Relatives and supporters of hostages kidnapped by Hamas in October 2023 rally outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on March 2, 2025, calling for a deal that would bring all the remaining captives back. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images Neither the prime ministers office nor spokespeople for the Knesset immediately responded to HuffPosts request for comment. Knesset Chairman Amir Ohana later allowed the families to enter the viewing gallery before ordering that they be kicked out for turning their backs to the chamber floor in protest. But demonstrators still witnessed Netanyahu spiral into anger over the demands for an inquiry accusing the media and opposition leaders of spreading a false campaign that the government is sabotaging the [ceasefire] deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We demand the establishment of an objective, balanced, independent, non-politically biased investigative committee not a committee whose conclusions are known in advance, have already been written and not without variety, the prime minister shouted. And not a narrow range of opinions of a quarter of a millimeter that are all concentrated at one end of the political network. Netanyahus tirade was shouted down by opposition leaders, to whom the prime minister responded, You with your shouts, cannot hide the truth. Opposition leader Yair Lapid described Netanyahus speech as a spectacle not easy to watch. Demonstrators gather by a bonfire outside the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2025, calling for the remaining hostages taken by Hamas to be released. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images The State of Israel is strong? You are responsible for the greatest disaster of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member for the Democrats, an opposition party, yelled at Netanyahu before telling him to visit the kibbutz of Nir Oz, which was devastated in Hamas attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters gathered outside Ohanas home in Tel Aviv Monday night, in addition to the demonstrations Israelis have regularly held calling on the government to end the war in Gaza and bring home the remaining hostages. One thing is clear: nothing will deter us. We are wounded animals, and wounded animals are not to be messed with, the October Council said. We will continue to fight, the truth about the deaths of our loved ones and what led to it will be revealed. The day is coming when we will call on the public to join us in this just struggle. Authorities are testing additional dead birds for avian influenza in multiple counties across Wisconsin just weeks after a wild duck was found in Milwaukee with the virus. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is testing additional birds in Adams, Outagamie, Racine and Waukesha counties, DNR Health Section Supervisor Jasmine Batten told the Journal Sentinel. Since December, bird flu has also been detected in wild birds across Wisconsin, including in Dane, St. Croix, Wood and Brown counties. Though human spread of bird flu is rare, dozens of human cases have been reported nationwide this year, including in Wisconsin, as people have become sick after coming in contact with infected poultry and other animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres the latest on bird flu in Wisconsin, plus what to do if you suspect symptoms of the illness. More: DNR confirms bird flu in duck found on Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee County What's the latest on bird flu in Wisconsin? Though Wisconsin is among 13 states to report human cases of the H5N1 virus, there is no imminent threat of the virus to Wisconsinites, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Nationwide, more than half of the 70 total cases have been reported in California. As of Feb. 22, bird flu had also not been detected at any human wastewater testing sites in Wisconsin, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state identified its first human case of the H5N1 virus on Dec. 18, 2024 in a worker at a Barron County turkey farm. The farmworker had relatively mild symptoms and was on a road to full recovery with antiviral medications, officials said later that month. As of Jan. 13, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection had detected avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks in Burnett and Barron counties and in a backyard flock in Kenosha County. Additionally, more than a dozen wild birds in Wisconsin have tested positive for the virus since Nov. 2024, with the majority of cases detected in Dane County birds. Testing of wild birds for bird flu is limited, Batten said. DNR investigates groups of dead or sick birds to confirm the cause of death, however once a cause of mortality is identified, testing of additional birds is not conducted. How does bird flu spread in Wisconsin? Human cases of bird flu in the U.S. have almost all been among people in direct contact with infected cattle and poultry, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Humans can contract the virus after being in close or lengthy contact with infected birds or the saliva, mucous or feces of infected birds, the CDC says. More specifically, people are at risk if they touch something that has the virus on it and then touch their mouth, eyes or nose without wearing gloves, masks or eye protection. There's also a risk of breathing the virus in when it is lingering in the air. It's very rare for bird flu to spread from human-to-human contact, the CDC added. Even when this has happened, it has not led to sustained spread among multiple people. How to prevent bird flu: Here are a few tips to minimize your risk of the virus, according to Wisconsin DNR: Do not handle sick or dead wild birds. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after contact with a wild bird or contaminated surfaces, including bird baths and feeders. Wear disposable gloves when cleaning bird feeders and baths. Use common disinfectants, such as detergents, 10% bleach solution and alcohol, to inactivate the virus. Cook all meat, including wild birds and poultry, thoroughly to 165 F to kill organisms and parasites. Find more information about food safety tips here. Hunters should sanitize all tools and surfaces when handling, cleaning and preparing wild birds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you see five or more sick or dead birds in one area, you can report it to the DNR by emailing DNRWildlifeSwitchboard@wisconsin.gov or calling 608-267-0866. Be ready to note the number of animals; the species, such as Canada goose; if they were sick or dead; the specific location where you saw them and the county; and your contact information. You can find prevention information for farmworkers or those who've had contact with birds, dairy cattle and other animals on the CDC website. What are bird flu symptoms? According to the CDC, symptoms of bird flu in humans may include: eye redness and irritation cough sore throat runny or stuffy nose muscle or body aches and fatigue headaches shortness of breath or difficulty breathing fever reaching 100 degrees or more, though not all people experience this symptom pneumonia requiring hospitalization What to do if you develop bird flu symptoms in Wisconsin: Health officials recommend that people who develop symptoms of flu or an eye infection, and have had contact with animals who may be infected should stay home. Make sure to contact your doctor's office before visiting so health care workers can take precautions to ensure others are not exposed to the virus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene is offering free testing for those who have bird-flu symptoms and have been in contact with an infected animal. Treatment for the virus can include antivirals, supportive care and hospitalization. RELATED: DNR confirms bird flu in duck found on Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee County Caitlin Looby contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Updates on bird flu as virus spreads among wild birds in Wisconsin An investigation by a national group into the city of Auroras handling of a Venezuelan prison gang reveals that authorities at all levels of government were, in fact, aware of Tren de Aragua's criminal activities long before city officials acknowledged their presence. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya speaks during a roundtable discussion with members of the House Freedom Caucus on the COVID-19 pandemic at The Heritage Foundation on Nov. 10, 2022. Credit - Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, IncGetty Images Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is President Trumps pick to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has traditionally been the largest funder of biomedical research in the world. On March 5, the Stanford University professor of health policy will face questions from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee as he attempts to get confirmed to lead one of the countrys most powerful health agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what to know about Bhattacharya. He's the son of immigrants Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata, India and said in a podcast interview that his mother came from a slum, while his father, an electrical engineer, was part of the countrys middle class. In the 1970s, his family immigrated to the U.S., settling first in Massachusetts and then in California, outside of Los Angeles. When he was 18, Bhattacharya converted from Hinduism to become a Presbyterian. He's interested in health economics Bhattacharya earned four degrees at Stanford: a bachelor's degree, master's, MD, and PhD. He worked as an economist at the RAND Corporation before returning to Stanford to join the faculty. Bhattacharya has researched health economics and studied the the U.S.'s vulnerable populations, analyzing how the country's health care system and government policies affect the health of these groups. He holds controversial views on COVID-19 During the pandemic, Bhattacharya became a familiar and contrarian expert on the disease, conducting numerous interviews and publishing op-eds on what he felt was public health officials overreaction to the virus. Based on data he was seeing, he believed that COVID-19 was far milder than health expertsincluding those in the governmentwere making it out to be, and claimed that COVID-19 tests were only picking up severe cases and people who developed symptoms, while far more people were infected but didnt have symptoms. There are many people walking around with evidence of COVID infection that were not going to count because they dont show up to the doctor; they have relatively mild infections, he said in a 2020 podcast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2020, he co-authored a controversial op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that questioned lockdowns. A universal quarantine may not be worth the costs it imposes on the economy, community and individual mental and physical health, he wrote. We should undertake immediate steps to evaluate the empirical basis of the current lockdowns. Read More: RFK Jr. Acknowledges the Measles Vaccine Amid a Worsening Outbreak He also co-wrote the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, an open letter that argued to stop lockdowns. The letter instead favored allowing people at low risk of COVID-19 infection to go about their daily lives, on the assumption that if they became infected, they would experience mild disease and contribute to building the herd immunity that would eventually protect the population. Critics of the policy pointed out that the strategy would still endanger those most vulnerable to developing complications from the disease, such as the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also opposed mask mandates in schools. In 2021, he co-wrote an article arguing that the benefits of masks in preventing serious illness of death from COVID-19 among children are infinitesimally small, and that COVID-19 is less of a threat to children than accidents or the common flu. His views conflicted with those of many public health officials, and he said at the time he received death threats for voicing them. His challenge at NIH If confirmed, Bhattacharya will head an agency at a crossroads. Under the Trump Administration, the NIH has changed its policy in issuing research grants to institutions, capping the amount they'll pay for overhead costs at just 15% of the grant total (as opposed to 30-70% or more). The new policy has been temporarily stayed by a federal judge, but Bhattacharya would be responsible for navigating any shifts in the agencys grant-making policies and reforms (which many scientists agree are needed) to make the NIH more efficient. His medical degree and understanding of health data should be a strength in leading the venerable research institute, some experts say, but, as STAT reports, some are concerned about his interpretation of that data, which they believe can lead to misleading conclusions. I would rather see him appointed than not, because I think if he is not appointed, then whoever else is appointed will probably be worse, Jason Abaluck, professor of economics at Yale School of Management, told STAT. Contact us at letters@time.com. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A Knoxville woman with health insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace recently received dozens of calls from scammers claiming to offer a subsidy to cover living expenses. The callers claim to be from a legitimate sounding organization, such as Health Lifeline, but it is not them. They typically offer a $500 subsidy, or even more. The money supposedly could be used for everyday costs, which you dont have to pay back. Apparently, the call aims to take you to a third-party website, or call center, in an attempt to gain your personal information. Evacuation ordered as crews fight 50-acre wildfire near Tellico Plains Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They go into their little spiel, Im like, hold up, Ive already done this. Thats the reason we are calling, we want to give you your benefit, your subsidy card, said Simone Brown. She is fed up with scammers who claim to be with the Marketplace, also known as Obamacare. Shes received health insurance with Ambetter of Tennessee since 2023. Brown said she is pleased with her care and has had no issues. However, she received dozens of spam calls made in the past week. Out of curiosity, shes returned some of the messages. So you call them. They ask you a bunch of questions. You think, you are going to get this benefit card that you can use for anything. You can use it for groceries, you can use it to shop. You can use it to pay your utility bills, said Brown. $500. Sometimes it might be $1,500. Its different prices. It is never the same. Theyre just spitting all kinds of prices, all kinds of amounts. Im like, which one is it? Thats when they go into the spiel. Well, we have your address as so and so, Lets see if we can straighten that out and get you your card. You have already applied. You have already been approved. We just got to get it to you. And its very irritating. Its scary, you know, said Brown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawsuit: Alabama couple claims they were illegally arrested by Sevierville Police The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning about the Marketplace Benefit Subsidy Scam. HHS said the fraudulent phone caller will pretend to be from the Health Insurance Marketplace, claiming they can help you get a larger government subsidy on your health insurance plan, often asking for personal health information and your Social Security number in exchange for benefits but it is a scam. During our visit, Brown received one of those scam calls. A womans voice could be heard on the phone: This is an informational call. Just wanted to check and see what benefits you might be eligible to use. We have confirmed that you are from Tennessee. Then the lady started asking Brown some personal medical questions to determine what she may qualify for. At that point, Brown dismissed the caller and hung up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spam, spam, spam. I want it over. Just hang up and say Im not interested, said Brown. Two arrested in Newport after shooting investigation leads to car chase Health subsidy scams are rising and targeting Medicare and Medicaid members, as well as those who receive health insurance through the Marketplace. To protect yourself: dont share your social security, Medicare ID, or health information with strangers. A major red flag is the claim that the eligibility period ends today, putting pressure on you to make a decision, today. Dont fall for this scam. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. Russia on Wednesday asked how Ukraine could attend potential talks on ending their three-year war when a Ukrainian decree from 2022 rules out negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Dmitry Peskov noted during a daily call with reporters. Zelenskyy expressed readiness Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible, and Peskov called that positive." However, the details have not changed yet, the Russian spokesman added, apparently referring to the decree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's government did not immediately comment. Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have mentioned the presidential decree, signed seven months after Russias full-scale invasion, in the context of U.S. President Donald Trumps latest efforts to stop the fighting in a war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. The United States seeks to pressure Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. The Trump administration on Monday suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, U.S. officials said Washington has also paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. However, Trump administration officials said that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean the suspension may not last long. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the war's early months, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlins decision in September 2022 to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The Kremlin at the time said it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president took office. Ukrainian forces are now toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, costly for its troops, hasnt brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. As European leaders scramble to adapt to the sharply changing U.S. position on Ukraine under Trump, the French government on Wednesday said Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington eventually. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spokesperson Sophie Primas did not elaborate. Macrons office later said no trip to Washington was being planned. The reason for the discrepancy between the statements was not immediately clear. The three leaders traveled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Trump. Zelenskyy's turned into the extraordinary scene of an open dispute with Trump in the Oval Office. The U.K.'s Starmer didn't comment on the possibility of a joint trip when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday. His spokesman, Dave Pares, would not confirm such a trip. Meanwhile, a Russian court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a British national captured last year while fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk border region of Russia, according to court officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict and sentenced to 19 years in prison. The case was heard behind closed doors. According to media reports at the time of his capture in November, the 22-year-old Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed shortly after Russia's invasion. Ukrainian forces captured parts of Kursk in a shock offensive in August 2024. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Wednesday that future talks between Russia and the United States would include discussions on Iran's nuclear programme, a subject it said had been "touched upon" in an initial round of U.S.-Russia talks last month. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Russia has agreed to assist U.S. President Donald Trumps administration in communicating with Iran on various issues, including on Tehran's nuclear programme and its support for regional anti-U.S. proxies. The Kremlin has not confirmed that, but has made clear that Iran is now one of the subjects that will be discussed in more detail by Washington and Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So far there is only an understanding that the Russian position really is that this problem of Iran's nuclear dossier should be solved exclusively by peaceful political and diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We believe that there is potential for this, because Iran is our ally, our partner, and a country with which we are developing comprehensive, mutually beneficial and mutually respectful relations, and Russia is ready to do everything possible for this. The United States is aware of this." Trump last month restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such intention. Russia has deepened its ties with the Islamic Republic since the start of the Ukraine war, and signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Iran in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kremlin said that the subject of Iran was touched upon during Russia-U.S. talks in Saudi Arabia last month. "It was touched upon in Riyadh," Peskov said. "But not in detail, not in detail." Asked specifically about the Bloomberg report, Peskov said: "Look, the topic of Iran was on the agenda, it was touched upon, but at the same time, not in detail." (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov and Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Andrew Osborn) Kentucky House chambers, Jan. 9. 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. Correction: This story previously misstated how House Bill 495 was changed through a floor amendment. FRANKFORT The GOP-controlled Kentucky House approved a bill Wednesday that seeks to invalidate an executive order issued last year by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear restricting the controversial practice of conversion therapy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sponsor Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, touted the original version of House Bill 495 as a way to protect counselors, pastors and therapists providing therapy to minors from discriminatory actions by the government, assuring parents can make choices on what kind of therapist a minor sees. Hales bill specifically protected mental health services seeking to relieve discomfort or distress caused by an individuals sex or romantic or sexual attraction. On the House floor, Hale successfully changed the legislation through an amendment that deleted the original language, replacing it with language that would invalidate Beshears order issued last year restricting conversion therapy. Hale told his fellow lawmakers he believed Beshears order infringed on parental authority and First Amendment rights. The House passed the new version of HB 495 on largely partisan lines by a vote of 77-18. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is among the medical and psychological organizations that have condemned conversion therapy. AACAP has stated conversion therapies lack scientific credibility and clinical utility and that there is evidence that such interventions are harmful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Psychological Association has stated people who have undergone sexual orientation change efforts are significantly more likely to be depressed and suicidal. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. The minority of Democrats in the chamber echoed concerns expressed by advocates representing psychologists, social workers and the LGBTQ community in opposing the bill. Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, said the bill would be detrimental to mental health care for youth, mentioning her time as a foster parent working with LGBTQ minors. Many times they came into care, not because there was necessarily abuse or neglect or sometimes there was. But sometimes it was simply because their family rejected them for who they were, who they are, and they could not stay there, Stalker said. This is harmful, and its certainly not compassionate. McKenna Horsley contributed to this report. Colorado Springs City Council District 2 candidate Tom Bailey says his years on the El Paso County Planning Commission have prepared him to he LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A Lancaster County man was arrested after allegedly having an online relationship with a juvenile in Virginia. According to the York-Poquoson Sheriffs Office of Virginia, in March 2024, the juvenile victims mother informed police that their child was involved in an online relationship with a 30-year-old man. Police said the mother claimed the suspect sent explicit images to their child and requested some in return. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Severe Weather Alerts The suspect also allegedly attempted to meet the victim in person. The sheriffs offices Investigation Division identified the suspect as Brandon Keister, 30, of Manheim, Pennsylvania. Keister had lived in Arizona when the investigation began but moved to Lancaster County. Joann store closures: See the list of nearly Pennsylvania locations headed for sale Keister was located in Lancaster County on Feb. 28, 2025, and was arrested by police. Police charged Keister with using communications equipment to facilitate crimes with children and production of child pornography. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is currently incarcerated at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A Pennsylvania man who kidnapped his landlord at gunpoint last year and forced him to drive around while he fired a gun out the window will spend time in prison. Aga Thapaliya, 40, of Lancaster, was sentenced to spend between seven and 20 years in state prison by Judge Merill Spahn after he pleaded guilty on Friday, the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office said. Thapaliya pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery, unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure and other related firearm offenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thapaliya was arrested and charged by Manor Township police after the incident on Feb. 14, 2024, where Thapaliya called his landlord to give him a ride back home from a store. The charges filed by police show, that after getting to Thapaliyas place, he told his landlord to wait because he had something for him, and went into his garage. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Severe Weather Alerts When he came back, Thapaliya was holding a gun, and pointed it at his landlord, saying Drive and do what I tell you, and I will kill you. The landlord was able to make his escape while driving when Thapaliya put the gun on the dashboard and it then fell to the floor. Thapaliya was taken into custody by a business complex after he ran from the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police did find six casings inside the vehicle from when Thapaliya fired shots out the window. Thapaliya also managed to steal $500 from his landlord during the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) Brooks Landgraf hosted an education town hall addressing several House Bills that may change the future of Texas education. Educators and parents from across the Basin voiced their opinions on Education Saving Accounts, STARR testing and teacher pay. Several agreed they want to change STARR testing because it takes time from their planned lessons and it stresses their students, they said. There are some better alternatives that are available that other states are using, normally I like to think that Texas does everything bigger and better, when it comes to standardized testing for our students other states are using methods, Landgraf said. So, there are the Iowa assessments that are used in a couple of dozen states that are much lower stakes much more accurate and equally important very friendly to taxpayers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Student funding was a major topic discussed at the town hall, as several educators expressed their worries over school-funding and the mass budget cuts they have experienced. In the last couple of years weve been operating ECISDs been operating in a budget deficit, said Sheena Salcido, the vice president of Ector County Texas State Teachers Association. Weve lost a lot of programs or had to prioritize other things, programs that we really felt benefitted students, and that teachers appreciated, or that students really appreciated, but we understood.we didnt lose a lot of educational staff. Landgraf shared that HB 2 would help invest more money into schools, and increase the average student funding by $1,400. We know that it takes an incredible amount of money to support the 34,000 kids in ECISD, 4,000 staff members, Sheen said. We just want to ensure that the state is keeping up with its end of the bargain to help provide great public education for our kids who deserve it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. Mar. 5STERLING The Sterling City Council's updated version of the city's proposed residential rental housing code, if approved, could include a rental property registry and inspection program. The updated City of Sterling Residential Rental Housing Code draft proposal answers several previously unanswered questions, such as what constitutes inadequate heating, lighting and ventilation? It also includes a proposed budget for the rental inspection program and a detailed property maintenance checklist that would be used by inspectors to enforce "minimal standards" for rental properties. City officials have said the code and inspection program are necessary to bring neglectful landlords and tenants to heel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In the last five years, we've condemned more building structures than ever before," Sterling Building and Zoning Superintendent Amanda Schmidt said. "I don't know what's happened, but the conditions have gotten worse." However, rental property owners, including Rock Falls Mayor and President of the Sauk Valley Landlords Association Rod Kleckler, have voiced concerns that the ordinance and its vague language would unfairly burden good landlords and tenants. "How is this going to stop what you see," Kleckler asked. "Those people that have those deplorable conditions and who rent those out to people, the only way they're going to stop doing that is for you to take those properties away." The rental housing code proposal Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an updated draft of the proposed code, owners would have to register their rental properties with the city and provide their contact information and pertinent information about those properties. Owners who live at least 50 miles outside of the city would also have to provide contact information for a designated agent at least 18 years of age and who lives or maintains a physical office within 50 miles of the city to order repairs or services. Owners would have to register their rental units on or before the date the unit is leased and pay a registration fee. Units already under lease would have 180 days from the date the ordinance is adopted to register, and failing to register on time could result in late fees. Rental units would undergo an initial inspection, with subsequent inspections to follow depending on initial findings. However, if the unit is occupied, the tenant has the right to refuse the initial inspection, and the owner can refuse if the unit is unoccupied. The city could still inspect units with alleged violations by obtaining an administrative warrant, or if the owner or occupants request one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the owner or tenant does refuse inspection, the proposed draft ordinance goes on to state that "in support of an application for an administrative warrant, the City may offer, and request that the court consider the following factors, along with such other matters that the court deems relevant, in its determination as to whether a warrant should be issued," including: * Eyewitness reports of violations * Citizen complaints * Permanent resident complaints * Plain view violation or violations * Violations apparent from city records or from other reliable sources * Deterioration of the property, including, but not limited to, observed exterior violations or conditions demonstrating or suggesting inadequate overall property maintenance Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * The age of the property * The nature of any reported or plain view violation, including, but not limited to, potential effects on the health or safety of occupants of the public * Conditions of similar properties in the area * Whether or not any prior inspections have been conducted, and, if so, the amount of time elapsed since any prior inspection Although owners and tenants have the right to refuse these inspections, Neeley Erickson, governmental affairs director for IllinoisREALTORS, argued that the vague language provides the city a method for sidestepping those refusals. "So, if another property was dilapidated, that automatically means it qualifies for support for an administrative warrant," Erickson said. "It's extremely subjective." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inspection notices would include the time and date of inspection, the name and agency of those conducting the inspection, the purpose of the inspection and information on the owner and occupant's right to object to it, and owners would be notified before the inspection date. Following inspection, rental units would be graded and receive one of the following classifications: * Class A: The residential rental unit is in excellent condition and has no violations of applicable city codes requiring reinspection. These units would be inspected every four years. * Class B: The residential rental unit has minor violations of applicable city codes requiring reinspection, but the violations do not pose an immediate threat of danger to the life, health and safety of the occupants of the unit. These units would be reinspected every two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Class C: The residential rental unit has multiple or significant violations of applicable city codes requiring reinspection, but the violations do not pose an immediate threat of danger to the life, health or safety of the occupants of the unit. These units would be reinspected yearly. * Class D: The residential rental unit has serious health and safety violations that pose a threat to the health and safety of the occupants or of the public. The Building Official/Inspector shall not issue a Conditional Certificate of Occupancy and may issue a condemnation order. These units would be inspected again in 60 days and occupancy would not be allowed. Exempt property types would include owner-occupied, single-family homes and portions of owner-occupied multi-family buildings, licensed nursing home facilities, hotels, motels and other lodging that rents for 30 days or less, not including short-term rentals like Airbnb. Properties owned by government agencies or public housing authorities would also be exempt, provided they are subject to inspection by other agencies. The City Council also reviewed a proposed budget for the rental inspection program during Monday's meeting, including $76,009 for personnel pay and $70,050 for materials and services, which includes a truck for the rental inspector, two desktop computers, a computer dock for the truck and an iWorQ software module to help manage the program. However, Schmidt said this is just a "rough budget" and would need further review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You should take the $150,000 that you want to put into a program and hire yourself a good attorney that is going to go out there and take every one of these substandard properties to court and get a demolition order and start tearing them down," Kleckler said during the meeting. The first version of the residential rental housing code was discussed on Oct. 21, 2024, at a Sterling City Council meeting, where Erickson said the ordinance "is not ready to go" and cautioned that without making changes, it could violate state statutes. Erickson attended Monday's City Council meeting and said that despite the council stating in October that her group had provided good comments on the original draft, the city did not share their updated draft proposal with them and never returned her group's inquiries for further collaboration. "What your ordinance does is it creates a licensing system," Neeley said. "You can already go in and inspect these properties. If you have concerns about life, health and safety standards, you can already do this. This program just adds a fee structure and affects those who are not problem property owners in your community. We strongly encourage you to rethink who your targeted enforcement should be against. The ordinance is too broad, it's too costly and will harm the very residents it seeks to protect." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erickson went on to criticize poorly defined language within the draft proposal. "You can't even define what annual registration is," Erickson said. "Is it a date? Is it the time that they start the inspection? What is it? Simple things that you can update in the ordinance that would provide more clarity for those who are doing business in your community and providing housing to those who desperately need it to live and work here. Good housing stock should be left alone and not subjected to arbitrary building codes created after its existence. "The inspection process is too subjective, and it creates an unfunded mandate that will drive up the costs for housing providers for residents, and ultimately reduce the rental affordability and availability in your community." Substandard living conditions and vague language Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the updated draft proposal, substandard conditions include, "Any building or structure or portion thereof used for residential rental purposes shall be deemed and declared to be substandard when it does not comply with the minimum standards of the 2021 International Building Code (IBC), 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code, 2021 NFPA70 Electrical Code, Illinois State Plumbing Code, National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code, 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, and the 2021 International Fire Code, all as amended and revised." However, another key concern Erickson shared during the Oct. 21 City Council meeting is that deeming rental properties that fail to meet the 2021 IBC as "substandard" would "eliminate over half of Sterling's housing stock because it was not built to those codes." Sterling's consulting planner, Dustin Wolff, backed Erickson's claim during that meeting with study data showing that 78% of Sterling's housing stock was built before 1980. However, Sterling Mayor Diana Merdian said the city plans to use the 2021 IBC as a reference and will not be looking to apply every part of those codes in their inspections. Instead, she said they would use a checklist outlining what needs to be met from the codes. "We used a checklist that we already have on hand for some property maintenance issues that will definitely get expanded," Schmidt said. "That will go out ahead of time before any inspection is done so the landlord will know exactly what will be looked at and inspected, and they can be ready for it." Despite those assurances, the updated draft proposal still gives the city the authority to impose fines and enforce violations of the 2021 IBC that are not included in the city's final checklist should it choose to do so. The updated draft proposal goes on to include the following in its definition of "substandard conditions": * Lack of an operable flush toilet * Lack of an operable kitchen sink * Lack of running water * Inadequate heating * Inadequate light/ventilation * Inadequate electricity * Lack of operable electrical service, wiring, or fixtures * Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents * Lack of connection to an approved sewage disposal system * Inadequate garbage and rubbish storage facilities * Structural hazards, including, but not limited to, the following: * Deteriorated foundations * Deteriorated or defective flooring or floor supports * Deteriorated walls, partitions or other vertical supports that split, lean, list or buckle * Deteriorated or dilapidated ceilings, rooms, roofs, support structures or other structural members which sag, split, lean or buckle * Deteriorated fireplaces or chimneys which list, bulge, or are in need of tuckpointing * Inadequate wiring * Inadequate plumbing * Inadequate mechanical equipment, such as furnaces and vents not maintained in a safe and operable condition * Faulty weather protection, such as defective walls, roofs, windows and doors which admit the elements * Occupancy by permanent residents that exceeds the maximum occupancy limit for the residential rental unit defined by any applicable code But what is inadequate wiring and plumbing? While the updated draft proposal does not provide specifics, a Rental Inspection Program FAQ document shared by the city on its website provides the following answers: * Heating units must be permanent and maintain a minimum of 68 degrees from October through April. * There should be at least one operable window of approved size per room and lighting must be sufficient to maintain sanitary conditions and safely utilize the space. Bathrooms must have an operable window or ventilation. * Electrical systems cannot be hazardous to the occupants or structure and there cannot be any exposed wiring. Plumbing fixtures must be properly installed and in working order. "We're not looking to say all your shingles have to match," Schmidt said. "We're saying your roof isn't leaking. Your electrical is safe. You don't have wires hanging out of the wall. We've been in houses where you walk in and you can see where there have been electrical issues, where there's burn marks and they haven't been taken care of." Enforcement According to the ordinance, owners would not be the only ones subject to accountability. Tenants would still be responsible for maintaining the general upkeep and sanitary conditions within the rental unit, including removing garbage and not letting it build up. They are also responsible for ensuring the unit remains undamaged and for behaving in a manner that does not create disturbances or nuisances. Any violations found during the inspection would be provided to the owners and tenants in writing and be subject to a fine. If the violations do not pose a life-safety risk to the occupants, the responsible party would have 30 days to correct them and schedule a reinspection. However, if the violations pose a threat, the city could take action, including seeking a court order. Some landlords have expressed concerns that supply chain issues could delay access to materials needed to fix violations within the given timeframe. However, Schmidt has said the city will work with landlords on those timeframes provided they can show that they are working to correct the violations. Schmidt said this is the third time over the past 16 years that the city has tried to pass this ordinance, and if it does not pass this time, many in the current administration are ready to walk away from the issue. If it does pass, she said it will take several months to iron out the program's kinks before inspections begin. "I would see it be six months out before our first inspection," Schmidt said. "I would see some practice inspections just to work out the bugs and see how our checklist works. There's definitely going to be some bumps in the road. But I think we're in a good place to finally get this on the books and get moving in the right direction." No action was taken during Monday's City Council meeting and Merdian said further changes could still be made before the final draft proposal is put to a vote, which is tentatively scheduled for the next City Council meeting on Monday, March 17. About a month ahead of the April 1 election, a large percentage of Wisconsin voters still don't have an opinion about the two candidates running for the state Supreme Court, according to a new Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin voters released Wednesday. The poll found conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel was viewed favorably by 29% of the registered voters and unfavorably by 32%. About two out of five said they had no opinion of him. His opponent, liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, was given favorable ratings by 19% of the voters, compared to 23% who viewed her unfavorably. Nearly three out of five said they don't know enough about her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Politicians try to avoid having higher unfavorable than favorable percentages, a condition known as being under water politically. The numbers show Schimel was under water by 3 percentage points, while Crawford was under by 4 points. Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette poll, said he chose not to do a head-to-head rating, in which respondents would say which candidate they preferred, because the high percentage of voters do not know either candidate. Another poll is not planned before the election. "We didn't ask the horserace question," Franklin said. The poll surveyed 864 registered voters, between Feb. 19-26. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The poll found that 39% of the respondents had heard a lot about the Supreme Court race, while 42% said they had some familiarity with the race. Nearly one in five said they had not heard anything about the contest. Overall, a little more than a majority of registered voters said they had a clear view of Schimel's positions in the race, but 35% said they had not heard enough. For Crawford, 41% said they knew where she stood on the issues, while 42% said they were unaware of her stances. Franklin said the voters' unfamiliarity with the candidates will change as the election nears. "Some of this will be cured over the four weeks of campaigning that we have left," he said. "But, again, at this point, many voters simply don't know enough to choose." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Franklin did not conduct a survey before the 2023 Supreme Court contest in which liberal Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative Dan Kelly, handing liberals control of the high court for the first time in at least a decade. This year's race between Crawford and Schimel is being watched closely nationally because it will determine whether liberals will continue to maintain control of the highest court in this swing state. The court is expected to rule in cases affecting abortion, unions rights, congressional redistricting and election laws. The high-stakes race could also serve as an early litmus test for Republicans and Democrats after President Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in November. Interestingly, the Marquette poll found that 83% of registered voters realize the election could tip the balance of power on the Supreme Court, even if they did not know the candidates well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, nearly 80% of registered voters said they prefer that court candidates discuss the issues during the race. That was true of both Republicans and Democrats. But a strong majority said they don't like it that the state Republican and Democratic parties are now contributing millions of dollars to the Supreme Court candidates. According to the poll, 61% of the public believes these donations reduce the independence of the candidates. Both candidates are spending heavily on TV ads in the weeks leading up to the election. So far, Crawford has raised at least $7.7 million, including $3 million from the state Democratic Party. Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, has reported taking in $5.1 million from donors, including $1.67 million from the state GOP. As was the case two years ago, the heaviest spending is being done by outside groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The super PAC run by Elon Musk, America PAC, has already reported spending $3.2 million on digital ads, texting and voter turnout in support of Schimel. Another group funded by Musk, Building America's Future, has dropped more than $2 million on TV ads attacking Crawford. Other conservative groups in the race include a Fair Courts America, which is largely funded by GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein, and Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin. More: Bice: Elon Musk-backed political group is posting fake pro-Susan Crawford ads on Facebook On the liberal side, Crawford is being helped by TV ads paid for A Better Wisconsin Together that attack Schimel. The group has reported spending more than $2.3 million this year. The overall spending in this year's race is expected to exceed the $56 million total in the 2023 Supreme Court race, the most ever spent in a state judicial race in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Bice: Susan Crawford says Elon Musk's spending is bad but George Soros' donation is just fine In recent weeks, Schimel has come under criticism for his testing of 6,000 sexual assault kits while attorney general and his support for an 1849 abortion ban. Crawford, meanwhile, has come under fire for the sentences she handed down in sexual assault cases while on the Dane County bench. The two candidates will meet for a debate on March 12. Crawford and Schimel will face off in the hourlong debate before a live audience at the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law School. WISN-TV (Channel 12) will host and moderate the event. Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates remain unknown, Marquette poll say STATESBORO, Ga (WSAV): Two men who supplied kilograms of cocaine for a major drug trafficking conspiracy have been sentenced to federal prison. Pedro Castro-Vasquez, a/k/a Chipo, 53, of Puerto Rico, and Sonic Torres-Garcia, 27, of Kissimmee, Florida, were each sentenced after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Cocaine, said Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall sentenced Castro-Vasquez to 180 months in prison and a fine of $1,500, followed by three years of supervised release, and sentenced Torres-Garcia to 180 months in prison, consecutive to other pending state and federal cases, and a fine of $2,500, followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conspiracy identified in this multi-year investigation was responsible for importing and distributing large quantities of drugs in the Southern District, said Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons. Multiple law enforcement agencies persisted through this lengthy investigation in identifying the key players in this drug trafficking operation, holding them accountable for spreading misery in the Southern District. As described in the 49-count indictment unsealed in November 2022, Operation Carpet Ride identified a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Effingham, Evans, Liberty, Richmond, and Tattnall counties, and elsewhere, from as early as January 2016. The conspiracy imported large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs from and through Puerto Rico, into Florida and the Southern District. This case represents the continued commitment of the Drug Enforcement Administration to identify and hold accountable those who engage in the distribution of dangerous drugs, said Jae W. Chung, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service employs a whole-of-government approach to combatting illicit drugs in the mail, said Steven Hodges, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division. This case, and our partnerships, illustrate our strategy in action. Protecting the American public through criminal investigations like this is a top priority of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; the Puerto Rico State Police; the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; the Tattnall County Sheriffs Office; the Bulloch County Sheriffs Office; the Evans County Sheriffs Office; the Barceloneta Police Department; the Claxton Police Department; and the Glennville Police Department; and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Pennington II and OCDETF Coordinator Marcela C. Mateo. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. An Atlanta-based parking app has reached a $32,800,000 settlement years after users personal information was exposed in a data breach. Georgians affected by the 2021 ParkMobile data breach can claim up to $25 through the class action settlement. But Wednesday, March 5 is the last day to submit a claim. You can file a claim by clicking here. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In March 2021, 21 million ParkMobile customers nationwide had their information potentially exposed, according to several federal lawsuits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company denies allegations that they didnt have adequate security for users names, license plate numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, passwords, credit card information, home addresses and more. TRENDING STORIES: A federal judge is expected to give final approval for the settlement at a March 13 hearing in Atlanta. If the settlement is approved, those who did not file a claim or exclude themselves from the settlement will receive a $1 credit in the ParkMobile app. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] HONOLULU (AP) Lava from a Hawaii volcano shot into the sky Tuesday in tall fountains that were expected to grow even bigger as part of an off-and-on eruption. The eruption began Dec. 23 in a crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the worlds most active volcanoes, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big island. Tuesday was the eruption's 12th episode. What began in the morning with sporadic, small flows became continuous fountaining in the afternoon, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. They reached 150 to 165 feet (45 to 60 meters) and were expected to grow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A webcam showed a vigorous fountain of bright red lava. No residential areas have been threatened by the eruption. People have been flocking to overlook sites inside the park for views of the fiery show. The length of time for each fountaining episode has varied from several hours to several days. Episodes have been separated by pauses lasting from less than 24 hours to 12 days, according to the observatory. Rep. Dylan Jordan, R-Clear Lake, participates in a South Dakota House Education Committee on Jan. 22, 2025. Jordan sponsored a bill this year that would have repealed the state's seat belt law. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) In 2016 I was in my first year of covering the legislative session for the South Dakota Newspaper Association. During the course of my work there, I was struck by how good-humored legislators were as they went about making laws. I started to keep a place in the back of my notebook where I wrote down their quips and asides. Eventually that collection resulted in a decent feature story. As I look back on that story, I see that one of the most frequent jokers was Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, who is once again in Pierre serving in Gov. Larry Rhodens administration. Welcoming Pierre fifth-graders in the Senate gallery, Michels asked his colleagues, Are we smarter than a fifth grader? Opening debate on a bill that would put South Dakota permanently on daylight saving time, Michels asked, Does anybody really know what time it is? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Somehow that feature got dropped the next year, and the subsequent years I was in Pierre. Maybe I got lazy. Maybe lawmakers werent funny anymore. Maybe they were sticking all their humor into the bills that they filed. There sure have been a few this year that have been worth a chuckle. First, lets go ahead and unbuckle those seat belts Mercifully killed in committee early in the session, House Bill 1065 would have repealed the states seat belt law. Never mind the years of statistics that show that seat belts save lives. Never mind that if the state were to ever rescind the seat belt law, it stands to lose millions of dollars in federal highway funds. None of that mattered to the bills sponsor, Rep. Dylan Jordan, a Clear Lake Republican. In a story by The Dakota Scout, Jordan told the House Transportation Committee that the states seat belt law was a matter of government overreach that took away his personal freedom. Jordans rationale was that South Dakotans would buckle up anyway. We dont need the government to tell us how to protect ourselves. We can do that on our own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That kind of logic could lead to more legislation that drops the age requirements for consuming alcohol. Thirsty 18-year-olds would probably recognize the need for public safety and refuse to consume any alcohol until they were 21. While were at it, lets defund the Huron School District Its not often when a piece of legislation angers so many people that its withdrawn by the sponsor before it gets a hearing and causes the sponsor to lose the vice chairmanship of a committee in the process. Thats what happened to Rep. Phil Jensen when the Rapid City Republican sponsored HB 1224, a bill that called for defunding the Huron School District. The bill didnt include any reason for the defunding, though Jensen said he had heard bad things about the schools bathroom policy for transgender students. It seems that the only way to bring the school district in line was to take away its state funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A bill that empowers people to file lawsuits against schools when students use the wrong bathroom is working its way through the Legislature. Jensen might still be vice-chairman of the House Education Committee if that bill had been filed before his. (Jensen, by the way, is on the House Transportation Committee and was one of two representatives to vote for abolishing the seat belt law.) Then lets lead away a few librarians in handcuffs HB 1239 would have librarians face arrest and jail time if they allow youngsters to view material thats defined by state law as obscene or harmful to minors. According to at least one lawmaker on the House Education Committee, arrest is too good for them if they let kids see the naughty bits. If a librarian rented this out to my son or daughter, youd be lucky if you got hauled out in handcuffs, Rep. Travis Ismay, a Newell Republican, was quoted as saying in a South Dakota Searchlight story. So, yes, if theyre breaking the law anyway, why would we have any problem with librarians getting hauled out of the library in handcuffs? Librarians in handcuffs sounds like the title of a book that Ismay wouldnt want his kids to read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State law has a long legal definition of whats obscene. However, obscenity is too often in the eye of the beholder, leaving librarians open to accusations of providing improper material to minors for a whole range of books. If HB 1239 becomes law, it may be safer for librarians to insist that every child who checks out a book is accompanied by a parent. Librarians have been fighting off book banning nationwide. Often those bans are aimed at books for young readers. While HB 1239 doesnt ban any books, it still puts a bullseye on librarians, making them the likely target of anyone whos disgruntled enough to want to make trouble in the name of protecting children. There has to come a time when legislation isnt required for every facet of life. Lawmakers should leave highway safety, school bathroom policies and library check-out rules to the professionals in those fields. There used to be a time when Republicans were for smaller government and not nitpicking every decision made by someone else. (By the way, Jensen is still on the House Education Committee. He was one of 10 committee members who voted in favor of HB 1239.) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Five years for bar shooting A judge sentenced an East Chicago man to five years Tuesday for his second bar shooting in just over a year. Justin Gomez, 27, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to battery resulting in serious bodily injury and unlawful carrying of a handgun. Court records state he shot a man who tried to break up a Griffith bar fight. When youre in here, (I havent had a problem), Judge Samuel Cappas told him. When you get out on the street, you become a different person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Griffith Police responded at 2:25 a.m. Dec. 10, 2023 to Shades of Time bar, 1813 W. 45th St., for a reported shooting. The victim a bystander said he was trying to stop his friend from fighting a man in the parking lot when he was shot. Court records state he was shot twice in the right thigh and back/side, which exited through his abdomen. He was airlifted to a Chicago hospital. The bars security video showed Gomezs brother exiting the bar when he bumped into another man. Gomez, leaving behind him, threw a punch. The men start migrating to the parking lot to fight when Gomez takes out a gun, drops it, picks it up and fires two shots. Gomez was sentenced to 18 months probation on Oct. 10 for a different bar shooting in August 2022. He was caught on video shooting a man after an argument inside El Sombrero bar in East Chicago. He was also ordered to undergo anger management as part of that plea deal. Man pleads guilty as getaway driver in witness murder-for-hire A former Gary man pleaded guilty Tuesday as the getaway driver in a 2010 murder-for-hire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jamell Brooks, 34, signed a plea deal Feb. 27 in the U.S. District Court in Hammond for accessory after the fact. His sentencing hearing is June 24. Federal prosecutors say high-ranking Sin City Deciples member Ronnie Major paid his brother-in-law Antoine Gates, who is Brooks stepfather, to kill Jocelyn Pie Face Blair, 31, on Dec. 19, 2010. She was shot inside Coney Island Restaurant in Gary. Brooks said during Tuesdays hearing he was forced to participate and Gates tried to have him kill Blair at the Gary motorcycle gangs clubhouse. But after leaving the Sin City Deciples Club, Michael Rivera went in a car with Blair, while Gates and Brooks rode in another car, to Coney Island on Broadway, court records show. Gates went inside, and the man said he heard seven or eight shots, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt know he was going to kill the girl, but I knew he wanted to, Brooks said Tuesday, later adding, Ive never seen someone go into a restaurant and kill somebody. Gates returned to the car and said he shot Blair in the head and had accidentally shot Rivera in the thigh, court records state. Blair was a witness against Major in a 2008 Gary shooting. Major was convicted at a Lake County trial of battery in 2011 and released in 2012, records show. According to court documents, Major reportedly gave Gates 10 stacks or $10,000 for Blairs homicide. Rape trial opens A trial opened Tuesday for a Gary man charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old runaway girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kenneth Y. Jones, 46, is charged with rape, a Level 3 felony, and criminal confinement, a Level 6 felony. He has pleaded not guilty. Gary detectives responded June 17 to the home on the 1400 block of Delaware after police got a tip that a girl was held there. When her father showed up, the girl said she had stayed there for a week. A second man offered to give her a ride home in a dark SUV but took her to the Delaware Street house. She later said he tried to have sex with her in the vehicle. At the house, another girl, Nikki, tried to undress her in an upstairs bedroom. The second man tried to have sex with her but she refused. Both Jones and the second man forced her to perform a sex act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones blew smoke from a glass pipe in her face, making her dizzy, the affidavit states. She later guessed it was crack cocaine. The second man told her he had sex with young girls, and told her not to say anything about it or he would go to jail. In a police interview, Jones denied touching the girl or blowing smoke in her face but admitted the girl was being held in the home. Appeal denied for knocking Merrillville womans teeth out The Indiana Court of Appeals denied an Illinois mans bid to overturn his conviction for knocking his then-pregnant girlfriends teeth out in Merrillville in March 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Malik McKee, 31, of Hazel Crest, Ill., was convicted in June 2024 of aggravated battery and three counts of domestic battery. His earliest release date is in 2030. In a 3-0 decision on Feb. 27, Appeals Judge Cale Bradford wrote Judge Natalie Bokota was correct to let prosecutors admit the victims statements to a neighbor, that McKee had beat her for a few days, and what the victim directly said to cops in front of the home and at the hospital captured on body cam. It was covered under the excited utterance exception to hearsay rules, he wrote. McKee can appeal the decision to the Indiana Supreme Court. Appeal denied for groping teen at library The appeals court also upheld the conviction for a man convicted of groping a 16-year-old girl at the Hammond Public Library in November 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tony Clark, 23, was convicted in April of sexual battery, a Level 6 felony. In a 3-0 decision on Feb. 27, Appeals Judge Leanna Weissmann wrote there was enough evidence to prove it happened. Online records from the Indiana Department of Corrections show Clarks release date is March 11. Post-Tribune archives contributed. A state representative whose lawsuit challenging Gov. Kevin Stitts authority to order state employees to stop working remotely and return to an office setting was dismissed by an Oklahoma County judge has appealed that decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. State Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, filed the appeal on Tuesday, one day after District Judge Brent Dishman dismissed Fugates separation-of-powers lawsuit, saying the lawmaker had no standing to file it. Fugate filed the lawsuit on Feb. 21. He contended Stitt did not have the authority to issue such an order because it violated the Oklahoma Constitution. Fugate maintained that the Legislature should be the entity that decides if and when state workers should return to the office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stitt issued the order on Dec. 18 and made it effective Feb. 1, saying the move was needed to "hold stragglers accountable." The order said forcing state employees to return to traditional work environments was a critical step in accountability and delivering services effectively. More: Judge tosses lawmaker's suit against Stitt over return-to-office order for state workers Rep. Andy Fugate is appealing an Oklahoma County judge's decision to dismiss his lawsuit against Gov. Kevin Stitt to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Fugate had asked Dishman to declare Stitts executive order as exceeding his constitutional or statutory authority, to declare the order void, and to issue temporary and permanent injunctions preventing Stitt from enforcing or implementing the order. In his ruling issued Monday, Dishman noted he could only find one past case in which an individual legislator filed a lawsuit against an Oklahoma governor. Dishman said it would cause chaos if individual legislators routinely took a governor to court whenever there was a disagreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If that were an acceptable form of political action, this Court would find that there should be plenty of case law on that, Dishman said in his ruling. In the absence of such, he said, it leads me to believe that thats not acceptable and that the correct avenue to address these issues is through the political process and not through the judicial one. Fugates attorney, Richard Labarthe, told Dishman on Monday he would be pursuing an expedited appeal. In court documents, Labarthe wrote (T)he lower court erred in dismissing (Fugates) suit based on standing and in failing to recognize the constitutional violation and irreparable harm. Fugate is asking for a reversal of Dishmans ruling, that the Supreme Court declare Stitts order unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable, and that the Supreme Court remand the case to Dishman with instructions to the District Court to grant appropriate injunctive relief consistent with the law. After Mondays ruling, Stitt issued a statement about Dishmans ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My order was just common sense taxpayers are better served when the state employees who work for them are in the office, ready to work," Stitt said. "This lawsuit was a political stunt to grab headlines and try to get the court to legislate from the bench. I'm glad that Judge Dishman dismissed the case quickly before it cost the taxpayers any more time and money to defend. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawmaker appeals return-to-office lawsuit to OK Supreme Court This newly passed law could have a devastating impact on the Amazon rainforest. What's happening? In early January, lawmakers in Mato Grosso, Brazil, voted to pass a law that would loosen environmental protections in the state and allow for massive amounts of deforestation. The law would reclassify certain areas of the Amazon as Cerrado areas and loosen protections by doing so. Existing "Mato Grosso properties sitting on the Amazon biome, which have to protect 80% of native vegetation as per Brazil's Forestry Code, could have been converted into Cerrado areas, which have to preserve a much lower 35%," per Reuters. Why is preserving the Amazon important? The newly designated Cerrado areas will lead to the destruction of native vegetation to make way for large-scale agricultural and industrial projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Amazon Environmental Research Institute stressed that the amount of land lost could be massive. "The new legislation could cause an increase in deforestation estimated at 5.2 million hectares ... an area the size of Costa Rica," the institute said, according to Reuters. The Amazon is the world's largest forest it spans over eight countries and is nearly the size of the continental United States. The Amazon is home to nearly 40 million people, hundreds of billions of trees, and "about one in 10 known species on Earth," the World Wildlife Fund reported. Despite its massive size, nearly 20% of the forest has been destroyed in just 50 years. As deforestation continues, the Amazon could reach its "tipping point," where it can no longer sustain itself and will collapse. As one of our planet's largest carbon sinks, this would have a devastating impact on the planet and accelerate changes to the climate. What's being done to protect the land? The governor of Mato Grosso, Mauro Mendes, vetoed the bill and insisted a new bill, "'consistent with the environmental laws,' will be presented in up to 90 days," quoted Reuters. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Meanwhile, activists, researchers, and conservationists work in many different ways to protect the Amazon's land, people, and wildlife. Preservation and restoration are working deforestation has been drastically reduced, coalitions are formed to better protect the land, and endangered species populations are on the rise. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. This story has been updated with senators comments and additional information throughout. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Gov. Larry Rhoden might soon become the last of his kind in South Dakota. Thats because a proposal to change how lieutenant governor candidates are picked has made its way through the Legislature. 3 puppies in false dumpster story ready for adoption If Rhoden signs House Bill 1164 into law, the days of political parties choosing lieutenant governors at their summer conventions will become a thing of the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 1164 calls for the candidates for governor to choose their running mates no later than the second Tuesday of August before the election. I think its a bad process. I think weve had this convention process for many, many years with the lieutenant governor being picked, Republican Sen. Tom Pischke said. And I know its been a little cumbersome with the last two lieutenant governor picks, I will admit that, but I think the process still works its way out. The situation came to a head at the 2022 Republican convention in Watertown. Incumbent Gov. Kristi Noem had crushed Steven Haugaard, who at the time was the House speaker, in the June Republican primary 91,661 to 28,315, and she wanted Rhoden to continue as her lieutenant governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But many of the convention delegates wanted Haugaard, who had been openly critical of some of her policies, such as how her administration initially responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, to be her running mate instead. The potential that she would have to run with Haugaard led to Noem needing to give a speech on the convention floor, asking delegates to support Rhoden. He eventually secured the nomination. In January this year, Rhoden became governor, after the U.S. Senate confirmed Noem as the new federal Homeland Security secretary. During that same 2022 GOP convention, delegates had ousted the incumbent secretary of state, Steve Barnett, and chose Monae Johnson instead as the new Republican candidate. After the convention had wrapped up that Saturday afternoon, the South Dakota Freedom Caucus held its organizational meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of that shifting change of direction driven by a different faction of Republicans, the Legislature struggled the past two years over changing the process of how candidates for lieutenant governors are chosen. The side wanting to keep the choice in the hands of the convention delegates repeatedly won. Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith was his partys nominee for governor in 2022. He spoke Tuesday in favor of the proposed change. I think it would be really uncomfortable to have a running mate that you didnt lock with, that you didnt work with well, because you spend a whole lot of time together, let me tell you, and youve got to go around the state doing the same thing and believing in the same thing, and having a vision and moving it forward and working together, and it better be somebody you can work with, Smith said. And when you get here, to do our lieutenant governors job now, youve got to be able to work together, too. Thats how this place works, this place runs, because theres people that can work together, Smith continued. If that relationship were fractured, I dont think that would be good for South Dakota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Sen. Kevin Jensen spoke against the proposed change. He agreed that the governor and lieutenant governor should work in lockstep. And except for one maybe glitch at one recent convention, thats always been the case. This just seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to one uncomfortable situation we had a couple years ago, Jensen said. I really dont like the idea were taking our political party and putting it into law. Jensen said he would be against the bill. Its not because I dont think the governor should have the right to pick, but I think the (proposed) process is wrong, he said. This year had initially looked like a repeat of the past two years, as HB 1164 failed to get out of its House committee hearing. But its prime sponsor, Republican Rep. Tim Goodwin, found a way to revive it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Goodwin rounded up enough support on the House floor to force the committee to release the bill. It came out without recommendation, meaning it needed a vote on whether it should be debated. If that vote failed, the bill was dead. But the vote came out 43-27 to put it on the debate calendar. From there, the bill found new life and surged through the House 45-25. The Senate on Tuesday voted 22-12 for final legislative approval. And sitting quietly in the Senate gallery, watching by herself, was First Lady Sandy Rhoden. Republican Sen. Ernie Otten said he agreed with many of the comments that Jensen had made but he also believed that the governor should be able to pick the person he wants. Coming at the end of the day, his administration will either fail or prosper by who hes got around him. Thats his decision, Otten said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Otten said hes started to look at how other states processes and laws regarding their lieutenant governors. In Idaho, he said, the governor and lieutenant governor have somewhat opposing views, and when the governor leaves town, the lieutenant governor jumps in and starts writing orders that the governor in turn must reverse when he returns. He said other states have had similar problems. And I think thats a very poor way to govern, Otten said. And while I do believe the process for a while has worked with what weve got, I think it is about time that we change and allow just the governor after hes gone through his primary he can say, This is my guy you come vote for me, this is my man, if I fall, this is the guy thats going to pick it up, and I think thats just a better way to go, Otten said. Republican Sen. David Wheeler said the Legislature makes laws about how candidates reach the election ballot some through primary elections, some through state political conventions. He said the lieutenant governor doesnt fit well with either one. He said its incredibly important for the lieutenant governor to be a partner. But if someone is nominated by a convention who is a political opponent of the governor within the party, then that relationship wont occur. It would be detrimental to public policy in our state to have that occur, Wheeler said. He added, It would be bad for our state, bad for public policy, bad for elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Sen. Amber Hulse said 26 states already use the proposed process. She pushed back against the opponents arguments. In other states they even have two different parties, a lieutenant governor from a different party that their governor sometimes, too, and thats not a direction I want our state to go in, Hulse said. South Dakota in fact separately elected lieutenant governors until 1974, when major changes to the South Dakota Constitutions executive article took effect. One was that the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor should be jointly elected. Republican Sen. Jim Mehlhaff said the 2022 situation wasnt the first time. He said a similar situation also occurred at the Republican convention in 2018. So its kind of gotten to be a trend, and its bad for the parties to have that division coming out of the June convention going into the general election. Its better to have a unified ticket with the governor choosing the candidate and a partner to help govern the state, Mehlhaff said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the bills Senate committee hearing, a lawyer for the governors office joined Goodwin in arguing for it, while the South Dakota Republican central committees newly elected chair, Jim Eschenbaum of Miller, and vice chair, Janet Jensen of Rapid City, testified against it. Jensen is married to Republican Rep. Phil Jensen, who was recently elected as the new chair of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus. The groups website shows a picture of the state Capitol dome and proclaims the slogan, Fighting For Our Republic, While Upholding Our Oaths to the Constitution. As to the new leadership of the South Dakota Republican central committee now opposing the change, Mehlhaff said the central committee had formally supported the change the past two years under its previous leaders. And they did because it was good policy then, he said. Its good policy now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. BOSTON (WWLP) A special commission on emerging gun technology met on Tuesday to discuss how legislation should evolve as guns become more and more sophisticated. The commission is considering implementing a law that would mandate microstamping, a technology that engraves a unique code on a guns firing pin that is then stamped on cartridge casings when the gun is fired. This allows law enforcement to more efficiently identify the gun used in a crime. Victim identified in Allen Park Rd. shooting in Springfield Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jim Wallace is the Executive Director of the Gun Owners Action League. His organization has been a vocal opponent of Massachusetts newest gun law, passed in July. He said microstamping is an ineffective way to catch criminals. Once somethings in the hands of a criminal, they dont care about the penalties, and the serial number is useless, Wallace said. So theres so many ways to defeat this thing for a criminal. One local lawmaker pushed back against Wallace, saying that while he may dispute how effective the measure would be, it would still be a useful forensic tool for law enforcement to have in their toolboxes. Microstamping is envisioned as a tool for law enforcement, said Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D, Melrose). It may be imperfect, it may need to be developed over time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wallace said every time lawmakers pass a gun law, it has a negative impact on Bay State residents and is a burden to gun owners across the state. Lawmakers plan to continue to study how effective microstamping may be before recommending that Massachusetts implements the policy. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is being sued by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) over claims the Prisoners Legal Services (PLS) has been unable to communicate openly with clients incarcerated at DOCCS facilities amid the strikes. Correctional officers at nearly all New York State prisons have been on strike since Feb. 17, calling for safer working conditions and a repeal of the HALT Act. As a result of these unsanctioned strikes, visitation was initially canceled at several striking facilities, a move that has since been modified, with safety enhancements and requirements for visitors added, including the use of body scanners for folks looking to visit DOCCS facilities. This new lawsuit, filed on behalf of PLS on Tuesday, claims that since the strikes started, inmates have been denied proper access to legal representation by PLS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PLS has been unable to speak securely to many of its current and prospective clients, despite reports that people on the inside cannot access medicine, healthcare, and food, that incarcerated individuals are being held in solitary confinement, that assaults within the prison are going unaddressed by staff, and that at least seven people have died, among other deprivations, the lawsuit stated. 15 now on leave after inmate death at Mid-State prison The strikes are nearing the three-week mark, despite a deal struck that includes penalties for those whove continued to strike after March 1. In one example, the lawsuit claimed one of PLS clients was assaulted by correctional staff at the Mid-State Correctional Facility this weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PLS attorneys have been attempting to have a legal call with a client at Mid-State Correctional Facility, who has a March 20, 2025 deadline for a notice of appeal in a work release challenge in state court. On March 3, his PLS attorney received a report that this client was assaulted by members of the prisons correctional staff on or around Friday, Feb. 28, or Saturday, March 1, the lawsuit claimed. Of the reported deaths of incarcerated individuals in recent weeks, the lawsuit claimed that the death of one inmate in particular, Jonathan Grant at Auburn Correctional Facility, was the direct result of his medical help requests being denied. Its alleged the 61-year-old man had several strokes, including at least one in the week prior to his death, the lawsuit stated. The lawsuit claimed PLS clients at DOCCS facilities have been unable to schedule legal visits since Feb. 18. The suspension of legal calls at several DOCCS facilities, including but not limited to Attica, Auburn, Franklin, Marcy and Midstate, is indefinite. Legal visits are indefinitely suspended at those facilities and many more, the lawsuit stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the lawsuit, these actions violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is asking for a reversal of these limitations and award costs and reasonable attorneys fees. News 8 reached out to DOCCS for comment but officials were unable to provide a statement citing ongoing litigation. Read the full lawsuit below: doccs-lawsuitDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. President Trumps address to Congress on Tuesday night has already made its way into court, with a group of plaintiffs seeking to dismantle the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) quickly latching onto the remarks. DOGE perhaps youve heard of it. Perhaps, Trump said during his address. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. In court, the administration has repeatedly insisted Musk is not a formal part of DOGE and that he is a senior adviser in the White House with no actual authority. The administration has instead named Amy Gleason as interim DOGE administrator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly McClanahan, an attorney representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming DOGEs setup doesnt comply with federal law, submitted a new court filing alerting the judge to Trumps remarks minutes after his speech concluded. Calling it new evidence, McClanahan asked the judge to keep Trumps speech in mind as she weighs a request that Musk and other officials sit for depositions in the case. The attorney wrote that the presidents speech conclusively demonstrates that expedited discovery is urgently needed to ascertain the nature of the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE faces more than two dozen lawsuits that challenge the groups rapid efforts to implant itself across the federal bureaucracy and cut spending, agency by agency. Musks role has become a central component of many of the cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McClanahan represents two individual attorneys who are suing over claims that DOGE is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which mandates various transparency requirements for advisory committees. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Biden who oversees the case, is set to soon rule on the plaintiffs request that Musk sit for a deposition. It would add to another judges ruling, issued last week, ordering certain officials involved in DOGE to sit for depositions as part of a separate lawsuit. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Air Force is facing an aging fleet and high maintenance requirements, at a time when global threats are rising and the military braces for budget cuts. "Threats are getting more numerous. They're getting more complex. They're getting more dense, and our country is more and more at risk than we ever have been before," warned Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, at the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora this week. China is investing heavily in its military, including its new stealth aircraft. Allvin laid out the big picture across the Air Force, making the case for greater investment at a time when the Department of Defense is looking to cut its budget by 8%, or about $50 billion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said when he announced the cuts that the military would not cut from certain priorities such as missile defense, nuclear modernization and drone technology. While some Air Force modernization efforts are currently paused, Allvin said, he expected they'll be approved after President Donald Trump's appointees to lead the Air Force are confirmed. "I have a hunch that when they see some of these things we're doing, we're going to be told to go faster," he said. Since 1990, the Air Force's number of fighter squadrons has declined 60%, the number of airmen declined by 40% and its number of installations in the U.S. declined by 15%. Allvin said the Air Force needs to reduce the infrastructure that does not add combat value, while buying new planes. The average age of an aircraft in the Air Force is about 30 years and as the fleet ages, it is getting more costly to maintain the planes and pilots can put in fewer training hours. "This is not sustainable," Allvin said. But it's also not impacting any critical missions yet, he said. "You don't know this on the front lines because of the miracles that are going on from our maintainers and those who are sustaining we're making it look easy," Allvin said. However, the Air Force is seeing progress with two collaborative combat aircraft prototypes that will be ready to fly this summer, he announced. The Air Force has been investing in pairing manned aircraft with drones that will be controlled by the pilot. "It's telling the world that we are leaning into a new chapter of aerial warfare," he said. While artificial intelligence shows great promise, the Air Force still needs to invest in pilots. The Mitchell Institute pointed out in a recent paper that's an area where the Air Force runs chronically about 2,000 pilots short. Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, director of Force Design, Integration, and Wargaming, highlighted the importance of pilots during a panel on Wednesday, noting that when autonomy breaks down, a person has to be in place. "I dont see us fully stepping away from manned aircraft ever," he said. The leader of a crew accused of stealing almost $1 million by using Jaws of Life to cut through ATMs was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for about a dozen charges. However, despite the long list of charges presented against him in the courtroom this morning, burglary wasnt among them. According to investigators, 30-year-old Scott Rhodes and three other suspects were involved in the theft of multiple ATMs and the subsequent damages done to the buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crew was linked to at least four instances as far back as Oct. 9, 2024, according to court documents. King County Prosecutors said Rhodes was allegedly involved in the following: Oct. 9, 2024 - The crew allegedly used the Jaws of Life to rip an ATM from a Wells Fargo at 3310 W McGraw Street in Seattles Magnolia neighborhood. They made off with $322,000 and caused nearly $80,000 in damage to the building, including the cost of replacing the ATM. There were two instances of theft on Oct. 7 that were linked to the group. Rhodes allegedly was only involved in the previously mentioned incident. Dec. 26, 2024 - The crew used Jaws of Life and a torch to pry open an ATM at a Wells Fargo at 8551 Greenwood Ave. N in Seattle. They made off with about $194,670 from the ATM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jan. 27, 2024 - Prosecutors Rhodes stole a construction excavator from a nearby construction site and crashed it into the BECU bank at 4319 Stone Way N in Seattles Wallingford neighborhood. They were able to access two ATMs that were housed inside the unlocked lobby of the building. One of the ATMs had about $101,000 cash in it. The other ATM was abandoned but was still attached to the excavator. Damages were about $500,000 to the building. All of these thefts were committed using Jaws of Life to break open the ATMs and safes. This is a tool that the everyday person does not have access to. It is used primarily by first responders to cut open severely damaged vehicles to get victims or patients out. Rhodes was arrested on Feb. 19 in an operation aimed at catching and arresting the other suspects involved. Three of those suspects all had outstanding warrants that were unrelated to the alleged ATM thefts, according to court documents. Seattle Police, King County Sheriffs deputies, Kent Police, an FBI agent, and the King County SWAT Team all responded to try and arrest Rhodes. He was found inside a parked car in Edgewood, and when he realized what was happening, he crawled out of the sunroof, dropped a large bag of what appears to be cocaine, and ran off, according to charging documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A K-9 with the sheriffs office caught up to him and bit him, allowing Rhodes to be arrested. Rhodes was also charged with first-degree kidnapping with a firearm, first-degree rape, and second-degree assault for an unrelated incident on Dec. 12, 2024. Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $2 million for Rhodes due to the facts of this case including the defendants access to large amounts of cash, as well as flight concerns as the defendant is a suspect in recent crimes in Oregon, court documents said. Prosecutors also say that Rhodes is likely to commit a violent offense and that he has a past record of committing offenses while on pretrial release, probation or parole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judge set bail at $250,000. On Wednesday, Rhodes was read the long list of charges against him at the Kent Regional Justice Center, but the theft charges were not among those being addressed today. Prosecutors say on December 12, 2024, Rhodes held a man at gunpoint with an AR-15, beat him, broke his nose, and sexually assaulted him. He was not arraigned on the charges related to ATM thefts that began last fall, as that arraignment was continued to a later date. A spokesperson for the King County Prosecutors Office confirmed that his office is still pursuing charges against Rhodes for his alleged role in the burglaries. Rhodes pled not guilty to the assault and rape charges, and the judge scheduled his arraignment on theft charges for March 19. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A final decision on the Kansas Citys proposed takeover of animal control services is expected later this week. On Tuesday, city leaders discussed an ordinance that would end the contract for outsourced animal control, which is currently under contract by KC Pet Project. Public complaints have reached City Hall. In Thursdays meeting, public comments came from people who say KC Pet Project animal services officers dont answer calls for help quickly enough, and they dont often issue citations to violators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Councilmembers on the Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee shared the concerns theyve heard about KC Pet Projects performance during the past four years. Kansas health officials post warning over growing measles outbreak The citys contract with Pet Project will expire on April 30th. It was extended by one year in 2024. Last week, Forest Decker, Kansas Citys director of Neighborhood Services, told FOX4 the city issued an request for proposal for a new vendor. Comments from members of the public in attendance on Thursday held that KC Pet Project officers dont enforce ordinances regarding dangerous animals, and the number of citations issued has dropped in the past two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KC Pet Project saw major changes in December, when two chief officers resigned from their posts. I think its great that leadership has changed, but its too late, and you dont hire quickly and fire slowly. Its the exact opposite and its time to go, Becca Craig, who favors city insourcing, said. Its a battle every call to get help for the animal, and were tired. Its time to bring it back. They have not enforced the ordinances, Kate Quigley, who manages Chain of Hope, said, voicing her frustration with KC Pet Project animal services. Decker demonstrated a plan that would return control to the city beginning in March. Decker said it would include 10 animal control officers on duty at all times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We looked at the reasons the citizens satisfaction was low at that time, and weve incorporated what we feel strongly about into a new plan. Were not going to run things like they were run before, Decker told the council committee. Steve Kaufman, KC Pet Projects interim CEO, and his groups leaders have acknowledged that some concerns may have been valid under some previous leaders. Kaufman told FOX4 that losing this animal control contract would result in a budget reduction for Pet Project. Joes Blog: Blizzard warning + wall of wind tonight (TUE 3/4) We see animals that are in distress, whether they have been neglected or abused. Were best able to handle that because of the training that we have for our training and our officers, Kaufman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kaufman said he wants to work with city leaders on a plan that works for both sides. Past KC Pet Project leaders have commented that a dangerous animal cant be confiscated without a judges order, due to the way current ordinances are written. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) Tuesday evening, State Senator Jo Comerford and State Rep. Mindy Domb hosted the American Civil Liberties Coalition Union of Massachusetts. In the meeting, legislators and organizations discussed with community members on ways they can support immigrants and refugees in Massachusetts. Real ID deadline two months away for travelers Ariana Keigan from the Pioneer Valley Workers Center spoke about her experience of working with immigrants, and how they are an important part in the American workforce. These are the folks who are building infrastructure in our commonwealth, she says. These are the folks that are putting food on our tables. And above all these are human beings. These are moms, dads, parents, neighbors, loved ones. And I think that its important that in these moments to remember we are talking about human beings, and not people that just bring economic value to our country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the union say they plan to meet again to discuss ways to ensure immigrant safety. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Tennessee has started to see a shift with respect to the opioid epidemic. While the number of overdoses happening within the state remains high, according to the Tennessee Department of Healths overdose dashboard, there has been some relief with respect to total drug overdoses over time. Lawmakers and law enforcement agencies hope one tool can keep the momentum going. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Mental illness and substance abuse is something near and dear to me, state representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) said before the Civil Justice Subcommittee. I dare say that everybody sitting here today doesnt know somebody whos overdosed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a conversation being held at the states highest level. Lawmakers have taken a closer look at how overdoses impact Tennesseans, as Michael Hotz with the Metro Nashville Police Departments Overdose Unit reported that the city saw 513 overdose deaths last year. Five hundred and thirteen is way too many, Hotz added. Thats way too many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and thats something we seek to change. Hotz called it a 30.4% reduction in overdose deaths for Nashville. While the number is a significant drop, Hotz said theres still something missing. We know that thats the only thing if someone is fallen over, dying from a fentanyl overdose the only thing that will help is naloxone, said George Massengill, who testified in favor of Rep. Faisons bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Faison pointed to Tennessees opioid abatement council, which was established after a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. The lawsuit resulted in Tennessee receiving $1.2 billion over 18 years to combat the crisis. Faisons bill proposes that 25% of those opioid abatement funds be allocated to naloxone, a life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Faison said currently, only 6-8% of the funds are being used on naloxone. Its an effort that is being echoed on a local level, with the MNPD working to distribute Narcan boxes to more areas throughout the city. Having naloxone and Narcan products in the general public is crucial, Hotz said. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com During a community meeting, Hotz explained that more than 6,000 overdose kits were distributed to different communities last year. He hopes to expand the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Did yall know that Nashville has the second-highest rate of overdose deaths in the United States? Not enough people know that, Hotz said. I would like to facilitate getting Narcan or naloxone products into your churches. Faisons bill is expected to pass with bipartisan support. It is set to be up for discussion again Wednesday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Against a backdrop recalling the suffragist movements work in securing womens voting rights, the League of Women Voters staged a protest ahead of President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. The nonpartisan organization wanted to provide a space of community for people to not feel so alone and reconnect with hope, Jennifer Jackson, president of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, said in an interview. People may have taken for granted their rights, she said, and now, many are feeling overwhelmed by the erosion of government institutions that weve relied on for many years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The League of Women Voters of Kentucky hosted three Light For Our Democracy protests around the state Tuesday night, and similar events were held around the country. The Lexington protest was staged in front of the suffragist statue at Mill and Vine streets. During the event, excerpts were read from a Feb. 14 letter the national League of Women Voters sent members of Congress, calling on them to exercise your authority to protect the rule of law, defend the Constitution, and end the overreach by the executive branch of government, which is surely leading to harm for millions of Americans. We demand that you honor your oaths and protect your constituents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They cited the Trump administrations attempt to end birthright citizenship, the reduction in the federal workforce, pausing the distribution of federal funds already allocated by Congress and giving non-elected citizens access to government systems as examples of executive overreach. So far, the League has seen limited action or response from members of Congress to assert its constitutional authority under Article I to protect our system of checks and balances, the rights of Americans, or democracy itself. Congress must do its part to ensure that our great democracy is preserved and safeguarded, the letter stated. Dikiea Elery, pastor of East Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), told those in attendance that it seems as if with every stroke of the pen, more calamities befall us. We are interconnected, and what happens for one always circles the block and affects everyone, she said, adding later, Let us not give in to fear, discrimination and injustice. ...I believe that love will win. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson urged attendees to register to vote, volunteer at the polls and advocate for policies protecting democracy by contacting their elected representatives. Democracy is not a guarantee. It is a right that must be defended, Lexington artist Erica Tilford told the crowd, as they raised candles high. Tilford said democracy fails when the people forget their power. Let us go forward with courage, with purpose and an unwavering belief that ... democracy is worth preserving. For the first time, the Franklin Park Zoo is also serving as a classroom. This is the first year for Bostons first outdoor preschool nature program. And the kids are outside, rain or shine, warm or cold. A group of 20 children gather around their teacher, learning all about nature while being right in the middle of it. Does anybody remember what is a habitat? asks their teacher. Bostons outdoor preschool network is running this free pre-k program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Typically, the nature-based preschools tend to be private schools, said Sarah Besse, the Executive Director of the Boston Outdoor Preschool Network. So with this program here at the zoo, were trying to open up access to Boston residents. You know, anybody who would like to apply is able to apply to our program at the zoo. And it just expand access to everybody. Teachers and students are all bundled up. Theres no bad weather, said Besse. Just the wrong clothing. Blankets and logs replace desks and chairs allowing students to explore their environment and and learn all while playing with their classmates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres definitely been a decline in play-based learning and free play and, you know, in early childhood in our society, said Besse. And so thats one of the things that were kind of pushing back against. And we want to stand up for the developmental benefits of play at play in nature. Students are free to roam within a fenced in area at the zoo and also go inside to learn from the exhibits. Theyre able to make those life connections through engagement with the environment and being and this and unique learning situation, said teacher Liz Scott. Franklin Park Zoo offers all kinds of programs for kids and teens, but this is the first year they are collaborating with the Boston outdoor preschool network, cultivating minds at a younger age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This appreciation, that knowledge of nature and animals and the incredible animals we share the planet with changes their perspective and really gives them an affinity to protecting nature and to understanding nature and understanding the nature of their actions in nature on nature, said John Lenihan, President and CEO of Zoo New England. Lenihan says it provides the students, mostly from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain, with a wealth of knowledge. Part of our mission is to impact these kids for the rest of their lives, said Lenihan. And it really helps us to achieve that. The goal is to expand the program in trying to offer to more kids for free in the future. The Boston Outdoor Preschool Network is also trying to raise money for a yurt to build on the zoo property so they can provide a warm space for the kids to continue their learning experience. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW LEEDS, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) The Leeds City Council approved accepting a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to begin a project for improvements to the senior center during a brief meeting on Monday, March 3. According to Nathan Prewett with the Trussville Tribune, Jefferson County allocated the grant, which amounts to $165,000. The senior center is housed at the civic center near where the new pickleball court is undergoing construction. Mayor David Miller said the entire area will be repaved and the exterior bathrooms would be storm shelter certified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its going to be well used, Miller said. Afterwards the council voted unanimously to accept Millie Street for upkeep using gas tax funds. Miller said that years ago the parcels of property there were subdivided but no subdivision plat was submitted, which necessitates them going through a process to be accepted. The budget for the project is $209,495.34. During public comments Jerry Trott notified the council of a property in the neighborhood of Oliver Crossing where there are four to six cars parked in the front yard. He asked if there was an ordinance against it or, if not, if such one can be drafted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trott also noted that there was another property with a 15-foot decorative skeleton that he said has been there since before Halloween. He was told that there was nothing to be done as it is a decorative object but he said that letting it stay up could affect the standards when upkeeping a neighborhood and could affect property values. Springville City Council approves pay raise for police Regarding the cars, Miller said that this would require research into subdivision ordinances but was sure of a policy against parking cars in a yard. He was unsure of the skeleton but said that this would be researched as well. City Attorney Scott Barnett suggested approaching the neighborhoods homeowners association. Next was Donnie Hughes, an officer at the American Legion Post 107, who announced there will be an American flag retirement ceremony on Saturday, March 22. The event will begin at 1 p.m. with a flag etiquette ceremony followed by the retirement ceremony at 2 p.m. The event will serve to educate the public about the proper ways to dispose of a flag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ceremony will be held at The American Legion Post 107 on 8299 Railroad Avenue. Leeds City Council meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month at City Hall on 1400 9th Street Northeast. Agenda packets can be seen online at the City of Leeds website. Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) The Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare will be hosting its third annual Burrell Day Open House to honor the memory of Dr. Isaac Burrells birthday. The event will be on March 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 611 McDowell Ave in Northwest Roanoke. There will be tours of the Historic Burrell Center with special guests, including Mayo Joe Cobb. The opening ceremony will start at 4 p.m. (Photo Credit: Prevention Services & Public Relations) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Burrell Memorial Hospital, which is currently the Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcares (BRBH) Burrell Center, started back in 1915 as the first black hospital in the Roanoke Area. The hospital was named after Dr. Isaac Burrell, who died after he was denied medical treatment due to the color of his skin. The hospital was then named after Burrell. More Black History Month stories at WFXRtv.com March 10 is now declared as Burrell Day to honor him and to celebrate and honor him after the lack of care and humanity offered to him. It is also a part of celebrating African American history in Roanoke. Isaac David Burrell (10 March 186521 March 1914) was born in Amelia County and was the son of farmer Rober Burrell. He was a physician and pharmacist who graduated from Lincoln University in 1888. Burrell then attended Leonard MEdical College of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he received his M.D. in 1893. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Photo Credit: Library of Virginia, https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Burrell_Isaac_David) Burrell moved to Roanoke to practice medicine and in December of 1897 married Lynchburg native and teacher, Margaret H. Barnette. With a successful medical practice, he then opened a drugstore, which was the only black-owned drugstore in the southwest region for many years. He continued to be a prominent figure in the Roanoke community and was a member of the church and several other important societies and fraternal organizations until 1914, when he became ill. David Burrell died on March 21, 1914, in Washington D.C., after surgery for gallstones. His ten-bed facility on Henry Street in Ronaoke was named the Burrell Memorial Hospital in his honor, and in 1919, the city repurposed the abandoned Alleghany Institute to be used as the citys black hospital from 1921 to 1955. In 1978, the hospital was closed after six decades when the civil rights movement allowed for black patients to be accepted in white hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents are invited to join the celebration to remember Dr. Burrell. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is facing new legal challenges over its latest proposal seeking to integrate Bible lessons into public elementary school social studies classes. Last month, OSDE announced it was issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking qualified suppliers to create worksheets and assignments that would integrate biblical principles and character education into social studies lessons for elementary students. $3 million could go from OSDE payroll to 55,000 Bibles OSDE announced the new RFP while in the middle of fighting a lawsuit over a previous Bible-related RFP issued last year, which sought a supplier to provide tens of thousands of Bibles for public school classrooms. Alex Luchenitser, Associate Vice President of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, represents a group of 32 Oklahoma parents, teachers, and faith leaders who filed the lawsuit. Its unlawful to spend state funds on these purposes, Luchenitser said. It violates the Oklahoma Constitution. It violates the religious freedom of parents and students. It should be up to parents to decide what their children learn about religion. When OSDE announced the new RFP for Bible-based lessons, his group took issue with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OSDE looking to buy Bible lessons for Oklahoma elementary students The State Department of Education have no authority to select and purchase specific instructional materials for school districts because under the state statutes, local school districts have the right to choose their curricula and their curricular materials, Luchenitser said. The state doesnt have any right to choose those materials for them. They have now added the new RFP to their lawsuit, filing a brief with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday asking the court to issue a stay that would block OSDE from moving forward with the RFP for Bible lessons. They also requested the court to grant a similar stay sought by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). OMES is the state agency responsible for implementing RFPs on behalf of state agencies. When a state department, like the OSDE, requests an RFP, OMES puts it out for bid and selects a supplier. However, in its own legal filing, OMES told the court it was concerned about assisting OSDE with any new Bible-related RFPs due to the ongoing lawsuit and the possibility of similar legal challenges. GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin: Letting Oklahoma public school educators teach the Bible is a slippery slope Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OMES asked the court to issue a stay allowing them to hold off on helping with the Bible-based lessons RFP at least until the lawsuit over Bible purchases RFP is resolved. I think where theyre coming from is that they dont want to be in the position of doing something that might ultimately be determined to be illegal, Luchenitser said. And thats certainly a very sensible and reasonable position for them. The court has not yet made a decision. Meanwhile, Luchenitser says he remains confident his groups arguments will ultimately prevail in court. These latest Bible and biblical instruction request for proposals are a clear violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, Luchenitser said. They clearly violate the separation of church and state. They clearly violate the religious freedom of parents and students. And thats why we are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to block these latest efforts to spend state funds unlawfully. News 4 reached out to OSDE on Tuesday for comment from Superintendent Ryan Walters. He did not respond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee's Summit Republican, stands at his desk in the Missouri Senate chamber. Cierpiot filed legislation this year seeking to bar transgender Missourians from changing their sex on their birth certificates (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A Republican push to bar transgender Missourians from changing the sex on their birth certificates was briefly debated Wednesday morning by a state Senate committee. The bills sponsor, Republican state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lees Summit, said birth certificates reflect facts on the day you were born and should be unchangeable except in cases of sex development disorders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cierpiot filed the same bill in 2023, but it was never debated by the full Senate. He did not file the bill last year. The bill was inspired, he said, by a lawsuit in his district where a transgender student sued the Blue Springs School District in 2015 after being barred from locker rooms and multi-stall bathrooms. A jury awarded the student $4 million, but the case was appealed and is currently awaiting a Missouri Supreme Court opinion. The reason this (bill) is needed is because some courts are making decisions partly because of modified birth certificates, Cierpiot said. State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, mentioned that some transgender Missourians have changed their gender marker on their drivers license. The Department of Revenue recently rescinded that policy after pressure from lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cierpiot said he was less worried about drivers licenses. A birth certificate is a historic document, he said. If someone wants to change things later in life, this is quiet on that. A Senate committee room was full of people waiting to testify on the bill, but the public hearing was cut short after 30 minutes with three speaking in favor and four able to speak in opposition before the committee chair moved to the next bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sharon Dunski Vermont, a pediatrician from the St. Louis area, told committee members that the bill is dangerous for transgender people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People have been attacked, bullied and even killed because their documents dont reflect who they see themselves to be, she said. Brattin asked Vermont about the Washington University Transgender Center, which was the subject of a whistleblowers affidavit in 2023 and closed after state law made gender-affirming care illegal for minors. Brattin criticized the center, calling treatments detrimental to (childrens) health. Dunski Vermont, who worked there, said the allegations were untrue. I dont tell you how to be a senator, and I would appreciate if you dont tell me how to be a doctor, she said, as Brattin interrupted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keith Rose, who is a legal advocate with nonprofit law firm Center for Growing Justice, said he has assisted people changing their birth certificates as part of his work. He called birth certificates living documents, instead of historic. It is common sense that birth records should reflect your lived reality, he said. Few judges are willing to issue court orders to change birth certificates, Rose said, and it has grown more difficult in the past three years. The committee did not take action on the bill Wednesday. President Donald Trumps new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China went into effect Tuesday, which could have a severe impact on Colorados economy, according to a new report. Trump placed 25% tariffs or a tax on imports on products from Mexico and Canada, with a caveat for Canadian energy with tariffs set at 10%. For China, Trump doubled the tariff he placed last month to 20%. Theres more tariffs on steel and aluminum products for all countries set to take place March 12. The White House has framed the presidents tariff policy as part of a larger drug war and not as an attempt to reshape existing trade relationships with U.S. allies. Chinese officials, the White House said, have failed to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known cartels, while the Mexican government has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims. The administration has also complained about Americas trade deficit, which Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins described, while visiting Denver on Sunday, as devastating to our American farmers and ranchers. All together, Colorado could pay an extra estimated $1.4 billion annually on tariffs, according to a report released on Tuesday from U.S. agricultural lobbying group Farmers for Free Trade and the World Trade Center Denver. Before Trumps tariffs took effect, Colorado paid $459 million on imports from all countries in 2024. With the additional tariffs, it would quadruple the tariffs the state pays on its imports, the report said. The president has described tariffs as a very powerful weapon to tackle issues like drug trafficking and illegal immigration at the nations borders, as well as push manufacturing jobs to rebound in the U.S. The trade war between Colorados largest trade partners is sparking concerns from business leaders who worry consumers and local companies will face the brunt of the paying for the tariffs. When plans for the tariffs were initially disclosed a month ago, Colorado businesses with an international presence expressed worries. Now, theyre in effect, with several fearing effects could make it tougher to operate. At a town hall titled Tarriflation at the World Trade Center Denver office on Tuesday, Kishore Kulkarni, economist at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the tariffs can get out of hand if retaliation between the nations escalates. The economist said he expects prices to go up for producers and consumers. Under the previous U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Colorados tariff rate was about 0.12%. Colorado paid $7.4 million in tariffs from Mexico and Canada for about $6.5 billion in imports. The state previously paid more in tariffs for imports from China, about $263 million, when tariffs averaged about 14.5%. The largest impact would come from the tariffs on Canada, according to the report. Canada is Colorados largest trade partner. Canada makes up about 30% of Colorados imports, the Farmers for Free Trade said. Retaliatory tariffs would also impact the large chunk of exports Colorado businesses send to Canada. The new 10% tariff on energy imports and 25% tariff on everything else would have added an estimated $817 million in new taxes based on 2024 data, or over $2.0 million per day, the report said. The products that could face the most tariffs are crude oil, lumber, aircraft gear, beef and acyclic hydrocarbons, according to the report. Even though crude oil tariffs are lower at 10%, rather than 25%, it could cost Colorado importers about $330 million a year. Featured Local Savings Tariffs on China could cost Colorado over $362 million a year, according to the report, and Mexico tariffs would total about $254 million, or about $700,000 per day. Nicholas Colglazier, executive director of the Colorado Corn Council, said the self-imposed tariffs would hurt Americas competitiveness, especially for the U.S. agricultural industry that relies on international sales. Beef, plant products, dairy, wheat and feed were the largest exports out of Colorado, according to federal data. Colglazier explained countries like Brazil and Argentina, which are already competitive on quality and price, will get an advantage on the world stage. Once you lose that market share, it is very, very difficult to get that back, Colglazier said. Colorado-based Identity Pet Nutrition, founded by Jeremy Petersen, makes its pet food in Canada after struggling to find a U.S. maker that can meet their healthier standards. The tariffs could raise prices for their customers more than 32%, he said, as distributors and retailers are very strict about charging a target percentage of sales. Gail Ross, the chief operating officer of Boulder-based apparel shop Krimson Klover, also said they expect to pass on costs to consumers. The question is when, Ross said. Ross spoke out during Trumps first term against the tariffs he placed then, saying the business raised prices in 2019 to accommodate the increased tax. But with 20% increases coming fast, Ross said, theyre still wrestling with what to do. Karen Gerwitz, CEO of World Trade Center Denver, said she worries what a trade war could mean for the North American economy. Because the supply chain is already so integrated, Gerwitz said products can be tariffed multiple times as materials can enter and leave the country throughout different phases of production, meaning the cost of tariffs could be substantially higher than 25% by the time it hits shelves. While Gerwitz said she agrees with Trumps claims that the U.S. gets stiffed in some trade agreements, she added the U.S. isnt a victim as the leading economy of the world and attacking close trade partners can do more harm for everyone than good. It is so intertwined, Gerwitz said. Its almost impossible to unwind it. During her visit on Sunday, Rollins acknowledged worries over the tariffs and said the White House is working to ensure it has all of the data to understand the implications of decisions being made. She also outlined an aggressive plan to help Colorados agricultural industry. I am planning to be very aggressive, with President Trumps permission, go out into the world and look to expand our markets and also make capital easier, especially for our younger farmers, as we begin to build the next generation of our leaders in agriculture, Rollins said. MADISON - In new legislaton introduced this week, Democrats are proposing a measure they hope will bind the state Legislature to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% in the next five years. Here's what to know about the bill: What the legislation would do and not do The "Climate Accountability Act," introduced Tuesday, would not outline how the state should achieve that goal but would indicate that the Legislature is serious about climate change and the impacts it could have on the state. The proposed text of the bill is only five lines long and calls for a "viable plan" to reduce emissions by 52% by 2030, and another "viable plan" to achieve carbon neutral goals. Who introduced the bill, and what they said The legislation was introduced by Democratic Representatives Supreme Moore Omokunde of Milwaukee, Angelito Tenorio of West Allis, Darrin Madison of Milwaukee, Francesca Hong of Madison, Angelina Cruz of Racine, Christian Phelps of Eau Claire and Margaret Arney of Wauwatosa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, Democratic Senators Chris Larson of Milwaukee, Jodi Habush Sinykin of Whitefish Bay, Melissa Ratcliff of Cottage Grove and Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee were also involved in the drafting. Moore Omokunde talked about the "fierce urgency of now," a phrase once used by Martin Luther King Jr. Rep. Supreme Moore-Omokunde (D-Milwaukee) is shown during the State of the State address Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. Gov. Tony Evers focused on measures his administration and state lawmakers have taken to lower taxes and blunt the effects of inflation and plans to announce a $300 million proposal to address mental health in children. "We must all decide what we will do on behalf of the planet that we love and that we live in," he said. "I say that this is a sense of urgency, because the best way to prevent runaway climate change is to cut our carbon emissions in half in the next five years, by 2030. We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels with no plans to seek alternatives." Does the legislation have a chance of passing? The first step would be to get the bill a hearing at the committee level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least one legislator behind the bill acknowledged it's unlikely to receive much Republican support, and the GOP holds the majority in the Legislature. No Republicans were a part of crafting the bill, and Hong said during a press conference it is unlikely to receive much Republican support. "I predict that the majority party will be opposed to addressing the crisis," said Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison. But Moore Omokunde said he is holding out hope for bipartisan work on the issue. Recently, Republicans proposed legislation to study nuclear energy as a way to reduce the state's reliance on coal. "Right now, I'm seeing a lot of converging interests," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrats' bill commits Wisconsin to clean emissions goal Originally appeared on E! Online Lesotho was surprised by President Donald Trumps latest take. After the president shared in his March 4 address to Congress that he had cut $8 million of LGBTQI+ aid to the South African country, remarking that it was a nation nobody has ever heard of, Lesothos foreign affairs minister fired back. As Lejone Mpotjoane told the BBC in a March 5 interview, To my surprise, the country that nobody has heard of is the country where the U.S. has a permanent mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mpotjoane added that it was shocking to hear the president refer to another sovereign state in that manner. The foreign affairs minister of the African countrywhich has had relations with the United States since the 1960s, per the U.S. Department of Stateemphasized that Lesotho is a member of the UN and of a number of other international bodies, adding that the U.S. not only has an embassy in the country but also has a number of additional organizations centered in its capital Maseru. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The country now plans to send a letter of protest to Washington regarding Trumps comment, he told Agence France Presse, adding, Were not taking this matter lightly." Meanwhile, fans of the Royal family will naturally be familiar with Lesotho. After all, Prince Harry regularly visits the country and even founded a charity, Sentebalewhich helps children and adolescents living with HIV and AIDSwith Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Trumps comment on Lesotho was just one controversy that occurred during his lengthy addressthe longest in over 60 years, per CBS News. Democratic representative Al Green was escorted from the chamber after interrupting Trump amid his long list of budget cuts. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Later, the representative told NBC News outside the chamber that as a person of conscience, he believes Trump has done things that I think we cannot allow to continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green noted he was triggered to interrupt the president after he claimed he had a mandate to cut Medicaid, adding, He doesnt have a mandate to cut health care from poor people. (E! News and NBC News are both a part of the NBCUniversal family.) For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, along with officials from Boston, Chicago and New York, will testify before the U.S House Oversight and Government Reform Committee at 10 a.m. EST (8 a.m. MST) today in Washington, D.C. Jeff Hurd closes hearing with questions about Denver's approach A third Colorado Republican who doesn't sit on the Oversight committee but got permission to join for Wednesday's inquiry closed the roughly six-hour hearing with less confrontational questions than those posed by most of his GOP colleagues. U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a freshman lawmaker from Grand Junction, spent his allotted time asking Johnston about the effects of Denver's migrant policies and whether the mayor thought some immigrants had moved into Western and Southern Colorado. Johnston noted that the city has focused on connecting immigrants to work opportunities and asked Congress to help facilitate the process. "So those folks that arrive, we think the most important thing is for them to be able to work and support themselves, pay their own taxes, pay their own rent, and so we've run work authorization clinics to help people get legal work authorization," Johnston said. Asked whether Johnston thinks Denver could be "reaching a breaking point" soon, Johnston said the city was in much better shape than last year. "We actually are seeing dramatic drops in the arrivals since June of 2024, so we are not in a moment of crisis right now," Johnston said. "We don't have migrant encampments. We've closed all of our shelters. We've actually dropped our spending on migrant supports by 90% from 2024 to 2025, so our expenditures are down dramatically, and we'd love to see it stay that way." Johnston maintained that the city's policies haven't made Denver more vulnerable to crime, boasting that even as more than 42,000 immigrants have arrived in the city, crime has fallen dramatically. In the last year, Johnston said, "Shootings are down 24%, homicide is down 17%, auto theft is down almost 30% so we've seen all those major drivers go down at the same time we've had new folks arrive," Johnston said. Hurd said that constituents had expressed concern that immigrants who arrived in Denver have taken up residence in the 3rd Congressional District he represents and asked Johnston if that might be the case. Johnston said it was entirely possible. "Obviously, as you know, when folks arrive to Denver, whether they come from Carbondale or Grand Junction or Chicago, we don't track where they go," Johnston said. "It's a free country. If they choose to move to Lakewood or to move to Pueblo, we wouldn't know. We just provide the emergency services to make sure they're not freezing in the streets. And so that's our focus. But we don't track anyone's long term trajectory, whether they're a native born or an immigrant." Jeff Crank calls Denver transfer policies 'irresponsible,' dangerous In a heated exchange, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, told Denver Mayor Mike Johnston that the city's policies around transferring detainees from the city jail to federal custody endanger law enforcement personnel and called on Johnston to change the procedures. "In rare cases where ICE is able to apprehend an illegal immigrant in Denver jails, Denver forbids that transfer from taking place in the jail," Crank said. He added that he recently completed a ride-along with sheriff's deputies in El Paso County, where transfers to ICE take place in jail, with local officers present and the detainee in handcuffs. His voice dripping with scorn, Crank said: "However, in Denver, you require that Denver Police Department release Tren de Aragua gang members to the quote, unquote streets, uncuffed, and hope that ICE agents are able to apprehend them on their own. That's the hope." Added Crank: "Let's just be honest, with no Denver Police Department officer there to assist if the situation turns violent, that's irresponsible." Crank described the recent incident when an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member was transferred from Denver's custody to immigration officials in a parking lot outside a Denver jail, which resulted in the suspect biting an ICE officer. Johnston protested that out of more than 1,200 transfers to ICE, that was the first that resulted in violence, and said he's meeting with immigration officials in coming weeks to discuss the policy. Crank finished by asking Johnston if the mayor has apologized to the ICE officer who was assaulted during the transfer. "I reached out to the ICE officers yesterday and I've asked to sit down with them to talk about this procedure, and how we can align systems to make sure no other officers get injured," Johnston said. Gabe Evans presses Johnston on statistics, city's data gathering U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican and former Arvada police officer, pressed Denver's mayor on the city's public safety record and policies with regard to keeping track of criminals' immigration status. Evans, who doesn't sit on the Oversight committee but "waived on" to be able to question Mike Johnston, began by reeling off a string of statistics that portray Denver as less safe than other major cities. The lawmaker then asked the mayor if he knew how many murders in the city were committed by people who weren't legally present in the country. Johnston disputed Evans' characterization of the city, saying crime is dropping, but acknowledged that Denver doesn't keep track of immigration status when its officers interact with accused criminals. "We don't ask anyone's status at point of arrest," Johnston said. "We do not know someone's status when they're charged." Evans appeared to have been prepared for that answer, as an aide displayed an enlarged Denver Police Department training bulletin, followed by the standard FBI fingerprint form, which includes spaces for a suspect's country of origin and citizenship status. "I've heard being a cop in the Denver metro area that police officers in Denver are not are being told not to fill out those mandatory fields in the FBI fingerprint card, which could potentially indicate why you're unsure of how many of these crimes are being committed by illegal immigrants in your city," Evans said. Johnston responded that the city didn't intend to change its procedures. "Right now, under city ordinance, we do not ask someone's status at point of contact, and we that does not prejudice in any way our prosecution," he said. "We believe it doesn't matter." Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses mayors of treason After delivering a lengthy speech about immigration and crime followed by asking the four mayors whether they work with federal immigration authorities, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, declared that she considers the mayors' actions to amount to treason. "Mayor Johnston, will you work with ICE to protect your city?" Taylor Greene asked Denver's mayor. "We do work with ICE right now, congresswoman," Johnston replied, adding that the city regularly communicates with immigration agents, who pick up immigrants when they're released from custody. Asked whether Denver will "end sanctuary city policies," Johnston demurred. "We think the policies that we have right now allow us to work with ICE and to stop crime, and we'll keep doing that," Johnston said. Taylor Greene elicited similar responses from the mayors of New York, Chicago and Boston before closing her turn at the microphone in dramatic fashion. "According to the U.S. Constitution, giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States is an act of treason, and those that violate that should be dealt with," she said. Under federal law, treason is considered a capital crime and is punishable by death. Will you work with ICE? U.S. Rep. Marjorie Tayler Greene, R-Georgia, asked if the mayors from Denver, Chicago, Boston and New York will work with ICE. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, again, stressed that local authorities do work with ICE and has alerted them about immigrants more than 1,200 times. When asked again if he will stop operating as a sanctuary city, Johnston reiterated that current policies in Denver are working and will remain in place. The mayors of New York, Boston and Chicago also stressed their local authorities do work with ICE and other federal agencies. Asking about immigration status U.S. Rep. Biran Jack of Georgia asked the mayors if they see value in asking about immigration status when apprehending possible criminal suspects. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said, "We dont ask someones status when we first contact them because its not relevant in the charges we are pursuing." Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stressed throughout the hearing that asking immigration status prevents local law enforcement from solving crimes because it creates fear and causes illegal immigrants not to come forward to report crimes. New York Mayor Eric Adams was the solo "yes" vote to the question. Keeping sanctuary status? U.S. Rep. Nick Langworth, a Republican from New York, asked the mayors if they would continue to keep the sanctuary status they currently follow. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said, "The system we have works and we will keep it." The mayors from Boston, Chicago and New York without directly responding to the question, said crime is decreasing and current policies are working. Is it racial profiling? U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, asked the panel if the deportation plans being implemented by the Trump administration is racial profiling and what they think. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston answered that a person's status should never be relevant when they are at a library to check out a book, at a hospital seeking treatment or in school seeking an education. Luna says she's referring mayors for criminal prosecution U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, told the mayors she was referring all four to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution based on their responses to her questions. Waving the referral documents, Luna said: "To me, after this line of questioning, it's very clear that these policies that you have all implicated are active and alive and well in your cities are in direct violation" of federal law "You all speak about a broken immigration system, and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process," Luna said, adding that she didn't think the mayors were "bad people" but that they are "ideologically misled." "I'm not doing that in an effort to bully you guys," Luna concluded. "But I do believe that your policies are hurting the American people." Before dropping the boom, Luna asked Denver Mayor Mike Johnston if he said at one point that he'd be willing to go to jail to prevent the Trump administration's deportation efforts. "I did say that I'd be wiling to stand up for our residents," Johnston responded. "And the context was that was the point when the administration was threatening to deploy the U.S. military to the streets of our cities to pull kids out of schools and churches." Luna interrupted Johnston to ask the committee chairman to enter a news article into the record that reported Johnston saying he was willing to use civil disobedience and, if necessary, go to jail to stop deportations. 'The only one with something to answer for is Donald Trump' U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the purpose of the committee is oversight. The only one with something to answer for is Donald Trump. Pressley said, A dark threat looming over Boston is the racist and xenophobic immigrant policies coming from the Trump administration. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu agreed that the threat of mass deportations is making people the country depends on afraid. Everything we do depends on immigrant residents and their contributions," Wu said. Later she stressed that Trump's policies are, " having a huge impact on their daily rights as they are trying to do whats right for their kids as they pursue the American dream." Questioning the Biden Administration More than 320,000 unauthorized immigrants arrived in Chicago, Denver and New York City over the past four years, the mayors from these cities said. Boston's Wu noted that she does not ask about an individuals immigration status and therefore did not have a statistics to share. The cost to New York City was a staggering $7 billion, Adams said. In Denver, those costs were roughly $90 million. After acknowledging that these mayors had done the best they could, U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-South Carolina, pressed them on whether they had ever publicly attacked former President Joe Biden and his policies. Going forward each of you need to cooperate to the fullest extent of your ability, Timmons said. Losing federal funding U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyan, D-Virginia, questioned the panel on how removing grant funding to continue to maintain sanctuary city status would affect public safety. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said that losing funding would affect public safety, from keeping up with bridges to paying for education. Subramanyan commended the four mayors for taking on the immigrants being bussed to the blue cities from areas such as Texas, saying they are making the best of a difficult situation. Subramanyan introduced U.S. House Bill 32, which he said would allow the Trump administration to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities. Republican Nancy Mace fires off yes-no questions U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, peppered the mayors with a series of rapid-fire, emotionally charged yes-or-no questions and cut off their responses when any attempted to elaborate. "Do you acknowledge breaking into our country is a crime? Yes or no?" Mace asked in the first round. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said it depended how a migrant entered the country. "Mayor Johnston, when an illegal alien rapes a woman, do you believe you're on the right side of history? Yes or no?" Mace asked. Johnston answered that he would "charge and prosecute them." In response to a follow-up question about an "illegal alien who molests a kid," Johnston said, "I proecute folks that commit crimes like that" Asked whether his city would "honor an ICE detainer on an illegal alien who rapes kids," Johnston replied, "If there's a criminal warrant, we'll help pick them up." The distinction, between civil detainers and criminal warrants is at the core of the dispute over whether local entities are complying with federal law, with the mayors insisting that the law and courts are on their side in requiring duly executed warrants. Johnston sidestepped a complete answer when Mace amped up the rhetoric, asking, "Do you all hate Donald Trump more than you love your country?" "I love my country," Johnston said, in a response similar to those from his fellow mayors. Before zeroing in on Boston's mayor for a series of final questions. the combative Mace a former prosecutor asked Johnston if he was "willing to go to jai for violating federal law," to which he replied that Denver doesn't violate federal law, adding that the city "explicitly" follows a statute cited by a prior Republican questioner. 'You've violated the law' U.S. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, brought show-and-tell placards emblazoned with federal statutes, saying sanctuary city laws means all four mayors have violated the law. Youve got to realize what your criminal culpability is, Biggs said. Biggs said in civil cases when sanctuary cities are not turning over people who have been allotted due process, they are in violation of their own sanctuary city policies. Here on the advice of counsel U.S. Rep. Glen Higgins, R-Louisiana, asked all the mayors if they are attending Wednesday's hearing on advice of counsel. All four mayors confirmed they had sought legal advice ahead of the hearing. Higgins became impassioned as he listed US citizens who have been victims of crimes committed by criminal illegal immigrants. Higgins told the four mayors their policies are helping those committing crimes, stressing that they are not working with ICE. "We have had enough," Higgins said. "America's fed up with this betrayal of oath, and you'll be held accountable. One of you said you're willing to go to jail. We might give you that opportunity." Mayors should be charged with crimes U.S. Rep. James Palmer, R-Alabama, said that he would recommend obstruction of justice charges against sanctuary city mayors who do not comply with federal law. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston pushed back on questioning, reiterating that Denver does and cooperates with federal officials on a variety of law enforcement issues. We are absolutely upholding the laws of the United States, Johnston said. Johnston again stressed that when the city finds out about criminal activity, they actively and aggressively pursue it. Palmer said charges against the mayors should be investigated further given they are deciding which federal laws to follow, and which ones not to Should U.S. citizens be concerned? U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida said the Trump administration is intimidating members of Congress when just trying to educate people about their constitutional rights. He asked panel member David Bier, research fellow for immigration studies at the Cato Institute, how this impacts U.S. citizens. I have documented over 155 US citizens who've been targeted by detainer request, and they want to say we're going to just take discretion away from state and local governments over detainer requests, even when someone is clearly a US citizen, Bier said. Here's my birth certificate. Doesn't matter. They're going to disregard it. And so yes, I am well aware of the threat this administration posed to come from what we saw last few weeks. When asked if U.S. citizens should be scared of mass deportation capaigns, Bier responded, Oh, absolutely. Honoring ICE detainers U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas told the panel that the federal government is simply asking you to take people already in your custody and hand them to federal law enforcement. Cloud stressed that when sanctuary cities release immigrants in federal custody, it costs taxpayers more money because it takes time for authorities to go and rearrest them. Cloud said it used to be a bipartisan issue that is now putting law enforcement lives in danger. Cloud asked how much in FEMA dollars is going to immigration issues. New York Mayor said $80 million. In Denver, Cloud stressed over $30 million, $32 million in Chicago and $29 million in Boston. Should the United States have immigration laws? Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Glenn Grotham asked all the mayors if there should be immigration laws in the United States. While Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was cutoff in his response, he said he agrees immigration laws are needed. Were serving people who are seeking asylum, Johnston said. New Yorks Mayor Eric Adams said yes while noting the borders should be secured. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said "Our immigration system is broken with no comprehensive reform since 1986." Boston Mayor Michelle Wu answered, "Yes. I do believe we need, cities everywhere, need comprehensive and consistent pathways to citizenship. At the same time, I do not support mass deportation." How much does it cost? When asked how much it costs to deal with illegal immigrants, Chicago's mayor did not provide a number, but said it is is approximately 1% of the budget. Featured Local Savings In Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston said $79 million. In New York, the four-year costs is over $6.9 billion. Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu refused to provide a number, stating her city does not have that kind of accounting because the city does not ask for immigration status. Struck by Republican positions - Federalism vs. local control U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, said he was struck by the Republicans' position on immigration enforcement considering the party otherwise privileging state and local control. He asked the mayors to describe how they enforced mask mandates during the pandemic, including whether they would have had local law enforcement turn over violators to federal authorities. "Do you see, Mayor Wu, any difference between a federal government asking you to enforce laws like ICE is doing, versus the federal government asking you to enforce a mask mandate, or, frankly, to enforce, to enforce gun laws that may not be what your local city department is focused on," Khanna said to Boston's mayor. He asked if "the real issue here" was not about immigration but about federalism. "My view is that we ought to have local government be able to use their police officers for their priorities," Khanna said. "That, in essence, is federalism, and it actually used to be the conservative Republican position" Sanctuary cities are welcoming cities Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania pressed Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on whether Denver is a "sanctuary city," a label the mayor said doesn't apply. "We call ourselves a 'welcoming city,'" Johnston responded. "Who are you welcoming? Are you welcoming criminals?" Perry asked. Johnston said the city doesn't "vet" anyone who arrives from Chicago or elsewhere at the airport or some other way. Johnston stressed that Denver does not call anyone specifically to Denver, but when folks arrive, we provide the same services and access for them to succeed. Again, Johnston stressed that if immigrants break the law, the city takes action. Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois gave Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson a chance to play municipal booster in response to a remark by President Donald Trump comparing the Windy City to Afghanistan. The two Illinoisians ran through a list of accolades, including Chicago being named America's best big city for the eighth year running and recently announcing $20 billion investments to build out a quantum hub, researching cutting-edge technology. Denver Mayor - 'We do not have the capacity for our law enforcement to be doing federal immigration enforcement' In response to a question from U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat, about the "tension" between federal and local law enforcement, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said he believes there is a federal system that has federal obligations and state and local authorities with their own obligations. "We think, as (Boston) Mayor Wu said, that our officers are uniquely prepared, trained and ready to enforce local law and to keep our city safe," Johnston said. "We want to focus on that. We do not have the capacity for our law enforcement to be doing federal immigration enforcement, but we are wanting to be partners in making sure we're pulling violent criminals off the street." Denver mayor faces tough questions from committee Denver policies are clearly a target of the board, as the committee gets underway with several questions directly aimed at Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. In a heated exchange with U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, Johnston disclosed that a Tren de Aragua gang member held for more than a year released last week had to be tased by ICE members. Jordan called Johnstons testimony less than truthful when describing the Denvers actions as an effort to keep residents safe. Thats a lie, Jordan said, noting the citys actions did not protect federal agents. According to a 9News Report, ICE notified Denver that it wanted Abraham Gonzalez held for 48 hours in an email sent about 90 minutes before his release. Boebert grills Mayor Mike Johnston on Denver policies In her questioning, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has blamed state law for Denver's inability to coordinate with immigration officials. Boebert asked whether Johnston will demand that the state law be repealed, but Johnston declines. "We do coordinate with ICE," Johnston replied, adding that the city hands over detainees when immigration officrs have a warrant, as the law requires, but Boebert asks whether Denver works with the feds before warrants have been issued. Boebert pressed on, asking Johnston whether a 2017 Denver ordinance prohibits city employees from coordinating with federal immigration authorities and would be fired for talking to ICE. She asked whether city employees would be fired for talking to other federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency or Health and Human Services. "Right now, congresswoman, we don't ask people's status," Johnston said. Boebert asked whether Johnston signed a $2 million contract to pay "Joe Biden's former lawyer to cover your ass" at this hearing. Johnston said Denver's city council approved a contract for legal advice. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert asks unanimous consent to submit news articles to the committee's record describing Denver's "sanctuary" status and policies. Boebert will be among first questioners Word from a congressional source is that Lauren Boebert, a committee member, will be among the very first lawmakers to question the mayors. According to House protocol, the three other Republicans from Colorado who were allowed to "waive on" to the committee for today's hearing Reps. Gabe Evans, Jeff Crank and Jeff Hurd, all serving their first term will get their chance to grill the mayors after all the committee members present have had their chance, so might not get their time for hours. The mayors each get five minutes for their opening statements, and House members will each get five minutes to ask their questions. Including the members added to the committee for this hearing, Chairman Jim Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said House Oversight has 60 members today. If every one of them takes their alloted time, this hearing could last for at least five hours. Should that criminal be turned over to ICE? In wrapping his time, Chairman James Comer said, "The point weve got to iron out today Is federal law to turn over illegal criminals to ICE. Many of you have said publicly that you will obstruct that." 'Are you a sanctuary city?' Chairman James Comer dives right in, asking Mayor Mike Johnston if Denver is a sanctuary city. While Johnston began to speak, saying folks use that term differently. Comer cut off the mayor, I take that as a yes. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu - 'Immigrants are becoming afraid' In her opening statement, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Boston is the safest city in the nation because they are safe for everyone and the Trump administration's mass deportation plans are "undermining that trust." This federal administration's approach is undermining that trust. In the past month, I've met with residents and faith leaders centers and places of worship, asking my constituents what they want Congress to know, and what I heard over and over again was fear and frustration," she said. "I spoke with pastors whose pews are half empty on Sundays, doctors whose patients are missing appointments, teachers whose students aren't coming to class, neighbors afraid to report crimes in their communities and victims of violence who won't call the police. This federal administration is making hard working tax paying God fearing residents afraid to live their lives. Cato Institute: Reasonable restrictions on ICE do not increase crime rates David J. Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, criticized the administrations mass deportation plan, arguing it poses a greater threat than any city policy. Reasonable restrictions on ICE do not increase crime rates, he said, citing data that, he said, shows immigrants have a lower crime rate than the American population. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson - 'Actions that amplify fears of deportations make Chicago more dangerous' In his opening statements to the committee, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called out the Trump administration, without naming the White House, saying actions that "amplify fears of deportations make Chicago more dangerous." "Violent crime is down in Chicago the end in 2024 with its lowest homicide rate in five years, the city is also safer because of our welcoming city ordinance, that law makes sure that the city's police resources are focused on our local priorities," he said. "In fact, the 40 years of Chicago's leaders have recognized that our policies toward civil immigration help to prevent and solve crimes. Put simply any actions that amplify fears of deportations make Chicago more dangerous. Those fears cause witnesses and victims to avoid cooperating with police, the cooperation of all people, regardless of their immigration status, is essential to achieving the city's goals of reducing crime and pursuing justice for victims. Denver Mayor Mike Johnson - 'We had to respond immediately' With buses dropping hundreds of immigrants off daily in Denver with little-to-no notice or coordination Johnston wasted no time framing the humanitarian crisis in moral terms. Denver faced the fundamental question, Johnston told committee members. What our community would do with a mom and two kids dropped on the streets of our city with no warm clothes, no food, and no place to stay, while maintaining public safety in the city. This was not a question of immigration reform; it was a question of what was the best course forward for the people of Denver and their safety and security. It was also a question of right versus wrong. The citys response, Johnston said, was about treating every individual in our community with compassion. Part of that strategy was implementing programs, which have since been wound down, to expand temporary housing and assisting immigrants file asylum and work permits. With immigrants arriving in frigid conditions wearing little more than sweatshirts and slippers, Johnston said it was not a time to debate the nations immigration policies. We had to respond immediately, Johnston said. We were not going to leave kids on the side of the road. It was a moment to step up and act. And we did. Johnston added: Denver did not create the problem, but we developed solutions. New York Mayor Eric Adams addresses the committee New York Mayor Eric Adams, the first to testify, offered a vigorous defense of his citys sanctuary policy, though he qualified that it doesnt mean New York is a haven for criminals and it also doesnt mean the city will not adhere to federal immigration laws. But, he said, New York cannot have a situation in which immigrants staying in the U.S. illegally are afraid to seek medical care or report a crime. These situations will just exacerbate things, he said. "I'm here today to testify on how New York City can continue to reduce crime, even as a sanctuary city. To be clear, a sanctuary city classification, does not mean a city will ever be a safe haven for violent criminals. It also does not give New York City the authority to violate federal immigration laws. To the contrary, New York City can continue to reduce crime, even as a sanctuary city. Adams said comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue. Republicans from Colorado allowed to join committee Freshmen U.S. Reps. Jeff Hurd, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans have been "waived on" to the panel for the hearing. Watch coverage from the hearing and get updates here: Hearing is underway At 8:03 a.m., The full committee hearing on sanctuary city is called to order by Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee. Comer said the immigration crisis is a "deliberate" choice made by the Biden Administration. Comer said sanctuary cities are only creating "sanctuary for criminals." Sanctuary cities are creating barriers for the Trump Administration to carry out plans to fix the country's immigration crisis. Republican target As reported by the Associated Press, Republicans have primarily targeted four US cities for "sanctuary city" policies. The mayors of those cities, Mayors Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York are set to appear Wednesday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. While there is no strict definition for sanctuary policies, cities and states adopting them generally limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces immigration laws, but often relies on help at the state level and from police and sheriffs. On the hot seat When Denver Mayor Mike Johnston joins three other big city mayors Wednesday to testify before a House committee's looking into "sanctuary" cities, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her three Republican colleagues from Colorado plan to put the Democrat on the hot seat. Boebert, a third-term lawmaker from Windsor and a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Investigations, is assured of a chance to grill Johnston. Additionally, the state's other GOP representatives freshmen U.S. Reps. Jeff Hurd, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans have asked to "waive on" to the panel for the hearing. If granted, the procedure would would every Republican member of Congress from Colorado a turn at the microphone for the high-stakes inquiry. "Tomorrow in the hearing, we are going to highlight how these sanctuary city and state policies fail public safety, make America less safe, and why we need to continue the path forward to build safe communities that we all deserve," said Evans, an Army veteran and former Arvada police officer, at a press conference in Washington on Monday. Singled out by Chairman James Comer, Denver mayor to appear in Congress In a Jan. 27 letter to Johnston, Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer had called Johnston out by name. "Denver is a sanctuary jurisdiction under Colorado law, and Mayor Mike Johnston confirmed that he was prepared to go to jail to protect illegal aliens from federal immigration authorities," Comer said. Along with Comer and ranking committee member Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, R-Va., the 47-member committee includes Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, with whom Johnston has sparred on social media regarding the citys Newcomers Playbook, a guide to welcome immigrants arriving in Denver. Sources: Johnston is optimistic about Denver's 'story' Sources close to the mayor said Johnston is "optimistic" and that he looks forward to telling Denver's "story" about how it "met a sudden immigrant crisis in a way that was faithful to all the best traditions of Denver." In February, Denver hired the law firm of Covington and Burling, LLP, to represent the city in the upcoming congressional inquiry. Under the one-year contract with a maximum cap of $2 million, the city will pay lawyers a "discounted" rate of $1,000 per hour. As of yet, the city has not disbursed money to the law firm, nor does it have an estimate of the number of hours billed. Sources also said Denver has produced a "substantial number" of documents responsive to the congressional panel's request. The sources said none had been redacted. The committee is reviewing those documents, the sources added. How did Denver mayor's get here? Johnston's appearance before Congress seems inevitable, given the trajectory of the unfolding crisis, the citys response, the activities of a Venezuelan gang that had taken over two Aurora apartment complexes and Trumps return to the White House. Amid the crisis, Johnston took on the role as the de facto spokesperson for the interior cities, as he appeared before national TV and visited the nation's capital to press their case. In pushing for federal action on illegal immigration, Johnston often pleaded to Congress and the White House for more funding for cities grappling with the crisis, work authorization and a "coordinated entry program." The mayor notably stayed clear of talking about "border security," an omission that served to underscore the ideological lenses with which Democrats and Republicans view the border crisis. A border city In the two years since 90 immigrants were dropped off downtown and left to wander in the cold, more than 40,000 immigrants have come to Colorados largest city. Although the city has received some state and federal funding, Denver taxpayers have assumed the bulk of the nearly $90 million cost. Bus, plane and train tickets purchased for immigrants to travel elsewhere suggest that about half have stayed. Thats the equivalent of adding a city the size of Golden. Historically, immigrants typically chose gateway cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Early on, the prevailing theory in Denver for the citys draw was its proximity to El Paso, Texas, its pivotal transportation hub and its status as a sanctuary city. Generally speaking, a sanctuary city is a designation given to municipalities and counties that establish policies to discourage local law enforcement from reporting an individuals immigration status to federal authorities. State and city officials have long denied this. But its the reason lawmakers called Johnston to Washington D.C. While local officials were struggling to understand why Denver had emerged as a destination for immigrants at the border, authorities in El Paso Texas pointed to another reason the Colorado city's promise of free shelter and onward travel. Theres a pull factor created by this, and the policies in Denver for paying for onward destinations, Irene Gutierrez, executive director of El Paso County Community Services in west Texas, has said. The seeds were planted before Johnston was sworn in as mayor roughly six months after Denver began seeing an influx of immigrants, who illegally crossed the southern border into El Paso, Texas. Under the leadership of former Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, city officials decided to assume the responsibility for the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Johnston continued this policy after being sworn in to office in July 2023. 'Caught between a rock and a hard place' Political consultants on both sides of the aisle said that, given the entrenched partisanship in Washington, Johnston is unlikely to come out of the hearing unscathed. But if he is able to hold his ground and stay cool under pressure, that could be a win, said Mike Dino, a Democratic political analyst and principal at Patton Boggs LLP. I dont think hes going to get out of it with an upper hand in what is probably a stacked deck, said Dino. But having already made unsuccessful attempts for Colorado governor in 2018 and the U.S. Senate in 2020, the hearing could further shape Johnston's political stature. Ultimately, I think the mayor has a good story to tell, Dino said. With Johnstons policies taking center stage, it remains to be seen whether he would quibble over what constitutes a "sanctuary city" or move beyond the label, Dino said and Dick Wadhams, a Republican political consultant and former Republican state chair, said. Johnston's administration has hired a law firm at a cost capped $2 million for a year to help him prepare for the hearing. Wadhams recognized the balancing act Johnston would have to pull off. Hes caught between a rock and a hard place, Wadhams said. But Wadhams was quick to add that Denver's welcoming stance likely worsened a problem that traditionally had been felt in border communities. Denver has become a border city due to the policies Mayor Johnston has implemented, Wadhams said. Reporters Nico Brambila, Ernest Luning and Deborah Grigsby contributed to this article. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A first fundraiser of its kind is happening on Friday with a roaring 20s theme and classic casino games. Read next: Local Lenten fish fry guide 2025 Alta Care Group has several locations in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties and is a behavioral health center serving children and families from infants to age 21. It also operates the Trumbull and Mahoning County Head Start Program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group is holding its first Chips for Kids: A Roaring 20s Casino Royale fundraiser on Friday, March 7 at the Embassy in Boardman. Attendees are invited to dress in their finest 1920s black tie-inspired attire while the venue is transformed into a jazz speakeasy. Casino games include blackjack, poker and roulette, and funds raised will help keep many important programs at Alta afloat. It helps with your programs that are underfunded or have no funding, such as our early childhood mental health programs, our intensive outpatient programs that we run during the summer, said Alta Care Group incoming CEO Vince Paolucci. We have a wide, diverse range of programs from early childhood mental health to a first episode psychosis program, all the way to respite programming. Funny money and poker chips will be available for purchase with cash, as well as drink tickets for the bar. There will also be a Youngstown cookie table, raffle baskets, a live auction, a jazz quartet and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tickets are $80 and include a buffet dinner. Doors open at 6 p.m., tables open at 7 p.m., and the event ends at 10 p.m. For more information and to buy tickets for the event, click here and visit the Alta Care Group online at AltaCareGroup.org. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) Community members gathered at Houdini Plaza in Appleton on Tuesday evening for a rally to protest and raise awareness about President Donald Trumps policies. The grassroots event was hosted by Appleton Area NOW, Fox Valley Indivisible and other local advocates, discussing the impacts that the Trump administrations policies have had on Wisconsinites. Neville Public Museum exhibit showcases Packers history through photos and film Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rally focused on multiple issues, but organizers said that the following were the major topics of discussion: Potential cuts to Medicaid Possible funding cuts for public schools The influence of Elon Musk and his standing with the Department of Government Efficiency I think whats going on in Washington D.C. is a mess, Travis Retzlaff of Kaukauna said. I think Donald Trump is trying to claim a bunch of powers he doesnt have, and somebody needs to stand up to him. Retzlaff added that a lot of the people in attendance are those he personally volunteers with, and that the feedback from people driving by was nice to see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich hosts non-profit leaders, emphasizing community improvement efforts The rally also consisted of speakers from both organizations, local leaders as well as community members. Attendees were encouraged to bring signs, many of which expressed thoughts on abortion, support for Ukraine amidst its war with Russia, as well as support for the LGBTQ+ community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Local police officers went through a special training to help them better interact with people who have dementia. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police officers interact with a lot of people on the job, and it may be difficult for them to identify someone with an illness. A lot of times our first responders dont know what theyre dealing with or working with, Dayna Ritchey, program director with the Alzheimers Association said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022 Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a law requiring training all across the Buckeye State. TRENDING STORIES: Ritchey said nearly 2,000 people in Ohio are living with Alzheimers and 60 percent of them will wander. They could become aggressive or violent, unfortunately, Ritchey said. They might transport a person with dementia to jail, which can actually just escalate things more. She said when officers search for someone with Alzheimers, to search smart, not loud. A loud voice could scare someone away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the training gave officers new ways to safely look for someone with Alzheimers, sometimes using a dog to track the scent. Their procedures are to record a more common voice for the person of the closest family member, calling them and using that to help find their loved one, Ritchey said. More information about the Alzheimers Association can be found here. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Drive through most western Pennsylvania communities and youll see some form of blight. We want to see things upgrade and improve in our area and its not going to improve when you got 637 blighted properties, thats a lot, said North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee. Its a big problem for North Braddock as the code violations stack up, and the curb appeal isnt attracting new people to the community. You dont want to have a gray cloud over you, you want to see the sun hit your face, and what I mean is that we feel good about the area we live not that its just there, Lee told Channel 11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its not just a North Braddock problem, its statewide. We primarily are trying to target bad actors and bad LLCs buying properties and leave, and these small towns are left with these properties that are vacant and dangerous in some capacity, said Representative Brandon Markosek, who represents parts of Allegheny County. Markosek is proposing a statewide blighted property database run by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development. Municipalities would upload their major code violations to this public system. When we can tackle blight and help some of these vacant properties, we can attract small businesses to the area and attract people to build homes as well, Markosek said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the proposal is that after 12 months of no action on these properties, the owner would face a $1,000 fine that would go back to that town. While Lee thinks the database is a good idea, he thinks that the timeline for the fine should be shorter. I think it should be 60 days or 30 days to get things fixed up, then the fines be implemented because they arent doing it now and you give them a whole year and it could escalate into more, Lee said. Markosek told Channel 11 he already has several co-sponsors and interest on passing this bill from both sides of the aisle. He hopes to get it out of the Housing Committee and to the full floor later this spring. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge home to polar bears, caribou, and countless other species is once again in the crosshairs as President Donald Trump's new administration rolls out plans for oil and gas drilling in one of America's last untouched wilderness areas, reported IFLScience. What's happening? Hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump signed an executive order targeting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The order aims to end the temporary ban on fossil fuel activities in the refuge while opening additional parts of Alaska for gas and oil extraction. The directive also attempts to undo former President Joe Biden's suspension of oil drilling permits in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's order states: "The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood. Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation's economic and national security for generations to come." Why is drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge concerning? This 78,000-square-kilometer rolling tundra and wetlands area hosts an incredible array of wildlife, including bears, moose, wolves, and eagles. An estimated 11 billion barrels of oil lie beneath it. The debate over drilling has continued since the 1970s, with serious concerns from environmental advocates and Indigenous communities about the potential harm to wildlife and people living in the region. Experts estimate that drilling in Alaska will release temperature-spiking gases into the atmosphere. "Alaska is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, a trend that is wreaking havoc on communities, ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and ways of life that depend on healthy lands and waters," said Carole Holley, Earthjustice's managing attorney for the Alaska office. What's being done about Alaskan drilling plans? Despite the administration's push, companies haven't shown much interest in Arctic drilling. Two recent oil and gas lease sales generated little to no response. The first in 2021 attracted "low interest," and the second in 2025 received zero bids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental groups such as Earthjustice are preparing legal challenges. According to IFLScience, Andy Moderow of Alaska Wilderness League said: "President Trump's inaugural address and first-day actions make it clear: he's fixated on dragging our nation's energy and public land policy backwards. These actions ignore what the free market has declared: there is no industry interest in Arctic Refuge oil extraction." It should be noted, however, that while Biden did move to protect this area of Alaska, he was far from anti-drilling, and in his first two years in office he granted more oil and gas permits than Trump did in Trump's first four years. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. For those concerned about protecting this unique wilderness, supporting organizations fighting these rollbacks is one step toward helping. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. With President Trump speaking to Congress this evening, Ozarks First is speaking to people in Springfield about what they hope to hear or what they want to see. Id like to continue to fix some things hes doing, expose the fraud, continue to elaborate on that, Bryan Adkins said. I want to see what he says and how he feels like he can justify some of the acts that he has participated in and been responsible for, Christine Schilling said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We asked the two what else theyd like to see the 47th President speak about this evening. Id like them to work harder to get some of the names for a lot of corruption thats been hid, and wed like to get all that information out, and clean it up, Adkins said. Schilling, however, is questioning the Presidents ability to lead. I dont consider this leadership at all. I feel like this is just wild, crazy, rogue behavior, Schilling said. Just shocking, incredible, rude behavior and behavior that might even verge on unconstitutional. One of the topics expected is Americas relationships with other countries, something highlighted by a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want [Trump] to continue to address the fact of where all our money is going. Were losing money left and right. We dont need to be supporting other countries. We need to focus on America first, Adkins said. I would like to see Trump apologize to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I feel like he needs to apologize to our neighbors and allies for rescinding our friendly relationships and for threatening world peace, Schilling said. Another topic of focus is the U.S. economy. Ozarks First spoke to economist Dr. David Mitchell about the current state of the economy. Right now its doing okay, but theres a lot of uncertainty being built in. Theres a lot of changes occurring at the top. Some of it, I think is probably good change. It needs to be done, but when theres so much change going on, people become uncertain as to what is the world going to look like going forward? Mitchell said. Are we going to continue to have these tariffs or the tariffs kind of disappear within two weeks? Whats the story with funding for Ukraine or are we going to be in NATO or not be in NATO? You have a whole lot of things that are changing all at same time that creates a lot of uncertainty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We asked Mitchell what he was referring to by good change. We cant continue to have deficits at the rate weve been having. Something has to give on that level. Is there a lot of inefficiency in government and waste and fraud? Yeah, and that probably needs to be weeded out, Mitchell said. In that sense, I think some of that is good and I think it would we need to start making some tough decisions on if we want European-style level of government, thats fine. Theres nothing wrong with that, but that means European-style level of taxes. If we want an American-style level of taxes, thats fine, but then that means we also need American-style level of government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A Kettering teacher is running for Mayor of the city. Kyle Boze, 34, a teacher at Kettering Fairmont High School, announced his run on Tuesday, March 4. I have always had a deep love for Kettering and the incredible community that makes it so special. My experience working as an educator within Kettering, getting to know our families, and creating programs that benefit the most vulnerable within our community, alongside my years in the corporate world, have given me a unique perspective and a strong foundation to serve our community, said Boze. I am committed to bringing fresh ideas, and proven leadership, to ensure our city grows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boze currently teaches a leadership class at Fairmont. Before transitioning into education in 2016, he worked in business in both marketing and sales roles. He has volunteered in multiple charity programs including the Montgomery County College Promise Program, DorWood Optimist and Shoes 4 the Shoeless. Boze started Kettering Connect at Fairmont, which focuses on giving back to people in the Miami Valley. With his students work and local businessess support, the charity raised enough money to purchase Christmas gifts for over 1,500 children. Kettering Connect has also provided over 400 pairs of new shoes to give to children in need and provided over 12,500 meals to local families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This election is a pivotal moment for our city. Kettering has lost thousands of jobs over the past five years, and our community is feeling the impact. We need bold and immediate action to drive economic development, attracting new businesses and retaining our current ones. Equally important is ensuring that everyone from young adults starting out, to families building their futures, to seniors looking for stability has access to safe, quality housing. We cant afford to wait any longer, said Boze. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. For the second day in a row, protesters gathered outside Kern County Superior Court in downtown Bakersfield to protest the administration of President Donald Trump. Over 100 people, many displaying the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, stood along Truxtun Avenue at midday chanting and calling for pushback against the administration's policies, in particular the deep cuts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency. Mention was made of local immigration enforcement as recent as Tuesday. The protest was the local iteration of a nationwide movement organizing under the online hashtag "#50501" which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day, which organized protests on Presidents Day, Feb. 17, and again on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is just another ongoing effort because we know the behavior is going to continue," said Robin Fernand, a member of the Democratic Women of Kern who helped promote the demonstration. "This was planned ahead of time and look at the debacle last Friday with Ukraine. You know, how embarrassing for our country," Fernand said. Tuesday's group was noticeably older than the previous day's demonstration, which saw local high school students stage their second walkout in less than a month. Many of the signs Tuesday referenced entrepreneur Elon Musk and DOGE, and warned the country was slipping toward authoritarianism and oligarchy. Posts on social media showed a small group of protesters outside the Bakersfield offices of Tesla Motors Inc., owned by Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's going to take years and years to recover from that if we're lucky enough to be able to do a recovery," said Dom Parent, who wore a Vietnam veteran's hat with a Purple Heart logo on it. Parent said he works with veterans, many of whom support the president. "I was just shocked so many vets that I've counseled actually ended up voting for Trump," Parent said. "And I don't understand why any vet would ever vote for Trump after January 6, 2021." Monday's student protest focused mainly on the administration's policies on immigration, while most of Tuesday's demonstrators focused on federal spending cuts and support for Ukraine. Red cards with scripts for interacting with law enforcement were available at both days' protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another of Trump's more contentious policies, immigration enforcement, resurfaced in Kern Tuesday with reports of renewed federal action in local farmworker communities. One demonstrator Tuesday, Rosa Lopez with the Rapid Response Network of Kern, said the organization had confirmed some kind of immigration action near Arvin and Lamont. "We've seen alerts and confirmed activities by immigration enforcement throughout the county," Lopez said. In an email, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the agency was unable to confirm reports of enforcement activity. "Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations for ICE," the spokesperson stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which also carries out immigration enforcement activity, and did so locally in January, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Also Tuesday, protesters were informed by Bakersfield Police Officer Keith Schlecht that any amplified sound equipment, such as bullhorns and speakers, could not be used within 100 yards of the courthouse, per city code. At past demonstrations, including Monday, demonstrators used bullhorns and other devices without being cited. Schlecht acknowledged a lack of enforcement in the past, saying the department was not immediately aware of the code. But with the increase in demonstrations, the code was reviewed and would now be enforced, he said. AURORA, Ill. An Aurora man accused of dozens of child sex crimes, including sexual abuse and manufacturing child pornography, was handed a nearly 110-year prison sentence this week. 54-year-old Ronald Lye, an Aurora resident, was sentenced to 109 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections this week, Kane County States Attorney Jamie Mosser announced Tuesday. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors did not provide details on any specific incidents he was involved in but said he had been found guilty of several felony offenses back in January, including 14 counts of manufacturing child pornography, 18 counts of possessing child pornography and 12 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Photo provided by Kane County States Attorney Jamie Mosser shows 54-year-old Ronald Lye, an Aurora resident who was sentenced to 109 years in prison for dozens of child sex crimes This sentence will not make the victim whole, but ensures Ronald J. Lye will be locked behind bars for a very long time and he will be unable to prey on children, Kane County Assistant States Attorney Morgan Wilkinson said. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Lyes sentence was handed down by Judge David Kliment and prosecutors said he must serve at least 50% of the sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the century-long sentence, Lye must also register for life as a sexual offender. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Carie Hallford, who along with husband, Jon Hallford, was originally headed to prison after taking a plea deal for crimes involving nearly 190 bodies at a southern Colorado funeral home, will instead stand trial. Carie Hallford withdrew her guilty plea in federal court Tuesday and is now set to take her case to trial, according to court records. The funeral home in Penrose, about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, came under a multi-agency investigation in October 2023 after complaints about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found about 190 bodies in various states of decomposition that were not properly stored. Last year, the Hallfords pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and were expected to receive a prison sentence of 78 months to 15 years. However, according to court records, at a hearing last week Judge Nina Wang informed both defendants that after review she found the plea agreements were "not in the public's best interest." According to court records, Wang informed the Hallfords they would need to return to court to "be prepared to either withdraw from the plea agreement" or proceed under new terms. According to court records, Jon Hallford opted to keep his guilty plea, with the only change being an understanding that Wang could go above the originally expected maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and that Jon Hallford is not able to withdraw his plea of guilty. Carie Hallford opted to withdraw her plea entirely and is set for trial, according to court records. Court records show Jon Hallford's attorney, Virginia Grady, filed a motion opposing the ruling from the court before Tuesday's hearing. Featured Local Savings "Mr. Hallford objects to this Court's finding that the plea agreement 'is not in the public interest,'" Hallford's defense wrote in the motion. "Such a finding, at this time, is inconsistent with prosecutorial independence and violates Mr. Hallford's right to assistance of counsel at sentencing." Jon Hallford's sentencing hearing is still slated to take place March 20, according to court records. A trial date for Carie Hallford has yet to be scheduled, and it's unclear what role the extension in her federal case will play in her state-level case. Kate Singh, a spokeswoman for the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, said there is a "possibility" that the Hallfords' sentencing date in state court could be delayed by Carie Hallford's plea withdrawal. In January, the Hallfords pleaded guilty in state court to 190 counts of abuse of a corpse. The state plea agreements, if accepted by Judge Eric Bentley, would see Jon Hallford sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Carie Hallford faces 15-20 years in prison. On the state level, if the plea agreement is accepted, all other charges will be dismissed. The Hallfords are set to return to court in their state case April 18 for sentencing. Lockheed Martin has revealed more about its Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT, pronounced comet), a revised design based on its Speed Racer air vehicle concept, a missile-shaped uncrewed system you can read more about here. The CMMT is now said to be a family of systems, intended to yield low-cost subsonic air vehicles designed for a wide range of missions and for launch from both air and ground platforms. The ethos is very much in keeping with an ongoing U.S. Air Force push for cheaper, easier-to-produce munitions that has been accelerated by the realities of the current stockpile and its limited depth. Lockheed is currently pitching CMMT in two basic configurations. The first is a missile that will be deployed via U.S. Air Force fighters, bombers, and transports. Concept artwork this week by Lockheed Martin shows CMMTs being launched from a C-130 series airlifter (as seen at the top of this story) and from an F-16 fighter. The second configuration is for a smaller long-range launched effect that will be deployed from rotary-wing platforms the related concept artwork shows an H-60 Black Hawk series helicopter. A head-on view of the CMMT in flight. Lockheed Martin At the 2025 Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) Warfare Symposium today, Lockheed Martin also showed concept artwork of a ground-launched version of CMMT, with an example being fired from an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) using one of its rocket pods. This version is apparently based on the second configuration of CMTT, but its fitted with a supplementary booster for launching. A rendering of a ground-launched CMMT, fired from a HIMARS launcher. Lockheed Martin As for the air-launched version of the larger CMMT, Mike Rothstein, vice president of Strategy and Requirements, Air Weapons and Sensors at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control said at the AFA Warfare Symposium today that a potential palletized scenario could involve as many as 25 CMMTs. This compares with the nine palletized JASSM missiles used in Rapid Dragon, a previous experimental effort that armed airlifters with cruise missiles but which is, broadly speaking, conceptually similar to CMMT. An official Air Force model showing a Rapid Dragon pallet loaded with nine missiles. Joseph Trevithick Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rothstein confirmed that, over the last weekend, the company completed a CMMT drop test, making use of the latest iteration of Rapid Dragon to test the new store in what he described as more of a lab test, involving a common pallet dropped under a parachute. This will be followed up by a planned free flight test of CMMT later this year, Rothstein said. Lockheed Martin has recently also released more details about the development path for CMMT which it says is highly adaptable and affordable and which can be produced and delivered as fast as it is expended. The ability to produce munitions at scale is something that is increasingly seen as a key requirement by the U.S. military. To try and meet this demand, Lockheed Martin says it benefited from 1LMX a program to re-engineer its internal processes. Two images showing the rapid prototyping effort for the CMMT program. Lockheed Martin 1LMX is said to be the largest internal program ever undertaken by the company and is focused on automations and capabilities required to drive efficiency, increase velocity, and enhance key captures and programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the first programs to leverage 1LMX was Rapid Dragon, another Air Force initiative in keeping with the Pentagons doctrine of affordable mass. Lockheed Martin and the Air Force started work on Rapid Dragon in early 2021 and, within the first 10 months, had conducted three customer exercises and a first flight. Rapid Dragon went on to yield four live-fire strike missions from airlifters, two in the United States and two abroad. As Lockheed Martin was preparing Rapid Dragon for fielding, the company was also developing affordable mass weapons to support the Air Force mission and a few others. This includes CMMT, which Lockheed Martin says is chiefly a manufacturing program rather than a technology development effort. As such, the aim was to drastically reduce the normal development path, producing a low-cost design that was 100 percent producible from the start. Once a scalable product is achieved, performance-enhancing and mission-specific capabilities will be introduced later as use cases and threats emerge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CMMT has an open architecture and modular design. This means it can be manufactured using distributed supply chains and production lines that can surge to meet customer demands. At the same time, new capabilities can be easily added as required. For this reason, too, Lockheed Martin typically refers to CMMT not as a missile but as an air vehicle since it can be fitted with different types of sensors as well as a warhead. Potentially, it could also be easily adapted as an air-launched decoy. A screengrab from an earlier Skunk Works video shows notional payloads inside the front end of a CMMT drone. Antennas or RF-transparent apertures or glazed low-observable windows for electro-optics are shown on the side and bottom of the forward fuselage. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works capture By utilizing 1LMX, Lockheed Martin was able to reduce the time required to get CMMT to a preliminary design review by 50 percent, the company says. At the same time, as mentioned, CMMT is not an all-new design, since it also draws from the earlier Speed Racer. A product of Lockheed Martins Skunk Works advanced projects division, this was an experimental low-cost pathfinder design that was developed first to demonstrate new digital engineering and advanced manufacturing methods techniques that were also rolled into 1LMX. Like CMMT, Speed Racer was based around a modular architecture that allowed it to be relatively readily reconfigured for different mission sets. Speed Racer was also designed to be a low-cost vehicle, with a planned unit cost significantly under $2 million, and was not intended to be recovered after a mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The older Lockheed Martin video below includes a rendering of the Speed Racer experimental vehicle, as seen in the thumbnail. Back in July 2022, Lockheed Martin unveiled four distinct uncrewed aircraft designs, one of which was CMMT, with Speed Racer being disclosed as the basis for it. An official project video released by Lockheed Martin depicted an F-35 launching a future CMMT from a wing pylon, a mode of employment that would negatively impact the jets stealthy characteristics. CMMTs seen in an earlier rendering with single offset air intakes and V-shaped tail assemblies. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Meanwhile, other similar designs have emerged, and its notable that the current CMMT looks quite similar to Andurils Barracuda, a new family of what that company is calling expendable autonomous air vehicles that are scalable, highly modular, and already being flight-tested. However, Barracuda is just one of an increasing number of cheaper cruise missiles now in the works, and this is an area that has attracted particular interest from smaller firms, including some brand-new players. Shown: successful flight test of Barracuda-500, with vertical launch, autonomous flight, and precision target engagement. pic.twitter.com/kngqq09TQt Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) March 5, 2025 Overall, theres now a growing focus on less expensive, expandable, air-launched drones and munitions, driven by concerns about a potential conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific region. At the forefront of this is the Pentagons Replicator initiative, which is accelerating work on low-cost air vehicles that could evolve into relatively cheap cruise missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we envision the environment that we have to work in, we understand that in a global conflict, and the kind of conflict were going to have, maybe against a peer competitor, being able to get mass on targets is important, Rothstein said. We know we got to be able to produce at more rate, Rothstein continued. And we know we have to work not only with some of the exquisite high-end weapons that we do so well, such as JASSM and LRASM, but we are also listening and understanding that theres a need to bring more affordable mass to that target. Think of [CMMT] like a low-cost cruise missile. Artwork showing the general configuration of the CMMT, with its pop-out wings deployed. Lockheed Martin With a genesis that dates back several years, and with the experience of the Speed Racer and Rapid Dragon, Lockheed Martin will hope that its CMMT is well positioned for future success especially the scalable mass production that is a central tenet of its design. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com Mar. 5WASHINGTON A Lodi farmer and advocate for the wine industry was in attendance for President Donald Trump's first speaking engagement at the U.S. Capitol since his inauguration in January. Lodi Winegrape Commission executive director Stuart Spencer attended the first address of 119th Congress last night in Washington, D.C. Spencer was invited by Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, as a special guest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Valley is home to the best crops and wine in the world because of hardworking family farmers, and I'm honored to have Stuart Spencer join me in Washington to highlight our agriculture communities," Harder said. "From severe disasters to rising costs and foreign competition, our farmers are facing real challenges, and they need real solutions from Washington. I'm committed to working with anyone to ensure that our farmers have the support they need to thrive, not just survive." Spencer has been farming winegrapes since he was 10 years old, and his family has been farming for 50 years. These include 40 acres of nine different Portuguese and Spanish varieties. Spencer joined the Winegrape Commission in 1999 as a program manager and became executive director in 2018. During his time with the commission, Spencer has overseen its marketing program, providing guidance and support to advertise regional events such as ZinFest, as well as lead branding efforts for campaigns including LoCA, Save the Old Vines and the "A Rising Tide" Lodi Grower Video Series. He also spearheaded the installation and opening of the Lodi Wine Visitor Center inside the Wine & Roses Resort and Spa at 2545 W. Turner Road in 2000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spencer has also been heavily involved in educational efforts for the Lodi winegrape industry, including recent initiatives to focus attention on California winegrower challenges and opportunities in the current wine industry. He was instrumental in developing the LODI RULES for Sustainable Winegrowing program which celebrated its 20th year of certification in January. Since 2005, the program has grown from 1,555 acres of certified sustainable Lodi vineyards to more than 75,000 acres of planted vines certified in California, Washington, and Israel. New London The German consul for New England said Tuesday after a New London Rotary Club speech that Europe is at a massive turning point" regarding its relationship to the United States. The comments by Sonja Kriebich, a longtime German diplomat, came as President Donald Trump institutes tariffs against select countries and pulls back from the United States' three-year-long support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. "It's a moment for Europe to assert itself," she said during an interview following a Rotary Partners for Peace luncheon at the Lighthouse Inn. "If Europe manages to seize this moment and will gain strength from it, something good will come from it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kriebich said despite some concerns in Europe that the NATO alliance could be at risk as Trump appears to be embracing Russia and other totalitarian countries, Germany still sees NATO as having a central role in the security of Europe, the United States and Canada. "Germany over the last years, significantly increased its defense spending," she said during her Rotary speech. "We are now comfortably really close to reaching the 2 percent (of GDP) target for NATO (on defense spending). ... This increase of defense spending also immediately benefits the U.S. We've purchased more than $26 billion of military equipment from the U.S. defense industry." Kriebich said many Germans once believed that they could nudge Russia toward democracy and a more friendly posture by strengthening trading and business ties. But recent events, especially the Russian attack on Ukraine, have dissuaded most of the political parties from this view, she said, as Europe now views Russia as a real threat to its security. "This war at our doorstep heavily impacts our security," Kriebich said during her speech. "If you do not get to a fair and lasting peace that safeguards the key interests of Ukraine, we will not be safe in Europe. So this would only encourage Russia to do a next step." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added that any peace deal worked out over the war must recognize Ukraine's independence and sovereignty. "All European states are determined to do more for their own security," she added. "Ukraine can rely on Germany and on Europe." Kriebich added that the current uncertainty over U.S. support for Ukraine as well as Europe comes at a difficult time in Germany as a recent election put a more conservative government in charge that will take some time to form. At the same time, a far-right party in Germany has begun to gain strength, she added, though it is not powerful enough yet to be included in a coalition government. In response to a question about the purported lack of free speech in Germany, Kriebich explained that Germany, because of its past experience with Nazism, has banned certain things it considers hate speech, such as Holocaust denial. "I know that for Americans this sounds like a limitation to free speech, but we simply have a different definition of free speech," she said. "In Germany, hate speech is being punishable and it will also be prosecuted. So if you are being harassed on social media, for example, you can ask that to be addressed." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Shock and awe" Eric Fleury, a professor of government and international relations at Connecticut College who focuses on foreign policy, said Tuesday that Trump's lurch to the right internationally coincides with his rapid shock and awe strategy on the domestic front through the government consolidation spearheaded by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. "The idea is to hit the ground running, move fast and break things," Fleury said in a phone interview. The problem, from Fleury's point of view, is that there appears to be no grand strategy on the international front, and many of the changes appear to be a lot of theater with very little follow through unless concessions can be extracted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The only thing that really matters is the image of being a so-called strongman, Fleury said. The strategy includes inflating the amount of aid the United States has given to Ukraine while downplaying the support Europe has shown, according to many Trump opponents. According to FactCheck.org, Trump consistently has cited figures for U.S. military aid that is about double the amount Congress has allocated (some of which has not yet been spent). Meanwhile, European statistic show that those countries have contributed more than double what Trump has been citing, and has committed many billions more to Ukraine while the United States now is balking at more aid. Despite the conflicts with longtime U.S. allies, Fleury said he doubts Trump will actually pull out of NATO. Instead, the president wants to get credit for extracting concessions from allies, he said, even as many of them had been moving in that direction anyway. l.howard@theday.com Each year, Los Angeles magazine's March L.A. Woman issue recognizes a selection of standout females and there's certainly a wealth of worthy choices. However, this year, as we rebound from an unprecedented emergency, we wanted to honor the leaders who stood up for the community in the aftermath of the wildfires. By fundraising, distributing essentials, heading into disaster zones and simply donating their time, these 13 female trailblazers went to bat for the city they love. After losing her Malibu home, our cover star Paris Hilton used her 11:11 Media Impact platform to aid displaced residents and animals. The activist who's been fighting child abuse raised than more than $1 million in a matter of days and also worked alongside Baby2Baby, Pasadena Humane Society, CORE and Hilton Hotels (coordinating the donation of 20,000 rooms to displaced families). Read the full story here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our 12 other 2025 L.A. Woman honorees are: - The Los Angeles Fire Department's former head Kristin Crowley, L.A.'s first female fire chief, who fought to contain the raging disaster that threatened the city for weeks - Oscar-winning actress and producer Jamie Lee Curtis, who donated $1 million to bolster relief efforts after losing her Palisades community - Restaurateur Marissa Hermer, who made use of the kitchens at her hot spots Chez Mia and Olivetta to feed the masses after evacuating her Palisades home - Actress, writer and director Jennifer Love Hewitt, the star of 9-1-1, who fled the Palisades only to create 'Love Angeles' clothing items benefiting children in need Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Restaurateur Alanha Jade, behind Hollywood's welcoming, Black-owned eatery Linden that donated $20,000 and 20 percent of January proceeds - Co-founder and CEO of CORE, Ann Lee, whose organization assisted nearly 15,000 fire victims with a focus on helping Altadena residents remain in the area - Actress, producer and director Eva Longoria, who was on the ground at the Eaton Fire helping with cleanup, handing out food and holding people's hands - City Councilmember Traci Park, an L.A. native who headed into the fire zone and fought for residents to have food, shelter and support - Baby2Baby co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein, whose nonprofit committed to babies and kids distributed over 14 million essential items Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - The CAA Foundation's Executive Director Natalie Tran, who helped birth the SoCal Fire Fund that raised more than $5 million and helped over 550 families in two weeks - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Janet Yang, a film producer making the industry more global, who honored L.A.'s resilience at the Oscars Female changemakers in all areas from Somerville supper club owner Issa Rae to The Resident star Uzo Aduba can also be found throughout the issue, which we'll be celebrating at our annual L.A. Woman luncheon (stay tuned for ticket info). Our city has weathered a turbulent time, but with these intrepid and inspiring women at the helm, we believe the future looks bright. A federal judge agreed last week that three civic organizations presented a "very weak" voter intimidation case to her last year, but it was not so baseless as to award the defendants attorney fees after they prevailed at trial. Last July, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney concluded the organizers of an "election integrity" effort had not violated the Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act with their door-to-door canvassing effort in the wake of the 2020 election. In her ruling at the time, Sweeney noted the plaintiffs' key witness, a Grand Junction woman who received a visit from canvassers, could not even identify which organization sent the volunteers to her home. Subsequently, the defendants collectively asked for more than $1 million in costs and attorney fees after they prevailed. They argued defendants in civil rights cases are entitled to such awards if a plaintiff's claims are "frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless." Sweeney, an appointee of Joe Biden, was not willing to go that far, even as she criticized the plaintiffs' attorneys. "There is no question that Plaintiffs case-in-chief was very weak, and the Court strongly urges Plaintiffs and their counsel to reassess future cases, particularly those with tenuous claims that barely withstand scrutiny," she wrote in a Feb. 28 order. Yet, it was not "one of those rare cases that justify an award of attorney fees to prevailing defendants, especially where there is no conclusive evidence that Plaintiffs or their counsel showed serious disregard for the orderly process of justice." The plaintiff groups the Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Colorado, and Mi Familia Vota sued the founders of U.S. Election Integrity Plan (USEIP), which was an organized effort following the 2020 election to visit voters at more than 9,400 homes to inquire about their registrations and past voting behavior. The defendants characterized the canvassing effort as "the equivalent to a high school civics project," but the plaintiffs maintained the purpose was not benign. They pointed to USEIP's "playbook," published in August 2021 at the tail end of the door-knocking project, which claimed "they stole our election" and warned about "the destruction of the greatest nation in the history of earth." During the three-day trial in front of Sweeney, however, the case quickly unraveled. Both sides attempted to litigate matters unrelated to USEIP's activities, and the plaintiffs for the first time raised the theory that employees of the Colorado Secretary of State's Office might have been victims of voter intimidation, as well. The case faltered further following the testimony of Yvette Roberts, who the plaintiffs chose to testify about her alleged intimidation by USEIP canvassers. In her telling, a man and woman approached her house in June 2021 to say they were "part of an investigation looking into the Colorado 2020 election" and wearing semi-professional-looking badges. Featured Local Savings Sweeney had previously allowed the case to proceed to trial based on Roberts' pretrial statements about the experience. However, on the witness stand, it became apparent that Roberts did not experience any intimidating behavior nor could she be sure the canvassers were even affiliated with USEIP. "There was no evidence of voter intimidation, but simply a risk of voter intimidation. This court will not act on risk that was proven unfounded," Sweeney said in her ruling. The defendants Shawn Smith, Ashley Epp and Holly Kasun then moved for Sweeney to award them more than $1 million in attorney fees and costs. "Plaintiffs brought this case premised on hearsay media reports, which could not be substantiated through discovery, and continued to litigate this frivolous, unreasonable, and foundationless case through trial," wrote Smith's attorneys. At some point, plaintiffs must have realized "no witness would be able to testify that they were intimidated by Defendants. Nevertheless, Plaintiffs continued to litigate this matter for more than a year." The plaintiffs' attorneys countered it would be unwise to award attorney fees to defendants who prevail in voting rights cases, as it would serve as a deterrent to bringing lawsuits in the first place. Further, they argued Epp, as a self-represented defendant, had no entitlement to attorney fees. Finally, they noted Sweeney's ruling for the defendants did not necessarily mean the case was frivolous. Sweeney agreed that she could not look at the case in hindsight and deem it meritless because the plaintiffs lost. "Although the Court found at trial that many of the factual allegations Plaintiffs point to were either inadmissible, unpersuasive, or irrelevant," she wrote, "such findings do not necessarily mean that Plaintiffs entire case was frivolous or clearly baseless." An appeal of Sweeney's trial ruling is currently pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The case is Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference of the NAACP et al. v. Smith et al. Sean Hannity begged Donald Trump to stop attacking Fox News in a phone call just weeks before it settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023, according to a new book. In early 2023, Trump decried collusion between MAGA hating Fox News and his then-chief political rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a run of ruthless attacks against the network and its chairman Rupert Murdoch. Ahead of the March 18 release of Alex Isenstadts book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trumps Return to Power, the Axios journalist explains how Hannity, the networks premier host and close Trump confidant, called on the Republican to end his tirade against the conservative network in March 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Please do not hit Fox, do not hit the Murdoch family. Just please, for the love of God, please dont do it, Hannity said, according to an excerpt of Isenstadts book obtained by the Washington Post. Mr. President, Im trying to help you out here with the Fox people here. But youre not making it easy for me by going after the Murdochs. Youre not helping me. Youre not helping yourself. If you can just lay off, we can start making some moves and getting back to normal. Fox News primetime host Sean Hannity allegedly called Trump in 2023 urging him to soften his tone regarding the news network (2023 Invision) Holding up his phone so his staffers could hear, Trump reportedly replied: Sean is trying to do the right thing. But, man, the Murdochs? I dont know. Susie, are you in the room? Hannity asked, referring to Susie Wiles, Trumps then-campaign manager. Susie, can you talk to the president? For the love of God, can you talk to the president? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a Fox News spokesperson, Wiles responded: Well, Sean, President Trump is going to do what President Trump thinks is best and fair. Hannity said that he could not recall speaking to Wiles during the conversation. Trump then called Hannity a good man and put down the phone, per the excerpt. Trump and key figures of his administration have spoken to Hannity since the Republicans win at the ballot box in November (Fox News) Despite taking several jabs at Fox News on the 2024 presidential campaign trail over its polling and announcement of an interview with his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, the president has rarely clashed with the Murdoch-owned network since entering politics. However, in the spring of 2023, a simmering feud between Trump and Fox News reached a boiling point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump capitalized on revelations in the defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, which sued the network for $1.6 billion over claims made during its coverage of the 2020 election. In April 2023, Fox struck a $787.5 million deal with the voting machine company. There were media reports throughout the early 2024-election cycle that Fox News bosses were seeking to ditch Trump. In late 2022, multiple Fox News pundits began throwing their support behind DeSantis after his landslide reelection victory at the 2022 mid-terms a largely disappointing election for the Republicans, with many of Trump's hand-picked candidates struggling to win key races. Trump is the past, said Fox Business host Stuart Varney on November 10, 2022, while Fox News Digital headlines called Trump the biggest loser and hailed DeSantis as the new Republican Party leader. Trump, pictured with Florida Gov. Ron Desantis pictured at a campaign rally in November 2020, took aim at Fox News for its backing of the Florida Governor post the 2022 mid-term elections (Getty Images) In late February, DeSantis book The Courage to Be Free was heavily promoted and saw the governor make at least five live appearances on the network, according to a tally at the time by Media Matters for America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, in the same period, Trump had a roughly six-month hiatus from appearing on the network in what his campaign referred to at the time as a soft ban. Murdoch also acknowledged that his network hosts had endorsed some of Trumps baseless claims about the 2020 election being stolen by Joe Biden. Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table, which also happens to be killing his case and infuriating his viewers, who will again be leaving in droves they already are, Trump posted on Truth Social on February 28, 2023. Trump told the media magnate that if he did not believe the 2020 election was rigged he should get out of the News Business as soon as possible, because they are aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA with FAKE NEWS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murdoch's resignation as the chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp in September 2023 provided Trump and the network a refresh. Rupert Murdoch is in a class by himself, hes an amazing guy, Trump said of the conservative in the Oval Office last month. The LSU Law Center pictured on March 20, 2023, in Baton Rouge. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) LSU ignored Title IX reports about sexually offensive comments an LSU law adjunct instructor made in the classroom, allowing him to remain in the classroom for another semester when more Title IX reports were filed against him. Records show Franz Borghardt, a Baton Rouge criminal law attorney, was allowed to remain in the classroom despite multiple reports to the schools Title IX office about his comments, including one that the university never followed up on in apparent contradiction with its own policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Title IX is the section of federal law that deals with sex-based discrimination in educational settings, including instances of sexual harassment and sexual violence. According to a Title IX report shared with the Illuminator by a student in his class, Borghardt is alleged to have made several sexist remarks in a spring 2024 class. They include referring to a 19-year-old woman who accused a police officer Borghardt represented of kidnapping, malfeasance and groping as a hoe or a whore. The report said Borghardt used a singing voice when he said this and also referred to the woman as ghetto. The report added that Borghardt said dressing up a separate client for a court appearance was akin to putting lipstick on a pig and that the woman had resting bitch face. Everyone should feel safe in their educational environment, Borghardt told the Illuminator in a statement. All Title IX claims should be thoroughly vetted and the well being of students should always come first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Borghardt did not say whether he made the comments alleged in the report. I love teaching at LSU law and hope that all claims of misconduct are and have been investigated rigorously, he added. The student who made the complaint asked not to be identified, citing a fear of retaliation. Her allegations, which the Illuminator has reviewed, were forwarded to LSUs Title IX office by a mandatory reporter, who is not identified in the report. Most employees at universities are mandatory reporters, meaning they are required by law to report anything they believe to be a Title IX offense. Todd Manuel, who leads LSUs Title IX office, assured state legislators at a December panel meeting on power-based violence on college campuses that all Title IX and power-based violence reports are followed up on within 24 to 48 hours. Power-based violence is defined in state law as any form of interpersonal violence intended to control or intimidate another person through the assertion of power over the person. The term encompasses Title IX concerns but also includes other offenses that do not rise to the level of a Title IX offense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Whats in a name? An incident report is the first notification a Title IX office receives that an offense may occur. It does not trigger an investigation. Only a formal complaint, which requires additional action from the complainant beyond an incident report, can do so. Todd Manuel, who leads LSUs Title IX office, told legislators in December that all reports are followed up on within 24-48 hours and specifically delineated between an incident report and a complaint. According to documents LSU submitted to the Board of Regents, LSU received hundreds of reports in 2024 but received just five Title IX complaints and 14 power-based violence complaints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Manuel said most reports do not end up as complaints because the students are not responsive to outreach from his office. The student who complained about Borghardts conduct said she didnt hear from anyone with LSUs Title IX office until she reached out to them six months later seeking an explanation. An employee from the Title IX office then responded to the student, saying its case manager reaches out to individuals who have experienced harm as defined under the LSU Systems policy on Title IX and power-based violence. But it was determined her allegations did not rise to that level. The Title IX worker told the student the office specifically takes on cases that include elements related to sex-based discrimination, sexual harassment that is severe, pervasive and objectively offensive, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview, the student said she believes Borghardts comments amount to sexual harassment. According to the United Nations Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, sexual harassment includes sexual jokes and comments. The Title IX offices decision not to reach out to the student conflicts with campus policy, which requires a formal complaint to be filed to determine whether the allegations meet the criteria to be considered as a potential Title IX or power-based violence violation. The office never afforded the student the opportunity to file a formal complaint, instead sharing her allegations with the law schools dean. According to the policy, when a report is filed, the Title IX coordinator will provide the complainant with information and help with reporting options, including how to file a formal complaint. The incident report does not trigger an investigation, the policy states. Only a formal complaint can do this. The policy states that formal complaints will be reviewed, and only then will a determination be made as to whether the offense meets the criteria to be considered a Title IX complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the alleged behavior doesnt meet the threshold for a Title IX investigation, the office passes along the concerns to a department or unit leader who employs the accused person, the employee told the law student. In a statement to the Illuminator, LSU spokesman Todd Woodward said the university didnt violate its Title IX policy with its response to the report. It was a performance management issue that is handled by the department leadership and HR, Woodward said. The Title IX office referred the matter back to the dean. That is why there was no contact with the students. Its also questionable as to whether the university properly documented this students complaint in legally required reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its Title IX coordinators biannual report, which each college and university is required to submit to the Louisiana Board of Regents, lists basic information about alleged incidents reported to the campus Title IX office. The two reports from the same day the students report against Borghardt was filed have their status listed as Closed Complainant Not Currently Enrolled, meaning her report was either listed improperly or not recorded at all. The student complainant in this case is still enrolled at LSU. Woodward did not respond to a question about this inconsistency. According to Woodward, after the initial complaint in Spring 2024, Borghardt was warned that any further misconduct of this nature would result in dismissal. Despite this warning, more complaints came in about Borghardt. After these subsequent complaints, Borghardt was informed he would not be invited back to teach at LSU, Woodward said. However, he is still listed as an adjunct on LSUs website, though the Illuminator confirmed he is not teaching a class this semester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least two complaints were filed last fall by mandatory reporters with whom another student confided about a phone call she had with Borghardt and several text messages he reportedly sent her. At the end of the call, he said, youre amazing the faculty member wrote in the report. After the call ended, texted [the student] saying yes you are amazing, I just dont get the luxury of favorites, and Now in Dec, I get favorites. The interaction left [the student] very uncomfortable and worried about whether and how to respond and the effect on her grade. The student, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said the Title IX office followed up with her about the reports. The student said she filed a formal complaint, after which the Title IX office determined it did not rise to the level of a Title IX offense. That LSU gave Borghardt, an adjunct instructor, a warning after he allegedly made profane and sexually offensive remarks in the classroom struck a nerve with some LSU law students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This semester, LSU removed tenured law professor Ken Levy from the classroom after he made profane comments critical about Gov. Jeff Landry in the classroom. Levy was suspended from teaching duties within days of making the comments and was not given the same warning Borghardt received. Levy is currently suing the university over his removal. Jill Craft, Levys attorney, criticized LSU for the difference in treatment in an interview with the Illuminator. A side-by-side comparison really illustrates how politically motivated [Levys] removal from teaching appears to be, Craft said. LSU President William Tate testified during a hearing in Levys case earlier this month that he made the decision to remove him from the classroom. When questioned after an LSU Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this month by a reporter about the disparate treatment Borghardt and Levy received, Tate said he did not know who Borghardt was but that he would look into why he wasnt removed sooner. Levys removal was met with outrage by his students, many of whom protested his suspension and testified in his defense during a court hearing in February. Several dozen protesters attended a rally in Levys defense in January. Kristen Graham-Winkles was among the law students who came to his defense. Thats enraging. It shows exactly where their values are, and its not with the students, Graham-Winkles said in an interview with the Illuminator about the complaints against Borghardt. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Roughly 160 people discussed politics at the dinner table Friday afternoon. With red, white and blue balloons and cardboard cutouts of presidents Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln, Republicans celebrated political success during the Cass County Lincoln Day Dinner. Among the fundraisers attractions, visitors seemed especially keen to meet the nights keynote speaker Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, and U.S. Rep. Jim Baird (R-Indiana), who said he Im the happiest that Ive ever been in meeting Congress Well get this country back on track. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lieutenant governor used the event as an opportunity to call the audience to action, asking visitors to be bold and courageous. Referencing a Bible verse, Blessed be the peacemakers, Beckwith said most people interpret the message to mean they shouldnt rattle any cages, shake things up or create conflict. He went on to ask the crowd how America made peace during World War II. The answer, he said, was that Americans killed nazis. When you go to war, when you make peace, youre doing it out of love. We went to war in WWII, not because we hated nazis, but because we loved the people that we were protecting, and we had no other choice, Beckwith said. We didnt drop the atomic bombs on Japan because we hated the Japanese. We dropped them because we had no other choice, and we wanted peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Referencing another Bible verse, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, Beckwith explained the staff is a tool shepherds use to herd sheep while the rod is a weapon of war. So many times in our culture, in our politicians, in our party, I see people who dont even know how to use the rod, Beckwith said. What Im asking of Cass County tonight is see yourself as shepherds. Beckwith went on to reference depictions of Jesus holding a lamb over his shoulder. He explained that when wayward sheep wandered from the pack, potentially putting themselves in danger, a shepherd would have to break the lambs leg, throw it over their shoulder, then place the lamb back with the herd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the heart of a good shepherd. Sometimes we do the hard things, Beckwith said, later adding, Were doing the hard things because we actually love you. We actually want to protect you. We actually want to steward this amazing community, this great nation, what God has given us, what we want to preserve for our children and childrens children. The lieutenant governor thanked Moms for Liberty a nationwide organization that advocates against things like social-emotional learning and diversity, equity and inclusion being taught in classrooms several times throughout the night for going to war with evil so that our kids can live in peace. I feel like God is raising a lot of people up just for a time as this, Beckwith said. Sharing a story from his days a youth pastor at a Carmel megachurch, Beckwith recounted an incident where students at the church told him they thought communism was the best form of governance and that they should be able to identify as whichever gender they felt comfortable with. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In both cases, he said, he told the students First of all, no, thats dumb, before asking where they had picked up those ideas. The students told him they learned it from a public school teacher. Indiana is supposed to be this very red state, and Central Indiana is the heart of Indiana. And this is what were teaching, Beckwith said, adding he took the incident as a calling to get politically involved. Turning his attention to the present, Beckwith asked the audience to show up, be bold and be courageous. Donald Trump didnt win because hes diplomatic, okay? He won because people got so tired that there were no fighters in the fight, Beckwith said. And hes not perfect. I think we all know that. But boy, I am glad that we have a fighter whos fighting for us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moving into the next season, Beckwith said, he was convinced nothing could stop this amazing experiment in democracy that our founders started so long ago if they stood together and fought. He left the audience with a question. Will You Be bold? Will you be courageous? And will you be a shepherd?, he asked. Rep. Lucy McBath has taken her first formal step toward a bid for Georgia governor in 2026, launching an exploratory committee to raise money. Georgians deserve a governor who understands whats at stake because theyve lived it, McBath, a Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday. As a mom and breast cancer survivor, Ive seen firsthand how regular people are too often left out of the political process. McBath has long been rumored to be considering a run for statewide office, with GOP Gov. Brian Kemp term-limited next year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If she runs and wins, McBath could be the nations first Black woman governor. She would also be the first Democrat to occupy the governors mansion in over two decades. McBath was swept into politics in 2012 after her son Jordan Davis was shot and killed at a gas station after a man objected to the teenagers loud music. In 2018, she won a battleground House seat in the Atlanta area on a platform that underscored gun violence prevention, and has won reelection to Congress since despite Republicans trying to push her out during the redistricting process. Several candidates have already entered the fray for governor, including Republican state Attorney General Chris Carr, while a smattering of other state officials have mulled bids for a crowded Republican field. I look forward to continuing this conversation with my neighbors and fellow Georgians, McBath said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans have largely controlled state offices in Georgia, but Democrats have seen some success on the federal level. Former President Joe Biden carried the state in 2020, and Democrats won both Senate elections that year. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is on the ballot next year, and Republicans are heavily recruiting Kemp to run against him. Minsk is prepared to host the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, and Russia for talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview on March 4. Lukashenko's remarks follow shortly after the U.S. imposed an immediate freeze on military aid to Ukraine, in a move the White House claimed was meant to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky into entering peace negotiations. In an interview with American internet personality Mario Nawfal that aired on Belarusian state media, Lukashenko said he was willing to help U.S. President Donald Trump achieve his goal of brokering peace between Kyiv and Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you want, come here," he said, speaking to Nawfal in Minsk. "It's only 200 kilometers from the Belarusian border to Kyiv. Half an hour by plane. You are welcome to come. We will sit down here. We'll come to an agreement quietly, without noise, without shouting. So tell Trump: I'm waiting for him here, along with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Zelensky. We'll sit down and calmly negotiate. If you want to make a deal." background background Subscribe to newsletter Belarus Weekly Despite the invitation, Lukashenko stressed that he did not want to act as a mediator between other nations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Most of all, I hate mediation. It means being between someone and pretending that you can do something," he said. Belarus previously hosted talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2014 and 2015, leading to the Minsk Agreements. The agreements were meant to stop the Donbas war, triggered by Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Russia violated both agreements. Two days before launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin declared that the Minsk Agreements "no longer existed." Zelensky brought up Russia's violation of prior agreements during his Oval Office meeting with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in an attempt to explain the importance of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Vance responded by berating Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for U.S. assistance. Days later, the U.S. halted military aid to Ukraine. In a joint address to both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 4, Trump made little mention of the decision, but said he planned to work with "both sides" to stop the war in Ukraine. Belarus remains a staunch ally of the Kremlin. While it has not committed its own troops to the battlefield in Ukraine, it allowed the Russian military to use its territory and infrastructure extensively during the launch of the full-scale invasion. Zelensky claimed on Feb. 14 that Russia is once again building up troops in Belarus, possibly in preparation for large-scale operations against NATO countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Trump cuts to US weapons aid likely to hit Ukrainian civilians before front line Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Not so long ago, Luke, the kitten, arrived at Caddo Parish Animal Services with his sister, Leia, in a galaxy not so far away. Help Clear the Shelters According to Caddo Parish Animal Services, Luke was an owner surrender, and he has been doing well since arriving on February 27th. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Headlines Luke is a sweet and cuddly 10-month-old tabby who loves toys, a comfy bed, and making air biscuits. All hes missing is a human to call his own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adopting from Caddo Parish Animal Services is a quick and easy process. Simply visit the shelter at 1500 Monty Street, pay the $50 adoption fee, fill out some paperwork, and once your pet is spayed/neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated, itll be on its way out the door with you! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that Russia has become a threat to the whole of Europe, including France, and he sees no reason to believe it would stop at Ukraine. Source: Macron in an address to the nation on 5 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: The French president noted that the security and well-being of European citizens have become increasingly uncertain. "It must be said: we are entering a new era," Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He pointed out that Russia has already given its war against Ukraine a global dimension by bringing in North Korean troops and Iranian weaponry, assisting Pyongyang and Tehran at the same time. Russia has not hesitated to kill Kremlin opponents on European territory, interfere in elections, carry out cyberattacks, and manipulate public opinion by spreading lies on social media. It is also "testing the limits of what is permitted in the air, at sea, in space and on our screens". "This aggression seems to know no bounds. And Russia continues to rearm," Macron stressed, citing Moscow's ambitious military plans to 2030. Quote: "In this context, who can believe that Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become... a threat to France and to Europe. I deeply regret that this is the case. I am convinced that one day, peace will return to our continent, and Russia will be peaceful again. But the situation I am describing to you is the reality, and we must respond to it." Details: Macron went on to say that under these circumstances, "remaining a mere observer would be madness", and France will have to make serious decisions regarding assistance to Ukraine and ensuring the security of its citizens and Europe as a whole. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A 45-year-old man with connections to local churches was arrested March 2 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child, according to a news release sent by the Fountain Police Department. Stephen Hutto was booked into the El Paso County jail and is facing a felony charge for sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust. He is the pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Boone, east of Pueblo, and previously worked as a youth pastor at Fountain Independent Baptist Church. Hutto's next court appearance is 1:30 p.m. March 13. Featured Local Savings According to court documents obtained by The Gazette, the alleged sexual abuse occurred about 15 years ago when the victim was 15 years old. The victim alleged Hutto groomed her and carried on a sexual relationship with her at various locations, including her residence in Fountain and his residence at the time. Investigators allege that Hutto had at least one other sexual relationship with someone he knew through a youth program . However investigators say she was 18 when the relationship started. Detectives with the Police Department ask the public to call 719-382-4288 or email detective Tori Smith at tsmith@fountainpd.com with any information on witnesses or additional victims. They can also call 719-634-7867 or 719-382-4200 to remain anonymous. Credit: France TV Emmanuel Macron said the future of Europe and its security cannot be decided in Moscow or in Washington in a clear criticism of US-Russian talks over Ukraine. In his televised address to the nation on Wednesday night, the French president called for long-term support to Ukraine, which may include sending European troops to Ukraine in order to avoid a fragile ceasefire. A peace agreement for Ukraine would be backed perhaps, by the deployment of European forces, Mr Macron said. They wont go to fight today, they wont go to fight on the front line, but they would be there once a peace deal is signed, to guarantee it is fully respected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid growing alarm at the USs shifting foreign policy, he said: I want to believe that the United States will stand by us. But we need to be ready if that is not the case. The Trump administration has cut intelligence-sharing with Ukraine in addition to its halt in military aid in order to force Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table. Mr Macron argued it would be foolish to remain a spectator in this world of danger, adding that Russia turned the war in Ukraine into a global conflict. Sounding the alarm over Russias plans to expand its military, he said: By 2030, Russia plans to increase its army to have 300,000 additional soldiers, 3,000 extra jet fighters who can believe that in this context, Russia will stop at Ukraine? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes as France and Britain, who are seeking to act as a bridge between Washington and Kyiv, are aiming to finalise a peace plan with Ukraine in days, according to European diplomats. Were looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks, one senior European diplomat told Reuters, while another said the focus was on having all the ducks lined up, including a more healthy dialogue between the US and Ukraine. Nuclear umbrella During his address, Mr Macron revealed he was gathering all European army chiefs next week in Paris to guarantee future peace in Ukraine. He said he would open discussions about extending Frances nuclear umbrella to protect European allies, in response to calls by Friedrich Merz, Germanys chancellor-in-waiting, who asked for his country to be protected by either the UK or Frances nuclear shields. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Macron ended his address with a stark warning: Our generation will no longer receive the dividends of peace. It is up to us to ensure that our children reap the rewards of our commitments tomorrow. So we will face the future together. He made clear that any decision on nuclear weapons would remain with the French head of state. The US intelligence suspension is considered a crucial component of Ukraines ability to defend itself against Russian missiles, launch its own long-range strikes against Moscows forces and protect its civilians. On Wednesday, Mr Zelenskys chief of staff spoke with Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, to discuss the next steps towards a just and lasting peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andriy Yermak said that he and Mr Walz exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions and scheduled further US-Ukraine talks. Mr Walz said earlier the US would only lift the ban on weapons and intelligence-sharing if it could nail down negotiations, adding that negotiating teams are talking about a location, a date. The news came a day after the US suspended all military aid to Ukraine, which prompted Mr Zelensky to publicly commit to negotiations as soon as possible and rapidly attempt to heal the rift between himself and the US president. 08:10 PM GMT Thats it for today. We will be back soon with more updates and analysis from the war in Ukraine, European defence and the Trump administrations changing policy towards Kyiv. 07:51 PM GMT Zelensky agrees to peace talks after US cuts off intelligence Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to further peace talks with the Trump administration after the White House halted weapons deliveries and cut intelligence sharing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ukrainian presidents chief of staff spoke with Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, to discuss the next steps towards a just and lasting peace in a call today. Andriy Yermak said that he and Mr Walz exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions and scheduled further US-Ukraine talks. Mr Walz had said earlier that the US would only lift the ban on weapons and intelligence sharing if they could nail down negotiations, adding that negotiating teams are talking about a location, a date. The intelligence-sharing black out emerged on Wednesday. It is believed to be a crucial component of Ukraines ability to defend itself against Russian missiles and launch long-range strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The news came a day after the US suspended all military aid to Ukraine, which prompted Mr Zelensky to publicly commit to negotiations as soon as possible. Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to further talks with the US on bringing the war to an end - AFP 07:35 PM GMT Macron will open debate on extending French nuclear umbrella to allies Emmanuel Macron also revealed that he will open debate about extending the French nuclear umbrella to European partners. In a televised speech to the nation, he added that the ultimate decision on using nuclear weapons will remain in the hands of the French president only. 07:17 PM GMT Macron to hold meeting of European army chiefs in Paris next week Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address that he plans to hold a meeting of all European army chiefs in Paris next week to guarantee future peace in Ukraine. Given the threats and acceleration that I have described, we will have to make more budgetary choices (to increase defence spending) in France...without raising taxes. 07:12 PM GMT Macron tells France: Prepare for US to not remain at our side Emmanuel Macron called for long-term support to Ukraine which may include sending European troops to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also questioned the US ongoing role in the defence of Europe, saying: I want to believe that the United States will stand by us. But we need to be ready if that is not the case. Whatever happens, we must equip ourselves more (in Europe). We remain attached to Nato but we must reinforce our independence and defence and security. France will make decisive steps at Thursdays summit, said Mr Macron, adding that massive defence funding will be announced. He also called for a massive step up in defence manufacturing in France. 07:09 PM GMT Macron attacks Russia in speech Russia has turned the Ukraine war into a global conflict, said Emmanuel Macron in a televised address to the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The French president continued: Russia is continuing to arm, spending more than 40% of its budget to that end. By 2030, Russia plans to increase its army to have 300,000 additional soldiers, 3,000 extra jet fighters - who can believe that in this context, Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become and will remain a threat to France and Europe. Mr Macron added: To remain a spectator would be madness. Emmanuel Macron illustrates Russian rearmament on Wednesday night 06:58 PM GMT White House reconsidering weapons funding for Ukraine Asked about the US halting all military aid for Kyiv, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: They are reconsidering the funding for Ukraine... its a pause for a review. Talks on the US-Ukraine rare earth minerals deal are happening as we speak, she added, but would not elaborate on when that could be signed. 06:54 PM GMT White House: Zelensky-Trump row revealed long-running frustrations The White House said that Donald Trumps row with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office revealed long-running frustrations the US president had with the Ukrainian leader. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that Fridays meeting revealed to the public the frustrations this administration had experienced in closed-door negotiations with Kyiv. However, Ms Leavitt said that Mr Zelenskys recent comments and public commitment to return to the negotiating table showed a positive step forward. 06:39 PM GMT France and UK to finalise peace plan with Ukraine in days France and Britain are aiming to finalise a peace plan with Ukraine, possibly in days, to present to the United States, diplomats said. Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer have held several calls, separately, with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky since the US and Ukrainian presidents ugly row in the Oval Office last Friday led to a suspension of US military aid to Kyiv. Were looking at putting this plan together in days and not weeks, one senior European diplomat told Reuters. A second European diplomat said the idea was to have all the ducks lined up, including a more healthy dialogue between Washington and Kyiv as well as stressing to the US that Russia was the aggressor, not Ukraine. 06:31 PM GMT Russian attacks near key Ukrainian city slow down War bloggers reveal that the number of Russian attacks close to Pokrovsk, an embattled fortress city in Ukraines east, continue to fall. Another record-low number of only 17 combat clashes was recorded yesterday, 4 March, the respected Telegram channel DeepState reported. Despite the fall in clashes, they added that Russia is still managing to deploy new units to the area. Moscows forces have been moving towards the key garrison city for the past year, and has advanced 25 miles west since February 2024. Last week, Ukraine announced a successful counter-attack to retake the settlement of Kotlyne, near Pokrovsk. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: The year-long Russian effort to seize Pokrovsk has so far failed. 06:22 PM GMT Pictured: Pro-Ukrainian protestors outside US embassy in London People stage protest outside the US embassy in London in support of Ukraine after Washington cut of intelligence sharing and military aid - PA 06:04 PM GMT Zelensky hails positive movement in relations with US Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there has been positive movement in cooperation with the United States that could lead to another meeting between the two sides soon. Today our Ukrainian and U.S. teams began working on a meeting. Andriy Yermak and Mike Waltz spoke, Mr Zelensky said in his evening address, referring to his chief of staff and the US national security adviser. There is positive movement. We hope for the first results next week. 05:58 PM GMT Listen to todays episode of Ukraine: The Latest Read more here. 05:53 PM GMT Analysis: Ukraine war is forcing British soldiers to re-learn trench warfare As conversation about British deployment in Ukraine continues, soldiers are having to sharpen their skills in trench warfare. The war in Ukraine has shown that trenches havent gone away in the 21st century but the last time British forces got involved in trench-to-trench fighting was the Falklands war in 1982. Then, in the 1990s, the focus in the Balkans was more on peacekeeping and intervention. The campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq saw a push for troops to go out and win over the hearts and minds of a nation through patrolling and persuading the locals not to support the guerrillas. As a result, there is a generation of British soldiers whose focus was on learning techniques of counter insurgency rather than major conflicts between states. 05:43 PM GMT US demands date for peace talks after cutting intelligence The United States said it would restore weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine if Volodymyr Zelensky agreed a date for peace talks. The White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said president Trump would take a hard look at lifting this pause if they could nail down negotiations. He said negotiating teams are talking about a location, a date. Mr Zelensky said last night that he was ready to resume peace talks with the White House as soon as possible. It emerged that the US has withdrawn intelligence sharing on Wednesday. It is thought to be key for Ukraines deep-strike abilities - using missiles like Storm Shadow and Atacms - and to identify Russian forces on manoeuvres behind the front lines. 05:36 PM GMT Pictured: Ukraine installs Cross of Peace Ukrainians install the Cross of Peace, a crucifix made of 20,000 fragments of Russian artillery shells in front of a destroyed school building in Kharkiv - AFP 05:33 PM GMT Zelensky to attend EUs Ukraine summit on Thursday Volodymyr Zelensky will join EU leaders for a Brussels summit on Thursday aimed at cementing the blocs support for Kyivs three-year fight against Russias invasion. President Zelensky will attend the summit in person, an EU official said on the eve of the event, which will see 27 leaders gather for the first time since Donald Trump upended US support for Ukraine. 04:50 PM GMT Whats the latest on peace talks? Volodymyr Zelensky said last night that he was ready to resume peace talks with the White House as soon as possible as he sought to repair relations with Washington after a dramatic clash last week that led the US to suspend arms deliveries. White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Wednesday that he had good talks with his Ukrainian counterpart about the location and substance of the next round of negotiations on the phone, saying there will be movement in very short order. 04:26 PM GMT Explained: Trumps mineral deal with Ukraine The minerals deal set to be signed between Ukraine and the United States will mark the first official agreement in Donald Trumps efforts to end three years of war with Russia. The historic document has been described as the basis for a new international order by Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister. We published the full text of the draft deal with our own analysis of what the key points mean for the future of Ukraine and the world. Click here to read the full story by Joe Barnes, Brussels Correspondent 04:02 PM GMT Russia jails Briton it accuses of fighting for Ukraine in Kursk A Russian court jailed a British man for 19 years on Wednesday after he was found guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia. The court said James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and found guilty after a closed trial at which a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness. Mr Anderson was sentenced to serve the first five years of his term in prison and the remainder in a penal colony, it added. Ukrainian troops broke across the border into the Kursk region in August last year. They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to eject them. Investigators accused Mr Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified criminal acts against civilians. 03:38 PM GMT Poll: Telegraph readers are divided over Trumps foreign policy An exclusive Telegraph poll reveals readers are divided in their support for Donald Trumps foreign strategy on Ukraine. The US presidents realignment of the countrys foreign policy which includes a shift away from the tight alliance with Kyiv has unsettled US allies across Europe. The pivot which recently saw a pause on all US military aid to Ukraine has proved contentious, particularly amongst Telegraph readers. When asked if they back Donald Trumps foreign policy, 53 per cent of more than 23,000 readers voted no, with the remaining 47 per cent supporting it. Click here to read the full results 02:55 PM GMT No DC visit planned with Starmer and Zelensky, confirms France We reported earlier that French President Emmanuel Macron was considering travelling to Washington with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks, after a dramatic clash last week led the US to suspend arms deliveries (see post at 11:30 am). But the Elysee Palace has now said no new visit by Macron is being considered at this stage. The UK prime ministers official spokesperson reiterated that the French government had clarified that there are no plans for a joint trip to Washington. 02:24 PM GMT Dispatch: Exhausted residents and soldiers in Kramatorsk are desperate for peace On the ruined streets of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, less than 20 miles from the front line, news of Donald Trumps halt to military aid brought 50-year-old Lilia to tears. All of Ukraine felt pain in that moment, she said as she stood alone outside her home in a town battered by three years of war. There is no hope with Trumps actions...America has abandoned Ukraine, said Lilia as she spoke of losing loved ones in the fight against the Russian invasion. I worked for 30 years in a kindergarten and four of the children I once cared for have now grown up and are lying in the alley of heroes in Kramatorsk. For the sake of the children who are still alive, we must keep fighting we need the help of the entire world. Read the full story at the link here Lilia, a tearful resident of Kramatorsk, described feeling abandoned by the US - Heathcliff O'Malley 02:01 PM GMT Zelensky: Ukraine wants an end to the war once and for all President Volodymyr Zelensky President Zelensky said he wants to see an end to the war once and for all. In a post on X, following a call with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he said: We rely on Europes unity around Ukraine and are working toward it. We all want a safe future for our people. Not a temporary ceasefire, he added, but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and US leadership, this is entirely achievable. I would like to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025 01:14 PM GMT Pictured: Putin addresses Russian interior ministry Vladimir Putin participates in an annual extended meeting of the Board of the Russian interior ministry in Moscow on March 5 - KRISTINA KORMILITSYNA/AFP Participants attend an annual extended meeting of the Russian interior ministry, Mar 5 - Mikhail Metzel/Pool Sputnik Kremlin 01:09 PM GMT White House: Trump will consider restoring military aid to Ukraine if talks progress Donald Trump could consider lifting the suspension of military aid to Ukraine if negotiations progress, Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, said. I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause, Mr Waltz told Fox News. 12:59 PM GMT Some 90,000 Russians killed so far in 2025, says UK Defence Intelligence Russia has likely sustained some 90,000 casualties (killed and wounded) in the Russia-Ukraine conflict so far in 2025, according to UK Defence Intelligence agency. Since invading Ukraine, Russia has likely sustained around 875,000 casualties in total, it added. Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 05 March 2025. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/2ryItPGpwH #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/y1QB6EBdDH Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 5, 2025 12:37 PM GMT Analysis: Ukraine is now blind on the ground Intelligence sharing has been a crucial component of Washingtons military support to Ukraine since Vladimir Putins invasion over three years ago. While never officially confirmed, some of Ukraines biggest battlefield scalps are thought to have taken place with the support of the Americans. Could the Ukrainians have sunk the Moskva, the former flagship of Russias Black Sea Fleet, without US support in locating and identifying the vessel? Probably not. American intelligence is also thought to be key in the use of Ukraines deep-strike abilities, using missiles like Storm Shadow and Atacms. Without it, the Ukrainians are unlikely going to want to risk using their precious supplies to hit Russians targets at the rear. But not all hope is lost. There is no suggestion yet that the US has halted delivering intelligence on Russia and Ukraine to other allies, like the UK. It just means the Ukrainians are now going to have to ask Britain to ask Washington for any information they might be seeking, slowing down responses and prolonging plans for offensive operations. 12:36 PM GMT Lukashenko: Russia will never agree to Western peacekeepers in Ukraine Russia will never agree to Western peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine, Vladimir Putins closest ally has said. Alexander Lukashenko, Belaruss president, said: As for the deployment of peacekeeping forces over there, Russia will never agree to it. At least this is Russias position at the moment. Especially since the EU leadership, primarily represented by Germany and France, is taking a very aggressive position right now, he added. The Belarussian president made the remarks in an interview with Mario Nawfal, a prominent blogger on X with over two million followers. In the interview, Lukashenko offered to host Russia-Ukraine truce talks that could include US officials. The Kremlin later said that Minsk, the Belarussian capital, would be the best venue for such a summit. Lukashenko also said that Putin did not expect the invasion of Ukraine to turn into a major war, and that the Russian president agreed to negotiations in 2022 to stop the fighting. He accused Boris Johnson, backed by the Biden administration, of forbidding Volodymy Zelensky to make peace. The Belarussian leader also said he supported Elon Musks efforts to cut US government spending, saying it was being used to fund coups in other countries. He claimed to have personally warned Mr Zelensky that a new US administration could change policy and cut support for Ukraine, and that US pressure on Russia had pushed Moscow and China closer together. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to the Chapel of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God on the Svetly Island in the Ladoga Lake in Russia - Pool Sputnik Kremlin 12:30 PM GMT Russia advancing as it captures front-line village Russian forces have taken the front line village of Pryvilne, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, as the army continues to advance into Ukrainian territory, Kremlin officials have said. Overnight, a drone and missile attack on Odessa cut electricity to the Black Sea territory and left at least one dead. Russias main task remains to exert maximum defeat on Ukraine, its former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. Russia is advancingInflicting maximum defeat on the enemy on the ground remains our main task today, said Mr Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russias Security Council. Intensified Russian attacks come as Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible as he sought to repair relations with the White House after a dramatic clash last week that led the US to suspend arms deliveries. Amid the frosty relations, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has offered to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks with Russia, despite already being under US and European sanctions over its support for Russias military action in Ukraine. Praising Trumps efforts to talk with Russia and end the three-year-old conflict, Mr Lukashenko said: Trump is a good guyit seems to me that his only policy is aiming to end the war. It is a brilliant idea. This morning, Vladimir Putin is expected to address the Russian interior ministry. The Telegraph will be carrying a live stream. A firefighter works at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russias attack in Odesa, Ukraine - via REUTERS 11:53 AM GMT Nato armies unprepared for drone wars, Ukraine commander warns Nato armed forces are not ready for a modern drone war, the military commander in charge of Ukraines Unmanned Systems Forces has warned. Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyis caution comes three years into a conflict with Russia in which both sides are pushing for a technological edge. Kyiv has strived to outstrip Moscow by employing artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones and testing lasers to bring down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, he said. From what I see and hear, not a single Nato army is ready to resist the cascade of drones, Mr Sukharevskyi told Reuters. He added that Nato should recognise the economic advantage of drones, which often cost far less to build than the conventional weaponry required to down them. Ukrainian servicemen of the Defence Intelligence prepare to launch long-range drones An-196 Liutyi - AP 11:43 AM GMT Britain no longer agrees with with US on more or less any big foreign policy issue Britain disagrees with Donald Trumps US on more or less any big foreign policy issue that were dealing with today, a former ambassador to Washington has warned. Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the ex-ambassador, said: More or less any big foreign policy issue that were dealing with today, we dont agree with the United States and have more alignment with our European partners. Whether that is the Middle East, whether its Iran, whether its climate change, China, but above all, on Europe itself, the difference with this administration is this antipathy towards towards Europe, towards the European Union, we are held in the balance somewhat, but were not tarnished in quite the same way in their eyes. I think its a new factor and a malign one, which I hope will not deflect our Government from the path its set for a reset with the European Union. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on 4 March - Getty Images North America 11:30 AM GMT Macron could travel again to Washington, says spokesperson French President Emmanuel Macron 9s considering travelling to Washington with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, a government spokesperson has said. It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible as he sought to repair relations with the White House after a dramatic clash last week that led the US to suspend arms deliveries. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron as he hosts a European Leaders Summit at Lancaster House in London on 2 March - Anadolu 10:58 AM GMT We must look elsewhere for allies beyond the US under Trump, ex-ambassador warns Britain needs to look elsewhere for allies beyond the United States because Ukraine is a fundamental challenge to the nations shared values, a former ambassador has said. Sir David Manning, who served as Britains ambassador to the US between 2003 and 2007, told peers: Of course, this remains a critical relationship, lets see where we can get with Trump, but dont lets kid ourselves. This is not the normal US administration. This is not a blip, this is a change. And I think we need to reinforce and look elsewhere. He said that Donald Trumps attitude towards the Ukraine war and Volodymyr Zelensky was a fundamental challenge to whether we still share the same values. 10:47 AM GMT Putin is now on stage Russian president Vladimir Putin is now addressing the Kremlins interior ministry. We are waiting to see if he addresses the fallout following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. You can watch the speech through our live stream (see post at 10:07 am). Vladimir Putin talks at Russian Internal Ministry assembly - Reuters 10:45 AM GMT Irans nuclear programme will be subject of future Russia-US talks, says Kremlin Future talks between Russia and the United States would include discussions on Irans nuclear programme, said the Kremlin on Wednesday. It added that the subject had been touched upon in an initial round of US-Russia talks last month. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Russia has agreed to assist US President Donald Trumps administration in communicating with Iran on various issues, including on Tehrans nuclear programme and its support for regional anti-US proxies. The Kremlin has not confirmed that, but has made clear that Iran is now one of the subjects that will be discussed in more detail by Washington and Moscow. So far there is only an understanding that the Russian position really is that this problem of Irans nuclear dossier should be solved exclusively by peaceful political and diplomatic means, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 10:33 AM GMT Russia must stop daily shelling if it wants peace, says top Zelensky aid Volodymyr Zelenskys chief aid has called on Russia to to stop daily its daily attacks it wants peace. Russia must stop the daily shelling of Ukraine immediately if it truly wants the war to end, said Andriy Yermak in a post on the Telegram messaging app. It comes as Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraines Red Sea port city Odessa, cutting electricity to the Black Sea territory and left at least one dead. Head of Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak - AP 10:22 AM GMT A victim is a victim, an aggressor is an aggressor, says Polish PM in defence of Ukraine Donald Tusk has used the anniversary of the Katyn massacre, where the Soviet Union murdered more than 22,000 Polish prisoners of war, to send a message over Ukraine. Polands Prime Minister said on X, On March 5, 1940, a decision was made in Moscow to murder over 22,000 Polish prisoners of war. Mr Tusk wrote in Polish that their memory and the crime of Katyn should be a warning to the world. Let us always call things by their names: a crime is a crime, a victim is a victim, an aggressor is an aggressor, he added. The social media post comes after Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia and began peace talks with Moscow over Kyivs head. 5 marca 1940 roku w Moskwie zapada decyzja o wymordowaniu ponad 22 tysiecy polskich jencow wojennych. Pamiec o kamstwie i zbrodni katynskiej niech bedzie przestroga dla swiata. Nazywajmy zawsze rzeczy po imieniu: zbrodnia jest zbrodnia, ofiara - ofiara, agresor - agresorem. Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) March 5, 2025 10:07 AM GMT Watch: Putin speaks at Russian interior ministry Russias president Vladimir Putin is set to speak at a Russian Internal Ministry assembly amidst international fallout following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It comes as Mr Zelensky on Tuesday said Ukraine was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible as he sought to repair relations with the White House after a dramatic clash last week that led the US to suspend arms deliveries. 10:03 AM GMT Kremlin says Zelenskys letter to Trump is positive Russia has welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskys statement that Kyiv is willing to negotiate over the war, but it is not yet clear to Moscow who it might be negotiating with, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. The Ukrainian President on Tuesday said Kyiv was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible as he sought to repair relations with the White House after a dramatic clash last week that led the US to suspend arms deliveries. Asked how the Kremlin viewed this, spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: Positively. But he added: The question is who to sit down with. For now, the Ukrainian president is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side. So, overall, the approach is positive, but the nuances have not changed yet. Mr Peskov was referring to a decree Mr Zelensky made in 2022 that ruled out negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov - AFP 09:46 AM GMT Welcome to our Ukraine coverage Thank you for joining our live reporting on the war in Ukraine. Follow along for the latest updates. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to Washington, along with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is "under consideration". Source: Le Figaro with reference to French government spokeswoman Sophie Primas after the Council of Ministers meeting Details: Primas did not specify the date of the trip, which is expected to take place "in the short term". Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to address the French people on Wednesday evening, prior to a European defence summit in Brussels on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: Earlier, Primas said France was working to re-establish communication between the United States and Ukraine with the aim of achieving a "lasting and durable peace". On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement with the US and negotiate peace. He also said he regretted the dispute in the White House that erupted on 28 February. Nevertheless, according to CBS News, the US side intends to change the provisions of the so-called minerals deal as President Trump now seeks a "better" agreement. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! French President Emmanuel Macron is planning an international meeting next week on the possible deployment of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. "To ensure that Ukraine is not invaded by Russia again after a peace agreement, we must prepare for this," Macron said in a televised speech on Wednesday. "Next week, we will gather in Paris the army chiefs of staff of the countries that wish to fulfil their responsibilities in this regard." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: "Ukraine has a right to peace and security for itself, and that is in our interest, that is in the interests of the security of the European continent. In this sense, we are working together with our friends in the UK, Germany and several other European countries." Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for three years. US President Donald Trump's decision to thaw relations with Moscow has spooked Europe, which is scrambling to try to help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine before the Kremlin becomes more emboldened. A fall-out between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House last week also shocked Macron and his European partners, although Washington and Kiev have quickly made steps to ease the rift. Macron used his address to also call for long-term support for the Ukrainian army. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps European armed forces would also be deployed for this purpose, he said. "They would not fight today, they would not fight on the front line, but they would be there after the signing of the peace agreement to ensure that it is honoured," Macron continued. French President Emmanuel Macron is considering placing allied European countries under the protection of French nuclear weapons. France's nuclear deterrent has always played an explicit role in maintaining peace and security in Europe since 1964, Macron said in a televised speech on Wednesday. "But in response to the historic call by the future German Chancellor, I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our deterrent," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the recent election campaign, likely new German chancellor Friedrich Merz had suggested talks with the western European nuclear powers over an umbrella approach. The UK also has nuclear weapons but Germany's Nazi past means it has never acquired them. However, the decision-making over French nuclear weapons remains in the hands of France. "Whatever happens, the decision was and always will be in the hands of the President of the Republic, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces," Macron said. Russia's three-year-long war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump upending the norms of international diplomacy have led to European soul-searching about future defence plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has said NATO members should spend 5% and not 2% on defence. Meanwhile, Merz is trying to agree a big increase in German defence spending as one of the first acts of a future coalition government he hopes to lead between his conservative bloc and the Social Democrats. Plenty of members of Congress have held town halls in recent weeks, and many of the events have had one thing in common: There are some unsatisfied voters out there, and theyre eager to give their elected representatives an earful. Its reached the point at which some Republicans are even clinging to the baseless idea that their unhappy constituents are secretly being paid to criticize them. In the coming weeks and months, however, were likely to see fewer examples of angry town hall sessions not because American voters will be happier, but rather, because more GOP lawmakers will avoid the public meetings altogether. NBC News reported: Congressional Republicans are again being advised against holding in-person town halls after several instances of lawmakers being berated by attendees went viral. The chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the Hill committee that works to get Republicans elected to the House, told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning that there were more efficient ways to reach constituents than in-person town halls, according to two sources in the room. According to the report, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who currently chairs the NRCC, compared the political environment in 2025 to conditions in 2017, when many Americans were outraged by Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats a compelling comparison Ive made it myself but lets not forget that a year after those tumultuous 2017 town hall meetings, Democrats had a net gain of more than 40 U.S. House seats in the 2018 midterm elections and retook the majority in the chamber. Hudsons analogy, in other words, probably did not comfort his GOP brethren. Later in the day, Hudson told reporters that in-person town halls are no longer effective because Democrat activists are threatening democracy by disrupting the actual communication at town halls. Thats one way to look at matters. The better way is to realize that someone is threatening democracy right now, but its not voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevertheless, the NRCC chair wasnt alone: House Speaker Mike Johnson also advised his members to stop holding town halls. The Louisiana Republican suggested that telephone events and small groups would be preferable to larger forums. This is a classic example of treating a symptom instead of the problem. Sure, congressional Republicans can avoid unhappy voters, but that wont satisfy an angry electorate. Rather, it will simply keep GOP members shielded from constituents with legitimate concerns. Canceling town halls is easy; governing effectively is hard. Republican leaders appear to be placing too much emphasis on the former, while expressing no interest whatsoever in the latter. Is it any wonder why so many voters arent pleased? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Rep. Theresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico told Politico that Republicans are afraid of their constituents. By all appearances, thats unlikely to change anytime soon. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Ed Martin, the Stop the Steal organizer serving as an interim U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia, made no secret of the fact that he was pursuing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. On the contrary, the Republican lawyer effectively bragged about his efforts. The prosecutors gambit, however, has apparently run its course. The Washington Post reported: Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin has dropped plans to investigate the countrys most powerful elected Democrat over a statement he made about two conservative Supreme Court justices five years ago, concluding that a probe is unfounded, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. If youre new to this story, lets review how we arrived at this point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roughly five years ago, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a closely watched abortion-rights case, Schumer spoke at a rally. Referring to two conservative Trump-appointed justices, the New York Democrat said they had released the whirlwind and would pay the price. The senator soon after realized that the rhetoric had been perceived as excessive, and he walked back his comments. This year, however, the interim U.S. attorney in the nations capital considered this a case worth pursuing. In fact, in a leaked memo, Martin launched an initiative called Operation Whirlwind an obvious reference to Schumers choice of words and even tried to connect Schumers comments to an incident near Justice Brett Kavanaughs house. (The prosecutor said the latter came months after the senators speech. In reality, the gap was more than two years, and theres literally no evidence to suggest Schumers rhetoric contributed to the incident.) I reached out to Senator Schumer to investigate his threats, Martin said in his memo last month. He has not yet responded to me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Times reported this week that the acting U.S. attorney even wanted to present evidence against Schumer to a federal grand jury. (Neither the Times report nor the aforementioned Post report have been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News.) Now, however, the matter seems to have collapsed. As the Posts report added, Legal analysts said Schumers quick retraction, the passage of time, and U.S. case law surrounding threats, free speech and congressional immunity made any prosecution by Martins office implausible in the seven weeks he had available. The fact that the controversy Im using the word loosely has been resolved is encouraging, but lets not miss the forest for the trees: Martin is earning his reputation as a hyper-partisan prosecutor, and the fact that he even pursued Schumer is emblematic of the Trump administrations larger campaign to politicize federal law enforcement to a cartoonish degree. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Todays installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * The latest national Reuters/Ipsos poll the first conducted entirely after Fridays Oval Office debacle found Donad Trumps approval rating dipping to 44%. The same survey found only 34% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. (Click the link for more information on the polls methodology and margin of error.) * Speaking of polling, the latest statewide survey in Ohio, conducted by the Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Research Network and YouGov, found failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy leading the Republicans gubernatorial field with 61% support, well ahead of state Attorney General Dave Yosts 24%. (Click the link for more information on the polls methodology and margin of error.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas died last night, just two months into his first term on Capitol Hill. A Texas Tribune report added, Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special election to fill Turners congressional seat for the rest of his term. State law does not specify a deadline to call a special election, but if it is called the election is required to happen within two months of the announcement. * In Michigan, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hasnt yet announced his electoral plans, but Politico reported that he met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week about a possible Senate campaign next year. * Nicole Shanahan, who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s running mate in last years presidential election, has apparently found a new focus: The very wealthy lawyer is reportedly helping finance a recall campaign targeting Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. * Elon Musk amplified some dubious claims last week about Democratic voter registration data in Philadelphia. Local election officials soon after set the record straight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * And while Gov. Tim Walz has ruled out a U.S. Senate campaign in 2026, the Minnesota Democrat suggested to The New Yorker that hes open to a 2028 presidential campaign. Walz, of course, was his partys vice presidential nominee in the 2024 race. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Todays edition of quick hits. * The fact that the outcome was so close is unsettling: The Supreme Court on Wednesday voted 5-4 to deny President Donald Trumps emergency bid to avoid paying nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funds for already completed work. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett were with the three Democratic appointees in the majority. * This entire policy is an indefensible mess: President Donald Trump continued to send mixed signals about his tariffs plan Wednesday, granting U.S. automakers a one-month reprieve on new 25% duties imposed on Canada and Mexico, while continuing to deem Canadas efforts to tackle drug and migrant flows insufficient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * The real-world effects of the White Houses agenda: The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal to raise $11.2 million to help fund Ugandas response to an Ebola outbreak that has killed two people, after the countrys health budget was strained by U.S. cuts to foreign aid. * Its a good thing these officials werent fired: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent some of its disease detectives to West Texas to help with the measles outbreak there a sign that the Trump administration is getting more deeply involved in the response. * An important step backward, Part I: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is moving to terminate Pentagon offices and positions that focus on preventing and responding to civilian harm during U.S. combat operations, according to three defense officials. * An important step backward, Part II: The State Department on Tuesday halted efforts to monitor air quality levels around the world, ending a program that had provided data about a major global health risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Vought-imposed chaos at the CFPB: A new trove of emails unearthed in federal court reveals chaos unleashed by the Trump administrations abrupt shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Obama-era agency meant to shield Americans from unfair banking practices. * Stunning information by way of the General Services Administration: The Trump administration on Tuesday announced that hundreds of federally owned properties are available for sale, including the headquarters of the Justice Department, Labor Department and U.S. Census Bureau an effort that, if carried out, could radically shrink the federal real estate portfolio and have a major impact on the D.C. area. * Im sorry to see 538 go: Seventeen years after its launch reshaped the political polling landscape, the outlet 538 is being shut down. The last 15 or so employees of the once influential data aggregator are set to be laid off by Disneys ABC News Group, according to a Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal. See you tomorrow. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com By Akbar Novruz On March 4, the House of Lords in the British Parliament hosted the opening event of the "Parliamentary Friends of Azerbaijan Group", marking a renewed commitment to strengthening ties between the two countries. The event was held in the historic "Attle" room and was hosted by Lord David Evans, a long-time advocate for Azerbaijan in the UK Parliament, Azernews reports. The event saw participation from members of the House of Commons and Lords, including Bob Blackman, former chairman of the Azerbaijan Group, Baroness Nicholson, the UKs Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan (2016-2024), and Lord Alderdice, the newly appointed Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan and Central Asia. Representatives from various British sectors with an interest in Azerbaijan also attended. In his speech, Lord Evans highlighted the longstanding cooperation between the two nations, noting that Britain remains Azerbaijans largest investor. He emphasized the strategic importance of bilateral relations and expressed his support for the newly re-established Friends of Azerbaijan Group. Azerbaijans Ambassador to the UK, Elin Suleymanov, thanked Lord Evans and British MPs for their continued support. He pointed to the deep economic and trade ties between the countries and recalled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmers visit to Azerbaijan for the COP29 summit, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev. Suleymanov also expressed gratitude for the UKs contribution to COP29s success and looked forward to expanding cooperation. The event coincided with Ramadan, and Ambassador Suleymanov extended congratulations to Muslim MPs. Additionally, he informed attendees about Novruz traditions, as March 4 marked Fire Wednesday, a key celebration in Azerbaijan's heritage. A Colorado Springs man was arrested on Feb. 28 on suspicion of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl from June through November of last year. Jordan Elisha Smith, 27, allegedly gave the girl massages that would lead to both oral and penetrative sex, according to court documents obtained by The Gazette. The girl told police that Smith became paranoid he had gotten her pregnant after their final sexual encounter, according to documents, telling her over text that he considered driving to Denver to buy abortion pills. Smith had three cell phones and used a third-party messaging app called TextNow to communicate with the girl, the documents stated. The app allows users to choose different phone numbers to communicate with, according to TextNow's website. The girl had known Smith for about eight years, trusting him as a father figure in her life, according to the documents. The girl's exact affiliation with Smith was redacted from the arrest affidavit. Featured Local Savings The individual who notified police of the situation Jan. 8 also has their name and affiliation with Smith redacted. Smith faces multiple felony charges of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust. Smith is scheduled to appear in court Friday. A couple of months before Election Day, then-Sen. JD Vance held a photo op at a grocery store to a pitch a very specific message: The price of eggs, the Ohio Republican argued, should be blamed on then-Vice President Kamala Harris. At the time, the argument was plainly absurd, since egg prices spiked in response to a bird flu outbreak that the California Democrat had nothing to do with. But nearly six months later, its worse: If Americans are supposed to hold vice presidents responsible for the cost of a carton, Vance has some explaining to do. Its against this backdrop that Donald Trump pitched a related message in his first national address of his second term. Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control, the Republican president declared. The egg prices, out of control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The obvious problem with the argument is that its false. The New York Times fact-check report explained: The price of eggs soared during the Biden administration. But that is because of a bird flu, called H5N1, which has been decimating poultry flocks in the United States. Since January 2022, when the virus was first detected in the country, infections in poultry flocks have led to the killing of more than 166 million birds, including egg-laying hens. To hear Trump tell it, his Democratic predecessor simply let egg costs go up, as if Biden could snap his fingers and undo the effects of H5N1. No one who understands the basics of the issue at an even a superficial level believes this. But the less obvious problem is that Trumps rhetoric is self-defeating: To hear the Republican tell it, presidents play a direct role in the prices American consumers pay when they buy eggs. Of course, by that reasoning, as egg prices continue to climb well past the heights seen during the Biden era it somehow makes sense to ask the incumbent president why hes letting the price of eggs get out of control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be sure, Trump isnt responsible for bird flu. Biden wasnt either. But Trump and Vance were eager to blame the Democratic administration for developments they couldnt control, which made it that much weirder to see the Republican president double down on the idea that the White House bears responsibility for the cost per carton. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) A Madisonville man charged in connection to the death of his 8-year-old stepson has plead guilty to multiple charges, and will be sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Commonwealths Attorney has confirmed Antonio Person plead guilty on February 24 to possession of marijuana, five counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, aggravated first degree trafficking in fentanyl and second degree manslaughter. In March of 2024, 8-year-old Trey Harris was found unresponsive in Persons home, and was pronounced dead after he was taken to an emergency room. His cause of death was determined to be from fentanyl intoxication. Harris mother, Whitney Person is also facing charges, with her case currently set for mediation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). MAGA pundits and right-wing influencers are apoplectic over Nicolle Wallaces comments about President Donald Trump making a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor an honorary Secret Service agent, calling for the MSNBC host to be fired over her deranged and repulsive remarks. Midway through his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, the president acknowledged DJ Daniel, who was dressed in a police uniform in the gallery alongside his father. Noting that Daniel had always dreamed of being a police officer, Trump said that the young teen was a pediatric cancer survivor who had beaten his diagnosis. In 2018 DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago, Trump said to loud applause, before surprising Daniel with another announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police departments love him. And tonight, DJ, we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service, the president declared while Daniels eyes grew wide. Following the presidents nearly two-hour speech the longest ever before a joint session of Congress Wallace and MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow took exception to what they felt was the president exploiting and politicizing Daniels cancer survival. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace is drawing conservative outrage over comments she made about Donald Trump honoring a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his joint address to Congress. (MSNBC) For the record and this is disgusting the president made a spectacle out of praising a young man whos thus far survived pediatric cancer, as if the president had something to do with that, Maddow stated while going through a lengthy fact-check of Trumps speech. This was in the midst of him praising DOGE. The DOGE cuts, among other things, have cut off funding for ongoing research into pediatric cancer. Following her progressive colleagues rundown of the presidents address, Wallace went further in her criticism of the president honoring Daniel on Tuesday night by framing it within Trumps blanket pardons of Capitol rioters who attacked police officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Calling it a genuinely beautiful moment in which she allowed herself to feel joy, the former George W. Bush communications director claimed that the experience was marred by the actions the Trump administration is currently taking. Problem is, in the beauty of that child is the tragedy of the Trump presidency, because we dont know how he survived pediatric cancer, but it is likely he benefited from some sort of cancer research, Wallace stated. And it is a fact that Trump has slashed cancer research. Its a fact, by eliminating NIH and by all the cuts, pediatric cancer trials are halted. At the same time, the Deadline: White House host brought up Trumps pardons of the January 6 defendants to express concern for Daniel if he ever does end up serving in law enforcement. I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trumps supporters and if he does, I hope he isnt one of the six who loses his life to suicide, she declared. And I hope he isnt one that has to testify against the people who carried out acts of seditious conspiracy and then lived to see Donald Trump pardon those people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It didnt take long for outraged Trump supporters to blast Wallace online over her sickening commentary while accusing her of politicizing a moment from a highly partisan political speech. This is genuinely the most repulsive comment I've heard in a very long time from anyone on television, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk raged, adding: MSNBC should fire Nicolle Wallace. Disgusting. Megyn Kellys executive producer Steve Krakauer labeled Wallaces remarks the most odious thing hes ever heard on cable news. Totally broken-brained punditry, he tweeted. Former Georgia state representative Vernon Jones decried Wallace as a liberal racist piece of sh*t while also urging MSNBC to fire her effective immediately, while far-right provacateur Ian Miles Cheong fumed that the MSNBC star was unhinged. Other conservative social media personalities, meanwhile, described her as deranged and depraved. A representative for MSNBC declined to comment. The MAGA faithful were not happy with how Democrats in Congress reacted to Donald Trumps speech Tuesday night. Democrats protested Trump in different ways, whether it was Representative Melanie Stansbury holding up a protest sign as Trump walked into the chamber (which was quickly snatched away), Representative Al Green shouting at the president that he does not have a mandate to cut Medicaid, before being kicked out, or others leaving the chamber mid-speech, wearing T-shirts reading, No kings live here and RESIST. This was too much for Trumps devotees. White House staffers were quick to show their support for Trump on X. X screenshot Karoline Leavitt @PressSec: Tonight, President Trump absolutely owned the moment. He showed the world why the American people overwhelmingly re-elected him to serve in the highest office in the land. Democrats reminded us they are the party of insanity and hate they could not even clap for a child battling cancer, or mothers who lost their children. President Trump is restoring common sense. The renewal of the American Dream is well underway, and we are just getting started! 11:40 PM Mar 4, 2025 723.6K Views X screenshot Stephen Miller @StephenM: Has there ever been a more disgraceful and pitiful and malicious display in politics than Congressional Democrats refusing to stand for heartbroken families and courageous heroes? 10:31 PM Mar 4, 2025 488.1K Views Others in conservative media also attacked Democrats. X screenshot Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11: If you didnt stand up and applaud this young cancer survivor and his amazing father, theres something really sick and messed up about you. X screenshot Clay Travis @ClayTravis: Democrats refused to stand and clap for a 13 year old cancer survivor getting an honorary secret service badge. Watch this. Best part of the night unless you have a heart of stone: (video) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement X screenshot Ben Shapiro @benshapiro: The Congressional Democrats are, by and large, just spoiled brat Columbia University tentifada attendees who somehow got elected to office. Their antics and attitude were identical. Truly an astonishing display of arrogance, incompetence, and puerile stupidity. 8:18 AM Mar 5, 2025 143.1K Views It seems that Republicans have short memories. In the past, the GOP has shouted at Democratic presidents during their addresses to Congress, including Representative Joe Wilson shouting You lie at President Obama in 2009 or multiple Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, repeatedly interrupting President Biden in 2023. Since the GOP kowtows to Trump, they think everyone else should, as well. The Los Angeles Times removed its new AI-powered insights feature from a column after the tool tried to defend the Ku Klux Klan. Columnist Gustavo Arellanos Feb. 25 column reflected on Anaheims history with the hate group after the citys council did not acknowledge the 100th anniversary of booting four Klan-affiliated council members from the group. Arellano noted how the groups presence in the city was a stain on its history, but that leaders should reflect on the lesson of how to combat tyranny and white supremacy and also that the work is never really done." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the feature produced by AI company Particlewhich debuted on Monday for Voices pieces and has been heavily touted by billionaire owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiongincluded a defense for the group under a banner that offered different views on the topic. Local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of white Protestant culture responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement, minimizing its ideological threat, the point read. Within hours of its debut, the feature was removed from the column. It remains available on other Voices pieces that offer points of view, which includes news commentary and reviews, among others. The Times did not respond to a request for comment. The gaffe was first spotted by New York Times reporter Ryan Mac. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Insights tool allows Times readers to generate an AI-powered summary of the pieces perspectives along with opposing views. It also tries to dictate the political bias of each article. Each summary is topped with a disclaimer: The following content is AI-generated and was not created by the editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times." Soon-Shiong, who has tried to court conservative readers, touted the feature on X on Monday, months after he first unveiled plans for it. Now the voice and perspective from all sides can be heard, seen and read no more echo chamber," he wrote. Thanks to our talented content management software team running this Graphene platform. The tool was criticized by the papers union, which said it risks further eroding confidence in the news. And the money for this endeavor could have been directed elsewhere: supporting our journalists on the ground who have had no cost-of-living increase since 2021, its vice chair Matt Hamilton said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. BEIJING (AP) China on Wednesday kicked off its annual parliamentary session, the National Peoples Congress, which outlines the governments priorities for the year. Stabilizing the sluggish economy and pushing for broader applications of artificial intelligence were among the focus areas in a work report read by Premier Li Qiang. Beijing also vowed to address a property market slump and ballooning government debt that are dragging on economic growth as well as find ways to boost employment and offer better public education, health care and social security support. Here are the main takeaways from the annual government work report of the worlds second-largest economy: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A target of around 5% economic growth despite trade frictions China set an economic growth target of around 5% for 2025, in line with the past two years. Last year, the economy grew by 5%, according to official data, aided by strong exports and stimulus measures. However, the International Monetary Fund estimates that Chinas economy will slow this year, to about 4.6% growth. One of the main threats is a looming trade war with the United States. Beijing and Washington have been slapping tit-for-tat tariffs on each others goods over the past few weeks. The duties threaten to shave up to 1.1 percentage points off of Chinas economic growth this year, according to Maybank Investment Banking Group. Li spoke of an increasingly complex and severe external environment, with rising tariff barriers and geopolitical tensions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Raising consumption is the governments main priority The main priority outlined in Lis report was addressing inadequate domestic demand, particularly insufficient consumption, as well as making domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth. China is struggling to get its people to spend more money amid a protracted property market slump. Peoples reluctance to spend has led to a deflationary spell, which threatens to push the country into even deeper economic trouble. Among the measures meant to help boost consumption, the government has announced raising the fiscal deficit ratio to 4%, from 3% last year, and issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 300 billion yuan ($41.3 billion) to finance consumer goods trade-in programs, some of which are already underway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AI and technological self-reliance take center stage Achieving technological self-reliance is one of President Xi Jinpings key aims. Over the past few years, the U.S. has moved to limit Chinas access to advanced technologies including semiconductors over security concerns, so Beijing would like to be able to develop critical advanced technologies at home. Li promised the government will support research and development in core technology in key fields. In particular, the country is interested in expanding the development and use of AI in smart manufacturing, new-energy vehicles and robotics. Beijing promises to address the property slump and local government debt Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China's property slump, which deepened after several major developers defaulted on their debts in recent years, failing to deliver homes to their buyers, is another one of the government's concerns. Li promised Beijing will make continued efforts to stem the downturn and restore stability in the real estate market, including by lifting property transaction restrictions and leveraging real estate financing to ensure the timely delivery of housing projects. The premier also said the central government will address mounting local government debt and especially target the hidden debts of local governments. Defense spending increases and a consistent stance on Taiwan Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China also announced a 7.2% rise in its defense budget this year the same percentage as last year. A National Peoples Congress spokesperson on Tuesday had described the countrys defense spending as measured and hovering under 1.5% of GDP. Beijing commands the largest armed forces in the world and the second-highest military budget after that of the U.S., as it seeks to assert its territorial claims and challenge U.S. alliances in Asia. On the issue of Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy China claims as its own, the government work report reiterated Beijings ambitions to resolve the Taiwan question, meaning to annex the island. The report added that Beijing opposes separatist activities aimed at Taiwans independence and external interference in relations across the Taiwan Strait. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to call and win a new election to strengthen his hand in negotiating a peace agreement to end the three-year war in Eastern Europe. Golden, a battleground district Democrat, praised Ukrainian soldiers for bravely fighting against Russian troops but argued that a prolonged war of attrition would make Kyivs outcome worse, not better. If the Ukrainians still have the will to fight, no one will be able to force a peace deal on them that they dont like, Golden said in a statement on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if peace is on the table, as President Zelenskyy indicated just today, then he should do what it takes to strengthen his hand in negotiating a deal his people can accept, Golden stated. One way to do that is to call and win a new election to show the world he has the mandate to negotiate on behalf of his people. Tensions have been bubbling up between Trump and Zelensky even before their explosive fallout on Friday in the Oval Office. Trump previously hammered Zelensky over his leadership of the nation, calling him a dictator without elections, doing a terrible job as the head of the war-torn country and blaming Ukraine for starting the war. Zelensky fired back, claiming Trump was living in a Russian disinformation space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commander-in-chief also questioned why Zelensky did not hold a country-wide election. Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldnt be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and TRUMP, will never be able to settle, Trump previously wrote on Truth Social. Because of the marital law imposed after Russias February 2022 invasion, Ukraines presidential election was postponed. On Tuesday morning, Zelensky described his heated meeting at the White House Friday with Trump and Vice President Vance as regrettable, but stopped short of offering an apology over the huddle that appeared to strain the relations between Washington and Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraines president also said in the Tuesday social media post that Kyiv is ready to negotiate a peace deal to put an end to the conflict in Eastern Europe. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format, Zelensky wrote. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively. Golden said on Tuesday that Trumps push to secure peace between the two sides is appropriate, but also added that Russia still is a threat to America. Pushing for peace is appropriate for President Trump, but whatever he does to help bring an end to this war should keep in mind the truth that Russia has been, and continues to be, a threat to America, Golden said on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Ukraines ardent backers on Capitol Hill, said he was proud of Trump and questioned if Washington could still do to do business with Zelensky again after Fridays blowup. He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change, Graham added. The South Carolina lawmaker seemed to commend Zelensky for his Tuesday X post, saying that Better days are ahead. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Mar. 4When Portland's shelter for asylum seekers opened at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway in November 2023, the plan was for the shelter to be operated by the city for its first year and a half, then in July 2025, operations would be taken over by the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition. But now it's unclear if MIRC will take over the shelter as intended. Mufalo Chitam, executive director of MIRC, said in a phone interview last week that although her organization has the ability to take over operations, she is concerned about the safety of shelter guests in a political climate where immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees are increasingly targets for deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When a shelter is under a municipality, it is under a bigger and more stable institution than when it is under a nonprofit organization, especially a nonprofit organization that represents this clientele," Chitam said. Chitam said she has been discussing her concerns with the city and is waiting for the council to deliberate and come back to her with ideas. The City Council held a closed-door meeting last week to discuss the future of the facility. The mayor, city manager and most city councilors have been unwilling to talk publicly about those discussions. No matter what, Chitam said, MIRC will continue to be involved in the shelter in whatever capacity they can, but her priority is making a plan that will be safe for the immigrant community in Portland. DEPORTATION CONCERNS Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear, though, if shelter guests would be less likely to be deported at a shelter run by the city. Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, said that from a legal standpoint, she doesn't think it will make a difference who operates the shelter because, ultimately, Immigration and Customs Enforcement can arrest people almost anywhere if they have a warrant. "If ICE has a warrant ... then they are able to arrest people on the basis of that warrant wherever they are," Rowles said. Because her organization is a well-known advocate for immigrants in the state, Chitam worries that MIRC could be targeted by state and federal funding cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are concerned that running the shelter for this population could put our organization under more scrutiny. The risk right now is high," she said. "The risk is higher than it was when we signed the contract." She said her organization has been overwhelmed given recent funding cuts for immigrants at both the state and federal level. MIRC has been providing food for the shelter since it opened in November 2023. But recent delays to their funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have impacted their ability to do that going forward. Chitam said the organization was awarded a FEMA grant in May, but the money hasn't come through yet and she's not sure if it will. "That was our biggest funder for all the food. The in-kind that we get from food pantries and smaller grants really doesn't cut it. So right now we do not have funding for food at the shelter," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FUTURE OF THE SHELTER Currently, the city provides most of the services at the shelter, including transportation to community health providers, cultural orientation and on-site housing navigators. The $4.9 million set aside to operate the shelter for 18 months was already allocated in past city budgets, but if the city continues operations after July, the city has previously said that a budget amendment may be necessary for continued funding. The 179-bed shelter opened at a time when nearly 85% of people staying at the city's homeless services center were asylum seekers. In an effort to offer resources that better served the asylum-seeking population and to create more space at the homeless shelter, the city worked with a private developer to open a separate shelter at 166 Riverside. The shelter has been consistently near capacity since it opened in 2023, according to the city. Councilor Kate Sykes said she would support the city continuing to operate the shelter and believes there is room in the city's budget to continue operating the shelter for an additional year and a half. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We do a great job with the HSC and I have seen that same methodical attention to detail, concern for outcomes and evidence-based care for people at (the shelter for asylum seekers) because we've been doing that all along," Sykes said. Sykes said she'd prefer to see the city continue operations rather than hand that work over to MIRC. "As a democratic socialist, I believe that the government's responsibility is this, so I would far rather have the municipal government running this shelter than a nonprofit," she said. Councilor Wes Pelletier also said he supports the city continuing to operate the shelter as a way to ensure there is space for asylum seekers in Portland. "Whatever is needed to keep that shelter open, I am committed to doing," Pelletier said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Councilor Ben Grant declined to discuss the issue, saying he doesn't have enough information yet on the situation at the shelter. Developer Kevin Bunker owns the shelter and leased the space to the city for three years. Once that contract is up at the end of 2026, it's unclear what the future of the shelter will be. Bunker did not respond to questions about his future plans for the space. Copy the Story Link SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A big change to Utahs alcohol laws was shot down by Utahs Senate after concerns that it would allow local cities control over how close alcohol could be sold to parks, schools, and churches. The bill, S.B. 328, being run by the states top budget chair Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton), was meant to specifically address the states new development at the Point of the Mountain. Stevenson said it has planned open green spaces with playgrounds would have fallen under Utahs definition of proximity. We ran into a little opposition to that, and so we came up with the idea so the local community would make those decisions, Stevenson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the switch gave some Senators heartburn because it would have allowed all local governments to authorize an outlet or restaurant with an alcohol license to be near a public park or playground. Utahs congressional delegation reacts to President Trumps joint address to Congress Currently, Utah law says restaurants and liquor stores cant be within 300 feet (measured by pedestrian travel) of a church, public or private school, public park, public playground, or public library, or 200 feet if measured in a straight line. Lawmakers are eyeing changes to proximity rules as many new major mixed-use developments get planned with restaurants and bars close to open spaces. Just last year, the downtown revitalization zone near the Delta Center had its proximity rules loosened, which Stevenson said evaporates proximity issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R-South Jordan) proposed doing the same thing by swapping the bill to target just the specific Point of the Mountain development and proposing that lawmakers address who has control over proximity decisions next year. The idea to shift proximity decisions from the state to local governments is a significant policy change that Im willing to say might be the right one, but I think it needs more vetting, he said. 3 buildings in Utah among hundreds of federal properties designated for disposal Senator Stevenson didnt want to make the swap, saying, It would not work with what were trying to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proximity issue was also why Sen. Kirk Cullimore (R-Draper) said he voted against the bill. It gives me pause in allowing cities and counties to make decisions that have generally been considered from a broader perspective at the state level, he said. The bill ended up failing 13 to 15 and included key no votes from Senate leadership. The bill would have also allowed for a straw test where a bartender could taste the drink by holding their finger over a straw, which had previously been illegal. It also would have increased a tax on alcohol from 88.5% to 88.85% with the extra funds slated to go toward inmate education programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Brett Lacey, Colorado Springs Fire Department's fire marshal, has announced his time with the agency is ending after 32 years of service. Lacey started with the department in 1992 as a senior fire protection engineer. It took him just six years to earn the title of fire marshal, holding the position since 1998. Lacey plans to retire from the role on March 28, according to a news release Tuesday. To get there in the first place, the Fire Department says Lacey gained "boots on the ground" skills from not only working in firefighting, but also in paramedic, deputy fire marshal and fire protection engineer positions. Lacey's four-decade career began at Oklahoma State University. Since then, he has held several leadership positions in both local and national incidents, including Hurricane Katrinas victim recovery and the Waldo Canyon wildfire response. He also assisted in Colorado Springs investigations like the New Life Churchs and Planned Parenthoods mass shootings. Brett is known by many as a fire service leader, team member, change agent, mentor, educator and friend," Fire Chief Randy Royal stated in the news release. "His efforts throughout his career have left a lasting mark on the fire service, not just locally, but also across the state, regionally, and on a national level." Featured Local Savings Lacey has a long list of accomplishments from his role at fire marshal. He worked toward reducing disaster spread by mandating Class A roofing materials in 2002 and hardening structures and vegetation management within hillside areas in 2012. In its farewell announcement, the Fire Department also praised Lacey for establishing and expanding a nationally renowned and highly reputable wildfire mitigation program from the early 2000s to now. Lacey comes from a long line of fire protection advocates, with one of his children even taking part in the generational tradition. The 32 years of service that he has provided to our community and its citizens have been truly focused on improving our public safety and ensuring the same in an excellent and professional manner," Roybal said. "He can be proud of the positive impact that he has had as we take pride in having worked alongside him and appreciate him as a coworker and friend." MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man is accused of stalking a 13-year-old girl on multiple occasions throughout 2024. Christian Robinson, 41, was arrested on Tuesday for a charge of stalking. His bond and court date have not been set. On June 1, 2024, Memphis Police said that Robinson, 41, texted the complainants teenage daughter, complimenting her appearance. Christian Robinson. (SCSO) According to reports, Robinson bought the teenage girl a bicycle, and when the mother tried to return the bike, he refused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mother showed investigators the text messages between Robinson and the teenager. Robinson complimented the girl and told her not to tell anyone he was contacting her. Memphis doctor accused of fraud, coercing patients to be released on $100K bond Police said that the mother and father approached Robinson several times, the most recent time being in November. The couple told him to stop contacting their daughter and to leave the family alone. Reports say Robinson had followed the teenager home while she was riding her bike in November, and he also had left snacks in the mailbox for her. He also tried to hug the girl multiple times, but she refused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stalking has placed the family in fear for their safety. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it will review the Colorado case that led to the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, who was convicted in May 2021 of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to a security breach at her office involving election equipment. The Justice Department's intervention is connected to a federal lawsuit Peters filed against the Larimer County Sheriff, seeking to be released from jail while the appeals process moves forward. Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison, with six months to be served in county jail and the rest in state prison. She was convicted of four felonies, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. She was also convicted of three misdemeanors: first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with an order from the Secretary of State. Peters was acquitted of three other charges an additional count of criminal impersonation, a charge of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and identity theft. She initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, describing them as politically motivated. The Justice Department's Monday filing raised concerns about the length of Peters' sentence, as well as "First Amendment implications" of the courts October 2024 "assertions relating to Ms. Peters." The federal agency also raised an issue about the decision to withhold bail, while the conviction is being appealed. The department is backing Peters' request for release pending appeals. In its filing, the Justice Department said it is also conducting a review of cases across the nation for abuses of the criminal justice process and intends to evaluate "the state of Colorados prosecution of Ms. Peters and, in particular, whether the case was 'oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.'" The "statement of interest" was filed by Yaakov Roth, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and J. Bishop Grewell, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. Featured Local Savings President Donald Trump cannot pardon Peters because her conviction was in a state court. However, in recent weeks, some Republicans have pleaded with the administration to pause federal funds to Colorado until Gov. Jared Polis pardons Peters. A spokesperson for Polis told 9News last week that Peters has not applied for a pardon. During sentencing last October, Judge Matthew Barrett chastised Peters for failing to acknowledge her crimes. "Your lies are well documented, and these convictions are serious. I'm convinced you would do it all over again if you could. You're as defiant as a defendant as this court has ever seen," Barrett told her. "You abused your position, and you're a charlatan who used and is still using your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again. In your world, its all about you," Barrett added. The lawsuit is Peters v. Feyven/Weiser. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A city man accused of threatening a postal worker was sentenced Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to 15 months. Terry Luckey, Jr., 35, received the sentence from Judge Anthony DApolito following guilty pleas in December to charges of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony. The sentence was recommended by the attorneys in the case and adopted by the judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was accused April 27 of brandishing a handgun at a letter carrier on the West Side. Reports said he was arrested after police were called to the 200 block of South Schenley Avenue, where a postal worker said a man in a black SUV threatened him with a gun. When police arrived, the worker pointed to a vehicle nearby that he identified as the suspects vehicle. Police tried to pull the SUV over but the driver, later identified as Luckey, got on Interstate 680 at a high rate of speed but slowed down when he got to the Madison Avenue Expressway, reports said. Police were able to pull him over there. When asked if he had any guns in his SUV, Luckey said no but he admitted to having two loaded magazines for a semiautomatic handgun, reports said. Police searched the SUV and did not find a gun, but they called in a police dog to search the area and found another magazine and a 9mm handgun on an entrance ramp to Interstate 680, reports said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckey told the judge he wanted to take responsibility for his actions. I know what I did was foolish, and I have to pay for my actions, he said. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the gun and magazines police took from Luckey will be given to the police department to be destroyed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. MILTON TWP., Ohio (WKBN) A North Jackson man was arraigned in court after he was charged with aggravated burglary, felonious assault and domestic violence. Fredrick Howk, 32, was being held in the Mahoning County Jail. Shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, Milton Township police were called to Salem Warren Road after a woman reported that Howk forcibly entered the her home and pointed a gun at her. Police reports said that officers asked Howk, who was standing on the lawn, to put his hands up and get on the ground. Police said that the handgun was later seized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police reports said that Howk told them that he entered the home by using his shoulder. Police said that the children inside at the time were distraught. No injuries were reported. Police said they gathered a handgun, a rifle, ammunition, extra magazines with more ammunition and a bag with tactical equipment from Howks vehicle. At his arraignment, Howk was ordered to not have contact with the victims. According to court records, he has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 19 at 9 a.m. in Austintown Municipal Court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man was arrested Monday after he allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl in August 2024. Cadarrus Webb, 27, was charged with two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of sexual battery, two counts of solicitation of a minor, and two counts of contributing to a delinquency of a minor. Cadarrus Webb_Mugshot (MPD) On August 14, police was notified of a rape incident that occurred at Skyline Inn Motel on 1952 East Shelby Drive in Whitehaven. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man accused of stalking teenage girl According to police, a 14-year-old girl said she was raped by Webb. She said Webb picked her up, along with her 13-year-old sister, in Horn Lake, and he took them to the Skyline Inn Motel in Whitehaven. Police said that Webb gave the two teenagers marijuana to smoke and alcohol to drink. The 14-year-old said Webb forced her to have sexual intercourse with her against her will and without her permission. Ex-group home employee helped teens escape: MPD The 13-year-old victim advised that Webb kissed her on the neck and thighs and groped her with his hands while asking to have sexual intercourse with her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reports say hours later, Webb drove both teenagers to an abandoned house in Memphis where he forced the 14-year-old to have sexual intercourse with him again. She reported the abuse and completed a sexual assault kit. On Feb. 25, both teenagers identified Webb as the person responsible for sexually assaulting them. On Monday, Webb denied any responsibility of sexually assaulting the teenage victims. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. A man was taken into police custody and faces charges for animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance after he was allegedly seen on security footage beating a sick sea lion with a stick. Christopher Hurtado, 32, was arrested Tuesday by Ventura police officers after surveillance footage appeared to show him attacking the beached marine mammal along the Ventura Beach promenade. Ventura Police Department employees were monitoring a beach camera at the time when they witnessed Hurtado hitting the sea lion multiple times with a large stick, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police officers were dispatched to the scene and took Hurtado into custody after he tried to flee on foot. Officers also recovered methamphetamine on his person, they said. Hes since been booked into the Ventura County Jail to await felony charges for animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance, as well as charges for violating federal laws meant to protect marine mammals. The sea lion, officials said, was suffering from domoic acid poisoning, a naturally occurring toxin in algae that is potentially lethal to marine mammals like sea lions and dolphins. In recent years, high levels of the neurotoxin have led to widespread beachings of sea lions and other marine mammals who are too sick to swim and may experience life-threatening symptoms like seizures, brain damage and unpredictable behavior. The toxin will naturally flush out of an animals body, but repeated exposure may require medical intervention. Officials say its critically important that a sick animal be left alone to protect them and the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute responded to monitor this particular sea lions health. It has since taken the animal into its treatment center for observation. At arrival, she was responsive yet appeared to have clinical signs of domoic acid toxicosis. Our medical team determined the best course of action was to not induce further stress today, officials for CIMWI said. She is under observation and resting comfortably at this time. [Wednesday], we will conduct a complete physical exam with diagnostic testing. The Ventura Police Department said it is vital that the public cooperate in protecting the regions local wildlife. That includes giving marine mammals adequate space and not touching, moving or feeding them when they are beached. Your cooperation can prevent dangerous encounters for both people and wildlife, a press release from the Police Department states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marine mammals, including seals and sea lions, are protected at the state and federal level, and if you come across one that is injured or sick, you are encouraged to call the CIMWI rescue hotline at 805-567-1505. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. A Kingsland, Georgia man arrested last year in Jacksonville on child solicitation charges was arrested again on similar charges Tuesday, but this time in Camden County. Benjamin Stancil, 34, was arrested by Camden deputies and booked into jail on two counts of Felony Sexual Exploitation of Children. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< His arrest comes after an investigation by the Camden County Sheriffs Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, according to a news release from Sheriff Kevin Chaney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Camden investigators received tips on Feb. 21 from the GBI Cyber Crimes Unit about illegal materials uploaded from a device associated with Stancil, the news release states. A preliminary review of the materials confirmed the presence of child sexual abuse material, the release states. The investigation also revealed that Stancil was arrested last year in Jacksonville on similar charges. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Jacksonville Sheriffs Office conducted an undercover operation between April 24, 2024 through April 29, 2024 targeting suspects who they believed were using the internet to sexually exploit children, according to a JSO arrest report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During that investigation, Stancil is accused of driving to Jacksonville to meet someone he believed was 14 years old for sexual activities, the report states. Stancil engaged in a chat with the undercover officer posing a child making arrangements to meet up. According to a JSO arrest warrant, Stancil was charged with Traveling to Meet a Minor to do Unlawful Acts, Soliciting a Child via Computer, Transmission of Material Harmful to Minors and Unlawful Use of Two-ay Communications Device. Read: Condemned South Carolina killer to die by firing squad; heres how it will unfold Read: Woman goes overboard on Royal Caribbean 80s-themed cruise Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read: Woman kayaking in Florida injured during gator attack [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) James City County Police arrested a man on Monday who was wanted on multiple warrants for violent and drug-related offenses. According to officials, 42-year-old Mondel Brokenberry was wanted out of James City County for assault and battery of a family/household member and wanted in Williamsburg for allegedly distributing schedule I/II drugs and failing to comply with a court order. Mondel Brokenberry (Courtesy: VPRJ) On March 3, just after 9:30 p.m., agents with the JCCPD Tri-Rivers Drug Task Force saw Brokenberry walking toward a vehicle at the Stations at Norge Apartments. After making initial contact, Brokenberry fled on foot toward a wooded area. Due to Brokenberrys history, York Poquoson Sheriffs Office K-9 Units and JCCPDs Specialized Response Team Drone Pilots were called for assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After just two minutes of drone assistance, Brokenberry was found with thermal imaging, prompting the K-9 Units to head toward his location. Brokenberry was then taken into custody without incident. Brokenberry is now being held at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. A Kingsland, Georgia man arrested last year in Jacksonville on child solicitation charges was arrested again on similar charges Tuesday, but this time in Camden County. Benjamin Stancil, 34, was arrested by Camden deputies and booked into jail on two counts of Felony Sexual Exploitation of Children. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] His arrest comes after an investigation by the Camden County Sheriffs Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, according to a news release from Sheriff Kevin Chaney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Camden investigators received tips on Feb. 21 from the GBI Cyber Crimes Unit about illegal materials uploaded from a device associated with Stancil, the news release states. A preliminary review of the materials confirmed the presence of child sexual abuse material, the release states. TRENDING STORIES The investigation also revealed that Stancil was arrested last year in Jacksonville on similar charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jacksonville Sheriffs Office conducted an undercover operation between April 24, 2024 through April 29, 2024 targeting suspects who they believed were using the internet to sexually exploit children, according to a JSO arrest report. During that investigation, Stancil is accused of driving to Jacksonville to meet someone he believed was 14 years old for sexual activities, the report states. Stancil engaged in a chat with the undercover officer posing a child making arrangements to meet up. According to a JSO arrest warrant, Stancil was charged with Traveling to Meet a Minor to do Unlawful Acts, Soliciting a Child via Computer, Transmission of Material Harmful to Minors and Unlawful Use of Two-ay Communications Device. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] YORK, Va. (WAVY) A 30-year-old man was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with a sexually explicit relationship with a minor in York County, deputies said. According to officials, in March of 2024, the York-Poquoson Sheriffs Office was notified by a mother that her juvenile daughter was in an online relationship with an adult male, later identified as Brandon Keister, and that she believed the man had both asked for sexually explicit content from her daughter and that he had sent sexually explicit content of himself to her daughter. Brandon Keister (Courtesy: York-Poquoson Sheriffs Office) The mother also told deputies that there was reason to believe that Keister was attempting to meet with her daughter in person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After an investigation, it was determined that the suspect, Keister, lived in Arizona at the time of the original complaint, but that he had recently moved to Pennsylvania. On Feb. 28, 2025, investigators located Keister in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was then taken into custody. Keister was then charged with four counts of using communications equipment to facilitate crimes with children and one count of production of child pornography. Keister is currently being held in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. (FOX40.COM) The Sacramento County Republican Party is calling a rock thrown through a window at its headquarters and shattering the glass an act of political violence. On Feb. 27, cameras captured a person who drove up to the Republican headquarters, got out of his car and looked around the property. Next, the person found a large rock and threw it through a giant plate glass front window. The window was destroyed, and shards of glass flew throughout the front entry. Governor Newsom orders California state workers to return to office Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fortunately, no one was in the office, as both the rock and flying glass could have inflicted significant injuries, Sacramento County Republican Party Chairman Christian Forte said in a statement. Forte condemned the act. Trump pauses aid to Ukraine days after heated meeting with Zelensky The County Republican Party regularly receives angry, if not threatening, phone calls harassing our volunteer staff, said Sacramento County Republican Party Chairman Christian Forte. But never have we been the victim of such a violent attack. Forte added, I strongly condemn this act of political violence. We as Republicans are dedicated to engaging only in peaceful, civil discourse. I pledge that we will only be part of the solution, and never part of the problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, the man reportedly returned to the premises and inquired about the incident. Staff said they recognized him and called law enforcement. According to the GOP, the suspect fled before officers arrived. An investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office revealed that a 20-year-old man was responsible for the incident. Deputies said he apologized, and the Sacramento Republican Party decided not to press charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A man who has been in trouble with the law since he was a teen is heading to federal court on drug and gun charges. He was involved in a deadly carjacking eight years ago and got numerous chances to rehabilitate himself. But now, hes in trouble again. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quontez Kuvinka will have his day in federal court next month facing trial for drug trafficking and weapons charges. Hes been in the news since 2017 when he was involved in a carjacking at an apartment near Tramway Blvd. and Indian School Rd. at the age of 17. Kuvinka, and two friends, led police on a chase in the stolen Jeep, running red lights and struck another vehicle, killing DMarkus Blea. Kuvinka pled guilty to conspiracy and delinquency. Judge Cindy Leos delayed his sentence and ordered him to attend a court program. But the young man couldnt keep out of trouble, posting videos on social media that referenced drugs and showed him firing weapons. Kuvinka was sent back to the program. Then Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez was livid. Frankly, I do not have any confidence now even after he has been convicted that he will be sentenced and dealt with appropriately, said Torrez in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But he was arrested after getting caught with drugs and firearms during a traffic stop in September 2020. Kuvinka was sentenced to more than six years in prison but was released in March 2024. By August, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Albuquerque Police Departments Narcotics Unit were investigating him for trafficking drugs and even purchased some from one of Kuvinkas sellers the following month. When they arrested him, he had nearly a pound of fentanyl, more than a half-pound of meth, eight guns, and two machine gun conversion devices. Kuvinka is scheduled to go to trial on April 1. The City of Albuquerque ended up paying more than a million-dollar settlement to Bleas family as part of a lawsuit in which they claimed police created a dangerous situation by chasing the teens in the stolen Jeep. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. The Colorado Springs Police Department introduced its newest four-legged team members this week. Zena, an 18-month-old Belgian malinois/German shepherd mix, and Wicket, a 13-month-old English shorthaired pointer, were presented Tuesday at Charter Communications, a telecommunications firm that donated nearly $14,000 to CSPD for the purchase of a new explosive detection dog. The donation turned out to be enough, combined with a grant, for Colorado Springs police and the Police Foundation of Colorado Springs to purchase a second K-9, Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said. For us to get two dogs at once, at no expense to the police department, is almost unheard of, said Vasquez, a former K-9 handler. I cant tell you how appreciative I am of (Charter Communications and the Police Foundation). Department bomb technicians Chris Chenoweth (Wickets handler) and Shawn Mahon (Zenas handler) received their dogs in January and began bonding through continuous training. Theres a special bond between the K-9 handler and their dogs, because youre with them all the time, Vasquez said. With EOD (Explosive Ordnance Detection) work, youre really dependent on them because they are detecting potential explosives. There arent many things that are more dangerous. The dogs names had been kept a secret until Vasquez announced them at the news conference. Charter Communications held a naming contest among its employees, selecting Wicket (after the Star Wars character Wicket W. Warrick) as a nod to Chenoweth, a Star Wars fan. Chenoweths previous K-9, Chewie, is retired and lives at his former partners home. It took a little while for Chewie and Wicket to get used to each other, but now theyre best friends, Chenoweth said. Zena and Chewie are high-energy dogs, and it showed during the news conference. Zena, in particular, could barely keep still. Shes got a lot of energy, Mahon said. This is the third dog that Ive worked with, and shes got way more energy than the other two. The traits that make K-9s good at their jobs can make them less than ideal as house pets. They are happiest when theyre working, and when they dont have a job, they can find other, more destructive ways to entertain themselves. If they get bored, they can tear up your house, Chenoweth said. But that kind of personality is what you want in a working dog. The K-9 donation is the result of a longstanding partnership between Charter (formerly Time Warner Cable), CSPD and the Police Foundation, said Denise Feudner, Charters senior director of corporate physical security. Featured Local Savings Conversations with several law enforcement officials helped spark the idea of funding a police dog, Feudner said. The police department has been great about helping to make out facility more secure, she said. We wondered how we could give back to Colorado Springs, and to the police department. These partnerships make us both stronger as organizations. This is a perfect example of a partnership between law enforcement and the business community, in which we serve as a conduit, said Nicole Magic, executive and director and president of the Police Foundation. Mahon and Chenoweth try to squeeze in as much K-9 training as they can, whenever they can. Thats not always easy, because EOD technicians serve in a number of capacities, including support for arson investigators and SWAT teams. The officers create a variety of training scenarios to keep the dogs sharp. We try to give the dogs as many different pictures as we can of what work looks like, Chenoweth said. We might have to support the Secret Service by checking a half-dozen bags, or a couple of cars, or we may need to sweep the World Arena by ourselves. Zena has had her first assignment as a working EOD dog. Last month, she and Mahon were part of a team that investigated an anonymous bomb threat at the Air Force Academy. No explosives were found, but officials said actual live detections are rare. I had Chewie for 9 years, and he had 5 live finds, Chenoweth said. One or two in a career, honestly, is a lot. Chewie and I had five because we were a super busy team. Zena and Wicket could go their entire careers without finding a live explosive, but they can expect to have active careers, officials said. The Regional Explosives Unit often supports federal agencies and police departments that dont have a bomb squad. They also support special events in the south-central region of Colorado, including El Paso, Teller, Park, Chaffee and Lake counties. But honestly, well go anywhere were called to go, Chenoweth said. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The man convicted of causing a fatal school bus crash in 2023 has filed an appeal. Hermanio Josephs lawyer appeared in the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals on Tuesday to argue why Clark Countys ruling should be overturned. 2 NEWS was in the court room as the appeals court heard both sides. The attorney for Joseph says the state should have allowed for the trial to have been moved to another venue and out of Clark County, due to the extensive media coverage surrounding the school bus crash that occurred in August 2023, killing 11-year-old Aidan Clark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution in the case says the defense never presented compelling evidence to prove that was happening. Throughout the arguments held on Tuesday, it was discussed heavily that during the trial, the defense for Joseph filed a motion to have the venue changed, citing bias against Haitians and immigrant communities as reasons. The motion was denied at the time by the Clark County judge presiding over the trial. The states attorney argued the venue change wasnt needed, showing the documents that were submitted to the court to show the timeline of news coverage of the case were spread over months and not very consecutive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court, the defense reiterated their position, also discussing a juror who said that she was not sure if she could be impartial when asked during the jury selection process. The defense never called for this juror to be removed, and the prosecution says that they did not strike the juror because the comment was not grounds for removal. Appellate judges further questioned the defense on the impact they believe that this decision had on the trial. Now the courts must decide if a mistake was made and if the case should be retried. Experts say that this could be a challenge for Josephs lawyer. The judges decision will depend on if the defense proved that the trial was not fair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to prove that you got a fair trial, and in his case, if they can show that this juror was a bad juror, I think hes got a good case, said Dr. March Clauson, professor of history, law and honors at Cedarville University. There is no definite timeline of when the appellate judges will render their decision in this matter. 2 NEWS will continue to provide updates on this case as we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. A Santa Fe jury has convicted a man of willful and deliberate murder and other charges for the Thanksgiving 2022 shooting death of 26-year-old Adan Ponce-Galdeano. Manuel Manny Rios-Alderete, 37, whose trial began last week, stood motionless as District Judge Kathleen McGarry Ellenwood read the verdict Tuesday. He did not visibly react. Jurors deliberated for about seven hours over the course of two days before reaching their verdict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police discovered Ponce-Galdeanos body wrapped in a blanket and tarp in a garage in Lone Butte in early December 2022, but their investigation revealed hed been shot at the Santa Fe residence of Michael Sweeney the prior month and taken to the small community south of the city after his death. Rios-Alderete is one of five men charged with murder in connection with Ponce-Galdeanos death but the only one to stand trial. His co-defendants including Sweeney, Angelo Martinez, Edgar Herrera and Raul Rodriguez-Valencia all entered into plea agreements with the state. All but Martinez testified against Rios-Alderete at trial. Prosecutors say the killing was related to narcotics trafficking, a debt Sweeney owed Ponce-Galdeano and an ongoing feud between Ponce-Galdeano and Rios-Alderete, who was a close associate of Sweeneys. Sweeney expected Ponce-Galdeano to come over that day and armed several men who were hanging out at his house smoking fentanyl prior to Ponce-Galdeanos arrival, according to witness testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ponce-Galdeano arrived and he and Sweeney began to argue. When Ponce-Galdeano turned to leave, Sweeney signaled Justin Gumby Romero, who got up and grabbed him from behind, according to the witnesses. A fight broke out, they said, during which Romero one of the only people who was not armed was shot once in each leg and Ponce-Galdeano stabbed Martinez with a knife. The fight ended when Rios-Alderete emerged from another room and shot Ponce-Galdeano twice in the chest and once in the head, according to the witnesses. Deputies responding to a call about gunfire discovered his body in the garage of a Lone Butte home the next month. Rios-Alderete was taken into custody following the verdict being read and he will be held in Santa Fe County jail until his sentencing, according to a news release. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison plus five years, related to additional convictions handed down by the jury Tuesday on charges of tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit tampering and receiving stolen property. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Numerous people including the five primary defendants and others were involved in moving Ponce-Galdeanos body and cleaning up the scene, according to witness testimony, with the case involving a tangled web of plea deals leading up to Rios-Alderetes trial. Rios-Alderetes trial was handled by prosecutors from the New Mexico Department of Justice. The state agency released a statement following the verdict Tuesday in which Attorney General Raul Torrez said the verdict delivered justice for Ponce-Galdeano and his loved ones. No family should have to endure such a brutal and senseless loss, and while this verdict cannot undo the pain theyve suffered, it ensures that Manual Rios-Alderete is held accountable for his crimes, Torrez said. EL PASO, Texas (EL PASO MATTERS) The lawyer for David Leonard Wood has filed last-ditch appeals in state and federal courts in hopes of stopping the March 13 scheduled execution of the man convicted in the slayings of six El Paso girls and young women more than 37 years ago. Wood is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection more than 32 years after he arrived on death row. No inmate has ever been held on Texas death row longer before being executed. At age 67 years and 8 months, he would be the third oldest person executed by the state of Texas. His attorney, Gregory Wiercioch of Wisconsin, filed a new appeal with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday, Feb. 21, saying theres evidence that Wood is innocent, and that he had ineffective counsel in his 1992 trial. He also has a separate appeal before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Wood is innocent. I am convinced of it like no other case Ive worked on in 30 years of death penalty defense representation, Wiercioch said in an interview with El Paso Matters. The Texas Attorney Generals Office, which is representing the prosecution in appeals, hasnt filed a formal response to Woods latest appeals. But the state has long maintained the evidence proves Woods guilt and the death sentence should be carried out. In 1992, Wood was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the 1987 deaths of six girls and young women whose bodies were found buried in shallow graves in the Northeast El Paso desert. Prosecutors acknowledged their case was circumstantial, in part because the bodies were decomposed by the time they were found. David Leonard Wood was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of six girls and young women. Top row, from left: Desiree Wheatley, 15; Karen Baker, 20; and Angelica Frausto, 17. Bottom from left: Dawn Marie Smith, 14; Rosa Maria Casio, 24; Ivy Susana Williams, 23. (Photos courtesy El Paso Times) In their latest appeal, Woods lawyers say police focused on him as a suspect because they were under immense public pressure in 1987 and 1988 to solve the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wood was scheduled to be executed in 2009, but the Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay to allow his attorneys to argue that he had an intellectual disability that should preclude his execution. The appeals court eventually rejected those arguments in 2014, then rejected his pleas for DNA testing of evidence in 2024. He faces a steep challenge in his efforts to again stave off execution. His appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals is going to a court that has repeatedly rejected prior appeals from Wood and last year scolded Wiercioch for piecemeal litigation and delay in his efforts to stave off the executioner. The Court of Criminal Appeals initially declined to accept the appeal, called a writ of habeas corpus, because it was more than twice as long as permitted by court rules. The defense team filed an amended 313-page appeal Feb. 27, down from the original 373 pages and within the range allowed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. In recent days, both the U.S. Supreme Court and a federal judge in Austin turned down separate appeals from Wiercioch. He has appealed the federal court ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, one of the nations most conservative appellate courts. The 5th Circuit has asked that all briefs be filed by March 7. That appeal could wind up at the Supreme Court before Woods scheduled execution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wiercioch said the Texas Attorney Generals Office is responsible for the years of litigation in Woods case, because its lawyers consistently opposed his efforts to get DNA testing on evidence collected decades earlier. The only explanation I can figure out is, they dont want to know. They dont want to know what that DNA results may be, Wiercioch said. But the Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed with Wiercioch. Texas law allows DNA testing after conviction if several convictions are met. One of those is the request for the proposed DNA testing is not made to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or administration of justice. The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last year that Wiercioch was doing precisely that in a series of appeals over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states top criminal appeals court, in an 8-0 ruling, said over the entire period that his subsequent DNA motions have been pending, he has a pattern of piecemeal litigation and delay. And as can be seen with his latest flurry of motions filed with his reply brief, he is still doing it. Wiercioch, who began representing Wood in 2008, filed six separate requests for DNA testing of more than 250 items between 2010 and 2017. In court filings, Wiercioch has said he made the requests as he became aware of possible DNA material held by the state. The state agreed to the first testing request in 2010, for DNA testing of blood samples recovered from three of the victims. Two of the samples were inconclusive, and the third came back from an unidentified male and excluded Wood as a contributor of the sample. Wiercioch said the sample that excluded Wood pointed to his innocence and justified further testing, but the Attorney Generals Office disagreed. Eventually, so did the courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2022, the judge assigned to hear appeals in Woods case, Bert Richardson of San Antonio, rejected the requests for additional DNA testing, without offering an explanation. The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling in May 2024, and the Austin federal judge rejected a challenge of those findings Feb. 19. A complicated death row appeals process Woods appellate path has been complicated, even by Texas capital punishment standards. His 1992 trial, which was moved to Dallas because of extensive pretrial publicity in El Paso, was prosecuted by the El Paso District Attorneys Office, which was led then by Steve Simmons. Judge Peter Peca Jr. of El Pasos 171st District Court presided over the trial and handed down the death penalty, as ordered by the jury in the case, in November 1992. David Woods information sheet from when he was brought to Texas death row in 1993. Photo: El Paso Matters. Peca left the 171st District Court in 1998 and Richardson was later appointed to hear Woods appeals of his conviction. Richardson was elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014 but has continued to oversee Woods trial court appeals. He doesnt participate in the appellate courts deliberations on Woods case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As prosecutors were preparing for Woods trial, Simmons lost the Democratic primary election for district attorney to Jaime Esparza, who took office in January 1993. Esparza had been appointed by Peca to represent Wood in 1990, but Wood quickly asked that Esparza be removed from the case because he had worked for the DAs office during the early stages of the desert death investigations. Because Esparza briefly represented Wood, the District Attorneys Office couldnt handle appeals once he took office. Courts appointed district attorneys pro tempore to represent the state in appeals. The current district attorney pro tem is Rachel Patton, an assistant attorney general for the state of Texas. For Wiercioch, the most expedient way for Wood to get a stay of execution would be for current El Paso District Attorney James Montoya to reclaim the case from the Attorney Generals Office and join in the defense motion for additional DNA testing. He said Montoya, who doesnt have a conflict of interest that would prevent him from reclaiming the case, has rebuffed his efforts to discuss the idea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre running for DA, part of your job description is dealing with a case like this. Dont tell me you dont have the bandwidth for a death penalty case. Dont tell me that, Wiercioch said. James Montoya. Photo: El Paso Matters. In a statement to El Paso Matters, Montoya said hes not interested in involving the DAs office in the case after three decades. He said the case is best handled by the special prosecutors who are most familiar with the evidence. Whether additional DNA testing is appropriate would require a comprehensive review of the entire case and the state of the evidence, both as it was in 1987 and now in the present day which is precisely why our office is ill-suited to offer an opinion one way or another; it has not been our case for over 30 years, Montoya said. Furthermore, the courts have already ruled. In 2022, after more than 10 years of protracted litigation, a Texas district judge denied Mr. Woods multiple requests for additional DNA testing and in 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously upheld that denial, ruling that Mr. Woods requests were made to unreasonably delay the execution of his sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wiercioch said Montoya lacks courage. That is unconscionable, unconscionable, to say you, as the elected district attorney, are unwilling to take this case back, now that theres not a conflict in the office. And the attorney generals office has no interest in seeing justice done in this case. Theyve proven that over the last 12 years. Theyre not seeking justice, theyre seeking an execution, he said. The Attorney Generals Office did not respond to a request for comment. David Leonard Woods latest execution appeal Woods most recent appeal has two key claims that Wood is innocent, and that he had ineffective legal representation in his trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the innocence claim, Wiercioch attacks the testimony of two men who were incarcerated with Wood so-called jailhouse snitches who testified that he had confessed to them that he committed the killings. Thats the most unreliable evidence there is in the criminal justice system. We call it the canary of the coal mine of wrongful convictions. Because if youve got a jailhouse snitch, that means you dont have anything else, Wiercioch said. He said the two men had incentives to lie that Wood had confessed a reduction in sentence, and access to a reward offered in the slayings. The new challenge to the testimony of the two men, Randy Wells and James Sweeney, is a declaration of another man jailed with them and Wood George Hall. In a written declaration to Woods defense team in October 2024, Hall said prosecutors asked him to testify against Wood, but he refused. He said police gave their investigative files to him, Wells and Sweeney to review. Hall said Wells and Sweeney read through the files but he just quickly looked at them because I wasnt going to railroad David Wood. After reviewing the files, Wells and Sweeney confirmed that David Wood had confessed to them what they had just seen in the file, Hall said in the declaration. He said hadnt made the statements earlier because he was afraid his parole might be revoked. Hall said he came off parole in February 2024. The appeal also said newly discovered evidence raises questions about Woods guilt. But the appeal shows that much of the information has been known to Woods attorneys for years, even decades. The appeal says Woods truck, which prosecutors said was used in the crimes, was damaged in July 1987 and in a salvage yard throughout August, when some of the women Wood was accused of killing disappeared. Weircioch also said a police report showed Wood was under surveillance when two of the women disappeared; an expert witness gave misleading testimony about fibers collected from the crime scene; and that three witnesses said they saw one of the victims months after prosecutors said she was last seen with Wood. Wieroch raises many of these same issues in his claims of ineffective counsel during the trial. A motion for a stay of execution includes a Feb. 12 affidavit from one of Woods trial lawyers, Dolph Quijano Jr. In the affidavit, Quijano said prosecutors did not give him the report showing surveillance of Wood in August 1987. But he acknowledged that he was aware of much of the evidence raised in the latest appeal, but said he did not use it during the trial. I did not have a strategic reason for failing to put on this evidence, Quijano said repeatedly in the affidavit. When asked by El Paso Matters when he became aware of the evidence cited in his appeal, Wiercioch said he couldnt recall. He said he didnt raise these issues until the latest appeal because he needed to first exhaust the legal fight over DNA testing. If we had filed before we were finished litigating DNA testing, then it would be extremely difficult to bring that (DNA testing) up later because theyd say, why didnt you raise it beforehand? he said, blaming the Attorney Generals Office for refusing to agree to the testing for more than a decade. Wiercloth acknowledged that the Court of Criminal Appeals, which could decide whether Wood lives or dies on March 13, has previously accused him of what he called playing games. He rejects that criticism, and says he hopes the court may rule in Woods favor after years of rejecting his appeals. One, I dont think theyve ever seen a case like this before, this powerful evidence of actual innocence. Secondly, weve got three new judges on the CCA. They just started on January 1st. I would like to think seeing a case like this in their first couple of months on the bench is going to make them sit up and take notice and say, We need to take a closer look at this case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Police said a man led them on a chase after he crashed into a liquor store and stole a bottle of bourbon. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Officers in Bellevue, Kentucky were called to an alarm at One Stop Liquors around 3:30 a.m. Officers found heavy damage to the building, according to CBS-affiliate WCPO. Surveillance video showed McClean Morris driving a large sedan into the front of the building, getting out of the car, and going in to steal a bottle of cinnamon bourbon, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers went to Morris address but he was not home. TRENDING STORIES: Morris was seen in the area in a stolen vehicle. When officers spotted Morris, they told him to exit the car but he refused, WCPO reported. Morris drove off, ramming a Newport police cruiser and reversing into other cars before driving toward several officers. Police chased Morris onto the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, also known as the Big Mac Bridge, where Morris stopped the car and shouted profanities at officers, continuing to refuse to exit the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police had to close all northbound lanes of the bridge. Morris drove away again but was eventually stopped by police in Cincinnati and arrested. He is facing several charges, including burglary, criminal mischief, wanton endangerment of a police officer and civilian, fleeing and evading police, receiving stolen property, and leaving the scene of an accident. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Editor note: A press release from the Monongalia County Sheriffs Office listed the suspects name as Herbert McDonald, but a criminal complaint filed in the case listed his name as Holbert McDonald. 12 News has updated this story to reflect the name listed on the criminal complaint and include additional details. Update: 3/5/2025, 7:26 p.m. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) The Monongalia County Sheriffs Office has released details surrounding the shooting in Monongalia County Wednesday, including the name of the man taken into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Facebook post made Wednesday evening, officials said that deputies were dispatched to the Wings Ole location at 725 Chestnut Ridge Road for a report of a shooting. When deputies arrived, they found that one man had been shot four times, according to a criminal complaint. He was later transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries. Deputies also found a second person inside a vehicle who was shot at, but not injured. While investigating, deputies identified the suspected shooter as Holbert McDonald, 48, of Morgantown, who was later found and taken into custody without incident. During an interview with deputies, McDonald said that he shot approximately eight rounds from a purple and silver 9mm pistol that deputies found when he was arrested. McDonald has been charged with attempted murder and wanton endangerment. He was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on Wednesday and was given a $190,000 bond. $150,000 was from the above charges, and the remaining $40,000 was from three outstanding capias warrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McDonald is currently en route to the North Central Regional Jail. 12 News will update this story with his picture when it is made available. Officials said that the investigation into this incident remains ongoing and that anyone with additional information should contact the Monongalia County Sheriffs Office at 304-291-7260. Original: 3/5/2025, 12:14 p.m. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) One person was taken into custody following a shooting incident in Monongalia County Wednesday morning. The Monongalia County Sheriffs Office said that the shooting incident took place on Chestnut Ridge Road in Morgantown, the road that runs from Van Voorhis Road and past the West Virginia University Health Sciences Campus. The sheriffs department did not give any other information on where the shooting incident took place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said Wednesday morning that the incident was isolated and that it should not lead to any concern for the community. A male suspect was taken into custody a short time later. Parents charged after child suffers gunshot wound in Lewis County No other details have been released. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Stick with 12 News for updates on this developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A man experiencing a dementia-related episode is back with his caseworker after a coordinated response from local agencies. A police officer found the man disoriented at Silver Street Market in February and called Albuquerque Community Safety. ACS provided support before asking the University of New Mexico Hospital to assess his condition. Albuquerque students receive financial literacy lesson After failed attempts to contact his family, adult protective services said they were actively searching for him. He was very grateful that we were able to get him back home, him being an elderly man by himself, in this area, hes vulnerable to different things, whether that be traffic Or people trying to harm him. So were able to get him into a safe place and take him back home, said Abran Aragon, Behavioral Health Responder, ACS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man was taken home and his caseworker arranged for a family member to help him transition to assisted living. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. ALDERSON, WV (WVNS) A man was found dead after a barn fire in Greenbrier County on Monday, March 3, 2025. A 70-year-old male died in the fire near the town of Alderson. The fire happened at a barn on Mountain View Parkway at around 3:30 p.m. Smoot Volunteer Fire Department, along with several other agencies, responded to the scene and recovered the victim from the barn. Men accused of burning down mansion formerly belonging to Gov. Hulett Smith no longer employed at Southern Regional Jail Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a press release, investigators with the West Virginia State Fire Marshals Office also responded to the scene. The fire is undetermined at this time and still under investigation. The victim was sent to the West Virginia Medical Examiners Office for positive identification and autopsy. The press release was sent from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Fire Marshals Office. Stick 59News for more updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) A man has been arrested and is now facing a theft of property charge, according to authorities. Decatur Police said that a business located in Franklin, Tennessee, filed a report with the Decatur Police Department, regarding a forged check had been drawn off their account and negotiated in Decatur, Alabama. Upon further investigation, it was determined that Cortez Horton negotiated the forged check into his personal bank account, obtaining more than $2,500 from the proceeds of the check. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to DPD, it was also determined that Horton negotiated an additional forged check from a different business in Quincy, Illinois, but Horton was unable to obtain any funds from that check before it returned as a forgery. On January 21, warrants were obtained for Hortons arrest for the charges of theft of property-1st and two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument-3rd. On March 4, Horton was arrested by officers and transported to the Morgan County Jail, where he was booked. He was issued a $7,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. (WKBN) An Ohio man was found guilty to charges he picked up as part of a Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force sting in which officers say he solicited sexual acts from someone who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Nicolas Ortiz, 25, was sentenced nearly one year after his arrest. He was found guilty of possessing criminal tools, attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, importuning, and aggravated possession of drugs all felonies. A charge of compelling prostitution was dismissed. The judgment entry in the case states Ortiz has a limited past criminal record and scored low on the Ohio Risk Assessment System. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is a youthful offender and has taken steps to rehabilitate his conduct, the judgment entry states. Ortiz was sentenced to 75 days of local incarceration in the Columbiana County Jail with credit for two days served. He was also sentenced to three years of probation. He was designated a Tier II sex offender and is not subject to community notification. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) A New Bedford man convicted in connection with the shooting of an undercover detective in the city two years ago will spend at least three years behind bars, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III. Cheybane Vasconcelos-Furtado, 22, pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory after the fact of an assault and battery with a firearm. He was sentenced to serve three-to-five years in state prison. Surveillance footage shows Vasconcelos-Furtado picking up three men on Tallman Street the night of July 17, 2023 and driving to the intersection of Rivet and Orchard streets, where Detective Lavar Gilbert was sitting in an unmarked cruiser parked outside of a pizza shop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quinn said a man sitting in the backseat, later identified as Denzel Gomes, pulled out a firearm and opened fire as Vasconcelos-Furtado was driving by. RELATED: Man pleads not guilty in shooting that wounded undercover detective Gilbert, a 17-year veteran assigned to the Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau, was hit in the face by a bullet that shattered the drivers side window. He drove himself to the hospital for emergency medical treatment. Though Gilbert has since recovered from his injuries, he now suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is unable to return to duty. Quinn said a bystander in a nearby crowd was also shot in the foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vasconcelos-Furtado was taken into custody nearly a week after the shooting. Gomes, on the other hand, left the country and wasnt arrested until he returned stateside in February 2024. Quinn said Vasconcelos-Furtado was out on probation at the time of his arrest and was sentenced to serve one year behind bars as a result. He will not receive credit for time served toward his state prison sentence. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A 50-year-old man North Myrtle Beach man accused of violating a ban on open burning during the Carolina Forest area wildfire was released from jail on a $1,000 bond on Wednesday. Jason Daniel Bingham was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with burning trash or other debris during an emergency ban, according to J. Reuben Long Detention Center online records. Horry County officials say three other people have been given citations since the order was issued. We try to educate before going to other actions, Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov told News13 Wednesday morning. We educated, then we went back and that person said they werent aware of [the] burn ban. They go to jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moskov said authorities only issued citations to some people because they adhered to the burn ban once they were contacted by authorities. Moskov said none of the citations or the arrest were connected to the ongoing Covington Drive wildfire that has covered more than 2,000 acres in the Carolina Forest area since it broke out Saturday afternoon. News13 has asked for the police report related to Binghams arrest. This is a developing story. Count on News13 for updates. * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Sentencing will be at a later date after a man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to charges he wounded two people at an East Side apartment complex. Jonathan Lozada Martinez, 30, entered his pleas before Judge Maureen Sweeney to two counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, along with a firearm specification. The attorneys in the case are recommending a sentence of six to seven and a half years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lozada Martinez has been in custody since he was arrested shortly after a June 24 shooting at the Plaza View apartment complex on McGuffey Road. Police said he shot two people during an argument among family members. He will be sentenced after a presentence investigation is completed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. The owners of outrageous gold Cybertrucks have feelings too. Just ask Kumait Jaroje, who's still complaining that he's getting harassed for his gilded, $113,000 Tesla pickup truck, the New York Times reports. As if its glimmering exterior wasn't already enough of a head-turner, Jaroje used the Cybertruck to advertise his medical spa business, with giant letters reading "#1 HAIR TRANSPLANT" on the side of the car. At one point, he also flaunted a huge QR code on the bumper. But with anti-Elon Musk sentiment at a fever pitch, Jaroje, a Republican resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, says he's now removed the ads, reverting the truck back to its original, unvarnished gold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It got really, really bad after the inauguration," Jaroje told the NYT, saying that he filed a police report after receiving threatening phone messages at his business. Jaroje is a long-time Tesla enthusiast. He's been eyeing a Cybertruck since Musk first unveiled it back in 2019. "The moment he broke the window, I reserved one," Jaroje told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in October, referring to Musk's infamously botched stunt to prove that the windows were bulletproof. (Jaroje has since emphasized that he didn't buy the truck for political reasons, describing himself as a mix of conservative and liberal.) After finally having the long-delayed vehicle delivered to him, Jaroje and his golden truck have become somewhat of a local staple and laughingstock. But whatever the temper of his vehicle's initial reception by residents, it definitely seems to have soured, reflecting the wave of vandalism directed at Tesla cars across the world, in apparent acts of protest against Musk's role in the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Jaroje told CBS News' WBZ-TV that he and his family were being harassed and jeered for owning the gold Cybertruck. "Since getting our Cybertruck, we've faced constant hostility, " Jaroje wrote in a tweet last month. "Someone even put a Nazi sticker on our truck." The purported "Nazi sticker" said "Nazis fuck off" clearly alluding to Musk's double Sieg Hiel that he performed at Trump's inauguration celebration in January. With Tesla's image tanking by the day thanks to that kind of bullshit from its CEO, the backlash for owning the statement vehicle is no longer worth the hassle for Jaroje, who says he contacted the automaker to trade in his Cybertruck but without any luck. He now intends to sell the vehicle. More on Cybertruck: When Police Bought Teslas, It Blew Up in Their Faces Several people from our region will be special guests at President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress. Marc Fogel and Corey Comperatores family are among a group of everyday Americans first lady Melania Trump invited to the U.S. Capitol. Fogel, a Butler County native who was imprisoned in Russia for more than three years, was released in February as part of a prisoner swap negotiated by the Trump administration. He and his mother, Malphine, will attend. In a statement, Fogel said the privilege of sitting before a joint session of Congress as Trump speaks is not lost on him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just over a month ago, I was uncertain if I would ever see America again. Now, I am, with my wonderful mother, a guest in its most historic chamber having received such an overwhelming welcome from my beloved country and so many peopleincluding many Members of Congress who are here who worked very hard to bring me home. I am so grateful. Words cannot adequately express the magnitude of my emotions. I will be back to meet with many to thank you personally. I appreciate your graciousness in giving me the time I need to reconnect with my family and get my footing. God Bless our country. Corey Comperatore was shot and killed while shielding his family from the gunman who made an attempt on Trumps life during a rally in Butler last July. The former fire chiefs widow, Helen, and their two daughters were also in attendance. Members of the Corey Comperatore family including wife Helen and daughters Allyson and Kaylee stand as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Trump recognized Fogel and Comperatore during his speech. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Marjorie Taylor Greene has backed Donald Trumps exorbitant tariffs on Canada, using a defense described bogus by Justin Trudeau hours earlier. Speaking before the presidents address to a joint session of Congress, the Georgia representative told The Independent that the Canadian PM needed to step up and do more to solve the alleged problem of harmful opioids entering the U.S. from the north. What would be important is for Prime Minister Trudeau to focus on the fentanyl problem, and the cartels who are producing fentanyl in Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We hope that he steps up and secures the border and protects Americans lives. There's 200 to 300 Americans that die every single day from fentanyl. President Trump is very serious about the protected Americans and stopping the cartels. On Tuesday the president forged ahead with his vow to place 25 percent tariffs on Canada, after accusing his neighbor to the north of failing to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the U.S. In response, Trudeau called reasoning "completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false." Speaking to reporters on Tuesday the Canadian prime minister said the tariffs on Canadian imports were "a very dumb thing to do" and that Ottawa would be striking back immediately. He also accused Trump of wanting to ruin the Canadian economy. Marjorie Taylor Greene has repeated a defense of Donald Trumps tariffs, that they were put in place in response to fentanyl production in Canada (AP) Trudeau also announced 25 percent tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days' time, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake," Trudeau said. Trump responded by saying the Canadians retaliatory tariffs would be met with immediate reciprocal tariffs. The relationship between the two men, which has never been warm, has deteriorated in recent months after the president repeatedly talked of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state and mockingly referred to Trudeau as its "governor" rather than prime minister. Trump has said he is unhappy with the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal that he signed in his first term. Trudeau played down the idea of opening talks ahead of a review scheduled for 2026. Trudeau previously dubbed the justification for the tariffs completely bogus "Given that he is choosing to want to ruin the Canadian economy, I don't know whether to bring forward negotiations, given the situation of such bad faith that we're in," said Trudeau, who warned Canadians that tough times were coming. (Bloomberg) -- Decarbonizing your life will get more expensive as President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on the US top trading partners, spiking the cost of home heat pumps, battery storage systems and electric cars, according to economists. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump on Tuesday levied 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, a day after he signed an executive order doubling a tariff on Chinese products to 20%. The administration has said it intends to put a tax on imports from the European Union and collect a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports. Its definitely going to slow down the shift to electric vehicles in particular, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Once you include taxes on Canada and Mexico, you are going to be hard-pressed to find anything that isnt in some way or another subject to these taxes. Thats because in addition to finished goods, the US imports components from those countries to assemble cars and other products domestically. In 2024, for instance, Mexico and Canada were the first and third largest individual exporters of goods to the US, respectively, according to the US Census Bureau. China was the second largest exporter of products to the US last year while the 27-nation EU sold the most goods in the country. Americans are also likely to pay more as the tariffs make imported components more scarce and US companies seek to match the higher prices their foreign competitors charge to make up for the taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any time youre restricting supply, its going to have a distortionary impact on the market beyond just those specifically imported products because as the total supply gets smaller, prices across the board are going to go up, said Stephen Naimoli, an analyst at Atlas Public Policy, a Washington, DC-based policy and data research firm. Prices for heat pumps, EVs and home batteries could further rise if the Trump administration succeeds in fulfilling a pledge to end generous incentives and tax credits for low-carbon appliances and cars. Alix Langone, a senior research analyst at Boston-based EnergySage, which operates an online solar marketplace for consumers, advised homeowners not to wait. If you are interested in purchasing a battery or going solar, its better to do it now, she said. Theres much uncertainty right now about tariffs but its a safe bet that prices are going up. Heres how tariffs could show up in the price tags of green products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heat pumps If theres a magic box to decarbonize your home its the heat pump. The high-efficiency electric devices can be configured to heat and cool a dwelling, supply hot water and even dry your clothes by extracting warmth from the atmosphere. Heat pump manufacturing tends to be regional and of the 4.1 million heat pumps for heating and cooling that shipped in the US in 2024, only 382,000 were imported, mainly from China and Mexico, according to data from industry group AHRI and the United Nations. But some domestically assembled heat pumps rely on imported parts. For instance, China made 95% of the worlds heat pump compressors in 2023 and accounted for half of the global trade in the components, according to a February report from the International Energy Agency. Tariffs on steel and aluminum could also raise the price of heat pumps in the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naimoli said data on imports of specific heat pump components isnt publicly available so its difficult to gauge the price impact of tariffs on finished products. Replacing a fossil fuel furnace with a heat pump can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 or more, depending on location and the size of the system. A heat pump water heater can run $7,000 or more in places like California and prices for heat pump clothes dryers range from $900 to more than $2,000. A spokesperson for Rheem Manufacturing Co., a major US heat pump maker, said, its too early to gauge the consequences of tariffs for the domestic market. We are closely monitoring tariff developments and their impact on global trade and our industry, the company said. Representatives for two other big US heat pump manufacturers, Carrier Global Corp. and Lennox International Inc., said executives werent available to comment. Some of the top heat pump clothes dryers, such as those made by Bosch and Miele, are imported from Europe and could be subject to tariffs if Trump follows through on his threat to the EU. Solar panels and batteries Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Installing solar panels to generate carbon-free electricity and batteries to store that energy makes heat pumps even more climate friendly. Chinese solar panels were already subject to tariffs imposed by former President Joe Biden and Trump during his first administration. On Monday, Trump doubled an existing 10% tax on China imports. US residential solar installations fell 19% in 2024, but that was mainly due to declining state subsidies for homeowners rather than tariffs, according to a January report from BloombergNEF. Installations of home battery systems, on the other hand, have boomed as California offered new incentives for solar that require energy storage. Battery costs also fell 20% in 2024 from the previous year. China dominates the market for lithium iron phosphate batteries increasingly used in home battery systems and new US tariffs on battery imports could prevent prices from falling further, slowing market adoption, the BloombergNEF report noted. These tariffs are going to put a lot of cost pressure on the battery market because batteries are already expensive as it is, said Langone. But she expects demand to remain strong as electricity prices continue to rise along with power outages from climate-driven extreme weather. Climate change is inescapable. Electric vehicles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new study from automotive consultant Anderson Economic Group estimated tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico could add as much as $12,000 to the sticker price of electric vehicles. The average cost of an EV sold in January was $55,614, according to Kelley Blue Book. In November 2024, 35% of EVs imported to the US came from Mexico, according to Bloomberg NEF. General Motors makes three electric SUVs and the Prologue for Honda in Mexico, where the Ford Mustang Mach-E is also assembled. Tariffs on steel and aluminum and automotive components would also add thousands of dollars to the cost of US-made vehicles, the Anderson Economic Group report found. Its going to hit the everyday person pretty hard, said Atlas Public Policy founder Nick Nigro. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Bloomberg L.P. MARSHALL COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) Two Marshall County residents were arrested on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain government funds. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, the funds were intended to protect employees of endangered businesses during the COVID pandemic through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Six sentenced for trafficking guns to Chicago from Mississippi Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents showed that Bridget Davis and Joey Davis were charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in the fraudulently application of PPP loans. The defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering by participating in wire transfers involving proceeds of the fraud scheme. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 30 years for the conspiracy and wire fraud violations and 20 years for the money laundering charges. The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, and Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson appear at a February news conference in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) You might think that after being humiliated by a rowdy town hall crowd in Oakley, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall would take some time to reflect and reconsider his deep-fried MAGA approach to politics. Youd think wrong. Two days after the fracas, where Marshall threatened the crowd and left early, he decided to salve his wounds by posting to Twitter. Rather than admit that he turned his back on his fellow Kansans, he called them fake. What a terrible way for any politician to react. Lets be honest about what Marshall and President Donald Trump suggest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump implies that Republican town halls across the United States are overrun by protesters paid to be there on behalf of the Democratic Party. This would be the same Democratic Party that tried to run Joe Biden for a second term and lost control of the U.S. House, Senate and presidency. Right. In his amplification of Trumps message, Marshall asks us to believe that this party then somehow trucked these operatives into distant Oakley. Again, right. If Marshall or his staff possess documentary evidence that the Oakley town hall was packed with paid operatives working for the Democratic Party, they should make that evidence public. (No, tweets about voting totals in Oakley dont count.) If its accurate, I will gladly eat a copy of Project 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not exactly sure how I will ingest it the Heritage Foundation blueprint for a Republican presidency weighs in at nearly 900 pages. Perhaps I will have to eat a summary or the title page alone. However, I am absolutely certain that it will not come to that because the statement is simply untrue. There are other ways to parse Trump and Marshalls words. Perhaps liberal advocates attended the meeting. But just because someone supports one side or another doesnt disqualify them from attending a town hall. Perhaps someone connected to the state party was on hand to capture video. Republicans send such folks to Democratic events and vice versa. Both sides have done so for years. But neither of those things means the event overflowed with paid plants. Trump and Marshall want their supporters to believe that people with concerns dont matter. In the words of Marshalls chief of staff: Theyre not real Kansans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roger Marshall will never vote in lockstep with Bernie Sanders. But I dont think the people assembled in Oakley wanted him to do that. They worried about how disruption in Washington has affected their fellow Kansans. Recordings of the full meeting show that attendees asked serious, good-faith questions. Rather than engage with their concerns, Marshall threw a hissy fit. He should listen to Kansas House Minority Leader Brendan Woodard, who also posted on Twitter. For 7 years, I have hosted or attended monthly town hall meetings and listening session. Ive been booed, yelled at, as well as supported by Democrats, Republicans, Unaffiliated voters, and Libertarians. They arent paid troublemakers, theyre Kansans. #ksleg https://t.co/bvHn7384wh Brandon Woodard (@Woodard4Kansas) March 4, 2025 I understand that this puts Republicans in a bind. I understand that no politician wants to look weak or cowardly. If youre carrying water for an authoritarian administration, where projection of strength counts above all else, you must ooze virility from every pore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can even understand advice from U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, that GOP lawmakers avoid in-person town halls. House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested they instead host telephone town halls or small events. From a purely political vantage point, it makes sense. But it sure doesnt serve those real Kansans that Marshall professes to care about. UPDATE (as of 2:30 p.m.): Perhaps my beloved copy of Project 2025 is safe after all. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. Mary Hager is the senior executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning and No. 1 Sunday morning public affairs program "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Hager previously served as executive producer of "Face the Nation" from 2011 to 2025, working with moderators Bob Schieffer, John Dickerson and Margaret Brennan. Hager is also CBS News' executive editor for politics. Hager was named executive editor for politics at CBS News in January 2022. In this role, Hager brings her decades of political reporting and producing to overseeing CBS News' political coverage across all platforms. As executive producer for the second longest-running program on television, Hager has led the program to win multiple awards and recognitions including an Emmy Award for its 2013 coverage of the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination; a 2019 Wilbur Award; a first place National Headliner Award for the program's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2022 Radio Television Digital News Association "First Amendment" Award and the 2023 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism from USC Annenberg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hager has worked with the "Face the Nation" team and moderator Margaret Brennan to focus on the impact of the pandemic on every aspect of American life as well as the Trump and Biden administration's response to the public health crisis. The broadcast has featured numerous interviews with lawmakers, local and federal elected officials, public health experts, doctors, economists, and world leaders about efforts to untangle society from the grip of the pandemic. Prior to becoming executive producer, Hager was "Face the Nation"'s senior producer. Hager has covered virtually every presidential campaign, convention and election night over the past 30 years at CBS News, in capacities ranging from embed to anchor producer to executive producer of midterm coverage. She spent more than 15 years as CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer's producer. Throughout her career at CBS News, Hager has played a key role in the preparation of presidential debate moderators, including the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle between Vice President JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz moderated by Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell, serving as the lead editorial producer for John Dickerson during the two CBS News 2016 presidential primary debates, and the 2012 debate between President Barack Obama and Sen. Mitt Romney hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates and moderated by Bob Schieffer. Hager began her career at CBS News in 1991 as a researcher in the CBS News political unit, and from there moved to Capitol Hill to work with Schieffer as Senate producer in 1993. In 1999, she moved to the Atlanta bureau, working with CBS News correspondents Byron Pitts and Mark Strassmann covering the southeast and 2000 campaign, including the presidential recount in Tallahassee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2001, Hager returned to Washington as a producer on the CBS Evening News, where she spent eight years covering Congress, politics, the 2004 Kerry campaign, and the George W. Bush White House. She moved to "Face the Nation" in 2009. Hager is a graduate of the University of Virginia. Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died at age 82. Here's a look back at their love story Watch: Trump's full address to Congress Vatican says Pope Francis is no longer on mechanical ventilation FILE PHOTO: The USCYBERCOM building stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland By AJ Vicens DETROIT (Reuters) - The mass culling of workers from federal payrolls will have a "devastating" impact on cybersecurity and national security, a top former National Security Agency official said on Wednesday. Rob Joyce, former NSA director of cybersecurity, told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party of the harm from aggressive threats to cut U.S. government employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Eliminating probationary employees will destroy a pipeline of top talent, essential for hunting and eradicating PRC threats," Joyce said at the hearing on the threat posed by the People's Republic of China's cyber operations targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, telecommunications and other sectors. More than 100,000 federal workers have either taken early retirement or been laid off as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk's efforts to radically pare down the size and role of federal agencies. It is unclear how many workers have left the NSA, which handles foreign signals intelligence operations. More than 130 positions have been cut from the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as of Feb. 14, a CISA spokesperson said. The agency oversees defense of civilian federal networks and coordinates information-sharing between private industry and government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National security positions were exempted from Trump's plans to reduce the federal workforce, but some of the actual cuts have included such jobs. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The NSA declined to comment. The DHS's cuts will save the government about $50 million, an agency spokesperson told Reuters late Wednesday. "We are actively identifying other wasteful positions and offices that do not fulfill DHS's mission." (Reporting by AJ Vicens; Editing by Richard Chang) WESTPORT, Conn. (WTNH) A Massachusetts man was arrested on Tuesday following an investigation into an alleged 2019 theft at the YMCA on Allen Raymond Lane, according to police. Edward Capasso, 57, of Fitchburg, MA was arrested and charged with fourth-degree larceny, payment card theft and second-degree identity theft. 2 arrested for organized shoplifting in North Haven Police say that Capasso allegedly opened a locker and stole credit cards and valuables from inside. The owner said that his credit cards were used in Norwalk following the theft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Capasso was released on a $15,000 bond and will appear at Stamford Superior Court on April 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. DEVENS, Mass. (WWLP) An employee with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and an inmate at the Federal Medical Center Devens have been charged for allegedly conspiring to smuggle a synthetic cannabinoid into prison. Charging documents state that on January 25, 2022, 45-year-old Raymond Gaines was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Springfield man faces drug trafficking, vehicle charges following police chase Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When he committed these offenses, Gaines was on supervised release after serving a prison sentence from a 2017 conviction for distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school. Gaines was to serve his sentence at FMC Devens, a federal prison for inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical care. On January 17, 2025, Gaines had received an Executive Grant of Clemency, reducing his initial sentence to five years. The charging documents state that on August 18, 2024, 43-year-old Tasha Hammock of Bridgewater visited Gaines in prison and allegedly passed papers laced with the synthetic cannabinoid known as K2 to him, which he pocketed. Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was alleged that Hammock handled money connected with the distribution of K2 to Gaines in FMC Devens, and that she would receive K2 at her home to bring to the prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement said that they became interested in Hammocks visits after obtaining a cellphone that had been allegedly smuggled into the prison for an inmate. In September 2023, the inmate allegedly messaged a person on the cellphone discussing obtaining K2 in prison, saying that the drugs would be delivered to an address in Bridgewater. The address was later determined to be Hammocks. Hammock was arrested on Tuesday and made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston. She and Gaines have been charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue. Gaines will make an initial appearance at a later date. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Mar. 4MASSENA While the Massena Central School Board continues to plan recognition for graduating seniors, one program is already underway to recognize the members of the Class of 2025. The "Adopt a Senior" program is a tradition that began with the Massena Central School Class of 2020 at a time when COVID-19 disrupted the school year is back. The pandemic prompted the start of the program, as seniors missed out on events such as pep rallies and prom. Once again this year, Massena community members are being asked to "Adopt a Senior" from the high school's Class of 2025 by providing a gift basket with a minimum value of $30 for one of them. Seniors are filling out a "Favorite Things" form that they'll share with anyone who wants to adopt a senior, and baskets will be delivered between March 24 and April 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who would like to adopt a senior can provide the student's name by email to mtrimboli@mcs.k12.ny.us. Graduation is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. June 27, with a rain date of June 28 on the turf field. Leading the class will be Valedictorian Meghan Firnstein and Salutatorian Evan Bovay. Before the students cross the graduation, the district's school board is planning a reception event in the May-June time frame as one of four board goals for the 2024-25 school year. It reads, "The Board of Education will create a focus goal on the graduating class of 2025 by using tools such as the LifeTrack survey, a Graduation Ceremony policy and/or logistics, and a Board sponsored reception event for Seniors," and has a goal completion date of April 1. "This is one that we haven't really done a whole lot on, although from what I understand, there's been some inroads made with getting the LifeTrack survey underway," board President Paul A. Haggett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district has contracted with LifeTrack Services to survey students three times, including prior to graduation, 18 months following graduation, and five years after students graduate to gauge how well the district has prepared them for post-graduation. The survey opened after students returned from their recent break. "As far as some of these other parts of this goal, we haven't really had a lot of time put in on this, but we do have a plan," Haggett said. The ad hoc committee, headed by board member Patricia F. Murphy, was scheduled to meet Feb. 26 for more planning. Murphy had initially suggested the senior reception. Haggett also updated board members on the creation of a policy regarding graduation. "The board of education policy on the graduation ceremony is being drafted by Mr. Perretta (Vice President Kevin F. Perretta) and will be reviewed by the Policy Committee. So, we do have some definite action steps to take," he said. As House Republicans used the stage of a Congressional hearing to bash the role of sanctuary cities in protecting migrant rights, New York Mayor Adams took a grilling from fellow Democrats over President Trumps efforts to get Adams corruption case dismissed. The representatives hammered the mayor on what they characterized as a corrupt agreement with the president in exchange for Adams cooperation in carrying out Trumps immigration agenda. Are you selling out New Yorkers to save yourself from prosecution? Rep. Robert Garcia of California asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no deal, theres no quid pro quo, Adams replied after conferring with his lawyer. I did nothing wrong. During the five-hour meeting, members of the GOP-led committee took turns grilling Adams, as well as the mayors of Boston, Chicago and Denver, on sanctuary city laws, which block local law enforcement in certain circumstances from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on immigration matters. Republicans argued that the Democratic mayors are creating safe havens for dangerous criminals and violating federal law with their sanctuary city status with Rep. Nancy Mace going as far to tell the mayors you all have blood on your hands because of crimes by undocumented immigrants. The mayors largely defended the policies under questioning from GOP leaders, and Adams said sanctuary laws are necessary in order to ensure residents can access necessary resources. But he also made clear he wants to cooperate with feds to go after migrants who have committed crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be clear: A sanctuary city classification does not mean our city will ever be a safe haven for violent criminals, he said. It also does not give New York City the authority to violate federal immigration laws. Under questioning, Adams said he was open to making changes to the laws to the extent that he is able. That stance was welcomed by several Republican committee members though Democrats saw it differently. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) asked the mayor repeatedly whether he had ever spoken about his case with Trump or officials in his administration. Adams didnt directly answer that question, instead responding that the case was before a federal judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think Mayor Adams is not answering the question, because he probably has, Subramanyam said. He called the arrangement public extortion. Justice Department officials argued in court filings last month that Adams could better assist the presidents immigration agenda if his case was dropped. That move set off a heated week between the prosecutors in the case and the Department of Justice with seven lawyers with Manhattan U.S. Attorneys office resigning from their posts after being asked to put their weight behind a formal request to dismiss the case. Four top deputies in the Adams administration also submitted their resignations in the aftermath. Even Laura Gillen, a Long Island Democrat who won her seat in November on a tough-on-immigration platform, called on the mayor to resign; she also lambasted him for his handling of the migrant crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thank god you do not live in New York City, Adams said to Gillen. In contrast to the harsh lines of questioning from his fellow Democrats, representatives from the other side of the aisle were more sympathetic to the mayor, some praising Adams and holding him up as an example to the other mayors. You have publicly stated that you were willing to work with ICE on detaining the most criminal illegals and I will publicly thank you for that, Comer said in his opening remarks. The mayors of Chicago, Boston and Denver were subjected to tougher grilling. Each emphasized public safety and declines in crime as they were questioned by Republican members who painted a picture of rampant criminality in the sanctuary cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, asked a series of odd questions of the mayors, including if the panel hated the president more than you love your country and if they would do time for breaking unspecified federal laws. Im not gonna violate federal law so I dont have to worry about that, Adams replied. During the hearing, Tom Homan, Trumps border czar, tweeted in support of Adams, calling Garcias accusation that Adams sold out his constituents disgusting. Mayor Adams is trying to protect New Yorkers from violent illegal aliens, Homan wrote. He is trying to protect the NYPD from being attacked by illegal aliens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor met daily with his legal, communications and intergovernmental teams for the two weeks leading up to the meeting, his spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said. He traveled to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday ahead of the meeting and was accompanied by several members of his communications team, his chief counsel deputy mayors Camille Joseph Varlack and Tiffany Raspberry. The tone for the marathon hearing was set ahead of time with a video featuring a burning U.S. Constitution, clips of a Times Square migrant brawl with cops and hundreds of migrants waiting outside the Roosevelt Hotel shelter. Lets be clear, these policies only create sanctuary for criminals, committee chair Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Adams prepared to testify before the hearing at the U.S. Capitol, his challengers in Junes mayoral primary gathered on the steps of New York City Hall to decry his push to undo some of the citys sanctuary protections and his commitment to work with Trump on immigration enforcement. Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against the mayor, noted studies show sanctuary jurisdictions tend to have lower crime rates than non-sanctuary jurisdictions due to an increased willingness among immigrant communities to report crimes and interact with law enforcement. We cant have a mayor who takes orders from Donald Trump, Lander said. With Chris Sommerfeldt WASHINGTON DC Mayor Johnson traveled to Washington this week to take questions in a Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation of sanctuary cities. Johnson was one of four Democratic mayors in Washington on Wednesday, for the hearing about sanctuary cities. The mayors faced a hostile Republican-led committee, but Johnson fiercely defended the citys immigration policies while facing some tough questions and questions from Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congressman Darin LaHood (R-IL) eventually took aim at Johnson. Ive been amazed at how tone-deaf youve been and how oblivious youve been to the decline of Chicago, LaHood said. Youre putting the interests of illegal immigrants above the interests of taxpayers in Chicago. Violent crime is down in Chicago, Johnson fired back Weve invested $1.25 billion for housing and economic development, particularly for Black Chicagoans. PREVIOUS: Mayor Johnson to defend Chicagos sanctuary city status in Washington Mayors Johnson, Eric Adams of New York, Michelle Wu of Boston and Mike Johnston of Denver were accused of protecting criminals and thwarting Trump administration deportation efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have a family here today, Mr. Chairman, who lost their beautiful loved one, this young man was killed by an illegal immigrant in Texas that never should have been in our country, Congressman Clay Higgins (R-TX) said. The four mayors lead solid blue cities that welcomed a larger number of migrants during the Biden administration before mounting costs and waning political will forced a reduction in help. The cities limit local law enforcement agencies cooperation with ICE. In Chicago, for example, police policy and state law prohibit officers from coordinating with ICE or asking about a persons immigration status, something Republicans are calling obstruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Mayor Johnson argues not assisting ICE has made Chicago safer. When there is trust between the citys residents and the police, undocumented immigrants come forward to report crimes to local law enforcement and provide information that helps the police solve those crimes, Johnson said. For years, Chicagos sanctuary city status has been a major flashpoint for Republicans, who say it violates federal law and hampers the federal governments effort to enforce immigration law. The Welcoming City Ordinance, which establishes Chicagos status as a sanctuary city, has been on the books in some form since Mayor Harold Washingtons tenure from 1983-87. Every mayor since has so far successfully been able to fight back against its critics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With a national audience online and on cable TV, Mayor Johnson arrived in Washington three days ago to rehearse his testimony. Its a lot easier to speak to the values of our city when you believe in them, Johnson said. Right? And so I will say this, being a middle school teacher in Chicago Public Schools certainly prepares you for this committee. Emboldened Trump praises his swift action in address to Congress The Republican-led House Oversight Committee in the past has tripped up leaders of the countrys top educational institutions, leading to resignations. Republicans on the committee were already gearing up for a fight against sanctuary city mayors before Wednesdays hearing even began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im going to show up for the people of Chicago, as Ive always done, Johnson said of going to Capitol Hill. I cant say Im looking forward to it, but I can certainly say that when I get there, who I am is who I will remain. The mayors did get help from Democrats on the committee like Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi who praised the work the cities are doing to assist migrants and asylum-seekers. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has cracked down hard on illegal immigration, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stepping up its efforts, especially in Chicago. Trumps Department of Justice also sued Chicago for its sanctuary city laws, saying they supersede federal law. Johnson reached out to former Chicago mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot for advice, as well as to Congressmen Danny Davis and Jonathan Jackson and former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive never backed down in a fight, Johnson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVO) Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defended the citys sanctuary city policies toward noncitizen migrants in Washington on Wednesday. Johnson, along with mayors from Boston, Denver, and New York testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Every violent crime is devastating, but scapegoating entire communities is not only misleading, it is unjust, and it is beneath us. So, let me be clear. Chicagos welcoming city ordinance and our other laws and policies do not lead to more crime. They do not prevent cooperation with federal law enforcement on criminal matters. And we do not harbor criminals. We arrest them, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanctuary policies describe those that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but asks that local police alert them to people who should be deported, and hold them until federal officers take them into custody. Trump administration officials have also argued that if communities work with them on immigration enforcement, collateral arrests when ICE detains people other than those targeted are less likely. Sanctuary cities want to keep locking us out of jails, President Donald Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters. They force us into the neighborhood to find the bad guys. When we find the bad guy, many times theyre with others. Some cities, like Chicago, say cooperating with ICE has a negative effect on migrant populations, creating fear so those who are victims of or witnesses to a crime wont come forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has sued Illinois and Chicago over their refusal to cooperate with federal law. Chicago has some of the countrys strongest immigrant protections, barring cooperation between federal agents and city employees, including police. City officials beefed up protections after Trump first took office in 2017 and again in 2020, when it required police to document requests for assistance from federal agents. Illinois also has protections allowing anyone, regardless of immigration status, to get a drivers license. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office in 2023, inherited a migrant crisis his first year. Short on shelter space, Chicagos leaders used police station lobbies, airports, parked buses and hotels to house asylum-seekers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At its height, roughly 15,000 migrants lived in dozens of temporary shelters, although the city has shuttered those as the number of people arriving decreased. There have been a handful of City Council attempts to weaken Chicagos sanctuary protections, but they have been unsuccessful in the Democratic-leaning city. Johnson has defended the policies. We welcome all individuals and families who want to work, live and thrive here in our beloved city, Johnson said in late January. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. WASHINGTON Mayor Brandon Johnson defended Chicagos sanctuary policy for immigrants Wednesday inside the U.S. Capitol, sparring for hours with congressional Republicans who sought to paint the nations third-largest city as lawless under his leadership. During the marathon GOP-led hearing, Johnson delivered a forceful endorsement of Chicagos long history as a haven for immigrants while against a backdrop of heavy political theater over one of the countrys most divisive issues. Seated in the middle of a five-person witness panel with the Democratic leaders from three other major U.S. cities, Johnson touted Chicagos downward trend in crime in his opening statement. He went on to argue throughout the six-hour session that the citys long-standing policy blocking local police from assisting in federal immigration enforcement in fact makes communities safer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know there are myths about these laws, Johnson said in his opening remarks to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fearmongering obscure the reality that Chicagos crime rates are trending down. We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. Its grandstanding. The mayor also invoked Chicagos Black history, shouting out its Haitian founder, the explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, and his Potawatomi wife before ending his opening remarks by reciting his common slogan with a twist: Better, stronger, much safer Chicago. The appearance by the first-term Chicago mayor at the much-hyped hearing gave Johnson a national audience to defend the sanctuary city policies that block local police from assisting in immigration enforcement. It was the mayors biggest spotlight yet and came at a time when his popularity at home is dwindling. Watch live: Mayor Brandon Johnson to testify on sanctuary city policies for immigrants Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the session led by Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Johnson took constant jabs from GOP members loyal to President Donald Trump. They hoped to characterize the Democratic mayors as lenient toward immigrant criminals who Republicans say have sown chaos in Americas cities. For his part, Johnson said Chicagos sanctuary policy, in place since the mid-1980s, helps curb violence because it allows noncitizens to cooperate in local criminal investigations without fear of arrest. But like his three counterparts, the mayor danced around many of the more hostile questions, eliciting sharp criticism from irate Republicans. During the testimony, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace assailed Johnson for being evasive and said he had low approval ratings because you suck at answering questions. Johnson drew personal attacks from Republicans, who knocked him for local controversies such as a gift room in the mayors office with Gucci bags and other designer items. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GOP Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood, not a member of the committee, joined at the end and launched into a detailed takedown of the mayor. Ive been amazed at how tone-deaf you have been and how oblivious youve been to the decline of Chicago, LaHood said. Johnson fired back by saying crime has gone down since hes been mayor. Chicago ended 2024 with a 7% drop in shootings, per police data, though its gun violence epidemic still far outpaces that of the other cities represented Wednesday. I will not apologize for my investments in the people of Chicago, Johnson told the congressman. We have one of the most diverse economies, the top universities. As violence continues to go down and investments continue to go up, that is whats most important. The mayor also landed some cheeky responses, as when Mace asked him whether he hates Trump more than he loves his country. As a son of a pastor, I love everyone and this country, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnsons testimony came with much political peril. Republicans eager to impress Trump by scoring points off the progressive Chicago mayor tried to lock him into answers as the fate of the citys federal funding and an ongoing Justice Department lawsuit that seeks to invalidate sanctuary policies in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois hangs in the balance. To the end, Johnson the first sitting Chicago mayor to testify before Congress since Richard M. Daley responded to this confluence of pressures while under oath by mostly declining to take the bait. Joining him at the hearing were New York Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Multiple GOP members said the mayors deserve to be prosecuted for their sanctuary policies, picking up on the Trump Justice Departments January memo ordering the investigation of state and local officials who threaten to impede the presidents immigration crackdown. Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna declared: Unfortunately, based on your responses, Im all going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation. Republicans also sought to trip up Johnson with questions on the migrant influx that overwhelmed Chicago when he first took office. That humanitarian crisis began in 2022 when GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent his first busload of asylum-seekers to Chicago, where more than 51,000 new arrivals have journeyed, and did not wane until last summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson most often leaned on reminding the committee he did not ask for those buses, a delicate dance given the potential of the mayor upsetting his progressive base should he emphasize that position too strongly. That transfer of individuals was the result of the governor of Texas, not the result of a Welcoming City ordinance, the mayor said when Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Rep. Scott Perry pressed him on his handling of asylum seekers in Chicago. They were not welcome in Chicago, you didnt welcome them? Perry retorted. You didnt provide them sanctuary? Johnson replied that the Welcoming City ordinance is pretty straightforward, before Perry interrupted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicago has spent $638 million in taxpayer resources to house and feed migrants, about $268 million of which came from the citys corporate fund versus state and federal grants. Though GOP congressmen on Wednesday referred to them as illegal immigrants while lambasting Chicagos sanctuary policy, the Welcoming City ordinance did not apply to most of the recent arrivals from Venezuela because they had legal authorization to cross the U.S. border and remain in the country as asylum-seekers. Rep. Michael Cloud, a Texas Republican, came to his governors defense, saying that just as Johnson did not ask for the migrant buses, Abbott did not ask for the Biden administration to open the borders. You seem to talk about Governor Abbott and sending buses to your city, Cloud said. No one forced them to get on the bus. They did it of their own freewill, and they were sent to your city because of your stated claim to be a sanctuary city. The hearing was full of made-for-TV theatrics, which was no surprise after Trumps team vowed to go after local sanctuary policies. Johnson strove to focus on Chicagos positives in his remarks, highlighting its distinction as an economic hub with recent positive-trending crime statistics, and pulled out his well-worn slogan that its the best freakin city in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to Texas GOP Rep. Brandon Gill asking if he supports allowing illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses, Johnson gave his longest pause of the day before replying with, So the city of Chicago has been a welcoming city for over 40 years. Ill take that as a yes, Gill said. Adams commanded plenty of attention Wednesday as the mayor of the countrys most populous city, and because hes under indictment for alleged corruption and bribery. Trumps Justice Department has moved to dismiss those charges, but Adams could see federal prosecutors refile the case if he doesnt cooperate with the presidents immigration crackdown, a fact Democrats on the committee repeatedly pointed out. Johnson arrived in the U.S. Capitol on the heels of the presidents first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term in the White House in which he repeatedly discussed his administrations efforts to enforce border security and set strict immigration policies. Trump didnt specifically mention sanctuary laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicagos Welcoming City ordinance bans official cooperation between local law enforcement and federal deportation authorities, while ensuring immigrants living in the country without legal permission can use city services. Similar policies are codified in state and county laws. The intent is to ensure noncitizens can report crime without fearing deportation, while depriving the feds of a key resource local police, who have traditionally been U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements sources for deportation targets outside of border areas. Johnson initially hedged on whether he would go Wednesday, a hesitation that relieved some skeptics in local government who believed it to be a trap with little upside for the rookie mayor. But a month ago, Johnson joined the other three mayors in confirming his attendance. The next day, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi went to court against the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago over their sanctuary policies. That means Johnsons responses on Wednesday were under the dual glare of Congress and the Justice Department, though the courts have generally determined sanctuary laws to be constitutional. The high-drama scene was hardly the first time the mayor was criticized over immigration. Johnson, who charted an unconventional political trajectory from Chicago Teachers Union organizer to the fifth floor of City Hall, has repeatedly weathered rough seas over his decision to house and feed asylum-seekers with taxpayer resources when he first took office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson has been sequestered in the nations capital since Sunday to prepare for the challenge, with the help of his top advisers and a Washington-based law firm hired by City Hall. Johnsons press office declined to name the firm or its rates on Tuesday; the Tribune has filed a public records request for that information. Though Johnson has been unequivocal in defending Chicagos sanctuary policy, he has tried locally to pivot from talking about Trumps immigration crackdown to the White Houses broader agenda especially how it pertains to Black people. Its a nod to the uproar Johnson, the citys fourth Black mayor, has faced from South and West siders who felt their communities remained neglected while Venezuelan migrants received government assistance. That tactic was on full display Wednesday, with the mayor celebrating Chicago as a destination for African Americans during the Great Migration, including his father who journeyed north from Sallis, Mississippi. After the hearing adjourned, the mayor sought to enlist Chicago reporters who had attended the hearing to get the word out. I need you alls help to engage and inform Black Chicago in particular of all the investments that Ive made, he said. Its so critical for the people who have been disinvested in for decades to know. Though Republicans tried to burst his bubble throughout the day, Johnson also received help from friendlier faces on the Democratic side of the chamber. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, set the mayor up for one of his punchier lines cheerleading the city when he called out Trump for denigrating Chicago as worse than Afghanistan. The city of Chicago is a beautiful place, Johnson said after Krishnamoorthi listed the citys eminence as a hub for railroads and corporate headquarters. In fact, everything that is dope about America comes from Chicago. ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT) Monday morning, members of the Athens and Limestone County business community as well as state and local officials gathered for the 2025 State of the City breakfast luncheon. The event was hosted by the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce. BLOG: Damage left behind by strong winds on Tuesday Rather than giving a State of the City address, Mayor Ronnie Marks participated in a Q&A. He answered a series of questions discussing a range of topics including quality of life improvements, crime levels, tourism, parks & recreation improvements, mental health and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Marks said the City of Athens is doing well, financially. Our budget and our finances are in very good shape, he said. Marks also spent time encouraging residents to shop local. News 19 viewers want to know if Congressman Dale Strong is holding town hall meeting He said 42% of the general fund comes from sales taxes. That money helps provide funding for police, fire, and sanitation. He said he hopes Athens residents continue to grocery shop in city limits, rather than visit neighboring cities like Madison and Huntsville. Speaking of grocery shopping, residents will soon have more options within city limits. Marks told News 19 that a Publix is going in at the intersection of U.S. Highway 72 & Mooresville Road, and a Food City is going in on the west side of town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its no secret that Athens is growing quickly, and Marks also touched on the growth. He said the City of Athens currently has about 31,000 residents, but that will change quickly. Youre going to be a city of 40,000 people not in 10 years, not in 20 years, but in the next few years, Marks said. The mayor said that there are a lot of housing projects on the way, including 9,000 housing units in the queue. Marks said as they focus on expanding housing, they need to make sure theres something for everyone. What are we going to do in the future in this area for affordable housing? he said. Its a real challenge, and I dont want to just say, hey, whoopee break out the pompoms and everythings wonderful. It is wonderful, but we have opportunities to make it better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The mayor of Washington, D.C. signaled Tuesday that the mural marking Black Lives Matter Plaza in view of the White House will likely be painted over after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill threatening the Districts federal funding if it fails to change the name. Black Lives Matter Plaza is marked with a mural of its name in bright-yellow letters along a two-block pedestrian stretch of 16th Street NW in downtown D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the second Black woman to serve as D.C. mayor, addressed wiping out the name in a post on X and in a news release titled The Evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza a day after the proposed legislation was introduced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She wrote that the plaza would become part of a citywide project in which students and artists would create new murals on the street to celebrate the countrys 250th birthday. The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we cant afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern, Bowser wrote. Our focus is on economic growth, public safety and supporting our residents affected by these cuts, she added. Bowser arranged to have the mural painted the morning of June 5, 2020, just days after federal authorities used chemical spray and smoke grenades to clear protesters from the area so that President Trump could walk to a historic church near the White House and pose for photographs holding a Bible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Activists across the nation during that time were protesting the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. Trump, who was rushed one night to the White House bunker with First Lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, amid protests, attacked Bowser as incompetent for renaming the plaza. The plaza bill, HR 1774, introduced by Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde, seeks to withhold federal funding unless the city removes the phrase Black Lives Matter from the street symbolically designated as Black Lives Matter Plaza ... in addition to government websites, documents and other material under Washington, D.C. jurisdiction. The bill calls for the area to be redesignated as Liberty Plaza. A group of Sunrise activists walk toward Black Lives Matter Plaza as people gather to celebrate Juneteenth in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images) The bill is currently in committee and has no cosponsors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was not immediately clear if the mayor will rename the area Liberty Plaza. The plaza will still be part of the citys 250 mural project in honor of the countrys birthday next year, Bowser said. Students and artists will be invited to create new murals across all eight wards of the area, which will include Black Lives Matter Plaza. Bowser has been treading carefully since Trumps re-election. Last month, the president suggested the federal government should take over the District of Columbia, which is currently overseen by Congress, as established in the Constitution. About $1.5 billion in federal grant funding is slated for the citys 2025 fiscal year operating budget, according to the D.C. Policy Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Washington, D.C. is expected to lose $1 billion over the next three years, largely due to federal layoffs expected to throw the area into a recession, the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported this week. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has eliminated thousands of federal government jobs. Approximately 13 percent of the citys population has been employed by the federal government. The Fiscal Policy Institute predicts the revenue drop will disproportionately harm Black workers. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testified before Congress on Wednesday on the citys immigration policies as Republicans took aim at four so-called sanctuary cities amid the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration. Boston 25 News is streaming the Congressional hearing in its entirety Live updates: Bostons Wu among 4 mayors facing grilling on immigration from House Republicans Theres no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, particularly for large-scale deportations, requesting that police and sheriffs alert them to people it wants to deport and hold them until federal officers take custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve been getting previews of some of the fireworks expected from Republican leadership for weeks. New Attorney General Pam Bondi is the latest to weigh in, posting her condolences to Boston on social media. Id like to extend my condolences to the good people of Boston. Mayor Wus actions are callous and an insult to law enforcement across America, Bondi said in her post on X. As a result of the Mayors decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to increase efforts in the city of Boston, Bondi said, adding criminals will be prosecuted, illegal aliens will be arrested, and justice will be served. Id like to extend my condolences to the good people of Boston. Mayor Wus actions are callous and an insult to law enforcement across America. As a result of the Mayor's decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) March 4, 2025 Bondis comments come after Wu offered condolences to the family of a knife-wielding man who was shot dead by an off-duty officer after he allegedly tried to attack customers inside a Chick-fil-A on Boylston Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wu is not backing down and state Democrats are behind her. During a news conference on Tuesday, Wu defended Bostons approach to immigration policies. We are the city where people come to do good in the world at a time when this administration seems dead set on the opposite, Wu said. Were a city that opens our arms and offers a hand when this administration is more interested in turning its back. Wu also previewed the message she hopes to send about the safest major city in the country at Wednesdays hearing. We are a city that throws open the doors of opportunity for all of our residents, at a time when this administration in the White House is slamming them shut. We are a city that believes in science and thrives on discovery. We are the home of groundbreaking innovations and world-class care, at a time when this administration is cutting funding for life-saving research. Were a city made up of colleges and universities, labs and startups, nonprofits, small businesses, civic organizations, neighborhood groups, all working hand in hand with our government to make life better for every one of our neighbors, Wu said. We are the city where people come to do good in the world, at a time when this administration seems dead set on the opposite. Were a city that opens our arms and offers a hand, when this administration is more interested in turning its back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wu arrived at Wednesdays House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing holding her newborn child. She also had blessed ashes in the shape of a cross on her forehead from an Ash Wednesday service. Bostons Trust Act generally restricts how much the police can cooperate with ICE. However, it does allow some cooperation with a division called Homeland Security Investigations when it comes to such issues as combating human trafficking or drug and weapons trafficking. The city also must follow a 2017 ruling by the states highest court that forbids Massachusetts authorities from holding a person otherwise entitled to release from custody based solely on a federal request. Those requests, called detainers, typically ask federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to give at least 48 hours notice before suspected immigrants are released from jail or to hold them for up to 48 hours after they would normally be released so ICE can pick them up. Otherwise, ICE must go out into the community to arrest them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, hammered Bostons police commissioner and promised to go to Boston and bring hell with him. That has not sat well in Boston. Wu, a Democrat up for reelection this year, said that it was clueless and insulting for Homan to attack the police commissioner and that she wants Boston be a welcoming place for immigrants. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said handing over defendants makes it harder to gain cooperation from immigrants when investigating crimes. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York Mayor Eric Adams are also set to appear Wednesday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Boston 25s Cayle Thompson reports live from D.C. starting at 7:45 a.m. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW WASHINGTON Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered a forceful defense of his city's storied history as a haven for immigrants Wednesday morning during his opening statement before a Republican-led congressional hearing on sanctuary policies, setting the stage for a day that will surely feature heavy political theater over one of the nations most divisive issues. Seated in the middle of a witness panel that includes the Democratic leaders from New York City, Denver and Boston, Johnson touted Chicagos downward trend in crime as he argued its policy blocking local police from assisting in immigration enforcement in fact makes communities safer. I know there are myths about these laws, Johnson said in his opening remarks to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fear mongering obscure the reality that Chicagos crime rates are trending down. We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. Its grandstanding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor also invoked themes of Chicagos Black history, immediately shouting out its Haitian founder, the explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, and his Potawatomi wife before nodding to the citys eminence as a destination for African Americans during the Great Migration including Johnsons father, from Sallis, Mississippi. Scapegoating entire communities is not only misleading, it is unjust and it is beneath us, Johnson said. So let me be clear, Chicagos Welcoming City ordinance and our other laws and policies do not lead to more crime. They do not prevent cooperation with federal law enforcement on criminal matters. And we do not harbor criminals. We arrest them. He closed the remarks by reciting his common catchphrase, with a twist better, stronger, much safer Chicago. Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., kicked off the hourslong questioning portion and zeroed in on Johnson at the end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comer sought to grill Johnson about an immigrant who he said was released from Cook County Jail without charges in a murder, who was a suspected member of a foreign gang and accused of other violent crimes. Under Chicago law, would you turn this criminal over to ICE? Comer asked. Johnson first said, Our local law enforcement works hard every day to get criminals off the streets of Chicago, to which the congressman replied, Thats the problem. ... You will not cooperate. The back-and-forth saw Comer at one point ask, Yes or no, will you turn the criminal over to ICE? Johnson repeatedly responded by saying local authorities cooperate with federal deportation authorities as long as they have a criminal warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The appearance by the first-term Chicago mayor before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of its much-hyped hearing gives Johnson a national audience to defend the citys sanctuary city policies that block local police from assisting in immigration enforcement. The made-for-TV hearing is the mayors biggest spotlight yet as he is tasked with defending Chicagos immigration policy that has largely been in place since the mid-1980s, and it comes at a time when his popularity at home is dwindling. GOP members of the congressional committee loyal to President Donald Trump have already signaled their intent to attack Johnson and characterize the Democratic mayors as lenient toward immigrant criminals sowing chaos in Americas cities. Johnsons testimony is politically perilous. Republicans looking to impress Trump by scoring points off the progressive Chicago mayor are certain to try to embarrass Johnson. They will also try to lock him into answer as the fate of federal funding hangs in the balance and an ongoing Justice Department lawsuit looms, seeking to invalidate sanctuary policies in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How Johnson responds to this confluence of pressures while under oath could help define the next chapter of his political future. To that end, the mayor has been sequestered in the nations capital since Sunday to prepare for the challenge with the help of his top advisers and a Washington-based law firm hired by City Hall. Johnsons press office declined to name the firm or its rates Tuesday; the Chicago Tribune has filed a public records request for that information. The mayors community engagement office, however, did send out a Validator toolkit to friendly aldermen on Tuesday, in a bid to create a surround sound effect of support for the Mayor. The four-page memo included sample social media posts touting Johnsons leadership with the hashtag #DefendTheChi. This is the first time a sitting Chicago mayor has testified before Congress since Richard M. Daley. Johnson was joined at the hearing by New York Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams will command plenty of attention Wednesday as the mayor of the countrys most populous city, and because hes under indictment for alleged corruption and bribery. Trumps Justice Department has moved to dismiss those charges, but Adams could see federal prosecutors refile the case if he doesnt cooperate with the presidents immigration crackdown. Wednesdays hearing will focus on the misguided and obstructionist policies that prohibit local cops from helping federal immigration agents in the four Democratic-led cities, per Comers letter announcing the event. The showdown comes as no surprise after Trumps team vowed to go after local sanctuary policies. Johnson also arrived in the U.S. Capitol on the heels of the presidents first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term in the White House in which he repeatedly discussed his administrations efforts to enforce border security and set strict immigration policies. He didnt specifically mention sanctuary laws. Chicagos Welcoming City Ordinance bans official cooperation between local law enforcement and federal deportation authorities, while ensuring immigrants living in the country without legal permission can use city services. Similar policies are codified in state and county laws. The intent is to ensure noncitizens can report crime without fearing deportation, while depriving the feds of a key resource local police, who have traditionally been U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements sources for deportation targets outside of border areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the mayors had snubbed the Oversight Committee, it could have taken the rare measure of compelling their testimonies with a subpoena. Johnson initially hedged on whether he would go, a hesitation that relieved some skeptics in local government who believed it to be a trap with little upside for the rookie mayor. But a month ago, Johnson joined the other three mayors in confirming his attendance. The next day, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi went to court against the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago over their sanctuary policies. That means Johnsons responses on Wednesday will be under the dual glare of Congress and Trumps Justice Department, though the courts have generally determined sanctuary laws to be constitutional. The high-drama scene the mayor will be walking into is hardly his first time being assailed over immigration. Johnson, who charted an unconventional political trajectory from Chicago Teachers Union organizer to the fifth floor of City Hall, has repeatedly weathered rough seas over his decision to house and feed asylum-seekers with taxpayer resources when he first took office. That humanitarian crisis, which began in 2022 when Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent his first busload of migrants to Chicago, waned last summer after racking up $638 million for the citys response. About $268 million came out of the citys corporate fund versus state and federal grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans seeking to prove a narrative of sanctuary policies sowing destruction in cities could still lambast the costly effort, however, even though the Welcoming City Ordinance did not apply to most of the recent arrivals from Venezuela because they had legal authorization to cross the U.S. border and remain in the country as asylum-seekers. Johnson has been unequivocal in defending Chicagos sanctuary policy, but locally, he has sought to pivot from speculation over the hearing to his administrations broader resistance to the Trump agenda especially how it pertains to Black people, one of the mayors main bases. Its a nod to the uproar Johnson, the citys fourth Black mayor, has faced from South and West siders who felt their communities remained neglected while Venezuelan migrants received government assistance. During the Democratic National Convention last August, the mayor first tested a line he has since repeated about immigration, calling the union of Chicagos founder, Haitian explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, and his Potawatomi wife, Kitihawa, the greatest love story. Trumps most loyal surrogates in Congress are unlikely to be persuaded by that message. But Johnson shrugged off his doubters in both Chicago and the nations capital during a rousing send-off rally at a West Side church on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No matter how they bark, no matter how loud they yell, they are not going to disrupt what we call the soul of Chicago, Johnson said after strolling into the room wearing Air Force Ones. Were going to make sure that the roar that comes out of the city of Chicago ignites a movement across America and across this globe. That no matter who you are and where youre from, you get to have the beauty of liberation. ____ PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Gov. Dan McKee is urging the Trump administration to sign off on $470 million in previously approved grants for Rhode Island transportation projects, including reconstruction of the westbound Washington Bridge. McKee sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, underscoring the importance of the federal money to completing the massive projects that are already underway along the I-195 and I-95 corridors. The grants were awarded by the Biden administration. We are actively reinforcing to the federal government the importance of this infrastructure funding for Rhode Island, McKee said in a statement to 12 News. Weve been in contact with our congressional delegation and the Federal Highway Administration, and this letter to USDOT is an added layer of advocacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funds are supposed to come from three different federal programs. But after President Donald Trump took office in January, he issued a series of executive orders that have created uncertainty around federal grant programs for states. Each of the infrastructure projects mentioned in the letter is supported by other funding sources, allowing the state to begin work as planned, McKee said. The letter follows McKees visit to the White House last month as part of the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. WATCH: Hear more from Gov. McKee (Story continues below) The programs previously earmarked for Rhode Island included $251 million awarded last July through the Bridge Investment Program for 15 bridges along I-95 in Cranston and Providence. The network of roadways carry 185,000 vehicles daily and McKee told Duffy they ensure safe movement of $9.7 billion in freight, including 9,000 trucks daily serving hospitals, businesses and universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another $125.4 million was awarded in September through the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program for the Washington Bridge, which has been closed to 90,000 vehicles daily since December 2023. A month later, the Biden administration awarded an additional $95.6 million for the Washington Bridge project through the so-called Infra program. While we are confident that we should receive these grant funds, we need the federal government to expedite this signature process and make good on their commitment to Rhode Island, McKee said. McKees latter indicates the state has not been able to draw down funds from the programs. If that had happened, he wrote, nearly $30 million would have already been obligated for the Washington Bridge project. The full award would have been obligated for 15-bridge project, he added. The letter signals ongoing uncertainty among Rhode Island leaders over whether the state will ever receive the funds. The issue was also highlighted in court documents filed last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly two dozen state attorneys general including R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha are currently suing the Trump administration over its attempt to freeze federal funds that dont align with the presidents priorities. As of Feb. 12, there had been no response to clarify that this money would not be impacted, according to the state attorneys generals. R.I. Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti last month told state lawmakers he thought the projects could still be paid for with other funds, if needed. But using more state funds would force the state to shortchange other infrastructure projects, and could put pressure on McKee and the General Assembly to raise taxes or cut programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During an interview on Tuesdays 12 News at 4, Alviti said the funds shouldnt be paused because they dont fall under the purview of Trumps executive orders. They should be released to us, he said, adding that he remains cautiously optimistic. Eli Sherman (esherman@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Ted Nesi and Alexandra Leslie contributed to this report. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. SYRACUSE, N.Y.-(WSYR-TV) Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, March 5, and summed up President Trumps negative comments on the CHIPS Act as just rhetoric and reassured it does not impact his unwavering confidence that Micron will continue. Talking about the CHIPS Act the way the president talked about it is not helpful, said McMahon. But at the same time, I do not think the grants that have already been secured and signed and appropriated are in jeopardy. McMahon said that once you put context behind the rhetoric, you can see how both sides could become charged. However, the words used by the president in his speech to Congress lead some to believe that it may be more than just rhetoric, as he suggested eliminating the multi-billion-dollar funding that the Biden administration supported in an attempt to reinvigorate onshore manufacturing, science and the chip sectors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesnt mean a thing, the president said. They take our money, and they dont spend it. You should get rid of the CHIPS Act, and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt. While he went on about the CHIPS Act, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who later went back on his previous comments on whether the Trump administration would repeal it, continued to applaud him. McMahon suggested that this was due to the fact Johnson was not in support of the extra money being put into the project due to the green energy requirement Bidens administration put into Micron. While Trump made those statements adamantly, McMahon reminded people that the CHIPS Act was passed in a bipartisan manner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since its passing, there have been many grants that have been made to both Republican and Democrat districts, McMahon said. Trumps administration has already made attempts at cuts in federal grants across the board. When asked about cutting agencies and if Trump would continue doing this with Micron, McMahon disagreed. The president highlighted some of the most ridiculous things the government was spending money on, he said. There is a ton of waste in the federal government. Its been highlighted. Thats easy to cut. He feels that since Micron is a national security project that deals with both radar and weapon systems, it would be too vital to cut. When McMahon was asked if Trump would relocate the project to another state, specifically a more Republican one, he refuted the idea of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have the best site in North America. There is no other site that this project could go to and meet the timelines the company needs, McMahon said. This is a business and the Department of Defense is one of their customers. McMahon reassured that since there are orders that need to be filled, it would not be possible to relocate and just start over. McMahon also discussed the current work his team is doing and will continue to do. He informed everyone attending the news conference that he had gotten no indication that the administration did not support the project from people working on the ground. I have no complaints about our agencies and the environmental review process. They are doing a lot of work, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Environmental Review Process has been a strenuous process so far, but again, McMahon insisted that there were no complaints about any agencies or the ERP. When you look at supply chain development, the infrastructure projects, the way to streamline and the next project then having partners vested is important, he said. McMahon urged people to take a deep breath as he is sure that the rest of Microns process is in the hands of not just Trump, but other powerful political figures. There are three administrations in charge of this at the federal, state, and local level, he said. The Trump, Hochul and the McMahon administration. We are all going to work together and create a cluster for the semiconductor industry here in Central New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Trumps most recent comments, McMahon has spoken to Micron and says that everyone is still working together. He ended the meeting by saying that if there was a pause for any reason, he would be vocal about it. The second an agency puts pencils down on a review, then Ill be in D.C., having a lot of conversations, McMahon said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. PINECREST, Fla. (WFLA) The first case of measles in Miami-Dade County this year was detected Tuesday after officials said a student at one of the districts schools was diagnosed with the disease. According to WPLG, officials with Miami-Dade Public Schools confirmed that the case was reported at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest. 9 states report measles cases as outbreaks grow A letter obtained by CBS News Miami indicated that the infected person was a student at the high school. The letter, sent to parents, said the school plans to hold an immunization drive next week for unvaccinated students with parental consent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The local health department will also be working to notify those who had close contact with the infected student. Its unclear whether the student was present at the school Tuesday. The exact date when the student tested positive was also unknown. The news comes amid reports of measles outbreaks in at least nine other states, including Texas, where the number of people diagnosed has grown to over 100. One person, an unvaccinated child, has died marking the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. A teenager in Miami-Dade has a confirmed cases of measles, the first such infection in Florida since a small outbreak of the disease in South Florida in 2024. The infection was reported on a Florida Department of Health database for Floridas infectious and reportable diseases. A Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed that a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School was infected. The school district has notified parents of other students at the school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Department of Health officials are working to trace anyone the student may have come into contact with, according to a letter sent to parents of the school by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. It states that when a case is confirmed in a school, children who are either not vaccinated or have never had measles are recommended to stay home for up to 21 days. He said he is leaving that decision up to parents. Due to the high immunity rate in the school, as well as the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school, DOH is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance, the letter states. The school district is making plans to provide online classes for students whose parents keep them at home, Ladapo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case comes as health officials in West Texas and eastern New Mexico are already trying to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious disease with almost 150 confirmed cases and the death of a school-aged child. Once a common childhood disease, measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, an accomplishment achieved through a childhood vaccination program that is regarded as a public health success story. Infection typically results in acute illness and a rash of small red slightly raised spots. It can lead to high fever and complications including bronchitis and pneumonia. Outbreaks have become more common in recent years across communities where there are pockets of children or adults who are not immunized, said George Rust, co-director of Florida State Universitys Center for Medicine and Public Health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He stressed that the disease is not a routine childhood illness. Measles is far from a routine illness - kids get really sick, Rust said. They get high fevers. They cough. They feel awful for days. Many are hospitalized, and a few of them may die. Measles is highly contagious because of its airborne spread. An infected child in a classroom of unvaccinated children would result in an infection rate of 90%, Rust said. It hangs in the air even an hour or more after that kid has left the room, he said. The Texas outbreak has prompted increased debate about an uptick in vaccine skepticism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Florida, the percentage of Florida kindergartners who are vaccinated against childhood diseases fell from 94% in 2017 to 90% in 2023, according to state data. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said in a recent Fox News opinion column that vaccines not only protect individuals but the community too. But he said the decision to vaccinate is a personal one. School districts have reported a rise in the number of parents filing religious exemptions against school-required vaccines. Statewide, more than 5% of children are now exempted from required vaccinations, state data shows. In Pinellas County, 7% of students have vaccine exemptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The more children that are exempted, the higher the risk of further outbreaks, Rust said. Once vaccine levels drop below 95%, it is far tougher to prevent the spread of the disease. The idea that immunizations are just an individual risk-benefit decision is wrong, he said. Im getting a vaccine to protect myself but also to protect my neighbors ; Im protecting pregnant women and infants who are too small to get the vaccine. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, attends a news conference in the Senate Lounge at the state Capitol on Feb. 13, 2025. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY A Senate panel on Wednesday passed a measure to ask voters to dramatically alter how appellate court judges are selected, despite concerns it would politicize the process. Senate Joint Resolution 6 is a constitutional amendment that asks voters to abolish the Judicial Nominating Commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Judicial Nominating Commission currently vets judicial candidates and sends three names to the governor for consideration. Under the Senate measure, the governor would appoint members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and Court of Civil Appeals, subject to Senate confirmation. At the next general election before his or her term expires, the judge can seek to be placed on the retention ballot to let voters decide if the judge shall be retained. Sen. Brian Guthrie, R-Bixby, presented the measure for Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, the author. Guthrie said the measure would bring more transparency to the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its time to shift toward a process where elected officials, who are accountable to the voters, are directly involved in the selection of judges, Paxton said. With the Senates role in confirming judges, Oklahomans will have a better understanding of who is being appointed and how decisions are made. Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, questioned whether it would insert politics into the process of judicial selection. She asked how the measure would promote public trust in the judiciary when judges are seen as political appointees rather than impartial arbiters of justice. I dont think you have proven your case that the system we have in Oklahoma is not working, said Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman. The action comes after voters, for the first time in history, declined to retain an Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice, Yvonne Kauger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kauger was among three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices targeted by dark money groups for removal. The two other justices were narrowly retained. Lawmakers for years have attempted to alter the selection process for judges. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1967 to create the JNC following a bribery scandal. Prior to the JNC, appellate court judges ran as politicians and accepted campaign donations. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has tossed out dozens of laws it found to be unconstitutional, prompting some lawmakers to suggest the justices were legislating from the bench. Senate Joint Resolution 6 passed the Senate Rules Committee by a vote of 16-3 and is available for Senate consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Bennie Gene Adkins was a soldier in the U.S. Army, who received the Medal of Honor for his action in the Vietnam War. He was serving as a sergeant first class at the time of his Medal of Honor action, which took place in 1966. SFC Bennie Gene Adkins Background Adkins. Public Domain. Adkins was a native of Waurika, Oklahoma. After entering the military in 1956, he PCSd to a garrison unit in Germany. He later went on to serve with the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, he attended Airborne School and volunteered for Special Forces in 1961. Adkins served with the 7th, 3rd, 6th, and 5th Special Forces Groups (Airborne) for over 13 years and deployed to Vietnam three times between 1963 and 1971. During his second tour in Vietnam, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions with Detachment A-102 in April 1967. Following his service in Vietnam, Adkins attended the Sergeant Major Academy and returned to the Special Forces at Fort Bragg before leading training at the Jungle Operations Training Center at Fort Sherman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After retiring from the Army in 1978, Adkins earned several degrees and taught at Southern Union Junior College and Auburn University. In 2014, President Barack Obama presented Adkins with the Medal of Honor in recognition for his actions during a 1966 battle in Vietnam. It was during this battle he saved numerous American lives while under constant enemy fire. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Gene Adkins participating in a press conference just after receiving the Medal of Honor at the White House, Sept. 15, 2014. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bernardo Fuller/Released) Medal of Honor Action Citation (Congressional Medal of Honor Society) ergeant First Class Bennie G. Adkins distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Intelligence Sergeant with Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces, during combat operations against an armed enemy at Camp A Shau, Republic of Vietnam, from March 9 to 12, 1966. When the camp was attacked by a large North Vietnamese and Viet Cong force in the early morning hours, Sergeant First Class Adkins rushed through intense enemy fire and manned a mortar position continually adjusting fire for the camp, despite incurring wounds as the mortar pit received several direct hits from enemy mortars. Upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp, he temporarily turned the mortar over to another soldier, ran through exploding mortar rounds, and dragged several comrades to safety. As the hostile fire subsided, Sergeant First Class Adkins exposed himself to sporadic sniper fire while carrying his wounded comrades to the camp dispensary. When Sergeant First Class Adkins and his group of defenders came under heavy small arms fire from members of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group that had defected to fight with the North Vietnamese, he maneuvered outside the camp to evacuate a seriously wounded American and draw fire, all the while successfully covering the rescue. When a resupply air drop landed outside of the camp perimeter, Sergeant First Class Adkins, again, moved outside of the camp walls to retrieve the much-needed supplies. During the early morning hours of March 10, 1966, enemy forces launched their main attack and within two hours, Sergeant First Class Adkins was the only man firing a mortar weapon. When all mortar rounds were expended, Sergeant First Class Adkins began placing effective recoilless rifle fire upon enemy positions. Despite receiving additional wounds from enemy rounds exploding on his position, Sergeant First Class Adkins fought off intense waves of attacking Viet Cong. Sergeant First Class Adkins eliminated numerous insurgents with small arms fire after withdrawing to a communications bunker with several soldiers. Running extremely low on ammunition, he returned to the mortar pit, gathered vital ammunition and ran through intense fire back to the bunker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After being ordered to evacuate the camp, Sergeant First Class Adkins and a small group of soldiers destroyed all signal equipment and classified documents, dug their way out of the rear of the bunker and fought their way out of the camp. While carrying a wounded soldier to the extraction point he learned that the last helicopter had already departed. Sergeant First Class Adkins led the group while evading the enemy until they were rescued by helicopter on March 12, 1966. During the 38-hour battle and 48 hours of escape and evasion, fighting with mortars, machine guns, recoilless rifles, small arms, and hand grenades, it was estimated that Sergeant First Class Adkins had killed between 135 and 175 of the enemy while sustaining 18 different wounds to his body. Sergeant First Class Adkins extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces and the United States Army. Valor award Bennie Gene Adkins lived a remarkable life of service and dedication to his country. He served with distinction in the U.S. Army for more than two decades, including three tours of duty in Vietnam as a member of the Special Forces. His heroism and bravery in combat earned him numerous commendations, including the Distinguished Service Cross. In 2014, he was presented with the Medal of Honor during a special ceremony at the White House. Adkins continued to make a positive impact on his community even after leaving the military, through his work as an accountant and as a teacher at local colleges. Adkins passed away from complications of COVID-19 on April 17, 2020, at the age of 86. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. How to support the Medal of Honor mission Learn more about the Congressional Medal of Honor Society at cmohs.org or find them on Instagram |Facebook Participate in Medal of Honor Day on March 25 by sharing a recipients story Support veteran hiring and transition programs in your workplace Teach younger generations about the values of courage, sacrifice, and service Medal of Honor Month isnt just about recognizing history. Its about keeping the mission alive for the future. Observe Medal of Honor March on We Are The Mighty here. Friedrich Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, said he wants a defense aid package for Ukraine worth roughly 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) approved by the current, outgoing parliament, Le Monde and AFP reported on March 4. Speaking at a press conference, Merz said he plans to raise the issue with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has opposed the package unless funded by additional government borrowing. Germany's incoming chancellor has presented extensive plans to reform debt break rules to boost defense spending as Europe is expected to take more responsibility for its security and Ukraine during the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the parliamentary elections on Feb. 23 with almost 29% of the vote. The Christian Democrats are in talks with Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) on forming a new government, though the outgoing chancellor said he would not be personally part of the coalition negotiations. Germany has allocated 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in military support for Ukraine this year, and the additional package would raise this to 7 billion ($7.2 billion). The defense articles contained in the new assistance include three IRIS-T air defense systems, three Skyranger air defense systems, 10 howitzers, surface-to-air missiles, 20 protective vehicles, artillery shells, and drones, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported. According to Merz, the additional aid "can be approved now as off-budget expenditure." The CDU chairman has also unveiled plans for a massive defense spending boost, establishing a 500-billion-euro ($535 billion) special development and defense fund and exempting defense spending above 1% of GDP from debt break rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As changes to debt break rules need support from two-thirds of the parliament to pass, Merz hopes to negotiate the bills' passage with pro-Ukraine moderate parties in the current Bundestag as quickly as possible. In the next parliament, which must convene no later than March 25, Merz could expect stronger opposition. Roughly one-third of the seats will be held by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party (Die Linke), both of which oppose military aid for Ukraine. Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the U.S. Berlin's role is especially important now that the Trump administration has frozen defense assistance for Ukraine, seeking to push Kyiv to the negotiating table. Read also: Taurus missiles, stronger Europe what can Ukraine hope for after German elections Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in northern Mexico on Wednesday found 32 kilograms of fentanyl hidden inside boxes of sliced cactus, a quintessential Mexican food staple known as nopales. Mexican law enforcement said they seized some 275,000 pills of the lethal drug in the border state of Sonora, on its way to Arizona, and that they arrested a 29-year-old man. The drugs were valued at about $6.5 million. Authorities found both pills and the drug in powder form. It's just the latest in a cat-and-mouse game between drug smugglers and authorities, as traffickers find increasingly outlandish ways to sneak drugs into other countries. Packets of cocaine and fentanyl have been found tucked away in hair extensions and inside avocados, and even transported via submarine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The seizure also comes during a tense moment between Mexico and the United States, as Mexico scrambles to satisfy President Donald Trump's demands to stop the flow of fentanyl and migrants north, which he has used to justify the 25% tariffs he put in place on Tuesday, though migration north and fentanyl overdoses had already sharply dipped before Trump took office. On Wednesday, Trump said that after negotiating with Mexican and Canadian authorities he would grant a one-month tariff exceptions to automakers, offsetting the brunt of the economic blow tariffs would dole out. The fentanyl seizure happened at a military checkpoint on the Mexican highway connecting the northern states of Sinaloa and Sonora, where officers searched a trailer carrying packets of nopales. The number of endangered Mexican gray wolves living in the United States has grown for the ninth consecutive year, according to a new report issued this week by state wildlife agencies in Arizona and New Mexico. At least 286 individual wolves have been counted in the two states as a part of the 2024 annual census, an 11% increase from last years count of 257. A minimum of 124 wolves have been recorded in Arizona and 162 individuals in New Mexico. This years count also marks the longest continuous population growth streak in the recovery programs history. The wolf subspecies neared extinction in the 1970s, but has been recovering in the wild since reintroduction began in 1998. The goal of the program is to establish two resilient and genetically distinct populations of Mexican wolves in the United States and Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we evaluate Mexican wolf recovery efforts, examining the last decade of data certainly provides confidence that recovery will be achieved, Stewart Liley, the chief of wildlife for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said in a news release. Population data is collected by an interagency field team consisting of state, federal and tribal government partners. The team compiles the census using a variety of methods including remote cameras, scat collection and visual observation. Among the 2024 findings in the report: A minimum of 60 packs were documented at the end of 2024: There were 37 in New Mexico and 23 in Arizona. A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves that maintain an established home range. A minimum of 164 pups were born in 2024, with 79 surviving until the end of the year (a 48% survival rate). At least 26 breeding pairs (16 in New Mexico, 10 in Arizona) were recorded in 2024. There were 112 collared wolves in the wild at the end of the year, which is 39% of the counted wolves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The results of this years count reflect the hard work of many people and agencies that lead recovery. It also supports the recovery strategies in the 2022 Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan as we see both demographic and genetic objectives being exceeded this year," said Clay Crowder, assistant director at Arizona Game and Fish Department. Despite the gains in the Mexican wolf population over the past decade, wildlife advocacy groups have criticized the recovery efforts for limiting population growth and genetic diversity. Imperiled species: Fate of Mexican gray wolves is caught in a battle over their place in the landscape Where the wolves roam The Mexican wolf, or lobo, is the smallest subspecies of gray wolf in North America, weighing between 50-80 pounds with a characteristic buff, gray, rust and black fur coat. The wolves are also the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Historically, the species roamed throughout much of the Southwest through central Mexico before being nearly eradicated from the wild by the 1970s, largely due to conflicts with the livestock industry. The current population of Mexican gray wolves are all descended from the seven surviving wolves that originated a binational captive breeding program in the 1980s and 1990s. By 1998, the wolves were reintroduced into the wild. State and federal agencies manage the species inside of a designated area known as the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, which includes all of Arizona and New Mexico south of Interstate 40. The agencies consider this area to be the species' historic range, but conservation groups have argued that the boundary is hindering recovery efforts by preventing wolves from establishing in quality habitat. In recent years, Mexican wolves that have wandered north of the I-40 boundary have been relocated or killed, including a female wolf that died near Flagstaff in late 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really want them to start letting wolves live north of I-40, where they're showing us that the habitat is really great for them. That's happened in both Arizona and New Mexico, Cyndi Tuell, a director for Western Watersheds Project told told The Republic last year. The wolves are showing us where to go, we just need to listen. In a recent news release, Arizona Game and Fish wolf experts said that Interstate 40 "is not an arbitrary boundary for Mexican wolf recovery, it is a generous extension northward and based on the best historical, ecological, and genetic scientific information available. The best available science on Mexican wolf recovery shows that habitat north of I-40 is not needed for successful recovery." Recovery efforts: Wildlife agencies place a record 27 Mexican gray wolf pups in wild dens this year As the wolf population increases, genetic threats persist The major threat facing the Mexican gray wolf is genetic diversity, according to Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to its limited gene pool, the species is vulnerable to the problems caused by inbreeding. The release of captive wolves into the wild population can help in strengthening the species' genetics, and since 2016, wildlife agencies have been placing fostered pups born in captivity into wild dens. Conservation groups have urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release well-bonded breeding pairs with pups into the wild from captivity instead of the current strategy of fostering pups. According to a 2024 letter to the federal agency signed by 18 conservation groups, between 2016 and 2023 only about 25% of foster pups were documented a year after reintroduction compared to an approximate 50% survival rate of a wild pup kept with its mother. The letter also argues that pups born in captivity are less inbred than those born in the wild. In 2022, conservation advocacy groups sued U.S. Fish and Wildlife for approving a management rule they say harms the species by confining their range to south of Interstate 10 and limits their genetic diversity. The groups brought a similar lawsuit in 2015 and won in federal court, forcing the agency to revise the rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oral arguments for the lawsuit will be heard this week in a federal court in Tucson. John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to john.leos@arizonarepublic.com. Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Sign up for AZ Climate, our weekly environment newsletter, and follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mexican gray wolf numbers rise to 286, 9th year of population growth EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A Mexican man was recently arrested in El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged illegal re-entry, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas. The U.S. Attorneys Office says Jaime Perez Salinas, identified as a Mexican national, was located in El Paso without immigration documents allowing him to be in the country legally. Salinas has been removed from the U.S. twice before, the most recent removal being in December 2024, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 60 months in prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Salinas is charged with one count of illegal re-entry into the U.S. If convicted he faces up tp 10 years in federal prison. The U.S. Border Patrol is investigating the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A Mexican national was sentenced to over a year in prison for selling fentanyl pills from Mexico in Las Vegas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Jorge Olivarria-Gomez, 22, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to distribution of a controlled substance. He was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. According to court documents and admissions made in court, Olivarria-Gomez came to the U.S. illegally to work on behalf of a drug trafficking organization to sell fentanyl in the U.S. He admitted that on April 26, 2023, he was directed by a codefendant to deliver 500 fentanyl pills. When Olivarria-Gomez arrived at a parking lot, he sold the pills for $750. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The co-defendant, Etseban Quezada, also known as Pelon, was running a drug trafficking organization from Mexico, according to the DOJ. The DEA Clark County Gang Task Force began investigating him in 2023. Quezada coordinated the delivery of drugs from Mexico to associates in the U.S., including in Las Vegas. Quezada would send couriers from Nayrit, Mexico to the U.S. to distribute the narcotics to customers. Initially, Olivarria-Gomez was working as a courier in Las Vegas and then eventually moved to Colorado where he continued to distribute narcotics. If you are aware of controlled substance violations in your community which may include the growing, manufacture, distribution or trafficking of controlled substances please submit your anonymous tip through the DEA Tip Line. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) From tariffs to federal cuts, New Mexicos congressional delegation is outraged by the changes theyre seeing under the Trump administration. Nothing going on in Washington, D.C. right now and nothing with this president is normal, said Sen. Martin Heinrich, (D) New Mexico. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexicos Congressional delegation showed their opposition to the decisions President Donald Trump has made in his first 43 days in office. Rep. Melanie Stansbury was seen holding a sign that read, This is not normal, as Trump entered the Capitol to address Congress in a joint session. I think that the reality is millions of Americans are afraid, said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, (D) New Mexico. One of Trumps decisions pushing New Mexicos leadership to speak out is recent federal funding cuts. He is tearing up the constitution, and we are calling that out because it is hurting our communities, said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, (D). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But New Mexicos Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Barela argued, What he is doing is bringing back money to the United States, which will help our economy. During the address, Trump also defended the controversial tariffs placed on Canada, Mexico, and China. Rep. Gabe Vasquez worries how the tariffs will impact his district. The quality of life for New Mexicans has not gotten better. Costs have not gone down and thats a harsh reality. That this administration is going to have to face, said Rep. Gabe Vasquez, (D) New Mexico. But the Republican Party of New Mexico believes the tariffs are only fair as Canada is responding in kind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I really enjoyed his comment about equal tariff. If were tariffed a 25% charge, so were they. Why is that unfair? said Barela. One of New Mexicos senators chose not to attend the address altogether. Ive never missed a joint address with the president, but I thought it was really important to send the message that Im not going to normalize the extreme things that this president is doing right now, said Sen. Heinrich. The Republican Party of New Mexico also expressed support for Trumps push to bring back oil and gas production and his efforts to enhance border safety. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government may look for other trade partners, the nation's president said on Wednesday, after the United States slapped tariffs on its southern neighbor. President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Mexico could shift trade alliances "if necessary," referring to the possible continuation of the tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with fresh duties on Chinese goods, standing to seriously alter supply chains and long-standing trade partnerships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are scheduled to speak on Wednesday, a source told Reuters. Sheinbaum is tentatively set to have a phone call of her own on Thursday with the U.S. leader about the tariffs, she said in her daily morning press conference. If the tariffs continue after that, Mexico "will reach out to Canada and other nations," Sheinbaum said. "It is a very definitive moment for Mexico," Sheinbaum said. "Our economy is fine, but there will be no submission. ... Depending on the circumstances, we will look to Canada and other countries." The Mexican peso slightly strengthened by 0.84% on Wednesday to 20.41 per U.S. dollar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an appeal to Mexican national pride, Sheinbaum has called for a rally on Sunday in Mexico City's historic Zocalo square where she will outline her response to the United States, which she said would include retaliatory tariffs. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday that an announcement on tariffs could come later in the day, hinting at possible relief for some sectors such as automobiles. The auto sector stands to take a heavy hit from tariffs, with parts typically crossing the border several times as cars are assembled. The United States imported $181.4 billion in autos and auto parts from Mexico in 2024, representing nearly 10% of Mexico's economy, according to Goldman Sachs. (Reporting by Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; Editing by Cassandra Garrison and Mark Porter) SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) Editors Note: New Mexico Gas Company clarified Tuesday night that there was one minuscule leak at the home. New Mexico Gas Company found five issues during their investigation at the home of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, but they are not believed to be a factor in the deaths, the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday. Hackman, Arakawa, and their dog were found dead inside their home on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe on Feb. 26. New Mexico Gas Company was called to the home that night to investigate and run tests on the propertys gas line. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico Gas Company told the sheriffs office Monday that while there were no significant findings in the investigation for gas leaks or carbon monoxide, they issued five red tags at Hackman and Arakawas home, the sheriffs office wrote in a news release Tuesday. According to officials, one of the red tags was because of one minuscule leak of 0.33% gas in the air, which is not a lethal amount, according to the news release from the sheriffs office. The four other red tags issued by the gas company were for code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office said those tags were issued for a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces. Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration, Denise Womack Avila, the sheriffs office public information officer, wrote in an email accompanying the news release. Hackman, 95, was found on the floor of the homes mud room alongside a walking cane and sunglasses. Arakawa, 65, was found on the bathroom floor near a space heater. Deputies also found an open prescription bottle with pills scattered on a nearby countertop. In the bathroom closet, investigators found one of the couples three dogs dead, according to a Feb. 26 search warrant affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office. Deputies found the two other dogs alive on the property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a Feb. 28 news conference that both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and there was no trauma to the bodies. The sheriff also said Hackmans pacemaker last registered an event on February 17, 2025. Investigators initially noted in the search warrant affidavit that there were no issues with the gas pipes and no signs of a carbon monoxide leak at the home. While carrying out the search warrant at the couples home, investigators seized Tylenol, thyroid medication, and a medication to treat high blood pressure. Other items removed included health records, a 2025 monthly planner, and two cell phones. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Danielle Prokop Source New Mexico On Feb. 26, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham selected Martha Garcia, a former Cibola County Commissioner and president at the Ramah Navajo Chapter House, to replace the late Rep. Eliseo Alcon for the New Mexico House District 6 seat. The seat, which includes Cibola and McKinley counties, including the Village of Milan, the Pueblo of Zuni and parts of the Navajo Nation, has remained empty since Alcons resignation due to declining health in late November. Alcon, 74, died in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Angel Charley, Laguna Pueblo and Navajo, whose Senate District 30 overlaps with HD 6, congratulated Garcia and called her appointment historic in a written statement to Source NM. Todays appointment marks a significant milestone, not only for House District 6 but for the generations who have fought for a voice in decisions that shape our future. Marthas commitment to justice, equity, and the well-being of our people will serve as a guiding light in the legislature, Charley said. I look forward to working alongside her to uplift our small towns and tribal communities in western New Mexico and protect the values we hold dear. Garcia did not return voicemails requesting comment. Former and current Cibola County Commissioners also celebrated news of Garcias appointment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes considerate, shes thoughtful, and she has all this history of service behind her, Chair Christine Lowery told Source, noting Garcias service on the Ramah Navajo School Board Inc., including testimony before U.S. Congress requesting funds for programs on the Navajo Nation. Grants Code Enforcement Officer Robert Windhorst served with Garcia on the Cibola County Commission and also praised her approach in a call with Source NM. She has great wisdom, he said. I dont usually attribute that to a lot of politicians, but she can take a look at a problem and see it from all sides. Following Alcons resignation, governing boards in Cibola and McKinley counties nominated two other candidates to replace her, which prompted investigations into their addresses. One candidate was ineligible due to residency requirements. The House has scheduled Garcias swearing-in tentatively for Thursday, Feb. 27. This article was first published by Source New Mexico Vials of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are displayed on a counter at a Walgreens Pharmacy on January 26, 2015 in Mill Valley, California. (Photo by Illustration Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The number of measles cases reported in New Mexico remained steady Tuesday, with the New Mexico Department of health still reporting nine infections in Lea County. None of the infected New Mexico residents have required hospitalization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles infections continue to rise in Texas, where the outbreak first began, with state officials there reporting 159 infections with 22 patients hospitalized. One Texas child has died from disease, the first measles death in a decade. What is measles? Measles, one of the most contagious diseases in the world, spreads through contact from an infected persons coughs and sneezes. The airborne particles can hang around for hours. Measles symptoms can appear anywhere from one to three weeks after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a red spotty rash. Serious complications can develop, including brain swelling, blindness, pneumonia and death. The best prevention against the measles is getting two doses of the vaccine, according to health officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Shaw, the CEO of Nor-Lea Hospital District in Lovington, said the hospital, if needed, could care for a case of measles, but it would depend on the infections severity. Nor-Lea does have the ability to provide a quarantine space in the hospital; however, if the patient is critical, they would be transferred to Childrens Hospital in Lubbock where they would have their resources to appropriately care for the patient, Shaw said in a written statement. Currently the hospital has ample supply of masks, gloves and other protective equipment, Shaw said, and would have enough if a larger outbreak occurred. Dr. Seth Coombs, a family practitioner and chair of the infection control board at Nor-Lea, treated one of the measles patients, an older man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the hospital is using lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and is requiring patients to wear masks and is taking their information while patients remain in their cars. I feel like a lot of it has been a lot more streamlined, a lot easier, with COVID being so near, were just using a lot of the same practices, Coombs said. Do I need the shot? Children under six months, or people who are too immunocompromised cannot receive the measles vaccine, but older adults also may need to additional shots to be fully protected. Adults older than 20 have higher risks of complications from measles, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention People advises that people born before 1957 dont need the shot because they have presumptive immunity. For people vaccinated for measles in the 60s, the situation is a little more complicated. According to the CDC, people who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s dont need to be re-vaccinated. But people who were vaccinated prior to 1968 with either inactivated (killed) measles vaccine or measles vaccine of unknown type should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live attenuated measles vaccine. As such, Coombs older patients have been worried about their vaccination status. If theres someone whos unsure, Id rather be proactive and preventative and get them tested and get them updated on their immunizations, if needed, he said. More families are requesting the vaccine, Coombs said. Its a horrible thing to have to go through, Coombs said of the outbreak. But it has reinvigorated people to get up to date on their immunizations; Ive definitely seen an uptick of people coming in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Heath has provided more than 5,000 vaccines in the southeastern portion of the state in the month of February. For more information about DOHs vaccine clinics or looking up previous vaccine records, go online, or call 1-833-796-8773. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By Nazrin Abdul Minister of Emergency Situations, Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov, and Head of Baku City Executive Power, Eldar Azizov, arrived at the scene of the fire at the Oil Refinery. A fire broke out on March 5 at the Oil Refinery in the Nizami district of Baku. The State Fire Protection Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, along with police officers and emergency medical teams, were promptly deployed to the area. Specialists from the Environmental Monitoring Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources also arrived to monitor and measure air quality in relation to the fire. Firefighting efforts are currently ongoing. TUCUMCARI, N.M. (KRQE) New Mexico State Police will honor an officer killed in the line of duty with a memorial run. The inaugural Officer Justin Hare 5K Run/Walk is set for March 15th at Damon Kvols Park in Tucumcari. March 15 will mark one year since a gunman shot and killed Officer Hare along I-40. Ruidoso High inspected, ruled clear of any threats Hare was known for kindness and his ability to connect with people. NMSP is accepting donations with all proceeds going to Hares daughters. Registration will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. with the run/walk starting at 10 a.m. To register in advance, contact Lt. Gerardo Hernanedez at gerardo.hernandez@dps.nm.gov or call 575-781-1105 for more information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. March 5 (UPI) -- A Florida high school student has been diagnosed with measles in the first reported case this year in Miami-Dade County, according to a school email. "While the risk of transmission may be low for vaccinated individuals, we are taking all necessary precautions while working closely with local health authorities to ensure the health and safety of our school community," the email read in part to parents at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest. It prompted school officials to offer free vaccinations to unvaccinated students with parental consent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death," according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Parents, meanwhile, were notified by Miami-Dade's health department of who had close contact with the infected student. The United States is on track to see its largest measles outbreak in at least six years. A district spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed the case but added that no further details could be released because it involves a minor. "Being in a public school with close quarters, absolutely we believe that vaccination is important. I'm not sure why this happened, if the kid is not vaccinated or just happened to get it," Yasmin Kazi, a parent and physician, told WSVN in Miami. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earliest symptoms are a cough, a runny nose and conjunctivitis, or red, watery eyes, followed by sore spots in the mouth and a high fever of 103-104 degrees. Then, a rash typically begins on the scalp or face and spreads down the body. "We're hoping that most kids are vaccinated and they won't get it," added Kazi. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert. F. Kennedy Jr. has been under pressure amid a perceived lackluster federal response and the recent resignation of a top HHS spokesman over Kennedy's leadership. Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all people receive two vaccine doses starting with one between 12 months and 15 months of age followed by a booster between ages 4 and 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most vaccinated adults don't need a booster shot for the measles, which the CDC in 2000 declared eliminated in the United States, experts say, while vaccination rates have declined in recent years. The CDC said as of Feb. 27 that a total of 164 cases of measles have been reported by nine jurisdictions in New York City, Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Texas, where the first death via measles in more than a decade was recorded on Feb. 25. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A company from the Michigan Army National Guard is heading overseas to support American military efforts in the Middle East. The Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs says the 745th Ordnance Company, based out of Grayling, recently gathered at the Grayling Army Airfield Armory for a sendoff with friends and family. This is the companys fourth deployment since the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. According to the DMVA, the company was last deployed to the Middle East in June 2020 as part of Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This deployment could last as long as a year. These soldiers will be supporting Operation Spartan Shield throughout the Middle East to strengthen defense relationships and build partner capacity, U.S. Army Major Megan Breen said in a statement. Their mission will focus on safely identifying, disarming and disposing of hazardous explosive devices and conducting concurrent training with partner nations. MSP K-9 back to work months after dangerous drug exposure The explosive ordnance disposal mission not only ensures the safety of U.S. and partner nation military operations throughout the region but also ensures the safety of the local population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ravindra Wagh, the commander of the Michigan Army National Guard, says while the 745th is serving overseas, it is the National Guard leaderships mission to also serve their families. Middle schooler raises funds for Mid-Michigan Honor Flight Our military families sacrifice a lot during these long separations and their support is crucial to the success of our soldiers as they deploy overseas, Wagh said in a statement. It is our mission to support these families while they support their loved ones serving our nation. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Operation Spartan Shield is an overarching mission in the Middle East to help countries there become more self-reliant and secure. It formally launched in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Debbie Brinson, CEO of Honor Community Health details the impacts of President Donald Trump's federal funding pause before the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee on March 5, 2025. | Screenshot Hiring concerns. Payroll issues. Strained budgets. Anxiety over lost contracts and imminent layoffs. Looking back on the weeks since President Donald Trump first sought to halt federal grant and loan spending, Michigan nonprofits shared their ongoing concerns with the Senate Oversight Committee on Wednesday, warning that any continued issues in accessing government funding could bring cuts and closures to several essential programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health care centers, Head Start programs, independent living centers for individuals with disabilities and more are still facing the consequences of a Jan. 27 memo from the United States Office of Management and Budget looking to freeze federal spending to ensure compliance with a series of executive orders issued by the president. While multiple federal judges have blocked the attempted grant and loan pause, nonprofit leaders testified that their confidence in our federal system had been permanently shaken, and that some damage cannot be undone. At the beginning of the hearing, Committee Chair Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) noted that Michigan is whats known as a donor state, meaning it sends more taxes to Washington D.C. than it sometimes receives back. That is something that we know happens on a basis, not every year, but many years. And for us, I want to make sure that we see those dollars, as much of those dollars, coming back to our state and effectively being used here in the state, Singh said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Debbie Brinson, the CEO of Honor Community Health Center in Pontiac, said in her more than 30 years of working in health and human services, she had never experienced a situation like she did in January where the Department of Health and Human Services payment system stopped without any kind of warning. Because of stringent requirements, most federally qualified health centers use this payment system to make payroll, as funds must be expended either three days before or three days after the request. So for that first week, first time ever have I tapped into my reserves, which I am grateful for having and being able to make that payroll. So I tapped into reserves twice in that down period without having any clear understanding of what was happening, Brinson said. Although the system is back up, Brinson said her concerns remain. After six weeks, their health center still has not received payment approval for a carryover of less than $600,000, something that would normally be approved within four weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its still six weeks out and weve not heard any indication from the Help Desk, because theres no help desk for us to check in with, Brinson said. Additionally, the payment system has changed, Brinson said, requiring multiple levels of approval for a payment request for the payroll payments they had missed. The confusion around the funding freeze has also fueled staffing concerns unlike any Brinson had seen in her career, with frontline staffers coming to her to ask if they have a job. Additionally while the health center is already stretched on frontline staffing, the pause on grant funding has not helped its hiring efforts, Brinson said. These hiring issues arent unique to health care centers either, according to MaDonna Princer, the executive director of Head Start for Kent County, which provides early childhood education and support for families at or below the federal poverty level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since federal funding concerns emerged at the end of January, Princer said shed had multiple people decline positions with their program. While they hadnt had anyone tell them explicitly, Princer said she understood it could have been tied to the uncertainty of their programs funding. Chanda Hillman, the CEO of Flowers Early Learning, another Head Start program serving Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties, said she was at a conference for the National Head Start Association when the funding freeze first hit. Chanda Hillman, CEO of Flowers Early Learning details the impacts of President Donald Trumps federal funding pause to members of the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee on March 5, 2025. | Screenshot When we collectively realized that we were locked out of the payment management system, my phone buzzed with panicked calls from my CFO. Ninety-four percent of our funding comes from those federal dollars. By 11 a.m. I was on an emergency call with my HR director, CFO, attorney and board chair. By 2 p.m. we had no choice without access to our funding and without knowledge of when we would get funding, we were unable to keep staff working, Hillman said. For the first time in our 53 year history, we faced the unimaginable. We had to prepare to close our doors for the next day because our reliable funding was no longer available, Hillman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the program was able to regain access to its funds and reopen, the terror of that moment has not left them, Hillman said. Nor is the crisis over. Our Fiscal Year 25 funds had not yet arrived and were later than usual. Our organization is a Feb. 1 Head Start grantee, which means our funding cycle starts anew on that date each year. Federal regulations prevent us from spending prior year funds in the new grant year, leaving us in a precarious position as we waited for our next round of funding to arrive, Hillman said. When the month began, they only had assurances that their funding would be deposited and by Wednesday Feb.6, Hillman said they had to make a hard call. If the funds were not deposited Friday, they would need to shut down. The following morning presented another issue: the payment management services system was once again down, as well as HeadStart.gov and Administration for Children and Families website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Feb. 7, the funds were deposited into our account, just in the nick of time. This is not how early childhood education should operate, Hillman said. Deanne Kelleher, the director of nutrition services for the Michigan Department of Education also noted the pauses impact on their local food purchasing agreement and grants for local foods for schools and childcare, which support small local farmers, and farmers from historically underserved groups. Our partners will purchase food from their local farmers to use in their programs, and they submit invoices to our office. In turn, the Office of Nutrition Services makes a reimbursement request to the federal government to draw down funds to reimburse these partners, Kelleher explained. Teri Langley of Disability Network Michigan testifies before the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee on March 5, 2025 on her concerns following the Jan. 27 federal funding pause. | Screenshot On Feb. 21 of this year, our office submitted a reimbursement claim for our [local food purchasing agreement] funds and received a notification of denial for any invoices dated after Jan. 19 of this year. We have been in contact with the Michigan Attorney Generals Office regarding this freeze and our federal funds, Kelleher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After numerous attempts, I did receive a phone call from the USDA on Wednesday last Wednesday Feb. 26 that acknowledged that invoices prior to Jan. 19 would be paid, but nothing after Jan. 20, Kelleher said. Federal funding also makes up 10 to 20% of the budget for Michigans centers for independent living supporting people with disabilities, said Teri Langley, the executive director of the Disability Network Michigan. About one in four adults in Michigan have a disability, Langley said, later telling committee members that federal funding cuts could lead to less services at the centers, alongside staff layoffs and the closure of satellite offices, meaning individuals with disabilities may need to travel further to access services, and staff may be unable to travel to rural areas where these offices are housed. Following Langleys testimony, state Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) spoke out against the demonization of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything you do is an example of inclusion, right? Including scooping up these people, including them into society, so that they can live independently like they want to. So Id just like to point out for anyone whos demonizing DEI, this is the I and this is what youre demonizing, Polehanki said. Kelley Kuhn, the executive director of the Michigan Nonprofit Association underscored the testimony offered by other nonprofit leaders, underscoring their importance to Michigan communities. Michiganders rely on nonprofits to support their health, safety and well being, especially when challenges arise. You have heard from several of those today. During a time when more than 40% of households in Michigan struggle with the costs of the basics, the charitable sectors role in driving job creation and economic growth is indispensable and unmatched by addressing well-documented and data-proven gaps that keep people from fully participating in work, school and every facet of life, Kuhn said. Nonprofits, as has been stated, operate on very tight budgets. Most do not have large amounts of operating capital, and we estimate that most cannot survive a freeze or a pause for more than three to six months, Kuhn said. When news broke about the freezes, Head Start programs, meal programs for seniors, services that support immigrants, homeless shelters, veterans programs specifically those helping with housing, accessing veteran benefits, such as health care domestic violence shelters, farmland and farming projects and projects to protect our natural resources, were just a few of the various organizations who reached out to the Michigan Nonprofit Association, Kuhn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administrations attempts to withhold disbursement of dollars already committed by the federal government have already led to the disruptions and lives of working families in Michigan. We strongly oppose such broad and arbitrary action that, without due process, contradicts acts of Congress and upends the lives of everyday Michiganders throughout the state, Kuhn said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) President Donald Trump delivered his address to a joint session of Congress, U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic responseand Michigan officials are weighing in on both. Trump praised his administations work regarding the nations economy, immigration and foreign policy and spoke on a wide variety of topics, such as the many executive orders he has signed since his first day in office and his plans for tariffs on Canada and Mexico. FULL: Emboldened Trump praises his swift action in address to Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michigan officials are making their thoughts known, with Republican U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar praising Trumps commitment to his platform and pledging to continue his cooperation with his administration moving forward. President Trumps address reaffirmed his commitment to the hardworking men and women of our country and presented a clear vision for the future a renewal of the American dream. His speech emphasized the importance of securing our borders, strengthening our economy, and standing up for parental rights, said Moolenaar. The President also addressed critical issues including the flow of deadly fentanyl into our nation and supporting law enforcement in the fight against crime. I will continue my work with President Trump and his administration to advance policies that improve the lives of Michigan residents. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Slotkins fellow U.S. Senator, Gary Peters, criticized Trumps address, questioning the accuracy of the various claims the president made. President Trumps speech was full of falsehoods but thats not news. Nothing he said changes the fact that under his watch costs for everyday essentials are rising for families in Michigan and across our county, wrote Peters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, provided live updates and commentary on the address on his X account, including praising Speaker of the House Mike Johnsons removal of Texas representative Al Green from the chamber for interrupting and doubling down on the removal of transgender athletes from womens sports. Democrat Al Green removed from House after interrupting, heckling Trump State Democrats praised Slotkins response to Trumps address, with Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Curtis Hertel saying her response was a model of leadership. Tonight, Senator Elissa Slotkin offered an inspiring vision for the country in the face of a presidency that is tanking our economy and threatening our national security. In this unprecedented moment, said Hertel. Senator Slotkin is helping chart a way forward that puts working-class Americans front and center. She doesnt just stand by she stands up, speaks out, and fights for us all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump clashes with Democrats at testy joint address Slotkin released a statement after delivering the Democratic rebuttal, which can be read below: We just went through another fraught election season. Americans made it clear that they want change. But there is a responsible way to make change, and a reckless way. And, we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country, and as a democracy. Because no matter where you live, most Americans share three core beliefs: That the middle class is the engine of our country. That strong national security protects us from harm. And that our democracy, no matter how messy, is unparalleled and worth fighting for. We all know that our country is going through something right now. Were not sure what the next day is going to hold, let alone the next decade. But this isnt the first time weve experienced this as a country. Every single time, weve gotten through those moments because of two things: Engaged citizens and principled leaders. U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, written statement, March 4. 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The deadline for applications to this years Fountain City Classic scholarships is approaching. Applications for a a community scholarship and host committee scholarship are available to all high school seniors within a 100 mile radius of Columbus. The community scholarship entails applicants may attend any accredited college or university in the continental United States in the fall. For host committee, applicants must be attending either Albany Sate University or Fort Valley State University in the fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those scholarships will be awarded at the Third Annual Scholarship Luncheon on May 17. Applications opened on Jan. 15. They come to a close on March 15 at 11:59 p.m. In 2024, the Fountain City Classic awarded 22 scholarships to high school students. Ten students were awarded in 2023. Applications can be submitted at fountaincityclassic.com. Albany State University Graduate Alma Reese and Fort Valley State University Graduate Kathy Jones came by the WRBL studio on Wednesday to tell us more about the scholarships. You can watch the full interview in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. U.S. officials have had ongoing talks and discussions with Hamas officials, White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday, as the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance. Israel has halted the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies into the Gaza Strip, as it aims to pressure Hamas into accepting an alternative arrangement for the ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, six weeks into the truce. After more than 16 months of war, Gazas population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid. Most are displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Rights groups have called Israel's cutting off aid a starvation policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's the latest: US treasury secretary and Israeli finance minister meet to discuss economic partnership Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met in Washington Wednesday to discuss the ongoing economic partnership between the United States and Israel. Smotrich, a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus governing coalition, supports the reoccupation of Gaza, the rebuilding of Jewish settlements that were removed in 2005, and what he describes as the voluntary migration of large numbers of Palestinians out of the territory. It marks the first in-person talks between Smotrich, a fervent settler advocate at the helm of Israels settlement planning apparatus, and a Trump administration official. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a Treasury read-out of the meeting, the pair discussed the importance of deepening economic cooperation, fostering innovation, and strengthening financial and trade ties between the U.S. and Israel. UN meets about the Gaza aid cutoff and Europeans urge immediate resumption After the closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the five European members called on Israel to immediately allow food and other supplies into Gaza. Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement before the council meeting that Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza are not in distress because thousands of aid trucks entered Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who are starving are our hostages, he said. The five European countries France, Greece, Britain, Slovenia and Denmark urged Israel and Hamas to find a way forward to the second phase of the ceasefire deal and welcomed regional efforts to agree on a plan. White House confirms ongoing talks and discussions with Hamas officials Its the first known direct engagement between the U.S. and Hamas since the State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined Wednesday to detail the talks, which come as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in the balance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do whats in the best interest of the American people is something that the president ... believes is a good-faith effort to do whats right for the American people, she said. Adam Boehler, President Donald Trumps nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, led the direct talks with Hamas. He was a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team during Trumps first term. The talks, which took place last month, focused mainly on the release of American hostages, and a potential end of the war without Hamas in power in Gaza, according to a Hamas official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office offered a terse acknowledgement of the U.S.-Hamas talks, saying, Israel has expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ___ Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Sam Magdy contributed. Palestinians scramble to save belongings before Israel blows up their homes in the West Bank Carrying furniture, kitchen appliances and bags of clothing, Palestinians removed their possessions from Nur Shams refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, traversing devastated roads that Israeli military bulldozers have reduced to rubble. The built-up Nur Shams camp has stood empty since the start of Israels monthlong military operation across the West Bank, when the military evacuated the camps population. On Wednesday, some Palestinians returned to pack up around 17 homes that were apparently slated for controlled demolition by the Israeli military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel says its West Bank operation is meant to root out militants. It has displaced nearly 40,000 Palestinians, per U.N. estimates, and destroyed homes and infrastructure. It was unclear when the demolitions would occur. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas are stepping up their push with the United Nations Theyre bringing up the hostages plight and working to win their release with U.N. human rights advocates in Geneva. On Wednesday, relatives of hostages Nimrod Cohen, Omri Miran and Elkana Bohbot met with U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk, who has met with many such family members since the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage of violence and hostage-takings by armed Palestinian militants in Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leon Saltiel, a representative of the World Jewish Congress who facilitated the meeting, said they asked Turk to increase his efforts to win their immediate release such as by appealing to countries with influence with Hamas. At the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Idit Ohel, the mother of Alon Ohel, spoke by video about how her 24-year-old son had been chained in a dark tunnel, starved, beaten, and was at risk of losing his sight. Israel pulled out of the 47-member-country council after the Trump administration withdrew the United States in January. The council is expected to discuss the human rights situation in Gaza and occupied Palestinian areas on March 26. Israeli teen dies of her wounds from a car ramming attack Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Israeli teenager has died from her wounds after she was struck in a car ramming attack last week, Israeli authorities said Wednesday. She was identified as Yaheli Gur, 17. A Palestinian driver rammed his car into people at a highway bus stop in northern Israel on Thursday, wounding at least eight in what authorities said was a militant attack. Palestinians in Gaza welcome an Arab plan for rebuilding the territory Palestinians in the Gaza Strip welcomed Arab leaders adoption of a plan to rebuild the territory without depopulating it. We are satisfied with these decisions and this summit, said Atef Abu Zaher, from the southern city of Khan Younis. We are clinging to our land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plan advanced at the Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday is seen as an alternative to U.S. President Donald Trumps proposal to resettle Gazas roughly 2 million Palestinians in other countries and redevelop it as a beach destination. Even as they welcomed the Arab plan, many Palestinians expressed doubts over whether it would be implemented. The important thing is that the Arab countries are serious, said Yasser Abed. He expressed hope they would follow through on the plan, unlike the thousands of (other) decisions they have taken about our cause. WFP has enough food in Gaza to run kitchens for 2 weeks The World Food Program says it only has enough food supplies in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks. Israel halted the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to the territory, home to some 2 million Palestinians, over the weekend to try and pressure Hamas to accept an alternative ceasefire arrangement six weeks into their fragile truce. Israel allowed a surge of humanitarian aid during the first six weeks of the ceasefire. But the WFP said Wednesday that its stocks are low because it prioritized delivering food to the population. The U.N. agency also warned that its fuel stocks would only last for a few weeks. Palestinians said prices spiked as people rushed to markets to stock up on supplies after Israel announced the tightening of its blockade. After more than 16 months of war, Gazas population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid. Most are displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Israelis bid farewell to hostage Ohad Yahalomi Israelis lined the streets for the funeral procession of hostage Ohad Yahalomi, the last of eight Israelis whose remains were returned during the first stage of the ceasefire with Hamas. Yahalomi, who was 49 when he was kidnapped, was shot in the leg as he and his family were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife and two daughters, one 10 and the other almost 2, escaped from militants attempting to take them into Gaza after running through fields for hours. Ohad and his oldest son, Eitan, then 12, were taken into Gaza but held separately. Eitan was released as part of a ceasefire in November 2023. Netanyahus office said Yahalomi was killed in captivity without releasing more details. Yahalomi worked for decades with Israels Nature and Parks Authority, and dozens of park rangers from across the country created a convoy from central Israel to the cemetery in Kibbutz Nir Oz. We always felt safe and protected when you were by our side, his wife, Bat-Sheva Yahalomi, eulogized him. We never imagined that the darkness would come in the shape of hundreds of terrorists full of hate and it will succeed to extinguish you strong and precious spirit. Israeli military's new chief of staff is sworn in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oversaw the swearing-in ceremony of the new military chief of staff, reiterating the determination to achieve total victory against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir will replace Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who resigned in part over the armys failures during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas' attack on southern Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. For many years, the IDF has fulfilled its missions. On October 7, the IDF failed, Halevi said at the ceremony. He called on Israel to establish a state commission of inquiry to fully investigate the failures that led to the deadly attack. The Israeli military and Shin Bet have recently released their own inquiries, but Halevi stressed a national commission that includes the political leadership is needed to get to the root of the problems and enable corrections. Israel demolished 181 Palestinian homes in annexed east Jerusalem last year Ir Amim, an Israeli rights group, says Israel demolished a record number of Palestinian homes 181 in annexed east Jerusalem last year. It said that more recently, Israel appears to have dropped a longstanding policy against demolishing homes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last weekend. It said a residential building and three apartments have been destroyed over the past week. The Israeli authority that carries out housing demolitions of structures it deems illegal, which is run by Israels Public Security Ministry, said there was no policy of a freeze on demolitions for Ramadan, according to a spokesperson. Until January of this year, the ministry was headed by far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who argued for stronger police enforcement of Palestinians and arming Israeli civilians. Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three for their future state. Rights groups say discriminatory policies make it nearly impossible for Palestinians to expand or redevelop their neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, forcing many to build without permits. Israel also demolishes the family homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks. Arab leaders approve a counterproposal to Trumps postwar Gaza plan Arab leaders meeting in Cairo on Tuesday endorsed a counterproposal to U.S. President Donald Trumps call for the Gaza Strip to be depopulated of Palestinians and transformed into a beach destination, even as the continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is uncertain. Israel is again blocking food, fuel, medicine and other desperately needed supplies from entering Gaza to try to get Hamas to accept an alternative U.S. proposal for the ceasefire and the release of hostages. The suspension of aid drew widespread criticism, with human rights groups saying that it violated Israels obligations as an occupying power under international law. MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a multi-vehicle crash that left one person dead and several others injured earlier this week. According to a crash report, around 8:55 p.m. on March 2, troopers responded to a three-vehicle crash on Business 20 and CR 1140. Investigators said the driver of a Ford Mustang was traveling northbound on CR 1140 crossover while the driver of a Ford Fusion was traveling eastbound on BI-20 approaching the CR 1140 intersection; troopers said the driver of the Mustang disregarded the stop sign at the intersection, which resulted in a collision with the Fusion. The impact of that crash forced the Mustang into the eastbound lanes of Business 20 where it was struck by a Chevrolet Suburban traveling eastbound. The driver of the Mustang, identified as 22-year-old Pedro Antonio Lopez, Jr., of Penitas, Texas, was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries. The passenger in the Mustang, 18-year-old Osmar Josue Guerrero, of Midland, was also taken to the hospital with injuries; he died at Midland Memorial Hospital on March 3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the Fusion was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries and a passenger in the Fusion was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Additionally, the driver of the Suburban was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Troopers said all those involved were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. The investigation is ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. Lily Huffman Milwaukee police are asking for help finding a critically missing 16-year-old girl. Lily Huffman was last seen in the 3400 block of South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday at about 1:15 p.m., according to police. Huffman is described by police as white, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighing roughly 130 pounds. She has blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black leggings and black jacket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Police District Six at 414-935-7262. "Critically missing" is a label police apply to people who may be especially vulnerable due to a variety of factors. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police ask help finding critically missing 16-year-old girl The Milwaukee School Board has approved the contract for new Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent Brenda Cassellius. Board members approved her contract 8-0 at a special meeting Tuesday evening. Board member Darryl Jackson was absent. "With Dr. Cassellius at the helm, the board is confident that our district will continue to rise to the challenge of ever-changing educational landscape," Milwaukee School Board president Marva Herndon said at the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cassellius will begin leading MPS March 15. Her contract is for two years, which will not exceed the duration required by state law, a news release from the Milwaukee Public Schools' Office of Board Governance said. The news release did not say what Cassellius' salary will be. The last permanent superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, Keith Posley, had an annual salary of $302,358 for the 2023-24 school year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's staff salary database. According to state statute, a school board's employment contract with a school district administrator, or superintendent, a business manager and school principals and assistants may not exceed two years. The board's approval of Cassellius' contract comes after the board selected her in February out of three finalists for the position. The other two finalists were Joshua Starr, former superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and Andrae Townsel, superintendent of Calvert County Public Schools in Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interim Milwaukee Public Schools' superintendent Eduardo Galvan will assist with the transition, the news release said. Cassellius said she was excited to get started sooner, as opposed to start in July with the new school year, to get a team in place faster and address issues so teachers are supported and principals have what they need before schools open next fall. Im really just super excited to work with the community across all sectors and to get the work done on behalf of our children and our families," Cassellius said in a phone interview Tuesday night. Cassellius' hiring and contract approval ends a months-long process to find a new permanent superintendent that started when Posley resigned last June. The board appointed Galvan the following month as the district's interim superintendent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee School Board approves Brenda Cassellius' superintendent contract A Milwaukee woman who admitted on an episode of TV's "Judy Justice" that she sold Wisconsin FoodShare benefits has been ordered to pay restitution to the state. Katrina Weems, 36, must pay $1,533.84 to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as a condition of her probation in an arrangement was reached Tuesday, online court records show. Milwaukee County prosecutors charged Weems and Java'la Elams in July 2023 with multiple counts of money laundering and of misusing the benefits of FoodShare benefits, the Wisconsin food stamp program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charges were filed after the pair appeared before TV judge Judith Sheindlin on a 2022 episode of TV's "Judy Justice." They were on the show to resolve a dispute over the sale of a used 2005 Toyota Camry, but revealed during the segment they sold food stamps, drawing the attention of fraud investigators in Wisconsin. FoodShare is the Wisconsin food stamp program; it's the state's name for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Residents who are disabled, retired, living on a small fixed income or rely on low-income jobs are often eligible. Nearly 710,000 people in Wisconsin receive FoodShare benefits, according to the most recent DHS data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weems was convicted in January on three counts of money laundering and three counts of misusing FoodShare benefits, but was acquitted on three other counts. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jorge Fragoso ordered Weems to six months behind bars, but stayed the sentence, and placed her on 12 months probation. The judge also ordered Weems to spend five days in jail. Elams, 27, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty in January 2024 to a felony charge of knowingly trafficking food stamps and testified against Weems at trial. Elams was given three days in jail. "Judy Justice" is the continuation of the long-running "Judge Judy" daytime show that also starred Sheindlin, a former family court judge in Manhattan. "Judge Judy" ended in 2021. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee woman said on 'Judy Justice' she sold food stamps, must pay MINDEN, La. (KTAL/KMSS) A Minden High School junior is preparing to compete nationally. Miss Heart of Pilots Teen 2025 Ava Martin stopped by KTAL/KMSS to discuss her journey to attaining her newest title and preparing to compete in Miss Louisiana Teen this April. More Local News It has been the most beautiful and challenging journey of my life, but I wouldnt change it for the world, says Martin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martin says the next few weeks will be hectic as she prepares to compete. Her schedule will be filled with public appearances, giving back to the community, and the traditional pageant prep of interview practice, walking practice, and nailing down her talent routine to perfection. Ava Martin is an impressive young woman who juggles being an ordinary teenager, schoolwork, and pageant life. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Headlines My planner is how I stay organized with all my appearances, extracurriculars, and studies because a title holder is supposed to be multi-faceted, where you can balance your studies while also doing appearances and volunteering. So, I just stick to my planner and that keeps me sane, explains Martin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Miss Louisiana Teen competition will occur April 25-27th at ULM Brown Auditorium in Monroe. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Mar. 4ST. PAUL A recent string of warm weather means many ice shelters have already been removed from inland waters in the northern third of Minnesota. Anglers who still have a fish house on the ice should plan ahead to ensure they meet the March 17 removal deadline, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recommends. Fish house owners also should pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice, the DNR said. "We urge everyone to have a plan in place and consider removing their shelters early if they have any concerns about being able to meet the deadline," Capt. Mike Martin, DNR Enforcement northeast region manager, said in a statement. "While many lakes may have 20 or more inches of ice, ice along shorelines or cracks elsewhere tend to open first and make removal especially difficult." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If shelters aren't removed by the deadline, owners may be prosecuted and structures may be confiscated and removed or destroyed by a conservation officer. Shelters may not be left at public accesses, and no trash or other materials including wooden blocking materials may be left on the ice. Anglers can still use their shelters after the deadline as long as the shelter has the proper identification and licensing and, if it's on the ice between midnight and an hour before sunrise, is occupied or attended. As they venture out, anglers always should keep in mind that ice conditions vary widely, that ice is never 100% safe and that they should check the ice thickness for themselves. The final removal deadline is March 31 and applies to fish houses on Lake of the Woods and other Minnesota/Canada border waters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In related fish house removal news, unoccupied fish houses in North Dakota must be removed from all waters across the state beginning Saturday, March 15, the Game and Fish Department said in a reminder. Fish houses may be used after March 15 if they are removed daily. In addition, anglers are encouraged to look around and clean up the site if any trash is found left behind. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A teenager who was wounded in a Vancouver shooting Tuesday afternoon was arrested and booked for unlawfully having a gun. Around 4 p.m., police said 911 callers reported gunshots near E Fourth Plain Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way. One male, later identified as a juvenile, was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot injury, officials said. Officers also found multiple shell casings in the 2500 block of Fort Vancouver Way. A canvass of the area was conducted, including a K9 track. No additional victims were located. Police are continuing to interview possible witnesses and are attempting to confirm a suspect(s) description, authorities said in a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Vancouver police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Minsk could be the best place to host potential trilateral talks between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency Interfax on March 5. Peskov's statement follows a proposal by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to host U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks. "This issue has not been brought up or discussed in any way. But, of course, Minsk is the best place for us. It is our main ally, so it is the best place for negotiations," Peskov said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Peskov, the Kremlin is "positive" about Zelensky's stated readiness to "come to the negotiating table." In a statement on March 4, the Ukrainian president said that he and his team "stand ready to work under President Trumps strong leadership to get a peace that lasts." He went on to propose the release of prisoners and a partial truce in the air and sea as first steps toward a peace deal. Zelensky's overture came days after his public clash with Trump in the Oval Office and after the U.S. paused all military aid to pressure Ukraine to talks. "The question is with whom to sit (at the negotiating table). So far, there is still a legal prohibition for the Ukrainian president to negotiate with the Russian side. Therefore, in general, the approach is positive, but the nuances have not yet changed," Peskov added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's recent stance on Ukraine, including his public rebuke of Zelensky and reported halt on U.S. military aid to Kyiv, has drawn praise from Russian officials while raising concerns among European allies. Since taking office, Trump has distanced the U.S. from its traditional role as Ukraine's primary supporter, instead questioning Kyiv's commitment to peace and implying that Ukraine shares blame for the ongoing war. Trump, echoing Kremlin rhetoric on the war in Ukraine, said at the end of February the country should "forget" about joining NATO, which the country sees as a security guarantee against a future Russian invasion. Russia has repeatedly presented NATO expansion as a "justification" for the war. The U.S. also voted alongside Russia on Feb. 24 against a U.N. resolution that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: I received an important letter from President Zelensky Trump says Ukraine, Russia ready to end war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) A 15-year-old who was reported missing last week was found in Kentucky and the woman with her has been charged with kidnapping, state police report. Hannah Audrianna Strychalski,19 (Rockcastle County Detention Center, Mt. Vernon, Ky.) Hannah Audrianna Strychalski,19, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, was arrested Feb. 25 by Kentucky State Police after Pennsylvania troopers discovered the missing teen girl may have been at a hotel in the state with her. According to the criminal complaint, troopers out of Bedford were called on Feb. 24 about a missing 15-year-old girl from East Saint Clair Township. The teens mother said they were alerted by probation that the girls ankle monitor was tampered with and out of the allowed area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through investigation, it was determined the teen may be with Strychalski and that a similar incident happened in early January. Troopers noted that on Jan. 9, Strychalski and the teen were found in Ohio. Investigators said that multiple people who knew the teen said she told them she was running away with Strychalski and Strychalskis mother. Woman accused of conspiring with jailed lover to kill police informant with hotshot While speaking with family, it was learned that Strychalski knew the girl wasnt 18 and was driving a white Toyota with Ohio plates, charging documents read. It was also discovered that the duo may have had a hotel reservation in Kentucky to check in on Feb. 24 and check out on Feb. 25. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After reaching out to Kentucky State Police, Strychalski and the teen were found. Kentucky records show she was arraigned at midnight Feb. 26 and waived extradition. Strychalski was brought back to Pennsylvania where she is being charged with kidnapping, concealment of the whereabouts of a child, interfering with custody and corruption of minors. Stay up to date with the latest news in the palm of your hand. Click here to download the WTAJ app for Apple and Android devices. Strychalski was released after posting $200,000 through a professional bondsman March 4. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. (FOX40.COM) A missing Northern California man was found murdered and buried in a shallow grave and after arresting his girlfriend, police are on the hunt for an accomplice. In January of 2024, the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office received a report that Matthew Clark, 47, was missing after an argument with his live-in girlfriend, Sofia Fermin, 38. The caller, Fermins brother, believed Sofia had something to do with his disappearance because he said she recently sold Clarks pickup truck and other property, according to SCSO. Sacramento Forever 21 to close down inside Arden Fair Mall Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June of 2024, Clarks pickup truck was located in San Joaquin County by the San Joaquin Sheriffs Office. Sacramento County said it recovered the vehicle and discovered fingerprints belonging to a 42-year-old man named Jerry Mulford. Detectives spoke with Fermin at the Main Jail when she was in custody for an unrelated incident. She reportedly told law enforcement she was unsure of Clarks whereabouts, but later said he was likely in a rehabilitation facility somewhere in California. Man attacks Republican headquarters in Northern California, officials say In September of 2024, SCSO began a homicide investigation. Through information from numerous interviews and warrants, detectives believed Fermin had shot Clark after an argument in December of 2023. Investigators said they learned that his body was likely buried on a property on the 100 block of U Street in Rio Linda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In December of 2024, a search warrant was executed at the property and law enforcement said it discovered Clarks body in a shallow grave in the southeast corner of the property with at least five gunshot wounds. Subsequently, SCSO arrested Fermin for alleged murder on Dec. 23, 2024. She remains at the Sacramento County Main Jail where she is ineligible for bail. Her next court appearance is March 27. An arrest warrant was also issued for Mulford for allegedly being an accessory to the crime, according to SCSO. He has yet to be located and is believed to have fled out of state. Anyone with information on his whereabouts or the investigation can call the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office at 916-874-5115 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-HELP. Tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000, and tipsters remain anonymous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. BEAVER DAM, Wis. (WTVO) 16-year-old Sophia Franklin, the subject of an AMBER Alert, is still missing one month later. According to the Illinois State Police, Franklin was last seen in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin at 7:48 a.m. on Monday, February 3rd. Franklin is described as a white female with brown hair and blue eyes, and currently four months pregnant. Police say she was taken by the father of her unborn child, Gary Day, 40, of Arkansas, thought to be traveling in black 2014 Buick LaCrosse with Pennsylvania plate number KGW 5186. Police said the car also utilizes an Arkansas plate, BBR 20L. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her family said the pair met online last April. Day reportedly took her to Arkansas without her parents knowledge in July. She was returned to Wisconsin after Arkansas police visited Days house for a probation check and found the teenager inside. The AMBER Alert has been expanded to Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri. Anyone with information on Franklin or Days whereabouts is asked to contact police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. Rep. Ben Baker, a Neosho Republican, sponsored a bill to put regulations on intoxicating hemp products (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A bill backed by the hemp industry that would impose age restrictions on their products was resoundingly rejected Tuesday evening by a Missouri House committee after product safety requirements were removed. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Ben Baker of Neosho, would place an age restriction on the purchase of intoxicating hemp products, such as THC seltzers and edibles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baker amended the bill Tuesday after state agencies estimated it would cost $95 million a year to implement the legislations testing guidelines and after negotiations between hemp industry leaders stalled out. Despite the effort to lower the estimated cost, the committee voted down the amended legislation 1-13, arguing the removal of the safety requirements was a fatal flaw. I understand the impetus to protect children by putting an age gate up, said Republican state Rep. Jeff Myers of Warrenton. My issue is, though, were still not doing anything to verify that these products are safe. Baker said the problem is getting all the stakeholders to agree to a compromise on product guidelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the one thing that everybody seems to agree on with these bills is protecting kids, he said. The bill, backed by the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, is one of several that lawmakers are debating this year to regulate intoxicating hemp products which currently have no government-imposed requirements on product testing, labeling or who can sell and buy them. Bakers bill allows a higher THC content than the other proposals to address needs of people who use the products to alleviate pain, supporters say. Lawmakers have been trying to enact age restrictions and other regulations on these products for the last few years. Conversations have devolved when hemp industry leaders argue the past proposals, backed by the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, would put thousands of hemp companies out of business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, those MoCann-backed bills won the approval of committees in both the Missouri House and Senate last month but both included a compromise to allow low-dose intoxicating hemp drinks to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores. This is the first year leaders of the hemp industry have proposed bills of their own, but they cant agree on what guidelines will serve the needs of everyone from beverage companies to those developing high-dose products for patients. Republican state Rep. Ben Keathley of Chesterfield spoke in support of the bill, raising the concern that the disagreements could end up stalling legislation once again. Its important that we move forward on the parts that we all agree on, which is the protecting kids, Keathley said. If we do nothing on this, because stakeholders, legislators, and people in this building cannot come together to figure out what the perfect solution is, then we will continue to have the same problems like weve had with children being able to obtain these products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Craig Katz, spokesman for the hemp association, said he was surprised the age-gating proposal failed. The group is talking with the Republican sponsor of another hemp regulations bill, Republican state Rep. Dave Hinman of OFallon, to see whether or not a compromise can be reached that will serve everybody in the industry. Hinmans bill is backed by liquor distributor Steven Busch. Katz said the primary hangup for the association with Hinmans legislation is it would enact a three-tiered distribution system that is used in the liquor industry. That is a stickler for much of the industry other than the beverage section, he said. In my view, the possible way to approach a compromise here would be to allow the three-tier system to exist, but not in a mandatory state. Katz also said the cost estimate on Bakers bill was a misunderstanding and will be addressed in a future amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hinman was not available for comment, but has previously said he realized this was going to be a long process to reach an agreement on a regulatory framework. The governor is looking for a compromise and a set of rules and regulations, Hinman said in a hearing last month, that will keep businesses open, employees working and most of all protect Missouri residents and keep the consumer safe. State Rep. Michael Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat, speaks during House debate on Feb. 27 (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). Members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus criticized the state budget and Gov. Mike Kehoes executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a news conference Tuesday. State Rep. Michael Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat and the caucus chair, focused his comments on Kehoes elimination of DEI efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The caucus had released a statement opposing the executive order covering state agencies when it was announced. Members continued to echo that sentiment Tuesday. DEI is not a black thing, Johnson said. DEI is for everyone. Its for veterans. Its for those that are disabled. Its for those that have impairments. It is for those that deserve a chance at showing equality on a job. In a news release announcing the midsession update, Johnson added, While this legislature has been entrusted by the people of Missouri to administer a healthy economy, professional opportunities and affordable living, the Republican supermajority appears to be, again, largely ignoring the needs of Missourians, particularly those of color. Beyond the executive order, legislation approved by the House seeks to ban all state funding of DEI initiatives, which would cover state universities and other spending not included in Kehoes executive order. The bill, sponsored by GOP state Rep. Ben Baker of Neosho, was debated by the Senate Government Efficiency Committee on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat, voiced his opposition to legislation seeking to prohibit public institutions of higher education from discriminating against religious, political or ideological organizations. Smith warned that this bill would allow organizations to engage in hate speech and leave students of color unprotected on college campuses. He said students are captive audiences and should not be subject to, hate speech, ugliness or racist ideas. Regarding the state budget and tax cuts, members of the caucus voiced their opinion that continuous cutting of state taxes and federal services are putting Missourians at a disadvantage. We are renegotiating some of the very fundamental contracts that we have made with the public, said state Rep. Del Taylor, a Democrat from St. Louis.. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Missouri state budget totals more than $50 billion, with about half supported by federal aid. According to Taylor, if federally funded programs receive cuts, that means a cut in federal workers salaries. These individuals need to be paid just like the rest of us, Taylor said. Despite his concerns, Taylor praised the Missouri economy for being strong and continuing to grow, but said with the growth comes the willingness to meet financial obligations. The biggest example he cited was the states budget allotment for education. Taylor noted that under provisions of the Missouri Foundation Formula, an adequate state education budget requires an additional $300 million over what Kehoe has proposed. Instead of committing to this amount, Taylor added that representatives are willing to change the formula through a task force also proposed by Kehoe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our state is strong, Taylor said. Our economy is strong. But as we continue all of these tax cuts and tax shavings and tax incentives, we are discounting and we are robbing the people of Missouri of basic services that they need. This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. In late February, Missouri lawmakers passed House Bills 243 and 280, which look to prohibit courts from using pregnancy status as a reason to not dissolve a marriage or legal separation. Both bills reverse two sections, 452.305 and 452.310, and instead replace them with 452.305 and 452.3. HB 280 stood on its own originally until it was replaced with a substitute bill, making HB 243 the primary bill. Despite that, both bills are identical. Chesterfield police seek man for stealing, injuring cops Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Children & Families Committee heard the bills, which Rep. Cecelie Williams (R-111) and Rep. Raychel Proudie (D-73) bipartisanly supported. Those in agreement with the bill believe it can provide safety and reassurance for victims. Williams testified for the bills purpose, sharing her past relationship with her ex-husband with the committee. She recounted a graphic incident with her ex-partner that left her with a broken left jaw and orbital bone. Despite that traumatic event, Williams attempted to leave the relationship. However, Missouris law created difficulties for her as she was pregnant at the time, preventing her from dissolving the marriage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News The emotional, psychological and physical pain I endured didnt stop just because I was carrying our fourth child. It would seem, from my perspective, that the law didnt care that I was safe, Williams said to the committee. Others alongside Williams, including Matthew Huffman, Chief Public Affairs Officer at the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, as well as groups Abortion Action Missouri and Planned Parenthood, testified in support of the bill. In a unanimous vote, the bill was passed, perfecting it with no opposing opinions voiced to the committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 243 and 280 head to Missouris Senate for further discussion. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. JOPLIN, Mo. A local campus offers a new option to help students deal with a financial crisis. Missouri Southern launched the student emergency grant on Friday. Students can now apply for funding of up to $1,000 to help pay for unexpected bills like car repairs or utility costs. More on MSSU Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The response was immediate, with 56 students already approved, which has actually exhausted the funds available for the spring. It was a little bit of a surprise, the overwhelming requests that came in in a short period of time. But that just helps us better understand our students and the needs that they have. And its a great way for us to be able to learn how we can better support them, said Dr. Shellie Hewitt, MSSU Associate Vice President of Admissions and Enrollment. The university is directing some of the applicants to the similar Lions Helping Lions fund. Those interested in helping out can find out more here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) The Metro Nashville Police Department announced arrests in unrelated school threats to area schools Tuesday. A 13-year-old John Early Middle School student was identified by the MNPD as the owner of a social media account that made threats to several schools in January. He was reportedly arrested Monday and charged with making a threat of mass violence and making a false report. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Additionally, a 15-year-old Kipp Antioch Global High School student was charged with making a threat of mass violence and making a false report Tuesday after he was identified as a student who made verbal threats to other students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Threats against schools and institutions are taken very seriously by the MNPD, a press release from the MNPD reads, in part. Those responsible, once identified, will be prosecuted. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee These two students join the numerous arrested so far this year for making school threats in Nashville and across Middle Tennessee. Last week, the Macon County Sheriffs Office investigated a threat at a junior high school deemed not credible. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens and longtime communications and media relations strategist, is senior vice president, communications at the Daniels Fund in Denver. The views he expresses are his own. BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) Authorities say a man was taken into custody Tuesday after leading police on a multistate chase and then barricading himself in a U-Haul truck with a knife in Branch County. The suspect a 48-year-old LaGrange, Indiana, man who had a felony warrant fled in the U-Haul truck from the LaGrange County Sheriffs Office, according to a release from the Michigan State Police. State police say the chase went through St. Joseph County, where troopers successfully used stop sticks. Around 7:30 p.m., it entered Branch County, where the Branch County Sheriffs Office got involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office says stop sticks were successfully deployed on US-12. The suspect drove off the road west of Wheeler Road and went into a ditch, according to authorities. But instead of exiting the truck, the man barricaded himself inside and wouldnt obey officers commands, according to state police. They say he was holding a long knife. Officers on scene worked to negotiate with the man. Eventually, troopers say, he put the knife down and was removed from the vehicle. There were also seven dogs and another person in the U-Haul truck, according to the sheriffs office. None of them were hurt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect was jailed on charges of fleeing and eluding and resisting and obstructing, state police say. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. LE MARS, Iowa (KCAU) With just over a month until planting season, farmers are getting ready to put crops in the soil. However, some are still picking up after last years historic flooding. KCAU 9 spoke with a local agronomist who says some farmers soil may never be the same after last years flooding. How will the dry winter impact farmers? A couple of the growers I talked to had said in one area, up to four feet of sand in their field, they had to remove last fall, said Leah Ten Napel, a field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. So for those people, last fall, it looks like cleaning up sand and sticks, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleaning their fields is only half the problem. Harvesters now need to figure out what nutrients were taken during the flooding. The soil types are going to be different, so like this farmer said, four feet of sand in one area, thats probably the extreme, Ten Napel said. And so the soil type is going to be different, the layouts going to be different. I dont know if it will ever be exactly like it was before, but hopefully that was a smaller portion of their field. Ten Napel shared the best way to check what nutrients are in the ground. I think soil sampling is a great first step, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, there are ways farmers are beefing up their soil. Siouxland man wins over $300k from lottery ticket The grower I talked to, they went back out with some extra fertilizer and they were also switching out their crop rotation to give them some extra clean-up time come this spring, Ten Napel said. Ten Napel recommends to farmers impacted by the flooding that they check their soil nutrients often to ensure good yields. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, said Tuesday that she won't attend President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress. She called Trump's actions since taking office "beneath the office of the president." LIVERPOOL TWP., Ohio (WKBN) The Liverpool Township Police Department investigated what was deemed a murder-suicide, according to a press release. Police were called to the 1100 block of Parkwood Drive shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Friday for a 911 hang-up call. Police said that when they arrived, they were advised that the female caller stated that she was bedridden and was not sure if the door was unlocked or not. Police were told that her husband was breaking items in the home and she wanted him to leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After knocking on the door, police noticed that the door was unlocked. When police walked in, they found both a man and a woman who were deceased from a gunshot. After an investigation by the Columbiana County Prosecutors Office and the Columbiana County Coroners Office, the preliminary investigation was determined that this was an apparent murder-suicide. Police said that the names of the deceased are not being released at this time until family members can be notified. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. (Bloomberg) -- The differences between Elon Musks fast-acting efforts to reshape the federal government and congressional Republicans desire for process and professional courtesies played out behind closed doors in the US Capitol, the latest sign of brewing tension among factions of President Donald Trumps allies. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a series of meetings Wednesday with Musk, House and Senate Republicans sought to impress upon the billionaire that Congress has a central role in enacting controversial spending cuts that dont run the risk of being overturned in court. Lawmakers also implored Musk for more communication and warning from his Department of Government Efficiency about looming cuts that could affect jobs and programs in their districts, according to a person familiar with the discussion. Still, in public the lawmakers were largely complimentary of Musk, urging him to move more quickly to slash federal programs. Many Republican lawmakers are reluctant to criticize Musk even in closed-door, members-only sessions, the person said, who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The meetings come as Congress grapples with the implications of DOGE, whose sweeping, lightning-fast cuts to the federal workforce have sparked blowback in lawmakers districts and states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the controversial DOGE-inspired changes discussed Wednesday was a Veterans Affairs announcement to cut about 80,000 employees, a proposal that alarmed some Republicans because of the potential to hamper health care access for millions of veterans nationwide. Representative Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy Seal, said he asked Musk about the cuts, who assured the group that there would be no degradation of the benefits for our veterans, the Wisconsin Republican said. Musk in the meeting, however, distanced DOGE the White House office directing federal cost-cutting efforts from the VAs plans to terminate staff. Senator Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, also criticized the cuts on Wednesday, calling for any changes at the VA to be done in a more responsible manner. In a meeting earlier in the day, Senate Republicans said they warned Musk that simply slashing government funding without congressional approval was ephemeral and risked being struck down by the Supreme Court, which dealt a blow Wednesday to Trumps unilateral foreign-aid freeze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, senators pushed Musk to send a package of cuts to Congress for approval through a process that requires only a simple majority in both chambers. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, suggested the administrations proposal could amount to tens of billions in spending cuts. Politically now is the time, he added. Graham and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said Musk seemed receptive to the idea. Musk, Graham said, pumped his fists during the discussion. Its unclear exactly what would be included in the list of so-called rescissions. But Graham said cuts to veterans services, for instance, would be political malpractice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other cuts particularly those that affect federal and contracting jobs in lawmakers districts could make passage difficult given the GOPs narrow and fractious majorities in both chambers. Communications Several Republicans have expressed frustrations that Musk, a special government employee, isnt communicating with Congress on his teams plans. If you are doing something that impacts somebody in their district, it would be nice if gave them a heads up before you did it, Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said. Give courtesy to members. Give them a heads up because they are the ones who have to go home and defend these things. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coles counterpart in the Senate, Susan Collins of Maine, did not attend the meeting with Musk because she was meeting with some House Republicans. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia echoed Coles sentiment Wednesday. I think theres not enough advanced notice. Theres not enough clarity, she said. Were having trouble getting information. Trump during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday evening touted Musks work with DOGE, claiming the group has found significant fraud, waste and theft. DOGE on its website claims it has saved $105 billion by canceling government contracts, but independent analyses have found that total is likely significantly lower due to accounting errors and misreadings of contract filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats have argued DOGE and the Trump administration are illegally revoking spending ordered in congressionally approved legislation and intruding on Congresss constitutional power of the purse. --With assistance from Rachel Cohrs Zhang and Steven T. Dennis. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Embattled Myrtle Beach pastor John-Paul Miller is again being accused of sexually assaulting a young girl, this time when he was teaching at his fathers former Christian school more than 20 years ago. The 46-page suit filed Wednesday in Horry County Common Pleas Court by Jane Doe #2 alleges that Miller not only repeatedly groped a girl who was 14 at the time, but humiliated her while encouraging others to do so as well when she tried to report the alleged abuse. Miller on Feb. 25 was named in a complaint by Jane Doe #1 that he assaulted her when she was 15 years old, continuing a pattern of sexual abuse and predatory conduct that often targeted minors over decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Timeline: The saga of John-Paul and Mica Miller The new wave of accusations center around incidents that happened at Cathedral Hall Academy in 1999 a private Christian school in Myrtle Beach operated by Millers father, Reginald Wayne Miller. JP-lawsuit-2Download John-Paul Miller at the time was 19 and his victim was 14, the suit says. He couldnt immediately be reached for comment but has refused to speak with News13 multiple times. Anguish in a former bowling alley The school was run by pastor Wayne Miller and his son, John-Paul Miller, who portrayed themselves as devout men of God, offering a faith-based education in a nurturing environment, the lawsuit says. Instead, Plaintiff walked into a nightmare. Cathedral Hall Academy was not a school. It was a trap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With no certified teachers, legitimate coursework or structured academics, the classrooms were carved out of a repurposed bowling alley were incomplete, with uneven, slick floors. It was in that environment that the torment began for the unidentified woman, according to the suit. After a morning chapel service, she was asked to hold the door as students departed. John-Paul stayed behind, playing a piano when he asked the girl to join him, the complaint says. She agreed, and John-Paul pulled her in for a hug when she got up to leave. She barely had time to react before JPMs hands moved down her back, past her waist and under her clothing and touching her bare butt, the lawsuit says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim wasnt sure what to do, so reported the action to a teacher. From there, she was sent to Reginald Wayne Millers office, where John-Paul was waiting as well. RWM demanded she repeat her accusation with his son standing beside him. Jane Doe #2s voice waved, and she told the truth, the lawsuit says. After shouting to her not to lie about his son, Reginald Wayne Miller forced the girl to write I will not lie about John-Paul Miller 5,000 times. Raped by demons The girl soon became a victim of intense bullying that included name calling and, physical assaults and mockery by John-Paul, who was on hand for several of the confrontations including once when her shirt was ripped open and tissues stuffed into her bra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through it all, JPM was there, smirking, encouraging, watching, the lawsuit alleges. His father, who found her crying one day, told her she was disrupting the Lords work and needed to repent. The message was clear. No one would protect her, the lawsuit claims. By the time she entered ninth grade, the girl stopped hoping things would change, was sexually assaulted again after Miller said she failed a test and needed to stay behind after class for extra help. At another point, the Jane Doe brought a Harry Potter book to school, which ended up with her being taken back to Reginald Wayne Millers office again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They berated her, called her a servant of Satan and told her that if she continued down this path, she would be raped by demons, the lawsuit says. The Millers then set the book on fire, beat her and poured water over her head. Sixteen at the time, it was her final year at Cathedral Hall Academy. The Millers and their ministries are being sued on grounds of negligence, civil conspiracy, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violating the South Carolina Fair Trade Practices Act. Miller has been embroiled in controversy since his wife Micas death last April, while he was pastor at Solid Rock Church in The Market Common. Micas death at the Lumber River State Park near Lumberton in Robeson County was ruled a suicide, but her family and numerous protestors within the Justice for Mica movement have pushed forward with claims that he abused his wife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John-Paul was jailed on an assault charge in November after an incident near the Solid Rock Church, which has since been closed and sold. Prior to that, the FBI searched his home in the Azalea Lakes neighborhood near Myrtle Beach. The Millers ministry dates back to the early 1970s, when Reginald Miller founded the Florence Tabernacle Church, the lawsuit said. The ministry eventually grew into the Gloryland Bible College and later Cathedral Bible College. The ministry was relocated to Myrtle Beach in 1993 following allegations of sexual misconduct involving Reginald Miller and students of the college, the lawsuit said. That was followed by the creation of Cathedral Baptist Church. * * * Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. The mystery of why women age better than men may finally have been solved by scientists. Women tend to live about five years longer than men, and often avoid the severe mental decline and heart problems that plague the opposite sex. Now scientists have found that as women age, the silent unused X sex chromosome wakes up and helps to protect the brain. Unlike men, women are born with two X chromosomes, but one switches off during the early stages of embryonic development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was thought to be dormant throughout life, but a new study from the University of California has found that in ageing female mice, it reactivates and starts helping its twin to produce a critical brain protein that protects brain cells. Prof Dena Dubal, a specialist in ageing from UC San Francisco, said: We were astounded to find that ageing activated or woke up that silent X in the female brain in a brain region thats very important to learning and memory: the hippocampus. Less cognitive ageing Its really fascinating that women live longer than men all over the world, and they also show less cognitive ageing. The biological clock of the female brain ticks a little slower than that of mens. Our work highlights reasons for resilience of the female brain in typical ageing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prof Dubal also said the discovery may have a wider impact. It may be a reason for sex differences in multiple degenerative diseases and conditions, she added. We focused on one area of the brain, but what about the rest of the body and the inactive X chromosome? And what about cardiovascular disease and cancers? What role might this waking up of the X be playing in multiple organ systems and health and disease? The team discovered that when the sleeping X chromosome reactivated, it triggered the production of the protein Plp1, a component in an important nerve shield called myelin. Myelin sheaths brain cells and allows information to flow between neurons, playing a big role in learning and memory. Old brains are malleable When experts further boosted the protein in the ageing mice, it improved their cognition, allowing them to explore and solve mazes, like younger mice. And it also worked in male mice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even more surprisingly, this X factor Plp1 improved cognition in the male brain, highlighting that old brains are quite malleable and have the capacity for youthful function, Prof Dubal said. So this is a clear example of how understanding female-specific biology can lead to new treatment for a female brain, as well as a male brain. Our research would suggest that we could all use a little more X. The research was published in a special issue of the journal Science Advances, which was focused on womens health. In the edition, academics argued that medicine and science has historically overlooked the impact of sex, even though there are huge differences in biological processes in men and women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a briefing launching the special edition, Dr Gillian Coughlan, a neurology specialist from Harvard Medical School, said: We know Alzheimers disease does disproportionately affect women, and in contrast, Parkinsons disease disproportionately affects men. However, we know quite little really in understanding how sex biology, how hormones, how gender factors, can explain these sex differences in disease prevalence. And thats quite surprising. Because if we understood how these kinds of biological differences influence sex differences in disease prevalence, then surely that would go a long way to inform treatment, prevention and diagnosis. Madeline Wood Alexander, a doctoral student at Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, added: Again and again, we keep seeing female-specific and male-specific sex differences in the biology behind the diseases that affect us most as humans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be a good scientist is to consider all of the factors that contribute to health and disease outcomes. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa The Marshall County Sheriffs Office has released the name of the man who died after his semi veered off a highway on Tuesday. ISP warns drivers to stay off roads; blizzard conditions cause crashes statewide At around 2:28 p.m. the sheriffs office responded to a report of a semi that had veered off Highway 330, had gone through a guardrail down an embankment and then landed in the eastbound lanes of Highway 30. According to the sheriffs office, when deputies arrived at the scene they found the semi on fire and the driver still inside. Deputies and bystanders used fire extinguishers to try and control the flames until firefighters arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver was removed from the semi, but despite lifesaving measures he died from his injuries at the scene. On Wednesday, the sheriffs office identified the driver as 69-year-old Richard James Wenger of Fairbank. During the crash, agriculture equipment that the semi was hauling was dislodged and came to rest in the eastbound lanes of Highway 30 under the Highway 330 bridge. The road was blocked for over three hours while first responders cleared the scene. The Iowa State Patrol is continuing the investigation into the crash. Iowa News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. VIRGINIA (DC News Now) The National Weather Service (NWS) issued severe thunderstorm warnings Wednesday afternoon for parts of Maryland and Virginia. DC News Nows weather team also issued a DMV First Warn Day due to the anticipated severe thunderstorms ahead of a cold front. The NWS said a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5. A few tornadoes, hail and heavy winds are also possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after 1 p.m., the NWS issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Maryland, including Waldorf, Clinton and Fort Washington, until 1:30 p.m. DMV First Warn Day: Keep up with current conditions with the DC News Now Weather Team Wind gusts could get up to 70 mph, the NWS noted. Parts of Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia were included in the warning, impacting over two million people in the two states. The Virginia Department of Transportation urged Virginians to report road debris from the storm online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. By Max Hunder (Reuters) - NATO armed forces are not ready for a modern drone war, the military commander in charge of Ukraine's unmanned systems warned, three years into a conflict with Russia in which both sides are pushing for a technological edge. Kyiv is striving to stay ahead of the enemy, employing artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones and testing lasers to bring down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, said Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking in a newly outfitted office for the recently founded Unmanned Systems Forces, the location of which Reuters was asked not to disclose, Sukharevskyi laid out the leaps and bounds in which drone warfare had advanced since the start of the invasion in 2022, and the ways in which it upended the established doctrines of war. "From what I see and hear, not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones," Sukharevskyi told Reuters in a recent interview. He said NATO should recognise the economic advantage of drones, which often cost far less to build than the conventional weaponry required to down them. "It's just elementary mathematics. How much does a missile that shoots down a (Russian) Shahed (drone) cost? And how much does it cost to deploy a ship, a plane and an air defence system to fire at it?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Long-range drones can cost as little as several thousand dollars for the most basic decoy models, although the Shahed strike drones have been estimated to cost in the tens of thousands. Air defence interceptor missiles usually have a six or seven figure U.S.-dollar price tag and many countries only keep limited stocks, thus making their use highly uneconomical. Sukharevskyi's comments come as some NATO members in Europe ramp up defence spending to prepare for war should the Ukraine conflict drag on or escalate. With U.S. support for Ukraine and Europe wavering, those efforts have intensified. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there has been a vast expansion in drone use. Ukraine says it made 2.2 million small First Person View (FPV) drones and 100,000 larger, long-range ones in 2024. Russia previously gave estimates that it would make 1.4 million FPV drones in the same year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Right now, even the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says that more than 60% of targets are destroyed by drones," Sukharevskyi said. "The only question is how the tactics of their use will develop, and, following on from that, the technological aspect." BATTLEFIELD EVOLVING Russian attacks, often numbering more than one hundred drones, have become a regular occurrence in Ukraine. They are conducted by a mix of Iranian-designed Shahed strike drones and much cheaper, flimsier decoy models that can use up Ukraine's limited stockpiles of air defence missiles. Ukraine has used pickup trucks with mounted machine guns and military aviation to down drones more efficiently, and Kyiv is working on other options such as using FPV interceptor drones and laser weapons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine successfully shot down fixed-wing drones in testing using a laser, Sukharevskyi said, adding that the goal was to roll out laser systems in combat, although he did not specify timelines. Sukharevskyi said his units were now using a mothership drone that could carry two FPV drones up to 70 km (43 miles) before releasing them and acting as a relay station for their communications. He estimated that there were thousands of unmanned ground vehicles operating on the frontlines, meaning fewer soldiers were needed to go to dangerous areas for logistics or combat. On the battlefield, both sides have adopted extensive electronic warfare as they seek to jam signal links to drones in the air, rendering traditional drones inoperable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has led to a boom in drones using automated targeting, which guides a drone to its target through artificial intelligence after the pilot selects it through the drone's camera. However, the decision to strike must be made by a human and not by AI, he said. Sukharevskyi believes at least half of Ukraine's frontline drone units are now using such systems to some degree, and that the majority of drones in combat would eventually end up using this system. Sukharevskyi conceded that Ukraine was not able to fully meet strike drone units' demand for munitions, which are usually supplied separately to drones, but did not give further details. He said some units had begun making their own, with one brigade able to make 6,000-10,000 munitions per month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If it wasnt for drones, everything would be a lot worse. Drones are the things which allow us to give an asymmetrical response (when) the enemy is larger, stronger and on the attack." (Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Sharon Singleton) WASHINGTON, D.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) It was rowdy night on Tuesday as President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time since he began his second term in the White House. During his remarks, Trump was interrupted multiple times by a handful of Democratic lawmakers. During one of those outbursts, Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the removal of Congressman Al Green from Texas. Trump, though, was able to continue, touching on Ukraine, immigration and the economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump promises to keep up swift and unrelenting action in speech to Congress For the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the RIGHT direction than the WRONG direction an astonishing record 27-point swing since Election Day alone, he told the crowd. Democratic Congresswoman Alma Adams, whose district includes much of Charlotte, argued Tuesday afternoon that the president needed to explain his administrations cuts to federal agencies. Im hoping that the president will speak to how the citizens in North Carolina and my district more specifically, are going to survive with the proposals he has on the table, she told reporters in Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Trump argued the cuts were necessary and good for the American taxpayer. Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, he explained. We ordered all federal workers to return to the office, they will either show up to the office in person or be removed from their job. Republican Congressman Tim Moore, whose district stretches as far as Rutherford and Burke counties wanted to hear assurances that federal assistance for Helene victims will continue. NC congressman pushes back on CMS board claims about federal budget cuts Making sure that you know where things stand with FEMA and getting resources delivered to folks in our region whove been hit so hard, said Moore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump did not mention Hurricane Helene during his address but made a commitment to provide much needed help when he visited western North Carolina earlier this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. TRIAD All of the recent trends in North Carolinas rapid population growth are expected to continue so that within five years North Carolina will jump from ninth-largest to seventh even as birth rates decline and the average age keeps going up, the state demographer reports. The U.S. Census Bureaus updated population estimate in December said that North Carolinas population had passed 11 million, and State Demographer Michael Cline estimated in his report 7 Trends Ahead that by 2030 it will reach 11.7 million, which probably will be more than the populations of Ohio and Georgia, currently the seventh- and eighth-largest states. The states population growth has accelerated since the 1970s as the state began to attract more and more in-migration from other places even though birth rates here were declining. People moving into North Carolina now account for more than 90% of the states growth, and in the 2030s it will account for all of the growth as deaths begin to outnumber births, Cline wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This means eventually more North Carolinians will be born outside the state than those born within it, he wrote. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, approximately 47% of North Carolinas population was born outside of North Carolina including nine% who were born outside of the United States. With the growing influx from other places, the proportion of people of Hispanic and Asian descent has grown, and that is expected to continue, he said. And while Cline expects the number of young children in the state to rise, he wrote that the older population will grow more. By the end of this decade, 1 of every 5 North Carolinians will be at least 65 years old and by the early part of next decade, there will be more older adults (age 65+) than children (ages 0 through 17) in North Carolina, he wrote. Population growth has been concentrated in the states 22 urban and suburban counties, which account for about two-thirds of the states population, he said. By 2030, the urban and suburban population will rise to 69% of the total, and by 2060 it is projected to be 77%. A North Carolina representative wants to codify a challenged election rule for military and overseas voters. Durham Representative Marcia Moreys bill says military and overseas voters are not required to include a photocopy of their ID when they vote. This comes as Republican State Supreme Court Candidate Jefferson Griffin challenges more than 5,000 of the ballots in his race against Democratic Justice Allison Riggs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representative Marcia Morey, however, disagrees with that. ALSO READ: Judge to decide validity of 65K votes in North Carolina Supreme Court race They dont have time to go looking for a photocopier if theyre out in the field, but they follow what has been explained to them, send in your ballot, send in your registration, and after the fact, retroactively. Now to be challenged after this is the method theyve been using, I think is totally wrong, Morey explained. In response to the bill, the North Carolina Republican Party said this reinforces the partys belief that state law matters more than an agencys rules. The NCGOP said the bill also strengthens their case for judicial review of those ballots. VIDEO: Judge to decide validity of 65K votes in North Carolina Supreme Court race Photo: Daniel de la Hoz/Getty Images The North Carolina Senate passed a bipartisan bill 41-1 Tuesday requiring public schools to restrict student use wireless communication devices during instructional time. The Senate approved SB 55, which would require local education agencies to implement policies that ban students from using, displaying, or having their phones turned on during class. The bill defines a wireless communication device as any portable wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data communication between two or more parties, including cellular telephones, tablet computers, laptop computers, paging devices, two-way radios, and gaming devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporters of the bill say limiting cell phone use reduces distractions, prevents cheating, and curbs bullying. Sen. Joyce Waddell (D-Mecklenburg), proposed an amendment to the bill that wouldve allowed students to use their devices during non-instructional time, but the amendment was tabled. Waddell called for schools to be given more flexibility in implementing the policy, arguing that one size does not fit all, pointing to the diverse needs of school districts across the state. Every public school unit in North Carolina serves a different community with different needs. What works in one district does not work in another, she said. Waddell also called for additional resources and time for schools to develop and implement the policies, arguing that the Oct. 1 deadline specified in the bill for schools to submit their policies to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is insufficient. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar amendment by Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) which would allow devices to remain powered on but inaccessible during instructional time, was also tabled. This bill is similar to House Bill 87, which passed a House committee last week. While both bills aim to limit student cell phone use in the classroom, Senate Bill 55 would go further by requiring a more stringent ban on all wireless communication devices, including tablets and laptops, during instructional time. The bill now moves to the House for a vote. If passed by the House, the bill would require school districts to have new policies in place by the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. The bills primary sponsors are GOP Senators Michael Lee (New Hanover), Jim Burgin (Harnett, Lee, Sampson) and Lisa Barnes (Franklin, Nash, Vance), but several members of both parties have also signed onto the bill as co-sponsors. BRUSSELS, Wis. (WFRV) Nearly a dozen animals were killed on Tuesday evening due to a fire at a Door County barn that was built over 80 years ago. According to a Brussels-Union-Gardner (BUG) Fire Department release, crews were sent to a reported fire at 9004 Star Road in Brussels around 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday. The initial reports indicated that a barn was fully on fire while animals were still inside. Authorities looking for escaped Dodge County Huber inmate with known Green Bay address Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first units arrived on the scene at roughly 4:54 p.m., and confirmed reports that the west end of the barn was on fire with smoke coming out of the structure, which was about 50 feet from a home. The property owners on the scene were trying to evacuate animals, as on-scene fire crews joined deputies from the Door County Sheriffs Office in a rescue attempt of some animals. They rescued some full-size pigs and three piglets from the east side before it became fully engulfed end-to-end. Firefighters evacuated about 30 chickens, reportedly getting them into another on-site structure. First engine crews aggressively attacked the fire, reportedly knocking flames down in roughly 30-40 minutes Amidst suppression efforts, a metal roof collapsed, and an excavator helped remove it so crews could fully extinguish. The fires original starting point appeared isolated to the west side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The property owners confirmed that baby goats were in a room with two heat lamps to keep them warm, adding that they did not have insurance on the barn, built in 1940. The building was roughly 100 feet by 40 feet. The home also sustained heat damage to its exterior siding. Unfortunately, five goats and six pigs died in the fire, which is still being investigated for the cause; however, initial reports indicate that it was not suspicious. Wisconsin business owner sentenced for not paying employment taxes, ordered to pay back over $480k Two water supply fill sites were set up at the BUG Fire Station 1 on County C, and 10 units and 29 firefighters responded to the scene. The incident was cleared roughly four hours (9:01 p.m.) after the initial report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire is still under investigation, and no more details were provided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) One of Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillens priorities advanced to the second round of debate with a vote on Monday, as a statewide cell phone ban in schools inched closer to becoming law, the Nebraska Examiner reports. The bill would ban student use of personal electronic devices, such as cellphones, on school grounds or while attending a school instructional function, such as field trips. But it would leave school districts wide latitude in approving student cellphone use, including some exceptions. Iowa STEM teachers and programs honored at State Capitol Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senators advanced Legislative Bill 140 Monday with bipartisan support, 44-0, with five lawmakers not voting or excused. The proposed law moved out of the Education Committee 7-0, with one member absent. Pillen said during its public hearing last month that the bill focuses on student mental health and that he should have pushed the legislation earlier in his term as governor. The evidence, in my view, is crystal clear: Our kids are being harmed by their constant exposure to these things, Pillen said at the time. Several other states have pushed for similar legislation on students cell phones with similar bipartisan support, but some experts warn that these types of restrictions could be outdated or challenging for classroom teachers and schools to enforce. State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha echoed similar concerns. State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue. July 25, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Most schools already have these policies, which are good, McKinney said on the floor. The only thing I think about is how these school districts will enforce this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKinney added that there might be an uptick in classroom discipline issues because kids will be kids. During the same hearing at which Pillen testified, State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha voiced caution about whether students could quickly access phones in emergencies, such as during school shootings. The bill addresses such concerns with exceptions. LB 140 would allow students to use cellphones at school in the following circumstances: If needed as part of a students special education plan. When authorized by a school district for educational purposes during instructional time. In cases of emergency or perceived threat of danger. When necessary to monitor or manage a students health care. When otherwise determined appropriate by the school board or otherwise allowed by an appropriate school employee. Should the bill pass, all of Nebraskas 245 school districts would have to adopt device-related policies to conform to the law by the start of the 2025-26 school year. The bill doesnt apply to private schools. Enforcement and possible disciplinary action for violating the guidelines, if any, would be left up to individual school districts Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its time to prioritize student success by eliminating unnecessary distractions, said State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue, the sponsor of LB 140. East High hosting 32nd annual Sing All About It! show choir invitational In a possible hint of tension within the Legislature, State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha used her time to speak during the debate as a shot across the bow because the Nebraska Legislature has shown her that its going to screw over the poorest people in the state for just pettiness. Im going to make this body fight like hell for the things that dont benefit low-income people, Cavanaugh said. Youre going to have to fight like hell for it, not this bill, even though it had some opposition, Im not opposed to it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Reflecting on the closure of Creston Brewery, a longtime neighborhood association leader is wondering what will fill the void. Creston Brewery is joining a growing number of Grand Rapids bars and restaurants in closing their doors. The neighborhood staple over the last decade announced its immediate closure Monday. The shuttered Creston Brewery in Grand Rapids on March 4, 2025. Creston Brewery joins growing list of 2025 closures Kristina Colby, an interim executive director of the Creston Neighborhood Association, said Creston Brewery was an anchor in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am just shocked and disappointed and confused about this closure of the Creston Brewery, Colby said. Colby said many groups, including hers, met there and hosted events. For it to not be there anymore, were kind of wondering what to do next, Colby said. The brewery first opened in 2016 on Plainfield Avenue at Quimby Street and was forced to close in 2020 due to the pandemic. Saugatuck Brewing Company later bought it and reopened it in the fall of 2021. I only saw it get better from there, Colby said. The staff were wonderful, theyre really cool staff, food was really good, beer was good and it seemed like they were doing well. Theyd have trivia nights, run club would meet there and itd be packed. So we really surprised to see it close. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colby said as the brewery grew, so did the neighborhood, adding several new businesses. You can go stop in for a dinner and a drink at Creston Brewery, get a massage, you get your haircut, do some retail shopping right there. It was a nice, walkable, vibrant area, Colby said. New apartments recently opened in the neighborhood, too. I just met with someone earlier today a neighbor and he said he just moved in last month and was excited to have a brewery right there, Colby said. That was a reason he chose to live there. Rockwell Republic closes, citing pandemic habits and rising costs Citing a difficult time for the craft beer industry, Saugatuck Brewing announced it was closing both the Creston and Kalamazoo taprooms as it shifts its focus toward distributing beer. Its Douglas taproom will remain open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Craft breweries, like many bars and restaurants, continue to face rising costs. I think theres a lot of maybe worry with where the economy is heading, with closures happening. Were wondering whats next, Colby said. What can we do to keep them here. Is just shopping locally enough, or is there something bigger going on? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Almost a month to the day that Neil Gaiman was hit with rape, human trafficking and more allegations by a former nanny to his son, the Good Omens showrunner and Sandman creator says the claims are a sham, and shouldnt even be addressed by U.S. courts. Spitting out that the allegations, seeking $1 million, are simply the culmination of her plan to maximize adverse publicity against Gaiman, a well-known author for an unjust financial settlement, Gaiman wants the whole thing from Scarlett Pavlovich against him and estranged wife Amanda Palmer tossed out. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In no uncertain terms, Pavlovichs accusations are false, a brief in support of motion to dismiss filed Tuesday in federal court in Wisconsin proclaims in language similar to blog post reactions he issued to such allegations last year. The sexual scenarios she describes deliberately in graphic detail are invented. Any sexual conduct that occurred was in all ways consensual. Law enforcement authorities in New Zealand thoroughly investigated the same claims Plaintiff makes here, found no merit, and declined to file any charges against Gaiman. There was no credible evidence of wrongdoing. Read the dismissal filing here. In her February 3 filings, Pavlovich exclaimed Gaiman has a decades-long history of sexual misconduct consistent with the actions that will be described in the following paragraphs. The nearly 30-page complaint went on to describe including various alleged manipulations and assaults of the plaintiff, including a 2022 sodomy rape of slave by Gaiman. Accompanied by alleged 2022 WhatsApp messages from Pavlovich saying things like It was consensual how many times do I have to fucking tell everyone and I am consumed by thoughts of you, the things you will do to me. Im so hungry, Gaiman and his lawyers also lay emphasis on geography almost as much as denial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No matter what Plaintiff says happened, it all happened in New Zealand between a New Zealand citizen and a New Zealand permanent resident, the brief asserts. There is no legal authority to adjudicate her lawsuit in federal court in Wisconsin, or in other federal courts around the United States, the filing adds, with a declaration from Gaiman listing over a dozen people in NZ and the USA who will back his version of events. Pavlovichs claims are false, but there is no dispute that all of the conduct alleged in the Complaint occurred in New Zealand, the proper forum, if any, for this lawsuit. Lawyers for Pavlovich did not respond to request for comment from Deadline on Gaimans dismissal filing. In early February, Palmer wrote in part on Instagram: I deny the allegations and will respond in due course. Sued in two separate states, the Dresden Dolls co-founder does not appear to have officially responded in the courts as of March 4. Pavlovichs claims track with New York Magazines There Is No Safe Word piece by Lila Shapiro from earlier this year. They also match allegations made by Pavlovich and seven different women against Gaiman. That New York Magazine article drew from Tortoise Medias six-part podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman from last summer. In a January 14 posting, Gaiman said in his first response: As I reflect on my past and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged I dont accept there was any abuse. To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. The claims against Gaiman from seven women and Pavlovich have seen the author/filmmaker dumped by CAA and his UK agent Casarotto Ramsay & Associates client list. Additionally, Anansi Boys publisher Dark Horse Comics has dropped the once-acclaimed scribe, and a UK stage production of Coraline was canceled in the last days of January. As allegations against Gaiman grew, Season 3 of Amazon Prime Videos Good Omens was scaled back to a 90-minute episode and Disney paused production on its big screen adaptation of The Graveyard Book. Netflix announced on January 31 that the upcoming second season of the acclaimed The Sandman will be the last, with a proposed Season 3 scrapped. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Neil Gaiman has called a former nannys rape allegations against him a sham, claiming WhatsApp messages prove his innocence. In February, a lawsuit was filed against Gaiman, writer of Good Omens and The Sandman, and his ex-wife Amanda Palmer that alleged that Gaimain had repeatedly raped and assaulted Scarlett Pavlovich while she was working for his family in New Zealand in 2022. More from The Hollywood Reporter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pavlovich additionally claims she told Palmer that she was assaulted, adding that Palmer was not shocked and allegedly knew of past incidents of sexual misconduct by Gaiman. Pavlovichs initial suit includes claims of sexual assault, battery and human trafficking. Now, Gaiman has filed to dismiss the suit, saying, None of Pavlovichs claims are true. She is a fantasist who has fabricated a tale of abuse against me and Ms. Palmer. Gaiman points to WhatsApp messages between him and Pavlovich that he says show the relationship was consensual and Pavlovich was an enthusiastic participant who initiated many of our sexual encounters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The text screenshots include a message Gaiman purportedly received saying: I am consumed by thoughts of you, the things you will do to me. Im so hungry. What a terrible creature youve turned me into. His lawyers also explain that New Zealand police thoroughly investigated Ms Pavlovichs claims but no charges were brought and police closed the investigation in April 2024. Pavlovich first spoke out about her alleged experience in a Tortoise Media podcast last year, later speaking to New York magazine in January as one of eight women accusing Gaiman of assault, abuse and coercion. She said Gaiman and Palmer violated laws on federal human trafficking, with complaints of assault, battery and inflicting emotional distress against Gaiman and negligence against Palmer. At the time, Pavlovich described being sexually assaulted in February 2022, when she was 22, by Gaiman in New Zealand in a backyard bathtub. She also alleged Gaiman assaulted her under the blankets on a hotel room bed while his son played with an iPad in the same room. Gaimans reps denied this claim at the time, calling them false, not to mention, deplorable, to the magazine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palmer took to Instagram days after the suit was filed and said that she will not respond to the specific allegations being made against me except to say that I deny the allegations and will respond in due course. My heart goes out to all survivors. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Mar. 4WILKES-BARRE John Augustine III, President/CEO at Penn's Northeast, on Tuesday said the recognition of Northeastern Pennsylvania as one of the top locations in the U.S. for economic development projects is a huge deal. "This ranking represents the more than 25 companies that weren't here in our area two years ago," Augustine said. "The ranking represents that the tremendous growth in the region and the new investments and, most importantly, it represents the thousands of jobs that were created because of that." And Augustine quickly added that those thousands of new jobs pay "family-sustaining" wages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Competition raises wages that's a fact," Augustine said. For the fifth consecutive year, Northeastern Pennsylvania has been recognized as one of the top locations in the United States for economic development projects. "This year, the region ranked in the Top 10 for both the number of projects and projects per capita," Augustine said. NEPA the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region ranked 9th in the 2024 Tier 2 Top Metros by total projects, 25; and the region ranked 8th for per capita. The prestigious Governor's Cup Awards, produced annually by Site Selection Magazine, ranks the top regions in the U.S. based on completed economic development projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Augustine said the ranking highlights the region's continued success in attracting and expanding businesses. "Companies pay attention to the rankings that Site Selection puts out," Augustine said. "It really is the industry's go-to standard as far as how competitive states and regions are. So for NEPA to be ranked in the Top 1o in two categories is remarkable." Augustine said the high ranking is proof positive that companies are specifically selecting NEPA to do business. "In recent years, these companies have literally invested billions of dollars to locate in the region," Augustine said. "They invest in buildings, infrastructure, machinery, equipment and, more importantly, employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Augustine said Penn's Northeast, the regional economic development agency, played a key role in compiling and submitting a comprehensive list of qualifying projects that contributed to this recognition. "This is a competitive process that takes place across the country every year," Augustine said. "Northeastern PA continues to be a region of choice for top companies and developers. There's no question our location continues to be one of the strongest selling points. You can reach one-third of the United States and half of Canada in a one-day's drive from Northeastern Pennsylvania." Augustine said companies continue to recognize this advantage as they need to get their products to market and consumers as quickly as possible. "In addition to our strategic location, reliable utilities, and dedicated workforce, our amazing education network makes Northeastern Pennsylvania a top-tier destination for business growth," Augustine said. "The results show that companies looking to expand continue to choose our region as a prime location. We continue to experience unprecedented growth, not just in warehouse distribution, but also in manufacturing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Augustine further emphasized the region's future prospects. "With ongoing infrastructure investments and a strong collaboration between the public and private sectors, Northeastern Pennsylvania is well-positioned to remain a leader in economic development for years to come," Augustine said. Site Selection Magazine, produced by Conway Data, is a bi-monthly publication recognized as a leading source for corporate real estate, facility planning, location analysis, and foreign direct investment. The Governor's Cup Awards are highly regarded within the industry and serve as a benchmark for regional economic success. About Penn's Northeast Inc. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1151 Oak St., Pittston, PA 18640 Penn's Northeast is a public-private partnership dedicated to attracting quality employers to Northeastern Pennsylvania and strengthening the regional economy through new investments and job creation. For information about Penn's Northeast, visit www.pennsnortheast.com or call 1-800-317-1313. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government will reserve 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to continue its support for Ukraine in 2026, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Wednesday. Schoof said the funds would ensure Dutch support would continue unchanged next year, adding that the money could also be used in 2025 if necessary. The previous Dutch government had already earmarked a comparable sum for support through 2025. The prime minister said 700 million euros from those funds would be used to invest in drones for Ukraine. ($1 = 0.9270 euros) (Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Daniel Wallis) A Brooklyn gang member will spend 35 years behind bars for gunning down a former federal witness because she beat up their gangs leader in a beef over fireworks. Quintin Green, 24, and a second member of the Ninedees Gang murdered Shatavia Walls at the behest of their gang boss Maliek Miller, on July 7, 2020. Walls, who testified in a federal trial after she was shot in 2017, wanted to make peace with Miller after the 2020 Fourth of July confrontation, but the gang leader wouldnt have it, telling his crew, F her. Shes a rat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brooklyn Federal Court Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall sentenced Green Wednesday, though the length of his term was set in stone because of the type of plea deal negotiated between prosecutors and his lawyers. He was the shooter that pursued her, chased her down, knocked her down with his shots, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Dean said Wednesday, pointing out that Green wrote a Facebook post declaring Walls killing the work of the Ninedees gang. Walls, 33, was caught in the middle of a decadelong gang beef in East New Yorks Pink Houses, where the Ninedees and their allies controlled buildings Nos. 5 and 6, and the Makk Balla Brims ran buildings Nos. 7 and 8. Her husband was a high-ranking Brims member. After Walls was shot in 2017 by members of the Loopy Gang, she testified against her shooter and she was forever labeled a rat after that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fast-forward to July 4, 2020, when Walls and Miller, the Ninedees leader, got into a fight over fireworks at the housing complex. She got the better of Miller and his cousin in the scrap, and for that, she had to die. Green attended several meetings planning out Walls killing, and on the day of the murder, he and another gang member, Joe Santana, were the crews designated shooters, according to court documents. They caught her walking alone on an outdoor path that night and flanked her Green sprayed bullets at her and chased her toward Santana. Green dropped her to the ground with his shots, and kept on shooting her after she fell. Miller was convicted of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering last June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green and Santana, who were 19 and 16 at the time of the shooting, both took plea deals before Millers trial. Greens lawyer, John Burke, highlighted how abuse and instability in his childhood led him to idolize gang members and join a gang as a young teenager. He was born to a 14-year-old mother who went on to have three more daughters, then lost custody, regained it, and lost it again. Green was living with extended family in North Carolina, then lived in a domestic violence shelter and a homeless shelter when his mother regained custody, then was placed into foster care before living with a cousin whose sons were gangbangers. His life is something out of a Dickens novel, but its worse, Burke said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green told the judge he was deeply sorry for the shooting, saying, I want the family to know that I know what I did was unacceptable. I had no right to do what I did, he said. I chose to be in a gang, which put me in this courtroom today. Hall said she believed Greens remorse to be genuine, but added, You were a young man, yes, but the choice you made is one that no one can walk away from. Youre not allowed to take a life and continue to waste yours. John Durham, interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said, Quintin Green shot an unarmed woman in cold blood to make a name for himself in the gang, but he should be called out for what he truly is, a cowardly killer. He deservedly will spend decades in a federal prison. A New Jersey high school student was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly bringing a knife to school and threatening their classmates, according to police. The 17-year-old student has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and making terroristic threats after threatening two other students, the South Brunswick Police Department said in a news statement. The teens identity was not made public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident occurred at South Brunswick High School shortly after 2 p.m., when two students reported the threats to a school resource officer, who abruptly put the school on lockdown. A dozen South Brunswick police officers responded to the scene, where they found the student in a classroom with a folding knife. The lockdown was lifted less than an hour later after the suspect was taken into custody. While there were no injuries reported, police said theyd be an added law enforcement presence at the school for the next few days. South Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County about 40 miles south of New York City. WHARTON, N.J. (PIX11) Residents in Wharton believe the sinkholes on Interstate 80 have caused structural damage to their apartment building, The Avalon, just feet away from the construction. Residents said there are major cracks on their walls and ceilings that did not exist prior to the first sinkhole opening up in December. More Local News I do not feel safe living here at the moment, said resident Anthony Colonna. We havent seen any of these cracks developing until the last few weeks. This is all very recent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The walls are cracking more often, said resident Karina Lozano. The floors are dipping. Theres separation between the carpet and the trim. Everythings happening so rapidly. Thats what makes it very concerning. Residents led Wharton Mayor Bill Chegwidden on a tour of the property Tuesday. I-80 repairs in NJ to take longer than expected due to significant void: DOT Chegwidden said the property owners spent $2 million filling in underground voids before beginning construction over a decade ago. He believes the cracks are simply due to settlement. I am not concerned, said Chegwidden. I happened to sit on the planning board at that time also, and we know they went through all the proper channels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents believe they deserve more transparency from management. PIX11 News called The Avalon and spoke to someone on the property but has not yet received comment on the concerns. Weve contacted The Avalon customer care, said Colonna. Weve had multiple residents contact the office with no response. They say that their lawyers need to review everything first. So were just demanding some answers because it doesnt feel safe living here right now. Residents said they want the option to break their leases without penalty. PIX11 News also reached out to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for comment but has not heard back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Drew Lovelace, acting director of the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, speaks at a news conference at the New Mexico Legislature on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) New Mexicos broadband agency is no longer seeking tens of millions of dollars to help cover the cost of connecting to satellite high-speed internet money that officials expected would have gone to Elon Musks satellite internet provider. The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion last November asked the Legislative Finance Committee for $70 million to help cover the cost of connecting to satellite high-speed internet. The committee makes budgetary recommendations to the full Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As OBAE Director Drew Lovelace previously told Source NM, the only satellite internet provider in the market with satellites close enough to the planets surface for high-speed internet would be Musks Starlink. Other companies have satellites farther away into space, but to his knowledge, none provide a fast enough connection speed. Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency has prompted protests across the country, including in Las Cruces in southern New Mexico on Saturday, for its dismantling of federal government agencies. In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Lovelace said the proposal is probably dead at this point, unfortunately. Lovelace said his office asked for the money to be included as a one-time appropriation in House Bill 2, the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but the House Appropriations and Finance Committee didnt include it. He said he thinks it is more than likely the Senate Finance Committee also will not include the $70 million in the final budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve had a lot of discussion with legislators, and I think theres concerns around there being only one provider on the market as one issue, he said. A lot of the rural legislators have also expressed concerns about wanting to put that money toward actual infrastructure thats going to stay in the state. Lovelace spoke after a news conference touting $13.5 million in grants awarded to internet service providers who will provide free high-speed internet to students in Belen, Gadsden, Cibola County, Hatch Valley, Los Lunas, Ohkay Owingeh and Quemado. Those grants come from OBAEs Student Connect program. Lovelace said his alternative to the Starlink pitch is for lawmakers to add another $20 million to Student Connect. The benefit of us pivoting to the Student Connect is we can go after some of those students and make sure they have the right connectivity using wireless, which is also pretty quick, Lovelace said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill McCamley, a podcaster and a former cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, said Tuesday he is happy the Starlink proposal is not moving forward. I think its going to be better for the service provision for people in rural areas, McCamley said. I would have been very uncomfortable having tax dollars that I pay to the state go to fund Elon Musk, with what I know hes doing to destroy a lot of the things I think are important, and I think a lot of Americans and New Mexicans feel the same way. McCamley said he had a hand in organizing a protest against Musk on Saturday in Las Cruces, where he told people about his sister who is a doctor with the Veterans Administration who received a letter containing a deferred resignation offer. This is an attempt by the Project 2025 people to try to shrink government and shrink services so they can give tax cuts to billionaires, he said. Thats not something many Americans are welcoming right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Cleared the floors The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 387, which would increase the amount the New Mexico Public Education department can award to community schools; Senate Bill 249, which would direct managed care organizations to fully reimburse health providers for sales taxes on their services, as well as give them documentation showing the difference between the reimbursement and the tax; and Senate Bill 63, which would establish procedures for retiring a state flag that is no longer used or useful. The Senate also unanimously passed Senate Bill 179, which would allow electronic disclosures for rental agreements; and Senate Bill 236, which would create a motorcycle-size Look Twice for Motorcycle Safety license plate. Previous legislation created a car-sized license plate with that message. The Senate voted 23-16 on Senate Bill 59, which requires that workers doing off-site fabrication for publicly funded projects receive the same prevailing wage and benefits received by on-site workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate voted 25-15 on Senate Bill 37, which would create a fund for the Strategic Water Reserve overseen by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, not to be confused with the governors proposed Strategic Water Supply. In a 16-23 vote, the Senate failed to pass Senate Bill 186, which would have changed the way multi-family housing is valued for taxes. The House on Tuesday passed House Bill 143, which would require lobbyists or their employers to file an additional activity report on legislation that the filer either lobbied in support of or opposition to; and House Bill 206, which would authorize the New Mexico Finance Authority to make loans or grants to 62 water infrastructure projects. Sponsors of the lobbyist transparency bill have pointed to the Cicero Institute, a billionaire-backed think tank based in Texas that hired two high-powered lobbyists this session. What bills are they lobbying for or against? The public does not know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House also unanimously passed three bills making changes to the states Children Youth and Families Department. House Bill 5, which would create an independent Office of the Child Advocate attached to the New Mexico Attorney General. The advocate would have a six-year term and be appointed by a committee of nine members from all three branches of government. House Bill 203, which would require CYFD to back up all electronic records, including emails, texts, instant messages and interagency communications. House Bill 205, which would move the program for substance-addicted newborns out of CYFD and under the New Mexico Health Care Authority; establish a nominating commission for CYFD leadership; beef up the Substitute Care Advisory Council and move it under the New Mexico Attorney Generals office; and require CYFD to implement evidence-based prevention services qualifying for federal funds. All three bills now head to the Senate for committee assignments, and a full Senate vote. Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta (D-Tohajiilee) a co-sponsor on HB5 told Source NM after the vote that she believes the bill has time to advance through the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im very excited about todays results, she said in a phone call. It proved that the House is unanimous in our consensus that something needs to change, and HB5 is going to be what will help give our children a voice. CYFD officials have objected to the bill, saying that housing the Office of the Child Advocate in the attorney generals office creates a conflict of interest for the state, and suggested placing it in the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department instead. Abeyta said thats not on the table. Im not willing to amend that part of my legislation, she said. We need an impartial office thats going to be willing to hear these tough concerns, address them and then provide some solutions and report back to the Legislature; and in our opinion, theres no other entity thats more ready to do that than the AGs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abeyta said her experience growing up in kinship care, raised by her grandmother, and her care for her nephews shaped the bill. I am hopeful that the governor will see that HB5 is really a way to empower our children who are in state custody to have a voice and to have a safe, impartial space where they will find an advocate who will help them because our kids need advocates, she said. Bill watch A bill to give New Mexico the power to permit pollution in its rivers and streams advanced through the House Agriculture and Acequias committee on a 5-2 vote. Senate Bill 21 now heads to its second committee, House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources. If passed, it would need to clear a full House vote and receive the governors signature to become law. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 9, which would increase the cap on civil penalties for violations of the Pipeline Safety Act from $100,000 to $1 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate Conservation Committee passed Senate Bill 470, which would limit requests for impounding water for cattle to ranchers; House Bill 91, which would allow the Public Regulation Commission to consider a rate structure to charge low-income customers less for electricity. The Senate Conservation Committee also endorsed a memorial seeking to protect Mount Taylor from uranium mining, citing its cultural and historical significance. The move comes after the Cibola National Forest Supervisor, in a meeting recording obtained by Source New Mexico, announced two long-dormant uranium mine proposals would become priority projects. The memorial is nonbinding, but two Republicans voted against it anyway, because they were concerned about the memorials potential impact on private property owners. The Senate Finance Committee passed Senate Bill 18, which would create the crime of SWATing and make it a fourth-degree felony; Senate Bill 70, which would add 11 predicate crimes to the definition of racketeering; and Senate Bill 274, which would raise the thresholds for state approval of property sales by state agencies, counties, school districts, special districts, and community colleges from $5,000 to $30,000. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed a substitute version of House Bill 437, which would allow foster care organizations to receive a tax credit for donations; House Bill 465, which would protect nurses who believe an assignment from a provider exceeds their competencies or is unreasonable; and House Bill 503, which would create a right to a lawyer in the courts domestic relations mediation program. The House Appropriations and Finance Committee passed House Bill 167, which would require the Higher Education Department to provide free high school equivalency testing; and House Bill 209, which would require the Department of Information Technology to add links to the states Sunshine Portal that direct users to the state law creating each fund listed under the New Mexico Compilation Commissions website. The House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 62, which would consolidate the scattered statutes that give the AG power to seek information prior to filing a lawsuit through a civil investigative demand; House Bill 217, which would enable an interstate compact for counselors; House Bill 243, which would enable a compact for psychologists; a substitute version of House Bill 296, which would allow certified accountants to work in New Mexico without paying a certification fee; and House Bill 323, which would allow unlicensed engineers to work wherever their employer has an easement or right-of-way. The House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee passed a substitute version of Senate Bill 23, which would raise oil and gas royalty rates; and a substitute version of Senate Bill 33, which would establish a task force for wildfire preparedness and response, create a fund and help buildings and homes be more prepared for wildfire. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) called President Trump out of his mind after he pledged that the United States would plant the American flag on Mars and balance the federal budget before leaving office. Mars, were going to Mars, Durbin joked with ironic enthusiasm. Then he pivoted to Trumps pledge to balance the federal budget, despite pushing for an extension of the expiring 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is projected to cost $4.6 trillion over 10 years, and exempt Social Security benefits from taxation, which is projected to cost another $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes going to balance the budget by charging people $5 million to buy their citizenship. He says that will balance the budget. Hes out of his mind, Durbin said. None of it adds up, but it never does with him. Just remember were going to plant a flag on Mars, he added. Balance the budget on Mars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Video above: President Trump promises sweeping changes in joint address to Congress TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida made a silent statement while walking out of President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress on Tuesday. This came in the tense moments following Rep. Al Greens (D-Texas) ejection from the chamber after he stood up from his seat and criticized the president. 5 takeaways from Trumps address to Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frost was among several Democrats who left shortly after Greens ejection, including Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), who also displayed messages to Trump on their shirts. The president spent much of his speech, the longest address to Congress in modern history, mocking and cajoling the minority party. A release from Frosts office said the walkout sent a loud and clear message that Democrats will fight tooth and nail to protect democracy. (Courtesy Rep. Maxwell Frost) While walking out of the room, Frost turned his back to Trump and took off his suit jacket to reveal he was wearing a T-shirt with the phrase no kings live here printed on it. This comes amid criticism from Democrats that Trump views himself, and governs the country, like a king. Donald Trump is many things a liar, a grifter, a wanna-be-dictator but no matter how hard he tries and how many Republicans in Congress bend the knee and kiss the ring: he will never be king, Frost said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Democrats called out during the speech, while some performed silent protests. Some held up signs reading Musk Steals, Save Medicaid, and This is not normal. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) displayed various messages on a whiteboard. Many Democrats dressed in blue and yellow in support of Ukraine after Trumps tense exchange with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and his move to withhold military aid from the war-torn country. Other female Democrats wore white or pink to highlight how Trumps policies affect women and girls. Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus dressed in black to protest. The people of this country are seeing right through the lies, Frost said. We wont let up. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. French President Emmanuel Macron has no immediate plans to travel to Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his office said, denying speculation about such a visit. Spokeswoman Sophie Primas said on Wednesday that a trip by the three leaders was "possible," but that it was "not planned." Macron is set to address the nation in a televised speech on Wednesday evening, with the main topic likely to be the war in Ukraine. Macron and Starmer have spearheaded Europe's efforts to shore up support for Ukraine after Trump's relationship with Zelensky deteriorated. The US froze military support for Kiev this week. The deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife remain a mystery as authorities confirm there were "no significant findings" of carbon monoxide or gas leaks at their New Mexico home. The New Mexico Gas Co. conducted an investigation after the Oscar-winning actor; his wife, Betsy Arakawa; and their dog were found dead last week. Authorities found Hackman, 95, in a mudroom near the kitchen of his Santa Fe home, according to a search warrant. Arakawa, 65, was on the floor of a bathroom, and a German shepherd was discovered about 10 feet from her in a closet in the bathroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two other dogs were found alive on the property. On Tuesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released a brief update on the investigation, saying it had received the gas company's findings. "Those results are not believed to be a factor in the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa or their dog though the information was relayed to the Office of the Medical Investigator for consideration," the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office added that the gas company issued five red tags: one for a minuscule, nonlethal leak at one of the stove burners and four for code enforcement violations not involving leaks or carbon monoxide. The violations involved a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces, the sheriff's office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gas company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Authorities have said the deaths are "suspicious," but Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said he's "confident theres no foul play" involved. The sheriff's office previously said that the medical examiner's preliminary findings found no signs of external trauma. Hackman and his wife may have been dead for several days or possibly weeks before they were found, Mendoza said. The search warrant stated that both bodies showed "obvious signs of death." When Arakawa was found, there was a space heater near her head and a prescription bottle with pills scattered across the counter, the warrant said. The sheriff said the information about the pills had been passed onto the medical investigator to help determine a cause of death. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com President Donald J Trump walks in to the Capitol building's House chamber to address a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Credit - by Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post/ Getty Images In President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, he bragged about restoring free speech to the United States. Ive stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America, Trump said. Its back. But this claim couldnt be further from the truth. Trump has consistently rewarded speech he likes while punishing speech he doesnt. That kind of viewpoint discrimination is exactly what the First Amendment seeks to prevent. In fact, Trumps actions run counter to the spiritif not the textof the First Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While colloquial talk about censorship abounds in contemporary discourse around the internet and how private companies host speech, the First Amendments protections guard against the overreach by the U.S. government against its citizens and even its companies when they engage in free expression. And since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has operationalized his long-held animosity for the tenets of the First Amendment, attacking the independent press, free speech, and peaceful protest. Read More: Trump Uses Big Speech to Spin Alternate Reality of Astronomical Achievements First is Trumps fight with the Associated Press (AP), the countrys preeminent news service and grammatical standard-setter. On Inauguration Day, Trump issued an executive order restoring names that honor American greatness. He renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and Denalis name to Mount McKinley after the Obama administration changed the name of the Alaskan peak to its Athabascan name in 2015. While the AP decided to honor the McKinley name change since the mountain lies specifically within U.S. borders, it detracted from the administration on the Gulf of Mexico decision due to the body of waters nature as an international body. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences, Amanda Barrett, the APs vice president of standards and inclusion wrote on Jan. 23. She noted that the AP Stylebook, which many news organizations follow for guidance on such decisions, would make these changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House retaliated against the AP, kicking its reporters out of presidential briefings in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One. On Feb. 21, the news organization sued three White House officials over the blocked access, saying the decision would infringe on its First Amendment right to freedom of the press as well as its Fifth Amendment right to due process. A Trump-appointed federal district judge in Washington, D.C. declined to immediately grant an injunction ending the policy. It might be a good idea for the White House to think about whether what theyre doing is really appropriate given the case law, Judge Trevor N. McFadden said in court. Among the case law is a suit from former CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who successfully sued to get his White House press credentials restored in 2018 after he was unceremoniously booted from the premises after repeated clashes with Trump. (The judgeanother Trump appointeeonly ruled that Acostas due process rights were violated, declining to weigh in First Amendment questions.) Additionally, Trump moved to further cement his control of the White House press corps on Feb. 25 when the White House announced it would decide who covers Trump day in and day out in the rotating press pool, the small group of reporters on duty to track and report on the president each day wherever he may be. This move from the White House threatens the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president, said Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents Association, which has independently controlled the press pool for decades. The White House insistence to control the press might not create legal problems for the government, but it demonstrates that the administration is unwilling to cede control of its image to the reporters it has contempt for. Moreover, its willing to dangle the promise and threat of access over reporters heads in seeking compliance and lenience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps animosity toward the First Amendment also extended to its guarantee of peaceable assembly. All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday, hours before his speech. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on [sic] the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter. Trump has repeatedly criticized protests on college campuses, particularly those taking issue with Israels war in Gaza. Trumps latest coercion campaign, attempting to turn university administrators against their own students and faculty, harkens back to the McCarthy era and is at odds with American constitutional values and the basic mission of universities, wrote Cecillia Wang, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement. The First Amendment is meant to protect people from the government telling them what speech and ideas are acceptable. Our freedoms are robust, but Trump is seemingly chipping away at them in whatever way he can. At minimum, hes a thorn in the side of Americans civil liberties. And at worst, hes seeking an Orwellian level of control over what Americans say and write in public. Contact us at letters@time.com. BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)A college-to-career services nonprofit is aimed at low-income, first-generation college students. That particular cohort is likely from a racial minority, its CEO said Tuesday. But can they talk about race? For an organization like Thrive Scholars, which has prided itself on ideals like equity and inclusion, the shifting DEI landscape has brought bleak realities, CEO Drew Martin said at a State House briefing. STCC to host International Womens Day Celebration Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trumps administration in January said his executive order would end illegal and radical diversity, equity, and inclusion measures related to weighing things like race, sex, and gender identity in federal hires and promotions. The administration said the move was aimed at restoring the values of individual dignity, hard work, and excellence. Its very, very broad language, and it has scared an awful lot of people on college campuses. Because the belief is that basically everything is fair game, said Martin, a Jamaica Plain native who lives in New Jersey. He added that examples include campus-based Black student unions or cultural clubs, which could be seen as race-based and marked for closure. Thrive Scholars helps high-achieving, first-generation, low-income students to attend and graduate from college. Its six-year Boston program is serving 225 students with plans to eventually scale up to a capacity of 300. Top high schools represented include the John D. OBryant School of Math and Science in Roxbury, Boston Latin School, and Springfield Honors Academy. And we do not, as an institution, prefer one race over the other, but the students that we serve happen to be the way that they look because of where we are recruiting students from, and their backgrounds, Martin said. And it happens to be the case in the United States of America that if you are first-generation and low-income, you are likely to have pigment in your skin tone. Thats just how this stuff plays out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fallout from Trumps executive order has played out on college campuses around Massachusetts. In one high-profile example, Boston University announced it would shutter its five-year-old Antiracist Research Center and that the centers founding director, Ibram Kendi, would be moving on. At Northeastern University, the NU Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office website was scrubbed of explicit DEI language and replaced by a new page titled Belonging at Northeastern, the Huntington News reported. Northeastern is not alone. Thrive Scholars likewise replaced the maligned DEI buzzwords with substitute verbiage, while trying to convey the same meaning, Martin said. Thrives page is now titled Our Commitment to Inclusion & Belonging. It is what Martin termed a survival tactic. I experience severe cognitive dissonance when Im asking our marketing team to change our website, because I dont want to hide what we believe in, but I also dont want to put the organization at risk, Martin said. And we are at risk right now. Were at risk of losing funding. We dont have funding, then we cant support our scholars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thrive is supported by numerous corporate partners, with a Boston sponsorship list that features Fidelity Investments, TJX, State Street, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics, General Electric, BNY Mellon, The Davis Companies, and Liberty Mutual Insurance. Daniel Navisky, the groups Boston executive director, said companies provide really extraordinary amounts of funding along with internship opportunities. But there were no bites when he approached some of them about participating in Tuesdays panel discussion. He told the audience that every single one of them was just a little bit worried about drawing attention to themselves in this moment, when no one knows what kind of retribution they will receive. Attorney General Andrea Campbell and 15 other attorneys general last month issued guidance affirming DEI efforts by private sector employers, calling such employment policies compliant with state and federal civil rights laws. DEI policies also help to reduce litigation risk by affirmatively protecting against discriminatory conduct that violates the law, Campbell and the other AGs said. In addition to its private donations, Thrive has received a state budget earmark in recent years sponsored by Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Jay Livingstone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers last year adopted a $250,000 earmark on the House floor and carried it through into the final fiscal 2025 budget. It amounts to around $1,111 per student in the program. The state funding is a feather in our cap to share with the corporate community, Navisky told the News Service a way to attract attention and more private donations. Crighton on Tuesday pledged his ongoing support as Beacon Hill starts to look at the fiscal 2026 budget, and said that were keeping our mind on whats going on at the federal level and all the constant attacks were facing all over the place. And just know here in Massachusetts, your legislators, for the most part, believe that diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, are all things that make us stronger, the Lynn Democrat added. All things that make us more competitive and things that were going to continue to champion here at the state level, even as we continue to be attacked by the federal level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) In the Trump administrations ongoing effort to cut government spending, the General Services Administration announced Tuesday that it is looking to offload more than 400 federal properties, with two of them in Hampton Roads. Both of the properties are in downtown Norfolk the Federal Building at 200 Granby Street and the historic Owen B. Pickett U.S. Custom House at 101 East Main Street. Both have been identified as non-core assets that are either underutilized or cost to much to maintain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency maintains it could potentially save more than $430 million in annual operating costs by shedding the identified properties. Decades of funding deficiencies have resulted in many of these buildings becoming functionally obsolete and unsuitable for use by our federal workforce, GSA said in a statement. We can no longer hope that funding will emerge to resolve these longstanding issues. GSAs decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities. The two Norfolk buildings account for nearly 189,000 square feet of office space. The Owen B Pickett US Customs House has sat on East Main Street since 1858 and is on the National Register of Historic Places (Courtesy: General Services Administration) In total 28 in Virginia made the list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are three federal properties from North Carolina on the list, including the U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, a federal complex in Asheville and a building in Raleigh. Built in 1858, the Customs House is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been home to the U.S. Customs Service for more than 135 years. Its one of the last examples of a federal building using the Roman temple form according to GSA. The eight-story Norfolk Federal Building was completed in 1980 and serves as the local home base for numerous federal agencies such as I.C.E., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and OSHA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Two Jacksonville State lawmakers are taking aim at local DEI efforts, filing legislation prohibiting any ordinances, rules, programs and policies that relate to diversity, equity and inclusion. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The battle over DEI pit Jacksonvilles city council against Mayor Donna Deegan soon after she took office when she created the position of Chief of Diversity and Inclusion within her administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Council ultimately defunded it, and this year the mayor reconfigured the position into the Chief of Analytics. Even still, the battle has now moved into the halls of the State Capitol. State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee) and State Senator Clay Yarbrough (R-Jacksonville) filed bills in the House and Senate that would prohibit local officials from imposing any ordinance, regulation, rule or programs related to DEI. Anywhere that youre engaged in ideological extremism of this type, where youre dividing people, that needs to stop, said Black. Under the bill, citizens could sue for damages if they believe a policy put them at a disadvantage and local officials who vote for DEI policies would be guilty of malfeasance and could be removed from office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I honestly regret that were spending so much time on this conversation. I think that its sort of become a boogeyman conversation, said Deegan. Mayor Deegan argued its not clear how far-reaching the bills impact would be and suggested it could even capture things like the citys Human Rights Commission and programs meant to help people with disabilities. Because they are technically DEI also. So, theres all sorts of things you really have to look at when youre looking at all of this and I dont know how thats going to affect all those things, said Deegan. We asked Black what specific policies the legislation is aimed at preventing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He indicated its a question that would have to play out on a case-by-case basis. If youre engaged in promoting DEI, what we commonly refer to as that, well youre probably going to run afoul of this statute, said Black. The bill still has a long way to go. Its not yet been referenced to committees in the Senate. Action News Jax will continue to follow the bills progress during this legislative session. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. A small group of Northern Cambria residents gathered Tuesday to share their thoughts on the potential closure of the high school, with many more concerned about what happens next rather than the decision itself. Meeting at the Northern Cambria Elementary/Middle School, according to our media partners at The Tribune-Democrat, attendees voiced opinions on the fate of the high school building if the district moves forward with reconfiguration. Former school director Dolly Sasway, who served for 14 years, said selling the building to another entity would prevent it from becoming a financial burden on the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joseph Hetrick echoed that concern, stating that keeping the high school after its closure would waste taxpayer money. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. School officials have not yet announced a final decision on the high schools future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Norwich A 40-year-old Norwich man was charged Tuesday for spray painting swastikas at several locations across the city's west side last month. David Dionne, of 93 Briar Lane, is charged with breach of peace and third-degree criminal mischief, Norwich police said Tuesday. Police said investigators used surveillance video and interviews to find out who spray-painted swastikas on Route 82-Salem Turnpike and on banners hung from the Interstate 395 highway overpass at Exit 11 on Feb. 21. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A large swastika was painted in black with the word TRUMP in white block letters on Salem Turnpike at the intersection with Route 82. Photos were posted on social media of the image, and a concerned citizen sent a photo to city officials. The Beth Jacob Synagogue and offices for the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut are located nearby on New London Turnpike. City police are still seeking information about this incident and can be reached at 860-886-5561. (NEXSTAR) As President Donald Trump entered the room Tuesday night, preparing to address both houses of Congress, he shook hands with Republicans lined up to see him. Just over the presidents shoulder you may have spotted a small, handwritten sign. It read, This is NOT Normal, in black ink. The sign was held up by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat representing New Mexicos 1st District in the House of Representatives, which covers the Albuquerque area. 9 states report measles cases as outbreaks grow Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few seconds later, as Trump makes his way down the line of supporters, you can see the sign ripped out of Stansburys hands by Lance Gooden, a House Republican from Texas. Stansbury continues to stand, not clapping, as Trump makes his way toward the dais. President Donald Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress as Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., holds a sign reading, This is NOT normal, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP) Stansbury, a New Mexico native, first took national office in 2021, filling a seat vacated when Rep. Deb Haaland was tapped as former President Joe Bidens Secretary of Interior. Before joining the House of Representatives, she served in the state legislature as a Senate committee staffer and in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Her platform positions include protecting natural resources, fighting climate change and addressing food insecurity. Joann store closures: See the list of nearly 800 locations headed for sale Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Trump took office in January, Stansbury has advocated for containing the measles outbreak (which is growing in New Mexico) and protecting programs serving Native American tribes. Stansbury wasnt the only Democrat to protest Trumps speech. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the chamber by the House sergeant-at-arms after he stood up and heckled the president during his remarks. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, is removed from the chamber as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP) Another group of House Democrats turned their backs during the speech, revealing messages directed at the president written on the backs of their black t-shirts. Some read RESIST and another said No Kings live here, the Hill reported. They then walked out of the chamber of their own accord. As the speech went on for more than an hour, other Democrats also left the room. The remarks ultimately clocked in at 99 minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. When you think of innovative advancements in nuclear power technology, places like the Idaho National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology probably come to mind. But today, some very exciting nuclear power development work is being done in West Texas, specifically, at Abilene Christian University (ACU). Thats where Natura Resources is working to construct a molten saltcooled, liquid-fueled reactor (MSR). We are in the process of building, most likely, the countrys first advanced nuclear reactor, Doug Robison, founder and CEO of Natura Resources, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. Natura has taken an iterative, milestone-based approach to advanced reactor development and deployment, focused on efficiency and performance. This started in 2020 when the company brought together ACUs NEXT Lab with Texas A&M University; the University of Texas, Austin; and the Georgia Institute of Technology to form the Natura Resources Research Alliance. In only four years, Natura and its partners developed a unique nuclear power system and successfully licensed the design. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit for deployment of the system at ACU last September. Called the MSR-1, ACUs unit will be a 1-MWth molten salt research reactor (MSRR). It is expected to provide valuable operational data to support Naturas 100-MWe systems. It will also serve as a world-class research tool to train advanced reactor operators and educate students, the company said. Advantages of MSR Technology The technology is not new. It was actually proven decades ago. A molten salt reactor was built at Oak Ridge in the 1960sthe Molten Salt Reactor Experiment or the MSREand that reactor functioned for about five years, then was shelved in favor of solid-fuel or light-water reactors [LWRs] that were all familiar with, Robison explained. That was really a decision made because the customer in the 1960s was the Department of Defense, and Admiral Rickover was building a nuclear Navy, and they needed to enrich uranium to plutonium for warheads, and solid fuel reactors are more suited for those purposes, Robison added. The coolant is one of the main differences between LWRs and MSRs. As the names imply, an LWR is cooled by water, while an MSR is cooled by molten salt. LWRs require thick pressure vessels and high-pressure piping to safely contain pressurized water, provide radiation shielding, and ensure long-term structural integrity. Today, there are no U.S. manufacturers with the capability to forge a large nuclear reactor vessel, so they must be sourced overseas. Notably, molten salt turns from a solid to a liquid at about 450C, but it doesnt turn to a gas until about 1,400C, which is above the melting point of stainless steel. What that means is you can never get to the point to where the salt flashes to a steam, so we operate at very, very high temperatures, which is a big advantage because the high process heatfrom an efficiency standpoint and manufacturing standpointis incredibly valuable, but we operate at atmospheric pressure, because the salt never transfers into a gas. It goes from a solid to a liquid. And, if you were to have some kind of leak or release, once you drop below 450 degrees C, it immediately freezes back into a solid, so kind of picture candle wax, if you will. So, its called walk-away safe for that reason. You dont need a containment dome, explained Robison. These factors significantly reduce the cost of MSR facilities compared to LWR plants. MSR reactor vessels, for example, can be manufactured by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama, and perhaps elsewhere in the U.S. Robison said everything needed to construct an MSR can be made in America, and he expects much of it to be manufactured in Texas. Governor Abbott has said, We want Texas to capture this industry, noted Robison. Houston, Texas refers to itself as the energy capital of the world. So, weve been working with the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Energy Transition Initiative [to answer the question] How does that manufacturing happen not just in the U.S., but how does it happen in Texas? Liquid fuel also provides an advantage for MSRs versus the LWRs solid-fuel design. [In] the solid-fueled reactor, you have the fuel inside the fuel rod. And under current technology, when you burn 3% to 5% of the fuel, then at that point, the rod begins to decay. That is your first level of containment, so you have to pull the rod. That now becomes spent nuclear fuel and enters into the waste stream. You still have 95% to 97% of perfectly good fuel inside that fuel rod. And now the problem becomes: What do we do with this nuclear waste thats going to be around for 100,000 years? In an MSR, the fuel is dissolved in the salt. What that means is we burn practically 100% of the fuel. We do not throw unspent nuclear fuel away, and so our efficiency goes way up. We do not generate the waste that you see with a light-water reactor, said Robison. In fact, molten salt reactors can utilize current stockpiles of spent nuclear fuel that is sitting in storage at different nuclear reactors around the nation, and we can take that fuel, and re-utilize that as fuel for a molten salt reactor. Commercial Projects Announced Natura is not only focused on its ACU project, but it is also moving forward on commercial reactor projects. In February, the company announced the deployment of two advanced nuclear projects, which are also in Texas. These deployments, located in the Permian Basin and at Texas A&M Universitys RELLIS Campus, represent significant strides in addressing energy and water needs in the state. Our first was a deployment of a Natura commercial reactor in the Permian Basin, which is where I spent my career. Were partnering with a Texas produced-water consortium that was created by the legislature in 2021, said Robison. Produced water is the water brought to the surface during oil and gas extraction processes. It is a byproduct of hydrocarbon production and typically consists of formation water that was originally present in the underground reservoir, along with additional water introduced during extraction operations. It typically has a salinity that is three times that of seawater, but it can be double or triple that in some instances. In any case, it cannot be released on the surface and must currently be reinjected back into the formation, which can create additional problems. One of the things that can be done with the high process heat from an MSR is desalinization. So, were going to be desalinating produced water and providing powerclean powerto the oil and gas industry for their operations in the Permian Basin, said Robison. Meanwhile, at Texas A&Ms RELLIS Campus, which is located about eight miles northwest of the universitys main campus in College Station, Texas, a Natura MSR-100 reactor will be deployed. The initiative is part of a broader project known as The Energy Proving Ground, which involves multiple nuclear reactor companies. The project aims to bring commercial-ready small modular reactors (SMRs) to the site, providing a reliable source of clean energy for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Robison believes the Stargate Project, a massive $500 billion initiative aimed at building advanced hyperscale data centers across the U.S. to power next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) models, could also present an opportunity for Natura. The very first deployment of Stargate is scheduled to be in Abilene, Texas. We can actually see the data center thats being constructed from the windows of our offices, he said. We may see something happen there just given the proximity of what theyre doing and what were doing, Robison envisaged. To hear the full interview with Robison, which contains more about the creation of Natura Resources, the selection of MSR technology for its design, its collaboration with ACU, the work done to license the reactor, and much more, listen to The POWER Podcast. Click on the SoundCloud player below to listen in your browser now or use the following links to reach the show page on your favorite podcast platform: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The POWER Podcast 184. Nuclear Power Renaissance Underway in West Texas For more power podcasts, visit The POWER Podcast archives. Aaron Larson is POWERs executive editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine). The number of asylum appeals before German administrative courts once again rose significantly in 2024, according to a report on Wednesday from a newspaper published by the German Association of Judges. In 2024, the courts received more than 100,000 new cases. In 2023, there were just under 72,000 cases and in 2022 around 62,000, according to the Deutsche Richterzeitung, or German judges' newspaper, which surveyed the relevant regional ministries to determine the figures. In 2017 and 2018, the number of appeals from rejected asylum seekers was significantly higher but then fell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement German administrative courts are now having to contend with growing numbers of cases again because the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has started processing pending asylum procedures from previous years more quickly. Last year, there were exactly 100,494 new main proceedings, an increase of 62% compared to 2022. The western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, reported the highest figures with 19,267 procedures, followed in second and third place by Bavaria (15,278) and Baden-Wurttemberg (12,755). Brandenburg (up 134% to 6,138 cases) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (up 116% to 2,647) recorded by far the highest increases in a two-year comparison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The long processing times have recently become somewhat shorter, but are still well above the target of no more than six months agreed to by state leaders. Only the small western state of Rhineland-Palatinate is achieving that target, with average processing times of 5.4 months. Sven Rebehn, the managing director of the judges' association, said the courts are "gradually getting ahead of the wave" but with the current growth "the trend could stall again." More judges are needed to speed up the process, he said. The number of Russian assault actions on the Pokrovsk front continues to decline, although the Russians are still managing to deploy new units. Source: DeepState analytical project Quote: "Another record-low number of only 17 combat clashes was recorded yesterday, 4 March. The graph illustrates the trend since the beginning of 2025. The blue line represents the six-day trend. The dynamics of the Russian assault actions on the Pokrovsk front Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the enemy is still managing to deploy new units. For example, to assault the village of Uspenivka, the enemy deployed a new unit in the village of Novovasylivka, and their dead bodies are already scattered in Uspenivka." Details: As of 16:00 on 5 March, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops had attempted 11 assaults on Ukrainian positions near the settlements of Yelyzavetivka, Promin, Pishchane, Kotlyne, Bohdanivka, Kotliarivka and Andriivka. Ukrainian defence forces repelled all attacks. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! CANEHILL, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Lena Smith, a visually impaired artist, won the 2024 Rare Artist Award, and received a trip to Washington D.C. during which she advocated for other visually impaired Arkansans. I was born with a rare disease called granular corneal dystrophy. And its in both eyes. And I knew that eventually Id be losing my eyesight. So, I had to live what I call mad, hard, and furious while I still had really good vision, Smith said. Before her vision declined, Smith worked as a wedding photographer for 20 years, until her condition forced her to retire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NWA family receives help from flying organization after tumor diagnosis I retired about nine years ago and started to pick up different avenues of art because I enjoy creating. So, I started picking up painting, Smith said. Since retirement, Smith has entered her work in various local art competitions but was met with rejection at every turn. Until recently, when she entered a painting in the Rare Artist Annual Contest, a competition created to highlight artists throughout the nation with rare diseases and allow them to advocate for their communities. As a part of the award, winners are given a trip to Washington D.C. to speak with their states congress members during Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill. It was, I felt like, a pretty big job to stand there and speak for others in our state that are suffering eye and vision problems, blindness. We have a lot of things that were up against, and its not just in Arkansas. Its across all fifty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith spoke with Arkansas congressmen and their staff members about issues the blind and visually impaired in Arkansas face. Specifically, she chose to advocate for reform for Social Security Disability Insurance and the recertification process for those with vision issues. I had my recertification done and I was denied, and I was actually told on the phone to get in my car and drive and go to work. For me, myself, hearing that on the phone was a little defeating. Its like, well, if I could drive, trust me, I would be at work because I worked my butt off for twenty years and paid into the system, Smith said, This is a huge complaint in the blind and visually impaired community, that we have to continually go every three, four years, whatever it is, and prove were either blind or have a visual problem, or a rare disease in our eyes. Now that shes back in Arkansas, Smith says she hopes that artists create their work fearlessly, whether theyre visually impaired or not. I feel that people who want to do art, even if you have sight, because a lot of people are scared of art, they think they have to look a certain way and it has to be perfect. I say use your fingers and be a child again because art makes you feel happy. Its my therapy. So put the paint on your fingers and put it on the canvas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. Jacques Jiha, Mayor Adams top budget official, said Wednesday that Adams administration cant commit to using city funds to offset any federal cuts President Trump may push through, arguing the sheer amount of cash at risk is too large to entertain such a move at this time. As part of its annual budget, the city gets nearly $10 billion in federal funding that bankrolls various initiatives, including food and rent assistance for low-income New Yorkers as well as education programs and health care services via Medicaid. We cannot make any guarantees about funds at this point in time because so many things [are] coming at us, we dont know whats gonna stick, whats not gonna stick, Jiha said at a City Council hearing Wednesday afternoon when asked if Adams administration will seek to use municipal funding to fill any city budget holes caused by any federal assistance cuts enacted Trump and congressional Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a very tough environment, Jiha continued. Its tough for everyone. Furthermore, Jiha said Adams team still hasnt convinced Gov. Hochuls administration to provide the city with any more state migrant crisis funding. Last month, Adams office acknowledged his team crafted a spending proposal for the next fiscal year that banked on receiving at least $1 billion in state migrant funding, and Jiha reiterated at Wednesdays hearing that the mayors team may have to consider city budget cuts if Hochul doesnt change her mind. Hopefully, well come to a resolution, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past few years, Adams has implemented deep city budget cuts, including to libraries, parks and other public services, only to reverse many of them after intense pushback from Council Democrats. Adams has defended the cuts as being necessary to offset the citys heavy spending on housing and services for newly-arrived migrants. Jihas testimony delivered at a Council Finance Committee hearing that marked the start of this years municipal budget season suggested city spending cuts could be on the table again this year and comes as anxietys mounting about the impact Trumps federal funding threats could have on critical local programs. Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from any local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with his policies, including his hardline pledge to target undocumented immigrants for mass deportations and push to ban transgender youth from school sports. Meantime, Adams has said he wont publicly criticize Trump, whose Justice Department is seeking to drop the mayors federal corruption indictment with the unusual condition that Trump needs Adams unencumbered so he can help facilitate his hardline immigration agenda in New York. The Trump DOJ dismissal request is pending approval from a federal judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps Republican allies in the House have paved the way for even more potential cuts. Last month, they passed a budget proposal yet to be approved by the Senate that would cut federal spending by $2 trillion by, among other things, slashing funding for the SNAP food assistance program and kicking hundreds of thousands of people off Medicaid. Jiha, whos Adams top city budget negotiator, testified he couldnt offer specific estimates on how much federal funding for the city could be at risk due to the moves from Trump and congressional Republicans, saying there are too many unknowns at this time. Jiha did say, rest assured that we are, when asked if his Office of Management and Budget teams working on contingency plans for scenarios involving federal cuts. He said he didnt want to elaborate on those plans, though, arguing that would give Trumps administration too much insight into the process. Council Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brannan wasnt convinced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brannan, the Councils top budget negotiator, said theres a lack of a plan from City Hall to fight back against looming Trump cuts. He argued that became clear when Trumps administration last month dipped into city government bank accounts and seized $80 million in federal migrant crisis funding while falsely claiming the money was being spent on housing migrants in luxury hotels. Adams administration eventually filed a lawsuit against Trump seeking to recoup the $80 million. But Brannan argued Adams initially muted response as well as a flareup inside Jihas office related to the court case speaks to a broader problem. The recent $80 million FEMA funding claw back is a perfect example of how compromised our citys position has become by a mayor who is unwilling to criticize Donald Trump. When it was time to challenge this illegal seizure of funds, we allegedly dumped the problem onto rank-and-file staffers at the Office of Management and Budget, trying to force them to sign documentation to file a lawsuit, Brannan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brannan was referring to a Daily News report from last week revealing Jiha initially tried to get a staffer in his office to put his name on the lawsuit, threatening the staffer with termination if he refused. The staffer still refused and instead managed to transfer agencies, prompting Jiha to sign the document himself, sources and records confirm. This kind of paralysis is unacceptable, Brannan told Jiha. Jiha didnt directly discuss the reported termination threat in the hearing, but told Council members that his office is dealing with a lot at the moment. Were trying to do the best we can to do our jobs, he said. This is a very trying time. By law, the mayors office and the Council need to make a deal on the next city budget by the July 1 start of the 2026 fiscal year. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) The Oakland County Sheriffs Office arrested a 16-year-old male Lake Orion High School student yesterday after threatening that many people were going to die in a school shooting. The Oakland County Sheriffs Office reports the student, a sophomore, is being held in Oakland County Childrens Village on a charge of making a threat of violence against a school. Let me reiterate, if you make a threat, you will be tracked down and held to account, said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard in a news release sent to 6 News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An unidentified person who saw the threat on social media notified the Sheriffs Office. The threat was made at approximately 3:00 a.m. on Saturday and stated that on March 5, an unnamed person was going to shoot up the school, and many people will die. Lawyer for accused student of MSU shooting threat wants charges dropped The Sheriffs Office Computer Crimes Unit obtained search warrants and identified the publisher. Deputies determined that the student had no access to any weapons in his home. Bouchard said 490 students didnt show up to school Monday, 225 missed Tuesday and 356 missed today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. Los Angeles Research ships from the San Diego-based Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA go out every three months along the Southern California coastline." Recently, the ship was traveling the coast collecting plankton samples, small organisms that many larger fish live on. But this trip was anything but ordinary. "This is something I've never experienced before, and I don't know anybody else that has," Scripps Institution scientist Dr. Rasmus Swalethorp told CBS News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What the researchers experienced, by total coincidence, was pulling up to Los Angeles in January as the deadly and devastating Palisades and Eaton fires were burning thousands of homes, incinerating plastic, paint, asbestos and car batteries. The fires released a cloud of toxic ash that settled over the ocean for about 100 miles. Crew members put on masks to protect against the smoke as black ash settled on the ship, while the plankton they collected was also swimming in ash. "All the organisms that are going to live down on the seabed, they're certainly going to be exposed to this, potentially transporting whatever is in that ash further up the food chain," Swalethorp said. Scientists with the Scripps Institution have been collecting California ocean samples for 75 years. The new ash-laden samples will be added to this vast archive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know what the fish are like under normal circumstances, but the scientific opportunity here is to look at the condition of the fish when they're exposed to all the ash," said Andrew Thompson, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commercial and recreational fishing in California brings in about $1 billion a year and supports 193,000 full and part-time jobs, according to numbers from the NOAA. While it could take years to know how, or if, these toxins impact fish, both fishermen and restaurants say knowing the answer is important. "The damage that these fires has caused is like woven so deeply into the fabric of our food systems that it's something that you know, it should be just an absolute red flag for anyone involveda red flag for change," said Michael Cimarusti, a chef at the L.A. seafood restaurant Providence. "Like, what can be done to ensure that these kinds of fires, like, don't happen again." Swalethorp says monitoring how ocean life responds will continue for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are also going to be looking for chromium, for mercury," Swalethorp said. "Things we don't want in the ocean." But because of a grim kind of luck, scientists at least have a head start in knowing exactly what toxins they are looking for. Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died at age 82. Here's a look back at their love story Watch: Trump's full address to Congress Vatican says Pope Francis is no longer on mechanical ventilation Mar. 4Maudicel Chavez comes from a long line of activists and she's taking her message of human rights and dignity to students at her school, OCTECHS. There will be a week of activities starting March 3 and a student assembly from 11 a.m. to noon March 7. The goal for the assembly is to gather more signatures for a petition on mass deportation and encourage participants to write letters to President Trump, appealing mass deportation. Chavez said the letters will be sent to Amnesty International. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Native American from the Navajo tribe, Chavez has lived in Odessa since fourth grade, moving here from Monument Valley, Utah. She attended Tsebii'nidzisgai Elementary School. Her grandmother was a Navajo language teacher. San Juan District offers Navajo Language courses, which allow students from K-12 to participate in the Navajo Language Fair, competing with other schools in their category. The Human Rights Club started from Chavez' passion project about Native American Genocide Awareness. It began in September 2024 and has five officers and about 23 members, although there are about 10 active members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They just began gathering petition signatures this month but have gotten about 140 people to sign as of Feb. 25. "The first week of February we started gathering signatures and going to homerooms to gather signatures and ask people if they wanted to sign our petition and also making them aware that by signing the petition it doesn't mean in any way that we're supporting any political party because we are affiliated with Amnesty International, which means we're nonpartisan," Chavez said. The response to the petition has been positive so far. They started going to homerooms to gather signatures and ask students to sign the petition. She added that the campaign speaks to students on a personal level. Chavez said they had a campaign previously called Write for Rights with Amnesty International. It focused on 10 cases about individuals at risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It wasn't just based in America. It was international. We were able to gather some letters. We wanted to gather more, so we went up to students and asked them, can we have your name written down to use your name in the sample letter? And through that, we gather more mornings and people to participate in this event," she added. Mark Perales, eleventh and 12th grade social studies teacher and Human Rights Club advisor, said Chavez has been making presentations since the beginning of the year. "That's when I noticed that she talked about her passion project and things that affect her. I was thinking when I (looked) out in the audience is probably everyone has a story to tell, or everybody has something that resonates with them. That's when I proposed starting this club, because maybe people want to find some type of similarity ... But then I really did notice when we did bring up mass deportation ... it did resonate a lot with the student body. For the first time I saw people ... started asking questions about the club, and started wanting to know why we would talk about this stuff," Perales said. Chavez said they will send the mass deportation petition to the headquarters of Amnesty International. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added that the club is also participating in the National Student Week of Action March 3-7. The week will include several activities including a power hour March 5 where they will write letters to appeal mass deportation. Thursday will include a mini mural scavenger hunt. Chavez said the mini murals have symbolic meaning relating to knowing your rights, the Statue of Liberty, the American dream, human rights, Hispanic pride and map your heritage. "How it's going to work is that you go to the teacher's classroom (and) you take a photo. Also you can get signatures from the teacher that you've already completed it and then from there you can get credit (for) community hours," Chavez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she organized the events with input from club members. Chavez' drive to be active go back to her passion project. "My great grandmother, Katherine Smith, was a part of the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act because she lived on Hopi land," Chavez said. The U.S. government put the Hopi land within the Navajo Nation. There was no discussion with the Navajo Nation and no discussion with the Hopi about where they were going to be located. The Bureau of Indian Affairs told her she had to leave and relocate, but she didn't speak English or know how to navigate the outside world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You're put in a position where you're forced to obey, but at the same time, you're not set up to have any way ... to move forward and make a life for yourself. From there, she protested. She had seminars at universities, and she was able to go to other places around the world as well to tell her story," Chavez said. She died in 2017. "I do have distant relatives, not just her, participated in this issue. From there, it was this reality of understanding who we are as Native Americans, wanting our voices to be heard, and so that carried on with my grandfather. He now does trail rides and he talks to the youth," Chavez said. "My grandmother, she was a Navajo language teacher. She was teaching elementary and then from middle school to high school ... My mother has done activist work as well," she added. "She even created her own calendar." "I feel like in some way, every part was a truth, and by understanding the truth and being educated on these issues you ... want other people to be informed," Chavez said. Mar. 5Advocates are making a public push for Ohio to begin providing free school breakfasts and lunches for all public school students at an estimated cost of about $300 million per year. Hunger-Free Schools Ohio is aiming to get the two-year sum of $600 million allocated through Ohio's in-the-works operating budget, which will set state spending in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. A spokesperson for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who has centered much of his administration on children's wellbeing, raised concerns with this outlet about the price tag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Such a program is very expensive to implement in Ohio if paid by the state only, with no federal assistance," said spokesman Dan Tierney. If the full amount is a nonstarter, Hunger-Free Schools Ohio said it would be willing to ditch breakfasts, which would lower the state's overall cost by $50 million per year. "We're here today because Ohio's children deserve better," said Hunger-Free Schools Ohio member Cyndy Rees at a Statehouse press conference Tuesday. "They deserve better nutrition, better academic development, and they really deserve to be able to go to school and not worried about being hungry for the day." Central to the group's argument is that well-fed students are more likely to learn. Rees said students under a universal free lunch system score higher on tests, have better attendance, and see their behavior improve. Families also save money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To the Ohio House Education Committee, Rees argued that the state should go beyond the National School Lunch Program that Ohio relies on, which subsidizes school lunches for kids in families that make anywhere from 130% to 180% of the federal poverty level, and gives free lunch to kids at 130% of the FPL or below. "Too many students still fall through the cracks," Rees said. "Federal meal programs primarily target high-poverty schools, leaving many middle-income families who fall just above the eligibility threshold struggling to afford meals." Madison Whetstone, a student at Lima Shawnee High School who traveled to the Statehouse Tuesday to advocate for the cause, told this outlet that she's witnessed problems for families who fall just above the federal cutoff. "Many families are just at that borderline and they still aren't able to buy lunches every single day of the week," she said, noting that she saw her peers forego meals and opt for a bag of chips instead "because they're cheaper than the whole lunch." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every day, we've seen people just not eating school lunch," Whetstone said, "and then the rest of the day they just aren't able to focus, aren't able to properly learn, and they just don't get that nutrition they need." Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, told this outlet that she was still considering the implications of the ask, along with hundreds of other budgetary asks the House has received throughout its budgetary process. On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, told this outlet that she and her caucus support the ask. "Food insecurity does not create a conducive learning environment, and I think anything that we can do to address that issue in our schools and ensure that our students are well fed (and) have nutritious meals while they're at school is beneficial for all students," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below. Loading... Lawmakers in Ohio are reacting to President Donald Trumps address to the joint Congress session Tuesday night. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] During his speech, Trump laid out his plans for the months ahead and touched on several topics including immigration and the economy. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several lawmakers in Ohio posted their thoughts on the address to social media. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04) posted on social media saying Trump delivered an incredible speech. Incredible speech by President Trump! Confident. Empowering. Leadership. Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) March 5, 2025 U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (OH-08) said he couldnt wait to hear Trumps long list of promises. I can feel it in the air tonight! Cant wait to hear President Trumps long list of promises made and kept along with his plan to keep making America great again! pic.twitter.com/3dU5ZpgRhR Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) March 5, 2025 Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) spoke out against Trumps speech before it happened. Trump is about to speak, and will undoubtedly say that everything is amazing and hes gotten so much done. The problem? Its been pure chaos and costs are going up, not down. Five facts about where things stand. Congressman Greg Landsman (@RepGregLandsman) March 5, 2025 U.S. Mike Carey (OH-15) said the president laid out his plan to get America back on track. Tonight, President Trump laid out his plan to get America back on track by: Extending Tax Cuts. Restoring American energy dominance. Making our communities safer. pic.twitter.com/6Tj2rYABOv Congressman Mike Carey (@RepMikeCarey) March 5, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep Bob Latta (OH-5) also praised the speech. After four years of the Biden administration failing to address record inflation, soaring energy costs, and an influx of illicit drugs and illegal immigrants over our southern border, it was refreshing to hear President Trump speak about the actions he has already taken to Rep. Bob Latta (@boblatta) March 5, 2025 Senator Jon Husted said the president detailed what hes doing to make our country secure, strong, and prosperous. Tonight, the president outlined what hes doing to make our country secure, strong, and prosperous. Ohio is at the heart of that agenda because you cant do Made in America without Made in Ohio. pic.twitter.com/FTTftwI9H8 Senator Jon Husted (@SenJonHusted) March 5, 2025 Senator Bernie Moreno called it an inspiring, emotional address. An inspiring, emotional address from @realDonaldTrump!! But crazed partisan Dems refused to applaud even a brave young man like DJ. Appalling! https://t.co/EKBkmTtweW Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) March 5, 2025 The Ohio Democratic Party said before the speech that the Trump Administration works for billionaires and special interests, while Ohioans have been left behind. News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Ohio representatives and stakeholders are responding to President Donald Trumps call to end the CHIPS Act, which brought in billions for Ohios Intel plant. In an address Tuesday to Congress, Trump called the CHIPS Act a horrible, horrible thing, asking for it to be discontinued. As of January, Intel had received $2.2 billion of its promised $7.86 billion in CHIPS Act funding, a November award that was seen as crucial to its major Ohio plant. However, Ohio leaders say it is Intel, not the CHIPS Act, that is ultimately responsible for completing the Ohio One plant. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesnt mean a thing. They take our money and dont spend it, Trump said in his address. You should get rid of the CHIPS Act, and whatevers left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt, or any other reason you want to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How Trumps speech could affect Intels New Albany plant Behind Trump, former Ohio Senator and current Vice President JD Vance applauded Trumps sentiment before following Speaker of the House Mike Johnsons lead and standing to applaud. In Vances Senate term, he collaborated with former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to accelerate legislation to boost semiconductor projects. Through a spokesperson, Gov. Mike DeWine said Intels commitment to central Ohio extends beyond CHIPS Act funding. When Intel first announced the project, it was done alongside then-President Joe Biden, but the announcement did not have guaranteed CHIPS Act funding. When Intel announced the New Albany project, they committed to it whether the CHIPS Act was passed or not, Press Secretary Dan Tierney said. The company remains committed to onshoring its manufacturing, which aligns with President Trumps semiconductor strategy and onshoring strategy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tierney said it was important not to jump to comments or conclusions until a clear proposal moves through Congress. Sen. Jon Husted, who was crucial in Ohios Intel project and has a record of applauding CHIPS Act funding for the state, said Wednesday that the bipartisan CHIPS Act furthers Trumps goals. Ohio bill to ban DEI in public schools has first hearing The CHIPS Act was one of the only major bipartisan pieces of legislation to pass in the last Congress, and I am confident bipartisan support remains, Husted said. For the economic and national security of America, we need to make chips in the USA I believe this is part of an America First agenda. Making chips in places like Ohio will make sure that China doesnt win. Husted was lieutenant governor when Intel decided to create its $28 billion plant in New Albany as part of the largest private investment in Ohio history. Jim Tressel now holds that role, and he said he remains confident that central Ohio will be a hub for chip manufacturing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything Ive heard Intel say is theyre committed to our region, theyre already well into their project and were going to need lots of chips built lots of places, Tressel said. I dont think anything we do anymore goes without chips, and so I think well be fine. New Albany officials echoed Tressels opinion, releasing a statement about Trumps speech. The city said there may be renegotiations in the CHIPS Act, but it expects the project will not be shaken by any CHIPS Act adjustments. Matt Englehart with JobsOhio, the organization who helped facilitate Intels investment alongside the governors office, said Intels commitment began without CHIPS Act funding and construction will continue. Nelsonvilles government is working to replace itself, but it may lack the authority Rep. Troy Balderson, a Republican, represents the area directly affected by Intels Ohio construction. Balderson said the Biden Administrations botched implementation of the CHIPS Act interfered with domestic chip manufacturing. He said he expects Intel to keep its promises, with or without CHIPS Act funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Intel made a commitment to Ohio and to our kids. The Ohio One project promised to be full speed ahead, regardless of supplemental federal funding while passage of the CHIPS Act would allow Intel to go faster and further,' Balderson said. Intel made it clear from the outset that they would make a historic investment with or without the CHIPS Act, and Ohioans fully expect them to keep their promise. Balderson voted for the CHIPS Act and said his support would protect a a once-in-a-lifetime investment in Ohio. At the time, he said the CHIPS Act investment in Ohio was a key step in ensuring Intels construction continued, and he called for the federal government to fulfill its commitment to Ohioans. Many leaders, including President and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Steve Stivers, said the CHIPS Act furthered Trumps goals of promoting American manufacturing, particularly in the semiconductor industry. Stivers said the chamber hopes Trump and his administration will continue to support this industry. Intel announced further delays in the Ohio One project last week, with construction now scheduled for completion in 2030 or 2031. Initially, both manufacturing fabs were expected to be finished in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. The owner of a security company is facing charges for allegedly stalking seven women after installing their security systems. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Robert Hocevar, 57, was indicted on 27 charges, including multiple counts of burglary, menacing by stalking, telecommunications harassment, possessing criminal tools, and unauthorized of computer, cable, or telecommunications property, according to WOIO in Cleveland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges. TRENDING STORIES: As WOIO reported, Hocevar installed systems at three businesses and two residences in five Cuyahoga County communities between February 2021 and January 2025. After installing the systems, prosecutors say he would access the systems without consent and send the victims unwanted sexually explicit messages, photos, and videos. Hocevar also allegedly left sexually explicit objects at the places of employment for three of the victims, WOIO reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors called Hocevar a sexual deviant who used his profession to stalk and harass women. Prosecutors also said hes been previously convicted of the same behavior three times. WOIO reported he was convicted in 2008 of telecommunications harassment and menacing by stalking. He was sentenced then to nine months in prison. Seven years later, in 2015, he was convicted of telecommunications harassment and sentenced to a year in prison. Most recently, he was convicted of menacing by stalking in 2020 and sentenced to six months in prison. Three counts of menacing by stalking that he currently faces have sexual specifications. If hes convicted of those counts, he will have to register as a sex offender, WOIO reported. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Mar. 4The Ohio Senate began consideration this week of a bill to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Ohio public schools, though the bill doesn't define what would actually count as "DEI." Senate Education Committee Chair Andy Brenner, R-Delaware, spoke on behalf of his Senate Bill 113 in a hearing Tuesday, arguing that DEI, despite its intentions, resulted in reducing students "to racial categories that determine their opportunities" instead of allowing them to succeed "based on their character, effort and merit." According to an analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission, S.B. 113 would: Prohibit any orientation or training course regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion; Prohibit "using DEI" in job descriptions; Prohibit contracting with third parties to promote admissions or hiring based on race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression; Prohibit DEI offices or departments and block schools from restructuring those departments while still performing similar purposes; Require each public school to establish a process through which people can allege violations of the bill's prohibitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to this outlet, Brenner framed DEI initiatives as policies meant to push political philosophies in schools. He argued the premise of DEI is centered around the redistribution of wealth and trying to create an equality of outcome rather than promoting the equal access of opportunity. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are not not currently defined in S.B. 113 and therefore its potential impact is hard to gauge. "The difficulty here is that the bill does not define it so it puts us in a space of having a vague proposed bill," said Jocelyn Rhynard, Dayton Public Schools boardmember, in an interview with this outlet. "We don't know what it means... Does this mean we can't have certain job titles? Does this mean we have to change curriculum?" Senate Education Ranking Member Catherine Ingram, D-Cincinnati, took issue with Brenner's characterization of DEI. She argued that equity initiatives are meant to ensure disadvantaged students are not further disadvantaged while trying to get ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think that you've taken DEI to mean something that was never intended," Ingram said. The Senate already passed a bill this year banning DEI on state college campuses. That bill did not define DEI either. "This is a work in progress, so we may have to come up with a definition," Brenner told this outlet. "In which case, it may narrow it down substantially, and maybe the ranking member won't be as concerned about it if we make those changes. Right now, it is written based on what I believe is the issue around (DEI)." To this outlet, Brenner said he's had talks with students, parents, and even some superintendents who have raised concerns with the mark DEI has made on public schools. And, while Brenner highlighted concerns with DEI in decisions around hiring and discipline, he told this outlet that he couldn't point to specific school policies in Ohio that he took issue with off the top of his head. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhynard said she's unsure if S.B. 113 would actually impact any initiatives at DPS, but noted that she'd like the district to continue with culturally diverse events like Black history Month; holidays of Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths; and even St. Patrick's Day. S.B. 113 still has proponent and opponent testimony ahead. If voted out of Senate Education Committee and out of the Senate chamber, it would head to the Ohio House for further review. Both chambers are dominated by a Republican supermajority. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below. Loading... Olentangy Orange High School Senior Connor Morrison and other students urge Ohio lawmakers to make breakfast and lunch free for K-12 schools. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) A group of high schoolers from across Ohio rallied at the Statehouse Tuesday, pleading with lawmakers to make breakfast and lunch free for students. School lunch isnt just a period to socialize with your friends, they said, it can be a lifeline for kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They helped to make sure we had a meal every day that we were at school, cause that might not have always been the case at home when my mom was going through everything, said Corbin Eaton, a junior at Antwerp High School in Paulding County. Data from Feeding America reports that 1 in 5 Ohio children is unsure of where their next meal is coming from. Eaton was one of them. But once his school got involved and helped offer free and reduced lunches, he knew he could get through the day. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX I think that without them, we wouldnt be able to eat every day during school, which makes our academic performance lower than what it should be, he said about the importance of lunch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would cost $300 million per fiscal year to provide meals for all public and charter schools in the state, which is less than 1% of the proposed state budget. The students are hoping to get this in the state budget, but they are also agreeable to a bill that would accomplish the exact same thing that was just recently introduced. State Sens. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Township, and Kent Smith, D-Euclid, introduced the bipartisan S.B. 109, which would provide free breakfast and lunch to public and chartered nonpublic school students. Donovan ONeil with conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity warned about the price tag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we hear ideas floated out there that would increase the obligation that the state has, whether its for school lunches or something else, were going to throw up the caution flag and encourage folks to take a good hard look if this is really where the state needs to be prioritizing its spending, ONeil said. The budget isnt just a concern for advocates like ONeil it is for schools, too. Ohio Republican leadership has proposed cutting more than $650 million in public education funding. Republicans in U.S. Congress are also looking at making cuts that would slash national school meal programs, with impacts for 280,000 Ohio kids. And now, there is another Ohio bill that educators say could increase costs for them. H.B. 145 would increase the number of instructional hours in K-12 schools from a minimum of 1,001 hours to 1,054. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The more time students spend on meaningful learning, the better theyre going to perform academically, state Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, said. This is an effort, in part, to make up for learning loss during the pandemic, Bird added during his news conference introducing the legislation. But Parma City Schools Superintendent Charles Smialek said that with the way the state keeps cutting the budget for public schools, they will be forced to decrease the amount of classes. You would eliminate electives, Smialek said. You would be looking at, what exactly does it take to graduate from high school and then eliminate anything else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is an unfunded mandate, he argued, telling the lawmakers they cant both cut their funding and increase the hours teachers need to be in school. They would be forced to cut staff with budget cuts. Plus, more instructional time drives home how important meals are. The students at the Statehouse remain optimistic. I think something, hopefully, will get done about it, Eaton said. This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE An Ohio teacher has been indicted on sex crimes involving a minor. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Eric Arnold Schmidt was indicted on three counts of illegal use of minor in nudity oriented material and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, CBS affiliate WOIO reported. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schmidt, a teacher with South Euclid-Lyndhurst School, was arrested by detectives with Geauga County Sheriffs Department on Jan. 27. According to the district, the alleged victim is not a student in their district. School officials added Schmidt has been placed on leave, to allow the investigation to proceed while respecting the individuals right to due process. If convicted, Schmidt could face up to eight years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The News Oil prices tumbled after OPEC+ agreed to increase crude production for the first time since October 2022. The oil producers group, which is led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, said on Monday it had agreed on a gradual and flexible return of 2.2 million barrels a day of oil production over the next year and a half. Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil fell to a five-month low, the Financial Times reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The surprise move by OPEC+ followed calls from US President Donald Trump to lower oil prices. However, the plan was locked in well before Trump took office, commodities analyst Amena Bakr wrote in Semafor Gulf. Still, OPEC+ is keeping an eye on Trumps demands and his policy direction, especially his new tariffs on oil imports from Canada and Mexico. Analysts have warned the duties could tighten supply options for refiners and push US gas prices higher. Consumers are about to get caught between tariffs, refinery bottlenecks, and seasonal price hikes, OilPrice.com wrote. A woman died Tuesday after two weeks of being on a hospital ventilator after she was allegedly strangled by her boyfriend. Oklahoma City police said Alisha Spencer, 38, was pronounced dead at 9:46 a.m. at an area hospital. Her 38-year-old boyfriend, whom The Oklahoman is not naming because he has not yet been formally charged, remains in the Oklahoma County jail on $10 million bond. About 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, officers arrived at a 7-Eleven parking lot near S May Avenue and SW 29 in response to a call about a woman, later identified as Spencer, having significant trauma and bleeding heavily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers had difficulty understanding Spencer because she had blood pouring out of her mouth, a detective wrote in an affidavit for an arrest warrant. Spencer said she was assaulted and pointed north of the parking lot. More: Grading Oklahoma: A look at domestic violence in Oklahoma; recent studies rank state No. 1 Surveillance footage showed Spencer arriving at the 7-Eleven alone and already injured. EMSA took her to the hospital, where she was placed on a ventilator after life-saving measures. Medical staff told officers that due to severe damage to Spencers trachea, it appeared she had been strangled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators learned Spencer lived in an extended stay suite in the 4300 block of W Reno Avenue, about 4 miles northwest of the 7-Eleven. Woman dies in OKC two weeks after being placed on life support following alleged strangulation. An employee at the property where Spencer lived told investigators Spencer and her boyfriend had fought all night. At one point, the employee told investigators, she heard a woman scream. The employee said she and a maintenance worker went to Spencers residence earlier in the night after Spencers family called and asked for a welfare check to be conducted. The employee and the maintenance worker spoke with Spencers boyfriend. The boyfriend claimed Spencer left with his belongings, according to the affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The employee told investigators she and the maintenance worker went inside Spencers residence. They saw massive amounts of blood on the floor, according to the affidavit. Spencers boyfriend allegedly explained that Spencer had fallen and hit her head. He also allegedly said he called police earlier and they already responded. More: Record number of people died of domestic violence in Oklahoma in 2023, report finds The employee and maintenance worker said it appeared the boyfriend was trying to clean the residence. They took photographs of the residence and showed investigators. While executing a search warrant, investigators discovered large amounts of blood just inside the door of the living room, as well as on the walls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators used forensic spray to find a massive amount of blood in the shower area of the bathroom. It appeared there had been an attempt to clean up the blood inside the residence, according to the affidavit. Spencers boyfriend told investigators he and Spencer drank together that night. The detective wrote that Spencers boyfriend changed his story a few times. He is alleged to have initially said Spencer showed up earlier bleeding from her nose, but changed the story to say she was bleeding from her mouth. According to the affidavit, Spencers boyfriend said they got into an argument over her injury. He allegedly said that during the argument, Spencer had a seizure, fell and struck a nearby table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told investigators that Spencer became a bit aggressive, but he did not hit her. He also is said to have told investigators that Spencer got a towel to clean up, and she put the towel over her mouth. He allegedly told investigators that Spencer stole his eyeglasses and wallet before leaving the residence. The detective wrote in the affidavit that Spencers boyfriend initially claimed to have called police, but later said he texted 911 and nobody cared. The detective also wrote that Spencers boyfriend accused her 17-year-old son of being the perpetrator. While initially stating Spencers son was in the vehicle when she arrived, the boyfriend later said he never saw Spencers son in the vehicle and it was parked too far away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spencers son and her father told the detective they were not surprised about the incident. They said Spencers boyfriend was violent when he drank alcohol. The son told investigators he last spoke with Spencer over the phone about 9 p.m. He said his mother told him she was going to drink with her boyfriend. Investigators said there were no 911 calls at that time in the immediate area of the extended-stay property. A neighbor of Spencer told investigators that Spencers boyfriend knocked on his door about 11:15 p.m. and asked for a towel. The detective wrote that the towel was found covered in blood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: This Oklahoma law aims to ease sentencing for convicted abuse survivors. Is it working? Police arrested Spencers boyfriend on domestic assault and battery complaints. Further investigation revealed a pattern of alleged domestic violence. Investigators say Spencer and her boyfriend lived at the extended-stay property for about two days before the alleged altercation. Before living there, they lived in the 2300 block of SW 33. From Jan. 1, 2024, to Feb. 2 this year, there were 22 calls for 911 service, with 14 of those labeled as domestic, according to police. Seven calls resulted in medical responses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several times, Spencer told 911 operators her boyfriend was drinking and she had been assaulted. Online court records dont show charges related to those allegations. The detective wrote that body camera footage from a Nov. 25 incident showed Spencer with an apparent injury to her mouth and blood on her shirt collar. Jan. 17 body camera footage apparently showed Spencer unresponsive, then later informing police her boyfriend had hit her. On Jan. 30, Spencer called EMSA and said her boyfriend was drunk and threatened to kill her, according to the affidavit. Medical staff told investigators Spencer had significant trauma and damage to her trachea, showing she was strangled. The alleged strangulation caused a lack of blood flow to Spencers head, which required her to be placed on life support, medical staff said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators are seeking a first-degree murder charge against Spencers boyfriend. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC police say man strangled girlfriend; woman dies after 2 weeks on life support The Oklahoma City Federal Building at 301 NW 6th St. is on a list of "non-core" facilities the federal government might sell. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY With about a month left before the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the Trump administration has designated the facility that replaced it as one of hundreds of non-core federal government assets slated to be disposed of. This is the only Oklahoma property identified by the U.S. General Services Administration on a list of 443 properties and assets released Tuesday as not core to government operations. The GSA said selling these properties could save $430 million in annual operating costs and ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The building, opened in 2005, replaced the Murrah building which was destroyed in a bombing on April 19, 1995. The potential sale comes as the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, seeks to eliminate government waste cuts from the U.S. federal government. The GSA, which manages real estate for the federal government, currently leads government agencies in eliminating waste, according to the DOGE website. It was unclear Tuesday where the employees currently working from the four-story, nearly 167,000 square foot federal building would be housed if the building was sold. The U.S. General Services Administration listed the Oklahoma City Federal Building for potential disposal as it aims to cut spending. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) Over 350 employees work out of the federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. Some agencies located in the building include the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Small Business Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Military Entrance Processing Station, and recruiting offices for various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The building, located at 301 NW 6th St., is in the districts of Rep. Forrest Bennett and Sen. Mark Mann, both Democrats from Oklahoma City. I dont know what exactly is going on here, but here is what I do know: the federal building downtown was built specifically to be a safe but accessible building for critical federal workers delivering services to the people of Oklahoma, Bennett said. I also know that the Trump Administrations DOGE efforts have proven to be reckless. Their reports of cost savings have proven to be inaccurate at one point suggesting that they had found $8 billion in savings when in fact it was $8 million, for example and the unilateral nature of their firings and closures are legally questionable at best. Mann called on Oklahomas federal delegation to say enough is enough and said the decision was shocking and tone deaf to announce this on the heels of the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. The services that are provided through the agencies that are housed there to Oklahomans are valuable, he said. The services they provide to the region and the nation through that building are valuable, and just to randomly come out of nowhere and say its a non-core asset and were going to sell it is one of the most asinine things Ive ever seen I think this building sent a message that were not going to allow terrorism to affect how we do business. I thought it was a good message to send, then I think its still a good message. And so, to do this on the heels of the memorial next month, I think is tone deaf and insensitive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kevin Stitts office and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said Tuesday he was unaware of this designation and declined to comment further. Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel contributed to this story. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) A North Carolina woman pled guilty in Onslow County Superior Court on February 18, for embezzlement. Karen Pierce Ramos pled guilty to three counts of class C felony embezzlement and three counts of class H felony embezzlement. Ramos was arrested in November 2022 after it was uncovered that she was taking funds from businesses she worked with and placing them in her personal account. Ramos was a bookkeeper and finance manager for six businesses throughout eastern North Carolina. Its estimated that Ramos embezzled $2,161,955.73 from the businesses between 2011 and 2018. As part of her plea, Ramos said that she stole the funds by using company credit cards. Ramos is currently in the North Carolina Prison System serving her sentence of 90-120 months. Ramos was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,661,955.73, she was given credit of $500,000 for property that she turned in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Liquor bottles are flying off the shelves in Canada, but not because they are being sold. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario says it is pulling American-made spirits in response to the U.S. and Canadas escalating tariff feud. As part of Ontarios response strategy to U.S. tariffs, the government of Ontario has directed LCBO to take operational steps to implement restrictions on all U.S. beverage alcohol sales and related imports into Ontario, effective immediately, the liquor board said in a statement Tuesday. Our in-store teams can help customers find alternative products from our extensive selection of products from Ontario, Canada, and around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The LCBOs main website was changed to a brief disclaimer page Tuesday afternoon. Our site is temporarily unavailable while we remove U.S. products in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, the site read. Our in-store customer service remains unaffected. President Trumps 25 percent tariff plan affecting most Canadian imports went into effect at midnight, sparking retaliatory actions across the U.S.s northern neighbor. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trumps tariff push dumb and announced a 25 percent increase on American imports in retaliation. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who separately ordered LCBO one of the largest alcohol purchasers in the world to stop selling American liquor, told reporters Tuesday that he knows it will hit American businesses bottom lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They only have President Trump to blame, Ford said. We have no choice. We have to respond. Ontario shares a border with five U.S. states: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers Association, said the new tariffs will have far-reaching consequences beyond Ontarios decision to pull American liquor. Kentucky produces about 95 percent of the worlds Bourbon. That means hard-working Americans corn farmers, truckers, distillery workers, barrel makers, bartenders, servers and the communities and businesses built around Kentucky Bourbon will suffer, Gregory said in a statement. Retaliatory measures against Bourbon harm these markets and jeopardize growth for years to come, including the unjust and disproportionate removal of American spirits from retail shelves and prohibition on new purchases of alcohol from American companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Odessa Police Department has arrested two people in connection with an exploitation case involving a teenage girl. Ron Inge, 72, has been charged with Child Grooming. Heather Russell, 34, has been charged with Solicitation of Prostitution/Other Payor Person Under 18. According to a news release, on February 26, officers learned of a situation between Russell and Inge in which Russell was accused of trying to extort money from Inge. During the investigation, officers learned that Inge and Russell had known each other for a while; Inge accused Russell of stealing $4,000 from him and officers also discovered that Inge and Russell had entered into an agreement in which Russells juvenile daughter would engage in sexual contact with Inge in exchange for money. Investigators said they believe that after the agreement was made, Russell began to hold the agreement over Inges head for money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Inge and Russell were arrested on a warrant at the end of February. Jail records showed that Inge was released from custody on a $10,000 bond and Russell was released on a $25,000 bond. OPD said the investigation is ongoing and more charges may be filed. Heres what we know about Inge: Inge, according to his LinkedIn profile, retired from the Odessa Police Department where he served as a lieutenant. He also reportedly worked as the chief examiner for the Ector County Medical Examiners Office before retirement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was not among the Democrats who protested at President Donald Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Instead she stayed home and watched it on television. But she did register her objections in a different way: She broadcast a live rebuttal to her nearly 9 million followers on Instagram in the candid, digital town hall-style that she has made into a signature form of political communication. The New York Democrat hammered home a critical point: The most important part of Trumps exceptionally long speech wasnt what he said, but what he didnt. Donald Trump said a lot of random things about studies and waste and all this other stuff, he did not talk about Medicaid, not once. And as a certain right-wing operative likes to say, MAGAs on Medicaid, Ocasio-Cortez said. And MAGA: Trump is coming for your Medicaid. MAGA: Republicans are coming for your Medicaid. As my colleague James Downie has pointed out, Trump has flip-flopped on Medicaid just weeks into his presidency. After promising to protect the program, which provides medical coverage for about 80 million low-income people in America, the GOP budget Trump endorsed commits to $880 billion in spending cuts, most of which will come from Medicaid. (This is to say nothing of possible future cuts to Medicare or Social Security under the guise of cracking down on waste.) Trump knows that Medicaid cuts will be politically costly, which is why he spends so much time diverting his bases attention from it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps go-to distraction tactics throughout his time in politics have mainly centered on vilifying migrants and talking about trade deficits as intolerable economic evils. But this time around, his DOGE operation and its outrageous misinformation alleging massive waste and fraud in the federal government are a key part of Trumps rhetorical strategy and featured heavily in his address. As Ocasio-Cortez points out, the emphasis on identifying waste as a way to return money to American taxpayers is a red herring. Dont you think if you found a bunch of money in the couch cushions that you would put that to expanding Medicaid, improving schools, fixing our roads? Right? But thats not what theyre planning on doing, she said. The reason theyre shaking all these couch cushions, and the reason theyre rattling off all these numbers, is because all those numbers theyre trying to add up into one of the most massive tax cuts for billionaires and the 1% probably in modern American history. Some angry citizens and activists are already clued into this dynamic and have been making Republicans lives harder at raucous town halls. As a result, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps Republicans get elected to the House, has told Republican lawmakers to avoid holding in-person town hall meetings. Ocasio-Cortez sees this as a move by the GOP party apparatus to condition its lawmakers to be able to pull the trigger on brutal cuts to social services. The NRCC wants to extract Republicans out of their communities, out of their districts, so they dont feel as connected, so they isolate them so they can be more easily manipulated and bullied into cutting Medicaid, she said. Ocasio-Cortez is right to point out how Trump has mastered the art of distraction. Yet just as concerns about cuts to Obamacare helped Democrats win back Congress during Trumps first midterm, Democrats can win the chamber again if they can focus voters attention on this vital part of the safety net Republicans want to cut. Democrats have a lot to work with and shouldnt squander the opportunity to seize upon the unpopularity of cuts to massive government programs that help ordinary Americans. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Among the more than 90 pending lawsuits challenging the flurry of allegedly illegal and unconstitutional actions President Trump has initiated since Jan. 20, more than 20 involve the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. So far, no judge has issued an order altogether stopping DOGE which, according to one lawsuit, has roamed through the federal government unraveling agencies, accessing sensitive data, and causing mass chaos and confusion for state and local governments, federal employees, and the American people. A big reason why DOGE has managed to operate within a bubble of lawlessness is that it is doing things that have never been tried before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE is not an official government agency. It was not created by Congress like other federal agencies. Instead, Trump issued an executive order renaming the already-existing U.S. Digital Service. Elon Musk, a private billionaire, has used it to wield unprecedented power over the federal government writ large under the false pretense of slashing wasteful and fraudulent spending. Although two judges have found that the Trump administration is already defying court orders halting his domestic and foreign funding freezes, others have taken key steps towards slowing DOGE down which is more than can be said for Congress. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York issued an injunction on Feb. 8 blocking DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data. On Feb. 18, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.) responded by filing articles of impeachment against Engelmayer, claiming his ruling showed bias against Trump. (Three days earlier, Musk had called for activist judges to be impeached.) Last week, District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C. ordered that the government produce basic information, known as discovery, about how DOGE is structured. The order gets to the most core and confounding problem with DOGE: Nobody seems to know what Musk and his small staff, which hes called his demolition crew, are actually doing behind closed doors or how they literally wrested from career federal employees the unprecedented power to do it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Compounding the problem is the governments inconsistent positions on what DOGE is and who is in charge of it. White House official Joshua Fisher filed a sworn statement last month with another D.C. federal judge, Tanya Chutkan, claiming that Musk is not actually running DOGE and has no actual or formal decision-making authority, but is merely an adviser to the president. This is obviously not true. Last month, Musk publicly called for the U.S. to delete entire agencies from the federal government. The Trump administration now expects judges, litigants and the American people to believe that the black box of DOGE which has already negatively affected the lives of tens of thousands of federal employees and their families (there are no official figures) actually isnt doing anything illegal or even acting at Musks direction. On the one hand, the administration claims that everything is being done by the book, using federal contractors and special government employees. On the other hand, it has argued that DOGE is not subject to basic oversight laws like the Freedom of Information Act, while the very identities of its staffers many of whom reportedly communicate on the encrypted platform Signal and the details of its work are mostly not public. In the case before Judge Bates, the plaintiffs sued to stop DOGE from accessing personal information within the Department of Labor that is protected under the federal Privacy Act. In his order granting discovery, Bates pointed out the governments inconsistent positions. Lawyers for DOGE submitted affidavits, he wrote, that introduced before-unknown information some of which conflicted on how [DOGE] is operating at the defendant agencies: from the number of [DOGE] employees working at each defendant agency, to the training and agreements put in place for those employees, to the access those employees are given. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the circumstances, Bates reasoned, it would be strange to permit defendants to submit evidence that addresses critical factual issues and proceed to rule on a preliminary injunction motion without permitting plaintiffs to explore those factual issues through very limited discovery. If the Trump administration complies with Batess order, it will have to produce documents on issues as basic as the information about the extent of access to sensitive systems agencies have given [DOGE] employees, who at the agencies authorized such access, and any training [DOGE] employees received. It must also offer up four people to answer questions in depositions regarding how the agencies systems-access procedures changed following [DOGE]s creation, the role of [DOGE] employees at the agencies, and those employees use of sensitive systems. All of this is vital information for the public to know. Hopefully upon seeing what, if anything, the government produces in response to Batess order, other federal courts will demand much more. Bear in mind that, over the last 10 years, Musks companies Tesla and SpaceX have reportedly secured $18 billion in federal contracts. Now that Musk is apparently cutting contracts and programs elsewhere, it is impossible to know whether any of his actions are actually saving taxpayers money, and if so, where that savings is going. The DOGE website has been riddled with errors and misstatements, including taking credit for stopping contracts that expired years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE has also been dismantling agencies, firing top officials and career employees who have reportedly been engaged in at least 32 investigations or enforcement actions into Musks companies. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Musk is somehow self-policing for these blatant conflicts of interest. Thats not how our system of laws work. Trump knows it. Musk knows it. And, thankfully, the federal courts know it too. Kimberly Wehle is author of the book Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works and Why. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., I sat beside several teachers and watched Linda McMahon, President Donald Trumps new education secretary, testify in front of the Senate. He had already told reporters that the Department of Educations a big con job and hed like it to be closed immediately. He said he wanted McMahon to put herself out of job a comment widely taken to mean he wants her to dissolve the Department of Education. McMahons testimony before the Senate that Trump merely wants the department to operate more efficiently was difficult to stomach. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter But the comment from the hearing that stung the most was McMahons promise to invest in teachers. I didnt need to look at the teachers sitting next to me to see their frustration. McMahon has expressed strong alignment with Trumps education agenda, which promises many things from diverting public dollars to private schools and micromanaging or outright prohibiting workforce diversity initiatives though investing in teachers is not one of them. If she is sincerely interested in what teachers need to be successful, she should ask them which she does not appear to have done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Dems Assail Elegant Gaslighting as McMahon Softens Calls to Close Ed Dept. A new survey of 1,000 teachers conducted by Educators for Excellence, the nonpartisan, teacher-led organization I co-founded in 2011, asked teachers about their values, classroom needs and policy views. It reveals a resounding rejection of the education policies the Trump administration has pursued or enacted in its first weeks in power. From incendiary and legally dubious Executive Orders that meddle directly in classrooms by attempting to interfere in curricular decisionmaking to regulatory changes that strip LGBTQ+ students of federal protection against discrimination, this agenda is not what Americas educators want for their students. If McMahon were interested in supporting teachers, shed know that 92% of them favor federal funding for Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provide crucial aid to help teachers serve low-income students and children with disabilities. If shed take the time to meet with educators and listen to their perspectives, shed know that a mere 16% support using public dollars for private schools and that 79% favor collecting student achievement data, which is necessary for building the evidence base on which types of teaching and school leadership work best. The Trump administration has already shown it is at odds with each of these positions and many others held by the professionals who fill the nations classrooms. Its agenda, which McMahon was presumably hand-picked to carry out, not only ignores the will of teachers it also represents a radical shift away from decades of bipartisan agreement on core pillars of public education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related After Declaring NAEP Off-Limits, Education Department Cancels Upcoming Test Twenty-three years ago, President George W. Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind, which expanded the federal governments role in public education. Although the law was far from perfect, it sought to ensure that our public dollars were having the intended impact and drew on a longstanding bedrock of conservative social policy: accountability. When President Barack Obama refashioned No Child Left Behind into the Every Student Succeeds Act, he maintained the focus on accountability, which Democrats agreed was vital to improving the quality of Americas public schools. Now, accountability is on the chopping block. Trump has already gutted the nations top education research agency, the Institute of Education Sciences, which collects data and reports on how well states are educating students. And, on Feb. 19, a key NAEP assessment was canceled, foreclosing on the collection of longitudinal data that goes back over 50 years. Without reliable information about student achievement and school funding, schools will be left to navigate blind, relying on unproven, lower-quality curricula and tools. This will weaken learning standards and stall academic progress at a time when we should be closing achievement gaps, not widening them. As with many policy matters, there are political differences on key education issues like school choice, how to best fund schools, and the right measures to hold schools and districts accountable. The same is true among teachers: In hundreds of surveys and countless conversations with educators over the past decade, Ive encountered wide-ranging views on everything from layoffs, evaluations and school choice to, most recently, artificial intelligence. While 45% of educators nationally think AI shows promise, 50% have concerns. This lack of consensus is what makes teachers alignment against Trumps education agenda all the more striking though not surprising. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Education Dept. Cancels Over $600M in Grants for Teacher Pipeline Programs No matter where they live, educators now face the likelihood that crucial funding will be stripped from their classrooms. If Trump cuts Title I funding, for example, Alabama schools will lose an estimated $300 million. Mississippis education budget would shrink by 25% if Trump cut the states federal funding. Its no wonder that teachers across the country, whatever their politics happen to be, fiercely oppose the presidents crusade to dismantle a department that exists to strengthen their ability to do their jobs. America asks a lot of its teachers, whose overall satisfaction has dipped to historic lows. If the nations leaders in Washington want them to stay in the classroom and deliver the outstanding education that Americas kids need, the first thing those leaders and that includes the new education secretary better do is listen to them. On Feb. 19, the Office of the United States Trade Representative held hearings on the challenges that Americas innovative industries face in protecting their intellectual property rights abroad. The hearings were part of a review published as an annual document called the Special 301 Report. The report has some teeth. It names and shames countries that dont fully protect American intellectual property, or afford market access to goods and services that rely on it. The report also provides for audits of recalcitrant trade partners to encourage them to make timely and measurable progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Biden administrations Special 301 reports, however, did not fulfill these statutory requirements. The 2023 report turned a blind eye to some of the most egregious violations of U.S. patents. The 2024 report practically encouraged them. Biden gutted these reports to pander to the far left of his party, which erroneously believes that intellectual property only benefits a few corporations. The 2025 report needs to show things will be different. To this end, it should call out countries that are tilting the scales on intellectual property rules, such as by abusing compulsory licenses or implementing unfair patenting restrictions. Trumps America First Trade Policy memo calls for a study to identify any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices. The 2025 report must do exactly that on intellectual property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Intellectual property drives the American economy. It directly or indirectly accounts for 63 million high-paying jobs and 41 percent of U.S. GDP. The fact that these statistics were in the 2023 report, but not included in the 2024 report, shows the depth of Bidens retreat on intellectual property. The need for a course correction in the 2025 report is obvious. For starters, consider the case of compulsory licenses. Under Trump 1.0, Special 301 reports in 2018, 2019 and 2020 warned that they should not be considered as a tool to implement industrial policy or as undue leverage in pricing negotiations. The 2023 report dropped this language. The 2024 report didnt even talk about compulsory licenses. This was hard to square with the facts. Stakeholders had warned that Malaysia used compulsory licenses to promote its medical tourism. Likewise, Indonesia employed one, even though the rights holder had entered into a voluntary license with a generic manufacturer to supply Indonesias market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a press statement announcing the 2024 report, Trade Representative Katherine Tai explained the deafening silence on these and other cases. The Biden administration would continue its policy of declining to call out countries exercising flexibilities of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, including with respect to compulsory licenses. In light of this, it was not surprising that Colombia issued its first compulsory license immediately after the 2024 report, or that the European Union rushed to finalize legislation to consolidate compulsory license authority on dubious grounds. Under Trump 2.0, USTR needs to finish what it started in 2018 and target all abuses of compulsory licenses. Then theres the restrictive patentability criteria. Under the rules of the World Trade Organization and U.S. free trade agreements, countries are supposed to patent novel ideas on a nondiscriminatory basis, including with respect to the field of technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, too many countries have intellectual property regimes that tolerate the theft of U.S. ideas to benefit their domestic industries. As with compulsory licenses, these regimes serve industrial policy goals through policies that are tantamount to forced technology transfer. In the 2020 report, for example, U.S. Trade Representative raised specific concerns about patentability criteria in Argentina, India and Indonesia. It said India continues to apply restrictive patentability over questionable patentability criteria to reject pharmaceutical patents and hadnt established an effective system for protecting against unfair commercial use, including the unauthorized use of test data submitted for marketing approval. In the 2024 report, these concerns were scrubbed, even though nothing had changed. The 2025 report should do what the 1988 Trade Act requires of it: call out and correct for abuses of American intellectual property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then theres the out-of-cycle reviews. These are repeat audits that put trade partners on notice, raising the prospect of enforcement actions. Under Trump 1.0, out-of-cycle reviews were used almost 10 times, including to encourage compliance with US trade agreements. The Biden administration virtually retired the tool. The 2025 report must clearly signal that the U.S. takes intellectual property seriously again. This is essential in the run-up to the July 2026 joint review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Future reviews of all other U.S. trade agreements, as called for in Trumps America First Trade Policy memo, will benefit immeasurably from this information too. Intellectual property, not tariffs, is the future of U.S. manufacturing. Its also why Americas exports of services are in such high demand around the world. Thats the message the 2025 Special 301 report must convey for the first time in years, with a promise to back these words with deeds. Marc L. Busch is the Karl F. Landegger Professor of International Business Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Keir Starmer and his advisers must be breathing audible sighs of relief. The British prime minister traveled to Washington for his first White House visit since President Trumps inauguration in unpromising circumstances. Over recent weeks, the president had initiated talks with Russia over Ukraine, bypassing Europe and the government in Kyiv. Vice President JD Vance had accused Europe of suppressing free speech and ignoring mass migration. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had announced that safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO. Starmer can return to London with a sense of achievement. Trump lauded the U.K. and its prime minister as a very special place and a special man, and his mood was more positive than many had feared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prime minister deployed a coup de theatre early on, producing literally from his inside pocket a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump for a U.K. state visit. Starmer sailed close to parodying his host when saying, This is really special this has never happened before this is unprecedented. Trump undertook a state visit in June 2019, and he will be the first elected politician of the modern era to be invited for a second. Two potentially contentious issues Starmers eagerness to work more closely with the European Union and his governments agreement to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius barely registered. The latter was potentially sensitive, as the territory is home to the strategically vital U.S. airbase and naval facility on Diego Garcia, but Trump remarked nonchalantly that he was inclined to go along with it. There was more: Trump indicated that a U.S.-U.K. trade deal could be made very quickly, and called Starmer a tough negotiator, high praise from the ostensible author of The Art of the Deal. While the president still intends to impose tariffs on imports from the EU, in Britains case he said, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldnt be necessary. Well see. Things could have gone much worse. Trump and Starmer are almost a sitcom-ready odd couple, albeit without the humor: the brash, freewheeling real estate mogul and the pedantic, uncharismatic human rights lawyer. Starmer is a left-wing progressive, swimming against Europes electoral tide, while Trumps rudimentary nationalism and authoritarian instincts place him squarely on the right. Yet the tone was cordial and without significant friction. Perhaps Britains new ambassador in Washington, Peter Mandelson, had carried out successful groundwork in preparation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmers team should be aware, nonetheless, that avoiding pitfalls is far short of concrete achievements. Trump did not agree to provide what the prime minister calls a backstop for any monitoring force in a post-conflict Ukraine, which would probably involve American aerial reconnaissance and logistical support and, in the last resort, air power to punish infringements of a peace accord. Instead, the president suggested that a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine on minerals would act as a kind of backstop, as nobody will play around if there are American workers on the ground. That is not what Starmer has in mind. There was no significant course change in foreign policy terms. This was never a likely outcome, but the strategic context remains what it was: Trump wants a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine and is willing to concede a lot of ground to Vladimir Putin to get it. Beyond that, Americas involvement in European security will diminish, and the nations of Europe will have to dig deeper into their own treasuries to protect themselves. Starmer preempted this by announcing on Feb. 25 that the U.K. would increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, raiding its international aid budget for the necessary resources. (The development minister, Anneliese Dodds, thoughtfully waited until after the summit to tender her resignation). The unexpected sequel that has disrupted everything was Trumps chaotic encounter the following day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Goaded by a boorish Vance that he should just say thank you, Zelensky attempted to correct some wildly inaccurate propositions Trump had made, and was told he was not being respectful. He was ejected from the White House not long afterwards, the proposed deal with the U.S. on access to mineral resources unsigned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer welcomed Zelensky to London the following day and repeated his declarations of British support for Ukraine, telling him, We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take. Starmer sees himself as a potential bridge between the U.S. on the one hand and Europe and Ukraine on the other, but Trumps view of that role remains to be seen. For Britain as the junior partner in the relationship, whether it is special or not, there is the underlying and ongoing challenge of Trumps utter unpredictability. Not only is it extremely difficult to foresee his next move, it is perilous to put much weight on his public pronouncements, as they can be amended, walked back or flatly denied according to his mood. In Hollywood, they say that you are only as good as your last picture. It is an idea Starmer should bear in mind. This visit was a moderate success, but given the pace of events and Trumps mercurial nature, the special relationship is only as good as its last meeting. Eliot Wilson is a freelance writer on politics and international affairs and the co-founder of Pivot Point Group. He was senior official in the U.K. House of Commons from 2005 to 2016, including serving as a clerk of the Defence Committee and secretary of the U.K. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. After the public falling out between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last Friday, some in the U.S. are renewing calls for Ukraine to hold elections, even as it fights off Russias unprovoked invasion. Holding elections before the war ends would be unwise. In addition to practical challenges, like counting refugee votes and protecting polling stations, it could imperil both Ukraines security and Trumps chances of brokering a good peace deal. This issue took center stage in mid-February amid a quarrel in which Trump labeled his Ukrainian counterpart a dictator without elections. But the Trump administrations demand that Ukraine hold elections reportedly now officially American policy, according to Vice President JD Vance predates that spat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps envoy for Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, publicly called for elections in early February. Administration officials have reportedly mulled a plan to push Ukraine to hold elections as part of an initial cease-fire, followed by negotiations for a long-term peace deal. Some members of Congress have echoed the administrations call for elections. Elected in 2019, Zelenskys term was originally supposed to end last May. But after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv imposed martial law, which Ukraines parliament has voted 14 times to extend, most recently last month with zero nays. One effect of these extensions is to keep Zelensky in office, because elections are not allowed during periods of martial law. Sensibly, U.S. allies have quickly defended Zelensky against Trumps broadside, with London saying its perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the [United Kingdom] did during World War II. Although Kyivs lawmakers widely support postponing elections, the Kremlin is insisting that Ukrainians must go to the polls. Putin has repeatedly offered a pseudo-legal analysis, falsely contending that Zelensky is now illegitimate under Ukraines constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow argues that while Zelensky could engage in preliminary negotiations, he lacks the authority to sign a final deal, making elections a prerequisite to peace. Never mind that Russia itself doesnt hold free and fair elections. Putin likely sees elections as a way to replace the Ukrainian president with a more pliable alternative. Russia has complemented its public arguments with covert information operations aimed at discrediting Zelensky. And a torrent of misleading or false assertions from the likes of Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson have achieved far more than Moscow ever could on its own. Ukraine cherishes its democracy and independence. Thats why hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flooded the streets during the countrys Euromaidan protests and Revolution of Dignity in 2013 and 2014. And its why so many have given their lives to stave off Russias two subsequent invasions. However, there is broad consensus in Ukraine against holding elections before the war ends. Zelensky and opposition leaders alike point to practical challenges inhibiting secure and fully representative elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Campaign rallies, polling stations, election workers and foreign observers would be at risk from Russian aerial bombardment. That sort of threat wasnt a factor when America held elections during the Civil War and World War II. Then theres the daunting task of counting votes cast by the roughly 11 million Ukrainian refugees living abroad or internally displaced, not to mention citizens serving at the front, trapped in occupied territory, or subsisting in decimated frontline towns. Ukrainian officials and activists estimate that once martial law is lifted, preparations for an election will likely take at least six months and perhaps a year. Among other things, Ukraine, which previously conducted voting exclusively in person, will have to construct a secure system to reach displaced citizens. A poorly handled election could do more to harm than to help political legitimacy. There are also strategic reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we suspend martial law, we will lose the army, Zelensky has warned, as troops will return home and will have every right to return home. Military-age men and money would flee the country. Kyivs ability to mobilize defense-industrial production would diminish. And it was Ukraines top opposition leader who recently cautioned that the return of electoral politics would undermine unity, while the lifting of martial law would also give Russias intelligence services and proxies would greater latitude to conduct subversion operations. Ukraines ability to resist Russian aggression would crumble along with its negotiating leverage. Trumps diplomatic efforts, in turn, would likely go up in smoke, as Putin would grow even less willing to abandon his maximalist demands. If Russia emerges victorious despite all the Wests efforts to date, it could embolden not only Moscow but Beijing as well. Ukraine will hold elections as soon as its safe to do so. As Zelensky recently analogized, You dont have dinner in the morning We cant have dinner [yet], because we need to live until the evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A cease-fire alone wouldnt be a sufficient guarantee, as members of the parliaments defense committee have noted. Ukraine would be left vulnerable in the likely event that Russia violates the ceasefire and resumes offensive operations. For now, of course, the debate over elections takes a backseat to the first-order matter of getting U.S.-Ukraine relations back on track. If Washington truly wants to end the war and help Ukraine preserve its freedom, it must find a way to move forward with Kyiv. It should then focus on establishing greater negotiating leverage. That means continuing military assistance as well as tightening sanctions on Russias economy to shorten the amount of time it can sustain the war. John Hardie is the deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The closure of a child care program can be devastating to children, families and the early educators who staff them. When a number of programs owned and operated by the same company often referred to as a child care chain start closing in rapid succession, it becomes cause for alarm and deserves attention. Thats whats happening with Guidepost Montessori, as multiple sites around the country are closing. This episode, which is one of the first illustrations in the U.S. of what can happen when a for-profit child care chain goes sideways, calls for close scrutiny. Guidepost Montessori is a network of more than 130 Montessori-inspired child care programs and schools serving children ages birth to 18, with most programs focusing on children under 6 years old, according to its website. Most sites are located in the U.S., with some abroad. The network is owned and operated by Higher Ground Education, an education management company that is backed by tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding. Higher Ground Education pursues what one of its funders refers to as a hyper-scaling approach, and founder and CEO Ray Girn (who recently resigned) once drew an explicit analogy to Airbnb, telling EdSurge in 2020, I think that there is an opportunity to achieve [with Guidepost] what ride-sharing apps or Airbnb have achieved: show the world another way of doing education at a sufficient scale. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Yet just since the beginning of 2025, at least 16 closures have been reported by local news outlets: Guidepost has announced closures of all five active sites in Colorado (and paused a sixth site that was slated to open) as well as three sites in Ohio, two in Iowa, two in Minnesota, and sites in Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These closures follow others that occurred abruptly last year in Virginia and in Oregon (the latter allegedly as a response to staff unionization attempts). Importantly, these are just the known closures that have been publicly reported in the news. In a Feb. 28 post on the Higher Ground Education Substack, where the company shares weekly memos, new co-CEO Maris Mendes acknowledged that the company is in the midst of closing nearly 1/3 of the school communities that have so lovingly been built over the past 9 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Mendes, the driving force behind the closures is the same hyper-scaling strategy Higher Grounds investors saw as a selling point; she writes that, In our eagerness to meet the vast vision of our mission, we overextended ourselves, growing our school network beyond what we could effectively support, both financially and operationally. Specifically, the company is struggling to pay rent to landlords. Last year, two Guidepost Montessori sites in Northern Virginia closed after reportedly missing multiple rent payments, spurring the landlords to change the locks. In December 2024, Guidepost lost a civil judgment in Missouri for nearly $240,000 in non-payment of rent and unlawful detainer of the premises by Guidepost. Similarly, in a letter to Denver ABC 7 about the Colorado closures, Guidepost asserted that Our organization struggled to raise the capital necessary to support our schools, the majority of which were still recovering [from the pandemic], and suffering major losses. At many schools, we were running losses of $50,000+ per month that our creditors were no longer willing to subsidize, and weve had to figure out how to manage. In some cases, our landlords have been able to help us navigate these difficulties. They have generously provided rent relief, or renegotiated lease terms, in order to help an individual school to overcome its challenges and reach a point of financial sustainability. In other cases, that hasnt been possible. The pandemic point is an interesting one. The pandemic certainly threw many child care programs for a loop, but its worth observing that Guidepost raised $70 million in equity through two funding rounds in January and April of 2021 and continued to open new sites at a rapid clip, suggesting an aggressive strategy despite the pandemic rather than one hobbled by it. The trouble Guidepost finds itself in is reminiscent of other child care chain collapses or near-collapses outside of the U.S. As I wrote last year, large chains like Australias ABC Learning and the Netherlands Estro Group previously saw rapid and widespread closures due to financial mismanagement or overly aggressive growth. While much more remains to be investigated, Guidepost may be on the path toward becoming one of Americas most significant child care collapses. Its unclear what the outcome will be for the network, but its certainly worth asking questions about how and why this happened, whether there are any problematic trends that reach beyond Guidepost and pose risks for other chains, and what can be done to stop a company relied on by so many families and educators from getting in this type of mess in the first place. Like a gang of political Mean Girls, the Republican Party is totally committed to making Russia happen. The last two weeks leave no question about President Trumps feelings toward Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The speed and totality of Trumps policy shift shocked our foreign allies and divided congressional Republicans, culminating in his surprise decision to pause all military aid to Ukraine even as the country faced a heavy new round of Russian air raids. Americas pivot to a pro-Russian foreign policy isnt Trumps doing alone, though/ Across the federal government, we are witnessing a coordinated Republican effort to realign American foreign policy away from the worlds liberal democracies and toward gangster regimes like Putins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for this to succeed, Trump must change Americans overwhelmingly negative opinion of Russia. Sadly, plenty of Republican leaders are willing to whitewash Putins brutality for political gain. Trumps frontal assault began in earnest this week when he joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to demand Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys resignation. Calling for regime change against an American ally is a hugely destabilizing move, made even worse by a Republican media blitz intended to portray Zelensky not as the victim of unprovoked Russian aggression but as a dictator and aggressor. That was too much for Rep. John James (R-Mich.), who joined Face the Nation to flatly reject Johnsons and Trumps warped view of history. Russia is the aggressor, James told Margaret Brennan, adding that Putin is a war criminal hardly deserving of American sympathy. In response, Trump supporters flooded Jamess social media accounts with the bitter recriminations and threats that have become the MAGA movements bleak trademark. The effort to portray Zelensky as the villain in the Russo-Ukrainian War goes beyond just revisionist history amplified by partisan media outlets. Last month, the U.S. opposed a G-7 statement labeling Russia as the wars aggressor, just days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the door on Ukraines entry into NATO an announcement celebrated by Russian state media outlets as a victory nearly as valuable as winning the ground war itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Trump can have his own Nixon-in-China moment in Red Square, hell need to unwind decades of economic sanctions Russia earned through financial crimes, human rights violations and state sponsorship of terrorism. The White House took its first steps toward removing those sanctions on Monday, when Trump requested the State and Treasury departments draft plans for normalizing economic relations with Putin. Removing those sanctions would put the U.S. in the bizarre position of stage-managing Russias return from economic and political exile not as a reformed liberal democracy but as an anti-democratic alternative to Europe and the West. This would shred nearly a century of post-World War II collective security and torch the trust of Americas most essential allies. This is a path to ruin. Unfortunately, there is growing evidence that Trumps pro-Russia psy-op is beginning to turn public opinion against Ukraine and Zelensky. A CBS News-YouGov poll found that Trump enjoyed a 2-point net approval on his handling of Russia and Ukraine, compared to Bidens 22-point net disapproval rating at the end of 2024. Even so, a majority of Americans still support Ukraines side of the conflict though those numbers are fading fast, as more voters open up to the idea of a compromise. Voters are also acutely aware that their president has a soft spot for Russia. Forty-six percent of respondents said Trumps actions clearly favored Russia, compared to just 11 percent who said his actions favored Ukraine. The Republican Partys newfound fondness for Putin has led many Americans to question their own opinions about Russia, with the country now evenly split between viewing Russia as an enemy and an ally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By eliminating sanctions against Putins corrupt oligarchs and erasing the horrific history of war crimes that earned Russia its economic isolation, Trump hopes to cleanse Americas cultural memory of the atrocities weve witnessed over the course of decades. His new diplomacy aligns the U.S. with the struggling illiberal regimes of the world and endorses their criminal practices. Its a nightmarish future both for America and for the world. It is pointless to guess at Trumps motivations in linking arms with Putin and the other wretched autocrats with whom he finds common cause. Whats easier to understand is the immense cost of the foreign policy shift Trump and his cronies are trying to inflict on our country. If Republicans have any serious foreign policy voices left, theyre running out of time to speak up. Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Last weeks on-camera confrontation between President Trump and Vice President JD Vance on the one hand, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the other, has shocked the world. One especially remarkable feature was Trumps insistence by Trump, and even more that of Vance, that Zelensky had not thanked the U.S. sufficiently for American support for Ukraine after Russia invaded it. Never mind that Zelensky has thanked the U.S. for its support on numerous occasions CNN found that he had done so 33 times. Trumps and Vances complaint was that Zelenskys failure to do so while meeting them at the White House was especially disrespectful and perhaps a cause for the U.S. to cut back or even end its aid to Ukraine. It was the Biden administration that got Congress to support Ukraine with Republican support at first, but later in the face of Republican opposition. And Trump spoke disrespectfully about former President Joe Biden during the meeting with Zelensky even though the meeting was held in the very office where Biden had worked and where people are supposed to speak respectfully, as Vance would have it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking of thankfulness, Trump has never thanked Biden for not obstructing him from taking office in January 2025, the way Trump tried to do to Biden in January 2021. And there is no record of Trump practicing what he preaches by thanking French President Emmanuel Macron during their recent White House meeting for French military support to Americans fighting for independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War support that was vital to the rebel cause, which might well not have succeeded without it. As with French support for the American revolutionaries in the 18th century, American support for Ukraine in its war with Russia was not provided just out of charity or a desire to further a good cause. Nations who provide military assistance to others fighting wars do so when they calculate that it is in their interests. The Biden administration along with many European and other Western governments provided military assistance to Ukraine because they feared that a Russian defeat of Ukraine could result in worse consequences for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One is that an emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin might think America and its allies unwilling to help Ukraine defend itself, and conclude that they wont defend other countries in Europe, either that have far smaller populations than Ukraine. Yes, they may be NATO members which (unlike Ukraine) the U.S. along with other members of the alliance are committed to defend. But Putin might calculate that if the U.S. will let fall a large country like Ukraine that has fought Russia for years, he could swiftly overrun a much smaller country before NATO can react. He may even calculate (correctly or not) that Trump would make another small sacrifice to avoid direct U.S. involvement in war. Nor is Putin the only dictator who might think U.S. unwillingness to help Ukraine gives him a free hand. If the U.S. stops helping Ukraine, after all, why should it help Taiwan or any other country on Chinas periphery? Yes, Zelensky and Ukrainians in general should be thankful for the American and other Western assistance they are receiving. And they are. But Americans and other Westerners should be grateful that Ukrainians and not they themselves are the ones fighting Putins aggression. Unfortunately, while insisting that they be thanked for American assistance to Ukraine, Trump and Vance did not thank Zelensky or Ukrainians in general for undertaking the burden of fighting against the Russian aggression that threatens Europe and the West more broadly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There needs to be a greater understanding among American critics of Zelensky that, apart from questions about who should thank who, or when and how often they should do so, the U.S. has supported Ukraines fight against Russia not out of charity but because it has been in Americas interests to do so. Reducing or ending American assistance to Ukraine because Trump and Vance do not think Zelensky has sufficiently displayed gratitude would hurt American security interests along with Ukrainian and European ones. Mark N. Katz is a professor emeritus at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The U.S. Agency for International Development is effectively dead. One of its killers unmentioned in the requiems for the agency is the idea of war feminism. War feminism stands for the belief that ideas of womens liberation espoused by Western feminists can be imposed on other societies via occupation and development aid. The visible and public failure to deliver womens liberation to Afghanistan delegitimized USAID in the eyes of Americans, who have decided to turn away from the idea of development aid altogether. In 2001, war feminists from both the Republican and Democratic parties vehemently supported the U.S. going to war with Afghanistan on behalf of Afghan women. This included First Lady Laura Bush, who famously announced in a November 2001 radio address that the U.S. would liberate Afghan women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Feminist leaders from the nonprofit Feminist Majority Foundation supported the war, even though Afghan womens groups had come out against it. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and future Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all supported the war-feminist agenda in Afghanistan. In the two decades that followed, USAID programs became the vehicle for this goal. The agency gave out hundreds of millions of dollars for empowerment programs that ranged from running competitions to the airlifting of fabrics and sewing machines. In 2018, the agency launched PROMOTE, one of the largest programs geared toward womens empowerment in the agencys history, which aimed to help 75,000 Afghan women with internships and job training. The programs price tag was $280 million, most of which went to U.S. contractors and failed to reach Afghan women altogether. A 2018 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction noted serious flaws in this expensive program. In certain cases, women who had attended a single workshop were noted as having benefited from the program. In other cases, the metrics for deliverables were lowered such that only 20 women out of the 3,000 job training participants would have had to find a job with the Afghan civil service for the program to be considered successful. The report notes that only 55 women could truly be said to have benefited from the program, a far cry from the 75,000 it was designed to help. For its part, in its formal response, USAID insisted that it had helped 50,000 Afghan women with training and support for skills so that they could do advocacy for womens rights and start their own businesses. Neither USAID nor the Inspector General report made any mention of the fact that the problem may has lay with the Westerners who believed that a one-size-fits-all model of womens liberation could be exported to another country and delivered on the back of the military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waste of these millions of dollars was obvious to U.S. taxpayers when the Taliban marched back into Kabul in August 2021 at the heels of a hurried U.S. withdrawal and reinstated all the draconian and misogynistic laws that America had promised to eradicate forever. Within months, women whom the U.S. could not liberate in 20 years were forced back to their homes. Girls schools beyond fifth grade were shuttered and women were not allowed to be outside their homes without an accompanying male guardian. Next door in Pakistan, where tribal areas were being bombed by U.S. Predator drones, war feminists again tried to export their ideas of womens empowerment via USAID. An Office of Management and Budget report from 2013 reviewed the performance of a grant of $40 million dollars made to a small Karachi-based NGO with the goal of improving the lives of Pakistani women. The report stated that the program had less than maximum impact and the programs grants had little lasting effect on the lives of women in Pakistan. Some of the projects undertaken by the grants were just as superfluous as the ones in Afghanistan. One example was a radio program to raise awareness about gender violence a noble goal in itself, but hardly the most effective allocation of funds in a country that ranks near to last in the global gender gap index. Nor was any consideration given to organizational capacity or the predictable issues that occurred when a small organization with a paltry budget is suddenly granted $40 million. In many cases, funds disbursed by USAID did provide much needed and essential services. But war feminism and the liberation of Afghan women that it made a goal delegitimized USAID in the eyes of the public. By the time Kabul fell, it was obvious that ideas of freedom cooked up by feminists in D.C. could not be translated to the Afghan context. The large amounts of unaccounted funds also exposed corruption within the organization and the intransigence of bureaucrats who refused to acknowledge failures or alter the direction of the organization when these failures were repeatedly pointed out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end of USAID is inextricably connected to the idea that womens liberation defined by technocratic bureaucrats as women receiving job training or sewing machines could not cover up the ignominies of warfare. The eagerness of war feminists to export liberation via bombs has left Afghan women more vulnerable and oppressed than ever before. The Trump administration and its supporters have lobbed many criticisms at the nearly defunct organization, but few admit that USAIDs failure also shows that moral legitimacy for war cannot be purchased via soft power costumed as womens liberation. Rafia Zakaria is a columnist at DAWN Pakistan and the author of the book Against White Feminism. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In the wake of George Floyds murder in 2020, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives expanded as organizations pledged to support historically marginalized groups. Now, we are witnessing a significant backlash against these efforts, with DEI facing political and ideological attacks. As a result, corporations and institutions are rescinding their DEI commitments, and negative consequences are emerging. For instance, enrollment of Black and Hispanic students at selective colleges declined after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action. Beyond the courts, the White House has launched its own anti-DEI initiatives, such as the Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity executive order on January 21 which arrived just as the nation was honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The order asserts that DEI policies deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter As someone who has studied moral philosophy and psychology and worked on DEI initiatives throughout my career in education, I find these assumptions disturbing. Meritocracy is an ideal worth striving for, but the playing field is not level in many settings, particularly in education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Education is rife with systemic inequities that disproportionately and predictably disadvantage students based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and language. These barriers hinder fair access to resources and opportunities. For example, schools in economically disadvantaged communities, especially those serving students of color, often struggle to attract and retain experienced, highly qualified educators. When I worked at a charter school in Indianapolis serving multilingual students and students of color, the average teacher tenure was just three years, meaning most were novices. In contrast, when I was an administrator in a highly affluent Chicago suburb, the teaching staff was a mix of experienced and new educators, most with advanced degrees and credentials. The disparities were staggering. Research consistently shows that teacher quality strongly influences student achievement. With high teacher turnover, it is nearly impossible to make strong gains, because the faculty and staff are unable to build the critical level of expertise needed for achieving excellence. Without DEI initiatives, how are schools supposed to address these persistent inequities? People define DEI in various ways. In my work, DEI initiatives focus on analyzing, studying, and addressing inequities; promoting and valuing diversity; and creating environments that foster inclusion and belonging. For example, my team and I applied DEI frameworks to explore ways to increase the success of historically marginalized groups in STEM courses and career pathways. A review of the research showed that one barrier for many students was a lack of connections to STEM professionals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A school questionnaire revealed that most of our students did not personally know a scientist or understand what an engineer does. In response, we developed a STEM strategic plan that intentionally incorporated mentoring opportunities with scientists and engineers who identified as female or as people of color. In addition, we expanded access to assistive technologies for students who might otherwise struggle to fully engage with STEM content. Tools such as language translators, closed captioning, and text readers improved accessibility for multilingual learners and students receiving special education services. At its core, DEI is about fostering a fair and just society. Eliminating DEI programs allows deeply flawed systems to persist. In education, women and people of color remain underrepresented in leadership roles. The School Superintendents Associations 2020 Decennial Study found that the typical superintendent is male and white. At the time of the study, only 27% of superintendents were women. Related Why Arent More Women Running Americas School Districts? A 2023 study from the University of Texas at Austin confirmed similar numbers in Texas, despite women comprising 76% of the teaching workforce. This suggests that the path to leadership is not equally accessible to women, even as they are held to the same credentialing and training requirements as men. DEI initiatives help identify and address these disparities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same study found racial disparities in leadership, as well. While Hispanic students made up 53% of Texass student population, 79% of school superintendents were white. Research has shown that students of color benefit from educators who share their identities, suggesting that increasing Hispanic representation in educational leadership could better serve Texas youth. Yet, Trumps recent executive order prohibits considering race in hiring decisions. Opponents have irresponsibly weaponized the term DEI hire to argue that marginalized individuals who attain leadership positions are unqualified, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and deepening inequities. This perspective assumes that white superintendents dominate leadership positions solely due to merit, an argument that dangerously echoes long-debunked racial hierarchies of intelligence. Related Teachers Unions, Sociologists Sue over Trump Ban on Racial Content in Schools True DEI is not about being anti-white or indoctrinating students with a liberal ideology. It is about ensuring that all individuals, especially the historically marginalized, have equitable access to success. The current backlash against DEI risks cementing barriers that have persisted for generations, leaving educators with fewer tools to address disparities. At its core, education is meant to be a great equalizer. But without intentional efforts to level the playing field, it often reinforces existing inequalities. DEI is not a threat to meritocracy it is an essential mechanism for achieving it. As educators, we have a moral obligation to uphold these principles, ensuring that fairness and justice remain foundational in our schools and society. President Donald Trumps wrecking ball approach to governing has been swiftly met with dozens of federal lawsuits, filed on behalf of those affected by the fallout. As a result, the Justice Department has been working overtime to defend Trumps policy swings in venues across the country. In many cases, prosecutors are left appearing deeply uninformed about the rapid changes happening within the administration when appearing before the bench. A hearing in Maryland on Friday highlighted just how overwhelming the deluge of litigation has become for government lawyers. The suit in question alleges that the Department of Government Oversight has acted unconstitutionally in the attempted shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang was deeply skeptical that billionaire Elon Musk isnt the one running DOGE, as the government has asserted. During Fridays hearing, he pressed the Justice Departments attorneys on why they hadnt provided more documentation to back up their claims. In response, Justice Department lawyer Joshua Gardner tried to explain the context for the lack of information he was able to provide the court. Since Jan. 20, we have received approximately 80 lawsuits and our staff at the Justice Departments Federal Programs Branch has been cut in half, Gardner told the judge. We have about half the number of staff that we had in November, and we are working on these expedited schedules. When Chuang asked whether that meant the Justice Department wasnt taking the case seriously, Gardner responded: Its the opposite. I havent had a day off since Jan. 20. Were working day and night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the Justice Departments Civil Division, the Federal Programs Branch has been described as an elite team that acts as the governments first line of defense in court. The Justice Departments website for the branch, which according to its metadata was last updated in 2023, says it is headed by three directors, who oversee a staff of approximately 110 attorneys and 25 support personnel. Those staffers are then spread out across 12 litigation areas, including health and education, employment discrimination, and national security, national defense and foreign policy. If what Gardner said is accurate, that would mean that the branch now has a staff of roughly 55 attorneys, who are all working on at least one case and probably are juggling multiple cases among them. Moreover, the dozens of lawsuits that have been filed span the branchs litigation areas. Theres no guarantee that the lawyers who were cut, as Gardner put it, were evenly distributed among those areas, leaving some even more understaffed than others. The Justice Department is looking to fill those roles quickly, Bloomberg News reported last week, sending out emails urging lawyers to take immediate transfers to the Federal Programs Branch. The same roles have also been open to the public for a month now, making the reported Justice Department plea for staffers from the tax and civil rights divisions to swap over seem even more strained. Normally, these are highly competitive positions. And I, for one, find the scramble to try to fill these roles deeply encouraging as a sign that the federal justice system, while deeply strained, is still holding out against Trumps consolidation of power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, it shows that theres a need for competent lawyers that Attorney General Pam Bondi hasnt been able to backfill with MAGA devotees. She has made it clear in memos issued upon taking office that she views U.S. attorneys and other Justice Department lawyers as the presidents lawyers, rather than serving the country, and that any who refuse to provide zealous advocacy for his agenda could be fired. But while the upper echelons of Main Justice might be filled with Trump loyalists, including his former defense attorneys, theyre having a harder time finding attorneys at this crucial level willing to sign up to serve Trumps agenda without question. It also indicates that theres little appetite among career lawyers to apply to billets that would normally be quickly filled. Gardner himself can be seen as something of a cautionary tale when it comes to attracting qualified lawyers who are willing to defend the seemingly indefensible. As a career Justice Department official, he served as counsel during the first Trump administration in a case challenging the Commerce Departments attempt to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Gardner was on vacation in 2019 when the judge set up a conference call to ask about a tweet that Trump had sent out that morning that seemingly contradicted what the Justice Department had told the court the day before. The tweet this morning was the first I had heard of the presidents position on this issue, just like the plaintiffs and your honor, Gardner said in a response that felt deeply relatable even then. I do not have a deeper understanding of what that means at this juncture other than what the president has tweeted. But obviously, as you can imagine, I am doing my absolute best to figure out whats going on. Whatever answer he got resulted in the administrations switching out the entire team of lawyers arguing the case in a move The New York Times called all but unprecedented in legal battles as consequential as the citizenship question issue. Altogether, its not exactly fodder for a convincing recruitment video for the Federal Programs Branch. To be honest, Im glad that were in a place where the Justice Department feels the need to hire new lawyers for these roles. Weve already seen a purge or sidelining of the government lawyers like those within the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel, who were best positioned to question the legality of the Trump administrations actions from the inside. But theres still a notable effort from Trumps inner circle to push back against external allegations of illegality and win over judges who, at least for now, are willing to keep the executive in check. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From where Im sitting, the administrations attempting to defend its policies in court means that it hasnt decided to ignore the judicial branchs authority and rulings altogether. As long as that remains the case, there is a chance that the worst of the damage Trump is wreaking could be halted or reversed before its too late. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com When the former Soviet republics declared independence in the early 1990s, Ukraine became the owner of the worlds third-largest nuclear arsenal. At the time, American leaders seemed to think that, as far as our own security was concerned, Russia would be a safer repository than Ukraine for nuclear arms. We were, to be sure, a bit enamored first with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and then with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. In retrospect, it is unclear which was more mystifying: thinking that Russia would be a better friend to America than Ukraine, or thinking that Ukraine could be a bigger threat than Russia to America. Be that as it may, the U.S. applied tremendous pressure on Ukraine to surrender its nuclear arms to Russia and to sign a pledge to become a non-nuclear state. At the time, Ukraine possessed long-range bombers that could deliver nuclear bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads and a range of tactical nuclear arms. Ukraine at first resisted American pressure because, as its leaders said, it feared yet another repeat of Russian imperialism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after numerous negotiations and much American arm-twisting, the Ukrainians agreed to our demands. That agreement was memorialized in what is referred to as the Budapest Memorandum, signed by Ukraine, the U.S., the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation in 1994. The Budapest Memorandum is something of an odd document. It was executed in three languages English, Ukrainian and Russian. The English-language version is titled Memorandum on Security Assurances in Connection with Ukraines Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The title of the Ukrainian version starts Memorandum on Security Guarantees not Assurances. Ukrainian negotiators have maintained that America promised that if Ukraine were attacked, the U.S. would respond in defense. Former Amb. Steven Pifer, a member of the U.S. negotiating team, has confirmed to me that indeed, although never providing a NATO Article Five-type guarantee, American negotiators did promise the Ukrainians that if they were invaded, the U.S. would take an interest and act in their defense. But what is perhaps most striking about the Budapest Memorandum is the extraordinary imbalance in bargaining power among the parties. Between 1991 and 1994, the U.S. and Russia basically ganged up on Ukraine to pressure it to denuclearize. Ukraine did do, destroying or transferring to Russia its bombers and rockets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some have since argued that, because it is very expensive to maintain a strategic nuclear arsenal, and because it was then undergoing a difficult economic transition, Ukraine would not have been able to afford to maintain the bombers and rockets whose nuclear warheads required frequent and expensive refueling. Perhaps. But during that same three-year pressure campaign, Russia also managed in 1992 to surreptitiously extract for itself the tactical nuclear arms located in Ukraine. Tactical nuclear arms are much easier and less expensive to maintain and would today serve as a valuable deterrent. When two parties with very unequal bargaining power reach agreement, often because the much weaker party is acting under duress, and the weaker party performs its part of the deal, courts sometimes try to fix the bargain to make it less unfair. To be sure, there are no international courts as there are domestic courts that could force America or Russia to act in compliance with their respective promises in the first paragraph of the Budapest Memorandum, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine. But the lack of such a court does not make Americas moral and political obligation disappear. The U.S. placed intense pressure upon Ukraine to denuclearize, although, given the repeated invasions that Ukraine had endured over the preceding century, it was not in Ukrainian interest to do so fully. But Ukraine did completely denuclearize, as the U.S. had insisted and as memorialized in the Budapest Memorandum. Since then, Ukraine has twice been invaded by Russia, in 2014 and 2022. Based on the promises it made to Ukraine and on the nature of the negotiations it conducted, the U.S. has an obligation short of boots on the ground to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend its territorial integrity and political independence. Pretending that we have forgotten all about the Budapest Memorandum and the negotiations leading up to it wont wash, and it certainly is not befitting a great power to ignore its past promises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bohdan Vitvitsky is a retired federal prosecutor who served as a resident legal advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ATHENS, Greece (AP) Protesters launched gasoline bombs and fireworks in clashes with police outside Greece's parliament late Wednesday, in renewed nationwide protests calling for politicians to be held accountable for a 2023 rail disaster that claimed 57 lives. Scores of youths set fire to trash bins in Syntagma Square in central Athens, and police in riot gear responded with tear gas and baton charges. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests. The fierce clashes erupted hours after opposition parties challenged Greece's center-right government with a no-confidence motion in parliament. Days earlier, a general strike and much larger protests, some violent, marked the second anniversary of the Feb. 28, 2023, tragedy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train at Tempe in northern Greece were university students returning from a long weekend holiday. Dozens of people were injured in the crash. Victims' relatives called for the mass mobilization in recent weeks, saying politicians should be held accountable for failures that led to the collision. So far, only rail officials have been charged. The censure motion led by the main opposition Socialist party and backed by three smaller left-wing parties is unlikely to threaten the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. A vote is expected late Friday. Presenting the motion on Wednesday, Socialist party leader Nikos Androulakis accused the government of shielding officials from accountability for the tragedy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of insults and arrogance? Androulakis asked lawmakers. Thats why we are submitting a motion of no confidence today. Mitsotakis described the censure motion as a political stunt and insisted it poses no threat to his second term, which is due to end in 2027. Parties from different vantage points have come together in a common anti-government front, Mitsotakis told lawmakers. It's not the truth that you are interested in. But you have collapsed in opinion polls and are looking for a reason to exist. ___ Petros Giannakouris and Lefteris Pitarakis contributed U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, left, brought fired U.S. Forest Service field ranger Liz Crandall as her guest for President Donald Trump's address to Congress. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum's office) Liz Crandall was supposed to spend Tuesday renewing the wilderness first responder certification she needed as a field ranger for the U.S. Forest Service. Instead, Crandall is in Washington, D.C., as U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynums guest to President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress, where shell face the man whose administration fired her and thousands of other federal workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crandall and more than a dozen colleagues abruptly lost their jobs at the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District in the Deschutes National Forest in mid-February when the White Houses Department of Government Efficiency fired probationary employees across government agencies. Liz is a dedicated public servant and played a key role in public safety, Bynum said during a call with Oregon reporters Tuesday. Her firing benefits no one, and it certainly doesnt lower costs or create jobs or improve quality of life. Her decision to bring Crandall as her guest to Trumps first address to Congress is in line with other Democrats in Oregon and around the country, who are using the event to highlight Trump and special government employee Elon Musks cuts to the federal workforce and federal programs. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, both Oregon Democrats, will also bring federal workers as guests. Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Oregon, will show up with a local firefighter to highlight cuts to wildfire mitigation programs and the federal agencies that work with state and local firefighters to extinguish blazes. And Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, is skipping the speech entirely. Instead, hell host a virtual town hall, livestreamed on Facebook, for Oregon residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I always think its important to remember that there is a human face behind every policy that we make, and I would hope that its hard for the president to look someone in the eye that he directed that their job be terminated through no fault of their own, Bynum said. And I would hope that by bringing her forth and bringing the stories that shes carrying forth, that those people would have their jobs reinstated. Crandall has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for nine years, mostly as a seasonal employee, before landing a full-time job in 2023. Most federal employees are on probationary contracts during their first year or two at a full-time job, before they gain the full protections of civil service employment. If she hadnt been fired, she said she would be spending the early spring working on prescribed burns and keeping the public from burn sites. She also would be training for summer firefighting work, including taking an annual test that involves carrying a heavy backpack on a trek through the forest. We must come together as a united nation to protect our federal workers, who consist of your neighbors, your family, your friends, or just local community members, Crandall said. In doing so, we are protecting our communities and our public lands, which boast our history, natural beauty and draw visitors from around the world and around the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merkleys guest, Isabella Isaksen, is a U.S. Army veteran and Olympic pentathlete who worked as a public information officer for the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland before her sudden firing. Lets be clear: workers like Isabella arent fraud, government waste, or numbers on a spreadsheet, Merkley said in a statement. Theyre real people performing essential everyday duties in our communities. Isabella agreed to bear witness to this speech with me, as she and thousands of other public servants across this nation deserve an explanation for why they were illegally fired without any consideration to the immense expertise, value and economic benefits they bring to our communities. Dexter, a Democrat who represents the 3rd Congressional District that stretches from Portland to Hood River, will bring Alan Ferschweiler, legislative director of the Oregon State Firefighters Council. Ferschweiler told the Capital Chronicle that many of the federal employees who lost their jobs held the incident qualification card, or red card, that serves as an interagency certification for fighting fires. Firefighters from federal, state and local agencies and rural fire service districts work together to combat blazes, and those federal employees are crucial to keeping small fires from growing bigger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The main issue is trying to keep them small with the workforce thats out there, and then supporting us as they do get bigger, Ferschweiler said. We work hand in hand with all the agencies federally to be able to help suppress them, either on the line or through logistics, and its a big cut, especially to Oregon, to the potential wildfires thats coming up. Oregons congressional delegation has signed onto multiple letters urging federal bureaucrats to restore fire positions and funding for mitigation, and Gov. Tina Kotek personally urged the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support Oregons fire efforts during a meeting at the White House last month. But so far, Dexter said, their pleas arent being heard. It really is clear that there is nothing efficient about letting our communities burn, which is effectively what they are signing us up for, Dexter said. We have had increasingly intense and prolonged wildfire seasons, and it is 100% putting lives at stake in the name of politics. Bonamici will bring Arielle Kane, a maternal health policy analyst who was fired from her job at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Firing her blocks work that saves lives of mothers and babies, Bonamici said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not here to say everything is perfect in the U.S. health care system, but when you fire the people working on making it better, you arent going to fix anything, Kane added. Maternal health outcomes in the U.S. are the worst among high-income countries and gutting the team thats working to improve outcomes at lower costs wont make them any better. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) As President Donald Trump delivered his first congressional address of his second term Tuesday, several Oregon lawmakers were absent from the floor in protest. During his Joint Address to Congress, the president spoke of swift and unrelenting action to cut down on government spending and place restrictions on illegal immigration all while decrying the wokeness of the preceding Biden administration. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Eye on Northwest Politics Ahead of the speech, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced he would not be in attendance. Donald Trump campaigned on the premise that he would lower costs on day one of his presidency, Wyden said. But just a month in, all Trump has managed to do is gut the agencies in charge of protecting consumers, and going after predatory corporations, and land us in trade wars that drive up the cost of goods that people use every day. Congresswomen Maxine Dexter (OR-3) and Andrea Salinas (OR-6), however, chose to attend the Joint Address and leave midway through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Dexter who brought Oregon firefighter Alan Ferschweiler as a guest following his termination in recent DOGE reductions shared a statement about her decision to leave the presidents speech. I refuse to normalize Trumps constitutional crisis. I will loudly fight back. I will relentlessly disrupt. I will unapologetically resist, Dexter said. Tonight, I left the State of the Union because I will not dignify his crueltyand I want him to know that. Clackamas County Commissioner Melissa Fireside indicted on felony theft charges Rep. Salinas also shared the following statement claiming the president had crossed out the Constitution and crowned himself king with his recent actions in office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the support of his unelected Co-President, Elon Musk, Trump has fired thousands of essential workers, cut off critical funding for small businesses, farmers, and rural communities, and attempted to steal trillions of dollars from the American people to give tax breaks to billionaires. He has pursued reckless trade wars that are killing jobs, devastating local industries, and raising prices for consumers in Oregon and across the country. He has abandoned our allies in favor of dictators who want nothing more than to see America destroyed. Tonight, President Trump spewed more lies and continued to ignore the reality that his policies are hurting working families not helping them. In protest, I decided to leave the House Chamber early, rather than listen to more false promises from a wannabe dictator. I will not be complicit as the President makes life harder for Oregonians. Rather, I will continue to stand up for my constituents and speak out against the abuses of this Administration. Our fight has only just begun, and I will not back down. Evidence shows Dane was at Siletz Rivers edge Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-5), who was joined by former field ranger Liz Crandall, chose to remain at the address but shared a statement that criticized Trumps status quo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tonight, I went into Trumps speech hoping to hear a plan to lower costs, create better jobs, and improve our quality of life. It was important to me to show up, listen, and stand up for the people of Oregon. And I stayed through the end to hold the President accountable to all of us because I dont leave Oregonians behind. I was looking for disruption to the status quo, not Trumps vision of destruction. Unfortunately, I left his speech without that promise. Instead, his focus was on making the rich richer and leaving our families behind. He didnt commit to protect Medicaid and Social Security from devastating cuts, and doubled down on the work of Elon Musk and DOGE. My guest, a former field ranger who protected Central Oregon against wildfires, was a victim of DOGEs cuts, as was our communities public safety. That doesnt help anyone. Its time we embrace a disruption to the status quo, reject Trumps destruction, and put the American people first. Tonight, they were listening and its a shame they werent the focus. The only Republican in Oregons congressional delegation, Cliff Bentz, attended the address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Firefighting foam, used at airports and military bases, has been identified as a source of toxic PFAS chemicals. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fire Administration) Efforts to get harmful forever chemicals out of firefighting foam used in Oregon are closer to being realized. The state Senate voted nearly unanimously Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 91 and ban perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from firefighting foam used on the ground by firefighters. A vote in the House of Representatives has not yet been scheduled, but if passed, it would make Oregon the 16th state to essentially outlaw PFAS-laden firefighting foam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PFAS are human-made chemical chains that do not break down or go away naturally but instead have for decades leached into rivers and streams and contaminated water supplies. Theyare thought to now be in the blood of everyone in the U.S., according to research and testing from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The chemicals have long been used in flame retardants, non-stick cookware and other products, and are known or suspected by the EPA to be harmful when consumption or exposure persists over long periods. They can lead to increased risks for cancers and birth defects, among other effects. Under Senate Bill 91, fire departments would have until July 1, 2026 to phase out foams that contain PFAS, and find alternative ones that do not contain PFAS. The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, who said in a news release that fire stations in her district have already phased out their use of flame retardants that contain PFAS. Oregon was the first state to direct all airports to phase out a common PFAS-laden foam, AFFF foam, which has largely been replaced by a non-PFAS containing foam called P3, according to Karl Koenig, president of the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials from the Oregon State Fire Marshals Office told lawmakers they are not aware of any use of firefighting foam with PFAS among the fire departments they coordinate with and officials of the Oregon Department of Forestry told lawmakers they do not use firefighting foam containing PFAS. Koenig, a retired fighter and paramedic, told lawmakers at a February hearing on the bill that he regrettably played with and used thousands of gallons of AFFF foam. He said if the bill passes the Oregon Fire Chiefs would work with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to inventory how much of the AFFF foam and other foams containing PFAS still exist in the state and find the best way to exchange or dispose of them. We dont know if theres five gallons out there or 500,000 gallons out there. My gut feel is its in the middle, he told lawmakers. The bill makes an exception for firefighting foams that are or could be required by a regulation of the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal law, but some federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Defense, are phasing them out. The U.S. Forest Service has not ended the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) A 3-year-old had to undergo emergency surgery and is in critical condition after he suffered a gunshot wound to the head in Lewis County. On Feb. 17, troopers with the West Virginia State Police spoke to Caleb Heckert, 29, and Corinda Heater, 30, while at St. Josephs Hospital in Buckhannon, where their child was being treated for a gunshot wound to the head, according to a criminal complaint. Heater told troopers that while she was in the bathroom at their house in remote Lewis County, the child went into her bedroom, accessed a revolver that was on a shelf and fired a shot; when she heard the shot, she went into the room and saw the child laying on the floor, the complaint said. Corinda Heater Caleb Heckert Heckert then drove the child toward the hospital but crashed the vehicle on the way at the intersection of Buckhannon Run Road and U.S. 33/48, troopers said. The child was not restrained in a car seat, nor was one located within the vehicle, the complaint said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harrison County school aide arrested for allegedly displaying obscene material to minor Heater then picked up Heckert and the child and went to St. Josephs. The child was later transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown where he had emergency surgery due to a gunshot wound to the head, trooper said. During a search of the house where the child was reportedly shot, troopers found multiple guns, bows, knives, rusty tools and adult toys within reach of the child, and the childs room was in deplorable condition with trash bags and animal feces on the floor. In later interviews, Heater admitted she may have left the revolver laying on the dryer in the bedroom, within reach of [the child] while he was unsupervised, and Heckert admitted the unsecured location where he keeps the revolver on top of the gun cabinet has been accessed by [the child] in the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heater and Heckert have been charged with child neglect resulting in injury on March 4 and are each being held in the Central Regional Jail on $100,000 bail. Troopers said that as of March 5, the child is still in critical condition, and the shooting is still under investigation. Editors note: This story has been updated with details from a West Virginia State Police press release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. "Despicable Me" star Steve Carell delivered some Gru-d news for hundreds of Southern California high school students affected by this year's devastating wildfires. The beloved "Office" and "Evan Almighty" comedian announced on Tuesday that he is working with a Virginia-based charity to send every senior at six Pasadena high schools to their respective proms for free. In an Instagram video, Carell informed students that the charity "Alice's Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets." The actor, a long-time donor for the charity, added: "And if you have already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you for your prom tickets. It's a pretty good deal." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Among thousands of Angelenos displaced by fires, celebrities face the same devastating losses Alice's Kids said in a Tuesday news release that it will donate approximately $175,000 to send more than 800 students to their dances. The offer will extend to students at Marshall Fundamental Secondary School, Aveson Charter School, and Blair, Rose City, Pasadena and John Muir high schools, the release said. Students at John Muir High School got word of Carell's "very special announcement" on Tuesday during an assembly. Video shared to the school's Instagram page shows students clapping and cheering for the news. And why not? Prom tickets across the selected schools vary in price, ranging from $80 to $130 each. "Knowing the financial pressure families are feeling, we wanted to at least erase the worry of paying for prom tickets," Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of Alice's Kids, said in Tuesday's release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: LAUSD sets aside $2.2 billion to rebuild burned campuses, make schools more resilient Free prom tickets could provide relief to the high school seniors, whose graduating year was upended by the ferocious Eaton fire in January. The blazes ravaged much of the Altadena neighborhood, destroyed about 9,000 homes and killed 17 people. Five Pasadena Unified School District school sites which educates 14,000 students were also severely damaged or destroyed in the fire. On Wednesday, Supt. Elizabeth Blanco told The Times that the district is grateful for the support from Carell and Alice's Kids. District families will appreciate "knowing that something's taken off their plate and their students can still have joy and experience this milestone in their lives," she said. Read more: Fire-damaged Palisades High seeks temporary home in old Santa Monica Sears building Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week's gesture is the latest boon of community support for students, families and staff affected by the fire. Blanco said more than 800 students and more than 100 staff members across the district lost their homes in January's blazes. "Our students do need hope," Blanco said, adding that the surprise for seniors means more than just a free ticket. "It represents hope, resilience and the support of a wider community that cares about the children and families," she said. Since the wildfires (including the Palisades fire that tore through the coast) in January, handfuls of celebrities and Hollywood entities have shown their support for SoCal communities. Now, Carell is part of the mix. Read more: Lopez: Stay in Altadena? 'Were torn, because we love this neighborhood and we love all these people.' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Pasadena's high school students face the long road of recovery and rebuilding their community, Carell reminded them to "have fun." He concluded his video: "Enjoy the prom. And remember, this is Steve Carell. Take it easy, guys." Times staff writers Teresa Watanabe and Daniel Miller contributed to this report. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Why are Indiana lawmakers trying to dismantle pass-fail grading systems? As the largest medical school in the U.S., Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) utilizes a pass-fail grading system, aligning with the majority of medical schools nationwide. Now, Senate Bill 289 threatens to disrupt this policy despite opposition from over 92% of surveyed IUSM students. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, only 12 out of 155 U.S. medical schools still use traditional grading. Pass-fail grading is crucial for increasing collaboration, well-roundedness, and reducing burnout among future physicians without compromising performance on national standardized exams. In fact, IUSM boasts a 99% residency placement rate, despite having the largest class sizes in the country, with approximately 360 students per year. Research supports these outcomes: A 2009 study published in Academic Medicine found that switching to a pass-fail system in the first two years of medical school significantly improved psychological well-being among students without any decline in academic performance, residency placements, or standardized test scores. The 2023 study published in BMC Medical Education further supported these results, demonstrating that residents trained under a pass-fail system did not statistically differ in their performance compared to their peers who underwent graded evaluations in their clinical years of medical school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This legislation seeks to reintroduce the unnecessary grading systems that should have been left in the past. It would require schools to switch to A-F grading systems or another merit-based system leaving vague guidance that would eliminate true pass/fair grading that students currently benefit from. SB 289 affects all allied health education even beyond medicine (dentistry, nursing, etc). Such changes would undermine the proven benefits of the pass-fail system, increasing stress and reducing collaboration among students without clear academic advantages. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US IUSMs incoming class is among the most competitive in the country, with a 6% acceptance rate and an average GPA of 3.8, IUSM medical students are committed to succeeding. These students have already demonstrated academic excellence and continue to do so by passing rigorous courses and sitting for standardized exams for every subject. Pass-fail grading does not reduce rigor but fosters deeper understanding and collaboration while reducing unnecessary stress. IUSM structures learning around small group exercises where students collaborate like they would on a health care team. Traditional grading systems pit students against each other and dampen collaboration with fears of seeming less capable. Increasingly, American medical schools have largely been transitioning to a pass-fail curriculum, with elite medical schools starting this trend. When prospective medical students are considering a school with a graded curriculum compared to a pass-fail curriculum, they are more likely to choose the latter option, one that allows them to take charge of their medical education and maintain a balanced life. Switching to a graded system reduces the potential number of talented students we can attract and retain in Indiana. This has direct implications and consequences for the health care of all Hoosiers across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The physician shortage in the U.S. is no secret, and burnout is a major contributing factor. Physicians have a suicide rate of 28 to 40 per 100,000more than double that of the general population. Pass-fail grading allows future physicians to maintain balance, preventing them from entering residency already burned out. This difference is significant: instead of chasing letter grades, students demonstrate mastery of the material in less time while engaging in experiences that make them more well-rounded and connected to their communities. They can spend quality time with loved ones, participate in research, volunteer at free clinics to understand patient needs firsthand, or collaborate with physicians in their chosen specialtiesbuilding research skills and relationships that will make them not only stronger residency applicants but also more compassionate and effective doctors. In the end, this means better care for Hoosiers and a health care system supported by physicians who are not just academically prepared, but emotionally resilient and deeply engaged with their communities. The future of medicine depends on training resilient, well-rounded physicians not just test-takers. Pass-fail grading is a proven system that allows medical students to succeed academically while reducing burnout and increasing collaboration. Lawmakers should prioritize evidence-based policies that support future doctors, not outdated measures that threaten their education and mental health. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A passenger in a car that crashed on the Key Peninsula last week after Mason County deputies pursued it down a state highway suffered life-threatening injuries and is in a coma, her brother told The News Tribune Tuesday. Sonnie Mayo, 47, was the sole passenger in a silver Camry that crashed head-on into another vehicle near Wright Bliss Road Northwest and 144th Street Northwest on the Key Peninsula on Feb. 25, The News Tribune reported. The driver of the Camry died in the wreck. The Pierce County Medical Examiner identified him as Jeffrey Allyn, 39, of Port Orchard. He was a suspect in an alleged property theft investigation and fled by car from a gas station after encountering Mason County sheriffs detectives, who chased him down state Route 302, The News Tribune reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayo isnt suspected of any crimes related to the incident, Mason County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Matt Colbenson told The News Tribune via email Monday. Colbenson also wrote that the agency is unsure of her relationship to Allyn. Mayo is from Salem, Oregon, and has two grown sons who live in Iowa, according to an email from her brother, Bob Huddleson. She came up by train to meet Allyn 48 hours before the wreck, Huddleson told The News Tribune. He doesnt know how she knew Allyn. Mayo has compound fractures in all four limbs and has been in a coma for several days, according to her brother. Shes fighting for her life, he wrote. This isnt the first serious wreck shes been in, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She hasnt driven a car since she got in a terrible car accident in Iowa back with her boys years ago, Huddleson wrote. Mason County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Colbenson initially told The News Tribune that the passenger in the silver Camry suffered minor injuries, but later clarified that the driver hit by the Camry suffered minor injuries and was alert and conscious at the scene. The passenger in the Camry suffered significant injuries and was extricated from the vehicle before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, Colbenson wrote in an email. He also wrote that the sheriffs office generally doesnt receive updates on patients medical condition after they leave the scene. The Pierce County Sheriffs Office handled the traffic investigation part of the incident, but their agency also doesnt receive updates from the hospital on patients condition, Pierce County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Carly Cappetto told The News Tribune Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked what property Allyn allegedly stole, Colbenson didnt give specifics. He wrote that Allyn has had numerous prior involvements with law enforcement in Mason County, including cases related to burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Detectives were working on recovering property that had been allegedly stolen from multiple burglaries in Mason County as part of an ongoing investigation, Colbenson wrote. A hospital employee wrestled a firearm out of the hands of a patient who shot a security guard in a Scottsdale emergency room, according to new court documents revealing details about the case. The man, who was identified Monday by Scottsdale police as 30-year-old Maximillian B.D. Yanofsky, was mentally disturbed and a "danger to the public" when he was taken into custody, according to the court documents. The incident took place in the HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center emergency room around 1 p.m. Sunday, according to Scottsdale police. A spokesperson for HonorHealth declined to comment on how an armed person was able to enter the emergency room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's their investigation," said the HonorHealth spokesperson, who said the matter is now in the hands of Scottsdale police. When multiple Scottsdale police officers arrived at the scene, they were told that several security guards were fighting with the armed man in the emergency room, according to court documents. At the time, the officers believed they might be walking into an active shooter situation. A spokesperson for the police department has since clarified that the incident was not an active shooter event but rather an isolated incident. When police officers entered the emergency room with their service weapons drawn, they found multiple security guards and hospital employees wrestling with the man, described as a white man around 6 feet 5 inches tall, while numerous employees and patients remained in the area. After Yanofsky was successfully wrestled to the ground, officers were able to handcuff him, according to court documents. One security guard was shot in the upper body during the struggle, according to Scottsdale police. The security guard, whose name is not being released at this time, was expected to survive their injuries and was receiving care at a trauma center, Scottsdale police confirmed. A second security guard reported a minor injury to their hand and wrist area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yanofsky was initially brought to the emergency room by his cousin, who was interviewed at the hospital. The cousin reported that Yanofsky had come to his residence the night before the shooting and said he needed to stay the night because he had been involved in a fight with his father. The cousin told police he allowed Yanofsky to stay the night, but that he was exhibiting "paranoid behavior," including "hallucinations and hearing voices," according to court documents. The cousin accompanied Yanofsky to the emergency room the next day, where he was admitted and placed into a room. During the hospital visit, Yanofsky became "argumentative, angry and paranoid," and demanded to leave the hospital, according to court documents. While hospital staff prepared the discharge paperwork, Yanofsky left his room and barricaded himself in a hospital bathroom. When three security guards in full uniform opened the door with a pass key, they said Yanofsky refused to show his hands or what he was holding in his right hand, court documents said. Yanofsky then "charged" at them holding a handgun, documents described. When the guards attempted to restrain him, knowing the ER was full of patients and employees, the gun discharged, and a bullet went through a security guard's right shoulder and became embedded in a hospital room wall, court documents explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yanofsky was successfully detained by "overwhelming numbers" of security and hospital staff and immediately taken into custody. Yanofsky is facing multiple felony charges, including two counts of aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm in city limits, Scottsdale police confirmed. The wounded security guard was taken to HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center and was placed in the intensive care unit, court documents described. He is expected to live, but it's unknown if he will have any long-term disabilities from the incident, according to documents. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man hid gun before Scottsdale hospital shooting, documents say Florida's Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix) Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis responded Wednesday to reporting that insurance companies in the state used financial workarounds to hold onto billions of dollars while claiming to face financial hardship, saying that policy changes may be coming. The Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald reported on a 2022 state-commissioned study, previously not public, that found insurance companies violated state regulations when distributing dividends to shareholders while pleading poverty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patronis, who sits on the Florida Cabinet board overseeing the Office of Insurance Regulation, commented following his final meeting as a member of the Cabinet, which runs various state agencies in partnership with the governor. The CFO is the GOP nominee in the special election on April 1 for the heavily Republican CD 1 seat vacated by former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Jimmy Patronis via his Facebook page I think probably some of it was misinterpreted, I think some of it was legal, some of it probably was maybe not inappropriate, Patronis told reporters. But in the eyes of John Q. Public, with what theyve been going through, they probably feel its highly inappropriate. So again, we may end up changing policy. What may be standard operating procedure, but in the eyes of the public, considering what theyre going through, is not something thats going to be the norm moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency withheld the report from the public and Legislature because its information was classified as a trade secret, Patronis said, adding that some things are kept out of the public in order for them to be efficient and make a profit. I appreciate what has been brought to light. Definitely concerned about not the full transparency that you would hope would exist at every one of our state agencies, but I appreciate the concerns that the leader of the Florida House of Representatives wants to take in this issue, and transparency is the best disinfectant, Patronis said. Investigation planned House Speaker Daniel Perez responded to the reporting as the Legislature opened its regular session Tuesday and said the chamber would investigate using subpoenas and placing witnesses under oath. Insurers had been complaining about their claims burdens while persuading the Legislature to make it harder to pursue claims litigation against them. If theres nothing to hide, then we should have nothing to worry about, but were going to have some inquiries, questions will be asked, and therell may be even some change in policies directly because of it, and nows the time to do it because [of the legislative session], Patronis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the insurance industry is kind of becoming a regulated monopoly. But at the end of the day, youve got to count on your regulators, to be able to delve into those things and sometimes ask the type of questions, or maybe even propose the type of legislative changes that may not necessarily be in the best interest of whose being regulated, but its definitely in the best interest of all those that are affected by the decisions that are being made, Patronis said. The departing CFO responded to conversations in the Florida Capitol about repealing property taxes, which would make Florida the only state without the tax. Some lawmakers and the governor have floated the idea of a constitutional amendment to repeal the tax that local governments and school districts rely upon. Patronis predicted voters would eliminate property taxes 90 to nothing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only people that will be voting against it will be those that will have to figure out how to make up the loss of funding, Patronis said. Governors race Reporters asked Patronis about Floridas next gubernatorial election in November 2026. Eighteen months is a long time in this process, Patronis said, noting that Rick Scott entered the 2010 gubernatorial race less than a year before the election. Similarly, in 2018 President Donald Trump in 2018 cleared the field for Ron DeSantis with a couple of tweets in his support. When asked about Casey DeSantis, whom Gov. DeSantis has been floating for the governorship, Patronis called her a rockstar and said she would make an outstanding public servant. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (Fish n Fins) Picture this - crystal-clear waters teeming with vibrant marine life, lush jungles hiding ancient secrets, and pristine beaches that feel like theyre straight out of a postcard. Welcome to Palau, a tropical paradise nestled in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. Known for its world-class diving, breathtaking landscapes, and rich cultural heritage, Palau has earned its place as one of the most sought-after destinations for travelers seeking adventure, relaxation, and unforgettable memories. Palau (Fish n Fins) Manta (Fish n Fins) Shark (Fish n Fins) But how do you ensure your trip lives up to the hype? The answer lies in booking a thoughtfully curated hotel & dive package or hotel & tour package - and theres no better partner to bring your dream vacation to life than Fish n Fins, Palaus trusted experts since 1972. In this article, well explore why combining accommodations with activities is not only convenient but also the smartest way to experience everything Palau has to offer. The Magic of Palau - A Destination Like No Other Rock Islands (Fish n Fins) Before we dive into the details, lets talk about what makes Palau so extraordinary. This archipelago of over 340 islands boasts some of the planets most stunning natural wonders. Imagine swimming alongside harmless jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake, exploring dramatic coral walls at Blue Corner, or kayaking through the emerald-green Rock Islands - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Above water, Palau offers equally captivating experiences, from hiking trails through dense rainforests to learning about the islands fascinating history and traditions. But heres the catch - Palaus beauty isnt just skin-deep. Its a destination that rewards thoughtful planning. With so much to see and do, its easy to feel overwhelmed by choices. Thats where hotel & dive packages come in - they simplify your planning process while maximizing your time and enjoyment. Advantage #1 - Seamless Convenience More Time to Enjoy, Less Time to Stress One of the biggest perks of booking a hotel & dive package is the sheer convenience it offers. Instead of juggling multiple reservations and logistics, you can secure your stay and activities in one fell swoop. Whether youre arranging scuba dives, snorkeling excursions, or guided land tours, having everything pre-booked ensures a smooth transition from arrival to departure. For example, imagine touching down in Koror after a long flight, knowing that your room is ready, your airport shuttle is waiting, and your itinerary is already mapped out. Sounds refreshing, doesnt it? And if anything unexpected arises during your trip, partners like Fish n Fins are there to step in and help, ensuring your focus remains on soaking up the magic of Palau. Advantage #2 Best Value for Your Money Stretching Your Vacation Budget Palau Pacific Resort (Fish n Fins) Traveling to a dream destination like Palau doesnt have to break the bank. By bundling your accommodation with activities, you often save significantly compared to booking each component separately. Plus, reputable providers negotiate exclusive rates with top hotels and resorts, passing those savings directly to you. Hotel & dive packages cater to every budget, ensuring quality experiences no matter your choice. You can opt for a comfortable stay at a budget-friendly local hotel or indulge in a luxurious private villa at the Palau Pacific Resort. Either way, youll enjoy daily dives or customized cultural tours tailored to your preferences. This approach provides the ideal mix of affordability and indulgence, appealing to both practical travelers and those seeking a lavish escape. Additionally, as Palau is a strategic location close to the USA with its own military presence, U.S. service members are warmly welcomed at all establishments. Special discounted rates are available for military personnel, making it even easier to stretch your vacation budget while enjoying everything this tropical paradise has to offer. Whether youre on leave or stationed nearby, Palau is an accessible and affordable getaway for those who serve. Advantage #3 - Tailored Experiences Finding the Perfect Fit Every traveler is unique, and Palaus diversity reflects that perfectly. Some visitors crave adrenaline-pumping adventures, while others seek tranquility and connection with nature. Hotel & dive packages allow you to customize your experience based on your interests, whether that means exploring underwater caves, lounging on secluded beaches, or discovering Palaus rich history. Reputable operators like Fish n Fins take customization to the next level. They work closely with a wide range of hotels - from intimate boutique properties to sprawling beachfront resorts - to ensure you find the ideal home base for your adventures. And because they know Palau inside out, they can recommend hidden gems and must-see spots that might otherwise slip under the radar. Advantage #4 - Expert Guidance Unlocking Palaus Secrets Even the most seasoned travelers benefit from insider knowledge when visiting a destination as unique as Palau. Partnering with an experienced provider gives you access to expert advice and carefully crafted itineraries designed to highlight the best of what the islands have to offer. For instance, did you know that certain dive sites are best visited during specific tides? Or that some cultural tours require advance reservations? These nuances can make or break your experience, and having a knowledgeable team guiding you ensures you wont miss a thing. With decades of expertise, Fish n Fins knows exactly how to create moments that leave a lasting impression. Advantage #5 - Peace of Mind Hassle-Free Travel Lets face it, travel can sometimes be unpredictable. Flights get delayed, weather disrupts plans, and unexpected challenges arise. When you book a hotel & dive package, you gain peace of mind knowing that someone is looking out for you every step of the way. Whether its rebooking a missed activity or providing real-time updates on conditions, reliable partners go the extra mile to keep your vacation running smoothly. Minor Considerations Weighing the What Ifs While hotel & dive packages offer countless benefits, its worth considering a few potential downsides - though theyre relatively minor: Limited Flexibility for Last-Minute Changes Once a package is booked, making changes can sometimes be challenging, especially during peak seasons. However, flexible providers like Fish n Fins will do their best to accommodate adjustments whenever possible. Overwhelming Choice of Options While hotel & dive packages simplify the booking process, they can sometimes limit your ability to mix and match accommodations and activities freely. For travelers who prefer complete control over their itinerary, pre-bundled options might feel restrictive. Instead of cherry-picking exactly what you want, you may end up settling for a package that doesnt fully align with your preferences. This lack of customization could leave some adventurers wishing they had built their trip from scratch. Dependence on External Factors Bai tour (Fish n Fins) Stone path (Fish n Fins) Like any tropical destination, outdoor activities in Palau can occasionally be affected by weather or environmental conditions - though such instances are very rare thanks to Palaus generally stable climate. For example, rough seas or sudden rain might disrupt a scheduled dive or snorkeling excursion. While reputable operators like Fish n Fins are highly flexible and quick to offer alternative plans - such as guided land tours, cultural experiences, or rescheduling dives for calmer conditions - not every traveler may find these substitutes equally appealing. Higher Upfront Cost Perception Bundled packages may seem pricier upfront, but the included perks and savings quickly add up, making them a worthwhile investment. Conclusion Make Your Palau Dreams Come True Palau is more than just a destination - its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with nature, culture, and yourself. And when it comes to experiencing all that Palau has to offer, hotel & dive packages provide the perfect blend of convenience, value, and expertise. If youre ready to turn your dreams into reality, look no further than Fish n Fins. As Palaus premier diving center and adventure hub, theyve been helping travelers create unforgettable memories for over 50 years. With their extensive network, personalized service, and passion for excellence, theyre the ideal partner to ensure your vacation is as seamless as it is spectacular. So why wait? Start planning your Palau getaway today - and let Fish n Fins handle the rest. After all, paradise awaits! President Donald Trumps decision to pause intelligence assistance to Ukraine will hamper the countrys war effort and damage Washingtons relations with other intelligence partners but will not cripple Kyivs fight against Russian forces, former intelligence officials say. Ukraine has other partners in Europe, including the United Kingdom, that can provide battlefield and other intelligence to Kyiv, though there will be a gap that cant be entirely filled, former intelligence officers with knowledge of the matter said. But they noted that the longer the pause, the more Ukraine will face complications. U.S. spy agencies provide sophisticated surveillance imagery and eavesdropping intelligence that helps Ukraine anticipate Russian aerial and ground attacks, enables Kyiv to track and target Russian forces, and assists Ukraines espionage efforts, according to former intelligence officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, condemned the suspension of intelligence help for Ukraine, saying it has saved the lives of Ukrainian troops and civilians. The pause on providing materiel to Ukraine against Putins aggression is unconscionable on its own, but the idea that we will now withhold life-saving intelligence from Ukrainians who are fighting and dying is unforgivable, Himes said in a statement. Any pause in intelligence sharing must end immediately. Apart from the impact on Ukraines battlefield, the decision to suspend intelligence cooperation and to announce it publicly will send shock waves among Americas intelligence partners around the world, former intelligence officers said. The signal it sends is atrocious, said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer. Its a signal to the rest of the world that the U.S. is not a dependable ally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the past, intelligence cooperation has tended to continue uninterruptedly between the U.S. and its partners, even at times of serious friction among political leaders. But the Trump administration appears to have broken with that tradition, using intelligence as a political tool, according to Polymeropoulos and other former intelligence officers. John Sipher, who served for 28 years in the CIAs clandestine service, called the move foolhardy and damaging to Americas reputation among other spy agencies. The decision to stop intelligence assistance is foolhardy and ill-considered. Good intelligence cooperation should be kept secret and outside the vagaries of politics, Sipher said. It is the last place to make a public stand, especially when there are so many other ways to pressure a partner. Both CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Trumps national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Wednesday the administration had paused military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine after a tense public exchange last week in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House had previously announced a suspension in military aid but did not initially specify a pause in intelligence sharing with Kyiv. The administration said it had opted to suspend the assistance until Ukraines government showed it was ready to pursue peace negotiations. Ratcliffe said on Fox Business that he expected the pause to be lifted soon based on Zelenskyys statement Tuesday expressing a readiness to enter into peace negotiations with Russia and to back a proposed agreement that would grant the United States a share in the rights to the countrys mineral wealth. The CIA director suggested the suspension of military and intelligence aid had the intended effect on Kyivs calculations. Ratcliffe said: President Zelenskyy put out a statement saying, Im ready for peace and I want Donald Trumps leadership to bring about that peace. He added: So I think on the military front and intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen will go away and I think well work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression thats there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Western governments once regarded Ukraines intelligence services as unreliable and riddled with Russian-backed agents. But in 2014, after mass street protests forced the pro-Kremlin then-president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, to flee to Russia, the Ukrainian government and the CIA worked to build new intelligence services. Ukraine shared highly valuable information on Russia with the Americans, and U.S. personnel trained a new generation of Ukrainian spies and commandos. That cooperation intensified after Russias full-scale invasion three years ago, former intelligence officers said. The United Kingdoms intelligence service, MI6, and military have also closely collaborated with Ukraine over the past decade, former officials say. Ukraines intelligence services are now highly capable and have demonstrated the ability to stage drone strikes and assassinations deep inside Russia, targeting weapons factories, railways and oil facilities. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com PEARL, Miss. (WJTV) A Pearl man was sentenced for child exploitation, according to the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office. Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Justin Daniel Higgs was sentenced to 40 years in prison with seven years to serve day-for-day without the possibility of parole on February 25. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised probation. Body discovered in burned vehicle in Jackson Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Higgs was ordered to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Childrens Trust Fund, $1,000 to the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Fund and $1,000 to the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund. He will also have to register as a sex offender upon release. Justin Daniel Higgs (Courtesy: Mississippi Attorney Generals Office) If you have information about a child being sexually exploited online, report it to 1-800-843-5678. You can also make a report online at www.cybertipline.org. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) President Donald Trump is slated to deliver the first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening. Pennsylvanians will be well-represented at the speech by members of the states congressional delegation and a wide range of guests. Trump and first lady Melania Trump have invited several guests, including Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee Comperatore, the widow and daughters of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed by a gunman during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July. Trump was also wounded in the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marc Fogel, the American history teacher released in February after four years in a Russian prison, and his mother Malphine Fogel are also among the Trumps guests. Malphine Fogel and other family members had pressured lawmakers to ensure Marc Fogels return to the United States after he was sentenced to 14 years in a labor camp for possession of medical marijuana. Most Democrats in the states congressional delegation told the Capital-Star they will attend Trumps address, while U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-3rd District) is one of at least several in his party boycotting the speech. U.S. Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-5th District) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-6th District) are both bringing guests that were recently fired as a result of the Trump administrations recent cuts to the federal government via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Scanlons guest is Jay Smitty Smith, a U.S. Navy veteran who was recently fired from the IRSs Taxpayer Advocate Service, her office said. Houlahans guest will be Jessica Fair, a historical architect who was an employee of the National Park Service at Valley Forge National Historic Park, which is located in her district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-4th District) will be joined by Peg Eitl of Skippack, a health care advocate whose adult child, Joe, was born with Down syndrome and a complex congenital heart defect. In 2020, Joe Eitl became the first person with Down syndrome to receive a combined heart and liver transplant. Deans office said the surgery was made possible by Medicare and support from his family. Evans told the Capital-Star that he would not attend Trumps speech, saying he hasnt earned the honor of his presence. Evans cited illegal or legally questionable actions like mass firings and refusing to deliver federal funding already appropriated by law, and capped by Fridays disgusting attack on Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Evans said he respects other members individual decisions and told the Capital-Star that hell have a virtual guest, Katherine Roberson, of Northwest Philadelphia, who is deeply concerned about how proposed Medicaid cuts would affect her daughter. Evans also added that he thinks it might even be time to go back to when the State of the Union was delivered as a document, rather than a speech to Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-12th) told the Capital-Star that she will attend the speech, but will not bring a guest. Ive spent the past few weeks standing alongside my constituents, hearing directly from those harmed by this administration folks with disabilities who rely on Medicaid, cancer researchers struggling with the NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding freeze, fired federal workers who lost their jobs simply for doing them, Lee said in a statement. Instead of subjecting them to Trumps lies and empty rhetoric tonight, Im focused on fighting for them every single day. U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-2nd District) confirmed that he would attend, but did not say if he had invited a guest. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Allegheny) also said he will attend the speech, but his guest canceled due to scheduling difficulties. Several guests of Republican lawmakers have close ties to law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) will be joined by Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott, an advocate for addressing the fentanyl crisis. Otts son died in 2020 as a result of fentanyl. McCormicks office said that Ott supports Senator McCormick and President Trumps commitment to closing the U.S. borders and taking bold action to put an end to this fentanyl crisis. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1st District) will be joined by Zeyneb Kir, a student at Bucks County Technical High School. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-7th District) invited Michael Wargo, who along with his wife, Sarah, are Gold Star parents from Carbon County. Their son died by suicide after struggling with PTSD. Carbon County has the highest rate of veteran suicide of any county in Pennsylvania, per Mackenzies office. U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-8th District) will be joined by Don Williams, the father of Officer Eric Williams who was murdered by an inmate at USP Canaan in 2013. Bresnahan wrote in a social media post Erics Law, named for the officer, will ensure the safety of those who serve our country in the line of duty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-9th District) will be joined by Brian Kilmeade, a Fox News host. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler) said hell be joined by a Butler County business owner. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (WHTM) Nutrition for children, home health care for seniors, and everything in between are overseen by the Department of Human Services, which makes up the largest part of the state budget. Today, lawmakers questioned it in budget hearings. The budget request from the Governors Office is roughly $21.1 billion, with a $2 billion increase for Human Services. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh said the feds send $367 million a month to the Keystone State for SNAP benefits, which are increasingly targeted by thieves. This is money going to our most vulnerable families and children and older adults, people who really need this benefit to put food on their table, so it is disgusting, said Secretary Arkoosh during an appropriations hearing on Tuesday. DOGE: Several government offices to close in Central Pennsylvania One scammer stole benefits from 17 people in Central Pennsylvania and made bulk purchases of Red Bull and candy. Before December, the feds would make victims whole, but no more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (People) are showing up at our offices hungry, said Arkoosh. They cant feed their kids, and they are understandably wildly upset. State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Allegheny) wants more secure benefit cards and odd purchases flagged. Changes proposed to Pennsylvanias Sunday hunting law We definitely dont want to stop anybody from going out and buying a bag of M&Ms, said Rep. Krupa. But, there needs to be a deeper dive into balancing food choice with better with the nutritional goals of the program. Pennsylvania gets a lot of money from Washington, which could dry up as President Donald Trump looks for inefficiencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If someone in the federal government turns off a system, there is very little that we can do about it, said Arkoosh. There is very little that budget crafters can count on. They do have hope and their fingers crossed. Its really fraught right now, said Rep. Emily Kinkhead (D-Allegheny). I think thats the case with pretty much every state, whether its red or blue or purple. We are not really sure how things are going to go. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now ICYMI: Top 5 Stories of the Week Even ardent Trump supporters concede a trickle-down of uncertainty. If theres one thing that you could criticize, you know, he went in with, whats he saying? A chainsaw, not a scalpel,' said Krupa. In our lifetimes, weve not seen anybody else take such a proactive role in cutting out that waste, fraud, and abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration. Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028, replacing the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE system. Election management is closely watched in Pennsylvania, a perennial swing state where the two major parties are constantly seeking an edge in state and national contests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials say the Civix system's functions for public use will provide information about voter registration, coming elections and voting data. The SURE system, used by counties to record, update and verify voter registration information, has been in place since 2003 and is widely considered to be outdated. That doesn't mean it's not reliable, said Schmidt, who compared using the existing system to the frustrations of having a 20-year-old phone. "It is safe and secure. We are always having to make upgrades. It's not clear how much the Civix software will also require hardware changes, Schmidt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the project develops, it will become more clear the extent to which new hardware is needed, he said. Forrest Lehman, who has served as Lycoming County's elections director for about a decade, said there is a widespread feeling among county elections officials that the SURE system is in need of replacement. We all want this to succeed, Lehman said. We want a new voter registration system that can move this state and the counties that use it into the 21st century. The Department of Defense is denying reports Secretary Pete Hegseth halted offensive cyber operations against Russia. TO BE CLEAR: @SecDef has neither canceled nor delayed any cyber operations directed against malicious Russian targets and there has been no stand-down order whatsoever from that priority, the Pentagons rapid response team posted Tuesday on the social platform X. The statement follows multiple media reports that Hegseth ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to pause offensive operations last week. The reports came amid an apparent broader shift in relations between the United States and Russia under the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pentagon previously declined to comment on the matter, citing operational security concerns, when reached by The Hill on Monday. There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations to include the cyber domain, the official added. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a civilian cyber defense agency that is separate from Cyber Command, emphasized Sunday that there has been no change in our posture. CISAs mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia, the agency wrote on X. There has been no change in our posture. Any reporting to the contrary is fake and undermines our national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reports stirred skeptics from both sides of the aisle prior to the Pentagons latest statement. I dont know why hes doing that, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said in an interview on Fox Business. But the Russians are attacking us every single day. The Chinese are attacking us every single day. I dont think you signal to the Russians that Hey, were gonna unilaterally withdraw from this space. If they can keep attacking us and they do every single day they should be fearful of our capacity to inflict damage on them, he continued. So I really dont understand where thats coming from. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the reported moves a critical strategic mistake on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In a video posted to social media Monday evening, a Pentagon spokesperson read from a list of $80 million in savings found by the Department of Government Efficiency, billionaire Elon Musks chainsaw effort to cut the federal government. $80 million in wasteful spending, just right here, Press Secretary Sean Parnell said after reading a short list. Todays actions are just the start, Parnell added, promising more this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after checking these numbers against the public ledger posted on DOGEs website, the two dont add up. Online, Musks team lists about $11 million in Defense Department savings identified so far. Adding the various items Parnell mentioned in the video, which dont appear on DOGEs website, would bring the total to around $25 million. The Defense Department declined to share the list Parnell read. It also refused to respond to questions about why there was a disparity between the two numbers and when the full receipts would be posted online. President Donald Trump said in February that DOGE would find hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse in the military, tasking Musk to lead the effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Biden administrations last budget request for the Pentagon was just under $850 billion. The first round of DOGEs Pentagon cuts represents about .009% of that budget. DOGE says it updates its wall of receipts which lists federal contracts, grants and building leases that the organization has terminated in recent months on a weekly basis. The site was last updated March 2, a lag that could account for the discrepancy. Its also possible that some of the contracts making up the $80 million touted by the department havent been canceled yet and are therefore not included on DOGEs list. Numerous media outlets have found errors in the organizations accounting, including typos that skew contract values or the inclusion of agreements that ended before DOGE was created. The organization says the numbers it posts come directly from government contracting officials. The website currently features nine Defense Department contracts worth approximately $4.8 million. Funding for many of them has been fully obligated, meaning there was no money to gain from canceling them early like canceling a yearlong subscription six months in. The remaining three would yield about $2.5 million in savings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Included among those is a $3.6 million contract the Air Force awarded in 2023 to Digitas Technologies for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility training. The service has already obligated $1.4 million in funding, so canceling the agreement a year early would net about $2.2 million in savings. Musks department also lists 12 DOD-funded building leases that have been terminated, but doesnt offer details about when they were canceled. The website claims it saved $8.5 million by consolidating organizations, moving employees to other federal workspaces and closing entire offices. The projected savings for many of the leases assumes they would have continued another five years. For example, DOGE claims $2.7 million in savings from canceling a Defense Contract Management Agency building lease agreement in Buffalo, New York, that cost about $550,000 annually. The DOGE-led cuts follow others promised in the Pentagon under the second Trump administration. In February, the Pentagon said it planned to fire 5,400 civilian employees, part of an early effort to reduce the workforce by 5% to 8%. And the acting Pentagon leadership has said it intends to redirect around $50 billion toward new priorities, offering little detail on what would be sacrificed. Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate are calling for a massive defense buildup, potentially adding $200 billion to the defense budget over the next two years. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) On Wednesday, Pepco awarded eight grants to small businesses in Washington, D.C. in an effort to improve access to fresh and healthy food to families across the Northeast community. Select businesses in Ward 5, 6 and 7 were granted more than $74,000 through the Pepco Energizing Small Business Grant Program. The grants were vested to small businesses that provide access to fresh produce and food-related products in neighborhoods surrounding Pepcos Benning Service Center, on Benning Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DC launches hub with resources for federal workers impacted by sweeping layoffs In September of 2024, Pepco announced that it would invest nearly $1 million in the community surrounding the Benning Road facility. The investment also included the Pepco Energizing Small Business Grant Program which aimed to help bring fresh food to neighbors in need in the Northeast community. The program provided nearly $600,000 in grant funds to increase access to grocery stores and directly impact families across seven D.C. neighborhoods, including Deanwood, River Terrace and Marshall Heights. This investment comes after the D.C. Hunger Solutions released its 2024 Racial Equity Report showing people who live in this area face limited access to fresh and nutritious food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To help distribute the grants, Pepco teamed up with Hello Alice, a woman- and minority-owned platform that helps businesses launch and grow. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. A person has been charged with stealing SNAP benefits from 17 Pennsylvanians, the Office of State Inspector General says. The office says 35 felony and misdemeanor counts of access device fraud, theft by deception and identity theft were filed against an unidentified suspect. The inspector general says the alleged thefts happened in February 2023 and all the victims live in eastern Pennsylvania. None of them lost possession of their EBT cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stealing SNAP benefits is preying upon those in need, said State Inspector General Michelle A. Henry. We are committed to working hard every day to protect our most vulnerable residents from those who steal their SNAP funds. The suspect is accused of using the stolen benefits to make over $8,000 in purchases in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Some of those purchases include bulk quantities of Red Bull, candy and baby formula. Anyone who thinks their benefits have been stolen should immediately contact their County Assistance Office for help in getting a new EBT card. The crime should also be reported to the OSIG and local police. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW After years of applied pressure and even begging from parents, advocates and lawmakers, Apple has suddenly decided to fix failures in its child safety features. Why now? Simple. Utah and other states are moving to enact legislation that requires age verification and parental consent for all app downloads and purchases. What we call the App Store Accountability Act appears poised to become law in the Beehive State and will likely follow in others, and Apple is paying close attention. The company has released a set of reforms it headlined Helping Protect Kids Online, and its strategy of shock and awe seems to be working. As word of these updates tears through state capitals across the country, lawmakers are rightly wondering, do these updates answer the issues that our legislation identifies and seeks to fix? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After getting the cold shoulder from Apple for years, we admit that we are pleased by some of these updates. But given whats at stake, they are not enough. Heres why. Apples eight-page announcement outlines a number of updates to be rolled out by the years end. Promised features include making it easier to set up child accounts, a new age range application programming interface (API) that allows app stores and app developers to share age category data to better ensure age-appropriate experiences, more granular app age ratings and better app descriptions and removing apps that exceed a childs age range from the app store. The age range API seems particularly well-done. According to Tech Crunch: Instead of asking kids to input their birthdays, as many social apps do today, developers will have the option to use a new Declared Age Range API that allows them to access the age range information the parent input during the child account setup. (Parents can also correct this information at any time if it was originally entered incorrectly). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These updates are needed. But why in the world has it taken so long? For years, shareholders and child-safety advocates have been asking the company to better protect kids online. In 2018, almost 11 years after the iPhones release, Apple shareholders wrote a letter to the board of directors demanding that the company give parents more resources and tools to protect children. A 2022 Canadian Centre for Child Protection report detailed Apples failure to enforce app age ratings for younger users and labeled its parental controls as inadequate and unusable. A Screen Time parental control bug causing protective settings to disengage on child accounts has plagued iPhones and iPads for more than two years, unsolved. And a scathing Wall Street Journal investigation published in December exposed Apple for misrepresenting up to a quarter of its apps as safe for kids when many were rife with sexual exploitation and bullying. Between December and now, Apples technological capabilities did not change. To put it positively: Apple already possessed the technological and financial capacity to institute these changes. Modern APIs have been around for years. And Apple has every financial resource it needs to develop and effectively implement these safeguards, raking in $26 billion in revenue from its app store alone during FY 2023. These are good changes, but from a moral, financial and technical standpoint, there is no reason why it should have taken this long. But are Apples new features enough? No, deep issues remain unaddressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few years ago, the young son of one of the authors of this column was served ads for sexual role play apps including a graphic strip show and ads for apps that focus on gambling and marijuana cultivation, all while playing a cartoon game that the app store rated safe for children. The mother had only stepped away for a few minutes to fold laundry, assuming that the age rating accurately represented what her son would experience while using the app. Such anecdotes are not the exception; they are the rule. There is a systemic failure that leaves parents and children who access the internet through the app store totally vulnerable, because Apple allows developers to operate on an honor system, without any meaningful enforcement. Apples recent safety update doesnt change this; its app store will still rely on the honor system, allowing developers to self-report content with little oversight and few consequences for misrepresenting age ratings or content warnings. As mentioned, Apples announcement comes just days before Utah is expected to become the first state to pass the App Store Accountability Act. The bill would require Apple, and other app store providers like Google, to perform age verification and get parental consent before minors can download apps, purchase apps or make in-app purchases. Using the account holders age-category status and a parental-consent status collected by the app store, app developers would be required to enforce any developer-created age-related restrictions. Additionally, the legislation would require all minors to link to a parents account before using the app store in the first place. Apples proposed changes will not solve the core issue, which is that minors need parental consent when it comes to entering binding terms of service agreements. Currently, the app store routinely allows known minors to download apps, accept complex terms of service, and make in-app purchases without any parental consent. This loophole exposes children to privacy risks, financial harm and dangerous digital environments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only in app stores do we allow minors to enter into terms of service agreements with trillion-dollar companies that determine how their personal data can be used, often giving such companies full access to extremely sensitive information like photographs and videos of children, their exact location and their contact lists. Our legislative model ends that practice. Apples new updates, by contrast, will not stop any of this. Apple will still treat teens as digital adults, allowing minors to agree to complex terms of service contracts without parental consent, despite the fact that in the real world, one has to be 18 to enter into a binding contract. Furthermore, Apple will only enforce the proposed app store protections for parents who figure out how to enable content controls, leaving parents without any meaningful backstop when their kids try to circumvent the controls. (And they will try.) The stakes are high. If Apple can convince lawmakers that its updates are adequate to the task, then it will continue to prioritize its profit over protecting kids online without real consequences. We welcome better labels and controls, but parents and their kids need much more than that. They need a bill that provides app store accountability. And they need it now. Melissa McKay is the chairman of the Digital Childhood Alliance. Chris McKenna is the Founder and CEO of Protect Young Eyes. Michael Toscano is the executive director of the Institute for Family Studies and director of the Family First Technology Initiative. Jared Hayden is Policy Analyst, Family First Technology Initiative, the Institute for Family Studies. After the contentious meeting with Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy last week, President Donald Trump told reporters, This is going to be great television, I will say that. In fact, all of the past five weeks have made for great television, making the presidents March 4 speech before Congress almost a footnote in an astounding moment in time. Consider what has happened in just a few days leading up to Tuesdays address: The acrimonious encounter with Zelenskyy aborted the expected signing of a minerals deal, effectively stalled a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement, and prompted European leaders, appalled by the spectacle, to ramp up support for Ukraine. The U.S. paused aid to Ukraine but now seems poised to heal the rift. Trumps tariffs on Canada and Mexico caused our neighbors to retaliate, sending the stock market into turmoil for two days. Repercussions from Elon Musks budget-slashing romp through federal agencies abound, with government credit cards declined and firings mounting (including meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), amid myriad court cases trying to block Trumps orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every moment in an administration has the potential to be historic. But its too soon to know whether Trumps start will prove to be beneficial or detrimental to the country. Does the incident with Zelenskyy reveal that Trump is a tough negotiator, a leader to be reckoned with? Or, as his opponents say, a man determined to bend the nation, if not the world, to his will for his own purposes? David French, no fan of Trump, says it will take a generation for the country to recover from the damage of the Trump presidency. But it also could take decades to learn if Trump is right, if his brash acts are, as he says, ushering in a new golden age. I was saved by God to make America great again I believe that, he said Tuesday night. Well be arguing over this for years, but for now, no one is debating the enormity of what is happening. In the midst of all the turmoil and angst, Trump strolled leisurely down the aisle of the House chamber Tuesday night before taking his place at the lectern, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson. And then proceeded to do what he does best TV. (Donald Trump is the most influential character in the history of TV, declared James Poniewozik in his 2019 book Audience of One.) He was in control and in his element, confident, focused, on script, and clearly enjoying himself. At times, he seemed like the grown-up in the room, compared to behavior of others who offered their own protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America is back, the president announced, as the chamber erupted in chants of USA, reminiscent of a campaign rally, and Elon Musk, who put on a suit for the occasion, smiled and clapped. President Trump calls for unity: "To Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America? For the good of our nation, lets work together and truly MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN." pic.twitter.com/z1nZH3ymWL Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 5, 2025 It was, as expected, very good TV even in the cringy moments, as when Texas Rep. Al Green was ejected from the chamber for being disruptive, and Democrats repeatedly held up small signs the kind you might see at a bachelorette party that read Musk steals, False and Save Medicaid. And Trump, for all his control, slipped up at times too as when he succumbed to his old habit of name calling, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as his target. But it was a powerful speech Trump ascendant that left his political rivals with nothing to celebrate. In fact, Democrats suffered by not rising to Trumps invitation to just this one night celebrate the nation together. They looked alternately stricken, angry or bored those looking at their phones as if they had some place better to be were the worst. They had a free ticket to history but could not be bothered to pay attention or show respect, even to the mothers of murdered girls. Its not unusual, of course, for a president to bring in guests to such a speech, but they are usually pro forma, the honored person nodding and awkwardly accepting the applause. But ever the showman, Trump, like Willy Wonka, had little surprises around every corner naming a wildlife refuge in Texas after the late Jocelyn Nungaray while her tearful mother looked on; making a 13-year-old cancer survivor an honorary member of the Secret Service, introducing the 95-year-old mother with her son, Marc Fogel, recently released from a Russian prison. Democrats refused to stand and clap for a 13 year old cancer survivor getting an honorary secret service badge. Watch this. Best part of the night unless you have a heart of stone: pic.twitter.com/Z8jaJa5YAR Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 5, 2025 How people think Trump did Tuesday night, of course, will largely correspond with what they thought of him going into the speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nation hasnt been able to catch its breath since the inauguration, so brazen and sweeping are the orders issuing from the Oval Office. For many Trump fans, the first weeks of his second presidency have been exhilarating: I voted for this has become a tagline on social media. For Trumps opponents and yes, even some people who voted for him its what they feared. As Trump walked into the chamber, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico held up a sign that said, This is not normal before it was ripped from her hands. The most surprising thing about the night, though, was how shockingly normal it was, compared to the first few weeks of the presidency. One of the selling points of Trump 2.0 was, ironically, that the world or democracy hadnt ended the first time he was president, despite his opponents predictions to the contrary. This time, a lot of people arent so sure. But the Trump that we saw Tuesday night wasnt a mercurial dictator or dangerous king, or even a reality star, but an American president who seemed ... presidential. It says a lot that this counts as a win, but after the Oval Office debacle, the nation needed that. Six weeks down, four years to go. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A Peruvian national with multiple prior violent crime convictions was arrested near El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged illegal re-entry, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas said. According to court documents, Joel Edgardo Flores-Reyes was found just over 1 mile west of the Paso Del Norte port of entry without immigration documents allowing him to legally be or remain in the U.S. He has been previously removed from the U.S. twice, the most recent occasion being on June 13, 2024, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flores-Reyes was convicted on four counts in three separate misdemeanor cases in Arizona between 2006 and 2010, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Flores-Reyes is charged with one count of illegal re-entry. If convicted, he faces up to two years in federal prison. The U.S. Border Patrol is investigating the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Pete Buttigieg met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week to discuss a possible Senate bid in Michigan, according to two people familiar with the meeting and granted anonymity to describe private conversations. The former Transportation secretary is still undecided about a Senate run in his adopted home state, according to five people familiar with the situation. But the meeting with Schumer was a sign of how seriously he is considering it. Democrats are vying to hold onto the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters in a crucial swing state. Republicans see it as a top pickup opportunity after coming close to flipping the other Senate seat last cycle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate, just recently moved back to Traverse City, Michigan, with his young family, after four years of working in former President Joe Biden's Cabinet a factor that looms in his calculus. In addition to a Senate bid, he is weighing another presidential run in 2028. Buttigieg hasnt taken any formal steps to run for Senate. Some Michigan Democrats noted that he didnt attend a party gathering last month in Detroit, which could have been a place to shore up support with state party leaders, though other possible candidates, including state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, only showed up there to vote. McMorrow told fellow Michigan Democrats she will run for the seat. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), meanwhile, has not formally decided on a bid but has taken steps towards a Senate run, including hiring staff. Regardless of Buttigiegs decision, two people familiar with his thinking said he sees a path to helping shape the national political debate in non-traditional spaces, including a Tuesday evening appearance with Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show," where he will respond to President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those people said Buttigieg doesnt pine for a life in a Republican-controlled Congress, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune controls how often he needs to be back in Washington. Last month, Buttigieg ruled out a run for governor, according to someone familiar with his thinking, who told POLITICO then that he was very seriously focused on a potential run for Senate. Despite that, some Michigan Democrats have encouraged Buttigieg to run for governor to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Theres a large field of ambitious Michigan Democrats already in the field for the top job in the state government, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and current Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, not to mention Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, whos running as an independent. DENVER (KDVR) Part of Highway 34 in northern Colorado was closed while a bomb squad investigated reports of a pipe bomb in a vehicle. According to the Colorado State Patrol, at 12:49 a.m. on Wednesday, a trooper stopped a black 2023 Honda Accord for speeding on westbound Highway 34 near milepost 101. During the traffic stop, the trooper reported seeing evidence of drugs. CSP said the suspect also alluded to having a pipe bomb in the vehicle. The driver of the Honda was then arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Weld County bomb squad was on scene investigating. After 6 a.m., it was determined that there was no explosive device inside the vehicle. Investigators are working the case, but final charges have not been determined. See the latest traffic conditions in Denver on FOX31 The city of Greeley said westbound Highway 34 and West 10th Street was shut down from Highway 257 to County Road 13. Highway 34 is closed in northern Colorado due to a heavy police presence (CDOT) At around 6:16 a.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation said the roadway was reopened to all traffic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) A stolen vehicle was recovered and the driver was taken into custody on multiple charges early Saturday morning. The Westminster Police Department said officers found a stolen vehicle near 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard on Saturday just before 3 a.m. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Stop sticks were successfully deployed and police said the vehicle eventually came to a stop just south of the U.S. Highway 36 overpass. A stolen vehicle was recovered and the driver was taken into custody on multiple charges early Mar. 1, 2025. A stolen vehicle was recovered and the driver was taken into custody on multiple charges early Mar. 1, 2025. The driver was the only person in the vehicle and police said they appeared to be intoxicated. Police also found a gun in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver was taken into custody and faces multiple charges, including motor vehicle theft, driving under the influence, possession of a weapon by a previous offender and driving a vehicle while license under restraint. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. The Texas community is still reeling from the murder of G$ Lil Ronnie and his five-year-old daughter at a local car wash. Though it may be a while before they attain any peace or closure, the local police have made a huge breakthrough in their investigation. The local police department initially issued a capital murder arrest warrant after conducting their preliminary investigation; however, they have now identified one suspect and issued an individual warrant for their arrest. The suspect remains unnamed, and they are still looking for the second suspect. Law enforcement believes that the Monday morning shooting (Mar. 3) at Sloppys Car Wash in Forest Hill, Texas was a targeted attack. Ronnie and his daughter were pronounced dead at the scene of the crime. Police believe that the suspects fled from the car wash in a white four-door Kia after shooting the late rapper and his daughter. A witness told KTVT that they heard 20 to 30 gunshots. He was a rapper. He didnt bother nobody, he didnt target nobody, G$ Lil Ronnies aunt, Stella Houston, told WFAA. He was a family man, and he was going around rapping, okay. Why would you target him? [] Cleaning the car out, and somebody came through shooting and killed him and the baby. And a baby. His baby. A baby! The story gets even sadder when learning, via Houston, that they had just celebrated Ronnies daughters fifth birthday over the weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ronnies devotion to fatherhood was evident in one of his recent Instagram posts. His daughters school held a Valentines Day celebration, and he attended, not only to make the day special for her but for one of her friends whose parents could not be present. My BabyGirl Couldnt Stand The Fact Her Friend Was Sad, he wrote in the caption. This Morning Her Daddy Couldnt Make it to Donuts With Daddy This Morning So Yu Know We Let Her kno its Ok 2 Join us & She Can Snap it Up & That Changed her Whole Mood *heart emojis* My Lil Valentines Literally. More from VIBE.com Sign up for Vibe's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 32-year-old Brian Cardoso of Dorchester was arraigned Tuesday in Quincy District Court on lesser charges of receiving stolen property and identity fraud, but his arrest is tied to whats shaping up to be a much bigger case, involving gangs, kidnapping, torture, the theft of a Rolex watch and thousands of dollars. The victim told police he was kidnapped from the parking lot behind his Quincy apartment on February 27. When he got outside to go to his car, five men who were masked, pushed him into the ground and forced him into the passenger side of his own truck and they kidnapped him, Prosecutor Kelley Gill told the court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim told police he was taken to Saugus and beaten with a gun and tortured in a garage. A Boston 25 source says it appears the attackers used a lighter to burn the victims hands and face. Eventually the man was returned to Quincy. The victim told police the thieves stole his $30,000 Rolex watch, and thousands of dollars in cash. At one point he said his wife threw a cash-filled bag over their apartment balcony. Brian Cardoso was arrested after authorities say the Boston Police Gang unit recognized him on a surveillance video, using the victims credit card to buy sneakers in Boston. Right now, he is only facing charges related to the victims credit cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court, Cardosos lawyer questioned the victims statements to police. There is nothing tying Mr. Cardoso to those more serious charges. I would also highlight the very suspicious story from the alleged victim in the case, defense attorney Chris Scall told the court. Police say this case remains open and active and that theyre looking for four other suspects. Brian Cardoso was released on personal recognizance. At the time of his arrest, Cardoso was on probation in a federal case. U.S. Marshals took him into custody on a federal detainer. He is due back in Quincy District Court in June. Exclusive: Police investigating a disturbing gang related kidnapping, torture, and theft case. Victim taken from Quincy, beaten in Saugus. This man charged w/using victims credit cards. Police looking for 4 more suspects. My story @boston25 4,5,6PM pic.twitter.com/pmeXEp7NLH Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) March 4, 2025 This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Police said they are investigating a shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon in North Buffalo. A male victim was shot in the leg around 3:24 p.m. at 19 Alden Ave. near Academy School 131. The suspect remains outstanding, a city spokesperson said. The victims injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. He was transported to ECMC for treatment while the incident remains under investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with any information is asked to contact Buffalo police at (716) 847-2255. Latest Local News Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) Police in Meriden responded to concerns of a dispute at a residential complex on State Street and Camp Street. Deputy Chief Jerry Scully said that police received notice of a dispute involving an adult male with mental health concerns. No injuries reported after condo fire in Farmington Scully noted that negotiators and a mobile crisis unit was called to the scene and as a result, the concerns were resolved and the adult male, whos name was not released, was able to go about his business at no threat to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. CALEDONIA, Wis. (WFRV) A 15-year-old boy was arrested for homicide after his mother was found dead in a southeastern Wisconsin home on Tuesday night. According to the Caledonia Police Department, officers were called to a home in the 10000 block of East White Manor Court in Caledonia around 10:35 p.m. on March 4. Authorities looking for escaped Dodge County Huber inmate with known Green Bay address Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers say that it was initially reported that a juvenile at the address had possibly killed his mother. As officers arrived at the address, they were met by a 15-year-old boy who was reportedly leaving through the homes front door. The boy then surrendered himself to officers without incident. Shortly after, authorities cleared the residence and found a woman inside the home. Lifesaving efforts were performed but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Two arrested after reported stabbing in Wisconsin According to the Departments preliminary investigation, the victim, who was identified as the mother of the teenager who surrendered to officers, was stabbed and also sustained blunt force trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 15-year-old was arrested for homicide and remains in custody. The investigation is ongoing. Local 5 will update this story when more information is released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. A Manchester man is facing a slew of charges after allegedly threatening teens waiting for a school bus just hours after being arrested for allegedly loitering with weapons. 34-year-old Scott White is charged with criminal threatening with a deadly weapon, criminal use of an electronic self-defense weapon, and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon. He is also facing 2 counts of criminal threatening with a deadly weapon. According to Manchester Police, on February 21 around 1:20 a.m., officers responded to a report from Autofair Honda on Keller Street that an unknown vehicle was loitering in the lot. Responding officers found White in the car with a couple of juveniles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say White couldnt explain why he was on the property and also had a gun, badge, taser, and handcuffs with him in the car. He was arrested and released on personal recognizance bail. Hours later around 7:30 a.m., police say White pointed a rifle at two teenagers who were waiting for the school bus. Prior to both of these incidents, on February 5, White threatened teems with a gun and a taser while following them in his car, according to investigators. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was taken into custody on February 28. He is being held on preventative detention. Authorities are asking anyone with information related to these incidents to contact Manchester Police. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Participants in the trial involving Energy Transfer and Greenpeace arrive at court Feb. 26, 2025, in Mandan. The judge in the case is not allowing cameras in the courtroom. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor) A former Energy Transfer executive on Tuesday blamed political pressure for the federal governments decision to delay a key permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline eight years ago. Joey Mahmoud, who oversaw the pipelines development, told a Morton County jury that the energy company was on track to get authorization to build the pipeline under Lake Oahe until fall 2016, when he claims protests interfered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands flocked to rural North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to support the tribe, which is opposed to the project. The tribe considers the Dakota Access Pipeline a pollution threat and an infringement on tribal sovereignty, and claims that the pipeline has disrupted numerous sacred sites. The pipeline crosses underneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River, less than a half-mile upstream from the reservation. More Dakota Access Pipeline coverage The Department of the Army on Sept. 9, 2016, announced in a joint statement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior that it would hold off on granting an easement authorizing the pipeline to cross beneath the river, which is under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction. The agencies said in light of concerns voiced by Standing Rock and other tribes, the Corps would take a deeper look at whether the pipeline complies with federal law. Mahmoud said that the pipeline has met all federal regulations from the beginning and that the issues raised by the tribe and its allies were based on misinformation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we were first told that the easement was going to be postponed, it was a complete shock, he said. He speculated that said the Obama administration must have been persuaded by pipeline opponents, but that he did not know by whom. Mahmoud said that over the course of his career, hes sought approval for thousands of permits. He indicated this is the only time hes seen federal agencies issue a joint statement on a permitting decision of this nature. Mahmoud testified as part of an anticipated five-week trial between Energy Transfer and Greenpeace. Energy Transfer alleges the environmental group co-opted a local protest effort led by Standing Rock to serve its own anti-fossil fuel agenda. The company accuses Greenpeace of funding and training protesters to commit criminal acts to stop construction of the pipeline, as well as of circulating defamatory claims to tarnish Energy Transfers reputation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier in the case, Energy Transfer presented depositions and written statements from Greenpeace employees indicating they supported the demonstration with supplies, intel and training. Greenpeace denies Energy Transfers claims. It has argued that its role in the protests was minimal, and that the federal governments decision to delay granting the easement was in response to actions by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, not the environmental group. Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire in a Monday statement called the lawsuit frivolous. The case is an attempt to silence our Tribe about the truth of what happened at Standing Rock, and the threat posed by DAPL to our land, our water and our people, Alkire said. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will not be silenced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Greenpeace on Monday showed jurors a January 2016 letter from Standing Rock leaders urging the Army Corps to conduct a more thorough environmental review of the pipeline, months before Greenpeace started supporting the protests. The jury was also shown part of a memo Energy Transfer sent to the transition team for President Donald Trump after the 2016 election. Energy Transfer in the memo called on the president elect to reverse the Obama administrations decision to delay the easement, maintaining that complaints about the pipeline circulating in the news media were all false. Just like the people coordinating with President Obama, we were coordinating with President Trump, Mahmoud said. The memo also accused the Obama administration of denying repeated requests to send federal law enforcement to help protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also references a free speech zone that the Army Corps of Engineers created to allow protesters to demonstrate on federal land adjacent to Lake Oahe. The state of North Dakota has previously claimed that an alleged lack of federal assistance, coupled with the Army Corps taking actions to accommodate protesters, prolonged and intensified the demonstrations. Both claims were key to its lawsuit against the Army Corps, which went to trial in a North Dakota federal court about a year ago. North Dakota seeks $38 million of dollars in damages from the federal government. A judge has yet to issue a final ruling in that case. Standing Rock also has an active lawsuit against the federal government related to the Dakota Access Pipeline. The tribe filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers in October, arguing that the pipeline is operating in violation of federal law and must be shut down. Energy Transfer said Wednesday it expects to finish presenting its case this week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described US President Donald Trump's attitude towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "wrong". Source: Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, as reported by European Pravda Details: Speaking in his first interview since his defeat in the general election last July, Sunak criticised Trump's repeated attacks on Zelenskyy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said it was "very difficult" for him to watch the spat between the US and Ukrainian presidents at the White House on 28 February. "As someone who has spent a lot of time with Volodymyr, been in Kyiv with him, has seen what he has had to go through for his country to see him be called a dictator, told he started this war, for him to be treated that way was wrong," Sunak told the BBC. Sunak, now a Conservative MP, visited Ukraine twice during his tenure as prime minister and was a key supporter of Kyiv. This policy has been continued under his successor, Labour's Keir Starmer. Sunak also acknowledged that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We cant expect America to bear any burden for our security if we are not prepared to make those sacrifices ourselves. What has happened over the last few weeks has been clarifying, and we have just had to be open and honest about that now," he said. Background: Media reports indicate that Starmer has helped persuade Zelenskyy to extend an olive branch to Trump after their public spat at the White House. On Tuesday night, Trump gave a speech to Congress, mentioning an "important letter" from Zelenskyy and saying he "appreciated" it. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Hundreds of people gathered at Washington Square Park in New Orleans on March 31, 2023, for a march to mark Transgender Day of Visibility. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) Editors note: This report discusses the topic of suicide. If you or someone you know if contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. A survey of LGBTQ+ youth in Louisiana shows politics increasingly impacts their mental health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth surveyed in Louisiana by The Trevor Projects annual U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of Young People reported that current politics affected their mental health a lot. Thats up from 38% in 2022, the most recent year when the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization focused on LGBTQ+ youth, made its survey results available by state. The report found 32% of LGBTQ+ youth in Louisiana have considered suicide and 10% attempted suicide. For transgender youth, 42% considered suicide, while 14% attempted it. Two-thirds of Louisianas LGBTQ+ youth reported symptoms of anxiety, and 48% reported symptoms of depression. Those numbers are higher for transgender young people, with 75% reporting anxiety and 64% reporting depression. LGBTQ+ young people are not inherently prone to higher suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Rather, they are placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society, the report says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The release of the survey comes amid increasing politicization of LGBTQ+ people, particularly LGBTQ+ young people. President Donald Trump made transgender people a key target in his culture-war focused campaign and has continued to do so after taking office, making moves to disallow transgender people from serving in the military. In Louisiana, lawmakers have passed several laws over recent years that have targeted LGBTQ+ youth. In 2022, lawmakers passed a law to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in accordance with their gender identity. In 2023, Louisiana adopted legislation that prohibits transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, vetoed the bill, but it was easily overridden. Research indicates gender-affirming care leads to improved mental health outcomes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, lawmakers passed a law that restricts what names and pronouns transgender and nonbinary students can use in K-12 schools and one that limits discussions of gender and sexual orientation in K-12 schools. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, signed both bills into law. Only 37% of Louisiana youth the Trevor Project surveyed identified school as an affirming place. The survey also reports 18% of LGBTQ+ youth were physically threatened or harmed, while 62% reported experiencing discrimination. The vast majority of youth also reported low or moderate levels of support from their families. The survey included 191 Louisiana young people aged 13-24. Survey responses were gathered online, and respondents were recruited via social media. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The vast majority of Americans do not believe that Ukraine is more to blame for the war waged against it by Russia. Source: a Reuters/IPSOS poll conducted on 3-4 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: 70% of respondents said they didn't think Ukraine was more to blame for the war, while only 7% did. 23% either did not know or did not answer the question of whether Ukraine is more to blame for the war with Russia. Photo: Reuters Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 81% of Democratic respondents said Ukraine was not more responsible for the war's outbreak, while 62% of Republicans agreed. In contrast, 11% of Republican respondents feel Ukraine is mostly to blame for the conflict. The poll also revealed that Americans are divided on whether the United States should receive a share of Ukrainian minerals in exchange for its support, a proposal that Donald Trump has advocated. Background: Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a lengthy message on X (Twitter) praising the US president's "strong leadership", expressing gratitude for his country's military assistance to Ukraine, and stating that it was regrettable the Oval Office spat on 28 February had occurred. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A Utah Senate committee resurrected a bill that would penalize driving without a license, four days after rejecting the same bill. The Senate Transportation Committee favorably recommended HB392, Unlicensed Driver Amendments, in a narrow 4-3 vote Tuesday, with Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, appearing via Zoom at the last minute to vote no. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, would allow law enforcement to impound the car of an unlicensed driver, as is already done for reckless driving, DUIs and uninsured vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the bill failed on Friday in a 3-3 vote, law enforcement representatives reached out to committee members to lobby for the bill, leading to committee chair Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, deciding to bring it back to life with three days left in the legislative session. While the Senate has shown a hesitance to take up criminal enhancement bills from the House, on Tuesday Utahs bicameral Legislature appeared united in its attempt to respond to voter concerns about the security and economic consequences of surges in immigration. West Valley Police Officer Josh Allen talks to a driver while conducting a traffic stop in West Valley City on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Poll: Perceived impacts of immigration A new Deseret News poll conducted in late February by HarrisX among 805 registered voters found that a plurality of Utahns believe that illegal immigration is harmful to public safety and economic well-being. When voters were asked what impact undocumented immigration had on public safety in their area, 48% responded that it made their area less safe, 31% said it had no impact and 9% said it made their area more safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The negative perception of illegal immigrations impact on public safety is not bipartisan. While 61% of Republicans said their communities felt less safe, 61% of Democrats said it had no impact on public safety. When voters were asked what impact undocumented immigration had on the economy of Utah, 44% responded that it hurts the states economy, 29% said it improves the economy and 10% said it has no impact. DN-undocs As historic numbers of immigrants entered the country over the last four years, totaling around 8 million people, the country experienced an increase in human trafficking, drug trafficking and anecdotes of gang activity. While chaos at the border allowed millions of unvetted individuals into the country, a consensus of studies have found that immigrants who entered the country illegally are significantly less likely to commit violent and drug crimes than native-born Americans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many studies also show a positive relationship between immigration and economic growth. The estimated 305,000 immigrants in Utah contributed a total $1.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2023, including $323 million coming from the 113,100 estimated undocumented immigrants, according to an American Immigration Council report . However, a 2023 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform found that illegal immigrants cost Utah taxpayers nearly $930 million each year for publicly funded programs in education, health care and criminal justice. How does the driver license bill work? MacPherson ran HB392 in response to concerns from law enforcement across the state that they couldnt ticket unlicensed drivers to enforce the law because many of the drivers had no form of identification. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, unlicensed drivers in MacPhersons home of West Valley made up nearly 50% of the 2,000 serious car crashes and nearly 50% of individuals identified in hit-and-runs were also unlicensed. The bill would allow law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver does not possess a drivers license, permit or privilege card, and would implement towing and identification requirements similar to those followed by police officers in cases of reckless driving or driving under the influence. One of the biggest problems highlighted by law enforcement that the bill would have addressed was the inability for police to ticket these drivers because many of them do not have identification. The bill would require police to take a quick fingerprint of an unlicensed driver and would increase the penalty for driving without a license from an infraction to a class C misdemeanor, or a class B misdemeanor for repeat offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would also increase the impoundment fee to retrieve a car from a tow yard from $425 to $600 and would add a minimum penalty of $500 for individuals that knowingly allow an unlicensed driver to drive their car. The latest version of the bill would give law enforcement more discretion to seize a vehicle if an individual with a driving credential is available to pick up the vehicle with permission of the registered owner. MacPhersons proposal is one of several law enforcement bills this legislative session framed by House Republicans as a response to four years of historic immigration. Other bills would enhance penalties for human trafficking, fentanyl distribution, criminal reentry and would make immigrants charged with violent misdemeanors eligible for immediate deportation. By Crispian Balmer VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who has been struggling to overcome double pneumonia for almost three weeks, remained in stable condition throughout the day on Wednesday and has not had any new breathing crises, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a relatively upbeat health bulletin, the Vatican said the pope had carried out some work and had spent much of the day in an armchair. The last time the Vatican specified that the pope had been able to work was on February 27. However, his doctors reiterated that his prognosis was "guarded", meaning he was not yet out of danger. The Vatican also said that Francis would once again be reconnected to non-invasive mechanical ventilation overnight after it was removed during the day, underscoring his continued difficulty in shaking off the dangerous illness. When he is not on mechanical ventilation, which pushes air into the lungs and does not require a patient to be sedated, the pope receives a high-flow of oxygen via a small nasal hose under his nose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the first time since February 24, the Vatican said the pope had made a call to the Catholic parish in Gaza, which he has done frequently during the Israel-Hamas war. Francis suffered what the Vatican described as two episodes of "acute respiratory insufficiency" on Monday, but has had no repeat of this since then. OUT OF SIGHT He has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest such absence since his papacy started 12 years ago. His doctors have not said how long the treatment might last. His illness has meant that he has already missed a number of Church events, including a service on Wednesday known as Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of a 40-day period leading to Easter Sunday and which he normally presides over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis stood in for him. "We feel deeply united with him at this time," De Donatis told the congregation in a Rome church. "We thank him for offering his prayers and his sufferings for the good of the entire Church and the whole world," he added. Christians receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their forehead during the service -- a rite intended to remind people of their mortality. Donatis dwelt on the theme in his sermon. "In many ways, we try to banish death from our societies ... Death, however, imposes itself as a reality with which we have to reckon, a sign of the precariousness and brevity of our lives," he said, in the homily which had been originally prepared for Francis to deliver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vatican said the pope had also taken part in an Ash Wednesday service in his hospital suite. Francis has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. Double pneumonia is a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino and Giulia Segreti; editing by Bernadette Baum, Mark Heinrich and Alistair Bell) Suspect in Portage shooting arrested in Lowell A Chicago man is in custody after a shooting in Portage Monday and a standoff in Lowell Tuesday that might have been sparked by a romantic rivalry, Portage Police said. Around 4:22 p.m. Monday, Portage officers responded to the 200 block of Greta Court for a report of a man being shot. Police later learned the alleged shooting occurred in the 300 block of Jacobs Place nearby but the victim had been moved. Police located a Hobart man, 28, who had suffered gunshot wounds to his left arm and leg. Officers applied tourniquets to stop the bleeding until fire department personnel transported the man to Northwest Health-Portage. He was then flown to a trauma center via Lutheran Air and is expected to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Portage Police said their initial investigation showed the shooting may have been motivated by romantic rivalry. Police identified several locations in Northwest Indiana and Chicago where the suspect, Jim Ferguson, 27, could have fled. Several law enforcement agencies were asked to be on the lookout for him. Early Tuesday morning, Lowell Police located Fergusons vehicle at a residence in the 1600 block of Bluebird Court. Portage detectives and SWAT officers responded to take Ferguson into custody; two adult females and an infant voluntarily left the home and officers confirmed Ferguson was inside alone. Police said that after numerous attempts to negotiate with Ferguson failed, the remainder of the Portage Police SWAT team was activated and several homes in the area were evacuated. After about two hours of unsuccessful attempts to get Ferguson to surrender, a chemical agent was deployed into the home to drive him out. Ferguson was taken into custody without further incident and his vehicle was impounded and is being held pending the issuance of a search warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ferguson is being held without bond at the Porter County Jail on a Level 3 felony charge of aggravated battery, as well as several active felony warrants in Lake County. The Porter County charge is subject to change and/or enhancement after review by the prosecutors office. The Lowell Police Department, Portage Fire Department, Porter County 911, Lowell Volunteer Fire Department, Tri Creek Ambulance Service, Lutheran Air and Portage Towing assisted. Through the dedicated teamwork of these organizations, we were able to bring this situation to a quick and safe conclusion and provide lifesaving care to the victim of this crime, police said. Suspected meth dealer arrested by PCMEG The Porter County Multi-Enforcement Group arrested an alleged methamphetamine dealer in LaCross Monday, according to a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 11 a.m. Monday, PCMEG, joined by Sheriff Jeffrey Balon and Chief Deputy Tim Manteuffel, were en route to an undisclosed location in Porter County for a narcotics investigation when the location changed to the first block of West Main Street in LaCrosse. When detectives tried to take a subject into custody, he fled, leading to a short vehicle pursuit. The pursuit ended safely when detectives used a vehicle maneuver to disable the suspects vehicle, police said. The suspect, later identified as Kenneth Thews, of LaCrosse, was taken into custody by Balon and Manteuffel without further incident. Thews was transported to the LaPorte County Jail and released to jail staff on a Level 3 felony charge of dealing methamphetamine; Level 6 Felony charges of resisting law enforcement and methamphetamine possession; and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and driving while suspended. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Families are demanding justice after three deadly shootings happened in Portland within just 14 hours. Portland police said theres no indication the cases are connected. So far, they havent made any arrests in each one. Democrat Al Green removed from House after interrupting, heckling Trump In North Portlands Boise Neighborhood, family members placed candles and balloons as they grieved for the life of 32-year-old Cedrell Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Washingtons family told KOIN 6 News he died on Monday night after police found his body in the road around 11:30 p.m. near North Williams Avenue and Northeast Ivy Street. The family of Cedrell Washington (right) told KOIN 6 he died in a shooting in Northeast Portland on March 3, 2025. Washingtons heartbroken baby sister shared a tearful message for his shooter. I wish he didnt do that to my brother, she said. Washingtons killing marks one of three deadly shootings in less than 14 hours across Portland. The first was in the Piedmont Neighborhood at 11:09 p.m. on Monday night, when police said someone shot a man, and he later died at the hospital. Just 20 minutes later, the shooting that rocked the Boise neighborhood claimed Washingtons life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday afternoon, police said someone shot and killed a woman in the East Columbia Neighborhood. Man sentenced 48 years for I-5 crash that killed 7 Neighbors like Boise Neighborhood resident Madison Forker said its alarming. It does make me concerned about safety for my neighbors and my community, so its sad that it happened, she said. Despite the recent gun violence, the overall shooting incidents in Portland have trended downward since 2021. The city reported 11 shooting deaths in the first two months of 2024, compared to 6 this year, reflecting a hopeful decrease. Still, neighbors want stronger action to prevent more tragedies and ensure safer streets. While families grieve, the community is calling for change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just looking at ethical, compassionate care for our neighbors, Forker said. Portland police would not confirm the identities of any of the victims in the recent shootings and they said the cases are not connected. Anyone with information about any of the shootings is encouraged to contact the Portland Police Bureau or Crime Stoppers of Oregon. Gene Hackmans dog misidentified, mysteries swirl Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal represents the area of the city where the shootings happened. He told KOIN 6 News the citys gun violence prevention program, Ceasefire, is at risk of losing funding because of the City of Portlands $93 million budget shortfall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kanal said the loss of this vital program could lead to even more deaths in neighborhoods already struggling with gun violence. That means fully funding and supporting the work of Ceasefire, supporting and fully funding the work of the Office of Violence Prevention and making sure that the gun violence reduction efforts from the Portland Police Bureau are also able to function, he said. Kanal is the co-chair of the Public Safety Committee. He said the City of Portland needs to make sure that officials are not only responding to gun violence when it happens but help to prevent it in the first place. Meanwhile, the federal government shut down the national Office of Gun Violence Prevention, leaving states on their own to handle the issue. The Alliance for a safe Oregon is now pushing for stronger local measures to protect people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Theres a new portrait on display in the Rhode Island State House that commemorates the Ocean States unique involvement in the American Revolution. Secretary of State Gregg Amore, chairman of the RI250 Commission, unveiled the portrait, titled Brave Men as Ever Fought, Tuesday afternoon alongside Gov. Dan McKee, as well as other state lawmakers and historians. The portrait honors the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, which joined the Continental Army back in 1778. Rhode Island was the first state to authorize an integrated military regiment of white, Black and Indigenous men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The history of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment is unique to Rhode Island, Amore said. Rhode Islanders should know the story of these brave individuals who fought in the first integrated military regiment. Its truly an honor to display this portrait. More than 130 free Black men and formerly enslaved men joined the regiment that year, with the latter being granted their freedom immediately upon their enlistment. It was the only time such an offer was made by a state government during the Revolutionary War. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment fought in the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 before merging with the Ocean States other military regiment and serving in the decisive Siege of Yorktown in 1781. The portrait, commissioned by the Museum of the American Revolution in 2020, is a recreation of the Rhode Island Regiments march through Philadelphia in 1781. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Historical military artist Don Troiani painted the portrait, which also features 15-year-old African American sailor James Forten. Forten, who later became a successful business owner and abolitionist, described to his friend what he witnessed back in 1781, which is where the portraits namesake comes from. I well remember that when the New England Regiment marched through this city on their way to attack the English Army under the command of Lord Cornwallis, there was several Companies of Coloured People, as brave men as ever fought, Forten said, referring to the Rhode Island Regiment. We owe a debt of gratitude to those Rhode Islanders of color who wore the uniform and saluted the flag of the fledgling United States in spite of the fact that for most of them, equality was an elusive dream, Museum of the American Revolution President and CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson said. The portrait is on loan from the Museum of the American Revolution. It will be on display in the Royal Charter Museum, which is on the first floor of the Rhode Island State House, through June. (Courtesy: Rhode Island Secretary of States Office) (Courtesy: Rhode Island Secretary of States Office) (Courtesy: Rhode Island Secretary of States Office) (Courtesy: Rhode Island Secretary of States Office) Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) Strong winds battered the Big Country overnight and into the day, leaving a trail of damage across Abilene and surrounding areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GALLERY: Gusty winds and hail wreak havoc in the Big Country The severe weather didnt just shake people awake in the early morning hoursit caused significant damage. Gusts exceeding 65 miles per hour tore through the region, battering many structures in Abilene and beyond. Our studios received numerous reports of weather-related incidents throughout the day. One such report came from Oak Street resident Allan Holder, who shared details of the damage he witnessed in his neighborhood. Weve already had trees come down in the neighbors yard. That wind blew the street sign off the top end stop sign, and when we saw it happen, I had run out there in the middle of the street and got it. I called Abilene Police Department, let them know, and told them itd be in my house and that theyd send somebody by to get it, Holder recalled. Flying street signs and tipped-over trash barrels were the least of the damages. In Merkel, residents had to evacuate when a carport blew over the downtown area and severed power to local businesses. PHOTOS: Eastland First Baptist Church steeple damaged by high winds Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar incident occurred in Abilene when the wind took a carport from a home, finally settled it vertically in a back alley, and it was leaning up against power lines. Over on Burger Street in north Abilene, Sharon Garcia and her husband Joes routine day was interrupted when the roof of their home suddenly lifted off its supports and flew into the street. Sharon Garcia described the event as similar to an earthquake and continued by saying, It was wicked, very wicked. We were sitting here, Im eating my breakfast, and all of a sudden we heard a loud noise, and we heard it hit the road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Very wicked: Fierce winds tear roof off north Abilene home Though the winds eventually died down, the damages left behind are a staunch reminder of what could happen when severe weather strikes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Mar. 4A Twin Valley high school teacher has been indicted after he reportedly had an inappropriate relationship with a student. Garrett Stringer-Smith, 31, of Englewood, was indicted in Preble County Common Pleas Court on 10 counts of sexual battery, according to court records filed Monday. At the time of writing, he was not in the Preble County Jail, and is scheduled to be arraigned March 21. The Preble County Sheriff's Office opened an investigation into Stringer-Smith Feb. 7 after a parent and student contacted the Twin Valley Community Local School District's resource officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The student said that they had been in a relationship with a teacher since September, the sheriff's office said. The relationship reportedly became sexual in October, when the student was 17. The student is currently 18. The sheriff's office said the relationship involved several locations, including the school building. Twin Valley Community Local Schools Superintendent Scott Cottingim previously said that Stringer-Smith was immediately put on administrative leave after learning of the allegations. He has been relieved of all district-related duties and is prohibited from district property. Deputies arrested Stringer-Smith Feb. 7, and during a search of his home seized several items related to the investigation. JAMAICA, Queens (PIX11) A woman who is seven months pregnant was randomly attacked on a subway train in Queens last month, police sources told PIX11 News. The incident happened on Feb. 25 just before 6 p.m., according to authorities. The 37-year-old woman was onboard a J train at the Jamaica CenterParsons/Archer station when a man approached her and punched her in the face, police said. More Crime News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacker ran off while the woman was left with bruises and pain in her right eye. She sustained injuries but was not hospitalized. Police said they are looking for a man with facial hair and a medium build, last seen wearing a black coat, blue jeans, and black and white shoes. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Several hundred MidAmerican Energy customers in Sioux City were without power Tuesday afternoon. Power has since been restored. Though the outage wasnt because of weather, with winds gusting 50 mph or more, additional outages are possible. With the Tuesday rain and with temperatures supposed to drop to below freezing overnight, that means ice could form on tree limbs that could cause them to break off into power lines. High winds are also expected overnight, further adding to the chance trees and limbs could come down on power lines and also cause power to go out. Siouxland towns issue snow emergencies, parking ordinances Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MidAmerican Energy spokesperson Geoff Greenwood told KCAU 9 that when it comes to storms like these, the company isnt worried about the rain or the snow, but the high winds that can impact overhead lines. Greenwood also provided what people should do if there are any power outages. He recommends first reporting the outage so crews are able to pinpoint the problem. People should also make sure to unplug electrical devices and have their cell phones charged for emergencies. Lastly, people should always use a flashlight instead of candles to reduce fire risk. Greenwood also talked about how MidAmerican Energy is planning for any outages due to the storm. Were taking an all-hands-on-deck approach making sure we hold crews over if needed, that we bring in crews early if needed, that they are working longer shifts, and that we have back-up crews that we can call in if needed, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Montino, the director at Woodbury County Emergency Management, told KCAU 9 News that they are also monitoring the situation as the storm blows through Siouxland. Sioux City police remind drivers to stay safe on the road during winter storm Were going to be working with our partners throughout the night, he said. If it looks like were going to have an extended power outage, well go ahead and basically make some plans for people to go somewhere to stay warm. If power does go out in any homes, Montino said that people should bundle up. He recommends keeping blankets close to stay warm. Also, anyone with a basement should go there because it should be warmer than upstairs. Lastly, he suggested avoiding using an open flame heater inside because it could cause a fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Tracing the history of Black people in Meadville will be the focus of a presentation Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Stone United Methodist Church, 956 S. Main St. Armendia Dixon will discuss her book, Meadville Ebony Genealogy of Sorts, for the second event in the year-long Meadville 1825 series, which celebrates a formative year in Crawford County history. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors will hear about the first African Americans who came to Meadville and we will go all the way to looking at African Americans who made an impact in Meadville, Dixon said. I think its important that we know the histories of all ethnic groups in Meadville and how they came together to problem solve and to make this one of the best communities I know of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dixon will provide highlights of the book she co-authored with Dedra Pester, who died in 2022. The book, written in observance of Meadvilles bicentennial in 1988, provides an account of Meadvilles Black residents from 1800 to 1920. Dixon said the goal was to trace the roots planted by Black people in Meadville, showing that their lives overlapped and interlocked with other groups through many generations. The account stemmed from the hope that sprang from experiences which brought about great expectations in spite of ill beginnings, according to Dixon, a hope that is shared with all people. Dixon and Presters book has also sparked other research and Dixons presentation will include additional information provided by Thomas L. Yoset from the Crawford County Genealogical Society. In addition to Dixons presentation, Caitlyn Thompson, a senior at Allegheny College, will discuss how Meadville Ebony Genealogy of Sorts influenced her research. Clotilda Anderson, a member of Bethel AME Church, will also offer an exhibit tracing the history of Bethel AME, which became the first Black church in Meadville when it was organized in 1849. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the presentation there will be food and fellowship. Mayor Jaime Kinder and Joshua Sherretts, executive director of the Crawford County Historical Society, will be at the registration table. Ushers are Rich Chafey, Corinne Chafey, Angela Jones and Anna Mack. Planners for the event are Lynn Atwell, Lisa Clayton, Taylor Raszman, Maria Rosado-Husband and Gloria Shields. Copies of Meadville Ebony Genealogy of Sorts, which was reprinted in 2022, will be available for $10. Among the many people honored during President Donald Trumps joint address to Congress on Tuesday night were the mother and sister of slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Riley was killed in Feb. 2024 on the University of Georgia campus where she went jogging. Police arrested and charged Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan man who was in the country illegally. A judge sentenced Ibarra to life in prison with parole. Rileys death became a rallying cry for Trumps White House campaign. Allyson and Lauren Phillips, Rileys mother and sister, sat in the gallery on Tuesday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Bidens open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the Heartless policies of that failed administration, Trump said during his speech. I told Lakens grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain. RELATED STORIES: The Laken Riley Act was the first piece of legislation Trump signed into law once taking office again in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Laken Riley Act allows the deportation of migrants charged with crimes like burglary, theft, assaulting law enforcement or other crimes that result in serious injury or death. Critics of the law say that the focus on immigration in the context of Rileys murder may overshadow other factors contributing to crime and public safety. A prosecutor in Indiana has already used the law to deport an undocumented immigrant in response to a deadly car accident. Regular politics watchers across the Pond appeared horrified when Donald Trump was constantly heckled during his State of the Union address to Congress, the much vaunted high altar of US democracy and of the new presidents four-year tenure. Not only that, but one noisy Democrat was ordered out of that august chamber, escorted by the sergeant at arms, for constantly shouting at the head of state. Cue, even more shocked reaction. But, frankly, from this distance it would appear that this is the only real domestic opposition the president is facing even if his name is mud throughout much of Europe, with leaders as well as the voters. What is missing, surely, is the Voice of Liberal America so that the world could see that the USA theyve grown used to and dependent upon is still around, just waiting for a chance to get rid of The Donald. Such anger is evident on social media, coming largely from former Democrat apparatchiks. But where are the giants from the Democratic past? The Clintons, the Bidens and, above all, the Obamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Have they all disappeared, or are they so cowed by Trumps 43-day blitzkrieg that theyre keeping their heads down? For waving his cane and shouting slogans during the presidents triumphal address, Democrat Al Green was marched off the premises. If that expulsion was a signal for a larger scale demonstration, Mr Green must have been sorely disappointed for the simple reason that nobody left with him. And no wonder, since former House speaker and no friend of Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, urged her followers not to protest during the presidential address, saying of Trump: Let him stew in his own juice. Its true that more than 20 other Democrats who were present in the chamber lodged protests at the way Trump has behaved and the policies hes unveiled in the first 40 days of his presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But they did so silently and, for anyone used to the more rumbustious, and at times undignified, behaviour of the Commons, it was a pretty pathetic little display. Expulsions and bad behaviour, with the speaker regularly threatening MPs with expulsion or suspension, were once commonplace here. Over there, silently, almost respectfully, holding up signs during Trumps speech that said, Save Medicaid, Lies and Musk Steals is not the same. Still, Trumps joint address to Congress was said to be the first event of its kind in the modern era to be disrupted in this way. But it wasnt always like this. There was a time when American political disagreements regularly turned not just heated but violent. Fist fights were not unusual and nor were serious assaults. In the pre-Civil War era, Congress saw at least 70 violent incidents between its members. Although this week there were a further 100 placard-waving protesters outside Congress, what I cant get used to is the apparent silence from the USs big hitters. Im thinking especially here of Barack Obama, the 44th president and a long-time severe critic of Trump. He has previously been scathing in his assessment of the man whos again in charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He predicted that a Trump presidency would damage the status of the White House because the Republican doesnt care much about basic civility and the respect that a real vibrant democracy requires. And Obama further embarrassed his quarry by predicting he would transform the White House, joking that if he won, the word Trump would be plastered in bright lights across the front of the building. But Obama, who is something of a hero in much of my household, appears to have dropped out of the name-calling game. That said, nothing is forever in politics and European leaders like Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, as well as Canadas Justin Trudeau, are giving Trump a run for his money and will be hoping to make a difference to the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its only the American public who matter in this desperately difficult situation. The Maga crowd seem to have centrestage at present but statesmen like Obama still have, I hope, a significant following. Its time that the US voters, not to mention the rest of the world, heard more from them. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. As President Donald Trump prepared to address a joint session of Congress for the first time in his second term, many Illinois Democrats invited guests intended to signal their opposition to the president's policies. The speech takes the place of the annual State of the Union address, though it does not take that name because the president is still in the first year of his new term. At these annual speeches to Congress, the president typically invites guests who sit in the balcony above the House floor with the first lady. Sometimes there are personal connections, and other times the guests have an association with an issue the president intends to highlight in his remarks. Democrats, meanwhile including a number in Illinois invited guests who highlighted what they characterized as harm caused by the Trump administration. Guests included fired federal workers and people affected by federal funding cuts Trump ordered. Here's a look at who some members of Illinois' congressional delegation brought to the speech. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Sokol, practicing oncologist and medical researcher at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago Why she was chosen: Sokol, who specializes in treating children with neuroblastoma, is conducting federally supported clinical trials that Durbin said are endangered by the Trump Administrations cuts to funding and resources at the National Institutes of Health. What Durbin said: "President Trump and Elon Musk are carrying out an unprecedented and devastating campaign to cut research funding for cancers, ALS, Alzheimers, dementia, and infectious disease," he said in a statement released ahead of Tuesday's speech. "NIH funding is why people are beating cancer, why babies are being spared from preventable illnesses, why HIV is no longer a death sentence, and why progress is being made on neurodegenerative diseases. There are millions of Americans impacted by these diseases, and any move to slash medical research funding will have long-term consequences for the health of our country. "These haphazard decisions by President Trump have real, serious repercussions. Dr. Sokol, a pediatric oncologist and researcher at Lurie Childrens Hospital in Chicago, has dedicated more than a decade to the research and treatment of children suffering from neuroblastoma. Today, her research, which helps kids lead healthier lives after surviving cancer, is in jeopardy because of Donald Trump." Guest's perspective: "Its an honor to be here representing pediatric researchers from Illinois," Sokol said in a statement ahead of the speech. " As a physician-scientist at the bedside at one of our nations premier childrens research hospitals, I have witnessed firsthand how federally funded research including the essential indirect costs that support it has allowed for remarkable breakthroughs that help children faced with devastating diagnoses including childhood cancer. "It is critically important to have congressional leaders such as Sen. Durbin working hard to protect NIH funding including indirect costs, which are vital for sustaining the scientific and clinical research infrastructure. These costs help researchers translate basic discoveries into new treatments and cures for children, who have their whole lives ahead of them." U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. Guest: Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association Why she was chosen: Duckworth's office said Morrison-Frichtl was invited as the senator continues to oppose a federal funding freeze causing "needless chaos, confusion and financial pain" for Head Start programs and the families who rely on them. What Duckworth said: "Despite running on the promise that he would lower costs for middle-class Americans, Donald Trumps illegal funding freeze is hurting the same families he swore hed protect by jeopardizing the Head Start programs so many rely on," she said in a statement on Monday. "Leaders like Lauri Morrison-Frichtl are on the frontlines of Trumps needless chaos which is continuing to cause irreversible damage and jeopardize Illinois Head Starts ability to serve thousands of children and families. "Im proud to have Lauri Morrison-Frichtl as my guest to the Joint Address to remind middle-class Americans and this Administration just how critical Head Start services are not only for working parents trying to make ends meet, but also for the next generation of students. We cannot let Trump and Republicans tear down this lifeline for families in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires full stop." Guest perspective: "I am deeply honored to be invited as Senator Duckworths guest for the Joint Address to Congress," said Morrison-Frichtl, also ahead of the speech. "As the Executive Director of the Illinois Head Start Association, Ive seen firsthand the transformative power of Head Start in creating safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive and in empowering parents to pursue meaningful employment across the great state of Illinois. "However, recent disruptions and uncertainties around federal funding have created significant anxiety and stress among our parents, staff, and communities across Illinois. We are committed to navigating these challenges and ensuring that the bureaucratic hurdles do not undermine the trust that families, staff, and children place in our programs. The work we do is critical. I am honored to work with Senator Duckworth and other elected officials to support our children and families and champion the rights they need and deserve." U.S. Mike Bost, D-Murphysboro Guest: Judy Repking of Effingham County, a board member of Effingham Area Right to Life and chair of the Bishops Pro-Life Committee Why she was chosen: Bost's office said Repking and her husband, Paul, have been dedicated advocates for pro-life causes in Effingham County for over two decades. What Bost said: I was happy to invite Judy Repking to sit in the House gallery for President Trumps Joint Address to Congress because you wont find a stronger defender of unborn babies in Southeastern Illinois," Bost said ahead of the speech. "Judy and Paul have worked hard to educate, inspire, and mobilize others in the fight for life. Thats precisely the type of selfless leadership I wanted to highlight on this very special occasion. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield Guest: Lisa Quandt, special education teacher in Belleville Why she was chosen: Tuesday aligns with the American Federation of Teachers "Protect Our Kids" campaign, which opposes funding cuts proposed for the U.S. Department of Education. What Budzinski said: "In recent weeks, President Trump has unleashed a wave of attacks on the Department of Education," the congresswoman said in a statement ahead of the speech. "His call to dismantle the department altogether threatens the existence of programs that support low-income students and those with disabilities. The necessity and impact of these programs are not up for debate. "As the proud aunt of a nephew with Down syndrome, I know just how important special education is to make sure all kids have the opportunity to thrive. Thats why Im honored to have Lisa Quandt as my guest for President Trumps Joint Address. As a dedicated special education teacher, Lisa is a true hero in our community, working tirelessly to help Belleville students learn and grow. I hope that her attendance reminds the President of the real people who are suffering because of his actions." U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Chicago Guest: Dr. Lisa Green, provider and CEO, Family Christian Health Center Why she was chosen: Describing Green as "a doctor at a federally funded health center and an advocate for Black maternal health," Kelly's office said Green "understands the importance of affordable public healthcare." What Kelly said: "Since Day One, President Trump has attacked public health from unqualified cabinet nominees to Elon Musks staff cuts across health agencies to executive orders erasing CDC data related to health equity," she said in a statement before the speech. "House Republicans followed his lead and passed a budget proposal to cut Medicaid and reward the wealthy few with a tax break. "Doctors like Lisa see the powerful impact of accessible and affordable healthcare every day and they know the deadly consequences when patients cannot receive treatment. Trump would see our countrys health suffer while giving more money to his billionaire friends like Elon Musk. Lisa and I will not stand for it." U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline Guest: James Diaz of Monmouth, a disabled veteran who was laid off last month from his job as a fuel compliance officer at the IRS field office in Galesburg Why he was chosen: Sorensen's office said Diaz lost his job "as a result of actions taken by the Trump administration and Elon Musk," and the congressman wanted to highlight the effect of policy decisions. What Sorensen said: "James story is one that needs to be heard. He dedicated his life to serving our country, first in uniform and then in public service," Sorensen said in a statement last week. "It is unacceptable that those who sacrificed so much are being treated this way. Im bringing James to the State of the Union to highlight the real impact of these dangerous and harmful budget cuts on hardworking Americans and veterans who deserve our respect and support." Guest perspective: "Ive given my life to this country, and to be laid off without warning or respect is disheartening. I want to bring attention to how military veterans are being treated, especially when it comes to the way terminations are handled," Diaz said. "My notice of termination cited performance, and I know my performance was documented as excellent, yet we were treated like garbage. I understand the need to trim the fat, but you cant treat people this way." The Associated Press contributed. CHICAGO (WGN) Pro-immigrant groups and members of Chicagos faith community came together Tuesday to speak out against the Donald Trump administrations prioritization of arrests and deportation of undocumented immigrants. We wont be deterred by whatever this president says and comes at us with as a city, as communities, Pastor Juan Pablo Herrera said. As a nation we have chosen deportation and resentment over welcome and care, Pastor Julian DeShazier said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To offer sanctuary is Jewish, its American, its the right thing to do, Rabbi Daniel Kirzane said. More from Tahman: Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticizes Democratic party, calls for focus on classroom issues The Chicago coalitions message came on the eve of a made-for-TV Congressional hearing featuring four Democratic sanctuary city mayors. The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee teed up the event in this video. Were going to bring the mayors in. Were going to let them explain what their policies are. See if they can answer some questions as to whos paying for this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Brandon Johnson has been in Washington since Sunday, preparing for an expected grilling. Hes reached out to former mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot, as well as Congressmen Danny Davis, Jonathan Jackson and former Education Secretary Arne Duncan. I will be prepared to defend working people in this city, Johnson said on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Republicans said they plan to hold the Sanctuary City mayors accountable for not acting on President Trumps deportation agenda. Last month, the Trump administration sued Chicago, alleging sanctuary laws thwart federal authorities from enforcing their immigration crackdown. Mayor Johnson, along with the mayors of New York City, Denver and Boston take the hot seat tomorrow at 9 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. NEW YORK Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters took over the Barnard College library on Wednesday, escalating tensions with school administrators in the aftermath of another building occupation last week. The masked demonstrators filed into an unmarked side entrance of the Milstein Center around 1 p.m., according to videos posted by a pro-Palestinian organization not associated with Barnard or its affiliate, Columbia University, to demand the school reverse the expulsions of three classmates. After Barnard issued a warning demanding the group disperse, activists ripped the written notices to shreds, saying they intend to stay. It was the second time in a week that protesters seized a campus building and disrupted classes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were left with no choice but to resume the sit-in because Barnard has shown they will sabotage negotiations unless we hold them accountable, the protesters wrote on Substack. Until administrators concede to our demands, we in our hundreds will continue to disrupt their business as usual. The three expelled students faced disciplinary action over their participation in either a class disruption this semester involving antisemitic flyers or last springs occupation of Hamilton Hall. In an email to students and faculty a couple of hours into the disruption, Barnard President Laura Rosenbury said the actions of a few must not be allowed to disrupt students education. Our academic mission is at the heart of what we do, and disruptions to that mission are an affront to the purpose of higher education and cannot be tolerated, wrote Rosenbury, adding that campus activities outside of Milstein were proceeding as usual. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside the building lobby, protesters holding the Palestinian flag chanted through megaphones: We want justice, you say how? Un-expel our students now, while others played drums and cymbals, videos show. Demonstrator held Wanted signs of Rosenbury and student life dean Leslie Grinage for the wrongful expulsion of pro-Palestinian students. Another activist jostled with a puppet whose name-tag identified it as Rosenbury, before hanging it outside the building by its neck. Protesters continued to call on the college president to disclose Barnards investments in Israel. Puppet President Rosenbury, are the Zionist Donors pulling the strings? Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of various student clubs, wrote on Instagram. Public safety agents blocked the entrance of Milstein shortly after the disruption began, according to Bwog, a student-run campus news website. About an hour in, administrators issued a notice to protesters as a final warning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have offered you multiple opportunities to leave the building peacefully and without further escalation, read the memo. If you do not comply with this request, we will take further action as necessary to clear the building. As of late afternoon, the protesters still remained. In a brief phone call, Rosenbury offered a meeting with the Barnard administration, so long as students removed their masks. Our demand is to reinstate the expelled students because of how unjust this process has been, and we dont intend on leaving until that happens, one of the participants responded, videos show. Columbia, which is under intense pressure to crackdown on protest activity amid threats to withhold funding from the federal government, released a statement separating itself from Barnard, though adding it was in touch with the affiliated colleges leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct, it read. We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time. The U.S. Education Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration are considering stop-work orders for at least $51.4 million of active contracts in Morningside Heights. _____ Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Ukraine took center stage during the latest protest at the Michigan State Capitol Tuesday, less than a week after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended in an Oval Office shouting match. Dozens of Ukrainian flags and signs of support in the countrys blue and yellow could be seen throughout the crowd, a noticeable shift from other recent protests that have largely lacked a single unifying theme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One particularly large Ukrainian flag was unfurled in front of the Capitol by Catie Miglietti. She said that withdrawing military aid from Ukraine, as Trump announced yesterday the U.S. would do, is the act of traitors. Were willing to defend countries like Israel against murder, rape, genocide, but were just going to leave Ukraine out to hang out to dry, Miglietti said. Kate Globensky said that the way Zelenskyy was treated during his visit to The White House was an abomination and said she was so frustrated that she was physically shaking. Protesters attend a March Forth rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the countrys colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) During the Oval Office meeting last week, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance berated Zelesnky, accusing him of gambling with World War Three. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He threatened Zelenskyy for World War Three but its him that could potentially cause it, Globensky said. She called for a counter coup against Trump, Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, warning that our republic will fall otherwise. Marti Bombyk said that watching the Oval Office meeting energized people who have been silently rooting for Ukraine to show up and speak out. Bombyk said that her father is a Ukrainian born in Detroit who served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force. I know what evil Russia and the Soviet Union are capable of, Bombyk said. Its really important for people to not have any illusions about Putin and his capacity to use Trump as a useful idiot, and how dangerous it is for people to go along instead of standing up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is about aligning ourselves squarely with the free world, Bombyk said. Because right now, our national government is aligning itself with rogue states. Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Protesters attend a "March Forth" rally at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 4, 2025. Several attendees brought Ukraine flags, wore the country's colors and carried signs of support for the country after an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) The Urban Core Collective held a meeting Wednesday to address Consumers Energys latest price hike application. Since 2019, the Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a total of $274 million in six annual rate hike requests from Consumers, according to the Urban Core Collective. Group leaders say the process of approving these requests lacks public accessibility and transparency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because these are three appointed officials that are kind of separated from public scrutiny based on the decisions that they make, I think they dont benefit from hearing from the general public and how their decisions are putting us in a tough situation right now, said Sergio Cira-Reyes, climate justice catalyst with the Urban Core Collective. The collective is asking residents to describe how rate hikes are impacting them at the March 13 MPSC meeting in Lansing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Students from Capital Day School in Frankfort get ready for their vocal performance in the Capitol rotunda as part of Kentucky Youth Advocates Children's Advocacy Day, March 5, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) FRANKFORT Hundreds rallied in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday for Childrens Advocacy Day, calling on lawmakers to pass youth vaping protections and other policies to improve the quality of life for Kentuckys kids. Terry Brooks, the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, which organized the rally, said about 80% of KYAs legislative priorities are on track to become law this session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those priorities include shoring up sexual exploitation laws, keeping nicotine products out of the hands of minors, paving the way for Kentucky to get freestanding birth centers and more. We are so close to making Kentucky the best place in America to be young, Brooks said on day 22 of the 30-day legislative session. The state currently ranks high in child abuse and neglect and low in health. You see the friction in Washington, Brooks said. You hear rumors that nothing gets done in Frankfort. I want to tell you that, at least that second narrative, is absolutely wrong. Zach Crouch, a Taylor County High School student who works with Kentucky Youth Advocates, the organization that organized the rally, said too many in his community are victim(s) of the tobacco industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our number one problem in Taylor County is vaping, he said. Its gotten to the point where you can see it anywhere, anyhow. He believes a Republican Senate bill to regulate vape retailers will help protect children. Boyle County High School student Aleah Stigall, right, and Warren County High School student Cayden Dunn, left, speak at the Kentucky Youth Advocates Childrens Advocacy Day in the Capitol rotunda. March 5, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Gov. Andy Beshear called on those gathered to advocate for universal pre-K, which hes long supported. He also spoke again in support of better, more competitive salaries for public school teachers and said, with so many children on state health insurance, we must protect Medicaid. There is nothing more important to me than creating a better commonwealth for our kids, said Beshear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, R-Greensburg, focused his brief remarks on praising the advocates for their work on the behalf of children. Voices matter. And your voice matters a lot, he said. You have the chance to help create a new reality for a young person or a colleague or a friend. Offer to see in them something they dont see in themselves. See a special talent, see a special gift. Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield, who chairs the House Families and Children Committee, called on the Beshear administration to fund a 2024 law aimed at helping families who are caring for a minor relative known as kinship caregivers. While the governor gave us some work, Im going to give him some work too, she said. Weve got to make sure that were funding kinship care and that were helping kids. This isnt a political thing. This is putting our future first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers and the Beshear administration have gone back and forth for months over that law, which was unfunded thanks to what several lawmakers have called a miscommunication from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. I believe that one of the greatest responsibilities that we have as lawmakers, said Heavrin, is protecting and uplifting our children. A man fishes off a dock in Bay City, Wisconsin, a village on the Mississippi River, on July 18, 2022. (Elizabeth Flores/Minnesota Star Tribune) A new congressional bill aims to improve fisheries and environmental quality in the Mississippi River basin with a federally funded commission. This is a bill thats way past its due, said U.S. Rep. Troy Carter Sr. D-Louisiana, who is co-sponsoring the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act of 2025 with U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell R-Mississippi. It was introduced Feb. 24 in the House Committee on Natural Resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal is to fund grants for habitat restoration, fisheries research and the mitigation of invasive species. It aims to support the growth of the fishing industry throughout the basin, as well as reinforce partnerships between local, state and federal agencies involved in the management of the river and its tributaries. The commission would be federally funded, and draw down on federal dollars to support restoration projects and fisheries management. The Mississippi, a mighty, mighty estuary, is not only a major tool for moving commerce back and forth, but its also a place where people make a living, fishing on the river, Carter said. This bill endeavors to make sure that we are protecting that asset. While commercial fishing has declined in recent decades, and updated research is necessary to establish the exact value of recreational, commercial and subsistence fishing in the Mississippi River, one study valued it as a billion dollar industry in the basin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rivers ecology has long dealt with challenges such as industrial and agricultural pollution, habitat destruction and prolific spread of invasive species. Part of the difficulty in addressing these problems come from the sheer size of the basin, with its geography covering over a third of the continental United States. For decades, states have struggled to find dedicated resources to adequately manage large river species that cross many state, federal, and tribal jurisdictions during their lifetimes, Ben Batten, deputy director of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and chair of the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association, said in a press release. Large river species such as invasive carp are a problem the new commission would address, building on the work of the interstate cooperative, a multistate, multi-agency organization formed in 1991 that has focused on reducing invasives. The four varieties of carp originating from Asia silver carp, black carp, grass carp and bighead carp have spread at alarming rates and harm existing fisheries. Communication amongst the numerous jurisdictions in the basin states, cities, towns and tribal entities can be difficult. Collaborative groups encourage more cohesive policy between basin states, such as the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative and the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, and there have been efforts to pass a river compact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States and Canada share a partnership through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission would be part of the Department of the Interior, and include other agencies, like the U.S. Geological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers. Due in large part to a lack of standardized testing, and often limited resources, health experts and government agencies often offer conflicting advice as to whether fish from the Mississippi River are safe to eat. Fish advisories warning against consumption of river fish in one area may not exist in neighboring states, varying from one side of the river to the other. The bill authors request $1 million to launch the commission in 2026, then $30 million each year for the following three years While many fish the Mississippi River for sport rather than to eat, some rely on the river as a source of food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement General health advice for eating fish caught from the Mississippi does exist, such as throwing back the biggest and fattiest fish, washing them before filleting, and broiling or grilling the catch to avoid certain pollutants. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Halle Parker with WWNO-FM contributed to this story from New Orleans. This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. Photo: Getty Images They cant be serious. Thats the reaction that many people have had to the massive and poorly thought out cuts that President Trump and Elon Musk have been inflicting of late on an array of vital public services. Surely, went the thinking, they wouldnt put things like public health and safety at risk, and quite literally, condemn thousands of people to premature deaths in order to extract a new round of tax cuts for the wealthy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But you know what? They were and are serious. And theres no more frightening example of this kind of unreasoning cruelty than the plan Trump and Musks allies in Congress are implementing to slash the federal Medicaid health insurance program. Last week, all ten North Carolina House Republicans voted for massive funding cuts which would virtually assure that hundreds of thousands of their neighbors including children, new moms, seniors, and people with disabilities become uninsured. The bottom line: Reems of health data make clear that when people lack health insurance: they die sooner. That lawmakers would willfully ignore this grim truth is simply unbelievable. For NC Newsline, Im Rob Schofield. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said Tuesday that a plea offer for a man accused in a 2021 fatal shooting at a business that is in the spotlight again because of another shooting there this week was too lenient. A pretrial was held Tuesday for 35-year-old Johnnie McCall. And while the court record has not been updated to include the proceedings, Maro revealed in a news release that McCall was offered a reduction of charges from aggravated murder, two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault to manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of Calvin Moore. Moore was shot outside Vibez on East Midlothian Boulevard on Dec. 12, 2021, after police said he and McCall argued. Moore died days later on Christmas Day at the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maro said in a news release Tuesday that McCall received a significantly reduced manslaughter charge due to the prior Mahoning County Prosecutors Administration. Maro emphasized the offer to amend the charges could not be changed simply because of a change in administration and that the prosecutors office remains committed to holding violent offenders accountable. The Prosecutors Office is committed to being tough on crime and ensuring justice is served for victims and their families, Maro said. The record did not list a next court date for a future hearing for McCall. A shooting happened Monday morning at Vibez where 30-year-old Deandre Stores was killed. Police believe Stores was sitting in his car when he was shot several times. It happened shortly before 2:30 a.m. as the restaurant was closing and other patrons were leaving, but investigators have struggled to find witnesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police are still investigating that shooting. Its the third homicide in that parking lot since Moore was shot in 2021. In July 2024, another homicide happened there all the shootings happened between 2-3 a.m. Joe Gorman and Gerry Ricciutti contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. Illinois leaders largely followed party lines with starkly different responses to President Donald Trump's promise of continued "swift and unrelenting action" in a broad range of major policy areas. Appearing before a joint session of Congress, Trump spent more than 90 minutes laying out a vision for his second term. It was a welcome message for members of the president's party, who quickly issued statements praising Trump and pledging to support his agenda. President Trump and House and Senate Republicans are creating opportunities for all Americans," said U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria. "Under Republican leadership, we have seen tremendous investment in our country, bringing high-paying American jobs to our communities." A much chillier reception came from Democrats, who represent majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly and 14 of the state's 17 congressional districts. They attacked Trump's efforts to enact widespread federal spending cuts, including sweeping layoffs of government workers. "Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans dont give a damn about working people," said Gov. JB Pritzker, a second-term Chicago Democrat who has been critical of Trump. "Here in Illinois, I will continue fighting for what working families need most right now: affordability. Read for yourself: Below are reactions released by lawmakers' offices and social media accounts after the president's address. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Once again, Donald Trump showed us he cares more about giving tax cuts to the biggest corporations and wealthiest people more than he cares about making life more affordable for Americas working families. To line the pockets of billionaires, Republicans plan to make working people in Illinois pay the price by gutting healthcare, childcare, and retirement programs. Going after our most vulnerable children, seniors, and neighbors is just plain cruel. Trump and Congressional Republicans are out-of-touch with the realities facing working families. People of all backgrounds and political parties rely on affordable healthcare through Medicaid or putting food on their familys table through nutrition programs. As the Republican budget cuts and tariffs move forward, Illinoisans and all Americans have to pay more at the grocery store and the gas pump. Trump, Elon Musk, and Congressional Republicans dont give a damn about working people. Here in Illinois, I will continue fighting for what working families need most right now: affordability. Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi Tonight, President Trump addressed millions of Americans around the country and outlined his administration's first 43 days in office common sense solutions, securing our border, stopping government waste and abuse, and putting America First. "The next four years will be full of prosperity as we get our country back on track and the Illinois Republican Party will continue to work with President Trump to help Illinois families and Make America Great Again. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. What we witnessed tonight was hubris in its highest form. President Trump has claimed that he alone can make America great. Unfortunately, grandstanding does not lower the price of groceries or cut prescription drug costs. While President Trump delivered empty platitudes about the success of his presidency, Elon Musk and his Administration have gutted the federal government, indiscriminately firing civil servants who are critical to our national security, who protect us from disease outbreaks, and who ensure its safe to fly. Under the guise of efficiency, President Trump has frozen NIH funding, preventing medical researchers from finding the cure for cancer, Alzheimers, or heart disease. And not a week after calling President Zelenskyy a dictator and blaming him for invading his own country, President Trump declared that he has worked tirelessly to end the violence in Ukraine. Our allies, especially Ukraine, deserve more than President Trumps feeble support. I unequivocally stand with Ukraine and President Zelenskyy as they continue to push off Russian aggression. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois Donald Trump promised hed lower costs for middle-class Americans, but clearly that was a lie he sold to get elected. In reality, were continuing to watch Trump and Elon Musk take a chainsaw to programs and services that middle-class families rely on the same families Trump swore hed protect all while doing nothing to address the rising cost of eggs and groceries. "Since day one, Trump has already damaged lifelines like Head Start, gutted cancer research, fired more Veterans than any President in our nations history and is making our country less safe by surrendering to Putin while abandoning our democratic partners and allies. "Make no mistake: Trump and Musk will continue to ram through cuts to health care and critical programs that middle-class Americans depend on so they can fund tax breaks for already-wealthy billionaires. They dont care about making government work better for families, they only want to make government work better for themselves. If Republicans wont stick up for the middle class, Democrats will. U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro "President Trump's address tonight sent a powerful message to the American people and to every friend and foe across the globe that 'America First' wasn't just a campaign slogan; it forms the governing philosophy of his second term. It's a vision I look forward to working with President Trump to make a reality." U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield Tonight, President Trump failed to present concrete solutions to address rising costs for working families. With egg prices soaring and tariffs threatening our farmers, the President should be focused on making life easier, not harder. "While I agree that government spending must be carefully examined and efficiency must be prioritized, the policies hes backing will increase our deficit by trillions and deliver massive tax cuts to billionaires and corporations rather than provide relief to hardworking families. I remain focused on standing up for the people of Central and Southern Illinois for Medicaid recipients worried about losing care, for teachers and parents terrified of cuts to public education, for farmers concerned about the President disrupting their markets, and for families across the country who want a better tomorrow for the next generation. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria Tonight, President Trump laid out an inspiring vision to capitalize on the rapid start of his Administration and work towards renewing the American Dream. It is because of Republican leadership in Congress and this Administration that our country is in a much stronger position today than we were a year ago. President Trump and House and Senate Republicans are creating opportunities for all Americans. Under Republican leadership, we have seen tremendous investment in our country, bringing high-paying American jobs to our communities. Border crossings have plummeted to record lows. Congressional Republicans are committed to working alongside this administration to secure our border, protect our communities, and lower violent crime rates. "While there is still work to be done, I am confident that under President Trump, Republicans will continue to deliver a more prosperous and secure future for our nation. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland "It was an honor to hear from President Trump tonight at this Joint Address to Congress. Thank you for standing strong, securing our nation, and always putting America FIRST!" U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline Every day I hear from my constituents who want me to find common sense solutions to lowering prices and securing the border. They want groceries to be cheaper, they want to afford their prescription drugs, and they want to afford a home to raise their kids in. "They didnt hear any of that from the President tonight. While he is indiscriminately firing hardworking Americans and starting unnecessary trade wars that will jack up prices, I will keep fighting to deliver on the issues my neighbors care about the most. By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Wednesday arrested a former senior manager of Milan's urban planning sector, alleging that a network of corruption was at the root of the dozens of investigations that led to a construction stalemate in Italy's financial capital. Giovanni Oggioni, 68, an architect who until two months ago headed the main municipal body responsible for approving building projects, has been placed under house arrest on charges of bribery, forgery and deception, according to a 258-page arrest warrant reviewed by Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guardia di Finanza police at the same time searched two offices of the Milan municipality, the headquarters of builders' association Assimpredil Ance, and the real estate company AbitareIn, both of which are under investigation. According to the arrest order, Assimpredil Ance gave a consulting contract worth nearly 180,000 euros ($193,000) to Oggioni when he was a civil servant, while AbitareIn hired his daughter. Oggioni had given a green light to 11 construction projects by firms from the first association, and to five from the second company, Milan prosecutors said in the warrant. Oggioni's lawyers did not reply to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assimpredil Ance said in a statement that it was cooperating with the judicial authorities and pointed out that it "has always operated with the utmost transparency and fairness, for the purposes and in the manner established by its bylaws". AbitareIn confirmed in a press release that it and two of its officials are under investigation, adding that it has confidence in the judiciary, with which it intends to cooperate and says it is certain of its complete lack of involvement in the charges. Prosecutors said investigations related to the largest urban planning projects in Milan, "have brought to light a 'system'....whose purpose is to facilitate the issuance of illegal building permits and to carry out highly speculative real estate transactions". Milan had been on a roll since 2015, when the Expo international exhibition helped to transform the city into a hot spot for property developers, pushing up prices and attracting foreign investment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But complaints from Milan residents objecting to the mushrooming of multi-storey buildings in their neighbourhoods have triggered investigations into alleged abuses in the fast-tracking of building permits, with more than 100 active or planned building sites having stalled. The issue has assumed national prominence with the lower house of parliament approving in November a bill to change town planning laws to resolve the Milan stalemate. The bill, dubbed "Save Milan", was submitted by the ruling centre-right majority with the endorsement of the main centre-left opposition PD party and on Thursday will reach the Senate, upper house. ($1 = 0.9346 euros) (Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Keith Weir and Angus MacSwan) Two 16-year-old boys accused of stealing an SUV, hitting a police cruiser, and leading officers on a chase could be charged as adults. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Montgomery County Prosecuting attorney Mat Heck Jr. said Tuesday that his office filed a motion to transfer them to adult court, according to a spokesperson. As previously reported by News Center 7, Dayton officers chased a stolen Chevrolet Equinox back in February when it hit an officers cruiser. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Stolen vehicle hits cruiser, leads officers on chase before fiery crash Khaiere Williams has been charged with several felonies. This includes two counts of felonious assault with a police officer and one count each of failure to comply, grand theft, and vehicular assault. Sloan Davenport has been charged with one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, the prosecutors office said. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph before it ended when the car crashed out at Germantown Street and Gettysburg Avenue. The SUV also flipped upside down and burst into flames, the prosecutors office stated. Heck said both teens had previous records. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] GENEVA More than 350 people attended a protest, rally and march Tuesday afternoon in downtown Geneva, expressing their concern about the polices of President Donald Trumps administration. Geneva resident Brittney Csatlos organized the event with help from Ashtabula County Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Hagan. Csatlos said she organized the event to bring voice to area residents concerns over polices she and others believe are not good for the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It [protest] is what the Founding Fathers wanted us to do to keep the government accountable, she said. Many participants gathered on a grassy area by the Rotary Pavilion to make their feelings known. Many carried signs describing their opposition to a variety of Trump administration polices. Csatlos said she spread the word through Facebook and didnt know how many people would show up. Some of you told me you have been protesting since the Vietnam War, she said. There was a wide variety of age groups represented at the rally, and the march around downtown Geneva that followed. A few counter-protestors stood across Route 20, including one wearing a Donald Trump mask, and at least one man shouted about millions of illegal immigrants in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Geneva City Councilman John Barbo spoke at the rally, expressing his concerns about how peoples lives will be affected by federal layoffs. He also talked about a federal grant to study the importance of trees in the city that has been placed on hold by the Trump administration. Former Ohio State Representative John Patterson gave an impassioned plea for area residents to organize and express concerns about polices they disagree with stemming from the Trump administration. When I look out [at the protestors], I feel young, he said. Our great democracy is under attack. Patterson encouraged those in attendance to remember the country has been through challenging times and emerged stronger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The real power of democracy is in each and every one of you, Patterson said. He urged people to organize and encourage others to do the same. Hagan spoke of people with whom she met that are scared they are going to lose benefits, including a veteran who had a stroke at the age of 37. She urged people to register to vote and assist the partys efforts in Ashtabula County. After the rally the protestors marched with signs chanting about the rights of veterans, teachers, members of the LGBTQ community and others. The march took place mainly on Broadway, and eventually returned to the pavilion, at which time the protest dispersed. Members of the Geneva Police Department and the Ashtabula County Sheriffs Department were present at the rally. As President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on Tuesday night the longest first speech the House chamber has seen since 1964 the reaction was mixed. Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, was removed for heckling, while some attendees held up signs reading false and lies. One group, however, chose to make a more visual statement through the power of pink suiting. Several members from the Democratic Womens Caucus (DWC), including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, arrived at the Capitol decked out in monochromatic pink. One representative, Jill Tokuda, hand-wrote words from the US Constitution onto her salmon blazer, while DWC chair and Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez wore a fuchsia tweed cardigan and blush-colored shirt underneath. Leger Fernandez later told the Washington Post that the group used the color to raise the alarm about the negative impacts (Trumps) policies are having on women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Doris Matsui echoed the sentiment on X. Im wearing pink to protest Trump betraying women and families for his billionaire buddies, Matsui wrote. Women cant afford Trump. We cant afford eggs, we cant afford attacks on our health care, and we cant afford the discrimination and abuse by his administration. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) wears a jacket with writing of the U.S. Constitution ahead of President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. - Win McNamee/Getty Images The matching looks were covered extensively by news publications in the hours after the address. For some observers, though, the stylistic protest did not have the desired effect. On social media, the harmonized suits were slammed as performative and empty. Nichola D. Gutgold, Penn State communications professor and author of Electing Madam Vice President, agreed, noting that the synchronized pink was a bad look. Coordinating your clothing is associated with being a bridesmaid, she told CNN on a phone call. Its not associated with great leadership. Gutgold has been researching the topic of women in non-traditional roles specifically political office for 20 years. In that time, she believes she has witnessed a shift in news outlets focusing less on the clothing choices of female politicians. The conversation is not starting with what women are wearing like it used to, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That made the pink protest on Tuesday feel like a step backward, in Gutgolds view. I think it minimizes women when they dress alike, especially in a color like hot pink associated with Barbie, she explained. I dont think it comes across as a strong political statement. The Democratic Women's Caucus wore pink. Though some saw it was "performative." - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images This isnt the first time Democratic women have used their wardrobes to communicate solidarity. In 2017, 66 members of the House Democratic Womens Working Group wore white to Trumps address to Congress during his first term as president. White became a symbolic color after it was worn in the early 20th century by suffragettes protesting for their right to vote. Since then, white has been used as a reference point by female politicians during key moments from Hilary Clintons concession speech in 2016 to Kamala Harris celebrating Joe Bidens presidential win and her ascension to the vice presidency in 2020. Color coordination is not a fool-proof strategy, however, as demonstrated when Republican Rep. Mary Miller took her seat at Trumps congress address also dressed in hot pink. Although Miller was stationed on the opposite side of the room, away from the sea of rosy DWC members, at that moment her personal fashion choice was a drop in the ocean. Distraught that she might be linked to the political opposition, Miller took to X shortly after the event to set the record straight, as she criticized the Democrats for being liars and frauds, adding: No way was I changing out of my feminine pink suit! For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) Protestors gathered along highway overpasses in Holyoke and Longmeadow Tuesday morning ahead of President Trumps highly anticipated speech to a joint session of Congress. President Trump is set to give his first address to Congress since returning to the White House on Tuesday. Trump has only been in office for 43 days, but has a long list of actions so far. President Trumps tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada in effect Tuesday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not just an address to Congress, not just an address to the American people in the United States, said political consultant Tony Cignoli. This ones going to be watched around the world. Supporters understand his agenda, placing the recent tariffs as a way to decrease the national debt, but others are concerned over his actions since he was inaugurated. My father fought in World War II, and I never thought what he fought for would be at risk in this day and age, said Richard Vella of Southwick. Social justice advocates gathered on highway overpasses ahead of the address, holding banners in protest of Trumps agenda. Members of Rise Up Western Mass want others to see that they arent alone if they are worried with the current administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are very, very frustrated, and we want to let our fellow Americans know that not everybody is on board with this, said Rise Up Western Mass member Tom Peine. President Trump will address the joint session on Congress Tuesday at 9:00 p.m., which can be watched here on 22news. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Ahead of President Donald Trumps address to Congress Tuesday night, protests were held across the country and right here in Springfield. Were out here today protesting, trying to make America stand up for what is right and decent, said protester Bryce Lockwood. The group Stop Project 2025 USA gathered from noon to 6 p.m. in front of historic City Hall. Its so important that we come together and protect our people and our future, our clean air and water, our public lands, and just come together and take a stand for democracy, said Suzanne Hume, who is one of the people trying to get Stop Project 2025 off the ground. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What local residents want to see from President Trumps congressional address The protest was on the sidewalk on Chestnut Expressway and Booneville. No one lives free until everyone lives free, said Lockwood. The group was opposing Project 2025, federal job cuts, and spending cuts they say could impact government programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and Head Start. With all of the cuts with the Trump administration, its so frightening, Hume said. Hume, who also founded Clean Earth 4 Kids, says she believes these cuts will get rid of childrens programs while billionaires get tax breaks. Government jobs are not immune from rightsizing, said Congressman Mark Alford. And thats what this president is doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alford, who represents Missouris 4th district, says he hopes to hear about Trumps triumphs during his speech. Theres always room for waste, abuse and fraud to be weeded out of these government programs, Alford said, adding that some people are going to have to lose their jobs. Springfield consumers react to incoming tariffs on Mexico, Canada Alford is on the Appropriations Committee and says they are just starting to look for the 2026 budget, but they have to get through the 2025 budget before March 15. If we dont come to an agreement on the continuing resolution, we could have a Schumer shutdown, Alford said. Thats what theyre pushing for right now. They want to make clear on the Democrat side that they want to hobble the president of the United States and Elon Musk and DOGE for making the cuts necessary to rightsize our government and our economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hume says part of todays protest was also to speak out against the budget resolution the GOP-led House passed in February. We need to stand together and send a message to our representative that they cant vote for this budget, Hume said. Right now, there are no plans for another rally. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin has criticised US President Donald Trump's attitude to Russia's war against Ukraine, adding that President Ronald Reagan, whose phrase "peace through strength" is repeated by Trump, would be shocked. Source: European Pravda with reference to The Washington Post Quote from Slotkin after Trumps speech at Congress: "President Trump loves to say peace through strength thats actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week [a spat between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ed.], Reagan must be rolling in his grave." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: The senator added that, as a child born during the Cold War, she was grateful that Reagan was in power in the 1980s and not Trump because "Trump would have lost us the Cold War." Slotkin framed the Democratic Party's response to the US president's speech as a call for responsible governance instead of reckless leadership. She emphasised that Trump's actions could lead to the country's economic demise. "[Trump] believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions. Trumps actions suggest that in his heart, he doesnt believe were an exceptional nation," she said. The Washington Post noted that Slotkin is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. She won the election in Michigan, a swing state where President Trump also won. In her first few weeks in the Senate, Slotkin has sought to establish herself as a moderate voice backed by extensive national security experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: In his speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he appreciated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's willingness to sign a mineral deal with the US and to sit down at the negotiating table under his leadership. Trump also said that the US will get Greenland "one way or another". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! AUSTIN (KXAN) The American Red Cross, known for their worldwide work during disasters and support in local communities, celebrates their thousands of volunteers in the month of March every year. In combination with Red Cross Month, our local chapter, serving Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Milam, Travis, and Williamson counties, is hoping to raise funds during Amplify Austin. This area-wide fundraiser for local non-profits kicks off March 5 at 6 p.m. and continues until March 6th. Below is a transcript of Meteorologist Kristen Curries discussion with Marty Mckellips, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross serving Central and South Texas Region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read below: Kristen Currie, KXAN: As we head into March, its a big month for the American Red Cross. Joining me today to talk more about that, is Marty Mckellips with the American Red Cross here in Central Texas. Marty, Red Cross Month. Tell me more about it. Marty Mckellips, American Red Cross: Yeah, its really exciting. Every year, the President of the United States declares March as Red Cross Month to honor all the service our volunteers provide across the country. We try to have a lot of celebrations during that time, because our volunteers are really amazing, and it lines up nicely with Amplify Austin, which is coming up in the first week of March. Currie: So tell me first what Amplify Austin is and how it benefits you guys with Red Cross? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mckellips: So Amplify Austin is an amazing thing that happens. This year, it runs from March 5th through the 6th. They have a website where everyone can go in and donate to their favorite nonprofits and local non-profits. Theyve raised about $112 million since 2013 for all the wonderful nonprofits that work across the Central Texas area. Currie: How does the American Red Cross, specifically here in Central Texas, use that money? Mckellips: Everybody sort of knows about the big disasters, the fires and floods and all that, but here in Central Texas, we respond to every home fire. So if your home burns down in the middle of the night and its freezing cold and youre on the street with no shoes, all you have to do is call 1-800-Red Cross and amazing volunteers will show up and make sure you have clothes and food and a place to stay and mental health support and replace prescriptions. Sort of get you on that first step toward your recovery. Currie: With Amplify Austin, were looking for those dollars to stay here locally. Again, remind us when those dates are and if there are any opportunities to get involved and volunteer with yall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mckellips: It begins March 5 at 6 p.m. and ends March 6 at 6 p.m. And yes, were always looking for volunteers. At this time of year, were preparing for hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, so our plan is to recruit as many people as we can and get them trained, so when that season starts, theyre ready to go. All you have to do is go to www.RedCross.org, put in your zip code and find out where you can get trained. You can be as little involved or as most involved as you want to be as a volunteer. Currie: Marty, thank you so much for joining us today, talking about the American Red Cross and Amplify Austin. For more information on the American Red Cross serving Central Texas, click here. To donate to Amplify Austin, click here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. (Reuters) - The government of Azerbaijan has told the local office of the International Committee of the Red Cross that it will close its operations there, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based organisation said on Wednesday. "We have been made aware of the Azerbaijani government's intentions for the ICRC to close our delegation in Azerbaijan," spokesperson Ilaha Huseynova told Reuters. "We are currently in contact with authorities." Azerbaijani officials were not immediately available for comment outside normal working hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ICRC, which has operated in Azerbaijan since 1992, is the only organisation with access to a group of former officials in the ethnic Armenian administration of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh who are held in jail in Baku. One of those officials, Ruben Vardanyan, who once held the No. 2 position in the territory, has been on hunger strike since mid-February. He and 15 other ex-officials as well as civilian and military figures are currently on trial for charges including terrorism. Vardanyan and the others were recaptured by Azerbaijani troops as they and 100,000 other ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan captured the territory in a lightning offensive in September 2023. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Leslie Adler) EDITORS NOTE: This Historically Speaking column contains the opinions of Dr. Todd H. Rider based upon the research and information contained in his book, Forgotten Creators: How German-Speaking Scientists and Engineers Invented the Modern World, And What We Can Learn from Them. [https://riderinstitute.org/revolutionary-innovation/] I now bring to you "Historically Speaking" readers an interesting insight into Germany during the Manhattan Project and World War II era. This one is based on extensive research and is published online for your review. Rider has also been featured on the YouTube series, "Hidden History: Stories from the Secret City. View this story online for the direct links or search on YouTube to watch the five episodes. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0j4vsrz5XE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1pPh048r0o Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ8AQm6kboY Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHss4fDGCAY Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfYvRarCrg8 Get ready to have your mind filled with new information regarding the history of German atomic weapons. *** Spring 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the end of the World War II German nuclear weapons program. Although the standard historical view since the war has been that the German nuclear program was small and primitive compared to the U.S. Manhattan Project, recently declassified and rediscovered archival documents reveal a different story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to information now available, between 1938 and 1945, Germany acquired thousands of tons of uranium and thorium ores from German territory, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Portugal, and possibly additional countries. One route to producing fission fuel for nuclear weapons is enriching uranium - separating the highly fissionable uranium-235 isotope that constitutes approximately 0.72% of natural uranium from the rest that is relatively inert. During World War II, the United States enriched uranium primarily using a combination of calutrons or electromagnetic separators (the Oak Ridge Y-12 facility) and gaseous thermal diffusion (the Oak Ridge K-25 facility). Documents now available show that the Nobel-Prize-winning German physicist Dr. Gustav Hertz invented gaseous thermal diffusion enrichment in 1923, and the German government considered his research so important that he was able to work throughout the war despite his Jewish ancestry. In 1940, Auergesellschaft, a major German uranium company, invented an improved method of diffusion enrichment. When Soviet forces entered Germany in 1945, they discovered that factories in the town of Neustadt an der Orla were uniquely skilled at producing nickel membrane filters for diffusion enrichment. What exactly had those factories been doing during the war? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In September 1946, Gen. Leslie Groves of the Manhattan Project sent Percival C. Keith, chief designer of the Oak Ridge K-25 plant, on a top-secret, two-week trip to Czechoslovakia. What mission would have required Keiths unique knowledge and would have justified the risk if he were captured by Czech or Soviet forces? Was Keith sent to inspect, strip, or sabotage a former German enrichment plant in Czechoslovakia? Unfortunately, all other details are still classified. What we do know from the available documents is that Gustav Hertz, personnel from Auergesellschaft, those factories in Neustadt an der Orla, and resources from Czechoslovakia all played vital roles in the postwar Soviet nuclear weapons program. Similarly, rediscovered archival documents reveal the German scientist Manfred von Ardenne, one of the inventors of television and the electron microscope, built a prototype calutron electromagnetic isotope separator in 1941. After successfully demonstrating his calutron, he called upon the German government and German industry to mass-produce his calutrons for large-scale uranium enrichment. Documents from the U.S. Army Air Forces and Office of Special Services (OSS) reveal at least three large facilities were built for von Ardennes machines and at least one of those facilities was destroyed by Allied bombing. Further information about this wartime work remains classified, although von Ardenne is known to have played a leading role in the postwar Soviet nuclear program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps most importantly, Germany developed gas centrifuges, which are more efficient than calutrons and gaseous diffusion for uranium enrichment, and which therefore have now become the preferred method of enrichment worldwide. Documents show the German scientist Dr. Georg Bredig invented gas centrifuges sometime before 1895. By World War II, uranium gas centrifuges were being produced in Kiel (by two different groups), Munich, Freiburg, Gottingen, Thuringia, Breslau (now Wrocaw, Poland), and even factories in nominally neutral Switzerland for export back to Germany. How many uranium gas centrifuges did Germany produce and use during the war? Again, the details remain unavailable even 80 years later. If Germany had built one large Oak-Ridge-like facility for all its uranium enrichment machines, it would have been straightforward for Allied bombers to destroy that facility. To minimize the risk from Allied bombing, Germany would have been strongly motivated to divide up its uranium enrichment machines among many smaller sites far apart, especially in the eastern regions of German-controlled territory (further from United States/United Kingdom bombing) and in the numerous large underground facilities that were highly resistant to aerial bombing. That is what Germany did with most of its other major industries as the war progressed. Indeed, a declassified October 1944 report from a highly placed Office of Strategic Services (OSS) spy cites several leading German industrialists as privately admitting that is exactly how Germany distributed its nuclear production facilities. Other declassified wartime and early postwar documents name many of the German nuclear sites: twin I.G. Farben factories in Opava and Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, said to have 30,000 workers each and to be producing an important new type of explosive material for nuclear weapons; a similar 30,000-person facility underground in Thuringia; underground factories with huge numbers of workers making explosive nuclear material south of Hamburg; one or more uranium enrichment facilities on the outskirts of Berlin; an underground facility at Redl-Zipf, Austria processing what sounds like uranium hexafluoride through hundreds of unusual vertical cylindrical boilers that sound like centrifuges or gaseous diffusion cells; heavily guarded and energy-consuming underground facilities near Landsberg in southeastern Germany that were making a critical new explosive material; a similar heavily guarded underground facility at Dubnica (now in Slovakia); highly secretive underground facilities near Stechovice (now in Czechia) powered by a German-built hydroelectric plant; facilities in Silesia (now part of Poland); and many other specific sites in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the official Manhattan District history, during the final year of the war, all of Oak Ridge (both the facilities and the town itself) consumed an average of 0.189 gigawatts of electrical power. According to postwar reports by the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey and the British Intelligence Objectives Subcommittee, at the end of 1944 the Greater German Reich was producing over 22 gigawatts of power despite all the Allied bombing. Including all other countries aiding Germany during the war, the total was probably around twice that amount. Thus, operating enrichment facilities fully comparable to Oak Ridge would have required less than 0.86% of the power of the Greater German Reich, or probably less than 0.5% of the total power aiding Germany. Other documents indicate that German enrichment (especially centrifuges) was more efficient than Oak Ridge and that German bomb designs used methods more efficient than the U.S. "Little Boy" atomic bomb, so Germany would have needed much less power than Oak Ridge. Another route to producing fission fuel for nuclear weapons is to use a fission reactor to convert natural uranium-238 into highly fissionable plutonium-239, or alternatively, to convert natural thorium-232 into highly fissionable uranium-233. For that purpose, the United States built several large graphite-moderated fission reactors at Hanford, Washington during and after World War II, plus several large heavy-water-moderated fission reactors at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina after the war. The most famous wartime fission reactor in Germany was a small experimental reactor that was supervised by Dr. Werner Heisenberg and his associates and that never managed to achieve criticality (self-sustaining fission reactions) by the end of the war. However, recently rediscovered archival documents mention several other wartime reactors that may have achieved criticality and may have also been much larger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A U.S. aerial surveillance photo of St. Georgen an der Gusen, Austria from March 15, 1945, shows what appears to be largely underground octagonal, pool-type fission reactors under construction or operational. An aerial surveillance photo of this same site on April 16, 1945, shows that German forces filled the site with earth and concrete and sealed it before U.S. troops arrived. Surviving Austrian construction plans for this site list two atomic piles. 1944 Austrian train logbooks show that several other suspected nuclear sites sent regular shipments of codenamed products to this Gusen site. The cover letter for a 1946 U.S. Army Air Forces report on this site is prominently hand-labelled Underground Pile with three underlines - and the actual report is still classified. After the war, the son of the SS commandant of Gusen stated the purpose of the facility was to produce atomic bombs. Of the reported 30-40 kilometers of tunnels at this underground facility, only one small portion is now opened to the public twice per year - and it contains such a high concentration of radioactive gases that it must be thoroughly ventilated before each public opening, visitors cannot remain in the tunnel longer than one hour, and a plastic barrier had to be installed to block even higher levels of radioactive gases coming from the off-limits tunnels beyond. Requests to conduct industrial archaeological excavations at the site have been rejected by the Austrian government. Other archival documents mention known or suspected wartime fission reactors at Leverkusen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Lichterfelde, Gottow, Unterraderach, Bodenbach (now Decin, Czechia), Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), an underground installation in Thuringia, and perhaps other sites, as well. Once again, detailed reports on those sites remain unavailable to this day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most reactors include a moderator material that increases the probability that neutrons released by one fission reaction will cause more fission reactions. The U.S. nuclear program used a graphite moderator in its Hanford reactors and heavy water (oxygen with deuterium instead of regular light hydrogen) moderator in its Savannah River reactors. It is well known that Germany was receiving shipments of heavy water from the Vemork plant in German-occupied Norway, and that Allied forces and the Norwegian resistance launched several attacks against that plant. Recently rediscovered documents indicate Germany was also receiving heavy water from at least 24 other plants all over German-controlled Europe. Detailed reports on those heavy water plants remain classified. The fact that Germany was producing heavy water at approximately 25 or more plants despite other urgent wartime needs strongly suggests that the heavy water was required for operational fission reactors or other aspects of a nuclear weapons program. In fact, currently available documents show wartime Germany was also producing enormous quantities of other materials that a serious nuclear weapons program would require: tens of thousands of tons of graphite, thousands of tons each of fluorine, aluminum, calcium, nickel, and cadmium, hundreds of tons of lithium, tons of beryllium and zirconium, and large quantities of boron. Some sites such as I.G. Farbens Bitterfeld facility were producing multiple nuclear-related materials all at the same location. These activities began as early as 1938 and continued as a high priority to the very end of the war in Europe. In Part 2 next week, we will discuss what recently rediscovered archival documents tell us about the design, construction, and successful testing of German atomic bombs, as well as the transfer of German nuclear technologies and personnel to the United States and other countries after the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of the archival evidence mentioned in these two articles and much more is available for free at: https://riderinstitute.org/revolutionary-innovation/ .Everything discussed there and in these articles is based entirely on unclassified and declassified sources. If you find this evidence of interest, please use it as a starting point and see how much more evidence you can find in public archives and private collections around the world, or (very carefully, with all appropriate precautions, permissions, and procedures!) at some of the suspected wartime sites in Europe. *** Thanks Todd! What a great start to the insights he has discovered. Look forward to the next part of the story. D. Ray Smith is the city of Oak Ridge historian. His "Historically Speaking" columns are published weekly in The Oak Ridger. D. Ray Smith, writer for the Historically Speaking column. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Rediscovering the 'Forgotten Creators' of the German atomic bomb " " Aye, matey. Pixel-Shot / Shutterstock The pirate life wasn't all about buried treasure and parrots on shoulders they also ruled the waves, looted merchant ships and struck fear into entire nations. During the Golden Age of piracy, few pirates could escape the watchful eyes of the Royal Navy or the bounty-hungry pirate hunters, but some managed to build lasting legends. From plundering Spanish ships to terrorizing the Caribbean Sea, these ruthless and famous pirates became household names. Photos of a farmer-owned wind farm near Petersburg, Nebraska, in Boone County. (Courtesy of Nebraska Farmers Union) This time of year, farm and ranch families, for the third year in a row, are desperately looking for additional farm revenue to make their cashflows work as they meet with agricultural lenders. Rising farm inputs and low commodity prices will again squeeze some farm and ranch operations out of the business they love, those their families helped build over many generations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many more families will sink further into debt. Since family living and ag production input costs are not likely to come down, the focus is on finding additional farm income. Instead of passing a new and better Farm Bill with an updated income safety net that farmers need, Congress has passed three deadline extensions. The uncertainty continues. Ag matters to Nebraska How important is agriculture to our state? Nebraska is third in cash receipts from all farm commodities, generating $31.6 billion of value in 2022. Agriculture is our states largest industry. It is deeply connected to the health of the states economy. Last summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a report estimating a 31% decrease in net national farm income for 2024 compared to 2022. Prospects for 2025 are more of the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As president of the second-largest general farm organization in the state, I ask: What can be done to help increase farm incomes and struggling farm and ranch families, as well as rural communities? I see an unprecedented economic opportunity for our state, our farmers and ranchers and rural communities. Nebraska is seeing the fastest spike in the need for more electrical energy since the end of World War II. New growth opportunities Our 100% public power state is scrambling to find enough new electrical generation soon enough to meet the needs of our skyrocketing load growth. Fortunately for us, Nebraska has the third-best wind resources and the 13th-best solar resources in the nation. Based on this wealth of renewable energy potential, our state can produce much of its own home-grown energy in the energy market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we fail to harness and harvest our own wind and solar resources, our Nebraska public power owners money will be sent to neighboring states to buy the power we need. Last May, the Omaha Public Power District bought 600 megawatts of electrical capacity from rural Kansas. That should be a wake-up call to rural Nebraska. With due respect to our neighbors, I think a majority of Nebraskans would rather put their public power dollars to work building rural Nebraska. For Nebraska to take advantage of this tremendous energy market opportunity, our county officials must put and keep the welcome mat out for renewable power generation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They must protect public health, safety and welfare, while also respecting landowners private property rights and putting reasonable zoning regulations in place that allow legal, economically and environmentally beneficial renewable energy facilities to operate in their counties. Value can be added Nebraska Farmers Union began championing the value-added benefits of clean-burning biofuels and ethanol production in the 1940s, because we could see the upside potential of this self-help way to expand the value and farm income benefits of using our major cash crop to produce fuel as well as feed. Once developed, value-added agriculture provides economic benefits year after year, and often sparks additional economic activity tied to the base activity. Nebraska is now the second-largest ethanol producing state in the nation. It has brought over $5 billion in new tax base and thousands of good-paying jobs to rural communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To date, Nebraskas 3,520 megawatts of developed wind energy has brought over $6.159 billion of new property tax base to rural Nebraska, and $17.6 million in new local tax revenues. Real impact It also put $17.6 million of additional and dependable annual income into Nebraska landowners pockets for the next 20 years. In addition to the financial benefits to landowners and local governments, renewable energy provides new good-paying jobs with benefits in struggling rural communities. There are currently 2,500 clean energy workers in Nebraska. Energy generation is a local and regional economic development driver, attracting new investment, new business and new jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As weve seen with ethanol and biofuels, developing renewable energy isnt simply providing new power sources today. Its growing and diversifying our economic base for years to come. As a state, we should embrace the opportunity to harvest our wind and solar renewable energy resources to strengthen farm and ranch families, rural communities and our state. John Hansen has served as president of the Nebraska Farmers Union since 1990. President Donald Trump has a lot of support within the government, but it is not unanimous. Representative Al Green of Texas was removed from the chambers after protesting during the controversial presidents joint address to Congress. The 78-year-old politician was busy waxing poetic about the victories for the Republican party over the last few months while a large portion of the crowd cheered, applauded, and chanted USA! However, on the other side of the chambers, Green stood up and did not look amused. At one point, Trump could be seen pointing at him and directing someone to escort him out, but it did not happen immediately. Green continued to protest, even pointing his cane toward Trump and yelling at him about how he had no mandate to cut Medicaid, according to Yahoo. An official seated behind Trump on the podium stood up, gave Green a warning, and told him to take his seat to maintain decorum. Green did not budge, and the House Sergeant At Arms eventually approached him and told him to leave. The crowd cheered in applause while Green was removed, as it allowed them to continue reveling in their success with no interruptions. Watch below. Representative Al Green, a Democrat, has served in Congress since 2005 and has been active in trying to get Donald Trump impeached since his first term in 2017. This past January, he reiterated his intentions to work on getting Trump removed from office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring Articles of Impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done, he said. Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. After being removed from the chambers, Green spoke to the media. I have people that are very fearful, these are poor people, and they have only Medicaid in their lives when it comes to their healthcare, he said. And I want him to know that his budget calls for deep cuts in Medicaid. He needs to save Medicaid. Protect it. We need to raise the cap on social security; theres a possibility that thats going to be hurt, and weve got to protect Medicare. These are the safety net programs that people in my district depend on. Representative Al Green may be censured for his conduct during President Donald Trumps speech, and he responded by saying that he is willing to accept the punishment. Fortunately for Green, he was not alone in his feelings during Trumps speech as multiple other Democrats walked out. More from VIBE.com Sign up for Vibe's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. MERRIAM, Kan. Ahead of President Donald Trumps address Tuesday night, Kansas 3rd District Congresswoman, Democrat Sharice Davids, hosted a call Tuesday morning. A guest of hers, included someone who works closely with Kansas farmers. This comes as Trumps administration is proceeding with tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, a move he says is to combat US national security threats. You can learn more about the tariffs from the White House here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have concerns right now. President Trumps trade policies certainly have the potential to impact and hurt Kansas, Rep. Sharice Davids said Tuesday. Too many people have already seen the consequences of trade instability before. Target CEO says Trumps tariffs will likely raise prices on items within days Davids said there is potential for this to be a reckless approach. She hopes to hear from Trump on a number of issues, including urgency of the Farm Bill. Davids also says to keep the economy strong, there will need to be trade policies that are going to open doors for farmers. We are looking at a situation where Kansas farmers are at risk of facing higher costs, she shared, adding its not just the agriculture industry that will feel it. Theres a potential that every Kansan will feel this with rising prices on things like gas, and groceries, vehicles costing thousands more a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initial effect could be higher prices from inputs like from Canada on our fertilizer, or from any country, as far as thats concerned, Newland said. But right now, the tariffs, as far as Canada, Mexico, and China are concerned, we are still in the process of marketing more grain. Joe Newland, the president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, was on Tuesdays call. Newland said trade is vital for Kansas agriculture, adding that he believes there will be impacts caused by tariffs. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri They (these tariffs) will probably hurt us in the short term, but in the long term, we want to make sure we can keep everything strong, Newland shared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a non-partisan research organization, says tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could cost the average US household over $1,200 a year. The Presidents Joint Address will take place Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. central time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden threatened a former Veterans Affairs employee over the weekend, saying he would "be referring" him to the Department of Government Efficiency after he questioned the mass firings of federal workers. But the man, a disabled veteran named Jesus "Tony" Ruiz, had already lost his job at the Los Angeles VA in early February. Ruiz is one of the thousands of probationary employees at federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who have been fired in recent weeks as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man and the head of DOGE, slash the size of the federal workforce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ruiz said he sent Van Orden a LinkedIn message on Monday, Feb. 10, a week after he was laid off, urging him to help stop the firings. Van Orden replied Saturday morning, seemingly unaware Ruiz was no longer working at the VA. "I will be referring you to DOGE as it seems that at 13:46 on a Monday you should have been working for veterans, not posting trash about your boss, President Trump," Van Orden wrote in his LinkedIn message, which was shared with the Journal Sentinel. "There needs to be accountability. Now. Have a great day." In his reply, Van Orden also noted that he is "a member of Congress on the VA Committee." U.S Representative Derrick Van Orden for the Third Congressional District speaks on a Federal Legislator panel during the 2024 Republican Party Of Wisconsin State Convention on Saturday May 18, 2024 at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton, Wis. Van Orden declined an interview request from the Journal Sentinel. His office instead sent a statement that mentioned backlogs at the VA currently, including in Los Angeles, adding that the backlogs show "why VA employees should be processing claims at work instead of spending time on social media." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement did not acknowledge that Ruiz had already been laid off when he messaged Van Orden, or that the congressman had threatened to report him to DOGE, apparently to have him fired. Ruiz, 47, said he was fired on Feb. 3, within a week of his yearlong probationary period ending. A veteran service representative, Ruiz had worked to help other veterans with their claims, such as getting a medical procedure approved or adding a spouse to their policy. He said he often handled up to 60 claims a day. "Literally a week before I got my full-time tenure," he said. Ruiz had just won an "employee of the quarter" award last year and received a $1,000 bonus for his work. A photograph taken when he was honored shows him standing with VA Under Secretary Joshua Jacobs, who presented him with the award. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When he was fired in early February, he said he was told it was for "performance." "Your failure to the Veterans Administration," he remembered. "You're not a good fit for the U.S. government, to the veterans. We're letting you go today." Ruiz said he later learned one of the people on the call to fire him worked for DOGE. Early this week, Ruiz traveled to Washington, D.C. He spent much of the day Tuesday meeting with lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Adam Schiff. On Tuesday night, he joined other federal workers fired from the VA to attend Trump's speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Ruiz said he was trying to meet with Van Orden before leaving D.C. As for his future, Ruiz said he is thinking of moving to Wisconsin and running for office. Ruiz said he'd like "to run against Van Orden, and take his spot." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden threatens already fired VA employee Its a Texas-against-Texas messaging game in Washington, D.C., between Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, and Elon Musk. Casar, whose district includes Musks largest factory, uses his progressive Capitol Hill platform to condemn Musks work to shrink the federal government while Musks companies benefit from federal contracts. We're not going to quit until he's fired, Casar said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk leads a Trump administration project, labeled the Department of Government Efficiency, to make large cuts of the federal workforce and government spending. If we dont do this, America will go bankrupt, Musk said during the first Trump cabinet meeting this year. DOGE says it has saved the federal government $105 billion through shrinking the federal workforce, canceling contracts and other moves, but that number has been widely disputed. Casars scrutiny of Musk started long before Musk first appeared at a Trump rally. When the future congressman was serving on the Austin city council, he said he was critical of the Tesla factory that was going through the city approval process. While Musk was asking for tax breaks from the city, Casar was asking questions about worker safety rules and pay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The factory called Giga Texas opened in April 2022 to build Cybertrucks and the Model Y. It has come under public scrutiny after multiple workers filed complaints against the company over what they said were dangerous working conditions. After he won a seat in Congress in 2022, Casar called for an investigation by the Department of Labor on reported wage thefts and safety violations. In February, he called on the Department of Labor to release the investigation into the August death of an electrician at Giga Texas. An electrician's death should not be ignored simply because the CEO at the top has lots of money and powerful connections, Casar wrote in a letter to Scott Ketcham, a deputy assistant secretary of labor whose area is worker safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Department of Labor, responding to questions, said that the investigation has concluded and that Tesla is contesting violations in the August case, but provided no details on the violations. Tesla did not respond to emails from The Texas Tribune about this incident. After the 2024 election, Casar made clear that he agreed with the sentiment that the Democratic Party needs to reorient to focus on working-people issues. If the Democratic Party wants to reclaim our mantle as the party of all working people, then we have to stand up to the Elon Musks of the world, Casar said. Casar became the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in December and began focusing the messaging of the caucus, and his own speeches, on Musks actions to reshape the federal government and possible conflicts of interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, companies that have received about $38 billion in government funding. The lawmaker used the slogan Fire Elon Musk during a Feb. 5 House Committee on Oversight hearing. At the hearing, the committee rejected a motion along party lines to subpoena Musk to appear in front of the committee. Republicans ran cover for him, they want him in the White House tweeting, Casar said during the hearing. The Republican chair of the oversight committee, Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, pointed a finger back at the Democrats, saying they should have called on Musk to serve as their hearing witness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House DOGE Subcommittee chair Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, denounced Casars message to fire Elon Musk. It's just not going to happen, Greene told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday. She added that the American people love DOGE and that she doesnt hear anyone complaining about Musks alleged conflicts of interest other than Democrats and the press. The day after the oversight hearing, Casar held a Capitol Hill news conference with fellow progressive members of the U.S. House. Elon Musk has got to go, Illinois Rep. Chuy Garcia said at the event. Since then, other Democratic leaders and activists around the country have also shared the message chanting and holding signs that read Fire Elon Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont, said its important for progressives to speak out about Musk because the frustration with what he is doing inside the government crosses party lines especially when it comes to concerns about DOGE team members access to sensitive financial information. This is a person who symbolizes all that is wrong with the system right now, Balint said in an interview. Musk, in an appearance with Joe Rogan, sought to diminish concerns about DOGE employees by arguing that they go through clearances just like any other government employee. Casar told the Texas Tribune in early February that there are a number of ways to pressure Musk: a legal requirement from Congress, public pressure, and the anti-corruption laws that apply to federal employees. Casar also said Republicans will start stepping back if Democrats refuse to support bills by Republicans who back Musks involvement with the government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the White House downplayed Musks role with the Department of Government Efficiency, noting that Musk is an adviser to the president and not a federal employee. Casar is also a member of the oversight committees subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency. The lawmaker has used this platform to highlight his problems with Musks moves to shrink the federal government and to imply that Musks companies are receiving special treatment from the White House. This includes President Donald Trumps firing of 17 inspector generals officials embedded within federal agencies to identify fraud and abuse during his first week in office. Five, Casar said, were looking into Musks companies. In a Jan. 25 press gaggle, Trump called the firing of inspector generals a very common thing to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk called Casar a big fat liar, on X, formerly Twitter, after the congressman posted an NPR article about a move by the State Department to award Tesla a $400 million government contract, an effort now on hold. While Casar hasnt pushed for current Musk company contracts to be canceled, he called for limits on any role for Musk at agencies that provide money to companies he controls. The federal government should be giving contracts to companies based on their performance and based on taxpayers needs, not based on how powerful the man is that leads those companies, Casar said. He was more blunt Tuesday evening. At Trumps joint address to Congress, which Musk attended, Casar held up a sign with the words Musk Steals for the entire speech. Trump, after an executive order signing on Feb. 18, told reporters that he would not let there be any conflict of interest, and that he told Musk not to have conflicts of interests. The president added that he wouldnt let Musk do anything related to space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casars messaging has extended far beyond Capitol Hill. At his town hall in San Antonio on Feb. 22, Musk and government downsizing was the most common point of conversation. Federal workers asked Casar about the legality of Musks role in the White House and other constituents asked Casar what they could do to combat Musk. At town halls across the country, Musk was also a top conversation starter. Balint, a member of the progressive caucus, said Casars messaging on Musk is hitting home across the country, even in Republican districts. They don't have a good answer, because there isn't a good answer, Balint said about her Republican colleagues. Casar has supported bills from progressive caucus members to make Musk follow conflict of interest rules, to divest from his companies that receive money from the federal government and to prevent Musk and non-Treasury Department employees or contractors from accessing the federal payment system. However, these bills are unlikely to pass this Republican-controlled Congress. Casar says he will continue bringing attention to Musks moves until the executive is fired from the federal government. You need to call out the people who are screwing those everyday people over, Casar said. Nobody's doing that more clearly in the government and in business than Elon Musk. We cant wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 1315 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has earned a reputation for her unflinching readiness to speak out against those in power and this time, she has a pointed message for President Donald Trump. After Trumps address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Crockett, a Democrat representing Texas, was approached by the organization Call To Activism a group formed to stand up to Trump and the GOP and was asked, If you could tell Donald Trump anything tonight, what would you tell him? I would tell him to grow a spine and stop being Putins ho, Crockett responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has quickly appeared sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putins cause in his second term, frequently launching attacks on Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and halting aid to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. Trump and Vice President JD Vance teamed up against Zelenskyy during his visit to the U.S. in February, accusing him of being disrespectful and telling him he had no cards to negotiate an end to Russias brutal invasion of his country. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett speaks at The 60th Annual Commemoration Of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X on February 21, 2025 in New York City. Joy Malone via Getty Images Crockett also dismissed Trumps assertion on Tuesday that the United States would eventually gain control over Greenland one way or the other as really psychotic. I dont even know why we fighting with Greenland, she told Adam Mockler of the progressive MeidasTouch Network. Why are we fighting with Greenland? We fighting with Canada, we fighting with Mexico, yet we in love with Putin? What is happening? Like, this is not America. This is a terrible nightmare. Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up because Im ready to get on with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier in February, during an interview at the nations Capitol, Crockett was asked, Elon and Trump are trying to threaten and intimidate, are you intimidated? She swiftly and confidently responded: No. Related... WASHINGTON First-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump's address to Congress, according to two House Democratic lawmakers who were informed of his death. He was 70 years old and had just taken the oath of office in January. Turner previously faced bone cancer. His office later confirmed in a statement that he had died on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., paid tribute to Turner, calling the former Houston mayor and state lawmaker an "iconic leader" and a "fighter until the end." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner. Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston," Jeffries said. At a closed-door Democratic meeting Wednesday morning, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced to colleagues that Turner had died and that his family has been notified, according to one lawmaker who attended the meeting. Rep. Sylvester Turner previously served as the mayor of Houston. Another Democrat who saw Turner in the underground tunnel that connects the Capitol with the Cannon Building said that it appeared Turner was having a medical emergency early Tuesday afternoon. Capitol Police were notified and went to assist him, the lawmaker said. Several Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday they either saw Turner or spoke to him on the House floor before Trump's joint address to Congress. Photographs and video from the speech also show Turner seated toward the back of the chamber. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 8:30 p.m. ET, shortly before the address began, Turner posted a video on social media with his guest, Angela Hernandez, who was advocating for her daughter who has a rare genetic disorder. "Angela is here to advocate on the importance of Medicaid," Turner said in the video. "So please let people know, 'Don't mess with Medicaid.'" Jeffries referenced that video in his tribute to Turner. "Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard," Jeffries said. "In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us 'dont mess with Medicaid.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turner was elected to Congress in November and served as mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024. Before that, he had graduated from Harvard Law School, worked as an attorney in Houston, and then served more than a quarter century as a state lawmaker. When longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died of pancreatic cancer last July, Turner, an ally of the congresswoman, announced he would run for her seat and was selected by local Democratic leaders to appear on the November ballot since Jackson Lee had already won her primary that March. He easily won the seat and was sworn in on Jan. 3. Turner was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Turner's death means that Republicans now hold a 218-214 majority. Under that breakdown, Republicans can still only afford one GOP defection on any vote if all lawmakers are present and voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Texas election law, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, must call a special election to fill the vacancy, but that process could take months. On social media, tributes poured in for Turner. Former President Joe Biden called Turner a "remarkable Congressman, Mayor, father, and grandfather." "Jill and I are saddened by his passing and send our deepest condolences to Sylvesters family and his beloved Houston community," Biden said on X. Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said on X that Turner "leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service as Mayor of Houston and the Representative for Texas 18th Congressional District." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, also remembered Turner and his constituents. "Deeply saddened by the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a dedicated public servant who stepped up to take the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lees seat in January," McCaul wrote on X. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, loved ones, and the people of Houston as they grieve yet another loss." Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X that Turner "served his community faithfully, not only as a member of Congress, but as a former state legislator and a mayor of Houston. Our prayers are with his family and constituents as they mourn his loss." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Last year, Pew Research Center reported that only 1 in 4 Americans reported its extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree in order to get a well-paying job in todays economy. Meanwhile, 40% said it was not too or not important at all. Time-honored convictions that higher education opens doors to prosperity, greater health and happiness appears to be taking a hit. But research recently gathered by the University of Utahs Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute affirms that claiming a college degree in Utah is a demonstrable method for earning more cash, enjoying stable employment and social mobility and garnering several other positive individual and societal benefits Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Beehive State is an apt location to study the benefits of higher education. Utah, according to the Gardner report, boasts the countrys third most well-trained and educated workforce. Just over 61% of Utahns have attained some form of postsecondary education including a degree or some form of certification or certificate. Thats well above the national average of approximately 54% Only Colorado and Massachusetts have a higher percentage than Utah. Just over 25% of Utahs working-age adults have claimed a bachelors degree while 13% have earned a graduate or professional degree. My view is that there has never been a more important time for a well-trained and educated citizenry in the state of Utah, said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, at a recent virtual media gathering to discuss the higher education report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gochnour then identified the distinction between training and education. Training, she said, is what institutions of higher learning do to help people get a job. Education includes a much broader umbrella of intellectual and personal development thats deemed essential to civil society. Democracy requires a well-informed citizenry and at Utahs institutions of higher learning, we do both. The Gardner study lists several key findings suggesting higher education still checks several quality of life boxes for individuals and for society: 1. Individuals with higher educational attainment enjoy greater incomes, economic stability and quality of life. In 2023, the average median earnings for Utahns, ages 25 and older, was $52,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Median earnings for Utahns with a graduate or professional degree was $92,000 significantly higher for those whose highest level of education was a bachelors degree, $63,000. Meanwhile, the median earnings for high school graduates was $41,000. We also see that poverty rates decline with years of education, said Andrea Thomas Brandley, the institutes senior education analyst. Less than 4% of adult Utahns with a bachelors degree or higher are living below the poverty level. Conversely, the rate is almost 10% of Utahns with only a high school diploma. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in 2023 for Utah adults ages 25 to 64 with a bachelors degree or higher was under 2%. For high school graduates, the number jumped to 3.5% Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Gardner report also includes life quality measurements for Utah adults who had completed college degrees and compared them to their Utah counterparts who had not completed a college degree. Almost 80% of Utah adults with degrees reported being happy. That was 16% higher on the happy scale than Utahns without a degree. Those differences were somewhat similar to life-quality metrics such as healthy and confident in future career success. These measures of life quality also show a significant difference based on degree completion, said Thomas Brandley. 2. Society derives valuable benefits from an educated citizenry. The Gardner Institute report indicated that Utahns with more education were often more involved in their communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They volunteered more, said Thomas Brandley, and had higher voter participation. They are also far less likely to receive public assistance. For example, if you look at Medicaid, only about 11% of those with a bachelors degree or higher participate in Medicaid; about three times that many for those with a high school diploma are on Medicaid, said Thomas Brandley. Nearly half of those people without a high school diploma are participating in Medicaid. And higher education remains a wise community investment. Estimates indicate that every $1 the state invests in public higher education returns $3 in tax revenues from increased wages of Utah college and university graduates, the report noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not only are those with higher educational attainment less likely to participate in public assistance, but theyre also more likely to be contributing more to taxes which helps fund that public assistance, noted Thomas Brandley. So this really helps to benefit society as a whole. 3. Higher education benefits Utahs economy through workforce development, job and business creation and research innovation. Almost a quarter-million students were enrolled in Utahs public higher education institution for the 2024-25 school year. These graduates will generate increased earnings, economic activity and tax revenue, the report noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The need for skilled labor is rising in Utahs emerging high-tech industries and an estimated 72% of graduates from the states higher education institutions received high yield degrees in 2024, filling critical Utah workforce needs. Meanwhile, the report added, Utahs higher ed research institutions such as the University of Utah and Utah State University draw outside research funding, fueling innovation and leading to the creation of new companies, high-impact innovation and field-changing discoveries. 4. Higher education helps generate many of Utahs most differentiating and acclaimed characteristics. Utahs economic performance, according to the Gardner Institute, generally ranks among the nations best. And its one of the countrys most economically diverse states while fostering proven upward mobility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also see that Utah ranks second among states in the share of households in the middle class, and this is defined as the percent of households that make between two thirds and double the median household income, said Thomas Bradley. Meanwhile, Utah possesses greater income equality than any other state while ranking first for both formal volunteerism and informal helping among all 50 states, the report noted. Informal helping, explained Thomas Bradley, is defined as the estimated share of residents who exchange favors with neighbors and do things like house sitting, watching each others children and lending tools to each other. Utah also ranks No. 1 in the nation with the highest social capital index. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We define social capital as these networks of trust, collaboration, the ability to prevent and solve problems, said Gochnour. And in many respects, its its an educated populace that gives you that ability to work so productively, one with another Continually improving Utahs higher education system Geoffrey Landward, the states Commissioner of Higher Education, joined the virtual media event to discuss the Gardner report findings. He noted that his biggest challenge is to communicate to the Legislature, students and the citizens of Utah that higher education is a high-value investment and that it continues to justify the level of investment that we see from the Legislature and from those who contribute. The data included in the Gardner report, Landward added, reaffirms the positive effects of high education on, say, not only getting a good job but also on essential quality-of-life indicators such as happiness and innovation. Despite Utahs enviable higher education data, theres no time for complacency, according to the commissioner. Its incumbent upon (Utahs) system of higher education to look for ways to ensure that were constantly reviewing how were investing our dollars, what programs were investing in and how we can do a better job of meeting the needs of the students and of the state. Originally appeared on E! Online The House of Representatives is in mourning. Rep. Sylvester Turnera first-term democrat elected to represent Texas in Novemberdied after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump's March 4 address to Congress, NBC News confirmed, citing two fellow House democrats. He was 70. Turner, who was the mayor of Houston from 2016 until 2024, had attended the president's speech and posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) 30 minutes before the address around 8:30pm ET introducing his guest for the event, Angela Hernandez, who was advocating for her sick daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My message to the current administration for tonights State of the Union: 'Don't mess with Medicaid,'" he wrote March 4. "Let me be clear: any cuts to Medicaid are a direct attack on families like Angelas." House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., shared the news of Turner's passing with his colleagues during a closed-door meeting March , NBC News reported, citing a representative who had attended the meeting. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outlet also cited fellow Democratic officials who saw or spoke to Turnera bone cancer survivorat Trump's address, while another Democrat said they witnessed the Texas representative having what appeared to be a medical emergency earlier that afternoon in the tunnel that connects the Capitol to the Cannon Building. Following Turners death Greg Abbott must now call for a special election to replace him, which is a process that could take up to a few months Amid the heartbreaking news, tributes from Turner's colleagues across both parties poured in. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League "The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the endhe was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard," he continued. "In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us 'dont mess with Medicaid.'" Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also expressed his condolences following Turner's sudden death. "Were saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner, who represented Texass 18th District," he wrote on X. "He served his community faithfully, not only as a member of Congress, but as a former state legislator and a mayor of Houston. Our prayers are with his family and constituents as they mourn his loss." (E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) March is Womens History Month, and News 8 is highlighting all the women in our community doing remarkable things. Tuesday, we introduce to you one woman working to bring awareness to childhood cancer, one teddy bear at a time. Meet Lynne Stiefler! Its a tangible reminder to families that theyre not fighting cancer alone. And that theres other people that care and I think thats an important message, Stiefler, a retired pediatric oncology nurse, told News 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stiefler runs CURE Bears for Hope and Love through which she gives children fighting cancer teddy bears for comfort. Its not an official non-profit, but shes been doing this pretty much full-time since 2013. Kids when theyre going through treatment are just so remarkable, you know? Theyre not like adults, she said. Stiefler retired in 2010 after working as a pediatric oncology nurse for nearly 30 years, but she missed working with the kids. So, she quickly started working with organizations like Camp Good Days and Cure Childhood Cancer, but she doesnt get help or discounts to buy her bears. For that, she collects bottles and cans with her husband. We, I think, last month returned probably 1500 cans and bottles. So, it adds up, she explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stiefler shaved her head for the first time in 2008 in solidarity with children fighting cancer. Since then shes done it over a dozen times. Its always bothered me that theres not enough done for childhood cancer awareness and in October you have tons of stuff for breast cancer awareness, she said. Golden Apple Award: Congratulations to Chiquita Graham! Stiefler hopes to keep spreading awareness for childhood cancer while providing comfort for kids fighting it with her teddy bears. Remarkable Women Series: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here to find out how you can help or email curebears@frontier.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. It has been described as one of the most historic paradigm shifts in Germanys post-war history. Friedrich Merz, the incoming German chancellor, announced on Tuesday evening a 500 billion (414 billion) special fund for German infrastructure and an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending. Mr Merz said: I want to make it very clear: in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the following must now also apply to our defense: whatever it takes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The significance of these reforms cannot be overstated. Since the financial crisis, German governments have laboured under its famous Schuldenbremse, or debt brake, a strict limit on government borrowing that has hampered efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German army. Deutsche Bank said the move would open the door to open-ended borrowing on defence raising the prospect that the German armed forces could be scaled up dramatically at a critical time for European defence. A total rearmament of Germany would likely involve major investment in the production of tanks, long-range missiles and facilities for training more troops, potentially including conscripts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In particular, Germany may want to increase production of Iris-T missiles, its powerful long-range Taurus missiles and its Leopard 2 battle tanks. Rheinmetall, a German tank manufacturer that also produces huge amounts of artillery for Ukrainian soldiers, would surely play a key role as the largest defence company in Germany. There are already signs that German manufacturers are switching from car production to tanks, reflecting an overall shift in Germanys priorities. Rheinmetall last week announced plans to repurpose two plants, which currently produce auto parts for Germanys ailing car industry, to mainly build defence equipment. Mr Merzs CSU/CDU faction suggested this week that conscription would be brought back rapidly, with raw recruits set to enter barracks by the end of the year. The defence ministry may need a cash injection to prepare new facilities for such an influx of troops. Rheinmetall technicians assemble a Leopard 2A4 battle tank - AXEL HEIMKEN/AFP The increased spending on defence could reopen the debate in Germany on whether it should put boots on the ground in Ukraine or increase troop deployments to Natos eastern flank, where British forces currently lead tripwire units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defence chiefs are also pushing for Germany to build a drone wall to help police the eastern flank, as well as better underwater surveillance in the Baltic Sea. While German industry gears up to transform the army, the chancellor-in-waiting is also making a pitch to return German leadership to the heart of Europe. Mr Merz has also shown some signs that he is ready to stand up to Donald Trump on diplomacy and defence, vowing to make Europe independent of Washington. America indifferent to fate of Europe After his election victory in February, he said: I never thought I would have to say something like this on a television program. But after Donald Trumps statements last week at the latest, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is also shaking up the European nuclear deterrent, asking France and Britain to extend their umbrellas across the Continent. Fears that Europe can no longer rely on Mr Trump for security guarantees have forced Mr Merz and other EU leaders to seek creative ways to find more cash to support their armies. It came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, issued a parallel pledge of an 800 billion (663 billion) increase to EU defence spending. Mrs von der Leyen said the ReArm Europe strategy reflected her conviction that the stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now. Britain has vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, albeit only from 2027 onwards, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has urged EU allies to reach a target of 3 per cent of GDP on defence spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germanys changes to its fiscal policy are also at the heart of the new defence offer. It is a particularly bold move for Mr Merz, a Right-winger whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has always been allergic to debt most famously so under Angela Merkel, his predecessor. As part of his plans, Mr Merz will make defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP exempt from the debt brake meaning that the sky would be the limit for how much Germany spends on defence; the only constraints would be political. Maximilian Terhalle, a German political scientist at Stanford University, said Mr Merzs ambitions on defence spending should be taken very seriously as they reflected his view that Russia now posed an unprecedented challenge to Europe. Deeply strategic He said: Merzs threat perception is deeply strategic, in that it views Russia as a ruthless revisionist power intent on re-erecting its empire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It views Russia, therefore, as an actor that can be trusted to break any treaty as it sees fit, and [Mr Merz] realises the unprecedented challenges, that a decreasing commitment of the US to Natos Article Five could have serious implications. Article Five of Nato states that an attack on any Nato member is an attack on them all, and forms the alliances strongest non-nuclear deterrent against Russian aggression. Mr Merz is still locked in negotiations on forming a new coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), following last months election, which could take months to finalise. The incoming chancellor also faces stiff resistance from the far-Right Alternative For Germany (AfD) party over his plans to fund a huge defence spending increase via borrowing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alice Weidel, the AfD leader, described the plan as saddling Germany with new debt at the expense of taxpayers and vowed to raise funds by cutting wasteful funds if her party wins the next elections. AfD voters who do not share the partys fiscal discipline, and who drift towards the party purely over its migration stance, may find this new approach under Mr Merz to be attractive if it will help Germany become a more powerful and respected nation. And the relative ease with which Mr Merz has agreed on a defence package with the SPD bodes well for the rest of the negotiations. Perhaps he will meet his floated Easter deadline for a new coalition after all. Mr Merz said on Tuesday evening: We are aware of the scale of the tasks ahead of us. We want to take the first necessary steps with todays decisions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has not yet been sworn in as chancellor and has not provided details on how the additional funds would be spent in the defence sector. It is also unclear how much money will be raised by lifting the debt brake. A soldier fires from a Leopard 2 tank at the training ground in Augustdorf - INA FASSBENDER/AFP Germanys aversion to debt is, perhaps best captured by the double meaning of the word itself in German, schuld. Depending on the context, it can mean either debt, or guilt. This attitude to debt can partly be traced back to bitter memories of the reparations-induced poverty of the Weimar Republic era, which in turn fuelled the rise of the Nazis. But their spendthrift nature arguably dates back even further, to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in France paying out 120 million gold marks to Germany in 1871. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead of investing those reparations, the German victors stashed much of the gold away in treasure chests inside the Juliusturm tower of Spandau Citadel where they were left untouched for the next four decades. The phrase Juliusturm has been known ever since as a colloquial term for guarding a massive state surplus of funds. Mr Merzs radical reform on defence and infrastructure spending was dubbed the mega debt deal by German tabloid Bild. If he follows through, the miserly streak in the German fiscal psyche would truly be a thing of the past. The next step is a crunch vote in the Bundestag, the German parliament, to approve the infrastructure fund and the lifting of the debt brake on defence investments. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The measles outbreak in Texas appears to have spread into neighboring New Mexico, a fact that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dubbed concerning. Cases have also been detected in other states. In an opinion column for Fox News Sunday, Kennedy noted a rapidly escalating situation with close to 150 cases since late January, most involving children, including one death. Kennedy, who has often expressed skepticism of vaccines, including the mumps, measles and rubella or MMR vaccine, said that vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his column, Kennedy was referring to herd immunity. When 95% of the population is immune from measles because of being vaccinated or because theyve previously had measles, spread is sharply curbed and cant easily reach those who are still susceptible. The U.S. and most of its states, including Utah, are not there yet when it comes to protection against measles, which has long been considered eliminated in the U.S. Health experts warn that could change. Kennedy didnt counsel everyone to get vaccinated. Instead, he said that parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their childrens health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine, calling the decision a personal one. He also touted more unusual measures, like cod liver oil and vitamin A, which are not preventive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Feb. 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 164 U.S. measles cases, most of them believed to involve people who had not received the MMR vaccine. At least 32 of the individuals had been hospitalized. The vast majority of cases are in Texas. Are Utahns apt to be vaccinated? Measles was officially declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, CDC reported, meaning there is no measles spreading within the country and new cases are only found when someone contracts measles abroad and returns to the country. CDC calls elimination of the extremely contagious disease a historic public health achievement. Vaccination has been considered key to that, but vaccination of kindergartners has fallen from 95.2% in the 2019-20 school year to 92.7% in the 2023-24 school year nationally. In the U.S., just shy of 91% of children have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella by 24 months old, according to an immunization table from the National Center for Health Statistics in the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utah doesnt have any measles cases this year. In 2015, the Beehive State had one case, then three in 2017 and one in 2023. Those cases were related to travel. Speculation that Utahns almost universally support vaccines is not true. But the share who have received a first-dose MMR vaccine is slightly above regional (64.8%) and national (65.4%) averages, per the Utah official who oversees the states immunization program. Rich Lakin, immunization director from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told Deseret News this week that Utahs rate is 66.5% of those 13 months old. By age 3, numbers are higher. Utah does pretty good with 91.1% of children born in 2021 (the latest group with data) having received at least one MMR vaccine dose by around 35 months of age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats shy of the 95% that would confer herd immunity, though, Lakin said. Im hoping that Utahns will continue to see the importance of this vaccine, he said. Utah is in region 8, which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The CDC estimated that Utah children who have received all of the mandated vaccines, including MMR, required for kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year was 88.8%. Thats compared to 88.3% for Colorado, 91% for North Dakota, 90.8% for South Dakota and 93.5% for Wyoming. Montana data is not available. Utah allows parents to apply for exemptions to kindergarten vaccination requirements for personal, religious or medical reasons. The states Immunization Dashboard reports that in 2023-24, 84.9% of exemptions granted were for personal reasons, 13% religious and 2.1% were for medical reasons. Of the 44,913 kindergarten students enrolled last year in in-person schools, 87% were adequately immunized, just under 8% were exempted, and not quite 1% were out of compliance. The others had conditional enrollment. About measles Measles is caused by a virus and begins with high fever, cough, runny nose and eyes that are red and watery. The bumpy rash comes after. Complications can include ear infection and pneumonia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It spreads like crazy in part because it hangs around in the air for a couple of hours after someone coughed or sneezed or even just spoke, so one can walk through it unaware and breathe it in. Measles can also be contagious days before symptoms appear or after the rash has resolved, so its hard to control spread simply by staying away from those who might be ill. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services reports that 9 of 10 people exposed to measles are apt to be infected if they dont have immunity from a previous case or a vaccination. It was a jubilant and historic Cabarrus County Board of Education meeting Monday as the school board approved the districts first K-8 English Language Arts (ELA) comprehensive curriculum in around 15 years. In a unanimous vote, the board approved $2.3 million for the new curriculum, Arts & Letters, which will be aligned with the Science of Reading research and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Arts & Letters is a comprehensive curriculum that teaches reading, writing and address speaking and listening standards. The price for Arts & Letters, which will be utilized by roughly 1,100 teachers in elementary and middle schools, is $450,000 less than the $2.8 million the school board voted to appropriate when the issue was first presented to them in November. A raucous applause erupted from the audience following the vote, most of them from English teachers who, minutes earlier, spoke to the board about why such a curriculum was so critically important. The district selected Arts & Letters from a field of three curricular programs (the others were American Reading Company and Wit & Wisdom) based on numerous factors. These included an in-person preview fair, where ELA teachers met with representatives of the three curriculum vendors teachers and then rated each of them based on a rubric to evaluate how successfully they aligned with the appropriate standards. There was also a virtual preview fair, where all educators and families could also learn about the curriculums. The curriculum, which will be good for five years (through 2030), comes from the nationally recognized curriculum developer, Great Minds. Arts & Letters is designed to support all learners, as the curriculum offers teachers the flexibility to tailor instruction and address the individual needs of every student in the classroom, according to its website. Our curriculum revitalizes the traditional ELA block, the website reads, seamlessly integrating literary knowledge with subjects like social studies and science, cultivating a dynamic and cohesive learning environment that builds enduring knowledge. Overall, 75% of the total cost of the curriculum will be made up of student books and workbooks, which was important for Chief Academic Officer Sarah Reeves and her team. The district also will be purchasing geodes, a curriculum of books for developing readers in kindergarten through third grade. I cant think of anything more valuable than putting books in the hands of children to help teach them strong literacy practices, Reeves told the board. Reeves told The Independent Tribune that the district, which is one of the last school systems in the state to adopt a curriculum, will hopefully start training teachers before the summer and implement at least some aspects of the curriculum next school year. When asked why the district went so long without an ELA curriculum, Reeves said funding has been the biggest barrier, as adopting a new curriculum is incredibly expensive. Helping to solve a critical problem The districts teachers have leveraged free open-source online resources for years, many of which are now behind pay walls. The last time CCS had an ELA curriculum was around 2010. Having a quality curriculum has been a key priority for the district, as many teachers have voiced support for such an initiative. Once our teachers were telling us this is what they needed, we knew we needed to take some action, said Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Tracey Hayes. The lack of a uniform curriculum has been a burden for educators like Sarah Anthony, a third-grade teacher at Rocky River Elementary, who, like many of her peers, has regularly spent hours looking for other resources to connect with her students. Currently in her 19th year as an educator, Anthony has previously taught in public school districts in Virginia and New York, both of which had established ELA curriculums. Despite her vast experience Anthony earned her Masters in 2006 and achieved national board certification in 2013 teaching in Cabarrus County has not been easy. Without having a cohesive curriculum, I felt lost and it felt like I had hardly any teaching experience whatsoever, she told the board, noting that a large portion of her time was spent simply searching for resources to create engaging lessons for her students. I was exhausted. Brandi Rollins, a multi-classroom leader at Bethel Elementary School, said the most pervasive issue when creating learning plans using free and open source materials is there is no guarantee those resources will be available each year. The success of students, she emphasized, should not come down to whether teachers can access such online resources each year. I just really believe that our teachers and students need more than luck to drive our day-to-day instruct, Rollins told the board. Having access to quality instructional materials is critical to teachers being able to successfully educate their students. Improving the quality of curriculum is about 40 times as cost effective compared with simply trying to reduce class sizes, according to data from the Center for American Progress, which was shared with the board. Having a curriculum will create some much needed consistency for the schools, which will only help to empower teachers. It will enable them to be more of a champion for all students each and every day, said C.C. Griffin STEM Middle School Principal Orlando Robinson. James Fleming, an eighth-grade ELA teacher at C.C. Griffin, said Arts & Letters will serve as a floor or base that our scholars know they will be educated with pride. For veteran teachers like Fleming, the curriculum will serve as a key tool in their toolkit to help our students and supplement our already strong teaching practices. Educators have a deep knowledge about how to implement Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, commonly known as LETRS, which teaches students about the Science of Reading (including Scarboroughs Reading Rope), but they just dont have the resources to do so. By voting to approve the curriculum, said Sarah Anthony, the Rocky River teacher, you are supporting teachers, which in turn, lifts up every single student that we serve. Board members are impressed Many of the school board members, while they had some questions, seemed excited about how the new curriculum would prepare teachers to be better equipped to help their students. Its really impressive to hear the amount of work that our teachers have done to be at the level that were at, Pam Escobar said. I cannot wait for next year if we do this. Youre going to be even more amazing, and thats hard to believe that thats even possible. Melanie Freeman asked how many years it would take for the district to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum. Reeves said student progress will be tracked immediately through both quantitative measures (daily checks for understanding, end-of-module assessments, benchmarks) and qualitative measures, including anecdotal feedback from teachers. Our plan is to be proactive through this entire journey, Reeves said, noting the curriculum will be tweaked as needed. Board member Catherine Moore appreciated that Arts & Letters will be but one tool in the teachers toolbox, as they can still pull from other resources as needed. Moore highlighted the importance of having a consistent curricular program across the district, especially for students relocating to different schools. Board member Shannon Lancaster, a former teacher and administrator, liked that the schools would receive physical books, which will help reduce the amount of screen time for students. I think its important that we get this done tonight, so you can order the materials and the teachers will be comfortable and ready to use this when we start school next year, Lancaster said. Superintendent Dr. John Kopicki, after the vote, noted it was an historic move the school board took in approving the curriculum, saying you dont even know how far you moved the needle. Tonight was a good example of support around our teachers, which is amazing, Reeves said. Im so, so grateful. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: This year, the UNs official theme for the day is for ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment, while the International Womens Day site theme is accelerating action. This year, three leaders in the tech space are reinforcing the importance of accelerating action for gender equality in the sector: Caitlin Stephens (Head of HR at Eagle Eye), Rebecca Taylor (Senior Sales Manager Nexxen - Australia), and Susan Hill (Vice President, People at Amperity). Caitlin Stephens: Building strong frameworks in the tech sector for gender equality Caitlin Stephens, Head of HR and L&D at Eagle Eye, is a passionate advocate for creating a supportive, inclusive culture in the tech world. At Eagle Eye, a leading SaaS company specialising in personalised marketing for retail and hospitality, the golden rule of "treat others the way you wish to be treated" is at the core of the business. This principle extends into every facet of the organisation, especially in people and culture. In her leadership role as Head of HR, Stephens has helped to inspire a flexible, merit-based working environment that values diversity and highlights the voices of women. The Purple Culture within Eagle Eye celebrates mutual support and collaborative success, reducing the gender divide in the workplace. Stephens has been involved in an incredible support network for women, known as the Purple Women ERG (Employee Resource Group). This group connects women across the organisation to learn, share and discuss critical topics related to womens advancement in the workplace. While Purple Women is fully backed by our executive team, witnessing how new female leadership talent has emerged from all levels of the business to lead new initiatives and grow the impact of the group is the best part, says Stephens. At Eagle Eye, its policies ensure that women can thrive in their careers without having to choose between their personal lives and professional growth, which include menopause support, enhanced parental leave for both mums and dads, flexible return-to-work policies and financial assistance when returning part-time after parental leave. It all comes back to the golden rule, Stephens shares. We live by this mantra at Eagle Eye because we believe it creates a rippling loyalty effect. Our employees are the beating heart of our company, and its crucial that they feel truly valued and supported in achieving their goals. For Stephens, International Womens Day represents the importance of driving meaningful change for women, not only in tech but across all industries. She believes that innovation and transformation go hand-in-hand with fostering a supportive, inclusive environment where every voice is celebrated and valued. Rebecca Taylor: Mentoring the next generation of women in tech Rebecca Taylor, Senior Sales Manager, Nexxen (Australia) believes International Womens Day is a reminder to challenge outdated norms and pave the way for diverse leadership. Whether its leveraging AI to create smarter advertising solutions, pushing for greater transparency in digital media, or championing a culture of inclusivity, accelerating action means being a catalyst for meaningful change. By continuously innovating and advocating for equal opportunities, we can shape an industry that truly reflects and serves a diverse world, says Taylor. As a woman in tech, Taylor is a big advocate for mentoring the next generation of STEM leaders. She believes that now is the time for companies to assess their internal policies and take a meaningful approach to ensuring an inclusive culture that fosters mentorship and equitable opportunities. Women in tech still face challenges like underrepresentation in leadership, limited access to mentorship and fewer opportunities for advancement. To drive real change, companies must implement equitable policies, foster workplace inclusivity, and actively support women-led initiatives. Encouraging action means creating mentorship programs, amplifying female voices, and ensuring fair opportunities for growth, says Taylor. Taylor also acknowledges that challenges such as underrepresentation in leadership, limited access to mentorship and fewer opportunities for advancement persist in the tech industry. To overcome these barriers, she advocates for companies to implement equitable policies and actively support women-led initiatives. Mentorship programs and amplifying female voices in tech are key to creating real, tangible change. For Taylor, Real progress happens when inclusivity isnt just encouraged its embedded in company culture. Susan Hill: Empowering tech sector to drive equity and inclusivity For Susan Hill, Vice President, People at Amperity, International Womens Day speaks directly to the urgency of driving gender equity in the tech industry. As a leader in tech, Susan is passionate about moving beyond mere conversations and taking real, actionable steps toward inclusivity, representation and empowerment for women. Susan believes that IWD is a crucial time to reflect on the contributions of women in tech while highlighting the ongoing need for diversity and equity. Women have played pivotal roles in shaping technology, but the industry remains largely male-dominated. IWD provides a platform for raising awareness of the need for gender diversity and creating action steps to move toward more equitable and inclusive workplaces. I remember watching Hidden Figures and learning about Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, whose groundbreaking work at NASA was hidden from history for too long. Reading about Hedy Lamarr, a brilliant inventor behind the foundations of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, made me realize how many womens achievements have been erased or diminished. That realization was frustrating these women should have been household names all along. Thats why IWD matters. Its not just about celebration; its about visibility, recognition, and inspiration, says Hill. Its about ensuring that todays girls and women see themselves reflected in STEM, know their contributions matter, and have the opportunities to lead the future of tech. By amplifying these voices and honoring their impact, we accelerate progress toward a more inclusive and equitable industry. Hill believes real change in the tech industry can only happen when we address three key challenges: Under-representation: Its essential to recruit, hire, and promote more women, and set measurable goals to ensure that gender diversity in leadership roles becomes a reality. Pay gap: Transparency around pay structures and creating programs that commit to equal pay are vital in closing the gender pay gap. Unconscious bias: Training and awareness around bias must be prioritised to ensure women have equal access to opportunities and resources. We need to break barriers faster, create more opportunities, advocate for equity, and inspire the next generation. Its not just about making progress its about making it happen now, she adds. By addressing these challenges head-on, Hill sees hope that we can accelerate progress and create a tech industry that is truly inclusive. Paving the road ahead: Celebrating women and championing change As we reflect on International Womens Day and its purpose, its clear that women like Stephens, Taylor and Hill are at the forefront of accelerating action for gender equality in the tech industry. Their efforts in creating supportive networks, advocating for equitable policies, and fostering inclusive environments serve as a beacon for others to follow. Russian authorities killed four militants overnight on March 5 in a counter-terrorist operation in Dagestan aimed against the Islamic State terrorist organization, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee claimed. The militants "were planning to commit a terrorist act at a facility of the regional administration of the Russian Interior Ministry in the (Dagestani) city of Kaspiysk," the committee said in a statement. "There were no casualties among the civilian population or losses among law enforcement personnel." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement came after reports of an attack by a group of unknown assailants against a police station in Makhachkala, the region's capital. A counter-terrorist operation was announced at 0:25 a.m. local time. Russia's predominantly Muslim Republic of Dagestan, lying in the North Caucasus, has seen a number of terrorist attacks by Islamic radicals and clashes with security forces over the past years. During one such attack in June 2024, 17 police officers and five civilians were killed, along with five perpetrators who opened fire against snagoygues and churches in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala. Following the operation on March 5, Russian authorities claimed they had discovered grenade launchers, improvised explosive devices, grenades, machine guns, a pistol, and ammunition at the site of the skirmish and in a nearby cache. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "According to available data, the gang's activities were coordinated by members of the Islamic State," the committee said. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Russia suffered one of its deadliest terrorist attacks in March 2024 when several assailants linked to the Islamic State opened fire in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, killing 145 people. Read also: Trumps pivot toward Moscow met with joy in Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's main task remains to inflict "maximum defeat" on Ukraine, former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. "Russia is advancing. The enemy is resisting and has not yet been defeated," said Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council. "Inflicting maximum defeat on the enemy 'on the ground' remains our main task today." Medvedev said he expected the United States to resume military aid to Ukraine, which it suspended on Monday, once Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a minerals agreement with Washington. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko -- a close ally of President Vladimir Putin -- warned that the Kremlin "will never" accept a European troop deployment to Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv continue to maneuver for advantage in U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations. In a wide-ranging interview with blogger Mario Nawfal published late Tuesday, Lukashenko praised President Donald Trump's forthright approach to Russia's war on Ukraine and suggested Putin was ready to make peace. Any proposal is unlikely to win Russian support if it includes the deployment of European forces into Ukraine, Lukashenko said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Russia will never agree to this," he said. "At least, this is Russia's position today. Especially since the leadership of the European Union, primarily in the person of Germany and France, is taking a very aggressive position at the moment." PHOTO: Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko speaks at a press conference after casting his vote in the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But the Belarusian leader also countered attacks by Trump and Putin on the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while offering Belarus as a location for peace negotiations. Unsuccessful ceasefire talks were held in Belarus in the hours and days after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. "There is no need to push Zelenskyy now," Lukashenko said, as quoted by the Belta state-owned news agency. "We need to convince and come to an agreement with Zelenskyy, because a large part of Ukrainian society is behind Zelenskyy." "If you want, come. Here, it is nearby -- 200 kilometers from the Belarusian border to Kyiv," Lukashenko added. "We will come to an agreement calmly, without noise, without shouting." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Tell Trump: I am waiting for him here together with Putin and Zelenskyy. We will sit down and come to an agreement calmly," he said. "If you want to come to an agreement." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded positively to the offer of talks in Minsk. "This issue has not been brought up or discussed in any way," Peskov told reporters Wednesday, as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency. "This is our main ally. Therefore, for us it is the best place for negotiations." Moscow has repeatedly accused NATO and its members of seeking to use Ukraine as a launching pad for aggression against Russia. Putin cited NATO expansion since the collapse of the Soviet Union as a key Russian grievance in the run up to his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. MORE: The impact 'shocking' halt on US aid to Ukraine could have on war Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lukashenko appeared to play down that issue. "It is not so much about NATO expansion to the east, but about the threats that were created in Ukraine," he said of Putin's decision to launch the 2022 attack. Leaders in Kyiv have framed the proposed and contentious U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal as a means to securing long-term American backing, and as a possible bridge to lasting U.S. security guarantees. Lukashenko suggested that the deal, which seems to have become a cornerstone of Trump's Ukraine strategy, may unsettle the Kremlin. "I have not discussed these issues with Russia and Putin," he said. "But, most likely, this could be alarming if Russia feels that these agreements will go beyond the framework of economic relations." Lukashenko repeatedly appealed directly to Trump, who he described as an "incredible person" and a political "bulldozer." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Belarusian leader also encouraged the U.S. to align closer with Russia -- a prospect that has unsettled European and Ukrainian leaders since Trump's return to the White House. Indeed, Trump's decision this week to freeze all U.S. military aid to Ukraine left officials in Kyiv and across Europe reeling. PHOTO: A float portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump squashing Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pictured during a parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, on March 3, 2025. (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images) "The U.S. is the first country in the world, high-tech, rich," Lukashenko said. "They are capable of many things. Russia understands this. And Russia will strive to establish very good relations with the United States of America." "In order for the planet to be in balance, so that there are no incomprehensible wars, like in the Middle East or in Ukraine, so that there are no conflicts, an alliance between Russia and the United States is possible and very important," he added. "An alliance for economic development. It is possible and important. It will last a long time." The Belarusian leader appeared to chastise Trump for his unique political style, warning that the president must deliver on his promises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are too many statements that should not have been made at all," Lukashenko said. "You need to cool down after the elections. And you need to take steps in the interests of U.S. voters, first of all, and, secondly, the entire world community." "You don't have much time to prove to American society that you are capable of something," he continued. "If you don't do this, the Republicans will suffer a crushing defeat in the next elections. And it will be justified." Russia 'will never agree' to European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Lukashenko says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com French President Emmanuel Macron has warned of the threat to Europe from Russia. In a televised speech on Monday evening, Macron said that Russia is continuing to pursue its rearmament in parallel with its war of aggression against Ukraine. "In this context, who can believe that today's Russia will stop at Ukraine? Russia has become a threat to France and Europe while I am speaking to you and for years to come." "Overall, our prosperity and our security have become more uncertain, and it must be said that we are entering a new era," Macron said. "Beyond Ukraine, the Russian threat is present and affects the countries of Europe. It affects us." Russia has already turned the Ukraine conflict into a global conflict, the French president asserted. A former British soldier captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine has been jailed for 19 years. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities in a closed trial. Mr Anderson, who was caught in November in Russias Kursk region, was sentenced to serve the first five years of his term in prison and the remainder in a penal colony in strict conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had been charged with committing a terrorist act as part of an armed group, with investigators saying he illegally crossed the border into Russia, carried out criminal acts against civilians and destabilised the activities of authorities. It is unclear what evidence, if any, prosecutors presented during the proceedings behind closed doors. Court footage showed Mr Anderson, who was a signalman in the British Army until he was dismissed last year, being led into a glass cage in a winter hat and jacket that appeared to be a prison uniform. James Anderson, handcuffed to a Russian guard, is led into court - Reuters While British citizens have previously been captured in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Mr Anderson is the first known foreign fighter to be captured and sentenced in Russian territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last August, Ukraine mounted a surprise cross-border offensive into the Kursk region, seizing hundreds of miles of territory. Seven months later, Kyiv still reportedly controls a third of that foothold inside Russia. The court said Mr Anderson admitted guilt, and had decided to take part in the conflict for financial reward. He allegedly told Russias Izvestia newspaper he was paid $400 (311) a month to fight for Ukraine. Russia describes foreign fighters who volunteer to help Ukraines military as mercenaries, charging them under its criminal code rather than as captured prisoners of war with protections under the Geneva Conventions. In footage of his interrogation widely shared in November, Mr Anderson said he regretted signing up to fight for Ukraines international legion. I had just lost everything, I had just lost my job. My dad was away in prison. I see it on the TV, he said, adding: It was a stupid idea. The Russian authorities released photos and video footage of James Anderson, who was filmed saying he regretted his decision to fight for Ukraine - Reuters James Anderson is questioned by a Russian official His father, Scott Anderson, said in November he had begged him not to go but he thought what he was doing was right and he wanted to defend Ukrainian people. Im hoping hell be used as a bargaining chip, he told the Daily Mail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the UKs Foreign Office called on Russia to respect its obligations towards prisoners of war as it denounced the sentencing. We strongly condemn the sentencing of James Anderson, a British national, in a Russian court on false charges, the spokesperson said. In November, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the Government would provide Mr Anderson with all the support that we can. In 2022, a court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced two Britons who fought for Ukraine to death in a show trial. Shaun Pinner, a former British soldier, and Aiden Aslin had been captured after a siege at the steelworks in Mariupol in southern Ukraine. Both were released in a prisoner swap later that year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Urey, a British aid worker, died in Russian custody in July 2022 after being captured at a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine. His family blamed Russia for murdering him, although Moscow-backed officials claimed he died of underlying health difficulties and stress. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian forces targeted yet another DTEK energy facility in Odesa Oblast on the evening of 4 March, the fourth attack on power generation facilities belonging to Ukraines largest private energy company in the past two weeks. Source: press service for DTEK Quote: "The enemy attacked yet another DTEK energy facility in Odesa Oblast last night. This is the fourth attack on the region's power grid in two weeks." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Meanwhile, the energy company has not disclosed the type of facility targeted or the extent of the damage. "As soon as the power engineers receive permission from the emergency services, they will start emergency repair work," the company added. Background: On the evening of 19 February, Russia launched an attack on Odesa using loitering munitions, injuring a man and causing damage. The attack was reported to have left approximately 5,000 residents in one of Odesa's districts without electricity. On 20 February, Russia continued its campaign of energy terror in Odesa Oblast, striking a DTEK energy facility for the second consecutive night. On 4 March, the Russian military targeted a DTEK energy facility in Odesa Oblast once again. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Authentic Experiences Focusing on the Aesthetics of SAMURAI (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) Curated Local Experiences for the Discerning Traveler AICHI PREFECTURE, JAPAN 4 March 2025 Aichi Prefecture, located in the heart of Japan, offers a remarkable blend of rich culture, deep history, and modern attractions, making it a perfect destination for those seeking a unique and memorable travel experience. With just a 100-minute Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, 35 minutes from Kyoto, and 50 minutes from Shin-Osaka, Aichi provides unparalleled convenience for travelers looking to explore Japans diverse offerings. In this issue, discover a curated selection of local travel experiences from regional suppliers. Whether available through OTAs or tailored for luxury travelers, these thoughtfully crafted experiencesfrom essential activities to exclusive high-end experiencesare sure to elevate your Aichi adventure. Get ready for an unforgettable journey! Luxury Offerings from Local Suppliers First, well highlight some exclusive luxury experiences from local suppliers that are designed to enhance your experience in Aichi. Authentic Experiences Focusing on the Aesthetics of SAMURAI (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) For those seeking an exclusive journey into the spirituality and aesthetics of samurai, this tour is an absolute must. Explore Aichis historic shrines and castles, each connected to the powerful samurai lords who shaped Japans history. Begin at Atsuta Jingu Shrine, where youll connect with the spirit of these influential figures, then continue to Nagoya Castle, once the home of samurai rulers, to witness their disciplined lifestyle. A highlight of the tour is a special performance by the 22nd Headmaster of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, a revered martial art with centuries of history. Visitors have the rare opportunity to witness the techniques and spirit that have been passed down through generations, while also engaging in a hands-on experience of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu tradition. This immersive journey provides a rare opportunity to connect with the samurai spirit and delve into Japans rich martial heritage. For more details on this tour, please contact Xperisus (info@xperisus.com). Private Cruise Overlooking the Inuyama Castle (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) If youre looking to spend a peaceful afternoon, embark on a relaxing and truly exclusive journey with a private cruise offering stunning views of Inuyama Castle, a designated national treasure. Glide along the Kiso River and enjoy a unique perspective of one of Japans oldest wooden castles, dating back to the early 17th century. While unwinding on the boat, indulge in kappo-style dining, featuring expertly crafted dishes made with local ingredients and seasonal flavors, perfectly paired with premium local sake. Your guide will share fascinating insights into the castles rich history and its significance during the samurai era, transporting you to Japans deep past. After disembarking, continue with a leisurely stroll through the historic Inuyama Castle Town, where a knowledgeable guide will lead you through charming streets, immersing you in the towns cultural heritage. This experience offers an unforgettable journey through Aichis captivating landscape, exquisite cuisine, and deep cultural legacy. For more details on this tour, please contact Xperisus (info@xperisus.com). Nishio Matcha Experience: From Plantation to Ceremony with a Master (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) Tea enthusiasts and those seeking an authentic Japanese experience will find Aichis Nishio region a fascinating destination. Renowned for its high-quality matcha, Nishio rivals Kyotos Uji region as one of Japans leading producers. This exclusive experience delves into the 800-year history of Nishio Matcha and its meticulous production process. Start by visiting local tea plantations, observing the techniques used from shading to grinding. One of the standout experiences is the opportunity to grind matcha with a traditional stone mill, connecting you with the craft. Under the guidance of a tea ceremony master, learn the art of matcha preparation, exploring the nuances of flavor, color, and texture. The experience ends with a tasting comparison, allowing you to savor your own matcha alongside expertly prepared matcha by the master. For more details on this tour, please contact kokusai-kanko@pref.aichi.lg.jp. Private Viewing of Toyohashis Traditional Tezutsu Fireworks (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) Originating in Toyohashi City, Tezutsu fireworks offer a thrilling and daring display that showcases the bravery of the handlers. Unlike traditional fireworks, Tezutsu involves holding a firework tube close to the body, igniting a massive pillar of fire, culminating in a thunderous eruption of flames known as hane at the handlers feet. Tailored for an exclusive and luxurious viewing, this unparalleled experience lets you immerse yourself in the stunning beauty and raw power of Tezutsu fireworks in a private setting. Gain rare insight into Aichis cultural tradition while creating lasting memories and deepening your connection to the timeless artistry of Japans traditional fireworks. For more details on this tour, please contact kokusai-kanko@pref.aichi.lg.jp. Local Experiences Available on Viator Next, take a look at some remarkable experiences available for booking on Viator, offering a unique way to explore the treasures of Aichi. Toyokawa Inari Sushi Cooking Class (Toyokawa City) (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) If you are eager to explore Japans culinary traditions, the Toyokawa Inari Sushi Cooking Class offers a unique, hands-on experience. Guided by skilled chefs from a historic 188-year-old Japanese restaurant, participants will learn to make Toyokawas famous Inari sushi. This dish, which consists of sushi rice packed into sweetened fried tofu pouches, has deep roots in the region and is closely linked to Toyokawa Inari, one of the three major Inari sanctuaries. With over 11 ingredients to choose from, participants can create their own personalized variations of this simple yet flavorful dish. Vegetarian and vegan options are also available, ensuring that all guests can savor the experience. This class provides an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in Japans rich food culture while crafting a delicious, traditional meal. This tour is available for booking through the link. Sake & Seasonal Delights Sake Pairing Lunch at the Brewery (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) For those interested in a deep dive into Japans sake culture, this exclusive tour offers a rare opportunity to explore one of Japans largest wooden sake brewery buildings. With over 200 years of brewing history, the Ito Goshi Company ceased operations about 20 years ago but was revitalized in 2021 by its ninth-generation successor, transforming it into a unique space for food, sake, and events. During the tour, youll gain access to areas not open to the public, learning about the brewerys rich heritage. The experience includes a sake tasting of brews made on-site, perfectly paired with a seasonal lunch featuring fresh ingredients from the Chita Peninsula. Theres also a mocktail pairing available, so you can enjoy it alcohol-free as well. This enriching experience beautifully combines history, culture, and exceptional flavors, offering a true taste of Japans sake legacy. This tour is available for booking through the link. Pottery Footpath Walk Guide Tour (Tokoname City) (Aichi Tourism Promotion Office) Tokoname City, known for being the oldest of the Six Ancient Kilns in Japan, is deeply rooted in the countrys long and celebrated pottery history. In this historic city, visitors can take part in an immersive experience that offers the rare opportunity to explore Tokonames rich pottery heritage with a local ceramic artist as their guide. Strolling along the scenic Yakimono Sampo Michi (Pottery Footpath), participants will wander through a street filled with brick-constructed kilns and chimneys, traditional black-walled factories, and a sloping road lined with walls of refuse pottery. This unique setting captures the feeling of the past and offers an atmosphere that can only be found in Tokoname. This tour is available for booking through the link. Conclusion Aichi Prefecture offers a remarkable variety of experiences, from traditional crafts and samurai adventures to luxurious, exclusive activities. Whether youre seeking to explore the rich culture, savor authentic cuisine, or indulge in a private, high-end experience, Aichi has something to offer. Get ready for an unforgettable journey through Aichi, where every moment is rich with culture, history, and luxury. For more exciting experiences and products unique to Aichi, check out Aichi Now. Information Aichi A voter walks into Jackson Way Baptist Church during Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Huntsville, Ala. Two bills in the Legislature would extend the terms of officials in Scottsboro to get the city on the same election cycle as the rest of the state. (Eric Schultz for Alabama Reflector) Lawmakers are considering legislation that would modify the election cycle for a municipality located in the northeastern part of Alabama. Both HB 132, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro, and SB 139, filed by Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, extend the term for the mayor of Scottsboro; the city council and the local board of education. Kirkland said in an interview that the legislation aims to put the city on the same cycle as other municipal elections across the state. Scottsboro was excluded from a 2021 law that covered most Alabama cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were kind of out there, we werent part of the original bill that moved the elections, so what this does is it gets us caught up with everybody else, he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The two bills, nearly identical in language, will lengthen the terms of Scottsboro City Council that expire in 2026 to 2027, when elections for the next term will take place, and occur afterward on a four-year cycle. The bills would extend the mayors term from 2028 to 2029. School board terms that expire in either 2028 or 2030 will be extended to 2029 and 2031, respectively. All future municipal and school board elections will take place in August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the effective date of this act, if no candidate for mayor, member of the city council, or member of the city board of education receives a majority of votes cast in the regular municipal election, a second or run-off election shall be held on the fourth Tuesday following the regular election, the bill states. The Alabama Legislature in 2021 enacted a law standardizing municipal elections across the state and extending municipal official terms by a year. Scottsboro was not included in the law, requested from the Alabama League of Municipalities, because the city already had rules in place governing when its elections would take place. That affected all municipalities with the exception of a handful with local legislative bills that directed their elections, said Scottsboro Mayor Jim McCamy, elected in 2020. The city of Scottsboro was one of those cities. We had two local bills way back in the 1950s that directed our elections, and because of that, we and any of the others that it didnt apply to had to have a local bill to put us on the same cycle as the rest of the state. Local officials had been working with their state legislators to get legislation enacted, but their bills stalled because the Legislature had other priorities. Scottsboro is working to get legislation passed in the current session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kirkland added that altering the terms for officials to get on the same cycle as the state would increase voter turnout. Typically, there is a competition for resources for ballots, but more specifically electronic vote-counting tabulators, said Rob Johnston, director of legal services for the Alabama League of Municipalities. When the counties are using them for county and statewide elections, then the municipalities will have to find their own resources, and poll workers as well. Scottsboro also wants to remove themselves from the presidential cycle to downplay the partisan impact of its elections because municipal officials are nonpartisan, not affiliated with a political party. Have you ever seen a Republican or Democrat pothole in a street? McCamy said. I havent, and I never have. It doesnt matter; it is what it is. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SCRANTON Twenty-eight people who died in Lackawanna County during the past year never got a chance to be properly remembered, their remains unclaimed by friends or family. A funeral Mass at Scranton Preparatory School on Wednesday changed that, with a service attended by the entire student body, complete with hymns, prayers and a sermon that emphasized the value of human life. Twenty-eight black boxes containing the remains were solemnly carried to the front of the service by student volunteers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While we dont know them personally, we are connected by faith, Principal Kristin Cupillari said as she looked over the boxes. The Rev. A.J. Rizzo, S.J., conducts a Mass for unclaimed bodies at Scranton Prep on Wednesday morning. Each year, students take part in a Joseph of Arimathea Mass, providing a funeral service for unclaimed individuals in the community. This year, 28 people whose cremated remains were never claimed, were honored. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)A funeral Mass for unclaimed bodies is held at Scranton Prep on Wednesday morning. Each year, students take part in a Joseph of Arimathea Mass, providing a funeral service for unclaimed individuals in the community. This year, 28 people whose cremated remains were never claimed, were honored. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)A funeral Mass for unclaimed bodies is held at Scranton Prep on Wednesday morning. Each year, students take part in a Joseph of Arimathea Mass, providing a funeral service for unclaimed individuals in the community. This year, 28 people whose cremated remains were never claimed, were honored.(CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)A funeral Mass for unclaimed bodies is held at Scranton Prep on Wednesday morning. Each year, students take part in a Joseph of Arimathea Mass, providing a funeral service for unclaimed individuals in the community. This year, 28 people whose cremated remains were never claimed, were honored. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO) The funeral Mass, in its eighth year, is a part of the St. Joseph of Arimathea ministry, which also includes attendance at funerals to assist and pray with those who dont have extended family. Dean of Students Corey Henfling remembers Lackawanna County Coroner Timothy Rowland suggesting the Mass as an opportunity to honor the lives of those who passed away without family or friends capable of providing them with a proper memorial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henfling presented the idea of the service program to one of the schools administrators, who said, Go ahead. Do it. Now, the annual Mass is among the favorites of both staff and students. The number of unclaimed bodies rose from 15 in 2023 to 28 in 2024. Throughout the history of the program, cremated remains of 148 people have been honored at the annual Mass. The Diocese of Scranton donated space in a St. Catherines Cemetery mausoleum in Moscow to hold the remains of the deceased following the service. Henfling pointed out the service not only serves the community, but fulfils a mandate of the faith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy in Roman Catholicism, he said. Aptly, St. Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus Christ in an unused tomb, which many believe he may have intended for himself. We become their family Senior Ella Cohen, of the Deans Advisory Board, said the ministry provided students a chance to connect with the community and to consider the needs of others above their own. Cohen has attended numerous funeral Masses in support of bereaved families, in addition to assisting at the special Mass. The effort, she said, provides support and dignity in death to those who might otherwise go unremembered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Rev. A.J. Rizzo, president of the school and officiant of the Mass, said the special service was consistent with the theme of Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of the Lenten season. Rizzo said sacrifices made during Lent go far beyond self-denial to self-reflection and participation in community. Choosing love over hatred, inclusion over exclusivity, compassion over judgment, generosity over selfishness and life over death, he said. This takes on particular significance this morning as we take time to celebrate the lives of 28 souls whose remains are before us today. Rizzo emphasized the value of life, independent of ones job, social class or economic status. These folks lived lives that were largely unnoticed or forgotten by society, he said. Today we honor them not because of what they did or didnt do, but because of who they were before God. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) The number of measles cases in Texas has reached over 150, with officials there expecting the outbreak to continue growing. The South Dakota Department of Health says there has not been a recorded case in South Dakota this year, but a couple of health professionals are telling us what you need to know if measles spreads north. Myah Selland speaks out against anti-trans legislation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current measles outbreak in Texas has caught the attention of South Dakotas state epidemiologist Josh Clayton. We do see in this current outbreak around 20% of individuals have been hospitalized. We have seen one death with measles so far this year, Clayton said. Both Clayton and Sanford pediatric infectious diseases physician Margo Free say that measles can easily spread. Measles is the most contagious virus that we know of, Free said. Most often, what were dealing with with measles is transmission of the virus through the air, but it can be on contaminated surfaces that somebody has coughed onto, Clayton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So be on the lookout for symptoms. At first, children will have a runny nose, cough and then later on, theyll get a characteristic measles rash, Free said. Clayton and Free also agree that getting vaccinated is the best form of prevention. In fact, two doses of the MMR vaccine offer lifetime immunity and is up to about 97% effective at preventing disease, Clayton said. We know that our tools for prevention of measles are much more effective than our treatments, Free said. Children typically receive their first dose of MMR when they are 12 months old and return for another dose at 4 years old. If you are not vaccinated but wish to be, you should contact your medical provider. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. A man was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly beating a sea lion suffering from domoic acid poisoning on Ventura Beach, according to authorities. Surveillance footage captured a man later identified as 32-year-old Christopher Hurtado attacking a California sea lion on Harbor Boulevard, according to a Ventura Police Department news release. The man was hitting the beached animal with a large stick. Officers detained Hurtado, who tried to flee, and found methamphetamine, police said. Hurtado was booked on suspicion of felony animal cruelty, felony possession of a controlled substance and violation of federal laws protecting marine mammals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sea lion was suffering from domoic acid poisoning, officials said. California State Parks officers notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The adult female California sea lion was taken to a treatment center to be monitored, according to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute. It is a crime under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to intentionally harass or injure sea lions. We are grateful for the quick response by the Ventura Police Department and look forward to working with them and California State Parks on this investigation, said Assistant Director Greg Busch with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Law Enforcement in the release. Read more: More than a dozen sea lions along the Malibu coast are reported sick. What's making them ill? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms that accumulates in filter-feeding fish, including anchovies and sardines. Those fish are then eaten by seals, sea lions and dolphins. The exposure damages the brain and heart in mammals. Symptoms include seizures, a craning head motion known as stargazing and a comatose state. Experts advise humans not to interact with animals believed to be sick because they might bite or lunge without warning. Animals can be treated, but moving an ill sea lion to a facility can be difficult because an adult female can weigh up to 250 pounds and an adult male up to 1,000 pounds, requiring several people to move each animal. Marine animals are protected by state and federal law. If you see an ill or injured animal, call the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute rescue hotline at (805) 567-1505. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The California Wildlife Center is getting between 50 to 100 messages every day about sea lions suffering from domoic acid toxicity ever since an outbreak was reported off the coast of Malibu. A similar outbreak was recorded last summer affecting more than 70 sea lions, as well as two dolphins and two fur seals along the coast in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Crews rushed to a fire at the former Peninsula Childrens Center late Tuesday night, authorities said. According to Portland Fire & Rescue, crews responded to the scene just after 11:20 p.m. where they found a covered play area on fire. While trying to battle the initial blaze, crews said that the fire spread into the building and eventually made its way to the second floor, prompting the fire call to be raised to second alarm, bringing more crews to the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evidence shows Dane was at Siletz Rivers edge Firefighters fought back the fire and eventually made it upstairs where they said they found heavy fire in the buildings vaulted ceiling. By 11:52, the fire was reported to be under control and investigators are working to determine the cause. The childrens center is currently being demolished by Home Forward in order to build new affordable housing, officials said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has stated that Minsk is ready to organise talks between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Source: Lukashenko in an interview with American blogger Mario Naufal, as reported by Belarusian state-owned news outlet BelTA Quote: "Zelenskyy should not be pressured now, no matter what he is like. He must be convinced, an agreement must be reached with Zelenskyy, because the majority of Ukrainian society stands behind him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, an agreement must be made. If you want, come here. It's nearby only 200 kilometres from the Belarusian border to Kyiv. Half an hour by plane. Come here. We will sit down. We will reach an agreement calmly, without noise, without shouting. So, pass this on to Trump: I am waiting for him here together with Putin and Zelenskyy. We will sit down and calmly negotiate. If you want to reach an agreement." Details: Meanwhile, Lukashenko stated that he would not like to play the role of a mediator in the "Ukrainian issue". Quote: I want you to understand my position. The thing I hate the most is mediation. This means being between two sides and pretending that you can do something. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Especially being a mediator between the US and Russia or the US and China, etc. We have excellent relations with Russia and China. But God forbid that I be some kind of mediator between these giants. To be a mediator, as the current situation shows, you need to have a powerful resource or something else." Background: Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko earlier stated that decisions regarding the end of the war in Ukraine would not be made without Ukraines involvement. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) The Land Bank is launching a new program to help smaller landlords get the funds to repair their rental properties. The Broome County Land Bank and local officials gathered in front of 181 Hawley Street in Binghamton to announce its new, vacant rental program, to turn uninhabitable and unmarketable rental units into essential housing stock. Through New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Broome County was awarded $1.1 million to renovate 15 to 20 rental units by the end of next year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Property owners will have the option to select either $50,000 or $75,000 per unit for rehabilitation. The vacant rental program director at HCR, Dan Stevens, says to be eligible, there cannot be more than five units in the building. This is really targeted towards those small, kind of mom-and-pop landlords that dont always have the means to be able to undertake what are really substantial rehabilitation projects to bring these units back online, says Stevens. Some of the projects that are eligible for funding include the correcting code violations, improving accessibility, environmental work, and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Land Bank also encourages local contractors interested in doing the work, to reach out to them. You can find the program application and more info online at BroomeLandBank.org. Applications are open and are being accepted through April 15th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) Smith County Commissioners Court passed the 287(g) program on Tuesday, giving local law enforcement more authority to identify and remove illegal immigrants. The 287(g) program, which was originally shut down by President Obama in 2012, has been reinstated. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith argued that several deaths relating to fentanyl were due to drugs entering the country by illegal immigrants. Smith believes that the new program will keep Texas safer and will allow for officers to control immigration in their jurisdiction. PHOTOS: East Texas hit by storms, tornado warnings cause damage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the commissioners voted on the program, East Texans voiced their fear over it and how it will affect their families and communities. Amy Ortiz, was the first to express her concerns over the new program. Amy and her family have lived in Tyler for the past 17 years and Amy claims this new program has led to an increase in fear and anxiety in community members. They are not criminals and aliens, they are human beings and Gods children, Amy said. Nicole Ortiz voiced her concerns over the new program and how her own family has been impacted. Nicoles father immigrated to America over 25 years ago and has dealt with mental health issues his whole life, including a recent mental breakdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following his health crisis, Nicoles father was charged and was taken to Waco as an immigration detainer was placed on him. Nicole shared the emotional toll her family has suffered in the past few months. What we have all endured these past weeks has been devastating and traumatizing for our entire family. My family and I now have to deal with the criminal and immigration systems, Nicole said. Nicole shared how difficult her fathers departure has been for herself and her sister, who is confused by the ordeal. My five-year-old sister has asked me why isnt my dads home? How do I explain this to my five-year-old sister? How do I explain to my sister that there is a possibility that dad will be coming home, Nicole said. I have to be strong for her and my family. No 18-year-old should have to experience this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawkins mayor denies motions to reinstate 3 police officers While the council did listen to their pleas, they did, however, unanimously vote in favor of it. Smith reassured that the sheriffs office will not profile citizens just because the program was reinstated and reminded citizens that investigations only come after a crime is committed. Smith has recently been in hot water with the community and made a public apology after a town hall meeting last month that many believed went against the beliefs of the state and federal governments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Viewers who tuned in to President Donald Trumps speech mostly approved of what he said, but took issue with Democrats acts of protest. The audience, which was heavily Republican, had a positive overall view on Trumps first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. Trump spoke for 100 minutes against a backdrop of a turbulent stock market, a chaotic federal workforce undergoing mass layoffs and dissent from Democrats sitting before him. Yet, he touted his first six weeks in office as the most successful in the history of our nation. Roughly 70 percent of speech-watchers had a somewhat positive response while 44 percent had a very positive response, according to a CNN poll. But Trump didnt fare as well as he did with viewers eight years ago, when 57 percent rated his address to Congress very positively. He also fell short of the marker set by former President Joe Bidens initial address, when 51 percent of speech-watchers also felt very positively. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a poll taken before the speech, 6 in 10 viewers said they approved of Trumps overall handling of the presidency. These positive numbers are in contrast to the presidents approval ratings, with just 48 percent of adults approving of his performance as president so far and 52 percent disapproving, a Sunday CNN poll found. President Donald Trump delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, which earned an overall favorable response from speech-watchers, who also didnt approve of the Democrats behavior (AP) Perhaps the difference is due to the speech viewership trending more Republican than the general public. CNN found that the viewing audience was 14 percent more GOP than the general population, while CBS News found that 51 percent of speech-watchers identified as Republican, 20 percent as Democrats and 27 percent as independents. "Presidential and entertaining were the two most common terms viewers used to describe Trump, a CBS News poll found. As for Trumps stance on major issues, most viewers said they liked his plans when it came to cutting government spending (77 percent), immigration (77 percent) and how to handle conflict between Russia and Ukraine (73 percent), CBS found. However, Trump saw slightly less support from speech-watchers for his stance on tariffs, with 65 percent saying they liked the move. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The speech came days after the Oval Office meeting meltdown between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his address, Trump said he appreciated a letter he received from Zelensky underscoring how much Ukraine really values Americas aid. Simultaneously, weve had serious discussion with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace...Its time to end this senseless war, Trump said. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides. According to CNN, 37 percent of speech-watchers thought Trumps policies were too supportive of Russia while 58 percent thought they were about right. Roughly 63 percent of speech-watchers thought his policies toward Ukraine were about right and one-third thought they were not supportive enough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats, however, were not nearly as well-perceived by speech-watchers. They held up signs reading FALSE and MUSK STEALS, some heckled the president and others left during the speech. A CNN poll found that 20 percent thought the Democrats interruption was appropriate while 80 percent thought it was inappropriate (via REUTERS) For example, many took issue with the moment Texas Rep. Al Green stood up, wielding his cane, and shouted you have no mandate to cut Medicaid. He was then removed from the chamber. According to the CBS poll, 76 percent approved of his removal compared to 24 percent who disapproved. The CNN poll found that 20 percent thought the Democrats interruption was appropriate while 80 percent thought it was inappropriate. These disruptions by the opposite party during presidential addresses have become very common in recent years. During former President Joe Bidens state of the union in 2024, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene handed out Laken Riley pins and shouted at him to say her name during his address. In 2020, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed dissent during Trumps last state of the union address of his first term when she ripped up a copy of his speech. As the tide continues to turn against remote and hybrid working, employees are resorting to increasingly crafty ways to eschew the return to the office-based nine to five. Since the mandated times of working from home during the pandemic, many of Britains workers discovered the ease with which they could carry out their jobs remotely all while putting a wash on. For a time, employers were similarly happy with the arrangement, but home and hybrid working has since become the scapegoat for issues over falling productivity. The solution? Forcing workers back to their desks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost two thirds of HR leaders say there is an increase in expectations for employees to return to the office, according to data from research firm Gartner. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developments 2025 Labour Market Outlook survey found that 30pc of large private sector employers are planning to mandate more days in the office, with 17pc of employers in the public sector doing the same. Elsewhere, 2024 LinkedIn data shows that fully remote jobs advertised by the biggest corporations had fallen 6pc year on year. Indeed, top corporate bosses have made headlines with their increasingly strict approach to office work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Boots executives demanded a return to full-time office work, JP Morgan has demanded that all workers return five days a week (with no managerial discretion on how this works), while Amazon has announced plans to stagger a return to full-time office work. Its not an easy sell. Many employees have based their lives around the assumption that their hybrid working patterns would remain. The number of supercommuters with journeys of 90 minutes or more is on the rise, according to figures from People Management, with almost half of these having moved away from their offices since the pandemic. Families have organised childcare on the basis of one or both parents being around a certain number of weekdays, and even fine-tuned their budgets that will struggle to stretch to fund more commutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such are peoples attachment to flexible working that a third of young workers have said they either plan to disregard requests to return to the office, or will seek a new job if theyre forced back, according to a study from TopCV. Others are turning to methods they hope will remain below their managements radar. Sometimes I just cant be bothered to come in For one, Amazons latest approach to managing office attendance giving managers data on days employees attended the office but not for how long they did attend is ripe for such disregard. With managers not knowing how long employees have spent in the office, the retailer could see coffee badging where employees show face briefly (enough time to get a hot drink) before heading home. As Gary Cookson, the founder of Epic HR consultancy, explains, such an approach is fairly common. He says some employees are currently sidestepping in-office policies with digital attendance systems that can be gamed by swiping in, but then leaving immediately, with some even connecting to the office WiFi to suggest they have been in the building from the car park before driving off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his view, theres barely any enforcement of hybrid attendance, perhaps because managers are not keen to crack down or, in some cases, because staff are utilising other HR policies to side-step office policies. The pattern, where employees engineer their own unofficial working pattern is often referred to as hushed hybrid. Managers and employees take advantage of other policies that allow for the flexibility that a return-to-office mandate takes away, Cookson says, adding that many businesses changing from more flexible work structures to mandated stricter patterns are hardly likely to create happy, engaged people. Paul works at a major publishing business that mandates two or three days a week in the office. But he argues that with flexible start and finish times, to allow employees to beat rush hour, as well as inconsistent management of hybrid mandates across departments, bosses struggle to track whos adhering to the policy. Many employees disappear without telling anyone, he says, attempts to enforce office attendance more strictly. No one is properly keeping tabs on whether youre turning up for 30 minutes, a full day, or your contractually obliged number of days in office, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He adds despite pressure from HR leadership and top bosses, nothing much is changing and hes concerned other work perks could be at risk if his colleagues continue to flout the rules. With more focus on being in for the contractually obliged number of office days from the top bosses, some [who dont come in] could ruin the balance for all of us. Like Paul, Sarahs financial services employer has mandated a specific number of days in office, but managerial ambivalence to the policy as well as the ability to game the appearance of whole day attendance system by signing in through a hotdesk sign-in app means it isnt strictly enforced. Managers who have kids or high workloads cant be bothered checking on your office attendance, she says, adding that kids are often the perfect get-out-of-office excuse. 90pc of the time, saying my kids have a club or I need to do the school run is honest, but sometimes I just cant be bothered to come in kids are the perfect excuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similarly, others are using home-centred excuses to play hooky from the office. Danielle works for an education provision business and says shes made up fictitious medical, delivery and at-home repair appointments to work from home. I say appointments are at awkward times of the day, or Im waiting for someone to turn up and fix the boiler, or I fake an illness so I can leave the office halfway through the day and then work from home, she says. A big delivery is also a great excuse, as is saying I have big project work and I need quiet, she says. While Tim, who works for a university, says he wont make up reasons for not coming in, he will exaggerate real events to take work-life balance back into his own hands. Is the boiler broken? I need some days at home to sort it out. Kid sick? I need to work from home to look after them. Employees need to get the most out of every illness and inconvenience, he argues. Youre not asking your employer, youre telling, and as most companies will have policies around illness and emergencies youre using their HR policies against them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Tims view, this doesnt have a downside to the company. If your workload is complete each week then it doesnt matter, he says. How to discourage wayward workers The clash between enforcing new working patterns and ensuring employees rights are kept in tact leaves HR departments in a tricky situation. Idris Arshad, head of people at Asthma + Lung UK, understands that working structures have caused heated debates for three years, with the argument currently being won by proponents of returning to the office. The key, he says, is making sure companies have good reasons behind these changes and that theyre properly explained to all employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But organisations have got to say why theyre [heading back to the office], why it adds value, Arshad says, adding that any shift should give employees time to adapt, as well as strong reasoning so employees dont try to flout the rules. Arshad continues that if reasons for any change are administered and communicated effectively then the onus is on the employee to decide if they want to adhere to the new rules, or move elsewhere. He says: You can try your luck at evading it, or find another employer that meets your needs. Arshad adds that employers should understand how those who rally against in-office or hybrid mandates might rupture a sense of fairness within the business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a sense of injustice for those following the rules if others are perceived to have the choice about their working arrangements. Elsewhere, Amanda Trewhella, employment director at law firm Freeths, adds that employers who dont enforce their own rules are only going to cause more problems in the future. If a company has a policy with a minimum number of days but then doesnt check whether it is being complied with, it makes it difficult for them later down the line to start being stricter, she says, adding that, despite this issue, employers could have recourse to disciplinary action if an employee refuses contracted working patterns. Indeed, a recent Tribunal case saw a loss whereby a flexible working request to work fully remotely was rejected by an employment judge. Financial Conduct Authority manager, Miss Wilson, requested to work away from the office full-time, but a judge concluded that her employer was right to identify weaknesses with remote working despite Wilson saying her performance was unaffected. Some employees might agree with the judge. As Paul says: I signed a contract saying I would be in at least 40pc of the time its not that difficult. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) After several days of spring-like temperatures, winter weather is making an appearance in the Mountain State on Thursday. According to predictions from the National Weather Service, snow is possible from early Thursday morning to early Thursday afternoon in West Virginias mountains. Although a dusting of less than an inch is possible along and west of Interstate 79, most of the snowfall will be in higher elevation areas, from Preston County down to Webster and Pocahontas counties. Around 2-4 inches are expected in the mountains, with 2 inches in Elkins and Snowshoe, but up to 6 inches in some more remote areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOAA outlook predicts warm, rainy March for West Virginia: How accurate is it? Expected snowfall in West Virginia between March 5-8, 2025 (NWS) Parts of Preston, Tucker, Randolph, Webster, Pocahontas, Grant and Pendleton counties are under a Winter Weather Advisory starting at midnight and continuing until 8 p.m. Thursday. By Friday, temperatures are expected to warm back up into the 40s and even near 50 in the lowlands. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. Blustery Wednesday. Batten down the garbage cans. REIDSVILLE - Peggy Taylor has been waiting her whole life for today. Thats because her uncle, Sgt. David Hardy of the U.S. Army, is coming home 74 years after he died on the other side of the world while being held in a North Korean prisoner of war camp. And today, five months after he was accounted for through painstaking analysis, Sgt. Hardys remains will be flown to Piedmont Triad International Airport and escorted by motorcade back home to Rockingham County. After getting past the shock that came with official notification, Hardys survivors found comfort in a sense of familial pride for his service and gratitude to the Armys Repatriation Division for never giving up. Its more like a celebration, Taylor told a colleague at the News & Record. It was a mystery, and the way that the family is feeling now, its more like we are getting to bring him home. Its a celebration because I think all of the grieving took place in the 1950s and 60s with his mom and dad and brothers and sisters. And then it gets to after 70 years, you get to the point of asking, will he ever come home? That was the question. Hardy enlisted in the Army in 1948, following in the footsteps of his brothers James, George and Willard, who served during World War II. James Hardy, the oldest brother, was killed in France June 14, 1944, when the vehicle he was riding in struck a landmine. Having experienced that pain, David Hardy enlisted in the Army. He felt it was his duty, Taylor said. He was sent to Korea in 1950, assigned to an automatic weapons battalion attached to the 2nd Infantry Division. Hardy was reported missing Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit attempted to withdraw from Kunu-ri, North Korea following the Battle of Chongchon and was sent to a POW camp - something his family didnt learn until later. Initially, they knew he was Missing in Action, said Taylor, who became caretaker of the Armys correspondence. Then, every time there was news from the camp, like somebody being released, they would interview the person. It was the same when new information would come out about the camp. They would notify Granny and Pa in writing, saying, This is news from North Korea, and we dont have any new information on David. The family learned in 1953 that Hardy had died in POW Camp 5 as a result of one of those interviews. A fellow member of Hardys unit was returned during a prisoner exchange and told the Army that Hardy died Feb. 28, 1951. Knowing what happened was one thing. Identifying Hardy - and bringing him home - was another entirely. The North Koreans returned his remains along with many others during another exchange in 1954, but the military was not able to identify Hardy. DNA analysis was decades away. With few options, the Army classified him as Unknown and interred him in marker U1009 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii along with hundreds of other soldiers. In 2019, however, the soldier known only as U1009 was disinterred. Advances in DNA analysis had made identification possible. It took years - a 1 million to one shot - but Hardy was at long last positively identified Sept. 27, 2024. Most of his family had passed including his parents John and Mary Hardy; brothers James, Willard, George and Hubert; sisters Clearia, Lessie, Mary Sue and Bobbye. But nieces and nephews survive including Peggy Taylor of Greensboro. Some 7,500 soldiers who served in the Korean War remain unaccounted for, and since 1982 the remains of more than 450 had been identified and returned to their families. Thats in addition to about 2,000 Americans who were identified in the years immediately following a truce signed in 1954 when North Korea returned the remains of about 3,000 soldiers. Those are just numbers, however. Putting names to them, no matter how long it takes, is comforting and provides closure. Its work of the highest calling, Taylor said. Water plant offline today GREENSBORO - Given the potential for severe weather - a tornado warning was issued about 8:30 a.m. in Winston-Salem - a little discolored water shouldnt be a big deal. Still, city officials in Greensboro couldnt know that when they told residents that the Townsend Water Treatment Plant would be closed beginning today for electrical and mechanical upgrades. The plant will be intermittently shut down until the upgrades are completed in mid-April. Because of that, some residents could see a slight tint to their tap (and bath) water due to the amount of water being redirected through the system. And despite the oddity, officials say thats normal and does not pose a health risk. Minerals exist in all water sources, but when water is redirected in our pipes to allow work on the treatment plant, these minerals can cause discoloration, said Kristin Williams, the citys assistant director of water resources. The key here is that it isnt harmful in any way, shape, or form. Still, if youre jumpy, bottled water isnt a bad option. And residents can ask water resources staff to flush nearby lines. Good luck with that. Guilford County Schools and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools appear to be piggybacked onto a N.C. House bill that could help determine how large is too large for the states five biggest public school systems. The House Education K-12 committee recommended House Bill 82 to the gatekeeper Rules and Operations committee for consideration on Tuesday. GCS and WS/FCS would be the subject of a proposed legislative study commission if HB82 becomes law, along with Wake County Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Cumberland County Schools. Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school systems were the focal points of the committee discussion. A proposed nine-member study commission would be charged with suggesting remedies with a report to be submitted during the 2026 regular session. One possibility is dividing each of those school systems into smaller districts, according to primary bill sponsor Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth. Before Lambeth was elected to the state House, he served 18 years as WS/FCS Board of Education chairman. Lambeth defended Tuesday a key stated purpose of the proposed commission: whether the systems size is contributing to negative outcomes for some students. The bill does not define what is meant by negative. The possible reviews could involve overcrowded classrooms, school safety, end-of-grade test scores, overall student and school performance, graduation rates, and determining the proper racial balance of elementary, middle and high schools in an era focused on keeping students close to home. If you look across our state, almost a third of our kids go to the five largest districts, and there are 115 school districts in the state, Lambeth said. For the 2024-25 school year, GCS is the third-largest school district by population at 68,894 students in 124 schools, while WS/FCS is fourth largest at about 50,500 students in 78 schools. Wake County has 159,778 students and 197 schools, while Charlotte-Mecklenburg has 144,439 students and 180 schools, and Cumberland County 49,661 students and 197 schools. I would emphasize this is a study bill, Lambeth said. Some of the media accounts have already jumped to conclusions of the study. I have no preconceived notions. The impetus is simply to determine if large districts or small districts perform better160,000 students in Wake County Schools just seems too many to me. Pros and cons Lambeth, as well as committee members, acknowledged there are pros and cons studies on how well large school districts perform compared with small- to medium-sized districts. There is a lot of evidence out there that smaller districts are better, Lambeth said. Parents are more satisfied, and the cost really is not all that much different between small and large. Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg, said the study commission should also focus on the positive outcomes of the larger school districts and the opportunities they provide to students. Smaller districts might not have the flexibility or adaptability of a larger district, she said. Lambeth cited the recent winter storms in Forsyth County, where the roads in the northern part of the county were covered with snow and ice, while the roads in the southern part were more passable. The parents in the southern part of Forsyth were raising cane because their kids were out of school for a week, during exam week, Lambeth said. Theres been a similar north/south issue with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools when it comes to how the school district requires all schools to be closed when some schools could have been open. Most counties have one school system because legislators for decades pushed for consolidation to eliminate paying for two or more superintendents and administrative staffs. Yet, Republican legislative leaders have been abundantly supportive of providing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars annually toward school vouchers for private and religious schools. Lambeth said part of his motivation for filing HB82 is weve got to reinvent K-12 education in North Carolina. Weve done some good things, but we havent done enough. He said the number of parents choosing to place their children in private or religious schools, or home school, continues to increase. Our K-12 is going to continue to slide in terms of enrollment because there are better options, Lambeth said. Committee discussion Some Democratic members of the K-12 committee pointed out how the proposed nine-member study commission would be appointed. They cautioned it could become an overtly partisan effort. Given that Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House speaker Destin Hall, R-Catawba, would select all members, there is likely to be a significant Republican representation. Only two seats would be filled by a local school board member, meaning it is possible that neither WS/FCS nor GCS would have any direct input on the commissions efforts. The committee chairman would be a joint appointment from Berger and Hall, along with an additional two appointments from each leader. The final two representatives would be recommended from the state Department of Public Instruction. We would all like for education to be nonpartisan, bipartisan, said Rep. Cynthia Ball, D-Wake. Perhaps the bill could be improved if the makeup were different. Budd asked Lambeth if studying teacher-to-student ratio would be a key element for study. She also said breaking up the five school systems could lead to reduced spending power for supplies, and not shrink the chronic number of unfilled teaching positions in the five systems. Studies have shown that it is actually the teacher-to-student ratio that far more intensely impacts student outcomes than school size, Budd said. Simply breaking up a large school district into smaller districts is not going to reduce the number of students per teacher, which is considered as the goal standard in terms of student outcomes. Lambeth responded by saying there are studies that support both sides of that issue, and that youre trying to solve problems that we dont even know as a problem yet. Previous study commission HB82 represents the potential second attempt in seven years at determining if the states largest school districts are indeed too large. A Joint Legislative Study Committee held several meetings during the 2018 session on the topic of the Division of Local School Administrative units. The committee presented its findings in April 2018. At that time, the focus primarily was on overcrowding in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County schools, as well as why there should be a systemwide closing of schools for inclement weather if only portions are affected. Among the considerations discussed were: putting dividing school systems up to a voter referendum; the amount of time it would take to establish and launch smaller districts; the process by which the new boards of education would be established; and whether the initial board members would be appointed from the existing board, county commissioners, the legislature, or be elected. The committee discussed how to divide the current systems budget into two or more districts, how to make student assignments decisions, and whether there would be a need for new schools and employee contracts. The committee was told there were several potential drawbacks from splitting larger school districts. They included: higher overall costs for the county; reduced efficiency; duplication of effort; start-up funding challenges, particularly for meal reimbursements; producing sufficient revenues to operate/sustain the program while maintaining economic diversity; warehousing U.S. Agriculture Department commodities; and oversight costs to the State Education Agency. Lambeth said he believes a new study is worth pursuing that is going to be much more in depth and thorough than that study was. The State Department will no longer share data about foreign air pollution under a program that it says is designed to help U.S. personnel and travelers abroad. A spokesperson for the department said via email that its Air Quality Monitoring Program will no longer be able to transmit air pollution data from our embassies and consulates. The department said that funding constraints have caused State to turn off the underlying network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It did not specify the reason for the cuts. However, the news comes as the Trump administration and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency seek massive cuts to government spending. The freezing of the program was first reported by The New York Times. The State Department said that it will resume providing real-time data when/if funding can be secured for the network. In the meantime, it has directed embassies and consulates to keep up the monitors. According to the departments website, more than 80 overseas locations were providing air quality information for the ZephAir mobile application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The website describes the data as providing vital resources for individuals to limit exposure to air pollution and protect the health of U.S. personnel and U.S. travelers abroad. The program had been in place since 2008, when the first monitor was installed at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Air pollution can pose a significant health hazard. One 2022 study linked it to 9 million deaths worldwide. Exposure has also been linked to respiratory conditions including asthma. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) With property and rent prices soaring, people across the state are struggling to stay afloat and property management companies are also fighting to keep up with the competition. Lawmakers in the Capitol filed a bill that would make landlords set their property prices according to areas they are based in rather than using computers to set prices. This comes after the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined other states in a lawsuit against top six landlords in the country for allegedly fixing rent prices across the nation using algorithms. The bill filed by Rep. Lilian Jimenez (D-Chicago) will stop landlords and property management businesses from using computer systems and algorithms to set rent prices. Jimenez said the rent price should be made by the people, not computers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill in Illinois statehouse would create framework to regulate homeschooling What were seeing is a problem of higher and higher rents across the states, Jimenez said. So we, as a state, have to be really careful how we allow rent algorithms to determine what our rent should be when we know that people need rent and people need housing, thats a human right. RealPage is a software company that helps landlords and property owners manage their rent prices. According to the DOJ lawsuit, the software company collected information that is not widely available to the public, such as lease start and end dates, rent price, and occupancy rates from different property managers and sent it through a common algorithm. This collected information, which is regarded as confidential, then recommended rent prices to property managers and landlords using their software. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authorities also alleged that landlords were sharing their prices through phone calls, emails, and by joining a user group platform organized by RealPage. For landlords to use the software and receive the data, RealPage software makes landlords use an auto-accept option on its software and makes it difficult for property managers to ignore its suggestions. Jimenez said her bill does not prevent landlords from using technology but rather stops the requirements to use rent algorithms which can take away the competitive practice. This is not preventing them from looking at any type of data set, from any information that they have. Jimenez said. This is just prohibiting the requirement. So what these companies are doing is requiring them to use their rent algorithm. Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, a defendant in the lawsuit filed by the DOJ and who also owns a few properties in various parts of Illinois, denied partaking in any anti-competitive practice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legislators propose more funding for preserving historic New Salem site In its statement, it states Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit. Jimenez said that putting these laws in place will prevent anticompetitive practices from expanding in other parts of Illinois and create more opportunities for the local property owner and allow people to invest in their community. When you have people who can spend more money in their communities, you have more money circulating in the local economy. Unfortunately, some of these businesses that use this rent algorithm are not bringing money back into the community, sometimes not even in our state. Jimenez said, So what this does is make sure that local landlords can continue to work to do what theyre doing and these outside landlords will not be allowed to collude with other outside landlords to keep raising the rents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. State troopers are investigating after a gun was reportedly fired during an incident on Interstate 84 in Manchester on Tuesday night. Troopers received reports of the disturbance at 10:17 p.m. in the area of Exit 62 on I-84 East, according to Connecticut State Police. The incident reportedly involved an individual who fired at least one gunshot, state police said. The person who contacted authorities did not report any injuries. According to state police, the alleged gunman was described as having short black hair and a goatee. He was reportedly in black car. State police said they are still investigating. MANCHESTER, Conn. (WTNH) Connecticut State Police say that they responded to a shots fired incident on I-84 in Manchester Tuesday night. The incident happened at 10:17 p.m. Police say they received reports of a disturbance involving the brandishing of a firearm and at least one round discharged. No injuries were reported and the investigation is still ongoing. Check back to News 8 for more updates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. A Lakeville drywall company violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act by allowing an employee to sexually harass and rape a co-worker and then fire her after she reported the harassment, a lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit was filed less than two weeks after Norma Izaguirres former co-worker admitted in court to raping her in a bathroom on May 20, 2021, while the two were working for Absolute Drywall at an apartment complex at the Viking Lakes development in Eagan. On Tuesday, the state Department of Human Rights announced it had filed a motion to join the lawsuit, which Izaguirres attorneys filed last week in Dakota County District Court against Absolute Drywall. Attorney General Keith Ellison said a state investigation found the company violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The States decision to join my case against Absolute Drywall is an acknowledgment of not only my truth, but also the unacceptable reality that women like me, Latina women, too often face sexual harassment and assault in the construction industry, Izaguirre said in a statement issued by the Department of Human Rights. The four-count lawsuit, filed on Feb. 26, alleges sex discrimination, reprisal, negligent retention and negligent supervision. A judge will decide whether the state can join the lawsuit. Dakota County prosecutors charged Izaguirres attacker, Juan Diego Medina Cisneros, a 32-year-old Mexican national, in July 2022 by warrant with third-degree criminal sexual conduct and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Izaguirre told Eagan police she believed he fled for Mexico after she reported the assault, the criminal complaint says. In June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Cisneros at Gateway International Bridge, between the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. He appeared in Dakota County District Court on Feb. 13 and pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct after reaching a plea deal that calls for a three-year prison term, a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8. Sexual harassment reports The lawsuit says Izaguirre immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1997, and moved to Minnesota around 2001. While she was working at Los Grandes Mexican Restaurant in Burnsville in January 2021, Cisneros approached her and struck up a conversation about their employment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cisneros told Izaguirre that his employer, Absolute Drywall, was looking to hire women, and that she should apply to work with the company, the lawsuit says. She did, and started work as a drywall laborer on Jan. 16, 2021. Cisneros was a crew leader. According to the lawsuit, around early March 2021, Cisneros began making sexually harassing comments to Izaguirre. When they were alone, he would try to touch, hug or grope Izaguirre, who at all times rejected his advances and told him to stop. The lawsuit alleges that when Izaguirre threatened to report Cisneros, he threatened her and said no one would believe her. At least one co-worker witnessed Cisneros groping Izaguirre on multiple occasions. Izaguirre reported Cisneros sexual harassment and inappropriate touching and aggression to her supervisor, who told her that he would address the issue, the lawsuit says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Absolute Drywall did not investigate Izaguirres report, the lawsuit alleges, and made no effort to address Izaguirres concerns. Unfortunately, because nothing was done, (Cisneros) continued to escalate his aggressive pursuit of Izaguirre. Izaguirre reported the sexual assault to St. Paul police in January 2022, according to the criminal complaint. The investigation was referred to the Eagan police in March 2022, and Izaguirre provided a statement to investigators on May 22, 2022. According to the complaint and lawsuit, Izaguirre was on her hands and knees cleaning the jobsite, when Cisneros came up behind her and aggressively put his arms around her and pushed himself against her. Despite Izaguirres pleas that he stop, he continued. Cisneros pushed Izaguirre into a shower and raped her. After the assault, Cisneros threatened Izaguirre and said he would harm her if she reported him, the lawsuit and complaint say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon thereafter, the lawsuit, says, Izaguirre reported Cisneros sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior to her supervisor a second time. Although Izaguirres second report included general reference to Cisneros inappropriate sexual advances, harassment and touching, the lawsuit continues, she did not expressly report the rape. She did not feel comfortable sharing such private, sensitive information with (the supervisor), particularly because he had done nothing after her first report of harassment. In or around August 2021, Izaguirre reported Cisneros sexual harassment and touching a third time, but to a different supervisor over the phone. Shortly thereafter, Izaguirre was at Absolute Drywalls office and asked a human resources employee if there were any updates on the investigation into her report against Cisneros. The employee stated they had not heard about any type of investigation, and that there were no records of her report, the lawsuit says. In the fall of 2021, Izaguirre reported the sexual harassment to the owner of the company. He told Izaguirre to stop reporting the harassment or she would be fired, the lawsuit alleges. She was fired in October 2021. Court-ordered changes sought Izaguirre filed a charge of discrimination against Absolute Drywall with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in May 2022. The agency completed its investigation in April 2024 and issued its determination finding probable cause of discrimination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Absolute Drywall appealed the departments determination in June, and that same month the agency affirmed its original probable cause finding against the company. In August, the parties participated in conciliation through the Human Rights Department but were unable to reach a resolution. To date, Defendant has refused to adopt policies prohibiting sexual harassment, reprisal, or sexual assault, states the lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, and other damages in an amount to be proven at trial. Related Articles The Department of Human Rights says it wants Absolute Drywall to have and enforce anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and wants to ensure the companys employees, including those who speak Spanish, know about the policies and can easily report sexual harassment, assault and other forms of discrimination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court-ordered changes were seeking will help women, like Norma, who deserve respect in the workplace, Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said in the statement. Minnesota has one of the highest percentages of women working in construction, according to a March report by Labor Finders. However, sexual harassment in the construction industry is prevalent across the U.S. A 2021 report by the Institute for Womens Policy and Research states that nearly one in four women working in construction surveyed said they experience near constant sexual harassment on the job. ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA) The Asheville Police Department is searching for a man wanted on multiple charges of domestic violence and assault. On Tuesday, March 4, officers were called out to a house on Atkinson Street for a report of domestic disturbance, where a witness claimed that a man was actively assaulting a female victim. Upon arrival, police say that the suspect had fled the scene before they arrived. The victim was transported to Mission Hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have identified the suspect as 38-year-old Marcellus Tremaine Robinson. Robinson is described by authorities as a black male standing at 6 feet, with black hair in cornrows, brown eyes, a mustache and beard. He has multiple tattoos, including tribal markings on his upper back, the word HUSTLE on his left forearm, a scorpion on his right arm, and a skeleton on his upper arm. If you have information regarding Robinsons whereabouts, contact the Asheville Police Department. You can also send an anonymous tip by texting TIP2APD to the number 847411. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. First air cargo route between China's Urumqi and Pakistan's Islamabad starts operation 09:55, March 05, 2025 By Chen Qingrui ( Global Times The first cargo route between Urumqi in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Islamabad in Pakistan officially commences operation on March 4, 2025. (Photo/CMG) The first air cargo route between Urumqi in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Islamabad in Pakistan officially commenced operation on Tuesday, strengthening cross-border logistics between the two countries, China Media Group (CMG) reported. The inaugural cargo flight departed from Urumqi Diwopu International Airport and landed in Islamabad approximately two hours and 40 minutes later, according to the report. The route will operate two round-trip flights per week, with a maximum cargo capacity of 26 tons per trip, primarily supporting cross-border e-commerce and the transportation of high-value goods. The launch of this cargo route represents a milestone in the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), providing renewed impetus for bilateral trade and economic cooperation while bolstering the stability of regional industrial and supply chains, Liu Zongyi, director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Xinjiang will further leverage its location advantages to expedite the establishment of a comprehensive logistics network that links Central Asia, South Asia and Europe, according to the report. Over the years, the CPEC has made significant progress, with recent milestones further highlighting its success. The New Gwadar International Airport, funded and built through Chinese grants, officially commenced operation on January 20. The airport is a 4F-grade state-of-the-art facility built to handle large commercial aircraft. Liu noted that the CPEC aims to develop into a well-established and diverse network, encompassing highways, railways, fibre-optic networks and air transport. With cross-border e-commerce requiring high logistical efficiency, he added that this cargo route will further streamline trade flows, enhance logistics and accelerate the corridor's development. Pakistan exports a significant volume of goods to China, with fresh produce being a key category, he said. However, the country's underdeveloped cold chain logistics system often leads to high spoilage rates during long-distance transport. "For instance, mangoes shipped via Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province frequently arrive damaged. Establishing a two-way cargo flow on this route would enable faster delivery of Pakistani fresh produce to China, reducing losses and further deepening bilateral trade ties," Liu said. He emphasized that Xinjiang's border trade is highly developed, facilitating both domestic and international commerce while serving as a critical hub linking South and Central Asia as well as South Asia and Russia. Enhancing its role as a logistics hub, he noted, will further drive economic cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, providing stronger support for regional economic growth. According to data from the Urumqi border inspection station, as of early March this year, more than 700 international cargo flights had been cleared, representing a 9.1-fold increase in traffic compared with the same period last year. Trade between China and Pakistan in 2024 hit $23.06 billion, an 11.1 percent increase year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) () Busan is a city chock full of festivals year-round, but spring brings a special energy as the city awakens from winter. With many options to choose from, here are five must-see festivals to mark on your 2025 calendar. (Photo by Busan Lotus Lantern Festival. Courtesy of Haps Magazine Korea) Busan Lotus Lantern Festival Date: late April-early May The Busan Buddhist Association will host the Busan Lantern Festival at Song Sang Hyeon Square in Busanjin-gu beginning around late April through early May. The Lantern Festival is the oldest Buddhist event and festival along with the Palgwanhoe with a program that includes an opening ceremony, a traditional cultural experience for Hanmadong, traditional cultural experiences throughout the festival, and a hanging wish experience. 50,000 lights also adorn Samgwangsa Temple making it a majestic sight to be seen. (Photo by Jung-gu District Office. Courtesy of Haps Magazine Korea) Joseon Tongsinsa Festival Date: Early May The Joseon Tongsinsa Festival is a representative event of Busan, and the festival celebrates the cultural exchange between Korea and Japan around Yongdusan Park in Jung-gu. Usually, around 1,700 members of culture and arts groups, as well as civic groups from both home and abroad, take part in the peace procession. Enjoy learning more about the history of both Korea and Japan through a reenacted parade of the Joseon Tongsinsa through the streets of Busan, as well as a Korea-Japan cultural exchange performance and a symposium. () Eobang Festival Date: Mid May This unique celebration, known as the only traditional culture-themed fishing festival in Korea, takes visitors on a journey back in time at Gwangalli Beach. The festival draws inspiration from the historic Eobang practice. During the Joseon Dynasty, the navy and Busan fishermen collaborated in these joint fishing operations, fostering a strong maritime tradition. Step into a recreated folk village that captures the essence of a bygone era and explores over 20 captivating exhibitions and engaging programs that bring Busans fishing heritage to life. () Haeundae Sand Festival Date: Mid-to-late May The Haeundae Sand Festival, the only eco-friendly exhibition based on the sand in Korea, is held at Haeundae Beach and Haeundae Square at Gunam-ro from around mid-May each year. Various programs will be operated, including sand works and flower farmhouse flower exhibitions along with large sand sculptures from domestic and overseas artists. () Busan One Asia Festival Date: June 11-13 Recognized as one of Asias largest celebrations of the Korean Wave, the Busan One Asia event will treat audiences to an extraordinary showcase of K-pop concerts and park concerts. Since its first inception in 2016, the BOF has continuously elevated the stature of Korean Wave festivals, fostering an environment for cultural exchanges and a rendezvous for K-pop enthusiasts worldwide. This year, the concert moves to June rather than its typical October shows. Press Release March 5, 2025 EDCOM 2: New implementing rules on mental well-being in schools signed The Department of Education (DepEd) is intensifying its efforts to enhance mental well-being in schools, aligning with the newly signed Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act. Signed by the President on December 9, 2024, the law mandates comprehensive mental health programs across basic education institutions to promote awareness, prevention, and proactive support for student well-being. The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), in its Year 2 Report cited the 2018 PISA results, which dubbed the Philippines as the "bullying capital of the world." Results showed that 65% of Grade 10 students in the Philippines experience bullying a few times a month, the highest incidence among OECD countries. Additionally, DepEd data shows that only 11% or 38 out of 339 bullying cases were resolved from November 2022 to July 2024. The National Center for Mental Health reported significant mental health concerns among the youth. From 2019 to 2023, there were 33,779 crisis hotline calls from individuals aged 18-31, and an additional 5,371 from those 17 and under, many expressing suicidal ideation and depression. In response to these challenges, RA 12080 requires the establishment of school-based mental health programs which include mental health screenings, crisis interventions, and referrals, with a special focus on suicide prevention. As part of this national strategy, each public school will set up a Care Center to provide essential mental health services, including counseling and monitoring. Moreover, a Mental Health and Well-Being Office will be implemented in every Schools Division Office (SDO) to oversee the effective administration of these initiatives. Recognizing the urgency to address these issues, EDCOM 2 has actively advocated for enhancements in ensuring that students are thriving in a safe home and school environment. Alongside this Mental Well-being Promotion Act, EDCOM 2 is also pushing for significant revisions to the IRR of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. EDCOM 2 and DepEd are collaborating to ensure these amendments are in place by the 2025-2026 school year, aiming to fortify protections for students, standardize policy applications across schools, and ensure proper monitoring and resolution of cases "The troubling statistics underscore the urgent need for updated and effective anti-bullying measures. We are working together with the DepEd in revising the IIRR of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 and now, the implementation of the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act will respond to the holistic well-being of students," said EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee. "We are grateful for DepEd's response in addressing these issues. Together with DepEd, we are dedicated to fostering safer and more supportive educational environments throughout the country," he added. As one of EDCOM 2's priority measures, the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act is authored by EDCOM 2 Co-Chairpersons Rep. Roman Romulo and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, and co-authored by EDCOM 2 Commissioners Rep. Jude Acidre, Rep. Mark Go, Rep. Khalid Dimaporo, and Senator Joel Villanueva. "Improving the performance of our learners should go hand in hand with upholding their safety and well-being. By implementing the school-based mental health program, we can make our schools safer and our learners more resilient, especially in times of crises," EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Gatchalian said. "This law not only ensures that our learners receive the support that they need in order to thrive, but it also addresses the glaring demand for mental health professionals in the country. By strengthening and uplifting the profession of school counselors, we are taking a crucial step toward a more holistic and responsive education system that meets the needs of our learners," said EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo. The Penn Museum Presents Preserving Assyria Detail of a remarkably preserved marble relief on a tablet found at Mashki Gate, showing a high-ranking captive of the Assyrians. ( Penn Museum) Something wonderful happened as Iraqi and University of Pennsylvania archaeologists worked to undo the devastation inflicted by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in two Gulf Wars. Excavating in Nineveh, the ancient Assyrian capital, in what is now Northern Iraq, they discovered 2,700-year-old sculpted marble reliefs depicting the reign of King Sennacherib. Recovery of the previously unknown tablets, and the broader restoration effort, is examined in Penn Museum's Preserving Assyria. Assyria, which was located in Mesopotamia, is considered the world's first empire. It existed from 2000 BCE to 612 BCE, and was led by Sennacherib from 705 to 681 BCE. Sennacherib moved the rapidly expanding kingdom's capital to Nineveh. The ancient site is now encircled by the modern city of East Mosul. Preserving Assyria. $13-$18 (free for members and kids 5 and under). Through February 2026, at Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia. (215) 898-4000 or Penn Museum. The king envisioned Nineveh as a fortified haven, directing the cultivation of parks and orchards, the creation of a canal system for irrigation, and construction of a "palace without rival", all protected by a gated wall. Beyond the wall, hydraulic infrastructure harnessed the region's water to create a green countryside. Assyrian prosperity was built not merely on ingenuity, but on brutal wars to secure domination over neighboring regimes. Iraqis lead the preservation of Iraq's heritage Seven marble tablets were found by an Iraqi-led team of archaeologists and heritage experts working at Nineveh's Mashki Gate, one of 18 in the wall ringing the city. In 2016, ISIS destroyed the gate's previous reconstruction, completed about 50 years ago. When Iraqi forces retook the area in 2017, emergency work began to stabilize, safeguard, and research Mashki Gate. In 2018, Penn established the Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program (IHSP) to support communities affected by conflict and empower them to protect and preserve cultural heritage. The program follows the approach of another Penn project, Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq. Both efforts aim to ensure that decisions on safeguarding and interpreting cultural heritage in at-risk areas rest within the culture, and that those decisions draw on a range of perspectives, from archaeologists and museum professionals to community members. "Working closely with our Iraqi colleagues and local communities, scientific field archaeology is ... shedding new light on ancient cultures and ... enabling us to reconstruct damaged sites in more authentic and sustainable ways. Our main goal is to reestablish and enhance access to cultural heritage as a fundamental human right," said Dr. Michael Danti, director of IHSP, who curated Penn's exhibition with the program's emeritus director, Dr. Richard L. Zettler. Beginning March 6, Danti will lead an online class: The Deep Dig: The Rise and Fall of Assyria. Modern tech meets an ancient world The tablets visitors see at Penn Museum are 3D printed recreations, in keeping with contemporary practice of leaving artifacts in the culture to which they belong. And though visitors won't see the actual items--in person, at least--interpretive technology enables observers to interact in ways not possible with fragile originals. Run your fingertips over carved Assyrian archers drawing their bows. Make a rubbing of fruit-bearing trees on a raised stencil. On a touchscreen, page through The Monuments of Nineveh (1848), Austen Henry Layard's exquisite sketchbook. The 19th-century British archaeologist excavated in Nineveh and Nimrud, 20 miles south, where in 2024, Penn and Iraqi archaeologists made another remarkable discovery, revealing two well-preserved shrines. Visitors can tour King Sennacherib's digitally reconstructed palace, about half of which Layard excavated between 1847 and 1851. The residence, also known as the Neo-Assyrian Southwest Palace, is referenced in a large clay brick (701-693 BCE) from Penn Museum's collection. Its Assyrian inscription translates to, "Palace of Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria: he indeed built the 'Palace Without Rival' anew to be his lordly residence inside Nineveh." Signed, sealed, finally delivered The marble tablets found near Mashki Gate originally hung in the palace. At some point, they were removed and prepared for reuse, sawn into pieces and partially, but not completely, erased. The slabs, which measure about five-and-a-half feet high by four-to-five-and-a-half feet wide, were found in a chamber sealed in the 1970s by the Iraqi Antiquities Service. The chamber had never been fully excavated. Carving is still visible on the lower portions, possibly because those parts were positioned below floor level. The gate excavation site and continuing fieldwork are depicted in exhibition photographs and a video in which Danti and Dr. Ali al-Jabouri, professor emeritus at the University of Mosul, marvel at the find. Danti compares the tablets' recovery to a phoenix rising from the ashes, while al-Jabouri says the restored panels reconnect him to his heritage. Preserving Assyria reawakens awareness of the world's first empire through the stories of people: those who built it, those who've searched for it, and those for whom it is family history. Its interactive materials add a visceral dimension to intellectual understanding, deepening visitors' appreciation of a heritage that belongs to humanity while safeguarding cultural icons that belong to Iraq. On 4 March military police killed 12 suspects in a clash between rival criminal gangs in Brazils northeastern Bahia state. End of preview - This article contains approximately 379 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Support Local News Reporting Journalists at the Yakima Herald-Republic bring you timely, in-depth and credible local news. Your generous donation supports their work. Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Letter: Our generation's time is here. Will we live up to our fathers' courage? Soldiers walk passed a newly unveiled sign after a redesignation ceremony officially renaming the military installation Fort Liberty on June 2, 2023, in Fayetteville, N.C. Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, is the largest military installation by population in the United States. The US administration is demonstrating hundred percent openness to reviewing and discontinuing the revenge measures introduced against Hungary during the previous administration, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. The ministry cited Szijjarto as saying after talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that they had discussed bilateral economic cooperation and reviewed measures introduced in the last weeks and days of the previous, Biden administration that were "created clearly with the intention of political revenge, in order to harm Hungary and later harm future Hungary-US relations". "There are measures involving sanctions that affect Hungary's energy security in the areas of natural gas acquisition and also nuclear energy, but there is also the sanction against Minister [of the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office Antal] Rogan,"he added. "We have launched the necessary legal procedures concerning all three issues and the secretary of state assured us of absolute openness regarding leaving behind us these revenge measures as soon as possible," the foreign minister said. Szijjarto said they had also discussed cooperation in investment and emphasised that it also violated the interests of US companies offering jobs to more than a hundred thousand people in Hungary that the Biden administration had cancelled the agreement on avoiding double taxation. He added that the decision had been in response to Hungary refusing to join the pack in connection with the global minimum tax, which is also opposed by Donald Trump. "My US counterpart also registered the importance of again signing and reintroducing the agreement on avoiding double taxation," he said. Szijjarto welcomed the fact that it was once again confirmed that the US administration considered the Hungarian government a friend, and considered developing bilateral relations important. "It is a cooperation based on friendship and absolute mutual respect, which can be extremely successful in the upcoming period,"he said. Szijjarto holds talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio The US government maintains the position despite all conflicts and difficulties that the war in Ukraine must not continue, which is good news for Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after talks with US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington, DC. In a statement, the foreign ministry cited Szijjarto as saying after the meeting that Rubio had insisted that peace talks had offered the only realistic chance for bringing an end to the killing. "I told the secretary of state that Hungary fully supported the efforts of the US president and his administration," he added. "We were also in agreement that repeated statements about having to continue the war as long as possible was not a strategy and was also a dangerous position because the longer the war continues in our neighbourhood, the greater the danger of escalation," he said. "The secretary of state informed me that the US has temporarily suspended military support to Ukraine. And I informed him that in Europe, especially in its western part, there was some scheming under way against Donald Trump and his peace plan," he added. Commenting on this week's EU summit, he said Hungary would not approve any decision that carries the danger of the war's continuation. "We are also absolutely dedicated to promoting peace and peace talks," Szijjarto said. Szijjarto said there was excellent cooperation between Hungary and the US within the UN, adding that Hungary had been the only member state to support the US peace resolution. "They have of course frowned upon us but endlessly repeating who is at fault and who is the aggressor will not help. It has been happening for three years and has not helped. Something new is needed, peace talks are required, and this is exactly why we supported the US peace resolution in the UN, which was then also approved by the Security Council," he added. He said they were in agreement that "it was a wrong and unfair" approach that those who stand up for peace get immediately accused of being supporters of Russia. "The most we can do to help in this regard is to strengthen the peace camps voice by speaking with the voice of common sense in international politics, and assure the US-Russian negotiations of our continued support," the foreign minister said. "If the Americans and Russians did not try to bring these negotiations to success, the war would most certainly continue, and the risk of an even greater tragedy would increase," he added. Szijjarto expressed thanks for the US terminating the payment of USAID funding. Those funds he said had served as a basis for the US foreign policy aimed at "interfering with the internal affairs of other states, a policy that made the world suffer for four years under the previous US Democrat administration". "I think a significant part of the world has breathed a sigh of relief," the foreign minister said. Szijjarto noted that he was accompanied at his visit by the recently appointed government commissioner for investigating the use of USAID funds in Hungary. "The commissioner will hold several talks here in the US to reveal by whom and in what way those funds aimed at interference had been used," he said. Szijjarto: Serious scheming against Donald Trump in western part of Europe There is some serious scheming under way against Donald Trump in the western part of Europe but the continuation of pro-war politics would cause serious damage to the continent therefore the Hungarian government which has been pursuing the same policies as the current US president for fifteen years, stands resolutely against it, the foreign minister said. The ministry cited Peter Szijjarto saying before talks with US counterpart Marco Rubio that Hungary had been pursuing anti-migration, pro-family, pro-peace, conservative and patriotic policies focusing on enforcing national interests for fifteen years, the same as what Trump has promised to the US. "So, we have been Trump for fifteen years,"he added. Szijjarto also said that Hungary had been living in the shadow of the war in Ukraine for three years and suffered its dramatic consequences."So if there is any country that has a vested interest in the success of Donald Trump, in the success of the current US government, if there is any country that has a vested interest in the success of a US-Russia agreement ... it is us," he added. "At the same time, it is obvious that there is some serious scheming under way against Donald Trump in the western part of Europe. It is of course also against peace, but the war is only an excuse for the scheming against Donald Trump," he said. Szijjarto said that the countries involved had held their latest meeting in London on Sunday, where they decided that "Ukraine must continue the war". "This is very bad, this is very dangerous and it is a huge mistake because if the war continues, more people will die, the destruction will be even greater, and the danger of escalation will persist," he added. At the same time, he said it was good news that contrary to the earlier situation, only Brussels wanted the war to continue and not Washington, adding that "so it is much easier for Hungary to stay out of the conflict". "The war has resulted in very many bad developments. We all feel the economic consequences, the increase in prices, the effects of sanctions in energy prices, and so on. So the war has resulted in very many bad developments, but as soon as the war is over, all of them will also go away," he said. Szijjarto said that "pro-war Europeans are making great efforts to break Donald Trump's efforts, and if they do not manage, they will themselves continue to finance further fighting". He added that in view of the continent's economic condition and military capacities, it was unrealistic that Europe would be able to manage this without dramatically harming its own interests. "I think that if Europe stays on this path and the European pro-war politicians continue this policy, it will cause shocking damage to Europe," he said. "European people surely want peace. The question is when the liberal, pro-war European leaders understand what the people want," he added. Szijjarto said a "golden age" had arrived in Hungarian-US relations, with relations between the two governments based on "the greatest trust possible" which is well represented by the fact that two weeks ago, following the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, a US Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs visited Budapest to offer a briefing about the event. The foreign minister also said that several large US investments had been announced in recent weeks, so bilateral economic cooperation was also facing a "golden age". "I hope we can review now all the issues that resulted from decisions made by the Biden administration by way of political revenge," he said. Szijjarto: Contact continuous between US, Hungary The US administration and the Hungarian government are in constant contact at all levels, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Budapest on Monday, responding to questions at a press conference on another subject. Peter Szijjarto said the most important topic currently was "brokering peace in Ukraine". Prime Minister Viktor Orban has talked with US President Donald Trump, and this week there will be further high-level talks between the US president's administration and the Hungarian government, he said. "It seems that several European leaders are trying to throw a wrench into Donald Trump's peace efforts," he said, adding that Hungary fully supported the latter."We know very well that a US-Russia agreement is the only way to find peace in the region, and we will participate in European debates of the coming period accordingly," he said. Regarding next week's European summit, Szijjarto said there was a "strategic difference" between pro-war and pro-peace players "that cannot be bridged by tricks of communication or wording". Orban had therefore proposed that the summit forego even proposing a closing declaration because there would be no agreement, he said. "We want the war to end, while the others -- or most of them -- want to prolong it... There is no common ground between the two. If they want a debate on that, the result will be that Europe will project the image of a divided entity. We think this would best avoided," he said. Regarding the London summit on Sunday, Szijjarto said Hungary "has no business at the talks of pro-war" players. "We don't want to prolong the war ... we want to end it. We don't need to be at talks where they decide to prolong it..." Asked about the extension of sanctions against Russian individuals, Szijjarto said it was the European Commission's turn to act. He said the EC had made guarantees regarding the Hungarian energy security in relation to Ukraine on four points, and they had already breached two. He said he had written a letter to the EU's foreign and security chief, asking whether those guarantees were still seen as valid. "I'll wait for an answer and then make a decision. We still have a little time until March 10, the deadline for the decision on extending sanctions..." he said. Source: MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881. ********************************* You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here. International Women's Day is a celebration of beauty, strength and inspiration, honouring the role and talents of women around the world. To mark this special occasion, Matild Palace is hosting an elegant gastronomic and cocktail experience this year, where the flavours and fragrances are as sophisticated as the celebration itself. On the 8th of March, Spago Budapest will offer an exclusive Women's Day menu, while the palace's iconic rooftop bar, The Duchess, will make the evening unforgettable with special cocktail creations and a DJ party until dawn. A gastronomic experience at Spago Budapest Wolfgang Puck's Spago Budapest offers a menu created with seasonality and elegance in mind this evening. The celebration dinner starts with a grilled sourdough rye bread, made even tastier with dried tomato and feta butter. Appetizers star a soft Italian burratina, complemented by roasted eggplant, avocado and crisp baby lettuce. Main courses include a choice of perfectly roasted farmhouse guinea fowl served with broccoli, buckwheat and tarragon beurre blanc sauce, or a rich beetroot risotto with watercress, toasted pistachios and Parmesan foam. The evening comes to a sweet close with an elegant blueberry Charlotte dessert topped with toasted almond ice cream. Cocktail specialities at The Duchess Bar Alongside the flavours, special drinks will also play a central role in the celebrations. Guests at The Duchess will be greeted with a glass of Sparkling Rose Spritz, made with Whispering Angel Rose, blackcurrant syrup, rose water and fresh lemon, setting the sophisticated tone for the evening. Three unique cocktails have been created for the occasion, all inspired by feminine strength, elegance and sensuality. The Drama Queens is a characterful composition of four small shots with Belvedere 10 vodka, peach and almond puree, vanilla and raspberry foam. The Boss Lady cocktail will be a favourite of assertive, confident women, as the characteristic notes of Hennessy V.S. are softened with yuzu, passionfruit and honey water. And the Femme Fatal is a truly seductive drink with Volcan Silver tequila, Aperol, lychee liqueur and raspberry sorbet that is both refreshing and elegant. A DJ will set the mood for the evening, so that guests can celebrate in an unforgettable, vibrant atmosphere. The Women's Day event of Matild Palace is the perfect occasion for ladies to celebrate femininity, the joys of life and the beauty of refined gastronomy with their friends and loved ones in an elegant and special evening. Click here to virtually visit Matild Palace Budapest Mumbai: Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif's classic romantic drama, 'Namastey London,' is set to return to theaters in a grand re-release on March 14, 2025. Fans of the iconic film are in for a treat this Holi, as the movie revives the unforgettable romance, hilarious moments, and thought-provoking cultural conflicts. The 2007 Bollywood hit, directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, captured hearts across the globe with its perfect blend of romance, comedy, and a poignant exploration of cultural identity. The re-release promises to bring back cherished memories of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif's unforgettable performances as Arjun and Jasmeet ''Jazz'' Malhotra Singh. Akshay Kumar himself announced the exciting news on social media, sharing his enthusiasm with fans. On his Instagram account, he wrote, "Thrilled to announce the re-release of #NamasteyLondon on the big screen this Holi, 14th March! Get ready to relive the magic -- unforgettable songs, iconic dialogues, and timeless romance with @katrinakaif, all over again. See you at the movies!" Fans quickly flooded the comments section with excitement and anticipation, eager to relive the cinematic experience that made 'Namastey London' a cult favorite. The film tells the story of Arjun, a man caught between his Indian heritage and his Westernised life in London. His life takes an unexpected turn when he becomes part of an unconventional marriage arrangement with Jazz, a young woman whose life and values are shaped by her British upbringing. Despite initial resistance, their relationship grows into a deeper bond, highlighting themes of love, identity, and the generational gap between immigrant parents and their children. The film also stars Rishi Kapoor as Manmohan Malhotra, Jazz's father. Moreover, the soundtrack of 'Namastey London' became a massive hit, with songs like 'Main Jahaan Rahoon,' 'Chakna Chakna,' and 'Rafta Rafta' still remembered fondly by fans. New Delhi: India achieved third rank globally in the startup ecosystem in the last decade, reaffirming the government's commitment to making India a global innovation hub, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Wednesday. Highlighting the Rs 20,000 crore allocation in Union Budget 2025-26 for research, development and innovation initiative, the Minister said the initiative aims to boost research and innovation in the private sector, with a strong focus on expanding efforts in sunrise industries. In his remarks at the concluding session of the post-Budget webinar 2025 on Investing in Innovation", the Minister emphasised this funding would drive cutting-edge research and technological advancements, particularly in deep-tech sectors. The announcement builds on the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus introduced in the Budget to accelerate research and development (R&;D) in the private sector. Dr Singh underscored that these initiatives would strengthen Indias innovation ecosystem and encourage private sector investments in critical domains like semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, 5G, and quantum computing. "India has made significant strides in innovation, with patent grants increasing 17 times since 2014 and our position in the Global Innovation Index rising from 81th to 39th among 133 economies. Today, we rank third globally as a leading contributor to scientific research," he said. Recognising the need to nurture world-class research talent, the government has tripled the intake under the Prime Ministers Research Fellowship (PMRF) Scheme. Originally launched in 2018, the scheme has so far supported 3,688 scholars. The latest Budget expands its reach to 10,000 fellowships over the next five years, offering more opportunities for young scientists to pursue groundbreaking research at Indias premier institutions. The PMRF is not just about financial assistance; it is about fostering an ecosystem where academic excellence and intellectual curiosity thrive, the Minister added. Indias agricultural security is also receiving a boost with the establishment of a National Enlarged Gene Bank replica. "Indias National Gene bank is the second largest globally, preserving over 4.7 lakh accessions of 2,147 species, including traditional crops. The new initiative will further safeguard our crop diversity and ensure long-term food security," Dr Singh said. These initiatives align with the government's broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, a roadmap for Indias transformation into a developed nation. The delimitation to increase the Lok Sabha seats as per the population of the country will take place in 2026. However, the same has already become a bone of contention between the southern states and the union government. At an all-party meeting on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin suggested forming a Joint Action Committee comprising MPs and party representatives from southern states to address concerns regarding Lok Sabha seat delimitation. Presenting a resolution, Stalin emphasized that if the number of parliamentary seats increases, it should be based on the 1971 Census, requiring an appropriate Constitutional amendment. He further asserted that the 1971 Census should remain the basis for delimitation for the next 30 years from 2026. Additionally, he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide a formal assurance in Parliament on this matter. Sharing a long post after holding an all-party meeting today in Tamil Nadu, Stalin said, "The Union Government must abandon any move to reduce, either absolutely or in percentage terms, Tamil Nadus current parliamentary representation in any form. We will not accept any punishment for acting in the national interest by successfully controlling population growth." Stalin further said, "If parliamentary seats are increased, Tamil Nadus representation must rise proportionally as per the existing framework. No manipulation or dilution of our rightful political voice will be acceptable. Tamil Nadus existing percentage of seats, 7.18 per cent of the total, must not be reduced under any circumstances. Tamil Nadu is not against delimitation, but it cannot and will not allow it to be a disguised weapon against progressive states." The JAC is to take forward such demands and create awareness among the people and the meet unanimously opposed delimitation exercise based on population, which will be a "threat to federalism and the rights of southern states to political representation." The meet underscored that Tamil Nadu is not against delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies. However, the proposed exercise must not become a punishment for implementing well the socio-economic welfare measures during the past 50 years. The Centre declined to heed to the voice of the state, which has 39 Lok Sabha MPs. In case this number was reduced, it would become a big injustice for the state. CM said that the all-party meeting is for understanding that the state has been pushed to a corner on the issue of delimitation, thereby prompting it to take up a struggle movement to secure its rights. "The delimitation sword is hanging over the head of south India and Tamil Nadu will be severely affected," Stalin alleged. Principal opposition party AIADMK, the Congress and Left parties, actor-politician Vijay's TVK among others attended the meeting which was boycotted by the BJP, Tamil nationalist Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and former union minister GK Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar). The ruling DMK has been staunchly opposing the delimitation exercise, with party president and chief minister Stalin claiming it will lead to reduced LS seats in TN. He has wondered whether the state was being punished for effective implementation of population control measures over the years. The state has 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. Recently Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the delimitation exercise will not affect southern states, including Tamil Nadu, and had accused Stalin of spreading a misinformation campaign on the matter. Seeking to put to rest speculation on the subject, he had asserted no southern state would see a reduction in the Parliamentary representation when delimitation will be done on pro-rata basis. The DMK had questioned this assertion as well, asking the basis for pro rata--whether on population or the existing constituency of MP or MLAS. CMs of two other southern states--Siddaramaiah and A Revanth Reddy of Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana, respectively, have also questioned Shah over his assertion on delimitation. CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have registered 580 FIRs and arrested 789 drug peddlers under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act since the launch of the "Yudh Nashian Virudh" (war against drugs) campaign on March 1 till March 4, Minister Aman Arora said on Wednesday. Nearly 74 kg of heroin, 19.5 kg of opium, and 77 kg of synthetic drugs, amounting to a total recovery of about 170 kg of narcotics, have been seized in the past four days, he said. Arora, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) state president, said the anti-drug campaign has received widespread public support and the AAP government is committed to eradicating drugs from Punjab. He noted that the issue concerns the youth of Punjab and their future, which is why people are openly praising this initiative. New and Renewable Energy Minister Arora is part of a recently formed cabinet sub-committee headed by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The committee will oversee measures by the police and health departments to combat the drug problem and implement the de-addiction programme. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had chaired a high-level meeting here of senior officials on Friday, setting a three-month deadline to make Punjab drug-free. As part of the campaign, properties of drug smugglers in Jalandhar and Mandi Gobindgarh (Fatehgarh Sahib district) were demolished on Wednesday, an official statement said. Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur said the Municipal Corporation demolished an illegal construction by notorious drug smuggler Dharminder, built using proceeds from his illegal trade. Dharminder is a habitual offender with six cases registered against him under the NDPS Act, it added. The action marks a significant step in dismantling the financial network of drug peddlers and ensuring accountability, she said. In a similar action, Fatehgarh Sahib Senior Superintendent of Police Shubham Agarwal supervised the demolition of a house belonging to a drug trafficker in Mandi Gobindgarh's Master Colony. The property had been built illegally on government land, the statement said. Minister Arora said between February 25 and March 1, police registered 61 FIRs against gangsters and smugglers in districts including Amritsar, Amritsar Rural, Moga, Tarn Taran, and Ferozepur. Around 60 properties linked to illegal encroachments and drug trafficking, valued in crores of rupees, have been demolished, he said. Cabinet sub-committee head and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the crackdown is showing significant results. Cheema claimed that the drug smugglers are either fleeing Punjab or being apprehended by the police, paving the way for a drug-free Punjab. During his tour of the three districts of Tarn Taran, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur, he held meetings with civil and police administration. He emphasized public participation, enhancing drug de-addiction efforts, intensifying police action against the drug trade, and promoting educational, sports, and cultural activities to engage youth in healthier lifestyles. Farmers Protest: Multiple barricades and checkpoints were set up across Punjab, and security was heightened at all key entry points of Chandigarh to stop farmers under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha who were marching to the union territory for their week-long dharna beginning Wednesday in support of their various demands. The Morcha, which is a conglomerate of more than 30 farmer bodies, had given a call for the dharna in Chandigarh starting March 5 in support of their various demands. Speaking about the farmers' protest, Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General of Police H S Bhullar said that the protestors will not be allowed to reach Chandigarh at any cost. "Wherever any farmer came out (on roads), the police of that area stopped them," Bhullar said. "...Punjab is totally peaceful. Wherever the farmers have come, police in that area have stopped them there itself. They are sitting there at the side peacefully. Traffic is normal across Punjab...They will not be allowed to reach Chandigarh at any cost. We have tight security...A few people have been rounded up...There is good coordination between Punjab and Chandigarh Police, he said. #WATCH | On Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in Punjab's march towards Chandigarh today, DIG Ropar Range, Harcharan Singh Bhullar says, "...Punjab is totally peaceful. Wherever the farmers have come, Police in that area have stopped them there itself. They are sitting there at the side pic.twitter.com/y8WO2w9N8R ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2025 Farmers, who left for Chandigarh in tractor-trolleys and other vehicles on Wednesday morning, were stopped by the Punjab Police at many places. In Moga, Krantikari Kisan Union district Moga president Jatinder Singh said they were stopped at Ajitwal in Moga district by the police when they were going to Chandigarh. Singh claimed some of them were "detained" by police, as reported by PTI. Farmers raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mann government for not allowing them to go to Chandigarh. In Samrala also, farmers were stopped by police from moving to Chandigarh, they said. In Patiala, a senior police official said police will ensure that there is no movement of protesting farmers towards Chandigarh. He said police will ensure the general public does not face any inconvenience. In Moga, police erected barricades at the Chuhar Chak area to prevent farmers from moving towards Chandigarh. A police official said 100 police personnel had been deployed at the checkpoint and that every vehicle was being checked to stop farmers from going to Chandigarh. In Sangrur, police put up checkpoints at many places, including Gharachon and Bhawanigarh. In Kharar, policemen were deployed at the Bhago Majra toll plaza. Chandigarh police put up barricades at the Chandigarh-Mohali border points to prevent protesting farmers from entering the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Security was beefed up at the entry points to Chandigarh from Mohali. Policemen were checking vehicles and were even verifying people where they were going to Chandigarh. Police also deployed anti-riot vehicles, ambulances, and fire brigades at several places. The intensive checking disrupted traffic from Mohali to Chandigarh at the border points, leading to a long queue of vehicles and causing inconvenience to commuters. Chandigarh Superintendent of Police Geetanjali Khandelwal said police personnel have been deployed at all the border points. "Barricading has been put up, and strict checking is being done. We want people to face minimum inconvenience. But wherever we suspect traffic snarls, we have directed traffic routes," she told reporters. The Chandigarh administration has denied permission to farmers to hold their sit-in at Sector 34 in the city. On Tuesday, the Chandigarh Police issued an advisory, saying traffic movement on certain road stretches may be regulated on March 5 to ensure smooth vehicular flow and public safety. On Tuesday, Punjab Police "detained" several farmer leaders, including Balbir Singh Rajewal, Ruldu Singh Mansa, Gurmeet Singh Bhatiwal, Nachhttar Singh Jaiton, Veerpal Singh Dhillon, Binder Singh Golewal, Gurnam Bhikhi, and Harmesh Singh. SKM leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan on Tuesday had called upon farmer leaders to head towards Chandigarh. He had asked farmers to sit at a vacant place if they were stopped by police on their way to Chandigarh, telling them not to block any road. Punjab Chief Minister Mann on Tuesday lashed out at several farmer bodies for resorting to protests every other day, turning Punjab into a "state of dharnas" and causing a huge loss to the state. Mann denounced farmer organizations after talks between the Punjab government and SKM leaders to discuss farmers' demands broke down midway on Monday. What Are Farmers Demanding? The SKM, which had led the 2020 agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws, is demanding the withdrawal of the Centre's draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, a legal guarantee to minimum support price as per the Swaminathan Commission report, implementing the state's agricultural policy, and the purchase of six crops, including basmati, maize, moong, and potato at minimum support price by the state government. They are also demanding a law for debt settlement, ownership rights of land tillers ensuring canal water to every field, payment of sugarcane arrears, stopping "forcible" acquisition of land for the Bharatmala projects, and jobs and compensation for kin of farmers who lost lives during the farmers' stir in 2020-21. (With agencies inputs) PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said a "100 per cent domicile policy" will be implemented in Bihar if his party came to power after the assembly polls due later this year. The former deputy chief minister was addressing a 'Yuva Panchayat' (youth conclave) where he came up with a number of promises keeping in mind the preference, among people of the state, for government jobs. "Should there be a domicile policy in Bihar?" Yadav asked with rhetorical flourish, and when the crowds roared "yes", he added, "We will bring in 100 per cent domicile, to safeguard interests of the state's youth." The leader of the opposition said, "Attempts to implement 100 per cent domicile policy in adjoining Jharkhand failed because of technical reasons. But I have discussed the matter with many jurists and we have found a way out." The young leader alleged that 74-year-old Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was "tired and should be retired" and the latter's ally BJP "eats up reservations (aarakshan khor) just like we have man-eaters (aadam khor)". Expressing confidence that the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan will form the next government in the state, Yadav said, "We will set up a Youth Commission (Yuva Aayog). Necessary clearance will be given in the first cabinet meeting." "It was at our insistence that recruitments in government departments have started on a large scale. The process started while we were sharing power. With our own government in place, we will provide more benefits," he said. "I therefore declare that we will waive the fee aspirants are made to pay to obtain forms for competitive examinations. Conveyance expenses of the candidates, who often have to travel long distances to reach exam centres, will be borne by the government," said Yadav, evoking applause. He also said that if voted to power, the RJD will try to "restore" the hike in quotas for deprived castes which has been set aside by the Patna High Court. Yadav claimed that the RJD, which emerged as the single-largest party in last couple of elections, "has the highest number of young MPs and MLAs and hence is best attuned to the aspirations of Bihar's young population". "Bihar does not deserve a government that is anti-youth, is unable to check question paper leaks and tries to crush genuine protests by getting the police to charge the baton," Yadav added. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre and the Kerala government on Tuesday continued to dispute claims of each other over the provision of funds for disbursing incentives to ASHA workers in the state. While state Finance Minister K N Balagopal accused the Centre of not providing funds on time, Union Minister George Kurian refuted the claim, stating that those who hear such allegations will start respecting Narendra Modi once they properly investigate the matter. Talking to reporters in Kollam, Balagopal said that the Centre had yet to release Rs 100 crore in pending payments. He urged the Centre to increase the honoraria for scheme workers, including Accredited Social Health Activist workers. Balagopal said that Kerala had been raising this matter during the pre-budget meetings convened by the Union Finance Minister for the past two years. "In Jaisalmer, I also reiterated our demand that the rate of honoraria for Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and other scheme workers needs to be appropriately enhanced," the Kerala finance minister said. Earlier, the office of State Health Minister Veena George stated that the claim that the Centre had allocated the full amount due to Kerala for centrally-sponsored health schemes in the last financial year was incorrect. The Centre has thus not provided Rs 636.88 crore for the year 2023-24 under the pretext of co-branding, the Health Minister's office said in a statement. It further stated that the health minister had formally written to the Union Health Minister, the Union Health Secretary, the National Health Mission, and the State Mission, pointing out that Rs 636.88 crore was yet to be provided by the Centre for NHM in the financial year 2023-24. In its response on October 28, the Centre itself confirmed that the central share for Kerala in 2023-24 was yet to be disbursed, the statement claimed. "Not a single rupee was allocated for NHM schemes, including ASHA and routine activities, in the financial year 2023-24. Out of the total Rs 826.02 crore that the Centre was supposed to provide, only Rs 189.15 crore was allocated for infrastructure maintenance and in-kind grants," it added. "However, the remaining Rs 636.88 crore, which included funds for ASHA workers' incentives, was not disbursed," the statement said. Union Minister of State for Minorities and Fisheries, George Kurian, mocked the state ministers' claim that not a single paise was given to Kerala and said that the Centre had provided a larger amount to the state government. He said that this was officially confirmed when Union Minister Suresh Gopi met with Union Health Minister J P Nadda. "When people hear such claims (from the state government), they start respecting him (Narendra Modi) after realising the truth through proper investigation," Kurian told reporters. The statements from the Centre and state ministers came amid a protest by a section of ASHA workers in Kerala, demanding a hike in their honorarium and retirement benefits. They have stated that they will intensify their agitation. The Congress and the BJP were locked in a spat after veteran leader of the grand old party Mani Shankar Aiyar claimed that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was poor academically. While BJP shared Mani Shankar's video on X, the Congress said that the saffron party is expert in cutting clips. Mani Shankar Aiyar, in a recent interview, claimed that Rajiv Gandhi failed twice in college but went to become country's Prime Minister, leaving many including him to question his credentials of holding the country's top post. Aiyar, in the viral interview, stated: When Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, I was very surprised. I thought he was an airline pilot and he also failed twice first at Cambridge and then at Imperial College, London. I thought, how could two-timed failed person could become PM of the country? Sharing Mani Shankar Aiyar's video on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said, "Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister. Let the veil be stripped." Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister. Let the veil be stripped. pic.twitter.com/m9serSGQMs Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 5, 2025 Reacting to Malviya's remark, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, "Malviya has a habit of editing things. How much of it is right and how much is wrong, only Mani Shankar can tell. But the question is not whether Rajiv Gandhi passed or failed. How was Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister? What kind of work did Rajiv Gandhi do after becoming the Prime Minister? If you want to analyse Rajiv Gandhi, then you have to analyse his work...BJP people are not even ready to show the PM's degree. PM himself says that he used to sell tea and have passed matriculation, but we do not see him because of his education. We see him because of his work as a PM. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri never went to Cambridge but he was a capable Prime Minister. So Rajiv Gandhi was a capable Prime Minister. He has given a lot to the country." Meanwhile, Aiyar also found himself in the crosshairs of many Congressmen who called him 'mentally unstable' and irrelevant in the grand old party. Nana Patole, former Maharashtra Congress chief lambasted Aiyar, the former minister in UPA government, for digging out uncomfortable details about the former PM and Rahul Gandhi's father, who left the world long ago. He has lost his mental balance, he should get himself examined, said Patole. Captain Ajay Yadav, Congress leader in Haryana, also frowned upon Aiyar, terming him as irrelevant in the party. Patole said, Mani Shankar Aiyar has no relevance in the party. He has no say in party affairs and therefore, whatever he speaks, should not be heeded upon. Congress national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra went to the extent of dubbing him as 'sleeper cell of BJP'. (With agency inputs) The recent deportation of Indian nationals from the United States has exposed the deep-rooted fake visa syndicates operating in India. These networks facilitate illegal immigration through unauthorized "dunky" routes. Now, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its crackdown on these fraudulent operations. As part of its money laundering investigation into visa fraud, the ED recently raided three visa consultancy firms in Ludhiana and Chandigarh. These firms were allegedly involved in defrauding individuals seeking immigration to the US. The investigation stems from FIRs registered by the Punjab and Delhi police following a complaint by the Overseas Criminal Investigations office of the US Embassy in Delhi. The complaint named several firms, including Red Leaf Immigration Private Limited, Overseas Partner Education Consultants, and others, for engaging in fraudulent activities, reported PTI. According to reports, one such FIR was registered in Punjab on February 17 against Easy Visa Education Consultant and others. Easy Visa and its founders have been into controversy in the past as well over visa and other issues. On Tuesday, ED officials conducted searches at five business and residential premises in Punjabs Ludhiana and Chandigarh. The raids targeted Infowiz Software Solution, among other entities. During the operation, authorities seized incriminating documents, digital devices, and Rs 19 lakh in cash. According to the ED, these firms forged educational certificates and experience letters for ineligible visa applicants aspiring to study or work in the US. They also temporarily transferred funds into applicants bank accounts to falsely reflect the required minimum balance for visa applications. Additionally, they manipulated personal records to fabricate eligibility for US visas. The accused charged hefty commissions for their illegal services, generating significant proceeds of crime, which were later invested in real estate and other financial assets or diverted into multiple bank accounts. The issue of illegal immigration and human trafficking has gained renewed attention following the US governments recent deportations of Indian nationals on military aircraft. This action aligns with stricter immigration policies introduced under US President Donald Trumps administration. With authorities tightening their grip, the crackdown on fraudulent visa operations in India is expected to intensify in the coming months. With increasing global interest and evolving market dynamics, Indias real estate sector is poised for significant transformation in the coming years. However, the Indian Real estate has a long way to go to become at par with its global counterparts. As the Indian real estate market has been rebounding since the Covid-slump, it has attracted the investors from across the globe. PropTech entrepreneur at ANAROCK, Aayush Puri, shared that Indian real estate market is a goldmine waiting to be explored fully. "Unlike the US, UK, and Dubai, which have centralized property databases, multiple listing services (MLS), and well-established broker networks, Indias real estate market remains highly fragmented. The absence of a national MLS and transparent transaction data makes property dealings less streamlined. Additionally, Indias brokerage sector lacks standardization, whereas in the US and UK, broker aggregation is the norm. Broker aggregation is standard in the US and UK, but in India, it's an untapped goldmine," he said. Puri added that despite its structural challenges, India is emerging as a global real estate hotspot. "It is now the largest flex workspace market outside the US and China, driven by multinational firms shifting back-office operations and data centers to India. This growing demand is fueling the countrys commercial real estate sector. The luxury housing segment in India is also witnessing remarkable growth. High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are increasingly investing in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore, further solidifying Indias position as a real estate investment hub. Puri shared that India is at an inflection point. As global institutions like Harvard focus more on India's economy, policies, and innovations, it's clear that the world is betting big on India. Whether in PropTech, real estate, finance, or digital transformation, the next decade belongs to India. In a Delhi-like protest by farmers, mainly from Punjab, over their long-pending demands, several farm unions under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) are heading to Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday to start their indefinite agitation wherever they were stopped by the security. As a precaution, the Chandigarh Police have sealed all the entry points to the city by deploying heavy security and issued an advisory to the commuters to avoid these routes. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ughrahan) President Joginder Singh Ughrahan has appealed to the farmers not to block the roads, highways and railway tracks as it would create public inconvenience. He advised the farmers to stage sit-in protest at roadsides at the place where the security personnel stopped them from moving ahead. But he appealed to all farmer unions to lodge the protest in a massive way by reaching Chandigarh and joining "Pakka Morcha" in Chandigarh, where the administration has not yet allotted a site for the protest. Official sources said the farmers would be stopped at the city's entry point. The SKM has accused the Punjab government of suppressing right to protest. Besides the implementation of the agriculture policy, the demands of the SKM include release of land distribution to landless labourers and farmers and debt waiver of farmers and labourers. Hours after talks between the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and the SKM failed on Monday, raids are being conducted at residences of farmer leaders, including Ugrahan. Talks to discuss farmers' demands broke down midway with farmer leaders claiming a "livid" Chief Minister Mann "walked out of the meeting in a huff without a provocation". After the meeting, the SKM leaders announced to go ahead with their call for massive sit-in protest in Chandigarh. Ughrahan said the discussions with the Chief Minster were going on smoothly. "After discussions on eight-nine out of our 18 demands, CM Mann said he had an infection in his eye for which he needed to go," he told the media. "The CM then asked us about our plans for the March 5 protest, to which we replied that the discussions were pending and we will take call on our plan to protest after that," said Ughrahan, adding the CM got upset and left the meeting asking "us to resort to protest". Later, Chief Minister Mann said his doors "are always open for talks with the farmers but inconvenience and harassment of the public in the name of agitation should be avoided". Interacting with the farmers at a meeting here, the Chief Minister added the "government is always ready to resolve the issues pertaining to various sections of society through negotiations so that trouble to the common man through railway or road blockades must be avoided". Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Mann for "ignoring" farmers, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded the release of farmer leaders. Warring accused the Chief Minister of arrogance and dismissive behaviour towards the SKM. He said rather than engaging in constructive discussions to resolve the farmers' grievances, the government has resorted to conducting raids on the residences of farm leaders. Expressing shock at the manner in which leaders of the SKM were being treated, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia said: "Mr Bhagwant Mann threatened the kisan leaders with dire consequences when he was reminded of the promises he had made to farmers before assuming charge as Chief Minister in 2022." Reminding Chief Minister Mann about the promises made by him to farmers, the Akali leader said: "Mann assured farmers and farm labourers that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would remodel farm policies to ensure no farm suicide occurred in the state." The Chief Minister also assured farmers that farm income would be doubled and that his government would implement the M.S. Swaminathan Report whether the Centre did that or not. Farmers were also assured that every crop would be procured by the state on minimum support price (MSP), he added. KOLKATA: Kolkata Police detectives on Wednesday visited the house, where three female members of a family were killed last month, and reconstructed the crime scene with an accused the husband of one of the deceased. The sleuths during the investigation also found that the Dey brothers, who were in the tannery business, had a loan of over Rs 15 crore, which they were unable to repay, leading them to decide to carry out the killings, a senior police officer said. Two Dey brothers Pranay and Prasun - lived in that house in the Tangra area with their wives, Sudeshna and Romi, respectively. Pranay's son and Prasun's daughter were the other occupants of the house. Romi, Sudeshna and the daughter were found dead inside their Tangra residence, while three others were injured after their car crashed into a Metro Rail pillar in the city on early February 19. The police came to know about the deaths in the house from one of the three injured occupants of the car. On Wednesday, Kolkata Police sleuths took Prasun, who was arrested on Monday, to their residence to reconstruct the crime scene. The younger brother was accompanied by officers of the Detective Department (DD) scientific wings from its headquarters and investigating officers from the Tangra Police Station. "The reconstruction has been videographed. The accused person was asked to enact every detail of the crime, where the bodies were lying after the murders were carried out. What exactly he and his brother Pranay Dey and nephew did after the crime was executed at their Tangra residence," the police officer said. Pranay and his son are still in the hospital because of the injury they suffered in the car crash. "During today's reconstruction of the crime scene, all claims of Prasun were doubly checked," the officer said, adding that depending on their findings they might again question the arrested accused. The detectives were also planning to interrogate the two Dey brothers together to crack the mystery behind the triple murder case. "Once Pranay is discharged from the hospital, he will be arrested. After that, we will question both the brothers together to verify their claims," the officer said. The brothers had, earlier, claimed to the police that there was a suicide pact among the family members, following which all consumed porridge laced with sleeping pills, the officer said. Investigations revealed that the two brothers -- Pranay and Prasun -- along with their wives, decided to consume porridge spiked with a huge number of sleeping pills and die by suicide on February 17, he said. "This was their first plan which did not work out. After that, they planned that the women would jump off from the terrace but when the two wives denied to do so, they decided to slit their wrists, the officer said. Prasun claimed that he was helped by his wife in smothering their sleeping daughter using a pillow. Romi had held their daughter's legs as she was kicking. After she died, Romi tried to slit her own wrists using a paper-knife but failed. Prasun then killed his wife by slashing her wrists. The officer said Prasun also confessed to killing his sister-in-law, Sudeshna, he said adding that all these happened on February 18. For some reasons, the boy in the family was not murdered in the same way, the officer said. The boy, his father and uncle went out in their car which crashed into a pillar of Metro Rail on early February 19. Rumours are circulating in Moscow that Joseph Stalin, the long-time leader of the Soviet Union, is near death. The first official news of Mr Stalins illness came in a statement on Wednesday. It said the Soviet leader, who came to power in 1928, had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage on Wednesday night. An update issued earlier today mentioned sharp disturbances of the heart functions. There is speculation that the 73-year-old, born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, in the Soviet republic of Georgia, is now in the final stages of an illness he has been suffering some time. Soviet newspapers today are clearly preparing their readers for the worst. Their front pages carry the bulletins on Mr Stalins health as well as sombre leading articles. On the inside pages, feature articles praise the Soviet leader both as a man and politician. World leaders have expressed concern for Mr Stalins health. A statement issued by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said his private secretary, John Colville, had yesterday called on the Soviet ambassador. Mr Colville had passed on the prime ministers regret at the news of Mr Stalins ill-health and asked to be kept informed of his progress, the statement said. US President Truman also expressed sympathy for Mr Stalin. I am sorry just as I would be if such a thing happened to any other acquaintance of mine, Mr Truman said. If Mr Stalins death is confirmed, he will be most remembered for instigating political purges in which tens of thousands were killed. He was also behind the introduction of farming collectives which led to a famine and the death of up to 10 million people. His death is expected to provoke a power struggle within the ruling Politburo. Courtesy BBC News In context The death of Joseph Stalin was officially announced at just after 0100 GMT on 6 March. The statement said he had died at 2150 local time on 5 March. Hundreds of thousands of people queued to see Joseph Stalins body lying-in-state. He was embalmed and put on display alongside the first Soviet leader, Vladimir Illyich Lenin, in his mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow. But Nikita Khrushchev, who became Soviet leader after a power struggle, led a move to denounce Stalin as a tyrant who caused millions of deaths. In 1961 Stalins body was removed from its place in the honoured Lenins Tomb. It was reburied near the Kremlin wall along with other minor figures from the Bolshevik Revolution. Bihar Election 2025: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), played a key role in the saffron party's victory in the Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra polls. In Delhi, the RSS held over 50,000 meetings across the city, uniting the voters behind the BJP. Soon after the Delhi poll results, the RSS shifted its focus on Bihar and West Bengal. Now, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has arrived in the state on a five-day tour during which he will interact with cadres and attend other programmes. Bhagwat will leave for Supaul on Thursday morning. In the Birpur sub-division of Supaul district, the RSS 'sarsanghchalak' is scheduled to inaugurate a new building of a Saraswati Vidya Mandir school, before returning to Muzaffarpur later in the evening. The RSS chief will stay in Muzaffarpur till March 9. He is likely to meet 'swayamsevaks' and people associated with other Sangh affiliates. His visit comes months ahead of the assembly polls in the state, where the BJP, the political offshoot of the RSS, has been trying to expand its base. Bhagwat's meeting with RSS cadres holds importance as these are the Sangh workers who play a crucial role at the grassroot level in propagating the Sangh's nationalist ideology and thus further converting it into the BJP voter base. In Bihar, the RSS is reportedly working on 'Trishul' formula. According to sources, the organization is focusing on three crucial aspects - Identifying Discontented Voters and Key Issues through confidential surveys; Assessing the Most Impactful Issues to shape the election narrative and Analyzing the Electoral Benefits and Risks for BJP based on these issues. This survey is being conducted in strict secrecy, leveraging RSSs extensive network of shakhas (local branches). In preparation for the elections, the number of shakhas across Bihar is set to increase, ensuring deeper grassroots engagement. In a major upcoming meeting, the RSS is scheduled to undertake a comprehensive booth-level survey to strengthen weak polling stations. When a Bihar BJP leader was asked about the RSS' impact on polls as alleged by the opposition leaders, he said that the Sangh is a cultural unit that works to promote nationalism in India. "RSS doesn't work on any single agenda. It's concerned about the overall development, unity and integrity of the country. It's focussed on 'Akhand Bharat'. Sangh is working to keep our spirituality in the right direction to keep the country in the right direction. Sangh wants every Indian across the globe to think and work for the betterment of Mother India. Thus, linking Sangh to BJP's electoral gains only is not right," said Prof Ranbir Nandan, former MLC and senior BJP leader. The US has been Ukraine's main military supporter since the war with Russia started three years ago. While the Trump administration's aid suspension won't instantly weaken Ukraine's defences, it carries a significant setback. It risks taking away key weapons from Ukraine's arsenal and increases pressure on Kyiv to consider a peace deal. Since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with over $180 billion in aid, including $66.5 billion in military support. The US provides approximately 20 per cent of Ukraine's military supplies which includes the most lethal and important equipment, including longer-range missiles and Patriot air defence systems which help to shoot down the most powerful Russian projectiles. Ukrainian troops also rely on Starlink satellite communication from Elon Musk and U.S. intelligence to track Russian movements and plan strikes. If America stops sharing satellite data, it would Trump's Suspension of Military Aid Will Weaken Ukraine's Battlefield Defenses?urt Ukraine's ability to counterattack Russia. How will it affect the war? The U.S. move won't immediately affect the battlefield, where Ukraine is fighting a strong Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have slowed Russia's advance along the 1,000-kilometer front line, though Russia is still making slow progress at a high cost. But, the aid pause will weaken Ukraine's air defenses and limit its ability to strike Russian targets deep behind the front lines. (With agency inputs) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his official visit to the UK and discussed advancing bilateral economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The UK PM also shared his views on the Ukraine conflict with the EAM, Jaishankar said in a post on X. The EAM also met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other senior leaders. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, ""Delighted to call on Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer at @10DowningStreet today. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed taking forward our bilateral, economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. PM Starmer also shared UK's perspective on the Ukraine conflict." In another post on X, the EAM shared his meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, where he thanked him for the welcome and expressed optimism for the meeting. "Thank you FS @DavidLammy for this extremely warm welcome at the Chevening House. Look forward to our discussions", the EAM wrote on X. Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar held meetings with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade of the UK. Upon meeting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Jaishankar noted that the two leaders held discussions on areas such as flow of talent and joint efforts between India and the UK to tackle "trafficking and extremism". He said on X, "A good meeting with Home Secretary @YvetteCooperMP today in London. We discussed the flow of talent, people to people exchanges, and joint efforts in tackling trafficking and extremism." In his meeting with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, Jaishankar highlighted that discussions were held on the progress in the free trade agreement talks between India and the UK. He said, "Pleased to meet Secretary of State for @biztradegovuk @jreynoldsMP today in London. Discussed the progress on our FTA talks." As per the Ministry of External Affairs statement, EAM Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland till March 9, during which he will hold discussions to provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland. In Ireland, Jaishankar will meet with his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, other dignitaries and members of Indian community. Jaishankar will visit Ireland on March 6 and 7. India and Ireland share friendly bilateral relations based on shared democratic values, cultural ties and growing economic engagements. EAM's visit will provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland, the statement said. New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday said it has terminated the services of a trainer pilot for lapses and 10 pilots who underwent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending investigation. The latest action came after a whistleblower alleged that a simulator trainer pilot had failed to properly discharge his duties during recurrent simulator training for pilots. In a statement, the Tata Group-owned airline said a detailed probe was conducted into the allegations, which were corroborated after a review of the evidence. Without disclosing specific details, Air India said the trainer pilot's services are being terminated. "As a precaution, ten pilots who underwent recurrent training under the trainer pilot have been removed from flying duties pending further investigation," the airline said. Further, Air India said it voluntarily reported the matter to aviation regulator DGCA and also commended the whistleblower for stepping forward. Details about the trainer pilot and related action could not be immediately ascertained. On some earlier occasions, Air India had faced action from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for failing to report certain incidents and non-disclosures. Tata Group took over loss-making Air India from the government in January 2022. In the statement, the airline said it has implemented the Tata Code of Conduct to establish clear behavioural expectations and accelerate cultural change to that of a Tata Group company. "This included comprehensive training for all employees on Tata's ethos and ethics-related policies, such as anti-bribery, anti-corruption and whistleblowing, among others," it added. New Delhi: Babil Khan, known for his diverse choice of roles, is set to star in the Indian-American short film Yakshi. Renowned for his compelling performances, he will be joined by acclaimed Malayalam actress Anna Ben, celebrated for her roles in Kumbalangi Nights and Helen. Written and directed by Karan Sunil and produced by Lambe Log Productions, Yakshi promises a unique fusion of Indian folklore and contemporary storytelling, making it an exciting addition to global cinema. The makers have kept the plot tightly under wraps. Anna Ben took to Instagram and shared behind-the-scenes glimpses from the films sets including a cheerful selfie with Babil Khan. The post, featuring a series of candid on-set pictures, has further fueled excitement for the project, especially for Babils role. In a heartfelt post, she wrote "This was truly written in the stars. Had the most amazing time working with these wonderful human beings. The heartfelt post was captioned as , This was truly written in the stars had the most amazing time working with these wonderful human beings. @ksunzz @lambelogproductions, thank you for trusting me to be Maya. Thank you for letting me discover a whole new side as an artist. And most importantly, giving everyone a safe space to work and collaborate. @babil.i.k, you are an absolute darling! I hope we get to work together more and cant wait to see you do all the wonderful things you are dreaming to do.'' In addition to this, Babil continues to take on compelling roles. He is also set to star in an upcoming love story directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Sai Rajesh. The drama remains untitled, and further details are awaited. Washington: Former film producer Harvey Weinstein has reacted to Adrien Brody's 2025 Oscars acceptance speech, in which the actor gave a special shoutout to Weinstein's two children with ex-wife Georgina Chapman. Brody, who won the Best Actor award for his role in 'The Brutalist', acknowledged Chapman and her children, Dash and India, in his emotional speech. Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for sex crimes, spoke out through his representative, expressing gratitude that his children are being loved and cared for. According to People magazine, "Harvey is happy for Georgina and grateful that his kids are being loved and cared for as they deserve to be," the representative said. Brody's speech was a poignant moment in the ceremony, as he acknowledged the challenges that Chapman and her children have faced in recent years. "I share this with my amazing partner, Georgina, who has not only reinvigorated my own self-worth, but my sense of value and my values," Brody said. "And her beautiful children, Dash and India, I know this has been a rollercoaster, but thank you for accepting me into your life, and Popsy's coming home a winner!" he added. Weinstein and Chapman were married from 2007 to 2018 and have two children together. Chapman has been dating Brody since 2019, and the couple has been making public appearances together, including at the Oscars ceremony. Weinstein's prison term has been marked by controversy, including the overturning of his 2020 New York convictions in April 2024. He is currently awaiting a retrial and remains behind bars due to his 2022 convictions for sex crimes in California. Chennai: Actress Nayanthara, who has often been referred to as Lady Superstar by her fans, has now appealed to the media and to the audiences to henceforth address her as just Nayanthara and not as Lady Superstar. Issuing a statement late on Tuesday night, Nayanthara, who has been a dominant force in the Tamil film industry, said, While thanking all my sources of happiness and success for my journey as an actress, I sincerely hope this note finds you and your families in the best of health and happiness. My life has been an open book that has always found its adornment with your unconditional love and affection. Be it the pat on my shoulder during my success or extending your hand to lift me during hardships, you have always been there for me, she said. Pointing out that many had graciously referred to her as "Lady Superstar," a title born out of their immense affection, she said, I owe you all a lot for crowning me with such a valuable title. However, I humbly request you all to call me Nayanthara. This is because I feel that the name is what I hold closest to my heart. It represents who I amnot just as an actor but as an individual. The actress also went on to point out that while titles and accolades were priceless they could also sometimes create an image that separated the stars from their work, their craft, and the unconditional bond they shared with the audience. I believe we all share the language of love that keeps us connected beyond all limits. While the future might be unpredictable for all of us, Im so happy that your unfading support will remain constant, and so will my hard work to entertain you. Cinema is what keeps us united, and let us keep celebrating it together, she signed off. Bengaluru: After Kannada actress Ranya Rao, known for her roles in films like 'Maanikya' and 'Pataki,' was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3, 2025, in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government said that the law was the same for all. The arrest comes after allegations that she was involved in smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai into India. In light of the situation, Congress MLA and Legal Advisor to the Karnataka Chief Minister, AS Ponnanna, made a statement regarding the arrest. Ponnanna asserted that Ranya was being treated as any other accused, saying, "She is an accused for indulging in smuggling. The law will take its course, whether she is the DGP's, the CM's or the Prime Minister's daughter...If there is any official nexus involved in this, it will come out in the investigation." Ranya, the stepdaughter of Karnataka's Director General of Police (DGP) Dr. K Ramachandra Rao, was detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) after arriving on an Emirates flight from Dubai. DRI officials, who had been tipped off about her suspected involvement in gold smuggling, stationed a team at the airport ahead of her arrival. Following the landing of her flight, she was arrested and taken into custody by the DRI. On March 4, 2025, Ranya was produced before a special court judge for financial offences, where she was remanded into judicial custody until March 18, 2025. Before being transferred to custody, Ranya underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru. The actress, during questioning, claimed her visit to Dubai was for business purposes. However, DRI officials allege that she was carrying a significant amount of gold intended to be smuggled into India. According to the DRI, the gold in her possession weighed a total of 14.8 kilograms. As of now, Ranya remains in judicial custody while the DRI continues its investigation into the case. (ANI) New Delhi: Online scams are increasing rapidly and cybercriminals are coming up with new tricks to deceive people. The latest scam targets Netflix users with fake emails claiming their payment details need an update. These emails look real and urge users to click a link to fix the issue. But it's actually a phishing scam designed to steal login details and financial information, putting users at risk of losing money or even having their identities stolen. A new phishing scam is targeting Netflix users through fake emails claiming theres a payment issue, according to the Mirror. These emails include a link asking users to update their billing details. However, clicking it gives scammers access to login credentials and financial information, putting users at risk of identity theft. How the Netflix Scam Works As reported by The Mirror, scammers are sending phishing emails with the subject line, "Let's tackle your payment details." Unlike typical scams filled with errors and generic designs, this one looks professional. It carefully imitates Netflixs branding, using official logos, colors, and fonts, making it hard to tell apart from real Netflix emails. When users open the email, they see a warning that their Netflix account is on hold due to a billing issue. It urges them to update their payment details right away to prevent service disruption. A red banner with a bold "UPDATE ACCOUNT NOW" button directs them to a fake Netflix login page. If users enter their Netflix credentials, home address, and credit card details, scammers can take over their accounts. They may use this stolen information for unauthorized transactions, access other linked accounts, or even commit identity theft. How to Stay Safe Dandruff leaves a persistent disorder that causes scalp itch while at the same time generates large amounts of scaling. For effective dandruff treatment, an anti-dandruff shampoo must efficiently remove flakes and simultaneously treat inflammation and reduce hair loss together with adequate moisturization. The following section evaluates prominent anti-dandruff shampoo products suitable for different hair types and situations. And don't miss exciting offers on Amazon with a minimum of 60% off on the Holi Store Sale between 1st and 14th March. 1. Fixderma Kairfoll Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (100ml) Image Source- Amazon.in Order Now Fixderma Kairfoll Anti-Dandruff Shampoo is a specially formulated product for oily and sensitive scalps with a tendency to develop dandruff and folliculitis. Salicylic Acid in the shampoo functions as an agent to regulate oil production while it clears away dead skin cells and promotes hair retention. The sulfate-free shampoo matches the needs of both male and female users. Key Features: Salicylic Acid ensures exfoliation of the scalp and the elimination of dandruff. Appropriate for sensitive scalps while effectively suppressing flakes. Sulfate-free formula avoids dryness and irritation. Less hair loss and makes hair roots stronger. Does not lather a lot because of the sulfate-free formula. 2. Minimalist Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (200ml) Image Source- Amazon.in Order Now The renowned science-rooted skincare manufacturer Minimalist presents an anti-dandruff shampoo that provides intense protection against flakes. The shampoo contains a combination of Salicylic Acid and cclimbazole together with Piroctone Olamine to combat dandruff, reduce scalp itch, and minimize irritation across your scalp. Key Features: Climbazole & Piroctone Olamine combine to battle dandruff at its core. Sulfate-free and fragrance-free, it is gentle enough for all hair types. Soothing irritated scalps and deepcleansings hair. Assists in building a healthy and hydrated scalp. Results are visible within a few washes. 3. Pilgrim Australian Tea Tree Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (200ml) Image Source- Amazon.in Order Now Pilgrim's Australian Tea Tree Anti-Dandruff Shampoo serves as a gentle shampoo that exterminates dandruff by the roots while maintaining scalp moisture. People who experience chronic dandruff and scalp itchiness will find Tea Tree Oil and Salicylic Acid combined within this product as the perfect treatment solution. Key Features: Tea Tree Oil kills germs and calms the scalp. The non-drying formula does not cause too much dryness on the scalp. Reduces itching, flakiness, and irritation. Both men and women can use it. The strong scent of tea tree may not be everyone's cup of tea. 4. Love Beauty & Planet Rosemary & Yuzu Lemon Sulfate-Free Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (200ml) Image Source- Amazon.in Order Now Natural and environmentally friendly beauty enthusiasts who care about their hair should use Love Beauty & Planet Rosemary & Yuzu Lemon sulfate-free anti-dandruff shampoo as their main hair care product. The shampoo performs gentle head cleaning that removes damaging agents while fighting dandruff and building hair strength. Key Features: Rosemary & Yuzu Lemon Infused for a revitalizing experience. Sulfate-free for gentle hair cleansing. Vegan and cruelty-free formula. Shines and softens hair. Not likely to work on excessively bad cases of dandruff. Getting the right anti-dandruff shampoo for a healthy scalp and healthy hair is crucial. If you like a dermatologist-recommended option such as Fixderma Kairfoll, a low-ingredient option such as Minimalist, a tea tree solution such as Pilgrim, or an eco-friendly and natural solution such as Love Beauty & Planet, there is an option for everyone. And the best part? Amazon's Holi Store Sale is live from 1st to 14th March with a minimum of 60% discount on all these fantastic shampoos. Shop for your favorite before it gets over, and have a dandruff-free, healthy scalp. Be flake-free and glow this Holi. Disclaimer: At IDPL, we help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and products. It should not be construed as an endorsement to buy. IDPL may make a very small commission from its sale if one chooses to buy the product from any of the links in this article. For many low-budget, independent films, an Oscar win is a golden ticket. The publicity can translate into theatrical releases or rereleases, along with more on-demand rentals and sales. However, for No Other Land, a Palestinian-Israeli film that just won best documentary feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, this exposure may not translate into commercial success in the U.S. Thats because the film has been unable to find a company to distribute it in America. No Other Land chronicles the efforts of Palestinian townspeople to combat an Israeli plan to demolish their villages in the West Bank and use the area as a military training ground. It was directed by four Palestinian and Israeli activists and journalists: Basel Adra, who is a resident of the area facing demolition, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor. While the filmmakers have organized screenings in a number of U.S. cities, the lack of a national distributor makes a broader release unlikely. Film distributors are a crucial but often unseen link in the chain that allows a film to reach cinemas and peoples living rooms. In recent years it has become more common for controversial award-winning films to run into issues finding a distributor. Palestinian films have encountered additional barriers. As a scholar of Arabic who has written about Palestinian cinema, Im disheartened by the difficulties No Other Land has faced. But Im not surprised. The role of film distributors Distributors are often invisible to moviegoers. But without one, it can be difficult for a film to find an audience. Distributors typically acquire rights to a film for a specific country or set of countries. They then market films to movie theaters, cinema chains and streaming platforms. As compensation, distributors receive a percentage of the revenue generated by theatrical and home releases. The film Soundtrack to a Coup DEtat, another finalist for best documentary, shows how this process typically works. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and was acquired for distribution just a few months later by Kino Lorber, a major U.S.-based distributor of independent films. The inability to find a distributor is not itself noteworthy. No film is entitled to distribution, and most films by newer or unknown directors face long odds. However, it is unusual for a film like No Other Land, which has garnered critical acclaim and has been recognized at various film festivals and award shows. Some have pegged it as a favorite to win best documentary at the Academy Awards. And No Other Land has been able to find distributors in Europe, where its easily accessible on multiple streaming platforms. So why cant No Other Land find a distributor in the U.S.? There are a couple of factors at play. Shying away from controversy In recent years, film critics have noticed a trend: Documentaries on controversial topics have faced distribution difficulties. These include a film about a campaign by Amazon workers to unionize and a documentary about Adam Kinzinger, one of the few Republican congresspeople to vote to impeach Donald Trump in 2021. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, of course, has long stirred controversy. But the release of No Other Land comes at a time when the issue is particularly salient. The Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip have become a polarizing issue in U.S. domestic politics, reflected in the campus protests and crackdowns in 2024. The filmmakers critical comments about the Israeli occupation of Palestine have also garnered backlash in Germany. Yet the fact that this conflict has been in the news since October 2023 should also heighten audience interest in a film such as No Other Land and, therefore, lead to increased sales, the metric that distributors care about the most. Indeed, an earlier film that also documents Palestinian protests against Israeli land expropriation, 5 Broken Cameras, was a finalist for best documentary at the 2013 Academy Awards. It was able to find a U.S. distributor. However, it had the support of a major European Union documentary development program called Greenhouse. The support of an organization like Greenhouse, which had ties to numerous production and distribution companies in Europe and the U.S., can facilitate the process of finding a distributor. By contrast, No Other Land, although it has a Norwegian co-producer and received some funding from organizations in Europe and the U.S., was made primarily by a grassroots filmmaking collective. Stages for protest While distribution challenges may be recent, controversies surrounding Palestinian films are nothing new. Many of them stem from the fact that the system of film festivals, awards and distribution is primarily based on a movies nation of origin. Since there is no sovereign Palestinian state and many countries and organizations have not recognized the state of Palestine the question of how to categorize Palestinian films has been hard to resolve. In 2002, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected the first ever Palestinian film submitted to the best foreign language film category Elia Suleimans Divine Intervention because Palestine was not recognized as a country by the United Nations. The rules were changed for the following years awards ceremony. In 2021, the cast of the film Let It Be Morning, which had an Israeli director but primarily Palestinian actors, boycotted the Cannes Film Festival in protest of the films categorization as an Israeli film rather than a Palestinian one. Film festivals and other cultural venues have also become places to make statements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and engage in protest. For example, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, the right-wing Israeli culture minister wore a controversial and meme-worthy dress that featured the Jerusalem skyline in support of Israeli claims of sovereignty over the holy city, despite the unresolved status of Jerusalem under international law. At the 2024 Academy Awards, a number of attendees, including Billie Eilish, Mark Ruffalo and Mahershala Ali, wore red pins in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, and pro-Palestine protesters delayed the start of the ceremonies. As he accepted his award, No Other Land director Yuval Abraham called out the foreign policy of the U.S. for helping to block a path to peace. Even though a film like No Other Land addresses a topic of clear interest to many Americans, I wonder if the quest to find a U.S. distributor just got even harder. This article has been updated to clarify that the film was a collaborative effort between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers. It has also been updated to reflect the films win at the 2025 Academy Awards. Drew Paul, University of Tennessee, MDT/AP Peshawar: At least 12 persons, including four children, were killed and 30 injured as two explosive-laden vehicles rammed into the boundary wall of the main cantonment in Bannu in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday while the army personnel neutralised at least six terrorists. The suicide bombers hit the wall of Bannu Cantonment, about 200 kms south-west of Peshawar, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the evening around sunset time, police said. Hafiz Gul Bahadur-affiliated little known Jaish Al Fursan, in a statement, claimed the attack in Bannu. The group is one of the several factions of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Dr Numan, spokesperson of the DHQ Hodpital at Bannu said 12 civilians were killed in Bannu cantonment suicide blast and 30 were injured and added that the dead also included four children and two women. A dozen casualties were reported from the nearby civil buildings and the debris of a mosque adjacent to Bannu cantonment's boundary wall hit by the suicide bombers, sources said quoting the hospital authorities. All the injured have been shifted to the hospital, the sources added. After the explosions, the cantonment wall was breached and many terrorists attempted to enter the cantonment, however, at least six of them were neutralised while the remaining have been surrounded, security sources confirmed. Sources also said that the army authorities have sealed the main routes leading to the cantonment and not providing access to the blast site. The clearance operation will continue until all terrorists are eliminated, according to security sources. Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the Bannu explosion and sought a report on the incident. Expressing sorrow over the loss of human lives, he extended heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the martyrs. Such incidents during the holy month of Ramadan are extremely condemnable and tragic, Gandapur said. The country witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January 2025, surging by 42 per cent compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a think tank. The data revealed that at least 74 militant attacks were recorded nationwide, resulting in 91 fatalities, including 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Another 117 individuals sustained injuries, including 53 security forces personnel, 54 civilians, and 10 militants. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) remained the worst-affected province, followed by Balochistan. In KP's settled districts, militants carried out 27 attacks, resulting in 19 fatalities, including 11 security personnel, six civilians, and two militants. The tribal districts of KP (erstwhile Fata) witnessed 19 attacks, leading to 46 deaths, including 13 security personnel, eight civilians, and 25 militants, the data showed. The Israeli army has killed a senior Qassam Brigades commander and another Palestinian during a large-scale military operation in the eastern neighbourhood of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. According to Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses, the Israeli forces, backed by large reinforcements, surrounded several residential buildings in the eastern neighbourhood of Jenin, which led to violent clashes that resulted in the killing of Aysar al-Saadi and another young man, Xinhua news agency reported. The incident came as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expanded its ongoing counterterrorism raid, dubbed "Operation Iron Wall," in the northern West Bank to additional neighbourhoods of Jenin. In a first, troops were using "Eitan" armoured personnel carriers in Jenin amid the operation, which are more heavy duty than the APCs normally deployed in the West Bank. On Tuesday morning, as part of the expanded operation, Border Police officers along with IDF troops attempted to arrest the commander of Hamas's terror network in Jenin, Aysar al-Saadi, following information on his whereabouts provided by the Shin Bet. Following an exchange of fire, Saadi and another gunman were killed, and three wanted Palestinians were detained, according to the IDF, police, and Shin Bet. Hamas mourned the death of Saadi, accusing Israel of resorting to "assassinations after failing to confront the resistance on the ground". In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed the killing of Saadi, alleging that he was responsible for planning attacks against Israeli targets. The Israeli troops found an assault rifle, handgun, and several other weapons during scans of the building where Saadi was holed up. Another gunman was killed in a separate exchange of fire in the same area, the IDF added. On Tuesday, a Palestinian man who approached Israeli forces at a checkpoint near the West Bank settlement outpost of Homesh while brandishing a knife was shot dead by troops, according to a military source. The statement also claimed that the second Palestinian killed "posed a threat" to Israeli forces in the area. The army emphasised that military operations would continue in Jenin to pursue what it described as "terrorist elements". Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said that two Palestinians were killed, "and many young men were arrested," while the Palestinian Health Ministry identified one of the dead as Aysar al-Saadi, saying the 21-year-old's body was taken away by troops after he was shot. The head of the Jenin government hospital, Wisam Baker, told media that a man identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the facility early on Tuesday. Baker said that Alawneh, 25, had bled out after being shot in the thigh. Governor Abu al-Rub said the raid had caused "devastation and massive destruction" in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood, "which has not experienced an Israeli assault like this before." He said that the main electricity line was cut off, dozens of families were forced to leave, and army bulldozers had left behind a trail of damage. More than 40,100 Palestinians have left their homes since the launch of Operation Iron Wall, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) figures from mid-February. The IDF has said troops have killed more than 75 Palestinian terror operatives and detained some 450 amid the major ongoing counter-terrorism operation. The military has also acknowledged mistakenly killing several civilians during the operation, including a toddler and a pregnant woman. Troops have also seized nearly 200 weapons. MOSCOW: A Ukrainian decree from 2022 that ruled out negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin raises the question of who could sit at the table in potential peace talks aimed at ending their three-year war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side, Peskov noted during his daily conference call with reporters. He said it was positive that Zelenskyy expressed readiness Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible. But the details have not changed yet, Peskov added, apparently referring to the Ukrainian decree. Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have recently mentioned the September 2022 presidential decree, signed seven months after Russia's cross-border invasion, in the context of US President Donald Trump's efforts to stop the fighting. The Trump administration on Monday suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine as the United States sought to pressure Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. It wasn't immediately clear whether the support would resume after Zelenskyy's apparent effort to placate Trump. Ukrainian forces are toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 1,000-kilometre front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, which has been costly for its troops, hasn't yet brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. The war of attrition has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington, the French government spokesperson said Wednesday. It is envisaged that President Macron could eventually travel again to Washington with President Zelenskyy and his British counterpart, spokesperson Sophie Primas told reporters. She did not elaborate. Macron's office later said no trip to Washington is being planned at the moment. The reason for the discrepancy between the statements from Macron's office and the government spokesperson was not immediately clear. Macron was due to give a televised address to the nation later Wednesday about what he called the great uncertainty in global affairs. The three leaders travelled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Trump. Starmer didn't comment on the possibility of a joint trip when he appeared in the British Parliament on Wednesday. His spokesman, Dave Pares, would not confirm such a trip. There was no immediate comment from Zelenskyy's office. In the early months of the war, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlin's decision in September 2022 to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The decree enacted a decision by Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council to bolster Ukrainian defences and seek more weapons from the country's Western allies. The Kremlin said at the time it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting that such a step may not happen until a new Ukrainian president takes office. Meanwhile, a Russian court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a British national captured last year fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk border region of Russia, according to court officials. James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict and sentenced to 19 years in prison. The case was heard behind closed doors. According to media reports at the time of his capture in November 2024, 22-year-old Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed shortly after Russia's invasion. Ukrainian forces captured parts of Kursk in a shock offensive in August 2024. The Chinese embassy in the US responded sharply on Wednesday to US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs charge, stating that China is ready to fight till the end, whether it's a tariff war, trade war, or any other type of conflict. The Chinese embassy in the US shared a post on their official handle after Trump's reciprocal tariffs charge during his first speech at the US Congress assembly. "If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end," the post read. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, were ready to fight till the end. https://t.co/crPhO02fFE Chinese Embassy in US (@ChineseEmbinUS) March 5, 2025 Earlier, US President Trump in his first address of the second term to a joint session of Congress criticized the high tariffs imposed by India, China, Brazil, and other countries, calling them "very unfair," and announced that reciprocal tariffs would begin on April 2. "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, - Mexico and Canada - Have you heard of them -and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair, Trump said on Tuesday night in an address to the Joint Session of the Congress. In his first address of the second term to a joint session of Congress, US President Donald Trump criticized the high tariffs imposed by India, China, Brazil, and other countries, calling them "very unfair," and announced that reciprocal tariffs would begin on April 2. "Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, - Mexico and Canada - Have you heard of them -and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair, Trump said on Tuesday night in an address to the Joint Session of the Congress. "India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%," he added. In February, President Trump announced that his administration would "soon" impose reciprocal tariffs on countries like India and China, echoing remarks made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US last month. Trump made it clear to Prime Minister Modi that India would not be exempt from Washington's reciprocal tariffs, stressing that "nobody can argue with me" on the tariff structure. "China's average tariff on our products is twice... and South Korea's average tariff is four times higher. Think of that, four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea. But that's what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. This system is not fair to the United States. It never was, he said. (With PTI inputs) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday vowed that his country will not back down from a fight against the trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump. Following Trudeaus commitment, the Canadian federal government has announced a detailed tariff package in response to Trumps move. According to a news statement issued on Tuesday by the Finance Ministry, the first phase of Canada's response includes tariffs on 30 billion Canadian dollars (about $21 billion) in goods imported from the US, effective as of 12:01 a.m., March 4. The list includes products such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and certain pulp and paper products, Xinhua news agency reported. The additional countermeasures on 125 billion Canadian dollars (about $89 billion) in imports from Washington would be from a list of goods open for a 21-day comment period, which includes products such as electric vehicles, fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy, electronics, steel, aluminium, trucks, and buses, the statement said. The government is also taking steps to mitigate the impact of these countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to consider requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs, the statement further stated. According to the statement, all options remain on the table as the government considers additional measures, including non-tariff options. While addressing the nation on Tuesday, Trudeau said that Ottawa will also be challenging Washington's illegal actions by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and through the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement, or the free trade mechanism in North America that was renegotiated by Trump in his last term. The counter-tariffs will remain in place until the US tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner, Trudeau added. Speaking at a press conference, the Canadian PM said on Tuesday that there is no justification for the trade war Canada and the US are entangled in, and Canada will challenge Trump's moves. "So today, the US launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend," Trudeau said, repeating Canada's retaliation. The Canadian government hit back with an initial 30 billion Canadian dollars ($21 billion) in tariffs on US goods, with the promise to add another 125 billion Canadian dollars more in 21 days. Trudeau vowed that American families and Trump will soon feel how damaging the tariffs are. Speaking to the camera, Trudeau addressed Trump directly, saying, "This is a very dumb thing to do." He accused Trump of wanting to "see a complete collapse of the Canadian economy," believing that's the reason Trump is moving ahead so aggressively. "Because that will make it easier to annex us, is the second part of his thought," said Trudeau. "That is never going to happen." He called the President's claims that the tariffs are needed because of fentanyl seeping across the border from Canada to the US an "unjustified and false excuse." Canadian officials made a month-long diplomatic push to avoid tariffs and have responded to Trump's concerns about the border. Canada named a new "fentanyl czar" and listed Mexican cartels as terrorist groups. On February 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10 percent tariff increase specifically for Canadian energy products. On February 3, Trump announced that the additional tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada would be deferred for one month, allowing more time for negotiations. Trump said on Monday that 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada will take effect on Tuesday, March 4. (With agency Inputs) The trade war between the United States and Canada is likely to escalate further after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau responded to US President Donald Trump with counter-tariffs. Now, Trump has again hit back at Trudeau, warning him that he will further mount his trade war after the Canadian PM announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods. Trump's remark came after Trudeau said on Tuesday that Ottawa will be implementing 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American products. On Tuesday itself, the US President took to his social media platform Truth Social, "Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a retaliatory tariff on the US, our reciprocal tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" Trump's 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, prompting Trudeau to announce retaliatory tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods that will take effect over 21 days. The US President has repeatedly referred to the Canadian Prime Minister as the "Governor" of Canada in recent weeks as he called for the country to become the US's 51st state. Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday that Trump's "dumb" trade war was motivated by a desire "to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that'll make it easier to annex us." "Now, first of all, that's never going to happen," said the Canadian leader. "But yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy But he is rapidly going to find out, as American families are going to find out, that that's going to hurt people on both sides of the border," Canada said it will challenge the US measures at the World Trade Organisation and through the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. "Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight," said Trudeau, who will step down as Prime Minister after the governing Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would issue a 25 percent export tax on electricity sold to the US and may later cut it off completely if the US tariffs persist. In 2023, Ontario powered 1.5 million homes in Michigan, New York, and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum joined Canada and Chinawhich was also hit Tuesday with a doubling of duties on goods to 20 percentin promising to respond to the tariff hikes imposed by the Trump administration. "There is no motive or reason, nor justification that supports this decision that will affect our people and our nations," she said during a daily news conference in Mexico City, signaling that she would announce US products to be targeted by Mexico on Sunday. The Trump administration has reportedly engaged in confidential negotiations with Hamas regarding the possible release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza, according to a report by Axios on Wednesday. The discussions, which mark a historic first for the US, were held in Doha over the past few weeks by Adam Boehler, the U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs, said media reports. This development is significant because the US has never directly engaged with Hamas before, having designated it a terrorist organization in 1997. The US had earlier held talks with Taliban with respect to Afghanistan as well. While President Trump has consistently taken a hardline stance against Hamas, warning of severe consequences and even suggesting a potential U.S. takeover of Gaza, these behind-the-scenes negotiations signal an unprecedented shift in approach. Currently, Hamas holds 59 hostages in Gaza, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirming that 35 are deceased. Among the remaining captives, five are American citizens. Meanwhile, in a separate development, Israel has sworn in Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir as the new military chief of staff, replacing Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who resigned following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem was overseen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving total victory against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups. During the ceremony, Halevi acknowledged the militarys failures on October 7, emphasizing the need for a national commission of inquiry to investigate the security lapses that led to the devastating attack. While the Israeli military and intelligence agency Shin Bet have conducted their own reviews, Halevi stressed that an independent national probe, including political leadership, is necessary to identify the root causes and implement reforms. The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) has issued a warning regarding fake websites and phishing scams targeting the public. Following a request from AMCM, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macau) and Bank of China (Macau) have alerted users via their mobile apps, social media, and websites. The AMCM advises the public to be cautious when asked for personal, bank card, or account information through suspicious links. If in doubt, individuals should contact the bank or the Judiciary Police. Related Before departing for Beijing, Chief Executive (CE) Sam Hou Fai met with local economists and scholars to hear their opinions and suggestions on preparing this years Policy Address. During the meeting, Pang Chuan, vice-rector of the Macau University of Science and Technology and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, noted President Xi Jinpings visit and commented on ideas for building a hub for high-quality international talent. He suggested that the government invest more in the Science and Technology Development Fund and establish a mechanism to attract international talent and support the diversification of Macaus economy. In turn, Samuel Tong, president of the Macao Institute of Management and chairman of the board of directors of the Macao Political Economy Research Association, suggested that the government create a mechanism for human capital accumulation and promote the comprehensive upgrading and conversion of traditional industries. He added that the government should accelerate the second phase of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and fully seize the opportunities presented by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). Meanwhile, Matthew Liu, director of the University of Macau (UM) Centre for Continuing Education, professor at the University of Macaus Faculty of Business Administration, and a member of the Economic Development Council, suggested that the government capitalize on the advantages of the One country, two systems policy and attract international companies to Hengqin. At the same time, it should efficiently utilize some unused land in Macau and introduce international capital into tenders. At the same meeting, Ricardo Siu, associate professor of UMs School of Business Administration, pointed out that Macau should strengthen the development of the local economy, support the technological transformation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leverage its unique tourism resources to increase visitor spending, prepare for uncertainties in the financial market, and organize the government budget more efficiently and prudently. At the same meeting, Henry Lei, associate head of UMs Faculty of Business Administration and vice-president of the board of directors of the Macau Economic Association, argued that the government should help SMEs enhance their business capacity, provide business diagnostic services, actively attract investment, and focus on attracting technology firms to Macau to create more opportunities for innovation. Loi Hoi Ngan, associate professor at the Centre for Political, Economic, and Social Studies of the Macao Polytechnic University and vice-president of the board of the Strategic Research Centre for Macao Development, suggested that the governments policymaking should focus on consolidating economic foundations and fostering innovation. He also advocated for increasing government purchases from local SMEs, unlocking data islands, leveraging data for precise policy formulation, and strengthening Guangdong-Macau cooperation. Lei Ngan Leng, chairwoman of the Grand Thought Think Tank and executive president of the GBA Institute of the City University of Macau, recommended that the government improve overall planning and coordination, draft the third five-year plan of the SAR, enhance the efficiency of interdepartmental work, streamline policy communication, establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism, and enhance urban planning and management to improve public well-being and sustainable socio-economic development. Other members of the think tank, including Wang Changbin, Liu Chengkun, Song Yanan, and Chan Kin Sun, also shared their perspectives on promoting the healthy development of the gaming industry, supporting SMEs, integrating Macau and Hengqin, expanding the skilled labor pool, developing the maritime economy, advancing elderly care policies and social security systems, and expanding e-governance initiatives. Lawmaker Cheung Kin Chung, honorary president of the Union of Macau Scholars, pointed out that visitors consumption patterns in Macau have changed, making them more cautious and selective. He suggested that the government focus on attracting high-spending visitors, promoting tourism across different districts, creating distinctive tourist zones, and developing major landmark projects to boost the citys cultural and tourism industries. Lao Pun Lap noted that many local SMEs face operational challenges due to declining consumer demand in a complex economic environment. He urged the government to strengthen support for SMEs, helping them innovate and adapt to market changes. Other members of the Union of Macau Scholars, including Lin Zhijun and former lawmaker Mak Soi Kun, also expressed their views on enhancing coordination between the In-depth Cooperation Zone and Macau in civil and commercial matters, fostering non-gaming industries, improving employment competitiveness, upgrading urban infrastructure, and attracting consumers to the Cooperation Zone. The CE acknowledged the suggestions and emphasized the importance of addressing global economic instability and uncertainty. He highlighted that shifts in financial cycles and consumer behavior pose new challenges. He stressed that the government must address the unbalanced development of Macaus economy, continue promoting industrial diversification, and support the sustainable development of SMEs. He encouraged experts and scholars to continue providing constructive opinions, collaborate on long-term planning, and help the public better understand the governments economic and policy direction. China announced yesterday it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with U.S. companies. The tariffs announced by the Commerce Ministry are due to take effect from March 10. They follow U.S. President Donald Trumps order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20% across the board. Those took effect yesterday. Imports of U.S. grown chicken, wheat, corn and cotton will face an extra 15% tariff, it said. The tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafoods, fruit, vegetables and dairy products will be increased by 10%. Also yesterday, Beijing placed 10 more U.S. firms on its unreliable entity list, which would bar them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and from making new investments in the country. The firms listed are TCOM, Partnership; Stick Rudder Enterprises LLC; Teledyne Brown Engineering; Huntington Ingalls Industries; S3 AeroDefense; Cubic Corporation; TextOre; ACT1 Federal; Exovera and Planate Management Group. The addition of the 10 companies comes after China last month added two firms, fashion company PVH Group and biotechnology company Illumina, to the unreliable entities list. Separately, China added 15 U.S. companies to its export control list, including aerospace and defense companies like General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others. China has decided to include 15 U.S. entities that endanger Chinas national security and interests in the export control list, prohibiting the export of dual-use items to them, the ministry said in a statement. Chinas is a major importer of American farm products, though its purchases dipped after Trump launched a trade war during his first term in office, and then recovered. In 2021-22, the United States logged record export values to China for soybeans, corn, beef, chicken meat, tree nuts, and sorghum. Cotton exports to China also rebounded, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. farm exports to China totaled $33.8 billion in fiscal 2023 and $36.4 billion in fiscal 2022. But China has been diversifying its sources for farm imports, buying more soybeans from Brazil and Argentina, among other growers. The Commerce Ministry included about two dozen U.S. farm exports subject to additional 15% tariffs, including chicken feet and wings, and 711 items subject to an extra 10% tariff. MDT/AP Data supplied by the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) and analyzed by the Times revealed that the Continuing Education and Development Scheme (Continuing Education) has benefited less than one-quarter of its targeted population. According to official statistics from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) from the 2021 Census, the population of Macau aged 15 and older (~85%) has remained around 580,000 people over the past few years. In response to the Times, the DSEDJ noted that more than 125,000 residents participated in the previous triennial Continuing Education program (2020-2023). This figure accounts for just 21.6% of the targeted population of about 580,000 people. The 2020-2023 Continuing Education and Development Scheme saw the participation of more than 125,000 residents, with a total of about 258,000 enrollments, the DSEDJ stated in response to the Times inquiry. In the same response, the DSEDJ also noted that the Continuing Education and Development Scheme aims to create favorable conditions for lifelong learning, encouraging Macau residents aged 15 and older as of January 1 of the relevant scheme commencement year to enhance their personal qualities, capabilities, and skills by pursuing continuing education or obtaining certification. This, in turn, contributes to Macaus economic and industrial diversification and the development of a learning society. The education authorities also highlighted that among those who enrolled in programs between 2020 and 2023, residents aged between 15 and 39 accounted for a larger proportion, with most opting for vocational skills development courses. The scheme has been criticized several times for its inefficiency and high incidence of fraud. Following several cases of wrongdoing by institutions and applicants, the DSEDJ enforced various changes to verify program attendance records. Many residents also criticized the schemes limited options for those who do not read and write Chinese, as almost all courses offered require such language skills. There has also been public criticism that the scheme is not focused on providing residents with practical skills that could enhance their employability. Comments on social media also suggested that some residents have misused this government subsidy by falsely claiming eligibility to attend yoga classes, the gym, and other leisure and recreational activities for which the program was not intended. The DSEDJ also noted that in the current triennial scheme (2023-2026), which started on July 1, 2023, some 64,000 residents have taken part in relevant activities, involving about 116,000 enrollments. This data covers enrollments until January 2025, 19 months into the plans 36-month duration. Projections indicate that the current plan is expected to yield similar participation rates as the 2020-2023 cycle. Many residents cite lack of time as a barrier When questioned by the Times, several Macau residents revealed that they had never used the scheme since its inception, while others stated that they had only used it to obtain a driving license. Most residents aged 25 and older said they were unable to attend any of the courses due to work duties and irregular work shifts. Most of those who had recently enrolled in a course under the Continuing Education Scheme were students and young graduates, who reported doing so while unemployed and searching for a job. Among the most frequently mentioned courses were baking and barista/latte art. Lawmaker proposes major revamp Recently, lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho announced plans to submit a suggestion to the Chief Executive (CE) before the 2025 Policy Address. His proposal includes several benefits for the population, one of which is the MOP 6,000 subsidy for Continuing Education programs. Pereira Coutinho argued that the scheme has not reached a significant portion of the population and that much of the allocated funding ultimately remains unused and returns to government accounts. He suggested that a more effective and practical approach would be to distribute this sum directly as part of the governments cash handouts. This would allow each eligible recipient to use the funds based on their individual needs. The lawmaker emphasized that people face different financial situations and, while some might use the money to finance their studies, others might need it for more urgent expenses, such as food or rent. He also pointed out that elderly residents require different types of support than younger people, a factor the current benefit structure fails to consider. To address these concerns, he proposed that the government redistribute its financial resources more effectively by either increasing the amount of cash handouts or introducing a new round of consumption cards, ensuring that public funds benefit both residents and local businesses. The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) said that it is currently assisting families affected by the blaze in the Jardim Cidade building in Toi San on Wednesday. The fire, which began around 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, was located in a 19th-floor unit of Block 2. Preliminary investigations suggest a gas leak may have been the cause. Five people were injured, including a two-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl, both of whom sustained third-degree burns. A 53-year-old Vietnamese domestic worker also suffered second-degree burns. All three lived in the affected unit. In response, the Lok Chon Center of the General Union of Macau Residents Associations has been providing support at the scene, while the Tamagnini Barbosa Community Center of the Federation of Macau Workers Associations has been opened to provide temporary shelter. Approximately 30 residents are currently resting at the center, with staff offering assistance and attending to their needs. Around 300 people were evacuated from the building, and authorities continue to investigate the cause of the fire. Local employees of a gaming operator have allegedly been unfairly dismissed without explanation, prompting calls for a thorough government investigation into the matter. Lawmaker Ron Lam highlighted the issue in a social media post after receiving reports from affected employees. According to Lam, several workers sought his assistance after being unexpectedly terminated on February 28. The employees claim they were dismissed without prior notice, explanation, or the option for a job transferactions they describe as unreasonable dismissal. Several employees from various departments at the gaming operator were abruptly let go without any reason or explanation, Lam said. Lam voiced opposition to the layoffs, stating that they raise questions about the companys corporate social responsibility and adherence to its commitment to prioritizing local employment. He urged authorities to investigate and take action to safeguard local jobs. According to the lawmaker, multiple employees across various departments were dismissed without a stated cause. Some affected workers cited industry speculation that the government had permitted gaming operators to carry out layoffs, with only one major company yet to do so. The affected employees also mentioned that earlier this year, there were already rumors circulating in the industry that the government had approved gaming operators to lay off staff, the lawmaker said. Lam stated that while Macaus economy has yet to make a full recovery, gaming operators have swiftly bounced back to profitability, employing over 27,000 non-resident workers as of June 2024. He then warned that if major gaming operators begin dismissing local employees without justification, it could negatively impact the community and set a concerning precedent for the employment sector. In this context, if the six gaming operators unjustifiably terminate local employees, it will not only be unacceptable to the community but also set a troubling precedent, he warned. He further emphasized, This will worsen Macaus already severe employment challenges. The government must take decisive action to investigate and put a stop to this practice. He called on the government to conduct an investigation and clarify the policies allowing gaming enterprises to lay off local employees without offering alternative employment options. A recent survey conducted by the Macau Management Association between May and August last year indicates that economic recovery has positively impacted promotion opportunities within enterprises. The survey, which gathered responses from 1,042 individuals via an online questionnaire, shows that the proportion of respondents who have not been promoted has decreased to approximately 44%. The survey also found that around 74% of respondents do not intend to change jobs. Those who are considering a job switch are primarily employed in the hotel, catering, and wholesale/retail sectors. Meanwhile, only 9% of respondents expressed an interest in starting their own business. According to the association, the findings reflect a growing preference for job stability among residents. The association noted that starting a business has become more challenging compared to the past, as modern entrepreneurship now often requires a strong professional skillset or technological expertise. Nowadays, people prefer stable employment, which also indicates that post-pandemic, they place greater value on their current jobs. In the past, starting a business was easier, even for lower-level entrepreneurs. However, todays entrepreneurial environment demands professional skills to succeed, the group said. The association recommended that employees focus on self-improvement, regularly assess their career goals, and develop cross-sectoral skills, adding that companies should enhance salaries and benefits while implementing a transparent promotion mechanism. The group suggested that the government should review labor-related regulations periodically and establish a structured seniority framework to foster stronger cooperation with the Greater Bay Area. LV Taiwans defense minister says the island is planning to boost military spending in the face of the rapidly changing international situation and the escalating threats from adversaries. Wellington Koo gave no figures but said leader William Lai Ching-te was working with the ministry in consideration of enemy threats and urgent readiness needs, a reference to Chinas threats to invade the island, part of greater Chinas territory. Those would increase the proportion of the defense budget in relation to GDP, Koo said, in comments Monday that were embargoed until yesterday. Taiwan currently spends about 2.45% of its gross domestic product on its military. At the same time, in coordination with national security and foreign policy, the military will continue to deepen cooperation with the United States and other allied nations, expanding multilateral military exchanges to jointly uphold regional peace and stability, Koo said. Taiwan sees a growing threat from China, which regularly sends ships and aircraft into areas near Taiwan. China is expected to announce its annual defense budget today. Xinhua, Chinas state-run news agency, reported that senior Chinese official Wang Huning during an annual meeting about Taiwan had called for China to take the initiative in cross-strait relations and push toward the reunification of the motherland. The government in Taipei condemned Chinas military exercises last week after Beijing designated an area to conduct shooting drills off the self-governed islands southwest coast. Along with the latest equipment, the military is seeking funds to increase retention of service people through higher pay, and will need additional funds to accommodate a lengthening of compulsory national service from four months to one year. United States President Donald Trump has also demanded the self-governing island that relies on the U.S. for much of its cutting-edge weaponry, increase defense spending to up to 10% of GDP, a proportion well above what the U.S. or any of its major allies spend. Chinas actions have also unsettled neighbors in the South China Sea and other parts of the Indo-Pacific. Leaders in Australia and New Zealand also said China should have given them more warning before its navy conducted an unusual series of live fire exercises in the seas between the two countries last month, forcing flights to divert on short notice. MDT/AP Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and shoring up the economy are among the issues expected to top the agenda when the National Peoples Congress (NPC) meets today in Beijing. Almost 2,900 delegates have arrived in Beijing for the annual session of the parliament. Concomitantly, an advisory body of business leaders, athletes and academics, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, convened yesterday. The two bodies concurrent meetings are known as the Two Sessions. The weeklong parliamentary session helps to signal government priorities for the year. Premier Li Qiang is expected to announce an economic growth target of around 5%, in line with the past couple of years. The meetings come as Chinas economy struggles with sluggish consumption, a lengthy property crisis, ballooning government debt and a possible renewed trade war with the United States. yesterday, Beijing announced additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports on U.S. farm products including chicken, pork, soy and beef. The move came in retaliation for an increase in flat U.S. tariffs on Chinese products from 10% to 20% that came in effect at the same time. Undoubtedly, the adverse impacts brought by the external environment have deepened, and Chinas economy still faces some difficulties and challenges, said Lou Qinjian, spokesman for the National Peoples Congress in a news conference ahead of the session. Internationally, rising economic and political uncertainties make it harder to stabilize external demand. Domestically, demand is insufficient, and some enterprises are experiencing operational difficulties, he added. The government is expected to announce some measures to boost consumption such as increasing the deficit ratio from 3% to 4%, though massive stimulus is unlikely. Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence may also feature in policy announcements. Lou described Chinas breakthrough DeepSeek AI model, unveiled earlier this year, as an example of the countrys innovative and inclusive approach to technology. The delegates are also set to review a law aimed at improving market conditions for private enterprises, as part of the governments wider effort to signal support for the public sector to shore up growth. Chinese President Xi Jinping met in February with business leaders, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, signaling support at the highest level of leadership. Xi realizes he needs the private sector to keep his underlying priorities chugging along, said Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Improving Chinas innovation capabilities, improving Chinas technological self-reliance the private sector is pretty good at this stuff, and Xi wants to harness rather than set free the private sector energy to achieve these goals. Beijing is also expected to unveil its defense budget for 2025. Last year, China announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget, which is the worlds second-highest behind the United States. SIMINA MISTREANU, BEIJING, MDT/AP Ukrainians woke up yesterday to news that the Trump administration has paused military aid for their fight against Russias invasion, days after a disastrous Oval Office row that has deepened a rift between Kyiv and the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump directed the U.S. to pause all assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in peace talks with Russia. The decision appears to halt arms deliveries approved under the Biden administration, but it was not clear whether deliveries of ammunition for weapons systems already in Ukraine would be affected. I feel betrayed, but this feeling is not really deep for some reason. I was expecting something like that from Trumps side, said a Ukrainian soldier fighting in Russias Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a daring military incursion in August 2024 to improve its hand in negotiations. The soldier spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about his thoughts as he was not authorized to speak to the press. Other said the move has left even greater confusion about Donald Trumps intentions. The problem is that its unclear what Trump wants and what the purpose of his actions is, said Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. As of today, it appears that he is increasingly siding with Russia and trying to pressure Ukraine into accepting Russias demands. This looks terribleforcing the weaker side to accept the terms of the stronger aggressor, he told The Associated Press. Kyiv has feared the possibility of aid being stopped to Ukraine ever since Trump took office, and the U.S.-Ukraine relationship has taken a downturn in recent weeks as Trumps team launched bilateral talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine and Trumps demeanor toward Zelenskyy has become increasingly dismissive. Russias state RIA Novosti news agency quoted Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who chairs the defense committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, predicting that Ukraine would exhaust its current ammunition reserves within months. We need to keep up the pressure and continue to target their bases and depots with long-range precision weapons to destroy the stockpiles, he said. Trump said yesterday [Macau time] that he is still interested in signing a deal that would hand over a share of Ukraines minerals to the United States, an agreement that Zelenskyy has also said he is ready to sign. By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to continue marching west, said Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group. Razom for Ukraine urges the White House to immediately reverse course, resume military aid and pressure Putin to end his horrific invasion. SAMYA KULLAB, KYIV, MDT/AP The high-stakes race for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is just weeks away, but many voters still havent heard enough about the candidates to form an opinion, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll. The poll, released Wednesday, comes less than a month before the April 1 election where Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Republican-backed Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel are running for a seat that will determine ideological control of the court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. The February poll did not include head-to-head matchups between the two candidates, or Democratic-backed incumbent Jill Underly and Republican-backed Brittany Kinser in the race for state superintendent. I want to appreciate that were a month away from the election and more than half of the registered voters dont have an opinion of three out of the four candidates, Poll Director Charles Franklin said. Theres going to be a lot of advertising between now and Election Day. People will come to opinions and some of them will show up and vote, but its a long time away and I think trying to handicap the race this far out with this much unawareness isnt a great idea. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said theyve heard or read a lot about the court race, while 42% have heard a little, and 19% have heard nothing at all. Awareness of the race to head the Department of Public Instruction was even lower, with only 18% of respondents saying theyve heard a lot about the race, while 47% have heard a little and 35% have heard nothing. Among all four candidates, Schimel, who served as attorney general under Republican former Gov. Scott Walker, held the most name recognition, with 61% of respondents saying they have an opinion of him. Of those, 29% said they have a favorable view of Schimel, while 32% had an unfavorable view. Another 38% said they dont know enough about him to form an opinion. Only 42% of respondents held an opinion of Crawford, with 19% having a favorable view and 23% having an unfavorable view. Another 58% of respondents said they hadnt heard enough about her to form an opinion. Schimel launched his campaign in late 2023, while Crawford entered the race last summer. Forty-one percent of respondents said they are very enthusiastic and certain to vote on April 1. Among those individuals, 42% had a favorable view of Schimel, while 43% had an unfavorable opinion. Thirty-three percent of those respondents viewed Crawford favorably, while 32% viewed her unfavorably. Both candidates have been spending heavily on the race, with Schimel raising $5 million by the end of January, while Crawford had raised more than $7.3 million. Outside groups and political parties are also spending millions on the race. Billionaire Elon Musk has spent more than $5 million on the race through two political action groups and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced Tuesday plans to spend more than $1 million to punch back at Musks efforts and support Crawford. Respondents were even less informed on the race to head DPI, where incumbent superintendent Underly, who is seeking a second term in office, faces Kinser, an advocate of the states private school voucher program and public charter schools. In that race, 36% of respondents had an opinion of Underly, with 16% viewing her favorably and 20% viewing her unfavorably. Only 29% of respondents had an opinion of Kinser, with 13% viewing her favorably and 16% viewing her unfavorably. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they dont know enough about Underly, while 71% said the same of Kinser. Let me remind you that this survey went in the field the day after the primary for the DPI race, so its not as if we hadnt had an election that determined who the runoff candidates were going to be, Franklin said. But the schools race just isnt getting as much attention as the Supreme Court race, even though the Supreme Court race itself is still fairly low on attention. The poll was conducted Feb. 19-26 and interviewed 864 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 4.6%. Today, Netflix has released a new series, The Leopard, based on the 1958 book of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which follows the last days of a dying Sicilian prince in the time of Italian reunification. We publish below a review of that 1958 classic by Stan Laight. [Note: the following review contains spoilers.] As bad as the Italian government may be, if there is no opportunity to overthrow it easily, I think it is better to stick to Dantes great concept: Making Italy even with the devil. Giuseppe Garibaldi The Leopard [Il Gattopardo] (1958) is cited as one of the greatest books of the 20th century. It is an account of Italian unification from the point of view of a Sicilian prince, Don Fabrizio of Salina, who is helpless to the revolutionary transformations taking place around him. Written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, himself a prince, it describes equally the extravagance and decay of a moribund aristocracy. It serves as a richly illustrated and profound insight into the balance of class forces during Italys bourgeois revolution and unification. Lampedusa was dying when he wrote the book and his existential worries are woven throughout The Leopard. He bemoans the demise of the aristocracy from his class perspective and describes Don Fabrizio coming to terms with his own mortality. Its most famous line is, Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come e', bisogna che tutto cambi. [If we want everything to remain the same, everything must change.] In other words, if the aristocracy wants to retain its wealth and privileges then it must compromise with the new bourgeoisie elements. Lampedusa struggled to get The Leopard published during his lifetime. But shortly after the books release, it was the subject of a 1963 film adaptation, deemed on par with Gone with the Wind. This year, there is also an upcoming Netflix series. But what relevance does The Leopard hold for today? The development of Italian capitalism Before England and the Netherlands, capitalism emerged in an immature form in the divided Italian city-states, centred around Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Milan. The ideas adopted and developed by the European bourgeoisie originated mainly from these city-states during the Renaissance. Given its headstart in bourgeois development, one may have assumed that a new bourgeois society would emerge fully formed throughout the Italian peninsula. Yet by the 19th century, capitalist development in Italy was sluggish and, compared to Britain and France, economically backwards. How did this happen? The rounding of the Cape and the discovery of the Americas by other European powers provided a hitherto unprecedented impetus to the expansion of trade / Image: public domain The rounding of the Cape and the discovery of the Americas by other European powers provided a hitherto unprecedented impetus to the expansion of trade. These new trade routes and markets bypassed the Italian city-states domination of Mediterranean trade. The Italian city-states clung to their Mediterranean trade routes and failed to keep up with the rapidly growing colonial powers. Alien oppression by the Austrian and Bourbon monarchs, alongside the Pope and the Catholic Church (which ruled the Papal States, stretching across central Italy), acted as a mighty fetter on society and further retarded the development of Italian capitalism, blocking any movement towards unification, and thus a modern bourgeoisie and proletariat. Feudal absolutism assisted in sketching the outlines of nation-states by developing a national market. However, this wasnt the case in Italy or Germany. Here, the necessary economic and social forces were too weak to carry out a bourgeois revolution in its classic form, like in England or France. In Italy, the old aristocracy and the rising bourgeoisie were each too weak to dominate the other. Instead, they reached a compromise that Italy would be united under a parliamentary monarchy. It required Piedmont the most economically advanced of the Italian states, which had the support of France to expel Austria from Northern Italy in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859 (the first war was during the revolutionary wave of 1848). As for the south and Sicily (known as The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by a Bourbon dynasty), the Piedmontese king had no plans to unify it with the north, partly because this would have also meant attacking the Popes territories. It was through a revolutionary act of military daring led by Giuseppe Garibaldi that the unification of the south and north began. This is the starting point of The Leopard. Transitions in Sicilian society Lampedusas prose describes the searing beauty of the Sicilian landscape. He often pictures it as an ancient landscape, undisturbed for centuries, excluding the gentle work of the peasantry in the arid hills and valleys. But, many changes were afoot in Sicilian society in the early 1800s. Lampedusas prose describes the searing beauty of the Sicilian landscape / Image: public domain A bourgeoisie was emerging in Sicily, the galantuomini. This new class slowly purchased portions of land from the aristocracy and seized communal lands from the peasantry. The Sicilian bourgeoisie grew powerful and were feared by even the King of Naples, who felt unable to enforce the rights to communal lands for fear of antagonising them into outright revolution. The galantuomini desired to raise themselves to the level of aristocrats. Their class aspirations are shown by the marriage of Don Fabrizios nephew to the daughter of a wealthy local businessman called Don Calogero Sedera. Don Calogero has risen from humble beginnings and acquired many acres of cheap land, which he intends to modernise. Hes portrayed with a certain crudeness and lack of refinement in contrast to the elegant Fabrizio. However, in a discussion between the two, it becomes apparent that they are almost as wealthy as one another, much to Don Fabrizios annoyance. From their encounters, Calogero comes to view the aristocracy as, ...sheep-like creatures, who existed merely in order to give up their wool to his shears, and their names and incomprehensible prestige to his daughter. (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard, Vintage, 2007, pg 103) Yet as Italy was uniting, the weak bourgeois could not play a completely independent role. They looked to the aristocracy to provide some form of legitimacy to their newly conquered positions in society. For example, Calogero is desperate to prove that he is of aristocratic heritage, and so researches an elusive Salina lineage that would cement his land purchases. But Fabrizio understands that the unity of their families in these times means ...the end of the Falconeri and of the Salina too. (ibid pg 91) To be replaced with what, however, Fabrizio is unsure. Garibaldis Expedition of the Thousand After the success of the Piedmontese against Austria in Northern Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi led 1,000 men to victory in Sicily on 11 May 1860. This expedition has bestowed a legendary status upon Garibaldi as one of historys most skilled military leaders. In just three months he overthrew the Bourbon regime. After the success of the Piedmontese against Austria in Northern Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi led 1,000 men to victory in Sicily / Image: public domain In the opening pages of The Leopard, the news of the arrival of Garibaldi and his redshirts (or Garibaldini) causes Don Fabrizios noble wife to go into a state of hysteria. They are in the middle of their religious rituals, which have probably been repeated for centuries by their ancestors. For the pious Falconeri family, Garibaldi, the demonic revolutionary of the 1848-49 Roman Republic, appears as a sinister force out to destroy their world. However, with the seemingly swift victory and the popularity of Garibaldis forces, the family can only patiently wait for their fate. They await the ransacking of their palace. But it never comes. In fact, when the Garibaldini arrive, they are cordial, polite and considerate to the Don Fabrizios. Their fears of outright overthrow subside but they remain anxious about their place in the changing society. During one outing to Church, Don Fabrizios family notices fading slogans written on the houses; Viva Garibaldi, Viva King Vittorio, and Death to the Bourbon King! When they arrive, Fabrizios young nephew, Tancredi, is met by a crowd of peasants with great curiosity. Tancredi took part on the side of the Garibaldini in the Battle of Palermo and is viewed as an aristocratic liberal. Lampedusa omits from The Leopard an episode which helps explain why the Sicilian aristocracy was not overthrown. When Garibaldis men landed, the peasantry rose up anticipating that the Garibaldini would support them against the hated landlords and nobles. Their hopes would soon be dashed. When the peasantry revolted to force their demands, they were brutally put down by Garibaldi's men. The peasantry were betrayed. Instead of a republic, what they got was the replacement of the Bourbon king for the Piedmontese king. An Italian nation fit for a king Later in the novel, Don Fabrizio is invited by a visiting government representative from Turin to run as a senator in the new Italian states upper house. He refuses. He explains that he feels incapable of participating in politics when he represents an old order. Fabrizio is acutely aware of the impending decline of his class and recognises the inevitability of change. Yet, he remains largely passive too weak to resist the rise of the bourgeoisie at his expense. In this scene, we can see the semi-autobiographical character of the book. Lampedusa himself was invited by the National Monarchist Party to run as an election candidate in 1948 but refused. Fabrizio recommends Don Calogero instead, much to the reluctance of the government representative, who sees Calogero as unfit for political leadership. Even the Prince acknowledges that the revolution has given an impetus to the ideas of Proudhon and some German Jew whose name I can't remember, but at the same time recognises the inability of his class to halt them. In his view, it is better to leave it to the likes of ruthless Don Calogero to stave off a revolution by the Proudhonists or Marxists. After all, the Prince had witnessed Calogero rig the local plebiscite in favour of Italian unification. He expects that this bourgeois cunning could handle the revolutionaries in the streets and Senate. The aristocracys power partly rested on the peasantry, who lived brutally harsh lives on the vast estates. Nevertheless, Fabrizios faithful friend and hunting companion is a conservative peasant called Don Ciccio Tumeo. He despises the marriage of the Salina and Falconeri families and is seething when he admits to Fabrizio that he voted no in the plebiscite but that his vote was changed to yes. A crisis of faith Whilst the aristocracy saw a future in the new bourgeois Italian nation, the Catholic Church recoiled in horror at the prospect. The Church in alliance with the aristocracy had kept the peasantry in a state of economic and cultural backwardness for centuries. The Church's expropriation and overthrow was a goal of Garibaldi until he was prevented by Victor Emanuel from marching on Rome / Image: public domain The Pope fervently opposed national unification for fear of expropriation of Church property. However, its expropriation and overthrow was a goal of Garibaldi until he was prevented by Victor Emanuel from marching on Rome. Don Fabrizios religious sidekick is a Jesuit priest called Father Pirrone. This passage from Father Pirrone perfectly sums up the reason why a united bourgeois Italy scared the Church so much, Briefly, then, you nobles will come to an agreement with the Liberals, and yes, even with the Masons, at our expense, at the expense of the Church. Then, of course, our property, which is the patrimony of the poor, will be seized and carved up among the most brazen of their leaders; and who will then feed all the destitute sustained and guided by the Church today? (ibid pg 28) Under the protection of Napoleon IIIs troops, the Pope in Rome resisted unification until 1870, when the troops were called away to the Franco-Prussian War. Decades prior, Marx and Engels saw the unification of Germany and Italy into nation-states as linked due to their shared connections to Austria. The result of the Franco-Prussian War was unification for both Germany and Italy, vindicating the perspective of Marx and Engels. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa The Leopard is remarkably accurate in how it unravels the process of Italian unification a period of protracted transition and its effect on the psychology of the ruling classes. Lampedusas ability to vividly describe them comes from, on the one hand, his own life as the last of an aristocratic Sicilian family, and on the other hand, his devouring of European literature, art, culture and his many foreign trips. Lampedusa was born in 1896 into an aristocratic Sicilian family with a long and prestigious history. He grew up in a palace (Palazzo Lampedusa) in Palermo as a quiet, shy, single child smothered by his mothers fussing. The Lampedusa inheritance was increasingly divided up, argued over, and squandered until there was so little left that it was barely worth claiming a portion. Apart from a post in the Italian army during WWI and a short stint working for the Red Cross at the end of WWII, much of his life was spent travelling to visit libraries, meet wealthy friends, and attend their lavish balls. Over time, he increasingly shied away from socialising and remained aloof to important matters. Politically, he was a conservative. When Mussolini was handed power by King Victor Emmanuel III, Lampedusa gave lukewarm support to fascism to maintain the monarchy and as a bulwark against communism. After WWII, he supported either Christian Democrats or Monarchists in elections, despite his dislike of the Catholic Church and recognition that Italy would remain a republic. Lampedusas passion for literature led him to learn several languages in order to discover more books in other languages. Literature was an obsession for him. His psychoanalyst and Latvian wife, Licy, described how he would sometimes not leave the house without a portable copy of some Shakespeare which he would read if something displeased him. He was unsatisfied with Italian writers and instead deeply admired literature from France and England. Lampedusa was acutely aware that he was the last in his family line and wanted to tell the story about the decline of not just a family but an aristocratic class, destined for extinction / Image: public domain When his cousin, Lucio Piccolo, produced some poems and was invited to a conference to read them in 1954, Lampedusa accompanied him. He had been thinking of writing his own novel for many years but only then found the impetus to begin writing. Lampedusa was acutely aware that he was the last in his family line and wanted to tell the story about the decline of not just a family but an aristocratic class, destined for extinction. What he produced was intense in its portrayal of the Sicilian landscape and households. The book is punctuated with clear and sharp political and historical points, as he neatly weaves them into everyday conversations. He used his great-grandfather, Giulio di Lampedusa, as the inspiration for the character Prince of Salina, Don Fabrizio. After two years of writing, his attempts to find a publisher throughout 1956-57 came to nothing. In those years, it was clear to him and his friends that he was very ill, although only 60 years old. On 23 July, he died in his sleep. His friend, Gioacchino, explained, The Leopard was a preparation for a good death a reconciliation between life and death. (D Gilmour, The Last Leopard, Quartet Books, 1988 pg 154) Process of change The overarching theme of the book is the process of change. The Prince and Father Pirrone grumble that their authority has fallen from outright control to being mere advisors. But they were lucky not to have been overthrown outright. As for the sons of aristocrats and petit-bourgeois who had fought in the Garibaldini, they either totted up their fortunes or joined the Piedmontese forces. When Tancredi and Count Cavriaghi appear before Don Fabrizio wearing the dazzling uniforms of the Piedmontese army, he jokes, But dont you Garibaldini wear red shirts any longer?, to which Tancredi scoffs, Garibaldini, Garibaldini indeed Uncle! [...] We couldnt stand that rabble long (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard, Vintage, 2007, pg 113) Indeed, Tancredi goes on to serve as a politician in the new Italian parliament, operating more and more in line with the bourgeoisie. Marxists are accused of disliking The Leopard because it depicts Don Fabrizio in a favourable light as a flawed prince who stoically and pragmatically allows change to happen. In reality, the likes of Don Fabrizio played a reactionary and counter-revolutionary role where they could in order to preserve their wealth and privileges. To expect an Italian prince to write a scathing Marxist analysis of his own class would be folly. Art and culture reflect the society in which they are created. The dominant ideas of society are the ideas of the ruling class and can be easily found in books, films, artworks, and theatre. However, in spite of his own reactionary leanings, Lampedusa faithfully and finely depicts the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the bourgeoisie. Arab leaders have embraced on March 4 an alternative reconstruction Plan for Gaza, proposed by Egypt, which aims to rebuild the war-torn region with a $53 billion investment. This plan, discussed during a Summit in Cairo yesterday, would focus on stabilizing Gaza without displacing Palestinians, a direct counter to former U.S. President Donald Trumps Middle East Riviera vision, which sought to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi highlighted the proposals importance, stating it would allow for the creation of an administrative committee of independent Palestinian technocrats to oversee the regions reconstruction while preparing for the eventual return of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The plan has been met with mixed reactions. While Hamas has agreed to the proposal, stating it will not field candidates for the administrative committee but will have input in its development, Israel has strongly criticised it. Israeli officials argue that the reliance on the PA is problematic, while Hamass continued governance of Gaza remains a major obstacle for both Israel and the U.S. The PA, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has also supported the Egyptian plan and expressed willingness to hold elections if the situation allows. However, Abbass legitimacy has been increasingly questioned, both internally and externally, with many Palestinians viewing his administration as corrupt and out of touch. Reconstruction efforts will require significant financial backing, particularly from oil-rich Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The reconstruction fund is expected to seek international financing, with the World Bank playing a key role in overseeing the process. However, divisions remain within the Arab states, with the UAE pushing for the disarmament of Hamas, while others favour a more gradual approach. Saudi Arabia has also called for international guarantees to maintain the ceasefire, reinforcing the PAs role in Gaza. Despite these challenges, the Egyptian plan offers a potential path forward, aiming for peace and stability in a region long marred by conflict. Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has declared that the mediation mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will no longer be welcomed in the country unless its envoys adhere to local laws and regulations. In a statement made on Tuesday March 4, Embalo criticized the ECOWAS mission for failing to present their roadmap to him for review and approval before engaging with various political factions in Guinea-Bissau, which he argued was a violation of proper protocol. Embalo emphasized that Guinea-Bissau should not be treated like a banana republic, stressing that the countrys sovereignty and laws must be respected by international organizations. He revealed that, due to the actions of the ECOWAS mission, he had ordered its expulsion from the country, making it clear that such behavior would not be tolerated. The ECOWAS mediation mission, which stayed in Guinea-Bissau from February 21 to 28, was aimed at fostering dialogue among political stakeholders and ensuring a peaceful electoral process ahead of the legislative and presidential elections scheduled for November 30. However, the missions actions have now led to a breakdown in its relationship with the Guinean government. A high-profile trial of around 40 prominent opposition figures began in Tunisia on Tuesday March 3, with lawyers, rights groups, and relatives claiming that the case is politically motivated. Among the defendants are diplomats, journalists, and politicians who have been vocal critics of President Kais Saied. The accused face serious charges, including plotting against state security and belonging to a terrorist group, with some potentially facing the death penalty if convicted. Human Rights Watch has condemned the trial, calling it a mockery based on abusive charges, while the UN has urged Tunisian authorities to end the persecution of political opponents. The trial has raised concerns over President Saieds increasing authoritarian control over the judiciary, which he has strengthened since dissolving parliament in 2021 and ruling by decree. Critics argue that the trial represents part of a broader crackdown on political dissent, with the presidents critics and opponents being targeted through the legal system. As the trial opened, defence lawyers expressed frustration over not being granted full access to the case files, with lawyer Abdelaziz Essid urging the court to end what he described as madness and absurdity. The trial involves key opposition figures, including former presidential chief of staff Nadia Akacha, ex-Ennahda leader Abdelhamid Jelassi, and prominent critic Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, some of whom have already fled the country. The mass trial has sparked widespread outrage, with protests erupting outside the court in Tunis. Activists have voiced their condemnation of what they describe as one of the darkest injustices in the countrys history. The head of the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, Bassam Trifi, expressed strong opposition to the trial, calling it an assault on justice and freedoms. Demonstrators carried banners reading No to remote trials, No to a judiciary that does not guarantee rights, freedom for political detainees, highlighting the growing discontent with Saieds administration and its impact on Tunisias legal and political systems. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: P-tau 181 and p-tau 217 immunoreactivity in muscle biopsies. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57144-7 Elevated levels of p-tau 181 and 217 in cerebrospinal fluid are considered to reflect early Alzheimer's disease pathology. However, biomarker detection, which is now part of the diagnostic criteria, requires a lumbar puncture that can be invasive for patients. Recent studies have shown that p-tau proteins can also be detected in the blood of AD patients through highly sensitive assays, which would make diagnosis much easier. "Experts were hoping for a breakthrough that would allow minimally invasive and cost-effective early detection of Alzheimer's disease in the general population," explains Professor Markus Otto, director of the University Clinic and Outpatient Clinic for Neurology at University Medicine Halle. In addition to AD, he is investigating the early detection of other neurological diseases before clinical symptoms appear. One such disease is ALS, a degenerative disease of the motor nervous system. "We have observed that the levels of p-tau 181 were elevated in the blood of ALS patients, but not in their cerebrospinal fluid, as is the case in AD patients. In order to uncover the causes of this phenomenon, we launched the largest study on the subject to date," explains the neurologist Professor Otto. In collaboration with colleagues from the universities of Milan, Mannheim and Ulm, the researcher examined 111 Alzheimer's patients and 152 patients with ALS and compared them with 122 control subjects who had no signs of AD or ALS. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. Blood p-tau: Not as Alzheimer's-specific as hoped, but still significant Not only were the researchers' suspicions confirmed, they also made further discoveries. "The levels of p-tau 181 in the blood of ALS patients are just as high as in patients with AD. We were able to show for the first time that blood p-tau 217 is also elevated in ALS patients. Our study confirms that both blood tests for the early detection of AD are not as disease-specific as previously thought. However, in this study we have also discovered that p-tau 181 and 217 might be potential biomarkers that could be suitable for early diagnosis of ALS or for monitoring disease progression and the effectiveness of new drugs. "Whatat first glancelooks like a setback for AD diagnostic assessment could help us understand and maybe improve the treatment of ALS and other muscle disorders," explains first author of the study Dr. Samir Abu Rumeileh, senior physician and clinician scientist at University Medicine Halle. P-tau proteins continue to play a significant role in the blood detection of early AD. "It is still possible to detect AD pathology, but not as precisely as one would like or in the way that is often suggested. A positive p-tau test could, for example, prompt physicians to perform other more informative diagnostic investigations, such as neuropsychological tests, imaging or cerebrospinal fluid analysis. However, our findings limit the potential of p-tau biomarkers as screening tests because of the overlap of disease parameters in the asymptomatic or early stages of AD and ALS, given the overlap in the biomarker concentrations between the two diseases," concludes Professor Otto. The approval of new antibody therapies for Alzheimer's in the U.S., and their expected approval in Europe, highlights the importance of research aimed at early disease detectionas only early treatment currently has the potential for success. Contrary to previous assumptions, the brain is not the only possible source of p-tau Mass spectrometry and immunohistochemical tissue analyses have shown that the muscle of ALS patients is capable of producing and expressing p-tau. "The assumption that these blood markers only originate from the brain is being challenged," explains Professor Otto. Other tissues and diseases, in particular neuromuscular diseases, could also influence the p-tau levels. These findings raise questions about the current theories of how tau pathology develops in AD patients and will keep scientists looking for answers in the near future. More information: Samir Abu-Rumeileh et al, Phosphorylated tau 181 and 217 are elevated in serum and muscle of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57144-7 Journal information: Nature Communications This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Australia's first clinical practice guideline on the appropriate use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a step closer following the publication of a new Monash-led study. The study, published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, assessed the current evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of MDMA-AP compared to psychotherapy alone among adults with PTSD. The researchers will use findings from the study, combined with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) process, to develop the Australian Clinical Practice Guideline on MDMA-AP for PTSD. In 2023, Australia became the first country to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin from Prohibited Substances (Schedule 9) to Controlled Substances (Schedule 8). This has allowed authorized prescribers to administer MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of PTSD and treatment-resistant depression outside of clinical trials, respectively. The ANZJP study found that despite improvement in PTSD outcomes following MDMA-AP, the evidence is of low to very-low certainty. The researchers analyzed 14 systematic reviews, of which four were considered high-quality. All 14 reviews included studies of one-to-three sessions of 50125mg MDMA-AP (some with supplemental dosage) compared to either 2540mg of MDMA or inactive placebo with psychotherapy. The study's lead author and Research Fellow at Monash's Center for Medicine Use and Safety (CMUS) within the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Alene Sze Jing Yong, said while the reviews showed a substantial overall improvement in PTSD symptoms, based on the four high-quality reviews, the evidence presented was insufficient or low-certainty due to several factors. "Overall, meta-analysis from the reviews reported benefits of MDMA-AP in improving PTSD symptoms, response rate and remission rate compared to psychotherapy alone after one-to-three sessions of MDMA-AP," Dr. Yong said. "However, for reviews that assessed the certainty of evidence pertaining to MDMA-AP efficacy, evidence that 80125mg of MDMA-AP results in a reduction in PTSD scores when compared to psychotherapy with active or inactive placebo was rated as low to very-low certainty. "This can be attributed to a number of factors including small sample sizes in clinical trials, results only being able to be applied to a very narrow population and concerns of 'unblinding,' whereby participants believe they know whether or not they have been administered MDMA. "Furthermore, most systematic reviews did not critically evaluate the effect of psychotherapy session, supplemental dosage, and intervention duration on the reported outcomes." In terms of safety, one high-quality systematic review comprehensively compared the risk of various adverse events between the intervention and control groups. However, this review concluded that the evidence about adverse events was limited by weaknesses in adverse event assessment and reporting, and the relatively short follow-up periods. Director of CMUS and a Senior Author on the study, Professor Simon Bell, said the outcomes from the ANZJP study, combined with a range of other factors, need to be considered to inform comprehensive recommendations on the use of MDMA-AP in clinical practice in Australia. "As far as next steps go, the high-quality systematic reviews identified in this overview can be used to assist in generating evidence profiles to be considered when making recommendations," Professor Bell said. "With Australia's rescheduling of MDMA from Schedule 9 to 8, a clinical practice guideline to support MDMA-AP in the clinic needs to include evidence of benefits and harms, certainty of the evidence, patient values and preferences, resources, equity, acceptability, and feasibility. "The guideline will be developed using an integrated knowledge translation approach, emphasizing the co-production of knowledge through active participation and shared decision-making with end-users." Promising results in Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials have led MDMA to be proposed as a potential pharmacological adjunct to psychotherapy on the premise that MDMA increases serotonin levels, which may reduce feelings of anxiety and depression and therefore potentially help some people with PTSD to revisit traumatic memories with more ease. PTSD is a debilitating mental health condition and a major public health concern due to its impact on daily functioning, association with suicidal ideation, chronic disease and premature death. It's experienced by an estimated 11% of Australians in their lifetime. Women are at almost twice the risk of men (14% and 8% respectively, ABS 2022), while specific groups such as people who experience homelessness, refugees, people experiencing domestic violence, LGBTQIA+ people, First Nations people and certain occupation groups (emergency services, armed forces and veterans) are all at higher risk of experiencing PTSD in their lifetime. Cognitive processing therapy or trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy are generally the first line management of PTSD, however it is estimated nearly half of patients with PTSD do not achieve clinically significant improvement with this approach, highlighting the need for new and innovative therapeutic interventions. More information: Alene Sze Jing Yong et al, Safety and efficacy of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy in post-traumatic stress disorder: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1177/00048674251315642 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This microfluidic device sorts tumor cells based on their adhesion strength. UC San Diego researchers are exploring cell adhesion as a physical marker of a tumor's metastatic potential. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering By assessing how "sticky" tumor cells are, researchers at the University of California San Diego have found a potential way to predict whether a patient's early-stage breast cancer is likely to spread. The discovery, made possible by a specially designed microfluidic device, could help doctors identify high-risk patients and tailor their treatments accordingly. The device, which was tested in an investigator-initiated trial, works by pushing tumor cells through fluid-filled chambers and sorting them based on how well they adhere to the chamber walls. When tested on tumor cells obtained from patients with different stages of breast cancer, researchers found a striking pattern: cells from patients with aggressive cancers were weakly adherent (less sticky), while cells from patients with less aggressive cancers were strongly adherent (more sticky). The findings were published on Mar. 5 in Cell Reports. "What we were able to show in this trial is that the physical property of how adhesive tumor cells are could be a key metric to sort patients into more or less aggressive cancers," said study senior author Adam Engler, a professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. "If we can improve diagnostic capabilities with this method, we could better personalize treatment plans based on the tumors that patients have." Previous research by Engler's lab, in collaboration with Anne Wallace, director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, had already established that weakly adherent cancer cells are more likely to migrate and invade other tissues compared to strongly adherent cells. Now with patient tumors, the team has taken this insight a step further, demonstrating that adhesion strength of tumor cells is variable and the next step will be to determine if adhesion can help forecast whether a patient's cancer is likely to metastasize. Their latest study examined cell adhesion in an early-stage breast cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Often classified as stage zero breast cancer, DCIS can remain harmless, never progressing beyond the milk ducts where it forms. But in some cases, it develops into invasive breast cancer that could be potentially life-threatening. Scientists and doctors have spent years trying to determine which cases require aggressive treatment and which can be left alone, but the answers have remained elusive. As tumor cells flow through these microfluidic chambers, they are subjected to increasing shear stress and sorted based on their adhesion strength. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Current clinical decisions often rely on the size and grade of the DCIS lesion, but these factors do not always predict its behavior. "Having a mechanism to better predict which DCIS is going to behave more aggressively, such as is seen with this adhesion model, could hold great promise to help us more aggressively treat this type of cancer," Wallace said. "We don't want to over-treat with aggressive surgery, medicines and radiation if not necessary, but we need to utilize those when the cancer has higher invasive potential. We want to continue to personalize therapy." "Right now, we don't have a reliable way to identify which DCIS patients are at risk of developing more aggressive breast cancer," Engler said. "Our device could change that." The team's device, which is roughly the size of an index card, consists of microfluidic chambers coated with adhesive proteins found in breast tissue, such as fibronectin. When tumor cells are placed into the chambers, they adhere to the fibronectin coating. They are then subjected to increasing shear stress as fluid flows through the chambers. By observing where cells detach under specific stress levels, researchers classify them as weakly or strongly adherent. The team tested the device on samples from 16 patients. These samples consisted of normal breast tissue, DCIS tumors, and aggressive breast cancer tumors obtained from patients with invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas. The experiments revealed that aggressive breast cancer samples contained weakly adherent cells, while normal breast tissue samples contained strongly adherent cells. DCIS samples showed intermediate adhesion levels, but with significant variability among patients. "What's interesting is that there is a lot of heterogeneity from patient to patient within a single disease subtype," said study co-first author Madison Kane, a bioengineering Ph.D. student in Engler's lab. "Among DCIS patients, for example, we found some with strongly adherent tumor cells and others with weakly adherent cells. We hypothesize that those with weakly adherent cells are at higher risk of developing invasive cancer, and they are likely being underdiagnosed at the beginning of their patient care plan." UC San Diego researchers tested their microfluidic device on tumor cells obtained from patients with different stages of breast cancer and found that cells from aggressive tumors were less "sticky," while those from less aggressive tumors were more sticky. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering The team plans to track DCIS patients over the next five years to determine whether adhesion strength correlates with metastatic progression. If their hypothesis holds, the device could offer oncologists a powerful new tool to guide treatment strategies, recommending more aggressive interventions for patients whose tumor cells show weak adhesion. "Our hope is that this device will allow us to prospectively identify those at highest risk, so that we can intervene before metastasis occurs," Engler said. This project highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Engler's bioengineering team worked closely with Wallace's team at Moores Cancer Center, which provided patient samples and support. "It's been a great partnership with Dr. Wallace and Moores Cancer Center," Engler said. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A new study has uncovered that a gene variant common in Oceanian communities was misclassified as a potential cause of heart disease, highlighting the risk of the current diversity gap in genomics research which can pose a greater risk for misdiagnosis of people from non-European ancestries. Led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and published in the European Heart Journal, the researchers describe the cases of two individuals of Pacific Island ancestries who carry a genetic variant previously thought to be a likely cause for their inherited cardiomyopathy, which the team found to be common among healthy individuals from Oceanian regions. "Without greater inclusion of people of different ancestries, the benefits of genomics will continue to leave people of non-European descent behind, perpetuating existing gaps in health care," says senior author Associate Professor Jodie Ingles, Head of the Clinical Genomics Lab and Director of the Genomics and Inherited Disease Program at Garvan. "Our study reaffirms the dangers of having a lack of genetic diversity in genomic reference groups and points to our urgent need to invest time and resources to ensure no community is left behind." Rare gene variant found to be common Between the DNA of any two people, there are millions of letter differences, or genetic variants. These variants determine our looks, how our body functions, but they can also influence our risk of disease, including some of the most commonheart disease, diabetes and some cancers. While scientific advances in genomics have been transformative for our ability to diagnose and treat disease, most genetic studies have focused on people of European descent. In the current report, Associate Professor Ingles' team at the Garvan Institute investigated a genetic variant they found in two people with cardiomyopathies, who underwent research-based whole genome sequencing at a Sydney clinic. Cardiomyopathies are potentially fatal inherited heart conditions that make it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body, and affect up to one in 500 people. The researchers found that the variant in the cardiac troponin T gene, which plays a role in regulating heart muscle contractions, is extremely rare in large international population genomic databases. "This meant that among seemingly healthy people, the variant is not often present. This can indicate it is the cause of an inherited disease, and indeed numerous clinical testing labs had already flagged this as a potential causative variant," explains Dr. Alexandra Butters, first author of the study. "We became suspicious about this variant being the cause of the patients' cardiomyopathy, and when we investigated this further with colleagues who had more genomic reference data of seemingly healthy individuals from various Oceanian regions (comprising Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia), we found this variant to be really common3-4% of the population." "This is far too common to be the cause of an inherited cardiomyopathy and indicates this is a benign genetic variant. We've since updated this in publicly available databases to avoid families getting incorrect genetic information," says Dr. Butters. When the researchers investigated the variant further, they found it to also be present in Neanderthal DNA, which speaks to how long this variant has been in the population and supports it as unlikely to cause disease. The genomics equity gap "The variant was listed as rare and potentially pathogenic because the datasets we use to understand common and rare genetic variation in healthy people contains predominantly data from people of European background," Dr. Butters adds. "This means we don't necessarily know what is common and rare across historically under-represented ancestry groups, such as those from our regions. The danger of considering this as a cause of disease is that we could then incorrectly use it to tell family members they are or are not at risk of developing disease. That has potential for harm." Associate Professor Ingles says, "The reality in the clinic today is that if I'm seeing a family of non-European ancestry, we are less likely to be able to make a genetic diagnosis following genetic testing, because we don't well understand what is truly rare genetic variation in these populations that have never historically been included in genomic research. This means those families miss out on the benefits of a genetic diagnosis, but also, there is a chance of misclassification and potential harm." "Our study underscores the critical need for large, diverse and openly accessible genomic reference databases to ensure we can accurately interpret variants and that we maximize the value of genetic testing." Focus on underrepresented groups A research program addressing the current gaps in genetic research at Garvan is OurDNA, led by the Center for Population Genomics, a joint initiative of Garvan and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne. The team is enrolling people of ancestries that are underrepresented in the existing genomics databases, to establish the first Australian large-scale genomics resource to address the critical gap in genetic research representation for Australia's multicultural population. "Australia is home to one of the most diverse populations in the world, but the representation of many Australian communities in global genetic research has been low," says Professor Daniel MacArthur, Director of the Center for Population Genomics. "OurDNA has the potential to transform the way we diagnose and treat rare diseases for everyone." The OurDNA team is recruiting Filipino and Vietnamese communities and will soon begin recruiting members of the Sudanese and Lebanese communities as well as the Oceanic Samoan, Fijian and Tongan communities. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Research has shown that young people who face adversity such as traumatic or stressful events during brain development are 40% more likely to develop anxiety disorders by adulthood. But most people who endure these experiences during childhood and adolescence prove to be resilient to these mental health effects. A new Yale study finds that when this adversity occurs during brain development, it may affect how susceptible people are to anxiety and other psychiatric problems as adults. According to the study, published in the journal Communications Psychology, experiencing low-to-moderate levels of adversity during middle childhood (between the ages of 6 and 12) and adolescence may foster resilience to anxiety later in life. The researchers found that those individuals who developed resilience to mental health challenges exhibited distinct patterns of brain activation when asked to differentiate between danger and safety, a process that is known to be disrupted in people with anxiety disorders. "Greater levels of childhood adversity are associated with higher risk of mental health problems in adulthood, but our findings suggest the story is more nuanced than that," said Lucinda Sisk, a Ph.D. candidate in Yale's Department of Psychology and lead author of the study. "Our findings suggest that a distinct pattern of discrimination between threat and safety cuesspecifically, greater activation of the prefrontal cortex in response to safetyis linked with lower levels of anxiety, helping us better understand the heterogeneity we see in mental health among people who experienced adversity growing up." For the study, the researchers assessed patterns of adversity exposure in 120 adults across four stages of development: early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Using neuroimaging technology, they examined participants' corticolimbic circuitry (a network of brain regions that integrates emotion, cognition, and memory), extracting measures of neural activation as participants viewed cues that signaled either threat or safety. This offered insights into how the process of discriminating between danger and safety is related to exposure to adversity, they said. The researchers then analyzed the data using a person-centered model which identified cohesive groups among the participants. Specifically, the model identified three latent profiles among the participants: Those with lower lifetime adversity, higher neural activation to threat, and lower neural activation to safety Those who'd experienced low-to-moderate adversity during middle childhood and adolescence had lower neural activation to threat, and higher neural activation to safety Those with higher lifetime adversity exposure and minimal neural activation to both threat and safety Individuals in the second profile had lower anxiety than those in the other two profiles, researchers found. "The people who showed low or moderate levels of adversity exposure in middle childhood and adolescence had statistically lower levels of anxiety than either the first group, which had the lowest levels of adversity overall, or the third group, which had the highest levels of adversity exposure," Sisk said. The study demonstrates that scientists can parse the variability of mental health outcomes in people who experience adversity while their brains are developing, said Dylan Gee, an associate professor of psychology (with tenure) in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and co-senior author of the study. It also provides novel insight that will help to identify people who may be at heightened risk for developing anxiety disorders and other psychiatric problems, Gee said. "This is one of the first studies to show both that the timing of adversity exposure really matters and what underlying neural processes might contribute to risk or resilience to anxiety following adversity," she said. "If the same stressor occurs at age 5 versus age 15, it is affecting a brain that is at a very different point in its development. "This study provides insight into the sensitive periods when the brain is especially plastic, and children's experiences are likely to have the most impact on their mental health later in life," she added. "It also indicates that the brain's ability to effectively distinguish between what is safe and what is dangerous helps to protect against the development of anxiety disorders following childhood adversity." More information: Lucinda M. Sisk et al, Person-centered analyses reveal that developmental adversity at moderate levels and neural threat/safety discrimination are associated with lower anxiety in early adulthood, Communications Psychology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44271-025-00193-x Journal information: Communications Psychology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A bill that proposes to ban first-cousin marriage in the UK will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on March 7. The bill, proposed by Conservative former minister Richard Holden, follows the introduction of a ban on cousin marriages that came into effect in Norway in 2023 and a planned ban in Sweden from mid-2026. Different reasons might be given for proposing to ban first-cousin marriage. However, one significant reason given by supporters of these bans is concern for public health. Holden claimed in his speech to parliament that: "First-cousin marriage should be banned on the basis of health risk alone." In the UK, a long-standing research study of childhood outcomes in Bradford, where there has traditionally been a high rate of cousin marriages within the Pakistani community, recently found that children of first cousin parents had higher rates of learning and speech problems and more visits to hospitals and doctors. The increased incidence of certain genetic illnesses in children of related parents has long been recognized. When parents are closely related, they are more likely to carry the same faulty genes. If both parents pass on the same faulty gene to their child, the child has a higher chance of developing a genetic illness (about double the risk of parents who aren't related). The Bradford study had earlier found that first-cousin marriages were linked to 30% of cases of birth defects in the studied population. The recent study suggests that even once you exclude those children diagnosed with recessive genetic conditionsand even after adjusting for other risk factors such as povertythe children had higher rates of illness and developmental problems. Although it is laudable to wish to seek measures to prevent health and learning problems in future children, there is a fundamental ethical challenge. Banning first-cousin marriage will not prevent children from having genetic illness or health problems, rather, it will prevent some children from being born and mean that different children (with a lower chance of genetic or other problems) are born instead. Harm principle A basic legal and ethical principle, defended by the 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill, is that states are only justified in restricting the basic freedoms of individuals to prevent harm to others. But if we take the "harm principle" seriously, then the health case for a marriage ban dissolves. There will be no child who is saved from illness or harm because of a law banning first-cousin marriage. It might be thought that a ban would still be justified, based on community health rather than for the sake of specific children. The idea would be that it would be important to prevent first-cousin marriage because of the high rate of genetic illness in offspring. Perhaps the hope would be to reduce pressure on the health system. But there are several problems with this argument. First, most children of parents who are first cousins are healthy. The rate of genetic or congenital problems is 6% (compared with 3% in parents who are not related). This means that 94% of children will not have genetic or congenital problems. Or to put it another way, given the small additional risk, over 30 couples would have to be prevented from marrying to prevent one child from being born with an inherited genetic problem. The same argument applies to the extra learning problems seen in the Bradford study that were not diagnosed as genetic problems: most children of first-cousin parents did not have learning difficulties or serious illness. Next, a ban on cousin marriage to reduce the rates of illness or learning problems in their offspring would represent an attempt to prevent certain people from having children for the sake of benefiting the population. But once we frame it in that way, it is clear that such an effort would be eugenic, based on a particular group's perceived genetic fitness to reproduce. Such a policy would be an example of some of the most troubling forms of eugenics: restricting basic freedoms (the freedom to marry and have children) for the sake of the common good. Third, the health-based reason to ban first-cousin marriages is because of the elevated rate of birth defects and health problems in children. However, the rate of these problems is also increased in parents who are related more distantly. And in close-knit ethnic groups there can be shared genes and increased rate of congenital problems (so-called endogamy), even without cousin marriage. If we ban first-cousin marriages, families could shift to others within their extended family. Or, if we wanted to prevent higher rates of birth defects, we might need to ban not just first- and second-cousin marriages, but also marriage within ethnic communities. But that would look even more problematic. How should we respond then to the high rates of health and learning problems in communities like those in Bradford? One important response is to be aware of the additional needs of those communities (Bradford has areas that are among the most deprived in the UK) and to ensure that the needs of children are addressed. A second response is to provide education to families and to young people who are potentially marrying so that they are aware of the increased risks associated with cousin marriage and can make informed decisions. Finally, there are more sophisticated and targeted ways of identifying risks for couples while respecting their reproductive rights. So-called expanded reproductive carrier screening could identify before they become pregnant, whether both partners in a couple are carriers for the same genetic illness. That could help them to decide whether to have children together, whether to use other techniquessuch as IVFto prevent genetic illness or to adopt. That expanded screening isn't currently available on the NHS, but it could be made available to couples who are related. We should be concerned about higher rates of illness in the children of parents who are related. But the ethical answer isn't to ban them from getting married. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Graphical abstract. Credit: Gastroenterology (2025). DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2025.01.234 A team of experts led by Northwestern Medicine investigators has developed a standardized approach that will improve the measurement of esophageal function to better diagnose upper gastrointestinal disorders, as detailed in a recent paper published in Gastroenterology. "Esophageal motility diagnoses are made based on a global impression that incorporates a patient's symptoms, the endoscopic findings and the motility findings," said Dustin Carlson, MD, '15 MS, '12 GME, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and the lead author of the paper. Functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) panometry is a sedated procedure that utilizes a specialized catheter with sensors to measure esophageal function, specifically how well the esophagus contracts and relaxes, which can help physicians better diagnose and manage different upper gastrointestinal disorders. The FLIP procedure stimulates peristalsis and motility in the esophagus while a patient is sedated for endoscopy, rather than requiring the patient to perform a series of swallows while awake as required during a standard esophageal manometry procedure. In the last decade, FLIP panometry has been increasingly incorporated into esophageal motility assessments, but a standardized approach to perform and interpret the procedure has not yet been established. In the current publication, Carlson, along with 18 FLIP panometry experts from around the U.S. and Canada, produced and assessed statements on the FLIP panometry procedure and interpretations. A total of 40 statements were selected to be included in the consensus, called the Dallas Consensus, and included FLIP panometry protocol, interpretation of esophagogastric junction opening and contractile response, and motility classification scheme. Key points from the consensus included: FLIP panometry should be interpreted in the context of the clinical presentation, the accompanying esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings and other relevant complementary testing. A major motor disorder is unlikely in the setting of a "normal" FLIP panometry classification. Diminished or absent contractile response with reduced esophageal opening (i.e., nonspastic obstruction) supports the diagnosis of a disorder of esophagogastric junction outflow. "We anticipate that this approach will help create consistent and broad implementation of a very useful technology for care of patients with esophageal diseases," Carlson said. More information: Dustin A. Carlson et al, A Standardized Approach to Performing and Interpreting Functional Lumen Imaging Probe Panometry for Esophageal Motility Disorders: The Dallas Consensus, Gastroenterology (2025). DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2025.01.234 Journal information: Gastroenterology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Florida has reported the state's first measles case this year as other parts of the country try to control a growing outbreak. The U.S. has recorded more than 100 cases of the disease in 2025, with ground zero Texas reporting the country's first measles-related death in nearly a decade. Now, a Miami-Dade County teen is sick with measles. The Palmetto Senior High student is Florida's first confirmed case of the disease this year, according to preliminary data from Florida's reportable disease surveillance system. In 2024, the state had at least a dozen cases of the rash-causing disease, some of which were linked to an outbreak at a Broward elementary school. The school says the risk is low for students who are vaccinated and that it's working with local health officials to take preventive measures. In general, the risk of a measles outbreak at Palmetto will largely depend on what percentage of the students, faculty and staff are vaccinated and whether the student was in contact with others who were not vaccinated. Public health measures including sanitation, vaccination and isolating people considered to be at risk will also be key in reducing the risk of spread. The highly contagious disease was eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 following an effective and strong vaccination program. The vaccine is required to attend K12 school in the U.S., though some students may have a religious or medical exemption. And while measles isn't common, outbreaks can still happen, usually when an unvaccinated traveler falls ill in another country and comes into the U.S., spreading the virus to other unvaccinated people. "The reason that we don't get hundreds of cases like we did in the past, before vaccination, is because of vaccination," said Mary Jo Trepka, professor and chair of the epidemiology department at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University. One person with measles can infect 9 out of 10 people they come in contact with who are not protected, either from vaccination or by a previous infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The good news is that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, which is required to attend K12 school in the U.S., is highly effective in preventing infection, Trepka said. How does measles spread? Measles can spread through coughing, sneezing and by touching infected surfaces. For those who are vaccinated, infection is rare. For those who previously had measles, you can't get the infection again. While most people can recover at home, measles can be dangerous and lead to severe complications in certain at-risk groups who don't have immunity, including children younger than 5, adults older than 20, people who are pregnant or who are immunocompromised, according to the CDC. Complications can include pneumonia, brain swelling and premature birth. Some people might get seriously ill and die. What are the symptoms? Measles can be transmitted four days before the start of symptoms, according to the Florida health department. Symptoms can appear 7 to 14 days after contact with the virus, and are at first similar to a normal cold and can include a cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes and a high fever of up to 105 degrees. Then come the red spots and bumps on the face, spreading downward to the neck, chest, legs, arms and feet. The rash typically appears three to five days after the first symptoms. To confirm measles, a doctor will usually order a blood test, swab your nose or throat or have you take a urine test. It can take 10 to 14 days to recover from the measles if you don't have complications, according to the Mayo Clinic. Is the measles vaccine effective? The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, is mandatory to attend all public and private childcare and K12 schools in Florida, although some students may be eligible for medical or religious exemptions. One dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, is about 93% effective, with two doses about 97% effective, according to the CDC. Once you get the two-dose vaccination, you're protected for life, experts say. Kids should get the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age and the second dose at 4 to 6 years of age. About 3 of 100 people vaccinated with two doses will fall ill if exposed to the virus, the CDC says. Is there a risk of a measles outbreak? The risk of a measles outbreak in Miami-Dade County or at Palmetto Senior High, similar to what was seen last year at Manatee Bay elementary in Weston, will depend on vaccination rates. The more people in a school or community who are vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, the less risk there is for a measles outbreak, according to Trepka, the FIU expert. "Because measles is a disease that is so contagious, we have to have extremely high rates of vaccination or we will end up seeing outbreaks," Trepka said. "There is almost no wiggle room when it comes to measles in terms of vaccination." It's recommended that at least 95% of the population be vaccinated to help reduce the risk of measles spreading, according to Trepka. She said this is not just to protect yourself against the disease, but to protect those who have not been vaccinated or are unable to get vaccinated. Some people, including those who may have a weakened immune system, may not be able to get the vaccine. And remember, students don't just go to schoolthey also go to grocery stores, movie theaters and other areas of the community. The Miami Herald has contacted Miami-Dade County Public Schools to inquire about the vaccination rate at Palmetto Senior High and the infected student's vaccination status. Based on the most recent available state, nearly 93% of seventh-graders and nearly 91% of kindergartners enrolled in public and private schools in Miami-Dade County in 2023 have received their school-required immunizations, not just the MMR vaccine. It is not clear if this data reflects completed or partially-completed immunizations. What is the measles situation in Florida and the rest of the U.S.? As of Feb. 27, the country has reported 164 measles cases across Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas, according to the CDC. Of these, nearly all cases were outbreak-associated and involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. CDC officials have recently arrived in Texas, which is ground zero of the country's current measles outbreak, to help try and control the spread of the disease. Many of the cases are occurring in a county that is home to a large unvaccinated Mennonite population. The state recently confirmed that an unvaccinated child with no underlying health conditions had died from the disease, marking the country's first measles death since 2015 and the first measles death in a child in the U.S. since 2003, CNN reports. As of Wednesday morning, the only measles case reported in Florida involved a Miami-Dade teen between the ages of 15 and 19, state data shows. State health officials don't know yet if the teen was infected in Florida or elsewhere. The student attends Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest. The school said it's working to notify parents of students who had close contact with the infected student. What to do if exposed or diagnosed If you're vaccinated for measles, it's rare that you'll fall ill, but you should still notify your doctor and monitor for symptoms. However, if you're not vaccinated or have never previously had measles, speak with your doctor about getting the MMR vaccine. Trepka says children and adults who were exposed to someone with measles who are not vaccinated should get the MMR vaccine immediately to reduce the risk of infection. If you get the vaccine within 72 hours of initial exposure, it could provide some protection against the disease or help you have a milder illness, the CDC says. Your doctor might also opt to give you a medicine called immunoglobulin within six days of exposure to reduce your risk of severe illness. Health experts recommend people contact their doctor for guidance if they were exposed to measles. Don't show up to the doctor without notifying the office beforehand to reduce the risk of exposing others. Telehealth appointments are another option. South Florida doctors the Miami Herald spoke with last year also recommended people avoid visiting the ER for a diagnosis unless they have another medical emergency to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to other high-risk people. If you have measles, the CDC recommends staying home for four days after developing the rash to reduce your risk of spreading the virus to others. And follow the COVID protocols: Wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, don't share drinks or eating utensils and disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Because measles is a virus, the body needs to fight it off, Dr. Ronald Ford, chief medical officer at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, told the Herald during last year's measles scare. Those sick with measles need to stay hydrated, wash their hands frequently and take fever-reducing medication as needed to help them feel better. 2025 Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The inevitability of variation in human behavior is a phenomenon psychologists have long recognized and developed statistical methods to account for in their analyses. Human behavior varies not only between people, but within separate instances for one individual as well. The study of that individual variability, called "noise" by many psychologists, is the topic of focus in a special issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science. Joakim Sundh and his co-authors from Uppsala University set the stage for this discussion by first providing an historical review of how noise has previously been studied in psychological research. They argue that noise is typically studied as an external factor that needs to be minimized rather than an internal factor that can provide information about the process being studied. "All noise has a source, and different sources of noise can give rise to different expressions of noise," they wrote. "If these different sources of noise are associated with distinct processes, then one can use the way noise is expressed in data to draw conclusions regarding those processes." Sundh and his team also describe their own research with their Precise/Not Precise (PNP) model, which was developed to help determine how different sources of noise are associated with different psychological processes. They apply the PNP model to three experiments, illustrating how distributions of noise can be studied to determine analytic and intuitive ways of reasoning. The authors end by previewing the three additional contributions to the special issue, concluding that each of the papers "represent excellent example of the possibilities inherent in using noise to inform scientific inquiry by treating it as a source of information." Adam Sanborn and his team from the University of Warwick expand on this discussion by exploring the purpose of noise in the human thought process. "Asking participants to perform the same task on multiple occasions, even when those occasions are close together in time, produces surprisingly noisy behavior," the authors wrote. Is that noise an error in our cognitive processes or does it actually help us perform better? To answer this question, Sanborn and his co-authors discuss the role of noise throughout the stages of information processing, from perception to computation to response. They argue that it is more accurate to view noise as a feature of cognitive processing rather than a glitch that disrupts it). "Not only could one say that 'noise' in cognition is a feature and not a bug, but even that it is an essential feature which underpins our ability to deal with an uncertain world of such complexity that precise analysis is computationally impossible," Sanborn and his co-authors wrote. Though noisy behavior is widely acknowledged as inevitable, in many cases it is preferable for individuals to be consistent in how they categorize information. For example, a doctor assessing for the presence of skin cancer is expected to make a consistent and correct diagnosis every time. In their study, Florian Seitz (University of Basel) and his co-authors work to better understand the ways noise can be reduced as individuals categorize information. To do this, they present a simulation that accounts for possible sources of behavioral variability during the process of perceiving and processing information. In their simulation, Seitz and colleagues used two common category structures: 1) rule-based structures where a category is based on a single feature, and 2) information-integration structures where a category is determined by multiple features that are considered simultaneously. The researchers argue that by integrating continuous data into experiments that assess categorization, researchers may be better able to identify the sources of behavioral noise and categorize the cognitive processes at play. "Assessing people's category beliefs in a continuous way may therefore help disentangle perceptual and process-related sources of behavioral variability," Seitz and his team wrote, adding that this finding could inform both future cognitive models and applied interventions. Inspired by recent chaotic responses to current events like the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing campaigns of misinformation, APS Fellow Michel Regenwetter and his team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explore the presence of irrational moral judgment. They use the concept of transitivity as a foundation for their discussion. This philosophical concept is used in discussions of morality as a kind of logic equation the understanding that if A is better than B, and B is better than C, then A is better than C. Regenwetter and his co-authors investigate whether participants can be described by the principle of transitivity, despite the large amount of variation in their behavior. Their study included 28 participants from the Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, area. Each participant was presented with a survey of 126 moral vignettes, each of which was accompanied by a binary-choice question. For each vignette, they were instructed to choose the option that was "worse" or the most "morally wrong." Based on their sample, the team found that participants did adhere to transitive moral thinking, suggesting that a shared set of moral principles underlies how people judge the moral value of one item over another. "Despite the amazing heterogeneity of behavior in the world around us, there may be order underneath the chaos," they wrote. More information: Florian I. Seitz et al, Disentangling Perceptual and Process-Related Sources of Behavioral Variability in Categorization, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1177/17456916241264259 Joakim Sundh et al, Enriching Psychological Research by Exploring the Source and Nature of Noise, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1177/17456916241235889 Adam N. Sanborn et al, Noise in Cognition: Bug or Feature?, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1177/17456916241258951 Michel Regenwetter et al, (Ir)rationality of Moral Judgment, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1177/17456916241260611 Journal information: Perspectives on Psychological Science This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain Researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital, UCLA, the University of Toronto, and others have tried to answer a longstanding fear that undergoing surgery on a Friday leads to higher levels of complications or even death. Their analysis of data from 429,691 patients has revealed higher rates of complications, readmissions, and mortality in the days and months following surgery compared to those who had procedures performed after the weekend. The "weekend effect" refers to the observed trend of worse patient outcomes associated with medical care provided over weekends. In surgical settings, this effect may be influenced by variations in hospital staffing, access to specialists, and care processes during weekends and is an ongoing concern in medical research. The weekend effect can also refer to a fear on the part of patients that surgical staff may be daydreaming about their weekend plans or that hospitals have less qualified staffing over the weekend. In the past, this weekend effect fear has also been associated with the automotive industry, where vehicles built on a Friday were thought to have more problems, attributing loose or missing bolts to mentally checked-out mechanics. Research has previously explored this effect in hospital settings, with some studies reporting increased mortality for Friday surgeries while others found no clear pattern. With conflicting data and dual persistent concerns and fears of a weekend effect, a comprehensive investigation was needed to systematically evaluate any impact on postoperative outcomes across a broad range of procedures and timeframes. In the study "Postoperative Outcomes Following Preweekend Surgery," published in JAMA Network Open, researchers conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort analysis to determine whether patients undergoing surgery immediately before the weekend faced increased risks. Data from 429,691 adults undergoing one of 25 common surgical procedures in Ontario, Canada, between 2007 and 2019 were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent surgery one day before the weekend (Friday or pre-holiday) and those who had procedures one day after (Monday or post-holiday). Researchers assessed short-term (30 days), intermediate (90 days), and long-term (one year) postoperative outcomes, including mortality, readmissions, complications, hospital length of stay, and duration of surgery. Analysis found that the pre-weekend patient group had longer hospital stays than those in the post-weekend group. Patients undergoing surgery immediately before the weekend had a 5% higher likelihood of experiencing a combination of mortality, complications, and readmissions within 30 days. The risk of death was 9% higher at 30 days, and trended higher over time with 10% higher mortality at 90 days and 12% higher at one year. Intriguingly, scheduled or elective procedures performed before the weekend were associated with worse postoperative outcomes, while urgent unplanned surgeries showed slightly better outcomes when performed before the weekend. Surgeons operating on Fridays had a median age of 47 years, compared to 48 years for those operating on Mondays. The median years in practice were 14 years for Friday surgeries versus 17 years for Monday surgeries. The study concludes that variations in hospital staffing, reduced access to specialists, and differences in perioperative care processes may contribute to these trends. Future research could assess strategies to ensure high-quality postoperative care, regardless of the day of the week. While the underlying causes of these disparities in surgical outcomes are not made clear by the study, both the concerns and fears seem justified by the trends. Hospitals and medical researchers are careful not to suggest the possibility of negligence, such as surgeons daydreaming about three-day weekend plans, yet this very normal human activity also should not be ruled out. More information: Sanjana Ranganathan et al, Postoperative Outcomes Following Preweekend Surgery, JAMA Network Open (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.58794 Journal information: JAMA Network Open 2025 Science X Network The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has put Social Security offices, Border Patrol facilities, wildlife stations and other buildings used for federal work across Montana on the chopping block as part of its goal to cut government spending. At least 12 leased Montana facilities are proposed to be eliminated or have already been terminated, amounting to a total cost cut of $2.7 million, according to data from DOGEs website, which was last updated the morning of March 5. Social Security offices in Missoula and Kalispell are on the list to close, as well as the Shelby Border Patrol facility, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Great Falls and Bozeman, among other offices. The closures are part of a massive cost-cutting campaign by the Trump administration led by billionaire Elon Musk. The federal Government Services Administration owns and manages buildings for the federal government in Montana. A statement from its website said the administration owns 41 federal buildings and leases 78 buildings in the Treasure State, a majority of which are for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A statement from Government Services Administration spokesperson Jorge Pineda said the new vision for the federal government is reviewing all options to optimize the utilization of buildings. A component of our space-consolidation plan will be the termination of many soft-term leases," Pineda said in a statement. "To the extent these terminations affect public-facing facilities and/or existing tenants, we are working with our agency partners to secure suitable alternative space. Missoula and Kalispell Social Security offices On Tuesday morning, more than a dozen people waited for an appointment in person at the Missoula Social Security office, which, in addition to the Kalispell Social Security office, is listed for possible closure by DOGE. A manager at the Missoula office told the Missoulian he did not have the authority to comment on the potential closure. A statement from the DOGE website indicates the lease termination details are in progress for the two Social Security offices. Termination details are still being finalized. The lessor and customer have been notified, and the strategy is under development, the DOGE website reads. A statement from the Social Security Administration said the federal General Services Administration is reviewing the leases and said with more employees working virtually, Social Security office buildings are needed less. As the majority of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings locations, the statement said. In fact, in FY24, twenty percent of these offices held no in-person hearings. Other offices are non-public facing, being consolidated into nearby locations, or we had planned to close. Social Security continuously monitors and evaluates the use of our office space to maximize efficiency for the American taxpayer. Closing both offices would amount to a total savings of approximately $150,724, according to DOGE. The offices help people review earnings histories, apply for retirement and disability benefits, manage proof of benefits and help replace Social Security cards. Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said in a Tuesday statement that the proposed cut of the offices would make it more difficult for Montana seniors to get benefits and customer service, especially residents with disabilities or people with no internet service. At a time when we in local government are trying to earn the trust of our residents by enhancing the way we provide services to our residents, we are seeing the new administration taking the opposite strategy cutting programs and staff in a chaotic and arbitrary manner, Davis said in a statement. The proposal to close Missoulas field office makes it very clear that these cuts are not intended to improve service, but to make it harder to complain when they begin to cut benefits. Shelby Border Patrol facility One U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Shelby is set to lose its lease, although it is unclear if the station has been operational. The center is 16,292 square feet, according to DOGE. The international border with Canada in that region is managed by a main office in Havre with satellite offices in Plentywood, Scobey, Malta, Sweetgrass and St. Mary. Requests for comment from the Havre Border Patrol Sector were not returned by press time. The DOGE website said the building lease is worth $363,559, but the five-year contract cost for the facility is worth $1,817,795. Bureau of Indian Affairs in Pablo A small office space leased by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Pablo is set to close on June 30, 2025, according to DOGE. Its the last office the BIA operates on the reservation, according to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes spokesperson Rob McDonald. McDonald told Lee Montana that two people currently work for the BIA office. The office within the Tribal Complex in Pablo was listed at just 620 square feet with a total operating contract of $10,418, according to DOGE. DOGE also reports its total savings from cutting the contract is $868. It is unclear how cutting this lease will affect Bureau of Indian Affair operations in the area. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings declined to comment. A message left with the Pablo office was not returned by press time. McDonald told Lee Montana that the tribe has yet to receive notice from the federal government on the office closure. The tribe has leased the BIA office for decades. Theres a lot of questions floating around without answers, McDonald said. McDonald said the tribe is closely monitoring any other changes to federal funding, specifically the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project, which is funded by the BIA and provides irrigation services for much of the reservation. A BIA office in Poplar, Montana, is also on the list but closing dates are still to be determined, according to the Department of the Interior. Helena Motor Carrier Safety Administration The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) office in Helena was open Tuesday but was unable to provide a comment to the press. FMCSAs main purpose is to prevent accidents involving large vehicles such as trucks and buses, its national website stated. The Helena office is listed at 1,810 square feet and has an annual lease of $39,248, DOGE reports. DOGE estimates it will save $22,895 by cutting the lease. The national and regional FMCSA offices did not respond by press time. Helenas office, located at 2880 Skyway Drive, also shares a building with a National Forest Service outlet. The outlet, which oversees Helena and the Lewis and Clark National Forest, was not listed on DOGEs list of expected lease cuts. It was also unable to provide comment before press time. Great Falls and Bozeman U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In Bozeman, DOGE has targeted the Bozeman Fish Health Center, which provides fish health services to hatcheries and wild fish in eight states. A fish and wildlife research center in Great Falls is also slated for closure. A spokesperson from the Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment. DOGE states that the Great Falls office lease costs $21,021, while the Bozeman lease costs $241,265. The Bozeman office is slated for closure at the end of September, according to a list from Natural Resources Committee Democrats. Billings Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service An employee of the Billings Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, listed in the cuts, did answer the phone and said the office was open, but was not authorized to provide a comment to the press. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service protects the health and value of American agriculture and natural resources, according to the services website. The service is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does work on animal care, biotechnology regulations, veterinary support, and managing disease outbreaks, like the avian influenza. Details on the Billings office were unavailable as of Tuesday. Its space of 4,931 square feet would cut a $65,258 annual contract, according to DOGE. A request for comment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not returned by press time. Missoula Natural Resources Conservation Service The Missoula Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office also houses the USDA Farm Service Agency and Rural Development employees. The NRCS helps agricultural producers and governments reduce soil erosion, reduce water usage and increase wildlife habitat. The Farm Service Agency provides loans and financial assistance for farmers and ranchers. Rural Development funds infrastructure and housing in rural America. Employees at the Missoula NRCS office were in the office working as of Tuesday. They redirected Lee Montana to the Helena General Services Administration, which did not respond by press time. NRCS press inquiries are also currently being directed to the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center. A USDA spokesperson from that office said: Secretary (Brooke) Rollins fully supports President Trumps directive to eliminate wasteful spending and ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively. USDA is optimizing building capacity and consolidating underutilized offices to reduce inefficiencies while continuing to prioritize frontline services for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. They offered no further information on the Missoula building, directing inquiries to the General Services Administration. According to DOGE, the annual cost of the lease is $275,892. The building is 8,310 square feet. Bozeman U.S. Geological Survey According to DOGE, the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center is slated for closure. The NRCS list provides a closure date of the end of the year. This center also has field offices in Glacier National Park and Missoula. The center did not respond by press time to requests for comment. According to their website, the center produces and distributes scientific information needed to manage and restore the ecosystems and associated plant and animal communities of the Northern Rockies. NOROCK scientists address issues like wildlife conservation, climate change, land use, ecosystem change and invasive species. The NOROCK building is 15,605 square feet and costs $369,838 per year, according to DOGE, with total savings listed as $0. Montana delegation responds Montanas state representatives and senators said they support downsizing federal leases to help reduce costs across the country, while also telling Lee Montana they look to protect frontline services for residents. A spokesperson for Sen. Tim Sheehy, who was elected to office in November, told Lee Montana that the senator is in contact with the federal agencies involved and said he supports responsible cuts to government. As the administration works to rein in spending and deliver government services more efficiently, Senator Sheehy is committed to working with our federal partners to ensure cuts are targeted responsibly and the critical frontline resources Montanans rely on are protected, spokesperson Jack OBrien said in an email. A spokesperson for Sen. Steve Daines said the senator has been in touch with some of the affected agencies. Daines is working closely with the appropriate agencies to ensure critical services for Montanans are uninterrupted as President Trump works to reduce waste within the federal government, Deputy Press Secretary Gabby Wiggins said in an email. Heather Swift, western Montana Rep. Ryan Zinkes chief of staff, told Lee Montana that Zinke supports federal agencies reviewing and moving to new office spaces that better suit their needs, but also stressed a need to provide in-person services. If a federal agency is renting a building that is larger than it needs then finding more affordable office space that fits the publics needs is a prudent cost saving measure, Swift said in a text message. We understand that the functions of the agency wont shutter, just switching real estate. Eastern Montana Rep. Troy Downing said his office has contacted the appropriate agencies to evaluate the impact of the lease cuts and supported the downsizing effort. Federal leases should optimize real estate usage and reduce overhead costs to better manage taxpayer dollars, Downing said in a statement. Helena Independent Record reporter Christine Compton and Billings Gazette Outdoors editor Brett French contributed to this story. Following public outrage over road digging and concretisation, even on roads in good condition, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has banned new road excavations across Mumbai from 22nd February 2025. For ongoing projects, which have worsened air quality and caused traffic jams, BMC has ordered all pending roadwork to be completed by 31st May 2025. A memo from the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) for infrastructure states: "As per the municipal commissioner's (MC) meeting on 27th February 2025, no new roads shall be excavated for concretisation after 22nd February 2025. All ongoing and related works must be completed by 31st May 2025 to minimise inconvenience to commuters and the public." A memo from the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) for infrastructure states: "As per the municipal commissioner's (MC) meeting on 27th February 2025, no new roads shall be excavated for concretisation after 22nd February 2025. All ongoing and related works must be completed by 31st May 2025 to minimise inconvenience to commuters and the public." BMC is working on concreting 1,173 roads, covering 433km (kilometres). In phase-1, 260 roads have been completed, while 496 are under construction in phase-2. However, the large-scale road digging has caused severe traffic congestion, pollution and frustration among residents. In areas like Colaba and Fort, locals have even threatened protests due to prolonged disruptions. In a report, Times of India says BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Monday morning pulled up civic officials, urging them to exercise greater discretion before approving roadwork. "Civic staff has been strictly instructed to physically inspect roads before initiating any digging and to avoid tearing up roads that do not require concretisation. The directive comes amid rising public frustration, also in Bandra West's Mount Mary and Pali Hill areas, where residents have actively resisted roadworks they deem unnecessary," the report says. Environmental activist Zoru Bhathena has been raising concerns about the ongoing roadworks on social media. In one post, he highlighted an instance in Andheri West, writing: "Digging up fine cement roads & laying new ones of a different height. Next to Infiniti Mall, Andheri West. My BMC. Taking the CONcretisation of our roads to new heights." Digging up fine cement roads & laying new ones of a different height Next to Infiniti mall, Andheri West My BMC Taking the CONcretisation of our roads to new heights https://t.co/T82O9IL70G Zoru Bhathena (@zoru75) February 22, 2025 Side strips of existing good cement roads are being stripped too for even more improvement My BMC Always at work Stripping our coffers bare pic.twitter.com/zS7GUtXWsD Zoru Bhathena (@zoru75) February 11, 2025 Takeshi's Castle Mumbai Series My BMC Always playing games https://t.co/eePyoSXmt5 pic.twitter.com/fhtzZf1RC4 Zoru Bhathena (@zoru75) March 3, 2025 An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 8, 2024 shows robotic arms processing parts for new energy vehicles at a private company in Changxing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua] China targets an economic growth rate of around 5 percent in 2025, according to a government work report submitted Wednesday to the national legislature for deliberation. The report also outlines an array of other key development goals for this year, including a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, over 12 million new urban jobs, and an around 2 percent increase in the consumer price index. The country achieved economic growth of 5 percent in 2024 as an impactful policy package, along with other pro-growth measures, helped fuel strong economic momentum. On a global scale, an around 5 percent growth rate places China among the world's fastest-growing major economies, with the economic increment equating to the annual output of a mid-sized nation. Huang Qunhui, a national political advisor from the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, described this year's economic growth target as scientifically grounded and realistic. "In the face of a challenging global environment, the proactive and resilient goal suggests that China is braving uncertainties with a clear, determined approach to growth," he said. As 2025 marks the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period and is also crucial to crafting the next five-year blueprint, observers believe that the government policies will not only drive sustained growth this year but also lay the groundwork for the country's modernization drive in the long run. Fostering high-quality development is a key focus on this year's government agenda, with priorities ranging from stimulating domestic demand to developing new quality productive forces. "We will take a people-centered approach and place a stronger economic policy focus on improving living standards and boosting consumer spending," the report said. Domestic demand will be made the main engine and anchor of economic growth, the report said. Ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 300 billion yuan will be issued to support consumer goods trade-in programs. New quality productive forces will be nurtured in light of local conditions, according to the report. China aims to foster emerging and future industries, such as quantum technology and the low-altitude economy, accelerate the upgrading of traditional industries, and combine digital technologies including AI with manufacturing and market strengths. The Karnataka High Court recently called for making laws simpler, while deciding on whether an insurance policy holder's legal heirs can be excluded from claiming insurance benefits if others have been named nominees for the insurance policy (Neelavva @ Neelamma v. Chandravva @ Chandrakala @ Hema and ors). The Court held that Section 39 (nomination by insurance policy holder) of the Insurance Act, 1938, does not override personal succession laws such as the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde also criticised Parliament's failure to clearly set out the "Objects and Reasons" for a 2015 amendment to Section 39, which had led to confusion on how to interpret this provision. "The Objects and Reasons for enacting or amending a law must contain a clear unambiguous statements as to why the law is introduced, what is the mischief sought to be remedied by way of amendment," the Court said. The judge added that law-making bodies should try to make laws as simple as possible instead of drafting laws in a language so complicated that only lawyers may understand them. "There should be a conscious endeavor to frame/structure the law in simplest and easy to follow short sentences. The wholly undesirable practice of framing law, with long and complicated sentences is to be discarded at any cost. After all, the law is meant for a common man to understand and follow. The law should never be a riddle or puzzle to be solved by a trained legal mind." The Court held that an insurance nominee cannot claim the full benefit of an insurance policy by excluding the policyholder's legal heirs, unless the legal heirs do not seek such insurance benefits. It summed up the legal position as follows: "Nominee/s or their legal representatives recognised in Sections 39(7) and 39 (8) will get beneficial title over the benefits flowing from the insurance policy, if the testamentary and non-testamentary heirs do not claim the benefits flowing from the insurance policyIn the absence of any claim by legal heirs, the title vests in beneficiary nominee. However, if there is a claim by the legal heir/s, then the nominee's claim has to yield to the personal law governing succession. The Court made the observation in a case where a man had named only his mother as the nominee for two insurance policies. He was a bachelor when the policies were issued. He later married and also had a child before his death in 2019. Notably, he did not make any changes to the insurance policies, under which his mother remained the sole nominee. A legal battle ensued between the man's mother and his wife over whom the entire insurance benefit should go to. A trial court held that the man's mother, wife and child were each entitled to a third of the insurance benefits. This verdict was challenged by the man's mother before the High Court. The High Court was called upon to examine whether the declaration of the man's mother as the sole nominee for the insurance policies would exclude other legal heirs from succeeding to the insurance benefits. It placed substantial reliance on the Supreme Court's ruling in Shakti Yezdani and another v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkaa, which dealt with a similar issue concerning the inheritance of company shares. In that context, the top court had held that a nomination cannot override the law relating to succession. The High Court opined that a similar view should be taken in insurance law as well. Justice Hegde added that the Insurance Act was never intended to encroach on the domain of succession. "It is difficult to hold that the Parliament has enacted a parallel law relating to succession in so far as benefits flowing from the policy of insurance," the Court said. The judge also noted that if succession laws are not allowed to prevail in such matters, it may lead to mischief. "Though, it is possible to change the nomination, given the low awareness of law among the public, the mischief would be, law relating to succession becomes inoperative to certain extent in certain situation if it is held that provision overrides law relating to succession. Such mischief is to be avoided," he said. It was also noted that the Law Commission of India had earlier recognised such risks in the nomination of insurance beneficiaries and suggested that a distinction be recognised in law between beneficial nominees (those who would be entitled to insurance benefits) and collector nominees (those who would only collect the benefit so that it may be distributed among legal heirs of the policy holder). The Law Commission had suggested that if the policy holder does not specify whether a nominee is a beneficial nominee or a collector nominee, it could be presumed that the nominee is a beneficial nominee. However, Parliament did not incorporate these recommendations in the law. Therefore, the Court opined that it cannot presume that Parliament meant to treat all nominees as beneficial nominees. "This Court has to conclude that amended Section 39 is not intended to override the provisions of law relating to succession." It proceeded to uphold the trial court's decision to grant a third of the insurance benefits each to the mother, the wife and the child of the deceased policyholder. Legislature should be prompt to clarify conflicts in law Before parting with the matter, the Court noted that it had taken a view that differed from the views taken by the High Courts of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Justice Hegde added that in future, when such conflicts arise, the legislature should ideally step in to resolve such differences by introducing an appropriate legal amendment. The government need not wait for the Supreme Court to resolve such conflicts, Justice Hegde said. The Court further said that if a law is amended, it must clearly state whether the amendment is prospective or retrospective and should not leave such matters to speculation or subjective interpretations. Moreover, the judge also urged Parliament to consider incorporating more legal illustrations in laws, to make it easier to understand them. "Acts like the Indian Contract Act, Transfer of Property Act, Indian Evidence Act etc have plenty of illustrations which explain the law with clarity and precision. Wherever needed, the law should be explained with illustrations which provide clarity to the provision of law. The practice appears to have been completely forgotten, and it is high time that such good practice is revived to bring in much needed clarity in law," the Court said. On Wednesday, 3247 stocks advanced, 768 declined and 86 remained unchanged, with an advance decline ratio of 4.27 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), indicating positive closing of stocks in broader markets. The trend of the major indices on Wednesdays trading is given in the table below. On NSE, 14 securities advanced and closed at a new 52-week high whereas 124 securities sank to close at their new 52-week lows. In sectoral indices, all indices ended in green - Nifty Metal, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Media were among the biggest gainers. Gensol Engineering fell again following successive credit rating downgrades by CARE Ratings and ICRA. ICRA revised its rating downward, assigning ICRA D to its total rated amount of Rs2,050 crore, which includes long-term fund-based term loans (Rs925 crore), cash credit (Rs718.5 crore), and bank guarantees (Rs406.5 crore). This marks a significant downgrade from ICRA BBB- (stable) / ICRA A3. While CARE Ratings downgraded Gensol's long-term bank facilities worth Rs639.7 crore from CARE BB+ (stable) to CARE D. Additionally, long-term/short-term bank facilities worth Rs76.3 crore were downgraded from CARE BB+ (stable) / CARE A4+ to CARE D. RHI Magnesita India (+2.27%) wholly owned subsidiary -- Intermetal Engineers (India) is acquiring 100% shareholding of Ashwath Technologies from the existing shareholders of the company. Muthoot Microfin (+1.44%) received approval to conduct Aadhaar enabled e-KYC for customer onboarding. With this milestone, the company will introduce fully digital eKYC, enabling a seamless and paperless onboarding experience for rural women entrepreneurs, Joint-Lending Groups (JLGs), and other underserved communities across India. Coforge (+8.34%) through its wholly-owned step-down subsidiary Coforge Technologies Australia will acquire all of the outstanding shares of TMLabs. In this regard, the company has agreed to enter into a share sale agreement with TMLabs and its shareholders. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) (+0.83%) secured significant orders for its building & factories (B&F) vertical from a reputed developer to construct residential towers in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai. Grasim Industries (-0.13%) commenced commercial production of paint plant located at Mahad. The plant has a installed capacity of 180MLPA for water based paint, 20MLPA for distemper and 30 MLPA for solvent based Paint. Welspun Specialty Solutions (+4.10%) was declared as L1 bidder by Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL, Trichy) for supply of around 4,050 tons of stainless steel seamless boiler tubes for series of super critical thermal power projects. Formal contract will be released after internal approval process at BHEL. Tata Motors (+3.49%) launched the first-ever trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks. Through this pioneering initiative, it underscores its commitment to leading the charge in sustainable mobility solutions, aligning with Indias broader green energy goals. It was awarded the tender for this trial, which is funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. JSW Energy (+5.79%) raised Rs1200 crore through the allotment of 1,20,000 unsecured, rated, listed, taxable, redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs1,00,000 on a private placement basis. Power Grid Corporation of India (+4.09%) was declared as successful bidder under tariff based competitive bidding for the three projects to establish inter-state transmission system under build, own operate and transfer (BOOT) basis. Refex Green Mobility (Refex eVeelz), a wholly owned subsidiary of Refex Industries (+5.00%) entered into an agreement with one of Indias largest ride-hailing platforms to induct and operate 1,000 electric four-wheelers (e4Ws) across Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai in FY26. This expansion is a part of the companys strategic growth roadmap and reinforces its commitment to Indias clean mobility transition. Rail Vikas Nigam (+3.10%) received letter of acceptance (LoA) from HPSEBL for development of distribution infrastructure at Central Zone of Himachal Pradesh under the revamped reforms-based and results-linked, distribution sector scheme (loss reduction work). The size of contract is Rs729.82 crore. The said order is to be executed in 24 months. GE Vernova T&D India (+1.79%) received an order from Power Grid Corporation of India for bulk procurement of 765kV Class Transformers & Reactors of various capacities. Three orders totaling to approximately Rs500 crore. The said orders to be executed within 36 months The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: Yashish Dahiya, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of PB Fintech Ltd, paid Rs9.42 lakh to settle a case of alleged violations of insider trading regulations with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This settlement resolves the adjudication proceedings initiated by the market regulator under the SEBI Act, 1992, for Mr Dahiya's failure to comply with regulations governing the identification of unpublished price-sensitive information. The allegation was that Mr Dahiya did not ensure that the acquisition of 26.72% of shares in YKNP Marketing Management (YKNPMM) by PB Fintech through its subsidiary, PB Fintech FZ-LLC, was identified as unpublished price-sensitive information, as required by the PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations. Mr Dahiya filed a settlement application with SEBI on 23 August 2024 and proposed revised terms on 18 October 2024, after discussions with SEBI's internal committee. The high-powered advisory committee (HPAC) reviewed and recommended a settlement of Rs9.42 lakh on 18 November 2024. SEBI whole-time members (WTMs) approved this on 27 January 2025 and notified Mr Dahiya the next day. On 13 February 2025, Mr Dahiya confirmed the remittance of the settlement amount and SEBI confirmed its receipt. As a result, SEBI disposed the adjudication proceedings initiated against Mr Dahiya in accordance with Section 15JB of the SEBI Act and Regulation 23(1) of the Settlement Regulations. "While the settlement resolves the ongoing adjudication proceedings, it is important to note that the settlement is subject to the condition that the applicants must have made truthful and full disclosures. SEBI retains the right to take further action if it is discovered that the terms of the settlement were violated or if any discrepancies arise in the future," the SEBI order says. US president Donald Trump, in his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, criticised India's import duties, describing them as unfair and a contributor to global trade imbalances. President Trump announced that reciprocal tariffs would be introduced from 2nd April 2025, signalling a tougher stance on international trade. Mr Trump took aim at countries such as India, China, Brazil and the European Union (EU) for imposing tremendously higher tariffs on US goods compared to the tariffs levied by the country. He specifically singled out India, stating, "India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%," highlighting his concerns over what he sees as unjust trade practices. The president further clarified that under his administration, "you will pay a tariff and, in some cases, a rather large one." Reinforcing his position, he added, "Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them back," stressing the principle of reciprocity in trade negotiations with countries, including India. President Trump also criticised non-monetary barriers that prevent US companies from accessing foreign markets, including India. He vowed that the US would retaliate by imposing similar barriers on imports from countries that restrict American market access, thereby creating more jobs and economic opportunities in the US. This direct reference to India, among other nations, highlights the growing trade tensions between the US and global powers. President Trump's rhetoric signals a more aggressive stance on trade, reaffirming his commitment to safeguarding US economic interests through reciprocal tariff policies. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday rejected the scheme of arrangement presented by Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) in relation to the demerger of Vedanta. A Bench of NCLT comprising Judicial Member Reeta Kohli and Technical Member Madhu Sinha said, It is made clear that the merits of the Scheme proposed by the Applicant has not been gone into and the objections raised by the Objector and considered by the Tribunal are only to the extent of the disclosures which the Applicant Company is required to make in terms of law. Therefore, keeping in view of the facts and circumstances of the present case, we deem it appropriate to reject the Scheme presented by the Applicant under Section 230 of the Companies Act. The decision came after objections were raised by SEPCO, a creditor of TSPL, one of the resulting companies in the proposed demerger. The scheme of arrangement, filed under Sections 230 to 232 of the Companies Act, 2013, involved the demerger of Vedanta Limiteds business verticals into five separate entities: 1. Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited To take over the Aluminium Business. 2. Talwandi Sabo Power Limited To manage the Merchant Power Business. 3. Malco Energy Limited To oversee the Oil and Gas Business. 4. Vedanta Base Metals Limited To handle the Base Metals Business. 5. Vedanta Iron and Steel Limited To operate the Iron Ore Business. The scheme aimed to create independent, globally competitive companies, each focusing on its core business, thereby attracting specialised investors and stakeholders. The boards of the respective companies had approved the scheme between September and October 2023. SEPCO opposed the scheme, alleging that TSPL had concealed material information about its liabilities. It claimed that TSPL owed it 1,251 crore, a debt that was acknowledged in TSPLs financial statements since 2019. However, this liability was excluded from the list of creditors presented in the scheme. SEPCO argued that this omission was deliberate and aimed at excluding it from the creditor meetings, thereby prejudicing its rights. SEPCOs counsel highlighted that the debt arose from a consent award dated May 21, 2016, and was reflected in TSPLs balance sheets. It contended that the exclusion of this liability would distort TSPLs valuation and negatively impact its net worth post-demerger. The NCLT found merit in SEPCOs objections, noting that TSPL had failed to disclose material facts, including the 1,251 crore liability to SEPCO, in violation of Section 230(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013. It is pertinent to note that till this time, the said amount was not stated to be contingent. It is only once SEPCO submitted its objection before the Regional Directors that TSPL permitted the contracts and this unilateral termination of contract is subsequently reflected in balance-sheet for the Financial Year ended on 31.03.2024 and it is only after this that TSPL had issued a notice of Arbitration on SEPCO on 31.06.2024, the Tribunal said. The Tribunal emphasised that the non-disclosure of such a significant liability could prejudice the interests of creditors and shareholders. It also observed that the valuation of TSPL, conducted without factoring in SEPCOs claim, was flawed and could impact public interest. Edwin George Leipheimer III once accepted a monkey for a vehicle trade. The Butte native known as Eddie established his entrepreneurial ethos as a teenager at Butte High School. He set up a used car lot in the schools parking lot. There was at least one problem. The cars belonged to his father, E. G. Leipheimer Jr. E.G. Leipheimer IV [henceforth E.G.] recently recalled there were consequences. My dad didnt finish high school and the reason for it is they werent too happy with him, he said. The monkey transaction came years later. The monkey was taken in on a trade, E.G. said. I was just a little kid when he did it and he brought the monkey home and they put it in the playpen with me. The monkey could get out and it tore up my grandfathers office. E.G. isnt clear about the primates ultimate fate. He said his father likely returned the scampish simian to its original owner. Edwin George Eddie Leipheimer [henceforth Eddie] died Jan. 31, 2025. He was 86 years old. He is remembered for his unique shepherding of a host of businesses and vehicle dealerships in Butte a career that included an unusual consolidation. In the automobile business, it is a big, big deal to put Toyota and Nissan under the same roof, E.G. said. That was not done. He got some assistance from the state Legislature. Eddie was considered a leader in the states automotive industry, E.G. said. Eddie served as president of the Montana Automobile Dealers Association, served 50 years on the board and was awarded Time Magazines Quality Dealer of the Year for Montana in 2006, E.G. said. Eddie was born in 1938, a son of Edwin George Leipheimer Jr. and Dorothy Floyd Leipheimer. Eddies paternal grandfather, Edwin George Leipheimer Sr., had a distinguished career in journalism, serving as editor of The Anaconda Standard and The Montana Standard for nearly 20 years and working also at the Butte Daily Post and Missoula Sentinel. Meanwhile, at 19, Eddie and dear friend Forrest Klies traveled to Philipsburg to rent horses to the U.S. Forest Service. Eddie also worked underground in a manganese mine. Ever the entrepreneur, he started a car lot in Philipsburg and sold cars on consignment from a Ford dealer in Ennis. He also operated a service station in Philipsburg. He met his future wife, Myrna Fessler, when he occasionally worked on her familys ranch near Porters Corner. They married in October 1958 and lived for a time in a back room of Eddies gas station in Philipsburg. Its said that Myrna was less than thrilled to share their bathroom with gas station customers. In 1959, the couple moved to Butte and Eddie and his father opened an International Truck dealership. Eddie would come to own several vehicle dealerships in the decades to come Datsun, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Yamaha and more. E.G., who later ran Discovery Buick-GMC in Anaconda, said his fathers approach to the business was principled. Everything my dad did was black and white, right and wrong, he said. I am really proud to say that if you were ever to look into the deep recesses of our businesses, you would not find any hanky-panky or questionable deals, E.G. said. Everything we did was cut and dried and honest and above board. Jim Sewell has been general counsel for the last 20 years or so for the Montana Automobile Dealers Association. Eddie Leipheimer was the consummate salesman and car guy, Sewell said. He had hi-test running in his veins. Although I knew the Leipheimer name and connected it with the car business as I was growing up in Deer Lodge in the 1950s and 60s, just 40 miles up the road, I frequently heard the jingle on our one TV station back in the day a Leipheimer deal is a good deal better. A firm believer and promoter of the Montana Automobile Dealers Association as a means to stay on top of current industry trends, events and best practices and networking with his fellow Montana dealers, Eddie served in every capacity he could as committee member, director and as president of the association in 1991, Sewell said. E.G. Leipheimer said his father had a knack for composing catchy advertising slogans, such as, Dont bring much money because you wont need it. Jack Shipley first met Eddie when Shipley worked at a bank in Uptown Butte and Eddie was a customer. They became friends in 1964. I would say he was my best friend for 60 years, Shipley said. He was a great guy. He said Eddie responded when friends needed help, including the time Shipleys boat trailer broke an axle crossing a cattle guard near Georgetown Lake. Eddie promptly came to the rescue, he said. Eddie loved to socialize, he said, at his cabin at Georgetown Lake, on his boat, Important Business, traveling the Inside Passage or out with friends for dinner in Butte during a so-called "Taco Tuesday on Monday" gathering. Shipley said Eddies entrepreneurial reach was long and wide, with car dealerships, an independent insurance agency, a mobile home village, vehicle leasing and more. He said he thinks about Eddie every day. Myrna Fessler Leipheimer died in February 2023. Eddie was also preceded in death by his brother, Bill, and parents. Survivors include his children and their spouses: E.G. (Christine) Leipheimer of Lost Creek; Mark (Kris) Leipheimer; Stacy Leipheimer; and Jill (Tom) Leonard. Also surviving are brothers and sisters-in-law, Bob and Yvonne Leipheimer and David and Gretchen Leipheimer; as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held February 13. Flash Editor's note: As the highly anticipated annual "two sessions" convene, China.org.cn speaks with ambassadors and diplomats in Beijing to gain their insights. In this episode, the Jamaican ambassador to China discusses China's role in global economic growth and the deepening bilateral cooperation. Is investing in sustainability a path to profit or a promise to the planet? With their untapped resources and growth potential, frontier markets provide a compelling case for green investment. These destinations are more than just opportunities; they are challenges wrapped in possibilities. Understanding how to navigate these new marketplaces can revolutionize the environmental and economic landscapes, benefitting investors and the global community and seeking clarity on sustainable investment strategies. More Information links investors with educational specialists, promoting educated decision-making in developing economies. Green Investment Revolution: A Global Look At Sustainability. The Rise Of Green Investment As A Mainstream Strategy As global environmental problems gain prominence, green investments have transitioned from a specialization to a need. Investors are increasingly valuing companies that blend profit and significance. This transition is noteworthy because firms from energy to manufacturing are evaluating their approach to reducing emissions and embracing greener technologies. Renewable energy funds, for example, have gained popularity, illustrating how financial success may be paired with environmental responsibility. Green bonds, which governments often issue, give another option for supporting environmentally friendly programs while making money. Examples Of Successful Global Green Investment Initiatives: Solar farms and wind power facilities are among the green investments rewriting growth myths throughout Europe and Asia. For example, China, the worlds largest producer of solar panels, has pushed local and global renewable energy adoption. Similarly, Scandinavian countries have set an example with their commitment to carbon neutrality via green energy subsidies. These programs demonstrate how community investments may have tangible consequences, from decreasing carbon footprints to establishing local employment opportunities in renewable energy businesses. Green Investment In Developing Markets Has Distinct Difficulties And Dynamics. While wealthier nations advance gradually, green investment in poorer economies faces significant challenges. Regulatory uncertainty, limited access to green technologies, and inadequate infrastructure often inhibit growth. Building a solar farm without proper material transportation networks is a challenging challenge. Investors must also consider cultural and economic factors, ensuring efforts benefit residents while preserving traditional lifestyles. Despite these limitations, developing nations have enormous potential, especially if green initiatives are connected with development goals. Unleashing Potential: Frontier Markets As A Canvas For Green Projects. Renewable Energy Opportunities Exist Across Solar, Wind, And Hydropower Sources. Frontier markets provide significant potential for renewable energy investment. Many regions have abundant natural resources, like year-round sunshine and substantial river networks. For example, African nations such as Kenya and Ethiopia rapidly expand hydropower to fulfill local and regional energy requirements. Similarly, North Africas deserts provide perfect conditions for large-scale solar farms that can power cities well beyond their borders. Green projects in these areas offer energy while encouraging employment growth and local innovation. Agricultural Innovation And Sustainable Farming In The Frontier Economy Agriculture is at the core of many frontier economies, providing compelling justification for long-term investments in this sector. Initiatives promoting drought-resistant crops, efficient irrigation systems, and organic farming practices may significantly influence these economies. Consider Indias efforts to promote organic farming in its northeastern states: local farmers earn while helping the environment. Sustainable agriculture also reduces dependency on hazardous pesticides, improving soil health and greater yields. Exploring Opportunities For Sustainable Infrastructure Development. Infrastructure is the foundation of economic growth, and green infrastructure goes much further. Frontier economies often encounter outmoded transportation networks and insufficient electrical infrastructures. This creates an opportunity for creative solutions, such as environmentally friendly urban transit or energy-efficient housing. For example, Rwandas green city initiative is paving the way for sustainable urban living by combining economic development with environmental conservation. These examples show how frontier markets may be exploited as testing grounds for scalable green technology. Barriers To Entry: Understanding Green Investment Risks In Frontier Markets Political Instability And Regulatory Obstacles. Political instability is one of the most serious risks in frontier markets. Frequent policy changes and unclear government decisions may harm green efforts. Consider trying to play a game where the rules continually changefrustrating and dangerous. Furthermore, many frontier economies lack the legislative framework to attract and maintain green investment. Without precise boundaries, investors often hesitate, fearing project delays or cancellations. Currency Volatility And Financial Infrastructure Constraints. Currency fluctuations offer an additional layer of complexity. Frontier economies often have inadequate banking systems and changing currencies, which may diminish earnings from overseas investment. The absence of a strong financial infrastructure complicates matters further, making it difficult to get funds for large-scale green projects. A solar power project, for example, may struggle to get funding if local banks refuse to back it or if foreign investors are concerned about currency conversion. Balancing Environmental Objectives With Economic Realities Frontier economies can prioritize rapid economic growth above long-term environmental goals. Balancing these dueling goals is not a simple task. For example, although moving to green energy seems ideal, many countries rely heavily on fossil fuels to power their economies. Investors must find a delicate balance, ensuring their investments contribute to sustainability without risking the local economys pressing needs. The Role Of Governments And International Organizations In Promoting Green Investments. Policy And Incentives For Green Investment In Frontier Markets Governments in frontier markets are beginning to recognize the value of green investments. Policies that give tax breaks or subsidies for renewable energy installations are becoming common. For example, Moroccos government has offered solar and wind energy generation incentives, significantly increasing renewable energy capacity. Such measures attract investors and encourage local businesses to embrace eco-friendly practices. Collaborations With International Development Organizations And Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) Collaboration is essential for closing resource and knowledge gaps in frontier markets. Partnerships with international institutions such as the World Bank or regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide financial support, technical expertise, and oversight. For example, coordination between development organizations and local governments has transformed Bangladeshs renewable energy landscape. Solar house systems sponsored via such agreements now illuminate remote homes, reducing reliance on kerosene. Case Studies: Effective Collaborations That Transformed Local Economies Real-world examples give strong evidence of what is possible. Consider Ethiopias hydropower projects, which have received support from international financial organizations. These efforts have increased energy availability and economic development by providing low-cost electricity to businesses and homes. Another example is Kenyas geothermal energy initiative, which benefits from international collaboration while meeting environmental and financial objectives. These success stories are a blueprint for future green investments in frontier markets. Consider how your investment may help influence the next breakthrough in these regions.? Conclusion Can green investments in frontier markets help to create a more sustainable future? The answer lies in embracing innovation, reducing risks, and promoting collaboration. These markets may be critical to reaching global sustainability goals and generating new financial opportunities. Investors may encourage revolutionary change by stressing ethical behaviors and community effects, one project at a time. Boda boda operators have vowed to stage nationwide protests if Parliament fails to reject the controversial Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulations) Bill. Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi on Tuesday, March 4, Boda Boda Association of Kenya (BAK) Chairperson Kevin Mubadi accused Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, the bills sponsor, of attempting to cripple the boda boda industry. Mubadi argued that despite the sectors crucial role in the economy, there were deliberate efforts to burden operators with additional levies. Frustrated by the proposed legislation, he demanded that Khalwale withdraw the bill immediately and provide written confirmation of its withdrawal. The BAK Chairperson warned that if the National Assembly fails to act by Friday, boda boda riders across the country will take to the streets Tuesday, March 11in protest. He emphasized that their demonstrations would be a fight to protect their jobs and way of life. If you see us protesting, it will be to safeguard our work and how we operate. We are giving you until Friday to withdraw this bill and issue a written confirmation, he added. Khalwale has since signaled a willingness to withdraw the bill following mounting pressure from boda boda operators, who accused him of threatening their livelihoods. RELATED New Boda Boda Regulation Bill to Require GPS Trackers, Passenger Helmets, and Rider Training Addressing journalists on February 25, the Kakamega Senator defended his proposal, explaining that the bill aimed to regulate the sector and curb reckless road behavior. He insisted that his primary goal was to enhance road safety and reduce the high number of fatalities among boda boda ridersnot to suppress young operators. I have always been known for fighting for the weak. I have seen many young boda boda riders lose their lives in accidents, so I came up with this bill to address those issues, Khalwale explained. Frustrated by the backlash, he argued that critics were allowing young riders to continue suffering. I considered many factors in drafting this bill, but I have seen strong resistance. Since I do not want to fight with the youth, I will return to the Senate and push for the bill to be dropped, he added. Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo has made sensational claims, alleging that he was offered a Ksh. 4 million bribe to vote in favor of impeaching former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. According to Maanzo, state agents attempted to sway lawmakers by offering cash in exchange for their votes. He further revealed that those who hesitated to support the impeachment faced relentless threats. Speaking on Citizen TV, Maanzo described how the bribery scheme operated, claiming that accepting the money came with strict conditions. In Gachaguas case, there was such an approach, but it didnt work because it had conditions. The offer was Ksh. 4 million to vote YES. But if you took it and voted NO, you wouldnt make it home, Maanzo claimed. He added, People who come to the House to convince people. In fact, they said for Gachaguas removal they want 100% vote of the Senate. Some of them are MPs, and others come from the hill (State House). Beyond Gachaguas case, Maanzo painted a grim picture of Kenyas political landscape, asserting that bribery dictates major decisions in Parliament. He accused lawmakers of passing critical legislation under duress, warning that corruption has deeply infiltrated government processes. This bribery in the House must stop. We are running the country through bribes, he stated. Maanzo linked the alleged corruption to Kenyas struggling health sector, blaming the failure of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) on rampant graft. He claimed the flawed system has left many Kenyans unable to access medical services, fueling public outrage. Labor Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has unveiled a new recruitment initiative under the Kazi Majuu program, aiming to connect Kenyans with job opportunities abroad. The exercise will take place at Jesus Winner Ministry in Roysambu, Nairobi, on March 5 and 6, 2025, from 8 AM to 5 PM. Mutua emphasized that this program supports President William Rutos vision of expanding overseas employment opportunities for Kenyan youth. Diverse Job Openings Across Multiple Sectors The recruitment drive offers a wide range of job opportunities for professionals and skilled workers seeking employment overseas. Healthcare: Degree-holding nurses can apply for jobs in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, and Australia. Transport: Drivers with valid licenses, especially former GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) license holders, are encouraged to apply. Delivery riders have openings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hospitality: Positions are available for waiters, waitresses, stewards, chefs, seafarers, and cruise ship workers. Construction: Skilled workers such as masons, carpenters, scaffolders, electricians, plumbers, and construction helpers can secure jobs abroad. Government Support and Benefits for Successful Applicants Mutua assured applicants that the government would facilitate a smooth transition for those successfully recruited. Those successfully recruited will receive passports within a day or two. Financial support options will be available for those who cannot afford processing fees, visas, medical exams, and tickets. Additionally, selected jobs will provide accommodation, insurance, transport, and overtime, he stated. Bishop Mwais Plea for Job Opportunities This initiative follows a recent appeal from Pentecostal Bishop Edward Mwai of Jesus Winner Ministry, who urged President Ruto to help church members secure jobs abroad. We have people in this church who are looking for jobs overseas. Some have studied German and French. Therefore, we are respectfully pleading with you to help the community here access those jobs, Bishop Mwai said. Meanwhile, Ruto pledged Ksh20 million toward the construction of the Jesus Winner Ministry church. He also promised to help the church acquire land for expansion and proposed a joint fundraiser to boost the project. The President announced that, alongside his friends, he would help raise an additional Ksh100 million. The government has responded to growing concerns from Kenyans seeking jobs abroad about the lengthy two-month delay in document approvals, shedding light on the factors behind the extended verification process. Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime explained that job seekers traveling overseas must now undergo a more rigorous but streamlined verification process. This system requires close coordination between Kenyan embassies in destination countries and foreign embassies in Kenya, which has contributed to the delays. Mwadime also pointed out that a recent government directive barring recruitment agencies from conducting interviews for Kenyans seeking jobs abroad has further impacted processing times. Under the new policy, foreign employers must now travel to Kenya to conduct interviews in person. The employer from the destination will have to come to Kenya to conduct the interviews. The interviews are not conducted by the private recruitment agency but by the employer, Mwadime clarified. He further elaborated that once a recruitment agency secures job opportunities abroad, the verification process must go through Kenyan embassies in those countries. The moment a private recruitment agency is able to secure these slots abroad, testation will have to be done by our embassy in that foreign country. Once our embassy does that, the recruiter will have to upload the information to our systems, so as to enable any Kenyan to see that job and apply for it, he added. To address the delays, Mwadime assured that the government is actively exploring ways to speed up the process. One key measure has been the digitization of the verification system, allowing for quicker authentication of job offers. The verification is now done online, and therefore, going digital has been of great assistance in reducing the time required for us to verify whether that job is genuine or not, he stated. President William Ruto, through his lawyer Fred Ngatia, mounted a strong defense on Monday, seeking to have a case aimed at impeaching him through a referendum dismissed. Ngatia argued that President Ruto is constitutionally immune from criminal or civil lawsuits while in office. He further contended that the case, filed by 14 human rights activists and lawyers led by Cyprian Nyamwamu and Khelef Khalifa, was leading the judiciary into uncharted legal territory. I request you to hold and find this was a dangerous pastime. They had a day in court, and it should come to an end, Ngatia stated. Activists Accuse Ruto of Violating Constitution However, lawyer Kibe Mungai countered that the case sought to hold the president accountable for corruption, mismanagement of government resources, oppressive taxation, and extrajudicial killings of anti-government protesters who took to the streets over the high cost of living. Mungai argued that the power to elect and remove a president ultimately rests with the people and can be exercised through a referendum. He clarified that the case was not an attempt to remove President Ruto through the Judiciary but rather to establish whether the president had violated the Constitution 31 times. According to Kibe, Parliament has become an extension of the presidency, with lawmakers reduced to mere puppets who are unable to hold the Head of State accountable or initiate impeachment proceedings. He cited Gen-Z-led protests as a clear indication that Kenyans, as the ultimate employers, have the right to remove a president through democratic means beyond a coup. Today, we are dealing with a minor event. The petitioners are not asking the Judiciary to remove the president. Instead, they seek a declaration that the president has violated the Constitution about 30 times. Is it the courts role to declare constitutional violations? Yes. Will the High Court remove the president? No. If a violation is confirmed, the matter should be put to a referendum, allowing the peoplenot the courtto decide his fate, Kibe argued. Sovereignty Belongs to the People The lawyer further emphasized that sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it by electing the president and MPs while delegating power to judges and magistrates. He insisted that while legal structures exist for removing public officials, the ultimate authority to fire them remains with the people and can be exercised directly. Kibe underscored that Kenyans were seeking a peaceful and democratic approach to removing President Ruto from office. Although African laws provide for impeachment, the process is practically impossible because the president has captured Parliament and turned it into his tool. We talk about Gen-Z protests as a way of exercising power in a responsible and democratic manner. In West Africa, presidents who captured Parliament were overthrown by the military. Can Kenyans be stopped from removing a rogue president? No, they cannot be stopped, Kibe asserted. Kibe also argued that the president could be sued in person in an impeachment case, maintaining that the Attorney General (AG) cannot represent him. He emphasized that the AGs duty is to defend both the government and the people, not the president as an individual. Initially, the group had sued both President Ruto and his ousted deputy, Rigathi Gachagua. The petitioners are urging the court to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct a referendum, allowing Kenyans to decide whether to remove President Ruto from office. The president has run the government in a manner that has interfered with the management of health, markets, land rates, livestock, cows, and chickens, the petitioners claim. The courts ruling on this case could set a historic precedent for presidential accountability in Kenya. Huruma Ward MCA Peter Owera Oluoch has been charged with forging academic certificates to secure clearance for his candidacy in the 2022 general election. On Tuesday, he appeared before Milimani Anti-Corruption Magistrate Isabella Barasa, facing five counts, including forgery and providing false information. In the first charge, prosecutors accused Oluoch of submitting a forged diploma certificate, allegedly from Kenya Polytechnic, to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). According to the charge sheet, he presented the document at Integrity House on December 20, 2012. The court heard that after submitting the diploma, Oluoch received a self-declaration form to fill out, as required under the Leadership and Integrity Act 2012. In another charge, prosecutors claimed that on May 26, 2017, he forged an official stamp belonging to Nelson Pinto Atudo, a High Court advocate, intending to mislead authorities. They further alleged that Oluoch falsely presented the stamp as a genuine legal impression from the lawyer. Additionally, Oluoch was charged with forging Atudos signature on the self-declaration form. He also faced accusations of forging the signature of Andrew Khakula, an advocate and Commissioner for Oaths. The final charge stated that Oluoch made a false declaration under Part 5 of the Leadership and Integrity Act. Through his lawyer, Oluoch pleaded for lenient bond terms, arguing that he is a serving MCA with a known residence and will comply with all court orders. Your honour, the accused person is a public figure whose place of abode is known, and he is willing to comply with the orders set by the court, the lawyer submitted. The prosecution did not object to his release on bond. After reviewing the application, the magistrate set his bond at Ksh3 million with a surety of the same amount or an alternative cash bail of Ksh100,000. The court also ordered Oluoch to surrender his travel documents. The case is set for mention on March 25, 2025, for pre-trial and further directions. In an effort to tackle the issue of child trafficking, Kenya has introduced a new policy requiring DNA testing for mothers who return to the country with children born abroad. This initiative, announced by Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, aims to ensure that every child entering the country is with their rightful parent. Addressing the Senate, Mutua expressed concerns about the increasing cases of child trafficking involving Kenyan women who give birth overseas. The plan is to verify the biological relationship between mother and child at entry points. This step is crucial for safeguarding children and ensuring their well-being, but is also a major privacy concern that can easily be challenged in court. Mutua remarked, We have got quite a number of Kenyans in some countries who have given birth. We are trying to get them back home with their children. Once they are here, we will do a DNA test to match the child to the mother and avoid child trafficking. In related news, in a bid to better support Kenyan workers overseas, new labor attachments are being set up in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Switzerland, the UAE, and Germany. A budget of Ksh 300 million has been allocated for this initiative, according to Mutua. President Rutos administration has made export of labour and the subsequent inflow of dollar remittances a priority policy, and Mutua was tasked with defending it. However, not everyone is on board. Some senators have voiced concerns, particularly about Mutuas comments on the activism of Kenyans living overseas. Kitui Senator Enock Wambua criticized the portrayal of Kenyan workers, while Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi questioned the claims about their safety, citing reports of fatalities. China suspends soybean imports from 3 U.S. companies Xinhua) 10:12, March 05, 2025 BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Tuesday announced the suspension of soybean imports from three U.S. enterprises after ergot and seed coating agent were detected in soybeans imported from the United States. Soybean export qualification of the three U.S. companies -- CHS Inc., Louis Dreyfus Company Grains Merchandising LLC and EGT, LLC -- will be suspended, effective from March 4, the GAC said in a statement. The move was aimed at safeguarding the health of Chinese consumers and ensuring the safety of imported grain, and was made in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations and relevant regulations of the World Trade Organization, according to the statement. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Flash European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference after a European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled an 800-billion-euro (844.6-billion-U.S. dollars) plan to significantly increase defence spending across the bloc. She said that in response to escalating security threats across the European Union (EU), Europe had entered "an era of rearmament." In a letter written to EU leaders ahead of Thursday's European Council, von der Leyen unveiled the "ReArm Europe" plan and emphasised the urgency of strengthening Europe's defence capabilities, citing mounting geopolitical tensions, particularly in light of Russia-Ukraine military conflict and concerns over the future of U.S. support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending. Both to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine but also to address the long-term need to take on much more responsibility for our own European security," she said. "The question is no longer whether Europe's security is threatened in a very real way," von der Leyen said. "The real question in front of us is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates." According to a statement published by the European Commission, the "ReArm Europe" plan is a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at unlocking financial resources to support national defence investments both in the short term and over the next decade. The initiative consists of five key measures designed to strengthen Europe's defence capabilities and bolster military support for Ukraine. A core component of the plan involves adjusting EU fiscal rules to allow member states to ramp up defence spending without triggering budgetary penalties. Von der Leyen announced that the European Commission will propose activating the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, enabling governments to expand their military budgets without breaching EU deficit limits. "If Member States were to increase their defence spending by 1.5 percent of GDP on average, this could create fiscal space of close to 650 billion euros over four years," she said. Another key element of the plan is the creation of a 150-billion-euro loan program to help EU countries jointly invest in critical military assets. The initiative aims to enhance collective procurement efforts, reduce costs, and improve interoperability across European armed forces. "We are talking about pan-European capability domains: air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, as well as cyber defence and military mobility," von der Leyen said. Joint procurement efforts under this scheme would not only reinforce EU security but also allow member states to provide Ukraine with additional military aid, she said. Von der Leyen also proposed leveraging the EU budget to support defence-related investments. She announced member states would be given additional incentives to use cohesion policy programmes to boost military spending. The final two pillars of the ReArm Europe plan focus on attracting private sector investment in defence through specific initiatives and through increased involvement from the European Investment Bank. "We will continue working closely with our partners in NATO," von der Leyen said. "This is Europe's moment, and we are ready to step up." (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollar) In Nairobis Majengo area, a police operation took a tragic turn with the death of 17-year-old Ibrahim Ramadhan Chege. The National Police Service claims Chege was suspected of selling bhang. This incident has stirred significant unrest in the community. According to Police Spokesperson Michael Nyagah, the situation unfolded when undercover officers attempted to arrest a young man in the Gorofani area, suspecting him of carrying cannabis. The attempt quickly escalated as local youth intervened, attacking the officers with stones and crude weapons. The two officers were injured as a result of being pelted with stones and crude weapons, Nyagah explained. They fired shots in the air as they tried to escape the assault. During the chaos, Chege was shot and unfortunately died from his injuries at the hospital early the next day. His death sparked violent protests in Majengo and Shauri Moyo. Roads were blocked, and three makeshift police houses, along with a government vehicle, were set on fire. The tension in the area was palpable. Unconfirmed reports have it that even more deaths and injuries were witnessed on Wednesday, after rioters set on fire police houses and vehicles. President William Ruto has reaffirmed his commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC), defending the governments transition to Taifa Care as a solution to the corruption that plagued the now-defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). Speaking in Kakamega during the burial of Malava MP Moses Malulu Injendi at his rural home in Lukusi village, Ruto dismissed allegations of fraud in the new system. He accused corrupt individuals of spreading misinformation to protect their financial interests. The noise you hear from people on social media and in the newspapers is coming from those who were stealing from us during the NHIF days. These are brokers. I saw some of them say that the government will use one hundred billion for the system, Ruto stated. He emphasized that NHIF was riddled with fraud, with a significant portion of funds lost to fake claims and ghost hospitals. We want to fix the fraud problems of the past. A lot of the money collected by NHIF was stolen by scammers and fraudsters who pretended to have hospitals. Fake claims and fraudulent claims used up almost 40% of the funds that NHIF was raising. This will not happen again as long as I am President, he added. Ruto assured that Taifa Care, developed by a consortium of technology companies, will eliminate fraudulent claims and enhance transparency in healthcare funding. The people complaining are the ones who have been stealing from us, and they dont want a working technology system because they want to continue stealing. I want to tell them that stealing is over. MOVE ON. No public funds will be misused, no matter how many times you fill the newspapers trying to force us to go back to the old NHIF system, he declared. SIU Carbondale alumnus Dan Sanchez and several of his guests make connections through the SIU Alumni Associations Dinner with 12 Salukis. SIU Alumni Associations Dinner with 12 Salukis strengthens alumni, student bonds CARBONDALE, Ill. The SIU Alumni Association continues to foster meaningful relationships between students and alumni through its popular Dinner with 12 Salukis program, now in its fourth year. This unique initiative brings together groups of up to 12 students, with alumni serving as dinner hosts for an evening of networking, mentorship and camaraderie in an informal setting. Fourteen hosts and approximately 150 students participated in this years dinners on Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1. Hosted by alumni at local restaurants or in their homes, these gatherings provide students with an invaluable opportunity to gain insights from experienced professionals while expanding their networks. The program also allows alumni to give back to their alma mater by sharing career advice and personal experiences with current students. The Dinner with 12 Salukis program is a fantastic way for students to connect with alumni who have walked the same path and are eager to help them navigate their future careers, said Molly Hudgins 97, executive director of the SIU Alumni Association. These conversations often spark mentorships, job opportunities and lasting friendships, reinforcing the strong Saluki bond that extends beyond graduation. Dan Sanchez 87, founder and president of the Sanchez Advisory Group in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and a member of the associations national board of directors, hosted a group of students at Giant City Lodge. While he was able to impart more than 36 years of experience in finance, sales and marketing, Sanchez said he was immensely impressed with his dinner company. I felt truly honored to spend time with such an impressive group of Saluki students, he said. Their thoughtful questions, eagerness to listen and learn, and the way they connected with each other was inspiring to witness. Its clear they are taking their education seriously and are committed to building bright futures. Having the chance to share my experience and hear their stories was an absolute privilege. The future is in good hands with Salukis like these leading the way. Emily White, a senior in economics and finance in the SIU College of Business and Analytics, was part of Sanchezs group. She said its always great to see alumni willing to give their time to help students. Dinner with 12 Salukis provided me with a unique opportunity to network with peers and an accomplished alum, who shared valuable lessons and insights from his decades of experience, White said. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of Saluki Nation, where alumni invest in current students. Go Dawgs! Since its inception, Dinner with 12 Salukis has successfully brought together hundreds of students and dozens of alumni from diverse backgrounds and industries, enriching the SIU experience both personally and professionally. The association continues to encourage alumni to participate as hosts and students to take advantage of this meaningful networking experience. Both prospective hosts and students can learn more about the program by visiting siualumni.com/students. SIU to host digital drafting and design competition for 50 high school students by Pete Rosenbery CARBONDALE, Ill. About 50 students from four area high schools who have an interest in architecture, construction and interior design will be at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Friday, March 7, for the Illinois Design Educators Association regional competition. The contest is from 9 to 11 a.m. in Quigley Hall, home to the universitys School of Architecture. Students from Benton, Carbondale, Marion and Zeigler-Royalton high schools will participate. This is the eighth year that SIU School of Architecture will host the regional event. The event includes computer-based and drafting designs in various locations of the building, along with two team competitions. The top three finishers in each of the 11 events earn awards, with the top two finishers qualifying for the state competition on Saturday, April 12, at Illinois State University. Students will also receive tours of the School of Architectures programs and facility, beginning at 11 a.m. Awards will be announced starting at 1 p.m., after lunch. Media advisory Camera crews and photographers are invited to shoot photos and video of competing students during the event. However, the best time for interviews with students and School of Architecture faculty starts at 11 a.m. For more information and to arrange for interviews, contact Rolando Gonzalez-Torres, director, School of Architecture, at rgonzalez@siu.edu or 618-453-1982. Indian stock markets opened in the green on Wednesday, despite US President announcing reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on Tuesday (Local Time). Companies across Japan to Mexico braced for higher prices, lower demand, and supply chain disruptions, as business and consumer confidence weakened due to the new U.S. trade policies. The BSE Sensex started the session 162.63 points higher at 73,152.56, while the Nifty 50 gained 52.85 points, opening at 22,135.50. Market breadth showed 30 Nifty companies advancing, while 20 declined, reflecting cautious optimism among investors. Among the top Nifty performers, M&M, Power Grid, HCL Tech, BPCL, and Adani Ports led the gains. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharma were the biggest laggards in early trade. Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, said, "Trump Tariffs impacted global markets on Tuesday with companies from Japan to Mexico bracing for disruptions, higher prices and lower demand as business and consumer confidence is hurt by the unpredictable Trump policy regime. This morning, China has announced a fiscal stimulus, proposing a 4 per cent fiscal deficit for 2025 to achieve a 5 per cent GDP growth under challenges to its exports." He added, "The tariff actions on friends and foes alike is something not seen since the 1930s protectionism at the height of the Great Depression." Despite strong domestic economic momentum, Bagga warned that global pessimism could weigh on investor sentiment, leading to a cautious market outlook. He said, "For India, there is hope for some kind of an agreement to avoid mutual tariffs with Union Minister Piyush Goyal in the US for discussions. Indian markets will be impacted by the global risk off and despite domestic economic momentum picking up, the global pessimism will translate into a cautious market outlook ." Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, "The nifty recovered from its initial weakness to finish slightly lower and in doing so ended down for the 10th straight day for the first time in history. There are signs that the broader benchmarks are attempting a recovery, but a trigger is awaited." While the market opened higher, analysts expect global uncertainties to dictate the near-term trend, particularly with U.S.-India trade talks underway. Investors will also monitor policy responses from major economies as they navigate trade disruptions and economic slowdowns triggered by rising protectionism. (ANI) Flash U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (2nd R) at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that his country stands ready to enter peace negotiations without delay. "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians," he said on social media platform X. Zelensky said that he and his team are ready to work under the leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump to achieve peace. Speaking about his recent meeting with Trump on Feb. 28, Zelensky admitted it "did not go the way it was supposed to be." "It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive," Zelensky said. As the initial steps of the peace process, Zelensky proposed the release of prisoners, a ban on using missiles, long-range drones and bombs against energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure, and a truce in the sea. Half of India''s mutual fund investment comes from the top five cities of India, says a report by asset management firm Abakkus. According to the report, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Kolkata are the top five cities that contribute about fifty per cent of mutual fund investments in India. The data released by the report adds that with about 27.29 per cent of total Assets Under Management (AUM), Mumbai comes in first place. The city''s total AUM stands at Rs 18.92 lakh crores. National Capital Delhi stands second with 12.25 per cent of total AUM at Rs 8.5 lakh crore. Bengaluru stands third with a total AUM of 3.8 lakh crore or 5.48 per cent of the total investment in mutual funds. Pune''s share stands at 2.7 lakh crore, or 3.9 per cent, and Kolkata is at the fifth rank on the list with Rs 2.4 lakh crore of investment in mutual funds, or 3.48 per cent of the total AUM, according to the report. The Indian mutual fund industry achieved new heights in 2024 as it surpassed Rs 68 lakh crore in assets under management (AUM). According to the AMFI data, the mutual fund industry''s AUM crossed Rs 68 lakh crore in 2024 by November 2024. In December 2023, the AUM was Rs 50.78 lakh crore, which means the AUM has grown by 34 per cent in this period. The maximum growth came in the equity mutual funds--the equity mutual fund AUM stood at Rs 30.5 lakh crore--45 per cent of the total AUM. A decade ago, the Indian equity mutual fund AUM was a mere Rs 1.9 lakh crore. In August 2023, the AUM crossed Rs 30 lakh crore for the first time. This suggests that the AUM has more than doubled in less than 18 months. The Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) has achieved remarkable milestones in 2024. The SIP AUM reached an all-time high of Rs 13.54 lakh crore in November 2024. The SIP accounts also hit a record high, at 10.23 crore in November 2024, up from 10.12 crore in September 2024. Monthly SIP inflows witnessed an impressive 48 per cent growth year-over-year, surging from Rs 17,073 crore in November 2023 to Rs 25,320 crore in November 2024. SIPs have become a cornerstone of wealth creation for Indian retail investors. But with markets going down, equity mutual funds have lost up to 20 per cent over the last nine months. However, on average, historically, MFs have given a 12-14 per cent return over a period of 5-10 years. (ANI) The India-UK partnership is set to strengthen significantly as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visits the United Kingdom to reinforce the growing GBP 41 billion trading relationship between the two nations. A major highlight of this visit is the announcement of two new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester, a move aimed at fostering regional economic ties and enhancing investments. The UK has also welcomed over GBP 100 million in new Indian investment deals, expected to create jobs, strengthen economic growth, and improve financial prospects for working individuals. Ahead of the consulates' inauguration, Dr Jaishankar met Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House to advance the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Their discussions focused on economic growth, technological innovation, and tackling global challenges such as climate change. They also addressed pressing geopolitical concerns, including Russia's war in Ukraine and the Middle East situation. Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasised the importance of India as a key partner, stating, "One of my first visits as Foreign Secretary was to India because deepening our partnership for our shared growth and security is a key part of this government's Plan for Change." He further said, "Dr Jaishankar and I are supercharging our GBP 41 billion trading relationship with India, after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies." "The opening of new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester demonstrate the growing links between our peoples and how we are working together to deliver growth not only in London, but right across the UK. This expansion of India's diplomatic presence will further boost our trading relationship and support the valued Indian community in the UK," he added. The discussions also covered the Technology Security Initiative, first launched during Lammy's visit to Delhi in July 2024. This initiative aims to strengthen cooperation in emerging sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, telecoms, and critical minerals. Closer ties in these sectors are expected to lead to advancements in healthcare, resilient supply chains, increased investment, and new job opportunities. (ANI) VMPL New Delhi [India], March 5: This Women's Day, FlowerAura is celebrating the essence of individuality with its latest campaign--Redefining BeYOUtiful. Moving beyond conventional beauty standards, the brand is celebrating the uniqueness of every woman, embracing her strength, resilience, and grace.The campaign serves as a reminder that beauty is not just about appearance but about confidence, kindness, and the courage to be oneself. To mark the occasion, FlowerAura has unveiled an exclusive Women's Day collection, featuring an exquisite range of gifts, flowers, and cakes. At the heart of this collection is an elegant cake collection, symbolising dignity, strength, and admiration--qualities that define every woman. Alongside, meticulously curated gift hampers and floral arrangements have been designed to make heartfelt expressions even more memorable. The collection features unique flower assortments, delicate yet empowering personalised gifts, and a range of stunning Women's Day gifts designed to bring joy and appreciation to women across all walks of life. "As a brand that believes in the power of emotions, we wanted to create something that resonates deeply with women and celebrates them in their truest form," says Shrey Sehgal, Co-Founder of FlowerAura. "Beauty isn't about fitting into a predefined mold; it's about embracing individuality, and through this campaign, we hope to inspire women to recognise and celebrate their own unique beauty." The BeYOUtiful campaign highlights the message that just like flowers, no two women are the same--yet each blooms in her own way, radiating beauty that goes beyond appearances. It shines a light on the fact that women are powerful in their authenticity, making invaluable contributions to society, families, and industries. Through its thoughtfully designed offerings, FlowerAura encourages people to honour the women in their lives with meaningful gestures that reflect admiration and appreciation. From striking Women's Day flowers to personalised keepsakes, the collection is available for delivery across India, making it easier than ever to spread joy and appreciation this Women's Day. Customers can conveniently explore and purchase from the collection online, ensuring their special gestures reach their loved ones right on time. For more information on FlowerAura's Women's Day collection, visit www.floweraura.com. About FlowerAura FlowerAura is a premier online gifting platform delivering Rakhi, flowers, cakes, gifts, and hampers to over 800+ cities in India and 30+ countries worldwide. With an extensive network of fulfilment centres, channel stores, and 75+ dark stores, FlowerAura ensures extraordinary celebrations. Accessible through its website, mobile app, retail stores, and popular e-commerce platforms, FlowerAura boasts a customer base of over 10 million, promising to exceed customer expectations with a vast collection of gifts. Media Contact: Suman Patra suman.patra@FlowerAura.com +91 96500 62220 Head - Product and Marketing FA Gifts Pvt. Ltd. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PRNewswire Panaji (Goa) [India], March 5: Dr. Suborno Bose, Chairman of the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), one of India's foremost hospitality educators and a visionary in integrating technology with hospitality, has been honoured with the 'Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality and Education Through Technology' award by Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Shekhawat. The award was conferred at the Vibrant Bharat Global Summit 2025, an event organized by Bharat 24, one of the country's leading language media networks. This prestigious recognition marks a significant milestone in Dr. Bose's relentless efforts to revolutionize hospitality, tourism, and education through technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). The occasion was further distinguished by the unveiling of Dr. Bose's latest book, Harmonizing Human Touch and AI in Tourism & Hospitality, which explores the synergy between AI and hospitality. The book was formally launched by the Union Tourism Minister. In a signed message in the book, Mr. Shekhawat wrote, "I must express my greetings to you for the vision and dedication behind this well-researched document." Each chapter of the book presents real-world examples of how AI enhances guest satisfaction, sustainability, and operational efficiency--covering topics such as predictive maintenance, sentiment analysis, and zero-waste initiatives. Reacting to the award, Dr. Bose expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Bharat 24. Personally, I am deeply humbled by this recognition. At the same time, I take immense pride in Team IIHM and our shared vision of leveraging technology to drive change while preserving the human essence of hospitality. Today, we are not just discussing hotel management--we are embracing the AI revolution in hospitality education. We are preparing the hospitality leaders of tomorrow for a future where AI, automation, and innovation are reshaping the industry." The award holds even greater significance in light of IIHM's proactive efforts to drive AI integration in hospitality education and tourism. IIHM has collaborated with over 50 countries to advance AI-driven hospitality education, culminating in the first-ever Global Knowledge Sharing Declaration. This initiative has been shared with young chefs and students from 50 leading hospitality schools worldwide. Speaking on this initiative, Dr. Bose stated, "The Global Knowledge Sharing Declaration is a comprehensive framework to integrate AI into hospitality education on a global scale. It prioritizes inclusivity, human-centric values, and sustainability, ensuring that technology enhances rather than replaces the core of hospitality. AI is not artificial--it is 'Advanced Intelligence'." Taking this commitment a step further, IIHM has announced the launch of the world's first generative AI-powered knowledge engine for the hospitality industry--'NamAIste IIHM HospitalityGPT.' This AI-driven platform is designed to provide students, faculty, hospitality professionals, and industry stakeholders with real-time insights, emerging trends, and best practices. Unlike conventional AI chatbots, IIHM's customized Large Language Model (LLM) is tailored specifically for the hospitality sector, ensuring industry-focused AI-powered learning and decision-making. Industry stalwarts who have championed technological innovation in hospitality, such as Padma Shri awardee Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, have lauded the initiative. Reacting to the announcement in a podcast on IIHM's YouTube channel, Chef Kapoor stated, "It's brilliant. There will always be generic tools and specialized tools, and they will coexist. For IIHM to be that specialist and bring in that focus, the world will adopt it." With these groundbreaking initiatives, IIHM continues to position itself at the forefront of hospitality education, blending cutting-edge AI technology with the human-centric values that define the industry. Media contacts:Sujay Gupta+91-9923057937 Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2634295/Suborno_Bose_Receives_Award.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2569189/5199901/IIHM_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 5: Zurich Kotak General Insurance highlights the key risks covered under comprehensive car insurance. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, third-party car insurance is mandatory. However, comprehensive car insurance provides financial protection against accidents, theft, and natural calamities while also covering third-party liability. Choosing the right coverage requires careful consideration while many people make mistakes while buying car insurance. While third-party car insurance is mandatory, a comprehensive policy provides broader financial protection, helping policyholders manage unforeseen circumstances effectively. Many vehicle owners make mistakes while purchasing insurance, often overlooking critical coverage aspects. Zurich Kotak General Insurance aims to educate car owners on the key benefits of a well-rounded policy. Comprehensive Car Insurance: Key Coverage Areas Accidental Damages Coverage Road accidents are a common occurrence, and even the most cautious drivers can face unexpected collisions. Whether it is a minor dent or major damage, repairing a vehicle can be expensive. Comprehensive car insurance covers the cost of repairs, ensuring that policyholders do not have to bear the financial burden. What is covered? - Damage caused by collisions with other vehicles - Accidents involving stationary objects such as poles or walls - Scratches and dents resulting from minor mishaps - Major structural damage requiring part replacement Having comprehensive coverage ensures that you can get your car repaired without incurring high out-of-pocket expenses. Protection Against Car Theft Car theft is a major concern, especially in urban areas where the risk is higher. Losing a vehicle to theft can be financially devastating, particularly if the car is new or expensive. With comprehensive car insurance by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, you are financially protected if your car is stolen. If law enforcement authorities are unable to recover the vehicle, the insurer will compensate the owner based on the Insured Declared Value (IDV) of the car. What is covered? - Complete vehicle theft - Break-in and burglary-related damages For additional security, car owners should park in well-lit areas and use anti-theft devices. Fire and Explosion Damage Fires can occur due to various reasons, including electrical malfunctions, fuel leaks, or external factors like arson or riots. The resulting damage can be extensive, leading to complete loss of the vehicle. Comprehensive car insurance covers damage caused by fire, explosion, and self-ignition, ensuring financial protection against such unforeseen incidents. What is covered? - Fires caused by electrical short circuits - Explosions due to fuel leakage - Damage resulting from fire outbreaks during riots or strikes Regular vehicle maintenance can help reduce the risk of electrical failures and fire-related incidents. Natural Disaster Coverage Natural calamities are unpredictable and can cause severe damage to vehicles. Events such as floods, earthquakes, and storms can leave a car completely unusable. Comprehensive car insurance covers natural disasters, ensuring that policyholders are not left with hefty repair bills. What is covered? - Flood and water damage - Earthquakes and landslides - Cyclones, hurricanes, and storms - Snow and hailstorm damage Car owners in flood-prone areas should consider adding an engine protect cover for additional security against water-induced engine damage Coverage Against Man-Made events Instances of riots, strikes, and vandalism can result in serious damage to vehicles. Whether it is intentional destruction or collateral damage during civil unrest, the cost of repairs can be high. Comprehensive car insurance provides coverage for damages caused by man-made disturbances, ensuring that your vehicle remains financially protected. What is covered? - Damage due to riots and strikes - Losses caused by malicious acts - Damage resulting from terrorism-related incidents To minimize risks, parking in secure areas is always advisable. Third-Party Liability Coverage Accidents involving other people's vehicles or property can lead to significant financial and legal liabilities. Under comprehensive car insurance, third-party liability coverage is included to protect the policyholder from financial and legal burdens in case of an accident. What is covered? - Damage caused to another person's vehicle - Injury or death of a third party due to an accident Having third-party liability coverage ensures compliance with mandatory motor insurance laws in India while providing financial protection. Optional Add-On Covers for Enhanced Protection While comprehensive car insurance offers broad coverage, car owners can enhance their protection with add-on covers. These additional benefits help customize the policy based on individual needs. Recommended add-ons for better coverage - Depreciation Cover: Ensures full claim settlement without factoring in depreciation. - Roadside Assistance: Aids in case of breakdowns or emergencies. - Engine Protect: Safeguards the engine from damage caused by water ingression or oil leakage. - Consumables Cover: Covers expenses for essential components like nuts, bolts, and engine oil. - Personal Accident Cover for Owner-Driver: Offers financial assistance in case of injuries, disability, or death of Owner Driver. Choosing the right add-ons can significantly enhance policy benefits, ensuring maximum coverage for various risks. Why Choose Zurich Kotak General Insurance? Zurich Kotak General Insurance offers tailored policies designed to provide holistic coverage with key benefits such as: 1) Protection against accidents, theft, fire, natural disasters, and third-party liabilities 2) Cashless repairs at network garages across India 3) Hassle-free claims process 4) 24/7 customer support and roadside assistance 5) Customizable add-ons for enhanced security At Zurich Kotak General Insurance, we believe your car deserves more than just maintenance; it deserves complete protection. So why leave things to chance? Secure your car today and drive with confidence, knowing we've got you covered. About Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited (Formerly known as Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited) Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited is a 70:30 joint venture between Zurich Insurance Group and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The Company got its new name ''Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited'' in the month of August 2024, following Zurich Insurance Group's 70% acquisition in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited. It is the youngest and one of the fastest growing non-life insurance franchises in India. Kotak General Insurance was established in 2015 to service the growing non-life insurance segment in India. The company aims to cater to a wide range of customer segments & geographies offering an array of non-life insurance products like Motor, Health, Home etc. As a practice, the company seeks to provide a differentiated value proposition through customized products and services leveraging state of art technology and digital infrastructure. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 5: Embarking on its 50th year in fashion, Double Bull, India's iconic men's fashion brand that introduced bold, vibrant party wear in the 90's announced its re-entry into the Indian Retail Industry with ambitious growth plans. With an aim to achieve 100Crores by FY31, the brand has rolled out a robust growth plan that will further strengthen its reach across the country and serve the young men of India with timeless fashion apparels. As part of its strategic future plans, the company plans to build-up its retail presence by increasing its footprint in the Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs) and also set-up over 50 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) in Rural and Urban markets across 14 states by this year-end. In line with this, the brand also announced its plans to enter the burgeoning D2C space with an exclusive e-commerce site by this year-end. The company has also announced significant leadership appointments to drive its new vision. Double Bull entered the Indian Retail industry with its bold, fearless party-wear collection coupled with impeccable craftsmanship in the year 1974. Over the decades, Double Bull became a household name and a symbol of aspiration with its party-wear shirts capturing the imagination of young India back then. Today, with a fresh vision, Double Bull aims to bridge the gap between high-end quality and affordability, ensuring that premium fashion is accessible to everyone. In its 50th year, Double Bull aims to become a nationwide brand once again by expanding its horizon, focusing on innovative designs, fast fashion and reintroducing its iconic party wear shirts across 14 states with a balanced presence across EBOs and MBOs. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Jatin Manodra, CEO - Double Bull said, "As Double Bull marks 50 years in the Indian retail industry, we celebrate not only a significant milestone but also the resilience and dedication that have defined our journey. With new leadership steering the brand, we've revitalized our vision and established a clear growth strategy. From a current turnover of 35 Crores, our goal is to reach 100 Crores by FY2031. By blending our rich heritage with innovative strategies, Double Bull is set to reclaim its position as the go-to brand for party wear and beyond. We are also committed to offering premium-quality apparel with bold, innovative designs that empower fearless self-expression, all at an affordable cost. This is a unique offering currently missing in the Indian retail market, and Double Bull aims to bridge that gap. This is not just a celebration of our past; it's the beginning of an exciting, iconic future." Double Bull is focused on broadening its product portfolio to meet the evolving demands of the modern consumer. The brand is set to introduce a new range of versatile, high-quality apparel that blends both fashion-forward designs and comfort, catering to various occasions beyond just party wear. Additionally, the brand is exploring innovative fabric technologies to enhance durability and sustainability, while ensuring affordability. Founded in 1974, Double Bull Men's Fashion has been a trailblazer in premium menswear for 50 years. Known for its bold, contemporary styles that blend sophistication with everyday comfort, the brand has evolved into a symbol of confidence and refinement. Offering a versatile range of apparel--from impeccably tailored formal wear to effortlessly stylish casuals--Double Bull continues to set benchmarks in quality craftsmanship and trend-forward designs. As it marks its golden jubilee, the brand remains committed to innovation and excellence, ensuring every man makes a statement, no matter the occasion. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) BRICS CCI WE, the Women Empowerment Vertical of the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BRICS CCI) hosted the fifth edition of the BRICS CCI WE Annual Women's Summit & Felicitations 2025, celebrating the spirit of women-led development. The theme for this year's Summit was 'Women Changemakers: Transforming the World, Shaping the Future'. A Commemorative Book - She for Her - celebrating the achievements of trailblazing Women Changemakers from diverse backgrounds and nationalities was also unveiled on the occasion. Delivering the keynote address, Chief Guest, Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi, applauded the government's initiatives in promoting gender equality. "From education to financial inclusion, India is witnessing a transformation where women are becoming equal stakeholders in the nation's progress," she stated. Guest of Honour Kiran Bedi emphasised the need for sustained efforts in empowering women. "Nari Shakti is at the heart of a progressive society. Policy interventions must translate into actionable outcomes that uplift women in every sphere." Addressing the audience, Guest of Honour, Smriti Irani, Former Cabinet Minister said, "Women's empowerment is no longer just a goal--it is an economic imperative. Through targeted programmes, we are ensuring that every woman has the opportunity to contribute to India's growth story." The valedictory address was delivered by Meenakshi Lekhi, Former Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India, who underscored the significance of mentorship programmes in fostering the next generation of women leaders. "By providing the right platforms, we can accelerate action towards gender parity," she said. Welcoming the dignitaries, Ruby Sinha, President, BRICS CCI WE, highlighted the pivotal role of women in shaping industries and economies. "Women's rights cannot be seen in exclusion, they are the very foundation of human rights. We need more women with a seat at the table when it comes to decision making" she said. Actress Dia Mirza emphasised the importance of sustainability. "Women are the backbone of sustainable development. It is imperative to integrate eco-consciousness into leadership narratives," she stated. Delivering the opening remarks, Dr BBL Madhukar, Co-Chairman and Director General, BRICS CCI, reiterated the chamber's commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs. "Women are redefining leadership, and it is our duty to support them with policy, mentorship, and financial access," he noted. Addressing the summit, Sameep Shastri, Vice Chairman, BRICS CCI, remarked, "The government's strategic policy interventions have equipped women to take on leadership roles, fostering an inclusive and sustainable growth model." Ruhail Ranjan, Director (Finance), BRICS CCI, spoke on the financial inclusion of women and the need for more women in decision-making roles. "Empowering women through financial literacy and investment opportunities is key to sustainable economic progress," he said. The Summit was graced by the presence of official representatives from Embassies of Venezuela, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Russia, Australia, USA, China, Belarus, Lesotho, Iran, Kazakhstan, Israel and South Africa. (ANI) NewsVoir Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], March 5: The prestigious Everest Better Kitchen Culinary Challenge (EverestBKCC) Season 6 concluded in Jaipur after hosting regional rounds in 17 cities across India, covering East to West and North to South. Over 10,000 students from 250+ hotel management institutes nationwide participated, showcasing their culinary skills and creativity. Sabeer Mandal, a student from Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), Manipal, emerged as the grand finale winner after competing in multiple rounds. He was awarded a trophy, a hamper, a scholarship worth USD 6,000, and a 12-month paid internship at a star property in the USA under the USJ1 visa as part of the WCE Chef Exchange Program (T&C applied). The second position was secured by Ketki Kulkarni from AISSMS, Pune, while Ayushman Kudu from IHM, Mumbai took the third spot. The intense competition was held at the School of Hotel Management, Manipal University, Jaipur. EverestBKCC continues to inspire and empower young chefs, serving as a launchpad for their careers. The competition followed the theme "Flavours of India," with a focus on: * Preserving and promoting regional cuisines. * Encouraging healthier food choices among younger generations. * Advocating for culinary tourism across India. The event was made possible with Everest as the title partner and the support of Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India), Uttar Pradesh Tourism, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Wisdom Career Education, MYMENU365, and Bio Nutrients (India) Pvt Ltd. A distinguished panel of judges, including Chef Sudhir Pai, Chef Vivek Kadam, Chef Shantanu Gupte, Chef Ashish Bhasin, and Chef Vimal Dhar, evaluated the participants' dishes, leading to a thrilling and competitive grand finale. Ekkta Bhargeva, Publisher of Better Kitchen, shared the broader mission behind the event, "Our goal is to prepare students for future challenges while promoting regional Indian cuisines. By integrating local ingredients into global dishes and reviving lost recipes, we aim to inspire the next generation of chefs. This year, we are proud to offer scholarships worth INR 1 crore through the USA J1 WCE Chef Exchange Visitor Program, which includes a one-year paid internship in the USA, supported by our International Placement & Study Abroad Partner, Wisdom Career Education." This season also introduced two new competitions, further expanding the platform's reach: * Better Kitchen F&B Young Masters Challenge * Enzo Housekeeping Olympiad Additionally, the Better Kitchen Bakery Champion, introduced last season, continued to spotlight young baking talents. Winners of Better Kitchen Bakery Champion First Position: Prachiti Dinesh Yadav, ITM IHM, Nerul, Navi Mumbai Second Position: Yastika Anand, IHM Mumbai Third Position: Neha James Mullur, Fr. Agnel Institute of Food, Crafts & Culinary Science, Verna, Goa Winners of Better Kitchen F&B Young Masters Challenge First Position: P Y Pranay, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru Second Position: Kasa Muralikrishna, Chennai's Amirta International Institute of Hotel Management, Hyderabad Third Position: Swashray Arote, BVDU IHMCT, Pune Winners of Enzo Housekeeping Olympiad First Position: Nipun Kulkarni, IHM Mumbai Second Position: Ajil Benny, Chavara Institute, Kochi Third Position: Vinutha SV, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru The EverestBKCC platform continues to set new benchmarks in culinary excellence, encouraging students to innovate while preserving the rich heritage of Indian cuisine. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 5: The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce (IFCCI) organised the Fifth Edition of its flagship event, the HR Conclave and Awards 5.0 in New Delhi, bringing together CEOs, CHROs, & Global Thought Leaders from the Indo-French Business Community organized under the aegis of the IFCCI HR Committee which comprises of CHROs and HR Heads from over 100+ French & Indian Companies. Several leading French & Indian business groups like Accor, Airbus, Air Liquide, Amadeus, BNP Paribas, Capgemini, L'Oreal, Michelin, Naval Group, Pluxee, Total Energies, SBS, Sonepar, Trilegal are some of the active members of the IFCCI HR Committee. Sharing his views on this occasion, Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India said, "The IFCCI HR Conclave & Awards celebrates the dynamic human and economic ties between France and India. HR leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the future talent ecosystem, and we must recognize the immense opportunities for Indian alumni of French institutions. 2025 should mark the beginning of a new era - one where the French industry in India takes the lead in showcasing how France is contributing to hiring talent in India. These alumni are the finest ambassadors of French academic excellence, and their success strengthens our shared future." A key moment at the IFCCI HR Conclave & Awards 2025 was upGrad Enterprise's exclusive launch of The Workplace Wishlist 2025 - a snapshot report uncovering the skilling priorities and preferences of the Indian workforce. The launch featured a masterclass by Ms. Shirin Rai Gupta (Director - Marketing, upGrad Enterprise) and a thought-provoking fireside chat with Mr. Suraj Chhetri (VP & Head of HR, Airbus India) and Ms. Natasha Singh (Director HR India, SBS). The report revealed compelling insights, including the growing demand for AI skills, the retention impact of employer-led skilling, and the critical yet overlooked role of soft skills - what Suraj aptly termed as "power skills." The discussion reinforced a clear takeaway: investing in learning is no longer optional, but essential for workforce and business growth. Emphasizing the critical role of HR leaders in steering businesses through uncertain times, Mr. Suraj Chettri, Chairperson of the IFCCI HR Committee and VP, Head of HR - Airbus India & South Asia, stated, "The IFCCI HR Conclave was curated to bring together Global Thought Leaders, CEOs, CHROs, and Industry Experts from the Indo-French network to explore how businesses can embrace change, unlock hidden potential, and drive growth through human capital. The future is arriving faster than we anticipate, and only those who adapt, collaborate, and innovate will thrive. True leadership lies in nurturing talent, fostering partnerships, and building a resilient ecosystem for long-term success." The Conclave served as a platform to discuss the core theme of the Conclave, Unlocking Business Potential for an Uncertain Tomorrow. The concept of HR 5.0 signifies a transformative shift where HR has evolved into a strategic partner to leverage advanced technologies, champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, and foster intentional collaboration across every level of the organization. It is about unlocking human and organizational potential in an age where agility, empathy, and purpose are the cornerstones of success. The IFCCI HR Conclave 5.0 explored the paradigm shift by bringing together thought leaders, business visionaries, and HR experts to discuss how organizations can: Redefine leadership to navigate complexity with confidence; Continue aligning people strategies with business objectives to build future-ready organizations; Harness technology while centering on human-centric values; Embrace collaboration and inclusivity to drive meaningful, lasting impact. Winners: IFCCI HR Conclave and Awards 5.0 HR Best Practices (Large Enterprise segment) - Airbus India HR Best Practices (SME) - Systra India Employee Wellness and Wellbeing Initiatives (Large Enterprise segment) - Capgemini India Employee Wellness and Wellbeing Initiatives (SME) - SBS Innovative Upskilling Initiatives of the Year Award - Saint Gobain India Innovative Upskilling Initiatives of the Year (Large Enterprise segment) - Amadeus DEIB Force Multiplier Award (SME) - Pluxee India DEIB Force Multiplier Award (Large Enterprise segment) - Schneider Electric India Planet-Impact HR Leadership Award - Accor India (AAPC India Hotel Management Private Limited) Visionary CHRO Award - Vandana Tilwani, CHRO, Havas India & Chief Diversity Officer APAC, Havas Jury Special Award - Khaitan and Co. Established in 1977, the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the most active bilateral chambers in India. The Chamber has six offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. IFCCI represents a dynamic business platform of over 750 member companies and 17 Sector Committees offering an extensive range of business services and giving access to people and information. For more information, please visit www.ifcci.org.in. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 5: Women Listed, a pioneering platform dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs, proudly hosted the much-anticipated 4th edition of the 'Celebrating Excellence: Entrepreneur Awards 2024' which took place at the India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Spearheaded by Ms. Meeta Gutgutia, the event spotlighted exceptional women entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals across industries including fashion, health & fitness, education, media, social enterprises, and beyond. Since its inception in 2021, the 'Celebrating Excellence' Awards have served as a prestigious platform to recognize resilience, leadership, and innovation in women-led businesses. With each passing year, the awards have grown in stature, bringing together an inspiring mix of entrepreneurs, experts, and changemakers. This edition was bigger, bolder, and more impactful, celebrating the trailblazers who are redefining success across diverse fields. Our honorable jury was Poonam Barua, Dr. Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi, Dr. Prerna Kohli respectively. The 4th edition of the 'Celebrating Excellence Awards 2024' witnessed a power-packed agenda featuring inspiring keynote addresses, an evening of well-deserved recognition, and insightful discussions with a panel spotlighting "'Why Visibility Matters to Women Entrepreneurs in India' with Meeta Gutgutia, Founder of Women Listed & Co-founder of Ferns N Petals (FNP) and Sipping Thoughts, Ms. Poonam Barua, Founder & CEO of WILL Forum India, and Ms. Simran Khara, Founder & CEO of Koparo Clean as panelists. Ms. Meeta Gutgutia, Founder, Women Listed quotes, "The Celebrating Excellence Awards is more than just recognition at Women Listed- it's a movement empowering women entrepreneurs. Following its successful 4th edition, our mission to uplift, connect, and celebrate their resilience has resonated across India. With over 3,000 women-led businesses in the community, Women Listed continues to foster an ecosystem where women thrive, lead, and inspire. We are thrilled to associate with the WILL India Forum as a partner for their April leadership program. Additionally, expert-led online learning sessions will be introduced for women entrepreneurs starting next month." The winners list is as follows: * Vishakha Bhaskkar, Founder, Angrakhaa* Megha Arora, Owner, 3TENX* Meeta Nagpal, Co-founder, Musical Dreams* Akshi Khandelwal, Founder & CEO, Butterfly Ayurveda + Cafe Swasthya* Nishita Thakur, Co-founder & Business Head, KidsCur* Praneeta Kumar Shringi, Co-founder, Design Answers* Nilfa Saha Karamakar, Founder & Director, Niyat Films and Production* Nira Shah, Founder, Little Fingers* Samiksha Khanna, Co-founder & Principal Architect, Unorthodox Designs* Pooja Bhagwat, Founder, Ink & Bliss Calligraphy & Design* Shikha Agnihotri, Founder, Right Side Story* Palak Jain, Founder & CEO, Paws For Greens* Nidha, Founder & CEO, Morningwala* Prachi Kasliwal Dashora, Founder & Director, Sherringwood World School* Vani Talwar, Co-founder, Tidy Up & The Powder Room Women Listed is a dynamic initiative designed to empower, connect, and amplify the voices of women entrepreneurs across India. By providing a platform for networking, marketing, learning, and collaboration, Women Listed has built a thriving community of over 3,000+ women-led businesses and professionals. The organization remains committed to fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem where women can thrive, lead, and inspire. Website: womenlisted.com. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) Flash Israeli soldiers are seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, on March 4, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] The Israeli army on Tuesday killed a senior Qassam Brigades commander and another Palestinian during a large-scale military operation in the eastern neighborhood of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. According to Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses, the Israeli forces, backed by large reinforcements, surrounded several residential buildings in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin, which led to violent clashes that resulted in the killing of Aysar al-Saadi and another young man. Hamas mourned the death of Aysar, accusing Israel of resorting to "assassinations after failing to confront the resistance on the ground." In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed the killing of Aysar, alleging that he was responsible for planning attacks against Israeli targets. The statement also claimed that the second Palestinian killed "posed a threat" to Israeli forces in the area. The army emphasized that military operations would continue in Jenin to pursue what it described as "terrorist elements." PNN Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], March 5: The digital economy is shaping the future of business, with organisations globally transitioning towards technology-driven models. Recognising the ever-growing demand for digital expertise, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Center for Management Studies (CMS), Bangalore, proudly announces the launch of its Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours / Honours with Research) in Digital Business. This digital business degree is meticulously designed to equip students with essential skills in digital business management, ensuring they stay ahead in an increasingly technology-driven world. As one of the top BBA digital business colleges in Bangalore, CMS continues to set new benchmarks in business education. Dr. Dinesh Nilkant, Director, CMS, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), expressed his enthusiasm about the program, stating, "With industries evolving at an unprecedented rate, businesses need professionals who can drive digital transformation and innovation. The BBA Digital Business program at CMS is a visionary step towards nurturing business leaders equipped with cutting-edge digital acumen." Why Choose a BBA in Digital Business? The Bachelor of Business Administration in Digital Business offers an industry-aligned curriculum that prepares students to navigate the digital marketplace confidently. The program focuses on digital business courses that provide expertise in e-commerce, digital marketing, business analytics, and emerging technologies, ensuring that students gain the necessary skills to excel in digital business India. Mr. Mackey Agarwal, Head, Admissions & Marketing, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) and JAIN College, remarked, "The future belongs to those who can seamlessly integrate business strategies with digital capabilities. Our digital business program is structured to impart both strategic and operational expertise, giving students an edge in today's competitive landscape." Comprehensive Curriculum and Career-Focused Learning The BBA Digital Business program at CMS covers a diverse range of subjects that prepare students for real-world challenges in the digital economy. The digital business management course is structured to provide a blend of traditional business fundamentals and advanced digital strategies. The curriculum includes: * E-commerce & Digital Transactions - Understanding the framework of online businesses * Digital Marketing & SEO - Leveraging data-driven marketing strategies * Artificial Intelligence & Automation - Exploring the impact of AI in business operations * Data Analytics & Business Intelligence - Harnessing big data for informed decision-making Graduates from this digital business degree will be well-prepared for high-demand roles such as: * Digital Marketing Manager * E-commerce Manager * Business Analyst * Product Manager Industry-Aligned Learning at One of the Best BBA Digital Business Colleges in Bangalore JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) is recognized among the best BBA digital business colleges in Bangalore for its academic excellence, industry collaborations, and hands-on learning approach. With a strong faculty base, cutting-edge digital tools, and real-time exposure, CMS provides students with an immersive educational experience that bridges the gap between theory and practice. What makes this top BBA digital business colleges in Bangalore stand out? * Global certifications and industry-backed curriculum* Strong placement assistance with top recruiters* Experiential learning with case studies, live projects, and internships* An innovative ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurial ventures By providing a digital business program that aligns with evolving industry standards, CMS ensures that students graduate with skills that make them valuable assets in the global job market. Eligibility and Admissions Students aspiring to be a part of the BBA Digital Business program must meet the following eligibility criteria: * Qualification: A pass in 10+2 from a recognised board (PUC / ISC / CBSE or equivalent)* Admissions Process: Selection is based on merit and institutional guidelines With a mission to nurture tomorrow's digital business leaders, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) welcomes applications from ambitious students looking to carve out a niche in the dynamic digital economy. A Future-Ready Business Degree with Global Relevance As digital transformation continues to revolutionize industries, pursuing a digital business degree from CMS at JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) ensures that students are well-equipped to thrive in this dynamic landscape. The program empowers students with the knowledge and expertise required to excel in the ever-expanding domain of digital business. To learn more about the BBA Digital Business program and how it can shape your career, visit: Website: www.jainuniversity.ac.inEmail: enquiry.ug@jainuniversity.ac.inPhone: 080 - 46501738 / 7337614222 Secure your future with a degree that defines tomorrow! (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], March 5: In today's data-driven business landscape, professionals with expertise in analytics and intelligence are in high demand. Understanding this need, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Center for Management Studies (CMS), proudly announces the launch of its Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) (Honours / Honours with Research) in Business Analytics and Intelligence for the academic year 2025-26. Recognized among the top colleges for business analytics in India, this program is designed to equip students with analytical and strategic decision-making skills, ensuring they stand out in the competitive business world. With business analytics courses in Bangalore evolving to meet industry demands, this new program at CMS focuses on real-world applications, data interpretation, and AI-driven business strategies. Why Choose BBA in Business Analytics and Intelligence? The era of big data and artificial intelligence has transformed the way organizations operate. As one of the best BBA business analytics colleges in Bangalore, CMS ensures that students gain a strong foundation in business intelligence, data visualization, and predictive analytics. Dr. Dinesh Nilkant, Director, Admissions, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), states: "Our goal is to empower future business leaders with the ability to make data-driven decisions. The business analytics and intelligence course at CMS provides cutting-edge training, hands-on experience, and access to advanced analytical tools. With a structured BBA business analytics and intelligence syllabus, this program ensures that our students become industry-ready professionals." As one of the top BBA business analytics colleges in India, CMS blends classroom learning with practical exposure, ensuring students acquire the right mix of technical expertise and managerial acumen. The curriculum is designed to cover BBA business analytics and intelligence subjects. Key Features of the Program This business analytics and intelligence course is structured to offer a seamless integration of theoretical concepts with industry applications. - Comprehensive Curriculum - Covers data analytics, business intelligence, and AI-driven strategies, aligned with industry standards. - Industry-Aligned Training - With business analytics courses in Bangalore rapidly growing, CMS ensures students gain experience with real-world analytics projects and case studies. - Technology-Driven Learning - Hands-on exposure to AI, machine learning, and business intelligence software. - Global Business Focus - Recognized among the best BBA business analytics colleges in India, CMS integrates global business trends into its curriculum. - Dynamic Career Prospects - Prepares students for roles in digital transformation, strategic consulting, and data-driven business analysis. Mackey Agarwal, Head, Admissions & Marketing, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), emphasizes: "Being ranked among the top BBA business analytics colleges in Bangalore, CMS ensures that students are equipped with high-demand skills that prepare them for global careers. The BBA business analytics and intelligence syllabus is designed to provide students with a strategic edge in the evolving business ecosystem." Expansive Career Opportunities The need for business analytics professionals is surging, making this program a game-changer for students aspiring to make an impact in corporate strategy and decision-making. Graduates from one of the best colleges for BBA business analytics in Bangalore can explore careers as: -Data Analysts & Business Intelligence Experts - Marketing & Consumer Analytics Specialists - Strategy Consultants & Operations Analysts - Financial Risk Analysts & E-Commerce Managers With business analytics courses in Bangalore gaining popularity, graduates from CMS are highly sought after by top organizations worldwide. Saurabh Kumar, Chief Manager, Admissions & Marketing, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), shares: "Our institution has established itself as one of the top colleges for business analytics in India. Through advanced learning models, AI-integrated coursework, and global business insights, we prepare students for dynamic career opportunities in digital transformation and analytics-led businesses." Eligibility & Admission Process To apply for the BBA in Business Analytics and Intelligence, candidates must meet the following criteria: - Educational Qualification - A pass in 10+2 (Science, Commerce, or Arts) from a recognized board. - Admission Process - Based on academic performance, written test & personal interview, and merit-based selection. This program is recognized among the top BBA business analytics colleges in India, offering students a unique blend of theoretical and practical business analytics expertise. Join a Legacy of Excellence at CMS JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Center for Management Studies, has earned a reputation as one of the best BBA business analytics colleges in India. With an advanced curriculum, state-of-the-art facilities, and industry collaborations, CMS is setting new benchmarks in business education. As one of the top BBA business analytics colleges in Bangalore, CMS continues to: - Enhance Student Employability - Bridging the gap between industry needs and academic learning. - Foster an Innovation-Driven Culture - Encouraging students to explore data-driven business strategies. - Provide Global Learning Exposure - Preparing students for international business opportunities. With a well-structured BBA business analytics and intelligence syllabus, students will gain the critical skills needed to thrive in modern business environments. Contact Information: - Website: www.jainuniversity.ac.in- Email: enquiry.ug@jainuniversity.ac.in- Phone: 080 - 46501738 / 7337614222 (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], March 5: Avaamo, announced the launch of Avaamo Agents, a groundbreaking set of digital workers who will augment the workforce and enhance enterprise operations through automation, efficiency, and innovation. Avaamo Agents is a group of trusted autonomous AI agents with powerful new capabilities and takes advantage of advances in Agentic reasoning and combines Avaamo's experience in enterprise workflows, security and compliance to deliver a new kind of Digital worker. The agents will help companies to scale their workforce exponentially with human-like intelligence 24/7. This suite of the first AI-powered healthcare agents includes Ava for care scheduling, Aaron for payment processing, Amber for health coverage guidance, and Alex for lab report access. These agents represent a new generation of digital workers, enabling organizations to scale their workforce exponentially with human-like intelligence, available 24/7. Each agent provides seamless, secure, and accurate support-- helping healthcare organizations deliver better care with greater efficiency. Why Avaamo Agents Matter? With Avaamo Agents entering the workforce to augment the skills shortage and current labor demands, repetitive tasks in dozens of areas can be delegated to Avaamo Agents to process and manage efficiently. * Customer support queries are resolved faster.* Employee questions no longer go unanswered for days.* Healthcare inquiries--from claims and insurance to medical tests--are processed swiftly.* Avaamo Healthcare Agents provide secure, multilingual, 24/7 support.* Autonomous AI workforce built for scalable, high-impact efficiency.* Avaamo Agents ensure rapid deployment, robust security, and compliance. The New Digital AI workforce is India's future The AI digital workforce vision goes beyond mere automation. Avaamo is creating intelligent digital workers that don't just assist - they execute independently across healthcare, employee support, and customer service. These aren't tools or interfaces; they're autonomous agents of change that operate 24/7 across every channel of the enterprise. "India's AI industry is set to grow to $1 trillion by 2030, AI-enabled automation adoption will be the foundation for organizations to automate, gain cost efficiency, and generate fresh opportunities for worker reskilling. Today's launch signifies a key milestone at which organizations transition to adopting AI, building an AI-first economy and defining the future of work," said Ram Menon, CEO and Co-founder of Avaamo. With government-led initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, enterprises have an ideal environment to harness AI by redeploying human talent for higher value activities and delegating lower- level repetitive tasks to the AI digital worker. India needs to lead the AI revolution not just participate in it. Organizations that take the lead in integrating AI digital workers into their global workforce strategy will gain a first-mover advantage and establish themselves as global pioneers in AI-powered business transformation. Avaamo is an advanced multimodal Agentic AI platform empowering global enterprises to automate and deliver outstanding self-service experiences. Our patented AI technology spans voice transcription, natural language understanding, generative AI, and call center automation. Avaamo supports self-service interactions across Healthcare, HR, IT, and customer service for leading global companies. Facilitating over 2 billion interactions annually in 114 languages, Avaamo seamlessly integrates with 200+ common enterprise applications. Visit avaamo.ai to witness how Avaamo is shaping the future of Agentic-enabled enterprise. Join us at the forefront of innovation! (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) The Reserve Bank has decided to conduct the following operations to inject liquidity into the banking system: OMO purchase auctions of Government of India securities for an aggregate amount of Rs 100,000 crore in two tranches of Rs 50,000 crore each to be held on March 12, 2025 (Wednesday), and March 18, 2025 (Tuesday). The USD/INR Buy/Sell Swap auction of USD 10 billion for a tenor of thirty-six months is to be held on March 24, 2025 (Monday). "Detailed instructions for each operation shall be issued separately," said the central bank in a statement. The Reserve Bank said it will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly liquidity conditions. (ANI) The actress, known for her roles in films like 'Maanikya' and 'Pataki,' was apprehended at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru on the evening of March 3, 2025. Ranya, who is the stepdaughter of DGP Dr K Ramachandra Rao, was produced before a special court judge for financial offences on the evening of March 4. Following the hearing, the judge ordered that she be sent to judicial custody until March 18, 2025. According to DRI officials, Ranya had arrived in Bengaluru from Dubai on an Emirates flight. The DRI team had been tipped off about her involvement in gold smuggling, and they had stationed themselves at the airport two hours prior to her arrival. After her flight landed around 7 PM, she was arrested and taken into custody. Before being transferred to judicial custody, Ranya underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru. During questioning, she claimed that her visit to Dubai was for business purposes. However, DRI officials allege that she was in possession of gold, which was being smuggled into India illegally. The gold found in her possession weighed a total of 14.8 kilograms, a significant amount that has raised concerns over the extent of the smuggling operation. At present, Ranya remains in judicial custody as the DRI continues its investigation into the case. (ANI) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has expressed his admiration for Anant Ambani's wildlife conservation project, Vantara, located in Gujarat's Jamnagar. SRK's post comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the world's largest wildlife research center, which Anant Ambani has been instrumental in developing. Vantara is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and conserving wildlife and has become a beacon of compassion for animals in distress. Taking to his X handle, Shah Rukh Khan replied to a post by PM Modi, and shared a post celebrating Anant Ambani's efforts, echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister Modi, who had earlier lauded the center's remarkable work in wildlife preservation. SRK's post read, "Animals deserve love, and they need protection and care... for their health & that of our planet. PM @narendramodi's presence at Vantara reinforces the importance of this. The purity of a person's heart is directly proportional to their love for animals. Vantara and Anant's commitment to providing a sanctuary to unfortunate animals is a testament to that. Keep it up Beta!!" https://x.com/iamsrk/status/1897189396648222765?t=YT84I_a15-ekNU2Ufzbaww&s=08 Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Vantara, the world's largest wildlife research center in Jamnagar, and inaugurated the state-of-the-art conservation and rehabilitation project. PM Modi commended Anant Ambani and his team for their dedication to the welfare of animals, calling Vantara a "vibrant example" of India's longstanding tradition of protecting all living beings. During his visit, PM Modi shared several heartwarming glimpses of the center, highlighting the distressing yet hopeful stories of various animals. Among them was an elephant that had been a victim of an acid attack and was receiving treatment at Vantara. Other cases included elephants that had been blinded by their Mahouts and one struck by a speeding truck. The Prime Minister condemned such cruelty, urging the public to show kindness toward animals. "Let us put an end to such irresponsibility and focus on kindness towards animals," PM Modi wrote in a post on X, addressing the cruelty faced by some animals. The center's efforts to rehabilitate animals, including a lioness with severe spinal injuries and a leopard cub abandoned by its family, were also showcased. Vantara, which houses some of the most endangered species, provides facilities designed to mirror the natural habitat of the animals. Among the various species being cared for at the center are Asiatic Lions, Snow Leopards, One-Horned Rhinoceroses, and more. The center boasts a comprehensive wildlife hospital equipped with advanced medical facilities such as MRI machines, CT scanners, and ICUs to treat the animals in their care. PM Modi interacted with the resident animals, including Asiatic Lion cubs, White Lion cubs, and Clouded Leopard cubs. The White Lion cub, which was born at Vantara, symbolized the center's successful breeding and conservation programs. PM Modi also visited the elephant hospital, the largest of its kind in the world, which provides vital care to elephants suffering from ailments like arthritis. Further, the Prime Minister saw hydrotherapy pools for elephants, which aid in the recovery of foot problems, and witnessed various life-saving surgeries, such as one involving a leopard rescued from a highway accident. Anant Ambani, the driving force behind Vantara, has shown a deep commitment to wildlife conservation and animal welfare. His involvement in rescuing and rehabilitating animals has earned him widespread recognition. The center's initiatives not only focus on rescuing animals but also work toward ecological balance and promoting awareness about wildlife preservation. Vantara is a sanctuary where animals that have been abused or abandoned find refuge and receive expert care. (ANI) The 'Bridgerton' star Simone Ashley shared that she and her boyfriend Constantin "Tino" Klein recently broke up, and she also talked about the challenges of doing her new film 'Picture This'. Ashley revealed her recent breakup with boyfriend Tino Klein, whom she began dating in 2022 before making the relationship Instagram in March 2023. "It's kind of ironic I'm promoting a rom-com," said Simone said, "and as of January this year, I've been entering my single era," reported E! News. She trying hard to embrace the new phase of her life. "I'm focusing on me and focusing on my work and my inner confidence," said Simone, adding, "It feels like a different chapter from when Bridgerton came out, where things were just so crazy." The former couple seemingly made their final public appearance together three months before their split, stepping out in London in October for the opening of an art exhibition curated by fashion designer Marco Capaldo, as per the outlet. Simone first hinted at her romance in November 2022 when she revealed that she and Tino met during the Grand Prix in Monaco earlier that year. "I'm very happy," she said during an interview, though she didn't mention Tino by name. "We haven't gone public yet and we're having those conversations about how we can get there before anyone else does." She finally made the relationship Instagram official in March 2023 when she shared a sweet snap of herself laughing with Tino at a BAFTA Awards after-party one month prior, writing in the caption that the pic was "one of my favourite photos," reported E! News. (ANI) Actor-director Ben Stiller recalled how Former President of the United States Barack Obama, turned down the voice role in Ben Stiller's directorial series 'Severance' season 2. "I didn't ask him in person, I knew someone who knew his lawyer and his lawyer said I can relay the request if you write an email," said Stiller on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, reported Deadline. He approached him for a voice role in the second season of the Apple TV+ series. "I wrote an email to him saying like, 'Hey we have this show,' whatever. And like two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama." In his reply, Stiller shared that Obama told him he was a "big fan of the show" and was awaiting the second season. However, the former President of the United States turned down the offer saying, "I don't think I have time in my schedule to make it happen." "I'm like, what's more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance?" Stiller said, as per the outlet. Obama would have provided the voice in the "Lumon is Listening" video featured in the series, but Keanu Reeves ultimately voiced it. "He's just like the most warm and inviting voice," Stiller said of Reeves. "I don't know if when you see the building and you hear his voice, you necessarily think immediately that it's Keanu, but then I think you have this just innate feeling," he added, reported Deadline. (ANI) Actor Vicky Kaushal's starrer period drama 'Chhaava' is making waves across India, and the film received much love and appreciation from BJP leaders in Mumbai. Maharashtra Minister Aditi Sunil Tatkare has organised a special screening for MLAs and MLCs. "...Chhaava movie was released a few days ago and we felt that all our MLAs and council members should definitely watch this movie. So we organized a special screening of this during the session and the star cast and their production, distributors also supported it a lot," Maharashtra Minister Aditi Sunil Tatkare told ANI. Directed by Laxman Utekar, 'Chhaava' stars Vicky Kaushal as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Akshaye Khanna as Emperor Aurangzeb. It also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Divya Dutta. Expressing her gratitude to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, she added, "I am thankful to our state's CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde, and all our colleagues from the cabinet and MLAs who have come here today. So, I am very happy that the struggle of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and his sacrifice for Swarajya has been shown in this film..." Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar also praised the film, saying, "Unprecedented, very good and more such films should be made so that our history can be known to the new generation. An effort has been made to present this history in front of everyone through a very good medium. My best wishes to all the artists and the production team of the film." Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shared his admiration for the movie, "A very beautiful movie has been made. Our colleague minister, Aditi Tatkare, has organized this screening today for all MLAs and MLCs...," he told the media. He added, "Those who wrote history did a lot of injustice to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, but through this movie, his valour, bravery, cleverness, intelligence, knowledge, all these aspects of his life are coming in front of the public. And the way Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj continuously protected Swarajya after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, his sacrifice is coming in front of the people through this. I would like to congratulate the producers of this film and the entire team." Vicky's 'Chhaava' also garnered a shout out from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February. Speaking at the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in New Delhi, PM Modi lauded Maharashtra's significant contribution to both Marathi and Hindi cinema. He particularly mentioned how 'Chhaava', based on the life of the Maratha ruler, has gained nationwide appreciation.PM Modi said, "Ye Maharashtra aur Mumbai hi hai jisne Marathi filmon ke saath-saath, Hindi cinema ko ye unchai di hai. Aur in dino toh, Chhaava ki dhoom machi hui hai." (Maharashtra and Mumbai have elevated Hindi cinema along with Marathi films, and Chhaava is making waves these days.) He also credited Shivaji Sawant's historical Marathi novel Chhava for introducing the valour of Sambhaji Maharaj to a wider audience. Touched by the Prime Minister's recognition, Vicky Kaushal took to Instagram to express his gratitude, resharing PM Modi's post with the caption, "Honoured beyond words! Grateful to Hon. PM Narendra Modi Ji. #Chhaava." His co-star, Rashmika Mandanna, who plays Yesubai in the film, also expressed her thanks on social media, writing, "Thank you @narendramodi sir. It's truly an honour." (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has assured that the allottees "cheated" by the Ansal Group will get justice. Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, the UP Deputy CM said, "I have come to know that all of Ansal's allottees have been cheated. The matter has come to the notice of the government. The Chief Minister has ordered strict action. In every situation, the allottees there will get justice." Earlier, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath directed the registration of an FIR against the Ansal Group. Taking cognizance of the matter wherein the Ansal Group allegedly duped homebuyers, the CM directed the registration of FIRs in all districts where buyers have been duped. The CM also directed that a special team would be formed for strict action. CM Yogi Adityanath also slammed the opposition for spreading "negative propaganda" about the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and said that despite their efforts to spread misinformation, they were unable to shake the faith of the people in the country. Speaking at the UP legislative assembly, CM Yogi said, "The negative propaganda and misinformation that was spread had no impact on the faith of the people of the country. Your attempts to spread negativity were unsuccessful. You (opposition) tried to strategically spread negativity, but neither the people of Uttar Pradesh nor the country believed your words. Soon, the public will stop listening to you." The UP CM further said that the mass religious congregation demonstrated the state's capability to organise such a grand event. Targeting the opposition, CM Yogi said, "Mahakumbh has demonstrated the state's capability to organise such a grand event, showcasing not only the state's strength to the country but also India's potential to the world. The negative propaganda and misinformation spread by you had no impact on the people's faith across the nation." "You continuously relied on spreading negativity, which became your primary tool. Despite your efforts to strategically create this narrative, neither the people of Uttar Pradesh nor the country believed your false claims. No one in the country trusted your words," he added. The Chief Minister further said that organising the Mahakumbh was part of a broader plan for the sustainable development of the holy and traditional city of Prayagraj, adding that the event allowed the UP government to improve the city's infrastructure significantly. (ANI) Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Reddy said, "...There is simple vote bank politics as it is an election year... People of Tamil Nadu are fed up with DMK. They have failed to maintain law and order. DMK is raking up emotional issues to divert from the main issues... Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement, he said, "In Coimbatore, the Union Home Minister clearly said that no southern state will face any loss. They (DMK) are not understanding, only provoking people. They want to divert attention from real issues...." State BJP Chief K Annamalai also announced on Tuesday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Tamil Nadu in the next two days. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Tamil Nadu in 2 days. A lot of changes may take place," Annamalai said. Shah's visit comes amid the tussle between DMK-led Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led Centre over the three-language policy and its apprehension regarding the delimitation process. Notably, Chief Minister MK Stalin convened an all-party meeting on March 5. Earlier, Stalin confirmed that invitations for the all-party meeting would be sent to the 40 political parties registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Tamil Nadu. (ANI) Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya has emphasised that women need to be respected more than they are to be worshiped. Chief Justice Upadhyaya said this on Tuesday while speaking at an event organised by the Delhi State Legal Service Authority (DSLSA) to celebrate International Women's Day, which falls on March 8. Addressing the event, he highlighted the need for women's empowerment and gender equality. He said, "Gender equality is yet to be fully achieved." "We need to change our mindset in relation to gender-related issues," he added. Meanwhile, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has started a project, 'Virangana'. In this project, women from marginalized communities are being enrolled to work as para-legal volunteers (PLV). These women are being given two days of training. The DSLSA is giving training to women victims of sexual offenses and acid attacks, transgenders, female sex workers, minor female victims of sexual offenses who are now adults, voluntary social workers, and members of civil society organizations too. Justice Vishvanathan said that women face many challenges in getting access to legal assistance. Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court and other judges of the Delhi Court were also present in the event. Earlier, Rajeev Bansal, Member Secretary, DSLSA, had informed that the authority will pay these PLVs based on the days they are deputed for their services. "The purpose of this project is not only to provide legal services but to empower women as frontrunners in society, this year too. These women-centric initiatives aimed at empowering them to protect rights and ensure equal treatment for all women," he said. Out of 250 candidates, 104 were selected, and 80 finally turned up for the training, he had said. The authority is organizing a week-long celebration starting on Monday, concluding on March 8, International Women's Day. Under this project, 40 victims of sexual offenses have been selected for a 30-hour certification course in food and beverages at the Institute of Hotel Management Catering & Nutrition, Pusa (IHM). DSLSA member secretary Bansal told the mediapersons that this course costs between Rs 1.25-1.5 lakh, but the institution has been gracious to accept their request to not charge anything for this batch starting on March 8. The authority is also organizing a 'Job Fair' for the batch and having discussions with stakeholders in the sector of hospitality and management as well as the union ministry of tourism. Women legal services advocates (LSAs) and women PLVs who rendered exemplary services were honored in the presence of judges from the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court. (ANI) Ranya, who has starred in films such as Manikya and Pataki, is the stepdaughter of DGP Rao. She was accused of possessing 14.8 kg of gold. She was produced before a judge on Tuesday evening and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody. The order was issued by a special court judge for financial offences. The actress underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital before being taken into judicial custody. As per the officials, Ranya claimed she was traveling to Dubai for business purposes. However, the Delhi DRI team had information about her involvement in smuggling. As a result, DRI officers arrived at the airport two hours before Ranya's arrival on March 3. She arrived on an Emirates flight from Dubai and was taken into custody at Bengaluru Airport around 7 pm on Monday. (ANI) Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will be on a visit to Gujarat on March 7-8, wherein he will meet district and state-level party workers and party leaders of the state to discuss preparations for the next Assembly elections. Earlier in the day, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal reviewed the preparations for the All India Congress Committee Meeting in Ahmedabad, scheduled to be held on April 8-9. He also visited the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in the city and paid homage to India's first Union Home Minister. "As part of the visit to review preparations for our AICC Meeting scheduled April 8-9, visited the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad and paid homage to Sardar Patel, our great freedom fighter and stalwart Congressman who has forever been our guiding light," Venugopal posted on X. According to a press release issued by the Congress, the Ahmedabad AICC meet will bring together AICC delegates from across the nation to deliberate on the challenges posed by the "anti-people policies" and the "relentless attack" on the Constitution and its values by the BJP while charting the party's future course of action. The session will commence on April 8 with an extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, followed by the AICC Delegates' meeting on April 9. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will preside over both sessions, which will be attended by Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, all Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states, national office bearers, senior party leaders, and other AICC delegates, said the Congress. This AICC session is being convened as a continuation of the resolutions adopted at the Belagavi Extended CWC meeting (Nava Satyagraha Baithak), which commemorated the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's presidency at the 1924 INC session. "Recognising the urgent need to preserve, protect, and promote the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the Constitution, it was decided that between January 26 2025 and January 26 2026, the Indian National Congress will launch a massive, nationwide public outreach campaign called the Samvidhan Bachao Rashtriya Padayatra, along with an AICC session in Gujarat, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, reaffirming our commitment to his ideals of truth, non-violence, and justice," the statement issued by Venugopal on February 23 said. The upcoming AICC session will serve not only as a platform for crucial deliberations but also as a reaffirmation of the Congress Party's collective resolve to address the concerns of the common people and present a strong alternative vision for the nation, the statement added. (ANI) After Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar blamed the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government for pending bills of contractors in the state, BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal alleged that contractors are dying due to suicide. He also spoke on the Budget Session which commenced on Monday. "Budget will stay merely a book... No guarantees are being fulfilled by the state government... The economic state of Karnataka is very bad and hence we don't have any expectation from the budget..." On Dy CM DK Shivakumar's statement, he said, "Contractors are in a very bad state right now in Karnataka and are committing suicide..." Bharatiya Janata Party leader (BJP) leader CT Ravi said that it is the government's job to pay the pending bills. "Pending bills are always there, once a govt is gone out of power, the bill remains and it needs to be paid (by the current govt). The government gives the commitment, sanction is done by the govt...once the work is done, it is the govt's job to pay the pending bill...govt gets the revenue collection...," Ravi told ANI This comes after DK Shivakumar blamed the previous BJP government for the issue of the large backlog of unpaid contractor bills in the state. "The association had met with him, urging the government to clear the outstanding payments," the Deputy CM had said. Shivakumar acknowledged the challenge, noting that during the previous BJP government, significant work worth over Rs 1.25 lakh crore was initiated, but the state's budget allocation for capital work is only Rs 16,000 crore. Earlier, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading false information that the funds of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are being misused and diverted to other projects.He asked the BJP to substantiate their allegations and demanded accountability from the previous government. "BJP is spreading false information that the money of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is being misused and the money is being diverted to other projects. They are not telling where and how it is being misused; they are not giving any clarification about it. They should answer about what they did when they were in power," Kharge told reporters here. The Karnataka Minister alleged that the SCSP and TSP funds are being misused in the BJP-ruled states. He also accused the Madhya Pradesh government of missing money meant for tribals for cow shelters. (ANI) Congress has criticised the Odisha government after it announced to change the date of Panchayati Raj Day from March 5 to April 24. Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das accused the state's BJP government of "disrespecting" Odisha's founder Madhu Babu and former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. The state Congress president further questioned the silence of BJD (Biju Janata Dal) on this issue. Speaking to ANI, Das said, "...They did not respect Odisha's founder Madhu Babu and they are disrespecting Biju Patnaik ji. The BJP government will further interfere in Odisha's culture...BJD is behaving like a slave of the ruling BJP. Why are they afraid of the BJP?... This is the sad state of affairs of the opposition party..." According to an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office, the Odisha government will celebrate the Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24 instead of observing the same on March 5, the birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik. The state BJP government on Monday said it will observe March 5 as the former CM's birth anniversary and not as 'Panchayati Raj Day,' as has been celebrated for decades. Further, no Government holiday on March 5, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. Though March 5 has been celebrated as 'Panchayati Raj Divas' in Odisha every year, this time, the day will be observed on April 24, in alignment with the national observance, it said. "Odisha Govt will no more observe Panchayati Raj Divas on 5th March, Which Is Biju Babu's Birthday . Instead, Panchayati Raj Divas will be observed on April 24. The new date was approved by the CM today. March 5 is the birth anniversary of Odisha's legendary leader, Biju Patnaik. The state BJP government has decided to celebrate March 5 as the birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik and not as 'Panchayati Raj Day'. Besides that, the Odisha government has also canceled the holiday on that day," said the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in a statement. While Odisha observed 'Panchayati Raj Day' on March 5 since the 1990s to coincide with Biju Patnaik's birthday, the national 'Panchayati Raj Day' is celebrated on April 24. On this day, awards are given to Panchayat representatives from various states, including the Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Award and others. The state government's announcement came hours after the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) asked the state government to clarify its stand on the celebration of the Panchayati Raj Divas on March 5. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday strongly objected to the Union government's notification for the auctioning of a Petroleum and Natural Gas block in the Cauvery Basin falling under the Gulf of Manna Biosphere Reserve, saying that such a project "endangers a fragile ecosystem." Seeking the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the auction of over nine thousand square kilometres of the basin, CM Stalin wrote in a post on X, "The GoI's auction notification for petroleum and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve endangers a fragile marine ecosystem and the livelihoods of lakhs of fishermen." https://x.com/mkstalin/status/1896913378217697723 He further alleged that the Tamil Nadu state government was not consulted before the decision on the auction was made by the Union government. "Despite the serious ecological and socio-economic implications, the Tamil Nadu Government was not consulted before this decision. I urge your (PM Modi's) immediate intervention to cancel this auction notification and protect our marine heritage and coastal communities," his post read. The CM cautioned against deep sea mining in the area, saying that such a project would "degrade the overall health of the ocean." "It will also affect the livelihood of the lakhs of fishermen who depend on Gulf of Mannar for their sustenance," the CM added. The Directorate of Hydrocarbon, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued an auction notification for Petroleum and Natural Gas blocks on February 11. This notification includes 9990.96 sq km under the block name CY-DNHP-2024/1, situated in the Cauvery Basin, falling within the area of Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, near the Palk Bay and Wadge Bank. The Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve consists of a chain of 21 islands and adjoining coral reefs, spread over 560 sq kms off the coasts of Ramanathapuram and Thoothukhudi districts, supporting a wide variety of marine fauna. (ANI) Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale has strongly criticized the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for not adhering to the principles of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, despite claiming to follow his ideology. Athawale, who leads the Republican Party of India (RPI), stated, "RPI is a party based on the thoughts of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The BSP took Baba Saheb's name, but did not follow the party's principles." Athawale also recalled his opposition to the BSP's stance on the Brahmin community, stating, "When BSP opposed the Brahmin community, I had opposed it." The Union Minister further elaborated on his party's future growth plan, saying, "We will create 10 lakh members by 2025. A committee has been formed in 50 districts. In every district, we will form a committee of the Republican Party and reiterate the slogan of RPI." Regarding BSP chief Mayawati's recent decision to expel her nephew Akash Anand from the party, Athawale suggested that Anand could join RPI. He said, "If he (Akash Anand) wants to take forward the mission of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, he should join the Republican Party of India." Athawale emphasized that joining RPI would bring significant strength to the party in Uttar Pradesh, stating, "If he (Akash Anand) joins the party, the Republican Party of India will get more strength in UP." Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday expelled her nephew Akash Anand, saying that the response given by him after he was relieved of his duties was "selfish and arrogant". Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, stated that the remarks made by Anand after his removal from the posts were "not a sign of political maturity". She accused him of being under the influence of his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth. "The lengthy response given by Akash is not a sign of remorse and political maturity but is mostly selfish and arrogant...under the influence of his father-in-law, which I have been advising people in the party to avoid," the BSP supremo added. Mayawati said that it was expected of Akash Anand to accept the decision of his removal from key positions in the BSP "maturely". "In the All-India meeting of BSP yesterday, Akash Anand was relieved from all responsibilities, including the post of National Coordinator, due to him being under the continued influence of his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth, who was also expelled from the party. For this, he should have repented and shown maturity," she added. (ANI) Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 5 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday called out BJP's actions, urging them to make Tamil an official language, halt Hindi imposition, and prioritize Tamil Nadu's development rather than symbolic gestures like installing Sengol. Stalin criticized the BJP-led central government on social media platform X, questioning its commitment to Tamil culture despite its claims of supporting it. He wrote, "If the BJP's claim that our Hon'ble PM has great love for Tamil is true, why is it never reflected in action?" Stalin suggested that instead of symbolic gestures, the government should focus on concrete actions that support Tamil. He said, "Rather than installing Sengol in Parliament, uninstall Hindi from Union Government offices in Tamil Nadu. Instead of hollow praise, make Tamil an official language on par with Hindi and allot more funds for Tamil than a dead language like Sanskrit." The Chief Minister also condemned the attempts to promote Sanskrit and Hindi in Tamil Nadu. He added, "Stop the desperate attempts to saffronise Thiruvalluvar and declare his timeless classic, Thirukkural, as India's National Book." Stalin further emphasized that mere quoting of the Thirukkural in the Union Budget wouldn't suffice, and instead called for practical measures: "Honour them by ensuring special schemes, a prompt disaster relief fund, and new railway projects for Tamil Nadu." He also expressed his discontent with the use of Sanskrit in naming government schemes and projects in Tamil Nadu. "Stop wasting taxpayers' money on the nonsense of 'Hindi Pakhwadas' in Tamil Nadu. End the absurdity of imposing Sanskrit names like Antyodaya, Tejas, and Vande Bharat on Tamil Nadu's trains. Revert to the practice of naming them in Tamil, like Chemmozhi, Muthunagar, Vaigai, Malaikottai, Thirukkural Express, etc." Stalin emphasized that true love for Tamil would be demonstrated through actions, not symbolic gestures. "Love for Tamil is proven through deeds, not deception," he said. Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai, has criticized Chief Minister M K Stalin over his recent comments on the promotion of the Tamil language. In a twepost on X, Annamalai questioned Stalin's efforts to spread Tamil beyond the borders of the state, asking, "What were your achievements in propagating our Tamil language beyond the borders of TN while in power in the State and the Centre? Did anyone obstruct DMK from doing it?" Annamalai further pointed out the Tamil Development Centre program, which was initiated by the previous AIADMK government. He asked, "What efforts have you taken to roll out the Tamil Development Centre programme commenced by the previous AIADMK regime?" The BJP leader also claimed that Stalin's true intentions were to keep Tamil language confined within Tamil Nadu. "The matter is not about your demands; you have always wished that Tamil remain confined within the borders of our State," Annamalai stated. Additionally, Annamalai compared Stalin's efforts to those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasizing that PM Modi had taken significant steps to promote Tamil language and culture outside of Tamil Nadu. "Have you at least taken half the effort taken by our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl to spread the richness of Tamil language and culture beyond TN?" he questioned. (ANI) Assam police seized 102 litres of Indian made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and drugs in two separate operations in Assam's Cachar district, officials said. Two accused were held in the operation. Numal Mahatta, Superintendent of Police of Cachar district said that on March 4 evening, based on intelligence input, a raid was conducted against illicit liquor at Irongmara bazar area of Dwarbond police station and they recovered 102.84 litres of IMFL from a pan shop and seized the same in the presence of witnesses. The involved accused persons are found at large. "On the other hand, on March 4 night, acting on a specific input regarding the movement of 2 persons near Silchar Railway Station, Tarapur carrying suspected contrabands, police team apprehended two persons namely Rokibul Islam (26 years) and Jahangir Alom (30 years) of Barpeta. During their search, 3 numbers of plastic soap cases of heroin were recovered from the possession of Jahangir Alom supposed to travel by train in order to deliver the contraband at Barpeta. The contrabands were duly seized as per provisions and lawful actions initiated against the apprehended persons," Numal Mahatta said. Further investigation is underway. Earlier, on February 28, based on credible intelligence, Cachar Police launched a special operation against the illegal transportation of narcotics substances at Silcoorie Road, Sildubi, under the jurisdiction of Silchar Police Station. During the operation, the police team intercepted one Bolero Pickup van bearing registration number AS-11CC-8697 and recovered 35 soap cases containing heroin weighing about 415 grams concealed in the secret chambers in the body of the vehicle and Rs 2 lakh cash amount. Police apprehended two persons involved in the illegal transportation of the narcotics substance, namely Anwar Hussain Laskar and Ripan Ahmad Laskar. The recovered psychotropic substance and Rs 2 lakh of cash, along with the vehicle, were seized in the presence of independent witnesses following all formalities. "The price of the narcotics substance in the black market is about Rs 2.20 crore. The suspected psychotropic substance was transported from a neighbouring state," Numal Mahatta said. (ANI) Thousands of farmers gathered at the Golden Gate in Amritsar on Wednesday to protest against the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab. Speaking to ANI, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they will burn effigies of the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government in different districts of the state to mark their protest. Pandher also demanded the release of farmers who were allegedly arrested by the Punjab police. "We will have programs in around 18 districts. At 21 locations in Amritsar alone, we will burn effigies of Bhagwant Mann government. Today's program will be done at hundreds of locations across Punjab. SKM's Punjab Union's leader was detained along with the leadership of Kisan Majdoor Morcha...So, today's program is against the human rights violations of farmers...It will be done peacefully...We demand that all arrested farmers should be released," Pandher told ANI. Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Gurbachan Singh Chhaba strongly condemned Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and accused him of instigating people. Chhaba also condemned CM Mann for leaving the meeting with the farmers midway, stating that they have seen such a Chief Minister for the first time who leaves the meeting. Speaking to ANI, Gurbachan Singh Chhaba said, "Bhagwant Mann Government in Punjab left the meeting with farmers. We have seen such a CM for the first time, someone who leaves a meeting with farmers midway...someone who gets the houses of farmer leaders raided, detained them at their houses and detained some others at police stations and got them arrested...Bhagwant Mann Government is playing into the hands of the Centre to violate the human rights of farmers. People will never accept this. We will burn the effigy of Bhagwant Mann. We will demand that farmers be allowed to protest and their demand be met. Our demands are not unlawful...We condemn this govt. Our protest is always peaceful...Bhagwant Mann is instigating people...This is bad." Meanwhile, Chandigarh Police on Wednesday implemented traffic diversions for vehicles entering the city, causing slow traffic movement in the border areas. Visuals that emerged from the Mohali-Chandigarh border and Zirakpur-Chandigarh border showed heavy traffic in the area. Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for 'Pakka Morcha' in Chandigarh on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had accused the Bhagwant Singh Mann government in Punjab of "suppressing the democratic rights of farmers for peaceful protest" and appealed to the Punjab farmers to join the 'Pakka Morcha' at Chandigarh on March 5. Protesting farmers had claimed that CM Bhagwant Mann had got "angry" and "provoked" them during a meeting with him in Chandigarh. (ANI) BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal on Wednesday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited a hospital saying that the AAP government had zero interest in the health of the people of the national capital. Speaking to ANI, Khandelwal claimed that if the medical facilities had been properly utilized during the COVID-19 crisis, they would have been attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts, alleging that AAP's lack of interest led to the wastage of crucial resources. "The AAP government had zero interest in the health of the people of Delhi... If people had received these medical facilities during COVID, they could have thanked PM Narendra Modi. Maybe that's why AAP let these facilities go to waste instead of providing them to the people," he said. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta on Tuesday inspected the GTB hospital and criticised the previous Aam Aadmi Party government over the alleged wastage of healthcare equipment and the 'poor state' of health infrastructure in the national capital. Days after the CAG report was tabled in the Delhi Assembly, the Chief Minister said that hospital equipment worth thousands of crores, mentioned in the CAG report, has not been used to date since the Covid pandemic outbreak. CM Gupta further alleged that only temporary buildings were constructed by the previous AAP government, but no real health facility is available there. "The inspection is going on and in this hospital, I can see that the entire godown is filled with equipment," the Chief Minister told reporters. "As per the hospital's list, there are 458 oxygen concentrators, 146 ventilators, 36000 PPE kits. There are masks, bedding, and so many things that are lying out here since the Corona outbreak. This is not just the story of one hospital, but godowns in almost every hospital are filled like this. I mentioned in the house also yesterday that equipment worth crores of Rupees is lying down in the hospitals without any utilisation. Even if any expert reviews it the equipment, it is not in the condition to be used," CM Gupta said. Questioning AAP further, the Delhi Chief Minister asked who will pay for the thousands of crores being wasted here, and demanded an answer from former CM Arvind Kejriwal. She said, "After spending 2500 crores also, this semi-permanent structure is of no use, it is not in the state of utilization, there are no bathrooms, no nursing stations, no place to sit for the doctors. There are only halls after which they cannot be utilized. They started 24 buildings, out of which not even one has been completed to date. Specifically 7 Hospital during the Corona outbreak with ICU beds where semi-permanent structures had to be built, but see their condition, they are in such bad state." (ANI) In the wake of Nationalist Congress Party MLA Dhananjay Munde's resignation, NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday demanded a thorough investigation into the Beed sarpanch murder case, suggesting that Munde's name should be included as a co-accused in the FIR. Speaking to ANI, Pawar raised concerns over the involvement of Munde's close aide, Valmik Karad, whose alleged wealth and connections to the case have come under scrutiny. "His (Dhananjay Munde) name should come (as co-accused in the FIR into Beed sarpanch murder). It is said that Valmik Karad (accused in the murder case & Munde's close aide) has a property worth Rs 1500 Crores...His name did not appear in the FIR till date because he was a minister. But he is not a minister anymore. A BJP MLA says that he has information that a meeting over extortion was held at the residence of Dhananjay Munde. If that is the case, if Dhananjay Munde is the mastermind, his name should be included in the FIR. A very transparent investigation needs to be done," Rohit Pawar said. On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Dhananjay Munde submitted his resignation as minister, which Fadnavis accepted and forwarded to the Governor for further action. Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan accepted the resignation of Munde, who was Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection. Speaking on the resignation Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has tendered his resignation today. I have accepted the resignation and sent it to the Governor for further course of action." According to sources, CM Fadnavis had asked Munde to step down from his post. The development follows after Munde's close aide, Walmik Karad, was sent to judicial custody in January this year in a Rs 2 crore extortion case allegedly linked to the murder case of Beed district sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. (ANI) Farmers in Punjab gathered at the Golden Gate in Amritsar on Wednesday to protest against the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government. DSP Maninder Singh Pal confirmed that all necessary arrangements had been made for the protest. "All arrangements are in place. Force has been deployed. We are alert. Farmers are here. Protest will be done here (at Golden Gate)," Pal said. Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they will burn effigies of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in different districts of the state to mark their protest. Pandher also demanded the release of farmers who were allegedly arrested by Punjab Police. "We will have programmes in around 18 districts. At 21 locations in Amritsar alone, we will burn effigies of Bhagwant Mann government. Today''s programme will be done at hundreds of locations across Punjab. SKM''s Punjab Union''s leader was detained along with the leadership of Kisan Majdoor Morcha. So, today''s programme is against the human rights violations of farmers. It will be done peacefully. We demand that all arrested farmers should be released," Pandher told ANI. Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Gurbachan Singh Chhaba strongly condemned Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and accused him of instigating people. Chhaba also condemned CM Mann for leaving the meeting with the farmers midway, stating that they have seen such a Chief Minister for the first time who leaves the meeting. Speaking to ANI, Chhaba said, "Bhagwant Mann Government in Punjab left the meeting with farmers. We have seen such a CM for the first time, someone who leaves a meeting with farmers midway. Someone who gets the houses of farmer leaders raided, detained them at their houses and detained some others at police stations and got them arrested. Bhagwant Mann Government is playing into the hands of the Centre to violate the human rights of farmers. People will never accept this. We will burn the effigy of Bhagwant Mann. We will demand that farmers be allowed to protest and their demand be met. Our demands are not unlawful. We condemn this government. Our protest is always peaceful. Bhagwant Mann is instigating people. This is bad." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer prayers at River Ganga in Uttarkashi's Mukhba on Thursday wearing the traditional dress 'Chapkan, ' the winter residence of Shri Gangotri Dham. Gangotri Temple Committee Secretary Suresh Semwal informed ANI that these clothes will be presented to the Prime Minister on behalf of the Gangotri Temple Committee. The priests at Mukhba perform worship wearing Chapkan. Meanwhile, in Harshil, the Prime Minister will also be presented with the traditional dress, 'Mirzai'. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will be present with the Prime Minister in all the above programs. Earlier CM Dhami inaugurated the "Developed India-Developed Uttarakhand" mega exhibition at the Nehru Stadium in Haridwar's Roorkee on Tuesday. He said that this exhibition presents a wonderful and vibrant image of developing India and Uttarakhand and that the exhibition presented an environment that provides a glimpse of a new India. The Chief Minister, while highlighting the significance of the mega exhibition organised through the efforts of Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, emphasised that the event showcased the achievements of a developed and self-reliant India. The exhibition featured stalls from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC), the Bureau of Indian Standards, and several central agencies, along with state government departments displayed their public welfare initiatives, schemes, and innovations. Additionally, self-help groups from the state presented local products, offering a glimpse into the strengthening rural economy of Uttarakhand, a release said. The Chief Minister remarked that the exhibition not only highlighted India's progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also reinforced the commitment to transform India into a developed nation by 2047. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that MSMEs play a transformative role in the economic growth of India. Government is committed to nurturing and strengthening this sector, during his virtual address at the Post Budget Webinar 2025 on Tuesday. To further streamline regulations, the Prime Minister announced the formation of a committee to review regulations in the non-financial sector. "A decision has also been taken to constitute a committee to review regulations in the non-financial sector. We aim to make them modern, flexible, and people-friendly. The industry will play a crucial role in this exercise." (ANI) Amid the protest by farmers against the Punjab government, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Gurbachan Singh Chhaba on Wednesday strongly condemned Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and accused him of instigating people. Condemning CM Mann over his conduct with farmers during meeting on Tuesday, Chhaba stated that they have seen such a Chief Minister for the first time who leaves the meeting midway. Speaking to ANI, Gurbachan Singh Chhaba said, "Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab left the meeting with farmers. We have seen such a CM for the first time, someone who leaves a meeting with farmers midway...someone who gets the houses of farmer leaders raided, detained them at their houses and detained some others at police stations and got them arrested... Chhaba also accused CM Mann and the state government of working against the interests of farmers and siding with the central government. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader voiced that they will continue their protests until their demands are met. He said, "Bhagwant Mann government is playing into the hands of Centre to violate the human rights of farmers. People will never accept this. We will burn the effigy of Bhagwant Mann. We will demand that farmers be allowed to protest and their demand be met. Our demands are not unlawful...We condemn this government. Our protest is always peaceful...Bhagwant Mann is instigating people...This is bad." Meanwhile, several farmers gathered at the Golden Gate in Amritsar to protest against the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab. They also burnt the effigies of CM Bhagwant Mann. On Tuesday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had accused the Bhagwant Singh Mann government in Punjab of "suppressing the democratic rights of farmers for peaceful protest" and appealed to the Punjab farmers to join the 'Pakka Morcha' at Chandigarh on March 5. Protesting farmers had claimed that CM Bhagwant Mann had got "angry" and "provoked" them during a meeting with him in Chandigarh. However, CM Mann said that he cancelled the meeting because the farmers wanted to continue their protest amid the talks. The Chief Minister has also expressed his concerns about the frequent protests and blockades by farmers in the state, saying that these protests, such as "rail roko" and "sadak roko," are causing significant economic losses to the state. (ANI) The Chairman and the members of the committee formed to frame guidelines on the Uniform Civil Code for Gujarat paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday. The Chairman of the committee and retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and members - retired senior IAS CL Meena, Advocate RC Kodekar, former Vice Chancellor Dakshesh Thakar and social activist Geeta Behen Shroff met the Chief Minister. According to an official release, this was the first time that the Chairman and members of the committee met the Chief Minister after the state government formed this committee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code nationwide for equal rights for all citizens of the country. For this purpose, the state government has constituted this committee to examine the necessity of UCC and prepare a draft for the law, the release stated. Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department and Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Manoj Kumar Das, Secretary to the Chief Minister Avantika Singh, OSD Rakesh Vyas were present during this meeting. On Tuesday, chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai chaired a meeting of the five-member committee formed to frame guidelines on the Uniform Civil Code for the state. During the meeting, Desai appealed to the residents of Gujarat to provide their suggestions regarding UCC. She stated that suggestions regarding the Common Civil Code can be submitted by Gujarat residents, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, social groups, and scholars, as well as religious institutions and professionals. These suggestions could be submitted online through the portal. The deadline for submission is March 7, 2025. Suggestions can be sent in various formats, including Word, PDF, handwritten notes, scanned documents, or typed text in Gujarati and English. The committee will also hold discussions with representatives of various organizations, religious institutions, and political parties. Moreover, as per the instructions of the state government, the committee will review the necessity of a Common Civil Code in the state. In this context, a study has been conducted under the guidance of Retired Justice Ranjana Desai. The committee includes Justice KM Joseph, Advocate PS Narasimha, Advocate CS Vaidyanathan, and Ghatate, who have been appointed as members. Speaking to the media, Desai said, "Gujarat government has formed a committee and from today we have started our work. We have been tasked to work to assess so that UCC can be implemented in the state. We have formed two sub-committees, of which one is for public consultancy and the other one is for draft preparation. We have also formed an office in Delhi where will be keeping meetings." On February 4, the Gujarat government announced the formation of the committee to prepare the draft for UCC and create the law. "To prepare the draft for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and create the law, a 5-member committee under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai has been constituted. The committee will submit its report to the state government in 45 days, based on which the government will take a decision," CM Patel said at a press conference. (ANI) Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday blamed Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde for allegedly being behind several scams in the state. Speaking to the media on the day of the Maharashtra Legislature's budget session, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said, "Several scams have taken place through Eknath Shinde. Chief Minister should dismiss Eknath Shinde because he did MMRDA scam, BMC scam, road scam..." The Maharashtra Legislature's budget session commenced on Monday and will conclude on March 26. The session is expected to focus on key issues, including the Maharashtra- Karnataka border dispute, investments, and welfare schemes. In his address, the Governor reaffirmed the government's commitment to resolving the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and stated that expert advocates have been appointed to represent Maharashtra in the Supreme Court. He also emphasized the state's focus on the welfare of Marathi-speaking people in the border areas through various educational and healthcare schemes. Highlighting Maharashtra's position as a leading industrial state, the Governor noted that the state contributes over 14 percent of India's total GDP and remains a top destination for foreign direct investment. "At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025, the Maharashtra government signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth over Rs 15.72 lakh crore with 63 national and international companies. These agreements are expected to create more than 15 lakh employment opportunities in the state," he said. "Our government is committed to fostering industrial growth and generating employment opportunities. To attract investment, we have planned to disburse investment promotion subsidies amounting to Rs 5,000 crores to various industries in the state. Through the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, we will also allot approximately 3,500 acres of industrial plots to support and encourage industrialization," the Governor added in his speech. The State Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 will be presented in both Houses of the legislature on March 10 by Ajit Pawar, who also holds the portfolio of Finance and Planning. During the Budget Session, the Legislative Assembly will continue working on March 8, a public holiday. (ANI) As the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's (SKM) march proceeded towards Chandigarh on Wednesday, Punjab Police tightened security to prevent protestors from reaching the city, said DIG Ropar Range Harcharan Singh Bhullar. "Punjab is totally peaceful. Wherever the farmers have come, police in that area have stopped them there. They are sitting there at the side peacefully. Traffic is normal across Punjab... They will not be allowed to reach Chandigarh at any cost. We have tight security... A few people have been rounded up... There is good coordination between Punjab and Chandigarh Police," he said. Earlier today, Farmers in Punjab gathered at the Golden Gate in Amritsar to protest against the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government. DSP Maninder Singh Pal confirmed that all necessary arrangements had been made for the protest. "All arrangements are in place. Force has been deployed. We are alert. Farmers are here. Protest will be done here (at Golden Gate)," Pal said. Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they would burn effigies of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in different districts of the state to mark their protest. Pandher also demanded the release of farmers who were allegedly arrested by the Punjab Police. "We will have programmes in around 18 districts. At 21 locations in Amritsar alone, we will burn effigies of the Bhagwant Mann government. Today's program will be done at hundreds of locations across Punjab. SKM's Punjab Union's leader was detained along with the leadership of Kisan Majdoor Morcha. So, today's programme is against the human rights violations of farmers. It will be done peacefully. We demand that all arrested farmers should be released," Pandher told ANI. On Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in Punjab's march towards Chandigarh today, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Gurbachan Singh Chhaba said, "Bhagwant Mann Government in Punjab left the meeting with farmers. We have seen such a CM for the first time, someone who leaves a meeting with farmers midway...someone who gets the houses of farmer leaders raided, detained them at their houses and detained some others at Polic Stations and got them arrested...Bhagwant Mann Government is playing into the hands of Centre to violate the human rights of farmers. People will never accept this. We will burn the effigy of Bhagwant Mann. We will demand that farmers be allowed to protest and their demand be met. Our demands are not unlawful...We condemn this govt. Our protest is always peaceful...Bhagwant Mann is instigating people...This is bad." (ANI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday highlighted that the territory has gained recognition as a tourist destination and the government has taken several initiatives to promote tourism. Speaking in the legislative assembly, CM Abdullah pointed out the initiatives that have been taken by the Tourism Department of J-K to develop Gurez valley as an offbeat tourist destination. CM Abdullah stated that the Tourism Department of Jammu and Kashmir will examine the need for establishing a Tourism Development Authority for Gurez and the matter would be considered appropriately. Notably, Gurez Valley has received the "Best of the Destination" award in 2022 while Dawar village in Gurez was honored with the "Best Tourism Village" award in the gold category by the Union Ministry of Tourism in September 2023. During his address on the floor of Assembly, the Chief Minister said, " J-K has recently gained recognition as a tourist destination. In 2022, Gurez Valley received the best of the destination award emphasising its appeal as a unique and emerging tourist spot. Additionally, in September 2023, Dawar village in Gurez was honoured with best tourism village award in the gold category by Union Ministry of Tourism... This accolade highlights the village's cultural richness and tourism potential. To promote Gurez as a new tourist destination, the Department of Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir has taken several initiatives." "In 2024, commercial rafting was started in Gurez for the first time ever. Besides, during the current financial year, the Department of Tourism Jammu and Kashmir has projected the work with upgradation of Gurez as an offbeat destination. Under the current year CAPEX Budget 2024-25 Part B, Tourism Department shall examine the need for establishing a Tourism Development Authority for Gurez and the matter shall be considered appropriately," he added. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an impressive surge in the influx of tourists in the last two years, according to the Tourism Department of Jammu and Kashmir. As per the data, the territory has drawn a total of 2.12 crore tourists in the year 2023 while 2.36 crore visitors admired the beauty of the serene territory in 2024. Among this congregation, the territory also witnessed a significant number of international tourists, with 55,337 tourists visiting J-K in 2023. The number increased to 65,452 in 2024. (ANI) Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday emphasized that the upcoming budget of the national capital will be the budget of the people of Delhi in which all the suggestions from all sections will be inducted. "It is CM Rekha Gupta's decision that the budget be prepared after consulting the people of Delhi. She is meeting women, and after that, she will meet businessmen in Delhi. We will look at the suggestions received from everyone and then include them in the budget. This will be the budget of the people of Delhi," Mishra told ANI. On Monday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the Budget for 'Viksit Delhi' will be presented in the Assembly between March 24 and 26, in which the government will strive to take suggestions from all sections of the society. Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Chief Minister Gupta emphasized that the budget will be a 'Viksit Delhi' budget, prioritizing Delhi's development. "The Viksit Delhi Budget 2025-26 will be presented between March 24 and March 26. The government will strive to take all sections of society along for the development of Delhi, incorporating their suggestions," the Chief Minister said. Gupta said, "Financial assistance for women, expansion of health services, promoting public transport, reducing pollution, cleaning the Yamuna, employment, welfare of senior citizens, and other important issues were part of our manifesto. Our aim now is to take into account the priorities of the people of Delhi and prepare the budget outline accordingly." "Instructions have been given to officials of all departments to include the suggestions of all stakeholders to increase public participation and incorporate them into the budget. To facilitate this, an email (ViksitDelhiBudget_25@delhi.gov.in) and WhatsApp number (999962025) have been launched, allowing any citizen of Delhi to submit their suggestions," the Delhi Chief minister added. (ANI) Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on Wednesday took a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on his visit to Punjab saying that he had already predicted this move of Kejriwal during the Delhi assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Verma stated - "As I was saying during election campaigning, after losing in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal would run to Punjab. Now, they have a government there, he wants to safeguard it. Now, will he become a Rajya Sabha MP or Punjab CM, let's see in the coming days." BJP spokesperson RP Singh slammed the Punjab government for treating Kejriwal as a "VIP" stating that he is neither an MLA nor a Chief Minister. Lashing out further, Singh said that Punjab would also reject him in the upcoming days. On Arvind Kejriwal, RP Singh said, "He is neither an MLA nor a CM, but the Punjab govt still treats him as a VIP and provides security. Like Delhi, in the coming days, Punjab will also reject him." Earlier today, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also criticized the AAP national convenor over alleged misuse of public funds, questioning the extensive security and arrangements during his visit to Punjab. "There are cars worth more than Rs 2 crores, fire brigades, ambulances, and more than 100 commandos in his (Arvind Kejriwal's) convoy for his 'Vipassana. ' What type of a common man is he?... Arvind Kejriwal is wasting Punjab's money. His purpose is not 'Vipassana' but to fulfil his dream of becoming a CM... The people of Ludhiana will never let Sanjeev Arora (candidate from Ludhiana West) win,' he said. Kejriwal arrived at a guest house in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, on Tuesday amid tight security. His visit comes ahead of the upcoming elections, with AAP focusing on strengthening its presence in the state. AAP's Sanjeev Arora is set to contest the Ludhiana West by-election, a seat that fell vacant after the passing of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi last month. Arora's nomination has sparked speculation about Arvind Kejriwal's potential entry into the Rajya Sabha. Earlier on Monday, AAP MP Sanjeev Arora however fuelled the speculation about the party's plans, particularly regarding Arvind Kejriwal's potential move to the Rajya Sabha. According to Arora, the seven AAP MPs from Punjab in the Rajya Sabha are willing to vacate their seats for Kejriwal if needed. However, Arora emphasized that Kejriwal has shown no interest in joining the Rajya Sabha as of now. 'If he wants - any of us, the 7 MPs that are there in Rajya Sabha from Punjab are ready to vacate the seat. Who will say no to him? But it's his decision, but as of now, he has shown no interest in going to Rajya Sabha," added Arora. While the AAP has officially denied that Kejriwal has any interest in the Rajya Sabha, Arora's potential election to the state assembly will leave one RS Seat open for the AAP. (ANI) Shiv Sena UBT MLA Sachin Ahir on Wednesday questioned the Azmi's remarks on Aurangzeb and criticised his attempts to alter well-documented historical narrative. In Azmi's defence, where he claimed that his statements on Aurangzeb were based on books, Shiv Sena UBT MLA Sachin Ahir said, "Now, it's up to the government to decide whether he is right or wrong, but one thing is clear--the remarks have caused pain. As we've seen, people are now questioning the praise for an emperor like Aurangzeb, who caused immense suffering, as it is well-documented and a part of history. But now, when someone tries to alter this narrative, it raises the question, what are they trying to portray?" Leaders from Mahayuti also protested outside the Maharashtra State Assembly on Tuesday against Samajwadi Party leader and Maharashtra MLA Abu Azmi. The reaction came after SP MLA Abu Azmi, in an interaction with the media in the Marine Drive area, stated that Aurangzeb was a good administrator. Azmi said that Aurangzeb was not a "cruel administrator" and "built many temples". He added that the battle between the Mughal emperor and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was for state administration and not about Hindu and Muslim. Azmi later claimed that his statements had been twisted and that if he had hurt anyone, he was ready to withdraw his statement. "My words have been twisted. I have said what historians and writers have said about Aurangzeb Rahmatullah Alaih. I have not made any derogatory comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any other great men - but still if anyone has been hurt by my statement, then I take back my words, my statement. This issue is being made a political issue, and I think that closing the budget session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly because of this is causing harm to the people of Maharashtra," he said. Meanhwile, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Abu Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session on Wednesday over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. A proposal was brought in the Maharashtra Assembly today against Azmi's remarks. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said in the House that Azmi's objectionable statement had hurt the dignity of the House, leading to the proposal to suspend his membership for this session, which the Speaker passed. (ANI) Advocate Aljo K Joseph, representing Christian Michel, a key accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, spoke about the bail conditions imposed on his client. According to Joseph, Michel is required to surrender his passport, which expired in November 2021. "The conditions have been imposed by the High Court. He has to surrender his passport; it expired sometime in November 2021. When he was extradited from Dubai, he was taken by the CBI. He is a UK citizen, so he has to move an application for getting a fresh passport issued in his favour," Joseph explained. He further clarified that Michel could only proceed with applying for a new passport if the court granted him permission. "Then he has to apply for a visa to stay in India. He can stay in India with a court order," he added. Joseph also expressed uncertainty regarding the procedure for issuing a UK passport but emphasised that the legal team would seek the court's guidance. "We will go to trial court, let the court decide how it has to be proceeded," he said. "The million-dollar question is, who has his passport? If the CBI has it, let them bring it to court. Then the application for renewal has to be filed with the High Commission, and then they have to take a call on how soon they can issue a passport," Joseph stated. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday had granted bail to Christian James Michel, the alleged middleman in the money laundering case. Recently, the Supreme Court granted him bail in a related CBI case. The bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma on Tuesday allowed his bail plea. The court had kept the order reserved last week. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed the bail plea of Christian James Michel arguing that he posed a flight risk due to his British citizenship. The ED counsel also highlighted that the Supreme Court had specifically recognised him as a flight risk. Christian Michael James' lawyer, Aljo K Joseph, previously apprised the Delhi High Court about the Supreme Court's bail ruling and stated that the Supreme Court granted James bail due to delays in the CBI's corruption trial. (ANI) New Delhi [India], March 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand on March 6. At around 9:30 AM, PM will perform pooja and darshan at the winter seat of Maa Ganga in Mukhwa. At around 10:40 AM, he will flag off a trek and bike rally and also address the gathering at a public function in Harsil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer prayers at River Ganga in Uttarkashi's Mukhba on Thursday wearing the traditional dress 'Chapkan.' Gangotri Temple Committee Secretary Suresh Semwal informed ANI that these clothes will be presented to the Prime Minister on behalf of the Gangotri Temple Committee. The priests at Mukhba perform worship wearing Chapkan. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recently inspected the preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Harsil. Taking to social media X, Dhami, in a post, complimented Harshil's beauty and also congratulated the Gangotri MLA Suresh Singh Chauhan. "On reaching Harshil, Uttarkashi, full of natural beauty, heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to Honourable MLA from Gangotri Suresh Singh Chauhan ji, hard-working workers and the God-like people of the area for the warm welcome given to them," the post read. As per a release dated February 18, the proposed visit of the PM is a very important and historic occasion to promote winter tourism in the state. On this occasion, many decisions were taken by discussing the darshan-puja of the Ganga temple in Mukhwa and the live broadcast of the proposed program in Harshil through Doordarshan and arrangements for media personnel. The Indian Army team will organise a motorbike-ATV-RTV rally from Harshil to PDA and a motorbike rally from Harshil to Jadung under the aegis of UTDB. While the ITBP will organise a trekking expedition from Neelapani to Muling La Base, NIM will organise a trekking expedition from Jadung to Janaktal. The Uttarakhand government has initiated a Winter Tourism programme this year. Thousands of devotees have already visited the winter seats of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The program aims to promote religious tourism and boost the local economy, homestays, and tourism businesses, among other things. (ANI) Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan sharply criticized the Union government's push for parliamentary constituency delimitation, warning that it could undermine India's federal structure and diversity. Speaking at the All-Party Meeting on the issue, Haasan emphasized that the move threatens the inclusive vision for India by promoting a homogenized "Hindia." "The issue of parliamentary constituency delimitation based on population is not just a concern for Tamil Nadu; it also affects states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Odisha, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Northeastern states," Haasan stated. He acknowledged the broad impact the move could have and expressed his gratitude to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for organizing the meeting. Haasan also appreciated the participation of Tamil Nadu parties who set aside ideological differences to attend the discussion. "I sincerely appreciate Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin, for organizing this all-party meeting with this awareness," he said. Haasan continued by quoting Thiruvalluvar: "A person who does not take preventive action in advance will perish like dry grass thrown into the fire." He emphasized that the meeting was held to address the issue before it could harm the nation. Referring to his earlier remarks, Haasan reiterated his clear stance on the matter: "States that cooperated for national development by controlling population growth should not be punished." He elaborated on the core principles of democracy and federalism. "In this debate, we must focus on two key principles: democracy and federalism. These are like two eyes, and only by valuing both can we achieve the vision of an inclusive and developed India," Haasan explained. He went on to remind the audience of the past decisions made by previous Prime Ministers. "In 1976 and again in 2001, despite being from different political parties with different ideologies, the Prime Ministers of those times respected federalism and refrained from redrawing parliamentary constituencies based on population." Haasan emphasized that the population has significantly increased since India's independence, but the number of MPs has remained the same. "Back in 1976, India was considered a developing country on the global stage, with a population of 550 million and 543 Members of Parliament. Today, our population has grown to 1.45 billion, yet we continue to function effectively with the same 543 MPs. This proves that our current parliamentary representation is sufficient to uphold democracy and federalism at the national level," he said. Makkal Needhi Maiam, Haasan said, firmly believes that there is no need to change the number of parliamentary representatives in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. "Regardless of which political alliance comes to power, our stance will remain the same," he affirmed. Haasan also pointed out that while the Union government formulates policies, it is the state governments that implement them. "If representation is to be increased based on population, it should be in state legislatures, not in Parliament," he argued. He then raised questions about the real motives behind the push for delimitation. "Who is raising the issue of constituency delimitation? Why are they bringing it up now? What is their real agenda?" Haasan asked, questioning the timing and intention behind the move. Haasan criticized the Union government for interfering with states' rights, allocating additional funds only to poll-bound states, and ignoring Tamil Nadu's rightful share of financial resources. He also accused the government of attempting to impose Hindi under the guise of a "three-language policy" and threatening state governments with financial aid tied to compliance. "This arbitrary decision is part of that same pattern," Haasan said. He also questioned why the government skipped the Census, citing COVID-19, and now plans to implement delimitation in 2026. "The real motive behind this is to consolidate power in Hindi-speaking states and ensure a decisive electoral victory," he suggested. Haasan also said, "We envision an inclusive India, but they want to create 'Hindia.' Why try to fix something that isn't broken? There is no need to repeatedly disrupt a functioning democracy. No matter how constituencies are redrawn, the ones most affected will always be the non-Hindi-speaking states. This move undermines federalism and is entirely unnecessary. Not just today, not just tomorrow, but at all times, keeping the number of parliamentary representatives unchanged is crucial to preserving democracy, federalism, and India's diversity. As an Indian, a Tamilian, and on behalf of Makkal Needhi Maiam, I strongly emphasize this." The all-party meeting presided over by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin passed a resolution requesting PM Modi to give assurance in the parliament that if delimitation is done, it should be based on the 1971 population census from 2026 to the next 30 years. 64 parties were called for today's all-party meeting on Constituency Delimitation, in which 58 parties (including organisations) participated. (ANI) The plea stated that unlike other courts in the Central District, Rouse Avenue Court lacks an independent online presence, which creates significant difficulties for the legal community and litigants who depend on digital platforms for accessing court-related information. Justice Sachin Datta has sought responses from the District Judge (Headquarters) of Tis Hazari Courts, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the National Informatics Centre regarding this issue. The petition emphasises that the Central District's current website fails to mention or provide direct references to the Rouse Avenue Court. This omission leads to confusion among advocates and litigants seeking relevant details or accessing court services. The lack of a dedicated website hampers effective communication and access to vital resources, such as case statuses, notifications, circulars, and e-filing information. Moreover, many advocates, especially those not well-versed in technology, encounter considerable difficulty navigating the existing unified website to find important updates specific to Rouse Avenue Court. This confusion often delays crucial proceedings and impedes the overall efficiency of legal processes. The petitioner asserts that the creation of a separate website for Rouse Avenue Court is essential for streamlining operations, improving accessibility, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the judicial process in this particular court. (ANI) Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) Researchers have developed a framework that can boost the protection of critical infrastructure in the country against the threat of ballistic missiles. According to an official release, this framework will help designers develop innovative solutions for improving the ballistic resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) panels. Using computational simulations, the researchers studied the impact of missiles on Reinforced concrete (RC), which is the main material used to construct vital structures ranging from Military Bunkers, nuclear power buildings and bridges to runways. As per the release, concrete structures face highly localised damage such as penetration, perforation, scabbing, spalling and crushing under projectile impact load. Due to the strategic importance of these structures, it is necessary to protect them against projectile and debris impact, which can result in localised damage or even the collapse of the entire structure. Ballistics is a field of engineering that deals with the launching, flight behaviour, and impact effects of projectiles such as bullets, bombs, and rockets. This science is used not only for designing bunkers but also for designing the walls of nuclear power buildings, bridges, and other protective structures. IIT Madras Researchers conducted the study during ''Finite Element'' (FE) Simulation, a computational technique used to simulate and analyze physical phenomena in engineering and science. FE simulation relies on the Finite Element Method (FEM), a numerical approach for solving complex problems involving partial differential equations. These problems often arise in fields like structural mechanics, among others. In this study, Dr. Alagappan Ponnalagu, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras and Roouf Un Nabi Dar, Research Scholar, IIT Madras, focused on the development of the novel performance-based design framework based on ''Depth of Penetration'' (DOP) and Crater Damage Area in the RC panels. In addition to that, a probabilistic formula for estimating the crater diameter in RC panels is proposed. Elaborating on this research, Dr Alagappan Ponnalagu said, "Ballistic design is crucial for widely utilised concrete structures in today''s unpredictable world. Usually, extensive experimental and numerical studies have been done to investigate concrete panels, resulting in design guidelines for local damage parameters. However, with the advent of performance-based design, the ballistic design of concrete structures lacks a comprehensive design philosophy." "Moreover, while quantifying damage parameters, incorrect and inconsistent results are obtained by using deterministic empirical formulations. We have now provided a reliable design formula for estimating crater diameter in addition to the development a novel performance-based ballistic design framework for RC panels. This study is helpful not only in terms of providing the ballistic design framework and probabilistic crater quantifications formula but also in understanding the ballistic behaviour of RC panels," he added. The study is helpful not only in terms of providing the ballistic design framework and probabilistic crater quantification formula but also in understanding the ballistic behaviour of RC panels. Speaking about the next steps in this research, Dr Alagappan Ponnalagu said, "Our future work is to extend this study to develop much needed lightweight, cost-effective and sustainable blast and ballistic resistant modular panels that can be used in the construction of bunkers along the borders and highly inaccessible areas for the Indian Army." Further, Roouf Un Nabi Dar said, "We have proposed a novel performance-based design framework for RC panels based on damage states, namely DOP and crater diameter. Each damage state has four damage levels and is effectively coupled. Hence, the framework is a novel design philosophy ensuring resiliency against projectile penetration and crater formation of RC panels." "On the other hand, the local damage response in terms of crater formation in RC panels was studied under projectile impact. A probabilistic approach is taken to formulate a reliable formula for quantifying unexplored crater damage, based on well-established Bayesian methodology for RC panels that takes into account uncertainty. This caters the need to take care of uncertainties that deterministic models do not. The probabilistic model proposed by IIT Madras Researchers for estimating crater diameter in RC panels under projectile impact was validated with several experimental test results from the literature. The agreement of the predicted crater diameter with the experimental results ensures its reliability and accuracy," he added. (ANI) Former Odisha CM and State LoP Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday paid tribute to former CM and his father, Biju Patnaik, on his birth anniversary in Bhubaneswar. BJD celebrated the 109th birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik in the party office in Sankha Bhawan. Former CM and LOP Naveen Patnaik attended the meeting and slammed the BJP government in his speech. In his speech, Former CM and LOP Naveen Patnaik said, "It is very unfortunate that just after coming to power in Odisha, the BJP Government tried to change the name of the Biju Krida Puraskar. Faced with strong protests from people, they were forced to reverse their decision." "Recently, there have been shameful incidents across the state of statues of Late Biju Patnaik being broken. But the government has not taken any action against the culprits," Patnaik said. He further mentioned the date change of Panchayati Raj Diwas, as he said, "And now the decision to change the Panchayati Raj Diwas celebration from 5th March to some other date. Since 1993, March 5 has been celebrated as Panchayati Raj Diwas in Odisha. What is the reason for such a decision ?" "You can change the names of awards, deface his statues, change the dates, but you cannot take away the love and affection that the people of Odisha have for Biju Babu. He lives in the people's hearts. These incidents have only increased people's love and respect for Biju Babu. Now, they are trying to change the name of Biju Patnaik International Airport. Can you erase the history that Biju Babu is a freedom fighter and was in jail for India's independence? From how many projects will you erase his legacy?" Patnaik said. Patnaik called all this immature politics and small minds, "Biju Babu is not just a State Leader or National Leader but an International Leader. He is the pride of India. You cannot change a glorious legacy," he said. The Biju Janata Dal was founded on December 26, 1997, and named after its legendary leader, Biju Patnaik, the father of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. (ANI) Amritsar (Punjab) [India], March 5: In a significant blow to trans-border smuggling, Amritsar Rural Police has successfully recovered 23 kg of Heroin from the village Devi Daspura, Jandiala, according to information from Punjab DGP. The consignment is linked to a smuggling network operated by US-based smuggler Jasmit Singh, also known as Lucky. In this case, Sahilpreet Singh, a resident of Devi Daspura, has been nominated, and multiple police teams are actively working to arrest him. An FIR under the NDPS Act is registered at PS Jandiala. Further investigations are underway to trace both backward and forward linkages in the smuggling network. Recently, Amritsar Commissionerate Police arrested four drug smugglers and recovered 5.06 kg of heroin from their possession in two separate cases. According to a release from Information And Public Relations Department, Punjab, the arrested have been identified as Gurjant Singh alias Kalu of village Bachiwind in Amritsar, Jagjit Singh of village Rania in Amritsar, Sahil Kumar alias Sahil of village Ghariyala in Tarn Taran, and Rinku of Basti Dune Wali in Guru Har Sahai, Ferozepur. As per the release, DGP Gaurav Yadav said. "The arrested individuals were in contact with Pakistan-based drug smugglers, who were using drones to smuggle narcotics across the border to further supply in different areas of Amritsar. Two separate FIRs have been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act at Police Stations Cantonment and Sadar Amritsar," he said. More arrests and recoveries are likely in the coming days. Sharing operation details of first case, Commissioner of Police (CP), Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said, "Based on credible intelligence, Police teams from Contonment Police Station under the supervision of DCP Harpreet Singh Mander, ADCP City-2 Harkamal Kaur, and ACP West Shivdarshan Singh conducted a special operation and apprehended the suspects identified as Gurjant Kalu and Jagjit Singh from the Mahal Bypass area and seized 3.067 kg of heroin from their possession." He said, "Similarly, Police teams from CIA Staff-1 led by Inspector Amolakdeep Singh arrested two more accused--identified as Sahil Kumar and Rinku--based on further investigation and interrogation of arrested accused, recovering an additional 2 kg of heroin from their possession." "Preliminary investigation has revealed that accused Rinku is running a big hawala network to transfer the illegal money of drug trade to different suppliers. Further probe in on," he added. (ANI) Pensioners in Himachal Pradesh staged a protest in Shimla on Wednesday, demanding the fulfillment of their long-pending issues. The protest, organized by the Indian State Pensioners Association, saw a large gathering of senior citizens who expressed their frustration over the government's failure to address their grievances. They also warned of a larger movement if their demands were not met soon. Speaking to ANI, Ghanshyam Sharma, National Vice President of the Indian State Pensioners Association, stated that this was a historic moment in Himachal Pradesh. "For the first time in the history of the state, senior citizens, who have dedicated their entire lives to the development of Himachal Pradesh, have been forced to take to the streets in protest. If everything was fine, why would so many pensioners from across the state come here today," he said. He further highlighted the dire financial situation faced by pensioners. "Most pensioners are either not receiving their pensions at all or are getting a very small amount. The government is busy making huge financial earnings, but instead of helping us, they are using that money for their luxuries and to please their friends. Ministers and officials, who once had two cars, now have four, which their families use for leisure. What kind of financial management is this?" Sharma questioned. The pensioners have given the government 15 days to act on their demands. They plan to form a Joint Action Committee to intensify their movement if no action is taken. "We will increase the scale of our protest. Whether this government stays or goes will be decided in the coming days," Sharma warned. He pointed out that Himachal Pradesh has over 400,000 pensioners, and if their families are included, nearly 1.6 million people would be affected. "These very people will decide the fate of the government in the next elections," he added. The protestors are specifically demanding the immediate disbursement of pending pensions and arrears. Sharma announced that they would launch a mass awareness campaign in the coming days and conduct statewide demonstrations at locations where government programs are held. "Wherever government officials go, we will be there to question them. This is just the beginning of a larger movement," he declared. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday said that the budget of Delhi will fulfil the expectations of people and for this purpose she will herself meet woman, families, youth and professionals from different sectors. Addressing a press conference, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said, "I will go and meet sisters and families in slum areas, I will talk to them regarding the expectations they have from this govt. Discussions will be held with youths and professionals from different sectors. The budget of Delhi will fulfil the expectations of people." The Chief Minister also took a dig at the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and stated that nobody has to remind the government about their agenda. This comes after AAP leaders put up posters and banners at the ITO Flyover to protest against the BJP-led Delhi government's delay in implementing the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana. "We will fulfil all the promises we have mentioned in our manifesto whether it is the scheme of Rs 2,100 to all women or cylinder. Nobody has to remind us that our agenda will carry on, not theirs (AAP)" CM Gupta said. Earlier today, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra emphasized that the upcoming budget of the national capital will be the budget of the people of Delhi in which all the suggestions from all sections will be inducted. "It is CM Rekha Gupta's decision that the budget be prepared after consulting the people of Delhi. She is meeting women, and after that, she will meet businessmen in Delhi. We will look at the suggestions received from everyone and then include them in the budget. This will be the budget of the people of Delhi," Mishra told ANI. On Monday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the Budget for 'Viksit Delhi' will be presented in the Assembly between March 24 and 26, in which the government will strive to take suggestions from all sections of the society. Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Chief Minister Gupta emphasized that the budget will be a 'Viksit Delhi' budget, prioritizing Delhi's development. "The Viksit Delhi Budget 2025-26 will be presented between March 24 and March 26. The government will strive to take all sections of society along for the development of Delhi, incorporating their suggestions," the Chief Minister said. Gupta said, "Financial assistance for women, expansion of health services, promoting public transport, reducing pollution, cleaning the Yamuna, employment, welfare of senior citizens, and other important issues were part of our manifesto. Our aim now is to take into account the priorities of the people of Delhi and prepare the budget outline accordingly." "Instructions have been given to officials of all departments to include the suggestions of all stakeholders to increase public participation and incorporate them into the budget. To facilitate this, an email (ViksitDelhiBudget_25@delhi.gov.in) and WhatsApp number (999962025) have been launched, allowing any citizen of Delhi to submit their suggestions," the Delhi Chief minister added. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined an application related to the non-issuance of refunds to individuals who were unable to board their train due to a stampede at the New Delhi railway station. Instead, the court advised the impleaders to seek the appropriate legal remedies available to them. The application was filed by individuals who were prevented from boarding the train on the day of the incident and did not receive ticket reimbursements. Justices Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Tushar Rao Gedela presided over the bench, noting that the issues raised were of a private nature and various remedies were available for such matters. They further emphasized that the purpose of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is to enforce specific provisions, and any grievances against the railway authority constitute a personal cause of action. After some arguments, the counsel representing the impleaders withdrew the application and sought permission to pursue the appropriate legal remedies for their grievance. The court granted this request, stating, "The application is disposed of with the liberty as prayed for." The Delhi High Court on February 19 sought a response from the Railways regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) over the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station during peak hours, which resulted in the loss of 18 lives. The PIL alleged that the stampede on Platform No. 16 was caused by overcrowding due to multiple long-distance trains arriving and departing simultaneously on the Delhi-Prayagraj route during the Mahakumbh. It claims that the tragedy resulted from administrative negligence and violated the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed that the Railway Board undertake this examination and subsequently file a short affidavit detailing the steps to be taken. The next date of hearing is March 26. The court noted that this public interest petition raises concerns about the ineffective implementation of provisions in the Railways Act, primarily Sections 57 and 147. Section 57 specifies that every railway station must limit the number of passengers who can travel in a compartment. These are penal provisions. The petition emphasizes the critical need for enforcing these sections. The Solicitor General, representing the Railways, stated that the Administration is not treating this as adversarial litigation, and the Railways Board will examine the concerns raised at the highest level. The plea moved by Arth Vidhi, a group of Lawyers and entrepreneurs, through Advocates Aditya Trivedi and Shubhi Pastor, argued that the Railways violated their own legislative duties as outlined in Sections 57 and 147 of the Railways Act, 1989. Section 57 mandates that every railway administration must fix the maximum number of passengers allowed in each compartment of every type of carriage. Section 147 requires platform tickets for entry into railway stations when a person does not have a valid reservation. The petition emphasized that these rules should have been strictly enforced due to the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It also highlighted that these rules are not enforced even under normal circumstances, leading to crowded trains and platforms. (ANI) The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has arrested a 23-year-old woman Naxalite operative who had been living in Pitampura under a false identity and working as a house cleaner, officials said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as "R" (changed name), is a resident of Kudaburu village in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. She was wanted in a case registered by the Sonua police. According to Delhi Crime Branch officials, "R" had undergone rigorous and intense training for five years and was involved in three encounters with the Jharkhand police in 2018, 2019, and 2020. After relocating to Delhi in 2020, she assumed a new identity and started working as a domestic helper in the Pitampura. The arrest was carried out by a team of ER-I, Crime Branch, acting on intellegence regarding Maoist extremists hiding in the National Capital Region (NCR). The team, led by Inspector Lichhman, raided the Maharana Pratap Enclave in Pitampura and apprehended the accused, DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh told ANI. During interrogation, "R" revealed that she had joined the Communist Party of India (Maoist) at the age of 10 and had undergone extensive training in handling sophisticated weapons. She admitted to participating in encounters with the Jharkhand police before moving to Delhi in 2020, DCP Singh said. She has been booked under relevant sections of under the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) among others. A non-bailable warrant was issued against her on March 26, 2023, by the court of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) (P) in Jharkhand's Chaibasa, added the DCP. (ANI) BJP leader Amit Malviya on Wednesday shared a video on his official 'X' handle featuring former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar questioning former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's education. Aiyar said that despite failing at Cambridge, where passing is considered relatively easy, he went on to attend Imperial College London, only to face failure again. "Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well. Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister. Let the veil be stripped", Amit Malviya captioned his post on 'X. It's worth noting that Rajiv Gandhi's academic struggles didn't hold him back from pursuing a career in politics. He became the Prime Minister of India in 1984, following the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi. Notably, Aiyar earlier stirred controversy while referring to the 1962 Indo-China war as an "alleged Chinese invasion". He made these remarks during a book event, 'Nehru's First Recruits: The Diplomats Who Built Independent India's Foreign Policy' written by Kallol Bhattacherjee. Addressing the press conference on Tuesday, Aiyar said, "In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India."The 1962 Indo-China War took place between October and November of 1962. The Chinese troops attacked across the 'MacMohan line' and captured the Aksai Chin region which belongs to India. Aiyar was recalling an episode from the time when he had taken the exam for the Indian Foreign Service. Nehru's First Recruits: The Diplomats Who Built Independent India's Foreign Policy by Kallol Bhattacherjee includes information about India's first diplomats and the 1962 war with China. The book is based on the History of Services of Officers of the Indian Foreign Service. It covers the stories of diplomats like Brajesh Mishra, Mira Ishardas Malik, and Eric Gonsalves. The war began when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China attacked India across disputed borders on October 20, 1962. India was defeated, with 7,000 men killed or captured. China withdrew from most of the invaded area in November 1962, but retained control of Aksai Chin. (ANI) Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Wednesday emphasised the importance of rural development in driving the state's progress and prosperity. He said that the latest budget prioritised infrastructure, agriculture, drinking water, education, and health services in rural areas, demonstrating the government's commitment to the welfare of its citizens. Expressing gratitude to the people of Jaipur Rural (South) for their appreciation of the budget gifts, he stated that the government has fulfilled 55% of the promises made in the Sankalp Patra within the first year. "We had included the promises made to the public in the Sankalp Patra and 55 per cent of the promises of the Sankalp Patra have been fulfilled in 1 year. Our government is constantly taking decisions for the interests of farmers, women, poor and youth," he said. The Rajasthan CM also announced that the second installment of the Chief Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi would be disbursed, and that the government would provide interest-free loans to cowherds, 50,000 new agricultural electricity connections, and 5 lakh domestic connections. This year's budget has been prepared keeping farmers in the forefront. Farmers are happy with budgetary provisions like increasing Kisan Samman Nidhi to Rs 9 thousand, interest-free loan to cowherds under Gopal Credit Card Scheme, 50 thousand new agricultural electricity connections and 5 lakh domestic connections," he said. CM Sharma said that the double engine government in Rajasthan is working while maintaining the trust of 8 crore people of the state, so that the dream of an excellent and developed Rajasthan can be fulfilled. He also said that the government plans to recruit 1.25 lakh people and provide employment to 1.5 lakh youth in the private sector. He highlighted the government's efforts to prevent paper leaks and ensure crime-free Rajasthan. "For the youth also, government recruitments will be made on 1.25 lakh posts and employment will be provided to 1.5 lakh youth in the private sector. Youth of the state were troubled by the paper leak cases that happened during the last government. As soon as we came, we took strict action against the criminals involved in these cases. Not a single paper has been leaked in our tenure of one and a quarter years," said the Rajasthan CM. He said that due to the steps taken towards crime-free Rajasthan, gang war and crime have also reduced in the state. The Chief Minister also discussed the government's priorities, including water and electricity, and announced plans to strengthen the power system and provide electricity to farmers during the day by 2027. "We have given priority to water and electricity in the state. To ensure adequate availability of water in the state, the state government is strengthening the Indira Gandhi Canal Project and Mahi Project along with paving the way for Ram Jalsetu Link Project for Eastern Rajasthan, Yamuna Water Agreement for Shekhawati region, Dewas Project for Southern Rajasthan," said Sharma. He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership and vision for the country's development. "Under his leadership, the country is touching new dimensions of development. During the last government, a lot of corruption took place under the Jal Jeevan Mission, and the common people could not get water." The Prime Minister extended the limit of the Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028 so that the people of the state will have tap water in every house. Earlier, the common people present welcomed the Chief Minister by wearing a 100-meter-long turban and presenting a memento. During this, local public representatives and a large number of common people from Jaipur Rural (South) were present. (ANI) The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), K Sanjay Murthy, met with the Sixteenth Finance Commission chaired by Arvind Panagariya in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on Wednesday, the office of the CAG said in a release. According to the release, the high-level consultation formed a critical part of the Commission's ongoing assessment of the financial landscape of the Centre and States. The deliberations mainly focused on three key areas: Union and State Finances, Local Bodies, and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), among others. The Union, the States, Local Bodies and the PSEs are under the audit of the CAG. In addition, the CAG also maintains the accounts of the States. The CAG shared various audit findings for Union & States in various sectors, the fiscal challenges and stress points, including the gap between expenditure and non-debt receipts for the Union and States combined. The key areas of concern include a decline in the State Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) buoyancy of the States and varying levels of SOTR and Non-Tax Revenue of the States, which underscore the need for more robust revenue collection mechanisms. The CAG drew attention to the need for regular reporting of the Off Budget Borrowings, meeting the FRBM targets and the taking into account post audit liabilities computed by the CAG in his reports. This could be a crucial source of information for the Finance Commission while examining the extent of fiscal consolidation for the Union and the States. The CAG's presentation drew attention to untapped revenue sources. Notably, areas such as stamp duty, registration fees, and state excise collections have been identified as having substantial potential for enhanced fiscal performance. Recommendations in this regard include regular updates to market value guidelines, improved classification of property types, and the adoption of modern technology--such as sensor-based systems and QR codes--to minimize revenue leakages and improve data accuracy. In the realm of Goods and Services Tax (GST) administration, the CAG has also proposed several reforms aimed at widening the tax base and enhancing transparency. Suggested measures include the integration of unregistered goods and service providers into the GST framework via automated data collection and real-time information systems, along with improvised taxpayer verification processes. These initiatives are expected to not only streamline the tax collection process but also to ensure more accurate apportionment of inter-state tax flows, the release said. The CAG gave a strong emphasis on the need to standardize accounting practices at all tiers of the Government for transparent and ready availability of comparable fiscal information. The presentation called for the harmonization of object heads of expenditure and the adoption of a uniform 6-tier classification system by State Governments without deviations. It was also highlighted that, as an immediate measure, harmonisation of Local bodies accounts with Central and State Accounts may be attempted in top 100 cities. Such steps would facilitate the seamless consolidation of fiscal data and strengthen transparency in public financial management, thereby empowering policymakers with clearer insights into both revenue and expenditure. An important highlight of the discussion was the endorsement of good practices, like that involving the establishment of a Budget Stabilization Fund by jurisdictions with surplus revenues. This fund, designed to cushion against unexpected budgetary shortfalls or cyclical disruptions using proceeds derived from specific revenue streams such as mineral resources, is presented as a replicable model for other regions with similar fiscal profiles. The adoption of this measure could significantly enhance financial resilience and contribute to more stable fiscal management across jurisdictions. A key component of the meeting is centered on the financial management of local bodies. The CAG shared insights from performance audits across numerous urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, pointing out issues such as incomplete devolution of functions, heavy dependence on Central and State grants, and low levels of own-source revenue. In this regard, recommendations included integrating local body use of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) for onboarding the payment or fund transfer made by the States to the ULBs and the RLBs and streamlining accounting practices to ensure consistent and transparent financial reporting at the grassroots level. Need for development of specifically suited system for the processing of the transactions of the ULBs/RLBs and their accounts was suggested, which can be incentivized by the FC, the release said. Additionally, the presentation addressed the lack of oversight of State Public Sector Enterprises in the submission of their Annual Accounts, urging corrective measures to address persistent losses and inefficiencies, and recommending a close monitoring of disinvestment strategies. Overall, the CAG's interaction with the 16th Finance Commission provided a detailed roadmap for strengthening fiscal transparency, enhancing revenue performance, and ensuring robust financial management across all levels of government. The recommended measures are envisioned to promote accountability, drive efficient resource allocation, and support the long-term fiscal consolidation of the Union and the States, it added. The FC chairperson, Arvind Panagariya, in his concluding remarks, appreciated the efforts taken by the C&AG in providing these insights to the commission, which would be of great value while formulating their recommendations, the release added. (ANI) Amritsar Rural Police on Wednesday recovered 23 kilograms of heroin in Devi Dass Pura village, a police officer said on Wednesday, adding that the hunt is on to nab the accused. Deputy Inspector General of police (DIG), border range, Satinder Singh, told ANI, "Today, Amritsar Rural Police has recovered 23 kg of heroin during an investigation under the Punjab Chief Minister and DGP's special campaign of 'War on Drugs. ' In this case, two people have been nominated- Lucky, who lives in the US, and his worker, Karan, a local from Devi Dass Pura. The recovery was made from Karan's house, and he will be arrested soon... " "All the heroin coming from Pakistan is coming through drones...," DIG Singh added. https://x.com/DGPPunjabPolice/status/1897162092802981969 Director General of Police, Punjab - Gaurav Yadav in a social media post said, "The consignment is linked to a smuggling network operated by #USA-based smuggler Jasmit Singh @ Lucky". "Multiple police teams are actively working to arrest him". A first information report has been registered under the NDPS Act at Jandiala police station, he added. "Further investigations are underway to trace both backward and forward linkages in the smuggling network," DGP Yadav said. According to Punjab Police, it has intensified efforts across the state under its anti-drug drive 'War Against Drugs'. It conducted 524 raids across the state, arresting 69 drug smugglers and registering 53 FIRs. Officials inspected 164 pharmaceutical shops in six districts to curb the sale of illicit drugs. The operation, involving 1,900 personnel, also led to the seizure of 1.5 kg of heroin, 100g of opium, and 7,610 intoxicant tablets, along with Rs1.33 lakh in drug money. Additionally, 161 awareness events were held to educate the public on the dangers of drug abuse. (ANI) Two workers were killed and another was injured as a slab collapsed in the Chikhla mines owned by Manganese Ore (India) Limited (MOIL), located in the Bhandara district of Maharashtra, officials confirmed on Wednesday. According to the District Disaster Management Cell (DDMC), the bodies of the deceased have been sent to a sub-district hospital for postmortem. Meanwhile, the injured worker has been sent to Laksh Hopsital in the Bhandara district for treatment. A statement from the disaster management cell identified the deceased as Vijay Nandlal (50), and Arun Jeevanlal Chormar (41). Whereas the injured worker has been identified as Shankar Sahadev Vishwakarma (56). All three workers are permanent employees at the mines. The incident took place at the vertical two underground level 3, at a depth of 100 meters around 9 in the morning, burying the workers under the debris. "On 5th March 2025, at Moil Chikhla, Vertical Two Underground Level 3, at a depth of 100 meters, while the workers of the first shift were working, between approximately 09:00 and 09:30 AM, a slab collapsed, and three workers were trapped under the debris. Two of the workers died on the spot. One worker was sent to Laksh Hospital in Bhandara for treatment," read the DDMC's statement. Further details on the accident are awaited. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday made a significant observation, stating that Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers often try to assert their superiority over Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers. This observation was made during a hearing on the misutilization of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund, which is meant to promote afforestation and conservation of forest resources. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih remarked that, from their experience as government pleaders and judges, IAS officers show supremacy over IFS and IPS officers. According to Justice Gavai, this tendency of IAS officers to show supremacy is a persistent issue across all states, leading to resentment among IPS and IFS officers. "In my experience as a government pleader for three years and a judge for 22 years, I can tell you IAS officers want to show their supremacy over IPS and IFS officers... There is always a conflict in all states... There is always heartburning amongst the IPS and IFS that though they are part of the same cadre, why should the IAS treat them as superiors," said Justice Gavai. Further, the apex court expressed concern over CAMPA funds being used for non-admissible activities, such as buying iPhones and laptops, and directed the Chief Secretary of the concerned state to file an affidavit. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present during the hearing of the case, assured the bench that he would try to resolve such internal conflicts between the officers. The bench, stating that the "CAMPA fund is to be utilised for increasing green cover" and expressing concern over the utilisation of the same for non-admissible activities and not depositing interests is a matter of grave concern, the bench directed the Chief Secretary of the concerned state to file the affidavit. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) is part of India's environmental policy framework, which aims to balance the country's developmental needs with the imperative of conserving its forest resources. (ANI) The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, K Sanjay Murthy, held consultations with the 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Chairperson Arvind Panagariya, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday. The high-level consultation formed a critical part of the Commission's ongoing assessment of the financial landscape of the centre and states. The deliberations mainly focused on three key areas: Union and State Finances, Local Bodies, and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), among others. The Union, states, local bodies and the PSEs are under the audit of the CAG. In addition, the CAG also maintains the accounts of the states. The CAG shared various audit findings for Union and states in various sectors, the fiscal challenges and stress points, including the gap between expenditure and non-debt receipts for the Union and States combined. The key areas of concern include a decline in the State Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) buoyancy of the States and varying levels of SOTR and Non-Tax Revenue of the States, which underscore the need for more robust revenue collection mechanisms. The CAG drew attention to the need for regular reporting of the off-Budget Borrowings, meeting the FRBM targets, and taking into account post-audit liabilities computed by the CAG in his reports. This could be a crucial source of information for the Finance Commission while examining the extent of fiscal consolidation for the Union and the States. The CAG's presentation also drew attention to untapped revenue sources. Notably, areas such as stamp duty, registration fees, and state excise collections have been identified as having substantial potential for enhanced fiscal performance. Recommendations in this regard include regular updates to market value guidelines, improved classification of property types, and the adoption of modern technology--such as sensor-based systems and QR codes--to minimize revenue leakages and improve data accuracy. In the realm of Goods and Services Tax (GST) administration, the CAG has proposed several reforms aimed at widening the tax base and enhancing transparency. Suggested measures include the integration of unregistered goods and service providers into the GST framework via automated data collection and real-time information systems, along with improvised taxpayer verification processes. These initiatives are expected to not only streamline the tax collection process but also to ensure more accurate apportionment of inter-state tax flows. The CAG gave a strong emphasis on the need to standardize accounting practices at all tiers of the Government for transparent and ready availability of comparable fiscal information. The presentation called for the harmonisation of object heads of expenditure and adoption of a uniform 6-tier classification system by State Governments without deviations. It was also highlighted that, as an immediate measure, harmonisation of local bodies accounts with central and state accounts may be attempted in the top 100 cities. Such steps would facilitate the seamless consolidation of fiscal data and strengthen transparency in public financial management, thereby empowering policymakers with clearer insights into both revenue and expenditure. An important highlight of the discussion was the endorsement of good practices, like involving the establishment of a Budget Stabilization Fund by jurisdictions with surplus revenues. This fund, designed to cushion against unexpected budgetary shortfalls or cyclical disruptions using proceeds derived from specific revenue streams such as mineral resources, is presented as a replicable model for other regions with similar fiscal profiles. The adoption of this measure could significantly enhance financial resilience and contribute to more stable fiscal management across jurisdictions. A key component of the meeting is centred on the financial management of local bodies. The CAG shared insights from performance audits across numerous urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, pointing out issues such as incomplete devolution of functions, heavy dependence on Central and State grants, and low levels of own-source revenue. In this regard, recommendations included integrating local body use of an Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) for onboarding the payment/fund transfer made by the States to the ULBs and the RLBs and streamlining accounting practices to ensure consistent and transparent financial reporting at the grassroots level. The need for the development of a specifically suited system for the processing of the transactions of the ULBs/RLBs and their accounts was suggested, which can be incentivised by the FC. Additionally, the presentation addressed the lack of oversight of State Public Sector Enterprises in the submission of their Annual Accounts, urging corrective measures to address persistent losses and inefficiencies, and recommending a close monitoring of disinvestment strategies. Overall, the CAG's interaction with the 16th Finance Commission provided a detailed roadmap for strengthening fiscal transparency, enhancing revenue performance, and ensuring robust financial management across all levels of government. The recommended measures are envisioned to promote accountability, drive efficient resource allocation, and support the long-term fiscal consolidation of the Union and the States.The FC chairperson, Arvind Panagariya, in his concluding remarks, appreciated the efforts taken by the CAG in providing these insights to the commission, which would be of great value while formulating their recommendations. (ANI) On March 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Surat, Gujarat, where he will grace the Surat Food Security Saturation Campaign. As part of this initiative, he will distribute benefits to approximately 2,00,000 eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will also grace the event, an official statement said. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana' (PMGKAY) to provide free, quality food grains to poor families. Under this initiative, in Gujarat, more than 76 Lakhs of NFSA cards have been issued, covering approximately 3.72 crore people, it added. Gujarat government issued a directive to classify beneficiaries of the Ganga Swaroopa Aarthik Sahay Yojana (under the Women and Child Development Department), the Vruddh Pension Sahay Yojana (under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department), and the Divyang Sahay Yojana as 'priority households' under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), regardless of their income limits. This ensures that these beneficiaries receive both subsidized food grains and free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the statement added. Following the scheme saturation approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the commitment to Antyodaya Kalyan (upliftment of the underprivileged) by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Surat District Food Security Saturation Campaign has been undertaken in Surat. Under this campaign, efforts were made to identify eligible poor beneficiary families, with a special focus on Ganga Swaroopa (widowed) women, elderly individuals, Divyangs, and marginalized daily wage earners, it added. Upon verifying beneficiaries receiving support under social security schemes, it was found that around 1,50,000 beneficiaries in Surat district were availing benefits under the Ganga Swaroopa Yojana, Vruddh Pension Sahay Yojana, and Divyang Sahay Yojana. In response, the district administration formed taluka and zonal-level teams to assess how many of these beneficiaries were already covered under NFSA or could be included under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Operating in mission mode, these teams swiftly identified families with and without NFSA cards. After mapping the existing beneficiaries, a detailed survey was conducted to identify those still excluded. Over the past year, the administration has worked proactively to bring marginalized individuals under NFSA coverage, ensuring food security for all eligible families, the statement added. Thus, after completing the entire process, approximately 2,00,000 beneficiaries have been identified under the Surat Food Security Saturation Campaign. All these beneficiaries will receive National Food Security Act (NFSA) benefits from the Prime Minister on March 7, 2025, as per statement . As per the Government of India's food security provisions, each NFSA cardholder beneficiary receives 5 kilograms of food grains (wheat and rice) per person per month. To strengthen both food security and nutritional security, the Gujarat government provides additional essential food items at subsidized rates, as outlined below. 1 kg of Toor Dal at Rs 50 per kg1 kg of Chana (Chickpeas) at Rs 30 per kg1 kg of Sugar (per card) at Rs 15 per kg (AAY)350 grams of Sugar (per member) at Rs 22 per kg (BPL)1 kg of Double-Fortified Salt at Rs 1 per kg During Janmashtami and Diwali, all NFSA cardholder beneficiaries receive an additional 1 kg of sugar per card and 1 litre of double-filtered groundnut oil at a subsidized rate of Rs100 per litre. (ANI) Jharkhand Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta on Wednesday informed that three CRPF personnel were injured, with one radio operator sustaining serious leg injuries in the IED blast in Chaibasa. "Three of our soldiers have been injured. One of our radio operators has a serious injury in his leg," said the Jharkhand DGP. The injured soldiers were immediately brought to a hospital in Ranchi for treatment, with medical staff working to stabilize the critically injured radio operator. According to Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta, the soldier's condition is being closely monitored, and if necessary, arrangements are in place to transport him to Delhi via air ambulance for further treatment. "Our doctor told us that he will do some surgery and try to stabilize him and if needed, we can immediately send him to Delhi by air ambulance. Whatever the doctor decides, we will do that. We stand completely with our soldiers...," added Anurag Gupta. Gupta reassured that the authorities are fully supporting the injured soldiers and are committed to taking decisive action against the Naxalites responsible for the attack. The DGP emphasised that the Naxalites are running low on ammunition and that security forces have been actively working to neutralize the threat. He noted that several Naxalites have been killed in previous operations, and those remaining will be apprehended or eliminated by March 31. "We are taking action against them. Action has been taken earlier as well, many have been killed and those who are left will be caught or killed by March 31... It was an old IED," added Jharkhand DGP. More details are awaited. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Wednesday said that, due to the state government's continuous efforts and representations, the central government has sanctioned a grant of Rs.50 crore for the establishment of Municipal Shared Services Centres (MSSCs) for the National Data Centre in the State under the 15th Finance Commission. He said that the state government, under the guidance of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has been actively working to strengthen municipal administration by modernising urban local bodies. "We were working to address critical challenges such as limited manpower, financial constraints and lack of technical support, and the introduction of MSSCs would play a significant role in improving governance and service delivery across municipalities," he told reporters. The PWD Minister said that the MSSSC would also help streamline essential services such as issuing birth and death certificates, trade licenses and grievance redressal, similar to the Passport Seva Kendras. Apart from this, these centers would function as centralised processing hubs for accounting, payroll management and vendor payments. They would also facilitate doorstep services, such as tax collection, waste management and maintenance works, which would significantly improve efficiency in smaller urban local bodies," he said. He said that the state government has been proactively engaging with the centre to secure funding for urban development initiatives. The sanctioned grant is a testimony to these efforts and would be utilised to establish three clusters of urban local bodies (ULBs) within the state and ensure more efficient and technology-driven municipal administration to the people of the state. Vikramaditya Singh said that the Ministry has already sent the proposal for the release of funds to Himachal. Apart from Himachal, the fund would be released to Assam, Arunachal and Nagaland. He said that the funds would be disbursed in two tranches. 50 per cent of the fund would be disbursed at the time of sanction and the remaining on operationalisation of the MSSC models. He said that to ensure effective implementation, the state would appoint a third-party organisation of national repute to monitor and evaluate the project. He said that the MSSC model would reduce costs, optimise resource utilisation and enhance service delivery, which would benefit urban residents across the state. (ANI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray supported the suspension of Samajwadi Party Maharashtra MLA Abu Azmi from the budget session, saying that the "suspension should be permanent." "He should be permanently suspended. It should not just be for the Budget Session, the suspension should be permanent," Thackeray told reporters on Wednesday. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also reacted to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's 'X' post on Abu Azmi's suspension, saying that "Let him object if he wants to. The entire Maharashtra has raised an objection against him. If he wants, he should make him contest from there (UP). He does not know the truth." Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav criticized the suspension of party leader Abu Azmi, alleging that ideological influence on such actions undermines democratic values. In a post on X, Yadav questioned the basis of the suspension and asserted that free thought cannot be curtailed by punitive measures, "If the basis of suspension starts getting influenced by ideology, then what difference will remain between freedom of expression and slavery? Whether it is our MLAs or MPs, their fearless wisdom is unmatched. If some people think that by 'suspension' one can rein in truth, then this is the childishness of their negative thinking. Today's free thinking says, we don't want BJP." Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session on Wednesday over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. A proposal was brought in the Maharashtra Assembly today against Azmi's remarks. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said in the House that Azmi's objectionable statement had hurt the dignity of the House, leading to the proposal to suspend his membership for this session, which the Speaker passed. Azmi had reportedly said that Aurangzeb was not a "cruel administrator" and "built many temples". He added that the battle between the Mughal emperor and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was for state administration and not about Hindu and Muslim. On Tuesday, Abu Azmi said that his words had been twisted and that he was ready to take back his statement and apologise if sentiments were hurt. "My words have been twisted. I have said what historians and writers have claimed about Aurangzeb Rahmatullah Ali," Azmi said. "I have not made any derogatory comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj, or any other great me, but still if anyone has been hurt by my statement, then I take back my words, my statement," Azmi said in a video on his X. (ANI) Shukla was critically injured in an explosion near Kamalpost in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on February 11. The CRPF head constable was undergoing treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi, where he passed away on February 20. During his visit, the CRPF chief assured Shukla's family of support, including ensuring proper education for his son and daughter. Singh also emphasised that all necessary assistance would be provided to the family. Shukla, born on February 25, 1978, in Kamalkedia village of Jharkhand's Palamu district, enlisted in the CRPF as a Constable GD on March 26, 2001. He served in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar. He joined the 231 Battalion of the CRPF on August 4, 2022. On February 11, 2025, while the troops were returning to base (Kamal Post Camp), Shukla, being a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) -trained person, led the party, negotiating the pathwith the help of the Deep Search Metal Detector (DSMD), alerted the troops, but he could not escape the IED himself. Disregarding his own life safety, Shukla made a supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, saving the lives of other members of the team. (ANI) The mock drill was held to prepare field forces to respond promptly to any untoward incident, especially of a terror nature, with quick and safe response and to assess the security response time, coordination, and effectiveness. The exercise also aimed to identify areas for improvement and streamline the response mechanism. A team of specialist officers from Kulgam Police, CAPF, RPF, Fire, and emergency services participated in the exercise. The mock drill was conducted under the supervision of DIG SKR Anantnag, Javid Iqbal Matoo and SSP Kulgam, Sahil Sarangal, who appreciated the efforts of security forces present in enhancing their emergency response capabilities. J-K Police reaffirms its commitment to ensuring public safety and security. The mock drill exercise is part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our emergency response mechanisms and provide adequate services to the community. (ANI) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Nigerian national in connection with an ongoing investigation of a case related to email fraud. The accused has been identified as Adia Okoh alias Odia Francis Ehizogie, a proclaimed offender, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday. The CBI said in a statement that initially the agency registered the case in January 2012 under sections 419, 420 read with 511 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 66A (b) & (c) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 against unknown persons. It was alleged that the complainant had received a fraudulent email on June 2011, falsely claiming that his email ID had won GBP 7,50,000 from the Orthodox Church Foundation. The fraudsters sought personal details and attempted to deceive the complainant into transferring Rs 16,700 to a State Bank of India account. Accused Osin Daniel was arrested in the case but another accused, Adia Okoh had evaded arrest, the agency said. Chargesheet was filed against Adia Okoh and Osin Daniel alias Ogbebor Emmanuel Richard in December 2015. Accused Adia Okoh was declared a proclaimed offender by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Tis Hazari Court, New Delhi, in October 2016. Look Out Circulars (LOCs) were also issued against him. The CBI had earlier received a tip-off regarding the movement of accused Adia Okoh, with him being subsequently detained at the Mumbai airport while attempting to flee India. The accused is being brought to Delhi on transit remand and will be produced before the Rouse Avenue Courts, New Delhi, for further legal proceedings, it added. (ANI) Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi on Wednesday maintained that he did not intend to insult national heroes and that his suspension is unfair after he was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for the entire budget session over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He argued that he was simply quoting historians and writers, such as Satish Chandra and Dr Ram Puniyani, who have written about Aurangzeb's reign. Azmi emphasised that India's GDP was strong during Aurangzeb's rule and that he even donated to temples. He questioned why he was suspended for quoting historians while others. "I have never said anything like this. I cannot even think that I would say anything against any national hero. Assam CM compared Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh ji with Aurangzeb. When I was asked about Aurangzeb's character. I said- I was not born in that era. Whatever Satish Chandra, Dr Rajiv Dixit, Dr. Ram Puniyani, Awadh Ojha, Meena Bhargava, all these people have written, I can only say that...I have only said that India's GDP was very good and that they also donated to temples at that time. I just said whatever is written, I did not say anything on my own," said the suspended MLA. Azmi further added that he had suggested in the Maharashtra Assembly that those who insult national heroes should be given a minimum punishment of 10 years, however, he had been suspended for the entire session. "Now, it is being said that I insulted national heroes, but how is this an insult? I have said many times in the Assembly that whoever insults national heroes should be given a minimum punishment of 10 years, but I have been suspended for the entire session. I think this is not fair," said Azmi. He questioned why he was suspended for quoting historians while others, like Prashant Koratkar and Rahul Solapurkar, who allegedly insulted Shivaji Maharaj, remain free. "Prashant Koratkar and Rahul Solapurkar have insulted (Shivaji Maharaj). They are still in Maharashtra. Why are they not being arrested? Whatever I have said, it is on record. If what I have said is wrong, what action is being taken against those people who have written these and keep giving speeches? If someone is saying something wrong, then the government should file a case against them. If I repeated the words of the historians, how can a case be filed against me?... I will see what can be the way out of this. All this is happening only because the BJP government tries to benefit from all of this...," said the SP MLA. Facing backlash and even death threats, Azmi has since taken back his statement, stating that he wants the Assembly to function and address pressing issues like water scarcity, poor roads, and inadequate schools and hospitals. "I am taking back what I had said as there has been a huge turmoil because of this. People are calling me and abusing me; I am not picking up the phone; they are threatening to kill me. Now, the Speaker has suspended me. I just want the Assembly to function, and that is why I said that I take back my statement...We have a lot of issues, people in our area are not getting water, the roads are bad, the sewers are bad, and there is a problem with schools and hospitals; why are we not discussing that? Why waste everybody's time on this? This is the reason I took back my words...," said Azmi. Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar suspended Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for the entire duration of the ongoing budget session on Wednesday over his remarks on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. A proposal was brought in the Maharashtra Assembly today against Azmi's remarks. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil said in the House that Azmi's objectionable statement had hurt the dignity of the House, leading to the proposal to suspend his membership for this session, which the Speaker passed. Azmi had reportedly said that Aurangzeb was not a "cruel administrator" and "built many temples". He added that the battle between the Mughal emperor and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was for state administration and not about Hindu and Muslim. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday apprised about her meeting with education professionals, saying that people associated with schools and the education sector held discussions on several topics. She said that the government intends to advance the education system in the national capital. "Delhi's education system should be made such that it is the best in the country, that it is at the level of the country's capital, everybody's cooperation is needed for this," Gupta told reporters. "Today, many topics were discussed here. People associated with schools, people associated with education expressed their views," she added. The CM said that such discussions would continue and would be "good" for the budget of Viksit Delhi. "I think this dialogue will be very good for the budget of developed Delhi. These discussions will continue. This budget will be the budget of the people of Delhi," Gupta said. Gupta, earlier today, said that the budget of Delhi will fulfil the expectations of people and for this purpose she will herself meet woman, families, youth and professionals from different sectors. Addressing a press conference, CM Gupta said, "I will go and meet sisters and families in slum areas, I will talk to them regarding the expectations they have from this govt. Discussions will be held with youths and professionals from different sectors. The budget of Delhi will fulfil the expectations of people." On Monday, The Chief Minister said that the Budget for 'Viksit Delhi' will be presented in the Assembly between March 24 and 26, in which the government will strive to take suggestions from all sections of the society. Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Chief Minister Gupta emphasised that the budget will be a 'Viksit Delhi' budget, prioritizing Delhi's development. "The Viksit Delhi Budget 2025-26 will be presented between March 24 and March 26. The government will strive to take all sections of society along for the development of Delhi, incorporating their suggestions," the Chief Minister said. Gupta said, "Financial assistance for women, expansion of health services, promoting public transport, reducing pollution, cleaning the Yamuna, employment, welfare of senior citizens, and other important issues were part of our manifesto. Our aim now is to take into account the priorities of the people of Delhi and prepare the budget outline accordingly." "Instructions have been given to officials of all departments to include the suggestions of all stakeholders to increase public participation and incorporate them into the budget. To facilitate this, an email (ViksitDelhiBudget_25@delhi.gov.in) and WhatsApp number (999962025) have been launched, allowing any citizen of Delhi to submit their suggestions," the Delhi Chief minister added. (ANI) The Joint Regional Official Language Conference and Award Distribution Ceremony for the East and Northeast regions, organized by the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, was held in Guwahati on Wednesday. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai attended the event. Distinguished guests were also present, including Members of Parliament Dilip Saikia and Bijuli Kalita Medhi. The conference focused on promoting Hindi, its growing use in government work, and the integration of technology to enhance its accessibility. In his address, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai emphasized the importance of Hindi as both an official language and a unifying force in India's diverse linguistic landscape. He highlighted the significance of the Rajbhasha Sammelan as a platform for encouraging the use of Hindi across government departments, offices, and banks. He stressed that government schemes and initiatives must be effectively communicated to all citizens, ensuring equal access and benefits. He further underscored the importance of fostering a strong connection between the government and the public through the use of familiar languages, reinforcing Hindi's role in this endeavor. The Minister reiterated that language is not just a means of communication but a reflection of a nation's cultural identity. He elaborated on various initiatives undertaken by the government to promote Hindi and other Indian languages, including the launch of the 'Kanthasth' translation tool in 2018, the emphasis on mother tongues in the New Education Policy of 2020, and legislative measures to include Hindi, Kashmiri, and Dogri in the official languages of Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, he highlighted the introduction of the All India Rajbhasha Sammelan in 2022 and the expansion of the Rajbhasha Gaurav Purashkar Yojana.' He emphasized the need to integrate Hindi and Indian languages with technology, ensuring wider accessibility and efficiency. In his speech, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described Hindi as a symbol of national unity. He noted that despite India's linguistic diversity, Hindi serves as a vital link connecting different regions. He praised the Ministry of Home Affairs for its efforts in advancing translation software and integrating Hindi into modern technological platforms, urging for even greater inclusion of Hindi in governance and administrative functions. During the event, a special edition of the departmental magazine Rajbhasha Bharti was unveiled, along with the launch of the alpha version of Kanthastha (3.0), a multilingual translation software developed for the Bhartiya Bhasha Anubhag. The conference also featured an award ceremony recognizing excellence in the use of the official language. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented awards to various government offices, banks, and undertakings for their outstanding contributions to promoting Hindi. Town Official Language Implementation Committees (TOLICs) were also honored with the TOLIC Rajbhasha Samman. A total of 48 awards were distributed, selected based on the Quarterly Progress Reports submitted through the Information Management System. This regional conference covered both the East and Northeast regions. The East region comprises West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, while the Northeast region includes Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier in the year, the first regional conference was held on January 4, 2025, in Mysore, Karnataka, followed by the second conference on February 17, 2025, in Jaipur. The primary objective of these conferences is to ensure the effective implementation of the Official Language Policy across Central Government Offices, Banks, PSUs, Autonomous Bodies, and Town Official Language Implementation Committees in these regions. (ANI) Following the arrest of Kannada actress Ranya Rao by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that the investigation is ongoing and assured that the law applies equally to everyone. "The investigation is underway. The DRI is handling the case, and until they come out with definite information, I will not be able to comment. Let them complete their investigation. Since the DRI is a Central agency, I cannot say anything. However, I have asked the department to look into it internally, and they will definitely get some information," Parameshwara told reporters. Ranya Rao, known for her roles in films like 'Maanikya' and 'Pataki,' was arrested by the DRI on March 3, 2025, in Bengaluru. The Karnataka government said that the law was the same for all. Congress MLA and Legal Advisor to the Karnataka Chief Minister, AS Ponnanna, issued a statement regarding the arrest, emphasizing that no one would receive special treatment. "She has been accused of smuggling, and the law will take its course -- whether she is the daughter of the DGP, the Chief Minister, or the Prime Minister. If any official nexus is involved, the investigation will reveal it," Ponnanna said. The arrest came after allegations that Ranya was involved in smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai into India. Ranya, the stepdaughter of Karnataka's Director General of Police (DGP) Dr K Ramachandra Rao, was detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) upon arrival from Dubai on an Emirates flight. Acting on a tip-off about her suspected involvement in gold smuggling, DRI officials stationed a team at the airport before her arrival. Upon landing, she was immediately taken into custody. On March 4, 2025, Ranya was produced before a special court for financial offenses, where she was remanded to judicial custody till March 18, 2025. Before being transferred to custody, she underwent a medical examination at Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru. During questioning, Ranya claimed that her visit to Dubai was for business purposes. However, DRI officials allege that she was carrying a significant amount of gold intended to be smuggled into India. According to the DRI, the gold in her possession weighed 14.8 kilograms. She remains in judicial custody as the investigation continues. (ANI) Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in Punjab's Hoshiyarpur for a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. Sachdeva accused Kejriwal of being unable to shed his lavish lifestyle and VIP culture, calling his meditation retreat a mere "medium to loot the taxpayer's money." "He is not able to leave the lavish lifestyle and VIP culture. This is not Vipassana, but 'Virasata'. It is just a medium to loot the taxpayer's money...This is a desire for enjoyment and facilities which he is not able to leave...It is in his mind to loot the people of Punjab now...He needs to remorse instead of going for Vipassana," said Sachdeva. Earlier today, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also criticized the AAP national convenor over the alleged misuse of public funds, questioning the extensive security and arrangements during his visit to Punjab. "There are cars worth more than Rs 2 crores, fire brigades, ambulances, and more than 100 commandos in his (Arvind Kejriwal's) convoy for his 'Vipassana. ' What type of a common man is he?... Arvind Kejriwal is wasting Punjab's money. His purpose is not 'Vipassana' but to fulfil his dream of becoming a CM... The people of Ludhiana will never let Sanjeev Arora (candidate from Ludhiana West) win,' he said. Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on Wednesday also took a jibe at Arvind Kejriwal. Speaking to reporters, Verma stated - "As I was saying during election campaigning, after losing in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal would run to Punjab. Now, they have a government there, he wants to safeguard it. Now, will he become a Rajya Sabha MP or Punjab CM, let's see in the coming days." Kejriwal arrived at a guest house in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, on Tuesday amid tight security. His visit comes ahead of the upcoming elections, with AAP focusing on strengthening its presence in the state. AAP's Sanjeev Arora is set to contest the Ludhiana West by-election, a seat that fell vacant after the passing of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi last month. Arora's nomination has sparked speculation about Arvind Kejriwal's potential entry into the Rajya Sabha. (ANI) Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday inspected the Yamuna cleaning campaign and held a review meeting with officials to assess the progress, discussing future plans. He inspected the ongoing cleaning campaign from Boat Club, Signature Bridge and ITO Chhath Ghat. Verma stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) double-engine government was executing a well-planned roadmap and a concrete action plan for Yamuna's cleaning and conservation. He highlighted that after the BJP's victory in Delhi, the Yamuna cleaning drive was accelerated, leading to the removal of 1,300 metric tons of waste from the river so far. The minister criticised the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, stating that in the past 10 years, no substantial work was done for Yamuna's cleaning and flood control. Instead, pollution levels doubled, and flood management worsened, he said. Verma accused the previous AAP government of misleading people and indulging in corruption in the name of Yamuna cleaning. However, he added, the government has now pledged to transform Yamuna into a clean and beautiful riverfront, similar to the Sabarmati Riverfront. He also mentioned that PM Modi is personally monitoring this campaign. Talking about the concrete measures being taken by the newly elected government for Yamuna cleaning and flood control, Verma said that the Modi government was taking several key steps, including connecting all drains in Delhi to STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) and their capacity would be increased to prevent untreated wastewater from flowing into the river. CTPs (Common Treatment Plants) would be installed in industrial areas to ensure proper disposal of chemical waste. Repairs, oiling, and elevation of security walls at ITO Barrage gates are being carried out to prevent flooding. Meanwhile, special drives are being conducted to clean Yamuna's banks and develop green zones along the river. DDA has initiated the development of the Yamuna Riverfront, transforming the riverbanks into a tourism and cultural hub. The minister urged Delhi residents to refrain from polluting the Yamuna and actively support this noble initiative. He stated, "Cleaning and preserving Maa Yamuna is not just the government's responsibility but also the duty of every Delhiite. Let's come together and make this mission a success!" (ANI) Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha on Wednesday took a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying that he is now worried about him after the latter's heated exchange with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in the state assembly, during which the latter claimed that he played a 'key role' in shaping the political career of RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav. "I am worried about Nitish Kumar now; it is so unfortunate that he is speaking in such a language. You were in Lalu ji's team, you were called Lalu ji's man," Jha told ANI. "Yesterday, Tejaswi Yadav, without any bitterness, gave a historical analysis, contemporary challenges and an outline of the future; he explained everything on the basis of logic...You (Nitish Kumar) did not answer it... You are the creator of the universe, you are Brahma. If such thoughts are coming to your mind these days, then I am even more worried about you," he added. On Tuesday, in the assembly, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar asserted that he played a 'key role' in shaping the political career of Tejashwi Yadav's father and former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav. As Kumar was making his speech, Tejashwi interrupted him, over which Kumar said, "What was there in Bihar earlier? It was me who made your father what he became. Even the people from your caste questioned me on why I was supporting him, but I still did." Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha slammed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav after the verbal exchange. He further accused the former Bihar Deputy CM of being "against the culture of Sanatan" and opposed its values. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Sinha said, "Today, Tejaswi Yadav was praising his father Lalu Prasad Yadav... even though he is praising him today, he covers his face during the elections for the bad deeds he has committed." "All the big leaders of the BJP are not from dynasty politics. The BJP has always stayed away from dynasty politics. Tejaswi Yadav has gone away from Sanatan and opposes its values," he further stated. (ANI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel affirmed that Gujarat is poised to play a pivotal role in the global semiconductor demand-supply chain. In this context, he added that in this era of modern development, it is impossible to imagine industrial progress without semiconductors. Gujarat, with several state-of-the-art facilities related to electronics and semiconductors, has become the top choice for setting up semiconductor units in the country. The Chief Minister was addressing the inauguration of the Gujarat SemiConnect Conference 2025 and exhibition, organised by the state government's Science and Technology Department in Gandhinagar. According to a release by the Gujarat CMO, this three-day conference is witnessing the participation of more than 1,500 delegates from various countries and India, along with over 250 exhibitors. In the presence of the Chief Minister, the conference saw the signing of eight MoUs for investments in the semiconductor and fab sector, the launch of the Semiconductor Supply Chain Compendium, and the laying of the e-foundation stone for a hospital, an international school, and a fire station to be built in Dholera. The Chief Minister stated that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, India's global position in emerging fields like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and drone technology is strengthening day by day. He also highlighted that Gujarat has launched the Gujarat State Electronics Mission in line with the Indian government's vision to develop a strong electronics manufacturing ecosystem. He added that Gujarat had already implemented a dedicated Semiconductor Policy in 2022. Not only that but recognizing the vast growth potential of the semiconductor industry in Dholera, Gujarat has started developing it as the country's first greenfield smart city with plug-and-play facilities. The Chief Minister also provided details about the Global Capability Center Policy, which has been announced to promote AI, machine learning, and analytics technology, industries, and startups in Gujarat. Highlighting Gujarat's rapid progress in developing high-tech manpower in the semiconductor sector, he noted that Gujarat has emerged as a global hub in fields like textiles, pharmaceuticals, diamonds, chemicals and petrochemicals, ceramics, and renewable energy. He further stated that Gujarat, the land of opportunities, aims to become a centre for a high-tech manufacturing revolution through global collaboration in innovation, unlocking limitless development possibilities. Extending his best wishes for the success of the conference, the Chief Minister expressed hope that the discussions, panel discussions, and outcomes of the three-day conference would become a milestone in taking the semiconductor sector to new heights. Marisa Gerards, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, emphasised that the semiconductor sector will be instrumental in achieving Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of making India a developed nation by 2047. She highlighted that the "Gujarat SemiConnect Conference" serves as a key platform to showcase the sector's potential and position Gujarat as India's semiconductor hub. She further noted that the semiconductor industry is playing a transformative role in strengthening India's global standing in the technology sector. She added that India-Netherlands relations are growing stronger, with India being the Netherlands' most trusted partner. While the Netherlands stands as a powerhouse in semiconductor manufacturing, India is emerging as the fastest-growing nation in this sector, with Gujarat playing a pivotal role. Expressing confidence in their partnership, she emphasized that instead of competing, both countries will collaborate to drive a new revolution in the semiconductor industry. Pankaj Joshi, Chief Secretary, in his address, stated that Gujarat has been established as the manufacturing hub of the country for several years. Due to strong financial management, world-class infrastructure, the best investment facilities, and various industrial policies, Gujarat has now become a semiconductor manufacturing hub. Dholera Semiconductor City and Sanand GIDC are emerging as semiconductor packaging hubs. He added that the Gujarat government has taken several steps to provide all necessary facilities to industries beyond semiconductors at Dholera SIR. Dholera is witnessing the development of international-level infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply, gas supply, water supply, an expressway ensuring robust connectivity, the Bhimnath railway station, and a greenfield airport. The airport for cargo facilities is expected to become operational by July 2025. On this occasion, Shri Norihiko Ishiguro, JETRO Chairman and CEO, stated that under visionary leadership, India and Gujarat's semiconductor ecosystem is developing rapidly. JETRO will also contribute significantly to strengthening Gujarat's semiconductor ecosystem. With the semiconductor industries emerging in Dholera SIR, the region will become a crucial semiconductor manufacturing centre in the country. Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, welcomed all attendees and provided detailed information about the objectives of the three-day conference, the evolving semiconductor ecosystem in Gujarat, and various sessions scheduled over the next two days. She stated that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, several policies, including the semiconductor policy, have been implemented in Gujarat, which will help establish the state as India's semiconductor hub. The event also featured discussions on innovation and collaboration in the semiconductor industry and the global semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. Ramesh Kannan, Managing Director of Kanyes Technologies; Matt Crowley, Executive Vice President of Jabil Global Business Unit; CS Chua, Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific; Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, Chairman of CG Semi Private Limited; Gursharan Singh, Senior Vice President of Micron Technology; Ajit Manocha, President of SEMI Global; and Sushil Pal, CEO of India Semiconductor Mission, shared their insights. Additionally, Randhir Thakur, Managing Director of Tata Electronics, PSMC President Martin Chu, and Jordan Wu, Director of Himax Technologies, presented their perspectives. The ceremony was attended by Hasmukh Adhia, Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister; M. K. Das, Additional Chief Secretary; senior officials from the Government of India and Gujarat; delegates from various countries; and semiconductor industry experts, industrialists, and investors in large numbers. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over the demise of the first Director General of Police of the State IB Negi, who passed away on Wednesday in Shimla. He belonged to Kinnaur district and was 93 years old. The Chief Minister said that IB Negi has served in various positions in the Police organization. He said that he was an outstanding police officer and that his contributions to the police department would always be remembered. Sukhu prayed to the almighty to give peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss. (ANI) The workers of the Congress Student Union protested at the gate of Jadavpur University as they demanded student union elections to be conducted in the state. Speaking to ANI, a protestor, Ashfaque Ahmed said that the student union elections are not being conducted in West Bengal and CM Mamata Banerjee has completely suspended the elections. "We are the workers of Congress Students Union. The student union elections are not being conducted in West Bengal. CM Mamata Banerjee has completely suspended them. We want the elections to be conducted. Our fight is against outside people entering the campus. We want healthy student politics in West Bengal.", he told ANI while protesting. Earlier, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) protested against the Student Federation of India (SFI), alleging them to attack state minister Britya Basu on the Jadavpur University campus. The TMC accused the SFI of attacking Basu at Jadavpur University earlier today, where he had come to attend an annual meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA). TMC leader Saayoni Ghosh condemned the attack and told ANI, "The West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu was attacked at the Jadavpur University. We are here to condemn this." The visuals of the minister's car show a damaged windscreen. Reacting to this, TMC has alleged that SFI members were responsible for the attack and "vandalising" the vehicle. Basu, also the WBCUPA president, was taken to SSKM hospital as protestors gherao the education minister, preventing him from leaving. Condemning the incident, West Bengal TMC secretary Kunal Ghosh took to X and accused the protestors of indulging in misconduct with Professor Pradeep Mukherjee at Jadavpur University (JU). "Those who committed this incivility with Professor Pradeep Mukherjee in Jadavpur and those organisations need to be identified. Appropriate action must be taken against the few incivilities who played tricks with him. Trinamool's courtesy does not mean weakness. Why should they touch him?" Ghosh posted on X. (ANI) Few policemen were injured in an incident of stone pelting after DJ operators had blocked the roads in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua on Wednesday, a police officer said. Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Premlal Kurve told ANI that DJ operators who were seeking permission to play a sound system had blocked the roads. Upon receiving the information, a contingent of police reached the spot to pacify the protestors. "The DJ operators blocked the roads as they wanted permission to play the sound system. The police went to the spot. Some anti-social elements pelted stones at the police, in which some of our policemen were injured...After this, the blockade was removed," he said. "The policemen were given medical treatment, and further legal action is being taken in this matter," SP Kurve added. Meanwhile, two people, including a woman, sustained injuries after a sudden explosion occurred in a flat of an apartment in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said. The explosion occurred in the flat of Galaxy Plaza Apartment situated on Gwalior-Bhind Road under Gola Ka Mandir police station area in the district at around 2 am. Several flats of the apartment have suffered the impact of the explosion with their windows and doors damaged, he added. Upon receiving the information about the incident, firefighters and the police team immediately reached and began the rescue operations. A woman and a man present in the flat, where the explosion occurred, have been seriously injured and admitted to the burn unit of Jaya Arogya Hospital (JAH) in the district. Deputy Commissioner of Gwalior Municipal Corporation and Fire Officer Atibal Singh Yadav said, "We received information about a sudden blast occurred in a flat of Galaxy Plaza Apartment at around 2 am. Upon receiving the info, fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the spot. Several flats of the apartment were damaged in the incident. Two people (a man and a woman) have sustained burn injuries in the incident, they have been admitted to the hospital and are undergoing treatment." The reason for the blast is yet to be ascertained, though in the preliminary investigation, it seems that it could be a kind of a chemical blast. The windows, glass and doors of many flats are broken due to the impact of the explosion. Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added. Investigation is on and further details on the nature of the explosion are awaited. (ANI) The Haryana police on Wednesday brought accused Sachin to recreate the crime scene at the residence of deceased Congress worker Himani Narwal in Rohtak, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase near a highway last week. Amid the ongoing uproar over the murder of Congress worker Himani Narwal, the mother of the deceased victim, on Monday expressed her dissatisfaction over police action while demanding the death penalty for the accused. She warned that she would die by suicide if the accused, Sachin, was not awarded the death penalty. Expressing dissatisfaction over police action in the case, she urged the administration to investigate the "main reason" for her daughter's death. "The main reason should be told to us. I am not satisfied with the police's actions. I want him (accused) to get the death penalty. If the accused is not given the death penalty, I will commit suicide, and the Haryana government and administration will be responsible for this," Savita Narwal told ANI. The mother also refuted the claims that her late daughter was "friends" with the accused, saying that Himani was a leader who stayed connected to people. Savita said that the accused was trying to cook up stories to save himself. "My daughter did not have close friendships with anyone. She was a leader, and she used to stay connected. He (the accused) was making up stories to save himself. I want the administration to tell me why my daughter was killed. Money cannot be the reason. If he (accused) killed her, then how can he be her friend?" Savita added. Her remarks come after ADGP Rohtak Range Krishan Kumar Rao said, "Accused Sachin, who runs a mobile shop in Jhajjar, has been arrested. The accused and the deceased had met through social media, and he used to visit her house. She used to stay alone in Vijay Nagar Rohtak. On February 27, he came to her house, and they had a fight over something, and he killed her with the help of a mobile charger cable." Following the arrest of one person in connection with the murder case of Congress worker Himani Narwal, whose body was found inside a suitcase in Rohtak, police on Monday said that they will take the remand of the accused and, after interrogation of the accused, will be done to ascertain details of the crime. On March 2, the Haryana Police arrested an accused in connection with the murder case of Congress worker Himani Narwal. (ANI) At a time when the Indian Air Force is seeing a fall in squadron strength, it is learnt that a high-level Defence Ministry committee has accepted the need for getting new multirole fighter aircraft for the service to enhance its fighting capabilities. The acceptance of the Indian Air Force requirement is learnt to be part of the report submitted by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh to the Defence Minister on 'Capability Enhancement of IAF'. Sources told ANI that the committee has accepted the need for the Indian Air Force to have new multirole fighters to meet its requirements for preparing for the next generation of conflicts. The sources said that, as per the discussions during the Committee meetings, the Indian Air Force would prepare the statement of case for acquiring capabilities, and the Defence Ministry would work towards getting the required approvals at different levels in a time-bound manner. The committee submitted the recommendations to the government when the US was pushing for selling its single-engine F-35 fifth-generation fighter aircraft while the Russian side was offering its Su-57 fifth-generation fighter. If the Indian Air Force follows a tender process to acquire the new aircraft, the French Rafale and Swedish Gripen, along with the fifth-generation fighters, are also likely to be involved. These aircraft are a mix of single and twin-engine fighters. In the past, the Indian Air Force has projected a requirement for 114 multirole fighter aircraft with 4.5-plus generation capabilities. Earlier, the service also planned to push for buying Rafales only to meet its requirements. The Indian Air Force has been trying to build its future force around indigenous platforms, including the LCA versions of the Mark-1, Mark-1A, Mark-2, and fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft. However, the delays caused by dependence on foreign sources for critical components like engines and other equipment have raised serious concerns about meeting timelines. The Committee has identified key thrust areas and made recommendations for implementation in the short, medium and long term so as to achieve the desired capability enhancement goals of the lAF in an optimal manner. (ANI) The statement added that this program, launched as a key part of the BJP-led government's focus on citizen service, provides an opportunity for Tripura residents to meet the Chief Minister directly and present their issues. The session, which saw the participation of citizens from various regions of the state, is a key effort in resolving local problems and addressing the needs of the common people. Under this initiative, the Chief Minister has ensured that people's concerns are heard promptly, further strengthening the government's bond with the public. This initiative continues to be a vital tool in ensuring that the voices of all citizens, regardless of their location, reach the highest levels of governance. The program has gained considerable attention since the BJP-led government came into power in Tripura two years ago, reinforcing the commitment to transparency and accessible leadership. (ANI) The Uttarakhand administration has made extensive arrangements in Mukhwa town in Harshil ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's one-day visit to Uttarakhand tomorrow, said the Department of Information and Public Relations Uttarakhand. Visuals show posters featuring the Prime Minister being displayed across the area. Additionally, tents were set up to accommodate the expected crowd and provide necessary facilities for the event. These preparations reflect the administration's efforts to ensure a well-organised and seamless visit for both the Prime Minister and the gathering. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lauded the Union Cabinet's decisions to approve the construction of ropeway projects to the Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib shrines and said these initiatives will help devotees complete their journey comfortably in far less time. In a post on X, CM Dhami said, "On behalf of all the people of the state, we express our heartfelt gratitude to respected Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for approving the ropeway projects from Sonprayag to Kedarnath (12.9 km) at a cost of Rs 4,081.28 crore and from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib (12.4 km) at a cost of Rs 2,730.13 crore under the Parvatmala Project." "These projects will ensure better connectivity for pilgrims and tourists, making travel easier and smoother. This will also substantially reduce travel time, providing great relief to pilgrims," posted Dhami on X. Speaking to ANI, CM Dhami said, "Heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ropeway projects sanctioned by the Central Government under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a historic initiative for the pilgrims and tourists, which will make religious travel more accessible, safe and convenient. The introduction of these ropeway facilities will not only boost religious tourism but will also lead to major improvements in the local economy, employment and infrastructure." CM Dhami said the long journey to the two pilgrim sites, which old citizens and those not bodily strong often find difficult, will get easy. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by PM Modi, on Wednesday approved the construction of a 12.9 km ropeway project from Sonprayag to Kedarnath (12.9 km) in Uttarakhand. The project will be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs. 4,081.28 crore. The ropeway is planned to be developed in public-private partnership and will be based on the most advanced Tri-cable Detachable Gondola (3S) technology with a design capacity of 1,800 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD) and can carry 18,000 passengers per day. The ropeway project will be a boon to the pilgrims visiting Kedarnath as it would provide an environment-friendly, comfortable and fast connectivity and reduce travel time in one direction from about 8 to 9 hours to about 36 minutes. An official release said the ropeway project will also generate substantial employment opportunities during construction and operations as well as in allied tourism industries like hospitality, travel, foods & beverages (F&B) and tourism throughout the year. The CCEA also approved the construction of a 12.4 km ropeway project from Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand. The project will be developed on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs. 2,730.13 crore. An official release said that the journey to the Hemkund Sahib, at present, is a challenging 21-km uphill trek from Govindghat and is covered on foot or by ponies or palanquins. The proposed ropeway is planned to provide convenience to pilgrims and visitors to the Hemkund Sahib and the tourists visiting the Valley of Flowers and will ensure all-weather last mile connectivity between Govindghat and Hemkund Sahib. The release said that the ropeway project will also generate substantial employment opportunities during construction and operations as well as in allied tourism industries like hospitality, travel, foods & beverages (F&B) and tourism throughout the year.PM Modi had in October 2022 laid the foundation stone of road and ropeway projects worth more than Rs 3400 crore in Mana, Uttarakhand. In his speech on the occasion, he had mentioned the two proposed ropeways, Kedarnath to Gaurikund and Hemkund ropeway and credited the inspiration and progress to the blessings of Baba Kedarnath, Badri Vishal and Sikh Gurus. The Prime Minister said devotees all over the world will rejoice in this unprecedented initiative. (ANI) These remarkable women are in the national capital to participate in the International Women's Day program celebrating the achievements and leadership of women everywhere. The evening brought together the celebration of women's contributions, leadership, and resilience, reinforcing the Ministry's unwavering dedication to advancing women's rights and fostering development. Annpurna Devi highlighted the significant strides made under the visionary Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, which has positively impacted the lives of countless girls in India and discussed the Ministry's inspiring vision for 2025, outlining innovative initiatives for empowering women and children, the ministry added. "It is truly an honor to host such inspiring women leaders who are the backbone of change in their communities," said Annpurna Devi. Recognizing their relentless efforts and determination is essential as we work towards Women Development to Women Led Development. The Minister underlined the need for sustained efforts toward educating and empowering girls and supporting women as leaders and changemakers in society. The event turned out to be a true celebration of women's empowerment and served as a platform to discuss the way forward in realizing the Prime Minister's vision of "Viksit Bharat", where women lead the way. (ANI) Multiple Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were signed in the Gujarat semi-connect Conference, in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday. An MoU was signed with JABIL India company for establishing new Silicon Photonics Manufacturing Unit in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 1000 crore, according to a press release. This unit will focus on manufacturing photonics transceivers, which are essential data communication devices used in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Telecom, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Smart Infrastructure. The investment is expected to generate approximately 1500 new employment opportunities. A Financial Support Agreement (FSA) was signed between India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and Tata Electronics (TEPL) to facilitate financial assistance from the Central Government for the semiconductor fabrication unit that will be established at Dholera. This unit will be set up with a total investment of Rs 91,526 crore, the press release added. An MoU was signed between Tata Electronics and IIT Gandhinagar to collaborate on skill development in the semiconductor sector. As part of this agreement, joint efforts will be undertaken to enhance expertise and training opportunities in this field at IIT Gandhinagar. A tripartite agreement was signed between Tata Electronics, the Taiwanese company PSMC, and the Taiwanese fabless semiconductor manufacturer Himax Technologies. This agreement is expected to play a crucial role in the production of semiconductor chips at Dholera, where Tata Electronics will manufacture these chips with the technical support of PSMC. Keynes Technology's new semiconductor unit was inaugurated at Sanand. It was announced that semiconductor chip production at this OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) plant in Sanand will commence with a pilot manufacturing line in June 2025, followed by the main manufacturing line in January 2026. The company also signed a significant partnership agreement with Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (AOS), a leading American semiconductor chip designer, developer, and global supplier of a wide range of power semiconductors. This agreement covers multi-year, multi-million-dollar semiconductor chip products, including POWER MOSFETs, IGBTs, and IPMs. Furthermore, Keynes Technology announced agreements with its technology partner, manufacturing equipment partner, and supply chain partner. Alongside this, strategic collaboration agreements with eight organizations were announced to facilitate skill development in the semiconductor sector, as per the press release. An MoU was signed with Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology (TSMT) Company of Taiwan to establish a new Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) unit in Gujarat with an investment of over Rs 500 crore. This investment is expected to generate approximately 1000 new employment opportunities. Micron Technology, a semiconductor company based in Sanand, Gujarat, signed an MoU to collaborate on initiatives related to environmental sustainability, health, safety, STEM education, and the development of skilled manpower. The benefits of these efforts will extend to the rural areas surrounding Sanand. A Rs 10,000 crore worth of MoU was signed, expressing the intent to establish a compound semiconductor fabrication and optoelectronics facility in Gujarat with the technical support of NextGen Hitachi and Solidlight. The foundation stone was laid for the construction of a new hospital, an international school, and a fire station at Dholera SIR. The India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) released the "Semiconductor Manufacturing Supply Chain" report and launched the "Vision to Reality" Make in India Product Initiative. (ANI) The Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Marisa Gerards, paid a courtesy visit to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar and emphasised the Netherlands' expertise in semiconductor-related technologies and expressed keen interest in collaborating with Gujarat for future partnerships. The Ambassador visited Gujarat to attend the Gujarat SemiConnect Conference 2025 at Mahatma Mandir. CM Patel also organised one-on-one meetings with other foreign delegates who had come to participate in the SemiConnect Conference, according to a press release. Matt Crowley, Executive Vice President of Jabil Inc.'s Global Business Unit, along with his delegation, met with the Chief Minister to discuss their plans for establishing manufacturing plants in Dholera and Sanand. During the productive discussion, they expressed strong interest in leveraging Gujarat's thriving semiconductor ecosystem. Randhir Thakur, CEO and MD of Tata Electronics Private Limited, held a one-on-one meeting with the Chief Minister, expressing his appreciation for the state government's support. He commended the government's efforts in developing essential infrastructure, including power, water, and gas, in Dholera and urged the swift expansion of social infrastructure to further enhance the region's growth. Norihiko Ishiguro, Chairman and CEO of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), highlighted JETRO's longstanding association with Gujarat since the Vibrant Gujarat Summit during his meeting with the Chief Minister. He also expressed a strong interest in fostering industry-academia collaboration and reaffirmed JETRO's commitment to facilitating partnerships between startups, Japanese companies, and academic institutions. Additionally, he extended an invitation to the Chief Minister to attend the Techno Expo, set to take place in Japan later this year. Ramesh Kannan, Chairman and Managing Director of Kaynes Technology, met with Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel as part of the one-on-one meetings. He expressed his gratitude for the state government's proactive approach under the Chief Minister's leadership, which facilitated the swift approval of their Sanand plant in just 15 days. Additionally, he briefed the Chief Minister on the educational program Kaynes Technology has launched in collaboration with Ganpat University, said the press release. Chua and Shri Vinay Shenoy from Infineon Technologies, Asia Pacific, met with Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel and shared their interest in setting up research and development facilities in Ahmedabad. They stated that Gujarat's growth potential in the semiconductor sector, combined with Infineon's technological expertise, could create a win-win situation. Additionally, Chaturvedi and Mr Jerry Agnes from CG Semi Private Limited held a one-on-one meeting with Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel and expressed their gratitude for the timely assistance received for their project in Sanand. As part of these one-on-one meetings, representatives from the Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors, including Mr Lars Reger, met with Chief Minister Patel. They provided details of their services in the automotive, communication infrastructure, industrial, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile sectors. Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister; M.K. Das, Additional Chief Secretary; Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary of Science and Technology; and Avantika Singh, Secretary to the Chief Minister, also participated in these one-on-one meetings with the Chief Minister. (ANI) After receiving the information, several fire tenders reached the spot to douse the fire. Visuals showed heavy smoke billowing out of the warehouse. As per the officials, no casualties have been reported yet. Deepak Sharma, CFO, Kanpur, said 10 fire tenders are present here and operations are underway to control the fire. "A fire broke out in the wood market in Collectorganj, Kanpur...Fire team at the spot...Operations are underway to control the fire...10 fire tenders are present here," he said. Further details were awaited. (ANI) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his official visit to the UK and discussed advancing bilateral economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The UK PM also shared his views on the Ukraine conflict with the EAM, Jaishankar said in a post on X. The EAM also met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other senior leaders. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, ""Delighted to call on Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer at @10DowningStreet today. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed taking forward our bilateral, economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. PM Starmer also shared UK's perspective on the Ukraine conflict." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1896992284631327056 In another post on X, the EAM shared his meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, where he thanked him for the welcome and expressed optimism for the meeting. "Thank you FS @DavidLammy for this extremely warm welcome at the Chevening House. Look forward to our discussions", the EAM wrote on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897003037576847423 Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar held meetings with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade of the UK. Upon meeting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Jaishankar noted that the two leaders held discussions on areas such as flow of talent and joint efforts between India and the UK to tackle "trafficking and extremism". He said on X, "A good meeting with Home Secretary @YvetteCooperMP today in London. We discussed the flow of talent, people to people exchanges, and joint efforts in tackling trafficking and extremism." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1896933587989193067 In his meeting with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, Jaishankar highlighted that discussions were held on the progress in the free trade agreement talks between India and the UK. He said, "Pleased to meet Secretary of State for @biztradegovuk @jreynoldsMP today in London. Discussed the progress on our FTA talks." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1896932138743996541 As per the Ministry of External Affairs statement, EAM Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland till March 9, during which he will hold discussions to provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland. In Ireland, Jaishankar will meet with his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, other dignitaries and members of Indian community. Jaishankar will visit Ireland on March 6 and 7. India and Ireland share friendly bilateral relations based on shared democratic values, cultural ties and growing economic engagements. EAM's visit will provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland, the statement said. (ANI) A massive wildfire in northeastern Japan has expanded, with over 2,100 hectares burned since last week, putting more homes at risk, Kyodo News reported. As per Kyodo News on Tuesday, the fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, has forced residents to evacuate as the fire has spread over a wide area toward the Pacific coast. Kyodo News reported that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged during a parliamentary session to "deploy all firefighting and Self-Defense Forces (SDF) capabilities to prevent people's homes from being impacted." Kyodo News reported that firefighters recruited from across the country and SDF aircraft continued to battle the blaze after managing to prevent the flames from reaching residential areas of Ofunato on Sunday. As per Kyodo News, the forest fire is the biggest in Japan since the late 1980s, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Earlier on Sunday, Japan's disaster management agency requested more fire departments across the country to join the battle against a forest fire that has continued to spread in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. Significantly, nearly 1,700 firefighters from around 450 departments across the country had already joined the effort to control the blaze, which has spread over five days since Wednesday in Ofunato, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The agency has newly asked the governments of Hokkaido and Yokohama city to dispatch some of their firefighters to Ofunato. As per Kyodo News, while firefighters with aerial support from helicopters, including those of the Self-Defense Forces, have managed to keep the flames from spreading toward Ofunato's residential areas along the Pacific coast, nearly 1,800 hectares of land had been burned as of Sunday, an increase of 400 hectares since the previous day. As per the statement issued by the Japanese Prime Minister's Office on Friday, PM Ishiba convened a ministerial meeting regarding the forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. He expressed his "heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by this disaster" and had informed that the government had committed an Emergency Fire Response Team and dispatched Self-Defense Force (SDF) units for disaster relief operations. He noted the establishment of an emergency response office in the Prime Minister's Office within its crisis management center which will ensure the safety of all local residents by collecting and collating information on the disaster and coordinating emergency measures through collaboration by relevant organizations. The Japanese PM had informed that the he spoke to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Minister of Defence to "continue to commit necessary SDF units and make all possible efforts in their firefighting operations, with firefighters and the SDF acting as one, so that the fire is extinguished at the earliest possible time." The Prime Minister also highlighted the steps being taken towards rehabilitation, with a focus on those whose residences were damaged as a result of the fire and noted that coordination had already begun for the provision of emergency temporary housing. (ANI) Tel Aviv [Israel], March 5 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is moving to tighten restrictions on soldiers'' social media use after an internal probe revealed that Hamas exploited online posts to map out Nahal Oz base before its October 7 attack. During the October 7 attack on Nahal Oz, 53 soldiers were killed and 10 more were taken captive. New measures include a ban on photography inside IDF facilities, strict penalties for violations, and security classifications for a wider range of military roles. Soldiers and officers in various positions will also be prohibited from using Facebook and other platforms to prevent intelligence leaks. Additionally, the army will restrict the public from filming civilian-attended ceremonies and events. The investigation found that photos shared by soldiers on their first and last days in their roles allowed Hamas to create a detailed model of the base. This intelligence enabled the group to locate generators, surveillance cameras, safe rooms, the coordination centre, patrol movements, and the sleeping quarters of commanders. While the probe noted that Hamas was also able to gather intelligence on Nahal Oz using drones and from the news media, investigators found that soldiers left enough indicators on social media to give Hamas an almost complete breakdown of the base ahead of the October 7 attack. Palestinians captured during the war told interrogators they were even able to build models of parts of Nahal Oz for training. Investigators also found that soldiers at Nahal Oz received no warning before the attack. Protocols did not address responding to rocket fire or protecting unarmed non-combat soldiers, and that drills simulating a ground assault had not taken place in years. According to a series of army probes -- summaries of which were released publicly on Thursday -- some 5,000 terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad managed to attack numerous Israeli communities and overrun the army''s border positions. The army''s chain of command broke amid the chaos and soldiers were outnumbered. For years, the army misunderstood Hamas''s intentions, and as October 7 approached, intelligence about the looming attack was misinterpreted. The military was also more focused on threats from Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon. The army''s probes only deal with issues of operations, intelligence and command, not decisions made by the political echelon. There have been growing calls for the government to appoint an independent commission of inquiry to investigate political and military failures. Such commissions have broader authority to summon witnesses and collect evidence and are headed by a senior Supreme Court justice. They may include personal recommendations about individuals under investigation, though the government is not bound to act on them. Pressed by lawmakers to explain why no state commission of inquiry has been established into the failures of October 7 after 17 months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he opposed a "politically biased" panel. His remarks were marred by scuffles that broke out between bereaved families and Knesset guards. The last state commission of inquiry, which investigated Israel''s worst civilian disaster -- a stampede that killed 45 people at a holy site on Mount Meron -- held Netanyahu personally responsible for the tragedy in a report released in April. At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas'' attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead. (ANI/TPS) China sets 2025 growth target of around 5% 10:23, March 05, 2025 By Ouyang Shijia ( Chinadaily.com.cn The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) China has set a growth target of "around 5 percent" for 2025, the same as last year's figure, as the world's second-largest economy emphasizes expanding domestic demand with more supportive policies, according to the Government Work Report released on Wednesday. Premier Li Qiang, who delivered the report at the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, pledged that the country will pursue a more proactive fiscal policy and exercise a moderately loose monetary policy this year. Li said the government has set a projected deficit-to-GDP ratio for 2025 at 4 percent, up from 3 percent for 2024. The government started to release the annual projected deficit ratio in 2010, with the highest reading in 2020 at 3.6 percent as COVID-19 hit, according to market tracker Wind Info. The work report also said China will issue 1.3 trillion yuan ($178.95 billion) in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds this year, up from 1 trillion yuan for 2024. This year's quota of special local government bonds will be increased to 4.4 trillion yuan from a record high of 3.9 trillion yuan last year. This year, China, as laid out in the report, plans to target a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the creation of over 12 million urban jobs, and consumer price index increase of around 2 percent. Zhou Lanxu and Wang Keju contributed to this story (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) European Union (EU) leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday for a summit which could see member states mobilise up to 800 billion euros to 'ReArm Europe' as proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ramp up the defence spending, Euro News reported. The summit will see deliberations on defence and Ukraine, as per Euro News on Tuesday. As per the Euro News, Ursula von der Leyen proposed a Rearm Europe Plan, which she said could see member states mobilise up to 800 billion euros to finance a massive ramp-up in defence spending. The decision comes hours after Washington suspended all military aid to Ukraine, putting pressure on the bloc to increase its own assistance. "We are in an era of re-armament, and Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending, both to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine, but also to address the long-term need to take on more responsibility for our own European security," Euro News reported quoting the European Commission president. As per Euro News, Von der Leyen outlined five measures in a letter to EU leaders ahead of the summit on Thursday. This includes a "new instrument" to provide 150 billion Euros in loans to member states to finance joint defence investments in pan-European capabilities, including air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones, and anti-drone systems. However, Von der Leyen did not provide details on how the money would be raised and if the roughly 90 billion Euros in unused money from the post-COVID recovery fund would form part of it. The issuance of 'Eurobonds' to fund the bloc's defence needs has so far been vehemently opposed by several so-called 'frugal' member states, the Euro news reported. The new instrument, von der Leyen wrote in her letter to leaders, would be established under Article 122 of the Treaty of the EU, which allows the bloc to deliver financial assistance to a member state facing "severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control" without approval from the European parliament. Notably, the Commission previously used this article during the COVID-19 pandemic to set up the 100 billion euros SURE instrument for which it turned to the markets. It was also used to roll out emergency measures to shield European citizens and businesses from the worst effects of the energy crisis. Other measures from the defence package include the activation of the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact is the other key measure from von der Leyen's defence package. This would enable member states to exclude defence spending from their national expenditures and thus not run the risk of falling foul of the bloc's fiscal policy which mandates that government deficit and debt must remain under 3 per cent and 60 per cent of GDP respectively, Euro News said. The Commission chief claimed that if EU countries increase their defence spending by 1.5 per cent of GDP on average, 650 billion euros could be freed over the coming four years. Euro news reported that the EU member states have ramped up their defence spending since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but they spend unequally, with Poland spending 4.12 per cent of its GDP on defence last year, while Spain spent just 1.12 per cent. As per Euro news, the negotiations are underway among NATO allies, which include 23 of the EU's member states, to raise the defence spending target from its current 2 per cent of GDP level. A decision is set to be announced at a summit in The Hague in late June. The other three measures proposed by von der Leyen include allowing member states to make more ample use of cohesion policy programmes to increase defence spending, expanding the mandate of the European Investment Bank so it boosts financing of defence projects and accelerating the Savings and Investment Union to enable private banks to pour more money into the sector too. Euro News reported that the summit in Brussels on Thursday would also expect to see Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend it. However, it also highlights the divisions among member states on Ukraine as both Hungary's Viktor Orban and Slovakia's Robert Fico have threatened to veto any call for increased military assistance to the war-torn country. (ANI) China said that the US is using fentanyl as a "flimsy excuse" to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and "if war is what the US wants," be it tariff or trade war, Beijing is ready to "fight till the end." The statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian came as a reaction to the question posed by the New York Times on Tuesday, asking for reactions to the further increase of tariffs to 10 per cent by the US on most goods from China. In his remarks, he said, "The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary." He further added that it is America and not anyone else responsible for the Fentanyl crisis in the country. Lin Jian said, "In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes. They've been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the U.S.'s problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation." The Chinese spokesperson further said, "Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating. If the US truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals." He concluded his remarks stating, "If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end." The remarks by the Chinese spokesperson comes after the Trump administration doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 per cent from 10 per cent, as per a report by CNN. China retaliated on Tuesday by announcing 15 per cent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports from the US, according to a statement from the State Council Tariff Commission. Additionally, a 10 per cent tariff on "sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products," was also imposed, it said. Separately, China's Ministry of Commerce said it added 15 American companies, including drone maker Skydio, to its export control list, which would bar Chinese companies from exporting dual-use equipment to them, as per CNN. China's retaliatory tariffs followed a "restrained, targeted approach aimed at causing pain to those industries that matter the most to the supporters of the Trump administration," said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center for the Conference Board. He noted China's tariffs give it room for negotiations to potentially avoid even more damaging tariffs down the road. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chevening Scholars from India along with UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy during the EAM's official visit to the country. EAM Jaishankar shared the details of the meeting in a post on X. He said that the Chevening Scholars are "great advocates of the India-UK ties. "Great to meet Chevening Scholars from India along with FS @DavidLammy this evening. A vivid expression of our talent and people-to-people exchanges, they surely are great advocates of India-UK ties", the EAM wrote on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897052546642100431 Chevening is the UK government's international scholarships and fellowships programme that offers the opportunity to study at a UK university. Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar met United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and discussed advancing bilateral economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Upon meeting UK's PM Keir Starmer, in a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Delighted to call on Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer at @10DowningStreet today. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed taking forward our bilateral, economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. PM Starmer also shared UK's perspective on the Ukraine conflict." In another post on X, the EAM shared his meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, where he thanked him for the welcome and expressed optimism for the meeting. "Thank you FS @DavidLammy for this extremely warm welcome at the Chevening House. Look forward to our discussions", the EAM wrote on X. Earlier, Jaishankar held meetings with the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade of the UK. Upon meeting Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Jaishankar noted that the two leaders held discussions on areas such as flow of talent and joint efforts between India and the UK to tackle "trafficking and extremism". In his meeting with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, Jaishankar highlighted that discussions were held on the progress in the free trade agreement talks between India and the UK. As per the Ministry of External Affairs statement, EAM Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland till March 9, during which he will hold discussions to provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland. In Ireland, Jaishankar will meet with his Irish counterpart Simon Harris, other dignitaries and members of Indian community. Jaishankar will visit Ireland on March 6 and 7. EAM's visit will provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland, the statement said. (ANI) US President Donald Trump said that if Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs on the US, America would also increase its tariff to a similar amount. Trump's remark came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against USD 155 billion worth of American products. On Tuesday itself, US President Trump posted on his social media platform, "Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!" The announcement by the Canadian PM was done in a speech on Tuesday. Subsequently, he also shared the information via a series of quotes on X. "The moment U.S. tariffs came into effect this morning, so did the Canadian response. Canada will be implementing 25% tariffs against $155 billion of American products. Starting with $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and the remaining $125 billion in 21 days' time", the post said on X. https://x.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1896964152822050953 Calling Canada the closest partner, ally and friend of the US, Trudeau said that Canada will not back down from the fight when the "country is at stake". "Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada: their closest partner and ally -- their closest friend. Canadians are reasonable, but we will not back down from a fight. Not when our country is at stake", the post noted. https://x.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1896959387996151944 In his speech, Trudeau said, "They have chosen to launch a trade war that will first and foremost harm the American families". Speaking about Fentanyl crisis, Trudeau highlighted the actions taken by the Canadian government to address the issue. In his remarks he paid special attention towards the issue of tariffs and emphasised, "there is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today". The US President has repeatedly framed his aggressive tariff policy as aimed at boosting domestic industrial production, Al Jazeera reported. Beyond the tariffs imposed on Mexico, Canada and China, Trump has already ordered sweeping tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. He has also ordered his advisers to assess reciprocal tariffs for any trade agreement deemed unequal. Earlier in a post on Truth Social, Trump suggested the best way for foreign companies to avoid tariffs: Move to the US, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI) Belgium Defence Minister, Theo Francken has said that today, the world needs more collaboration than ever. Francken, while talking to ANI on Tuesday, said that Belgium will will put the military attache at Embassy of Belgium as soon as possible. "We talked about collaboration. I think we need to work together even more. I will put the military attache at Embassy of Belgium as soon as possible and we are going to make a corporation agreement between Belgium and India. So it was a really good meeting. Yes, we will have more MoUs, more collaboration and we will do more 'Make in India' as well and we have to work together. Because India is a beautiful country and it's very good at technology and Belgium also needs to build up because in Europe we have to build up our defence like you do. We need to have more collaboration, we need to have an MoU, defence collaboration and more production," he said. Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of Flanders (a region in Belgium), told ANI that India and Belgium were very compatible, and that India has solutions for many of their problems, and vice versa. "We are very compatible. There are a lot of challenges in India for which we have solutions, for example, waste management and water management; we have the most important research institute on semiconductors in the world. There are ways in which India can help the Flemish economy; for example, there is a lot of workforce which is very highly skilled, very strong in digitalisation," he said. Princess Astrid of Belgium and Francken arrived at Travancore Palace on Tuesday. Francken also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and addressed a delegation of senior officers from the Indian army. https://x.com/FranckenTheo/status/1896859913789272378 "This morning I addressed the largest Indian arms companies and a delegation of senior officers from the Indian army. I expressed our support for India's military build-up, because the country plays a vital role in world security, and offered the full cooperation of the Belgian high-tech companies. That was music to the ears of the Indian army. With a wink to Putin and Xi, army colonel Kuber declared that India and Belgium are entering into a 'partnership without limits'," he stated in a post on X. (ANI) The fourth India-Vietnam Policy Planning Dialogue was held on Tuesday in Delhi, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Raghuram S, Joint Secretary (Policy Planning and Research), MEA, and Le Dinh Tinh, Director General, Policy Planning Department, MOFA Vietnam led the discussions on a wide range of geopolitical issues, the statement said. The dialogue enabled both sides to share views on various regional and global issues, including recent developments in the Indo-Pacific, functioning of multilateral institutions, and development priorities of the Global South. Later, the Vietnamese delegation led by Director General Le Dinh Tinh called on Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East), the statement said. https://x.com/AmbHanoi/status/1896921023586738407 India and Vietnam traditionally share close and warm bilateral relations that are denominated as comprehensive strategic partnership. Mahatma Gandhi and President Ho Chi Minh, who led people in their struggle for independence in their respective countries, had exchanged messages with each other. India was the Co-Chairman of the International Commission for Supervision and Control formed pursuant to the Geneva Accord of 1954. India initially maintained Consulate-level relations with the then North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam, and later established full diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 7, 1972. These multi-faceted relations have been developing steadily over time. India-Vietnam relations were elevated in 2016 to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' during the visit of the PM Narendra Modi to Vietnam; earlier, the relations were designated as 'Strategic Partnership'. The development of India-Vietnam relations are guided by a "Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People" adopted by PM Modi and the then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during the Virtual Summit held on 21 December 2020, as per Indian embassy in Vietnam. PM Modi and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong had telephonic conversation on April 15, 2022. In 2022, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and both countries are working together actively to further strengthen their multi-dimensional cooperation, as per Indian embassy in Vietnam. (ANI) US Congressman Zach Nunn said that they will have a great opportunity to hear US President Donald Trump on three key issues - American energy independence, national security and getting the economy back on track. Donald Trump is addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, his first since taking over as President in his secong term in office. On US President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, Nunn said, "We're going to have a great opportunity to really hear from President Trump on three key issues that he's promised to deliver on. The first is American energy independence. The second is our national security, including that at our southern border, and the third is getting our economy back on track. And this means tax cuts to be able to help working-class families keep the things they need, as well as bring down federal spending so that we don't have so much money going to Washington and we can keep that money directly in our communities." Speaking to ANI, Zach Nunn praised the Trump administration's work in delivering for America and stressed that the key aspect of it is to put "America first." On the work done in the past six weeks of the Trump administration, he said, "I think the Trump administration has done a great job delivering from America, for America. I think a key aspect of this is that we've been able to put Americans first. One of the key elements of this is we brought some guests in from Iowa who are part of our workforce. You can't have a made in America first plan without a workforce that's made in America and this is a partnership that we've done through our trade skills making sure that people have the apprenticeship programs that work as well as being able to have those skill sets necessary to do the manufacturing, the advanced technology and the innovation that really only America's providing the world. Speaking to ANI, US Congressman Scott Franklin expressed excitement to hear Trump's remarks. He stated that Trump is treating every day as though it is is the last and making the most of every minute. He said, "I am very excited to hear what the President has to say tonight. The American public is interested to hear after his first six weeks or so on the job exactly how he feels...He (US President Donald Trump) is treating every day as though it is the last and he is making the most of every minute that he has because he knows he is on limited time to get everything accomplished." Speaking to ANI, US Congressman Dusty Johnson said, "US Congressman Dusty Johnson says, "I think Donald Trump is going to talk a lot about the illegal crossings, Ukraine war. We want a lasting and fair peace. It seems like he has got a mineral deal that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might be in favour of and that could be a good development." US Congressman Greg Stanton said that he has a pessimistic view about Trump's address to the US Congress. He said that Trump needs to explain his decision to cut healthcare for American people, switching sides amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. He said, "I think it's going to be, unfortunately, not a good speech. I'll tell you exactly why. Number one, he's going to have to explain why he is proposing to cut healthcare for the American people in the form of a Medicare system that's going to affect millions of Americans. He's going to have to explain why he turned his back on the people of Ukraine right in the middle of this horrific invasion by Putin and switched sides in that war, sending all the wrong messages to our allies." "And he's going to have to explain why, at a time when we need to be lowering prices for the American people. We're doing tariffs on our next door neighbours, Mexico and Canada, thereby raising prices for the American people exactly the opposite of what he told the American people. So that's why I'm pessimistic about tonight's performance. (ANI) Republicans in Congress stood up and chanted 'USA, USA' to a Democrat heckler during US President Donald Trump's address when he recalled his popular victory. A Democrat hold a sign reading, "This is not normal." A Republican grabbed and threw the sign. US Congress Speaker Mike Johnson threatened Democrat hecklers with a Sergeant at Arms to restore order. Representative Al Green was then asked to leave the house. After greeting Johnson, US Vice President JD Vance, US First Lady Melania Trump, and Congress, Trump began his address. Trump said, "America is back," to applause and chants of "USA, USA" from Republican lawmakers. He said, "Six weeks ago I stood beneath the dome of this capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started." Donald Trump is addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday (local time), his first since taking over as President in his second term in office. Earlier, US Congressman Zach Nunn said that they will have a great opportunity to hear US President Donald Trump on three key issues - American energy independence, national security and getting the economy back on track. On US President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, Nunn said, "We're going to have a great opportunity to really hear from President Trump on three key issues that he's promised to deliver on. The first is American energy independence. The second is our national security, including that at our southern border, and the third is getting our economy back on track. And this means tax cuts to be able to help working-class families keep the things they need, as well as bring down federal spending so that we don't have so much money going to Washington and we can keep that money directly in our communities." Speaking to ANI, Zach Nunn praised the Trump administration's work in delivering for America and stressed that the key aspect of it is to put "America first." On the work done in the past six weeks of the Trump administration, he said, "I think the Trump administration has done a great job delivering from America, for America. I think a key aspect of this is that we've been able to put Americans first. One of the key elements of this is we brought some guests in from Iowa who are part of our workforce. You can't have a made in America first plan without a workforce that's made in America and this is a partnership that we've done through our trade skills making sure that people have the apprenticeship programs that work as well as being able to have those skill sets necessary to do the manufacturing, the advanced technology and the innovation that really only America's providing the world." (ANI) US President Donald Trump said that his administration has accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations in four years or eight years and "we have just started." He stated that the US is on the "verge of a comeback, the likes of which has never witnessed." Donald Trump is addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday (local time), his first since taking over as President in his second term in office. After greeting Johnson, US Vice President JD Vance, US First Lady Melania Trump, and Congress, Trump began his address. Trump said, "America is back," to applause and chants of "USA, USA" from Republican lawmakers. In his joint session of the Congress, he said, "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started. Our spirit is back, our pride is back, and our confidence is back and American Dream is surging bigger and better than ever before. The American dream is unstoppable and our country is on the verge of a comeback, the likes of which has never witnessed and perhaps will never witness again." Recalling his election victory, Trump said, "The presidential election of November 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades," noting that he won all seven battleground states. He said, "We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country," as Democratic Representative Al Green rose to interrupt him. In response, Republicans quickly stood and chanted "USA, USA." Speaker Mike Johnson rose and instructed the chamber to maintain decorum. He said, "Members are engaging in wilful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the Sergeant at Arms to restore order to the joint session." Johnson said, "Mr Green take your seat." Johnson said. "Take your seat, sir." Green said, "He has no mandate," referring to Trump. Mike Johnson said, "Finding that members continue to engage in wilful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the Sergeant at Arms to restore order, remove this gentleman from the chamber." He said that he has signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions since assuming office on January 20. "Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 Executive Orders and taken more than 400 Executive Actions - a record to restore common sense, safety, optimism and wealth all across our wonderful land. The people elected me to do the job and I am doing it," he's said. He spoke about declaring a national emergency on the southern border. He said, "Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border. I deployed US military and border patrol to repel the invasion of our country and what a job they have done! As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded. In comparison, under Joe Biden - the worst President in American history - there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month." Trump said that there is "absolutely nothing I can say" or do to make Democratic lawmakers happy. He said, "This is my fifth such speech to Congress. And once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realise there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do." He further said, "I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won't do it, no matter what. Five times I've been up here. It's very sad, and it just shouldn't be this way." (ANI) Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch has said that 41 Baloch people were forcibly disappeared on Tuesday, which includes Ashfaq Baloch, whose brother, Shahzad Baloch, was extrajudicially killed earlier in 2022. She stated that the relatives of victims of enforced disappearances have blocked the Karachi-Quetta highway at three locations by holding sit-ins and urged people of Balochistan to ensure their participation in these sit-ins. In a post on X, Mahrang Baloch stated, "The state of Pakistan has taken the final decision to eliminate the Baloch from Balochistan. Yesterday alone, 41 Baloch were forcibly disappeared, including Ashfaq Baloch, whose brother, Shahzad Baloch, was extrajudicially killed earlier in 2022. Against which the family, along with the BYC, staged a sit-in in Quetta Red Zone for 55 days. Currently, the relatives of the victims of enforced disappearances have blocked the Karachi-Quetta highway at three locations by staging sit-ins. I appeal to the Baloch nation to ensure their participation in these protest sit-ins." https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1897148312148402619 Earlier on Tuesday, demonstrators held their sit-in in the Surab district of Pakistan's Balochistan for the fourth consecutive day, blocking the key China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) road in protest against enforced disappearances and alleged human rights violations in Balochistan, The Balochistan Post reported. The protest, organised by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) Jhalawan region and the families of the missing persons, demanded justice and an end to systematic repression by the state. During a press conference held at the protest site, demonstrators accused security forces of forcibly disappearing Baloch youth, describing enforced disappearances as a state policy. "Every day, another Baloch youth is taken away without any accountability. The state institutions are not only responsible for these abductions but are also using violence and intimidation to suppress voices that speak against this oppression," The Balochistan Post quoted a protester as saying. The protesters emphasised the presence of families of 12 individuals who have been forcibly disappeared, drawing attention to their plight. They also condemned the excessive use of force by authorities to break up the demonstration, claiming that security forces, including police, Levies, and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were deployed from across the Kalat Division to dismantle the sit-in. Enforced disappearances of Baloch people in Pakistan have been a longstanding and alarming issue, particularly in Balochistan. The Baloch population, seeking greater autonomy and rights, has been targeted by state security forces, including the military and intelligence agencies. (ANI) At least 11 people, including five women and four children, were killed, and 22 others were injured after terrorists rammed two explosives-laden vehicles into the perimeter of Bannu Cantonment in an attempt to enter the high-security zone on Tuesday evening, Dawn reported. Six attackers were killed in the shootout, which took place in the jurisdiction of the Bannu Cantonment police station, Dawn reported, citing sources. The terrorists blew up the vehicles at the gate after the security personnel posted to the cantonment area had intercepted them. Following the blast, the terrorists tried to infiltrate the camp, leading to a gun battle, Dawn reported, citing official sources. The statement further said, "The attack started at 6:30 pm, minutes after Iftar. Militants fired RPGs and grenades during the attack; additional troops and SSG commandoes have been rushed to the area." The number of deceased and injured included 10 security personnel, Dawn reported. The injured were taken to the District Headquarter Hospital and Khaleefa Gul Nawaz Hospital (KGN) hospitals in Bannu, while the injured troops were taken to the Combined Military Hospitals (CMH) for treatment. Sources said security forces killed six terrorists on various entry points of the cantonment, adding that the security forces had encircled the rest of the attackers. The Jaish-i-Fursan Muhammad, a faction of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, according to a source. Due to the intensity of the explosions, the roofs and walls of several houses in the area collapsed, resulting in over a dozen people getting buried under the rubble. A mosque adjacent to the cantonment's entrance also collapsed, and several worshippers were reportedly trapped under the debris. Rescue efforts were being made to retrieve them from the rubble. A rescue official said that the medical teams and ambulances were rushed to the area to start a rescue operation. He further said, "People are trapped under the debris of the destroyed houses and a mosque and the rescuers are trying to pull them out." A district administration official said that the total number of casualties could not be confirmed yet; hospitals so far had reported that nine people have died while 22 others have sustained injuries. They said that an emergency had been declared in all hospitals, and doctors and paramedics were called out on duty. Pakistan Army's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, had not issued an official statement until this report was published. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to soldiers and expressed sorrow over the killing of innocent civilians, Dawn reported. He prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident and said, "Cowardly terrorists who target innocent civilians in the holy month of Ramzan do not deserve any concessions." He called Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan an enemy of Pakistan and vowed not to allow its evil intentions to succeed. Several terrorist attacks have taken place in Bannu over the past several months. On February 8, two Pakistani police personnel were killed when terrorists targeted a police post in the Fatehkhel area of the Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier in November, 12 soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a security checkpoint in the Mali Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In October last year, five terrorists wearing burqas and suicide vests were killed, and four police personnel were killed while trying to foil a gun and bomb attack on Iqbal Shaheed Police Lines. (ANI) The police baton-charged and lobbed tear gas shells at students of Sindh University in Pakistan's Jamshoro on Tuesday who were protesting against the construction of water channels intended to irrigate millions of acres of Punjab land using Indus River water. Many protesting students were injured and arrested due to police brutality. The students belonged to the Jeay Sindh Students Federation (JSSF) and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Bashir and Arisar factions, along with other nationalist entities. According to Dawn, "The police tried to disperse them by force, but the students retaliated." The police then used tear gas and baton charge, picking up around 8-10 protesting students, which included Nazeer Khoso, Mansoor Buledi, Wazir Leghari, Asghar, Yousuf Jakhrani, Nasem Memon and Yasir Burfat, the report further said. The Chairman of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM), Suhail Abro, issued a statement strongly condemning the brutal state repression, including shelling, baton charges, open firing, and violent crackdowns on Sindh University students. "The students' protest against the forced construction of canals on the Indus River is their constitutional, legal, and democratic right," a press statement by JSFM said. It added, "However, the state has once again attempted to silence their voices through oppressive measures, which constitute a blatant violation of human rights and international law." The JSFM statement further added, "This brutality is not merely an assault on a few students but is part of continued state aggression against Sindh's national identity and existence. The state has consistently implemented policies aimed at seizing Sindh's lands, resources, and river. However, as in the past, the conscious youth, students, and people of Sindh refuse to accept such oppression and will continue to resist it in the future." The Indus River is the lifeline of Sindh, and it is the national duty of every Sindhi to fight for its survival. The violent crackdown, illegal arrests, and state repression of students represent extreme brutality, according to JSFM statement. However, such oppression will not weaken their resolve; instead, it will further strengthen their struggle. The JSFM urged the United Nations (UN), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other global human rights organizations to take immediate notice of Pakistan's state oppression and hold accountable the institutions responsible for these human rights violations. "We call upon journalists, lawyers, intellectuals, civil society members, human rights activists, and the conscious people of Sindh to raise their voices against this brutality and stand in full solidarity with Sindhi students," the JSFM statement said. The Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement reaffirmed that Sindhi students are an essential and powerful part of the national movement. We will ensure their full political, moral, and practical protection under all circumstances. The national movement of Sindh stands firmly with its students and will continue to support them in every possible way. (ANI) Thai human rights advocates on Tuesday voiced their disapproval regarding the government's decision to deport 40 Uyghurs back to China, asserting that the United Nations should consider expelling Thailand from its Human Rights Council, as this move made the nation appear to be serving Chinese interests, according to a Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. Thailand sent the Uyghurs back to China on February 27, disregarding warnings from the US, UN, and various human rights organisations that these individuals faced the risk of torture upon their return to Xinjiang, the region they fled over a decade ago, as reported by RFA. "The UN ought to evaluate the possibility of suspending Thailand from the Human Rights Council," stated Chalida Tacharoensuk, director of the People's Empowerment Foundation, during a parliamentary meeting focused on the Uyghurs, as cited by the RFA report. In October last year, the UN General Assembly elected Thailand as one of 18 members of the Human Rights Council for the term 2025-2027. "We hope there won't be a third instance of Uyghur deportations. The two previous occurrences have already been disgraceful enough," Chalida added, as quoted by RFA. The RFA report indicated that the 40 Uyghurs were part of an initial group of over 350 Uyghur men, women, and children who left China in search of resettlement opportunities abroad and were intercepted and detained in Thailand in 2014. Turkiye accepted 172 of them, while Thailand returned 109 of them to China in 2015, sparking significant international backlash. Several individuals from that group have died from illnesses over the years, and eight remain in Thailand, according to RFA. Bangkok affirmed that the return of the men was voluntary following a formal request from Beijing and after receiving assurances from China regarding their safety, RFA reported. Thailand asserted it had been unsuccessful in finding a third country willing to accept the men and that it had received assurance from China that Thai officials would be permitted to visit and monitor their conditions. The struggles of China's Uyghur population, primarily situated in Xinjiang, have attracted significant global attention. Reports indicate severe human rights abuses, including forced labour, arbitrary detentions in supposed "re-education" camps, and pervasive surveillance. (ANI) China has accused the US of spreading all kinds of false information on the fentanyl issue, smearing and scapegoating China and raising tariffs on Chinese imports over fentanyl, terming these moves "unjustified." In a statement on March 5, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian expressed China's opposition to US pressure, threats and blackmailing under the pretext of the fentanyl issue. He said that China's position is "clear-cut" and expressed Beijing's readiness for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. In a post on X, Lin stated, "The US is spreading all kinds of false information on the fentanyl issue, smearing and scapegoating China, and hiking tariffs on Chinese imports over fentanyl. Such moves are unjustified and will do no one good. China's position is clear-cut. We stand ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. We firmly oppose the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue. We urge the US to respect facts, bear in mind its own interest and make the right choice." https://x.com/SpoxCHN_LinJian/status/1897135316106141852 Lin Jian also highlighted some takeaways from the white paper "Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances--China's Contribution." According to the white paper, China has imposed full control of fentanyl-related substances from May 1, 2019. China has implemented integrated measures like expanding the list of controlled substances, bolstering regular supervision, boosting inspection and seizure, and implementing innovative controls. In a post on X, Lin wrote, "Some takeaways from the white paper "Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances--China's Contribution": China imposed full control of fentanyl-related substances from May 1, 2019, making it the first country in the world to do so. China has enumerated fentanyl-related medications in the List of Controlled Narcotic Drugs and exercises strict control in terms of their manufacturing, sale, use, and export. " "China has adopted integrated measures such as expanding the list of controlled substances, strengthening regular supervision, stepping up inspection and seizure, and implementing innovative controls. China has expanded the control list of precursors of fentanyl-related substances and supervise their production, sales, purchase, transportation, and export. China has been promoting China-US cooperation on drug control. Since 2024, with more than 100 instances of information exchange, China and the US have achieved breakthrough progress in the collaborative investigations of multiple transnational cases," he added. https://x.com/SpoxCHN_LinJian/status/1897133658924109843 The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's statement comes after US President Donald Trump doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, CNN reported. The Trump administration stressed that the tariffs were necessary to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States. China retaliated on Tuesday by announcing 15 per cent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports from the US, according to a statement from the State Council Tariff Commission. In addition, a 10 per cent tariff was imposed on "sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products," it said. Separately, China's Ministry of Commerce said it included 15 more American companies, including drone maker Skydio, to its export control list, which would ban Chinese companies from exporting dual-use equipment to them, as per CNN. Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center for the Conference Board, said, China's retaliatory tariffs followed a "restrained, targeted approach aimed at causing pain to those industries that matter the most to the supporters of the Trump administration." He noted that China's tariffs allow negotiations to potentially avoid even more damaging tariffs down the road. On Tuesday, China announced more measures targeting the US, including stopping lumber imports from the US, suspending permits given to three US companies for exporting soybeans to China and an anti-dumping probe into some imports of American fiber optic products. (ANI) Pope Francis rested well during the night and woke up shortly after 8 am (local time) on Wednesday at Gemelli Hospital in Rome as the 88-year-old pontiff continues to battle pneumonia, Vatican News reported. Since February 14, Pope Francis has been receiving treatment for bilateral pneumonia. He resumed non-invasive mechanical ventilation overnight, as per the schedule. In a statement on March 5, the Holy See Press Office said, "The Pope rested well during the night and woke up shortly after 8:OO am." Earlier on Tuesday evening, the Holy See Press Office said that Pope Francis' clinical condition remained stable and that he did not experience episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm, Vatican News reported. It said, "The Pope did not run a fever, and he remained alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented." It further said, "This morning, he transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy and underwent respiratory physiotherapy." According to the statement, the pontiff alternated between praying and resting during the day. On Tuesday morning, Pope Francis received the Eucharist. Pope Francis' clinical condition remained stable, including heart, kidney, and blood values. The frequency of bronchospasms is not unexpected in the context of pneumonia like that impacting the Pope. However, the pontiff's health situation remains complex. On Monday, Pope Francis suffered two episodes of "acute respiratory insufficiency", according to Vatican News, citing the Holy See Press Office. In a statement on Monday, the Holy See Press Office said, "Today, the Holy Father suffered two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm." "Two bronchoscopies were therefore performed, with the need to remove large secretions," it added. According to the statement, Pope Francis remained alert, oriented and cooperative at all times. The cause of the two attacks was the bronchi's reaction, which attempted to expel the accumulated mucus to eliminate the bacteria. (ANI) The bulk of the investigation includes classified intelligence materials, tools and methods of operation, and therefore there is a restriction on its full disclosure, explained the GSS. The organization explained, however, given the "magnitude of the disaster, we see great importance in reflecting the main findings to the public." As such it decided to publish parts of the investigation in a way that the organization hopes will provide "as balanced and complete a picture as possible, without compromising matters that must be kept secret for reasons of national security." (ANI/TPS) US President Donald Trump said that he has received a letter from his Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, where he expressed Ukraine's readiness to come to a negotiating table to bring lasting peace closer. Trump said that Zelenskyy also expressed Ukraine's willingness to sign the agreement on minerals and security. Addressing a joint session of Congress on Tuesday (local time), Trump said that he appreciated the letter he received from Zelenskyy. He stated that his administration had serious discussion with Russia and they have strong signals that Moscow is ready for peace. He said, "Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads: 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians," he said. "My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you." "I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago. Simultaneously, we've had serious discussion with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful? It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," he added. Zelenskyy's letter to Trump comes after his verbal clash with US President and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Friday (local time). This shouting match between the leaders was witnessed by White House officials, mediapersons and other Ukrainian officials. Trump stated that he is making efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine and said that 2000 people are being killed each week during the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv. He stated that the US has sent billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defence with no security. He said the Biden administration has spent more money in the Ukraine fight than Europe has spent. "I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defence, with no security, with no way. Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say, 'Pocahontas says yes.' 2000 people are being killed every single week, more than that. They are Russian young people. They're Ukrainian young people. They're not Americans. But I want it to stop. Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far. Think of that," Donald Trump said. "They've spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. And we've spent perhaps USD 350 billion, like taking candy from a baby. That's what happened and they've spent USD 100 billion. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. And they don't. But we're getting along very well with them. And lots of good things are happening. Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't have stopped it and said at some point, come on, let's equalize. You got to be equal to us. That didn't happen," he added. He also spoke about the situation in the Middle East. He said that the US is bringing back its hostages from Gaza and recalled the peace agreement the Abraham Accords signed during his first administration. "In the Middle East, we're bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations: the Abraham Accords. And now we're going to build on that foundation, to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People haven't been talking about that so much lately, with everything going on with Ukraine and Russia, a lot of things are happening in the Middle East. A rough neighborhood actually," he said. (ANI) China is intensifying its cognitive warfare efforts against Taiwan, as its United Front Work Department establishes a dedicated misinformation unit, according to a post by Taipei Times. Currently, China is conducting the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is an annual assembly of the Chinese government known as the "two sessions," as reported by Taipei Times. Shi Taifeng, the head of the United Front Work Department, has gathered a specialised task force focused on disseminating misinformation regarding the situations in Ukraine and Taiwan's semiconductor investments in the US, as revealed by a national security source speaking on the condition of anonymity. This wave of misinformation is a primary concern for Beijing, the source relayed Shi's comments made during the "two sessions," as noted by Taipei Times. Given the uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's shifting policies, China aims to "instill doubt in the Taiwanese populace about the US and foster animosity toward Trump, while ensuring that divisions within Taiwan remain significant and enduring," the source stated, as reported by Taipei Times. The objective of this operation is to "ensure that no one in Taiwan trusts the United States," and it called for all government entities to engage and "consider this a legitimate battle." This fresh wave of cognitive warfare intends to propagate narratives suggesting that Trump seeks to betray Taiwan, that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will become American, and that Taiwan will ultimately succumb to China, the source indicated. These narratives are intended to be disseminated quickly via Chinese state media, social media platforms, and a network of fake profiles and supportive media outlets within Taiwan, they mentioned. National security agencies have already observed dubious accounts promoting this misinformation in recent days, the source added, as reported by Taipei Times. China's Ministry of State Security has suggested taking advantage of the internal disagreements concerning Trump in Taiwan to exacerbate internal strife, another national security official mentioned. It also recommended transmitting Taiwanese criticisms of Trump on X and other English-language social media to create the illusion that the Taiwanese are antagonizing him, thus sowing discord in Taiwan-US relations, the official noted, as per the Taipei Times report. (ANI) Amid the strict action against illegal immigration by the Donald Trump administration in the United States, a batch of eight Nepali nationals was deported back to Kathmandu in a chartered aircraft. Prior to this, 27 Nepali nationals had already been deported from the US. However, this marked the first time Nepali nationals have been deported via a chartered flight. The Gryphon Air's GulfStream aircraft arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport from South Hampshire en route from Albania at around 10 am (local time) on Wednesday morning. Among the eight individuals, some had been living in the US illegally, while others were deported for immigration violations. "A total of 8 Nepali nationals staying illegally in United States has arrived Kathmandu earlier this morning," Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal's Deputy Spokesperson Gyanendra Bhura confirmed ANI over the phone. The deported nationals were seen carrying hand-bags with limited belongings while they disembarked the chartered aircraft while lying in the Tribhuvan International Airport's parking bay. Following their arrival, the Nepal Police's Human Trafficking Investigation interrogated the deported individuals. Superintendent of Police Narendra Kunwar, spokesperson for the Bureau, stated that the interrogation focused on the details of their journey to the US. "During the initial questioning, it has been revealed that some of them had traveled to the US via Brazil by land. They were deported for violating US immigration laws," Kunwar confirmed ANI over phone. However, the deported individuals have expressed no interest in filing cases against the brokers who facilitated their illegal entry into the US, according to the spokesperson. Police officials stated that the detainees will be interrogated regarding potential involvement in human trafficking-related offenses. Following the inauguration of Trump and issuance of the executive order the US has been regularly deporting undocumented Nepali nationals via international flights. As per the officials at the Immigration Department of Nepal, the deportees had started arriving Nepal from January 22. The Immigration Department had recorded one deportee arriving back Kathmandu on January 22, 24 and 29 respectively. On January 30, two Nepali nationals arrived Kathmandu after being deported back from US while another arrived on January 31. On February 1, three Nepali deportee landed Tribhuvan International Airport followed by another three arriving on February 5, two on February 6, six on February 8, two on February 16 and one on February 17. Upon interrogating the deportees, it has been recorded that traffickers have long been smuggling people into the US through various routes across Asia, Africa, and South America. Prior to the executive order by Trump, 140 Nepali were deported back in between 2021 and 2024 from the US. In the year 2021, the US had sent back 38, in 2022 deported 24, in 2023 deported 25, and last year deported 53 Nepali for visa-related issues. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has intensified arrests of those with final deportation orders, with a focus on individuals who entered the US after June 24, 2015, and were ordered to leave. Over 3,500 Nepalis have been issued deportation orders, with an estimated 2,000 under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Around 1,300 Nepali are believed to be at immediate risk of deportation. ICE has publicly listed 1,445,549 undocumented immigrants for deportation. The largest undocumented populations in the US are from Mexico, El Salvador, India, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela, with significant concentrations in California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. (ANI) "During his meeting with Md Jashim Uddin, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, both sides reviewed the current state of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations, which are based on mutual respect and shared values. They expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of ties and agreed to remain engaged in further enhancing cooperation. The upcoming visit of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to Bangladesh was also discussed", the statement said. "In his meeting with Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary Commerce, both sides discussed various aspects of bilateral economic and trade relations, acknowledging the growing momentum and exploring prospects for further expansion", the statement said. Siddiqui also met Md Ataur Rahman, Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, to explore avenues for cultural cooperation, including music, cinema, drama, youth exchanges, and people-to-people contacts. "Both sides agreed to work closely to strengthen cultural ties between the two nations", the statement said. "In a meeting with Nasimul Ghani, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, both sides expressed satisfaction over the ease of travel between Pakistan and Bangladesh and discussed various avenues to enhance bilateral cooperation", it added. Meanwhile, amid concerns over Pakistan's close military ties with Bangladesh, it emerged on Tuesday that the Bangladesh military has acquired the Turkish TB-2 Bayraktar drones and is operating them close to the Indian border for surveillance operations. Defence sources told ANI that the Indian agencies concerned have seen the drones operating and are closely monitoring them. Sources said the drones have been seen carrying out sorties in the last few months and are flying inside their own territory along the borders with India. (ANI) A significant number of individuals organized a demonstration against gas load shedding, which persists even during Sehri and Iftar, in Mardan, as reported by ARY News. The demonstrators, which included frustrated women, obstructed Malakand Road in Takht Bhai Tehsil, resulting in severe traffic congestion and long lines of vehicles. The protesters demanded that gas pressure be restored and that loadshedding be halted in the tehsil and adjacent areas, as reported by ARY News. The protesters stressed that the ongoing gas loadshedding during critical times like Sehri and Iftar is intolerable. The participants threatened to encircle the Sui gas office if the gas loadshedding persists. In the meantime, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal Karim Kundi, on Tuesday sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, requesting immediate measures to eliminate electricity and gas loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as stated by ARY News. Kundi expressed serious concerns about electricity and gas loadshedding in the province during the holy month of Ramadan, mentioning that KP is a region that generates a substantial amount of electricity and natural gas, yet it is deprived of its own resources. He condemned the ongoing power and gas cuts, stating that they have rendered life miserable for the citizens of the province. The report from ARY News also indicated that he noted the disparity between the Prime Minister's promise of uninterrupted power and gas supply during Ramadan and the actual situation on the ground. Load-shedding during Sehri, Iftar, and prayer times has created significant hardships for residents, he added. "The dignity of Ramadan necessitates that citizens be given a tranquil environment," the Governor asserted. He emphasized that addressing these concerns would permit the people of KP to concentrate on their religious duties like the rest of the nation, as quoted by ARY News. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala was abuzz with spiritual fervor as over 700 Tibetans, including monks and former monks of the Namgyal Monastery, gathered to offer special long life prayers for the Dalai Lama. The event, held at the monastery, was also attended by Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who described the experience as "extraordinary" and "profound." Speaking to media, Richard Gere said, "This pooja for His Holiness was very special. I have seen and been part of many 'long life' Poojas but this was an extraordinary one, very profound, very deep. His Holiness spoke beautifully about his place in the world and with a sense of gratitude and also responsibility, his holiness said this is his 90th year of spreading Buddha Dharma around the world... He also talked about Tibetans inside Tibet and how much he cares about them, and he also talked about the Chinese and how much he cares about them too, and how much Buddha Dharma can help them and remove their sufferings so it was an incredible time." Thubten Wangchen, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, called it a "fantastic moment" with the Dalai Lama. He shared that the Dalai Lama had spoken about his life's work, benefiting all sentient beings, and his dream, inspired by the deity Palden Lhamo, to live for 130 years and continue serving humanity. Thubten Wangchen, a Member of Tibetan parliament in-exile told ANI, "It is a very special day for us because we have offered his holiness a long life prayer by the Gaden Phodrang (office of the Dalai Lama) and the Namgyal monastery and ex monks from Namgyal from all over the world we have gathered here today so this was so fantastic moment with His Holiness. His Holiness also spoke, he said that he has been doing whole of his life to benefit all sentient beings and through the promotion of not only Buddhist, not only to the devoted people but whole world is thinking and he had a dream by the Palden Lhamo (official deity of Tibetans) that he is going to stay here for 130 years so therefore he will remain long and he will really serve as before for the mankind." Lobsang Tsamten, a former monk of Namgyal Monastery, felt fortunate to attend the ceremony, which drew people from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The event was a testament to the Dalai Lama's enduring impact and the devotion of his followers. Tamsen told ANI, "This is so important event for us and we are fortunate to be here today as this is a special occasion for long life ceremony to his holiness the Dalai Lama here at the Gaden Phodrang and also the Namgyal monastery and former monks from this monastery the people who came here from all over the world- United States, Canada, many parts of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and of course it's our second home in India so many of us have gathered here and then weather was also excellent so this is the happiest day for us." The Dalai Lama, who is celebrating his 90th year of spreading Buddha Dharma globally, expressed his gratitude and sense of responsibility. He spoke about his concerns for Tibetans inside Tibet and his desire to help the Chinese people through Buddha Dharma. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday visited Chevening House, a country house in Kent, England that serves as the official residence of the British Foreign Secretary. Jaishankar was seen with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his wife Kyoko Jaishankar. "An interesting tour of the Chevening House this morning," he said in a post on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897236491165970514 Meanwhile, the UK-India partnership will strengthen further with the opening of two new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester, boosting regional economic ties and delivering on the growth agenda, the UK government website said. Moreiver, UK welcomed Indian investment deals worth more than Pound 100 million, which is creating jobs, strengthening growth, and helping working people by putting more money in their pockets, as per the website. Before opening the consulates, Jaishankar met Lammy at Chevening House. At Chevening, the foreign ministers drove forward the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This will focus on fostering mutual economic growth, technological innovation, and collaboration on global challenges including climate change. They will also discuss Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, the Middle East and other global affairs. "One of my first visits as Foreign Secretary was to India because deepening our partnership for our shared growth and security is a key part of this government's Plan for Change. Dr Jaishankar and I are supercharging our 41 billion Pounds trading relationship with India, after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies," Lammy was quoted as saying. Ministers are also set to discuss the Technology Security Initiative, launched during Lammy's visit to Delhi in July 2024. They will touch on the opportunities for citizens in both countries that will come from closer collaboration in sectors such as artificial intelligence, telecoms and critical minerals. Opportunities include more effective and affordable healthcare and more resilient supply chains, as well as greater innovation, investment and job creation, the website stated. (ANI) Ordination ceremony for 500 novice monks, also known as Shramneras, is underway in the Maya Devi Temple complex of Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha. The Pravrajya ceremony started from Tuesday with yellow robes, or Chibar being handed over by senior Buddhist monks who initiated the Shramanera (novice monk) ordination. Organised jointly by All Nepal Bhikkhu Association and the Thai Bhikkhu Association in collaboration with the Lumbini Development Trust and several other organizations, the ordination ceremony will be completed on March 16. "The grand Pravrajya ceremony is underway in the sacred land of Nepal-Lumbini the birth place of Gautam Buddha which is being participated by 500 Pravajya (novice monks). It is the 7th edition which has been held almost every year and the latest edition started from March 4," Rajesh Shakya, one of the board members of the Lumbini Development Trust told ANI. The novice monks, clad in yellow robes, are required to follow the Ten Precepts of Buddhism. While lay followers observe the Five Precepts (Panchashila) or Eight Precepts (Ashtashila), the novice monks must fully adhere to Buddhist rules until the program concludes on March 16. "The teachings of Gautam Buddha have continued for centuries and in order to continue this chain I along with others are here for the Pravajya ceremony here at the birth land of Buddha. Being a resident near this area, I came to attend this ceremony as Shramneras to further spread the learnings of Gautam Buddha all across the world. We are undergoing the ritual for 13 days transforming ourselves into Shramneras," Tam Bahadur Somai Magar, one of the participant told ANI. One of the rarest opportunities for the novice monks to contemplate and gain deeper insight in the subtle teachings of the Buddha, this ritual is organized annually. In the year 2011, the Lumbini Development Trust had ordinated 1000 novices. While being a Shramneras also referred as short-term monk, one must wear a yellow turban and follow the 10 rules of Buddhism. Although ordinary followers will follow Panchasheela and Ashtasheela, short-term monks will have to completely convert themselves to Buddhist rules by the next Chait 3rd. To become a monk, one needs to follow 227 rules. (ANI) Nepal's Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel promised that Nepal will be out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for money laundering and terrorist financing before the given deadline of two years. Responding to lawmakers' queries during Wednesday's session, Finance Minister Paudel blamed the previous government for being included in the FATF list. "We are under intensive monitoring, which in commonly understood language is called the grey list. The government is committed; within the given time period we will complete all the procedures that are designated and will be out from list. Though, this government only was not responsible for the country being enlisted in the grey list," Paudel said. "I will appear before the parliament with the white paper (very soon) and will give further details about it. In order to make a comeback, the government will take serious and sincere steps which will be supported by the results. We still have time of two years but we won't be using it fully, we are confident that our country's name will be out of the grey list early," the Minister added. It is the second time that the Himalayan nation has been enlisted in the grey list of FATF. The latest decision came during the FATF plenary meeting held in Paris on February 17-21. Earlier, Nepal was on the FATF grey list from 2008-2014. It has to cleanse its financial sector within two years or the country will fall into the black list where it will face more international transaction hurdles and sanctions. In an update following its latest plenary, the FATF, a global anti-money laundering watchdog, on February 21 announced that Laos and Nepal was added onto list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring. The grey list, officially termed "jurisdictions under increased monitoring," includes countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) regimes, but which are actively working with the FATF to address these issues. Any county that is placed on the list is given two years to come out from the list by improvement in legislation, their implementation, and taking action against illegal money and money laundering, among other measures. Nepal's placement on the grey list stems from its failure to fully implement necessary legal, policy, and structural reforms to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, despite some legislative progress. Nepal was given a deadline of October 2024 to meet FATF standards following an extension in July 2023. However, the international body found that the country had not sufficiently addressed these deficiencies by the deadline. In the new situation, the government will need to strictly enforce measures in management of illegally earned assets in order to take the country out from the grey list. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said he held wide-ranging talks with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, including strategic coordination, political cooperation, trade deal negotiation, education, technology, mobility and people-to-people exchanges for the past two days at the Chevening House. The two discussed the entire gamut of bilateral ties, Jaishankar said. In a post on X, he said, "Held wide-ranging and productive talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy over past two days at the Chevening House. We discussed the entire gamut of bilateral ties, especially our focus on strategic coordination, political cooperation, trade deal negotiation, education, technology, mobility and people-to-people exchanges. Agreed to formulate the next steps to further strengthen and structure them." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897264926369980635 Jaishankar further said that they exchanged views. He further said that the India-UK ties continue to flourish amid a volatile world. "We exchanged views on regional and global issues including the Ukraine conflict, West Asia, Bangladesh and the Commonwealth. In an uncertain and volatile world, India-UK ties contribute to stability and prosperity," he said. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897264944682557940 Earlier in the day, Jaishankar toured the Chevening House with his wife, Kyoko Jaishankar and Lammy. He also shared snippets of his tour. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897236491165970514 He also met Chevening Scholars from India. "Great to meet Chevening Scholars from India along with FS David Lammy this evening. A vivid expression of our talent and people-to-people exchanges, they surely are great advocates of India-UK ties," he said in a post on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897052546642100431 Jaishankar arrived at Chevening House earlier today, where he was welcomed by Lammy. "Thank you FS David Lammy for this extremely warm welcome at the Chevening House. Look forward to our discussions," Jaishankar said in a post on X. https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1897003037576847423 Jaishankar is on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland from March 4 to 9, during which he is set to hold discussions to provide renewed impetus to India's friendly ties with both the UK and Ireland. A Ministry of External Affairs release said that India and the UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which has strengthened across diverse areas including defence and security, trade and economy, health, education, people-to-people ties. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed enthusiasm for Japan's expansion plans in India and commitment to the 'Make in India, Make for the World' initiative. This comes after PM Modi welcomed a Japanese business delegation led by Tatsuo Yasunaga, The meeting highlighted the robust India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, focusing on strengthening economic collaboration and people-to-people cooperation. "Pleased to meet the Japanese business delegation led by Mr. Tatsuo Yasunaga today. Encouraged by their expansion plans in India and steadfast commitment to 'Make in India, Make for the World'. Looking forward to deepening economic collaboration with Japan, our Special Strategic and Global Partner," posted PM Modi on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1897286024231072139 The India-Japan commercial and business engagement started when Panasonic set up its manufacturing facility in 1972. This was then followed by Suzuki and Denso, who reached India int he early 1980s, as per the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. Today, India and Japan share a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership'. Commercial relations between India and Japan have vast growth potential, given the complementarities that exist between the two countries. Japan's interest in India is increasing due to a variety of reasons, including India's big and growing market and its resources, especially the human resources. The signing of the historic India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and its implementation from August 2011 has accelerated economic and commercial relations between the two countries. During the visit of Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida to India in March 2022, both the Prime Ministers expressed intention to realise JPY (Japanese Yen) 5 trillion of public and private investment and financing from Japan to India in the next five years, to finance appropriate public and private projects of mutual interest, as per the Embassy. Japan's bilateral trade with India totaled USD 22.85 billion during FY 2023-24. Exports from Japan to India during this period were USD 17.69 billion and imports were USD 5.15 billion. As per the embassy, today, India ranks 18th in Japan's total trade with 1.4 per cent share while Japan ranks 17th in India's total trade with 2.1 per cent share. India ranks 11th in Japan's total exports with 2.2 per cent share and Japan ranks 25th in India's total exports with 1.2 per cent share. India ranks 28th in Japan's total imports with 0.7 per cent share and Japan ranks 12th in India's total imports with 2.6 per cent share. This underlines that there remains a big potential. (ANI) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday held a telephonic conversation with Olaf Scholz, the outgoing German Chancellor and emphasized Ukraine's reliance on European unity and expressed gratitude for Germany's significant contributions to strengthening Ukraine's air shield, ultimately protecting thousands of lives. "I spoke with @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz to have an honest conversation about various issues and our vision for the future security architecture. We rely on Europe's unity around Ukraine and are working toward it," posted Zelenskyy on X. Zelenskyy reiterated his commitment to achieving a lasting peace, rather than a temporary ceasefire, and believes this goal is attainable through coordinated efforts and US leadership. "We all want a safe future for our people. Not a temporary ceasefire, but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and U.S. leadership, this is entirely achievable," added the Ukrainian President. He also acknowledged the importance of expanding cooperation with Germany in areas like air shield protection. "We will always remember Germany's contribution to strengthening Ukraine's air shield and, most importantly, to protecting thousands of lives. We see opportunities to expand our cooperation in this area. We will continue working on it. Thank you for your support." https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1897273640292388940 This development comes on the heels of a contentious meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump, which ended without a clear resolution. Despite this, Zelenskyy remains optimistic about the prospects of securing a safe future for the Ukrainian people. Meanwhile, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe said that the US stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. This could be a huge blow to Ukraine as it uses such intelligence to figure out where the Russian forces are and where the Russian air attacks are coming from, as per Al Jazeera. Ratcliffe also said that, given the recent developments, they may start sharing intelligence again. This stems from that unprecedented berating of Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday. White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz says Trump "will take a hard look" at restoring aid to Ukraine "if we can nail down these negotiations and ... put some confidence-building measures on the table". Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US government appropriated about USD 86bn to send to Ukraine in military aid from Congress and Department of Defense budgets, according to calculations made by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The money allocated by the US is primarily funding that goes into the manufacture of weapons shipped to Ukraine. These include air defence systems, missiles, helicopters, tanks, coastal defence systems and body armour, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI) Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel on Tuesday (local time) made a bold statement, reaffirming the US government's commitment to tracking down terrorists worldwide. Patel's declaration came after a successful operation at Dulles airfield, where FBI personnel, along with DOJ and CIA partners, apprehended a terrorist wanted for the Afghanistan Abbey Gate murders. "On the ground last night at Dulles airfield as FBI personnel and our DOJ + CIA partners delivered a terrorist wanted for the Afghanistan Abbey Gate murders. To terrorists around the world responsible for harming Americans: We will hunt the ends of the earth and find you," posted Patel on X. The Abbey Gate bombing, which occurred during the US evacuation from Afghanistan, resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and numerous civilians. The incident was a devastating blow to the US and its allies. https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1897272068795981951 The United States has charged Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as "Jafar," a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. This charge stems from Sharifullah's alleged role in planning the deadly attack on Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 26, 2021, which killed 13 U.S. military service members and approximately 160 civilians. "On March 2, the US charged Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as "Jafar," a member of the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), with providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, in violation of 18 United States Code 2339B. Sharifullah has been arrested and is expected to appear in the Eastern District of Virginia on March 5, 2025," read a statement by the US Department of Justice. Attorney General Pamela Bondi condemned Sharifullah's actions, calling him an "evil ISIS-K terrorist" who orchestrated the brutal murder of American heroes. US Department of Justice emphasized the FBI's commitment to holding accountable those responsible for acts of terror, stating that the agency will "never forget the loss of these American heroes" and will continue to pursue justice "Under President Trump's strong leadership on the world stage, this Department of Justice will ensure that terrorists like Mohammad Sharifullah have no safe haven, no second chances, and no worse enemy than the United States of America," added the statement. "The lethal attack that killed 13 American service members and Afghan civilians during the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was an act of terrorism," said FBI Director Kash Patel. Sharifullah has admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for the attacker. He also admitted to recognizing the attacker, Abdul Rahman al-Logari, as an ISIS-K operative he had previously known. Additionally, Sharifullah confessed to supporting and conducting activities on behalf of ISIS-K in multiple other lethal attacks, including a 2016 attack on the Canadian embassy in Kabul and a 2024 attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow. "ISIS-K brazenly claimed responsibility for the carnage. Now thanks to the assistance of the FBI, Department of Justice, and the CIA, we have secured Sharifullah's apprehension and transport to the US to face American justice. The FBI will never forget the loss of these American heroes, we will continue to hunt down those who viciously murdered our warriors, we will find all responsible and bring them to justice," as per the statement. If convicted, Sharifullah faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. (ANI) Netherlands Ambassador Marisa Gerards said that the Holland has a lot to offer to India and that they were also inking an MoU for more research and innovation projects together. Gerards, who was here to attend the Gujarat SemiConnect Conference 2025 at Mahatma Mandir, said that several Dutch companies have hired Indians. For instance, NXP has over 4,000 Indians working under it. "Well, the Netherlands is a global hub. When you talk about semiconductors, we have in Windhof- about 300 different companies in the semiconductor industry together with research institutes and technical universities as well. So I think we have a lot to offer. We're working now on an MoU together with the Union government to make sure that we actually have more research and innovation projects together, that we can work together on training, on skills development, on talent development as well. And also on many other different issues we are in the we're working on it right now. We're concluding it very soon," she told ANI. She also said that NXP is planning to double their investment in India. "Well, there are companies investing on a daily basis. You have NXP here. This is one of the big semicom companies that's based in the Netherlands. They have already quite a footprint in your country. About 4,000 people are working in NXP. They're going to double their investment, I understood. So there's a lot happening already in this time and age, and I think such an MoU, it will help as well," she said. Gerards said that a delegation from the Netherlands is currently on a scoping mission to carve out a suitable MoU. "I'm sure there are, but what we're doing right now with this delegation that we're bringing here to your summit is they are on a kind of a scoping mission. So we have people in our delegation that come from the different research institutes. We also have companies with us. We have people from our government as well, and what we're doing right now is a scoping mission also to see what's very important to put in this MOU and make sure that we encourage this cooperation between our two countries," she said. Gerards further said that India and the Netherlands have a "very strong bilateral relationship." "We have a very strong bilateral relationship. We go back a long way. We were one of the first countries who recognised the independence of India. We have a lot of trade and investment," she said. Gerards told ANI that the Netherlands is 4th largest foreign investor in India, and 300 different Dutch companies are active here. "We are the 4th investor in your country. About 300 different Dutch companies are very active. Also the other way around, we have quite some Indian companies who are also investing in the Netherlands. What we're working on right now is a strategic partnership to see how we can do more on trade and investment. How we can do more on security, for example, but also do more on innovation and research, and then we have a wide range of different sectors where we work together like on water management, health, agriculture, very important on energy, ports and logistics and climate, and in all these different sectors, innovation and high tech research, it's all key. And this is, I think, the overview, and it's a very strong relationship," she said. However, Gerards still feels that there is lot more to do. She said that they will do more work in the green energy sector. "I think there's a lot of room to do more. Green energy, green hydrogen is very high on our agenda as well. We're also working together with the union government, but also here in Gujarat. We have quite some companies who are working in your ports, Port of Rotterdam, which is the gateway to Europe, the biggest port of our continent, is also very keen and very interested to see how we can do more in this area of green energy and green hydrogen as well," she said. When asked what she thought about the EU delegation that had recently arrived in India with EU President Ursula Von der Leyen, she said that free trade benefits both and that Europe needed trusted partners now, in such tumultuous times. "Well, it always benefits both parts when you can have more free trade between two countries and they are negotiating as we speak. We could see that the commission was here with 22 different commissioners. We all listened to the press conference. They said they wanted to finish it before the end of the year. I think it will be important. We need trusted partners now, especially in these geopolitical, very difficult times. So let's see, hopefully we have it before the end of the year," she said. Earlier, Gerards also paid a courtesy visit to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar and emphasised the Netherlands' expertise in semiconductor-related technologies and expressed keen interest in collaborating with Gujarat for future partnerships.(ANI) TOKYO, Mar 06 (News On Japan) - Japans rice prices have been steadily climbing, with the cost of a 5-kilogram bag rising from 2,430 to 3,297 yen last year and further increasing to 3,949 yen this year, putting pressure on household budgets. To curb these rising prices, the government has decided to release its rice reserves. The expectation was that this move would bring prices down, but they remain high. The reserve rice, sold as blended rice, aims to maintain affordability without sacrificing taste. However, logistical challenges mean any price reduction is likely to be short-lived. Meanwhile, concerns persist over an ongoing rice shortage, with some experts criticizing agricultural cooperatives for inefficiencies in their support measures. Starting next week, Japan will begin the bidding process for 150,000 tons of its 210,000-ton rice reserves. Consumers are most concerned about whether this release will actually lead to lower rice prices. Looking at past trends, the price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice was around 2,400 yen in January last year. Now, it has surged to nearly 4,000 yen. So, will releasing reserve rice bring prices down? In simple terms, prices may dropbut only temporarily. The government has announced a bid for 150,000 tons, and yesterday, Agriculture Minister Eto revealed plans to expedite an additional 60,000 tons for auction. If these processes proceed smoothly, rice should reach consumers and lead to a temporary price reduction. Professor Oizumi from Miyagi University points out that corporate efforts also contribute to price reductions. There are 41 varieties of reserve rice, which wholesalers can blend with cheaper domestic or imported rice to offer consumers more affordable options. However, he also highlights potential issues with releasing reserve rice. One major concern is the inefficient distribution system. The government currently supplies rice through intermediaries, such as agricultural cooperatives, before it reaches consumers, causing delays. Instead, Professor Oizumi suggests that rice should be sold directly to retailers and the food service industry. Currently, the government prioritizes sending rice to the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Zen-Noh), which can slow distribution and prevent a rapid price adjustment. Even if prices drop temporarily, they may soon return to high levels. The underlying issue is a rice shortage. Last January, private-sector rice stocks stood at 2.74 million tons, but this year, they have decreased to 2.3 million tonsa gap of 400,000 tons. Despite an 180,000-ton increase in production, supply remains insufficient. Even if the full 210,000 tons of reserve rice is released, total supply would still be lower than last year, raising doubts about the government's claim that there is no shortage. Additionally, rice prices may remain high due to rising production costs. In Niigata, JA Zen-Noh recently announced its minimum purchase price for premium Uonuma Koshihikari rice at 225,000 yen per 60 kilograms, an increase of 5,500 yen from last year. While this move provides farmers with financial security, it also signals further price increases for consumers. Professor Oizumi emphasizes that Japan's current rice supply management system, which operates on a delicate supply-demand balance, should be overhauled. He argues that the government must shift its focus toward supporting large-scale, high-productivity farms and enhancing export competitiveness to stabilize the rice market in the long run. Source: YOMIURI A synthetic opioid so powerful it can kill with a single tablet is threatening to strain relations between Japan and the United States. Fentanyl, a drug originally developed as a medical anesthetic, has become a national crisis in the U.S. due to its high potency and addictive nature. Now, reports suggest it may be making its way into the country via Japan. IWATE, Mar 06 (News On Japan) - A wildfire that erupted in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on February 26th has now entered its second week, with firefighters struggling to contain the flames. Towering flames engulfed the mountainsides, forcing emergency response teams to work around the clock in a desperate battle against the blaze. The steep terrain has made containment efforts challenging, despite firefighters using aerial and ground operations. As of 6 a.m. on March 5th, the burned area had expanded by 300 hectares from the previous day, reaching approximately 2,900 hectaresequivalent to half the area enclosed by Tokyos JR Yamanote Line. For the first time in 38 days, rain and sleet fell on Ofunato in the early hours of March 5th. Iwates coastal areas had been under a dry weather advisory for 15 consecutive days, heightening the risk of wildfires. The arrival of precipitation has raised hopes that the fires intensity will finally subside. Evacuees, many of whom have been living in shelters for days, expressed cautious optimism. It feels like a blessing, one resident said. I just want the evacuation order lifted as soon as possible so I can go home. By 2 p.m., snow had turned to rain, shrouding the fire-threatened Horei district in mist. Smoke that had been rising from various parts of the forest the previous day appeared to have diminished. Aerial footage released by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency showed thick white smoke still rising from the scorched mountains as a helicopter, carrying a large orange water bucket, doused the burning terrain below. Despite round-the-clock firefighting efforts from both the air and the ground, the fire continues to spread, with no end in sight. The prolonged emergency has also extended evacuation periods, leaving many residents in limbo. Amid the crisis, a local ramen restaurant, 'Ofunato Sanma Dashi Kurofune,' has been offering free bowls of its signature sanma broth ramen to evacuees. As long as the shelters remain open, I will continue serving meals, said the restaurants owner, Ryuzo Iwase. Our goal is to help people escape reality, even if just for a moment, Iwase added. Some evacuees have been moved to tears, and that humbles me. As authorities race to contain the fire, rainfall late on March 5th brought renewed hope that the flames could finally be subdued. At a 5 p.m. press conference, Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami acknowledged the ongoing battle against the fire. We are not yet in control, said the city's disaster management chief. But we hope that todays rain will mark a turning point. The fire has already destroyed at least 78 buildings. In a parliamentary session on March 5th, Prime Minister Ishiba addressed concerns over the governments response to the disaster, stating, We are considering designating this as a severe disaster. Source: FNN TOKYO, Mar 06 (NHK) - Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group says it will leave an international group that fights climate change. It is the first Japanese company to do so. Some US financial giants have also left as President Donald Trump has sought shifts in climate change policy. Sumitomo Mitsui informed the Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Tuesday. The Japanese firm's two main rivals remain in the alliance among the five Japanese firms still participating. Sumitomo Mitsui has operations in the US. The company says its decision is based on consideration of broad factors, including overseas trends. But it adds that climate change is an important challenge. It says it will continue with its efforts to tackle the issue. Mar 06 (News On Japan) - A tense phone call reaches the JR East Shinkansen Command Center. The message is clear: a bomb has been planted on the Tokyo-bound Hayabusa No. 60. If the trains speed drops below 100 km/h, it will explode immediately... The perpetrator demands a ransom of 1 trillion yen in exchange for deactivating the device. With time running out, railway workers engage in a desperate battle to prevent disaster. Will the speeding Hayabusa No. 60 overcome this crisis? Director Shinji Higuchi, known for blending spectacular visuals with human drama in works such as 'Shin Godzilla,' is a longtime fan of the original story. This time, he takes on a bold reboot, reimagining the film for modern society with significant updates. Leading the cast is Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, who previously collaborated with Higuchi in 'Japan Sinks.' He delivers a gripping performance as Takaichi, a conductor fighting to prevent an explosion onboard Hayabusa No. 60. With special cooperation from JR East, filming took place using actual Shinkansen trains and facilities, resulting in strikingly realistic visuals. Combined with cutting-edge VFX, the film delivers an intense spectacle. A nonstop suspense thriller packed with breathless tension, 'Shinkansen Explosion' is set to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Source: OSAKA, Mar 06 (News On Japan) - A surge in the resale of 'Manhole Cards,' collectible cards featuring designs of local manhole covers distributed for free by municipalities, has angered collectors and local governments. Some cards are being resold for as much as 100,000 yen, prompting concerns over fairness and the original intent behind the initiative. Manhole Cards have grown in popularity in recent years, attracting fans from across Japan and even foreign tourists. These cards, distributed by 724 municipalities nationwide, are intended to promote local attractions and raise awareness of sewer infrastructure. Recipients are limited to one card per person, but reports indicate that some individuals disguise themselves to collect multiple copies for resale. Ayako Morikawa, a resident of Osaka Citys Chuo Ward and a longtime enthusiast of decorative manhole covers, expressed frustration over the resale trend. "People who genuinely want these cards are being deprived because of resellers taking multiple copies," she said. Morikawa, who owns about 100 Manhole Cards, travels nationwide to collect and photograph different designs, calling them "artworks on the street." Online listings reveal a booming resale market. Osaka Castles Manhole Card, originally distributed for free, has been listed for 6,100 yen. A 10-card set from Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is priced at 88,000 yen, while a single card from Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, featuring Okazaki Castle, has reached 100,000 yen. Kashiwara City in southern Osaka distributes four different Manhole Cards featuring local specialties like Delaware grapes and Shine Muscat, as well as popular anime characters. Although the cards are meant to attract tourists, resellers have been selling them in sets for 5,555 yen shortly after distribution began. A city official lamented the situation, stating, "We created these cards to encourage visits to Kashiwara and promote awareness of sewer infrastructure. Its unfortunate that they are instead being used for profit." Despite municipalities urging people to take only one card per person, some individuals have been spotted changing outfits or wearing hats to repeatedly claim additional copies. When confronted, a reseller admitted to discovering the trade by chance. "I initially picked up a Manhole Card during a trip to Yamaguchi Prefecture and later realized it had resale value. I found it interesting, so I started collecting and selling more," he said. He claimed to follow self-imposed rules, such as not taking more than one card per location, but acknowledged that some resellers exploit the system by repeatedly acquiring and reselling the same cards. Collectors like Morikawa urge buyers to reconsider their purchases. "I understand that some people may not have the time or means to travel, but excessive reselling could lead to the discontinuation of these distributions. I hope people think twice before buying resold cards." Source: MBS Ugandas High Court has ordered the renaming of streets, roads, and landmarks in the nations capital city Kampala that honor British colonial figures, marking a significant step in the countrys ongoing decolonization efforts. Justice Musa Ssekaana ruled that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) must take measures to rename these public spaces, ensuring that the new names reflect Ugandan culture, heritage, and values. This ruling is the culmination of a years-long campaign sparked by a 2020 petition calling for the removal of street names linked to colonial figures such as Sir Henry Colville and Frederick Lugard, whose actions during British rule in Uganda are associated with atrocities including violence and exploitation. The petition, supported by over 5,800 Ugandans, argued that these names dishonor the countrys history of struggle for independence. The ruling comes 62 years after Uganda gained independence from Britain, with the court emphasizing the need to replace these names with those that reflect the countrys post-independence transformation. Campaigners, including human rights lawyer Apollo Makubuya, celebrated the decision, calling it an important step in recognizing Ugandas dignity and moving away from the oppressive legacy of colonialism. However, some critics, like human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, argue that leaving the names intact serves as a reminder of Ugandas colonial past, suggesting that removing them risks erasing history. Despite the debate, the courts ruling is seen as a pivotal moment in Ugandas journey to break free from colonial legacies. The ruling also follows a similar trend in other countries across the African continent. For example, last October, Niger renamed streets and squares in its capital, Niamey, replacing French colonial-era names with those honoring prominent African figures. The move includes renaming a boulevard, originally carrying the name of former French President Charles De Gaulle, after independence hero Djibo Bakary and removing colonial symbols, such as a portrait of French commander Parfait-Louis Monteil, to reflect the nations historical struggles. Germany said it will stop all new aid to Rwanda due to its role in the ongoing conflict opposing the Kigali-backed M23 rebels to DRC forces, Germanys development ministry said. Besides suspending financial assistance, the ministry said it will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda. Berlin had informed Rwanda in advance of the move and urged it to withdraw support for the M23 rebel group, which has made advances in eastern Congo, the ministry said. In response, Rwandas foreign ministry said: Countries like Germany that bear a historical responsibility for the recurring instability in this region should know better than to apply one-sided, coercive measures. The UN and western powers accuse Rwanda of stoking the conflict in eastern Congo through its support of the Tutsi-led M23 rebels, who have made advances in recent weeks taking the strategic city of Goma. DRC warned the conflict could spill over to the region and cut ties with Rwanda. The U.S. State Department has designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, sending a strong message to the Algerian regime and its polisario armed militias which had launched deadly terrorist attacks against Moroccos Saharan territory. The Houthis activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade, said a statement released Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Since 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as U.S. service members defending freedom of navigation and our regional partners. Most recently, the Houthis spared Chinese-flagged ships while targeting American and allied vessels, the statement said. President Trump had also listed the group as a foreign terrorist organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity during the final days of his first term. The designation restored by the State Department carries with it sanctions and penalties for anyone providing material support for the group. Separately, the United States will not tolerate any country engaging with terrorist organizations like the Houthis in the name of practicing legitimate international business, warned the statement. The Houthis have confirmed ties with the Algerian junta and the Polisario separatist group. In February, the United States called on the leaders of Rwanda to end their support for separatist group M23, itself already designated by both Washington and the UN terrorist organization, and to withdraw all Rwandan Defense Force troops from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We call on Rwanda to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, said statement issued by the State Department. After the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against the Houthis, it is now the turn of the Algeria-backed Polisario thugs to be included in the U.S. blacklist. After ensuing a series of self-inflicted diplomatic blows, the new Algeria continues to punch above its weight in denial of a reality wherein its voice is no longer audible including within the Arab League. Algeria has failed to join the BRICS, cut ties with Morocco, is mired in a diplomatic crisis with France, has alienated Spain, worsened ties with Libya, and sowed tension with its southern neighbors, while Russia- its main arms supplier- is taking its distance. Against this backdrop, the Arab World has reduced Algeria to its size. In this context came the boycott by President Abdelemdjid Tebboune of an Arab summit in which he was not invited in the first place. Reflecting the state of marginalization Algeria suffers within the Arab World, Tebboune said that his country was not consulted in preparation of the extraordinary summit on Palestine that was held in Cairo on March 4. The summit urged a ceasefire, reiterated commitment to a two-state solution, and agreed to set up a five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza. Algeria seems to have lost all credibility in the eyes of its Arab peers due to its self-serving approach to the Palestinian cause, its violation of the Arab League charter by backing separatism and its shameful stands in support of Bashar brutality. Palestine The Arab Leagues influential members have not consulted Algeria because they are aware that it has nothing to offer as far as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is concerned. That is primarily because Algeria uses the Palestinian cause for self-regarding purposes of domestic mobilization and rhetorical fanfare. Algeria was one of the few countries in the region that banned pro-Palestinian protests. It also banned summer festivals fearing they may transform into gatherings in support of Gaza. Meanwhile, Algeria indulged in an official discourse that used the Palestinian issue for domestic political legitimization purposes. Tebboune has often referred to Israel in his domestic speeches as the Zionist entity and demanded the liberation of Palestine from the sea to the sea. Many Arab leaders, including Saudi Arabias crown prince, have snubbed the ceremonial Arab summit in Algiers in April 2023 in which Tebboune failed to ensure the return of Syrias Bashar Assad. The summit featured a ceremonial picture between Hamas leaders and Fatah, marketed by Algeria as a historic reconciliation with no impact on the state of affairs between the Palestinian rivals. Syria Algerias stands in support of Bashar Assad are still vivid. As Bashar Assad was preparing his escape to Russia, Algeria was one of the few states that stood behind him in the face of the offensive of the HTS whose leader is now attending the Arab League. Former HTS chief Ahmed Charaa, who is now the president of Syria, thanked all Arab countries that supported the Syrian people in its journey to emancipation from the brutal rule of Assads family. Morocco In its relations with Morocco, Algeria is in a blatant violation of the Arab Leagues charter, which promotes the freedom of movement and emphasizes respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states. Algeria has violated the Charters most important values in engaging in a series of measures from keeping borders closed, cutting diplomatic ties, banning Moroccan flights from crossing its airspace, stopping the flow of gas. As far as territorial integrity is concerned, Algeria has been hosting, arming and offering its territory as a rear base for the Polisario militias in pursuit of a separatist chimera in southern Morocco. More recently, Algeria doubled down, hosting a group of individuals calling for the separation of Rif from its homeland in an act that accounts for a casus belli. The opening of the new headquarters was relayed by Algerias propaganda outlets, showing a newly created party that has no presence, support or influence in the very Rif region it claims to represent. If the Arab League was serious in implementing its Charter it has to start by freezing Algerias membership, until its leaders stop warmongering against Morocco. Libya has officially announced on March 4 its first public tender for oil and gas exploration in 17 years, marking a significant step in revitalizing the countrys energy sector. The announcement was made during a high-profile ceremony in Tripoli, attended by key officials including Acting Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Masoud Suleiman Mousa, and Libyan Prime Minister, Abdel Hamid Dbeiba. The acting Minister of Oil and Gas, Khalifa Abdul Sadiq, highlighted that over two-thirds of Libyas territory remains unexplored, offering vast potential for the discovery of oil and gas resources. NOC acting chairman emphasized that the exploration of new areas would not only increase oil and gas production but also play a crucial role in regional development. He pointed out that the process would generate new job opportunities for Libyan youth, stimulate the private sector, and provide essential services for exploration and drilling activities. These efforts are expected to boost Libyas national income and bring long-term economic benefits to the countrys underserved regions. The launch of the tender round is seen as a strategic move to attract international oil companies back to Libya, thereby strengthening the countrys position within the global oil industry. Morocco is planning to build a major military base in the southernmost tip of the Sahara to counter growing terror threats in the Sahel, according to intelligence reports cited by several media outlets. The military base will carry out surgical airstrikes against jihadists operating the Sahel in coordination with the United States and France and in close cooperation with the authorities in Mali, Niger and Burkina-Faso. The expansion of terrorist operations in the Sahel represents a direct threat to the national security of Morocco which has launched the Atlantic access initiative for Sahel countries. The North African Kingdom is also building a new strategic road linking its Southern Saharan city of Smara to Mauritania. These landmark projects are expected to transform the geostrategic landscape of the Sahel and sub-Sahara region. The Moroccan initiative seeks to address shared security and development challenges, focusing on the roots of instability. Last month, Moroccan authorities foiled a major terrorist plot that was hatched by ISIS branch operating in the Sahel to undermine the countrys stability and regional economic projects. Twelve members of this terrorist cell were nabbed. The Lions of the Caliphate in Maghreb Al Aqsa were operating in several Moroccan cities. They received their orders from senior ISIS leader Abderrahmane Assahraoui. The terrorist cell was planning to set up a Moroccan branch of ISIS-Sahel terrorist organization seeking to expand operations to North Africa and Europe. The Moroccan military base comes to counter the growing terror threats in the Sahel following the withdrawal of French forces from this region and erosion of Western influence, leaving a security vacuum exploited by Islamist militants. Morocco is positioning itself as an exporter of peace, stability and a key player in the fight against terrorism in North Africa and beyond. Over the past years, Rabat has enhanced its security partnership with Western powers to contain the jihadist threat before it reaches the gates of Europe. Morocco, which holds annually military exercise with the United States (African Lion), has just received six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including advanced General Electric turbine engines, Longbow fire-control radars, and multi-domain warheads. More Apache helicopters will be delivered to the North African Kingdom as the State Department had approved in 2019 the sale of 36 of these most advanced helicopters in the world. The Kingdom has also an important fleet of U.S. and French fighter jets. To strengthen further its military power, the country acquired a wide variety of reconnaissance & warfare drones from Turkey, USA, China and other partner countries. Moroccos growing economic and military power is making Algerian regime extremely agitated and concerned over losing control over their country becoming more precarious than ever. In a bid to escape accountability, the Algerian ruling junta has launched lately an orchestrated black propaganda campaign targeting Moroccos sacred political institutions to deflect public attention from deepening socioeconomic and political crises. But, the Algerian propaganda, which is bearing the hallmarks of cold war era, turns out to be a counter-productive tool and just a wasted time & energy for nothing. Consumed with despair and diplomatic setbacks, the Algerian rulers are now playing their final cards to sow chaos and instability in the region and Sahel. However, their desperate suicidal strategy and impulsive policy will backfire, triggering the collapse of the military regime like the Assad dynasty. Consider, for a moment, the example of Dan Osborn. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images If the first election of Donald Trump was a boon to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the second might have granted new life to moderates. Trumps popular-vote victory his only, and one of the most dispiriting events for the American left in the twenty-first century put to rest several long-standing arguments about the national electorate. It was far easier to blame racism for Trumps shock win in 2016 because Barack Obama had stumped aggressively for Hillary Clinton, who still beat Trump by two percentage points. Eight years later, Trump has made tremendous gains with Latino, Asian, and even some Black voters, and his 2024 coalition was more multiracial than any liberal pundit would have predicted just a few years ago. In turn, many of the de rigueur causes of the 2010s have fallen out of vogue. Black Live Matter is moribund, and there are no calls to abolish ICE despite Trump promising mass deportations. The Womens March didnt materialize to oppose Trumps inauguration. Climate activism, which burned so hot in the late 2010s and early 2020s, is at a low ebb, and despite David Hoggs rise to vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, there is nothing approximating the mass marches over gun control that took place in 2018 and 2019. Trumps repeated attacks on so-called DEI initiatives and woke have triggered only limited backlash from Democrats, who seem increasingly willing to move on from culture war. The latest evidence of a possible moderate resurgence was a gathering hosted by Third Way, the centrist Democratic think tank, last month. Unlike the DNC, which has not performed any autopsy of 2024, Third Way produced five pages of takeaways that it believes explain Democratic failure and can plot a path back to power. They blame a failure to prioritize economic concerns, an overemphasis on identity politics, allowing the far-left to define the party, and an attachment to unpopular institutions like academia, the media, and government bureaucracy for Trumps ascendance. Among Third Ways proposals is a ban on far-left candidate questionnaires and a movement away from the dominance of small-dollar donors whose preferences may not align with the broader electorate. They argued, too, for Democrats to embrace patriotism, community, and traditional American imagery and to get out of elite circles and into real communities like tailgates, gun shows, local restaurants, churches. It was time, they proclaimed, to celebrate moderation, individualism, and masculinity. Given the slow bleed of working-class voters from the Democratic Party, especially men, much of this is sound reasoning if easy to mock on social media. Ruben Gallego, the new Democratic senator from Arizona, has said the left needs to understand that every Latino man wants a big-ass truck. Democrats are afraid, Gallego said, of saying, like, Hey, lets help you get a job so you can become rich. The GOP, for many voters, has become the aspirational, freedom-loving party, while Democrats embody the nattering, faculty-lounge caricature, too affluent and alien. There is an image problem that Democrats will need to fix. Pumping out new policy platforms isnt enough. But the battle back to power and the hope for Democrats, really, of erecting any sort of sustainable and durable majority will be far more complicated than simply pivoting to the center. Behind Third Ways argument that small donors represent an energized minority that could force certain Democrats to take unpopular positions is the implication that large donors are a safer bet as if millionaires and billionaires werent capable of corroding the priorities of politicians and dragging them away from where the median voter might be. If its understandable Third Way doesnt want Democrats to be openly anti-capitalist (capitalism itself polls well, after all), the plea for Democrats to stop demonizing wealth and corporations broadly is odder. What evidence is there that corporate skepticism has damaged either party? Were it up to Third Way, Trump would never have turned against NAFTA and Obama would have tried to triangulate John McCain on economics, running to the right as the financial sector collapsed in 2008. Bernie Sanderss enduring popularity, including his recent, packed-out rallies against oligarchy, should be impossible. Sanders, the self-identified socialist from Vermont, has always been confounding for Third Way, especially his 2016 presidential campaign, which won more than 40 percent of the primary vote against Clinton, the overwhelming front-runner. Sanders never became president, and several of his most prominent proteges, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, embody some of the 2010s and early 20s excesses that cost Democrats votes, like calls to defund the police and comparisons of migrant detention facilities to concentration camps. But Sanders himself, even at the height of the George Floyd protests, was against pulling funding from police departments, instead enraging progressives by reiterating his belief that officers should be paid more money. On immigration, Sanders is far more humane than any Republican but has decried an open border, likening it to a scheme for the wealthy to procure cheap labor. A supporter of gun control, Sanders was nevertheless more moderate than many cultural liberals because he had risen to power in a rural state where Republicans once held great sway. A more culturally right-wing version of Sanders almost nabbed a Senate seat in deep-red Nebraska last year, and its peculiar that many Democrats, including Third Way, still dont want to talk about it. Dan Osborn came within seven points of defeating Deb Fischer, an incumbent Republican, in a state Trump would carry by more than 20. Osborn, a mechanic and labor leader, had led a strike at Kelloggs Omaha plant in 2021; on economic issues, he represented everything Third Way, which is Clintonian centrist at its core, resents. He supported raising the national minimum wage, bolstering railway safety, strengthening Social Security, and making it easier for workers to organize into labor unions. On culture, he did pivot right: He backed Trumps border wall and gun rights. He notably campaigned as an independent, not a Democrat, and targeted the very small donors Third Way wants Democrats to shun. Osborn did not commit to caucusing with the Democrats if he won, but at minimum, he would not have been an automatic vote for Trump in the Senate. Most Democrats now agree that they have a Senate problem: The 2024 election cycle was not as devastating for Democrats as initially feared, with slim victories in Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, but even this slight overperformance has resulted in a comfortable 53-47 GOP majority. To escape the minority and eventually find a way to 52 or 53 seats, Democrats will have to compete, as Third Way and many others argue, for working class and non-college-educated voters, especially in rural areas. This will mean, in addition to fixing the Democratic brand, fielding more candidates like Osborn who can make Trump states competitive again. It will not mean abandoning small donors or the economic populism that thrills them. It will mean being a tribune for the working class. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Apple For the last few years, tech companies have been telling a pretty simple story to investors: that their technology will be able to automate a lot of tasks, including joblike tasks; that their AI will continue to get more powerful and sophisticated; that they need a lot of money, sure, but that if they succeed, the upside is basically infinite. In the narrow sense, its a pretty good pitch that has allowed these companies to raise many billions of dollars. The problem is that this is money talking to money big new companies talking to big old companies about efficiency and productivity and cost-saving and returns. In other words, it doesnt really translate. To people outside of a small elite loop, the prospect of automating jobs at a level that justifies epochal levels of investment might fall somewhere between boring and threatening. For the general public, tech companies need a better story than were coming for all the jobs, which probably explains why theyre doing so many ads. For the second Super Bowl in a row, viewers saw multiple AI spots from tech firms, this time including Google, Meta, and, in a first for the company, OpenAI. Microsoft and Apple have been working out their marketing messages for a while now, too, with promotional videos and TV spots and social-media clips galore. The products theyre advertising are similar general-purpose AI tools that can answer questions and generate media for you but their approaches have been fairly different. OpenAIs ad was a broad brand-awareness campaign in the long tradition of vague and self-serious ads from large firms tech, pharma, chemical, whatever that portray their products as broadly synonymous with human progress. (It also bears a passing resemblance to a Guinness send-up of such ads from nearly two decades ago): A Microsoft ad from the last Super Bowl positioned AI as a force for individual professional empowerment, suggesting that the benefits of mass automation might accrue not just to AI providers like Microsoft but to early-adopting individuals, too: A more recent Apple Intelligence ad tells a similar story, except about assholes who suck at their jobs: This year, Google returned to its strategy of making tear-jerking vignettes about things like being alive and having a family. In its Super Bowl ad, a stay-at-home dad rehearses his first job interview in years with Gemini. Like the Microsoft ads, this one is about how AI automation might be used by rather than on workers, and like previous Google ads, its stirring. That said, if I were trying to figure out how to reframe mass automation as individually empowering and counter growing unease about AIs effect on jobs, I might not invite viewers to dwell too much on late-career unemployment and job-hunting: Amazons automation pitch, in the form of its first promotional video for a major update to Alexa, is more focused, combining a general chatbot ad with a pitch for automation in the home, in both the turn off your lights with your voice sense and the imagine your home and family as a more efficient business sense: Meta, for its part, leaned into the simplest pitch for consumer AI a pitch that chatbots are pretty good at making themselves, once you try one: Heres a computer you can talk to, and which will generate text and images for you. Taking into account Metas market position, though, the pitch might be a bit closer to: Hey, we have a ChatGPT, too. And a Google, sort of! (It also contains by far the weirdest specific example of AI use in any of these ads, in which a young man visiting Little Italy with his grandfather asks Meta AI to generate an image of the neighborhood in the 50s. Elder abuse!) These are very different ads from very different companies that rather suddenly found themselves competing in the same space. None of these companies seems quite sure about how to repackage an enterprise product knowledge-work automation as a consumer good, but theyre certainly trying. That the companies making them, or the ad agencies tasked with making them, arent quite sure what theyre saying is the main thing they have in common. One thing they are collectively discovering, though, is what sorts of stories about AI people really dont want to hear. During the Olympics, Google released, and then quickly pulled, an ad in which a father asks AI to help his daughter write a fan letter to her favorite athlete: More recently, it was Apples turn. In addition to ads about being sort of lazy at work, weve gotten one about how AI can fake a thoughtful gift for a forgotten birthday: And one about how it might help suppress your rage in the office: And another about how it might help you, a threatening misanthrope, pass for normal with neighbors you despise: Writing Tools can help you sound friendly, even if you're not feeling friendly. Apple Intelligence now on iPhone 16. Posted by Apple on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Googles ad is sentimental, while Apples are attempts at humor, and in the grand scheme of AI adoption, neither campaign is likely to matter. But its telling that the AI ads that have gotten the most backlash arent the ones explicitly about employment or entrepreneurship. Instead, its the ones that take the experience of being a person as a sort of job itself the ones that reveal that, to companies building broad automation technology, everything looks like a job in need of optimization. People are worried about what AI might mean for their work. Maybe theyre just as worried about what it portends for everything else. Photo: Win McNamee/Bloomberg/Getty Images Donald Trumps joint address to Congress on Tuesday night felt familiar, though it was delivered in a much different venue. In a tone reminiscent of a campaign speech, the president boasted about his accomplishments and claimed to have a strong mandate from the American people, prompting raucous cheers and frequent standing ovations from Republican members. But unlike at a Trump rally, the audience was also filled with disapproving Democrats. And things took a turn early on as Representative Al Green, a Texas Democrat, stood and disrupted Trumps speech, shouting, You have no mandate to cut Medicaid! After multiple warnings, House Speaker Mike Johnson directed the Sergeant of Arms to remove Green from the House chamber to the sounds of cheers and some Republicans singing, Hey, hey, hey, good-bye. .@RepAlGreen (D-TX) is removed from the Joint Session of Congress. pic.twitter.com/GJVHJpZHGc CSPAN (@cspan) March 5, 2025 During his time in Congress, Green has challenged Trump many times. He filed the first articles of impeachment against Trump back in 2017 following the firing of FBI director James Comey, despite a lack of support from many in his party at the time. He went on to file two more attempts at impeachment. Green told reporters outside the chamber that he spoke out in defense of programs like Medicare and Medicaid that are at risk for cuts under Trumps administration and that hes ready to accept any repercussions from his actions. Ill accept the punishment. Its worth it to let people know that theres some of us who are going to stand up against this presidents desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, he said. .@RepAlGreen after being removed from Joint Session of Congress: "I'll accept the punishment. It's worth it to let people know that there's some of us who are going to stand up to against this president's desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security." pic.twitter.com/T32rj1OitB CSPAN (@cspan) March 5, 2025 That fallout appears to be imminent. In an interview with Fox News following Trumps speech, Johnson expressed support for censuring Green for his disruption, calling his actions shameful. I suspect that therell be a censure resolution brought on the floor to discipline him, he said. We have to do that inside the House. We have to maintain decorum. The House Freedom Caucus indicated Wednesday morning that it would be filing a censure motion against Green later in the day. Representatives Troy Nehls and Dan Newhouse intend to introduce their own separate motions against Green. The internal disciplinary sanction requires a majority vote from the full House of Representatives, which the Republican Party currently holds by a slim margin. If passed, Green would be only the fifth House member to be censured since 2010. early and often Trump Betrayed His Base With the Big Beautiful Bill, and the GOP Will Regret It It wont just hurt the country; it will devastate Republicans next year. Best in Class The Strategists carefully chosen and rigorously vetted flagship shopping guides. Learn about our methodology here, and find all our Best in Class guides here. Photo: Marcus McDonald While testing espresso machines and interviewing experts for this article, one thing has become very clear to me: Making quality espresso at home can be tough. Its not that its not worth doing; its just that if you have an espresso habit routine enough to warrant a home setup, you probably care about how good your espresso tastes. And if you care about how good your espresso tastes, youre likely going to need to invest some real money into the whole production. My first question when people tell me they want to make espresso at home is Why?, Kyle Ramage, co-owner of Black & White Coffee Roasters in Raleigh, North Carolina, told me. The most common answer I get is to save money. But the reality is, if youre not willing or able to spend a decent amount, youre not going to get equipment worth owning. The market for espresso equipment simply isnt the same widely populated and overall-impressive field as standard coffee makers. But while Ramages view is, in my mind, too unconditional, it serves as a bit of a disclaimer for the list below. This list includes machines from some of the best-known brands in the space, including Breville and La Marzocco. The most-lauded option the one where youre truly going to get cafe-grade shots and beautifully frothed milk is well over $5,000. That said, my favorite machine which I tested with great results our best overall pick comes in at $500. There are several budget-friendly picks (include one Ive used and love) that are different in nature than a big shot-pulling machine, too, like a convenient pod-based Nespresso that two everyday espresso drinkers swear by, and a couple of stovetop moka pots that will give you a perfectly delicious latte. And if youre interested in exploring a straight-ahead coffee maker (or any of the best coffee gear Ive rounded up, like grinders, milk frothers, and electric kettles), you can read my guides to those, too. Updated on May 6, 2025 New prices: The Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine is 20 percent off at Sur La Table. Checked stock: Added a note about the Wacaco Picopressos availability. What were looking for Components If the machine comes with a milk frother. it might have a dual boiler, which means you can pull your espresso shot and froth your milk at the same time. This, as Jerad Morisson, co-founder and co-CEO of Sightglass Coffee in San Francisco, explains, really helps temperature and pressure stabilization so that the machine is dependably at optimal brewing and steaming settings. If it doesnt, however, you have to make your coffee and your milk one after the other. Some machines have a coffee grinder built in (which can be helpful for saving space and money, since individual ones dont come cheap). For others, youll need to buy a separate one. Size To help you determine whether the espresso machine fits in your space, Ive listed the dimensions of each. Best espresso machine overall Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine $500 $500 Components: No dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 12.3 x 10.1 x 13.1 Breville offers 12 espresso makers in total, with a wide range of capabilities at a wide range of price points (thats why youll see multiple models on this list). The brand is expert approved: Its home machines are some of the best you can get in terms of user experience and customer service, Ramage says. And nearly every other expert I talked to agrees. While truly serious coffee people might invest in something higher end (or even pro-level), the average person isnt likely to be so hyperaware of espresso nuances and obsessive about customization. The Bambino Plus is Brevilles second-lowest cost offering but it still produces great and consistent shots. (The original Bambino is cheaper but doesnt have the automated milk-steaming feature.) Ive been using mine for a couple of months now to make delicious lattes every morning and its by far my favorite machine Ive tested. Its so intuitive to use, requiring little maintenance or technical know-how. I only had to play around with my coffee-grind size a bit at the beginning. Once that was set, the rest was smooth sailing. Strategist writer Katherine Gillespie, who has been using the Bambino Plus daily for the last year and a half, calls it a magnificent machine. She also notes its simplicity:It is just so quick to start up and pull a shot, and very easy to do when youre half-asleep. She appreciates the automatic steamer, too. With the press of one button, the microfoam it produces is very close to the quality that a talented barista could achieve manually, she says. One final note: Breville has instructional videos on its website that are useful for getting started, and, Gillespie says, theres a passionate online community of Breville Bambino users offering tips across the internet as well. $500 at Sur La Table Buy $400 at Williams Sonoma Buy Best pod-based espresso machine Best portable espresso machine Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Wacaco Picopresso $130 Components: No dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 4.17 x 3.07 x 2.8 The Picopresso is marketed as a portable model that is especially good for travel, but theres no reason it cant be employed at home. Its super-compact size much smaller than the Breville and the Nespresso might even be essential for people with small kitchens who are still dedicated to having an espresso option. We actually crowdsourced this one in our work Slack channel, Suyog Mody, founder of Brooklyns Driftaway Coffee, told me. Several people on the team strongly endorse it. I feel like its sort of an industry secret. The Picopresso works with manual hand pressure, meaning that one essential part of the espresso-making process is generated via the person brewing instead of the machine. According to the company, you just have to dial in the correct grind size and tamping (something you have to do with electric models anyway) and then perfect your pulling technique, a skill that seems well worth the learning curve for an espresso maker that costs not much more than $100 and still makes a stellar shot. [The Wacaco Picopress is currently out of stock, but you can sign up for restock notifications on the product page.] $130 at Wacaco Buy Best compact espresso machine Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Cafe Affetto Automatic Espresso Machine From $280 Components: No dual boiler, built-in grinder | Size: 7.09 x 16.1 x 12.48 The Cafe Affetto is only seven inches across, less than any other more permanent setup on this list. (The portable Picopresso above and the stovetop options below are both smaller.) Strategist associate editor Jenna Milliner-Waddell says it sits perfectly on the small bit of counter space she has. It couldnt be easier to use thanks to the automatic grinder, Milliner-Waddel says. You put whole espresso beans in, fill the reservoir with water, and it grinds and brews the perfect shot. It also features a steam wand, which Milliner-Waddel says heats all brands of oat and almond milk just the same. Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is the machines smart capabilities. It prompts you to clean and descale it, she says, so you never forget upkeep, and it has app compatibility that allows you to pre-program your preferred settings. From $280 at Amazon Buy Best stovetop espresso machine Best stovetop espresso machine for shots Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Bialetti Mini Express Moka Set $60 $60 Components: No dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 5 x 6 x 3 For a Bialetti with slightly different functionality, try this model with two spouts. It still percolates from the heat underneath a burner, but dispenses directly into two glasses instead of a larger compartment up top. Its great because it really does pull shots, rather than feeling like a small cup of very strong coffee,says New York Times movie critic and espresso fan Alissa Wilkinson. Also, often my husband will make espresso and then just bring me the little cup, which is efficient and fun. Additionally, she points out that, just like the classic model above, no mechanical parts means its fairly indestructible, simple to clean, and can be squirreled away most anywhere or packed for AirBnb purposes. $60 at Amazon Buy Best espresso machine that also makes coffee Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Ninja CM401 Specialty Coffee Maker $180 $180 Components: No dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 12 x 8.75 x 15.04 This machine bills itself as a coffee maker but it has what the brand calls a specialty button to make coffee concentrate, similar to the full-bodied liquid the moka pot creates thats especially good for lattes and cappuccinos. (Theres an attached milk frother for making those drinks, too.) Strategist writer Arielle Avila uses the setting regularly and says it definitely tastes stronger than regular coffee and is thicker. It doesnt quite have the same creaminess as true espresso, she admits, but I still think its a win for the price point and convenience. $180 at Amazon Buy $180 at Amazon Buy Best espresso machine with built-in grinder Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Breville Barista Pro From $830 From $830 Components: Grinder, no dual boiler | Size: 13.9 x 16.1 x 16 The Breville Barista Pro is comparable to the high-end Rancilio Silvia (below) in price point, but comes with an additional piece: a built-in grinder. For his part, Suarez says, I dont necessarily think you need one. When you have less going on in one machine, you can kind of optimize for each thing. If the grinder breaks, youre screwed a little bit. But I think its also worth noting that a good espresso maker and a grinder for $800 is really quite affordable, as standalone grinders can also cost quite a bit. From $830 at Amazon Buy $850 at Sur La Table Buy Best less expensive espresso machine with built-in grinder Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. DeLonghi La Specialista Arte Manual Espresso Machine From $677 From $677 Components: Grinder, no dual boiler | Size: 14.25 x 11.25 x 15.75 The DeLonghi La Specialista Arte is an even more affordable machine with a built-in grinder. And for his part, Hugo Murray, co-founder of New York Citys Butler, is a pro who stands by this feature, especially for people who are short on space. Hes used this machine at home for nearly a year. (Both the Breville and DeLonghi are the only picks on this list with a built-in grinder and no dual boiler.) The grinder is easy to adjust, shots pull well, and the steam wand allows for good texturing, he says, referring to the high amount of pressure it emits to create a silky thickness all the way through the milk. He also points out that all the removable parts are dishwasher safe so its easy to keep clean. From $677 at Amazon Buy From $677 at Amazon Buy Best espresso machine with dual boiler Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Breville Dual Boiler $1,600 Components: Dual boiler, no grinder | Size: 17.3 x 17.3 x 20.2 As explained above, a dual boiler means you can simultaneously brew your espresso and froth your milk, each function heated to the exact degree it should be. Not only this, but without one, as McCarthy notes, theres a little bit of a time delay. If you steam your milk first, you have to wait for the boiler to cool down so it doesnt burn your coffee. If you make your coffee first, you have to wait for it to heat up before you steam your milk. This machine goes up several inches in size, so youll want to make sure you have the space for it. $1,600 at Seattle Coffee Gear Buy Best espresso machine with built-in grinder and dual boiler Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Breville Oracle $2,200 $2,200 Components: Dual boiler, built-in grinder | Size: 14.5 x 14.7 x 17.6 If you really want an all-in-one machine meaning a dual boiler and a built-in grinder the Breville Oracle is the way to go, named specifically by Ramage and Cary Wong, a member of the Partners Coffee education team. It is, surprisingly, slightly smaller than the Dual Boiler, so if space is an important consideration (especially given that with the Dual Boiler, youll have to get an additional piece of equipment), it might be the perfect fit. Wong also says he wouldnt worry too much about getting a separate grinder: If youre a regular consumer, its really useful and convenient. $2,200 at Amazon Buy $2,200 at Williams Sonoma Buy Best high-end espresso machine Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. La Marzocco Linea Mini $6,300 $6,300 Components: Dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 6.7 x 5.6 x 4.0 Far and away, the espresso-maker the pros recommended to me most is the Linea Mini. This isnt too surprising, as its literally a commercial machine at home, says Wong. What he means is that its made of parts that go into La Marzoccos industry-standard cafe-grade machines only smaller. And unlike the Rancilio Silvia below, which is also built from super high-quality parts, the Linea Mini has that dual boiler Ive talked so much about, which really puts it over the top. Its also, we know, over the top in price, several thousand dollars more than the top-of-the-line Breville. In other words, its not so much for the casual (or even semi-casual) espresso drinkers among us. But it also would have been a glaring omission in the world of espresso to leave it off this list. Not only is it aesthetically beautiful, as Wong says, but its also quite customizable; youre able to choose the color of the feet, the style of the knobs, and more. There is no other machine that is as durable and that can consistently make perfect coffee shot after shot, says Morisson. La Marzocco recently released an even more compact model, the Linea Micra, which the brand calls a true home espresso machine. Its still expensive at a couple thousand dollars less than the Mini, but its build and functionality are very similar. The most notable differences, aside from the placement of certain buttons and indicators, are the smaller steam boiler and water reservoir; you have to fill the reservoir more often, but the appliance heats up faster. (If you want to directly compare the features and specs of all La Marzoccos offerings, take a look here.) If (for some reason) you want an even more professional setup than the Mini, you can buy La Marzoccos GS3 for an additional $2,000. Morrison explains the difference: Whereas the Linea Mini is more analog, the GS3 has a full-feature electronic interface that allows the user to fine-tune and program coffee brewing settings to their preferences. $6,300 at La Marzocca Buy Best less expensive high-end espresso machine Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine $995 $995 Components: No dual boiler, no built-in grinder | Size: 9.2 x 11.4 x 13.3 The Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine is markedly less expensive $3,035 less expensive, to be exact than even the Linea Micra. This is in large part due to the fact that it doesnt have a dual boiler, and that it doesnt deliver quite as sleek of a design with all those customizable parts. Indeed, its more difficult to operate: People who opt for a Rancilio Silivia are generally obsessive about technique (there are tricks you can learn and separate parts you can buy to better control temperature, which the machine doesnt do automatically, discussed at length on forums like Reddit). In short: Its for the real coffee nerds. While the machine has three clear settings (one for hot water, one to pull shots, and one to activate the steam wand), in giving it my own best go, there was certainly a learning curve. (I watched a few instructional videos like this one, and did a slightly deeper dive into temperature surfing, the method used to regulate degrees.) At first, my tries yielded espresso that was too dark and bitter but I finally got decent ones by applying the right amount of pressure to my tamping and getting the hang of temperature surfing. If thats who you are, it comes enthusiastically recommended by Wong, as well as Mody and James McCarthy, coffee educator, at Brooklyns Driftaway Coffee. Rancilio used to make commercial machines, Mody says. They created this one to send to their distributors and give away at trade fairs. But it ended up so popular that they decided to release it to the consumer market. And though I wouldnt necessarily recommend this machine for total newbies like myself (unless youre committed to learning a ton), there are some immediately noticeable appealing features. It has a flat tray at the top to store mugs and glasses, and the bottom plate is easy to slide off and clean thoroughly. Mody also says that while all espresso makers generate noise, this one is on the quieter side. And perhaps most notable of all, its shorter than any of the other electric machines on this list besides the best compact machine key if you have low cabinets. $995 at Amazon Buy Our experts Arielle Avila, Strategist writer Alex Crane, clothing designer Katherine Gillespie, Strategist writer Caroline Hurley, textile designer James McCarthy, coffee educator at Driftaway Coffee Jenna Milliner-Waddell, Strategist associate editor Suyog Mody, founder of Driftaway Coffee Jerad Morisson, co-founder and co-CEO of Sightglass Coffee Hugo Murray, co-founder of Butler Ken Nye, owner of Ninth Street Espresso Kyle Ramage, co-owner of Black & White Coffee Roasters Marco Suarez, co-owner of Methodical Coffee Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times movie critic Cary Wong, Partners Coffee education team get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best womens jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. 16 items in this article 12 items on sale! Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers In this article For women For men Welcome to Jeans Month on the Strategist, where were obsessively vetting denim from trying on every pair at the Gap to asking dozens of stylish people about their favorite fits. For more, head to our Jeans Month hub. Anyone who has shopped at a bigger-box brand knows it can be hard to figure out where to begin. There are dozens of options that all seem as worthy as the next, but the reality is that not all products from any given brand are created equal. When you shop as regularly as we do, you learn that many brands just do some things better than they do other things. Levis, with more than 400 styles of jeans alone (in nearly as many washes), is one of those brands its expansive inventory of denim, whether wide-leg, high-rise, or skinny-fit, must be carefully picked through to find the perfect pair. To make that task a little easier, weve sifted through our archives to put together a list of the Levis garments that celebrity stylists, denim experts, podcasters, plus-size models, stylish teens, and other cool people (including our writers and editors) have recommended on the Strategist. For women Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis Womens Plus-Size Wedgie Jeans $98 $98 The Plus-Size Wedgie Jeans are a favorite of model Felicity Hayward, who told us that they are unbeatable when it comes to style and quality. She describes the sizing in one word perfect and adds that the jeans can be paired with sneakers for a more casual look, or with some pointed stilettos to elongate those lovely legs. $98 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis Ribcage Ankle Jeans From $98 From $98 Levis Ribcage Ankle Jeans the Goldilocks of jeans, as we like to call them are beloved by New York deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff as well as by former Strategist editor Maxine Builder, who describes the rise as deliriously high, easily clearing my belly button, but promises that they dont feel uncomfortable when I sit. Swerdloff agrees, describing them as stiff without being too constricting and having just the right amount of flare. The jeans have appeared in just about every guide to womens jeans on our site as our favorite super-high-waisted pair. The jeans dont cut into your ribcage, as their name would suggest, clarifies Pardilla. Instead, they simply cinch you at the waist. Like the Wedgies, these are available in nearly a dozen colors and three different inseams, which means they are ideal for tall and short women alike. Content creator Amy Serrano, who is five feet tall, counts them as one of her favorite pairs, saying, This pair gives me legs for days because of the ultrahigh waist. It hugs what it needs to hug, and the rest of the leg is a nice relaxed straight fit. From $98 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis Baggy Dad Jeans From $108 From $108 Compared to the Wedgies or Ribcages, these jeans are wider at the leg and loose through the hips and thighs. Theres no stretch in them, but writer Jo Rosenthal, whos a fan of the style, says the jeans have that Levis worn-in feel from the beginning. Brand consultant Katie Stone, another fan, agrees: They feel like home to me, she says. I dont even consider having them on as wearing jeans; theyre in a different category of their own. Just note, of the three pairs she owns, she says the darker washes fit a bit tighter around the butt and hold their shape better than the lighter ones. From $108 at Levi's Buy From $108 at Free People Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 720 High-Rise Super-Skinny Jeans $70 $70 Even as their merits have been contested, I still think skinny jeans are worth having in your closet, says Pardilla. So, if youre looking for that one pair, try these. According to writer Diana McCorry, Levis 720 High Rise Super Skinny Jeans strike a very happy medium: They have enough stretch to avoid that nasty tummy compression but enough shape to create a great silhouette when you stand up. Theyre also good for those who often have problems with waist gaps, as McCorry finds these jeans to be only a little loose in the waist, but not quite enough to necessitate a belt. $70 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 501 Original Fit Womens Jeans From $98 From $98 This classic cut counts multiple fashionable people among its fans, including Queer Eye star Tan France, musicians Aly and AJ Michalka, and celebrity stylist Karla Welch (who has collaborated with Levis on capsule collections). Ive been wearing this style of Levis since I was 12 years old, when I stole a pair from my brother, which I still have, Welch told us, adding that, like many pairs on this list, these relaxed-fit jeans only get better with wear and age. France used to wear mens 501s but prefers these because they have a little bit of a higher waist I love a high waist and tapered fit. And Aly calls them just classic: the fit, the semi-high waist, the color. I probably own six or seven pairs. Its worth noting that you wont find any stretch here. In fact, Welch used to sit in a bathtub with the jeans on to get them to fit as a teen. Like any jeans that get better with time, theres only one solution: Wearing them and wearing them and wearing them and wearing them, she says. From $98 at Levi's Buy From $64 at Amazon Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 501 Original Shorts $49 $70 now 30% off $49 Former Strategist senior editor Casey Lewis owns the shorts version of Levis 501 Womens Jeans, naming them a great alternative to a full-length pair when working from home. Although I was tempted by the Ribcage and Wedgie fits, I ultimately went with the classic (and less constricting) 501s, says Lewis, who got hers in a size up so that theyd be extra comfy. (She also bought the longer knee-length version so she could further cut them herself.) Strategist contributor Maria Duenas-Jacobs, the founder of kids jewelry brand Super Smalls, has also recommended 501 shorts (though she prefers buying them vintage rather than new): Like jeans, I can never get enough. $49 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 90s Trucker Jacket $98 $98 Given how many times weve featured Levis in our jeans guides, its no surprise that it makes our favorite jean jacket, too. After just a few wears, it was obvious to me that the 90s Trucker Jacket is everything I want in a jean jacket: Its a mix of sturdy and slouchy with a mid-weight feel thats ideal for every season and its under $100, says Strategist junior writer Brenley Goertzen. That sturdy-yet-slouchy look comes from the jackets fabric composition 79 percent cotton and 21 percent Tencel a big difference from the more rigid 100 percent cotton pieces that you need to wear and wear and wear to stretch out. The blended fabric makes it super-wearable and gives it a nice lived-in feel, like a jean jacket you might have thrifted, Goertzen adds. $98 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis Original Sherpa Trucker Jacket $108 $108 Or for chillier days where you want something with a bit more warmth, this sherpa-lined denim jacket comes recommended by trend forecaster Melissa Moylan. She notes that it taps into the 90s-throwback looks that are currently popular, especially with teens. Were seeing oversize jean jackets trend in a big way, Moylan says. Levis ex-boyfriend style works in a relaxed silhouette with the addition of sherpa lining for winter. $108 at Levi's Buy $108 at Zappos Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis Western Bubble Puffer Vest $148 $148 It turns out that Levis makes a number of non-denim layers, too. We learned about this vest from Lexi Lunde, a Chicago-based content creator and personal stylist who says its the perfect top layer to pair with leggings, a sports bra, and a long-sleeve tee when walking along Lake Michigan in the fall. While she opted for the classic white option, the vest is also available in black and a rather springy lilac. $148 at Levi's Buy For men Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 501 Original-Fit Jeans $80 $80 While it might be a tie between the Wedgies and the Ribcages for women, theres no doubt that the 501s are the favorite Levis jeans among the guys weve talked to about jeans, garnering praise from denim experts, writers, podcasters, and Strategist columnist Chris Black alike. If were going to talk about jeans that every man should have in their closet, a pair of good-old Levis is a must, according to denim expert and writer Amy Leverton, who calls 501s the gold standard of mens denim. Former Strategist writer David Notis is also a fan, calling out the jeans strong hardware and 100 percent cotton material, which he says is non-stretch and therefore tends to hold its shape better as the jeans age. Jeremy Kirkland, the host of mens style podcast Blamo!, swears by 501s, too, because their high rise makes them easier to dress up. Ive always been a fan of higher-rise jeans versus the lower-rise pairs because I wear tailoring and sport coats, so it helps to wear something totally high, he says. $80 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 510 Skinny Fit Jeans $70 $70 Skinny but not skintight is how Netflix brand and editorial manager Alex Simons describes the fit of these jeans. He promises that theyre comfortable from the moment you put them on and that they have the perfect amount of pocket space. Simmons adds that he was a fancy-jeans guy for years, opting for pricier pairs from brands like Marc by Marc Jacobs until he tried these on and, as he puts it, never looked back. $70 at Levi's Buy Saved View New! You can now save this product for later. Levis 511 Slim-Fit Jeans $70 $70 The Levis 511 is to slim-fit jeans as the 501 is to straight-leg jeans: a standard-bearer. Menswear writer Tim Melideo told us that 511s are a staple in his wardrobe, and stylist Brandon Garr likes them, too especially their price, which he says allows him to be a little bit more daring in them because I dont have to worry as much about the replacement cost if they get a little roughed up. And chef Jacques Torres appreciates that these give a little bit, so if I gain a couple of pounds, I dont have to change my jeans. He compares bad jeans to bad knives: If you feel like your jeans are a prison and you dont feel good in them, then you should change your jeans. There is no reason to wear bad jeans, just like there is no reason to put up with a bad knife, he advises. $70 at Levi's Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Olympia Timber Company Fined for Employing Teen in Hazardous Logging Job Washington Timber Company Fined $115K for Child Labor Violations After Teen Injured. A Washington timber company has been fined nearly $115,000 for child labor violations after a 17-year-old worker was injured while working in a logging operation. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) issued the citation against MVR Timber Cutting Inc. following an investigation into the incident. The investigation began in May 2024 when L&I received a report of a workplace injury involving the teen, who fractured his foot while jumping between tree stumps. Upon learning that the minor was working as a member of the companys logging crew, L&I expanded its investigation. Logging is an incredibly high-injury industry, and teens under the age of 18 are strictly prohibited by federal and state regulations from working in logging occupations because of that danger, said Bryan Templeton, Employment Standards program manager at L&I. Violations Lead to Hefty Fines In January, L&I fined MVR Timber Cutting Inc. $56,000 for allowing the minor to work in logging operations 56 times. State regulations prohibit minors under 18 from working in jobs requiring more extensive personal protective equipment than boots, gloves, and safety glasses. Additionally, state law bans teens from working in hard hat zones, prompting L&I to issue an additional $56,000 fine for the 56 violations of that regulation. The company was also cited for violating state youth employment laws regarding work hours for minors, resulting in an additional $2,300 fine. The total penalties amounted to $114,300. MVR Timber Cutting Inc. has since appealed the citation. Protecting Young Workers According to L&I, the injured teen was employed as a choker setter, a position requiring him to wrap a thick cableknown as a chokeraround felled trees. The cable is then used to lift and transport the logs to a landing area. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting are among the most hazardous industries in Washington, consistently ranking in the top five for workplace injuries, according to L&I safety reports. Washingtons youth employment laws and rules are in place to make sure our youngest workers are safe, not overworked, and remain focused on their most important taskschoolwork, Templeton said. For more information on Washingtons workplace safety regulations and child labor laws, visit www.lni.wa.gov. Russian oil supply to the Czech Republic via the Druzhba pipeline was cut short on Tuesday due to sanction-linked payment issues between Czech refineries' Polish owner and Russian suppliers. According to CTK news agency, the disruption forced refiner Unipetrol to ask to tap state reserves, with the Czech government agreeing to release 330,000 metric tons of crude oil to the company. Middlemen who supply Russian oil have stopped offering cargoes after the latest U.S. sanctions imposed by the Biden administration targeting Russian producers, tankers and insurers, Bharat Petroleum CFO revealed in January. The sanctions targeted Surgutneftgas and Gazprom Neft, two Russian oil firms that handle 25% of Russian oil exports. The two companies shipped an average of 970,000 bbls a day in 2024. Bharat Petroleum and other Indian state refiners buy Russian oil in the spot market, mainly from traders. According to commodity analysts at Standard Chartered, the restrictions roughly triple the number of directly sanctioned Russian crude oil tankers, enough to affect around 900 thousand barrels per day (kb/d). Whereas its highly likely that Russia will try to circumvent the sanctions by employing even more shadow fleet tankers and ship-to-ship transfers, StanChart sees 500kb/d of displacements over the next six months. "We have not received any new offers for the March window (delivery). Traders are asking us to wait. We are waiting to get offers," Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told Reuters on Wednesday. "We are not expecting the similar number of cargoes that we used to get in the months of December and January," he added. Earlier, India announced that it will abide by the sanctions and turn away sanctioned tankers. Previously, we reported that the sanctions would severely disrupt Russian oil exports to India and China--the biggest buyers of Russian crude--and could also give Trump more leverage in future negotiations as he tries to end the war in Ukraine. Last year, India briefly overtook China as the largest buyer of Russian crude. However, India's import of Russian oil in November plummeted 55% Y/Y to its lowest point since June 2022. This could be the result of the country trying to diversify its oil supplies to avoid overlying on a single country. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com In an interview with The Epoch Times last Saturday, Richard Grenell, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, said that Donald Trump is committed to doing everything in his power to make the American people stronger and more prosperous. This unwavering focus on national interest is precisely the approach the US should take with Venezuelaputting its strategic priorities above the lobbying of foreign diplomats and local interest groups. For years, the Venezuelan government has been embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game with economic sanctions imposed by the White House. President Biden was credited with freezing sanctions on the nations energy sector in October 2023 under the Barbados Agreement, only to reimpose them in April the following year, bowing to hardline neoconservatives. Now, the Venezuelan government and its key officials remain heavily sanctioned by the US, alongside the state-owned oil and gas company, PDVSA. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) uses licenses and case-by-case exemptions to allow certain oil projects to proceed under strict conditions. These licenses, however, are not a free pass; they require private companies to take full control of crucial aspects of oil production, export, and revenue management. Related: Trumps Tariff To Hike Prices at the Pump for US Drivers: Gas Buddy A more pragmatic alternative would be to re-engage with Caracas on new terms, allowing oil to flow in exchange for hard currency that could be used to stabilize Venezuelas economy and, crucially, facilitate debt repayments. Years of trial and error show that economic sanctions have done little to achieve the desired political changes, while Venezuelans have suffered a humanitarian catastrophe. From an American financial perspective, US bondholders and creditors have paid a heavy price for Venezuelas exclusion from international capital markets. The countrys default on over $150 billion in debt has left US investors with significant losses while blocking much-needed capital that could support Venezuelas recovery. Yet rather than facilitating a solution, US sanctions have only deepened the deadlock. Restrictions prevent any direct financial engagement with the Maduro government, while Venezuelas isolation from global markets means it cannot leverage its vast oil wealth to meet its obligations. With limited exceptions, such as Chevrons narrowly licensed operations, investors remain shut out from traditional, regulated oil sales. This leaves bondholders with a bleak choice: endure costly and uncertain legal battles or attempt to seize assets. Meanwhile, preventing Venezuela from reintegrating into energy markets serves no real purpose. It undermines US strategic interestsnot least by hamstringing American businesses and consumers. As the Trump administration looks to realign Venezuela policy, the door is wide open for a major shift in strategyone that could turn the page on the current situation. Re-engagement through carefully managed foreign investment could both boost oil production and facilitate debt repayment to American creditors, providing a route to recover some of the losses. Failure to seize this opportunity would not only continue to harm US bondholders but could also play directly into the hands of antagonistic regimes like China, Russia, and Iran. These nations are already seeking to expand their influence in the Western Hemisphere, and Venezuela has been a key target for their ambitions. By putting American interests first, the US could not only help check adversaries but also alleviate the suffering of millions of Venezuelansa move that would, in turn, curb the economic migration crisis in the region. It's a win-win situation, where strategic self-interest also aligns with broader national security goals. The alternative would be watching Venezuela's cycle of dysfunction continue, with countries like China stepping in to fill the void. Back in November, US oil executives and bondholders were pressuring then-President-elect Donald Trump to part ways with the "maximum pressure" strategy aimed at removing Maduro, proposing a pragmatic deal instead. Early signs show that Trump is already seeking detente. At the beginning of February, Grenell negotiated the return of US prisoners held in Venezuela. This was followed soon after by a deportation agreement, announced by President Trump himself. Even as the White House shifts toward a realist foreign policy, US creditors are still waiting for repayment. The only viable path forward is to revive Venezuelas oil market, but the clock is ticking. This window of opportunity wont stay open for long. By Jose Chalhoub for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com While these untapped reserves offer a potential lifeline, they are seen as a bridge fuel to support Europe's transition to renewable energy sources. Europe is seeking to develop untapped gas reserves in regions like Cyprus, Romania, Norway, and Greece to enhance energy security and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Europes energy landscape is at a crossroads. Between the fallout from Russias invasion of Ukraine, and new uncertainty sparked by U.S. President Donald Trumps shifting alliances and barrage of tariffs, Europes reliance on fickle foreign energy suppliers is becoming a big problem. Russias gas exports shrank after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and now the United States, a key liquefied natural gas supplier, adds uncertainty. Under President Donald Trump, shifting alliances and a barrage of aggressive tariffs threaten the steady LNG imports Europe has leaned on since the war began. With renewables still years from dominance, natural gas remains a critical bridge fuel. Europes Largest Untapped Gas Fields Aphrodite (Cyprus) Reserves: 0.1 to 0.17 trillion cubic meters Located off Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aphrodite field emerged in 2011 under Chevron, Noble Energy, and Shell. Industry projections target first gas by 2027, but progress stalls amid challenges. Turkey contests Cyprus maritime claims, raising geopolitical risks, while deepwater extraction demands hefty investment. Cyprus envisions piping the gas to Egypt or developing a liquefied natural gas facility, yet funding and infrastructure gaps persist. For southern Europe, Aphrodite represents a vital supply option, provided it overcomes the delays. Neptun Deep (Romania) Reserves: 0.1 trillion cubic meters Romanias Neptun Deep lies in the Black Sea, encompassing the Domino and Pelican South blocks discovered in 2012 by OMV Petrom and ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil exited in 2022, leaving OMV Petrom and Romgaz aiming for production by 2027. Spurred by the Ukraine crisis, Romania sees this as a domestic and regional supply boost, but costs exceeding 4 billion euros and offshore logistics complicate the timeline. With Central Europe in its sights, Neptun Deep hinges on securing financing and regulatory green lights. Dvalin North (Norway) Reserves: 0.00561 to 0.0119 trillion cubic meters Norways Dvalin North, identified in 2021 by Wintershall Dea, sits in the Norwegian Sea with production slated for the late 2020s. Its smaller size benefits from Norways established energy framework, linking to the nearby Dvalin field to curb expenses. Arctic conditions and environmental mandates slow development, but Norways reliability as a supplier keeps it viable. Though modest, Dvalin North adds a dependable piece to Europes gas puzzle. Calypso (Cyprus) Reserves: 0.06 to 0.08 trillion cubic meters Also off Cyprus, Calypso surfaced in 2018 via Eni and TotalEnergies, with reserves still under appraisal. No production timeline exists as further drilling refines estimates. Like Aphrodite, it grapples with Turkeys objections and deepwater costs. Cyprus hopes to pair it with Aphrodite for scale, but investor caution prevails. If confirmed, Calypso could solidify the Mediterraneans role in Europes gas future. Kronos (Greece) Reserves: 0.03 to 0.05 trillion cubic meters Greeces Kronos, uncovered in 2022 by Energean in the Ionian Sea, marks an early-stage find. Exploration continues as Greece builds its offshore expertise. Its size and the nations renewable energy focus temper ambitions, with environmental oversight adding hurdles. Tying it to nearby infrastructure offers a path forward, but Kronos remains a long-term prospect signaling potential in an underexplored region. Honorable Mention: Groningens Idle Stockpile The Groningen field merits mention with 0.683 trillion cubic meters left untapped. Decades of production ceased in 2023 due to seismic risks, rendering it idle rather than undeveloped. Its story underscores Europes energy dilemmas, but this list focuses on truly untapped reserves. Untapped Gas as Europes Energy Lifeline Combined, Aphrodite, Neptun Deep, Dvalin North, Calypso, and Kronos hold 0.3 to 0.4 trillion cubic meters of untapped gas. That figure pales beside Groningens idle haul or Ukraines tapped 1.1 trillion cubic meters, yet it offers breathing room. These fields could power Europe through the renewable transition, with Aphrodite and Neptun Deepeach exceeding 0.1 trillion cubic metersnearing production by 2027. Dvalin North and Kronos provide smaller boosts, while Calypso awaits clarity. And while there are certainly challenges ahead, with Cyprus facing geopolitical friction, and Romania wrestling with costs, and environmental rules, integrated with efficiency and clean technology, this gas could displace dirtier fuels, easing Europe toward a sustainable horizon. Speed is criticaldelays only prolong the continents energy bind. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Three years ago, Russias President Vladimir Putin floated the idea of creating a European gas hub in Turkey shortly after three leaks were discovered in Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines designed to ship natural gas to Germany. Not surprisingly, Turkey expressed a willingness to play along, "It is the first time we heard of the issue of supplying Europe through alternate routes, mentioned by President Putin in his speech. Therefore, it is too early to make an assessment. These kinds of international projects need feasibility assessments...commercial aspects need to be discussed. These are things that need to be discussed, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said. Since then, Putins idea has gained considerable traction. Turkey is one of the worlds leading energy consumers--despite being poorly endowed in natural resources--depending on Russia and neighbors like Iraq and Iran to meet its energy needs. Quite naturally, this situation creates vulnerabilities for Turkey. To strengthen Ankaras hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has been trying to position Turkey as an energy hub, connecting natural gas producers to its east and south with markets to the west. The countrys strategic geographical position and infrastructure give it an advantage in this regard. Related: Crude Oil Inventories See Larger Than Expected Drop Last year, Turkey announced that it was prepared to significantly increase natural gas exports to the European Union, desperate to further wean itself off Russian gas. In order to do that, the most likely route is to re-export Azeri natural gas from Turkey. That, in turn, would require Turkey to take in more Russian gas to make up for the shortfall. Ankara is keen to play the role of savior and boost its leverage with respect to Brussels, but it wants some demand guarantees before it starts spending on the necessary infrastructure. The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, which forms part of the Southern Gas Corridor bringing Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is a strategic advantage for Turkey. The country is also home to five LNG terminals, seven gas pipelines, three floating storage units, and two underground storage facilities, as well as considerable excess import capacity that could be used for trading. In terms of reducing the amount of natural gas revenue for Moscows war coffers, then, its a wash. Money spent by the EU on Russian natural gas would simply be shifted to Turkey, but the revenue for Russia remains the same, more or less. Meanwhile, over the past couple of years, Europe has been trying to secure alternative gas supplies to replace Russian gas transiting through Ukraine. Russian gas stopped flowing to EU states via Ukraine after a five-year deal expired on January 1 2025, marking the end of a decades-long arrangement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that his country would not allow Russia to "earn additional billions on our blood", with a cross-section of leaders describing it as yet"another victory" against Moscow. The European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope. Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages. Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea. Azerbaijans natural gas sold to Turkey could be re-exported to Europe, possibly through Bulgaria, but not without effort and expense. In an interview with Bloomberg, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar pushed hard for a Bulgaria route, noting a potential for increasing volumes to the EU up to 10 billion cubic meters per year, while sending a clear message to Brussels: It wont happen without some demand guarantees. According to Bayraktar, the capacity to export via Bulgaria right now is only around 3.5 billion cubic meters a year. But from a technical point of view, Turkey is capable of boosting this interconnection. What we need is an increase in the capacity of the interconnection between Turkey and Bulgaria, which currently can only receive about half of the amount of seven billion cubic meters per year that, from a technical point of view, Turkey can provide it, Bayraktar told Bloomberg. Turkey and Bulgaria signed a deal in 2023 to permit Bulgarias state-owned Bulgargaz to import 1.85 billion cubic meters of gas per year-- good for ~60% of Bulgaria's annual demand--through the Strandzha-Malkoclar interconnection border point with Turkey. Bulgargaz has to pay a 2 billion service fee to Turkish gas firm Bota? over a 13-year period, regardless of whether it makes use of this capacity. The ball is now in Brussels court, and the clock is ticking on ways to replace gas transiting through Ukraine. According to Rystad Energy, Europe will need another 7.2 bcm annually of more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) to make up for this shortfall, and Ankara appears to hold all of the cards. Turkeys ambitions to become a leading energy hub in Europe also gathered momentum after the sudden collapse of the 54-year Assad dynasty in Syria. Turkish companies are well-placed to secure major contracts should Syria transform into a free market, with the cost of reconstruction estimated at $400 billion. Turkey could construct a gas pipeline to the west of Syria and connect to the Arab Gas Pipeline network (which links Syria, Jordan, and Egypt). This would help Turkey to offer regional gas producers such as Israel and Egypt a more commercially viable route to European markets compared to current LNG alternatives. By Alex Kimani fo Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Despite the positive signals, the Kremlin remains cautious about Ukraines negotiation offers due to a legal ban on negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin. European leaders, including President Macron, are considering a joint visit to Washington with Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Starmer to promote peace talks. President Trump stated that he received a letter from President Zelenskyy expressing Ukraines readiness to negotiate with Russia and proposed a deal on Ukraines mineral resources. European leaders jumped to renew a push for an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine after US President Donald Trump said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a letter stating he's ready for talks with Moscow while also offering to sign a deal on Ukraine's mineral resources "at any time." After a week of tumult that culminated with the United States announcing a suspension of military aid to Ukraine after a heated exchange between the two leaders, Trump told a joint session of Congress on March 4 that Zelenskyy sent him a letter expressing a willingness to come to the negotiating table. That glimmer of hope was all European leaders -- rattled by the disastrous and very public clash between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House last week -- needed to try to launch a new initiative to get peace talks back on track. A spokeswoman for the French government told reporters on March 5 that President Emmanuel Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington with Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, all three of whom were in the US capital last week. "Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,' he said," Trump quoted the letter as saying. That came after Zelenskyy said earlier in the day that "none of us wants an endless war," adding Ukraine was "ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring long-term peace closer." "My team and I are ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to achieve long-term peace," he added. The Kremlin called Zelenskyy's talk of peace negotiations "positive," though spokesman Dmitry Peskov tamped down the enthusiasm by adding that Ukraine has legally barred negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin through a decree the Ukrainian leader signed in 2022. "So, in general, the approach is positive, but the nuances have not yet changed," Peskov said. "For the time being, there's still a legal ban on the president of Ukraine negotiating with the Russian side." No Mention Of The Oval Office Disaster Trump's speech to Congress followed statements from White House officials that there would be a pause on all US military support for Ukraine in its battle to repel invading Russian forces and after the highly public argument in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy left the White House on February 28 following the dispute and the two did not sign the critical minerals agreement. During a press conference on March 3, Trump said he did not think the deal was dead. Trump did not mention his public spat with Zelenskyy last week in the Oval Office, flipping the narrative by saying: "We are getting along very well with them and lots of things are happening." In quoting Zelenskyy, Trump "signaled that he put the conversation in the White House on the sidelines," Mikhail Alexeev, a professor of political science at San Diego State University, told RFE/RL. "There was no call for Zelenskyy to resign. There was no talk about Ukraine being ungrateful." Trump has made ending the war a priority and flipped three years of US policy on its head by reaching out directly to Putin, whom his predecessor had isolated politically since the start of the war in February 2022. US-Ukraine Critical Minerals Deal Back In Focus Daniel Vajdich, president of Yorktown Solutions, which lobbies on behalf of Kyiv, said the agreement on minerals would be good for both Ukraine and the United States. "It gives the US concrete equities in Ukraine that should now be protected," said Vajdich. The fund created by the agreement will be an important mechanism for getting the US private sector to invest in Ukraines reconstruction, added Vajdich, a former adviser to several Republican presidential candidates. Trump had promoted the deal as a way to recoup the billions of dollars in US support since the war began and justify continuing the aid. Ukrainian political analyst Ihor Reiterovych said Trump's remarks appeared to suggest that the spat with Zelenskyy was over and both are ready to move on. "It is really very noteworthy that Trump did not say anything specifically about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine," Reiterovych told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "We hope that this issue will be resolved positively in the near future, perhaps not even days, but hours." 'The Longest Ever' Address To Congress The address was Trump's first to a joint session of Congress since taking office less than 50 days ago. The US president began his speech by saying "America is back" and touting his policies on immigration, crime, and the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk to cut government spending. Trump has pursued a "shock and awe" strategy since being inaugurated on January 20, announcing drastic changes to domestic and foreign policy, often using executive orders to bypass Congress, as he seeks to fulfill his campaign promises. Rebecca Gill, a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, told RFE/RL that the more than 100-minute address, the longest ever by a president to a joint session of Congress, was "typical Trump." "I don't think anybody would be surprised that it was pretty aggressive and combative," she said. By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com China is going to boost coal production and power generation despite plans to boost its wind and solar capacity as well, signaling hydrocarbons remain an essential source of reliable electricity. In a report released today and quoted by Reuters, the Chinese authorities also said they were going to change the pricing mechanism for electricity generated by wind and solar installations. The report comes out after the news broke that subsidies for wind and solar are going to be reduced. China will actively and prudently work towards peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, Reuters quoted the report as saying. China is the undisputed leader in the transition space, investing the most in wind and solar, along with EVs, and having the greatest generation capacity of the alternative sources of energy. Last year, solar capacity alone surged by 45%. Together with wind and hydropower, total low-carbon generation capacity reached 40% of the countrys total, the Chinese authorities reported last month. This meant that the country, which is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, has hit its 2030 low-carbon generation target six years early and just four months after said target was set. By adding about 277 GW of solar capacity and another 80 GW of wind capacity in 2024, China beat its own record of annual renewable capacity additions. Beijings central planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, also said last month it would reduce subsidies for wind and solar because costs had fallen considerably over the years and could now try and compete on the free market. At the same time, coal continues to be a big feature of the countrys energy mix and about to become an even bigger feature of it. Chinese coal production is forecast to increase by about 1.5% this year from 2024, for the ninth straight annual rise, which is happening despite the push for less coal use and more wind and solar. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Egypt is inviting international companies to bid for 13 offshore and onshore blocks in a new licensing round as it aims to boost domestic oil and gas production. Companies are invited to bid on six new exploration areas and seven undeveloped discoveries. The undeveloped discoveries are in the Mediterranean, while the six exploration areas include three offshore exploration blocks in the Gulf of Suez and three onshore exploration areas in Egypts Western Desert. The so-called Open Blocks Licensing Program (OBLP) will close on May 4, 2025. The new licensing bid round is part of the North African countrys strategy to attract more investments in its upstream industry and raise domestic oil and gas production. Foreign firms have recently expressed interest and raised production in Egypt, whose Mediterranean waters have become a major focus of exploration since the 2010s, when Italys Eni discovered the huge Zohr gas field offshore Egypt. This is the largest natural gas discovery in the Mediterranean to date, according to Eni. Last month, BP announced the start of production from the second development phase of the Raven gas field offshore Egypt, which involves the subsea tieback of additional Raven infill wells to its existing onshore infrastructure as part of the West Nile Delta (WND) project. The new wells in the second development phase are expected to produce about 220 billion cubic feet of gas and 7 million barrels of condensate, BP says. Investment firm Carlyle Group also plans to make significant investments in Egypts oil and gas industry to boost domestic production and turn Egypt into an energy hub in the Mediterranean. Last summer, executives from Carlyle met in Egypt with Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to discuss the investment firms plans for Egypt and the Mediterranean after Carlyle announced an acquisition of assets in the region. Carlyle bought a portfolio of gas-weighted exploration and production assets in Italy, Egypt, and Croatia from Energean plc, a London-based company focused on developing resources in the Mediterranean. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The worlds biggest sovereign wealth fund, Norways $1.8 trillion oil fund, has made its first investment in an external hedge fund with long-short strategies, amid changing and volatile markets, a top executive of the funds manager told the Financial Times. The fund, which is commonly referred to as Norways oil fund because it was created with oil and gas revenues, is a shareholder in many large companies in the world, including Big Oil. Government Pension Fund Global, as the Norwegian fund is officially known, was created in the 1990s and the government started transferring revenues from Norways oil and gas industry into the fund in 1996. Since then, the fund has invested in equities and fixed income globally, raising its value with the returns. The funds manager, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), invested in January in an external hedge fund that bets on the rise and fall of stock prices, Erik Hilde, global head of external strategies at NBIM, told the Financial Times. NBIM now plans to approve investments of around $250 million to other hedge funds, Hilde told FT, noting that the Norwegian fund is currently assessing long-short strategies in both Europe and the United States. The marketplace is changing, Hilde told FT. With many equity valuations looking overvalued, a long-only strategy may not be the best move in markets right now, some analysts say. The top management of Norways fund, which was worth $1.8 trillion (19.7 trillion Norwegian crowns) as of March 5, are not novices to hedge fund strategies. Chief executive Nicolai Tangen is a former hedge fund manager. Norways giant fund, which owns on average 1.5% of all listed companies globally, returned 13% last year. The fund achieved very good returns in 2024, as a result of a very strong stock market. The American technology stocks in particular performed very well, Tangen said last month. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Germany is exploring ways to prevent the resumption of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under an agreement between the US and Russia as part of the settlement of the war in Ukraine, Bild has reported. According to Bild, secret talks between representatives of Russia and the United States have been going on for several weeks about American investors buying the damaged pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Last year, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed the United States issued the order for the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Back in September 2022, a series of underwater explosions occurred on 3 of 4 pipes of the Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2) natural gas pipelines. Both pipelines were built by the Russian majority state-owned gas company, Gazprom, to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Lavrov made the comments when speaking to reporters during a visit to Azerbaijan on Monday, echoing Moscow's long-stated claims that the West was involved. "It is clear that to carry out such a terrorist attack, there was a command from the very top, as they say. The very top for the West is, of course, Washington," Lavrov told Izvestia newspaper in a video interview published on its Telegram channel. According to Lavrov, "attempts to blame everything on a group of drunken officers," were not serious. Back then, the Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine's top military commander at the time, Valery Zaluzhny, oversaw the plan to blow up the pipelines. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky approved of the plan, but tried to have it aborted after Washington warned him against it. Europes imports of Russian gas have declined from about 450 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) at the end of 2021 to about 150 mcm/d currently. However, commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have reported that the continent has made little progress in cutting any more Russian supplies in nearly two years despite calls from some nations to completely do away with Russian energy commodities even as the war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, Europes gas imports from Russia have climbed ~50% since Q1-2023. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com DTEK, Ukraines biggest private energy company, is holding talks with U.S. developers to bring more LNG to Europe, the firms chief executive Maxim Timchenko told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Wednesday. My great hope is that this year DTEK will announce several deals with foreign companies, Timchenko told the Journal. Europe should replace Russian gas, primarily with LNG, said the Ukrainian executive. DTEK, which also operates power plants in Ukraine, is working to restore facilities hit by Russia in the war and is talking to European and U.S. companies in the hope that it can attract them to invest in partnerships to boost renewable energy capacity in Ukraine, Timchenko told the Journal. At the end of last year, DTEK said that Ukraine had taken delivery of its first U.S. LNG cargo at a Greek terminal as Ukraine and Europe look to bolster their energy security by reducing their dependence on Russian gas. Working with Greek and other partners, the LNG was sent to be re-gasified and exchanged through the European Union and Ukrainian gas networks, the Ukrainian company said in December. The arrival of this LNG cargo is a clear signal of DTEKs determination to play its part in strengthening Ukraine and Europes energy security, Timchenko said at the time. DTEKs trading subsidiary signed in June a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with U.S. firm Venture Global for the supply of U.S. LNG to Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Currently, DTEKs top priority is to restore the damaged power stations in Ukraine, Timchenko told the Journal. The company also looks to build new power generation capacity in Ukraine and in the neighboring countries, EU member states Poland and Romania, the executive said. The expansion strategy is aimed at supporting Ukraines power system by exporting electricity back to Ukraine from DTEKs future plants in these countries. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Editor's note: This piece was first published Jan. 16, 2024. Invasion? Annexation? Statehood? Even before returning to office, President-elect Donald Trump has the nations eyes turned north, with his recent talk of buying Greenland. But the vast snow-covered island off Canadas northeast coastline has long held the attention of at least some Americans: the military strategists at the Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command, whose job is to protect the United States and its allies from nuclear Armageddon. For nearly 70 years, theyve relied on electronic sensors spread out across Greenlands northern reaches (as well as Canada's and Alaska's) to detect bombers or, later, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, headed this way from Russia. Greenland is historically important to the United States, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, an arms-control group. It became very important because of the radars and the long-range bombers. That importance has only grown in recent years. China has shown keen interest in the rare-earth minerals beneath Greenlands ice-topped soil as has the U.S. And the shrinking polar ice cap has opened the prospect of increased commerce through the Arctic Ocean, which is enticing to all the leading powers. The Arctic is becoming more of a contested area, said Tyler White, director of the National Security Project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Greenland and Alaska give us that presence in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific. StratCom officials declined to comment about Greenland's role in its nuclear deterrence mission. But the island's importance is perhaps illustrated by the fact Denmark of which Greenland is an autonomous territory is one of just a handful of allies with military liaison officers assigned to StratCom headquarters. In the bowels of StratCom, we have our allies and partners there for consultation, coordination and cooperation, White said. Part of our national security strategy is leveraging these relationships. Denmark to U.S.: Nope, not for sale Despite the extreme winter climate, Inuit settlement in Greenland dates back more than 4,000 years. The Norse adventurer Erik the Red led the first permanent European settlement in 982. The kingdom of Denmark and Norway ruled the colony until 1814, when Denmark assumed sovereignty. The forbidding climate has discouraged outsiders from settling there. Even today, the population is less than 57,000, about 90% of Inuit heritage. The territory is so insanely huge and not very friendly, Kristensen said. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward tried unsuccessfully to buy Greenland from Denmark though that same year he did purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, equal to more than $130 million today. It proved to be a bargain, although at the time critics jeered at what they called Sewards Folly. After Germany invaded Denmark in 1940, the United States occupied Greenland with the consent of Denmarks prewar government for the duration of World War II to keep it out of Nazi hands. It became an important hub for U.S. planes and ships en route to the European theater, said Kristensen, a native of Denmark. Following the Allied victory, Denmark turned down President Harry Trumans offer to buy the island for $100 million and initially tried to take over or remove U.S. military facilities there. Omaha's Kiewit builds a base But those efforts turned to cooperation after Denmark joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Two years later, Omahas Kiewit Corporation won a contract from the Army Corps of Engineers to build Thule Air Base in northwestern Greenland for the Strategic Air Command, StratComs Cold War-era predecessor. Kiewit sent 5,000 workers and more than 300,000 tons of cargo on 120 ships to the remote outpost in summer 1951. They built the spartan base in three months, with enhancements added over the following two years. Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle (and just 2,300 miles from Moscow), Thule became a critical refueling and supply base for strategic bombers in case of a Soviet nuclear attack. At its peak, about 10,000 military personnel were assigned there. During the Cold War years, the U.S. also built four Distant Early Warning radar-tracking sites and installed four Nike anti-aircraft missile batteries. A secret effort to install nuclear missile silos in the 1960s failed because of constant movement in Greenlands icecap. In January 1968, one of SACs nuclear-armed B-52s crashed on the sea ice near Thule after catching fire in-flight. Six of seven crew members ejected safely, but the crash spread radioactive debris over a wide area. The flaming wreckage (including four nuclear bombs) melted the ice and sank to the bottom of the bay, forcing a long and difficult clean-up during the harsh Arctic winter. The crash led to the end of the Chrome Dome missions, which had kept nuclear-armed bombers on constant airborne alert over Europe and North America including one perpetually on station near Thule, in violation of agreements to keep nuclear weapons out of Greenland. The base is no longer needed for strategic bombing missions, but the modern era of space surveillance has given it a new purpose. Now renamed Pituffik Space Force Base, it is home to a unit that monitors the satellites in polar orbit assigned to warn of missile launches from the direction of Russia or China. Thats why the base is still a really important place today, Kristensen said. Greenland itself has changed during the years of the U.S. presence. Denmark has granted the island greater autonomy. Its control today is primarily limited to trade policy and military defense. Return of 'Manifest Destiny?' U.S. policy toward Greenland might have stayed in the shadows had Trump not mused about buying the island in 2019, during his first term. In the United States, the idea was dismissed as bizarre and impractical, particularly after authorities in both Greenland and Denmark insisted the territory was not for sale. Still, Trump sent then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on a mission to Greenland in 2019, and the following year a U.S. consulate was opened in the capital, Nuuk. Reelected in November, Trump again raised the idea of acquiring Greenland, as well as Canada and the Panama Canal pointedly refusing to rule out economic coercion or military force to get his way. His son, Donald Trump Jr., and a political ally, Charlie Kirk, grabbed attention with a brief visit to Nuuk this month in Trumps personal jet. In a subsequent podcast, Kirk said adding the Arctic territory would give America back its swagger. It is the resurrection of masculine American energy. It is the return of Manifest Destiny, Kirk said. It makes America dream again. White, the UNL professor, sees the rhetoric as Trump acting like the deal-making real estate mogul of his popular image. This is idiosyncratic Trump. He wants to acquire things, White said. But Danes and Greenlanders have again made it clear, the islanders have no interest in becoming a U.S. possession. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV. Greenlands prime minister, Mute Egede, has been cautious in his public comments, stressing he is open to talks with the United States. We have to be very smart on how we act, he said, according to the New York Times. The power struggles between the superpowers are rising and are now knocking on our door. Last week, freshman Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., a Trump ally, introduced a bill he is calling Make Greenland Great Again that would authorize the president to negotiate for its acquisition. The bill quickly gained 10 co-sponsors. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, isnt one of them. He agrees Greenland is strategically important, but hes wary of making threats to allies. He compared it to Russian President Vladimir Putins rhetoric before seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. I want to make sure were being respectful to the governments of Greenland and Denmark, Bacon said. I dont like to talk like were bullying them. Theyre allies. We should treat them that way. White believes the decades-long relationships there has given the U.S. the power to check Russian and Chinese influence in Greenland without barging in like a conqueror. Why buy it, or threaten to take it? Greenland has been a pretty good partner, he said. Through the normal course of business, we can dramatically increase our presence. This article includes material from the Associated Press. Nearly a year after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced plans to eliminate the states waiting list for individuals seeking intellectual and developmental disability services, state officials say they have whittled the list by nearly two thirds. The state, Pillen said last March, was taking a new approach to reimagine how services are offered to individuals with IDD in Nebraska and save taxpayer dollars. As of mid-February, the number of individuals on the list stood at about 940, down from just more than 2,700 at the time the governor made his announcement, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Recently, Tony Green, NDHHS developmental disabilities director, said the agency now expects to eliminate the list by July, three months ahead of schedule. That, he said, would mean everyone on the list had been offered some type of specialized support through what are known as Medicaid waiver programs. The waivers allow states to use federal Medicaid funds for home- and community-based services that allow people with developmental disabilities to live in and participate in their communities, rather than in institutions. Access concerns remain But while families, providers and advocates say the state is making progress, the transition has raised ongoing concerns that some might lose services or not be able to access them when they need them, particularly as the state seeks to adopt a new tool for assessing needs. Adding to their unease are discussions of budget cuts in Congress, which raise the specter of cuts to Medicaid. Nebraska also is party to a lawsuit that developmental disabilities advocates say could limit disability rights and protections. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, however, has said he would reevaluate the states involvement in the suit if legal protections or funding become threatened. But Green said the intent of the states new approach is to provide people on the list with some services when they need them, rather than keeping them on a list with none until their turn comes to receive an offer, which typically has taken up to eight years. Under the previous system, he said, families with a member eligible for services signed up and waited for whats known as a comprehensive waiver, the most extensive and expensive package available, one that came with some out-of-home residential services. But some families on the list dont need that that level of services right away, he said. Knowing of the extended wait, some added their names because they might need it later, such as when they or their child aged. So the state in March 2024 launched a new family support waiver, which is seen as key to the new approach and to ending the waiting list. It provides up to $10,000 a year worth of at-home services to up to 850 children ages birth to 21 who are still living at home. The services can include such things as specialized child care, independent living skills, respite care and home and vehicle modifications. As of Jan. 31, the state made a total of 1,929 waiver offers since last March. Most more than 1,400 were family support waivers, according to the agencys website. Some 639 families had accepted, 479 had declined and 312 were pending. The agency offered 443 adult day waivers, another type of waiver, and 56 comprehensive ones. The state also expanded a program that allows children whose families earn more than a pre-set income limit to access Medicaid for medical care. Eighty-seven families had accepted by late January. When we get done and then ongoing, what we will have created now is a whole continuum of care for folks in Nebraska with developmental disabilities, Green said. Weve eliminated the fear of families of, when can I get support. Youre going to get support right away. And weve really built ... an array of services and waivers that will grow with you as your needs grow. The bottom line is, weve made a pretty bold statement to just say, Folks who are determined eligible for developmental disabilities services dont have to wait for support. New estimates see end to wait list Using the new approach, DHHS officials now estimate they can eliminate the waiting list with only $18 million in state funds and $26 million in federal dollars. Their budget estimate allows for 2% increases each year to boost provider rates, according to the agencys website. Meanwhile, however, the state currently is only offering the comprehensive waiver to people identified as having an emergency need, namely, becoming homeless, losing a caregiver to death or posing a risk to themselves. Some who had spent years on the list have not been offered the waiver. Edison McDonald, executive director for the Arc of Nebraska, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said the state has made progress in addressing needs in recent years. The organization proposed the family support waiver, which was championed by State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha. The family support waivers are huge, he said. Thats a big piece of it. But the organization is concerned because members dont know whether people who get access to Medicaid also will get access to long-term supports and services, he said. Agency officials, he said, have repeatedly pledged that people who are receiving services wont lose them. But that will depend on the formulas behind the new assessment tool. Our fear is its going to say people dont need as large a budget as they have, which could end up kicking them out of services or to lower-tier supports, he said. The organization, he noted, is seeing a number families being encouraged to accept lower levels of support. That comes at a time when the state faces a shortage of providers to deliver those services. New assessment starts in July But Green said that under the previous system, those on the waiting list automatically received a comprehensive waiver when their turn came. That led to some people being overserved, namely, living in a 24-hour residential setting when they may have the skills to be more independent, such as living in an apartment or apartment with roommates with intermittent support. In fact, 24% of the offers the state has made to people on the list through January have been declined, which he said demonstrated that they had only gotten on it because of the long wait. The new needs assessment, which the state expects to implement in July, will drive when people need increased services, he said. People will still be able to get the comprehensive waiver and access the residential services they need. It will just be based on a needs assessment as opposed to, I choose it because its there, he said. The new tool, he said, is more reliable and nationally validated, and is being tested against the states existing assessment tool. A team of state staff trained in the new assessment are conducting both the old and new assessments side by side and submitting both to a contractor. The contractors are making sure, as the state develops algorithms for the new method, that they still have the same number of eligible clients and that we dont unintentionally cause any harm. As of late January, about 700 clients had gone through the pilot program for the new tool, with some still to be completed. The new tool is included with proposed wavier amendments, which would have to be approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The new assessment already is in use in the DHHSs programs for the aged. Assessments will be done once a year, he said, but it will be available any time upon request if a team the client, family members, providers and state service coordinators feel the clients needs have changed and arent reflected in their service plan. The agency also has an appeals process. Alana Schriver, a parent and executive director of the Nebraska Association of Service Providers, said the new tool is better than the one the state is currently using, as long as the people administering it are properly qualified. She also noted that intermittent services are the hardest to staff for a number of reasons, including that many people seek help for evening and weekend hours. But Kim Bainbridge, an Omaha mother, said she worries about the annual new assessment because she doesnt know the metrics behind it or how it will be applied. Her 35-year-old son, who shares an apartment with a friend and has workers come in to help him, sometimes oversells his abilities, she said. He may say he can feed himself, for instance, but he doesnt have the dexterity to cut up meat by himself. Meanwhile, more measures advocates say would help to improve the continuum of care are pending in the Nebraska Legislature. Legislative Bill 239, sponsored by Cavanaugh and scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, would require the DHHS to publish the assessment formula on its website and make it subject to approval by a stakeholder group. It also would specify that it cant decrease an individuals budget for services to the point that they are removed from a setting. Also scheduled for a hearing Wednesday is LB 268, introduced by Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue, which would address staffing concerns. It would require the DHHS to increase reimbursement rates paid to providers of developmental disabilities services to 150% of the states minimum wage. Im choosing optimism, Schriver said. Theres a lot of good in this plan, theres a lot of good intentions in this plan. And when we run into issues, I hope we can work in partnership to iron them out. The Democrats have always been better at utilizing the power of government to advance or delay change in policy. The United States Constitution suggests that policy is set by the Congress in the form of legislation and budgeting. But no one has bothered with the constitutional imperatives since Congress began utilizing broad generalities in setting goals for various areas of policy environmental policy, trade policy, immigration policy, etc. In most instances, such policy matters are kicked over to the Executive Branch to develop the particulars necessary to fulfill the general policy statements. So bad has it become that the general policy as defined by Congress amounts to go forth and do good and avoid evil and never mind that we will ever check up on you. The Democrats recognized the power in that method of lawmaking shifting the details from Congress to the bureaucrats. That power was then institutionalized when the Supreme Court of the United Sates (SCOTUS) decided in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council* to defer interpretation of congressional legislation to the bureaucrats. It was that concept that laid the foundation for former President Barack Obama deciding to bypass Congress on policy matters when he issued his infamous: I have a pen and a phone after receiving several setbacks on his legislative agenda and announcing that we would proceed by Executive Order knowing full well that the then-constituted Supreme Court would defer to his interpretative authority. I have to say that I have never understood the reference to a phone since Mr. Obama was notorious for failing to consult with anyone.) The Republicans railed against the concept but, as usual, did nothing to return power to Congress particularly by doing the hard work of providing detail or recognizable boundaries to their legislative acts. And that did not go unrecognized at the state level particularly in those states where the governor had the power to appoint when vacancies occurred in state judicial system. In fact, in Oregon, the Democrats who have controlled the governors office for over three decades raised the wholly undemocratic process to an art form where all of the current appellate judges and most all of the trial judges are appointed by the governor and who dutifully resign before their terms are up so as to allow the Democrat governor to appoint their successors. For those of you engaged in normal litigation involving only private parties you are unlikely to notice the difference but when it comes to challenges against the government or government policy, rest assured that the heavy thumb of liberal/progressives will weight on the scales of justice. So it is not strange to see that President Donald Trump is using one executive order after another to alter the way we are governed. It is also not strange to see the plethora of lawsuits mostly originated in jurisdictions where appointees of Mr. Obama and now-disgraced former President Joe Biden preside are being used in an attempt to substitute executive policy with judicial policy. There are currently over one hundred lawsuits filed by Democrat controlled state and local governments seeking to overturn Mr. Trumps initiatives everything from executive appointments, to staff changes, to the color of his tie from day to day. But as we say, this isnt your daddys judicial system. The Democrats are losing these cases as fast at they can find another friendly jurisdiction to try it from another angle. But eventually, one or more of these cases will wend its way to the SCOTUS and, like in the decisions in the Dobbs, Loper, Relentless and Collins v. Yellen, the Democrats will be deeply disappointed in the results. But the Democrats dont necessarily commence such litigation with an eye to winning the substantive issues. Often times they recognize that delay is their friend and if they can keep Mr. Trump or other conservatives from implementing their policies long enough that time will run out on the implementation. It is a trick they learned from the environmental wing of their party litigation involving such things as timber harvest, mining, drilling, use of public lands, etc. can cause such economic imbalance that it is pointless to pursue. A prime example is when the environmental movement or the government at the behest of the environmental movement stopped the harvesting of trees killed in Oregons massive forest fires for long enough usually two years that the beetles and bugs so invest the timber so as to render it useless. They didnt need to win they just needed to delay. Those Democrats do know how to use power and they gladly shift resources amongst the bureaucrats, the courts and to a lesser degree the legislative process you know because democracy is such a messy thing and they might just lose on a particular issue. Cleaning the swamp is going to take a long time and a lot of perseverance. ________________________________________ *Chevron has recently been overturned by SCOTUS in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. The courts are now unburdened by this deference to the bureaucrats and can make their own determinations based on the arguments presented by all sides. By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com SB 820 and SB 821 would lower the rules and delay processing the threat classification for 18,000 Oregon sex offenders. Right now there is a massive backlog of sex offenders and the Parole Board cant handle all the requests to process them. Governor Koteks solution is SB 820 and SB 821 which would delay the process of processing/identifying sex offenders and also lower the bar for qualifies as a registered sex offender. There is a hearing on SB 820 and SB 821 in the Senate Committee On Judiciary this Thursday at 3:00 PM, HR E SB 820 summary, Provides that the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision is required to classify sex offender registrants convicted before January 1, 2014, into a risk level only in specified circumstances. SB 821 summary, The Act takes away the deadline for the parole board to assess some sex offenders into a risk level. The Act also repeals the sunset on the law that makes the board report to the legislature on risk level assessments every two years. KATU-TV explains the story behind these bills, The proposed bill Senate Bill 821 removes a 2026 deadline to classify all sex offenders and is one of two pieces of legislation aimed at clearing a years-long backlog of unclassified sex offenders. The backlog is tied to a 2013 requirement from the legislature for the Oregon Board of Parole & Post-Prison Supervision to classify every sex offender in the state with a new risk assessment. For reference, of the roughly 33,000 registered sex offenders in Oregon, about 18,000 are unclassified as of January 2025. In other words, the state does not know their risk to re-offend. The other piece of legislation Senate Bill 820 aims to reduce the number of people who need to be classified by the end of 2026 if they have a conviction before 2014; the deadline would apply only to people with two or more sex crime conviction dates, those getting out of prison, or people 35 or under at the beginning of 2026. The boards executive director said it allows them to focus resources on higher-risk offenders. Republican State Sen. Cedric Hayden told KATU the proposals make Oregon a sanctuary state for sex offenders. The Taxpayers Association of Oregon created this graphic to show the trend of Oregon helping criminals while making life worse for crime victims. Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). HB 3012 would let minors vote on their schools through school board elections By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com This week there was a hearing on HB 3012 which allows 16 and 17 year-olds vote on school board elections. HB 3012 summary; Permits an individual who is 16 or 17 years of age and registered to vote to cast a ballot in school district elections. Online testimony showed: 124 Opposed 95 Support HB 3012 was sponsored by Representative NERON; Representatives CHAICHI, GRAYBER, SOSA, TRAN, Senators CAMPOS,PHAM K, SOLLMAN (at the request of Next Up Action Fund, Next Up, Unite Oregon, Unite Oregon Action) Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). BLOOMINGTON Housing, taxation and budgeting were some of the topics mayoral candidates in Bloomington and Normal were challenged to address during a candidate forum and open house hosted by WGLT. Bloomington Ward 6 Alderman Cody Hendricks, former Illinois state Rep. Dan Brady and Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe met Tuesday evening at the Brown Ballroom of Illinois State University's Bone Student Center to answer submitted questions. Each candidate was typically given 90 seconds to respond with a 60-second opportunity to expand upon their response. Once the Bloomington candidates finished, Normal Town Council members Kathleen Lorenz and Chemberly Harris and Mayor Chris Koos took the stage. Meanwhile, candidates for Bloomington City Council, Normal Town Council, Normal Township and the McLean County Unit 5, Bloomington District 87 and the Heartland Community College boards set up tables in adjacent ballroom space to promote their campaigns. Bloomington mayor Heading into the 2026 fiscal year, Bloomington could be operating with a budget that is $21 million less than fiscal 2025. Estimates also show the city could be operating with a $6 million deficit by fiscal 2027. Therefore, each candidate was asked about the financial status of the city after establishing a flat property tax levy for three years in a row while costs continue to climb. Hendricks said he was the one who made the motion to maintain a flat property tax levy last year. I did not think that we as a community, from what I heard from constituents, were in the right economic state at home to increase that levy overall, Hendricks said. It is obviously going to present some challenges to us, but in my opinion, I think we have money available to some extent, within reserves, and I do think that there are areas that we can look for efficiencies. He added that reviewing city positions through attrition rather than layoffs is a healthy step toward identifying cost savings. Brady said the city is going feel the effects next year of the current fiscal year's $332 million budget, its largest spending plan to date. Although the priorities of most residents will be things like infrastructure, the city first needs to tighten its belt and set priorities on the kinds of services it should offer. This could mean bringing together certain agencies. You're not going to be able to have that money directed to those areas (like infrastructure) if it's in layers of bureaucracy, Brady said. Mwilambwe, meanwhile, said the city has sustained economic growth for the last two years, but not being able to reap revenue from it through property taxes has hurt the city. Residents also expect a high level of service from us, so I think it is important for us to be able to capture some of that growth in a way that is balanced, Mwilambwe said. One area that could have benefitted from such revenue was police and fire services, he said. As first responders take longer to respond to calls, the city will have to make some difficult choices to support them, he added. Candidates were also asked about the lengths they would go to stimulate new construction that would encourage people with jobs in Bloomington to live in the city. Mwilambwe said the city is working on a number of different resolutions to introduce standardized incentive packages, address zoning issues and establish collaboration between other governments and nonprofits. According to an incentive plan presented in January, projects located within both a tax increment financing district and an enterprise zone would be eligible for a refund of up to 75% of the property taxes collected from the TIF district. The city could also waive 50-100% of city fees and waive sales taxes on all construction materials. Mwilambwe said he expects these incentives to come up for a vote within the next couple of City Council meetings. Hendricks said he would like to focus on zoning code reviews of parking minimums, lot sizes, height requirements and other variables. However, the council has not been taking quick, decisive action on housing. This is a crisis, Hendricks said. I think we need to treat it as a crisis, and I think we need to be taking much quicker action. Brady said there are about 4,000 homes needed in the community, but there are many things that can be done. However, delays in votes for things like automatic zoning classifications for annexed property can discourage a builder or a developer. When asked what percentage of fees theyd like to see waived on an $11 million housing project, Mwilambwe said he thinks the city should start at 50%; Hendricks said he would strongly support a 100% fee waiver; and Brady said he would like to see a large percentage of waivers but only after consulting with the very people affected by the construction. Normal mayor One of the first questions posed to Normals mayoral candidates was whether there was a time they voted for something considered unpopular because they felt that it was the right thing to do. Lorenz pointed to her vote in September not to impose a local grocery sales tax to replace the one the state ended. At the time of the vote, Lorenz said it was becoming more and more expensive to live in Normal. And with a growing tent encampment and a growing number of households that cant afford basic needs, Lorenz asked what made Normal so special to demand more revenue. The grocery tax was ultimately adopted by a 4-3 vote. Lorenz said Tuesday she didnt buy into the argument that the loss of the grocery tax would put the town in a position to need a bigger tax down the road. Instead, she voted on behalf of residents and families who had trouble putting food on their tables. Koos said there are tough votes out there, but it is important to pay attention to your constituents. Youre never going to be in a position that you can please every person every time you take a vote, Koos said. You have to understand that so you go with your convictions of what you stood on as your platform when you got elected. Specifically, Koos pointed to the Childrens Discovery Museum and other uptown businesses that residents didnt agree with at first but eventually came to accept as beneficial. When the Town Council first voted to allow cannabis businesses, Harris said she was the first member to vote in favor. And it wasnt about legislating morality, Harris said. It was looking at the facts of what was being asked of us to do and voting accordingly on that. Bloomington City Council Ward 1 Alderman Jenna Kearns is facing a challenge by Benjamin Zimmerman, who said some of the main issues in the ward are street disrepair, drainage problems and the ongoing foul taste and odor of the citys drinking water. I think we that need to take care of the water long before later in 2025, (which) is what the message has been, Zimmerman said speaking to a reporter during the open house. We need to address that issue as soon as possible, (and) simple carbon filtration would go a long way for the aesthetic issues theyre calling with water. He said to reduce spending, the city should look to some of the consultants it uses at a national level. Two years ago, the city adopted a $270,000 lobbying agreement with Thorn Run Partners, a Washington D.C.-based firm, to advocate for federal funding. We have our own people to do that work, Zimmerman said. Kearns said one of the biggest priorities should be fixing the water and service lines containing lead in Ward 1. Currently, there are areas of town that are being prioritized and lines are being replaced along with the pavement above them, she added. When it comes to addressing the citys budget, Kearns said there are some short-term steps such as delaying certain vehicle purchases that could aid in negotiations, but staff should be careful not to delay any public safety measures. I think its going to be very strategic to try to figure out how to make that budget work, but I really think that I have high regard for and I believe in our staff, Kearns said. They have the understanding and the expertise to figure out how to get us there. In Ward 9, Abby Scott and Roger Bedeker are vying for the seat being vacated by Alderman Tom Crumpler. Bedeker said sidewalks and lights are some of the biggest issues hes heard from his constituents, but the city as a whole needs to focus on safety, infrastructure, having a pro-business climate and responsibly spending tax dollars. I think if we default to raising taxes as the answer, I think thats a slippery slope, Bedeker said. When it comes to housing, Bedeker added that he doesnt think anything can be ruled out, whether its infill development or the redevelopment of existing property. Scott said infill development rather than expanding on the city's edges makes more sense in Ward 9 because there tends to be more new houses instead of blighted property. Long term, Scott said the city needs to expand housing and business. But in the short term, staff and the council should have an understanding of every single function within the city. There should be no one that we dont know what it is they do and why, Scott said. Normal Township McLean County Board member Krystle Able is running for Normal Township supervisor against candidate Chad Berck to succeed Jess Ray, who chose not to run again. Able said the township has functioned really well under Democratic leadership over the last eight years and she would love to continue that legacy. However, the townships decennial report released last year identified a number of things that need prioritization. For one, Able said township employees are still paid by paper checks. We dont even have direct deposit, Able said. She also said the township should also prepare for upcoming capital improvements, including the replacement of the roof at the Normal Activity and Recreation Center in the next 10 years. Berck said the three biggest responsibilities of the township are its roads, the operation of the senior center and the oversight of its financial assistance programs. The townships general assistance program provides up to $425 in monthly financial assistance grants to those who may not have adequate income or resources to cover their basic needs. Those who dont qualify for this may apply for the townships emergency assistance program. Were just a small rung on the ladder, but were the closest government to the people, and to me, I think its awesome because its a vital part, Berck said. He added that it will be important to practice fiscal responsibility so these services can expand as much as possible. We want to take care of as many people in these situations as we can, Berck said. Able said she would like to see a greater push to promote these programs, which could be accomplished through social media. We do have a social media page for the senior center that staff runs, but I would really like to implement more aggressive social media and marketing of township in general, so that people understand, for one, what township does, Able said. " " Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Manuel Breva Colmeiro / Getty Images Easter is one of the most significant holidays in the Christian calendar, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ and affirming the promise of eternal life. As Christians celebrate Easter, they reflect on Christ's triumph over death and sin, a central message of the Christian gospel that has shaped faith for centuries. As such, the spiritual meaning of Easter may hold even more value to Christians than that of Christmas. Advertisement Beyond its Christian meaning, Easter is also a time of joy and renewal, coinciding with the arrival of spring in many parts of the world. It symbolizes new beginnings, a powerful metaphor for the story of Jesus Christ's resurrection and the hope it brought his followers. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Ancient frog relatives survived the aftermath of the largest mass extinction of species by feeding on freshwater prey that evaded terrestrial predators, University of Bristol academics have found. In the study, "The ecology and geography of temnospondyl recovery after the PermianTriassic mass extinction" published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, their findings suggest the amphibians' success lay in their generalist feeding ecology, enabling them to feed on a wide variety of prey despite the array of environmental changes happening all around them throughout the Triassic. Broader examination of Triassic ecosystems also indicates that the freshwater habitats they preferred provided them with a relatively stable variety of food resources, allowing them to thrive while strictly terrestrial predators made do with meager, unstable resource availability on land. The end-Permian mass extinction event, 252 million years ago, was the largest ever, marked by the loss of as many as 90% of species. A key line of research has been to focus on the survivors and their fate in the Triassic, the timespan that followed the Permian. "One of the great mysteries has been the survival and flourishing of a major group of amphibians called the temnospondyls," explained lead author Aamir Mehmood from Bristol's School of Biological Sciences. "These were predatory animals that fed on fishes and other prey, but were primarily linked to the water, just like modern amphibians such as frogs and salamanders. We know that climates then were hot, and especially so after the extinction event. How could these water-loving animals have been so successful?" The Early Triassic was a time of repeated volcanic activity, leading to long phases of global warming, aridification, reductions in atmospheric oxygen, acid rain and widespread wildfires, creating conditions so hostile that the tropics became devoid of animal life. This 'tropical dead zone' drastically impacted the distribution of both marine and terrestrial organisms. Co-author Dr. Suresh Singh said, "We collected data on 100 temnospondyls that lived throughout the Triassic and wanted to look at how their ecologies changed. "We measured their body sizes and features of the skulls and teeth that tell us about function." "Much to our surprise, we found that they did not change much through the crisis," said co-author Dr. Armin Elsler. "The temnospondyls showed the same range of body sizes as in the Permian, some of them small and feeding on insects, and others larger. These larger forms included long-snouted animals that trapped fishes and broad-snouted generalist feeders. "What was unusual, though, was how their diversity of body sizes and functional variety expanded about 5 million years after the crisis and then dropped back." Due to the intense global warming of the first five million years of the Triassic, there is evidence that life on land and in the sea moved away from the tropics to avoid the heat. Professor Mike Benton explained, "Our work shows that the temnospondyls, unexpectedly, were able to cross the tropical dead zone. "Fossils are known from South Africa and Australia in the south, as well as North America, Europe and Russia in the north. The temnospondyls must have been able to criss-cross the tropical zone during cooler episodes." Aamir concluded, "Their burst of success in the Early Triassic was not followed up. They coped with the hot conditions probably by having a low requirement for food, by being able to eat most prey animals, and by hiding in sparse water bodies. But when the ancestors of dinosaurs and of mammals began to diversify in the Middle Triassic, the temnospondyls began their long decline." This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Drosophila use multiple mechanisms to adapt to hot, dry desert temperatures. Credit: Sarah Becan for the Gallio Lab Tiny, cold-blooded animals like flies depend on their environment to regulate body temperature, making them ideal "canaries in the mine" for gauging the impact of climate change on the behavior and distribution of animal species. Yet, scientists know relatively little about how insects sense and respond to temperature. Using two species of flies from different climatesone from the cool, high-altitude forests of Northern California, the other hailing from the hot, dry deserts of the Southwest (both cousins of the common laboratory fly, Drosophila melanogaster)Northwestern scientists discovered remarkable differences in the way each processes external temperature. Forest flies showed increased avoidance of heat, potentially explained by higher sensitivity in their antennae's molecular heat receptors, while desert flies were instead actively attracted to heat, a response that could be tracked to differences in brain wiring in a region of the fly brain that helps compute the valence (inherent attractiveness or aversiveness) of sensory cues. The scientists believe these two mechanisms may have accompanied the evolution of each species as it adapted to its distinctive thermal environment, starting from a common ancestor dating back 40 million years (not long after dinosaurs went extinct). These findings, published in the journal Nature, help understand how animals evolve the preferences for specific temperature environments and may help predict the impact of a rapidly changing climate on animal behavior and distribution. 'Not enough people care about insects' "Insects are especially threatened by climate change," said Northwestern neurobiologist Marco Gallio. "Behavior is the first interface between an animal and its environment. Even before the struggle to survive or perish, animals can respond to climate change by migration and by changing their distribution. We are already seeing insect populations declining in many regions, and even insect vectors of disease like the Zika virus and malaria spreading into new areas." Gallio, a self-appointed "insect advocate," is a professor in the neurobiology department and the Soretta and Henry Shapiro Research Professor in Molecular Biology at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. His lab examines fruit flies and their sensing systems. Gallio acknowledged there is limited data because "not enough people care about the insects," but that available figures record a dramatic decline in insects in the past 20 to 50 years. Though bug haters may rejoice, Gallio said the population decline in the animal group with the most species on Earth is nothing to celebrate. In addition to their position at the foundation of most terrestrial food chains, insects pollinate 70% of our crops. Gallio said losing insect communities could cause catastrophic damage to ecosystems across the globe and have a direct impact on human well-being. Understanding heat circuits in the brain Previous work from the Gallio Lab focused on how small insects like laboratory flies respond to sensory cues like harmless and painful temperature changes. "The common fruit fly is an especially powerful animal to study how the external world is represented and processed within the brain," Gallio said. "Many years of work on fly genetics and neuroscience have given us a map of the fly brain more detailed than that of any other animal." In the present study, Gallio and colleagues wondered how the brain circuits and resulting behaviors compared in fly species that were very similar aside from their choices of thermal habitat. Using genetic tools, including CRISPR, to knock out certain genes and gene swaps between species, the team studied both the molecular and brain mechanisms that may explain species-specific differences in temperature preference. Ph.D. student and lead author Matthew Capek explained that they first found differences in the molecules that detect heat, causing them to activate at different temperatures. And while Capek said the difference in activation could explain the forest flies' preference for cooler environments, a shift in receptor activation was not enough to explain the behavior of the desert fly. "The desert fly seemed actively attracted to warmer temperaturesaround 90 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the forest fly's sweet spot just below 70 degrees," said Capek, who works in the Gallio lab. "In fact, the activation threshold of the antenna heat sensors corresponded to their favorite temperature range, which they will seek, rather than to a temperature they should avoid." "In other words, the fly doesn't behave any longer as though the antennae are telling it to run away from dangerous heat; they seem to be telling it higher temperatures are good, and to approach them." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. High cost, high reward Gallio was initially puzzleddeserts are hot, so it did not make sense that flies sought out heatbut a lab trip to the Anza Borrego desert of Southern California provided key inspiration. "Deserts in this region are very hot during the day, but temperatures can drop extremely rapidly when the sun goes down, and night can be downright freezing," said Alessia Para, also a key author of the study and a research associate professor of neurobiology. "Flies in this climate may need to constantly attend to the rapidly changing temperature and always seek the ideal range, finding shady spots during the day and hiding in cacti for warmth at night." Flies from more forgiving environments may instead ignore temperature except when it changes rapidly. Constantly detecting the right temperature is costly from an energy perspective, but for desert flies, it's life or death. "This comparative work is useful in a couple of different ways," Gallio said. "When an animal is born, the brain is already programmed to know if many of the things it will encounter are bad or good for it, and we do not understand how that programming works. "These fly species represent a natural experiment, because a stimulus that is good for one species is bad for the other, and we can study the differences that make it so. We also want to learn more about how animals have been able to adapt to different temperatures during evolution, so that we may be able to better understand and even predict how they react to ongoing climate change. "Of course, we care about the insects, and we hope that what we learn may help us appreciate and protect them better." More information: Marco Gallio, Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08682-z. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08682-z Journal information: Nature This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A new study published in the Journal of Marketing explores how startups can tailor their pitches to attract investors in a highly competitive venture capital (VC) landscape. Researchers examined over 5,300 new ventures, uncovering how the interplay between costly signals (tangible achievements) and costless signals (verbal cues) influences investor decision-making. The study, "Business-to-Investor (B2I) Marketing: The Interplay of Costly and Costless Signals," authored by Greg Nyilasy (University of Melbourne), Shangwen Yi (University of British Columbia), Dennis Herhausen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Stephan Ludwig (Monash University), and Darren W. Dahl (University of British Columbia), offers actionable insights for startups and investors alike. "Our findings reveal that both costly and costless signals matter, but their effectiveness depends on how they are combined," says Nyilasy. "Startups must carefully craft their pitches, balancing substance and style to resonate with potential investors." Key findings The study identifies two categories of signals startups use to appeal to investors: Costly signals: Tangible indicators of a startup's potential, including: Financial capital : Existing investments in the business. : Existing investments in the business. Human capital : Founders' education and experience. : Founders' education and experience. Social capital : Business and institutional connections. : Business and institutional connections. Intellectual Capital: Patents and intellectual property. Costless Signals: Verbal cues that influence investor perception, such as: Passion : Enthusiasm and emotional intensity in the pitch. : Enthusiasm and emotional intensity in the pitch. Concreteness: Specificity and detail in communication. Surprising dynamics Costly signals : While a moderate level improves funding likelihood, excessive costly signals may deter investors by suggesting overvaluation or limiting their involvement. : While a moderate level improves funding likelihood, excessive costly signals may deter investors by suggesting overvaluation or limiting their involvement. Passion : Contrary to popular belief, excessive passion often backfires unless backed by strong costly signals. : Contrary to popular belief, excessive passion often backfires unless backed by strong costly signals. Concreteness: Detailed communication helps startups with limited costly signals but can appear rigid when paired with strong costly signals. "Our study highlights the inverted-U effect," explains Ludwig. "More isn't always betterstartups need a Goldilocks approach to their signals." Implications for startups and investors Startups: If lacking tangible achievements (costly signals), startups should avoid overusing passionate language because it may come across as compensatory. Instead, focus on clear and moderately concrete messaging. For startups with robust costly signals, showcasing passion can enhance investor confidence, but overly detailed pitches might reduce perceived flexibility. Investors: Be cautious when evaluating pitches that rely heavily on passion without substantive backing. Recognize the value of concreteness in startups with fewer credentials but look for a balance in those with strong achievements. Yi emphasizes, "this research equips both startups and investors with strategies to optimize the pitch process, ensuring better alignment and outcomes." The findings carry important implications for the startup ecosystem. Startups must fine-tune their pitches, combining the right levels of passion, detail, and achievements to stand out. Investors, on the other hand, should assess pitches holistically, weighing both tangible and intangible signals to identify high-potential ventures. "We hope this study reshapes how entrepreneurs present themselves and how investors evaluate startups," concludes Dahl. "It's about fostering better matches in the venture capital world." More information: Greg Nyilasy et al, Business-to-Investor Marketing: The Interplay of Costly and Costless Signals, Journal of Marketing (2024). DOI: 10.1177/00222429241288464 Journal information: Journal of Marketing This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Nazareth students calculate different numerical approaches in a hands-on cooking class. Credit: Nazareth College When "Elephant' toothpaste erupts from the science lab, history deals up Pokemon playing cards, and math bakes a batch of chocolate brownies, it might seem like chaos. Yet, a groundbreaking study by University of South Australia researchers shows that creativity plays an essential role in academic success, suggesting that students who think outside the box are more likely to excel in literacy and numeracy assessments. It's an important finding, particularly when the most recent National Assessment ProgramLiteracy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data shows that one in three Australian students are behind in their numeracy or literacy skills. Examining 637 Australian students' performance in the NAPLAN examinations, researchers found that students who performed well also tended to exhibit higher levels of creativity. In fact, creativity was a better predictor of academic achievement than traditional predictors like Grade Point Averages (GPAs) and personality traits such as conscientiousness. Specifically, the study showed that higher flexibility in divergent thinking was associated with stronger NAPLAN literacy outcomes, while higher mathematical creativity was associated with stronger NAPLAN numeracy performance. UniSA researcher Professor David Cropley says the findings are good news for teachers who strive to engage their students in learning through creativity. "More and more we're seeing teachers find unique and interesting ways to spark curiosity among their students," Prof Cropley says. "This may be as simple as fostering an open and inquisitive attitude towards new ideas in class, or as in-depth as interactive role-play to decipher the latest English text. It's all about thinking broadly, looking at problems from different angles, and being flexible. "Importantly, this study challenges the stereotype that creativity and academic achievement are at odds, which has been a long-held misconception." The findings contradict recent calls for a return to 'back-to-basics' education and rote learning, with Prof Cropley saying creativity is key to building children's capabilities in literacy and mathematics. "Schools should be encouraged to integrate creative thinking into their teaching strategies, particularly in literacy and numeracy where we can demonstrate a clear connection between creativity and academic achievement," Prof Cropley says. "Rather than treating creativity as separate from academic achievement, we need to recognize it as a vital component of student success and find ways for teachers to embrace it as part of their approaches to teaching and learning. "With creativity also being assessed in international benchmarks like the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment, our findings further reinforce the need for schools to balance traditional learning with creative skill development. "Schools should rest assured: it's not an either-or approachcreativity can be implemented in structured school learning environments. But understanding that how creativity is connected to and can boost academic achievement in both literacy and numeracy is very much food for thought." More information: Hansika Kapoor et al, Creativity predicts standardized educational outcomes beyond GPA and personality, Thinking Skills and Creativity (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2024.101751 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay from Pexels At a remote space center in northern Finland near the Russian border, researchers are studying how climate change is impacting the Arctic region with more precision than anywhere else in Europe. Slowly turning like sunflowers towards polar satellites in space, four large antennas dominate the snowy Finnish Meteorological Institute's Arctic Space Center in Sodankyla, a small town of 8,000 inhabitants just north of the Arctic Circle. Situated amidst forests, peatlands and snaking rivers, the research space has become a unique site due to its history of obtaining data on weather and climate. "This is an excellent location for studying the boreal forest, the environment here in the Arctic and utilizing the satellite data for observing climate change," Jyri Heilimo, head of the Arctic Space Center Unit, told AFP. "Polar orbiting satellites' orbits are converging in the poles, meaning that the Sodankyla ground station at 67 latitude can receive much more data from the satellites per day compared to, for example, the station close to the equator," Timo Ryyppo, the head of Sodankyla Satellite Data Center said. By using both ground measurements and satellite data, researchers have been able to study how the snow and ice cover in the northern hemisphere has changed over the years. "We've been able to say that the snow extent has been decreasing. The amount of snow has been mostly constant, but it's unevenly distributed," said Ryyppo. Some 550 different measuring devices are scattered across the observatory site, including several instruments attached to a 25-meter (80 feet) tower in a pine forest monitoring greenhouse gases from trees, soil and atmosphere. "We want to know this Arctic pixel well in order to know the Arctic well," Heilimo said, as snow fell from a gloomy sky and temperatures hovered around zero Celsius (32F) in February. Locals are more accustomed to temperatures of -20C this time of the year. Heilimo showed a graph displaying how the average temperature had trended upwards at double the speed compared with other parts of the world since measurements began on the site in 1908, as a result of human-induced climate change mostly blamed on fossil fuels. According to a study in the journal Nature, the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the globe since 1979. "There is a cliche that 'what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic'... That means that the changes we see here, the melting permafrost, the temperature rise, will happen in other places also. It just happens faster here," Heilimo said. 'More and more important' Sodankyla's ground measurements have played an increasingly crucial role in supporting Europe's satellite observations tracking the changing climate in the Arctic, Simonetta Cheli, director of Earth Observation Programs at the European Space Agency (ESA) told AFP. The agency launched an 'Arctic-Boreal Earth Observation Supersite' with the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Sodankyla in February. Measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide on top of snow from a satellite was "very, very difficult," Heilimo said. "That's why we are hereto measure and compare the satellite measurements in the Arctic area in winter conditions and to allow us to develop better methodology for detecting the atmospheric carbon dioxide from the satellites," he said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the geopolitical uncertainty has led to a freeze in relations between the EU agency and Russia, which has increased the importance of the Finnish input, according to Cheli. "Of all the data on the Arctic, we are missing half of the data set in terms of ground truth validation. Siberia is no longer accessible to do that exercise," she said. "Countries like Finland are therefore becoming more and more important for validating satellite data on the ground. It's becoming a central strategic infrastructure," Cheli said, citing Finland's geographical location near the Russian border. 2025 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scientists used precise gene-editing to grow larger African eggplants. Credit: Zachary Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Bigger, tastier tomatoes and eggplants could soon grace our dinner plates thanks to Johns Hopkins scientists who have discovered genes that control how large the fruits will grow. The researchled by teams at Johns Hopkins University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratorycould lead to the development of new varieties of heirloom tomatoes and eggplants, including those that help support agriculture in areas around the world where local varieties are currently too small for large-scale production. The findings are published in the journal Nature. "Once you've done the gene editing, all it takes is one seed to start a revolution," said co-lead author Michael Schatz, a geneticist at Johns Hopkins University who worked on the Telomere-to-Telomere human genome project. "With the right approvals, we could mail an engineered seed to Africa or anywhere it's needed and open up entirely new agricultural markets. There's huge potential to translate these advances into real-world impact." The research is part of a larger effort to map the complete genomes of 22 crops in the nightshade genus, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. Using computational analysis, the researchers compared the genome maps and traced how the genes evolved over time: more than half, the researchers found, had been duplicated at some point in the past. "Over tens of millions of years, there's this constant churn of DNA sequences being added and lost," Schatz said. "The same process can occur for gene sequences, where entire genes duplicate or disappear. When we started looking, we noticed these changes were very widespread, but we didn't yet know what those changes meant for the plants." To find out, collaborators at the Boyce Thomson Institute used CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to tweak one or both duplicates of a gene, and collaborators at Cold Spring Harbor grew the engineered plants to see how the tweaks changed the mature plants. The genetic duplicates, or paralogs, ended up being important for determining traits like flowering time, fruit size, and fruit shapes. Turning off both copies of the CLV3 gene paralogs in the forest nightshade native to Australia, for example, resulted in plants that the researchers described as "weird, bubbly, disorganized" shapesnot viable to sell as produce in grocery stores. But careful editing of just one copy of CLV3 led to larger fruits. "Having full genome sequences for these species is like having a new treasure map. We can see where and when one genetic path diverges from another and then explore that place in the genetic information where we wouldn't have thought to look," said Katharine Jenike, who assembled the genome sequences and was a Ph.D. student in Schatz's lab at the time of the research. "They allowed us to find the size-genes in a really unexpected place." In the African eggplant, a species grown across the African continent and in Brazil for its edible fruits and leaves, the researchers identified a gene, SaetSCPL25-like, that controls the number of seed cavities, or locules, inside the fruit. When they edited the SaetSCPL25-like genes in the tomato plant, the researchers found they could grow tomatoes with more locules: the more numerous the locules, the bigger the tomato. The discovery could usher in a new era of tasty tomatoes, if done properly, the researchers said. "This work shows the importance of studying many species together," Schatz said. "We leveraged decades of work in tomato genetics to rapidly advance African eggplants, and along the way we found entirely new genes in African eggplants that reciprocally advance tomatoes. We call this 'pan-genetics,' and it opens endless opportunities to bring many new fruits, foods, and flavors to dinner plates around the world." More information: Zachary Lippman, Solanum pan-genetics reveals paralogues as contingencies in crop engineering, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08619-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08619-6 Journal information: Nature This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A schematic highlights the trellis or basket-weave pattern composed of tiny crystals of the iron-oxide mineral hematite that is diagnostic of the hematite pseudomorph, martite. The image at left is a reflected-light microscopic image in cross-polarized light. At right is an electron backscatter diffraction produced from USU's field-emission scanning electron microscope. The scientists use these images to accurately identify mineral types and determine the rock's geochemical and tectonic histories. Credit: Jordan Jensen, USUJe Iron oxide minerals are found in rocks around the globe. Some are magnetic, and some of them rustespecially when exposed to water and oxygen. These characteristics provide clues about the history of these minerals. Utah State University geoscientists describe a new forensic tool for determining the timing of geochemical oxidation reactions in iron-oxide minerals occurring in the Earth's crust, which could shed light on how and when large, unexplained gaps in the rock recordknown as "unconformities"developed. "A challenge for geoscientists is accurately constraining when rocks resided in the near-surface environment," says Alexis Ault, associate professor in USU's Department of Geosciences. "It's tricky to pinpoint the timing of such processes, because the geologic evidence has often been erased." But a new thermochronological approach by Ault's doctoral student Jordan Jensen may offer an accurate means of deciphering how and when mysterious time gaps form in the geological rock record. Jensen and Ault report their findings in the journal Geology. "Unconformities in the rock record are like missing chapters in the book of geologic time," says Jensen, a USU Presidential Doctoral Research Fellow. "These gaps are the physical manifestation of past erosion events that removed evidence of past landscapes and environments." These events reflect significant changes in tectonics and climate over geologic time, he says. "The most well-known example of an unconformity is 'The Great Unconformity,' which is a major geologic boundary found throughout North America that separates ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks from younger, often fossil-bearing rocks," Jensen says. "This boundary can be viewed in many places, including the Grand Canyon." In their paper, Jensen and Ault describe the use of uranium-thorium-helium (U-Th)/He analyses of martite to document the timing of unconformity development in deep time. "Martite is an iron-oxide and my research group is known for using iron-oxide textures and (U-Th)/He analyses to fingerprint earthquakes and slow slip events in seismically active faults," Ault says. Martite occurs when the iron oxide mineral hematite masquerades as magnetite, another iron oxide known for its magnetic properties, says Jensen, who earned a bachelor's degree from Utah State in 2016. He recalls his undergraduate chemistry professor saying, "Diamonds aren't forever, but graphite is." Utah State University researcher Jordan Jensen uses a Leica microscope in a Department of Geosciences lab to examine sand-grain-sized samples of martite. Jensen and fellow USU scientist Alexis Ault report a new approach to understanding unexplained gaps in the rock record in the March 4, 2025 issue of the journal Geology. Credit: Levi Sim, USU "Like diamond and its conversion to graphite, magnetite is not stable at Earth's surface and slowly transforms to hematite in a process similar to how iron metals rust when exposed to air," he says. "Martite is often mistaken for magnetite, because its exterior still preserves the appearance of magnetite. It's only when you take a close look with advanced tools like the scanning electron microscope at USU's Microscopy Core Facility that you can determine the existence of tiny hematite crystals that replaced the original magnetite crystal." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Using martite samples obtained from a 1.7-billion-year-old rock situated below a major unconformity in the Colorado Range west of Denver, Jensen and Ault set to work applying their proposed approach. "When magnetite is oxidized, the geologic clock is reset, so to speak, revealing when these rocks were pushed to the near-surface of the Earth," Jensen says. "Using (U-Th)/He and electron backscatter diffraction analysis, we were able to date individual martite specimens as old as 1.04 billion years, which suggests the unconformity formed as early as 1.4 billion years ago." The USU scientists say there are disparate explanations for the origin of the Great Unconformity. Hypotheses include a sequence of global glaciation events, known collectively as "Snowball Earth," which occurred during the Cryogenian period more than 635 million years ago. "These tiny and resilient martite grains preserve the story of when these rocks were first exhumed to Earth's near surface, despite the many events like burial and mountain-building that could have destroyed the evidence," Jensen says. "A subset of our analyzed grains suggests the erosion resulting in the Great Unconformity occurred much earlier than previously thought, predating Snowball Earth events by several hundred million years in this location." Because martite is common in many rocks, he and Ault note that their forensic tool can be applied throughout geologic time to investigate weathering, alternation and erosion of Earth's crust, along with the development of critical mineral deposits. More information: Jordan L. Jensen et al, Tracking ancient unconformity development with martite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry, Geology (2025). DOI: 10.1130/G53010.1 Journal information: Geology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A pygmy blue whale a the surface of the water. Credit: Ningaloo Aviation Endangered pygmy blue whales dive to depths in the ocean to forage and feed along their migratory path off the Western Australian coast, new research led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Center for Whale Research (WA) has documented. In a new paper led by AIMS researchers Dr. Michele Thums and Dr. Luciana Ferreira, and published in Global Ecology and Conservation, whale dives into the ocean's depths were categorized into foraging, lunge feeding, travel and exploratory behaviors. The study was co-authored by scientists from Curtin University, Flinders University and the Center for Whale Research (WA). The diving behaviors were tracked during the whales' northern migration along the coast of Western Australia en route to Indonesia using data from satellite tags and dive loggers attached to nine pygmy blue whales. The researchers focused on the foraging dives and particularly those where the whales attempted to catch prey, known as lunge-feeding dives. These were identified by the accelerometer (like a fitbit) on board the loggers. Lunge-feeding dives involve the whales swimming towards dense patches of their preyoften krillat depth and at speed. Opening their mouths and engulfing the krill swarm, often hundreds of kilograms at a time, thousands of liters of water are filtered through their baleen plates and swallowed as a food bolus. And if their prey is plentiful, they will do it all over again. This behavior had previously been recorded for northern blue whales off California, however this is the first time it has been tracked along the northern migration of pygmy blue whales. Study lead author Dr. Michele Thums said previously, scientists' understanding of where foraging occurred was based on areas where pygmy blue whales spent more time, gleaned from satellite tracking data. "The combination of the satellite tags and the dive loggers has provided us with data that shows foraging and feeding is happening at depths of around 100 to 400 meters, is occurring every 1 to 10 days, averaging four hours per day, and opportunistically while migrating between the north-west of Australia and Indonesia. "Previously, it was thought they only fed at specific places like Perth Canyon and off the North West Cape, with no feeding occurring between these places and their breeding grounds in Indonesia. But we show they feed and forage en route too. Feeding while migrating is thought to be essential for a streamlined species like the pygmy blue whale that has less capacity to store fat and needs to feed to fuel its migrations. "Supplemental foraging during migration may be vital for pygmy blue whales, with thousands of kilometers to travel between their main foraging grounds in the southern waters of Australia and Indonesian waters in the north. The study shows that tropical and temperate waters are both important for the health and recovery of the population. "This is really significant information, as efforts are made to help this species recover from the impact of the whaling era. Correctly delineating their foraging areas is important to effectively manage potential threats to this species and protect critical habitats." The study also found that more concentrated foraging occurs off south-west Australia, and that foraging and feeding is occurring in Indonesia/Timor Leste waters, an area thought to be associated mainly with breeding. More information: Michele Thums et al, Tracking pygmy blue whale diving behaviour and validation of foraging areas defined from horizontal movement data, Global Ecology and Conservation (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03362 Journal information: Global Ecology and Conservation This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Diminished trust in public education in crisis-hit Lebanon is worsening inequality in the country and forcing parents to make difficult decisions, a new study warns. The findings are published in the journal Asia Pacific Education Review. The country's dual education system, reinforced by religious and political policies, continues to favor the upper classes, exacerbating educational disparities between social groups. Lebanon's sectarian government and weak state has led parents to perceive the academic and non-academic outcomes of most private schools as better than those of public schools. Many said this perception has intensified recently due to declining government funding, exacerbated by the compounded crises. This has led to shorter school days with two brief shifts to accommodate refugees. As a result, curricula are rushed, student support and activities are lacking, and infrastructure problems persist. The economic crisis has had a further impact on the low salaries of public-school teachers, who continue to be paid in LBP despite the dramatic depreciation of the currencybarely enough to cover transportation costs for many. Tamara Al Khalili, from the University of Exeter, interviewed 30 parents of school-aged children. They showed widespread parental preference for private, fee-paying schools as opposed to public schools that are free at the point of entry. However, the ability of parents to choose private institutions has been exacerbated by the recent crises. Parents who were previously part of the middle class are strategically moving their children between private and public schools and making compromises based on factors such as the perceived importance of the educational stage and the child's perceived academic abilities. Some had prioritized the education of one child over others. Families favor private schools for high-achieving children while sending children with lower levels of academic performance and children with disabilities or specific educational needs to public schools. Dr. Al Khalili said, "This research raises important questions about equitable access to quality education and calls for urgent interventions to address growing inequalities. It stresses the need for systemic reforms, including increased funding for public education and policies that reduce reliance on private schooling. Such reforms could mitigate economic and social class discrimination, and the stigma associated with public schools." Among the 30 participants, 15 parents chose private schools and seven of them receive financial assistance through educational vouchers or educational allowances, 12 parents opted for public schools, while three have children enrolled in both types of schools. Some parents said school fees were justifiable, and others advocated for reductions due to prolonged closures. They managed the high costs by adopting strategies such as shifting to less expensive, fee-paying private schools that offer fewer services and extracurricular activities. This commitment was driven by a desire to maintain their social status, protect their habitus, and secure their children's future opportunities. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Ten of the parents interviewed were middle class and were experiencing downward social mobility due to the unprecedented crises. They represent the "new poor Lebanese" emerging in the wake of the crises, struggling to maintain their class habitus, and worrying about the negative impact of sending their children to neglected public schools. Dr. Al Khalili said, "Parents are using whatever capital they have left to maintain connections with the middle class. To achieve this, they strategically transition their children between fee-paying private schools, semi-free private schools, and public schools at different points often with the support of private afterschool tutoring services, which are widely promoted in the education market to boost performance." More information: Tamara Al Khalili, Parental strategies and educational inequalities during severe economic, political and refugee crises in conflict-affected Lebanon, Asia Pacific Education Review (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s12564-025-10040-7 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Map of the number of effect sizes per country. Countries are colored based on the number of effect sizes. The darker a country, the more effect sizes. Countries in white are not covered in the sample. Credit: Jan Pfander & Sacha Altay. (Nature Human Behaviour, 2025). While the internet has made accessing information and updates on what is happening in the world extremely easy, it has also facilitated the proliferation of fake news. Over the past decades, fake news has thus become a heated topic of debate, with some social media platforms introducing measures aimed at curbing online misinformation. Researchers at PSL University and University of Zurich recently set out to investigate people's ability to correctly identify both true and false news, by reviewing previous psychology and behavioral science studies. The findings of their meta-analysis, published in Nature Human Behavior, suggest that most people are good at identifying fake news, while a good portion of people tend to be skeptical of news that is true. "In May 2021, Jan Pfander, who led the study, took a course on meta-analysis and wanted to do a meta-analysis on news judgment," Sacha Altay, senior author of the paper, told Medical Xpress. "At the time, I found the idea interesting but didn't see much potential. A year later, in light of academic debates about whether skepticism towards true news is a greater issue than gullibility towards false news, I saw an angle: the data Jan started collecting could not only tell us whether people can tell true from false news, but also whether people are more skeptical of true news than they are gullible of false news." When Altay and Pfander first started conducting their meta-analysis, they observed that many past studies gathered evidence suggesting that people are quite good at distinguishing between true and false news, with the rejection of true news being more common than the acceptance of false news. Nonetheless, many academics were not convinced by these findings and public discourse continued to emphasize people's misinformation. "We thus decided to systematically investigate these apparent trends to establish whether they are real or not, and whether they could be caused by some methodological artifacts, such as the type of scales used to measure the accuracy of the news or the news selection process itself," explained Altay. "We conducted a systematic literature review and a pre-registered meta-analysis of all the experiments exposing people to true and false news and asking them to rate the accuracy of the news." Illustration of outcome measures. Distributions of accuracy ratings for true and fact-checked false news, scaled to range from 0 to 1. The figure illustrates discernment (the distance between the mean for true news and the mean for false news) and the errors (distance to the right end for true news and to the left end for false news) from which the skepticism bias is computed. A larger error for true news compared with false news yields a positive skepticism bias. In this descriptive figure, unlike in the meta-analysis, ratings and outcomes sizes are not weighted by sample size. Credit: Jan Pfander & Sacha Altay. ( Nature Human Behaviour , 2025). Forest plots for discernment and skepticism bias. All n = 303 effect sizes for both outcomes. Effects are weighted by their sample size. Effect sizes are calculated as Cohen's d. Horizontal bars represent 95% confidence intervals. The average estimate is the result of a multilevel meta model with clustered standard errors at the sample level. Credit: Jan Pfander & Sacha Altay. ( Nature Human Behaviour , 2025). Outcomes at the participant level. Distribution of average discernment and skepticism bias scores of individual participants in the subset of studies that we have raw data on. We standardized original accuracy ratings to range from 0 to 1. The lowest possible score is 1 where, for discernment, an individual classified all news wrongly, and for skepticism bias, an individual classified all true news correctly (as true) and all false news incorrectly (as true). The highest possible score is 1 where, for discernment, an individual classified all news correctly, and for skepticism bias, an individual classified all true news incorrectly (as false) and all false news correctly (as false). The percentage labels (from left to right) represent the share of participants with a negative score, a score of exactly 0, and a positive score, for both measures. Credit: Jan Pfander & Sacha Altay. (Nature Human Behaviour, 2025). Altay and Pfander reviewed several past studies, which included a total of 194,438 participants based in 40 different countries across six continents. The findings of their meta-analysis appeared to confirm earlier results, suggesting that people are very good at discerning between true and false news. "A large majority of people (~80%) can discern true from false news," said Altay. "The implication is that crowdsourced fact-checking initiatives have a lot of potential: we should find ways to harness collective intelligence when it comes to rating the quality of information online." While their findings suggest that most people can accurately judge the veracity of news, they also showed that people are slightly better at spotting false news than true news. In other words, most of the people who took part in the studies appeared to be better skilled at rating false news as false than rating true news as true. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. "A small majority of people show this trend (59%)," said Altay. "The implication of this finding is that we should focus more on increasing the acceptance of true news. Currently, a lot of efforts are dedicated to making people skeptical of (false) news, however, our data shows that there may be more room to increase the acceptance of true news than to reduce the acceptance of false news." The recent meta-analysis run by Altay and Pfander aligns with previous findings, thus suggesting that people are better at identifying false news than public opinion might think. The researchers are now planning to carry out further studies to assess the potential of various strategies for improving people's ability to tell false and true news apart. "As part of our future research, we will do another meta-analysis, this time focusing on interventions aimed at improving people's ability to discern true from false news," added Altay. "The goal is to measure how effective they are and under what conditions." More information: Jan Pfander et al, Spotting false news and doubting true news: a systematic review and meta-analysis of news judgements, Nature Human Behaviour (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02086-1. Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour 2025 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The biggest challenge to limiting climate change to 2C, the upper target of the 2015 Paris agreement, is this: methane emissions are rising very fast. Methane is a greenhouse gas that, molecule for molecule, traps heat in the atmosphere more effectively than carbon dioxide, though over a much shorter timescale (decades versus centuries). Reducing emissions of methane to the atmosphere could drastically slow the rate at which Earth's climate is warming. Unfortunately, a warmer and wetter atmosphere is already causing wetlands to make more methane and so exacerbate climate change. This feedback loop makes the task of cutting methane from sources under our immediate control, like agriculture, more urgent. The good news is, my colleagues and I showed that there are lots of ways we can do this in a recent study. Each year, about 600 million tonnes of methane are emitted to the air, very roughly 40% from natural sources and 60% from human activities. Of this latter portion, fossil fuels contribute 120-130 million tonnes. This is methane that leaks from gas pipelines, coal mines and oil wells. There has at least been some progress towards controlling these leaks: new satellite technology has excelled at finding them, while 159 countries have pledged to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. In contrast, roughly 210-250 million tonnes of methane come from agriculture and its products, but these emissions are much tougher to tackle. It's easier to spot a leaky gas well from space than farm leaks that are collectively large but individually small. These sources include the breath of livestock animals and their manure (roughly 120 million tonnes), rice fields (about 30 million tonnes), crop waste fires (about 20 million tonnes) and organic matter rotting in landfills (about 70 million tonnes). Since 2000, the UK has slashed total methane emissions, especially by covering landfills and piping out gas, but farming emissions, from manure stores for instance, have hardly changed. The methane is made by methanogens, which are microbes that live in oxygen-poor environments, like the stomachs of cows, and biodigesters (which grow bacteria to convert organic waste into fertilizer, oils and gas) and landfills. If the UK cuts its own agricultural emissions by importing more food from tropical nations like Brazil it may still increase climate damage on a global scale. The problem is a global one, and very few countries are successfully reducing methane emissions from farming. Where there's muck, there's methane Cows, pigs and chickens make vast amounts of manure. In the US, Europe and East Asia, manure is often kept in big tanks or lagoons. These are usually under covers, but still release a lot of methane. Gas-tight coverings can prevent this, and the captured methane can be harvested and then burned to generate electricity. This still produces CO, but the warming impact is smaller, while the electricity can replace new natural gas in the national grid. The remaining slurry can be turned into fertilizer. Though it's not commercially feasible now, it may one day be possible to turn it into aviation fuel. Biodigesters are becoming common in towns and on farms, but are often very leaky. Methane doesn't smell, but if a biodigester is releasing other gases that stink, it's probably also releasing methane. Leaks are easily controlled but much tighter regulation is needed to ensure this happens. Most of the world's cattle are in India, Africa and South America. In large parts of the tropics, rain-fed crops aren't enough to sustain people. The difference is made up by meat and milk from cows and goats that browse trees and bushes and graze seasonal grasses. Smaller herds can produce the same amount of food if cattle diseases are reduced. Bovine mastitis, East Coast fever and African trypanosomiasis can be vaccinated against, for example and agricultural experts in India have even used artificial insemination to make more calves female, and so slash dairy cattle numbers. It's possible to give drugs to cattle to reduce methane emissions, but poor countries would struggle to cover the expense. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Rice paddies emit methane, but rice is essential for nutrition, especially in East and South Asia, and increasingly in Africa. Flooding paddies only when and for how long it is needed during the year may cut emissions by as much as a quarter. In China, India, Africa and many parts of the US and Europe, landfills are major methane emitters. This is where wasted food ends up. But as the UK has shown, emissions can be sharply reduced by good landfill design and gas extraction. Simply adding a meter of soil to the surface of a landfill creates habitat for methane-eating bacteria, and also prevents landfill fires, which are very common in Africa and India. Still inexpensive is putting a plastic liner between the waste and soil and inserting pipes to extract gas that can generate electricity. The widespread burning of crop waste that pollutes skies in India and tropical Africa has terrible consequences for human health, but it also includes methane emissions that contribute to climate change. Crop waste fires were once a major source of air pollution in the UK and Europe. Today they are minimal thanks to better farming practice and straw processing. To cut burning, farmers need good advice, good management, good regulation and targeted financial help. Cutting agricultural methane emissions involves a wide range of relatively cheap measures that need good design and management, but could cut food-related emissions substantially over the next decade. High on the list should be tackling landfills and crop waste fires in India and Africa. In the US, Europe and China, it is manure storage facilities and biodigesters. With determination and inexpensive financial carrots and sticks, much could be accomplished. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The genus Topiris as revised in the paper. Credit: Mark Sterling, Trustees of NHMUK Scientists at the Natural History Museum (NHM), London, have discovered that a long-overlooked moth specimen in the Museum's collection was in fact collected by explorer and naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, in 1855. This was at the same time as he was formulating his own revolutionary ideas on the origins of species that he would go on to share with Charles Darwin. The small white moth, Topiris candidella, was described in 1863 by Francis Walker but was dismissed in 1927 by leading entomologist Edward Meyrick as "better neglected," having suffered substantial damage due to historical storing practices. The moth has remained overlooked for nearly a century, until now. Using a cutting-edge DNA sequencing method, NHM scientists extracted genetic material from a single fragment of one of the specimen's remaining legs and connected it to a group of moths found throughout South East Asia. The scientists were able to prove that rather than being a single neglected species, Topiris is in fact a genus of 14 species, including 11 species which are new to science. They are described in a paper published in ZooKeys. One of these species is named Topiris thunbergella, in honor of Greta Thunberg and her work in raising awareness of the environmental pressures on the native forests of South East Asia. Dr. David Lees, Senior Curator for Microlepidoptera at the Natural History Museum, adds, "This discovery highlights the incredible potential of modern DNA analysis to reveal the evolutionary history of species, even from fragmented and long-forgotten specimens. "By applying this innovative sequencing technique, we have not only revived Francis Walker's species Topiris candidella, from 1863, but also expanded our understanding of an entire group of small white moths." During their research, Lees and fellow moth expert, Mark Sterling, found that a hidden label under the pin of the broken moth bore the handwritten letters "SAR," a clue that this moth had been collected by Wallace as part of over a thousand moths he collected at Rajah Brooke's Forest retreat. This was in December 1855, just months before he published his "Sarawak Law" paper, which eventually led to a joint reading (at Darwin's request) of their theories of evolution through natural selection. Beyond the scientific breakthrough, the study has wider conservation implications. Of the 24 species reviewed in their paper, only three have been recorded since 2000, highlighting the urgent need for biodiversity monitoring in this region. Sterling added, "The 80 million specimens currently held in the Natural History Museum's collections continue to be a critical resource for understanding biodiversity and assessing the effects of environmental change." More information: Mark J. Sterling et al, A revision of the hitherto neglected genus Topiris Walker, 1863 (Lepidoptera, Xyloryctidae) with taxonomic notes on the genus Athrypsiastis Meyrick, 1910, ZooKeys (2025). DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1229.119155 Journal information: ZooKeys This story is republished courtesy of Natural History Museum. Read the original story here This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This pair of common toads (Bufo bufo) met during their migration to their usual spawning pond. The much smaller male was lucky to have found a female that did not yet have a partner, as the sex ratio in this species is strongly male-dominated. The female, on the other hand, is responsible for transporting the eggs by land and in water. Every year in early spring, many adult toads arrive at this small pond in the middle of the old trees of a mixed forest. They are now ready to search for an ideal place in the water where they can place their egg strings. Selent, Germany. Credit: Solvin Zankl Amphibians are land animals, but can only reproduce in water. They prefer to live in and around small bodies of water. But this habitat is becoming increasingly rarein Germany alone, more than half of this type of body of water has disappeared in the last century. Anyone who wants to protect amphibians must therefore also maintain, improve or create new ponds and pools. But what does an amphibian pond look like in which as many species as possible feel at home? Researchers led by the Catalan University of Vic and with the participation of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have determined in a Europe-wide study which factors promote a high diversity of amphibians in small bodies of water. The research was published in two articles, one in Ecography and another in Biodiversity and Conservation. Climatic factors play an important role here, but are often not locally controllable. But there is still room for maneuver, because local factors are also important, as the study shows: low nutrient load, medium-sized and rather shallow, no fishthat would be ideal. But be careful with the fish: many species of them are also threatened, so in each individual case a balance must be struck between fish protection and amphibian protection. A pond or pool is by definition a standing body of water with a water surface of less than 5 hectares. In Germany, artificially created small bodies of water are usually called ponds (the water level of which can usually be regulated) and naturally formed small bodies of water are called pools or ponds. These make up an estimated 30% of inland water areas worldwide. They have suffered particularly from water shortages in recent years. Across Europe, they are at historic lows, and many are drying out permanently. They are small oases for amphibians that live on land and in water. "But water shortages, increasing pressure on the surrounding landscape and climate change with its extreme weather are taking a heavy toll on these ecosystems and therefore also on the amphibians that depend on them," explains IGB Director Prof. Dr. Luc De Meester, co-author of the study. Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates. In Europe, around a quarter of species are classified as threatened (i.e., in the categories "vulnerable," "critically endangered" or "critically endangered") according to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). "We therefore need to better understand which factors we can use to positively influence amphibian populations," says IGB scientist Dr. Thomas Mehner, co-author of the study. Thirty different amphibian species were recorded in the total of the water bodies studied. The average number of species per water body was three species, with Spain having the highest average local richness with about five species and the United Kingdom the lowest, with around two species. Some species were restricted to a single country, with Spain having the highest number of unique species (nine), followed by Turkey (five), Switzerland (one) and Germany (one). The most common species was the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), which occurred in 41.8% of all small water bodies in the countries studied, followed by the northern crested newt (Triturus cristatus, 30.4%), the common toad (Bufo bufo, 27.9%) and the common frog (Rana temporaria, 25.4%). Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Latitude matters, but local factors also play a role It is known from other studies that the species diversity of amphibians is related to latitude, since climatic factors such as water availability and temperature are important factors that limit the range of these cold-blooded and highly moisture-dependent animals. The current study also shows this relationship to climatic factors. "Apart from that, however, we show that local characteristics of the ponds and pools play just as important a role as the climatic factors. And these can of course be better influenced," says Mehner. The researchers found the highest diversity of amphibian species in small bodies of water with few nutrients, no fish, medium size, shallow water and extensive bank vegetation. Ponds located in protected areas had a slightly higher diversity of amphibian species. The following measures can be used to create a species-rich amphibian pond by taking local factors into account: Reduce nutrient load The most important indicator to explain the variation in amphibian species richness in this study was chlorophyll-a concentration. Chlorophyll-a concentration indicates algal biomass and is therefore also an indicator of nutrient pollution. This is because when there are many nutrients in the water, algae can grow particularly well. Nutrient pollution in ponds can reduce amphibian species richness by reducing the survival rate of eggs and larvae, reducing reproductive success and increasing susceptibility to disease. "Nutrient pollution is a common problem in ponds that are located near agricultural land and are exposed to increased amounts of artificial and natural fertilizers. Therefore, management options to increase amphibian species richness should focus on implementing measures to reduce nutrient pollution and on livestock management that restricts the access of grazing animals to the respective water bodies," says Mehner. This is especially true for waters that have previously been exposed to only low levels of nutrients: at low concentrations, even a small increase in chlorophyll-a content has a strong negative impact on amphibian abundance, according to one result. Pond area and depth are also important factors for amphibian richness: the highest species richness was observed in medium-sized (2002,500 square meters) and shallow (less than 1.5 meters deep) waters. This pattern could be due to the fact that smaller and shallower ponds are more likely to dry out, while fish live or survive more frequently in larger and deeper waters. "These mechanisms can lead to amphibian richness reaching its peak at intermediate values of pond size and depth," says Mehner. Fish: Balancing amphibian and fish protection The number of fish species was found to be a significant factor in the decline in amphibian diversity, especially when three or more fish species were present in a small pond. Predatory fish are generally considered to be the cause of the decline in amphibian diversity. Amphibian eggs, tadpoles and adults are vulnerable to predation by several fish species found in the study (e.g., the alien species gibel and sunfish, or northern pike). Although pond plants are important for the amphibian community, such as providing shelter, protection and food, they explained only a very small part of the variation in amphibian species richness in this study. This observation is in contrast to other studies that show that vegetation is a reliable determinant of amphibian richness. Also, direct land use factors within 100 meters, such as an urban environment, agriculture, roads or protected areas, did not have as strong an influence on amphibian species richness as the other factors. "The study shows that species-rich amphibian waters can occur anywhereeven in urban contexts. This study can directly feed into the development of Europe-wide initiatives such as the European Pond Conservation Network and provides important information for pond projects at the local level, enabling decision-makers to take better-informed amphibian conservation measures," says Mehner. The research team included 201 small bodies of water in seven European countries in the study and defined certain characteristics for each pond. The species diversity of the amphibians was determined using eDNA from water samples. eDNA stands for environmental DNA. This allows the genetic fingerprints that organisms leave behind in their habitat to be determined. The relative influence of climate, local inanimate and animate factors and land use variables on the variation in amphibian species richness in the ponds was quantified using boosted regression trees. Ecologists use this statistical model to explain relationships between different environmental factors and to make predictions. It is flexible enough to take into account typical properties of their data, such as nonlinearities and interactions. What the study did not take into account While the study considered current climatic drivers, it did not consider historical climate variables. Previous research has shown that paleoclimatic processes have a major impact on the present-day gradient of amphibian species richness. Future studies incorporating these data could therefore provide an even more comprehensive understanding of how historical and present processes interact in shaping amphibian diversity. In addition, not all influencing factors were taken into account, such as food availability (density of large invertebrates), shading or connectivity between small water bodies, the presence of environmental chemicals and their effects. Field studies have limited ability to establish clear cause-effect relationships. Nevertheless, the use of boosted regression trees is reliable in this context of a complex data structure and the results provide a clear pattern of how multiple water body features play a role in explaining the amphibian species richness of pond ecosystems on a large geographical scale. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Left: Early-planted soybean at POST; Right: Conventional-planted soybean at POST. Credit: Aaron G. Hager Farmers in most states often try to plant soybeans as early as possible to increase yields. However, planting soybeans sooner than later might also require a corresponding change in herbicide application strategy to garner top results. According to a research article recently published in Weed Technology, a strategy utilizing both preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicide treatments optimized weed control outcomes in early planted soybeans. Researchers conducted their study in 2021 at three locations across Central Illinois. "The research objective was to examine various herbicide treatments applied at different timings and rates to assess the effect on weed control and yield in early planted soybeans," says Aaron Hager, Ph.D., Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, and corresponding author for the study, and WSSA member scientist. "Overall, we found that treatments comprised of a full rate of PRE followed by a POST resulted in the greatest and most consistent weed control at the final evaluation timing." The study's PRE treatments consisted of S-metolachlor plus metribuzin premix (Boundary) at either half or full-label recommended rates, applied at planting or just before soybean emergence. The POST treatments consisted of glufosinate (Liberty), glyphosate (Roundup), and ammonium sulfate (AMS), with or without pyroxasulfone (Zidua), either at half or full-label recommended rates, applied when weeds reached 10 cm (about 4 inches) tall. "The full rate of PRE extended the POST application timing two to three weeks for all treatments at all locations except Urbana," notes Hager. "Full-rate PRE treatments also reduced the time between the POST application and soybean canopy closure. Although pyroxasulfone added to POST treatments did not consistently reduce late-season weed emergence, this may be due to earlier soybean development and canopy closure from early planting, which suppressed weeds naturally." PRE-only treatments failed to perform as well as either POST-only or PRE plus POST herbicide treatments in early planted soybeans, points out Hager. "For optimal effect on both weed control and yield, the PRE plus POST combo proved best for early planted soybeans," sums up Hager. More information: Logan R. Miller et al, Early-planted soybean weed management as affected by herbicide application rate and timing, Weed Technology (2025). DOI: 10.1017/wet.2024.103 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: (a) Point cloud representation of inflatable test whale collected from LiDAR, and (b) the resultant 3D mesh model. Credit: Cottrell et al., 2025. Brendan Cottrell studies the application of remote sensing and drone technology in marine mammal conservation at the Applied Remote Sensing Laboratory at McGill University, where he recently completed his MSc. After graduating with a BSc in applied physics from Simon Fraser University, Cottrell worked with the British Columbia Marine Mammal Response Network where he was involved in marine mammal rescue, necropsies, and research. His current research is examining the ability of drones and remote sensing techniques to characterize and catalog the prevalence and severity of entanglement scarring on large whales such as humpbacks. He is the first author of a Frontiers in Marine Science article in which he and his co-authors investigated the practicality of using smartphones to create 3D scans of stranded marine life that can aid in postmortem examinations and help scientists and conservationists protect marine species. What inspired you to become a researcher? My interest in research began with an early love for nature, particularly the ocean and its wildlife. Drawn to conservation, I am fascinated by how technology can help study and protect marine mammals. What research are you currently working on? This research focuses on using accessible 3D scanning technologies, like LiDAR-equipped mobile devices and UAV photogrammetry, to document and analyze stranded marine mammals. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to determine the distance between the instrument and a target surface or object. Distance is determined through a measure of the time it takes for the pulses to travel to the surface and be reflected to the sensor. The resulting output, typically a 3D point cloud, provides a detailed representation of surfaces and objects. In contrast, photogrammetry is a technique used to create 3D models from 2D photographs by capturing a series of overlapping photographs from different angles and processing with specialized software. By integrating these tools into necropsy procedures, I aim to improve morphometric data collection, enhance postmortem documentation, and create interactive visualizations for research, education, and conservation. This work is particularly valuable for remote large whale strandings, where traditional methods may be limited. First author Brendan Cottrell in the field. Credit: DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) You used an iPhone12 for your work. Couldin theoryanyone equipped with a phone with a LiDAR sensor and the app make a 3D scan? What, if any, training is necessary? Yes, in theory, anyone with a LiDAR-equipped phone (like an iPhone 12 Pro or later) and the right app, such as Scaniverse, could create a 3D scan of a stranded marine mammal. The process is designed to be user-friendly, but some basic training is beneficial to ensure high-quality and accurate scans. Key aspects of training would include understanding optimal scanning angles and distances, ensuring full coverage of the specimen, managing environmental challenges (eg, glare from wet surfaces or low-light conditions), and using the app's measurement tools correctly. While the technology is highly accessible, proper technique helps maximize accuracy and usability for research and conservation purposes, which is hopefully highlighted in the paper. What information can 3D reconstructions provide that might not be obtainable using traditional measurements in the field? 3D reconstructions offer a level of detail and versatility that traditional field measurements cannot always achieve. They provide a complete digital record of a specimen, allowing for precise morphometric assessments, post-examination measurements, and reanalysis without needing the physical carcass. Unlike traditional measurements, which can be limited by access, time constraints, or environmental conditions, 3D models capture full-body shape, external lesions, and anatomical structures in context, enabling comparisons across specimens and species. Additionally, these reconstructions can be used for visualization in education, response training, and conservation planning, which expands their impact beyond the field. 3D model (generated from Scaniverse) of the inflatable pilot whale used for live stranding training. (a) Reference assessment against known length (5.0 meters), and straight-line measurement of the whale at 4.40 meters. (b) Side profile of whale for reference and display shape of inflatable. (c) Simulated measurement of anterior flipper length. (d) Simulated measurement 1004 of dorsal fin height. (e) Simulated measurement of (half) tail fluke width. Credit: Cottrell et al., 2025. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. In your opinion, why is your research important? This research is important because it provides an accessible, low-cost method for documenting and analyzing stranded marine mammals, particularly in remote or resource-limited regions. By using widely available LiDAR-equipped mobile devices and free or inexpensive scanning apps, community responders and researchers can collect high-quality 3D data without the need for specialized or expensive equipment. This approach not only enhances morphometric accuracy and necropsy documentation but also democratizes data collection, allowing more regions to contribute to marine mammal conservation and health assessments without the barriers of cost or technical expertise. 3D reconstruction of gray whale stranded near Jarvis Inlet after being trapped in a tidal lagoon for four months. (a) Straightline length calculated in Scaniverse. (b) Tail fluke measurement (underestimated if straightline length used). (c) Anterior flipper measurement, underestimating by 10% due to water cutoff. (d) From mid dorsal looking towards head. (e) Front dorsal towards tail obvious 'peanut head' as a result of extreme emaciation before death captured in the 3D reconstruction. (f) Animal post necropsy. Credit: Cottrell et al., 2025. Are there any common misconceptions about this area of research? How would you address them? A common misconception is that 3D scanning is too complex for non-experts to use effectively. In reality, modern LiDAR-equipped smartphones and user-friendly apps make the process straightforward, requiring only basic training to capture highly accurate models. What are some of the areas of research you'd like to see tackled in the years ahead? I'd love to see more research integrating 3D scanning with other imaging modalities like MRI and CT to create a complete inside-out view of stranded marine mammals. Combining external 3D reconstructions with internal anatomical data could provide unique insights into pathology, trauma, and overall health. This approach would not only enhance necropsy documentation but also open new opportunities for virtual dissections, comparative studies, and education, allowing researchers and responders to better understand and preserve these incredible animals. 3D reconstruction of killer whale stranded near Zeballos. (a) Straightline length calculated in Scaniverse. (b) Tail fluke measurement (underestimated if straightline length used). (c) Dorsal fin measurement (d) Anterior flipper measurement (e) Unborn fetus removed from the whale. Credit: Cottrell et al., 2025. How has open science benefited the reach and impact of your research? Open science has expanded the reach of this research by making the lessons learned available to a global audience. Sharing these tools also improves data collection and standardization, allowing responders and researchers worldwide to contribute to marine mammal conservation. By fostering collaboration and transparency, open science ensures that valuable stranding data is better collected, shared, and used to advance scientific and conservation efforts everywhere. More information: 3D Reconstructions of Stranded Marine Mammals Via Easily Accessible Remote Sensing Tools for Use in Morphometrics and Visualizations, Frontiers in Marine Science (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1485788 Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science Provided by Frontiers